[transcriber's note: obvious printer's errors have been corrected, all other inconsistencies are as in the original. author's spelling has been maintained. missing page numbers correspond to blank pages. page numbers are in format {p.xx}.] the jefferson-lemen compact the relations of thomas jefferson and james lemen in the exclusion of slavery from illinois and the northwest territory with related documents - a paper read before the chicago historical society february , by willard c. macnaul [illustration: arms] the university of chicago press copyright by chicago historical society contents {p. } introduction . sketch of james lemen.................................. . lemen's relations with jefferson in virginia........... . lemen's anti-slavery mission in illinois-- slavery in illinois until ...................... prohibition of slavery by ordinance of ......... the slavery conflict under gov. st. clair ( - )....................................... the slavery conflict under gov. harrison ( - )....................................... slavery question in the movement for division of indiana territory in - .................... james lemen's anti-slavery influence in the baptist churches until ....................... slavery under gov. ninian edwards ( - )....... slavery in the campaign for statehood in ....... . available materials relating to the subject........... . account of the "lemen family notes"................... documents i. diary of james lemen, sr.............................. ii. history of the relations of james lemen and thos. jefferson, by j. m. peck.................. iii. how illinois got chicago, by jos. b. lemen............ iv. address to the friends of freedom..................... v. recollections of a centennarian, by dr. w. f. boyakin................................... vi. in memory of rev. jas. lemen, sr...................... vii. statement by editor of _belleville advocate_.......... viii. letter of rev. j. m. peck on the old lemen family notes........................................ pioneer letters {p. } ix. letter of senator douglas to rev. jas. lemen, sr...... x. announcement by j. b. lemen........................... xl. letter of gov. ninian edwards to jas. lemen, jr....... xii. letter of a. w. snyder to jas. lemen, sr.............. xiii. letter of abraham lincoln to jas. lemen, jr........... xiv. the lemen monument--lemen's war record................ xv. sketch of rev. james lemen, sr., by j. m. peck........ xvi. old lemen family notes, statement by jos. b. lemen.... references............................................ note {p. } the materials here presented were collected in connection with the preparation of a history of the first generation of illinois baptists. the narrative introduction is printed substantially as delivered at a special meeting of the chicago historical society, and, with the collection of documents, is published in response to inquiries concerning the so-called "lemen family notes," and in compliance with the request for a contribution to the publications of this society. it is hoped that the publication may serve to elicit further information concerning the alleged "notes," the existence of which has become a subject of more or less interest to historians. the compiler merely presents the materials at their face value, without assuming to pass critical judgment upon them. w. c. m. introduction {p. } relations of james lemen and thomas jefferson in the exclusion of slavery from illinois and the northwest territory in view of the approaching centennary of statehood in illinois, the name of james lemen takes on a timely interest because of his services--social, religious, and political--in the making of the commonwealth. he was a native of virginia, born and reared in the vicinity of harper's ferry. he served a two-years' enlistment in the revolutionary war under washington, and afterwards returned to his regiment during the siege of yorktown. his "yorktown notes" in his diary give some interesting glimpses of his participation in that campaign.[ ] his scotch ancestors had served in a similar cause under cromwell, whose wedding gift to one of their number is still cherished as a family heirloom. upon leaving the army james lemen married catherine ogle, daughter of captain joseph ogle, whose name is perpetuated in that of ogle county, illinois. the ogles were of old english stock, some of whom at least were found on the side of cromwell and the commonwealth. catherine's family at one time lived on the south branch of the potomac, although at the time of her marriage her home was near wheeling. captain ogle's commission, signed by gov. patrick henry, is now a valued possession of one of mrs. lemen's descendants. james and catherine lemen were well fitted by nature and training for braving the hardships and brightening the privations of life on the frontier, far removed from home and friends, or even the abodes of their nearest white kinsmen. during, and even before the war, young lemen is reputed to have been the protégé of thomas jefferson, through whose influence he became a civil and religious leader in the pioneer period of illinois history. gov. reynolds, in his writings relating to this period,[ ] gives various sketches of the man and his family, and his name occurs frequently in {p. } the records of the times. he was among the first to follow col. clark's men to the illinois country, where he established the settlement of new design, one of the earliest american colonies in what was, previous to his arrival, the "illinois county" of the old dominion. here he served, first as a justice of the peace, and then as a judge of the court of the original county of st. clair, and thus acquired the title of "judge lemen."[ ] here, too, he became the progenitor of the numerous illinois branch of the lemen family, whose genealogy and family history was recently published by messrs. frank and joseph b. lemen--a volume of some four hundred and fifty pages, and embracing some five hundred members of the family. true to his avowed purpose in coming to illinois, young lemen became a leader of anti-slavery sentiment in the new territory, and, undoubtedly, deserves to be called one of the fathers of the free state constitution, which was framed in and preserved in . his homestead, the "old lemen fort" at new design, which is still the comfortable home of the present owner, is the birthplace of the baptist denomination in illinois; and he himself is commemorated as the recognized founder of that faith in this state, by a granite shaft in the family burial plot directly in front of the old home. this memorial was dedicated in by col. william jennings bryan, whose father, judge bryan, of salem, illinois, was the first to suggest it as a well-deserved honor. james lemen, sr., also became the father and leader of the noted "lemen family preachers," consisting of himself and six stalwart sons, all but one of whom were regularly ordained baptist ministers. the eldest son, robert, although never ordained, was quite as active and efficient in the cause as any of the family. this remarkable family eventually became the nucleus of a group of anti-slavery baptist churches in illinois which had a very important influence upon the issue of that question in the state. rev. james lemen, jr., who is said to have been the second american boy born in the illinois country, succeeded to his father's position of leadership in the anti-slavery movement of the times, and served as the representative of st. clair county in the territorial legislature, the constitutional convention, and the state senate. the younger james lemen was on terms of intimacy with abraham lincoln at springfield, and {p. } his cousin, ward lamon, was lincoln's early associate in the law, and also his first biographer. various representatives of the family in later generations have attained success as farmers, physicians, teachers, ministers, and lawyers throughout southern illinois and other sections of the country.[ ] the elder james lemen was himself an interesting character, and, entirely apart from his relations with jefferson, he is a significant factor in early illinois history. his fight for free versus slave labor in illinois and the northwest derives a peculiar interest, however, from its association with the great name of jefferson. the principles for which the latter stood--but not necessarily his policies--have a present-day interest for us greater than those of his contemporaries, because those principles are the "live issues" of our own times. jefferson is to that extent our contemporary, and hence his name lends a living interest to otherwise obscure persons and remote events. the problem of free labor versus slave labor we have with us still, and in a much more complex and widespread form than in jefferson's day. according to the current tradition, a warm personal friendship sprang up between jefferson and young lemen, who was seventeen years the junior of his distinguished patron and friend. in a letter to robert, brother of james lemen, attributed to jefferson, he writes: "among all my friends who are near, he is still a little nearer. i discovered his worth when he was but a child, and i freely confess that in some of my most important achievements his example, wish, and advice, though then but a very young man, largely influenced my action." in a sketch of the relations of the two men by dr. john m. peck we are told that "after jefferson became president of the united states, he retained all of his early affection for mr. lemen"; and upon the occasion of a visit of a mutual friend to the president, in , "he inquired after him with all the fondness of a father."[ ] their early relations in virginia, so far as we have any account of them, concerned their mutual anti-slavery interests. peck tells us that "mr. lemen was a born anti-slavery leader, and had proved himself such in virginia by inducing scores of masters to free their slaves through his prevailing kindness of manner and christian arguments." concerning {p. } the cession of virginia's claims to the northwest territory, jefferson is thus quoted, from his letter to robert lemen: "before any one had even mentioned the matter, james lemen, by reason of his devotion to anti-slavery principles, suggested to me that we (virginia) make the transfer, and that slavery be excluded; and it so impressed and influenced me that whatever is due me as credit for my share in the matter, is largely, if not wholly, due to james lemen's advice and most righteous counsel."[ ] before this transfer was effected, it appears that jefferson had entered into negotiations with his young protégé with a view to inducing him to locate in the "illinois country" as his agent, in order to co-operate with himself in the effort to exclude slavery from the entire northwest territory. mr. lemen makes record of an interview with jefferson under date of december , , as follows: "thomas jefferson had me to visit him again a short time ago, as he wanted me to go to the illinois country in the northwest after a year or two, in order to try to lead and direct the new settlers in the best way, and also to oppose the introduction of slavery into that country at a later day, as i am known as an opponent of that evil; and he says he will give me some help. it is all because of his great kindness and affection for me, for which i am very grateful; but i have not yet fully decided to do so, but have agreed to consider the case." in may, , they had another interview, on the eve of jefferson's departure on his prolonged mission to france. mr. lemen's memorandum reads: "i saw jefferson at annapolis, maryland, to-day, and had a very pleasant visit with him. i have consented to go to illinois on his mission, and he intends helping me some; but i did not ask nor wish it. we had a full agreement and understanding as to all terms and duties. the agreement is strictly private between us, but all his purposes are perfectly honorable and praiseworthy."[ ] thus the mission was undertaken which proved to be his life-work. he had intended starting with his father-in-law, captain ogle, in , but was detained by illness in his family. december , , he records: "jefferson's confidential agent gave me one hundred dollars of his funds to use for my family, if need be, and if not, to go to good causes; and i will go to illinois on his mission next spring and take my wife and children." such {p. } was the origin and nature of the so-called "jefferson-lemen secret anti-slavery compact," the available evidence concerning which will be given at the conclusion of this paper.[ ] the anti-slavery propaganda of james lemen and his circle constituted a determining factor in the history of the first generation of illinois baptists. to what extent lemen co-operated with jefferson in his movements will appear as we proceed with the story of his efforts to make illinois a free state. the "old dominion" ceded her "county of illinois" to the national domain in . jefferson's effort to provide for the exclusion of slavery from the new territory at that date proved abortive. consequently, when james lemen arrived at the old french village of kaskaskia in july, , he found slavery legally entrenched in all the former french possessions in the "illinois country." it had been introduced by renault, in , who brought negroes from santo domingo (then a french possession) to work the mines which he expected to develop in this section of the french colonial empire.[ ] it is a noteworthy fact that slavery was established on the soil of illinois just a century after its introduction on the shores of virginia. when the french possessions were taken over by great britain at the close of the colonial struggle in , that country guaranteed the french inhabitants the possession of all their property, including slaves. when col. clark, of virginia, took possession of this region in , the state likewise guaranteed the inhabitants the full enjoyment of all their property rights. by the terms of the virginia cession of to the national government, all the rights and privileges of the former citizens of virginia were assured to them in the ceded district. thus, at the time of lemen's arrival, slavery had been sanctioned on the illinois prairies for sixty-seven years. one year from the date of his arrival, however, the territorial ordinance of was passed, with the prohibition of slavery, as originally proposed by jefferson in .[ ] thus it would seem that the desired object had already been attained. by the terms of the famous "sixth article of compact," contained in that ordinance, it was declared that "there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the accused shall have been duly convicted." this looks like a sweeping and final disposition of {p. } the matter, but it was not accepted as such until the lapse of another fifty-seven years. but neither jefferson nor his agents on the ground had anticipated so easy a victory. indeed, they had foreseen that a determined effort would be made by the friends of slavery to legalize that institution in the territory. almost at once, in fact, the conflict commenced, which was to continue actively for thirty-seven years. like the nation itself, the illinois country was to be for a large part of its history "half slave and half free"--both in sentiment and in practice. two attempts against the integrity of the "sixth article" were made during gov. st. clair's administration. the trouble began with the appeals of the french slave-holders against the loss of their slaves.[ ] as civil administration under the territorial government was not established among the illinois settlements until , both the old french inhabitants and the new american colonists suffered all manner of disabilities and distresses in the interval between and , while just across the mississippi there was a settled and prosperous community under the spanish government of louisiana. when, therefore, the french masters appealed to gen. st. clair, in , to protect them against the loss of the principal part of their wealth, represented by their slaves, he had to face the alternative of the loss of these substantial citizens by migration with their slaves to the spanish side of the river. and, in order to pacify these petitioners, st. clair gave it as his opinion that the prohibition of slavery in the ordinance was not retroactive, and hence did not affect the rights of the french masters in their previously acquired slave property. as this view accorded with the "compact" contained in the virginia deed of cession, it was sanctioned by the old congress, and was later upheld by the new federal government; and this construction of the ordinance of continued to prevail in illinois until , when the state supreme court decreed that the prohibition was absolute, and that, consequently, slavery in any form had never had any legal sanction in illinois since .[ ] it does not appear that mr. lemen took any active measures against this construction of the anti-slavery ordinance at the time. he was, indeed, himself a petitioner, with other american settlers on the "congress lands" in illinois, for the recognition of their claims, which were menaced {p. } by the general prohibition of settlement then in effect.[ ] conditions in every respect were so insecure prior to the organization of st. clair county in , that it was hardly to be expected that any vigorous measure could be taken against previously existing slavery in the colony, especially as the americans were then living in station forts for protection against the hostile indians. moreover, jefferson was not in the country in , and hence there was no opportunity for co-operation with him at this time. mr. lemen was, however, improving the opportunity "to try to lead and direct the new settlers in the best way"; for we find him, although not as yet himself a "professor" of religion, engaged in promoting the religious observance of the sabbath on the part of the "godfearing" element in the station fort where, with his father-in-law, he resided (fort piggott). in jefferson returned from france to become secretary of state in president washington's cabinet, under the new federal government. he had not forgotten his friend lemen, as dr. peck assures us that "he lost no time in sending him a message of love and confidence by a friend who was then coming to the west." st. clair's construction of the prohibition of slavery unfortunately served to weaken even its preventive force and emboldened the pro-slavery advocates to seek persistently for the repeal, or, at least, the "suspension" of the obnoxious sixth article. a second effort was made under his administration in , when a memorial, headed by gen. john edgar, was sent to congress praying for the suspension of the article. the committee of reference, of which the hon. joshua coit of connecticut was chairman, reported adversely upon this memorial, may , .[ ] it is not possible to state positively lemen's influence, if any, in the defeat of this appeal of the leading citizens of the old french villages. but, as it was in this same year that the first protestant church in the bounds of illinois was organized in his house, and, as we are informed that he endeavored to persuade the constituent members of the new design church to oppose slavery, we may suppose that he was already taking an active part in opposition to the further encroachments of slavery, especially in his own community. the effort to remove the prohibition was renewed under gov. wm. henry harrison, during the connection of the illinois {p. } settlements with the indiana territory, from to . five separate attempts were made during these years, which coincide with the term of president jefferson, who had removed st. clair to make room for gen. harrison. harrison, however, yielded to the pressure of the pro-slavery element in the territory to use his power and influence for their side of the question. although their proposals were thrice favorably reported from committee, the question never came to a vote in congress. the first attempt during the indiana period was that of a pro-slavery convention, called at the instigation of the illinois contingent, which met at vincennes, in , under the chairmanship of gov. harrison. their memorial to congress, requesting merely a temporary suspension of the prohibition, was adversely reported from committee in view of the evident prosperity of ohio under the same restriction, and because "the committee deem it highly dangerous and inexpedient to impair a provision wisely calculated to promote the happiness and prosperity of the northwestern country, and to give strength and security to that extensive frontier." referring to this attempt of "the extreme southern slave advocates ... for the introduction of slavery," mr. lemen writes, under date of may , , that "steps must soon be taken to prevent that curse from being fastened on our people." the same memorial was again introduced in congress in february, , with the provisos of a ten-year limit to the suspension and the introduction of native born slaves only, which, of course, would mean those of the border-state breeders. even this modified proposal, although approved in committee, failed to move congress to action. harrison and his supporters continued nevertheless to press the matter, and he even urged judge lemen, in a personal interview, to lend his influence to the movement for the introduction of slavery. to this suggestion lemen replied that "the evil attempt would encounter his most active opposition, in every possible and honorable manner that his mind could suggest or his means accomplish."[ ] it was about this time that the governor and judges took matters in their own hands and introduced a form of indentured service, which, although technically within the prohibition of _involuntary_ servitude, amounted practically to actual slavery. soon after, in order to give this institution a more secure legal sanction, by legislative enactment, the {p. } second grade of territorial government was hastily and high-handedly forced upon the people for this purpose. it was probably in view of these measures that mr. lemen recorded his belief that president jefferson "will find means to overreach the evil attempts of the pro-slavery party." early in the year the vincennes memorial was introduced into congress for the third time and again favorably reported from committee, but to no avail. it was about this time, as we learn from his diary, that mr. lemen "sent a messenger to indiana to ask the churches and people there to get up and sign a counter petition, to uphold freedom in the territory," circulating a similar petition in illinois himself.[ ] a fourth attempt to bring the proposal before congress was made in january, , in a formal communication from the governor and territorial legislature. the proposal was a third time favorably reported by the committee of reference, but still without action by the house. finally, in november of the same year, president jefferson transmitted to congress similar communications from the indiana government. this time the committee reported that "the citizens of clark county [in which was located the first baptist church organized in indiana], in their remonstrance, express their sense of the impropriety of the measure"; and that they also requested congress not to act upon the subject until the people had an opportunity to formulate a state constitution[ ]. commenting upon the whole proceedings, dr. peck quotes gov. harrison to the effect that, though he and lemen were firm friends, the latter "had set his iron will against slavery, and indirectly made his influence felt so strongly at washington and before congress, that all the efforts to suspend the anti-slavery clause in the ordinance of failed."[ ] peck adds that president jefferson "quietly directed his leading confidential friends in congress steadily to defeat gen. harrison's petitions for the repeal."[ ] it was about this time, september , , that president jefferson thus expressed his estimate of james lemen's services, in his letter to robert lemen: "his record in the new country has fully justified my course in inducing him to settle there with the view of properly shaping events in the best interest of the people."[ ] it was during this period of the indiana agitation for the introduction of slavery, {p. } as we learn from an entry in his diary dated september , , that mr. lemen received a call from an agent of aaron burr to solicit his aid and sympathy in burr's scheme for a southwestern empire, with illinois as a province, and an offer to make him governor. "but i denounced the conspiracy as high treason," he says, "and gave him a few hours to leave the territory on pain of arrest."[ ] it should be noted that at this date he was not himself a magistrate, which, perhaps, accounts for his apparent leniency towards what he regarded as a treasonable proposal. the year , the date of the separation of illinois from the indiana territory, marks a crisis in the lemen anti-slavery campaign in illinois.[ ] the agitation under the indiana government for the further recognition of slavery in the territory was mainly instigated by the illinois slave-holders and their sympathizers among the american settlers from the slave states. the people of indiana proper, except those of the old french inhabitants of vincennes, who were possessed of slaves, were either indifferent or hostile towards slavery. its partisans in the illinois counties of the territory, in the hope of promoting their object thereby, now sought division of the indiana territory and the erection of a separate government for illinois at kaskaskia. this movement aroused a bitter political struggle in the illinois settlements, one result of which was the murder of young rice jones in the streets of kaskaskia. the division was advocated on the ground of convenience and opposed on the score of expense. the divisionists, however, seem to have been animated mainly by the desire to secure the introduction of slavery as soon as statehood could be attained for their section. the division was achieved in , and with it the prompt adoption of the system of indentured service already in vogue under the indiana government. and from that time forth the fight was on between the free-state and slave-state parties in the new territory. throughout the independent territorial history of illinois, slavery was sanctioned partly by law and still further by custom. gov. ninian edwards, whose religious affiliations were with the baptists, not only sanctioned slavery, but, as is well known, was himself the owner of slaves during the territorial period. it was in view of this evident determination to make of illinois territory a slave state, that james lemen, with jefferson's approval, took the radical step of organizing a {p. } distinctively anti-slavery church as a means of promoting the free-state cause.[ ] from the first, indeed, he had sought to promote the cause of temperance and of anti-slavery in and through the church. he tells us in his diary, in fact, that he "hoped to employ the churches as a means of opposition to the institution of slavery."[ ] he was reared in the presbyterian faith, his stepfather being a minister of that persuasion; but at twenty years of age he embraced baptist principles, apparently under the influence of a baptist minister in virginia, whose practice it was to bar from membership all who upheld the institution of slavery. he thus identified himself with the struggles for civil, religious, and industrial liberty, all of which were then actively going on in his own state. the name of "new design," which became attached to the settlement which he established on the upland prairies beyond the bluffs of the "american bottom," is said to have originated from a quaint remark of his that he "had a 'new design' to locate a settlement south of bellefontaine" near the present town of waterloo.[ ] the name "new design," however, became significant of his anti-slavery mission; and when, after ten years of pioneer struggles, he organized the baptist church of christ at new design, in , he soon afterwards induced that body--the first protestant church in the bounds of the present state--to adopt what were known as "tarrant's rules against slavery." the author of these rules, the rev. james tarrant, of virginia, later of kentucky, one of the "emancipating preachers," eventually organized the fraternity of anti-slavery baptist churches in kentucky, who called themselves "friends to humanity." from to judge lemen was active in the promotion of baptist churches and a baptist association. he labored to induce all these organizations to adopt his anti-slavery principles, and in this he was largely successful; but, with the increase of immigrant baptists from the slave states, it became increasingly difficult to maintain these principles in their integrity. and when, in the course of the campaign for the division of the territory in , it became apparent that the lines between the free-state and the slave-state forces were being decisively drawn, lemen prepared to take a more radical stand in the struggle. with this design in view he asked and obtained the formal sanction of {p. } his church as a licensed preacher. in the course of the same year, , he is said to have received a confidential message from jefferson "suggesting a division of the churches on the question of slavery, and the organization of a church on a strictly anti-slavery basis, for the purpose of heading a movement to make illinois a free state."[ ] according to another, and more probable, version of this story, when jefferson learned, through a mutual friend (mr. s. h. biggs), of lemen's determination to force the issue in the church to the point of division, if necessary, he sent him a message of approval of his proposed course and accompanied it with a contribution of $ for the contemplated anti-slavery church. the division of the territory was effected early in the year , and in the summer of that year, after vainly trying to hold all the churches to their avowed anti-slavery principles, elder lemen, in a sermon at richland creek baptist church, threw down the gauntlet to his pro-slavery brethren and declared that he could no longer maintain church fellowship with them. his action caused a division in the church, which was carried into the association at its ensuing meeting, in october, , and resulted in the disruption of that body into three parties on the slavery question--the conservatives, the liberals, and the radicals. the latter element, headed by "the lemen party," as it now came to be called, held to the principles of the friends to humanity, and proposed to organize a branch of that order of baptists. when it came to the test, however, the new church was reduced to a constituent membership consisting of some seven or eight members of the lemen family. such was the beginning of what is now the oldest surviving baptist church in the state, which then took the name of "the baptized church of christ, friends to humanity, on cantine (quentin) creek." it is located in the neighborhood of the old cahokia mound. its building, when it came to have one, was called "bethel meeting house," and in time the church itself became known as "bethel baptist church." the distinctive basis of this church is proclaimed in its simple constitution, to which every member was required to subscribe: "denying union and communion with all persons holding the doctrine of perpetual, involuntary, hereditary slavery." this church began its career as "a family church," in the literal sense of the word; but it prospered nevertheless, {p. } until it became a numerically strong and vigorous organization which has had an active and honorable career of a hundred years' duration. churches of the same name and principles multiplied and maintained their uncompromising but discriminating opposition to slavery so long as slavery remained a local issue; after which time they were gradually absorbed into the general body of ordinary baptist churches. during the period of the illinois territory, to , elder lemen kept up a most energetic campaign of opposition to slavery, by preaching and rigorous church discipline in the application of the rules against slavery. he himself was regularly ordained soon after the organization of his anti-slavery church. his sons, james and joseph, and his brother-in-law, benjamin ogle, were equally active in the ministry during this period, and, before its close, they had two churches firmly established in illinois, with others of the same order in missouri. "the church, properly speaking, never entered politics," dr. peck informs us, "but presently, when it became strong, the members all formed what they called the 'illinois anti-slavery league,' and it was this body that conducted the anti-slavery contest."[ ] the contest culminated in the campaign for statehood in . at the beginning of that year the territorial legislature petitioned congress for an enabling act, which was presented by the illinois delegate, hon. nathaniel pope. as chairman of the committee to which this petition was referred, he drew up a bill for such an act early in the year. in the course of its progress through the house, he presented an amendment to his own bill, which provided for the extension of the northern boundary of the new state. according to the provisions of the ordinance of , the line would have been drawn through the southern border of lake michigan. pope's amendment proposed to extend it so as to include some sixty miles of frontage on lake michigan, thereby adding fourteen counties, naturally tributary to the lake region, to counterbalance the southern portion of the state, which was connected by the river system with the southern slave states. gov. thomas ford states explicitly that pope made this change "upon his own responsibility, ... no one at that time having suggested or requested it." this statement is directly contradicted in {p. } dr. peck's sketch of james lemen, sr., written in . he therein states that this extension was first suggested by judge lemen, who had a government surveyor make a plat of the proposed extension, with the advantages to the anti-slavery cause to be gained thereby noted on the document, which he gave to pope with the request to have it embodied in the enabling act.[ ] this statement was repeated and amplified by mr. joseph b. lemen in an article in _the chicago tribune_.[ ] it is a well-known fact that the vote of these fourteen northern counties secured the state to the anti-slavery party in ; but as this section of the state was not settled until long after its admission into the union, the measure, whatever its origin, had no effect upon the constitutional convention. however, john messinger, of new design, who surveyed the military tract and, later, also the northern boundary line, may very well have made such a plat, either on his own motion or at the suggestion of the zealous anti-slavery leader, with whom he was well acquainted. as messinger was later associated with peck in the rock spring seminary, and in the publication of a sectional map of illinois, it would seem that peck was in a position to know the facts as well as ford. in the campaign for the election of delegates to the constitutional convention, slavery was the only question seriously agitated. the lemen churches and their sympathizers were so well organized and so determined in purpose that they made a very energetic and effective campaign for delegates. their organization for political purposes, as peck informs us, "always kept one of its members and several of its friends in the territorial legislature; and five years before the constitutional election in , it had fifty resident agents--men of like sympathies--quietly at work in the several settlements; and the masterly manner in which they did their duty was shown by a poll which they made of the voters some few weeks before the election, which, on their side, varied only a few votes from the official count after the election."[ ] it is difficult to determine from the meager records of the proceedings, even including the journal of the convention recently published, just what the complexion of the body was on the slavery question. mr. w. kitchell, a descendant of one of the delegates, states that there were twelve delegates that favored the recognition of slavery by a {p. } specific article in the constitution, and twenty-one that opposed such action. gov. coles, who was present as a visitor and learned the sentiments of the prominent members, says that many, but not a majority of the convention, were in favor of making illinois a slave state.[ ] during the session of the convention an address to the friends of freedom was published by a company of thirteen leading men, including james lemen, sr., to the effect that a determined effort was to be made in the convention to give sanction to slavery, and urging concerted action "to defeat the plans of those who wish either a temporary or an unlimited slavery."[ ] a majority of the signers of this address were lemen's baptist friends, and its phraseology points to him as its author. james lemen, jr., was a delegate from st. clair county and a member of the committee which drafted the constitution. in the original draft of that instrument, slavery was prohibited in the identical terms of the ordinance of , as we learn from the recently published journal of the convention. in the final draft this was changed to read: "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall hereafter be introduced," and the existing system of indentured service was also incorporated. these changes were the result of compromise, and lemen consistently voted against them. he was nevertheless one of the committee of three appointed to revise and engross the completed instrument. the result was a substantial victory for the free-state party; and had the convention actually overridden the prohibition contained in the original territorial ordinance, as it was then interpreted, it is evident, from the tone of the address to the friends of freedom, that the lemen circle would have made a determined effort to defeat the measure in congress.[ ] dr. peck, who, like gov. coles, was a visitor to the convention, and who had every opportunity to know all the facts, in summing up the evidence in regard to the matter, declares it to be "conclusive that mr. lemen created and organized the forces which confirmed illinois, if not the northwest territory, to freedom." speaking of the current impression that the question of slavery was not much agitated in illinois prior to the constitutional convention, gov. coles says: "on the contrary, at a very early period of the settlement of illinois, the question was warmly agitated by zealous {p. } advocates and opponents of slavery," and that, although during the period of the independent illinois territory the agitation was lulled, it was not extinguished, "as was seen [from] its mingling itself so actively both in the election and the conduct of the members of the convention, in ."[ ] senator douglas, in a letter to james lemen, jr., is credited with full knowledge of the "jefferson-lemen anti-slavery compact" and a high estimate of its significance in the history of the slavery contest in illinois and the northwest territory. "this matter assumes a phase of personal interest with me," he says, "and i find myself, politically, in the good company of jefferson and your father. with them everything turned on whether the people of the territory wanted slavery or not, ... and that appears to me to be the correct doctrine."[ ] lincoln, too, in a letter to the younger james lemen, is quoted as having a personal knowledge of the facts and great respect for the senior lemen in the conflict for a free state in illinois. "both your father and lovejoy," he remarks, "were pioneer leaders in the cause of freedom, and it has always been difficult for me to see why your father, who was a resolute, uncompromising, and aggressive leader, who boldly proclaimed his purpose to make both the territory and the state free, never aroused nor encountered any of that mob violence which, both in st. louis and in alton, confronted and pursued lovejoy."[ ] of the latter he says: "his letters, among your old family notes, were of more interest to me than even those of thomas jefferson to your father." jefferson's connection with lemen's anti-slavery mission in illinois was never made public, apparently, until the facts were published by mr. joseph b. lemen, of the third generation, in the later years of his life, in connection with the centennary anniversaries of the events involved. however, the "compact" was a matter of family tradition, based upon a collection of letters and notes handed down from father to son. jefferson's reasons for keeping the matter secret, as dr. peck explains, were, first, to prevent giving the impression that he was seeking his own interests in the territories, and, second, to avoid arousing the opposition of his southern friends who desired the extension of slavery. lemen, on the other hand, did not wish to have it thought that his actions were controlled by political considerations, or subject {p. } to the will of another. moreover, when he learned that jefferson was regarded as "an unbeliever," he is said to have wept bitterly lest it should be thought that, in his work for the church and humanity, he had been influenced by an "infidel"; and, sometime before his death, he exacted a promise of his sons and the few friends who were acquainted with the nature of his compact with jefferson that they would not make it known while he lived.[ ] under the influence of this feeling on the part of their father, the family kept the facts to themselves and a few confidential friends until after the lapse of a century, when the time came to commemorate the achievements of their ancestor. how much of the current tradition is fact and how much fiction is hard to determine, as so little of the original documentary material is now available. the collection of materials herewith presented consists of what purport to be authentic copies of the original documents in question. they are put in this form in the belief that their significance warrants it, and in the hope that their publication may elicit further light on the subject. these materials consist of three sorts, viz.; a transcript of the diary of james lemen, sr., a manuscript history of the confidential relations of lemen and jefferson, prepared by rev. john m. peck, and a series of letters from various public men to rev. james lemen, jr. the diary and manuscript "history" were located by the compiler of this collection among the papers of the late dr. edward b. lemen, of alton, illinois. these documents are now in the possession of his son-in-law, mr. wykoff, who keeps them in his bank vault. the collection of letters was published at various times by mr. joseph b. lemen, of collinsville, illinois, in _the belleville advocate_, of belleville, illinois. the diary is a transcript of the original, attested by rev. james lemen, jr. the "history" is a brief sketch, in two chapters, prepared from the original documents by dr. peck while he was pastor of the bethel church, in june, , and written at his dictation by the hand of an assistant, as the document itself expressly states. mr. joseph lemen, who is responsible for the letters, is the son of rev. james lemen, jr., and one of the editors of the lemen family history. the editor of _the belleville advocate_ states that mr. lemen has contributed to various metropolitan newspapers in the political campaigns of his party, from those of lincoln to those of mckinley.[ ] he also {p. } contributed extended sketches of the baptist churches of st. clair county for one of the early histories of that county. he took an active part in promoting the movement to commemorate his grandfather, james lemen, sr., in connection with the centennary anniversaries of the churches founded at new design and quentin creek (bethel). the originals of these materials are said to have composed part of a collection of letters and documents known as the "lemen family notes," which has aroused considerable interest and inquiry among historians throughout the country. the history of this collection is somewhat uncertain. it was begun by james lemen, sr., whose diary, containing his "yorktown notes" and other memoranda, is perhaps its most interesting survival. while residing in the station fort on the mississippi bottom during the indian troubles of his early years in the illinois country, he made a rude walnut chest in which to keep his books and papers. this chest, which long continued to be used as the depository of the family papers, is still preserved, in the illinois baptist historical collection, at the carnegie library, alton, illinois. it is said that abraham lincoln once borrowed it from rev. james lemen, jr., for the sake of its historical associations, and used it for a week as a receptacle for his own papers. upon the death of the elder lemen the family notes and papers passed to james, jr., who added to it many letters from public men of his wide circle of acquaintance. as the older portions of the collection were being worn and lost, by loaning them to relatives and friends, copies were made of all the more important documents, and the remaining originals were then placed in the hands of dr. j. m. peck, who was at the time pastor of the bethel church, to be deposited in the private safe of a friend of his in st. louis. as the slavery question was then ( ) at white heat, it is not surprising that dr. peck advised the family to carefully preserve all the facts and documents relating to their father's anti-slavery efforts "until some future time," lest their premature publication should disturb the peace of his church. as late as he writes of "that dangerous element in many of the old letters bearing on the anti-slavery contest of ," and adds, "with some of those interested in that contest, in fifty years from this time, the publication of these letters would create trouble between the descendants of many of our old pioneer families."[ ] a {p. } man by the name of j. m. smith is suggested by dr. peck as the custodian of the originals. when this gentleman died, the documents in his care are supposed to have been either lost or appropriated by parties unknown to the lemen family. mr. joseph b. lemen relates that a certain party at one time represented to the family that he had located the papers and offered, for a suitable consideration, to recover them. this proved to be merely a scheme to obtain money under false pretenses.[ ] various other accounts are current of the disposition of the original papers; but as yet none of them have been located. the transcripts of the collection, made by james lemen, jr., came into the hands of his son, joseph bowler lemen, who is responsible for the publication of various portions of the story, including some of the letters entire. even these copies, however, are not accessible at the present time, except that of the lemen diary, as located by the present writer. joseph lemen's account of the fate of the elusive documents is given in full at the end of this publication. he there states that every paper of any value was copied and preserved, but even these copies were dissipated to a large extent. he also claims that all the facts contained in these documents have been published in one form or another, "except a very few, including rev. james lemen's interviews with lincoln, as written up by mr. lemen on ten pages of legal cap paper." this joseph b. lemen is now far advanced in years, has long been a recluse, and has the reputation of being "peculiar." in a personal interview with him, the present writer could elicit no further facts regarding the whereabouts of the "lemen family notes." nevertheless, the discovery of the copy of the lemen diary and the manuscript of dr. peck's "history" gives encouragement to hope for further discoveries, which should be reported to the chicago historical society. documents {p. } i. diary of rev. james lemen, sr. ridge prairie, ill. june , . the within notes are a true copy of the notes kept by the rev. james lemen, sr., when in the siege at yorktown. the original notes were fading out. by his son, rev. james lemen, jr. * * * * * near yorktown, va. sep. , . my enlistment of two years expired some time ago, but i joined my regiment to-day and will serve in this siege. quarters, near yorktown, sept. , . i was on one of the french ships to-day with my captain. there is a great fleet of them to help us, it is said, if we fight soon. sept. , , near yorktown. our regiment has orders to move forward this morning, and the main army is moving. near yorktown. oct. , . i was detailed with four other soldiers to return an insane british soldier who had come into our lines, as we don't want such prisoners. near yorktown. oct. , . i carried a message from my colonel to gen. washington to-day. he recognized me and talked very kindly and said the war would soon be over, he thought. i knew washington before the war commenced. near {p. } yorktown. oct. , . i saw washington and la fayette looking at a french soldier and an american soldier wrestling, and the american threw the frenchman so hard he limped off, and la fayette said that was the way washington must do to cornwallis. near yorktown. oct. , . brother robert is sick to-day, but was on duty. there was considerable firing to-day. there will be a great fight soon. near yorktown. oct. , . i was in the assault which la fayette led yesterday evening against the british redoubt, which we captured. our loss was nine killed and thirty-four wounded. near yorktown. oct. , . firing was very heavy along our lines on oct. th and th. and with great effect, but this redoubt and another was in our way and we americans under la fayette captured one easily, but the french soldiers who captured the other suffered heavily. they were also led by a frenchman. yorktown. oct. , . our victory is great and complete. i saw the surrender to-day. our officers think this will probably end the war. * * * * * ridge prairie, ill. june , . i have examined the within notes and find them to be correct copies of notes kept by rev. james lemen, sr., which were fading out. he originally kept his confidential notes, as to his agreement with thomas jefferson, in a private book, but as this is intended for publication at some future time, they are all copied together. by his son, rev. james lemen, jr. harper's ferry, va. dec. , . [ ]thomas jefferson had me to visit him again a short time ago, as he wanted me to go to the illinois country in the north west, after a year or two, in order to try to lead and {p. } direct the new settlers in the best way and also to oppose the introduction of slavery in that country at a later day, as i am known as an opponent of that evil, and he says he will give me some help. it is all because of his great kindness and affection for me, for which i am very grateful, but i have not yet fully decided to do so, but have agreed to consider the case. dec. , . during the war, i served a two years' enlistment under washington. i do not believe in war except to defend one's country and home and in this case i was willing to serve as faithfully as i could. after my enlistment expired i served again in the army in my regiment under washington, during the siege of yorktown, but did not again enlist, as the officers thought the war would soon end. may , . [ ]i saw jefferson at annapolis, maryland, to-day and had a very pleasant visit with him. i have consented to go to illinois on his mission and he intends helping me some, but i did not ask nor wish it. we had a full agreement and understanding as to all terms and duties. the agreement is strictly private between us, but all his purposes are perfectly honorable and praiseworthy. dec. , . jefferson's confidential agent gave me one hundred dollars of his funds to use for my family, if need be, and if not to go to good causes, and i will go to illinois on his mission next spring and take my wife and children. sept. , . in the past summer, with my wife and children i arrived at kaskaskia, illinois, and we are now living in the bottom settlement. on the ohio river my boat partly turned over and we lost a part of our goods and our son robert came near drowning. may , . i am very well impressed with this new country, but we are still living in the bottom, as the indians are unsafe. we prefer living on the high lands and we shall get us a place there soon. people are coming into this new country in increasing numbers. new {p. } design, ill. feb. , . my wife and i were baptized with several others to-day in fountain creek by rev. josiah dodge. the ice had to be cut and removed first. new design, may , . yesterday and to-day, my neighbors at my invitation, gathered at my home and were constituted into a baptist church, by rev. david badgley and joseph chance. new design, jan. , . we settled here some time ago and are well pleased with our place. it is more healthy than the bottom country. a fine sugar grove is near us and a large lake with fine fish, and soil good, but the indians are not yet to be trusted. we have been here now a number of years and have quite a farm in cultivation and fairly good improvements. new design, jan. , . i have just returned with six of my neighbors from a hunt and land inspection upon what is called richland country and creek. we had made our camp near that creek before. on the first sunday morning in december held religious services and on monday went out to see the land. we found fine prairie lands some miles north, south and east and some timber lands along the water streams mostly. game is plentiful and we killed several deer and turkeys. it is a fine country. new design, may , . as thomas jefferson predicted they would do, the extreme southern slave advocates are making their influence felt in the new territory for the introduction of slavery and they are pressing gov. william henry harrison to use his power and influence for that end. steps must soon be taken to prevent that curse from being fastened on our people. new design, may , . at our last meeting, as i expected he would do, gov. harrison asked and insisted that i should cast my influence for the introduction of slavery here, but i not only denied the request, but i informed him that the evil attempt would encounter my most active opposition in every possible and honorable manner that my mind could suggest or my means accomplish. new {p. } design, may , . knowing president jefferson's hostility against the introduction of slavery here and the mission he sent me on to oppose it, i do not believe the pro-slavery petitions with which gov. harrison and his council are pressing congress for slavery here can prevail while he is president, as he is very popular with congress and will find means to overreach the evil attempt of the pro-slavery power. jan. th . [ ]as gov. william henry harrison and his legislative council have had their petitions before congress at several sessions asking for slavery here, i sent a messenger to indiana to ask the churches and people there to get up and sign a counter petition to congress to uphold freedom in the territory and i have circulated one here and we will send it on to that body at next session or as soon as the work is done. new design. sept. , . [ ]a confidential agent of aaron burr called yesterday to ask my aid and sympathy in burr's scheme for a southwestern empire with illinois as a province and an offer to make me governor. but i denounced the conspiracy as high treason and gave him a few hours to leave the territory on pain of arrest. new design. jan , [ ]. [ ]i received jefferson's confidential message on oct. , , suggesting a division of the churches on the question of slavery and the organization of a church on a strictly anti-slavery basis, for the purpose of heading a movement to finally make illinois a free state, and after first trying in vain for some months to bring all the churches over to such a basis, i acted on jefferson's plan and dec. , , the anti-slavery element formed a baptist church at cantine creek, on an anti-slavery basis. new design. mar. , . i was reared in the presbyterian faith, but at years of age i embraced baptist principles and after settlement in illinois i was baptized into that faith and finally became a minister of the gospel of that church, but some years before i was licensed to preach, i was active in collecting and inducing {p. } communities to organize churches, as i thought that the most certain plan to control and improve the new settlements, and i also hoped to employ the churches as a means of opposition to the institution of slavery, but this only became possible when we organized a leading church on a strictly anti-slavery basis, an event which finally was marked with great success, as jefferson suggested it would be. new design. jan , . my six sons all are naturally industrious and they all enjoy the sports. robert and josiah excel in fishing, moses in hunting, william in boating and swimming and james and joseph in running and jumping. either one of them can jump over a line held at his own height, a little over six feet. new design. jan. , . a full account of my indian fights will be found among my papers. new design. dec. , . looking back at this time, , to , when we organized the canteen creek baptist church on a strictly anti-slavery basis as jefferson had suggested as a [center] from which the anti-slavery movement to finally save the state to freedom could be directed, it is now clear that the move was a wise one as there is no doubt but that it more than anything else was what made illinois a free state. new design, ill. jan. , . among my papers my family will find a full and connected statement as to all the churches i have caused to be formed since my settlement in illinois. * * * * * there were many of our family notes which were faded out and rev. j. m. peck retained some when he made father's history and many were misplaced by other friends, but we have had all copied [that] are now in our possession which are of interest. rev. james lemen, jr., (son of rev. james lemen, sr.). ridge prairie, ill. june , . my father's account of his indian fights and statement of all the churches he caused to be founded in illinois, above mentioned, {p. } were loaned to rev. john m. peck a short time before his death and have not been returned, but the information contained has already been published except a few confidential facts as to his relations with jefferson in the formation of the canteen creek baptist ch., now the bethel baptist church. rev. james lemen, jr. (son of james lemen, sr.) ii. peck's history of the jefferson-lemen compact rock spring, ill., june , . the history of the confidential relation of rev. james lemen, senior, and thomas jefferson, and lemen's mission under him, which i have prepared for his son, rev. james lemen, junior, at his request from the family notes and diaries. j. m. peck, per a. m. w. chapter i. the leading purpose of thomas jefferson in selecting james lemen, of virginia, afterwards james lemen, senior, to go to illinois as his agent, was no doubt prompted by his great affection for mr. lemen and his impression that a young man of such aptitude as a natural leader would soon impress himself on the community, and as the advantages in the territory were soon to be great, jefferson was desirous to send him out, and with the help of a few friends he provided a small fund to give him, and also his friend who was going to indiana on a like mission, to be used by their families if need be, and if not to go to good causes. there was also another motive with jefferson; he looked forward to a great pro-slavery contest to finally try to make illinois and indiana slave states, and as mr. lemen was a natural born anti-slavery leader and had proved himself such in virginia by inducing scores of masters to free their slaves through his prevailing kindness of manner and christian arguments, he was just jefferson's ideal of a man who could safely be trusted with his anti-slavery mission in illinois, and this was an important factor in his appointment. the last meeting between mr. lemen and jefferson was at annapolis, maryland, on may , , a short time before he {p. } sailed as envoy to france, and all the terms between them were fully agreed upon, and on dec. , , jefferson's confidential agent gave mr. lemen one hundred dollars of his funds, and in the summer of with his wife and children he removed and settled in illinois, at new design, in what is now monroe county. a few years after his settlement in illinois mr. lemen was baptized into the baptist church, and he finally became a minister of the people of that faith. he eventually became a great organizer of churches and by that fact, reinforced by his other wonderful traits as a natural leader, he fully realized jefferson's fondest dreams and became a noted leader. in jefferson returned from his mission to france and his first thought was of mr. lemen, his friend in illinois, and he lost no time in sending him a message of love and confidence by a friend who was then coming to the west. [ ]after jefferson became president of the united states he retained all of his early affection for mr. lemen, and when s. h. biggs, a resident of illinois, who was in virginia on business and who was a warm friend of both jefferson and mr. lemen, called on him in , when president, he inquired after him with all the fondness of a father, and when told of mr. lemen's purpose to soon organize a new church on a strictly anti-slavery basis jefferson sent him a message to proceed at once to form the new church and he sent it a twenty-dollar contribution. acting on jefferson's suggestion, mr. lemen promptly took the preliminary steps for the final formation of the new church and when constituted it was called the baptist church of canteen creek and jefferson's contribution, with other funds, were given to it. this church is now called the bethel baptist church, and it has a very interesting history. but in view of the facts and circumstances the church might properly have been called the "thomas jefferson church," and what volumes these facts speak for the beneficent and marvelous influence which mr. lemen had over jefferson, who was a reputed unbeliever. the great love he had for james lemen not only induced him to tolerate his churches but he became an active adviser for their multiplication. [ ]the original agreement between jefferson and mr. lemen was strictly confidential; on the part of jefferson, because, had it been known, his opponents would have said {p. } he sent paid emissaries to illinois and indiana to shape matters to his own interests, and the extreme south might have opposed his future preferment, if it were known that he had made an anti-slavery pact with his territorial agents; and it was secret on the part of mr. lemen because he never wished jefferson to give him any help and his singularly independent nature made him feel that he would enjoy a greater liberty of action, or feeling at least, if it were never known that his plans and purposes to some extent were dictated and controlled by another, not even by his great and good friend jefferson; so the agreement between them was strictly private. [ ]and there was another circumstance which finally determined mr. lemen to always preserve the secrecy, and that was that some of mr. jefferson's opponents shortly before mr. lemen's death informed him that he had become an absolute unbeliever, and this so impressed his mind that he wept bitterly for fear, if the fact should ever be known that he had an agreement with jefferson, that they would say that he was in alliance with an unbeliever in the great life work he had performed, and he exacted a promise from his sons, his brother-in-law, rev. benjamin ogle, and mr. biggs, the only persons who then knew of the agreement, that they would never divulge it during his lifetime, a pledge they all religiously kept, and in later years they told no one but the writer and a few other trusted friends who have not, and never will, betray them. but the writer advised them to carefully preserve all the facts and histories we are now writing and to tell some of their families and let them publish them at some future time, as much of the information is of public interest. as to jefferson's being an absolute unbeliever, his critics were mistaken. he held to the doctrine that the mind and the reason are the only guides we have to judge of the authenticity and credibility of all things, natural and divine, and this appears to have been the chief basis on which jefferson's critics based their charges against him. but while these harsh criticisms in some measure misled mr. lemen he never lost his great love for jefferson and to the latest day of his life he always mentioned his name with tenderness and affection. i had hoped to complete this history in one chapter, but there appear to be notes and materials enough for another. by oversight the notes of mr. lemen's war record were not given me, but he honorably served an enlistment of {p. } two years under washington, and returned to his regiment at the siege of yorktown and served until the surrender of cornwallis, but did not re-enlist. chapter ii. at their last meeting at annapolis, maryland, on may , , when the final terms in their agreement as to mr. lemen's mission in illinois were made, both he and jefferson agreed that sooner or later, there would be a great contest to try to fasten slavery on the northwestern territory, and this prophesy was fully verified in spite of the fact that congress, at a later period, passed the ordinance of forever forbidding slavery; two contests arose in illinois, the first to confirm the territory and the second to confirm the state to freedom. [ ]from for several successive congresses gen. william henry harrison, then governor of the northwestern territory, with his legislative council petitioned that body to repeal the anti-slavery clause in the ordinance of and to establish slavery in the territory, but without avail, and finally recognizing that the influence of rev. james lemen, sr., was paramount with the people of illinois, he made persistent overtures for his approval of his pro-slavery petitions, but he declined to act and promptly sent a messenger to indiana, paying him thirty dollars of the jefferson fund given him in virginia to have the church and people there sign a counter petition, meanwhile circulating one in illinois among the baptists and others; and at the next session of congress gen. harrison's pro-slavery petitions for the first time encountered the anti-slavery petitions of the baptist people and others, and the senate, before which the matter went at that time, voted to sustain the anti-slavery petitions and against the repeal of the anti-slavery clause in the ordinance of , and for the time the contest ended. [ ]the next anti-slavery contest was in the narrower limits of the territory of illinois, and it began with the events which called the bethel baptist church into existence. when mr. lemen received president jefferson's message in to proceed at once to organize the next church on an anti-slavery basis and make it the center from which the anti-slavery forces should act to finally make illinois a free state, he decided to act on it; but as he knew it would create a {p. } division in the churches and association, to disarm criticism he labored several months to bring them over to the anti-slavery cause, but finding that impossible he adopted jefferson's advice and prepared to open the contest. the first act was on july , , in regular session of the richland creek baptist church, where the people had assembled from all quarters to see the opening of the anti-slavery contest, when rev. james lemen, sr., arose and in a firm but friendly christian spirit declared it would be better for both sides to separate, as the contest for and against slavery must now open and not close until illinois should become a state. a division of both the association and the churches followed, but finally at a great meeting at the richland creek baptist church in a peaceful and christian manner, as being the better policy for both sides, separation was adopted by unanimous vote and a number of members withdrew, and on dec. , , they formed the "baptist church at canteen creek," (now bethel baptist church). their articles of faith were brief. they simply declared the bible to be the pillar of their faith, and proclaimed their good will for the brotherhood of humanity by declaring their church to be "the baptist church of christ, friends to humanity, denying union and communion with all persons holding the doctrine of perpetual, involuntary, hereditary slavery." [ ]the church, properly speaking, never entered politics, but presently, when it became strong, the members all formed what they called "the illinois anti-slavery league," and it was this body that conducted the anti-slavery contest. it always kept one of its members and several of its friends in the territorial legislature, and five years before the constitutional election in it had fifty resident agents--men of like sympathies--in the several settlements throughout the territory quietly at work, and the masterly manner in which they did their duty was shown by a poll which they made of the voters some few weeks before the election, which, on their side only varied a few votes from the official count after the election. [ ]with people familiar with all the circumstances there is no divergence of views but that the organization of the bethel church and its masterly anti-slavery contest saved illinois to freedom; but much of the credit of the freedom of illinois, as well as for the balance of the territory, was due to thomas jefferson's faithful and efficient aid. true to his promise to mr. lemen that slavery should {p. } never prevail in the northwestern territory or any part of it, he quietly directed his leading confidential friends in congress to steadily defeat gen. harrison's pro-slavery petitions for the repeal of the anti-slavery clause in the ordinance of , and his friendly aid to rev. james lemen, sr., and friends made the anti-slavery contest of bethel church a success in saving the state to freedom. in the preparation of this history, to insure perfect reliability and a well-connected statement, i have examined, selected, and read the numerous family notes myself, dictating, while my secretary has done the writing, and after all was completed we made another critical comparison with all the notes to insure perfect accuracy and trustworthiness. i have had one copy prepared for rev. james lemen, jr., and one for myself. i should have added that of the one hundred dollars of the jefferson funds given him rev. james lemen, sr., used none for his family, but it was all used for other good causes, as it was not mr. lemen's intention to appropriate any of it for his own uses when he accepted it from jefferson's confidential agent in virginia. iii. "how illinois got chicago" (communication from joseph b. lemen, under head of "voice of the people," in _the chicago tribune_ some time in december, .) o'fallon, ill., dec. , . editor of the tribune:--in october, , the rev. james lemen, sr., had a government surveyor make a map showing how the boundary of illinois could be extended northward so as to give a growing state more territory and a better shape and include the watercourses by which lake michigan might be connected with the mississippi river. with these advantages marked in the margin of the map, he gave his plan and map to nathaniel pope, our territorial delegate in congress, to secure the adoption of the plan by that body, which he did. the facts were noted in the rev. j. m. peck's pioneer papers and others, and in commenting on them some of our newspapers have recently charged nathaniel pope with carelessness in not publishing mr. lemen's share in the matter, but unjustly. mr. lemen and mr. pope were ardent friends, and as the former was a preacher and desired no office, and he wished and sought for no private preferment and {p. } promotion, he expressly declared that as mr. pope had carried the measure through congress with such splendid skill he preferred that he should have the credit and not mention where he got the map and plan. rev. benjamin ogle, mr. lemen's brother-in-law, and others mentioned this fact in some of their papers and notes. the omission was no fault of mr. pope's and was contrary to his wish. the present site of chicago was included in the territory added, and that is how illinois got chicago. pioneer. iv. address to the friends of freedom (from _the illinois intelligencer_, august , .) the undersigned, happening to meet at the st. clair circuit court, have united in submitting the following address to the friends of freedom in the state of illinois. feeling it a duty in those who are sincere in their opposition to the toleration of slavery in this territory to use all fair and laudable means to effect that object, we therefore beg leave to present to our fellow-citizens at large the sentiments which prevail in this section of our country on that subject. in the counties of madison and st. clair, the most populous counties in the territory, a sentiment approaching unanimity seems to prevail against it. in the counties of bond, washington, and monroe a similar sentiment also prevails. we are informed that strong exertions will be made in the convention to give sanction to that deplorable evil in our state; and lest such should be the result at too late a period for anything like concert to take place among the friends of freedom in trying to defeat it, we therefore earnestly solicit all true friends to freedom in every section of the territory to unite in opposing it, both by the election of a delegate to congress who will oppose it and by forming meetings and preparing remonstrances against it. indeed, so important is this question considered that no exertions of a fair character should be omitted to defeat the plan of those who wish either a temporary or unlimited slavery. let us also select men to the legislature who will unite in remonstrating to the general government against ratifying such a constitution. at a crisis like this thinking will not do, _acting_ is necessary. from {p. } st. clair county--risdon moore, benjamin watts, jacob ogle, joshua oglesby, william scott, sr., william biggs, geo. blair, charles r. matheny, james garretson, and [ ]william kinney. from madison county--wm. b. whiteside. from monroe county--james lemen, sr. from washington--wm. h. bradsby. v. recollections of a centennarian by dr. williamson f. boyakin, blue rapids, kansas ( - ) (_the standard_, chicago, november , .) the lemen family was of irish [scotch] descent. they were friends and associates of thomas jefferson. it was through his influence that they migrated west. when the lemen family arrived at what they designated as new design, in the vicinity of the present town of waterloo, in monroe county, twenty-five miles southeast of the city of st. louis, illinois was a portion of the state of virginia. [ceded to u. s. two years previous.] thomas jefferson gave them a kind of carte blanche for all the then unoccupied territory of virginia, and gave them $ in gold to be paid to the man who should build the first meeting house on the western frontier.[ ] this rudely-constructed house of worship was built on a little creek named canteen [quentin], just a mile or two south of what is now called collinsville, madison county, illinois. in the mountains of virginia there lived a baptist minister by the name of torrence. this torrence, at an association in virginia, introduced a resolution against slavery. in a speech in favor of the resolution he said, "all friends of humanity should support the resolution." the elder james lemen being present voted for it and adopted it for his motto, inscribed it on a rude flag, and planted it on the rudely-constructed flatboat on which the family floated down the ohio river, in the summer of [ ], to the new design location.[ ] the distinguishing characteristic of the churches and associations that subsequently grew up in illinois [under the lemen influence] was the name "the baptized church of christ, friends to humanity." one {p. } of these lemen brothers, joseph, married a kinney, sister to him who was afterwards governor [lieutenant governor] of the state. this kinney was also a baptist preacher, a kentuckian, and a pro-slavery man.[ ] when the canvass opened in , , and to organize illinois into a state, the lemens and the kinneys were leaders in the canvass. the canvass was strong, long, bitter. the friends to humanity party won. the lemen brothers made illinois what it is, a free state. the lemens were personally fine specimens of the genus homo--tall, straight, large, handsome men--magnetic, emotional, fine speakers. james lemen [junior] was considered the most eloquent speaker of the day of the baptist people. our present educated preachers have lost the hold they should have upon the age in the cultivation of the intellectual instead of the emotional. religion is the motive power in the intellectual guidance of humanity. these lemens were well balanced in the cultivation of the intellect and the control of the emotions. they were well educated for their day, self-educated, great lovers of poetry, hymnal poetry, having no taste for the religious debates now so prevalent in some localities. they attended no college commencements [?]. james lemen, however, at whose grave the monument is to be erected, was for fourteen consecutive years in the senate of the state legislature, and would have been elected united states senator, but he would not accept the position when offered. [this was james, jr., not his father.] personally of fine taste, always well and even elegantly dressed, they rode fine horses, owned fine farms, well cultivated. they lived in rich, elegant style [?]. they were brimful and overflowing with spontaneous hospitality. all were married, with several sisters, and were blessed with large families. almost all of them, parents and descendants, have passed away. old bethel, the church house, and the graveyard, in sight of the old mound, are yet there. note.--dr. boyakin was a physician, baptist minister, and newspaper editor for many years in illinois. he delivered the g. a. r. address at blue rapids, kansas, on his one hundredth birthday. he has confused some things in these "recollections," especially the story concerning the origin of the name "friends to humanity," but for his years his statements are unusually in accord with the facts. vi. {p. } in memory of rev. james lemen, sr. by a well-wisher (_the standard_, chicago, november , ) when james lemen's early anti-slavery baptist churches went over to the cause of slavery, it looked as if all were lost and his anti-slavery mission in illinois had failed. at that crisis mr. lemen could have formed another sect, but in his splendid loyalty to the baptist cause he simply formed another baptist church on the broader, higher grounds for both god and humanity, and on this high plane he unfurled the banner of freedom. in god's good time the churches and state and nation came up to that grand level of right, light, and progress. of james lemen's sons, under his training, robert was an eminent baptist layman, and joseph, james, moses, and josiah were able baptist preachers. [william, the "wayward" son, also became a useful minister in his later years.] altogether they were as faithful a band of men as ever stood for any cause. this is the rating which history places upon them. the country owes james lemen another debt of gratitude for his services to history. he and his sons were the only family that ever kept a written and authentic set of notes of early illinois; and the early historians, ford, reynolds, and peck, drew many of their facts from that source. these notes embraced the only correct histories of both the early methodist and the early baptist churches in illinois and much other early matter.[ ] note.--this communication was probably from dr. w. f. boyakin. vii. statement regarding joseph b. lemen "joseph b. lemen has written editorially for _the new york sun_, _the new york tribune_, _the chicago tribune_, _and the belleville advocate_. "during the mckinley campaign of he wrote editorials from the farmers' standpoint for a number of the metropolitan newspapers of the country at the personal request of mark hanna. "he also wrote editorials for the metropolitan newspapers during the first lincoln campaign." --editor, _belleville advocate_. december, . viii. {p. } historic letter of rev. j. m. peck on the old lemen family notes (from _belleville advocate_, january, ) (clipping in i.b.h.c., k ) to the editor of the belleville advocate: we herewith send the advocate a copy of a letter of the eminent historian and great baptist divine, the late rev. j. m. peck, to his old ministerial associate, the late rev. james lemen, concerning the anti-slavery labors of his father, rev. james lemen, sr., and also his views as to the old lemen family notes, which will perhaps interest your readers. it seems quite appropriate for the advocate to print these old pioneer matters, as it is one of the old pioneer landmarks. rev. james lemen took the paper when it started, under its first name, and it has come to his family or family members at his old home ever since. by order of the family. [joseph b. lemen.] rev. james lemen, sr., and his anti-slavery labors rev. james lemen, ridge prairie, illinois dear brother: at my recent very enjoyable visit at your house you made two important requests, which i will now answer. the first was as to my estimate or judgment of your father's anti-slavery labors, and the second was as to what disposition you had better make of your vast stock of old family notes and papers. considering your questions in the order named, i will write this letter, or more properly, article, under the above heading of "rev. james lemen, sr., and his anti-slavery labors," as the first question is the most important, and then in conclusion i will notice the second. in considering your father's anti-slavery labors, i will proceed upon the facts and evidence obtained outside your old family notes, as it might be presumed that the trend of the notes on that matter would be partial. not that the facts i would use are not found in your family notes, for they appear to cover about every event in our early state and church history; but that i would look for the facts elsewhere to prove the matter, and indeed i can draw largely from my own {p. } knowledge of the facts upon which your father's success as an anti-slavery leader rested. not only from my own personal observation, but scores of the old pioneers, your father's followers and helpers, have given me facts that fully establish the claim that he was the chief leader that saved illinois to freedom. not only the state, but on a wider basis the evidence is very strong that rev. james lemen, sr., largely shared in saving the northwestern territory for free states. this was the estimate that general [governor] william henry harrison placed on his labors in his letter to captain joseph ogle after his term of the governorship had expired. [ ]in his letter to captain ogle he said that, though he and mr. lemen were ardent friends, he [lemen] set his iron will against slavery here and indirectly made his influence felt so strongly at washington and before congress, that all efforts to suspend the anti-slavery clause in the ordinance of failed. but james lemen was not only a factor which saved the anti-slavery clause in the ordinance of , but there is no doubt, after putting all the facts together, ... that his anti-slavery mission to the northwestern territory was inspired by the same cause which finally placed the anti-slavery clause in the ordinance, and that lemen's mission and that clause were closely connected. douglas, trumbull, and lincoln thought so, and every other capable person who had [been] or has been made familiar with the facts. many of the old pioneers to whom the facts were known have informed me that all the statements as to rev. james lemen's anti-slavery teaching and preaching and forming his anti-slavery churches, and conducting the anti-slavery contest, and sending a paid agent to indiana to assist the anti-slavery cause, were all true in every particular; and so the evidence outside and independently of that in the lemen family notes is conclusive that mr. lemen created and organized the forces which finally confirmed illinois, if not the northwestern territory, to freedom. but there was just one fact that made it possible for the old pioneer leader practically single handed and alone to accomplish such results; and that was because president jefferson's great power was behind him, and through his secret influence congress worked for the very purpose that jefferson, more than twenty years before, had sent lemen to illinois, or the northwestern territory, to secure, namely, the freedom of the new {p. } country. the claim that mr. lemen encompassed these great results would, of course, be ridiculous were it not known that the power of the government through jefferson stood behind him. hence douglas, trumbull, and others are correct, and i quite agree with them, that when you publish the old family notes on the matter, if, for reasons you state, you do not wish to publish jefferson's letters to your father which concern the subject, it will be sufficient just to say he acted by and under his advice and aid, and people will accept it, as it is self-evident, because it is preposterous to hold that mr. lemen could have accomplished such results without some great power behind him. in conclusion, it is my judgment that your father's anti-slavery labors were the chief factor leading up to the free state constitution for illinois. now as to your old family notes. they are valuable. in their respective fields, they embrace by far the most trustworthy history in our state. they ought to be preserved, but your generous nature will not permit you to say no; and your friends, as you say, are carrying them off, and they will all be lost, and presently the vast and priceless collection will have disappeared, which will be an unspeakable loss. like your friends, dr. b. f. edwards and j. m. smith, i would advise you to make copies of all to keep for use, and then give smith the old collection to keep and hold in st. louis in his safe, and leave them there for good. this will save you an infinite amount of worry, as people will not trouble you to see the mere copies. it would be a good disposition to make of them, and thus bury that dangerous element in many of the old letters bearing on the anti-slavery contest of . with some of those interested in that contest, in fifty years from this time, the publication of these letters would create trouble between the descendants of many of our old pioneer families. there is a danger lurking in many of these old collections where you would not suspect it. in , when i wrote the first or preliminary part of the bethel church history from your old family notes, now generally referred to as the history of the "jefferson-lemen anti-slavery pact," and part second as the history proper of the church in the letter which was simply the history from its organization in to my pastorate of , i carefully omitted all mention of the anti-slavery contest which gave the church its origin. i {p. } did this so that that part of its history could then be recorded in the church book, which could not have been done had i mentioned the anti-slavery contest; because the bitterness of that period had not yet fully disappeared; and the full history of the church, with the causes creating, and the results flowing from its organization, if recorded or published then, would have aroused considerable ill feeling against the church in some parts of the state. so part second, or the history proper, was only recorded at that time. but having lately completed part third of the bethel church history, showing the results of its organization, i sent it with a copy of part first, or the history of the jefferson lemen anti-slavery pact, to our worthy and noble christian brother, the bethel church clerk, james h. lemen, and the other brother whose name you suggested, and they can place them in safe keeping somewhere until after your old family notes are published, and then they should be recorded in the church book with the church history proper and all the papers be placed with the other church papers. i shall also send them a copy of this letter to be finally placed with the church papers, as it is in part the history of the founder of that church, all parties agreeing that your father created, though of course he did not formally constitute, it. the old church, when all the facts become known, will become noted in history, as it stands as the monument of the contest which began by putting the anti-slavery clause in the ordinance of , and which concluded by making illinois and her neighboring sisters free states. as to the more valuable letters in your family notes and collections, i have kept them securely for you. douglas' and lincoln's letters take very correct views as to your father's anti-slavery labors, and jefferson's two letters to your father disclose his great friendship for him, and show that he placed the greatest confidence and trust in him. poor lovejoy's letter reads as if he had a presentment of his coming doom. there is no more interesting feature in all your old family notes than lincoln's views at your many meetings with him, and your copy of his prayer is beautiful. some of his views on bible themes are very profound; but then he is a very profound thinker. it now looks as if he would become a national leader. would not he and your father have enjoyed a meeting on the slavery question? i put all the letters with the other papers you gave me in a safe {p. } in st. louis, in a friend's care, where i sometimes put my papers. your son, moses, was with me and the check is given in his name. this will enable you to tell your friends that the papers are not now in your custody, and they will not bother you to see them. hoping to see you soon, i remain as ever. fraternally yours, rock spring, ill. july , . j. m. peck. pioneer letters ix. senator douglas's letter (from _belleville advocate_, april , . clipping, i.b.h.c.,--k ) springfield, illinois. mar. , rev. james lemen, collinsville, illinois, dear sir:--in a former letter i wrote you fully as to my views as to the "jefferson-lemen anti-slavery pact," and that there is no doubt but that the anti-slavery contest of your father, rev. james lemen, sr., and the organizing of bethel church as one of the results, eventually led to our free state constitution. i also thank you again for the privilege of reading jefferson's letters to your father, and other papers in connection with the matter, but desire to add a thought or two, or more properly expound [expand] some points in my recent letter. the anti-slavery pact or agreement between the two men and its far reaching results comprise one of the most intensely interesting chapters in our national and state histories. its profound secrecy and the splendid loyalty of jefferson's friends which preserved it, were alike necessary to the success of the scheme as well as for his future preferment; for had it been known that jefferson had sent lemen as his special agent on an anti-slavery mission to shape matters in the territories to his own ends, it would have wrecked his popularity in the south and rendered lemen's mission worse than useless. it has always been a mystery why the pressing demands of governor harrison and his council for the repeal of the anti-slavery clause in the ordinance of which excluded slavery {p. } from the northwest territory, could make no headway before a encession [?] of pro-slavery congress; but the matter is now clear. the great jefferson, through his confidential leaders in congress [held that body back, until mr. lemen, under his orders], had rallied his friends and sent in anti-slavery petitions demanding the maintenance of the clause, when the senate, where harrison's demands were then pending, denied them. so a part of the honor of saving that grand clause which dedicated the territory to freedom, belongs to your father. indeed, considering jefferson's ardent friendship for him and his admiration and approval of his early anti-slavery labors in virginia, which antedated the ordinance of by several years, there is but little doubt but that your father's labors were a factor of influence which quickened if it did not suggest to jefferson the original purpose which finally resulted in putting the original clause in the ordinance. this matter assumes a phase of personal interest with me, and i find myself, politically, in the good company of jefferson and your father. with them, everything turned on whether the people of the territory wanted slavery or not. harrison and his council had informed congress that the people desired it; but jefferson and lemen doubted it, and when the latter assisted in sending in great anti-slavery petitions, jefferson's friends in congress granted the people their wish, and denied harrison's pro-slavery demands. that is, the voice and wishes of the people in the territory were heard and respected, and that appears to me to be the correct doctrine. should you or your family approve it, i would suggest that the facts of the "jefferson-lemen anti-slavery pact" be fully written up and arranged for publication, since they embrace some exceedingly important state and national history, and, in fact, will necessitate a new or larger personal history of jefferson, as these facts will add another splendid chapter to the great story of his marvellous career. if you think the publication of jefferson's letters and suggestions to your father would rather tend to dwarf the legitimate importance of his great religious movement in the formation of our early churches, on account of the wonderful political results of the "anti-slavery pact" it would be sufficient to command belief everywhere just to simply state that in his anti-slavery mission and contest he acted under jefferson's advice {p. } and help; because the consequences were so important and far reaching that it is self-evident he must have had some great and all-prevailing power behind him. i was greatly pained to learn of your illness, in your last letter, but hope this will find you comfortable. yours in confidence, s. a. douglas. i wrote this letter in springfield, but by an over-sight neglected to mail it there. but if you write me in a fortnight, direct to springfield, as i expect to be there then. yours secv. [_sic_] d. x. announcement by j. b. lemen (from _belleville advocate_, april , . clipping, i.b.h.c.,--k ) it was our purpose in this letter [communication] to send the advocate a copy of one of abraham lincoln's letters, and some other matter from him and douglas, from the old family notes of rev. james lemen never yet published; but increased illness, and their greater length, prevented making the copy. in their place, however, we send a copy each of governor edward's and congressman snyder's letters. the prophetic utterances in this letter as to what would fall on mexico's treachery and slavery's insolence, were so literally fulfilled that they emphasized anew congressman snyder's wonderful capabilities in sizing up public questions correctly and reading the coming events of the future, and prove him to have been a statesman of wonderful powers. the next, which will be the concluding article in this series, will contain the copy of lincoln's letter and the other matter above referred to. the typos made one or two slight errors in senator douglas's letter in last week's issue. for "expound" the reader should have read "expand," and at another point the letter should read that "jefferson, through his confidential leaders in congress, held that body back until mr. lemen, under his orders, had rallied his friends and sent in anti-slavery petitions, etc," [joseph b. lemen.] xi. {p. } gov. ninian edwards to rev. james lemen. (from _belleville advocate_, april , . clipping, i.b.h.c.,--k ) vandalia, ill., dec. , . rev. james lemen, collinsville, illinois, dear sir:--having great respect for your influence and reposing perfect confidence in your capable judgment on public affairs, i would be very much pleased to have you call as soon as you arrive here, as i desire to have your views and advice on some important matters. it is my hope, as it will be my pride, that the term upon which i enter shall be marked with a degree of educational interest and progress not hitherto attained in our young commonwealth; and i wish to ask for your counsel and aid in assisting to impress upon the general assembly the importance of such subjects, and the necessity of some further and better legislation on our school matters; and i also wish to consult with you in regard to the matter of the proposed illinois and michigan canal. sincerely your friend, ninian edwards. xii. hon. adam w. snyder to rev. james lemen. (from _belleville advocate_, april , . clipping, i.b.h.c.,--k ) city of washington, jan. , . rev. james lemen, [collinsville, illinois] my dear friend:--to the letter which i wrote you a few days since i wish to add that the members of the illinois delegation in congress have read the letter you recently wrote me, and they are all willing and ready to assist in pressing the cause of the class of claimants whom you mentioned upon the attention of the government for a more liberal and generous allowance of lands. i have no further news to communicate, except that i believe mexico's treachery and insolence will sooner or later call down upon her a severe chastisement from this country; and that our southern friends in congress are growing exasperatingly and needlessly sensitive on the slavery question, claiming that jefferson's {p. } views would sustain their positions, not knowing the splendid secret of your father's (rev. james lemen, sr.) anti-slavery mission under jefferson's orders and advice, which saved illinois and we might say the northwest territory, to freedom. in fact, the demands of slavery, if not controlled by its friends, will eventually put the country into a mood that will no longer brook its insolence and greed. yours in esteem and confidence, a. w. snyder. xiii. abraham lincoln's letter _belleville weekly advocate_, april , the following letter and remarks from abraham lincoln, hitherto unpublished, comprise the fifth letter of the series of old "pioneer letters" which mr. j. b. lemen of o'fallon is sending to the advocate.--ed. springfield, illinois. march , . rev. james lemen, [o'fallon, illinois,] friend lemen: thanking you for your warm appreciation of my views in a former letter as to the importance in many features of your collection of old family notes and papers, i will add a few words more as to elijah p. lovejoy's case. his letters among your old family notes were of more interest to me than even those of thomas jefferson, written to your father. of course they [the latter] were exceedingly important as a part of the history of the "jefferson-lemen anti-slavery pact," under which your father, rev. james lemen, sr., as jefferson's anti-slavery agent in illinois, founded his anti-slavery churches, among which was the present bethel church, which set in motion the forces which finally made illinois a free state, all of which was splendid; but lovejoy's tragic death for freedom in every sense marked his sad ending as the most important single event that ever happened in the new world. both your father and lovejoy were pioneer leaders in the cause of freedom, and it has always been difficult for me to see why your father, who was a resolute, uncompromising, and aggressive leader, who boldly proclaimed his purpose to make both the territory and the state free, never aroused nor encountered any of that mob violence which both in st. {p. } louis and alton confronted or pursued lovejoy, and which finally doomed him to a felon's death and a martyr's crown. perhaps the two cases are a little parallel with those of john and peter. john was bold and fearless at the scene of the crucifixion, standing near the cross receiving the savior's request to care for his mother, but was not annoyed; while peter, whose disposition to shrink from public view, seemed to catch the attention of members of the mob on every hand, until finally to throw public attention off, he denied his master with an oath; though later the grand old apostle redeemed himself grandly, and like lovejoy, died a martyr to his faith. of course, there was no similarity between peter's treachery at the temple and lovejoy's splendid courage when the pitiless mob were closing around him. but in the cases of the two apostles at the scene mentioned, john was more prominent or loyal in his presence and attention to the great master than peter was, but the latter seemed to catch the attention of the mob; and as lovejoy, one of the most inoffensive of men, for merely printing a small paper, devoted to the freedom of the body and mind of man, was pursued to his death; while his older comrade in the cause of freedom, rev. james lemen, sr., who boldly and aggressively proclaimed his purpose to make both the territory and the state free, was never molested a moment by the minions of violence. the madness and pitiless determination with which the mob steadily pursued lovejoy to his doom, marks it as one of the most unreasoning and unreasonable in all time, except that which doomed the savior to the cross. if ever you should come to springfield again, do not fail to call. the memory of our many "evening sittings" here and elsewhere, as we called them, suggests many a pleasant hour, both pleasant and helpful. truly yours, a. lincoln. xiv. the lemen monument and rev. lemen's part in early illinois history (from _belleville advocate_, tuesday, april , . clipping in i.b.h.c.,--k ) the monument to be erected by the baptist people of illinois and others at the grave of rev. james lemen, sr., near waterloo in monroe county, is not only to honor his memory {p. } as a revolutionary soldier, territorial leader, indian fighter, and founder of the baptist cause in illinois, but it is also in remembrance of the fact that he was the companion and co-worker with thomas jefferson in setting in motion the forces which finally recorded the anti-slavery clause in the ordinance of , which dedicated the great northwest territory to freedom and later gave illinois a free state constitution. only recently the society of the sons of the revolution in chicago, after a critical examination of james lemen's military and civil record, by unanimous vote, appropriated twenty-five dollars for his monument fund; and we give below a copy of the papers which they used and which will interest our readers, the first being gen. ainsworth's letter: war department adjutant general's office washington, feb. , . the records show that james lemen served as private in captain george wall's company of the fourth virginia regiment, commanded at various times by major isaac beall and colonels james wood and john neville in the revolutionary war. term of enlistment, one year from march , . f. c. ainsworth, adjt. gen. ("in january , james lemen had his term of enlistment extended for two years and was transferred to another regiment. after his term expired he rejoined his old regiment and served through the siege at yorktown. he was in several engagements.") [j. b. l.] xv. rev. james lemen, sr. (written by rev. john m. peck, in . published in _belleville advocate_, april , . clipping in i.b.h.c.,--k ) rev. james lemen, sr., a son of nicholas lemen and christian lemen, his wife, was born at the family home near harper's ferry, virginia, on november , . he acquired a practical education and in early manhood married miss katherine ogle, of virginia, and they reared a family. he enlisted for a year as a soldier of the revolutionary war, on march , , but had his term extended to two years, and {p. } was in several engagements. sometime after his enlistment expired he rejoined his old comrades and served through the siege at yorktown. from childhood, in a singular manner, james lemen was the special favorite and idol of thomas jefferson, who was a warm friend of his father's family. almost before mr. lemen had reached manhood, jefferson would consult him on all matters, even on great state affairs, and afterwards stated that mr. lemen's advice always proved to be surprisingly reliable. our subject was a born anti-slavery leader, and by his christian and friendly arguments he induced scores of masters in virginia to free their slaves; this quickly caught jefferson's attention and he freely confessed that mr. lemen's influence on him had redoubled his dislike for slavery and, though himself a slaveholder, he most earnestly denounced the institution. the following paragraphs from a letter he wrote to james lemen's brother, robert, who then lived near harper's ferry, virginia, on september , , will disclose that mr. lemen's influence was largely concerned in connection with jefferson's share in the ordinance of , in its anti-slavery clause. the paragraph is as follows:-- "if your brother, james lemen, should visit virginia soon, as i learn he possibly may, do not let him return until he makes me a visit. i will also write him to be sure and see me. [ ]among all my friends who are near, he is still a little nearer. i discovered his worth when he was but a child and i freely confess that in some of my most important achievements his example, wish, and advice, though then but a very young man, largely influenced my action. this was particularly true as to whatever share i may have had in the transfer of our great northwestern territory to the united states, and especially for the fact that i was so well pleased with the anti-slavery clause inserted later in the ordinance of . before any one had ever mentioned the matter, james lemen, by reason of his devotion to anti-slavery principles, suggested to me that we (virginia) make the transfer and that slavery be excluded; and it so impressed and influenced me that whatever is due me as credit for my share in the matter is largely, if not wholly, due to james lemen's advice and most righteous counsel. [ ]his record in the new country has fully justified my course in inducing him {p. } to settle there with the view of properly shaping events in the best interest of the people. if he comes to virginia, see that he calls on me." james lemen did not visit virginia and president jefferson did not get to see him, but his letters to him showed what a great affection he had for his friend and agent. on may , [ ], at annapolis, md., thomas jefferson and james lemen made their final agreement under which he was to settle in illinois to shape matters after jefferson's wishes, but always in the people's interest and for freedom, and particularly, to uphold the anti-slavery policy promised by jefferson and later confirmed by the anti-slavery clause in the ordinance of which principle both jefferson and mr. lemen expected would finally be assailed by the pro-slavery power, and the facts confirmed their judgment. in mr. lemen with his wife and young family settled finally at new design, now in monroe county. [ ]he was a judge under the early territorial law. he finally united with the baptist church and immediately set about collecting the baptists into churches, having the first church constituted at his house. mr. lemen created the first eight baptist churches in illinois, having them especially declare against slavery and intemperance. when general william henry harrison became governor, he and his territorial council went over to pro-slavery influences and demands, and carried mr. lemen's seven churches, which he had then created, with them. for some months he labored to call them to anti-slavery grounds, but failing, he declared for a division and created his eighth church, now bethel church, near collinsville, on strictly anti-slavery grounds; and this event opened the anti-slavery contest in which finally in led to the election of an anti-slavery convention which gave illinois a free state constitution. [ ]jefferson warmly approved mr. lemen's movement and sent his new church twenty dollars, which, with a fund the members collected and gave, was finally transferred to the church treasury without disclosing jefferson's identity. this was done in order not to disturb his friendly relations with the extreme south. but jefferson made no secret of his antipathy for slavery, though unwilling that the fact should be known that he sent james lemen to the new country especially to defend it against slavery, as he knew it would arouse the {p. } resentment of the extreme pro-slavery element against both him and his agent and probably defeat their movement. [ ]james lemen also first suggested the plan to extend the boundary of illinois northward to give more territory and better shape, and had a government surveyor make a map showing the great advantages and gave them to nathaniel pope, our territorial delegate, asking him to present the matter, which he did, and congress adopted the plan. the extension gave the additional territory for fourteen counties and chicago is included. james lemen was a noted indian fighter in illinois, ever ready with his trusty rifle to defend the homes of the early settlers against the savage foe, and in every way he fully justified jefferson's judgment in sending him to look after the best interests of the people in the new territory. mr. lemen possessed every moral and mental attribute in a high degree, and if any one was more marked than another it was his incomparable instinct against oppression, which his wonderful anti-slavery record accentuated as his chief endowment, though in all respects he was well equipped for a leader among men. that instinct, it might be said, fixed his destiny. at jefferson's request he settled in the new territory to finally oppose slavery. that was before the ordinance of with its anti-slavery clause, but mr. lemen had jefferson's assurance beforehand that the territory should be dedicated to freedom; though they both believed the pro-slavery power would finally press for its demands before stated, and the facts proved they were right. the reasons which necessitated the secrecy of the jefferson-lemen anti-slavery pact of may , , under which mr. lemen came to illinois on his anti-slavery mission at jefferson's wish, and which was absolutely necessary to its success at first, no longer exists; and the fear of james lemen's sons that its publication would so overshadow his great church work in illinois with jefferson's wonderful personality, as to dwarf his merits, is largely groundless. senator douglas, who with others is familiar with all the facts, says that when the matter is fully published and well known, it will give to both mr. lemen and jefferson their proper shares of credit and fame; and, while it will add a new star to jefferson's splendid fame, it will carry james lemen along with him as his worthy co-worker and companion. the {p. } subject of our sketch died at his home near waterloo, monroe county, on january th, , and was buried in the family cemetery near by. xvi. old lemen family notes, james lemen history, and some related facts (ms. document in i.b.h.c.,--c . by jos. b. lemen) in , to save the old "lemen family notes" from loss by careless but persistent borrowers, dr. b. f. edwards, of st. louis, and rev. j. m. peck, advised rev. james lemen, jr., to make copies of all and then give the original stock to a friend whom they named to keep as his own in a safe vault in st. louis, if he would pay all storage charges. but at that time he only gave the most important ones to rev. j. m. peck to place temporarily in a safe in st. louis where he sometimes kept his own papers; though some years later he acted on their advice and making copies of all papers and letters of any value, gave the whole original stock to the party mentioned (we do not recall his name, but it is among our papers) [possibly the j. m. smith mentioned in dr. peck's communication to james lemen, jr., july , ] and he placed them in the safe. shortly after this their holder died, and they passed into the hands of others who removed them to another safe somewhere in st. louis; but having no further title in the papers, and having copies of all for use, the family finally lost all traces of the papers and the parties holding them, and have only heard from them two or three times in more than years. a few years ago, when a history of rev. james lemen, jr., and his father, rev. james lemen, sr., was in contemplation, a reputed agent of the parties whom he then claimed held the old family notes, informed us that the family could have them at any time they wished; and we promised some of our friends who wished to see them that after we had used them in connection with the proposed history, the old stock of papers would be placed where they could see and copy them, if they wished. it was intended to have a few of the more important letters photographed for the james lemen history; though it was said that some years before some one had a few of them photographed and they were so indistinct as to be worthless; but we hoped for better results. but it {p. } finally developed that the reputed agent would expect us to pay him (contrary to our first impressions) quite a round sum of money for the restoration and use of the papers before he would deliver them to us. this awakened suspicions as to his reliability and a detective, to whom we sent his name and number for investigation, informed us that no such man could be found; and undoubtedly he was some dishonest person seeking to obtain money under false pretenses. and so the family, as for many years past, now knows nothing as to the parties who hold the papers or where they are. a singular fatality seems to have awaited all the papers placed at dr. peck's disposal or advice. his own papers were generally destroyed or lost, and the old "lemen family notes" placed some years after his death, partly as he had advised, cannot be found. but while dr. peck's lost papers are a distinct and irreparable loss, no loss is sustained in the misplacement of the old lemen notes, as every line or fact of any value in them was copied and the copies are all preserved; and nearly all the more important ones have been published, except a very few, including rev. james lemen's interviews with lincoln, as written up by mr. lemen on ten pages of legal cap paper, and that paper will probably be published soon, if it is not held specially for the james lemen history. as to that history, it will be delayed for some time, as the writer, who was expected to see to its preparation, was named by the state baptist convention as a member of the baptist state committee to assist with the james lemen monument; and much of the matter intended for the history was published in connection with the labors of the state committee. one object of the history was to secure or to influence that degree of recognition of the importance of the services of rev. james lemen, sr. and his sons, with a few co-workers of the latter, in the early history and interests of both the baptist cause and the state, on the part of the baptists, to which the family thought them entitled. but since the baptists, the "sons of the revolution," and others have placed a monument at the grave of the old state leader and baptist pioneer, the rev. james lemen, sr., it is felt that the object for making the history has already been in part realized. another circumstance which has delayed it, is the poor health of the writer; so the prospect is that the making of the history will be delayed for some time. this {p. } is written entirely from memory, as the papers and dates to which we refer are not before me, but we will retain a copy and if there proves to be any errors in this one, we will have them corrected. there was such a demand for them that some of dr. peck's, lovejoy's, douglas's, lincoln's and some other letters were published, and some of them are included in the papers we send. some years ago some one claimed that the old family notes had been found, which led to statements in the papers that they would soon be placed where people could see and read them; but it proved to be a mistake. for the loss of the papers the family do not believe there was any fault with the parties originally holding them, as in fact they had the right to hold them where they pleased, according to the agreement; but that from sudden deaths and other circumstances, they were misplaced. it should be added that every paper of any value, which was given to the st. louis parties to hold was copied and the copies preserved, except mere personal, friendship letters, and of these there was quite a large stock; also that much of dr. peck's writings and many letters of his and others were loaned out and could not be given to the st. louis parties to keep, but all of any real value have been copied or published, except the lemen-lincoln interviews and some others, and that even some of these copies are loaned out, among them copies of letters from dr. peck, douglas, lincoln, lovejoy, if i recall correctly, and others; though the facts or information in them have already been published, except such facts as will be held for the james lemen history, and we have copies of them, so nothing will be lost. (signed) joseph b. lemen. o'fallon, illinois, january , . [n. b. the above communication accompanied the gift of the walnut chest made by the elder james lemen at ft. piggott, which was sent to the custodian of the baptist historical collection at shurtleff college, early in the year --compiler.] references {p. } . see p. . . reynolds "my own times" and "pioneer history of illinois." . see "territorial records of illinois" (illinois state historical library, _publication_, iii.), and compare p. _post_. . see biographical sketches in "lemen family history." . see pp. , . . see pp. , . . see pp. , , . . peck, j. m., "annals of the west," _in loco_. . see p. _post_, and hinsdale, "old northwest." . alvord, "cahokia records," introduction. . reynolds, "my own times," p. . . mcmaster, "people of united states," ii: , ; iii: ; st. clair papers. . blake, "history of slavery," p. . . see p. . . see p. , and compare no. below. . blake, "history of slavery," _in loco_. . see pp. , , . . see p. . . see p. . . see p. , and compare, patterson, "early illinois," fergus historical coll., no. , pp. - . . see pp. , . . reynolds, "my own times," p. . . see p. . . see p. , and compare reference no. . . see p. . . see "centennial history of madison co.," i: - . . see p. . . see p. . . see p. . . see p. . . see p. . . see p. . . _cf._ smith, j. a., "history of the baptists," p. ; benedict, "history of the baptists," ii: - . . see p. . . see pp. , and peck, j. m., "father clark," _in loco_. file was produced from images generously made available by the kentuckiana digital library) a new guide for emigrants to the west, containing sketches of ohio, indiana, illinois, missouri, michigan, with the territories of wisconsin and arkansas, and the adjacent parts. by j. m. peck, a. m. of rock spring, ill boston: gould, kendall & lincoln. for sale by the booksellers in the united states. . entered according to act of congress, in the year , by gould, kendall & lincoln, in the clerk's office of the district court of massachusetts. index. chap. i. general view of the valley of the mississippi. extent--subdivisions--population--physical features--animal, vegetable and mineral productions--history--prospective increase of population, chap. ii. general view, &c., continued. productions, chap. iii. climate. comparative view of the climate with the atlantic states--diseases--means of preserving health, chap. iv. character, manners and pursuits of the people. cotton and sugar planters--farmers--population of the large towns and cities--frontier class--hunters and trappers--boatmen, chap. v. public lands. system of surveys--meridian and base lines--townships--diagram of a township surveyed into sections--land districts and offices--pre-emption rights--military and bounty lands--taxes--valuable tracts of country unsettled, chap. vi. aborigines. conjecture respecting their former numbers and condition-- present number and state--indian territory appropriated as their permanent residence--plan and operations of the u. s. government--missionary efforts and stations--monuments and antiquities, chap. vii. western pennsylvania. face of the country--soil, agriculture and internal improvements--chief towns--pittsburg--coal--sulphur and hot springs--wheeling, chap. viii. michigan. extent--situation--boundaries--face of the country--rivers--lakes, &c.--soil and productions--subdivisions--counties--towns-- detroit--education--internal improvements projected--boundary dispute--outline of the constitution, chap. ix. ohio. boundaries--divisions--face of the country--soil and productions--animals--minerals--financial statistics--canal fund--expenditures--land taxes--school fund--statistics-- canal revenues--population at different periods--internal improvements--manufactures--cities and towns--cincinnati-- columbus--education--form of government--history, chap. x. indiana. boundaries and extent--counties--population--face of the country, &c.--sketch of each county--form of government-- finances--internal improvements--manufactures--education-- history--general remarks, chap. xi. illinois. boundaries and extent--face of the country and qualities of soil--inundated land--river bottoms, or alluvion--prairies-- barrens--forest, or timbered land--knobs, bluffs, ravines and sink holes--rivers, &c.--productions--minerals--lead, coal, salt, &c.--vegetables--animals--manufactures--civil divisions--tabular view of the counties--sketches of each county--towns--alton--projected improvements--education-- government--general remarks, chap. xii. missouri. extent and boundaries--civil divisions--population--surface, soil and productions--towns--st. louis, chap. xiii. arkansas and territorial districts. arkansas.--situation and extent--civil divisions-- rivers--face of the country--soil--water--productions-- climate--minerals--state of society. wisconsin. boundaries and extent--rivers--soil--productions--towns, &c., chap. xiv. literary and religious institutions for the west. colleges--statistical sketch of each religious denomination --roman catholics--field for effort, and progress made-- theological institutions--deaf and dumb asylums--medical institutions--law schools--benevolent and religious societies--periodical press, chap. xv. suggestions to emigrants. modes of travel--canal, steamboat and stage routes--other modes of travel--expenses--roads, distances, &c., introduction. much has been published already about the west,--the great west,--the valley of the mississippi.--but no portion of this immense and interesting region, is so much the subject of inquiry, and so particularly excites the attention of the emigrant, as the states of ohio, indiana, illinois, missouri, and michigan, with the adjacent territorial regions. all these states have come into existence as such, with the exception of ohio, within the last twenty years; and much of the territory, now adorned by the hand of civilization, and spread over with an enterprising, industrious and intelligent people,--the field of public improvements in canals and railways,--of colleges, churches, and other institutions, was the hunting ground of the aborigines, and the scene of border warfare. these states have been unparalleled in their growth, both in the increase of population and property, and in the advance of intellectual and moral improvement. such an extent of forest was never before cleared,--such a vast field of prairie was never before subdued and cultivated by the hand of man, in the same short period of time. cities, and towns, and villages, and counties, and states never before rushed into existence, and made such giant strides, as upon this field. "_who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once?_" isaiah, lxvi. . the rapid increase of population will be exhibited in a tabular form in the following pages, and other parts showing that the general improvement of the country, and the development of its physical, intellectual and moral resources have kept pace with the extension of settlements. and such are its admirable facilities for commerce by its numerous navigable rivers, and its lines of canals, some of which are finished, and many others commenced or projected,--such the richness of its soil, and the variety of its productions,--such the genial nature of its climate,--the enterprise of its population,--and the influence it must soon wield in directing the destinies of the whole united states, as to render the great west an object of the deepest interest to the american patriot. to the philanthropist and christian, the character and manners,--the institutions, literature and religion of so wide a portion of our country, whose mighty energies are soon to exert a controlling influence over the character of the whole nation, and in some measure, of the world, are not less matters of momentous concern. "the west is a young empire of mind, and power, and wealth, and free institutions, rushing up to a giant manhood, with a rapidity and power never before witnessed below the sun. and if she carries with her the elements of her preservation, the experiment will be glorious,--the joy of the nation,--the joy of the whole earth, as she rises in the majesty of her intelligence and benevolence, and enterprise, for the emancipation of the world."--_beecher._ amongst the causes that have awakened the attention of the community in the atlantic states, to this great valley, and excited the desires of multitudes to remove hither, may be reckoned the efforts of the liberal and benevolent to aid the west in the immediate supply of her population with the bible, with sunday schools, with religious tracts, with the gospel ministry, and to lay the foundation for colleges and other literary institutions. hundreds of families, who might otherwise have remained in the crowded cities and densely populated neighborhoods of their ancestors, have had their attention directed to these states as a permanent home. and thousands more of virtuous and industrious families would follow, and fix their future residence on our prairies, and in our western forests, cultivate our wild lands,--aid in building up our towns and cities, and diffuse a healthful moral and intellectual influence through the mass of our present population, could they feel assured that they can reach some portion of the western valley without great risk and expense,--provide for their families comfortably, and not be swept off by sickness, or overwhelmed by suffering, beyond what is incident to any new country. the author's first book, "a guide for emigrants," &c. was written in the winter and spring of , to answer the pressing call then made for information of these western states, but more especially that of illinois;--but many of its particulars, as to the character and usages of the people, manners and customs, modes of erecting buildings, general characteristics and qualities of soil, productions, &c. were applicable to the west generally. since that period, brief as it has been, wide and rapid changes have been made, population has rapidly augmented, beyond that of any former period of the same extent;--millions of acres of the public domain, then wild and hardly explored, have been brought into market; settlements and counties have been formed, and populous towns have sprung up where, at that time, the indian and wild beast had possession; facilities for intercommunication have been greatly extended, and distant places have been brought comparatively near; the desire to emigrate to the west has increased, and everybody in the atlantic states has become interested and inquires about the great valley. that respectable place, so much the theme of declamation and inquiry abroad, "_the far west_," has gone from this region towards the setting sun. its exact locality has not yet been settled, but probably it may soon be found along the gulf of california, or near nootka sound. and if distance is to be measured by time, and the facility of intercourse, we are now several hundred miles nearer the atlantic coast than twenty years since. ten years more, and the facilities of railways and improved machinery will place the mississippi within seven day's travel of boston,--six days of washington city, and five days of charleston, s. c. to give a brief, and yet correct account of a portion of this great valley, its resources, the manners and customs of its inhabitants, its political subdivisions, cities, commercial and other important towns, colleges and other literary institutions, religious condition, public lands, qualities of soil and general features of each state and territory named in the title page, together with such information as may form a kind of manual for the emigrant and man of business, or which may aid him on his journey hither, and enable him to surmount successfully the difficulties of a new country, is the object of this new work. in accomplishing this task the author has aimed at _correctness_ and _brevity_. to condense the particular kind of information called for by the public mind in a small space, has been no easy task. nor has it been a small matter to collect from so wide a range as five large states, and two extensive territories, with other large districts, the facts and statistical information often found in the compass of less than a page. it is an easy task to a belles-lettre scholar, sitting at his desk, in an easy chair, and by a pleasant fire, to write "histories," and "geographies," and "sketches," and "recollections," and "views," and "tours" of the western valley,--but it is quite another concern to explore these regions, examine public documents, reconcile contradictory statements, correspond with hundreds of persons in public and private life, read all the histories, geographies, tours, sketches, and recollections that have been published, and correct their numerous errors,--then collate, arrange, digest, and condense the facts of the country. those who have read his former "guide for emigrants," will find upon perusal, that this is radically a _new work_--rather than a new edition. its whole plan is changed; and though some whole pages of the former work are retained, and many of its facts and particulars given in a more condensed form, much of that work being before the public in other forms, he has been directed, both by his own judgment, and the solicitude of the public mind in the atlantic states, to give to the work its present form and features. there are three classes of persons in particular who may derive advantage from this guide. . all those who intend to remove to the states and territories described. such persons, whether citizens of the atlantic states, or natives of europe, will find in this small volume, much of that species of information for which they are solicitous. it has been a primary object of the author throughout this work, to furnish the outline of facts necessary for this class. he is aware also that much in detail will be desired and eagerly sought after, which the portable and limited size of this little work could not contain; but such information may be found in the larger works, by hall, flint, darby, schoolcraft, long, and other authors and travellers. those who desire more specific and detailed descriptions of illinois, will be satisfied probably with the author's gazetteer of that state, published in , and which can be had by application to the author, or to the publishers of this work. . this guide is also designed for those, who, for either pleasure, health or business, intend to travel through the western states. such are now the facilities of intercommunication between the eastern and western states, and to most points in the valley of the mississippi, that thousands are visiting some portions of this interesting region every month. some knowledge of the routes that lead to different parts of this valley, the lines of steamboats and stages, cities, towns, public institutions, manners and customs of the people, &c., is certainly desirable to all who travel. such persons may expect a correct, and it is hoped, a pleasant guide in this book. . there is a numerous class of persons in the atlantic states, who desire to know more about the great west and to have a book for reference, who do not expect to emigrate here. many are deeply interested in its moral welfare. they have cheerfully contributed to establish and build up its literary and religious institutions, and yet from want of access to those facts which exist amongst us, their information is but partial and limited. the author in his travels in the atlantic states has met with many persons, who, though well informed on other subjects, are surprisingly ignorant of the actual condition, resources, society, manners of the people, and even the geography of these states and territories. the author is aware of the difficulty of conveying entirely correct ideas of this region to a person who has never travelled beyond the borders of his native state. the laws and habits of associating ideas in the human mind forbid it. the chief source of information for those states that lie on the mississippi, has been the personal observation of the author,--having explored most of the settlements in missouri and illinois, and a portion of indiana and ohio,--having spent more than eighteen years here, and seen the two former states, from an incipient territorial form of government, and a few scattered and detached settlements, arise to their present state of improvement, population, wealth and national importance. his next source of information has been from personal acquaintance and correspondence with many intelligent citizens of the states and territories he describes. reference has also been had to the works of hall, flint, darby, breckenridge, beck, long, schoolcraft, lewis and clarke, mitchell's and tanner's maps, farmer's map of michigan, turnbull's map of ohio, the ohio gazetteer, the indiana gazetteer, dr. drake's writings, mr. coy's annual register of indian affairs, ellicott's surveys, and several periodicals. j. m. p. _rock spring, illinois, january, ._ chapter i. general view of the valley of the mississippi. its extent,--subdivisions,--population,--physical features,--animal, vegetable and mineral productions,--history,--prospective increase of population. the valley of the mississippi, in its proper geographical extent, embraces all that portion of the united states, lying between the alleghany and rocky mountains, the waters of which are discharged into the gulf of mexico, through the mouths of the mississippi. i have embraced, however, under that general term, a portion of the country bordering on the northern lakes, including the north part of ohio, the north-eastern portions of indiana and illinois, the whole of michigan, with a considerable territorial district on the west side of lake michigan, and around lake superior. _extent._ this great valley is one of the largest divisions of the globe, the waters of which pass one estuary. to suppose the united states and its territory to be divided into three portions, the arrangement would be, the atlantic slope--the mississippi basin, or valley--and the pacific slope. a glance on any map of north america, will show that this valley includes about two thirds of the territory of the united states. the atlantic slope contains about , ; the pacific slope, about , ; which, combined, are , square miles: while the valley of the mississippi contains at least , , square miles, or , , acres. this valley extends from the ° to the ° of n. latitude, or about miles from south to north; and from the ° to the ° of longitude west from washington, or about miles from east to west. from the source of the alleghany river to the sources of the missouri, following the meanderings of the streams, is not less than miles. _subdivisions._ the states and territories included, are a small section of new york watered by the heads of the alleghany river, western pennsylvania, western virginia, ohio, indiana, illinois, missouri, michigan, kentucky, tennessee, mississippi, louisiana, territory of arkansas, indian territory, the vast unsettled regions lying to the west and north of this territory, the wisconsin territory including an extensive country west of the mississippi and north of the state of missouri, with the vast regions that lie towards the heads of the mississippi, and around lake superior.[ ] _population._ the following table, gives a comparative view of the population of the valley of the mississippi, and shows the proportional increase of the several states, parts of states, and territories, from to the close of , a period of years. the column for is made up partly from the census taken in several states and territories, and partly by estimation. it is sufficiently accurate for general purposes. states, parts of | | | | | | states and | | | | | | territories. | | | | | | ====================+=======+=======+=========+=========+=========+========== western pennsylvania| , | , | , | , | , | , and a fraction of | | | | | | new york.} | | | | | | western virginia | , | , | , | , | , | , ohio | [_a_] , | , | , | , | , , indiana | | | , | , | , | , illinois | | | , | , | , | , missouri | | [_b_] , | , | , | , michigan | | | , | , | , | , kentucky | , | , | , | , | , | , tennessee | , | , | , | , | , | , mississippi | [_c_] , | , | , | , | , louisiana | | | , | , | , | , arkansas territory | | | | , | , | , [_e_]wisconsin ter. | | | | | | and new purchase | | | | [_d_] , | , --------------------+-------+-------+---------+---------+---------+--------- total | , | , | , , | , , | , , | , , ====================+=======+=======+=========+=========+=========+========= _a_ including indiana, illinois, and michigan. _b_ including arkansas. _c_ including alabama. _d_ included with michigan in the census of . _e_: the country west of the mississippi, and north of the state of missouri, was ceded by the sauk indians, sept. . it now contains about inhabitants. probably there is no portion of the globe, of equal extent, that contains as much of soil fit for cultivation, and which is capable of sustaining and supplying with all the necessaries and conveniences, and most of the luxuries of life, so dense a population as this great valley. deducting one third of its surface for water and desert, which is a very liberal allowance, and there remains , square miles, or , , acres of arable land. let it become as populous as massachusetts, which contains , inhabitants on an area of , square miles, or seventy-eight to every acres, and the population of this immense region will amount to , , . the child is now born which will live to see this result. suppose its population to become equally dense with england, including wales, which contains to the square mile, and its numbers will amount to , , . but let it become equal to the netherlands, the most populous country on the globe, containing to the square mile, and the valley of the mississippi teems with a population of millions, a result which may be had in the same time that new england has been gathering its two millions. what reflections ought this view to present to the patriot, the philanthropist, and the christian. _physical features._ the physical features of this valley are peculiar. . it includes two great inclined planes, one on its eastern, and the other on its western border, terminating with the mississippi. . this river receives all the waters produced on these slopes, which are discharged by its mouths into the gulf of mexico. . every part of this vast region can be penetrated by steamboats, or other water craft; nor is there a spot in all this wide region, excepting a small district in the vast plains of upper missouri, that is more than one hundred miles from some navigable water. a boat may take in its lading on the banks of the chatauque lake, in the state of new york; another may receive its cargo in the interior of virginia; a third may start from the rice lakes at the head of the mississippi; and a fourth may come laden with furs from the chippewan mountains, , miles up the missouri, and all meet at the mouth of the ohio, and proceed in company to the ocean. . with the exception of its eastern and western borders, there are no mountains. some portions are level, a large part is gently undulating, or what in the west is called "rolling," and the remainder is made up of abrupt hills, flint and limestone ridges, bluffs, and ravines. . it is divided into two great portions, the upper, and lower valley, according to its general features, climate, staple productions, and habits of its population. the parallel of latitude that cuts the mouth of the ohio river, will designate these portions with sufficient accuracy. north of this line the seasons are regularly divided into spring, summer, autumn, and winter. in the winter there is usually more or less snow, ice forms and frequently blocks up the rivers, navigation is obstructed, and cotton is not produced in sufficient quantity or quality to make it a staple for exportation. it is the region of furs, minerals, tobacco, hemp, live stock, and every description of grain and fruit that grows in new england. its white population are mostly accustomed to labor. south of this line, cotton, tobacco, indigo, and sugar are staples. it has little winter, snow seldom covers the earth, ice never obstructs the rivers, and most of the labor is done by slaves. _rivers._ the rivers are, the mississippi and its tributaries, or more correctly, the missouri and its tributaries. if we except the amazon, no river can compare with this for length of its course, the number and extent of its tributaries, the vast country they drain, and their capabilities for navigation. its tributaries generally issue either from the eastern or western mountains, and flow over this immense region, diffusing not only fertility to the soil, but affording facilities for commerce a great part of the year. the missouri is unquestionably the main stream, for it is not only longer and discharges a larger volume of water than the mississippi above its mouth, but it has branches, which, for the extent of country they drain, their length, and the volume of water they discharge, far exceed the upper mississippi. the characteristics of these two rivers are each distinctly marked. the missouri is turbid, violent in its motions, changing its currents; its navigation is interrupted or made difficult by snags, sawyers and planters, and it has many islands and sand-bars. such is the character of the mississippi below the mouth of the missouri. but above its mouth, its waters are clear, its current gentle, while it is comparatively free from snags and sand-bars. the missouri, which we have shown to be the principal stream, rises in the chippewan, or rocky mountains in latitude ° north, and longitude about ° west from washington city. it runs a northeast course till after it receives the yellow stone, when it reaches past the ° of latitude, thence an east, then a south, and finally a southeastern course, until it meets the current of the mississippi, miles above st. louis, and in latitude ° ' north. besides numerous smaller streams, the missouri receives the yellow stone and platte, which of themselves, in any other part of the world, would be called large rivers, together with the sioux, kansau, grand, chariton, osage, and gasconade, all large and navigable rivers. its length, upon an entire comparative course, is miles, and upon a particular course, about miles. lewis and clark make the distance from the mississippi to the great falls, miles. there are several things in some respects peculiar to this river, which deserve notice. . its current is very rapid, usually at the rate of four or five miles an hour, when at its height; and it requires a strong wind to propel a boat with a sail against it. steam overcomes its force, for boats ply regularly from st. louis to the towns and landings on its banks within the borders of the state, and return with the produce of the country. small steamboats have gone to the yellow stone for furs. owing to the shifting of its current, and its snags and sand-bars, its navigation is less safe and pleasant than any other western river, but these difficulties are every year lessened by genius and enterprise. . its water is always turbid, being of a muddy, ash color, though more so at its periodical rise than at other times. this is caused by extremely fine sand, received from the neighborhood of the yellow stone. during the summer flood, a tumbler of water taken from the missouri, and precipitated, will produce about one fourth of its bulk in sediment. this sediment does not prevent its habitual use by hundreds who live on its banks, or move in boats over its surface. some filtrate it, but many more drink it, and use it for culinary purposes, in its natural state. when entirely filtrated, it is the most limpid and agreeable river water i ever saw. its specific gravity then, is about equal to rain water; but in its turbid state, it is much heavier than ordinary river water, for a boat will draw three or four inches less in it than in other rivers, with the same lading, and the human body will swim in it with but very little effort. it possesses some medicinal properties. placed in an open vessel and exposed to the summer's sun, it remains pure for weeks. eruptions on the skin and ulcerous sores are cured by wading or frequent bathings, and commonly it produces slight cathartic effects upon strangers upon its first use. the width of the missouri river at st. charles, is yards. its alluvial banks however are insecure, and are not unfrequently washed away for many yards at its annual floods. the bed of its channel is also precarious, and is elevated or depressed by the deposition or removal of its sandy foundation. hence the elevation or depression of the surface of this river, affords no criterion of its depth, or of the volume of water it discharges at any one period. undulatory motions, like the boiling of a pot, are frequently seen on its surface, caused by the shifting of the sand that forms its bed. the volume of water it ordinarily discharges into the mississippi is vastly disproportionate to its length, or the number and size of its tributaries. i have seen less than six feet depth of water at st. charles at a low stage, and it was once forded by a soldier, at bellefontaine, four miles above its junction with the mississippi. evaporation takes up large quantities, but absorption throughout the porous soil of its wide bottoms consumes much more. in all the wells dug in the bottom lands of the missouri, water is always found at the depth of the surface of the river, and invariably rises or sinks with the floods and ebbings of the stream. volumes of sand frequently enter these wells as the river rises. its periodical floods deserve notice. ordinarily this river has three periods of rising and falling each year. the first rise is caused by the breaking up of winter on the gasconade, osage, kansau, chariton, grand, and other branches of the lower missouri, and occurs the latter part of february, or early in march. its second rise is usually in april, when the platte, yellow stone, and other streams pour into it their spring floods. but the flood that more usually attracts attention takes place from the th to the th of june, when the melting snows on the chippewan mountains pour their contents into the missouri. this flood is scarcely ever less than five, nor more than feet at st. louis, above the ordinary height of the river. on two occasions, however, since the country was known to the french, it has arisen to that height in the mississippi as to flow over the american bottom in illinois, and drive the inhabitants of cahokia and kaskaskia from their villages to the bluffs. rain in greater or less quantities usually falls during the rise of the river, and ceases when the waters subside. so uniform is this the case in upper missouri, the region beyond the boundary of the state, that the seasons are divided into wet and dry. pumice stones and other volcanic productions occasionally float down its waters. _mississippi river._ the extreme head of the longest branch of the mississippi river, has been found in lake itaska, or lac la biche, by mr. schoolcraft, who states it to be elevated feet above the atlantic ocean, and distant , miles from the extreme outlet of the river at the gulf of mexico. the outlet of itaska lake, which is connected with a string of small lakes, is ten or twelve feet broad, and twelve or fifteen inches deep. this is in latitude about ° north. from this it passes cedar and several smaller lakes, and runs a winding course, miles, to the falls of st. anthony, where its waters are precipitated over a cataract of or feet perpendicular. it then continues a southeastern course to the missouri, in n. lat, ° ', receiving the st. croix, chippewa, wisconsin, rock and illinois rivers, with many smaller streams from the east, and the st. peter's, iowa, des moines, and salt rivers, besides a number of smaller ones from the west. the current of the missouri strikes that of the mississippi at right angles, and throws it upon the eastern shore. when at a low stage, the waters of the two rivers are distinct till they pass st. louis. the principal branch of the upper mississippi, is the st. peter's, which rises in the great prairies in the northwest, and enters the parent stream ten miles below the falls of st. anthony. towards the sources of this river the quarries exist from which are made the red stone pipes of the indians. this is sacred ground. hostile tribes meet here, and part unmolested. rock river drains the waters from the northern part of illinois and wisconsin, and enters the parent stream at ° ' north latitude. in latitude ° comes in the illinois, signifying the "river of men;" and eighteen miles below this, it unites with, and is lost in the missouri. custom has fixed unalterably, the name _mississippi_, to this united body of waters, that rolls its turbid waves towards the mexican gulf; though, as has been intimated, it is but a continuation of the missouri. sixty miles below st. louis, the kaskaskia joins it, after a devious course of miles. in ° north latitude, the ohio pours in its tribute, called by the early french explorers, "la belle rivière," the beautiful river. a little below °, the white river enters after a course of more than , miles. thirty miles below that, the arkansas, bringing its tribute from the confines of mexico, pours in its waters. above natchez, the yazoo from the east, and eighty miles below, the red river from the west, unite their waters with the mississippi. red river takes its rise in the mexican dominions, and runs a course of more than , miles. hitherto, the waters in the wide regions of the west have been congregating to one point. the "father of waters," is now upwards of a mile in width, and several fathoms deep. during its annual floods, it overflows its banks below the mouth of the ohio, and penetrates the numerous bayous, lakes, and swamps, and especially on its western side. in many places these floods extend thirty or forty miles into the interior. but after it receives the red river, it begins to throw off its surplus waters, which flow in separate channels to the gulf, and never again unite with the parent stream. several of these communications are held with the ocean at different and distant points. _ohio river._ the ohio river is formed by the junction of the alleghany and monongahela, at pittsburg. the alleghany river rises not far from the head of the western branch of the susquehannah, in the highlands of mckean county, pennsylvania. it runs north till it penetrates cataraugus county, new york, then turns west, then southwest, and finally takes a southern course to pittsburg. it receives a branch from the chatauque lake, chatauque county, new york. the monongahela rises near the sources of the kenhawa, in western virginia, and runs north till it meets the alleghany. the general course of the ohio is southwest. its current is gentle, and it receives a number of tributaries, which are noticed in the states where they run. the valley of the mississippi has been arranged by mr. darby, into four great subdivisions. . the _ohio valley_, length miles, and mean width ; containing , square miles. . _mississippi valley_, above ohio, including the minor valley of illinois, but exclusive of missouri, miles long, and mean width, and containing , square miles. . _lower valley of the mississippi_, including white, arkansas, and red river vallies, , miles long, and wide, containing , square miles. . _missouri proper_, including osage, kansau, platte rivers, &c. , miles long, and wide, containing , square miles. "the _valley of the ohio_ is better known than any of the others; has much fertile land, and much that is sterile, or unfit for cultivation, on account of its unevenness. it is divided into two unequal portions, by the ohio river; leaving on the right or northwest side , , and on the left or southeast side, , square miles. the eastern part of this valley is hilly, and rapidly acclivous towards the appalachian mountains. indeed its high hills, as you approach these mountains, are of a strongly marked mountainous character. of course the rivers which flow into the ohio--the monongahela, kenhawa, licking, sandy, kentucky, green, cumberland, and tennessee--are rapid, and abounding in cataracts and falls, which, towards their sources, greatly impede navigation. the western side of this valley is, also, hilly for a considerable distance from the ohio, but towards its western limit, it subsides to a remarkably level region. so that whilst the eastern line of this valley lies along the high table land, on which the appalachian mountains rest, and where the rivers of the eastern section of this valley rise, which is at least , miles generally above the ocean level; the western line has not an elevation of much more than half of that amount on the north, and which greatly subsides towards the kaskaskia. the rivers of the western section are beaver, muskingum, hockhocking, scioto, miami, and wabash. along the ohio, on each side, are high hills, often intersected with deep ravines, and sometimes openings of considerable extent, and well known by the appellation of "ohio hills." towards the mouth of the ohio, these hills almost wholly disappear, and extensive level bottoms, covered with heavy forests of oak, sycamore, elm, poplar, and cotton wood, stretch along each side of the river. on the lower section of the river, the water, at the time of the spring floods, often overflows these bottoms to a great extent. this fine valley embraces considerably more than one half of the whole population of the entire valley of the west. the western parts of pennsylvania and virginia, the entire states of ohio, indiana, and kentucky, the larger part of tennessee, and a smaller part of illinois, are in the valley of the ohio." _the upper valley of the mississippi_ possesses a surface far less diversified than the valley of the ohio. the country where its most northern branches take their rise, is elevated table land, abounding with marshes and lakes, that are filled with a graniferous vegetable called wild rice. it is a slim, shrivelled grain of a brownish hue, and gathered by the indians in large quantities for food. there are tracts of arable land covered with elm, linden, pine, hemlock, cherry, maple, birch and other timber common to a northern climate. from the same plateau flow the numerous branches of red river, and other streams that flow into lake winnipeck, and thence into hudson's bay. here, too, are found some of the head branches of the waters of st. lawrence, that enter the lake of the woods, and superior. in the whole country of which we are speaking, there is nothing that deserves the name of mountain. below the falls of st. anthony the river bluffs are often abrupt, wild and romantic, and at their base and along the streams are thousands of quartz crystals, carnelians and other precious stones. but a short distance in the rear, you enter upon table land of extensive prairies, with clumps of trees, and groves along the streams. further down, abrupt cliffs and overhanging precipices are frequently seen at the termination of the river alluvion. the whole country northwest of the ohio and east of the mississippi, as far north as the falls of st. anthony, exhibits striking marks of a diluvial formation, by a gradual retiring of the waters. from the summit level that divides the waters of the lakes from those of the mississippi, through ohio, indiana, illinois, and wisconsin, which is scarcely a perceptible ridge, to the south point of illinois at the junction of the ohio and mississippi, appears to have once been a plane with an inclination equal to or inches per mile. the ravines and vallies appear to have been gradually scooped out by the abrasion of the waters. "the _lower mississippi valley_, has a length of , miles, from northwest to southeast, considering the source of the arkansas, and the mouth of the mississippi river as extreme points; reaching from north latitude ° to °, and without estimating mountains, ridges, or peaks, differs in relative elevation at least feet. "the _arkansas river_ rises near north latitude °, and longitude ° west from washington, and falls into the mississippi at ° ', passing over eight degrees of latitude. "_red river_ rises in the mountainous country of mexico, north of texas, in north latitude °; and west longitude ° from washington, and falls into the mississippi in latitude °. they are both remarkable rivers for their extent, the number of their branches, the volume of their waters, the quantity of alluvion they carry down to the parent stream, and the color of their waters. impregnated by saline particles, and colored with ocherous earth, the waters of these two rivers are at once brackish and nauseous to the taste, particularly near their mouths; that of red river is so much so at natchitoches at low water that it cannot be used for culinary purposes. "at a short distance below the mouth of the red river, a large bayou, (as it is called,) or outlet, breaks from the mississippi on the west; by which, it is believed, that as large a volume of water as the red river brings to the parent river, is drained off, and runs to the gulf of mexico, fifty miles from the mouth of the mississippi. the name of this bayou is atchafalaya, or as it is commonly called, _chaffalio_. below this bayou, another of large dimensions breaks forth on the same side, and finally falls into the atchafalaya. this is the placquemine. still lower, at donaldsonville, ninety miles above new orleans, on the same side, the lafourche bayou breaks out, and pursues a course parallel to the mississippi, fifty miles west of the mouth of that river. on the east side, the ibberville bayou drains off a portion of the waters of the mississippi, into lakes maurepas, ponchartrain, borgnes, and the gulf of mexico, and thus forms the long and narrow island of orleans. "in the lower valley of the mississippi there is a great extent of land of the very richest kind. there is also much that is almost always overflown with waters, and is a perpetual swamp. there are extensive prairies in this valley; and towards the rocky mountains; on the upper waters of the arkansas and red rivers, there are vast barren steppes or plains of sand, dreary and barren, like the central steppes of asia. on the east of the mississippi, are extensive regions of the densest forests, which form a striking contrast with the prairies which stretch on the west of that great river. "_the valley of the missouri_ extends miles in length, and in width, and embraces , square miles. the missouri river rises in the chippewan mountains, through eight degrees, or nearly miles. the yellow stone is its longest branch. the course of the missouri, after leaving the rocky mountains, is generally southeast, until it unites with the mississippi. the principal branches flow from the southwest. they are the osage, kansas, platte, &c. the three most striking features of this valley are, st. the turbid character of its waters. d. the very unequal volumes of the right and left confluences. d. the immense predominance of the open prairies, over the forests which line the rivers. the western part of this valley rises to an elevation towards the chippewan mountains, equal to ten degrees of temperature. ascending from the lower verge of this widely extended plain, wood becomes more and more scarce, until one naked surface spreads on all sides. even the ridges and chains of the chippewan, partake of these traits of desolation. the traveller, who has read the descriptions of central asia, by tooke or pallas, will feel on the higher branches of the missouri, a resemblance, at once striking and appalling; and he will acknowledge, if near to the chippewan mountains in winter, that the utmost intensity of frost over siberia and mongolia, has its full counterpart in north america, on similar, if not on lower latitudes. there is much fertile land in the valley of the missouri, though much of it must be forever the abode of the buffalo and the elk, the wolf and the deer.[ ] footnotes: [ ] why the names huron, mandan, sioux, osage, and _ozark_ have been applied by darby and other authors, to the extensive regions on the upper mississippi, the upper missouri, and the arkansas rivers, i am not able to solve. _osage_ is a french corruption of _wos-sosh-ee_, and _ozark_ is an awkward, illiterate corruption of osage. _sioux_ is another french corruption, the origin of which is not now easily ascertained. carver and other travellers, call this nation of indiana nau-do-wes-sees. chiefs of this nation have repeatedly disclaimed the name of sioux, (pronounced soos.) they sometimes call themselves da-co-tah. [ ] darby. chapter ii. general view of the valley of the mississippi. (continued.) productions. _minerals._--but few mines exist in the lower valley of the mississippi. _louisiana_, being chiefly alluvion, furnishes only two specimens, sulphuret of antimony, and meteoric iron ore. it is supposed that the pine barrens towards texas, if explored, would add to the number. the only minerals in _mississippi_, are amethyst, of which one crystal has been found; potter's clay, at the chickasaw bluffs, and near natchez; sulphuret of lead in small quantities, about port gibson; and sulphate of iron. petrified trunks of trees are found in the bed of the mississippi, opposite natchez. in arkansas territory are various species. here may be found the native magnet, or magnetic oxide of iron, possessing strong magnetic power. iron ores are very abundant. sulphate of copper, sulphuret of zinc, alum, and aluminous slate are found about the cove of washitau, and the hot springs. buhr stone of a superior quality exists in the surrounding hills. the hot springs are interesting on account of the minerals around them, the heat of their waters, and as furnishing a retreat to valetudinarians from the sickly regions of the south. they are situated on the washitau, a large stream that empties itself into red river. the _lead mines_ of missouri have been worked for more than a century. they are distributed through the country from thirty to one hundred miles southwest from st. louis, and probably extend through the gasconade country. immense quantities of iron ore exist in this region. lead is found in vast quantities in the northern part of illinois, the south part of the wisconsin territory, and the country on the opposite side of the mississippi. these mines are worked extensively. native copper in large quantities is found in the same region. large quantities of iron ore is found in the mountainous parts of tennessee and kentucky, where furnaces and forges have been erected. also, in the hilly parts of ohio, particularly at the falls of licking four miles west of zanesville, and in adams and lawrence counties near the ohio river. with _iron ore_ the west is profusely supplied. _bituminous coal_ exists in great profusion in various parts of the western valley. the hills around pittsburg are inexhaustible. it extends through many portions of ohio and indiana. nearly every county in illinois is supplied with this valuable article. missouri, kentucky, and tennessee have their share. immense quantities are found in the mountains along the kenhawa, in western virginia, and it is now employed in the manufacture of salt. the cumberland mountains in tennessee contain immense deposits. _muriate of soda_ or common salt, exists in most of the states and territories of this valley. near the sources of the arkansas incrustations are formed by evaporation during the dry season, in the depressed portions of the immense prairies of that region. the celebrated salt rock is on the red fork of the canadian, a branch of the arkansas river. jefferson lake has its water strongly impregnated with salt, and is of a bright red color. beds of rock salt are in the mountains of this region. several counties of missouri have abundant salt springs. considerable quantities of salt are manufactured in jackson, gallatin and vermillion counties, illinois. saline springs, and "licks" as they are called, abound through kentucky, tennessee, indiana, ohio, western pennsylvania, and western virginia. salt is manufactured in great abundance at the kenhawa salines, miles above charlestown, va., and brought down the kenhawa river and carried to all the western states. much salt is made also on the kiskiminitas, a branch of the alleghany river, at the yellow creek above steubenville, and in the scioto country in ohio. the water is frequently obtained by boring through rock of different strata, several hundred feet deep. copper, antimony, manganese, and several other minerals are found in different parts of the west, but are not yet worked. _nitrate of potash_ is found in great abundance in the caverns of kentucky and tennessee, also in missouri, from which large quantities of saltpetre are manufactured. _sulphate of magnesia_ is found in kentucky, indiana, and perhaps other states. sulphur and other mineral springs are very common in the western states. _vegetable productions._--_trees, &c._ almost every species of timber and shrub common to the atlantic states is found in some part of the western valley. the cotton wood and sycamore are found along all the rivers below the ° of n. latitude. the cypress begins near the mouth of the ohio and spreads through the alluvion portions of the lower valley. the magnolia, with its large, beautiful flower, grows in louisiana, and the long leaf pine flourishes in the uplands of the same region. the sugar maple abounds in the northern and middle portions. the chestnut is found in the eastern portion of the valley as far as indiana, but not a tree is known to exist in a natural state west of the wabash river. yellow or pitch pine, grows in several counties of missouri, especially on the gasconade, from whence large quantities of lumber are brought to st. louis. white pine from the alleghany river is annually sent to all the towns on the ohio, and further down. considerable quantities of white pine grow on the upper mississippi, along the western shore of michigan, about green bay, and along the shores of lake superior. the yellow poplar, (liriodendron tulipifera) is a majestic tree, valuable for light boards, and may be found in some parts of most of the western states. the beech tree is frequently found in company. the live oak, so valuable in ship building, is found south of the °, and along the louisiana coast. the orange, fig, olive, pine apple, &c. find a genial climate about new orleans. high in the north we have the birch, hemlock, fir, and other trees peculiar to a cold region. amongst our fruit bearing trees we may enumerate the walnut, hickory or shag bark, persimmon, pecan, mulberry, crab apple, pawpaw, wild plum, and wild cherry. the vine grows everywhere. of the various species of oak, elm, ash, linden, hackberry, &c. it is unnecessary to speak. where forests abound, the trees are tall and majestic. in the prairie country, the timber is usually found on the streams, or in detached groves. in the early settlement of kentucky there were found, south of green river, large tracts, with stunted scattering trees intermixed with hazel and brushwood. from this appearance it was inferred that the soil was of inferior quality, and these tracts were denominated "barrens." subsequently, it was found that this land was of prime quality. the term "barrens" is now applied extensively in the west to the same description of country. it distinguishes an intermediate grade from forest and prairie. a common error has prevailed abroad that our prairie land is wet. _prairie_ is a french word signifying _meadow_, and is applied to any description of surface, that is destitute of timber and brushwood, and clothed with grass. wet, dry, level, and undulating, are terms of description merely, and apply to prairies in the same sense as they do to forests. the prairies in summer are clothed with grass, herbage and flowers, exhibit a delightful prospect, and furnish most abundant and luxuriant pasturage for stock. much of the forest land in the western valley produces a fine range for domestic animals and swine. thousands are raised, and the emigrant grows wealthy, from the bounties of nature, with but little labor. of _animals_, _birds_ and _reptiles_, little need be said. the buffalo was in illinois the beginning of the present century. they are not found now within three hundred miles of missouri and arkansas, and they are fast receding. deer are found still in all frontier settlements. wolves, foxes, wild cats, raccoons, opossums, and squirrels are plenty. the brown bear is still hunted in some parts of the western states. col. crockett was a famous bear hunter in western tennessee, the white bear, mountain sheep, antelope and beaver, are found in the defiles of the rocky mountains. the elk is still found by the hunter contiguous to newly formed settlements. all the domestic animals of the united states flourish here. nearly all the feathered tribe of the atlantic slope are to be found in the valley. pelicans, wild geese, swans, cranes, ducks, paroquets, wild turkeys, prairie hens, &c. are found in different states, especially on the mississippi. _reptiles._ the rattlesnake, copperhead snake, moccasin snake, bull snake, and the various snakes usually found in the atlantic states are here. of the venomous kinds, multitudes are destroyed by the deer and swine. chameleons and scorpions exist in the lower valley, and lizards everywhere. the alligator, an unwieldy and bulky animal, is found in the rivers and lakes south of ° north latitude. he sometimes destroys calves and pigs, and very rarely, even young children. _history._--the honor of the discovery of this country is disputed by the spanish, english, and french. it is probable that sebastian cabot sailed along the shores of what was afterwards called florida, but a few years after columbus discovered america. spanish authors claim that juan ponce de leon discovered and named florida, in . narvaez, another spanish commander, having obtained a grant of florida in , landed four or five hundred men, but was lost by shipwreck near the mouth of the mississippi. ferdinand de soto was probably the first white man who saw the mississippi river. he is said to have marched men from florida, through the chickasaw country, to the mississippi, near the mouth of red river, where he took sick and died. his men returned. some writers suppose de soto travelled as far north as kentucky, or the ohio river. this is not probable. the french were the first to explore and settle the west, and they held jurisdiction over the country of illinois for years, when it fell into the hands of the british upon the conquest of canada. in , florida was settled by a colony of huguenots, under admiral coligny, who were afterwards massacred by the spaniards, because they were protestant _heretics_. in , admiral champlaine founded quebec, from which french settlements spread through the canadas. about , the notion prevailed amongst the french that visited canada, that a western passage to the pacific ocean existed. they learned from the indians that far in the west there was a great river; but of its course or termination they could learn nothing. they supposed that this river communicated with the western ocean. to investigate this question, p. marquette, a jesuit, and joliet, were appointed by m. talon, the intendant of new france. marquette was well acquainted with the canadas, and had great influence with the indian tribes. they conducted an expedition through the lakes, up green bay and fox river, to the portage, where it approaches the wisconsin, to which they passed, and descended that river to the mississippi, which they reached the th of june, . they found a river much larger and deeper than it had been represented by the indians. their regular journal was lost on their return to canada; but from the account, afterwards given by joliet, they found the natives friendly, and that a tradition existed amongst them of the residence of a "mon-e-to," or spirit, near the mouth of the missouri, which they could not pass. they turned their course up the illinois, and were highly delighted with the placid stream, and the woodlands and prairies through which it flowed. they were hospitably received and kindly treated by the illinois, a numerous nation of indians who were destitute of the cruelty of savages. the word "illinois," or "illini," is said by hennepin, to signify a "_full grown man_." this nation appears to have originally possessed the illinois country, and also a portion west of the mississippi. the nation was made up of eight tribes:--the miamies, michigamies, mascotins, kaskaskias, kahokias, peorias, piankeshaws, and tau-mar-waus. marquette continued among these indians with a view to christianize them; but joliet returned to canada and reported the discoveries he had made. several years elapsed before any one attempted to follow up the discoveries of marquette and joliet. m. de la salle, a native of normandy, but who had resided many years in canada, was the first to extend these early discoveries. he was a man of intelligence, talents, enterprise, and perseverance. after obtaining the sanction of the king of france, he set out on his projected expedition, in , from frontenac, with chevalier tonti, his lieutenant, and father hennepin, a jesuit missionary, and thirty or forty men. he spent about one year in exploring the country bordering on the lakes, and in selecting positions for forts and trading posts, to secure the indian trade to the french. after he had built a fort at niagara, and fitted out a small vessel, he sailed through the lakes to green bay, then called the "bay of puants." from thence he proceeded with his men in canoes towards the south end of lake michigan, and arrived at the mouth of the "river of the miamis" in november, . this is thought to be the milwaukee in wisconsin territory. here he built a fort, left eight or ten men, and passed with the rest of his company across the country to the waters of the illinois river, and descended that river a considerable distance, when he was stopped for want of supplies. this was occasioned by the loss of a boat which had been sent from his post on green bay. he was now compelled by necessity to build a fort, which, on account of the anxiety of mind he experienced, was called _creve-coeur_, or broken heart. the position of this fort cannot now be ascertained; but from some appearances, it is thought to have been near spring bay, in the northeast part of tazewell county. at this period the illinois were engaged in a war with the iroquois, a numerous, warlike, and cruel nation, with whom la salle had traded, while on the borders of canada. the former, according to indian notions of friendship, expected assistance from the french; but the interests and safety of la salle depended upon terminating this warfare, and to this object he directed his strenuous efforts. the suspicious illinois construed this into treachery, which was strengthened by the malicious and perfidious conduct of some of his own men, and pronounced upon him the sentence of death. immediately he formed and executed the bold and hazardous project of going alone and unarmed to the camp of the illinois, and vindicating his conduct. he declared his innocence of the charges, and demanded the author. he urged that the war should be terminated, and that the hostile nations should live in peace. the coolness, bravery, and eloquence of la salle filled the indians with astonishment, and entirely changed their purposes. the calumet was smoked, presents mutually exchanged, and a treaty of amity concluded. the original project of discovery was now pursued. father hennepin started on the th of february, , and having passed down the illinois, ascended the mississippi to the falls of st. anthony. here he was taken prisoner, robbed, and carried to the indian villages, from which he made his escape, returned to canada by the way of the wisconsin, and from thence to france, where he published an account of his travels. la salle visited canada to obtain supplies, returned to creve-coeur, and shortly after descended the illinois, and then the mississippi, where he built one or two forts on its banks, and took possession of the country in the name of the king of france, and in honor of him called it _louisiana_. one of these forts is thought to have been built on the west side of the river, between st. louis and carondalet. after descending the mississippi to its mouth, he returned to the illinois, and on his way back left some of his companions to occupy the country. this is supposed to have been the commencement of the villages of kaskaskia and cahokia, in . la salle went to france, fitted out an expedition to form a colony at the mouth of the mississippi, sailed to the gulf of mexico, but not being able to find the mouths of that river, he commenced an overland journey to his fort on the illinois. on this journey he was basely assassinated by two of his own men.[ ] after the death of la salle, no attempts to discover the mouth of the mississippi were made till about , but the settlements in the illinois country were gradually increased by emigrants from canada. in , the king of france, by letters patent, gave the whole country of louisiana to m. crosat, with the commerce of the country, with the profits of all the mines, reserving for his own use one fifth of the gold and silver. after expending large sums in digging and exploring for the precious metals without success, crosat gave up his privilege to the king, in . soon after, the colony was granted to the mississippi company, projected by mr. law, which took possession of louisiana, and appointed m. bienville governor. in , la harpe commanded a fort with french troops, not far from the mouth of the missouri river. shortly after, several forts were built within the present limits of illinois, of which fort chartres was the most considerable. by these means a chain of communication was formed from canada to the mouth of the mississippi. in , m. ibberville arrived in the gulf of mexico with two frigates, and in march ascended the river in a felucca one hundred leagues, and returned by the bayou or outlet that bears his name, through lake ponchartrain to the gulf. he planted his colony at biloxi, a healthy but sterile spot between the mobile and mississippi rivers, and built a fortification. during several succeeding years much exploring was done, and considerable trade carried on with the indians for peltries, yet these expeditions were a source of much expense to france. in january, , the colony at mobile was planted; several other settlements were soon after formed. the catholics also commenced several missions amongst the indians. difficulties frequently occurred with their spanish neighbors in florida and mexico. m. ibberville died in , and m. bienville succeeded him in the government of louisiana for many years. the city of new orleans was founded, during his administration, in . it is situated on the east bank of the mississippi, one hundred and five miles from its mouth. from to , the french had exterminating wars with the natchez, a powerful nation of indians. they had killed french in , and about the french exterminated the nation. various wars took place subsequently with the spanish and english. but over most of the indians along the mississippi, these french colonists gained extraordinary influence.--during this period emigrants continued to arrive from france, so that the colonists rapidly increased in numbers. the mississippi land scheme, or "bubble" as it was called, originated with the celebrated john law in , which soon burst and spread ruin throughout the monied interests of france. the amount of stock created, was said to equal , , of dollars. the whole proved an entire failure, but it served to increase greatly the population of louisiana, so that from , the colonies in the lower valley prospered. in , the war commenced between france and england relative to the boundaries of the canadas. at that period france claimed all the countries west of the alleghany mountains, while england on the other hand had granted to virginia, connecticut and other colonies, charters which extended across the continent to the "south sea," as the pacific ocean was then called. a grant also was made by virginia, and the crown of great britain, of , acres to a company called "the ohio company." the governor of new france, as canada and louisiana was then called, protested, erected forts on lake erie, and at the present site of pittsburg, and enlisted the indians against the english and americans. pittsburg was then called fort du quesne. then followed braddock's war, as this contest is called in the west,--the mission of major (afterward general) washington,--the defeat of braddock; and finally by the memorable victory of wolfe at quebec, and the lesser ones at niagara and ticonderoga, and by victories of the english fleet on the ocean, the french were humbled, and at the treaty of paris, in , surrendered all their claims to the country east of the mississippi. towards the close of the war, however, france, by a secret treaty, ceded all the country west of the mississippi, and including new orleans, to spain, who held possession till , when it was delivered to the french government under napoleon, and by him ceded to the united states for , , of dollars. the english held possession of the military posts, and exercised jurisdiction over the country of illinois, and the adjacent regions, till , during the revolutionary war; when by a secret expedition, without direct legislative sanction, but by a most enterprising, skilful, and hazardous military manoeuvre, the posts of kaskaskia, cahokia, fort chartres and vincennes were captured by gen. george rogers clark, with a small force of volunteer americans, and that portion of the valley fell under the jurisdiction of virginia. the legislature of virginia sanctioned the expedition of clark, which the executive, patrick henry and his council, with thomas jefferson, george wythe, and george mason, by written instructions, had agreed should be done, and a county called "illinois" was organized the same year. in , virginia, in conjunction with other states, ceded all claims to the great west, to the united states, reserving certain tracts for the payment of revolutionary claims. this cession laid the foundation for five new states northwest of ohio, when each district should have , inhabitants, and even a less number, by consent of congress. two restrictions were peremptorily enjoined,--that each state should adopt a constitution with a republican form of government, and that slavery or involuntary servitude, should be forever prohibited. it is unnecessary here to enter into details of the settlement of each particular state,--the incessant attacks from the indians,--the border wars that ensued,--the adventures of boone and his associates in settling kentucky,--the unfortunate campaigns of harmar and st. clair,--the victorious one of wayne,--or the reminiscences and events of the war of , and its termination in . some historical notices of each state may be found in their proper place. _prospective increase of population._ for a long period, in the states of the west, the increase of population was slow, and retarded by several causes. difficulties of a formidable character had to be surmounted. the footsteps of the american emigrants were everywhere drenched in blood, shed by infuriated savage foes, and before more than , persons had been murdered, or taken captive and lost to the settlements. "it has been estimated, that in the short space of seven years, from to , more than fifteen hundred of the inhabitants of kentucky were either massacred or carried away into a captivity worse than death, by the indians; and an equal number from western pennsylvania and virginia, in the same period, met with a similar fate. the settlers on the frontiers were almost constantly, for a period of forty years, harassed either by actual attacks of the savages, or the daily expectation of them. the tomahawk and the scalping knife, were the objects of their fears by day and by night."[ ] hence, in suggesting reasons showing why the population of this valley must increase in future in a far greater ratio than in the past, it will appear: . that the most perfect security is now enjoyed by all emigrants, both for their families and property. by the wise and beneficent arrangement of government, the indian tribes have nearly all removed to the territory specially allotted for their occupancy west of missouri and arkansas. the grand error committed in past times in relation to the indians, and which has been the source of incalculable evils to both races, has been the want of definite, fixed and permanent lines of demarcation betwixt them. it will be seen under the proper head, that a system of measures is now in operation that will not only preserve peace between the frontier settlements and the indian tribes, but that to a great extent, they are becoming initiated into the habits of civilized life. there is now no more danger to the population of these states and territories from _indian_ depredations, than to the people of the atlantic states. . the increased facilities of emigration, and the advantage of sure and certain markets for every species of production, furnishes a second reason why population will increase in the western valley beyond any former period. before the purchase of louisiana, the western people had no outlet for their produce, and the chief mode of obtaining every description of merchandize,--even salt and iron,--was by the slow and expensive method of transportation by wagons and pack-horses, across almost impassible mountains and extremely difficult roads. now, every convenience and luxury of life is carried with comparative ease, to every town and settlement throughout the valley, and every species of produce is sent off in various directions, to every port on earth if necessary. and these facilities are multiplying and increasing every hour: turnpike roads, rail roads, canals, and steamboat navigation have already provided such facilities for removing from the atlantic to the western states, that no family desirous of removing, need hesitate or make a single inquiry as to facilities of getting to this country. . the facilities of trade and intercourse between the different sections of the valley, are now superior to most countries on earth, and are increasing every year. and no country on earth admits of such indefinite improvement either by land or water. more than twenty thousand miles of actual steamboat navigation, with several hundred miles of canal navigation, constructed or commenced, attest the truth of this statement. the first steamboat on the western waters was built at pittsburg in , and not more than seven or eight had been built, when the writer emigrated to this country in . at this period, (january ,) there are several hundred boats on the western waters, and some of the largest size. in , about twenty barges, averaging about one hundred tons each, performed the whole commercial business of transporting merchandize from new orleans to louisville and cincinnati. each performed one trip, going and returning within the year. about keel boats performed the business on the upper ohio to pittsburg. these averaged about tons each, and were employed one month in making the voyage from louisville to pittsburg. three days, or three days and a half is now the usual time occupied by the steam packets between the two places, and from seven to twelve days between louisville and new orleans. four days is the time of passing from the former place to st. louis. . a fourth reason why population will increase in future in a greater ratio than the past is derived from the increase of population in the atlantic states, and the greater desire for removal to the west. at the close of the revolutionary war the population of the whole union but little exceeded two millions. vast tracts of wilderness then existed in the old states, which have since been subdued, and from whence thousands of enterprising citizens are pressing their way into the great valley. two thirds of the territory of new york, large portions of new hampshire, vermont and maine, an extensive district in middle pennsylvania, to say nothing of wide regions in the southern states, were comprised in this wilderness. these extensive regions have become populous, and are sending out vast numbers of emigrants to the west. europe is in commotion, and the emigration to north america, in , reached , , a due proportion of which settle in the western valley. . a fifth reason will be founded upon the immense amount of land for the occupancy of an indefinite number of emigrants, much of which will not cost the purchaser over _one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre_. without giving the extravagant estimates that have been made by many writers of the wide and uninhabitable desert between the indian territory west of missouri and arkansas, and the rocky mountains, nor swampy and frozen regions at the heads of the mississippi river, and around lake superior, i will merely exhibit the amount of lands admitting of _immediate_ settlement and cultivation, within the boundaries of the new states and organized territories. according to the report of the secretary of the treasury up to the th day of september, , the estimated amount of unsold lands, on which the foreign and indian titles had been extinguished, within the limits of the new states and territories, was , , acres;--and that the indian title remained on , , acres within the same limits.[ ] the commissioner of the general land office in december, , estimated the public domain, beyond the boundaries of the new states and territories, to be millions of acres. much of this however, is uninhabitable. according to the report of , there had been granted to ohio, indiana, illinois, and alabama for internal improvements, , , acres;--for colleges, academies and universities in the new states and territories, , ;--for education, being the thirty-sixth part of the public lands appropriated to common schools, , , acres;--and for seats of government to some of the new states and territories, , acres. up to january, , there had been sold, from the commencement of the land system, only , , acres. since that period to the close of , there have been sold, about millions of acres, making in all sold, a little more than millions. this statement includes alabama and florida, which we have not considered as strictly within the valley. after a hasty and somewhat imperfect estimate of the public lands that are now in market, or will be brought into market within a few years, within the limits of ohio, indiana, illinois, missouri, mississippi, louisiana, arkansas, michigan, and the territory of wisconsin, the amount may be put at millions of acres. this amount admits of immediate settlement and cultivation, and much of it may be put under cultivation without the immense labor of clearing and subduing forest lands. the comparison between the amount of sales of public lands within the last ten years, and the preceding forty years, shows that emigration to the west is increasing at a ratio beyond what is ordinarily supposed, and that the next ten years will find a majority of the population of the united states within this great valley. sales of land from to , ( years) , , acres. " " from to , ( years) , , acres. three millions of families may find farms in the west. the extensive prairie lands of illinois and missouri present no obstacle to the settlement of the country. already, prairies for many miles in extent have been turned into farms. . a sixth reason why the increase of the future population of the valley will greatly exceed the past, is derived from the increased confidence of the community in the general health of the country. the most unreasonable notions have prevailed abroad relative to the health of the western states. all new settlements are more or less unfavorable to health, which, when cultivated and settled become healthy. as a separate chapter will be devoted to this subject, i only advert to the fact now of the increased confidence of the people in the atlantic states, in the salubrity of our western climate, which already has tended to increase emigration; but which, from facts becoming more generally known, will operate to a much greater extent in future. . i will only add that there is already a great amount of intelligence, and of excellent society in all the settled portions of the western valley. "the idea is no longer entertained by eastern people, that going to the west, or the 'backwoods,' as it was formerly called, is to remove to a heathen land, to a land of ignorance and barbarism, where the people do nothing but rob, and fight, and gouge! some parts of the west have obtained this character, but most undeservedly, from the _fearons_, the [basil] _halls_, the _trollopes_, and other ignorant and insolent travellers from england, who, because they were not allowed to insult and outrage as they pleased, with parthian spirit, hurled back upon us their poisoned javelins and darts as they left us. there is indeed much destitution of moral influence and means of instruction in many, very many, neighborhoods of the west. but there is in all the principal towns a state of society, with which the most refined, i was going to say the most fastidious, of the eastern cities need not be ashamed to mingle."--_baird._ the eastern emigrant will find, that wholesome legislation, and much of the influence of religion are enjoyed in the valley of the mississippi, extending to him all he can ask in the enjoyment of his rights, and the protection of his property. common school systems have been commenced in some of the states,--others are following their example, and the subject of general education is receiving increasing attention every year. colleges and other literary institutions are planted, and religious institutions and means of religious instruction are rapidly increasing. noble and successful efforts are making by the bible, missionary, tract, sabbath school, temperance, and other societies in the west. great and rapid changes are taking place, if not to the extent we desire, yet corresponding in a degree with the gigantic march of emigration and population. many other reasons might be urged to show that its prospective increase of population will vastly exceed the ratio of its retrospective increase, but these are sufficient. footnotes: [ ] la salle appears to have discovered the bay of st. bernard, and formed a settlement on the western side of the colorado, in .--_see j. q. adams's correspondence with don onis. pub. doc. first session th congress, ._ [ ] baird. [ ] see mr. clay's report on the public lands, april , , u. s. papers. chapter iii. climate. comparative view of the climate with the atlantic states. diseases.--means of preserving health. _climate, &c._ in a country of such vast extent, through ° of latitude, the climate must necessarily be various. louisiana, mississippi and the lower half of arkansas, lie between the latitudes of ° and °, and correspond with georgia and south carolina. their difference of climate is not material. the northern half of arkansas, tennessee and kentucky, lie west from north carolina and the southern portion of virginia. the climate varies from those states only as they are less elevated than the mountainous parts of virginia and carolina. hence, the emigrant from the southern atlantic states, unless he comes from a mountainous region, will experience no great change of climate, by emigrating to the lower mississippi valley. missouri, illinois, indiana and ohio, lie parallel with the northern half of virginia, maryland, delaware, pennsylvania, new jersey, and so much of new york and new england as lies south of the ° of north latitude. but several circumstances combine to produce variations in the climate. . much of those atlantic states are hilly, and in many parts mountainous, some of which are and feet above the level of the ocean. the parallel western states have no mountains, and are not proportionably hilly. . the atlantic states border on the ocean on the east, and feel the influence of the cold, damp winds from the northeast and east. their rains are more copious and their snows deeper. the northern portions of the west, equally with new york and vermont, are affected with the influence of the lakes, though not to the same extent. . "the courses of rivers, by changing in some degree the direction of the winds, exert an influence on the climate. in the atlantic states, from new england to north carolina, the rivers run more or less to the southeast, and increase the winds which blow from the northwest, while the great bed of the mississippi exerts an equal influence in augmenting the number and steadiness of the winds which blow over it from the southwest; and there is another cause of difference in climate, chiefly perceptible, first, in the temperature, which, if no counteracting cause existed, they would raise in the west considerably above that of corresponding latitudes in the east; and, secondly, in the moisture of the two regions, which is generally greater west than east of the mountains, when the southwest wind prevails; as, much of the water with which it comes charged from the gulf of mexico, is deposited before it reaches the country east of the alleghanies."--_dr. drake._ it is an error that our climate is more variable, or the summers materially hotter, than in a correspondent latitude in the atlantic states. "the new englander and new yorker north of the mountains of west point, should bear in mind that his migration is not to the _west_ but _south west_; and as necessarily brings him into a warmer climate, as when he seeks the shores of the delaware, potomac, or james' river." the settlers from virginia to kentucky, or those from maryland and pennsylvania to ohio, or further west, have never complained of hotter summers than they had found in the land from whence they came. to institute a comparative estimate of temperature between the east and the west, we must observe: first, the thermometer; and, secondly, the flowering of trees, the putting forth of vegetation, and the ripening of fruits and grain in _correspondent latitudes_. this has not usually been done. philadelphia and cincinnati approach nearer to the same parallel, than any other places where such observations have been made. cincinnati, however, is about ' south of philadelphia. the following remarks are from dr. daniel drake of cincinnati, to whose pen the west is much indebted. "from a series of daily observations in cincinnati or its vicinity, for eight consecutive years, the mean annual temperature has been ascertained to be degrees and a quarter. dr. rush states the mean temperature of philadelphia at degrees and a half; dr. coxe, from six years' observations, at ° and a sixth; and mr. legaux, from seventeen years' observations, at spring mill, a few miles out of the city, at ° and a third; the mean term of which results, ° and a third, is but the fraction of a degree lower than the mean heat of cincinnati, and actually less than should be afforded by the difference of latitude. "a reference to the temperatures of summer and winter, will give nearly the same results. from nine years' observations, (three at spring mill, by mr. legaux, and six in philadelphia, by dr. coxe,) the mean summer heat of that part of pennsylvania, appears to be degrees and six-tenths. the mean summer heat at cincinnati, for an equal number of years, was degrees and four-tenths. the average number of days in which the thermometer rose to degrees or upwards, during the same period, was fourteen each summer; and the greatest elevation observed was degrees: all of which would bear an almost exact comparison with similar observations in pennsylvania. mr. legaux states the most intense cold, at spring mill, from to , to have been and five-tenths degrees below cipher,--while within the same period it was ° at cincinnati. the average of extreme cold for several years, as observed by mr. legaux, was one and eight-tenths of a degree below cipher:--the same average at cincinnati, was two degrees below. from all which we may conclude, that the banks of the delaware and ohio, in the same latitudes, have nearly the same temperature." the state of illinois, extending as it does through five and a half degrees of latitude, has considerable variation in its climate. it has no mountains, and though undulating, it cannot be called hilly. its extensive prairies, and level surface, give greater scope to the winds, especially in winter. in the southern part of the state, during the three winter months, snow frequently falls, but seldom lies long. in the northern part, the winters are as cold, but not so much snow falls, as in the same latitudes in the atlantic states. the mississippi at st. louis is frequently frozen over, and is crossed on the ice, and occasionally for several weeks. the hot season is longer, though not more intense, than occasionally for a day or two in new england. during the years - - , the rev. mr. giddings, at st. louis, made a series of observations upon fahrenheit's thermometer. deg. hund. mean temperature for do. do. from the beginning of may, , to the end of april, mean temperature for the mean of these results is about fifty-six degrees and a quarter. the mean temperature of each month during the above years, is as follows: deg. hund. january february march april may june july august september october november december the mean temperature of the different seasons is as follows: winter, . --spring, . --summer, . --autumn, . . the greatest extremes of heat and cold during my residence of eighteen years, in the vicinity of st. louis, is as follows: greatest heat in july , and july , degrees. greatest cold january d, , degrees below zero,--february th, , degrees below zero. the foregoing facts will doubtless apply to about one half of illinois. this climate also is subject to sudden changes from heat to cold; from wet to dry, especially from november to may. the heat of the summer below the ° of latitude is more enervating, and the system becomes more easily debilitated than in the bracing atmosphere of a more northerly region. at marietta, ohio, in lat. ° ' n. and at the junction of the muskingum river with the ohio, the mean temperature for , was degrees, four-tenths; highest in august, degrees,--lowest, january, at zero. fair days ,--cloudy days . at nashville, tenn. , the mean temperature was degrees and seventy-six-hundredths; maximum , minimum above zero. the summer temperature of this place never reaches °. on january th, , degrees below zero. february th, , ° below zero. the putting forth of vegetation in the spring furnishes some evidence of the character of the climate of any country, though by no means entirely accurate. other causes combine to advance or retard vegetation. a wet or dry season, or a few days of heat or cold at a particular crisis, will produce material changes. the following table is constructed from memoranda made at the various dates given, near the latitude of st. louis, which is computed at ° '. the observations of were made at st. charles and vicinity, in the state of missouri. those of , in st. louis county, miles n. w. from the city of st. louis. the remainder at rock spring, illinois, miles east from st. louis. it will be perceived, the years are not consecutive. in , the writer was absent to the eastern states, and for , his notes were too imperfect to answer the purpose. in the columns showing the times of the first snows, and the first and last frosts in the season, a little explanation may be necessary. a "light" snow means merely enough to whiten the earth, and which usually disappears in a few hours. many of the frosts recorded "light" were not severe enough to kill ordinary vegetation. |peach & |strawberries|blackberries|apple |apple | |red bud |in |in |leaves |trees in | year.|in blossom|blossom. |blossom. |begin to |blossom. | | | | |put forth| | | | | | | | =====+==========+============+============+=========+=========+ | | | | | | |april . |not noted. |may . |april .|april .| | | | | | | -----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+ |april . | |may . | | | |no peach |april . |fall off |mar. |april .| |b. | | . | | | -----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+ |april . | | | | | |no peach |april . |may . |april .|may . | |b. | | | | | -----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+ | | | | | | |april . |april . |may . |april .|april .| | | | | | | -----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+ | | | | | | |april . |april . |may . |april .|april .| | | | | | | -----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+ | | | | | | |april . |april . |may . |april .|april .| | | | | | | -----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+ | |april . | | | | |mar. . |ripe |may . |mar. . |april . | | |may . | | | | -----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+ | | | | | | |april . |april . |may . |april . |april .| | | | | | | -----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+ | | | | | | |april . |april . |may . |april .|april .| | | | | | | -----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+ | | | | | | |april . |april . |may . |april . |april . | | | | | | | continued |grass |oaks and |first |last |first |green in |other forest|snow on |frost in |frost in year.|prairies.|trees |approach |spring. |autumn. | |put forth |of winter. | | | |leaves. | | | =====+=========+============+============+============+========== | | | | | |april .|half size |oct. . few |may , |sept. . | |may . |flakes. |very light. | -----+---------+------------+------------+------------+---------- | |april . |oct. . few|june , |sept. . |april .|full size |flakes. nov.|very light. |oct. , | |may . | inches.| |ice. -----+---------+------------+------------+------------+---------- | |ap. to |nov. . |april , | |april .|may . f. | -½ in. |severe. |oct. | |grown | |may , light| -----+---------+------------+------------+------------+---------- | |april . |nov. , |april , | |april .|full size |light. |severe, ice.|oct. . | |may . | | | -----+---------+------------+------------+------------+---------- | | | | | |april .|april . |nov. , |april . |sp. - . | | |light. | |ice . -----+---------+------------+------------+------------+---------- | | | | |oct. . |april .|april . |nov. . |may . |hard | | | | |freeze. -----+---------+------------+------------+------------+---------- | | |dec. , |feb. . |oct. - . |mar. . |april . | inches. |next. | th, ice. | | | |ap. , ice.| -----+---------+------------+------------+------------+---------- | |april . |nov. , |may , |sept. , |mar. . |full size |light. |light. |light. | |april . | | | -----+---------+------------+------------+------------+---------- | | |nov. , | | |april .|april . | inches. |not noted. |sept. . | | |sleet. | | -----+---------+------------+------------+------------+---------- | |begin ap. | | | |april . | . f. size | | | | |may . | | | these observations, upon a comparison with the same parallels of latitude in the eastern states, show that there is no material difference of climate between the two sections of our country, except that produced by local causes, as mountainous districts, contiguity to the ocean, &c. a similar error has existed in relation to sudden and extreme changes of weather in the west. people who emigrate to a new country have their curiosity awakened, and perhaps for the first time in their lives become quite observing of such changes. from habitually observing the weather the impression is produced on their minds that there is a marked difference in this climate. dr. rush declares that there is but _one_ steady trait in the character of the climate of pennsylvania--and that is, _it is uniformly variable_, and he asserts that he has known the thermometer fall ° in one hour and a half. march - , , the thermometer in st. louis, fell ° in hours--from ° to °. i have no record or recollection of a more sudden change in years. mr. legaux saw it fall in the vicinity of philadelphia, ° in hours, and dr. drake states that this is five degrees more than any impression ever observed in cincinnati, in the same length of time. emigrants from new england and the northern part of new york state, must not expect to find the same climate in the west, at or degrees; but let them remove to the same parallel of latitude in the west, to wisconsin, or the northern part of illinois, and they will probably find a climate far more uniform than the land of their birth. prevailing winds modify and affect the climate of every country. southwestwardly winds prevail along the mississippi valley. the following tabular view of observations made at cincinnati, by dr. d. drake, for six succeeding years, with so few omissions, that they amount to , will give further illustrations of this subject. they have been brought from eight points of the compass. observations. months | s.e. | s. | s.w. | n.e. | n. | n.w. | e. | w. | calm. ===========+======+====+======+======+====+======+====+====+======= january | | | | | | | | | february | | | | | | | | | march | | | | | | | | | april | | | | | | | | | may | | | | | | | | | june | | | | | | | | | july | | | | | | | | | august | | | | | | | | | september | | | | | | | | | october | | | | | | | | | november | | | | | | | | | december | | | | | | | | | -----------+------+----+------+------+----+------+----+----+------- total | | | | | | | | | the results of my own observations, made for twelve years, with the exception of , and with some irregularity, from travelling in different parts of missouri and illinois during the time, do not vary in any material degree from the above table, excepting fewer east and northeast winds. dr. drake has given a table, setting forth the results of observations on the state of the weather at cincinnati, from which it will be perceived that of the days in a year, about will be fair, cloudy, and variable. dr. l. c. beck made similar observations at st. louis during the year , which produced the result of clear days, and cloudy, including variable days, . years. |clear days.|cloudy days.|variable days. ==============+===========+============+============== | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------+-----------+------------+-------------- total years.| , | | --------------+-----------+------------+-------------- mean terms. | . | . | . the following table shows the condition of the weather in each month of a mean year, for the above period. months. | clear days. | cloudy days. | variable days. ==========+=============+==============+================ january | . | . | . february | . | . | . march | . | . | . april | . | . | . may | . | . | . june | . | . | . july | . | . | . august | . | . | . september | . | . | . october | . | . | . november | . | . | . december | . | . | . there would be some variations from the foregoing table in a series of observations in the country bordering upon the upper mississippi and missouri. the weather in the states of ohio and kentucky, is doubtless more or less affected in autumn by the rains that fall on the alleghany mountains, and the rise of the ohio and its tributaries. so the weather in the months of april, may and june in missouri, is affected by the spring floods of the missouri and mississippi rivers. the following table is constructed from a series of observations made at the military posts in the west, by the surgeons of the u. s. army, for four years:-- , , , and . [see american almanac for , p. .] ------------------+--------------------------+---------+---------+---------- | | | | | | | | | | | | | |n. |elevation|mean temp. posts. | situations. |latitude.|above the|for four | |deg. m. |ocean. |years. ------------------+--------------------------+---------+---------+---------- fort brady, |sault de st. mary, outlet | | | | of lake superior, | | | fort snelling, |mouth of st. peters, m.| | | | below falls st. anthony,| | | fort howard, |green bay, wisconsin t. | | | fort crawford, |prairie du chien, w. ter. | | | council bluffs, |upper missouri, | | | cantonment jessup,|on red river, la. | | | baton rouge, |louisiana, | | | continued ------------------+--------+--------+------------+------------------------- | | | | weather. | | | +------------------------- | | | | monthly average. | | | +-----+------+-----+------ posts. | | |range of |fair |cloudy|rainy|snow |maximum.|minimum.|thermometer.|days.|d's |days.|days. ------------------+--------+--------+------------+-----+------+-----+------ fort brady, | | - | | | | | | | | | | | | fort snelling, | | - | | | | | | | | | | | | fort howard, | | - | | | | | fort crawford, | | - | | | | | council bluffs, | | - | | | | | cantonment jessup,| | | | | | | baton rouge, | | | | | | | - _signifies below zero._ the times of observation at the above posts were a. m., and and , p. m. the mean of each month was deduced from observations, and of each year from observations. the reader, who is desirous of following up this comparative view of the climate between the atlantic states and the valley of the mississippi, can compare the observations recorded in these tables, with similar observations made in the same parallels of latitude. he will find the climate of the west quite as uniform, and the weather as little variable as in the atlantic states. _diseases_,--_means of preserving health, &c._ of the lower valley, i shall say but very little on this subject. dr. drake observes, "the diseases of this portion of the great valley are few, and prevail chiefly in summer and autumn. they are the offspring of the combined action of intense heat and marsh exhalation." they are generally remittent and intermittent bilious fevers. emigrants most generally undergo a seasoning, or become acclimated. many persons, however, from the northern and middle states, and from europe, enjoy health. in sickly situations these fevers are apt to return, and often prove fatal. they frequently enfeeble the constitution, and produce chronic inflammation of the liver, enlargement of the spleen, or terminate in jaundice or dropsy, and disorder the digestive organs. when persons find themselves subject to repeated attacks, the only safe resource is an annual migration to a more northern climate during the summer. many families from new orleans, and other exposed situations, retire to the pine barrens of louisiana, in the hot and sickly season, where limpid streams, flowing over a pebbly bed, and a terebinthine atmosphere are enjoyed. eight months of the year, are pleasant and healthy in the lower mississippi valley. the advice of dr. drake is, that "those who migrate from a colder climate to the southern mississippi states, should observe the following directions: first--to arrive there in autumn, instead of spring or summer. second--if practicable, to spend the hottest part of the first two or three years, in a higher latitude. third--to select the healthiest situations. fourth--to live temperately. fifth--to preserve a regular habit. lastly--to avoid the heat of the sun from in the morning till in the afternoon, and above all the night air. by a strict attention to these rules, many would escape the diseases of the climate, who annually sink under its baleful influence." those states and territories to which this work is intended more immediately as a guide, do not differ very materially in salubrity. the same general features are found in each. there is but little diversity in climate,--their geological and physical structure coincide, and the experience of years shows that there is no great difference. where autumnal fevers are common they are usually of similar character. the same causes for disease exist in ohio as in missouri, in michigan as in illinois, in kentucky and tennessee as in indiana. all these states are much more infested with the maladies which depend on variations of temperature, than the states farther south. all have localities where intermittents and agues are found, and all possess extensive districts of country where health is enjoyed by a very large proportion of emigrants. there is some difference between a heavily timbered and a prairie country, in favor of the latter; other circumstances being equal. changes favorable to continued health are produced by the settlement and cultivation of any particular portion of country. of one fact i have long since satisfied my mind, that ordinary fevers are not caused by the use of the water of the west. exceptions may be made in some few cases, where a vein of water is impregnated with some deleterious mineral substance. the use of a well, dug in the vicinity of a coal bed in illinois, was supposed to have caused sickness in a family for two seasons. any offensive property in water is readily detected by the taste. cool, refreshing water is a great preservative of health. it is common for families, (who are too indifferent to their comfort to dig a well,) to use the tepid, muddy water of the small streams in the frontier states, during the summer, or to dig a shallow well and wall it with timber, which soon imparts an offensive taste to the water. water of excellent quality may be found in springs, or by digging from to feet, throughout the western states. most of the water thus obtained is hard water, from its limestone qualities, but it is most unquestionably healthy. those persons who emigrate from a region of sandstone, or primitive rock, where water is soft, will find our limestone water to produce a slight affection of the bowels, which will prove more advantageous to health than otherwise, and which will last but a few weeks. whenever disease prevails in the western states, it may generally be attributed to one or more of the following causes. st. _variations of the temperature._ this cause, we have already shown, exists to as great extent in the same latitude east of the mountains. nd. _the rapid decomposition of vegetable matter._ in all our rich lands, there are vast quantities of vegetable matter mixed with the soil, or spread over the surface. extreme hot weather, following especially a season of much rain, before the middle of july, will produce sickness. if the early part of summer be tolerably dry, although a hot season follows, sickness does not generally prevail. the year was an exception to this rule. it was throughout, a very dry, hot, sickly year through the west; indeed, throughout the world. a wet season, with a moderately cool atmosphere, has proved healthy. d. _marsh exhalations._ these, combined with heat, will always generate fevers. indeed, there is probably very little difference in the miasm thrown off from decomposed vegetable matter, and that produced from sluggish streams, standing waters and marshes. these, in the great valley, abound with decayed vegetable matter. hence, along the streams which have alluvial _bottoms_ (as low lands upon streams are called in the west,) some of which are annually overflowed, and where the timber and luxuriant vegetable growth are but partially subdued, the inhabitants are liable to fevers, dysenteries and agues. situations directly under the bluffs adjacent to the bottom lands, that lie upon our large rivers, especially when the vegetation is unsubdued, have proved unhealthy. so have situations at the heads or in the slope of the ravines that put down from the bluffs towards the rivers. the principal diseases that prevail may be stated as follows. in the winter, and early in the spring, severe colds, inflammation of the lungs and pleurisies are most common. the genuine hereditary consumption of new-england is rare, and families and individuals predisposed to that disease might often be preserved by migration to this valley. acute inflammation of the brain, and inflammatory rheumatism are not unusual at that season. during the summer and autumn, cholera infantum with children in large towns, diarrhoea, cholera morbus, dysentery, intermittent and remittent bilious fevers prevail. the intermittent assumes various forms, and has acquired several names amongst the country people, where it prevails more generally than in large towns. it is called the "chill and fever,"--"ague,"--"dumb ague," &c., according to its form of attack. the remittent fever is the most formidable of our autumnal diseases, especially when of a highly bilious type. in most seasons, these diseases are easily managed, and yield to a dose or two of medicine. sore eyes, especially in autumn, is a common complaint in the frontier settlements, and when neglected or improperly managed, have terminated in total blindness. the "milk sickness," as it is called, occasionally prevails in some localities, some particulars of which will be found in another place. there is a disease that afflicts many frontier people, called by some "sick stomach," by others, "water brash," from its symptoms of sudden nausea, with vomiting, especially after meals. in , the cholera made its appearance in the west. in many places, its first approach was attended with great mortality, but its second visit to a place has been in a milder and more manageable form. it has visited various parts of the west on each returning season since, especially along the great rivers and about the steamboats. it appears to have changed somewhat the characteristics of our western diseases, and will probably become a modified and manageable disease. since its visit, our fevers are more congestive, less bile is secreted, and the stomach more affected. the subject will doubtless be noticed by our physicians, and observations made, how far this new disease will become assimilated to the ordinary diseases of the country. we are satisfied, after a long course of observations, much travelling, and conversing with many hundreds of families with the view of arriving at correct conclusions on these subjects, _that there is no such operation as that of emigrants undergoing a seasoning, or becoming acclimated_, in the states of ohio, indiana, illinois, missouri, kentucky, tennessee, michigan, or the wisconsin territory. _nor does it make the least difference from what part of the united states, or europe, they come, nor whether they arrive here in the spring or autumn._ there is an erroneous notion prevailing in some of the atlantic states on this subject, that should be corrected. when sickness prevails, there is just as much, and it is equally severe, amongst the old settlers, those born in the country, or who migrate from the carolinas or georgia, as those who come from the northern states. families are just as liable to sickness, and are as often attacked for the first time, after residing several years in the country, as at any other time. a large proportion of the families and individuals, who remove from new england to the various parts of the valley, north of the th degree of latitude have no sickness the first year. the impression has formerly existed abroad, that illinois is less healthy than other western states. this is entirely erroneous. as in all countries, there are some localities, where the causes that produce sickness exist more than in others. this is not the fact with illinois in general. that this state is as healthy as any other western state, can be abundantly supported by facts. let a candid observer compare the health of the early settlers of new england, with that of the early settlers of the west, and he will find the scale to preponderate in favor of the latter. unless there is some strange fatality attending illinois, its population must be more healthy than the early settlers of a timbered region. but in no period of its history have sickness and death triumphed, in any respect equal to what they did two or three years since, in the lake country of new york. the year , is recorded in the memoirs of the early settlers, as a season of unusual sickness near the banks of the mississippi and missouri rivers. the latter river rose to an unusual height in june, the waters of the small creeks were backed up, and a large surface of luxuriant vegetation was covered and deadened. this was succeeded by hot and dry weather. bilious and intermittent fevers prevailed extensively. the seasons of , ' , and ' were usually sickly in illinois and missouri. emigrants, in shoals, had spread over a wide range of country within a year or two preceding. multitudes were placed under circumstances the most unfavorable to the preservation of health, in new and open cabins of green timber, often using the stagnant water of creeks and ponds, with a luxuriant vegetation around them undergoing decomposition, and all the other evils attendant on the settlement of a new and unbroken country. under such circumstances, can it be surprising that many were sick, and that many died? the summer of was the hottest and driest ever known in this country. for weeks in succession, the thermometer, in the shade at st. louis, was up to ° for hours in the day. not a cloud came over the sun, to afford a partial relief from its burning influence. the fevers of that season were unusually rapid, malignant, and unmanageable. almost every mark of the yellow fever, as laid down in the books, was exhibited in many cases, both in town and country. the bilious fever put on its most malignant type. black, foetid matter was discharged from the stomach, and by stools. the writer and all his family suffered severely that season. he lived seventeen miles from st. louis, on the road to st. charles in missouri, on a farm. the settlement had been called healthy. the missouri bottom was one mile distant. three miles west southwest, was the creve-coeur lake, a body of water several miles in length and half a mile in width, connected by an outlet with the missouri river. the water of this lake was entirely stagnant, covered with a thick scum, and sent forth a noisome smell. fish in it died. my oldest son, a robust youth of ten years of age, and my brother-in-law, a hale and stout young man, sickened and died the first week in october. i was attacked the th day of july, came as near dying as a person could and recover. all my children were sick. while convalescent, in september, i took a long journey to cape girardeau country, miles south, and back through the lead mine country to the missouri river, miles west of st. louis, and in all the route found that sickness had prevailed to the same extent. at vincennes and other parts of indiana, disease triumphed. the country around vincennes, on the east side of the wabash, is a sandy plain. a gentleman who escaped the ravages of fever in that place, and who was much engaged in nursing the sick and consoling the dying, stated to me that nothing was so disheartening as the cloudless sky and burning sun that continued unchanged for weeks in succession. mortality prevailed to a great extent along the banks of the wabash. hindostan, a town on the east fork of white river, miles from vincennes on the road to louisville, was begun the preceding year. seventy or eighty families had crowded in at the commencement of the year . the heavy timber of poplar, (whitewood) oak and beech, had been cut down, the brush burned, and the logs left on the ground. by june the bark was loosened, an intolerable stench proceeded from the timber,--sickness followed, and about two thirds of the population died! and yet, to look about the place, there is no local cause that would indicate sickness. in the summer of , sickness prevailed very extensively, but in a much milder form. its type was intermittent, and usually yielded to ordinary remedies. during that year the number of deaths in st. louis was --the population . at least one third of that number were strangers and transient persons, who either arrived sick, or were taken sick within two or three days after arrival. st. louis had then no _police_ regulations--the streets were filthy in the extreme--and the population were crowded into every hole and corner. this was the most sickly and dying season st. louis ever knew, except when the cholera prevailed in october, . the same years ( - ) were noted for unusual sickness throughout the united states, and indeed the whole world. the bilious fever prevailed in the hilly and mountainous districts of virginia and pennsylvania, and even among the green mountains of vermont. very little general sickness (except cholera in -' ) prevailed in , ' , ' , or ' . in , congestive fever, and dysentery, with some of the symptoms of cholera, existed in many places in the west, though not extensively fatal. in the month of june, were frequent sudden showers in illinois and missouri, with intervals of extreme heat. july and august very hot and dry. the disease began early in july and continued till september. the year , was the most sickly year, for common intermittents, _which prevailed more amongst the old settlers, than the newly arrived emigrants_. in illinois, and generally throughout the west, below the fortieth degree of latitude, it was sickly, though not fatal. early in the spring, till the month of may, it was unusually dry, and vegetation was two weeks later than usual. may and a part of june were very wet, followed by a few days of extremely hot weather. vegetation grew with great luxuriance. newly ploughed ground sent forth a noxious effluvium, with a most offensive odour, and after a few days would be covered with a greenish coat, like the scum on stagnant water. town situations, even along the banks of river, were comparatively healthy. in case of sickness, physicians are to be found in almost every county, and every season adds to their number. charges are somewhat higher than in the northern states. many families keep a few simple articles of medicine, and administer for themselves. calomel is a specific; and is taken by multitudes without hesitation, or fear of danger. from fifteen to twenty grains are an ordinary dose for a cathartic. whenever nausea of the stomach, pains in the limbs, and yawning, or a chill, indicate the approach of disease, a dose of calomel is taken at night, in a little apple honey, or other suitable substance, and followed up in the morning with a dose of castor oil, or salts, to produce a brisk purge. sometimes an emetic is preferred. either a cathartic or an emetic will leave the system under some debility. the mistake frequently made is, in not following up the evacuating medicine with tonics. this should be done invariably, unless the paroxysm of fever has commenced. a few doses of sulphate of quinine or peruvian bark in its crude state, will restore the system to its natural tone. to prevent an attack of fever, medicine should be taken on the very first symptoms of a diseased stomach; it should not be tampered with, but taken in sufficient doses to relieve the system from morbid effects, and then followed up by tonics, to restore its vigor and prevent relapse. new comers will find it advantageous for protecting themselves from the damp atmosphere at night, to provide close dwellings; yet when the air is clear, to leave open doors and windows at night for free circulation, but not to sleep directly in the current of air; and invariably to wear thin clothing in the heat of the day, and put on thicker garments at night, and in wet and cloudy weather. i have observed that those families are seldom sick who live in comfortable houses, with tight floors, and well ventilated rooms; and who, upon change of weather, and especially in time of rains, make a little fire in the chimney, although the thermometer might not indicate the necessity. in fine, i am prepared to give my opinion, decidedly, in favor of the general health of this country and climate. i would not certainly be answerable for all the bad locations, the imprudences, and whims of all classes of emigrants, which may operate unfavorably to health. i only speak for myself and family. i decidedly prefer this climate, with all its miasm, to new-england, with its northeast winds, and damp, "raw" and pulmonary atmosphere. we very seldom have fogs in illinois and missouri. my memoranda, kept with considerable accuracy, for twelve years, give not more than half a dozen foggy mornings in a year. the following comparisons between st. louis and several eastern cities, will afford some evidence of the opinions expressed above. i have remarked already, that , was more sickly in st. louis, than any preceding year, and deaths were more numerous in proportion to the population. some cases of fever were more malignant in , in that place, but deaths were more frequent the following season. i solemnized the marriage of a young lady of my acquaintance, who was under the age of fourteen years. in eight days she was a widow. at the funeral of a gentleman the same season, who left a widow under twenty years, there were present thirteen widows, all under twenty-four years of age, and all had lost their companions that season. young men were victims more than any other age or condition. and yet i am prepared to show, that st. louis, that summer, was not more sickly than several eastern cities were in and . the population of st. louis in , varied but little from , ; the number of deaths during that year was one hundred and thirty-six. this account was taken by the rev. salmon giddings, who was particular in collecting the facts. the proportion of the deaths to the population was one to thirty-five. in , boston contained a population of , ,--number of deaths , ; proportion one to thirty-nine and three fourths. new-york the same year contained a population of , ,--deaths , ; being a proportion of one to a fraction less than thirty-five. in philadelphia, the population then was , ,--deaths , ; being a proportion of one to thirty-two. baltimore had a population of , ,--deaths , ; being a proportion of one to thirty-eight. the aggregate population of these four cities in , was , ; the aggregate number of deaths, , ; the proportion of one to thirty-five, the same as that of st. louis. in . _boston._ population estimated at , ; number of deaths by official returns, , ; the proportion of one to thirty-nine. _new-york._ population about , ,--deaths , ; proportion of one to thirty-seven and two thirds. _philadelphia._ population about , ,--deaths , , proportion of one to twenty-six. [this was an uncommonly sickly season in philadelphia.] _baltimore._ population estimated at , ; deaths were , ; proportion of one to thirty and two thirds. i have thus selected the mortality of st. louis during the most sickly season since my residence in this country, and compared it with the bills of mortality of four eastern cities for two years, those of and , and the result is favorable to the health of st. louis, and by consequence, to the adjoining states. for ten years past, there has been no general sickness in st. louis, during the summer and autumnal months, excepting the cholera in . some parts of indiana and ohio are unquestionably more subject to bilious attacks than illinois. the reason is obvious. much of that region is heavily timbered, and, upon cutting it away in spots, and letting in the rays of the sun upon vegetable matter undergoing decomposition, miasmata are generated. these regions will become comparatively healthy, when put under general cultivation. the story is told, that the late emperor of france lay encamped with one of his armies near a place reputed unhealthy, when one of his officers requested a furlough. the reason being asked, and given, that the place was unhealthy, and the applicant feared to die an inglorious death from fever: napoleon replied, in his accustomed laconic style, "go to your post; men die everywhere." if a family emigrate to a new and distant country, and any of the number sicken and die, we are apt to indulge in unavailing regret at the removal; whereas had the same afflictive event happened before removal, it would have been regarded in quite a different light. let then, none come to illinois who do not expect to be sick and to die, whenever divine providence shall see fit so to order events. the _milk sickness_ is a disease of a singular character, which prevails in certain places. it first affects animals, especially cows, and from them is communicated to the human system by eating the milk, or flesh. the symptoms of the disease indicate poison; and the patient is affected nearly in the same way, as when poisonous ingredients have been received into the system. cattle, when attacked by it, usually die. in many instances it proves mortal in the human system; in others, if yields to the skill of the physician. much speculation has been had upon its cause, which is still unknown. the prevailing idea is, that it is caused by some poisonous substance eaten by the cattle, but whether vegetable or mineral, remains undetermined. physicians and others have attempted to ascertain the cause of this disease, but hitherto without success. it infests only particular spots, or small districts, and these are soon found out. there are places in ohio, indiana, and the southern states, where it exists. its effects are more frequent in autumn than any other season; and to guard against it, the people either keep their cows in a pasture, or refuse to use their milk. some have supposed this disease to be produced by the cattle feeding on the _cicuta virosa_, or water hemlock; as a similar disease once infested the cattle in the north of europe, the cause of which was traced out by the great naturalist linnæus; but it is not known that this species of plant exists amongst the botanical productions of missouri and illinois. anxious to furnish all the information, on this very important subject, to persons desirous of emigrating to the west, i will prolong this chapter by inserting the following: "advice to emigrants, recent settlers, and to those visiting the southern country. "the outlines which have already been given will afford some information to emigrants from other sections of the union, or from europe. we will now offer a few cautionary remarks, particularly intended for such as are about to settle, or have recently settled in this section of the united states. "of new comers, there are two tolerably distinct classes: the one comprising farmers, mechanics, and indeed all those who calculate on obtaining a subsistence by manual industry; the other is composed of professional men, tradesmen, and adventurers of every description. towards the first class our attention is now directed, premising that throughout a great portion of the western country, except in large towns, almost every mechanic is almost necessarily a farmer; the population being in but few places sufficiently dense to support that designation of mechanical employments which is common in the eastern and middle states. "for the industrious and temperate of this class, our country holds forth inducements which are not generally known or understood. "the language of indiscriminate panegyric, which has been bestowed on its climate and soil, has conveyed little information, and is the source of many fears and suspicions in the minds of people at a distance. other accounts have described the western country as uniformly sickly; but the habit of exaggeration in its favor has been most prevalent; neither need we wonder, when much of the information communicated, has been afforded by interested landholders, or speculators, and by travellers, whose views have been superficial, and whose journeys have been performed generally, either on the rivers or by post roads. "the first inquiry of a substantial farmer, from one of the old settled states, is mostly, for good land in the vicinity of a market; and afterwards, whether the situation be healthy. it is true that there are many places in the western country, affording the qualities expressed in this description, but they are perhaps all occupied; and it would be, in several respects, more advisable for a farmer, possessing even a considerable sum of money in hand, to inquire first for a healthy situation, and then good land. "the spirit of improvement throughout the united states, especially evidenced in canalling, and rail-roads, will, it is hoped, in a few years, open modes of communication, which as yet are wanting, with the markets. "the same remarks will apply to the poorer class of emigrants. if they value their own health, and that of their families, the main object of their attention will be to secure, if possible, a situation remote from the fogs that hover over the channels of large rivers, which become partly dry in summer, and from the neighborhood of swamps, marshes, ponds, and small lakes. "every person, on coming from beyond the mountains, and especially from the eastern states, or europe, will have to undergo some degree of change in his constitution, before it becomes naturalized to the climate; and all who move from a cold to a considerably warmer part of the western country will experience the same alteration; it will, therefore, be wisdom for the individual brought up in a more rigorous climate, that he seek a situation where the circulation of the air is unimpeded and free, and that he avoid those flat and marshy districts, which have been already described. "those who settle in new countries are almost universally exposed to inconveniences which have an unfavorable influence on health. they are seldom able for a length of time to erect comfortable places of residence; and indeed, many postpone this important object of attention, even after their circumstances will permit them to build comfortable dwelling houses. "wool is mostly a scarce article in new settlements, so that cotton and linen garments are too frequently worn in winter. there is another circumstance, which no doubt has an unfavorable influence on health, especially among the poorer class: it is the want, during the summer season particularly, of substantial food. this is sometimes owing to indolence or improvidence; but perhaps oftener, to the circumstances in which a few families are placed, at a distance from any established or opulent settlement. "erroneous views are too generally entertained in relation to hardening the human system; and the analogies drawn from savage life, are altogether inconclusive. the manners of the north american indians are essentially different from those of the whites. it is true, there is a portion of the latter, especially in illinois and missouri, who from infancy are educated almost in the habits of the aborigines. "we have frequently heard the example of savages referred to, as an argument in favor of attempting to strengthen the constitution by exposure.[ ] there is plausibility in this; but might not the example of the negroes in the lower parts of south carolina and georgia, be also quoted as evidencing the propriety of living on corn meal and sweet potatoes, and working every day in the water of a rice field during the sickly season? they are generally more healthy than the whites who own them, and who reside on the plantations in the summer. the civilized man may turn to savage life perhaps with safety, as regards health; but then he must plunge with the indian into the depths of the forest, and observe consistency in all his habits. these pages are not written, however, for such as are disposed to consider themselves beyond the pale of civilized society; but for the reflecting part of the community, who can estimate the advantages to be derived from a prudent care of health. "much disease, especially in the more recently settled parts of this country, is consequent to neglecting simple and comfortable precautionary means; sometimes this neglect is owing to misdirected industry, and at others to laziness or evil habits. "to have a dry house, if it be a log one, with the openings between the logs well filled up, so that it may be kept warm in winter; to fill up all the holes in its vicinity which may contain stagnant water; to have a good clean spring or well, sufficient clothing, and a reasonable supply of provisions, should be the first object of a settler's attention: but frequently a little, wet, smoky cabin or hovel is erected, with the floor scarcely separated from the ground, and admitting the damp and unwholesome air. all hands that can work, are impelled, by the father's example, to labor beyond their strength, and more land is cleared and planted with corn than is well tended; for over-exertion, change in the manner of living, and the influence of other debilitating causes, which have been mentioned, bring sickness on at least a part of the family, before the summer is half over. "it is unnecessary for even the poorest emigrant to encounter these causes of distress, unless seduced by the misrepresentations of some interested landholder, or by the fantasies of his own brain, to an unhealthy and desolate situation, where he can neither help himself, nor be assisted by others. "many persons on moving into the _back woods_, who have been accustomed to the decencies of life, think it little matter how they live, because _no one sees them_. thus we have known a family of some opulence to reside for years in a cabin unfit for the abode of any human being, because they could not find time to build a house; and whenever it rained hard, the females were necessarily engaged in rolling the beds from one corner of the room to another, in order to save them from the water that poured in through the roof. this cabin was intended at first as only a very temporary residence, and was erected on the edge of a swamp, for the convenience of being near to a spring. how unreasonable must such people be, if they expect health! "clothing for winter should be prepared in summer. it is a common, but very incorrect practice among many farmers, both west and east of the alleghany mountains, to postpone wearing winter clothing until the weather has become extremely cold: this is a fruitful source of pulmonary diseases, of rheumatisms, and of fevers. "with regard to providing a sufficiency of nourishing food, no specific directions can be given, further than to recommend, what is much neglected--particular attention to a good garden spot; and to remark, that those who devote undivided attention to cultivating the soil, receive more uniform supplies of suitable nourishment than the more indolent, who spend a considerable portion of their time in hunting. "new settlers are not unfrequently troubled with diseases of the skin, which are often supposed to be the itch: for these eruptions they generally use repellant external applications; this plan of treatment is prejudicial. "the most proper time for the removal of families to this country from the atlantic states, is early in the spring, while the rivers are full; or if the journey be made by land, as soon as the roads are sufficiently settled, and the waters abated. "persons unaccustomed to the climate of the lower mississippi country, are necessarily exposed, whilst there in the summer season, to many causes of disease. it will be advisable for such to have a prudent care of their health, and yet, a care distinct from that finical timidity which renders them liable to early attacks of sickness. "there is one important consideration, which perhaps has been somewhat overlooked by medical men, who have written on this subject. natives of colder and healthier regions, when exposed in southern and sickly climates, experience, if they remain any length of time without evident and violent disease, an alteration in the condition of the liver, and of the secreted bile itself; when it passes through the bowels, its color being much darker than usual. sometimes, indeed, it appears to be "locked up in the liver," the stools having an ashen appearance. this state of the biliary secretion is frequently accompanied, although the patient is otherwise apparently in tolerable health, by a pain over the eye-balls, particularly when the eyes are rolled upward. "the proper mode of treatment for such symptoms is, to take without delay, not less than twenty grains of calomel, and in eight hours a wine glass full of castor oil. the tone of the stomach should not be suffered to sink too much after the operation of the medicine, which, if necessary, may be repeated in twenty-four hours. sulphate of quinine, or other tonics, with nutritive food, which is easy of digestion, should also be taken in moderate portions at a time. "where diseases are rapid in their progress, and dangerous, no time is to be lost. the practice of taking salts and other aperients, when in exposed situations, and for the purpose of preventing disease, is injurious. it is sufficient, that the bowels be kept in a natural and healthy state; for all cathartics, even the mildest, have a tendency to nauseate the stomach, create debility, and weaken the digestive faculty. a reduction of tone in the system, which is always advantageous, will be more safely effected by using somewhat less than usual of animal food, and of spirituous, strong vinous, or fermented liquors. the robust will derive benefit from losing a little blood. "it ought to be well understood, that as we approximate tropical climates, the doses of medicine, when taken, should be increased in quantity, and repeated with less delay than is admissible in colder countries. exposure to the night air is certainly prejudicial; so also is the intense heat of the sun, in the middle of the day. violent exercise should also be avoided. bathing daily in water of a comfortable temperature, is a very commendable practice; and cotton worn next the skin is preferable to linen. "it is impossible to prevent the influence of an atmosphere pregnant with the causes of disease; but the operation of those causes may generally be counteracted by attention to the rules laid down; and it is no small consolation to be aware, that on recovery from the first attack, the system is better adapted to meet and sustain a second of a similar nature. the reader will understand that we do not allude to relapses, occurring while the system is enfeebled by the consequences of disease." to the foregoing remarks, i add the following, from an address of judge hall to the "antiquarian and historical society of illinois," december , . "the climate, particularly in reference to its influence on the human system, presents another subject of investigation. the western country has been considered unhealthy; and there have been writers, whose disturbed imaginations have misled them into a belief that the whole land was continually exposed to the most awful visitations of providence, among which have been numbered the hurricane, the pestilence, and the earthquake. if we have been content to smile at such exaggerations, while few had leisure to attempt a serious refutation, and while the facts upon which any deliberate opinion must have been based, had not been sufficiently tested by experience, the time has now arrived when it is no longer excusable to submit in silence to the reproaches of ignorance or malice. it is proper, however, to remark, as well in extenuation of those who have assailed our country, as in the support of the confidential denial, which i feel authorized to make to their assertions, that a vast improvement in the article of health has taken place within a few years. diseases are now mild which were once malignant, and their occurrence is annually becoming less frequent. this happy change affords strong authority for the belief, that although the maladies which have heretofore afflicted us, were partly imputable to the climate, other, and more powerful causes of disease must have existed, which have vanished. we who came to the frontier, while the axe was still busy in the forest, and when thousands of the acres which now yield abundance to the farmer, were unreclaimed and tenantless, have seen the existence of our fellow citizens assailed by other than the ordinary ministers of death. toil, privation and exposure, have hurried many to the grave; imprudence and carelessness of life, have sent crowds of victims prematurely to the tomb. it is not to be denied that the margins of our great streams in general, and many spots in the vicinity of extensive marshes, are subject to bilious diseases; but it may be as confidently asserted, that the interior country is healthy. yet the first settlers invariably selected the rich alluvion lands upon the navigable rivers, in preference to the scarcely less fertile soil of the prairies, lying in situations less accessible, and more remote from market. they came to a wilderness in which houses were not prepared for their reception, nor food, other than that supplied by nature, provided for their sustenance. they often encamped on the margin of the river exposed to its chilly atmosphere, without a tent to shelter, with scarcely a blanket to protect them. their first habitations were rude cabins, affording scarcely a shelter from the rain, and too frail to afford protection from the burning heat of the noonday sun, or the chilling effects of the midnight blast. as their families increased, another and another cabin was added, as crazy and as cheerless as the first, until, admonished of the increase of their own substance, the influx of wealthier neighbors, and the general improvement of the country around them, they were allured by pride to do that to which they never would have been impelled by suffering. the gratuitous exposure to the climate, which the backwoodsman seems rather to court than avoid, is a subject of common remark. no extremity of weather confines him to the shelter of his own roof. whether the object be business or pleasure, it is pursued with the same composure amid the shadows of the night, or the howling of the tempest, as in the most genial season. nor is this trait of character confined to woodsmen or to farmers; examples of hardihood are contagious, and in this country all ranks of people neglect, or despise the ordinary precautions with respect to health. judges and lawyers, merchants, physicians and ministers of the gospel, set the seasons at defiance in the pursuit of their respective callings. they prosecute their journeys regardless of weather; and learn at last to feel little inconvenience from the exposure, which is silently undermining their constitutions. is it extraordinary that people thus exposed should be attacked by violent maladies? would it not be more wonderful that such a careless prodigality of life could pass with impunity? these remarks might be extended; the food of the first settler, consisting chiefly of fresh meat without vegetables and often without salt; the common use of ardent spirits, the want of medical aid, by which diseases, at first simple, being neglected become dangerous; and other evils peculiar to a new country, might be noticed as fruitful sources of disease; but i have already dwelt sufficiently on this subject. that this country is decidedly healthy, i feel no hesitation in declaring; but neither argument nor naked assertions will convince the world. let us collect such facts as amount to evidence, and establish the truth by undeniable demonstration." footnotes: [ ] uniform exposure to the weather is favorable to health. i can affirm this from long experience and observation. our hunters, and surveyors, who uniformly spend their time for weeks in the woods and prairies, who wade in the water, swim creeks, are drenched in the rains and dews, and sleep in the open air or a camp at night, very rarely are attacked with fevers. i have known repeated instances of young men, brought up delicately in the eastern cities, accustomed, as clerks, to a sedentary life, with feeble constitutions,--i have known such repeatedly to enter upon the business of surveying the public lands, or in the hunting and trapping business, be absent for months, and return with robust health. it is a common thing for a frontier man, whose health is on the decline, and especially when indications of pulmonary affection appear, to engage in a hunting expedition to renovate his health. i state these facts, and leave it to the medical faculty to explain the _why and wherefore_. one circumstance may deserve attention. all these men, as do the indians, _sleep with their feet towards the fire at night_. and it is a common notion with this class, that if the feet are kept hot through the night, however cold the atmosphere, or however much exposed the rest of the body, no evil consequences will ensue. i have passed many a night in this position, after fatiguing rides of thirty or forty miles in the day on our extreme frontiers, and through rains, and never experienced any inconvenience to health, if i could get a pallet on the cabin floor, and my feet to the fire. those who are exposed to these hardships but occasionally, when compelled by necessity, and who endeavor to protect themselves at all other times, usually suffer after such exposure. i have observed that children, when left to run in the open air and weather, who go barefoot, and oftentimes with a single light garment around them, who sleep on the floor at night, are more healthy than those who are protected. chapter iv. character, manners, and pursuits of the people. cotton and sugar planters;--farmers;--population of the large towns and cities;--frontier class;--hunters and trappers;--boatmen. there is great diversity in the character and habits of the population of the valley of the mississippi. those who have emigrated from the atlantic states, as have a very large proportion of those persons who were not born in the valley, of course do not differ essentially from the remaining population of those states. some slight shades of difference are perceptible in such persons as have lived long enough in the country to become assimilated to the habits, and partake of the feelings, of western people. emigrants from europe have brought the peculiarities of the nations and countries from whence they have originated, but are fast losing their national manners, and feelings, and, to use a provincial term, will soon become "westernized." the march of emigration from the atlantic border has been nearly in a line due west. tennessee was settled by carolinians, and kentucky by virginians. ohio received the basis of its population from the states in the same parallel, and hence partakes of all the varieties from maryland to new england. michigan is substantially a child of new york. the planters of the south have gone to mississippi, louisiana, and the southern part of arkansas. kentucky and tennessee have spread their sons and daughters over indiana, illinois and missouri; but the two former states are now receiving great numbers of emigrants from all the northern states, including ohio, and multitudes from the south, who desire to remove beyond the boundaries and influence of a slave population. slavery in the west, keeps nearly in the same parallels as it holds in the east, and is receding south, as it does on the atlantic coast. many descendants of the scotch, irish and germans, have come into the frontier states from western pennsylvania. we have european emigrants from great britain and ireland. those of the latter are more generally found about our large towns and cities, and along the lines of canalling. the french were the explorers and early settlers of the valley immediately bordering on the mississippi, years since. they formed the basis of population of louisiana a few years since, but are relatively diminishing before the emigration from other states of the union. their descendants show many of the peculiar and distinctive traits of that people in all countries. they possess mild vivacity, and gaiety, and are distinguished for their quiet, inoffensive, domestic, frugal, and unenterprising spirit and manners. the poorer class of french are rather peculiar and unique. their ancestors were isolated from the rest of the world, had no object of excitement or ambition, cared little for wealth, or the accumulation of property, and were accustomed to hunt, make voyages in their canoes, smoke and traffic with the indians. but few of them knew how to read and write. accustomed from infancy to the life of huntsmen, trappers and boatmen, they make but indifferent farmers. they are contented to live in the same rude, but neatly whitewashed cabin, cultivate the same cornfields in the same mode, and drive the same rudely constructed horse cart their fathers did. in the neatness of their gardens, which are usually cultivated by the females, they excel the americans. they are the _coureurs du bois_ of the west. the european germans are now coming into the valley by thousands, and, for a time, will retain their manners and language. _cotton and sugar planters._--these people, found chiefly in mississippi, louisiana, and the southern part of arkansas, have a great degree of similarity. they are noted for their high-mindedness, generosity, liberality, hospitality, sociability, quick sense of honor, resentment of injuries, indolence, and, in too many cases, dissipation. they are much addicted to the sports of the turf and the vices of the gaming table. still there are many planters of strictly moral, and even religious habits. they are excessively jealous of their political rights, yet frank and open hearted in their dispositions, and carry the duties of hospitality to a great extent. having overseers on most of their plantations, the labor being performed by slaves, they have much leisure, and are averse to much personal attention to business. they dislike care, profound thinking and deep impressions. the young men are volatile, gay, dashing and reckless spirits, fond of excitement and high life. there is a fatal propensity amongst the southern planters to decide quarrels, and even trivial disputes by duels. but there are also many amiable and noble traits of character amongst this class; and if the principles of the bible and religion could be brought to exert a controlling influence, there would be a noble spirited race of people in the southwestern states. it cannot be expected that i should pass in entire silence the system of slaveholding in the lower valley, or its influence on the manners and habits of the people. this state of society seems unavoidable at present, though i have no idea or expectation it will be perpetual. opposite sentiments and feelings are spreading over the whole earth, and a person must have been a very inattentive observer of the tendencies and effects of the diffusion of liberal principles not to perceive that hereditary, domestic servitude must have an end. this is a subject, however, that from our civil compact, belongs exclusively to the citizens of the states concerned; and if not unreasonably annoyed, the farming slaveholding states, as kentucky, tennessee and missouri, will soon provide for its eventual termination. doubtless, in the cotton and sugar growing states it will retain its hold with more tenacity, but the influence of free principles will roll onward until the evil is annihilated. the barbarous and unwise regulations in some of the planting states, _which prohibit the slaves from being taught to read_, are a serious impediment to the moral and religious instruction of that numerous and unfortunate class. such laws display on the part of the law makers, little knowledge of human nature and the real tendency of things. to keep _slaves_ entirely ignorant of the rights of man, in this spirit-stirring age, is utterly impossible. seek out the remotest and darkest corner of louisiana, and plant every guard that is possible around the negro quarters, and the light of truth will penetrate. slaves will find out, for they already know it, that they possess rights as men. and here is the fatal mistake now committed in the southern slaveholding states--legislating against the instruction of their slaves--to keep them from knowing their rights. they will obtain some loose, vague, and undefined notion of the doctrine of human rights, and the unrighteousness of oppression in this republican country. being kept from all the moral and religious instruction which sabbath schools, the bible, and other good books are calculated to impart, and with those undefined notions of liberty, and without any moral principle, they are prepared to enter into the first insurrectionary movement proposed by some artful and talented leader. the same notion prevailed in the west indies half a century since, and many of the planters resisted and persecuted the benevolent moravians, who went there to instruct the blacks in the principles and duties of religion. a few of the planters reasoned justly. they invited these benevolent men on their plantations, and gave them full liberty on the sabbath, and at other suitable seasons, to instruct their slaves. the happiest effects followed. on these plantations, where riot, misrule, and threatened insurrections, had once spread a panic through the colony, order, quietness and submission followed. such would be the effects if the southern planter would invite the minister of the gospel and the sunday school teacher to visit his plantation, allow his slaves to be instructed to read, and each to be furnished with a copy of the scriptures. the southern planter hourly lives under the most terrific apprehensions. it is in vain to disguise the fact. as mr. randolph once significantly said in congress, "_when the night bell rings, the mother hugs her infant closer to her breast_." slavery, under any circumstances, is a bitter draught--equally bitter to him who tenders the cup, and to him who drinks it. but in all the northern slaveholding states, it is comparatively mild. its condition would be much alleviated, and the planter might sleep securely if he would abolish his barbarous laws, more congenial with asiatic despotism than american republicanism, and provide for his slaves the benefits of wholesome instruction. philanthropy and interest unite in their demands upon every southern planter to provide sunday school instruction for his slaves. the planting region of the lower valley furnishes an immense market for the productions and manufactures of the upper valley. indirectly, the louisiana sugar business is a source of profit to the farmer of illinois and missouri. pork, beef, corn, corn-meal, flour, potatoes, butter, hay, &c. in vast quantities, go to supply these plantations. in laying in their stores, the sugar planters usually purchase one barrel of second or third quality of beef or pork per annum, for each laborer. large drafts for sugar mills, engines and boilers, are made upon the cincinnati and pittsburg iron foundries. mules and horses are driven from the upper country, or from the mexican dominions, to keep up the supply. the commerce of the upper country that concentrates at new orleans is amazing, and every year is rapidly increasing. sixteen hundred arrivals of steamboats took place in , and the estimated number in is , . _farmers._--in the northern half of the valley the productions, and the modes of cultivation and living are such as to characterize a large proportion of the population as farmers. no country on earth has such facilities for agriculture. the soil is abundantly fertile, the seasons ordinarily favorable to the growth and maturity of crops, and every farmer in a few years, with reasonable industry, becomes comparatively independent. tobacco and hemp are among the staple productions of kentucky. neat cattle, horses, mules and swine are its stock. some stock growers have monopolized the smaller farms till they are surrounded with several thousand acres. blue grass pastures furnish summer feed, and extensive fields of corn, cut up near the ground, and stacked in the fields, furnish stores for fattening stock in the winter. in some counties, raising of stock has taken place of all other business. the scioto valley, and other districts in ohio, are famous for fine, well fed beef. thousands of young cattle are purchased by the ohio graziers, at the close of winter, of the farmers of illinois and missouri. the miami and whitewater sections of ohio and indiana, abound with swine. cincinnati has been the great pork mart of the world. , head of hogs have been frequently slaughtered there in a season. about , is estimated to be the number slaughtered at that place the present season. this apparent falling off in the pork business, at cincinnati, is accounted for by the vast increase of business at other places. since the opening of the canals in ohio, many provision establishments have been made along their line. much business of the kind is now done at terre haute and other towns on the wabash,--at madison, louisville, and other towns on the ohio,--at alton and other places in illinois. the farmers of the west are independent in feeling, plain in dress, simple in manners, frank and hospitable in their dwellings, and soon acquire a competency by moderate labor. those from kentucky, tennessee, or other states south of the ohio river, have large fields, well cultivated, and enclosed with strong built rail or worm fences, but they often neglect to provide spacious barns and other outhouses for their grain, hay and stock. the influence of habit, is powerful. a kentuckian would look with contempt upon the low fences of a new-englander as indicating thriftless habits, while the latter would point at the unsheltered stacks of wheat, and dirty threshing floor of the former, as proof direct of bad economy and wastefulness. _population of the cities and large towns._ the population of western towns does not differ essentially from the same class in the atlantic states, excepting there is much less division into grades and ranks, less ignorance, low depravity and squalid poverty amongst the poor, and less aristocratic feeling amongst the rich. as there is never any lack of employment for laborers of every description, there is comparatively no suffering from that cause. and the hospitable habits of the people provide for the sick, infirm and helpless. doubtless, our _circumstances_ more than any thing else, cause these shades of difference. the common mechanic is on a social equality with the merchant, the lawyer, the physician, and the minister. they have shared in the same fatigues and privations, partook of the same homely fare, in many instances have fought side by side in defence of their homes against the inroads of savages,--are frequently elected to the same posts of honor, and have accumulated property simultaneously. many mechanics in the western cities and towns, are the owners of their own dwellings, and of other buildings, which they rent. i have known many a wealthy merchant, or professional gentleman occupy on rent, a building worth several thousand dollars, the property of some industrious mechanic, who, but a few years previous, was an apprentice lad, or worked at his trade as a journeyman. any sober, industrious mechanic can place himself in affluent circumstances, and place his children on an equality with the children of the commercial and professional community, by migrating to any of our new and rising western towns. they will find no occasion here for combinations to sustain their interests, nor meet with annoyance from gangs of unprincipled foreigners, under the imposing names of "trades unions." manufactures of various kinds are carried on in our western cities. pittsburg has been characterized as the "birmingham of america." the manufactures of iron, machinery and glass, and the building of steamboats, are carried on to a great extent. iron and salt, are made in great quantities in western pennsylvania, and western virginia. steamboats are built to a considerable extent at fulton, two miles above cincinnati, and occasionally at many other places on the ohio and mississippi rivers. alton offers great facilities for this business. cotton bagging, bale ropes, and cordage, are manufactured in tennessee and kentucky. the following article from the covington enquirer, gives a few items of the industry and enterprise of kentucky,--of the manufacture of newport and covington. both of these thriving towns lie at the mouth of the licking river, the one on the right bank, and the other on the left, and both in direct view of cincinnati. manufactures in covington and newport. "founding the calculation upon the actual manufactures of october, and the known power of their machinery, the company will the ensuing year, give employment to more than four hundred operatives, and manufacture, , lbs. of cotton bagging, , do cotton yarns, , lbs. bale rope, , do cordage, , yards linseys, , do cotton plains, , do kentucky jeans, , do cotton bagging and hemp. estimating bale rope and cotton bagging at per cent under the price at which the company have sold these articles for the last six months, the manufactures of this company during the ensuing year will amount to $ , . . almost all the manufactures at covington and newport being exported to foreign markets, it will result that the annual exports from these points will, in round numbers, be from the interior $ , campbell county , boone county , covington , newport , ---------- $ , , the newport manufacturing company has depended principally for its supply of hemp, on the production of mason county, of which maysville is the market;--this season they have not been able to get a supply at maysville, and it is a remarkable fact in the history of the hemp manufactories in kentucky, that this company, owing to the scarcity and high prices of hemp in kentucky, _has imported this season_ , lbs. _russia hemp_. various manufactures are springing up in all the new states, which will be noticed under their proper heads. the number of merchants and traders is very great in the valley of the mississippi, yet mercantile business is rapidly increasing.--thousands of the farmers of the west, are partial traders. they take their own produce, in their own flat boats, down the rivers to the market of the lower country. _frontier class of population._ the rough, sturdy habits of the backwoodsmen, living in that plenty which depends on god and nature, have laid the foundation of independent thought and feeling deep in the minds of western people. generally, in all the western settlements, three classes, like the waves of the ocean, have rolled one after the other. first comes the pioneer, who depends for the subsistence of his family chiefly upon the natural growth of vegetation, called the "range," and the proceeds of hunting. his implements of agriculture are rude, chiefly of his own make, and his efforts directed mainly to a crop of corn, and a "truck patch." the last is a rude garden for growing cabbage, beans, corn for roasting ears, cucumbers and potatoes. a log cabin, and occasionally a stable and corn crib, and a field of a dozen acres, the timber girdled or "deadened," and fenced, are enough for his occupancy. it is quite immaterial whether he ever becomes the owner of the soil. he is the occupant for the time being, pays no rent, and feels as independent as the "lord of the manor." with a horse, cow, and one or two breeders of swine, he strikes into the woods with his family, and becomes the founder of a new county, or perhaps state. he builds his cabin, gathers around him a few other families of similar taste and habits, and occupies till the range is somewhat subdued, and hunting a little precarious, or, which is more frequently the case, till neighbors crowd around, roads, bridges and fields annoy him, and he lacks elbow-room. the pre-emption law enables him to dispose of his cabin and cornfield, to the next class of emigrants, and, to employ his own figures, he "breaks for the high timber,"--"clears out for the new purchase," or migrates to arkansas or texas, to work the same process over. the next class of emigrants purchase the lands, add "field to field," clear out the roads, throw rough bridges over the streams, put up hewn log houses, with glass windows, and brick or stone chimneys, occasionally plant orchards, build mills, school houses, court houses, &c., and exhibit the picture and forms of plain, frugal, civilized life. another wave rolls on. the men of capital and enterprise come. the "settler" is ready to sell out, and take the advantage of the rise of property,--push farther into the interior, and become himself, a man of capital and enterprise in time. the small village rises to a spacious town or city,--substantial edifices of brick, extensive fields, orchards, gardens--colleges and churches are seen. broadcloths, silks, leghorns, crapes, and all the refinements, luxuries, elegancies, frivolities and fashions, are in vogue. thus wave after wave is rolling westward--the real _el dorado_ is still farther on. a portion of the two first classes remain stationary amidst the general movement, improve their habits and condition, and rise in the scale of society. the writer has travelled much amongst the first class--the real pioneers. he has lived many years in connexion with the second grade, and now the third wave is sweeping over large districts of indiana, illinois and missouri. migration has become almost a habit in the west. hundreds of men can be found, not fifty years of age, who have settled for the fourth, fifth, or sixth time on a new spot. to sell out and remove only a few hundred miles, makes up a portion of the variety of backwoods life and manners. but to return to the frontier class. . _dress._--the hunting shirt is universally worn. this is a kind of loose, open frock, reaching halfway down the thighs, with large sleeves, the body open in front, lapped over, and belted with a leathern girdle, held together with a buckle. the cape is large, and usually fringed with different colored cloth from that of the body. the bosom of this dress sometimes serves as a wallet for a "chunk" of bread, jerk or smoke-dried venison, and other articles. it is made either of dressed deer skins, linsey, coarse linen, or cotton. the shirt, waistcoat and pantaloons are of similar articles and of the customary form. wrappers of cloth or dressed skins, called "leggins" are tied round the legs when travelling. moccasins of deer skins, shoe packs, and rough shoes, the leather tanned and cobbled by the owner, are worn on the feet. the females' dress in a coarse gown of cotton, a bonnet of the same stuff, and denominated in the eastern states a "sun-bonnet." the latter is constantly worn through the day, especially when company is present. the clothing for both sexes is made at home. the wheel and loom are common articles of furniture in every cabin. . _dwellings._--"cabin" is the name for a plain, rough log-house, throughout the west. the spot being selected, usually in the timbered land, and near some spring, the first operation of the newly arrived emigrant is to cut about logs of the proper size and length for a single cabin, or twice that number for a double one, and haul them to the spot. a large oak or other suitable timber, of straight grain, and free from limbs, is selected for clapboards for the roof. these are four feet in length, split with a froe six or eight inches wide, and half an inch thick. _puncheons_ are used for the floor. these are made by splitting trees about eighteen inches in diameter into slabs, two or three inches in thickness, and hewn on the upper surface. the door way is made by cutting out the logs after raising, of a suitable width, and putting upright pieces of timber at the sides. the shutter is made of clapboards, pinned on cross pieces, hung by wooden hinges, and fastened by a wooden latch. a similar aperture, but is wider made at one end for the chimney. the men of the settlement, when notified, collect and raise the building. four stout men with axes are placed on the corners to notch the logs together, while the rest of the company lift them up. after the roof is on the body of the building, it is slightly hewed down both out and inside. the roof is formed by shortening each end log in succession till one log forms the comb of the roof. the clapboards are put on so as to cover all cracks, and held down by poles or small logs. the chimney is built of sticks of wood, the largest at the bottom, and the smallest at the top, and laid up with a supply of mud or clay mortar. the interstices between the logs are chinked with strips of wood and daubed with mortar both outside and in. a double cabin consists of two such buildings with a space of or feet between, over which the roof extends. a _log house_, in western parlance, differs from a cabin in the logs being hewn on two sides to an equal thickness before raising,--in having a framed and shingled roof, a brick or stone chimney, windows, tight floors, and are frequently clapboarded on the outside and plastered within. a log house thus finished, costs more than a framed one. cabins are often the temporary dwellings of opulent and highly respectable families. the axe, auger, froe, drawing knife, broad-axe, and crosscut saw are the only tools required in constructing these rude edifices;--sometimes the axe and auger only are employed. not a nail or pane of glass is needed. cabins are by no means as wretched for residences as their name imports. they are often roomy, comfortable and neat. if one is not sufficient to accommodate the family, another is added, and another until sufficient room is obtained. . _furniture and mode of living._--the genuine backwoodsman makes himself and family comfortable and contented where those, unaccustomed to his mode of life, would live in unavailing regret, or make a thousand awkward apologies on the visit of a neighbor or traveller. a table is made of a split slab and supported by four round legs. clapboards supported by pins stuck in the logs answer for shelves for table furniture. the bedstead is often made in the corner of the room by sticks placed in the logs, supported at the outward corner by a post, on which clapboards are laid, the ends of which enter the wall between the logs, and which support the bedding. on the arrival of travellers or visiters, the bed clothing is shared with them, being spread on the puncheon floor that the feet may project towards the fire. many a night has the writer passed in this manner, after a fatiguing day's ride, and reposed more comfortably than on a bed of down in a spacious mansion. all the family of both sexes, with all the strangers who arrive, often lodge in the same room. in that case the under garments are never taken off, and no consciousness of impropriety or indelicacy of feeling is manifested. a few pins stuck in the wall of the cabin display the dresses of the women and the hunting shirts of the men. two small forks or bucks-horns fastened to a joist are indispensable articles for the support of the rifle. a loose floor of clapboards, and supported by round poles, is thrown over head for a loft which furnishes a place to throw any articles not immediately wanted, and is frequently used for a lodging place for the younger branches of the family. a ladder planted in the corner behind the door answers the purpose of stairs. the necessary table and kitchen furniture are a few pewter dishes and spoons, knives and forks, (for which however, the common hunting knife is often a substitute,) tin cups for coffee or milk, a water pail and a small gourd or calabash for water, with a pot and iron dutch oven, constitute the chief articles. add to these a tray for wetting up meal for corn bread, a coffee pot and set of cups and saucers, a set of common plates, and the cabin is furnished. the hominy mortar and hand mill are in use in all frontier settlements. the first consists of a block of wood with an excavation burned at one end and scraped out with an iron tool, wide at top and narrow at the bottom that the action of the pestle may operate to the best advantage. sometimes a stump of a large tree is excavated while in its natural position. an elastic pole, or feet in length, with the large end fastened under the ground log of the cabin, and the other elevated or feet and supported by two forks, to which a pestle or inches in diameter and or feet long is fixed on the elevated end by a large mortice, and a pin put through its lower end so that two persons can work it in conjunction. this is much used for pounding corn. a very simple instrument to answer the same purpose, is a circular piece of tin, perforated, and attached to a piece of wood like a grater, on which the ears of corn are rubbed for meal. the hand mill is in the same form as that used in judea in the time of our savior. two circular stones, about inches in diameter constructed like ordinary mill stones, with a staff let into the runner or upper stone near its outer edge, with the upper end inserted in a joist or board over head, and turned by the hands of two persons while one feeds it with corn. horse mills follow the mortar and hand mill in the scale of improvement. they are constructed variously. a _hand_ mill is the most simple. a large upright post is placed on a gudgeon, with shafts extending horizontally or feet. around the ends of these is a band of raw hide twisted, which passes around the trundle head and turns the spindle and communicates motion to the stone. a _cog_ mill is formed by constructing a rim with cogs upon the shafts, and a trundle head to correspond. each person furnishes his own horses to turn the mill, performs his own grinding, and pays toll to the owner for use of the mill. mills with the wheel on an inclined plane, and carried by oxen standing on the wheel, are much in use in those sections where water power is not convenient, but these indicate an advance to the second grade of society. instead of bolting cloths, the frontier people use a sieve or as called here, a "search." this is made from a deer skin prepared to resemble parchment, stretched on a hoop and perforated full of holes with a hot wire. every backwoodsman carries on all occasions, the means of furnishing his meat. the rifle, bullet pouch and horn, hunting knife, horse and dog are his constant companions when from home, and woe be to the wolf, bear, deer or turkey that comes within one hundred and fifty yards of his trail. with the first emigration there are few mechanics; hence every settler becomes expert in supplying his own necessaries. besides clearing land, building cabins, and making fences, he stocks his own plough, repairs his wagon and his harness, tans his own leather, makes his shoes, tables, bedsteads, stools or seats, trays and a hundred other articles. these may be rudely constructed, but they answer his purpose very well. the following extracts from the graphic "sketches of the west," by james hall, esq. completes this extended picture of backwoods manners. "the traveller, accustomed to different modes of life, is struck with the rude and uncomfortable appearance of every thing about this people,--the rudeness of their habitations, the carelessness of their agriculture, the unsightly coarseness of all their implements and furniture, the unambitious homeliness of all their goods and chattels, except the axe, the rifle, and the horse--these being invariably the best and handsomest which their means enable them to procure. but he is mistaken in supposing them indolent or improvident; and is little aware how much ingenuity and toil have been exerted in procuring the few comforts which they possess, in a country without arts, mechanics, money, or commercial intercourse. "the backwoodsman has many substantial enjoyments. after the fatigue of his journey, and a short season of privation and danger, he finds himself surrounded with plenty. his cattle, hogs, and poultry, supply his table with meat; the forest abounds in game; the fertile soil yields abundant crops; he has, of course, bread, milk, and butter; the rivers furnish fish, and the woods honey. for these various articles, there is, at first, no market, and the farmer acquires the generous habit of spreading them profusely on his table, and giving them freely to a hungry traveller and an indigent neighbor. "hospitality and kindness are among the virtues of the first settlers. exposed to common dangers and toils, they become united by the closest ties of social intercourse. accustomed to arm in each other's defence, to aid in each other's labor, to assist in the affectionate duty of nursing the sick, and the mournful office of burying the dead, the best affections of the heart are kept in constant exercise; and there is, perhaps, no class of men in our country, who obey the calls of benevolence, with such cheerful promptness, or with so liberal a sacrifice of personal convenience. "we read marvellous stories of the ferocity of western men. the name of kentuckian is constantly associated with the idea of fighting, dirking, and gouging. the people of whom we are now writing do not deserve this character. they live together in great harmony, with little contention and less litigation. the backwoodsmen are a generous and placable race. they are bold and impetuous; and when differences do arise among them, they are more apt to give vent to their resentment at once, than to brood over their wrongs, or to seek legal redress. but this conduct is productive of harmony; for men are always more guarded in their deportment to each other, and more cautious of giving offence, when they know that the insult will be quickly felt, and instantly resented, than when the consequences of an offensive action are doubtful, and the retaliation distant. we have no evidence that the pioneers of kentucky were quarrelsome or cruel; and an intimate acquaintance with the same race, at a later period, has led the writer to the conclusion, that they are a humane people; bold and daring, when opposed to an enemy, but amiable in their intercourse with each other and with strangers, and habitually inclined to peace." in morals and the essential principles of religion, this class of people are by no means so defective as many imagine. the writer has repeatedly been in settlements and districts beyond the pale of civil and criminal law, where the people are a "law unto themselves," where courts, lawyers, sheriffs, and constables existed not, and yet has seen as much quiet and order, and more honesty in paying just debts, than where legal restraints operated in all their force. the turpitude of vice and the majesty of virtue, were as apparent as in older settlements. industry, in laboring or hunting, bravery in war, candor, honesty, and hospitality were rewarded with the confidence and honor of the people. regulating parties would exist, and thieves, rogues and counterfeiters were sure to receive a striped jacket "worked nineteen to the dozen," and by this mode of operation, induced to "clear out;" but truth, uprightness, honesty and sincerity are always respected. many of the frontier class are _illiterate_, but they are by no means _ignorant_. they are a shrewd, observing, thinking people. they may not have learned the black marks in books, but they have studied _men and things_, and have a quick insight into human nature. they are not inattentive to religion, though their opportunities of religious instruction are few, compared with old countries. they have prejudices and fears about many of the organized benevolent societies of the present age, yet there are no people more readily disposed to attend religious meetings, and whose hearts are more readily affected with the gospel than the backwoods people; and as large a proportion are orderly professors of religion as in any part of the union. ministers of the gospel and missionaries, who can suit themselves to the circumstances and habits of frontier people,--who like paul, can "become all things to all men,"--find pleasant and interesting fields of labor on all our frontiers. but let such persons show fastidiousness, affect superior intelligence and virtue, catechise the people for their plainness and simplicity of manners, and draw invidious comparisons, and they are sure to be "used up," or left without hearers, to deplore the "dark clouds" of ignorance and prejudice in the west. _hunters and trappers._ entirely beyond the boundaries of civilization are many hundreds of a unique class, distinguished by the terms hunters and trappers. they are engaged in hunting buffalo and other wild game, and trapping for beaver. they are found upon the vast prairies of the west and northwest,--in all the defiles and along the streams of the rocky mountains, and in various parts of the oregon territory, to the peninsula of california. they are an enterprising and erratic race from almost every state, and are usually in the employ of persons of capital and enterprise, and who are concerned in the fur and peltry business. expeditions for one, two, or three years, are fitted out from st. louis, or some commercial point, consisting of companies, who ascend the rivers to the regions of fur. the hunters and trappers, receive a proportion of the profits of the expedition. some become so enamored with this wandering and exposed life as to lose all desire of returning to the abodes of civilization, and remain for the rest of their lives in the american deserts. there are individuals, who are graduates of colleges, and who once stood high in the circles of refinement and taste, that have passed more than twenty years amongst the roaming tribes of the rocky mountains, or on the western slope, till they have apparently lost all feelings towards civilized life. they have afforded an interesting but melancholy example of the tendencies of human nature towards the degraded state of savages. the improvement of the species is a slow and laborious process,--the deterioration is rapid, and requires only to be divested of restraint, and left to its own unaided tendencies. many others have returned to the habits of civilization, and some with fortunes made from the woods and prairies. _boatmen._ these are the fresh water sailors of the west, with much of the light hearted, reckless character of the sons of the ocean, including peculiar shades of their own. before the introduction of steamboats on the western waters, its immense commerce was carried on by means of _keel boats_, and _barges_. the former is much in the shape of a canal boat, long, slim-built, sharp at each end, and propelled by setting poles and the cordelle or long rope. the barge is longer, and has a bow and stern. both are calculated to ascend streams but by a very slow process. each boat would require from ten to thirty hands, according to its size. a number of these boats frequently sailed in company. the boatmen were proverbially lawless at every town and landing, and indulged without restraint in every species of dissipation, debauchery and excess. but this race has become reformed, or nearly extinct;--yes, reformed by the mighty power of steam. a steamboat, with half the crew of a barge or keel, will carry ten times the burden, and perform six or eight trips in the time it took a keel boat to make one voyage. thousands of flat boats, or "broad horns," as they are called, pass _down_ the rivers with the produce of the country, which are managed by the farmers of the west, but never return up stream. they are sold for lumber, and the owners, after disposing of the cargo, return by steam. the number of boatmen on the western waters is not only greatly reduced, but those that remain are fast losing their original character. chapter v. public lands. system of surveys.--meridian and base lines.--townships.--diagram of a township surveyed into sections.--land districts and offices. --pre-emption rights.--military bounty lands.--taxes.--valuable tracts of country unsettled. in all the new states and territories, the lands which are owned by the general government, are surveyed and sold under one general system. several offices, each under the direction of a surveyor general, have been established by acts of congress, and districts, embracing one or more states, assigned them. the office for the surveys of all public lands in ohio, indiana, michigan, and the wisconsin country is located at cincinnati. the one including the states of illinois and missouri, and the territory of arkansas is at st. louis. deputy surveyors are employed to do the work at a stipulated rate per mile, generally from three to four dollars, who employ chain bearers, an axe, and flag man, and a camp-keeper. they are exposed to great fatigue and hardship, spending two or three months at a time in the woods and prairies, with slight, moveable camps for shelter. in the surveys, "_meridian_" lines are first established, running north from the mouth of some noted river. these are intersected with "_base_" lines. there are five principal meridians in the land surveys in the west. the "_first principal meridian_" is a line due north from the mouth of the miami. the "_second principal meridian_" is a line due north from the mouth of little blue river, in indiana. the "_third principal meridian_" is a line due north from the mouth of the ohio. the "_fourth principal meridian_" is a line due north from the mouth of the illinois. the "_fifth principal meridian_" is a line due north from the mouth of the arkansas. another meridian is used for michigan, which passes through the central part of the state. its base line extends from about the middle of lake st. clair, across the state west to lake michigan. each of these meridians has its own base line. the surveys connected with the third and fourth meridians, and a small portion of the second, embrace the state of illinois. the base line for both the second and third principal meridians commences at diamond island, in ohio, opposite indiana, and runs due west till it strikes the mississippi, a few miles below st. louis. all the _townships_ in illinois, south and east of the illinois river, are numbered from this base line either north or south. the third principal meridian terminates with the northern boundary of the state. the fourth principal meridian commences in in the centre of the channel, and at the mouth of the illinois river, but immediately crosses to the _east_ shore, and passes up on that side, (and at one place nearly fourteen miles distant) to a point in the channel of the river, seventy-two miles from its mouth. here its base line commences and extends across the peninsula to the mississippi, a short distance above quincy. the fourth principal meridian is continued northward through the military tract, and across rock river, to a curve in the mississippi at the upper rapids, in township eighteen north, and about twelve or fifteen miles above rock island. it here crosses and passes up the _west_ side of the mississippi river fifty-three miles, and recrosses into illinois, and passes through the town of galena to the northern boundary of the state. it is thence continued to the wisconsin river and made the principal meridian for the surveys of the territory, while the northern boundary line of the state is constituted its base line for that region. having formed a principal meridian with its corresponding base line, for a district of country, the next operation of the surveyor is to divide this into tracts of six miles square, called "_townships_." in numbering the townships _east_ or _west_ from a principal meridian, they are called "_ranges_," meaning a range of townships; but in numbering _north_ or _south_ from a base line, they are called "_townships_." thus a tract of land is said to be situated in township four north in range three east, from the third principal meridian; or as the case may be. townships are subdivided into square miles, or tracts of acres each, called "_sections_." if near timber, trees are marked and numbered with the section, township, and range, near each sectional corner. if in a large prairie, a mound is raised to designate the corner, and a billet of charred wood buried, if no rock is near. sections are divided into halves by a line north and south, and into quarters by a transverse line. in sales under certain conditions, quarters are sold in equal subdivisions of forty acres each, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. any person, whether a native born citizen, or a foreigner, may purchase forty acres of the richest soil, and receive an indisputable title, for fifty dollars. _ranges_ are townships counted either east or west from meridians. _townships_ are counted either north or south from their respective base lines. _fractions_, are parts of quarter sections intersected by streams or confirmed claims. the parts of townships, sections, quarters, &c. made at the lines of either townships or meridians are called _excesses_ or _deficiencies_. _sections_, or miles square are numbered, beginning in the northeast corner of the township, progressively west to the range line, and then progressively east to the range line, alternately, terminating at the southeast corner of the township, from one to thirty-six, as in the following diagram: +------+------+------+------+------+------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------+------+------+------+------+------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------+------+------+------+------+------+ | | | | | | | | | | [a]| | | | | | | | | | | +------+------+------+------+------+------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------+------+------+------+------+------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------+------+------+------+------+------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +------+------+------+------+------+------+ [a] appropriated for schools in the township. i have been thus particular in this account of the surveys of public lands, to exhibit the simplicity of a system, that to strangers, unacquainted with the method of numbering the sections, and the various subdivisions, appears perplexing and confused. all the lands of congress owned in ohio have been surveyed, and with the exceptions of some indian reservations, have been brought into market. in indiana, all the lands purchased of the indians have been surveyed, and with the exception of about ninety townships and fractional townships, have been offered for sale. these, amounting to about two millions of acres, will be offered for sale the present year. in michigan, nearly all the ceded lands have been surveyed and brought into market. the unsurveyed portion is situated in the neighborhood of saginaw bay; a part of which may be ready for market within the current year. in the wisconsin territory, west of lake michigan, all the lands in the wisconsin district, which lies between the state of illinois and the wisconsin river, have been surveyed; and in addition to the lands already offered for sale in the green bay district, about townships, and fractional townships, have been surveyed and are ready for market. the surveys of the whole country west of lake michigan and south of the wisconsin river, in illinois and wisconsin territory, will soon be surveyed and in market. here are many millions of the finest lands on earth, lying along the des pleines, fox, and rock rivers, and their tributaries, well watered, rich soil, a healthy atmosphere, and facilities to market. a temporary scarcity of timber in some parts of this region will retard settlements, for a time; but this difficulty will be obviated, by the rapidity with which prairie land turns to a timbered region, wherever, by contiguous settlements, the wild grass becomes subdued, and by the discovery of coal beds. much of it is a mineral region. in illinois, the surveys are now completed in the danville district, and in the southern part of the chicago district. they are nearly completed along rock river and the mississippi. the unsurveyed portion is along fox river, des pleines and the shore of lake michigan, in the north-eastern part of the state. emigrants, however, do not wait for surveys and sales. they are settling over this fine portion of the state, in anticipation of purchases. in missouri, besides the former surveys, the exterior lines of townships, and the subdivision into sections and quarters, townships in the northern part of the state, and contracts for running the exterior lines of townships on the waters of the osage and grand rivers have been made. a large portion of this state is now surveyed and in market. surveys are progressing in arkansas, and large bodies of land are proclaimed for sale in that district. i have no data before me that will enable me definitely to show the amount of public lands now remaining unsold, in each land office district. in another place i have already given an estimate of the amount of public lands, within the organized states and territories, remaining unsold, compared with the amount sold in past years. the following table exhibits the number of acres sold in the districts embraced more immediately within the range of this guide, for , and the three first quarters of , with the names of each district in each state. it is constructed from the report of the commissioner of the general land office to the treasury department, december th, . the sales of the last quarter of , in illinois, and probably in the other states, greatly exceeded either the other quarters, and which will be exhibited in the annual report of the commissioner in december, . _statement of the amount of public lands, sold at the several land offices in ohio, indiana, illinois, michigan, wisconsin, missouri, and arkansas, in ._ =====================+============== | _acres and land offices. | hundredths_ ---------------------+-------------- ohio. marietta district, , . zanesville do , . steubenville, do , . chillicothe, do , . cincinnati, do , . wooster, do , . wapaghkonetta do , . bucyrus do , . ---------- total for the state, , . indiana. jeffersonville district. , . vincennes do , . indianopolis do , . crawfordsville do , . fort wayne do , . la porte do , . ---------- total for the state, , . illinois. shawneetown district. , . kaskaskia do , . edwardsville do , . vandalia do , . palestine do , . springfield do , . danville do , . quincy do , . ---------- total for the state, , . michigan territory detroit district. , . monroe do , . white pigeon prairie } bronson do } , . ---------- total for the territory , . wisconsin territory. mineral point dist. , . missouri. st. louis district. , . fayette do , . palmyra do , . jackson do , . lexington do , . ---------- total for the state, , . arkansas territory. batesville district. , . little rock do , . washington do , . fayetteville do , . helena do , . ---------- total for the territory , . _statement of the amount of public lands, sold at the several land offices in ohio, indiana, illinois, michigan, wisconsin, missouri, and arkansas, from january st, to september th, , including nine months._ =====================+============= | _acres and land offices. | hundredths_ ---------------------+------------- ohio. marietta dist. , . zanesville do , . steubenville do , . chillicothe do , . cincinnati do , . wooster do , . wapaghkonetta} and lima, } do , . bucyrus do , . ---------- total for the state, , . indiana. jeffersonville dist. , . vincennes do , . indianapolis do , . crawfordsville do , . fort wayne do , . la porte do , . ---------- total for the state, , . illinois. shawneetown dist. , . kaskaskia do , . edwardsville do , . vandalia do , . palestine do , . springfield do , . danville do , . quincy do [a] , . galena do [b] , . chicago do , . ------------ total for the state, , , . michigan. detroit dist. , . brownson do , . monroe do , . ------------ total for michigan} proper, } , , . wisconsin. mineral point dist. , . green bay do , . ---------- total for wisconsin} territory, } , . missouri. st. louis dist. , . fayette do , . palmyra do , . jackson do , . lexington do , . springfield do . ---------- total for the state, , . arkansas. batesville dist. , . little rock do , . washington do , . fayetteville do , . helena do , . ---------- total for the territory , . [a] returns only to may st. [b] returns only to july st. since those periods, sales at these offices have been immense the reader will perceive that the sales of the three first quarters of , almost doubled those of the whole year of . the inquiry was often made of the writer, while travelling in the atlantic states in the summer of , whether there was still opportunity for emigrants to purchase public lands in indiana, illinois, &c. where land offices had been opened for sale of lands many years. he found almost everywhere, wrong notions prevailing. the people were not aware of the immense extent of the public domain now in market, and ready to be sold at _one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre_, and even in as small tracts as forty acres. take for example, the edwardsville district, in which the writer resides. it extends south to the base line, east to the third principal meridian, north to the line that separates townships and north, and west to the illinois and mississippi rivers, and embraces all the counties of madison, clinton, bond, montgomery, macouper, and greene, a tier of townships on the south side of morgan and sangamon, five and a half townships from fayette, and about half of st. clair county. the lands for a part of this district have been in market for or years;--it contains some of the oldest american settlements in the state, and has also a number of confined claims never offered for sale. and yet the receiver of this office informed me in november last, that he had just made returns of all the lands sold in this district, and they amounted to just _one third_ of the whole quantity. every man, therefore, may take it for granted that there will be land enough in market in all the new states, for his use, during the present generation. these are facts that should be known to all classes. the mania of land speculation and of monopolists would soon subside, were those concerned to sit down coolly, and after ascertaining the amount of public lands now in market, with the vast additional quantity that must soon come into market, use a few figures in common arithmetic, with the probable amount of emigration, and ascertain the probable extent of the demand for this article at any future period. the following information is necessary for those who are not acquainted with our land system. in each land office there are a register and receiver, appointed by the president and senate for the term of four years, and paid by the government. after being surveyed, the land, by proclamation of the president, is offered for sale at public auction by half quarter sections, or tracts of acres. if no one bids for it at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, or more, it is subject to private entry at any time after, upon payment of $ . cents per acre at the time of entry. _no credit in any case is allowed._ in many cases, congress, by special statute, has granted to actual settlers, pre-emption rights, where settlements and improvements have been made on public lands previous to public sale. _pre-emption rights_ confer the privilege only of purchasing the tract containing improvements at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, by the possessor, without the risk of a public sale. in illinois and several other western states, all lands purchased of the general government, are exempted from taxation for five years after purchase. _military bounty lands._--these lands were surveyed and appropriated as bounties to the soldiers in the war with great britain in -' , to encourage enlistments. the selections were made in illinois, missouri, and arkansas. the bounty lands of illinois lie between the illinois and mississippi rivers, in the counties of calhoun, pike, adams, schuyler, macdonough, warren, mercer, knox, henry, fulton, peoria, and putnam. out of five millions of acres, , , were selected, including about three-fifths of this tract. the remainder is disposed of in the manner of other public lands. the disposition of this fine country for military bounties has much retarded its settlement. it was a short-sighted and mistaken policy of government that dictated this measure. most of the titles have long since departed from the soldiers for whose benefit the donations were made. many thousand quarter sections have been sold for taxes by the state, have fallen into the hands of monopolists, and are now past redemption. the bounty lands in missouri, lie on the waters of chariton and grand rivers, north side of the missouri river and in the counties of chariton, randolph, carroll, and ray, and include half a million of acres. the tract is generally fertile, undulating, a mixture of timber and prairie, but not as well watered as desirable. with the bounty lands of arkansas i am not well acquainted. their general character is good, and some tracts are rich cotton lands. _taxes._--lands bought of the u. s. government are exempted from taxation for five years after sale. all other lands owned by non-residents, equally with those of residents, are subject to taxation annually, either for state, or county purposes, or both. the mode and amount varies in each state. if not paid when due, costs are added, the lands sold, subject to redemption within a limited period;--generally two years. every non-resident landholder should employ an agent within the state where his land lies, to look after it and pay his taxes, if he would not suffer the loss of his land. chapter vi. aborigines. conjecture respecting their former numbers and condition. present number and state.--indian territory appropriated as their permanent residence.--plan and operations of the u. s. government.--missionary efforts and stations. monuments and antiquities. the idea is entertained, that the valley of the mississippi, was once densely populated by aborigines;--that here were extensive nations,--that the bones of many millions lie mouldering under our feet. it has become a common theory, that previous to the settlement of the country by people of european descent, there were _two_ successive races of men, quite distinct from each other;--that the first race, by some singular fatality, became exterminated, leaving no traditionary account of their existence. and the second race, the ancestors of the existing race of indians, are supposed to have been once, far more numerous than the present white population of the valley. some parts of mexico and south america, were found to be populous upon the first visits of the spaniards; but i do not find satisfactory evidence that population was ever dense, in any part of the territory that now constitutes our republic. mr. atwater supposes, from the mounds in ohio, the indian population far exceeded , , at one time in that district. mr. flint says, "if we can infer nothing else from the mounds, we can clearly infer, that this country once had its millions." hence, a principal argument assigned for the populousness of this country is, the millions buried in these tumuli, the bones of which, in a tolerable state of preservation, are supposed to be exhibited upon excavation. the writer has witnessed the opening of many of these mounds, and has seen the fragments of an occasional skeleton, found _near the surface_. without stopping here to enter upon a disquisition on the hypothesis assumed, that these mounds, as they are termed, are as much the results of natural causes, as any other prominences on the surface of the globe: i will only remark, that it is a fact well known to frontier men, that the indians have been in the habit of burying their dead on these ridges and hillocks, and that in our light, spongy soil, the skeleton decays surprisingly fast. this is not the place to exhibit the necessary data, that have led to the conviction, that not a human skeleton now exists in all the western valley, (excepting in nitrous caves,) that was deposited in the earth before the discovery of the new world, by columbus. the opinion that this valley was once densely populous, is sustained from the supposed military works, distributed through the west. this subject, as well as that of mounds, wants re-examination. probably, half a dozen enclosures, in a rude form, might have been used for military defence. the capabilities of the country to sustain a dense population, has been used to support the position, that it must have been once densely populated. this argues nothing without vestiges of agriculture and the arts. with the exception of a few small patches, around the indian villages, for corn and pulse, the whole land was an unbroken wilderness. strangers to the subject have imagined that our western prairies must once have been subdued by the hand of cultivation, because denuded of timber. those who have long lived on them, have the evidences of observation, and their senses, to guide them. they know that the earth will not produce timber, while the surface is covered with a firm grassy sward, and that timber will spring up, as soon as this obstruction is removed. to all these theories, of the former density of the aboriginal population of the valley, i oppose, first, the fact that but a scattered and erratic population was found here, on the arrival of the europeans,--that the people were rude savages, subsisting chiefly by hunting, and that no savage people ever became populous,--that from time immemorial, the different tribes had been continually at war with each other,--that but a few years before the french explored it, the iroquois, or five nations, conquered all the country to the mississippi, which they could not have done had it been populous, and that kentucky, one of the finest portions of the valley, was not inhabited by any people, but the common hunting and fighting grounds of both the northern and southern indians, and hence called by them, _kentuckee_, or the "bloody ground."[ ] that the indian character has deteriorated, and the numbers of each tribe greatly lessened by contact with europeans and their descendants, is not questioned; but many of the descriptions of the comforts and happiness of savage life and manners, before their country was possessed by the latter, are the exaggerated and glowing descriptions of poetic fancy. evidence enough can be had to show that they were degraded and wretched, engaged in petty exterminating wars with each other, often times in a state of starvation, and leading a roving, indolent and miserable existence. their government was anarchy.--properly speaking, civil government had never existed amongst them. they had no executive, or judiciary power, and their legislation was the result of their councils held by aged and experienced men. it had no stronger claim upon the obedience of the people than advice. in mexico, civilization had made progress, and there were populous towns and cities, and edifices for religious and other purposes. with the exception of some very rude structures, the ruins of which yet remain, and which upon too slight grounds, have been mistaken for military works, nothing is left as marks of the enterprise of the feeble bands of indians of this valley. their implements, utensils, weapons of war, and water-craft, were of the most rude and simple construction, and yet prepared with great labor. those who have written upon indian manners, without personal and long acquaintance with their circumstances, have made extravagant blunders. the historian of america, dr. robertson, seems to suppose that the indians cut down large trees, and dug out canoes with stone hatchets,--and that they cleared the timber from their small fields, by the same tedious process. their stone axes or hatchets, were never used for _cutting_, but only for splitting and pounding. they burned down and hollowed out trees by fire, for canoes, and never chopped off the timber, but only deadened it, in clearing land. the condition of depraved man, unimproved by habits of civilization, and unblest with the influences and consolations of the gospel, is pitiable in the extreme. such was the character and condition of the "red skin," before his land was visited by the "pale faces." i have often seen the aboriginal man in all his primeval wildness, when he first came in contact with the evils and benefits of civilization,--have admired his noble form and lofty bearing,--listened to his untutored and yet powerful eloquence, and yet have found in him the same humbling and melancholy proofs of his wretchedness and want, as is found in the remnants on our borders. the introduction of ardent spirits, and of several diseases, are the evils furnished the indian race, by contact with the whites, while in other respects their condition has been improved. from the second number of the "_annual register of indian affairs, within the indian (or western) territory_," just published by the rev. isaac mccoy, the following particulars have been chiefly gleaned: mr. mccoy has been devoted to the work of indian reform for almost twenty years, first in indiana, then in michigan, and latterly in the indian territory, west of missouri and arkansas. he is not only intimately acquainted with the peculiar circumstances of this unfortunate race, and with the country selected as their future residence by the government, but is ardently and laboriously engaged for their welfare. indian territory. the indian territory lies west and immediately adjacent to missouri and arkansas. it is about miles long from north to south, extending from the missouri river to the red river, and running westwardly as far as the country is habitable, which is estimated to be about miles. the almost destitution of timber, with extensive deserts, renders most of the country from this territory to the rocky mountains uninhabitable. the dreams indulged by many, that the wave of white population is to move onward without any resisting barrier, till it reaches these mountains, and even overleap them to the pacific ocean, will never be realized. providence has thrown a desert of several hundred miles in extent, as an opposing barrier. as very contradictory accounts have gone abroad, prejudicial to the character of the country selected for the indians, it becomes necessary to describe it with some particularity. the following, from mr. mccoy (if it needed any additional support to its correctness,) is corroborated by the statements of many disinterested persons. "there is a striking similarity between all parts of this territory. in its general character, it is high and undulating, rather level than hilly; though small portions partly deserve the latter appellation. the soil is generally very fertile. it is thought that in no part of the world, so extensive a region of rich soil has been discovered as in this, of which the indian territory is a central position. it is watered by numerous rivers, creeks and rivulets. its waters pass through it eastwardly, none of which are favorable to navigation. there is less marshy and stagnant water in it than is usual in the western country. the atmosphere is salubrious, and the climate precisely such as is desirable, being about the same as that inhabited by the indians on the east of the mississippi. it contains much mineral coal and salt water, some lead, and some iron ore. timber is too scarce, and this is a serious defect, but one which time will remedy, as has been demonstrated by the growth of timber in prairie countries which have been settled, where the grazing of stock, by diminishing the quantity of grass, renders the annual fires less destructive to the growth of wood. the prairie (i. e., land destitute of wood) is covered with grass, much of which is of suitable length for the scythe." the chocktaws, creeks, cherokees, osages, kanzaus and delawares, are entitled to lands westward of this territory for hunting grounds; some to the western boundary of the united states, others to the rocky mountains. mr. mccoy estimates the number of inhabitants of this territory at , . indigenous tribes. osage, about , kanzau, " , ottoe and missourias, , o'mahaus, , pawnees, four tribes, , puncahs, about quapaws, " ------ , emigrant tribes. chocktaw, about , cherokee, " , creek, " , seneca, shawanoe of neosho, wea, about piankeshau, peoria and kaskaskias, ottawa, shawanoe of kanzau river, delaware, kickapoo, putawatomie, ------ emigrants, , indigenous, , ------ total, , the estimate of the chocktaws include about negro slaves,--that of the cherokees , and that of the creeks about slaves. _chocktaws._ their country adjoins red river and the province of texas on the south, arkansas on the east, and extends north to the arkansas and canadian rivers, being miles from north to south, and miles from east to west. here are numerous salt springs. for civil purposes, their country is divided into three districts. _cherokees._ the boundaries of their country commences on the arkansas river, opposite the western boundary of arkansas territory;--thence northwardly along the line of missouri, miles to seneca river;--thence west to the neosho river;--thence up said river to the osage lands;--thence west indefinitely, as far as habitable;--thence south to the creek lands, and along the eastern line of the creeks to a point miles west of the territory of arkansas, and miles north of arkansas river;--thence to the verdigris river, and down arkansas river, to the mouth of the neosho;--thence southwardly to the junction of the north fork and canadian rivers;--and thence down the canadian and arkansas rivers to the place of beginning. the treaty of , secures to this tribe , , of acres, and adds land westward for hunting grounds as far as the u. s. boundaries extend. the _creeks_, or muscogees, occupy the country west of arkansas that lies between the lands of the chocktaws and cherokees. the _senecas_ join the state of missouri on the east, with the cherokees south, the neosho river west, and possess , acres. the _osage_ (a french corruption of _wos-sosh-ee_, their proper name, which has again been corrupted by darby and others into _ozark_) have their country north of the western portion of the cherokee lands, commencing miles west of the state of missouri, with a width of miles, and extending indefinitely west. about half the tribe are in the cherokee country. the _quapaws_ were originally connected with the osages. they have migrated from the lower arkansas, and have their lands adjoining the state of missouri, immediately north of the senecas. the _putawatomies_ are on the north-eastern side of the missouri river, but they are not satisfied, and the question of their locality is not fully settled. putawatomies are mingled with the kickapoos, on the south-west side of the missouri river. the weas, piankeshaws, peorias and kaskaskias are remnants of the great western confederacy, of which the miamies were the most prominent branch. these and other tribes constituted the illini, oillinois, or illinois nation, that once possessed the country now included in the great states of indiana, illinois, &c. their lands lie west of the state of missouri, and south-west of the missouri river. the _delawares_ occupy a portion of the country in the forks of the kanzau river, (or, as written by the french, kansas.) they are the remnants of another great confederacy, the _lenni-lenopi_, as denominated by themselves. the lands of the _kickapoos_ lie north of the delawares, and along the missouri, including , acres. the _ottoes_ occupy a tract of country between the missouri and platte rivers, but their land is said to extend south and below the platte. the country of the _o'mahaus_ has the platte river on the south, and the missouri north-east. the country of the _pawnees_ lies to the westward of the ottoes and o'mahaus. the boundaries are not defined. the _puncahs_ are a small tribe that originated from the pawnees, and live in the northern extremity of the country spoken of as the indian territory. _present condition._--the chocktaws, cherokees and creeks are more advanced in civilized habits then any other tribes. they have organized local governments of their own, have enacted some wholesome laws, live in comfortable houses, raise horses, cattle, sheep and swine, cultivate the ground, have good fences, dress like americans, and manufacture much of their own clothing. they have schools and religious privileges, by missionary efforts, to a limited extent. the cherokees have a written language, perfect in its form, the invention of mr. guess, a full-blooded indian. the senecas, delawares, and shawanoes, also, are partially civilized, and live with considerable comfort from the produce of their fields and stock. the putawatomies, weas, piankeshaws, peorias, kaskaskias, ottawas, and kickapoos, have partially adopted civilized customs. some live in comfortable log cabins, fence and cultivate the ground, and have a supply of stock; others live in bark huts, and are wretched. the osages or wos-sosh-ees, quapaws, kanzaus, ottoes, o'mahaus, pawnees and puncahs have made much less improvement in their mode of living. a few have adopted civilized habits, and are rising in the scale of social and individual comforts, but the larger portion are yet _indians_. mr. mccoy estimates the whole number of aborigines in north america, including those of mexico, at , , , of which , are so far improved as to be classed with civilized men, and amongst whom, there are as many pious christians, as amongst the same amount of population in the united states. in addition to these, he estimates that there may be about , more, "which may have made advances toward civilization, some more and some less." for some years past, the policy of the government of the united states has been directed to the project of removing all the indians from the country organized into states and territories, and placing them sufficiently contiguous to be easily governed, and yet removed from direct contact and future interruption from white population. this project was recommended in the period of mr. monroe's administration, was further considered and some progress made under that of mr. adams, but has been carried into more successful execution within the last five years. it is much to be regretted that this project was not commenced earlier. the residence of small bands of indians, with their own feeble and imperfect government, carried on within any organized state or territory, is ruinous. those who argue that _because_ of the removal of the indians from within the jurisdiction of the states, or an organized territory, _therefore_ they will be driven back from the country in which it is now proposed to place them, evince but a very partial and imperfect view of the subject. the present operation of government is an experiment, and it is one that ought to receive a fair and full trial. if it does not succeed, i know not of any governmental regulation that can result, with success, to the prosperity of the indians. the project is to secure to each tribe, by patent, the lands allotted them,--to form them into a territorial government, with some features of the representative principle,--to have their whole country under the supervision of our government, as their guardian, for their benefit,--to allow no white men to pass the lines and intermix with the indians, except those who are licensed by due authority,--to aid them in adopting civilized habits, provide for them schools and other means of improving their condition, and, through the agency of missionary societies, to instruct them in the principles of the gospel of christ. _missionary efforts and stations._--these are conducted by the american board of commissioners for foreign missions,--the baptist board of f. missions,--the methodist epis. missionary society,--the western foreign missionary society,--and the cumberland presbyterians. stations have been formed, and schools established, with most of these tribes. about , are members of christian churches of different denominations. the particulars of these operations are to be found in the reports of the respective societies, and the various religious periodicals. of other tribes within the valley of the mississippi, and not yet within the indian territory, the following estimate is sufficiently near the truth for practical purposes. indians from new york, about green bay wyandots in ohio and michigan miamies , winnebagoes , chippeways, or o'jibbeways , ottawas and chippeways of lake michigan , chippeways, ottawas and putawatomies , putawatomies , menominees , they are all east of the mississippi, and chiefly found on the reservations in ohio, indiana, and michigan, and in the country between the wisconsin river and lake superior. those tribes west of the mississippi river, and along the region of the upper missouri river, are as follows: sioux , ioways , sauks of missouri sauks and foxes , assinaboines , crees , gros ventres , aurekaras , cheyennes , mandans , black feet , camanches , minatarees , crows , arrepahas and kiawas , caddoes snake and other tribes within the rocky mountains , west of the rocky mountains , the camanches, arrepahas, kiawas and caddoes roam over the great plains towards the sources of the arkansas and red rivers, and through the northern parts of texas. the black feet are towards the heads of the missouri. _monuments and antiquities._--before dismissing the subject of the aborigines, i shall touch very briefly on the monuments and antiquities of the west,--with strong convictions that there has been much exaggeration on this subject. i have already intimated that the mounds of the west are natural formations, but i have not room for the circumstances and facts that go to sustain this theory. the number of objects considered as antiquities is greatly exaggerated. the imaginations of men have done much. the number of mounds on the american bottom in illinois, adjacent to cahokia creek, is stated by mr. flint at . the writer has counted all the elevations of surface for the extent of nine miles, and they amount to . one of these, monk hill, is much too large, and three fourths of the rest are quite too small for human labor. the pigmy graves on the merrimeek, mo., in tennessee, and other places, upon closer inspection, have been found to contain decayed skeletons of the ordinary size, but buried with the leg and thigh bones in contact. the _giant_ skeletons sometimes found, are the bones of buffalo. it is much easier for waggish laborers to deposit old horse shoes and other iron articles where they are at work, for the special pleasure of digging them up for credulous antiquarians, than to find proofs of the existence of the horses that wore them! there may, or may not, be monuments and antiquities that belong to a race of men of prior existence to the present race of indians. all that the writer urges is, that this subject may not be considered as settled; that due allowance may be made for the extreme credulity of some, and the want of personal observation and examination of other writers on this subject. gross errors have been committed, and exaggerations of very trivial circumstances have been made. the antiquities belonging to the indian race are neither numerous or interesting, unless we except the remains of rude edifices and enclosures, the walls of which are almost invariably embankments of earth. they are rude axes and knives of stone, bottles and vessels of potter's ware, arrow and spear heads, rude ornaments, &c. roman, french, italian, german and english coins and medals, with inscriptions, have been found,--most unquestionably brought by europeans,--probably by the jesuits and other orders, who were amongst the first explorers of the west, and who had their religious houses here more than a century past. copper and silver ornaments have been discovered in the mounds that have been opened. the calumet, or large stone pipe, is often found in indian graves. two facts deserve to be regarded by those who examine mounds and indian cemeteries. first, that the indians have been accustomed to bury their dead in these mounds. secondly, that they were accustomed to place various ornaments, utensils, weapons, and other articles of value, the property of the deceased, in these graves, especially if a chieftain, or man of note. a third fact known to our frontier people, is the custom of several indian tribes wrapping their dead in strips of bark, or encasing them with the halves of a hollow log, and placing them in the forks of trees. this was the case specially, when their deaths occurred while on hunting or war parties. at stated seasons these relics were collected, with much solemnity, brought to the common sepulchre of the tribe, and deposited with their ancestors. this accounts for the confused manner in which the bones are often found in mounds and indian graveyards. human skeletons, or rather mummies, have been discovered in the nitrous caves of kentucky. the huge bones of the mammoth and other enormous animals, have been exhumed, at the bigbone licks in kentucky and in other places. footnotes: [ ] see pownal's administration of the british colonies,--colden's history of the five nations,--new york historical collections, vol. ii.,--charlevoix histoire de la nouvelle france,--hon. de witt clinton's discourse before the n. y. historical society, ,--discovery of the mississippi river, by father lewis hennepin,--m. tonti's account of m. de la salle's expedition,--la harpe's journal, &c. chapter vii. western pennsylvania. the portion of pennsylvania lying west of the alleghany ridge, contains the counties of washington, greene, fayette, westmoreland, alleghany, beaver, butler, armstrong, mercer, venango, crawford, erie, warren, mckean, jefferson, indiana, somerset, and a part of cambria. _face of the country._--somerset, and parts of fayette, westmoreland, cambria, indiana, jefferson, and mckean are mountainous, with intervening vallies of rich, arable land. the hilly portions of washington, and portions of fayette, westmoreland, and alleghany counties are fertile, with narrow vales of rich land intervening. the hills are of various shapes and heights, and the ridges are not uniform, but pursue various and different directions. north of pittsburg, the country is hilly and broken, but not mountainous, and the bottom lands on the water courses are wider and more fertile. on french creek, and other branches of the alleghany river there are extensive tracts of rich bottom, or intervale lands, covered with beech, birch, sugar maple, pine, hemlock, and other trees common to that portion of the united states. the pine forests in pennsylvania and new york, about the heads of the alleghany river, produce vast quantities of lumber, which are sent annually to all the towns along the ohio and mississippi rivers. it is computed that not less than thirty million feet of lumber are annually sent down the ohio from this source. _soil, agriculture, &c._--portions of the country are excellent for farming. the _glade_ lands, as they are called, in greene and other counties, produce oats, grass, &c., but are not so good for wheat and corn. those counties which lie towards lake erie are better adapted to grazing. great numbers of cattle are raised here. washington and other counties south of pittsburg produce great quantities of wool. the monongahela has been famous for its whiskey, but it is gratifying to learn that it is greatly on the decline, and that its manufacture begins to be regarded as it should be,--ruinous to society. a large proportion of the distilleries are reported to have been abandoned. bituminous coal abounds in all the hills around pittsburg, and over most parts of western pennsylvania. iron ore is found abundantly in the counties along the alleghany, and many furnaces and forges are employed in its manufactory. salt springs abound on the alleghany, and especially on the conemaugh and kiskiminitas, where salt, in large quantities, is manufactured. the natural advantages of western pennsylvania are great. almost every knoll, hill and mountain can be turned to some good account, and its rivers, canals, rail and turnpike roads afford facilities for intercommunication, and for transportation of the productions to a foreign market. the advantages of this region for trade, agriculture, raising stock, and manufacturing, are great. the streams furnish abundant mill-seats, the air is salubrious, and the morals of the community good. till recently, pennsylvania has been neglectful to provide for common schools. a school system is now in successful operation, and has a strong hold on the confidence and affections of the people in this part of the state. _internal improvements._--pennsylvania has undertaken an immense system of internal improvements, throughout the state. the alleghany portage rail-road commences at hollidaysburgh, on the juniata river, at the termination of the eastern division of the great pennsylvania canal, and crosses the alleghany ridge at blair's gap, summit miles, to johnstown on the conemaugh. here it connects with the western division of the same canal. it ascends and descends the mountain by five inclined planes on each side, overcoming in ascent and descent feet, of which are on the eastern, and on the western side of the mountain. feet are overcome by grading, and feet by the planes. on this line, also, are four extensive viaducts, and a tunnel feet long, and feet wide, through the staple bend of the conemaugh river. the western division of the pennsylvania canal commences at johnstown, on the conemaugh, pursues the course of that stream, and also that of the kiskiminitas and alleghany rivers, and finally terminates at pittsburg. in its course from johnstown it passes through the towns of fairfield, lockport, blairsville, saltzburg, warren, leechburg, and freeport, most of which are small villages, but increasing in size and business. "the canal is miles in length: lockage feet, locks, (exclusive of four on a branch canal to the alleghany,) dams, tunnel, aqueducts, culverts, waste-wiers, and bridges. "the canal commissioners, in their reports to the legislature, strongly recommend the extension of this division to the town of beaver, so as to unite with the beaver division. by a recent survey, the distance was ascertained to be . miles, and the estimated cost of construction, $ , . this, with a proposed canal from newcastle to akron, on the ohio and erie canal, will form a continuous inland communication between philadelphia and new orleans, of miles, with the exception of the passage over the alleghany portage rail-road, of . miles in length.[ ] it is miles from philadelphia to pittsburg by this canal. the beaver division of the pennsylvania canal commences at the town of beaver, on the ohio river, at the junction of the big beaver river, -½ miles below pittsburg, ascends the valley of that river, thence up the chenango creek to its termination in mercer county, a distance of . miles. this work, together with a feeder on french creek, and other works now in progress, are parts of a canal intended eventually to connect the ohio river with lake erie, at the town of erie; which, when finished, will probably be about miles in length. it is also proposed to construct a canal from newcastle, on the beaver division, . miles above the town of beaver, along the valley of the mahoning river, to akron, near the portage summit of the ohio and erie canal, miles in length, miles of which are in pennsylvania, and the residue in ohio. estimated cost, $ , . the cumberland, or national road, crosses the south-western part of pennsylvania. it passes through brownsville where it crosses the monongahela river, and washington, into a corner of virginia to wheeling, where it crosses the ohio river, and from thence through ohio, indiana and illinois to the mississippi river, or perhaps to the western boundary of missouri. _chief towns._--_brownsville_, situated on the east side of the monongahela river, is in a romantic country, surrounded with rich farms and fine orchards, and contains about inhabitants. it is at the head of steamboat navigation. _washington_ is the county seat of washington county, surrounded with a fertile but hilly country, contains about inhabitants, and has a respectable college. _cannonsburgh_ is situated on the west side of chartier's creek, miles north of washington. it also has a flourishing college, with buildings in an elevated and pleasant situation. _uniontown_ is the county seat of fayette, on the national road, and contains about inhabitants. _greensburg_ is the seat of justice for westmoreland county, on the great turnpike road from philadelphia by harrisburg to pittsburg, and has about inhabitants. _beaver_ is situated at the mouth of big beaver, on the ohio, with a population of or , and is a place of considerable business. _meadville_ is the seat of justice for crawford county, situated near french creek, and has about inhabitants. here is a college established by the rev. mr. alden, some years since, to which the late dr. bentley of salem, mass., bequeathed a valuable library. it is now under the patronage of the methodist episcopal church. _erie_ is a thriving town, situated on the south side of lake erie, one hundred and twenty miles north of pittsburg. steamboats that pass up the lake from buffalo, usually stop here, from whence stage routes communicate with pittsburg, and many other towns in the interior. the portage from this place to the navigable waters of the alleghany river is fifteen miles over a turnpike road. the population of erie is from to , and increasing. _waterford_, the place where the erie portage terminates, is situated on the north bank of the french creek; it is a place of considerable business. french creek is a navigable branch of the alleghany river. _franklin_, _kittanning_, and _freeport_, are respectable towns on the alleghany river, between pittsburg and meadville. _economy_ is the seat of the german colony, under the late mr. rapp, which emigrated from their former residence of harmony on the wabash river in indiana. it is a flourishing town on the right bank of the ohio, miles below pittsburg. it has several factories, a large church, a spacious hotel, and or inhabitants, living in a community form, under some singular regulations. the economists, or harmonists, as they were called, in indiana, are an industrious, moral and enterprising community, with some peculiarities in their religious notions. there are many other towns and villages in western pennsylvania, of moral, industrious inhabitants, which the limits of this work will not permit me to notice. pittsburg is the emporium of western pennsylvania, and from its manufacturing enterprise, especially in iron wares, has been denominated the "birmingham of the west." it stands on the land formed at the junction of the monongahela and alleghany rivers on a level alluvion deposit, but entirely above the highest waters, surrounded with hills. this place was selected as the site of a fort and trading depot by the french, about eighty years since, and a small stockade erected, and called fort du quesne, to defend the country against the occupancy of it by the english, and to monopolize the indian trade. it came into the possession of the british upon the conquest of this country after the disastrous defeat of gen. braddock; and under the administration of the elder pitt, a fort was built here under the superintendence of lord stanwix, that cost more than $ , , and called fort pitt. in , a considerable town arose around the fort, surrounded with beautiful gardens and orchards, but it decayed on the breaking out of the indian war, in . the origin of the present town may be dated . its plan was enlarged and re-surveyed in , and then belonged to the penn family as a part of their hereditary manor. by them it was sold. the indian wars in the west retarded its growth for several years after, but since, it has steadily increased, according to the following table. , , , , , , , , , _estimated_, , the estimate of , includes the suburbs. the town is compactly built, and some streets are handsome; but the use of coal for culinary and manufacturing purposes, gives the town a most dingy and gloomy aspect. its salubrity and admirable situation for commerce and manufactures ensure its future prosperity and increase of population. the exhaustless beds of coal in the bluffs of the monongahela, and of iron ore, which is found in great abundance in all the mountainous regions of western pennsylvania, give it preëminence over other western cities for manufacturing purposes. it really stands at the head of steamboat navigation on the waters of the ohio; for the alleghany and monongahela rivers are navigable only at high stages of water, and by the recent improvements in the channel of the ohio, and the use of light draft boats, the navigation to pittsburg is uninterrupted except in winter. the suburbs of pittsburg are birmingham, on the south bank of the monongahela, alleghany town, on the opposite side of the alleghany river, and containing a population of about seven thousand, lawrenceville, northern and eastern liberties. manufactures. nail factories and rolling mills. weight in lbs. value. union, , $ , sligo, , , pittsburg, , , grant's hill, , , juniata, , , pine creek, , , miscellaneous factories, , , the foregoing table was constructed in . doubtless this branch of business has greatly increased. the same year there were foundries in and near pittsburg, which converted tons of metal into castings, employed hands, consumed , bushels of charcoal, and produced the value of $ , . the following sketch of manufactures in pittsburg and vicinity, is copied from tanner's guide, published in : steam engines , which employed hands. value, $ , . cotton factories , with power-looms, hands; value, $ , . in the counties of westmoreland and alleghany, there are cotton factories. in pittsburg and the two counties just named, are paper mills, valued at $ , . in pittsburg and vicinity are steam mills, which employ hands. value of their products annually, $ , . there are brass foundries and coppersmiths' shops. value of the manufactures, $ , . within the limits of the city, there are blacksmiths' shops, which employ hands. there are also gunsmiths, and silversmiths and watch repairers. in pittsburg and the counties of westmoreland and alleghany, there are saddleries; and tanneries, brick yards, and potteries. there are in the city breweries, and white lead manufactories, at which , kegs are made annually; value, $ , . there are printing-offices in pittsburg, and more in the two counties. the estimated value of the manufactures of every kind in pittsburg, and the counties of alleghany and westmoreland, in , was $ , , . doubtless they have greatly increased since. _coal._--the bituminous coal formations around pittsburg are well deserving the attention of geologists. coal hill, on the west side of the monongahela, and immediately opposite pittsburg, is the great source of this species of fuel, and the miners, in some places, have perforated the hill to the distance of several hundred feet. it is found in strata from inches to or feet in thickness, and often at the height of feet above the bed of the river, in the hills around pittsburg, and along the course of the alleghany and monongahela. below this one stratum, which is of equal elevation, none is found till you reach the base of the hill below the bed of the river. besides supplying pittsburg, large quantities are sent down the river. there are in pittsburg, (or _were_ two years since) three baptist churches, or congregations, one of which is of welch, four presbyterian, four methodist, one episcopal, one roman catholic, (besides a cathedral on grant's hill,) one covenanter, one seceder, one german reformed, one unitarian, one associate reformed, one lutheran, one african, and perhaps some others in the city or suburbs. of the public buildings deserving notice, i will name the _western university of pennsylvania_, which stands on the monongahela, near grant's hill;--the _penitentiary_, in alleghany town, which has cost the state an immense amount, and is conducted on the principle of solitary confinement;--the _presbyterian theological seminary_ is also in alleghany town;--the _museum_;--the _united states arsenal_, about two miles above the city, at lawrenceville. it encloses four acres, and has a large depot for ordnance, arms, &c. the _city water works_ is a splendid monument of municipal enterprise. the water is taken from the alleghany river, by a pipe, inches in diameter, and carried , feet, and feet elevation, to a reservoir on grant's hill, capable of receiving , , gallons. the water is raised by a steam-engine of horse power, and will raise , , gallons in hours. the aqueduct of the pennsylvania canal, across the alleghany river, is also deserving attention. the inhabitants of pittsburg are a mixture of english, french, scotch, irish, german and swiss artisans and mechanics, as well as of native born americans, who live together in much harmony. industry, sobriety, morality and good order generally prevail. extensive revivals of religion prevailed here about a year since. the population of western pennsylvania is characterized for industry, frugality, economy and enterprise. temperance principles have made considerable progress of late years. western virginia --embraces all that part of virginia that lies upon the western waters. the counties are brooke, ohio, monongalia, harrison, randolph, russell, preston, tyler, wood, greenbrier, kenawha,[ ] mason, lewis, nicholas, logan, cabell, monroe, pocahontas, giles, montgomery, wythe, grayson, tazewell, washington, scott and lee:-- . its principal river is the kenawha and its tributaries. of these, gaula, new river and greenbrier are the principal. new river is the largest, and rises in north carolina. the monongahela drains a large district;--the little kenawha, guyandotte, and sandy are smaller streams. the latter separates virginia from kentucky for some distance. much of western virginia is mountainous, lying in parallel ridges, which are often broken by streams. some of the vallies are very fertile. the kenawha valley is narrow, but extends to a great distance. the salt manufactories extend from charlestown up the kenawha, the distance of miles. they are in number, and manufacture nearly two millions of bushels annually. the river is navigable for steamboats to this point at an ordinary depth of water. coal is used in the manufactories, which is dug from the adjacent mountains, and brought to the works on wooden railways. seven miles above charlestown is the famous burning spring. inflammable gas escapes, which, if ignited, will burn with great brilliancy for many hours, and even for several days, in a favorable state of the atmosphere. the state of virginia has constructed a tolerably good turnpike road from the mouth of the guyandotte, on the ohio, to staunton. it passes through charlestown, and along the kenawha river to the falls;--from thence it extends along the course of new river, and across sewall's mountain by louisburg to staunton. the falls of kenawha are in a romantic region, and merit the attention of the traveller. marshall's pillar is a singular projecting rock that overhangs new river, feet above its bed. the stage road passes near its summit. this route is one of the great stage routes leading from the ohio valley to washington city, and to all parts of old virginia. the _white sulphur_, _red sulphur_, _hot_, _warm_, _and sweet springs_, are in the mountainous parts of virginia, and on this route. these are all celebrated as watering places, but the white sulphur spring is the great resort of the fashionable of the southern states. let the reader imagine an extensive campground, a mile in circumference, the camps neat cottages, built of brick, or framed, and neatly painted. in the centre of this area are the springs, bath-houses, dining hall, and mansion of the proprietor. the cottages are intended for the accommodation of families, and contain two rooms each. this is by far the most extensive watering place in the union. of the effect of such establishments on _morals_ i shall say nothing. the reader will draw his own conclusions, when he understands that the card-table, roulette, wheel of fortune, and dice-box are amongst its principal amusements. here, not unfrequently, cotton bales, negroes, and even plantations, change owners in a night. the scenery around is highly picturesque and romantic. declivities and mountains, sprinkled over with evergreens, are scattered in wild confusion. a few miles from white sulphur springs, you pass the dividing line--the alleghany ridge, and pass from western into middle virginia. _chief towns._--wheeling is the principal commercial town, and a great thoroughfare, in western virginia. it has a large number of stores, and commission warehouses; and contains six or eight thousand inhabitants. it is miles by water, and miles by land, from pittsburg. it has manufactures of cotton, glass, and earthenware. boats are built here. the cumberland or national road crosses the ohio at this place, over which a bridge is about to be erected. the town is surrounded with bold, precipitous hills, which contain inexhaustible quantities of coal. at extreme low water, steamboats ascend no higher than wheeling. charlestown, wellsburgh, parkersburgh, point pleasant, clarksburgh, abington, louisburg, and many others, are pleasant and thriving towns. the climate of western virginia is preeminently salubrious. the people, in their manners, have considerable resemblance to those of western pennsylvania. there are fewer slaves, less wealth, more industry and equality, than in the "old dominion," as eastern virginia is sometimes called. footnotes: [ ] see "mitchell's compendium of the internal improvements in the united states," where much valuable information of the rail-roads and canals of the united states is found in a small space. [ ] i have adopted the orthography of the legislature. chapter viii. michigan. extent,--situation,--boundaries;----face of the country; rivers, lakes, &c., soil and productions;--subdivisions, counties;--towns, detroit;--education;--improvements projected;--boundary dispute;--outline of the constitution. michigan is a large triangular peninsula, surrounded on the east, north and west, by lakes, and on the south by the states of ohio and indiana. lake erie, detroit river, lake st. clair, and st. clair river, lie on the east for miles; lake huron on the north-east and north, the straits of mackinaw on the extreme north-west, and lake michigan on its western side. its area is about , square miles. _face of the country._--its general surface is level, having no mountains, and no very elevated hills. still, much of its surface is undulating, like the swelling of the ocean. along the shore of lake huron, in some places, are high, precipitous bluffs, and along the eastern shore of michigan are hills of pure sand, blown up by the winds from the lake. much of the country bordering on lakes erie, huron, and st. clair, is level,--somewhat deficient in good water, and for the most part heavily timbered. the interior is more undulating, in some places rather hilly, with much fine timber, interspersed with oak "openings," "plains," and "prairies." the "_plains_" are usually timbered, destitute of undergrowth, and are beautiful. the soil is rather gravelly. the "_openings_" contain scattering timber in groves and patches, and resemble those tracts called _barrens_ farther south. there is generally timber enough for farming purposes, if used with economy, while it costs but little labor to clear the land. for the first ploughing, a strong team of four or five yoke of oxen is required, as is the case with prairie. the _openings_ produce good wheat. the "_prairies_," will be described more particularly under the head of illinois. in michigan they are divided into wet and dry. the former possess a rich soil, from one to four feet deep, and produce abundantly all kinds of crops common to degrees of n. latitude, especially those on st. joseph river. the latter afford early pasturage for emigrants, hay to winter his stock, and with a little labor would be converted into excellent artificial meadows. much of the land that now appears wet and marshy will in time be drained, and be the first rate soil for farming. a few miles back of detroit is a flat, wet country for considerable extent, much of it heavily timbered,--the streams muddy and sluggish,--some wet prairies,--with dry, sandy ridges intervening. the timber consists of all the varieties found in the western states; such as oaks of various species, walnut, hickory, maple, poplar, ash, beech, &c., with an intermixture of white and yellow pine. _rivers and lakes._--in general, the country abounds with rivers and small streams. they rise in the interior, and flow in every direction to the lakes which surround it. the northern tributaries of the maumee rise in michigan, though the main stream is in ohio, and it enters the west end of lake erie on the "debatable land." proceeding up the lake, raisin and then huron occur. both are navigable streams, and their head waters interlock with grand river, or washtenong, which flows into lake michigan. river rouge enters detroit river, a few miles below the city of detroit. raisin rises in the county of lenawee, and passes through monroe. huron originates amongst the lakes of livingston, passes through washtenaw, and a corner of wayne, and enters lake erie towards its north-western corner. above detroit is river clinton, which heads in oakland county, passes through macomb, and enters lake st. clair. passing by several smaller streams, as belle, pine, and black rivers, which fall into st. clair river, and going over an immense tract of swampy, wet country, between lake huron and saginaw bay, in sanilac county, we come to the saginaw river. this stream is formed by the junction of the tittibawassee, hare, shiawassee, flint, and cass rivers, all of which unite in the centre of saginaw county, and form the saginaw river, which runs north, and enters the bay of the same name. the tittibawassee rises in the country west of saginaw bay, runs first a south, and then a south-eastern course, through midland county into saginaw county, to its junction. pine river is a branch of this stream, that heads in the western part of gratiot county, and runs north-east into midland. hare, the original name of which is waposebee, commences in gratiot, and the n. w. corner of shiawassee counties, and runs an east and north-east course. the heads of the shiawassee, which is the main fork of the saginaw, are found in the counties of livingston and oakland. its course is northward. flint river rises in the south part of lapeer county, and runs a north-western course, some distance past the centre of the county, when it suddenly wheels to the south, then to the west, and enters genesee county, through which it pursues a devious course towards its destination. cass river rises in sanilac county, and runs a western course. these rivers are formed of innumerable branches, and water an extensive district of country. other smaller streams enter lake huron, above saginaw bay; but the whole country across to lake michigan is yet a wilderness, and possessed by the indians. doubtless it will soon be purchased, surveyed and settled. on the western side of the state are traverse, ottawa, betsey, manistic, pent, white, maskegon, grand, kekalamazoo, and st. joseph, all of which fall into lake michigan. those above grand river are beyond the settled portion of the state. grand river is the largest in michigan, being miles in length, its windings included. its head waters interlock with the pine, hare, shiawassee, huron, raisin, st. joseph and kekalamazoo. a canal project is already in agitation to connect it with the huron, and open a water communication from lake erie, across the peninsula, direct to lake michigan. grand river is now navigable for batteaux, miles, and receives in its course, portage, red-cedar, looking-glass, maple, muscota, flat, thorn-apple, and rouge rivers, besides smaller streams. it enters lake michigan miles south-westerly from mackinaw, and north of st. joseph;--is between and rods wide at its mouth, with feet water over its bar. the ottawa indians own the country on its north side, for miles up. much of the land on grand river and its tributaries, is excellent, consisting of six or seven thousand square miles;--and, considering its central position in the state,--the general fertility of its soil,--the good harbor at its mouth,--the numerous mill sites on its tributaries,--this region may be regarded as one of the most interesting portions of michigan. the kekalamazoo rises in jackson and eaton counties, passes through calhoun, and the northern part of kalamazoo, enters the south-eastern part of allegan, and passes diagonally through it to the lake. there is much first-rate land, timber, prairie, and openings, on its waters, and is rapidly settling. the st. joseph country is represented by some as the best country in michigan. this stream has several heads in branch, hillsdale, jackson, calhoun, and kalamazoo counties, which unite in st. joseph county, through which it passes diagonally to the south-west, into indiana,--thence through a corner of elkhart county, into st. joseph of that state, makes the "south bend," and then runs north-westerly, into michigan, through berrian county, to the lake. the town of st. joseph is at its mouth. it has pigeon, prairie, hog, portage, christianna, dowagiake, and crooked rivers for tributaries, all of which afford good mill sites. in cass and st. joseph counties, are four-mile, beardsley, townsend, mckenny, la grange, pokagon, young, sturges, notta-wa-sepee, and white pigeon prairies, which are rich tracts of country, and fast filling up with inhabitants. michigan abounds with small lakes and ponds. some have marshy and unhealthy borders;--others are transparent fountains, surrounded with beautiful groves, an undulating country, pebbly and sandy shores, and teeming with excellent fish. the counties of oakland, livingston, washtenaw, jackson, barry, and kalamazoo, are indented with them. _productions._--these are the same, in general, as those of ohio and new york. corn and wheat grow luxuriantly here. rye, oats, barley, buckwheat, potatoes, and all the garden vegetables common to the climate, grow well. all the species of grasses are produced luxuriantly. apples and other fruit abound in the older settlements, especially among the french about detroit. it will be a great fruit country. _subdivisions._--michigan had been divided into counties in , some of which were attached to adjacent counties for judicial purposes. other counties may have been formed since. the following organized counties show the population of the state, (then territory,) at the close of . =================================+================================= | _dist. from counties. _population._ | seats of justice. detroit._ ---------------------------------+--------------------------------- berrian, , | berrian, branch, | branch, calhoun, , | eckford, cass, , | cassopolis, jackson, , | jacksonsburgh, kalamazoo, , | bronson, lenawee, , | tecumseh, macomb, , | mount clemens, monroe, , | monroe, oakland, , | pontiac, st. clair, , | st. clair, st. joseph, , | white pigeon, washtenaw, , | ann arbor, wayne, , | detroit, ------ | _total_, , | ---------------------------------+----------------------------- the other counties are hillsdale, van buren, allegan, barry, eaton, ingham, livingston, lapeer, genesee, shiawassee, clinton, ionia, kent, ottawa, oceana, gratiot, isabella, midland, saginaw, sanilac, gladwin and arenac, the population of which are included in the counties given in the table. doubtless, the population of michigan now (jan. ) exceeds one hundred thousand. the counties are subdivided into incorporated townships, for local purposes, the lines of which usually correspond with the land surveys. for the sales of public lands, the state is divided into three land districts, and land offices are established at detroit, monroe, and bronson. _chief towns._--detroit is the commercial and political metropolis. it is beautifully situated on the west side of the river detroit, miles above malden in canada, and miles below the outlet of lake st. clair. a narrow street, on which the wharves are built, runs parallel with the river. after ascending the bench or bluff, is a street called jefferson avenue, on which the principal buildings are erected. the older dwellings are of wood, but many have been recently built of brick, with basements of stone, the latter material being brought from cleveland, ohio. the primitive forest approaches near the town. the table land extends or miles interior, when it becomes wet and marshy. along detroit river the ancient french settlements extend several miles, and the inhabitants exhibit all the peculiar traits of the french on the mississippi. their gardens and orchards are valuable. the public buildings of detroit, are a state house, a council house, an academy, and two or three banking houses. there are five churches for as many different denominations, in which the episcopalians, presbyterians, baptists, methodists, and roman catholics worship. the catholic congregation is the largest, and they have a large cathedral. stores and commercial warehouses are numerous, and business is rapidly increasing. town lots, rents, and landed property in the vicinity are rising rapidly. lots have advanced, within two or three years, in the business parts of the city, more than one thousand per cent. mechanics of all descriptions, and particularly those in the building line, are much wanted here, and in other towns in michigan. the population is supposed to be about , , and is rapidly increasing. this place commands the trade of all the upper lake country. _monroe_, the seat of justice for monroe county, is situated on the right bank of the river raisin, opposite the site of old frenchtown. two years since, it had about houses, of which or were of stone, and inhabitants. there were also two flouring and several saw-mills, a woollen factory, an iron foundry, a chair factory, &c., and an abundant supply of water power. the "bank of the river raisin," with a capital of $ , , is established here. the presbyterians, episcopalians, baptists, methodists, and roman catholics have houses of worship and ministers here. it was at this place, or rather at frenchtown in its vicinity, that a horrible massacre of american prisoners took place during the last war with great britain, by the indians under gen. proctor. the sick and wounded were burned alive in the hospital, or shot as they ran shrieking through the flames! of the young men barbarously murdered here, many were students at law, young physicians, and merchants, the best blood of kentucky! mount clemens, brownstown, ann arbor, pontiac, white pigeon, tecumseh, jacksonsburgh, niles, st. joseph, spring arbor, and many others, are pleasant villages, and will soon become populous. _education._--congress has made the same donations of lands, as to other western states, and will, doubtless, appropriate the same per centage on the sales of all public lands, when the state is admitted into the union, as has been appropriated to the other new states. a respectable female academy is in operation at detroit. the presbyterian denomination are about establishing a college at ann arbor, the methodists a seminary at spring arbor, the baptists one in kalamazoo county, and the roman catholics, it is said, have fixed their post at bertrand, a town on the st. joseph river, in the south-eastern corner of berrian county, and near to the boundary line of indiana. much sentiment and feeling exists in favor of education and literary institutions, amongst the people. _improvements projected._--a survey has been made for a rail-road across the peninsula of detroit, through the counties of wayne, washtenaw, jackson, calhoun, kalamazoo, van buren and berrian, to the mouth of st. joseph river. another project is, to commence at or near toledo on the maumee river, and pass through the southern counties of michigan into indiana, and terminate at michigan city. a third project is, to open a water communication from the navigable waters of grand river, to huron river, and, by locks and slack water navigation, enter lake erie. a canal from the mouth of maumee bay to lake michigan, has also been spoken of as a feasible project;--or one from the mouth of the river raisin to the st. joseph, would open a similar communication. it has also been suggested to improve the river raisin by locks and slack water navigation. doubtless not many years will elapse before some of these projects will prove realities. _boundary dispute._--this unpleasant dispute between ohio and michigan, relates to a strip of country about fifteen miles in width at its eastern, and seven miles at its western end, lying between the north-eastern part of indiana and the maumee bay. a portion of the wabash and erie canal, now constructing by indiana, and which is dependent for its completion on either ohio or michigan, passes over this territory. michigan claims it by virtue of an ordinance of congress, passed the th of july, , organizing the "_north-western territory_," in which the boundaries of _three_ states were laid off, "provided, that the boundaries of these three states shall be subject so far to be altered, that, if congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they shall have authority to form one or two states in that part of the said territory _which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of lake michigan_;"--ohio claims it by possession, and because, by being received into the union with this portion in possession, congress virtually annulled that part of the former ordinance that fixed the south bend of lake michigan as the boundary line, and by having run the line north of this. _outlines of the constitution._--a convention assembled at detroit, on the th of may, , and framed a constitution for a state government, which was submitted to, and ratified by vote of the people on the first monday in october. the powers of the government are divided into three distinct departments;--the legislative,--the executive,--and the judicial. the legislative power is vested in a _senate_ and _house of representatives_. the representatives are to be chosen annually; and their number cannot be less than , nor more than . the senators are to be chosen every two years, one half of them every year, and to consist, as nearly as may be, of one third of the number of the representatives. the census is to be taken in , and , and every ten years after the latter period; and also after each census taken by the united states, the number of senators and representatives is to be apportioned anew among the several counties, according to the number of white inhabitants. the _legislature_ is to meet annually, on the first monday in january. the executive power is to be vested in a governor, who holds his office for two years. upon a vacancy, the lieutenant governor performs executive duties. the first election was held on the first monday in october, , and the governor and lieutenant governor hold their offices till the first monday in january, . the _judicial power_ is vested in one _supreme court_, and in such other courts as the legislature may, from time to time, establish. the judges of the supreme court are to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, for the term of seven years. judges of all county courts, associate judges of circuit courts, and judges of probate, are to be elected by the people for the term of four years. each township is authorized to elect four justices of the peace, who are to hold their offices for four years. in all elections, every white male citizen above the age of years, having resided six months next preceding any election, is entitled to vote at such election. slavery, lotteries, and the sale of lottery tickets, are prohibited. the seat of government is to be at detroit, or such other place or places as may be prescribed by law until the year , when it is to be permanently fixed by the legislature. ohio --is bounded on the north by lake erie, and the state of michigan, east by pennsylvania and the ohio river, south by the ohio river, which separates it from virginia and kentucky, and west by indiana. the meanderings of the ohio river extend along the line of this state miles. it is about miles in extent, both from north to south, and from east to west. after excluding a section of lake erie, which projects into its northern borders, ohio contains about , square miles, or , , acres of land. _divisions._--nature has divided this state into four departments,--according to its principal waters. . the lake country, situated on lake erie, and embracing all its northern part. its streams all run into the lake, and reach the atlantic ocean through the gulf of st. lawrence. . the muskingum country, on the eastern side, and along the river of that name. . the scioto country, in the middle,--and, . the miami country, along the western side. for civil purposes, the state is divided into _seventy-five_ counties, and these are again subdivided into townships. their names, date of organization, number of square miles, number of organized townships, seats of justice, and bearing and distance from columbus, are exhibited in the following table. ------------+----------+------+----------+-----------------+-------------- | | | | | bearing and | when |square| no. of | |distance from counties. |organized.|miles.|townships.|seats of justice.| columbus. ------------+----------+------+----------+-----------------+-------------- adams, | | | |west union, | _s._ allen, | | | -- |lima, | _n. w._ ashtabula, | | | |jefferson, | _n. w._ athens, | | | |athens, | _s. e._ belmont, | | | |st. clairsville, | _e._ brown, | | | |georgetown, | _s._ butler, | | | |hamilton, | _s. w._ carroll, | | [a] | [a] |carrollton, | _e. n. e._ champaign, | | | |urbanna, | _w. n. w._ clark, | | | |springfield, | _w._ clermont, | | | |batavia, | _s. w._ clinton, | | | |wilmington, | _s. w._ columbiana, | | [a] | [a] |new lisbon, | _e. n. e._ coshocton, | | | |coshocton, | _n. e._ crawford, | | | |bucyrus, | _n._ cuyahoga, | | | |cleveland, | _n. n. e._ dark, | | | |greenville, | _w._ delaware, | | | |delaware, | _n._ fairfield, | | | |lancaster, | _s. e._ fayette, | | | |washington, | _s. w._ franklin, | | | |columbus, | gallia, | | | |gallipolis, | _s. s. e._ geauga, | | | |chardon, | _n. e._ greene, | | | |xenia, | _w. s. w._ guernsey, | | | |cambridge, | _e._ hamilton, | | | |cincinnati, | _s. w._ hancock, | | | |findlay, | _n. n. w._ hardin, | | | -- |kenton, | _n. n. w._ harrison, | |[a]-- | |cadiz, | _e. n. e._ henry, | -- | | |napoleon, | _n. w._ highland, | | | |hillsborough, | _s. s. w._ hocking, | | | |logan, | _s. s. e._ holmes, | | | |millersburg, | _n. e._ huron, | | | |norwalk, | _n._ jackson, | | | |jackson, | _s. s. e._ jefferson, | | | |steubenville, | _e. n. e._ knox, | | | |mount vernon, | _n. n. e._ lawrence, | | | |burlington, | _s. s. e._ licking, | | | |newark, | _e. n. e._ logan, | | | |bellefontaine, | _n. w._ lorain, | | | |elyria, | _n. n. e._ lucas,[b] | | | -- |toledo, | _n. n. w._ madison, | | | |london, | _w. s. w._ marion, | | | |marion, | _n._ medina, | | | |medina, | _n. n. e._ meigs, | | | |chester, | _s. s. e._ mercer, | | | |st mary's, | _n. w._ miami, | | | |troy, | _n. of w._ monroe, | | | |woodsfield, | _e. s. e._ montgomery, | | | |dayton, | _w._ morgan, | | | |m'connelsville, | _s. e._ muskingum, | | | |zanesville, | _e._ paulding,[c]| -- | | | | _n. w._ perry, | | | |somerset, | _e. s. e._ pickaway, | | | |circleville, | _s._ pike, | | | |piketon, | _s._ portage, | | | |ravenna, | _n. e._ preble, | | | |eaton, | _w._ putnam,[c] | -- | | | | _n. w._ richland, | | | |mansfield, | _n. n. e_ ross, | | | |chillicothe, | _s._ sandusky, | | | |lower sandusky, | _n._ scioto, | | | |portsmouth, | _s._ seneca, | | | |tiffin, | _n._ shelby, | | | |sidney, | _n. w._ stark, | | [a] | |canton, | _n. e._ trumbull, | | | |warren, | _n. e._ tuscarawas, | | [a] | |new philadelphia,| _e. n. e._ union, | | | |marysville, | _n. w._ vanwert,[c] | -- | | -- | | _n. w._ warren, | | | |lebanon, | _s. w._ washington, | | | |marietta, | _s. e._ wayne, | | | |wooster, | _n. e._ williams, | | | |defiance, | _n. w._ wood, | | | |perrysburg, | _n. w._ [a] carroll county has been formed from columbiana, harrison, stark and tuscarawas since the edition of the ohio gazetteer of was published, from which the foregoing table has been constructed. hence the townships in each are not given. [b] lucas county has been recently formed from parts taken from sandusky and wood counties, and from the disputed country claimed by michigan. [c] paulding, putnam, and vanwert counties had not been organized at the period of our information. much of the land in vanwert is wet. the southern portion contains much swampy prairie. there are nineteen congressional districts in ohio, which elect as many members of congress, and twelve circuits for courts of common pleas. _face of the country._--the interior and northern parts of the state bordering on lake erie, are generally level, and, in some places, wet and marshy. the eastern and south-eastern parts bordering on the ohio river, are hilly and broken, but not mountainous. in some counties the hills are abrupt and broken,--in others they form ridges, and are cultivated to their summits. immediately on the banks of the ohio and other large rivers are strips of rich alluvion soil. the country along the scioto and two miamies, furnish more extensive bodies of rich, fertile land, than any other part of the state. the prairie land is found in small tracts near the head waters of the muskingum and scioto, and between the sources of the two miami rivers, and especially in the north-western part of the state. many of the prairies in ohio are low and wet;--some are elevated and dry, and exhibit the features of those tracts called "barrens" in illinois. there are extensive plains, some of which are wet, towards sandusky. _soil and productions._--the soil, in at least three fourths of the state, is fertile;--and some of it very rich. the _poorest_ portion of ohio, is along the ohio river, from to miles in width, and extending from the national road opposite wheeling, to the mouth of the scioto river. many of the hills in this region are rocky. among the forest trees are oak of various species, white and black walnut, hickory, maple of different kinds, beech, poplar, ash of several kinds, birch, buckeye, cherry, chestnut, locust, elm, hackberry, sycamore, linden, with numerous others. amongst the under growth are spice-bush, dogwood, ironwood, pawpaw, hornbeam, black-haw, thorn, wild plum, grape vines, &c. the plains and wet prairies produce wild grass. the agricultural productions are such as are common to the eastern and middle states. indian corn, as in other western states, is a staple grain, raised with much ease, and in great abundance. more than bushels are produced from an acre, on the rich alluvial soils of the bottom lands, though from to bushels per acre ought to be considered an average crop. the state generally has a fine soil for wheat, and flour is produced for exportation in great quantities. rye, oats, buckwheat, barley, potatoes, melons, pumpkins, and all manner of garden vegetables, are cultivated to great perfection. no markets in the united states are more profusely and cheaply supplied with meat and vegetables than those of cincinnati and other large towns in ohio. hemp is produced to some extent, and the choicest kinds of tobacco is raised and cured in some of the counties east of the muskingum river. fruits of all kinds are raised in great plenty, especially apples, which grow to a large size, and are finely flavored. the vine and the mulberry have been introduced, and with enterprise and industry, wine and silk might easily be added to its exports. _animals._--bears, wolves, and deer are still found in the forests and unsettled portions of the state. the domestic animals are similar to other states. swine is one of the staple productions, and cincinnati has been denominated the "pork market of the world." other towns in the west, and in ohio, are beginning to receive a share of this trade, especially along the lines of the miami, and the erie canals. , hogs have been slaughtered and prepared for market in one season in cincinnati. about , is the present estimated number, from newspaper authority. immense droves of fat cattle are sent every autumn from the scioto valley and other parts of the state. they are driven to all the markets of the east and south. _minerals._--the mineral deposits of ohio, as yet discovered, consist principally in iron, salt, and bituminous coal, and are found chiefly along the south-eastern portion of the state. let a line be drawn from the south-eastern part of ashtabula county, in a south-western direction, by northampton in portage county, wooster, mount vernon, granville, circleville, to hillsborough, and thence south to the ohio river in brown county, and it would leave most of the salt, iron and coal on the eastern and south-eastern side. _financial statistics._--from the auditor's report to the legislature now in session, (jan. ,) the following items are extracted. the general revenue is obtained from moderate taxes on landed and personal property, and collected by the county treasurers,--from insurance, bank and bridge companies, from lawyers and physicians, &c. collected in , by the several county treasurers, $ , , (omitting fractions): paid by banks, bridges, and insurance companies, $ , ;--by lawyers, and physicians, $ , ;--other sources, $ , ,--making an aggregate of $ , . the disbursements are,--amount of deficit for , $ , ;--bills redeemed at the treasury for the year ending nov. , $ , ;--interest paid on school funds, $ , , &c., amounting to $ , --and showing a deficit in the revenue of $ , . canal funds. these appear to be separate accounts from the general receipts and disbursements. _miami canal._--the amount of money arising from the sales of miami canal lands up to the th of nov., , is $ , . this sum has been expended in the extension of the canal north of dayton. _ohio canal._--the amount of taxes collected for canal purposes for the year , including tolls, sales of canal lands, school lands, balance remaining in the treasury of last year, &c., is $ , . only $ , of the general revenue were appropriated to canal purposes, of which $ , went to pay interest on the school funds borrowed by the state. the foreign debt is $ , , ;--the legal interest of which is $ , per annum. the domestic debt of the state, arising from investing the different school funds, is $ , ;--the interest of which amounts to $ , ,--making an aggregate annual interest paid by the state on loans, $ , . the canal tolls for the year , amount to $ , , and the receipts from the sale of ohio canal lands, $ , ,--making an aggregate income to the canal fund of $ , per annum;--a sum more than sufficient to pay the interest on all loans for canal purposes. _items of expenditure._--under this head the principal items of the expenditures of the state government are given. members, and officers of the general assembly, per annum, $ , officers of government, , keeper of the penitentiary, , for new penitentiary buildings, , state printing, , paper and stationary for use of the state, , certificates for wolf scalps, , adjutant, and quarter master generals, and brigade inspectors, , treasurer's mileage on settlement with the auditor of state, , deaf and dumb asylum, , periodical works, &c. postage on documents, reporter to court in bank, members and clerks of the board of equalization, and articles furnished, , paymaster general,--ohio militia, , the extra session of the legislature on the boundary line, in june, , was $ , . _land taxes._--the amount of lands taxed, and the revenue arising therefrom, at several different periods, are herewith given, to show the progressive advance of the farming and other interests of the state. --------+------------+---------------- years. | acres. | taxes paid. --------+------------+---------------- | , , | $ , . cts | , , | , . | , , | , . from to , the average increase of the taxes, paid by the several counties, was $ , . from the state rose rapidly in the scale of prosperity and the value of property. in , the number of acres returned as taxable, exceeded a fraction of millions, while the aggregate of taxes, was $ , . the period of depression and embarrassment that followed throughout the west, prevented property from advancing in ohio. in , ' , ' , ' , ' , a material change in the amount of property taxable took place, from a few hundred thousands, to more than fifty millions. the total value of taxable property of the state for , (exclusive of three counties from which returns had not been received,) amounts to the sum of _ninety-four millions, four hundred and thirty-seven thousand, nine hundred and fifty-one dollars_. _school funds._--the amount of school funds loaned to the state, up to nov. th, , is-- virginia military land fund, $ , united states military land fund, , common school fund, , athens university, , school section, no. , , connecticut western reserve, , -------- total, $ , the following tabular view of the acres of land, total amount of taxable property, and total amount of taxes paid for , is taken from the ohio gazetteer. it should be noted that in all the western states, lands purchased of the government of the united states, are exempted from taxation for _five_ years after sale. it is supposed that such lands are not included in the table. i have also placed the population of each county for , from the census of that year;--reminding the reader that great changes have since been made. -----------------+------------+-------------+--------------+--------------- | | | total amount | | population | acres of | of taxable | total amount counties. | . | land. | property. | of taxes paid. -----------------+------------+-------------+--------------+--------------- adams | , | , | $ , | $ , . allen | | , | , | . ashtabula | , | , | , , | , . athens | , | , | , | , . belmont | , | , | , , | , . brown | , | , | , , | , . butler | , | , | , , | , . carroll | ---- | , | , | , . champaign | , | , | , | , . clark | , | , | , , | , . clermont | , | , | , , | , . clinton | , | , | , | , . columbiana | , | , | , , | , . coshocton | , | , | , | , . crawford | , | , | , | , . cuyahoga | , | , | , , | , . dark | , | , | , | , . delaware | , | , | , | , . fairfield | , | , | , , | , . fayette | , | , | , | , . franklin | , | , | , , | , . gallia | , | , | , | , . geauga | , | , | , , | , . greene | , | , | , , | , . guernsey | , | , | , | , . hamilton | , | , | , , | , . hancock | | , | , | . harden | | , | , | , . harrison | , | , | , , | , . highland | , | , | , , | , . hocking | , | , | , | , . holmes | , | , | , | , . huron | , | , | , , | , . jackson | , | , | , | , . jefferson | , | , | , , | , . knox | , | , | , , | , . lawrence | , | , | , | , . licking | , | , | , , | , . logan | , | , | , | , . lorain | , | , | , | , . madison | , | , | , | , . marion | , | , | , | , . medina | , | , | , | , . meigs | , | , | , | , . mercer | , | , | , | . miami | , | , | , , | , . monroe | , | , | , | , . montgomery | , | , | , , | , . morgan | , | , | , | , . muskingum | , | , | , , | , . perry | , | , | , | , . pickaway | , | , | , , | , . pike | , | , | , | , . portage | , | , | , , | , . preble | , | , | , , | , . richland | , | , | , , | , . ross | , | , | , , | , . sandusky | , | , | , | , . scioto | , | , | , | , . seneca | , | , | , | , . stark | , | , | , , | , . shelby | , | , | , | , . trumbull | , | , | , , | , . tuscarawas | , | , | , | , . union | , | , | , | , . warren | , | , | , , | , . washington | , | , | , | , . wayne | , | , | , , | , . williams and | } , | , | , | , . others not incor.| } | | | wood | , | , | , | , . -----------------+------------+-------------+--------------+--------------- total | , | , , | , , | , . ohio statistics-- . from the annual report of the auditor of state, it appears there were returned on the general list for taxation, , , acres of land, under the new valuation, made under the law of - . lands, including buildings, valued at $ , , town lots, including houses, mills, etc. , , , horses, valued at $ each, , , , cattle, valued at $ each, , , merchants' capital, and money at interest, , , , pleasure carriages, valued at , ----------- total amount of taxable property, $ , , on the value of taxable property, the following taxes were levied: state and canal tax, $ , . county and school tax, , . road tax, , . township tax, , . corporation, jail, and bridge tax, , . physicians' and lawyers' tax, , . school-house tax, , . delinquencies of former years, , . ----------- total taxes, $ , . no returns were made from the counties of crawford, hancock, jefferson and williams. canal revenues. the total amount of receipts for tolls, for the year ending on the st of october, , was as follows: ohio canal. cleaveland, $ , . | newark, $ , . akron, , . | columbus, , . massillon, , . | circleville, , . dover, , . | chillicothe, , . roscoe, , . | portsmouth, , . ---------- ---------- , . $ , . , . ----------- total, $ , . miami canal. dayton, , . middleton, , . hamilton, , . cincinnati, , . ---------- total, , . ---------- total tolls received on both canals, $ , . deduct contingent expenses on ohio canal, $ , . do. on miami canal, , . -- , . ------------ $ , . toll received on lancaster lat. canal, , . from water rents and sale of state lots, , . arrearages paid of tolls received in october, , , . ----------- $ , . population of ohio at different periods. in population. | from increase. , about , | to , , , " , | " , , , " , | " , , , " , | " , , , " , | " , , , _estimated_, , , | _rivers._--the streams which flow into the ohio river, are the mahoninga branch of the beaver, little beaver, muskingum, hockhocking, scioto, little miami, and great miami. those which flow from the northward into lake erie, are the maumee, portage, sandusky, huron, cuyahoga, grand, and ashtabula. hence the state is divided into two unequal inclined planes, the longest of which slopes towards the ohio, and the shortest towards the lake. the head waters of the muskingum, scioto and miami, interlock with those of the cuyahoga, sandusky, and maumee, so as to render the construction of canals not only practicable, but comparatively easy. all the large streams are now navigable for boats during the spring season. _internal improvements._--these consist of canals, rail-roads, turnpike roads, and the national road, now under the supervision of, and owned by, the state. the canalling is managed by a board of commissioners. the state canals were projected about , and, considering the youthful character of the state, its want of funds and other circumstances, they are, undoubtedly, the greatest works ever executed in america. the _ohio and erie canal_ connects lake erie with the ohio river. it commences at cleaveland, at the mouth of the cuyahoga, passes along that river and its tributaries, to the summit level, from thence to the waters of the muskingum, and to the border of muskingum county; from thence it strikes across the country past newark, in licking county, and strikes the scioto, down the valley of which it proceeds to its mouth, at portsmouth. the principal places on the canal are akron, new portage, massillon, bolivar, new philadelphia, coshocton, newark, bloomfield, circleville, chillicothe, piketon, and portsmouth. it was commenced on the th of july, , and completed in ; and, together with the miami canal to dayton, cost about $ , , , and has greatly enriched the state and the people. private property along its line has risen from five to ten fold. length of ohio and erie canal. miles. main trunk from cleaveland to portsmouth, navigable feeder from main trunk to columbus, navigable feeder from main trunk to granville, muskingum side cut, from the muskingum river at dresden, navigable feeder from the tuscarawas river, navigable feeder from the walhonding river, --- total length of ohio canal and branches, the _miami canal_ commences at cincinnati, and, passing through the towns of reading, hamilton, middletown, franklin, and miamisburg, terminates at dayton, miles. it has been navigated from dayton to the head of main street, cincinnati, since the spring of . an extension of the work is now in progress, to be carried along the vallies of st. mary's and au glaise rivers, and unite with the wabash and erie canal, at defiance; distance from cincinnati about miles. an act passed the ohio legislature in , for continuing the wabash and erie canal, (now constructing in indiana, by that state,) from the western boundary of ohio, to the maumee bay. operations have been suspended by the boundary dispute with michigan. the _mahoning and beaver canal_ has already been noticed, under the head of western pennsylvania. it is proposed to carry it from akron, on the portage summit, along the valley of the mahoning river, to newcastle, on the beaver division of the pennsylvania canal. distance in ohio, miles. the work is in progress. the _sandy creek and little beaver canal_ is in progress by a chartered company. it commences near the town of bolivar, on the ohio and erie canal, in tuscarawas county, and passes along near the line of stark and carroll counties to the little beaver in columbiana county, and from thence to the ohio river. the _mad river and sandusky rail-road_ will extend from dayton, on the miami canal, to sandusky, through springfield, urbanna, bellefontaine, upper sandusky, tiffin, and down the valley of the sandusky river to lake erie. the route is remarkably favorable for locomotive power. length miles; estimated cost, $ , per mile. the work was commenced in september, . the _erie and ohio rail-road_ is intended to be constructed from ashtabula on the lake, through warren to wellsville, on the ohio river, a distance of miles. other rail-roads are in contemplation in this state, the most important of which is the _great western rail-road_, from boston, by worcester, springfield, and stockbridge, through new york, by albany, utica and buffalo, along the summit ridge, dividing the northern from the southern waters, through pennsylvania, ohio, to intersect the wabash and erie canal at la fayette, in indiana. from thence provision is already made for it to pass to the eastern boundary of illinois, from which, a company has been recently chartered to construct it across the state of illinois by danville, shelbyville, hillsborough, to alton on the mississippi. it must be some untoward circumstance that shall prevent this splendid work from being completed the whole length before . the project of a rail-road from cincinnati, to charleston in south carolina, has been entered upon with great spirit in the south, and in all the states more directly concerned in the enterprise. it will, undoubtedly, be carried into effect. the state of ohio has incorporated a number of turnpike companies, some of which have gone into operation. the first is near the north-eastern corner of the state, from pierpont, through monroe and salem townships to the mouth of conneant creek, miles long. the second is the trumbull and ashtabula turnpike, leading from warren to ashtabula, miles. the third is from the town of wooster, through medina, to cleaveland, miles. the fourth is from columbus to sandusky, miles, now in the course of construction. another from cincinnati, through lebanon and columbus, to wooster, has been commenced on the mcadamized plan, but is not completed. a mcadam turnpike from cincinnati to chillicothe is in progress. the national road, constructed by the general government, and transferred to the state, passes from wheeling, through columbus to the indiana line. _manufactures._--the principal factory for woollen goods is at steubenville. a number of cotton factories are in the towns along the ohio river. furnaces for smelting iron ore are in operation in the counties bordering on the ohio, near the mouth of the scioto. glass is manufactured in several towns. considerable salt is made on the muskingum below zanesville, on the scioto, and on yellow creek above steubenville. about half a million of bushels were made in the state in . cincinnati rivals pittsburg in the number, variety and extent of its manufacturing operations. in every town and village through the state, mechanics' shops are established for the manufacture of all articles of ordinary use. _cities and towns._--to enter upon minute descriptions, or even name all these, would much exceed the bounds of this work. cincinnati is the great commercial emporium of the state. it is pleasantly situated on the right or northern bank of the ohio river, about equidistant from pittsburg and its mouth, in n. lat. ° ', and w. lon. from washington city ° '. directly fronting the city to the south, and on the opposite side of the ohio river, are the flourishing manufacturing towns of newport and covington, which are separated by the licking river, of kentucky, which enters the ohio directly opposite the cincinnati landing. the wharf arrangements are the most convenient, for lading and unlading goods at all stages of the water, to be found on our western rivers. the town site is beautifully situated on the first and second banks of the river--the former of which is above ordinary high water, and the latter gently rises sixty or seventy feet higher, and spreads out into a semicircular plain, surrounded with elevated bluffs. cincinnati was founded in , but did not grow rapidly till about . the progressive increase of population will appear from the following table: , , | , , , , | , , , , | , _estimated_, , , , | add the adjoining towns of covington and newport, whose interests are identified, and the aggregate population will equal , ; and, in all reasonable probability, in , these towns, with cincinnati, will number , active, educated, and enterprising citizens. in , according to the picture of cincinnati, by b. drake, esq. and e. d. mansfield, esq., the manufacturing industry alone, according to an accurate statistical examination, amounted to , , dollars. at that time there were not more than fifteen steam engines employed in manufactures in the city. at the close of , there were more than fifty in successful operation, besides four or five in newport and covington. "more than steam engines, about cotton gins, upwards of sugar-mills, and steamboats--many of them of the largest size--have been built or manufactured in cincinnati, during the year ."[ ] hence the productive industry of cincinnati, covington and newport, for , may be estimated at , , of dollars. by a laborious investigation, at the close of , by the same writer, the exports of that year were about , , of dollars in value. a similar inquiry induced him to place the exports of at , , . the estimate for , is , , . to enumerate all the public and private edifices deserving notice, would extend this article to too great a length. the court house, four market houses, banks, college, catholic athenæum, two medical colleges, mechanics' institute, two museums, hospital and lunatics' asylum, woodward high school, ten or twelve large edifices for free schools, hotels, and between twenty-five and thirty houses for public worship, some of which are elegant, deserve notice. the type foundry and printing-press manufactory, is one of the most extensive in the united states. here is machinery, lately invented, for casting printer's types, exceeding, perhaps, anything in the world. printing, and the manufacture of books, are extensively carried on in this city. here are six large bookstores, several binderies, twelve or fifteen printing-offices, from which are issued ten weekly, four triweekly, four daily, four monthly, and one quarterly publications. two medical publications, of a highly respectable character, are issued. the western monthly magazine is too well known to need special notice here. the cincinnati mirror is a respectable literary periodical. the presbyterians, baptists, methodists, roman catholics, and, perhaps, other sects, have each their weekly paper, respectable in size and character. during four months, in , there were issued from the cincinnati press, , volumes, of which , were original works. in the same period, the periodical press issued , printed sheets. the business has increased greatly since that time. the "_college of professional teachers_," is an institution formed at the convention of teachers, held in this city, in october, . its objects are to _unite_ the professional instructers of youth throughout the western country in the cause in which they are engaged, and to elevate the character of the profession. their meetings are held on the first monday in october annually. lectures are given, discussions held, reports made, and a respectable volume of transactions published annually. there is no doubt that much good will result to the cause of education in the west, from this annual convocation. _law school._--an institution of this character has been organized, under the management of hon. j. c. wright, and other gentlemen of the bar. of _medical schools_ there are two, at the heads of which are gentlemen of high character and attainments in their profession. the _mechanics' institute_ is designed for the diffusion of scientific knowledge among the mechanics and citizens generally, by means of popular lectures and mutual instruction. the _cincinnati lyceum_ was formed for the purpose of useful instruction and entertainment, by means of popular lectures and debates. the _academic institute_ is designed to aid the cause of education, and elevate the profession, amongst the teachers in cincinnati. its meetings are monthly. the _athenæum_ is an institution under the management of roman catholic priests. the college edifice is a splendid and permanent building, of great capacity. the _woodward high school_ was founded by the late william woodward. the fund yields an income of about $ annually. it is conducted by four professors, and has about one hundred and twenty students. the corporation has established a system of free schools, designed to extend the benefits of primary education to all classes, and ten or twelve large edifices have been erected for the purpose. i regret the want of documents to give particulars of this liberal and praiseworthy enterprise, which reflects much honor upon the city and its honorable corporation. in , there were twenty public schools for males and females, and two thousand pupils. many excellent private schools and seminaries, some of deserved celebrity, are sustained by individual enterprise. columbus, the political capital of the state, and nearly in the centre of the state, is a beautiful city, on the east bank of the scioto river. in , it was covered with a dense forest, when it was selected by the legislature for the permanent seat of government. the public buildings are a state house, a court house for the supreme court, a building for the public offices, a market house, &c., all of brick. the state penitentiary is here, for which a new substantial building is constructing, and an asylum for the deaf and dumb, sustained by legislative aid. chillicothe, cleaveland, zanesville, steubenville, circleville and many others, are large and flourishing towns. _education._--charters for eight or ten colleges and collegiate institutions have been granted. congress has granted , acres of public land to this state, for colleges and academies. one township, ( , acres,) and a very valuable one, has been given to the miami university, at oxford. two townships of land, ( , acres,) though of inferior quality, have been given to the ohio university. academies have been established in most of the principal towns. a common school system has been established by the legislature. each township has been divided into school districts. taxes are levied to the amount of three fourths of a mill upon the dollar of taxable property in the state, which, with the interest accruing from the different school funds already noticed, are applied towards the expenses of tuition. five school examiners are appointed in each county, by the court of common pleas, who are to examine teachers. the governor, in his recent message, speaks of the common school system as languishing in proportion to other improvements. _form of government._--the legislative authority is vested in a senate and house of representatives; both of which, collectively, are styled the general assembly. the members of both branches are chosen by counties, or by districts composed of counties, according to population. the representatives are chosen annually; the senators biennially. the general assembly has the sole power of enacting laws; the signature or assent of the governor not being necessary in any case whatever. the judiciary system comprises three grades of courts:--the supreme court, courts of common pleas, and justices' courts. the justices of the peace are chosen triennially, by the people. the executive authority is vested in a governor, who is elected biennially, and must be thirty years of age, and have resided in the state at least four years. he is commander-in-chief of all the militia, and commissions all officers in the state, both civil and military. each free, white, male citizen of the united states, of twenty-one years of age, and a resident of the state one year preceding an election, is entitled to a vote in all elections. the following shows the professions, occupations, and nativity of the members of the legislature of ohio, during the present winter, ( - ,) and is about a proportionate estimate for other western states:-- the members of the ohio legislature, as to their occupations and professions, are:--farmers, ; lawyers, ; merchants, ; doctors, ; printers, ; surveyors, ; millers, ; masons, ; carpenters, ; painter, ; watch-maker, ; blacksmith, ; house joiner, . their nativity is as follows:--ohio, ; pennsylvania, ; virginia, ; new england states, ; maryland, ; new york, ; new jersey, ; kentucky, ; delaware, ; north carolina, ; ireland, ; england, ; germany, . the youngest member in the senate, is years of age, and the oldest . in the house, the youngest ; oldest . under the constitution, a senator must be ; and a member of the house, . _antiquities._--much has been said about the antiquities of ohio,--the fortifications, artificial mounds, and military works, supposed to indicate a race of civilized people, as the possessors of the country, anterior to the indian nations. at marietta, circleville, paint creek, and some other places, are, doubtless, antiquities, that exhibited, upon their first discovery, strong marks of a military purpose. i have no doubt, however, that credulity and enthusiasm have greatly exaggerated many appearances in the west, and magnified them into works of vast enterprise and labor. mounds of earth are found in every country on the globe, of all forms and sizes; and why should they not exist in the western valley? mr. flint states that he has seen a horse shoe dug up at the depth of thirty-five feet below the surface, with nails in it, and much eroded by rust. he mentions also a sword, which is _said_ to be preserved as a curiosity, but which he had not seen, found enclosed in the wood of the roots of a tree, which could not have been less than five hundred years old! those who delight especially in the marvellous, may consult the "description of the antiquities discovered in the state of ohio, and other western states, by caleb atwater, esq." _history._--the first permanent settlement of ohio, was made at marietta, on the th day of april, , by persons from massachusetts, rhode island, and connecticut. this was the nucleus around which has grown up the populous state of ohio. amongst the most active promoters of this colony, were those called then "the ohio company." the next settlement was that of symmes' purchase, made at columbia, six miles above cincinnati, in nov. , by major stiles and twenty-five others, under the direction of judge symmes. a colony of french emigrants settled at gallipolis in . in settlements were made by new england emigrants at cleaveland and conneant, on the southern shore of lake erie. the intermediate country gradually filled up by emigration from various parts of the united states. some slight diversity exists, in different sections of the state, in manners, customs, and feelings, amongst the people, in accordance with the states or countries from which they or their fathers emigrated. these shades of character will become blended, and the next generation will be _ohians_, or, to use their own native cognomen, _buckeyes_. in sept., , the first territorial legislature convened at cincinnati. the governor having exercised his right of _veto_ in relation to the removal of a county seat, an unhappy collision followed, and, upon framing the state constitution, in nov., , the convention prevented the governor of the state from ever exercising the _negative_ power upon acts of the legislature. date of organization of some of the oldest counties. washington, july th, hamilton, jan. d, adams, july th, jefferson, july th, ross, august th, trumbull, july th, clermont, december th, belmont september th, these were all organized under the territorial government. indiana. length , breadth miles. between ° ' n. latitude, and ° ' and ° w. longitude. bounded north by the state of michigan and lake michigan, east by ohio, south by the ohio river, which separates it from kentucky, and west by illinois. it contains about , square miles, equal to , , acres. it is naturally subdivided into the hilly portion, bordering on the ohio; the level, timbered portion, extending across the middle of the state; the wabash country, on that river; and the northern portion bordering on the state of michigan and the lake. the two last portions include nearly all the prairie country. for civil purposes, this state has been divided into counties, and those subdivided into townships. table. ------------+----------+------+----------++-----------------+------------- | | | || |bearing and | date of |square|population|| |distance from counties. |formation.|miles.| . ||seats of justice.|indianopolis. ------------+----------+------+----------++-----------------+------------- allen, | | | , || fort wayne, | bartholomew,| | | , || columbus, | boon, | | | || lebanon, | carroll, | | | , || delphi, | cass, | | | , || logansport, | clark, | | | , || charlestown, | clay, | | | , || bowling green, | clinton, | | | , || frankfort, | crawford, | | | , || fredonia, | daviess, | | | , || washington, | dearborn, | | | , || lawrenceburgh, | decatur, | | | , || greensburgh, | delaware, | | | , || muncietown, | dubois, | | | , || jasper, | elkhart, | | | || goshen, | fayette, | | | , || connersville, | floyd, | | | , || new albany, | fountain, | | | , || covington, | franklin, | | | , || brookville, | gibson, | | | , || princeton, | grant, | | | ---- || marion, | greene, | | | , || bloomfield, | hamilton, | | | , || noblesville, | hancock, | | | , || greenfield, | harrison, | | | , || corydon, | hendricks, | | | , || danville, | henry, | | | , || newcastle, | huntington, | | | ---- || | jackson, | | | , || brownstown, | jefferson, | | | , || madison, | jennings, | | | , || vernon, | johnson, | | | , || franklin, | knox, | | | , || vincennes, | la porte, | | | ---- || la porte, | lagrange, | | | ---- || mongoquinon, | lawrence, | | | , || bedford, | madison, | | | , || andersontown, | marion, | | | , || indianopolis, | martin, | | | , || mount pleasant, | miami, | | | ---- || miamisport, | monroe, | | | , || bloomington, | montgomery, | | | , || crawfordsville, | morgan, | | | , || martinsville, | orange, | | | , || paoli, | owen, | | | , || spencer, | parke, | | | , || rockville, | perry, | | | , || rome, | pike, | | | , || petersburgh, | posey, | | | , || mount vernon, | putnam, | | | , || greencastle, | randolph, | | | , || winchester, | ripley, | | | , || versailles, | rush, | | | , || rushville, | scott, | | | , || lexington, | shelby, | | | , || shelbyville, | spencer, | | | , || rockport, | st. joseph, | | | || south bend, | sullivan, | | | , || merom, | switzerland,| | | , || vevay, | tippecanoe, | | | , || la fayette, | union, | | | , || liberty, | vanderburgh,| | | , || evansville, | vermillion, | | | , || newport, | vigo, | | | , || terre haute, | wabash, | | | ---- || | warren, | | | , || williamsport, | warrick, | | | , || boonville, | washington, | | | , || salem, | wayne, | | | , || centerville, | the total population in , was , . the estimated population in the message of gov. noble to the legislature, december, , was , . the counties in which the population has not been given in the foregoing table, have been formed since . probably other new counties, along the waters of the wabash and kankakee, have been formed recently, of which no intelligence has been had by the author. the counties in the northern portion of the state have increased the most in population since . for electing representatives to congress, the state is divided into seven electoral districts. for judicial purposes, it is divided into eight circuits, in each of which there is a circuit judge, who, together with two associates in each county, holds the circuit courts. population at different periods. population. | increase. in ,(excluding illinois,) , | from to , , " , , | " to , , " , , | " to , , " , , | " to , , " , , | " to , , " ,(estimate,) , | in , the number of voters was , , and the number of paupers ! _face of the country, &c._--the counties bordering on the ohio river are hilly;--sometimes abrupt, precipitous, stony, occasionally degenerating into knobs and ravines. commencing at the mouth of white river on the wabash, and following up that stream on its east fork, and thence along the muskakituck, through jennings and ripley counties to lawrenceville, and you leave the rough and hilly portion of indiana, to the right. much of the country we have denominated hilly is rich, fertile land, even to the summits of the hills. on all the streams are strips of rich alluvion of exhaustless fertility. the interior, on the two white rivers and tributaries, is moderately undulating, tolerably rich soil, and much of it heavily timbered with oaks of various species, poplar, beech, sugar tree, walnuts, hickory, elm, and other varieties common to the west. there is much level, table land, between the streams. along the wabash, below terre haute, is an undulating surface, diversified with forest and prairie, with a soil of middling quality, interspersed with some very rich tracts. along the wabash and its tributaries above terre haute, the land in general is first rate,--a large proportion forest, interspersed with beautiful prairies. the timber consists of oaks of various species, poplar, ash, walnut, cherry, elm, sugar tree, buckeye, hickory, some beech, sassafras, lime, honey locust, with some cotton wood, sycamore, hackberry and mulberry on the bottom lands. the undergrowth is spice bush, hazel, plum, crab apple, hawthorn and vines. along the northern part of the state are extensive prairies and tracts of barrens, with groves of various kinds of timber and skirts of burr oak. towards lake michigan, and along the kankakee and st. joseph rivers, are lakes, swamps and marshes. _rivers._--the ohio meanders along the southeastern and southern parts of the state for miles. the east and west forks of white river, and their tributaries, water the interior counties for miles in extent. they are both navigable streams for flat boats during the spring and autumn floods. the wabash river has several heads, which interlock with the waters of the st. joseph and st. mary's, which form the maumee of lake erie. it runs a south-westwardly course across the state to warren county,--thence southwardly to vigo county, where it becomes the boundary between indiana and illinois, along which it meanders to the ohio, which it enters miles above shawneetown. the st. joseph of lake michigan, already noticed under the state of michigan, makes a curve into elkhart and st. joseph counties, forming what is called the _south bend_. the kankakee, which is the longest branch of illinois river, rises in indiana, near the south bend. some of its head waters interlock with those of tippecanoe, a prominent tributary of the wabash. sketch of each county. the following sketch of each county,--its streams, surface, soil, and minerals,--has been made and collated with much labor, from an excellent gazetteer of this state, published in , by douglass and maguire of indianopolis,--from personal observation of many of the older counties,--and from an extensive correspondence. allen.--streams; st. joseph's and st. mary's, which form the maumee of lake erie, navigable for small keel boats,--and numerous creeks; generally heavily timbered; soil, clay,--sandy on the rivers. bartholomew.--streams; driftwood, clifty, flat rock, and salt creeks,--all mill streams. surface, level; soil, a rich loam, mixed with sand and gravel; the western part hilly, with clay soil. minerals; limestone, coal, iron ore, red ochre. boon.--watered by the tributaries of raccoon and sugar creeks. surface, level,--soil rich. carroll.--streams; wabash river, deer, rock, and branches of wildcat creeks. considerable timber,--some prairies, of which deer prairie is the largest and most beautiful. considerable quantities of limestone on the surface; a remarkable spring near delphi,--the water reddish. cass.--streams are wabash and eel rivers, which unite at logansport,--the head of steamboat navigation of the wabash, and termination of the w. and e. canal. surface, generally level, rolling towards the rivers with abrupt bluffs; soil, near the rivers, a mixture of loam and sand; at a distance from them, flat and clayey. large proportion, forest land,--some prairies. clark.--silver and fourteen mile creeks furnish excellent mill sites. ohio river on the south. surface, rolling and hilly; soil, loam, mixed with sand. minerals; limestone, gypsum, water lime, marble, salt, iron ore, copperas, alum. clay.--eel river and tributaries. surface moderately undulating; soil various, chiefly clay and loam, and a mixture of sand, in places; timber predominates,--some prairies. clinton.--watered by the south, middle, and kilmore's forks of wildcat creek. surface, moderately undulating, or level: twelve mile prairie extends from s. w. to n. e. miles, and is three fourths of a mile wide. the remainder timbered land. soil, a rich sandy loam, and exceedingly fertile. crawford.--waters; the ohio and blue rivers,--plenty of water power, and excellent springs. surface, hilly and broken; in places, tolerably productive; in others, soil thin and rocky. a timbered region, and abundance of limestone. daviess.--streams; forks of white river, with its tributaries, smother's, prairie, veal, aikman's and sugar creeks. level bottoms on the rivers--sometimes inundated; undulating on the high grounds. soil on the west fork, sandy; much timber,--an extensive tract of sugar tree; some prairies. the county destitute of rock near the surface; plenty of lime and sandstone in the bed of west fork of white river, at the rapids. plenty of coal. dearborn.--watered by the great miami, whitewater, laughery, hogan's and tanner's creeks. surface, hilly and broken, with rich, level, bottom lands, on the miami. soil, one fourth first rate, one fourth second rate,--remainder inferior. a timbered region. decatur.--flat rock, clifty, and sand creeks, are all good mill streams. surface, generally level,--some parts undulating; soil, loam, with a substratum of clay; well adapted to grain--timbered. minerals; limestone, some iron ore and coal. delaware.--streams; missisinawa, and west fork of white river; surface tolerably level; soil, loam, mixed with sand. minerals; some limestone, and granite bowlders scattered over the surface. dubois.--streams; east fork of white river, patoka and anderson creeks. surface rolling,--some parts hilly and broken,--some level tracts; soil rich and sandy loam near the streams. minerals; sand rock and coal. elkhart.--watered by st. joseph of lake michigan, elkhart and tributaries. surface, generally level,--a portion undulating; soil various, but generally rich; forest and prairie, both wet and dry. fayette.--watered by the west fork of whitewater, and a small lake in the north. surface, undulating; soil, on the high ground, clayey, and a mixture of sand,--on the bottom lands, a rich, sandy loam. limestone found in masses and quarries. floyd.--watered by the ohio river, silver creek, and some head branches of big and little indian creeks. surface various,--a range of knobs,--east of these knobs, it is gently undulating; soil inferior. minerals; shale, soft sandstone, limestone, freestone, iron ore, and some traces of coal. a boiling spring, from which is emitted an inflammable gas. fountain.--watered by the wabash river, and coal and shawnee creeks, with numerous mill sites. surface, gently undulating; soil, a black loam, mixed with sand, and very rich. minerals; coal, and some sandstone. franklin.--watered by the east and west forks of whitewater. surface, on the eastern part level,--western, rolling; soil, in the central and northern parts, a black loam,--in the south-west, thin and clayey. gibson.--watered by the wabash, white, and patoka rivers. surface, rolling and timbered; soil, generally a sandy loam, and productive. grant.--watered by the missisinawa and tributaries. surface level,--generally heavily timbered; soil, clay and loam on the table lands,--sandy on the river bottoms. green.--watered by white and eel rivers, and richland creek; soil, on the rivers a rich loam,--on the bluffs, sandy,--east side, hilly,--west side, level. white river is navigable. minerals; lime and sandstone, coal, and some iron ore. hamilton.--the streams are white river, and cicero, coal, stoney, and fall creeks. generally forest,--some few prairies; soil, in places, clay,--more generally, a sandy loam. minerals; lime, and some soft sand rock. hancock.--watered by blue river, sugar and brandywine creeks, with excellent mill sites, and well supplied with springs. surface, either level or gently undulating; soil, a rich loam, mixed with sand,--heavily timbered. harrison.--watered by big and little indian, and buck creeks, and blue river. surface various,--some parts hilly and broken,--some parts undulating,--some parts level; soil, in the low grounds, a rich loam,--on the high grounds, calcareous and gravelly. a large tract of "barrens" in the west. minerals; a quarry and several caves of black flint, salt licks, limestone. hendricks.--the waters are white lick, and branches of eel river, with good mill sites. surface, gently rolling, and timbered with the varieties of the wabash country; soil, a mixture of clay, loam and sand. henry.--watered by blue river, flat rock and fall creeks. surface, in some places, broken,--in most parts, level; soil, a mixture of sand with loam and clay. plenty of springs and mill sites. mostly timbered, but several tracts of prairie. huntington.--the streams are salamania, little river, and wabash. surface, on the rivers, level,--back, gently undulating; soil, loam and clay, with a slight mixture of sand. several tracts of prairie, but generally forest land. jackson.--watered by indian, driftwood, white, muscatatack, and gum creeks. surface, rolling and in places hilly; soil, clay and loam, mixed with sand. in the forks of the creeks, sand predominates. on the west and north-west, inclined to clay. jefferson.--watered by the ohio river, indian, kentucky and big creeks. surface various; along the river and creeks, low alluvion; soil, loam mixed with sand. the bottoms are bounded by precipitous bluffs, with towering cliffs of limestone. the table lands are undulating, and the soil inclined to clay. timber various. abounds with limestone, masses of freestone, and scattered granite bowlders. johnson.--watered on the eastern side by blue river, and sugar and young's creeks,--on the western side by indian, crooked, and stott's creeks. surface, gently undulating; soil, a rich, black, sandy loam; timbered. minerals; masses of freestone, and scattered granite bowlders. jennings.--watered by graham's fork, and the north fork of the muscatatack. surface, in some parts level, some parts very hilly; soil, calcareous, rich and productive; timber of all varieties; abounds with limestone. knox.--the wabash on the west side,--white river south,--the west fork of white river east,--and maria and duchain creeks, interior. surface undulating; soil, somewhat various,--a rich loam in places,--sandy in other places;--some tracts of prairie, but timber predominates. lagrange.--watered by pigeon and crooked rivers. surface, gently rolling; northern part extensive prairies; southern portion chiefly forest; soil, loam and sand. la porte.--watered by the kankakee, galena, and trail creek, at the mouth of which is michigan city, and a harbor for lake michigan commerce. surface, gently undulating; abounds with large, rich prairies, with groves of timber, and lakes of clear water interspersed; soil, a sandy loam, rich and productive. lawrence.--watered by salt, indian, guthrie's, beaver, and leatherwood creeks, and excellent springs. surface, generally hilly,--some level lands;--soil, on the water courses, sandy,--back from the streams, loam and clay. abounds with limestone. madison.--the west fork of white river is navigable. the other streams are killbuck, pipe, lick and fall creeks. surface, generally level, with some broken land near the streams; timbered, with a wet prairie, miles long and three fourths of a mile wide; soil, sand, mixed with clay and loam,--productive. minerals; lime and freestone, marble that polishes well, and some traces of iron ore. marion.--west fork of white river passes through it, on which is situated indianopolis, the capital of the state. fall creek is an excellent mill stream. surface, chiefly level forest land; soil, a deep black loam, with a mixture of sand. large granite bowlders are scattered over the surface. martin.--the east fork of white river passes through it, and receives lost river from the left, and indian and flint creeks from the right. surface, on the east side of white river, broken and hilly; soil, clay and loam; on the west side, level, or gently undulating, with portions of barrens and prairie land; soil, clay and loam, mixed with sand. minerals; coal in large quantities, lime, sand and freestone. miami.--the wabash and eel rivers pass through it, and the missisinawa comes from the east, and enters the wabash about the centre of the county. the wabash and erie canal passes through it. surface, gently undulating and beautiful,--chiefly forest, and interspersed with small prairies; soil, the richest in the state, of loam, clay and sand intermixed. monroe.--streams; salt, clear, indian, raccoon, richland, and bean-blossom creeks,--pure springs. surface, hilly and undulating; soil, second rate. minerals; limestone rock, salt licks, with manufactories of salt. montgomery.--the heads of shawnee and coal creeks in the north-west,--sugar creek in the centre,--and big raccoon on the southeastern part. surface, gently undulating; the northern portion prairie, interspersed with groves, with a rich soil of black loam, mixed with sand,--the middle and southern portions timbered. excellent quarries of rock in the middle,--granite bowlders in the northern parts. morgan.--white river, which is navigable. the mill streams are white lick, sycamore, highland, and lamb's creeks on the west side, and crooked, stott's, clear, and indian creeks on the east side. surface, generally rolling,--some parts hilly; soil, calcareous and clayey,--on the bottoms, a rich sandy loam. minerals; limestone, and some iron ore. orange.--streams; lost river, french lick, and patoka. surface, hilly and broken,--limestone rock,--springs of water, of which half-moon and french lick are curiosities. on the alluvial bottoms, the soil is loamy,--on the hills, calcareous, and inclined to clay. excellent stones for grit, equal to the turkey oil stones, are found in this county. owen.--watered by the west fork of white river, with its tributaries, raccoon, indian, mill, rattlesnake, and fish creeks. the falls of eel river furnish the best water power in the state. surface rolling; soil, in some places a dark loam,--in others clayey and calcareous. minerals; immense bodies of lime rock, and some iron ore. parke.--watered by the big and little raccoon, and sugar creeks, (with excellent mill sites,) all of which enter the wabash on its western side. surface, generally level,--some beautiful prairies, but mostly forest land; soil, a loam mixed with sand and rich. minerals; lime and sandstone, coal and iron ore. perry.--watered by the ohio river, with anderson's, bear, poison, and oil creeks interior. some level land, with a rich, sandy loam, on the streams,--all the high lands very broken; hilly, with a clayey, sterile soil. minerals; immense bodies of limestone, grindstone quarries, iron ore and coal. pike.--has white river on the north, and patoka creek through the centre. surface all forest land and undulating; soil, eastern part clay and sand,--western, a rich, dark loam, mixed with sand,--some swampy land. minerals, limestone and coal. posey.--in the forks of the ohio and wabash, with big, mill, and mcfadden's creeks interior, and good springs. surface, rolling, and all forest land; soil, a sandy loam, and produces well. minerals; sand, and limestone and coal. putnam.--has raccoon creek, and eel river, with abundant water privileges, and fine springs. surface, gently undulating; soil, in places calcareous and clayey,--in other places a rich loam; limestone. randolph.--watercourses, the west fork of white river and missisinawa and their tributaries, which furnish good mill sites. surface, either level or gently undulating; soil, a rich loam,--in some places marshy; a small quantity of limestone, with granite bowlders. ripley.--watered by laughery and graham's creek. surface level, forest land; soil clay,--in some parts inclines to sand,--with limestone abundant. rush.--the streams are big and little blue rivers, big and little flat rock, with excellent water power. surface, moderately rolling, and heavily timbered; soil, loam on clay, with a slight mixture of sand. scott.--watered by tributaries of the muscatatack. surface rolling,--some flat lands inclining to marsh; soil, clay. minerals; limestone, iron ore, salt, sulphur, and copperas. shelby.--watered by big and little blue rivers, brandywine, and sugar creeks, with good mill sites,--all heads of the east fork of white river. surface, generally level with forest land; soil, clay mixed with loam. spencer.--ohio river, anderson's, little pigeon, and sandy creeks. surface tolerably level, and forest land; soil, clay mixed with loam. minerals; coal, and lime and sand rock. st. joseph.--st. joseph's river, kankakee, and bobango, with some small creeks. extensive marshes on the kankakee, and near the south bend of the st. joseph. these marshes are of vegetable formation. surface, in some parts level,--in others gently undulating; soil, a loam,--in some places sand. the north-west part chiefly prairies and barrens, including the large and fertile prairies of portage and terre coupe. the north-eastern, barrens,--the south-eastern, forest. minerals are granite bowlders, and bog iron ore. sullivan.--has the wabash river on its western side, and turman's, busseron, and turtle creeks interior. surface rolling,--some prairies, but generally forest land,--some poor barrens; soil, loam and sand;--lime and sand rock and coal. switzerland.--the ohio east and south,--indian, plum, bryant's, turtle, and grant's creeks interior. surface various,--bottom lands level, and rich,--then a range of precipitous bluffs, with cliffs of limestone,--the table land rolling with a calcareous and clayey soil. at vevay are extensive vineyards. tippecanoe.--watered by the wabash river, and wildcat, wea, burnett's, and mill branch creeks. the wabash affords navigation, and the other streams excellent mill sites. surface gently undulating, with extensive level tracts, and consists of one half prairie, one eighth barrens, and the remainder heavy forest land. the prairie soil is a rich, black loam,--the barrens cold, wet clay,--the forest a very rich loam and sand. union.--streams; the east fork of white river and its tributaries, hanna's, richland, and silver creeks, all of which furnish excellent mill sites. surface, moderately rolling; soil, a dark loam. vanderburgh.--watered by the ohio, and great pigeon creek. surface, high, dry, rolling land, with good timber, and well watered; soil, clay and sand, of inferior quality. minerals; lime and sandstone, salines, and a mineral spring. vermillion.--a long, narrow county, between the wabash river and the state of illinois. the streams are wabash, big and little vermillion, and their tributaries. surface high, rolling land, with abrupt bluffs near the streams; a good proportion of prairie and timber; soil, rich, sandy loam, and very productive. minerals; freestone and limestone, and large coal banks. vigo.--the wabash passes through it--navigable. the mill streams are prairie, honey, otter, and sugar creeks, but their waters fail in a dry season. surface level, or gently undulating, with forest and prairies; soil, rich loam and sand,--first rate. minerals; gray limestone, freestone, and inexhaustible beds of coal. wabash.--the wabash river, and w. and e. canal, pass through it, as does the missisinawa, eel, bluegrass, and salamania. surface,--wide, rich bottoms on the streams,--bluffs and ravines adjoining,--table lands further back, either dry and rolling, or flat and wet, and abound with willow swamps. limestone rock abundant, and many excellent springs of pure water. warren.--the wabash on the s. e. border for thirty miles, and navigated by steamboats; interior streams, rock, redwood, and big and little pine creeks, all of which afford good mill sites. some pine and cedar timber. surface generally level, with broken land on the bluffs of creeks; some forest, but the largest proportion prairie; soil, a rich and very fertile loam. minerals; lime and excellent freestone for building purposes,--coal,--iron,--lead and copper,--with several old "diggings" and furnaces, where both copper and lead ore have been smelted in early times. warrick.--watered by the ohio river, big and little pigeon, and cypress. surface, rolling and hilly; soil, a sandy loam on clay. minerals; quarries of freestone, some limestone, and inexhaustible beds of coal. washington.--streams; muscatatack on the north, rush, twin, highland, delany's, elk, bear, and sinking creeks, and the heads of blue and lost rivers, with mill sites. surface, diversified from gentle undulations, to lofty and precipitous hills; soil, in part, second rate, with much of inferior quality. substratum of limestone, caves, hollows, and sink holes. wayne.--streams, east and west forks of whitewater, with excellent water power for machinery. surface, moderately hilly; heavy forest land; soil, a rich loam; substratum, clay. minerals; generally, limestone, and excellent for buildings. _form of government._--this differs very little from that of ohio. the constitution provides that an enumeration be made every five years of all free white male inhabitants, above the age of twenty-one years; and the representation of both houses of the general assembly is apportioned by such enumeration, in such ratio that the number of representatives shall never be less than , nor exceed , and the number of senators not exceeding one half, nor less than one third the number of representatives. every free white male citizen, twenty-one years of age, who has resided in the state one year, is entitled to vote; "except such as shall be enlisted in the army of the u. s., or their allies." elections are held annually, by ballot, on the first monday in august. senators, the governor, and lieutenant governor, hold their offices for three years. the judiciary is vested in a supreme court, in circuit courts, probate courts, and justices of the peace. the supreme court consists of three judges, who are appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, for the term of seven years, and have appellate jurisdiction. the circuit courts consist of a presiding judge in each judicial circuit, elected by joint ballot of both houses of the general assembly, and two associate judges in each county, elected by the qualified voters in their respective counties, for a like term. the probate courts consist of one judge for each county, who is elected by the voters, for the same term. justices of the peace are elected in each township, for the term of five years, and have jurisdiction in criminal cases throughout the county, but, in all civil cases, throughout the township. _finances._--the indiana gazetteer, of , estimates that the revenue for state purposes amounted to about $ , annually, and, for county purposes, to about half that sum. the aggregate receipts for , according to the governor's message, of dec. , amounted to $ , ; expenditures for the same time, $ , . sales of canal lands for the same period, $ , . the canal commissioners have borrowed $ , , for canal purposes, on a part of which they obtained two per cent. premium, and, on another part, as high as seven per cent.; and have also borrowed $ , bank capital, for which they received four and a half per cent. premium. three per cent. on all sales of u. s. lands within the state, is paid by the general government into the state treasury, to be expended in making roads. the receipts from this source, in , amounted to $ , . sales and rents of saline lands, produced an income of $ , . the proceeds of certain lands, donated by the general government towards the construction of a road from the ohio river to lake michigan, amounted to $ , . _internal improvements._--this state has entered with great spirit upon a system of internal improvements. it consists of canalling, improving river navigation, rail-roads, and common turnpike roads. _wabash and erie canal._--this work will extend from la fayette, on the wabash river, up the valley of that stream, to the maumee and to the boundary of ohio; distance, miles. the cost of construction has been estimated at $ , , , and lands to the amount of , acres, have been appropriated by the general government, the proceeds of which will be sufficient to complete the canal to fort wayne. the middle division, miles, was completed in july, , and the remainder is in active progress. its whole distance, through a part of ohio to maumee bay, at the west end of lake erie, will be miles. the _whitewater canal_, miles in length, along the western branch of whitewater, is intended to pass through connorsville, brookville, somerset, and other towns, to lawrenceburgh, on the ohio river. provision is made to improve the navigation of the wabash river, in conjunction with illinois, where it constitutes the boundary line, and, by this state alone, further up. _rail-roads._--from evansville, on the ohio, to la fayette on the wabash, miles; from la fayette to michigan city, miles; forming a line from the ohio river to lake michigan, miles in length:--from madison, on the ohio, to indianopolis, the seat of government, miles; and several others were projected two years since. but at the session of the legislature of - , a bill was passed to borrow, in such instalments as should be needed, _ten millions_ of dollars; and a system of internal improvements, including canals, rail-roads, and the improvement of river navigation, was marked out. in a few years, this state will be prominent in this species of enterprise. _synopsis of canals surveyed by order of the indiana legislature during the year ._ la fayette and terre haute division of the wabash and erie canal. length, miles; total cost, $ , , . ; per mile, $ , . central canal, north of indianopolis. total length, from indianopolis via andersontown, pipe creek summit to the wabash and erie canal at wabash town, miles chains; total cost, $ , , . ; per mile, $ , . length, via pipe creek summit to peru, near the mouth of the missisinawa, miles chains; total cost, $ , , . ; per mile, $ , . . length, via pipe creek summit (including lateral canal to muncietown) to wabash town, miles chains; total cost, $ , , . ; per mile, $ , . . length, via pipe creek summit (including lateral canal to muncietown) to peru, miles chains; total cost, $ , , . ; per mile, $ , . . total length, from indianopolis via muncietown to the wabash and erie canal at peru, miles chains; total cost, $ , , . ; per mile, $ . . central canal, south of indianopolis. total length, from indianopolis to evansville, miles; total cost, $ , , . ; per mile, $ , . . route down the valley of main pigeon. length, miles; total cost, $ , , . ; per mile, $ , . . terre haute and eel river canal, which forms a connexion between the wabash and erie canal and white river or central canal. total length, -½ miles; total cost, $ , ; which, including a feeder, is $ , . per mile. wabash and erie canal, eastern division, [east of fort wayne], upper line: length, miles chains; total cost, $ , . ; per mile, $ , . .--lower line: total length, miles -½ chains; total cost, $ , . ; per mile, $ , . . the following are the works provided for in the bill, and the sums appropriated for them: st. the white water canal, including a lateral canal or rail-road, to connect said canal with the central or white river canal, $ , , d. central or white river canal, , , d. extension of the wabash and erie canal, , , th. madison and la fayette rail-road, , , th. a m'adamized turnpike road from new albany to vincennes, , , th. turnpike or rail-road from new albany to crawfordsville, , , th. removing obstructions in the wabash, , ----------- $ , , th. the bill gives the credit of the state to the lawrenceburgh and indianopolis rail-road company, for the sum of $ , . _manufactures._--besides the household manufacture of cotton and flannels, common to the western people, at vincennes, and probably other towns, machinery is employed in several establishments. it will be seen from the sketch of each county, already given, that in most parts of the state there is a supply of water power for manufacturing purposes. both water and steam power, saw and grist mills, are already in operation in various parts of the state. _education._--the same provision of one section of land in each township, or a thirty-sixth part of the public lands, has been made for the encouragement of common schools, as in other western states. a law has been enacted providing for common schools, and the public mind has become measurably awakened to the subject of education. some most extravagant and exaggerated statements have been made relative to an incredible number of children in this state, "who have no means of education." as in all new countries, the first class of emigrants, having to provide for their more immediate wants, have not done so much as is desirable to promote common school education; but we have no idea they will slumber on that subject, while they are wide awake to the physical wants and resources of the country. academies have been established in several counties, and a college at bloomington, from the encouragement of state funds, and other institutions are rising up, of which the hanover institution near the ohio river, and wabash college at crawfordsville, promise to be conspicuous. _history._--this country was first explored by adventurers from canada, with a view to the indian trade, towards the close of the seventeenth century; and the place where vincennes now stands is said to have been thus early occupied as a trading post. a company of french from canada, made a settlement here in . the country, in common with the western valley, was claimed by france, until it was ceded to great britain, at the treaty of peace in , under whose jurisdiction it remained, until subdued by the american arms under the intrepid gen. g. r. clark, and his gallant band, in . a territorial government was organized by congress in , including all the country north-west of the river ohio, which was then called the north-western territory. in , when the state of ohio was organized, all that part of the territory lying west of a line due north from the mouth of the great miami, was organized into the territory of indiana,--which was divided, and from which illinois territory was formed in . in june, , a constitution was adopted, and at the ensuing session of congress, indiana was made a state. _general remarks._--the importance of indiana, as a desirable state for the attention of the emigrant to the west, has been too much overlooked. though not possessing quite equal advantages with illinois, especially in the quality and amount of prairie soil, it is far superior to ohio, and fully equal,--nay, in our estimation, rather superior to michigan. almost every part is easy of access, and in a very few years the liberal system of internal improvements, adopted and in progress, will make almost every county accessible to public conveyances, and furnish abundant facilities to market. along the wide, alluvion bottoms of the streams, and amidst a rank growth of vegetation, there is usually more or less autumnal fever, yet, in general, there is very little difference in any of the western states as to prospects of health. mechanics, school teachers, and laborers of every description, are much wanted in this state, as they are in all the states further west; and all may provide abundantly and easily, all the necessaries of living for a family, if they will use industry, economy and sobriety. footnotes: [ ] see a valuable statistical article, by b. drake, esq., in the western monthly magazine, for january, , entitled, "_cincinnati, at the close of _." chapter xi. illinois. situation, boundaries, and extent. the state of illinois is situated between ° and °, ´ n. latitude; and between ° ´, and ° ´ w. longitude from washington city. it is bounded on the north by wisconsin territory, north-east by lake michigan, east by indiana, south-east and south by kentucky, and west by the state and territory of missouri. its extreme length is miles; and its extreme width, miles; its average width, miles. the area of the whole state, including a small portion of lake michigan within its boundaries, is , square miles. the water area of the state is about , square miles. with this, deduct , square miles for irreclaimable wastes, and there remains , square miles, or millions of acres of arable land in illinois,--a much greater quantity than is found in any other state. in this estimate, inundated lands, submerged by high waters, but which may be reclaimed at a moderate expense, is included. _face of the country, and qualities of soil._--the general surface is level, or moderately undulating; the northern and southern portions are broken, and somewhat hilly, but no portion of the state is traversed with ranges of hills or mountains. at the verge of the alluvial soil on the margins of rivers, there are ranges of "bluffs" intersected with ravines. the bluffs are usually from fifty to one hundred and fifty feet high, where an extended surface of table land commences, covered with prairies and forests of various shapes and sizes. when examined minutely, there are several varieties in the surface of this state, which will be briefly specified and described. . _inundated lands._ i apply this term to all those portions, which, for some part of the year, are under water. these include portions of the river bottoms, and portions of the interior of large prairies, with the lakes and ponds which, for half the year or more, are without water. the term "bottom" is used throughout the west, to denote the alluvial soil on the margin of rivers, usually called "intervales," in new england. portions of this description of land are flowed for a longer or shorter period, when the rivers are full. probably one eighth of the bottom lands are of this description; for, though the water may not stand for any length of time, it wholly prevents settlement and cultivation, though it does not interrupt the growth of timber and vegetation. these tracts are on the bottoms of the wabash, ohio, mississippi, illinois, and all the interior rivers. when the rivers rise above their ordinary height, the waters of the smaller streams, which are backed up by the freshets of the former, break over their banks, and cover all the low grounds. here they stand for a few days, or for many weeks, especially towards the bluffs; for it is a striking fact in the geology of the western country, that all the river bottoms are higher on the margins of the streams than at some distance back. whenever increase of population shall create a demand for this species of soil, the most of it can be reclaimed at comparatively small expense. its fertility will be inexhaustible, and if the waters from the rivers could be shut out by dykes or levees, the soil would be perfectly dry. most of the small lakes on the american bottom disappear in the summer, and leave a deposit of vegetable matter undergoing decomposition, or a luxuriant coat of weeds and grass. as our prairies mostly lie between the streams that drain the country, the interior of the large ones are usually level. here are formed ponds and lakes after the winter and spring rains, which remain to be drawn off by evaporation, or absorbed by an adhesive soil. hence the middle of our large, level prairies are wet, and for several weeks portions of them are covered with water. to remedy this inconvenience completely, and render all this portion of soil dry and productive, only requires a ditch or drain of two or three feet deep to be cut into the nearest ravine. in many instances, a single furrow with the plough, would drain many acres. at present, this species of inundated land offers no inconvenience to the people, except in the production of miasm, and even that, perhaps, becomes too much diluted with the atmosphere to produce mischief before it reaches the settlements on the borders of the prairie. hence the inference is correct, that our inundated lands present fewer obstacles to the settlement and growth of the country, and can be reclaimed at much less expense, than the swamps and salt marshes of the atlantic states. . _river bottoms or alluvion._ the surface of our alluvial bottoms is not entirely level. in some places it resembles alternate waves of the ocean, and looks as though the waters had left their deposit in ridges, and retired. the portion of bottom land capable of present cultivation, and on which the waters never stand, if, at an extreme freshet, it is covered, is a soil of exhaustless fertility; a soil that for ages past has been gradually deposited by the annual floods. its average depth on the american bottom, is from twenty to twenty-five feet. logs of wood, and other indications, are found at that depth. the soil dug from wells on these bottoms, produces luxuriantly the first year. the most extensive and fertile tract, of this description of soil, in this state, is the _american bottom_, a name it received when it constituted the western boundary of the united states, and which it has retained ever since. it commences at the mouth of the kaskaskia river, five miles below the town of kaskaskia, and extends northwardly along the mississippi to the bluffs at alton, a distance of ninety miles. its average width is five miles, and contains about square miles, or , acres. opposite st. louis, in st. clair county, the bluffs are seven miles from the river, and filled with inexhaustible beds of coal. the soil of this bottom is an argillaceous or a silicious loam, according as clay or sand happens to predominate in its formation. on the margin of the river, and of some of its lakes, is a strip of heavy timber, with a thick undergrowth, which extends from half a mile to two miles in width; but from thence to the bluffs, it is principally prairie. it is interspersed with sloughs, lakes, and ponds, the most of which become dry in autumn. the soil of the american bottom is inexhaustibly rich. about the french towns it has been cultivated, and produced corn in succession for more than a century, without exhausting its fertilizing powers. the only objection that can be offered to this tract is its unhealthy character. this, however, has diminished considerably within eight or ten years. the geological feature noticed in the last article--that all our bottoms are higher on the margin of the stream, than towards the bluffs, explains the cause why so much standing water is on the bottom land, which, during the summer, stagnates and throws off noxious effluvia. these lakes are usually full of vegetable matter undergoing decomposition, and which produces large quantities of miasm. some of the lakes are clear and of a sandy bottom, but the most are of a different character. the french settled near a lake or a river, apparently in the most unhealthy places, and yet their constitutions are little affected, and they usually enjoy good health, though dwarfish and shrivelled in their form and features. "the villages of kaskaskia, prairie du rocher, and cahokia, were built up by their industry in places where americans would have perished. cultivation has, no doubt, rendered this tract more salubrious than formerly; and an increase of it, together with the construction of drains and canals, will make it one of the most eligible in the states. the old inhabitants advise the emigrants not to plant corn in the immediate vicinity of their dwellings, as its rich and massive foliage prevents the sun from dispelling the deleterious vapors."[ ] these lakes and ponds could be drained at a small expense, and the soil would be susceptible of cultivation. the early settlements of the americans were either on this bottom, or the contiguous bluffs. besides the american bottom, there are others that resemble it in its general character, but not in extent. in union county, there is an extensive bottom on the borders of the mississippi. above the mouth of the illinois, and along the borders of the counties of calhoun, pike, and adams, there are a series of bottoms, with much good and elevated land; but the inundated grounds around, present objections to a dense population at present. the bottoms of illinois, where not inundated, are equal in fertility, and the soil is less adhesive than most parts of the american bottom. this is likewise the character of the bottoms in the northern parts of the state. the bottoms of the kaskaskia are generally covered with a heavy growth of timber, and in many places inundated when the river is at its highest floods. the extensive prairies adjoining, will create a demand for all this timber. the bottom lands on the wabash are of various qualities. near the mouth, much of it is inundated. higher up it overflows in high freshets. these bottoms, especially the american are the best regions in the united states for raising stock, particularly horses, cattle, and swine. seventy-five bushels of corn to the acre is an ordinary crop. the roots and worms of the soil, the acorns and other fruits from the trees, and the fish of the lakes, accelerate the growth of swine. horses and cattle find exhaustless supplies of grass in the prairies; and pea vines, buffalo grass, wild oats, and other herbage in the timber, for summer range; and often throughout most of the winter. in all the rush bottoms, they fatten during the severe weather on rushes. the bottom soil is not so well adapted to the production of small grain, as of maize or indian corn, on account of its rank growth, and being more subject to blast, or fall down before harvest, than on the uplands. . _prairies._ much the largest proportion is undulating, dry, and extremely fertile. other portions are level, and the soil in some cases proves to be wet;--the water, not running off freely, is left to be absorbed by the soil, or evaporated by the sun. crawfish throw up their hillocks in this soil, and the farmer who cultivates it, will find his labors impeded by the water. in the southern part, that is, south of the national road leading from terre haute to the mississippi, the prairies are comparatively small, varying in size from those of several miles in width, to those which contain only a few acres. as we go northward, they widen and extend on the more elevated ground between the water courses to a vast distance, and are frequently from six to twelve miles in width. their borders are by no means uniform. long points of timber project into the prairies, and line the banks of the streams, and points of prairie project into the timber between these streams. in many instances are copses and groves of timber, from one hundred to two thousand acres, in the midst of prairies, like islands in the ocean. this is a common feature in the country between the sangamon river and lake michigan, and in the northern parts of the state. the lead mine region, both in this state and the wisconsin territory, abounds with these groves. the _origin_ of these prairies has caused much speculation. we might as well dispute about the origin of forests, upon the assumption that the natural covering of the earth was grass. probably one half of the earth's surface, in a state of nature, was prairies or barrens. much of it, like our western prairies, was covered with a luxuriant coat of grass and herbage. the _steppes_ of tartary, the _pampas_ of south america, the _savannas_ of the southern, and the _prairies_ of the western states, designate similar tracts of country. mesopotamia, syria, and judea had their ancient prairies, on which the patriarchs fed their flocks. missionaries in burmah, and travellers in the interior of africa, mention the same description of country. where the tough sward of the prairie is once formed, timber will not take root. destroy this by the plough, or by any other method, and it is soon converted into forest land. there are large tracts of country in the older settlements, where, thirty or forty years since, the farmers mowed their hay, that are now covered with a forest of young timber of rapid growth. the fire annually sweeps over the prairies, destroying the grass and herbage, blackening the surface, and leaving a deposit of ashes to enrich the soil. . _barrens._ this term, in the western dialect, does not indicate _poor land_, but a species of surface of a mixed character, uniting forest and prairie. the timber is generally scattering, of a rough and stunted appearance, interspersed with patches of hazle and brushwood, and where the contest between the fire and timber is kept up, each striving for the mastery. in the early settlements of kentucky, much of the country below and south of green river presented a dwarfish and stunted growth of timber, scattered over the surface, or collected in clumps, with hazle and shrubbery intermixed. this appearance led the first explorers to the inference that the soil itself must necessarily be poor, to produce so scanty a growth of timber, and they gave the name of _barrens_ to the whole tract of country. long since, it has been ascertained that this description of land is amongst the most productive soil in the state. the term _barren_ has since received a very extensive application throughout the west. like all other tracts of country, the barrens present a considerable diversity of soil. in general, however, the surface is more uneven or rolling than the prairies, and sooner degenerates into ravines and sink-holes. wherever timber barely sufficient for present purposes can be found, a person need not hesitate to settle in the barrens. these tracts are almost invariably healthy; they possess a greater abundance of pure springs of water, and the soil is better adapted for all kinds of produce, and all descriptions of seasons, wet and dry, than the deeper and richer mould of the bottoms and prairies. when the fires are stopped, these barrens produce timber, at a rate of which no northern emigrant can have any just conception. dwarfish shrubs and small trees of oak and hickory are scattered over the surface, where for years they have contended with the fires for a precarious existence, while a mass of roots, sufficient for the support of large trees, have accumulated in the earth. as soon as they are protected from the ravages of the annual fires, the more thrifty sprouts shoot forth, and in ten years are large enough for corn cribs and stables. as the fires on the prairies become stopped by the surrounding settlements, and the wild grass is eaten out and trodden down by the stock, they begin to assume the character of barrens; first, hazle and other shrubs, and finally, a thicket of young timber, covers the surface. . _forest, or timbered land._ in general, illinois is abundantly supplied with timber, and were it equally distributed through the state, there would be no part in want. the apparent scarcity of timber where the prairie predominates, is not so great an obstacle to the settlement of the country as has been supposed. for many of the purposes to which timber is applied, substitutes are found. the rapidity with which the young growth pushes itself forward, without a single effort on the part of man to accelerate it, and the readiness with which the prairie becomes converted into thickets, and then into a forest of young timber, shows that, in another generation, timber will not be wanting in any part of illinois. the kinds of timber most abundant are oaks of various species, black and white walnut, ash of several kinds, elm, sugar maple, honey locust, hackberry, linden, hickory, cotton wood, pecan, mulberry, buckeye, sycamore, wild cherry, box elder, sassafras, and persimmon. in the southern and eastern parts of the state are yellow poplar, and beech; near the ohio are cypress, and in several counties are clumps of yellow pine and cedar. on the calamick, near the south end of lake michigan, is a small forest of white pine. the undergrowth are redbud, pawpaw, sumach, plum, crab apple, grape vines, dogwood, spice bush, green brier, hazle, &c. the alluvial soil of the rivers produces cotton wood and sycamore timber of amazing size. for ordinary purposes there is now timber enough in most parts of the state, to say nothing about the artificial production of timber, which may be effected with little trouble and expense. the black locust, a native of ohio and kentucky, may be raised from the seed, with less labor than a nursery of apple trees. it is of rapid growth, and, as a valuable and lasting timber, claims the attention of our farmers. it forms one of the cleanliest and most beautiful shades, and when in blossom gives a rich prospect, and sends abroad a delicious fragrance. . _knobs, bluffs, ravines, and sink-holes._ under these heads are included tracts of uneven country found in various parts of the state. _knobs_ are ridges of flint limestone, intermingled and covered with earth, and elevated one or two hundred feet above the common surface. this species of land is of little value for cultivation, and usually has a sprinkling of dwarfish, stunted timber, like the barrens. the steep hills and natural mounds that border the alluvions have obtained the name of _bluffs_. some are in long, parallel ridges, others are in the form of cones and pyramids. in some places precipices of limestone rock, from fifty to one or two hundred feet high, form these bluffs. _ravines_ are formed amongst the bluffs, and often near the borders of prairies, which lead down to the streams. _sink-holes_ are circular depressions in the surface, like a basin. they are of various sizes, from ten to fifty feet deep, and from ten to one or two hundred yards in circumference. frequently they contain an outlet for the water received by the rains. their existence shows that the substratum is secondary limestone, abounding with subterraneous cavities. there are but few tracts of _stony ground_ in the state; that is, where loose stones are scattered over the surface, and imbedded in the soil. towards the northern part of the state, tracts of stony ground exist. quarries of stone exist in the bluffs, and in the banks of the streams and ravines throughout the state. the soil is porous, easy to cultivate, and exceedingly productive. a strong team is required to break up the prairies, on account of the firm, grassy sward which covers them. but when subdued, they become fine, arable lands. _rivers, &c._--this state is surrounded and intersected by navigable streams. the mississippi, ohio and wabash rivers are on three sides,--the illinois, kaskaskia, sangamon, muddy, and many smaller streams are entirely within its borders,--and the kankakee, fox, rock, and vermillion of the wabash, run part of their course within this state. the mississippi meanders its western border for miles. its principal tributaries within illinois, are rock, illinois, kaskaskia, and muddy rivers. the illinois river commences at the junction of the kankakee, which originates near the south bend in indiana, and the des plaines, which rises in the wisconsin territory. from their junction, the illinois runs nearly a west course, (receiving fox river at ottawa, and vermillion near the foot of the rapids,) to hennepin, where it curves to the south and then to the south-west, receiving a number of tributaries, the largest of which are spoon river from the right and sangamon from the left, till it reaches naples. here it bends gradually to the south, and continues that course till within six miles of the mississippi, when it curves to the south-east, and finally, to nearly an east course. its length, (without reckoning the windings of the channel in navigation,) is about miles, and is navigable for steamboats at a moderate stage of water to the foot of the rapids. the large streams on the eastern side of the state are iroquois, a tributary to the kankakee, vermillion of the wabash, which enters that river in indiana, embarras, that has its source near that of the kaskaskia, runs south-easterly, and enters the wabash miles below vincennes, and little wabash near its mouth. along the ohio, the only streams deserving note are the saline and bay creeks, and cash river, the last of which enters the ohio six miles above its confluence with the mississippi. _productions._--these are naturally classed into _mineral_, _animal_ and _vegetable_. _minerals._ the northern portion of illinois is inexhaustibly rich in mineral productions, while coal, secondary limestone, and sandstone, are found in every part. iron ore has been found in the southern parts of the state, and is said to exist in considerable quantities in the northern parts. native copper, in small quantities, has been found on muddy river, in jackson county, and back of harrisonville, in the bluffs of monroe county. crystallized gypsum has been found in small quantities in st. clair county. quartz crystals exist in gallatin county. silver is supposed to exist in st. clair county, two miles from rock spring, from whence silver creek derives its name. in early times, a shaft was sunk here, by the french, and tradition tells of large quantities of the precious metals being obtained. in the southern part of the state, several sections of land have been reserved from sale, on account of the silver ore they are supposed to contain. _lead_ is found in vast quantities in the northern part of illinois, and the adjacent territory. here are the richest lead mines hitherto discovered on the globe. this portion of country lies principally north of rock river and south of the wisconsin. dubuque's, and other rich mines, are west of the mississippi. native copper, in large quantities, exists in this region, especially at the mouth of plum creek, and on the peek-a-ton-o-kee, a branch of rock river. the following is a list of the principal diggings in that portion of the lead mine region that lies between rock river and the wisconsin, embracing portions of illinois state, and wisconsin territory. some of these diggings are, probably, relinquished, and many new ones commenced. apple creek, galena and vicinity, cave diggings, buncombe, natchez, hardscrabble, new diggings, gratiot's grove, spulburg, w. s. hamilton's, cottle's, mcnutt's, menomonee creek, plattsville, cassville and vicinity, madden's, mineral point, dodgeville, worke's diggings, brisbo's, blue mounds, prairie springs, hammett & campbell's, morrison's, and many others. _amount of lead manufactured._ for many years the indians, and some of the french hunters and traders, had been accustomed to dig lead in these regions. they never penetrated much below the surface, but obtained considerable quantities of the ore which they sold to the traders. in , the late col. james johnson, of great crossings, ky., and brother to the hon. r. m. johnson, obtained a lease of the united states government, and made arrangements to prosecute the business of smelting, with considerable force, which he did the following season. this attracted the attention of enterprising men in illinois, missouri, and other states. some went on in , more followed in , and in the country was almost literally filled with miners, smelters, merchants, speculators, gamblers, and every description of character. intelligence, enterprise, and virtue, were thrown in the midst of dissipation, gaming, and every species of vice. such was the crowd of adventurers in , to this hitherto almost unknown and desolate region, that the lead business was greatly overdone, and the market for awhile nearly destroyed. fortunes were made almost upon a turn of the spade, and lost with equal facility. the business has revived and is profitable. exhaustless quantities of mineral exist here, over a tract of country two hundred miles in extent. the following table shows the amount of lead made annually at these diggings, from , to sept, , : lbs. of lead made from , to sept. , , do. for the year ending sept. , , , do. do. do. , , do. do. do. , , do. do. do. , , , do. do. do. , , , do. do. do. , , , do. do. do. , , , do. do. do. , , , do. do. do. , , , do. do. do. , , , do. do. do. , , , do. do. do. , , , ---------- total, , , the rent accruing to government for the same period, is a fraction short of six millions of pounds. the government formerly received per cent. in lead for rent. now it is per cent. a part of the mineral land in the wisconsin territory has been surveyed and brought into market, which will add greatly to the stability and prosperity of the mining business. _coal._ bituminous coal abounds in illinois. it may be seen, frequently, in the ravines and gullies, and in the points of bluffs. exhaustless beds of this article exist in the bluffs of st. clair county, bordering on the american bottom, of which large quantities are transported to st. louis, for fuel. there is scarce a county in the state, but what can furnish coal, in reasonable quantities. large beds are said to exist, near the vermillion of the illinois, and in the vicinity of the rapids of the latter. _agatized wood._ a petrified tree, of black walnut, was found in the bed of the river des plaines, about forty rods above its junction with the kankakee, imbedded in a horizontal position, in a stratum of sandstone. there is fifty-one and a half feet of the trunk visible,--eighteen inches in diameter at its smallest end, and probably three feet at the other end. _muriate of soda_, or common salt. this is found in various parts of the state, held in solution in the springs. the manufacture of salt by boiling and evaporation is carried on in gallatin county, twelve miles west-north-west from shawneetown; in jackson county, near brownsville; and in vermillion county, near danville. the springs and land are owned by the state, and the works leased. a coarse freestone, much used in building, is dug from quarries near alton, on the mississippi, where large bodies exist. scattered over the surface of our prairies, are large masses of rock, of granitic formation, roundish in form, usually called by the people "_lost rocks_." they will weigh from one thousand to ten or twelve thousand pounds, and are entirely detached, and frequently are found several miles-distant from any quarry. nor has there ever been a quarry of granite discovered in the state. these stones are denominated _bowlders_ in mineralogy. they usually lie on the surface, or are partially imbedded in the soil of our prairies, which is unquestionably of diluvial formation. how they came here is a question of difficult solution. _medicinal waters_, are found in different parts of the state. these are chiefly sulphur springs and chalybeate waters. there is said to be one well in the southern part of the state strongly impregnated with the sulphate of magnesia, or epsom salts, from which considerable quantities have been made for sale, by simply evaporating the water, in a kettle, over a common fire. there are several sulphur springs in jefferson county, to which persons resort for health. _vegetable productions._ the principal trees and shrubs of illinois have been noticed under the head of "_forest or timbered land_." of oaks there are several species, as overcup, burr oak, swamp or water oak, white oak, red or spanish oak, post oak, and black oak of several varieties, with the black jack, a dwarfish, gnarled looking tree, excellent for fuel, but good for nothing else. the black walnut is much used for building materials and cabinet work, and sustains a fine polish. in most parts of the state, grape vines, indigenous to the country, are abundant, which yield grapes that might advantageously be made into excellent wine. foreign vines are susceptible of easy cultivation. these are cultivated to a considerable extent at vevay, switzerland county, indiana, and at new harmony on the wabash. the indigenous vines are prolific, and produce excellent fruit. they are found in every variety of soil; interwoven in every thicket in the prairies and barrens; and climbing to the tops of the very highest trees on the bottoms. the french in early times, made so much wine as to export some to france; upon which the proper authorities prohibited the introduction of wine from illinois, lest it might injure the sale of that staple article of the kingdom. i think the act was passed by the board of trade, in . the editor of the illinois magazine remarks, "we know one gentleman who made twenty-seven barrels of wine in a single season, from the grapes gathered with but little labor, in his immediate neighborhood." the wild plum is found in every part of the state; but in most instances the fruit is too sour for use, unless for preserves. crab apples are equally prolific, and make fine preserves with about double their bulk of sugar. wild cherries are equally productive. the persimmon is a delicious fruit, after the frost has destroyed its astringent properties. the black mulberry grows in most parts, and is used for the feeding of silk-worms with success. they appear to thrive and spin as well as on the italian mulberry. the gooseberry, strawberry, and blackberry, grow wild and in great profusion. of our nuts, the hickory, black walnut, and pecan, deserve notice. the last is an oblong, thin shelled, delicious nut, that grows on a large tree, a species of the hickory, (the _carya olivæ formis_ of nuttall.) the pawpaw grows in the bottoms, and rich, timbered uplands, and produces a large, pulpy, and luscious fruit. of domestic fruits, the apple and peach are chiefly cultivated. pears are tolerably plenty in the french settlements, and quinces are cultivated with success by some americans. apples are easily cultivated, and are very productive. they can be made to bear fruit to considerable advantage in seven years from the seed. many varieties are of fine flavor, and grow to a large size. i have measured apples, the growth of st. clair county, that exceeded thirteen inches in circumference. some of the early american settlers provided orchards. they now reap the advantages. but a large proportion of the population of the frontiers are content without this indispensable article in the comforts of a yankee farmer. cider is made in small quantities in the old settlements. in a few years, a supply of this beverage can be had in most parts of illinois. peach trees grow with great rapidity, and decay proportionably soon. from ten to fifteen years may be considered the life of this tree. our peaches are delicious, but they sometimes fail by being destroyed in the germ by winter frosts. the bud swells prematurely. _garden vegetables_ can be produced here in vast profusion, and of excellent quality. that we have few of the elegant and well dressed gardens of gentlemen in the old states, is admitted; which is not owing to climate, or soil, but to the want of leisure and means. our irish potatoes, pumpkins and squashes are inferior, but not our cabbages, peas, beets, or onions. a cabbage head, two or three feet in diameter including the leaves, is no wonder on this soil. beets often exceed twelve inches in circumference. parsnips will penetrate our light, porous soil, to the depth of two or three feet. the _cultivated vegetable productions in the field_, are maize or indian corn, wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, rye for horse feed and distilleries, tobacco, cotton, hemp, flax, the castor bean, and every other production common to the middle states. _maize_ is a staple production. no farmer can live without it, and hundreds raise little else. this is chiefly owing to the ease with which it is cultivated. its average produce is fifty bushels to the acre. i have oftentimes seen it produce seventy-five bushels to the acre, and in a few instances, exceed one hundred. _wheat_ yields a good and sure crop, especially in the counties bordering on the illinois river. it weighs upwards of pounds per bushel; and flour from this region has preference in the new orleans market, and passes better inspection than the same article from ohio or kentucky. in , the weevil, for the first time, made its appearance in st. clair and the adjacent counties, and has occasionally renewed its visits since. latterly, some fields have been injured by the fly. a common, but slovenly practice amongst our farmers, is, to sow wheat amongst the standing corn, in september, and cover it by running a few furrows with the plough between the rows of corn. the dry stalks are then cut down in the spring, and left on the ground. even by this imperfect mode, fifteen or twenty bushels of wheat to the acre are produced. but where the ground is duly prepared by fallowing, and the seed put in at the proper time, a good crop, averaging from twenty-five to thirty-five bushels per acre, rarely fails to be procured. the average price of wheat at present is a dollar per bushel, varying a little according to the competition of mills and facilities to market. in many instances a single crop of wheat will more than pay the expenses of purchasing the land, fencing, breaking the prairie, seed, putting in the crop, harvesting, threshing, and taking it to market. wheat is now frequently sown on the prairie land as a first crop, and a good yield obtained. flouring mills are now in operation in many of the wheat growing counties. steam power is getting into extensive use both for sawing timber, and manufacturing flour. it is to be regretted, that so few of our farmers have erected barns for the security of their crops. no article is more profitable, and really more indispensable to a farmer, than a large barn. _oats_ have not been much raised till lately. they are very productive, often yielding from forty to fifty bushels on the acre, and usually sell for twenty-five cents the bushel. the demand for the use of stage and travellers' horses is increasing. _hemp_ is an indigenous plant in the southern part of this state, as it is in missouri. it has not been extensively cultivated; but wherever tried, is found very productive, and of an excellent quality. it might be made a staple of the country. _tobacco_, though a filthy and noxious weed, which no human being ought ever to use, can be produced in any quantity, and of the first quality, in illinois. _cotton_, for many years, has been successfully cultivated in this state for domestic use, and some for exportation. two or three spinning factories are in operation, and produce cotton yarn from the growth of the country with promising success. this branch of business admits of enlargement, and invites the attention of eastern manufacturers with small capital. much of the cloth made in families who have emigrated from states south of the ohio is from the cotton of the country. _flax_ is produced, and of a tolerable quality, but not equal to that of the northern states. it is said to be productive and good in the northern counties. _barley_ yields well, and is a sure crop. the _palma christi_, or castor oil bean, is produced in considerable quantities in madison, randolph, and other counties, and large quantities of oil are expressed and sent abroad. _sweet potatoes_ are a delicious root, and yield abundantly, especially on the american bottom, and rich sandy prairies. but little has been done to introduce cultivated grasses. the prairie grass looks coarse and unsavory, and yet our horses and cattle will thrive well on it. to produce timothy with success, the ground must be well cultivated in the summer, either by an early crop, or by fallowing, and the seed sown about the th of september, at the rate of _ten or twelve quarts of clean seed to the acre_, and lightly brushed in. if the season is in any way favorable, it will get a rapid start before winter. by the last week in june, it will produce two tons per acre, of the finest hay. it then requires a dressing of stable or yard manure, and occasionally the turf may be scratched with a harrow, to prevent the roots from binding too hard. by this process, timothy meadows may be made and preserved. there are meadows in st. clair county, which have yielded heavy crops of hay in succession, for several years, and bid fair to continue for an indefinite period. cattle, and especially horses, should never be permitted to run in meadows in illinois. the fall grass may be cropped down by calves and colts. there is but little more labor required to produce a crop of timothy, than a crop of oats, and as there is not a stone or a pebble to interrupt, the soil may be turned up every third or fourth year for corn, and afterwards laid down to grass again. a species of blue grass is cultivated by some farmers for pastures. if well set, and not eaten down in summer, blue grass pastures may be kept green and fresh till late in autumn, or even in the winter. the english spire grass has been cultivated with success in the wabash country. of the trefoil, or clover, there is but little cultivated. a prejudice exists against it, as it is imagined to injure horses by affecting the glands of the mouth, and causing them to slaver. it grows luxuriantly, and may be cut for hay early in june. the white clover comes in naturally, where the ground has been cultivated, and thrown by, or along the sides of old roads and paths. clover pastures would be excellent for swine. _animals._ of _wild animals_ there are several species. the buffalo is not found on this side the mississippi, nor within several hundred miles of st. louis. this animal once roamed at large over the prairies of illinois, and was found in plenty, thirty-five years since. _wolves_, _panthers_ and _wild cats_, still exist on the frontiers, and through the unsettled portions of the country, and annoy the farmer by destroying his sheep and pigs. _deer_ are also very numerous, and are valuable, particularly to that class of our population which has been raised to frontier habits; the flesh affording them food, and the skins, clothing. fresh venison hams usually sell for twenty-five cents each, and when properly cured, are a delicious article. many of the frontier people dress their skins, and make them into pantaloons and hunting shirts. these articles are indispensable to all who have occasion to travel in viewing land, or for any other purpose, beyond the settlements, as cloth garments, in the shrubs and vines, would soon be in strings. it is a novel and pleasant sight to a stranger, to see the deer in flocks of eight, ten, or fifteen in number, feeding on the grass of the prairies, or bounding away at the sight of a traveller. the _brown bear_ is also an inhabitant of the unsettled parts of this state, although he is continually retreating before the advance of civilization. foxes, raccoons, opossums, gophers, and squirrels, are also numerous, as are muskrats, otters, and occasionally beaver, about our rivers and lakes. raccoons are very common, and frequently do mischief in the fall, to our corn. opossums sometimes trouble the poultry. the _gopher_ is a singular little animal, about the size of a squirrel. it burrows in the ground, is seldom seen, but its _works_ make it known. it labors during the night, in digging subterranean passages in the rich soil of the prairies, and throws up hillocks of fresh earth, within a few feet distance from each other, and from twelve to eighteen inches in height. the gray and fox squirrels often do mischief in the cornfields, and the hunting of them makes fine sport for the boys. _common rabbits_ exist in every thicket, and annoy nurseries and young orchards exceedingly. the fence around a nursery must always be so close as to shut out rabbits; and young apple trees must be secured, at the approach of winter, by tying straw or corn stalks around their bodies, for two or three feet in height, or the bark will be stripped off by these mischievous animals. _wild horses_ are found ranging the prairies and forests in some parts of the state. they are small in size, of the indian or canadian breed, and very hardy. they are found chiefly in the lower end of the american bottom, near the junction of the kaskaskia and mississippi rivers, called _the point_. they are the offspring of the horses brought there by the first settlers, and which were suffered to run at large. the indians of the west have many such horses, which are commonly called indian ponies. _domestic animals._ these are the same as are found in other portions of the united states. but little has been done to improve the breed of horses amongst us. our common riding or working horses average about fifteen hands in height. horses are much more used here than in the eastern states, and many a farmer keeps half a dozen or more. much of the travelling throughout the western country, both by men and women, is performed on horseback; and a large proportion of the land carriage is by means of large wagons, with from four to six stout horses for a team. a great proportion of the ploughing is performed by horse labor. horses are more subject to diseases in this country than in the old states, which is thought to be occasioned by bad management, rather than by the climate. a good farm horse can be purchased for fifty dollars. riding or carriage horses, of a superior quality, cost about seventy-five or eighty dollars. breeding mares are profitable stock for every farmer to keep, as their annual expense in keeping is but trifling: their labor is always needed, and their colts, when grown, find a ready market. some farmers keep a stallion, and eight or ten brood mares. _mules_ are brought into missouri, and find their way to illinois, from the mexican dominions. they are a hardy animal, grow to a good size, and are used by some, both for labor and riding. our _neat cattle_ are usually inferior in size to those of the old states. this is owing entirely to bad management. our cows are not penned up in pasture fields, but suffered to run at large over the commons. hence _all_ the calves are preserved, without respect to quality, to entice the cows homeward at evening. in autumn their food is very scanty, and during the winter they are permitted to pick up a precarious subsistence amongst fifty or a hundred head of cattle. with such management, is it surprising that our cows and steers are much inferior to those of the old states? and yet, our beef is the finest in the world. it bears the best inspection of any in the new orleans market. by the first of june, and often by the middle of may, our young cattle on the prairies are fit for market. they do not yield large quantities of tallow, but the fat is well proportioned throughout the carcass, and the meat tender and delicious. by inferiority, then, i mean the _size_ of our cattle in general, and the quantity and quality of the milk of cows. common cows, if suffered to lose their milk in august, become sufficiently fat for table use by october. fallow heifers and steers, are good beef, and fit for the knife at any period after the middle of may. nothing is more common than for an illinois farmer to go among his stock, select, shoot down, and dress a fine beef, whenever fresh meat is needed. this is often divided out amongst the neighbors, who in turn, kill and share likewise. it is common at camp and other large meetings, to kill a beef and three or four hogs for the subsistence of friends from a distance. steers from three years old or more, have been purchased in great numbers in illinois, by drovers from ohio. cattle are sometimes sent in flat boats down the mississippi and ohio, for the new orleans market. we can hardly place limits upon the amount of beef cattle that illinois is capable of producing. a farmer calls himself poor, with a hundred head of horned cattle around him. a cow in the spring is worth from seven to ten or fifteen dollars. some of the best quality will sell higher. and let it be distinctly understood, once for all, that a poor man can always purchase horses, cattle, hogs, and provisions, for labor, either by the day, month, or job. cows, in general, do not produce the same amount of milk, nor of as rich a quality as in older states. something is to be attributed to the nature of our pastures, and the warmth of our climate, but more to causes already assigned. if ever a land was characterized justly, as "flowing with milk and honey," it is illinois and the adjacent states. from the springing of the grass till september, butter is made in great profusion. it sells at that season in market for about ten cents. with proper care it can be preserved in tolerable sweetness for winter's use. late in autumn and early in the winter, sometimes butter is not plenty. the feed becomes dry, the cows range further off, and do not come up readily for milking, and dry up. a very little trouble would enable a farmer to keep three or four good cows in fresh milk at the season most needed. cheese is made by many families, especially in the counties bordering on the illinois river. good cheese sells for eight and sometimes ten cents, and finds a ready market. _swine._ this species of stock may be called a staple in the provision of illinois. thousands of hogs are raised without any expense, except a few breeders to start with, and a little attention in hunting them on the range, and keeping them tame. pork that is made in a domestic way and fatted on corn, will sell from three to four and five dollars, according to size, quality, and the time when it is delivered. with a pasture of clover or blue grass, a well-filled corn crib, a dairy, and slop barrel, and the usual care that a new englander bestows on his pigs, pork may be raised from the sow, fatted, and killed, and weigh from two hundred to two hundred and fifty, within twelve months; and this method of raising pork would be profitable. few families in the west and south put up their pork in salt pickle. their method is to salt it sufficiently to prepare it for smoking, and then make bacon of hams, shoulders, and middlings or broadsides. the price of bacon, taking the hog round, is about seven and eight cents. good hams command eight and ten cents in the st. louis market. stock hogs, weighing from sixty to one hundred pounds, alive, usually sell from one to two dollars per head. families consume much more meat in the west in proportion to numbers, than in the old states. _sheep_ do very well in this country, especially in the older settlements, where the grass has become short, and they are less molested by wolves. _poultry_ is raised in great profusion,--and large numbers of fowls taken to market. ducks, geese, swans, and many other aquatic birds, visit our waters in the spring. the small lakes and sloughs are often literally covered with them. ducks, and some of the rest, frequently stay through the summer and breed. the prairie fowl is seen in great numbers on the prairies in the summer, and about the corn fields in the winter. this is the grouse of the new york market. they are easily taken in the winter. partridges, (the quail of new england,) are taken with nets, in the winter, by hundreds in a day, and furnish no trifling item in the luxuries of the city market. _bees._ these laborious and useful insects are found in the trees of every forest. many of the frontier people make it a prominent business, after the frost has killed the vegetation, to hunt them for the honey and wax, both of which find a ready market. bees are profitable stock for the farmer, and are kept to a considerable extent. _silk-worms_ are raised by a few persons. they are capable of being produced to any extent, and fed on the common black mulberry of the country. _manufactures._--in the infancy of a state, little can be expected in machinery and manufactures. and in a region so much deficient in water power as some parts of illinois is, still less may be looked for. yet illinois is not entirely deficient in manufacturing enterprise. _salt._ the principal salines of this state have been mentioned under the head of minerals. the principal works are at gallatin, big muddy, and vermillion salines. _steam mills_ for flouring and sawing are becoming very common, and in general are profitable. some are now in operation with four run of stones, and which manufacture one hundred barrels of flour in a day. mills propelled by steam, water, and animal power, are constantly increasing. steam mills will become numerous, particularly in the southern and middle portions of the state, and it is deserving remark that, while these portions are not well supplied with durable water power, they contain, in the timber of the forest, and the inexhaustible bodies of bituminous coal, abundant supplies of fuel; while the northern portion, though deficient in fuel, has abundant water power. a good steam saw-mill with two saws can be built for $ , ; and a steam flouring mill with two run of stones, elevators, and other apparatus complete, and of sufficient force to turn out forty or fifty barrels of flour per day, may be built for from $ , to $ , . ox mills on an inclined plane, and horse mills by draught, are common through the country. _castor oil._ considerable quantities of this article have been manufactured in illinois from the palma christi, or castor bean. one bushel of the beans will make nearly two gallons of the oil. there are five or six castor oil presses in the state, in madison, randolph, edwards, and perhaps in other counties. mr. adams of edwardsville, in , made gallons, which then sold at the rate of two dollars fifty cents per gallon. in , he made gallons; in , gallons,--the price then, one dollar seventy-five cents: in , gallons, price one dollar. in , he started two presses and made upwards of , gallons, which sold for from seventy-five to eighty-seven cents per gallon: in , about the same quantity. that and the following season being unfavorable for the production of the bean, there has been a falling off in the quantity. the amount manufactured in other parts of the state has probably exceeded that made by mr. adams. _lead._ in jo daviess county are eight or ten furnaces for smelting lead. the amount of this article made annually at the mines of the upper mississippi, has been given under the head of minerals. _boat building_ will soon become a branch of business in this state. some steamboats have been constructed already within this state, along the mississippi. it is thought that alton and chicago are convenient sites for this business. there is in this state, as in all the western states, a large amount of domestic manufactures made by families. all the trades, needful to a new country, are in existence. carpenters, wagon makers, cabinet makers, blacksmiths, tanneries, &c., may be found in every county and town, and thousands more are wanted. there has been a considerable falling off in the manufacture of whiskey within a few years, and it is sincerely hoped by thousands of citizens, that this branch of business, so decidedly injurious to the morals and happiness of communities and individuals, will entirely decline. several companies for manufacturing purposes, have been incorporated by the legislature. _civil divisions._--there are counties laid off in this state, of which are organized for judicial purposes. the six last named in the following table were laid off at the recent session of the legislature, jan. . the county of _will_ was formed from portions of cook, lasalle, and iroquois, with the town of juliet for its seat of justice, near the junction of the kankakee and des plaines. in this state, there are no _civil_ divisions into townships as in ohio, indiana, &c. the township tracts of six miles square, in the public surveys, relate exclusively to the land system. the state is divided into _three_ districts to elect representatives to congress, and into _six_ circuits for judicial purposes. tabular view of the counties. ------------+----------+------+--------+----------+--------------+----------------- | | | | | |distance & |date of |square|votes |population|seats of |bearing from counties. |formation.|miles.|in .| . |justice. |vandalia. ------------+----------+------+--------+----------+--------------+----------------- adams, | | | | |quincy, | _n. w._ alexander, | | | | |unity, | _s._ bond, | | | | |greenville, | _w. s. w._ calhoun, | | | | |gilhead, | _w. n. w._ champaign, | | | | |urbanna, | _n. n. e._ clark, | | | | |darwin,[a] or | _e. n. e._ | | | | | marshall, | clay, | | | | |maysville, | _s. e._ clinton, | | | | |carlyle, | _s. s. w._ crawford, | | | | |palestine, | _e._ coles, | | | | |charleston, | _n. e._ cook, | | [b] | | |chicago, | _n. n. e._ edgar, | | | | |paris, | _n. e._ edwards, | | | | |albion, | _s. e._ effingham, | | | | |ewington, | _e. n. e._ fayette, | | | | |vandalia, | franklin, | | | | |frankfort, | _s._ fulton, | | | | |lewistown, | _n. n. w._ gallatin, | | | | |equality, | _s. s. e._ greene, | | | | |carrollton, | _w. n. w._ hamilton, | | | | |mcleansboro', | _s. s. e._ hancock, | | | | |carthage, | _n. w._ henry (not | | | -- | | | _n. n. w._ organized,)| | | | | | iroquois, | | [b] | | |(not | _n. n. e._ | | | | | established,)| jackson, | | | | |brownsville, | _s. s. w._ jasper, | | | -- | |newton, | _e._ jefferson, | | | | |mount vernon, | _s. s. e._ jo daviess, | | [b] | | |galena, (nnw) | _n. n. w._ johnson, | | | | |vienna, | _s._ knox, | | | | |knoxville, | _n. n. w._ lasalle, | | [b] | | |ottawa, | _n._ lawrence, | | | | |lawrenceville,| _e. s. e._ macon, | | | | |decatur, | _n._ madison, | | | | |edwardsville, | _w._ macoupen, | | | | |carlinville, | _w. n. w._ marion, | | | | |salem, | _s. s. e._ mcdonough | | | | |macomb, | _n. w._ mclean, | | | | |bloomington, | _n._ mercer, | | | -- | |new boston, | _n. w._ monroe, | | | | |waterloo, | _s. w._ montgomery, | | | | |hillsboro', | _n. w._ morgan, | | | | |jacksonville, | _n. w._ peoria, | | | | |peoria, | _n. n. w._ perry, | | | | |pinckneyville,| _s. s. w._ pike, | | | | |pittsfield, | _w. n. w._ pope, | | | | |golconda, | _s. s. e._ putnam, | | | | |hennepin, | _n._ randolph, | | | | |kaskaskia, | _s. s. w._ rock island,| | | | |stephenson, | _n. w._ sangamon, | | | | |springfield, | _n. n. w._ schuyler, | | | | |rushville, | _n. w._ shelby, | | | | |shelbyville, | _n. n. e._ st. clair, | | | | |belleville, | _w. s. w._ tazewell, | | | | |tremont, | _n._ union, | | | | |jonesboro', | _s._ vermillion, | | | | |danville, | _n. e._ wabash, | | | | |mount carmel, | _s. e._ warren, | | | | |monmouth, | _n. w._ washington, | | | | |nashville, | _s. s. w._ wayne, | | | | |fairfield, | _s. e._ white, | | | | |carmi, | _s. e._ [a] it is expected the seat of justice of clark county will be removed to _marshall_, miles n. w. from darwin, and on the national road. the distance is computed to marshall. [b] these counties have been recently subdivided, and their superficial area is not known. -------------+----------+------+--------+----------+------------------------------- _new counties| | | | | formed, jan. |date of |square|votes |population|seats of justice. ._ |formation.|miles.|in .| . | -------------+----------+------+--------+----------+------------------------------- will, | | | | |juliett. whiteside, | " | | | | these counties were taken kane, | " | | | |from jo daviess, lasalle, cook, ogle, | " | | | |and iroquois. the seats of mchenry, | " | | | |justice not established, and winnebago, | " | | | |much of the land unsurveyed, +----------+------+--------+----------+though rapidly settling. _total,_ | | | , | , | sketches of each county. adams.--the streams are bear creek and branches, cedar, tyrer, mill, fall, and pigeon creeks, with the mississippi river on its western border. timber various, with equal portions of prairie. first rate county. alexander.--in the forks of the ohio and mississippi, with cash river through it. all timbered,--half alluvion,--some inundated at high water,--lime and sandstone on the ohio;--soil, generally rich. bond.--shoal creek and its branches through it, with hurricane creek on the east side;--proportioned into timber and prairie;--rather level,--second rate. sandstone, coal, and salt springs. calhoun.--long and narrow, in the forks of the illinois and mississippi;--alluvial and sometimes inundated along the rivers;--broken bluffs and interior table land;--good soil;--prairies at the foot of the bluffs. coal, lime and sandstone. champaign.--the streams are the heads of the kaskaskia, sangamon, vermillion of illinois, salt fork of the vermillion of the wabash, and the embarras, all running in opposite directions. extensive prairies, a little undulating and rich;--timber in groves;--many granite bowlders. clark.--north fork of embarras, mill and big creeks. timber and prairie,--second rate soil. clay.--watered by little wabash and tributaries. two thirds prairie,--of inferior quality,--rather level and wet. clinton.--kaskaskia river, with its tributaries, crooked, shoal, beaver and sugar creeks, pass through it. equally proportioned into timber and prairie. soil, second rate; surface, a little undulating. coles.--the kaskaskia, embarras, and heads of the little wabash water it. much excellent land,--much undulating, rich prairie;--some level and wet land in the southeastern part. timber in sufficient quantities. cook.--adjoins lake michigan, and has the branches of chicago, des plaines, du page, au sable and hickory creeks. surface, tolerably level; rich soil,--extensive prairies,--timber in groves;--a few swamps. plenty of limestone, and the streams run over rocky beds. crawford.--the wabash river on its eastern side, with lamotte, hudson, raccoon and sugar creeks. some level prairies, rather sandy, with a full supply of timber. edgar.--watered by big, clear, and brulette's creeks on the eastern, and little embarras on its western side. southern and eastern sides timbered; northern and western sides much prairie; some undulating,--some level and rather wet. grand view is a delightful tract of country. edwards.--the little wabash on its western, and bon pas on its eastern border. several prairies, high, undulating, and bounded by heavy timber. soil, second quality. effingham.--watered by the little wabash and its tributaries; due proportion of timber and prairie; tolerably level,--second rate. fayette.--kaskaskia river, hurricane, higgens', ramsey's and beck's creeks. the bottom lands on the kaskaskia low, and inundated at high water; considerable prairie; much heavy timber; soil, second rate. franklin.--watered by the big muddy and its branches, and the south fork of saline creek. the prairies small, fertile and level,--timber plenty,--soil rather sandy. fulton.--the illinois on the south-eastern side, with spoon river and several small creeks through it. about half heavily timbered, with rich, undulating prairies; streams flow over a pebbly bed; soil, first rate. gallatin.--joins the wabash and ohio rivers, and has the saline and branches running through it. soil, sandy, with sand rock, limestone, quartz crystals, excellent salines, &c. timber of various kinds; no prairies. greene.--has the mississippi south, the illinois west, with otter, macoupen and apple creeks. much excellent land, both timber and prairie, in due proportion, with abundance of lime and sandstone, and coal. hamilton.--watered by branches of the saline, and little wabash; a large proportion timbered land; soil, second and third rate, with some swamp in the northern part. sandstone and some lime. hancock.--besides the mississippi, it has a part of bear, crooked, and camp creeks; large prairies; timber along the streams; rich, first rate land. henry.--has rock river north, with winnebago swamp, and its outlet on green river, and one of the heads of spoon river, and edwards river interior. some rich, undulating prairies and groves, with considerable wet, swampy land. not much population. iroquois.--kankakee, iroquois and sugar creek. sand ridges and plains; much rich prairie; some timber, but deficient. it is found chiefly in groves and strips along the water courses. jackson.--has the mississippi on the southwest, and muddy river running diagonally through it, with some of its tributaries. some prairies in the north-eastern part,--much heavy timber,--some hilly and broken land,--with abundance of coal, saline springs, lime and sandstone. jasper.--the embarras runs through it, and the muddy fork of the little wabash waters its western side. much of both the prairie and timbered land is level and rather wet; some fertile tracts. jefferson.--watered by several branches of the big muddy and little wabash. soil, second rate; surface, a little undulating; one third prairie; several sulphur and other medicinal springs. jo daviess.--formerly embraced all the state north-west of rock river, but recently divided into three or four counties. besides the mississippi, it has fever river, pekatonokee, apple river, and rush and plum creeks. a rich county, both for agricultural and mining purposes. timber scarce, and in groves; surface undulating,--in some places hilly; well watered by streams and springs, and has good mill sites. copper and lead ore in abundance. johnson.--the ohio on the south, cash river and big bay creek, and a series of lakes or ponds interior. a timbered country, tolerably level; soil sandy, with considerable quantities of second rate land. knox.--watered by henderson and spoon rivers, and their tributaries. the prairies large, moderately undulating, and first quality of soil, with excellent timber along the water courses. lasalle.--besides the illinois river, which passes through it, fox river, big and little vermillion, crow, au sable, indian, mason, tomahawk, and other creeks, water this county. they generally run on a bed of sand or lime rock, and have but little alluvial bottom lands. deficient in timber, but has an abundance of rich, undulating prairie, beautiful groves, abundant water privileges, and extensive coal banks. lawrence.--the wabash east, fox river west, and embarras and raccoon through it. an equal proportion of timber and prairie, some excellent, other parts inferior,--and some bad, miry swamps, called "_purgatories_." macon.--south-east portion, watered by the kaskaskia and tributaries; the middle and northern portions by the north fork of sangamon, and the north-western part by salt creek. the prairies large, and in their interior, level and wet,--towards the timber, dry, undulating and rich. madison.--the mississippi lies west; cahokia and silver creeks, and wood river, run through it. a part of this county lies in the american bottom, and is a rich and level alluvion; but much of the county is high, undulating, and proportionably divided into timber and prairie. well supplied with stone quarries and coal banks. macoupen.--the macoupen creek and branches water its central and western parts, the cahokia the south-eastern, and the heads of wood river and piasau, the south-western parts. a large proportion of the county is excellent soil, well proportioned into timber and prairie, and slightly undulating. marion.--watered by the east fork, and crooked creek, tributaries of kaskaskia river, on its western, and heads of skillet fork of little wabash on its eastern side. much of the land of second quality, slightly undulating, about one third timbered,--some of the prairie land level, and inclined to be wet. mcdonough.--crooked creek and its branches water most of the county. the eastern side, for or miles in width, is prairie,--the western and middle parts suitably divided between prairie and forest land; surface, moderately undulating; soil, very rich. mclean.--one third of the eastern, and a portion of the northern side, is one vast prairie. the timber is beautifully arranged in groves; the surface moderately undulating, and the soil dry and rich. the head waters of the sangamon, mackinau, and the vermillion of the illinois, are in this county. its minerals are quarries of lime and sandstone, and granite bowlders, scattered over the prairies. mercer.--has the mississippi on the west, and pope and edwards rivers interior, along which are fine tracts of timber; in its middle and eastern parts are extensive prairies; surface, generally undulating; soil, rich. monroe.--watered by horse, prairie de long, and fountain creeks. the american bottom adjacent to the mississippi is rich alluvion, and divided into timber and prairie. on the bluffs are ravines and sink-holes, with broken land. further interior is a mixture of timber and prairie. abundance of limestone, coal, and some copper. montgomery.--watered by shoal creek and branches, and hurricane fork. surface, high and undulating, and proportionably divided into timber and prairie. soil, second rate. morgan.--a first rate county,--well proportioned into prairie and forest lands,--much of the surface undulating; watered by the illinois river and mauvaise-terre, indian, plum, walnut, and sandy creeks, and heads of apple creek. coal, lime and freestone. peoria.--watered by the illinois, kickapoo, copperas, senatchwine, and heads of spoon river. surface, moderately rolling, rich soil, and proportionately divided into prairie and forest. perry.--streams; big beaucoup, and little muddy; one third prairie, tolerably level, and second rate soil. pike.--besides mississippi and illinois, which wash two sides, it has the suycartee slough, running through its western border, and navigable for steamboats, and a number of smaller creeks. the land and surface various,--much of it excellent undulating soil,--some rich alluvion, inundated at high water,--large tracts of table land, high, rolling, and rich, with due proportion of timber and prairie. a large salt spring. pope.--with the ohio river east and south, it has big bay, lusk's, and big creeks interior. a timbered region, tolerably level, except at the bluffs, with good sandy soil, and sand and limestone. putnam.--the illinois runs through it,--spoon river waters its north-western part, and bureau, crow, sandy, and some other streams, water its middle portions. here are beautiful groves of timber, and rich, undulating and dry prairies, fine springs, and good mill sites. lime, sand and freestone, and bituminous coal. a few tracts of wet prairie, with some ponds and swamps, are in the north-western part. randolph.--has the mississippi along the western side; kaskaskia river passes diagonally through it; soil, of every quality, from first rate to indifferent; surface, equally as various, with rocky precipices at the termination of the alluvial bottoms. rock island.--is at the mouth of rock river, which, with the mississippi, and some minor streams, drain the county. rich alluvion along the mississippi, with much excellent table land,--both timber and prairie interior. some wet, level prairie, south of rock river. sangamon.--watered by sangamon river and its numerous branches. much of the soil is of the richest quality, with due proportions of timber and prairie, moderately undulating, and a first rate county. schuyler.--the south-eastern side has the illinois, the interior has crooked and crane creeks, and the south-west has mckee's creek. along the illinois is much timber, with some inundated bottom lands. interior, there is a due proportion of prairie and timber and rich soil, with an undulating surface. shelby.--is watered by the kaskaskia and tributaries; has a large amount of excellent land, both timber and prairie, with good soil, moderately undulating. st. clair.--the streams are cahokia, prairie du pont, ogle's, silver, richland, and prairie de long creeks, and kaskaskia river. the land is various, much of which is good, first and second rate, and proportionably divided into timber, prairie, and barrens. the minerals are lime and sandstone, and extensive beds of coal, and shale. tazewell.--watered by the illinois, mackinau, and their tributaries. much of the surface is undulating, soil rich; prairie predominates, but considerable timber, with some broken land about the bluffs of mackinau, and some sand ridges and swamps in the southern part of the county. union.--watered by the mississippi, clear creek, the heads of cash, and some of the small tributaries of the big muddy. much of the surface is rolling and hilly,--all forest land. soil, second and third rate. some rich alluvial bottom. vermillion.--is watered by big and little vermillion of the wabash, with large bodies of excellent timber along the streams, and rich prairies interior. surface, undulating and dry; soil, deep, rich, and calcareous. wabash.--has wabash river on the east, bon pas on the west, and some small creeks central; surface rolling, and a mixture of timber and prairie; soil, generally second rate. minerals; lime and sandstone. warren.--besides the mississippi, its principal stream is henderson river, which passes through it, with ellison, honey, and camp creeks. much of the land on these streams is rich, undulating, deficient somewhat in timber, with excellent prairie. along the mississippi, and about the mouth of henderson, the land is inundated in high water. washington.--has the kaskaskia on its north-western side, with elkhorn, little muddy, beaucoup, and little crooked creeks interior. the prairies are rather level, and in places inclined to be wet; the timber, especially along the kaskaskia, heavy. wayne.--the little wabash, with its tributaries, elm river, and skillet fork, are its streams. it is proportionably interspersed with prairie and woodland, generally of second quality. white.--the eastern side washed by the big wabash, along which is a low, inundated bottom; the interior is watered by the little wabash and its tributaries. some prairie, but mostly timber. soil and surface various. some rich bottom prairies, with sandy soil. towns. vandalia is the seat of government till , after which it is to be removed to alton, according to a vote of the people in , unless they should otherwise direct. it is situated on the right bank of the kaskaskia river, in n. lat. ° ' ", and miles in a direct line, a little north of east from alton. the public buildings are temporary. population, about . _alton._ two towns of this name are distinguished as alton, and upper alton. alton is an incorporated town, situated on the bank of the mississippi, two and a half miles above the mouth of the missouri, and at the place where the curve of the mississippi penetrates the furthest into illinois, miles below the mouth of the illinois river. for situation, commerce, business of all kinds, health, and rapidity of growth, it far exceeds any other town on the east bank of the mississippi, above new orleans. the population is about . the commercial business done here is already immense, and extends through more than half of illinois, besides a large trade on the western side of the mississippi. five large mercantile establishments do wholesale business only, four do wholesale and retail, besides four wholesale and retail groceries, and fifteen or twenty retail stores and groceries; and yet many more mercantile houses are necessary for the business of the country. great facilities for business of almost every description, especially for every kind of mechanics, are to be had here. it offers one of the best situations on the western waters for building and repairing steamboats. town lots and lands adjacent have risen in value from to per cent. within the last twelve months. alton has respectable and well finished houses of worship for the presbyterian, methodist protestant, and baptist denominations; two good schools, a lyceum, that holds weekly meetings, and two printing-offices. the population in general, is a moral, industrious, enterprising class. few towns in the west have equalled this in contributions for public and benevolent objects, in proportion to age and population. arrangements have been made for doing an extensive business in the slaughtering and packing of pork and beef. four houses are engaged in that line, and have slaughtered about , hogs the present season. many buildings will be erected the approaching season, amongst which will be an extensive hotel, which is much needed. the town is situated at the base, side, and top, of the first bluffs that extend to the river, above the mouth of the kaskaskia. adjacent to it, and which will eventually become amalgamated, is middletown, laid off directly in the rear. _upper alton_ is from two and a half to three miles back from the river, and in the rear of lower alton, on elevated ground, and in every respect a very healthy situation. it has exceeding families, and is rapidly improving. adjacent to it, and forming now a part of the town plat, is "_shurtleff college, of alton, illinois_," which bids fair to become an important and flourishing institution. also "_alton theological seminary_," which has commenced operations. both these institutions have been gotten up under the influence and patronage of the baptist denomination. a female seminary of a high order, under the name of the "_alton female institute_," has been chartered, and a building is about to be erected for the purpose. the baptists, methodists and presbyterians have congregations here, and two houses of worship are to be built the present year. _chicago_ is the largest commercial town in illinois. it is situated at the junction of north and south branches, and along the main chicago, near its entrance into lake michigan, on a level prairie, but elevated above the highest floods. a recent communication from a respectable mercantile house, gives the following statistics: "fifty-one stores, groceries, taverns, physicians, attorneys, and , inhabitants. we have four churches, and two more building, one bank, a marine and fire insurance company about to go into operation, and a brick hotel, containing apartments. there were arrivals and departures of steamboats in , and of brigs and schooners, containing , tons of merchandise and , barrels of salt, besides lumber, provisions, &c. the harbor now constructing by the u. s. government, will be so far completed in , as to admit vessels and steamboats navigating the lakes. a few miles back of chicago are extensive tracts of wet prairie. _galena_ is the seat of justice for jo daviess county, situated on fever river, in the midst of the mining district. it has about stores, a dozen groceries, and about , inhabitants. _springfield_ is near the geographical centre of the state, and in the midst of a most fertile region of country. it is a flourishing inland town, and contains about , inhabitants. _jacksonville_, the county seat of morgan county, has about the same population, and is equally delightful and flourishing. one mile west, on a most beautiful eminence, stands "_illinois college_," founded under the auspices of the presbyterian denomination, and bids fair to become a flourishing seat of learning. i have not room to name, much less describe, the many growing towns and villages in this state, that excite and deserve the attention of emigrants. on the illinois river are ottawa, and several eligible sites in its vicinity, where towns have commenced; beardstown, a short distance below the mouth of sangamon river, peoria, at the foot of peoria lake, (a most beautiful site, and containing , inhabitants,) meredosia, naples, pekin, hennepin, &c. on the mississippi, are quincy, warsaw, new boston, and stephenson, the seat of justice for rock island county. interior, are bloomington, decatur, tremont, shelbyville, hillsboro', edwardsville, carlyle, belleville, carrollton, and many others. towards the wabash, are danville, paris, lawrenceville, carmi, and mount carmel, the last of which has an importance from being connected with the grand rapids of the wabash. shawneetown is the commercial depot for the south-eastern part of the state. on the military tract are rushville, pittsfield, griggsville, carthage, macomb, monmouth, knoxville, lewistown, canton, &c., all pleasant sites, and having a population from two or three hundred to one thousand inhabitants. for a more particular description of each county, town, and settlement, with all other particulars of illinois, the reader is referred to "a gazetteer of illinois," by the author of this guide. _projected improvements._--the project of uniting the waters of lake michigan and the illinois, by a canal, was conceived soon after the commencement of the grand canal of new york, and a board of commissioners, with engineers, explored the route and estimated the cost, in . provision, by a grant of each alternate section of land within five miles of the route, having been granted by congress, another board of commissioners was appointed in , a new survey was made, and the towns of chicago and ottawa laid off, and some lots sold in . various movements have since been made, but nothing effectually done, until the recent special session of the legislature, when an act was passed to authorize the governor to borrow funds upon the faith of the state; a new board of commissioners has been organized, and this great work is about to be prosecuted with vigor to its completion. funds, in part, have been provided, from the sales of certain saline lands belonging to the state, to improve the navigation of the great wabash, at the grand rapids, near the mouth of white river, in conjunction with the state of indiana. from the same source, funds are to be applied to the clearing out of several navigable water-courses, and repairing roads, within the state. charters have been granted to several rail-road companies, some of which have been surveyed and the stock taken. one from alton to springfield was surveyed last year, and the stock subscribed in december. another from st. louis, by the coal mines of st. clair county, to belleville, miles, is expected to be made immediately. the project of a central railway from the termination of the illinois and michigan canal, at the foot of the rapids, a few miles below ottawa,--through bloomington, decatur, shelbyville, vandalia, and on to the mouth of the ohio river, has been entered upon with spirit. another charter contemplates the continuance of a route, already provided for in indiana, and noticed under ohio, from la fayette, ia. by danville, shelbyville and hillsboro,' to alton, the nearest point from the east to the mississippi. a rail-road charter was granted at a previous session of the legislature from meredosia to jacksonville, and another from vincennes to chicago. we have only room to mention the following charters, which have been recently granted, in addition to those already specified: one from pekin to tremont, in tazewell county, miles. one from the wabash, by peoria to warsaw, in hancock county. the wabash and mississippi rail-road company. the mount carmel and alton rail-road company. the rushville rail-road company. the winchester, lynville, and jacksonville rail-road company. the shawneetown and alton rail-road company. the pekin, bloomington, and wabash rail-road company. the waverly and grand prairie rail-road company. the galena and chicago union rail-road company. the wabash and mississippi union rail-road company. the mississippi, carrollton and springfield rail-road company. the _national road_ is in progress through this state, and considerable has been made on that portion which lies between vandalia and the boundary of indiana. this road enters illinois at the north-east corner of clark county, and passes diagonally through coles and effingham counties in a south-westerly course to vandalia, a distance of miles. the road is established feet wide, the central part feet wide, raised above standing water, and not to exceed three degrees from a level. the base of all the abutments of bridges must be equal in thickness to one third of the height of the abutment. the road is not yet placed in a travelling condition. the line of the road is nearly direct, the loss in miles being only the th part of one per cent. between vandalia and ewington, for miles, it does not deviate in the least from a direct line. from vandalia westward, the road is not yet located, but it will probably pass to alton. _education._--the same provision has been made for this as other western states, in the disposal of the public lands. the section numbered sixteen in each township of land, is sold upon petition of the people within the township, and the avails constitute a permanent fund, the interest of which is annually applied towards the expenses, in part, of the education of those who attend school, living within the township. a school system, in part, has been arranged by the legislature. the peculiar and unequal division of the country into timber and prairie lands, and the inequality of settlements consequent thereupon, will prevent, for many years to come, the organization of school districts with _defined geographical boundaries_. to meet this inconvenience, the legislature has provided that any number of persons can elect three trustees, employ a teacher in any mode they choose, and receive their proportion of the avails of the school funds. _in all cases, however, the teacher must keep a daily account of each scholar who attends school, and make out a schedule of the aggregate that each scholar attends, every six months_, and present it, certified by the trustees of the school, to the school commissioner of the county, who apportions the money accordingly. this state receives three per cent. on all the net avails of public lands sold in this state, which, with the avails of two townships sold, makes a respectable and rapidly increasing fund, the interest only of which can be expended, and that only to the payment of instructers. good common school teachers, both male and female, are greatly needed, and will meet with ready employ, and liberal wages. here is a most delightful and inviting field for christian activity. common school, with sunday school instruction, calls for thousands of teachers in the west. several respectable academies, are in operation, and the wants and feelings of the community call for many more. besides the colleges at jacksonville and alton already noticed, others are projected, and several have been chartered. the methodist denomination have a building erected, and a preparatory school commenced, at lebanon, st. clair county. the episcopalians are about establishing a college at springfield. one or more will be demanded in the northern and eastern portions of the state; and it may be calculated that, in a very brief period, the state of illinois will furnish facilities for a useful and general education, equal to those in any part of the country. _government._--the constitution of illinois was formed by a convention held at kaskaskia, in august, . it provides for the distribution of the powers of government into three distinct departments,--the legislative, executive, and judiciary. the legislative authority is vested in a general assembly, consisting of a senate and house of representatives. elections are held biennially, as are the ordinary sessions of the legislature. senators are elected for four years. the executive power is vested in the governor, who is chosen every fourth year, by the electors for representatives; but the same person is ineligible for the next succeeding four years. the lieutenant governor is also chosen every four years. the judicial power is vested in a supreme court, and such inferior courts as the general assembly from time to time shall establish. the supreme court consists of a chief justice and three associate judges. the governor and judges of the supreme court constitute a council of revision, to which all bills that have passed the assembly must be submitted. if objected to by the council of revision, the same may become a law by the vote of a majority of all the members elected to both houses. the right of suffrage is universal. all white male inhabitants, citizens of the united states, twenty-one years of age, and who have resided within the state six months next preceding the elections, enjoy the right of voting. votes are given _viva voce_. the introduction of slavery is prohibited. the constitution can only be altered by a convention. general remarks. . farms somewhat improved, are almost daily exchanging owners, and a considerable spirit of enterprise has been awakened within a year or two past. the prices of farms and improvements vary greatly, and are influenced much by factitious and local circumstances. from st. clair county northward, they average probably from five to ten dollars per acre, and are rising in value. in some counties, farms will cost from to dollars per acre. a _farm_ in illinois, however, means a tract of land, much of it in a state of nature, with some cheap, and, frequently, log buildings, with , , , , or acres, fenced and cultivated. good dwellings of brick, stone, or wood, begin to be erected. amongst the older residents, there have been but few barns made. the want of adequate supplies of lumber, and of mechanics, renders good buildings more expensive than in the new countries of new england or new york. . merchant's goods, groceries, household furniture, and almost every necessary and comfort in house-keeping, can be purchased here; and many articles retail at about the same prices as in the atlantic states. . the following table will exhibit the cost of acres of land, at congress price, and preparing acres for cultivation or prairie land: cost of acres at $ , per acre, $ breaking up acres prairie, $ per acre, fencing it into four fields with a kentucky fence of eight rails high, with cross stakes, add cost of cabins, corn cribs, stable, &c. ----- making the cost of the farm, $ in many instances, a single crop of wheat will pay for the land, for fencing, breaking up, cultivating, harvesting, threshing, and taking to market. . all kinds of mechanical labor, especially those in the building line, are in great demand; and workmen, even very coarse and common workmen, get almost any price they ask. journeymen mechanics get $ per day. a carpenter or brick mason wants no other capital, to do first rate business, and soon become independent, than a set of tools, and habits of industry, sobriety, economy and enterprise. . common laborers on the farm obtain from $ to $ per month, including board. any young man, with industrious habits, can begin here without a dollar, and in a very few years become a substantial farmer. a good cradler in the harvest field will earn from $ , to $ per day. . much that we have stated in reference to illinois, will equally apply to missouri, or any other western state. many general principles have been laid down, and particular facts exhibited, with respect to the general description of the state, soil, timber, kinds of land, and other characteristics, under illinois, and, to save repetition, are omitted elsewhere. footnotes: [ ] beck. chapter xii. missouri. length, ; medium breadth, miles: containing , square miles, and containing , , acres. bounded north by the des moines country, or new purchase, attached to wisconsin territory, west by the indian territory, south by arkansas, and east by the mississippi river. between ° and ° ' n. latitude, and between ° ' and ° ' west longitude. _civil divisions._--it is divided into counties, as follows:--barry, benton, boone, callaway, cape girardeau, carroll, chaviton, clay, clinton, cole, cooper, crawford, franklin, gasconade, green, howard, jackson, jefferson, johnson, la fayette, lewis, lincoln, madison, marion, munroe, montgomery, morgan, new madrid, perry, pettis, pike, polk, pulaski, randolph, ralls, ray, ripley, rives, st. francois, st. genevieve, st. charles, st. louis, saline, scott, shelby, stoddart, van buren, warren, washington, and wayne. population at different periods. _population._ | _increase._ , (including arkansas,) , | from to , , , , | " " , , , , | " " , , , , | " " , , , , | " " , , , (estimated for jan'y) , | the constitution is similar to that of illinois, in its broad features, excepting the holding of slaves is allowed, and the general assembly has no power to pass laws for the emancipation of slaves, without the consent of their owners, or paying an equivalent. it is made the duty of the general assembly "to oblige the owners of slaves to treat them with humanity, and to abstain from all injuries to them extending to life or limb." "slaves shall not be deprived of an impartial trial by jury." in , there were in the state, , slaves, and free colored persons. every free white male citizen has the right of suffrage, after a residence in the state of one year. _surface, soil and productions._--the surface of this state is greatly diversified. south of cape girardeau, with the exception of some bluffs along the mississippi, it is entirely alluvial, and a large proportion consists of swamp and inundated lands, the most of which are heavily timbered. from thence to the missouri river, and westward to the dividing grounds between the waters of the osage and gasconade rivers, the country is generally timbered, rolling, and in some parts, quite hilly. no part of missouri, however, is strictly mountainous. along the waters of gasconade and black rivers the hills are frequently abrupt and rocky, with strips of rich alluvion along the water courses. much of this region abounds with minerals of various descriptions. lead, iron, coal, gypsum, manganese, zinc, antimony, cobalt, ochre of various kinds, common salt, nitre, plumbago, porphyry, jasper, chalcedony, buhrstone, marble, and freestone, of various qualities. the lead and iron ore are literally exhaustless, and of the richest quality. to say there is probably iron ore enough in this region to supply the united states with iron for one hundred thousand years to come, would not be extravagant. here, too, is water power in abundance, rapid streams, with pebbly beds, forests of timber, and exhaustless beds of bituminous coal. the only difficulty of working this vast body of minerals is the inconvenience of getting its proceeds to the mississippi. the streams that rise in this region, run different courses into the missouri, the mississippi, and the arkansas, but they are too rapid and winding in their courses to afford safe and easy navigation. were the rafts now lodged in the st. francois, removed by the agency of government, as they have been in red river, the lower section of the mineral country could be reached by steamboat navigation. the citizens of st. louis, very recently, have entered upon the project of a railway from that city, through the heart of this country, to the fine farming lands in the south-western part of the state. such a project, carried into effect, would open a boundless field of wealth in missouri. the western part of the state is divided into prairie and forest land, much of which is fertile. along the osage, it is hilly, and the whole is undulating, and regarded as a healthy region, abounding with good water, salt springs, and limestone. north of the missouri the face of the country is diversified, with a mixture of timber and prairie. from the missouri to salt river, good springs are scarce, and in several counties it is difficult to obtain permanent water by digging wells. artificial wells, as they may be called, are made by digging a well forty or fifty feet deep, and replenishing it with a current of rain water from the roof of the dwelling house. much of the prairie land in this part of the state is inferior to the first quality of prairie land in illinois, as the soil is more clayey, and does not so readily absorb the water. between salt river and des moines, is a beautiful and rich country of land. the counties of ralls, marion, monroe, lewis and shelby, are first rate. the counties of warren, montgomery, callaway, boone, howard, and chaviton, all lying on the north side of the missouri river, are rolling,--in some places are bluffs and hills, with considerable good prairie, and an abundance of timbered land. farther west, the proportion of prairie increases to the boundary line, as it does to the northward of boone, howard and chaviton counties. after making ample deductions for inferior soil, ranges of barren hills, and large tracts of swamp, as in the south, the state of missouri contains a vast proportion of excellent farming land. the people generally are enterprising, hardy and industrious, and most of those who hold slaves, perform labor with them. emigrants from every state and several countries of europe, are found here, but the basis of the population is from kentucky, tennessee and virginia. the natural productions of missouri are similar to those states already described, and the agricultural productions are the same as in illinois, except that more tobacco is produced in the middle, and considerable quantities of cotton in the southern counties. _towns._--the city of jefferson is the political capital of the state. it is situated on the right bank of the missouri, a few miles above the mouth of the osage, and about miles from st. louis. it is a small town, with little business, except what pertains to the government of the state. a state house, governor's house and penitentiary have been erected. st. louis is the commercial capital, and the most important place in all this portion of the valley of the mississippi. it stands on the western bank of the mississippi, miles above the junction of the ohio, miles below that of the missouri, and miles below that of the illinois. it is beautifully situated on ascending and elevated ground, which spreads out into an undulating surface to the west for many miles. two streets are parallel with the river on the first bank, and the rest of the city stands on the second bank; but very little grading is necessary, to give the streets running back from the river, their proper inclination. the old streets, designed only for a french village, are too narrow for public convenience, but a large part of the city has been laid out on a liberal scale. the indian and spanish trade, the fur and peltry business, lead, government agencies, army supplies, surveys of government lands, with the regular trade of an extensive interior country, makes st. louis a place of great business, in proportion to its population, which is about , . the following, from the register of the wharf master, will exhibit the commerce for : steamboat register. number of different boats arrived, aggregate of tonnage, , number of arrivals, wharfage collected, $ , . _wood and lumber, liable to wharfage._ plank, joist, and scantling, , , feet. shingles, , cedar posts, , cords of fire-wood, , the proportionate increase of business will be seen by reference to the following registry for : different steamboats arrived, average amount of tonnage, , number of entries, the morality, intelligence and enterprise of this city is equal to any other in the west, in proportion to its size. the american population is most numerous, but there are many french, irish and germans. about one third of the inhabitants are roman catholics. the presbyterians, methodists, and episcopalians have large congregations and houses of worship: the baptists and unitarians are rather small, and without public edifices. the roman catholic cathedral is a costly pile of buildings of freestone, and has a splendid chime of bells, sent over from europe. st. louis is a pleasant and healthy situation, and surrounded with a fertile country. we have not space to give particulars respecting many interesting and flourishing towns in missouri. cape girardeau is a commercial depot for the southern part of the state. st. genevieve stands a little back from the river, and is known only as an old french village. selma is a landing and depot for the lead mine country, miles below st. louis. clarksville, hannibal, saverton, and la grange are commercial sites on the mississippi, above the mouth of missouri. palmyra is a beautiful town, of about , inhabitants, and the seat of justice for marion county. along the missouri are portland, rocheport, boonville, lexington, independence, and many other places of various degrees of importance. franklin formerly stood on the north bank of missouri, but most of it has been removed, three miles interior, to the bluffs. potosi is a central town, in the mineral district. fulton, columbia, and fayette are the seats of justice for callaway, boone, and howard counties, and are pleasant and flourishing towns. about the same provision for education has been made in this as in other western states, and a disposition to encourage schools, academies and colleges is fast increasing. chapter xiii. arkansas, and territorial districts. arkansas, which has recently formed a constitution, lies between ° and ° ' n. latitude, and between ° ' and ° ' w. longitude. length, ; medium breadth, miles;--containing about , square miles, and , , acres. _civil divisions._--the following are the counties, with the population, from the census taken in : counties. population. arkansas, , carroll, , chicot, , conway, , clark, , crawford, , crittenden, , greene, hempstead, , hot-spring, , independence, , izard, , jackson, jefferson, , johnson, , la fayette, , lawrence, , miller, , mississippi, monroe, phillips, , pike, pope, , pulaski, , scott, sevier, , st. francis, , union, van buren, washington, , ------ total, , another table we have seen, makes out the population, as officially reported (with the exception of two counties, from which returns had not been made,) to be , ;--white males, , ; white females, , ;--total whites, , : slaves, , ;--free persons of color, . the population, in , , ;--in , , . the following graphical description of arkansas, from the pen of a clergyman in that state, is corroborated by testimony in our possession, from various correspondents. it was written in . _letter from rev. harvey woods, to the editor of the cincinnati journal._ "arkansas territory is a part of that vast country ceded to the united states by france, in . from the time of the purchase, till lately, the tide of emigration hardly reached thus far. in , the population was . arkansas was erected into a territory in . at this time it is receiving a share of those who retire beyond the mississippi. _rivers._--the territory is admirably intersected with navigable rivers. the mississippi on the east, the great red river on the south. between these, and running generally from n. w. to s. e. are the st. francis, white, arkansas, and washitau rivers; all fine streams for steamboat navigation. _face of the country._--it is various. no country affords more diversified scenery. the country in the east, for miles, is flat with marshes and swamps; in the middle, broken and hilly; and in the west, hilly and mountainous. there are some prairies, some thickly timbered land, some heavy timbered. the country is generally a timbered country. some parts are sandy, some rocky, and some flinty. _soil._--should a man travel here, and expect to find all good land, he would be sadly disappointed. the best lands are generally contiguous to the rivers and creeks; and these are exceedingly fertile, not surpassed by any soil in the united states. arkansas soil that is rich, has just sand enough to make it lively and elastic. our best lands are covered with walnut, hackberry, mulberry, oak, ash, grape vines, &c. _water._--the hilly and mountainous parts are well supplied with springs, limestone, and freestone. also good streams for mills. in the flat country, good water is easily obtained by digging. _productions._--cotton and corn are the principal. the arkansas cottons commanded the best price last season, in the liverpool market. it is a country of unequalled advantages for raising horses, mules, cattle and hogs. _climate._--it is mild, and from its difference in latitude, say from ° ' to ° ' n., and the difference in local situation, we would guess, and correctly too, that there is much difference in the health of different places; the high and northern parts healthy, and the flat and southern subject to agues and bilious fevers. the climate has been considered unhealthy to new settlers; but it is not more so than other new countries. _minerals._--there are quantities of iron, lead, coal, salt, and, it is asserted by some, silver. there are many salt and sulphur springs. on the arkansas river, beyond the limits of the territory proper, is a section of country called the salt prairie, which, according to good authority, is covered for many miles, from four to six inches deep, with pure white salt. in the hot spring country, are the famous hot springs, much resorted to by persons of chronic and paralytic diseases. the temperature, in dry, hot weather, is at boiling point. _state of society._--the general character of the people is brave, hardy, and enterprising--frequently without the polish of literature, yet kind and hospitable. the people are now rapidly improving in morals and intellect. they are as ready to encourage schools, the preaching of the gospel, and the benevolent enterprises of the age, as any people in new countries. the consequences of living here a long time without the opportunity of educating their children, and destitute of the means of grace, are, among this population, just what they always will be under similar circumstances. ministers of all denominations are "few and far between." we have no need _here_ to build on other's foundation. i am living in jackson county, on white river. this county has a larger quantity of good land than any one in the territory. white river is always navigable for steamboats to this place, miles from its mouth. well-water is good,--some fine springs. washington county, and some others, that have the reputation of better health, are more populous. we want settlers; and we have no doubt that vast numbers of families in the states, particularly the poor, and those in moderate circumstances, would better their situation by coming here, where they can get plenty of fertile and fresh land at government price, $ , per acre. they can have good range, and all the advantages of new countries. emigrants, however, ought not to suffer themselves to expect all sunshine, and no winter. we have cloudy days and cold weather, even in arkansas! if they have heard of the _honey pond_, where flitters grow on trees, they need not be surprised if they don't find it. cabins cannot be built, wells dug, farms opened, rails made, and meeting-houses and school-houses erected, without work. it may be asked, "if arkansas be so fine a country, why has it not been settled faster?" there are perhaps three reasons;--a fear of the indians, a fear of sickness, a fear of bad roads. the indians are now all peaceably situated beyond the territory proper, and are blessed with the labors of a number of good pious missionaries, who are teaching them to read the bible, and showing the tall sons of the forest the way that leads to heaven. sickness is no more to be dreaded here than in illinois and missouri. the roads have indeed been bad.--for a long time, no one could venture through the mississippi swamps, unless he was a daniel boone. but appropriations have been made by congress for several roads. this summer, roads from memphis to little rock, and to litchfield and batesville, and other points, will be completed. an appropriation of upwards of $ , has been made to construct a road through the mississippi swamp. again: we want settlers--we want physicians, lawyers, ministers, mechanics and farmers. we want such, however, and _only such_ as will make good neighbors. if any who think of coming to live with us, are gamblers, drunkards, sabbath-breakers, profane swearers, or the like, we hope that when they leave their _old_ country, they will leave their _old_ habits." we have not seen the constitution of this state, now pending before congress for admission into the union, but understand that its essential principles are the same as that of the other western states. wisconsin territory. under this name is now comprehended an extensive district of country, lying on both sides of the mississippi river, above illinois and missouri, and extending indefinitely north. that portion lying betwixt the northern boundary of illinois and the wisconsin river, and from lake michigan to the mississippi, has the indian title extinguished, and, in part, has been surveyed and brought into market. there is much excellent land in this part of the territory, and it is well watered with perennial streams and springs. offices are opened for the sale of public lands, at mineral point and green bay, and a large amount has been sold, and some at a high price. the country immediately bordering on lake michigan, is well timbered, with various trees. here are red, white, black and burr oaks, beech, ash, linden, poplar, walnut, hickory, sugar and white maple, elm, birch, hemlock, and pine, with many other kinds. the soil is not so deep and dark a mould as in the prairies of illinois, but is fertile and easily cultivated; and sandy, especially about the town of green bay. towards the lake, and near the body of water called sturgeon bay, connected with green bay, and between that and the lake, are extensive swamps and cranberry marshes. wild rice, tamarisk, and spruce, grow here. about rock river and from thence to the mississippi, there is much excellent land, but a deficiency of timber. lead and copper ore, and probably other minerals, abound in this part of the country. along to the east and north of the four lakes, are alternate quagmires and sand ridges, for miles or more, called by the french _coureurs du bois_, "_terre tremblant_," (trembling land,) the character of which is sufficiently indicated by the name. there are several small lakes in the district of country we are now examining, the largest of which is winnebago. it is situated or miles south of green bay,--is about ten miles long, and three broad, and is full of wild rice. fox river passes through it. kushkanong is six or eight miles in diameter, with some swamps and quagmires in its vicinity. it is on rock river, between catfish and whitewater. the _four lakes_ are strung along on a stream called catfish, which enters rock river or miles above the boundary of illinois. they are or miles long, abounding with fish, and are surrounded with an excellent farming country. green bay settlement and village is miles north of chicago, north-east from galena, from fort winnebago, and in n. latitude ° '. _navarino_ is a town recently commenced in this vicinity, with an excellent harbor, grows rapidly, and bids fair to become a place of importance. property has risen the last year most astonishingly. fort winnebago is a military post, at the bend, and on the right bank of fox river, opposite the portage. from thence to the wisconsin, is a low wet prairie, of three fourths of a mile, through which, a company has been chartered to cut a canal. on this route, the first explorers reached the mississippi in . the wisconsin river, however, without considerable improvement, is not navigable for steamboats, at ordinary stages of the water, without much trouble. it is full of bars, islands, rocks, and has a devious channel. the streams that rise in the eastern part of this territory, and flow into lake michigan, north of the boundary of illinois, are in order as follows: pipe creek, a small stream, but a few miles from the boundary,--root river next,--then milwaukee, miles from chicago. it rises in the swampy country, south of winnebago lake, runs a south-easterly course, and, after receiving the menomone, forms milwaukee bay. here is a town site, on both sides of the river, with a population of six or eight hundred, which promises to become a place of business. the soil up the milwaukee is good, from to inches in depth, a black loam and sand. passing northward down the lake is oak creek, miles below milwaukee,--thence miles is sauk creek, a small stream. seventy miles from milwaukee is shab-wi-wi-a-gun. here is found white pine, maple, beech, birch and spruce, but very little oak: the surface level and sandy. pigeon river is or miles further on, with excellent land on its borders;--timber,--maple, ash, beech, linden, elm, &c. fifteen miles further down, is manatawok. here commences the hemlock, with considerable pine. this stream is about or miles from green bay settlement. twin rivers are below manatawok, with sandy soil, and good timber of pine and other varieties. from milwaukee to green bay, by a surveyed route, is miles;--by the indian trail, commonly travelled, miles. north of the wisconsin river, is crawford county, of which prairie du chien is the seat of justice. from the great bend at fort winnebago across towards the mississippi is a series of abrupt hills, rising several hundred feet, and covered with a dense forest of elm, linden, oak, walnut, ash, sugar maple, &c. the soil is rich, but is too hilly and broken for agricultural purposes. there is no alluvial soil, or bottoms along the streams, or grass in the forests. the wisconsin river rises in an unexplored country towards lake superior. the _coureurs du bois_, and _voyageurs_ represent it as a cold, mountainous, dreary region, with swamps. west of the mississippi, above des moines, and extending northward to a point some distance above the northern boundary of illinois, and for miles interior, is a valuable country, purchased of the indians in . its streams rise in the great prairies, run an east or south-eastern course into the mississippi. the most noted are flint, skunk, wau-be-se-pin-e-con, upper and lower iowa rivers, and turkey, catfish, and big and little ma-quo-ka-tois, or bear creeks. the soil, in general, is excellent, and very much resembles the military tract in illinois. the water is excellent,--plenty of lime, sand and freestone,--extensive prairies, and a deficiency of timber a few miles interior. about dubuque, opposite galena, are extensive and rich lead mines. burlington is a town containing a population of , at the flint hills opposite warren county, illinois. dubuque is situated on the mississippi, on a sandy bottom, above high water, and miles n. w. from galena. it has about stores and groceries, taverns, churches, and about inhabitants, and we have before us the prospectus for the "dubuque visiter," a weekly newspaper. peru is in the vicinity, and contains about inhabitants. the new purchase, as this district of country is called, is divided into two counties, dubuque, and des moines, and contains a population of or , . the whole wisconsin territory is estimated by its legislature, now in session, to contain , inhabitants. hitherto, for civil purposes, this region has formed a part of michigan territory, and still its legislature acts under that name; but a bill is before congress to organize a territorial government under the name of wisconsin, which doubtless will be effected in a few weeks. not many years will elapse before two new states will be formed out of this district of country, the one on the eastern, and the other on the western, side of the mississippi. chapter xiv. literary and religious institutions for the west. colleges;--statistical sketches of each denomination;--roman catholics;--field for effort, and progress made. in giving a sketch of literary and religious institutions in the west, the very limited space remaining to be occupied in this work, compels me to throw together a few general facts only. the author has made some progress in collecting materials, and he designs to prepare another work soon, in which a variety of particulars and sketches will be given of the early history, progress of literary and religious institutions, colleges, seminaries, churches, bible, sunday school, education and other kindred societies in the western valley, with the present aspect of each denomination of christians. the interest taken in the affairs of the west, and the anxiety evinced by the community for facts and particulars on those subjects, demand that they should be treated more in detail than the limits of this guide will allow. i. colleges. ohio.--_ohio university_, at athens, was founded in ;--has an endowment of , acres of land, which yields $ , annually. a large and elegant edifice of brick was erected in . the number of students about . _miami university_, was founded in , and is a flourishing institution at oxford, butler county, miles from cincinnati. it possesses the township of land in which it is situated, and from which it receives an income of about $ . number of students about . patronized by presbyterians. the _cincinnati college_ was incorporated in , continued to be sustained as a classical institution for some years, and then suspended operations. it has been revived and re-organized lately, and will probably be sustained. _kenyon college_, at gambier, knox county, in a central part of the state, was established in , through the efforts of rev. philander chase, then bishop of the ohio diocess, who obtained about $ , in england to endow it. its chief patrons were those excellent british noblemen, lords kenyon and gambier. it is under episcopal jurisdiction, and has a theological department, for the education of candidates for the ministry in the episcopal church. it has about students. _western reserve college_ is at hudson. it was founded by presbyterians and congregationalists in , and has students in all its departments. _franklin college_ is in new athens, harrison county, on the eastern side of the state, and has about students. the _granville literary and theological institution_ originated under patronage of the baptist denomination in . it is designed to embrace four departments,--preparatory, english, collegiate, and theological. it is rapidly rising, and contains more than students. _oberlin institute_ has been recently established in lorain county, under the influence of "new measure" presbyterians, with four departments, and has students, as follows: in the theological department, ; collegiate, ; preparatory, ; female, . the citizens of cleveland have recently contributed to it $ , , of which six persons gave $ each. the _willibough collegiate institute_ is in the lake country of ohio, and has been gotten up within a few years past. the _marietta collegiate institute_ is said to be a flourishing and respectable institution, having a large number of students in various departments. indiana.--_indiana college_ is a state institution, established at bloomington, and commenced operations in . present number of students not known. in the number exceeded . _hanover college_ is at south hanover, six miles below the town of madison, and near the ohio river. it is a flourishing institution, with arrangements for manual labor, and is styled "south hanover college and indiana theological seminary." the number of students exceed . _wabash college_, at crawfordsville, has just commenced operations under auspicious circumstances. under patronage of the presbyterians. illinois.--_illinois college_, near jacksonville, commenced as a preparatory school in , and has made rapid progress. large funds for its endowment have been recently provided in the eastern states. the number of students about . _shurtleff college of alton, illinois_, was commenced under the efforts of baptists at alton in , as a preparatory institution;--chartered as a college in february, , and has been recently named in honor of a liberal patron, dr. benjamin shurtleff, of boston, mass., who has presented the institution with $ , . it has students, and its prospects are encouraging. _mckendreean college_ has been chartered, a building erected, and a school commenced at lebanon. it is connected with the methodist episcopal church. charters have been recently granted for other colleges in this state, and measures adopted to bring some of them into existence. the rev. philander chase, whose persevering labors brought into existence and successful operation, kenyon college in ohio, and who is now bishop of illinois, is at present in england, where, by recent advices, he has obtained $ , to invest in illinois lands, and to establish a college for the interests of the episcopal church. missouri.--the roman catholics have two institutions of a collegiate character, established in this state, _st. mary's college_, in perry county, was established by bishop du bourg, in . it has , volumes in the library. including the _nunnery_, and school for females, a seminary for the education of _priests_, a preparatory, and a primary school, the number of teachers and students are about . _st. louis university_ was founded in , and is conducted by the fathers of the society of jesuits. the edifice is feet, by , of stories, including the basement, and is situated on elevated and pleasant ground, on the confines of the city. for the protestants, the following institutions have been established. _columbia college_, adjacent to columbia, boon county. the institution opened in , under encouraging circumstances. _marion college_ is in a delightful tract of country, a prairie region, in the western part of michigan county,--and has between and students. it is connected with the presbyterian interests. the project as developed by some of its founders, is an immense one, including english, scientific, classical, theological, medical, agricultural, and law departments,--all to be sustained by manual labor, and the proceeds of extensive farms. doubtless, by prudent and persevering efforts, a respectable college may be brought into successful operation. a _college_ at st. charles, has been founded, principally by the liberality of george collier, a merchant of st. louis, and two or three other gentlemen, and a classical and scientific school has been commenced. arkansas.--efforts are making to establish a college by presbyterian agency, at cane hill, in this newly formed state. two or three collegiate institutions will soon be needed in this region. kentucky.--_transylvania university_, at lexington, is the oldest collegiate institution in the west. it was commenced, by a grant of , acres of land by the legislature of virginia, in , and was then called "transylvania seminary." the "kentucky academy" was founded in , and both institutions were united and incorporated in , under the present name. it has classical, medical, law, and preparatory departments,--and including each, from to students. _center college_, at danville, was founded by the presbyterian church, in , for which the synod of kentucky pledged $ , . number of students about . _augusta college_ was founded in , by the ohio and kentucky conferences of the methodist episcopal church. it adopted collegiate regulations in . number of students in the collegiate, academical and primary departments, about . _cumberland college_ was incorporated in , and is established at princeton, in the western part of the state. it is under the patronage and jurisdiction of the cumberland presbyterians. a farm, including a tract of , acres of land, with workshops, furnish facilities for manual labor. it has about students. _st. joseph's college_ is a roman catholic institution, at bardstown, with college buildings sufficient to accommodate students, and valued at $ , . it commenced with students in . in there were in the collegiate and preparatory departments, students. the st. thomas and st. mary seminaries are also under the charge of roman catholic priests, the one in nelson county, four miles from bardstown, and the other in washington county. a college was founded by the baptists at georgetown in , but from untoward circumstances, is probably relinquished by the denomination. tennessee.--the _university of nashville_ is a prominent institution. the laboratory is one of the finest in the united states, and the mineralogical cabinet, not exceeded, and this department, as well as every other in the college, is superintended with much talent. the number of students is about . _greenville_, _knoxville_ and _washington_ colleges are in east tennessee. _jackson college_ is about to be removed from its present site, and located at columbia. $ , have been subscribed for the purpose. a presbyterian theological seminary is at maryville. mississippi.--_jefferson college_ is at washington, six miles from natchez. it has not flourished as a college, and is now said to be conducted somewhat on the principle of a military academy. _oakland college_ has been recently founded by presbyterians, and bids fair to exert a beneficial influence upon religion and morals, much needed in that state. the baptist denomination are taking measures to establish a collegiate institution in that state. louisiana.--has a college at jackson, in the eastern part of the state, the roman catholics have a college at new orleans. there is a respectable collegiate institution, under the fostering care of the methodist episcopal church, at lagrange, in the north-western part of alabama. academies have been established in various parts of the west, for both sexes, and there are female seminaries of character and standing at pittsburg, cincinnati, granville, louisville, lexington, nashville, and many other places. several more colleges, and a large number of minor institutions, will be needed very shortly to supply the demands for education in the west. the public mind is awake to the subject of education, and much has already been done, though a greater work has yet to be accomplished to supply the wants of the west in literary institutions. an annual convention is held in cincinnati, on the first monday in october, denominated the "_western institute and college of professional teachers_." its object, according to the constitution, is, "to promote by every laudable means, the diffusion of knowledge in regard to education, and especially by aiming at the elevation of the character of teachers, who shall have adopted instruction as their regular profession." the first meeting was held in , under the auspices of the "academic institute," a previously existing institution, but of more limited operations. the second convention, in , framed a constitution and chose officers, since which time regular meetings have been held by delegates or individuals from various parts of the west, and a volume of transactions of or pages published annually. ii. theological institutions. the _western theological seminary_ at alleghany town, opposite pittsburg, is under the jurisdiction of the general assembly of the presbyterian church. it commenced operations in . at _canonsburg_ is a seminary belonging to the associate church, of which dr. ramsey is professor. the associate reformed church have a theological school in pittsburg, under charge of the rev. john t. pressly d. d. the baptist denomination are now engaged in establishing a manual labor academy in the vicinity of pittsburg, for both ministerial and general education. the theological departments of oberlin, granville, and other collegiate institutions, have been noticed already. _lane seminary_, near cincinnati, was founded in , by messrs. e. & w. a. lane, merchants, of new orleans, who made a very liberal offer of aid. its location is excellent, two and a half miles from cincinnati, at walnut hills, and is under the charge of the rev. dr. beecher, and a body of professors. number of students about . the _hanover institution_ in indiana, has been noticed already. in the theological department are three professors and students. the baptists in this state are about establishing a manual labor seminary for ministerial and general education. a valuable property has been purchased, adjoining covington, ky., opposite cincinnati, and measures have been put in train to found a theological seminary by the baptist denomination. the executive committee of the "_western baptist education society_," have this object in charge. the "_alton theological seminary_," located at upper alton, illinois, is under an organization distinct from that of _shurtleff college_, already noticed. this institution has acres of valuable land, and a stone edifice of respectable size, occupied at present in joint concern with the college, and a valuable library of several hundred volumes. its organization has been but recently effected. rev. l. colby, is professor, with students. other institutions, having theological education, either in whole or in part, their object, are in contemplation. two remarks, by way of explanation are here necessary. . most of the colleges and theological schools of the western valley have facilities for manual labor, or are making that provision. in several, some of the students pay half, and even the whole of their expenses, by their own efforts. public sentiment is awake to this subject, and is gaining ground. . in enumerating the students, the members of the preparatory departments are included, many of whom do not expect to pass through a regular collegiate course. the circumstances and wants of the country, from its rapid growth, seem to require the appendage of a large preparatory department to every college. it may be well to observe here, that a great and increasing demand exists in all the western states, and especially those bordering on the mississippi, for teachers of primary schools. hundreds and thousands of moral, intelligent, and pious persons, male and female, would meet with encouragement and success in this department of labor. it is altogether unnecessary for such persons to write to their friends, to make inquiries whether there are openings, &c. if they come from the older states with the proper recommendations as to character and qualifications, they will not fail to meet with employment in almost any quarter to which they may direct their course. there is not a county in missouri, arkansas, illinois, or indiana, where persons would not meet with constant employment in teaching, and especially where teachers in sabbath schools are needed. persons desirous of such a field, of humble, yet useful labor, should come here with the fixed purpose to mix with, and conform to the usages of the western population, to avoid fastidiousness, and to submit to the plain, frank, social, and hospitable manners of the people. iii. deaf and dumb asylums. there are two institutions of this description in the west,--one at columbus, ohio; the other at danville, ky. the one in ohio contains about pupils. iv. medical institutions. the medical department in transylvania university, kentucky, has six professors, and usually about students to attend the lectures. fees for an entire course, with matriculation and library, $ . two medical institutions of respectable standing exist in cincinnati,--one connected with the miami university, the other with cincinnati college. the _ohio reformed medical school_, was established at worthington, miles north of columbus, in . no specified time is required for study, but when a student will pass examination, he is licensed to practice. v. law schools. the law department of transylvania university, is under the charge of two able professors, who hear recitations and deliver lectures. the average number of students is about . a law school was established at cincinnati, in , with four professors,--messrs. john c. wright, john m. goodenow, edward king, and timothy walker. the bar, the institution, and the city have recently sustained a severe loss in the decease of mr. king. vi. benevolent and religious societies. to enumerate and give particulars of all these, would make a volume. we can but barely call the attention of the reader to some of the more prominent organizations, amongst the different christian denominations in this great valley, for doing good. the _foreign missionary society of the valley of the mississippi_, is a prominent auxiliary of the american board of commissioners for foreign missions. its seat is cincinnati, but by agencies and branches, it operates throughout the valley. the report of november, , states that _eighteen thousand six hundred and fifty eight dollars_ had been received into the treasury the preceding year. an edition of copies of the missionary herald is republished in cincinnati, for circulation in the west. the _western education society_, connected with the american education society, has also its seat of operations at cincinnati. auxiliaries also exist in most of the western states. beneficiaries were under its charge at the last anniversary. the _american tract society_ has auxiliaries and agencies in most of the western states. the operations of the _american bible society_, through its numerous auxiliaries, is felt to the remotest parts of the west. the _american sunday school union_ has recently established a central agency in cincinnati, and is preparing to renew, and greatly enlarge its very important efforts for the benefit of the rising generation in the west. a series of very interesting anniversaries are held in cincinnati, the first week in november, when all the great objects of christian effort receive a renewed impulse. the _american home missionary society_ has more than missionaries, laboring in the states, west of the mountains. in , they assisted presbyterian ministers in this field. the _temperance effort_ has not been neglected, and an interesting change is going forward, in a quiet and noiseless way, in the habits of the people, in reference to the use of intoxicating liquors. it is to be hoped that more prompt and vigorous efforts will be made to promote this cause, but even now, there are many thousands, who abstain from the use of spiritous liquors, without any formal pledge. the _methodist episcopal church_, in addition to their regular system of circuits, are extending the influence of their denomination on the frontiers, by missionary operations, and their labors are prospered. the _baptist denomination_ have made some important movements in the western valley within the last three years. their home mission society has nearly missionaries in the west. in november, , the "_general convention of western baptists_," was organized by more than ministers and brethren, assembled from various parts of the west. it is not an ecclesiastical body, claiming jurisdiction either over churches or ministers, nor is it strictly a missionary body. its business, according to the constitution, is "to promote by all lawful means, the following objects, to wit:--missions both foreign and domestic;--ministerial education, for such as may have first been licensed by the churches; sunday schools, including bible classes; religious periodicals; tract and temperance societies, as well as all others warranted by christ in the gospel." at its second session, in , the "_western baptist education society_" was formed. its object is "the education of those who give evidence to the churches of which they are members, that god designs them for the ministry." the executive committee are charged temporarily, with establishing the central theological seminary, already mentioned, at covington, ky. many other interesting associations for humane, philanthropic, and religious purposes exist in the valley, which are necessarily omitted. vii. the periodical press. the number of different periodicals published in the valley of the mississippi, must exceed , of which or are daily papers. there are weekly periodicals in mississippi, in ohio, in indiana, in illinois, in missouri, and probably more, in arkansas, at least in wisconsin territory. the _western monthly magazine_, edited by james hall, esq., and published at cincinnati is well known. the _western journal of the medical and physical sciences_, edited by daniel drake, m. d., professor of theory and practice of medicine in the cincinnati college, is published quarterly, in cincinnati. there are a number of religious weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly periodicals, devoted to the interests of the principal denominations through the valley. there are known to be at least one in western virginia, in western pennsylvania, in ohio, in kentucky, in tennessee, in illinois, in missouri, and one in new orleans. supposing the average number of copies of western periodicals equalled , this, estimating the different periodicals at , would give , . we see no marked and essential difference in the talent, with which the editorial press is conducted, betwixt the eastern and western states. the limits of this work will not allow me to add further evidence that our western population is not all "illiterate," and that "not more than one person in ten can read," than the following epitome of the issues, of one of the publishing houses in cincinnati, as exhibited in the cincinnati journal: "_western enterprise._--the enterprise of the west is not generally appreciated. as a specimen, we have procured from messrs. corey & webster the following list of books published by them within the last three years. these books, with the exception of the life of black-hawk, are of sterling value. the western primer, , ; webster's spelling book, , ; the primary reader, , ; the elementary reader, , ; western reader, , ; webster's history of the united states, ; miss beecher's geography, , ; pocket testament, , ; watts' and select hymns, ; dr. beecher's lectures on scepticism, three editions, each; prof. stowe's introduction to the study of the bible, ; the christian lyre, ; mitchell's chemistry, ; eberle on the diseases of children, ; ditto notes of practice, ; young lady's assistant in drawing, ;, munsell's map, , ; chase's statutes of ohio, three volumes, ; hammond's reports, th vol. ; total, _seven hundred and seventy eight thousand two hundred and fifty!!!_ probably some of the many other publishers in the city have got out nearly or quite as many books. truly, we are a book-making and book-reading nation." viii. religious denominations. in exhibiting the following statistics, entire correctness is not attempted. in some of the states, the latest reports have been had,--in others, the author has taken data of two or three years date. of the numbers of some of the numerous sects existing, the opinions of individuals have been the chief data he could obtain. . _baptists._ ----------------------+-----------+------------+--------------- | churches. | ministers. | communicants. ----------------------+-----------+------------+--------------- western pennsylvania, | | | , western virginia, | | | , ohio, | | | , michigan, | | | , indiana, | | | , illinois, | | | , missouri, | | | , arkansas, | | | louisiana, | | | , mississippi, | | | , north alabama, | | | , tennessee, | | | , kentucky, | | | , total, churches, ministers, and , communicants. _periodicals._--the _cross and journal_, weekly, and _baptist advocate_, monthly, at cincinnati;--the _baptist banner_, weekly, at shelbyville, ky.;--the _baptist_, a large monthly quarto, at nashville, ten.;--the _pioneer_, semi-monthly, at rock spring, but shortly to be enlarged, removed to upper alton, and published weekly;--and the _witness_, a small quarto, published weekly at pittsburg. . _methodists_, (_episcopal._) this denomination is divided into conferences, which are not arranged exactly with the boundaries of the states. a large book and printing-office is established at cincinnati, where all the society's publications are kept for sale. another depository is kept at nashville. -----------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+------------ |circuit |white |colored.|indians.|total number conferences. |preachers|members.| | |of members. |&c. | | | | -----------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+------------ mississippi, | | , | , | | , alabama, (one district,| | | | | in the valley,) | | , | | | , pittsburg, | | , | | | , ohio, | | , | | | , missouri, (including | | | | | arkansas,) | | , | , | | , kentucky, | | , | , | | , illinois, | | , | | | , indiana, | | , | | | , holston, | | , | , | | , tennessee, | | , | , | | , +---------+--------+--------+--------+------------ total, | | , | , | , | , allowing two _local_ to one _circuit_ preacher, which is rather under than over the proportion, would make , which, added to the number of those whose names are on the minutes of the conferences, would make methodist episcopal ministers of the gospel in the valley of the mississippi. the pittsburg conference journal, western christian advocate, and western methodist, are their periodicals. . _methodist protestants._--there are two conferences of this denomination in the west,--the pittsburg, and ohio conferences, and their circuits, preaching stations and members extend through the states north of the ohio river, with a few stations and churches south. _pittsburg conference_ has circuits, and local preachers and licentiates, circuits, stations, and mission circuits, with , members in society. _ohio conference_, has circuit, local preachers, circuits, stations, missionary circuits, and members. the methodist correspondent, a neat semi-monthly quarto periodical, published at zanesville, ohio, is devoted to their interests. . _presbyterians._--the following table (with the exception of illinois) is constructed from the returns to the general assembly in ,--the minutes of , we understand, have not been printed. ------------------+-----------+------------+--------------- states and parts. | churches. | ministers. | communicants. ------------------+-----------+------------+--------------- w. pennsylvania | | | and w. va. | | | , michigan, | | | , ohio, | | | , indiana, | | | , illinois, | | | , missouri, | | | , arkansas, | | | kentucky, | | | , tennessee, | | | , north alabama, | | | mississippi, | | | total, presbyteries, , churches, ministers, and , communicants. _periodicals._--the _cincinnati journal and western luminary_, published at cincinnati;--_christian herald_, at pittsburg;--_ohio observer_, at hudson, ohio;--_western presbyterian herald_, at louisville, ky.;--_new orleans observer_, at new orleans;--and _st. louis observer_, at st. louis, mo.,--all weekly;--and the _missionary herald_, republished at cincinnati, monthly. . _cumberland presbyterians._--this sect originated from the presbyterian church in , in kentucky, but did not increase much till , or . they are spread through most of the western states, and have presbyteries, synods, and one general assembly. the minutes of their general assembly, now before me, are not sufficiently definite to give the number of congregations. these probably exceed . an intelligent member of that denomination states the number of ordained preachers to be , licentiates, , candidates for the ministry, , and communicants, , . _periodicals._--the _cumberland presbyterian_ is a weekly paper, published at nashville, tenn. another has been recently started at pittsburg. . _congregationalists._--in ohio, especially in the northern part, are a number of congregational churches and some ministers, as there are in indiana, michigan, and illinois. there are or ministers, or congregations, and about communicants in illinois, who are organized into an association in illinois. . _protestant episcopal church._--this denomination has diocesses in the western or south-western states, exclusive of western pennsylvania, and western virginia, which belong to the diocesses of those states. they are, ohio,--michigan,--illinois,--kentucky,--tennessee,--mississippi, and indiana, and missouri. there are about or ministers, and twice as many churches in the west. provision has been made in part, for the endowment of the theological seminary at gambier, o., in england, and bishop mcilvaine has obtained about $ , , to be appropriated in the erection of a gothic edifice to be called "bexley hall," with three stories, and accommodations for fifty students. a weekly periodical is issued at the same place to support the interests of the denomination. . _german lutherans._--we have no data to give the statistics of this denomination. there is a synod in ohio, another in western pennsylvania, and perhaps others. there are probably or ministers in the west, and congregations. . _german reformed church._--there are congregations in ohio, in indiana, and probably others in the west, with or ministers. . the _tunkers_, or _dunkards_, have or churches, and about half as many ministers in the western states. . the _shakers_ have villages in several places in ohio, and kentucky, but are losing ground. . the _mormons_ have a large community at kirkland, ohio, where, under the direction of their prophet, joseph smith, they are building a vast temple. they have probably preachers, and as many congregations in the west, and still make proselytes. . _christian sect_, or _newlights_, have become to a considerable extent amalgamated with the "_reformers_," or "_campbellites_." i have not data on which to construct a tabular view of this sect,--but from general information, estimate the number of their "bishops," and "proclaimers," at , and their communicants at , or , . they have three or four monthly periodicals. alexander campbell, who may be justly considered the leader of this sect, (though they disclaim the term _sect_,) is a learned, talented, and voluminous writer. he conducts their leading periodical, the _millennial harbinger_. . the "_united brethren in christ_," are a pious, moral and exemplary sect, chiefly in ohio, but scattered somewhat in other western states. they are mostly of german descent, and in their doctrinal principles and usages, very much resemble the methodists. they have about ministers in the west, and publish the _religious telescope_, a large weekly paper, of evangelical principles, and well conducted. it is printed at circleville, ohio. . _reformed presbyterians_, or _covenanters_, have or churches, and as many ministers, but are much dispersed through the northern valley. . the _associate church_, or _seceders_, are more numerous than the covenanters. . the _associate reformed church_. the western synod of this body still exists as a separate denomination. their theological school, at pittsburg, has already been noticed. i know not their numbers, but suppose they exceed considerably the _associate church_. . the _friends_ or _quakers_, have a number of societies in western pennsylvania, ohio, indiana, &c. . the _unitarians_ have societies and ministers at pittsburg, cincinnati, louisville, st. louis, and probably in other places. there are many other sects and fragments in the west. the valley of the mississippi, like all new countries, is a wide and fertile field for the propagation of error, as it is for the display of truth. ix. roman catholics. the number of papal diocesses in the valley, including the one at mobile, is _seven_, of each of which a very brief sketch will be given, commencing with, . _detroit_, including michigan and the north-western territory,-- bishop, with sub-officers, priests, and as many chapels. at detroit and vicinity, for or miles, including the french, irish and germans, roman catholic families make up one third of the population; probably , , of all ages. at ann arbor, and in the towns of webster, scio, northfield, lima and dexter are many. at and near bert rand on the st. joseph's river, adjoining indiana, they have a school established and an indian mission. including the fur traders, and indians, they may be estimated at , in this diocess.[ ] . _cincinnati._--a large cathedral has been built in this place, and or chapels in the diocess. ten years ago, the late bishop fenwick could not count up . the emigration of foreigners, and the laborers on the ohio canals, and not a little success in proselyting, account for the increase. there are congregations, and priests. a literary institution, called the _athenæum_, is established at cincinnati, where the students are required to attend the forms of worship, and the superior inspects all their letters. st. peter's orphan asylum is under charge of "sisters of charity." the number of catholics in cincinnati is variously estimated, the medium of which is , and as many more dispersed through the state. . _bardstown._--this includes the state of kentucky, and has a bishop, with the usual subordinates, congregations, and priests, of whom reside at bardstown. a convent of jesuit priests at lebanon; another of dominicans, called st. rose, in washington county; the college at bardstown, already noticed, and st. mary's seminary in washington county, for the education of priests. of _female_ institutions, there are the _female academy of nazareth_ at bardstown, conducted by the "sisters of charity," and superintended by the bishop and professors of st. joseph's college,-- pupils; the female academy of loretto, washington county, with accommodation for boarders, and directed by the "_sisters of mary at the foot of the cross_." this order have six other places for country schools, and are said to be in number. the _convent of holy mary_, and the _monastery of st. magdalene_, at st. rose, washington county, by dominican nuns, in number, and in , pupils. the catholics have a female academy at lexington with pupils. i have no data to show the roman catholic population of this state, but it is by no means proportionate to the formidable machinery here exhibited. all this array of colleges, seminaries, monasteries, convents and nunneries is for the work of proselyting, and if they are not successful, it only shows that the current of popular sentiment sets strongly in another direction. . _vincennes._--this is a new diocess, recently carved out of indiana and illinois by the authority of an old gentleman, who lives in the city of rome! it includes a dozen chapels, or priests, the st. claire convent at vincennes, with several other appendages. the roman catholic population of this state is not numerous, probably not exceeding . illinois has about , a part of which is under the jurisdiction of st. louis diocess. in illinois there are churches, and priests, a part of which are included in the diocess of indiana. a convent of nuns of the "_visitation of the blessed virgin mary_," at kaskaskia, who conduct a female school, with a few boarders and about or day scholars. . _st. louis._--this diocess includes congregations and priests, with the following appendages: . _st. louis university_, already noticed, with priests for instructors, and students, of which, about are boarders. the rules require their attendance on morning and evening prayers, the catechism, and divine service on sundays and holidays. . st. mary's college, also noticed in our description of colleges. . noviciate for _jesuits under st. stanislaus_, in st. louis county. of female institutions there are,-- . convent of the "_ladies of the sacred heart_," at st. louis; . another of the same description, and their noviciate, at florrissant;-- . another of the same order at st. charles;-- . a female academy at carondalet, six miles below st. louis, by the "_sisters of charity_;"-- . a convent and academy of the "_sisters of loretto_," at new madrid;-- . a convent and female academy at frederickstown, under supervision of a priest;-- . a convent and female academy of the "_sisters of loretto_," in perry county. the roman catholic population in missouri does not exceed , . their pupils, of both sexes, may be estimated at . to the above may be added the hospital, and the asylum for boys, in st. louis, under the management of the sisters of charity. roman catholic teachers, usually foreigners, disperse themselves through the country, and engage in teaching primary schools; availing themselves of intercourse with the families of their employers to instruct them in the dogmas of their religion. the greatest success that has attended the efforts of the priests in converting others, has been during the prevalence of the cholera, and especially after collapse and insensibility had seized the person! we know of more than roman catholics who have been converted to the faith of christ and joined christian churches within or years past, in this state. . _new orleans._--the roman catholics in louisiana are numerous, probably including one third of the population. relatively, protestants are increasing, as a large proportion of the emigration from the other states, who care any thing about religion, are protestants. there are congregations, and priests with several convents, female seminaries, asylums, &c. . _mobile._--a splendid cathedral has been commenced here. this diocess extends into florida. footnotes: [ ] the reader will note that our estimates of roman catholics include the whole family of every age. whereas, our statistics of protestant denominations included only communicants. chapter xv. suggestions to emigrants--canal, steamboat and stage routes--other modes of travel--expenses--roads, distances, &c. &c. in the concluding chapter to this guide, it is proposed to give such information as is always desirable to emigrants upon removing, or travelling for any purpose, to the west. . persons in moderate circumstances, or who would save time and expense, need not make a visit to the west, to ascertain particulars previous to removal. a few general facts, easily collected from a hundred sources, will enable persons to decide the great question whether they will emigrate to the valley. by the same means, emigrants may determine to what state, and to what part of that state, their course shall be directed. there are many things that a person of plain, common sense will take for granted without inquiry,--such as facilities for obtaining all the necessaries of life; the readiness with which property of any description may be obtained for a fair value, and especially farms and wild land; that they can live where hundreds of thousands of others of similar habits and feelings live; and above all, they should take it for granted, that there are difficulties to be encountered in every country, and in all business,--that these difficulties can be surmounted with reasonable effort, patience and perseverance, and that in every country, people sicken and die. . having decided to what state and part of the state an emigrant will remove, let him then conclude to take as little furniture and other luggage as he can do with, especially if he comes by public conveyances. those who reside within convenient distance of a sea port, would find it both safe and economical to ship by new orleans, in boxes, such articles as are not wanted on the road, especially if they steer for the navigable waters of the mississippi. bed and other clothing, books, &c., packed in boxes, like merchants' goods, will go much safer and cheaper by new orleans, than by any of the inland routes. i have received more than one hundred packages and boxes, from eastern ports, by that route, within years, and never lost one. boxes should be marked to the owner or his agent at the river port where destined, and to the charge of some forwarding house in new orleans. the freight and charges may be paid when the boxes are received. . if a person designs to remove to the north part of ohio, and indiana, to chicago and vicinity, or to michigan, or greenbay, his course would be by the new york canal, and the lakes. the following table, showing the time of the opening of the canal at albany and buffalo, and the opening of the lake, from to , is from a report of a committee at buffalo to the common council of that city. it will be of use to those who wish to take the northern route in the spring. ------+-----------------+-----------------+----------------- | canal opened at | canal opened at | lake erie opened year. | buffalo. | albany. | at buffalo. ------+-----------------+-----------------+----------------- | april | april | april | " | " | " | " | " | may | " | " | april | " | " | may | " | " | april | " | " | " | " | " | " | " | " | may the same route will carry emigrants to cleveland and by the ohio canal to columbus, or to the ohio river at portsmouth, from whence by steamboat, direct communications will offer to any river port in the western states. from buffalo, steamboats run constantly, (when the lake is open,) to detroit, stopping at erie, ashtabula, cleveland, sandusky and many other ports from whence stages run to every prominent town. transportation wagons are employed in forwarding goods. schedule from buffalo to detroit by water. miles. dunkirk, n. y., portland, " - erie, pa., - ashtabula, ohio, - fairport, " - cleveland, ohio, - sandusky, " - amherstburg, n. c. - detroit, mich., - _from thence to chicago, illinois._ miles. st. clair river, michigan, palmer, - fort gratiot, - white rock, - thunder island, - middle island, - presque isle, - mackinaw, - isle brule, - fort howard, w. territory, - milwaukee, w. t. - chicago, ill., - _from cleveland to portsmouth, via. ohio canal._ miles. cuyahoga aqueduct, old portage, - akron, - new portage, - clinton, - massillon, - bethlehem, - bolivar, - zoar, - dover, - new philadelphia, - new-comers' town, - coshocton, - irville, - newark, - hebron, - licking summit, - lancaster canaan, - columbus, side cut, - bloomfield, - circleville, - chillicothe, - piketon, - lucasville, - portsmouth, (ohio river,) - the most expeditious, pleasant and direct route for travellers to the southern parts of ohio and indiana; to the illinois river, as far north as peoria; to the upper mississippi, as quincy, rock island, galena and prairie du chien; to missouri; and to kentucky, tennessee, arkansas, natches and new orleans is one of the southern routes. there are, st, from philadelphia to pittsburg by rail-roads and the pennsylvania canal; nd, by baltimore,--the baltimore and ohio rail-road,--and stages to wheeling; or, dly, for people living to the south of washington, by stage, via charlottesville, va., staunton, the hot, warm, and white sulphur springs, lewisburg, charlestown, to guyandotte, from whence a regular line of steamboats run times a week to cincinnati. intermediate routes from washington city to wheeling; or to harper's ferry, to fredericksburg, and intersect the route through virginia at charlottesville. _from philadelphia to pittsburg, via rail-road and canal._ miles. columbia on the susquehanna river by rail-road, daily, by canal packets to bainbridge, - middletown, - harrisburg, - juniata river, - millerstown, - mifflin, - lewistown, - waynesburg, - hamiltonville, - huntingdon, - petersburg, - alexandria, - frankstown and hollidaysburgh, - from thence by rail-road across the mountain to johnstown is - by canal to blairsville, - saltzburg, - warren, - alleghany river, - pittsburg, - the _pioneer_ line on this route is exclusively for passengers, and professes to reach pittsburg in _four_ days--but is sometimes behind several hours. fare through, $ . passengers pay for meals. _leech's line_, called "_the western transportation line_," takes both freight and passengers. the packet boats advertise to go through to pittsburg in _five_ days for $ . midship and steerage passengers in the transportation line in six and a half days; merchandize delivered in days. generally, however, there is some delay. emigrants must not expect to carry more than a small trunk or two on the packet lines. those who take goods or furniture, and expect to keep with it, had better take the transportation lines with more delay. the price of meals on the boats is about -½ cents. on all the _steamboats_ on the western waters, no additional charge is made to cabin passengers for meals,--and the tables are usually profusely supplied. strict order is observed, and the waiters and officers are attentive. _steamboat route from pittsburg to the mouth of ohio._ miles. middletown, pa. economy, " - beaver, " - georgetown, " - steubenville, ohio, - wellsburgh, va., - warren, ohio, - _wheeling_, va., - elizabethtown, " - sistersville, " - newport, ohio, - _marietta_, ohio - parkersburgh, va., - belpre, and blennerhassett's isl'd, o., - troy, ohio, - belleville, va., - letart's rapids, va., - point pleasant, " - gallipolis, ohio, - _guyandot_, va., - burlington, ohio, - greensburg, ky., - concord, ohio, - _portsmouth_, (ohio, canal,) - vanceburg, ky., - manchester, ohio, - _maysville_, ky., - charleston, " - ripley, ohio, - augusta, ky., - neville, ohio, - moscow, " - point pleasant, ohio - new richmond, " - columbia, " - fulton, " - cincinnati, ohio - north bend, " - lawrenceburgh, ia., and mouth of the miami, - aurora, ia., - petersburg, ky., - bellevue, " - rising sun, ia., - fredericksburgh, ky., - vevay, ia., and ghent, ky., - port william, ky., - madison, in., - new london, in., - bethlehem, " - westport, ky., - transylvania, ky., - louisville, ky., - shippingsport thro' the canal, -½- -½ new albany, in., -½- salt river, ky., - northampton, ia., - leavenworth, " - fredonia, " - rome, in., - troy, " - rockport, in., - owenburgh, ky., - _evansville_, ia., - henderson, ky., - mount vernon, ia., - carthage, ky., - wabash river, ky., - shawneetown, ill., - mouth of saline, ill., - cave in rock, " - golconda, " - _smithland_, mouth of the cumberland river, ky., - _paducah_, mouth of the tennessee river, ky., - caledonia, ill., - trinity, mouth of cash river, ill., - mouth of the ohio river, - persons who wish to visit indianopolis will stop at madison, ia., and take the stage conveyance. from louisville, via vincennes, to st. louis by stage, every alternate day, miles, through in three days and half. fare $ . stages run from vincennes to terre haute and other towns up the wabash river. at _evansville_, ia., stage lines are connected with vincennes and terre haute; and at _shawneetown_ twice a week to carlyle, ill., where it intersects the line from louisville to st. louis. from louisville to nashville by steamboats, passengers land at smithland at the mouth of cumberland river, unless they embark direct for nashville. in the _winter_ both stage and steamboat lines are uncertain and irregular. ice in the rivers frequently obstructs navigation, and high waters and bad roads sometimes prevent stages from running regularly. farmers who remove to the west from the northern and middle states, will find it advantageous in many instances to remove with their own teams and wagons. these they will need on their arrival. autumn, or from september till november, is the favorable season for this mode of emigration. the roads are then in good order, the weather usually favorable, and feed plenty. people of all classes from the states south of the ohio river, remove with large wagons, carry and cook their own provisions, purchase their feed by the bushel, and invariably _encamp out at night_. individuals who wish to travel through the interior of michigan, indiana, illinois, missouri, &c., will find that the most convenient, sure, economical and independent mode is on horseback. their expenses will be from cents to $ . per day, and they can always consult their own convenience and pleasure as to time and place. stage fare is usually cents per mile in the west. meals at stage houses, -½ cents. _steamboat fare, including meals._ from pittsburg to cincinnati, $ " cincinnati to louisville, " louisville to st. louis, and frequently the same from cincinnati to st. louis;--varying a little, however. a _deck_ passage, as it is called, may be rated as follows: from pittsburg to cincinnati, $ " cincinnati to louisville, " louisville to st. louis, the _deck_ for such passengers is usually in the midship, forward the engine, and is protected from the weather. passengers furnish their own provisions and bedding. they often take their meals at the cabin table, with the boat hands, and pay cents a meal. thousands pass up and down the rivers as deck passengers, especially emigrating families, who have their bedding, provisions, and cooking utensils on board. the whole expense of a single person from new york to st. louis, via. philadelphia and pittsburg, with cabin passage on the river, will range between $ and $ . time from to days. taking the transportation lines on the pennsylvania canal, and a deck passage on the steamboat, and the expenses will range between and $ , supposing the person buys his meals at cents, and eats twice a day. if he carry his own provisions, the passage, &c., will be from to $ . the following is from an advertisement of the _western transportation, or leech's line, from philadelphia_: miles. days. fare to pittsburg, -½ $ . " " cincinnati, -½ . " " louisville, -½ . " " nashville, -½ . " " st. louis, . the above does not include meals. _packet boats for cabin passengers, same line._ miles. days. fare to pittsburg, $ " " cincinnati, " " louisville, " " nashville, " " st. louis, emigrants and travellers will find it to their interest always to be a little sceptical relative to the statements of stage, steam and canal boat agents, to make some allowance in their own calculations for delays, difficulties and expenses, and above all, to _feel_ perfectly patient and in good humor with themselves, the officers, company, and the world, even if they do not move quite as rapid, and fare quite as well as they desire. errata. page , th line from the bottom, for _tau-mar-wans_, read tau-mar-waus. . for _milwankee_, read milwaukee. " for _fonti_, read tonti. gould, kendall & lincoln, publishers, booksellers, and stationers, washington st. boston. g. k. & l. keep a general assortment of books in the various departments of literature, science and theology.--among the many valuable works which they publish, are the following, for schools: wayland's elements of moral science. abridged and adapted to the use of schools and academies, by the author, francis wayland, d. d., president of brown university, and professor of moral philosophy. the publishers would respectfully request the attention of teachers and school committees to this valuable work; it has received the unqualified approbation of all who have examined it; and it is believed admirably calculated to exert a wholesome influence on the minds of the young. such an influence as will be likely to lead them to the formation of correct moral principles. roman antiquities and ancient mythology. by charles k. dillaway, a. m., principal in the boston public latin school. illustrated by elegant engravings. third edition, improved. this work is rapidly going into use all over our country; it is already introduced into most of our high schools and academies, and many of our colleges;--a new and beautiful edition has just been published. blake's natural philosophy, _new edition_, enlarged. being conversations on philosophy, with the addition of explanatory notes, questions for examination, and a dictionary of philosophical terms. with twenty-eight steel engravings. by rev. j. l. blake, a. m. perhaps no work has contributed so much as this to excite a fondness for the study of natural philosophy in youthful minds. the familiar comparisons with which it abounds, awaken interest, and rivet the attention of the pupil. it is introduced, with great success into the public schools in boston. blake's first book in astronomy. designed for the use of common schools. illustrated by steel plate engravings. by rev. j. l. blake, a. m. first lessons in intellectual philosophy; or, a familiar explanation of the nature and operations of the human mind. _second edition._ edited by rev. silas blaisdale. one volume, mo. pages. young ladies' class book. a selection of lessons for reading, in prose and verse. by ebenezer bailey, a. m., principal of the young ladies' high school, boston. thirteenth stereotype edition. in order to give this work a more extended circulation;--notwithstanding its sale is now great,--the publishers have determined to reduce the price, in order to remove every obstacle in the way of its being introduced into _all our female schools_ throughout the country. paley's theology. _eighth edition_, illustrated by forty plates, and selections from the notes of dr. paxton, with additional notes, original and selected, for this edition, with a vocabulary of scientific terms. edited by an eminent physician of boston. the class book of natural theology; or, the testimony of nature to the being, perfections and government of god. by the rev. henry fergus; revised, enlarged, and adapted to paxton's illustrations; with notes, selected and original, biographical notices, and a vocabulary of scientific terms. by charles henry alden, a. m., principal of the philadelphia high school for young ladies. the national arithmetic, combining the analytic and synthetic methods, in which the principles of arithmetic are explained in a perspicuous and familiar manner; containing also, practical systems of mensuration, gauging, geometry, and book-keeping, forming a complete mercantile arithmetic, designed for schools and academies in the united states. by benjamin greenleaf, a. m., preceptor of bradford academy. balbi's geography. an abridgment of universal geography, modern and ancient, chiefly compiled from the abrégé de geographie of adrian balbi. by t. g. bradford; accompanied by a splendid atlas, and illustrated by engravings. the above work contains pages mo. and is the most copious school geography yet offered to the public, and it is believed to be an important improvement, especially for the use of the higher schools and seminaries. it has received the sanction of all teachers who have examined it, and has been favorably noticed in many of our public journals. the atlas accompanying this work, contains thirty-six maps and charts,--and is confidently recommended as superior, in every respect, to any thing of the kind now in use. _religious works._ the complete works of the rev. andrew fuller, with a memoir of his life. by andrew gunton fuller, in two volumes. with a correct likeness. this valuable work is now published in two large octavo volumes, on fair type and fine paper, at a very low price. the cost of former editions ($ ) precluded many from possessing it. the publishers are gratified in being able to offer to the christian public a work so replete with doctrinal arguments and _practical_ religion, at a price that every minister and student may possess it. no christian can read fuller, without having his impulses to action quickened; and every student ought to _study_ him, if he wishes to arm himself against every enemy. campbell and fenelon on eloquence. comprising campbell's lectures on systematic theology and pulpit eloquence, &c. edited by prof. ripley, of newton theological institution. morris's memoirs of fuller. the life and character of the rev. andrew fuller edited by rev. rufus babcock, jr., president of waterville college. female scripture biography. including an essay on what christianity has done for women. by f. a. cox, d. d., ll. d., of london. in vols. this is a very interesting work, and should be in the hands of every female professor, and in every church and sabbath school library in the land. remains of rev. richard cecil, m. a. to which is prefixed a view of his character. by josiah pratt, b. d., f. a. s. church member's guide. by j. a. james, a. m., birmingham, england. edited by j. o. choules, a. m., pastor of the first baptist church in new bedford, mass. help to zion's travellers. by rev. robert hall. with a preface by dr. ryland. edited by rev. j. a. warne. the travels of true godliness. by the rev. benjamin keach, london. and a memoir of his life. by howard malcom. a. m. aids to devotion; in three parts. including watts' guide to prayer. [a very valuable and truly excellent work.] beauties of collyer. selections from theological lectures. by rev. w. b. collyer, d. d., f. s. a. baxter's saint's rest. by rev. richard baxter. abridged by b. fawcett, a. m. baxter's call to the unconverted, to which are added several valuable essays. by richard baxter. with an introductory essay. by thomas chalmers, d. d. the christian contemplated; in a course of lectures delivered in argyle chapel, bath, england. by william jay. memoirs of howard. compiled from his diary, his confidential letters, and other authentic documents. by james b. brown. abridged by a gentleman of boston, from the london quarto edition. the imitation of christ. in three books. by thomas à kempis. with an introductory essay, by thomas chalmers, of glasgow. an examination of prof. stuart on baptism. by henry j. ripley, professor of biblical literature in the newton theological institution. memoir of rev. wm. staughton, d. d. by rev. w. s. lynd, a.m., of cincinnati, ohio. embellished with a likeness. the thousands still living, who have listened with rapture to the messages of salvation that flowed from his lips; those gentlemen, who have been trained up by his hand for usefulness in society, and especially those whose gifts in the church he aided and cherished by his instructions, as well as the christian and literary public, will review his life with peculiar satisfaction. life of philip melancthon, comprising an account of the most important transactions of the reformation. by f. a. cox, d. d. ll. d., of london. from the second london edition, with important alterations, by the author, for this edition. memoir of mrs. ann h. judson, late missionary to burmah. new and enlarged edition including a history of the american baptist mission in the burman empire to the present time. by james d. knowles. embellished with engravings. new and improved edition, just published. memoir of george dana boardman, late missionary to burmah, containing much intelligence relative to the burman mission. by rev. alonzo king, of northborough, mass. with a valuable essay, by a distinguished clergyman. the rapid sale of the large edition of this work first published,--the increasing demand for it,--and the evident good which its circulation has accomplished, have induced the publishers to bestow much expense and labor upon it, in order to present the present edition in as complete and attractive a form as possible, with a view to giving it a still wider and more rapid circulation. a valuable essay of _thirty-five pages_, written at the request of the publishers has been added; and in addition to its having been handsomely stereotyped, a correct likeness of mr. boardman, taken on steel, from a painting in possession of the family, and a beautiful vignette representing the baptismal scene just before his death, have also been added. +-----------------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's note: | | | | inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the | | original document have been preserved. | | | | errata mentioned on page have been | | corrected in the text. | | | | typographical errors corrected in the text: | | | | page vii hut changed to but | | page x mitchel's changed to mitchell's | | page steril changed to sterile | | page wos-sosh-e changed to wos-sosh-ee | | page chesnut changed to chestnut | | page persimon changed to persimmon | | page paupau changed to pawpaw | | page pecaun changed to pecan | | page turkies changed to turkeys | | page steril changed to sterile | | page harrassed changed to harassed | | page farenheit changed to fahrenheit | | page chein chanaged to chien | | page occacasionally changed to occasionally | | page journies changed to journeys | | page poineer chainged to pioneer | | page saginau changed to saginaw | | page territoriesr changed to territories | | page chilicothe changed to chillicothe | | page miueral changed to mineral | | page chilicothe changed to chillicothe | | page punchas changed to puncahs | | page fonti's changed to tonti's | | page artizans changed to artisans | | page it changed to its | | page considerble changed to considerable | | page bowlinggreen changed to bowling green | | page missisinewa changed to missisinawa | | page missasinawa changed to missisinawa | | page pecaun changed to pecan | | page pecaun changed to pecan | | page gophars changed to gophers | | page gophar changed to gopher | | page macoupin changed to macoupen | | page attornies changed to attorneys | | page lorrain changed to lorain | | page circumstanses changed to circumstances | | page accomodation changed to accommodation | | page masillon changed to massillon | | page charlottsville changed to charlottesville | | page guiandotte changed to guyandotte | | page juniatta changed to juniata | | page holladaysburgh changed to hollidaysburgh | | page guaging changed to gauging | +-----------------------------------------------------+ file was produced from images generously made available by the kentuckiana digital library) [illustration: the house of general harrison at vincennes, ind., as it now appears.] the land of the miamis by elmore barce member of the state and national bar associations member indiana state historical society author "land of the potawatomi" [illustration] an account of the struggle to secure possession of the north-west from the end of the revolution until . fowler, indiana the benton review shop copyrighted, , by the benton review shop, fowler, ind. photos and maps by lieut. don heaton dedicated to carrie may barce my wife. table of contents a brief retrospect--_a general view of the indian wars of the early northwest_ what the virginians gave us--_a topographical description of the country north of the ohio at the close of revolutionary war_ the beaver trade--_a description of the wealth in furs of this section at the close of the revolutionary war and the reasons underlying the struggle for its control_ the prairie and the buffalo--_the buffalo as the main food supply of the indians_ the wabash and the maumee--_chief line of communication with the tribes of the early northwest. the heart of the miami country_ the tribes of the northwest--_a description of the seven tribes of savages who opposed the advance of settlement in the northwest. their location. kekionga, the seat of miami power_ real savages--_the savage painted in his true colors from the standpoint of the frontiersman_ our indian policy--_the indian right of occupancy recognized through the liberal policy of washington and jefferson_ the kentuckians--_the first men to break through the mountain barriers to face the british and the indians_ the british policies--_the british reluctant to surrender the control of the northwest--their tampering with the indian tribes_ josiah harmar--_the first military invasion of the northwest by the federal government after the revolution_ scott and wilkinson--_the kentucky raids on the miami country along the wabash in _ st. clair's defeat--_the first great disaster to the federal armies brought about by the miamis_ wayne and fallen timbers--_final triumph of the government over indians and british_ the treaty of greenville--_the surrender of the ohio lands of the miamis and their final submission to the government_ governor harrison and the treaty--_purchase of the miami lands known as the new purchase which led to the strengthening of tecumseh's confederacy--the final struggle at tippecanoe_ results of the treaty--_harrison's political enemies at vincennes rally against him in the open, and are defeated in the courts_ the shawnee brothers--_the prophet as an indian priest and tecumseh as a political organizer --the episode of the eclipse of --tecumseh's personal appearance described_ prophet's town--_the capital of the shawnee confederacy in the heart of the miami country_ harrison's vigilance--_his political courage and activities save the frontier capital_ the council at vincennes--_the dramatic meeting between harrison and tecumseh-- tecumseh announces his doctrine of the common ownership of the indian lands_ the second and last council--_the last meeting between the two leaders before harrison marched into the indian country_ the muster and the march--_the rally of the kentuckians and their clansmen in southern indiana to harrison's support--the coming of the fourth united states regiment--the march to the tippecanoe battlefield_ the battle of tippecanoe--_the night attack on harrison's forces--the destruction of tecumseh's confederacy_ naylor's narrative--_a description of the battle by one of the volunteers_ list of maps and illustrations. page . the home of general william henry harrison, at vincennes, as it now appears frontispiece . a section of the grand prairie in benton county, indiana, which extends west to peoria, illinois . a typical buffalo wallow on the donaldson farm, in benton county, indiana . the wabash river at merom bluff, sullivan county, indiana--lamotte prairie beyond . location of the indian tribes of the northwest . shaubena, the best of the potawatomi chiefs, and a follower of tecumseh . thomas jefferson, third president of the united states . map of the harmar, st. clair and wayne campaigns . map showing the wea plains, and the line of scott's march. tippecanoe county, indiana . indian hills on the wabash river, just below the old site of fort ouiatenon . general anthony wayne and little turtle, at greenville. from an old painting by one of wayne's staff . governor william henry harrison . another view of the wabash. a land of great beauty . raccoon creek, parke county, indiana. the north line of the new purchase . the line of harrison's march to tippecanoe and the new purchase of . pine creek, in warren county, indiana, near the place where harrison crossed . judge isaac naylor. from an old portrait in the court room at williamsport, indiana preface in presenting this book to the general public, it is the intention of the author to present a connected story of the winning of the northwest, including the indian wars during the presidency of general washington, following this with an account of the harrison-tecumseh conflict in the early part of the nineteenth century, ending with the battle of tippecanoe. the story embraces all of the early efforts of the republic of the united states to take possession of the northwest territory, acquired from great britain by the treaty of closing the revolutionary war. the whole western country was a wilderness filled with savage tribes of great ferocity, and they resisted every effort of the government to advance its outposts. back of them stood the agents of england who had retained the western posts of detroit, niagara, oswego, michillimacinac and other places in order to command the lucrative fur trade, and who looked upon the advance of the american traders and settlers with jealousy and alarm. they encouraged the savages in their resistance, furnished them with arms and ammunition, and at times covertly aided them with troops and armed forces. in other words, this is a part of that great tale of the winning of the west. we are well aware that there is a very respectable school of historians who insist that the british took no part in opposing the american advance, but the cold and indisputable facts of history, the words of washington himself, contradict this view. england never gave up the idea of retrieving her lost possessions in the western country until the close of the war of . an attempt has also been made in this work to present some of the great natural advantages of the northwest; its wealth of furs and peltries, and its easy means of communication with the british posts. the leading tribes inhabiting its vast domain, the indian leaders controlling the movements of the warriors, and the respective schemes of brant and tecumseh to form an indian confederacy to drive the white man back across the ohio, are all dwelt upon. the writer is confessedly partial to the western frontiersmen. the part that the kentuckians played in the conquest of the northwest is set forth at some length. the foresight of washington and jefferson, the heroism of logan, kenton, boone and scott and their followers, play a conspicuous part. the people of the eastern states looked with some disdain upon the struggles of the western world. they gave but scanty support to the government in its attempts to subdue the indian tribes, voted arms and supplies with great reluctance, and condemned the borderers as savages and barbarians. there is no attempt to condemn the eastern people for their shortsightedness in this regard, but after all, that is the term exactly applicable. the west was won despite their discouragement, and the empire beyond the mountains was conquered notwithstanding their opposition. william henry harrison has been condemned without mercy. much of this hostile criticism has proceeded from his political enemies. they have distorted the plain facts of history in order to present the arguments of faction. harrison was the greatest man in the western world after george rogers clark. the revelations of history justify his suspicion of the british. the people of the west were alone undeceived. the general was always popular west of the alleghenies and justly so. tecumseh and the prophet were, after all is said, the paid agents of the english government, and received their inspiration from detroit. jefferson knew all these facts well, and so wrote to john adams. jefferson's heart beat for the western people, and throughout the whole conflict he stood stoutly on the side of harrison. we recognize the fact that we have done but poorly. out of the great mass of broken and disconnected material, however, we have attempted to arrange a connected whole. we submit the volume with many misgivings and pray the indulgence of the reading public. we have endeavored at all times to quote nothing that we did not deem authentic, and have presented no fact that is not based on written records. we desire to express our appreciation of the valuable help afforded by the state library people at indianapolis, by prof. logan esarey of indiana university, who kindly loaned us the original harrison letters, and by ray jones and don heaton of fowler, indiana, who were untiring in their efforts to give us all the assistance within their power. e. b. chapter i a brief retrospect --_a general view of the indian wars of the early northwest._ the memories of the early prairies, filled with vast stretches of waving grasses, made beautiful by an endless profusion of wild flowers, and dotted here and there with pleasant groves, are ineffaceable. for the boy who, barefooted and care-free, ranged over these plains, in search of adventure, they always possessed an inexpressible charm and attraction. these grassy savannas have now passed away forever. glorious as they were, a greater marvel has been wrought by the untiring hand of man. where the wild flowers bloomed, great fields of grain ripen, and vast gardens of wheat and corn, interspersed with beautiful towns and villages, greet the eye of the traveler. "the prairies of illinois and indiana were born of water, and preserved by fire for the children of civilized men, who have come and taken possession of them." in the last half of the eighteenth century, great herds of buffalo grazed here, attracting thither the wandering bands of the potawatomi, who came from the lakes of the north. gradually these hardy warriors and horse tribes drove back the miamis to the shores of the wabash, and took possession of all that vast plain, extending east of the illinois river, and north of the wabash into the present confines of the state of michigan. their squaws cultivated corn, peas, beans, squashes and pumpkins, but the savage bands lived mostly on the fruits of the chase. their hunting trails extended from grove to grove, and from lake to river. reliable indian tradition informs us that about the year , the herds of bison disappeared from the plains east of the mississippi. the deer and the raccoon remained for some years later, but from the time of the disappearance of the buffalo, the power of the tribes was on the wane. the advance of the paleface and the curtailment of the supply of game, marked the beginning of the savage decline. the constant complaint of the tribes to general william henry harrison, the first military governor of indiana, was the lack of both game and peltries. from the first the indians of the northwest were pro-british. following the revolutionary war they accepted the overtures of england's agents and traders, and the end of the long trail was always at detroit. the motives of these agents were purely mercenary. they were trespassers on the american side of the line, for england had agreed to surrender all the posts within the new territory by the treaty of . the thing coveted was the trade in beaver, deer and raccoon skins. in order that this might be done, the americans must be kept south of the ohio. the tribes were taught to regard the crossing of the alleghenies as a direct attempt to dispossess them of their native soil. to excite their savage hatred and jealousy it was pointed out that a constant stream of keel-boats, loaded with men, women, children and cattle, were descending the ohio; that kentucky's population was multiplying by thousands, and that the restless swarm of settlers and land hunters, if not driven back, would soon fill the whole earth. driven as they were by rage and fear, all attempts at treaty with these savages were in vain. the miamis, the potawatomi and the shawnees lifted the hatchet, and rushed to the attack of both keel-boats and settlements. the wars that followed in the administration of george washington are well known. back of them all stood the sinister figure of the english trader. harmar was defeated at miamitown, now fort wayne; st. clair's army was annihilated on the head waters of the wabash. for a time the government seemed prostrate, and all attempts to conquer the savages in their native woods, futile. but finally general anthony wayne, the hero of stony point, was sent to the west. he was a fine disciplinarian and a fearless fighter. at the battle of fallen timbers, in , he broke the power of the northwestern indian confederacy, and in the following year forced the tribes into the treaty of greenville. on july th, , the british, under the terms of jay's treaty, evacuated the post of detroit, and it passed into the hands of its rightful owners, the american people. well had it been for the red men, if, with this passing of the british, all further communication with the agents of great britain had ceased. already had the tribes acquired a rich legacy of hate. their long intercourse and alliance with the english; their terrible inroads with fire and tomahawk, on the settlements of kentucky; their shocking barbarities along the ohio, had enraged the hearts of all fighting men south of that river. but the british in retiring from american soil had passed over to malden, near the mouth of the detroit river. communication with the tribes of the northwest was still kept up, and strenuous efforts made to monopolize their trade. at last came tecumseh and the prophet, preaching a regeneration of the tribes, and a renewal of the contest for the possession of the lands northwest of the ohio. all past treaties were to be disregarded as impositions and frauds, and the advance of the paleface permanently checked. the joy of the british agents knew no bounds. disregarding all the dictates of conscience and even the welfare of the tribes themselves, they whispered in the ears of the wyandots of sandusky and began to furnish ammunition and rifles. as a result of this fatal policy the breach between the united states and the indian confederates was measurably widened. the end was tippecanoe, and the eternal enmity of the hunters and riflemen of southern indiana and kentucky who followed general harrison on that day. one of the ghastly sights of that sanguinary struggle, was the scalping by the white men of the indian slain, and the division of their scalps among the soldiers after they had been cut into strips. these bloody trophies were carried back to the settlements along the ohio and wabash to satisfy the hatred of all those who had lost women and children in the many savage forays of the past. with the death of tecumseh at the battle of the thames and the termination of british influence in the west, the tribes soon surrendered up their ancient demesne, and most of them were removed beyond the mississippi. the most populous of all the tribes north of the wabash were the roving potawatomi, and their final expulsion from the old hunting grounds occurred under the direction of colonel abel c. pepper and general john tipton, the latter a hero of the battle of tippecanoe, and later appointed as indian commissioner. at that time the remnants of the scattered bands from north of the wabash amounted to only one thousand souls of all ages and sexes. the party under military escort passed eight or nine miles west of the city of lafayette, probably over the level land east of the present site of otterbein, indiana. thus vanished the red men. in their day, however, they had been the undoubted lords of the plain, following their long trails in single file over the great prairies, and camping with their dogs, women and children in the pleasant groves and along the many streams. they were savages, and have left no enduring temple or lofty fane behind them, but their names still cling to many streams, groves and towns, and a few facts gleaned from their history cannot fail to be of interest to us, who inherit their ancient patrimony. chapter ii what the virginians gave us --_a topographical description of the country north of the ohio at the close of the revolutionary war._ in the early councils of the republic the stalwart sons of virginia exercised a preponderating influence. as men of broad national conceptions, who were unafraid to strike a decisive blow in the interests of freedom, they were unexcelled. saratoga had already been won, but at the back door of the newborn states was a line of british posts in the valleys of the wabash and mississippi and at detroit, that stood ready to pour forth a horde of naked savages on the frontier settlements of the west and bring murder and destruction to the aid of england's cause. in december, , george rogers clark came from kentucky. he laid before patrick henry, the governor of virginia, a bold plan for the reduction of these posts and the removal of the red menace. into his councils the governor called george wythe, george mason and thomas jefferson. an expedition was then and there set on foot that gave the nation its first federal domain for the erection of new republican states. with a lot of worthless paper money in his pocket, and about one hundred and seventy-five hunting shirt men from virginia and kentucky, clark marched across the prairies of southern illinois, and captured kaskaskia. later he took vincennes. thus by the cool enterprise and daring of this brave man, he laid the foundation for the subsequent negotiations of , that gave the northwest territory to the united states of america. the country thus conquered covered more than two hundred and forty-four thousand square miles of the earth's surface, and comprised what are now the states of indiana, illinois, ohio, michigan and wisconsin. within its confines were boundless plains and prairies filled with grass; immense forests of oak, hickory, walnut, pine, beech and fir; enormous hidden treasures of coal, iron and copper. add to all these natural resources, a fertile soil, a temperate climate, and unlimited facilities for commerce and trade, and no field was ever presented to the hand and genius of man, better adapted to form the homes and habitations of a free and enterprising people. this was known and appreciated by the noble minds of washington and jefferson, even at that day, and they above all other men of their times, saw most clearly the great vision of the future. at the close of the revolution, however, only a few scattered posts, separated by hundreds of miles, were to be found. detroit, michillimacinac, vincennes, kaskaskia and a few minor trading points, told the whole tale. kentucky could boast of a few thousands, maintaining themselves by dauntless courage and nerves of steel against british and indians, but all north of the ohio was practically an unbroken wilderness, inhabited by the fiercest bands of savages then in existence, with the possible exception of the iroquois. over this territory, and to gain control of these tribes, england and france had waged a long and bitter conflict, and the gage of battle had been the monopoly of the fur trade. the welfare of the savages was regarded but little; they were the pawns in the game. the great end to be acquired was the disposal of their rich peltries. no country was more easily accessible to the early voyageurs and french fur traders. it was bounded on the north and northeast by the chain of the great lakes, on the south by the ohio, and on the west by the mississippi. the heads of the rivers and streams that flowed into these great watercourses and lakes were connected by short portages, so that the indian trapper or hunter could carry his canoe for a few miles and pass from the waters that led to lake michigan or lake erie, into the streams that fed the mississippi or the ohio. the headwaters of the muskingum and its tributaries interlocked with those of the cuyahoga; the headwaters of the scioto with those of the sandusky; the headwaters of the great miami with those of the wabash and the st. marys. in northern indiana another remarkable system of portages appeared. the canoes of the traders were carried some eight or ten miles from the little wabash to the maumee, placing the command of the whole wabash country in the hands of the detroit merchants. the sources of the tippecanoe were connected by portages with the waters of the st. joseph of lake michigan, and a like connection existed between the waters of the tippecanoe and the waters of the kankakee. these portages were, as general harrison observes, "much used by the indians and sometimes by traders." lasalle passed from lake michigan to the waters of the st. joseph, thence up that river to a portage of three miles in what is now st. joseph county, indiana, thence by said portage to the headwaters of the kankakee, and down that river to the illinois. at the post of chicago the traders crossed from lake michigan by a very short portage into the headwaters of the illinois, and general harrison says that in the spring, the boats with their loading "passed freely from one to the other." in michigan the heads of the streams that flowed into lake huron interlocked with the heads of those that went down to lake michigan. in wisconsin, the voyageurs passed from green bay up the fox river to lake winnebago, thence by the fox again to the portage between the fox and wisconsin, thence down the wisconsin river to the mississippi. through this important channel of trade passed nine-tenths of the goods that supplied the indians above the illinois river and those in upper louisiana. this great network of lakes, rivers and portages was in turn connected by the waterways of the ottawa and the st. lawrence, with the great head and center of all the fur trade of the western world, the city of montreal. the only practicable means of communication was by the canoe. most of the territory of the northwest, being, as general harrison observes, "remarkably flat, the roads were necessarily bad in winter, and in the summer the immense prairies to the west and north of this, produced such a multitude of flies as to render it impossible to make use of pack horses." bogs, marshes and sloughs in endless number added to the difficulties of travel. hence it was, that the power that commanded the lakes and water courses of the northwest, commanded at the same time all the fur trade and the indian tribes in the interior. france forever lost this control to great britain at the peace of , closing the french and indian war, and at the close of the revolution it passed to us by the definitive treaty of . the importance of the posts of detroit and michillimacinac, forming the chief connecting links between the northwest and the city of montreal, now fully appears. first in importance was detroit. it commanded all the valuable beaver country of northern ohio and indiana, southern michigan, and of the rivers entering lakes erie and huron. the trade coming from the cuyahoga, the sandusky, the tributaries of the miami and scioto, the wabash and the maumee, all centered here. the french traders, and after them the british, did a vast and flourishing business with the savages, trading them brandy, guns, ammunition, blankets, vermilion and worthless trinkets for furs of the highest value. the significance of the old trading posts at miamitown (fort wayne), petit piconne (tippecanoe), ouiatenon, and vincennes, as feeders for this detroit market by way of the wabash and maumee valleys, is also made plain. a glimpse of the activities at miamitown (fort wayne), in the winter of - , while it was still under the domination of the british, shows the miamis, shawnees and potawatomi coming in with otter, beaver, bear skins and other peltry, the presence of a lot of unscrupulous, cheating french traders, who were generally drunk when assembled together, and who took every advantage of each other, and of the destitute savages with whom they were trading. at that time the french half-breeds (and traders) of the names of jean cannehous, jacque dumay, jean coustan and others were trading with the indians at petit piconne, or tippecanoe, and all this trade was routed through by way of the wabash, the portage at miamitown, and the maumee, to detroit. the traders at ouiatenon, who undoubtedly enjoyed the advantage of the beaver lake trade in northwestern indiana, by way of the potawatomi trail from the wabash to lake michigan, were also in direct communication with the merchants of detroit, and depended upon them. it is interesting to observe in passing, that the rendezvous of the french traders at the petit piconne (termed by general charles scott, as keth-tip-e-ca-nunk), was broken up by a detachment of kentucky mounted volunteers under general james wilkinson, in the summer of , and utterly destroyed. one who accompanied the expedition stated that there were then one hundred and twenty houses at this place, eighty of which were shingled; that the best houses belonged to french traders; and that the gardens and improvements around the place were delightful; that there was a tavern located there, with cellars, a bar, and public and private rooms. thus far had the fur trade advanced in the old days. chapter iii the beaver trade --_a description of the wealth in furs of this section at the close of the revolutionary war and the reasons of the struggle for its control._ perhaps no country ever held forth greater allurement to savage huntsmen and french voyageurs than the territory acquired by clark's conquest. its rivers and lakes teemed with edible fish; its great forests abounded with deer, elk, bears and raccoons; its vast plains and prairies were filled with herds of buffalo that existed up almost to the close of the eighteenth century; every swamp and morass was filled with countless thousands of geese, ducks, swan and cranes, and rodents like the beaver and other animals furnished the red man with the warmest of raiment in the coldest winter. to give some idea of the vast wealth of this domain in fur bearing animals alone, it may be taken into account that in the year the american fur company, under the control of john jacob astor, with headquarters at mackinaw, had in its employ about four hundred clerks and traders, together with about two thousand french voyageurs, who roamed all the rivers and lakes of the indian country from the british dominions on the north, to as far west as the missouri river. astor had established a great fur business in direct competition with the british northwest company and commanded attention in both london and china. the "outfits" of this company had trading posts on the illinois, and all its tributaries; on the muskegon, grand, kalamazoo and other rivers in michigan; on the line of the old potawatomi trail from the wabash country to post chicago, and in the neighborhood of the beaver lake region in northern indiana, and at many other points. the furs handled by them consisted of the marten (sable), mink, musk-rat, raccoon, lynx, wildcat, fox, wolverine, badger, otter, beaver, bears and deer, of which the most valuable were those of the silver-gray fox and the marten. the value of these furs mounted into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and they were originally all consigned to new york. for these interesting observations history lovers are indebted to the autobiography of the late gurdon s. hubbard of chicago, who was, in his youth, in the employ of astor, and who later in his lifetime conducted a trading post at bunkum, now iroquois, in iroquois county, illinois. it has been estimated that in the days of england's control of canada and of all the northwest territory, that more than half in value of all the furs exported "came from countries within the new boundaries of the united states," that is, from the district north and west of the ohio river. of all the fur-bearers, the most interesting were the beavers. how much these industrious gnawers had to do with the french and indian wars and the rivalry between england and france for the control of their domain north of the ohio, is not generally appreciated. an animal that could be instrumental in part, in bringing about an armed conflict between the two greatest powers of that day, should not be entirely eliminated from history. at the time of braddock's defeat, colonel james smith, then a boy, was captured by what seems to have been a party of the caughnawaga indians, some of whom lived along the rivers and streams in northern ohio. he lived among the savages for some years and was adopted into one of their families. later in life, he left a written account of many of his experiences, and among other things he tells us some interesting things concerning the beavers. "beavers," says caleb atwater, an ohio historian, "were once here in large numbers on the high lands at the heads of the rivers, but with those who caught them, they have long since disappeared from among us." before the revolution, and for some years afterward, they were caught by the indians in great numbers. smith had a valuable friend among the indians by the name of tecaughretanego. he was quite a philosopher in his way, but he was rather inclined to believe, like most of his fellows, that geese turned to beavers and snakes to raccoons. he told smith of a certain pond where he knew all the beavers were frequently killed during a hunting season, but they were just as thick again on the following winter. there was seemingly no water communication with this pond, and beavers did not travel by land. therefore it must be that the geese that alighted here in great numbers during the fall, turned to beavers, and for proof of this assertion the indian called smith's attention to their palmated hind feet. the boy suggested that there might be subterranean passages leading to this pond, whereby the beavers could gain access to it, but tecaughretanego was not entirely convinced. in conversation with his indian friend smith happened to say that beavers caught fish. the indian laughed at him, and told him that beavers ate flesh of no kind, but lived on the bark of trees, roots, and other growing things. "i asked him," said smith, "if the beaver was an amphibious animal, or if it could live under water? he said that the beaver was a kind of subterraneous water animal, that lives in or near the water, but they were no more amphibious than the ducks and geese were--which was constantly proven to be the case, as all the beavers that are caught in steel traps are drowned, provided the trap be heavy enough to keep them under water. as the beaver does not eat fish, i inquired of tecaughretanego why the beavers made such large dams? he said they were of use to them in various respects, both for their safety and food. for their safety, as by raising the water over the mouths of their holes, or subterraneous lodging places, they could not be easily found; and as the beaver feeds chiefly on the barks of trees, by raising the water over the banks, they can cut down saplings for bark to feed upon, without going out much upon the land; and when they are obliged to go out upon land for this food they frequently are caught by the wolves. as the beaver can run upon land but little faster than a water tortoise, and is no fighting animal, if they are any distance from the water they become an easy prey to their enemies." the indians caught great numbers of beavers by hunting and trapping. in the winter time when they found the beavers in their houses, they first broke up all the thin ice around about, and then by breaking into the houses, drove the beavers into the water. being soon forced to come to the surface to take the air, the indians commonly reached in and caught them by the hind legs, dragged them out on the ice and tomahawked them. not only were the furs and skins utilized, but the flesh as well. smith describes the meat as being a "delicious fare." in the days before the savages were corrupted by the french and english traders, they possessed a wonderful skill in dressing the skins of the buffalo, the bear and the beaver. beaver and raccoon skin blankets were made "pliant, warm and durable." says heckewelder, the moravian missionary, "they sew together as many of these skins as are necessary, carefully setting the hair or fur all the same way, so that the blanket or covering be smooth, and the rain do not penetrate, but run off." in the later days, however, the beaver proved to be more of a curse than a blessing. the indian then wore the european blanket, and bartered his valuable furs away for whiskey and brandy. the riotous scenes of drunkenness, debauchery and murder became unspeakable. to detroit the indians swarmed from the shores of erie and all the rivers in the interior. hunting for weeks and months and enduring privation, suffering and toil, they came in at last with their women and children to buy rifles, ammunition and clothing. here mingled the miami, the potawatomi, the ottawa and the wyandot; a motley gathering of all the tribes. in the end the result was always the same, and always pitiful. the traders came with the lure of fire water, and when they departed the indians were left drunken and destitute and often with death, disease and wounds in their midst. smith gives a vivid description of one of their orgies at detroit as follows: "at length a trader came to town (the indian camp) with french brandy. we purchased a keg of it, and held a council about who was to get drunk, and who was to keep sober. i was invited to get drunk, but i refused the proposal. then they told me i must be one of those who were to take care of the drunken people. i did not like this, but of the two evils i chose that which i thought was the least, and fell in with those who were to conceal the arms, and keep every dangerous weapon we could out of their way, and endeavor, if possible, to keep the drinking club from killing each other, which was a very hard task. several times we hazarded our lives, and got ourselves hurt, in preventing them from slaying each other. before they had finished the keg, near one-third of the town was introduced to this drinking club; they could not pay their part, as they had already disposed of all their skins; but they made no odds, all were welcome to drink." "when they were done with the keg, they applied to the traders, and procured a kettle full of brandy at a time, which they divided out with a large wooden spoon--and so they went on and on and never quit whilst they had a single beaver skin. when the trader had got all our beaver, he moved off to the ottawa town, about a mile above the wyandot town." "when the brandy was gone, and the drinking club sober, they appeared much dejected. some of them were crippled, others badly wounded. a number of the fine new shirts were torn, and several blankets burned. a number of squaws were also in this club, and neglected their corn planting." "we could now hear the effects of the brandy in the ottawa town. they were singing and yelling in the most hideous manner, both night and day; but their frolic ended worse than ours; five ottawas were killed, and a great many wounded." the marshes, lakes, rivers and small streams of northern ohio and indiana, and of the whole of michigan and wisconsin, abounded with the homes and habitations of the beavers. behind them, as a memorial of their old days, they have left the names of creeks, towns, townships and even counties. the beaver lake region of northern indiana has a beaver "lake," a beaver "township," a beaver "creek," a beaver "city," and a beaverville to its credit. the history of vigo and parke counties, indiana, by beckwith, chapter twenty, at page , recites that beavers existed along all the small lakes and lesser river courses in northern indiana, they were plentiful in dekalb, marshall, elkhart, cass. white and steuben. it is well known that their dams existed in large numbers in newton and jasper, and in practically all the indiana counties north of the wabash river. the above regions, with their wealth of peltries, england meant to hold as long as possible against the american advance, and she succeeded in doing so for twelve long years after the revolution had closed. chapter iv the prairie and the buffalo --_the buffalo as the main food supply of the indians._ to describe all the wonders in the interior of the northwest would be a serious, if not an impossible task. the grand prairie, however, stands alone. it was one of the marvels of creation, resembling the ocean as nothing else did, making men who saw, never forget. on sunday, the third day of november, , general harrison's army, with scouts in front, and wagons lumbering along between the flanks, crossed the big vermilion river, in vermilion county, indiana, traversed sand prairie and the woods to the north of it, and in the afternoon of the same day caught their first glimpse of the grand prairie, in warren county, then wet with the cold november rains. that night they camped in round grove, near the present town of sloan, marched eighteen miles across the prairie the next day, and camped on the east bank of pine creek, just north of the old site of brier's mills. to the most of them, the sight must have been both novel and grand; if they could have known then that the vast undulating plain before them stretched westward in unbroken grandeur, a distance of two hundred and fifty miles to the mississippi river at quincy; that these vast possessions in a few short years would pass from the control of the savage tribes that roamed over them, and would become the future great granaries of the world, producing enough cereals to feed an empire, what must have been their thoughts? the magnitude of this great plain, now teeming with thousands of homes and farms, is seldom realized. draw a straight line west from old fort vincennes to the mississippi, and practically all north of it, to the wisconsin line, is the grand prairie. "westward of the wabash, except occasional tracts of timbered lands in northern indiana and fringes of forest growth along the intervening water courses, the prairies stretch westward continuously across indiana, and the whole of illinois to the mississippi. taking the line of the wabash railway, which crosses illinois in its greatest breadth, and beginning in indiana, where the railway leaves the timber, west of the wabash near marshfield (in warren county), the prairie extends to quincy, a distance of more than two hundred and fifty miles, and its continuity the entire way is only broken by four strips of timber along four streams running at right angles with the route of the railway, namely, the timber on the vermilion river between danville and the indiana state line; the sangamon, seventy miles west of danville, near decatur; the sangamon again a few miles east of springfield, and the illinois river at meredosia, and all the timber at the crossing of these several streams, if put together, would not aggregate fifteen miles, against the two hundred and fifty miles of prairie. taking a north and south direction and parallel with the drainage of the rivers, one could start near ashley, on the illinois central railway, in washington county, and going northward, nearly on an air line, keeping on the divide between kaskaskia and little wabash, the sangamon and the vermilion, the iroquois and the vermilion of the illinois, crossing the latter stream between the mouths of the fox and dupage, and travel through to the state of wisconsin, a distance of nearly three hundred miles, without encountering five miles of timber during the whole journey." all that portion of indiana lying north and west of the wabash, is essentially a part of the grand prairie. "of the twenty-seven counties in indiana, lying wholly or partially west and north of the wabash, twelve are prairie, seven are mixed prairies, barrens and timber, the barrens and prairie predominating. in five, the barrens, with the prairies, are nearly equal to the timber, while only three of the counties can be characterized as heavily timbered. and wherever timber does occur in these twenty-seven counties, it is found in localities favorable to its protection against the ravages of fire, by the proximity of intervening lakes, marshes or watercourses." on the indiana side, the most pronounced of the tracts of prairie occur in western warren, benton, southern and central newton, southern jasper, and western white and tippecanoe. benton was originally covered with a great pampas of blue-stem, high as a horse's head, interspersed here and there with swamps of willows and bull grass, while only narrow fringes of timber along the creeks, and some five or six groves of timber and woodland, widely scattered, served as land marks to the early traveler. those who early observed and explored the grassy savannas of indiana and illinois, always maintained that they were kept denuded of trees and forests by the action of the great prairie fires. among those who have supported this theory are the hon. james hall, author of "the west," published in cincinnati in ; the hon. john reynolds, former governor of the state of illinois, and the hon. john d. caton, a late judge of the supreme court of illinois. caton's observations on this subject are so interesting and ingenious that we cannot refrain from making the following quotation: "the cause of the absence of trees on the upland prairies is the problem most important to the agricultural interests of our state, and it is the inquiry which alone i propose to consider, but cannot resist the remark that wherever we do find timber throughout the broad field of prairie, it is always in or near the humid portions of it, as along the margins of streams, or upon or near the springy uplands. many most luxurious growths are found in the highest portions of the uplands, but always in the neighborhood of water. for a remarkable example, i may refer to the great chain of groves extending from and including the au sable grove on the east and holderman's grove on the west, in kendall county, occupying the high divide between the waters of the illinois and the fox rivers. in and around all the groves flowing springs abound, and some of them are separated by marshes, to the borders of which the great trees approach, as if the forests were ready to seize upon each yard of ground as soon as it is elevated above the swamps. indeed, all our groves seem to be located where the water is so disposed as to protect them, to a greater or less extent, from the prairie fire, although not so situated as to irrigate them. if the head waters of the streams on the prairies are most frequently without timber, as soon as they have attained sufficient volume to impede the progress of fires, with very few exceptions, we find forests on their borders, becoming broader and more vigorous as the magnitude of the streams increase. it is manifest that the lands located on the borders of streams which the fire cannot pass, are only exposed to one-half the fires to which they would be exposed, but for such protection. this tends to show, at least, that if but one-half the fires that have occurred had been kindled, the arboraceous growth could have withstood their destructive influences, and the whole surface of what is now prairie would be forest. another confirmatory fact, patent to all observers, is, that the prevailing winds upon the prairies, especially in the autumn, are from the west, and these give direction to the fires. consequently, the lands on the westerly sides of the streams are the most exposed to the fires, and, as might be expected, we find much the most timber on the easterly sides of the streams." [illustration: a section of the grand prairie in benton county, indiana, which extends west to peoria, illinois.] local observation in benton county, indiana, which is purely prairie throughout, would seem to confirm the judge's view. parish grove, on the old chicago road, was filled with springs, and a rather large spring on the west side of the grove, supplied water for the horses of the emigrants and travelers who took this route to the northwest in the early 's. besides this, the grove was situated on rather high uplands, where the growth of grass would be much shorter than on the adjoining plain. it is probable that this spring on the west side, and the springy nature of the highlands back of it, kept the ground moist and the vegetation green, and these facts, coupled with the fact that the grass as it approached the uplands, would grow shorter, probably retarded and checked the prairie fires from the southwest, and gave rise to the wonderfully diversified and luxuriant growth of trees that was the wonder of the early settler. sugar grove, seven miles to the northwest of parish grove, and a stopping place on the old chicago road, lay mostly within the point or headland caused by the juncture of sugar creek from the northeast, and mud creek from the southeast. scarcely a tree is on the southwestern bank of mud creek, but where it widens on the south side of the grove, it protected the growth of the forest on the northern side. turkey foot grove, east and south of earl park, formerly had a lake and depression both on the south and west sides of it. hickory grove, just west of fowler, in the early days, had a lake or pond on the south and west. the timber that skirted the banks of pine creek, was heaviest on the eastern side. the headwaters of sugar, pine and mud creeks, being small and narrow, were entirely devoid of trees on their banks, but as they flowed on and acquired strength and volume, a skirt of forest appeared. the grand prairie, the home of the ancient illinois tribe, the sacs and foxes, the kickapoos, and the prairie potawatomi, was also the home of the buffalo, or wild cow of america. no story either of the northwest or its indian tribes would be complete without mention of the bison. think of the sight that brigadier general harmar saw on the early prairies of illinois, when marching from vincennes to kaskaskia, in november ! with him the miami chief, pachan (pecan) and a comrade, killing wild game for the soldiers; before him stretching the vastness of the prairie, "like the ocean, as far as the eye can see, the view terminated by the horizon;" here and there the herds of deer and buffalo far in the distance. for centuries before the advent of the white man the buffalo herds roamed the plain. the savage, with no weapon in his hands, save rudely chipped pieces of stone, was unable to reduce their numbers. with the coming of firearms and the rifle the buffalo passed rapidly away. in the seventeenth and the early part of the eighteenth centuries the buffalo ranged as far east as western new york and pennsylvania, and as far south as virginia, the carolinas and georgia. father marquette, in his explorations, declared that the prairies along the illinois river were "covered with buffalos." father hennepin, in writing of northern illinois, between chicago and the illinois river, asserted that "there must be an innumerable quantity of wild bulls in this country, since the earth is covered with their horns. * * * they follow one another, so that you may see a drove of them for about a league together. their ways are beaten, as are our great roads, and no herb grows therein." of the presence of large numbers of buffalo, that resorted to the salty licks of kentucky, we have frequent mention by both humphrey marshall and mann butler, the early historians of that state. in the year , colonel james smith mentions the killing of several buffalo by the indians at a lick in ohio, somewhere between the muskingum, the ohio and the scioto. at this lick the indians made about a half bushel of salt in their brass kettles. he asserts that about this lick there were clear, open woods, and that there were great roads leading to the same, made by the buffalo, that appeared like wagon roads. the wild cattle had evidently been attracted thither by the mineral salts in the water. in the early morning of june , , george croghan, an indian agent sent out by william johnson, of new york, to report to the english government conditions in the west, coming into view of one of the fine large meadows bordering on the western banks of the wabash, saw in the distance herds of buffalo eating the grass, and describes the land as filled with buffalo, deer and bears in "great plenty." on the th and th of the same month, he traveled through what he terms as a "prodigious large meadow, called the pyankeshaw's hunting ground," and describes it as well watered and full of buffalo, deer, bears, and all kinds of wild game. he was still in the lower wabash region. on the th and st of june he was traveling north along the wabash in the vicinity of the vermilion river in vermilion county, and states that game existed plentifully, and that one could kill in a half hour as much as was needed. he spoke, evidently, of the large variety of game before mentioned. the whole of the prairie of illinois, filled with an abundant growth of the richest grasses, and all the savannas north of the wabash in indiana, that really constituted an extension of the grand prairie, were particularly suited to the range of the wild herds, and were the last grounds deserted by them previous to their withdrawal west, and across the mississippi. the economical value of the herds of buffalo to the indian tribes of the northwest may be gathered from the uses to which they were afterwards put by the tribes of the western plains. "the body of the buffalo yielded fresh meat, of which thousands of tons were consumed; dried meat, prepared in summer for winter use; pemmican (also prepared in summer) of meat, fat and berries; tallow, made up into large balls or sacks, and kept in store; marrow, preserved in bladders; and tongues, dried and smoked, and eaten as a delicacy. the skin of the buffalo yielded a robe, dressed with the hair on, for clothing and bedding; a hide, dressed without the hair, which made a tepee cover, when a number were sewn together; boats, when sewn together in a green state, over a wooden frame work; shields, from the thickest portions, as rawhide; clothing of many kinds; bags for use in traveling; coffins, or winding sheets for the dead, etc. other portions utilized were sinews, which furnished fibre for ropes, thread, bowstrings, snow shoe webs, etc.; hair, which was sometimes made into belts and ornaments; "buffalo chips," which formed a valuable and highly prized fuel; bones, from which many articles of use and ornament were made; horns, which were made into spoons, drinking vessels, etc." the rev. john heckewelder, in speaking of the skill of the delawares of ohio, in dressing and curing buffalo hides, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, says that they cured them so that they became quite soft and supple, and so that they would last for many years without wearing out. all at once, and near the beginning of the last decade of the eighteenth century, the buffalo herds east of the mississippi, suddenly disappeared. george wilson, in his history of dubois county, indiana, says that, "toward the close of the eighteenth century a very cold winter, continuing several months, froze all vegetable growth, starved the noble animals, and the herds never regained their loss." this statement is borne out by the testimony of the famous potawatomi chieftain shaubena, of northern illinois, who says that the trade in buffalo robes east of the mississippi ceased in about the year ; that when a youth he joined in the chase of buffalos on the prairies, but while he was still young, they all disappeared from the country. "a big snow, about five feet deep, fell, and froze so hard on the top that people walked on it, causing the buffalo to perish by starvation. next spring a few buffalo, poor and haggard in appearance, were seen going westward, and as they approached the carcasses of dead ones, lying here and there on the prairies, they would stop, commence pawing and lowing, then start off again in a lope for the west." it is true that brigadier-general josiah harmar, in marching from vincennes to kaskaskia, in , gives a striking account of the early prairies, "like the ocean, as far as the eye can see, the view terminated by the horizon," and describes the country as excellent for grazing, and abounding with deer and buffalo. pachan, or pecan, a famous miami chieftain from miamitown, and an indian comrade, supplied the military party with buffalo and deer meat on the march out, and on the return. notwithstanding these facts, the story of the terrible winter and the deep snow as told by shaubena seems authentic, and while scattered remnants of the great herds may still have existed for some time afterward, the great droves stretching "for above a league together," were seen no more. the great snowfall was the culminating tragedy. in order to secure whiskey and brandy the horse tribes of the prairies had slaughtered thousands, and bartered away their robes and hides. what distinguishes the savage from civilized man is, that the savage takes no heed of the morrow. to satisfy his present passions and appetites he will sacrifice every hope of the future. he no longer cures the skins and clothes his nakedness. he thinks no longer of husbanding his supply of meat and game. he robs the plain, and despoils every stream and river, and then becomes a drunken beggar in the frontier towns, crying for alms. the same thing that happened on the plains of illinois at the close of eighteenth, took place on the plains west of the mississippi in the last half of the nineteenth century. the giant herds melted away before the remorseless killings of the still hunters and savages, who threw away a meat supply worth millions of dollars in a mad chase for gain and plunder, and no one took a more prominent part in that killing than the indian himself. "when the snow fall was unusually heavy," says william t. hornaday, "and lay for a long time on the ground, the buffalos fast for days together, and sometimes even weeks. if a warm day came, and thawed the upper surface of the snow, sufficiently for succeeding cold to freeze it into a crust, the outlook for the bison began to be serious. a man can travel over a crust through which the hoofs of a ponderous bison cut like chisels and leave him floundering belly-deep. it was at such times that the indians hunted him on snow-shoes, and drove their spears into his vitals as he wallowed helplessly in the drifts. then the wolves grew fat upon the victims which they, also, slaughtered without effort." this is probably an accurate description of what took place east of the mississippi river about the year , and left the bones of the herds to bleach on the prairies. however the facts may be, it is certain that at the opening of the nineteenth century the buffalo were practically extinguished in the territory of the northwest. a few scattered animals may have remained here and there upon the prairies, but the old herds, whose progenitors were seen by croghan were forever gone. in the month of december, , judge jacob burnet was traveling overland on horseback from cincinnati to vincennes on professional business, and while at some point north and west of the falls of the ohio, he and his companions surprised a small herd of eight or ten buffalos, that were seeking shelter behind the top of a fallen beech tree on the line of an old "trace," during a snow storm. this is one of the last accounts given of any buffalos in indiana. on august th and august th, , governor william henry harrison, as indian agent for the united states government, bought a large tract of land in southern indiana, between the wabash and the ohio rivers, from the delaware and piankeshaw tribes. the right to make this purchase was disputed by captain william wells, the indian agent at fort wayne, and by the little turtle, claiming to represent the miamis, and it was claimed among other things, that the lands bought were frequented as a hunting ground by both the miamis and potawatomi, and that they went there to hunt buffalo. the truth of this statement was denied by governor harrison, who said that not an animal of that kind "had been seen within that tract for several years." traces of the old buffalo wallows are occasionally met with, even to this day. the great animals "rolled successively in the same hole, and each carried away a coat of mud," which, baking in the sun, served to protect them against the great swarm of flies, gnats and insects that infested the marshes and prairies of that early time. one of these wallows, in a perfect state of preservation, exists in the northwest quarter of section thirty, in township twenty-five north, range six west, in benton county, indiana. it is several yards in diameter, hollowed out to a depth of four or five feet, and its periphery is almost an exact circle. it is situated on a rather high, springy knoll, commanding a view of the surrounding plain for several miles. a great number of indian arrow heads have been picked up in the immediate vicinity, showing that the indiana had previously resorted thither in search of game. [illustration: a typical buffalo wallow on the donaldson farm in benton county, indiana. photo by heaton.] chapter v the wabash and the maumee --_chief line of communication with the tribes of the early northwest. the heart of the miami country._ to give a detailed description of the many beautiful rivers, valleys and forests of the northwest at the opening of the last century, would be difficult. it was, as before mentioned, a vast domain, well watered and fertile, and containing some of the best lands in the possession of the federal government. two rivers, however, assume such historical importance, as to merit a more particular mention. along their courses two indian confederacies were organized under the spur of british influence, to oppose the advance of the infant republic of the united states. these two rivers were the wabash and the maumee, both leading to the principal center of the fur trade of the northwest, the town of detroit. the valley of the wabash, famed in song and story, and rich in indian legend, is now filled with fields of corn and prosperous cities. at the close of the revolution, the great stream swept through an unbroken wilderness of oak, maple and sycamore from its source to the old french settlement of vincennes. its bluffs, now adorned with the habitations of a peaceful people, then presented the wild and rugged beauty of pristine days; its terraces, stretching back to the prairies of the north and west, were crowned with forests primaeval; while naked miamis, weas and potawatomi in canoes of bark, rounded its graceful courses to the waters of the ohio. for one who has ridden over the hills to the west and south of purdue university, and viewed the gorgeous panorama of the wea plain, or who has glimpsed in the perspective the wooded hills of warren and vermilion from the bluffs on the eastern side of the river, it is not hard to understand why the red man loved the wabash. an observer who saw it in the early part of the last century pens this picture: "its green banks were lined with the richest verdure. wild flowers intermingled with the tall grass that nodded in the passing breeze. nature seemed clothed in her bridal robe. blossoms of the wild plum, hawthorn and red-bud, made the air redolent." speaking of the summer, he says: "the wide, fertile bottom lands of the wabash, in many places presented one continuous orchard of wild plum and crab-apple bushes, over-spread with arbors of the different varieties of the woods grape, wild hops and honeysuckle, fantastically wreathed together. one bush, or cluster of bushes, often presenting the crimson plum, the yellow crab-apple, the blue luscious grape, festoons of matured wild hops, mingled with the red berries of the clambering sweet-briar, that bound them all lovingly together." through all this wild and luxurious wilderness of vines, grasses and flowers flitted the honey bee, called by the indians, "the white man's fly," storing his golden burden in the hollow trunks of the trees. while on the march from vincennes, in the last days of september, , captain spier spencer's yellow jackets found three bee trees in an hour and spent the evening in cutting them down. they were rewarded by a find of ten gallons of rich honey. the great river itself now passed between high precipitous bluffs, crowned with oak, sugar, walnut and hickory, or swept out with long graceful curves into the lowlands and bottoms, receiving at frequent intervals the waters of clear, sparkling springs and brooks that leaped down from rocky gorges and hillsides, or being joined by the currents of some creek or inlet that in its turn swept back through forest, glade and glen to sun-lit groves and meadows of blue grass. everywhere the waters of the great stream were clear and pellucid. the plow-share of civilization had not as yet turned up the earth, nor the filth and sewerage of cities been discharged into the current. in places the gravelly bottom could be seen at a great depth and the forms of fishes of great size reposing at ease. "schools of fishes--salmon, bass, red-horse and pike--swam close along the shore, catching at the bottoms of the red-bud and plum that floated on the surface of the water, which was so clear that myriads of the finny tribe could be seen darting hither and thither amidst the limpid element, turning up their silvery sides as they sped out into deeper water." the whole valley of the wabash abounded with deer, and their tiny hoofs wrought foot paths through every hollow and glen. the small prairies bordered with shady groves, the patches of blue-grass, and the sweet waters of the springs, were great attractions. the banks of the mississinewa, wild cat, pine creek, vermilion, and other tributaries, were formerly noted hunting grounds. george croghan, who described the wabash as running through "one of the finest countries in the world," mentions the deer as existing in great numbers. on the march of general harrison's men to tippecanoe, the killing of deer was an every day occurrence, and at times the frightened animals passed directly in front of the line of march. raccoons were also very plentiful. on a fur trading expedition conducted by a french trader named la fountaine, from the old miamitown (fort wayne), in the winter of - , he succeeded in picking up about eighty deer skins and about five hundred raccoon skins in less than thirty days. he descended the wabash and "turned into the woods" toward the white river, there bartering with the indians for their peltries. as to wild game, the whole valley was abundantly supplied. in the spring time, great numbers of wild ducks, geese and brant were found in all the ponds and marshes; in the woody ground the wild turkey, the pheasant and the quail. at times, the sun was actually darkened by the flight of wild pigeons, while the prairie chicken was found in all the open tracts and grass lands. the bottom lands of this river, were noted for their fertility. the annual inundations always left a rich deposit of silt. this silt produced excellent maize, potatoes, beans, pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers and melons. these, according to heckewelder, were important items of the indian food supply. to the indian we are indebted for ash-cake, hoecake, succotash, samp, hominy and many other productions made from the indian maize. the miamis of the wabash, with a favorable climate and a superior soil, produced a famous corn with a finer skin and "a meal much whiter" than that raised by other tribes. how far the cultivation of this cereal had progressed is not now fully appreciated. in the expedition of general james wilkinson against the wabash indians in , he is said to have destroyed over two hundred acres of corn in the milk at kenapacomaqua, or the eel river towns, alone, and to have cut down a total of four hundred and thirty acres of corn in the whole campaign. in general harmar's campaign against miamitown in the year , nearly twenty thousand bushels of corn in the ear were destroyed. on the next day after the battle of tippecanoe the dragoons of harrison's army set fire to the prophets town, and burned it to the ground. judge isaac naylor says that they found there large quantities of corn, beans and peas, and general john tipton relates that the commissary loaded six wagons with corn and "burnt what was estimated at two thousand bushel." of the many other natural advantages of this great valley, much might be written. wheat and tobacco, the latter of a fine grade, were growing at vincennes in , when croghan passed through there. wild hemp was abundant in the lowlands. the delicious pecan flourished, and walnuts, hazelnuts and hickory nuts were found in great plenty. the sugar maple existed everywhere, and the indians, who were the original sugar makers of the world, made large quantities of this toothsome article. in addition to this the whole valley was filled with wild fruits and berries, such as blackberries, dewberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and the luscious wild strawberry, that grew everywhere in the open spaces and far out on the bordering prairies. this sketch of the wabash and its wonderful possibilities may not be more aptly closed, than by appending hereto the description of thomas hutchins, the first geographer of the united states. it appears in his "topographical description," and mention is made of the connection of the wabash by a portage with the waters of lake erie; the value of the fur trade at ouiatenon and vincennes, and many other points of vital interest. [illustration: the wabash river at merom bluff, sullivan county, indiana, la motte prairie beyond.] "ouiatenon (author's note: just below lafayette), is a small stockaded fort on the western side of the wabash, in which about a dozen families reside. the neighboring indians are the kickapoos, musquitons, pyankeshaws, and a principal part of the ouiatenons. the whole of these tribes consists, it is supposed, of about one thousand warriors. the fertility of soil, and the diversity of timber in this country, are the same as in the vicinity of post vincent. the annual amount of skins and furs obtained at ouiatenon is about , pounds. by the river wabash, the inhabitants of detroit move to the southern parts of ohio, and the illinois country. their route is by the miami river (maumee) to a carrying place (author's note: miamitown or fort wayne), which, as before stated, is nine miles to the wabash, when this river is raised with freshies; but at other seasons, the distance is from eighteen to thirty miles, including the portage. the whole of the latter is through a level country. carts are usually employed in transporting boats and merchandise, from the miami to the wabash river." no less wonderful was the valley of the maumee, directly on the great trade route between the wabash and the post of detroit. croghan, who was a good judge of land, and made careful observations, found the ottawas and wyandots here in , the land of great richness, and game very plentiful. it was a region greatly beloved by the indian tribes, and the scene after the revolution, of many grand councils of the northwestern confederacy. in a letter of general anthony wayne, written in , he asserts that: "the margins of these beautiful rivers, the miamis of the lake (maumee), and the au glaize (a southern tributary), appear like one continued village for a number of miles, both above and below this place, grand glaize, nor have i ever before beheld such immense fields of corn in any part of america, from canada to florida." after general wayne's army had defeated the indians at the battle of fallen timbers on this river in , they spent many days after that conflict in destroying the fields of grain. one who marched with the army, in august of the above year, describes indian corn fields extending for four or five miles along the au glaize, and estimated that there were one thousand acres of growing corn. the whole valley of the maumee from its mouth to fort wayne, is described as being full of immense corn fields, large vegetable patches, and old apple trees, and it is related that wayne's army, while constructing fort defiance for a period of eight days, "obtained their bread and vegetables from the corn fields and potato patches surrounding the fort." is it any wonder that along these wonderful basins should be located the seats of power of the miami indians, the leaders of the western confederacy that opposed the claims of the united states to the lands north of the ohio; that from the close of the revolutionary war until wayne's victory in , the principal contest was over the possession of the miami village, now fort wayne, which controlled the trade in both the wabash and the maumee valleys, and that president george washington, consummate strategist that he was, foresaw at once in , the first year of his presidency, that the possession of the great carrying place at miamitown would probably command the whole northwest and put an end to the indian wars? chapter vi the tribes of the northwest --_a description of the seven tribes of savages who opposed the advance of settlement in the northwest. their location. kekionga, the seat of miami power._ we have now to consider those indian tribes and confederacies, which at the close of the revolutionary war, inhabited the northwest territory. chief among them were the wyandots, miamis, shawnees, delawares, ottawas, chippewas and potawatomi. these were the seven tribes known in after years as the "western confederacy," who fought so long and bitterly against the government of the united states, and who were at last conquered by the arms and genius of general anthony wayne in the year . the ottawas, chippewas and potawatomi formed a sort of loose confederacy known as the three fires, and massas, a chippewa chief, so referred to them at the treaty of greenville. the miamis, the most powerful of the confederates, were subdivided into the eel rivers, the weas, and the piankeshaws. the kickapoos, a small tribe which lived on the sangamon, and the vermilion of the wabash, were associated generally with the potawatomi, and were always the allies of the english. the winnebagoes of wisconsin were of the linguistic family of the sioux; were generally associated with the confederates against the americans, and many of their distinguished warriors fought against general harrison at tippecanoe. the decadent tribes known in early times as the illinois, did not play a conspicuous part in the history of the northwest. while the limits of the various tribes may not be fixed with precision, and the boundary lines were often confused, still there were well recognized portions of the northwest that were under the exclusive control of certain nations, and these nations were extremely jealous of their rights, as shown by the anger and resentment of the miamis at what they termed as the encroachment of the potawatomi at the treaty of fort wayne, in . the wyandots, for instance, were the incontestable owners of the country between the cuyahoga and the au glaize, in the present state of ohio, their dominion extending as far south as the divide between the waters of the sandusky river and the scioto, and embracing the southern shore of lake erie from maumee bay, to the mouth of the cuyahoga. large numbers of them were also along the northern shores of lake erie, in canada. their territory at one time probably extended much farther south toward the ohio, touching the lands of the miamis on the west, but certainly embracing parts of the muskingum country, to which they had invited the ancient delawares, respectfully addressed by them as "grandfathers." intermingled with the wyandots south and west of lake erie were scattered bands of ottawas, but they were tenants of the soil by sufferance, and not as of right. the miamis have been described by general william henry harrison as the most extensive landowners in the northwest. he stands on record as saying that: "their territory embraced all of ohio, west of the scioto; all of indiana, and that part of illinois, south of the fox river and wisconsin, on which frontier they were intermingled with the kickapoos and some other small tribes." harrison may have been right as to the ancient and original bounds of this tribe, but little turtle, their most famous chieftain, said at the treaty of greenville, in : "it is well known by all my brothers present, that my fore-father kindled the first fire at detroit; from thence, he extended his lines to the head-water of scioto; from thence, to its mouth; from thence, down the ohio, to the mouth of the wabash, and from thence to chicago, on lake michigan." the truth is, that the ancient demesne of the miamis was much curtailed by the irruption of three tribes from the north in about the year , the sacs and foxes, the kickapoos and the potawatomi, who conquered the old remnants of the illinois tribes in the buffalo prairies and divided the country among themselves. says hiram beckwith, in speaking of the potawatomi: "always on friendly terms with the kickapoos, with whom they lived in mixed villages, they joined the latter and the sacs and foxes in the exterminating war upon the illinois tribes, and afterwards obtained their allotment of the despoiled domain." the potawatomi advancing by sheer force of numbers, rather than by conquest, finally appropriated a large part of the lands in the present state of indiana, north of the wabash, commingling with the kickapoos at the south and west, and advancing their camps as far down as pine creek. the miamis were loud in their remonstrances against this trespassing, and denounced the potawatomi as squatters, "never having had any lands of their own, and being mere intruders upon the prior estate of others," but the potawatomi were not dispossessed and were afterwards parties to all treaties with the united states government for the sale and disposal of said lands. the miamis also lost a part of their lands on the lower west side of the wabash to the kickapoos. pressing eastward from the neighborhood of peoria, the kickapoos established themselves on the vermilion, where they had a village on both sides of that river at its confluence with the main stream. they were, says beckwith, "greatly attached to the vermilion and its tributaries, and governor harrison found it a difficult task to reconcile them to ceding it away." to the last, however, the miamis remained the undisputed lords and masters of most of the territory watered by the two miamis of the ohio, and by the wabash and its tributaries down to the ohio. the great head and center of their power was at kekionga (now fort wayne), always referred to by president washington as "the miami village." it was a pleasant situation in the heart of the great northwest, at the junction where the swift flowing st. joseph and the more gentle stream of the saint marys, formed the headwaters of the maumee. on the eastern side of the st. joseph was the town of pecan, a head chief of the miami, and the same savage who had supplied deer and buffalo meat for brigadier general harmar on his mission to kaskaskia in . pecan was an uncle of the famous chief, peshewah, or jean baptiste richardville, who after the death of little turtle in , became the head chief of the miami tribe, and was reputed to be the richest indian in north america. the southern end of this town was near the point of juncture of the st. marys and st. joseph, and the village extended north along what is now known as lakeside, in the present city of fort wayne, a pleasant drive revealing at times the rippling waters of the river to the west. to the south of this village lay the indian gardens, and east of the gardens the extensive corn fields and meadows. on the northern side of the town more corn fields were found, and north and west of it extended the forests. the banks of the maumee just below the junction, and south of this old village, are quite high and steep, and along the northern side now runs the beautiful avenue known as edgewater. traveling down edgewater to the eastward one comes to a great boulder with a brass tablet on it. you are at harmar's ford, and at the exact point where the regulars crossed the river just after sunrise of october nd, , to attack the indians. here it was that major john wyllys fell leading the charge. along the southern bank of the maumee the ground is elevated and crowning these elevations were the forests again. it was through these forests that hardin's forces approached the fatal battlefield. on the western bank of the st. joseph was a mixed village of french and indians known as legris' town, and it in turn was surrounded by more corn fields. legris was also an important chief of the miamis, and named in henry hay's journal as a brother-in-law of the little turtle. he signed the treaty of greenville under the indian name of na-goh-quan-gogh. directly south of this village ran the st. marys, and to the west of it was a small wooded creek known as spy run. to these villages in august, , came george croghan on his way to detroit. he describes the carrying-place between the wabash and the maumee systems to be about nine miles in length, "but not above half that length in freshes." he reported navigation for bateaux and canoes between the carrying place and ouiatenon as very difficult during the dry season of the year on account of many rapids and rifts; but during the high-water time the journey could be easily made in three days. he says the distance by water was two hundred forty miles and by land about two hundred ten. within a mile of miamitown he was met by a delegation of the miami chiefs and immediately after his entrance into the village the british flag was raised. he describes the villages as consisting of about forty or fifty cabins, besides nine or ten french houses. he entertained no very high opinion of the french and describes them as refugees from detroit, spiriting up the indians against the english. he describes the surrounding country as pleasant, well watered, and having a rich soil. recently another account of these villages has been given to the world by the publication of the diary of one henry hay, who, as a representative of certain merchants and traders of detroit, visited these villages in the winter of - , while they were still under the influence of the british agents at detroit, although the soil was within the jurisdiction of the united states government. it was then one of the most important trading places for the indian tribes in the northwest, and in close proximity to the great council grounds of the northwestern indian confederacy in the valley of the maumee. le gris, was there, and jean baptiste richardville, then a youth; also the little turtle himself, about to become the most famous and wily strategist of his day and time. let there be no mistaken glamour cast about this scene. already the disintegration of the indian power was setting in. the traders among them, both english and french, seem to have been a depraved, drunken crew, trying to get all they could "by foul play or otherwise," and traducing each other's goods by the circulation of evil reports. hay says, "i cannot term it in a better manner than calling it a rascally scrambling trade." winter came on and the leading chiefs and their followers went into the woods to kill game. they had nothing in reserve to live upon, and in a hard season their women and children would have suffered. the french residents here seem to have been a gay, rollicking set, playing flutes and fiddles, dancing and playing cards, and generally going home drunk from every social gathering. the few english among them were no better, and we have the edifying spectacle of one giving away his daughter to another over a bottle of rum. the mightiest chieftains, including le gris, did not scruple to beg for whiskey, and parties of warriors were arriving from the ohio river and kentucky, with the scalps of white men dangling at their belts. there was still a considerable activity at this place, however, in the fur trade, and the english thought it well worth holding. raccoon, deer, bear, beaver, and otter skins were being brought in, although the season was not favorable during which hay sojourned there on account of it being an open winter. constant communication was kept up with detroit on the one hand and the petit piconne (tippecanoe) and ouiatenon on the other. la fountaine, antoine lasalle, and other famous french traders of that day were doing a thriving business in the lower indian country. that these miami villages were also of great strategical value from the military standpoint, and that this fact was well known to president washington, has already been mentioned. the french early established themselves there, and later the english, and when the americans after the revolution took dominion over the northwest and found it necessary to conquer the tribes of the wabash and their allies, one of the first moves of the united states government was to attack the villages at this place, break up the line of their communication with the british at detroit, and overawe the miamis by the establishment of a strong military post. to the last, the miamis clung to their old carrying place. wayne insisted at the peace with the miamis and their allies, at greenville, ohio, in , that a tract six miles square around the newly established post at fort wayne should be ceded to the united states, together with "one piece two miles square on the wabash river, at the end of the portage from the miami of the lake (maumee), and about eight miles westward from fort wayne." this proposal was stoutly resisted by the little turtle, who among other things said: "the next place you pointed to, was the little river, and you said you wanted two miles square at that place. this is a request that our fathers, the french or british, never made of us; it was always ours. this carrying place has heretofore proved, in a great degree, the subsistence of your younger brothers. that place has brought to us in the course of one day, the amount of one hundred dollars. let us both own this place and enjoy in common the advantage it affords." despite this argument, however, wayne prevailed, and the control of kekionga and the portage passed to the federal government; that ancient kekionga described by little turtle as "the miami village, that glorious gate, which your younger brothers had the happiness to own, and through which all the good words of our chiefs had to pass from the north to the south, and from the east to the west." returning to the potawatomi, it will be seen that this tribe, which originally came from the neighborhood of green bay, was probably from about the middle of the eighteenth century, in possession of most of the country from the milwaukee river in wisconsin, around the south shore of lake michigan, to grand river, "extending southward over a large part of northern illinois, east across michigan to lake erie, and south in indiana to the wabash." the sun, or keesass, a potawatomi of the wabash, said at the treaty of greenville, that his tribe was composed of three divisions; that of the river huron, in michigan, that of the st. joseph of lake michigan, and the bands of the wabash. in the year , george croghan, indian agent of the british government, found the potawatomi in villages on the north side of the wabash at ouiatenon, with a kickapoo village in close proximity, while the weas had a village on the south side of the river. this would indicate that the potawatomi had already pushed the miami tribe south of the wabash at this place and had taken possession of the country. far away to the north and on both shores of lake superior, dwelt the chippewas or ojibways, famed for their physical strength and prowess and living in their conical wigwams, with poles stuck in the ground in a circle and covered over with birch bark and grass mats. the jesuit fathers early found them in possession of the sault ste. marie, and when general wayne at the treaty of greenville, reserved the post of michillimacinac, and certain lands on the main between lake michigan and lake huron, mash-i-pinash-i-wish, one of the principal chippewa chieftains, voluntarily made the united states a present of the island de bois blanc, at the eastern entrance of the straits of mackinac, for their use and accommodation, and was highly complimented by the general for his generous gift. a reference to the maps of thomas g. bradford, of , shows the whole upper peninsular of michigan in the possession of the chippewas, as well as the whole southern and western shores of lake superior, and a large portion of northern wisconsin. one of their principal sources of food supply was wild rice, and the presence of this cereal, together with the plentiful supply of fish, probably accounts for their numbers and strength. in the beginning of the eighteenth century, they expelled the foxes from northern wisconsin, and later drove the fierce fighting sioux beyond the mississippi. they were the undisputed masters of a very extensive domain and held it with a strong and powerful hand. one of their chiefs proudly said to wayne: "your brothers' present, of the three fires, are gratified in seeing and hearing you; those who are at home will not experience that pleasure, until you come and live among us; you will then learn our title to that land." though far removed from the theatre of the wars of the northwest, they, together with the ottawas, early came under the british influence, and resisted the efforts of the united states to subdue the miamis and their confederate tribes, fighting with the allies against general harmar at the miami towns, against st. clair on the headwaters of the wabash and against anthony wayne at fallen timbers on the th of august, . the rudest of all the tribes of the northwest were the ottawas, those expert canoemen of the great lakes, known to the french as the "traders," because they carried on a large trade and commerce between the other tribes. they seem to have had their original home on mantoulin island, in lake huron, and on the north and south shores of the georgian bay. driven by terror of the iroquois to the region west of lake michigan, they later returned to the vicinity of l'arbe croche, near the lower end of lake michigan, and from thence spread out in all directions. consulting bradford's map of again, the ottawas are found in the whole northern end of the lower michigan peninsula. ottawa county, at the mouth of grand river, would seem to indicate that at one time, their towns must have existed in that vicinity, and in fact their possessions are said to have extended as far down the eastern shore of lake michigan as the st. joseph. to the south and east of these points "their villages alternated with those of their old allies, the hurons, now called wyandots, along the shore of lake erie from detroit to the vicinity of beaver creek, in pennsylvania." they were parties with the wyandots and delawares and other tribes to the treaty of fort harmar, ohio, at the mouth of muskingum, in , whereby the wyandots ceded large tracts of land in the southern part of that state to the united states government, and were granted in turn the possession and occupancy of certain lands to the south of lake erie. the ottawa title to any land in southern ohio, however, is exceedingly doubtful, and they were probably admitted as parties to the above treaty in deference to their acknowledged overlords, the wyandots. their long intercourse with the latter tribe, in the present state of ohio, who were probably the most chivalrous, brave and intelligent of all the tribes, seems to have softened their manners and rendered them less ferocious than formerly. like the chippewas, their warriors were of fine physical mould, and colonel william stanley hatch, an early historian of ohio, in writing of the shawnees, embraces the following reference to the ottawas: "as i knew them, (i. e., the shawnees), they were truly noble specimens of their race, universally of fine athletic forms, and light complexioned, none more so, and none appeared their equal, unless it was their tribal relatives, the ottawas, who adjoined them. the warriors of these tribes were the finest looking indians i ever saw, and were truly noble specimens of the human family." the leading warriors and chieftains of their tribe, however, were great lovers of strong liquor, and pontiac, the greatest of all the ottawas, was assassinated shortly after a drunken carousal, and while he was singing the grand medicine songs of his race. but the wandering ishmaelites of all the northwest tribes were the shawnees. cruel, crafty and treacherous, and allied always with the english, they took a leading part in all the ravages and depredations on the frontiers of pennsylvania and virginia during the revolution and led expedition after expedition against the infant settlements of kentucky, from the period of the first pioneers in , until wayne's victory in . these were the indians who kept boone in captivity, made simon kenton run the gauntlet, stole thousands of horses in kentucky, and who for years attacked the flatboats and keel boats that floated down the ohio, torturing their captives by burning at the stake. general william henry harrison, in speaking of the migrations of this tribe, says: "no fact, in relation to the indian tribes, who have resided on the northwest frontier for a century past, is better known, than that the shawnees came from florida and georgia about the middle of the eighteenth century. they passed through kentucky (along the cumberland river) on their way to the ohio. but that their passage was rather a rapid one, is proved by these circumstances. black hoof, their late principal chief (with whom i had been acquainted since the treaty of greenville), was born in florida, before the removal of his tribe. he died at wapocconata, in this state, only three or four years ago. as i do not know his age, at the time of his leaving florida, nor at his death, i am not able to fix with precision the date of emigration. but it is well known that they were at the town which still bears their name on the ohio (shawneetown, ill.), a few miles below the mouth of the wabash, some time before the commencement of the revolutionary war; that they remained there some years before they removed to the scioto, where they were found by governor dunmore, in the year . that their removal from florida was a matter of necessity, and their progress from thence, a flight, rather than a deliberate march, is evident from their appearance, when they presented themselves upon the ohio, and claimed the protection of the miamis. they are represented by the chiefs of the latter, as well as those of the delawares, as supplicants for protection, not against the iroquois, but against the creeks and seminoles, or some other southern tribes, who had driven them from florida, and they are said to have been literally sans provat et sans culottes." [illustration: location of the indian tribes of the northwest. drawing by frank morris] later writers have mentioned that while they originally dwelt in the south, that one division of the tribe lived in south carolina, while another and more numerous division lived along the cumberland river, and had a large village near the present site of nashville. the cumberland river was known on the early maps preceding the revolution as the shawnee river, while the tennessee was called the cherokee river. this cumberland division is said to have become engaged in war with both the cherokees and chickasaws, and to have fled to the north to receive the protection of the powerful nations of the wabash. notwithstanding the magnanimous conduct of the miamis, however, they, together with the wyandots of ohio, always regarded the shawnees with suspicion and as trouble makers. the great chief of the miamis told antoine gamelin at kekionga, in april, , when gamelin was sent by the government to pacify the wabash indians, that the miamis had incurred a bad name on account of mischief done along the ohio, but that this was the work of the shawnees, who, he said, had "a bad heart," and were the "perturbators of all the nations." to the articles of the treaty at fort harmar, in , the following is appended: "that the wyandots have laid claim to the lands that were granted to the shawnees, (these lands were along the miami, in ohio), at the treaty held at the miami, and have declared, that as the shawnees have been so restless, and caused so much trouble, both to them and to the united states, if they will not now be at peace, they will dispossess them, and take the country into their own hands; for that country is theirs of right, and the shawnees are only living upon it by their permission." from the recital of the above facts, it is evident that the shawnees could never justly claim the ownership of any of the lands north of the ohio. that, far from being the rightful sovereigns of the soil, they came to the valleys of the miamis and wyandots as refugees from a devastating war, and as supplicants for mercy and protection. this is recognized by the quaker, henry harvey, who was partial to them, and for many years dwelt among them as a missionary. harvey says that from the accounts of the various treaties to which they were parties, "they had been disinherited altogether, as far as related to the ownership of land anywhere." yet from the lips of the most famous of all the shawnees, came the false but specious reasoning that none of the tribes of the northwest, not even the miamis who had received and sheltered them, had a right to alienate any of their lands without the common consent of all. "that no single tribe had the right to sell; that the power to sell was not vested in their chiefs, but must be the act of the warriors in council assembled of all the tribes, as the land belonged to all--no portion of it to any single tribe." this doctrine of communistic ownership was advocated by tecumseh in the face of all the conquests of the iroquois, in the face of the claim of the wyandots to much of the domain of the present state of ohio, and in the face of all of little turtle's claims to the maumee and the wabash valleys, founded on long and undisputed occupancy and possession. it never had any authority, either in fact or in history, and moreover, lacked the great and saving grace of originality. for if any indian was the author of the doctrine that no single tribe of indians had the power to alienate their soil, without the consent of all the other tribes, the first indian to clearly state that proposition was joseph brant of the mohawk nation, and brant was clearly inspired by the british, at the hands of whom he was a pensioner. the savage warriors of the northwest were not formidable in numbers, but they were terrible in their ferocity, their knowledge of woodcraft, and their cunning strategy. general harrison says that for a decade prior to the treaty of greenville, the allied tribes could not at any time have brought into the field over three thousand warriors. this statement is corroborated by colonel james smith, who had an intimate knowledge of the wyandots and other tribes, and who says: "i am of the opinion that from braddock's war, until the present time ( ), there never was more than three thousand indians at any time, in arms against us, west of fort pitt, and frequently not half that number." constant warfare with the colonies and the kentucky and virginia hunting shirt men had greatly reduced their numbers, but above all the terrible ravages of smallpox, the insidious effects flowing from the use of intoxicants, and the spread of venereal disorders among them, which latter diseases they had no means of combating, had carried away thousands and reduced the ranks of their valiant armies. woe to the general, however, who lightly estimated their fighting qualities, or thought that these "rude and undisciplined" savages, as they were sometimes called, could be met and overpowered by the tactics of the armies of europe or america! they were, says harrison, "a body of the finest light troops in the world," and this opinion is corroborated by theodore roosevelt, who had some first hand knowledge of indian fighters. the wyandots and miamis, especially, as well as other western bands, taught the males of their tribes the arts of war from their earliest youth. when old enough to bear arms, they were disciplined to act in concert, to obey punctually all commands of their war chiefs, and cheerfully unite to put them into immediate execution. each warrior was taught to observe carefully the motion of his right hand companion, so as to communicate any sudden movement or command from the right to the left, thus advancing in perfect accord, they could march stealthily and abreast through the thick woods and underbrush, in scattered order, without losing the conformation of their ranks or creating disorder. these maneuvers could be executed slowly or as fast as the warriors could run. they were also disciplined to form a circle, a semi-circle or a hollow square. they used the circle to surround their enemies, the semi-circle if the enemy had a stream on one side or in the rear, and the hollow square in case of sudden attack, when they were in danger of being surrounded. by forming a square and taking to trees, they put their faces to the enemy in every direction and lessened the danger of being shot from behind objects on either side. the principal sachem of the village was seldom the war chief in charge of an expedition. war chiefs were selected with an eye solely to their skill and ability; to entrust the care and direction of an army to an inexperienced leader was unheard of. one man, however, was never trusted with the absolute command of an army. a general council of the principal officers was held, and a plan concerted for an attack. such a council was held before the battle of fallen timbers, in which blue jacket, of the shawnees, little turtle of the miamis, and other celebrated leaders participated. the plan thus concerted in the council was scrupulously carried out. it was the duty of the war chief to animate his warriors by speeches and orations before the battle. during the battle he directed their movements by pre-arranged signals or a shout or yell, and thus ordered the advance or retreat. the warriors who crept through the long grass of the swamp lands at tippecanoe to attack the army of harrison, were directed by the rattling of dried deer hoofs. it was a part of the tactics practiced by the war chiefs to inflict the greatest possible damage upon the enemy, with the loss of as few of their own men as possible. they were never to bring on an attack without some considerable advantage, "or without what appeared to them the sure prospect of victory," if, after commencing an engagement, it became apparent that they could not win the conflict without a great sacrifice of men, they generally abandoned it, and waited for a more favorable opportunity. this was not the result of cowardice, for harrison says that their bravery and valor were unquestioned. it may have been largely the result of a savage superstition not to force the decrees of fate. says harrison: "it may be fairly considered as having its source in that particular temperament of mind, which they often manifested, of not pressing fortune under any sinister circumstances, but patiently waiting until the chances of a successful issue appeared to be favorable." when the great spirit was not angry, he would again favor his children. one tribe among the warriors of the northwest, however, were taught from their earliest youth never to retreat; to regard "submission to an enemy as the lowest degradation," and to "consider anything that had the appearance of an acknowledgment of the superiority of an enemy as disgraceful." these were the wyandots, the acknowledged superiors in the northwestern confederacy. "in the battle of the miami rapids of thirteen chiefs of that tribe, who were present, only one survived, and he badly wounded." the well known policy of the savages to ambush or outflank their enemies was well known to washington. he warned st. clair of this terrible danger in the indian country, but his advice went unheeded. a pre-concerted attack might occur on the front ranks of an advancing column, and almost immediately spread to the flanks. this occurred at braddock's defeat. the glittering army of redcoats, so much admired by washington, with drums beating and flags flying, forded the monongahela and ascended the banks of the river between two hidden ravines. suddenly they were greeted by a terrible fire on the front ranks, which almost immediately spread to the right flank, and then followed a horrible massacre of huddled troops, who fired volleys of musketry at an invisible foe, and then miserably perished. when st. clair started his ill-fated march upon the miami towns in , his movements were observed every instant of time by the silent scouts and runners of the miamis. camping on the banks of the upper wabash, and foolishly posting his militia far in the front, he suddenly saw them driven back in confusion upon his regulars, his lines broken by attacks on both flanks, and his artillery silenced to the last gun. the attack was so well planned, so sudden and so furious, that nothing remained but precipitate and disastrous retreat. out of an army consisting of fourteen hundred men and eighty-six officers, eight hundred and ninety men and sixteen officers were killed and wounded. st. clair believed that he had been "overpowered by numbers," and so reported to the government. "it was alleged by the officers," says judge burnet, "that the indians far outnumbered the american troops. that conclusion was drawn, in part, from the fact that they outflanked and attacked the american lines with great force, and at the same time on every side." the truth is, that st. clair was completely outwitted by the admirable cunning and strategy of little turtle, the miami, who concerted the plan of attack, and directed its operation. nor is it at all likely that the indians had a superior force. they often attacked superior numbers, if they enjoyed the better fighting position, or could take advantage of an ambush or surprise. a very respectable authority, who has the endorsement of historians, says: "there was an army of indians composed of miamis, potawatomis, ottowas, chippewas, wyandots, delawares, shawnees, and a few mingoes and cherokees, amounting in all to eleven hundred and thirty-three, that attacked and defeated general st. clair on the th of november, . each nation was commanded by their own chiefs, all of whom were governed by the little turtle, who made the arrangements for the action, and commenced the attack with the miamis, who were under his immediate command. the indians had thirty killed and died with their wounds the day of the action and fifty wounded." of such formidable mould, were the redmen of the northwest, who went into battle stripped to the skin, and with bodies painted with horrible stripes of vermilion. so disastrous had been the result of their victories over the armies of harmar and st. clair, and so illy equipped with men, money and supplies was the infant government of the united states, that immediately prior to the campaign of general anthony wayne, a military conference was held between president washington, general knox, secretary of war, and general wayne, to devise a system of military tactics that should thereafter control in the conduct of all wars against the indians of the northwest. the development of this system of tactics has been outlined by general william henry harrison, who was an aide to wayne, in a personal letter to mann butler, one of the historians of kentucky. it was determined that in all future contests with the tribes, that the troops employed should, when in the indian country, be marched in such manner as that the order of march could be immediately converted, by simple evolution, into an order of battle. in other words, that the troops while actually in the line of march, could be almost instantly formed in lines of battle. this was to prevent any sudden or unexpected attack, and this was always liable to occur in the thickly wooded country. the troops were also taught to march in open formation, each file to be more than an arm's length from those on the right and left. the old european system of fighting men shoulder to shoulder was entirely impracticable in a wilderness of woods, for it invited too great a slaughter, interfered with the movement of the troops, and shortened the lines. the great object of the indian tactics was always to flank their enemy, therefore an extension of the lines was highly desirable when entering into action. "in fighting indians, there was no shock to be given or received, and a very open order was therefore attended with two very great advantages; it more than doubled the length of the lines, and in charging, which was an essential part of the system, it gave more facility to get through the obstacles which an action in the woods presented." a system was also developed whereby, in case the indians attempted to flank the enemy, they were met by a succession of fresh troops coming from the rear to extend the lines. when encamped, the troops were to assume the form of a hollow square, with the baggage and cavalry, and sometimes the light infantry and riflemen, in the center. a rampart of logs was to be placed around the camp, to prevent a sudden night attack, and to give the troops time to get under arms, but this rampart was not intended as a means of defense in daylight. "to defeat indians by regular troops, the charge must be relied upon; the fatality of a contest at long shot, with their accurate aim and facility of covering themselves, was mournfully exhibited in the defeats of braddock and st. clair. general wayne used no patrols, no picket guards. in indian warfare they would always be cut off; and if that were not the case, they would afford no additional security to the army, as indians do not require roads to enable them to advance upon an enemy. for the same reason (that they would be killed or taken), patrols were rejected, and reliance for safety was entirely placed upon keeping the army always ready for action. in connection with this system for constant preparation, there was only a chain of sentinels around the camps, furnished by the camp guards, who were placed within supporting distance." the outline and adoption of this system of tactics shows that both washington and anthony wayne were fully aware of the dangerous nature of their savage adversaries; that they had a wholesome respect for both their woodcraft and military discipline, and that they regarded the conquest of the western wilderness as a task requiring great circumspection and military genius. chapter vii real savages --_the savage painted in his true colors from the standpoint of the frontiersman._ the poets and philosophers who dwelt in security far from the frontier posts of danger, have been much disposed in the past to extol the virtues of the savage and bewail his misfortunes, at the expense of the rugged pioneer who had to face his tomahawk and furnish victims for his mad vengeance. they went into rhapsodies when speaking of the "poor indian," assuming that in his primitive state, before he was corrupted by contact with the manners and customs of the white man, he represented all that was pure, good and simple, and that only after the european came, did this child of nature take on that ferocity and savagery that made his name the terror of the wilderness. they said that he was cruelly and unjustly despoiled of his lands and possessions; driven like a wild beast before the face of the settlements, and by fraud and force deprived of every right that he had enjoyed. these philosophers, while thus impeaching civilization, were always ready to condemn what they termed as the "rude frontiersmen," the men who originally made it possible that the land might be inhabited, the soil brought to a state of cultivation, and the arts and sciences brought to bear upon the wild forces of nature. they were especially severe in their animadversions upon the kentuckians. they denounced their raids upon the indian towns and villages along the scioto and the wabash as barbarous and uncalled for. they pointed to the fact that the kentuckians pursued the indians with a fierce and relentless hatred, using the scalping knife, and burning down their cabins and corn fields, forgetting at the same time the thousands of kentuckians cruelly slain, the carrying away into captivity of pregnant women and innocent children, and the horrible tortures ofttimes inflicted on the aged and the helpless. it must never be forgotten that despite his stoicism in facing danger, his skill in battle, his power to endure privation, and his undoubted valor and bravery, that the indian was a savage, and entertained the thoughts of a savage. toward those who, like the french, pampered his appetites and indulged his passions to secure his trade, he entertained no malice. the lazy, fiddling canadians who dwelt in kaskaskia and vincennes, had no ambition to absorb the soil or build up a great commonwealth. the little land they required to raise their corn, their vines and their onions on, aroused no savage jealousies. but from the first moment that the americans came through the gaps and passes of the blue ridge, and swept down the waters of the ohio, with their women and children, their horses and cattle, the savage scented danger. these men were not traders; they came to set up their cabins and to build homes. the wild dwellers in the wilderness must be tamed or swept back. conflict was inevitable; war certain. on the one hand was a grim determination to advance civilization; on the other, just as grim a determination to resist it. the savage, employing the same arts in his wars with the white man as he did in his wars with his fellow savage, used stealth and cunning, the ambuscade, the scalping knife, and the tomahawk, and tortured his victims at the stake. a terrible hatred was engendered, that meant death and extermination. in the sanguinary struggles that followed, many outrages were no doubt perpetrated by lawless white men upon the indians. such men as lewis wetzel are no credit to a race. but there is no sufficient ground either for the exaltation of the savage, or the condemnation of men like boone, kenton, hardin and scott, who stoutly fought in the vanguard of civilization. it was a war for supremacy between white man and red, and the fittest survived. the wild hunters of the forest and river, gave way to farmers and woodsmen, who made the clearings, built their cabins, and laid the foundation for the future greatness of the west. the passing of the tribes was a tragedy, but it would have been a deeper tragedy still, had savagery prevailed. among the indians of the northwest there was one tribe that attained a considerable fame. in all their forays into kentucky and virginia the wyandots fought with the most fearless bravery and the most disciplined skill. their conduct at the battle of estel's station met with many words of praise from mann butler, the kentucky historian. it was well known among the settlements that the wyandots treated their captives with consideration, and that they seldom resorted to torture by fire. though few in numbers, they acquired the acknowledged supremacy in the confederation of the northwest, were intrusted by wayne at the treaty of greenville with the custody of the great belt, the symbol of peace and union, and were given the principal copy of the treaty of peace. between the wyandot and the ottawa, however, and the wyandot and the potawatomi, there was a striking divergence. if the wyandot represented the highest order of intelligence among the savages of the northwest, the potawatomi represented one of the lowest. he was dark, cruel, treacherous and unattractive, and proved a willing tool for murder and assassination in the hands of the english. there was no place on earth for the chivalrous kentuckian and the treacherous potawatomi to dwell in peace together, and the imparting of some idea of the true nature of this indian will now engage our attention. when the dutchman put flint-locks and powder into the hands of the iroquois, one of the tribes that he drove around the head of the great lakes was the potawatomi. where did they come from? the jesuit relation says, from the western shores of lake huron, and the jesuit fathers knew more about the algonquin tribes of canada and the west than all others. all accounts confirm that they were of the same family as the chippewas and ottawas. from the head of lakes huron and michigan they were forced to the west and then driven to the south. in it is known that a portion of them were on the islands in the mouth of green bay. they were then moving southward, probably impelled by the fierce fighting sioux, whom colonel roosevelt so appropriately named the "horse indians," of the west. at the close of the seventeenth century they were on the milwaukee river, in the vicinity of chicago, and on the st. joseph river in southern michigan. they had gone entirely around the northern, western and southern sides of lake michigan, and were now headed in the direction of their original habitations. according to hiram w. beckwith, the potawatomi were the most populous tribe between the lakes and the ohio, the wabash and the mississippi. their debouch upon the plains of the illinois has already been mentioned. this was about the year . the confederacy among them, the kickapoos and the sacs and foxes, resulted in the extermination of the old illinois tribes, and after that extermination, the kickapoos took possession of the country around peoria and along the vermilion river, the potawatomi of eastern and northern illinois, while the sacs and foxes went farther to the west. after the treaty of greenville in , the potawatomi rapidly absorbed the ancient domain of the miamis in northern indiana, swiftly pressing them back to the wabash, and usurping the major portion of the small lake region in the north end of the state. they had now become so haughty and insolent in their conduct as to refer to the miamis as "their younger brothers," and the miamis, by reason of their long wars, their commingling with the traders, and their acquisition of degenerate habits, were unable to drive them back. in and , tecumseh and the one-eyed prophet were eagerly seeking an alliance with their treacherous chiefs. a demand was made upon tecumseh for the surrender of certain potawatomi murderers and horse thieves who had invaded the missouri region and committed depredations, but tecumseh replied that he was unable to apprehend them, and that they had escaped to the illinois country. the potawatomi were now living in mixed villages west of the present sites of logansport and lafayette, and the southern limits of their domain extended as far down the wabash as the outlet of pine creek across the river from the present city of attica. [illustration: shaubena, the best of the potawatomi chiefs, and a follower of tecumseh. by courtesy the chicago historical society] the potawatomi loved the remoteness and seclusion of the great prairie, and many of their divisions have been known as the "prairie" tribes. they seem to have lived for the most part in separate, roving bands, which divided "according to the abundance or scarcity of game, or the emergencies of war." encouraged by the english, they joined in the terrible expeditions of the shawnees and miamis against the keel-boats on the ohio, and against the settlements of kentucky. they were inveterate horse-thieves. riding for long distances across plain and prairie, through forests and across rivers, they suddenly swooped down on some isolated frontier cabin, perhaps murdering its helpless and defenseless inmates, taking away a child or a young girl, killing cattle or riding away the horses and disappearing in the wilderness as suddenly as they emerged from it. in the later days of tecumseh's time, these parties of marauders generally consisted of from four or five, to twenty. they were still striking the white settlements of kentucky, and even penetrated as far west as the outposts on the missouri river. their retreat after attack was made with the swiftness of the wind. pursuit, if not made immediately, was futile. traveling day and night, the murderous riders were lost in the great prairies and wildernesses of the north, and the prophet was a sure protector. the savage chief, turkey foot, for whom two groves were named, in benton and newton counties, indiana, stealing horses in far away missouri, murdered three or four of his pursuers and made good his escape to the great plains and swamps between the wabash and lake michigan. there was nothing romantic about the potawatomi. they were real savages, and known to the french-canadians as "les poux," or those who have lice, from which it may be inferred that they were not generally of cleanly habits. in general appearance they did not compare favorably with the kickapoos of the vermilion river. the kickapoo warriors were generally tall and sinewy, while the potawatomi were shorter and more thickly set, very dark and squalid. numbers of the women of the kickapoos were described as being lithe, "and many of them by no means lacking in beauty." the potawatomi women were inclined to greasiness and obesity. the potawatomi had little regard for their women. polygamy was common among them when visited by the early missionaries. the warriors were always gamblers, playing heavily at their moccasin games and lacrosse. nothing, however, revealed their savage nature so well as their rapid decline under the influence of whiskey. as we shall see hereafter, one of the great motives that impelled their attacks on the flat boats of the ohio river, was their desire not only for plunder, but for rum. the boats generally contained a liberal supply. nothing was more common than drunkenness after the greedy and avaricious traders of the wabash got into their midst and bartered them brandy for their most valuable peltries. potawatomi were found camping about vincennes in great numbers and trading everything of value for liquor. in general harrison's day, he endeavored time and time again to stop this nefarious traffic. on all occasions when treaties were to be made, or council fires kindled, he issued proclamations prohibiting the sale of liquor to the indians. these proclamations were inserted in the western sun, at vincennes, on more than one occasion, but they were unavailing. the temptation of a huge profit was too strong. carousals and orgies took place when the indians were under the influence of "fire-water." fights and murders were frequent. at the last, whiskey destroyed the last vestige of virtue in their women, and valor in their warriors. after the crushing of the prophet in , and the destruction of british influence in the northwest, consequent upon the war of , the decline of the potawatomi was swift and appalling. the terrible ravages of "fire-water" played no inconsiderable part. many of their principal chieftains became notorious drunkards reeling along the streets of frontier posts and towns and boasting of their former prowess. even the renowned topenebee, the last principal chief of the tribe of the river st. joseph was no exception. reproached by general lewis cass, because he did not remain sober and care for his people, he answered: "father, we do not care for the land, nor the money, nor the goods; what we want is whiskey! give us whiskey!" the example set by the chiefs was not neglected by their followers. nothing can better illustrate the shocking savagery and depravity of some of their last chieftains, after the tribe had been contaminated by the effect of strong liquors, than the story of wabunsee, principal war chief of the prairie band of potawatomi residing on the kankakee river in illinois, and in his early days one of the renowned and daring warriors of his tribe. when general harrison marched with his regulars and indiana and kentucky militia, on the way to the battlefield of tippecanoe, he ascended the wabash river, erecting fort harrison, near the present site of terre haute, and christening it on sunday, the th day of october, . from here, the army marched up the east bank of the river, crossing the deep water near the present site of montezuma, indiana, and erecting a block house on the west bank, about three miles below the mouth of the vermilion river, for a base of supplies. corn and provisions for the army were taken in boats and pirogues from fort harrison up the river, and unloaded at this block house. on saturday, the nd day of november, john tipton recorded in his diary that, "this evening a man came from the garrison (fort harrison) said last night his boat was fired on--one man that was asleep killed dead." beckwith records that the dare-devil "wabunsee, the looking-glass, principal war chief of the prairie bands of potawatomis, residing on the kankakee river, in illinois, distinguished himself, the last of october, , by leaping aboard of one of governor harrison's supply boats, loaded with corn, as it was ascending the wabash, five miles above terre haute, and killing a man, and making his escape ashore without injury." allowing a slight discrepancy in dates, this was probably the same incident referred to by john tipton, and taking into consideration that the boats were probably guarded by armed men, this was certainly a daring and adventurous feat. yet it is recorded of this chief, that he always carried about with him two scalps in a buckskin pouch, "taken from the heads of soldiers in the war of , and when under the influence of liquor he would exhibit them, going through the motions of obtaining those trophies." schoolcraft, whose attention was especially drawn towards this chieftain on account of his drunken ferocity, and who paints him as one of the worst of many bad savages of his day, says: "he often freely indulged in liquor; and when excited, exhibited the flushed visage of a demon. on one occasion, two of his wives, or rather female slaves, had a dispute. one of them went, in her excited state of feeling, to wabunsee, and told him that the other ill-treated his children. he ordered the accused to come before him. he told her to lie down on her back on the ground. he then directed the other (her accuser) to take a tomahawk and dispatch her. she instantly split open her skull. "there," said the savage, "let the crows eat her." he left her unburied, but was afterwards persuaded to direct the murderess to bury her. she dug the grave so shallow, that the wolves pulled out her body that night, and partly devoured it." the cold, cruel treachery of this tribe is without a parallel, save in the single instance of the shawnees. it has been admitted by shaubena, one of their best chiefs, that most of the depredations on the frontier settlements in illinois during the black hawk war, were committed by the potawatomi. the cowardly and brutal massacre at chicago, august , , was the work principally of the potawatomi, "and their several bands from the illinois and kankakee rivers; those from the st. joseph of the lake, and the st. joseph of the maumee, and those of the wabash and its tributaries were all represented in the despicable act." in that massacre, captain william wells, the brother-in-law of little turtle, was killed when he was trying to protect the soldiers and refugees. he was discovered afterwards, terribly mutilated. his body lay in one place, his head in another, while his arms and legs were scattered about over the prairie. the warriors of this tribe, stripped to the skin, except breech-cloth and moccasins, and with bodies painted with red stripes, went into battle with the rage of mad-men and demons and committed every excess known to human cruelty. looking at the potawatomi in the true light, and stripped of all that false coloring with which he has been painted, and the facts remains that he was every inch a wild and untamed barbarian. and while we must admire him for his native strength, his wonderful endurance through the famine and cold of the northern winters, and his agility and ingenuity in the chase or on the warpath, it is not any wonder that the children of that time, as judge james hall relates, "learned to hate the indian and to speak of him as an enemy. from the cradle they listened continually to horrid tales of savage violence, and became familiar with narratives of aboriginal cunning and ferocity." nor is it any wonder that when general harrison crossed the wabash at montezuma and gave an order to the advance guard to shoot every indian at sight, that the rough frontiersman, john tipton, entered in his diary, "fine news!" chapter viii our indian policy _--the indian right of occupancy recognized through the liberal policy of washington and jefferson._ by the terms of the definitive treaty of , concluding the war of the revolution the territory northwest of the river ohio passed forever from the jurisdiction of the british government, over to the new born states of the united states. by the first article of that treaty, the thirteen former colonies were acknowledged to be free, sovereign and independent powers, and great britain not only relinquished all her rights to the government, but to the "proprietary and territorial rights of the same, and every part thereof." at the time of that treaty, the northwest territory was occupied by a number of powerful and warlike tribes of savages, yet no reservation of any kind was made in their favor by the english negotiators. the iroquois confederacy of new york, and more particularly the mohawks, had stood out stoutly on the side of the king, but they were wholly forgotten in the articles of peace. of this action, joseph brant, the mohawk leader, in his communications with lord sidney, in , most bitterly complained, expressing his astonishment "that such firm friends and allies could be so neglected by a nation remarkable for its honor and glory." yet if brant had been better acquainted with the policy and usage of european nations, he would have known that england had granted away not only the sovereignty, but the very soil of the territory itself, subject only to the indian rights of occupancy. in all the ancient grants of the crown to the duke of york, lord clarendon and others, there passed "the soil as well as the right of dominion to the grantee." france, while adopting a liberal policy toward the savages of the new world, claimed the absolute right of ownership to the land, based on first discovery. spain maintained a like claim. the war for supremacy in the saint lawrence, the mississippi and the ohio valleys between great britain and france, terminating in the peace of , was a war waged for the control of lands and territory, notwithstanding the occupancy of the indian tribes. if a country acquired either by conquest or prior discovery, is filled with a people attached to the soil, and having fixed pursuits and habitations, the opinion of mankind would seem to require that the lands and possessions of the occupants should not be disturbed, but if the domain discovered or conquered is filled with a race of savages who make no use of the land, save for the purpose of hunting over it, a different solution must of necessity result. there can be no admixture of races where the one is civilized and the other barbarous. the barbarian must either lose his savagery and be assimilated, or he must recede. the north american indian was not only brave, but fierce. in the wilds and fastnesses of his native land, he refused to become either a subject or a slave. no law of the european could be formulated for his control; he obeyed only the laws of nature under which he roamed in freedom. he knew nothing of fee or seisin, or the laws of conveyancing, as his white brother knew it. he knew only that the rivers and the forests were there, and that he gained his subsistence from them. with him, the strongest and the fiercest had the right to rule; the right to hunt the buffalo and elk. the european put fire arms into the hands of the iroquois warrior, and that warrior at once made himself master of all north of the ohio and east of the mississippi, without regard to the prior claims of other tribes. to expect that a savage of this nature could be dealt with under the ordinary forms and conventions of organized society, was to expect the impossible. to him, the appearance of a surveyor or a log cabin was an immediate challenge to his possession. today he might be brought to make a treaty, but on the morrow he was filled with a jealous hate again, and was ready to burn and destroy. on the other hand, to leave him in the full possession of his country was, as chief justice marshall said: "to leave the country a wilderness." to stop on the borderland of savagery and advance no further, meant the retrogression of civilization. the european idea of ownership was founded on user. the inevitable consequence was, that the conqueror or discoverer in the new world claimed the ultimate fee in the soil, and the tribes receding, as they inevitably did, this fee ripened into present enjoyment. when great britain, therefore, owing to the conquests of george rogers clark, surrendered up to the united states her jurisdiction and control over the territory north and west of the ohio river, she did, according to the precedent and usage established by all the civilized nations of that day, pass to her grantee or grantees, the ultimate absolute title to the land itself, notwithstanding its savage occupants, and the right to deal with these occupants thenceforward became a part of the domestic policy of the new republic, with which england and her agents had nothing to do. "it has never been doubted," says chief justice marshall, "that either the united states, or the several states, had a clear title to all the lands within the boundary lines described in the treaty, subject only, to the indian right of occupancy, and that the exclusive power to extinguish that right was vested in that government which might constitutionally exercise it." these facts should be kept in mind when one comes to consider the equivocal course that england afterwards pursued. but how were the savage wards occupying these lands, and thus suddenly coming under the guardianship of the republic, to be dealt with? were they to be evicted by force and arms, and their possessory rights entirely disregarded, or were their claims as occupants to be gradually and legitimately extinguished by treaty and purchase, as the frontiers of the white man advanced? in other words, was the seisin in fee on the part of the states, or the united states, to be at once asserted and enforced, to the absolute and immediate exclusion of the tribes from the lands they occupied, or was a policy of justice and equity to prevail, and the ultimate right to the soil set up, only after the most diligent effort to ameliorate the condition of the dependent red man had been employed? the answer to this question had soon to be formulated, for on march st, , thomas jefferson, samuel hardy, arthur lee and james monroe, delegates in the continental congress on the part of the state of virginia, in pursuance of the magnanimous policy of her statesmen, executed a deed of cession to the united states, of all her claim and right to the territory northwest of the ohio, the same to be used as a common fund "for the use and benefit of such of the united states as have become, or shall become, members of the confederation or federal alliance of the states." the only reservations made were of a tract of land not to exceed one hundred and fifty thousand acres to be allowed and granted to general george rogers clark, his officers and soldiers, who had conquered kaskaskia, vincennes, and the western british posts under the authority of virginia, said tract being afterwards located on the indiana side of the ohio, adjacent to the falls of that river, and known as the "illinois grant," and a further tract to be laid off between the rivers scioto and little miami, in case certain lands reserved to the continental troops of virginia upon the waters of the cumberland, "should, from the north carolina line, bearing in further upon the cumberland lands than was expected," prove to be deficient for that purpose. the cession of virginia was preceded by that of new york on the first day of march, , and followed by that of massachusetts, on the th day of april, , and that of connecticut on the th of september, , and thus the immense domain now comprising the states of ohio, indiana, illinois, michigan and wisconsin, with the exception of the reservations of virginia, and a small reservation of the state of connecticut in northeastern ohio, passed over to the general government, before the adoption of the federal constitution, and before george washington, the first president of the united states, was sworn into office, on the th day of april, . but the wisdom and the broad national views of the leading virginia law-makers and statesmen, had already, in great measure, pointed the way to the indian policy to be pursued by washington and his successors. no state, either under the old confederation or the new constitution, presented such a formidable array of talent and statecraft as virginia. washington, jefferson, john marshall, and madison, stood pre-eminent, but there was also edmund randolph, patrick henry, james monroe, george mason, william grayson and richard henry lee. washington had always taken a deep and abiding interest in the western country. in he had made a trip down the ohio in company with his friends, doctor craik and william crawford. the distance from pittsburgh to the mouth of the great kanawha was two hundred and sixty-five miles. the trip was made by canoes and was rather hazardous, as none of washington's party were acquainted with the navigation of the river. the party made frequent examinations of the land along the way and washington was wonderfully impressed with the future prospects of the country. arriving at the mouth of the great kanawha, he ascended that river for a distance of fourteen miles, hunting by the way, as the land was plentifully stocked with buffalo, deer, turkeys and other wild game. he also made critical observations of the soil here, with a view to future acquisitions. the whole country below pittsburgh at that time, was wild and uninhabited, save by the indian tribes. at the close of the revolution the minds of washington, jefferson and other leading virginians were filled with the grand project of developing and colonizing the west, and binding it to the union by the indissoluble ties of a common interest. there was nothing of the narrow spirit of provincialism about these men. their thoughts went beyond the limited confines of a single state or section, and embraced the nation. they entertained none of those jealousies which distinguish the small from the great. on the contrary, they looked upon the mighty trans-montane domain with its many watercourses, its rich soil, and its temperate climate, as a rich field for experimentation in the erection of new and free republics. the deed of cession of virginia had provided: "that the territory so ceded shall be laid out and formed into new states, containing a suitable extent of territory, not less than one hundred, nor more than one hundred fifty miles square, or as near thereto as circumstances will admit: and that the states so formed should be distinct republican states, and admitted members of the federal union, having the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, and independence, as the other states." if this great public domain, thus dedicated to the whole nation, and under the control of its supreme legislative body, the continental congress, could be filled up with a conglomerate population from all the states, factions and sectional jealousies would disappear, and at the same time the original states would be more closely knit together by the bonds of their common interest in the new federal territory. but there was one great obstacle to the realization of these hopes, and that was the difficulty of opening up any means of communication with this western empire. the mountain ranges stood as barriers in the way, unless the headwaters of such rivers as the potomac and the james, could be connected by canals and portages with the headwaters of the ohio and its tributaries. if this could be accomplished, and if the headwaters of the miami, scioto and muskingum, could be connected in turn with those of the cuyahoga, the maumee and the wabash, then all was well, for this would furnish an outlet for the commerce of the west through the ports and cities of the atlantic seaboard. there were other and highly important political questions that engaged washington's attention at this time, and they were as follows: the english dominion of canada bordered this northwest territory on the north. the british, contrary to the stipulations of the treaty of peace of , had retained the posts of detroit, niagara and oswego, to command the valuable fur trade of the northwest, and the indian tribes engaged therein, and in addition they also enjoyed a complete monopoly of all trading vessels on the great lakes. to the south and west of this northwest territory lay the spanish possessions, and the spanish were attempting to bar the settlers of kentucky from the use of the mississippi for the purposes of trade. in other words, they were closing the market of new orleans against the kentuckians. but suppose that either or both of these powers, who were then extremely jealous of the growth and expansion of the new republic, should hold forth commercial advantages and inducements to the western people? what then would be the result? what then the prospect of binding any new states to be formed out of this western territory in the interest of the federal union? with all these great questions revolving in his mind, we see the father of his country again on horseback in the year , traversing six hundred and eighty miles of mountain wilderness in pennsylvania and virginia and examining the headwaters of the inland streams. he made every inquiry possible, touching the western country, examined every traveler and explorer who claimed to have any knowledge of its watercourses and routes of travel, and after spending thirty-three days of fatiguing travel in the saddle, he returned to his home and made a report of his observations to governor harrison of virginia. his remarks on the western country are so highly interesting and important, and manifest such a deep and profound interest in the future welfare of the western world, as to call for the following quotations: "i need not remark to you that the flanks and rear of the united states are possessed by great powers, and formidable ones, too; nor how necessary it is to apply the cement of interest to bind all parts of the union together by indissoluble bonds, especially that part of it, which lies immediately west of us, with the middle states. for what ties, let me ask, should we have upon these people? how entirely unconnected with them shall we be, and what troubles may we not apprehend, if the spaniards on their right, and great britain on their left, instead of throwing stumbling-blocks in their way, as they now do, should hold out lures for their trade and alliance? what, when they get strength, which will be sooner than most people conceive (from the emigration of foreigners, who will have no particular predilection towards us, as well as from the removal of our own citizens), will be the consequence of their having formed close connections with both or either of those powers, in a commercial way? it needs not, in my opinion, the gift of prophecy to foretell." "the western states (i speak now from my own observation) stand as it were upon a pivot. the touch of a feather will turn them any way. they have looked down the mississippi, until the spaniards, very impolitically, i think, for themselves, threw difficulties in their way; and they look that way for no other reason, than because they could glide gently down the stream; without considering, perhaps, the difficulties of the voyage back again, and the time necessary to perform it in; and because they have no other means of coming to us, but by long land transportations and unimproved roads. these causes have hitherto checked the industry of the present settlers; for except the demand for provisions, occasioned by the increase of population, and a little flour, which the necessities of the spaniards compel them to buy, they have no incitements to labor. but smooth the road, and make easy the way for them, and then see what an influx of articles will be poured upon us; how amazingly our exports will be increased by them, and how amply we shall be compensated for any trouble and expense we may encounter to effect it." "a combination of circumstances makes the present conjuncture more favorable for virginia, than for any other state in the union, to fix these matters. the jealous and untoward disposition of the spaniards on the one hand, and the private views of some individuals, coinciding with the general policy of the court of great britain, on the other, to retain as long as possible the posts of detroit, niagara, and oswego (which though done under the letter of the treaty, is certainly an infraction of the spirit of it, and injurious to the union) may be improved to the greatest advantage by this state, if she would open the avenues to the trade of that country, and embrace the present moment to establish it. it only wants a beginning. the western inhabitants would do their part towards its execution. weak as they are, they would meet us at least half-way, rather than be driven into the arms of foreigners, or be made dependent upon them; which would eventually either bring on a separation of them from us, or a war between the united states and one or other of those powers, most probably the spaniards." these remarks coming from the pen of washington aroused intense interest in virginia. he did not stop there. on the fourteenth of december, , we see him calling the attention of the president of the old continental congress to these affairs. he urged, "that congress should have the western waters well explored, their capacities for navigation ascertained as far as the communications between lake erie and the wabash, and between lake michigan and the mississippi, and a complete and perfect map made of the country at least as far west as the miamis, which run into the ohio and lake erie," and he pointed out the miami village as the place for a very important post for the union. the expense attending such an undertaking could not be great; the advantages would be unbounded. "nature," he said, "has made such a display of her bounty in these regions that the more the country is explored the more it will rise in estimation. the spirit of emigration is great; people have got impatient; and, though you cannot stop the road, it is yet in your power to mark the way. a little while and you will not be able to do either." such were the enlightened and fatherly hopes that washington thus early entertained of the great west and its struggling pioneers, who were trying to carve out their destinies in a remote wilderness. no less enlightened were the views of jefferson. he may be said in truth to be the father of the northwest. when a member of the legislature of virginia, he had promoted the expedition under george rogers clark, which resulted in the conquest of the northwest, and its subsequent cession to the united states under the treaty of . as governor of virginia he had taken part in its cession to the general government on march first, . "on that same day," says bancroft, "before the deed could be recorded and enrolled among the acts of the united states, jefferson, as chairman of a committee, presented a plan for the temporary government of the western territory from the southern boundary of the united states in the latitude of thirty-one degrees to the lake of the woods. it is still preserved in the national archives in his own handwriting, and is as completely his own work as the declaration of independence." as the profoundest advocate of human rights of his day or time, freeing himself from the narrow spirit of sectionalism, and despising human slavery and its contamination of the institutions of a free people, he proposed the ultimate establishment of ten new states in the territory northwest of the ohio, a republican form of government for each of them, and no property qualification for either the electors or the elected. "following an impulse of his own mind," he proposed the everlasting dedication of the northwest to free men and free labor, by providing that after the year there should be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of them. while jefferson's plan for the exclusion of slavery was stricken from the ordinance, his noble ideas of freedom were afterwards fully and completely incorporated in the final ordinance of , whereby "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted," should ever be permitted. this ordinance, through the predominating influence of virginia and her statesmen, was passed by the vote of georgia, south carolina, north carolina, virginia, delaware, new jersey, new york and massachusetts, and afterwards ratified by the legislature of virginia who had to consent thereto to give it full force. it is at once apparent that these statesmen and patriots who looked forward to the establishment of free republics in the western domain, based on free labor and equal rights, would never consent that the foundation of these new republics should be laid in blood. the outrages perpetrated on the frontiers of new york, pennsylvania and virginia, and on the infant settlements of kentucky, during the revolution, and all at the instigation of the british, had left behind them a loud cry for vengeance. in fact similar outrages were still taking place daily. the claim was made that under the treaty of peace with great britain, that no reservation had been made in favor of any of the indian tribes, or in favor of their claims to any of the lands they occupied; that under the treaty the absolute fee in all the indian lands within the limits of the united states had passed to the several states such as virginia, who had a legitimate claim to them, and later by cession of these states to the general government, and that congress "had the right to assign, or retain such portions as they should judge proper;" that the indian tribes, having aided great britain in her attempt to subjugate her former colonies, and having committed innumerable murders, arsons and scalpings on the exposed frontiers, should now be required to pay the penalty for their crimes; that their lands and hunting grounds should stand forfeit to the government, and they be expelled therefrom. in other words, it was asserted that the government should turn a harsh and stern countenance towards all these savage marauders and drive them by force, if need be, from the public lands. towards all these arguments in favor of a hard and uncompromising attitude toward the savage tribes, both washington and jefferson turned a deaf ear. they assumed a high plane of mercy and forgiveness towards the red man that must ever redound to their glory. on august th, , in a message to the senate of the united states, washington said: "while the measures of government ought to be calculated to protect its citizens from all injury and violence, a due regard should be extended to those indian tribes whose happiness, in the course of events, so materially depends upon the national justice and humanity of the united states." these sentiments were reflected in his course of action from the first day of peace with great britain. he, together with general philip schuyler, said, "that with regard to these children of the forest, a veil should be drawn over the past, and that they should be taught that their true interest and safety must henceforth depend upon the cultivation of amicable relations with the united states." he took the high ground that peace should be at once granted to the several tribes, and treaties entered into with them, assigning them certain lands and possessions, within the limits of which they should not be molested. to avoid national dishonor, he advocated the purchase of all lands occupied by the various indian tribes as the advance of the settlements should seem to require, thus fully recognizing the indian right of occupancy. he utterly rejected all ideas of conquest, and as he commanded a powerful influence over all the better minds of that day, his counsels prevailed. to those who have read jefferson's speeches to the little turtle, the miamis, potawatomi and delawares in the year , near the close of his second administration, the broad humanitarianism and fatherly benevolence of the third president is at once apparent. in those addresses he laments the "destructive use of spirituous liquors," the wasting away of the tribes as a consequence thereof, and directs the attention of their chieftains to "temperance, peace and agriculture," as a means of restoring their former numbers, and establishing them firmly in the ways of peace. "tell this, therefore, to your people on your return home. assure them that no change will ever take place in our dispositions toward them. deliver to them my adieux, and my prayers to the great spirit for their happiness. tell them that during my administration i have held their hand fast in mine; that i will put it into the hand of their new father, who will hold it as i have done." jefferson demanded always that the strictest justice should be done toward the tribes, and carrying forward his ideas in his first ordinance of , for the government of the northwest territory, he inserted a provision that no land was to be taken up until it had been first purchased from the indian tribes and offered for sale through the regular agencies of the government. the tree of justice thus planted by washington and jefferson, flourished and grew until it produced the magnificent fruit of the ordinance of , wherein it is stipulated that: "the utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent; and in their property, rights and liberty, they never shall be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall, from time to time be made, for preventing wrongs being done them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them." [illustration: thomas jefferson, third president of the united states.] in order that we may trace the development of the principles of equity thus incorporated in the ordnance of , and which thenceforward distinguished the domestic policy of the federal government towards the tribes, a brief review of the treaties had and negotiated with the indian tribes prior to that year now becomes germane. the first treaty after the revolution was that of fort stanwix (rome) new york, concluded on the nd day of october, , by and between oliver wolcott, richard butler and arthur lee, commissioners plenipotentiary of the united states, on the one part, and the sachems and warriors of the six nations of the iroquois confederacy, on the other part. this treaty was opposed by joseph brant, chief of the mohawks, and a firm friend and ally of the british, but supported by the cornplanter, his rival, who was a friend of the united states. by its terms the united states gave peace to the senecas, mohawks, onondagas and cayugas on their delivery of hostages to secure the return of prisoners taken during the revolution; secured the oneidas and tuscaroras, who had fought on the side of the united states, in the possession of the lands they occupied, and took all the tribes under the protection of the federal government. on the other hand, the iroquois tribes yielded to the united states any and all claims to the territory west of the western line of pennsylvania, thus surrendering up any further pretensions on their part to any of the lands in the northwest territory. the treaty seems to have been openly conducted, and really exhibited no small degree of leniency on the part of the government, as the mohawks especially had taken part in many horrible massacres on the american frontier during the revolution and were the objects of almost universal execration. then again, the iroquois had really sacrificed but little in surrendering their claims to the lands west of the pennsylvania line, for while they had at one time undoubtedly conquered all of the tribes east of the mississippi, these days of glory had long since departed, and the wyandots, delawares and miamis were the rightful owners of a large part of the ohio country. the treaty of fort stanwix was followed about ninety days later by the treaty of fort mcintosh, concluded on the st day of january, , at the mouth of beaver creek, in pennsylvania. the commissioners on the part of the united states were george rogers clark, richard butler and arthur lee, while the indian negotiators were the "half-king of the wyandots, captain pipe, and other chiefs, on behalf of the wyandot, delaware, ottawa and chippewa nations." by the articles of this treaty the outside boundaries of the wyandots and delawares were fixed as follows: beginning at the mouth of the river cuyahoga, where the city of cleveland now stands, and running thence up said river to the portage between that and the tuscarawas branch of the muskingum; thence running down said branch to the forks of the crossing place above old fort laurens; thence extending westerly to the portages between the branches of the miami of the ohio and the st. marys; thence along the st. marys to the miami village; thence down the maumee to lake erie; thence along the south shore of lake erie to the place of beginning. the wyandot and delaware nations, together with some ottawa tribesmen dwelling among the wyandots, were given the right and privilege of living and hunting upon the lands embraced within the above limits, but the united states reserved tracts of six miles square each, at the mouth of the maumee, at sandusky, and at the portage of the st. marys and great miami, as well as some further small tracts at the rapids of the sandusky river, for the establishment of trading posts. all land east, south and west of the above boundaries was acknowledged to be the property of the government, and none of the above tribes were to settle upon it. further reservations for trading posts were made at detroit and michillimacinac. the wyandots, delawares, ottawas and chippewas were granted peace, and at the same time were made to acknowledge the absolute sovereignty of the united states. any indian committing a murder or robbery upon any citizen of the united states was to be delivered to the nearest post for punishment according to the laws of the nation. the third and last treaty before the ordinance, affecting the northwest, was held at the mouth of the great miami, on january st, , between george rogers clark, richard butler and samuel h. parsons, commissioners, and the murderous and horse-stealing shawnees, and but for the cool daring and intrepidity of clark, there probably would have been a massacre. some restraint was sought to be imposed on the shawnee raiders who constantly kept the frontiers of kentucky and virginia in a turmoil. owing to their absolute hostility, however, and the influence of the british agents at miamitown and detroit, only a few of the younger chiefs attended the conference. the shawnees were made to acknowledge the united states as the "sole and absolute sovereigns of all the territory ceded to them by a treaty of peace, made between them and the king of great britain, the fourteenth day of january, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four," and in turn were granted peace and protection. they were allotted certain lands to live and hunt upon, on the headwaters of the great miami and the wabash rivers. but a fundamental error had crept into all these negotiations, and that was, that the indians' ancient right of occupancy was not recognized. that right of present enjoyment and possession, although claimed by savages who had waged war without mercy, against women and children, was still a right. in the years to come, and after the new constitution of the union came into force and effect, the supreme court of the united states, sitting in solemn judgment upon this very question, would have to pronounce that the indian tribes had an unquestioned right to the lands they occupied, "until that right was extinguished by a voluntary cession to the government," notwithstanding the fact that the ultimate fee in the soil rested in the government. to declare that the iroquois, the wyandots and the delawares, suddenly became divested of every species of property in their lands, on the ground that they had forfeited them by waging war against the united states, was to declare that which could never be defended in a court of conscience and equity. but in the first hot moments succeeding the revolution, and before men's minds had time to cool, that was practically the principle upon which the continental congress had proceeded. by consulting the records of the old congress of date october th, , it is found that a committee composed of mr. duane, mr. peters, mr. carroll, mr. hawkins and mr. arthur lee, to whom had been referred the whole question of indian affairs, had reported in substance as follows: that while the indian tribes were "disposed to a pacification," that they were not in "a temper to relinquish their territorial claims without further struggles;" that if the tribes were expelled from their lands, they would probably retreat to canada, where they would meet with "a welcome reception from the british government;" that this accession of power on the part of canada would make her a formidable rival in case of future trouble, and secure to her people the profits of the fur trade; "that although motives of policy as well as clemency ought to incline congress to listen to the prayers of the hostile indians for peace, yet in the opinion of the committee it is just and necessary that lines of property should be ascertained and established between the united states and them, which will be convenient to the respective tribes, and commensurate to the public wants, because the faith of the united states stands pledged to grant portions of the uncultivated lands as a bounty to their army, and in reward of their courage and fidelity, and the public finances do not admit of any considerable expenditure to extinguish the indian claims upon such lands;" that owing to the rapid increase in population it was necessary to provide for the settlement of the territories of the united states; that the public creditors were looking to the public lands as the basis for a fund to discharge the public debt. the committee went further. they reported with some particularity that the indians had been the aggressors in the late war, "without even a pretense of provocation;" that they had violated the convention of neutrality made with congress at albany in , had brought utter ruin to thousands of families, and had wantonly desolated "our villages and settlements, and destroyed our citizens;" that they should make atonement for the enormities they had perpetrated, and due compensation to the republic for their wanton barbarity, and that they had nothing wherewith to satisfy these demands except by consenting to the fixing of boundaries. wherefore, it was resolved that a convention be held with the tribes; that they be received into the favor and protection of the united states, and that boundaries be set "separating and dividing the settlements of the citizens from the indian villages and hunting grounds." it will be seen that in all this report there is nothing said of vested rights, or the just and lawful claims of the indian occupants. if clemency was granted, it was a matter of grace. the government claimed the absolute jus disponendi, without any word of argument on the part of the savages. on the same day that the above resolution for holding a convention with the indian tribes was agreed upon, preliminary instructions to the commissioners were decided upon by congress. it was determined first, that all prisoners of whatever age or sex must be delivered up; second, that the indians were to be informed that after a long contest of eight years for the sovereignty of the country, that great britain had relinquished all her claims to the soil within the limits described in the treaty of peace; third, that they be further informed that a less generous people than the americans might, in the face of their "acts of hostility and wanton devastation," compel them to retire beyond the lakes, but as the government was disposed to be kind to them, "to supply their wants, and to partake of their trade," that from "motives of compassion" a veil should be drawn over what had passed, and boundaries fixed beyond which the indians should not come, "but for the purpose of trading, treating, or other business equally unexceptionable." there were other instructions, but is not essential to this inquiry that they be enumerated. it is at once apparent that the commissioners on behalf of the government who went into the treaties of fort stanwix, fort mcintosh, and that at the mouth of the great miami, if they obeyed the instructions of congress, gave the indian tribes to understand that the united states absolutely owned every foot of the soil of the northwest, were entitled to the immediate possession of it, and if they allowed the savages to remain upon it, and did not drive them beyond the lakes, it was purely from "motives of compassion," and not because these savages enjoyed any right of occupancy that was bound to be respected by the government. that these statements are true is proven by the report of henry knox, secretary of war, to president washington, on june th, , in a review of past conditions relative to the northwestern indians. the representations of knox correctly reflected the views of washington himself. the secretary says: "it is presumable, that a nation solicitous of establishing its character on the broad basis of justice, would not only hesitate at, but reject every proposition to benefit itself, by the injury of any neighboring community, however contemptible or weak it might be, either with respect to its manners or power * * * the indians being the prior occupants, possess the right of the soil. it cannot be taken from them unless by their free consent, or by the right of conquest in case of a just war. to dispossess them on any other principle, would be a gross violation of the fundamental law of nations, and of that distributive justice which is the glory of a nation." he then says the following: "the time has arrived, when it is highly expedient that a liberal system of justice should be adopted for the various indian tribes within the limits of the united states. by having recourse to the several indian treaties, made by the authority of congress, since the conclusion of the war with great britain, except those made in january, , at fort harmar, it would appear, that congress were of the opinion, that the treaty of peace, of , absolutely invested them with the fee of all the indian lands within the limits of the united states; that they had the right to assign, or retain such portions as they should judge proper." again, and during the negotiations of benjamin lincoln, beverly randolph and timothy pickering, with the northwestern indians in , this candid admission is made of the former errors in the negotiations at fort stanwix: "the commissioners of the united states have formerly set up a claim to your whole country, southward of the great lakes, as the property of the united states, grounding this claim on the treaty of peace with your father, the king of great britain, who declared, as we have before mentioned the middle of those lakes and the waters which unite them to be the boundaries of the united states. we are determined that our whole conduct shall be marked with openness and sincerity. we therefore frankly tell you, that we think those commissioners put an erroneous construction on that part of our treaty with the king. as he had not purchased the country of you, of course he could not give it away. he only relinquished to the united states his claims to it. that claim was founded on a right acquired by treaty with other white nations, to exclude them from purchasing or settling in any part of your country; and it is this right which the king granted to the united states. before that grant, the king alone had a right to purchase of the indian nations, any of the lands between the great lakes, the ohio and the mississippi, excepting the part within the charter boundary of pennsylvania; and the king, by the treaty of peace, having granted this right to the united states, they alone have now the right of purchasing." thus with perfect candor and justice did we afterwards admit that our first treaties with the tribes, were founded on a mistaken and arbitrary notion of our rights in the premises, and without a due regard to the right of occupancy of the indian nations. a government thus frank enough to declare its error, should have been implicitly trusted by the indian chieftains, and no doubt would have been, but for the constant representations of the british agents who for mercenary gain appealed to their fear and prejudice. these first errors in our indian negotiations, however, were extremely costly to us, and proved to be so many thorns in the side of the republic. on the th of may, , an ordinance was passed by the continental congress "for ascertaining the mode of disposing of lands in the western territory," recently acquired under the treaties of forts stanwix and mcintosh. beginning at the western line of pennsylvania, ranges of townships six miles square were to be laid off, extending from the river ohio to lake erie. these ranges were to be surveyed under the superintendence of the chief geographer of the united states, assisted by surveyors appointed from each state, and these surveyors were in turn placed over the different companies of chain carriers and axemen. congress was making strenuous efforts to open up the western country to purchase and settlement. but at the first attempts of the government surveyors to enter the ohio country, they met with a most determined resistance from the savages. brigadier-general tupper, of massachusetts, who went to pittsburgh to run some lines, was enabled to proceed no farther west than that station. captain john doughty, writing to the secretary of war from fort mcintosh, on the st of october, , says "they (the indians) are told by the british, and they are full in the persuasion, that the territory in question was never ceded to us by britain, further than respects the jurisdiction or putting the indians under the protection of the united states. from this reasoning they draw a conclusion that our claim in consequence of that cession ought not to deprive them of their lands without purchase. i believe you may depend upon it that this is the reasoning of their chiefs. i am so informed by several persons who have been among them. our acting upon the late treaty made at this place last winter, in beginning to survey their country, is certainly one great cause of their present uneasiness." everywhere the british partizans of miamitown and detroit, in order to keep the tribes in firm alliance with england, and thus preserve the valuable fur trade, were pointing to the treaties of fort stanwix and fort mcintosh and telling the indians that the americans were laying claim to their whole country, and would drive them beyond the lakes. the british agents went further. according to captain doughty, certain emissaries of the british, who were acquainted with the indian language and manners, were constantly circulating among the indian towns in the miami and wyandot country, making presents to the savages, and appealing to their fears. from the information of one alexander mccormick, communicated to captain doughty, it appears that some time during the season of , a grand council of the tribes was held at coshocton, on the muskingum. tribes were present from a considerable distance beyond the mississippi. the object of this council seems to have been to unite all the tribes and oppose the american advance. "two large belts of wampum were sent from the council to the different nations, holding that they should unite and be at peace with each other." this looked like a threat of war. matthew elliott, an indian agent of the british, said in the shawnee town in the presence of forty warriors, "that the indians had better fight like men than give up their lands and starve like dogs." simon girty and caldwell were among the delawares and wyandots advising them to keep away from the contemplated treaty at the mouth of the great miami. in the face of all these portentous happenings the adoption of the great ordinance of , came as a happy relief. it was apparent now, to the minds of all right thinking men, that an unfortunate interpretation had been made of the treaty of peace; that nothing could justify an unlawful seizure of the indian possessions. it might be humiliating to reverse the policy of the government, and give the british agents a chance to say that the united states had been wrong from the beginning, but the leading men in the federal councils had determined to adhere to the advice of washington, and purchase every foot of the indian lands. the potent words of the ordinance that "the utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent," were in every sense truly american and placed the nation four-square to all the world. as a direct consequence of the new policy toward the tribes, as evidenced by the ordinance of , two separate treaties of peace were entered into at fort harmar, at the mouth of the muskingum river, on january th, , and in the first year of george washington's administration. the first treaty was concluded with the wyandot, delaware, ottawa, chippewa, potawatomi and sac nations; the second with the sachems and warriors of the six nations. about the time of the adoption of the ordinance for the government of the northwest territory, the ohio company composed of revolutionary officers and soldiers, had negotiated with congress for the purchase of a large tract of land in the muskingum valley, and on the th day of april, , the town of marietta, ohio, had been established at the mouth of that river, opposite fort harmar. the purchase by the ohio company was succeeded by that of john cleves symmes, of a large tract of land between the great and the little miami rivers, and about the first of january, , the foundations were laid of the present city of cincinnati. on october th, , arthur st. clair, of revolutionary fame, was appointed as the first governor of the northwest territory, and on july th, , he arrived at marietta to assume his duties, to organize the government, and adopt laws for the protection of the people. the sale of these lands in the indian country, the planting of these new settlements, and the increasing tide of men, women and children sweeping down the ohio, to settle in kentucky, seemed to verify all that the british agents had told the indians respecting the american intentions. the depredations on the ohio river, the plundering of boats, and murder of immigrants and settlers, were on the increase. governor st. clair had been given instructions by congress on the th day of october, , to negotiate if possible an effectual peace. he was to feel out the tribes, ascertain if possible their leading head men and warriors and attach them to the interests of the united states. the primary object of the treaty was declared to be the removing of all causes of controversy, and the establishment of peace and harmony between the united states and the indian tribes. on july nd, , he was given additional instructions and informed that the sum of twenty thousand dollars had been appropriated, in addition to six thousand dollars theretofore set aside, for the specific purpose of obtaining a boundary advantageous to the united states, "and for further extinguishing by purchase, indian titles, in case it can be done on terms beneficial to the union." congress was evidently seeking to carry out the letter and spirit of the ordinance, and to extinguish the indian right of occupancy, by fair negotiation and purchase. time will not be taken here to enumerate the many difficulties encountered by general st. clair in the negotiation of the treaty at fort harmar. the violent opposition of joseph brant and the indian department of the british government will be treated under another head. suffice it to say that president washington always considered this as a fair treaty. in the instructions given by the government to general rufus putnam in , this language occurs: "you may say that we conceive the treaty of fort harmar to have been formed by the tribes having a just right to make the same, and that it was done with their full understanding and free consent." tarhe, a prominent chief of the wyandots, said at the treaty of greenville, in , to general wayne: "brother, you have proposed to us to build our good work on the treaty of muskingum (fort harmar); that treaty i have always considered as founded upon the fairest principles * * * i have always looked upon that treaty to be binding upon the united states and us indians." the same boundaries were fixed between the united states and the wyandots and delawares, as were fixed in the treaty of fort mcintosh, and the six nations ceded to the government all lands west of the pennsylvania line, but this time a valuable consideration was given for the land, and the united states "relinquished and quit claimed" to the tribes all claims to the territory embraced within the indian boundaries "to live and hunt upon, and otherwise to occupy as they shall see fit." in other words, and as secretary of war knox says, congress had appropriated a sum of money solely for the purpose of extinguishing the indian title, and for obtaining regular conveyances from the indians, and this was accordingly accomplished. one who reads of this great triumph of right and justice, and this humane and merciful treatment of a race of savages, is certainly justified in feeling a profound respect and admiration for the fathers of the republic. chapter ix the kentuckians --_the first men to break through the mountain barriers to face the british and the indians._ while the government of the united states was thus shaping its policy toward the indian tribes, a new empire was building on the western waters, that was to wield a more powerful influence in the development of the western country, than all other forces combined. that empire was kentucky. the waters of the ohio "moving majestically along, noiseless as the foot of time, and as resistless," sweep from the junction of the monongahela and allegheny to the waters of the mississippi, a distance of nine hundred miles, enclosing in their upper courses the island of blannerhassett, below the mouth of the little kanawha, the island of zane, near wheeling, and leaping in a descent of twenty-two feet in a distance of two miles the falls opposite the present city of louisville. the lofty eminences which crowned its banks, the giant forests of oak and maple which everywhere approached its waters, the vines of the frost-grape that wound their sinuous arms around the topmost branches of its tallest trees, presented a spectacle that filled the soul of the traveler with awe and wonder at every graceful turn of the river. in the spring a wonderful transformation took place in the brown woods. there suddenly appeared on every hand the opening flowers of the red-bud, whose whole top appeared as one mass of red blossoms, interspersed with the white and pale-yellow blossoms of the dog-wood, or cornus florida. thus there extended "in every direction, at the same time, red, white and yellow flowers; at a distance each tree resembling in aspect so many large bunches of flowers every where dispersed in the woods." this was the belle riviere, or the beautiful river of the french, which they long and valiantly sought to hold against the advancing tides of english traders and land hunters. this was that glorious gate to the west, through which floated the rafts and keel-boats of the american settlers who took possession of the great northwest. but notwithstanding the beauty and grandeur of this stream, there was not, at the close of the french and indian war, on the tenth of february, , a single habitation of either white man or savage on either the ohio-indiana side, or on the kentucky side of this river. says general william henry harrison: "the beautiful ohio rolled its 'amber tide' until it paid its tribute to the father of waters, through an unbroken solitude. its banks were without a town or village, or even a single cottage, the curling smoke of whose chimney would give the promise of comfort and refreshment to a weary traveler." the reason for this solitude is apparent. to the south of the ohio lay the "dark and bloody ground" of kentucky; "dark," because of its vast and almost impenetrable forests; "bloody," because of the constant savage warfare waged within its limits by roving bands of miamis, shawnees, cherokees, and other tribes who resorted thither in pursuit of game. says humphrey marshall, the early historian of kentucky: "the proud face of creation here presented itself, without the disguise of art. no wood had been felled; no field cleared; no human habitation raised; even the redman of the forest, had not put up his wigwam of poles and bark for habitation. but that mysterious being, whose productive power, we call nature, ever bountiful, and ever great, had not spread out this replete and luxurious pasture, without stocking it with numerous flocks and herds; nor were their ferocious attendants, who prey upon them, wanting, to fill up the circle of created beings. here was seen the timid deer; the towering elk; the fleet stag; the surly bear; the crafty fox; the ravenous wolf; the devouring panther; the insidious wildcat; the haughty buffalo, besides innumerable other creatures, winged, four-footed, or creeping." this was the common hunting ground of the wild men of the forest. none took exclusive possession, because none dared. the ohio was the common highway of the indian tribes, and while their war paths crossed it at frequent intervals, none were so bold as to attempt exclusive dominion over it. as was once said in the senate of the united states, "you might as well inhibit the fish from swimming down the western rivers to the sea, as to prohibit the people from settling on the new lands." while the great revolution was opening, that should wrest our independence from great britain, the stream of "long rifles" and hunting shirt men of virginia and pennsylvania, who followed the valleys of the allegheny and the blue ridge from north to south, suddenly broke through the western mountain barriers and flowed in diminutive rivulets into the basins of the tennessee, the ohio and the cumberland; afterwards forming, as theodore roosevelt most strikingly says, "a shield of sinewy men thrust in between the people of the seaboard and the red warriors of the wilderness." in , james harrod built the first log cabin in kentucky. on the th of june, , the first fort of the white man was erected at boonesborough. the situation of the first pioneers of kentucky was indeed precarious. "they were posted," says mann butler, "in the heart of the most favorite hunting ground of numerous and hostile tribes of indians, on the north and on the south; a ground endeared to these tribes by its profusion of the finest game, subsisting on the luxuriant vegetation of this great natural park. * * * * it was emphatically the eden of the red man." on the waters of the wabash, the miamis and the scioto, dwelt powerful confederacies of savages who regarded their intrusion as a menace and a threat. behind these savages stood the minions of great britain, urging war on non-combatants and offering bounties for scalps. it was three or four hundred miles to the nearest fort at pittsburgh, and a wilderness of forest and mountain fully six hundred miles in extent, separated them from the capital of virginia. but it is to the everlasting glory of these men that they knew no fear, and valiantly held their ground. standing as they were, on the very outskirts of civilization, they looked on the perils of the wilderness with unquailing eye, and with stout hearts and brawny arms they carried forward the standards of the republic. the thin line of skirmishers thus thrown far out beyond the western ranges, was all that stood between the grasping power of great britain, and the realization of her desire for absolute dominion over the western country. the ambitious projects of her rebel children must be defeated, and they must be driven back beyond the great watershed which they had crossed. the western waters were to be preserved for the red allies of england, who supplied her merchants with furs and peltries. the great "game preserve," as roosevelt called it, must not be invaded. years before, a royal governor of georgia had written: "this matter, my lords, of granting large bodies of land in the back part of any of his majesty's northern colonies, appears to me in a very serious and alarming light; and i humbly conceive, may be attended with the greatest and worst of consequences; for, my lords, if a vast territory be granted to any set of gentlemen, who really mean to people it, and actually do so, it must draw and carry out a great number of people from great britain, and i apprehend they will soon become a kind of separate and independent people, who will set up for themselves; that they will soon have manufactures of their own; and in process of time they will become formidable enough to oppose his majesty's authority." this, "kind of separate and independent people," had now in fact and in reality appeared, and were evincing a most decided inclination to "set up for themselves" on the king's domain. the task of faithfully portraying the heroic valour of this handful of men who defended their stockades and cabins, their wives and children, against british hate and savage inroad, is better left to those who have received the account from actual survivors. in , the entire army of kentucky amounted to one hundred and two men; there were twenty-two at boonesborough, sixty-five at harrodsburgh, and fifteen at st. asaphs, or logan's fort. around these frontier stations skulked the shawnees, hiding behind stumps of trees and in the weeds and cornfields. they waylaid the men and boys working in the fields, beset every pathway, watched every watering place, and shot down the cattle. "in the night," says humphrey marshall, "they will place themselves near the fort gate, ready to sacrifice the first person who shall appear in the morning; in the day, if there be any cover, such as grass, a bush, a large clod of earth, or a stone as big as a bushel, they will avail themselves of it, to approach the fort, by slipping forward on their bellies, within gun-shot, and then, whosoever appears first, gets the fire, while the assailant makes his retreat behind the smoke from the gun. at other times they approach the walls, or palisades, with the utmost audacity, and attempt to fire them, or beat down the gate. they often make feints, to draw out the garrison, on one side of the fort, and if practicable, enter it by surprise on the other. and when their stock of provisions is exhausted, this being an individual affair, they supply themselves by hunting; and again, frequently return to the siege, if by any means they hope to get a scalp." in this same year of , st. asaphs, or logan's fort, was besieged by the savages from the twentieth of may until the month of september. "the indians made their attack upon logan's fort with more than their usual secrecy. while the women, guarded by a part of the men, were milking the cows outside of the fort, they were suddenly fired upon by a large body of indians, till then concealed in the thick cane which stood about the cabin. by this fire, one man was killed and two others wounded, one mortally; the residue, with the women, got into the fort. when, having reached the protection of its walls, one of the wounded men was discovered, left alive on the ground. captain logan, distressed for his situation, and keenly alive to the anguish of his family, who could see him from the fort, weltering in his blood, exposed every instant to be scalped by the savages, endeavored in vain for some time to raise a party for his rescue. the garrison was, however, so small, and the danger so appalling, that he met only objection and refusal; until john martin, stimulated by his captain, proceeded with him to the front gate. at this instant, harrison, the wounded man, appeared to raise himself on his hands and knees, as if able to help himself, and martin withdrew, deterred by the obvious hazard; logan, incapable of abandoning a man under his command, was only nerved to newer and more vigorous exertions to relieve the wounded man, who, by that time, exhausted by his previous efforts, after crawling a few paces, had fallen to the ground; the generous and gallant captain took him in his arms, amidst a shower of bullets, many of which struck the palisades about his head, and brought him into the fort to his despairing family." let another tale be related of this same benjamin logan and this same siege. "another danger now assailed this little garrison. 'there was but little powder or ball in the fort; nor any prospect of supply from the neighboring stations, could it even have been sent for, without the most imminent danger.' the enemy continued before the fort; there was no ammunition nearer than the settlements at holston, distant about two hundred miles; and the garrison must surrender to horrors worse than death, unless a supply of this indispensable article could be obtained. nor was it an easy task to pass through so wily an enemy or the danger and difficulty much lessened, when even beyond the besiegers; owing to the obscure and mountainous way, it was necessary to pass, through a foe scattered in almost every direction. but captain logan was not a man to falter where duty called, because encompassed with danger. with two companions he left the fort in the night and with the sagacity of a hunter, and the hardihood of a soldier, avoided the trodden way of cumberland gap, which was most likely to be waylaid by the indians, and explored his passage over the cumberland mountain, where no man had ever traveled before, through brush and cane, over rocks and precipices, sufficient to have daunted the most hardy and fearless. in less than ten days from his departure, captain logan, having obtained the desired supply, and leaving it with directions to his men, how to conduct their march, arrived alone and safe at his 'diminutive station,' which had been almost reduced to despair. the escort with the ammunition, observing the directions given it, arrived in safety, and the garrison once more felt itself able to defend the fort and master its own fortune." the siege was at last raised, but on the body of one of the detachment were found the proclamations of the british governor of canada, offering protection to those who should embrace the cause of the king, but threatening vengeance on all who refused their allegiance. thus it was brought home to the struggling pioneers of kentucky, that the british and the indians were in league against them. men like daniel boone, james harrod and benjamin logan, fighting, bleeding, hunting game for the beleaguered garrisons, were the precursors of george rogers clark. clark possessed prescience. he knew the british had determined on the extermination of the kentucky settlements, because these settlements thwarted the british plan of preserving the west as a red man's wilderness. he had been in the fights at harrodstown, in , and doubtless knew that the british partisans at detroit were paying money for scalps. knowing that all the irruptions of savages into kentucky were encouraged and set on foot from kaskaskia, vincennes and detroit, he suddenly resolved upon the bold project of capturing these strongholds. this would put the british upon the defensive, relieve the frontiers of kentucky, virginia and pennsylvania, and in the end add a vast territory to the domain of the republic. in the accomplishment of all these designs the soil of kentucky was to be used as a base of operations. it is not the purpose of this work to give a history of the clark campaigns, nor of the daring stratagems of that great leader in effecting his purposes. kaskaskia, cahokia, and vincennes, each in turn fell into his hands, and when henry hamilton, the british lieutenant-governor at detroit, received the astounding news that the french on the mississippi and the wabash had sworn allegiance to the americans, he abandoned his enterprise of capturing fort pitt and at once entered upon a campaign to retrieve the lost possessions and "sweep" the kentuckians out of the country. his scheme was formidable. with a thousand men, and with artillery to demolish the stockades and destroy the frontier posts, he proposed to drive the settlers back across the mountains. "undoubtedly," says roosevelt, "he would have carried out his plan, and have destroyed all the settlements west of the alleghenies, had he been allowed to wait until the mild weather brought him his host of indian allies and his reinforcements of regulars and militia from detroit." how clark with his virginians and kentuckians, and a few french allies from the western posts, anticipated his attack, swam the drowned lands of the wabash, and surprised him at vincennes, has been well told. instead of "sweeping" kentucky, the "hair-buyer" general was taken a prisoner to the dungeons of virginia, and the newborn possessions were erected into the county of illinois. for a number of years following the revolution, there were those in the east, and especially in new england, who suffered from myopia. they utterly failed to see the future of the republic, or the importance of holding the western country. to them, such men as harrod and kenton, logan and boone, were "lawless borderers" and willful aggressors on the rights of the red man. and yet, back of the crowning diplomacy of john jay, that placed our western frontiers on the banks of the mississippi, and extended our northern lines to the thread of the lakes, lay the stern resolution of the men of kentucky and the supreme audacity of the mind of clark. from this crucible of fire and blood a great people emerged, hardy, brave, chivalrous, quick to respond to the cries and sufferings of others, but with an iron hate of all things indian and british stamped eternally in their hearts. others might be craven, but they were not. every savage incursion was answered by a counterstroke. the last red man had not retreated across the ohio, before the mounted riflemen of kentucky, leaving old men and boys behind to supply the settlements, and with a little corn meal and jerked venison for their provision, sallied forth to take their vengeance and demolish the indian towns. federal commanders, secretaries of war, even presidents might remonstrate, but all in vain. they had come forth into the wilderness to form their homes and clear the land, and make way for civilization, and they would not go back. in every family there was the story of a midnight massacre, or of a wife or child struck down by the tomahawk, or of a loving father burned at the stake. to plead with men whose souls had been seared by outrage and horror was unavailing. all savages appeared the same to them. they shot without discrimination, and shot to kill. they marched with clark, they rode with harmar, and they fought with wayne and harrison. in the war of , more than seven thousand kentuckians took the field. it was, as butler has aptly termed it, "a state in arms." you may call them "barbarians," "rude frontiersmen," or what you will, but it took men such as these to advance the outposts of the nation and to conquer the west. strongly, irresistibly, is the soul of the patriot moved by the story of their deeds. with all its bloody toil and suffering, kentucky grew. after the spring of , when clark had captured vincennes, the danger of extermination was over. following the revolution a strong and ever increasing stream of boats passed down the ohio. the rich lands, the luxuriant pastures, the bounteous harvests of corn and wheat, were great attractions. josiah harmar, writing from the mouth of the muskingum in may, , reports one hundred and seventy-seven boats, two thousand six hundred and eighty-nine men, women and children, one thousand three hundred and thirty-three horses, seven hundred and sixty-six cattle, and one hundred and two wagons, as passing that point, bound for limestone and the rapids at louisville. on the ninth of december of the same year, he reports one hundred and forty-six boats, three thousand one hundred and ninety-six souls, one thousand three hundred and eighty-one horses, one hundred and sixty-five wagons, one hundred and seventy-one cattle, and two hundred and forty-five sheep as on the way to kentucky, between the first of june and the date of his communication. in , the first census of the united states showed a population of seventy-three thousand six hundred and seventy-seven. on june st, , kentucky became the fifteenth commonwealth in the federal union; the first of the great states west of the alleghenies that were to add so much wealth, resource and vital strength to the government of the united states. chapter x the british policies _--the british reluctant to surrender the control of the northwest--their tampering with the indian tribes._ the seventh article of the definitive treaty of peace between the united states and great britain in , provided that "his britannic majesty," should, with all convenient speed, "withdraw all his armies, garrisons, and fleets from the said united states, and from every port, place and harbour within the same," but when demand was made upon general frederick haldimand, the british governor of canada, for the important posts of niagara, oswego, michillimacinac and detroit, he refused to surrender them up, alleging that he had no explicit orders so to do, and that until he had received such commands, he conceived it to be his duty as a soldier to take no step in that direction. this action of haldimand was cool and deliberate and received the full and entire approbation of the british cabinet. tories, and apologists for great britain, have written much about a justification for this action, but there is no real justification. lord carmarthen, the british secretary of state, afterwards said to john adams that english creditors had met with unlawful impediments in the collection of their debts, but the real reason why england violated her treaty he did not state. she retained the posts to control the tribes. she looked with covetous eye on the lucrative fur-trade of the northwest territory upon which the commerce of canada was in great measure dependent, and sooner than resist the entreaties of her merchants and traders, she was willing to embroil a people of her own race and blood, in a series of long and merciless wars with murderous savages. for the fact remains, that if england had promptly surrendered up the posts; had not interfered with our negotiations for peace with the indian tribes; had refused to encourage any confederacy, and had instructed her commanders to keep their spies and agents out of american territory, the murders on the ohio, the slaughter of innocents, and the long, costly and bloody campaigns in the indian country might have been avoided. nothing can ever extenuate the conduct of england in keeping in her employ and service such men as alexander mckee, matthew elliott and simon girty. the chief rendezvous of the tribes after the revolution was at detroit. here were located a british garrison and a british indian agency. this agency, while guarding the trade in peltries, also kept its eye on the fleets that descended the ohio, on the growing settlements of kentucky, and warned the indians against american encroachment. in , and while the revolution was in progress, the missionary john heckewelder, noted the arrival at goschochking on the muskingum, of three renegades and fugitives from pittsburg. they were mckee, elliott and girty. mckee and elliott had both been traders among the indians and understood their language. all three had deserted the american cause and were flying into the arms of the british. they told the delawares and wyandots, "that it was the determination of the american people to kill and destroy the whole indian race, be they friends or foes, and possess themselves of their country; and that, at this time, while they were embodying themselves for the purpose, they were preparing fine sounding speeches to deceive them, that they might with more safety fall upon and murder them. that now was the time, and the only time, for all nations to rise, and turn out to a man against these intruders, and not even suffer them to cross the ohio, but fall upon them where they should find them; which if not done without delay, their country would be lost to them forever." the same men were now inculcating the same doctrines at detroit. they pointed out to the indians that the americans were bent on extinguishing all their council fires with the best blood of the nations; that despite all their fair promises and pretensions, the americans cared nothing for the tribes, but only for their lands. that england by her treaty had not ceded a foot of the indian territory to the united states. that all the treaties thus far concluded with the tribes by the americans, were one-sided and unfair, made at the american forts, and at the cannon's mouth. a powerful figure now arose among the savages of the north. joseph brant was a principal chief of the mohawk tribe of the six nations of new york. his sister molly was the acknowledged wife of the famous british indian superintendent, sir william johnson. in his youth he had been sent by johnson to doctor wheelock's charity school at lebanon, connecticut, where he learned to speak and write english and acquired some knowledge of history and literature. in the war of the revolution the mohawks sided with england, and brant was given a colonel's commission. he remained after the war a pensioner of the british government, and general arthur st. clair is authority for the statement that he received an annual stipend of four hundred pounds sterling. the mohawks had been terribly shattered and broken by the revolution, but they still retained that ascendency among the tribes that resulted from their former bravery and prowess. in the mind of brant there now dawned the grand scheme of forming a confederacy of all the northwestern tribes to oppose the advance of the american settlements. the first arbitrary assumptions of the continental congress gave him a great leverage. they had assumed to exercise an unlimited power of disposal over the indian lands. the surveyors of the government were advancing west of the pennsylvania line and staking off the first ranges. now was the opportune time to fan the flame of savage jealousy, and stand with united front against the foe. it is probable that brant took part in the grand council held at coshocton in , and reported to captain john doughty by alexander mccormick. the account of mccormick relates that there "were present the chiefs of many nations," and that "the object of this council was to unite themselves against the white people." there was an excited activity on the part of mckee, elliott, caldwell and girty and they were endeavoring to keep the tribes away from the american treaties. the newspapers of london in speaking of brant's arrival in england in the latter part of the same year, gave accounts of his lately having presided over a "grand congress of confederate chiefs of the indian nations in america," and said that brant had been appointed to the chief command in the war which the indians meditated against the united states. in the month of december, , the distinguished warrior arrived at the british capital. in an age of less duplicity his coming might have excited some feeling of compassion. he had journeyed three thousand miles across the seas, to see what the great english king could do to restore the broken fortunes of his people. the beautiful valley of the mohawk was theirs no longer. their ancient castles and villages had been destroyed, or were in the hands of strangers. all had been lost in the service of the great "father" across the waters. what would that "father" now do for his ruined and sorrowing children? he reminded lord sidney of the colonial department, that in every war of england with her enemies the iroquois had fought on her side; that they were struck with astonishment at hearing that they had been entirely forgotten in the treaty of peace, and that they could not believe it possible that they could be so neglected by a nation whom they had served with so much zeal and fidelity. the americans were surveying the lands north of the ohio, and brant now desired to know whether the tribes were still to be regarded as "his majesty's faithful allies" and whether they were to have that support and countenance such as old and true friends might expect. in other words, the blunt savage wanted to know whether england would now support the indian tribes in beginning hostilities against the united states. the conduct of the british was characteristic. the lands in controversy had just been ceded by solemn treaty to the new republic. to openly espouse the cause of brant was to declare war. a little finesse must be resorted to in order to evade the leading question, and at the same time hold the tribes. they therefore wined and dined the american chief, and presented him to the king and queen, but promised him nothing. lord sidney rained platitudes. he said the king was always ready to attend to the future welfare of the tribes, and upon every occasion wherein their happiness might be concerned he was ready to give further testimony of his royal favor. he hoped that they might remain united and that their measures might be conducted with temper and moderation. in the meantime, the arts of diplomacy must be employed. the barbarian chief must be bribed with a pension, and covertly used as a tool and instrument of british design. the great chief then and afterwards entertained misgivings, but he proceeded to play the dupe. in november and december, , he was back in america, and a great council of the northwestern tribes was convened at the huron village, near the mouth of the detroit river. present were the five nations, the hurons or wyandots, the delawares, shawnees, ottawas, potawatomi, miamis, and some scattering bands of the cherokees. a letter was here formulated and addressed to the congress of the united states, which at once marks joseph brant and the british agents back of him as the originators of the idea that all the indian lands were held in common by all the tribes, and that no single tribe had the right to alienate. in answer to the treaties of fort stanwix and fort mcintosh, they alleged that congress had hitherto managed everything in their own way, and had kindled council fires where they thought proper; that they had insisted on holding separate treaties with distinct tribes, and had entirely neglected the indian plan of a general conference. they held it to be "indispensably necessary" that any cession of indian lands should be made in the most public manner, "and by the united voice of the confederacy;" all partial treaties were void and of no effect. they urged a full meeting and treaty with all the tribes; warned the united states to keep their surveyors and other people from crossing the ohio, and closed with these words: "brothers: it shall not be our fault if the plans which we have suggested to you should not be carried into execution. in that case the event will be very precarious, and if farther ruptures ensue, we hope to be able to exculpate ourselves and shall most assuredly, with our united force, be obliged to defend those rights and privileges which have been transmitted to us by our ancestors; and if we should be thereby reduced to misfortune, the world will pity us when they think of the amicable proposals which we now make to prevent the unnecessary effusion of blood. these are our thoughts and firm resolves, and we earnestly desire that you transmit to us, as soon as possible, your answer, be it what it may." brant's whole scheme of a confederacy among savage tribes was, of course, wild and chimerical. the same savage hate and jealousy which was now directed toward the americans, would, at the first favorable moment, break out in fiery strifes and dissensions in the indian camp, and consume any alliance that might be formed. to imagine that the miami and the cherokee, the shawnee and the delaware, the iroquois and wyandot, after centuries of war and bloodshed, could be suddenly brought together in any efficient league or combination, that would withstand the test of time, was vain and foolish. the history of the indian tribes in america from the days of the jesuit fathers down to the day of brant, had shown first one tribe and then another in the ascendency. never at any time had there been peace and concord. even within the councils of the same tribe, contentions frequently arose between sachems and chiefs. it is well known that in his later days the little turtle was almost universally despised by the other miami chieftains. a deadly hatred existed between the cornplanter and joseph brant. tecumseh and winamac were enemies. governor arthur st. clair, writing to the president of the united states, on may , , reported that a jealousy subsisted between the tribes that attended the treaty at fort harmar; that they did not consider themselves as one people and that it would not be difficult, if circumstances required it, "to set them at deadly variance." equally pretentious was brant's claim of a common ownership of the indian lands. the iroquois themselves had never recognized any such doctrine. in october, , at the english treaty of fort stanwix, they had sold to the british government by bargain and sale, a great strip of country south of the ohio river, and had fixed the line of that stream as the boundary between themselves and the english. at that time they claimed to be the absolute owners of the lands ceded, to the exclusion of all other tribes. at the treaty of fort wayne, in , between the united states and the northwestern tribes, the miamis claimed the absolute fee in all the lands along the wabash, and refused to cede any territory until a concession to that effect was made by william henry harrison. in the instructions of congress, of date october th, , to general arthur st. clair, relative to the negotiation of a treaty in the northern department, which were the same instructions governing the negotiations at fort harmar in january , specific directions were given to defeat all confederations and combinations among the tribes, for congress clearly saw the british hand behind brant's proposed league, and knew how futile it was to recognize any such savage alliance. the british officials were well aware of the shortcomings of brant's league, but they hailed its advent with delight. if the tribes could be collected together under the shadow of the british forts, and freely plied by the british agents, they could be kept hostile to the american vanguard. if the government of the united states could not acquire a foothold north of the ohio, the british forts were safe, and the trade in peltries secure. the result of this policy was of course foreseen. it meant war between the united states and the indian tribes. but in the meantime england would hold the fur-trade. thus in cold blood and with deliberation did the british rulers pave the way to the coming hostilities. in november, , sir guy carleton, now lord dorchester, arrived at quebec. like most of the royal officers of that day he looked with disdain upon the new republic of the united states. it was evident that the old confederation could not be held together much longer. there was constant strife and jealousy between the states. in massachusetts shays' rebellion was in progress, which seemed at times to threaten the existence of the commonwealth itself. the courts were occluded, and the administration of justice held in contempt. in the west, the people of kentucky were embittered toward the states of the atlantic seaboard. their prosperity in great measure depended upon the open navigation of the mississippi, and a free market at new orleans. spain had denied them both, and in the eyes of the kentuckians congress seemed disposed to let spain have her own way. under all these circumstances, which appeared to be so inauspicious for the american government, dorchester determined to keep a most diligent eye on the situation. spain had the nominal control, at least, of the lands west of the mississippi. she had designs on the western territory of the united states, and was about to open up an intrigue with james wilkinson and other treasonable conspirators in kentucky, who had in mind a separation from the eastern states. to hold the posts within the american territory, was to be on the ground and ready to act, either in the event of a dissolution of the old confederation, or in case of an attempt on the part of spain to seize any portion of the western country. added to all this was the imperative necessity, as dorchester looked at it, of maintaining a "game preserve" for the western tribes. if the americans advanced, the indian hunting grounds were endangered, and this would result in lessening the profits of the english merchants. brant was impatient, but dorchester, like lord sidney, proceeded cautiously. on march , , sir john johnson, the british indian superintendent wrote to brant, expressing his happiness that things had turned out prosperously in the indian country, and saying that he hoped that the chief's measures might have the effect of preventing the americans from encroaching on the indian lands. "i hope," he writes, "in all your decisions you will conduct yourselves with prudence and moderation, having always an eye to the friendship that has so long subsisted between you and the king's subjects, upon whom you alone can and ought to depend. you have no reason to fear any breach of promise on the part of the king. is he not every year giving you fresh proofs of his friendship? what greater could you expect than is now about to be performed, by giving an ample compensation for your losses, which is yet withheld from us, his subjects? do not suffer bad men or evil advisors to lead you astray; everything that is reasonable and consistent with the friendship that ought to be preserved between us, will be done for you all. do not suffer an idea to hold a place in your mind, that it will be for your interests to sit still and see the americans attempt the posts. it is for your sakes chiefly, if not entirely that we hold them. if you become indifferent about them, they may perhaps be given up; what security would you then have? you would be left at the mercy of a people whose blood calls aloud for revenge." on may th of the same year, major matthews of the english army, who had been assigned to the command of the king's forces at detroit, communicated with brant from fort niagara, expressing the views of dorchester as follows: "in the future his lordship wishes them (the indians) to act as is best for their interests; he cannot begin a war with the americans, because some of their people encroach and make depredations upon parts of the indian country; but they must see it is his lordship's intention to defend the posts; and while these are preserved, the indians must find great security therefrom, and consequently the americans greater difficulty in taking possession of their lands; but should they once become masters of the posts, they will surround the indians, and accomplish their purposes with little trouble. from a consideration of all which, it therefore remains with the indians to decide what is most for their own interests, and to let his lordship know their determination, that he may take measures accordingly; but, whatever their resolution is, it should be taken as by one and the same people, by which means they will be respected and become strong; but if they divide, and act one part against the other, they will become weak, and help to destroy each other. this, my dear joseph, is the substance of what his lordship desired me to tell you, and i request that you will give his sentiments that mature consideration which their justice, generosity, and desire to promote the welfare and happiness of the indians, must appear to all the world to merit." thus did this noble lord, while refraining from making an open and a manly declaration of war, secretly and clandestinely set on these savages; appealing on the one hand to their fear of american encroachment, and urging on the other the security the tribes must feel from the british retention of the frontier posts. in the meantime, he bided that moment, when the weakness of the states or their mutual dissensions would enable him to come out in the open and seize that territory which the king had lately lost. one is reminded of the remarks that tecumseh made to governor william henry harrison in . "he said he knew the latter (i. e., the english) were always urging the indians to war for their advantage, and not to benefit his countrymen; and here he clapped his hands, and imitated a person who halloos at a dog, to set him to fight with another." pursuant to the instructions of the continental congress heretofore referred to, governor arthur st. clair, in the year , opened up a correspondence with the tribes of the northwest in order to bring them to a treaty. the government, though suffering from a paucity of funds, had determined to enter into engagements looking to the fair and equitable purchase of the indian lands. it was plainly to be seen that unless an accommodation could be arrived at with the tribes that the government either had to abandon the territory north of the ohio, or levy war. this they were reluctant to do. the treasury was practically empty and the people poor. the country had practically no standing army, nor was there the means to raise one. in fact, the new constitution had not as yet been ratified by an adequate number of states, and the first president of the united states had not been elected. again, something must be done, if possible, to relieve the sufferings of the western people. they were loudly complaining of the inattention and neglect of the government, and if they were left entirely without support in fighting their way to the spanish markets at new orleans, and in repelling the constant attacks of the indian raiders urged on by british agents, grave doubts might justly be entertained of their continued loyalty. in fact, during the month of november, in this same year of , the infamous dr. john connolly, arrived at louisville. he came as a direct agent of lord dorchester, seeking to undermine the allegiance of the kentuckians to their government, and offering them arms and ammunition with which to attack the spaniards. this inglorious mission ended in connolly's disgraceful and cowardly flight. in their efforts to negotiate a fair compact, the united states had some reason to anticipate a friendly disposition on the part of the delawares and wyandots. large numbers of the latter tribe had been won over to the principles of christianity and were inclined towards peace, but the miamis of the wabash, the shawnees and the kickapoos were hostile. at miamitown were the little turtle and le gris; close by, were the shawnees under blue jacket; all were under the influence of the girtys, george and simon, and all had been engaged in the indian raids. the miami confederates at eel river, ouiatenon and tippecanoe all looked to the head men at miamitown for inspiration. miamitown was in turn connected with the british agency at detroit. the confederates of the three fires, the ottawas or tawas, the chippewas and potawatomi, otherwise known as the "lake tribes," were also under the influence of the british. on july th, , general arthur st. clair, writing to the secretary of war from pittsburg, said that the western tribes, meaning those under the influence of the miami chiefs, had been so successful in their depredations on the ohio river, their settlements were so distant and "their country so difficult," that they imagined themselves to be perfectly safe, and that as they were able by these incursions "to gratify at once their passions of avarice and revenge, and their desire for spirituous liquors, every boat carrying more or less of that commodity, few of them may be expected to attend; nor are they much to be depended on should they attend generally." he further remarked: "our settlements are extending themselves so fast on every quarter where they can be extended; our pretensions to the country they inhabit have been made known to them in so unequivocal a manner, and the consequences are so certain and so dreadful to them, that there is little probability of there ever being any cordiality between us. the idea of being ultimately obliged to abandon their country rankles in their minds, and our british neighbors, at the same time that they deny the cession of the country made by them, suffer them not to forget for a moment the claim that is founded upon it." the first attempt of the government in , to form a treaty ended in disaster. in order to mollify the tribes, it was proposed to hold the negotiations at the falls of the muskingum river, in what the indians were pleased to term "their own country" and "beyond the guns of any fort." general josiah harrnar was instructed to erect a council house there, and appropriate buildings in which to house the goods to be distributed among the indians. on the night of july th, some ottawas and chippewas attacked the sentries and attempted to steal the goods they were guarding. two soldiers were killed and two wounded. friendly delawares who arrived identified an indian who was slain in the fight, as an ottawa. it was learned that both the chippewas and ottawas were opposed to a treaty, "and in favor of war, unless the whites would agree to the ohio as a boundary line." who set on these wild tribes from the north may well be imagined. general st. clair now determined to hold the treaty at fort harmar at the mouth of the muskingum, and sent a message to the tribes now collecting on the detroit river, to that effect. the machinations of the british agents at detroit in the summer and autumn of , while involved in some degree of mystery, seem to have been about as follows: lord dorchester was apprehensive that the americans contemplated the taking of the posts and thereby uprooting the british influence. in order to avoid such action, it might be the safer policy to make certain concessions and advise the indians to give up a small portion of the territory north of the ohio, rather than to bring on an armed conflict. but all the tribes must be kept together, if possible, and under the direction of the authorities at detroit. no single tribe must be allowed to negotiate a separate treaty, for that might result in the cultivation of friendly relations with the united states, and if one tribe could be brought under the american influence, this might ultimately lead to the disintegration of the british power over all. therefore it was resolved that before any negotiations were entered into with general st. clair, that another grand council of the northwestern tribes should be held in the valley of the miami of the lake, or maumee, and that to that council should be summoned the principal sachems and warriors of all the tribes. alexander mckee, the british indian agent, was to be there, and joseph brant, and all action taken was to be under their supervision and control. on july th, general richard butler wrote to general st. clair that about eighty chiefs were present at the detroit river, awaiting the arrival of brant. on august the th that chieftain reached detroit, but instead of meeting with unanimity of counsel, he found that the wyandots were for "a private and separate meeting with the americans to settle matters for themselves," while the warlike miamis were against any peace at all and in favor of open hostilities. after five weeks of waiting and cajolery, brant got them all together in the miami valley, and the council started to deliberate. the hurons, chippewas, ottawas, potawatomi and delawares stood with brant, and in favor of surrendering up a small portion of their country, rather than of entering headlong into a destructive war. the potawatomi, ottawas and chippewas were far to the north and were probably indifferent; the wyandots and delawares were sincerely for peace. but insuperable objections were now offered by the miamis, kickapoos and the shawnees. horse stealing was their "best harvest," and the plundering of the boats they would not forego. in vain did the wyandots urge a treaty. they presented the miamis with a large string of wampum, but this was refused. they then laid it on the shoulder of a principal miami chieftain, but he turned to one side and let it fall on the ground without making any answer. in the end the wyandots withdrew and the council broke up in confusion. it was plain that if any agreement was entered into with the american government that it would not be through any concerted action on the part of the tribes. tribal jealousy and savage hate rendered that impossible. it has been related that when brant perceived that his confederacy was a failure, and that he could not secure united action, that he said "that if five of the six nations had sold themselves to the devil, otherwise the yankees, that he did not intend that the fierce miamis, shawnees and kickapoos should do so." however this may be, it is evident that from the time of the breaking up of the indian council on the miami, that brant and the british agents did all that lay within their power to frustrate the american negotiations with the wyandots and delawares at fort harmar. according to reports reaching the ears of general st. clair, stories were placed in circulation among the tribes that in case they attended the treaty, that the americans would kill them all, either by putting poison in the spirits, or by inoculating the blankets that would be presented to them, with the dreaded smallpox. brant, after coming within sixty miles of the fort, turned back to detroit, taking all the mohawks with him, and urging back the oncoming tribes of the shawnees and miamis. "it is notorious," says president washington, in a letter to governor clinton, of new york on december st, , "that he (brant) used all the art and influence of which he was possessed to prevent any treaty being held; and that, except in a small degree, general st. clair aimed at no more land by the treaty of muskingum than had been ceded by the preceding treaties." thus did the british government, through its duly authorized agents, its governor and army officers, retain the posts belonging to the new republic, encourage the tribes in their depredations, and defeat the pacific intentions of the american people, and all from the sordid motives of gain. on april th, , when george washington was inaugurated as the first president, every savage chieftain along the wabash, or dwelling at the forks of the maumee, was engaged in active warfare against the people of the united states, largely through the instrumentality of the british officials. chapter xi josiah harmar --_the first military invasion of the northwest by the federal government after the revolution._ the treaty of fort harmar, on january th, , so far as the wabash tribes were concerned, was unavailing. the raids of the miamis and the shawnees continued. murders south of the ohio were of almost daily occurrence. for six or seven hundred miles along that river the inhabitants were kept in a perpetual state of alarm. in kentucky, killings and depredations took place in almost every direction; at crab orchard, floyd's fork and numerous other places. boats were constantly attacked on the ohio and whole families slaughtered, and their goods and cattle destroyed. one hundred and forty-five miles northwest of the mouth of the kentucky river were the indian villages at ouiatenon, on the wabash river. on the south side of that stream and near the outlet of wea creek, were the towns of the weas; across the river from these towns was a kickapoo village. about eighteen miles above ouiatenon was the important trading post of kethtipecanunck (petit piconne or tippecanoe) near the mouth of the tippecanoe river, commanded by the chieftain little face. about six miles above the present city of logansport, and on the eel river, was the miami village of kenapacomaqua or l'anguille, commanded by "the soldier." at the junction of the st. marys and the st. joseph, one hundred and sixty miles north of the kentucky river, was the principal indian village of kekionga or miamitown, commanded by pecan and legris. all these towns were visited by the french and english traders who communicated with detroit and all were under the domination and control of the british. the savages in these various indian villages were so far away from the kentucky settlements that they considered themselves immune from any attacks; they were taught by the english to look with contempt upon the american government, and were given to understand that as long as the british held the upper posts they would be fully protected. in war parties of from five to twenty they suddenly appeared upon the banks of the ohio to pillage the boats of the immigrants and murder their crews, or crossing that stream they penetrated the settlements of the interior, to kill, burn and destroy, and lead away horses and captives to the indian towns. pursued, they were often lost in the almost impenetrable forests of the north, or the savage bands scattered far and wide in thicket and swamp. in the winter of - strange things were happening in the miami villages on the st. joseph and the maumee. henry hay was there, the british agent of a detroit merchant. here are some of the facts that he has recorded in his diary. legris, the little turtle, richardville, and blue jacket, the shawnee chief, were all in that vicinity. george girty lived close by in a delaware town. he had married an indian woman and was really a savage. on the twenty-sixth of december , girty came to miamitown to report to hay. he said that the delawares were constantly being told by the miamis that the ground they occupied was not theirs; that the delawares had answered that they were great fools to fight for others' lands, and that they would war no longer against the americans, but would remove to the spanish territory beyond the mississippi. these facts hay must report in writing to alexander mckee, the british indian agent. on the second of january, , it was reported that antoine laselle, a french trader who had resided at miamitown for nineteen years, was a prisoner in the hands of the weas. the crime charged against him was that he had written a letter to the americans at vincennes apprising them of an indian attack, and that as a consequence of that letter the attacking party had been captured. one of them was the son of a wea who had burned an american prisoner at ouiatenon the preceding summer, and the weas now charged that this son would be burned by his american captors. laselle was supposed to be in imminent peril, and all the french and english traders at miamitown called on legris. legris said that he had always warned the traders about penetrating the lower indian country, but that numbers of the french had gone to trade there without his knowledge. he had cautioned laselle, but laselle had gone without letting him know. if laselle had told him of his intended trip, he would have sent along one of his chiefs with him, or given him a belt as a passport. legris said that no time must be lost, and that he would at once send forward three of his faithful warriors to put a stop to the business. on the fifth day of january, one tramblai arrived from ouiatenon, and said that all the reports concerning laselle were false and that he was having a good trade. on the thirteenth, laselle himself arrived with blue jacket and a frenchman. he bore a letter from the indians and the french-canadians at tippecanoe to legris, certifying that "the bearer antoine laselle is a good loyalist and is always for supporting the king," that was a satisfactory certificate of character along the wabash in . on the thirteenth of february, , the shawnees who live near miamitown, arrive at that village with the prisoner mcmullen. his face is painted black, as one who approaches death. in his hands he holds the "shishequia" made of deer hoofs. he constantly rattles this device, and sings, "oh kentuck!" he thinks that the day of doom is at hand and that he will be burned at the stake. some indian chief, however, has lost a son. the paint will be washed off and the feathers fastened in his scalplock, and he will be adopted to take the place of the slain, but he does not know that now. the story of his capture is typical of the times. he was born in virginia and came to kentucky to collect a debt. with two companions he crosses the ohio at the mouth of the kentucky to hunt wild turkeys. they separate in the woods, and the shawnees surround him, and cut off all means of escape to the canoe. he tries to break through the encircling ring but is hit on the head with a war billet, and now he is here. the shawnee band who captured him were out for revenge. last spring they had gone out to hunt. a party of miamis who were on the warpath returned by another route. the kentuckians who followed them, fell in with the shawnees, and slew some of their women and children. thus runs the tale of blood and reprisal of those savage days. on the twelfth day of december, , and shortly after his arrival at miamitown, hay relates that he saw the heart of a white prisoner, "dried like a piece of dried venison," and with a small stick "run from one end of it to the other." the heart "was fastened behind the fellows bundle that killed him, with also his scalp." on sunday, the twenty-first day of march, , and shortly before hay's departure from detroit, a party of bloody shawnees arrived with four prisoners, one of them a negro. terrible havoc had been done on the ohio. one boat had been attacked on which were one officer and twenty-one men. all had been killed, the boat sunk, and its contents hid in the woods. nineteen persons had been taken near limestone, now maysville, kentucky. all were prisoners, save two or three. john witherington's family had been separated from him. he had a wife " months gone with child" and seven children. in addition to all the above outrages, information was gathered from time to time of all affairs along the ohio. the garrisons were numbered, the officers named, and every motion of governor st. clair closely scrutinized. thus in the very heart of the american country did british officers and agents control the indian trade; heartlessly wink at or encourage the scalping parties of the savages, and keep a close and jealous watch on the numbers and movements of the american forces. the diary of the englishman reveals the whole story. the spring of was one of horror. says judge burnet: "the pioneers who descended the ohio, on their way westward, will remember while they live, the lofty rock standing a short distance above the mouth of the scioto, on the virginia shore, which was occupied for years by the savages, as a favorite watch-tower, from which boats, ascending or descending, could be discovered at a great distance. from that memorable spot, hundreds of human beings, men, women and children, while unconscious of immediate danger, have been seen in the distance and marked for destruction." on the fourth of april, william w. dowell writing to the honorable john brown of kentucky, relates that about fifty indians were encamped near the mouth of the scioto. to decoy the passing boats to the shore they made use of a white prisoner, who ran along the bank uttering cries of distress and begging to be taken on board. three boats and a pirogue were captured, and several persons brutally murdered. a boat belonging to colonel edwards of bourbon, thomas marshall and others, was hailed by the same white prisoner who pleaded to be taken on board and brought to limestone. the stratagem failing to work the savages at once exposed themselves and began to fire on the boats, but without effect. they then pushed off from the shore with a boat load of about thirty warriors and gave chase, and as they were better supplied with oars than the white men, they would have soon overtaken them. the cool resolution and presence of mind of one colonel george thompson now saved the day. he threw out all the horses in the boat he commanded, received colonel edward's crew into his own, and after a frantic chase of fifteen miles, effected an escape. seventeen horses were lost, fifteen hundred pounds worth of dry goods, and a considerable quantity of household goods. the leading spirits in all these attacks at the mouth of the scioto were the shawnees. the attacks became so frequent, that it was now determined to organize a punitive expedition against them. two hundred and thirty kentucky volunteers under general charles scott crossed the river at limestone and were joined by one hundred regulars under general harmar. they struck the scioto several miles up from its mouth and marched down that stream, but the savages scattered in front of them and only four indians were slain. harmar reported to the government that he might as well have tried to pursue a pack of wolves. the movements of the federal government in and were extremely slow. in the first place, a great many of the people of the eastern seaboard regarded the kentuckians and all ultra-montane dwellers with positive distrust. this feeling crept into the counsels of the government itself. on june th, , in a report of henry knox, secretary of war, to president washington, on the wabash indians, the secretary says that since the conclusion of the war with great britain, "hostilities have almost constantly existed between the people of kentucky and the said indians. the injuries and murders have been so reciprocal, that it would be a point of critical investigation to know on which side they have been the greatest." it was probably just such sentiments as these that led to the orders of july, , withdrawing the virginia scouts and rangers who had helped to protect the frontiers, thus leaving the western people entirely dependent upon the limited garrisons stationed at the few and widely separated frontier posts. in the second place, the government neither had the men nor the money at command wherewith to undertake a successful expedition against the savages. the number of warriors on the wabash and its communications were placed by secretary knox at from fifteen hundred to two thousand. this was probably an over-estimate, but the indians were formidable. the regular troops stationed at the frontier posts were less than six hundred. to organize and equip an army sufficient to extirpate the indians and destroy their towns, would require the raising of nineteen hundred additional men, and an expenditure of two hundred thousand dollars. this was a sum of money, says the secretary, "far exceeding the ability of the united states to advance, consistently with a due regard to other indispensable objects." in the third place, the government vainly imagined that it was possible to effect a peace with the wabash tribes. the views of secretary of war knox were very emphatic on this subject. "it would be found, on examination, that both policy and justice unite in dictating the attempt of treaty with the wabash indians; for it would be unjust, in the present confused state of injuries, to make war on those tribes without having previously invited them to a treaty, in order amicably to adjust all differences." with these views, washington himself concurred, observing, "that a war with the wabash indians ought to be avoided by all means consistently with the security of the frontier inhabitants, the security of the troops, and the national dignity." accordingly, about the first of january, , governor arthur st. clair, descended the river ohio from marietta, opposite fort harmar, to losantiville, opposite the mouth of the licking river. here was located fort washington. he changed the name of losantiville to cincinnati, organized the county of hamilton, and proceeded to fort steuben or clarksville, at the falls of the ohio. there he dispatched a messenger to major john hamtramck, the commandant at vincennes, with friendly speeches to be forwarded by him to the indians of the wabash. a sincere and honest effort was to be made to bring about peace, although st. clair himself had but little faith in an amicable adjustment and expressed the opinion that the miamis and the renegade shawnees, delawares and cherokees, lying near them, were "irreclaimable by gentle means." the heart "dried like a piece of dried venison" was ample proof that st. clair was right. the first peace messenger sent by hamtramck was fred gamelin, a frenchman. he proceeded no farther than the vermilion river, where he was informed by an indian that if he went any farther his life would be taken, and he returned to vincennes. on the first of april, hamtramck sent forward antoine gamelin, an intelligent french merchant. the first village he arrived at was close to vincennes, and was named kikapouguoi. the indians at this place were friendly, and he proceeded up the wabash. he next arrived at a town of the vermilion piankeshaws. the first chief of the village and all the warriors seemed to be pleased with the words of peace from the americans, but said that they could not give a proper answer before consulting their "eldest brethren," the miamis. they desired that gamelin should go forward to kekionga or miamitown, and bring back a report of what the head chiefs should say. gamelin had now fairly entered the sphere of british influence. he was told that the nations of the lake had a bad heart and were ill disposed toward the americans; that the shawnees of miamitown would never receive his speech. gamelin now advanced to the large indian village of the kickapoos, situated on the big vermilion river, in what is now vermilion county, indiana. their principal town was on the site of what is now known as "the army ford stock farm," a few miles from the present village of cayuga. this farm has been in the possession of the old shelby family for years. the house contains two or three old fireplaces and has been built for about a century. it stands on a high bluff facing the vermilion river, and the view is very picturesque. in making recent excavations for gravel along the roadway to the west of the buildings, an indian skeleton was unearthed. it was in a fair state of preservation and the teeth in the skull were still perfect. there were also several indian arrowheads, remains of a leathern pouch with a draw-string, and parts of a grass-woven blanket. by the side of the skeleton of the savage were the bones of a dog, and also a small copper bell, which was probably worn about the dog's neck. the kickapoos held the dog in especial veneration and at the time of the burial of the warrior, fully equipped with arms and tobacco for the happy hunting ground, the dog was probably slain to accompany his master. no tribe of savages along the wabash was more irreconcilable than the kickapoos. "they were," says beckwith, "pre-eminent in predatory warfare. small parties, consisting of from five to twenty or more, were the usual number comprising their war parties. these would push out hundreds of miles from their villages, and swoop down upon a feeble settlement, or an isolated pioneer cabin, and burn the property, kill the cattle, steal the horses, capture the women and children and be off again before the alarm could be given." they were always strongly on the british side, and numbers of them fought against the americans at tippecanoe. gamelin at once encountered opposition. the kickapoos first found fault with his speech and said that it contained a threat of war. upon his eliminating the objectionable words, they said he could go farther up the river, but that they could not give a definite answer because some of their warriors were absent, and they had first to consult the weas, who were the owners of their lands. they next found fault with gamelin for coming among them empty-handed. they said that they expected "a draught of milk from the great chief, and the commanding officer of the post, for to put the old people in good humor; also some powder and ball for the young men for hunting, and to get some good broth for their women and children." they promised to keep their young men from stealing, and to send speeches to their nations in the prairies to prevent them from making expeditions. on the fourteenth of april, gamelin held a council with the weas and kickapoos at ouiatenon. he found everything hostile. as a frenchman he was welcome, but was plainly told that nothing could be done without the consent of the miamis; that it was useless to ask them (the indians) to restrain their young men, for they were "being constantly encouraged by the british." one of the chiefs said: "know ye that the village of ouiatenon is the sepulcher of all our ancestors. the chief of america invites us to go to him, if we are at peace. he has not his leg broke, having been able to go as far as the illinois. he might come here himself; and we should be glad to see him at our village. we confess that we accepted the axe, but it is by the reproach we continually receive from the english and other nations, which received the axe first, calling us women; at the present time they invite our young men to war." on the eighteenth of april, gamelin arrived at kenapacomaqua or l'anguille. the head chief was absent, and the tribesmen would give no answer. however, they sent some of their men along to hear what the miamis at kekionga would say. on the twenty-third of april, gamelin arrived at the head of the maumee. the next day he got the miamis, the shawnees and a few delawares in council. he presented each tribe with two branches of wampum, and began his friendly speeches before the french and english traders who had been invited to be present. after his speeches were delivered he displayed the treaty of fort harmar. this greatly displeased them. nothing can better display the treachery of the miamis on this occasion than the statements of the principal chieftain, legris, made to gamelin in a private conversation. after telling the frenchman not to pay any attention to the shawnees, as they were the "perturbators of all the nations," he said that he knew that the miamis had a bad name on account of mischief done on the ohio, but that this mischief was not occasioned by his young men, but by the shawnees; that his young men had only gone out to hunt. this glaring falsehood was told in the face of the fact that the little turtle himself had been out on the warpath only the winter before, returning with captives and plunder. on the twenty-fifth of april, gamelin held a conference with the famous shawnee chief, blue jacket. the chief was implacable. he informed gamelin that no answer could be given to the american peace messenger without hearing from the british at detroit. that the shawnees had determined to give the two branches of wampum back, and to send gamelin to detroit, or detain him twenty days until an answer could be received from the british. the chief also stated that he believed that the americans were guilty of deception. the next day after this conference five potawatomi arrived at miamitown with two captured negro slaves, which they openly sold to the british traders. a day or two after the interview with blue jacket, gamelin was told by legris to call at a french trader's house and receive his answer. he was there told that he might go back to vincennes when he pleased, and that no definite answer could be given to his speeches "without consulting the commandant at detroit." legris professed to be pleased with gamelin's address, and said that it should be communicated to all the confederates, but declared that the nations had resolved not to do anything without the unanimous consent of the tribes. "the same day, blue jacket, chief of the shawnees, invited me to his house for supper; and, before the other chiefs, told me that, after another deliberation, they thought necessary that i should go myself to detroit, for to see the commandant, who would get all his children assembled for to hear my speech. i told them i could not answer them in the night; that i was not ashamed to speak before the sun." "the twenty-ninth of april, i got them all assembled. i told them that i was not to go to detroit; that the speeches were directed to the nations of the river wabash and the miami; and that, for to prove the sincerity of the speech, and the heart of governor st. clair, i have willingly given a copy of the speeches, to be shown to the commandant at detroit; and, according to a letter wrote by the commandant of detroit to the miamis, shawnees, and delawares, mentioning to you to be peaceable with the americans, i would go to him very willingly, if it was in my directions, being sensible of his sentiments. i told them i had nothing to say to the commandant; neither him to me. you must immediately resolve, if you intend to take me to detroit, or else i am to go back as soon as possible." "blue jacket got up and told me, 'my friend, we are well pleased with what you say. our intention is not to force you to go to detroit: it is only a proposal, thinking it for the best. our answer is the same as the miamis. we will send, in thirty nights, a full and positive answer, by a young man of each nation, by writing to post vincennes.' in the evening, blue jacket, chief of the shawnees, having taken me to supper with him, told me, in a private manner, that the shawnee nation was in doubt of the sincerity of the big knives (americans), so called, having been already deceived by them. that they had first destroyed their lands, put out their fire, and sent away their young men, being a hunting, without a mouthful of meat; also, had taken away their women; wherefore, many of them would, with great deal of pain, forget the affronts. moreover, that some other nations were apprehending that offers of peace would, maybe, tend to take away, by degrees, their lands; and would serve them as they did before; a certain proof that they intend to encroach on our lands, is their new settlement on the ohio. if they don't keep this side (of the ohio) clear, it will never be a proper reconcilement with the nations shawnees, iroquois, wyandots, and perhaps many others." on the journey back to vincennes, every indication along the way was threatening. at l'anguille, gamelin was told that one of the eel river chieftains had gone to war with the americans; that a few days before his arrival a band of seventy indians, chippewas and ottawas from michillimacinac, and some potawatomi, had passed through the village on the way to the american frontier. at ouiatenon, the weas said that the english commandant was their father, and that they could do nothing without his approbation. "on the eighth day of may, gamelin returned to fort knox, and on the eleventh, some traders arrived from the upper wabash, bringing the intelligence that war parties from the north had joined the wabash indians; that the whole force of the savages had gone to make an attack on the settlements, and that three days after gamelin left the miamis, an american captive had been burned in their village." [illustration: map of the harmar, st. clair and wayne campaigns. drawing by heaton] reluctant as was the government of the united states to engage in war with the wabash indians, no doubt now remained of their warlike intentions. every savage town from the vermilion piankeshaws to ancient kekionga, was under british control. on the first of may, , governor arthur st. clair transmitted to the war department a part of the report of antoine gamelin, written from tippecanoe, and observed as follows: "by this letter, you will perceive that everything seems to be referred to the miamis, which does not promise a peaceable issue. the confidence they have in their situation, the vicinity of many other nations not very well disposed, and the pernicious counsels of the english traders, joined to the immense booty obtained by the depredations upon the ohio, will most probably prevent them from listening to any reasonable terms of accommodation, so that it is to be feared the united states must prepare effectually to chastise them." shortly afterwards, st. clair hastened to fort washington at cincinnati, and there held a military conference with general josiah harmar. being empowered to call upon virginia, then including kentucky, for one thousand militia, and upon the state of pennsylvania for five hundred more, it was resolved to concentrate three hundred of the kentucky troops at fort steuben (clarksville), to march from that place to post vincennes. from thence an expedition under major john f. hamtramck was to be directed against the villages on the lower wabash, so as to prevent them from aiding the miamis higher up. the remaining twelve hundred militiamen were to join the regulars at fort washington and strike directly across the country to the principal miami village at kekionga. no permanent military post was to be established, however, at the forks of the maumee. secretary of war knox was fearful of results. while admitting that the miami village presented itself "as superior to any other position," for the purpose of fixing a garrison to overawe the indians at the west end of lake erie, on the wabash and the illinois, still, he was apprehensive that the establishment of a post at this place would be so opposed to the inclinations of the indians generally as to bring on a war of some duration, and at the same time render the british garrisons "so uneasy with such a force impending over them, as not only to occasion a considerable reinforcement of their upper posts, but to occasion their fomenting, secretly, at least, the opposition of the indians." how any official of the government with the report of antoine gamelin in his hands, could hope to soften the animosity of the tribes by the taking of half measures, or to propitiate the british by a display of timidity, is hard to conceive. four months later the hesitating secretary changed his course. the army with which general harmar marched out of fort washington in the latter days of september, , to strike the indian towns, was a motley array. pennsylvania had only partly filled her quota. she had sent forth substitutes, old and infirm men, and boys. the troops from kentucky had seemingly brought into camp every old musket and rifle in the district to be repaired. there was a scarcity of camp kettles and axes. the commissariat was miserably deficient. to add to the confusion, the kentucky militia were divided in their allegiance between a certain colonel william trotter and colonel john hardin. hardin was fearless, but extremely rash; trotter was wholly incompetent. in two or three days the kentuckians were formed into three battalions, under majors hall, mcmullen, and ray, with trotter at their head. harmar, an old army officer of the revolution, who felt a contempt for all militia, was in sore dismay, for the hasty muster was totally lacking in discipline, and impatient of restraint. in numbers, as colonel roosevelt observes, this army was amply sufficient to do its work. it consisted of three battalions of kentucky militia, one battalion of pennsylvania militia, one battalion of light troops, mounted, and two battalions of the regular army under major john plasgrave wyllys, and major john doughty; in all, fourteen hundred and fifty-three men. there was also a small company of artillery, with three small brass field pieces, under captain william ferguson. but to fight the hardy and experienced warriors of the wilderness in their native woods, required something more than hasty levies, loose discipline, and inexperienced indian fighters. harmar was not a wayne. the expedition was doomed to failure from the very beginning. the details of the march along harmar's trace to the site of the present city of fort wayne it is not necessary to give. the army moved slowly, and gave the british agents under alexander mckee plenty of time to furnish the redskins with arms and ammunition. the star of the little turtle was in the ascendant. he was now thirty-eight years of age, and while not a hereditary chieftain of the miamis, his prowess and cunning had given him fame. the indians never made a mistake in choosing a military leader. he watched the americans from the very time of their leaving fort washington and purposed to destroy them at the indian town. on the fourteenth of october the army reached the river st. marys, described by captain john armstrong as a pretty stream, and hardin was sent forward with a company of regulars and six hundred militia to occupy miamitown. he found the villages on both banks of the st. joseph deserted by the foe. the english and french traders had fled from the main indian town on what is now known as the lakeside shore of the st. joseph, and had carried away most of their valuables. john kinzie and antoine laselle were among the refugees. the savages had burned the houses in their main village to prevent their occupation by the americans, and had buried vast quantities of corn and vegetables in indian caches. one hundred and eighty-five houses of the delawares, shawnees and miamis, were still left standing in the neighboring villages. all of these were destroyed by the torch after harmar's arrival. on sunday the seventeenth, the main army crossed the maumee river from the south and encamped on the point of land formed by the junction of the st. joseph and the maumee. it was a beautiful spot covered by the indian corn fields and gardens. the kentucky militia in parties of thirty and forty, throwing aside all discipline, wandered about in search of plunder. the indians were wary. they lurked in the woods and thickets, biding the time when they might destroy the army in detail. major mcmullen now discovered the tracks of women and children in a pathway leading to the northwest. harmar resolved to locate the indian encampment and bring the savages to battle. on the morning of the eighteenth, colonel trotter was given the command of three hundred men, equipped with three days' provisions, and ordered to scour the country. the detachment after pursuing and killing two indian horsemen, marched in various directions until nightfall, and returned to camp. colonel hardin was now given command of the expedition for the two remaining days. an event now took place that at once exhibited both the wily strategy of the little turtle as a military leader, and the blundering bravado of colonel john hardin. on the morning of the nineteenth, hardin moved forward over the indian trail leading to the northwest. at a distance of some five or six miles from the main army, the detachment came upon an abandoned indian camp. here a halt was made, probably to examine the ground, when hardin hurriedly ordered another advance, thinking he was close on the heels of fleeing red men. in the confusion attending this second movement, captain faulkner's company was left in the rear. hardin now proceeded about three miles, and had routed two indians out of the thicket, when he suddenly discovered that he had left faulkner behind. he now dispatched major james fontaine with a part of the cavalry to locate that officer. about this time captain john armstrong, who was in command of a little company of thirty regulars marching with the militia, informed hardin that a gun had been fired in front of them which he thought was an alarm gun, and that he had discovered the tracks of a horse that had come down the trail and had returned. hardin with a dare-devil indifference paid no attention. he moved rapidly on without scouts and without flankers. armstrong now warned hardin a second time. he said that he had located the camp fires of the indians and that they must be close at hand. hardin rode on, swearing that the indians would not fight. all at once the army marched into the entrance of a narrow prairie, flanked on each side by heavy timber. at the far end of the prairie a fire had been kindled and some trinkets placed in the trail. the front columns came up to these baubles and halted--the whole detachment, save faulkner's company, was in the defile. to the right and left of them, concealed in the underbrush, were three hundred miamis, led by the little turtle. the indians had divided and "back-tracked" the trail, and were now watching the americans enter the trap. at the moment the army halted, a furious fire was opened, and all but nine of the militia at once fled, carrying hardin along with them. the company of faulkner, coming up in the rear, suddenly saw two horsemen approaching. each of them had a wounded man behind him covered with blood. the fugitives were yelling: "for god's sake retreat! you will all be killed! there are indians enough to eat you all up!" the regulars, however, true to tradition, stood their ground. all were stricken down in their tracks except five or six privates, and their captain and ensign. captain armstrong sank to his neck in a morass, and the savages did not find him. "the indians remained on the field; and the ensuing night, held the dance of victory, over the dead and dying bodies of their enemies, exulting with frantic gestures, and savage yells, during the ceremony." the captain was a witness of it all. the scene of this conflict was at what is now known as heller's corners, eleven miles northwest of fort wayne, at the point where the goshen road crosses the eel river. on the day of hardin's defeat the main body of the army had moved down the north bank of the maumee about two miles and had occupied the shawnee village of chillicothe. on the twentieth, harmar ordered the burning and destruction of every house and wigwam in the town, and censured the "shameful cowardly conduct of the militia who ran away, and threw down their arms without firing scarcely a single gun." he was in a fury, and was now determined to march back to fort washington, and on the twenty-first of october the whole army moved back for a distance of seven miles and encamped at a point south and east of the present site of fort wayne. hardin was chagrined. he determined if possible to retrieve his own credit and that of the kentucky militia. in the night he approached harmar. he told the general that the indians had probably returned to their towns as soon as the army had left them. now was the time for a grand surprise. harmar, after much importunity, gave his consent to a second expedition. late in the night, three hundred and forty picked militiamen and sixty regulars started back for kekionga. the detachment marched in three columns, the federal troops in the center with captain joseph asheton, a brave officer and a good fighter at their head; the militia were on both flanks. major john p. wyllys and colonel hardin rode at the front. the sun has risen, and the advance guards of the small army now ascend the wooded heights overlooking the maumee. beyond lie the brown woods, the meadows, and the indian corn fields. a few savages appear, digging here and there for hidden treasures of corn. all are seemingly unaware of hostile approach. wyllys now halts the regulars, with the militia in the advance, and forms his plan of battle. major hall with his battalion is to swing around the bend of the maumee, cross the st. marys and come in on the western side of the indian towns. there he is to wait for the main attack. major mcmullen's battalion, major fontaine's cavalry and wyllys with his regulars are to cross the ford in front, encompass the savages on the south, east and north, and drive them into the st. joseph. hemmed in on all sides, exposed to a murderous crossfire, their escape will be impossible. strict orders are given that the troops are on no account to separate, but the battalions are to support each other as the circumstances may require. what a terrible fate awaits the regulars. the little turtle had observed that in trotter's expedition on the morning of the eighteenth, the four field officers of the militia had left their commands to pursue a lone indian on horseback. as the militia emerge on the northern bank of the maumee a few warriors expose themselves, and the kentuckians disregarding all orders, instantly give chase. the indians fly in all directions, the militia after them, and the regulars are left alone. this is the opportune moment. as the regulars cross the ford and climb the opposite bank, the painted and terrible warriors of the miami chief arise from their hiding places and fire at close range. wyllys falls, his officers fall, all but a handful are remorselessly mowed down, scalped and mutilated, and the day is won. thus for the second time has the cunning little turtle completely outwitted his paleface antagonists. the remaining details of this disordered conflict are soon told. the parties of militia under mcmullen and fontaine, sweeping up the east side of the st. joseph, drove a party of indians into the river near the point of the old french fort. fontaine was hit by a dozen bullets and fell forward in his saddle. the indians were now caught between hall's battalion on the west and mcmullen's riflemen and fontaine's cavalry on the east. a brief massacre ensued, and captain asheton and two soldiers killed a number of the savages in the water with their bayonets. the red men finally charged on hall's battalion--it gave way--and they made their escape. captain joseph asheton in commenting on this last battle at the maumee, makes the following observation: "if colonel (major) hall, who had gained his ground undiscovered, had not wantonly disobeyed his orders, by firing on a single indian, the surprise must have been complete." the question of whether there was any surprise at all or not, remains in doubt. the fort wayne manuscript, which possesses some historical value at least, says that about eight hundred indians were present; three hundred miamis under the little turtle, and a body of five hundred more savages, consisting of shawnees, delawares, potawatomi, chippewas and ottawas. that the shawnees were commanded by blue jacket, and the ottawas and chippewas by an ottawa chief named agaskawak. the battle itself, was skillfully planned on the part of the savages. they must have known that the militiamen were in the vanguard and would cross the maumee first. they rightly calculated that the impetuosity of the kentuckians and their lack of discipline, would lead them at once into a headlong charge. this would make the destruction of the regulars comparatively easy and lead to the demoralization of the whole detachment. a plan so well designed as this, and so skillfully executed, is not formed on the instant. besides, it is not probable that the little turtle remained out of touch with the american army while it was in the immediate vicinity of the indian towns. on november sixth, governor st. clair wrote to the secretary of war that the savages had received "a most terrible stroke." it is true that they had suffered a considerable damage in the burning of their cabins and the destruction of their corn, but the total loss of warriors was only about fifteen or twenty. the american army, on the other hand, had lost one hundred and eighty-three in killed, and thirty-one wounded. among the slain were major wyllys and lieutenant ebenezer frothingham, of the regular troops, and major fontaine, captains thorp, mcmurtrey and scott, lieutenants clark and rogers, and ensigns bridges, sweet, higgins and thielkeld, of the militia. "the outcome of the campaign," says b. j. griswold, the fort wayne historian, "considered from the most favorable angle, gave naught to the american government to increase its hopes of the pacification of the west." on the other hand, the savages, their spirit of revenge aroused to the white heat of the fiercest hatred, assembled at the site of their ruined villages, and there, led to renewed defiance of the americans through the fiery speech of simon girty, set about the work of preparation to meet the next american force which might be sent against them. in a body, these savages, led by little turtle, legris and blue jacket, proceeded to detroit, where they "paraded the streets, uttering their demoniac scalp yelps while bearing long poles strung with the scalps of many american soldiers." governor st. clair expressed regret that a post had not been established; it would be the surest means of obliging the indians to be at peace with the united states. on december second, , major john hamtramck, writing from vincennes, gave it as his opinion that "nothing can establish peace with the indians as long as the british keep possession of the upper posts, for they are daily sowing the seed of discord betwixt the measures of our government and the indians." he further summed up the situation as follows: "the indians never can be subdued by just going to their towns and burning their houses and corn, and returning the next day, for it is no hardship for the indians to live without; they make themselves perfectly comfortable on meat alone; and as for houses, they can build with as much facility as a bird does his nest." speaking of this campaign and of its effects on the miamis, roosevelt says that "the blow was only severe enough to anger and unite them, not to cripple or crush them. all the other western tribes made common cause with them. they banded together and warred openly; and their vengeful forays on the frontier increased in number, so that the suffering of the settlers was great. along the ohio people lived in dread of tomahawk and scalping knife; the attacks fell unceasingly on all the settlements from marietta to louisville." the expedition of hamtramck against the kickapoo towns on the vermilion river was a failure. he destroyed the indian village at the site of the old shelby farm, near eugene, but the warriors being absent, he returned to vincennes. some local historian has written a bloodcurdling description of the merciless massacre of old men, women and children by hamtramck's army, but this tale is an injustice both to the worthy major and the soldiers under him. the only truthful part of this sketch is that "the adjoining terrace lands were filled with thousands of the greatest varieties of plum bushes and grape vines and it was known as the great plum patch." since general harrison's march to tippecanoe the crossing at this river has been known as "the army ford." chapter xii scott and wilkinson --_the kentucky raids on the miami country along the wabash in ._ the effects of harmar's campaign were soon apparent. in the closing months of , the citizens of ohio, monongahela, harrison, randolph, kanawha, green-briar, montgomery, and russel counties, in western virginia, sent an appeal for immediate aid to the governor of that state, stating that their frontier on a line of nearly four hundred miles along the ohio, was continually exposed to indian attack; that the efforts of the government had hitherto been ineffectual; that the federal garrisons along the ohio could afford them no protection; that they had every reason to believe that the late defeat of the army at the hands of the indians, would lead to an increase of the savage invasions; that it was better for the government to support them where they were, no matter what the expense might be, than to compel them to quit the country after the expenditure of so much blood and treasure, when all were aware that a frontier must be supported somewhere. on the second of january, , between "sunset and daylight-in," the indians surprised the new settlements on the muskingum, called the big bottom, forty miles above marietta, killing eleven men, one woman, and two children. general rufus putnam, writing to president washington, on the eighth of the same month, said that the little garrison at fort harmar, consisting of a little over twenty men, could afford no protection to the settlements. that the whole number of effective men in the muskingum country would not exceed two hundred and eighty-seven, and that many of them were badly armed, and that unless the government speedily sent a body of troops for their protection, they were "a ruined people." virginia, pennsylvania and kentucky, were all being sorely pressed by savage incursions. it was a fortunate circumstance for the future welfare of the great west, that george washington was president of the united states. great numbers of the people in the atlantic states, according to secretary of war knox, were opposed to the further prosecution of the indian war. they considered that the sacrifice of blood and treasure in such a conflict would far exceed any advantages that might possibly be reaped by it. the result of harmar's campaign had been very disheartening, and the government was in straitened circumstances, both as to men and means. but by strenuous efforts, president washington induced congress to pass an act, on the second day of march, , for raising and adding another regiment to the military establishment of the united states, "and for making further provision for the protection of the frontiers." governor arthur st. clair was appointed as the new commander-in-chief of the army of the northwest, and colonel richard butler, of pennsylvania, was promoted and placed second in command. st. clair was authorized to raise an army of three thousand men, but as there were only "two small regiments of regular infantry," the remainder of the force was to be raised by special levies of six months' men, and by requisitions of militia. in the meantime, the government, owing to the pressing demands of the western people, had authorized the establishment of a local board of war for the district of kentucky. this board was composed of brigadier-general charles scott, leader of the kentucky militia, harry innes, john brown, benjamin logan and isaac shelby, and they were vested with discretionary powers "to provide for the defense of the settlements and the prosecution of the war." the government had now fully determined on a definite plan of action. first, a messenger was to be dispatched to the wabash indians with an offer of peace. this messenger was to be accompanied by the cornplanter, of the seneca nation, and such other iroquois chiefs as might be friendly to the united states. second, in case this mission of peace should fail, expeditions were to be organized to strike the wea, the eel river and the kickapoo towns, in order to prevent them from giving aid to the main miami and shawnee villages at the head of the maumee. third, a grand expedition under the command of st. clair himself, was to capture kekionga, establish a military post there, and check the activities of both the indians and british in the valleys of the wabash and the maumee. the instructions of the secretary of war to general st. clair with reference to kekionga were specific. "you will commence your march for the miami village, in order to establish a strong and permanent military post at that place. in your advance, you will establish such posts of communication with fort washington, on the ohio, as you may judge proper. the post at the miami village is intended for the purpose of awing and curbing the indians in that quarter, and as the only preventive of future hostilities. it ought, therefore, to be rendered secure against all attempts and insults by the indians. the garrison which should be stationed there ought not only to be sufficient for the defense of the place, but always to afford a detachment of five or six hundred men, either to chastise any of the wabash, or other hostile indians, or to secure any convoy of provisions. the establishment of such a post is considered as an important object of the campaign, and is to take place in all events." first as to the mission of peace. in december, , the cornplanter and other chiefs of the seneca tribe, being in philadelphia, "measures were taken to impress them with the moderation of the united states, as it respected the war with the western indians; that the coercive measures against them had been the consequence of their refusal to listen to the invitations of peace, and a continuance of their depredations on the frontiers." the cornplanter seemed to be favorably impressed. on the twelfth of march, colonel thomas proctor, as the agent and representative of the united states government, was sent forward to the seneca towns. his instructions from the secretary of war were, to induce the cornplanter and as many of the other chiefs of the senecas as possible, to go with him as messengers of peace to the miami and wabash indians. they were first to repair to sandusky on lake erie, and there hold a conference with the delaware and wyandot tribes who were inclined to be friendly. later they were to go directly to the miami village at kekionga, there to assemble the miami confederates, and induce them to go to fort washington at cincinnati, and enter into a treaty of peace with general st. clair. on the twenty-seventh of april, proctor arrived at buffalo creek, six miles from fort erie, situated on the north side of the lake, and twenty-five miles distant from fort niagara on the south shore of lake ontario. both posts were held by the british. here he found the farmer's brother, red jacket, and practically all of the iroquois chieftains under the influence of the british officers. the farmer's brother, "was fully regimented as a colonel, red faced with blue, as belonging to some royal regiment, and equipped with a pair of the best epaulets." the indians had practically given up hunting and were being directly fed and supported out of the english store-houses. from the very beginning, red jacket and the farmer's brother questioned his credentials. proctor learned from a french trader, that about seven days prior to his arrival, colonel butler of the british indian department and joseph brant had been in the village. they had told the senecas to pay no attention to proctor's talk, and to give him no aid in going to the miamis, for they would all be killed. in two or three days proctor succeeded in getting the indians into a council. he argued that it was the duty of all men, red or white, to warn the miamis to discontinue their thefts and murders, before a decisive blow should be "levelled at them" by the united states. the lives of hundreds of their fellow men might thus be saved. he invited them to bring forward any gentleman of veracity to examine his papers, or to hear his speeches. in answer to this, red jacket proposed that the council fire be removed to fort niagara, so that all proceedings might take place under the eyes of the british counsellors. proctor would not assent to this course, but indicated that he had no objection to the british officers being present. they were accordingly sent for, but in the meantime the farmer's brother and other british adherents were telling the indians that proctor proposed taking them to the "verge of the ocean" and that the treaty grounds were twelve months' journey away. shortly afterwards colonel butler with a staff of british army officers came into camp. butler was bold, and told the indians in proctor's presence that colonel joseph brant, of grand river, and alexander mckee, the british agent of indian affairs at detroit, were now preparing to go among the indians at war with the americans, "to know what their intentions were, whether for war or for peace;" that nothing must be done until their return, for should any embassy be undertaken, this would certainly bring down the wrath of war upon themselves, and result in the death of all, for the miamis were angry with them already. a strange event now happened. the iroquois women suddenly appeared in the indian councils and seconded the pleas of the american peace commissioner. seated with the indian chiefs, they easily swung the scales, and carried the day. red jacket and other chiefs and warriors were appointed to accompany proctor to the west. but the english now played their final trump card. on the fifth of may, proctor had written to colonel gordon, the british commandant at niagara, to obtain permission to freight one of the schooners on lake erie, to transport the american envoy and such indian chiefs as might accompany him, to sandusky. he now received a cold and insolent answer that at once blasted all his hopes. gordon refused to regard proctor "in any other light than a private agent," and peremptorily refused to let him charter any of the craft upon the lake. this made the contemplated mission impossible. let us now see what alexander mckee and joseph brant were doing in the west. shortly before proctor's arrival at buffalo creek, brant had received private instructions from british headquarters to set out for the grand river, and to go from thence to detroit. it appears that shortly after harmar's defeat, the confederated nations of the chippewas, potawatomi, hurons, shawnees, delawares, ottawas, and miamis, together with the mohawks, had sent a deputation of their chiefs to the headquarters of lord dorchester at quebec, to sound him on the proposition as to what aid or assistance they might expect in the event of a continuance of the war. they also demanded to know whether the british had, by the treaty of peace, given away any of their lands to the americans. dorchester, while hostile to the new republic, and firmly resolved to hold the posts, was not ready as yet to come out in the open. he informed the tribes that the line marked out in the treaty of peace, "implied no more than that beyond that line the king, their father, would not extend his interference;" that the king only retained possession of the posts until such time as all the differences between him and the united states should be settled; that in making peace, the king had not given away any of their lands, "inasmuch as the king never had any right to their lands, other than to such as had been fairly ceded by themselves, with their own free consent, by public convention and sale. * * * * in conclusion, he assured the deputation, that although the indians had their friendship and good will, the provincial government, had no power to embark in a war with the united states, and could only defend themselves if attacked." in strange contradiction to the canadian governor's words, alexander mckee came to the rapids of the miami in the month of april to hold a council with the wabash confederates. thither came brant, summoned from buffalo creek. mckee waited three months for the gathering of the tribes, but about july first they were all assembled. "not only the shawnees, delawares, wyandots, ottawas, potawatomis and others," says roosevelt, "who had openly taken the hatchet against the americans, but also representatives of the six nations, and tribes of savages from lands so remote that they carried no guns; but warred with bows, spears, and tomahawks, and were clad in buffalo-robes instead of blankets. mckee in his speech to them did not incite them to war. on the contrary, he advised them, in guarded language, to make peace with the united states; but only upon terms consistent with their "honor and interest." he assured them that, whatever they did, he wished to know what they desired; and that the sole purpose of the british was to promote the welfare of the confederated indians. such very cautious advice was not of a kind to promote peace; and the goods furnished the savages at the council included not only cattle, corn and tobacco, but also quantities of powder and balls." england was determined that the miami chieftains should command the valleys of the wabash and the maumee, and while breathing forth accents to deceive the credulous, were arming the red men with the instruments of war. on the sixteenth of may, the american prisoner, thomas rhea, captured by a party of delawares and "munsees" arrives at sandusky. an indian captain is there with one hundred and fifty warriors. parties are coming in daily with prisoners and scalps. alarm comes in on the twenty-fourth of may that a large body of american troops in three columns are moving towards the miami towns. the indians burn their houses and move to roche de bout, on the maumee. here are colonels joseph brant and alexander mckee, with captains bunbury and silvie, of the british troops. they are living in clever cabins built by the potawatomi and other indians, eighteen miles above lake erie. they have great stores of corn, pork, peas and other provisions, which, together with arms and ammunition, they are daily issuing to the indians. savages are coming in in parties of one, two, three, four and five hundred at a time, and receiving supplies from mckee, and going up the maumee to the miami villages. pirogues, loaded with the munitions of war are being rowed up the same stream by french-canadians. they are preparing for an american attack. rhea hears some things. while he is on the maumee he tells colonel mckee and other british officers that he has seen colonel thomas proctor on his way to the senecas and has talked with him. that proctor told him he was on his way to sandusky and the miami villages, and that he expected the cornplanter to accompany him and bring about peace; that he (proctor), expected to get shipping at fort erie, the british officers who hear these things, say that if they were at lake erie, proctor would get no shipping. the mohawks and other indians declare that if proctor, or any other yankee messenger, arrives, he will not carry back any message. simon girty and one pat hill assert, that proctor should never return, even if he had a hundred senecas with him. on the ninth of march, , the secretary of war issued orders to general charles scott of kentucky, to lead an expedition against the wea or ouiatenon towns on the wabash. the expedition was not to proceed until the tenth day of may, as hopes were entertained that proctor might negotiate a peace. the force to be employed was to consist of seven hundred and fifty mounted volunteers, including officers. all indians who ceased to resist were to be spared. women and children, and as many warriors as possible, were to be taken prisoners, but treated with humanity. the tenth day of may arrived, but proctor was not heard from. the hostility of the savages was daily increasing. scott was delayed a few days longer in the hope that intelligence might arrive, but on the twenty-third of may he crossed the ohio at the mouth of the kentucky and plunged into the wilderness. before him lay one hundred and fifty-five miles of forest, swamp and stream. the rain fell in torrents and every river was beyond its banks. his horses were soon worn down and his provisions spoiled, but he pressed on. on the morning of the first of june, he was entering the prairies south of the wea plain and approaching the hills of high gap. he now saw a lone indian horseman to his right and tried to intercept him, but failed. he pushed on rapidly to the indian towns. on the morning of june first, , the landscape of the wea is a thing of beauty. to the north lies the long range of the indian hills, crowned with forest trees, and scarped with many a sharp ravine. at the southern edge of these hills flows the wabash, winding in and out with graceful curves, and marked in its courses by a narrow fringe of woodland. to the east lies wea creek, jutting out into the plain with a sharp turn, and then gliding on again to the river. within this enclosure of wood and stream lie the meadows of the ouiatenons, dotted here and there with pleasant groves, and filled with the aroma of countless blossoms. "awake from dreams! the scene changes. the morning breath of the first day of summer has kissed the grass and flowers, but it brings no evil omen to the kickapoo villages on this shore, nor to the five wea towns on the adjacent plain. high noon has come, but still birds and grass and flowers bask in the meridian splendor of a june sunshine, unconscious of danger or the trampling of hostile feet. one o'clock! and over high gap hostile horsemen are galloping. they separate; one division wheels to the left led by the relentless colonel hardin, still smarting from the defeat of the last year by the great miami, little turtle. but the main division, led by the noble colonel scott, afterward the distinguished soldier and governor of kentucky, moves straight forward on to ouiatenon." scott's advance since the morning has been swift and steady. he fears that the indian horseman will give the alarm. at one o'clock he comes over high gap, a high pass through the hills to the southwest of the present town of shadeland. to the left he perceives two indian villages. one is at a distance of two miles and the other at four. they were probably situated in the prairie groves. he now detaches colonel john hardin with sixty mounted infantry and a troop of light horse under captain mccoy, and they swing to the left. scott moves briskly forward with the main body for the villages of the weas, at the mouth of wea creek. the smoke of the camp fires is plainly discernible. [illustration: showing the wea plains and the line of scott's march, tippecanoe county, indiana. drawing by heaton map] as he turns the point of timber fringing the wea, and in the vicinity of what is now the shadeland farm, he sees a cabin to the right. captain price is ordered to assault it with forty men. two warriors are killed. scott now gains the summit of the eminence crowning the south bank of the wabash. the wea villages are below him and scattered along the river. all is in confusion and the indians are trying to escape. on the opposite shore is a town of the kickapoos. he instantly orders his lieutenant-commandant, james wilkinson, to charge the weas with the first battalion, and the eager kentuckians rush to the river's edge, just as the last of five canoes loaded with warriors, has pushed from the shore. with deadly and terrible aim the riflemen empty the boats to the last man. in the meantime, a brisk fire has been kept up from the kickapoo camp. scott now determines to cross the river and capture the town, but the recent rains have swelled the stream and he cannot ford it. he orders wilkinson to cross at a ford two miles above, and detaches king's and logsdon's companies, under conduct of major barbee, to cross the river below. wilkinson fails, for the river is swift and very high. barbee is more successful. many of the hardy frontiersmen breast the stream, and others pass in a small canoe. but the instant the kentuckians foot the opposite shore, the indians discover them and flee. about this time scott hears from colonel hardin. the redoubtable old indian fighter who was saved to die in the service of his country, has pushed on and captured the two villages observed from high gap, and is encumbered with many prisoners. he now discovers a stronger village farther to the left, and proceeds to attack. this latter village is probably in the neighborhood of the present site of granville, and opposite the point where the riviere de bois rouge, or indian creek, enters the wabash. scott at once detaches captain brown and his company to support the colonel, but nothing can stop the impetuous kentuckian, and before brown arrives, "the business is done," and hardin joins the main body before sunset, having killed six warriors and taken fifty-two prisoners. "captain bull," says scott, "the warrior who discovered me in the morning, had gained the main town, and given the alarm a short time before me; but the villages to my left were uninformed of my approach, and had no retreat." the first day of fighting had been very encouraging. the next morning scott determined to destroy kethtipecanunck, or tippecanoe, eighteen miles up the river. his knowledge of geography was poor, for he talks about kethtipecanunck being at the mouth of the eel river, but his fighting qualities were perfect. on examination, however, he discovers that his men and horses are greatly worn down and crippled by the long march and the fighting of the day before. three hundred and sixty men are at last selected to make the march on foot. at half after five in the evening they start out under the command of lieutenant-commandant wilkinson and at one o'clock the next day they have returned, having completely burned and destroyed what scott denominated as "the most important settlement of the enemy in that quarter of the federal territory." wilkinson's detachment had reached the village near daybreak. the advance columns of the kentuckians charged impetuously into the town just as the indians were crossing the wabash, and a brief skirmish ensued from the opposite shores, during which several indian warriors were killed and two americans wounded. many of the inhabitants of kethtipecanunck were french traders and lived in a state of semi-civilization. "by the books, letters, and other documents found there," says scott, "it is evident that place was in close connection with, and dependent upon, detroit; a large quantity of corn, a variety of household goods, peltry, and other articles, were burned with this village, which consisted of about seventy houses, many of them well furnished." scott lamented that the condition of his troops prevented him from sweeping to the head of the wabash. he says he had the kind of men to do it, but he lacked fresh horses and provisions and was forced to return to kentucky. on the fourth of june, he released sixteen of the weakest and most infirm of his prisoners and gave them a written address of peace to the wabash tribes. it was written in a firm, manly tone, but without grandiloquence. he now destroyed the villages at ouiatenon, the growing corn and pulse, and on the same day of the fourth, set out for kentucky. the grand old man, who was to fight with wayne at fallen timbers, had done well. without the loss of a single man, and having only five wounded, he had killed thirty-two warriors "of size and figure," and taken fifty-eight prisoners. he took a receipt from captain joseph asheton of the first united states regiment at fort steuben, for forty-one prisoners. on the twenty-fifth of june, governor st. clair wrote to the kentucky board of war to send a second expedition against the wabash towns. on the fifth day of july the board appointed james wilkinson as the commander. the troops were ordered to rendezvous at fort washington, by the twentieth of july, "well mounted on horseback, well armed, and provided with thirty days' provisions." in certain instructions from governor st. clair to general wilkinson, of date july thirty-first, wilkinson's attention is called to a kickapoo town "in the prairie, northward and westward of l'anguille," about sixty miles. this town will be mentioned later. wilkinson was directed also to restrain his command from "scalping the dead." with a kentuckian, the only good indian was a dead one. on the first day of august, wilkinson rode out of cincinnati with five hundred and twenty-five men. his destined point of attack was the eel river towns, about six miles above the present city of logansport. the country he had to pass through was mostly unknown, full of quagmires and marshes, and extremely hard on his horses. he made a feint for the miami village at kekionga, but on the morning of the fourth, he turned directly northwest and headed for kenapacomaqua, or l'anguille, as the eel river towns were known. after some brief skirmishes, with small parties of warriors and much plunging and sinking in the bogs, he crossed the wabash about four and one half miles above the mouth of the eel river, and striking an indian path, was soon in front of the indian towns. he now dismounted and planned an attack. the second battalion was to cross the river, detour, and come in on the rear of the villages. the first battalion was to lie perdue until the maneuver was executed, when a simultaneous charge was to be made on all quarters of the town. before the plan could be executed, however, the troops were discovered, whereupon an instant charge was made by plunging into the river and attacking the town on the front. six warriors were killed, "and in the hurry and confusion of the charge, two squaws and a child." wilkinson found the towns of the eel river tribes scattered along eel river for a distance of three miles. these villages were separated by almost impassable bogs, and "impervious thickets of plum, hazel and black-jack." the head chief of the tribe, with his prisoners and a number of families were out digging a root, which the indians substituted for the potato. a short time before wilkinson arrived, most of the warriors had gone up the river to a french store to purchase ammunition. this ammunition had come from kekionga on the same day. several acres of green corn with the ears in the milk were about the town. all of this was destroyed. thirty-four prisoners were taken and a captive released. after encamping in the town for the night, wilkinson started the next morning for the kickapoo town "in the prairie." he considered his position as one of danger, for he says he was in the "bosom of the ouiatenon country," one hundred and eighty miles from succor, and not more than one and a half days' forced march from the potawatomi, shawnees and delawares. this was, of course, largely matter of conjecture. the kickapoo town that wilkinson was headed for was in fact about sixty miles from kenapacomaqua and in the prairie. but it was south and west of the eel river villages instead of north and west. the imperfect geographical knowledge of the times led wilkinson to believe it was on the illinois river, but it was in fact on big pine creek, near the present town of oxford, in benton county, indiana. wilkinson was right in one regard, however, for he knew that the village he sought was on the great potawatomi trail leading south from lake michigan. this trail passed down from the neighborhood of what is now blue island, in chicago, south through momence and iroquois, illinois, south and east again through parish grove, in benton county, across big pine creek and on to ouiatenon and kethtipecanunck, or tippecanoe. it was a great fur trading route and of great commercial importance in that day. this kickapoo village "in the prairie," was about twenty miles west of the present city of lafayette, and about two and one-half miles from the present site of oxford, at a place known in later years as "indian hill." it was well known to gurdon s. hubbard, who visited it in the early part of the last century and had an interesting talk with the kickapoos there about the battle of tippecanoe. jesse s. birch, of oxford, an accurate local historian, has preserved an interesting account of this village as seen by the early settlers in the years from to . the kickapoos had, at that time, moved on to other places, but bands of the potawatomi were still on the ground. "pits," says birch, "in which the indians stored their corn, were to be seen until a few years ago. the burying grounds were about half a mile northwest of the village and only a short distance west of the stembel gravel pit. the potawatomi were peaceful, john wattles, who describes their winter habitations, visited them often in his boyhood days. pits, the sides of which were lined with furs, were dug four or five feet deep, and their tents, with holes at the top to permit the escape of smoke, were put over them. by keeping a fire on the ground in the center of the pit, they lived in comparative comfort, so far as heat and indian luxuries were concerned, during the coldest weather. there are evidences of white men having camped near this village. isaac w. lewis found an english sovereign while at play on his father's farm, but a short distance from the site of the village. in the early 's, his father and eldest brother, while plowing, found several pieces of english money." the glittering coins of "the great father," had easily found their way into savage hands. but wilkinson was not destined to strike this main kickapoo town. he encamped the first night six miles from kenapacomaqua, and the next day he marched west and then northwest passing between what are now the points of royal center and logansport, and "launched into the boundless prairies of the west with the intention to pursue that course until i could strike a road which leads from the potawatomi of lake michigan immediately to the town i sought." here for eight hours he floundered about in an endless succession of sloughs and swamps, wearing out his horses and exhausting his men. "a chain of thin groves extending in the direction of the wabash at this time presented to my left." wilkinson now extricated himself from the swamps and gained the tippecanoe trail, and camped at seven o'clock in the evening. he had marched a distance of about thirty miles, and several of his horses were completely broken down. at four o'clock the next morning this little army was in motion again. at eight o'clock signs were discovered of the proximity of an indian town. at twelve o'clock noon, he entered kethtipecanunck, but the savages had fled at his approach. they had returned since the expedition of june and cultivated their corn and pulse. these were in a flourishing condition. having refreshed his horses and cut down the corn, he resumed his march for the kickapoo town "in the prairie, by the road which leads from ouiatenon to that place." after proceeding some distance he discovered some "murmurings" among the kentuckians, and found on examination that two hundred and seventy of his horses were lame, and that only five days' provisions were left for his men. under these circumstances, he abandoned the contemplated assault on the main kickapoo town, and "marched forward to a town of the same nation, situated about three leagues west of ouiatenon." he destroyed the town of thirty houses and "a considerable quantity of corn in the hills," and the same day moved on to ouiatenon, forded the wabash, and encamped on the margin of the wea plains. at all the villages destroyed by scott he found the corn re-planted and in a state of high cultivation. he destroyed it all, and on the twelfth of august he fell in with general scott's return trace and marched to the ohio, where he arrived on the twenty-first day of the month. he had traveled a distance of four hundred and fifty-one miles in twenty-one days; a feat of horsemanship, considering the wild and difficult nature of the country, of no small degree of merit. [illustration: indian hills on the wabash river just below the old site of fort ouiatenon. photo by heaton] the expedition had in all things been a success. he had captured a number of prisoners, cut down four hundred and thirty acres of corn in the milk, and destroyed at least two indian towns. some of the historians who have commented on these campaigns of scott and wilkinson and the kentucky militia, have sought to minimize and even to discredit these expeditions. says albach: "the expeditions of harmar, scott and wilkinson were directed against the miamis and shawnees, and served only to exasperate them. the burning of their towns, the destruction of their corn, and the captivity of their women and children, only aroused them to more desperate efforts to defend their country, and to harass their invaders." the review of secretary of war knox, communicated to president washington on the twenty-sixth of december, , however, contains the following: "the effect of such desultory operations upon the indians, will, by occupying them for their own safety and that of their families, prevent them spreading terror and destruction along the frontiers. these sort of expeditions had that precise effect during the last season, and kentucky enjoyed more repose and sustained less injury, than for any year since the war with great britain. this single effect, independent of the injury done to the force of the indians, is worth greatly more than the actual expense of such expeditions." other effects produced were equally important. the brave kentuckians, for the first time, were acting in conjunction with, and under the direction and control of the federal authorities. the cement of a common interest, as washington would say, was binding state and nation together. not only were the soil and the long suffering people of kentucky rendered more secure against indian attack, but the hardy descendants of the pioneers were being trained for the eventful conflict of , when seven thousand of the valorous sons of that commonwealth should take the field in the defense of their country. chapter xiii st. clair's defeat _--the first great disaster to the federal armies brought about by the miamis._ the objectives of general st. clair have already been mentioned. he was now to take the village of kekionga, establish a garrison there, and erect a chain of posts stretching from the new establishment to fort washington at cincinnati. the army with which st. clair was expected to accomplish this task consisted of "two small regiments of regulars, two of six months' levies, a number of kentucky militia, a few cavalry, and a couple of small batteries of light guns." in all there were fourteen hundred men and eighty-six officers. the kentucky militia were under the command of colonel oldham, a brave officer who afterwards fell on the field of battle. the levies were "men collected from the streets and prisons of the city, hurried out into the enemy's country and with the officers commanding them, totally unacquainted with the business in which they were engaged." their pay was miserable. each private received two dollars and ten cents a month; the sergeants three dollars and sixty cents. being recruited at various times and places, their terms of enlistment were expiring daily, and they wanted to go home. as they were reckless and intemperate, st. clair, in order to preserve some semblance of order, removed them to ludlow's station, about six miles from fort washington. major ebenezer denny, aide to st. clair, says that they were "far inferior to the militia." on the morning of october twenty-ninth, when st. clair's army was penetrating the heart of the indian country, this disorderly element was keeping up a constant firing about the camp, contrary to the positive orders of the day. in the quartermaster's department everything "went on slowly and badly; tents, pack-saddles, kettles, knapsacks and cartridge boxes, were all 'deficient in quantity and quality.'" the army contractors were positively dishonest, and the war department seems to have been fearfully negligent in all of its work. judge jacob burnet records that "it is a well authenticated fact, that boxes and packages were so carelessly put up and marked, that during the action a box was opened marked 'flints,' which was found to contain gun-locks. several mistakes of the same character were discovered, as for example, a keg of powder marked 'for the infantry,' was found to contain damaged cannon-powder, that could scarcely be ignited." st. clair was sick, and so afflicted with the gout that he was unable to mount or dismount a horse without assistance. on the night before his great disaster he was confined to his camp bed and unable to get up. born in edinburgh, in scotland, in , he was now fifty-seven years of age, and too old and infirm to take command of an army in a hazardous indian campaign. besides, he had had no experience in such a contest. he was, however, a man of sterling courage. he had been a lieutenant in the army of general wolfe at quebec. he espoused the cause of the colonies, and had fought with distinguished valor at trenton and princeton. under him, and second in command, was general richard butler, of pennsylvania. butler was a man of jealous and irritable temperament and had had a bitter controversy with harmar over the campaign of the year before. a coolness now sprang up between him and st. clair, which, as we shall see, led to lamentable results. the mind of general harmar was filled with gloomy forebodings. taking into consideration the material of which the army was composed and the total inefficiency of the quartermaster and the contractors, "it was a matter of astonishment to him," says denny, "that the commanding general * * * * should think of hazarding, with such people, and under such circumstances, his reputation and life, and the lives of so many others, knowing, too, as both did, the enemy with whom he was going to contend; an enemy brought up from infancy to war, and perhaps superior to an equal number of the best men that could be taken against them." owing to delays the army which was to rendezvous at fort washington not later than july tenth, did not actually start into the wilderness until the fourth day of october. on the seventeenth of september, a halt had been made on the great miami, and fort hamilton erected. twenty miles north of this place, a light fortification known as fort st. clair, was built. about six miles south of the present town of greenville, in darke county, ohio, the army threw up the works of fort jefferson, and then moved forward at a snail's pace into the forests and prairies. every foot of the road through the heavy timber had to be cleared. rains were constant. the troops were on half rations and terribly impatient. parties of militia were daily deserting. on the twenty-seventh of october, major denny entered in his diary the following: "the season so far advanced it will be impracticable to continue the campaign. forage entirely destroyed; horses failing and cannot be kept up; provisions from hand to mouth." the little turtle was again on the watch. a hostile army was entering the sacred domain of the miamis. indian scouts and runners were constantly lurking on the skirts of the army. in after years, a woman heard the great chief say of a fallen enemy: "we met; i cut him down; and his shade as it passes on the wind, shuns my walk!" this terrible foe, like a tiger in his jungle, was waiting for the moment to spring on his prey. it soon came. on the thirty-first of october, a party of militia, sixty or seventy in number, deserted the camp and swore that they would stop the packhorses in the rear, laden with provisions. st. clair sent back after them the first united states regiment under major john hamtramck, the most experienced indian fighters in the whole army. these were the men the indians most feared. the savage chieftain determined to strike. later than usual, and on the evening of november third, the tired and hungry army of st. clair emerged on the headwaters of the river wabash. "there was a small, elevated meadow on the east banks of this stream, while a dense forest spread gloomily all around." a light snow was on the ground, and the pools of water were covered with a thin coat of ice. the wabash at this point was twenty yards wide. the militia were thrown across the stream about three hundred yards in advance of the main army. as they took their positions, a few indians were routed out of the underbrush and fled precipitately into the woods. the main body of troops was cooped up in close quarters. the right wing was composed of butler's, clark's, and patterson's battalions, commanded by major general butler. these battalions formed the first line of the encampment. the left wing, consisting of bedinger's and gaither's battalions, and the second united states regiment of regulars, under the command of colonel william darke, formed the second line. an interval between these lines of about seventy yards "was all the ground would allow." st. clair thought that his right flank was fairly well secured by a creek, "while a steep bank, and faulkner's corps, some of the cavalry, and their picquets, covered the left flank." no works whatever were thrown up to protect the army, but the great camp-fires of the soldiers illumined the whole host. in the circumjacent forests, and a little in advance of the position occupied by the militia, was a camp of over eleven hundred indians, composed of miamis, shawnees, potawatomi, delawares, ottawas, chippewas and wyandots, with a number of british adherents from detroit, waiting for the first hours of dawn of the coming day. what strange sense of security lulled the vigilance of the american leaders will never be known. during the night the frequent firing of the sentinels disturbed the whole camp, and the outlying guards reported bands of savages skulking about in considerable numbers. "about ten o'clock at night," says major denny, "general butler, who commanded the right wing, was desired to send out an intelligent officer and party to make discoveries. captain slough, with two subalterns and thirty men, i saw parade at general butler's tent for this purpose, and heard the general give captain slough very particular verbal orders how to proceed." slough afterwards testified before a committee of congress, that he was sent out during the night with a party of observation and that he saw a force of indians approaching the american camp, with a view to reconnoitering it, whereupon, he hastened to the camp of the militia and reported to their leader. "i halted my party," says slough, "near colonel oldham's tent, went into it, and awakened him, i believe about twelve o'clock. i told him that i was of his opinion, that the camp would be attacked in the morning, for i had seen a number of indians. i proceeded to the camp, and as soon as i had passed the camp guards, dismissed the party, and went to general butler's tent. as i approached it, i saw him come out of the tent, and stand by the fire. i went up to him, and took him some distance from it, not thinking it prudent that the sentry should hear what i had seen. i also told him what colonel oldham had said, and that, if he thought proper, i would go and make a report to general st. clair. he stood some time, and after a pause, thanked me for my attention and vigilance, and said, as i must be fatigued, i had better go and lie down." fatuous and unexplainable conduct in the face of certain peril! at a half hour before sunrise on the morning of november fourth, , the army of st. clair is at parade. the soldiers have just been dismissed and are returning to their tents, when the woods in front ring with the shots and yells of a thousand savages. on the instant the bugles sound the call to arms, but the front battalions are scarce in line, when the remnants of the militia, torn and bleeding, burst through them. the levies, firing, check the first mad rush of the oncoming warriors, but the indians scattering to right and left, encircle the camp. the guards are down, the army in confusion, and under the pall of smoke which now settles down to within three feet of the ground, the murderous red men approach the lines. the yelling has now ceased, but from behind every tree, log and stump a pitiless fire rains on the troops. the officers shout, the men discharge their guns, but they see nothing. the artillery thunders with tremendous sound, but soldiers are falling on every hand. st. clair is valorous, but what can valor do in a tempest of death? he tries to mount a horse, but the horse is shot through the head, and the lad that holds him is wounded in the arm. he tries to mount a second, but horse and servant are both mowed down. the third horse is brought, but fearing disaster, st. clair hobbles to the front lines to cheer his troops. he wears no uniform, and out from under his great three cornered hat flows his long gray hair. a ball grazes the side of his face and cuts away a lock. the weight of the savage fire is now falling on the artillery in the center. the gunners sink beneath their guns. the herculean lieutenant-colonel, william darke, who has fought at yorktown, is ordered to charge on the right front. the troops rush forward with levelled bayonets, the savages are routed from their coverts, are visible a moment, and then disappear. as the levies advance the savages close in behind. darke is surrounded on all sides--his three hundred men become thirty, and he falls back. in the absence of darke, the left flank of the army is now pressed in. guns and artillery fall into the hands of the foe. every artillery-man is killed but one, and he is badly wounded. the gunners are being scalped. st. clair leads another charge on foot. the savages skip before the steel, disappear in the smoke and underbrush, and fire on the soldiers from every point as they make retreat. charge after charge is made, but all are fruitless. the regulars and the levies, out in the open, unable to see the enemy, die by scores. the carnage is fearful. the troops have fought for about three hours, and the remnants of the army are huddled in the center. the officers are about all down, for the savages have made it a point to single them out. butler is fatally wounded and leaning against a tree. the men are stupefied and give up in despair. shouts of command are given, officers' pistols are drawn, but the men refuse to fight. the wounded are lying in heaps, and the crossfire of the indians, now centering from all points, threatens utter extermination. there is only one hope left--a desperate dash through the savage lines, and escape. "it was past nine o'clock," says denny, "when repeated orders were given to charge towards the road. * * * both officers and men seemed confounded, incapable of doing anything; they could not move until it was told that a retreat was intended. a few officers put themselves in front, the men followed, the enemy gave way, and perhaps not being aware of the design, we were for a few moments left undisturbed." [illustration: another view of the wabash, a land of great beauty. photo by heaton] in after years it was learned that captain william wells was in charge of a party of about three hundred young indian warriors, who were posted behind logs and trees, immediately under the knoll on which the artillery stood. they picked off the artillery-men one by one, until a huge pile of corpses lay about the gun wheels. as the indians swarmed into the camp in the intervals between the futile charges of the regulars, the artillery-men were all scalped. wells belonged to a kentucky family and had been captured by the miamis when a child twelve years of age, and is said to have become the adopted son of little turtle. he had acquired the tongue and habits of a savage, but after the battle with st. clair he seems to have been greatly troubled with the thought that he might have slain some of his own kindred. afterwards when wayne's army advanced into the indian country he bade the little turtle goodbye, and became one of wayne's most trusty and valuable scouts. after fallen timbers he returned to his indian wife and children, but remained the friend of the united states. in general harrison's day he was united states indian agent at fort wayne, but was killed in the massacre of fort dearborn, in , by the faithless bands of potawatomi under the chief blackbird. the retreat of st. clair's army was very precipitate. "it was, in fact, a flight." the fugitives threw away their arms and accouterments and made a mad race for the walls of fort jefferson, twenty-nine miles away, arriving there a little after sunset. the loss of the americans was appalling, and recalled the disaster of braddock's defeat on the monongahela. out of an army of twelve hundred men and eighty-six officers, braddock lost seven hundred and twenty-seven in killed and wounded. st. clair's army consisted of fourteen hundred men and eighty-six officers, of whom eight hundred and ninety men and sixteen officers were killed or wounded. the slaughter of officers of the line had been so disastrous, that in the spring of the next year, anthony wayne, the new commander, found it extremely difficult to train the new troops. he had first to impart the military tactics to a group of young officers. "several pieces of artillery, and all the baggage, ammunition, and provisions, were left on the field of battle, and fell into the hands of the indians. the stores and other public property, lost in the action, were valued at thirty-two thousand eight hundred and ten dollars and seventy-five cents." the loss of the indians was trifling. as near as may be ascertained, they had about thirty killed and fifty wounded. the field of action was visited by general james wilkinson about the first of february, . an officer who was present relates the following: "the scene was truly melancholy. in my opinion those unfortunate men who fell into the enemy's hands, with life, were used with the greatest torture--having their limbs torn off; and the women had been treated with the most indecent cruelty, having stakes, as thick as a person's arm, drove through their bodies." in december, , general wayne, having arrived at greenville, ohio, sent forward a detachment to the spot of the great defeat. "they arrived on the ground, on christmas day, and pitched their tents at night; they had to scrape the bones together and carry them out to make their beds. the next day holes were dug, and the bones remaining above ground were buried; six hundred skulls being found among them." the whole nation was terribly shocked by the news of the defeat. the bordermen of pennsylvania, virginia and kentucky were immediately exposed to a renewal of indian attacks and the government seemed powerless. st. clair came in for severe censure, more severe in fact, than was justly warranted. the sending back of hamtramck's regiment, the unfortified condition of the camp on the night before the attack, the posting of the militia in advance of the main army, and the utter lack of scouts and runners, were all bad enough, but on the other hand, the delay and confusion in the quartermaster's department, the dereliction of the contractors, and the want of discipline among the militia and the levies, were all matters of extenuation. to win was hopeless. to unjustly denounce an old and worthy veteran of the revolution, who acted with so much manly courage on the field of battle, ill becomes an american. a committee of congress completely exonerated him. the administration itself and the department of war, were sharply criticized. but the representatives of the people themselves were more to blame than the government. thousands had deprecated the attempt of the president to protect the frontiers and to sustain the arm of the western generals. the mean and niggardly support accorded the commander-in-chief, was largely instrumental in bringing about the lamentable result. the jealous and parsimonious states of the east, had regarded only their own selfish ends, to the utter exclusion of the national interest. chapter xiv wayne and fallen timbers --_final triumph of the government over indians and british._ the great soul of washington was sorely tried, but he did not falter. the first thing to do was to raise an efficient army, and that was done. early in the year , the forces of the united states were put on a new footing. the military establishment was now to consist of "five thousand one hundred and sixty-eight non-commissioned officers, privates and musicians." enlistments were to be made for a period of three years, and the pay of the soldiers increased. general anthony wayne was appointed commander and instructed by washington to spare neither powder nor ball, 'so that his men be made marksmen.' wayne was a fighter of fearless courage and daring brilliancy. he was now forty-seven years of age and had entered the revolution as a colonel in the continental army. he had fought with washington at brandywine and germantown, and had driven the hessians at the point of the bayonet. "at monmouth he turned the fortunes of the day by his stubborn and successful resistance to the repeated bayonet charges of the guards and grenadiers." the storming of stony point is ranked by lossing as one of the most brilliant achievements of the revolutionary war. he fought at yorktown and later drove the english out of georgia. his favorite weapon of offense was the bayonet. general william henry harrison, who was aide to wayne at the battle of fallen timbers, said to him: "general wayne, i am afraid you will get into the fight yourself, and forget to give me the necessary field orders." "perhaps i may," replied wayne, "and if i do, recollect the standing order of the day is, 'charge the damned rascals with the bayonets!'" in the month of june, , wayne arrived at pittsburgh to take charge of his new command. most of the new army were ignorant of military tactics, and without discipline, but the general at once entered vigorously upon his great task. on the twenty-eighth of november, the army left pittsburgh and encamped at legionville, twenty-two miles to the south. here the great work of training the raw recruits proceeded. "by the salutary measures adopted to introduce order and discipline, the army soon began to assume its proper character. the troops were daily exercised in all the evolutions necessary to render them efficient soldiers, and more especially in those maneuvers proper in a campaign against savages. firing at a mark was constantly practiced, and rewards given to the best marksmen. to inspire emulation, the riflemen and the infantry strove to excel, and the men soon attained to an accuracy that gave them confidence in their own prowess. on the artillery the general impressed the importance of that arm of the service. the dragoons he taught to rely on the broadsword, as all important to victory. the riflemen were made to see how much success must depend on their coolness, quickness and accuracy; while the infantry were led to place entire confidence in the bayonet, as the certain and irresistible weapon before which the savages could not stand. the men were instructed to charge in open order; each to rely on himself, and to prepare for a personal contest with the enemy." the orders and admonitions of wayne fell not on deaf ears. the legion of the united states became a thing of life. in the battle at the miami rapids a soldier of the legion met a single warrior in the woods and they attacked each other, "the soldier with his bayonet, the indian with his tomahawk. two days after, they were found dead; the soldier with his bayonet in the body of the indian--the indian with his tomahawk in the head of the soldier." about the first of may, , the army moved down the ohio in boats and encamped near fort washington, cincinnati, at a place which was named "hobson's choice." at this place the main body of the troops was halted until about the seventh of october, to await the outcome of the repeated attempts of the government to make peace with the indian tribes. the difficulties that beset the pathway of president washington at the opening of the year , seemed insurmountable. on the one hand, the people of the east regarded the westerners as the real aggressors in the border conflicts, and were extremely loath to grant aid to the government. the debates in congress reflected their attitude. on the other hand, the people of kentucky regarded the efforts of the government to secure to them the navigation of the mississippi, as procrastinating and futile. they even suspected the good faith of washington himself, but in this they erred, for negotiations were on foot that finally secured to them the desired end. moreover the failure of harmar and the disaster of st. clair had filled the backwoodsmen with misgivings and they had no faith in the regular army or its generals. the extreme poverty of the government, the utter lack of support from all sections, would have brought dismay to the heart of any man but washington. he, however, remained firm. forced by what roosevelt has termed as the "supine indifference of the people at large," he determined to make one more effort to secure peace, but failing in that, the army of anthony wayne should be made ready for the final appeal to arms. on the seventh of april, , freeman and gerrard, two messengers of peace, were sent forward to the maumee, but both were killed. about the twentieth of may, major alexander trueman, of the first united states regiment, and colonel john hardin, of kentucky, left fort washington with copies of a speech from president washington to the indians. the president expressed his desire to impart to the tribes all the blessings of civilized life; to teach them to cultivate the earth and to raise corn and domestic animals; to build comfortable houses and to educate their children. he expressly disaffirmed any intention to seize any additional lands, and promised that compensation should be made to all tribes who had not received full satisfaction. the threat of simon girty against proctor, was now made good as against both hardin and trueman. hardin was to go among the wyandots at sandusky, while trueman proceeded to the rapids of the maumee. months after they had departed, one william may, who had been captured by the indians, testified that he saw the scalp of trueman dangling on a stick, and that trueman's papers fell into the hands of alexander mckee, who forwarded them to detroit. later he saw another scalp said to be the brave colonel hardin's, and hardin's papers fell into the hands of matthew elliott. this was the answer of the savage allies to the flag of truce. in may, , general rufus putnam, of ohio, and the reverend john heckewelder, of the moravian missions, were sent to the wabash tribes to make a treaty. the instructions to putman were of the most pacific nature. he was told to renounce on the part of the united states, "all claim to any indian land which shall not have been ceded by fair treaties, made with the indian nations." "you will make it clearly understood, that we want not a foot of their land, and that it is theirs, and theirs only; that they have the right to sell, and the right to refuse to sell, and the united states will guarantee to them the said just right." putnam carried forward with him about one hundred women and children captured by scott and wilkinson, and a number of presents for the wea and other chiefs. a treaty was finally made with a small number of weas, kickapoos, and other wabash and illinois tribes at vincennes on the twenty-seventh of september, but all attempts to induce the miamis to join in the negotiations were unavailing. pricked on by elliott, the girtys and mckee, the chiefs at kekionga were threatening the potawatomi and the tribes of the lower wabash with the destruction of their villages, if they failed to oppose the advances of the americans. the treaty at vincennes had little, if any, effect, upon the posture of affairs. still other efforts were made by the government. joseph brant, the mohawk chieftain, was induced to come to philadelphia in june, , and he received the most "marked attention," at the hands of the government officials. he remained at the capital some ten or twelve days, and it was sincerely hoped that he could be persuaded to undertake the office of a messenger of peace, but he was a pensioner of the british and thoroughly under their control. the next summer we find him urging the northwestern tribes to arms, and offering the aid of his tomahawk to alexander mckee. the government next turned to cornplanter and the chiefs of the more friendly iroquois. in march, , about fifty headmen of these tribes visited the city of philadelphia and communed on terms of amity with the american officers. the cornplanter, with forty-eight chiefs of the six nations, were now deputed to a grand council of the miami confederates held at au glaize on the maumee in the fall of . "there were so many nations," says the cornplanter, "that we cannot tell the names of them. there were three men from the gora nations; it took them a whole season to come, and twenty-seven nations from beyond canada." joseph brant, who detested the cornplanter, was not present, but blue jacket and the shawnees were there filled with hate. they accused the iroquois with speaking 'from the outside of their lips,' and told their chiefs that they came with the 'voice of the united states folded under their arm.' every word was haughty, proud and defiant, but in the end the iroquois wrung a promise from them to suspend hostilities until the ensuing spring, when a council of peace should be held with the americans. this promise was not kept. war parties of shawnees constantly prowled along the ohio stealing horses and cattle, burning cabins, and leading away captives to the indian towns. on the morning of the sixth of november, an army of three hundred indians composed of miamis, delawares, shawnees and potawatomi, commanded by the little turtle, attacked a party of about one hundred kentucky militia under the walls of fort st. clair, situated on the line of march from fort washington to the miami villages. they were under the command of major john adair, afterwards governor of the state of kentucky. little turtle's object was to wipe out a white settlement at the mouth of the little miami, but capturing two men near fort hamilton, he learned that the kentuckians were escorting a brigade of packhorses on their way to fort jefferson, and he determined to waylay them. the attack occurred just before daybreak and was opened by a hideous chorus of indian yells, but the kentuckians bravely stood their ground and repelled the assault. six men were killed, including lieutenant job hale, and five men wounded. the camp equipment and about one hundred and forty horses were lost. the indians had two killed. the spring of came, the time for the proposed council. the british had promised to give their aid and co-operation in the forming of a friendly compact. full credence seems to have been given to their statements. the president appointed benjamin lincoln, of massachusetts, beverly randolph, of virginia, and timothy pickering, of pennsylvania, as commissioners. the basis of their negotiations was to be the treaty of fort harmar, of , which the government considered "as having been formed on solid grounds--the principle being that of a fair purchase and sale." they were to ascertain definitely the indian proprietors northward of the ohio and south of the lakes; to secure a confirmation of the boundary established at fort harmar, and to guarantee to the tribes the right of the soil in all their remaining lands. liberal payment was to be made for all concessions, and annuities granted. the commissioners were to be accompanied by the reverend john heckewelder, who had gone with putnam to vincennes, and who was thoroughly conversant with the delaware language. some quakers were also in the party. the commissioners left philadelphia in april, and arrived at fort niagara on the southern shore of lake ontario in the month of may. niagara was then in command of colonel simcoe, of the british army, who invited them to take up quarters at navy hall. this invitation was accepted, and the commissioners now awaited the termination of the preliminaries of a grand council of the northwestern tribes which was being held at the rapids on the maumee. on the seventh of june, the commissioners addressed a note to simcoe, suggesting the importance of the coming conference, their wish to counteract the deep-rooted prejudices of the tribes, and their desire for a full co-operation on the part of the english officers. among other things, they called the colonel's attention to a report circulated by a mohawk indian to the effect that "governor simcoe advised the indians to make peace, but not to give up any lands." the colonel promptly replied, tendering his services in the coming negotiations, appointing certain officers to attend the treaty, and particularly denying the declaration of the mohawk. but in his reply he used these words: "but, as it has been, ever since the conquest of canada, the principle of the british government, to unite the american indians, that, all petty jealousies being extinguished, the real wishes of the tribes may be fully expressed, and in consequence all the treaties made with them, may have the most complete ratification and universal concurrence, so, he feels it proper to state to the commissioners, that a jealousy of a contrary conduct in the agents of the united states, appears to him to have been deeply impressed upon the minds of the confederacy." in view of the subsequent results, the story of the mohawk may not have been wholly without foundation. on the fifth day of july, colonel john butler, of the british indian department, joseph brant, and about fifty indians from the council of the tribes on the maumee, arrived at niagara. on the seventh, the commissioners, and a number of the civil and military officers of the crown being present, brant addressed the american envoys and said in substance that he was representing the indian nations who owned all the lands north of the ohio "as their common property;" that the treaty had been delayed on account of the presence of the american army north of the ohio; that the tribes wanted an explanation of these warlike appearances, and desired to know whether the commissioners were authorized "to run and establish a new boundary line between the lands of the united states, and of the indian nations." on the next day, the commissioners gave full answer. they informed the indian deputation that the purposes of the united states were wholly peaceful; that the great chief, general washington, had strictly forbidden all hostilities, and that the governors of the states adjoining the ohio had issued orders to the same effect. however, to satisfy the tribes, they would immediately dispatch a messenger on horseback to the seat of the government, with a request that the "head warrior," general wayne, be instructed to remain quietly at the posts until the event of the treaty could be known. this was faithfully done. with reference to the running of a new boundary line, the commissioners expressly stated that they were vested with full authority to that end, but that mutual concessions were necessary to a reconcilement, and that this should be plainly understood by both sides. on the ninth of july, brant gave assurance that the answer of the commissioners had been satisfactory, "brothers: we think, from your speech, that there is a prospect of our coming together. we, who are the nations at the westward are of one mind; and, if we agree with you, as there is a prospect that we shall, it will be binding and lasting. brothers; our prospects are the fairer, because all our minds are one. you have not spoken before to us unitedly. formerly, because you did not speak to us unitedly, what was done was not binding. now you have an opportunity of speaking to us together; and we now take you by the hand, to lead you to the place appointed for the meeting." in explanation of this peaceful language and his subsequent conduct, brant afterwards wrote that, "for several years (after the peace of ), we were engaged in getting a confederacy formed, and the unanimity occasioned by these endeavors among our western brethren, enabled them to defeat two american armies. the war continued without our brothers, the english, giving any assistance, excepting a little ammunition; and they seeming to desire that a peace might be concluded, we tried to bring it about at a time when the united states desired it very much, so that they sent commissioners from among their first people, to endeavor to make peace with the hostile indians. we assembled also, for that purpose, at the miami river, in the summer of , intending to act as mediators in bringing about an honorable peace; and if that could not be obtained, we resolved to join with our western brethren in trying the fortunes of war. but to our surprise, when on the point of entering on a treaty with the commissioners, we found that it was opposed by those acting under the british government, and hopes of further assistance were given to our western brethren, to encourage them to insist on the ohio as a boundary between them and the united states." whatever the truth may be as to brant's peaceful intentions on the ninth of july, his attitude was certain on the fourth of the succeeding august. on that date, according to roosevelt, the treacherous pensioner wrote to alexander mckee that "we came here not only to assist with our advice, but other ways, * * * we came here with arms in our hands." following the advice of his british counsellors, he advised the northwestern indians not to yield an inch, and to stand on the ohio as their southern boundary. the commissioners of the united states were doomed to meet with a sudden and unexpected interruption of their proceedings. on the twenty-first of july they arrived at the mouth of the detroit river. they immediately addressed a note to mckee informing him of their arrival, and expressing a desire to meet with the confederated tribes. on the twenty-ninth of july a deputation of over twenty indians, among whom was the delaware chief, buck-ong-a-he-las, arrived with captain matthew elliott. on the next day, and in the presence of the british officers, the wyandot chief, sa-wagh-da-wunk, after a brief salutation, presented to the commissioners a paper writing. it contained this ultimatum, dictated beyond doubt by the british agents: "brothers: you are sent here by the united states, in order to make peace with us, the confederate indians. brothers: you very well know that the boundary line, which was run between the white people and us, at the treaty of fort stanwix, was the river ohio. brothers: if you seriously design to make a firm and lasting peace, you will immediately remove all your people from our side of that river. brothers: we therefore ask you, are you fully authorized by the united states to continue, and firmly fix on the ohio river, as the boundary between your people and ours?" this document was signed by the confederated nations of the wyandots, delawares, shawnees, miamis, mingoes, potawatomi, ottawas, connoys, chippewas and munsees, at the maumee rapids on the twenty-seventh of july, . the remaining passages between the commissioners and the indian allies are briefly told. in vain did the commissioners urge that settlements and valuable improvements had been made on the faith of past treaties; that it was not only impracticable but wholly impossible to consider the ohio as the boundary; that the treaty of fort harmar had been made in good faith and with the very tribes who professed to own the lands ceded. in vain did they admit the former mistakes of the government in setting up a claim to the whole country south of the great lakes. the jealous and apprehensive chieftains, spurred on and encouraged by british promise of support, refused to listen to all appeals, contemptuously rejected all offers of money or compensation, and insisted to the last on the ohio as the boundary. that the full responsibility for this action on the part of the tribes must be laid at the door of the british, goes without successful challenge. if at the beginning they had only furnished a little ammunition, as brant says, they were now fast becoming openly hostile. the french revolution had opened, and england and france were battling for supremacy. in order to cut off supplies of food from the french people, england had seized all cargoes of corn, flour and meal bound for french ports, and had purchased them for the benefit of his majesty's service. this action had greatly irritated the american merchants and had led to serious remonstrance on the part of the government. england had also asserted the right to board neutral vessels and impress british seamen whenever found. many an american ship had been hailed on the high seas, and forced to submit to a humiliating search. it was claimed that many american sailors had been seized and forced to enter the british service. added to all this, the citizen genet had, in the early part of the year , arrived in america. as the representative of the french republic he was armed with numerous blank commissions for privateers, to be delivered "to such french and american owners as should apply for the same." an attack was to be launched on british commerce. before he arrived at philadelphia the british minister had laid before the president a list of complaints "founded principally on the proceedings of mr. genet, who, at charleston, undertook to authorize the fitting and arming of vessels, enlisting men, and giving commissions to cruise and commit hostilities on nations with whom the united states were at peace." washington did everything in his power to preserve neutrality. on the twenty-second of april, , and twenty-three days before genet arrived at philadelphia, the president issued a proclamation, declaring that "the duty and interest of the united states required that they should, with sincerity and good faith, adopt and pursue a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent powers." but the vast majority of the people of the united states, including many high in public life, were in open sympathy with the french and utterly detested england. these sentiments were particularly marked in the western countries, for there the people had suffered from all the cruelty and savagery of the indian warfare, and they fiercely denounced the british agents. under all these circumstances the relations between great britain and the united states had become tense and strained. the provincial officers at quebec and the indian partisans at detroit quickly echoed the mood of the home government. in the event of a new war, england could again command the savage allies and ravage the frontiers as she had done during the revolution. the indians would not only prove to be a useful barrier in the event of an american invasion of canada, but they might help england to regain in part the territory she had lost. "hence, instead of promoting a pacification, the efforts of the canadian government were obviously exerted to prevent it." this, no doubt, accounts for what brant has noted concerning the exchanges with the american commissioners at the mouth of the detroit river. the western tribes were suddenly given assurance by the british that england would come to their aid, and were told to insist on the ohio as the limit of concession. this put an effectual stop to all further measures for peace. wayne was now free to go forward with his campaign again, but so much time had been consumed by the commissioners, and the militia were so slow in arriving from kentucky that the army did not take up its march from hobson's choice until the seventh of october. the general now had about twenty-six hundred effective men, including officers, thirty-six guides and spies, and about three hundred and sixty mounted volunteers. with these he determined to push forward to a position about six miles in advance of fort jefferson, and about eighty miles north of cincinnati. he would thus excite a fear on the part of the savages for the safety of their women and children, and at the same time protect the frontiers. he expected resistance, for the indians were "desperate and determined," but he was prepared to meet it. the savages constantly hung on his flanks, making attacks on his convoys of provisions, and picking off the packhorses. on the morning of the seventeenth of october, a force of ninety non-commissioned officers and men under lowry and boyd, who were escorting twenty wagons loaded with grain, were suddenly assaulted about seven miles north of fort st. clair. fifteen officers and men were killed, seventy horses killed or carried away, and the wagons left standing in the road. nothing daunted, wayne pushed on. on the twenty-third of october, he wrote to the secretary of war that, "the safety of the western frontiers, the reputation of the legion, the dignity and interests of the nation, all forbid a retrograde maneuver, or giving up one inch of ground we now possess, until the enemy are compelled to sue for peace." in the meantime general charles scott had arrived from kentucky with about one thousand mounted infantry and had camped in the vicinity of fort jefferson, but the season was so far advanced, that wayne now determined to send the kentuckians home, enter into winter quarters, and prepare for an effectual drive in the spring. unlike his predecessors, wayne entertained no distrust of the frontiersmen, but determined to utilize them with telling force. the hardy riflemen were quick to respond to a real leader of men. they looked on the wonderful bayonet practice, the expert marksmanship of the legion, and the astonishing maneuvers of the cavalrymen with great admiration. when they went to their homes for the winter they were filled with a new confidence in the government, and in its ability to protect their firesides. the vigilance, the daring, and the unflinching discipline of the continental general, gave them assurance. fort greenville was now erected on a branch of the big miami, and here wayne established his headquarters. in december, eight companies of infantry and a detachment of artillery erected fort recovery, on the spot made memorable by st. clair's defeat. at the opening of the year , "the relations between great britain and the united states had become so strained," says roosevelt, "that open war was threatened." on the tenth of february, lord dorchester addressed a deputation of prominent chiefs of the northwestern tribes as follows: "children: i was in the expectation of hearing from the people of the united states what was required by them: i hoped that i should be able to bring you all together, and make you friends. children: i have waited long, and listened with great attention, but i have not heard one word from them. children: i flattered myself with the hope that the line proposed in the year eighty-three, to separate us from the united states, which was immediately broken by themselves as soon as the peace was signed, would have been mended, or a new one drawn, in an amicable manner. here, also, i have been disappointed. children: since my return, i find that no appearance of a line remains; and from the manner in which the people of the united states rush on, and act and talk, on this side; and from what i learn of their conduct toward the sea, i shall not be surprised, if we are at war with them in the course of the present year; and if so, a line must then be drawn by the warriors." copies of this speech were circulated everywhere among the tribes. alexander mckee, lieutenant-colonel john butler, of the british army, and joseph brant were active. large presents were sent up from quebec, ammunition and arms were distributed, and the ottawas and chippewas summoned from the far north. in april, , lieutenant-governor simcoe, of canada, openly advanced into the american territory, built a fort at the miami rapids, and garrisoned it with british redcoats. massive parapets were constructed on which were mounted heavy artillery. the outer walls were surrounded by a deep fosse and "frasing" which rendered it secure from escalade. the indians, thus buttressed, as they supposed, by british support, were openly defiant and refused to make peace. the indignation of the american people may well be imagined. to a long train of secret machinations the british now added open insult. washington, justly aroused by england's long course of treachery and double-dealing, wrote to jay concerning simcoe's action as follows: "can that government, or will it attempt, after this official act of one of their governors, to hold out ideas of friendly intentions toward the united states, and suffer such conduct to pass with impunity? this may be considered the most open and daring act of the british agents in america, though it is not the most hostile or cruel; for there does not remain a doubt in the mind of any well-informed person in this country, not shut against conviction, that all the difficulties we encounter with the indians--their hostilities, the murder of helpless women and innocent children along our frontiers--result from the conduct of the agents of great britain in this country. in vain is it, then, for its administration in britain to disavow having given orders which will warrant such conduct, whilst their agents go unpunished; whilst we have a thousand corroborating circumstances, and indeed almost as many evidences, some of which cannot be brought forward, to know that they are seducing from our alliance, and endeavoring to move over the line, tribes that have hitherto been kept in peace and friendship with us at heavy expense, and who have no causes of complaint, except pretended ones of their creating; whilst they keep in a state of irritation the tribes who are hostile to us, and are instigating those who know little of us or we of them, to unite in the war against us; and whilst it is an undeniable fact that they are furnishing the whole with arms, ammunition, clothing, and even provisions to carry on the war; i might go farther, and if they are not much belied, add men also in disguise." the president also called on the british minister, mr. hammond, for an explanation. hammond, while admitting the authenticity of dorchester's speech and the construction of the british fort on the maumee, pointed to pretended acts of hostility on the part of the united states. this was the insolent tone assumed toward a government considered to be too weak to defend its lawful rights. the british were now busy in assembling a savage army to oppose wayne's advance. two potawatomi captured on the fifth of june, said that a message had been sent to their tribe to join in the war against the united states; that the british were at roche de bout on the maumee with about four hundred troops and two pieces of artillery, exclusive of the detroit militia, and that they "had made a fortification around colonel mckee's house and store at that place, in which they had deposited all their stores and ammunition, arms, clothing and provisions with which they promised to supply all the hostile indians in abundance, provided they would join and go with them to war; that about two thousand warriors had been assembled, and that governor simcoe had promised that fifteen hundred british troops and militia would join them in the attack on the americans." they further related that this same governor simcoe had sent them four different invitations to join in the war, promising them arms, ammunition, provisions and clothing, and everything that they wanted. "all the speeches," said these potawatomi, "that we received from him, were as red as blood; all the wampum and feathers were painted red; the war pipes and hatchets were red; and even the tobacco was red." the evidence furnished by two shawnees, captured on the twenty-second of june, corroborated the potawatomi. they testified that the british were always setting the indians on, like dogs after game, pressing them to go to war, and kill the americans, "but did not help them; that unless the british would turn out and help them, they were determined to make peace; that they would not be any longer amused by promises only." asked about the number of warriors collected along the maumee, they put the number of the shawnees at three hundred eighty, the delawares at four hundred and eighty, the miamis at one hundred, and the wyandots at about one hundred and fifty. the chippewas, however, would furnish the greatest number of fighting men, and they were on the way to the council. that the question of whether there would be a fight or not depended upon the british; "that the british were at the foot of the rapids, and had fortified at roche de bout; that there was a great number of british soldiers at that place; that they told the indians they were now come to help them to fight; and if the indians would generally turn out and join them, they would advance and fight the american army; that blue jacket had been sent by the british to the chippewas and northern indians, a considerable time since, to invite them, and bring them to roche de bout, there to join the british and other hostile indians in order to go to war." on the last day of june, , the premeditated blow fell on fort recovery, the scene of st. clair's disaster in . the garrison was under the command of captain alexander gibson, of the fourth sub-legion. under the walls of the fort were a detachment of ninety riflemen and fifty dragoons under the command of major mcmahon, who had escorted a train of packhorses from fort greenville on the day before, and who were now about to return. the indians were, according to some authorities, under the command of the bear chief, an ottawa; others assign their leadership to the little turtle. that they had planned a coup de main and a sudden re-capture of the position is certain. their army consisted of about fifteen hundred men; they had advanced in seventeen columns, with a wide and extended front, and their encampments were perfectly square and regular. they were attended by "a captain of the british army, a sergeant, and six matrosses, provided with fixed ammunition, suited to the calibre of two field pieces, which had been taken from general st. clair, and deposited in a creek near the scene of his defeat in ." they expected to find this artillery, which had been hidden by the indians, and turn it on the fort, but the guns had been recovered by their legitimate owners and were now used for defense. a considerable number of white men accompanied the savages, disguised as indians and with blackened faces, and three british officers, dressed in scarlet, were posted in the rear and encouraged the indians in their repeated assaults. the first attack on major mcmahon was successful. nineteen officers and privates and two packhorsemen were killed and about thirty men wounded. packhorses to the number of two hundred were quickly taken. but the indians now made a fatal mistake. in a spirit of rashness, they rushed on the fort. the determined legionaries, aided by mcmahon's men, poured in a murderous fire, and they fell back. again they attacked, and again were they repulsed. all day long they kept up a constant and vigorous fire but it availed nothing. during the succeeding night, which was dark and foggy, they carried off their dead. on the next morning the attack was renewed, but great numbers of the savages were now becoming disheartened. the loss inflicted by the american garrison had been severe, and was mourned for months by the indian tribes. forty or fifty red men had bit the dust and over a hundred had been wounded. disgraced and crestfallen the savage horde retired to the maumee. the first encounter with wayne's army had proved disastrous. on the twenty-sixth of july, wayne was joined by sixteen hundred mounted volunteers from kentucky under the command of major-general charles scott. scott was a man of intrepid spirit and his men knew it. moreover, the kentuckians now looked forward to certain victory, for they trusted wayne. on the twenty-eighth of july, the whole army moved forward to the indian towns on the maumee. no finer body of men ever went forth into the wilderness to meet a savage foe. iron drill and constant practice at marksmanship had done their work. officers and men, regulars and volunteers, were ready for the work at hand. unlike harmar and st. clair, wayne had in his service some of the most renowned scouts and indian fighters of the day. ephraim kibby, william wells, robert mcclellan, henry and christopher miller, and a party of chickasaw and choctaw warriors, constantly kept him posted concerning the number and whereabouts of the enemy, and the nature of the ground which he was to traverse. "the indians who watched his march brought word to the british that his army went twice as far in a day as st. clair's, that he kept his scouts well out and his troops always in open order and ready for battle; that he exercised the greatest precaution to avoid an ambush or surprise, and that every night the camps of the different regiments were surrounded by breastworks of fallen trees so as to render a sudden assault hopeless." "we have beaten the enemy twice," said little turtle, "under separate commanders. we cannot expect the same good fortune always to attend us. the americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps. the night and the day are alike to him; and, during all the time that he has been marching upon our villages, notwithstanding the watchfulness of our young men, we have never been able to surprise him. think well of it. there is something whispers me, it would be prudent to listen to his offers of peace." on the eighth of august wayne reached the junction of the au glaize and the maumee, and began the erection of fort defiance. the whole country was filled with the indian gardens and corn fields which extended up the maumee to the british fort. on the thirteenth of august, the general dispatched the scout, christopher miller, with the last and final overture of peace. in the event of a refusal, there must be a final appeal to arms. "america," said wayne, "shall no longer be insulted with impunity. to the all-powerful and just god i therefore commit myself and gallant army." impatient of a reply, wayne moved forward again on the fifteenth, and met miller returning. the indians requested a delay of ten days to debate peace or war. wayne gave orders to march on. at eight o'clock on the morning of the twentieth of august, , the army advanced in columns and in open order to meet the enemy. the indian forces consisted of shawnees, delawares, wyandots, ottawas, miamis, potawatomi, chippewas and mohawks, numbering from fifteen hundred to two thousand warriors. added to these were two companies of canadian militia from amherstburg and detroit, commanded by captain caldwell. alexander mckee was present, and matthew elliott and simon girty, but they kept well in the rear and near the river. the whole mixed force of indians and canadians were encamped on the north bank of the maumee, "at and around a hill called 'presque isle,' about two miles south of the site of maumee city, and four south of the british fort miami." the order of march was as follows: the legion was on the right, its flank covered by the maumee. on the left hovered a brigade of mounted kentucky volunteers under brigadier-general todd. in the rear was another brigade of the same kind of troops under brigadier-general barbee. in advance of the legion rode a select battalion of mounted kentuckians under major price. these were to be on the lookout and to give timely notice to the regulars in case of attack. the army had advanced about five miles and were entering an area covered with fallen timber and high grass, when the advance corps under price received such a sudden and terrible fire from the hidden enemy that they were compelled to retreat. "the savages were formed in three lines, within supporting distance of each other, and extending for two miles, at right angles with the river." the fallen trunks of the trees, blown down by a tornado, made a fine covert for the red men and prevented any favorable action by the cavalry. wayne was instantly alert. he formed the legion into two lines, one a short distance behind the other, and began the fight. he soon perceived from the weight of the savage fire and the extent of their lines that they were trying to turn his left flank and drive him into the river. he now ordered the second line to advance and support the first; directed major-general scott to take all the mounted volunteers and turn the right flank of the enemy, while he issued orders to mis campbell who commanded the legionary cavalry, to gallop in at the right and next to the river and turn the indian left. the front line was ordered to charge with trailed arms and rouse the indians from their coverts at the point of the bayonet, "and when up, to deliver a close and well directed fire on their backs, followed by a brisk charge, so as not to give them time to load again." the mounted volunteers under scott, todd and barbee, and the second line of the legion, had only gained their positions in part, when the battle was over. the first line of the federal infantry, charging with that impetuosity imparted to them by their gallant commander, drove savages and canadians in headlong rout for a distance of two miles and strewed the ground with many corpses. the legionary cavalry, blowing their trumpets and dashing in upon the terrified indians, slew a part of them with broadswords, and put the remainder to instant retreat. "this horde of savages," says wayne, "with their allies, abandoned themselves to flight and dispersed with terror and dismay, leaving our victorious army in full and quiet possession of the field of battle." the british, with their usual treachery, closed the gates of the fort in the face of the fleeing red men and refused them refuge. lured and encouraged into a hopeless contest, they found themselves abandoned by that very power that had urged them to reject all offers of peace. the americans lost thirty-three in killed, and had one hundred wounded. the savage loss was much heavier. immediately after the battle of fallen timbers the american army moved down the river and encamped within view of the british garrison. fort miami occupied a well fortified position on the north bank of the maumee near the present maumee city. there were four nine-pounders, two large howitzers, and six six-pounders, mounted in the fort, and two swivels. the entire fortification was surrounded by a wide, deep ditch about twenty feet deep from the top of the parapet. the forces within consisted of about two hundred and fifty regulars and two hundred militia. all were under command of major william campbell, of the twenty-fourth regiment. the rout of the indian allies had been humiliating enough, but at sight of the victorious ranks of the american army campbell became furious. on the next day after the battle he could contain himself no longer. he addressed a note to wayne complaining that the army of the united states had taken post on the banks of the maumee and within range of his majesty's fort, for upwards of twenty-four hours, and he desired to inform himself as speedily as possible, in what light he was to view so near an approach to the garrison. wayne made immediate reply. he said that without questioning the authority or the propriety of the major's question, he thought that he might without breach of decorum observe, that if the major was entitled to an answer, that a most full and satisfactory one had been announced to him from the muzzles of his (wayne's) small arms on the previous day, in an action against a horde of savages in the vicinity of the british post, which had terminated gloriously to the american arms. he further declared that if said action had continued until the indians were driven under the influence of the british guns, that these guns would not have much impeded the progress of the victorious army under his command, "as no such post was established at the commencement of the present war between the indians and the united states." on the next day the incensed major wrote another note, threatening wayne with war if he continued to approach within pistol shot of the fort with arms in his hands. to this wayne replied by inviting the major to return with his men, artillery and stores to the nearest post "occupied by his britannic majesty's troops at the peace of ." campbell wrote another reply refusing to vacate the fort and warning wayne not to approach within reach of his cannon. "the only notice taken of this letter," says wayne, "was by immediately setting fire to and destroying everything within view of the fort, and even under the muzzles of the guns." for three days and nights the american troops continued to destroy the houses and corn fields of the enemy both above and below the british post, while the garrison looked on and dared not sally forth. one of the severest sufferers from this devastation was the notorious renegade, alexander mckee, who had done so much to inflame the war between the tribes and the united states. his houses, stores and property were utterly consumed. the army now retired by easy marches to fort defiance, laying waste the villages and corn fields for about fifty miles on each side of the maumee. on the fourteenth of september the march was taken up for the miami villages at the junction of the st. joseph and the st. marys, and the troops arrived there on the seventeenth. on the eighteenth, wayne selected a site for a fort. on the twenty-second of october the new fortification was completed, and a force of infantry and artillery stationed there under command of colonel john f. hamtramck. the new post was named fort wayne. on the twenty-eighth of october, the main body of the troops started back on the trace to fort greenville, and here, on the second day of november, , general wayne re-established his headquarters. the victory of wayne was complete and final. it brought peace to the frontiers, and paved the way for the advance of civilization. in , ohio became a state of the union. his triumph did more. it made the name and the power of the united states respected as they never were before, and gave authority and dignity to the federal arms. the indian tribes were sorely dispirited. not only had the british abandoned them in their final hour of defeat, but their fields and cabins had been laid waste and their supplies of food destroyed. there was much suffering among them, during the ensuing winter. the establishment of the post at fort wayne put a new obstacle in the path of the british in the valleys of the wabash and the maumee, and led the way to the final abandonment of the northwest by their troops and garrisons. the administration of washington was also vindicated. in the face of two disheartening defeats, a lack of confidence in the west, and almost open opposition in the east, a fighting general had at last been found, an army trained, and led forth to splendid victory. the great northwest owes a debt of eternal gratitude to the first president of the republic, george washington. the administration was further successful. while general wayne was preparing for his campaign, the chief justice of the united states, john jay, had been sent to england to effect a treaty of peace. feeling was high in both countries and the danger of war was imminent, but the prudence and moderation of washington led him to see that what the nation needed most was peace and repose and a chance for development. on the nineteenth of november, , mr. jay and lord grenville "concluded a treaty of amity, commerce and navigation between the united states and great britain," by the terms of which the latter country, among other things, agreed to surrender the western posts. on the eleventh day of july, , at the hour of noon, the stars and stripes floated over the ramparts of the british fort at detroit. chapter xv the treaty of greenville --_the surrender of the ohio lands of the miamis and their final submission to the government._ lieutenant-governor simcoe, joseph brant and alexander mckee did all that lay within their power to stem the tide of savage defection. simcoe advised the tribes not to listen to any american overtures of peace, but to simply propose a truce and make ready for further hostilities. he tried to secure a deed of trust for the indian lands from each nation, promising them that england would guarantee the land thus ceded. a general attack was to be made on all the frontiers in the spring. brant told them "to keep a good heart and be strong; to do as their father advised." in the spring he would return with a large party of warriors to fight, kill and pursue the americans. he had always been successful and victory was assured. mckee was active distributing clothing and provisions. he made an especial appeal to the shawnees who were known to be the most hostile of all the tribes. in a private conference afterwards held with wayne, the shawnee chief, blue jacket, told the general that mckee had invited him to his house and had strongly urged him to keep away from the council with the americans. seeing that his entreaties were of no avail, he said: "the commission you received from johnson was not given you to carry to the americans. i am grieved to find that you have taken it to them. it was with much regret i learned that you have deserted your friends, who have always caressed you, and treated you as a great man. you have deranged, by your imprudent conduct, all our plans for protecting the indians, and keeping them with us. they have always looked up to you for advice and direction in the war, and you have now broke the strong ties which held them all together, under your and our direction. you must now be viewed as the enemy of your people, and the other indians whom you are seducing into the snares of the americans have formed for their ruin, and the massacre and destruction of their people by the americans must be laid to your charge." massas, a chippewa chieftain, told wayne that when he returned from the treaty of muskingum (fort harmar), that mckee threatened to kill him. "i have not now less cause to fear him, as he endeavored to prevent my coming hither." the importunities of the british agents, however, failed of their object. the indians had lost all confidence in british promises and wayne had filled them with a wholesome respect for the american arms. numbers of their leading chieftains, including tarhe, of the wyandots, and little turtle of the miamis, thought all further resistance useless. no doubt many of them entertained the views that brant long afterwards openly expressed to sir john johnson. "in the first place," said the great mohawk, "the indians were engaged in a war to assist the english--then left in the lurch at the peace, to fight alone until they could make peace for themselves. after repeatedly defeating the armies of the united states, so that they sent commissioners to endeavor to get peace, the indians were so advised as prevented them from listening to any terms, and hopes were given them of assistance. a fort was even built in their country, under pretense of giving refuge in case of necessity; but when that time came, the gates were shut against them as enemies. they were doubly injured by this, because they relied on it for support, and were deceived. was it not for this reliance of mutual support, their conduct would have been different." the first to come to greenville to consult with wayne, were the wyandots of sandusky. "he told them he pitied them for their folly in listening to the british, who were very glad to urge them to fight and to give them ammunition, but who had neither the power nor the inclination to help them when the time of trial came; that hitherto the indians had felt only the weight of his little finger, but that he would surely destroy all the tribes in the near future if they did not make peace." during the winter of - parties of wyandots, ottawas, chippewas, potawatomi, sacs, miamis, delawares and shawnees came in, and on february th, , the preliminaries of a treaty were agreed upon between the shawnees, delawares and miamis, and the americans. arrangements were also made for a grand council with all the indian nations at fort greenville, on or about the fifteenth of the ensuing june. [illustration: general anthony wayne and little turtle at greenville. from an old painting by one of wayne's staff. by courtesy the chicago historical society] the assemblage of indian warriors and headmen that met with anthony wayne on the sixteenth of june, and continued in session until the tenth day of august, , was the most noted ever held in america. present, were one hundred and eighty wyandots, three hundred and eighty-one delawares, one hundred and forty-three shawnees, forty-five ottawas, forty-six chippewas, two hundred and forty potawatomi, seventy-three miamis and eel rivers, twelve weas and piankeshaws, and ten kickapoos and kaskaskias, in all eleven hundred and thirty savages. among the renowned fighting men and chiefs present, was tarhe, of the wyandots, known as "the crane," who had fought under the cornstalk at point pleasant, and who had been badly wounded at the battle of fallen timbers. he now exercised a mighty influence for peace and remained the firm friend of the united states. of the miamis, the foremost was the little turtle, who was probably the greatest warrior and indian diplomat of his day or time. he had defeated harmar and destroyed st. clair, but he now stood for an amicable adjustment. next to little turtle was legris. of the shawnees, there were blue jacket and catahecassa, or the black hoof. the latter chieftain had been present at braddock's defeat in , had fought against general andrew lewis at point pleasant in , and was an active leader of the shawnees at the battles with harmar and st. clair. blue jacket had been the principal commander of the indian forces at fallen timbers. buckongahelas, of the delawares, au-goosh-away, of the ottawas, mash-i-pinash-i-wish, of the chippewas, keesass and topenebee, of the potawatomi, little beaver, of the weas, and many other distinguished indian leaders were among the hosts. the chief interpreters were william wells, jacques laselle, m. morins, sans crainte, christopher miller, abraham williams and isaac zane. the basis of the negotiations, steadfastly maintained by wayne, was the treaty of fort harmar of . the general boundary established was to begin at the mouth of the cuyahoga river, run thence up the same to the portage between the cuyahoga and the tuscarawas branch of the muskingum, thence down that branch to the crossing place above old fort laurens, thence westwardly to a fork of that branch of the great miami river running into the ohio, where commenced the portage between the st. marys of the maumee and the miami of the ohio, thence westwardly to fort recovery, thence southwesterly, in a direct line to the ohio, so as to intersect that river opposite the mouth of the kentucky. the land west of the miami, and within the present limits of western ohio and eastern indiana, was cut off of the domain of the miamis, and included the line of posts extending from fort washington to fort wayne. it was highly prized by the indians as a hunting ground, and its cession caused a loud remonstrance from the little turtle. "you pointed out to us the boundary line," said the great miami leader, "which crossed a little below loramie's store, and struck fort recovery, and run from thence to the ohio, opposite the mouth of the kentucky river. elder brother; you have told us to speak our minds freely, and we now do it. this line takes in the greater and best part of your brothers' hunting ground; therefore, your younger brothers are of opinion, you take too much of their lands away, and confine the hunting of our young men within limits too contracted. your brothers, the miamis, the proprietors of these lands, and all your younger brothers present, wish you to run the line as you mentioned, to fort recovery, and to continue it along the road from thence to fort hamilton, on the great miami river." this, however, wayne refused to do. the ground had been hardly won, and the united states, although willing to pay a fair remuneration, was determined to protect the outposts and inhabitants of the ohio country. another controversy arose with the little turtle concerning the portage at fort wayne. the government insisted on reservations of from two to six miles square at fort wayne, fort defiance, ouiatenon, chicago, and other important trading places. a large tract was reserved near detroit, and another near the post of michillimacinac. clark's grant was also specially reserved by the united states. but when wayne insisted on a tract two miles square on the wabash river, "at the end of the portage from the miami of the lake (maumee), and about eight miles westward from fort wayne," the little turtle claimed that this was a request that neither the english nor the french had ever made of them; that this portage had in the past yielded them an important revenue, and had proved, "in a great degree, the subsistence of your younger brothers." the valiant old warrior made a stout defense of his claims, and fought to the last for all that was dear to him about fort wayne, but was forced to bow to the superior genius and commanding influence of the american general. wayne had on his side two powerful factors. the first, was the treachery of the english, which he dilated upon with telling effect. the second, was the commanding influence of tarhe and the wyandots of sandusky, who were addressed with deference by the other tribes, and who threw all their influence on the side of the treaty. at last the several articles were agreed upon, and general wayne, calling upon the separate tribes in open council for a confirmation of the pact, met with a full and unanimous response of approval. one of the originals of the treaty was deposited with the wyandots as the custodians of all the nations. at the last arose tarhe to make this touching and final appeal: "father: listen to your children, here assembled; be strong, now, and take care of all your little ones. see what a number you have suddenly acquired. be careful of them, and do not suffer them to be imposed upon. don't show favor to one, to the injury of any. an impartial father equally regards all his children, as well those who are ordinary, as those who may be more handsome; therefore, should any of your children come to you crying, and in distress, have pity on them, and relieve their wants." the tribes were satisfied. a fair price had been paid to them for their lands, and satisfactory annuities had been granted. practically all of the leading chiefs remained loyal to the government, and true to the peace. wayne had proved himself not only successful at war, but proficient in diplomacy. chapter xvi governor harrison and the treaty --_purchase of the miami lands known as the new purchase which led to the strengthening of tecumseh's confederacy,--the final struggle at tippecanoe._ in the year , william henry harrison was appointed by president john adams as governor of indiana territory, and he arrived at vincennes on the tenth day of january, , and immediately entered upon the discharge of his duties. at that time he was twenty-eight years of age, but notwithstanding his youth he had seen hard duty as a soldier and officer on the frontier and as we have seen, had served as aide-de-camp to general wayne at the battle of fallen timbers. in that struggle he had distinguished himself for gallant conduct. at a time when a detachment of the troops were wavering under the murderous fire of the savages, and hesitating as to whether they would advance or retreat, he had galloped to the front of the line, and with inspiring words had cheered the soldiers on to victory. the report of general wayne says that he "rendered the most essential services by communicating his orders in every direction, and by his bravery in exciting the troops to press for victory." in personal appearance, harrison "was commanding, and his manners prepossessing. he was about six feet high, of rather slender form, straight, and of a firm, elastic gait, even at the time of his election to the presidency, though then closely bordering on seventy. he had a keen, penetrating eye, denoting quickness of apprehension, promptness and energy." though descended from an old and aristocratic family of virginia, and having been reared amid surroundings of luxury and elegance, the youthful soldier never shrank from the most arduous duty and the severest hardships of camp or field. at the time of his first arrival at fort washington (cincinnati), after the defeat of st. clair's army, he had been placed in command of a company of men who were escorting packhorses to fort hamilton. the forest was full of hostile savages, and the winter season was setting in with cold rains and snow. the company was ill provided with tents and harrison had nothing to shelter him from the weather but his uniform and army blanket. he not only eluded the attacks of the indians and convoyed his charge through in safety, but made no complaint whatever to his commanding general, and received st. clair's "public thanks for the fidelity and good conduct he displayed." "during the campaign on the wabash, the troops were put upon a half pound of bread a day. this quantity only was allowed to officers of every rank, and rigidly conformed to in the general's own family. the allowance for dinner was uniformly divided between the company, and not an atom more was permitted. in the severe winter campaign of - , he slept under a thinner tent than any other person, whether officer or soldier; and it was the general observation of the officers, that his accommodations might generally be known by their being the worst in the army. upon the expedition up the thames all his baggage was contained in a valise, while his bedding consisted of a single blanket, over his saddle, and even this he gave to colonel evans, a british officer, who was wounded. his subsistence was exactly that of a common soldier. on the night after the action upon the thames, thirty-five british officers supped with him upon fresh beef roasted before the fire, without either salt or bread, and without ardent spirits of any kind. whether upon the march, or in the camp, the whole army was regularly under arms at daybreak. upon no occasion did he fail to be out himself, however severe the weather, and was generally the first officer on horseback of the whole army. indeed, he made it a point on every occasion, to set an example of fortitude and patience to the men, and share with them every hardship, difficulty and danger." of his personal courage in the presence of great danger and peril, there can be no question. judge law says: "william henry harrison was as brave a man as ever lived." at tippecanoe, after the first savage yell, he mounted on horseback and rode from line to line encouraging his men, although he knew that he was at all times a conspicuous mark for indian bullets. one leaden missile came so close as to pass through the rim of his hat, and colonel abraham owen, thomas randolph and others were killed at his side. "upon one occasion, as he was approaching an angle of the line, against which the indians were advancing with horrible yells. lieutenant emmerson of the dragoons seized the bridle of his horse and earnestly entreated that he would not go there; but the governor, putting spurs to his horse, pushed on to the point of attack, where the enemy was received with firmness and driven back." to these traits, his fearless courage and willingness to share in the burdens and hardships of the common soldier, may be attributed his great and lasting hold on the affections of the old kentucky and southern indiana indian fighters. to them he was not only a hero, but something almost approaching a demi-god. it is pleasing to remember that when the expedition against the prophet was noised abroad, that colonel joseph h. daviess, then one of the most eloquent and powerful advocates at the kentucky bar, offered in a personal letter to the general, to join the expedition as a private in the ranks; that colonel abraham owen, one of the most renowned indian fighters of that day, joined the army voluntarily as an aide to its leader, and that governor scott, of kentucky, sent two companies of mounted volunteer infantry under captains funk and geiger, to participate in the campaign. it is also pleasing to remember that the warm affection of the pioneers of that early day was transmitted to another and younger generation who grew up long after the indian wars were over, and who gave a rousing support to the old general that made him the ninth president of the united states. on his arrival at vincennes in , the population of that town was about seven hundred and fourteen persons. the surrounding country contained about eight hundred and nineteen more, while fifty-five fur-traders were scattered along the wabash, who carried on a traffic more or less illicit with the indians. a large part of the inhabitants of vincennes belonged to that class of french-canadians, who produced the la plantes, the barrens, and the brouillettes of that time, some of them renowned indian interpreters and river guides, who figured prominently in the scenes and contests that followed. the remaining part of the population consisted of settlers from the states, the more conspicuous being the virginians, who were afterwards denominated as the "aristocrats," but who in reality contributed more to the growth and prosperity of the frontier posts than any other element. from this class of virginians, some of them men of learning and attainment, harrison selected his retainers and henchmen. chief among them was benjamin parke, one of the commanders at tippecanoe, and the founder of the state law library in after years; and also waller taylor and thomas randolph, two of his aides in the wabash campaign and of his immediate military family. these men, together with harrison, comprised the "inner circle," who administered the affairs of knox county and vincennes, and at that time knox county held the lead and control in public transactions throughout the territory. that they favored the suspension of the sixth article of the ordinance of , prohibiting slavery in the northwest territory, is now established history. but they also organized the courts and the representative assemblies of that day; enacted and enforced the public laws, and set about to establish institutions of learning. harrison in particular was a friend of the schools. besides that, these men and their followers organized the militia, gave the woodsmen a training in the manual of arms, and exercised a wide-awake and eternal vigilance for the safety of the frontier. the military instinct of the early virginian was one of the great factors that determined the conquest and established the permanent peace of the new land. probably no magistrate was ever invested with greater powers in a new country than was general harrison in the first years of his governorship. "amongst the powers conferred upon him, were those, jointly with the judges, of the legislative functions of the territory; the appointment of all the civil officers within the territory, and all the military officers of a grade inferior in rank to that of general, commander in chief of the militia--the absolute and uncontrolled power of pardoning all offenses--sole commissioner of treaties with the indians, with unlimited powers, and the power of confirming, at his option, all grants of land." that he was left in control of these powers both under the administrations of president jefferson and president madison is sufficient confirmation of the trust and confidence they reposed in him. in the years to follow, he was to conduct a great number of difficult negotiations with the chiefs and head warriors of the delawares, shawnees, miamis, potawatomi, kickapoos and other tribes, but in all these treaties he was pre-eminently fair with the savages, never resorting to force or treachery, or stooping to low intrigue or fraud. we have a statement from his own pen as to his manner of conducting an indian treaty. in a letter from vincennes on the third day of march, , to secretary of war henry dearborn, we have the following: "i should have passed over without an observation, if he had not hinted at the use of unfair means in procuring the consent of the indians to the treaties i have made with them, and as i have never before, that i recollect, informed you of my mode of proceeding on these occasions i have thought it proper to do so at the present moment. whenever the indians have assembled for any public purpose the use of ardent spirits has been strictly interdicted until the object for which they were convened was accomplished, and if in spite of my vigilance it had been procured, a stop was immediately put to all business until it was consumed and its effects completely over. every conference with the indians has been in public. all persons who chose to attend were admitted, and the most intelligent and respectable characters in the neighborhood specially invited to witness the fairness of the transaction. no treaty has ever been signed until each article was particularly and repeatedly explained by the most capable and confidential interpreters. sketches of the tract of country about to be ceded have always been submitted to the indians, and their own rough delineations made on the floor with a bit of charcoal have proved their perfect comprehension of its situation and extent." copies of the old western sun, amply testify to the fact that prior to the important treaties of , at fort wayne and vincennes, he issued a public proclamation at the latter place, prohibiting any traffic in liquor with the indians, so that their judgment might not be perverted; that he constantly inveighed against this illegal commerce with the tribes, and that he at various times attempted to restrain the violence of the squatters and settlers who sought to appropriate the lands of their red neighbors. the language of his first message to the territorial legislature reads thus: "the humane and benevolent intentions of the government, however, will forever be defeated, unless effectual measures be devised to prevent the sale of ardent spirits to those unfortunate people. the law which has been passed by congress for that purpose has been found entirely ineffectual, because its operation has been construed to relate to the indian country exclusively. in calling your attention to this subject, gentlemen, i am persuaded that it is unnecessary to remind you that the article of compact makes it your duty to attend to it. the interests of your constituents, the interests of the miserable indians, and your own feelings, will urge you to take it into your most serious consideration and provide the remedy which is to save thousands of our fellow creatures. so destructive has been the progress of intemperance, that whole villages have been swept away. a miserable remnant is all that remains to mark the homes and situation of many numerous and warlike tribes." again, at fort wayne, on the seventeenth of september, , preliminary to the famous treaty of that year, this entry appears in the journal of the official proceedings: "the potawatomis waited on the governor and requested a little liquor, which was refused. the governor observed that he was determined to shut up the liquor casks until all the business was finished." this is the conduct throughout of a wise and humane man dealing with an inferior race, but determined to take no advantage of their folly. it was the steady and uniform policy of the united states government to extinguish the indian titles to the lands along the wabash and elsewhere, so that they might be opened up to the increasing tide of white settlers. contrary to the practices of most governments, however, in their dealings with aborigines, the united states had established the precedent of recognizing the right of the red men to the occupancy of the soil and of entering into treaties of purchase with the various tribes, paying them in goods and money for their land, while allowing them the privilege of taking wild game in the territory ceded. president jefferson had always insisted on the payment of annuities in these purchases, instead of a lump sum, so that a fund might be created for the continual support of the tribes from year to year, and so that they might be enabled to purchase horses, cattle, hogs and the instruments of husbandry and thus gradually enter upon the ways of civilization. that the dream of jefferson was never realized; that the north american savages never adopted the manners and pursuits of their white brethren, does not bespeak any the less for the humane instincts of his heart. in the negotiation of these treaties in the northwest, governor harrison acted as the minister plenipotentiary of the government, and the numerous indian treaties of that day were conducted under express authority and command from the city of washington. the series of negotiations finally terminated in the treaty of fort wayne on september , , by which the united states acquired the title to about , , acres, the greater part of which lay above the old vincennes tract ceded by the treaty of grouseland, and below the mouth of big raccoon creek in parke county. "at that period, ," says dillon, "the total quantity of land ceded to the united states, under treaties which were concluded between governor harrison and various indian tribes, amounted to about , , acres." as the consummation of that treaty was the principal and immediate cause which led up to the great controversy with tecumseh, and the stirring events that followed, including the battle of tippecanoe, and as the charge was subsequently made by tecumseh that it was brought about through the threats of winamac, the potawatomi chief, it may rightfully be said to be the most important indian treaty ever negotiated in the west, outside of general wayne's treaty of greenville, in . we will now enter into the details of that transaction. that part of the lands acquired by the united states government by the treaty of fort wayne, and being situated in the valley of the wabash and its tributaries may be thus described: it lay south of a line drawn from the mouth of the big raccoon creek, in what is now parke county, and extending southeast to a point on the east fork of white river above brownstown. this line was commonly called the ten o'clock line, because the direction was explained to the indians as toward the point where the sun was at ten o'clock. the whole territory acquired in the wabash valley and elsewhere embraced about , , acres and in the wabash region was to be not less than thirty miles in width at its narrowest point. it will thus be seen that the tract lay directly north of, and adjoining the white settlements in and about vincennes. it was afterwards known as the new purchase. there had been frequent and bitter clashes between the settlers and the wea and potawatomi indians of this part of the territory for years. justice and right was not always on the side of the white man. an accurate commentator, speaking of the early frontiersmen, says: "they eagerly craved the indian lands; they would not be denied entrance to the thinly-peopled territory wherein they intended to make homes for themselves and their children. rough, masterful, lawless, they were neither daunted by the powers of the red warriors whose wrath they braved, nor awed by the displeasure of the government whose solemn engagements they violated." the treaty of greenville had given the undisputed possession and occupancy of all the lands above vincennes and vicinity, and embraced within the limits of the territory ceded by the treaty of fort wayne, to the indians. they were given the authority by that pact to drive off a squatter or "punish him in such manner as they might think fit," indulging, however, in no act of "private revenge or retaliation." no trader was even allowed to enter this domain unless he was licensed by the government. it is needless to say that no fine sense of right and justice existed either in the mind of the white land-grabber or in that of his red antagonist. many unlawful invasions of the indian lands were made. moreover, many of the fur traders along the wabash were of the lowest type of humanity. they employed any and all means to cheat and defraud the indians by the barter and sale of cheap trinkets and bad whiskey and often violated every principle of honesty and fair-dealing. this kind of conduct on the part of settlers and traders furnished ample justification in the minds of the ignorant savages for the making of reprisals. many horses were stolen by them, and often foul murders were committed by the more lawless element. this horse-stealing and assassination led in turn to counter-attacks on the part of the whites. in time, these acts of violence on the part of the vicious element in both races spread hate and enmity in every direction. this kind of history was made. "a muskoe indian was killed in vincennes by an italian inn-keeper without any just cause. the governor ordered that the murderer should be apprehended, but so great was the antagonism to the indians among all classes, that on his trial the jury acquitted the homicide almost without any deliberation. about the same time, two wea indians were badly wounded near vincennes by some whites without the slightest provocation. such facts exasperated the indians, and led to their refusal to deliver up indians who had committed like offenses against the white man." these things occurred shortly prior to the tippecanoe campaign, but a condition similar to this had existed for some time before the treaty of fort wayne. the governor was not insensible to the true state of affairs. he once said: "i wish i could say the indians were treated with justice and propriety on all occasions by our citizens, but it is far otherwise. they are often abused and maltreated, and it is rare that they obtain any satisfaction for the most unprovoked wrongs." but he also recognized the fact, that the two races, so incompatible in habits, manners, customs and tastes, could not dwell in peace together; that the progress of the white settlements ought not to and could not on that account be stayed; that it was up to him as the chief magistrate of the western country and as commissioner of indian affairs, to solve if he could, the troublous problem before him, and he accordingly instructed mr. john johnston, the agent of indian affairs, to assemble the tribes at fort wayne for the purpose of making a new treaty. [illustration: governor william henry harrison] there were many false sentimentalists of that day, who not unlike their modern brethren, wept many crocodile tears over the fate of the "poor indian." they charged that the governor, in the ensuing negotiations, resorted to trickery, and that he availed himself of the threats and violence of winamac, the potawatomi chief, in order to bring the hesitating tribes to the terms of the purchase. in the face of the revealed and undisputed facts of history, these facts were and are entirely false, and were evidently put in motion by the disgruntled office seekers at vincennes as food for the foolish. the position of governor harrison during the whole course of his administration seems to have been this: he sought to ameliorate the miserable condition of the savages at all times; sought by all means within his power to bring to punishment those who committed outrages against them; constantly demanded that the illegal traffic in liquor be stopped. however, neither governor harrison nor any other man, however powerful, could stop the hand of fate, or abrogate the eternal law of the survival of the fittest. after every endeavor to put a stop to abuses, and to quiet the impending storm on the frontier, he resorted to the next, and seemingly only available means of putting an end to the difficulty. that is, he provided for the separation of the two races as far as possible so as to prevent the conflicts between them; he provided for the payment of annuities for their support and so that they might purchase horses and cattle and implements of husbandry, and thus enter gradually upon the pursuits of peace. that the plan was not feasible does not detract from the fairness and benevolence of the proposer. he was but following the uniform custom which the government had at that time adopted and which the best minds of that age endorsed. he could not foresee, in the light of that day, that the red men of the forest would not accept the ways of civilization, and that all attempts of the government, however charitable, would be wasted and in vain. the governor set out for the council house at old fort wayne on the first day of september, , on horseback, and accompanied only by peter jones, his secretary; a personal servant; joseph barron, a famous indian interpreter; a frenchman for a guide, and two indians, probably delawares of the friendly white river tribes. he travelled eastwardly toward the western borders of dearborn county, and thence north to the post. joseph barron, the interpreter, is thus spoken of by judge law: "he knew the indian character well; he had lived among them many years; spoke fluently the language of every tribe which dwelt on the upper wabash, understood their customs, habits, manners and charlatanry well, and although but imperfectly educated, was one of the most remarkable men i ever knew." the governor arrived at the post on the fifteenth of the month, at the same time with the delawares and their interpreter, john conner. to appreciate properly the hazard of this journey of two weeks through an untamed wilderness, across rivers and through dense forests, camping at night in the solitude of the woods, and exposed at all time to the attacks of the savages, one must take into consideration that already tecumseh and the prophet were forming their confederacy and preaching a new crusade at tippecanoe; that they were fast filling the minds of their savage hearers with that fierce malice and hatred which was to break forth in the flame of revolt in a little over two years hence; that the british agents at maiden were loading the indians with presents and filling their ears with falsification as to the intentions of harrison; that they were already arming them with guns, bullets, knives and tomahawks, and that there were those among them who would not hesitate at assassination, if they might hope to reap a british reward. notwithstanding these facts, harrison did not hesitate. the scene about to be enacted was a memorable one. on the one hand were arrayed the governor, with his servant and secretary, four indian interpreters and a few officers of the post; on the other, the painted and feather-bedecked warriors and sachems of the miamis, the potawatomi, the delawares and the weas. on the third day of the council, eight hundred and ninety-two warriors were present; on the day of the actual signing of the treaty, thirteen hundred and ninety. no such body of red men had been assembled to meet a commissioner of the united states since the treaty with anthony wayne in . even at that assemblage there were present only eleven hundred and thirty. there were chiefs of the mississinewa, loud and defiant, who openly declared their connection with the british. there was winamac, the potawatomi, who afterwards slaughtered the surrendered garrison at fort dearborn, and boasted of his murder. there were silver heels and pecan, five medals and the owl. but above them all stood little turtle, the miami. he had been present at the defeat of harmar and the slaughter of st. clair's army. he had fought against wayne at fallen timbers. in he had visited the great white father at philadelphia, president washington, and had been presented with a brace of elegantly mounted pistols by the baron kosciusko. there were braves present whose hands had been besmeared with the blood of innocent women and children--who had raised the savage yell of terror while setting firebrands to the cabin and tomahawking its inmates. during the days that were to follow there were many loud and violent harangues; parties of warriors arrived with presents of the british emissaries in their hands, and saying that they had been advised never to yield another foot of territory; at one time, on september twenty-sixth, the potawatomi, in open assembly, raised a shout of defiance against the miamis, poured out torrents of abuse on the heads of their chieftains and withdrew from the council declaring that the tomahawk was raised. amid all this loud jangling and savage quarreling the governor remained unperturbed and steady to his purpose. notwithstanding frequent demands, he constantly refused to deal out any liquor except in the most meager quantities--he restrained the potawatomi and made them smoke the pipe of peace with their offended allies--he met and answered all the arguments suggested by the british agents--and after fifteen days of constant and unremitting effort won over the chiefs of the mississinewa and gained the day. the official account of the proceedings as made by peter jones, secretary to the governor, and now reposing in the archives of the united states government, shows that instead of attempting to make any purchase of indian lands when only a small number of representatives of the tribes were present, that the governor on the eighteenth of september, dispatched messengers to detroit to summon certain delawares and potawatomi who were absent; that on the same day he also directed joseph barron to go to the miami villages along the wabash to call in richardville, one of the principal chiefs of that tribe. the records also show that while the governor had some private conferences with some of the principal chiefs for the purpose of urging their support to his plans, that he addressed all his principal remarks to the tribes in open council of all the warriors, and at a time when four interpreters were present, to-wit: william wells, joseph barron, john conner and abraham ash, to translate his observations. the first of these great councils was on september . the arguments of the governor, so interesting at this day, are set forth: "he urged the vast benefit which they (the indians) derived from their annuities, without which they would not be able to clothe their women and children. the great advance in the price of goods and the depression in the value of their peltries from the trouble in europe, to which there was no probability of a speedy determination. the little game which remained in their country, particularly that part of it which he proposed to purchase. the usurpation of it by a banditti of muscoes and other tribes; that the sale of it would not prevent their hunting upon it as long as any game remained. but that it was absolutely necessary that they should adopt some other plan for their support. that the raising of cattle and hogs required little labor, and would be the surest resources as a substitute for the wild animals which they had so unfortunately destroyed for the sake of their skins. their fondness for hunting might still be gratified if they would prevent their young men from hunting at improper seasons of the year. but to do this effectually, it would be necessary that they should find a certain support in their villages in the summer season. that the proposed addition to their annuities would enable them to purchase the domestic animals necessary to commence raising them on a large scale. he observed also that they were too apt to impute their poverty and the scarcity of game to the encroachments of the white settlers. but this is not the true cause. it is owing to their own improvidence and to the advice of the british traders by whom they were stimulated to kill the wild animals for their skins alone, when the flesh was not wanted. that this was the cause of their scarcity is evident from their being found in much greater quantity on the south than on the north shore of the wabash, where no white men but traders were ever seen. the remnant of the weas who inhabit the tract of country which was wanted, were from their vicinity to the whites, poor and miserable; all the proceeds of their hunts and the great part of their annuities expended in whiskey. the miami nation would be more respectable and formidable if its scattered members were assembled in the center of their country." the reasoning of the governor was cogent. the motive that had prompted the british to hold the frontier posts for so many years after the revolution, was to secure a monopoly of the fur trade. their traders constantly urged the tribes to bring in peltries, and this led to a merciless slaughter of animals for their hides alone. these measures involved the ultimate destruction of the food supply of the tribes. it was also true that the tribes along the wabash were exhausting the supply of wild game. the plan of inducing them to accept annuities and to purchase cattle, hogs and other domestic animals for the purpose of replenishing their food supply, seemed highly plausible to the minds of that day. that the weas on the lower wabash would be better off if removed from the immediate neighborhood of the white settlements where they could purchase fire-water and indulge their vices, did not admit of doubt. it was possibly the only plan of bringing relief from the troubles which were daily augmenting between the two races of men. from the first, however, the appeal of the governor met with a cold reception at the hands of the mississinewa chiefs. that their feelings in the matter were prompted by their jealousy of the other tribes present, and their claim to the sole disposal of any of the lands along the wabash, there can be no doubt. little turtle was soon won over, but the younger and more aggressive chiefs of the miami villages were hostile to him and openly expressed their disapproval of his conduct. the mississinewa chiefs were also violently opposed to the pretensions of winamac and the potawatomi. they claimed that the potawatomi were new comers and usurpers and had no right to a voice in the sale of lands in the wabash valley. the mississinewa chiefs prevailed. on the twenty-fourth the miamis, "declared their determination not to sell a foot of land, observing that it was time to put a stop to the encroachments of the whites who were eternally purchasing their lands for less than the real value of them. that they had also heard that the governor had no instructions to make any purchase, but was making it upon his own authority to please the white people whom he governed." on the twenty-fifth, the governor, to overcome their opposition, made another long appeal in open council, declaring that the british alone were responsible for the feeling between the races. on that occasion he gave expression to certain ideas that tecumseh afterwards eagerly seized upon as an argument in favor of the communistic ownership of all the indian lands, and as an argument against the sale of . the governor said: "potawatomis and miamis, look upon each other as brothers, and at the same time look upon your grandfathers, the delawares. i love to see you all united. i wish to hear you speak with one voice the dictates of one heart. all must go together. the consent of all is necessary. delawares and potawatomis, i told you that i could do nothing with the miamis without your consent. miamis, i now tell you that nothing can be done without your consent. the consent of the whole is necessary." this second appeal met with the same reception as the first. on the twenty-sixth, the miamis, again declared that they would never consent to the sale of any more of their lands. "that they had been advised by their father, the british, never to sell another foot." at this moment it was that the potawatomi started a violent altercation, setting up a shout of open defiance in the council house and threatening to resort to force. on repairing to the governor's headquarters, however, and reporting their conduct, harrison, "blamed them for their rashness and made them promise not to offer the miamis any further insults." on the evening of the same day, the governor held another extended conference with the miami chiefs, and explained to them that the british were to blame for all their troubles. his remarks were prophetic. he said: "in case of a war with the latter (the americans), the english knew that they were unable to defend canada with their own force; they were therefore desirous of interposing the indians between them and danger." the death of tecumseh in the british ranks was part of the fulfillment of this prediction. all the conferences proved in vain. on the twenty-seventh, silver heels, a miami chief, was won over and spoke in favor of the treaty, and harrison succeeded on the twenty-eighth in reconciling the miamis and potawatomi, but in full council on the twenty-ninth, the owl, a miami chief, flatly refused to sell an acre; made a bitter and sarcastic speech, and among other things said; "you remember the time when we first took each other by the hand at greenville. you there told us where the line would be between us. you told us to love our women and children and to take care of our lands. you told us that the spanish had a great deal of money, the english, and some of your people likewise, but that we should not sell our lands to any of them. in consequence of which last fall we put our hands upon our hearts and determined not to sell our lands." harrison answered in a speech of two hours length, and ended by saying, "that he was tired of waiting and that on the next day he would submit to them the form of a treaty which he wished them to sign and if they would not agree to it he would extinguish the council fire." we now come to a circumstance which refutes much that tecumseh afterwards claimed. in his famous meeting with the governor at vincennes in august, , and speaking of the treaty of , he said: "brother, this land that was sold, and the goods that were given for it were only done by a few. the treaty was afterwards brought here, and the weas were induced to give their consent because of their small numbers. the treaty at fort wayne was made through the threats of winnemac; but in the future we are prepared to punish those chiefs who may come forward to propose to sell the land." the record of the official proceedings, made at the time, show, however, that immediately upon the close of harrison's last speech of september twenty-ninth, that winamac arose to reply, but upon noting that fact all the mississinewa miamis left the council house in contempt. not only was the treaty of concluded by a larger number of indians than were present at greenville, ohio, in , but the influence of winamac with the miamis seems to have been of a very negligible quantity. the truth is that the final consummation of the pact of was brought about by the ready tact and hard common sense of harrison himself. on the morning of the thirtieth of september, the very day the treaty was signed, it was thought by all the officers and gentlemen present that the mission of the governor was fruitless. no solution of the obstinacy of the mississinewa chiefs had been discovered. nothing daunted, harrison resolved to make one more attempt. he took with him his interpreter, joseph barron, a man in whom he had the utmost confidence, and visited the camps of the miamis. he was received well and told them that he came, not as a representative of the president, but as an old friend with whom they had been many years acquainted. "that he plainly saw that there was something in their hearts which was not consistent with the attachment they ought to bear to their great father, and that he was afraid that they had listened to bad birds. that he had come to them for the purpose of hearing every cause of complaint against the united states, and that he would not leave them until they laid open everything that oppressed their hearts. he knew that they could have no solid objection to the proposed treaty, for they were all men of sense and reflection, and all knew that they would be greatly benefited by it." calling then, upon the principal chief of the eel river tribe, who had served under him in general wayne's army, he demanded to know what his objections to the treaty were. in reply, the chief drew forth a copy of the treaty of grouseland and said: "father, here are your own words. in this paper you have promised that you would consider the miamis as the owners of the land on the wabash. why then, are you about to purchase it from others?" "the governor assured them that it was not his intention to purchase the land from the other tribes. that he had always said, and was ready now to confess that the land belonged to the miamis and to no other tribe. that if the other tribes had been invited to the treaty, it was at their particular request (the miamis). the potawatomi had indeed taken higher ground than either the governor or the miamis expected. they claimed an equal right to the land in question with the miamis, but what of this? their claiming it gave them no right, and it was not the intention of the governor to put anything in the treaty which would in the least alter their claim to their lands on the wabash, as established by the treaty of grouseland, unless they chose to satisfy the delawares with respect to their claim to the country watered by the white river. that even the whole compensation proposed to be given for the lands would be given to the miamis if they insisted upon it, but that they knew the offense which this would give to the other tribes, and that it was always the governor's intention so to draw the treaty that the potawatomi and delawares would be considered as participating in the advantages of the treaty as allies of the miamis; not as having any rights to the land." the governor's resourcefulness saved the day. there was an instant change of sentiment and a brightening of the dark faces. the claim of the miamis acknowledged; their savage pride appeased, and their title to the land verified, they were ready for the treaty. pecan, the chief, informed the governor that he might retire to the fort and that they would shortly wait upon him with good news. the treaty was immediately drafted, and on the same day signed and sealed by the headmen and chiefs without further dissent. thus was concluded the treaty of fort wayne of september , . the articles were fully considered and signed only after due deliberation of at least a fortnight. the terms were threshed out in open council, before the largest assembly of red men ever engaged in a treaty in the western country up to that time. no undue influence, fraud or coercion were brought to bear--every attempt at violence was promptly checked by the governor--no resort was had to the evil influence of bribes or intoxicants. when agreed upon, it was executed without question. chapter xvii results of the treaty _--harrison's political enemies at vincennes rally against him in the open, and are defeated in the courts._ the treaty of fort wayne having been consummated and certain disputes relative to horse-stealing and other depredations having been arranged between the two races, the governor, on the fourth of october, , set out on his return to vincennes. he travelled on horseback, accompanied by his secretary and interpreter, passing through the indian villages at the forks of the wabash and striking the towns of the miamis at the mouth of the mississinewa. here dwelt john b. richardville, or peshewah, a celebrated chief of that tribe, who was later chosen as principal sachem on the death of little turtle. richardville had not been personally present at fort wayne, but he now received the governor cordially, and gave his unqualified approval to the previous proceedings. the day before his arrival at peshewah's town, the governor met with a singular experience, which not only served to illustrate the advancing ravages of liquor among the tribes but harrison's intimate knowledge of indian laws, customs and usages. on coming into the camp of pecan, a mississinewa chieftain, he discovered that one of the warriors had received a mortal wound in a "drunken frolic" of the preceding evening. the chiefs informed him that the slayer had not been apprehended, whereupon the governor recommended that if the act "should appear to have proceeded from previous malice," that the offender should be punished, "but if it should appear to be altogether accident, to let him know it, and he would assist to make up the matter with the friends of the deceased." the payment of wergild or "blood-money" among the indian tribes in compensation of the loss of life or limb, is strongly in accord with the ancient saxon law, yet it seems to have prevailed as far back at least as the time of william penn, for in one of his letters describing the aborigines of america, he says: "the justice they (the indians) have is pecuniary; in case of any wrong or evil fact, be it murder itself, they atone by feasts and presents of their wampum, which is proportioned to the offense, or person injured, or of the sex they are of; for, in case they kill a woman, they pay double, and the reason they render, is that she can raise children, which men cannot do." later on, at vincennes, the governor had another and similar experience which affords additional proof that the custom above mentioned was still prevalent. a potawatomi chieftain from the prairies came in attended by some young men. he found there about one hundred and fifty of the kickapoos, who were receiving their annuity, and he immediately made complaint to the governor as follows: "my father," said he, "it is now twelve moons since these people, the kickapoos, killed my brother; i have never revenged it, but they have promised to cover up his blood, but they have not done it. i wish you to tell them, my father, to pay me for my brother, or some of them will lose their hair before they go from this." the governor accordingly advised the chief of the kickapoos to satisfy the potawatomi. on the following day the latter again called upon the governor, and said: "see there, my father," showing three blankets and some other articles, "see what these people have offered me for my brother, but my brother was not a hog that i should take three blankets for him," and he declared his intention of killing some of them unless they would satisfy him in the way he proposed. the governor, upon inquiry, finding that the goods of the kickapoos were all distributed, directed, on account of the united states, that a small addition be made to what he had received. at the villages on eel river the governor met with certain of the weas of the lower region, and dispatched them to summon their chiefs to meet with him at vincennes and ratify the treaty. he arrived at the latter place on the twelfth of october, having been absent for a period of about six weeks, and found that the complete success of his mission had restored in a large measure that popularity which he had beforetime lost on account of his advocacy of slavery. the acquisition was heralded far and wide as a measure calculated in all respects to forward the interests of the territory. not only was the total domain acquired, vast in acreage, (being computed at about , , acres), but it was considered extremely fertile, well watered, and as containing salt springs and valuable mines. once the weas and other tribes were removed from close proximity to the settlements, it was confidently expected that the old clashes would cease and that the new territory would be speedily surveyed and opened up for entry and purchase to within twelve miles of the mouth of the vermilion. the indians also, seemed well satisfied. the potawatomi had been urgent; richardville, little turtle and all the miamis had given their consent; the weas and kickapoos were about to ratify. nothing was then heard of the pretensions of the shawnee prophet or his abler brother. in a message to the territorial legislature in , reviewing the events of this period, harrison said: "it was not until eight months after the conclusion of the treaty, and after his design of forming a combination against the united states had been discovered and defeated, that the pretensions of the prophet, in regard to the land in question, were made known. a furious clamor was then raised by the foreign agents among us, and other disaffected persons, against the policy which had excluded from the treaty this great and influential character, as he is termed, and the doing so expressly attributed to the personal ill-will on the part of the negotiator. no such ill-will did in fact exist. i accuse myself, indeed, of an error in the patronage and support which i afforded him on his arrival on the wabash, before his hostility to the united states had been developed. but on no principle of propriety or policy could he have been made a party to the treaty. the personage, called the prophet, is not a chief of the tribe to which he belongs, but an outcast from it, rejected and hated by the real chiefs, the principal of whom was present at the treaty, and not only disclaimed on the part of his tribe any title to the land ceded, but used his personal influence with the chiefs of the other tribes to effect the cession." the "principal chief" of the shawnees above alluded to was undoubtedly black hoof, or catahecassa, who at this time lived in the first town of that tribe, at wapakoneta, ohio. being near to fort wayne he had no doubt attended the great council at that place. he had been a renowned warrior, as already shown, and had been present at braddock's defeat, at point pleasant, and at st. clair's disaster, but when anthony wayne conquered the indians at fallen timbers, black hoof had given up, and he had afterwards remained steadfast in his allegiance to the united states government. when tecumseh afterwards attempted to form his confederacy, he met with a firm and steady resistance from black hoof, and his influence was such that no considerable body of the shawnees ever joined the prophet's camp. black hoof died in at the advanced age of one hundred and ten years, and tradition says that like moses, "his eye was not dim; nor his natural force abated." the fact that black hoof, who was of great fame among his tribe, as both orator and statesman, made no claim to any of the lands sold below the vermilion, is strong cumulative proof of the assertion afterwards made by harrison to tecumseh, that any claims of his tribe to the lands on the wabash were without foundation. the personal admirers and intimate associates of harrison, were, of course, overjoyed. they were no doubt influenced to some extent by the fact that another long lease of power was in sight. their leader's victory would inure to their own benefit. still, there were no cravens among them. a banquet followed, participated in by a number of the leading citizens of the town and adjacent country. judge henry vanderburgh, of the territorial court, presided, and toasts were drank to the treaty, governor harrison, his secretary, peter jones, and the "honest interpreter" joseph barron. of those present on that occasion, some were afterwards officers at tippecanoe, and one, thomas randolph, fell at the side of his chief. there were those, however, who were not to be silenced by the governor's triumph. the political battles of that time were extremely vitriolic, and the fights over territorial politics had been filled with hate. certain foes of the governor not only appeared in knox county, but eventually in the halls of the national congress, and there were those who did not hesitate to question the governor's integrity. among those who bitterly opposed harrison was one william mcintosh, "a scotchman of large property at vincennes, who had been for many years hostile to the governor, and who was not believed to be very partial to the government of the united states." harrison terms him as a "scotch tory." one john small made an affidavit before judge benjamin parke that prior to the year , mcintosh had been on good terms with harrison, but that harrison's advocacy of a representative government for the territory, or its advancement to the second grade, had turned him into an enemy. however this may be, harrison and his friends, in order to vindicate his fame at home and abroad, now resolved to bring an action for damages in the territorial courts against mcintosh, "for having asserted that he had cheated the indians, in the last treaty which had been made with them at fort wayne." the suit being brought to issue, it was found that of the territorial judges then on the bench, one, probably judge parke, was a personal friend of the governor, and one a personal friend of mcintosh. these gentlemen, therefore, both retired, and the honorable waller taylor, who had recently come into the territory assumed the ermine. a jury was selected by the court naming two elisors, who in turn selected a panel of forty-eight persons, from which the plaintiff and defendant each struck twelve, and from the remaining twenty-four the jury was drawn by lot. with this "struck jury," the cause proceeded to a hearing. the following account, given in _dawson's harrison_, will prove of interest: "before a crowded audience, this interesting trial was continued from ten a. m., till one o'clock at night. every person concerned in the indian department, or who could know anything of the circumstances of the late treaty at fort wayne, was examined, and every latitude that was asked for, or attempted by the defendant, in the examination, permitted. finding that the testimony of all the witnesses went to prove the justice and integrity of the governor's conduct in relation to everything connected with the indian department, the defendant began to ask questions relating to some points of his civil administration. to this the jury as well as the court objected, the latter observing that it was necessary that the examination should be confined to the matter at issue. but at the earnest request of the governor the defendant was permitted to pursue his own course and examine the witnesses upon every point which he might think proper. the defendant's counsel, abandoning all idea of justification, pleaded only for a mitigation of damages. after a retirement of one hour the jury returned a verdict of $ , damages. to pay this sum, a large amount of the defendant's lands were exposed for sale, and in the governor's absence in the command of the army the ensuing year, was bought in by his agent. two-thirds of his property has since been returned to mcintosh and the remaining part given to some of the orphan children of those distinguished citizens who fell a sacrifice to their patriotism in the last war." the head chief of the weas at this time was lapoussier, whose name would indicate that he was of french extraction. he arrived at vincennes on the fifteenth day of october, with fifteen warriors and was later followed by negro legs, little eyes and shawanoe, who came in with other companies of the tribe. on the twenty-fourth, the governor assembled them for the purpose, as he stated, of ascertaining whether they "were in a situation to understand the important business he had to lay before them." he said that he had shut up the liquor casks, but that he found that his proclamation prohibiting the sale of liquor had been disobeyed. he was glad to find however, that they were sober, and expressed a wish that they would not drink any more while the deliberations were in progress. on the twenty-fifth he explained fully all the provisions of the treaty of fort wayne, the benefit the weas would derive from an increase in their annuity, and the removal from the vicinity of the settlements to the neighborhood of their brothers, the miamis, who lived farther up the river. he also told them that they would be granted the same amount of goods in hand received by the larger tribes, on account of the inconvenience they would suffer by moving from their present habitations. the governor's conduct in refusing to negotiate while any evidences of liquor were manifest was in strict keeping with his attitude at fort wayne, and his generous treatment of a smaller and weaker tribe certainly redounds to his credit. the treaty of fort wayne was duly ratified and approved on the twenty-sixth day of october, , and the convention was signed by lapoussier and all the wea chieftains without a single dissent. only one tribe now remained who had any manner of claim to any of the lands in the wabash valley. this tribe was the kickapoos, who lived at the mouth of the vermilion river and in that part of indiana now comprising practically all of vermilion county and parts of warren and parke. accordingly a treaty was concluded with them at vincennes on the ninth of december, , whereby they fully ratified all the proceedings at fort wayne, and further ceded to the united states "all that tract of land which lies above the tract above ceded (the north line of which was raccoon creek), the wabash, the vermilion river, and a line to be drawn from the north corner of said ceded tract, so as to strike the vermilion river at a distance of twenty miles in a direct line from its mouth." among the interesting names attached as witnesses to the articles is that of hyacinthe laselle. chapter xviii the shawnee brothers --_the prophet as an indian priest and tecumseh as a political organizer--the episode of the eclipse of --tecumseh's personal appearance described._ the confederacy of tecumseh was established upon a priesthood. let us regard the priest. he was a character remarkable enough to invite the attention of all the leading men of that day, including jefferson. he was subtle and crafty enough to delude harrison into the belief that he might be a friend instead of a foe. the account related by simon kenton, and vouched for by john johnston and anthony shane, is that tecumseh, laulewasikaw, the prophet, and a third brother, kumskaukau, were triplets; that tecumseh was the youngest or last born of the three; that "this event so extraordinary among the indian tribes, with whom a double birth is quite uncommon, struck the mind of the people as supernatural, and marked him and his brothers with the prestige of future greatness--that the great spirit would direct them to the achievement of something great." the date of this extraordinary event is given by most authors as , making tecumseh and the prophet some five years the seniors of general harrison. "they were born in a cabin or hut, constructed of round saplings chinked with sticks and clay, near the mouth of stillwater, on the upper part of its junction with the great miami, then a pleasant plateau of land, with a field of corn not subject to overflow." of the early life of the prophet not much is known. "according to one account he was noted in his earlier years for stupidity and intoxication; but one day, while lighting his pipe in his cabin, he fell back apparently lifeless and remained in that condition until his friends had assembled for the funeral, when he revived from his trance, quieted their alarm, and announced that he had been conducted to the spirit world." as an orator, he is said to have been even more powerful than tecumseh himself, and his great influence in after years among the various tribes would seem to bear that statement out. however, he was boastful, arrogant, at times cruel, and never enjoyed the reputation for honesty and integrity that his more distinguished brother did. in personal appearance he was not prepossessing. he had lost one eye, "which defect he concealed by wearing a dark veil or handkerchief over the disfigured organ." it has been related that he was dominated to some extent by his wife, who was regarded by the squaws at the prophet's town as a queen. whole nations are at times moved with a sort of religious fervor or frenzy which extends to all ranks and stations. during these periods strange mental phenomena are at times apparent, great social and political movements are inaugurated, and the whole complexion of affairs seems to undergo a rapid and sometimes radical change. such a movement occurred among the indian tribes of ohio and those along the wabash about the beginning of the year . at this time a part of the scattered and broken remnants of the shawnee tribe had been gathered together under the prophet and tecumseh at greenville, ohio. in november of the year before the prophet had "assembled a considerable number of shawnees, wyandots, ottawas and senecas, at wapakoneta, on the auglaize river, when he unfolded to them the new character with which he was clothed, and made his first public effort in that career of religious imposition, which in a few years was felt by the remote tribes of the upper lakes, and on the broad plains which stretched beyond the mississippi." the appearance of the prophet was not only highly dramatic but extremely well-timed. the savage mind was filled with gloomy forebodings. the ravages of "fire-water," the intermixture of the races, the trespassing of the white settlers on the indian domain, and the rapid disappearance of many of the old hunting grounds, all betokened a sad destiny for the red man. naturally superstitious, he was prepared for the advent of some divine agency to help him in his distress. no one understood this better than the prophet. he may have been the dupe of his own imposture, but impostors are generally formidable. he was no longer laulewasikaw, but tenskwatawa, "the open door." "he affected great sanctity; did not engage in the secular duties of war or hunting; was seldom in public; devoted most of his time to fasting, the interpretation of dreams, and offering sacrifices to spiritual powers; pretended to see into futurity and to foretell events, and announced himself to be the mouth-piece of god." the first assemblage at wapakoneta, was later followed by a series of pilgrimages to greenville, which shortly spread alarm among the white settlers. hundreds of savages flocked around the new seer from the rivers and lakes of the northwest and even from beyond the mississippi. in may of great numbers passed and re-passed through fort wayne. in a letter of date august th, , from william wells, the united states indian agent at the last named place, to governor harrison at vincennes, wells relates that the lake indians from the vicinity of mackinac are flocking to greenville; that the prophet is instilling the doctrine that in a few years the great spirit will destroy every white man in america, and that the inhabitants of detroit are fortifying themselves against attack. to all these savage gatherings the prophet preached the new propaganda. he denounced drunkenness, and said that he had gone up into the clouds and had seen the abode of the devil; that there he saw all the drunkards and that flames of fire continually issued from their mouths, and that all who used liquor in this world would suffer eternal torment in the next; he advocated a return to pristine habits and customs, counseling the tribes "to throw away their flints and steels, and resort to their original mode of obtaining fire by percussion. he denounced the woolen stuffs as not equal to skins for clothing; he commended the use of the bow and arrow. as to inter-marriage between the races, all this was prohibited. the two races were distinct and must remain so. neither could there be any separate or individual ownership of any of the indian lands; these were the common heritage of all. the weak, aged and infirm were to be cherished and protected; parental authority was to be obeyed. in conclusion, he never failed to proclaim that the great spirit had gifted him with the divine power to 'cure all diseases and to arrest the hand of death, in sickness, or on the battlefield'." the happening of these events soon attracted the attention of the british agents at malden, just below detroit, and on the canadian side. mckee was there and matthew elliott. the old hatred of all things american still burned in their bosoms. "england and france," says ridpath, "were now engaged in deadly war. the british authorities struck blow after blow against the trade between france and foreign nations; and napoleon retaliated. the plan adopted by the two powers was, as already narrated, to blockade each others' ports, either with paper proclamations or with men-of-war. by such means the commerce of the united states was greatly injured. great britain next set up her peculiar claim of citizenship, that whosoever is born in england remains through life the subject of england. english cruisers were authorized to search american vessels for persons suspected of being british subjects, and those who were taken were impressed as seamen in the english navy. on the twenty-second of june, , the frigate chesapeake was hailed near fortress monroe by a british man-of-war called the leopard. british officers came on board and demanded to search the vessel for deserters. the demand was refused and the ship cleared for action. but before the guns could be charged the leopard poured in a destructive fire, and compelled a surrender. four men were taken from the captured ship, three of whom proved to be american citizens. great britain disavowed this outrage and promised reparation; but the promise was never fulfilled." in the event of a renewal of hostilities between the united states and great britain, it would evidently be the mission of mckee and elliott to brighten the bond of friendship between the indian tribes and the king; re-establish, so far as possible, the old savage confederacy, and use it both as a barrier against any attempted invasion of canada, and as a weapon of offense against the western states and settlements. the shawnees were wholly in the interest of the british. the potawatomi, ottawas and chippewas who resided in the neighborhood of detroit were, as harrison says, "the most perfidious of their race," and wells reported to harrison, that in case of war, the indian tribes would be against the united states. in a letter of july eleventh, , harrison wrote to the department of war that a respectable trader from detroit had informed him "that mckee, the british indian agent, was lately seen to pass up the miami of the lake to greenville where the prophet resided, and where there has been a considerable collection of indians for many weeks." the frontiers were generally alarmed, and in september the governor dispatched the interpreter, john conner, with a talk to the shawnees requiring the immediate removal of the "impostor" from the territory, and the dispersion of the warriors he had collected about him. "the british," he writes, "could not have adopted a better plan to effect their purpose of alienating from our government the affections of the indians than employing this vile instrument. it manifests at once their inveterate rancour against us and their perfect acquaintance with the indian character." but to return to the prophet. his fame, bruited far and wide, soon aroused the jealousy of many of the neighboring chiefs and medicine men. they saw their power dwindling away and their authority diminishing. they took steps to check the advancing tide of fanaticism, but were at once adroitly met by the introduction of an inquisition into witchcraft, which had been almost universally believed in by the tribes, but against which the prophet now hurled the most direful anathemas. he declared that anyone who dealt in magic or "medicine juggleries" should never taste of future happiness, and must be instantly put to death. his deluded and awe-struck followers promptly began a systematic searching out and persecution of "witches," and all under his personal direction. the finger of the seer often pointed at a prominent warrior or chieftain, or some member of their household. the prophet's mere denunciation was proof enough. the victim went to the torture of death by fire, or some other fate equally revolting. among the delawares, especially, the most shocking cruelty ensued, and finally these things came to the ears of the governor at vincennes. he immediately sent a "speech" by special messenger to the headmen and chiefs of the delaware tribe beseeching them to cast aside all fallacious doctrines, to denounce the prophet and to drive him out of their midst. in the course of this "speech" he said: "demand of him some proof at least, of his being the messenger of the deity. if god has really employed him, he has doubtless authorized him to perform miracles that he may be known and received as a prophet. if he is really a prophet, ask of him to cause the sun to stand still, the moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow, or the dead to rise from their graves." the language of the governor proved to be unfortunate. on june sixteen, , there was a total eclipse of the sun in northern latitudes for a period of about five minutes, at about a half an hour before midday, and this event had long been heralded by the astronomers of that time, and had come to the ears of the prophet through intercourse with some white friends. the crafty savage was not slow to act. he told his followers that on a certain fixed day, and at a time when the sun was at the height of its power, he would place the same under his feet, and cause darkness to come over the face of the earth. on the day announced, the prophet stood among his fearful band, awaiting the hour. the day was wholly clear and without clouds, but at the appointed time the terrified savages saw a disc of blackness gradually pass over the face of the sun; the birds became agitated and flew to cover; the skulking dogs drew near their masters; almost absolute darkness fell on all about; the stars of heaven appeared in the zenith, and in the midst of it all, the prophet exclaimed: "did i not testify truly? behold! darkness has shrouded the sun!" the account of that day, faithfully set forth by j. fennimore cooper, then a youth, is filled with strange relations of the unnatural appearance of all earthly things; of the sudden awe and fear that came into the minds of all; how women stood near their husbands in silence and children clung to their mothers in terror, and if these were the emotions experienced in a civilized community, made fully aware of the coming event, what must have been the impression produced on the superstitious mind of the savage, wholly unenlightened in the ways of science? from that day, the power of the savage prophet was secure until the spell of his magic was forever broken by harrison's soldiers at tippecanoe. it is not certain at what precise period in his career, whether in or , or later, the prophet was tempted by british gold and british overtures. president jefferson once wrote to john adams as follows: "i thought there was little danger in his making proselytes from the habits and comforts they had learned from the whites, to the hardships and privations of savagism, and no great harm if he did. but his followers increased until the british thought him worth corrupting, and found him corruptible." neither is it certain at what precise period tecumseh put his brother-priest behind him and assumed the lead. that he had cunningly pretended to have great respect and reverence while the prophet was practicing on the superstition of the tribes; that he took no steps to stop the inquisitions which were destroying the influence of the chiefs and medicine men; that he stood ready at the opportune moment to push the brother-priest into the back-ground and form a confederacy with himself as the recognized head, will not now admit of controversy. in tecumseh was about thirty-eight years of age, a finished athlete, a renowned hunter, and of great reputation as a bold and fearless orator. probably no red man ever born had a better knowledge of the various treaties that had been consummated between the races. "for all those qualities which elevate man far above his race; for talent, tact, skill, bravery as a warrior; for high-minded, honorable and chivalrous bearing as a man; in fine, for all those elements of greatness which place him a long way above his fellows in savage life, the name and fame of tecumseh will go down to posterity in the west, as one of the most celebrated of the aborigines of this continent." this is the estimate of judge law, of vincennes. in his youth he had been under the tutelage of his elder brother, cheeseekau, who taught him "a love for the truth, a contempt of everything mean and sordid, and the practice of those cardinal indian virtues, courage in battle and fortitude in suffering." in one of the early shawnee raids along the ohio he had witnessed the burning of a white man at the stake; the scene was so horrifying to him that he made his associates promise never to torture another person. the spoils of the hunt he divided with the aged and unfortunate. at the time of the prophet's rise he had already matched his prowess in battle against such men as simon kenton and his associates and had proven both his skill as a tactician and his courage as a fighter. an illustration of tecumseh's chivalry toward his foes, is pleasingly set forth in smith's _historical sketches of old vincennes_; "early in the year , governor harrison, with a view to ascertaining the cause of the dissatisfaction of the prophet, and, if possible, pacify him, deputed one of his most sagacious and trusty advisers with a competent interpreter to hold a council with him and his chiefs, including his brother warrior chief, tecumseh. it is learned from history that these gentlemen arrived at the village one evening and were received in an apparently friendly manner by the prophet and assigned a tent for the night with an appointment for a council the next morning. it is said the prophet's wife was considered a queen among the indian women, as well as by her husband. before retiring for the night the interpreter observed an unusual stir among the squaws, and motions made toward their tent, and caught menacing glances and gestures toward them, and so told the ambassador, but he made light of the matter and the interpreter's suspicions that treachery was intended, and when night came on he was soon asleep in peace and quiet. but not so with the vigilant interpreter, who kept awake and had his guns near at hand. about midnight a tap was heard at the door and his name, in the shawnee language, was called. he found tecumseh at the door. he had called to warn him of impending assassination by the queen and squaws, who had held a council and determined on their death in spite of the protests of himself and others who told them it would be base treachery to kill messengers of peace who were their visitors. he told the visitors to rise and go with him. they went silently through the village and down into a wooded ravine near the river, where a noise was made as if to call wild turkeys, sounds well recognized by all hunters in early days; an answer was returned, and soon two men appeared with the ambassador's horses, which they speedily mounted and rode swiftly away, accompanied by two guides furnished by tecumseh, and were soon well on their return trip to vincennes." no true portrait of this celebrated indian is in existence. the following graphic description of him, however, is given by stanley hatch, who had a personal acquaintance with him in times of peace: "the general appearance of this remarkable man was uncommonly fine. his height was about five feet nine inches, judging him by my own height when standing close to him, and corroborated by the late col. john johnston, for many years indian agent at piqua. his face oval rather than angular; his nose handsome and straight; his mouth beautifully formed, like that of napoleon i, as represented in his portraits; his eyes clear, transparent hazel, with a mild, pleasant expression when in repose, or in conversation; but when excited in his orations or by the enthusiasm of a conflict, or when in anger, they appeared like balls of fire; his teeth beautifully white, and his complexion more of a light brown or tan than red; his whole tribe as well as their kindred the ottawas, had light complexions; his arms and hands were finely formed; his limbs straight; he always stood very erect and walked with a brisk, elastic, vigorous step; invariably dressed in indian tanned buckskin; a perfectly well fitting hunting frock descending to the knee, and over his under clothes of the same material; the usual cape and finish of yellow fringe about the neck; cape, edges of the front opening and bottom of the frock; a belt of the same material in which were his side arms (an elegant silver-mounted tomahawk and a knife in a strong leather case); short pantaloons connected with neatly fitting leggings and moccasins, with a mantle of the same material thrown over his left shoulder, used as a blanket in camp and as a protection in storms. such was his dress when i last saw him, on the seventeenth of august, , on the streets of detroit; mutually exchanging tokens of recognition with former acquaintances in years of peace, and passing on, he, to see that his indians had all crossed to malden, as commanded, and to counsel with his white allies in regard to the next movement of the now really commenced war of . he was then in the prime of life, and presented in his appearance and noble bearing one of the finest looking men i have ever seen." the striking circumstances of his birth, the ascendency of his brother, the prophet, his burning hatred of the white race; his skill as a hunter and valor as a warrior; above all his wonderful eloquence and thorough knowledge of all the indian treaties of the past, gave tecumseh an influence and authority among the tribes far beyond that of any of the braves or sachems of that day. if at the first his imagination had not dared to scale the heights of power, he later boldly threw aside all disguise, and by his powerful advocacy of a communistic ownership of all the indian lands by the tribes in common, he aimed both a blow at the ancient authority claimed by the indian chieftains, and at the validity of every treaty ever negotiated between the two races of men. the sum and substance of tecumseh's doctrine is thus succinctly stated by judge law: "that the great spirit had given the indians all their lands in common to be held by them as such and not by the various tribes who had settled on portions of it--claiming it as their own. that they were squatters having no 'pre-emption right,' but holding even that on which they lived as mere 'tenants in common' with all the other tribes. that this mere possession gave them no title to convey the land without the consent of all. that no single tribe had the right to sell, that the power to sell was not vested in their chiefs, but must be the act of the warriors in council assembled of all the tribes, as the land belonged to all--no portion of it to any single tribe." if these tenets were to hold, it was clear that any authority claimed by the chiefs to represent their respective tribes in the sale or barter of any of the indian domain was without foundation; that any treaty not negotiated and ratified by a common council of all the warriors of all the tribes, was null and void; that wayne's treaty of was nullum pactum; that the claim of the white settlers to any of the lands north of the ohio was without force, and that they were trespassers and mere licensees from the beginning. the doctrine thus enunciated was not entirely new. joseph brant had claimed that the land was the common property of the tribes, but he had never declared that the sanction of all the warriors was necessary to a conveyance. but the plausible eloquence of tecumseh, coming at a time when the star of the red man was setting; when every passing day witnessed the encroachment of the white settlers, gave a new ray of hope to the fainting tribes. the warriors, carried away by the dreams and incantations of the prophet, and sustained by the burning words of a new leader, who promised them a restoration of their former glory, cast aside with contempt all the articles and solemn agreements of the past, and were ready to take up the tomahawk in patriotic defense of their lands and homes. thus did tecumseh look forward to the establishment of "a great and permanent confederation--an empire of red men, of which he should be the leader and emperor." chapter xix prophet's town --_the capital of the shawnee confederacy in the heart of the miami country._ before entering upon the final details of the struggle between harrison and tecumseh, it may not be uninteresting to recur to a point of time just before the treaty of fort wayne, when the two indian leaders removed from the neighborhood of the white settlements at greenville, ohio, and established the prophet's town on the wabash river in the month of june, . this was to be the spot from whence should emanate all those brilliant schemes of the brothers to merge the broken tribes into a confederacy; to oppose the further advance of the white settlers, and with the aid of the british power in canada, to drive them back beyond the waters of the ohio. it was, as general richard p. dehart has aptly remarked, "the seat of indian diplomacy and strategy for many years." in leading their followers to this new field, the brothers were guided by certain lines of policy which were both remarkable in their conception, and signal for their farsightedness. the rendezvous at greenville had been marked by intense enthusiasm, hundreds of red men flocking thither to imbibe the new faith and to commune with the prophet; so many in fact, that governor harrison had ordered them to be supplied from the public stores at fort wayne in order to avert trouble. but it was evident to the new leaders that all this congregating did not turn aside starvation; that warriors could not be held together who were hungry and who lacked corn; that the proximity of white traders was conducive to drunkenness; that if back of outward appearances any warlike exercises were to be indulged, or the emissaries and arms of the british were to be received, that these things would require secrecy and seclusion until the plot was ripe; that some strategic position must be secured on one of the great waterways of the interior, within quick striking distance of the settlements and easily accessible to the british posts. such a spot was the site of the old french and indian trading post on the right bank of the wabash and about ten miles above the present city of lafayette. to the west about one and one-quarter miles is the marble shaft of the battleground, and going from thence east across the fields and open woodlands you come to the fringe of woods that still lines the river. you have walked over the old indian corn fields and are now standing on the exact location of the old prophets's town. the scene is one of great beauty even at this day, when the forest has been despoiled and nature ravished of her choicest charms. here, the river extends in an almost unbroken line for three or four miles, bordered by sycamores and maples, and with a wealth of clinging vines, crab-apple blossoms and blooming flowers on either bank. the old trading post of petit piconne was located on a series of high cliffs, crowned with huge forest trees, and commanding the river through vistas of foliage. the face of these cliffs is frequently broken by sharp ravines, that extend on back among the hills with many devious windings. at the foot of the steep slopes, extends a long, narrow tableland of forest bordering directly upon the river; this is interspersed with springs of fresh water that burst from the hillsides. on the cliffs stood the camps and cabins of the warriors and their followers; below, and on the tableland and next to the water, the horses were tethered, and canoes were drawn up out of the river. thither the prophet and his brother now turned their eyes. the whole upper valley, including the basins of the tippecanoe and the wildcat, was the rightful possession of the miamis and the weas, but the brothers now secured a pretended right or license from the kickapoos and the potawatomi to establish a camp. the miamis of the north, and the delawares of the south, were alike alarmed. the delawares in particular had been the friends of the white people and adherents of the governor. they divined, and divined truly, that the prophet's plans ultimately involved mischief. to avoid a possible war they sent a deputation of chiefs to the prophet, who refused to see them, but deputed tecumseh to answer their remonstrances. on this mission he was entirely successful. by threats and persuasion he turned them back, although they had received strict instructions from their tribe to oppose a new settlement. on a visit shortly afterwards by john conner, interpreter for the delawares, on a search for stolen horses, he found the prophet safely ensconced in his chosen position, with a following of thirty or forty shawnees, and about ninety others, consisting of potawatomi, chippewas, ottawas and winnebagoes. the location selected was certainly ideal. "by a short portage the indians could go by canoe to lake erie or lake michigan, or by the wabash reach all the vast system of watercourses to the north and west. it was only twenty-four hours' journey by canoe, at a favorable stage of water, down stream to vincennes, the capital of the white man's territory;" the british post at malden was only a few days distant. as to the indian tribes, the prophet's town was almost centrally located in the miami confederacy; to the north as far as the post of chicago and lake michigan extended the realm of the potawatomi; on the vermilion below, and to the west of the main stream, lay the villages of the kickapoos, whose hardy warriors, second only to the wyandots, had accepted the new faith; the sacs and foxes, the winnebagoes, ottawas, chippewas and wyandots, were all within easy reach, and secret embassies and negotiations might be carried on without much fear of detection. the brothers now resolved to pursue the following course--to wean their followers entirely away from the use of whiskey, which was fast destroying their military efficiency; to teach them, if possible, the ways of labor, so that they might raise corn and other products of the earth, and thus supply their magazines against a time of war; to dupe the governor into the belief that their mission was one of peace, and undertaken solely for the moral uplift and betterment of the tribes--in the meantime, by the constant practice of religious ceremonies and rites, to work on the superstition of the warriors; win them, if need be, from the chieftains who might counsel peace, and by a series of warlike sports and exercises, hold together the young bucks and train them for the inevitable conflict between the races. what strange mysticism did the prophet practice to make the indians of the wabash "abandon whiskey, discard textile clothing, return to skins, throw away their witch-bags, kill their dogs, and abandon the white man's ways, even to giving up flint and steel for making fires?" that he had gained fame and ascendency among the neighboring tribes since the episode of the eclipse in , is testified to by the fact that when richard mcnemar, the shaker, visited him in , at greenville, ohio, he found a temple of worship one hundred fifty feet in length, surrounded by wigwams and cottages, and the indians then told mcnemar that they all believed implicitly in the prophet and that he could "dream to god." the prophet had at that time also gone so far as to institute the confessional, and all sinful disclosures were made to himself and four accompanying chiefs. the question was asked: "do they confess all the bad things they ever did?" answer: "all from seven years old. and cry and tremble when they come to confess." a sort of nature or sun worship had already been introduced. mcnemar thus describes a salutation to the lord of the day: "next morning, as soon as it was day, one of their speakers mounted a log, near the southeast corner of the village, and began the morning service with a loud voice, in thanksgiving to the great spirit. he continued his address for near an hour. the people were all in their tents, some at the distance of fifteen or twenty rods; yet they could all distinctly hear, and gave a solemn and loud assent, which sounded from tent to tent, at every pause. while we stood in his view, at the end of the meeting house, on rising ground, from which we had a prospect of the surrounding wigwams, and the vast open plain or prairie, to the south and east, and which looked over the big fort, toward the north, for the distance of two miles, we felt as if we were among the tribes of israel, on their march to canaan." by weird incantations, symbolic ceremonies, and practice of the black art, the prophet had gone far. he was now regarded as invulnerable, and his person sacred. but that which gave point to his oracles, and authority to his imposture, was his shawnee hatred of the pale face. to incite their growing jealousy and malice, he told his dupes, that the white man had poisoned all their land, and prevented it from producing such things as they found necessary to their subsistence. the growing scarcity of game, the disappearance of the deer and buffalo before the white settlements, were indisputable proofs of his assertions. says harrison: "the game which was formerly so abundant, is now so scarce as barely to afford subsistence to the most active hunters. the greater part of each tribe are half the year in a state of starvation, and astonishing as it may seem, these remote savages have felt their full share of the misfortunes which the troubles in europe have brought upon the greater part of the world. the exclusion of the english from the continent of europe, where they were accustomed to dispose of the greater part of the peltries imported from canada, has reduced the price of those articles almost to nothing; the indians can scarcely procure for them the necessary ammunition, and they are often induced to forego the purchase of this necessary article to gratify their passion for whiskey." all these evils were attributed by the prophet to the extension of the american settlements. to drive back these invaders who polluted the soil and desecrated the graves of their fathers--what more was needed to incite the savage warriors to a crusade of blood and extermination? about this time it was noticed that the potawatomi of the prairies, who were under the influence of the prophet, were frequently holding religious exercises, but that these exercises were always concluded with "warlike sports, shooting with bows, throwing the tomahawk, and wielding the war-club." in the meantime, the relation of these religious ceremonies at the prophet's town and their seemingly good effect upon the red man, completely disarmed the governor for the time being. he now entertained the idea that the great indian leader might be "made a useful instrument in effecting a radical and salutary change in the manners and habits of the indians." to stop the use of ardent spirits and to encourage the cultivation of corn, were two important steps, as the governor thought. events which succeeded but added to harrison's deception. in june, , messengers appeared at vincennes, and one of them stated that he had listened to the prophet for upwards of three years, and had never heard anything but good advice. "he tells us we must pray to the great spirit who made the world and everything in it for our use. he tells us that no man could make the plants, the trees, and the animals, but they must be made by the great spirit, to whom we ought to pray, and obey in all things. he tells us not to lie, to steal, or to drink whiskey; and not to go to war, but to live in peace with all mankind. he tells us also to work and to make corn." in august of the same year, the crafty prophet himself appeared and remained at vincennes for more than two weeks. the governor was surprised at the great address and ease with which he handled his followers, and had the pleasure of listening to a speech, in which the prophet professed the most pacific intentions, constantly haranguing his retinue upon the evils of war and liquor, and holding out to them the advantages of temperance and peace. it seems that the governor even made a few personal experiments to determine whether the indians were in earnest about their pretensions, but could induce none of them to touch fire-water. the interview closed to the entire satisfaction of the governor, the prophet promising to keep him fully informed as to anything that might be inimical to the settlements, and receiving in return many presents from the governor in the way of implements of husbandry, arms, powder and other things which the indians claimed that they were in sore need of. on the first of september, , in a communication to henry dearborn, secretary of war, the governor wrote as follows: "the celebrated shawnee prophet has just left me after a visit of more than two weeks. he is rather possessed of considerable talents, and the art and address with which he manages the indians is really astonishing. i was not able to ascertain whether he is as i at first supposed, a tool of the british or not. his denial of being under any such influence was strong and apparently candid. he says that his sole purpose is to reclaim the indians from the bad habits they have contracted, and to cause them to live in peace and friendship with all mankind, and declares that he is particularly instructed to that effect by the great spirit. he frequently harangued his followers in my presence, and the evils attendant upon war and the use of ardent spirits was his constant theme. i cannot say how successful he may be in persuading them to lay aside their passion for war, but the experiment made to determine whether their refusal to drink whiskey proceeded from principle, or was only empty profession, established the former beyond all doubt. upon the whole, sir, i am inclined to think the influence which the prophet has acquired will prove rather advantageous than otherwise to the united states." how vain this trust! scarcely had the prophet returned to his town, before he was entertaining an emissary and spy of the british government, who urged war on the united states. in the following spring of , the chippewas, ottawas and potawatomi were being urged by the prophet to take up arms against the inhabitants of vincennes, and to destroy the settlers along the ohio, as far up as cincinnati. reports of these proceedings were confirmed by michael brouillette, an indian trader, and by touissant dubois, a confidential agent of the governor. harrison probably averted an indian attack, by promptly organizing two additional companies of militia and throwing them into the vicinity of fort knox, to guard the approaches to the capital by land and water. the indians, however, seeing this prompt action, deserted the prophet and returned to their homes. the governor was not fooled a second time. the prophet again visited him in the summer of , and made the same old pretensions of peace. but the governor forced him to admit that he had entertained the british the fall before, and that he had been invited, as he said, to join a league of the sacs and foxes against the whites in the early spring, and he could make no satisfactory explanation as to why he had not imparted these facts to the government, when he had been solemnly enjoined so to do. from this time on, the prophet was regarded with a just suspicion, and harrison diligently regarded every movement of the new faith. chapter xx harrison's vigilance --_his personal courage and activities save the frontier capital._ the spring of opened with peril to vincennes. the eternal vigilance of harrison alone saved the day. the fall before had witnessed the making of the treaty of fort wayne and the acquisition of the new purchase; this had strengthened the claims of the prophet and tecumseh for a closer union of the tribes, and had given added force to their argument in favor of a communistic ownership of all the land. what right had the old village chiefs to dispose of the common domain without the consent of the warriors who had fought to maintain it? the great spirit gave the soil in common to all the tribes; what single tribe could alienate any particular portion of it? reliable word came to the governor in april that the prophet had assembled one thousand souls at the prophet's town, with probably three hundred fifty or four hundred men among them, consisting principally of kickapoos and winnebagoes, "but with a considerable number of potawatomis and shawnees and a few chippewas and ottawas;" that the french traders along the wabash had been warned by the prophet's followers to separate themselves from the americans at vincennes for trouble was brewing; that the indians at tippecanoe had refused to buy ammunition of the traders, saying that they had a plenty, and could get plenty more without paying for it; that matthew elliott, the british agent at malden, was busy with plot and intrigue against the united states. but harrison was surrounded by some of the best scouts and confidential agents that a frontier official ever commanded--among them touissant dubois, joseph barron and michael brouillette. he kept awake and on the alert. tecumseh now assumed a more active leadership. the day had arrived for the statesman and warrior to sound the alarm, form an active league and confederacy of all the tribes, and with tomahawk in hand, resist any further advancement on the part of the whites. as harrison afterwards remarked, he appeared today on the wabash, a short time later on the shores of lake erie or lake michigan, and then upon the mississippi. everywhere he was masterful, eloquent, convincing, and "made an impression favorable to his purpose." at one time during the early summer it is known that he was at detroit, and he was probably in close communication with his british allies, although he professed to hate them. about may, , a council of all the tribes of the wabash and those to the north was called at the river st. joseph of lake michigan. the whole situation was fraught with danger, for harrison had reason to believe that many of the tribes had already received the tomahawk and were meditating a combined attack on the settlements. subsequent events proved that his fears were well founded. he immediately dispatched john conner to the delawares and "pointed out to them the unavoidable destruction which awaited all the tribes which should dare to take up the hatchet against their fathers, and the great danger that the friendly tribes would incur, if war should be kindled, from the difficulty of discriminating friend from foe." a messenger was dispatched in haste after the deputies of the tribes deputed to the council, with full instructions dictated by the governor, to urge these facts upon the assembled tribes. in addition, the governor in response to the demand of a company of officers, merchants, and others at vincennes, at once called two companies of militia into active service, established alarm posts upon the frontier, and used all available means at hand to put himself in readiness for war. fortunately, the delawares remained faithful. if winamac is to be believed, the prophet in person urged upon the council an immediate surprise of detroit, fort wayne, the post at chicago, st. louis and vincennes, and a junction with the tribes of the mississippi, but the "forcible representations" of the delaware deputies, who were looked upon as "grandfathers," prevented the adoption of his plans. it seems that the younger men and some of the war lords of the smaller bands were ready to go to war, but the sachems and older village chieftains who had participated in the treaty of the year before held aloof. the chippewas, ottawas and potawatomi refused to take up arms, the council broke up without any concerted action, and winamac and the potawatomi were sent to the governor to make report of the proceedings. when winamac arrived at vincennes in the latter part of june, he reported that as he passed through the prophet's town an attempt was made to assassinate him--so enraged was the prophet at his failure on the st. joseph. winamac further told the governor that about the time of the council the prophet had proposed to the younger warriors that the principal chiefs of all the tribes should be murdered; that they were the ones who had brought about a sale of the indian lands, and that their, the warriors' hands, would never be untied until they were rid of them. the brothers were baffled in another mission. tecumseh urged the shawnees at wapakoneta, ohio, to join the league. a letter of john johnston, indian agent at fort wayne, informed the governor that, the shawnees refused even to enter into council with him. the ugly temper into which the indians had now worked themselves is well illustrated by the episode of the salt. shortly prior to the fifteenth of june, a boat came up the wabash to the prophet's town laden with salt for the use of the tribes, according to the terms of a former treaty. the men in charge of the boat reported that the prophet, and some kickapoos with him at the time, refused to receive it, and he was directed to leave the salt on the bank of the river until tecumseh should return; tecumseh being reported as at detroit. on his return trip home the master of the boat was directed to re-load the salt; that the indians would have nothing to do with it. "whilst the hands were rolling in the barrels, the brother of the prophet seized the master and several others by the hair, and shaking them violently, asked them if they were americans. they, however, were all young frenchmen. they also insulted mr. brouillette, and called him an american dog, and a young potawatomi chief directed his men to plunder his house, which was immediately done, depriving him of all his provisions, tobacco, etc." michael brouillette was the french trader heretofore referred to, and was the personal agent and scout of general harrison. he kept on hand a few articles of trade to disguise his real character. on one of their embassies, however, the brothers were successful. one of the most influential of the tribes in council was the wyandots or hurons, now greatly reduced in numbers, but still of great prestige and power among the red men. harrison always ranked their warriors among the best, and general wayne at greenville had delivered to them the original duplicate of the treaty. in a speech by massas, a chippewa chief, to general wayne, he referred to this tribe as "our uncles, the wyandots," and this was the designation generally employed by all the tribes. it was plain that if the wyandots could be won over to the new cause, a great diplomatic victory would be gained and the influence of the new movement greatly augmented. the prophet accordingly sent a deputation to the wyandots, "expressing his surprise that the wyandots, who had directed the councils of the other tribes, as well as the treaty with the white people, should sit still, and see the property of the indians usurped by a part," and he expressly desired to see the treaties and know what they contained. the wyandots were greatly flattered by these attentions, and answered "that they had nothing nearer their hearts, than to see all the various tribes united again as one man--that they looked upon everything that had been done since the treaty of greenville as good for nothing--and that they would unite their exertions with those of the prophet, to bring together all the tribes, and get them to unite to put a stop to the encroachments of the white people." it seems that the wyandots were also the keepers of the great belt, which had formerly been a symbol of the union of the tribes at the time of the war with anthony wayne. they now came in deputation to the prophet's town, carrying this great belt with them, and producing it among the clans of the miami at the villages of the mississinewa, accused them of deserting their indian friends and allies. the tribes at mississinewa sent for the weas and accompanied the deputation to tippecanoe. though thwarted on the st. joseph and among the shawnees, it was plain that a strict espionage would have to be maintained over the proceedings at the prophet's town, and especially over the prophet himself. the heart of this priest was filled with plots of assassination and murder. grosble, an old indian friend of the governor, informed him that the prophet had at one time planned a wholesale slaughter at vincennes, and that it had been arranged that the prophet should enter the governor's house with ten or twelve of his followers and slay him. to the prophet may be attributed most of the horse-stealing expeditions, the insults to messengers and agents, and the plans for the murder of the older indian chiefs. while tecumseh either countenanced these transactions, or else was unable to control them, he seems, with strange sagacity for a savage, to have at all times realized that the assassination of harrison, the stealing of a few horses, or the slaughter of a few white men on the border, would really never accomplish anything save to intensify the feeling between the races. while never comprehending the great forces of civilization and of the government which he was resisting, he seems to have steadily kept in mind that a handful of naked savages at the prophet's town would avail him nothing; that in order to effectively strike he must have back of him a substantial body of warriors recruited from all the confederated tribes, well victualled, armed and equipped, and equal in number to the armies of his adversary. he knew the indian character well enough to know that they would never long resist a superior force. if he could keep his rash and impulsive brother in leash long enough to form a permanent and powerful league, then he had hopes of ultimate success. but there was the great danger, in fact, the very peril that finally engulfed him. the prophet with that fatal egotism of the fanatic, vainly imagined that he was more than a match for the governor, and in the absence of his brother, let his vindictive hate and malice destroy the last dream of empire. in the latter part of the month of june, harrison sent dubois and brouillette to the prophet's town to take note of what was going on. they reported that while the tribes of the mississinewa, the weas and kickapoos were living in expectation of trouble, that there was no immediate danger, as the defection of the tribes at the st. joseph had upset the plans of the brothers. dubois requested the prophet to state the grounds of his complaint, if he had any, against the united states. the prophet answered in the language of brant, that the indians had been cheated of their lands and that no sale was good unless made by all the tribes. on the fourth of july, four canoes, filled with the prophet's followers, passed the wea village at terre haute, and harrison sent out the militia to discover what had become of them. one of these canoes came down the river to a shaker settlement sixteen miles above vincennes. the indians there attended meeting on sunday, the prophet professing to believe in the shaker creed, (without, however, practicing celibacy), and then finished the day's proceedings by stealing five horses. they made no attempt to cover their tracks, but the governor stopped any pursuit, as he "had been informed some time before, that one of their plans to bring on the war, was to send out parties to steal horses, and, if they were pursued, to kill their pursuers." this was plainly the work of the prophet. more alarming stories came in. it was said that the sacs and foxes were awaiting the signal from the prophet to take up arms; that a party of them had visited the british superintendent, and that elliott had said to a miami at maiden "my son, keep your eyes fixed on me--my tomahawk is now up--be you ready, but do not strike till i give the signal." harrison in the light of all these events, determined to send barron, his trusted interpreter, to the prophet's town. the reception of barron is thus dramatically related; "he was first conducted ceremoniously to the place where the prophet, surrounded by a number of indians, was seated. here he was left standing at a distance of about ten feet from the indian prophet. 'he looked at me,' said barron, 'for several minutes, without speaking or making any sign of recognition, although he knew me well. at last he spoke, apparently in anger. 'for what purpose do you come here?' said he, 'brouillette was here; he was a spy. dubois was here; he was a spy. there is your grave; look on it!' the prophet then pointed to the ground near the spot where i stood." no harm was done him, however. tecumseh interceded and the governor's messenger was finally received with respect. barron delivered a speech of harrison's to the prophet in the presence of tecumseh. the purport of this address was, that while the governor said he believed that there had been an attempt to raise the tomahawk, that the old chain of friendship between the indians and whites might still be renewed; that there were two roads open, one leading to peace, and the other to misery and ruin; that it was useless to make war against the seventeen fires, as their blue-coats were more numerous than the sands of the wabash; that if complaint was made as to the purchase of the indian lands, that the governor was willing to send the principal chiefs to washington to make this complaint to the president in person; that everything necessary for the journey should be prepared and a safe return guaranteed. on this visit barron held much personal converse with tecumseh and lodged with him in a cabin. he professed to be much pleased with harrison's speech, observing that he had not seen him since he was a young man seated at the side of general wayne. he disclaimed any intention of trying to make war, but said that it would be impossible to remain on friendly terms with the united states unless they abandoned the idea of trying to make settlements farther to the north and west, and unless they acknowledged the principle that all the lands were held by the tribes in common. said he: "the great spirit gave this great island to his red children; he placed the whites on the other side of the big water; they were not contented with their own, but came to take ours from us. they have driven us from the sea to the lakes, we can go no further. they have taken upon themselves to say this tract belongs to the miamis, this to the delawares, and so on, but the great spirit intended it as the common property of all the tribes, nor can it be sold without the consent of all. our father tells us, that we have no business upon the wabash, the land belongs to other tribes, but the great spirit ordered us to come here and here we shall stay." tecumseh now resolved on that famous meeting with the governor at vincennes. harrison had long known that there were those in his midst who were inimical to his plans and who had opposed his purpose of the fall before, but he did not learn until afterwards the full extent of their treachery. it seems that tecumseh had been given to understand that about half of the population of vincennes were friendly to his cause. an american had visited him during the winter of - who informed him that harrison had no authority whatever from the government to make the purchase; that the governor had only two years more to remain in office, and that if tecumseh could prevail upon the indians to refuse their annuities under the treaty until the governor "was displaced, as he would be, and a good man appointed as his successor, he would restore to the indians all the lands purchased from them." how far these representations may have deceived tecumseh into the belief that he was dealing with a man who was tottering to the fall, is not certainly known. he determined at any rate, to make a show of force. if the governor was a weakling who sat insecurely in his seat, and was fearful of public clamor, here was an opportunity to display that fact. as he remarked to barron, he had not seen the governor since he was "a very young man," sitting at the side of general wayne. the governor was younger in years than tecumseh, and no doubt the shawnee was disposed to regard him with contempt. to appear suddenly at the capital of the white man with a band of armed warriors; to openly and haughtily declare his purpose of resisting the pretensions of the governor and to pour out his insolence upon the heads of the chieftains who had dared to sell the lands--what a grand culmination of all his plans this would be, if it had the desired effect! there was nothing to lose, everything to gain. he resolved to try it. accordingly, on the th day of august, there swept down the river to fort knox, eighty canoes, filled with naked savages painted in the most terrific manner. all of them were armed and ready for attack. at their head was the great war chief, described by major george r. floyd, commandant at the fort, as "about six feet high, straight, with large, fine features, and altogether a daring, bold looking fellow." the conference with the governor was appointed for the morrow. chapter xxi the council at vincennes --_the dramatic meeting between harrison and tecumseh.--tecumseh announces his doctrine of the common ownership of the indian lands._ the great house of the governor at vincennes is situated inland from the wabash river about six hundred feet, and there formerly stood in front of this house and next to the river a grove of walnut trees which afforded a gracious shade. it was here, that on a bright, sunshiny day in august, the dramatic meeting occurred between the shawnee chief and governor harrison. local tradition has preserved a tale that the governor had secreted in the great parlor of his house a company of one hundred well-armed soldiers to provide against any treachery on the part of the red men, and computations, have been made to show that the room would accommodate that number of infantry, but this story must be regarded with suspicion. tecumseh and his party seem to have arrived at the place of rendezvous in canoes and by way of the river. he appeared on the scene with a retinue of forty warriors accoutered in the elaborate costume of the ceremonial, with painted bodies and feathered headdress, and fully armed with war clubs and tomahawks. the chief himself, invariably wore a simple dress of indian tanned buckskin, with a mantle of the same material thrown over the left shoulder. in his belt he carried an elegant silver mounted tomahawk and a hunting knife in a leathern case. "tall, athletic and manly, dignified, but graceful," he stood as the chosen exponent of his people's wrongs, ready to voice their plaints in the "musical and euphonious" accents of the shawnee tongue. a close observer of the savages of that day has stated that, "those who have been familiar with the indians of the northwest, when they were indians, and took sufficient interest in them as a race to study with care their customs, laws and usages, are aware that when attending councils with other nations or tribes, or with our agents, that they were always acting a part, a kind of diplomatic drama." to tecumseh the moment appeared propitious. the time had arrived to put the youthful governor of thirty-seven years to the test. harrison was attended by the judges of the supreme court; general gibson, the secretary; major g. r. floyd, and other officers of the regular army, and a guard of twelve men from the garrison under the command of lieutenant jennings; there was also a large assemblage of citizens present, who had been invited thither to hear what tecumseh had to present. the stage was well set, and the bold and insolent heart of the savage rose high. "as he came in front of the dais, an elevated portion of the place upon which the governor and the officers of the territory were seated, the governor invited him, through his interpreter, to come forward and take a seat with him and his counsellors, premising the invitation by saying 'that it was the wish of the great father, the president of the united states, that he should do so'. the chief paused for a moment, as the words were uttered and the sentence finished, and raising his tall form to its greatest height, surveyed the troops and the crowd around him. then with his keen eyes fixed on the governor for a single moment, and turning them to the sky above, with his sinewy arms pointed toward the heavens, and with a tone and manner indicative of supreme contempt, for the paternity assigned him, said in a voice whose clarion tones were heard throughout the whole assembly: 'my father?--the sun is my father--the earth is my mother--and on her bosom i will recline!" thus the council opened. the governor, with a short sword at his side, seated on the platform with his officers and advisers; the indians in front of him seated on the grass; to the left, the potawatomi chief, winamac, with one of his young men, extended on the green, and all about the eager and curious faces of the crowd, now wrought up to a high state of tension by the sarcastic retort of the indian chieftain. the speech that followed, "was full of hostility from beginning to end." tecumseh began in a low voice and spoke for about an hour. "as he warmed with his subject his clear tones might be heard, as if 'trumpet-tongued' to the utmost limits of the assembled crowd who gathered around him." the interpreter barron, was an illiterate man and the beauty and eloquence of the chief's oration was in great part lost. he denounced with passion and bitterness the cruel murder of the moravian indians during the revolutionary war, the assassination of friendly chieftains and other outrages, and said that he did not know how he could ever be a friend of the white man again; that the tribes had been driven by the americans "toward the setting sun, like a galloping horse," and that they would shortly push them into the lakes where they could neither stand nor walk; that the white people had allotted each separate tribe a certain tract of land so as to create strife between them, and so that they might be destroyed; that he and his brother had purposed from the beginning to form a confederation of all the tribes to resist any further encroachment of the whites; that the great spirit had given all the land in common to the indians, and that no single tribe had a right to alienate any particular portion of it. he declared that the treaty of fort wayne had been made with the consent of only a few; that it was largely brought about by the threats of winamac, and that a reluctant consent had been wrung from the weas because they were few in number. so fierce and vitriolic became his abuse of winamac that that chieftain primed his pistols and seemed ready at any moment to take tecumseh's life. the speaker went on to declare: "that if the government would not give up the lands that were purchased from the miamis, delawares, potawatomis, etc., that those who were united with him, were determined to fall upon those tribes and destroy them. that they were determined to have no more chiefs, but in the future to have everything under the direction of the warriors;" that the governor would see what would be done to the village chiefs who had sold the land, and unless he restored it he would be a party to the killing of them. the bold and defiant attitude of the speaker, and the tone of insolence that pervaded all his words, astonished even the governor. a weak or corrupt man would have trembled in his place and been at a loss how to answer. not so with harrison. all who knew him, says john law, were willing to acknowledge his courage, both moral and physical. he knew that the treaty of fort wayne had been concluded under the instructions of government; that his dealings with the tribes had been open-handed and fair, even with the insignificant weas of the lower waters; that the "unwarranted and unwarrantable" pretensions of tecumseh were made largely for their effect upon the audience, and after tecumseh's remarks had been openly interpreted by barron, he arose without tremor or hesitation to deny the chief's assertions. he spoke no doubt with some degree of force, for he undoubtedly understood by now that tecumseh would never have given utterance to many of his charges, without entertaining a belief that they would meet the approval of some traitorous faction of the assembly. he answered: "that the charges of bad faith against our government, and the assertion that injustice had been done the indians in any treaty ever made, or any council ever held with them by the united states, had no foundation in fact. that in all their dealings with the red men, they had ever been governed by the strictest rules of right and justice. that while other civilized nations had treated them with contumely and contempt, ours had always acted in good faith with them. that so far as he individually was concerned, he could say in the presence of the "great spirit" who was watching over their deliberations, that his conduct, even with the most insignificant tribe, had been marked with kindness, and all his acts governed by honor, integrity and fair dealing. that he had uniformly been the friend of the red men, and that it was the first time in his life that his motives had been questioned, or his actions impeached. it was the first time in his life that he had ever heard such unfounded claims put forth, as tecumseh set up, by any chief, or any indian, having the least regard for truth or the slightest knowledge of the intercourse between the indians and the white men, from the time this continent was first discovered. that as to the claim of tecumseh that all the indians were but one nation, and owned the lands in common, that this could not be maintained; that at the time the white men arrived on the continent they had found the miamis in possession of the wabash; that the shawnees were then residents of georgia, from which they had been driven by the creeks; that the lands in question had been purchased from the miamis who were the original owners of it; that if the great spirit had intended that the tribes should constitute but one nation, he would not have put different tongues in their heads, but taught them all to speak a language that all could understand; that the miamis had been benefited by the annuities of the government and that the seventeen fires had always been punctual in the payment of them; that the shawnees had no right to come from a distant country and control the miamis in the disposal of their own property." an event now took place, that but for the quick presence of mind and decisive action of the governor, might have terminated in bloodshed. harrison had taken his seat and barron had interpreted his reply to the shawnees, and was turning to the miamis and potawatomi, when tecumseh excitedly sprang to his feet and told barron to tell the governor that he lied. barron, who as a subordinate in the indian department, had great respect for his superiors, was seeking to mollify the harshness of this language, when he was again interrupted by tecumseh, who said: "no! no! tell him he lies!" the governor noticed tecumseh's angry manner, but thought he was seeking to make some explanation, when his attention was directed to winamac, who was cocking his pistol, and a moment later, general gibson, who understood the shawnee language, said to lieutenant jennings: "those fellows intend mischief; you had better bring up the guard." in an instant all was confusion. the warriors on the grass sprang to their feet brandishing their war clubs and tomahawks; harrison extricated himself from his chair and drew his sword to defend himself; major floyd drew a dirk, and the methodist minister winans ran to the governor's house, got a gun, and stood by the door to protect the family. such of the citizens as could, armed themselves with brickbats. in the midst of this turmoil the guard came running up and were about to fire on the indians, when harrison quickly interposed and commanded them not to do so. he now demanded a full explanation, and when the intemperate words of tecumseh were explained, told him he was a bad man and that he would hold no further communication with him; that as he had come there under the protection of the council fire, he might go in safety, but that he must immediately leave the neighborhood. the firm stand and commanding attitude of the governor at once quieted the storm, and tecumseh and his followers leisurely withdrew and retired to their camp. that night two companies of militia were brought in from the country, but no trouble occurred, and the time passed quietly until morning. [illustration: raccoon creek, parke county, indiana. the north line of the new purchase. photo by heaton] it was a part of the local tradition of later years, that when tecumseh called the governor a liar, that quick as a flash he arose to his feet, drew his sword and was about to resent the insult, when his friends interfered and prevented the blow. this story seems improbable, from the fact that the governor was aware that many unarmed citizens were present, and that any rash or inconsiderate action on his part would precipitate a conflict that could only end in blood and carnage. he knew, moreover, that tecumseh, by all the rules of civilized intercourse, even among open belligerents, was entitled to protection while engaged in council, and it is not probable that as brave a man as harrison would violate these rules by becoming the aggressor. instead, by quick word of command, he recalled the excited chief to his senses, dismissed him at once, and averted a catastrophe. in the solitude of his camp that evening tecumseh was forced to acknowledge defeat. the young governor instead of quailing had remained firm--it was plain that he was the chosen plenipotentiary of his government in all the treaties that had been effected. moreover, in his reply, the governor had not only emphatically repudiated all insinuations of unfairness toward the red man, but he had put the chief himself on the defensive by showing that he was an interloper who sought to control the rightful possessions of others. at last, it was the stolid savage who lost his self control, and the governor, who by his respect for the laws of the council fire had brought the flush of shame to the chieftain's cheek. that night, as he afterwards admitted at fort meigs, he felt a rising respect in his breast for the first magistrate of the territory. he was doomed in after years to associate with the cowardly and contemptible proctor, whom he called a "miserable old squaw," but from the day of this council he paid the involuntary tribute to harrison that one brave man always pays to another, though ranged on a hostile side. thoroughly convinced that his conduct of the day previous had been highly impolitic, the chieftain, at the dawn of day, sent for barron, and said that he desired a further interview, declaring that he had no intention of attacking the governor on the day before, and that he had been advised to pursue the course he did on the counsel of certain white men; disclosing to barron the circumstances heretofore related as to the visit of certain persons at the prophet's town, who had said that the governor had no right to make the purchase of the lands on the wabash; that he was unpopular and would be removed from office, and that then the lands would be restored. the governor would not receive tecumseh, however, until due apology had been made through the interpreter, and ample provision had been made for the protection of the citizens by ordering the local company of captain jones to parade morning and evening, and hold themselves ready for instant action. the governor also took the precaution to be well armed, as did several of his friends. at this second council, tecumseh's whole demeanor was changed. while remaining "firm and intrepid, he said nothing that was in the least insolent." he now disclosed in open council what he had theretofore told barron as to the visits of the white men, and again declared that he had no intention of harming the governor. harrison now informed the chief that he was about to cause a survey to be made of the new purchase, and he desired to know whether this process would be attended with any danger. tecumseh at once replied that he and those affiliated with him were determined "that the old boundary line should continue, and that the crossing it would be attended with bad consequences." his words were severally confirmed by a wyandot, a kickapoo, a potawatomi, an ottawa, and a winnebago, who each openly avowed that their tribes had entered into the shawnee confederacy, and that tecumseh had been chosen as their leader and chief. this second council does not seem to have been of great length. in it, tecumseh entirely abandoned any attempt at bluster, but firmly and positively stated to the governor that he would not consent to the sale of the indian lands, and that any attempt to survey them would be met with resistance. this frank and open statement, elicited a response equally frank from the governor. he told tecumseh that his claims would be transmitted in full to the president of the united states, and the reply of the president at once communicated to him when received, but that he was convinced that the president would never admit "that the lands on the wabash, were the property of any other tribes, than those who had occupied and lived upon them," and as these lands had been fairly and openly purchased at fort wayne, that the right of the united states would be "supported by the sword." with these words the interview terminated. that night the governor reflected. if the words of tecumseh as uttered in council, were sincere and genuine, they amounted to an open declaration of war--the government must either entirely recede from the ground it had taken, and restore the lands, or prepare for the coming conflict. concerning this issue there must be no doubt. the governor therefore resolved to repair to the headquarters of tecumseh in person, and there, removed from the atmosphere of a council, hold private intercourse with the chieftain and read his intentions. he had hit upon this expedient once before in the proceedings at fort wayne, and the experiment had proven successful. accordingly, the following morning, throwing aside all considerations of personal danger, he suddenly appeared at the tent of tecumseh, accompanied only by the interpreter barron. he was most politely received. proceeding at once to the main point, he asked the chief if the declarations he had made in his two public interviews were his real sentiments. tecumseh answered that they certainly were; that he had no grievance against the united states except the matter as to the purchase of the indian lands, and that he would go to war with very great reluctance; that if harrison would prevail upon the president to give back the lands, and promise never to consummate any more purchases, without the consent of all the tribes, that he would be the faithful ally of the americans and assist them in all their wars with the british. "he said he knew the latter were always urging the indians to war for their own advantage, and not to benefit his countrymen; and here he clapped his hands, and imitated a person who halloos at a dog, to set him to fight with another, thereby insinuating that the british thus endeavored to set the indians on the americans." he said further that he had rather be a friend of the seventeen fires, but if they would not accede to his demands that he would be forced to join the english. the memory of wayne, the commanding figure and dauntless courage of the present governor, had had their effect; compared to the vile and sneaking agents of the british government, who, in the security of their forts, had formerly offered bounties for american scalps, and urged the indians to a predatory warfare, the american leaders stood out in bold relief as both men and warriors. tecumseh recognized this, but the die was cast and his purposes were unchangeable. stripped of all its savage propensities, the heart of the shawnee was really of heroic mould. concerning that great principle of the survival of the fittest, he knew nothing; of the onrushing forces of civilization and progress he had no just comprehension; but as the rising sun of the new republic appeared, he saw the light of his race fading into obscurity, and patriotically resolved to stand on his lands and resist to the last. misinformed, misguided, he sought an alliance with the british to stem the tide; instead of delaying, this but accelerated the decline of the tribes. tecumseh, when it was too late, discovered that the promises of the british agents were false, and soon after his death the feeling engendered against the tribes, on account of their alliance with the english and the many atrocities they had committed, drove them beyond the mississippi. but he who fights for his native land and from devotion to principle, however wrong, must always be entitled to the respect of the brave. if coolness and courage had had their effect on the one hand, the candor and honesty of his adversary, when met face to face, had also moved the governor. in after years, in an address before the historical society of ohio, harrison said: "i think it probable that tecumseh possessed more integrity than any other of the chiefs who attained to much distinction." he now repeated again that he would forward to the government all the propositions of the chief, but that there was little probability that they would be accepted. "well," said tecumseh, "as the great chief is to determine the matter, i hope the great spirit will put sense enough into his head, to induce him to direct you to give up this land. it is true, he is so far off, he will not be injured by the war; he may still sit in his town and drink his wine, whilst you and i will have to fight it out." the conference ended with an appeal by harrison, that in the event of war, no outrages should be committed on women and children and those who were unable to resist. this, the chief manfully acceded to, and said he would adhere to his promise. thus ended this remarkable conference participated in by the two greatest figures then in the western world. the one representing the advancing tide of immigration that was to build the cities and plow the fields of a new empire; the other representing the forlorn hope of a fast decaying race that was soon to be removed from the pathways of civilization. those who have vainly sought to make it appear that harrison afterwards wrongfully passed over the northern boundary line of the new purchase to provoke a fight and bring on a conflict, have certainly scanned the records of this council at vincennes with but little care. the truth is, that the two principal figures in that affair parted each other's company fully realizing that hostilities were at hand. to say that harrison was bound to sit helplessly in his capital while his enemies gathered a force sufficient to overwhelm him, and all without a move on his part to avert a calamity, but illustrates the foolishness of the whole contention. immediately on the breaking up of the council, tecumseh departed with a portion of his braves to organize and cement a federation of the tribes; harrison, in the meantime, ordering an additional body of troops under captain cross at newport, kentucky, to come to the relief of the settlements, and redoubling his vigilance to avoid the surprise of a sudden attack. without hesitation however, he wrote the surveyor-general to make a survey; the lines to be run under the protection of the militia. the governor was informed by the weas, that during the progress of the proceedings, they had been urged by four persons at vincennes, whose names they furnished, to join the prophet and insist upon a return of the lands. false representations were also made to the chiefs of this tribe that the purchase at fort wayne was made without the consent or knowledge of the president, and that a council of the miamis had been called on the mississinewa, to make full inquiry. the treasonable designs of this coterie came to naught. whether british agencies were actually at work within the town, or whether the actions of this clique were prompted by the jealousy of the governor's political enemies, will probably never be fully known. be that as it may, like all cravens of their kind when the danger became imminent they slunk out of view, and harrison found himself surrounded by the brave and valorous of every settlement, both in the vicinity of vincennes and on the borders of kentucky. much conjecture had been indulged in, as to whether tecumseh actually meditated an attack at the time of the first council. that his impulsive action might well have led to disastrous consequences, but for the cool, quick command of the governor, may well be conceded, but that he formed any premeditated design before coming to the council, must admit of some doubt. the reasoning of drake possesses cogency. he states that tecumseh's probable purpose in attending the meeting with a considerable force was to "make a strong impression upon the whites as to the extent of his influence among the indians, and the strength of his party. his movement in the council may have been concerted for the purpose of intimidating the governor; but the more probable suggestion is that in the excitement of the moment, produced by the speech of the governor, he lost his self-possession and involuntarily placed his hand upon his war club, in which movement he was followed by the warriors around him, without any previous intention of proceeding to extremities. whatever may have been the fact, the bold chieftain found in governor harrison a firmness of purpose and an intrepidity of manner which must have convinced him that nothing was to be gained by any effort at intimidation, however daring." chapter xxii the second and last council --_the last meeting between the two leaders before harrison marched into the indian country._ what strange fatality directed the minds of the shawnee brothers to repel all friendly advances on the part of the american government, and to listen to the poisonous council of matthew elliott and the other british agents who had so often deceived their race, may not easily be divined. brant had been bribed, little turtle and the blue jacket basely deserted in the hour of defeat, and two english treaties negotiated without a line in either to the advantage of the red man, but notwithstanding all these facts, both tecumseh and the prophet were now in full and constant communication with malden, canada. rapid strides were made by the brothers in the closing months of . not only were the village chiefs and sachems shorn of all their old-time authority, and the power of determination lodged in the hands of the warriors, but the belt of union circulated by the prophet among the tribes "to confine the great water and prevent it from overflowing them," brought many accessions both to the confederacy and to the shawnee influence. it was reported that when this belt was exhibited to elliott and he saw that so many tribes had united against the united states that he danced with joy. about the first of november, tecumseh himself arrived at malden on a visit to the british agency. he remained there until some time after the twenty-fourth of december. the nature of his conferences with elliott may be inferentially arrived at from the following. an indian council had, during the preceding autumn, been convened at brownstown, near detroit. a resolution had there been entered into to prevent the sale of any more lands to the united states and this step had been taken at the suggestion of elliott. according to the report of the wea chiefs, the british agent had informed the tribes that england and france had now made peace, and would soon unite their arms "to dispossess the americans of the lands they had taken from the indians." the shawnee land doctrine had become popular. "the indians," writes harrison, "appear to be more uneasy and dissatisfied than i ever before saw them, and i believe that the prophet's principle, that their land should be considered common property, is either openly avowed or secretly favored by all the tribes west of the wabash." the tribes of the lakes looked upon the wabash as the land of promise. the winnebagoes were already present in considerable numbers at the prophet's town, and the wyandots had formed a camp in close proximity to that place. the six nations were reported to be in motion and demanding the privilege of settling in the wabash valley. could all these tribes be assembled in the face of the advancing american settlements, they would serve the double purpose of checking this advance and furnishing a protective barrier to canada in case of a war between great britain and the united states. tecumseh and elliott were joined in the fellowship of a mutual interest. the miami chiefs looked upon this presumptuous conduct of the shawnee leaders with high disapproval. their tribes were the rightful proprietors of the soil, and the establishment of the prophet had been effected without their consent. but much of their ancient authority had passed away. many of their young warriors were carried away by the mad fanaticism of the prophet and vainly imagined that they could drive the white man back across the ohio. unless the hands of the miami leaders were upheld, they could not long resist the pressure of the surrounding tribes and must give their sanction to the prophet's scheme. harrison was fully convinced that the old village chiefs would willingly place themselves under the protection of the government, and surrender their claims for a suitable annuity, rather than submit to any domination on the part of their neighbors. the governor was plainly in favor of forming an alliance with the miamis, of dispersing the followers of the prophet, and paving the way for further extinguishment of the indian title. he urged that the narrow strip on the west side of the greenville cession, in the eastern part of the indiana territory, would soon be filled with new settlers; that the backwoodsmen were not men "of a disposition to content themselves with land of an inferior quality when they see in their immediate neighborhood the finest country as to soil in the world occupied by a few wretched savages;" that the territory was fast advancing to statehood, and that the members of the territorial legislature were heartily in favor of smoothing the way to further purchases. the governor also earnestly pressed the government to establish a strong post on the wabash in the upper portion of the new purchase. the citizens of vincennes had been thoroughly alarmed by the presence of so large a gathering of red men at the council in august. murders were frequent, and horse-stealing was an everyday occurrence. to adopt a policy of vacillation with a savage was to confess weakness. the prophet was openly declaring to brouillette, the governor's agent, that no survey of the new lands would be permitted. immigration was ebbing, and the selling and settling of the newly acquired territory was wholly out of the question so long as the purchasers could not be assured of protection. the display of a strong force of regulars and mounted militia, the establishment of a strong position on the borders of the indian country, would not only dishearten the followers of the prophet and discourage further accessions to his banner, but strengthen the hands of those miami chieftains who still preserved their allegiance to the united states. any expeditionary force to be employed was to be headed by the governor himself, who had taken a very active part in the training of the frontier militiamen, and who now offered his services voluntarily and without compensation. the federal authorities moved slowly. it was evident that the old indifference as to the welfare of the western world still prevailed. some strange hallucination led the washington authorities to believe that friendly relations might be sustained with a band of savages who were carried away by a religious frenzy, and who were daily giving ear to british whisperings. the consequences were that a party of mounted dragoons organized by judge benjamin parke to protect vincennes and who made a demand for pistols and swords, did not receive their equipment until late in the following spring, and then the swords were found to be of iron; that no orders were issued to form a friendly alliance with the miami chiefs, and hold them steadfast; that the small detachment of one hundred and twenty or one hundred and thirty regulars under captain cross did not arrive until the third of october, and that no instructions were received from the government, until all forage for the horses had disappeared from the woods, and it was too late in the season to undertake an expedition. with the opening of the spring of , the insolence and effrontery of the shawnee leaders measurably increased. about the first of april twelve horses were stolen from the settlement of busseron, about twenty miles above vincennes. the pillaging bands of the potawatomi, directly under the influence of the prophet, were committing robberies and murders on the illinois and missouri frontiers. in the issue of august th, , of the _western sun_, of vincennes, appeared this paragraph: "extract of a letter from a gentleman at st. louis, to his friend in this place, dated august rd, . 'on my return from the garrison up the missouri, i stayed at captain cole's, who just returned from the pursuit of some indians that had stolen horses from the settlement--they came in view of the indians on the prairie, and pursued on until night, and encamped, made fires, etc., in the woodland, and not apprehending any danger from the indians, lay down to sleep--some time after midnight, they were fired upon by the indians, and four men killed." what had happened was this: there is a grove about three or four miles southwest of morocco, in newton county, indiana, named turkey foot grove, and another of the same name about forty miles south of it, and two or three miles southeast of the town of earl park. in this region dwelt turkey foot, at the head of a lawless band of the prairie potawatomi. they had kept the frontiers of illinois in terror for months and had caused considerable anxiety both to governor harrison and to governor ninian edwards of the illinois territory. in a spirit of devilish mischief and led on by the hope of plunder, the chief and his followers had ridden hundreds of miles across the grand prairies of indiana and illinois, had forded the mississippi, and pierced to the outposts of loutre island in the missouri river, below the present town of hermann, and from fifty to seventy miles west of st. louis, had stolen a bunch of horses there, and made good their escape, after committing one of the foulest murders recorded in the early history of that territory. as soon as the theft of the horses was discovered, great excitement prevailed, as horses were very valuable to the early pioneer. a rescue party was organized, composed of samuel cole, and william t. cole, temple, patton, murdock and gooch, and after pursuing the indians all day, they came in sight of them on a large prairie, but the horses of cole's party were so tired that cole had to give up the chase, and an encampment was made in a small woodland. after midnight, and when all were in slumber, the stealthy savages returned, surrounded the camp, and on the first attack killed temple, patton and gooch. murdock sought shelter under the bank of a creek near by, but william t. cole was attacked by two savages, one in front and one in the rear. in the rencounter cole was stabbed in the shoulder, but wrenched a knife from one of his assailants and killed him. the other indian escaped in the darkness. this murder and larceny combined, was brought to the attention of governor harrison by the then acting governor of the louisiana territory. later, documentary proof was furnished by governor howard. harrison sent william wells and john conner to tippecanoe to demand restitution of the stolen property. four horses were delivered up, and a promise made by the shawnee leaders to procure the remainder, but this was never done. wells found out that the potawatomi banditti who had committed these murders were directly under the influence of tecumseh and the prophet, but he was given to understand that the murderers had fled to the illinois river, and that no attempt would be made to apprehend them. tecumseh boldly attempted to excuse all these outrages in a subsequent conference with the governor. wells had much conversation at this time with tecumseh, who "openly and positively avowed his determination to resist the encroachments of the white people." wells told the shawnee chief that he would never be able to accomplish his designs, but tecumseh replied that wells would live to see the contrary. about this time a friendly kickapoo chief arrived at vincennes and told the governor that he was determined to put him on his guard against the prophet and his brother. "he said that their pacific professions were not to be relied upon; that he had heard them speaking to the indians for several years and in that time he had never heard anything that they said but war and hatred against the united states. that the delivering up of the horses which were occasionally stolen was merely intended to lull our vigilance and to prevent us from discovering their designs until they were ripe for execution. that they frequently told their young men that they would defeat their plans by their precipitancy. that in their harangues to the indians they frequently requested those who would not join their confederacy, to keep their secret. that they always promised them a rich harvest of plunder and scalps, declaring that the first stroke would put them in possession of an ample supply of arms, ammunition and provisions." on the second of may, general william clark, of st. louis, wrote to the governor informing him that the prophet had sent the belt to the mississippi tribes, inviting them to join in a war against the united states, and declaring that the war would be begun by an attack on vincennes. about the same time word was brought that the sacs had acceded to the hostile confederacy, and that the potawatomi in the region of chicago were on the warpath. a party of surveyors employed by the surveyor-general to divide the new purchase into townships, were seized and bound by a party of weas, their arms taken from them, and the engineers driven in terror to cincinnati. in the fore part of june, a pirogue sent up the wabash with the annual supply of salt for the indian tribes was seized by the prophet and every barrel taken. the excuse given was, that the prophet had two thousand warriors to feed, and that he had taken none on the previous year. pierre la plante, harrison's agent at the prophet's town, reported that only about one hundred warriors were present at the time, but that tecumseh was shortly expected to arrive with a considerable reinforcement from the lakes. about the twentieth of june, five shawnees and ten winnebagoes of the prophet's party invaded vincennes bringing a number of rifles and tomahawks to be repaired. they were boldly accused by some potawatomi of topenebee's faction to be meditating war against harrison and to be making observations on the situation of affairs within the town. so threatening and warlike were the actions of the shawnee leaders that the governor now addressed a communication to the secretary of war, demanding that the fourth united states regiment at pittsburgh, under the command of colonel john parke boyd, be sent forward immediately for the defense of the frontiers. the government was in part aroused from its state of lethargy. recent advices from governor edwards had announced a series of murders and depredations on the illinois frontier, and the citizens of vincennes were in constant dread and apprehension. the governor said that he could not much longer restrain his people, and that there was danger of them falling on the indians and slaying friend and foe alike, from their inability to discriminate the various tribes. by a letter of the seventeenth of july, the governor received word that the aforementioned regiment, with a company of riflemen, had been ordered to descend the ohio, and that colonel boyd was to act under the advice and command of the governor himself. if necessary, this force was to be employed in an attack upon the prophet, but the governor was given positive orders not to march them up the river or to begin hostilities, until every other expedient had failed. hedged about by timid restrictions and foolish admonitions, the course of the governor was rendered extremely difficult. one thing, however, he had firmly resolved to do. the prophet's forces must soon be scattered. in the meantime, harrison had dispatched captain walter wilson, of the territorial militia, with a speech to the prophet's town. the captain was well received by tecumseh. harrison's talk was plain and to the point. he informed the shawnee brothers that he was well aware of their design to unite the tribes, murder the governor, and commence a war upon his people. that their seizure of the salt sent up the wabash was ample proof of their hostile intention. that they had no prospect of success, for his hunting shirt men were as numerous as the mosquitoes on the shores of the wabash. that if they were discontented with the sale of the lands at fort wayne, that he (the governor) would furnish them the means to visit the president of the united states, and they might then state their claims in full and receive justice, but that they must not come to vincennes with a large retinue, as this would not be permitted. if they came they must only be attended by a few of their young men. this last proposition, tecumseh promptly acquiesced in and sent word to the governor that he expected to be in vincennes in about eighteen days, and that all matters would then be settled in "peace and happiness." harrison was vigilant. he determined to watch the river with a party of scouts, and in the meantime to muster the militia and make a show of military force. he was convinced that if his wily antagonist found him off his guard that he would not hesitate to "pick a quarrel," and launch a general attack. the governor's letter to the war department of july th, , is interesting. "with them (i. e., the indians) the surprise of an enemy bestows more eclat upon a warrior than the most brilliant success obtained by other means. tecumseh has taken for his model the celebrated pontiac and i am persuaded that he will bear a favorable comparison in every respect with that far famed warrior. if it is his object to begin with the surprise of this place, it is impossible that a more favorable situation could have been chosen than the one he occupies. it is just so far off as to be removed from our immediate observation, and yet so near as to enable him to strike us when the water is high in twenty-four hours, and even when it is low their light canoes will come fully as fast as the journey could be performed on horseback. the situation is in other respects admirable for the purposes for which he has chosen it. it is nearly central with regard to the tribes which he wishes to unite. the water communication with lake erie by means of the wabash and miami, with lake michigan and the illinois by the tippecanoe, is a great convenience. it is immediately in the center of the back line of that fine country which he wishes to prevent us from settling, and above all, he has immediately in his rear a country that has been but little explored, consisting principally of barren thickets, interspersed with swamps and lakes, into which our cavalry could not penetrate, and our infantry only by slow and laborious marches." tecumseh did not keep his word. at the very time he was promising wilson to bring only a few men he was sending word in every direction to collect his people. on the twenty-fourth of july he was within a few miles' march of vincennes with one hundred twenty or thirty warriors, and the weas under lapoussier were coming on in the rear. the people were greatly alarmed and irritated and there was danger of their firing on the savage bands. brouillette was kept in the saddle riding from camp to camp. on the twenty-fifth, harrison sent captain wilson twenty miles up the river to demand of tecumseh his reason for approaching the town with so large a force, despite the governor's injunction and his own previous agreement. the savage after some equivocation, said that he was only attended by twenty-four men and that the remainder had come "on their own accord." parties of savages were then lurking about the settlements on every hand, and "upwards of one hundred were within two miles of the town northwest of the wabash." some sinister design was moving the chieftain's mind. on the twenty-seventh the main body of savages arrived by canoe, and on the next day came those who marched by land. three hundred red men were present, including twenty or thirty women and children. what was tecumseh's object? harrison's spies reported to him that it was the intention of the shawnee to peremptorily demand a retrocession of the late purchase, and if it was not obtained, to seize some of the chiefs who were active in making the treaty, and in the presence of the governor put them to death. if the governor interfered he was to share the same fate. however this may be, the great chief abandoned any hostile design he may have entertained on a view of harrison's forces. on the day of his arrival a review of the neighboring militia was held, at which were present seven or eight hundred men under arms. "the two infantry companies on duty were increased to three, and these being relieved on different days by some management in marching and changing quarters, it appeared to the indians that four or five companies were on constant duty. the elegant troop of dragoons commanded by captain parke (who is also one of our supreme judges) were exhibited to the greatest advantage, and nightly patrols both of horse and foot announced a vigilance which defied surprise. the indians were in astonishment and terror and i believe most of them went off impressed with the belief that vincennes was not as easily to be taken as their chief would have convinced them." the promptitude and foresight of the governor probably prevented a massacre. harrison sought an immediate interview, but was not able to bring tecumseh into council, until tuesday the thirtieth of july. an arbor had been erected in front of the executive mansion. an hour before the time of the appointed meeting tecumseh sent a messenger to learn whether the governor would be attended by an armed force. in that event he announced that he would come armed also. the governor gave him his choice, but informed the chief that in case his warriors left their guns at their camp, that he (harrison) would only be attended by twenty-five or thirty dismounted dragoons. tecumseh preferred the latter arrangement, "and came attended by about one hundred and seventy or one hundred and eighty men without guns, but all of them having knives and tomahawks or war clubs, and some with bows and arrows." the governor opened the council by mentioning the great alarm which had been occasioned by the late murders in illinois and the assembling of so large a body of savages, and declared that he was ready to listen to anything that the chiefs might have to say, but that he would enter into no negotiation concerning the late purchase. that affair was in the hands of the president who had not sent any answer to the claim that tecumseh had last year set up on behalf of all the tribes on the continent. he also declared that tecumseh might, if he so desired, make a visit to the president and hear his determination from his own mouth. the governor concluded by demanding an explanation of the seizure of the salt. tecumseh in his short reply adverted to the matter of the salt first. he said that he had not been at home on either occasion when the salt boats had arrived, but that it was impossible to please the governor, for last year he was angry because the salt was refused, and now he was angry because it was taken. after some further unimportant observations, a violent storm came on and the council was adjourned. at two o'clock the next day the council again convened, when lapoussier, the wea chieftain, who was now the firm friend of tecumseh, arose and made a long speech on the treaties that had been entered into between the governor and the indian tribes. he closed by stating that the miamis had been forced by the potawatomi to make the late treaty of fort wayne, and that it would be proper to make an inquiry as to the person who had held the tomahawk over their heads, and punish him. this was, of course, an allusion to winamac. harrison immediately called on the miami chiefs present for a contradiction of this statement, and then turning to tecumseh, told him that it lay within his power to manifest the truth of his professions of friendship towards the united states and his desire to preserve peace, by delivering up the two potawatomi who had murdered the four white men on the missouri last fall, and who were then in his camp. the reply of tecumseh is given in harrison's own language. "he said that after much trouble and difficulty he had at length brought all the northern tribes to unite and place themselves under his direction. that the white people were unnecessarily alarmed at his measures--that they really meant nothing but peace--the united states had set him the example of forming a strict union amongst all the fires that compose their confederacy. that the indians did not complain of it--nor should his white brothers complain of him for doing the same thing with regard to the indian tribes. as soon as the council was over he was to set out on a visit to the southern tribes to get them to unite with those of the north. to my demand of the murderers, he observed that they were not in his town, as i believed them--that it was not right to punish those people--that they ought to be forgiven, as well as those who lately murdered our people in the illinois. that he had set us an example of forgiveness of injuries which we ought to follow. the ottawas had murdered one of his women, and the osages one of his relations, and yet he had forborne to revenge them--that he had even taken the tomahawks out of the hands of those who were ready to march against the osages. to my inquiry whether he was determined to prevent the settlement of the new purchase, he replied that he hoped no attempt would be made to settle until his return next spring. that a great number of indians were coming to settle at his town this fall, and who must occupy that tract as a hunting ground, and if they did no further injury, they might kill the cattle and hogs of the white people, which would produce disturbance. that he wished every thing to remain in its present situation until his return--our settlements not to progress further--and no revenge sought for any injury that had been or should be received by the white people until his return--that he would then go and see the president and settle everything with him. that the affairs of all the tribes in this quarter were in his hands and that nothing could be done without him--that he would dispatch messengers in every direction to prevent them from doing any more mischief--that he had made full atonement for the murders which had been committed by the wampum which he delivered." the reply of the governor was short and pithy. it was now evening and the moon was shining. he told the assembled tribesmen that the moon which they beheld would sooner fall to the earth "than the president would suffer his people to be murdered with impunity, and that he would put his warriors in petticoats sooner than he would give up a country which he had fairly acquired from the rightful owners." the meeting was then broken up. we have said that the promptitude and foresight of the governor probably averted a massacre. it was the opinion of all the neutral indians on the ground that tecumseh meditated a stroke. his manner throughout the council was embarrassed, and it was evident to all that the speech he actually delivered was not the one he had prepared for the occasion. if he had found the governor unprepared and the town defenseless, his fierce hatred of the paleface and his boundless ambition as a warrior, would probably have prompted him to resort to violence, for it is a well known fact, observed by all indian writers, that a savage will always act upon the advantage of the moment, regardless of future consequences. besides, it is probable that tecumseh now felt himself powerful enough to deal a telling blow. many accessions had been made to his confederacy and the daring depredations in the illinois country had gone unpunished. like all savages, he had nothing but contempt for a government that did not promptly revenge its wrongs. but when, on approaching the town, he observed the great military array, and saw bodies of armed men and mounted riflemen moving to and fro, his resolution was shaken and he experienced a more wholesome respect for his adversary's strength. "heedless of futurity," says harrison, "it is only by placing the danger before his eyes, that a savage is to be controlled. even the gallant tecumseh is not insensible to an argument of this kind. no courtier could be more complaisant, than he was upon his last visit. to have heard him, one would have supposed that he came here for the purpose of complimenting me. this wonderful metamorphosis in manner was entirely produced by the gleaming and clanging of arms; by the frowns of a considerable body of hunting shirt men, who accidentally lined a road by which he approached to the council house." the body of savages again melted away, and the miami chieftains who had accompanied the expedition returned to their homes. on the fifth of august, tecumseh, with a retinue of twenty chiefs, including the famous potawatomi, shaubena, passed down the wabash to visit the nations of the south and more firmly cement the bonds of his confederacy. the day before he departed he called on the governor and labored hard to convince him that he had no object in view other than to unite the tribes in a league of peace. after visiting the creeks and choctaws, he was to pass through the land of the osages and return by the missouri river. before his return, the last hope of the red man was to be forever crushed, and the old dream of pontiac forever dispelled. the governor has paid a just and worthy tribute to his savage foe. in a letter of august seventh, , he writes to the department of war as follows: "the implicit confidence and respect which the followers of tecumseh pay to him is really astonishing, and more than any other circumstance bespeaks him one of those uncommon geniuses, which spring up occasionally to produce revolutions and overturn the established order of things. if it were not for the vicinity of the united states, he would perhaps be the founder of an empire that would rival in glory that of mexico or peru. no difficulties deter him. his activity and industry supply the want of letters. for four years he has been in constant motion. you see him today on the wabash, and in a short time you hear of him on the shores of lake erie or michigan, or on the banks of the mississippi, and wherever he goes he makes an impression favorable to his purposes." while these stirring events were happening at the frontier capital, and on the thirty-first of july, a considerable body of the citizens of vincennes, both english and french, met at the seminary building, and after selecting ephraim jordan as president and one james smith as secretary, certain resolutions were "fallen into," which vividly portray the emotions of the frontiersmen of that day and their dire apprehension of impending danger. the resolutions stated in substance that the safety of the persons and property of the inhabitants could never be effectively secured, but by the breaking up of the combination formed on the wabash by the shawnee prophet; that the inhabitants regarded this combination as a british scheme; that but for the prompt measures of governor harrison, it was highly probable that the town would have been destroyed and the inhabitants massacred. the rev. samuel t. scott, the rev. alexander devin, colonel luke decker, francis vigo and others, were appointed as a committee to draft an address to the president of the united states, setting forth their situation and praying for relief. on the same day this address was duly formulated and signed by the committee above mentioned, and forwarded to the chief executive of the nation. in it, the citizens breathed forth their terrors and fear of the wabash banditti, and their alarm at the constant depredations committed on the frontier. one passage is significant. "the people have become irritated and alarmed, and if the government will not direct their energies, we fear that the innocent will feel the effects of their resentment, and a general war be the consequence." a temper of this kind could not long be disregarded. temporizing must cease. chapter xxiii the muster and the march --_the rally of the kentuckians and their clansmen in southern indiana, to harrison's support--the coming of the support of the fourth united states regiment--the march to the tippecanoe battlefield._ in the summer and early autumn of the year , the british were again distributing arms and ammunition among the tribes of the northwest and rallying them for that second and final struggle with the united states. in august of that year a potawatomi chief informed harrison that he was present when a message from the british agent was delivered to the prophet, "telling him that the time had arrived for taking up arms, and inviting him to send a party to malden to receive the necessary supplies." a statement made by captain benjamin parke of the light dragoons of vincennes, to the governor on the thirteenth of september, was to the effect that the indians of the wabash and the illinois had recently visited elliott at malden; "that they are now returning from thence with a larger supply of goods than is known ever to have been distributed to them before; that rifles or fusees are given to those who are unarmed, and powder and lead to all." a similar communication made by the hon. waller taylor, a judge of the supreme court of the territory, stated that, "the spirit of hostility manifested by the prophet and his followers (who, it is said, are daily increasing); the thefts and murders committed within a few months past, and the unusual quantities of arms, ammunition, etc., which not only these, but the indians generally have received from the british agent at fort malden, strongly evidence a disposition to commence war as soon as a fit opportunity occurs." in this same month of september, touissant dubois, a french-canadian agent of the governor's, reported to him that all the indians along the wabash had been, or were then, on a visit to the british agency. "he (dubois) has been in the indian trade thirty years and has never known, as he thinks, more than one-fourth as many goods given to the indians as they are now distributing. he examined the share of one man (not a chief) and found that he had received an elegant rifle, pounds of powder, of lead, blankets, strouds of cloth, shirts, and several other articles. he says that every indian is furnished with a gun (either rifle or fusil), and an abundance of ammunition. a trader of this country was lately at the king's stores at malden. he saw kegs of powder (supposed to contain about pounds each), and he was told that the quantity of goods for the indian department which had been sent over this year exceeded that of common years by twenty thousand pounds sterling. it is impossible to ascribe this profusion to any other motive than that of instigating the indians to take up the tomahawk. it cannot be to secure their trade, for all the peltries collected on the waters of the wabash in one year, if sold in the london market, would not pay the freight of the goods which have been given to the indians." the contagion of unrest, thus encouraged and cultivated, was, as captain parke observed, rapidly spreading to all the tribes of the wabash, the lakes and the mississippi, and the influence of the prophet was daily increasing. unless the nest of banditti at tippecanoe was broken up, the axe would quickly fall on all the settlements. the plans of the governor were speedily formed and most energetically carried forward. his purposes were, to call upon the tribes to immediately deliver up any and all of their people who had been concerned in the murders on the frontier; to require them to fulfill "that article of the treaty of greenville which obliges them to give information and to stop any parties passing through their districts with hostile intentions;" to further require them to cause such of their warriors as had joined the prophet to immediately return to their tribes, or be put out of their protection. of the miamis he would demand an absolute disavowal of all further connection with the prophet, and a disapprobation of his continued occupancy of their lands. all the tribes were to be reminded of the lenity, justice and continued consideration of the united states, and the efforts of the government to civilize them and promote their happiness, and warned that in case they took up the tomahawk against their fathers, no further mercies might be expected. to enforce these requirements, spread terror among the recalcitrant, and give strength to the wavering, he proposed to move up to the upper line of the new purchase with two companies of regulars, fourteen or fifteen companies of militia, and two troops of dragoons. he hoped thus to dissolve the prophet's bands without the effusion of blood, but in case of a continued defiance he proposed to march into the indian country and enforce his demands with sword in hand. immediately after the conference with tecumseh the governor had sent a message to the miami chiefs who had accompanied the shawnee leader, requiring their return to vincennes, that he might confer with them on measures of peace. to this demand they returned an insolent reply and refused to come. he then dispatched touissant dubois with a written speech to the miami, eel river and wea tribes. "my children: my eyes are open and i am now looking toward the wabash. i see a dark cloud hanging over it. those who have raised it intended it for my destruction, but i will turn it upon their heads." "my children: i hoped that you would not be injured by this cloud. you have seen it gathering. you had timely notice to keep clear of it. the thunder begins to roll; take care that it does not burst upon your heads." "my children: i now speak plainly to you. what is that great collection of people at the mouth of the tippecanoe intended for? i am not blind, my children. i can easily see what their object is. those people have boasted that they will find me asleep, but they will be deceived." "my children: do not suppose that i will be foolish enough to suffer them to go on with their preparations until they are ready to strike my people. no. i have watched their motions. i know what they wish to do, and you know it also. listen, then, to what i say. i will not suffer any more strange indians to settle on the wabash. those that are there, and do not belong there, shall disperse and go to their own tribes." "my children: when you made the treaty with general wayne you promised that if you knew of any parties of indians passing through your country with hostile intentions toward us, that you would give us notice of it and endeavor to stop them. i now inform you that i consider all those who join the prophet and his party as hostile, and call upon you to fulfill your engagements. i have also sent to the tribes who have any of their warriors with the prophet, to withdraw them immediately. those who do not comply, i shall consider to have let go the chain of friendship which united us." "my children: be wise and listen to my voice. i fear that you have got on a road that will lead you to destruction. have pity upon your women and children. it is time that my friends should be known. i shall draw a line. those who keep me by the hand must keep on one side of it, and those that adhere to the prophet on the other." "my children: take your choice. my warriors are in arms but they shall do you no hurt unless you force me to it. but i must have satisfaction for the murder of my people and the war pole that has been raised on the wabash must be taken down." when dubois arrived at the miami town with the above message, the chieftains were all preparing to go to malden. the words of the governor called them to a sudden halt. they must now determine whether they would further listen to the counsel of the prophet and accept presents from the british, or remain on terms of friendship with the united states. no further wavering or delay would be tolerated. in the council which followed, lapoussier was insolent and told dubois that the miamis had received no notice whatever of any hostile intention on the part of the prophet; that they (the miamis) would defend their lands to the last man, and that the governor was making himself contemptible in the eyes of all. these bold declarations were approved by pecan, the big man, negro legs, osage, and sa-na-mah-hon-ga, or the one that eats stones, commonly known as the stone eater. the words of little turtle were of a different tone. he then and afterwards, affirmed his allegiance to the united states. while he prayed the governor to avoid if possible the shedding of blood, he still proclaimed that the lands on the wabash were the property of the miamis; that they had endeavored to stop the prophet from going there, and that his settlement was made without their consent. "i told my people when they were going to see the governor not to say anything respecting the land; that the treaty was made and it was a fair one. they had signed the paper which bound the sale of the lands, and that nothing further should be said on the subject. i also charged them whatever they did, to have nothing to do with the prophet; that the prophet was an enemy of governor harrison's and governor harrison's of his; that if they formed any kind of connection with the prophet it would make the governor an enemy of theirs." while these events were going forward, the governor was making preparations for his expedition up the wabash. the noise of the coming storm soon reached the ears of the kentuckians. on the twenty-fourth of august, joseph hamilton daviess wrote to the governor offering himself as a volunteer. he had been instrumental in checking the treasonable designs of aaron burr, was master of the grand lodge of free masons of the state of kentucky, and was one of the most eloquent advocates at the bar of his state. his coming was hailed with eager joy by the rough militiamen of the frontier. in the latter part of the month harrison was in louisville asking for volunteers. his call, says pirtle, "was met with a prompt and ample response. he was very popular, his voice stirring the people like a bugle call. old indian fighters like major general samuel wells and colonel abraham owen, of the kentucky militia, instantly started for the field." captain frederick geiger raised a company, and captain peter funk, who was in command of a company of militia cavalry, at once hastened to governor charles scott of kentucky, to obtain permission to raise a company of mounted riflemen. in a few days his men were enrolled and early in september joined the forces of colonel joseph bartholomew on their march to vincennes. on the third of september, the regular troops of the fourth united states regiment of infantry, under colonel john parke boyd, arrived in keel boats at the falls of the ohio. the governor was there to meet them. boyd was a soldier of fortune and one of the most striking military adventurers of that day. a short sketch of him as given by benson j. lossing is as follows: "john parke boyd was born in newburyport, massachusetts, december , . his father was from scotland, and his mother was a descendant of tristam coffin, the first of that family who emigrated to america. he entered the army in , as ensign in the second regiment. with a spirit of adventure, he went to india in , having first touched the isle of france. in a letter to his father from madras, in june, , he says: 'having procured recommendatory letters to the british consul residing at the court of his highness, the nizam, i proceeded to his capital, hyberabad, miles from madras. on my arrival, i was presented to his highness in form by the british consul. my reception was as favorable as my most sanguine wishes had anticipated. after the usual ceremony was over, he presented me with the command of two kansolars of infantry, each of which consists of men.' his commission and pay were in accordance with his command. he describes the army of the nizam, which had taken the field against tippoo sultan. it consisted of , infantry, , cavalry, and elephants, each elephant supporting a 'castle' containing a nabob and servants. he remained in india several years in a sort of guerrilla service, and obtained much favor. he was in paris early in and at home in the autumn of that year, when he was appointed (october ) colonel of the fourth regiment of the u. s. army." this tall, handsome and courteous officer, who had fought with the hordes of india on the other side of the world, was shortly to encounter the eagle-feathered chiefs of the winnebagoes on the banks of the wabash. on the night of the th of september the regulars of the fourth regiment arrived at vincennes by way of the wabash. they were under the immediate command of colonel james miller, of "i'll try, sir," fame in the war of . the governor and colonel boyd had already traveled overland on horseback from louisville. the sight which greeted the eyes of the old french residents on the morning of the twentieth, was a novel one. the american infantry of that period wore a uniform consisting of "blue, brass-buttoned tail-coats, skin-tight pantaloons, and 'stove-pipe hats,' with red, white and blue cockades." one pictures them marching in the brown october woods, their bayonets gleaming in the sunshine, and their bugles awakening strange echoes from headland and bluff. the regiment, though small, was made up of a formidable array of men. while not disciplined in indian warfare, the rank and file were composed of brave, resolute soldiers, and such officers as captains w. c. baen, josiah snelling, robert c. barton, return b. brown, george w. prescott and joel cook, were of the best of that time. the gallant baen was on his last march, and his bones were destined to repose in a savage wilderness. a military conference was now held, participated in by governor harrison, colonel boyd, and two judges of the supreme court, benjamin parke and waller taylor, both of whom were officers in the local militia. it was determined to ascend the river with a respectable force, which would not only defy attack, but impress the tribesmen, if possible, with a due respect for the power and authority of the united states. the prophet, though not a warrior, was known, as harrison says, to be, "daring, presumptuous and rash." he was now reinforced by a considerable body of winnebago warriors, and the potawatomi of the prairies and the illinois were coming to his support. a small expedition would not only excite contempt, but might lead to a disaster. accordingly, on the morning of the twenty-sixth of september, an army of about one thousand men, including one hundred and forty dragoons and sixty mounted riflemen, commenced its march to the upper end of the new purchase. the cavalry had been sent forward two days before to the settlement of busseron, where forage for the horses could more easily be procured. just before the departure of the army, a deputation of warriors arrived from the prophet's town, led by a war chief of the hostile kickapoos. he expressed his astonishment at seeing such warlike preparations, said that his women and children were all in tears, and falsely asserted that the hearts of all the prophet's party were warm towards the united states. the governor peremptorily informed the kickapoo that the army was about to march, and that nothing but an immediate surrender of the indian murderers and horse-thieves would satisfy the government. the mount of captain william piatt, chief quartermaster of the expedition, and four horses from busseron had just been stolen, and all further dissimulation on the part of the savages was without avail. the account of the march, as recorded by captain john tipton, is exceedingly interesting. the militiamen of southern indiana and kentucky assembled from the frontier settlements, were men of simple habits, rough, unlettered, hard to teach the intricacies of military evolutions, but as general john c. black has stated, they were also "insensible to fatigue, watchful as a catamount, resolute as men, heroic as martyrs." some of their favorite sports were wrestling, shooting at a mark, and horse-racing. all were inured to an active, outdoor life. most of them were without tents and few had blankets, but they did not complain. as the army advanced through the wilderness, the cutting down of bee trees, the shooting of squirrels, raccoon and deer were everyday occurrences; horses strayed away and were recovered; the provision boats lodged on the sand bars in the river and were launched again; stories of adventure and midnight massacre were told about the great camp fires. all came from families who had suffered from savage outrage; all hated both british and indians "with a holy hate," and all were determined that the forces of civilization should not recede. they were eager for battle and unafraid. on the second of october the army arrived at terre haute or "high land," said to be the scene of a bloody battle between the ancient tribe of the illinois and the iroquois. the place was designated by the old french traders and settlers as "bataille des illinois." a few old apple and peach trees still marked the site of an ancient indian village. about two miles from this location was a town of the weas. harrison immediately began the erection of a quadrangular stockaded fort, with a blockhouse at three of the angles. this fortification, amid much celebrating, was, on sunday, the twenty-seventh of october, christened as fort harrison. an oration was delivered on the occasion by joseph hamilton davis. [illustration: the line of harrison's march to tippecanoe and the new purchase of . drawing by heaton] all doubt of the prophet's hostility was now dispelled. he had committed open acts of war on the united states. while the army was on the march to terre haute a party of the prophet's raiders, in open daylight, took eight horses from a settlement in the illinois territory about thirty miles above vincennes. at eight o'clock, on the evening of the tenth of october, a sentinel belonging to the fourth united states regiment was fired on and badly wounded by savages prowling about the camp. "the army was immediately turned out," says harrison, "and formed in excellent order in a very few minutes. patrols were dispatched in every direction, but the darkness was such that pursuit was impracticable. other alarms took place in the course of the night, probably without good cause, but the troops manifested an alertness in taking their positions which was highly gratifying to me." on the evening of the eleventh, john conner and four of the delaware chiefs came into camp. before leaving vincennes, harrison had sent a request that some of their chiefs might meet him on the march, for the purpose of undertaking embassies of peace to the different tribes. on the sixth of october, many of them had set out from their towns, but were met on the way by a deputation from the prophet's town. this deputation declared that the followers of the prophet had taken up the tomahawk against the united states, "and that they would lay it down only with their lives." they were confident of victory and required a categorical answer from the delawares to the question of whether they would or would not join them in the coming war. conner and the four chiefs were immediately sent to report to harrison, and another party ordered forward to tippecanoe to remonstrate with the prophet. on the twenty-seventh the latter party reported to the governor at fort harrison. they had been insulted and badly treated by the prophet and were dismissed with contempt. during their stay with the shawnee leader, the warriors arrived who had fired on the sentinel at terre haute. they were shawnees and the prophet's nearest friends. harrison now resolved to immediately march to tippecanoe and demand satisfaction. to return to vincennes with his troops without effecting a dispersion or humiliation of the prophet's party would be attended with the most fatal consequences. "if he is thus presumptuous upon our advance," writes the governor, "our return without chastising him, or greatly alarming his fears and those of his followers, would give him an eclat that would increase his followers, and we would have to wage through the winter a defensive war which would greatly distress our frontiers." the governor's display of force on the wabash had not had the desired effect. while some of the weas were returning to their villages, and the wyandots were reported to be urging the tribes to fall away from the prophet, still the spirit of treachery was abroad in the whole wabash country. the miami chiefs arrived for an apparently friendly council, but the stone eater was vacillating, and already under the influence of the prophet. winamac, who had made so many professions of friendliness towards the government, was now rallying his forces on the side of the shawnee. reinforcements of savage kickapoos and potawatomi from the illinois river were beating down the great trails on the way to tippecanoe. the constant and continued influence of the british, the "ridiculous and superstitious pranks" of the shawnee impostor, and the natural fear and jealousy of all the tribesmen, on account of their lands, had at last cemented the savage union. the young men and braves of all the clans were ranged in either open or secret hostility against the united states. the forces at the prophet's town were estimated at about six hundred. at a council of the officers it was decided to send for a reinforcement of four companies, but without waiting for their return, to at once take up the march, as all forage for the horses would soon disappear. on the twenty-ninth of october the army moved forward. it consisted of about six hundred and forty foot and two hundred and seventy mounted men. two hundred and fifty of these were regulars, about sixty were kentuckians, and the remainder were indiana militia, raised at corydon, vincennes, and points along the wabash and ohio rivers. "the militia," says harrison, "are the best i ever saw, and colonel boyd's regiment is a fine body of men." along with the army rolled nineteen wagons and one cart to transport the supplies, as the winding course of the river and the nature of the ground near it, rendered their further transportation by boats impracticable. the governor at the last moment sent forward a message to the prophet's town requiring the immediate disbandment of the winnebago, potawatomi and kickapoo followers of the shawnee, the surrender of all murderers, and the delivery up of all stolen horses. "i am determined," wrote harrison to governor scott of kentucky, "to disperse the prophet's banditti before i return, or give him the chance of acquiring as much fame as a warrior, as he now has as a saint." on thursday, the thirty-first, the army crossed the northern line of the new purchase at raccoon creek, and a few hours later forded the wabash at montezuma. the water was very deep and the troops and wagons were three hours in making the passage. the east bank of the river had been reconnoitered for several miles up and a feint made as though to cut a wagon road, but the country on the left bank afforded too many opportunities for an ambuscade, and harrison now resolved to strike the open prairies toward the state line. on the first of november the army encamped on the west side of the wabash about two or three miles below the mouth of the big vermilion, and as it had been determined to take forward the provisions from this point in wagons, a small blockhouse, twenty-five feet square was here erected, with a breastwork at each corner next to the river, to receive supplies from the boats. remnants of the old landing were still to be seen in . logs and brush were now employed to level down the great horse weeds that filled the lowlands, and corduroy roads made for the passage of the wagons to the uplands at the west. major general samuel wells, colonel abraham owen and captain frederick geiger had now arrived with some of the kentucky volunteers, and the army, after leaving a guard of eight men at the blockhouse, at once crossed the big vermilion at the site of the old kickapoo village and entered upon sand prairie at the north. harrison was now in the heart of the hostile kickapoo country. like his old commander wayne, he maintained a most diligent lookout. the army was moving forward with mounted men in advance, in the rear and on both flanks. the infantry marched in two columns of files, one on either side of the road. the heavy army wagons drawn by oxen, and the beeves and led animals were in the center. a company of twelve scouts under the command of captain touissant dubois closely scanned every place of danger and pointed out the army's way. late on the third of november, the frontiersmen saw for the first time the great prairies of the west, stretching north to chicago and west to the mississippi. they camped that night in round grove, near the present town of sloan. an abundance of blue grass carpeted the sheltered ground and a fine spring of water supplied fresh drink. all the next day the great wheels of the lumbering baggage wagons cut through the sod of the warren prairies, leaving a long trail over the plains that was plainly traceable for a half century afterwards. night found the army encamped on the east bank of pine creek, above the site of the old brier milldam. an old bayonet of the revolutionary type was long years afterward picked up in an adjoining wheat field and is now lodged in the babcock museum at goodland. the dangerous passes to the south had been avoided and scouts were posted far down the stream to avoid the danger of a night attack. wednesday the sixth, it was very cold. indian signs were now observed for the first time, the scouts caught four indian horses, and parties of savages were constantly lurking on the skirts of the advancing forces. every effort to hold conversation with them, however, was in vain. at a distance of about four miles from the prophet's town the army was formed in order of battle, and moved forward with great caution. the scouts had evidently picked out a poor path, for the army now found itself on dangerous ground, and harrison was obliged to change the position of the several corps three times in the distance of a mile, to avoid the peril of an ambuscade. at half past two o'clock in the afternoon the troops crossed burnet's creek at a distance of one and one-half miles from the town, and again formed in order of battle. captain dubois, now offering to go to the indian camp with a flag, was sent forward with an interpreter to request a conference. the savages knew dubois well, but they now appeared on either flank and attempted to cut him off from the army. harrison recalled him and determined to encamp for the night. in the meantime, the impatient major daviess had advanced to the indian corn fields along the river with a party of dragoons. he now returned and reported that the indians were very hostile and had answered every attempt to bring them to a parley with insolence and contempt. he, together with all the officers, advised an immediate attack. harrison was mindful of the president's injunctions. he did not wish to bring on a conflict until all efforts for peace had failed. he ordered the army to advance, but placed the interpreters at the front, with directions to invite a conference with any indians that they might meet with. after proceeding about four hundred yards, the advance guard was approached by three indians who expressed a wish to see the governor. one of them was a chief closely connected with the prophet. he told harrison that they were surprised at his rapid advance upon them; that they had been given to understand by a party of delawares and miamis whom the governor had sent forward, that he would not march on their town until an answer had been made to his demands; that winamac had been detailed two days before to meet the governor and arrange terms, but that he had proceeded down the south side of the wabash. these statements were all false, but the general answered that he had no intention of attacking them until he was convinced that they would not comply with his demands, and that he would now go forward and encamp on the river. in the morning, an interview would be held and he would communicate to them the determination of the president. the march was then resumed. the indian corn lands extended for a great distance along the river and the ground was so broken and uneven, and the timber had been cleared away to such an extent, that no suitable place could be found for a camp. the troops were now almost upon the town, when fifty or sixty savages sallied forth and with loud cries called upon the cavalry and militia to halt. the governor immediately pressed to the front, and directed the interpreter to request some of the chiefs to come near. harrison now informed them that his only object for the present was to secure a camp, where he might find wood and water. the chiefs informed him that there was a creek to the northwest that would suit his purpose, and after mutual promises of a suspension of hostilities until the following day, the interview was brought to an end. majors waller taylor and marston g. clark, aides to the governor, were now detailed to select a site for an encampment. the ground chosen was the destined battlefield of tippecanoe. "it was a piece of dry oak land rising about ten feet above the level of a marshy prairie in front, (towards the indian town), and nearly twice that height above a similar prairie in the rear, through which, and near to this bank, ran a small stream clothed with willows and brush wood. towards the left flank this bench of high land widened considerably, but became gradually narrower in the opposite direction, and at the distance of one hundred and fifty yards from the right flank, terminated in an abrupt point." [illustration: smith pine creek in warren county, indiana, a few miles below the place where harrison crossed. photo by lawrence] chapter xxiv the battle of tippecanoe _--the night attack on harrison's forces.--the destruction of tecumseh's confederacy._ an inverted flatiron pointing to the east of south--that is the battle ground of tippecanoe. the western edge is the sheer bank of burnet's creek. a savage would have some difficulty in climbing there. back of the creek is a low marsh, filled with cat-tails and long grass. the surface of the flatiron is a sandy plain with scattering oaks, and sloping towards the east. at the north the plain widens, but comes to an abrupt point at the southern end. to the east and in the direction of the prophet's town is a wet prairie. the kickapoos said that harrison's choice of a camping place was excellent. late in the evening the army arrives and takes up its position. axes are scarce and there is no time to erect a breastwork of trees. firewood must be cut to warm the shivering troops. the militia have no tents and blankets are scarce. low scudding clouds betoken a cold november rain. the regulars are split into two battalions of four companies each. one is placed on the left front facing the east. this is under the command of major george rogers clark floyd. under him are the companies of baen, snelling and prescott, and a small company of united states riflemen armed with muskets. on his right are two companies of indiana militia commanded by lieutenant-colonel joseph bartholomew. the second battalion of regulars is placed in the left rear and is commanded by captain william c. baen, acting as major. to the right of this battalion are four companies of indiana militia, commanded by captains josiah snelling, jr., john posey, thomas scott and jacob warrick, all of whom are under the leadership of lieutenant-colonel luke decker. warrick's company is in the southwestern corner of the camp, and next to the mounted riflemen under spencer. the left flank is filled up by two companies of mounted riflemen under the command of major-general samuel wells, of the kentucky militia, acting as major. back of these riflemen are two troops of dragoons under major joseph hamilton daviess, and in the rear of the front lines are the light dragoons of vincennes, led by captain benjamin parke. the right flank is made up of the famous yellow jackets of harrison county, indiana. they wear yellow flannel hunting shirts with a red fringe and hats with red plumes. their officers are captain spier spencer, sheriff of his county; first-lieutenant richard mcmahan, second-lieutenant thomas berry, and ensign john tipton. spencer is of a kentucky family, his mother has been an indian captive when a girl, and his fourteen year old son accompanies him on the expedition, bearing a rifle. the distance between the front and rear lines on the left flank is about one hundred and fifty yards, and something more than half that distance on the right flank. in the center of the camp are the headquarters of the governor, the wagons and baggage, and the beef cattle. night is now coming on apace and the great camp fires of the army shed a cheerful glow on men and horses, arms and accouterments. harrison is watchful. while neither he nor his officers expect a night attack, still he bears in mind that he is in the heart of the indian country and only a mile and a quarter from the prophet's village. a council of the officers is held and all placed in readiness for instant action. the camp, in form, is an irregular parallelogram, and troops may be rushed to at once reinforce any point assailed. the troops are formed in single rank and maneuver easily--extension of the lines is readily accomplished. the order of encampment is the order of battle. every man must sleep opposite his post. in case of attack the soldiers are to arise, step to the rear of the fires, and instantly form in line. the line thus formed is to hold its ground until further relieved. the dragoons are to parade dismounted, with their pistols in their belts, and to act as a corps de reserve. the whole camp is surrounded by two captains' guards, each consisting of four non-commissioned officers and forty-two men, and two subalterns' guards, of twenty non-commissioned officers and privates. the regulars retire with accouterments on, and their arms by their sides. the tired militia, having no tents, sleep with their arms under them to keep them dry. captain cook, of the fourth regiment records that he slept with his boots and great coat on, and with his trusty rifle clasped in his arms. the infantry bear cartridges each loaded with twelve buckshot. these are intended for a rain of death. in the meantime, the fearful prophet is filled with doubt. now that the hour of destiny is at hand, his heart fails him. he counsels caution and a postponement of the fight. he urges that a treaty be entered into; a compliance made with the demands of the governor, and that the potawatomi murderers be surrendered up. the army must be thrown off its guard and a treacherous attack made on its return home. but the young men and warriors think otherwise. has not the prophet told them that the white man's bullets are harmless, and that his powder will turn to sand? why hesitate? the army is now asleep and will never awake. let the magic bowl be produced, the sacred torch and the "medean fire." let there be death to all! at a quarter past four o'clock in the morning the governor arises to pull on his boots. the moon is now obscured, and a drizzly rain is falling. the camp fires are still burning, but beyond the lines of sleeping men, all is darkness and gloom. the sentinels out there in the night are listening to strange sounds. through the tall grass of the swamp lands terrible forms are creeping, like snakes on their bellies, towards the camp. the painted and feather-bedecked warriors of the prophet are surrounding the army. in two minutes more an aide is to awake the drummer and have him ready by the fire to beat the reveille, when all at once the attack begins. a sentinel, standing on the bank of burnet's creek near the northwestern angle of the camp, sees an object crawling on the ground. he fires and runs toward the line--the next moment he is shot down. with demon yells the savages burst upon the ranks of captain barton's company and geiger's riflemen. in an instant the camp is alive and the men spring to arms, but there is no disorder or confusion. in barton's company a sergeant and two privates are up renewing the fires, and immediately give the alarm. two savages penetrate the camps but are killed within twenty yards of the line. a corporal in barton's company is shot as he steps to the door of his tent. another corporal and a private are killed and a sergeant wounded as the lines are forming, but immediately afterwards a heavy fire is opened and the charging red skins are driven back. the attack on the kentuckians is particularly ferocious. a hand to hand fight ensues. one of geiger's men loses his gun and the captain runs to his tent to get him another. he finds some savages there "ransacking its contents, and prodding their knives into everything." one of them attempts to kill the captain with a tomahawk, but is immediately slain. at the first alarm the governor calls for his white horse, but the shots and yells terrify that animal and he breaks his tether. harrison now mounts a bay and rides to the first point of attack, colonel abraham owen at his side. owen is killed, a lock of the governor's hair is cut away by a bullet, but he brings up wentworth's company under lieutenant george p. peters, and captain joel cook's from the rear line, and forms them across the angle in support of barton and geiger. nothing like this fury has ever been witnessed before. the rattling of dried deer hoofs and the shrieks of the warriors resound on every hand. in a few moments the fire extends along the whole front, both flanks, and a part of the rear line. the fierce winnebagoes, with tall eagle feathers in their scalp locks, rush upon the bayonets, attempt to push them aside, and cut down the men. it avails them nothing. the iron discipline of the regulars holds them firm. on every hand the soldiers kick out the fires, re-load their guns and settle down to the fight. in the first mad rushes, the company of david robb posted on the left flank, gives way, or through some error in orders, retires to the center of the camp. harrison sees the mistake on the instant and orders snelling to cover the left flank. snelling is alert, and at the first gun seizes his sword and forms his company into line. the dangerous gap is at once filled, and the companies close up. but a murderous fire now assails them on the front from behind some fallen logs and trees. daviess with his dragoons is behind the lines, and impatient of restraint. twice he asks the governor for orders to charge--the third time a reluctant consent is given. the regulars open up, the brave major with eight of his men pass through the ranks, and the next moment he is mortally wounded. snelling's company with levelled bayonets clear the field. prodigies of valor are being performed on the right flank. spencer is there and his famous yellow jackets. if the regulars have been valorous, the mounted riflemen of harrison county have been brilliant. harrison rides down and calls for the captain. a slip of a boy answers: "he is dead, sir." "where is your lieutenant?" "he is dead." "where is your second lieutenant?" "he is dead." "where is your ensign?" the answer came, "i am he." the general compliments him and tells him to hold the line. spencer is wounded in the head, but exhorts his men to fight. he is shot through both thighs and falls, but from the ground encourages his men to stand. they raise him up, but a ball puts an immediate end to his brave career. to the rear of spencer is the giant warrick. he is shot through the body and taken to the surgery to be dressed. his wounds bound up, he insists on going back to the head of his company, although he has but a few hours to live. thus fought and died these brave militiamen of the southern hills. harrison orders up the company of robb and the lines hold until the coming of the light. throughout the long and trying hours of darkness the governor remains cool. mounted on his charger, he appears at every point along the line, and his calm and confident tones of command give reassurance to all his men. if the formation can be held intact until the coming of the dawn, the bayonets of the regulars and the broadswords of the dragoons shall be brought into play. he remembers the example of the illustrious wayne. as the morning approaches the fight narrows down to the two flanks. here the savages will make their last stand. harrison now draws the companies of snelling, posey and scott from the front lines, and the company of captain walter wilson from the rear, and forms them on the left flank. at the same time he orders baen's company from the front and cook's from the rear, to form on the right. the infantry are to be supported by the dragoons. but as soon as the companies form on the left, major samuel wells orders a charge, the indians flee in front of the cold steel, and are pursued into the swamps by the dragoons. at the same moment the troops on the right dislodge the savages from behind the trees, and drive them headlong into the wet prairie in front. the battle is over. a long and deafening shout from, the troops proclaims the victory. thus ended the battle of tippecanoe, justly famed in history. the intrepidity of the officers, the firm resolution of the regulars, the daring brilliancy of the militiamen, all brought about the desired end. the conflict had been severe. one hundred and eighty-eight men and officers were either killed or wounded. the officers slain were, colonel abraham owen, major joseph hamilton daviess, captain jacob warrick, captain spier spencer, captain william c. baen, lieutenant richard mcmahan, lieutenant thomas berry, corporal james mitchell and corporal stephen mars. the loss of the savages in killed alone was nearly forty. the number of their wounded could never be ascertained. they were led in battle by the perfidious winamac, who had always professed to be the friend of the governor, and by white loon and the stone eater. in the weeks that followed the battle much censure of harrison was heard, and much of the credit for the victory was at first accorded to the united states regulars and colonel boyd. this was so manifestly unfair to general harrison, that captains cook, snelling and barton, lieutenants adams, fuller, hawkins and gooding, ensign burchstead and surgeons josiah d. foster and hosea blood, all of the fourth united states regiment, signed an open statement highly laudatory of the governor's talents, military science and patriotism. they declared that throughout the whole campaign the governor demeaned himself both as a "soldier and a general," and that any attempt to undermine their confidence in and respect for the commander-in-chief, would be regarded by them as an "insult to their understandings and an injury to their feelings." the legislatures of indiana and kentucky passed resolutions highly commendatory of the governor's military conduct and skill. the indian confederacy was crushed. tecumseh returned about the first of the year to find the forces at the prophet's town broken up and scattered, and his ambitious dreams of empire forever dissipated. nothing now remained for him to do but openly espouse the british cause. he became the intimate and associate of the infamous proctor and died in the battle at the river thames. the battle of tippecanoe gave great impetus to the military spirit in the western world and prepared the way for the war of . harrison became the leader of the frontier forces and thousands of volunteers flocked to his standard. the tales of valor and heroism, the stories of the death of daviess and owen, spencer and warrick, and of the long, terrible hours of contest with a savage foe, were recounted for years afterward around every fireside in southern indiana and kentucky, and brought a thrill of patriotic pride to the heart of every man, woman and child who heard them. the menace of the red skin was removed. during the following winter the frontier reposed in peace. the battle did more. many of those who followed harrison saw for the first time the wonderful valley of the upper wabash and the boundless prairies of the north. in the wake of the conflict followed the forces of civilization, and in a few years afterward both valley and plain were filling up with a virile and hardy race of frontiersmen who laid the foundations of the new commonwealth. in , indiana became a member of the federal union. chapter xxv naylor's narrative _--a description, of the battle by one of the volunteers._ an excellent portrait of judge isaac naylor now hangs in the court room at williamsport, indiana. he was one of the first judges of the montgomery circuit which formerly embraced both warren and benton. naylor was born in rockingham county, virginia, in , and removed to clark county, indiana, in . in he made a journey to new orleans on a flatboat. while preparing for college the tippecanoe campaign came on, and he joined harrison's army at vincennes. his account of the battle is as follows: "i became a volunteer member of a company of riflemen, and on the th of september, , we commenced our march toward vincennes, and arrived there in about six days, marching about miles. we remained there about a week and took up the march to a point on the wabash river, sixty miles above, on the east bank of the river, where we erected a stockade fort, which we named fort harrison. this was three miles above where the city of terre haute now stands. col. joseph h. daviess, who commanded the dragoons, named the fort. the glorious defense of this fort nine months after by captain zachary taylor was the first step in his brilliant career that afterwards made him president of the united states. a few days later we took up the march again for the seat of indian warfare, where we arrived on the evening of november th, . "when the army arrived in view of the prophet's town, an indian was seen coming toward general harrison with a white flag suspended on a pole. here the army halted, and a parley was had between general harrison and an indian delegation, who assured the general that they desired peace, and solemnly promised to meet him next day in council, to settle the terms of peace and friendship between them and the united states. "general marston g. clark, who was then brigade major, and waller taylor, one of the judges of the general court of the territory of indiana, and afterwards a senator of the united states from indiana (one of the general's aides), were ordered to select a place for the encampment, which they did. the army then marched to the ground selected about sunset. a strong guard was placed around the encampment, commanded by captain james bigger and three lieutenants. the troops were ordered to sleep on their arms. the night being cold, large fires were made along the lines of encampment and each soldier retired to rest, sleeping on his arms. "having seen a number of squaws and children at the town i thought the indians were not disposed to fight. about ten o'clock at night joseph warnock and myself retired to rest, he taking one side of the fire and i the other, the other members of our company being all asleep. my friend warnock had dreamed, the night before, a bad dream which foreboded something fatal to him or to some of his family, as he told me. having myself no confidence in dreams, i thought but little about the matter, although i observed that he never smiled afterwards. "i awoke about four o'clock the next morning, after a sound and refreshing sleep, having heard in a dream the firing of guns and the whistling of bullets just before i awoke from my slumber. a drizzling rain was falling and all things were still and quiet throughout the camp. i was engaged in making a calculation when i should arrive home. "in a few moments i heard the crack of a rifle in the direction of the point where now stands the battle ground house, which is occupied by captain dutiel as a tavern. i had just time to think that some sentinel was alarmed and fired his rifle without a real cause, when i heard the crack of another rifle, followed by an awful indian yell all around the encampment. in less than a minute i saw the indians charging our line most furiously and shooting a great many rifle balls into our camp fires, throwing the live coals into the air three or four feet high. "at this moment my friend warnock was shot by a rifle ball through his body. he ran a few yards and fell dead on the ground. our lines were broken and a few indians were found on the inside of the encampment. in a few moments they were all killed. our lines closed up and our men in their proper places. one indian was killed in the back part of captain geiger's tent, while he was attempting to tomahawk the captain. "the sentinels, closely pursued by the indians, came to the lines of the encampment in haste and confusion. my brother, william naylor, was on guard. he was pursued so rapidly and furiously that he ran to the nearest point on the left flank, where he remained with a company of regular soldiers until the battle was near its termination. a young man, whose name was daniel pettit, was pursued so closely and furiously by an indian as he was running from the guard line to our lines, that to save his life he cocked his rifle as he ran and turning suddenly around, placed the muzzle of his gun against the body of the indian and shot an ounce ball through him. the indian fired his gun at the same instant, but it being longer than pettit's, the muzzle passed by him and set fire to a handkerchief which he had tied around his head. the indians made four or five most fierce charges on our lines, yelling and screaming as they advanced, shooting balls and arrows into our ranks. at each charge they were driven back in confusion, carrying off their dead and wounded as they retreated. "colonel owen, of shelby county, kentucky, one of general harrison's volunteer aides, fell early in action by the side of the general. he was a member of the legislature at the time of his death. colonel daviess was mortally wounded early in the battle, gallantly charging the indians on foot with his sword and pistols, according to his own request. he made this request three times of general harrison, before he was permitted to make the charge. the charge was made by himself and eight dragoons on foot near the angle formed by the left flank and front line of the encampment. colonel daviess lived about thirty-six hours after he was wounded, manifesting his ruling passions in life--ambition, patriotism and an ardent love of military glory. during the last hours of his life he said to his friends around him that he had but one thing to regret--that he had military talents; that he was about to be cut down in the meridian of life without having an opportunity of displaying them for his own honor, and the good of his country. he was buried alone with the honors of war near the right flank of the army, inside of the lines of the encampment, between two trees. on one of these trees the letter 'd' is now visible. nothing but the stump of the other remains. his grave was made here, to conceal it from the indians. it was filled up to the top with earth, and then covered with oak leaves. i presume the indians never found it. this precautionary act was performed as a mark of peculiar respect for a distinguished hero and patriot of kentucky. "captain spencer's company, of mounted riflemen composed the right flank of the army. captain spencer and both his lieutenants were killed. john tipton was elected and commissioned as captain of this company in one hour after the battle, as a reward for his cool and deliberate heroism displayed during the action. he died at logansport in , having been twice elected senator of the united states from the state of indiana. "the clear, calm voice of general harrison was heard in words of heroism in every part of the encampment during the action. colonel boyd behaved very bravely after repeating these words: "huzza! my sons of gold, a few more fires and victory will be ours!" "just after daylight the indiana retreated across the prairie toward their town, carrying off their wounded. this retreat was from the right flank of the encampment, commanded by captains spencer and robb, having retreated from the other portions of the encampment a few minutes before. as their retreat became visible, an almost deafening and universal shout was raised by our men. 'huzza! huzza! huzza!' this shout was almost equal to that of the savages at the commencement of the battle; ours was the shout of victory, theirs was the shout of ferocious but disappointed hope. "the morning light disclosed the fact that the killed and wounded of our army, numbering between eight and nine hundred men, amounted to one hundred and eighty-eight. thirty-six indians were found near our lines. many of their dead were carried off during the battle. this fact was proved by the discovery of many indian graves recently made near their town. ours was a bloody victory, theirs a bloody defeat. "soon after breakfast an indian chief was discovered on the prairie, about eighty yards from our front line, wrapped in a piece of white cloth. he was found by a soldier by the name of miller, a resident of jeffersonville, indiana. the indian was wounded in one of his legs, the ball having penetrated his knee and passed down his leg, breaking the bone as it passed. miller put his foot against him and he raised up his head and said: 'don't kill me, don't kill me.' at the same time five or six regular soldiers tried to shoot him, but their muskets snapped and missed fire. major davis floyd came riding toward him with dragoon sword and pistols and said he would show them how to kill indians, when a messenger came from general harrison commanding that he should be taken prisoner. he was taken into camp, where the surgeons dressed his wounds. here he refused to speak a word of english or tell a word of truth. through the medium of an interpreter he said that he was a friend to the white people and that the indians shot him while he was coming to the camp to tell general harrison that they were about to attack the army. he refused to have his leg amputated, though he was told that amputation was the only means of saving his life. one dogma of indian superstition is that all good and brave indians, when they die, go to a delightful region, abounding with deer and other game, and to be a successful hunter he should have all his limbs, his gun and his dog. he therefore preferred death with all his limbs to life without them. in accordance with his request he was left to die, in company with an old squaw, who was found in the indian town the next day after he was taken prisoner. they were left in one of our tents. [illustration: judge isaac naylor. from old portrait in court room at williamsport, indiana.] "at the time this indian was taken prisoner, another indian, who was wounded in the body, rose to his feet in the middle of the prairie and began to walk towards the woods on the opposite side. a number of regular soldiers shot at him but missed him. a man who was a member of the same company with me, henry huckleberry, ran a few steps into the prairie and shot an ounce ball through his body and he fell dead near the margin of the woods. some kentucky volunteers went across the prairie immediately, and scalped him, dividing his scalp into four pieces, each one cutting a hole in each piece, putting the ramrod through the hole, and placing his part of the scalp just behind the first thimble of his gun, near its muzzle. such was the fate of nearly all of the indians found on the battle ground, and such was the disposition of their scalps. "the death of owen, and the fact that daviess was mortally wounded, with the remembrance also that a large portion of kentucky's best blood had been shed by the indians, must be their apology for this barbarous conduct. such conduct will be excused by all who witnessed the treachery of the indians, and saw the bloody scenes of this battle. "tecumseh being absent at the time of the battle, a chief called white loon was the chief commander of the indians. he was seen in the morning after the battle, riding a large white horse in the woods across the prairie, where he was shot at by a volunteer named montgomery, who is now living in the southwest part of this state. at the crack of his rifle the horse jumped as if the ball had hit him. the indian rode off toward the town and we saw him no more. during the battle the prophet was safely located on a hill, beyond the reach of our balls, praying to the great spirit to give victory to the indians, having previously assured them that the great spirit would change our powder into ashes and sand. "we had about forty head of beef cattle when we came to the battle. they all ran off the night of the battle, or they were driven off by the indians, so that they were all lost. we received rations for two days on the morning after the action. we received no more rations until the next tuesday evening, being six days afterwards. the indians having retreated to their town, we performed the solemn duty of consigning to their graves our dead soldiers, without shrouds or coffins. they were placed in graves about two feet deep, from five to ten in each grave. "general harrison having learned that tecumseh was expected to return from the south with a number of indians whom he had enlisted in his cause, called a council of his officers, who advised him to remain on the battlefield and fortify his camp by a breastwork of logs, about four feet high. this work was completed during the day and all the troops were placed immediately behind each line of the work, when they were ordered to pass the watchword from right to left every five minutes, so that no man was permitted to sleep during the night. the watchword on the night before the battle was 'wide-awake, wide-awake.' to me, it was a long, cold, cheerless night. "on the next day the dragoons went to prophet's town, which they found deserted by all the indians, except an old squaw, whom they brought into the camp and left her with the wounded chief before mentioned. the dragoons set fire to the town and it was all consumed, casting up a brilliant light amid the darkness of the ensuing night. i arrived at the town when it was about half on fire. i found large quantities of corn, beans and peas, i filled my knapsack with these articles and carried them to the camp and divided them with the members of our mess, consisting of six men. having these articles of food, we declined eating horse flesh, which was eaten by a large portion of our men." (the end.) bibliography. . ade, john. _newton county - ._ (indiana state library.) . albach, james e. _annals of the west._ . a valuable book on western history. (indiana state library.) . _american state papers._ _indian affairs._ vol. i. a vast store-house of knowledge of early indian affairs, embracing reports of officers and agents of the government, instructions to indian commissioners, etc., messages of the early presidents to congress, reports of the secretary of war on indian affairs, treaties with various tribes, etc. (indiana state library.) . atwater, caleb. _history of ohio._ cincinnati, . (indiana state library.) . bancroft, george. _history of the united states of america._ . barce, elmore. _the land of the potawatomi._ fowler, indiana, . . beckwith's _history of fountain county, indiana_. chicago, . (chicago public library.) . birch, jesse s. _history of benton county, indiana._ in manuscript. accurate and interesting. . bradford, thomas g. _an illustrated atlas of the united states._ historical, and with excellent maps. . presented by the late judge edwin p. hammond, of lafayette, indiana, to the writer. . _bureau of american ethnology._ _handbook of american indians._ parts i and ii. (indiana state library.) . burnet, jacob. _notes on the early settlement of the northwestern territory._ cincinnati, . (indiana state library.) . butler, mann. _history of the commonwealth of kentucky._ louisville, . (indiana state library.) . _cass county history._ john powell. (indiana state library.) . _chicago publication of steuben county, indiana._ (indiana state library.) . cox, sanford c. _old settlers._ . (lafayette and indiana public libraries.) . _croghan's journal._ by george croghan, british agent. in appendix to mann butler's history of kentucky. a description of the conditions in the wabash valley in . (indiana state library.) . dawson, moses. _life of harrison._ cincinnati, . esarey ranks this as the best biography of the general. it was prepared under the direction of harrison himself. (indiana state library.) . dehart, gen. richard p. _address at tippecanoe battlefield._ in report of tippecanoe monument commission, . compiled by alva o. reser, lafayette, indiana. . de hart, gen. richard p. _past and present of tippecanoe county, indiana._ . (indiana state library.) . _diary of gen. john tipton._ indiana magazine of history, vol. ii. (indiana state library.) . dillon, john b. _history of indiana._ . (indiana state library.) . dunn, jacob piatt. _history of indiana._ an accurate and well prepared history. (indiana state library.) . dunn, jacob piatt. _true indian stories._ indianapolis, . a charming book. (indiana state library.) . drake, benjamin. _life of tecumseh._ cincinnati, . (indiana state library.) . eggleston, edward. _tecumseh and the shawnee prophet._ . _eminent americans._ lossing. . esarey, professor logan. _history of indiana._ excellent work, and accurate. (indiana state library.) . _fergus historical series._ vol. iv. nos. and . (indiana state library.) . _fort wayne manuscript._ fergus historical series, vol. iv, no. . edited and annotated by hiram w. beckwith. (indiana state library.) . griswold, b. j. _history of fort wayne, indiana._ . hall, james. _legends of the west._ (indiana state library.) . hall, james. _romance of western history._ . (indiana state library.) . hall, james. _the west._ cincinnati, . (chicago public library.) . harrison, gen. william henry. _a discourse on the aborigines of the ohio valley._ cincinnati, . (indiana state library.) . _harrison letters, papers and correspondence with war department._ to . a valuable addition to history. collected and annotated by prof. logan esarey, indiana university, and furnished to writer. the letters of harrison quoted in this work are photographic reproductions from the originals at washington, d. c. (indiana university.) . harvey, henry. member of the society of friends. _history of the shawnee indians._ cincinnati, . (indiana state library.) . hatch, william stanley. _a chapter of the history of the war of ._ (indiana state library.) . _hay's journal. a narrative of life on the old frontier._ edited by m. m. quaife. wisconsin historical society, . (indiana state library.) . heckewelder, rev. john. _an account of the history, manners and customs of the indian nations._ philadelphia, . (indiana state library.) . heckewelder, rev. john. _narrative of the mission of the united brethren._ philadelphia, . (indiana state library.) . _history of dekalb county, indiana._ b. f. bowen. (indiana state library.) . _history of vigo and parke counties, indiana._ beckwith. (indiana state library.) . hornaday, william t. _the extermination of the american bison._ in annual report of smithsonian institution, . . howe, henry. _historical collections of ohio._ . (indiana state library.) . hubbard, gurdon s. _recollections and autobiography._ a fine review of the early fur trade under john jacob astor. (indiana state library.) . hutchins, thomas. _a topographical description of virginia, pennsylvania, maryland and north carolina._ . hutchins was geographer to the king, and later geographer to the continental congress. he possessed valuable information concerning the west, and especially of the wabash valley. (indiana state library.) . _indiana magazine of history._ volumes , , and . . _jasper and newton counties, indiana._ edited by louis h. hamilton, of rensselaer, indiana, and judge william darroch, of kentland, indiana. . . _journals of old continental congress._ to . these journals contain the proceedings relative to early indian affairs, and show the early policy of the old congress with reference to the indian tribes, in the years just prior to washington's administration. (indiana state library.) . _journal of the treaty of fort wayne, of ._ this is the official account of the transaction written by peter jones, secretary to governor harrison. (indiana state library.) . kent, james. _commentaries on american law_, vol. i, tenth edition, . page , and note to page . . law, john. _history of vincennes._ throws much light on events at vincennes during the harrison and tecumseh period. (indiana state library.) . lindley, harlow. _indiana as seen by early travelers._ . a fine reference book. (indiana state library.) . lossing, benson j. _pictorial field book of the war of ._ new york, . illustrated, and an excellent work. . marshall, chief justice john. _opinion in johnson and graham's lessee, vs. william, mcintosh._ eight wheaton's reports, . found in united states statutes at large. indian treaties. pages to , both inclusive. . . marshall, humphrey. _the history of kentucky._ frankfort, ky., . (indiana state library.) . _marshall county history_, indiana. mcdonald. (indiana state library.) . matson, n. _memories of shaubena._ chicago, . (chicago public library.) . _michigan pioneer and historical recollections._ xiv and xxx. (indiana state library.) . mcmaster, john bach. _a history of the people of the united states._ new york, . . mcnemar, richard. _the kentucky revival-shakerism._ (indiana state library.) . moore, charles. _the northwest under three flags._ new york, . (indiana state library.) . montgomery, h. _the life of major-general william h. harrison, ninth president of the united states._ . . _me-won-i-toc._ by solon robinson. a peculiar work published in , but giving some faithful sketches of conditions on the early prairies. the author shows some familiarity with the battle of tippecanoe, and the machinations of the british. it could not be counted, however, as a standard historical work, for the author has interwoven a fantastic tale with his recitals of history. . naylor, judge isaac. _narrative of the battle of tippecanoe._ in report of tippecanoe monument commission of , compiled by alva o. reser. . pirtle, capt. alfred. _battle of tippecanoe._ louisville, . (indiana state library.) . powell, alexander e. _gentlemen rovers._ . . quaife, m. m. _fort wayne in ._ indiana historical society publications, no. , vol. . this valuable pamphlet contains henry hay's journal, first published by the wisconsin historical society. (indiana state library.) . _report of tippecanoe monument commission, ._ compiled by alva o. reser, lafayette, indiana. . reynolds, gov. john. _my own times._ . (chicago public library.) . ridpath, john clark. _history of the united states._ . roosevelt, theodore. _the winning of the west._ new york, . a splendid narrative of western history. . schoolcraft, h. r. _archives of aboriginal knowledge._ (indiana state library.) . schoolcraft, h. r. _history, condition and prospects of the indian tribes of the united states._ . part v. (indiana state library.) . smith, col. james. _an account of the remarkable occurrences, etc., during his captivity with the indians, etc._ lexington, ky., . (indiana state library.) . smith's _historical sketches of old vincennes_. . sparks, jared. _the life and writings of george washington._ . (indiana state library.) . _standard history of elkhart county, indiana._ abraham e. weaver. (indiana state library.) . _st. clair papers._ edited by william henry smith. cincinnati, . st. clair's correspondence very valuable. (indiana state library.) . stone, william l. _life of joseph brant-thayendanegea._ new york, . (indiana state library.) . switzler's _history of missouri_. (indiana state library.) . united states statutes at large. indian treaties. . . _vincennes western sun._ a newspaper of the time of harrison and tecumseh, and later. its old files are now in the indiana state library. a valuable source of information. . _wan-bun, the early day in the northwest._ mrs. j. h. kinzie, . (indiana state library.) . whicker, john wesley. _sketches of the wabash valley._ attica, indiana, . . _white county history_, indiana. w. h. hammelle. (indiana state library.) . wilson, thomas j. _address at tippecanoe battlefield._ in report of tippecanoe monument commission of . . wilson's _history of dubois county_, indiana. (indiana state library.) . young, calvin m. _little turtle._ greenville, ohio, . this book gives some local coloring to important historical events around greenville and fort wayne. index (references are to pages.) --a-- adams, john, , , adams, lieut., adair, major john, agaskawak, ottawa chief, albach, james r., historian, american fur company, arrowheads, , "army ford stock farm", armstrong, capt. john, , , "army ford," eugene, indiana, "aristocrats", ash, abraham, interpreter, asheton, capt. joseph, , , ash-cake, ashley, ill., astor, john jacob, , attica, ind., atwater, caleb, historian, au glaize, river of, , , , an glaize, town of, au-goosh-away, ottawa chief, au sable grove, ill., --b-- babcock's museum, goodland, indiana, badger, baen, capt. wm. c., , , , , bancroft, george, historian, barbee, major, (ky.), , , barron, joseph, interpreter, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , barron's interview with tecumseh, , barton, capt. robert c., , , , bartholomew, col. joseph, , "bataille des illinois", bateaux, beans, , bears, , , , , , bear chief (ottawa), beckwith, hiram, historian, , , , , , belle riviere, ohio river, benton county, indiana, , , , , , berry, second lieutenant thomas, , beaver, , , , , , , , , beaver city, indiana, beaver creek, indiana, illinois, beaver lake, indiana, , , beaver township, newton county, indiana, beaverville, illinois, big bottom, ohio, massacre at, bigger, captain james, big man, (miami chief), birch, jesse s., black, general john c., blackbird, potawatomi chief, black hawk war, black hoof (catahecassa), shawnee chief, , blood, hosea, surgeon, blue grass, , blue jacket, shawnee chief, , , , , , , , , , , , , , blue stem, "board of war," (ky.), , boone, daniel, , , , boonesborough, kentucky, , boyd, john parke, sketch by lossing, boyd, john parke, colonel u. s. army , , , , , , , boyd's bravery at tippecanoe, braddock's defeat, , , , , , bradford, thomas g., maps of, , brant, game bird, brant, joseph, mohawk chief, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , bridges, ensign, killed, brier's mills, , british agents, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , british northwest company, british posts, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , british traders, , , , , , , brouillette, michael, trader and scout, , , , , , , , , brown, captain (ky.), brown, john, (ky.), , brown, captain return b., brownstown, michigan, council at, buckongahelas, delaware chief, , buffalo, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , buffalo creek (n. y.), , buffalo robes, trade ceased in, buffalo wallows, bull, captain, indian warrior, bunkum, town of, (ill.), burchstead, ensign, burnet, jacob, historian, , , , burnet's creek, indiana, , , busseron, indiana, , butler, col. john, british indian agent, , , , butler, mann, historian, , , , , , butler, general richard, , , , , , , , , --c-- cahokia, illinois, caldwell, captain, british agent, , , campbell, mis, legionary cavalry, campbell, william, british officer at fort miami, , cannehous, jean, french trader, capt. pike, delaware chief, carleton, sir guy (lord dorchester), , , , carmarthen, lord, british secretary of state, cass, general lewis, catahecassa, black hoof, wyandot chief, , , caton, john d., caughnawaga indians, cayuga, indiana, cession, deed of, by virginia, , , cheeseekau, brother of tecumseh, cherokees, tribe of, , , , , cherokee, river of (same as tennessee), chesapeake and leopard, , chickasaws, tribe of, , chicago road, , chicago, post of, , , , , chillicothe, shawnee village, chippewas, tribe of, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , choctaws, tribe of, , cincinnati, ohio, , , , , , , , , , , , citizen genet, clarendon, lord, clark, lieutenant, killed, clark, george rogers, , , , , , , , , , , clark, major marston g., , clark, general william, clark's grant, cole, captain, theft of horses from by potawatomi, , , confessional, introduced by prophet, connecticut cession to general government, , conner, john, delaware interpreter, , , , , , , , connolly, dr. john, british agent, connoys, tribe of, cook, captain joel, , , , , corn, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , cornplanter, seneca chief, , , , , , , cornstalk, shawnee chief, corydon, indiana, coshocton, ohio, , , council at st. joseph river in , , , coustan, jean, french trader, crab orchard, kentucky, craik, doctor, friend of washington, crainte, sans, interpreter at treaty of greenville, cranes, game, crawford, william, friend of washington, creeks, tribe of, croghan, george, british agent, , , , , , , cucumbers, cuyahoga, river of, , , , , , --d-- danville, illinois, darke, colonel william, , darke county, ohio, "dark and bloody ground", , daviess, joseph hamilton, , , , , , , , , , , , daviess, major joseph hamilton, death of, , , daviess, charge with dragoons, , "dawson's harrison,", dearborn, henry, secretary of war, , de bois blanc, island of, decatur, illinois, decker, colonel luke, , deer, , , , , , , , , , , , deer hoofs, dried, at tippecanoe, , de hart, general richard p., delawares, tribe of , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , denny, major ebenezer, , , , , detroit, town of, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , detroit, river of, , , devin, rev. alexander, dillon, john b., historian, dorchester, lord, (sir guy carleton), , , , , , , , doughty, captain john, , , , dowell, william w. (ky.), dragoons, light, of vincennes, , , , , dramatic effect, indian speeches, "dried heart of captive at kekionga", drinking club, of indians, , dubois, captain touissant, interpreter and scout for harrison , , , , , , , , ducks, game, , , duke of york, dumay, jacques, french trader, dunmore, governor of province of virginia, du tiel tavern, tippecanoe, --e-- earl park, benton county, indiana, , eclipse of sun in and the prophet, , edgewater, avenue in fort wayne, indiana, edwards, colonel (ky.), , edwards, governor ninian of illinois, , eel river, indiana, , , , , , , eel river indians, , , , , , elk, game, , , elliott, matthew, british agent, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , english treaty of fort stanwix (n. y.), , english traders, , , , estel's station (ky.), eugene, vermilion county, indiana, --f-- fallen timbers, description of battle, , , fallen timbers, battle of references to, , , , , , , , , , , farmer's brother, iroquois chief, in british uniform, , father hennepin, father marquette, faulkner, captain (ky.), , ferguson, captain william, "fire-water", five medals, potawatomi chief, floyd, major george rogers clark, , , , floyd, major davis, , floyd's fork (ky.), fontaine, major james (ky.), , , , ford, harmar's, at fort wayne, indiana, fort dearborn, illinois, , fort defiance, ohio, , , , fort erie, , fort greenville, ohio, , , , fort hamilton, ohio, , , , fort harmar, treaty of, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , fort harrison, vigo county, indiana, , , , fort jefferson, ohio, , , , , fort knox (at vincennes), , , fort laurens, ohio, , fort mcintosh, treaty of, , , , , , , , fort miami, ohio (british fort), , fort niagara (n. y.), , , , , fort pitt (pittsburgh), , , , fort recovery, ohio, , , , fort recovery, battle of, description, , fort stanwix, treaty of, , , , , , , fort steuben (clarksville) indiana, , , fort st. clair, ohio, , , fort st. clair, battle of, description, , fort washington (cincinnati), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , fort wayne, indiana, town of, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , "fort wayne manuscript", fort wayne, treaty of, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , foster, josiah d., surgeon, fourth united states regiment (of tippecanoe fame), , , , , , , fourth united states regiment, uniform of, fowler, indiana, town of, fox, game, , fox, silver gray, freeman, death of, french brandy, french revolution, opening of, effect on indian affairs, , , french traders, indian country, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , frothingham, lieutenant ebenezer, death of, fuller, lieutenant, funk, captain peter (ky.), , fur trade with indians, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , --g-- game, scarcity of in harrison's time, , gamelin, antoine, french agent of u. s., , , , , , , , , , gamelin, fred, gardens of indiana at kekionga, geese, game, , , , geiger, captain frederick (ky.), , , , , , georgian bay, gerrard, u. s. agent to indians, death of, gibson, captain alexander, gibson, john, secretary of territory, , girty, george, , , , girty, simon, british agent, , , , , , , , , , gooding, lieutenant, gordon, colonel (british officer), "grandfathers," term applied to delawares, , grand glaize, ohio, granville, tippecanoe county, indiana, grand prairie, indiana, illinois, , , , , grand, river of, , , grapes at vincennes, grayson, wm., virginia statesman, "great plum patch," vermilion county, indiana, great miami, river of, green bay, wisconsin, , greenville, ohio, , , , , , , , , , , greenville, treaty of, account, , , , , , , greenville, treaty of, other references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , grenville, lord, griswold, b. j., historian, --h-- haldimand, gen. frederick, british governor, hale, lieut. job, death of, half-king of the wyandots, hall, major (ky.), , , hall, james, historian, , hamilton, henry, british lieutenant governor, , hammond, british minister, hamtramck, john f., u. s. army, , , , , , hardin, colonel john (ky.), , , , , , , , , , , , , hardy, samuel, harmar, general josiah, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , harmar's ford, fort wayne, indiana, "harmar's trace,", harrison county, indiana, , harrison, gen. wm. henry, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , harrison's answer to tecumseh, , harrison's courage, , , , , harrison deceived by prophet, , harrison's general policies toward indian tribes, , , harrison's house at vincennes, harrison inveighs against liquor traffic, , harrison's private interview with tecumseh, , , harrison's speech to wabash and fort wayne miamis, , harrison's tribute to tecumseh, harrison vs. mcintosh, suit for slander, , , harrod, james (ky.), , , harrodsburgh, kentucky, , harvey, henry (quaker), hatch, wm. stanley, historian, , hawkins, lieutenant, hay, henry, english trader and agent, , , , , , "hay's journal", , heckewelder, john, , , , , , heller's corners, near fort wayne, indiana, hemp at vincennes, henry, patrick, governor of virginia, , hickory grove, near fowler, indiana, higgins, ensign, killed, high gap, tippecanoe county, indiana, , , "hobson's choice", , hoecake, holderman's grove, illinois, honey-bee, , hops at vincennes, hornaday, william t., horses at vincennes, breed of, horse flesh, eating at tippecanoe, horse thieves, references to, , , , , , , , , , , huckleberry, henry (tippecanoe), hubbard, gurdon s., , hunting shirt men, , , , hutchins, thomas, geographer, hutchins' description of wabash valley, , , , --i-- illinois central railway, "illinois grant", illinois, tribe of, , , , , , illinois tribes, conquest of, impressment of american seamen, indiana becomes state, indian creek (reviere de bois rouge), "indian hills," on wabash, innes, harry, (ky.), , iroquois, illinois, iroquois, county of, illinois, iroquois, tribe of, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , --j-- jasper county, indiana, jay, john, , , jay's treaty, , jefferson, thomas, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , jefferson's policy as to payment of annuities to indians, jennings, lieutenant, , jesuit fathers, , , jesuit relation, johnson, sir john, british agent, , , johnson, wm., , johnston, john, u. s. indian agent, , , , jones, peter, secretary to governor harrison, , , --k-- kankakee, river of, , , kaskaskia, illinois, , , , , , , , , kaskaskias, tribe of, keel boats, , , , , , , , keesass, the sun, potawatomi chief, , kekionga (at fort wayne), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , kenapacomaqua, eel river town, l'anguille, , , , , , , kendall county, illinois, kenton, simon, , , , , kentucky, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , kentucky, river of, , , , kentuckians, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , keth-tip-e-ca-nunk, (tippecanoe), , , , , , kibby, ephraim, wayne scout, kikapouguoi, indian village, kickapoos, tribe of, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , "kickapoo town in prairie", near oxford, ind., , , , , kinzie, john, trader among indians, knox co., ind., , kosciusko, baron and little turtle, kumskaukau, brother of prophet, --l-- lafayette, city of, , , , lafountaine, fur trader at kekionga, , lakeside, avenue at ft. wayne, ind., , l'anguille, (kenapacomaqua), , , , la plante, pierre, harrison agent, , la poussier, wea chief, , , , , l'arbe croche, la salle comes up st. joseph of lake michigan, laselle, antoine, french fur trader and british loyalist, , , , laselle, hyacinthe, laselle, jacques, interpreter, laulewasikaw, (the prophet), , law, john, of vincennes, , , , , lee, arthur, of virginia, , , , lee, richard henry, legion, the (of wayne), , , , , legionville, le gris, miami chief, , , , , , , , , , , le gris, town of, "lea poux," (potawatomi), lewis, general andrew, lewis, isaac w., of oxford, ind., licks, buffalo, etc., limestone, (maysville, ky.), , , lincoln, benjamin, u. s. commissioner, , little beaver, wea chief, little eyes, wea chief, little face, chief at petit piconne, little miami, river of, , little turtle, reference to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , little turtle's views on treaty of fort wayne, little wabash, logan, benjamin, , , , , logansport, indiana, , , , , logan's station (st. asaphs) (ky.), , , , , "looking glass," the (wabunsee), potawatomi chief, , , lord sidney, lord clarendon, losantiville (cincinnati), lossing, benson j., historian, , louisville, ky., loutre island, (missouri river), ludlow's station, lynx, --m-- mackinaw, , madison, james, , "magic bowl," of the prophet, maize, or indian corn, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , malden, canada, , , , , , , , , , , , mantoulin, island of, maple sugar, marietta, ohio, , , , , mars, corporal stephen, (ky.), marshal, humphrey, historian of kentucky, , , marshall, john, chief justice, , , marshal, thomas, (ky.), marshfield, warren co., ind., marten (sable), mash-i-pinash-i-wish, chippewa chief, , mason, george, of virginia, , massachusetts cession to general government, massas, chippewa chief, , , matthews, major, british army, maumee bay, maumee city, ohio, , maumee, river of, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , may, william, maysville (limestone) (ky.), , , mcclellan, robert, wayne scout, mccormick, alexander, , mccoy, capt. (ky.), mcintosh, william, tory at vincennes, , , mckee, alexander, british agent, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , mcmahan, lieut. richard, , mcmahon, major, , mcmullen, captive of indians, mcmullen, major (ky.), , , , mcmurtrey, capt., mcnemar, richard (shaker), "medean fire", melons, , meredosia, ill., miami carrying place or portage, , , , , , , , miami, fort (british), , miami of the lake (maumee), , , , , , , , miami rapids, battle of (fallen timbers), miami rapids, ohio, miami, river of, , , , , , , , , , , , , miamitown, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , miami, treaty of, , "miami village", , , , , , , , , miamis, tribe of, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , michillimacinac, , , , , , , miller, christopher, wayne scout, , , miller, henry, wayne scout, miller, col. james, mingoes, tribe of, , mink, mississinewa, indians, , , , , , mississinewa, river of, , mitchell, corporal james (tippecanoe), mohawks, tribe of, , , , , , , , , , monongahela, river of, , monroe, james, , montezuma, ind., , , montgomery co., ind., morins, m., interpreter at treaty of greenville, morocco, ind., mud creek, benton co., ind., mulberry trees (white and black), "munsees", tribe of, muskegon, river of, muskingum, river of, , , , , , , , , , , , , musquitons, musk-rat, --n-- na-goh-quan-gogh, or le gris, miami chief, naylor, judge isaac, , naylor's narrative of battle of tippecanoe, , , , , , , , , , naylor's portrait at williamsport, ind., naylor, william, brother of isaac naylor, negro-legs, wea chief, , new orleans, market of, new purchase, the, , , , , , , , , newton co., ind., , , new york cession to general government, niagara, post of, , , , , , , --o-- ohio company, the, ojibways, (chippewas), old congress, records of, , , oldham, col. (ky.), , onondagas, iroquois tribe, onoragas, iroquois tribe, "open door," the (the prophet), ordinance of , , , , , osage, miami chief, osages, tribe of, , oswego, post of, , , ottawa county, mich., ottawas, tribe of, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , otter, , otterbein, ind., ouiatenon, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ouiatenons, indian tribe (weas), , owen, col. abraham (ky.), , , , , , , , , owl, the, miami chief, , oxford, ind., --p-- parish grove, benton co., ind., , parke, judge benjamin, , , , , , , , parke co., ind., , , parsons, samuel h., peas, pecan, miami chief at kekionga, , , , , , , , pecan, nuts, peltries, , , , , , , , , , , , , pemmican, penn, wm., peoria, ill., , pepper, abel c., peshewah (jean baptiste richardville), , , , , peters, lieut. george p., officer at tippecanoe, petit piconne (tippecanoe), , , , , , pettit, daniel, soldier at tippecanoe, pheasant, piankeshaws' hunting ground, piankeshaws, tribe of, , , , , , piatt, capt. william, quartermaster, pickering, timothy, united states commissioner, , pigeons, wild, pine creek, benton and warren counties, ind., , , , , , , pirogues, , , pirtle, capt. alfred, historian, plum patch, the great, vermilion co. ind., point pleasant, battle of, pontiac, ottawa chief, , , portages, , , , , , posey, capt. john, officer at tippecanoe, , potatoes, , potawatomi, tribe of, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , potawatomi murders on missouri, , , , , , , prairies, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , prairie chicken, prairie fires, , , prescott, capt. george w., officer at tippecanoe, , "presque isle," ohio, price, captain (ky.), , proctor, col. thomas, u. s. agent and commissioner, , , , , , prophet, the, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , prophet's incantations during battle of tippecanoe, prophet's town, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , prophet's town, burning of, prophet's town, favorable position of, , pumpkins, purdue university, lafayette, indiana, putnam, general rufus, , , --q-- quail, queen, the, (prophet's wife), quincy, illinois, --r-- raccoon, , , , , , raccoon creek, indiana, , , randolph, beverly, of virginia, , randolph, thomas, of vincennes, , , rapids of the miami (maumee), ray, major, (ky.), recovery, fort, ohio, , , , red jacket, iroquois chief, , , reynolds, john, rhea, thomas, prisoner, , richardville, jean baptiste (peshewah), miami chief, . , , , , richest indian, riviere de bois rouge (indian creek), tippecanoe county, indiana, roche de bout, , , robb, captain david (tippecanoe), , , rogers, lieutenant, killed, roosevelt, theodore, references to, , , , , , , , , , round grove, warren county, indiana, , --s-- "sacred torch", sacs and foxes, tribe of, , , , , , , , , , saline, salt, refusal of, by prophet, , salt, seizure of, by prophet, , , sand prairie, vermilion county, indiana, , sandusky, river of, , , , , , , , , sangamon, river of, , , sault st. marie, sa-wagh-da-wunk, wyandot chief, schoolcraft, h. r., historian, schuyler, general philip, scioto, river of, , , , , , , , , , , , scott, captain, killed, scott, charles, governor of kentucky, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , scott, rev. samuel t., scott, captain thomas, , "scott's trace", seminoles, tribe of, senecas, iroquois tribe, , , , , shadeland farm, tippecanoe county, indiana, shane, anthony, shaubena, potawatomi chief, , , , shawanoe, wea chief, shawnees, came from florida and georgia, , shawnees, tribe of, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , shawnee river, (same as cumberland), shawneetown, illinois, shay's rebellion, massachusetts, "shishequia", shelby house, near cayuga, indiana, , shelby, isaac, sidney, lord, , , , silver heels, miami chief at ft. wayne treaty, , simcoe, lieut.-governor, british officer , , , , , sioux indians, , , six nations (iroquois), confederacy of, , , , , , , , sloan, warren county, indiana, , slough, captain, small, john, affidavit of, smallpox, among indians, , smith, col. james, indian captive and historian, , , , , snelling, capt. josiah (tippecanoe), , , , snelling, capt. josiah, jr. (tippecanoe), "soldier, the," miami chief, spencer, capt. spier, leader of yellow jackets, , , , , , , , springfield, illinois, spy run, at fort wayne, indiana, squashes, st. asaphs (logan's station, ky.), , , , st. clair, general arthur, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , st. clair's defeat, description of, , , , , , , , , still hunters, of buffalo, st. joseph of lake michigan, river of, , , , , , , , st. joseph of maumee, river of, , , , , , , , , , st. marys, river of, ohio, indiana, , , , , , , , , , stone eater, sa-na-mah-hon-ga, miami chief, , , sugar creek, benton county, indiana, sugar grove, benton county, indiana, "sun, my father; earth, my mother", sun, the, potawatomi chief, sun-worship, by prophet, , surveyors driven out of new purchase, swan, game, sweet, ensign, killed, symmes, john cleves, , --t-- tarhe, the crane, wyandot chief, , , , tawas (ottawas), taylor, judge waller, of vincennes, , , , , , taylor, captain zachary, tecaughretanego, friend of col. james smith, , tecumseh, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , tecumseh's chivalry, , , tecumseh, description of person, appearance, , , tecumseh's land doctrine, , , , , tecumseh's last speech to harrison, , , tecumseh's speech at vincennes in , , "ten o'clock line", , tenskwatawa (the prophet), terre haute, (high land), indiana, , , , , , thames, battle of, , thielkeld, ensign, killed, thompson, george, bravery of, thorp, captain, "three fires," confederacy of, , tippecanoe battle ground, description of, , tippecanoe, battle of, description, , , , , , , , , , tippecanoe, battle of, references to, , , , , , , , tippecanoe county, indiana, tippecanoe, town of, , , , , , , , , , , , , , tipton, john, , , , , , , , , , tobacco at vincennes, , todd, brigadier-general, (ky.), , topenebee, potawatomi chief, , , tramblai, french trader, treaties, harrison's method of holding with indians, treaty of , , , treaty of , , , , , , , , treaty at mouth of big miami in , , treaty of fort harmar, ohio, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , treaty of fort mcintosh (penn.), , , , , , , , treaty of fort stanwix (n. y.), , , , , , , treaty of fort wayne by harrison, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , treaty of greenville, ohio, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , treaty of grouseland, , , treaty with kickapoos of , treaty with weas of , , trotter, colonel william (ky.), , , trueman, major alexander, death of, , tupper, brigadier-general, turkey foot, potawatomi chief, , turkey foot grove, benton and newton counties, indiana, , , turkeys, wild, , , tuscaroras, iroquois tribe, --u-- "uncles," (the wyandots), uniform of fourth u. s. regiment at tippecanoe, --v-- vanderburgh, judge henry, venereal disorders among indiana, vermilion, big, river of, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , vermilion county indiana, , , , , vermilion of the illinois, "vermilion piankeshaws", , vigo county, indiana, vigo, francis, vincennes, town of, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , vincennes treaty by general rufus putnam, , virginia cession to general government, , , virginians, references to, , , , , , , , voyageurs, , --w-- wabash, description of, by thomas hutchins, geographer , , , wabash railway, indiana, illinois, wabash, river of, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , wabunsee, "looking glass," potawatomi chief, , wallows, buffalo, wampum, wapocconata (wapakoneta), ohio, , , , warnock, joseph, death at tippecanoe, , warren county, indiana, , , , , , , warrick, captain jacob, at tippecanoe, , , , washington county, illinois, washington, george, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , wattles, john, benton county, indiana, wayne, general anthony, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , wea creek, tippecanoe county, indiana, , , wea plains, tippecanoe county, indiana, , , , wea village at terre haute, weas, tribe of, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , wells, major-general samuel, (ky.), , , , wells, william, of fort wayne, , , , , , , , , wergild, among indians, , "western confederacy", "western sun," of vincennes, , , wetzel, lewis, wheat at vincennes, , whiskey, among indians, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , white county, indiana, white loon, miami chief, , "white man's fly," honey bee, white river, indiana, wildcat, wildcat creek, tippecanoe county, indiana, , wild rice, wilkinson, james, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , williams, abraham, interpreter, williamsport, warren county, indiana, wilson, george, historian, wilson, capt. walter, tippecanoe officer, , , winamac, potawatomi chief, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , winnebagoes, bravery at tippecanoe, winnebagoes, tribe of, , , , , , , , , , witchcraft among indians, witherington, john, captive of indians, wolcott, oliver, u. s. commissioner, wolverine, wolves hunting buffalo, wyandots, leaders and keepers of great belt, wyandots, tribe of, references to, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , wyllys, major john, , , , , wythe, george, of virginia, --x-- no references. --y-- yellow jackets of harrison county, indiana, , , york, duke of, --z-- zane, isaac, interpreter, +--------------------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's note: | | | | inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the | | original document have been preserved. | | | | typographical errors corrected in the text: | | | | page diffculties changed to difficulties | | page situate changed to situated | | page battoes changed to bateaux | | page wiscousin changed to wisconsin | | page crosssed changed to crossed | | page speciments changed to specimens | | page pottawatomies changed to potawatomis | | page descrepancy changed to discrepancy | | page commited changed to committed | | page proprietory changed to proprietary | | page conquerer changed to conqueror | | page solicitious changed to solicitous | | page pronciples changed to principles | | page indispensibly changed to indispensably | | page accomodation changed to accommodation | | page monent changed to moment | | page of changed to or | | page mary's changed to marys | | page randlopb changed to randolph | | page valorus changed to valorous | | page accoutrements changed to accouterments | | page marksmenship changed to marksmanship | | page pottawattamies changed to potawatomis | | page pottawattamies changed to potawatomis | | page wapakonetta changed to wapakoneta | | page potawatomies changed to potawatomis | | page pottawattamie changed to potawatomi | | page accomodate changed to accommodate | | page pottawattamies changed to potawatomis | | page phophet changed to prophet | | page defliance changed to defiance | | page eleplants changed to elephants | | page added "of" between "history" and "dubois" | | page ephriam changed to ephraim | | page na-go-quan-gogh changed to na-goh-quan-gogh | | page potowatomi changed to potawatomi | | page vermillion changed to vermilion | +--------------------------------------------------------+ team. [illustration: engraved by a.b. walter philad.] personal memoirs of a residence of thirty years with the indian tribes on the american frontiers: with brief notices of passing events, facts, and opinions, a.d. to a.d. . by henry r. schoolcraft. . to alexander b. johnson, esq. of utica. my dear sir:--i feel impelled to place your name before these sheets, from a natural impulse. it is many years since i accompanied you to the genesee country, which was, at that time, a favorite theatre of enterprise, and called the "garden of the west." this step, eventually, led me to make deeper and more adventurous inroads into the american wilderness. if i am not mistaken, you will peruse these brief memoranda of my exploratory journeys and residence in the wide area of the west, and among barbarous tribes, in a spirit of appreciation, and with a lively sense of that providential care, in human affairs, that equally shields the traveler amidst the vicissitudes of the forest, and the citizen at his fireside. very sincerely yours, henry r. schoolcraft. preface. ten years ago i returned from the area of the mississippi valley to new york, my native state, after many years' residence and exploratory travels of that quarter of the union. having become extensively known, personally, and as an author, and my name having been associated with several distinguished actors in our western history, the wish has often been expressed to see some record of the events as they occurred. in yielding to this wish, it must not be supposed that the writer is about to submit an autobiography of himself; nor yet a methodical record of his times--tasks which, were he ever so well qualified for, he does not at all aspire to, and which, indeed, he has not now the leisure, if he had the desire, to undertake. still, his position on the frontiers, and especially in connection with the management of the indian tribes, is believed to have been one of marked interest, and to have involved him in events and passages often of thrilling and general moment. and the recital of these, in the simple and unimposing forms of a diary, even in the instances where they may be thought to fail in awakening deep sympathy, or creating high excitement, will be found, he thinks, to possess a living moral _undertone_. in the perpetual conflict between civilized and barbaric life, during the settlement of the west, the recital will often recall incidents of toil and peril, and frequently show the open or concealed murderer, with his uplifted knife, or deadly gun. as a record of opinion, it will not be too much to say, that the author's approvals are ever on the side of virtue, honor, and right; that misconception is sometimes prevented by it, and truth always vindicated. if he has sometimes met bad men; if he has experienced detraction, or injustice; if even persons of good general repute have sometimes persecuted him, it is only surprising, on general grounds, that the evils of this kind have not been greater or more frequent; but it is conceived that the record of such injustice would neither render mankind wiser nor the author happier. the "crooked" cannot be made "straight," and he who attempts it will often find that his inordinate toils only vex his own soul. he who does the ill in society is alone responsible for it, and if he chances not to be rebuked for it on this imperfect theatre of human action, yet he cannot flatter himself at all that he shall pass through a future state "scot free." the author views man ever as an accountable being, who lives, in a providential sense, that he may have an opportunity to bear record to the principles of truth, wherever he is, and this, it is perceived, can be as effectually done, so far as there are causes of action or reflection, in the recesses of the forest, as in the area of the drawing-room, or the purlieus of a court. it is believed that, in the present case, the printing of the diary could be more appropriately done, while most of those with whom the author has acted and corresponded, thought and felt, were still on the stage of life. the motives that, in a higher sphere, restrained a wraxall and a walpole in withholding their remarks on passing events, do not operate here; for if there be nothing intestimonial or faulty uttered, the power of a stern, high-willed government cannot be brought to bear, to crush independence of thought, or enslave the labors of intellect: for if there be a species of freedom in america more valuable than another, it is that of being pen-free. it is sismondi, i think, who says that "time prepares for a long flight, by relieving himself of every superfluous load, and by casting away everything that he possibly can." the author certainly would not ask him to carry an onerous weight. but, in the history of the settlement of such a country and such a population as this, there must be little, as well as great labors, before the result to be sent forward to posterity can be prepared by the dignified pen of polished history; and the writer seeks nothing more than to furnish some illustrative memoranda for that ultimate task, whoever may perform it. he originally went to the west for the purpose of science. his mineralogical rambles soon carried him into wide and untrodden fields; and the share he was called on to take in the exploration of the country, its geography, geology, and natural features, have thrown him in positions of excitement and peril, which furnish, it is supposed, an appropriate apology, if apology be necessary, for the publication of these memoirs. but whatever degree of interest and originality may have been connected with his early observations and discoveries in science, geography, or antiquities, the circumstances which directed his attention to the indian tribes--their history, manners and customs, languages, and general ethnology, have been deemed to lay his strongest claim to public respect. the long period during which these observations have been continued to be made, his intimate relations with the tribes, the favorable circumstances of his position and studies, and the ardor and assiduity with which he has availed himself of them, have created expectations in his case which few persons, it is believed, in our history, have excited. it is under these circumstances that the following selections from his running journal are submitted. they form, as it were, a thread connecting acts through a long period, and are essential to their true understanding and development. a word may be said respecting the manner of the record which is thus exhibited:-- the time is fixed by quoting exactly the dates, and the names of persons are invariably given wherever they could, with propriety, be employed; often, indeed, in connection with what may be deemed trivial occurrences; but these were thought essential to the proper relief and understanding of more important matters. indeed, a large part of the journal consists of extracts from the letters of the individuals referred to; and in this way it is conceived that a good deal of the necessarily offensive character of the egotism of journalism is got rid of. no one will object to see his name in print while it is used to express a kind, just, or noble sentiment, or to advance the cause of truth; and, if private names are ever employed for a contrary purpose, i have failed in a designed cautiousness in this particular. much that required disapprobation has been omitted, which a ripening judgment and more enlarged christian and philosophic view has passed over; and much more that invited condemnation was never committed to paper. should circumstances favor it, the passages which are omitted, but approved, to keep the work in a compact shape, will be hereafter added, with some pictorial illustrations of the scenery. the period referred to, is one of considerable interest. it is the thirty years that succeeded the declaration of war by the united states, in , against great britain, and embraces a large and important part of the time of the settlement of the mississippi valley, and the great lake basins. during this period ten states have been added to the union. many actors who now slumber in their graves are called up to bear witness. some of the number were distinguished men; others the reverse. red and white men alike express their opinions. anecdotes and incidents succeed each other without any attempt at method. the story these incidentally tell, is the story of a people's settling the wilderness. it is the anglo-saxon race occupying the sites of the indian wigwams. it is a field in which plumed sachems, farmers, legislators, statesmen, speculators, professional and scientific men, and missionaries of the gospel, figure in their respective capacities. nobody seems to have set down to compose an elaborate letter, and yet the result of the whole, viewed by the philosophic eye, is a broad field of elaboration. henry r. schoolcraft. philadelphia, _sept. th, _. contents. chapter i. brief reminiscences of scenes from to --events preliminary to a knowledge of western life--embarkation on the source of the alleghany river--descent to pittsburgh--valley of the monongahela; its coal and iron--descent of the ohio in an ark--scenes and incidents by the way--cincinnati--some personal incidents which happened there. chapter ii. descent of the ohio river from cincinnati to its mouth--ascent of the mississippi, from the junction to herculaneum--its rapid and turbid character, and the difficulties of stemming its current by barges--some incidents by the way. chapter iii. reception at herculaneum, and introduction to the founder of the first american colony in texas, mr. austin--his character--continuation of the journey on foot to st. louis--incidents by the way--trip to the mines--survey of the mine country--expedition from potosi into the ozark mountains, and return, after a winter's absence, to potosi. chapter iv. sit down to write an account of the mines--medical properties of the mississippi water--expedition to the yellow stone--resolve to visit washington with a plan of managing the mines--descend the river from st. genevieve to new orleans--incidents of the trip--take passage in a ship for new york--reception with my collection there--publish my memoir on the mines, and proceed with it to washington--result of my plan--appointed geologist and mineralogist on an expedition to the sources of the mississippi. chapter v. set out on the expedition to the north-west--remain a few weeks at new york--visit niagara falls, and reach detroit in the first steamer--preparations for a new style of traveling--correspondents--general sketch of the route pursued by the expedition, and its results--return to albany, and publish my narrative--journal of it--preparation for a scientific account of the observations. chapter vi. reception by the country on my return--reasons for publishing my narrative without my reports for a digested scientific account of the expedition--delays interposed to this--correspondents--locality of strontian--letter from dr. mitchell--report on the copper mines of lake superior--theoretical geology--indian symbols--scientific subjects--complete the publication of my work--its reception by the press and the public--effects on my mind--receive the appointment of secretary to the indian commission at chicago--result of the expedition, as shown by a letter of dr. mitchell to general cass. chapter vii. trip through the miami of the lakes, and the wabash valley--cross the grand prairie of illinois--revisit the mines--ascend the illinois--fever--return through the great lakes--notice of the "trio"--letter from professor silliman--prospect of an appointment under government--loss of the "walk-in-the-water"--geology of detroit--murder of dr. madison by a winnebago indian. chapter viii. new-yearing--a prospect opened--poem of ontwa--indian biography--fossil tree--letters from various persons--notice of ontwa--professor silliman--gov. clinton--hon. j. meigs--colonel benton--mr. dickenson--professor hall--views of ex-presidents madison, jefferson, and adams on geology--geological notices--plan of a gazetteer--opinions of my _narrative journal_ by scientific gentlemen--the impostor john dunn hunter--trip up the potomac--mosaical chronology--visit to mount vernon. chapter ix. appointed an agent of indian affairs for the united states at saint mary's--reasons for the acceptance of the office--journey to detroit--illness at that point--arrival of a steamer with a battalion of infantry to establish a new military post at the foot of lake superior--incidents of the voyage to that point--reach our destination, and reception by the residents and indians--a european and man of honor fled to the wilderness. chapter x. incidents of the summer during the establishment of the now post at st. mary's--life in a nut-shell--scarcity of room--high prices of everything--state of the indians--their rich and picturesque costume--council and its incidents--fort site selected and occupied--the evil of ardent spirits amongst the indians--note from governor de witt clinton--mountain ash--curious superstitions of the odjibwas--language--manito poles--copper--superstitious regard for venus--fine harbor in lake superior--star family--a locality of necromancers--ancient chippewa capital--eating of animals. chapter xi. murder of soan-ga-ge-zhick, a chippewa, at the head of the falls--indian mode of interment--indian prophetess--topic of interpreters and interpretation--mode of studying the indian language--the johnston family--visits--katewabeda, chief of sandy lake--indian mythology, and oral tales and legends--literary opinion--political opinion--visit of the chief little pine--visit of wabishkepenais--a despairing indian--geography. chapter xii. a pic-nic party at the foot of lake superior--canoe--scenery--descent of st. mary's falls--etymology of the indian names of sault ste. marie, and lake superior--the wild rice plant--indian trade--american fur company--distribution of presents--death of sassaba--epitaph--indian capacity to count--oral literature--research--self-reliance. chapter xiii. my first winter at the foot of lake superior--copper mines--white fish--a poetic name for a fish--indian tale--polygamy--a reminiscence--taking of fort niagara--mythological and allegorical tales among the aborigines--chippewa language--indian vowels--a polite and a vulgar way of speaking the language--public worship--seclusion from the world. chapter xiv. amusements during the winter months, when the temperature is at the lowest point--etymology of the word chippewa--a meteor--the indian "fireproof"--temperature and weather--chippewa interchangeables--indian names for the seasons--an incident in conjugating verbs--visiting--gossip--the fur trade--todd, mcgillvray, sir alexander mackenzie--wide dissimilarity of the english and odjibwa syntax--close of the year. chapter xv. new year's day among the descendants of the norman french--anti-philosophic speculations of brydone--schlegel on language--a peculiar native expression evincing delicacy--graywacke in the basin of lake superior--temperature--snow shoes--translation of gen. i. --historical reminiscences--morals of visiting--odjibwa numerals--harmon's travels--mackenzie's vocabularies--criticism--mungo park. chapter xvi. novel reading--greenough's "geology"--the cariboo--spiteful plunder of private property on a large scale--marshall's washington--st. clair's "narrative of his campaign"--etymology of the word _totem_--a trait of transpositive languages--polynesian languages--a meteoric explosion at the maximum height of the winter's temperature--spafford's "gazetteer"--holmes on the prophecies--foreign politics--mythology--gnomes--the odjibwa based on monosyllables--no auxiliary verbs--pronouns declined for tense---esprella's letters--valerius--gospel of st. luke--chippewayan group of languages--home politics--prospect of being appointed superintendent of the lead mines of missouri. chapter xvii. close of the winter solstice, and introduction of a northern spring--news from the world--the indian languages--narrative journal--semi-civilization of the ancient aztec tribes--their arts and languages--hill's ironical review of the "transactions of the royal society"--a test of modern civilization--sugar making--trip to one of the camps--geology of manhattan island--ontwa, an indian poem--northern ornithology--dreams--the indian apowa--printed queries of general cass--prospect of the mineral agency--exploration of the st. peter's--information on that head. chapter xviii. rapid advance of spring--troops commence a stockade--principles of the chippewa tongue--idea of a new language containing the native principles of syntax, with a monosyllabic method--indian standard of value--archaeological evidences in growing trees--mount vernon--signs of spring in the appearance of birds--expedition to st. peter's--lake superior open--a peculiarity in the orthography of jefferson--true sounds of the consonants--philology--advent of the arrival of a vessel--editors and editorials--arrival from fort william--a hope fled--sudden completion of the spring, and ushering in of summer--odjibwa language, and transmission of inquiries. chapter xix. outlines of the incidents of the summer of --glance at the geography of the lake country--concretion of aluminous earth--general wayne's body naturally embalmed by this property of the soil of erie--free and easy manners--boundary survey--an old friend--western commerce--the austins of texas memory--collision of civil and military power--advantages of a visit to europe. chapter xx. incidents of the year --indian researches--diverse idioms of the ottawa and chippewa--conflict of opinion between the civil and military authorities of the place--a winter of seclusion well spent--st. paul's idea of languages--examples in the chippewa--the chippewa a pure form of the algonquin--religion in the wilderness--incidents--congressional excitements--commercial view of the copper mine question--trip to tackwymenon falls, in lake superior. chapter xxi. oral tales and legends of the chippewas--first assemblage of a legislative council in michigan--mineralogy and geology--disasters of the war of --character of the new legislature--laconic note--narrative of a war party, and the disastrous murders committed at lake pepin in july --speech of a friendly indian chief from lake superior on the subject--notices of mineralogy and geology in the west--ohio and erie canal--morals--lafayette's progress--hooking minerals--a philosophical work on the indians--indian biography by samuel s. conant--want of books on american archaeology--douglass's proposed work on the expedition of . chapter xxii. parallelism of customs--home scenes--visit to washington--indian work respecting the western tribes--indian biography--professor carter--professor silliman--spiteful prosecution--publication of travels in the mississippi valley--a northern pocahontas--return to the lakes--a new enterprise suggested--impressions of turkeys' feet in rock--surrender of the chippewa war party, who committed the murders in , at lake pepin--their examination, and the commitment of the actual murderers. chapter xxiii. trip to prairie du chien on the mississippi--large assemblage of tribes--their appearance and character--sioux, winnebagoes, chippewas, &c.--striking and extraordinary appearance of the sacs and foxes, and of the iowas--keokuk--mongazid's speech--treaty of limits--whisky question--a literary impostor--journey through the valleys of the fox and wisconsin rivers--incidents--menomonies--a big nose--wisconsin portage. chapter xxiv. descent of fox river--blackbirds--menomonies--rice fields--starving indians--thunder storm--dream--an indian struck dead with lightning--green bay--death of colonel haines--incidents of the journey from green bay to michilimackinack--reminiscences of my early life and travels--choiswa--further reminiscences of my early life--ruins of the first mission of father marquette--reach michilimackinack. chapter xxv. journey from mackinack to the sault ste. marie--outard point--head winds--lake huron in a rage--desperate embarkation--st. vital--double the detour--return to st. mary's--letters--"indian girl"--new volume of travels--guess' cherokee alphabet--new views of the indian languages and their principles of construction--georgia question--post-office difficulties--glimpses from the civilized world. chapter xxvi. general aspects of the indian cause--public criticism on the state of indian researches, and literary storm raised by the new views--political rumor--death of r. pettibone, esq.--delegate election--copper mines of lake superior--instructions for a treaty in the north--death of mr. pettit--denial of post-office facilities--arrival of commissioners to hold the fond du lac treaty--trip to fond du lac through lake superior--treaty--return--deaths of john adams and thomas jefferson. chapter xxvii. epidemical condition of the atmosphere at detroit--death of henry j. hunt and a.g. whitney, esqrs.--diary of the visits of indians at st. mary's agency--indian affairs on the frontier under the supervision of col. mckenney--criticisms on the state of indian questions--topic of indian eloquence--state of american researches in natural science--dr. saml. l. mitchell. chapter xxviii. mineralogy--territorial affairs--vindication of the american policy by its treatment of the indians--new york spirit of improvement--taste for cabinets of natural history--fatalism in an indian--death of a first born son--flight from the house--territorial matters--a literary topic--preparations for another treaty--consolations--boundary in the north-west under the treaty of ghent--natural history--trip to green bay--treaty of butte des morts--winnebago outbreak--intrepid conduct of general cass--indian stabbing--investment of the petticoat--mohegan language. chapter xxix. treaty of butte des morts--rencontre of an indian with grizzly bears--agency site at elmwood--its picturesque and sylvan character--legislative council of the territory--character of its parties, as hang-backs and toe-the-marks--critical reviews--christmas. chapter xxx. retrospect--united states exploring expedition to the south sea--humanity of an indian--trip to detroit from the icy straits--incidental action of the massachusetts and rhode island historical societies, and of the montreal natural history society--united states exploring expedition--climatology--lake vessels ill found--poetic view of the indian--united states exploring expedition--theory of the interior world--natural history--united states exploring expedition--history of early legislation in michigan--return to st. mary's--death of governor de witt clinton. chapter xxxi. official journal of the indian intercourse--question of freedmen, or persons not bonded for--indian chiefs, chacopee, neenaby, mukwakwut, _tems couvert_, shingabowossin, guelle plat, grosse guelle--further notice of wampum-hair--red devil--biographical notice of guelle plat, or flat mouth--_brechet_--meeshug, a widow--iauwind--mongazid, chief of fond du lac--chianokwut--white bird--annamikens, the hero of a bear fight, &c. &c. chapter xxxii. natural history of the north-west--northern zoology--fox--owl--reindeer--a dastardly attempt at murder by a soldier--lawless spread of the population of northern illinois over the winnebago land--new york lyceum of natural history--u.s. ex. ex.--fiscal embarrassments in the department--medical cause of indian depopulation--remarks of dr. pitcher--erroneous impressions of the indian character--reviews--death of john johnston, esq. chapter xxxiii. treaty of st. joseph--tanner--visits of the indians in distress--letters from the civilized world--indian code projected--cause of indian suffering--the indian cause--estimation of the character of the late mr. johnston--autobiography--historical society of michigan--fiscal embarrassments of the indian department. chapter xxxiv. political horizon--ahmo society--incoming of gen. jackson's administration--amusements of the winter--peace policy among the indians--revival at mackinack--money crisis--idea of lake tides--new indian code--anti-masonry--missions among the indians--copper mines--the policy respecting them settled--whisky among the indians--fur trade--legislative council--mackinack mission--officers of wayne's war--historical society of michigan--improved diurnal press. chapter xxxv. the new administration--intellectual contest in the senate--sharp contest for mayoralty of detroit--things shaping at washington--perilous trip on the ice--medical effects of this exposure--legislative council--visit to niagara falls--a visitor of note--history---character of the chippewas--ish-ko-da-wau-bo--rotary sails--hostilities between the chippewas and sioux--friendship and badinage--social intercourse--sanillac--gossip--expedition to lake superior--winter session of the council--historical disclosure--historical society of rhode island--domestic--french revolution. chapter xxxvi. lecture before the lyceum--temperature in the north--rum and taxes--a mild winter adverse to indians--death of a friend--christian atonement--threats of a caliban, or an indianized white man--indian emporium--bringing up children--youth gone astray--mount hope institution--expedition into the indian country--natural history of the united states--a reminiscence--voyage inland. chapter xxxvii. lake superior--its shores and character--geology--brigade of boats--dog and porcupine--burrowing birds--otter--keweena point--unfledged ducks--minerals--canadian resource in a tempest of rain--tramp in search of the picturesque--search for native copper--isle royal descried--indian precaution--their ingenuity--lake action--nebungunowin river--eagles--indian tomb--kaug wudju. chapter xxxviii. lake shores--sub-indian agency--indian transactions--old fort, site of a tragedy--maskigo river; its rapids and character--great wunnegum portage--botany--length of the mauvais--indian carriers--lake kagenogumaug--portage lakes--namakagun river, its character, rapids, pine lands, &c.--pukwaéwa village--a new species of native fruit--incidents on the namakagun; its birds, plants, &c. chapter xxxix. council with the indians at yellow lake--policy of the treaty of prairie du chien of --speech of shaiwunegunaibee--mounds of yellow river--indian manners and customs--pictography--natural history--nude indians--geology--portage to lac courtorielle--lake of the isles--ottawa lake--council--war party--mozojeed's speech--tecumseh--mozojeed's lodge--indian movements--trip to the red cedar fork--ca ta--lake chetac--indian manners. chapter xl. betula lake--larch lake--a war party surprised--indian manners--rice lake--indian council--red cedar lake--speeches of wabezhais and neenaba--equal division of goods--orifice for treading out rice--a live beaver--notices of natural history--value of the follavoine valley--a medal of the third president--war dance--ornithology--a prairie country, fertile and abounding in game--saw mills--chippewa river--snake--la garde mountain--descent of the mississippi--sioux village--general impression of the mississippi--arrival at prairie du chien. chapter xli. death of mr. monroe--affair of the massacre of the menomonies by the foxes--descent to galena--trip in the lead mine country to fort winnebago--gratiot's grove--sac and fox disturbances--black hawk--irish diggings--willow springs--vanmater's lead--an escape from falling into a pit--mineral point--ansley's copper mine--gen. dodge's--mr. brigham's--sugar creek--four lakes--seven mile prairie--a night in the woods--reach port winnebago--return to the sault--political changes in the cabinet--gov. cass called to washington--religious changes--g.b. porter appointed governor--natural history--character of the new governor--arrival of the rev. jeremiah porter--organization of a church. chapter xlii. revival of st. mary's--rejection of mr. van buren as minister to england--botany and natural history of the north-west--project of a new expedition to find the sources of the mississippi--algic society--consolidation of the agencies of st. mary's and michilimackinack--good effects of the american home missionary society--organization of a new inland exploring expedition committed to me--its objects and composition of the corps of observers. chapter xliii. expedition to, and discovery of, itasca lake, the source of the mississippi river--brief notice of the journey to the point of former geographical discovery in the basin of upper red cedar, or cass lake--ascent and portage to queen anne's lake--lake pemetascodiac--the ten, or metoswa rapids--pemidgegomag, or cross-water lake--lake irving--lake marquette--lake la salle--lake plantagenet--ascent of the plantagenian pork--naiwa, or copper-snake river--agate rapids and portage--assawa lake--portage over the hauteur des terres--itasca lake--its picturesque character--geographical and astronomical position--historical data. chapter xliv. descent of the mississippi river, from itasca lake to cass lake--traits of its bank--kabika falls--upsetting of a canoe--river descends by steps, and through narrow rocky passes--portage to the source of the crow-wing river--moss lake--shiba lake--leech lake--warpool lake--long lake mountain portage--kaginogomanug--vermilion lake--ossawa lake--shell river--leaf river--long prairie river--kioskk, or gull river--arrival at its mouth--descent to the falls of st. anthony, and st. peter's--return to st. mary's. chapter xlv. letter from a mother--cholera--indian war--royal geographical society--determine to leave the sault--death of miss cass--death of rev. mr. richard--notice of the establishment of a methodist mission at the sault--the sault a religions place--botany and natural history--new york university organized--algic society--canadian boat song--chaplains in the army--letter from a missionary--affairs at mackinack--hazards of lake commerce--question of the temperance reform--dr. d. houghton--south carolina resists--gen. jackson re-elected president. chapter xlvi. an indian woman builds a church--conchology--south carolina prepares to resist the revenue laws--moral affairs--geography--botany--chippewas and sioux--a native evangelist in john sunday--his letter in english; its philological value--the plural pronoun _we_--an indian battle--political affairs--south carolina affairs--tariff compromise of mr. clay--algic society; it employs native evangelists--plan of visiting europe--president's tour--history of detroit--fresh-water shells--lake tides--prairie--country--reminiscence. chapter xlvii. earliest point of french occupancy in the area of the upper lakes--removal of my residence from the sault st. marie to the island of michilimackinack--trip to new york--its objects--american philosophical society--michilimackinack; its etymology--the rage for investment in western lands begins--traditions of saganosh--of porlier--of perrault--of captain thorn--of the chief, old wing--of mudjekewis, of thunder bay--character of indian tradition respecting the massacre at old fort mackinack in . chapter xlviii. anniversary of the algic society--traditions of chusco and mukudapenais respecting gen. wayne's treaty--saliferous column in american geology--fact in lake commerce--traditions of mrs. dousman and mr. abbott respecting the first occupation of the island of michilimackinack--question of the substantive verb in the chippewa language--meteoric phenomena during the month of december--historical fact--minor incidents. chapter xlix. population of michilimackinack--notices of the weather--indian name of the wolverine--harbor closed--intensity of temperature which can be borne--domestic incidents--state of the weather--fort mackinack unsuccessfully attacked in --ossiganoc--death of an indian woman--death of my sister--harbor open--indian name of the sabbath day--horticultural amusement--tradition of the old church door--turpid conduct of thomas shepard, and his fate--wind, tempests, sleet, snow--a vessel beached in the harbor--attempt of the american fur company to force ardent spirits into the country, against the authority of the agent. chapter l. visit to isle bond--site of an ancient indian village--ossarie--indian prophet--traditions of chusco and yon respecting the ancient village and bone deposit--indian speech--tradition of mrs. la fromboise respecting chicago--etymology of the name--origin of the bonga family among the chippewas--traditions of viancour--of nolan--of the chief aishquagonaibe, and of sagitondowa--evidences of antique cultivation on the island of mackinack--view of affairs at washington--the senate an area of intellectual excitement--a road directed to be cut through the wilderness from saginaw--traditions of ossaganac and of little bear skin respecting the lake tribes. chapter li. trip to detroit--american fur company; its history and organization--american lyceum; its objects--desire to write books on indian subjects by persons not having the information to render them valuable--reappearance of cholera--mission of mackinack; its history and condition--visit of a russian officer of the imperial guards--chicago; its prime position for a great _entrepôt_--area and destiny of the mississippi valley. chapter lii. philology--structure of the indian languages--letter from mr. duponceau--question of the philosophy of the chippewa syntax--letter from a russian officer on his travels in the west--queries on the physical history of the north--leslie duncan, a maniac--arwin on the force of dissipation--missionary life on the sources of the mississippi--letter from mr. boutwell--theological review--the territory of michigan, tired of a long delay, determines to organize a state government. chapter liii. indications of a moral revolution in the place--political movements at detroit--review of the state of society at michilimackinack, arising from its being the great central power of the north-west fur trade--a letter from dr. greene--prerequisites of the missionary function--discouragements--the state of the mackinack mission--problem of employing native teachers and evangelists--letter of mr. duponceau--ethnological gossip--translation of the bible into algonquin--don m. najera--premium offered by the french institute--persistent satanic influence among the indian tribes--boundary dispute with ohio--character of the state convention. chapter liv. requirements of a missionary laborer--otwin--american quadrupeds--geological question--taste of an indian chief for horticulture--swiss missionaries to the indians--secretary of war visits the island--frivolous literary, diurnal, and periodical press--letter of dr. ives on this topic--lost boxes of minerals and fresh-water shells--geological visit of mr. featherstonehaugh and lieut. mather--mr. hastings--a theological graduate. chapter lv. rage for investment in western lands---habits of the common deer--question of the punishment of indian murders committed in the indian country--a chief calls to have his authority recognized on the death of a predecessor--dr. julius, of prussia--gen. robert patterson--pressure of emigration--otwin--dr. gilman and mr. hoffman--picturesque trip to lake superior--indians desire to cede territory--g.w. featherstonehaugh--sketch of his geological reconnoissance of the st. peter's river--dr. thomas h. webb--question of inscriptions on american rocks--antiquities--embark for washington, and come down the lakes in the great tempest of . chapter lvi. florida war--startling news of the massacre of dade--peoria on the illinois--abanaki language--oregon--things shaping for a territorial claim--responsibility of claim in an enemy's country--a true soldier--southern literary messenger--missionary cause--resources of missouri--indian portfolio of lewis--literary gossip--sir francis head--the crane and addik totem--treaty of march th, , with the ottawas and chippewas--treaty with the saginaws of may th--treaty with the swan creek and black river chippewas of may th--return to michilimackinack--death of charlotte, the daughter of songageezhig. chapter lvii. home matters--massachusetts historical society--question of the u.s. senate's action on certain treaties of the lake indians--hugh l. white--dr. morton's crania americana--letter from mozojeed--state of the pillagers--visit of dr. follen and miss martineau--treaty movements--young lord selkirk--character and value of upper michigan--hon. john norvell's letter--literary items--execution of the treaty of march th--amount of money paid--effects of the treaty--baron de behr-ornithology. chapter lviii. value of the equivalent territory granted to michigan, by congress, for the disputed ohio boundary--rapid improvement of michigan--allegan--indian legend--baptism and death of kagcosh, a very aged chief at st. mary's--new system of writing indian, proposed by mr. nash--indian names for new towns--a bishop's notion of the reason for applying to government for education funds under indian treaties--mr. gallatin's paper on the indians--the temperance movement. chapter lix. difficulties resulting from a false impression of the indian character--treaty with the saginaws--ottawas of grand river establish themselves in a colony in barry county--payments to the ottawas of maumee, ohio--temperance--assassination of young aitkin by an indian at leech lake--mackinack mission abandoned--wyandots complain of a trespass from a mill-dam--mohegans of green bay apply for aid on their way to visit stockbridge, mass.--mohegan traditions--historical society--programme of a tour in the east--parental disobedience--indian treaties--dr. warren's collection of crania--hebrew language--geology--"goods offer"--mrs. jameson--mastodon's tooth in michigan--captain marryatt--the icelandic language--munsees--speech of little bear skin chief, or mukónsewyán. chapter lx. notions of foreigners about america--mrs. jameson--appraisements of indian property--le jeune's early publication on the iroquois--troops for florida--a question of indian genealogy--annuity payments--indians present a claim of salvage--death of the prophet chusco--indian sufferings--gen. dodge's treaty--additional debt claims--gazetteer of michigan--stone's life of brant--university of michigan--christian keepsake--indian etymology--small-pox breaks out on the missouri--missionary operations in the north-west--treaty of flint river with the saginaws. chapter lxi. tradition of pontiac's conspiracy and death--patriot war--expedition of a body of men to boisblanc--question of schools and missions among the indians--indian affairs--storm at michilimackinack--life of brant--interpreterships and indian language--a mohegan--affair of the "caroline"--makons--plan of names for new towns--indian legends--florida war--patriot war--arrival of gen. scott on the frontiers--résumé of the difficulties of the florida war--natural history and climate of florida--death of dr. lutner. chapter lxii. indians tampered with at grand river--small-pox in the missouri valley--living history at home--sunday schools--agriculture--indian names--murder of the glass family--dr. morton's inquiries respecting indian crania--necessity of one's writing his name plain--michigan gazetteer in preparation--attempt to make the indian a political pack-horse--return to the agency of michilimackinack--indian skulls phrenologically examined--j. toulmin smith--cherokee question--trip to grand river--treaty and annuity payments--the department accused of injustice to the indians. chapter lxiii. missions--hard times, consequent on over-speculation--question of the rise of the lakes--scientific theory--trip to washington--trip to lake superior and the straits of st. mary--john tanner--indian improvements north of michilimackinack--great cave--isle nabiquon--superstitious ideas of the indians connected with females--scotch royals--mckenzie--climate of the united states--foreign coins and natural history--antique fort in adams county, ohio--royal society of northern antiquaries--statistics of lands purchased from the indians--sun's eclipse--government payments. chapter lxiv. descendant of one spared at the massacre of st. bartholomew's--death of gen. clarke--massacre of peurifoy's family in florida--gen. harrison's historical discourse--death of an emigrant on board a steamboat--murder of an indian--history of mackinack--incidents of the treaty of th july, --mr. fleming's account of the missionaries leaving georgia, and of the improvements of the indians west--death of black hawk--incidents of his life and character--dreadful cruelty of the pawnees in burning a female captive--cherokee emigration--phrenology--return to detroit--university--indian affairs--cherokee removal--indians shot at fort snelling. chapter lxv. embark for new york--a glimpse of texan affairs--toltecan monuments--indian population of texas--horrible effects of drinking ardent spirits among the indians--mr. gallatin--his opinions on various subjects of philosophy and history--visit to the south--philadelphia--washington--indian affairs--debt claim--leave to visit europe--question of neutrality--mr. van buren--american imaginative literature--knickerbocker--résumé of the indian question of sovereignty. chapter lxvi. sentiments of loyalty--northern antiquarian society--indian statistics-- rhode island historical society--gen. macomb--lines in the odjibwa language by a mother on placing her children at school--mehemet ali--mrs. jameson's opinion on publishers and publishing--her opinion of my indian legends--false report of a new indian language--indian compound words--delafield's antiquities--american fur company--state of indian disturbances in texas and florida--causes of the failure of the war in florida, by an officer--death of an indian chief--mr. bancroft's opinion on the dighton rook inscription--skroellings not in new england--mr. gallatin's opinion on points of esquimaux language, connected with our knowledge of our archaeology. chapter lxvii. workings of unshackled mind--comity of the american addison--lake periodical fluctuations--american antiquities--indian doings in florida and texas--wood's new england's prospect--philological and historical comments--death of ningwegon--creeks--brothertons made citizens--charles fenno hoffman--indian names for places on the hudson--christians indians--etymology--theodoric--appraisements of indian property--algic researches--plan and object. chapter lxviii. american antiquities--michilimackinack a summer resort--death of ogimau keegido--brothertons--an indian election--cherokee murders--board of regents of the michigan university--archaeological facts and rumors--woman of the green valley--a new variety of fish--visits of the austrian and sardinian ministers to the u.s.--mr. gallup--sioux murders--a remarkable display of aurora borealis--ottawas of maumee--extent of auroral phenomena--potawattomie cruelty--mineralogy--death of ondiaka--chippewa tradition--fruit trees--stone's preparation of the life and times of sir william johnson--dialectic difference between the language of the ottawas and the chippewas--philological remarks on the indian languages--mr. t. hulbert. chapter lxix. popular error respecting the indian character and history--remarkable superstition--theodoric--a missionary choosing a wild flower--piety and money--a fiscal collapse in michigan--mission of grand traverse--simplicity of the school-girl's hopes--singular theory of the indians respecting story-telling--oldest allegory on record--political aspects--seneca treaty--mineralogy--farming and mission station on lake michigan. chapter lxx. death of col. lawrence schoolcraft--perils of the revolutionary era--otwin--mr. bancroft's history in the feature of its indian relations--a tradition of a noted chief on lake michigan--the collection of information for a historical volume--opinions of mr. paulding, dr. webster, mr. duer, john quincy adams--holyon and alholyon--family monument--mr. stevenson, american minister at london--joanna baillie--wisconsin--ireland--detroit--michilimackinack. chapter lxxi. philology of the indian tongues--its difficulties--belles lettres and money--michigan and georgia--number of species in natural history--etymology--nebahquam's dream--trait in indian legends--pictography--numeration of the races of polynesia and the upper lakes--love of one's native tongue--death of gen. harrison--rush for office on his inauguration--ornamental and shade trees--historical collections--mission of "old wing". chapter lxxii. popular common school education--iroquois name for mackinack--its scenic beauties poetically considered--phenomenon of two currents of adverse wind meeting--audubon's proposed work on american quadrupeds--adario--geographical range of the mocking-bird--removal from the west to the city of new york--an era accomplished--visit to europe. sketches of the life of henry a. schoolcraft. * * * * * the early period at which mr. schoolcraft entered the field of observation in the united states as a naturalist; the enterprise he has from the outset manifested in exploring the geography and geology of the great west; and his subsequent researches as an ethnologist, in investigating the indian languages and history, are well known to the public, and may be appropriately referred to as the grounds of the present design, in furnishing some brief and connected sketches of his life, family, studies, and literary labors. he is an example of what early and continued zeal, talent, and diligence, united with energy of character and consistent moral habits, may accomplish in the cause of letters and science, by the force of solitary application, without the advantage of hereditary wealth, the impulse of patronage, or the _prestige_ of early academic honors. ardent in the pursuit of whatever engaged his attention, quick in the observation of natural phenomena, and assiduous in the accumulation of facts; with an ever present sense of their practical and useful bearing--few men, in our modern history, have accomplished so much, in the lines of research he has chosen, to render science popular and letters honorable. to him we are indebted for our first accounts of the geological constitution, and the mineral wealth and resources of the great valley beyond the alleghanies, and he is the discoverer of the actual source of the mississippi river in itasca lake. for many years, beginning with , he stirred up a zeal for natural history from one end of the land to the other, and, after his settlement in the west, he was a point of approach for correspondents, as his personal memoirs denote, not only on these topics, but for all that relates to the indian tribes, in consequence of which he has been emphatically pronounced "the red man's friend." mr. schoolcraft is a native of new york, and is the descendant in the third generation, by the paternal line, of an englishman. james calcraft had served with reputation in the armies of the duke of marlborough during the reign of queen anne, and was present in that general's celebrated triumphs on the continent, in one of which he lost an eye, from the premature explosion of the priming of a cannon. owing to these military services he enjoyed and cherished a high reputation for bravery and loyalty. he was a descendant of a family of that name, who came to england with william the conqueror--and settled under grants from the crown in nottinghamshire and lincolnshire--three separate branches of the family having received the honor of knighthood for their military services. in the reign of george the second, consequently after , he embarked at liverpool in a detachment of veteran troops, intended to act against canada. he was present in the operations connected with the building of forts anne and edwards, on the north river, and fort william henry on lake george. at the conclusion of these campaigns he settled in albany county, n.y., which has continued to be the residence of the family for more than a century. being a man of education, he at first devoted himself to the business of a land surveyor, in which capacity he was employed by col. vroman, to survey the boundaries of his tract of land in the then frontier settlement of schoharie. at the latter place he married the only daughter and child of christian camerer, one of the palatines--a body of determined saxons who had emigrated from the upper rhine in , under the assurance or expectation of a patent from queen anne.[ ] this marriage he had eight children--namely, james, christian, john, margaret, elizabeth, lawrence, william, and helen. [footnote : simms' schoharie.] for many years during his old age, he conducted a large school in this settlement, being the first english school that was taught in that then frontier part of the country. this appears to be the only tenable reason that has been assigned for the change of the family name from calcraft to schoolcraft. when far advanced in life, he went to live with his son william, on the new york grants on otter creek, in the rich agricultural region south of lake champlain--which is now included in vermont. here he died at the great age of one hundred and two, having been universally esteemed for his loyalty to his king, his personal courage and energy, and the uprightness of his character. after the death of his father, when the revolutionary troubles commenced, william, his youngest son, removed into lower canada. the other children all remained in albany county, except christian, who, when the jangling land disputes and conflicts of titles arose in schoharie, followed conrad wiser, esq. (a near relative), to the banks of the susquehanna. he appears eventually to have pushed his way to buchanan river, one of the sources of the monongahela, in lewis county, virginia, where some of his descendants must still reside. it appears that they became deeply involved in the indian wars which the shawnees kept up on the frontiers of virginia. in this struggle they took an active part, and were visited with the severest retribution by the marauding indians. it is stated by withers that, between and , not less than fifteen of this family, men, women, and children, were killed or taken prisoners, and carried into captivity.[ ] [footnote : _chronicles of the border warfare in north-western virginia_. by alex withers, clarksbury, virginia, . vol. mo. page .] of the other children of the original progenitor, james, the eldest son, died a bachelor. lawrence was the ancestor of the persons of this name in schoharie county. elizabeth and helen married, in that county, in the families of rose and haines, and, margaret, the eldest daughter, married col. green brush, of the british army, at the house of gen. bradstreet, albany. her daughter, miss francis brush, married the celebrated col. ethan allen, after his return from the tower of london. john, the third son, settled in watervleit, in the valley of the norman's kill--or, as the indians called it, towasentha--albany county. he served in a winter's campaign against oswego, in , and took part also in the successful siege and storming of fort niagara, under gen. prideaux [ ] and sir william johnson, in the summer of . he married a miss anna barbara boss, by whom he had three children, namely, anne, lawrence, and john. he had the local reputation of great intrepidity, strong muscular power, and unyielding decision of character. he died at the age of . lawrence, his eldest son, had entered his seventeenth year when the american revolution broke out. he embraced the patriotic sentiments of that era with great ardor, and was in the first revolutionary procession that marched through and canvassed the settlement with martial music, and the committee of safety at its head, to determine who was whig or tory. [footnote : this officer was shot in the trenches, which devolved the command on sir william.] the military element had always commanded great respect in the family, and he did not wait to be older, but enrolled himself among the defenders of his country. he was present, in , when the declaration of independence was read to the troops drawn up in hollow square at ticonderoga. he marched under gen. schuyler to the relief of montgomery, at quebec, and continued to be an indomitable actor in various positions, civil and military, in the great drama of the revolution during its entire continuance. in , the darkest and most hopeless period of our revolutionary contest, he led a reinforcement from albany to fort stanwix, up the mohawk valley, then alive with hostile indians and tories, and escaped them all, and he was in this fort, under col. ganzevoort, during its long and close siege by col. st. leger and his infuriated indian allies. the whole embodied militia of the mohawk valley marched to its relief, under the bold and patriotic gen. herkimer. they were met by the mohawks, onondagas, and senecas, and british loyalists, lying in ambush on the banks of the oriskany, eight miles from the fort. a dreadful battle ensued. gen. herkimer was soon wounded in the thigh, his leg broken, and his horse shot under him. with the coolness of a blucher, he then directed his saddle to be placed on a small knoll, and, drawing out his tobacco-box, lit his pipe and calmly smoked while his brave and unconquerable men fought around him. this was one of the most stoutly contested battles of the revolution. campbell says: "this battle made orphans of half the inhabitants of the mohawk valley." [ ] it was a desperate struggle between neighbors, who were ranged on opposite sides as whig and tory, and it was a triumph, herkimer remaining master of the field. during the hottest of the battle, col. willett stepped on to the esplanade of the fort, where the troops were paraded, and requested all who were willing to fight for liberty and join a party for the relief of herkimer, to step forward one pace. schoolcraft was the first to advance. two hundred and fifty men followed him. an immediate sally was made. they carried the camp of sir john johnson; took all his baggage, military-chest, and papers; drove him through the mohawk river; and then turned upon the howling mohawks and swept and fired their camp. the results of this battle were brilliant. the plunder was immense. the lines of the besiegers, which had been thinned by the forces sent to oriskany, were carried, and the noise of firing and rumors of a reinforcement, animated the hearts of the indomitable men of that day. [footnote : annals of teyon county.] after the victory, herkimer was carried by his men, in a litter, thirty or forty miles to his own house, below the present town of herkimer, where he died, from an unskillful amputation, having just concluded reading to his family the th psalm. but the most dangerous enemy to the cause of freedom was not to be found in the field, but among neighbors who were lurking at midnight around the scenes of home. the districts of albany and schoharie was infested by tories, and young schoolcraft was ever on the _qui vive_ to ferret out this most insidious and cruel of the enemy's power. on one occasion he detected a tory, who had returned from canada with a lieutenant's commission in his pocket. he immediately clapped spurs to his horse, and reported him to gov. george clinton, the chairman of the committee of safety at albany. within three days the lieutenant was seized, tried, condemned and hanged. indeed, a volume of anecdotes might be written of lawrence schoolcraft's revolutionary life; suffice it to say, that he was a devoted, enthusiastic, enterprizing soldier and patriot, and came out of the contest with an adjutant's commission and a high reputation for bravery. about the close of the revolutionary war, he married miss margaret anne barbara rowe, a native of fishkill, duchess county, new york, by whom he had thirteen children. his disciplinary knowledge and tact in the government of men, united to amenity of manners, led to his selection in , by the hon. jeremiah van rensselaer, as director of his extensive glass works at hamilton, near albany, which he conducted with high reputation so many years, during which time he bore several important civil and military trusts in the county. the importance of this manufacture to the new settlements at that early day, was deeply felt, and his ability and skill in the management of these extensive works were widely known and appreciated. when the war of appeared inevitable, gen. ganzevoort, his old commanding officer at fort stanwix, who was now at the head of the u.s. army, placed him in command of the first regiment of uniformed volunteers, who were mustered into service for that conflict. his celebrity in the manufacture of glass, led capitalists in western new york to offer him large inducements to remove there, where he first introduced this manufacture during the settlement of that new and attractive part of the state, in which a mania for manufactories was then rife. in this new field the sphere of his activity and skill were greatly enlarged, and he enjoyed the consideration and respect of his townsmen for many years. he died at vernon, oneida county, in , at the age of eighty-four, having lived long to enjoy the success of that independence for which he had ardently thirsted and fought. a handsome monument on the banks of the skenando bears the inscription "a patriot, a christian, and an honest man." a man who was never governed by expediency but by right, and in all his expressions of opinion, original and fearless of consequences. these details of the life and character of col. lawrence schoolcraft, appeared proper in proceeding to speak of one of his sons, who has for so considerable a period occupied the public attention as an actor in other fields, requiring not less energy, decision, enterprise and perseverance of character. henry rowe schoolcraft was born in albany county, on the th of march, , during the second presidential term of washington. his childhood and youth were spent in the village of hamilton, a place once renowned for its prosperous manufactories, but which has long since verified the predictions of the bard-- "that trade's proud empire hastes to swift decay, as ocean sweeps the labored mole away." its location is on one of the beautiful and sparkling affluents of the towasentha or norman's kill, popularly called the hongerkill, which he has in one of his occasional publications called the iósco, from an aboriginal term. that picturesque and lofty arm of the catskills, which is called the helderberg, bounds the landscape on the west and south, while the pine plains occupy the form of a crescent, between the mohawk and the hudson, bearing the cities of albany and schenectady respectively on its opposite edges. across this crescent-like plain of pines, by a line of sixteen miles, was the ancient iroquois war and trading path. the towasentha lies on the south borders of this plain, and was, on the first settlement of the country, the seat of an indian population. here, during the official term of gen. hamilton, whose name the village bears, the capitalists of albany planted a manufacturing village. the position is one where the arable forest and farming lands are bounded by the half arabic waste of the pine plains of the honicroisa, whose deep gorges are still infested by the wolf and smaller animals. the whole valley of the norman's kill abounds in lovely and rural scenes, and quiet retreats and waterfalls, which are suited to nourish poetic tastes. in these he indulged from his thirteenth year, periodically writing, and as judgment ripened, destroying volumes of manuscripts, while at the same time he evinced uncommon diligence at his books and studies. the poetic talent was, indeed, strongly developed. his power of versification was early and well formed, and the pieces which were published anonymously at a maturer period, as "geehale," and "the iroquois," &c., have long been embodied without a name in our poetic literature. but this faculty, of which we have been permitted to see the manuscript of some elaborate and vigorous trains of thought, did not impede a decided intellectual progress in sterner studies in the sciences and arts. his mind was early imbued with a thirst of knowledge, and he made such proficiency as to attract the notice of persons of education and taste. there was developed, too, in him, an early bias for the philosophy of language. mr. van kleeck, a townsman, in a recent letter to dr. r.w. griswold, says:-- "i revert with great pleasure to the scenes of my residence, in the part of albany county which was also the residence of henry r. schoolcraft. i went to reside at the village of hamilton, in the town of guilderland, in . col. lawrence schoolcraft, the father of henry, had then the direction of the large manufactories of glass, for which that place was long noted. the standing of young henry, i remember, at his school, for scholarship, was then very noted, and his reputation in the village most prominent. he was spoken of as a lad of great promise, and a very learned boy at twelve. mr. robert buchanan, a scotchman, and a man of learning, took much pride in his advances, and finally came to his father and told him that he had taught him all he knew. in latin, i think he was taught by cleanthus felt. he was at this age very arduous and assiduous in the pursuit of knowledge. he discovered great mechanical ingenuity. he drew and painted in water colors, and attracted the notice of the hon. jeremiah van rensselaer, lt. governor of the state, who became so much interested in his advancement, that he took the initial steps to have him placed with a master. at an early age he manifested a taste for mineralogy and natural science, which was then (i speak of about ) almost unknown in the country. he was generally to be found at home, at his studies, when other boys of his age were attending horseraces, cock-fights, and other vicious amusements for which the village was famous. "at this time he organized with persevering effort, a literary society, in which discussions took place by the intelligent inhabitants on subjects of popular and learned interests. at an early age, i think sixteen, he went to the west, and the first that was afterwards heard of him was his bringing to new york a splendid collection of the mineralogy and natural history of the west." [ ] [footnote : letter of l.l. van kleeck, esq., to dr. r.w. griswold, june th, .] in a part of the country where books were scarce, it was not easy to supply this want. he purchased several editions of english classics at the sale of the valuable library of dirck ten broeck, esq., of albany, and his room in a short time showed the elements of a library and a cabinet of minerals, and drawings, which were arranged with the greatest care and neatness. having finished his primary studies, with high reputation, he prepared, under an improved instructor, to enter union college. it was at the age of fifteen that he set on foot, as mr. van kleeck mentions, an association for mental improvement. these meetings drew together persons of literary tastes and acquirements in the vicinity. the late john v. veeder, wm. mckown, and l.l. van kleeck, esqs., mr. robert alsop, the late john schoolcraft, esq., g. batterman, john sloan, and other well-known gentlemen of the town, all of whom were his seniors in age, attended these meetings. mineralogy was at that time an almost unknown science in the united states. at first the heavy drift stratum of albany county, as seen in the bed of norman's kill; and its deep cuttings in the slate and other rocks, were his field of mineralogical inquiries. afterwards, while living at lake dunmore, in addison county, vermont, he revised and systematized the study under the teaching of professor hall, of middlebury college, to which he added chemistry, natural philosophy and medicine. having now the means, he erected a chemical furnace, and ordered books, apparatus, and tests from the city of new york. by these means he perfected the arts which were under his direction in the large way; and he made investigations of the phenomena of the fusion of various bodies, which he prepared for the press under the name of vitriology, an elaborate work of research. amongst the facts brought to light, it is apprehended, were revealed the essential principles of an art which is said to have been discovered and lost in the days of tiberius caesar. he taught himself the hebrew and german, with the aid only of grammars and lexicons; and, with the assistance of instructors, the reading of french. his assiduity, his love of method, the great value he attached to time, and his perseverance in whatever study or research he undertook, were indeed indomitable, and serve to prove how far they will carry the mind, and how much surer tests they are of ultimate usefulness and attainment, than the most dazzling genius without these moral props. self-dependent, self-acting, and self-taught, it is apprehended that few men, with so little means and few advantages, have been in so peculiar a sense the architect of their own fortunes. he commenced writing for the newspapers and periodicals in , in which year he also published a poetic tribute to a friend, which excited local notice, and was attributed to a person of literary celebrity. for, notwithstanding the gravity of his studies and researches, he had indulged an early poetic taste for a series of years, by compositions of an imaginative character, and might, it should seem, have attained distinction in that way. his remarks in the "_literary and philosophical repertory_," on the evolvement of hydrogen gas from the strata of western new york, under the name of burning springs, evinced an early aptitude for philosophical discussion. in a notice of some archaeological discoveries made in hamburgh, erie county, which were published at utica in , he first denoted the necessity of discriminating between the antique french and european, and the aboriginal period in our antiquities; for the want of which discrimination, casual observers and discoverers of articles in our tumuli are perpetually over-estimating the state of ancient art. about he issued proposals, and made arrangements to publish his elaborated work on vitreology, which, so far as published, was favorably received. in he was attracted to go to the valley of the mississippi. a new world appeared to be opening for american enterprise there. its extent and resources seemed to point it out as the future residence of millions; and he determined to share in the exploration of its geography, geology, mineralogy and general ethnology, for in this latter respect also it offered, by its curious mounds and antiquities and existing indian tribes, a field of peculiar and undeveloped interest. he approached this field of observation by descending the alleghany river from western new york to the ohio. he made pittsburgh, cincinnati, and louisville centres of observation. at the latter place he published in the papers an account of the discovery of a body of the black oxide of manganese, on the banks of the great sandy river of kentucky, and watched the return papers from the old atlantic states, to see whether notices of this kind would be copied and approved. finding this test favorable, he felt encouraged in his mineralogical researches. having descended the ohio to its mouth one thousand miles, by its involutions below pittsburgh, and entered the _mississippi_, he urged his way up the strong and turbid channel of the latter, in barges, by slow stages of five or six miles a day, to st. louis. this slowness of travel gave him an opportunity of exploring on foot the whole of the missouri shore, so noted, from early spanish and french days, for its mines. after visiting the mounds of illinois, he recrossed the mississippi into the mineral district of missouri. making potosi the centre of his survey and the deposit of his collections, he executed a thorough examination of that district, where he found some seventy mines scattered over a large surface of the public domain, which yielded, at the utmost, by a very desultory process, about three millions of pounds of lead annually. having explored this region very minutely, he wished to ascertain its geological connection with the ozark and other highland ranges, which spread at the foot of the rocky mountains, and he planned an exploratory expedition into that region. this bold and hazardous journey he organized and commenced at potosi early in the month of november, , and prosecuted it under many disadvantages during that fall and the succeeding winter. several expert and practiced woodsmen were to have been of this party, but when the time for setting out came all but two failed, under various excuses. one of these was finally obliged to turn back from _mine au breton_ with a continued attack of fever and ague. ardent in the plan, and with a strong desire to extend the dominions of science, he determined to push on with a single companion, and a single pack-horse, which bore the necessary camp conveniences, and was led alternately by each from day to day. a pocket compass guided their march by day, and they often slept in vast caverns in limestone cliffs at night. gigantic springs of the purest crystaline water frequently gushed up from the soil or rocks. this track laid across highlands, which divide the confluent waters of the missouri from those of the mississippi. indians, wild beasts, starvation, thirst, were the dangers of the way. this journey, which led into the vast and desolate parts of arkansas, was replete with incidents and adventures of the highest interest. while in missouri, and after his return from this adventurous journey, he drew up a description of the mines, geology, and mineralogy of the country. conceiving a plan for the better management of the lead mines as a part of the public domain, he determined to visit washington, to submit it to the government. packing up his collections of mineralogy and geology, he ordered them to the nearest point of embarkation on the mississippi, and, getting on board a steamer at st. genevieve, proceeded to new orleans. thence he took shipping for new york, passing through the straits of florida, and reached his destination during the prevalence of the yellow fever in that city. he improved the time of his quarantine at staten island by exploring its mineralogy and geology, where he experienced a kind and appreciating reception from the health officer, dr. de witt. his reception also from scientific men at new york was most favorable, and produced a strong sensation. being the first person who had brought a collection of its scientific resources from the mississippi valley, its exhibition and diffusion in private cabinets gave an impulse to these studies in the country. men of science and gentlemen of enlarged minds welcomed him. drs. mitchell and hosack, who were then at the summit of their influence, and many other leading and professional characters extended a hand of cordial encouragement and appreciation. gov. de witt clinton was one of his earliest and most constant friends. the lyceum of natural history and the new york historical society admitted him to membership. late in the autumn of , he published his work on the mines and mineral resources of missouri, and with this publication as an exponent of his views, he proceeded to washington, where he was favorably received by president monroe, and by mr. calhoun and mr. crawford, members of his cabinet. at the request of the latter he drew up a memoir on the reorganization of the western mines, which was well received. some legislation appeared necessary. meantime mr. calhoun, who was struck by the earnestness of his views and scientific enterprise, offered him the situation of geologist and mineralogist to an exploring expedition, which the war department was about dispatching from detroit to the sources of the mississippi under the orders of gen. cass. this he immediately accepted, and, after spending a few weeks at the capital, returned in feb., , to new york, to await the opening of the interior navigation. as soon as the lakes opened he proceeded to detroit, and in the course of two or three weeks embarked on this celebrated tour of exploration. the great lake basins were visited and explored, the reported copper mines on lake superior examined, and the upper mississippi entered at sandy lake, and, after tracing it in its remote mazes to the highest practical point, he descended its channel by st. anthony's falls to prairie du chien and the du buque lead mines. the original outward track north-westward was then regained, through the valleys of the wisconsin and fox rivers, and the extended shores of lake michigan and huron elaborately traced. in this he was accompanied by the late professor david b. douglass, who collected the materials for a correct map of the great lakes and the sources of the mississippi. it was late in the autumn when mr. schoolcraft returned to his residence at new york, when he was solicited to publish his "narrative journal." this he completed early in the spring of . this work, which evinces accurate and original powers of observation, established his reputation as a scientific and judicious traveler. copies of it found their way to england, where it was praised by sir humphrey davy and the veteran geographer, major rennel. his report to the secretary of war on the copper mines of lake superior, was published in advance by the american journal of science, and by order of the senate of the united states, and gives the earliest scientific account of the mineral affluence of the basin of that lake. his geological report to the same department made subsequently, traces the formations of that part of the continent, which gives origin to the mississippi river, and denotes the latitudes where it is crossed by the primitive and volcanic rocks. the ardor and enthusiasm which he evinced in the cause of science, and his personal enterprise in traversing vast regions, awakened a corresponding spirit; and the publication of his narratives had the effect to popularize the subject of mineralogy and geology throughout the country. in , he executed a very extensive journey through the miami of the lakes and the river wabash, tracing those streams minutely to the entrance of the latter into the ohio river. he then proceeded to explore the oshawanoe mountains, near cave-in-rock, with their deposits of the fluate of lime, galena, and other mineral treasures. from this range he crossed over the grand prairies of the illinois to st. louis, revisited the mineral district of potosi, and ascended the illinois river and its north-west fork, the _des plaines_, to chicago, where a large body of indians were congregated to confer on the cession of their lands. at these important conferences, he occupied the position of secretary. he published an account of the incidents of this exploratory journey, under the title of _travels in the central portions of the mississippi valley_. he found, in passing up the river _des plaines_, a remarkably well characterized specimen of a fossil tree, completely converted to stone, of which he prepared a descriptive memoir, which had the effect further to direct the public mind to geological phenomena. we are not prepared to pursue minutely these first steps of his energetic course in the early investigation of our natural history and geography. in , while the lead-mine problem was under advisement at washington, he was appointed by mr. monroe to the semi-diplomatic position of agent for indian affairs on the north-west frontiers. this opened a new field of inquiry, and, while it opposed no bar to the pursuits of natural science, it presented a broad area of historical and ethnological research. on this he entered with great ardor, and an event of generally controlling influence on human pursuits occurred to enlarge these studies, in his marriage to miss jane johnston, a highly cultivated young lady, who was equally well versed in the english and algonquin languages, being a descendant, by the mother's side, of wabojeeg, a celebrated war sachem, and ruling cacique of his nation. her father, mr. john johnston, was a gentleman of the highest connections, fortune, and standing, from the north of ireland, who had emigrated to america during the presidency of washington. he possessed great enthusiasm and romance of character, united with poetic tastes, and became deeply enamored of the beautiful daughter of wabojeeg, married her, and had eight children. his eldest daughter, jane, was sent, at nine years of age, to europe to be thoroughly educated under the care of his relatives there, and, when she returned to america, was placed at the head of her father's household, where her refined dignified manners and accomplishments attracted the notice and admiration of numerous visitors to that seat of noble hospitality. mr. schoolcraft was among the first suitors for her hand, and married her in october, . mr. johnston was a fine _belles lettres_ scholar, and entered readily into the discussions arising from the principles of the indian languages, and plans for their improvement. mr. schoolcraft's marriage into an aboriginal family gave no small stimulus to these inquiries, which were pursued under such singularly excellent advantages, and with untiring ardor in the seclusion of elmwood and michilimackinack, for a period of nearly twenty years, and, until his wife's lamented death, which happened during a visit to her sister, at dundas, canada west, in the year , and while he himself was absent on a visit to england. mr. schoolcraft has not, at any period of his life, sought advancement in political life, but executed with energy and interest various civic offices, which were freely offered to him. from to , he was an efficient member of the territorial legislature, where he introduced a system of township and county names, formed on the basis of the aboriginal vocabulary, and also procured the incorporation of a historical society, and, besides managing the finances, as chairman of an appropriate committee, he introduced and secured the passage of several laws respecting the treatment of the native tribes. in , the navy department offered him a prominent situation in the scientific corps of the united states exploring expedition to the south seas. this was urged in several letters written to him at st. mary's, by mr. reynolds, with the approbation of mr. southard, then secretary of the navy. however flattering such an offer was to his ambition, his domestic relations did not permit his acceptance of the place. he appeared to occupy his advanced position on the frontier solely to further the interests of natural history, american geography, and growing questions of philosophic moment. these particulars will enable the reader to appreciate the advantages with which he commenced and pursued the study of the indian languages, and american ethnology. he made a complete lexicon of the algonquin language, and reduced its grammar to a philosophical system. "it is really surprising," says gen. cass, in a letter, in , in view of these researches, "that so little valuable information has been given to the world on these subjects." mr. duponceau, president of the american philosophical society, translated two of mr. schoolcraft's lectures before the algic society, on the grammatical structure of the indian language, into french, for the national institute of france, where the prize for the best essay on algonquin language was awarded to him. he writes to dr. james, in , in reference to these lectures: "his description of the composition of words in the chippewa language, is the most elegant i have yet seen. he is an able and most perspicuous writer, and treats his subject philosophically." approbation from these high sources had only the effect to lead him to renewed diligence and deeper exertions to further the interests of natural science, geography, and ethnology; and, while engaged in the active duties of an important government office, he maintained an extensive correspondence with men of science, learning, and enterprise throughout the union. the american philosophical, geological, and antiquarian societies, with numerous state and local institutions, admitted him to membership. the royal geographical society of london, the royal society of northern antiquaries at copenhagen, and the ethnological society of paris, inscribed his name among their foreign members. in , the college of geneva conferred on him the degree of ll.d. while the interests of learning and science thus occupied his private hours, the state of indian affairs on the western frontiers called for continued exertions, and journeys, and expeditions through remote regions. the introduction of a fast accumulating population into the mississippi valley, and the great lake basins, continually subjected the indian tribes to causes of uneasiness, and to a species of reflection, of which they had had no examples in the long centuries of their hunter state. in , , and , he attended convocations of the tribes at very remote points, which imposed the necessity of passing through forests, wildernesses, and wild portages, where none but the healthy, the robust, the fearless, and the enterprising can go. in , circumstances inclined the tribes on the upper mississippi to hostilities and extensive combinations. he was directed by the government to conduct an expedition through the country lying south and west of lake superior, reaching from its banks, which have from the earliest dates been the fastnesses of numerous warlike tribes. this he accomplished satisfactorily, visiting the leading chiefs, and counseling them to the policy of peace. in , the sauks and foxes resolved to re-occupy lands which they had previously relinquished in the rock river valley. this brought them into collision with the citizens and militia of illinois. the result was a general conflict, which, from its prominent indian leader, has been called the black hawk war. from accounts of the previous year, its combinations embraced _nine_ of the leading tribes. it was uncertain how far they extended. mr. schoolcraft was selected by the indian and war department, to conduct a second expedition into the region embracing the entire upper mississippi, north and west of st. anthony's falls. he pursued this stream to the points to which it had been explored in , by lieut. pike, and in , by gen. cass; and finding the state of the water favorable for ascending, traced the river up to its ultimate forks, and to its actual source in itasca lake. this point he reached on the d july, ; but a fraction under years after the discovery of its lower portions by de soto. this was mr. schoolcraft's crowning geographical discovery, of which he published an account, with maps, in . he is believed to be the only man in america who has seen the mississippi from its source in itasca lake to its mouth in the gulf of mexico. in , he published his collection of oral legends from the indian wigwams, under the general cognomen of _algic researches_. in these volumes is revealed an amount of the indian idiosyncrasies, of what may be called their philosophy and mode of reasoning on life, death, and immortality, and their singular modes of reasoning and action, which makes this work one of the most unique and original contributions to american literature. his love of investigation has always been a characteristic trait. the writer of this sketch, who is thoroughly acquainted with mr. schoolcraft's character, habits, and feelings, has long regarded him the complete embodiment of industry and temperance in all things. he rises early and retires early, eats moderately of simple food, never uses a drop of stimulant, and does not even smoke a cigar. in temperament he is among the happiest of human beings, always looks at the bright side of circumstances--loves to hear of the prosperity of his neighbors, and hopes for favorable turns of character, even in the most depraved. the exaltation of his intellectual pursuits, and his sincere piety, have enabled him to rise above all the petty disquietudes of everyday life, and he seems utterly incapable of envy or detraction, or the indulgence of any ignoble or unmanly passions. indeed, one of his most intimate friends remarked "that he was the _beau-ideal_ of dignified manliness and truthfulness of character." his manners possess all that unostentatious frankness, and self-possessed urbanity and quietude, that is indicative of refined feelings. that such a shining mark has not escaped envy, detraction, and persecution, will surprise no one who is well acquainted with the materials of which human nature is composed. "envy is the toll that is always paid to greatness." mr. schoolcraft has had enemies, bitter unrelenting enemies, from the wiles of whom he has lost several fortunes, but they have not succeeded, in spite of all their efforts, in depriving him of an honored name, that will live as the friend of the red man and an aboriginal historian, for countless ages. some twenty years ago he became a professor of religion, and the ennobling influences of bible truth have mellowed, and devoted to the most unselfish and exalted aims his natural determination and enthusiasm of character. god has promised to his people "that their righteousness shall shine as the light, and their just dealing as the noonday." protected in such an impregnable tower of defence from the strife of tongues, mr. schoolcraft has been enabled freely to forgive, and even befriend, those narrow-minded calumniators who have aimed so many poisoned arrows at his fame, his character, and his success in life. these are they who hate all excellence that they themselves can never hope to reach. mr. schoolcraft's persevering industry is so indomitable, that he has been known to write from sun to sun almost every day for many consecutive years, taking no recreation, and yet these sedentary habits of untiring application being regulated by system, have not impaired the digestive functions of his usually robust health. one of his family remarks, "that she believed that if his meals were weighed every day in the year they would average the same amount every twenty-four hours." he has, however, been partly lame for the last two years, from the effects, it is thought, of early exposure in his explorations in the west, where he used frequently to lie down in the swamps to sleep, with no pillow save clumps of bog, and no covering but a traveling indian blanket, which sometimes when he awoke was cased in snow. this local impediment, however, being entirely without neuralgic or rheumatic symptoms, has had no effect whatever upon his mental activity, as every moment of his time is still consecrated to literary pursuits. in he removed his residence from michilimackinack to the city of new york, where he was instrumental, with mr. john r. bartlett, mr. h. c. murphy, mr. folsom and other ethnologists, in forming the american ethnological society--which, under the auspices of the late mr. albert gallatin, has produced efficient labors. in he visited england and the continent. he attended the twelfth meeting of the british association for the advancement of science at manchester. he then visited france, germany, prussia, belgium, and holland. on returning to new york he took an active interest in the deliberations of the new york historical society, made an antiquarian tour to western virginia, ohio, and the canadas, and published in numbers the first volume of an indian miscellany under the title of "oneota, or the indian in his wigwam." in the legislature of new york authorized him to take a census, and collect the statistics of the iroquois, or six nations, which were published, together with materials illustrating their history and character, in a volume entitled, notes on the iroquois. this work was highly approved by the legislature, and copies eagerly sought by persons taking an interest in the fortunes of this celebrated tribe. contrary to expectation, their numbers were found to be considerable, and their advance in agriculture and civilization of a highly encouraging character; and the state has since made liberal appropriations for their education. in he brought the subject of the american aborigines to the notice of the members of congress, expressing the opinion, and enforcing it by facts drawn from many years' experience and residence on the frontiers, that it was misunderstood, that the authentic published materials from which the indians were to be judged were fragmentary and scanty, and that the public policy respecting them, and the mode of applying their funds, and dealing with them, was in many things false and unjust. these new views produced conviction in enlightened minds, and, during the following session, in the winter of , an appropriation was made, authorizing the secretary of war to collect the statistics of all the tribes within the union; together with materials to illustrate their history, condition, and prospects. mr. schoolcraft was selected by the government to conduct the inquiry, in connection with the indian bureau. and he immediately prepared and issued blank forms, calling on the officers of the department for the necessary statistical facts. at the same time a comprehensive system of interrogatories was distributed, intended to bring out the true state and condition of the indian tribes from gentlemen of experience, in all parts of the union. these interrogatories are founded on a series of some thirty years' personal observations on indian society and manners, which were made while living in their midst on the frontiers, and on the data preserved in his well-filled portfolios and journals; and the comprehensive character of the queries, consequently, evince a complete mastery of his subject, such as no one could have been at all prepared to furnish, who had had less full and favorable advantages. in these queries he views the indian race, not only as tribes having every claim on our sympathy and humanity, but as one of the races of the human family, scattered by an inscrutable providence, whose origin and destiny is one of the most interesting problems of american history, philosophy, and christianity. the first part of this work, in an elaborate quarto volume, was published in the autumn of , with illustrations from the pencil of capt. eastman, a gentleman of the army of the united states, and has been received by congress and the diurnal and periodical press with decided approbation. it is a work which is national in its conception and manner of execution; and, if carried out according to the plan exhibited, will do ample justice, at once to the indian tribes, their history, condition, and destiny, and to the character of the government as connected with them. we have been reproached by foreign pens for our treatment of these tribes, and our policy, motives, and justice impugned. if we are not mistaken, the materials here collected will show how gratuitous such imputations have been. it is believed that no stock of the aborigines found by civilized nations on the globe, have received the same amount of considerate and benevolent and humane treatment, as denoted by its laws, its treaties, and general administration of indian affairs, from the establishment of the constitution, and this too, in the face of the most hostile, wrongheaded, and capricious conduct on their part, that ever signalized the history of a barbarous people. in january, , he married miss mary howard, of beaufort district, south carolina, a lady of majestic stature, high toned moral sentiment, dignified polished manners, gifted conversational powers and literary tastes. this marriage has proved a peculiarly fortunate and happy one, as they both highly appreciate and respect each other, and she warmly sympathizes in his literary plans. she also relieves him of all domestic care by her judicious management of his household affairs. most of her time, however, is spent with him in his study, where she revises and copies his writings for the press. she is the descendant of a family who emigrated to south carolina from england, in the reign of george the second, from whom they received a large grant of land, situated near the broad river. upon this original grant the family have from generation to generation continued to reside. it is now a flourishing cotton and rice growing plantation, and is at present owned by her brother, gen. john howard. her sister married a grandnephew of gen. william moultrie, who was so distinguished in the revolutionary war, and her brother a granddaughter of judge thomas heyward, who was a ripe scholar and one of the signers of the declaration of independence. although one of her brothers was in the battle of san jacinto, she is herself the first permanent emigrant of her family from south carolina to the north, having accompanied her husband to washington, d.c., where he has ever since been engaged in conducting the national work on the history of the indians. to this work, of which the second part is now in the press, every power of his extensive observation and ripe experience is devoted, and with results which justify the highest anticipations which have been formed of it. meantime it is understood that the present memoirs is the first volume of a revised series of his complete works, including his travels, reviews, papers on natural history, indian tales, and miscellanies. to this rapid sketch of a man rising to distinction without the adventitious aids of hereditary patrimony, wealth, or early friends, it requires little to be added to show the value of self-dependence. such examples must encourage all whose ambitions are sustained by assiduity, temperance, self-reliance, and a consistent perseverance in well weighed ends. personal memoirs. chapter i. brief reminiscences of scenes from to --events preliminary to a knowledge of western life--embarkation on the source of the alleghany river--descent to pittsburgh--valley of the monongahela; its coal and iron--descent of the ohio in an ark--scenes and incidents by the way-- cincinnati--some personal incidents which happened there. late in the autumn of , being then in my seventeenth year, i quitted the village of hamilton, albany county (a county in which my family had lived from an early part of the reign of george ii.), and, after a pleasant drive of half a day through the pine plains, accompanied by some friends, reached the city of schenectady, and from thence took the western stage line, up the valley of the mohawk, to the village of utica, where we arrived, i think, on the third day, the roads being heavy. the next day i proceeded to vernon, the site of a busy and thriving village, where my father had recently engaged in the superintendency of extensive manufacturing operations. i was here within a few miles of oneida castle, then the residence of the ancient oneida tribe of iroquois. there was, also, in this town, a remnant of the old mohigans, who, under the name of stockbridges, had, soon after the revolutionary war, removed from the valley of the housatonic, in massachusetts, to oneida. throngs of both tribes were daily in the village, and i was thus first brought to notice their manners and customs; not dreaming, however, that it was to be my lot to pass so many of the subsequent years of my life as an observer of the indian race. early in the spring of , i accompanied mr. alexander bryan johnson, of utica, a gentleman of wealth, intelligence, and enterprise, to the area of the genesee country, for the purpose of superintending a manufactory for a company incorporated by the state legislature. after visiting sodus bay, on lake ontario, it was finally resolved to locate this company's works near geneva, on the banks of seneca lake. during my residence here, the war of broke out; the events of which fell with severity on this frontier, particularly on the lines included between the niagara and lake champlain, where contending armies and navies operated. while these scenes of alarm and turmoil were enacting, and our trade with great britain was cut off, an intense interest arose for manufactures of first necessity, needed by the country, particularly for that indispensable article of new settlements, window glass. in directing the foreign artisans employed in the making of this product of skill, my father, col. lawrence schoolcraft, had, from an early period after the american revolution, acquired celebrity, by the general superintendency of the noted works of this kind near albany, and afterwards in oneida county. under his auspices, i directed the erection of similar works in western new york and in the states of vermont and new hampshire. while in vermont, i received a salary of eighteen hundred dollars per annum, which enabled me to pursue my studies, _ex academia_, at middlebury college. in conversation with president davis, i learned that this was the highest salary paid in the state, he himself receiving eleven hundred, and the governor of the state but eight hundred. the extensive and interesting journeys connected with the manufacturing impulse of these engagements, reaching over a varied surface of several hundred miles, opened up scenes of life and adventure which gave me a foretaste of, and preparedness for, the deeper experiences of the western wilderness; and the war with england was no sooner closed than i made ready to share in the exploration of the far west. the wonderful accounts brought from the mississippi valley--its fertility, extent, and resources--inspired a wish to see it for myself, and to this end i made some preliminary explorations in western new york, in and . i reached olean, on the source of the alleghany river, early in , while the snow was yet upon the ground, and had to wait several weeks for the opening of that stream. i was surprised to see the crowd of persons, from various quarters, who had pressed to this point, waiting the opening of the navigation. it was a period of general migration from the east to the west. commerce had been checked for several years by the war with great britain. agriculture had been hindered by the raising of armies, and a harassing warfare both on the seaboard and the frontiers; and manufactures had been stimulated to an unnatural growth, only to be crushed by the peace. speculation had also been rife in some places, and hurried many gentlemen of property into ruin. banks exploded, and paper money flooded the country. the fiscal crisis was indeed very striking. the very elements seemed leagued against the interests of agriculture in the atlantic states, where a series of early and late frosts, in and , had created quite a panic, which helped to settle the west. i mingled in this crowd, and, while listening to the anticipations indulged in, it seemed to me that the war had not, in reality, been fought for "free trade and sailors' rights" where it commenced, but to gain a knowledge of the world beyond the alleghanies. many came with their household stuff, which was to be embarked in arks and flat boats. the children of israel could scarcely have presented a more motley array of men and women, with their "kneading troughs" on their backs, and their "little ones," than were there assembled, on their way to the new land of promise. to judge by the tone of general conversation, they meant, in their generation, to plough the mississippi valley from its head to its foot. there was not an idea short of it. what a world of golden dreams was there! i took passage in the first ark that attempted the descent for the season. this ark was built of stout planks, with the lower seams caulked, forming a perfectly flat basis on the water. it was about thirty feet wide and sixty long, with gunwales of some eighteen inches. upon this was raised a structure of posts and boards about eight feet high, divided into rooms for cooking and sleeping, leaving a few feet space in front and rear, to row and steer. the whole was covered by a flat roof, which formed a promenade, and near the front part of this deck were two long "sweeps," a species of gigantic oars, which were occasionally resorted to in order to keep the unwieldy vessel from running against islands or dangerous shores. we went on swimmingly, passing through the seneca reservation, where the picturesque costume of the indians seen on shore served to give additional interest to scenes of the deepest and wildest character. every night we tied our ark to a tree, and built a fire on shore. sometimes we narrowly escaped going over falls, and once encountered a world of labor and trouble by getting into a wrong channel. i made myself as useful and agreeable as possible to all. i had learned to row a skiff with dexterity during my residence on lake dunmore, and turned this art to account by taking the ladies ashore, as we floated on with our ark, and picked up specimens while they culled shrubs and flowers. in this way, and by lending a ready hand at the "sweeps" and at the oars whenever there was a pinch, i made myself agreeable. the worst thing we encountered was rain, against which our rude carpentry was but a poor defence. we landed at everything like a town, and bought milk, and eggs, and butter. sometimes the seneca indians were passed, coming up stream in their immensely long pine canoes. there was perpetual novelty and freshness in this mode of wayfaring. the scenery was most enchanting. the river ran high, with a strong spring current, and the hills frequently rose in most picturesque cliffs. . i do not recollect the time consumed in this descent. we had gone about three hundred miles, when we reached pittsburgh. it was the th of march when we landed at this place, which i remember because it was my birthday. and i here bid adieu to the kind and excellent proprietor of the ark, l. pettiborne, esq., who refused to receive any compensation for my passage, saying, prettily, that he did not know how they could have got along without me. i stopped at one of the best hotels, kept by a mrs. mccullough, and, after visiting the manufactories and coal mines, hired a horse, and went up the monongahela valley, to explore its geology as high as williamsport. the rich coal and iron beds of this part of the country interested me greatly; i was impressed with their extent, and value, and the importance which they must eventually give to pittsburgh. after returning from this trip, i completed my visits to the various workshops and foundries, and to the large glassworks of bakewell and of o'hara. i was now at the head of the ohio river, which is formed by the junction of the alleghany and monongahela. my next step was to descend this stream; and, while in search of an ark on the borders of the monongahela, i fell in with a mr. brigham, a worthy person from massachusetts, who had sallied out with the same view. we took passage together on one of these floating houses, with the arrangements of which i had now become familiar. i was charmed with the ohio; with its scenery, which was every moment shifting to the eye; and with the incidents of such a novel voyage. off wheeling we made fast to another ark, from the monongahela, in charge of capt. hutchinson, an intelligent man. there were a number of passengers, who, together with this commander, added to our social circle, and made it more agreeable: among these, the chief person was dr. selman, of cincinnati, who had been a surgeon in wayne's army, and who had a fund of information of this era. my acquaintance with subjects of chemistry and mineralogy enabled me to make my conversation agreeable, which was afterwards of some advantage to me. we came to at grave creek fleets, and all went up to see the great mound, the apex of which had a depression, with a large tree growing in it having the names and dates of visit of several persons carved on its trunk. one of the dates was, i think, as early as . we also stopped at gallipolis--the site of a french colony of some notoriety. the river was constantly enlarging; the spring was rapidly advancing, and making its borders more beautiful; and the scenery could scarcely have been more interesting. there was often, it is true, a state of newness and rudeness in the towns, and villages, and farms, but it was ever accompanied with the most pleasing anticipations of improvement and progress. we had seldom to look at old things, save the indian antiquities. the most striking works of this kind were at marietta, at the junction of the muskingum. this was, i believe, the earliest point of settlement of the state of ohio. but to us, it had a far more interesting point of attraction in the very striking antique works named, for which it is known. we visited the elevated square and the mound. we gazed and wondered as others have done, and without fancying that we were wiser than our predecessors had been. at marietta, a third ark from the waters of the muskingum was added to our number, and making quite a flotilla. this turned out to be the property of hon. j.b. thomas, of illinois, a senator in congress, a gentleman of great urbanity of manners and intelligence. by this addition of deck, our promenade was now ample. and it would be difficult to imagine a journey embracing a greater number of pleasing incidents and prospects. when a little below parkersburgh, we passed blennerhasset's island, which recalled for a moment the name of aaron burr, and the eloquent language of mr. wirt on the treasonable schemes of that bold, talented, but unchastened politician. all was now ruin and devastation on the site of forsaken gardens, into the shaded recesses of which a basilisk had once entered. some stacks of chimneys were all that was left to tell the tale. it seemed remarkable that twelve short years should have worked so complete a desolation. it would appear as if half a century had intervened, so thorough had been the physical revolution of the island. one night we had lain with our flotilla on the virginia coast. it was perceived, at early daylight, that the inner ark, which was mr. thomas's, and which was loaded with valuable machinery, was partly sunk, being pressed against the bank by the other arks, and the water was found to be flowing in above the caulked seams. a short time must have carried the whole down. after a good deal of exertion to save the boat, it was cut loose and abandoned. it occurred to me that two men, rapidly bailing, would be able to throw out a larger quantity of water than flowed through the seams. willing to make myself useful, i told my friend brigham that i thought we could save the boat, if he would join in the attempt. my theory proved correct. we succeeded, by a relief of hands, in the effort, and saved the whole machinery unwetted. this little affair proved gratifying to me from the share i had in it. mr. thomas was so pleased that he ordered a sumptuous breakfast at a neighboring house for all. we had an abundance of hot coffee, chickens, and toast, which to voyagers in an ark was quite a treat; but it was still less gratifying than the opportunity we had felt of doing a good act. this little incident had a pleasing effect on the rest of the voyage, and made thomas my friend. but the voyage itself was now drawing to a close. when we reached cincinnati, the flotilla broke up. we were now five hundred miles below pittsburgh, and the valley of the ohio was, if possible, every day becoming an object of more striking physical interest. by the advice of dr. sellman, who invited me to dine with a large company of gentlemen, i got a good boarding-house, and i spent several weeks very pleasantly in this city and its immediate environs. among the boarders were dr. moorhead (dr. s.'s partner), and john c.s. harrison (the eldest son of gen. harrison), with several other young gentlemen, whose names are pleasingly associated in my memory. it was customary, after dinner, to sit on a wooden settle, or long bench, in front of the house, facing the open esplanade on the high banks of the river, at the foot of which boats and arks were momentarily arriving. one afternoon, while engaged in earnest conversation with harrison, i observed a tall, gawky youth, with white hair, and a few stray patches just appearing on his chin, as precursors of a beard, approach furtively, and assume a listening attitude. he had evidently just landed, and had put on his best clothes, to go up and see the town. the moment he stopped to listen, i assumed a tone of earnest badinage. harrison, instantly seeing our intrusive and raw guest, and humoring the joke, responded in a like style. in effect we had a high controversy, which could only be settled by a duel, in which our raw friend must act as second. he was strongly appealed to, and told that his position as a gentleman required it. so far all was well. we adjourned to an upper room; the pistols were charged with powder, and shots were exchanged between harrison and myself, while the eyeballs of young jonathan seemed ready to start from their sockets. but no sooner were the shots fired than an undue advantage was instantly alleged, which involved the responsibility of my antagonist's friend; and thus the poor fellow, who had himself been inveigled in a scrape, was peppered with powder, in a second exchange of shots, while all but himself were ready to die with smothered laughter; and he was at last glad to escape from the house with his life, and made the best of his way back to his ark. this settle, in front of the door, was a capital point to perpetrate tricks on the constantly arriving throngs from the east, who, with characteristic enterprise, often stopped to inquire for employment. a few days after the sham duel, harrison determined to play a trick on another emigrant, a shrewd, tolerably well-informed young man, who had evinced a great deal of self-complacency and immodest pertinacity. he told the pertinacious emigrant, who inquired for a place, that he had not, himself, anything that could engage his attention, but that he had a friend (alluding to me) who was now in town, who was extensively engaged in milling and merchandizing on the little miami, and was in want of a competent, responsible clerk. he added that, if he would call in the evening, his friend would be in, and he would introduce him. meantime, i was informed of the character i was to play in rebuking assumption. the man came, punctual to his appointment, in the evening, and was formally introduced. i stated the duties and the peculiar requisites and responsibilities of the trust. these he found but little difficulty in meeting. other difficulties were stated. these, with a little thought, he also met. he had evidently scarcely any other quality than presumption. i told him at last that, from the inhabitants in the vicinity, it was necessary that he should speak _dutch_. this seemed a poser, but, after some hesitancy and hemming, and the re-mustering of his cardinal presumption, he thought he could shortly render himself qualified to speak. i admired the very presumption of the theory, and finally told him to call the next day on my agent, mr. schenck, at such a number (martin baum's) in maine street, to whom, in the mean time, i transferred the hoax, and duly informing schenck of the affair; and i do not recollect, at this time, how he shuffled him off. chapter ii. descent of the ohio river from cincinnati to its mouth--ascent of the mississippi, from the junction to herculaneum--its rapid and turbid character, and the difficulties of stemming its current by barges--some incidents by the way. . at cincinnati, i visited a sort of gigantic chimney or trunk, constructed of wood, which had been continued from the plain, and carried up against the side of one of the walnut hills, in order to demonstrate the practicability of obtaining a mechanical power from rarefied atmospheric air. i was certain that this would prove a failure, although captain bliss, who had conducted the work under the auspices of general lytle, felt confident of success. when i was ready to proceed down the ohio, i went to the shore, where i met a mr. willers, who had come there on the same errand as myself. our object was to go to louisville, at the falls of the ohio. we were pleased with a well-constructed skiff, which would conveniently hold our baggage, and, after examination, purchased it, for the purpose of making this part of the descent. i was expert with a light oar, and we agreed in thinking that this would be a very picturesque, healthful, and economical mode of travel. it was warm weather, the beginning of may, i think, and the plan was to sleep ashore every night. we found this plan to answer expectation. the trip was, in every respect, delightful. mr. willers lent a ready hand at the oars and tiller by turns. he possessed a good share of urbanity, had seen much of the world, and was of an age and temper to vent no violent opinions. he gave me information on some topics. we got along pleasantly. one day, a sleeping sawyer, as it is called, rose up in the river behind us in a part of the course we had just passed, which, if it had risen two minutes earlier, would have pitched us in the air, and knocked our skiff in shivers. we stopped at vevay, to taste the wine of the vintage of that place, which was then much talked of, and did not think it excellent. we were several days--i do not recollect how many--in reaching louisville, in kentucky. i found my fellow-voyager was a teacher of military science, late from baltimore, maryland; he soon had a class of militia officers, to whom he gave instructions, and exhibited diagrams of military evolutions. louisville had all the elements of city life. i was much interested in the place and its environs, and passed several weeks at that place. i found organic remains of several species in the limestone rocks of the falls, and published, anonymously, in the paper some notices of its mineralogy. when prepared to continue my descent of the river, i went to the beautiful natural mall, which exists between the mouth of the beargrass creek and the ohio, where boats usually land, and took passage in a fine ark, which had just come down from the waters of the monongahela. it was owned and freighted by two adventurers from maryland, of the names of kemp and keen. a fine road existed to the foot of the falls at shippensport, a distance of two miles, which my new acquaintances pursued; but, when i understood that there was a pilot present, i preferred remaining on board, that i might witness the descent of the falls: we descended on the indiana side. the danger was imminent at one part, where the entire current had a violent side action, but we went safely and triumphantly down; and, after taking our owners on board, who were unwilling to risk their lives with their property, we pursued our voyage. it was about this point, or a little above, that we first noticed the gay and noisy parroquet, flocks of which inhabited the forests. the mode of attaching vessels of this kind into flotillas was practiced on that part of the route, which brought us into acquaintance with many persons. at shawneetown, where we lay a short time, i went out hunting about the mouth of the wabash with one hanlon, a native of kentucky, who was so expert in the use of the rifle that he brought down single pigeons and squirrels, aiming only at their heads or necks. after passing below the wabash, the ohio assumed a truly majestic flow. its ample volume, great expanse, and noble shores, could not fail to be admired. as we neared the picturesque cavein-rock shore, i took the small boat, and, with some others, landed to view this traveler's wonder. it recalled to me the dark robber era of the ohio river, and the tales of blood and strife which i had read of. the cave itself is a striking object for its large and yawning mouth, but, to the geologist, presents nothing novel. its ample area appears to have been frequently encamped in by the buccaneers of the mississippi. we were told of narrow and secret passages leading above into the rock, but did not find anything of much interest. the mouth of the cave was formerly concealed by trees, which favored the boat robbers; but these had been mostly felled. as the scene of a tale of imaginative robber-life, it appeared to me to possess great attractions. our conductor steered for smithfield, i think it was called, at the mouth of the cumberland river, tennessee, which was thought a favorable place for transferring the cargo from an ark to a keel-boat, to prepare it for the ascent of the mississippi river; for we were now drawing closely towards the mouth of the ohio. here ensued a delay of many days. during this time, i made several excursions in this part of tennessee, and always with the rifle in hand, in the use of which i had now become expert enough to kill small game without destroying it. while here, some of general jackson's volunteers from his wars against the creeks and seminoles returned, and related some of the incidents of their perilous campaign. at length a keel-boat, or barge, arrived, under the command of captain ensminger, of saline, which discharged its cargo at this point, and took on board the freight of kemp and keen, bound to st. louis, in missouri. we pursued our way, under the force of oars, which soon brought us to the mouth of the ohio, where the captain paused to prepare for stemming the mississippi. it was now the first day of july, warm and balmy during the mornings and evenings, but of a torrid heat at noon. we were now one thousand miles below pittsburgh--a distance which it is impossible for any man to realize from the mere reading of books. this splendid valley is one of the prominent creations of the universe. its fertility and beauty are unequaled; and its capacities of sustaining a dense population cannot be overrated. seven states border on its waters, and they are seven states which are destined to contribute no little part to the commerce, wealth, and power of the union. it is idle to talk of the well-cultivated and garden-like little rivers of europe, of some two or three hundred miles in length, compared to the ohio. there is nothing like it in all europe for its great length, uninterrupted fertility, and varied resources, and consequent power to support an immense population. yet its banks consist not of a dead level, like the lower nile and volga, but of undulating plains and hills, which afford a lively flow to its waters, and supply an amount of hydraulic power which is amazing. the river itself is composed of some of the prime streams of the country. the alleghany, the monongahela, the muskingum, the miami, the wabash, the cumberland, and the tennessee, are rivers of the most noble proportions, and the congregated mass of water rolls forward, increasing in volume and magnificence, until the scene delights the eye by its displays of quiet, lovely, rural magnitude and physical grandeur. yet all this is but an element in the vast system of western waters. it reaches the mississippi, but to be swallowed up and engulfed by that turbid and rapid stream, which, like some gaping, gigantic monster, running wild from the rocky mountains and the itasca summit, stands ready to gulp it down. the scene is truly magnificent, and the struggle not slight. for more than twenty miles, the transparent blue waters of the ohio are crowded along the tennessee coast; but the mississippi, swollen by its summer flood, as if disdainful of its rural and peace-like properties, gains the mastery before reaching memphis, and carries its characteristic of turbid geologic power for a thousand miles more, until its final exit into the mexican gulf. i had never seen such a sight. i had lost all my standards of comparison. compared to it, my little home streams would not fill a pint cup; and, like a man suddenly ushered into a new world, i was amazed at the scene before me. mere _amplitude_ of the most ordinary elements of water and alluvial land has done this. the onward rush of eternal waters was an idea vaguely floating in my mind. the indians appeared to have embodied this idea in the word mississippi. ensminger was a stout manly fellow, of the characteristic traits of anglo-saxon daring; but he thought it prudent not to plunge too hastily into this mad current, and we slept at the precise point of embouchure, where, i think, cairo is now located. early the next morning the oarsmen were paraded, like so many militia, on the slatted gunwales of the barge, each armed with a long and stout setting pole, shod with iron. ensminger himself took the helm, and the toil and struggle of pushing the barge up stream began. we were obliged to keep close to the shore, in order to find bottom for the poles, and whenever that gave out, the men instantly resorted to oars to gain some point on the opposite side, where bottom could be reached. it was a struggle requiring the utmost activity. the water was so turbid that we could not perceive objects an inch below the surface. the current rushed with a velocity that threatened to carry everything before it. the worst effect was its perpetual tendency to undermine its banks. often heavy portions of the banks plunged into the river, endangering boats and men. the banks consisted of dark alluvion ten to fifteen feet above the water, bearing a dense growth of trees and shrubbery. the plunging of these banks into the stream often sounded like thunder. with every exertion, we advanced but five miles the first day, and it was a long july day. as evening came on, the mosquitos were in hordes. it was impossible to perform the offices of eating or drinking, without suffering the keenest torture from their stings. the second day we ascended six miles, the third day seven miles, the fourth day six miles, and the fifth eight miles, which brought us to the first settlement on the missouri shore, called tyawapaty bottom. the banks in this distance became more elevated, and we appeared to be quitting the more nascent region. we noticed the wild turkey and gray squirrel ashore. the following day we went but three miles, when the severe labor caused some of the hands to give out. ensminger was a man not easily discouraged. he lay by during the day, and the next morning found means to move ahead. at an early hour we reached the head of the settlement, and came to at a spot called the little chain of rocks. the fast lands of the missouri shore here jut into the river, and i examined, at this point, a remarkable bed of white clay, which is extensively employed by the local mechanics for chalk, but which is wholly destitute of carbonic acid. we ascended, this day, ten miles; and the next day five miles, which carried us to cape girardeau--a town estimated to be fifty miles above the mouth of the ohio. here were about fifty houses, situated on a commanding eminence. we had been landed but a short time, when one of the principal merchants of the place sent me word that he had just received some drugs and medicines which he wished me to examine. i went up directly to his store, when it turned out that he was no druggist at all, nor wished my skill in this way, but, having heard there was a doctor aboard, he had taken this facetious mode of inviting me to partake of some refreshments. i regret that i have forgotten his name. the next day we ascended seven miles, and next the same distance, and stopped at the moccason spring, a basin of limpid water occupying a crevice in the limestone rock. the day following we ascended but five miles, and the next day seven miles, in which distance we passed the grand tower, a geological monument rising from the bed of the river, which stands to tell of some great revolution in the ancient face of the country. the mississippi river probably broke through one of its ancient barriers at this place. we made three unsuccessful attempts to pass garlic point, where we encountered a very strong current, and finally dropped down and came to, for the night, below it, the men being much exhausted with these attempts. we renewed the effort with a _cordelle_ the next morning, with success, but not without exhausting the men so much that two of them refused to proceed, who were immediately paid off, and furnished provisions to return. we succeeded in going to the mouth of the obrazo, about half a mile higher, when we lay by all day. this delay enabled ensminger to recruit his crew, and during the three following days we ascended respectively six, seven, and ten miles, which brought us to the commencement of bois-brule bottom. this is a fertile, and was then a comparatively populous, settlement. we ascended along it about seven miles, the next day seven more, and the next eleven, which completed the ascent to the antique town of st. genevieve. about three hundred houses were here clustered together, which, with their inhabitants, had the looks which we may fancy to belong to the times of louis xiv. of france. it was the chief mart of the lead mines, situated in the interior. i observed heavy stacks of pig lead piled up about the warehouses. we remained here the next day, which was the th of july, and then went forward twelve miles, the next day thirteen, and the next five, which brought us, at noon, to the town of herculaneum, containing some thirty or forty buildings, excluding three picturesque-looking shot towers on the top of the rocky cliffs of the river. this was another mart of the lead mines. i determined to land definitively at this point, purposing to visit the mines, after completing my ascent by land to st. louis. it was now the d of july, the whole of which, from the st, we had spent in a diligent ascent of the river, by setting pole and cordelle, from the junction of the ohio--a distance of one hundred and seventy miles. we were still thirty miles above st. louis. i have detailed some of the incidents of the journey, in order to denote the difficulties of the ascent with barges prior to the introduction of steam, and also the means which this slowness of motion gave me of becoming acquainted with the physical character of this river and its shores. a large part of the west banks i had traveled on foot, and gleaned several facts in its mineralogy and geology which made it an initial point in my future observations. the metalliferous formation is first noticed at the little chain of rocks. from the grand tower, the western shores become precipitous, showing sections and piled-up pinnacles of the series of horizontal sandstones and limestones which characterize the imposing coast. had i passed it in a steamer, downward bound, as at this day, in forty-eight hours, i should have had none but the vaguest and most general conceptions of its character. but i went to glean facts in its natural history, and i knew these required careful personal inspection of minute as well as general features. there may be a sort of horseback theory of geology; but mineralogy, and the natural sciences generally, must be investigated on foot, hammer or goniometer in hand. chapter iii. reception at herculaneum, and introduction to the founder of the first american colony in texas, mr. austin--his character--continuation of the journey on foot to st. louis--incidents by the way--trip to the mines--survey of the mine country--expedition from potosi into the ozark mountains, and return, after a winter's absence, to potosi. . the familiar conversation on shore of my friendly associates, speaking of a doctor on board who was inquiring into the natural history and value of the country at every point, procured me quite unexpectedly a favorable reception at herculaneum, as it had done at cape girardeau. i was introduced to mr. austin, the elder, who, on learning my intention of visiting the mines, offered every facility in his power to favor my views. mr. austin was a gentleman of general information, easy and polite manners, and enthusiastic character. he had, with his connections, the bates, i believe, been the founder of herculaneum, and was solicitous to secure it a share of the lead trade, which had been so long and exclusively enjoyed by st. genevieve. he was a man of very decided enterprise, inclined to the manners of the old school gentlemen, which had, i believe, narrowed his popularity, and exposed him to some strong feuds in the interior, where his estates lay. he was a diligent reader of the current things of the day, and watched closely the signs of the times. he had lived in the capital of virginia, where he married. he had been engaged extensively as a merchant and miner in wyeth county, in the western part of that state. he had crossed the wilderness west of the ohio river, at an early day, to st. louis, then a spanish interior capital. he had been received by the spanish authorities with attentions, and awarded a large grant of the mining lands. he had remained under the french period of supremacy, and had been for about sixteen years a resident of the region when it was transferred by purchase to the united states. the family had been from an early day, the first in point of civilization in the country. and as his position seemed to wane, and clouds to hover over his estates, he seemed restless, and desirous to transfer his influence to another theatre of action. from my earliest conversations with him, he had fixed his mind on texas, and spoke with enthusiasm about it. i left my baggage, consisting of two well-filled trunks, in charge of mr. ellis, a worthy innkeeper of the town, and when i was ready to continue my way on foot for st. louis, i was joined in this journey by messrs. kemp and keen, my fellow-voyagers on the water from louisville. we set out on the th of the month. the weather was hot and the atmosphere seemed to be lifeless and heavy. our road lay over gentle hills, in a state of nature. the grass had but in few places been disturbed by the plough, or the trees by the axe. the red clay soil seemed fitter for the miner than the farmer. at the distance of seven miles, we came to a remarkable locality of springs strongly impregnated with sulphur, which bubbled up from the ground. they were remarkably clear and cold, and deposited a light sediment of sulphur, along the little rills by which they found an outlet into a rapid stream, which was tributary to the mississippi. five miles beyond these springs, we reached the valley of the merrimack, just at nightfall; and notwithstanding the threatening atmosphere, and the commencement of rain, before we descended to the stream, we prevailed with the ferryman to go down and set us over, which we urged with the view of reaching a house within less than a mile of the other bank. he landed us at the right spot; but the darkness had now become so intense that we could not keep the road, and groped our way along an old wheel-track into the forest. it also came on to rain hard. we at last stood still. we were lost in utter darkness, and exposed to a pelting storm. after a while we heard a faint stroke of a cow bell. we listened attentively; it was repeated at long intervals, but faintly, as if the animal was housed. it gave us the direction, which was quite different from the course we had followed. no obstacle, though there were many, prevented us from reaching the house, where we arrived wet and hungry, and half dead with fatigue. the merrimack, in whose valley we were thus entangled, is the prime outlet of the various streams of the mine country, where renault, and arnault, and other french explorers, expended their researches during the exciting era of the celebrated illusory mississippi scheme. the next day we crossed an elevated arid tract for twelve miles to the village of carondalet, without encountering a house, or an acre of land in cultivation. on this tract, which formed a sort of oak orchard, with high grass, and was a range for wild deer, jefferson barracks have since been located. six miles further brought us to the town of st. louis, over an elevated brushy plain, in which the soil assumed a decidedly fertile aspect. we arrived about four o'clock in the afternoon, and had a pleasant evening to view its fine site, based as it is on solid limestone rock, where no encroachment of the headlong mississippi can ever endanger its safety. i was delighted with the site, and its capacity for expansion, and cannot conceive of one in america, situated in the interior, which appears destined to rival it in population, wealth, power, and resources. it is idle to talk of any city of europe or asia, situated as this is, twelve hundred miles from the sea, which can be named as its future equal. it was now the th of july, and the river, which had been swollen by the missouri flood, was rapidly falling, and almost diminished to its summer minimum. it left a heavy deposit of mud on its immediate shores, which, as it dried in the sun, cracked into fragments, which were often a foot thick. these cakes of dried sediment consisted chiefly of sand and sufficient aluminous matter to render the whole body of the deposit adhesive. i was kindly received by r. pettibone, esq., a townsman from new york, from whom i had parted at pittsburgh. this gentleman had established himself in business with col. eastman, and as soon as he heard of my arrival, invited me to his house, where i remained until i was ready to proceed to the mines. i examined whatever seemed worth notice in the town and its environs. i then descended the mississippi in a skiff about thirty miles to herculaneum, and the next day set out, on foot, at an early hour, for the mines. i had an idea that every effective labor should be commenced right, and, as i purposed examining the mineralogy and geology of the mine tract, i did not think that could be more thoroughly accomplished than on foot. i ordered my baggage to follow me by the earliest returning lead teams. true it was sultry, and much of the first part of the way, i was informed, was very thinly settled. i went the first day, sixteen miles, and reached the head of joachim creek. in this distance, i did not, after quitting the environs of the town, pass a house. the country lay in its primitive state. for the purpose of obtaining a good road, an elevated arid ridge had been pursued much of the way. in crossing this, i suffered severely from heat and thirst, and the only place where i saw water was in a rut, which i frightened a wild turkey from partaking of, in order to stoop down to it myself. as soon as i reached the farm house, where i stopped at an early hour, i went down to the creek, and bathed in its refreshing current. this, with a night's repose, perfectly restored me. the next day i crossed grand river, and went to the vicinity of old mines, when a sudden storm compelled me to take shelter at the first house, where i passed my second night. in this distance i visited the mining station of john smith t. at his place of shibboleth. smith was a bold and indomitable man, originally from tennessee, who possessed a marked individuality of character, and being a great shot with pistol and rifle, had put the country in dread of him. after crossing big or grand river, i was fairly within the mine country, and new objects began to attract my attention on every hand. the third day, at an early hour, i reached potosi, and took up my residence at mr. w. ficklin's, a most worthy and estimable kentuckian, who had a fund of adventurous lore of forest life to tell, having, in early life, been a spy and a hunter "on the dark and bloody ground." with him i was soon at home, and to him i owe much of my early knowledge of wood-craft. the day after my arrival was the general election of the (then) territory of missouri, and the district elected mr. stephen f. austin to the local legislature. i was introduced to him, and also to the leading gentlemen of the county, on the day of the election, which brought them together. mr. austin, the elder, also arrived. this gathering was a propitious circumstance for my explorations; no mineralogist had ever visited the country. coming from the quarter i did, and with the object i had, there was a general interest excited on the subject, and each one appeared to feel a desire to show me attentions. mr. stephen f. austin invited me to take rooms at the old austin mansion; he requested me to make one of them a depot for my mineralogical collections, and he rode out with me to examine several mines. he was a gentleman of an acute and cultivated mind, and great suavity of manners. he appreciated the object of my visit, and saw at once the advantages that might result from the publication of a work on the subject. for missouri, like the other portions of the mississippi valley, had come out of the late war with exhaustion. the effects of a peace were to lower her staples, lead, and furs, and she also severely felt the reaction of the paper money system, which had created extensive derangement and depression. he possessed a cautious, penetrating mind, and was a man of elevated views. he had looked deeply into the problem of western settlement, and the progress of american arts, education, and modes of thinking and action over the whole western world, and was then meditating a movement on the red river of arkansas, and eventually texas. he foresaw the extension in the mississippi valley of the american system of civilization, to the modification and exclusion of the old spanish and french elements. mr. austin accompanied me in several of my explorations. on one of these excursions, while stopping at a planter's who owned a mill, i saw several large masses of sienite, lying on the ground; and on inquiry where this material could come from, in the midst of a limestone country, was informed that it was brought from the waters of the st. francis, to serve the purpose of millstones. this furnished the hint for a visit to that stream, which resulted in the discovery of the primitive tract, embracing the sources of the st. francis and big rivers. i found rising of forty principal mines scattered over a district of some twenty miles, running parallel to, and about thirty miles west of, the banks of the mississippi. i spent about three months in these examinations, and as auxiliary means thereto, built a chemical furnace, for assays, in mr. austin's old smelting-house, and collected specimens of the various minerals of the country. some of my excursions were made on foot, some on horseback, and some in a single wagon. i unwittingly killed a horse in these trips, in swimming a river, when the animal was over-heated; at least he was found dead next morning in the stable. in the month of october i resolved to push my examinations west beyond the line of settlement, and to extend them into the ozark mountains. by this term is meant a wide range of hill country running from the head of the merrimack southerly through missouri and arkansas. in this enterprise several persons agreed to unite. i went to st. louis, and interested a brother of my friend pettibone in the plan. i found my old fellow-voyager, brigham, on the american bottom in illinois, where he had cultivated some large fields of corn, and where he had contracted fever and ague. he agreed, however, to go, and reached the point of rendezvous, at potosi; but he had been so enfeebled as to be obliged to return from that point. the brother of pettibone arrived. he had no tastes for natural history, but it was a season of leisure, and he was prone for the adventure. but the experienced woodsmen who had agreed to go, and who had talked largely of encountering bears and osage indians, and slaughtering buffalo, one by one gave out. i was resolved myself to proceed, whoever might flinch. i had purchased a horse, constructed a pack saddle with my own hands, and made every preparation that was deemed necessary. on the th of november i set out. mr. ficklin, my good host, accompanied me to the outskirts of the settlement. he was an old woodsman, and gave me proper directions about hobbling my horse at night, and imparted other precautions necessary to secure a man's life against wild animals and savages. my st. louis auxiliary stood stoutly by me. if he had not much poetry in his composition, he was a reliable man in all weathers, and might be counted upon to do his part willingly. this journey had, on reflection, much daring and adventure. it constitutes my initial point of travels; but, as i have described it from my journal, in a separate form, it will not be necessary here to do more than say that it was successfully accomplished. after spending the fall of , and the winter of , in a series of adventures in barren, wild, and mountainous scenes, we came out on the tributary waters of the arkansas, down which we descended in a log canoe. on the strawberry river, my ankle, which i had injured by leaping from a wall of rock while hunting in the green mountains four years before, inflamed, and caused me to lie by a few days; which was the only injury i received in the route. i returned to potosi in february. the first man i met (major hawking), on reaching the outer settlements, expressed surprise at seeing me, as he had heard from the hunters, who had been on my trail about eighty miles to the saltpetre caves on the currents river, that i had been killed by the indians. every one was pleased to see me, and no one more so than my kind kentucky host, who had been the last to bid me adieu on the verge of the wilderness. chapter iv. sit down to write an account of the mines--medical properties of the mississippi water--expedition to the yellow stone--resolve to visit washington with a plan of managing the mines--descend the river from st. genevieve to new orleans--incidents of the trip--take passage in a ship for new york--reception with my collection there--publish my memoir on the mines, and proceed with it to washington--result of my plan-- appointed geologist and mineralogist on an expedition to the sources of the mississippi. . i now sat down to draw up a description of the mine country and its various mineral resources. having finished my expedition to the south, i felt a strong desire to extend my observations up the mississippi to st. anthony's falls, and into the copper-bearing regions of that latitude. immediately i wrote to the hon. j.b. thomas, of illinois, the only gentleman i knew at washington, on the subject, giving him a brief description of my expedition into the ozarks. i did not know that another movement, in a far distant region, was then on foot for exploring the same latitudes, with which it was my fortune eventually to be connected. i allude to the expedition from detroit in , under general cass. i had, at this time, personally visited every mine or digging of consequence in the missouri country, and had traced its geological relations into arkansas. i was engaged on this paper assiduously. when it was finished, i read it to persons well acquainted with the region, and sought opportunities of personal criticism upon it. the months of february and march had now glided away. too close a confinement to my room, however, affected my health. the great change of life from camping out, and the rough scenes of the forest, could not fail to disturb the functional secretions. an obstruction of the liver developed itself in a decided case of jaundice. after the usual remedies, i made a journey from potosi to the mississippi river, for the purpose of ascending that stream on a barge, in order that i might be compelled to drink its turbid, but healthy waters, and partake again of something like field fare. the experiment succeeded. the trip had the desired effect, and i returned in a short time from st. louis to mine au breton in completely restored health. at herculaneum, i was introduced to major stephen h. long, of the united states topographical engineers, who was now on his way, in the small steamer western pioneer, up the missouri to the yellow stone. i went on board the boat and was also introduced to mr. say, the entomologist and conchologist, mr. jessup the geologist, and other gentlemen composing the scientific corps. this expedition was the first evidence to my mind of the united states government turning attention, in connection with practical objects, to matters of science, and the effort was due, i understand, to the enlightened mind of mr. calhoun, then secretary of war. it occurred tome, after my return to potosi, that the subject of the mines which i had been inquiring about, so far as relates to their management as a part of the public domain, was one that belonged properly to the united states government; missouri was but a territory having only inchoate rights. the whole mineral domain was held, in fee, by the general government, and whatever irregularity had been seen about the collections of rents, &c., constituted a question which congress could only solve. i determined to visit washington, and lay the subject before the president. as soon as i had made this determination, everything bowed to this idea. i made a rapid visit, on horseback, to st. louis, with my manuscript, to consult a friend, who entirely concurred in this view. if the mines were ever to be put on a proper basis, and the public to derive a benefit from them, the government must do it. as soon as i returned to potosi, i packed my collection of mineralogy, &c. i ordered the boxes by the lead teams to st. genevieve. i went to the same point myself, and, taking passage in the new steamer "st. louis," descended the mississippi to new orleans. the trip occupied some days. i repassed the junction of the ohio with deep interest. it is not only the importance of geographical events that impresses us. the nature of the phenomena is often of the highest moral moment. an interesting incident occurred as soon as i got on board the steamer. the captain handed me a letter. i opened it, and found it to contain money from the secretary of a secret society. i was surprised at such an occurrence, but i confess not displeased. i had kept my pecuniary affairs to myself. my wardrobe and baggage were such as everywhere to make a respectable appearance. if i economized in travel and outlay, i possessed the dignity of keeping my own secret. one night, as i lay sleepless in a dark but double-bedded room, an old gentleman--a disbanded officer, i think, whose health disturbed his repose--began a conversation of a peculiar kind, and asked me whether i was not a freemason. darkness, and the distance i was from him, induced a studiedly cautious reply. but a denouement the next day followed. this incident was the only explanation the unwonted and wholly unexpected remittance admitted. a stranger, traveling to a southern and sickly city to embark for a distant state, perhaps never to return--the act appeared to me one of pure benevolence, and it reveals a trait which should wipe away many an error of judgment or feeling. the voyage down this stream was an exciting one, and replete with novel scenes and incidents. the portion of the river above the mouth of the ohio, which it had taken me twenty days to ascend in a barge, we were not forty-eight hours in descending. trees, points of land, islands, every physical object on shore, we rushed by with a velocity that left but vague and indistinct impressions. we seemed floating, as it were, on the waters of chaos, where mud, trees, boats, were carried along swiftly by the current, without any additional impulse of a steam-engine, puffing itself off at every stroke of the piston. the whole voyage to new orleans had some analogy to the recollection of a gay dream, in which objects were recollected as a long line of loosely-connected panoramic fragments. at new orleans, where i remained several days, i took passage in the brig arethusa, captain h. leslie, for new york. while at anchor at the balize, we were one night under apprehensions from pirates, but the night passed away without any attack. the mud and alluvial drift of the mississippi extend many leagues into the gulf. it was evident that the whole delta had been formed by the deposits made in the course of ages. buried trees, and other forms of organic life, which have been disinterred from the banks of the river, as high, not only as new orleans and natchez, but to the mouth of the ohio, show this. it must be evident to every one who takes the trouble to examine the phenomena, that an arm of the gulf anciently extended to this point; and that the ohio, the arkansas, red river, and other tributaries of the present day, as well as the main mississippi, had at that epoch entered this ancient arm of the gulf. i landed at the light-house at the balize. we had to walk on planks supported by stakes in the water. a sea of waving grass rose above the liquid plain, and extended as far as the eye could reach. about twelve or fourteen inches depth of water spread over the land. a light-house of brick or stone, formerly built on this mud plain, east of the main pass, had partially sunk, and hung in a diagonal line to the horizon, reminding the spectator of the insecurity of all solid structures on such a nascent basis. the present light-house was of wood. it was evident, however, that here were deposited millions of acres of the richest alluvion on the globe, and in future times another holland may be expected to be rescued from the dominions of the ocean. as we passed out into the gulf, another evidence of the danger of the channel met our view, in the wreck of a stranded vessel. the vast stain of mud and alluvial filth extended for leagues into the gulf. as the vessel began to take the rise and swell of the sea, i traversed the deck diligently, and, by dint of perseverance in keeping the deck, escaped sea-sickness. i had never been at sea before. when the land had vanished at all points, and there was nothing in sight but deep blue water around us and a sky above, the scene was truly sublime; there was a mental reaction, impressing a lesson of the insignificance of man, which i had never before felt. we passed the gulf of florida, heaving in sight on one side, as we passed, of the tortugas, and, on the other, of the mora castle of havana, after which there was little to be noticed, but changes in the gulf stream, fishes, sea-birds, ships, and the constant mutations from tempests to the deep blue waters of a calm, till we hove in sight of the neversinks, and entered the noble bay of new york. it was the third of august when i reached the city, having stayed out my quarantine faithfully on staten island, the mineralogy and geological structure of which i completely explored during that period of municipal regimen--for it was the season of yellow fever, and there was a rigid quarantine. dr. dewitt, the health officer, who had known my father, received me very kindly, and my time wore off imperceptibly, while i footed its serpentine vales and magnesian plains. on reaching the city, i fixed my lodgings at a point on the banks of the hudson, or rather at its point of confluence with the noble bay ( courtland), where i could overlook its islands and busy water craft, ever in motion. i had now completed, by land and water, a circuit of the union, having traveled some miles. my arrival was opportune. no traveler of modern times had thrown himself upon the success of his scientific observations, and i was hailed, by the scientific public, as the first one who had ever brought a collection of the mineral productions of the mississippi valley. my collection, which was large and splendid, was the means of introducing me to men of science at new york and elsewhere. dr. samuel l. mitchell and dr. d. hosack, who were then in the zenith of their fame, cordially received me. the natural sciences were then chiefly in the hands of physicians, and there was scarcely a man of note in these departments of inquiry who was not soon numbered among my acquaintances. dr. john torrey was then a young man, who had just published his first botanical work. dr. a.w. ives warmly interested himself in my behalf, and i had literary friends on every side. among these gov. de witt clinton was prominent. i had fixed my lodgings where the hudson river, and the noble bay of new york and its islands, were in full view from my window. here i opened my collection, and invited men of science to view it, i put to press my observations on the mines and physical geography of the west. i also wrote a letter on its resources, which was published by the corresponding association of internal improvements, the lyceum of natural history, and the historical society, each admitted me to membership. my work was published about the th of november. as soon as it was announced, i took copies of it, and proceeded to washington, where i was favorably received. i lost no time in calling on mr. monroe, and the secretaries of war and of the treasury. mr. monroe took up his commonplace-book, and made memorandums of my statements respecting the mines. mr. calhoun received me cordially, and said that the jurisdiction of the mines was not in his department. but he had received a memoir from general cass, governor of michigan, proposing to explore the sources of the mississippi, through the lakes, and suggesting that a naturalist, conversant with mineralogy, should accompany him, to inquire into the supposed value of the lake superior copper mines. he tendered me the place, and stated the compensation. the latter was small, but the situation appeared to me to be one which was not to be overlooked. i accepted it. it seemed to be the bottom step in a ladder which i ought to climb. small events, it has been said, lead a man, and decide his course in life; and whether this step was important in mine, may be better judged of, perhaps, when these notes shall have been read. in the mean time, while i accepted this place, the subject of the management and superintendence of the western mines appeared to be fully appreciated by mr. calhoun and mr. crawford, the latter of whom requested a written statement on the subject; and it was held for further consideration.[ ] i found during this, my first visit to the capital, that the intelligence of my favorable reception at new york, and of my tour in the west, had preceded me. friends appeared, of whom, at this distance of time, i may name the vice-president, d.d. tompkins, judge smith thompson, of the supreme court, colonel benton, senator elect from missouri, hon. john scott, the delegate, hon. jesse b. thomas, senator from illinois, john d. dickinson, esq., representative from troy, n.y., hon. josiah meigs, commissioner of the general land office, gen. sol. van rensselaer, and dr. darlington, rep. from pennsylvania. to each of these, i have ever supposed myself to be under obligations for aiding me in my object of exploration, and i certainly was for civilities and attentions. [footnote : this effort became the cause of the government finally taking definite action on the subject. mr. monroe presented it to the consideration of congress in the fall, and a superintendent was subsequently appointed.] mr. calhoun addressed a letter to governor cass, of michigan, and i proceeded immediately to the north, to be ready to avail myself of the first opportunity of ascending the lakes to the place of departure. chapter v. set out on the expedition to the north-west--remain a few weeks at new york--visit niagara falls, and reach detroit in the first steamer--preparations for a new style of traveling--correspondents--general sketch of the route pursued by the expedition, and its results--return to albany, and publish my narrative--journal of it--preparation for a scientific account of the observations. . i left washington on the th of february, exactly one year from my return to potosi from the ozarks; proceeded to new york, where i remained till early in march; traveled by sleigh over the highlands, was at niagara falls on the st of may, and reached detroit in the steamer "walk-in-the-water" on the th of may. captain d.b. douglass, of west point academy, was appointed topographer, and joined me at buffalo. we proceeded up lake erie in company, and were received in a most cordial manner by general cass and the citizens generally of that yet remote and gay military post. arrangements were not completed for immediate embarkation. we were to travel in the novel indian bark canoe. many little adaptations were necessary, and while these things were being done we spent a couple of weeks very agreeably, in partaking of the hospitalities of the place. my correspondence now began to accumulate, and i took this occasion of a little pause to attend to it. the publication of my work on the mines had had the effect to awaken attention to the varied resources of the mississippi valley, and the subject of geographical and geological explorations. it also brought me a class of correspondents who are simply anxious for practical information, and always set about getting it in the most direct way, whether they are personal or introduced acquaintances or not. i determined at once to reply to these, wherever they appeared to be honest inquiries for geographical facts, which i only, and not books, could communicate. mr. robert bright, of charleston, s.c., an english emigrant, having got a copy of my work, wrote (jan. ) as to the business prospects of st. louis, intending apparently to go thither. not knowing my correspondent, but, on a moment's reflection, believing the communication of such information would not make me poorer and might be important to him, by helping him on in his fortunes in the world, i wrote to him, giving the desired information, assigning to that spot, in my estimation, a highly important central influence on the business and affairs of the mississippi valley. the hon. john scott, delegate in congress, from missouri, speaking of the work on the mineralogy, &c., of that territory, says, "those sources of individual and national wealth, which i have no doubt you have well developed, have been too long neglected, and i trust that your well-directed efforts to bring them to notice will be amply rewarded, not only in the emoluments derived from the work, but what is still more gratifying to the author, and the enlightened and patriotic statesman, in seeing this portion of our resources brought into full operation." mr. robert c. bruffey, of missouri, writes (march th), giving a sketch of a recent tour into the southern part of arkansas:-- "_health of southern climates_.--when i returned from the arkansas, which was not till the th of october, with some few others, i brought a particular 'specimen' of the country, namely, the ague and fever, which i endured for two months, and until the commencement of cold weather. "i continued but three weeks at the springs (hot springs of wachita); could i have spent the whole summer in the use of the water, no doubt i should have been much benefited, if not entirely relieved from my irksome complaint. i saw your friend stephen p. austin, at the springs, just recovered from a dangerous sickness, namely, fever and vomiting blood. he inquired after you particularly. "_a new field for exploration_.--when i was in the lower country, i was sorry you had not time to visit that interesting section of country previous to the publication of your work (which, i understand, has been received and appreciated with avidity); for i assure you, as relates to scientific researches, you would have collected materials that would have come within its purview, and repaid you liberally for your labor, and the specimens added richly to your collection. "i will now give you a description, so far as my feeble abilities will admit, of the things which i think worthy the attention of a devotee of science. in the first place, the springs are worthy of notice, in a natural as well as medical point of view. they contain in their different issues all the different temperatures, from boiling, down to a pleasure bath. they contain a combining principle, or the quality of petrifying and uniting various substances that may come in contact with them, such as flint, earth, stone, iron, &c. the bluff from which they flow out is principally of an apparent calcareous substance, formed by the water. in some of the springs a red, in others a green and yellow, sediment is produced. the waters will remove rheumatism, purge out mercury, and produce salivation, in those who have it in their system previously; cure old sores and _consumptions_, in their early stages; cure dropsies, palsies, &c., if taken in time. "the next curiosity is the loadstone, a specimen of which i have with me; you can examine it when you visit this country. the next rock crystal, of which i have two specimens.[ ] the fourth is alum, of which i procured a small quantity, as i did not visit the cave where it is to be obtained. the fifth is oil and whetstone, of which there is a great abundance in that quarter. the sixth is asbestus. in a word, the subjects are worthy the attention of those who wish to be instrumental in enlarging or developing that branch of science." [footnote : now in my cabinet.] mr. william ficklin, one of the pioneers of kentucky, but now a resident of missouri, writes: "i am pleased to hear of your appointment, and wish i could be with you on the route, as you will visit a section of the country but little known to our government. i must advise you to be on your guard against the indians, the best of whom will murder a man for a trifle, if they can meet him alone, or off his guard. "a mr. nabb, a few months ago, brought me some white metal, which, he says, he smelted in a common forge--it was as bright as silver, but too hard to bear the hammer. i think it must be zinc." _march th_.--mr. amos eaton writes from troy: "a second edition of my _index to geology_ is in the press--about thirty-six pages struck off. i have written the whole over anew, and extended it to about two hundred and fifty pages mo. i have taken great pains to collect facts, in this district, during the two years since my first edition was published. but i am rather deficient in my knowledge of secondary and alluvial formations; i wish to trouble you with a few inquiries upon that subject. "from what knowledge i have been able to obtain in that department, i am inclined to arrange the secondary class thus:-- "breccia: compact, or shell limestone; gypsum, secondary sandstone. "i leave much, also, for peculiar local formations. "a gentleman presented specimens to the troy lyceum, from illinois, of gypsum and secondary sandstone, and informed me that the latter overlaid the former in regular structure. myron holly, and others, have given me similar specimens, which they represent as being similarly situated, from several localities in the western part of this state. this secondary sandstone is sometimes more or less calcareous. i believe it is used for a cement by the canal company, which hardens under water. will you do me the favor to settle this question? "on your way to detroit, you may perhaps, without material inconvenience, collect facts of importance to me, in relation to secondary and alluvial formations. anything transmitted to me by the middle of april on these subjects will be in season, because i shall not have printed all the transition part before that time. "have you any knowledge of the strata constituting rocky mountains? is it primitive, or is it graywacke like catskill mountains? i have said, in a note, that, after you and dr. e. james set foot upon it, we shall no longer be ignorant of it. "i intend to kindle a blaze of geological zeal before you return. i have adapted the style of my index to the capacities of ladies, plough-joggers, and mechanics." _march th_.--while here, i received a notice of my election as a member of the academy of natural sciences at philadelphia. _april th_.--james t. johnston, esq., of n.y., writes on the interesting character of the mineralogy of the interior of georgia. the spirit of inquiry denoted by these letters gives but a faint idea of the interest which was now awakened in the public mind, on the exploration of the west, and it would require a reference to the public prints of the day to denote this. if the delay had served no other purpose, it had brought us into a familiar acquaintance with our commander, who was frank and straightforward in his manners, and fully disposed, not only to say, but to do everything to facilitate the object. he put no veto on any request of this kind, holding the smiths and mechanics of the government amenable to comply with any order. he was not a man, indeed, who dealt in hems and haws--did not require to sleep upon a simple question--and is not a person whose course is to be stopped, as many little big men are, by two straws crossed. at length the canoes, which were our principal cause of delay, arrived from lake huron, where they were constructed, and all things were ready for our embarkation. it was the th of may when we set out. a small detachment of infantry had been ordered to form a part of the expedition, under lieutenant aeneas mackay. eight or ten chippewa and ottowa indians were taken in a separate canoe, as hunters, and gave picturesqueness to the brigade by their costume. there were ten canadian voyagers of the north-west stamp. professor douglass and myself were the only persons to whom separate classes of scientific duties were assigned. a secretary and some assistants made the governor's mess consist of nine persons. altogether, we numbered, including guides and interpreters, about forty persons; a truly formidable number of mouths to feed in the "waste howling wilderness." having kept and published a journal of the daily incidents of the expedition, i refer to it for details.[ ] to plunge into the wilderness is truly to take one's life in his hand. but nobody thought of this. the enterprise was of a kind to produce exhilaration. the route lay up the detroit and st. clair rivers, and around the southern shores of lakes huron and superior to fond du lac. thence up the st. louis river in its rugged passage through the cabotian mountains to the savannah summit which divides the great lakes from the mississippi valley. the latter was entered through the _comtaguma_ or sandy lake river. from this point the source of the mississippi was sought up rapids and falls, and through lakes and savannahs, in which the channel winds. we passed the inlet of the leech lake, which was fixed upon by lieutenant pike as its probable source, and traced it through little lake winnipeg to the inlet of turtle lake in upper red cedar, or cass lake, in north lat. °. on reaching this point, the waters were found unfavorable to proceeding higher. the river was then descended to the falls of st. anthony, st. peters, and prairie du chien. from the latter point we ascended the wisconsin to the portage into fox river, and descended the latter to green bay. at this point, the expedition was divided, a part going north, in order to trace the shores to michilimackinack, and part steering south, by the shores of lake michigan to chicago. at the latter place, another division was made, governor cass and suite proceeding on horseback, across the peninsula of michigan, and captain douglass and myself completing the survey of the eastern coast of michigan, and rejoining the party detached to strike michilimackinack. the huron shores were coasted to the head of the river st. clair and detroit. [footnote : a narrative journal of travels through the american lakes to the sources of the mississippi river. vol. vo. pp. : albany, .] about four thousand miles were traversed. of this distance the topography was accurately traced by captain douglass and his assistant, mr. trowbridge. this officer also took observations for the latitude at every practical point, and collected with much labor the materials for a new and enlarged map. its geology and mineralogy were the subjects of a detailed report made by me to the war department in . of the copper deposits on lake superior, a detailed report was made to the same department in november . the indian tribes were the subject of observation made by general cass. its botany, its fresh water conchology, and its zoology and ichthyology, received the attention that a rapid transit permitted. its soil, productions, and climate were the topics of daily observation. in short, no exploration had before been made which so completely revealed the features and physical geography of so large a portion of the public domain. and the literary and scientific public waited with an intense desire for the result of these observations in every department. the first letter i received on my return route from that eventful tour, was at the post of green bay, where a letter from j.t. johnston, esq., of new york, awaited me: "since you departed," he observes, "nothing of importance has occurred, either in the moral or political world. the disturbances which disgrace the kingdom of great britain are, and still continue to be, favored by a few factionists. thistlewood, and the members of the cato street conspiracy, have been tried for high treason, and condemned, and i presume the next arrivals must bring us an account of their execution. the cortes has been established in spain, and there floats a rumor that the _saint_, the adored ferdinand, has fled to france. the public debates in france seem to me to thunder forth, as the precursor of some event which will yet violently agitate the country. (napoleon was now in st. helena.) the stormy wave of discord has not subsided. the temple of ambition is not overthrown, and party spirit will rush to inhabit it. the convulsive struggle for independence in the south (america) still continues, but civil war appears about to interrupt its progress. at home all is quiet. a virtuous chief magistrate and a wise administration must benefit a people so prone to domestic faction." this gave me the first glimpse of home and its actualities, and the letter was refreshing for the sympathies it expresses, after long months of tugging over portages, and looking about to arrange in the mind stratifications, to gather specimens of minerals, and fresh water shells, and watch the strange antics which have been cut over the whole face of the north-west by the boulder group of rocks. _sept_. . mr. c.c. trowbridge writes from michilimackinack: "i forward the specimens collected by mr. doty and myself, on the tour (from green bay, on the north shore, to michilimackinack). the most interesting will probably be the organic remains. they were collected in little noquet bay, on the n.e. side, where ridges of limestone show themselves frequently. near the top of the package you find a piece of limestone weighing about two pounds, of which the upper stratum was composed; there are two pieces of the lower stratum, resembling blue pipestone. the middle stratum was composed of these remains. about ten miles n.e. of great bay de noquet, we found flint, or hornstone, in small quantities in the limestone rocks. there is also a specimen of the marble, which we saw little of; but since our arrival i am informed that a large bluff, composed of the same, is seen to miles from this. the gypsum i picked up on st. martin's islands." on reaching detroit, gov. cass invited capt. douglass and myself to recruit ourselves a few days at his "old mansion of the ancient era." i examined and put in order my collection of specimens, selecting such as were designed for various institutions. a local association of persons inclined to foster literary efforts, under the name of "detroit lyceum," elected me a member. the intrepid and energetic officer who had planned and executed this scheme of western exploration gave me a copy of his official letter to the secretary of war, warmly approbating the conduct of capt. douglass and myself, as members of the expedition. all its results were attended with circumstances of high personal gratification. i left detroit on the th of october at o'clock p.m., in the steamer "walk-in-the-water," the first boat built on the lake waters, and reached black rock at o'clock in the morning of the th, being a stormy passage, in a weak but elegant boat, of eighty-seven hours. glad to set my foot on dry land once more, i hurried on by stage and canal, and reached oneida creek depot on the st at o'clock in the morning, stopped for breakfast there, and then proceeded on foot, through the forest, by a very muddy path, to oneida castle, a distance of three miles--my trunk being carried by a man on horseback. thence i took a conveyance for mr. w.h. shearman's, at vernon, where i arrived at ten o'clock a.m. capt. douglass, who had preceded me, wrote from west point military academy, on the th, that in the sudden change of habits he had been affected with a dreadful influenza. my own health continued to be unimpaired, and my spirits were buoyant. after a few days' rest, i wrote a report (nov. th) to the secretary of war on the metalliferous character of the lake superior country, particularly in relation to its reported wealth in copper. i proceeded to albany on the th of december, and arrived the day following, and was cordially greeted by all my friends and acquaintances. it was my intention to have gone immediately to new york, but the urgent entreaties of mr. carter and others induced me to defer it. very little had been said by the members of the party about a publication. we looked to capt. douglass, who was the topographer and a professor at west point, to take the lead in the matter. the death of mr. ellicott, professor of mathematics at that institution, who was his father-in-law, and his appointment to the vacant chair, from that of engineering, placed him in a very delicate and arduous situation. he has never received credit for the noble manner in which he met this crisis. he was not only almost immediately required to teach his class the differential calculus, but the french copy--a language with which he was not familiar--was the only one employed. he was therefore not only obliged to study a comparatively new science, but to do it in a new language; and when the course began, he had to instruct his class daily in tasks which he committed nightly. most men would have sunk under the task, but he went triumphantly through it, and i have never heard that the students or others ever had cause to suspect his information or question his abilities. he wrote to me, and perhaps to me only, on this subject. there was something like a public clamor for the results of the expedition, and the narrative was hurried into press. a new zeal was awakened upon the subject of mineralogy and geology. a friend wrote to me on the mineral affluence of upper georgia. several letters from the western district of the state, transmitting specimens, were received. "the unexampled success of your expedition," observes one of these correspondents, "in all respects is a subject of high congratulation, not only for those of whom it was composed, but also to a great portion of the people of the united states, and to this state in particular, as we are the grand link that unites that vast region to our atlantic border." [ ] these feelings appear in letters from near and far. captain douglass was aware of this interest, and anxious, amidst his arduous duties, to get the necessary time to arrange his notes and materials. he wrote to me (december ) to furnish professor silliman some sketches for the _american journal of science_. on the topic of topography he says:-- [footnote : w.s.d.z., th dec. .] "with regard to our daily occurrences, ought not something to be done? i intended to have had a conversation with governor cass and yourself on the subject before i parted from you, but it escaped me, and i have since written about it. "i should be glad to receive your delineation of the mississippi below prairie du chien, and your levels through the fox and wisconsin (i believe in these we agree pretty nearly) would enable me to consolidate mine. "while i think of it, let me tell you i have made some calculations about the height of the porcupine mountains. my data are the distance at which they were seen from kewewena portage, under the influence of great refraction, and the distance on the following day without unusual refraction, and i am convinced they cannot be less than feet high; if, however, this staggers you, say , and i am confident you are _within_ the real elevation. "estimates of heights, breadths of rivers, &c., and, in looking over your journal, any other topographical facts which you may have to dispose of, will be very acceptable to me. will you be able to spare me (that is, to let me copy) any of your drawings? you know, i believe, my views in asking are to embellish my map and memoir with landscape views in a light style." chapter vi. reception by the country on my return--reasons for publishing my narrative without my reports for a digested scientific account of the expedition--delays interposed to this--correspondents--locality of strontian--letter from dr. mitchell--report on the copper mines of lake superior--theoretical geology--indian symbols--scientific subjects--complete the publication of my work--its reception by the press and the public--effects on my mind--receive the appointment of secretary to the indian commission at chicago--result of the expedition, as shown by a letter of dr. mitchell to general cass. . governor clinton offered me the use of his library while preparing my journal for the press. mr. henry inman, who was then beginning to paint, re-drew some of the views. one of the leading booksellers made me favorable proposals, which i agreed early in january to accept. i began to transcribe my journal on the th of the month, and very assiduously devoted myself to that object, sending off the sheets hurriedly as they were written. the engravings were immediately put in hands. in this way, the work went rapidly on; and i kept up, at the same time, an industrious correspondence with scientific men in various places. it was at this time an object of moment, doubtless, that the results of this expedition should have been combined in an elaborate and joint work by the scientific gentlemen of the party. the topography and astronomy had been most carefully attended to by captain douglass, and the materials collected for an improved map. its geology and mineralogy had formed the topic of my daily notes. its aboriginal population had been seen under circumstances rarely enjoyed. its fresh water conchology had been carefully observed by douglass and myself, and fine collections made. something had been done respecting its botany, and the whole chain of events was ready to be linked together in a striking manner. but there was no one to take the initiative. governor cass, who had led the expedition, did not think of writing. professor douglass, who was my senior, and who occupied the post of topographer, by no means underrated the subject, but deferred it, and, by accepting the professorship of mathematics at west point, assumed a duty which made it literally impossible, though he did not see it immediately, that he should do justice to his own notes. i simply went forward because no one of the members of the expedition offered to. i had kept a journal from the first to the last day, which i believe no one else had. i had been diligent in the morning and evening in observing every line of coast and river. i never allowed the sun to catch me asleep in my canoe or boat. i had kept the domestic, as well as the more grave and important events. i was importuned to give them to the public. i had written to douglass about it, but he was dilatory in answering me, and when at last he did, and approved my suggestion for a joint work in which our observations should be digested, it was too late, so far as my narrative went, to withdraw it from my publishers. but i pledged to him at once my geological and mineralogical reports, and i promptly sent him my portfolio of sketches to embellish his map. this is simply the history of the publication of my narrative journal. my position was, at this time, personally agreeable. my room was daily visited by literary and scientific men. i was invited to the mansions of distinguished men, who spoke of my recent journey as one implying enterprise. nothing, surely, when i threw myself into the current of western emigration, in , was farther from my thoughts than my being an instrumental cause, to much extent, in stirring up and awakening a zeal for scientific explorations and researches. the diurnal press, however, gave this tone to the thing. the following is an extract:--[ ] [footnote : a new york statesman, jan. .] "during the last year, an expedition was authorized by the national government, which left detroit some time in the month of may, under the personal orders of governor cass, of the michigan territory, provided with the necessary means of making observations upon the topography, natural history, and aborigines of the country. we have had an opportunity of conversing with one of the gentlemen who accompanied governor cass in the expedition, mr. h.r. schoolcraft, who has recently returned to this city, bringing a large collection of mineral and other substances, calculated to illustrate the natural history of the regions visited. we learn that the party passed through lake superior, and penetrated to the sources of the mississippi, which have been, for the first time, satisfactorily ascertained. in returning, they passed down the mississippi to prairie du chien, and thence came across to green bay, by means of the ouisconsin and fox rivers. indian tribes were found in every part of the country visited, by whom they were generally well received, except at the sault st. marie, where a hostile disposition was manifested. the country was found to present a great variety in its soil, climate, productions, and the character of the savages, and the information collected must prove highly interesting both to men of business and men of science. "it will be seen, by referring to an advertisement in our paper of to-day, that mr. schoolcraft contemplates publishing an account of the expedition, under the form of a personal narrative, embracing notices of interesting scenery, the indian tribes, topographical discoveries, the quadrupeds, mineral productions, and geology of the country, accompanied by an elegant map and a number of picturesque views. from an inspection of the manuscript map and views, we are persuaded that no analogous performances, of equal merit, have ever been submitted to the hands of the engraver in this country. we have always been surprised that, while we have had so many travelers through the valley of the ohio and lower mississippi, no one should have thought of filling up the chasm in our north-western geography. the field is certainly a very ample one--we cannot but felicitate the public in having a person of the acknowledged talents, industry, and original views of mr. s. to supply the deficiency." at length professor douglass (feb. th) responded to my proposition to club our wits in a general work. "your propositions relative to a joint publication, meet my views precisely, and of course i am inclined to believe we may make an interesting 'work.' in addition to the usual heads of topographical and geographical knowledge, which i propose to treat of, in my memoir on that subject, i am promised by dr. torrey some of the valuable aid which it will be in his power to render for the article 'botany,' and our collections should furnish the materials of a description of the fresh water conchology." his proposition was based on giving a complete account of the animal and mineral constituents of the country, its hydrography and resources; the paper on the aboriginal tribes to be contributed by general cass. a difficulty is, however, denoted. "my duties here," he writes, "as they engross everything at present, will force me to delay a little, and i am in hopes, by so doing, to obtain some further data. i enter, in a few days, on the discharge of my professional duties, under considerable disadvantages, owing to the late introduction into our courses of some french works on the highest branches of mathematics, which it falls to my lot first to teach. between french, therefore, and fluxions, and moreover, the _french method of fluxions_, which is somewhat peculiar, i have had my hands pretty full. i look forward to a respite in april." the professor had, in fact, to teach his class as he taught himself, and just kept ahead of them--a very hard task. in the mean time, while this plan of an enlarged publication was kept in view, i pushed my narrative forward. while it was going through the press, almost every mail brought me something of interest respecting the progress of scientific discovery. a few items may be noticed. _discovery of strontian on lake erie_.--mr. william a. bird, of troy, of the boundary survey, writes (jan. d):-- "on our return down the lake, last fall, we were becalmed near the islands in lake erie. i took a boat, and, accompanied by major delafield, mr. a. stevenson, and mr. de russey (who was to be our guide), went in search of the strontian to the _main_ shore, where mr. de russey says it was found in the summer of . after an unsuccessful search of an hour, we gave it up, and determined to return to our vessel. on our way we stopped at moss island, when, immediately on landing, we found the mineral in question. i wandered a little from the others, and found the large bed of which i spoke to you. we there procured large quantities, and some large crystals. "this strontian was on the south side of moss island, in a horizontal vein of three feet in thickness, and from forty to fifty feet in length. i had no means of judging its depth into the rock. the base of the island is wholly composed of limestone, in which shells scarcely, if ever, appear." _conchology--mineralized fungus, &c._--dr. samuel l. mitchell, of new york, writes (jan. th): "i was glad to receive your letter and the accompanying articles, by the hand of colonel gardiner; but i am sorry your business is such as to prevent your meditated visit to the city until spring. "i had a solemn conference with mr. barnes, our distinguished conchologist, on the subject of your shells. we had say's publication on the land and fresh water molluscas before us. we believed the univalves had been chiefly described by him; one, or probably two of the species were not contained in his memoir. it would gratify me very much to possess a complete collection of those molluscas. i gave mr. barnes, who is an indefatigable collector, such duplicates as i could spare. "i showed your sandy fungus to my class at the college yesterday. our medical school was never so flourishing, there being nearly two hundred students. in the evening, i showed it to the lyceum. all the members regretted your determination to stay the residue of the winter in albany. "the little tortoise is referred, with a new and singular bird, to a zoological committee for examination. the sulphate of strontian is elegant. "i am forming a parcel for professor schreibers, curator of the austrian emperor's cabinet at vienna; the opportunity will be excellent to send a few." _report on the copper of lake superior_.--professor silliman, in announcing a notice of my work on the mines, for the next number of the _journal of science_, feb. th, says: "i have written to the secretary of war, and he has given his consent to have your report appear in the _journal of science_." governor cass, of michigan (feb. th), expresses his thanks for a manuscript copy of the ms. report. "i trust," he adds, "the report will be published by the government. it would be no less useful and satisfactory to the public than honorable to yourself." _geology of western new york_.--mr. andrew mcnabb, of geneva (feb. th), sends me two separate memoirs on the mineralogy and geology of the country, to be employed as materials in my contemplated memoir. the zeal and intelligence of this gentleman have led him to outstrip every observer who has entered into this field of local knowledge. its importance to the value of the lands, their mines, ores, resources, water power, and general character, has led him to take the most enlarged views of the subject. "pursue," he says, "my dear sir, your career, for it is an honorable one. the world, bad as it is, has been much worse than now for authors; and through the great reading public, there are many generous souls, whose views are not confined to sordidness and self. may all your laudable exertions be crowned with ample success--with pleasure and profit to yourself and fellow-citizens!" _boulder of copper_.--a large specimen of native copper from lake superior, procured by me, forwarded to mr. calhoun, by general stephen van rensselaer, representative in congress, was cut up by his directions, and presented to the foreign ministers and gentlemen from abroad; and thus the resources of the country made known. in a letter of feb. th, mr. calhoun acknowledges the receipt of it. _theoretical geology_.--mr. mcnabb, in forwarding additional papers relative to western geology, observes: "have you seen greenough's _essays on geology?_ the reviewers speak of it as well as critics usually do on such occasions. president greenough has given a shock to the 'wernerian system;' his battery is pretty powerful, but he seems more intent on _leveling_ than on building. the wernerian system is very beautiful, ingenious, and plausible, and i would almost regret its demolition, unless it should be found to stand in the way of _truth_. "without some system or order in the investigation of nature's works and nature's laws, the mind is puzzled and confounded, wandering, like noah's dove, over the face of the deep, without finding a resting-place. what a pity that human knowledge and human powers are so limited!" _indian symbolic figures_.--professor douglass (march th) writes, making some inquiries about certain symbolic figures on the sioux bark letter, found above sank river. _expedition to the yellow stone_.--i fancy those western expeditions intend to beat us all hollow, in _tough yarn_, as the sailors have it; for it seems the indian affair has got into the form of a newspaper controversy already: vide _aurora_ and _national gazette._ _mineralogy of georgia_.--j. t. johnston, esq., of new york, writes (march d) that he has made an arrangement for procuring minerals for me from this part of the union. _scientific subjects_.--mr. mcnabb writes (march th): "i deeply regret that so little attention is bestowed by our legislatures (state and national) on objects of such importance as those which engage your thoughts, while so much time, breath, and treasure are wasted on frivolous subjects and party objects. how long must the patriot and philanthropist sigh for the termination of such driveling and delusion!" after a labor at my table of about fourteen weeks, the manuscript was all delivered to my printers; and i returned to new york, and took up my abode in my old quarters at courtland. the work was brought out on the th of may, making an octavo volume of pages, with six plates, a map, and engraved title-page. marks of the haste with which it was run through the press were manifest, and not a few typographical errors. nobody was more sensible of this than myself, and of the value that more time and attention would have imparted. but the public received it with avidity, and the whole edition was disposed of in a short time. approbatory notices appeared in the principal papers and journals. the _new york columbian_ says:-- "the author has before given the public a valuable work upon the lead mines of missouri, and, if we mistake not, a book of instructions upon the manufacture of glass. he is advantageously known as a man of science and literary research, and well qualified to turn to beneficial account the mass of information he must have collected in his tour through that interesting part of the country, which has attracted universal attention, though our knowledge of it has hitherto been extremely limited. we think there is no fear that the just expectations of the public will be disappointed; but that the book will be found to furnish all the valuable and interesting information that the subject and acquirements of the writer promised, conveyed in a chaste and easy style appropriate for the journalist--occasionally enlivened by animating descriptions of scenery. the author has not suffered his imagination to run wild from a foolish vanity to win applause as a fine writer, when the great object should be to give the reader a view of what he describes, as far as language will permit, in the same light in which he beheld it himself. he aims to give you a just and true account of what he has seen and heard, and his book will be referred to as a record of facts by the learned and scientific at home and abroad. it is a production honorable to the country, and, if we mistake not, will advance her reputation in the opinion of the fastidious reviewers of scotland and england, in spite of their deep-rooted prejudices." mr. walsh, of the _national gazette_, deems it a valuable addition to this class of literature. "public attention," he remarks, "was much excited last year by the prospectus of the expedition, of which mr. schoolcraft formed a part as mineralogist, and whose journey he has now described. he remarks, in his introduction, with truth, that but little detailed information was before possessed of the extreme north-western region of the union--of the great chain of lakes--and of the sources of the mississippi river, which continued to be a subject of dispute between geographical writers. in the autumn of governor cass, of michigan territory, projected an expedition for exploring what was so imperfectly known, and yet so worthy of being industriously surveyed. "the secretary of war--to whom mr. schoolcraft's book is appropriately dedicated, with a just testimony to the liberal and enlightened character of his official administration--not only admitted the plan of governor cass, but furnished him with the means of carrying it into full effect by providing an escort of soldiers and directing the commandants of the frontier garrisons to furnish every aid, of whatever description, which the party might require. to the governor, as chief of the expedition, he associated several gentlemen qualified to accomplish its objects; which were--a more correct knowledge of the names, numbers, customs, history, mode of subsistence, and dispositions of the indian tribes--the collection of materials for an accurate map of the country--the investigation of the subject of the north-western copper and lead mines, and gypsum quarries; and the acquisition, from the indians, of such tracts as might be necessary to secure the benefit of them to the united states. "in the course of last march, we published a letter of governor cass to the secretary of war, describing in a happy manner some of the scenes and occurrences which fell within the observation or inquiry of the expedition. mr. schoolcraft states, at the end of his introductory remarks, that he does not profess to communicate _all_ the topographical information collected, and that a special topographical report and map may be expected, together with other reports and the scientific observations of the expedition in general. we anticipate, therefore, an ample and valuable accession to our stock of knowledge respecting so important a portion of the american territory; and such evidence of the utility of enterprises of the kind, as will inspire every branch of the government with a desire to see them repeated with equipments and facilities adapted to the most comprehensive research, and fitted to render them creditable in their fruits to the national character abroad. "the present narrative does not exhibit the author in his capacity of mineralogist alone. in this he appears indeed more distinctively, and to particular advantage; but he writes also as a general describer and relater, and has furnished lively and ample accounts of the natural objects, and novel, magnificent scenery which he witnessed; and of the history, character, condition, and habits of the various indian bands whom he encountered in his route, or who belong especially to our north-western territories." i was deeply sensible of the exalted feelings and enlarged sentiments with which these and other notices were written. the effect on my mind was a sense of literary humility, and a desire to prove myself in any future attempts of the kind in some measure worthy of them. literary candidates are not ever, perhaps, so much pleased or gratified by those who render them exact justice, of which there is always some notion, as by warm, liberal, or high-minded thoughts and commendations, which are incentives to future labors. _may d_.--general cass had, before leaving detroit, offered me the situation of secretary to the commissioners appointed to confer with the indians at chicago in the summer of , with a view, primarily, to the interesting and circuitous journey which it was his intention to make, in order to reach the place of meeting. this offer, as the time drew on, he now put in the shape of a letter, which i determined at once to accept, and made my arrangements to leave the city without loss of time. it was proposed to be at detroit the st of july. the tour would lie through the valleys of the miami of the lakes, and the wabash, which interlock at the fort wayne summit; then across the grand prairie of the illinois to st. louis, and up the illinois river from its mouth to its source. this would give me a personal knowledge of three great valleys, which i had not before explored, and connect my former southern explorations in arkansas and missouri with those of the great lake basins and the upper mississippi. i had been at the sources and the mouth of that great river, and i had now the opportunity to complete the knowledge of its central portions. it was with the utmost avidity, therefore, that i turned my face again towards the west. mr. calhoun, who was written to on the subject, concurred in this plan, and extended the time for the completion of my geological report. _joint work on the scientific results of the expedition of _.-- general cass, who had been written to, thus expresses himself on this subject:-- "captain douglass has informed me that you and he meditate a joint work, which shall comprise those objects, literary and scientific, which could not properly find a place in a diurnal narrative. at what time is this work to appear, and what are its plan and objects? my observations and inquiries respecting the indians will lead me much further than i intended or expected. if i can prepare anything upon that subject prior to the appearance of the work, i shall be happy to do it." _geological survey of dutchess county_.--dr. benjamin allen, of hyde park, writes to me (june th) on this subject, urging me to undertake the survey; but the necessity of closing my engagements in the west rendered it impossible. _expedition of_ .--dr. mitchell furnishes me opinions upon some of the scientific objects collected by me and my associates in the north-west in :-- "the squirrel sent by general cass is a species not heretofore described, and has been named by dr. mitchell the _federation squirrel_, or _sciurus tredecem striatus_. "the pouched rat, or _mus bursarius_, has been seen but once in europe. this was a specimen sent to the british museum from canada, and described by dr. shaw. but its existence is rather questioned by charles cuvier. "both animals have been described and the descriptions published in the st vol. of the _medical repository_ of new york, p. _et seq_. the specimens are both preserved in my museum. drawings have been executed by the distinguished artist milbert, and forwarded by him at my request to the administrators of the king's museum, at paris, of which he is a corresponding member. my descriptions accompany them. the originals are retained as too valuable to be sent out of the country. "the paddle fish is the _spatularia_ of shaw and _polyodon_ of lacepede. it lives in the mississippi only, and the skeleton, though incomplete, is better than any other person here possesses. it is carefully preserved in my collection. "the serpent is a species of the linnaean genus anguis, the _orveto_ of the french, and the _blind worm_ of the english. the loss of the tail of this fragile creature may render an opinion a little dubious, but it is supposed to be an _ophias aureus_ of dandin, corresponding to the anguis ventralis of linn, figured by catesby. "the shells afford a rich amount of undescribed species. the whole of the univalves and bivalves received from messrs. schoolcraft and douglass, have been assembled, and examined with all i possessed before, and with mr. stacy collins's molluscas brought from ohio. mr. barnes is charged with describing and delineating all the species not contained in mr. say's memoir on these productions of the land and fresh waters of north america. the finished work will be laid before the lyceum, and finally be printed in silliman's new haven _journal_. the species with which zoology will be enriched will amount probably to nine or ten. we shall endeavor to be just to our friends and benefactors. "the pipe adorns my mantelpiece, and is much admired by connoisseurs." chapter vii. trip through the miami of the lakes, and the wabash valley--cross the grand prairie of illinois--revisit the mines--ascend the illinois--fever--return through the great lakes--notice of the "trio"--letter from professor silliman--prospect of an appointment under government--loss of the "walk-in-the-water"--geology of detroit--murder of dr. madison by a winnebago indian. . i left new york for chicago on the th june--hurried rapidly through the western part of that state--passed up lake erie from buffalo, and reached detroit just in season to embark, on the th of july. general cass was ready to proceed, with his canoe-elege in the water. we passed, the same day, down the detroit river, and through the head of lake erie into the maumee bay to port lawrence, the present site, i believe, of the city of toledo. this was a distance of seventy miles, a prodigious day's journey for a canoe. but we were shot along by a strong wind, which was fair when we started, but had insensibly increased to a gale in lake erie, when we found it impossible to turn to land without the danger of filling. the wind, though a gale, was still directly aft. on one occasion i thought we should have gone to the bottom, the waves breaking in a long series, above our heads, and rolling down our breasts into the canoe. i looked quietly at general cass, who sat close on my right, but saw no alarm in his countenance. "that was a fatherly one," was his calm expression, and whatever was thought, little was said. we weathered and entered the bay silently, but with feelings such as a man may be supposed to have when there is but a step between him and death. we ascended the miami valley, through scenes renowned by the events of two or three wars. i walked over the scene of dudley's defeat in ; of wayne's victory in ; and of the sites of forts deposit and defiance, and other events celebrated in history. from fort defiance, which is at the junction of the river _auglaize_, we rode to fort wayne, sleeping in a deserted hut half way. we passed the summit to the source of the wabash, horseback, sleeping at an indian house, where all the men were drunk, and kept up a howling that would have done credit to a pack of hungry wolves. the canadians, who managed our canoe, in the mean time brought it from water to water on their shoulders, and we again embarked, leaving our horses at the forks of the wabash. the whole of this long and splendid valley, then wild and in the state of nature, till below the tippecanoe, we traversed, day by day, stopping at vincennes, terrehaute, and a hundred other points, and entered the ohio and landed safely at shawneetown. here it was determined to send the canadians with our canoe, round by water to st. louis, while we hired a sort of stage-wagon to cross the prairies. i visited the noted locality of fluor spar in pope county, illinois, and crossing the mountainous tract called the knobs, rejoined the party at the saline. here i found my old friend enmenger, of kemp and keen memory, to be the innkeeper. on reaching st. louis, general cass rode over the country to see the missouri, while i, in a sulky, revisited the mines in washington, and brought back a supply of its rich minerals. we proceeded in our canoe up the river illinois to the rapids, at what is called fort rock, or starved rock, and from thence, finding the water low, rode on horseback to chicago, horses having been sent, for this purpose, from chicago to meet us. there was not a house from peoria to john craft's, four miles from chicago. i searched for, and found, the fossil tree, reported to lie in the rocks in the bed of the river _des plaines_. the sight of lake michigan, on nearing chicago, was like the ocean. we found an immense number of indians assembled. the potawattomies, in their gay dresses and on horseback, gave the scene an air of eastern magnificence. here we were joined by judge solomon sibley, the other commissioner from detroit, whence he had crossed the peninsula on horseback, and we remained in negotiation with the indians during fifteen consecutive days. a treaty was finally signed by them on the th of august, by which, for a valuable consideration in annuities and goods, they ceded to the united states about five millions of acres of choice lands. before this negotiation was finished, i was seized with bilious fever, and consequently did not sign the treaty. it was of the worst bilious type, and acute in its character. i did not, indeed, ever expect to make another entry in a human journal. but a vigorous constitution at length prevailed, and weeks after all the party had left the ground, i was permitted to embark in a vessel called the decatur on the d of september for detroit. we reached michilimackinack the seventh day of our voyage, and returned to detroit on the th of october. the incidents and observations of this journey have been given to the public under the title "travels in the central portions of the mississippi valley" ( vol. pp. , vo.: new york). i still felt the effects of my illness on reaching detroit, where i remained a few days before setting out for new york. on reaching oneida county, where i stopped to recruit my strength, i learned that some envious persons, who shielded themselves under the name of "trio," had attacked my _narrative journal_, in one of the papers during my absence. the attack was not of a character to demand a very grave notice, and was happily exposed by mr. carter, in some remarks in the columns of the _statesman_, which first called my attention to the subject. "a trio of writers," he observes, in his paper of th august, "in the _daily advertiser_ of wednesday, have commenced an attack on the _narrative journal_ of mr. schoolcraft, lately published in this city. we should feel excessively mortified for the literary reputation of our country, if it took any _three_ of our writers to produce such a specimen of criticism as the article alluded to; and 'for charity's sweet sake,' we will suppose that by a typographical error the signature is printed _trio_ instead of _tyro_. at any rate, the essay, notwithstanding all its _wes_ and _ours_, bears the marks of being the effort of _one_ smatterer, rather than the joint production of _three_ critics, as the name imports." the trio (if we admit there are _tria juncta in uno_, in this knot of savans) pretend to be governed by patriotic motives in attacking mr. schoolcraft. 'in what we have said, our object has been to expose error, and to shield _ourselves_ from the imputation which would justly be thrown upon _ourselves_.' the construction of this sentence reminds us of the exordium of deacon strong's speech at stonington--'_the generality of mankind in general_ endeavor to try to take the disadvantage of _the generality of mankind in general_.' but not to indulge in levities on so grave a subject, we are happy in the belief that the reputation of our country does not demand the condemnation of schoolcraft's _journal_, as a proof of our taste, nor need such a shield as the trio have interposed, to protect it from the attacks of foreign reviewers:-- 'non tali auxilio, nec defensoribus istis tempus eget.' it affords us great pleasure to relieve the anxiety of the trio on the subject of shielding 'ourselves from the imputation which would be justly thrown upon ourselves,' by stating that one of the most scientific gentlemen in the united states wrote to the publishers of schoolcraft's _journal_, not a week since, for a copy of the work to send to paris, adding to his request, _the work is so valuable that i doubt not it would be honorably noticed_. "we have not taken the trouble to examine the passages to which the trio have referred; for, admitting that a trifling error has been detected in an arithmetical calculation--that a few plants (or _vegetables_, as this botanist calls them) have been described as new, which were before known--and that in the haste of composition some verbal errors may have escaped the author, yet these slight defects do not detract essentially from the merit of the work, or prove that it has improperly been denominated a scientific, valuable, and interesting volume. our sage critics are not aware how many and whom they include in the denunciation of 'a few men who _pretend_ to all the knowledge, all the wisdom of the country;' if by a _few_ they mean all who have spoken in the most favorable terms of mr. schoolcraft's book. "one word in respect to the 'candor' of the trio, and we have done. it would seem to have been more candid, and the disavowal of 'an intention to injure' would have been more plausible, if the attack had been commenced when the author was present to defend himself, and not when he is in the depth of a wilderness, remote from his assailants and ignorant of their criticisms. but we trust he has left many friends behind who will promptly and cheerfully defend his reputation till his return." on reading the pieces, i found them to be based in a petty spirit of fault-finding, uncandid, illiberal, and without wit, science, or learning. it is said in a book, which my critics did not seem to have caught the spirit of--"should not the multitude of words be answered, and should a man fall if talk be justified? should thy lies make men hold their peace, and when thou mockest shall no man make thee ashamed?" (job xi. , .) my blood boiled. i could have accepted and approved candid and learned and scientific criticism. i replied in the papers, pointing out the gross illiberality of the attack, and tried to provoke a discovery of the authors. but they were still as death; the mask that had been assumed to shield envy, hypercriticism, and falsehood, there was neither elevation of moral purpose, courage, nor honor, to lay aside. in the mean time, all my correspondents and friends sustained me. men of the highest standing in science and letters wrote to me. a friend of high standing, in a note from washington (oct. th) congratulating me on my recovery from the fever at chicago, makes the following allusion to this concealed and spiteful effort: "when in albany i procured from mr. webster copies of them (the pieces), with a view to say something in the papers, had it been necessary. but, from their character and effect, this would have been wholly unnecessary. they have fallen still-born from the press." mr. carter (oct. th) says: "g. c. was at my room, and spoke of the numbers with the utmost contempt, and thought they were not worth noticing. the same opinion is entertained by everyone whom i have heard speak on the subject. chancellor kent told me that your book is the most interesting he has ever read, and that the attack on it amounts to nothing. others have paid it the same compliment, and i think your fame is in no danger of being injured by the trio." mr. baldwin, a legal gentleman of high worth and standing, made the following observations in one of the city papers, under the signature of "albanian":-- "true criticism is a liberal and humane art, and teaches no less to point out and admire what is deserving of applause, than to detect and expose blemishes and defects. if this be a correct definition of criticism, and 'trio' were capable of filling the office he has assumed, i am of opinion that a different judgment would have been pronounced upon mr. schoolcraft's book of travels; and that they would have been justly eulogized, and held up for the perusal of every person at all anxious about acquiring an intimate knowledge of the interesting country through which he traveled, and which he so ably and beautifully described. it is certainly true, that we abound in snarling critics, whose chief delight is in finding fault with works of native production; and though it is not my business to tread upon their corns, i could wish they might ever receive that castigation and contempt which they merit from a liberal and enlightened public. in the first article which appeared in your useful paper, over the signature of 'trio,' i thought i discovered only the effervescence of a pedantic and caviling disposition; but, when i find that writer making false and erroneous statements, and drawing deductions therefrom unfavorable to mr. schoolcraft, i deprecate the evil, and invite the public to a free and candid investigation of the truth. not satisfied with detracting from the merits of mr. schoolcraft's work, 'trio' indulges in some bitter and illiberal remarks upon those gentlemen who composed the yellow stone river expedition; and to show how little qualified he is for the subject, i will venture to declare him ignorant of the very first principles upon which that expedition was organized." so much for the "trio." no actual discovery of the authors was made; but from information subsequently obtained, it is believed that their names are denoted under the anagram lenictra. other criticisms of a different stamp were, however, received from high sources, speaking well of the work, which may here be mentioned. professor silliman writes from new haven, november d: "i perused your travels with great satisfaction; they have imparted to me a great deal of information and pleasure. could any scientific friend of yours (captain douglass, for instance) prepare a notice, or a review, i would cheerfully insert it. "in reading your travels, i marked with a pencil the scientific notices, and especially those on mineralogy and geology, thinking that i might at a future period embody them into an article for the journal. would it not be consistent with your time and occupations to do this, and forward me the article? i would be greatly pleased also to receive from you a notice of the fluor spar from illinois; of the fossil tree; and, in short, any of your scientific or miscellaneous observations, which you may see fit to intrust to the pages of the journal, i shall be happy to receive, and trust they would not have a disadvantageous introduction to the world." how different is this in its spirit and temper from the flimsy thoughts of the trio! _literary honors_.--dr. alfred s. monson, of new haven, informs me (november d) of my election as a member of the american geological society. mr. austin abbott communicates notice of my election as a member of the hudson lyceum of natural history. _appointment under government_.--a friend in high confidence at washington writes (november th): "the proposition to remove from sackett's harbor to the sault of st. mary a battalion of the army, and to establish a military post at the latter place, has been submitted by mr. calhoun to the president. the pressure of other subjects has required an investigation and decision since his return; so that he has not yet been able to examine this matter. mr. calhoun is himself decidedly in favor of the measure, and i have no doubt but that such will be the result of the presidential deliberation. the question is too plain, and the considerations connected with it too obvious and important, to allow any prominent difficulties to intrude themselves between the conception and the execution of the measure. if a post be established, it is almost certain that an indian agency will be located there, and, in the event, it is quite certain that you will be appointed the agent." _loss of the "walk-in-the-water."_--this fine steamer was wrecked near the foot of lake erie, in november. a friend in detroit writes (november th): "this accident maybe considered as one of the greatest misfortunes which have ever befallen michigan, for in addition to its having deprived us of all certain and speedy communication with the civilized world, i am fearful it will greatly check the progress of emigration and improvement. they speak of _three_ new boats on lake erie next season; i hope they may be erected, but such reports are always exaggerated." _geology of detroit_.--"no accurate measurement that i can find has ever been made of the height of the bank of the river at this place. as near as i can ascertain, however, from those who have endeavored to obtain correct information respecting it, and from my own judgment, i should suppose the base of the pillars at the upper end of the market-house, which stand three hundred feet from the water's edge, to be thirty-three feet above the surface of the river. the bank is of a gentle descent towards the water, and gradually recedes from the river for one mile above the lower line of the city. "in digging a well in the north-east part of the city, in the street near the council house, the loam appeared to be about a foot and a half deep. the workmen then passed through a stratum of blue clay of eight or ten feet, when they struck a vein of coarse sand, eight inches in thickness, through which the water entered so fast, as to almost prevent them from going deeper. they, however, proceeded through another bed of blue clay, twenty or twenty-two feet, and came to a fine yellow sand, resembling quicksand, into which they dug three feet and stopped, having found sufficient water. the whole depth of the well was thirty-three feet. "the water is clear, and has no bad taste. no vegetable or other remains were found, and only a few small stones and pebbles, such as are on the shores of the river. a little coarse dark sand and gravel were found below the last bed of clay, on the top of the yellow sand." the boring for water in was extended, on the fort shelby plateau, feet. after passing ten feet of alluvion, the auger passed through feet of blue clay, with quicksand, then two of beach sand and pebbles, when the limestone rock was struck. it was geodiferous for sixty feet, then lies sixty-five, then a carbonate of lime eight feet, at which depth the effort was relinquished unsuccessfully.--_historical and scientific sketches of michigan_. "_bed of the detroit river_.--i am induced to believe the bed of the river detroit is clay, from the fact that it affords good anchorage for vessels. neither limestone nor any other rock has ever been discovered in it." _murder of dr. madison._--a gentleman at the west writes to me (nov. ): "as to the murder of dr. madison, the facts were, that he started from green bay, with three soldiers, to go to chicago, and from thence to his wife in kentucky, who, during his absence, had added 'one' to the family. the indian ke-taw-kah had left the bay the day previous, had passed the indian village on the manatoowack river, on his way to chebiogan on the west side of lake michigan, to see a relative, but had turned back. when the doctor met him, he was standing by the side of a tree, apparently unemployed. the indian, says the doctor, addressed him, and said something, from which he understood they wanted them to guide him to chicago. as he knew he should get something to eat from them, he concluded he would go with them as far as chebiogan. accordingly, he fell in with the party about p.m., and walked on until they had passed the manatoowack river, about three miles. "they came to a small rise of ground, over which two of the soldiers had passed, and the other was by the side of the doctor's horse, and both were just on the top. the indian was about two rods in the rear, and was at the foot of the hill, when a gun was fired in the rear, and madison received the charge in his shoulders and in the back of his neck, and immediately fell from his horse. the indian instantly disappeared. the doctor exclaimed, 'oh! why has that indian shot me? i never did him or any of them any injury. to kill me, too, when i was just returning to my wife and my little child, which i have never seen! it is more painful than death.' his conversation was very pathetic, as related by the soldier, and all who heard him were greatly affected. "the indian says he shot him without any cause or malice; that the thought came into his head, about two minutes before, that he would kill one of the four; and when he saw the doctor on the top of the hill, he concluded he would fire at him, to see how pretty he would fall off his horse." these things transpired late in the fall. i did not reach albany till late in december, and immediately began to prepare my geological report. chapter viii. new-yearing--a prospect opened--poem of ontwa--indian biography--fossil tree--letters from various persons--notice of ontwa--professor silliman--gov. clinton--hon. j. meigs--colonel benton--mr. dickenson--professor hall--views of ex-presidents madison, jefferson, and adams on geology--geological notices--plan of a gazetteer--opinions of my _narrative journal_ by scientific gentlemen--the impostor john dun hunter--trip up the potomac--mosaical chronology--visit to mount vernon. . _jan. st_.--i spent this day a new-yearing. albany is a dear place for the first of january; not only the _houses_ of every one, but the _hearts_ of every one seem open on this day. it is no slight praise to say that one day out of the three hundred and sixty-five is consecrated to general hospitality and warm-hearted cordiality. if st. nicholas was the author of this custom, he was a social saint; and the custom seems to be as completely kept up on the banks of the hudson as it ever could have been on the banks of the rhine. _jan. th_.--my experience is that he who would rise, in science or knowledge, must toil incessantly; it is the price at which success sells her favors. during the last four years, i have passed not less than ten thousand miles, and in all this time i have scarcely lain down one night without a feeling that the next day's success must depend upon a fresh appeal to continued effort. my pathway has certainly not lain over beds of gold, nor my pillow been composed of down. and yet my success has served to raise the envy and malignity of some minds. true, these have been small minds; while a just appreciation and approval have marked the course of the exalted and enlightened. a friend writes from washington, this day, assuring me that i am not forgotten in high quarters. "the occupation," he says, "of the _sault_ has been decided on, and i have but little doubt of your appointment to the agency. make your mind easy. i am certain the government will not forget you, and i never can. i shall not lose sight of your interest a moment." thus, while an envious little clique here has, in my absence, clandestinely thrown most uncandid censure upon me and my labors, a vista of honor is presented to my hopes from a higher source. while recovering from the prostrating effects of my chicago fever, i had drawn up a memoir for the american geological society, which had made me a member, on the fossil tree observed in the stratification of the des plaines, of the illinois, and took the occasion of being detained here in making my report, to print it, and circulate copies. it appeared to be a good opportunity, while calling attention to the fact described, to connect it with the system of secondary rocks, as explained by geologists. in this way, the occurrence of perhaps a not absolutely unique phenomenon is made a vehicle of conveying geological information, which is now sought with avidity in the country. this step brought me many correspondents of note. mr. madison (ex-president united states) writes (jan. ): "the present is a very inquisitive age, and its researches of late have been ardently directed to the primitive composition and structure of our globe, as far as it has been penetrated, and to the processes by which succeeding changes have been produced. the discoveries already made are encouraging; but vast room is left for the further industry and sagacity of geologists. this is sufficiently shown by the opposite theories which have been espoused; one of them regarding water, the other fire, as the great agent employed by nature in her work. "it may well be expected that this hemisphere, which has been least explored, will yield its full proportion of materials towards a satisfactory system. your zealous efforts to share in the contributions do credit to your love of truth and devotion to the cause of science, and i wish they may be rewarded with the success they promise, and with all the personal gratifications to which they entitle you." mr. jefferson (ex-president united states) sends a note of thanks (jan. th) in the following words: "it is a valuable element towards the knowledge we wish to obtain of the crust of the globe we inhabit; and, as crust alone is immediately interesting to us, we are only to guard against drawing our conclusions deeper than we dig. you are entitled to the thanks of the lovers of science for the preservation of this fact." mr. john adams (ex-president united states, jan. th) says: "i thank you for your memoir on the fossil tree, which is very well written; and the conjectures on the processes of nature in producing it are plausible and probable. "i once lay a week wind-bound in portland road, in england, and went often ashore, and ascended the mountain from whence they get all the portland stone that they employ in building. in a morning walk with some of the american passengers from the lucretia, captain calehan, we passed by a handsome house, at the foot of the hill, with a handsome front yard before it. upon the top of one of the posts of this yard lay a fish, coiled up in a spiral figure, which caught my eye. i stopped and gazed at it with some curiosity. presently a person, in the habit and appearance of a substantial and well-bred english gentleman, appeared at his door and addressed me. 'sir, i perceive that your attention is fixed on my fish. that is a conger eel--a species that abounds in these seas; we see them repeatedly, at the depth of twelve feet water, lying exactly in that position. that stone, as it now appears, was dug up from the bowels of this mountain, at the depth of twenty feet below the surface, in the midst of the rocks. now, sir,' said he, 'at the time of the deluge, these neighboring seas were thrown up into that mountain, and this fish, lying at the bottom, was thrown up with the rest, and then petrified, in the very posture in which he lay.' "i was charmed with the eloquence of this profound philosopher, as well as with his civility, and said that i could not account for the phenomenon by any more plausible or probable hypothesis. "this is a lofty hill and very steep, and in the road up and down, there are flat and smooth rocks of considerable extent. the commerce in portland stone frequently calls for huge masses, from ten to fifteen tons weight. these are loaded on very strong wheels, and drawn by ten or twelve pair of horses. when they come to one of those flat rocks on the side of the hill where the descent is steep, they take off six or eight pair of horses, and attach them behind the wagon, and lash them up hill, while one or two pair of horses in front have to drag the wagon and its load and six or eight pair of horses behind it, backwards. "i give you this history by way of comment on dr. franklin's famous argument against a mixed government. that great man ought not to have quoted this as a new england custom, because it was an english practice before new england existed, and is a happy illustration of the necessity of a balanced government. "and since i have mentioned dr. franklin, i will relate another fact which i had from his mouth. when he lived at passy, a new quarry of stone was opened in the garden of mr. ray de chaumont, and, at the depth of twenty feet, was found among the rocks a shark's tooth, in perfect preservation, which i suppose my portland friend would account for as he did for his conger eel, though the tooth was not petrified." thus, my memoir was the cause of the expression of opinions and facts from distinguished individuals, which possess an interest distinct from the bearing of such opinions on geology. mr. carter, who has just transferred the publication of the _statesman_ from albany to new york, writes (jan. th) from the latter city, urging me to hasten my return to that city. _poem on the theme of the aborigines_.--"i have," he remarks, "read ontwa, the indian poem you spoke to me about last summer. the notes by governor cass are extremely interesting, and written in a superior style. i shall notice the work in a few days." _geology of new york island_.--"i wish you to give me an article on the mineralogy and geology of manhattan island, in the form of a letter purporting to be by a foreign traveler. (see appendix, no. .) it is my intention to give a series of letters, partly by myself and partly by others, which shall take notice of everything in and about the city which may be deemed interesting. i wish to begin at the foundation by giving a geographical and geological sketch of the island." _indian biography_.--"colonel haines also wishes you to unite with him and myself, in writing a series of sketches of celebrated indians." professor silliman writes (jan. th), acknowledging the receipt of a memoir on the fossil tree of the river des plaines, which was prepared for the american geological society. he requests me to furnish him a copy of my memoir on the geology of the regions visited by the recent expedition, or, if it be too long for the purposes of the _american journal_, an abstract of it. _animal impressions in limestone_.--"i am much obliged to you for your kind intention of furnishing me with a paper on the impressions in limestone, and i hope you will bear it in mind, and execute it accordingly. "i have observed the appointment which the newspapers state that you have received from the government, and regret that it carries you so far south,[ ] into an unhealthy climate; wishing you, however, health and leisure to pursue those studies which you have hitherto prosecuted so successfully." [footnote : this is evidently an allusion to st. mary's, in georgia, instead of michigan.] professor frederick hall, of middlebury college, addresses me (jan. th) on the same subject. he alludes to my treatise "on the mines, minerals, &c., of the western section of the united states;" a work for which our country and the world are deeply indebted to your enlightened enterprise and unrelaxing zeal. before reading it, i had a very inadequate conception of the actual extent and riches of the lead mines of the west. it seems, according to your account, that these mines are an exhaustless source of wealth to the united states. "i should feel glad to have them put under your superintendence; and to have you nurture up a race of expert mineralogists, and become a werner among them." professor silliman writes (jan. th): "when i wrote you last, i had not been able to procure your memoir on the fossil tree. i read it, however, immediately after, and was so much pleased with it, that i extracted the most important parts in the _american journal_, giving credit, of course, to you and to the geological society." _jan. th_. chester dewy, professor, &c., in williams college, mass., writes a most kind and friendly letter, in which he presents various subjects, in the great area of the west, visited by me. _chalk formation_.--"mr. jessup, of philadelphia, told me that he believed you doubted respecting the _chalk_ of missouri, in which you found nodules of flints. i wish to ask if this be fact. from the situation, and characters and uses, you might easily be led into a mistake, for such a bed of any other earth would be far less to be expected, and be also a far greater curiosity." _petrosilex, &c._--"by the way, i received from dr. torrey a curious mixture of petrosilex and prehnite in radiating crystals, which was sent him by you, and collected at the west. he did not tell me the name, but examination showed me what it was." _tufa from western new york_.--"to day, a quaker from sempronius, new york, has shown me some fine tufa. i mention it, because you may, in your travels, be able to see it. he says it covers an acre or more to a great depth, is burned into excellent lime with great ease, and is very valuable, as no good limestone is found near them. some of it is very soft, like agaric mineral, and would be so called, were it not associated with beautiful tufa of a harder kind." _geology of america_.--"you have explored in fine situations, to extend the knowledge of the geology of our country, and have made great discoveries. i congratulate you on what you have been able to do; i hope you may be able, if you wish it, to add still more to our knowledge." _jan. th_. mr. mcnabb says: "i have just received a specimen of excellent pit-coal from tioga county, pennsylvania, near the head of the south branch of the tioga river, and about twenty miles south from painted post, in steuben county. the quantity is said to be inexhaustible, and what renders it of still greater importance is, that arks and rafts descend from within four or five miles of the mines." _new gazetteer of new york_.--mr. carter writes (feb. th) inauspiciously of the course of affairs at washington, as not favoring the spirit of exploration. he proposes, in the event of my not receiving the contemplated appointment, the plan of a gazetteer of new york, on an enlarged and scientific basis. "i have often expressed to you my opinion of the spafford gazetteer of this state. it is wholly unworthy of public patronage, and would not stand in the way of a good work of the kind; and such a one, i have the vanity to believe, our joint efforts could produce. it would be a permanent work, with slight alterations, as the state might undergo changes. my plan would be for you to travel over the state, and make a complete mineralogical, and geological, and statistical survey of it, which would probably take you a year or more. in the mean time, i would devote all my leisure to the collection and arrangement of such other materials as we should need in the compilation of the work." _feb. th_. professor dewy writes, vindicating my views of the huttonian doctrines, respecting the formation of secondary rocks, which he had doubted, on the first perusal of my memoir of the fossil tree of illinois. _feb. th_. caleb atwater, esq., of circleville, ohio, the author of the antiquarian papers in the first volume of _archaeologiae americana_, writes on the occasion of my geological memoir. he completely confounds the infiltrated specimen of an entire tree, in the external strata, and of a recent age, which is prominently described in my paper, with ordinary casts and impressions of organic remains in the elder secondary rock column. _feb. th_. mr. mcnabb communicates further facts and discoveries of the mineral wealth, resources, and prospects of western new york and pennsylvania. * * * * * _narrative journal_.--professor silliman (march th) communicates an extract of a letter to him from daniel wadsworth, esq., of hartford, to whom he had loaned my _narrative_. "i have been very much entertained with the tour to the western lakes. i think mr. schoolcraft writes in a most agreeable manner; there is such an entire absence of affectation in all he says, as well as his manner of saying it, that no one can help being exceedingly pleased, even if the book had not in any other respect a great deal of merit. the whole seems such real and such absolute matter of fact, that i feel as if i had performed the journey with the traveller. "all i regret about it is that it was not consistent with his plans to tell us more of what might be considered the _domestic_ part of the expedition, the character and conduct of those who were of the party, their health, difficulties, opinions, and treatment of each other, &c. &c. as his book was a sort of official work, i suppose he thought this would not do, and i wish he now would give his friends (and let us be amongst them) a manuscript of the particulars that are not for the public. mrs. w. has also been as much pleased as myself." under the date of march d, sir humphrey davy, in a private letter to dr. hosack, says:-- "mr. schoolcraft's narrative is admirable, both for the facts it develops and for the simplicity and clearness of the details; he has accomplished great things by such means, and offers a good model for a traveler in a new country. i lent his book to our veteran philosophical geographer, major rennel, who was highly pleased with it; copies of it would sell well in england." dr. silliman apprises me that professor douglass expects my geological report as part of his work. having now finished my geological report, i determined to take it to washington. on reaching new york, i took lodgings at the franklin house, then a private boarding-house, where my friends, mr. carter and colonel haines, had rooms. while here, i was introduced one day to a man who subsequently attracted a good deal of notice as a literary impostor. this was a person named hunter. he said that he derived this name from his origin in the indian country. he had a soft, compliant, half quizzical look, and appeared to know nothing precisely, but dealt in vague accounts and innuendoes. having gone to london, the booksellers thought him, it appears, a good subject for a book, and some hack was employed to prepare it. it had a very slender basis in any observations which this man was capable of furnishing; but abounded in misstatements and vituperation of the policy of this government respecting the indians. this fellow is handled in the oct. no. of the _north american review_, for , in a manner which gives very little encouragement to literary adventurers and cheats. the very man, john dunn, of missouri, after whom he affected to have been named, denies that he ever heard of him. i had, thus far, seen but little of the atlantic, except what could be observed in a trip from new orleans to new york, and knew very little of its coasts by personal examination. i had never seen more of the chesapeake than could be shown from the head of that noble bay, and wished to explore the valley of the potomac. for this purpose, i took passage in a coasting vessel at new york, and had a voyage of a novel and agreeable kind, which supplied me with the desired information. at old point comfort, i remained at the hotel while the vessel tarried. in ascending the potomac one night, while anchored, a negro song was wafted in the stillness of the atmosphere. i could distinctly hear the following words:-- gentlemen, he come from de maryland shore, see how massa gray mare go. go, gray, go, go, gray, go; see how massa gray mare go. i reached washington late in march, and sent in my geological report on the d of april. mr. calhoun, who acknowledged it on the th, referred it to the topographical bureau. some question, connected with the establishment of an agency in florida, complicated my matter. otherwise it appeared to be a mere question of time. the secretary of war left me no room to doubt that his feelings were altogether friendly. mr. monroe was also friendly. _additional judicial district in michigan_.--j.d. doty, esq., wrote to me (april th) on this subject. so far as my judgment and observation went, they were favorable to this project. besides, if i was to become an inhabitant of the district, as things now boded, it would be desirable to me to dwell in a country where the laws, in their higher aspects, were periodically administered. i had, therefore, every reason to favor it. _skeptical views of the mosaical chronology_.--baptiste irvine, esq., in referring to some criticism of his in relation to the discovery of fossils by a distinguished individual, brings this subject forward in a letter of april th. this individual had written to him, impugning his criticisms. "i regret," he observes, "the cause, and shall endeavor to give publicity to his (my friend's) observations; though hardly necessary to him, they may yet awaken some ideas in the minds of the people on the wonders of physics i had almost said the _slow miracles of creation_. for if ever there was a time when matter existed not, it is pretty evident that _millions of years_ were necessary to establish order on chaos, instead of six days. let cuvier, &c., temporize as they may. however, it is the humble allotment of the herd to believe or stare; it is the glory of intelligent men to acquire and admire." "for the memoir i am very thankful, and i perceive it alters the case." _april d. mount vernon_.--in a pilgrimage to this spot, if political veneration may assume that name, i was accompanied by honorable albert h. tracy, mr. ruggles, and mr. alfred conkling of the house of representatives, all of new york. we took a carriage, and reached the hallowed place in good season, and were politely admitted to all the apartments and grounds, which give interest to every tread. i brought some pebbles of common quartz and bits of brown oxide of iron, from the top of the rude tomb, and we all broke branches of the cedars growing there. we gazed into the tomb, through an aperture over the door, where bricks had been removed, and thought, at last, that we could distinguish the coffin. _human feet figured on rock at st. louis_.--the honorable thomas h. benton, in a letter of th april, expresses the opinion that these are antiquities, and not "prints," and that they are of the age of the mounds on the american bottom. _mineralogy_.--j.d. doty, esq., transmits (may th) from the vicinity of martinsburg, new york, specimens of the geological structure of that neighborhood. _austin's colony_.--"what you have said to me heretofore, concerning mr. austin's settlement in texas, has rather turned my attention in that direction. have you any means of communicating with your friend? what are your views of that country?" chapter ix. appointed an agent of indian affairs for the united states at saint mary's--reasons for the acceptance of the office--journey to detroit--illness at that point--arrival of a steamer with a battalion of infantry to establish a new military post at the foot of lake superior--incidents of the voyage to that point--reach our destination, and reception by the residents and indians--a european and man of honor fled to the wilderness. . at length congress passed an act, which left mr. calhoun free to carry out his intentions respecting me, by the creation of a separate indian agency for florida. this enabled him to transfer one of the western agencies, namely, at vincennes, indiana, where the indian business had ceased, to the foot of the basin of lake superior, at the ancient french village of _sault de ste. marie_, michigan. had not this act passed, it would have been necessary to transfer this agency to florida, for which mr. gad humphreys was the recognized appointee. mr. monroe immediately sent in my nomination for this old agency to the senate, by whom it was favorably acted on the th of may. the gentleman (mr. j.b. thomas, senator from illinois) whose boat i had been instrumental in saving in my descent of the ohio in the spring of , i believe, moved its confirmation. it was from him, at any rate, that i the same day obtained the information of the senate's action. i had now attained a fixed position; not such as i desired in the outset, and had striven for, but one that offered an interesting class of duties, in the performance of which there was a wide field for honorable exertion, and, if it was embraced, also of historical inquiry and research. the taste for natural history might certainly be transferred to that point, where the opportunity for discovery was the greatest. at any rate, the trial of a residence on that remote frontier might readily be made, and i may say it was in fact made only as a temporary matter. it was an ancient agency in which general harrison had long exercised his superior authority over the fierce and wild tribes of the west, which was an additional stimulus to exertion, after its removal to lake superior. i called the next day on mr. calhoun, to express my obligation, and to request instructions. for the latter object, he referred me to general cass, of detroit, who was the superintendent of indian affairs on the north-western frontier, and to whom the policy of pushing an agency and a military post to that point is, i believe, due. i now turned my face to the north, made a brief stay in new york, hurried through the western part of that state to buffalo, and ascended lake erie to detroit. at this point i was attacked with fever and ague, which i supposed to have been contracted during a temporary landing at sandusky. i directed my physician to treat it with renewed doses of mercury, in quick succession, which terminated the fever, but completely prostrated my strength, and induced, at first tic douloureux, and eventually a paralysis of the left cheek. the troops destined for the new post arrived about the beginning of july. they consisted of a battalion of the d regiment of infantry, under colonel brady, from garrison duty at sackett's harbor, and they possessed every element of high discipline and the most efficient action, under active officers. brady was himself an officer of wayne's war against the indians, and had looked danger steadily in the face on the niagara frontier, in the late war. in this condition, i hastily snatched up my instructions, and embarked on board the new steamer "superior," which was chartered by the government for the occasion. it was now the d of july. before speaking of the voyage from this point, it may be well to refer to another matter. the probability of professor douglass publishing the joint results of our observations on the expedition of , appeared now unfavorable. among the causes of this, i regarded my withdrawal to a remote point as prominent but not decisive. two years had already elapsed; the professor was completely absorbed in his new professorship, in which he was required to teach a new subject in a new language. governor cass, who had undertaken the indian subject, had greatly enlarged the platform of his inquiries, which rendered it probable that there would be a delay. my memoir on the geology and mineralogy only was ready. dr. barnes had the conchology nearly ready, and the botany, which was in the hands of dr. torrey, was well advanced. but it required a degree of labor, zeal, and energy to push forward such a work, that admits of no abatements, and which was sufficient to absorb all the attention of the highest mind; and could not be expected from the professor, already overtasked. among the papers which were put in my hands at detroit, i found a printed copy of governor cass's indian queries, based on his promise to douglass, by which i was gratified to perceive that his mind was earnestly engaged in the subject, which he sought a body of original materials to illustrate. i determined to be a laborer in this new field. our voyage up lake huron to michilimackinack, and thence east to the entrance of the straits of st. mary's, at detour, was one of pleasant excitement. we ascended the straits and river, through muddy lake and the narrow pass at sailor's encampment, to the foot of the great nibeesh [ ] rapids. here the steamer came to anchor from an apprehension that the bar of lake george [ ] could not be crossed in the existing state of the water. [footnote : this name signifies strong water, meaning bad for navigation, from its strength. here _nebeesh_ is the derogative form of _nebee_, water.] [footnote : the depth of water on this bar was then stated to be but six feet two inches.] it was early in the morning of the th of july when this fact was announced. colonel brady determined to proceed with his staff in the ship's yawl, by the shorter passage of the boat channel, and invited me to a seat. captain rogers, of the steamer, himself took the helm. after a voyage of about four or five hours, we landed at st. mary's at ten o'clock in the morning. men, women, children, and dogs had collected to greet us at the old wharf opposite the nolan house--the ancient "chateau" of the north-west company. and the indians, whose costume lent an air of the picturesque to the scene, saluted us with ball, firing over our heads as we landed. the _chemoquemon_ had indeed come! thus the american flag was carried to this point, and it was soon hoisted on a tall staff in an open field east of mr. johnston's premises, where the troops, as they came up, marched with inspiring music, and regularly encamped. the roll of the drum was now the law for getting up and lying down. it might be or years since the french first landed at this point. it was just since the british power had supervened, and since the american right had been acknowledged by the sagacity of dr. franklin's treaty of . but to the indian, who stood in a contemplative and stoic attitude, wrapped in his fine blanket of broadcloth, viewing the spectacle, it must have been equally striking, and indicative that his reign in the north-west, that old hive of indian hostility, was done. and, had he been a man of letters, he might have inscribed, with equal truth, as it was done for the ancient persian monarch, "mene, mene, tekel." to most persons on board, our voyage up these wide straits, after entering them at point de tour, had, in point of indefiniteness, been something like searching after the locality of the north pole. we wound about among groups of islands and through passages which looked so perfectly in the state of nature that, but for a few ruinous stone chimneys on st. joseph's, it could not be told that the foot of man had ever trod the shores. the whole voyage, from buffalo and detroit, had indeed been a novel and fairy scene. we were now some miles north-west of the latter city. we had been a couple of days on board, in the area of the sea-like huron, before we entered the st. mary's straits. the superior, being the second steamer built on the lakes,[ ] had proved herself a staunch boat. [footnote : the first steamer built on the lakes was called the "walk-in-the-water," after an indian chief of that name; it was launched at black rock, niagara river, in , and visited michilimackinack in the summer of that year.] the circumstances of this trip were peculiar, and the removal of a detachment of the army to so remote a point in a time of profound peace, had stimulated migratory enterprise. the measure was, in truth, one of the results of the exploring expedition to the north-west in , and designed to curb and control the large indian population on this extreme frontier, and to give security to the expanding settlements south of this point. it was in this light that mr. calhoun, the present enlightened secretary of war, viewed the matter, and it may be said to constitute a part of his plan for throwing a _cordon_ of advanced posts in front of the wide area of our western settlements. from expressions heard on our route, the breaking up in part of the exceedingly well-quartered garrison of madison barracks at sackett's harbor, n.y., was not particularly pleasing to the officers of this detachment, most of whom were married gentlemen, having families, and all of whom were in snug quarters at that point, surrounded as it is by a rich, thriving, farming population, and commanding a good and cheap market of meats and vegetables. to be ordered off suddenly a thousand miles or more, over three of the great series of lakes, and pitched down here, on the verge of the civilized world, at the foot of lake superior, amid indians and indian traders, where butchers' meat is a thing only to be talked about, and garden vegetables far more rare than "blackberries," was not, certainly, an agreeable prospect for officers with wives and mothers with babies. it might, i am inclined to think from what i heard, be better justified on the grounds of _national_ than of _domestic_ policy. they determined, however, on the best possible course under the circumstances, and took their ladies and families along. this has given an air of gayety and liveliness to the trip, and, united with the calmness of the season, and the great novelty and beauty of the scenery, rendered the passage a very agreeable one. the smoothness of the lakes, the softness and purity of the air, the wild and picturesque character of the scenes, and the perfect transparency of the waters, have been so many themes of perpetual remark and admiration. the occasional appearance of the feather-plumed indian in his sylph-like canoe, or the flapping of a covey of wild-fowl, frightened by the rushing sound of a steamboat, with the quick pulsation of its paddle-strokes on the water, but served to heighten the interest, and to cast a kind of fairy spell over the prospect, particularly as, half shrouded in mist, we passed among the green islands and brown rocks, fringed with fir trees, which constituted a perfect panorama as we entered and ascended the straits of the st. mary's. we sat down to our fourth-of-july dinner on board the superior, a little above the thunder bay islands, in lake huron, and as we neared the once sacred island of michilimackinack, and saw its tall cliffs start up, as it were by magic, from the clear bosom of the pellucid lake, a true aboriginal, whose fancy had been well imbued with the poetic mythology of his nation, might have supposed he was now, indeed, approaching his fondly-cherished "island of the blest." apart from its picturesque loveliness, we found it, however, a very flesh and blood and matter-of-fact sort of place, and having taken a pilot on board, who knew the sinuosities of the saint mary's channel, we veered around, the next day, and steered into the capes of that expanded and intricate strait, where we finally anchored on the morning denoted, and where the whole detachment was quickly put under orders to ascend the river the remainder of the distance, about fifteen miles, in boats, each company under its own officers, while the colonel pushed forward in the yawl. it was settled, at the same time, that the ladies and their "little ones" should remain on board, till matters had assumed some definite shape for their reception. we were received by the few residents favorably, as has been indicated. prominent among the number of residents who came to greet us was mr. john johnston, a gentleman from the north of ireland, of whose romantic settlement and adventures here we had heard at detroit. he gave us a warm welcome, and freely offered every facility in his power to contribute to the personal comfort of the officers and their families, and the general objects of the government. mr. j. is slightly lame, walking with a cane. he is of the medium stature, with blue eyes, fair complexion, hair which still bears traces of its original light brown, and possesses manners and conversation so entirely easy and polite as to impress us all very favorably. colonel brady selected some large open fields, not susceptible of a surprise, for his encampment. to this spot, as boat after boat came up, in fine style, with its complement of men from the steamer, the several companies marched down, and before nightfall, the entire command was encamped in a square, with their tents handsomely pitched, and the whole covered by lines of sentinels, and under the exact government of troops in the field. the roll of the drum which had attracted but little attention on the steamer, assumed a deeper tone, as it was re-echoed from the adjoining woods, and now distinctly announced, from time to time, the placing of sentinels, the hour for supper, and other offices of a clock, in civil life. the french population evinced, by their countenances and gestures, as they clustered round, a manifest satisfaction at the movement; the groups of indians had gazed in a sort of silent wonder at the pageant; they seemed, by a certain air of secrecy and suspicion, to think it boded some evil to their long supremacy in the land. night imperceptibly threw her dark mantle over the scene; the gazers, group by group, went to their lodges, and finally the sharp roll of the tattoo bid every one within the camp to his tent. captain alexander r. thompson, who had claimed the commandant as his guest, invited me also to spend the night in his tent. we could plainly hear the deep murmur of the falls, after we lay down to rest, and also the monotonous thump of the distant indian _wabeno_ drum. yet at this remote point, so far from the outer verge of civilization, we found in mr. johnston a man of singular energy and independence of character, from one of the most refined circles of europe; who had pushed his way here to the foot of lake superior about the year ; had engaged in the fur trade, to repair the shattered fortunes of his house; had married the daughter of the ruling ogima or forest king of the chippewas; had raised and educated a large family, and was then living, in the only building in the place deserving the name of a comfortable residence, with the manners and conversation of a perfect gentleman, the sentiments of a man of honor, and the liberality of a lord. he had a library of the best english works; spent most of his time in reading and conducting the affairs of an extensive business; was a man of social qualities, a practical philanthropist, a well-read historian, something of a poet, and talked of europe and its connections as things from which he was probably forever separated, and looked back towards it only as the land of reminiscences. chapter x. incidents of the summer during the establishment of the new post at st. mary's--life in a nut-shell--scarcity of room--high prices of everything--state of the indians--their rich and picturesque costume--council and its incidents--fort site selected and occupied--the evil of ardent spirits amongst the indians--note from governor de witt clinton--mountain ash--curious superstitions of the odjibwas--language--manito poles--copper--superstitious regard for venus--fine harbor in lake superior--star family--a locality of necromancers--ancient chippewa capital--eating of animals. _ . july th_. we left our pallets at the sound of the reveille, and partook of a rich cup of coffee, with cream, which smoked on the camp breakfast-board of our kind entertainer, captain thompson.[ ] the ladies and children came up from the steamer, under due escorts, during the day, and were variously accommodated with temporary quarters. dr. wheaton and lady, captain brant, quartermaster, and myself, were received eventually at the table of mr. johnston. captain brant and myself hired a small room hard by for an office to be used between us. this room was a small log tenement, which had been occupied by one of mr. j.'s hands. it was about twelve by fourteen feet, with a small window in front and in rear, and a very rural fire-place in one corner. it is astonishing how much comfort can be enjoyed in a crowded and ill-fitted place on a pinch. we felicitated ourselves at even this. we really felt that we were quite fortunate in getting such a locality to hail from. captain n.s. clark got an adjoining tenement, of similar construction and use, but much larger, for his numerous family. some of the ladies took shelter at the domicil of an intelligent american family (mr. e.b. allen's) who had preceded us a short time with an adventure of merchandise. one or two of the ladies abode temporarily in the tents of their husbands. the unmarried officers looked for nothing better than life in camp. i accepted an invitation at the mess-table of the officers. besides this sudden influx of population, there were followers and hucksters of various hues who hoped to make their profits from the soldiery. there was not a nook in the scraggy-looking little antique village but what was sought for with avidity and thronged with occupants. whoever has seen a flock of hungry pigeons, in the spring, alight on the leaf-covered ground, beneath a forest, and apply the busy powers of claw and beak to obtain a share of the hidden acorns that may be scratched up from beneath, may form some just notion of the pressing hurry and bustle that marked life in this place. the enhanced price that everything bore was one of the results of this sudden influx of consumers and occupants. [footnote : this officer fell at the battle of ochechubby, in florida, as colonel of the sixth infantry, gallantly leading his men to battle.] _ th_. i went to rest last night with the heavy murmuring sound of the falls in my ears, broken at short intervals by the busy thump-thump-thump of the indian drum; for it is to be added, to the otherwise crowded state of the place, that the open grounds and river-side greens of the village, which stretch along irregularly for a mile or two, are filled with the lodges of visiting indian bands from the interior. the last month of spring and the early summer constitute, in fact, a kind of carnival for the natives. it is at this season that the traders, who have wintered in the interior, come out with their furs to the frontier posts of st. mary's, drummond island, and michilimackinack, to renew their stocks of goods. the indians, who have done hunting at this season, as the furred animals are now changing their hair, and the pelt becomes bad, follow them to enjoy themselves along the open shores of the lakes, and share in the good things that may fall to their lot, either from the traders at their places of outfit, from presents issued by the british or american governments at their chief posts, or from merchants in the towns, to whom a few concealed skins are still reserved to trade. an indian's time appears to be worth but little to him at this season, if at any season. he lives most precariously on small things, such as he can pick up as he travels loitering along the lake shores, or strolls, with easy footsteps, about the forest precincts of his lodge. a single fish, or a bird or squirrel, now and then, serves to mitigate, if it does not satisfy, hunger. he has but little, i am told, at the best estate; but, to make amends for this, he is satisfied and even happy with little. this is certainly a philosophic way of taking life, but it is, if i do not mistake it, stoic philosophy, and has been learned, by painful lessons of want, from early youth and childhood. where want is the common lot, the power of endurance which the race have must be a common attainment. _ th_. this day i hired an interpreter for the government, to attend at the office daily, a burly-faced, large man of some five-and-forty, by the name of yarns. he tells me that he was born at fort niagara, of irish parentage, to which an originally fair skin, blue eyes, and sandy hair, bear testimony. he has spent life, it seems, knocking about trading posts, in the indian country, being married, has _metif_ children, and speaks the chippewa tongue fluently--i do not know how accurately. the day which has closed has been a busy day, having been signalized as the date of my first public council with the indians. it has ushered in my first diplomatic effort. for this purpose, all the bands present were invited to repair to camp, where colonel brady, at the appointed hour, ordered his men under arms, in full dress. they were formed in a hollow square in front of his marque. the american flag waved from a lofty staff. the day was bright and fine, and everything was well arranged to have the best effect upon the minds of the indians. as the throng of both resident and foreign bands approached, headed by their chiefs, they were seated in the square. it was noticed that the chiefs were generally tall and striking-looking persons, of dignified manners, and well and even richly dressed. one of the chiefs of the home band, called sassaba, who was generally known by the sobriquet of the _count,_ appeared in a scarlet uniform, with epaulets and a sword. the other chiefs observed their native costume, which is, with this tribe, a toga of blue broadcloth, folded and held by one hand on the breast, over a light-figured calico shirt, red cloth leggins and beaded moccasons, a belt or baldric about the waist, sustaining a knife-sheath and pouch, and a frontlet of skin or something of the sort, around the forehead, environed generally with eagles' feathers. when the whole were seated, the colonel informed them that i had been sent by their great father the president to reside among them, that respect was due me in that capacity, and that i would now address them. i had directed a quantity of tobacco to be laid before them; and offered them the pipe with the customary ceremonies. being a novice in addresses of this kind, i had sat down early in the morning, in my crowded log hut, and written an address, couched in such a manner, and with such allusions and appeals, as i supposed would be most appropriate. i was not mistaken, if i could judge by the responses made at the close of each sentence, as it was interpreted. the whole address was evidently well received, and responded to in a friendly manner, by the ruling chief, a tall, majestic, and graceful person named shingabawossin, or the image stone, and by all who spoke except the count. he made use of some intemperate, or ill-timed expressions, which were not interpreted, but which brought out a strong rebuke from mr. johnston, who, being familiar with the indian language, gave vent in their tongue to his quick and high-toned feelings of propriety on the occasion. colonel brady then made some remarks to the chiefs, dictated by the position he occupied as being about to take post, permanently, in their country. he referred to the treaty of purchase made at these falls two years before by governor cass. he told the indians that he should not occupy their ancient encamping and burial-ground on the hill, but would select the next best site for his troops. this announcement was received with great satisfaction, as denoted by a heavy response of approbation on the part of the indians; and the council closed to the apparent mutual satisfaction of all. i augured well from all i heard respecting it, as coming from the indians, and was resolved to follow it up zealously, by cultivating the best understanding with this powerful and hitherto hostile tribe, namely the chippewas, or, as they call themselves, od-jib-wä.[ ] to this end, as well as for my amusement, i commenced a vocabulary, and resolved to study their language, manners, customs, &c. [footnote : this word has its pluraling thus, od-jib-wäig.] _ th_. on examining the topography and advantages of the ground, colonel brady determined to take possession of a lot enclosed and dwelling, originally the property of the north west company, and known as the nolin house, but now the property of mr. c.o. ermatinger.[ ] to this place the troops were marched, soon after the close of the indian council mentioned, and encamped within the area. this area was enclosed with cedar pickets. the dwelling-house, which occupied an eminence some eighth of a mile below the falls, was in old times regarded as a princely château of the once powerful lords of the north west fur trade, but is now in a decayed and ruinous state. it was nick-named "hotel flanagan." dilapidated as it was, there was a good deal of room under its roof, and it afforded quarters for most of the officers' families, who must otherwise have remained in open tents. the enclosure had also one or two stone houses, which furnished accommodations to the quartermaster's and subsistence and medical departments. every nerve was now directed to fit up the place, complete the enclosure, and furnish it with gates; to build a temporary guard-house, and complete other military fixtures of the new cantonment. the edifice also underwent such repairs as served to fence out, as much as possible, the winds and snows of a severe winter--a winter which every one dreads the approach of, and the severity of which was perhaps magnified in proportion as it was unknown. [footnote : for the property thus taken possession of, the united states government, through the quartermaster's department, paid the claimant the just and full amount awarded by appraisers.] _ th_. what my eyes have seen and my ears have heard, i must believe; and what is their testimony respecting the condition of the indian on the frontiers? he is not, like falstaff's men, "food for powder," but he is food for whisky. whisky is the great means of drawing from him his furs and skins. to obtain it, he makes a beast of himself, and allows his family to go hungry and half naked. and how feeble is the force of law, where all are leagued in the golden bonds of interest to break it! he is indeed "like some neglected shrub at random cast that shades the steep and sighs at every blast." _ th_. i received by to-day's mail a note from de witt clinton, governor of new york. america has produced few men who have united civic and literary tastes and talents of a high order more fully than he does. he early and ably investigated the history and antiquities of western new york. he views with a comprehensive judgment the great area of the west, and knows that its fertility and resources must render it, at no distant day, the home of future millions. he was among the earliest to appreciate the mineralogical and geographical researches which i made in that field. he renewed the interest, which, as a new yorker, he felt in my history and fortunes, after my return from the head of the mississippi in . he opened his library and house to me freely; and i have to notice his continued interest since my coming here. in the letter which has just reached me, he encloses a favorable notice of my recent _narrative of the expedition to the sources of the mississippi_, from sir humphrey davy. if there were nothing else, in such a notice from such a source but the stimulus it gives to exertion, that alone is worth to a man in my position "pearls and diamonds." colonel brady, who is active in daily perambulating the woods, to make himself acquainted with the environs, seeking, at the same time, the best places of finding wood and timber, for the purposes of his command, brought me a twig of the sorbus americana, a new species of tree to him, in the american forest, of which he asked me the name. this tree is found in occasional groups extensively in the region of the upper lake latitudes, where it is called the mountain ash. in the expedition to the sources of the mississippi in , it was observed on the southern shores of lake superior, which are on the average a little north of latitude ° '. this tree does not in these straits attain much size; a trunk of six to eight inches diameter is large. its leaves, flowers, and fruit all tend to make it a very attractive species for shade and ornament. it must have a rich soil, but, this requisite granted, it delights in wet moist lands, and will thrive with its roots in springy grounds. _ th_. one of the curious superstitions of the chippewas, respecting the location of spiritual existences, revealed itself to-day. there is quite an eminence nearly a mile back of the new cantonment, which is called la butte de terre by the french, and wudjuwong,[ ] or place of the mountain, by the natives. this eminence is covered with a fine growth of forest trees, and lies in the track of an ancient indian hunting path. about half way between the brow of the hill and the cantonment, there formerly stood a large tree of this species, partly hollow, from the recesses of which, indian tradition says, there issued, on a calm day, a sound like the voice of a spirit or monedo. it resembled the sounds of their own drum. it was therefore considered as the residence of some powerful spirit, and deemed sacred. to mark their regard for the place, they began to deposit at its foot bows and twigs of the same species of tree, as they passed it, from year to year, to and from their hunting-grounds. these offerings began long before the french came to the country, and were continued up to this time. some years ago, the tree had become so much decayed that it blew down during a storm, but young shoots came up from its roots, and the natives continued to make these offerings of twigs, long after the original trunk had wholly decayed. a few days ago, colonel brady directed a road to be cut from the cantonment to the hill, sixty feet wide, in order to procure wood from the hill for the garrison. this road passed over the site of the sacred tree, and the men, without knowing it, removed the consecrated pile of offerings. it may serve to show a curious coincidence in the superstitions of nations, between whom, however, there is not the slightest probability of national affiliation, or even intercourse, to remark that this sacred manito tree was a very large species of the scottish rowan or mountain ash. [footnote : _wudijoo_, a mountain--_ong_ denotes locality.] _ th_. i this day left the mess-table of my kind friends, the officers of the second infantry, and went to the hospitable domicil of mr. johnston, who has the warm-hearted frankness of the irish character, and offers the civilities of life with the air and manner of a prince. i flatter myself with the opportunity of profiting greatly while under his roof, in the polished circle of his household, and in his ripe experience and knowledge of the indian character, manners, and customs, and in the curious philosophical traits of the indian language. it is refreshing to find a person who, in reference to this language, knows the difference between the conjugation of a verb and the declension of a noun. there is a prospect, at least, of getting at the grammatical principles, by which they conjoin and build up words. it has been intolerable to me to converse with indian traders and interpreters here, who have, for half their lives, been using a language without being able to identify with precision person, mood, tense, or any of the first laws of grammatical utterance. _ th_. it is customary with the chippewas at this place, when an inmate of the lodge is sick, to procure a thin sapling some twenty to thirty feet long, from which, after it has been trimmed, the bark is peeled. native paints are then smeared over it as caprice dictates. to the slender top are then tied bits of scarlet, blue cloth, beads, or some other objects which are deemed acceptable to the manito or spirit, who has, it is believed, sent sickness to the lodge as a mark of his displeasure. the pole is then raised in front of the lodge and firmly adjusted in the ground. the sight of these manito poles gives quite a peculiar air to an indian encampment. not knowing, however, the value attached to them, one of the officers, a few days after our arrival, having occasion for tent poles, sent one of his men for one of these poles of sacrifice; but its loss was soon observed by the indians, who promptly reclaimed it, and restored it to the exact position which it occupied before. there is, in fact, such a subtle and universal belief in the doctrine and agency of minor spirits of malign or benignant influence among the indians who surround the cantonment, or visit the agency, and who are encamped at this season in great numbers in the open spaces of the village or its vicinity, that we are in constant danger of trespassing against some indian custom, and of giving offence where it was least intended. it is said that one cause of the preference which the indians have ever manifested for the french, is the respect which they are accustomed to pay to all their religious or superstitious observances, whereas an englishman or an american is apt, either to take no pains to conceal his disgust for their superstitions, or to speak out bluntly against them. _ th. sulphuret of copper_.--i received a specimen of this mineral, which is represented to have been obtained on the island of saint joseph's, in these straits (saint mary's). it has the usual brass yellow color of the sulphurets of this metal, and furnishes a hint for seeking that hitherto undiscovered, but valuable species of the ore in this vicinity. hitherto, we have found the metal chiefly in the native form, or in the condition of a carbonate, the first being a form of it which has not in europe been found in large quantities, and the second not containing a sufficient per centage to repay well the cost of smelting. _ th. superstitious regard for woman_.--some of the rites and notions of these northern barbarians are curious. the following custom is stated to me to have been formerly prevalent among the chippewas: after their corn-planting, a labor which falls to the share of the women, and as soon as the young blades began to shoot up from the hills, it was customary for the female head of the family to perform a circuit around the field in a state of nudity. for this purpose, she chose a dark evening, and after divesting herself of her machecota, held it in her hands dragging it behind her as she ran, and in this way compassed the field. this singular rite was believed to protect the corn from blight and the ravages of worms and vermin, and to insure a good crop. it was believed that neither worms nor vermin could cross the mystic or enchanted ring made by the nocturnal footsteps of the wife, nor any mildew or canker affect the growing stalks and ears. _ st. grand island, in lake superior_, lies transversely in the lake, just beyond the termination of the precipitous coast of the pictured rocks. its southern end is crescent-shaped, and forms a singularly fine harbor for vessels, which will one day be appreciated. the indian band occupying it was formerly numerous. there are many stories still current of their former prowess and traits of hospitality and generosity, and of the skill of their old seers, and divining-men, _i.e. jossakeeds_. its present indian population is reduced to forty-six souls, of whom ten are men, sixteen women, and twenty children. of the men, nine are married, one of whom has two wives, and there are two widows. of this band the star family, so called, have long possessed the chieftainship, and are remarkable on several accounts. there are eleven children of them now living, five of whom are males, all by one mother, who is still living. sabboo is the principal man. the south bird, his elder, and the ruling chief, has removed to bay de nocquet. at this island, story says, formerly lived the noted warrior and meta, sagima; and it was also, according to indian mythology, the residence of mishosha, who owned a magic canoe, that would shoot through the water by uttering a charmed word. _ d_. i have heard much of the ancient chippewa capital of la pointe, as the french call it, or chegoimegon, in lake superior, situated near its west end, or head. the chippewas and their friends, the old traders and _boisbrules_, and canadians, are never tired of telling of it. all their great men of old times are located there. it was there that their mudjekewis, king or chief ruler, lived, and, as some relate, that an eternal fire was kept up with a sort of rude temple service. at that place lived, in comparatively modern times, wabojeeg and andaigweos, and there still lives one of their descendants in gitchee waishkee, the great first-born, or, as he is familiarly called, pezhickee, or the buffalo, a chief decorated with british insignia. his band is estimated at one hundred and eighteen souls, of whom thirty-four are adult males, forty-one females, and forty-three children. mizi, the catfish, one of the heads of families of this band, who has figured about here this summer, is not a chief, but a speaker, which gives him some _éclat_. he is a sort of petty trader too, being credited with little adventures of goods by a dealer on the opposite, or british shores. _ d_. there are few animals which the indians reject as food. on this subject they literally fulfil the declaration of paul, "that every creature of god is good, and nothing to be refused;" but i fear the poor creatures, in these straits, do anything but show the true spirit of thanksgiving in which the admonition is given. there is nothing apparently in the assertion respecting indians distinguishing between clean and unclean beasts; i have heard, however, that crows and vultures are not eaten, but, when they are pushed by hunger, whatever can sustain life is taken. the truth is, the calls of hunger are often so pressing to these northern indians, that anything in the shape of animal fibre, that will keep soul and body together, is eaten in times of their greatest want. a striking instance of this kind has just occurred, in the case of a horse killed in the public service. the animal had, to use the teamster's phrase, been snagged, and was obliged to be shot. to prevent unpleasant effects in hot summer weather, the carcass was buried in the sand; but as soon as the numerous bands of indians, who are encamped here, learned the fact, they dug up the animal, which was, however, nowise diseased, and took it to their camp for food. chapter xi. murder of soan-ga-ge-zhick, a chippewa, at the head of the falls--indian mode of interment--indian prophetess--topic of interpreters and interpretation--mode of studying the indian language--the johnston family--visits--katewabeda, chief of sandy lake--indian mythology, and oral tales and legends--literary opinion--political opinion--visit of the chief little pine--visit of wabishkepenais--a despairing indian--geography. . _july th_. a tragic occurrence took place last night, at the head of the portage, resulting in the death of a chippewa, which is believed to be wholly attributable to the use of ardent spirits in the indian camps. as soon as i heard the facts, and not knowing to what lengths the spirit of retaliation might go, i requested of colonel brady a few men, with a non-commissioned officer, and proceeded, taking my interpreter along, to the spot. the portage road winds along about three-fourths of a mile, near the rapids, and all the way, within the full sound of the roaring water, when it opens on a green, which is the ancient camping ground, at the head of the falls. a footpath leads still higher, by clumps of bushes and copsewood, to the borders of a shallow bay, where in a small opening i somewhat abruptly came to the body of the murdered man. he was a chippewa from the interior called soan-ga-ge-zhick, or the strong sky. he had been laid out, by his relatives, and dressed in his best apparel, with a kind of cap of blue cloth and a fillet round his head. his lodge, occupied by his widow and three small children, stood near. on examination, he had been stabbed in several places, deeply in both thighs. these wounds might not have proved fatal; but there was a subsequent blow, with a small tomahawk, upon his forehead, above the left eye. he was entirely dead, and had been found so, on searching for him at night, by his wife. it appeared that he had been drinking during the evening and night, with an indian half-breed of the chippewa river, of the name of gaulthier. this fellow, finding he had killed him, had taken his canoe and fled. both had been intoxicated. i directed the body to be interred, at the public charge, on the ancient burial hill of the chippewas, near the cantonment. the usual shroud, on such occasions, is a new blanket; a grave was dug, and the body very carefully dressed, laid in the coffin, beside the grave. before the lid was fastened, an aged indian came forward, and pronounced a funeral oration. he recited the traits of his character. he addressed the dead man direct. he told him that he had reached the end of his journey first, that they should all follow him soon to the land of the dead, and again meet. he gave him directions for his journey. he offered a brief admonition of dangers. he bid him adieu. the brother of the deceased then stept forward, and, having removed the head-dress of the slain man, pulled out some locks of hair as a memento. the head-dress was then carefully replaced, the lid of the coffin fastened, and the corpse let down into the ground. two stout poles were then laid over the open grave. the brother approached the widow and stood still. the orator then addressed a few words to both, telling the survivor to perform a brother's part by the widow. he then took her by the hand, and led her carefully across the open grave, over the two poles. this closed the ceremony, and the grave was then filled, and the crowd of white and red men dispersed. at night a small flickering fire was built by the indian relatives of the murdered man, at the head of the grave. _ th_. making inquiries respecting the family of soan-ga-ge-zhick, in order to direct some provisions to be issued to them, i learned that the widow is a prophetess among her people, or in other words a female jossakeed, and is supposed to have much influence in this way. this denotes that the prophetic office is not, as has been supposed, confined to males. i cannot better indicate the meaning of the word jossakeed than to say that it is a person who makes oracular responses from a close lodge of peculiar construction, where the inmate is supposed to be surrounded by superhuman influences, which impart the power of looking into futurity. it is, manifestly, the ancient office of a seer, and after making interrogatories about it, from persons supposed to be best acquainted with the manners and customs of the people, the existence of such an order of persons among them offers a curious coincidence with one of the earliest superstitions of mankind. i further learn that there is nothing hereditary in the descent of such priestly functions; that any one, who acquires a character for sanctity or skill therein among the bands, may assume the duties, and will secure a rank and respect in proportion to his supposed skill therein. having spoken of descent, it is added, by my informants, that the widow of strong sky, is a granddaughter of the noted war-chief wabodjeeg,[ ] of chegoimegon, lake superior, who, some half a century ago, had obtained a high reputation with his people for his military skill and bravery, in the war against the ottogamies and sioux. they talk of him as having been a sort of rajah, who could at any time get men to follow him. [footnote : white fisher. the fisher is a small furred animal resembling the mustela.] _ th_. i have had an interview to-day with ka-ba-konse (little hawk), brother of the murdered strong sky. it does not seem possible to obtain much information respecting their secret beliefs and superstitions direct from the indians. the attempts i have made thus far have, at least, been unsuccessful, partly, perhaps, because the topic was not properly apprehended by them, or by my ordinary office interpreter, who, i find, is soon run a-muck by anything but the plainest and most ordinary line of inquiry. a man of the indian frontiers, who has lived all his life to eat and drink, to buy and sell, and has grown old in this devotion to the means necessary to secure the material necessaries of life is not easily roused up to intellectual ardor. i find this to be the case with my present interpreter, and he is, perhaps, not inferior to the general run of paid interpreters. but as i find, in my intercourse, the growing difficulties of verbal communication with the indians on topics at all out of the ordinary routine of business, i begin to feel less surprised at the numerous misapprehensions of the actual character, manners, and customs of the indians, which are found in books. i speak as to the communication of exact ideas of their beliefs. as to literal exactitude in such communications, my inquiries have already convinced me that there must be other and higher standards than a hap-hazard _i-au-ne-kun-o-tau-gade_, or trade interpreter, before the thing can be attempted. fortunately, i have, in my kind and polite friend mr. johnston, who has given me temporary quarters at his house, and the several intelligent members of his family, the means of looking deeper into the powers and structure of the language, and am pressing these advantages, amidst the pauses of business, with all my ardor and assiduity. the study of the language, and the formation of a vocabulary and grammar have almost imperceptibly become an absorbing object, although i have been but a short time at the place, and the plan interests me so much, that i actually regret the time that is lost from it, in the ordinary visits of comity and ceremony, which are, however, necessary. my method is to interrogate all persons visiting the office, white and red, who promise to be useful subjects of information during the day, and to test my inquiries in the evening by reference to the johnstons, who, being educated, and speaking at once both the english and odjibwa correctly, offer a higher and more reliable standard than usual. mr. johnston's family consists of ten persons, though all are not constantly present. he is himself a native of the county of antrim, in the north of ireland, his father having possessed an estate at craige, near the giant's causeway. he came to america in the last presidential term of general washington, having a brother at that time settled at albany, and after visiting montreal and quebec, he fell into company with the sort of half-baronial class of north-west fur traders, who struck his fancy. by their advice, he went to michilimackinack and lake superior, where he became attached to, and subsequently married the younger daughter of wabojeeg, a northern powhatan, who has been before mentioned. there are four sons and four daughters, to the education of all of whom he has paid the utmost attention. his eldest son was first placed in the english navy, and is now a lieutenant in the land service, having been badly wounded and cut in the memorable battle with commodore perry on lake eric, in . the next eldest is engaged in commerce. the eldest daughter was educated in ireland, and the two next at sandwich, near detroit. these constituted the adults; there are two sons and a daughter, still in their school-days. all possess agreeable, easy manners and refinement. mrs. johnston is a woman of excellent judgment and good sense; she is referred to on abstruse points of the indian ceremonies and usages, so that i have in fact stumbled, as it were, on the only family in north west america who could, in indian lore, have acted as my "guide, philosopher and friend." _ th_. i received yesterday a second visit from ka-ta-wa-be-da, or the broken tooth chief of sandy lake, on the upper mississippi, who is generally known by his french name of breshieu, and at the close of the interview gave him a requisition on the commissary for some provisions to enable him to return to his home. the indians must be led by a very plain path and a friendly hand. feeling and preference are subsequent manifestations. i took this occasion to state to him the objects and policy of the government by the establishment at these falls of a post and agency, placing it upon its true basis, namely, the preservation of peace upon the frontiers, and the due observance, by all parties, of the laws respecting trade and intercourse with the tribes, and securing justice both to them and to our citizens, particularly by the act for the exclusion of ardent spirits from the indian country. by the agency, a door was opened through which they could communicate their wishes to the president, and he was also enabled to state his mind to them. all who opened their ears truly to the voice of their american father would be included among the recipients of his favors. he felt kindly to all, but those only who hearkened to his council would be allowed, as _he_ had been, to share in the usual privileges which the agency at this place secured to them. having drawn his provisions, and duly reflected on what was said by me, he returned to-day to bid me adieu, on his setting out to go home, and to express his thanks for my kindness and advice. the old chief, who has long exercised his sway in the region of sandy lake, made a well-considered speech in reply to mine of yesterday, in which he took the ground of neutrality as between the united states and great britain, and averred that he had ever been the friend of the white race and of traders who came into the country, and declared himself the friend of peace. at the conclusion of this interview, i gave him a small sea-shell from my cabinet, as a mark of my respect, and a token which would remind him of my advice. i remembered that the indians of the continent have always set a high value on wampum, which is made solely from sea-shells, and have attributed a kind of sacredness for this class of productions. _ st. indian mythology_.--nothing has surprised me more in the conversations which i have had with persons acquainted with the indian customs and character, than to find that the chippewas amuse themselves with oral tales of a mythological or allegorical character. some of these tales, which i have heard, are quite fanciful, and the wildest of them are very characteristic of their notions and customs. they often take the form of allegory, and in this shape appear designed to teach some truth or illustrate some maxim. the fact, indeed, of such a fund of fictitious legendary matter is quite a discovery, and speaks more for the intellect of the race than any trait i have heard. who would have imagined that these wandering foresters should have possessed such a resource? what have all the voyagers and remarkers from the days of cabot and raleigh been about, not to have discovered this curious trait, which lifts up indeed a curtain, as it were, upon the indian mind, and exhibits it in an entirely new character? _august st_. every day increases the interest which the question of the investigation of the indian languages and customs assumes in my mind. my facilities for pursuing these inquiries and for the general transaction of the official business has been increased this day by my removing into a new and more convenient office, situated some ninety or a hundred yards west of my former position, but on a line with it, and fronting, like the former room, on an ancient green on the river's banks. the st. mary's river is here about three-fourths of a mile wide, and the green in front of my office is covered with indian lodges, and presents a noble expanse. i have now a building some thirty-six feet square, built of squared timber, jointed with mortar and whitewashed, so as to give it a neat appearance. the interior is divided into a room some twenty feet by thirty-six, with two small ante-rooms. a large cast iron montreal stove, which will take in three feet wood, occupies the centre. the walls are plastered, and the room moderately lighted. the rear of the lot has a blacksmith shop. the interpreter has quarters near by. the gate of the new cantonment is some three hundred yards west of my door, and there is thus brought within a small compass the means of transacting the affairs of the agency during the approaching and expected severe winter. these are the best arrangements that can be made, better indeed than i had reason to expect on first landing here. _ d_. i wrote to-day to dr. hosack, expressing my thanks for the extract of a letter, which he had enclosed me from sir humphrey davy, dated london, march th, , in which this eminent philosopher expresses his opinion on my _narrative journal_, a copy of which dr. hosack had sent him. "schoolcraft's _narrative_ is admirable," observes sir humphrey davy, "both for the facts it develops, and for the simplicity and clearness of the details. he has accomplished great things by such means, and offers a good model for a traveler in a new country. i lent his book to our veteran philosophical geographer, major kennel, who was highly pleased with it. copies of it would sell well in england." a friend sends me a prospectus for a paper under the title of "_washington republican_," which has just been established at the seat of government, earnestly advocating the election of john c. calhoun for the presidency in . _ th_. a chief of a shrewd and grave countenance, and more than the ordinary cast of thought, visited me this morning, and gave me his hand, with the ordinary salutation of nosa (my father). the interpreter introduced him by the name of little pine, or shingwalkonee, and as a person of some consequence among the indians, being a meta, a wabeno, a counselor, a war chief, and an orator or speaker. he had a tuft of beard on his chin, wore a hat, and had some other traits in his dress and gear which smacked of civilization. his residence is stated to be, for the most part, on the british side of the river, but he traces his lineage from the old crane band here. i thought him to be a man of more than the ordinary indian forecast. he appeared to be a person who, having seen all the military developments on these shores during the last month, thought he would cross over the channel with a retinue, to see what the chemoquemon [ ] was about. he had also, perhaps, a shrewd indian inkling that some presents might be distributed here during the season. [footnote : chemoquemon, an american; from _gitchee_ great, _moquemon_ a knife.] _ th_. a strange-looking indian came in from the forest wearing an american silver medal. he looked haggard and forsaken. it will be recollected by those who have read my _narrative journal_ of the expedition of , that governor cass became lost and entangled among the sharp mountainous passes of the river ontonagon, in his attempts to reach the party who had, at an early part of the day, gone forward to the site of the copper rock; and that he bestowed a medal on a young chippewa, who had rendered his party and himself services during its stay on that river. this individual was among the earlier visitors who presented himself at my office. he recognized me as one of the party on that occasion. he was introduced to me by the name of wabish-ke-pe-nace, or the white bird, and seemed to rouse up from a settled look of melancholy when referring to those events. it appears that his conduct as a guide on that occasion had made him unpopular with the band, who told him he had received an honor for that which should be condemned. that it was a crime to show the americans their wealth, and the great spirit did not approve it. his dress had something wild and forlorn, as well as his countenance. _ th_. a week or two ago, an indian, called sa-ne-baw, or the ribbon, who encamped on the green in front of my office, fell sick. i requested dr. wheaton to visit him, but it did not appear that there was any disease of either an acute or chronic character which could be ascertained. the man seemed to be in a low desponding state. some small medicines were administered, but he evinced no symptoms of restoration. he rather appeared to be pining away, with some secret mental canker. the very spirit of despair was depicted in his visage. young wheaton, a brother of the doctor, and lieutenant c. morton, united states army, visited him daily in company, with much solicitude; but no effort to rally him, physically or mentally, was successful, and he died this morning. "he died," said the former to me, "because he _would_ die." the indians seem to me a people who are prone to despond, and easily sink into frames of despair. i received a letter to-day from the veteran geographer, mr. w. darby, of philadelphia, brought by the hands of a friend, a mr. toosey, through whom he submitted to me a list of geographical and statistical queries relating to some generic points, which he is investigating in connection with his forthcoming gazetteer of the united states. chapter xii. a pic-nic party at the foot of lake superior--canoe--scenery--descent of st. mary's falls--etymology of the indian names of sault ste. marie, and lake superior--the wild rice plant--indian trade--american fur company--distribution of presents--death of sassaba--epitaph--indian capacity to count--oral literature--research--self-reliance. . _august th_. i went with a pic-nic to gross cape, a romantic promontory at the foot of lake superior. this elevation stands on the north shore of the straits, and consequently in canada. it overlooks a noble expanse of waters and islands, constituting one of the most magnificent series of views of american scenery. immediately opposite stands the scarcely less elevated, and not less celebrated promontory of point iroquois, the na-do-wa-we-gon-ing, or place of iroquois bones, of the chippewas. these two promontories stand like the pillars of hercules which guard the entrance into the mediterranean, and their office is to mark the foot of the mighty superior, a lake which may not, inaptly, be deemed another mediterranean sea. the morning chosen to visit this scene was fine; the means of conveyance chosen was the novel and fairy-like barque of the chippewas, which they denominate _che-maun_, but which we, from a corruption of a charib term as old as the days of columbus, call _canoe_. it is made of the rind of the betula papyracea, or white birch, sewed together with the fine fibrous roots of the cedaror spruce, and is made water-tight by covering the seams with boiled pine rosin, the whole being distended over and supported by very thin ribs and cross-bars of cedar, curiously carved and framed together. it is turned up, at either end, like a gondola, and the sides and gunwales fancifully painted. the whole structure is light, and was easily carried by two men on their shoulders; yet will bear a weight of more than a ton on the water. it is moved with cedar paddles, and the canadians who managed it, kept time in their strokes, and regulated them to the sonorous cadence of some of their simple boat songs. our party consisted of several ladies and gentlemen. we carried the elements of a pic-nic. we moved rapidly. the views on all sides were novel and delightful. the water in which the men struck their paddles was pure as crystal. the air was perfectly exhilarating from its purity. the distance about three leagues. we landed a few moments at point aux pins, to range along the clean sandy shore, and sandy plains, now abounding in fine whortleberries. directly on putting out from this, the broad view of the entrance into the lake burst upon us. it is magnificent. a line of blue water stretched like a thread on the horizon, between cape and cape, say five miles. beyond it is what the chippewas call _bub-eesh-ko-be,_ meaning the far off, indistinct prospect of a water scene, till the reality, in the feeble power of human vision, loses itself in the clouds and sky. the two prominences of point iroquois and gross cape are very different in character. the former is a bold eminence covered with trees, and having all the appearance of youth and verdure. the latter is but the end, so to say, of a towering ridge of dark primary rocks with a few stunted cedars. the first exhibits, on inspection, a formation of sandstone and reproduced rocks, piled stratum super stratum, and covered with boulder drifts and alluvion. the second is a massive mountain ridge of the northern sienite, abounding in black crystaline hornblende, and flanked at lower altitudes, in front, in some places, by a sort of trachyte. we clambered up and over the bold undulations of the latter, till we were fatigued. we stood on the highest pinnacle, and gazed on the "blue profound" of superior, the great water or gitchegomee of the indians. we looked down far below at the clean ridges of pebbles, and the transparent water. after gazing, and looking, and reveling in the wild magnificence of views, we picked our way, crag by crag, to the shore, and sat down on the shining banks of black, white, and mottled pebbles, and did ample justice to the contents of our baskets of good things. this always restores one's spirits. we forget the toil in the present enjoyment. and having done this, and giving our last looks at what has been poetically called the father of lakes, we put out, with paddles and song, and every heart beating in unison with the scene, for our starting-point at bá-wa-teeg, or pa-wa-teeg, alias sault ste. marie. but the half of my story would not be told, if i did not add that, as we gained the brink of the rapids, and began to feel the suction of the wide current that leaps, jump after jump, over that foaming bed, our inclinations and our courage rose together to go down the formidable pass; and having full faith in the long-tried pilotage of our guide, tom shaw, down we went, rushing at times like a thunderbolt, then turned by a dab of the pole of our guide, on a rock, shooting off in eschelon, and then careering down another _schute_, or water bolt, till we thus dodged every rock, and came out below with a full roaring chorus of our canadians, who, as they cleared the last danger, hoisted our starry flag at the same moment that they struck up one of their wild and joyous, songs. _ d_. i have questioned the indians closely for the names of sault ste. marie and lake superior. they are destined to hold an important rank in our future geography. but the result is not agreeable to preconceived poetic notions. when the french first came to these falls, they found the chippewas, the falls signifying, descriptively, shallow water pitching over rocks, or by a prepositional form of the term, at the place of shallow water, pitching over rocks. such is the meaning of the words pa-wa-teeg and pa-wa-ting. the terms cover more precisely the idea which we express by the word cascade. the french call a cascade a leap or sault; but sault alone would not be distinctive, as they had already applied the term to some striking passes on the st. lawrence and other places. they therefore, in conformity with their general usage, added the name of a patron saint to the term by calling it sault de ste. marie, i.e. leap of saint mary, to distinguish it from other leaps, or saults. now as the word sainte, as here used, is feminine, it must, in its abbreviated form, be written ste. the preposition _de_ (the) is usually dropped. use has further now dropped the sound of the letter _l_ from sault. but as, in the reforms of the french dictionary, the ancient geographical names of places remain unaffected, the true phraseology is sault ste. marie. having named the falls a _sault_, they went a step further, and called the odjibwa indians who lived at it, _saulteurs,_ or people of the sault. hence this has ever remained the french name for chippewas. in the term gitchegomee, the name for superior, we have a specimen of their mode of making compounds. _gitche_ signifies something great, or possessing the property of positive magnitude. _gomee_ is itself a compound phrase, denoting, when so conjoined, a large body of water. it is the objective member of their term for the sea; but is governed by its antecedent, and may be used in describing other and minor, even the most minute liquid bodies, as we hear it, in the compound term _mushkuagomee, i.e._ strong drink. under the government of the term _gitchee_, it appears to express simply the sense of great water, but conveys the idea, to the indian mind, of sea-water. i have cast about, to find a sonorous form of elision, in which it may come into popular use, but find nothing more eligible than _i-go-mee_, or _igoma_. a more practical word, in the shape of a new compound, may be made in algoma, a term in which the first syllable of the generic name of this tribe of the algonquin stock, harmonizes very well with the indian idea of goma (sea), giving us, sea of the algonquins. the term may be objected to, as the result of a grammatical abbreviation, but if not adopted practically, it may do as a poetical synonym for this great lake. such is, at least, the result of a full discussion of these names, with the very best speakers of the language. _ th. the wild rice plant_.--having received a request for some of this native grain to send abroad, and knowing that the smoked rice, such as the indians usually bring in, will not germinate, i this day dispatched my interpreter in a canoe, with some indians, to the northern shores of the straits to gather some of it for seed; the result was successful. this plant may be deemed a precious gift of nature to the natives, who spread over many degrees of northern latitude. they call it _mon-ó-min_, a compound descriptive phrase, which differs only from their name for the zea maize in putting an _o_--the third syllable--for the imperative future in _dau_. _sept. st. indian trade_.--congress has provided a code of laws to regulate this, the object of which is a good one, and the provisions of the various enactments appear to be founded on the highest principles of justice and benevolence. it is still a question, it appears to me, whether some of these provisions do not merely sanction by the forms of law what was formerly done, not always well, without it, and whether the measure of protection which they afford to the tribes against the cupidity of the whites is very efficacious. it was heretofore pretended by the british traders that all this country belonged to great britain, and they told the indians that the war of would settle all this. it did so; but, contrary to their wishes and the predictions to the indians, it settled it precisely on the basis of the treaty of , which ran the boundary line through the straits of saint mary's and lake superior to the lake of the woods. as soon as the smoke of the war cleared off, namely, in , congress enacted that british traders and capital should be excluded from the american lines, that no british subjects should receive licenses to trade, and that all such persons who went inland in subordinate capacities should be bonded for by the american traders who employed them. this law seemed to bear particularly on this section of country, and is generally understood to have been passed to throw the old north west company, and other british traders, trading on their own account, out of this hitherto very lucrative branch of trade. john jacob astor, of new york, went immediately to montreal and bought out all the posts and factories of that company, situated in the north-west, which were south of the lines. with these posts, the factors, trading clerks, and men were, as a matter of course, cast on the patronage and employment of that eminent german furrier. that he might cover their employment, he sent an agent from montreal into vermont to engage enterprising young men, in whose names the licenses could be taken out. he furnished the entire capital for the trade, and sent agents, in the persons of two enterprising young scotch gentlemen, from montreal and new york to michilimackinack, to manage the business. this new arrangement took the popular name of the american fur company. in other respects, except those related, the mode of transacting the trade, and the real actors therein, remained very much as they were. american lads, whose names were inscribed in the licenses at michilimackinack, as principals, went inland in reality to learn the business and the language; the _engagees_, or boatmen, who were chiefly canadians or metifs, were bonded for, in five hundred dollars each. in this condition, i found things on my arrival here. the very thin diffusion of american feeling or principle in both the traders and the indians, so far as i have seen them, renders it a matter of no little difficulty to supervise this business, and it has required perpetual activity in examining the boats and outfits of the traders who have received their licenses at mackinack, to search their packages, to detect contraband goods, _i.e._ ardent spirits, and grant licenses, passports, and permits to those who have applied to me. to me it seems that the whole old resident population of the frontiers, together with the new accessions to it, in the shape of petty dealers of all sorts, are determined to have the indians' furs, at any rate, whether these poor red men live or die; and many of the dealers who profess to obey the laws wish to get legally inland only that they may do as they please, law or no law, after they have passed the flag-staff of sainte marie's. there may be, and i trust there _are_, higher motives in some persons, but they have not passed this way, to my knowledge, the present season. i detected one scamp, a fellow named gaulthier, who had carried by, and secreted above the portage, no less than five large kegs of whisky and high wines on a small invoice, but a few days after my arrival. it will require vigilance and firmness, and yet mildness, to secure anything like a faithful performance of the duties committed to me on a remote frontier, and with very little means of action beyond the precincts of the post, and this depends much on the moral influence on the indian mind of the military element of power. _ th. first distribution of presents_.--in fulfilment of a general declaration of friendly purposes, made on my opening speech to the chippewas in july last, the entire home band of st. mary's, men, women, and children, were assembled on the green in front of my office, this morning, to receive a small invoice of goods and merchandise, which were distributed amongst them as presents. these goods were the best that could be purchased in the detroit market, and were all of the best description; and they were received with a lively satisfaction, which betokened well for my future influence. prominent among the pleased recipients were the chiefs of the village, shin-ga-ba-was-sin, the image stone, she-wa-be-ke-tone, the man of jingling metals, kau-ga-osh, or the bird in eternal flight, way-ish-kee, or the first born son, and two or three others of minor note. behind them were the warriors and young men, the matrons and maids; and peppered in, as it were, the children of all ages. all were in their best attire. the ceremony began by lighting the pipe, and having it passed by suitable officials to the chiefs and warriors in due order, and by placing a pile of tobacco before them, for general use, which the chiefs with great care divided and distributed, not forgetting the lowest claimant. i then stated the principles by which the agency would be guided in its intercourse with them, the benevolence and justice of the views entertained by their great father, the president, and his wishes to keep improper traders out of their country, to exclude ardent spirits, and to secure their peace and happiness in every practicable way. each sentence, as it was rendered into indian, was received with the response of hoh! an exclamation of approbation, which is uttered feebly or loud, in proportion as the matter is warmly or coldly approved. the chiefs responded. all looked pleased; the presents were divided, and the assembly broke up in harmony and good will. it _does_ seem that, according to the oriental maxim,[ ] a present is the readiest door to an indian's heart. [footnote : "let thy present go before thee."--proverbs of solomon.] _ th_. the indian mind appears to lack the mathematical element. it is doubtful how far they can compute numbers. the chippewas count decimally, and after ten, add the names of the digits to the word ten, up to twenty; then take the word for twenty, and add them as before, to thirty; and so on to a hundred. they then add them to the term for a hundred, up to a thousand. they cannot be made to understand the value of an american dollar, without reducing it to the standard of skins. a striking instance of this kind happened among the potowattomies at chicago last year ( ). the commanding officer had offered a reward of thirty dollars for the apprehension of a deserter. the potowattomies pursued and caught him, and received a certificate for the reward. the question with them now was, how much they had got. they wished to sell the certificate to a trader, and there were five claimants. they sat down and counted off as many racoon skins. they then made thirty equal heaps, substituting symbols for skins. taking the store price of a racoon at five skins to the dollar, they then found they had received the equivalent of one hundred and fifty racoons, and at this price they sold the order or certificate. _ th. death of sassaba,[ ] or the count_.--this chief, who has from the day of our first landing here, rendered himself noted for his sentiments of opposition to the americans, met with a melancholy fate yesterday. he was in the habit of using ardent spirits, and frequently rose from a debauch of this kind of two or three days' continuance. latterly he has exhibited a singular figure, walking through the village, being divested of every particle of clothing except a large gray wolf's skin, which he had drawn over his body in such a manner as to let its tail dangle down behind. it was in this unique costume that i last saw him, and as he was a tall man, with rather prominent features, the spectacle was the more striking. from this freak of dress he has been commonly called, for some time, my-een-gun, or the wolf. he had been drinking at point aux pins, six miles above the rapids, with odabit and some other boon companions, and in this predicament embarked in his canoe, to come to the head of the portage. before reaching it, and while still in the strong tide or suck of the current, he rose in his canoe for some purpose connected with the sail, and tipped it over. odabit succeeded in making land, but the count, his wife and child, and odabit's wife, went over the rapids, which was the last ever seen of them. sassaba appeared to me to be a man of strong feelings and an independent mind, not regarding consequences. he had taken a deep prejudice against the americans, from his brother having been shot by his side in the battle under tecumseh on the thames. this appeared to be the burden of his complaints. he was fond of european dress, and articles of furniture. it was found that he had in his tent, which was of duck, a set of silver tea and tablespoons, knives, forks, cups and saucers, and a tea tray. besides his military coat, sword, and epaulets, and sash, which were presented to him, he had some ruffled linen shirts, gloves, shoes and stockings, and an umbrella, all of which were kept, however, in the spirit of a virtuoso, and he took a pride in displaying these articles to visitors. [footnote : the word means finery.] many a more worthless man than sassaba has had his epitaph, or elegiac wreath, which may serve as an apology for the following lines:-- the falls were thy grave, as they leapt mad along, and the roar of their waters thy funeral song: so wildly, so madly, thy people for aye, are rapidly, ceaselessly, passing away. they are seen but a moment, then fade and are past, like a cloud in the sky, or a leaf in the blast; the path thou hast trodden, thy nation shall tread, chief, warrior, and kin, to the _land_ of the _dead_; and soon on the lake, or the shore, or the green, not a war drum shall sound, not a smoke shall be seen. _ th. oral literature of the indians_.--"i am extremely anxious," writes a friend, "that mr. johnston and his family should furnish full and detailed answers to my queries, more particularly upon all subjects connected with the language, and, if i may so speak, the polite literature of the chippewas (i write the word in this way because i am apprehensive that the orthography is inveterately fixed, and not because i suppose it is correct)[ ]. there is no quarter from which i can expect such full information upon these topics as from this. i must beg you to aid me in the pursuit. urge them during the long winter evenings to the task. the time cannot be more profitably or pleasantly spent, and, as i am told you are somewhat of an aboriginal scholar, you can assist them with your advice and judgment. a perfect analysis of the language is a great desideratum. i pray you, in the spring, to let me have the fruits of their exertions." [footnote : i had written, announcing the word _od-jib-wa_ to be the true indian pronunciation, and recommending its adoption.] with a strong predisposition to these inquiries, with such additional excitement to the work, and with the very highest advantages of interpretation and no little fixity of application from boyhood, it must go hard with me this winter if i do not fish up something from the well of indian researches and traditionary lore. go, student, search, and if thou nothing find, go search again; success is in the mind.--algon. _ th. the right spirit, humble yet manful_.--a young man of purpose and some talent, with considerable ambition, who is diligently seeking a place in the world, writes me from detroit to-day, in this strain: "true it is, i have determined to pass the winter either in new york or washington, probably the latter place. but, my dear sir, my hope of doing anything for myself in this world is the faintest possible, and i begin to fatigue with the exertion. if i do not succeed this winter in obtaining something permanent,[ ] i shall probably settle down, either in this place or somewhere in new york, _a poor devil!_--from all which, and many other things, 'good lord deliver us!' farewell; my best wishes be with you this winter, to keep you warm. i shall expect next spring to see you an accomplished _nichee_" [ ] [në-jë]. [footnote : he did succeed at w.] [footnote : a term signifying, in the chippewa, _my friend_, but popularly used at the time to some extent at detroit to denote an indian.] chapter xiii. my first winter at the foot of lake superior--copper mines--white fish--a poetic name for a fish--indian tale--polygamy--a reminiscence--taking of fort niagara--mythological and allegorical tales among the aborigines--chippewa language--indian vowels--a polite and a vulgar way of speaking the language--public worship--seclusion from the world. . _oct. st. copper mines of lake superior._--on the th of may last, the senate of the united states passed a resolution in these words:-- "_resolved_, that the president of the united states be requested to communicate to the senate, at the commencement of the next session of congress, any information which may be in the possession of the government, derived from special agents or otherwise, showing the number, value, and position of the copper mines on the south shore of lake superior; the names of the indian tribes who claim them; the practicability of extinguishing their title, and the probable advantage which may result to the republic from the acquisition and working these mines." the resolution having been referred to me by the secretary of war, i, this day, completed and transmitted a report on the subject, embracing the principal facts known respecting them, insisting on their value and importance, and warmly recommending their further exploration and working.[ ] [footnote : see public doc. no. , d sess., th congress.] _ th. white fish fishery_.--no place in america has been so highly celebrated as a locality for taking this really fine and delicious fish, as saint mary's falls, or the _sault_,[ ] as it is more generally and appropriately called. this fish resorts here in vast numbers, and is in season after the autumnal equinox, and continues so till the ice begins to run. it is worthy the attention of ichthyologists. it is a remarkable, but not singular fact in its natural history, that it is perpetually found in the attitude of ascent at these falls. it is taken only in the swift water at the foot of the last leap or descent. into this swift water the indians push their canoes. it requires great skill and dexterity for this. the fishing canoe is of small size. it is steered by a man in the stern. the fisherman takes his stand in the bows, sometimes bestriding the light and frail vessel from gunwale to gunwale, having a scoop-net in his hands. this net has a long slender handle, ten feet or more in length. the net is made of strong twine, open at the top, like an entomologist's. when the canoe has been run into the uppermost rapids, and a school of fish is seen below or alongside, he dexterously puts down his net, and having swooped up a number of the fish, instantly reverses it in water, whips it up, and discharges its contents into the canoe. this he repeats till his canoe is loaded, when he shoots out of the tail of the rapids, and makes for shore. the fish will average three pounds, but individuals are sometimes two and three times that weight. it is shad-shaped, with well-developed scales, easily removed, but has the mouth of the sucker, very small. the flesh is perfectly white and firm, with very few bones. it is boiled by the indians in pure water, in a peculiar manner, the kettle hung high above a small blaze; and thus cooked, it is eaten with the liquid for a gravy, and is delicate and delicious. if boiled in the ordinary way, by a low hung pot and quick fire, it is soft and comparatively flabby. it is also broiled by the inhabitants, on a gridiron, after cutting it open on the back, and brought on the table slightly browned. this must be done, like a steak, quickly. it is the most delicious when immediately taken from the water, and connoisseurs will tell you, by its taste at the table, whether it is immediately from the water, or has lain any time before cooking. it is sometimes made into small ovate masses, dipped into batter, and fried in butter, and in this shape, it is called _petite pâte._ it is also chowdered or baked in a pie. it is the great resource of the indians and the french, and of the poor generally at these falls, who eat it with potatoes, which are abundantly raised here. it is also a standing dish with all. [footnote : this word is pronounced as if written _so_, not _soo_. it is a derivative, through the french, from the latin _saltus_.] _a poetic name for a fish._--the chippewas, who are ready to give every object in creation, whose existence they cannot otherwise account for, an allegorical origin, call the white fish _attikumaig_, a very curious or very fanciful name, for it appears to be compounded of attik, a reindeer, and the general compound _gumee_, or _guma_, before noticed, as meaning water, or a liquid. to this the addition of the letter _g_ makes a plural in the animate form, so that the translation is _deer of the water_, an evident acknowledgment of its importance as an item in their means of subsistence. who can say, after this, that the chippewas have not some imagination? _indian tale_.--they have a legend about the origin of the white fish, which is founded on the observation of a minute trait in its habits. this fish, when opened, is found to have in its stomach very small white particles which look like roe or particles of brain, but are, perhaps, microscopic shells. they say the fish itself sprang from the brain of a female, whose skull fell into these rapids, and was dashed out among the rocks. a tale of domestic infidelity is woven with this, and the denouement is made to turn on the premonition of a venerable crane, the leading totem of the band, who, having consented to carry the ghost of a female across the falls on his back, threw her into the boiling and foaming flood to accomplish the poetic justice of the tale. _ th. polygamy_.--this practice appears to be less common among the chippewas than the more westerly tribes. an instance of it came to my notice to-day, in a complaint made by an indian named me-ta-koos-se-ga, i.e. smoking-weed, or pure tobacco, who was living with two wives, a mother and her daughter. he complained that a young woman whom he had brought up had left his lodge, and taken shelter with the family of the widow of a canadian. it appears that the old fellow had been making advances to this girl to become his _third wife_, and that she had fled from his lodge to avoid his importunities. _ th. historical reminiscences_.--this day sixty-three years ago, general wolf took quebec, an event upon which hinged the fall of canada. that was a great historical era, and it is from this date, , that we may begin to date a change in the indian policy of the country. before that time, the french, who had discovered this region of country and established trade and intercourse with the indian tribes, were acknowledged supreme by the natives. since this event, the english rule has been growing, and the allegiance of the tribes has been gradually strengthened and fixed. it is not a light task to change habits of political affiance, cemented by so many years. the object which is only sought so far as the tribes fall within the american lines, may, however, be attained by a mild, consistent, and persevering course of policy. time is a slow but sure innovator. a few years will carry the more aged men, whose prejudices are strongest, to their graves. the young are more pliant, and will see their interests in strengthening their intercourse with the americans, who can do so much to advance them, and probably long before half another period of sixty-three years is repeated, the indians of the region will be as firmly attached to us as they ever were to the french or the english. never to doubt, and never to despair, is to make acts what once but wishes were. algon. _ th. allegorical and mythological tales_.--"i shall be rejoiced," observed governor c., in a letter of this day, in reply to my announcement of having detected fanciful traditionary stories among the chippewas, "to receive any mythological stories to which you allude, even if they are enough to rival old tooke in his pantheon." he had put into my hands, at detroit, a list of printed queries respecting the indians, and calls me to remember them, during my winter seclusion here, with the knowledge of the advantages i possess in the well-informed circle of the johnston family. _ th. chippewa language_.--there is clearly a polite and a vulgar way of speaking the language. tradition says that great changes have taken place, and that these changes keep pace with the decline of the tribe from their ancient standard of forest morals and their departure from their ancient customs. however this may be, their actual vocabulary is pretty full. difficulties exist in writing it, from the want of an exact and uniform system of notation. the vowels assume their short and slender as well as broad sounds. the language appears to want entirely the consonant sounds of f, l, r, v, and x. in conjugating their verbs, the three primary tenses are well made out, but it is doubtful how much exactitude exists in the forms given for the oblique and conditional tenses. if it be true that the language is more corrupt now than at a former age, it is important to inquire in what this corruption consists, and how it came about. "to rescue it," i observe at the close of a letter now on my table to his excellency governor c., transmitting him a vocabulary of one hundred and fifty words, "to rescue it from that oblivion to which the tribe itself is rapidly hastening, while yet it may be attempted, with a prospect of success, will constitute a novel and pleasing species of amusement during the long evenings of that dreary cold winter of which we have already had a foretaste." _ st. public worship_.--as colonel brady is about to leave the post for the season, some conversation has been had about authorizing him to get a clergyman to come to the post. it is thought that if such a person would devote a part of his time as an instructor, a voluntary subscription could be got among the citizens to supply the sum requisite for his support. i drew up a paper with this view this morning, and after handing it round, found the sum of _ninety-seven dollars_ subscribed--seventy-five dollars of which are by four persons. this is not half the stipend of "forty pounds a year" that poor goldsmith's brother thought himself rich upon; and it is apprehended the colonel will hardly find the inducement sufficient to elicit attention to so very remote a quarter. _nov. st_. we have snow, cold, and chilly winds. on looking to the north, there are huge piles of clouds hanging over lake superior. we may say, with burns, "the wintry wind is gathering fast." this is a holiday with the canadian french--"all saints." they appear as lively and thoughtless as if all the saints in the calendar were to join them in a dance. well may it be said of them, "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." _ th. seclusion from the world realized_.--we are now shut out from the world. the season of navigation has closed, the last vessel has departed. philosophers may write, and poets may sing of the charms of solitude, but when the experiment comes to be tried, on a practical scale, such as we are now, one and all, about to realize, theories and fancies sink wonderfully in the scale. for some weeks past, everything with the power of motion or locomotion has been exerting itself to quit the place and the region, and hie to more kindly latitudes for the winter. nature has also become imperceptibly sour tempered, and shows her teeth in ice and snows. _man-kind_ and _bird-kind_ have concurred in the effort to go. we have witnessed the long-drawn flight of swans, brant, and cranes, towards the south. singing birds have long since gone. ducks, all but a very few, have also silently disappeared, and have probably gone to pick up spicy roots in the susquehannah or altamaha. prescient in the changes of the season, they have been the first to go. men, who can endure greater changes and vicissitudes than all the animal creation put together, have lingered longer; but at last one after another has left pa-wa-teeg, till all who _can_ go have gone. col. brady did not leave his command till after the snow fell, and he saw them tolerably "cantoned." the last vessel for the season has departed--the last mail has been sent. our population has been thinned off by the departure of every temporary dweller, and lingering trader, and belated visitor, till no one is left but the doomed and fated number whose duty is here, who came here to abide the winter in all its regions, and who cannot, on any fair principle or excuse, get away. they, and they alone, are left to winter here. of this number i am a resigned and willing unit, and i have endeavored to prepare for the intellectual exigencies of it, by a systematic study and analysis of the indian language, customs, and history, and character. my teachers and appliances are the best. i have furnished myself with vocabularies and hand-books, collected and written down, during the season. i have the post library in my room, in addition to my own, with a free access to that of "mine host" of the emerald isle, mr. johnston, to while away the time. my huge montreal stove will take long billets of wood, which, to use the phraseology of burns, "would mend a mill." the society of the officers and their families of the garrison is at hand. the amusements of a winter, in this latitude, are said to be rather novel, with their dog trains and creole sleighs. there are some noble fellows of the old "north west" order in the vicinity. there are thus the elements, at least, of study, society, and amusement. whatever else betide, i have good health, and good spirits, and bright hopes, and i feel very much in the humor of enjoying the wildest kind of tempests which providence may send to howl around my dwelling. we have, as the means of exchanging sentiment, one english family of refinement and education, on the american side of the river, and two others, an english family and the hudson bay house in charge of a scotch gentleman, on the canada shore. we have the officers attached to a battalion of infantry, most of them married and having their ladies and families with them, and about a dozen american citizens besides, engaged in traffic and other affairs. these, with the resident _metif_ population of above souls, and the adjacent indian tribes, constitute the world--the little isolated world--in which we must move for six months to come. about fifty miles off, s.e., is the british post of drummond island, and about forty west of the latter, the ancient position and island settlement of michilimackinack, that bugbear to children in all our earlier editions of webster's spelling book. all the rest of the united states is a far-off land to us. for one, i draw around my fire, get my table and chair properly located, and resort to my books, and my indian _ia-ne-kun-o-tau-gaid_ let the storm whistle as it may. _ th_. zimmerman may write as much as he pleases about solitude. it is all very well in one's study, by his stove, if it is winter, with a good feather bed, and all comforts at hand; but he who would test his theories should come _here_. it is a capital place, in the dead of winter, for stripping poetic theories of their covering. chapter xiv. amusements during the winter months, when the temperature is at the lowest point--etymology of the word chippewa--a meteor--the indian "fire-proof"--temperature and weather--chippewa interchangeables--indian names for the seasons--an incident in conjugating verbs--visiting--gossip--the fur trade--todd, mcgillvray, sir alexander mackenzie--wide dissimilarity of the english and odjibwa syntax--close of the year. _ . december st_. we have now plunged into the depths of a boreal winter. the blustering of tempests, the whistling of winds, and the careering of snow drifts form the daily topics of remark. we must make shift to be happy, with the most scanty means of amusement. books and studies must supply the most important item in this--at least, so far as i am concerned. it is observed by dr. johnson "that nothing can supply the want of prudence, and that negligence and irregularity, long continued, will render knowledge useless, wit ridiculous, and genius contemptible." this sententious apothegm is thrown out in contemplating the life of savage, one of the english poets who united some of the highest requisites of genius with the lowest personal habits. but how much instruction does it convey to all! it does not fall to the lot of all to have wit or genius, or to be eminent in knowledge. none, however, who are not absolute idiots are without some share of the one or the other. and in proportion as these gifts are possessed, how fruitless, and comparatively useless do they become, if not governed by prudence, assiduity, and regularity! _ d_. the indian tribes in this vicinity call themselves ojibwäg. this expression is in the plural number. it is rendered singular by taking off the _g_. the letter _a_, in this word, is pronounced like _a_ in hate, or _ey_ in obey. chippewa--often written with a useless terminal _y_--is the anglicized pronunciation. the meaning of this seems obscure. the final syllable _wä_, in compound words, stands for voice. in the ancient massachusetts language, as preserved by eliot, in his translation of the bible, as in isaiah xi. , chepwoieu means the east. what a curious subject for speculation the indian language presents! since i began to dip into this topic, i have found myself irresistibly carried forward in the inquiry, and been led to resume it, whenever the calls of business or society have been intermitted. i have generally felt, however, while pursuing it, like a mechanist who is required to execute a delicate and difficult work without suitable implements. technical words may be considered as the working tools of inquiry, and there seems to be a paucity of terms, in our common systems, to describe such a many-syllabled, aggregated language as the indian. i have been sometimes half inclined to put my manuscripts in the fire, and to exclaim with dryden, respecting some metaphysical subject-- "i cannot bolt this matter to the bran." it is not, however, the habitual temper of my mind to give up. "the spider," it is said, "taketh hold with her hands, and is in king's palaces;" and should a man have less perseverance than a _spider?_ _ th_. a meteor, or fire-ball, passed through the village at twilight this evening. the weather, which has been intensely cold for the last three days, indicates a change this evening. meteoric phenomena of a luminous character were universally referred to electricity, after franklin's day. chemistry has since put forth reasons why several of these phenomena should be attributed to phosphorus or hydrogen liberated by decomposition. _ th_. the chippewa jugglers, or jassakeeds, as they are called, have an art of rendering their flesh insensible, probably for a short time, to the effects of a blaze of fire. robert dickson told me that he had seen several of them strip themselves of their garments, and jump into a bonfire. voltaire says, in his essay on history, that rubbing the hand for a long time with spirit of vitriol and alum, with the juice of an onion, is stated to render it capable of enduring hot water without injury. _ th_. acting as librarian for the garrison during the season, i am privileged to fill up many of the leisure hours of my mornings and evenings by reading. the difficulty appears to be, to read with such reference to system as to render it profitable. history, novels, voyages and travels, and various specific treatises of fancy or fact, invite perusal, and like a common acquaintance, it requires some moral effort to negative their claims. "judgment," says a celebrated critic, "is forced upon us by experience. he that reads many books must compare one opinion, or one style with another, and when he compares must necessarily distinguish, reject, prefer." _sunday th_. quintilian says, "we palliate our sloth by the specious pretext of difficulty." nothing, in fact, is too difficult to accomplish, which we set about, with a proper consideration of those difficulties, and pursue with perseverance. the indian language cannot be acquired so easily as the greek or hebrew, but it can be mastered by perseverance. our indian policy cannot be understood without looking at the indian history. the taking of fort niagara was the first decisive blow at french power. less than three months afterwards, that is, on the th of october of that year, general wolf took quebec. goldsmith wrote some stanzas on this event, eulogizing the heroism of the exploit. england's consolation for the loss of wolf is found in his heroic example, which the poet refers to in his closing line, "since from thy tomb a thousand heroes rise." _ th_. names are the pegs of history. velasco, it is said, on visiting the gulf which receives the st. lawrence, and finding the country cold and inhospitable, cried out _aca nada_--"there is nothing here." this is said to be the origin of the word canada. nothing could be more improbable: did the indians of canada hear him, and, if so, did they understand or respect the language of a foreigner hovering on their coast? we must look to the iroquois for the origin of this word. jacques cartier, in , evidently mistook the indian word canada, signifying a town, for the whole country. the indians have no geographical terms for districts. they name a hill, a river, or a fall, but do not deal in generics. some _à priori_ reasoning seems constrained, where the facts are granted, as this: all animals at nova zembla, it is said, are carnivorous, because there is no grass. _ th_. snow covers everything. we are shut out from the civilized world, and thrown entirely on our own resources. i doubt, if we were in siberia, or kamschatka, if we could be so completely isolated. _ th_. ellis, in one of his northern voyages, asserts the opinion that the northern lights kindle and disperse the vapors requisite to the formation of lightning. hence there is no thunder in high northern latitudes. we admit the fact, but doubt the reasoning. vapor is but water in a gaseous state. it is a fine medium for the exhibition of electricity, and we cannot say that electricity exists without it. _ th_. when lucas fox sailed to discover the north-west passage to india, in , he carried a letter from charles the first to the emperor of japan. such was public information, in europe, twenty-two years after the discovery of the river hudson, and the settlement of new england, eleven years later. _ th_. the state of the weather, during this month, has exhibited some striking changes. the first three or four days were quite severe. on the fifth it became mild, and continued so for eight or nine days. during this time, nearly all the snow which had previously fallen was carried off by rains, or the heat of the sun. the weather was so mild that i sat in my office, on the th, without fire, for about two hours. two evenings previous, the snow fell from the roofs of buildings at nine o'clock, and it continued thawing through the night. to day, the wind has veered round to a northerly point, and the weather has resumed its wintry temperature. _ d_. the river st. mary's froze over during the night of this day. the stream had been closed below, for about a week previous. _ th_. the tartars cannot pronounce the letter _b_. those of bulgaria pronounce the word blacks as if written iliacs. the chippewas in this quarter usually transpose the _b_ and _p_ in english words. they substitute _n_ for _l_, pronouncing louis as if written nouis. the letter _r_ is dropped, or sounded _au_. _p_ is often substituted for _f_, _b_ for _v_, and _ch_ for _j_. in words of their own language, the letters _f, l, r, v_, and _x_, do not occur. the following are their names for the seasons. pe-boan, winter. se-gwun, spring. ne-bin, summer. ta-gwa-ge, autumn. years are counted by winters, months by moons, and days by nights. there are terms for morning, mid-day, and evening. the year consists of thirteen moons, each moon being designated by a descriptive name, as the moon of flowers (may), the moon of strawberries (june), the moon of berries (july), &c. canoe and tomahawk are not terms belonging to the chippewa language. from inquiries i think the former is of carib origin, and the latter mohegan. the chippewa equivalents are in the order stated, cheman and agákwut. _ th_. in going out to dinner at o'clock, a sheet of paper containing conjugations of verbs, which had cost me much time and questioning, had fallen from my table. on returning in the evening, i found my dog, ponty, a young pet, had torn my care-bought conjugations into small pieces. what was to be done? it was useless to whip the dog, and i scarcely had the courage to commence the labor anew. i consequently did neither; but gathering up the fragments, carefully soaked the gnawed and mutilated parts in warm water, and re-arranged and sealed them together. and before bedtime i had restored the manuscript so as to be intelligibly read. i imposed this task upon myself, but, had it been imposed by another, i would have been ready to pronounce him a madman. _ th_. i devoted the day and evening in transcribing words into my "ojibwa vocabulary." this is a labor requiring great caution. the language is so concrete, that often, when i have supposed a word had been dissected and traced to its root, subsequent attention has proved it to be a compound. thus verbs have been inserted with pronouns, or with particles, indicating negation, or the past or future tense, when it has been supposed they had been divested of these appendages. i am now going over the work the third time. the simplest forms of the verb seem to be the first and third persons singular of the imperative mood. ennui, in situations like the present, being isolated and shut up as it were from the world, requires to be guarded against. the surest preventive of it is employment, and diversity in employment. it has been determined to-day to get up a periodical sheet, or _jeu d'esprit_ newspaper, to be circulated from family to family, commencing on the first of january. mrs. thompson asked me for a name. i suggested the "northern light." it was finally determined to put this into latin, and call it aurora borealis. _ th_. visits make up a part of the winter's amusements. we owe this duty to society; but, like other duties, which are largely connected with enjoyment, there is a constant danger that more time be given up to it than is profitable. conversation is the true index of feeling. we read wise and grave books, but are not a whit better by them, than as they introduce and fix in our minds such principles as shall shine out in conversation or acts. now were an ordinary social winter evening party tested by such principles, what would a candid spectator judge to have been the principal topics of reading or study? i remember once, in my earlier years, to have passed an evening in a room where a number of my intimate friends were engaged in playing at cards. as i did not play, i took my seat at an office-table, and hastily sketched the conversation which i afterwards read for their amusement. but the whole was in reality a bitter satire on their language and sentiments, although it was not so designed by me, nor received by them. i several years afterwards saw the sketch of this conversation among my papers, and was forcibly struck with this reflection. let me revert to some of the topics of conversation introduced in the circles where i have visited this day, or in my own room. it is goldsmith, i think, who says that our thoughts take their tinge from contiguous objects. a man standing near a volcano would naturally speak of burning mountains. a person traversing a field of snow would feel his thoughts occupied with polar scenes. thus are we here thrown together. ice, snow, winds, a high range of the thermometer, or a driving tempest, are the almost ever present topics of remark: and these came in for a due share of the conversation to-day. the probability of the ice in the river's breaking up the _latter part of april_, and the arrival of a vessel at the post _early in may!_--the dissolution of the seventeenth congress, which must take place on the th of march, the character and administration of governor clinton (which were eulogized), were adverted to. in the evening i went, by invitation, to mr. siveright's at the north west house. the party was numerous, embracing most of the officers of the american garrison, john johnston, esq., mr. c.o. ermatinger, a resident who has accumulated a considerable property in trade, and others. conversation turned, as might have been expected, upon the topic of the fur trade, and the enterprising men who established, or led to the establishment of, the north west company. todd, mackenzie, and m'gillvray were respectively described. todd was a merchant of montreal, an irishman by birth, who possessed enterprise, courage, address, and general information. he paved the way for the establishment of the company, and was one of the first partners, but died untimely. he possessed great powers of memory. his cousin, don andrew todd, had the monopoly of the fur trade of louisiana. m'gillvray possessed equal capacity for the trade with todd, united to engaging, gentlemanly manners. he introduced that feature in the company which makes every clerk, at a certain time, a partner. this first enabled them successfully to combat the hudson's bay company. his passions, however, carried him too far, and he was sometimes unjust. sir alexander mackenzie was at variance with m'gillvray, and they never spoke in each other's praise. mackenzie commanded great respect from all classes, and possessed a dignity of manners and firmness of purpose which fitted him for great undertakings. he established the x.y. company, in opposition to the north west. _ th_. the days are still very short, the sun having but just passed the winter solstice. we do not dine till four; mr. johnston, with whom i take my meals, observing this custom, and it is dark within the coming hour. i remained to family worship in the evening. _ th_. read the articles in the "edinburgh review" on accum's work on the adulteration of food, and curran's life by his son. accum, it is said, came to england as an adventurer. by assiduity and attention, he became eminent as an operative chemist, and accumulated a fortune. curran was also of undistinguished parentage. his mother, in youth, seems to have judged rightly of his future talents. mr. johnston returned me "walsh's appeal," which he had read at my request, and expressed himself gratified at the ability with which the subject is handled. captain clarke, an industrious reader on local and general subjects, had come in a short time before. conversation became general and animated. european politics, greece, turkey, and russia, the state of ireland, radicalism in england, the unhappy variance between the king and queen, charles fox, &c., were successively the subjects of remark. we adjourned to mr. johnston's. in the evening i went into my office and wrote to mr. calhoun, the secretary of war, recommending captain h.'s son william, for the appointment of a cadet in the military academy.[ ] [footnote : the appointment was made.] _ st_. devoted the day to the indian language. it scarcely seems possible that any two languages should be more _unlike_, or have fewer points of resemblance, than the english and ojibwa. if an individual from one of the nomadic tribes of farther asia were suddenly set down in london, he could hardly be more struck with the difference in buildings, dress, manners, and customs, than with the utter discrepance in the sounds of words, and the grammatical structure of sentences. the ojibwa has this advantage, considered as the material of future improvement; it is entirely homogeneous, and admits of philosophical principles being carried out, with very few, if any, of those exceptions which so disfigure english grammar, and present such appalling obstacles to foreigners in learning the language. on going to dine at the usual hour, i found company invited, among whom were some gentlemen from upper canada. conversation rolled on smoothly, and embraced a wide range of topics. some of the dark doings of the north west company, in their struggle for exclusive power in the indian country, were mentioned. nobody appeared to utter a word in malice or ill will. dark and bright traits of individual character and conduct floated along the stream of conversation, without being ruffled with a breeze. in the evening i attended a party at the quarters of one of the officers in the fort. dancing was introduced. the evening passed off agreeably till the hour of separation, which was a few minutes before twelve. and thus closed the year eighteen hundred and twenty-two. chapter xv. new year's day among the descendants of the norman french--anti-philosophic speculations of brydone--schlegel on language--a peculiar native expression evincing delicacy--graywacke in the basin of lake superior--temperature--snow shoes--translation of gen. i. --historical reminiscences--morals of visiting--ojibwa numerals--harmon's travels--mackenzie's vocabularies--criticism--mungo park. _january st_. this is a day of hilarity here, as in new york. gayety and good humor appear on every countenance. visiting from house to house is the order. the humblest individual is expected to make his appearance in the routine, and "has his claims allowed." the french custom of salutation prevails. the indians are not the last to remember the day. to them, it is a season of privileges, although, alas! it is only the privilege to beg. standing in an official relation to them, i was occupied in receiving their visits from eight o'clock till three. i read, however, at intervals, dr. johnson's lives of rochester, roscommon, otway, phillips, and walsh. _ d_. brydone, the traveler, says, on the authority of recupero, a priest, that in sinking a pit near iaci in the region of mount etna, they pierced through seven distinct formations of lava, with parallel beds of earth interposed between each stratum. he estimates that two thousand years were required to decompose the lava and form it into soil, and consequently that fourteen thousand years were needed for the whole series of formations. a little further on, he however furnishes data, showing to every candid mind on what very vague estimates he had before relied. he says the fertile district of hybla was suddenly turned to barrenness by an eruption of lava, and soon after restored to fertility by a shower of ashes. the change which he had required two thousand years to produce was here accomplished suddenly, and the whole argument by which he had arrayed himself against the mosaical chronology overturned. of such materials is a good deal of modern pseudo-philosophy constructed. i received, this morning, a number of mineralogical specimens from mr. johnston, which had been collected by him at various times in the vicinity. among them were specimens of copper pyrites in quartz, sulphate of strontian, foliated gypsum, and numerous calcareous petrifactions. he also presented me a fine antler of the caribo, or american reindeer, a species which is found to inhabit this region. this animal is called addik by the ojibwas. _ik_ is a termination in the ojibwa denoting some hard substance. _ d_. forster, in his "history of northern voyages," mentions some facts which appear to be adverse to mr. hayden's theory of a north-western current. the height of islands observed by fox, in the arctic regions, was found to be greatest on their eastern sides, and they were depressed towards the west. "this observation," he says, "seems to me to prove that, when the sea burst impetuously into hudson's bay, and tore away these islands from the main land, it must have come rushing from the east and south-east, and have washed away the earth towards the west--a circumstance which has occasioned their present low position." _ th_. i read the review of schlegel's "treatise on the sanscrit language." how far the languages of america may furnish coincidences in their grammatical forms, is a deeply interesting inquiry. but thus insulated, as i am, without books, the labor of comparison is, indeed, almost hopeless! i must content myself, for the present, with furnishing examples for others. the indians still continue their new year's visits. fresh parties or families, who come in from the woods, and were not able to come on the day, consider themselves privileged to present their claims. it should not be an object of disappointment to find that the indians do not, in their ordinary intercourse, evince those striking traits of exalted and disinterested character which we are naturally accustomed to expect from reading books. books are, after all, but men's holiday opinions. it requires observation on real life to be able to set a true estimate upon things. the instances in which an indian is enabled to give proofs of a noble or heroic spirit cannot be expected to occur frequently. in all the history of the seaboard tribes there was but one pocahontas, one uncas, and one philip. whereas, everyday is calling for the exercise of less splendid, but more generally useful virtues. to spare the life of a prisoner, or to relieve a friend from imminent peril, may give applause, and carry a name down to posterity. but it is the constant practice of every day virtues and duties, domestic diligence, and common sense, that renders life comfortable, and society prosperous and happy. how much of this everyday stamina the indians possess, it would be presumptuous in me, with so short an opportunity of observation, to decide. but i am inclined to the opinion that their defect of character lies here. our express for detroit, via michilimackinack, set out at three o'clock this morning, carrying some few short of a hundred letters. this, with our actual numbers, is the best commentary on our insulated situation. we divert ourselves by writing, and cling with a death-grasp, as it were, to our friends and correspondents. _ th. gitche ie nay gow ge ait che gah_, "they have put the sand over him" is a common expression among the indians to indicate that a man is dead and buried. another mode, delicate and refined in its character, is to suffix the inflection for perfect past tense, _bun_, to a man's name. thus washington e bun would indicate that washington is no more. i read the life of pope. it is strange that so great a poet should have been so great a lover of wealth; mammon and the muses are not often conjointly worshiped. pope did not excel in familiar conversation, and few sallies of wit, or pointed observation, are preserved. the following is recorded: "when an objection raised against his inscription for shakspeare was defended by the authority of patrick, he replied, 'horresco referens,' that he would allow the publisher of a dictionary to know the meaning of a single word, but not of two words put together." in the evening i read a number of the "london literary gazette," a useful and interesting paper, which, in its plan, holds an intermediate rank between a newspaper and a review. it contains short condensed criticisms on new works, together with original brief essays and anecdotes, and literary advertisements, which latter must render it a valuable paper to booksellers. i think we have nothing on this plan, at present, in the united states. _ th_. i received a specimen of slaty graywacke from lake superior. the structure is tabular, and very well characterized. if there be no mistake respecting the locality, it is therefore certain that this rock is included among the lake superior group.[ ] it was not noticed in the expedition of . i also received a specimen of iron sand from _point aux pins_. [footnote : i found graywacke _in sitû_ at iron river, in lake superior, in , and subsequently at presque isle river, where it is slaty, and fine even grained, and apparently suitable for some economical uses.] the thermometer has stood at ° below zero a few days during the season. it was noticed at ° below, this morning. notwithstanding the decidedly wintry character of the day, i received a visit from mr. siveright, a canadian gentleman, who came across the expanse of ice on snow shoes. i loaned him silliman's "travels in england and scotland," feeling a natural desire to set off our countrymen, as authors and travelers, to the best advantage. mr. s., who has spent several years at the north, mentioned that each of the indian tribes has something peculiar in the fashion of their snow shoes. the chippewas form theirs with acute points fore and aft, resembling two inverted sections of a circle. the crees make a square point in front, tapering away gradually to the heel. the chippewyans turn up the fore point, so that it may offer less resistance in walking. females have their snow shoes constructed different from the men's. the difference consists in the shape and size of the bows. the netting is more nicely wrought and colored, and often ornamented, particularly in those worn by girls, with tassels of colored worsted. the word "shoe," as applied to this apparatus of the feet, is a complete _misnomer_. it consists of a net-work of laced skin, extended between light wooden bows tied to the feet, the whole object of which is to augment the space pressed upon, and thus bear up the individual on the surface of the snow. i devoted the leisure hours of the day to the grammatical structure of the indian language. there is reason to suppose the word _moneto_ not very ancient. it is, properly speaking, not the name for god, or jehovah, but rather a generic term for spiritual agency in their mythology. the word seems to have been derived from the notion of the offerings left upon rocks and sacred places, being supernaturally _taken away_. in any comparative views of the language, not much stress should be laid upon the word, as marking a difference from other stocks. _maneton_, in the delaware, is the verb "to make." _ozheton_ is the same verb in chippewa. _ th_. history teaches its lessons in small, as well as great things. vessels from albemarle, in virginia, in , first carried the potato to ireland. thomas harriot says the natives called it _open-awk_. the chippewas, at this place, call the potato _open-eeg_; but the termination _eeg_ is merely a form of the plural. _open_ (the _e_ sounded like short _i_) is the singular form. thomas jefferson gives the word "wha-poos" as the name of the powhatanic tribes for hare. the chippewa term for this animal is _wa-bos_, usually pronounced by white men wa-poos. longinus remarks the sublimity of style of the third verse of genesis i. i have, with competent aid, put it into chippewa, and give the re-translation:-- appee dush and then gezha monedo merciful spirit akeedood he said tah let wassay-au, light be, appee dush and then wassay-aug light was. it is not to be expected that all parts of the language would exhibit equal capacities to bear out the original. yet in this instance, if the translation be faithful, it is clearly, but not, to our apprehension, elegantly done. i am apprehensive that the language generally has a strong tendency to repetition and redundancy of forms, and to clutter up, as it were, general ideas with particular meanings. at three o'clock i went to dine with mr. siveright, at the north west company's house. the party was large, including the officers from the garrison. conversation took a political turn. colonel lawrence defended the propriety of his recent toast, "the senate of the united states, the guardians of a free people," by which a boston paper said "more was meant than met the eye." the evening was passed with the ordinary sources of amusement. i have for some time felt that the time devoted to these amusements, in which i never made much advance, would be better given up to reading, or some inquiry from which i might hope to derive advantage. an incident this evening impressed me with this truth, and i came home with a resolution that one source of them should no longer engross a moment of my time. harris, the author of hermes, says, "it is certainly as easy to be a scholar as a gamester, or any other character equally illiberal and low. the same application, the same quantity of habit, will fit us for one as completely as for the other. and as to those who tell us, with an air of seeming wisdom, that it is men, and not books, that we must study to become knowing; this i have always remarked, from repeated experience, to be the common consolation and language of dunces." now although i have no purpose of aiming at extreme heights in knowledge, yet there are some points in which every man should have that precision of knowledge which is a concomitant of scholarship. and every man, by diligence, may add to the number of these points, without aiming at all to put on a character for extraordinary wisdom or profundity. * * * * * _ th. historical reminiscences_.--on the third of april, , sir william johnson concluded preliminary articles of peace and friendship with eight deputies of the seneca nation, which was the only one of the iroquois who joined pontiac. this was done at his residence at johnson hall, on the mohawk. in august, , colonel bradstreet granted "terms of peace" to certain deputies of the delaware, huron, and shawnee tribes at presque isle, being then on his way to relieve detroit, which was then closely invested by the indians. these deputies gave in their adhesion to the english cause, and agreed to give up all the english prisoners. in october of the same year, colonel bouquet granted similar terms to another deputation of shawnees, delawares, &c., at tuscarawas. the best account of the general transactions of the war of that era, which i have seen, is contained in a "history of the late war in north america, and islands of the west indies. by thomas mante, assistant engineer, &c., and major of a brigade. london, :" vol. quarto, pages. i am indebted to governor clinton for my acquaintance with this work. _ th_. i have employed the last three days, including this, very diligently on my indian vocabulary and inquiries, having read but little. too exclusive a devotion to this object is, however, an error. i have almost grudged the time i devoted to eating and sleeping. and i should certainly be unwilling that my visitors should know what i thought of the interruptions created by their visits. it is true, however, that i have gained but little by these visits in the way of conversation. one of my visitors, a couple of days since, made me waste a whole morning in talking of trifling subjects. another, who is a gourmand, is only interested in subjects connected with the gratification of his palate. a third, who is a well-informed man, has such lounging habits that he remained two hours and a half with me this morning. no wonder that men in office must be guarded by the paraphernalia of ante-rooms and messengers, if a poor individual at this cold end of the world feels it an intrusion on his short winter days to have lounging visitors. i will try to recollect, when i go to see others, that although _i_ may have leisure, perhaps _they_ are engaged in something of consequence. * * * * * _ th. history abounds in examples of excellence_.--xenophon says of jason, "all who have served under jason have learned this lesson, that pleasure is the effect of toil; though as to sensual pleasures, i know no person in the world more temperate than jason. they never break in upon his time; they always leave him leisure to do what must be done." of diphridas, the same author observes, "no bodily indulgence ever gained the ascendant over him, but, on the contrary, he gave all his attention to the business in hand." what admirable maxims for real life, whether that life be passed in courts or camps, or a humble sphere! _ th_. i finished reading thiebault's "anecdotes of frederick the great," which i had commenced in december. this is a pleasing and instructive work. every person should read it who wishes to understand the history of prussia, particularly the most interesting and important period of it. we here find frederick i. and ii., and william depicted to the life. we are made acquainted also with national traits of the russian, english, german, and french character, which are nowhere else to be found. _ th_. the ancient thracians are thus described by herodotus: "the most honorable life with them is a life of indolence; the most contemptible that of a husbandman. their supreme delight is war and plunder." who, if the name and authority were concealed, but would suppose the remarks were made of some of the tribes of the north american indians? i divided the day between reading and writing. in the evening i went by invitation to a party at lieutenant b.'s in the cantonment. _ th_. the chippewa names of the numerals, from one to ten, are--pazhik, neezh, niswee, newin, nanun, neen-goodwaswa, neezh-waswa, swaswa, shonguswa, metonna. dined at mr. ermatinger's, a gentleman living on the canada shore, who, from small beginnings, has accumulated a considerable property by the indian trade, and has a numerous anglo-odjibwa family. _ th_. completed the perusal of harmon's travels, and extracted the notes contained in memorandum book n. mr. harmon was nineteen years in the service of the north west company, and became a partner after the expiration of the first seven years. the volume contains interesting data respecting the topography, natural history (incidental), and indian tribes of a remote and extensive region. the whole scope of the journal is devoted to the area lying north of the territory of the united states. it will be found a valuable book of reference to those who are particularly directing their attention to northern scenes. the journal was revised and published by a mr. haskell, who, it is said _here_, by persons acquainted with mr. harmon, has introduced into the text religious reflections, not believed to have been made by the author at the time. no exceptions can be taken to the reflections; but his companions and co-partners feel that they should have led the individual to exemplify them in his life and conversation while _inland_. mr. harmon says, of the canadians--"all their chat is about horses, dogs, canoes, women, and strong men, who can fight a good battle." traders and indians are placed in a loose juxtaposition. "their friendship," he states, "is little more than their fondness for our property, and our eagerness to obtain their furs." european manufactures are essential to the natives. "the indians in this quarter have been so long accustomed to european goods, that it would be with difficulty that they could now obtain a livelihood without them. especially do they need firearms, axes, kettles, knives, &c. they have almost lost the use of bows and arrows, and they would find it nearly impossible to cut their fire wood with implements made of stone or bone." _ th_. examined mackenzie's travels, to compare his vocabulary of knisteneaux and algonquin, with the odjibwa, or chippewa. there is so close an agreement, in sense and sound, between the two latter, as to make it manifest that the tribes could not have been separated at a remote period. this agreement is more close and striking than it appears to be by comparing the two written vocabularies. mackenzie has adopted the french orthography, giving the vowels, and some of the consonants and diphthongs, sounds very different from their _english_ powers. were the words arranged on a common plan of alphabetical notation, they would generally be found to the eye, as they are to the ear, nearly identical. the discrepancies would be rendered less in cases in which they appear to be considerable, and the peculiarities of idiom, as they exist, would be made more striking and instructive. i have heard both idioms spoken by the natives, and therefore have more confidence in speaking of their nearness and affinity, than i could have had from mere book comparison. i am told that mackenzie got his vocabulary from some of the priests in lower canada, who are versed in the algonquin. it does not seem to me at all probable that an englishman or a scotchman should throw aside his natural sounds of the vowels and consonants, and adopt sounds which are, and must have been, from infancy, foreign. as i intend to put down things in the order of their occurrence, i will add that i had a visitor to-day, a simple mechanic, who came to talk to me about _nothing_; i could do no less than be civil to him, in consequence of which he pestered me with hems and haws about one hour. i think job took no interest in philology. _ th_. devoted the day to the language. a friend had loaned me a file of scottish papers called the _montrose review_, which i took occasion to run over. this paper is more neatly and correctly printed than is common with our papers of this class from the country. the strain of remark is free, bold, and inquisitive, looking to the measures of government, and advocating principles of rational liberty throughout the world. col. lawrence, capt. thompson, and lieut. griswold called in the course of the day. i commenced reading mungo parke's posthumous volume. _ th_. the mind, like the body, will get tired. quintilian remarks, "variety refreshes and renovates the mind." composition and reading by turns, wear away the weariness either may create; and though we have done many things, we in some measure find ourselves fresh and recruited at entering on a new thing. this day has been almost entirely given up to society. visitors seemed to come in, as if by concert. col. lawrence, capts. clarke and beal, lieuts. smith and griswold. mr. s.b. griswold, who was one of the american hostage officers at quebec, dr. foot, and mr. johnston came in to see me, at different times. i filled up the intervals in reading. _ th, sabbath_. a party of indians came to my door singing the begging dance. these people do not respect the sabbath.[ ] the parties who came in, on new year's day, still linger about the settlements, and appear to be satisfied to suffer hunger half the time, if their wants can be gratuitously relieved the other half. [footnote : about eighteen months afterwards, i interdicted all visits of indians on the _sabbath_, and adopted it as an invariable rule, that i would not transact any business, or receive visits, from any indian under the influence of liquor. i directed my interpreter to tell them that the president had sent me to speak to _sober_ men only.] _ th_. i continued to transcribe, from loose papers, into my indian lexicon. a large proportion of the words are derivatives. all are, more or less, compounded in their oral forms, and they appear to be _glued_, as it were, to objects of sense. this is not, however, peculiar to this language. the author of "hermes" says--"the first words of men, like their first ideas, had an immediate reference to sensible objects, and that in after days, when they began to discern with their intellect, they took those words which they found already made, and transferred them, by metaphor, to intellectual conceptions." on going to dinner, i found a party of officers and their ladies. "mine host," mr. johnston, with his fine and frank belfast hospitality, does the honors of his table with grace and ease. nothing appears to give him half so much delight as to see others happy around him. i read, in the evening, the lives of akenside, gray, and littleton. what a perfect crab old dr. johnson was! but is there any sound criticism without sternness? _ st_. i finished the reading of mungo parke, the most enterprising traveler of modern times. he appears to me to have committed two errors in his last expedition, and i think his death is fairly attributable to impatience to reach the mouth of the niger. he should not have attempted to pass from the gambia to the niger during the rainy season. by this, he lost thirty-five out of forty men. he should not have tried to _force_ a passage through the kingdom of houssa, without making presents to the local petty chiefs. by this, he lost his life. when will geographers cease to talk about the mouth of the niger? england has been as indefatigable in solving this problem as she has been in finding out the north west passage, and, at present, as unsuccessful. we see no abatement, however, in her spirit of heroic enterprise. america has sent but one explorer to this field--ledyard. chapter xvi. novel reading--greenough's "geology"--the cariboo--spiteful plunder of private property on a large scale--marshall's washington--st. clair's "narrative of his campaign"--etymology of the word _totem_--a trait of transpositive languages--polynesian languages--a meteoric explosion at the maximum height of the winter's temperature--spafford's "gazetteer"--holmes on the prophecies--foreign politics--mythology--gnomes--the odjibwa based on monosyllables--no auxiliary verbs--pronouns declined for tense--esprella's letters--valerius--gospel of st. luke--chippewayan group of languages--home politics--prospect of being appointed superintendent of the lead mines of missouri. . _jan. d_. a pinching cold winter wears away slowly. the whole village seems to me like _so_ many prescient beavers, in a vast snow-bank, who cut away the snow and make paths, every morning, from one lodge to another. in this reticulation of snow paths the drum is sounded and the flag raised. most dignified bipeds we are. hurrah for progress, and the extension of the anglo-saxon race! i read the "recluse," translated from d'arlincourt's popular novel _le solitaire_, and think the commendations bestowed upon it, in the translator's preface, just in the main. it is precisely such a novel as i should suppose would be very popular in the highest circles of france, and consequently, owing to difference of character, would be less relished by the same circles in england. i suspect the author to be a great admirer of chateaubriand's "atala," whose death is brought to mind by the catastrophe of elode's. here, however, the similitude ends. there is nothing to be said respecting the comparative features of charles the bold and chactas, except that the indian possessed those qualities of the heart which most ennoble human nature. to the readers of scott's novels, however (for he is certainly the "great unknown"), this pleasing poetical romance, with all its sparkling passages, will present one glaring defect--it is not sufficiently descriptive. we rise from the perusal of it with no definite ideas of the scenery of the valley of underlach. we suppose it to be sublime and picturesque, and are frequently told so by the author; but he fails in the description of particular scenes. scott manages otherwise. when he sends baillie nicoll jarvie into the highlands, he does not content himself with generalities, but also brings before the mind such groups and scenes as make one fear and tremble. to produce this excitement is literary power. _ d_. i devoted the time before breakfast, which, with us, happens at a late hour, to the _edinburgh review_. i read the articles on greenough's "first principles of geology," and a new edition of demosthenes. when shall we hear the last panegyric of the grecian orator, who, in the two characteristics of his eloquence which have been most praised, simplicity and nature, is every day equalled, or excelled, by our indian chiefs? greenough's essays are bold and original, and evince no weak powers of observation and reasoning. but he is rather a leveler than a builder. it seems better that we should have a poor house over our heads than none at all. the facts mentioned on the authority of a traveler in spain, that the pebbles in the rivers of that country are not carried down streams by the force of the current, are contradicted by all my observations on the rivers of the united states. the very reverse is true. those streams which originate in, or run through districts of granite, limestone, graywacke, &c., present pebbles of these respective rocks abundantly along their banks, at points below the termination of the fixed strata. these pebbles, and even boulders, are found far below the termination of the rocky districts, and appear to owe their transportation to the force of existing currents. i have found the peculiar pebbles of the sources of the mississippi as low down as st. louis and st. genevieve. i resumed the perusal of marshall's "life of washington," which i had laid by in the fall. lieutenants barnum and bicker and mr. johnston came to visit me. _ th_. i made one of a party of sixteen, who dined with mr. ermatinger. i here first tasted the flesh of the _cariboo_, which is a fine flavored venison. i do not recollect any wise or merry remark made during dinner, which is worth recording. as toasts show the temper of the times, and bespeak the sentiments of those who give them, a few of them may be mentioned. after several formal and national toasts, we had mr. calhoun, governor cass, general brown, mr. sibley, the representative of michigan, colonel brady, and major thayer, superintendent of the military academy. in coming home in the cariole, we all missed the _balizes_, and got completely upset and pitched into the snow. _ th_. mr. john johnston returned me silliman's travels, and expressed himself highly pleased with them. mr. johnston evinces by his manners and conversation and liberal sentiments that he has passed many of his years in polished and refined circles. he told me he came to america during the presidency of general washington, whom he esteems it a privilege to have seen at new york, in . having letters to lord dorchester, he went into canada, and through a series of vicissitudes, finally settled at these falls about thirty years ago. in , his property was plundered by the americans, through the false representations of some low-minded persons, his neighbors and opponents in trade, with no more patriotism than he; in consequence of which he returned to europe, and sold his patrimonial estate at "craige," in the north of ireland, within a short distance of the giant's causeway, and thus repaired, in part, his losses. _ th_. devoted to reading--a solid resource in the wilderness. _ th_. finished the perusal of marshall's washington, and took the notes contained in memorandums p. and r. the first volume of this work is intended as introductory, and contains the best recital of the political history of the colonies which i have read. the other four volumes embrace a wide mass of facts, but are rather diffuse and prolix, considered as biography, a good life of washington, which shall comprise within a small compass all his prominent public and private acts, still remains a desideratum. _ th_. our express returned this morning, bringing me new york papers to the th of november. we are more than two months and a half behind the current news of the day. we have washington dates to the th of november, but of course they convey nothing of the proceedings of congress. _ th_. i read st. clair's "narrative of his campaign" against the indians in , and extracted the notes contained in memorandum a.a. the causes of its failure are explained in a satisfactory manner, and there is proof of gen. st. clair's vigilance and intrepidity. dissensions in his camp crippled the old general's power. _ th_. i took up the subject of the indian language, after an interval of eight or nine days, and continued to transcribe into my vocabulary until after the hour of midnight. it comprises now rising of fifteen hundred words, including some synonyms. _ st_. "_totem_" is a word frequently heard in this quarter. in tracing its origin, it is found to be a corruption of the indian "_dodaim_," signifying family mark, or armorial bearing. the word appears to be a derivative from _odanah_, a town or village. hence _neen dodaim_, my townsman, or kindred-mark. affinity in families is thus kept up, as in the feudal system, and the institution seems to be of some importance to the several bands. they often appeal to their "totem," as if it were a surname. at three o'clock i went to dine at col. lawrence's. the party consisted of capts. thompson and beal, lieuts. barnum, smith, waite, and griswold, mr. johnston, mr. ermatinger and son, dr. foot and mr. siveright of the h.b. house. in the evening the party adjourned to mr. johnston's. _february st_. transpositive languages, like the indian, do not appear to be well adapted to convey familiar, easy, flowing conversation. there seems to be something cumbrous and stately in the utterance of their long polysyllabic words, as if they could not readily be brought down to the minute distinctions of every day family conversation. this may arise, however, from a principle adverted to by dr. johnson, in speaking of the ancient languages, in which he says "nothing is familiar," and by the use of which "the writer conceals penury of thought and want of novelty, often from the reader, and often from himself." the indian certainly has a very pompous way of expressing a common thought. he sets about it with an array of prefix and suffix, and polysyllabic strength, as if he were about to crush a cob-house with a crowbar. _ d_. the languages of new zealand, tonga, and malay have no declension of nouns, nor conjugation of verbs. the purposes of declension are answered by particles and prepositions. the distinctions of person, tense, and mode are expressed by adverbs, pronouns, and other parts of speech. this rigidity of the verb and noun is absolute, under every order of arrangement, in which their words can be placed, and their meaning is not helped out, by either prefixes or suffixes. i read plutarch's "life of marcellus," to observe whether it bore the points of resemblance to washington's military character, suggested by marshall. _ d. abad_ signifies abode, in persian. _abid_ denotes where he is, or dwells, in chippewa. i refused, on an invitation of mr. ermatinger, to alter the resolution formed on the seventh ultimo, as to _one_ mode of evening's amusement. _ th_. a loud meteoric report, as if from the explosion of some aerial body, was heard about noon this day. the sound seemed to proceed from the south-west. it was attended with a prolonged, or rumbling sound, and was generally heard. popular surmise, which attempts to account for everything, has been very busy in assigning the cause of this phenomenon. a high degree of cold has recently been experienced. the thermometer stood at ° below zero at one o'clock this morning. it had risen to ° at day-break--being the greatest observed degree of cold during the season. it did not exceed ° above zero during any part of the day. _ th_. a year ago to-day, a literary friend wrote to me to join him in preparing a gazetteer of the state of new york, to supplant spafford's. of the latter, he expresses himself in the letter, which is now before me, in unreserved terms of disapprobation. "it is wholly unworthy," he says, "of public patronage, and would not stand in the way of a good work of the kind; and such a one, i have the vanity to believe, our joint efforts could produce. it would be a permanent work, with slight alterations, as the state might undergo changes. my plan would be for you to travel over the state, and make a complete geological, mineralogical, and statistical survey of it, which would probably take you a year or more. in the mean time, i would devote all my leisure to the collection and arrangement of such other materials as we should need in the compilation of the work. i doubt not we could obtain the prompt assistance of the first men in the state, in furnishing all the information required. our state is rapidly increasing in wealth and population, and i am full in the faith that such a work would sell well in different parts of the country." _ th_. i did nothing to-day, by which i mean that it was given up to visiting and talking. it is dr. johnson, i think, who draws a distinction between "_talk_ and conversation." it is necessary, however, to assign a portion of time in this way. "a man that hath friends must show himself _friendly_," is a bible maxim. _ th_. the garrison library was this morning removed from my office, where it had been placed in my charge on the arrival of the troops in july, the state of preparations in the cantonment being now sufficiently advanced to admit its reception. a party of gentlemen from the british garrison on drummond island came up on a visit, on snow shoes. the distance is about miles. _ th_. i commenced reading holmes on "the fulfilment of the revelation of st. john," a london work of . the author says "that his explanation of the symbols is founded upon one fixed and universal rule--that the interpretation of a symbol is ever maintained; that the chronological succession of the seals, trumpets, and vials is strictly preserved; and that the history contained under them is a uniform and homogeneous history of the roman empire, at once comprehensive and complete."--attended a dining-party at mr. johnston's. _ th_. continued the reading of holmes, who is an energetic writer, and appears to have looked closely into his subject. the least pleasing trait in the work is a polemic spirit which is quite a clog to the inquiry, especially to those who, like myself, have never read the authors faber, cunningham, and frere, whose interpretations he combats. for a clergyman, he certainly handles them without gloves. _ th_. the principal indian chief of the vicinity, shingabawossin, sent to inquire of me the cause of the aerial explosion, heard on the th. at four i went to dine with mr. ermatinger on the british shore. _ th_. i did something, although, from the round of visiting and gayety which, in consequence of our drummond isle visitors, has existed for a few days, but little, at my vocabulary. at half-past four, i went to dine with lieutenants morton and folger in the cantonment. the party was nearly the same which has assembled for a few days, in honor of the foreign gentlemen with us. in the evening a large party, with dancing, at mr. johnston's. _ th_. i read lord erskine's letter to lord liverpool on the policy to be pursued by great britain in relation to greece and turkey. the arguments and sentiments do equal credit to his head and heart, and evince no less his judgment as a statesman, than they do his taste and erudition as a scholar. this interesting and valuable letter breathes the true sentiments of rational liberty, such as must be felt by the great body of the english nation, and such as must, sooner or later, prevail among the enlightened nations of the earth. how painful to reflect that this able appeal will produce no favorable effect on the british ministry, whose decision, it is to be feared, is already made in favor of the "legitimacy" of the turkish government! at four o'clock, i laid by my employments, and went to dine at the commanding officer's quarters, whence the party adjourned to a handsomely arranged supper table at capt. beal's. the necessity of complying with times and occasions, by accepting the current invitations of the day, is an impediment to any system of intellectual employment; and whatever the world may think of it, the time devoted to public dinners and suppers, routs and parties, is little better than time thrown away. "and yet the fate of all extremes is such; books may be read, as well as men, too much." _ th_. i re-perused mackenzie's "history of the fur trade," to enable me more fully to comprehend the allusions in a couple of volumes lately put into my hands, on the "disputes between lord selkirk and the north west company," and the "report of trials" for certain murders perpetrated in the course of a strenuous contest for commercial mastery in the country by the hudson's bay company. finding an opportunity of sending north, i recollected that the surveyors of our northern boundary were passing the winter at fort william, on the north shore of lake superior; and wrote to one of the gentlemen, enclosing him some of our latest papers. _ th_. the gentlemen from the neighboring british post left us this morning. i devoted the day to my indian inquiries. _ th_. i commenced a vocabulary of conversation, in the odjibwa. _ th. native mythology_.--according to indian mythology, _weeng_ is the god of sleep. he has numerous emissaries, who are armed with war clubs, of a tiny and unseen character. these fairy agents ascend the forehead, and knock the individual to sleep. pope's creation of gnomes, in the rape of the lock, is here prefigured. _ th_. it has been said that the indian languages possess no monosyllables. this remark is not borne out with regard to the chippewa. marked as it is with polysyllables, there are a considerable number of exceptions. _koan_ is snow, _ais_ a shell, _mong_ a loon, _kaug_ a porcupine, &c. the number of dissyllables is numerous, and of trisyllables still more so. the chippewa has no auxiliary verbs. the chippewa primitive pronouns are, neen, keen, and ween (i, thou, he or she). they are rendered plural in _wind_ and _wau_. they are also declined for tense, and thus, in the conjugation of verbs, take the place of our auxiliary verbs. _ th_. resumed the perusal of holmes on "revelations." he establishes a dictionary of symbols, which are universally interpreted. in this system, a day signifies a natural year; a week seven years; a month thirty years; a year a period of years. the air means "church and state;" waters, "peoples, multitudes, tongues;" seven, the number of perfection; twelve, totality or all; hail storms, armies of northern invaders. if the work were divested of its controversial character, it would produce more effect. agreeably to this author, the downfall of popery will take place about the year . _ th_. i read "esprella's letters on england," a work attributed to southey, whose object appears to have been to render english manners and customs familiar in spain, at a time when the intercourse between the two countries had very much augmented, and their sympathies were drawn together by the common struggle against napoleon bonaparte. _ st_. i commenced "valerius, a roman story." in the evening the commanding officer (col. l.) gave a party, in honor of washington's birthday. that the time might not be wholly anticipated, dancing was introduced to give it wings, and continued until two o'clock of the morning of (the actual birthday) the twenty-second. _ d_. finished "valerius." this is an interesting novel on the waverley plan, and must certainly be considered a successful attempt to familiarize the class of novel-readers with roman history and roman domestic manners. the story turns on the persecution of the christians under trajan. the expression "of a truth," which is so abundantly used in the narrative, is a scripture phrase, and is very properly put into the mouth of a converted roman. i cannot say as much for the word "alongst" used for along. there are also some false epithets, as "drop," for run or flow, and "guesses" for conjectures. the only defect in the plot, which occurs to me, is, that valerius, after his escape with athanasia from ostium, should have been landed safely in britain, and thus completed the happiness of a disconsolate and affectionate mother, whom he left there, and who is never afterwards mentioned. _ d_. from the mention which is made of it in "valerius," i this day read the gospel of luke, and truly am surprised to find it so very important a part of the new testament. indeed, were all the rest of the volume lost, this alone would be sufficient for the guidance of the christian. divines tell us that luke was the most learned of the evangelists. he is called "the beloved physician," by st. paul. his style is more descriptive than the other evangelists, and his narrative more clear, methodical, and precise, and abounds equally with sublime conceptions.[ ] [footnote : this opinion was thrown out from mere impulse, on a single perusal, and so far as it may be regarded as a literary criticism, the only possible light in which it can be considered, is vaguely hazarded, for i had not, at that time, read the other gospels with any degree of care or understanding, so as to be capable thereby of judging of their style or merits as compositions. _spiritually_ considered, i did not understand luke, or any of the evangelists, for i regarded the gospels as mere human compositions, without the aid of inspiration. they were deemed to be a true history of events, interspersed with moral axioms, but derived no part of their value, or the admiration above expressed, as revealing the only way of salvation through christ.] _ th_. mr. harman, from a long residence in the indian country, in high northern latitudes, was qualified by his opportunities of observation, to speak of the comparative character of the indian language in that quarter. he considers them as radically different from those of the algonquin stock. the group which may be formed from his remarks, will embrace the chippewayans, beaver indians, sicaunies, tacullies, and nateotetains. if we may judge of this family of dialects by mackenzie's vocabulary of the chippewayan, it is very remote from the chippewa, and abounds in those consonantal sounds which the latter studiously avoids. harman says, "the sicaunies bury, while the tacullies burn their dead." "instances of suicide, by hanging, frequently occur among the women of all the tribes, with whom i have been acquainted; but the men are seldom known to take away their own lives." these indians entertain the same opinions respecting the dress of the dead, with the more southerly tribes. "nothing," he says, "pleases an indian better than to see his deceased relative handsomely attired, for he believes that they will arrive in the other world in the same dress with which they are clad, when they are consigned to the grave." _ th_. our second express arrived at dusk, this evening, bringing papers from the seaboard to the th of january, containing the president's message, proceedings of congress, and foreign news, up to that date. a friend who is in congress writes to me--"we go on slowly, but so far very harmoniously, in congress. the red jackets [ ] are very quiet, and i believe are very much disposed to cease their warfare against mr. monroe, as they find the nation do not relish it." [footnote : opponents of the then existing administration, who looked to gen. cocke, of tennessee, as a leader.] another friend at washington writes ( th dec.): "the message of the president you will have seen ere this reaches you. it is thought very well of here. he recommends the appointment of a superintendent of the western lead mines, skilled in mineralogy. if congress should make provision for one, it is not to be doubted _who_ will receive the situation. in fact, in a conversation a few days since with mr. c., he told me he had you particularly in view when he recommended it to the president." _ th_. wrote an application to the postmaster general for the appointment of s.b. griswold as postmaster at this place.[ ] [footnote : mr. g. was appointed.] chapter xvii. close of the winter solstice, and introduction of a northern spring--news from the world--the indian languages--narrative journal--semi-civilization of the ancient aztec tribes--their arts and languages--hill's ironical review of the "transactions of the royal society"--a test of modern civilization--sugar making--trip to one of the camps--geology of manhattan island--ontwa, an indian poem--northern ornithology--dreams--the indian apowa--printed queries of general cass--prospect of the mineral agency--exploration of the st. peter's--information on that head. . _march st_. my reading hours, for the last few days, have been, in great part, devoted to the newspapers. so long an exclusion from the ordinary sources of information has the effect to increase the appetite for this kind of intellectual food, and the circumstance probably leads us to give up more time to it than we should were we not subject to these periodical exclusions. the great point of interest is the succession in the presidential chair. parties hinge upon this point. economy and retrenchment are talismanic words, used to affect the populace, but used in reality only as means of affecting the balance of party power. messrs. calhoun, crawford, and adams are the prominent names which fill the papers. there is danger that newspapers in america will too much supersede and usurp the place of books, and lead to a superficial knowledge of things. gleaning the papers in search of that which is really useful, candid, and fair seems too much like hunting for grains of wheat in a chaos of chaff. _ d_. our third express went off this morning, freighted with our letters, and, of course, with our reasons, our sentiments, our thanks, our disappointments, our hopes, and our fears. _ th_. i resumed the subject of the indian language. _osánimun_ is the word for vermilion. this word is compounded from _unimun_, or plant yielding a red dye, and _asawa_, yellow. the peculiar color of yellow-red is thus indicated. _bëizha_ is the neuter verb "to come." this verb appears to remain rigid in its conjugation, the tenses being indicated exclusively by inflections of the pronoun. thus _nim beizha, i_ come; _ningee peizha_, i came; _ninguh peizha_, i will come. the pronoun alone is declined for past and future tense, namely _gee_ and _guh_. there does not appear to be any definite article in the chippewa language. _pazhik_ means one, or an. it may be doubtful whether the former sense is not the exclusive one. _ahow_ is this person in the animate form. _ihiw_ is the corresponding inanimate form. more care than i have devoted may, however, be required to determine this matter. verbs, in the chippewa, must agree in number and tense with the noun. they must also agree in gender, that is, verbs animate must have nouns animate. they must also have animate pronouns and animate adjectives. vitality, or the want of vitality, seems to be the distinction which the inventors of the language, seized upon, to set up the great rules of its syntax. verbs, in the chippewa language, are converted into nouns by adding the particle _win_. _kegido_, to speak. _kegido-win,_ speech. this appears to be a general rule. the only doubt i have felt is, whether the noun formed is so purely elementary as not to partake of a participial character. there are two plurals to express the word "we," one of which _includes_, and the other _excludes_, the person addressed. neither of these forms is a dual. _os_ signifies father; _nos_ is my father; _kos_, thy father; _osun_, his or her father. the vowel in this word is sounded like the _o_, in note. the language has two relative pronouns, which are much used--_awanan_, who; and _wagonan_, what. the vowel _a_, in these words, is the sound of _a_ in fate. there are two classes of adjectives, one of which applies to animate, the other to inanimate objects. the chippewa word for sabbath is _animea geezhig_, and indicates prayer-day. there is no evidence, from inquiry, that the indians divided their days into weeks. a moon was the measure of a month, but it is questionable whether they had acquired sufficient exactitude in the computation of time to have numbered the days comprehended in each moon. the phases of the moon were accurately noted. _ th_. professor s., of yale college, writes to me under this date, enclosing opinions respecting my "narrative journal" of travels, contained in a familiar private letter from d. wadsworth, esq., of hartford. they terminate with this remark: "all i regret about it (the work) is, that it was not consistent with his plans to tell us more of what might be considered the _domestic_ part of the expedition--the character and conduct of those who were of the party, their health, difficulties, opinions, and treatment of each other, &c. as his book was a sort of official work, i suppose he thought it would not do, and i wish now, he would give his friends (and let us be amongst them) a manuscript of the particulars that are not for the public." _ th. semi-civilization of the mexican tribes_.--nothing is more manifest, on reading the "conquest of mexico" by de solis, than that the character and attainments of the ancient mexicans are exalted far above the reality, to enhance the fame of cortez, and give an air of splendor to the conquest. superior as the aztecs and some other tribes certainly were, in many things, to the most advanced of the north american tribes, they resemble the latter greatly, in their personal features, and mental traits, and in several of their arts. the first presents sent by montezuma to cortez were "cotton cloths, plumes, bows, arrows and targets of wood, collars and rings of gold, precious stones, ornaments of gold in the shape of animals, and two round plates of the precious metals resembling the sun and moon." the men had "rings in their ears and lips, which, though they were of gold, were a deformity instead of an ornament." "canoes and periogues" of wood were their usual means of conveyance by water. the "books" mentioned at p. , were well-dressed skins, dressed like parchment, and, after receiving the paintings observed, were accurately folded up, in squares or parallelograms. the cacique of zempoala, being the first dignitary who paid his respects personally to cortez on his entry into the town, is described, in effect, as covered with a cotton blanket "flung over his naked body, enriched with various jewels and pendants, which he also wore in his ears and lips." this chief sent men to carry the baggage of cortez. by the nearest route from st. juan de ulloa, the point of landing to mexico, it was sixty leagues, or about miles. this journey montezuma's runners performed to and fro in seven days, being thirty-five to thirty-six miles per day. no great speed certainly; nothing to demand astonishment or excite incredulity. distance the mexicans reckoned, like our indians, by _time_, "a sun" was a day's journey. de solis says, "one of the points of his embassy (alluding to cortez), and the principal motive which the king had to offer his friendship to montezuma, was the obligation christian princes lay under to oppose the errors of idolatry, and the desire he had to instruct him in the knowledge of the truth, and to help him to get rid of the slavery of the devil." the empire of mexico, according to this author, stretched "on the north as far as panuco, including that province, but was straitened considerably by the mountains or hilly countries possessed by the chichimecas and ottomies, a barbarous people." i have thought, on reading this work, that there is room for a literary essay, with something like this title: "strictures on the hyperbolical accounts of the ancient mexicans given by the spanish historians," deduced from a comparison of the condition of those tribes with the indians at the period of its settlement. humboldt states that there are twenty languages at present in mexico, fourteen of which have grammars and dictionaries tolerably complete. they are, mexican or aztec, otomite, tarase, zapatec, mistec, maye or yucatan, tatonac, popolauc, matlazing, huastec, mixed, caquiquel, tarauma, tepehuan, cara. _ th_. when the wind blows high, and the fine snow drifts, as it does about the vernal equinox, in these latitudes, the indians smilingly say, "ah! now pup-puk-e-wiss is gathering his harvest," or words to this effect. there is a mythological tale connected with it, which i have sketched. _ st_. i have amused myself in reading a rare old volume, just presented to me, entitled "a review of the works of the royal society of london, &c., by john hill, m.d., london, ." it evinces an acute mind, ready wit, and a general acquaintance with the subjects of natural history, antiquities, and philosophical research, adverted to. it is a racy work, which all modern naturalists, and modern discoverers of secrets and inventions ought to read. i should think it must have made some of the contributors to the "transactions" of the royal society wince in its day. _ d_. knowledge of foreign nations has increased most wonderfully in our day, and is one of the best tests of civilization. josaphat barbaro traveled into the east in . he says of the georgians, "they have the most horrid manners, and the worst customs of any people i ever met with." surely this is vague enough for even the clerk who kept the log-book of henry hudson. such items as the following were deemed "food" for books of travels in those days: "the people of cathay, in china, believe that they are the only people in the world who have two eyes. to the latins they allow _one_, and all the rest of the world none at all." marco polo gives an account of a substance called "andanicum," which he states to be an _ore of steel_. in those days, when everything relating to metallurgy and medicine was considered a secret, the populace did not probably know that steel was an artificial production. or the mineral may have been sparry iron ore, which is readily converted into steel. _ th_. it is now the season of making sugar from the rock maple by the indians and canadians in this quarter. and it seems to be a business in which almost every one is more or less interested. winter has shown some signs of relaxing its iron grasp, although the quantity of snow upon the ground is still very great, and the streams appear to be as fast locked in the embraces of frost as if it were the slumber of ages. sleighs and dog trains have been departing for the maple forests, in our neighborhood, since about the th instant, until but few, comparatively, of the resident inhabitants are left. many buildings are entirely deserted and closed, and all are more or less thinned of their inhabitants. it is also the general season of sugar-making with the indians. i joined a party in visiting one of the camps. we had several carioles in company, and went down the river about eight or nine miles to mrs. johnston's camp. the party consisted of several officers and ladies from the fort, captain thompson [ ] and lady, lieutenant bicker and lady and sister, the miss johnstons and lieutenants smith [ ] and folger. we pursued the river on the ice the greater part of the way, and then proceeded inland about a mile. we found a large temporary building, surrounded with piles of ready split wood for keeping a fire under the kettles, and large ox hides arranged in such a manner as to serve as vats for collecting the sap. about twenty kettles were boiling over an elongated central fire. [footnote : killed in florida, at the battle of okechobbee, as lt. col. of the th u.s. infantry.] [footnote : died at vera cruz, mexico, as quarter-master u.s.a.] the whole air of the place resembled that of a manufactory. the custom on these occasions is to make up a pic-nic, in which each one contributes something in the way of cold viands or refreshments. the principal amusement consisted in pulling candy, and eating the sugar in every form. having done this, and received the hospitalities of our hostess, we tackled up our teams, and pursued our way back to the fort, having narrowly escaped breaking through the river at one or two points. _ th_. i received a letter of this date from g.w. rodgers, a gentleman of bradford county, pennsylvania, in behalf of himself and associates, proposing a number of queries respecting the copper-yielding region of lake superior, and the requisites and prospects of an expedition for obtaining the metal from the indians. wrote to him adversely to the project at this time. doubtless the plan is feasible, but the indians are at present the sole owners and occupants of the metalliferous region. _ th. dies natalis_.--a friend editing a paper on the seaboard writes ( jan. )--"i wish you to give me an article on the geology and mineralogy of manhattan island, in the form of a letter purporting to be given by a foreign traveler. it is my intention to give a series of letters, partly by myself and partly by others, which shall take notice of everything in and about the city, which may be deemed interesting. i wish to begin at the foundation, by giving a geographical and geological sketch of the island." [ ] he continues:-- [footnote : furnished the article, as desired, under the signature of "germanicus." _vide_ "n.y. statesman."] "i have read ontwa, the indian poem you spoke of last summer. the notes by gov. cass are extremely interesting, and written in a superior style. i shall notice the work in a few days." "i inform you, in confidence, that m.e., of this city, is preparing a notice of your 'journal' for the next number of the _repository_, which will appear on the first of next month." _ th_. novelty has the greatest attraction for the human mind. there is such a charm in novelty, says dr. john mason good, that it often leads us captive in spite of the most glaring errors, and intoxicates the judgment as fatally as the cup of circe. but is not variety at hand to contest the palm? "the great source of pleasure," observes dr. johnson, "is variety. uniformity must tire at last, though it be uniformity of excellence." _april st_. the ice and snow begin to be burthensome to the eye. we were reconciled to winter, when it was the season of winter; but now our longing eyes are cast to the south, and we are anxious for the time when we can say, "lo, the winter is past, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land." the chippewas have quite a poetic allegory of winter and spring, personified by an old and a young man, who came from opposite points of the world, to pass a night together and boast of their respective powers. winter blew his breath, and the streams were covered with ice. spring blew his breath, and the land was covered with flowers. the old man is finally conquered, and vanishes into "thin air." _ d_. we talked to-day of dreams. dreams are often talked about, and have been often written about. but the subject is usually left where it was taken up. herodotus says, "dreams in general originate from those incidents which have most occupied the thoughts during the day." locke betters the matter but little, by saying, "the dreams of sleeping men are all made up of waking men's ideas, though, for the most part, oddly put together." solomon's idea of "the multitude of business" is embraced in this. sacred dreams were something by themselves. god chose in ancient times to communicate with the prophets in dreams and visions. but there is a very strong and clear line of distinction drawn on this subject in the d of jeremiah, from the th to the th verses. "he that hath a dream, let him tell a dream, and he that hath my word let him speak my word." the sacred and the profane, or idle dream, are likened as "chaff" to "wheat." the indians, in this quarter, are very much besotted and spell-bound, as it were, by dreams. their whole lives are rendered a perfect scene of doubts and fears and terrors by them. their jugglers are both dreamers and dream interpreters. if the "prince of the power of the air" has any one hold upon them more sure and fast than another, it seems to be in their blind and implicit reliance upon dreams. there is, however, with them a sacred dream, distinct from common dreams. it is called _a-po-wa._ i have had before me, during a considerable part of the season, a pamphlet of printed queries respecting the indians and their languages, put into my hands by gov. c. when passing through detroit in the summer. leaving to others the subjects connected with history and traditions, &c., i have attempted an analysis of the language. reading has been resorted to as a refreshment from study. i used to read to gratify excitement, but i find the chief pleasure of my present reading is more and more turning to the acquisition and treasuring up of facts. this principle is probably all that sustains and renders pleasurable the inquiry into the indian language. one of the printed queries before me is, "do they (the indians) believe in ghosts?" i believe all ignorant and superstitious nations believe in apparitions. it seems to be one of the most natural consequences of ignorance; and we have seen, in the history of wise and learned men, that it requires a high intellectual effort to shake this belief out of the mind. if god possessed no other way of communicating with the living, it is reasonable to believe that he would send dead men, or dead men's souls. and this is the precise situation of the only well authenticated account we have, namely, that of saul at endor [_vide_ st samuel, th to th verses]. the chippewas are apt to connect all their ghost stories with fire. a lighted fire on the grave has a strong connection with this idea, as if they deemed some mysterious analogy to exist between spirituality and fire. their name for ghost is _jeebi_, a word rendered plural in _ug_. without nice attention, this word will be pronounced _chebi_, or _tchebi_. another is as follows: "do they use any words equivalent to our habit of swearing?" many things the indians may be accused of, but of the practice of swearing they cannot. i have made many inquiries into the state of their vocabulary, and do not, as yet, find any word which is more bitter or reproachful than _matchi annemoash_, which indicates simply, bad-dog. many of their nouns have, however, adjective inflections, by which they are rendered derogative. they have terms to indicate cheat, liar, thief, murderer, coward, fool, lazy man, drunkard, babbler. but i have never heard of an imprecation or oath. the genius of the language does not seem to favor the formation of terms to be used in oaths or for purposes of profanity. it is the result of the observation of others, as well as my own, to say, that an indian cannot curse. _ st_. the ornithology of the north is very limited in the winter. we have the white owl, the canada jay, and some small species of woodpeckers. i have known the white partridge, or ptermigan, to wander thus far south. this bird is feathered to the toes. there are days when the snow-bird appears. there is a species of duck, the _shingebis_, that remains very late in the fall, and another, the _ä-ä-wa,_ that comes very early in the spring. the _t. polyglottis_, or buffoon-bird, is never found north of ° n. latitude in the summer. this bird pours forth all sorts of notes in a short space of time, without any apparent order. the thrush, the wren, the jay, and the robin are imitated in as short a time as it takes to write these words. _ th_. during severe winters, in the north, some species of birds extend their migrations farther south than usual. this appears to have been the case during the present season. a small bird, yellowish and cinereous, of the grosbec species, appeared this day in the neighborhood of one of the sugar-camps on the river below, and was shot with an arrow by an indian boy, who brought it up to me. the chippewas call it _pashcundamo_, in allusion to the stoutness of its bill, and consequent capacity for breaking surfaces.[ ] [footnote : this specimen was sent to the new york lyceum, where it was determined to be an undescribed species, and named _fringilia vespertina_, or evening grosbec.] _ th_. the ice on the river still admits of the passage of horse trains, and the night temperature is quite wintry, although the power of the sun begins to be sensibly felt during the middle and after part of the day. _ th_. a friend recently at washington writes from detroit under the date of the th march: "a proposition was submitted to a committee of the senate, soon after my arrival in the city, by the secretary of war, for the establishment of the office of superintendent of mines. to this office, had the project been carried into execution, you would have been appointed. but shortly before i left there, it was thought more expedient to sell all the mines than to retain them in the hands of the government. of course, if this plan be adopted, as i think it will be, the other will be superseded." here, then, drops a project, which i had conceived at potosi, and which has been before my mind for some four years, and which i am still satisfied might have been carried through congress, had i given my personal attention to the subject, during the present session. i have supposed myself more peculiarly qualified to fill the station indicated, than the one i now occupy. and i accepted the present office under the expectation that it would be temporary. when once a project of this kind, however, is superseded in the way this has been, it is like raising the dead to bring it up again; and it is therefore probable that my destiny is now fixed in the north-west instead of the south-west, for a number of years. i thought i had read franklin's maxims to some purpose; but i now see that, although i have observed one of them in nine cases, i missed it in the tenth:-- "he that by the plough would thrive, himself must either hold, or drive." i trusted, in the fall, that i could safely look on, and see this matter accomplished. as to the mines, they will still require a local superintendent. they cannot be sold until there are some persons to buy, and it is not probable such extensive tracts of barren lands can be disposed of in years. meantime, the rents of the mines are an object. the preservation of the public timber is an object. and the duties connected with these objects cannot be performed, with justice to the government, and convenience to the lessees, without a local agent. in proportion as some of the districts of mineral lands are sold, others will claim attention; and it _may be_, and most probably _will be_, years before the intention of congress, if expressed by law, can be fully carried into effect. life has more than one point of resemblance to a panorama. when one object is past, another is brought to view. the same correspondent adds: "mr. calhoun has come to the determination to authorize you to explore the river st. peter's this season. i think you may safely make the necessary arrangements, as i feel confident the instructions will reach you soon after the opening of the navigation." in consequence of this intimation, i have been casting about to find some authors who treat of the region of country which embraces the st. peter's, but with little success. hennipin's "discovery of a large country in the northern america, extending above four thousand miles," i have read with care. but care indeed it requires to separate truth from error, both in his descriptions and opinions. he thinks "japan a part of the american continent;" and describes the wisconsin as "navigable for large vessels above one hundred leagues." yet, notwithstanding this gross hyberbole, he describes the portage between the fox and wisconsin at "half a league," which is within the actual distance. it may be admitted that he was within the sioux country, and went up the mississippi as high as the st. francis. la hontan, whose travels were published in london only a few years after the translation of hennipin's, is entitled, it is believed, to no credit whatever, for all he relates of personal discoveries on the mississippi. his fiction of observations on "river la long," is quite preposterous. i once thought he had been as far as prairie du chien; but think it more probable he never went beyond green bay. carver, who went from boston to the mississippi in the latter part of the th century, is not an author to glean much from. i, however, re-perused his volume carefully, and extracted notes. some of the stories inserted in his work have thrown an air of discredit over it, and caused the whole work to be regarded in rather an apocryphal light. i think there is internal evidence enough in his narrative to prove that he visited the chief portions of country described. but he probably neglected to keep diurnal notes. when in london, starvation stared him in the face. those in office to whom he represented his plans probably listened to him awhile, and afterwards lost sight of, or neglected him. he naturally fell into the hands of the booksellers, who deemed him a good subject to get a book from. but his original journal did not probably afford matter enough, in point of bulk. in this exigency, the old french and english authors appear to have been drawn upon; and probably their works contributed by far the larger part of the volume after the th page (philadelphia ed. ), which concludes the "journal." i think it questionable whether some literary hack was not employed, by the booksellers, to draw up the part of the work "on the origin, manners, customs, religion, and language of the indians." considerable portions of the matter are nearly verbatim in the language of charlevoix, la hontan, and other authors of previous date. the "vocabulary of chippewa," so far as it is chippewa at all, has the french or a mixed orthography, which it is not probable that an englishman or an american would, _de novo_, employ. chapter xviii. rapid advance of spring--troops commence a stockade--principles of the chippewa tongue--idea of a new language containing the native principles of syntax, with a monosyllabic method--indian standard of value--archaeological evidences in growing trees--mount vernon--signs of spring in the appearance of birds--expedition to st. peter's--lake superior open--a peculiarity in the orthography of jefferson--true sounds of the consonants--philology--advent of the arrival of a vessel.--editors and editorials--arrival from fort william--a hope fled--sudden completion of the spring, and ushering in of summer--odjibwa language, and transmission of inquiries. . _april th_. spring is gradually advancing. the deepened roar of the rapids indicates an increased volume of water. the state of the ice is so bad this day that no persons have ventured to cross the river. yesterday, they still crossed. the bare ground begins to show itself in spots; but the body of snow is still deep in the woods. _ th_. the _t. migratorius_ or robin made its appearance. the indians have a pretty tale of the origin of this bird and its fondness for domestic scenes. _ th_. gray duck appeared in the rapids. _ th_. large portions of the ground are now laid bare by the sun. _ th_. a friend at new york, about to sail for europe, writes me under this date: "i expect to sail for st. petersburgh. i shall take with me some of our choicest specimens, in return for which i hope to procure something new and interesting. the truth is, we know very little of the mineralogy of russia, and hence such specimens as can be procured will almost necessarily prove interesting." "the lyceum is about to publish its proceedings. the members are increasing in numbers and activity. it has been recently agreed that there shall be at least one paper read at every meeting; this will ensure attention, and much increase the interest of the meetings. i hope you may, before long, be able to add your personal attendance." "i feel it my duty to inform you that the minerals intrusted to my care are situated in every respect as when left by you; they are, of course, entirely dependent upon any order you may give concerning them. i do not think it necessary that you should make any _immediate_ provision for them, or that there is any cause for uneasiness on their account." [ ] [footnote : notwithstanding, the collection of specimens referred to was afterwards most sadly dealt with, and pillaged of its choicest specimens.] _ th_. the troops began to set up the pickets of a stockade or fort, to which the name of "brady" is given, in allusion to col. hugh brady, u.s.a. the first canoe crossed the river to-day, although the ice still lines each shore of the river for several hundred yards in width. _ th. s_. my sister maria writes to me: "i fancy, by the description you have given of your residence and society at the sault, that you have enjoyed yourself, and seen as much of the refinements of civilized life as you would have done in many places less remote. who have you at the sault that writes such pretty poetry? the piece i refer to is signed alexina,[ ] and is a death-song of an indian woman at the grave of her murdered husband." [footnote : mrs. thompson.] _ d_. one of the principal objections to be urged against the indian languages, considered as media of communication, is their cumbrousness. there is certainly a great deal of verbiage and tautology about them. the paucity of terms leads not only to the use of figures and metaphors, but is the cause of circumlocution. this day we had a snow storm. the chippewa is, in its structure, what is denominated by mr. du ponceau "polysynthetic." it seems the farthest removed possible from the monosyllabic class of languages. i have thought that, if some of its grammatical principles could be applied to monosyllables, a new language of great brevity, terseness, regularity, and poetic expressiveness, might be formed. it would be necessary to restore to its alphabet the consonants _f, l_, and _r_, and _v_. its primitive pronouns might be retained, with simple inflections, instead of compound, for plural. it would be necessary to invent a pronoun for _she_, as there is, apparently, nothing of this kind in the language. the pronouns might take the following form:-- ni, _i_. nid, _we_. niwin, _myself_. niwind, _ourselves_. ki, _thou_. kid, _ye_ or _you_. kiwin, _thyself_. kiwind, _yourselves_. wi, _he_. wid, _they_. masculine. wiwin, _yourselves_. (mas.) wiwind. si, _she_. sid, _they_. feminine. siwin, _yourselves_. (fem.) siwind. declension of pronouns. ni, nin, nee--_i, mine, me_. nid, nida, nidim--_we, us, ours_. ki, kin, kee--_thou, thine, thee_. kid, kida, kidim--_ye, you, yours. _ wi, win, wee--_him, his, his_. wid, wida, widim--_they, their_, _theirs_. (mas.) si, sin, see--_her, hers, hers_. sid, sida, sidim--_they, their, theirs_. (fem.) the full meaning of the present class of verbs and substantives of the language could be advantageously transferred to the first, or second, or third syllable of the words, converting them into monosyllables. the plural might be uniformly made in _d_, following a vowel, and if a word terminate in a consonant, then in _ad_. so the class of plural terminations would be _ad, ed, id, od, ud_. many generic nouns would require to be invented, and could easily be drawn from existing roots. in the orthography of these, the initial consonant of the corresponding english word might serve as an index, thus, from the word _aindum_, mind, might be derived, ain, _mind_. sain, _sorrow_. tain, _thought_. jain, _joy_, &c. main, _meditation_. so from _taibwawin_, truth, might be drawn _taib_, truth--_faib_, faith--_raib_, religion--_vaib_, virtue. a principle of euphony, or affinity of syllabication, might be applied in the abbreviation of a few of this class of generic words: as _eo_, god, from _monedo_. the ordinary nouns would run thus:-- in, _man_. ind, _men_. ee, _woman_. eed, _women_. ab, _child_. abad, _children_. kwi, _boy_. kwid, _boys_. kwa, _girl_. kwad, _girls_. os, _father_. osad, _fathers_. gai, _mother_. gaid, _mothers_. all the existing monosyllables of the language would be retained, but subjected to new laws of construction and concordance. thus the plural of _koan_, snow, would be _koanad; of ais_, shell, _aisad; moaz, moas, moazad_, &c. variety in the production of sounds, and of proper cadences in composition, might dictate retention of a certain class of the dissyllables--as _ossin_ a stone, _opin_ a potato, _akki_ earth, _mejim_ food, _assub_ a net, _aubo_ a liquid, _mittig _ a tree, &c., the plurals of which would be _assinad, opinad, akkid, mejimad, assubad, aubad, mittigad_. every substantive would have a diminutive form in _is_, and an augmentative in _chi_, the vowel of the latter to be dropped where a vowel begins the word. thus, _chab_, a grandchild; _chigai_, a grandmother. _inis_, a little man; _osis_, a little father, &c. adjectives would come under the same rules of abbreviation as nouns and verbs. they would be deprived of their present accidents of number and gender. min, _good_. koona, _ugly_. mon, _bad_. soan, _strong_. bish, _handsome_. the colors, seasons, cardinal points, &c., would consist of the first syllable of the present words. the demonstrative pronouns, _this, that, there, those_, would take the following forms: _mau_, this; _aho_, that. by adding the common plural, the terms for _these_ and _those_ would be produced: _maud_, these; _ahod_, those. the prepositions would fall naturally under the rule of abbreviation applied to nouns, &c. _chi_, by; _peen_, in; _kish_, if, &c.; _li_, of; _ra_, to; _vi_, is; _af_, at. _ieau_ is the verb _to be_. the auxiliary verbs, _have, shall, will_, &c., taken from the tensal particles, are _ge, gu, gei, go, ga_. _pa_ may stand for the definite article, being the first syllable of _pazhik_; and a _comma_ for the indefinite article. _ie_ is matter. _ishi_, heaven. examples. ni sa eo--_i love god_. eo vi min--_the lord is good_. nin os ge pa min in--_my father was a good man_. ishiod (isheod)--_the heavens_. thus a new language might be formed. _ th_. the standard of value with the indians is various. at this place, a beaver skin is the standard of computation in accounts. when an indian has made a purchase, he inquires, not how many dollars, but how many beaver skins he owes. farther south, where racoon skins are plenty, _they_ become the standard. some years ago, desertion became so frequent at chicago and other posts, that the commanding officer offered the customary reward to the indians of the post, if they would secure the deserters. five persons went in pursuit, and brought in the men, for which they received a certificate for the amount. they then divided the sum into five equal shares, and subdivided each share into its value in racoon skins. it was not until this division was completed, and the number of skins ascertained, that they could, by any fixed standard of comparison, determine the reward which each had received. _ th_. it is stated in the newspapers that hacks of an axe were lately found in the central and solid parts of a large tree near buffalo, which were supposed to have been made by la salle's party. other evidences of the early footsteps of europeans on this continent have been mentioned. a trammel was found in the solid substance of a tree in onondaga. a gun barrel in a similar position in the wabash valley.[ ] growing wood soon closes over articles left upon it, in the wilderness, where they are long undisturbed. [footnote : hon. r.w. thompson.] _ th. monedo_ is strictly a term belonging to the indian mythology and necromancy, and is constantly used to indicate a spirit. it has not the regular termination of the noun in _win_, and seems rather verbal in its aspect, and so far as we can decipher its meaning, _mon_ is a syllable having a bad meaning generally, as in _monaudud_, &c. _edo_ may possibly be a derivation from _ekedo_, he speaks. _ th_. it is a year ago to-day since i visited the tomb of washington, at mount vernon. there were three representatives in congress, in company. we left the city of washington in the morning, in a private carriage, and drove down in good season. i looked about the tomb narrowly for some memento to bring away, and found some mineralogical fragments on the small mound over the tomb, which would bear the application of their book names. on coming back through alexandria, we dined at a public hotel, where, among other productions of the season, we had cucumbers. what a contrast in climate to my present position! here, as the eyes search the fields, heaps of snow are still seen in shaded situations, and the ice still disfigures the bays and indentations of the shore in some places, as if it were animated with a determination to hold out against the power of the sun to the utmost. nature, however, indicates its great vernal throe. white fish were first taken during the season, this day, which is rare. _ th_. a friend at detroit writes under this date: "i had expected that before now, instructions would have reached here requiring you to repair to the st. peter's. but as the season advances, and they do not arrive, i begin to fear that one of those mutations, to which of all governments upon this _mundane sphere_ ours is the most exposed, has changed the intended disposition." _may st_. winter still holds its grasp upon the ice in the lower part of the river and straits. the _claytonia virginica_ observed in flower in favorable spots. the bay opposite the fort on the north-west shore cleared of ice on the d, being the first day that the river has exhibited the appearance of being completely clear, a strong north-west wind blowing. it is just four months and ten days from the period of its final closing on the d of december. the yellow sparrow, or boblinkin, appeared this day in the woods. _ th_. the surface of the earth is undergoing a rapid transformation, although we are, at the same time, led to observe, that "winter lingering chills the lap of may." sudden changes of temperature are experienced, which are governed very much by the course and changes of the wind. nature appears suddenly to have been awakened from her torpid state. all eyes are now directed to the east, not because _the sun rises there_, but it is the course from which, in our position, we expect intelligence by vessels. we expect a deliverance from our winter's incarceration. _ th_. lake superior appears to be entirely open. a gentleman attached to the boundary survey at fort william writes to me, under this date, that the bay at that place is free from ice, so as to permit them to resume their operations. they had been waiting for this occurrence for two weeks previously. _ th_. it is a year since i received from the president (mr. monroe) a commission as agent for these tribes; and it is now more probable than it then was that my residence here may assume a character of permanency. i do not, however, cease to hope that providence has a more eligible situation in reserve for me. _ th_. "little things," says dr. johnson, "are not valued, when they are done by those who cannot do greater." thomas jefferson uniformly spelled knowledge without a _w_, which might not be mentioned, had he not written the _notes on virginia_, and the _declaration of independence_. _ th_. a trader proceeded with a boat into lake superior, which gives assurance that this great inland sea is open for navigation. white fish appeared in the rapids, which it is said they never do while there is running ice. _ th_. stearn sums up the points requisite for remembrance by posterity, in these four things--"plant a tree, write a book, build a house, and get a child." watts has a deeper tone of morality when he says-- "we should leave our _names_, our heirs. old time and waning moons sweep all the rest away." _ th_. when last at washington, dr. thornton, of the patent office, detained me some time talking of the powers of the letters of the english alphabet. he drew a strong line of distinction between the _names_ and the _sounds_ of the consonants. _l_, for instance, called _el_, was sounded _le_, &c. philology is one of the keys of knowledge which, i think, admits of its being said that, although it is rather rusty, the rust is, however, a proof of its antiquity. i am inclined to think that more true light is destined to be thrown on the history of the indians by a study of their languages than of their traditions, or any other feature. the tendency of modern inquiries into languages seems rather to have been to multiply than to simplify. i do not believe we have more than three mother stocks of languages in all the united states east of the mississippi, embracing also large portions of territory west of it, namely, the algonquin, iroquois, and what may be called apallachian. perhaps a little dakota. _ th_. our first vessel for the season arrived this day. if by a patient series of inquiries, during the winter, we had calculated the appearance of a comet, and found our data verified by its actual appearance, it could not be a subject of deeper interest than the bringing ashore of the ship's mail. had we not gone to so remote a position, we could not possibly ever have become aware how deeply we are indebted to the genius and discoveries of cadmus and faust, whose true worshippers are the corps editorial. now for a carnival of letters. reading, reading, reading, "big and small, scraps and all." if editors of newspapers knew the avidity with which their articles are read by persons isolated as we are, i have the charity to believe they would devote a little more time, and exert a little more candor, in penning them. for, after all, how large a portion of all that a newspaper contains is, at least to remote readers, "flat, stale, and unprofitable." the mind soon reacts, and asks if this be valuable news. i observed the _erythronium dens canis_, and _panax trifolium_ appeared in flower on the th. _ th_. the schooner "recovery" arrived from fort william on the north shore of lake superior, bringing letters and despatches, political and commercial. mr. siveright, the agent of the h. b. c., kindly sent over to me, for my perusal, a letter of intelligence from an american gentleman in the north. _ th_. i have, for some time, relinquished the expectation of being selected to conduct the exploring party, intended to be ordered by government, into the region of the st. peter's, at least the present season. a letter of this date terminates the uncertainty. "major delafield," says a correspondent, "informs me that an exploring party has been ordered under major long, to make the tour which was intended for you. why this arrangement has been made, and the original plan abandoned, i cannot conjecture, unless it resulted from the necessity of placing a military officer at the head of the party. i presume this was the fact, for i am certain that the change in the project did not arise from any feeling in mr. c.'s mind unfriendly, or even indifferent to you. upon that subject i can speak definitely, and say to you, that you have a hold upon his esteem, not to be shaken." thus falls another cherished hope, namely, that of leading an expedition to the north. _ th_. minute particulars are often indicative of general changes. this is the first day that the mosquito has appeared. the weather for a few days has been warm. vegetation suddenly put forth; the wild cherry, &c., is now in bloom, and gardening has commenced with fine prospects. _ st. odjibwa language_.--there are two generic words in the concrete forms of the chippewa for water or a liquid, in addition to the common term _neebi_. they are _aubo_ and _gomee_. both are manifestly compounds, but, in our present state of knowledge, they may be temporarily considered as elements of other compounds. thus, if the letter _n_ be prefixed to the former, and the sound of _b_ suffixed, the result is the term for soup, _nabob_. if to the same element of _aubo_, the word for fire, _iscoda_, be prefixed, the result is their name for ardent spirits, _iscodawabo_, literally fire-water. in the latter case, the letter _w_ is thrown in as a coalescent between the sound of a, as _a_ in hate; and the a, as _a_ in fall. this is out of a mere regard to euphony. "if they (the chippewas) say 'a man loves me,' or 'i love a man,' is there any variation in the word _man_?" they do not use the word _man_ in either of these instances. the adjective _white_ takes the animate pronoun form in _iz zi_, by which the object beloved is indicated, _waub-ishk-iz-ze_ saugiau. "does the object precede or follow the verb?" generally, it precedes the verb. fish, have you any? not, have you any fish? the substantive preceded the verb in the organization of the language. things were before the motion of things, or the acts or passions of men which led to motion and emotion. hence, all substances are changed into and used as verbs. i this day completed and transmitted the results of my philological inquiries, hoping they might prove acceptable to the distinguished individual to whom they were addressed, and help to advance the subject. this subject is only laid aside by the call of business, and to be effectual must be again resumed with the recurrence of our long winter evenings. chapter xix. outlines of the incidents of the summer of --glance at the geography of the lake country--concretion of aluminous earth--general wayne's body naturally embalmed by this property of the soil of erie--free and easy manners--boundary survey--an old friend--western commerce--the austins of texas memory--collision of civil and military power--advantages of a visit to europe. . _june th_. mr. thomas tousey, of virginia, writes from philadelphia, after completing a tour to the west: "the reading of books and looking at maps make a fugitive impression on the mind, compared to the ocular view and examination of a country, which make it seem as though we cannot obtain valuable information, or money to serve a valuable purpose, without great personal labor, fatigue, and often danger. this was much verified to my satisfaction, from a view of the great western lakes; the interesting position where you are--mackinaw, green bay, the fine country between green bay and chicago, and chicago itself, and the whole country between the latter place and st. louis. "without seeing that country, supposed by many to be the region of cold and sterility, i could not have believed there was in it such a store of blessings yet to be drawn forth by the labor and enterprise of man, for succeeding generations. as yet, there are too many objects to tempt and attract the avarice of man to more mild, but more dangerous climates. but the progress of population and improvement is certain in many parts of the country, and with them will be connected prosperity and happiness." when it is considered what a small population of civilized beings inhabit that part of the world, it is not to be wondered at that so little knowledge about it exists. i went from green bay, with the express, where but few people ever travel, which was attended with fatigue and danger; but the journey produced this conviction on my mind, that the michigan territory has in it a great extent of fine country. i regard green bay, at the mouth of fox river, and chicago, as two very important positions, particularly the latter. for many years i have felt a most anxious desire to see the country between chicago and the illinois (river), where it has generally been, ignorantly, supposed that only a small sum would be wanting to open a communication between them. by traveling on horseback through the country, and down the illinois, i have conceived a different and more exalted opinion of this communication, and of the country, than i had before, while i am convinced that it will be attended with a much greater expense to open it than i had supposed.[ ] [footnote : the illinois canal now exists here.] i, with my two companions, found your fossil tree, in the des plaines, with considerable labor and difficulty. this i anticipated, from the commonly reputed opinion of the uncommon height of the waters. with your memoir in my hand, we rode up and down the waters till the pursuit was abandoned by the others, while my own curiosity and zeal did not yield till it was discovered. the detached pieces were covered with twelve to twenty inches of water, and each of us broke from them as much as we could well bring away. i showed them to col. benton, the senator in st. louis; to major o'fallon; col. strother, and other gentlemen there; to mr. birkbeck in wanboro'; to mr. rapp in harmony; and to a number of different people, through the countries i traveled, till my arrival in virginia. "on my arrival here (philadelphia), i handed the pieces to mr. solomon w. conrad, who delivers lectures on mineralogy, which he made partly the subject of one of his lectures. since that, i had a piece of it made into a hone, and i had marked on it, 'schoolcraft's fossil tree.' "brooke's _gazetteer_, improved by darby, has been ready for delivery three or four months, and is allowed to be a most valuable book. he is, i am sorry to say, truly poor, while his labor is incessant. he set out, several weeks since, to deliver lectures, in the country, where he will probably continue through the summer." _ th_. j. d. doty, esq., writes from detroit that a district court has been established by congress in the upper country--that he has been appointed to the judgeship, and will hold a court at michilimackinack, on the third monday in july. a beginning has thus been made in civil jurisdiction among us benighted dwellers on this far-off land of god's creation. he states, also, the passage of a law for claimants to lands, which have been occupied since . where law goes, civilization will soon follow. _ d_. giles sanford, of erie (penn.), sends me some curious specimens of the concrete alum-slate of that vicinity--they are columnar, fan-shaped--and requests a description. it is well known that the presence of strong aluminous liquids in the soil of that area had a tendency to preserve the flesh on general wayne's body, which was found undecayed when, after twenty years' burial, they removed it to radnor church, in philadelphia. _ th_. governor c. sends me a pamphlet of additional inquiries, founded chiefly on my replies, respecting the indian languages. he says--"you see, i have given new scope to your inquiries, and added much to your labors. but it is impracticable, without such assistance as you can render me, to make any progress. i find so few--so very few--who are competent to a rational investigation of the subject, that those who are so must be loaded with a double burden." _july th_. mr. harry thompson, of black rock, n.y., writes me that he duly forwarded, by a careful teamster, my three lost boxes of minerals, shells, &c., collected in the wabash valley, missouri, and illinois, in , and that they were received by mr. meech of geneva, and forwarded by him to e.b. shearman & co., utica. the loss of these collections of seems to me very grievous. _ th_. judge doty writes from mackinac: "believing the winds and fates to have been propitious, i trust you had a speedy, safe, and pleasant passage to your home. a boat arrived this morning, but i heard nothing. mr. morrison leaves this evening, and i forward, by him, your dictionary, with many--_many_ thanks for the use. _we_ completed the copy of it last evening, making seventy-five pages of letter paper. i hope i shall be able to return you the favor, and give you soon some _nice_ sioux words." _august th_. judge doty, in a letter of thanks for a book, and some philological suggestions, transmits a list of inquiries on the legal code of the indians--a rather hard subject--in which, quotations must not be coke upon littleton, but the law of _tomahawk upon craniums_. "the sioux," he says, "must be slippery fellows indeed, if i do not squeeze their language, and several other valuable things, out of them next winter. i expect to leave for the mississippi this week, in a barge, with mr. rolette." _ th_. mr. d. h. barnes, of the new york lyceum of natural history, reports that the shells sent to him from the mouth of the columbia, and with which the indians garnish their pouches, are a species of the dentalium, particularly described in jewett's "narrative of the loss of the ship boston at nootka sound." he transmits proof plates of the fresh water shells collected by professor douglass and myself on the late expedition to the sources of the mississippi. _ th_. the adjutant-general of the territory, general j. r. williams, transmits me a commission as captain of an independent company of militia infantry, with a view, it is presumed, on the part of the executive, that it will tend to strengthen the capacity of resistance to an indian combination on this frontier. _ th_. mr. giles sanford, of erie, sends me a specimen of gypsum from sandusky bay, and a specimen of the strontian-yielding limestone of put-in-bay, lake erie. _september th_. judge doty writes from prairie du chien, that he had a pleasant passage, with his family, of fifteen days from mackinaw; that he is pleased with the place; and that the delegate election went almost unanimously for major biddle. a specimen of native copper, weighing four pounds, was found by mr. bolvin, at pine river, a tributary from the north of the wisconsin, agreeing in its characters with those in my cabinet from the basin of lake superior. _ th_. dr. john bigsby, of nottingham, england, writes from the north-west house, that he arrived yesterday from the boundary survey, and is desirous of exchanging some of his geological and conchological specimens for species in my possession. the doctor has a very bustling, clerk-like manner, which does not impress one with the quiet and repose of a philosopher. he evidently thinks we americans, at this remote point, are mere barbarians, and have some shrewd design of making a chowder, or a speculation out of our granites, and agates, and native copper. not a look or word, however, of mine was permitted to disturb the gentleman in his stilted notions. _ th_. major joseph delafield, with his party, report the boundary survey as completed to the contemplated point on the lake of the woods, as called for by the treaty of ghent. the ease and repose of the major's manners contrast rather favorably with the fussiness of the british subs. _ th_. mr. felix hinchman, of mackinac, transmits returns of the recent delegate election, denoting the election of major biddle, by a rather close run, over the catholic priest _richard_. _october th_. mr. w.h. shearman of vernon, new york, writes that my boxes of minerals and fresh water shells are irretrievably lost; that mr. meech, of geneva, remains mum on the subject; and that they have not arrived at utica. hard fate thus to be despoiled of the fruits of my labor! _ th_. mr. ebenezer brigham of springfield, illinois, an honest gentleman with whom i embarked at pittsburgh, in the spring of for the great west and the land of fortune, writes a letter of friendly reminiscences and sympathies at my success, particularly in getting a healthy location. brigham was to have been one of my adventurous party at potosi, in the fall of , but the fever and ague laid violent hands on him. he managed to reach potosi, but only to bid me good-by, and a god-speed. "in this country," he says, "life is at least fifty per cent, below par in the months of august and september. i have often thought that i run as great a risk every season which i spend here, as i would in an ordinary battle. i really believe it seldom happens that a greater proportion of an army fall victims to the sword, during a campaign, than there was, of the inhabitants of illinois, falling victims to disease during a season that i have been here." "i have little doubt but the trade of this part of the state of illinois will pass through that channel (the northern lakes). our produce is of a description that ought to find its way to a northern market, and that, too, without passing through a tropical climate. our pork and beef may arrive at chicago with nearly the same ease that it can at st. louis; and, if packed there and taken through the lakes, would be much more valuable than if taken by the way of the south; besides, the posts spoken of (chicago, green bay, &c.) may possibly be supplied cheaper from this than any other source." "moses austin, i presume you have heard, is dead, and his son stephen is acting a very conspicuous part in the province of texas. old mr. bates, and his son william, of herculaneum, both died last summer." "i should like to know if the same warlike disposition appears amongst the northern indians that does amongst those of the west. nearly, or quite every expedition to the west of the mississippi in the fur trade, this season, has been attacked by different tribes, and some have been defeated and robbed, and a great many lives have been lost. those in the neighborhood of this place, to wit, the kickapoos and potawattomies, are getting cross and troublesome. i should not be surprised if a war with the indians generally should take place soon. the troops at the council bluffs have found it necessary to chastise one tribe already (the aurickarees), which they have done pretty effectually, having killed a goodly number, and burnt their towns." _ th_. governor c. writes, in response to a letter detailing difficulties which have arisen oh this frontier between the military and citizens: "military gentlemen, when stationed at remote posts, too often 'feel power and forget right,' and the history of our army is replete with instances proving incontestably by how frail a tenure our liberties would be held, were it not for the paramount authority and redeeming spirit of our civil institutions." "i thank you," he observes, "for the specimens of copper you have sent me. i participate with you in your feelings upon the important discovery you have been the instrument of communicating to the world, respecting the existence of that metal upon the long point of lake superior. this circumstance, in conjunction with others, will, i hope, lead to a congressional appropriation, at the next session, for exploring that country, and making such purchases of the indians as may promise the valuable supplies." "my indian materials are rapidly accumulating; but, unfortunately, they are more valuable for quantity than quality. it is almost impossible to rely upon the information which is communicated to me on the subject of the languages. there is a lamentable obtuseness of intellect manifested in both collector and contributor; and there is no systematic arrangement--no analytical process, and, in fact, no correctness of detail. i may safely say that what i received from you is more valuable than all my other stock. "it has recurred to me that you ought to visit europe. don't startle at the suggestion! i have thought of it frequently. you might easily procure some person to execute your duties, &c., and i think there would be no difficulty in procuring permission from the government. i speak, however, _without book_. think of the matter. i see incalculable advantages which would result to you from it, and you would go under very favorable auspices, and with a rich harvest of literary fame." _ d_. b. f. stickney, esq., writes on the occasion of not having earlier acknowledged my memoir on the fossil tree of the des plaines, in illinois. "how little we know of the laws of nature," he observes, "of which we profess to know so much." chapter xx. incidents of the year --indian researches--diverse idioms of the ottowa and chippewa--conflict of opinion between the civil and military authorities of the place--a winter of seclusion well spent--st. paul's idea of languages--examples in the chippewa--the chippewa a pure form of the algonquin--religion in the wilderness--incidents--congressional excitements--commercial view of the copper mine question--trip to tackwymenon falls, in lake superior. . _jan. st_. as soon as the business season closed, i resumed my indian researches. general c. writes: "the result of your inquiries into the indian language is highly valuable and satisfactory. i return you my sincere thanks for the papers. i have examined them attentively. i should be happy to have you prosecute your inquiries into the manners, customs, &c., of the indians. you are favorably situated, and have withal such unconquerable perseverance, that i must tax you more than other persons. my stock of materials, already ample, is rapidly increasing, and many new and important facts have been disclosed. it is really surprising that so little valuable information has been given to the world on this subject." mr. b.f. stickney, formerly an agent at fort wayne, indiana, writes from depot (now toledo): "i am pleased to see that your mind is engaged on the chippewa language. it affords a field sufficiently extensive for the range of all the intellect and industry that the nation can bring into action. if the materials already collected should, after a scrutiny and arrangement, be thrown upon the literary world, it would excite so much interest as not to permit the inquiry thus to stop at the threshold. it is really an original inquiry concerning the operations of the human mind, wherein a portion of the human race, living apart from the rest, have independently devised means for the interchange of thoughts and ideas. their grammatical rules are so widely different from all our european forms that it forces the mind to a retrospective view of first principles. "i have observed the differences you mention between the ottowa and chippewa dialects. notwithstanding i conceive them to be (as you observe) radically the same language, i think there is less difference between the band of ottowas you mention, of _l'arbre croche_, than the ottowas of this vicinity. it appears that their languages are subject to very rapid changes. from not being written, they have no standard to resort to, and i have observed it demonstrated in bands of the same tribe, residing at considerable distances from each other, and having but little intercourse for half a century; these have with difficulty been able to understand each other. "i am pleased to learn that you are still advancing the sciences of mineralogy and conchology. your discovery of native silver imbedded in native copper is certainly a very extraordinary one." _ th_. major e. cutler, commanding officer, applies to me, as a magistrate, to prosecute all citizens who have settled on the reserve at st. mary's, and opened "shops for the sale of liquor." not being a public prosecuting attorney, it does not appear how this can at all be done, without his designating the names of the offenders, and the offences for which they are to be tried. _ th_. the same officer reports that his duties will not permit him to erect quarters for the indian agent, which he is required to put up, till another year. if this step is to be regarded, as it seems, as a retaliatory measure for my not issuing process, _en masse_, against the citizens, without he or his subordinates condescending to name individuals, it manifests an utter ignorance of the first principles of law, and is certainly a queer request to be made of a justice of the peace. nor does it appear how the adoption of such whims or assumptions is compatible with a just official comity or an enlarged sense of public duty, on his part, and pointed instructions, to boot, in co-operating with the indian department on a remote and exposed frontier. there seems to be a period, on the history of the frontiers, where conflicts between the military and civil authorities are almost inevitable; but there are, perhaps, few examples to be found where the former power has been more aggressively and offensively exercised than it has been under the martinet who is now in command at this post. it is an ancient point of settlement by the french, who are generally a mild and obliging people, and disposed to submit to authorities. some of these are descended from persons who settled here under louis xiv. that a few americans have followed the troops with more rigid views of private rights, and who cannot be easily trampled on, is true. and the military have, justly, no doubt, felt annoyances from a freedom of trade with the soldiery, who cannot be kept within their pickets by bayonets and commands. but he must be far gone in his sublimated notions of self-complacency and temporary importance who supposes that a magistrate would surrender his sense of independence, and impartiality between man and man, by assuming new and unheard-of duties, at the beck of a military functionary who happens to overrate his own, or misjudge another's position. _march st_. i have given no little part of the winter to a revision of my manuscript journal of travels through the miami and wabash valleys in . the season has been severe, and offered few inducements to go beyond the pale of the usual walk to my office, the cantonment, and to the village seated at the foot of the rapids. variety, in this pursuit, has been sought, in turning from the transcription of these records of a tourist to the discussion of the principles of the indian languages--a labor, if literary amusement can be deemed a labor, which was generally adjourned from my office, to be resumed in the domestic circle during the long winter evenings. a moral enjoyment has seldom yielded more of the fruits of pleasure. in truth, the winter has passed almost imperceptibly away. tempests howled around us, without diminishing our comforts. we often stood, in the clear winter evenings, to gaze at the splendid displays of the aurora borealis. the cariole was sometimes put in requisition. we sometimes tied on the augim, or snow-shoe, and ventured over drifts of snow, whose depth rendered them impassable to the horse. we assembled twice a week, at a room, to listen to the chaste preaching of a man of deep-toned piety and sound judgment, whose life and manners resemble an apostle's. in looking back at the scenes and studies of such a season, there was little to regret, and much to excite in the mind pleasing vistas of hope and anticipation. the spring came with less observation than had been devoted to the winter previous; and the usual harbingers of advancing warmth--the small singing birds and northern flowers--were present ere we were well aware of their welcome appearance. hope is a flower that fills the sentient mind with sweets of rapturous and of heavenly kind; and those, who in her gardens love to tread, alone can tell how soft the odors spread. hetherwold. _april th_. "there are, it may be," says paul, "many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification." it could easily be proved that many of these voices are very rude; but it would take more philological acumen than was possessed by horne tooke to prove that any of them are without "signification." by the way, tooke's "diversions of purley" does not seem to me so odd a title as it once appeared. c. writes to me, under this date, "i pray you to push your philological inquiries as far as possible; and to them, add such views as you may be able to collect of the various topics embraced in my plan." there is, undoubtedly, some danger that, in making the indian history and languages a topic of investigation, the great practicable objects of their reclamation may be overlooked. we should be careful, while cultivating the mere literary element, not to palliate our delinquencies in philanthropic efforts in their behalf, under the notion that nothing can be effectively done, that the indian is not accessible to moral truths, and that former efforts having failed of general results, such as those of eliot and brainerd, they are beyond the reach of _ordinary_ means. i am inclined to believe that the error lies just here--that is, in the belief that some extraordinary effort is thought to be necessary, that their sons must be cooped up in boarding-schools and colleges, where they are taught many things wholly unsuited to their condition and wants, while the mass of the tribes is left at home, in the forests, in their ignorance and vices, untaught and neglected. in the exemplification of st. paul's idea, that all languages are given to men, with an exact significance of words and forms, and therefore not vaguely, there is the highest warrant for their study; and the time thus devoted cannot be deemed as wasted or thrown away. how shall a man say "raca," or "that fox," if there be no equivalents for the words in barbarous languages? the truth is that this people find no-difficulty in expressing the exact meanings, although the form of the words is peculiar. the derogative sense of sly and cunning, which is, in the original, implied by the demonstrative pronoun "that," a chippewa would express by a mere inflection of the word fox, conveying a bad or reproachful idea; and the pronoun cannot be charged with an ironical meaning. in _ke-bau-diz-ze,_ which is an equivalent for _raca_, there is a personal pronominal prefix, and an objective pronominal suffix. the radix, in _baud_, has thus the second person thou in _ke_; and the objective inflection, _iz-ze,_ means a person in a general sense. this reveals two forms of the chippewa substantive, which are applicable to all words, and leaves nothing superfluous or without "significance." in fact, the whole language is susceptible of the most clear and exact analysis. this language is one of the most pure, clear, and comprehensive forms of the algonquin. _may th_. the rev. robert mcmurtrie laird, of princess anne, maryland, but now temporarily at detroit, writes to me in a spirit of affectionate kindness and christian solicitude. the history of this pious man's labors on the remotest frontiers of michigan is probably recorded where it will be known and acknowledged, in hymns of gladness, when this feeble and frail memorial of ink and paper has long perished. late in the autumn of , he came, an unheralded stranger, to st. mary's. no power but god's, it would seem, could have directed his footsteps there. there was everything to render them repulsive. the indian _wabene_ drum, proclaiming the forest tribes to be under the influence of their native diviners and jossakeeds, was nightly sending forth its monotonous sounds. but he did not come to them. his object was the soldiery and settlement, to whom he could utter truths in the english tongue. he was assigned quarters in the cantonment, where an entire battalion of infantry-was then stationed. to all these, but one single family, it may be said that his preaching was received as "sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." certainly, there were the elements of almost everything else there but religion. and, while occupying a room in the fort, his fervent and holy spirit was often tried "by most unseemly mirth and wassail rife." he came to see me, at my office and at my lodgings, frequently during the season, and never came when he did not appear to me to be one of the purest and most devoted, yet gentle and most unostentatious, of human beings. it is hoped his labors were not without some witness to the truths which he so faithfully taught. but, as soon as the straits were relieved from the icy fetters of winter, he went away, never, perhaps, to see us more. he now writes to apprise me of the spread of a rumor respecting my personal interest in the theme of his labors, which had, without permission from his lips, reached the ears of some of my friends at detroit. blessed sensitiveness to rumor, how few possess it! having said this much, i may add that, in the course of the winter, my mind was arrested by his mode of exhibiting truth. the doctrine of the trinity, which had seemed to me the mere jingle of a triad, as deduced from him, appeared to be a unity, which derived all its coherence and vitality from a belief in the second person. the word "lord" became clothed with a majesty and power which rendered it inapplicable, in my views, to any human person. the assiduity that i had devoted, night and day, to my manuscripts, in the search after scientific truths, and the knowledge arising from study, did not appear to me to be wrong in itself, but was thought to be pursued with an intensity that withdrew my mind from, or, rather, had never allowed it properly to contemplate and appreciate the character of god. _ d_. a literary friend writes: "i am rejoiced to learn that you have made such progress in your new work. i hope and trust that the celerity with which you have written has not withdrawn your attention from those subjects connected with literary success, which are more important than even time itself." "my prospects of seeing you at the sault, this season," writes the same hand, "grows weaker and weaker every day. i cannot ascertain in what situation col. benton's bill is, for the purchase of the copper country upon lake superior, nor the prospects of its eventual passage. our last washington dates are of the th instant, and at that time there was a vast mass of business pending before both houses, and the period of adjournment was uncertain. mr. lowrie and governor edwards have furnished abundant matter for congressional excitement. it really appears to me that, as soon as two or three hundred men are associated together to talk at, and about one another, and everything else, their passions and feelings usurp the place of their reason. like children, they are excited by every question having a local or personal aspect. their powers of dispassionate deliberation are lost, and everything is forgotten but the momentary excitement." _ th. commercial view of copper mine question_.--m.m. dox, esq., collector at buffalo, writes:-- i have long had it in contemplation to write to you, not only on the score of old friendship, but also to learn the feasibility of a scheme relating to the copper mines of lake superior. this subject has so often annoyed my meditations, or rather taken up so considerable a proportion of them, that i have been disposed, with the poet, to exclaim-- 'visions of (copper [ ]) spare my aching sight.' [footnote : "glory."--_gray_.] "i have just met mr. griswold, from whom i learn that you made some inquiries in reference to the price of transportation, &c. i will answer them for him. copper in pig, or unmanufactured, is free of duty, on entry into the united states; its price in the new york market is, at this time (very low), sixteen cents per pound. copper in sheets for sheeting of vessels (also free), about twenty-five cents per pound, and brazier's copper (paying a duty of fifteen per cent, on its cost in england), equal to about two and a half cents per pound. until this year, and a few previous, the article has uniformly been from thirty to forty per cent, higher than the prices now quoted, that is, in time of peace. in time of war (in europe) the price is enhanced ten or twenty per cent. above peace prices: and in this country, during the late war, the price was, at one time, as high as $ . to $ . per pound. "the history of england and this country does not furnish a period when copper was as low as at the present time, according to its relative value with the medium of exchange. time and invention have developed richer mines and produced greater facilities for obtaining it; but the world does not probably know a region from whence the article can be furnished so cheaply as from the shores of lake superior. all accounts concur in representing the metal in that quarter of a superior quality, and furnish strong indications that it may be obtained, in quantities, with more than ordinary facility. when obtained, if on the navigable waters of the lake, the transportation to the strait will be easy and cheap, and the smelting not cost to exceed $ per ton (for copper), and the transportation thence to new york one or one and a half cent per pound; one cent per pound, in addition, will carry it to any market in the world. "if the difficulties to be incurred in obtaining the ore should prove to be no greater than may be reasonably anticipated, it is evident that it must be a very profitable business. will the government then have the mines worked? i answer for them, _no_. the experience had by congress in regard to the indian trade (the factory system) will, for many years at least, prevent that body from making any appropriation for such a purpose. the most safe and judicious course for the government is to draw private enterprise into the business; and, by holding out proper inducements, it will be enabled, without a dollar of extra expense, to derive, before many years, a handsome revenue from this source." * * * * * _ th. trip to tacquimenon falls, lake superior_.--accounts from the indians represented the falls of the tacquimenon river of lake superior as presenting picturesque features which were eminently worthy of a visit. confined to the house during the winter, i thought an excursion proper. i determined to take the earliest opportunity, when the ice had left the lake, and before the turmoil of the summer's business began, to execute this wish. for this purpose, i took a canoe, with a crew of chippewa indians, with whom i was well acquainted, and who were familiar with the scene. i provisioned myself well, and took along my office interpreter. i found this arrangement was one which was agreeable to them, and it put them perfectly at their ease. they traveled along in the indian manner, talking and laughing as they pleased with each other, and with the interpreter. nothing could have been better suited to obtain an insight into their manners and opinions. one of their most common topics of talk was the flight of birds, particularly the carnivorous species, to which they addressed talks as they flew. this subject, i perceived, connected itself with the notions of war and the enemy's country. on one occasion after we had entered lake superior, and were leisurely paddling, not remote from the shore, one of the indians fired at, and wounded a duck. the bird could not rise so as to fly, but swam ashore, and, by the time we reached land, was completely missing. a white man would have been nonplused. not so the indian. he saw a fallen tree, and carefully looked for an orifice in the under side, and, when he found one, thrust in his hand and drew out of it the poor wounded bird. frightened and in pain, it appeared to roll its eyeballs completely round. by their conversation and familiar remarks, i observed that they were habitually under the influence of their peculiar mythology and religion. they referred to classes of _monetos_, which are spirits, in a manner which disclosed the belief that the woods and waters were replete with their agency. on the second day, we reached and entered the tacquimenon river. it carried a deep and strong current to the foot of the first falls, which they call fairy rocks. this indian word denotes a species of little men or fairies, which, they say, love to dwell on rocks. the falls are broken into innumerable cascades, which give them a peculiarly sylvan air. from the brink of these falls to the upper falls, a distance of about six miles, the channel of the river is a perfect torrent, and would seem to defy navigation. but before i was well aware of it, they had the canoe in it, with a single man with a long pole in the bow and stern. i took my seat between the centre bars, and was in admiration at the perfect composure and _sangfroid_ with which these two men managed it--now shooting across the stream to find better water, and always putting in their poles exactly at the right instant, and singing some indian cantata all the while. the upper falls at length burst on our view, on rounding a point. the river has a complete drop, of some forty feet, over a formation of sandstone. the water forms a complete curtain. there is nothing to break the sheet, or intercept it, till it reaches the deep water below. they said there was some danger of the canoe's being drawn under the sheet, by a kind of suction. this' stream in fact, geologically considered, crosses through, and falls over, the high ridge of sandstone rock which stretches from point iroquois to the pictured rocks. i took sketches of both the upper and lower falls. being connected by marriage with an educated and intelligent lady, who is descended, by her mother's side, from the former ruler of the chippewa nation--a man of renown--i was received, on this trip, with a degree of confidence and cordiality by the indians, which i had not expected. i threw myself, naked handed, into their midst, and was received with a noble spirit of hospitality and welcome. and the incidents of this trip revealed to me some of the most interesting scenes of indian domestic life. chapter xxi. oral tales and legends of the chippewas--first assemblage of a legislative council at michigan--mineralogy and geology--disasters of the war of --character of the new legislature--laconic note--narrative of a war party, and the disastrous murders committed at lake pepin in july --speech of a friendly indian chief from lake superior on the subject--notices of mineralogy and geology in the west--ohio and erie canal--morals--lafayette's progress--hooking minerals--a philosophical work on the indians--indian biography by samuel l. conant--want of books on american archaeology--douglass's proposed work on the expedition of . . _may th_. having found, in the circle of the chippewa wigwams, a species of oral fictitious lore, i sent some specimens of it to friends in the lower country, where the subject excited interest. "i am anxious," writes a distinguished person, under this date, "that you should bring with you, when you come down, your collection of indian tales. i should be happy to see them." [ ] that the indians should possess this mental trait of indulging in lodge stories, impressed me as a novel characteristic, which nothing i had ever heard of the race had prepared me for. i had always heard the indian spoken of as a revengeful, bloodthirsty man, who was steeled to endurance and delighted in deeds of cruelty. to find him a man capable of feelings and affections, with a heart open to the wants, and responsive to the ties of social life, was amazing. but the surprise reached its acme, when i found him whiling away a part of the tedium of his long winter evenings in relating tales and legends for the amusement of the lodge circle. these fictions were sometimes employed, i observed, to convey instruction, or impress examples of courage, daring, or right action. but they were, at all times, replete with the wild forest notions of spiritual agencies, necromancy, and demonology. they revealed abundantly the causes of his hopes and fears--his notions of a deity, and his belief in a future state. [footnote : this counsel i pursued in the autumn of that year, and published specimens of the legends in the winter of , in "travels in the central portions of the mississippi valley," and in submitted to the public two duodecimo volumes, under the title of "algie researches, part i."] _june th_. michigan is gradually assuming steps which are a part of that train which will in time develop her resources and importance. she has lately taken measures to enter what is called the second grade of government. general charles larned, of detroit, writes me that the first session of the first territorial legislature is now convened, and that the members acquit themselves with credit. _ d_. the mineralogy and geology of the region furnish topics of interest, which help to fill up pauses in the intervals of business. by making my office a focus for collecting whatever is new in the unexplored regions, excitement is kept alive, and knowledge in the end promoted. lewis saurin johnston, of drummond island, sends me a box of specimens from that locality. this gentleman, who occupies a situation in the british indian department, is a grandson of the late waubojeeg, a celebrated orator and warrior formerly of la pointe, in lake superior. on the th, mr. giles sanford, of erie in pennsylvania, contributes a collection of the minerals of that vicinity. _july th_. the war of proved disastrous to some individuals on this frontier. after a delay of ten years, the british government has announced its intention to indemnify those of its subjects who lost property. mr. johnston, who suffered heavily, determined to visit toronto with the view of laying his case before lieutenant-governor maitland. he writes, on his way down, during a delay at drummond island, in his usual hopeful, warm-hearted strain--full of love to those left behind, and free forgiveness to all who have injured him. with the highest purposes of honor, and the soul of hospitality and social kindness, surely such a man deserves to succeed. _ th_. dr. j.j. bigsby, of england, writes a letter introducing lieutenant bolton of the british engineers, a zealous naturalist, and major mercer of the artillery--both being on an official tour of inspection. _ th_. judge j.d. doty announces himself at michilimackinack, on his return from detroit to green bay. he says that the members of the legislative council are disposed to be rather menders of _old_ laws than makers of _new_ ones, and that they are guided by the spirit of prudence. _ st_. john tanner, the returned captive, dictates from mackinac this laconic appeal for employment: "all my property is now made away with, so that i have nothing left but one old blanket. i am in such a situation that i am unable to go anywhere--have no money, no clothes, and nothing to eat." _aug. th_. mr. george johnston writes from the sub-agency of la pointe, lake superior, that a rumor prevails of a murder lately committed by a chippewa war party, on american citizens, on the upper mississippi. _ st_. mr. john holiday, a trader, arrived from the ance kewy-winenon in lake superior, bringing a small coffin painted black, inclosing an american scalp, with the astounding intelligence that a shocking murder had been committed by a war party of chippewas at lake pepin, on the mississippi. the facts turned out to be these: in the spring of the year ( ), kewaynokwut (returning cloud), a chief of lake vieux desert, at the source of the wisconsin, suffered a severe fit of sickness, and made, a vow, if he recovered, to collect a war party and lead it against the sioux, which he did early in the summer. he passed the trading-post of lac du flambeau, with twenty-nine men in canoes on the st of july. he pursued down the waswagon branch into the main chippewa river, after a cautious journey, and came to its mouth early in july, at an early hour in the morning, when a fog prevailed. this river enters the mississippi at the foot of the expanse called lake pepin, which is a common place for encampment. it is the usual point of issue for chippewa war parties against the sioux, for which it has been celebrated since the first migration of the chippewas into the rice lake region at its sources. prom the usual lookout, called mount le gard, they discovered imperfectly an encampment on the shores of lake pepin. on coming to it, it proved to be an american, a trader of the name of finley, with three canadians, on his way from prairie du chien to st. peter's. one of the men spoke chippewa. they were asleep when the advance of the indian party arrived. when they awoke they saw the indians with terror and surprise. the indians cried out to their comrades in the rear that they were not sioux, that they were white people. the party then all came up. the war chief kewaynokwut said, "do not be afraid. this party you see are my young men; and i command them. they will not do you any harm, nor hurt you." some of the party soon began to pillage. they appeared to be half famished, first taking their provisions, which consisted of half a bag of flour, half a bag of corn, a few biscuits, and half a hog. the biscuits they immediately eat, and then began to rob the clothing, which they parted among themselves. the indians diligently inquired where the sioux abroad on the river were, what number they might be, where they came from, and whither they were going? to all which judicious replies appear to have been made, but one, namely, that they consisted of thirty, on their way from st. peter's to prairie du chien. being but twenty-nine men, the rencontre appeared to them to be unequal, and, in fact, alarmed them. they immediately prepared to return, filing off one after another, in order to embark in their canoes, which were lying at a short distance. before this movement, kakabika had taken his gun to fire at the whites, but was prevented by the others. but they went off disappointed, and grumblingly. this was the case particularly with kakabika, okwagin, whitehead, wamitegosh, and sagito, who began crying they wanted to kill the whites. sagito then said that it was a very hard thing that they should return light--that when one went out a hunting, he did not like to return without killing something. "what," he said, "did we come here for? was it not to kill?" at this kewaynokwut wavered, who had promised safety, and did not interpose his authority to check the brooding evil, although he took no part in it. whitehead, okwaykun, and wamitegosh, who were in the rear of the party, leveled their arms and fired, killing on the spot the three men, who were immediately scalped. the wildest fury was instantly excited. finley, in the mean time, had gone to the indian canoes to recover his papers, saying they were of no use to them, and of importance to him. hearing the report of guns behind him, he perceived that his companions were killed, and took to flight. he threw himself into the water. annamikees, or the little thunder, then fired at him and missed. he quickly reloaded his gun, and fired again, effectively. finley was mortally shot. the indian then threw himself into the water, and cut off the unfortunate man's head, for the purpose of scalping it, leaving the body in the water. the party then quickly returned back into the region whence they had sallied, and danced the scalps in their villages as indian scalps. mr. holliday was also the bearer of a speech from gitshe iauba, the ruling chief of ance kewywenon, through whose influence this occurrence was brought to light. he first addressed his trader in the following words:-- "we were deceived. word was sent to us to come and fetch the scalp of a sioux indian of our enemy. this was my reason for sending for it. but, ah me! when they brought word that it was the scalp of an american, i sent for the young man whom you left in charge of your house and store, and asked him what should be done with the scalp of our friend. it was concluded to have it buried in the burying-ground." he then addressed the united states agent at sault ste. marie, in the following words, accompanying them with a string of wampum:-- "our father. this wampum was given to me that i might remain in peace. i shook hands with you when i left st. mary's. my heart was in friendship. i have taken no rest since i heard of the foul deed of our friends, the people of vieux desert, and torch lake, in killing a citizen of the american government, the government that protects me. "now, americans, my situation is to be pitied. my wish is, that we should live in friendship together. since i shook hands with you, nothing on my part shall be wanting to keep us so." i immediately forwarded the little scalp-coffin received from the interior, with a report of this high-handed outrage to the executive of the territory and superintendent of indian affairs, at detroit, that the occurrence might be reported promptly to the war office at washington. _november th_. i determined to spend the winter in new york; to place the agency, in the interim, in charge of an officer of the garrison, and to visit washington from this city during the season. captain n.s. clarke, d infantry, consented to perform the duties of the agency during my absence. and having obtained leave of absence from my superior in the department, i embarked, in september, on board a schooner for detroit, with mrs. schoolcraft, her infant son william henry, my sister-in-law, miss anna maria johnston, and a servant, making a little group of five. we touched at michilimackinack. we were kindly received at detroit by general and mrs. cass, who had invited us to be their guests, and pursued our way, without accident, to new york, where we arrived the day prior to the annual celebration of the evacuation. new scenes and new situations here rapidly developed themselves. but before these are named, some letters that followed me from the lake may be noticed. b. f. stickney, esq., writes (october th) from the foot of the miami of the lakes (now toledo): "recently i have had brought to me a specimen of manganese, the bed of which is located about nine miles south-west of this. the quantity is represented to be very extensive." i find that strontian is much more extensively interspersed through the rock formations of this region than i had heretofore conceived. at the foot of the rapids of this river, there are extensive strata of carbonate of lime, sufficiently charged with magnesia to destroy all vegetation, when converted to the state of quicklime; although dr. mitchell, in his "notes to phillips' mineralogy," denies to magnesian carbonate of lime this quality. but i have tested it fully. i rather think the doctor's mistake must have arisen from a supposition that mr. phillips intended to say that the magnesia, when in combination with carbonate of lime, and _in sitû_, was destructive to vegetation. _ohio and erie canal_.--"a commissioner of the state of ohio, with engineers, is taking levels, examining water-courses, and making estimates of cost, to ascertain the practicability of making a canal from cincinnati up the valley of the big miami, and loromier's creek, across the summit level, to the auglaize and miami of lake erie, to the level of the lake water. these surveys will give us much assistance in judging of the geological formations between the lake and the mississippi." _geology_.--"as an outline sketch, i should say that, from the rock basin of the erie-sea to the ohio river, by the way of fort wayne, there is a ridge, of about feet elevation, of rock formation, all new floetz, with a covering of from ten to seventy feet of pulverulent earth. at the summit this layer is twenty feet. that the miami and wabash have cut their courses down to the rock, with only here and there a little sand and gravel upon its surface. as far as conjecture will go, for the levels of the strata on the wabash and miami, the same mineralogical characters are to be found in the strata, at the same elevation. this would be an important fact to be ascertained, by the levels accurately taken." "i am pleased that you have not abated your usual industry in the pursuit of knowledge in the science of geology and mineralogy, first in magnitude and first in the order of nature." _morals of green bay_.--j.d. doty, esq., judge of the district, reports (oct. th) that the grand jury for brown county, at the late special session of court, presented forty indictments! most of these appear to have been petty affairs; but they denote a lax state of society. john johnston, esq., writes (oct. th): "since the arrival of the mail, i have been the constant companion in thought of the great and good lafayette, throughout his tour, or rather splendid procession as far as the account has reached us, and for which history has no parallel. oh! how poor, how base, the adulation given by interested sycophants to kings and despots, compared to the warm affections of the grateful heart, and spontaneous bursts of admiration and affection from a great, free, and happy people." _hooking minerals_.--l. bull, now of philadelphia, writes respecting the position of several boxes of minerals left in the lyceum of natural history, of new york, in , which have, been sadly depredated on. _plan of a philosophical work on the indians_.--general c. announces to me (dec. th) that he has settled on a plan for bringing forward the results of his researches on the subject of the indian tribes. the details of this appear to be well selected and arranged, and the experiment on the popular taste of readers, for as such the work is designed, cannot but be hailed by every one who has thought upon the subject. few men have seen more of the indians in peace and war. nobody has made the original collections which he has, and i know of no man possessing the capacity of throwing around them so much literary attraction. it is only to be hoped that his courage will not fail him when he comes to the sticking point. it requires more courage on some minds to write a book than to face a cannon. _ th_. major joseph delafield, of new york, commends to my acquaintance samuel s. conant, esq., of the city; a gentleman of a high moral character and literary tone, an occasional writer for the "american" newspaper, who proposes to compile a work on indian eloquence. charles king, esq., the editor of the paper, transmits a note to the major, which is enclosed, speaking of mr. conant as "a man of merit and talents, who in his design is seeking to save a noble but persecuted race." _ th_. general cass writes further of his literary plans: "if i am favorably situated, in some respects, to procure information, as a drawback upon this, i feel many disadvantages. i have no books to refer to but what i can purchase, and independently of the means which any one person can apply to this object, those books which can alone be useful to me are so rare that nothing but accident can enable a person to purchase them." _lake superior copper mines_.--"i have written to colonel benton fully on the subject of the copper country, and i have referred him to you for further information." _ th_. _expedition of_ .--professor d. b. douglass, of west point, returns a portfolio of sketches and drawings of scenery, made by me on the expedition to the sources of the mississippi, in , with several of which he has illustrated the borders of his map of that expedition. "have you," he says, "seen _long's second expedition?_ we have only one copy on the point, and i have only had time to look at the map. it makes me more than ever desirous to consummate my original views of publishing relative to that country. i have never lost sight of this matter; and, if my professional engagements continue to engross as much of my time as they have done, i will send my map to tanner, and let him publish it, hap-hazard." chapter xxii. parallelism of customs--home scenes--visit to washington--indian work respecting the western tribes--indian biography--professor carter--professor silliman--spiteful prosecution--publication of travels in the mississippi valley--a northern pocahontas--return to the lakes--a new enterprise suggested--impressions of turkeys' feet in rock--surrender of the chippewa war party, who committed the murders in , at lake pepin--their examination, and the commitment of the actual murderers. . _january st_. new year's day here, as among the metif, and also the pure descendants of the ancient french of normandy in michigan, is a day of friendly visiting from house to house, and cordial congratulations, with refreshments spread on the board for all. as this was also the custom of the ancient hollanders, who, from the texel and scheldt, landed here in , it affords a species of proof of the wide-spread influence of the customs of the middle ages in western europe, which is remarkable. and it would form an interesting topic of historical inquiry. _ th_. home and its scenes. the sympathy kept up by domestic letters when absent from home is one of the purest supports of the heart and mind. mr. john johnston, of st. mary's, writes me one of his warm-hearted letters of friendship, which breathes the ardor of his mind, and shows a degree of sympathy that is refreshing, and such as must ever be a great encouragement in every noble pursuit. the how-d'ye-do, everyday visitor is satisfied with his "how d'ye do;" but there is a friend that "sticketh closer than a brother." _ th_. my position at st. mary's, and the prominent part i occupied in the collision of authority between the military and the citizens, on some points, and between the former and the indian department, was anything but agreeable, and would have been intolerable to any one, having less resources than i had, in an absorbing study, which every day and every evening turned up some new and fresh point of interest. i had therefore sources of enjoyment which were a constant support, and this was particularly the case, after the scenes which were opened up in the winter of by my intercourse with the rev. mr. laird. but i resolved early in the summer to spend the winter in new york, and to visit washington, to place some of the official transactions to which i have referred, in their proper lights. this day i therefore left the city, to visit the capitol. during the expected absence; mrs. schoolcraft, with her child, little sister, and nurse, had accepted an invitation to spend the time with mr. and mrs. samuel s. conant, who had a pleasant residence on the bloomingdale road, some two or three miles from the park. my visit was altogether agreeable. so far as the subjects at issue on the frontier were not of local jurisdiction, in which i was fully and promptly sustained by the executive, i was met by mr. calhoun in his usual frank, explicit, and friendly manner. i was authorized to erect buildings for the agency, and to define the indian reservation under the treaty, and counseled to go forward in a firm, cautious, and conciliatory policy in establishing the intercourses with the bands of the agency, and to take every proper measure to see that the intercourse laws were faithfully executed, and a good understanding cultivated with the tribes. and i returned to new york early in february, with "flying colors," as a friend wrote. during my absence, some letters, disclosing matters of literary interest, were received. general c. writes (january th):-- "in investigating the subject before me, agreeably to the views i have communicated to you, it appears to me that purchas's _pilgrimage_, and hackluyt's collection are indispensable to my progress. they contain translations or abstracts of all the earlier voyages and travels to this country." "in considering the various points which are involved in the subject i have undertaken, a thousand doubtful facts present themselves, which require time, labor, and opportunities to solve. for instance, i strongly suspect that the eries, who are said to have been destroyed by the iroquois, were the shawnese, who were driven from their ancient seat upon lake erie to the south-west." "volney mentions two works upon the indians. one is umphraville, and the other oldmixon." on the th of february, he encloses an extensive list of books, which he wishes to procure, to aid him in his contemplated examinations of aboriginal subjects, with discriminating remarks on their character. in calling my attention to a close examination of them in the various book-stores and libraries of the atlantic cities, where they may be found, he imposes no light nor important labor. "you know my general object is confined to the indians of this quarter (the west). their particular history, however, will be preceded by a review of the condition of the indians in this part of america, at the time it became known to europeans. i have myself little doubt but that they were then pretty much as they are now. "there is, however, one historical event, the narrator of which represents the indians to have been in an entirely different condition from what they are now, or have been since. this is the account of ferdinand de soto's expedition to florida. there are two historians of this expedition. one is garcilasso de la vega, and the other is an anonymous gentleman of elvas. i believe both are found in purchas or hackluyt. i believe the narrative is almost entirely fabulous. one mode of ascertaining this is by an examination of the earlier accounts of the indians. if they agree with de soto's history, the latter may be correct. if not, they must be unworthy of credit, more particularly in the amount of the indian population, which was certainly greatly misrepresented by the spanish historians, and which has been always overrated. "if any of the above works touch upon these subjects, they may be useful to me; if not, i do not wish them. can you find any of the other spanish writers describing or alluding to this expedition? "is there any account of the expedition of pamphilo narvaez into florida in ?" "should i go to prairie du chien, would you not like the trip? i see many reasons to induce you to take such a measure. if you come on, as i hope you will, by the first boat, we can make all the necessary arrangements; for, if i go, i shall go early, certainly in may. unless i am greatly deceived, you would make something interesting out of the proposed treaty." samuel s. conant, esq., informs me (january st) that he is making progress in his contemplated work on indian biography. "i shall read," he says, "everything which speaks of indians, and my enthusiasm may take the place of ability, and enable me to present not only honorable testimonials of indian genius and valor, but some defence of their character, and an exposition of the slanders and vulgar errors which, through blind traditions, have obtained the authority of truth." "it would have pleased me," says he (feb. th), "to have presented mr. theodore dwight, jr., to you in person. but this introductory note will do as well. he is one of those who feel an interest, disinterested and benevolent, in the fate of the remnants of the indian tribes, and wishes some conversation with you relative to their feelings on the subject of their removal west of the mississippi." _march th_. mr. nathaniel h. carter, editor of the _statesman_, announces his recovery from a dangerous illness, and wishes, in his usual spirit of friendship, to express the pleasure it will afford him to aid me in any literary labor i may have in hand. _ th_. the plan of a magazine devoted to indian subjects, which has been discussed between mr. conant, mr. dwight, and myself, is now definitely arranged with messrs. wilder and campbell, publishers. _ th_. professor silliman renews his friendly correspondence, and tenders me the use of the pages of his journal, as the medium of communicating observations to the public. _april th_. i am officially called on, by the authority of general gaines, as a witness in the case of lieutenant walter bicker, u.s.a., who is summoned to a court martial in fort brady. this is the gentleman whose family is referred to in a previous part of my journal in the autumn of , on the occasion of the gentle mr. laird's missionary visit to st. mary's; and his high moral character and correct deportment render it a subject of mystery to me what cause of complaint his brother officers could conjure up against him. _ th_. the superintendence of the press in the printing of my "travels in the central portions of the mississippi valley," has constituted a groundwork to my amusements during the winter. the work is this day published by collins and hannay. i immediately prepared to return to the lakes. about five months had passed away, almost imperceptibly. we had held a most gratifying intercourse with a highly moral and refined portion of society. the city had been seen in its various phases of amusement and instruction. a large part of the interest to others and attention excited arose manifestly from the presence of a person of indian descent, and of refined manners and education, in the person of mrs. schoolcraft, with an infant son of more than ordinary beauty of lineament and mental promise. there was something like a sensation in every circle, and often persons, whose curiosity was superior to their moral capacity of appreciation, looked intensely to see the northern pocahontas. her education had been finished abroad. she wrote a most exquisite hand, and composed with ability, and grammatical skill and taste. her voice was soft, and her expression clear and pure, as her father, who was from one of the highest and proudest circles of irish society, had been particularly attentive to her orthography and pronunciation and selection of words of the best usage abroad. _ th_. this day we left the mansion of our kind hostess, mrs. mann, on lower broadway, and ascended the hudson by daylight, in order to view its attractive scenery. we discussed the etymology of some of the ancient indian names along the river, which we found to be in the manhattan or mohegan dialects of the algonquin, and which appeared so nearly identical in the grammatical principles and sounds with the chippewa, as to permit mrs. s. in many cases to recover the exact meanings. thus, coxackie is founded on an indian term which means _falling-in bank_, or cut bank. we stopped a week or two in western new york at my brother-in-law's, in vernon, oneida county. i took along to the west, which had been favorable to me, my youngest brother james, and my sister maria eliza. we pursued our route through western new york and buffalo, and reached detroit on the th of may. i here found a letter from dr. j. v. rensselaer, of new york, written two days after leaving the city, saying: "i have this morning finished the perusal of your last work, and consider myself much your debtor for the new views you have given me of the interesting region you describe. nor am i more pleased with the matter than with the simple unpretending manner in which you have chosen to clothe it." i also found a note informing me that gov. cass had gone to hold a conference with the wyandot indians at wapakennota, ohio, that he would return about the th of june, and immediately set out for prairie du chien by the way of the fox and wisconsin rivers, and would have me to go with him. "you must calculate the time when i shall probably reach mackinack, and i trust you will join us there. i have a thousand reasons why you should undertake the tour. many of the indians will be from your agency, and such a convocation will never again be seen upon this frontier. you can return by the chippewa river, which will give you a fine opportunity of becoming acquainted with a part of the country very little known." leaving my sister with friends temporarily at detroit, i pursued my way, without loss of time, to the sault; where, among the correspondence accumulated, i found some subjects that may be noticed. mr. c. c. trowbridge gives this testimony respecting mr. a. e. wing, a gentleman then prominent as a politician. "he is an intelligent, high minded and honorable man, and gifted with habits of perseverance and industry which eminently qualify him to represent the territory in congress." on the st of june the executive of the territory apprizes me of his return from wapekennota, and that he is bending all his force for the contemplated trip to prairie du chien. "i enclose you," he adds, "the copy of a letter from the war department, by which you will perceive that the secretary has determined, that the outrage of last fall shall not go unpunished. his determination is a wise one, for the apprehension of the chippewa murderers is essential to the preservation of our character and influence among the indians." _june th_. business and science, antiquities and politics are curiously jumbled along in the same path, without, however (as i believe they never do where the true spirit of knowledge is present), at all mingling, or making turbid the stream of inquiry. colonel thomas l. m'kenney, commissioner of indian affairs, in a letter of this date says: "at the little falls of the potomac, are to be seen the prints of turkeys' feet in stone, made just as the tracks of the animal appear, when it runs upon dust or in the snow." _ d_. on this day, there suddenly presented themselves, at the office of indian agency, the chippewa war party who committed the murders at lake pepin, on the mississippi, last year, who, on the demand made upon the nation, with a threat of military punishment, surrendered the murderers. i immediately commenced their examination, after having an additional special interpreter sworn in (truman a. warren), and sending for a justice of the peace to assist in their examination. the entire day was devoted in this manner, and at the close, six of the party against whom an indictment for murder would lay, committed on a mittimus, with a note requesting the commanding officer to imprison them in the guard house, until he could have them conveyed to the sheriff of the county, at michilimackinack. their names were, sagetone, otagami, kakabisha, annimikence, and nawa-jiwienoce--to whom was afterwards added kewaynokwut, the leader of the party. the incidents of this transaction, as they appeared in that examination, have been narrated on a previous page. this surrendery was evidently made on representations of the traders, who acted on strong assurance that it would avert the marching of a military force against them, and on some mistaken notions of their own about public clemency. when the examination was finished, and while preliminary steps were in process, for their committment, i addressed them as follows:-- chippewas--i have listened attentively to all that has been said, either for or against you, and have been careful to have it put upon paper, that nothing might be forgotten. it appears you went to the mississippi, for the purpose of attacking the sioux, to revenge murders which they had committed in your country. in an evil hour you encountered a party of americans, consisting of four persons, encamped at the foot of lake pepin. it was night. they were all asleep. you went to their tent in a hostile manner, and were received as friends. they gave you tobacco and presents; and your war chief told them they need not fear, that they should not be molested. on this declaration he withdrew, followed by the whole party, and had proceeded some distance, when an evil suggestion occurred to one of the party, who said, "that when he went out hunting he did not like to return without having killed something." guns were fired. an electric effect was produced and a rush towards the tent they had left took place among those who were in the rear. the strife seemed who should get there first, and imbrue his hands in blood. "of this number _you_ sagetone, _you_ kakabisha, _you_ otagami, _you_ annimikence, and _you_ nawajiwienoce, were principal actors, and you had the meanness to put to death men who had never harmed you, and who, by your own confession, you had robbed of their arms, but whom you had, nevertheless, promised their lives. this was not an evidence of courage, but of cowardice. by this perfidious act you also violated your promises, and proved yourselves to be the most debased of human beings--liars! "you have asked me many times in the course of this day to take pity on you. how have you the hearts to stand up and ask me for pity, when you have showed no pity yourselves. when those poor disarmed and despairing men implored you to pity their condition, reminding you of your promises, and their generosity in making you presents, when you saw them afterwards submit to be plundered, you gave them not pity but the war club and scalping knife. did you suppose the god of white men would permit you to go unpunished? did you think you had got so far in the woods that no person could find you out? or, did you think your great father, the president, governed by a pusillanimous principle, would allow you to kill any of his people, without seeking to be revenged? "let this day open your eyes. you have richly deserved death, and not a man of your nation could complain, if i should order you at this instant, to be drawn out before my door, and shot. but a less _honorable_ death awaits you. "i have before told you, that your great father the president is as just as he is powerful; and that he seeks to take away the life of no man, without full, just, and clear proof of guilt. for this purpose he has appointed other chiefs, whose duty it is to hear, try, and punish all offences. "before these judges you shall now be sent. you will be closely examined. you will have counsel assigned to defend your cause. you will have every advantage that one of our own citizens could claim. if any cause can be shown why one of you is less guilty than another it will then appear; if not, your bodies will be hung on a gallows." i then addressed kewaynockwut. "no person has accused you of murder; but you have led men who committed murder, and have thereby excited the anger of your great father, who is slow to forgive when any of his people, even the poorest of them, have been injured, far less when a murder has been committed. though i include you with those cowards who first took away the arms of our people, and then shot them--those mean dogs who sit trembling before me--i do not forgive you. the blood of our citizens rests upon you. i can neither take you by the hand, nor smoke the pipe you offer to me. you lie under the severe censure of your great father, whose anger, like a dark cloud, rests upon you and your people. "four of the chief murderers, namely, okwagun, pasigwetung, metakossiga, and wamitegosh, yet remain inland. go, in order to appease his anger; take your followers with you, and bring them out. you cannot do a more pleasing act to him and to your own nation. for you must reflect that if these murderers are not promptly brought out, war will be immediately made against your villages, and the most signal vengeance taken." great alarm was manifested by the murderers, when they saw that the questions and answers were written down, and a strict course of accountability taken as the basis of the examination. i had foreseen something of this alarm, and requested the commanding officer to send me a detachment of men. lieutenant c. f. morton, d infantry, to whom this matter was entrusted, managed it well. he paraded his men in a hollow square, in front of the office, in such manner that the office formed one angle of the square, so that the main issue from the door ushered the individual into a square bristling with bayonets. he stood himself with a drawn sword. it was eleven o'clock in the evening when their examination and the final arrangements were completed; and when i directed the interpreter to open the door and lead out the murderers, they were greatly alarmed by the appearance of the bright array of musquetry, supposing, evidently, that they were to be instantly shot. they trembled. chapter xxiii. trip to prairie du chien on the mississippi--large assemblage of tribes--their appearance and character--sioux, winnebagoes, chippewas, &c.--striking and extraordinary appearance of the sacs and foxes, and of the iowas--keokuk--mongazid's speech--treaty of limits--whisky question--a literary impostor--journey through the valleys of the fox and wisconsin rivers--incidents--menomonies--a big nose--wisconsin portage. _june d_. the whole village was alive with the excitement of the surrendery of the murderers. the agency office had been crowded with spectators during the examination; and both white and red men saw in their voluntary delivery into the hands of the agent, an evidence of the power of the government in watching over and vindicating the lives and interests of its citizens in the wildest wilderness, which was gratifying to all. to gitche iauba, the chief at the bay of kewywenon, in lake superior, who had been instrumental in producing the delivery, i presented a silver medal of the first class, with a written speech approbatory of the act, and complimentary of himself. in the meantime, my preparations for attending the general convocation of tribes, at prairie du chien, were completed. i placed the agency under the charge of captain n. s. clark, d infantry, who had satisfactorily and ably performed its duties during my absence at new york. i had selected a delegation of the most influential chiefs to attend the contemplated council. and all things being ready, and my _canoe-allége_ in the water, with its flag set, i embarked for the trip on the th. i descended the straits that day, and having turned point detour reached michilimackinack the next morning. the party from detroit had reached that point the same morning, after traversing the huron coasts for upwards of miles, in a light canoe. congratulations on the success that had attended the demand for the chippewa murderers, awaited me. some practical questions, deemed indispensable respecting that transaction, required my immediate return to st. mary's, which was effected on the th, and i again embarked at st. mary's on the th, and rejoined the party at mackinack on the th. the distance traversed is about ninety miles, which was four times passed and repassed in six days, a feat that could only have been accomplished in the calms of summer. we finally left mackinack for our destination on the mississippi, on the st of july. the convocation to which we were now proceeding was for the purpose of settling internal disputes between the tribes, by fixing the boundaries to their respective territories, and thus laying the foundation of a lasting peace on the frontiers. and it marks an era in the policy of our negotiations with the indians, which is memorable. no such gathering of the tribes had ever before occurred, and its results have taken away the necessity of any in future, so far as relates to the lines on the mississippi. we encountered head winds, and met with some delay in passing through the straits into lake michigan, and after escaping an imminent hazard of being blown off into the open lake, in a fog, reached green bay on the th. the journey up the fox river, and its numerous portages, was resumed on the th, and after having ascended the river to its head, we crossed over the fox and wisconsin portage, and descending the latter with safety, reached prairie du chien on the st, making the whole journey from mackinack in twenty-one days. we found a very large number of the various tribes assembled. not only the village, but the entire banks of the river for miles above and below the town, and the island in the river, was covered with their tents. the dakotahs, with their high pointed buffalo skin tents, above the town, and their decorations and implements of flags, feathers, skins and personal "braveries," presented the scene of a bedouin encampment. some of the chiefs had the skins of skunks tied to their heels, to symbolize that they never ran, as that animal is noted for its slow and self-possessed movements. wanita, the yankton chief, had a most magnificent robe of the buffalo, curiously worked with dyed porcupine's quills and sweet grass. a kind of war flag, made of eagles' and vultures' large feathers, presented quite a martial air. war clubs and lances presented almost every imaginable device of paint; but by far the most elaborate thing was their pipes of red stone, curiously carved, and having flat wooden handles of some four feet in length, ornamented with the scalps of the red-headed woodpecker and male duck, and tail feathers of birds artificially attached by strings and quill work, so as to hang in the figure of a quadrant. but the most elaborately wrought part of the devices consisted of dyed porcupines' quills, arranged as a kind of aboriginal mosaic. the winnebagoes, who speak a cognate dialect of the dacotah, were encamped near; and resembled them in their style of lodges, arts, and general decorations. the chippewas presented the more usually known traits, manners and customs of the great algonquin family--of whom they are, indeed, the best representative. the tall and warlike bands from the sources of the mississippi--from la point, in lake superior--from the valleys of the chippewa and st. croix rivers, and the rice lake region of lac du flambeau, and of sault ste. marie, were well represented. the cognate tribe of the menomonies, and of the potawattomies and ottowas from lake michigan, assimilated and mingled with the chippewas. some of the iroquois of green bay were present. but no tribes attracted as intense a degree of interest as the iowas, and the sacs and foxes--tribes of radically diverse languages, yet united in a league against the sioux. these tribes were encamped on the island, or opposite coast. they came to the treaty ground, armed and dressed as a war party. they were all armed with spears, clubs, guns and knives. many of the warriors had a long tuft of red-horse hair tied at their elbows, and bore a neck lace of grizzly bears' claws. their head-dress consisted of red dyed horse-hair, tied in such manner to the scalp lock as to present the shape of the decoration of a roman helmet. the rest of the head was completely shaved and painted. a long iron shod lance was carried in the hand. a species of baldric supported part of their arms. the azian, moccason and leggins constituted a part of their dress. they were, indeed, nearly nude, and painted. often the print of a hand, in white clay, marked the back or shoulders. they bore flags of feathers. they beat drums. they uttered yells, at definite points. they landed in compact ranks. they looked the very spirit of defiance. their leader stood as a prince, majestic and frowning. the wild, native pride of man, in the savage state, flushed by success in war, and confident in the strength of his arm, was never so fully depicted to my eyes. and the forest tribes of the continent may be challenged to have ever presented a spectacle of bold daring, and martial prowess, equal to their landing. their martial bearing, their high tone, and whole behavior during their stay, in and out of council, was impressive, and demonstrated, in an eminent degree, to what a high pitch of physical and moral courage, bravery and success in war may lead a savage people. keokuk, who led them, stood with his war lance, high crest of feathers, and daring eye, like another coriolanus, and when he spoke in council, and at the same time shook his lance at his enemies, the sioux, it was evident that he wanted but an opportunity to make their blood flow like water. wapelo, and other chiefs backed him, and the whole array, with their shaved heads and high crests of red horse-hair, told the spectator plainly, that each of these men held his life in his hand, and was ready to spring to the work of slaughter at the cry of their chief. general william clark, from st. louis, was associated with general cass in this negotiation. the great object was to lay the foundation of a permanent peace by establishing boundaries. day after day was assigned to this, the agents laboring with the chiefs, and making themselves familiar with indian bark maps and drawings. the thing pleased the indians. they clearly saw that it was a benevolent effort for their good, and showed a hearty mind to work in the attainment of the object. the united states asked for no cession. many glowing harangues were made by the chiefs, which gave scope to their peculiar oratory, which is well worth the preserving. mongazid, of fond du lac, lake superior, said: "when i heard the voice of my great father, coming up the mississippi valley calling me to this treaty, it seemed as a murmuring wind; i got up from my mat where i sat musing, and hastened to obey it. my pathway has been clear and bright. truly it is a pleasant sky above our heads this day. there is not a cloud to darken it. i hear nothing but pleasant words. the raven is not waiting for his prey, i hear no eagle cry--'come, let us go. the feast is ready--the indian has killed his brother.'" when nearly a whole month had been consumed in these negotiations, a treaty of limits was signed, which will long be remembered in the indian reminiscences. this was on the th of august ( ), _vide_ indian treaties, p. . it was a pleasing sight to see the explorer of the columbia in , and the writer of the proclamation of the army that invaded canada in , uniting in a task boding so much good to the tribes whose passions and trespasses on each other's lands keep them perpetually at war. 'tis war alone that gluts the indian's mind, as eating meats, inflames the tiger kind. heth. at the close of the treaty, an experiment was made on the moral sense of the indians, with regard to intoxicating liquors, which was evidently of too refined a character for their just appreciation. it had been said by the tribes that the true reason for the commissioners of the united states government speaking against the use of ardent spirits by the indians, and refusing to give them, was not a sense of its bad effects, so much, as the fear of the expense. to show them that the government was above such a petty principle, the commissioners had a long row of tin camp kettles, holding several gallons each, placed on the grass, from one end of the council house to the other, and then, after some suitable remarks, each kettle was spilled out in their presence. the thing was evidently ill relished by the indians. they loved the whisky better than the joke. _impostor_.--among the books which i purchased for general cass, at new york, was the narrative of one john dunn hunter. i remember being introduced to the man, at one of my visits to new york, by mr. carter. he appeared to be one of those anomalous persons, of easy good nature, without much energy or will, and little or no moral sense, who might be made a tool of. it seems no one at new york was taken in by him, but having wandered over to london, the booksellers found him a good subject for a book, and some hack there, with considerable cleverness, made him a pack-horse for carrying a load of stuff about america's treatment of the indians. it was called a "captivity," and he was made to play the part of an adventurer among the indians--somewhat after the manner of john tanner. c. reviewed the book, on our route and at the prairie, for the _north american_, in an article which created quite a sensation, and will be remembered for its force and eloquence. he first read to me some of these glowing sentences, while on the portages of the fox. it was continued, during the leisure hours of the conferences, and finally the critique was finished, after his visiting the place and the person, in missouri, to which hunter had alluded as his sponsor in baptism. the man denied all knowledge of him. hunter was utterly demolished, and his book shown to be as great a tissue of misrepresentation as that of psalmanazar himself. _august st_. the party separates. i had determined to return to the sault by way of lake superior, through chippewa river. but, owing to the murder of finley and his men at its mouth in , i found it impossible to engage men at prairie du chien, to take that route. i determined therefore to go up the wisconsin, and by the way of green bay. for this purpose, i purchased a light canoe, engaged men to paddle it, and laid in provisions and stores to last to green bay. having done so, i embarked about o'clock p.m., descending the majestic mississippi, with spirits enlivened by the hope of soon rejoining friends far away. at the same time, mr. holliday left for the same destination in a separate canoe. on reaching the mouth of the wisconsin, we entered that broad tributary, and found the current strong. we passed the point of rocks called _petite grès_, and encamped at _grand grès_. several hours previous to leaving the prairie, a friend handed me an enveloped packet, saying, "read it when you get to the mouth of the wisconsin." i had no conception what it related to, but felt great anxiety to reach the place mentioned. i then opened it, and read as follows: "i cannot separate from you without expressing my grateful acknowledgments for the honor you have done me, by connecting my name with your _narrative of travels in the central portions of the mississippi valley, &c._" nothing could have been more gratifying or unexpected. _ d_. a fog in the valley detained us till o'clock a.m. after traveling about two hours, mr. holliday's canoe was crushed against a rock. while detained in repairing it, i ordered my cook to prepare breakfast. it was now o'clock, when we again proceeded, till the heat of noon much affected the men. we pushed our canoes under some overhanging trees, where we found fine clusters of ripe grapes. in going forward we passed two canoes of menomonies, going out on their fall hunt, on the chippewa river. these people have no hunting grounds of their own, and are obliged to the courtesy of neighboring nations for a subsistence. they are the most erratic of all our tribes, and may be said to be almost nomadic. we had already passed the canoes, when mr. lewis, the portrait painter, called out stoutly behind us, from an island in the river. "oh! ho! i did not know but there was some other breaking of the canoe, or worse disaster, and directed the men to put back. see, see," said he, "that fellow's nose! did you ever see such a protuberance?" it was one of the menomonies from _butte des morts_, with a globular irregular lump on the end of his nose, half as big as a man's fist. lewis's artistic risibles were at their height, and he set to work to draw him. i could think of nothing appropriate, but sterne and strasbourg. _ d_. a heavy fog detained us at caramani's village, till near a.m. the fog, however, still continued, so thick as to conceal objects at twenty yards distance. we consequently went cautiously. both this day and yesterday we have been constantly in sight of indian canoes, on their return from the treaty. wooden canoes are exclusively used by the winnebagoes. they are pushed along with poles. we passed a precipitous range of hills near pine creek, on one of which is a cave, called by our boatmen _l'diable au port_. this superstition of peopling dens and other dark places with the "arch fiend," is common. if the "old serpent" has given any proofs to the french boatmen of his residence here, i shall only hope that he will confine himself to this river, and not go about troubling quiet folks in the land of the lakes. at pine river we went inland about a mile to see an old mine, probably the remains of french enterprise, or french credulity. but all its golden ores had flown, probably frightened off by the old fellow of _l'diable au port_. we saw only pits dug in the sand overgrown with trees. near this spot in the river, we overtook shingabowossin and his party of chippewas. they had left the prairie on the same day that we did, but earlier. they had been in some dread of the winnebagoes, and stopped on the island to wait for us. in passing the channel of _detour_, we observed many thousand tons of white rock lying in the river, which had lately fallen from the bank, leaving a solid perpendicular precipice. this rock, banks and ruins, is, like all the wisconsin valley rocks, a very white and fine sandstone. we passed five canoes of menomonies, on their way to hunt on chippewa river, to whom i presented some powder, lead, and flour. they gave me a couple of fish, of the kind called _pe-can-o_ by the indians. _ th_. we were again detained by the fog, till half past five a.m., and after a hard day's fatiguing toil, i encamped at eight o'clock p.m. on a sandy island in the centre of the wisconsin. the water in the river is low, and spreads stragglingly over a wide surface. the very bed of the river is moving sand. while supper was preparing, i took from my trunk a towel, clean shirt, and cake of soap, and spent half an hour in bathing in the river upon the clean yellow sand. after this grateful refreshment, i sank sweetly to repose in my tent. _ th_. the fog dispersed earlier this morning than usual. we embarked a few minutes after four a.m., and landed for breakfast at ten. the weather now, was quite sultry, as indeed it has been during the greater part of every day, since leaving _tipesage_--i.e. the prairie. our route this day carried us through the most picturesque and interesting part of the wisconsin, called the highlands or river hills. some of these hills are high, with precipitous faces towards the river. others terminate in round grassy knobs, with oaks dispersed about the sides. the name is supposed to have been taken from this feature.[ ] generally speaking, the country has a bald and barren aspect. not a tree has apparently been cut upon its banks, and not a village is seen to relieve the tedium of an unimproved wilderness. the huts of an indian locality seem "at random cast." i have already said these conical and angular hills present masses of white sandstone, whereever they are precipitous. the river itself is almost a moving mass of white and yellow sand, broad, clear, shallow, and abounding in small woody islands, and willowy sandbars. [footnote : _sin_, the terminal syllable, is clearly from the algonquin, _os-sin_, a stone. the french added the letter _g_, which is the regular _local_ form of the word, agreeably to the true indian.] while making these notes i have been compelled to hold my book, pencil and umbrella, the latter being indispensable to keep off the almost tropical fervor of the sun's rays. as the umbrella and book must be held in one hand, you may judge that i have managed with some difficulty; and this will account to you for many uncouth letters and much disjointed orthography. between the annoyance of insects, the heat of the sun, and the difficulties of the way, we had incessant employment. at three o'clock p.m. we put ashore for dinner, in a very shaded and romantic spot. poetic images were thick about us. we sat upon mats spread upon a narrow carpet of grass between the river and a high perpendicular cliff. the latter threw its broad shade far beyond us. this strip of land was not more than ten feet wide, and had any fragments of rock fallen, they would have crushed us. but we saw no reason to fear such an event, nor did it at all take from the relish of our dinner. green moss had covered the face of the rock, and formed a soft velvet covering, against which we leaned. the broad and cool river ran at our feet. overhanging trees formed a grateful bower around us. alas, how are those to be pitied who prefer palaces built with human hands to such sequestered scenes. what perversity is there in the human understanding, to quit the delightful and peaceful abodes of nature, for noisy towns and dusty streets. "to me more dear, congenial to my heart, one native charm than all the gloss of art." at a late hour in the evening we reached the wisconsin portage, and found dr. wood. u.s.a., encamped there. he had arrived a short time before us, with four indians and one canadian in a canoe, on his way to st. peter's. he had a mail in his trunk, and i had reasons to believe i should receive letters, but to my sore disappointment i found nothing. i invited dr. wood to supper, having some ducks and snipes to offer in addition to my usual stock of solids, such as ham, venison and buffalo tongues. chapter xxiv. descent of fox river--blackbirds--menomonies--rice fields--starving indians--thunder storm--dream--an indian struck dead with lightning--green bay--death of colonel haines--incidents of the journey from green bay to michilimackinack--reminiscences of my early life and travels--choiswa--further reminiscences of my early life--ruins of the first mission of father marquette--reach michilimackinack. . _august th_. a portage of about one mile and a quarter was before us. at day-break two ox carts, which i had ordered in the evening, came, and took our baggage across to the banks of fox river. the canoes were carried over by the different crews. on reaching the banks of the fox river, i concluded to stay for the purpose of breakfasting. i added to my stock of eatables, a bag of potatoes, and some butter and milk, purchased from a frenchman, who resided here. it was about nine o'clock a.m. when we embarked on the fox, and we began its descent with feelings not widely different from those of a boy who has carried his sled, in winter, _up_ the steep side of a hill, that he may enjoy the pleasure of riding _down_. the fox river is serpentine, almost without a parallel; it winds about like a string that doubles and redoubles, and its channel is choked with fields of wild rice; from which rose, continually, immense flocks of blackbirds. they reminded me very forcibly of the poet's line-- "the birds of heaven shall vindicate their grain." mr. holliday the elder and his son made several unsuccessful shots at them. i did not regret their ill success, and was pleased to hear them singing-- "as sweetly and gayly as ever before." we met several canoes of menomonies. we stopped for dinner near a lodge of them, who were in a starving condition. i distributed bread and corn among them. they presented me a couple of dishes of a species of berry, which they call _neekimen-een_, or brant-berry. it is a black, tasteless berry, a little larger than the whortleberry. we encamped at the head of _pukwa_ lake. _ th_. a very severe shower of rain fell about three o'clock a.m.; it detained us in our camp until five, when we embarked. why should i relate to you our dull progress through fields of rice--through intricate channels, and amidst myriads of ducks and wild water fowl. this day has been hot, beyond any experience on the journey. i sank back in my canoe, in a state of apathy and lassitude, partly from the heat, and partly from indisposition. my thoughts were employed upon home. a thousand phantoms passed through my head. i tried to imagine how you were employed at this moment, whether busy, or sick in your own room. it would require a volume to trace my wandering thoughts. let it suffice that another day is nearly gone, and it has lessened the distance which separated us, about seventy miles. _ th_. i encamped, last night, near a large village of winnebagoes and menomonies. they complained to me of want of food and ammunition. i distributed among them a quantity of powder, ball, and shot, and some bread, hard biscuit, pork, and tobacco. never were people more grateful, and never, i believe, was a more appropriate distribution made. i had purchased these articles for the chippewa nation, to be used on my contemplated voyage home, from the prairie, through chippewa river and lake superior, before the design of going that way was relinquished. the fact was, i could get no men to go that way, so alarmed were they by the recent murder of finley and his party. about two o'clock a.m. i was awoke by a very heavy storm of rain and wind, attended with loud peals of thunder. the violence of the wind blew down my tent, and my blankets, &c. received some damage. after this mishap the wind abated, and having got my tent re-arranged, i again went to sleep. i dreamt of attending the funeral of an esteemed friend, who was buried with honors, attended to the grave by a large train. i have no recollection of the name of this friend, nor whether male or female. i afterwards visited the house of this person, and the room in which he (or she) died. i closed the door with dread and sorrow, afflicted by the views of the couch where one so much esteemed had expired. the mansion was large, and elegantly furnished. i lost my way in it, and rung a large bell that hung in the hall. at this, many persons, male and female, came quickly into the hall from folding doors, as if, i thought, they had been summoned to dinner. as you have sometimes inclined to believe in these fantastic operations of the human mind, when asleep, i record them for your amusement, or reflection. was this an allegory of the destructive effects of the storm, mixed with my banquet to my indian friends, the menomonies and winnebagoes? after descending the river more than twenty miles we landed at _la butte des morts_ to cook breakfast. immediately on landing my attention was attracted by a small white flag hanging from a high pole. i went to it and found a recent indian grave, very neatly and carefully covered with boards. the indian had been struck dead by lightning a few days previous. is this the interpretation of my dream, or must i follow my fears to st. mary's, to witness some of our family suffering on the bed of sickness. god, in his mercy, forbid! this day was comparatively cool. on the previous days it was my custom to sit in my shirt and sleeves. to-day, i kept on my surtout all day, and my cloak over it until twelve. such sudden changes in the temperature of the seasons are the reproach of our climate. my health has been better than for a few days back, owing, i believe, solely to my abstinence both yesterday and the day before. how much illness would be prevented by a proper attention to regimen. it is now eight o'clock in the evening, i am sitting in my tent with a candle standing on a rush mat, and my black trunk for a writing desk. i am interrupted by the news that my supper is ready to be brought in. how happy i should be if you could participate in my frugal meal. in the language of burns-- "adieu a heart-warm fond adieu." _ th_. i encamped last night, at the foot of the winnebago rapids, one mile below winnebago lake. i found the rapids of fox river, which begin here, more difficult to pass than on our ascent, the water being much lower. we were necessarily detained many hours, and most of the men compelled to walk. about six o'clock, p.m. we reached the upper part of the settlement of green bay. i stopped a few moments at judge doty's, and also a little below at major brevoort's, the indian agent of the post. we then proceeded to the lower settlements, and encamped near the fort at arndt's. dr. wheaton met me on the beach, with several others. i supped and lodged at arndt's, having declined dr. wheaton's polite invitation to sup, and take a bed with him. at tea i saw mrs. cotton, whom you will recollect as miss arndt, and was introduced to her husband, lieutenant cotton, u.s.a. i was also introduced to the rev. mr. nash, a clergyman of the protestant episcopal order, on missionary duty here. i went to my room, as soon as i could disentangle myself from these greetings, with a bundle of papers, to read up the news, and was truly pained to hear of the death of my early friend colonel charles g. haines of new york, an account of which, with the funeral honors paid to him, i read in the papers. _ th_. the repair of my canoe, and the purchase of provisions to recruit my supplies, consumed the morning, until twelve o'clock, when i embarked, and called at the fort to pay my respects to dr. wheaton. i found the dinner-table set. he insisted on my stopping with mr. h. to dinner, which, being an old friend and as one of my men had absconded, and i was, therefore, delayed, i assented to. the doctor and family evinced the greatest cordiality, and he sent down to my canoe, after dinner, a quantity of melons, some cabbages, and a bag of new potatoes. before i could obtain another man and set out again, it was three o'clock. i was obliged to forego the return of some visits. we continued our voyage down the bay about miles, and encamped at o'clock, having run down with a fair wind. _ st_. soon after quitting our camp this morning, a heavy wind arose. it was partly fair, so as to permit our hoisting sail for a few hours, but then shifted ahead, and drove us ashore. we landed on a small island called vermilion, off the south cape of sturgeon bay. here we remained all the remainder of the day and night. while there detained i read "china, its arts, manufactures, &c.," a work translated from the french, and giving a lively, and apparently correct account of that singular people. about two o'clock, p.m., we cut some of the water and musk-melons presented by dr. wharton, and found them delicious. about o'clock, p.m., my cook informed me that he had prepared a supper, agreeably to my directions, and we found his skill in this way by no means despicable. such are the trifles which must fill up my journal, for did i only write what was fit for grave divines, or the scrutinizing eye of philosophy to read, i fear i should have but a few meagre sheets to present you on my return, and perhaps not a single syllable witty or wise. _sept. st_. the wind abated during the night, and we were early on the waters, and went on until eleven o'clock, when we landed for breakfast. at twelve o'clock we went forward again, with a fair wind. i read another volume of "china." "the chinese ladies," says the author, "live very retired, wholly engaged in their household affairs, and how to please their husbands. they are not, however, confined quite so closely as is commonly supposed. the females visit entirely amongst each other. there is no society or circles in china to which the women are admitted. marriages are a mere matter of convenience, or, to speak with greater propriety, a kind of bargain settled between the parents and relatives." we came on very well, and encamped at the little detroit, or strait, so called, in the grand traverse. this traverse separates green bay from lake michigan. it is computed to be twenty miles over. a cluster of islands enables canoes to pass. there are some hieroglyphics on the rocks. _ d_. we embarked at three o'clock, a.m., and went on very well, until ten, when we stopped on one of the islands for breakfast, having nearly completed the traverse. in the meantime the wind arose in our favor, and we went on along the north shore of lake michigan gayly. we passed the mouth of the manistee river, which interlocks with the tacquimenon of lake superior, where some of our st. mary's chippewas make their gardens. an aft wind and light spirits are inseparable, whether a man be in a frigate or a canoe. there is something in the air exhilarating. i have been passing in retrospect, the various journeys i have made, but during none has my anxieties to return been so great as this. what a wonderful destiny it is that makes one man a traveler and another a poet, a mathematician, &c. we appear to be guided by some innate principle which has a predominating force. no man was more unlikely to be a traveler than myself. i always thought myself to be domestic in my feelings, habits, and inclinations, and even in very early youth, proposed to live a life of domestic felicity. i thought such a life inseparable from the married state, and resolved, therefore, to get married, as soon as prudence and inclination would permit. notwithstanding this way of thinking my life has been a series of active employment and arduous journeyings. i may say my travels began even in childhood, for when only six or seven years old, i recollect to have wandered off a long distance into the pine plains of my native town, to view honicroisa hill, a noted object in that part of the country, to the great alarm of all the family, who sent out to search for me. my next journey was in my eleventh year, when i accompanied my father, in his chaise, he dressed out in his regimentals, to attend a general court-martial at saratoga. i had not then read any history of our revolution, but had heard its battles and hardships, told over by my father, which created a deep interest, and among the events was burgoyne's surrender. my mind was filled with the subject as we proceeded on our way, and i expected to see a field covered with skulls, and guns, and broken swords. in my fifteenth year i accompanied my father, in his chaise, up the valley of the mohawk to utica. this gave me some idea of the western country, and the rapid improvements going on there. i returned with some more knowledge of the world, and with my mind filled with enthusiastic notions of new settlements and fortunes made in the woods. i was highly pleased with the frank and hospitable manners of the west. the next spring i was sent by a manufacturing company to philadelphia, as an agent to procure and select on the banks of the delaware, between bristol and bordentown, a cargo of crucible clay. this journey and its incidents opened a new field to me, and greatly increased my knowledge of the world; of the vastness of commerce; and of the multifarious occupations of men. i acquitted myself well of my agency, having made a good selection of my cargo. i was a judge of the mineralogical properties of the article, but a novice in almost everything else. i supposed the world honest, and every man disposed to act properly and to do right. i now first witnessed a theatre. it was at new york. when the tragedy was over, seeing many go out, i also took a check and went home, to be laughed at by the captain of the sloop, with whom i was a passenger. at philadelphia i fell into the hands of a professed sharper; he was a gentleman in dress, manners, and conversation. he showed me the city, and was very useful in directing my inquiries. but he borrowed of me thirty dollars one day, to pay an unexpected demand, as he said, and that was the last i ever saw of my money. the lesson was not, however, lost upon me. i have never since lent a stranger or casual acquaintance money. _ d_. i was compelled to break off my notes yesterday suddenly. a storm came on which drove us forward with great swiftness, and put us in some peril. we made the land about three o'clock, after much exertion and very considerable wetting. after the storm had passed over, a calm succeeded, when we again put out, and kept the lake till eight o'clock. we had a very bad encampment--loose rough stones to lie on, and scarcely wood enough to make a fire. to finish our misery, it soon began to rain, but ceased before ten. at four o'clock this morning we arose, the weather being quite cold. at an early hour, after getting afloat, we reached and passed a noted landing for canoes and boats, called _choishwa_ (smooth-rock.) this shelter, is formed by a ledge of rock running into the lake. on the inner, or perpendicular face, hundreds of names are cut or scratched upon the rock. this _cacoethes scribendi_ is the pest of every local curiosity or public watering-place. even here, in the wilderness, it is developed. wise men ne'er cut their names on doors or rock-heads, but leave the task to scribblers and to blockheads; pert, trifling folks, who, bent on being witty, scrawl on each post some fag-end of a ditty, spinning, with spider's web, their shallow brains, o'er wainscots, borrowed books, or window panes. at one o'clock the wind became decidedly fair, and the men, relieved from their paddles, are nearly all asleep, in the bottom of the canoe. while the wind drives us forward beautifully i embrace the time to resume my narrative of early journeyings, dropt yesterday. in the year , my father removed from albany to oneida county. i remained at the old homestead in guilderland, in charge of his affairs, until the following year, when i also came to the west. the next spring i was offered handsome inducements to go to the genesee country, by a manufacturing company, who contemplated the saving of a heavy land transportation from albany on the article of window-glass, if the rude materials employed in it could be found in that area of country. i visited it with that view; found its native resources ample, and was still more delighted with the flourishing appearance of this part of the western country than i had been with utica and its environs. auburn, geneva, canandaigua, and other incipient towns, seemed to me the germs of a land "flowing with milk and honey." in , i went on a second trip to philadelphia, and executed the object of it with a success equal to my initial visit. on this trip i had letters to some gentlemen at philadelphia, who received me in a most clever spirit, and i visited the academy of arts, peale's museum, the water works, navy yard, &c. i here received my first definite ideas of painting and sculpture. i returned with new stores of information and new ideas of the world, but i had lost little or nothing of my primitive simplicity of feeling or rustic notions of human perfection. and, as i began to see something of the iniquities of men, i clung more firmly to my native opinions. my personal knowledge of my native state, and of the states of new jersey and pennsylvania, was now superior to that of most men with whom i was in the habit of conversing, and i subsequently made several little journeys and excursions that furthered me in the knowledge. as yet, i knew nothing by personal observation of new england. in the early part of , having completed my nineteenth year, i went to middlebury, in vermont, on the banks of otter creek, where, i understand, my great-grandfather, who was an englishman, to have died. soon after i accompanied mr. ep. jones, a man of decided enterprise, but some eccentricities of character, on an extensive tour through the new england states. we set out from lake dunmore, in salisbury, in a chaise, and proceeding over the green mountains across the state of vermont, to bellows' falls, on the connecticut river, there struck the state of new hampshire, and went across it, and a part of massachusetts, to boston. thence, after a few days' stop, we continued our route to hartford, the seat of government of connecticut, and thence south to the valley of the hudson at rhinebeck. here we crossed the hudson to kingston (the esopus of indian days), and proceeded inland, somewhat circuitously, to the catskill mountains; after visiting which, we returned to the river, came up its valley to albany, and returned, by way of salem, to salisbury. all this was done with one horse, a compact small-boned animal, who was a good oats-eater, and of whom we took the very best care. i made this distich on him:-- feed me well with oats and hay, and i'll carry you forty miles a-day. this long and circuitous tour gave me a general idea of this portion of the union, and enabled me to institute many comparisons between the manners and customs and advantages of new york and new england. i am again compelled to lay my pencil aside by the quantity of water thrown into the canoe by the paddles of the men, who have been roused up by the increasing waves. _ th_. we went on under a press of sail last evening until eight o'clock, when we encamped in a wide sandy bay in the straits of michigan, having come a computed distance of miles. on looking about, we found in the sand the stumps of cedar pickets, forming an antique enclosure, which, i judged, must have been the first site of the mission of st. ignace, founded by pierre marquette, upwards of a hundred and eighty years ago. not a lisp of such a ruin had been heard by me previously. french and indian tradition says nothing of it. the inference is, however, inevitable. point st. ignace draws its name from it. it was afterwards removed and fixed at the blunt peninsula, or headland, which the indians call _peekwutino_, the old mackinac of the french. leaving this spot at an early hour, we went to point st. ignace to breakfast, and made the traverse to the island of michilimackinac by eleven o'clock. we were greeted by a number of persons on the beach; among them was mr. agnew, of the _sault_, who reported friends all well. this was a great relief to my mind, as i had been for a number of days under the impression that some one near and dear to me was ill. it was sunday morning; many of the inhabitants were at church, and appearances indicated more respect for the day than i recollect to have noticed before. the good effect of the mission established in the island, under the auspices of the rev. mr. ferry, are clearly visible. mr. robert stuart invited me to take a room at the company's house, which i declined, but dined and supped there. chapter xxv. journey from mackinac to the sault ste. marie--outard point--head winds--lake huron in a rage--desperate embarkation--st. vital--double the detour--return to st. mary's--letters--"indian girl"--new volume of travels--guess' cherokee alphabet--new views of the indian languages and their principles of construction--georgia question--post-office difficulties--glimpses from the civilized world. . _sept. th_. i arose at seven, and we had breakfast at half-past seven. i then went to the company's store and ordered an invoice of goods for the indian department. this occupied the time till dinner was announced. i then went to my camp and ordered the tent to be struck and the canoe to be put into the water; but found two of my men so ill with the fever and ague that they could not go, and three others were much intoxicated. the atmosphere was very cloudy and threatening, and to attempt the traverse to goose island, under such circumstances, was deemed improper. mr. robert and david stuart, men noted in the astoria enterprise; mr. agnew, capt. knapp, mr. conner, mr. abbott, mr. currey, &c., had kindly accompanied me to the beach, but all were very urgent in their opinion that i should defer the starting. i ordered the men to be ready at two o'clock in the morning should the weather not prove tempestuous. _ th_. i arose at three o'clock, but found a heavy fog enveloping the whole island, and concealing objects at a short distance. it was not till half-past six that i could embark, when the fog began to disperse, but the clearing away of the fog introduced a light head wind. i reached goose island, a distance of ten miles, after a march of three hours, and afterwards went to outard point, but could go no further from the increased violence of the wind. _outard point, o'clock p.m._ here have i been encamped since noon, with a head wind, a dense damp atmosphere, and the lake in a foam. i expected the wind would fall with the sun, but, alas! it blows stronger than ever. i fondly hoped on quitting mackinac this morning, that i should see home to-morrow, but that is now impossible. how confidently do we hope and expect in this life, and how little do we know what is to befall us for even a few hours beyond the present moment. it has pleased the all-wise being to give me an adverse wind, and i must submit to it. i, doubtless, exulted too soon and too much. on reaching mackinac, i said to myself: "my journey is accomplished; my route to the sault is nothing; i can go there in a day and a half, wind or no wind." this vanity and presumption is now punished, and, i acknowledge, justly. i should have left it to providence. wise are the ways of the almighty, and salutary all his dispensations to man. were we not continually put in mind of an overruling providence by reverses of this kind, the human heart, exalted with its own consequence, would soon cease to implore protection from on high. i feel solitary. the loud dashing of the waves on shore, and the darkness and dreariness of all without my tent, conspire to give a saddened train to my reflections. i endeavored to divert myself, soon after landing, by a stroll along the shore. i sought in vain among the loose fragments of rock for some specimens worthy of preservation. i gleaned the evidences of crystallization and the traces of organic forms among the cast-up fragments of limestone and sandstone. i amused myself with the reflection that i should, perhaps, meet you coming from an opposite direction on the beach, and i half fancied that, perhaps, it would actually take place. vain sport of the mind! it served to cheat away a tedious hour, and i returned to my tent fatigued and half sick. i am in hopes a cup of tea and a night's rest will restore my equipoise of mind and body. thus "every pang that rends the heart, bids expectation rise." _ th_. still detained on this bleak and desolate point. a heavy rain and very strong gale continued all night. the rain was driven with such violence as to penetrate through the texture of my tent, and fall copiously upon me. daybreak brought with it no abatement of the storm, but presented to my view a wide vista of white foaming surge as far as the eye could reach. in consequence of the increasing violence of the storm, i was compelled to order my baggage and canoe to be removed, and my tent to be pitched back among the trees. how long i am to remain here i cannot conjecture. it is a real equinoxial storm. my ears are stunned with the incessant roaring of the water and the loud murmuring of the wind among the foliage. thick murky clouds obscure the sky, and a chill damp air compels me to sit in my tent with my cloak on. i may exclaim, in the language of the chippewas, _tyau, gitche sunnahgud_ (oh, how hard is my fate.) at two o'clock i made another excursion to view the broad lake and see if some favorable sign could not be drawn, but returned with nothing to cast a gleam on the angry vista. it seemed as if the lake was convulsed to its bottom. outard point. what narrowed pleasures swell the bosom here, a shore most sterile, and a clime severe, where every shrub seems stinted in its size, "where genius sickens and where fancy dies." if to the lake i cast my longing view, the curling waves their noisy way pursue; that noise reminds me of my prison-strand, those waves i most admire, but cannot stand. if to the shore i cast my anxious eye, there broken rocks and sand commingled lie, mixed with the wrecks of shells and weeds and wood, crushed by the storm and driven by the flood. e'en fishes there, high cast upon the shore, yet pant with life and stain the rocks with gore. would here the curious eye expect to meet aught precious in the sands beneath his feet, ores, gems, or crystals, fitting for the case, no spot affords so poor, so drear a place. rough rounded stones, the sport of every wind, is all th' inquirer shall with caution find. a beach unvaried spreads before the eye; drear is the land and stormy is the sky. would the fixed eye, that dotes on sylvan scenes, draw pleasure from these dark funereal greens, these stunted cedars and low scraggy pines, where nature stagnates and the soil repines-- alas! the source is small--small every bliss, that e'er can dwell on such a place as this. bleak, barren, sandy, dreary, and confined, bathed by the waves and chilled by every wind; without a flower to beautify the scene, without a cultured shore--a shady green-- without a harbor on a dangerous shore, without a friend to joy with or deplore. he who can feel one lonely ray of bliss in such a thought-appalling spot as this, his mind in fogs and mists must ever roll, without a heart, and torpid all his soul. about three o'clock p.m. there was a transient gleam of sunshine, and, for a few moments, a slight abatement of wind. i ordered my canoe and baggage taken inland to another narrow little bay, having issue into the lake, where the water was calm enough to permit its being loaded; but before this was accomplished, a most portentous cloud gathered in the west, and the wind arose more fierce than before. huron, like an offended and capricious mistress, seemed to be determined, at last, on fury, and threw herself into the most extravagant attitudes. i again had my tent pitched, and sat down quietly to wait till the tempest should subside; but up to a late hour at night the elemental war continued, and, committing myself to the divine mercy, i put out my candle and retired to my pallet. _ th_. the frowning mistress, lake huron, still has the pouts. about seven o'clock i walked, or scrambled my way through close-matted spruce and brambles to get a view of the open lake. the force of the waves was not, perhaps, much different from the day before, but they were directly from the west, and blowing directly down the lake. could i get out from the nook of a bay where i was encamped, and get directly before them, it appeared possible, with a close-reefed sail, to go on my way. my _engagees_ thought it too hazardous to try, but their habitual sense of obedience to a _bourgeoise_ led them to put the canoe in the water, and at o'clock we left our encampment on outard point, got out into the lake, not without imminent hazard, and began our career "like a racehorse" for the capes of the st. mary's. the wind blew as if "'twad blawn its last." we had reefed our sail to less than four feet, and i put an extra man with the steersman. we literally went "on the wings of the wind." i do not think myself ever to have run such hazards. i was tossed up and down the waves like sancho panza on the blanket. three hours and twenty minutes brought me to isle st. vital, behind which we got shelter. the good saint who presides over the island of gravel and sand permitted me to take a glass of cordial from my basket, and to refresh myself with a slice of cold tongue and a biscuit. who this st. vital may have been, i know not, having been brought up a protestant; but i suppose the catholic calendar would tell. if his saintship was as fond of good living as some of his friends are said to be, i make no doubt but he will freely forgive this trespass upon his territory. taking courage by this refreshment, we again put out before the gale, and got in to the de tour, and by seven o'clock, p.m., were safely encamped on an island in st. mary's straits, opposite st. joseph's. the wind was here ahead. on entering the straits, i found a vessel at anchor. on coming alongside it proved to be the schooner harriet, capt. allen, of mont clemens, on her way from the sault. a passenger on board says that he was at mr. johnston's house two days ago, and all are well. he says the chippewa chiefs arrived yesterday. regret that i had not forwarded by them the letter which i had prepared at the prairie to transmit by mr. holliday, when i supposed i should return by way of chippewa river and lake superior. i procured from the harriet a whitefish, of which i have just partaken a supper. this delicious fish is always a treat to me, but was never more so than on the present occasion. i landed here fatigued, wet, and cold, but, from the effects of a cheerful fire, good news from home, and bright anticipations for to-morrow, i feel quite re-invigorated. "tired nature's sweet restorer" must complete what tea and whitefish have so successfully begun. _ th_. my journal has no entry for this day, but it brought me safely (some miles) to my own domicil at "elmwood." the excitement of getting back and finding all well drove away almost all other thoughts. the impressions made on society by our visit to new york, and the circles in which we moved, are given in a letter from mr. saml. c. conant, of the th july, which i found among those awaiting my arrival. to introduce a descendant of one of the native race into society, as had been done in my choice, was not an ordinary event, and did not presuppose, it seems, ordinary independence of character. her grandfather, by the maternal side, had been a distinguished chief of his nation at the ancient council-fire, or seat of its government at chegoimegon and lapointe. by her father, a native of antrim, in the north of ireland, she was connected with a class of clergy and gentry of high respectability, including the bishop of dromore and mr. saurin, the attorney-general of ireland. two very diverse sources of pride of ancestry met in her father's family--that of the noble and free sons of the forest, and that of ancestral origin founded on the notice of british aristocracy. with me, the former was of the highest honor, when i beheld it, as it was in her case, united to manners and education in a marked degree gentle, polished, retiring, and refined. no two such diverse races and states of society, uniting to produce such a result, had ever come to my notice, and i was, of course, gratified when any persons of intellect and refinement concurred in the wisdom of my choice. such was mr. conant and his family, a group ever to be remembered with kindness and respect. having passed some weeks in his family, with her infant boy and nurse, during my absence south, his opportunities for judging were of the best kind. "if you will suffer me to indulge the expression of both my own and mrs. conant's feelings, i am sure that you cannot but be pleased that the frankness and generosity of one, and the virtues and gentleness of the other of you, have made so lively an impression on our hearts, and rendered your acquaintance to us a matter of very sweet and grateful reflection. truly modest and worthy persons often exhibit virtues and possess attainments so much allied to their nature as to be themselves unconscious of the treasures. it does not hurt such ones to be informed of their good qualities. "when i first visited mr. schoolcraft, i looked about for his _indian girl_. i carried such a report to my wife that we were determined to seek her acquaintance, and were not less surprised than recompensed to find such gentleness, urbanity, affection, and intelligence, under circumstances so illy calculated, as might be supposed, to produce such amiable virtues. but all have learned to estimate human nature more correctly, and to determine that nature herself, not less than the culture of skillful hands, has much to do with the refinement and polish of the mind. "mr. s.'s book ('trav. cent. ports. miss. valley') has also received several generous and laudatory notices; one from the _u.s. literary gazette_, printed at boston. i saw gov. clinton, also, who spoke very highly both of the book and the author. he thought that mr. w.'s ill-natured critique would not do any injury either here or in europe." _oct. d_. c.c. trowbridge, esq., sends me a copy of "guess' cherokee alphabet." it is, with a few exceptions, syllabic. eighty-four characters express the whole language, but will express no other indian language. maj. john biddle communicates the result of the delegate election. by throwing out the vote of sault ste. marie, the election was awarded by the canvassers to mr. wing. new views of indian philology. "you know," says a literary friend, "i began with a design to refute the calumnies of the _quarterly_ respecting our treatment of the indians, and our conduct during the recent war. this is precisely what i have not done. my stock of materials for this purpose was most ample, and the most of the labor performed. but i found the whole could not be inserted in one number, and no other part but this could be omitted without breaking the continuity of the discussion. i concluded, therefore, it would be better to save it for another article, and hereafter remodel it." _ th_. mr. c. writes that he has completed his review, and transmits, for my perusal, some of the new parts of it. "i also transmit my rough draft of those parts of the review which relate to hunter, to adelang's survey, and to ----. these may amuse an idle hour. the remarks on ---- are, as you will perceive, materially altered. the alteration was rendered necessary by an examination of the work. the 'survey' is a new item, and i think, you will consider, the occasion of it, with me, a precious specimen of dutch impudence and ignorance. bad as it is, it is bepraised and bedaubed by that quack d. as though it were written with the judgment of a charlevoix." this article utters a species of criticism in america which we have long wanted. it breaks the ice on new ground--the ground of independent philosophical thought and inquiry. truth to tell, we have known very little on the philosophy of the indian languages, and that little has been the re-echo of foreign continental opinions. it has been written without a knowledge of the indian character and history. its allusions have mixed up the tribes in double confusion. mere synonyms have been taken for different tribes, and their history and language has been criss-crossed as if the facts had been heaped together with a pitchfork. mr. c. has made a bold stroke to lay the foundation of a better and truer philological basis, which must at last prevail. it is true the _prestige_ of respected names will rise up to oppose the new views, which, i confess, to be sustained in their main features by my own views and researches here on the ground and in the midst of the indians, and men will rise to sustain the _old_ views--the original literary mummery and philological hocus-pocus based on the papers and letters and blunders of heckewelder. there was a great predisposition to admire and overrate everything relative to indian history and language, as detailed by this good and sincere missionary in his retirement at bethlehem. he was appealed to as an oracle. this i found by an acquaintance which i formed, in , with the late amiable dr. wistar, while rusticating at bristol, on the banks of the delaware. the confused letters which the missionary wrote many years later, were mainly due to dr. wistar's philosophical interest in the subject. they were rewritten and thoroughly revised and systematized by the learned mr. duponceau, in , and thus the philological system laid, which was published by the penn. hist. soc. in . during the six years that has elapsed, nobody has had the facts to examine the system. it has been now done, and i shall be widely mistaken if this does not prove a new era in our indian philology. whatever the review does on this head, however, and admitting that it pushes some positions to an ultra point, it will blow the impostor hunter sky high. his book is an utter fabrication, in which there is scarcely a grain of truth hid in a bushel of chaff. _nov. th_. difficulties have arisen, at this remote post, between the citizens and the military, the latter of whom have shown a disposition to feel power and forget right, by excluding, except with onerous humiliations, some citizens from free access to the post-office. in a letter of this date, the postmaster-general (mr. mclean) declines to order the office to be kept out of the fort, and thus, in effect, decides against the citizens. how very unimportant a citizen is miles from the seat of government! the national aegis is not big enough to reach so far. the bed is too long for the covering. a man cannot wrap himself in it. it is to be hoped that the postmaster-general will live long enough to find out that he has been deceived in this matter. _ th_. mr. conant, of new york, writes: "i hope you will not fail to prosecute your indian inquiries this winter, getting out of them all the stories and all the _indian_ you can. i conclude you hear an echo now and then from the big world, notwithstanding your seclusion. the creek delegation is at washington, unfriendly to the late treaty, and i expect some changes not a little interesting to the aboriginal cause. mr. adams looks at his 'red children' with a friendly eye, and, i trust, 'the men of his house,' as the indian orator called congress, will prove themselves so. i have been charmed with the quietude and coolness manifested in congress in reference to the georgia business." and with these last words from the civilized world, we are prepared to plunge into another winter, with all its dreary accompaniments of ice and snow and tempests, and with the _consoling_ reflection that when our poor and long-looked-for monthly express arrives, we can get our letters and papers from the office after duly performing our genuflections to a petty military chief, with the obsequiousness of a hindoo to the image of juggernaut. chapter xxvi. general aspects of the indian cause--public criticism on the state of indian researches, and literary storm raised by the new views--political rumor--death of r. pettibone, esq.--delegate election--copper mines of lake superior--instructions for a treaty in the north--death of mr. pettit--denial of post-office facilities--arrival of commissioners to hold the fond du lac treaty--trip to fond du lac through lake superior--treaty--return--deaths of john adams and thomas jefferson. _ . feb. st_. the year opens with unfavorable symptoms for the indian cause. the administration is strong in congress, and the president favorable to the indian view of their right to the soil they occupy east of the mississippi until it is acquired by free cession. but the doctrine of state sovereignty contended for by georgia, seems to be an element which all the states will, in the end, unite in contending for. and the creeks may settle their accounts with the fact that they must finally go to the west. this is a practical view of the subject--a sort of political necessity which seems to outride everything else. poetry and sympathy are rode over roughshod in the contest for the race. we feel nothing of this _here_ at present, but it is only, perhaps, because we are too remote and unimportant to waste a thought about. happy insignificance! as one of the little means of supporting existence in so remote a spot, and keeping alive, at the same time, the spark of literary excitement, i began, in december, a manuscript _jeu d'esprit_ newspaper, to be put in covers and sent from house to house, with the perhaps too ambitious cognomen of "the literary voyager." _ th_. the author of a leading and pungent critique for the _north american review_ writes in fine spirits from washington, and in his usual literary tone and temper about his review: "dr. sparks' letter will show you his opinion. he altered the manuscript in some places, and makes me say of--what i do not think and what i would not have said. but let that pass. i gave him _carte blanche_, so i have no right to find fault with his exercise of his discretion. w. is in a terrible passion. he says that the article is written with ability, and that he always entertained the opinion expressed in the review of heckewelder's work. but he is provoked at the comments on ----'s work, and, above all, at the compliment to you. douglass, who is here, says this is merely philadelphia _versus_ new york, and that it is a principle with the former to puff all that is printed there, and to decry all that is not." this appears to have been known to gov. clinton, and is the ground of the opinion he expressed of w. to mr. conant. _march th_. col. de garmo jones writes from detroit that it is rumored that mclean is to leave the general post-office department, and to be appointed one of the united states judges. mr. l. pettibone, of missouri, my companion in exploring the ozark mountains in and , writes from that quarter that his brother, rufus pettibone, esq., of st. louis, died on the st july last. he was a man of noble, correct, and generous sentiments, who had practiced law with reputation in western new york. i accompanied him and his family on going to the western country, on his way from olean to pittsburgh. his generous and manly character and fair talents, make his death a loss to the community, and to the growing and enterprising population of the west. he was one of the men who cheered me in my early explorations in the west, and ever met me with a smile. _ th_. my sister maria writes, posting me up in the local news of detroit. _ th_. mr. trowbridge informs me that congress settled the contested delegate question by casting aside the sault votes. we are so unimportant that even our votes are considered as worthless. however that may be, nothing could be a greater misrepresentation than that "indians from their lodges were allowed to vote." _ th_. col. thomas h. benton, of the senate, writes that an appropriation of $ , has been granted for carrying out a clause in the prairie du chien treaty, and that a convocation of the indians in lake superior will take place, "so that the copper-mine business is arranged." _ th_. maj. joseph delafield, of new york, says that baron lederer is desirous of entering into an arrangement for the exchange of my large mass of lake superior copper, for mineralogical specimens for the imperial cabinet of vienna. _april th_. a letter from the department contains incipient directions for convening the indians to meet in council at the head of lake superior, and committing the general arrangements for that purpose to my hands, and, indeed, my hands are already full. boats, canoes, supplies, transportation for all who are to go, and a thousand minor questions, call for attention. a treaty at fond du lac, miles distant, and the throwing of a commissariat department through the lake, is no light task. _ th_. a moral question of much interest is presented to me in a communication from the rev. alvan coe. of the disinterested nature and character of this man's benevolence for the indian race, no man knowing him ever doubted. he has literally been going about doing good among them since our first arrival here in . in his zeal to shield them from the arts of petty traders, he has often gone so far as to incur the ill-will and provoke the slanderous tongues of some few people. that he should deem it necessary to address me a letter to counteract such rumors, is the only thing remarkable. wiser, in some senses, and more prudent people in their worldly affairs, probably exist; but no man of a purer, simpler, and more exalted faith. no one whom i ever knew lives less for "the rewards that perish." even mr. laird, whose name is mentioned in these records, although he went far beyond him in talents, gifts, and acquirements of every sort, had not a purer faith, yet he will, like that holy man, receive his rewards from the same "master." _may d_. mr. trowbridge writes me of the death of wm. w. pettit, esq., of detroit, a man respected and admired. he loaned me a haversack, suitable for a loose mineral bag, on my expedition in . _ th_. difficulties between the military and citizens continue. the postmaster-general declined, on a renewed memorial of the citizens, to remove the post-office without the garrison. he says the officers have evinced "much sensibility" on the subject, and denied that "any restraints or embarrassments" have been imposed, when every man and woman in the settlement knows that the only way to the _post-office_ lies through the _guard-house_, which is open and shut by tap of drum. restraints, indeed! where has the worthy postmaster-general picked up his military information? _june th_. definite information is received that the appropriation for the lake superior treaty has passed congress. _ th_. mr. john agnew, designated a special agent for preliminaries at fond du lac, writes of his prompt arrival at that place and good progress. gov. c. writes: "we must remove the copper-rock, and, therefore, you will have to provide such ropes and blocks as may be necessary." _ d_. the citizens on this frontier, early in the season, petitioned the legislative council for the erection of a new county, embracing the straits of st. mary's and the basin of lake superior, proposing to call it chippewa, in allusion to the tribe occupying it. maj. robert a. forsyth, of detroit, m.c., writes of the success of the contemplated measure. _july th_. the proposed treaty of fond du lac has filled the place with bustle for the last month. at an early hour this morning expectation was gratified by the arrival of his excellency, gov. cass, accompanied by the hon. thomas l. mckenney, commissioner of indian affairs. they reached the village in boats from mackinac. these gentlemen are appointed by the president to hold the conferences at fond du lac. _ th_. everything has been put in requisition for the last six days to facilitate the necessary embarkation. jason could not have been more busy in preparing for his famous expedition to argos. the military element of the party consisted of a company of the d infantry, with its commissariat and medical department, numbering, all told, sixty-two men. it was placed under the command of capt. boardman. they embarked in three twelve-oared barges, and formed the advance. the provisions, presents of goods, and subsistence supplies of the commissioners' table, occupied four boats, and went next. i proceeded in a canoe _allége_ with ten men, with every appendage to render the trip convenient and agreeable. col. mckenney, struck with "the coach-and-six" sort of style of this kind of conveyance, determined to take a seat with me, and relying upon our speed and capacity to overtake the heavy boats, we embarked a day later. the whole expedition, with flags and music, was spread out over miles, and formed an impressive and imposing spectacle to the natives, who saw their "closed lake," as superior was called in , yield before the anglo-saxon power. the weather was fine, the scenery enchanting, and the incidents such as might fill a volume.[ ] we were eighteen days in traversing the lake by its shores and bays. the distance is about miles, which gives an average of thirty miles per day. [footnote : vide "sketches of a tour to the lakes, of the character and customs of the chippewa indians, and of incidents connected with the treaty of fond du lac, by thomas l. mckenney." baltimore, fielding lucas, ; one vol. vo., pp.] on reaching the post of fond du lac, of st. louis, near the point where that bold stream deploys below the cabotian mountains,[ ] we found a large assemblage of indians from every part of the wide-spread chippewa territories. it embraced delegations from the extreme sources of the mississippi, the rainy lake borders, and old grand portage, besides the entire american borders of lake superior and the rice lake region, the sources of the wisconsin, chippewa, and st. croix valleys. the negotiations were held under a large bower, supported by posts, and provided with rude seats. the principles of the treaty of prairie du chien, of , were fully explained and assented to. they ceded the right to explore and take away the native copper and copper-ores, and to work the mines and minerals in the country. they agreed to surrender the murderers still inland, who belonged to the misguided war party of . they fully acknowledged the sovereign authority of the united states, and disclaimed all connection whatever with foreign powers. they stipulated that the boundary lines of the treaty of prairie du chien should be carried out in with the menomonies and winnebagoes, in the region of the sources of the fox, wisconsin, and menomonee rivers. they provided for an indian school at st. mary's, and made some further important stipulations respecting their advance in the arts and education, through the element of their half-breeds. the effects of this treaty were to place our indian relations in this quarter on a permanent basis, and to ensure the future peace of the frontier. my agency was now fixed on a sure basis, and my influence fully established among the tribes. during the treaty i had been the medium of placing about forty silver medals, of the first, second, and third classes, on the necks of the chiefs. a list of their names is appended. [footnote : from cabot.] while the commissioners were engaged in the treaty, an effort was made, under their direction, to get out the large copper-boulder on the ontonagon. it was entrusted to col. clemens, of mount clemens, and a mr. porter. the trucks and ropes taken inland by them proved inadequate. they then piled up the dry trees in the valley on the rock, and set them on fire. they found this effort to melt it inefficacious. they then poured on water from the river on whose brink it lays. this cracked off some of the adhering rock. and this attempt to mutilate and falsify the noblest specimen of native copper on the globe was the result of this effort. the whole expedition re-embarked on the th of august, and being now relieved of its heavy supplies and favored with winds, returned to the sault st. marie on the th of that month. no sooner were we arrived at st. mary's than we were informed of the remarkable coincident deaths, on the th july, , of john adams and thomas jefferson, the second and third presidents of the united states. among the letters accumulated during my absence, was one of aug. d, from gov. clinton, requesting some wild rice for foreign distribution. another one was from my excellent friend conant, of n.y., who, with a fine sensitive mind, just appreciation of facts, and no ordinary capacity, appears to be literally breaking down in health and spirits, although still a young man. in a joint letter to mrs. s. and myself, he says: "it appears you do not escape afflictions and visitations to teach you 'how frail you are,' how liable at any moment to render up to him who gave them, your spirit and your life. mr. s.," he adds, in evident allusion to my excess of "hope," "firm in body and ambitious in his pursuits, does not, i suppose, give over yet, and can scarcely understand how anybody should tire of life, and look at its pursuits with disgust." among my unread letters was one, aug. th, from a mr. myer and mr. cocke, of washington, district of columbia, who propose to establish a periodical to be called "the potomac magazine," and solicit contributions. these abortive attempts to establish periodicals by unknown men are becoming more frequent as population increases in the land. it is felt truly that the number of _readers_ must increase, but it is a mistake to suppose that they will read anything but the very best matter from the first sources, european and american. it is, at any rate, a mistake to suppose that a man who has attained reputation in any branch of science, literature, or general knowledge, should not seek the highest medium of communicating it, or that he would throw away his time and efforts in writing for these mere idealities of magazines without the strong inducements of either fame, money, or, at least, personal friendship. e.a. brush, esq., of detroit, writes (aug. th) from mackinac, that honors were performed that day by the military authorities on the island, in commemoration of the deaths of adams and jefferson. "the obsequies have this morning commenced here; but at this moment it is rather difficult to select the report of a cannon, at intervals of half an hour, from the claps of thunder at those of half a minute." _aug. th_. mr. robert stuart, agent of the a.m. fur co., writes a letter of congratulations on the good policy to result from placing a sub-agent at la pointe, in lake superior, a location where the interior tricks of the trade may be reported for the notice of the government. the selection of the sub-agent appointed by commissioner mckenney is gall and wormwood to him. he strives to conceal the deep chagrin he feels at the selection of mr. george johnston as the incumbent. chapter xxvii. epidemical condition of the atmosphere at detroit--death of henry j. hunt and a. g. whitney, esqrs.--diary of the visits of indians at st. mary's agency--indian affairs on the frontier under the supervision of col. mckenney--criticisms on the state of indian questions--topic of indian eloquence--state of american researches in natural science--dr. saml. l. mitchell. . _september_. sickness, which often assumed a mortal type, broke out during this month at detroit, and carried away many of its most esteemed citizens. col. mckenney writes (sep. th) that the commissioners reached that place from mackinac in ten days, and that an alarming sickness prevails--one hundred cases! among the latter is mrs. judge hunt, an esteemed lady. gov. c. (sep. th) announces the death of col. henry j. hunt, one of the most respectable citizens; a man who, for many years, has occupied a position of the highest respect and esteem. his honor, integrity, and general usefulness, urbanity of manners and kindness to all classes, have never been called in question, and his loss to society will create a vacancy which will long be felt. called away suddenly, his death has produced a shock in all classes, from the highest to the lowest. edmund a. brush, esq., writes (sept. th): "our unhappy mortality prevails." on the d, he says: "mr. whitney has been lying at the point of death for the last ten or twelve days. we hope he begins to improve." these hopes were delusive. he died. mr. whitney had been abroad; he was an assiduous and talented advocate--a native of hudson, n.y.--was on the high road to political distinction--a moral man and a public loss. i amused myself this fall by keeping notes of the official visits of my indian neighbors. they may denote the kind of daily wants against which this people struggle. _oct. d_. monetogeezhig complained that he had not been able to take any fish for several days, and solicited some food for himself and family, being five persons. the dress and general appearance of himself and wife and the children, nearly naked, bore evidence to the truth of his repeated expressions, that they were "poor, very poor, and hungry." he also presented a kettle and an axe to be repaired. i gave him a ticket on the agency blacksmith, and caused sixteen rations of flour and pork to be issued to him. _ d_. the petty chief, cheegud, with his wife and two children, arrived from lake superior, and reported that since leaving the taquimenon he had killed nothing. while inland, he had broken his axe and trap. this young chief is son-in-law of shingauba w'ossin, principal chief of the chippewas. he is one of the home band, has been intimate at the agency from its establishment, and is very much attached to the government. he attended the treaty of prairie du chien, in , and the treaty of fond du lac, in , and received at the latter a medal of the third size. he has always properly appreciated the presents given him, and by his temperate, consistent, and respectable course of life, merited attention. directed a ticket on the shop and twenty rations. _ th_. an indian woman, wife of sirdeland, a resident canadian, in very low circumstances, and living in the indian mode, requested a kettle to be mended. my rule, in cases of this sort, excludes indian females who are under the protection of canadian husbands from a participation in the presents distributed at the office. but it is proper to make exceptions, in some instances, where repairs of ironwork are solicited. directed a ticket on the blacksmith. _ th_. issued to waykwauking and family twelve rations. _ th_. shingwaukoance, _the little pine_ ( th july, , first visit), accompanied by twenty persons, visited the office. this is one of the signers of the treaty of st. mary of , where his mark is prefixed to his _french_ name, augustin bart. he told me he had come to visit me, attended with all his young men, and requested i would listen to what he had to say. he made a speech at great length, in which he recapitulated his good offices and exertions towards the americans, from the time of gov. cass's arrival in . he stated that a plot had then been formed to cut off the gov.'s party, and that he and mr. g. johnston had been instrumental in thwarting the design. he was glad to see the fire i had lighted up here in was kept burning, that the indians might come and warm themselves by it. he had now determined to come and live permanently on the american side of the river, and put himself under my protection. he repeated his friendship, and gave a "parole" of blue wampum to confirm his words. one of his party then lighted a pipe and handed it to me to smoke in the usual manner. caused tobacco and sixty rations of food to be distributed among his band. _ th_. oshawano solicited food, declaring that his boys had not been able to take any fish from the rapids for several days. this is an old man, and a chief resident at st. mary's. i told him that it was not my practice, which he knew, to issue provision to the families of fishermen during the fishing season, and that i expected his children to supply him; that, besides, he was one of the persons who had visited the b. post at d. isd. during the last summer, and that he knew i made no presents of any kind to indians who received presents there; that if he went to his b. father in the summer, when it was pleasant weather, he must also go in the fall and winter, when the weather was bad; that if they gave him presents of goods, they must also give him food. he looked very grave, and, after a short silence, said that he had got little or nothing at d.i. he said his home was _here_, and he was very poor, &c. knowing, from personal observation, that he was suffering for food, i ordered twenty-six-rations. _ st_. cheegud came to say that he was about to go to his wintering grounds, and wished some provisions to commence the journey. this young chief has been welcomed at the agency, and is friendly to the american government. he attended the treaties of p.d.c. and f. du lac; at the latter he received a medal. he has always appreciated attentions, and by his sober, consistent, and respectful course of life, merits the notice of the office. i gave him some necessary ironwork, a knife, tobacco, ammunition, provisions ( ). _ d_. visited by shingauwosh ( p.) _ th_. akeewayzee ( per.) _ th_. keewikoance and band, eleven persons. this is a chief residing on the lower part of the river st. mary. having visited him last spring, he gave me an ancient clay pot, such as the indians used before the arrival of europeans. he told me he was the seventh chief, in a direct line, since the french first arrived. he and his band plant some corn and potatoes upon an island. he appears a sensible discreet man, and has a good deal of the pride and dignity of the indian character. he is in the british interest, and his feelings are all that way, being always received at d. i. with marked attention. he has a british medal, but wishes to keep on friendly terms here. _ th_. metosh came in the office and said: "my father, i am very poor; i have nothing, not even an axe to cut wood. show me pity." thirteen rations. _ th_. visited by wayishkee, a chief, having a medal of the first class, formerly of la pointe, in lake superior, and of an ancient line of chiefs, but for the last three years a resident of st. mary's. he had a wife and nine children. has been in the constant habit of visiting the office since its establishment; but it is only within the last year that he has given up visiting d. i. he is one of the signers of the treaty of st. mary. he attended the treaty of f. du lac last summer. received a medal and flag from me in the spring. is a good hunter and a kind and affectionate parent. had all his children by one wife. came to inform me that he was on his way to make his first hunt on red carp river, l. s. gave him ironwork, &c. _ th_. neegaubeyun, _the west wind_, a chief by descent of the home band; is a man about forty; has lost one eye; much given to intemperance, and generally badly clothed; will sometimes labor for whisky; visits d.i. every season. in consequence of his poor character and political bias, has never been recognized by me as a chief, nor honored with the marks of one. he said that he was poor, and did not come to trouble me often, and hoped i would show him charity. i told him he must not construe my charity into approbation of his conduct, particularly his visits to d.i., which were displeasing to me and had been forbidden by his american father ( b.) _ th_. muckudaywuckooneyea. this is a young man about . his father was a steady friend to the american cause even during the late war, and many years before an agent resided here. he had received a jefferson medal at detroit; was drowned in the st. mary a few years ago. the son has been an irregular visitor at the office for the last four years, and is ambitious to be invested with the authority of his father, but possesses neither age, ability, or discretion. in consequence of his visiting d.i., contrary to my request and _his_ promise, i took away his father's medal from him, in , hanging it up in my office, and telling him when he was worthy of it, and not before, he should have it. his conduct of late has been more considerate, and his professions of friendship for the american government are profuse; but he has not ceased his canada visits. ten rations. _nov. th_. ketuckeewagauboway. this being sunday, i told him he knew very well that i never listened to indians on the prayer day unless they were just come from a journey, &c. he went away, saying he had forgot, &c. _ th_. oshkinaway and brother, p., of the british shore. brought a present of some partridges. _ th_. metacosegay. this man resides the greater part of the time on the canadian side of the river, but hunts often on the american shore. he resided many years ago with a french family at st. mary, and has imbibed something of the french taste and manners, always wearing an ornamental hat, and making a bow on entering and leaving the office. he has been in the regular habit of visiting me from the year , and generally applies for what is termed _nwappo_ on setting out for his fall and winter hunts. his elder wife, for he has two, is a sioux slave, taken in youth. ( , r.) _ th_. nauwequay wegauboway. ( , .) _ th_. this day bisconaosh visited me for the first time since my residence here. he came with his wife and two children. this man is of the ancient band of the falls, but being strongly attached to the british government, has been shy of approaching me. this has been taken advantage of by mr. e., a trader on the opposite shore, who told him the americans would cause him to be whipped, with other idle stuff of that sort, if he came over. he stated these facts as the cause for his not coming earlier to see me, and said he was anxious to return to the seat of his forefathers, &c. presented him with an axe, pair of spears, ice-chisel, knife, and a couple of flints, and with sixteen rations of flour, pork, and beans. _ th_. ketuckeewagauboway. this is a resident indian of this place. he is a fisherman during the summer, and scarcely ever does more in the winter than to snare hares or kill partridges, which he exposes for sale. he also makes snow-shoes, &c. he is intemperate and improvident, wasting in liquor what would be useful to his family if laid out for provisions, &c. it is impossible to avoid issues to such persons occasionally. advice and reproof he always takes well, acknowledges their justice with good nature, and is even facetiously pleasant. this man used formerly to come to the office intoxicated; but my undeviating rule of listening to no indian in that state, has had good effect. _ th_. kewazee, a fisherman in the fall, a hunter in the winter, is the eldest son of the old hereditary chief oshawano. keeps himself well clothed, and supports his family of four persons comfortably in the indian way. having concluded to stop fishing for the season, he came to solicit some provision to go inland. this is one of the home band who adheres to the american government, and has entirely broken off all visits to d.i., even contrary to the practice of his father and all the other members of his family. _ th_. iawbeance, _the little male_, a young man. _ th_. margret, wife of metakoosega, came in the name of her husband, confined by a sore hand and unable to work. , . _ th_. wabishkipenaysee, , , an ontonagon indian, who thinks he is abandoned by his manito. _ th_. naugitshigome and band, , . this is an old man, a chief by descent, but has neither medal nor flag from the british or american government. his followers, consisting of some relations, entitle him to some respect, although his foreign attachments have prevented my receiving him as a chief. his visits are, however, constant, and he professes himself friendly. his prejudices have evidently given way a good deal, and the kindness and charity shown to him, mixed with admonition, have produced a sensible change in his feelings. _ th_. caubaonaquet, , . _ st_. moazomonee, , , of st. croix, l.s., made a speech, stating the circumstances which brought him down, and imploring charity in clothes, &c. presented a pipe to him; gave him an axe, spears, chisel, fire-steel, leggings, &c. _ th_. oaugaugee, _little crow_, , , a son-in-law of naugitchigome, brought some hares as a present. _ th_. ochipway, a stout, athletic young indian, having a wife and children. he said his youngest child was ill, and requested a physician to be sent to see him. _ th_. negaubeyun, , . oshawano. told him to come some other time. axe and spears. _ th_. akewaizee applied for provisions and an axe, saying his axe had been stolen; that he wished to go down the river. i taxed him with selling his axe for liquor, but he denied this, saying that he never sold what he received as presents, and that it was stolen while he was fishing. gave him an axe, with an injunction that he must take better care of it than he did of the last. ten rations. _ th_. metacosseguay and wife. said he had not been able to hunt or fish for some time, and had been disappointed in getting flour for some fish he had sold; that the trader had promised him flour when the vessel came, but no vessel had come. this being the _third_ visit of this man and family within three weeks, i told him that while he was unwell i had given him, but now he was able to hunt or trap or fish, he must do so; that he came to me too often, and sometimes after he had sold the avails of his hunt, and taken the whole in liquor, he relied upon me for provisions; that i saw clearly what was going on about me, and he could not deceive me by idle stories, &c.; that he was constantly calling me father, and entreating me to look upon him as a child, and i did so, not only in giving, but also in refusing; that reasonable children did not trouble their fathers too often, and never requested anything but when they were _really_ in need, &c. i ordered him a plug of tobacco, and told him to go to his lodge and _smoke upon my words_, and he would find them good. he went away seemingly as well pleased as if i had met his requests, shaking me and my interpreter cordially by the hand, and his wife dropping a curtsey as she left the office. _ th_. moazomonee, nephew, and brother-in-law, came for some muskrat traps i had promised him on his last visit. as this man belongs to a band on the head of river st. croix, miles inland, and will return there in the spring, the opinions he may imbibe of our government may have an important influence with his relatives, and i therefore determined to make a favorable impression upon him by issuing some presents. in his lodge are four men, three women, and a number of children. issued sixteen rations. _decr. st_. cath. and gikkaw applied for awls. _ d_. oshawano and his youngest son. said he had three daughters who had to cut wood every day, and had no axe of their own; that he was in want of an ice-chisel; fever in family. gave him twenty rations. thanked me and bade me good-day. _ th_. caubamossa, nephew, wife, and child. twelve rations. _ th_. odawau, refused provisions. elder brother to oshawano, alias weenekiz. _ th_. getsha akkewaize. refused provisions. told him that on account of visits to d.i., &c. _ th_. moazonee came for traps promised him, also a knife and fire-steel. told him to hunt assiduously, but if he could procure nothing, to come to me for provisions. _ th_. merchand. old iron to mend. _ th_. nauwaquaygahig. , axe, &c. _ th_. namewunagunboway. . _ th_. merchand. twenty rations, five persons. _ th_. meesho. _ th_. ketetckeewagauboway. axe and spears. _ th_. gitshee ojibway. _ th_. metackossegay. _ th_. naugitchigome called at house. sent off with, a reprimand never to call on sunday. _ th_. iaubence brought some birds. gave rations. my correspondence during the autumn was by no means neglected. col. mckenney, com. ind. affairs, writes (oct. th) in his usual friendly vein. the official influence of his visit to this remote portion of the country is seen in several things. he has placed a sub-agent at la pointe. he has approved the agent's course of policy pursued here, and placed the indian affairs generally on a better basis. in his "sketches" of his recent tour, he seeks to embody personal and amusing things which daily befell the party--matters upon which he was quite at home. i had mentioned to him, while here, that the time and labor necessary to collect information on indian topics, of a literary character, imposed a species of research worthy of departmental patronage; that i was quite willing to contribute in this way, and to devote my leisure moments to further researches on the aboriginal history and languages, if the government would appropriate means to this end. i took the occasion to put these views in writing, and, by way of earnest, enclosed him part of a vocabulary. _nov. st._ the false views of indian history and philology, engendered in some degree by the misapprehensions of mr. heckewelder and some other writers, which were exposed by a glowing article in the _north american review_ last year, have had the effect to provoke further discussion. c. is disposed to prepare another article for that paper, and is looking about him keenly for new facts. in a letter of this date, he says: "i am extremely anxious for your conjugation of the chippewa substantive verb. let nothing prevent you from sending it to me, as it is more essential than i have time to explain to you. send me also your observations on the chippewa language. let them come as you had them. take no time to copy them." _ th_. mr. r. s. writes one of his peculiar letters, in which the sentiments seem to be compressed, as if some species of _finesse_ were at work--an attenuated worldly precaution which leads him perpetually to half conceal sentiment, purpose and acts, as if the operations and business of life were not ten times better effected by plain straightforwardness than by any other mode. he has, however, so long dealt with tricky fur-traders and dealers in interested sentiment, that it seems his intellectual habits are formed, to some extent, on that model. what annoys me is, that he supposes himself hid, when, like the ostrich, it is only his own head that is concealed in the sand. yet this man is alive to general moral effort, unites freely in all the benevolent movements of the day, and has the general air of friendliness in his personal manners. it continually seems that all the outer world's affairs are well judged of, but when he comes to draw conclusions of moral men who have the power of affecting his own interests, there is apparent constraint, or palpable narrow-mindedness. _ th_. professor chas. anthon, of columbia college, writes for specimens of indian eloquence. the world has been grossly misled on this subject. the great simplicity, and occasional strength, of an indian's thoughts, have sometimes led to the use of figures and epithets of beauty. he is surrounded by all the elements of poetry and eloquence--tempests, woods, waters, skies. his mythology is poetic. his world is replete with spirits and gods of all imaginable kinds and hues. his very position--a race falling before civilization, and obliged to give up the bow and arrow for the plough--is poetic and artistic. but he has no sustained eloquence, no continuous trains of varying thought. it is the flash, the crack of contending elements. it is not the steady sound of the waterfall. such was the eloquent appeal of logan, revised and pointed by gibson. such was the more sustained speech of garangula to la barrie, the governor-general of canada, with la hontan as a reporter. such were the speeches of pontiac and the eloquent sagoyawata, or red jacket, the readiest reasoner of them all, which were diluted rather than improved by admiring paragraphists. many persons have purposed to write a volume of indian eloquence. mr. conant's design on this subject is fresh. the present request is to supply mr. barker, the publisher of "stephen's greek thesaurus," cambridge, england. what under the sun do the learned world suppose the indians are made of? a man spending his time painfully to catch a beaver, or entrap an enemy, without stores of thought, without leisure, with nothing often to eat, and nothing to put on but tatters and rags, and, withal, with the whole anglo-saxon race treading on his toes and burning out his vitals with ardent spirits. such is the indian. i sent the learned professor some perfectly truthful specimens, recently delivered here on the occasion of a surgeon from the fort digging up the body of an indian woman for dissection. they expressed plain truth without eloquence, and i never heard anything more of the professor. _ th. science in america_.--i received a friendly letter from dr. samuel l. mitchell, n. y. there are, of recent years, more purely scientific men in the land, no doubt, than the venerable doctor. but could this have been said truly even ten years ago? he is now, perhaps, the best ichthyologist in the union. he is a well-read zoologist, an intelligent botanist and a general physiologist, and has been for a long series of years the focus of the diffusion of knowledge on a great variety of subjects. gov. clinton has well called him the "delphic oracle" in one of his letters of hibernicus, because every one who has a scientific question to ask comes to him. "the lyceum of natural history," he writes, "is going on prosperously in the collection of articles and in the publication of intelligence. the museum is enlarging and the annals progressing. the intercourse of new york city with almost numberless parts of the globe, aided by the enterprise and generosity of our navigating citizens, is productive of an almost constant supply of natural productions, some familiar, some known to naturalists, but not before seen by us, and others new to the whole class of observers." _dec. st_. much leisure during the four years i have been at this agency, added to an early developed distaste for the ordinary modes of killing time, has enabled me to give no little of my leisure to literary pursuits. the interesting phenomena of the indian grammar have come in for a large share of my attention. this has caused me to revise and extend my early studies, and to rummage such books on general grammar and philology as i could lay my hands on. every winter, beginning as soon as the navigation closes and the world is fairly shut out, has thus constituted a season of studies. my attention has been perpetually divided between books and living interpreters. this may be said to be my fourth year's _course_ with the johnstons on the languages. i have also resumed, as an alternate amusement, "the literary voyager." i wrote this year "the man of bronze," an essay on the indian character, which has contributed to my own amusement, nor have i determined to show it to a human eye. let others write what others deftly may, i aim with thought to fill my wintry day. chapter xxviii. mineralogy--territorial affairs--vindication of the american policy by its treatment of the indians--new york spirit of improvement--taste for cabinets of natural history--fatalism in an indian--death of a first born son--flight from the house--territorial matters--a literary topic--preparations for another treaty--consolations--boundary in the north-west under the treaty of ghent--natural history--trip to green bay--treaty of butte des morts--winnebago outbreak--intrepid conduct of general cass--indian stabbing--investment of the petticoat--mohegan language. _ . january th_.--mineralogy became a popular study in the united states, i believe, about or thereabouts, when professor cleveland published the first edition of his _elements of mineralogy_, and silliman began his _journal of science_. it is true bruce had published his _mineralogical journal_ in , but the science can, by no means, be said to have attracted much, or general attention for several years. it was not till that cleveland's work first came into my hands. the professor writes me under this date, that he is about preparing a new edition of the work, and he solicits the communication of new localities. this work has been about ten years before the public. it was the first work on that subject produced on this side of the atlantic, and has acquired great popularity as a text-book to classes and amateurs. it adopts a classification on chemical principles; but recognizes the wernerian system of erecting species by external characters; and also hany's system of crystallography, so far as it extends, as being coincident, in the respective proofs which these systems afford to the chemical mode of pure analysis. as such it commends itself to the common sense of observers. _ th_. territorial affairs now began more particularly to attract my attention. robert irwin, jr., esq., m.c. of detroit, writes on territorial affairs, growing out of the organization of a new county, on the st. mary's, and in the basin of lake superior. i had furnished him the choice of three names, allegan, algonac, and chippewa. major r.a. forsyth, m.c., says (jan. d), "the new county bill passed on the last of december ( ). it is contemplated to tender to you the appointment of first judge of the new county. we have selected the name of 'chippewa.'" mr. c.c. trowbridge writes ( th) that "it is proposed in congress to lay off a new territory, embracing all michigan west of the lake. this territory, at first proposed to be called huron, was eventually named wisconsin." _ th_. mr. cass has examined, in an able article in the _north american review_, the policy of the american government in its treatment of the indians, in contrast with that of great britain. in this article, the charges of the _london quarterly_ are controverted, and a full vindication made of our policy and treatment of these tribes, which must be gratifying to every lover of our institutions, and our public sense of justice. as between government and government, this paper is a powerful and triumphant one. as a legal question it is not less so. the question of political sovereignty is clear. did our english elizabeths, james', and charles', ever doubt their full right of sovereignty? the public sense of justice and benevolence, the republic, if not the parent monarchy, fully recognized, by tracing to these tribes the fee of the soil, and by punctually paying its value, as established by public treaties, at all times. _ th_. mr. t.g. anderson, of drummond island, transmits a translation of the lord's prayer, in odjibwa, which he requests to be examined. _feb. th_. no state seems comparable, for its enterprise and rapid improvements, to new york. mr. e.b. allen, who recently removed from this remote village to ogdensburgh, new york, expresses his agreeable surprise, after seven years' absence in the west, at the vast improvements that have been made in that state. "there is a spirit of enterprise and energy, that is deeply interesting to men of business and also men of science." _march st_. dr. martyn paine, of new york, proposes a system of philosophic exchanges. the large and fine collection of mineralogical and geological specimens which i brought from missouri and other parts of the mississippi valley in , appears to have had an effect on the prevalent taste for these subjects, and at least, it has fixed the eyes of naturalists on my position on the frontiers. cabinets of minerals have been in vogue for about nine or ten years. mr. maclure, of philadelphia, colonel gibbs, of new haven, and drs. de witt, bruce and mitchill, of new york, and above profs. silliman and cleveland, may be said to have originated the taste. before their day, minerals were regarded as mere "stones." now, it is rare to find a college or academy without, at least, the nucleus of a cabinet. by transferring my collection here, i have increased very much my own means of intellectual enjoyment and resistance to the power of solitariness, if it has not been the means of promoting discovery in others. * * * * * _ th. fatalism_,--an indian, called wabishkipenace, _the white bird_, brings an express mail from the sub-agency of la pointe, in lake superior. this proved to be the individual who, in , acted as one of the guides of the exploring expedition to the copper rock, on the ontonagon river. trifles light as air arouse an indian's suspicions, and the circumstance of his being thus employed by the government agents, was made use of by his fellows to his prejudice. they told him that this act was displeasing to the great spirit, who had visited him with his displeasure. whatever influence this idea had on others, on wabishkipenace it seemed to tell. he looked the image of despair. he wore his hair long, and was nearly naked. he had a countenance of the most melancholy cast. poverty itself could not be poorer. now, he appears to have taken courage, and is willing once more to enter into the conflicts of life. but, alas! what are these conflicts with an indian? a mere struggle for meat and bread enough to live. _ th_. this is a day long to be remembered in my domestic annals, as it carried to the tomb the gem of a once happy circle, the cherished darling of it, in the person of a beloved, beautiful, intellectually promising, and only son. william henry had not yet quite completed his third year, and yet such had been the impression created by his manly precocity, his decision of character, perpetual liveliness of temper and manners, and sweet and classic lineaments, and attachable traits, that he appeared to have lived a long time. the word _time_ is, indeed, a relative term, and ever means much or little, as much or little has been enjoyed or suffered. our enjoyment of him, and communion with him, was intimate. from the earliest day of his existence, his intelligence and quick expressive eye was remarkable, and all his waking hours were full of pleasing innocent action and affectionate appreciation. we took him to the city of new york during the winter of - , where he made many friends and had many admirers. he was always remembered by the youthful name of willy and _penaci_, or the bird--a term that was playfully bestowed by the chippewas while he was still in his cradle. he was, indeed, a bird in our circle, for the agility of his motions, the liveliness of his voice, and the diamond sparkle of his full hazel eyes, reminded one of nothing so much. the month of march was more than usually changeable in its temperature, with disagreeable rains and much humidity, which nearly carried away the heavy amount of snow on the ground. a cold and croup rapidly developed themselves, and no efforts of skill or kindness had power to arrest its fatal progress. he sank under it about eleven o'clock at night. such was the rapidity of this fatal disease, that his silver playful voice still seemed to ring through the house when he lay a placid corpse. several poetic tributes to his memory were made, but none more touching than some lines from his own mother, which are fit to be preserved as a specimen of native composition.[ ] [footnote : who was it nestled on my breast, and on my cheek sweet kisses prest, and in whose smile i felt so blest? sweet willy. who hail'd my form as home i stept, and in my arms so eager leapt, and to my bosom joyous crept? my willy. who was it wiped my tearful eye, and kiss'd away the coming sigh, and smiling, bid me say, "good boy?" sweet willy. who was it, looked divinely fair, whilst lisping sweet the evening pray'r, guileless and free from earthly care? my willy. where is that voice attuned to love, that bid me say "my darling dove?" but, oh! that soul has flown above, sweet willy. whither has fled the rose's hue? the lily's whiteness blending grew upon thy cheek--so fair to view, my willy. oft have i gaz'd with rapt delight, upon those eyes that sparkled bright, emitting beams of joy and light! sweet willy. oft have i kiss'd that forehead high, like polished marble to the eye, and blessing, breathed an anxious sigh, for willy. my son! thy coral lips are pale-- can i believe the heart-sick tale, that i thy loss must ever wail? my willy. the clouds in darkness seemed to low'r, the storm has past with awful pow'r, and nipt my tender, beauteous flow'r! sweet willy. but soon my spirit will be free, and i my lovely son shall see, for god, i know did this decree! my willy. ] _ th_. this being st. patrick's day, we dined with our excellent, warm-hearted, and truly sympathizing friend, mr. johnston, in a private way. he is the soul of hospitality, honor, friendship, and love, and no one can be in his company an hour without loving and admiring a man who gave up everything at home to raise up a family of most interesting children in the heart of the american wilderness. no man's motives have been more mistaken, no one has been more wronged, in public and private, by opposing traders and misjudging governments, than he, and no one i have ever known has a more forgiving and truly gentle and high-minded spirit. _ th_. i began housekeeping, first on my return from the visit to new york, in the spring of , in the so-called allen house, on the eminence west of the fort, having purchased my furniture at buffalo, and made it a pretty and attractive residence. but after the death of my son, the place became insupportable from the vivid associations which it presented with the scenes of his daily amusements. i determined this day to close the house, and, leaving the furniture standing, we took refuge at mr. johnston's. idolatry such as ours for a child, was fit to be rebuked, and the severity of the blow led me to take a retrospect of life, such as it is too common to defer, but, doubtless, wise to entertain. why providence should have a controversy with us for placing our affections too deeply on a sublunary object, is less easy at all times to reconcile to our limited perceptions than it is to recognize in holy writ the existence of the great moral fact. "i will be honored," says jehovah, "and my glory will i not give to another." it is clear that there is a mental assent in our attachments, in which the very principle of idolatry is involved. if so, why not give up the point, and submit to the dispensations of an inevitable and far-seeing moral government, of affairs of every sort, with entire resignation and oneness of purpose? how often has death drawn his dart fatally since adam fell before it, and how few of the millions on millions that have followed him have precisely known _why_, or been _entirely prepared_ for the blow! to me it seems that it has been the temper of my mind to fasten itself too strongly on life and all its objects; to hope too deeply and fully under all circumstances; to grapple, as it were, in its issues with as "hooks of steel," and never to give up, never to despair; and this blow, this bereavement, appears to me the first link that is broken to loosen my hold on this sublunary trust. my thoughts, three years ago, were turned strongly, and with a mysterious power, to this point, namely, my excessive ardor of earthly pursuits, of men's approbation. here, then, if these reflections be rightly taken, is the _second_ admonition. such, at least, has been the current of my thoughts since the th of the present month, and they were deeply felt when i took my bible, the first i ever owned or had bought with my own money, and requested that it might be placed as the basis of the little pillow that supported the head of the lifeless child in his coffin. _april th_. a progress in territorial affairs, in the upper lakes, seems to have commenced; but it is slow. emigrants are carried further south and west. slow as it is, however, we flatter ourselves it is of a good and healthy character. the lower peninsula is filling up. my letters, during this spring, denote this. our county organization is complete. colonel mckenney, on the th, apprises me that he is coming north, to complete the settlement of the indian boundary, began in , at prairie du chien, and that his sketches of his tour of last year is just issued from the press. he adds, "it is rather a ladies' book. i prefer the sex and their opinions. they are worth ten times as much as we, in all that is enlightened, and amiable, and blissful." undoubtedly so! this is gallant. i conclude it is a gossiping tour; and, if so, it will please the sex for whom it is mainly intended. but will not the graver male sex look for more? ought not an author to put himself out a little to make his work as high, in all departments, as he can? governor c. informs me (april th) that he will proceed to green bay, to attend the contemplated treaty on the fox river, and that i am expected to be there with a delegation of the chippewas from the midlands, on the sources of the ontonagon, wisconsin, chippewa, and menominie rivers. business and science, politics and literature, curiously mingle, as usual, in my correspondence. mr. m. dousman (april ) writes that a knave has worried him, dogged his heels away from home, and sued him, at unawares. mr. stuart (april ) writes about the election of members of council. dr. paine, of new york, writes respecting minerals. _may th_. an eminent citizen of detroit thus alludes to my recent bereavement: "we sympathize with you most sincerely, in the loss you have sustained. we can do it with the deeper interest, for we have preceded you in this heaviest of all calamities. time will soothe you something, but the solace of even time will yet leave too much for the memory and affections to brood over." another correspondent, in expressing his sympathies on the occasion says: "the lines composed by mrs. schoolcraft struck me with such peculiar force, as well in regard to the pathos of style, as the singular felicity of expression, that i have taken the liberty to submit them for perusal to one or two mutual friends. the g---- has advised me to publish them." _ th_. national boundary, as established by the treaty of ghent. major delafield, the agent, writes: "our contemplated expedition, however, is relinquished, by reason of instructions from the british government to their commissioners. it had been agreed to determine the par. of lat. n. °, where it intersects the lake of the woods and the red river. but the british government, for reasons unknown to us, now decline any further boundary operations than those provided for under the ghent treaty. "we have been prevented closing the th article of that treaty, on account of some extraordinary claims of the british party. they claim sugar, or st. george's island, and inland, by the st. louis, or fond du lac. both claims are unsupported by either reason, evidence, or anything but their desire to gain something. we, of course, claim sugar island, and will not relinquish it under any circumstances. we also claim inland by the kamanistiquia, and have sustained this claim by much evidence. the pigeon river by the grand portage will be the boundary, if our commissioners can come to any reasonable decision. if not, i have no doubt, upon a reference, we shall gain the kamanistiquia, if properly managed; the whole of the evidence being in favor of it." ornithology.--an indian boy brought me lately, the stuffed skin of a new species of bird, which appeared early in the spring at one of the sugar camps near st. mary's. "we are desirous," he adds, "to see the fringilla, about which you wrote me some time ago." native copper.--"the copper mass is safe, and the object of admiration in my collection. baron lederer is shortly expected from austria, when he will, no doubt, make some proposition concerning it, which i will communicate." _ th_. many letters have been received since the th of march, offering condolence in our bitter loss; but none of them, from a more sincere, or more welcome source, than one of this date from the conants, of new york. _june d_. mr. carter (n.h.) observes, in a letter of this date: "if there be any real pleasure arising from the acquisition of reputation, it consists chiefly in the satisfaction of proving ourselves worthy of the confidence reposed in our talents and characters, and in the strengthening of those ties of friendship which we are anxious to preserve." _ th_. mr. robert stuart says, in relation to our recent affliction: "once parents, we must make up our minds to submit to such grievous dispensations, for, although hard, it may be for the best." i embarked for green bay, to attend the treaty of _butte des morts_ early in june, taking mrs. s. on a visit to green bay, as a means of diverting her mind from the scene of our recent calamity. at mackinac, we met the steamboat henry clay, chartered to take the commissioners to the bay, with governor cass, colonel mckenney, and general scott on board, with a large company of visitors, travelers and strangers, among them, many ladies. we joined the group, and had a pleasant passage till getting into the bay, where an obstinate head wind tossed us up and down like a cork on the sea. sea-sickness, in a crowded boat, and the retching of the waves, soon turned everything and every one topsy-turvy; every being, in fine, bearing a stomach which had not been seasoned to such tossings among anchors and halyards, was prostrate. at last the steamer itself, as we came nearer the head of the bay, was pitched out of the right channel and driven a-muck. she stuck fast on the mud, and we were all glad to escape and go up to the town of navarino in boats. after spending some days here in an agreeable manner, most of the party, indeed nearly all who were not connected with the commission, returned in the boat, mrs. s. in the number, and the commissioners soon proceeded up the fox river to _butte des morts_. here temporary buildings of logs, a mess house, etc., were constructed, and a very large number of indians were collected. we found the menomonies assembled in mass, with full delegations of the midland chippewas, and the removed bands of iroquois and stockbridges, some pottowattomies from the west shores of lake michigan, and one hand of the winnebagoes. circumstances had prepared this latter tribe for hostilities against the united states. the replies of the leading chief, four-legs, were evasive and contradictory; in the meantime, reports from the wisconsin and the mississippi rivers denoted this tribe ripe for a blow. they had fired into a boat descending the mississippi, at prairie du chien, and committed other outrages. general cass was not slow to perceive or provide the only remedy for this state of things, and, leaving the camp under the charge of colonel mckenney and the agents, he took a strongly manned light canoe, and passed over to the mississippi, and, pushing night and day, reached st. louis, and ordered up troops from jefferson barracks, for the protection of the settlement. in this trip, he passed through the centre of the tribe, and incurred some extraordinary risks. he then returned up the illinois, and through lake michigan, and reached the _butte des morts_ in an incredibly short space of time. within a few days, the mississippi settlements were covered; the winnebagoes were overawed, and the business of the treaty was resumed, and successfully concluded on the th of august. during the long assemblage of the indians on these grounds, i was sitting one afternoon, in the governor's log shanty, with the doors open, when a sharp cry of murder suddenly fell on our ears. i sprang impulsively to the spot, with major forsyth, who was present. within fifty yards, directly in front of the house, stood two indians, who were, apparently, the murderers, and a middle aged female, near them, bleeding profusely. i seized one of them by his long black hair, and, giving him a sudden wrench, brought him to his back in an instant, and, placing my knees firmly on his breast, held him there, my hand clenched in his hair. the major had done something similar with the other fellow. inquiry proved one of these men to be the perpetrator of the deed. he had drawn his knife to stab his mother-in-law, she quickly placed her arms over her breast and chest and received the wounds, two strokes, in them, and thus saved her life. it was determined, as her life was saved, though the wounds were ghastly, to degrade the man in a public assemblage of all the indians, the next day, by _investing him with a petticoat_, for so unmanly an act. the thing was, accordingly, done with great ceremony. the man then sneaked away in this imposed _matchcota_, in a stolid manner, slowly, all the indians looking stedfastly, but uttering no sound approvingly or disapprovingly. i embraced the opportunity of the delay created by the winnebago outbreak, and the presence of the stockbridges on the treaty ground, to obtain from them some outlines of their history and language. every day, the chiefs and old men came to my quarters, and spent some time with me. metoxon gave me the words for a vocabulary of the language, and, together with quinney, entered so far into its principles, and furnished such examples, as led me, at once, to perceive that it was of the algonquin type, near akin, indeed, to the chippewa, and the conclusion followed, that all the new england dialects, which were cognate with this, were of the same type. the history of this people clears up, with such disclosures, and the fact shows us how little we can know of their history without the languages. chapter xxix. treaty of butte des morts--rencontre of an indian with grizzly bears--agency site at elmwood--its picturesque and sylvan character--legislative council of the territory--character of its parties, as hang-back and toe-the-marks--critical reviews--christmas. _ . august th_.--the treaty of butte des morts was signed this day. it completes the system of indian boundaries, which was commenced by the treaty of prairie du chien, on the th of august, , and continued by the treaty of fond du lac of the th of august, . these three conferences, which may, from their having been concluded in the month of august of the respective years, be called the _augustic_ treaties, embody a new course and policy for keeping the tribes in peace, and are founded on the most enlarged consideration of the aboriginal right of fee simple to the soil. they have been held exclusively at the charges and expenses of the united states, and contain no cession of territory. as soon as it was signed i embarked for green bay, on a gloomy, drizzling day, and pursued my way to michilimackinac and the sault, without a moment's loss of time. i found the place still active, and filled with the summer visiting parties of indians from the lake superior, the upper mississippi, and even from pembina and the plains of red river of the north. among the latter i observed a small and lithe indian called annamikens, or little thunder, also called joseph, whose face had been terribly lacerated in a contest on the plains west of pembina, with grizzly bears. the wounds were now closed, but the disfiguration was permanent. he told me the following story of the affair:-- the sioux, chippewas, assinaboines, crees, and mandans, called by him in general miggaudiwag, which means fighters, were at variance. about half-breeds and chippewas went out from pembina to make peace, and hunt the buffalo. on the fourth day's march they reached the open plains, and met a large body of assinaboines and crees encamped. their camp was fixed on eligible ground, and the lodges extended across the plain. annamikens and his followers encamped with them. after they had encamped, they observed every hour during the night that fresh arrivals of assinaboines and crees took place. on the third day of their encampment he was sent for to cuthbert grant's tent, where he found a large circle of indians formed, and all things in readiness for a council of the three nations, assinaboines, chippewas, and crees. grant was the trader of the pembina metifs, and had followed them out. in the centre of the ring, buffalo robes were spread, and he with others was given a seat there. the object of this council was to decide upon a plan to attack a body of sioux lodges, which had been discovered at half a day's ride on horseback distant. the principal chiefs, &c., were agreed as to the propriety of an attack. he was asked to unite with them. he said he felt not only for the chiefs and young men, but also for the women and children, hereby expressing his dissent. two of the principal chiefs stood up, each holding a pipe. he was then asked to take one of the pipes and hand it to the bravest man, giving him the power to elect the war chief. he gave it to one he knew to be brave. this chief had no sooner received it than he presented it to francis, his brother, to hand it round, thereby hoping that he would not refuse to smoke the war-pipe when handed by his brother. he took the pipe in both hands and smoked, then handed it to his brother, who also smoked it, and handed it to a chief who stood next to him, and it went round. he said, however, after smoking, "i do not consent to go to war, i am against it." after some talk the council broke up, it beginning to be late. at night he heard that some movement was on foot. he went to the quarter of the camp indicated, and used his influence against the plan. he had scarcely reached his tent when other reports of a like nature were brought from various parts of the camp, and he was most of the night busied in controverting the war spirit. in the morning he made a descent through the camp, speaking openly against the meditated attack on the sioux, and concluded by saying that for himself and the metifs, he had one thing to say, that they wished to preserve peace with all, and they should join and fight for the nation first attacked, and against whoever might raise a war-club. about crees, however, were determined to go, and in about four hours the whole camp was broken up and dispersed. he broke up his camp rather in anger, mounted his horse, put his family in the cart, and set out for home. many followed him. francis, not seeing his brother go, also set out, and many followed him, a greater number in fact than had followed joseph. at night the hunters from each party met, and they found the two parties had traveled the same distance. on hearing this francis sent a despatch in the morning to his brother, but they found he had departed, and, the country being a grassy plain, they could not exactly tell their course. meantime joseph and his party had reached a point of woods, being the first woods seen since leaving pembina, at about nine o'clock in the morning. here they encamped at this early hour. he caught two wild geese, and told his wife to cook them. his followers all dispersed to hunt buffalo, as they were plenty about. he then put a new flint in his gun, and stripped himself all but his breech-cloth, and went out to explore the route he should pass on the next day. he came into a ravine, and discovered three white bears' lairs fresh, saw several carcasses of buffaloes lying round, more or less eaten and decayed, and smelt quite a stench from them. one particularly was fresh killed, and partly eaten by the bears. he passed on across a brook, and after looking farther returned to the lairs. on returning to the brook he found several sticks in the way of his passage for the carts on the following day, which he commenced removing, having set his gun against a tree. one stick being larger than the rest, some exertion was necessary to displace it, and while in the act of doing this he heard a noise of some animal, and saw at a distance what he took to be a buffalo, as these animals were plenty, and running in all directions. he then took up his gun and went on, when the sounds were repeated close behind him, and looking over his shoulder he saw three white bears in full pursuit of him. he turned, cocked his gun, and took deliberate aim at the head of the foremost, which proved to be the dam, and his gun missed fire. he re-cocked his piece and again snapped. at this moment the bear was so near that the muzzle nearly touched it. he knows not exactly how the bear struck him, but at the next moment his gun flew in one direction and he was cast about ten feet in another. he lit on his feet. the bear then raised on her paws and took his head in her mouth, closing her jaws, not with force, but just sufficient to make the tusks enter the top of his shoulders. he at this moment, with the impulse of fear, put up his hands and seized the bear by her head, and, making a violent exertion, threw her from her balance to one side; in the act of falling she let go his head. at this time one of the cubs struck his right leg, being covered with _metasses_ of their leather, and drew him down upon the ground, and he fell upon his right side, partly on his right arm. the right arm, which was extended in falling, was now drawn under his body by another blow from one of the cubs, and his hand was by this motion brought into contact with the handle of his knife (a large _couteau_ used for cutting up buffalo-meat), and this bringing the knife to his recollection, he drew it, and struck a back-handed blow into the right side of the dam, whom he still held by the hair with his left. the knife went in to the hilt. on withdrawing it, one of the cubs struck his right hand, her nails piercing right through it in several places. he then let go of the dam and took the knife in his left hand, and made a pass at the cub, and struck it about half its length, the knife going into it, it being very bloody. the stroke was impeded, and the knife partly slipped. the left arm was then struck by one of the cubs, and the knife dropped from his grasp. he was now left with his naked hand to make such resistance as he could. the dam now struck him upon the abdomen with a force that deprived him for awhile of breath, and tore it open, so that when he rose his bowels fell upon his knees. he at first supposed that it was his powder-horn that had fallen upon his knees, but looking down, saw his entrails. the dam then repeated her blow, striking him upon the left cheek, the forenail entering just below the left eye, and tore out the cheek-bone, a part of the jaw, including three teeth, maimed his tongue, and tore down the flesh so that it hung upon his left shoulder. he now fell back exhausted with the loss of blood, and being conquered, the bears ceased to molest him. but consciousness was not gone; he heard them walk off. he lay some time. he opened and shut his hands, and found he had not lost the use of them. he moved his neck, and found it had its natural motion. he then raised himself up into a sitting posture, and gathering up some grass, put it first to his left eye and cheek to wipe off the blood, but found that it struck the bone. he then passed it to his right cheek, wiped down the blood, and opening his eye, found he could see clearly. he saw his gun, powder-horn, and knife scattered about. he then got up, having bound his wounds. he had at this time no clothing upon his body but the moccasin upon his left foot. he took his gun, re-primed it, and while in the act of priming, heard the peculiar noise this animal utters, and turning, saw the old bear close upon him. he put the muzzle into her mouth, and again missed fire. all hope now was lost, and all idea of resistance. they pawed and tore him at will, he knows not how long. at one time they seized him by the neck and dragged him some distance. they then once more left him. after they left him, he lay some time. he then bethought himself that possibly he might still be able to rise and return to his camp, which was not distant. after some exertion and preparation, he got up, and again took his gun and powder-horn and knife. he picked the flint, addressing his gun, saying, "that the bears could not kill it, and that he hoped the gun would have more courage," &c., and putting it on his shoulder, commenced his way to his camp. he had not proceeded far when the snorting of the old dam before him reminded him of his danger. he found his limbs stiff and swollen, and that he could not bring up the gun to his shoulder to take aim. he held it before him, and when the dam, still in front, advanced near him, fired at her head, and the ball entered just behind the shoulder. she fell dead. he saw the smoke issue from the wound. one of the yearlings now rose on his hind paws and growled. he raised his knife (which was in his left hand, upon which the gun rested on firing), and made a pass at the bear, which the latter avoided by throwing himself to one side. the third bear now rose up before him, but at a greater distance than the second, and he made a pass at him, but found him out of reach. yet the bear threw himself to one side, as the former had done. having them now on the run, he followed a short distance, but soon felt very faint. a darkness seemed before his eyes, and he sank down. in this act the blood gushed from his body. this appeared to relieve him. after sitting some time, he rose and proceeded homeward. he saw no more of the two yearling bears. before reaching the lodge, he was met by a party who had been seeking him. as he walked along, he felt something striking the calf of his right leg, and found it to be a piece of flesh from his thigh behind. there were six open holes in his body through which air escaped, one in each side, one in his breast, abdomen, and stomach, besides the torn cheek. he found, on reaching home, he could not speak, but, after being bandaged, his utterance revived. on the next day the physician from the forks of red river arrived and attended him. _ th_. annamikens resumed his narrative:-- "on the next day, i have said, the doctor arrived, but not having medicine sufficient to dress all my wounds, he put what he had on the principal wounds. on the same day my brother and the party who had separated on the council-ground also arrived. they remained that and the next day, and on the third day all moved for pembina. to carry me they constructed a litter, carried by four persons; but i found the motion too great to endure. they then formed a bier by fastening two poles to a horse's sides, and placing such fixtures upon them, behind the horse, as to permit my being carried. i found this motion easier to endure. the chippewas accompanied me, and were resolved, if i died, to go immediately to war against the sioux. my condition was, at this moment, such that they hourly expected my death. i was prepared for it, and directed that i should be buried at the spot where i might die. on the third day we reached pembina. for nine days i resisted food, feigning that i could not eat, but wishing to starve myself, as i was so disfigured and injured that i had no wish to survive, and would have been ashamed to show myself in such a state. on the ninth day my hunger was so great that i called for a piece of fish, and swallowed it; in about two hours after i called for another piece of fish, and also ate it. six days after my arrival, mr. plavier, and another priest from red river, arrived to baptize me. i resisted, saying that if there was no hope of living i would consent, but not otherwise. after fifteen days, i was so much recovered that the priest returned, as i had every appearance of recovery. i would neither permit white nor indian doctors to attend me after my arrival; but had myself regularly washed in cold water, my wounds kept clean, and the bandages properly attended to. in about one month from the time i could walk; but it was two years before the wounds were closed." i requested dr. z. pitcher, the post surgeon, to examine annamikens, with a view to test the narrative, and to determine on the capacity of the human frame to survive such wounds. he found portions of the cheek-bones gone, and cicatrices of fearful extent upon that and other parts of the body, which gave the narrative the appearance of truthfulness. on returning from green bay, i gave my attention, with renewed interest, to the means of expediting the completion of the agency buildings, and occupying the lot and grounds. i have alluded to the success of my reference of this subject to the secretary of war, in . a site was selected on a handsomely elevated bank of the river, covered with elms, about half a mile east of the fort, where the foundation of a spacious building and office were laid in the autumn of , and the frame raised as early in the ensuing spring as the snow left the ground. few sites command a more varied or magnificient view. the broad and limpid st. mary, nearly a mile wide, runs in front of the grounds. the falls, whose murmuring sound falls pleasantly on the ear, are in plain view. the wide vista of waters is perpetually filled by canoes and boats passing across to the opposite settlement on the british shore. the picturesque indian costume gives an oriental cast to the moving panorama. the azure mountains of lake superior rise in the distance. sailing vessels and steamboats from detroit, cleaveland, and buffalo, occasionally glide by, and to this wide and magnificent view, as seen by daylight, by sunset, and by moonlight, the frequent displays of aurora borealis give an attraction of no ordinary force. in selecting this spot, i had left standing a large part of the fine elms, maples, mountain ash, and other native forest trees, and the building was, in fact, embowered by tall clumps of the richest foliage. i indulged an early taste in horticulture, and planting trees to add to the natural attractions of the spot, which, from the chief trees upon it, was named "elmwood," and every flowering plant and fruit that would thrive in the climate, was tried. part of the grounds were laid down in grass. portions of them on the water's edge that were low and quaggy, were sowed with the redtop, which will thrive in very moist soil, and gives it firmness. the building was ample, containing fifteen rooms, including the office, and was executed, in all respects, in the best modern style. in addition to these arrangements for insuring domestic comfort and official respect, my agency abroad among the tribes was now well established, to the utmost sources of the mississippi. the name and power of "chimoqemon" (american) among the northern tribes, was no longer a term of derision, or uncertainty of character. the military post established at these ancient falls, where the power of france was first revealed as early as ; the numerous journeys i had made into the interior, often in company with the highest civil and military functionaries; the presents annually issued; the firm basis of a commissariat for all visiting and indigent indians; the mechanics employed for their benefit; the control exercised over the fur traders, and the general effects of american opinions and manners; had placed the agency in the very highest point of view. it was a frontier agency, in immediate juxtaposition with canada and hudson's bay, fifteen hundred miles of whose boundary closed upon them, separated only by the chain of lakes and rivers. questions of national policy frequently came up, and tended much to augment the interest, which grew out of the national intercourse. i had now attained that position of repose and quiet which were so congenial to my mind. the influence i exercised; the respect i enjoyed, both as an officer and as a scientific and literary man: every circumstance, in fact, that can add to the enjoyment of a man of moderate desires, seeking to run no political race, was calculated to insure my happiness. and i was happy. no part of my life had so completely all the elements of entire contentment, as my residence at the wild and picturesque homestead of elmwood. i removed my family to this spot in october, having now a little daughter to enlarge my family circle, and take away, in a measure, the solitariness effected by the loss of my son, william henry. i resumed my indian researches with twofold interest. the public duties of an agent for indian affairs, if an industrious man, leave him a good deal of leisure on his hands, and, in a position so remote as this, if a man have no inclination for studies or belles lettres, he must often be puzzled to employ his leisure. i amused myself by passing from one literary study to another, and this is ever refreshing to the mind, which tires of one thing. thus, such amusements as the _appeal of pontiac, rise of the west_, and the _man of bronze_, found place among graver matters. in this manner, a man without literary society may amuse and instruct himself. _nov. st_. i have been elected a member of the legislative council of the territory--an office not solicited, and which is not declined. party spirit has not yet reached and distracted this territory. so far as i know, political divisions of a general character, have not entered into society. the chief magistrate is an eminently conservative man, and by his moderation of tone and suavity of manners, has been instrumental in keeping political society in a state of tranquillity. all our parties have been founded on personal preference. if there has been any more general principles developed in the legislature, it has been a _promptly debt paying_, and a _not promptly debt paying party_--a _non divorce_, and a _divorce party_. i have been ever of the former class of thinkers; and shall let my votes tell for the right and good old way--_i.e._ pay your debts and keep your wife. _dec. d_. my study of the indian language and history has not only enlarged my own sources of intellectual gratification, but it has, without my seeking it, procured me a number of highly intellectual philosophic correspondents, whose letters operate as an aliment to further exertion. my natural assiduity is thus continually stimulated, and i find myself begrudging a single hour, spent in gossiping hum-drum society--for even _here_ there is society, or an apology for society. the editor of the _north american review_, inviting me to write for its pages, says (sept. st): "your knowledge and experience will enable you to say much concerning the western country, and its aboriginal inhabitants, which will be interesting to the community of readers. you cannot be too full in your facts and reflections on indians and indian character." judge h. chipman, of detroit, says (oct. st): "if it were just cause of offence, that men should estimate differently the merits of opposing candidates, popular elections would be the greatest curse that could be inflicted upon a people." mr. everett (hon. e.) says: "i beg leave to unite with mr. sparks in expressing the hope that you will become a contributor to its pages (_north american review_), as often as your leisure, the seasonableness of topics, and the appearance of works to be noticed, may admit." _ th_. this day brought one of mr. johnston's warm-hearted notes, to take a christmas dinner with him to-morrow. "i anticipate," he says, "great pleasure in seeing many dear relatives about me, on one of the greatest festivals the world has ever witnessed." it was the last festival of that kind he ever enjoyed, though nothing could be further from our imaginations then; for before its recurrence in , we were called to follow his body to the grave. chapter xxx. retrospect--united states exploring expedition to the south sea--humanity of an indian--trip to detroit from the icy straits--incidental action of the massachusetts and rhode island historical societies, and of the montreal natural history society--united states exploring expedition--climatology--lake vessels ill found--poetic view of the indian--united states exploring expedition--theory of the interior world--natural history--united states exploring expedition.--history of early legislation in michigan--return to st. mary's--death of governor de witt clinton. _ . january st_.--during ten years, omitting , i had now performed, each year, a journey or expedition of more or less peril and adventure in the great american wilderness, west of the alleghanies. i had now attained a point, ardently sought, for many years, where i was likely to be permitted to sit down quietly at home, and leave traveling to others. i had, in fact, just removed into a quiet home, a retired, convenient, tasteful, and even elegant seat, which filled every wish of retired intellectual enjoyment, where i was encompassed by books, studies, cabinets, and domestic affections. at this moment, when there appeared nothing in the prospect to call me to new fields of observation, i was elected a member of the legislative council, which opened a civic and quite different scene of duties. this step, i found, pleased my friends. the executive of the territory writes from detroit, february d: "we have understood that you have been elected a member of the legislative council, and there is a prevalent wish that this report may prove true. i mention the subject now, to inform you that the council will probably be convened about the beginning of may, in order that you may make the necessary preparations for visiting this place at that time." _feb. th_. an exploring expedition for discoveries in the south sea, has, for some time, been under consideration in the senate of the united states, to be organized in the navy, and to go out under the patronage of the secretary, mr. southard. mr. g.n. reynolds invites me to take a position in the scientific corps, to accompany it, under an official sanction. a friend from washington writes me (feb. th), on the same topic; "whether matrimony has stripped you of your erratic notions and habits, 'and brought you within narrower limits,' or whether the geography of the earth is no longer of interest to you, i cannot, of course, pretend to say. but considering you, as i do, a devotee to science, i had thought it possible that you might feel a desire to engage in her cause to the south, by occupying some eminent station in the expedition." the reasons which i have mentioned, at the opening of the year, have inclined me to seek repose from further travel. besides which, my position as a married man, and the peculiar relations i have thereby assumed, impress me, very deeply, with the opinion that my sphere of duty, whatever may be my ambition, lies nearer at home than the proposed and very attractive field of discovery. i therefore wrote declining the offer. _april th_, a domestic curtain lifted.--my sister helen margaret writes, from new york: "this afternoon, as i was sitting by the fire, having become the prey of ill health, a thought struck my mind to write a few lines to you, not, however, to give you much news, but merely to acquaint you that we are still in the land of the living, and that, though our friends are far removed, we still live among them in imagination. yes, dear brother, believe me, my imagination has often wandered, and passed hours with _you_--_hours_, during the silence of the night, which should have been sacred to sleep. "i have been out of health about five weeks; the complaint under which i labor is chronic inflammation of the liver, but i have, under the pain of sickness, forced my mind to forget its troubles. most of my time, last winter, has been spent with debby; while at home, my time has been devoted to reading, mapping, and the study of philosophy. "probably james has acquainted you of the illness of margaret. she is now very low, and is, to all human appearance, soon to leave this world for a better, 'where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest.' her sufferings are great; she has not been able to sit up, more than nine minutes at one time, for two months. her mind is calm. she is ready and willing to leave this vain world, whenever it is the will of god to take her. "mother's health is poor, and has been during all last winter; yet notwithstanding her daily sufferings, in her harassed body, she vigorously wrestles with ill luck. as it pains me to write, i must close with a few words. i have frequently thought, should i be bereft of my _mother_, what other friend, like her, would watch over the uneasy hours of sickness? what other friend would bear its petulance, and smooth its feverish pillow?" this proved to be her last earthly message to me. she died on the th of april, , aged twenty-three. _ th_. i, this day, had an official visit from magisaunikwa (wampum-hair), a chippewa indian, who, recently, rescued the inspector of customs of the place, john agnew, esq., from drowning. this gentleman was returning from mackinac, on the ice, with a _train de glis_, drawn by dogs. having ascended the straits to the rapids of the south nebishe channel, he found the ice faulty and rotten, and, after some exertions to avoid the bad places, fell in, with train and dogs. the struggle to get out only involved him worse, and, overcome by fatigue and false footings, he at length gave over the strife, and, but as a last resort, uttered a yell. it chanced that magisaunikwa was encamped in the woods, at a distance, and, with the ever ready ear of the aborigines, caught the sounds and came to his relief. by this time he had relinquished the struggle, and resigned himself to his fate. by arts known to a people who are familiar with such dangers, he rescued him from the water, but in an insensible state. he then put the body on a sled and drew it to his lodge, where he disrobed it, and, placing it before the fire, succeeded in restoring him. i invested him with a silver medal for the act, and gave him a chief's flag, with goods and cutlery, &c. to the value of above fifty dollars. my attention was now turned to detroit: "you are elected," says a friend, "a member of the council. it is essential you should be here as speedily as possible. leave everything to audrain, and come down. you can return before the busy season." _ th_. i left the sault this day, for detroit, to attend the legislative council. patches of snow still lined the banks of the st. mary's, and fields of ice were yet in muddy lake. it was not until entering the st. clair, and passing down beyond the chilling influences of lake huron, that spring began to show striking evidences of her rapid advances, and on reaching detroit, the state of horticulture and fruit trees betokened a quite different and benign climate. the difference in latitude, in this journey, is full four degrees, carrying the voyager from about - / ° to about - / °. this fact, which it is difficult to realize from the mere inspection of maps, and reading of books, it is important at all times to bear in mind, in setting a just value on the country and its agricultural advantages. on reaching the city, and before the organization of the legislature, i received a letter from the hon. john davis, president of the massachusetts historical society, suggesting the publication of my researches on indian language. "mr. pickering concurs with me, that it is very desirable to have this publication effected. some tracts of this description have been occasionally published in the collections of our society, and we have no doubt that this course would be pursued with your work, if such should be your wish, and no preferable mode of publication should occur." _ th_.--i received from the rhode island historical society, a copy of their publication of roger williams' key to the indian languages. this tract was greatly needed by philologists. the language commented on is clearly of the algonquin stock. dr. edwards, in his "observations on the mukhekanieu," demonstrates that the old mohecan, as spoken on the housatonic, was also of this type. he says, indeed, that the difference in all the new england languages spoken by the nations were merely dialectic. what i have heard of eliot's bible of the natic, or massachusetts language, favors the same conclusion. all this shows that the ancestors of the present lake tribes who speak these dialects, must have overspread all new england. history is thus taught by language. the lake tribes have only this tradition respecting the fact, that they came from the _east_. _ th_.--dr. a.f. homes transmits me a diploma of membership of the montreal natural history society. _may th_.--mr. reynolds recurs to the subject of the ex. expedition, which he announced to me on the th of february. "it is probable," he observes, "that an expedition to the south sea will sail from the city of new york in september next. i wish, and so do several members of the national cabinet, that you would join it, and be the head of the scientific corps. your salary shall be almost anything you ask, and your relation to the general government shall not be prejudiced by a temporary absence. the expedition will be absent about eighteen months or two years. will you not feel some ambition in being connected with the first american expedition of discovery?" _ th_.--death is ever busy, thinning the ranks of our friends and relatives. mr. shearman, of n.y., communicates the death of my niece, margaret catharine (s.) at vernon, new york. she was a young lady of pleasing manners, and many fine personal and mental traits. she conversed on her fate with perfect composure, and selected hymns to be sung at her funeral. i accomplished my passage to detroit i think on the st of may, being twenty-four days from st. mary's, without counting the trip in that season one of unusual length, and without any serious mishaps, which is, perhaps, remarkable, as all our lake vessels are ill found, and i attribute more of success to good luck, or rather providence, than to any amount of seamanlike precaution. it is, indeed, remarkable that a hundred vessels are not every year lost on the upper lakes where one now is, by being ill supplied or equipped, or through foolhardy intrepidity. _ th_.--a friend sent me the manuscript of his poem of "sanillac" to read, and to furnish some notes. the subject of the indian is, certainly, susceptible of being handled by the muses, in a manner to interest and amuse; and i regard every attempt of the kind as meritorious, although it may be the lot of but few to succeed. the writer on the frontier, who fills up a kind of elegant leisure by composition, not only pleases himself, which is a thing nobody can deprive him of, but dodges the coarser amusements of bowling, whist, and other resorts for time-killing. he forgets his remote position for the time, and hides from himself the feeling of that loneliness which is best conquered by literary employment. _ th_. mr. reynolds again writes, pressing the matter of the contemplated expedition, and the prospect it opens for discovery, and its advantage every way. he couples his offer with most liberal and exalted sentiments, and with the opinions of distinguished men, whose approval is praise. but notwithstanding all, there is something about the getting up and organization of the expedition, which i do not altogether like; and there is considerable doubt whether congress will not cripple it, by voting meagre supplies and outfits, if they do not knock it in the head. the expedition itself is a measure of the highest national moment, as it is connected with scientific discovery, and reflects the greatest credit on the projectors. the experiments of dr. maskelyn denote a greater specific gravity in the central portions of the globe, than in its crust, and consequently do not favor the theory advocated by mr. r., of an interior void. yet we are advertised, by the phenomena of earthquakes, that this interior abounds with oxygen, hydrogen gas, caloric, and sulphur; and that extraordinary geological changes are effected by their action. it does seem improbable that the proposed expedition will trace any open connection "with such an interior world;" but it may accumulate facts of the highest importance. i am not, therefore, insensible of the high honor of this offer, and however i may glow with the secret ardor of discovery, and the honor of place, my present engagements, domestic and public, have woven about me such a web, that it is impossible suddenly to break from it. on full consideration and reconsideration, therefore, i declined going.[ ] [footnote : the expedition was, in fact, checked by various causes, and the project lingered for some years. at length, the expedition started under the orders of captain charles wilkes, united states navy.] _june st_. major delafield, of new york, transmits a box of duplicate specimens of mineralogy from england. "the box you forwarded for the lyceum has not yet been sent to the rooms. the catalogue i will present in your name to-night. the several objects will prove extremely interesting. the lake tortoise we have been endeavoring to obtain for a year past, to complete a paper relative to these animals. cooper is in philadelphia editing the second volume of _bonaparte's ornithology_. he will be disappointed in not receiving the grosbeak,[ ] of which i had spoken to him." [footnote : a new species discovered by me at sault st. marie.] the study of natural history presents some of the most pleasing evidences of exactitude and order, in every department of creation, and adds to life many hours of the most innocent and exalted enjoyment. it drops, as it were, golden tissues in the walks of life, which there is a perpetual enjoyment in unraveling. _ th_. mr. reynolds writes again, without having received my last reply, respecting the exploring expedition. he says: "mr. southard, secretary of the navy, has expressed his deep regret that you will not be able to find it convenient to go on the expedition." mr. reynolds again writes (june d): "i had a conversation to-day with the secretary of the navy, in relation to your joining the expedition. he informs me that the president, as well as himself, was anxious that you should do so; and that in case you did, an assistant agent might be appointed to do your duties, as united states agent, and thus reserve your office until your return." nothing, certainly, could exceed this spirit of liberality and kind appreciation. no reasons for altering my prior decisions appeared, however, weighty enough to change them. _july st_.--the legislative council organized in due form, being sworn in by the governor. the first assemblage of this kind in the territory met, i believe, four years ago. prior to that era, the governor and judges were authorized to adopt laws from the "old" states, which led to a system rather objectionable, and certainly anomalous, so far as it made the judges both _makers_ and _expounders_ of the laws; for it was said, i know not how truly, that they picked out a clause here and there, to fit exigencies, or cases in hand, and did not take whole statutes. it was said that when the judges, in the exercise of their judicial functions, got to a "tight place," they adjourned the court, and devoted their legal acumen to picking out clauses from the statutes of the old states, to be adopted, in order to meet the circumstances; but these stories were, probably, to be received a little after the manner of the slanderous reports of the van twiller administration, of knickerbocker memory. it is certain that their honors, judges woodward, griffin, and witherall, the latter of whom was generally voted down, have acquired no small popular notoriety as judicial and legislative functionaries, and they must figure largely in the early annals of michigan, especially should this territory ever prove so fortunate as to have a cervantes or an irving for its historian. i found the members of the council to be nearly all of the old residents of michigan, one a frenchman, several sent in by french votes, one or two old volunteer officers of hull's day, one an indian captive, and three lawyers by profession. when assembled they presented a body of shrewd, grave, common-sense men, with not much legal or forensic talent, perhaps, and no eloquence or power of speaking. there were just _thirteen_ men, only one of whom was a demagogue, and had gained his election by going about from house to house and asking votes. the worst trait in the majority was a total want of moral courage, and a disposition to favor a negligent and indebted population, by passing a species of stop laws, and divorce laws, and of running after local and temporary expedients, to the lowering of the tone of just legislation. i had no constituents at home to hold me up to promises on these heads. i was every way independent, in a political sense, and could square my course at all times, by pursuing the right, instead of being forced into the expedient, in cases where there was a conflict between the two. this made my position agreeable. i was appointed chairman of the committee on expenditures, and a member of the judiciary, &c. i directed my attention to the incorporation of a historical society; to the preparation of a system of township names derived from the aboriginal languages; and to some efforts for bettering the condition of the natives, by making it penal to sell or give them ardent spirits, and thus desired to render my position as a legislator useful, where there was but little chance of general action. as chairman of the committee on expenditures, i kept the public expenditures snug, and, in every respect, conformable to the laws of congress. the session was closed about the first of july--early enough to permit me to return to st. mary's, to attend to the summer visits of the interior traders and indians. _ th_ while engaged in the council, a friend writing from new york, who is a close watcher of political movements, alludes to the sudden and lamented death of governor clinton, last winter, and its effects on the political parties of that state. heavy, indeed, is the blow that removes from the field of action a man who had occupied so wide a space in the public esteem; and long will it be till another arises to concentrate and control public opinion as he did. to me, as a personal friend, and one who early counselled and directed me in my investigations in natural history, it is a loss i feel deeply. politicians spring up daily, but men like him, who take a wider view of things, belong to their country. chapter xxxi. official journal of the indian intercourse--question of freedmen, or persons not bonded for--indian chiefs, chacopee, neenaby, mukwakwut, _tems couvert_, shingabowossin, guelle plat, grosse guelle--further notice of wampum-hair--red devil--biographical notice of guelle plat, or flat mouth--_brechet_--meeshug, a widow--iauwind--mongazid, chief of fond du lac--chianokwut--white bird--annamikens, the hero of a bear fight, &c. &c. _ . july th_.--my return to the agency at the sault was in the midst of its summer business. indians and indian traders from remote interior positions, were encamped on every green spot. no trader had yet renewed his license from the government to return. it would be difficult to indicate a place more favorable than this was, to observe the manners and customs of the indians, and the peculiar questions connected with the indian trade. i amused myself a few days, by keeping minutes of the visits of the mixed indian and metif multitude. _ th_. antoine maucè, alexis blais, and joseph montrè, freedmen, of indian blood or connections, ordered from the indian villages last fall, presented themselves for a decision on their respective cases. maucè stated several facts in extenuation of his offence. he said he had served as a boatman in the indian trade ten years, had married an indian wife and raised a family, and during all this time, with the exception of short visits to mackinac with his _bourgeois_, had resided in the indian country. on the expiration of his last engagement he went to st. peters, and while there, made eight canoes for mr. bailly, from whom he got the few goods that were seized at sandy lake by mr. johnston. he had intended, however, to go to mr. johnston for a license, and he had used the goods, in a great measure, to procure a mere support for his family. he had left sandy lake last fall, passed the winter at la pointe, and had come down early in the spring, and, as he had lost a great deal of time, and performed a very long journey, leaving his family behind him, he requested that he might be allowed to return with a permit to trade. i told him that his remaining inland, after the expiration of his engagement, was contrary to instructions. that, being a canadian by birth, he could not be licensed as a trader. that he might go inland in his old capacity of a boatman, should any american citizen be willing to employ him, and give a bond for his future conduct, and that i should refer the final decision upon his goods and peltries to mr. johnston, on account of my imperfect knowledge of some circumstances necessary to a correct decision. alexis blais pleaded ignorance of the instructions which were given to traders. he had no other object in remaining inland than to get a livelihood. he came out as soon after being notified as his health would allow. and he supposed, had he been willing to serve mr. aikin at sandy lake, or to give him the avails of his hunt, no complaints would have been made against him. no goods or peltries were found in his possession, and he did not desire to return to the indian country. i informed him that the construction put on the indian laws prohibited any white man from following the pursuits of a hunter on indian land; that it also forbids the residence of boatmen at indian camps or villages, after they have served out their engagements, &c. joseph montrè is a metif, step-son of maucè. says he was born and brought up in the indian country, and has subsisted by hunting. is unacquainted with the laws, but will follow the directions given him. i took pains to impress upon his mind, through the medium of an interpreter, the situation in which he was placed with respect to our government and laws, and the steps it would be necessary for him hereafter to pursue. * * * * * chacopee (the six), a minor chief, from snake river, on the st. croix, visited the office, accompanied by seven young warriors. he brought a note from the sub-agent at la pointe, in which he is recommended as "a deserving manly indian, attached to the u.s. government." as he had been several days without food on his voyage through lake superior, i directed a requisition to be made out for him and his young men, and told them to call on me after they had appeased their hunger. neenaby (the person who hitches on his seat), of sault st. marie, lodged a complaint against mr. butterfield and one of his runners (_i.e._ persons employed to look after credits given to indians, or carry on a petty traffic by visiting their camps). he states that, in making the traverse from point iroquois across the straits of st. mary, he was met by young holiday, who lashed his canoe alongside, and, after giving him a drink of whisky, persuaded him to land on the canada shore, where they are out of reach of the trade and intercourse laws. they landed at _point aux chenes,_ where h.'s tent was found pitched, who invited him into it, and gave him more drink. h. then went to the indian's canoe, and brought in his furs. something was then given him to eat, and they embarked together in h.'s canoe, taking the furs, and leaving his own canoe, with his wife, to follow. on reaching st. marie's he was conducted to mr. b.'s store, and told to trade. he consented to trade six large and two small beavers, and twenty muskrats, for which he acknowledged to have received satisfaction. he was freely supplied with whisky, and strongly urged to trade the other pack, containing the principal part of his hunt, but he refused, saying he had brought it to pay a credit taken of mr. johnston. this pack, he says, consisted of six large and two small beavers, two otters, six martins, ninety muskrats, and four minks. as an equivalent for it, they proceeded to lay out for him, as he was told and shown next morning, a blanket, hat, pair of leggins of green cloth, two fathoms strouds, one barrel of flour, one bag of corn, and three kegs of whisky. he, however, on examining it, refused to receive it, and demanded the pack of furs to go and pay his credit. decision deferred for inquiry into the facts. _ th_. chegud, accompanied by a train, &c., made a visit of congratulation on my return (after a temporary absence). _ th_. revisited by chacopee and his young men. he addressed me in a fine manly tone and air. he referred to his attendance and conduct at the treaties of prairie du chien and fond du lac, as an era from which it might be known that he was attached to our government and counsel. the object of his present visit was to renew the acquaintance he had formed with me at those places, to say that he had not forgotten the good advice given him, and to solicit charity for his followers. he presented an ornamented pipe as an evidence of his friendship. _ th_. visited by monomine kashee (the rice maker), a chief from post lake in that part of the chippewa country bordering on green bay. he was accompanied by mukwakwut (satan's ball in the clouds), and five other persons composing their families. in the speech made by this chief, whose influence and authority are, i believe, quite limited, he said that his visit to me had been produced by the favorable impressions he had received while attending the treaty of _butte des morts_ (wisconsin). that he had preserved the words which had been uttered in council by his american fathers, and was happy that all cause of difference with their neighbors, the winnebagoes and menomonies had been taken away by fixing the lines of their lands, &c. he presented four stands of wampum to confirm his professions of good will. his companion also got up, and spoke for several minutes, and concluded by requesting "that his father would not overlook him, in distributing any presents he intended to make them." he presented a pipe. after he was seated, i asked, as i was penning these minutes, the signification of his name, mukwakwut, as the meaning did not appear obvious. he smiled and replied "that in former times his ancestors had seen devils playing ball in the air, and that his name was in allusion to the ball." _ th_. visited by tems couvert (the lowering or dark cloud), a noted war chief of leech lake, upper mississippi. he states that mr. oaks took from him, two years ago, nine _plus_,[ ] and has not yet paid him, together with a medal, which last was not returned to him until his arrival at fond du lac this spring. he also states that mr. warren took from him, while he was at la pointe on his way out, a pack of thirty obiminicqua [ ] (equal to thirty full-sized, seasonable beavers), and has not, as yet, offered him anything in payment. [footnote : _plus_, fr. a skin's worth.] [footnote : _obiminicqua_, alg. the value of a full beaver skin.] shingabowossin (the image stone), shewabeketon (the jingling metals), and wayishkee (the first-born son), the three principal chiefs of the home band, with seventy-one men, women and children, visited me to congratulate me on my safe return from detroit. the old chief inquired if there was any news, and whether all remains quiet between us and the english. guelle plat, or ashkebuggecoash (the flat mouth), of leech lake, upper mississippi, announced his arrival, with sixty persons, chiefly warriors and hunters. he brought a letter from one of the principal traders in that quarter, backed by the sub-agent of la pointe, recommending him as "the most respectable man in the chippewa nation." he is said by general consent to be the most influential man in the large and powerful band of leech lake, comprising, by my latest accounts, seventeen hundred souls. his authority is, however, that of a village or civil chief, his coadjutor, the lowering cloud, having long had the principal sway with the warriors. being his first visit to this agency, although he had sent me his pipe in , and, as he said, the first time he had been so far from his native place in a south-easterly course, i offered him the attentions due to his rank, and his visit being an introductory one, was commenced and ended by the customary ceremonies of the pipe. the chief, grosse guelle (big throat), together with majegábowe, and the breche's son, all of sandy lake, arrived this day, accompanied by four other persons, and were received with the customary respect and attention. having come a long distance, their first and most pressing want was food. it is indeed astonishing that the desire of showing themselves off as men of consequence in their nation, the expectation of any presents or gratifications, or the hope of any notice or preferment whatever should induce these people to undertake such long and hazardous journeys with such totally inadequate means. _ th_. the _grosse guelle_ repeated his visit, saying that his family had been so long without a meal of hearty food that the issue of yesterday had not sufficed to satisfy them. magisaunikwa (wampum-hair) applied for provisions for himself and family, to enable them to return to his usual place of dwelling. this man's case has been previously noticed. he happened to be sitting in front of his lodge last spring, in a copse of woods near the banks of muddy lake, at the instant when the inspector of customs of st. mary's (mr. agnew) had broken through the ice with his dog-train, and had exhausted himself in vain efforts to extricate himself. a cry reached the ever-open ear of the indian, who hastened to the shore, and, after much exertion and hazard, aided by his father and family, was the means of preserving mr. a.'s life. after getting the body out of the water, they drew it upon a small train to his lodge; where they applied dry clothing, prepared a kind of tea, and were unremitting in their attentions. when sufficiently restored, they conducted him safely to st. mary's. i invested him with a medal of the first class for this noble act, wishing by this mark of respect, and the presents of clothing and food accompanying it, to forcibly impress his mind with the high respect and admiration such deeds excite among civilized people, and in the further hope that it might prove a stimulus to the lukewarm benevolence of others, if, indeed, any of the natives can be justly accused of lukewarmness in this respect. on visiting fort brady, lt. c. f. morton, of n.y., presented him a sword-knot, belt, &c. some other presents were, i believe, made him, in addition to those given him by mr. agnew himself. _ th_. miscomonetoes (the red insect, or red devil; the term may mean both), and family and followers, twelve persons in all, visited the office. his personal appearance, and that of his family, bespoke wretchedness, and appeared to give force to his strong complaints against the traders who visit ottowa lake and the headwaters of chippewa river of the mississippi. he observed that the prices they are compelled to pay are extortionate, that their lands are quite destitute of the larger animals, and that the beaver is nearly destroyed. he also complained of white and half-breed hunters intruding on their grounds, whose means for trapping and killing animals are superior to those of the indians. according to his statement, as high as four _plus_ (about $ ) have been paid for a fathom of strouds, and the same for a two-and-a-half point blanket, two _plus_ for a pair of scarlet leggins, &c. _ th_. ten separate parties of indians, numbering ninety-four souls, presented themselves at the office this day, in addition to the above, from various parts of the interior, and were heard on the subject of their wants and wishes. _ th_. guelle plat repeated his visit with his followers, and made a speech, in which he took a view of his intercourse with the english and americans. he had passed his youth in the plains west of red river, and was first drawn into an intercourse with the british agents at fort william (l. s.), where he received a medal from the late wm. mcgilvray. this medal was taken by lieut. pike, on visiting leech lake, in . he has visited the agency at st. peter's, but complains that his path to that post has been marked with blood. he was present during the attack made upon the chippewa camp by the sioux, near fort snelling, in the summer of . is not satisfied with the adjustment of this affair, but is inclined to peace, and has recommended it to his young men. they can never, however, he says, count upon the good-will of the enemy, and are obliged to live in a constant state of preparation for war. they go out to hunt as if they were going on a war party. they often meet the sioux and smoke with them, but they cannot confide in them. speaking of the authority exercised over their country for the purpose of trade, he said: "the americans are not our masters; the english are not our masters; the country is ours." he wished that traders should be allowed to visit them who would sell their goods _cheaper_, and said that more than _one_ trader at each trading post was desired by him and his people. he modestly disclaimed authority over his band; said he was _no_ chief. the indians sometimes followed his advice; but they oftener followed their own will. he said indians were fond of change, and were always in hopes of finding things better in another place. he believed it would be better if they would not rove so much. he had ever acted on this principle, and recommended it. he had never visited this place before, but now that he had come this far, it was his wish to go to michilimackinac, of which he had heard much, and desired to see it. he was in hopes his journey would prove of some service to him, &c. he solicited a rifle and a hat. the _brèche,_ alias catawabeta (broken tooth), entered the office with one or two followers, in company with the preceding. seeing the office crowded, he said he would defer speaking till another day. this venerable chief is the patriarch of the region around sandy lake, on the upper mississippi. he made his first visit to me a few days after the landing of the troops at this post, in . in turning to some minutes of that date, i find he pronounced himself "the friend and advocate of peace," and he referred to facts to prove that his practice had been in accordance with his professions. he discountenanced the idea of the indians taking part in our wars. he said he was a small boy at the taking of _old_ mackinac ( ). the french wished him to take up the war-club, but he refused. the english afterwards thanked him for this, and requested him to raise the tomahawk in their favor, but he refused. the americans afterwards thanked him for this refusal, but they did not ask him to go to war. "they all talked of peace," he said, "but still, though they talk of peace, the sioux continue to make war upon us. very lately they killed three people." the neutral policy which this chief so early unfolded, i have found quite characteristic of his oratory, though his political feelings are known to be decidedly favorable to the british government. omeeshug, widow of ningotook, of leech lake, presented a memorandum given by me to her late husband, during my attendance at the treaty of prairie du chien, in , claiming a medal for her infant son, in exchange for a british medal which had been given up. on inquiry, the medal surrendered originally belonged to waukimmenas, a prior husband, by whom she also had a son named tinnegans (_shoulder blade_), now a man grown, and an active and promising indian. i decided the latter to be the rightful heir, and intrusted a new medal of the second size to mr. roussain, to be delivered to him on his arrival at leech lake, with the customary formalities. iauwind announced himself as having arrived yesterday, with twenty-eight followers belonging to the band of fond du lac. he had, it appeared, visited drummond island, and took occasion in his speech to intimate that he had not been very favorably received. before closing, he ran very nearly through the catalogue of indian wants, and trusted his "american father" would supply them. he concluded by presenting a pipe. i informed him that he had not visited drummond's in ignorance of my wishes on the subject, and that if he did not receive the presents he expected from me, he could not mistake the cause of their being withheld. the red devil came to take leave, as he had sent his canoe to the head of the rapids, and was ready to embark. he made a very earnest and vehement speech, in which he once more depicted the misery of his condition, and begged earnestly that i would consider the forlorn and impoverished situation of himself and his young men. he presented a pipe. i told him it was contrary to the commands of his great father, the president, that presents should be given to any of his red children who disregarded his wishes so much as to continue their visits to foreign agencies. that such visits were very injurious to them both in a moral and economical point of view. that they thereby neglected their hunting and gardens, contracted diseases, and never failed to indulge in the most immoderate use of strong drink. that to procure the latter, they would sell their presents, pawn their ornaments, &c., and, i verily believed, were their hands and feet _loose_, they would pawn them, so as to be forever after incapable of doing anything towards their own subsistence. i told him that if, under such circumstances, i should give him, or any other indian, provisions to carry them home, they must not construe it into any approbation of their late conduct, but must ascribe it wholly to feelings of pity and commiseration for their situation, &c. mongazid (the loon's foot), a noted speaker, and jossakeed, or _seer of fond du lac_, arrived in the afternoon, attended by eleven persons. he had scarcely exchanged salutations with me when he said that his followers and himself were in a starving condition, having had very little food for several days. oshogay (the osprey), solicited provisions to return home. this young man had been sent down to deliver a speech from his father, kabamappa, of the river st. croix, in which he regretted his inability to come in person. the father had first attracted my notice at the treaty of prairie du chien, and afterwards received a small medal, by my recommendation, from the commissioners at fond du lac. he appeared to consider himself under obligations to renew the assurance of his friendship, and this, with the hope of receiving some presents, appeared to constitute the object of his son's mission, who conducted himself with more modesty and timidity before me than prudence afterwards; for, by extending his visit to drummond island, where both he and his father were unknown, he got nothing, and forfeited the right to claim anything for himself on his return here. i sent, however, in his charge, a present of goods of small amount, to be delivered to his father, who has not countenanced his foreign visit. thirteen separate parties, amounting to one hundred and eighty-three souls, visited the office and received issues of provisions this day. _ st_. mikkeingwum, of ottoway lake, made complaint that his canoe had been stolen, and he was left with his family on the beach, without the means of returning. on inquiring into the facts, and finding them as stated, i purchased and presented him a canoe of a capacity suitable to convey his family home. chianokwut (lowering cloud), called _tems couvert_ by the french, principal war chief of leech lake, addressed me in a speech of some length, and presented a garnished war-club, which he requested might be hung up in the office. he said that it was not presented as a hostile symbol. he had _done_ using it, and he wished to put it aside. he had followed the war path _much_ in his youth, but he was now getting _old_, and he desired _peace._ he had attended the treaty of prairie du chien, to assist in fixing the lines of their lands. he recollected the good counsel given to him at that place. he should respect the treaty, and his ears were open to the good advice of his great american father, the president, to whose words he had listened for the last ten years. he referred to the treachery of the sioux, their frequent violation of treaties, &c. he hoped they should hear no _bad news_ (alluding to the sioux) on their return home, &c. wabishke penais (the white bird) solicited food. this young chief had volunteered to carry an express from the sub-agency of la pointe in the spring, and now called to announce his intention of returning to the upper part of lake superior. his attachment to the american government, his having received a small medal from his excellency governor cass, on his visit to the ontonagon river, in , added to the circumstance of his having served as a guide to the party who visited the mass of native copper in that quarter in , had rendered him quite unpopular with his band, and led to his migration farther west. he appears, however, recently to have reassumed himself of success, and is as anxious as ever to recommend himself to notice. this anxiety is, however, carried to a fault, being unsupported by an equal degree of good sense. annamikens (little thunder), a chippewa of mixed blood, from red river, expressed a wish to speak, preparatory to his return, and drew a vivid outline of his various journeys on the frontier, and his intercourse with the hudson's bay and canadian governments. this man had rendered himself noted upon the frontier by a successful encounter with three grizzly bears, and the hairbreadth escape he had made from their clutches. he made, however, no allusion to this feat, in his speech, but referred in general terms to the indians present for testimonies of his character as a warrior and hunter. he said he had now taken the american government fast by the hand, and offered to carry any counsel i might wish to send to the indians on red river, red lake, &c., and to use his influence in causing it to be respected. his appeal to the indians, was subsequently responded to by the chief, tems couvert, who fully confirmed his statements, &c. dugah beshue (spotted lynx), of pelican lake, requested another trader to be sent to that place. complains of the high prices of goods, the scarcity of animals, and the great poverty to which they are reduced. says the traders are very rigorous in their dealings; that they take their furs from their lodges without ceremony, and that ammunition, in particular, is so high they cannot get skins enough to purchase a supply. visited by nine parties, comprising ninety-one souls. _ d_. received visits from, and issued provisions to eighty-one persons. _ d_. wayoond applied for food for his family, consisting of six persons, saying that they had been destitute for some time. i found, on inquiry, that he had been drinking for several days previous, and his haggard looks sufficiently bespoke the excesses he had indulged in. on the following day, being in a state of partial delirium, he ran into the river, and was so far exhausted before he could be got out, that he died in the course of the night. it is my custom to bury all indians who die at the post, at the public expense. a plain coffin, a new blanket, and shirt, and digging a grave, generally comprises this expense, which is paid out of the contingent fund allowed the office. mizye (the catfish) called on me, being on his return voyage from drummond island, begging that i would give him some food to enable him to reach his home at la pointe. this indian has the character of being very turbulent, and active in the propagation of stories calculated to keep up a british feeling amongst the indians of lapointe. the reprimands he has received, would probably have led him to shun the office, were he not prompted by hunger, and the hope of relief. whole number of visitors one hundred and thirty-five. _ th_. mongazid entered the office with his ornamented pipe, and pipe-bearer, and expressed his wish to speak. he went at some length into the details of his own life, and the history of the fond du lac band, with which he appears to be very well acquainted. referred to the proofs he had given of attachment to government, in his conduct at the treaties of prairie du chien and fond du lac; and to his services, as a speaker for the fond du lac band, which had been acknowledged by the chippewas generally, and procured him many followers. said the influence of the old chief at fond du lac (sappa) had declined, as his own had extended, &c. he complained in general terms of the conduct of the traders of that post, but did not specify any acts. said he had advised his young men to assent to their father's request respecting the copper lands on lake superior, &c. having alluded in his speech to the strength of the band, and the amount of their hunt, i asked him, after he had seated himself, what was the population of fond du lac post. he replied, with readiness, two hundred and twenty, of whom sixty-six were males grown, and fifty-four hunters. he said that these fifty-four hunters had killed during the last year ( ) nine hundred and ninety-four bears--that thirty-nine packs of furs were made at the post, and ninety packs in the whole department. grosse guelle made a formal speech, the drift of which was to show his influence among the indians, the numerous places in which he had acted in an official capacity for them, and the proofs of attachment he had given to the american government. he rested his merits upon these points. he said he and his people had visited the agency on account of what had been promised at fond du lac. several of his people had, however, gone home, fearing sickness; others had gone to drummond island for their presents. for himself, he said, he should remain content to take what his american father should see fit to offer him. i inquired of him, if his influence with his people and attachment to the american government were such as he had represented, how it came, that so many of the sandy lake indians, of whom he was the chief, had gone to drummond island? shingabowossin requested that another chippewa interpreter might be employed, in which he was seconded by kagayosh (a bird in everlasting flight), wayishkee, and shewabekaton, chiefs of the home band. they did not wish me to put the present interpreter out of his place, but hoped i would be able to employ another one, whom they could better understand, and who could understand them better. they pointed out a person whom they would be pleased with. but his qualifications extended only to a knowledge of the chippewa and french languages. he was deficient in moral character and trustworthiness; and it was sufficiently apparent that _the person thus recommended_ had solicited them to make this novel application. _ th_. the wife of metakoossega (pure tobacco) applied for food for her husband, whom she represented as being sick at his lodge, and unable to apply himself. the peculiar features and defective chippewa pronunciation of this woman indicated her foreign origin. she is a sioux by birth, having been taken captive by the chippewas when quite young. a residence of probably thirty years has not been sufficient to give her a correct knowledge of the principles or pronunciation of the language. she often applies animate verbs and adjectives to inanimate nouns, &c., a proof, perhaps, that no such distinctions are known in her native tongue. chacopa, a chief of snake river, intimated his wish to be heard. he said he had visited the agency in the hope that some respect [ ] would be shown the medal he carried. the government had thought him worthy of this honor; the traders had also thought him deserving of it; and many of the young men of snake river looked up to him to speak for them. "but what," he asked, "can i say? my father knows how we live, and what we want. we are always needy. my young men are expecting something. i do not speak for myself; but i must ask my father to take compassion on those who have followed me, &c. we expect, from what our great father said to us at the treaty of fond du lac, that they would all be clothed yearly." [footnote : this term was not meant to apply to personal respect, but to presents of goods.] ahkakanongwa presented a note from mr. johnston, sub-agent at la pointe, recommending him as "a peaceable and obedient indian." he requested permission to be allowed to take a keg of whisky inland on his return, and to have a permit for it in writing. i asked him the name of the trader who had sold him the liquor, and who had _sent_ him to ask this permit. wayoond's widow requested provisions to enable her to return to her country. granted. _ th_. chegud, a minor chief of tacquimenon river, embraced the opportunity presented by his applying for food for his family, to add some remarks on the subject of the school promised them at the signing of the treaty of fond du lac. he was desirous of sending three of his children. the conduct of this young man for several years past, his sobriety, industry in hunting, punctuality in paying debts contracted with the traders, and his modest, and, at the same time, manly deportment, have attracted general notice. he is neat in his dress, wearing a capot, like the canada french, is emulous of the good will of white men, and desirous to adopt, in part, their mode of living, and have his children educated. i informed him that the united states senate, in ratifying the treaty, had struck out this article providing for a school. _ st_ shanegwunaibe, a visiting indian from the sources of menomonie river of green bay, stated his object in making so circuitous a journey. (he had come by way of michilimackinac), to visit the agency. he had been induced, from what he had heard of the lake superior indians, to expect that general presents of clothing would be issued to all the chippewas. "nothing," observes the sub-agent at la pointe, "but their wretchedness could induce the indians to wander." _aug. d_. guelle plat returned from his visit to michilimackinac; states that the agent at that post (mr. boyd) had given him a sheep, but had referred him to me, when speaking on the subject of presents, &c., saying that he belonged to my agency. finding in this chief a degree of intelligence, united to habits of the strictest order and sobriety, and a vein of reflection which had enabled him to observe more than i thought he appeared anxious to communicate, i invited him into my house, and drew him into conversation on the state of the trade, and the condition of the indians at leech lake, &c. he said the prices of goods were high, that the traders were rigorous, and that there were some practices which he could wish to see abolished, not so much for his own sake,[ ] as for the sake of the indians generally; that the traders found it for their interest to treat him and the principal chiefs well; that he hunted diligently, and supplied himself with necessary articles. but the generality of the indians were miserably poor and were severely dealt by. he said, the last thing that they had enjoined upon him, on leaving leech lake, was to solicit from me another trader. he had not, however, deemed it proper to make the request in public council. [footnote : he was flattered and pampered by them.] he states that the indians are compelled to sell their furs to _one man_, and to take what he pleases to give them in return. that the trader fixes his own prices, both on the furs and on the goods he gives in exchange. the indians have no choice in the matter. and if it happens, as it did last spring ( ), that there is a deficiency in the outfit of goods, they are not permitted quietly to bring out their surplus furs, and sell them to whom they please. he says that he saw a remarkable instance of this at _point au pins_, on his way out, where young holiday drew a dirk on an indian on refusing to let him take a pack of furs from his canoe. he said, on speaking of this subject, "i wish my father to take away the sword that hangs over us, and let us bring down our furs, and sell them to whom we please." he says that he killed last fall, nearly one thousand muskrats, thirteen bears, twenty martins, twelve fishers. beavers he killed none, as they were all killed off some years ago. he says, that fifty rats are exacted for cloth for a coat (this chief wears coats) the same for a three point blanket, forty for a two-and-a-half point blanket, one hundred for a montreal gun, one _plus_ for a gill of powder, for a gill of shot, or for twenty-five bullets, thirty martins for a beaver trap, fifteen for a rat trap. speaking of the war, which has been so long waged between the chippewas and sioux, to the mutual detriment of both, he said that it had originated in the rival pretensions of a sioux and chippewa chief, for a sioux woman, and that various causes had since added fuel to the flame. he said that, in this long war, the chippewas had been gainers of territory, that they were better woodsmen than the sioux, and were able to stand their ground. but that the fear of an enemy prevented them from hunting some of the best beaver land, without imminent hazard. he had himself, in the course of his life, been a member of twenty-five different war parties, and had escaped without even a wound, though on one occasion, he with three companions, was compelled to cut his way through the enemy, two of whom were slain. these remarks were made in private conversation. anxious to secure the influence and good-will of a man so respectable both for his standing and his understanding, i had presented him, on his previous visit (july ), with the president's large medal, accompanied by silver wrist-bands, gorget, &c., silver hat-band, a hat for himself and son, &c. i now added full patterns of clothing for himself and family, kettles, traps, a fine rifle, ammunition, &c., and, observing his attachment for dress of european fashion, ordered an ample cloak of plaid, which would, in point of warmth, make a good substitute for the blanket. on a visit which he made to fort brady on the following day, dr. pitcher presented his only son, a fine youth of sixteen, a gilt sword, and, i believe, some other presents were made by the officers of the d regiment. _ th_. issued an invoice of goods, traps, kettles, &c. to the indians, who were assembled in front of the office, and seated upon the green for the purpose of making a proper distribution. i took this occasion to remind them of the interest which their great father, the president, constantly took in their welfare, and of his ardent desire that they might live in peace and friendship with each other, and with their ancient enemies, the sioux. that he was desirous to see them increase in numbers, as well as prosperity, to cultivate the arts of peace, so far as they were compatible with their present condition and position, to participate in the benefits of instruction, and to abstain from the use of ardent spirits, that they might continue to live upon the lands of their forefathers, and increase in all good knowledge. i told them they must consider the presents, that had now been distributed, as an evidence of these feelings and sentiments on the part of the president, who expected that they would be ready to hearken to his counsels, &c. i deemed this a suitable opportunity to reply to some remarks that had fallen from several of the speakers, in the course of their summer visits, on the subject of the stipulations contained in the treaty of fond du lac, and informed them that i had put the substance of their remarks into the shape of a letter to the department (see official let., aug. d, ), that this letter would be submitted to the president, and when i received a reply it should be communicated to them. _ th_. shingabowossin and his band called to take leave previous to their setting out on their fall hunts. he thanked me in behalf of all the indians, for the presents distributed to them yesterday. wayishkee (the first born), a chief of the home band, on calling to take leave for the season, stated that he had been disabled by sickness from killing many animals during the last year, that his family was large, und that he felt grateful for the charity shown to his children, &c. this chief is a son of the celebrated war chief waubodjeeg (the white fisher), who died at la pointe about thirty years ago, from whom he inherited a broad wampum belt and gorget, delivered to his grandfather (also a noted chief) by sir wm. johnson, on the taking of fort niagara, in . the allusion made to his family recalled to my mind the fact, that he has had twelve children by one wife, nine of whom are now living; a proof that a cold climate and hardships are not always adverse to the increase of the human species. _ th_. annamikens made a speech, in which he expressed himself very favorably of our government, and said he should carry back a good report of his reception. he contrasted some things very adroitly with the practices he had observed at red river, fort william, and drummond's island. deeming it proper to secure the influence of a person who stands well with the indians on that remote frontier, i presented him a medal of the second class, accompanying it by some presents of clothing, &c., and an address to be delivered to the chippewas, at the sources of the mississippi, in which i referred to the friendly and humane disposition of our government, its desire that the indians should live in peace, refrain from drink, &c. terns couvert, in a short speech, expressed himself favorably towards annamikens, corroborating some statements the latter had made. chacopee came to make his farewell speech, being on the point of embarking. he recommended some of his followers to my notice, who were not present when the goods were distributed on the fifth instant. he again referred to the wants and wishes of the indians of snake river, who lived near the boundary lines, and were subject to the incursions of the sioux. says that the sioux intrude beyond the line settled at the prairie, &c. requests permission to take inland, for his own use, two kegs of whisky, which had been presented to him by mr. dingley and mr. warren. [this mode of evading the intercourse act, by presenting or selling liquor on territory where the laws of congress do not operate, shifting on the indians the risk and responsibility of taking it inland, is a new phase of the trade, and evinces the _moral_ ingenuity of the american fur company, or their servants.] _ th_. grosse guelle stated that, as he was nearly ready to return, he wished to say a few words, to which he hoped i would listen. he complained of the hardness of times, high prices of goods, and poverty of the indians, and hoped that presents would be given to them.[ ] he alleged these causes for his visit, and that of the sandy lake indians generally. adverted to the outrage committed by the sioux at st. peters, and to the treaty of prairie du chien, at which his fathers (alluding to gen. clarke and gov. cass) promised to punish the first aggressors. requested permission to take in some whisky--presses this topic, and says, in reply to objections, that "indians die whether they drink whisky or not." he presented a pipe in his own name, and another in the names of the two young chiefs wazhus-kuk-koon (muskrat's liver), and nauganosh, who both received small medals at the treaty of fond du lac. [footnote : by visiting drummond's island contrary to instructions, this chief and his band had excluded themselves from the distribution made on the th of august.] katewabeda, having announced his wish to speak to me on the th instant, came into the office for that purpose. he took a view of the standing his family had maintained among the sandy lake indians from an early day, and said that he had in his possession until very lately a french flag, which had been presented to some of his ancestors, but had been taken to exhibit at montreal by his son-in-law (mr. ermatinger, an english trader recently retired from business). he had received a muzinni'egun [ ] from lieut. pike, on his visit to sandy lake, in , but it had been lost in a war excursion on the mississippi. he concluded by asking a permit to return with some mdz. and liquor, upon the sale of which, and not on hunting, he depended for his support [ ] i took occasion to inform him that i had been well acquainted with his standing, character, and sentiments from the time of my arrival in the country in the capacity of an agent; that i knew him to be friendly to the traders who visited the upper mississippi, desirous to keep the indians at peace, and not less desirous to keep up friendly relations with the authorities of both the british and american governments; but that i also very well knew that whatever political influence he exerted, was not exerted to instil into the minds of the indians sentiments favorable to our system of government, or to make them feel the importance of making them strictly comply with the american intercourse laws, &c. i referred to the commencement of my acquaintance with him, twenty days after my first landing at st. mary's, and by narrating facts, and naming dates and particulars, endeavored to convince him that i had not been an indifferent observer of what had passed both _within_ and _without_ the indian country. i also referred to recent events here, to which i attributed an application to trade, which he had not thought proper or deemed necessary to make in _previous_ years. [footnote : a paper; any written or printed document.] [footnote : this is one of the modern modes of getting goods into the country in contravention of law, mr. ermatinger being a foreigner trading on the canadian side of the river.] i concluded by telling him that he would see that it was impossible, in conformity with the principles i acted upon, and the respect which i claimed of indians for my counsels, to grant his request. _ th_. guelle plat came to take leave preparatory to his return. he expressed his sense of the kindness and respect with which he had been treated, and intimated his intention of repeating his visit to the agency during the next season, should his health be spared. he said, in the course of conversation, that "there was one thing in which he had observed a great difference between the practice of this and st. peter's agency. _there_ whisky is given out in abundance; _here_ i see it is your practice to give none." _ th_. invested oshkinahwa (the young man of the totem of the loon of leech lake), with a medal. _ th_. issued provisions to the family of kussepogoo, a chippewyan woman from athabasca, recently settled at st. mary's. it seems the name by which this remote tribe is usually known is of chippewa origin (being a corruption of _ojeegewyan_, a fisher's skin), but they trace no affinity with the chippewa stock, and the language is radically different, having very little analogy either in its structure or sounds. it is comparatively harsh and barren, and so defective and vague in its application that it even seems questionable whether nouns and verbs have number. _ th_. visited by the little pine (shingwaukonce), the leading chief on the british shore of the st. mary's, a shrewd and politic man, who has united, at sundry periods, in himself the offices and influence of a war chief, a priest, or jossakeed, and a civil ruler. the giving of public presents on the th had evidently led to his visit, although he had not pursued the policy expected from him, so far as his influence reached among the chippewas on the american shores of the straits. he made a speech well suited to his position, and glossed off with some fine generalities, avoiding commitments on main points and making them on minor ones, concluding with a string of wampum. i smoked and shook hands with him, and accepted his tenders of friendship by re-pledging the pipe, but narrowed his visit to official proprieties, and refused his wampum. _ d._ magisanikwa, or the wampum-hair, renewed his visit, gave me another opportunity to remember his humane act in the spring, and had his claims on this score allowed. the indians never forget a good act done by them, and we should not permit them to surpass us in this respect. chapter xxxii natural history of the north-west--northern zoology--fox--owl--reindeer--a dastardly attempt at murder by a soldier---lawless spread of the population of northern illinois over the winnebago land--new york lyceum of natural history--u.s. ex. ex.--fiscal embarrassments in the department--medical cause of indian depopulation--remarks of dr. pitcher--erroneous impressions of the indian character--reviews--death of john johnston, esq. . _july th_. the ardor with which i thought it proper to address myself to the indian duties of my office, did not induce me, by any means, to neglect my correspondence or the claims of visitors to elmwood. this day lt. col. lindsay and capt. spotts, u.s.a., being on court martial duty at fort brady, paid their respects to me, and the col. expressed his pleasure and surprise at the taste, order, and disposition of the grounds and the agency. nor did the official duties of my position interfere with the investigation of the natural history of the country. a large box of stuffed birds and quadrupeds, containing twenty-three specimens of various species, was sent to the lyceum of natural history at new york, in the month of april. mr. william cooper writes, under this date, that they have been received and examined. "the lynx appears to be the northern species, different from that common in this part of the country, and very rarely seen here even in the public collections. several of the birds, also, i had never had an opportunity of examining before. the spruce partridge, _tetrae canadensis_, is very rare in the united states. there is no other species in this city besides yours. it was entirely unknown to wilson; but it is to appear in the third vol. of bonaparte's continuation of wilson, to be published in the ensuing autumn. the circumstance of its being found in the michigan territory, is interesting on account of the few localities in which this bird has been found in our boundaries. the three-toed woodpecker, _picus tridactylus_, was equally unknown to wilson, and the second volume of bonaparte, now about to be issued, contains an elegant figure and history of this bird, which also inhabits the north of europe and asia. the other birds and quadrupeds of your collection, though better known, were very interesting, as affording materials for the history of their geographical distribution, a subject now become exceedingly interesting. the plover of the plain is the turnstone, _strepsilus interpres_. "the large fish is one of the genus _amia_, and dr. dekay is inclined to think it different from the _a. caloa_ found in our southern rivers, but of much smaller size. the tortoises belong to three species, viz., _t. scabra_, _t. pieta_, and _t. serpentina_. it is the first information i have obtained of their inhabiting so far to the north-west. there are also others found in your vicinity, which, if it would not be asking too much, i should be much pleased if you could obtain for the lyceum." "i hope you will excuse me, if i take the liberty to recommend to you, to direct your observation more particularly to those birds which come to you in winter, from the north, or in any direction from beyond the united states territory. it is among these that you may expect to find specimens new to our ornithology. "the beautiful _fringilla_, which you sent to us a few years since, is figured and described from your specimen, and in an elegant manner, in the volume just about to be published of bonaparte's work." mr. g. johnston of la pointe, lake superior, writes: "since i had the honor of receiving a printed letter from the lyceum of natural history, i have been enabled to procure, at this place, two specimens of the jumping mouse. "the history the indians give of its habits is as follows: it burrows under ground, and in summer lives on the bark of small trees. it provides and lays up a store of corn, nuts, &c., for winter consumption. it also climbs and lives in hollow parts of trees. it is also possessed of a carnivorous habit, it being peculiarly fond of burrowing in old burying places, where it lives, principally on the corpse. it is never seen in winter." there is something in the northern zoology besides the determination of species, which denotes a very minute care in preparing animals for the particular latitudes the several species are designed for, by protecting the legs and feet against the power of intense cold. and the dispersion and migration of birds and quadrupeds are thus confined to general boundaries. the fox, in high northern latitudes, is perfectly white except the nose and tips of the ears, which are black, and the hair extends so as to cover its nails. the various kinds of owls, and the canada jay, which winter in these latitudes, have a feathery, half-hairy protection to the toes. the american species of the reindeer, which under the name of cariboo, inhabits the country around the foot of lake superior, has its hoof split in such a manner that it, in fact, serves as a kind of snow shoe, spreading quite thin over about forty superficial inches, which enables it to walk on the crusted snow. _ th_. dr. william augustus ficklin, of louisiana (jackson), recalls my attention to the u.s. exploring expedition, the programme of which embraces my name. "you will want a physician and surgeon attached to the expedition. is the place yet filled?" my acquaintance with this young gentleman, then a lad at his father's house, in missouri, recalls many pleasing recollections, which gives me every inducement to favor his wishes. _august d_. mr. robert irwin, junr., of green bay, writes that a most diabolical attempt was recently made at that place, a few days ago, to take the life of maj. twiggs, by a corporal belonging to his command. the circumstances were briefly these: about two o'clock in the afternoon, the major had retired to his room to repose himself. soon after the corporal entered the room so secretly that he presented a loaded musket within a few inches of his head, and, as providence would have it, the gun missed fire. the noise awoke the major, who involuntarily seized the muzzle, and, while looking the fellow full in the face, he cocked the gun and again snapped it; but it missed fire the second time. with that the major sprang up in bed and wrenched the gun out of the assassin's hands, and with the breech knocked the fellow down, fracturing his skull so much that his life was for many days despaired of. _ th_. gov. cass, who has proceeded to green bay as a commissioner for treating with the indians, writes: "i am waiting here very impatiently for arrivals from the indian country. but nothing comes, as yet, except proof stronger and stronger of the injustice done to the winnebagoes by the actual seizure of their country." to repress this spirit of the people of northern illinois, much time and negotiation was required. by his knowledge of the indian and frontier character, an arrangement was at length concluded for the occupation of the rock river and galena country. _ d_. an official letter of the new york lyceum of natural history expresses their thanks for recent donations. dr. van rensselaer says: "your birds, reptiles, and quadrupeds have been most graciously received.... the expedition to the south seas (heretofore noticed in this journal) will afford a field for some naturalist to labor in. dr. dekay intends to apply for the situation. we are at present engaged in drawing up some instructions for the naturalist (whoever he may be), which we shall hand to mr. southard, who is now here and has requested it. we trust the expedition will add something to our knowledge as well as to our pecuniary wealth." _ th_. _fiscal_--something has been out of kelter at washington these two years with regard to the rigid application of appropriations, at least in the indian department. we have been literally without money, and issuing paper to public creditors and employees. surely a government that collects its own revenues should never want funds to pay its agents and officers. mr. trowbridge writes: "the money pressure is nearly or quite over in new york, but we feel it here in a dreadful degree. the want of public disbursements this year, upon which we have always rested our hopes with so much confidence, added to the over-introduction of goods for a year or two past, has produced this state of things, and i sometimes think that there will be no great improvement in this generation." _ th_. _medical causes of depopulation_.--the causes of indian depopulation are wars, the want of abundance of food, intemperance, and idleness. dr. pitcher, in a letter of this date, says: "in your note (to 'sanillac') on the subject of the diminution in numbers of our aboriginal neighbors, you have seized upon the most conspicuous, and, during their continuance, the most fatal causes of their decline. with the small-pox you might, however, associate the measles, which, in consequence of their manner of treating the fever preceding the eruption, viz., the use of vapor and cold baths combined, most commonly tends to a mortal termination. to these two evils, propagated by the diffusion of a specific virus, may be added the prevalence of general epidemics, such as influenza, &c., whose virulence expends its force without restraint upon the indians. they are not (as you are aware) a people who draw much instruction from the school of experience, particularly in the department of medicine, and, when by the side of this fact you place the protean forms which the diseases of epidemic seasons assume, the inference must follow that multitudes of them perish where the civilized man would escape (of which i could furnish examples). "it is the province of the science of medicine to preserve to society its feeble and invalid members, which, notwithstanding the war it wages upon the principle of political economists, augments considerably the sum of human life. the victims of the diseases of civilization do not balance the casualties, &c. of a ruder state of society, as may be seen by inspecting the tables of the rates of mortality for a century past. "i will suggest to you the propriety of improving this opportunity for setting the public right on one point, and that is the effects of aboriginal manners upon the physical character. for my part, i have long since ceased to believe that they are indebted to their mode of life for the vigor, as a race, which they exhibit, but that the naturally feeble are destroyed by the vicissitudes to which they are exposed, and which, in part, gives them an appearance, hardy and athletic, above their civilized neighbors." _erroneous impressions of indians_.--maj. whiting, of detroit, says ( th inst.): "i dare say i may find many things which will suit our purposes well. something new and genuine is what we want, and the source gives assurance these things all bear that character. it is time the public should know that neither ladies nor gentlemen who have never crossed the lakes or the alleghany, can have any but vague ideas of the children of the forest. an indian might not succeed well in portraying life in new york, because he does not read much, and would have to trust pretty much, if not altogether, to imagination; but his task would differ only in degree from that of the literary pretender who has never traveled west beyond the march of fresh oysters (though by the way, these have been seen in detroit), and yet thinks he can penetrate the shadows and darkness of the wilderness. they put a hatchet in his hand, and stick a feather in his cap, and call him 'nitche nawba.' if i recollect right, in yamoyden a soup was made of some white children. indians have not been over dainty at times, and no doubt have done worse things; but on such occasions their _modus operandi_ was not likely to be so much in accordance with the precepts of madam glass." _reviews_.--"i read over your last article in the n.a., and thought it had rather less point and connection than you had probably given it; but it still has much to recommend it. the remarks on language were more intelligible to me than any i have before seen, and have given me many clues which i have vainly sought for in preceding dissertations of the kind." _sept. d_. this day the patriarch of the place, john johnston, esq., breathed his last. he had attained the age of sixty-six. a native of the county of antrim, in the north of ireland; a resident for some thirty-eight years of this frontier; a gentleman in manners; a merchant, in chief, in the hazardous fur trade; a man of high social feelings and refinements; a cotemporary of the long list of men eminent in that department; a man allied to bishops and nobles at home; connected in marriage with a celebrated chippewa family of algonquins; he was another rolfe, in fact, in his position between the anglo-saxon and the indian races; his life and death afford subjects for remark which are of the deepest interest, and would justify a biography, not a mere notice. i wrote a brief sketch for the _new york albion_, and transmitted copies of the paper to some of his connections in ireland. his coming out from that country was during the first presidency of washington, and a few years before the breaking out of the irish rebellion. he had a deep sense of his country's injuries, and of the effect of the laws which pressed so heavily on her energies, political and commercial; but was entirely loyal, and maintained the highest tone of loyalism in argument. he saw deeply the evils, but not the remedy, which he thought to lay rather in future and peaceful developments. he suffered greatly and unjustly in the war of , in which his place was pillaged by the american troops, and some forty thousand dollars of his private property destroyed, contrary to the instructions of the american commandant. low-minded persons who had been in his service as clerks, and disliked his pretensions to aristocracy, were the cause of this, and piloted the detachment up the river. he was, however, in nowise connected with the north-west company, far less "one of its agents." he was a civil magistrate under gov.-gen. prevost, and was honestly attached to the british cause, and he had never accepted any office or offers from the american government. the canadian british authorities did not, however, compensate him for his losses, on the ground of his living over the lines, at a time, too, when gen. brock had taken the country and assumed the functions of civil and military governor over all michigan. the american congress did not acknowledge the obligation to sustain the orders to respect private property, the chairman of the committee of claims reporting that the actors "might be prosecuted," and the old gentleman's last years were thus embittered, and he went down to the grave the victim of double misconceptions--leaving to a large family of the indo-irish stock little beyond an honorable and unspotted name. chapter xxxiii. treaty of st. joseph--tanner--visits of the indians in distress--letters from the civilized world--indian code projected--cause of indian suffering--the indian cause--estimation of the character of the late mr. johnston--autobiography--historical society of michigan--fiscal embarrassments of the indian department. . tanner was a singular being--out of humor with the world, speaking ill of everybody, suspicious of every human action, a very savage in his feelings, reasonings, and philosophy of life, and yet exciting commiseration by the very isolation of his position. he had been stolen by the indians in the ohio valley when a mere boy, during the marauding forays which they waged against the frontiers about . he was not then, perhaps, over seven years of age--so young, indeed, as to have forgotten, to a great degree, names and dates. his captors were saganaw chippewas, among whom he learned the language, manners and customs, and superstitions of the indians. they passed him on, after a time, to the ottowas of l'arbre croche, near mackinac, among whom he became settled in his pronunciation of the ottowa dialect of the great algonquin family. by this tribe, who were probably fearful a captive among them would be reclaimed after wayne's war and the defeat of the combined indians on the miami of the lakes, he was transferred to kindred tribes far in the north-west. he appears to have grown to manhood and learned the arts of hunting and the wild magic notions of the indians on the red river of the north, in the territory of hudson's bay. lord selkirk, in the course of his difficulties with the north-west company, appears to have first learned of his early captivity. he came out to mackinac with the traders about , and went to find his relatives in kentucky, with whom, however, he could not long live. his habits were now so inveterately savage that he could not tolerate civilization. he came back to the frontiers and obtained an interpretership at the u.s. agency at mackinac. the elements of his mind were, however, morose, sour, suspicious, antisocial, revengeful, and bad. in a short time he was out with everybody. he caused to be written to me a piteous letter. dr. james, who was post surgeon at the place, conceived that his narrative would form a popular introduction to his observations on some points of the indian character and customs, which was the origin of a volume that was some years afterwards given to the public. a note he brought me in , from a high source, procured him my notice. i felt interested in his history, received him in a friendly manner, and gave him the place of interpreter. he entered on the duties faithfully; but with the dignity and reserve of an indian chief. he had so long looked on the dark side of human nature that he seldom or never smiled. he considered everybody an enemy. his view of the state of indian society in the wilderness made it a perfect hell. they were thieves and murderers. no one from the interior agreed with him in this. the traders, who called him a bad man, represent the indians as social when removed from the face of white men, and capable of noble and generous acts. he was, evidently, his own judge and his own avenger in every question. i drew out of him some information of the indian superstitions, and he was well acquainted practically with the species of animals and birds in the northern latitudes. _ th_. a letter informs me that a treaty has just been concluded with the potawattomies of st. joseph's, who cede to the united states about a million and a half acres, comprising the balance of their lands in michigan. i received, at the same time, a few lines from gen. cass, speaking a word for the captive, john tanner, the object of which was to suggest his employment as an interpreter in the indian department.[ ] [footnote : this man served a short time, but turned out, for eighteen years, to be the pest of that settlement, being a remarkably suspicious, lying, bad-minded man, having lost every virtue of the white man, and accumulated every vice of the indian. he became more and more morose and sour because the world would not support him in idleness, and went about half crazed, in which state he hid himself one day, in , in the bushes, and shot and killed my brother, james l. schoolcraft. he then fled back to the indians, and has not been caught. the musket with which this nefarious act was done, is said to have been loaned to him from the guard-house at fort brady. dr. bagg pronounced the ball an ounce-ball, such as is employed in the u.s. service. the wad was the torn leaf of a hymn book. it was extensively reported by the diurnal press, that i had been the victim of this unprovoked perfidy.] _october st_. the indian visits, from remote bands, which were very remarkable this year, continued through the entire month of august, and beyond the date at which i dropped the notices of them, during september, when they were reduced, as party after party returned to the interior, to the calls of the ordinary bands living about the post, and, at furthest, to the foot of lake superior and the valley and straits of the st. mary's. with them, or rather before them, went the traders with their new outfits and retinues, chiefly from michilimackinac. as one after another departed, there was less need of that vigilance, "by night and by day," to see that none of the latter class went without due license; that the foreign boatmen on their descriptive lists were duly bonded for; that no "freedmen" slipped in; and that no ardent spirits were taken in contrary to law. gradually my public duties were thus narrowed down to the benevolent wants of the bands that were immediately around me, to seeing that the mechanics employed by the department did their duties, and to keeping the office at washington duly informed of the occurrences and incidents belonging to indian affairs. all this, after the close of summer, requires but a small portion of a man's time, and as winter, which begins here the first of november, approached, i felt impelled to devote a larger share of attention to subjects of research or literary amusement. i missed two men in plunging into the leisure hours of my seventh winter (omitting ), in this latitude, namely, mr. johnston, whose conversation and social sympathies were always felt, and dr. pitcher, whose tastes for natural science and general knowledge rendered him a valuable visitor. letters from the civilized world tended to keep alive the general sympathies, which none more appreciate than those who are shut out from its circles. mr. edward everett (oct. th) communicates his sentiments favorably, respecting the preparation of an article for the _north american review_. the rev. mr. cadle (oct. th) sends a package of bibles and prayer books for distribution among the soldiers, which he entrusts to mrs. s. the rev. mr. wells, of detroit, writes of some temporality. mr. trowbridge keeps me advised respecting the all important and growing importance of the department's fiscal affairs. the author of "sanillac" (oct. th) acknowledges the reception and reading of my "notes," with which he expresses himself pleased. the head of the indian office writes, "the plan has been adopted of compiling a code of regulations for the indian intercourse during the winter. for this duty, gen. clarke, of st. louis, and gen. cass, of detroit, have been selected." such were some of the extraneous subjects which the month of october brought from without. the month of november was not without some incidents of interest. from the first to the fifteenth, a number of indian families applied for food, under circumstances speaking loudly in their favor. the misfortune is, that these poor creatures are induced to part with everything for the means of gratifying their passion for drink, and then lingering around the settlements as long as charity offers to supply their daily wants. the usual term of application for this class is, kittemaugizzi, or nim bukkudda, i am in want, or i am hungry. by making my office a study, i am always found in the place of public duty, and the latter is only, in fact, a temporary relief from literary labor. i have often been asked how i support solitude in the wilderness. here is the answer: the wilderness and the busy city are alike to him who derives his amusements from mental employment. _nov. th_. the indian cause.--in a letter of this date from mr. j.d. stevens, of the mission of michilimackinac, he suggests a colony to be formed at some point in the chippeway country of lake superior, and inquires whether government will not patronize such an effort to reclaim this stock. the indian is, in every view, entitled to sympathy. the misfortune with the race is, that, seated on the skirts of the domain of a popular government, they have no vote to give. they are politically a nonentity. the moral and benevolent powers of our system are with the people. government has nothing to do with them. the whole indian race is not, in the political scales, worth one white man's vote. here is the difficulty in any benevolent scheme. if the indian were raised to the right of giving his suffrage, a plenty of politicians, on the frontiers, would enter into plans to better him. now the subject drags along as an incubus on congress. legislation for them is only taken up on a pinch. it is a mere expedient to get along with the subject; it is taken up unwillingly, and dropped in a hurry. this is the indian system. nobody knows really what to do, and those who have more information are deemed to be a little moon-struck. _ th_. estimation of mr. johnston.--gov. cass writes from washington: "mr. johnston's death is an event i sincerely deplore, and one upon which i tender my condolements to the family. he was really no common man. to preserve the manners of a perfect gentleman, and the intelligence and information of a well-educated man, in the dreary wastes around him, and in his seclusion from all society but that of his own family, required a vigor and elasticity of mind rarely to be found." new indian code.--the loose and fragmentary character of the indian code has, at length, arrested attention at washington, and led to some attempts to consolidate it. a correspondent writes (nov. th): "gen. clarke has not yet arrived, but is expected daily. in the meantime, i have prepared an analysis of the subject, which has been approved by the department, and, on the arrival of gen. clarke, we shall be prepared to proceed to the compilation of our code, which, i do hope, will put things in a better situation for all." the derangements in the fiscal affairs of the indian department are in the extreme. one would think that appropriations had been handled with a pitchfork. a correspondent writes: "for , we were promised $ , , and received $ , . for , we were promised $ , , and have received $ , ; and, besides these promises, were all the extra expenditures authorized to be incurred, amounting to not less than $ , . it is impossible this can continue." and these derangements are only with regard to the north. how the south and west stand, it is impossible to say. but there is a screw loose in the public machinery somewhere. _dec. th_. autobiography.--"it is to be regretted," writes dr. edwin james, "that our lamented friend (mr. johnston) had not lived to complete his autobiography. this deficiency constitutes no valid objection to the publication of the memoirs, though it appears to me highly desirable that you should complete the sketch, so as to include the history of the latter portion of his life. in perfect accordance with the plan of such a continuation, you would embody much valuable detail in relation to the history and condition of this section of the country for the last thirty years. you must, doubtless, have access to all the existing materials, and to many sources of authentic information, which could, very appropriately, be given to the public in such a form." _ th_. union of the pursuits of natural and civil history.--i brought forward, and had passed at the last session of the legislature, an act incorporating the historical society of michigan. dr. pitcher, who has recently changed his position to fort gratiot, at the foot of lake huron, proposes the embracing of natural history among its studies. he finds his position, at that point, to be still unfavorable in some aspects, and not much, if anything, superior to what it was at st. mary's. _ th_. fiscal perplexities of the department.--these were alluded to before. no improvement appears, but we are all destined to suffer. a friend, who is versed in the subject, writes from washington: "the fact is, that nothing could be worse managed than the fiscal concerns of the department. not the slightest regard has been paid to the apportionment made, and there is now due to our superintendency more than the sum of $ , . you can well conceive how this happens, and i have neither time nor patience to enter into the details; suffice it to say, that i am promised by the secretary that the moment the appropriation law passes, which will probably be early in january, every dollar of arrearages shall be paid off. this is all the consolation i can furnish you, and, i suppose i need not say that i have left no stone unturned to effect a more desirable result. it is manifest, however, that the whole department will be exceedingly pressed for funds next year, as a considerable part of the appropriation must be assigned to the payment of arrearages, which have been suffered to accumulate; and it is not considered expedient, in the present state of affairs, to ask for a specific appropriation. it will require at least two years to bring our fiscal concerns to a healthy state." in fact, to meet these embarrassments, many retrenchments became necessary; some sub-agencies were drawn in from the indian country, mechanics and interpreters were dismissed, and things put on the very lowest scale of expenditure. chapter xxxiv. political horizon--ahmo society--incoming of gen. jackson's administration--amusements of the winter--peace policy among the indians--revival at mackinac--money crisis--idea of lake tides--new indian code--anti-masonry--missions among the indians--copper mines--the policy respecting them settled--whisky among the indians--fur trade--legislative council--mackinac mission---officers of wayne's war--historical society of michigan--improved diurnal press. _ . jan. st_. the administration of john quincy adams now draws to a close, and that of gen. jackson is anticipated to commence. political things shape themselves for these events. the close of the old year and the opening of the new one have been remarkable for heralding many rumors of change which precede the incoming of the new administration. many of these relate to the probable composition of gen. jackson's cabinet. among the persons named in my letters is gov. cass, who has attracted a good deal of exterior notoriety during the last year. within the territory, his superiority of talents and energy have never been questioned. michigan would have much to lament by such a transference, for it is to be feared that party rancor, which he has admirably kept down, would break forth in all its accustomed violence. _ th_. ahmo society.--under this aboriginal term, which signifies a bee, the ladies of the fort and village have organized themselves into a sewing society for benevolent purposes. i find myself honored with a letter of thanks from them by their secretary, mrs. e.s. russell. truly, the example of dorcas was not mentioned in vain in the scriptures, for its effect is to excite the benevolent and charitable everywhere to do likewise. every such little influence helps to make society better, and aids its sources of pleasing and self-sustaining reflection. _february th_. a letter from the editor of the _north american review_ acknowledges the receipt of a paper to appear in _its_ columns. _march th_, the administration of the government this day passes into the hands of a man of extraordinary individuality of character, indomitable will, high purpose, and decided moral courage. he was fighting the creeks and seminoles when i first went to the west, and they told the most striking anecdotes of him, illustrating each of these traits of character. ten or eleven years have carried him into the presidential chair. such is the popular feeling with respect to military achievements and strong individuality of character. men like to follow one who shows a capacity to lead. _ st_. the winter has passed with less effect from the intensity of its cold and external dreariness, from the fact of my being ensconsed in a new house, with double window-sashes, fine storm-houses, plenty of maple fuel, books, and studies. besides the fruitful theme of the indian language, i amused myself, in the early part of the season, by writing a review for one of the periodicals, and with keeping up, throughout the season, an extensive correspondence with friends and men of letters in various parts of the union. i revised and refreshed myself in some of my early studies, i continued to read whatever i could lay my hands on respecting the philosophy of language. appearances of spring--the more deepened sound of the falls, the floating of large cakes of ice from the great northern depository, lake superior, and the return of some early species of ducks and other birds--presented themselves as harbingers of spring almost unawares. it is still wintry cold during the nights and mornings, but there is a degree of solar heat at noon which betokens the speedy decline of the reign of frosts and snows. the indians, to whom the rising of the sap in its capillary vessels in the rock-maple is the sign of a sort of carnival, are now in the midst of their season of sugar-making. it is one of their old customs to move, men, women, children, and dogs, to their accustomed sugar-forests about the th of march. besides the quantity of maple-sugar that all eat, which bears no small proportion to all that is made, some of them sell a quantity to the merchants. their name for this species of tree is in-in-au-tig, which means man-tree. _april th_. peace policy.--the agent from la pointe, in lake superior, writes: "my expressman from the fond du lac arrived on the st of last month, by whom i learned that the leech lake indians were unsuccessful in their war excursion last fall, not having met with their enemies, the sioux, and i trust my communication with mr. aitkin will be in time to check parties that may be forming in the spring. "the state of the indians throughout the country is generally in a critical way of starvation, the wild-rice crops and bear-hunts having completely failed last fall." _ st_. revival of religion at mackinac.--my brother james, who crossed the country on snow-shoes, writes: "mr. stuart, satterlee, mitchell, miss n. dousman, aitken, and some twenty others, have joined ferry's church." this may be considered as the crowning point of the reverend mr. ferry's labors at that point. this gentleman, if i mistake not, came up in the same steamer with me seven years ago. it is seed--seed literally sown in the wilderness, and reaped in the wilderness. _ th_. money crisis.--"the fact is," says a person high in power, "the fiscal concerns of the department have come to a dead stand, and nothing remains but to ascertain the arrearages, and pay them up. you well know how all this has happened (by diversions and misappropriations of the funds at washington). such management you can form no conception of. there will be, during the year, a thorough change. "i was glad to see your article. it is an able, and temperate, and practical view of the subject (_n.a.r._, ap. ), grossly exaggerated, and grossly misunderstood." _may th_. idea of lake tides.--maj. w. writes: "if you see _silliman's journal_, you will observe an article on the subject of the _lake tides_, as gen. dearborn calls them, in which he has inserted some hasty letters i wrote to him on this subject, without, however, ever expecting to see them in such a respectable guise. the governor made some more extended observations at green bay. if you can give anything more definite in relation to the changes of lake superior, pray let me have a letter, and we will try to spread before mr. silliman a better view of the case. i have no idea that anything in the shape, of a tide exists, the governor is of the same opinion." to these opinions i can merely add, amen. it requires more exactitude of observation than falls to the lot of casual observers, to upset the conclusions of known laws and phenomena. _ th_. new indian code.--mr. wing, the delegate in congress, forwards to me a printed copy of the report of laws proposed for the indian department. it denotes much labor on the part of the two gentlemen who have had it in hand, and will be productive of improvement. i should have liked a bolder course, and not so careful a respect all along, for what has previously been done. congress requires, sometimes, to be instructed, or informed, and not to be copied in its attempts to manage indian, affairs. every paper brings accounts of removals and appointments under the new administration; but nothing, so far as i can judge, that promises much, in this way, of material benefit to indian affairs. the department at head-quarters has been, so far as respects fiscal questions, wretchedly managed, and is over head and ears in debt, and the result of all this mal-administration is visited on the frontiers, in the bitter want of means for the agents, sub-agents, and mechanics, and interpreters, who are obliged to be either suspended, or put on short allowance. doubtless, gen. jackson, who is a man of high purpose, would remedy this thing, if the facts were laid before him. _ th_. masonry.--it has recently been discovered, that there is a hidden danger in this ancient fraternity, and that society has been all the while sitting, as it were, on the top of a volcano, liable, at any moment, to burst. such, at least, appear to be the views of some politicians, who have seized upon the foolish and apparently _criminal acts_ of some lack-wits in western new york, to make it a new political element for demagogues to ride. already it has reached these hitherto quiet regions, and zealots are now busy by conventions, and anxious in hurrying candidates up to the point. "anti-masonic" is the word, a kind of "shibboleth" for those who are to cross the political "fords" of the new jordan. _june st_. missionary labors among the indians.--there are evidently some defects in the system. there is too much expended for costly buildings, and the formation of a kind of literary institutes of much too high a grade, where some few of the indians are withdrawn and very expensively supported, and undergo a sort of incarceration for a time, and are then sent back to the bosom of the tribes, with the elements of the knowledge of letters and history, which their parents and friends are utterly unable to appreciate, and which they, in fact, ridicule. the instructed youth is soon discouraged, and they most commonly fall back into habits worse than before, and end their course by inebriety, while the body of the tribe is nowise bettered. whatever the defects are, there are certainly some things to amend in our measures and general policy. mr. stevens and mr. coe, both missionaries, have recently been appointed to visit the indian country, with the object of observing whether some less expensive and more general effort to instruct and benefit the body of the tribes, cannot be made. the latter has a commentatory letter to this end, from gen. jackson, dated the th of march, which denotes an interest on this topic that argues favorably of his views of moral things. "the true system of converting the indians was, it is apprehended, adopted by david brainerd in . he took the bible, and declared its truths with simplicity and earnestness in the indian villages. there was no preparation of buildings or outlays. in one year he had gathered a church of pure believers. their manners immediately reformed; they became industrious and cleanly, and built houses, and schools, and tilled the land. all this was a _consequence_, and not a _cause_ of christianity." [ ] [footnote : works of jonathan edwards, vol. .] _ d_. a friend writes: "i believe the literary world is rather lazy just at this time; at least nothing novel, except words, has reached my eye. your _literary voyager_ has lately been traveling the rounds amongst your friends." _ th_. copper mines.--a private letter, from a high quarter, says: "col. benton's bill, respecting the copper mines, which passed congress, only provided for permission being granted to individuals to work them at their own expense. there is no intention of doing anything on public account." this, it will be perceived, was the view presented (ante) by mr. dox, in his able letter to me on the subject, several years ago. congress will not authorize the working of the mines. it is a matter for private enterprize. _july th_. whisky among the indians.--mr. robert stuart, agent to the american fur company, writes from mackinac, that some of the american fur company's clerks are not inclined to take whisky, under the general government permit, _provided their opponents take none_. this tampering with the subject and with me, in the conduct of the agent of that company, whose duty it is rigidly to exclude the article by every means, would accord better, it should seem, with the spirit of one who had not recently taken obligations which are applicable to all times and all space. little does the spirit of commerce care how many indians die inebriates, if it can be assured of beaver skins. the situation of any of its agents, who may acknowledge christian obligations, is doubtless an embarrassing one; and such persons should seek to get out of such an employment as soon as possible. the true direction, in all cases of this kind, is, to take high moral grounds. the department, by granting such permits, violates a law. the agent of the company who seeks to exclude "opponents" in the trade, errs by attempting to throw the responsibility of the minor question upon the local agent, over whose head he already shakes his permits from a superior power. now the "opponents," be it understood, have no such "permits," and the agent can give them none. this subject of ardent spirits is a constantly recurring one in every possible form; and no little time of an agent of indian affairs, and no small part of his troubles and vexations, are due to it. the traders and citizens generally, on the frontiers, are leagued in their _supposed_ interests to break down, or evade the laws, congressional and territorial, which exclude it, or make it an offence to sell or give it. if an agent aims honestly to put the law in force, he must expect to encounter obloquy. if he appeals to the local courts, it is ten to one that nine-tenths of his jury are offenders in this very thing. so far as the american fur company is concerned, it is seen, i think, by the course of the managers, that it would conduce to better hunts if the indians were kept sober, and liquor were rigidly excluded; but the argument is, that "_on the lines_"--that the hudson's bay company use it, and that their trade would suffer if they had not "_some_." and they thus override the agents, by appealing to higher powers, and so get permits annually, for a limited quantity, of which _they_ and not the _agents_ are the judges. in this way the independence of the agents is constantly kept down, and made to bend to a species of mock popular will. in view of the counteracting influence of the american fur company on this frontier, it would be better for the credit of morals, properly so considered, if the chief agent of that concern at michilimackinac were not a professor of religion, or otherwise, if he were in a position to act out its precepts boldly and frankly on this subject. for, as it now is, his position is perpetually mistaken. a temperance man, he is yet a member of a local temperance society, which only operates against the retailers, but leaves members free to sell by the barrel. bound, by the principles of law, not to introduce whisky into the interior, he yet sells it to others, knowing their intention to be to run it over the lines, in spite of the agents. this is done by white and red men. and he obtains "permits" besides, as head of the company, at head-quarters at washington, to take in, openly, a certain quantity of high wines every year. talk to that gentleman on the subject, and he is eloquent in defence of temperance. thus the obligation is kept to the ear, but broken in the practice. a business that thus compels a man to hamper his conscience, and cause scandal to the church, should be abandoned at once. _aug. th_. fur trade.--mr. sparks, ed. _n.a. rev_., reminds me of an intimation mentioned to mr. palfrey, to write an article on this subject, "from observation," he remarks, "and inquiry you have enjoyed peculiar advantages for gaining a knowledge of the indians, their history, character and habits, and the world will be greatly indebted to you for continuing to diffuse this knowledge, as your opportunities may allow." the fur trade has certainly been productive of a market to indians for the result of their forest labors, without which they would want many necessaries. but while it has stimulated hunting, and so far as this goes, _industry_, in the indian race, it has tended directly to diminish the animals upon which they subsist, and thus hastened the period of the indian supremacy, while it has introduced the evil of intoxication by ardent spirits. legislative council.--i left st. mary's the latter part of august, to attend the second session of the third legislative council at detroit. the same tendency was manifested as in the first session, to lean favorably to the old pioneers and early settlers of an exposed frontier, which has suffered severely from indian wars, and other causes of depression. with the exception of divorce cases, there were really no bad laws passed; and no disposition manifested to excessive legislation, or to encumber the statute book with new schemes. local and specific acts absorbed the chief attention during the session. deeming it ever better to keep good old laws than to try ill-digested and doubtful new ones, i used my influence to repress the spirit of legislating for the sake of legislation, wherever i saw appearances of it. as chairman of the committee on finances, i managed that branch with every possible care. i busied myself with the plan of trying to introduce terse and tasty names for the new townships, taken from the indian vocabulary--to suppress the sale of ardent spirits to the indian race, and to secure something like protection for that part of the population which had amalgamated with the european blood. mackinac mission.--towards the close of the session, a movement was made against the mackinac mission by an attempt to repeal the law exempting the persons engaged in it from militia and jury service. a formal attack was made by one of the members against that establishment, its mode of management, and character. this i resisted. being in my district, and familiar with the facts and persons implicated, i repelled the charge as being entirely unjust to the rev. mr. ferry, the gentleman at the head of that institution. i drew up a report on the subject, vindicating the institution, which was adopted and printed. this was a triumph achieved with some exertions. names of the officers who served with gen. wayne.--gen. brady gave me, during this session, a list of the names of the officers who had served reputably in the indian campaigns conducted by gen. wayne in - - . i proposed to retain them in naming the townships, the possession of the territorial area of which we owe to their bravery and gallantry. historical society of michigan.--this institution was incorporated at the first session of the third legislative council, in . the bill for this purpose was introduced by me, after consultation with some literary friends. it contained the plan of constituting the members of the legislative council members ex-officio. this, it was apprehended, and rightly so, would give it an official countenance, and serve, in some things, as a convenient basis for meetings during the few years that precede a state government, while our literary population continues sparse. my experience in the east had shown me that quorums are not readily attained in literary societies, which is a sore hindrance to the half dozen efficient laborers out of a populous city, who generally hold the laboring oar of such institutions. the historical incidents of this section of the union are quite attractive, and, while general history has cognizance of the leading events, there is much in the local keeping of old men who are ready to drop off. there is more in the aboriginal history and languages that invites attention, while the modern history--the exploration and settlement of the country, and the leading incidents which are turning a wilderness into abodes of civilization--is replete with matter that will be of deep interest to posterity. to glean in this broad field appears an important literary object. gov. cass gave us this session the first discourse, in a rapid and general and eloquent review of the french period, including the transfer of authority to great britain, and an account of the bold and original attempted surprise of the english garrison at detroit, by pontiac. this well-written and eloquently-digested discourse was listened to with profound interest, and ordered to be printed.[ ] [footnote : vide _historical and scientific sketches of michigan_, vol. mo; wells and whitney, .] improved press.--in a state of society which relies so much on popular information through the diurnal press, its improvement is of the highest consequence. mr. william ward, of massachusetts, performed this office for the city of detroit and michigan this fall, by the establishment of a new paper, which at first bore the title of _north-west journal_, and afterwards of _detroit journal_. this sheet exhibits a marked advance in editorial ability, maturity of thought, and critical acumen. i embarked at detroit, on my return to st. mary's, late in october, leaving the council still in session, and reached that place on one of the last days of the month. _dec. th_. mr. ward writes: "we have published _the rise of the west, and the ages of michigan_. it is printed well, but bound, sorry i am to say, carelessly. i suppose the major will send you a copy." _rise of the west, or a prospect of the mississippi valley_, embraces reminiscences of this noble stream, and of its banks being settled by the anglo-saxons. chapter xxxv. the new administration--intellectual contest in the senate--sharp contest for mayoralty of detroit--things shaping at washington--perilous trip on the ice--medical effects of this exposure--legislative council--visit to niagara falls--a visitor of note--history--character of the chippewas--ish-ko-da-wau-bo--rotary sails--hostilities between the chippewas and sioux--friendship and badinage--social intercourse--sanillac--gossip--expedition to lake superior--winter session of the council--historical disclosure--historical society of rhode island--domestic--french revolution. _ . jan. th_. the new administration.--a friend from washington writes: "nothing has yet been touched in the indian department. it is doubtful whether our code will be considered. the engrossing topic of the session will be the removal of the indians. it occupies the public mind through the union, and petitions and remonstrances are pouring in, without number. the article (_on the removal of the indians_) was luckily hit. it has been well received, and is very acceptable to the government." _feb. d_. intellectual contest in the senate.--a correspondent from detroit writes: "i refer you to your papers, which will give you the history of the contest between those intellectual giants, hayne and webster, rather webster and hayne, on the land question, which seems to absorb public interest entirely. my books containing _extracts of the eloquence of the british parliament_, furnish me no such models as that second speech. such clearness, simplicity, and comprehensiveness; such a grave and impressive tread; such imposing countenance and manner; such power of thought, and vigor of intellect, and opulence of diction, and chastened brilliance of imagination, have seldom, i was about to say never, startled the listeners of that chamber." sharp contest for mayoralty of detroit.--a shrewd and observant correspondent writes: "john r. williams has been elected mayor, after a close election, disputed by chapin. the enemy practised a good thing on him. during one of the delegate elections, when his ambition seemed to tower higher than it now does, he published a sort of memorabilia, like that of dr. mitchell, in which was set forth, with much minuteness of detail, all that he had ever done, and much of all he ever thought, for the good of this poor territory. such, for instance, as that in , he was appointed town-clerk of hamtramck; that he offered, in , his services to congress in a military capacity, which offer was rejected, and 'was the first who received intelligence of the capture of mackinac,' &c. this thing the remorseless enemy republished, after it had been fervently hoped, no doubt, that the unlucky bantling had descended to the tomb of the capulets. it was so unaccountably weak and stupid, and so unkindly contrasted at bottom with sundry specifications 'of how' he had, with a pertinacious consistency, opposed every projected public improvement here, that his friends pronounced it a _forgery_." _april th_. things shaping at washington.--"i reached home," says a friend, "last week, after a pleasant journey. the time passed off, at washington, pretty comfortably. there was much to see and hear. the elements of political affairs are combining and recombining, and it is difficult to predict the future course of things. "you will see that, in the fiscal way, the department is better off than last year. our friend, col. mckenney, stands his ground well, and i see no difference in his situation." perilous trip on the ice.--my brother james left the sault st. marie on the ice with a train, about the st of april. he writes from mackinac, on the th of april: "we arrived here on the th, after a stay of seven days at point st. ignace. we were seven days from the sault to the point, at which place we arrived in a cold rain storm, half starved, lame, and tired. i suppose this trip ranks anything of the kind since the days of henry. i am sure mortals never suffered more than us. after leaving the sault, disappointment, hunger, and fatigue, were our constant companions. the children of israel traveled a crooked road, 'tis said, but i think it was not equal to our circuit. "we found the ice in muddy lake very good, in comparison to that of huron. after leaving detour, we were obliged to coast, and that too over piles of snow, mountains of ice, and innumerable rocks. in one instance, we were obliged to make a portage across a cedar swamp with our baggage, and drove jack about a mile through the water, in order to continue the 'voyage in a train.' we were obliged to round all those long points on huron, afraid if we went through the snow of being caught on some island. "jack fell through the ice three times out of soundings, and it was with great difficulty we succeeded in getting him out. we lost all our harness in the lake, and were obliged to 'rig out' with an old bag, a portage collar, and a small piece of rope-yarn. jack was three days without eating, except what he could pick on the shore. take it all in all, i think it rather a severe trip." medical or physical effects of this exposure to cold and wet.--"i came to this place (vernon, n.y.) much fatigued, and not in the best health. i think my voyage from the sault to mackinac has impaired my health. i was most strangely attacked on board the aurora. as i was reading in the cabin, all at once i was struck perfectly blind; then a severe pain in the head and face and throat, which was remedied by rubbing with vinegar; on the whole, rather a strange variety of attack." kindness to an old decayed "merchant voyageur."--there lived near me, on the canadian shore, an aged frenchman, a native of trois rivières, in lower canada, whose reminiscences of life in the wilderness, in the last century, had the charm of novelty. he was about seventy years of age, and had raised a family of children by a half-english half-chippewa wife, all of whom had grown up and departed. his wife and himself were left alone, and were very poor. his education had been such as to read and write french well; he had, in fact, received his education in the college of quebec, where he studied six years, and he spoke that language with considerable purity. as the cold weather drew on in the fall of , i invited him, with his wife, to live in my basement, and took lessons of him in french every morning after breakfast. he had all the polite and respectful manners of a _habitant_, and never came up to these recitations without the best attention in his power to his costume. such was jean baptiste perrault, who was from one of the best families in lower canada. he had been early enamored with stories of voyageur adventure and freedom in the indian country, where he had spent his life. he was a man of good judgment, quick perceptions, and most extraordinary memory of things. at my request, he committed to paper, in french, a narrative of his wild adventures, reaching from st. louis to pembina, between and . most of the facts illustrate the hardships and risks of the indian trade and indian manners and customs. they supply something for the history of the region while the country was under the english dominion. never was a man more grateful for this winter's attention. he moved back with his wife, who was quite attentive to him, to his little domicil on the opposite shore in the spring, and lived, i am informed, till nov. , , when he was about . fourth legislative council.--i was re-elected a member of the legislative council, and as soon as the lakes and river were fairly open, proceeded to detroit, where i arrived about the middle of may. in this trip i was accompanied by mrs. s. and my infant son and daughter, with their nurse; and by miss charlotte johnston, a young lady just coming out into society. the council met and organized without delay, the committees being cast much in the manner of the preceding council, as a majority of the members were re-elected. so far as changes of men had supervened, they were, perhaps, for the better. visit to niagara falls.--early in june, however, it was determined to take a recess, and i embraced this opportunity to proceed with my family to visit niagara falls. miss elizabeth cass accepted an invitation to join us, and we had a most interesting and delightful visit. we were, perhaps, the first party of pure pleasure, having no objects of business of any kind, who ever went from the upper lakes to see this grand feature in american scenery. we were most kindly received by friends and acquaintances at buffalo, where many parties were given. we visited both banks of the falls, and crossed over below the sheet. on passing black rock, we were kindly received by gen. porter and his accomplished and talented lady. we returned to detroit with the most pleasing reminiscences of the trip. a visitor of note.--about the th of july, gen. erastus root, long a veteran in the new york legislature, visited detroit, having, if i mistake not, some public business in the upper country. persons who have been long before the public acquire a reputation which appears to make every one familiar with them, and there was much curiosity to see a person who had so long opposed clinton, opposed the canal, and stood forth in some things as a political reformer. i went with him and his companion, judge m'call, after a very hot day, to take some lemonade in the evening at gen. cass's. gen. root was not refined and polished in his manners and converse. he was purposely rough in many things, and appeared to say things in strong terms to produce effect. to call the n.y. canal the "big ditch" was one of these inventions which helped him to keep up his individuality in the legislature. he appeared to me to be a man something after the type of ethan allen. history.--during this session of the legislature, i delivered the annual discourse before the historical society. i felt so much misgiving about reading it before the large assemblage at the state house, that i had arranged with a literary and legal friend to put it in his hands the moment i began to falter. for this purpose he occupied the secretary's desk; but i found myself sufficiently collected to go on and read it through, not quite loud enough for all, but in a manner, i think, to give satisfaction. character of the chippewas.--wm. s. mosely, esq., writes (july th) respecting this influential and wide-spread tribe, proposing a list of queries transmitted to him by theodore dwight, junr., a philanthropist of n.y. one of the questions is as follows: "what have been the chief impediments between the indian and civilization? how would it alter their opinions or influence their conduct if they could associate with white people without being despised, imposed upon, or rendered suspicious of their motives? in short, if they came in contact only with the best white men, and were neither furnished with ardent spirits nor threatened with extermination by encroachment?" ish-ko-da-wau-bo.--i had a pleasant passage up the lakes in the steamer "sheldon thompson." among the passengers were james b. gardiner, of ohio; charged, with duties from washington, and john t. mason, commissioner for treating with the indians at green bay. in a letter of the th august, written on his return at mackinac, mr. gardiner, who is quite a philanthropist and a gentleman of most liberal opinions, says: "i conceive it my duty to inform you that i have obtained information from the contractor himself (mr. stanard, who is a fourth owner of the sheldon thompson), that under the head of 'provisions,' he has contracted to deliver, and has actually delivered, two hundred barrels of whisky, and two hundred barrels of high wines, at the place for the american fur company, which, no doubt, is designed to be sent into the indian country the ensuing fall." rotary sails.--john b. perrault, whose name has been before mentioned, invented a novel boat, to be propelled by the force of rotary sails acting on machinery, which turns paddle-wheels; a very ingenious thing. the result of experiments is, however, unfavorable to its practical adoption. hostilities between the sioux and chippewas.--these hostilities have reached such a point, that the department has deemed it necessary to interpose its friendly offices in a more formidable manner, by dispatching an expedition into the principal seat of the war. the instructions, however (of aug. th), by which i was designated for that purpose, reached me so late in that month, that it was not deemed practicable to carry them into effect until the next year. i reported the facts, which are deemed necessary to be known at head-quarters, in order to give efficacy to this necessary and proper measure, recommending that the expedition be deferred, and that, in the meantime, suitable means be provided for making it, to the greatest extent, effectual. friendship and badinage.--a friend writes from detroit (aug. th): "for a brief space, that is, about a quarter of an hour, i can borrow a little use of my own soul, though i cannot call it exactly my own. you will not fail to note, i trust, how eminently judicious is the appropriation. "a few days since, the letter containing the notice of your appointment to the lake superior destination, was mailed for you. the purpose of this is to suggest the memory of your doubtful promise, to come down in the fall for the winter session. the gov. thinks it too late in the season to attempt your expedition this fall; and i presume, that it is, i hope, your papers will not reach you in time to leave this summer, an opinion of questionable correctness. "you can have your table placed in the corner, and amuse yourself with preparing an article for the _n.a._, thus you will discharge a double duty to your country; one to its political interests, and another to its department of letters. whatever preparations are necessary at your place, can be made in the winter, under directions left there when you come down, and such as could be more conveniently made here, you shall have every aid in forwarding. the fact is, i see not a single objection, i _cannot_ see one, and more than that, i won't. this i conceive to be the only rational view to be taken of the subject, and, of course, it follows like the consequence to the minor of a syllogism; the only one you take. so don't say any more about it, but come along down, and then you shall, with more pleasure, satisfaction, and comfort, _go along up_. it is, in fact, just as clear, as that one and one, you and me, will make two." social intercourse,--maj. w. writes ( st aug.): "i was sorry, on my return, to find you gone, for we have left undone that which i hoped to have done, with your assistance, that is, the arrangement of our museum. but circumstances were unlucky. cases were made wrong, or not made in due time, and absences took _some_ folks away (an allusion to the trip to niagara), and the council _would_ adjourn, &c. you are, however, i understand, to be down here new year's day, to which time, for the special accommodation of the up-country members, i presume the council, as it is said, has adjourned. an appropriation for snow shoes ought to have been made." sanillac.--"i made an arrangement in boston for the printing of my mss. as i found i was to bear the brunt of the expense, i determined to make it as small as i consistently could, and have, therefore, made the volume somewhat smaller than was in my original plan. "mr. ward showed me a hasty note from you relative to the address (before the historical society). i have examined it as published, and i told him your suggestions were out of the question. there is not an error that i could detect that is not clearly typographical; and your fears, that either yourself or the society will be discredited, are all idle. i do not recollect any of your books which, i think, do you more credit." gossip.--mr. ward writes: "we have but little news. the governor and elizabeth are off to utica and troy, and we hope the springs. mr. cass, lewis, and isabel to the maumee. major and mrs. kearsley to new york and philadelphia, with miss colt in keeping. for all persons else, one note will answer. they eat drink, and sleep as they did, and are 'partly as usual.'" expedition into lake superior.--"i do not answer you officially," says gov. c. "concerning the expedition into lake superior, because i shall expect you will be here in the last vessel, to attend the meeting of the council, and mr. brush speaks with certainty-upon the subject. as mr. irwin has resigned, and there is no provision for ordering a new election, your district will be wholly unrepresented unless you attend. in the mean time i have received the sum allowed for this service, which you can draw for whenever you please. there is no doubt but the matter will go on. after you arrive here, and we have conversed together, i will restate the project of a more extended expedition, agreeably to your suggestions, and submit it to the department. i agree with you fully, that the thing should be enlarged, to embrace the persons and objects you suggest. it would be an important expedition, and not a little honorable to you, to have the direction of it, as it will be the first authorized by the administration." winter session of the council.--on the th of november, i embarked in a large boat at st. mary's with a view of reaching mackinack in season to take the last vessel returning down the lakes. the weather was hazy, warm, and calm, and we could not descry objects at any considerable distance. if we were not in "sleepy hollow" while descending the broad valley and stretched out waters of the st. mary's, we were, at least, in such a hazy atmosphere, that our eyes might almost as well have been shut. it seemed an interlude in the weather, between the boisterous winds of autumn and the severe cold of december. in this maze i came down the river safely, and proceeded to mackinack, where i remained several days before i found a vessel. these were days of pleasing moral intercourse at the mission. i do not recollect how many days the voyage lasted, but it was late in the evening of a day in december, dark and very muddy when the schooner dropped anchor off the city, and i plodded my way from the shore to the _old stone mansion house_ in detroit. historical discourse.--mr. madison, the ex-president, transmits a very neat and terse note of acknowledgment for a copy of my address, in the following words, which are quite a compensation for the time devoted to its composition:-- "j. madison, with his respects to mr. schoolcraft, thanks him for the copy of his valuable discourse before 'the historical society of michigan.' to the seasonable exhortation it gives to others, it adds an example which may be advantageously followed." (_oct. d_.) historical society of rhode island.--i received a copy of a circular issued by this institution (nov. ), asking congress for aid in the transcription of foreign historical manuscripts. "we alone, (almost,)" say the committee, "among nations, have it in our power to trace clearly, certainly, and satisfactorily, at a very trifling expense, the whole of our career, from its very outset, throughout its progress, down to the present moment--and shall we manifest a supineness, a perfect listlessness and complete indifference respecting a subject, that by every other people has been, and is still esteemed of so vast magnitude, and deep interest, as to have induced, and still to induce them to pour forth funds from their treasuries unsparingly, to aid the historians in removing, if possible, the veil that conceals in dark obscurity their origin?" domestic.--mrs. schoolcraft writes from _elmwood,_ st. mary's (dec. th): "i continue to instruct our dear little girl every day, and i trust you will find her improved on your return, should it please heaven to restore you in peace and safety. johnston has quite recovered, and can now stand alone, and could walk, _if he would._ i have called on mrs. baxley, and find her a very agreeable woman. she said she saw you several times at prairie du chien. ( .) i also went to see the mission farm, and was much pleased with the teacher, miss mccomber. the weather has remained very fine, till within two days, when we have had, for the first time, a _sprinkling_ of snow. such a season has never been heard of in this country--not a particle of ice has, as yet, formed anywhere." french revolution.--this political revolution has come like an avalanche, and the citizens have determined to celebrate it, and have a public address, for which major whiting has been designated. thirty-seven years ago the french cut off the head of the reigning bourbon, louis xvi., and now they have called another branch of the same house, of whom bonaparte said: "they never learn anything, and they never forget anything." as the french please, however. we are all joy and rejoicing at the event. it seems the consummation of a long struggle. mr. ward (ed. jour.) writes th dec.: "will you send me, by the bearer, the lines you showed me in brush's office. they will be quite _apropos_ next week. should like to close our form this evening." chapter xxxvi. lecture before the lyceum--temperature in the north--rum and taxes--a mild winter adverse to indians--death of a friend--christian atonement--threats of a caliban, or an indianized white man--indian emporium--bringing up children--youth gone astray--mount hope institution--expedition into the indian country--natural history of the united states--a reminiscence--voyage inland. . lecture before the lyceum.--the executive committee of this popular institution asks me by a note (jan. th), to lecture before them a short time ahead. public duty is an excuse, which on such occasions is very generally made by men in office, who in nine cases out of ten seek to conceal the onerousness of literary labor under that ample cloak. to me there is no duty more important than that which diverts a town from idle gratifications, and fixes its attention on moral or intellectual themes. although the notice was short, i determined to sit up a few nights and comply with it. i selected the natural history of michigan, as a subject very tangible, and one about which a good deal of interest could be thrown. i had devoted much interest to it for years--understood it, perhaps, better than any one in the territory, and could lecture upon it _con amore_. when the appointed evening arrived, i found a highly respectable and very crowded audience, in the upper chamber of the old indian council house. it was certainly a better use of the building than paying the price of blood for white men's and women's scalps, during the fierce seven years' struggle of the american revolution, and the succeeding indian wars. my lights were badly placed for reading, and i got on indifferently in that respect, for i could not see well, but my facts and matter altogether were well and approvingly received; and the address was immediately published. temperature at the foot of lake superior.--mr. f. andrain writes to me from st. mary's (jan. th): "the weather has been very mild indeed, here, until within a few days: there has not been sufficient snow, as yet, to cover the stubble in the fields. the severe weather commenced on the d instant. the thermometer stood as follows:--" on the d, at o'clock a.m., degrees below zero. th, " " " " th, " " " " th, " " " " rum and taxes.--a trader at st. mary's writes ( th jan.) as follows: "it is the wish of several individuals, who keep stores in the village, to be informed whether the sutler in fort brady is not obliged to pay taxes as well as we. for he has almost the exclusive trade of the canadians. it is tempting to purchase liquor at _s_. _d_. per gallon, when they have to pay _s_. in the village. the temperance society is of no use, when any of its members can dispose of liquor _at so low a rate_." i put the last words in italics. a mild winter adverse to the indians.--mr. george johnston observes ( th march): "the weather on lake superior has been uncommonly mild the whole winter. the southern shore of the lake from white fish point to ance kewywenon presents a scene of open lake, not any ice forming to enable the poor indians to spear fish." death of a friend.--mrs. schoolcraft says (feb. d): "mrs. bingham passed the day with me a short time since, and brought me some vermont religious papers, which i read yesterday, and found an account of the death of our poor friend mr. conant, which took place in november last in brandon, vermont, leaving his disconsolate widow and five children. he suffered greatly for five years, but i am happy to find he was resigned in suffering to the will of the almighty with patience; and i trust he is now a happy member of the souls made perfect in the precious blood of the lamb." thus ended the career of a man of high moral worth, mental vigor, and exalted benevolence of feeling and purpose. this is the man, and the family, who showed us such marked kindness and attentions in the city of new york, in the winter of --kindness and attentions never to be forgotten. _feb. th_. this day is very memorable in my private history, for my having assumed, after long delay, the moral intrepidity to acknowledge, _publicly_, a truth which has never been lost sight of since my intercourse with the rev. mr. laird, in the, to me, memorable winter of --when it first flashed, as it were, on my mind. that truth was the divine atonement for human sin made by the long foretold, the rejected, the persecuted, the crucified messiah. threat of an indianized white man.--a friend at st. mary's writes: "tanner has again made bold threats, agreeably to jack hotley's statement, and in doctor james' presence, saying, that had you still been here, he would have killed you; and as the johnstons were acting in concert with you, he kept himself constantly armed." this being, in his strange manners and opinions, at least, appears to offer a realization of shakspeare's idea of caliban. indian emporium.--col. t. mckenney, who has been superseded in the indian bureau at washington, announces, by a circular, that he is about to establish a commercial house, or agency, on a general plan, for supplying articles designed for the indian trade and the sale of furs and peltries. this appears to me a striking mistake of judgment. the colonel, of all things, is not suited for a merchant. bringing up of children.--mrs. schoolcraft writes: "i find the time passes more swiftly than i thought it would; indeed, my friends have been unwearied in striving to make my solitary situation as pleasant as possible, and they have favored me with their company often. i strive to be as friendly as i possibly can to every one, and i find i am no loser by so doing. i wish it was in your power to bring along with you a good little girl who can speak english, for i do not see how i can manage during the summer (if my life is spared) without some assistance in the care of the children. i feel anxious, more particularly on jane's account, for she is now at that age when children are apt to be biased by the habits of those they associate with, and as i cannot be with her _all the time_, the greater will be the necessity of the person to whom she is entrusted (let it be ever so short a time) to be one who has been brought up by pious, and, of course, conscientious parents, where no bad example can be apprehended. i feel daily the importance of bringing up children, not merely to pass with advantage through the world, but with advantage to their souls to all eternity." i find great pleasure in sister anna maria's company. she is to stay with me till you return. little jan_ee_ improves rapidly under her tuition. janee (she was now three and a half years of age) has commenced saying by heart two pieces out of the little book you sent her. one is 'my mother,' and the other is 'how doth the little busy bee.' it is pleasant to see her smooth down her apron and hear her say, "so i shall stand by my father, and say my lessons, and he will call me his dear little _tee-gee,_ and say i am a good girl." she will do this with so much gravity, and then skip about in an instant after and repeat, half singing, "my father will come home again in the spring, when the birds sing and the grass and flowers come out of the ground; he will call me his _wild irish girl_." "janee has just come into the room, and insists on my telling you that she can spell her name very prettily, 'schoolcraft and all.' she seems anxious to gain your approbation for her acquirements, and i encourage the feeling in order to excite attention to her lessons, as she is so full of life and spirits that it is hard to get her to keep still long enough to recite them properly. johnston has improved more than you can imagine, and has such endearing ways that one cannot help loving the dear child. oh, that they would both grow up wise unto salvation, and i should be happy." youthful blood.--james --- was a young man of promise--bright mentally and physically, lively and witty, and of a figure and manners pleasing to all. in a moment of passion he dirked a man at a french ball. the victim of this scene of revelry lingered a few months and recovered. this recovery is announced in a letter of mrs. schoolcraft's (feb. th), in which she says:-- "dr. james sent a certificate of the young man's returning health by the last express, and an indian was also sent to accompany james back to this place; but how great was our astonishment at the arrival of the indian _alone_, on the d ultimo, and bringing news of james' escape from mackinack. we felt a good deal alarmed for his safety on the way, and an indian was sent down the river in quest of him; but we were relieved of our fears by the arrival of james himself on the following day, very much exhausted. i immediately sent to dechaume to ask how he did, and learnt that his fatigue, &c., had not in the least abated his natural _vivacity and gayety_. "three days after his arrival (being sunday) i was at dinner at my mother's, when he came in, and could not refrain from tears. he seemed much affected at what i said, and i felt encouraged to hope some little change in his conduct. the next day, on mature reflection, i thought no time was to be lost in striving by all _human_ means to reclaim him, and my promise to co-operate with you all i could for that desirable object, induced me to write a note inviting him to come and spend a quiet social evening with sister anna maria and myself, and i sent the sleigh to bring him down, so that he could have no excuse to decline coming, and i was pleased that he came without hesitation. "i conversed a long time with him, pointing out, in the most gentle and affectionate manner i could, where he had erred, and in what way he might have become not only respected and esteemed, but independent, whereas his excesses had brought him to embarrassment and disgrace; and conjured him, as he valued his temporal and spiritual welfare, to abandon some, at least (to begin with) of his evil courses, and to strive with all his might to avert the wrath of that holy being whom he had hitherto so despised, and whose just laws he had, in more than _one_ instance, violated, and a great deal more that i cannot now mention. i got him at last to promise to strive to become better. "we passed the rest of the evening in a rational and pleasant manner by reading chiefly in the _literary voyager_, thinking it might help to call forth former occupations, which were comparatively innocent, and reading some of his own pieces, _renew_ a taste of what was virtuous and praiseworthy. i inwardly prayed that by such means, feeble as they were, they might tend to draw him off insensibly from his former haunts and habits. i have been enabled to pursue this course of conduct towards him ever since that evening, and i am pleased to find that he comes oftener to elmwood than i at first expected; but i perceive that there is some _other_ attraction besides my _sage discourses_ that draws him so often to the now leafless shades of elmwood. and he may fancy that either a _rose_ or a _lily_ has taken shelter within its walls. be that as it may, i shall not say a word; most of my thoughts are more occupied with the best method i can take to do him good to all eternity, and i do not forget to ask aid of one that never errs. "some evenings since, mr. agnew and some of the officers gave a ball at one of the french houses, and not doubting but that james was invited to join in the amusement, i instantly addressed a long letter to him, encouraging him in his recent resolution of amendment, and told him _now_ was the time to put those wise resolves to the test by practice, and that he ought to know, by sad experience, that attending such low scenes of dissipation was the source of almost all the iniquity in the place. i had afterwards the satisfaction to find that he did not attend; but my fears for him are still very great, and will be justly so as long as he is so taken up by that disgraceful connection where he spends a great deal of his precious time. my ambition is not only to _civilize_ him (if i may be allowed that expression, which is not out of the way, after all, as he has despised the forms and restraints of refined society), but my ardent wish is to _christianize_ him in every sense of the word--he is, at present, skeptical. but let us only do our duty as christians, and leave the rest in the hands of the almighty." mount hope, baltimore.--my old instructor and friend, prof. frederick hall, sends me a programme of his collegiate institution, at this place, and writes me (april th) a most friendly letter, renewing old acquaintanceship and scientific reminiscences. death makes such heavy inroads on our friends, that we ought to cherish the more those that are left. legislation proceeded quietly while these events occurred, and the winter wore away almost imperceptibly till the session closed. i embraced the first opportunity of ascending the lakes to the entrance of the. st. mary's, and from thence up the river, and reached home about the th of april, making altogether about five months absence. but at home i am not destined long to remain, as the expedition into the lake, for which i was designated in august, was only deferred till spring. i had now served four years in the legislature; but, understanding that the president had expressed an opinion that official officers should not engage in the business of legislation, i declined a reelection by a public notice to the electors of my district. * * * * * expedition to the region of the st. croix and chippewia rivers.--the executive of the territory writes from washington (april th): "i arrived here day before yesterday, and this morning talked with gen. eaton. you will go into lake superior, and i am to submit a project to-day. i shall have it properly arranged. in a day or two, i trust, i shall have the official papers off. i write in a hurry now to apprise you of the fact. the letter you received from mr. hamilton, was written before i arrived." the same person, three days later, says: "the official instructions are preparing for your expedition, and will, i hope, be off to-day." they were written on the d of may, and are as follows:-- "your letter of feb. th has been received, and its general views are approved. the secretary of war deems it important that you should proceed to the country upon the head of the mississippi, and visit as many of the indians in that and the intermediate region, as circumstances will permit. "reports have reached this department from various quarters, that the indians upon our frontiers are in an unquiet state,[ ] and that there is a prospect of extensive hostilities among themselves. it is no less the dictate of humanity, than of policy, to repress this feeling and to establish permanent peace among these tribes. it is also important to inspect the condition of the trade in that remote country, and the conduct of the traders. to ascertain whether the regulations and the laws are complied with, and to suggest such alterations as may be required. and finally, to inquire into the numbers, standing, disposition, and prospects of the indians, and to report all the statistical facts you can procure, and which will be useful to the government in its operations, or to the community in the investigation of these subjects." [footnote : the sauc war under blackhawk broke out within the year.] "in addition to these objects, you will direct your attention to the vaccination of the indians. an act for that purpose has passed congress, and you are authorized to take a surgeon with you. vaccine matter prepared and put up by the surgeon general, is herewith transmitted to you, and you will, upon your whole route, explain to the indians the advantages of vaccination, and endeavor to persuade them to submit to the process. you will keep and report an account of the number, ages, sex, tribe, and local situation of the indians who may be vaccinated, and also of the prevalence, from time to time, of the small-pox among them, and of its effects as far as these can be ascertained." while preparations for this expedition were being made, some things that transpired deserve notice. natural history in the united states.--on the th of may, mr. g.w. featherstonhaugh, of philadelphia, sends me a printed copy of a prospectus for a "monthly american journal of natural science," with the following note: "as the annexed prospectus will explain itself, i shall only say, that i shall be most happy to receive any paper from you for insertion, on subjects connected with _natural history_. your minute acquaintance with the north-western territory must have placed many materials in your possession, and i trust you may be induced to transfer some of them to the periodical about to be issued. "we consider mr. eaton's geological notions and nomenclature as very empirical here, as they are considered in france and england, and his day has passed by." the prospectus says: "amidst these general contributions to science, it is painful to perceive what conspicuous blanks are yet left for america to fill up, and especially in those important branches, american geology and american organic remains. this feeling is greatly increased by the occasional taunts and sneers we see directed against us in foreign scientific works. they are aimed, it is true, against individuals insignificant enough to elude them, and therefore the larger body, the nation, is hit and wounded by them. neither is there any defence open to us. we send abroad gigantic stories of huge antediluvian lizards, 'larger than the largest size,' and we ourselves are kept upon the stare at our own wonders from georgia to maine, until we find out we have been exulting over the stranded remains of a common spermaceti whale. at this present moment, a huge animal dug out of the big bone lick, sixty feet long, and twenty-five feet high, is parading through the columns of the european newspapers, after making its progress through our own. this is, what every naturalist supposed it be, also a great imposition. within these few days, drums and trumpets have been sounded for other monsters. a piece of one of our common coal plants is conjured into a petrified rattlesnake, and one of the most familiar fossils solemnly announced all the way from canada, under a name exploded, and long forgotten by naturalists. all these gibes and reproaches we ought to have been spared. there ought to have been the ready means amongst us, together with the independence and intelligence, to put down these impostures and puerilities as they arose." this is well said, and if it be intended to refer to the popular class, who have not made science a study; to men who make wheelbarrows or sell cotton and sugar--to the same classes of men, in fact, who in england, are busied in the daily pursuits by which they earn their bread, leaving science to scientific men, but respecting its truths, cannot tell "a hawk from a handsaw"--it is all true enough. but if it be applied to the power and determination of american mind, professedly, or as in a private capacity, devoted to the various classes of natural history spoken of, it is not only unjust in a high degree, but an evidence of overweening self-complaisance, imprecision of thought, or arrogance. no trait of the american scientific character has been more uniformly and highly approbated, by the foreign journals of england, france, and germany, than its capacity to accumulate, discriminate, and describe facts. for fourteen years past _silliman's journal of science_, though not exclusively devoted to natural sciences, has kept both the scientific and the popular intelligent mind of the public well and accurately advised of the state of natural science the world over. before it, _bruce's mineralogical journal_, though continued but for a few years, was eminently scientific, _cleaveland's mineralogy_ has had the effect to diffuse scientific knowledge not only among men of science, but other classes of readers. in ornithology, in conchology, and especially in botany, geology and mineralogy, american mind has proved itself eminently fitted for the highest tasks. a reminiscence.--when i returned from the west to the city of new york in , mr. john griscomb was a popular lecturer on chemistry in the old almshouse. he apprised me that the peculiar friable white clay, which i had labeled chalk from its external characters, contained no carbonic acid. it was a chemical fact that impressed me. i was reminded of this fact, and of his friendly countenance, ever after, on receiving a letter of introduction from him by a mr. william r. smith, with three volumes of his writings ( th may). i am satisfied that we store up the memory of a kind or friendly act, however small (if it be done in a crisis of our affairs), as long as, and more tenaciously than, an unkind one. voyage inland.--at length, all things being ready, i embarked at the head of the portage of the st. mary's, and proceeded to the small sandy plain at the foot of point iroquois, at the entrance into lake superior, where i encamped. to this point i was accompanied by mrs. schoolcraft and the children, and lt. allen and the miss johnstons, the day being calm and delightful, and the views on every hand the most enchanting and magnificent. while at detroit during the winter, i had invited dr. douglass houghton to accompany me to vaccinate the indians. he was a man of pleasing manners and deportment, small of stature, and of a compact make, and apparently well suited to withstand the fatigues incidental to such a journey. he was a good botanist and geologist--objects of interest to me at all times; but especially so now, for i should have considered it inexcusable to conduct an expedition into the indian country, without collecting data over and above the public duties, to understand its natural history. i charged myself, on this occasion, more particularly with the indian subject--their manners and customs, conditions, languages, and history, and the policy best suited to advance them in the scale of thinking beings, responsible for their acts, moral and political. lt. robt. e. clary, d u.s. infantry, commanded a small detachment of troops, which was ordered to accompany me through the indian country. i had invited mr. melancthon woolsey, a printer of detroit, a young man of pleasing manners and morals, to accompany me as an aid in procuring statistical information. i had an excellent crew of experienced men, guides and interpreters, and full supplies of everything suited to insure respect among the tribes, and to accomplish, not only the government business, but to give a good account of the natural history of the country to be explored. it was the first public expedition, authorized by the new administration at washington, and bespoke a lively interest on the subject of indian affairs, and the topics incidentally connected with it. i was now to enter, after crossing lake superior, the country of the indian murderers, mentioned d june, , and to visit their most remote villages and hiding places. it was the th of june when we left that point--the exploring party to pursue its way in the lake, and the ladies, in charge of lt. allen, to return to st. mary's. chapter xxxvii. lake superior--its shores and character--geology--brigade of boats--dog and porcupine--burrowing birds--otter--keweena point--unfledged ducks--minerals--canadian resource in a tempest of rain--tramp in search of the picturesque--search for native copper--isle royal descried--indian precaution--their ingenuity--lake action--nebungunowin river--eagles--indian tomb--kaug wudju. . lake superior lay before us. he who, for the first time, lifts his eyes upon this expanse, is amazed and delighted at its magnitude. vastness is the term by which it is, more than any other, described. clouds robed in sunshine, hanging in fleecy or nebular masses above--a bright, pure illimitable plain of water--blue mountains, or dim islands in the distance--a shore of green foliage on the one hand--a waste of waters on the other. these are the prominent objects on which the eye rests. we are diverted by the flight of birds, as on the ocean. a tiny sail in the distance reveals the locality of an indian canoe. sometimes there is a smoke on the shore. sometimes an indian trader returns with the avails of his winter's traffic. a gathering storm or threatening wind arises. all at once the _voyageurs_ burst out into one of their simple and melodious boat-songs, and the gazing at vastness is relieved and sympathy at once awakened in gayety. such are the scenes that attend the navigation of this mighty but solitary body of water. that nature has created such a scene of magnificence merely to look at, is contrary to her usual economy. the sources of a busy future commerce lie concealed, and but half concealed, in its rocks. its depths abound in fish, which will be eagerly sought, and even its forests are not without timber to swell the objects of a future commerce. if the plough is destined to add but little to its wealth, it must be recollected that the labors of the plough are most valuable where the area suitable for its dominion is the smallest. but even the prairies of the west are destined to waft their superabundance here. we passed the lengthened shores which give outline to taquimenon bay. we turned the long and bleak peninsula of white fish point, and went on to the sandy margin of vermilion bay. here we encamped at three o'clock in the afternoon, and waited all the next day for the arrival of lieut. robert clary and his detachment of men, from fort brady, who were to form a part of the expedition. with him was expected a canoe, under the charge of james l. schoolcraft, with some supplies left behind, and an express mail. they both arrived near evening on the th, and thus the whole expedition was formed and completed, and we were prepared to set out with the latest mail. mr. holliday came in from his wintering grounds about the same time, and we left vermilion bay at four o'clock on the morning of the th, j.l.s. in his light canoe, and chanting canadians for sault st. marie, and we for the theatre of our destination. we went about forty miles along a shore exclusively sandy, and encamped at five o'clock in the evening at grand marais. this is a striking inlet in the coast, which has much enlarged itself within late years, owing to the force of the north-west storms. it exhibits a striking proof of lake action. the next day we passed the naked and high dunes called grand sable, and the storm-beaten and impressive horizontal coat of the pictured rocks, and encamped at grand island, a distance of about miles. i found masses of gypsum and small veins of calcareous spar imbedded in the sandstone rock of the point of grand sable. ironsand exists in consolidated layers at the cliff called doric rock. the men and boats were now in good traveling trim, and we went on finely but leisurely, examining such features in the natural history as dr. houghton, who had not been _here_ before, was anxious to see. on the st of july, we encamped at dead river, from whence i sent forward a canoe with a message, and wampum, and tobacco, to gitchee iauba, the head chief of ancekewywenon, requesting him to send a canoe and four men to supply the place of an equal number from the sault st. marie, sent back, and to accompany me in my voyage as far as _la pointe_. geology.--we spent the next day in examining the magnesian and calcareous rubblestone which appears to constitute strata resting against and upon the serpentine rock of presque isle. this rock is highly charged with what appears to be chromate of iron. we examined the bay behind this peninsula, which appears to be a harbor capable of admitting large vessels. we ascended a conical hill rising from the bay, which the indians call _totösh_, or breast mountain. having been the first to ascend its apex, the party named it schoolcraft's mountain. near and west of it, is a lower saddle-shaped mountain, called by the natives the cradle top. granite point exhibits trap dykes in syenite. the horizontal red sandstone, which forms the peninsula connecting this point with the main, rests against and upon portions of the granite, showing its subsidence from water at a period subsequent to the upheaval of the syenite and trap. this entire coast, reaching from chocolate river to huron bay--a distance of some seventy miles--consists of granite hills, which, viewed from the top of the totösh, has the rolling appearance of the sea in violent motion. its chief value must result from its minerals, of which iron appears to constitute an important item. we reached huron river on the th of july about three o'clock in the afternoon, having come on with a fine wind. at this place we met mr. aitkin's brigade of boats, seven in number, with the year's hunts of the fond du lac department. i landed and wrote official notes to the sault st. marie and to washington, acquainting the government with my progress, and giving intelligence of the state of the indians. traders' boats.--mr. aitkin reports that a great number of the indians died of starvation, at his distant posts, during the winter, owing to the failure of the wild rice. that he collected for his own use but eight bushels, instead of about as many hundreds. that he had visited gov. simpson at pembina, and found the latter unwilling to make any arrangements on the subject of discontinuing the sale of whisky to the indians. that i was expected by the indians on the upper mississippi, in consequence of the messages sent in, last fall. that efforts continue to be made by the agent at st. peters, to draw the chippewas to that post, notwithstanding the bloodshed and evils resulting from such visits. that a hard opposition in trade has been manifested by the hudson's bay company. that they have given out medals to strengthen and increase their influence with our indians. and that liquor is required to oppose them at pembina, war road, rainy lake, vermilion lake and grand portage. dog and porcupine.--while at huron river, we saw a lost dog left ashore, who had been goaded by hunger to attack a porcupine. the quills of the latter were stuck thickly into the sides of the nose and head of the dog. inflammation had taken place, rendering the poor beast an object of pity and disgust. burrowing birds.--at point aux beignes (pancake point) one of the men caught a kingfisher by clapping his hand over an orifice in the bank. he also took from its nest six eggs. the bank was perforated by numbers of these orifices. at this point we observed the provisions of our advance camp, put _in cache_, to lighten it for the trip down the bay. leaving mr. g. johnston and mr. melancthon woolsey at this point to await the return of the canoe, i proceeded to cascade, or, as it is generally called, little montreal river. johnston and woolsey came up during the night. next morning an indian came from a lodge, leading a young otter by a string. the animal played about gracefully, but we had no temptation to purchase him with our faces set to the wilderness. at the latter place, which is on a part of the sandy-bay of graybeast river, the trap formation, which is the copper-bearing rock, is first seen. this rock, which forms the great peninsula of kewywenon, rises into cliffs on this bay, which at the elevation called mammels by the french, deserve the name of mountains. portions of this rock, viewed in extenso, are overlaid by amygdaloid and rubblestone--the latter of which forms a remarkable edging to the formation, in some places, on the north-west shore, that makes a canal, as at the little marrias. keweena peninsula.--we were six days in coasting around this peninsula, which is highly metalliferous. at some points we employed the blast, to ascertain the true character and contents of the soil. at others we went inland, and devoted the time in exploring its range and extent. we examined the outstanding isolated vein of carbonate of copper, called _roche vert_ by the french. in seeking for its connection on the main shore, i discovered the black oxide in the same vein. in the range of the greenstone about two leagues south of this point, a vein of native copper, with ores and veinstones, was observed, and specimens taken. the n.w. coast of the peninsula is greatly serrated and broken, abounding in little bays and inlets, and giving proofs of the terrible action of the storms on this rugged shore. notes of these examinations and of a trip inland were made, which cannot here be referred to more particularly. unfledged ducks.--the men had rare and very exciting sport, in coasting around the peninsula, in catching the young of the onzig--which is the sawbill. in the early part of the month of july, the wings of the young are not sufficiently developed to enable them to fly. they will run on the water, flapping their unfledged wings, with great speed, but the gay frenchmen, shouting at the top of their lungs, would propel their canoes so as to overtake them whenever the little fugitives could not find some nook in the rock to hide in. they chased down one day thirteen in this way, which were found a most tender and delicate dish. the excitement in these chases was extreme. at the _grand marrias_ (now near fort wilkins) we obtained from the shore of the inner bay, agates, stilbite, and smoky quartz, &c. singular vivacity.--in going from this bay through a rock-bound strait, the rain fell literally in sheets. there was no escape, and our only philosophy was to sit still and bear it. the shower was so great that it obscured objects at a short distance. all at once the men struck up a cheerful boat song, which they continued, paddling with renewed energy, till the shower abated. i believe no other people under the sun would have thought of such a resource. tramp in search of the picturesque.--the wind rising ahead, we took shelter in an inlet through the trap range, which we called houghton's cove. after taking a lunch and drying our things, it was proposed to visit a little lake, said to give origin to the stream falling into its head. the journey proved a toilsome one; but, after passing through woods and defiles, we at length stood on a cliff which overlooked the object sought for--a pond covered with aquatic plants. wherever we might have gone in search of the picturesque, this seemed the last place to find it. on again reaching the lake the wind was found less fierce, and we went on to pine river, where we encamped on coarse, loose gravel. search for native copper.--the next day the wind blew fiercely, and we could not travel. in consequence of reports from the indians of a large mass of copper inland, i manned a light canoe, and, leaving the baggage and camp in charge of lesart, went back to a small bay called mushkeeg, and went inland under their guidance. we wandered many miles, always on the point of making the discovery, but never making it; and returned with our fatigue for our pains. it was seven o'clock in the evening before we returned to our camp--at eight the wind abated, and we embarked, and, after traveling diligently all night, reached the western terminus of the keweena portage at two o'clock next morning--having advanced in this time about twenty-four miles. next day, july , the wind rose again violently ahead. isle royal descried.--in coming down the coast of the keweena peninsula, we descried the peaks of this island seen dimly in the distance, which it is not probable could have been done if the distance were over sixty miles. indian precaution, their ingenuity.--we found several chippewa indians encamped. they brought a trout, the large lake trout, and were, as-usual, very friendly. we saw a fresh beaver's skin stretched on the drying hoop, at the buffalo's son's lodge. but the women had secreted themselves and children in the woods, with the dried skins, supposing that a trader's canoe had landed, as we had landed in the night. this may give some idea of the demands of trade that are usually made, and the caution that is observed by them when a trader lands. we here saw the claws-of two owls, with the skin and leg feathers adhering, sewed together so closely and skilfully, by the indian, women, as to resemble a nondescript with eight claws. it was only by a close inspection that we could discover the joinings. lake action.--the geological action of the lake against the high banks of diluvion, at this spot, is very striking. it has torn away nearly all the ancient encamping ground, including the indian burials. human bones were found scattered along the declivity of fallen earth. an entire skull was picked up, with the bark wrappings of the body, tibia, &c. at seven in the evening the tempest ceased so as to enable us to embark. we kept close in shore, as the wind was off land, a common occurrence on these lakes at night. on turning the point of red sandstone rock, which the indians call _pug-ge-do-wau_ (portage), the porcupine mountains rose to our view, directly west, presenting an azure outline of very striking lineaments--an animal couchant. as night drew on, the water became constantly smoother; it was nine before daylight could be said to leave us. we passed, in rapid succession, the _mauzhe-ma-gwoos_ or trout, graverod's, _unnebish_, or elm, and pug-ge-do-wa, or misery river, in fishing bay. here we overtook lieut. clary, and encamped at one o'clock a.m. ( th). we were on the lake again at five o'clock. we turned point _a la peche_, and stopped at river _nebau-gum-o-win_ for breakfast. while thus engaged, the wind rose and shifted ahead. this confined us to the spot. nebaugumowin river.--mr. johnston, dr. houghton, and mr. woolsey, made an excursion in a canoe up the river. they went about three or four miles--found the water deep, and the banks high and dry on the right side (going up), and covered with maple, ash, birch, &c. at that distance the stream was obstructed by logs, but the depth of water continued. dr. h. added to his botanical collection. altogether appearances are represented more favorable than would be inferred from the sandy and swampy character of the land about its discharge into the lake. eagles.--while at the _mauzhe-ma-gwoos_ river, lieut. clary captured a couple of young eagles, by letting his men cut down a large pine. one of the birds had a wing broken in falling. they were of the bald-headed kind, to which the chippewas apply the term _megizzi_, or barker. he also got a young mink from an indian called _wabeno_. the men also caught some trout in that river, for which it is remarkable. at two o'clock the wind had somewhat abated, so as to allow us to take the lake, and we reached and entered the ontonagon river at half past four o'clock. mr. johnston with the store canoe, and lieut. clary with his boat, came in successively with colors flying. _kon-te-ka,_ the chief, and his band saluted us with several rounds of musketry from the opposite shore. afterwards they crossed to our camp, and the usual exchange of ceremonies and civilities took place. in a speech from the chief he complained much of hunger, and presented his band as objects of charitable notice. i explained to him the pacific object of my journey, and the route to be pursued, and requested the efficient co-operation of himself and his band in putting a stop to war parties, referring particularly to that by kewaynokwut in , which, although raised against the sioux, had murdered finley and his men at lake pepin. this party was raised on the sources of the ontonagon and chippewa. i told him how impossible it was that his great father should ever see their faces in peace while they countenance or connive at such dastardly war parties, who went in quest of a foe, and not finding him, fell upon a friend. he said he had not forgotten this. even now, i continued, a chief of the sauks was trying to enlist the indians in a scheme of extreme hostilities. it was a delusion. they had no british allies to rally on as in former wars. the time was past--past forever for such plans. we are in profound peace. and their great father, the president, would, if the scheme was pursued by that chief, order his whole army to crush him. i requested him to inform me of any messages, or tobacco, or wampum they might receive, on the subject of that chief's movement, or any other government matter. and to send no answer to any such message without giving me notice. at three o'clock on the morning of the next day ( th july), dr. houghton, mr. johnston, lieut. clary, and mr. woolsey, with nine canadians and one soldier, set out in my canoe to visit the copper rock. konteka sent me a fine carp in the morning. afterwards he and the other chief come over to visit me. the chief said that his child, who had been very ill, was better, and asked me for some white rice (_waube monomin_) for it, which i gave. i also directed a dish of flour and other provisions to enable him to have a feast. indian tomb.--one of the indians had a son drowned a few days before our arrival; the grave was neatly picketed in. on the west side of the river is a grave or tomb above ground, resembling a lodge, containing the coffin of a chief, who desired to be thus buried, as he believed his spirit would go directly up. konteka has a countenance indicative of sense and benevolence. i asked him the number of his band. he replied sixty-four men and boys, women and girls. sixteen were hunters, of whom thirteen were men grown. kaugwudju.--the porcupine mountains, which first loomed up after passing puggedawa point, were very plainly pictured before us in the landscape. i asked konteka their indian name. he replied kaug wudju. i asked him why they were so called. he said from a resemblance to a couching porcupine. i put several questions to him to ascertain the best place of ascent. he said that the mountain properly faced the south, in a very high perpendicular cliff, having a lake at its bottom. the latter was on a level with lake superior. to see this lake it was necessary to go round towards the south. it was a day's journey from the lake to the top of the cliff. to the first elevation it was as far as to the red rocks--say three miles, but through a cedar thicket, and bad walking. visit to the copper rock.--the party returned from this place on the th, late in the afternoon, bringing specimens of the native copper. they were nine hours in getting to the forks, and continued the rest of the day in getting to the rack, where they encamped. they had been four hours in descending what required nine in going up. the doctor brought several fine and large masses of the pure metal. chapter xxxviii. account of the highlands between lake superior and the mississippi. lake shores--sub-indian agency--indian transactions--old fort, site of a tragedy--maskigo river; its rapids and character--great wunnegum portage--botany--length of the mauvais--indian carriers--lake kagenogumaug--portage lakes--namakagun river, its character, rapids, pine lands, &c.--pukwaéwa village--a new species of native fruit--incidents on the namakagun; its birds, plants, &c. . lake shores.--i had a final conference with the indians of the ontanagon on the morning of the th july, and at its conclusion distributed presents to all. i sent germain with a canoe and men for st. mary's with dispatches, and embarked for la pointe at half past eight, a.m. after keeping the lake for two hours, we were compelled by adverse winds to put ashore near iron river; we were detained here the rest of the day. after botanizing at this spot, dr. houghton remarks, that since arriving at the ontanagon, he finds plants which belong to a more southerly climate. the next morning ( th) we embarked at three o'clock and went on finely--stopped for breakfast at carp river, under the porcupine mountains--the _pesabic_ of the indians. on coming out into the lake again the wind was fair, and increased to blow freshly. we went on to montreal river, where it became a side wind, and prevented our keeping the lake. i took this occasion to walk inland eleven _pauses_ on the old portage path to fountain hill, for the purpose of enjoying the fine view of the lake, which is presented from that elevation. the rocks are pudding-stone and sandstone, and belong to the porcupine mountain development. returned from this excursion at seven o'clock--took a cup of tea, and finding the wind abated, re-embarked. by ten o'clock at night we reached and entered the mauvaise or maskigo river, where we found lieut. clary encamped. after drying our clothes, we went on to la pointe, which we reached at one o'clock in the morning ( th), and immediately went to mr. johnston's buildings. sub-agency.--mr. george johnston was appointed sub-agent of indian affairs at this point in , after the visit of that year of gen. cass and col. mckenney to this remote section of the country. it has proved a useful office for acquiring information of the state and views of the interior indians, and as supervising the indian trade. we were made very comfortable in his quarters. indian transactions.--_pezhike,_ with the secondary chief, _tagwaugig_ and his band, visited me. conferred with them on the state of the indians on the st. croix and chippewa rivers at lac courtorielle, &c., the best route for entering the region intermediate between lake superior and the mississippi. pezhike thought my canoes too large to, pass the small bends on the route of the lac du flambeau: he said the waters of the _broule,_ or misakoda river, were too low at this time to ascend that stream. he said that _mozojeed_, the chief of lac courtorielle, had been here awaiting me, but, concluding i would not come, had returned. his return had been hastened by a report that the sioux had formed a league with the winnebagoes and menomonies to attack his village. _pezhike_ gave in his population at eighty souls, of which number eighteen were men, twenty-six women, and the remainder children. he made a speech responding to the sentiments uttered by me, and promising the aid of his band in the pacification of the country. as an evidence of his sincerity he presented a peace-pipe. i concluded the interview by distributing presents of ammunition and iron works to each man, agreeably to his count. i then sent indian runners with messages to _bwoinace_ at yellow river, on the st. croix, to be forwarded by hand to chacopee, on snake river, to meet me at yellow river in twelve days. sent a message to the same chief, to be forwarded to mozojeed at _lac courtorielle_, to meet me at that place with his band on the st august, and another message to be forwarded by him to lac du flambeau, at the head of the chippewa river, with directions for the indians to meet me at their principal village, as soon after the st august as i can get there, of which they will be the best judges. i determined to enter the country myself, by the mauvais or maskigo river, notwithstanding the numerous rafts of trees that embarrass the navigation--the water being abundant. old fort, site of a tragedy.--the military barge, lieut. clary, started for the maskigo, with a fair wind, on the th. a soldier had previously deserted. i sent to the chief, pezhike, to dispatch his young men to catch him, and they immediately went. after setting out, the wind was found too strong to resist with paddies, and i turned into the sheltered bay of the old french fort. the site and ground lines are only left. it was a square with bastions. the site is overgrown with red haw and sumac. the site of a blacksmith shop was also pointed out. this is an evidence of early french and missionary enterprise, and dates about . there is a tale of a tragedy connected with a female, at its abandonment. the guns, it is said, were thrown in the bay. the wind having abated, we again put out at eight o'clock in the evening, and went safely into the maskigo and encamped. maskigo river.--we began the ascent of this stream on the th, at half-past four a.m.; landed at seven for breakfast, at the old indian gardens; at eight went on; at ten reached the first portage, passed it in an hour; went on till one o'clock; afterwards passed two other portages of about three hundred yards each; and went on to the great raft of flood wood, being the fourth portage, where we encamped at three o'clock, at its head. mosquitoes very annoying. estimate our distance at thirty miles. on the next morning ( th) we embarked in good deep water at eight o'clock. we reached rapids at eleven o'clock. passed a portage of _two pauses,_ and took dinner at the terminus. sandstone forms the bed of the river at the rapids here. it inclined e.s.e. about °. a continual rapid, called the galley, being over a brown sandstone rock, succeeds, in which rapids follow rapids at short intervals. we encamped at the raft rapids. the men toiled like dogs, but willingly and without grumbling. next day ( st) we were early on the water, and passed the crossing of the indian portage path from st. charles bay, at la pointe, to the falls of st. anthony. we followed a wide bend of the river, around the four _pause_ portage. this was a continued rapid. the men toiled incessantly, being constantly in the water. the bark of the canoes became so saturated with water that they were limber, and bent under the weight of carrying them on the portages. we encamped, very much tired, but the men soon rallied, and never complained. it was admirable to see such fidelity and buoyancy of character. we were now daily toiling up the ascent of the summit which separates the basin of lake superior from the valley of the upper mississippi. the exertion was incredible. i expected every day some of the men to give out, but their pride to conquer hardships was, with them, the point of honor. they gloried in feats under which ordinary men would have fainted. to carry a horse load over a portage path which a horse could not walk, is an exploit which none but a canadian voyageur would sigh for the accomplishment of. on the d, we came to a short portage, after going about six miles, during a violent rain storm. then three portages of short extent, say fifty to three hundred yards each, in quick succession. after the last, some comparatively slight rapids. finally, smooth water and a sylvan country, level and grassy. we were evidently near the summit. soon came to the forks, and took the left hand. came afterwards to three branches, and took the south. followed a distance through alder bushes bending from each side; this required skill in dodging, for the bushes were covered with caterpillars. we formed an encampment on this narrow stream by cutting away bushes, and beating down high grass and nettles. here was good soil capable of profitable agriculture. great wunnegum portage.--the next morning we resumed the ascent of this branch at six o'clock, and reached the beginning of the gitchy wun-ne-gum portage at nine o'clock a.m. this was the last great struggle in the ascent. we spent about three hours in drying baggage, corn, tents, beds, &c. then went on four _pauses_ over the portage and encamped in sight of a pond. the next day we accomplished ten _pauses,_ a hard day's work. we encamped near a boulder of granite of the drift stratum, which contained brilliant plates of mica. water scarce and bad. our tea was made of a brown pondy liquid, which looked like water in a tanner's vat. we passed, and stopped to examine, indian symbols on the blazed side of a tree, which told a story to our auxiliary indians of a moose having been killed; by certain men, whose family name, or mark, was denoted, &c. we had previously passed several of these hunting inscriptions in our ascent of the mauvais, and one in particular at the eastern end of the four _pause_ portage. we were astonished to perceive that these figures were read as easy as perfect gazettes by our indian guides. we were also pleased, notwithstanding the severe labor of the _apecun_, to observe the three auxiliary chippewas, with us, playing in the evening at the game of the bowl, an amusement in which some of the men participated. on the th we went three _pauses_ to breakfast, in a hollow or ravine, and pushing on, crossed the last ridge, and at one o'clock reached the foot of lake ka-ge-no-gum-aug, a beautiful and elongated sheet of water, which is the source of this branch of the maskigo river. thus a point was gained. an hour after, the baggage arrived, and by six o'clock in the evening, the canoes all arrived. this lake is about nine miles long. botany.--in the ascent of this stream, dr. houghton has collected about two hundred plants. the forest trees are elm, pine, spruce, maple, ironwood, linden, cherry, oak, and beach. leatherwood is a shrub common on the portage. the length of this river, from the mouth of the river to the point at which we left it, we compute at one hundred and four miles. the three young indians, sent from la pointe, by pezhike, to help us on the portages, having faithfully attended us all the way, were dismissed to go back, at seven o'clock this morning--after being abundantly and satisfactorily paid for their services in ammunition and provisions. on parting, they expressed a design of visiting at the agency, next spring. lake ka-ge-no-gum-aug.--at nine in the morning, we embarked on the lake in four canoes, having left the fifth at the other end of the portage for the la pointe indians to return. two of the flotilla of canoes were occupied by the military under lieut. clary. after proceeding a little, less than two hours through a very irregular, elongated, and romantic lake, we reached a portage in the direction of the namakagun, fork of the st. croix river. its waters were clear; we observed fish and ducks. this portage is called mikenok, or the turtle. it proved to be two hundred and eighty yards to a pond, or small lake, named turtle lake. about two hundred yards of this portage lies over a dry pine ridge, the remainder bog. on crossing this little sheet, we encountered another portage of one thousand and seventy-five yards, terminating at a second lake named clary's lake. this portage lies over an open pine ridge, from which the timber has been chiefly burned. the shrubs and plants are young bush poplars, whortleberries, shad-bush, brake and sweet fern. both ends of it are skirted with bog. the highest grounds exhibit boulders. about five o'clock the canoes came up, and we embarked on the lake and crossed it, and, striking the portage path, went four hundred and seventy-five yards to a third lake, called polyganum, from the abundance of plant. we crossed this and encamped on its border. this frequent shifting and changing of baggage and canoes exhausted the men, who have not yet recovered from the toils of the long portage. three of them were disabled from wounds or bruises. laporte, the eldest man of our party, fell with a heavy load, on the great wunnegum portage, and drove a small knot into his scalp. the doctor bandaged it, and wondered why he had not fractured his skull. yet the old man's voyageur pride would not permit him to lie idle. if he died under the carrying-strap, he was determined to die game. namakagun river.--early on the th we were astir, and followed the path yards, which we made in two _pauses_ to the banks of the namakagun river, the most southerly fork of the st. croix. we were now on the waters tributary to the mississippi, and sat down to our breakfast of fried pork and tea with exultation. dead pines cover the ground between lake polyganum and the namakagun. a great fire appears to have raged here formerly, destroying thousands of acres of the most thrifty and tall pines. nobody can estimate the extent of this destruction. the plain is now grown up with poplar, hazle-bush, scrub-oak, and whortleberry. the river, where the portage strikes it, is about seventy-five feet wide, and shallow, the deepest parts not exceeding eighteen inches. it is bordered on the opposite side with large pines, hardwood, and spruce. observed amygdaloid under foot among the granite, and sandstone boulders. about one o'clock the baggage and canoes had all come up, and we embarked on the waters of the namakagun. rapids soon obstructed our descent. at these it was necessary for the men to get out and lift the canoes. it was soon necessary for us to get out ourselves and walk in the bed of the stream. it was at last found necessary to throw overboard the kegs of pork, &c., and let them float down. this they would not do without men to guide them and roll them along in bad places. some of the bags from the canoes were next obliged to be put on men's shoulders to be carried down stream over the worst shallows. after proceeding in this way probably six or seven miles, we encamped at half-past seven o'clock. mr. johnston, with his canoe, did not come up. we fired guns to apprize him of our place of encampment, but received no reply. there had been partial showers during the day, and the weather was dark and gloomy. it rained hard during the night. our canoes were badly injured, the bark peeling off the bows and bottoms. the men had not yet had time to recover from their bruises on the great wannegum portage. mr. clary had shot some ducks and pigeons, on which, at his invitation, we made our evening repast, with coffee, an article which he had among his stores. some of the men had also caught trout--this fish being abundant here, though it never descends into the mississippi. on the next morning i sent a small canoe (clary's) to aid johnston. found him with his canoe broke. brought down part of his loading, and dispatched the canoe back again. by eleven o'clock the canoe returned on her second trip. finding the difficulties so great, put six kegs of pork, seven bags of flour, one keg of salt, &c., in depot. one of the greatest embarrassments in passing among such impoverished tribes is the necessity of taking along extra provisions to meet the various bands and to pay for their contingent services. puckwa�wa village.---at four o'clock we had got everything down the shallows, mended our canoe, and reached the _pukwaéwa_--a noted indian village, where we encamped. the distance is about nine miles from the western terminus of the portage, course w.s.w. we found it completely deserted, according to the custom of the indians, who after planting their gardens, leave them to go on their summer hunts, eating berries, &c. we found eight large permanent bark lodges, with fields of corn, potatoes, pumpkins, and beans, in fine condition. the lodges were carefully closed, and the grounds and paths around cleanly swept, giving the premises a neat air. the corn fields were partially or lightly fenced. the corn was in tassel. the pumpkins partly grown, the beans fit for boiling. the whole appearance of thrift and industry was pleasing. i sent two canoes immediately up stream, to bring down the stores put in deposit. i arranged things for taking a _canoe elège_ on the next day, and proceeding rapidly down the river to its junction with the main st. croix and yellow river, in order to meet my engagements, made by a runner from la pointe. i took along dr. houghton and mr. johnston, leaving the heavy baggage in charge of mr. woolsey, with directions to accompany lieut. clary across the portage from the namakagun to ottowa lake. it was half-past five on the morning of the th, when, bidding adieu to lieut. clary and mr. woolsey, we embarked. a new species of native fruit.--in coming down the namakagun, we found a species of the currant on its banks--the _albinervum_. it was fully ripe, and of delicious taste. _incidents on the namakagun, its birds, plants, &c_.--about ten o'clock we entered and passed an expansion, having deserted indian lodges, and a high wooden cross on the south bank. hence we called it the lake of the cross. it is called pukwaéwa by the indians. a little below we met the chief pukquamoo, and his band, returning to the upper village. held a conference with him on the water on the subject of my mission and movements. he appeared, not only by his village, which we had inspected, but by his words, eminently pacific. on parting he reciprocated my presents by some dried whortleberries. at this conference with the red-headed woodpecker chief, i requested him to go up and aid mr. woolsey in bringing down the baggage and provisions, and wrote to mr. woolsey accordingly. about four o'clock the chief of this party hailed us from shore, having headed us by taking a short land route from the lake of the cross. he sought more perfect information on some points, which was given, and he was requested to attend the general council appointed to be held at _lac courtorielle_ (ottawa lake). we continued the descent till eight o'clock p.m., having descended about thirty-five miles. on the th we embarked at five in the morning, and reached the contemplated portage to ottawa lake at seven. i stopped, and having written notes for lieut. clary and mr. woolsey, put them in the end of a split pole, according to the indian method. at ten i landed for breakfast with my canoe badly broken, and the corn, &c., wetted. detained till twelve. near night met a band of chippewas ascending. got a canoe from them to proceed to yellow river, and, after dividing the baggage and provisions, put mr. johnston with two men in it. this facilitated our descent, as we had found frequent shallows, in consequence of low water, to impede our progress. yet our estimate for the day's travel is forty miles. the cicuta is a frequent plant on this river; we found the fox grape this afternoon nearly ripe. both banks of the river are literally covered with the ripe whortleberry--it is large and delicious. the indians feast on it. thousands on thousands of bushels of this fruit could be gathered with little labor. it is seen in the dried state at every lodge. all the careful indian housewives dry it. it is used as a seasoning to soups. on the st we were on the water at six a.m. soon passed seven indians in canoes, to whom a passing salute of a few words and tobacco were given. we landed at ten to breakfast. the current had now augmented so as to be very strong, and permit the full force of the paddles. stopped a few moments at a chippewa camp to get out some tobacco, and, leaving mr. johnston to make the necessary inquiries and give the necessary information, pushed on. heard t., our indian messenger from la pointe, had accomplished his business and gone back four days ago, indian conferences now succeeded each other continually, at distances from one to five miles. the bands are now on the move, returning up the river to their spring villages at the little and great rice places (this is the meaning of _pukwaewau_), and the lake of the cross. their first request is tobacco, although they are half starved, and have lived on nothing but whortleberries for weeks. "_suguswau_, let us smoke," is the first expression. the country as we descend assumes more the appearance of upland prairie, from the repeated burnings of the forest. the effect is, nearly all the small trees have been consumed, and grass has taken their place. one result of this is, the deer are drawn up from the more open parts of the mississippi, to follow the advance of the prairie and open lands towards lake superior. the moose is also an inhabitant of the namakagun. the chippewas, at a hunting camp we passed yesterday, said they had been on the tracks of a moose, but lost them in high brush. ducks and pigeons appear common. among smaller birds are the blackbird, robin, catbird, red-headed woodpecker, kingfisher, kingbird, plover and yellow-hammer. we frequently passed the figure of a man, drawn on a blazed pine, with horns, giving the idea of an evil spirit. the occiput of the bear, and head bones of other animals killed in the chase, are hung upon poles at the water's side, with some ideographic signs. the antlers of the deer are conspicuous. other marks of success in hunting are left on trees, so that those indians who pass and are acquainted with the signs, obtain a species of information. the want of letters is thus, in a manner, supplied by signs and pictographic symbols. late in the afternoon we passed the inlet of the totogun--one of the principal forks of the namakagun. the name is indicative of its origin. _totosh_ is the female breast. this term is rendered geographical by exchanging _sh_ for _gun._ it describes a peculiar kind of soft or dancing bog. soon after, we broke our canoe--stopped three-fourths of an hour to mend it--reached the forks of the st. croix directly after, passed down the main channel about nine miles, and encamped a little below pine river. we built ten fires to keep off the mosquitoes, and put our tent and cooking-fire in the centre. it rained during the night. the next morning (aug. st) we reached the yellow river, and found the chiefs kabamappa, bwoinace, and their bands awaiting my arrival. chapter xxxix. incidents on the sources of the st. croix and chippewa rivers. council with the indians at yellow lake--policy of the treaty of prairie du chien of --speech of shaiwunegunaibee--mounds of yellow river--indian manners and customs--pictography--natural history--nude indians--geology--portage to lac courtorielle--lake of the isles--ottawa lake--council--war party--mozojeed's speech--tecumseh--mozojeed's lodge--indian movements--trip to the red cedar fork--ca ta--lake chetac--indian manners. . council.--i pitched my tent and erected my flag on an eminence called by the chippewas pe-li-co-gun-au-gun, or the hip-bone. accounts represented a war party against the sioux to be organizing at rice lake, on a branch of the chippewa river, under the lead of neenaba, a partisan leader, who had recently visited yellow river for the purpose of enlisting volunteers. he had appealed to all the bands on the head waters of the chippewa and st. croix to join, by sending their young men who were ambitious of fame in this expedition. neenaba himself was an approved warrior who panted for glory by leading an attack against their old foe, the dacotahs. it was still possible to arrest it or break it up. i wrote to the indian agent at st. peter's. a message was dispatched by kabamappa to chacopee and buffalo at snake rivers, with directions to forward it to petit corbeau, the leading chief of the river sioux. i determined to hasten back so as to meet my appointment with the large band of mozojeed at lac courtorielle, and to proceed myself to neenaba's village. i stated my determination to the yellow lake indians, and urged their concurrence in my plans, assuring them that i spoke the voice of the president of the united states, who was determined to preserve and carry out the principles of pacification which had been commenced and agreed to, as the basis of the general treaty of prairie du chien of . he had spoken to them at that treaty by two men whom they all well know from st. louis to lake superior--namely, by the red-head (so they call general william clark) and their great father at detroit (general cass). he would not suffer their words to fall to the ground and be buried. i stood up to renew them. it was by peace and not war that they could alone flourish. their boundaries were all plainly established by that treaty, and there was no sound pretence why one tribe should pass over on the lands of another. if he did pass, there was no reason at all why he should carry a hatchet in his hand or a war eagle's feather in his hair. shai-wun-e-gun-aibee responded in favorable terms as to the general subject. the old men desired peace, but could not always control their young men, especially when they heard that their men had been struck. his voice and hand would be ever on the side of his great american father, and he believed his hands were long enough to reach out and hold them still. he concluded by some complaints against their trader dingley. said that he had presented them a map of the yellow river country, and wished them to give it to him. that he had ill-used some of them by taking away goods which he had before sold them, because they had not paid all. mounds, so called.--before quitting yellow river, i asked kabamappa whether the pe-li-co-gun-au-gun was a natural or artificial mound. he replied, that it was natural. there were three more of these elevations on the opposite side of the river. he knew nothing further of them. a large pine was growing on the top of one of them. having concluded the business with the indians, i distributed presents of provisions, ammunition, and tobacco. i purchased a canoe of small draft from an indian named shoga, and immediately embarked on my return up the st. croix. that night we lodged in our camp of the st. the next morning we were in motion by five o'clock, and reached the grand forks by nine. we entered and began the ascent of the namakagun. indian manners and customs.--we soon met a brother of kabamappa, called the day ghost, and four other heads of families, with their families, on their way to the council at yellow river. informed them of what had been done, and gave them tobacco, whereupon they determined to re-ascend the namakagun with us. there were ten persons. one of the young men fired at a flock of pigeons, hitting and killing two. a distance above, they went through a cut-off, and saved a mile or more, while we went round, showing their superior knowledge of the geography. at the great bends, the women got out of the canoes and walked. the old men also walked up. we reached their lodges about o'clock. i exchanged canoes with day ghost, and gave him the difference. we encamped at a late hour on the left bank (ascending), having come about forty-two miles--a prodigious effort for the men. to make amends, they ate prodigiously, and then lay down and slept with the nightmare. poor fellows, they screamed out in their sleep. but they were up and ready again at o'clock the next morning, with paddle and song. pictography.--at o'clock we landed, on the right bank, at the site of an old encampment, for breakfast. i observed a symbolic inscription, in the ideographic manner, on a large blazed pine--the _pinus resinosa_. it consisted of seven representative, and four symbolic devices, denoting the totems, or family names, of two heads of families, while encamped here, and their success in hunting and fishing. the story told was this: that two men, one of whom was of the catfish clan, and the other of the clan of the copper-tailed bear--a mythological animal--had been rewarded with mysterious good luck, each according to his totem. the catfish man had caught six large catfish, and the copper-tailed bear man had killed a black bear. the resin of the pine had covered the inscription, rendering it impervious to the weather. natural history.--the _nymphaea odorata_ borders the edge of the river. dr. h., this morning, found the _bidens_, which has but two localities in the united states besides. he has also, within the last forty-eight hours, discovered a species of the locust, on the lower part of the namakagun. the fresh-water shells on this river are chiefly unios. wild rice, the _palustris_, is chiefly found at the two pukwaéwas, more rarely along the banks, but not in abundance. the _polyganum amphibia_ stands just in the edge of the water along its banks, and is now in flower. the copper-head snake is found at the yellow river; also the thirteen striped squirrel. nude indians.--the indians whom we met casually on the namakagun, had nothing whatever on them, but the _auzeaun_. they put on a blanket, when expecting a stranger. the females have a petticoat and breastpiece. when we passed the woodpecker chiefs party, an old woman, without upperments, who had been poling up one of the canoes, hastily landed, and hid herself in the bushes, when her exclamation of nyau! nyau! revealed her position as we passed. two young married women had also landed, but stood on the banks with their children; one of the latter screaming, in fear, at the top of its lungs. the men were much fatigued with this day's journey. they had to use the pole when the water became shallow. yet they went about thirty-six miles. at night one of them screamed out with pains in his arms. we were up and on the river again at six the next morning (the th). the word with me was, push; to accomplish the object, not a day, not half a day was to be lost, and the men all entered into the spirit of the thing. at half past nine, we reached our breakfast place of the th, and there gummed our canoes. we noticed yesterday the red haw, and _pembina_--the latter of which is the service berry. this day the calamus was often seen in quantity. geology.--rapids were encountered at various points, at which there appeared large boulders of syenite and greenstone trap. no rock stratum appears in place, but from the size of the boulders, it seems probable that the trap formation crosses the bed of the namakagun. there is no limestone--no slate. small boulders of amygdaloid, quartz, granite, and sandstone mark the prevalence of the drift stratum, such as overspreads the upper mississippi uplands. the weather was cloudy and overcast, producing coolness. i found the air but ° at o'clock, when the water stood at °. some fish are caught in this stream, which serve to eke out the very scanty, and precarious subsistence of the indians at this season. at the lodge of an indian, whom we knew as the "jack of diamonds"--being the same who loaned us a canoe--i observed some small pieces of duck in a large kettle of boiling water, which was thickened with whortleberries, for the family supper. portage to lac courtorielle.--we reached the portage at two o'clock a.m., and immediately began to cross it, the men carrying all our baggage at one load. just after passing the middle _pause_, the path mounts and is carried along a considerable ridge, from which there is a good view of the country. it is open as far as the eye can reach. sometimes there is a fine range of large pines: in by far the largest space ancient fires appear to have spread, destroying the forest and giving rise to a young growth of pines, aspen, shad-bush, and bramble. some portions are marshy. a deep cup-shaped cavity exists a little to the right of the path on the ridge, denoting it to be cavernous or filled with springs. we saw evidences of lieut. clary and mr. woolsey's march and encampment on this height. we saw also evidences of old laporte's prowess in voyageur life and exploits, by a notice of one of his long _pauses_, recorded by lieut. clary in pencil, on a blazed tree. lake of the isles.--on reaching the lake of the isles at three o'clock p.m., we found, by a little bark letter on a pole, that lieut. clary and mr. woolsey had slept at that spot on the st of august. all things had proceeded well. they were ahead of us but four days. while the men were sent back to the other end of the portage after the canoes, i embarked on the lake in a small canoe found in the bushes, with mr. johnston, to search out the proper channel. we found it to draw to a narrow neck and then widen out, with six or seven islands, giving a very sylvan and beautiful appearance. we passed through it, then crossed a short portage that connects the path with lac du grès, and then returned to the south end of lake of the isles, where i determined to encamp and light up a fire, while mr. johnston was sent back in the little indian canoe to bring up the canoes and men. while thus awaiting the arrival of the party, i scrutinized the mineralogy of the pebbles and drift of its shores, where i observed small fragments of the agates, quartz, amygdaloids, &c., which characterize all the drift of the upper mississippi. but mr. johnston did not return till long after sunset. i was growing uneasy and full of anxieties when he hove in sight in the same small indian hunting-canoe, with dr. houghton and one voyageur, bringing the tent, beds, and mess-basket. they reported that the men had not yet arrived with the large canoe, and it was doubted whether they would come in in season to cross the lake. but they came up and joined us during the night. the next morning (aug. th) we crossed the portage at lac du grès before sunrise. this is the origin of the north-west fork of chippewa river. the atmosphere was foggy, but, from what we could see, we thought the lake pretty. pine on its shores, bottom sandy, shells in its bed, no rock seen in place, but loose pieces of coarse gray sandstone around its shores. the outlet of this lake proved to be the entrance into ottawa lake--the lac courtorielle of the french--a fine body of water some ten miles long. it was still too foggy on reaching this point to tell which way to steer. a gun was fired; it was soon answered by lieut. clary and mr. woolsey from the opposite side of the lake. the sound was sufficient to indicate the course, and we crossed in safety, rejoining our party at the hour of early breakfast. we found all well. ottawa lake.--we were received with a salute from the indians. i counted twenty-eight canoes turned up on the beach. mozojeed and waubezhais, the son of miscomoneto (or the red devil), were present. also odabossa and his band. the indians crowded down to the beach to shake hands. i informed them, while tobacco was being distributed, that i would meet them in council that day at the firing of three guns by the military. council.--at eleven o'clock i met the indians in council. the military were drawn up to the best advantage, their arms glittering in the sun. my auxiliaries of the michico-canadian stock and the gentlemen of my party were in their best trim. we occupied the beautiful eminence at the outlet of the lake. the assemblage of indians was large, but i was struck by the great disproportion, or excess, of women and children. mozojeed, the principal man, was a tall, not portly, red-mouthed, and pucker-mouthed man,[ ] with an unusual amount of cunning and sagacity, and exercising an unlimited popularity by his skill and reputation as a _jossakeed_, or seer. he had three wives, and, so far as observation went, i should judge that most of the men present had imitated his voluptuous tastes and apparently lax morals. he had an elaborately-built _jaunglery_, or seer's lodge, sheathed with rolls of bark carefully and skillfully united, and stained black inside. its construction, which was intricate, resembled the whorls of a sea-shell. the white prints of a man's hand, as if smeared with white clay, was impressed on the black surface. i have never witnessed so complete a piece of indian architectural structure, nor one more worthy of the name of a temple of darkness. [footnote : he was named by the indians from these two traits.] this man, who had effectually succeeded to the power and influence of miscomoneto (or the red devil), had been present at the treaty of prairie du chien, in , and heard gens. clark and cass address the assembled indians on that memorable occasion. i had been in communication with him there. he was perfectly familiar with the principles of pacification advanced and established on that occasion. it was the more easy for me, therefore, to revive and enforce these principles. war party.--mozojeed's son was himself one of neenaba's leaders in the war party, and was now absent with the volunteers which he had been able to raise in and about the ottawa lake village. he was directly implicated in this movement against the sioux. mozojeed's village was, in fact, completely caught almost in the very act of sending out its quota of warriors. they had, but a short time before, marched to join the main party at rica lake on the red cedar fork of the chippewa. he felt the embarrassment of his position, but, true to the character of his race, exhibited not a sign of it in his words or countenance. stolid and unmoved, he pondered on his reply. divested of its unnecessary points and personal localisms, this speech was substantially as follows:-- mozojeed's speech.--"nosa. i have listened to your voice. i have listened to it heretofore at kipesaugee. it is to me the voice of one that is strong and able to do. our great father speaks in it. i hear but one thing. it is to sit still. it is not to cross the enemies' lines. it is to drop the war club. it is to send word of all our disputes to him. "nosa. this is wise. this is good. this is to stop blood. but my young men are foolish. they wish to go on the war path. they wish to sing triumphs. my counsels too are weak and as nothing. it seems like trying to catch the winds and holding them in my fists, when i try to stay their war spirit. how shall we dance? how shall we sing? these are their words. "nosa. i do not lift the war-club. my words are for peace. i helped to draw the lines at kipesaugee six years, ago. i will keep them. my advice to my people is to sit still. you have shown, by bringing your flag here and hoisting it with your own hands in my village, that you are strong, and able, and willing. you are the indian's friend. you encourage us by this hard journey through our streams when the waters are low. you have spied us out and see how we live, and how poor we are." waubezhais, the son of miscomoneto, and bearing his medal and authority, then spoke, responding frankly. odebossa, of the upper pukwaéwa, spoke also favorably to my object, and thanking me for my visit to his village on the namakagun, which he said, metaphorically, "had rekindled their fires, which were almost out." all agreed that the waters were too low to go to the lac du flambeau, and that my proposed council with the indians at that point must be given up or deferred. besides, if the war party on the red cedar or folavoine fork of the chippewa was to be arrested, it could only be done by an immediate move in that direction. i therefore determined to leave ottawa lake the same day. i invested mozobodo with a silver medal of the first class, and a u.s. flag. presents of ammunition, provisions, iron works, a few dry goods, and tobacco were given to all, and statistics of their population and of their means taken. for a population of eighteen men, there were forty-eight women and seventy-one children. thirteen or fourteen of the latter were mozojeed's. red devil's son's band numbered forty-nine men, twenty-seven women, and forty-six children. odabossa's village consisted of eighteen men, thirty-eight women, and seventy-one children--making souls, who were chiefly assembled at this point. tecumseh.--i snatched this piece of history. during the late war tecumseh's messages reached this place, and produced their usual effect. the indians seized the post, took the goods, and burnt the building occupied as a place of trade. mr. corban, having notice from friendly indians, escaped with his men to st. mary's. this post stood opposite the outlet, being on the present site of mozojeed's village. mozojeed's lodge--this fabric is quite remarkable, and yields more comforts and conveniences than usual. it has also the mysterious insignia of a prophet. the faces of four men or gods are carved at the four cardinal points. a hole with a carved image of a bird is in front. three drums hang on the walls, and many rattles. at his official lodge men are painted joining hands. a bundle of red sticks lies in one corner. indian movements.--i was informed by m. and w. that the lac du flambeau indians were not on chippewa river, and that the message from yellow lake had not reached them. that many of the chippewas were at rice lake on the red cedar fork. that they had received a message from mr. street, indian agent at prairie du chien, and were in alarm on account of the menomonies. trip to the red cedar fork.--we embarked at four o'clock in the afternoon in four canoes, one canoe of indians to aid on the portages, and two canoes of the military--lieut. clary's command. mr. b. cadotte acted as guide as far as rice lake, the whole making quite a formidable "brigade," to use a trader's term. our course lay down the little chippewa river. the water was very good and deep as far as the fish dam. there our troubles began. our canoes had to be led along, as if they had been baskets of eggs, in channels made by the indians, who had carefully picked out the big stones. we met a son of old misco's, having a fawn and three muskrats recently killed. i gave him a full reward of corn and tobacco for the former, which was an acceptable addition to our traveling _cuisine_. it was observed that he had nothing besides in his canoe but a gun and war club, a little boy being in the boat. we descended the stream some seven or eight miles, and encamped on the right bank. it rained hard during the night. next morning ( th) we were in motion at six o'clock, which was as early as the atmosphere would permit. an hour's travel brought us to the mouth of a creek, which led us in the required direction. it was a narrow and deep stream, very tortuous, and making bends so short that we with difficulty forced our canoes through. in two hours we came to the portage to the ca ta--a pond at the distance of yards, which we crossed at two _pauses_. lake chetac.--before the canoes and baggage came up, i crossed over to lake chetac. there is a portage road around the pond. after passing the first _poze_ from it, the canoes may be put in a brook and poled down two pozes--then they must be taken out and carried yards to lake chetac. the whole portage is yards. it was seven o'clock in the evening before we could embark on the lake. we went down it four miles to an island and encamped. the lake is six miles long, shallow, marshy, with some wild rice and bad water. bad as it was, we had to make tea of it. indian manners.--we found but a single lodge on the island, which was occupied by a chippewa woman and a dog. i heard her say to one of our men, in the chippewa tongue, that there was no man in the lodge--that her husband had gone out fishing. she appeared in alarm, and soon after i saw her paddle away in a small canoe, leaving her lodge with a fire burning. on awaking in the morning, i heard the sound of talking in the lodge, and, before we embarked, the man, his wife, and two children, and an old woman came out. four lodges of indians, say about twenty souls, usually make their homes at this lake, which yields them fish and wild rice. but at present the whole tendency of the indian population is to rice lake. the war party mustering at that point absorbs all attention. chapter xl. exploration of the red cedar or follavoine valley of the chippewa river. betula lake--larch lake--a war party surprised--indian manners--rice lake--indian council--red cedar lake--speeches of wabezhais and neenaba--equal division of goods--orifice for treading out rice--a live beaver--notices of natural history--value of the follavoine valley--a medal of the third president--war dance--ornithology--a prairie country, fertile and abounding in game--saw mills--chippewa river--snake--la garde mountain--descent of the mississippi--sioux village--general impression of the mississippi--arrival at prairie du chien. . betula lake. larch lake.--the th of august, which dawned upon us in lake chetac, proved foggy and cool. the thermometer at , and a.m., stood respectively at °, ° and °. we found the outlet very shallow, so much so, that the canoes could with difficulty be got out while we walked. it led us by a short portage into a small lake called betula, or birch lake, a sylvan little body of water having three islands, which we were just twenty-five minutes in crossing by free strokes of the paddles. its outlet was still too shallow for any other purpose than to enable the men to lead down the empty canoes. we made a portage of twelve hundred and ninety-five yards into another lake, called larch or sapin lake--which is about double the size of the former lake. we were half an hour in crossing it with an animated and free stroke of the paddle--the men's spirits rising as they find themselves getting out of these harassing defiles and portages. a war party surprised.--we took breakfast on the beach while the canoes were for the last time being led down the outlet. we had nearly finished it on the last morsel of the fawn, and were glancing all the while over the placid and bright expanse, with its dark foliage, when suddenly a small indian canoe, very light, and successively seven others, with a warrior in the bow and stern of each, glided from a side channel, being the outlet into its other extremity. as soon as our position was revealed, they stopped in utter amazement, and lighting their pipes began to smoke; and we, nearly as much amazed, immediately put up our flag, and lt. clary paraded his men. we were more than two to one on the basis of a fight. a few moments revealed our respective relations. it was the _lac courtorielle_ detachment of the rice lake war party, and gave us the first intimation of its return. it was now evident that the man on the little chippewa from whom we purchased the fawn was but an advanced member of the same party. as soon as they perceived our national character, they fired a salute and cautiously advanced. it proved to be the brother of mozojeed and two of his sons, with thirteen other warriors, on their return. each had a gun, a shot-bag and powder horn, a scalping knife and a war club, and was painted with vermilion lines on the face. the men were nearly naked, having little but the _auzeaun_ and moccasons and the leather baldric that confines the knife and necessary warlike appendages and their head gear. they had absolutely no baggage in the canoe. when the warrior leaped out, it was seen to be a mere elongated and ribbed dish of the white birch bark, and a man with one hand could easily lift it. such a display of the indian manners and customs on a war party, it is not one in a thousand even of those on the frontiers is ever so fortunate as to see. they still landed under some trepidation, but i took each personally by the hand as they came up to my flag, and the ceremony was united in by lieut. clary, and continued by them until every gentleman of my party had been taken by the hand. the indians understood this ceremony as a committal of friendship. i directed tobacco to be distributed to them, and immediately gathered them in council. they stated that the war party had encountered signs of sioux outnumbering them on the lower part of the chippewa river, and footsteps of strange persons coming. this inroad of an apparently new combination against them had alarmed the moose, which had fled before them; and that six of the party had been sent in advance while the main body lay back to await the news. from whatever cause the party had retreated, it was evidently broken up for the season; and, the object of my official visit and advice accomplished, i turned this to advantage in the interview, and left them, i trust, better prepared to understand their true duties and policy hereafter, and we crossed the lake with spirits more elevated. red cedar lake.--a short outlet conducted us into red cedar lake, a handsome body of water which we were an hour in passing through, say four or five miles. the men raised their songs, which had not been heard for some time. it presents some islands, which add to its picturesqueness. formerly there stood a single red cedar on one of these, which gave the name to the lake, but no other tree of this species is known in the region. half a mile south of its banks the indians procure a kind of red pipe stone, similar to that brought from the _coteau des prairies_, but of a duller red color. we met four indians in a canoe in passing it, who saluted us. the outlet is filled with long flowing grass and aquatic plants. two indian women in a canoe who were met here guided us down its somewhat intricate channel. we observed the spiralis or eel weed and the rattlesnake leaf (scrofula weed or goodyeara) ashore. the tulip tree and butternut were noticed along the banks. indian manners.---in passing down the outlet of the red cedar lake we, soon after leaving our guides, met three canoes at short distances apart, two of which had a little boy in each end, and the third an old woman and child. we next met a chippewa with his wife and child on the banks. they had landed from a canoe, evidently in fear, but, learning our character, embarked and followed us to rice lake. the woman had her hair hanging loose about her head, and not clubbed up in the usual fashion. i asked, and understood in reply, that this was a fashion peculiar to a band of chippewas who live north of rice lake. on coming into rice lake we found the whole area of it, except a channel, covered with wild rice not yet ripe. we here met a number of boys and girls in a canoe, who, on seeing us, put ashore and fled in the utmost trepidation into the tall grasses and hid themselves. rice lake, or monominekaning.--as we came in sight of the village, every canoe was put in the best trim for display. the flags were hoisted; the military canoes paid all possible devotion to mars. there were five canoes. i led the advance, the men striking up one of their liveliest songs--which by the way was some rural ditty of love and adventure of the age of louis xiv.--and we landed in front of the village with a flourish of air (purely a matter of ceremony) as if the grand mogul were coming, and they would be swallowed up. i immediately sent to the chiefs, to point out the best place for encamping, which they did. council at rice lake.--as soon as my tent was pitched, neenaba, wabezhais, and their followers, to the number of twenty-two persons, visited me, were received with a shake of the hand and a "bon-jour," and presented with tobacco. notice was immediately given that i would meet them in council at the firing of signal guns by the military. they attended accordingly. this council was preliminary, as i intended to halt here for a couple of days, in order to put new bottoms to my canoes. i wished, also, some geographical and other information from them, prior to my final council. neenaba agreed to draw a map of the lower part of the river, &c., denoting the lines drawn by the treaty of prairie du chien, and the sites of the saw-mills erected, without leave, by squatters. native speeches.--next day ( th) the final council was held, at the usual signal. wabezhais and neenaba were the principal speakers. they both disclaimed setting themselves up against the authority or wishes of the united states. they knew the lines, and meant to keep them. but they were on the frontiers. the sioux came out against them. they came up the river. they had last year killed a man and his two sons in a canoe, on the opposite banks of rice lake, where they lay concealed. left to protect themselves, they had no choice. they must strike, or die. their fathers had left them councils, which, although young and foolish, they must respect. they did not disregard the voice of the president. they were glad to listen to it. they were pleased that he had honored them with this visit, and this advice. this is the substance of both speeches. neenaba complained that the lumbermen had built mills on their land, and cut pine logs, without right. that the indians got nothing but civil treatment, when they went to the mills, and tobacco. this young chief appears to have drawn a temporary notoriety upon himself by his position in the late war party, which is, to some extent, fallacious. his modesty is, however, a recommendation. i proposed to have invested him with a second class medal and flag; but he brought them to me again, laying them down, and saying that he perceived that it would produce dissatisfaction and discord in his tribe; and that they were not necessary to insure his good influence and friendship for the united states. on consultation with the band, these marks of authority were finally awarded to wabezhais. presents, including the last of my dry goods, were then distributed. among them, was a small piece of fine scarlet cloth, but too little to make a present to each. the divider of the goods, which were given in camp, who was indian, when he came to this tore it into small strips, so as to make a head-band or baldric for each. the utmost exactness of division was observed in everything. orifices for treading out rice.--i saw artificial orifices in the ground near our encampment. on inquiry, i learned that these were used for treading out the wild rice. a skin is put in these holes which are filled with ears. a man then treads out the grain. this appears to be the only part of rice making that is performed by the men. the women gather, dry, and winnow it. a live beaver.--the indians brought into camp one morning, while i was at rice lake, a young beaver; an animal more completely amphibious, it would be difficult to find. the head and front part of the body resemble the muskrat. the fore legs are short, and have five toes. the hind legs are long, stout, and web-footed. the spine projects back in a thick mass, and terminates in a spatula-shaped tail, naked and scale-form. the animal is young, and was taken about ten days ago. previously to being brought in, it had been taken out in a canoe into the lake, and immersed. it appeared to be cold, and shivered slightly. its hair was saturated with water, and it made use of its fore paws in attempts to express the water, sometimes like a cat, and at others, like a squirrel. it sat up, like the latter, on its hind legs, and ate bread in the manner of a squirrel. in this position it gave some idea of the kangaroo. its color was a black body, brownish on the cheeks and under the body. the eye small and not very brilliant. its cry is not unlike that of a young child. the owner said, it would eat rice and fish. it was perfectly tamed in this short time, and would run to its owner. notices of natural history.--i took out of the bed of the river, in the descent below red cedar lake, a greenish substance attached to stone, having an animal organization resembling the sponge. in our descent, the men caught, and killed with their poles, a proteus. the wild rice, which fills this part of the river, is monoecious. the river abounds in muscles, among which the species of unios is common, but not of large size, so far as we observed. the forest growth improves about this point, and denotes a better soil and climate. pine species are still present, but have become more mixed with hard wood, and what the french canoe-men denominate "bois franc." value of the folleavoine fork.--the name by which this tributary of the chippewa is called, on the lake superior side, namely, red cedar, is quite inappropriate. above rice lake it is characterized by the wild rice plant, and the name of folleavoine, which we found in use on the mississippi border, better expresses its character. the lower part of the stream appears to be not only more plenteous in the class of resources on which an indian population rely, but far better adapted to the purposes of agriculture, grazing, and hydraulics. medal of the third president.--during the assemblages at rice lake, i observed a lad called ogeima geezhick, or chief day, having a jefferson medal around his neck. i called him and his father, and, while inquiring its history, put a new ribbon to it. it was probably given by the late col. bolvin, indian agent at prairie du chien, to the chief called peesh-a-peevely, of ottawa lake. the latter died at his village, an old man, last winter. he gave it to a young man who was killed by the sioux. his brother having a boy named after him, namely, ogeima geezhick, gave it to him. war-dance.--this ceremony, together with what is called _striking the post_, was performed during our stay. the warriors, arrayed for war, danced in a circle to the music of their drum and rattles. after making a fixed number of revolutions, they stopped simultaneously and uttered the sharp war yell. a man then stepped out, and, raising his club and striking a pole in the centre, related a personal exploit in war. the dance was then resumed, and terminated in like manner by yells, when another warrior related his exploits. this was repeated as long as there were exploits to tell. one of the warriors had seven feathers in his head, denoting that he had marched seven times against the enemy. another had two. one of the young men asked for lieut. clary's sword, and danced with it in the circle. an old woman, sitting in a ring of women on the left, when the dancing and drumming had reached its height, could not restrain her feelings. she rose up, and, seizing a war-club which one of the young men gallantly offered, joined the dance. as soon as they paused, and gave the war-whoop, she stepped forward and shook her club towards the sioux lines, and related that a war party of chippewas had gone to the warwater river, and killed a sioux, and when they returned they threw the scalp at her feet. a very old, deaf, and gray-headed man, tottering with age, also stepped out to tell the exploits of his youth, on the war path. among the dancers, i noticed a man with a british medal. it was the medal of the late chief peesh-a-peevely, and had probably been given him while the british held the supremacy in the country. i explained to him that it, was a symbol of nationality, which it was now improper to display as such. that i would recognize the personal authority of it, by exchanging for it an american silver medal of equal size. ornithology.--while at rice lake, i heard, for the first time, the meadow-lark, and should judge it a favorite place for birds obtaining their food. the thirteen striped squirrel is also common. a quantity of the fresh-water shells of the lake were, at my request, brought in by the indian girls. there was very little variety. most of them were unios of a small size. i found the entire population to be one hundred and forty-two souls, of whom eleven were absent. one of the last acts of neenaba was to present a pipe and speech, to be forwarded to the president, to request him to use his power to prevent the sioux from crossing the lines. having now finished repairing my canoes, i embarked on the ninth, at three o'clock in the afternoon, and went down the river four hours and a half, probably about eighteen miles, and encamped. encountered four indians, from whom we obtained some pieces of venison. during the night wolves set up their howls near our camp, a sure sign that we were in a deer country. a prairie country.--the next morning ( th aug.) we embarked at five, and remained in our canoes till ten a.m., when we landed for breakfast. we had now entered a prairie country, of a pleasing and picturesque aspect. we observed a red deer during the morning; we passed many hunting encampments of the indians, and the horns and bones of slaughtered deers, and other evidences of our being in a valuable game country. these signs continued and increased after breakfast. the river had now increased in volume, so as to allow a free navigation, and the men could venture to put out their strength in following down a current, always strong, and often rapid. we were passing a country of sylvan attractions, of great fertility, and abounding in deer, elk, and other animals. we also saw a mink, and a flock of brant. mr. clary shot a turkey-buzzard, the first intimation that we had reached within the range of that bird. as evening approached we saw a raccoon on a fallen bank. we came at nightfall to the kakabika falls, carried our baggage across the portage, and encamped at the western end, ready to embark in the morning, having descended the river, by estimation, seventy miles. these falls are over sandstone, a rock which has shown itself at all the rapids below rice lake. saw mills.--the next morning ( th) we embarked at six o'clock, and, after descending strong and rapid waters for a distance of about fifteen miles, reached the site of a saw mill. a mr. wallace, who with ten men was in charge of it, and was engaged in reconstructing a dam that had been carried off by the last spring freshet, represented messrs. rolette and lockwood of prairie du chien. another mill, he said, was constructed on a creek just below, and out of sight. i asked mr. wallace where the lines between the sioux and chippewas crossed. he said above. he had no doubt, however, but that the land belonged to the chippewas. he said that no sioux had been here for seven years. at that time a mill was built here, and sioux came and encamped at it, but they were attacked by the chippewas and several killed, since which they have not appeared. he told us that this stream is called the folleavoine. the country near the mills is not, in fact, occupied by either chippewa or sioux, in consequence of which game is abundant on it. we saw a wolf, on turning a dense point of woods, in the morning. the animal stood a moment, and then turned and fled into the forest. after passing the mills we saw groups of two, five and four deer, and of two wolves at separate points. mr. johnston shot at a flight of brant, and brought down one. the exclamations, indeed, of "_un loup! un chèvreuil!"_ were continually in the men's mouths. chippewa river.--at twelve o'clock precisely we came to the confluence of this fork with the main stream. the chippewa is a noble mass of water, flowing with a wide sweeping majesty to the mississippi. it excites the idea of magnitude. wide plains, and the most sylvan and picturesque hills bound the view. we abandoned our smallest canoe at this point, and, pushing into the central channel of the grand current, pursued for six hours our way to its mouth, where we encamped on a long spit of naked sand, which marked its entrance into the mississippi. snake.--the only thing that opposed our passage was a large serpent in the centre of the channel, whose liberty being impinged, coiled himself up, and raised his head in defiance. its colors were greenish-yellow and brownish. it appeared to be of the thickness at the maximum of a man's wrist. the bowsman struck it with a pole, not without some trepidation at his proximity to the reptile, but it made off, apparently unhurt, or not disabled. mont le garde.--the picturesque and grass-clad elevation called _le garde_ by the canoe-men, attracted our notice. it is a high hill, the top of which commands a view of the whole length of lake pepin, where chippewa war parties look out for their enemies. it was from this elevation that kewaynokwut's party spied poor finley and his men in , and there could have been no reason whatever for mistaking their character, for he had a linen tent and other unmistakeable insignia of a trader. the chippewa enters the mississippi by several channels, which at this stage of the water, are formed by long sand bars, which are but a few inches above the water. the tracks of deer and elk were abundant on these bars. we had found something of this kind on a bar of the folleavoine below the mills, where we landed to dry the doctor's herbarium and press, which had been knocked overboard in a rapid. the tracks of elk at that spot were as numerous as those of cattle in a barn yard. there are high hills on the west banks of the mississippi opposite the entrance, and an enchanting view is had of the foot of lake pepin and its beautiful shores. deer appear to come on to these sand bars at night, to avoid the mosquitoes. wolves follow them. we estimate our distance at forty miles, inclusive of the stop at the mill. we had the brant roasted on a stick for supper. descent of the mississippi.--we embarked on our descent at four o'clock a.m. we passed three canoes of sioux men with their families. the canoes were wooden. we stopped alongside, and gave them tobacco. the women club their hair like the chippewas, and wear short gowns of cloth. soon afterwards we overtook four sioux of wabashaw's band, in a canoe. we stopped for breakfast at nine o'clock, under a high shore on the west bank. found fine unios of a large size, very abundant on a little sandy bay. i found the _unio alatus, overtus, rugosus and gibbosus_, also some _anadontas_. the sioux came up, and gave us to understand that a murder had been committed by the menomonies in the mine country. some of my voyageurs laughed outright to hear the sioux language spoken, the sound of its frequent palatals falling very flat on men's ears accustomed only to the algonquin. sioux village.--about two o'clock, having taken a right-hand fork of the river, we unexpectedly came to a sioux village, consisting of a part of wabashaw's band, under wah-koo-ta. landed and found a sioux who could speak chippewa, and serve as interpreter. i informed them of my route and the object of my visit, and of my having communicated a message with wampum and tobacco to wabashaw. they told us that the menomonies had killed twenty-five foxes at prairie du chien a few days ago, having first made them drunk, and then cut their throats and scalped them. we encamped, at seven o'clock in the evening, under high cliffs on the west shore, having been fifteen hours in our canoes. found mint among the high grass, where our tent poles were put. on the next morning we set off at half-past four o'clock, and went until ten to breakfast. at a low point of land of the shore, we had a view of a red fox, who scampered away gayly. he had been probably gleaning among the shell-fish along shore. at a subsequent point we met a boat laden with indian goods, bound to st. peters, and manned by canadians. the person in charge of it informed us that it was menomonies and not foxes who had, to the number of twenty-six, been recently murdered. general impression of the mississippi.--the engrossing idea, in passing down the mississippi, is the power of its waters during the spring flood. trees carried from above are piled on the heads of islands, and also lie, like vast stranded rocks, on its sand bars and lower shores. generally the butt ends and roots are elevated in the air, and remain like gibbeted men by the roadside, to tell the traveler of the power once exerted there. we traveled till near ten o'clock ( th) in the morning, when we reached and encamped at prairie du chien. chapter xli. death of mr. monroe--affair of the massacre of the menomonies by the foxes--descent to galena--trip in the lead mine country to fort winnebago--gratiot's grove--sac and fox disturbances--black hawk--irish diggings--willow springs--vanmater's lead--an escape from falling into a pit--mineral point--ansley's copper mine--gen. dodge's--mr. brigham's--sugar creek--four lakes--seven mile prairie--a night in the woods--reach fort winnebago--return to the sault--political changes in the cabinet--gov. cass called to washington--religious changes--g.b. porter appointed governor--natural history--character of the new governor--arrival of the rev. jeremiah porter--organization of a church. , _aug. th_. one of the first things we heard, on reaching prairie du chien, was the death of ex-president monroe, which happened on the th of july, at the city of new york. the demise of three ex-presidents of the revolutionary era (jefferson, adams, and monroe), on this political jubilee of the republic, is certainly extraordinary, and appears, so far as human judgment goes, to lend a providential sanction to the bold act of confederated resistance to taxation and oppression, made in . the affray between the foxes and menomonies turns out thus. the foxes had killed a young menomonie hunter, near the mouth of the wisconsin, and cut off his head. the menomonies had retaliated by killing foxes. the foxes then made a war party against the menomonies, and went up the mississippi in search of them. they did not find them, till their return, when they discovered a menomonie encampment on the upper part of the prairie. they instantly attacked them, and killed seven men, five women, and thirteen children. the act was perfectly dastardly, for the menomonies were some domestic lodges of persons living, as non-combatants, under the guns of the fort and the civil institutions of the town. the menomonies complained to me. i told them to go to their agent, and have a proper statement of the massacre drawn up by him, and transmitted to washington. i called on the commanding officer, captain loomis, and accepted his invitation to dine. he introduced me to mr. street, the indian agent. at four o'clock in the evening, i embarked for galena, and, after descending the mississippi as long as daylight lasted, encamped on a sand bar. the next morning ( th), we were again in motion before o'clock. we passed cassville and dubuque at successive points, and, entering the river of galena, reached the town about half-past eight o'clock, in the evening, and encamped on the banks of the river. on the following day ( th) i dispatched my canoe back to the wisconsin in charge of mr. johnston, accompanied by dr. d. houghton, and mr. melancthon woolsey, with directions to meet me at the portage. i then hired a light wagon to visit the mine country, taking letters from captain legate, u.s.a., and mr. c. hemstead. mr. bennet, the landlord, went with me to bring back the team. we left galena about ten o'clock in the morning ( th), and, passing over an open, rolling country, reached gratiot's grove, at a distance of fifteen miles. the messrs. gratiot received me kindly, and showed me the various ores, and their mode of preparing and smelting them, which are, in all respects, similar to the method pursued in missouri, with which i was familiar. mr. henry gratiot was the sub-indian agent for the winnebagoes, and was present at the late disturbances at the head of rock island. his band is the winnebagoes living on rock river, which is the residence of their prophet. he says the latter is a half sauk, and a very shrewd, cunning man. they are peaceable now, and disclaim all connection with black hawk, for war purposes. mr. g. assured me that he places no confidence in these declarations, nor in the stability of the sacs and foxes. he deems the latter treacherous, as usual, and related to me several acts of their former villainy--all in accordance with their late attack and murder of the menomonies at prairie du chien. this murder was committed by a part of black hawk's band, who had been driven from their villages on the mississippi below the rapids. they ascended the river to dubuque--from thence the party set out, and fell on the unsuspicious and defenceless menomonies. having examined whatever was deemed worthy of attention here, i drove on about fifteen miles to willow springs. in this drive we had the platte mounds, a prominent object, all the afternoon on our left. we stopped at irish diggings, and i took specimens of the various spars, ores, and rocks. lead ore is found here in fissures in the rock. an extraordinary mass of galena was recently discovered, in this geological position, by two men named doyle and hanley. it is stated to have been twenty-two feet wide by one hundred feet in length, and weighed many tons. it was of the kind of formation called sheet mineral, which occupies what appears to have once been an open fissure. the face of the country is exceedingly beautiful, the soil fertile, and bearing oaks and shagbark hickory. grass and flowers cover the prairies as far as the eye can reach. the hills are moderately elevated, and the roads excellent, except for short distances where streams are crossed. we passed the night at willow springs, where we were well accommodated by mr. ray. on the th it rained in the morning. we stopped at rocky branch diggings, and i obtained here some interesting specimens. we also stopped at bracken's furnace, where i procured some organic remains. i examined vanmater's lead; it runs east and west nearly nine miles. there was so much certainty in tracing the course of this lead, that it was sought out with a compass. the top strata are thirty-six to forty feet--then the mineral clay and galena occur. while examining some large specimens which had been thrown out of an old pit forty feet deep, whose edges were concealed by bushes, i had nearly fallen in backwards, by which i should have been inevitably killed. the fate that i escaped fell to the lot of bennet's dog. the poor fellow jumped over the cluster of bushes without seeing the pit beyond. by looking down we could see that he was still living. mr. vanmater promised to erect a windlass over the pit and get him out before mr. bennet returned. we reached mineral point about eleven o'clock. i immediately called on mr. ansley, to whom i had a letter, and went with him to visit his copper ore discovery. on the way he lost his mule, and, after some exertions to catch the animal, being under the effects of a fever and ague, he went back. a mr. black went with me to the diggings. green and blue carbonates of copper were found in rolled lumps in the clay soil, much like that kind of lead ore which is called, from its abraded form, gravel ore. taking specimens of each kind of ore, i went back to the town to dinner, and then drove on two or three miles to general dodge's. the general received me with great urbanity. i was introduced to his son augustus, a young gentleman of striking and agreeable manners. mrs. dodge had prepared in a few moments a cup of coffee, which formed a very acceptable appendage to my late dinner. we then continued our way, passing through dodgeville to porter's grove, where we stopped for the night, and were made very comfortable at morrison's. on the th we drove to breakfast at brigham's at the blue mounds. i here found in my host my old friend with whom i had set out from pittsburgh for the western world some thirteen or fourteen years before, and whom i last saw, i believe, fighting with the crows on the illinois bottoms for the produce of a fine field of corn. i went on to the mound with him to view the extraordinary growth of the same grain at this place. the stalks were so high that it really required a tall man to reach up and pull off the ears. ten miles beyond brigham's we came to sugar creek and a tree marked by mr. lyon. from this point we found the trail measured and mile stakes driven by mr. lyon's party, but the indians have removed several. from sugar creek it is ten miles to the head of the four lakes. we then crossed the seven mile prairie. to the left as we passed there rose a high point of rocks, on the top of which the indians had placed image stones. night overtook us soon after crossing this prairie. we took the horse out of the shafts and tied him to the wagon. my friend bennet, though _au fait_ on these trips, failed to strike a fire. we ate something, and made shift to pass the night. next morning we drove twelve miles to a house (hasting's), where we got breakfast. we drove through duck creek with some ado, the skies threatening rain, and came in to fort winnebago by one o'clock, during a pouring rain. the canoes sent from galena had not yet arrived. i spent the next day at the winnebago agency, mr. john h. kinzie's, where i was received with great kindness. the canoe with dr. houghton and his companions did not arrive till the d, and i embarked the same day on my return to st. mary's. it will not be necessary to describe this route. we were three days in descending the fox river and its portages to green bay. it required eight days to traverse the shores and bays to mackinack, and three more to reach st. mary's, where i arrived on the th of september. during my absence on this expedition, there were some things in my correspondence that require notice. gen. cass had been transferred to the war office at washington. he writes to me from detroit (july d): "very much to my surprise i have found myself called to another sphere of action. the change i am afraid will be not less unfavorable to my health and comfort than it certainly is adverse to my pecuniary interest. but i am forced by irresistible circumstances to accept the appointment. i have no time to detail these now. when i next have the pleasure of meeting you, i will fully lay them open to you. you will then see and say that no other choice was before me." gen. eaton, the former incumbent, goes out as minister to spain. the most important aspect is, perhaps, that we shall have a new governor, under whose rule we shall be happy, if he does not rashly derange indian affairs in a too eager zeal to mend them. for a long and eventful era gen. cass has presided as an umpire between the indian tribes and the citizens. his force and urbanity of character have equally inspired the respect of both. he has equally secured the confidence of every class of citizens in a wise civil administration of affairs. he has carried the territory from a state of war and desolation, which it presented at the close of , when the whole population was less than three thousand souls, to a state of sound prosperity, which, in a few years, will develop resources that must class us one of the first of the lake states. _july th_. the rev. absalom peters, sec. home miss. society, holds out the prospect of bringing our remote position, at the foot of lake superior, within the pale of the operations of that society. he views and describes a graduate of dartmouth college, who may, probably, be induced to venture himself on this frontier. he asks: "please to say whether you desire such a man as i have described? will it be best for him to go this fall, or wait until next spring? how much can you raise for his support? how much will be necessary to sustain him and his family with suitable economy? what will be his peculiar trials?" _aug. d_. it is announced that mr. geo. b. porter, of lancaster, penn., is to be the new governor. _oct. th_. the last mail brings me a letter from an early and esteemed friend, a prof. in the med. col. at new york, offering me congratulations on the moral stand recently taken by me. approvals, indeed, of this act reach me from many quarters. the way seemed open, with very little exertion on my part, to run a political course. but my impressions were averse to it. there is so much of independent honest opinion to be offered up by politicians--such continual calls to forsake the right for the expedient--such large sacrifices to be made in various ways to the god of public opinion, that a political career is rather startling to a quiet, unambitious, home-loving individual like myself, one, too, who is largely interested in other studies and pursuits, the rewards of which are not, indeed, very prompt, very sure, nor very full; but they are fraught with gratifications of a more enduring kind, and furnish aliment to moral conceptions which exalt and purify the soul. dr. torrey also alludes, in the same letter, to my recent journey in the indian country: "i am anxious to make some inquiries of you concerning your expedition to the falls of st. anthony, &c. though your principal object was more important, perhaps, than natural science, i hope the latter was not entirely neglected. i know that you have heretofore devoted as much of your attention as possible to the observation of natural objects, and the preservation of specimens, and your last expedition was through a country well deserving of your highest exertions. i know that part of it is the same as that explored while you attended gov. cass, many years ago; but much of the ground, if i am rightly informed, is new. you know that i have long devoted much of my time to the study of n. american botany, and that i am collecting materials for a general flora of our country. now, my dear sir, if you or mr. houghton (the young gentleman whom, i am informed, accompanied you) have made any collections in botany, i should esteem it a peculiar favor to have the examination of the specimens. "our lyceum prospers. we have removed to the n.y. dispensatory, a new building lately erected in white street, where we have excellent accommodations. the corporation of the city had use for the n.y. institution, and nearly all the societies who occupied it have been obliged to decamp. you doubtless have heard of the death of dr. mitchell. dr. akerly will pronounce his eulogy soon, and probably dr. hosick will give a more elaborate account of his life. "mr. cooper now devotes himself to shells and birds. if you have anything rare or new in these departments, we should be greatly obliged to you for such specimens as you can spare. "dr. dekay went to russia with his father, mr. eckford, last summer." _ d_. a friend and shrewd observer from detroit, writes: "you ask how we like our new governor. very well. he is a well-informed plain man, unassuming in his manners and conciliatory, always ready for business, and accustomed to do everything _en ordre_. his wife is a fine-looking agreeable woman, with several pretty well-behaved children." another correspondent says: "mr. porter is very much such a man as a. e. wing, and will, no doubt, generally suit the citizens of the territory," _ th_. w. ward, esq., says: "i remove hence to washington, with no certain prospects, only hopes. i cannot go without thanking you for much enjoyment in the hours passed with you, and for the manifestations of interest and friendship." _nov. th_. rev. w. s. boutwell says: "i am happy to hear that my friend and classmate, porter, is at mackinack, on his way to this people. the lord speed him on his way." _ d_. dr. houghton writes from fredonia, communicating the results of his analyses of the lake superior copper-ores. _dec. st_. the person named in a prior letter from the home missionary society, prefers a more southerly location, in consequence of which a new selection has been made by dr. peters, in the person of rev. jeremiah porter, a graduate of princeton and andover, and a lineal descendant, i understand, by the mother's side, of the great dr. edwards. we have been favorably impressed by the manner and deportment, and not less so by the piety and learning of the man. i felt happy, the moment of his landing, in offering him a furnished chamber, bed and plate, at elmwood, while residing on this frontier. he has taken steps to organize a church. he preaches in an animated and persuasive style, and has commenced a system of moral instruction in detail, which, in our local history, constitutes an era. it has been written that "where vice abounds, grace shall much more abound," and st. mary's may now be well included in the list of favorable examples. the lordly "wassail" of the fur-trader, the long-continued dance of the gay french "habitant," the roll of the billiard-ball, the shuffle of the card, and the frequent potations of wine "when it is red in the cup," will now, at least, no longer retain their places in the customs of this spot on the frontier without the hope of having their immoral tendencies pointed out. some of the soldiers have also shown a disposition to attend the several meetings for instruction. the claims of temperance have likewise led to an organized effort, and if the pious and gentle mr. laird were permitted once again to visit the place, after a lapse of seven years, he might fervently exclaim, in the language of the gospel, "what hath god wrought?" chapter xlii. revival of st. mary's--rejection of mr. van buren as minister to england--botany and natural history of the north-west--project of a new expedition to find the sources of the mississippi--algie society--consolidation of the agencies of st. mary's and michilimackinack--good effects of the american home missionary society--organization of a new inland exploring expedition committed to me--its objects and composition of the corps of observers. , _jan. st_. i was now to spend a winter to aid a preacher in promoting the diffusion and understanding of the detailed facts, which all go to establish a great truth--a truth which was first brought to the world's notice eighteen hundred and thirty-two years before, namely, that god, who was incarnate in the messiah, under the name of jesus christ, offered himself a public sacrifice for human sins, amidst the most striking and imposing circumstances of a roman execution--a fact which, in an age of extraordinary moral stolidity and ecclesiastical delusion, was regarded as the behest of a mere human tribunal. for this work the circumstances of our position and exclusion from society was very favorable. the world, with all its political and commercial care, was, in fact, shut out with the closing of the river. three hundred miles of a waste, howling wilderness separated us south-easterly from the settlements at detroit. ninety miles in a south-westerly direction lay the island and little settlement and mission of mackinack. in addition to the exertions of mr. porter, who was our pastor, the winter had enclosed, at that point, a zealous missionary of the american board, destined for a more northerly position, in the person of mr. boutwell, who with the person, mr. bingham, in charge of the indian mission at the same point, maintained by the baptist convention, constituted a moral force that was not likely to be without its results. they derived mutual aid from each other in various ways, and directed their entire efforts upon a limited community, wholly excluded from open contact with the busy world, and having, by their very isolation, much leisure. the result was an awakened attention to the truth, to which i have adverted, not as a mere historical event, but one personally interesting and important to every person, without regard at all to their circumstances or position. severity of climate, deep snows, the temperature often below zero, and frequently but little above, blinding snow storms, and every inconvenience of the place or places of meeting, appeared only to have the effect to give greater efficacy to the inquiry, as the workings of unshackled mind and will. early in the season, a comparatively large number of persons of every class deemed it their duty to profess a personal interest in the atonement, the great truth dwelt on, and made eventually a profession of faith by uniting with, and recording their names as members of some branch of the church. among these were several natives. mrs. johnston, known to her people by the name of the sha-go-wash-co-da-wa-qua, being the most noted. also four of her daughters, and one of her sons, one or two catholic soldiers, several officers of fort brady, citizens, &c., &c. this statement will tend to render many of the allusions in my journal of this winter's transactions intelligible. indeed some of them would not be at all understood without it. historically considered, there was deep instruction "hid" in this event. it was now precisely years since the puritans, with the principles of the scriptures for their guidance, in fleeing to lay the foundation of a new government in the west, had landed at plymouth. it had required this time, leaving events to develop themselves, for the circle of civilization to reach the foot of lake superior. ten years after the first landing at this remote spot in , had been sufficient to warm these ancient principles into life. john eliot, and the band of eminent saints who began the labor with him in , had been centuries in their tombs, but the great principles which they upheld and enforced were invested with the sacred vitality which they possessed at that day. two truths are revealed by this reminiscence. . that the scriptures will be promulgated by human means. . that time, in the divine mind, is to be measured in a more enlarged sense; but the propagation of truth goes on, as obstacle after obstacle is withdrawn, surely, steadily, unalterably, and that its spread over the entire globe is a mere question of time. _jan. st_. mr. wing, delegate in congress, writes from washington, that the nomination of mr. van buren as minister to england has been rejected by the senate, by a majority of one--and that one the casting vote of the vice-president. a letter from albany, feb. , says: "albany (and the state generally) is considerably excited this morning in consequence of the rejection of mr. van buren. nothing could have more promoted the interest of mr. van buren than this step of the senate. new york city has resolved to receive him, on his return from england, with all the 'pomp and magnificence in its power, and to show that her 'favorite son' shall be sustained.' i heard this read in public from a letter received by a person in this city." "a report reached this a few days ago, stating that the 'cholera' had been brought to new orleans in a spanish vessel." "mr. woolsey, the young gentleman of your tour last summer, died at new york a short time since." in a letter which he wrote to me (sept. th), on the eve of his leaving detroit, he says: "permit me now, sir, in closing this note, again to express my gratitude for the opportunity you have afforded me of visiting a very interesting portion of our country, and for the uniform kindness that i have experienced at your hands, and for the friendly wishes, that prosperity may crown my exertions in life." dr. houghton says (feb. ) respecting this moral young man: "the tears of regret might flow freely for the loss of such true unsophisticated worth, even with those who knew him imperfectly, but to me, who felt as a brother, the loss is doubly great. we have, however, when reflecting upon his untimely death, the sweet consolation that he died as he lived, a christian." _feb. th_. dr. torrey expresses his interest in the botany and natural history, generally, of the country visited by me last summer. "your kind offer to place in my hands the botanical rarities which, from time to time, you may acquire, in your interesting journeys, i fully appreciate. it will give me great pleasure to examine the collections made by dr. houghton during your last expedition. "my friend mr. william cooper, of the lyceum, will be happy to lend you all the assistance in his power in determining the shells you have collected. he is decidedly our beat conchologist in new york, and i would rather trust him than most men--for he is by no means afflicted with the mania of desiring to multiply new species, which, is, at present, the bane of natural history. "you speak of having discovered some interesting minerals, especially some good native copper. above all the specimens which you obtained, i should like to see the native magnesia which you found in serpentine. i am desirous of analyzing the mineral, to ascertain whether its composition agrees with that of hoboken and unst (the only recorded localities in our mineralogical works)." _ th_. submitted, in a letter to the department at washington, a project of an expedition to the north-west, during the ensuing season, in order to carry out the views expressed in the instructions of last year, to preserve peace on the western frontiers, inclosing the necessary estimates, &c. _ th_. mr. w. h. sherman, of vernon, n.y., communicates intelligence of the death of my mother, which took place about ten o'clock on the morning of this day. she was seventy-five years of age, and a christian--and died as she had lived, in a full hope. i had read the letters before breakfast, and while the family were assembling for prayers. i had announced the fact with great composure, and afterward proceeded to read in course the d psalm, and went on well, until i came to the verse--"why art thou cast down, o my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in god: for i shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my god." the emotions of this painful event, which i had striven to conceal, swelled up in all their reality, my utterance was suddenly choked, and i was obliged to close the book, and wait for calmness to go on. _ th_. the initial steps were taken for forming an association of persons interested in the cause of the reclamation of the indians, to be known under the name of the algic society. connected with this, one of its objects was to collect and disseminate practical information respecting their language, history, traditions, customs, and character; their numbers and condition; the geographical features of the country they inhabit; and its natural history and productions. it proposes some definite means of action for furthering their moral instruction, and reclamation from the evils of intemperance and the principles of war, and to subserve the general purposes of a society of moral inquiry. the place was deemed favorable both for the collection of original information, and for offering a helping hand to missionaries and teachers who should visit the frontiers in carrying forward the great moral question of the exaltation of the tribes from barbarism to civilization and christianity. _ th_. instructions are issued at washington, consolidating the agencies of st. mary's and michilimackinack--and placing the joint agency under my charge. by this arrangement, col. boyd, the agent at the latter point, is transferred to green bay, and i am left at liberty to reside at st. mary's or michilimackinack, placing a sub-agent at the point where i do not reside. this measure is announced to me in a private letter of this day, from the secretary of war, who says: "i think the time has arrived when a just economy requires such a measure." by it the entire expenses of one full agency are dispensed with--the duties of which are devolved upon me, in addition to those i before had. by being allowed the choice of selection, two hundred dollars are added to my salary. here is opened a new field, and certainly a very ample one, for exertions. _april th_. the object contemplated by invoking the aid of the home missionary society, in the establishment of a church at this remote point on the frontiers--in connection with the means already possessed, and the aid providentially present, have, it will have been seen, had the effect to work quite a moral revolution. the evils of a lax society have been rebuked in various ways. intemperance and disorder have been made to stand out as such, and already a spirit of rendering the use, or rather _misuse_ of time, subservient to the general purposes of social dissipation, has been shown to be unwise and immoral in every view. more than all, the sabbath-day has been vindicated as a part of time set apart as holy. the claims and obligations of the decalogue have been enforced; and the great truths of the gospel thus prominently brought forward. the result has been every way propitious. the rev. wm. m. ferry, of mackinack, writes (feb. ): "the intelligence we have received by your letters, mr. boutwell, &c., of the lord's doings among you, as a people, at the sault, has rejoiced our hearts much. surely it is with you a time of the right hand of the most high." "all of us," writes mr. robert stuart (march ) "who love the lord, were much pleased at the indications of god's goodness and presence among you." the rev. j. porter, in subsequently referring to the results of these additions to the church, observes, that they embraced five officers and four ladies of the garrison; two gentlemen and seven ladies of the settlement, and thirty soldiers and four women of fort brady, numbering fifty-two in all. of these, twenty-six were adults added by baptism. at detroit a similar result was experienced. mr. trowbridge writes (april th), that about seventy persons united themselves a few days previous to mr. wells' church, to which the influence has been principally, but not wholly confined. among these were many who had, unaffectedly, listened to the gospel, if not all their lives, certainly no small part of it. _may d_. public instructions are issued for my organizing and taking command of an expedition to the country upon the sources of the mississippi river, to effect a pacification between the indian tribes, in order to carry out, with increased means, the efforts made in . those efforts were confined to tribes living in latitudes south of st. anthony's falls. it was now proposed to extend them to the indian population living north of that point, reaching to the sources of that river. this opened the prospect of settling a long contested point in the geography of that stream, namely, its actual source--a question in which i had long felt the deepest interest. the outbreak of indian hostility, under black hawk, which characterized the summer of , was apprehended, and it became the policy of the indian bureau, in the actual state of its information, to prevent the northern tribes from joining in the sac and fox league under that influential leader. i forwarded to the superintendent and governor of the territory, a report of a message and war-club sent to the chippewas to join in the war, for which i was indebted to the chief, chingwauk, or little pine. "reports from various quarters of the indian country," says the secretary of war, in a private letter so early as march th, "lead to the belief that the indians are in an unsettled state, and prudence requires that we should advise and restrain them. i think one more tour would be very useful in this respect, and would complete our knowledge of the geography of that region." "there is a prospect," says the official instructions (may d), "of extensive hostilities among themselves. it is no less the dictate of humanity than of policy to repress this feeling, and to establish permanent peace among the tribe. "it is also important to inspect the condition of the trade, and the conduct of the traders. to ascertain whether the regulations and the laws are complied with, and to suggest such alterations as may be required. and, finally, to inquire into the number, standing, disposition, and prospect of the indians, and to report all the statistical facts you can procure, and which will be useful to the government in its operations, or to the community in the investigation of these subjects." congress, during the session, passed an act for vaccinating the indians. this constituted a separate duty, and enabled me to take along a physician and surgeon. i offered the situation to dr. douglass houghton, of fredonia, who, in the discharge of it, was prepared to take cognizance of the subjects of botany, geology, and mineralogy. i offered to the american board of missions, at boston, to take a missionary agent, to observe the condition and prospects of the indian tribes in the north-west, as presenting a field for their operations, and named the rev. w.t. boutwell, then at michilimackinack, for the post, which the board confirmed, with a formal vote of thanks. lieut. james allen, th u.s. infantry, who was assigned to the command of the detachment of troops, assumed the duties of topographer and draughtsman. mr. george johnston, of st. mary's, was appointed interpreter and baggage-master. i retained myself the topics of indian history, archaeology, and language. the party numbered about thirty souls. all this appeared strictly compatible with the practical objects to be attained--keeping the expenses within the sum appropriated for the object. some few weeks were required completely to organize the expedition, to prepare the necessary supplies, and to permit the several persons to reach the place of rendezvous. meantime i visited michilimackinack to receive the agency from col. boyd; after which it was left temporarily in charge of a sub-agent and interpreter, with the supervision of the commanding officer of fort mackinack. _ th_. the secretary of war writes a private letter: "we have allowed all it was possible, and you must on no account exceed the sum, as the pressure upon our funds is very great." maj. w. writes from detroit (may th): "i am glad to hear that you are about going on another expedition, and that mr. houghton is to accompany you. i hope you will find time to send us some specimens collected on your former tour before you start." dr. houghton writes from fredonia (may th): "i shall leave here immediately after the twenty-fourth, and hope to see you as early as the second or third of june. i have heard from torrey, and have sent him a suit of plants." the secretary of war again writes (may d): "it has been impossible before now, to make you a remittance of funds, and they cannot yet all be sent for your expedition. our annual appropriation has not yet passed, and when it will i am sure i cannot tell. so you must get along as well as you can. i trust, however, the amount now sent will be sufficient to enable you to start upon your expedition. the residue promised to you, as well as the funds for your ordinary expenditures, shall be sent as soon as the appropriation is made." the sub-agent, in charge of the agency at mackinack, writes (may d): "gen. brook arrived yesterday from green bay, and has concluded to make this post his head-quarters. i was up, yesterday, in the garrison, and capt. mccabe introduced me to him. i found him a very pleasant, plain, unassuming man. col. boyd has handed me a list of articles which you will find inclosed, &c." "the committee," says the rev. david green, boston, "wish me to express to you the satisfaction they have in learning that your views respecting the importance of making known the great truths of the gospel to the indians, as the basis on which to build their improvement, in all respects accords so perfectly with their own. it is our earnest desire that our missionaries should act wisely in all their labors for the benefit of the indians, and that all the measures which may be adopted by them, or by others who seek to promote the present or future welfare of this unhappy and long-abused people, may be under the divine guidance, and crowned with great success." these triple claims, which have now been mentioned, of business, of science, and of religion, on my attention created not the least distraction on my mind, but, on the contrary, appeared to have propitious and harmonizing influences. chapter xliii. expedition to, and discovery of, itasca lake, the source of the mississippi river--brief notice of the journey to the point of former geographical discovery in the basin of upper red cedar, or cass lake--ascent and portage to queen anne's lake--lake pemetascodiac--the ten, or metoswa rapids--pemidgegomag, or cross-water lake--lake irving--lake marquette--lake la salle--lake plantagenet--ascent of the plantagenian fork--naiwa, or copper-snake river--agate rapids and portage--assawa lake--portage over the hauteur des terres--itasca lake--its picturesque character--geographical and astronomical position--historical data. . _june th_. it was not until this day that the expedition was ready to embark at the head of the portage at st. mary's. i had organized it strictly on temperance principles, observation having convinced me, during frequent expeditions in the wilderness, that not only is there no situation, unless administered from the medicine-chest, where men are advantaged by its use, but in nearly every instance of fatigue or exhaustion their powers are enfeebled by it, while, in a moral and intellectual sense, they are rendered incapable, neglectful, or disobedient. this exclusion constituted a special clause in every verbal agreement with the men, who were canadians, which i thought necessary to make, in order that they might have no reason to complain while inland of its exclusion. they were promised, instead of it, abundance of good wholesome food at all times. the effects of this were apparent even at the start. they all presented smiling faces, and took hold of their paddles with a conscious feeling of satisfaction in the wisdom of their agreement. the military and their supplies occupied a large mackinack boat; my heavy stores filled another. i traveled in a _canoe-elège,_ as being better adapted to speed and the celerity of landing. each carried a national flag. we slept the first night at point iroquois, which commands a full view of the magnificent entrance into the lake. we were fifteen days in traversing the lake, being my fifth trip through this inland sea. we passed up the st. louis river by its numerous portages and falls to the sandy lake summit, and reached the banks of the mississippi on the third of july, and ascertained its width above the junction of the sandy lake outlet to be feet. we were six days in ascending it to the central island in cass lake. this being the point at which geographical discovery rests, i decided to encamp the men, deposit my heavy baggage, and fitted out a light party in hunting canoes to trace the stream to its source. the indians supplied me with five canoes of two fathoms each, and requiring but two men to manage each, which would allow one canoe to each of the gentlemen of my party. i took three indians and seven white men as the joint crew, making, with the sitters, fifteen persons. we were provisioned for a few days, carried a flag, mess-basket, tent, and other necessary apparatus. we left the island early the next morning, and reached the influx of the mississippi into the lake at an early hour. to avoid a very circuitous bay, which i called allen's bay, we made a short portage through open pine woods. fifty yards' walk brought us and our canoe and baggage to the banks of queen anne's lake, a small sylvan lake through which the whole channel of the mississippi passed. a few miles above its termination we entered another lake of limited size, which the indians called pemetascodiac. the river winds about in this portion of it--through savannas, bordered by sandhills, and pines in the distance--for about fifteen miles. at this distance, rapids commence, and the bed of the river exhibited greenstone and gneissoid boulders. we counted ten of these rapids, which our guide called the metoswa, or ten rapids. they extend about twenty miles, during which there is a gradual ascent of about forty feet. the men got out at each of these rapids, and lifted or drew the canoes up by their gunwales. we ascended slowly and with toil. at the computed distance of forty-five miles, we entered a very handsome sheet of water, lying transverse to our course, which the indians called pamidjegumag, which means crosswater, and which the french call _lac traverse_. it is about twelve miles long from east to west, and five or six wide. it is surrounded with hardwood forest, presenting a picturesque appearance. we stopped a few moments to observe a rude idol on its shores; it consisted of a granitic boulder, of an extraordinary shape, with some rings and spots of paint, designed to give it a resemblance to a human statue. we observed the passenger-pigeon and some small fresh-water shells of the species of unios and anadontas. a short channel, with a strong current, connects this lake with another of less than a third of its dimensions, to which i gave the name of washington irving. not more than three or four miles above the latter, the mississippi exhibits the junction of its ultimate forks. the right hand, or itasca branch, was represented as by far the longest, the most circuitous, and most difficult of ascent. it brings down much the largest volume of water. i availed myself of the geographical knowledge of my indian guide by taking the left hand, or what i had occasion soon to call the plantagenian branch. it expanded, in the course of a few miles, into a lake, which i called marquette, and, a little further, into another, which i named la salle. about four miles above the latter, we entered into a more considerable sheet of water, which i named plantagenet, being the site of an old indian encampment called kubbakunna, or the rest in the path. we encamped a short distance above the upper end of this lake at the close of the day, on a point of low land covered with a small growth of gray pine, fringed with alder, tamarisk, spruce, and willow. a bed of moss covered the soil, into which the foot sank at every step. long moss hung from every branch. everything indicated a cold frigid soil. in the act of encamping, it commenced raining, which gave a double gloom to the place. several species of duck were brought from the different canoes as the result of the day's hunt. early the next morning we resumed the ascent. the river became narrow and tortuous. clumps of willow and alder lined the shore. wherever larger species were seen they were gray pines or tamarack. one of the indians killed a deer, of the species _c. virginea_, during the morning. ducks were frequently disturbed as we pushed up the winding channel. the shores were often too sedgy and wet to permit our landing, and we went on till twelve o'clock before finding a suitable spot to breakfast. about five o'clock we came to a high diluvial ridge of gravel and sand, mixed with boulders of syenite, trap-rock, quartz, and sandstone. ozawandib, our guide, said we were near the junction of the naiwa, or copper-snake river, the principal tributary of this branch of the mississippi, and that it was necessary to make a passage over this ridge to avoid a formidable series of rapids. our track lay across a peninsula. this occupied the remainder of the day, and we encamped on the banks of the stream above the rapids and pitched our tent, before daylight had finally departed. the position of the sun, in this latitude, it must be recollected, is protracted, very perceptibly, above the horizon. we ascended to the summit in a series of geological steps or plateaux. there is but little perceptible rise from the cross-water level to this point--called agate rapids and portage, from the occurrence of this mineral in the drift. the descent of water at this place cannot be less than seventy feet. on resuming the journey the next morning ( th) we found the water above these rapids had almost the appearance of a dead level. the current is very gentle; and, by its diminished volume, denotes clearly the absence of the contributions from the naiwa. about seven miles above the agate portage we entered lake assawa, which our indian guide informed us was the source of this branch. we were precisely twenty minutes in passing through it, with the full force of paddles. it receives two small inlets, the most southerly of which we entered, and the canoes soon stuck fast, amidst aquatic plants, on a boggy shore. i did not know, for a moment, the cause of our having grounded, till ozawandib exclaimed, "o-um-a, mikun-na!" here is the portage! we were at the southern flanks of the diluvial hills, called hauteur des terres--a geological formation of drift materials, which form one of the continental water-sheds, dividing the streams tributary to the gulf of mexico, from those of hudson's bay. he described the portage as consisting of twelve _pug-gi-de-nun_, or resting places, where the men are temporarily eased of their burdens. this was indefinite, depending on the measure of a man's strength to carry. not only our baggage, but the canoes were to be carried. after taking breakfast, on the nearest dry ground, the different back-loads for the men were prepared. ozawandib threw my canoe over his shoulders and led the way. the rest followed, with their appointed loads. i charged myself with a spy-glass, strapped, and portfolio. dr. houghton carried a plant press. each one had something, and the men toiled with five canoes, our provisions, beds, tent, &c. the path was one of the most intricate and tangled that i ever knew. tornadoes appeared to have cast down the trees in every direction. a soft spongy mass, that gave way under the tread, covered the interstices between the fallen timber. the toil and fatigue were incessant. at length we ascended the first height. it was an arid eminence of the pebble and erratic block era, bearing small gray pines and shrubbery. this constituted our first pause, or _puggidenun._ on descending it, we were again plunged among bramble. path, there was none, or trail that any mortal eye, but an indian's, could trace. we ascended another eminence. we descended it, and entered a thicket of bramble, every twig of which seemed placed there to bear some token of our wardrobe, as we passed. to avoid this, the guide passed through a lengthened shallow pond, beyond which the walking was easier. hill succeeded hill. it was a hot day in july, and the sun shone out brightly. although we were evidently passing an alpine height, where a long winter reigned, and the vegetation bore every indication of being imperfectly developed. we observed the passenger pigeon, and one or two species of the _falco_ family. there were indications of the common deer. moss hung abundantly from the trees. the gray pine predominated in the forest growth. at length, the glittering of water appeared, at a distance below, as viewed from the summit of one of these eminences. it was declared by our indian guide to be itasca lake--the source of the main, or south fork of the mississippi. i passed him, as we descended a long winding slope, and was the first man to reach its banks. a little grassy opening served as the terminus of our trail, and proved that the indians had been in the practice of crossing this eminence in their hunts. as one after another of the party came, we exulted in the accomplishment of our search. a fire was quickly kindled, and the canoes gummed, preparatory to embarkation. we had struck within a mile of the southern extremity of the lake, and could plainly see its terminus from the place of our embarking. the view was quite enchanting. the waters were of the most limpid character. the shores were overhung with hard wood foliage, mixed with species of spruce, larch, and aspen. we judged it to be about seven miles in length, by an average of one to two broad. a bay, near its eastern-end, gave it somewhat the shape of the letter y. we observed a deer standing in the water. wild fowl appeared to be abundant. we landed at the only island it contains--a beautiful spot for encampment, covered with the elm, cherry, larch, maple, and birch, and giving evidence, by the remains of old camp-fires, and scattered bones of species killed in the chase, of its having been much resorted to by the aborigines. this picturesque island the party honored me by calling after my name--in which they have been sanctioned by nicollet and other geographers. i caused some trees to be felled, pitched my tent, and raised the american flag on a high staff, the indians firing a salute as it rose. this flag, as the evidence of the government having extended its jurisdiction to this quarter, i left flying, on quitting the island--and presume the band of ozawandib, at cass lake, afterwards appropriated it to themselves. questions of geography and astronomy may deserve a moment's attention. if we assume the discovery of the mouth of the mississippi to have been made by narvaez in --a doubtful point!--a period of years has elapsed before its actual source has been fixed. if the date of de soto's journey ( ) be taken, which is undisputed, this period is reduced to years. hennepin saw it as high as the mouth of the river st. francis in . lt. pike, under the administration of mr. jefferson, ascended it by water in , near to the entrance of elk river, south of the crow wing fork, and being overtaken at this spot by frosts and snow, and winter setting in strongly, he afterwards ascended its banks, on snow shoes, his men carrying his baggage on hand sleds, to sandy lake, then a post of the north-west company. from this point he was carried forward, under their auspices, by the canadian train _de-glis,_ drawn by dogs to leech lake; and eventually, by the same conveyance, to what is now denominated cass lake, or upper _lac cedre rogue_. this he reached in january, , and it formed the terminus of his journey. in , gen. cass visited sandy lake, by the way of lake superior, with a strong party, and exploratory outfit, under the authority of the government. he encamped the bulk of his party at sandy lake, depositing all his heavy supplies, and fitted out a light party in two canoes, to trace up the river to its source. after ascending to the point of land at the entrance of turtle river into cass lake, it was found, from indian accounts, that he could not ascend higher in the state of the water with his heavy canoes, if, indeed, his supplies or the time at his command would have permitted him to accomplish it, compatibly with other objects of his instructions. this, therefore, constituted the terminal point of his journey. the length of the river, from the gulf of mexico to itasca lake, has been estimated at , miles. barometrical observations show its altitude, above the same point, to be , feet--which denotes an average descent of a fraction over six inches per mile. the latitude of itasca lake has been accurately determined to be ° ' "--which is nearly two degrees south of the position assigned to it by the best geographers in , the date of the definite treaty of peace between the united states and great britain. the reason of this geographical mistake has been satisfactorily shown in traversing up the stream from the summit of the pemidjegomag, or cross-water lake--during which, the general course of the ascent is due south. chapter xliv. descent of the mississippi river, from itasca lake to cass lake--traits of its bank--kabika falls--upsetting of a canoe--river descends by steps, and through narrow rocky passes--portage to the source of the crow-wing river--moss lake--shiba lake--leech lake--warpool lake--long lake mountain portage--kaginogomanug--vermilion lake--ossawa lake-shell river--leaf river--long prairie river--kioskk, or gull river--arrival at its mouth--descent to the falls of st. anthony, and st. peter's--return to st. mary's. , _july th_. i found the outlet of itasca lake to be about twelve feet wide, and some twelve to fourteen inches deep. the water is of crystal purity, and the current very rapid. we were urged along with great velocity. it required incessant vigilance on the part of the men to prevent our frail vessels from being dashed against boulders. for about twelve miles the channel was not only narrow, but exceedingly crooked. often, where the water was most deep and rapid, it did not appear to exceed ten feet in width. trees which had fallen from the banks required, sometimes, to be cut away to allow the canoes to pass, and it required unceasing vigilance to avoid piles of drifted wood or boulders. as we were borne along in vessels of bark, not more than one-eighth of an inch thick, a failure to fend off, or hit the proper guiding point, in any one place, would have been fraught with instant destruction. and we sat in a perfect excitement during this distance. the stream then deployed, for a distance of some eight miles, into a savannah or plain, with narrow grassy borders in which its width was doubled, its depth decreased, and the current less furious. we went through these windings with more assurance and composure. it was one of the minor plateaux in which this stream descends. the channel then narrowed and deepened itself for another plunge, and soon brought us to the top of the kabika palls. this pass, as the name imports, is a cascade over rocks. the river is pent up, between opposing trap rock, which are not over ten feet apart. its depth is about four feet, and velocity perfectly furious. it is not impossible to descend it, as there is no abrupt pitch, but such a trial would seem next to madness. we made a portage with our canoes of about a quarter of a mile across a peninsula, and embarked again at the foot of the falls, where the stream again expands to more than double its former width, and the scenery assumes a milder aspect. it is another plateau. daylight had departed when we encamped on a high sandy bank on the left shore. we were perfectly exhausted with labor, and the thrilling excitement of the day. it seemed, while flying through its furious passes, as if this stream was impatient for its development, and, like an unrestrained youth, was bent on overthrowing every obstacle, on the instant, that opposed its advance and expansion. a war horse could not have been more impatient to rush on to his destiny. we were in motion again in our canoes at five o'clock the next morning. at an early hour my indian guide landed to fire at some deer. he could not, however, get close enough to make an effectual shot. before the animals were, however, out of range, he loaded, without wadding, and fired again, but also without effect. after passing a third plateau through which the river winds, with grassy borders, we found it once more to contract for another descent, which we made without leaving our canoes, not, however, without imminent peril and loss. lieut. allen had halted to make some observations, when his men incautiously failed for a moment to keep his canoe direct in the current. the moment it assumed a transverse position, which they attempted to fix by grasping some bushes on the opposite bank, the water dashed over the gunwales, and swept all to the bottom. he succeeded in gaining his feet, though the current was waist high, and recovered his fowling piece, but irretrievably lost his canoe-compass, a nautical balanced instrument, and everything besides. fortunately i had a fine small land-compass, which gen. macomb had presented to the late john johnston, esq., of st. mary's, many years before, and thus i measurably repaired his loss. on descending this channel, the river again displayed itself in savannas, and assumed a width which it afterwards maintained, and lost its savage ferocity of current, though still strong. on this plateau, the river receiving on its left the war river, or piniddiwin (the term has relation to the mangled flesh of those slain in battle), a considerable stream, at the mouth of which the indian reed first shows itself. we had, the day previous, noticed the chemaun, or canoe river, tributary from the right bank. minor tributaries were not noticed. the volume of water was manifestly increased from various sources. at a spot where we landed, as evening came on, we observed a species of striped lizard, which our guide called okautekinabic, which signifies legged-snake. various species of the duck and other water fowl were almost continually in sight. we reached the junction of the plantagenet fork about one o'clock at night ( th), and rapidly passing the irving and cross-water lakes, descended to cass lake, reaching our encampment at nine o'clock in the morning. a day's rest restored the party from its fatigues, and we set out at ten o'clock the following day ( th) for leech lake, by the overland route. two hours rowing brought us to a fine sandy beach at the head of a bay, which was named pike's bay, from lieut. pike having approached from this direction in the winter of . here the baggage and canoes were prepared for a portage. a walk of nine hundred and fifty yards, through open pine forest, brought us to the banks of moss lake, which we passed in canoes. a portage of about two miles and a-half was now made to the banks of a small lake, which, as i heard no name for it, was called shiba, from the initials of the names of the five gentlemen of the party.[ ] this lake has an outlet into a large stream, which the pillager chippewas call kapuka sagitawag. it was nearly dark when we embarked on this stream, which soon led, by a very narrow and winding channel, into the main river. pushing on, we reached and crossed an arm of the lake to the principal indian village of guelle plat, leech lake, which we reached at ten o'clock at night. [footnote : schoolcraft, houghton, johnston, boutwell, allen.] the next day ( th) was passed in council with them, till late in the afternoon, when i embarked, and went a couple of leagues to encamp, in order to rid myself fully of the village throng, and be ready for an early start in the morning. it was my determination to pass inland south-westerly by an indian trail, so as to strike the source of the crow wing or de corbeau river, one of the great tributaries of the mississippi which remained unexplored. we found the entrance to this portage early the next morning ( th). after following the trail about three-fourths of a mile we reached and crossed a small lake called warpool. a small and intricate outlet led successively to little long lake, the two lakes, and the lake of the mountain. here commenced a highland portage of over yards to the lake of the island--another portage of some yards was then made to midlake, and finally another of one _puggidenun_, partly through a bog, but terminating on elevated grounds at the head of a considerable and handsome body of water called kaginogamaug, or the long water. this is the source of the de corbeau river, and here we encamped for the night. we had how crossed the summit between leech lake and the source of the crow wing river. we commenced the descent on the morning of the th, and passed successively through eleven lakes, connected by a series of short channels. the names of these in their order, are kaginogamaug, little vermilion, birch, ple, assawa, vieu desert, summit, longrice, allen's, johnston's, and kaitchibo sagitawa. two tributary streams enter the river in this distance, the principal of which is shell river; the stream assumes an ample size, and there is no further apprehension of shallows. next day ( th) we passed the influx of six rivers, the largest of which is leaf river, coming in from the west. the channel has now attained a bold and sweeping force. it required part of another day to reach its mouth, in the course of which it is joined by the long prairie river from the right, and the kioshk or gall river from the left. an alluvial island, with a heavy forest, exists at the point of its confluence with the mississippi river. we encamped at the pierced prairie, eighteen miles below the junction, and were less than two days in a high state of the water, in reaching st. anthony's falls. _ th_. i arrived at st. peter's about two o'clock in the afternoon, and entered and encamped on the open common on the banks of the river. the indian agent (mr. tallieferro) was absent. i found captain jouett in command of the fort, and in charge of indian affairs. he received me in a cordial manner, and offered every facility in his power to effect the objects of my mission among the hostile tribes. no recent news from the seat of operation against the black hawk and his adherents was known. recent details were, however, imprecise. captain jouett had kept up, i think, the mail communication with prairie du chien, by a canoe sent once a fortnight. the murder of st. vrain, the events on the rock river with the illinois militia, and the movements on foot to chastise the hostile sauks and foxes, were among the latest items of intelligence. but nothing was known of the actual position of the black hawk and his followers. my determinations, therefore, as to the route to be pursued, in returning home, were made in entire ignorance of the fact, that at that time, the black hawk had been driven before gens. atkinson and dodge to the banks of the mississippi, at the mouth of the badaxe river--where he completely intercepted all communication between the posts of st. peter's and prairie du chien. _ th_. i held a council with the sioux at the agency buildings; at which the tribe disclaimed, by their speakers, having any connection with the sauk and fox league, or having permitted any of their warriors to join in it. they professed a readiness to furnish warriors to aid the government in suppressing it. on returning to my tent, i sat down and wrote to the editor of a western paper, as follows:-- st. peters, _july th_, . sir:--i arrived at this place yesterday, from an expedition through the chippewa country on the sources of the mississippi, accompanied by a detachment of troops under lieut. allen of the th infantry. i have traced this river to its actual source. on reaching the point to which it had been formerly explored, i found the water in a favorable state for ascending; and i availed myself of this circumstance to carry into effect the desire of visiting its actual source, a point which has continued to be problematical in our geography. pike placed it at leech lake in . gov. cass carried it much further north, and left it at upper red cedar lake in . but it was then ascertained that its sources were considerably north and west of that lake, which is in lat. ° '. i encamped the expedition, the troops and heavy baggage, at this lake, and proceeded up the river in five small birch canoes, capable of containing one man and his bed, in addition to the indian and canadian who conducted it. the mississippi expands into several lakes, the largest of which is called lac traverse. a few miles above this occurs the junction of its south-west and north-west branch. the former i called the plantagenet, and ascended it through la salle, marquette, and assawa lakes to a small creek at the foot of the hauteur des terres. from this point a portage was made over difficult ascents, and through defiles for about six miles, when we reached the banks of itasca lake, the source of the other and longer branch. to this point we transported our canoes and baggage. it is a most beautiful and clear lake, about seven miles long, and lying somewhat in the shape of a y. i found an island in it, upon which i landed and encamped, and, after causing some trees to be felled, hoisted the united states flag. i left this flag flying, and returned down the itascan branch to my starting point. i found the indians friendly, and having no apparent connection with the movements of black hawk, although they are subject to an unpropitious influence from the hudson's bay company, the agents of which allure them to carry their trade into that province. the american traders complain of this with great reason. many of the chippewas visit the british posts in canada, and their old prejudices are kept alive in various ways; but i was everywhere received with amity and respect. _ th_. having concluded my affairs at st, peters, i determined to return to the basin of lake superior, by ascending the river st. croix to its source, and passing across the portage of the misakoda, or burntwood river, into the fond du lac bay. this i accomplished with great toil, owing to the low state of the water, in ten days; and, after spending ten days more in traversing the lengthened shores and bays of lake superior from _la pointe_, returned to sault st. marie on the th of august. _aug. th_. i had now accomplished the discovery of the true source of the mississippi river--and settled a problem which has so long remained a subject of uncertainty in the geography of this celebrated river. if de soto began it (and of this there seems little question, for narvaez perished before reaching it), and marquette and joliet continued it; if hennepin and pike and cass carried these explorations higher, i, at least, went to its remoter points, and thence traced the river to its primary forks--ascended the one, crossed the heights of itasca to the other, and descended the latter in its whole length. this has been done in a quiet way, without heralding or noise, but under the orders and at the expense of the united states. chapter xlv. letter from a mother--cholera--indian war--royal geographical society--determine to leave the sault--death of miss cass--death of rev. mr. richard--notice of the establishment of a methodist mission at the--the sault a religious place--botany and natural history--new university organized--algic society--canadian boat song--chaplains in the army--letter from a missionary--affairs at mackinack--hazards lake commerce--question of the temperance reform--dr. d. houghton--south carolina resists--gen. jackson re-elected president. . _aug. th_. to clear my table of the correspondence accumulated during my absence, and report my proceedings to government, required my first attention. among the matters purely personal, was a letter of inquiry from a mother anxious to learn the fate of an apparently wayward son (named george j. clark). "i had a letter from him, dated th june, , in which he stated he was about to start with you on an expedition to the upper mississippi, and this is the last intelligence we have ever had of him. "if he went with you on that expedition, you have, probably some information to give relative to his present condition, if alive, or of his fate, if dead. "will you be kind enough to give the information desired by letter to me, at this place (canandaigua, n. y.)? by so doing you will confer a favor on a fond mother and many friends." not a lisp had ever been heard of such a person, at least by that name. the whole country, it was found, had now been in commotion for a month or more, owing to the ravages of the cholera and the black hawk war. the cholera had first broken out, it appears, in the upper lakes, on board the steamers sheldon thompson and henry clay, containing troops for the war. its ravages on board of both were fearful. one of the boats landed several soldiers at the island of michilimackinack, who died there. a boatman engaged in the fur trade took the disease and died after he had reached the little rapids, and another at _point aux pins_, at the foot of lake superior. but the disease did not spread in that latitude. "we have heard," says a correspondent ( th july), "from chicago, that the ravages of the cholera are tenfold worse than the scalping-knife of the black hawk and his party. a great many soldiers died, while on their way to chicago, on board the steamers." _ th_. the agent of the dead-letter post-office, at washington, transmits me a diploma of membership of the royal geographical society of london, which appears to have been originally misdirected and gone astray to st. mary's, georgia. the envelope had on it the general direction of "united states, america"--a wide place to find a man in. _sept. th_. a letter, of this date, from the head of the department, at washington, leaves it optional with me, under the consolidation of agencies, to choose my place of residence. "you can make your own choice of residence between the sault and mackinack, and arrange your subordinate offices as you think proper." i determined to remove the seat of the agency to mackinack next spring, and to make this my last winter at the sault. i have now been ten years a resident of this place. the most serious inroad upon my circle of friends, made by death during my absence, was the sudden death, at detroit, of the eldest daughter of the secretary of war. miss elizabeth selden cass was a young lady of bright mental qualities, and easy, cultivated manners and deportment, and her sudden removal, though prepared by her moral experience for the change, must leave a blank in social circles which will be long felt and deplored. her father writes, upon this irreparable loss: "a breach has been made in our domestic circle which can never be repaired. i can yet hardly realize the change. it has almost prostrated me, and i should abandon office without hesitation were it not that a change of climate seems indispensable to mrs. c., and i trust she will avoid in washington those severe attacks to which she has been subject for the last five winters." _ th_. mr. trowbridge writes: "mr. richard is dead. he was attacked by a diarrhoea, and neglected it too long." mr. r. was the catholic priest at detroit, and as such has been a prominent man in the territory for many years. he was elected delegate to congress in , i think, and served two years in that capacity. i once heard him preach nearly two hours on the real presence. he finally said, "that if this doctrine was not true, jesus christ must be a fool." these, i think, were the precise words. when attending, by rotation, as one of the chaplains for the legislative council while i was a member, he used to pray very shrewdly "that the legislators might make laws for the people and not for themselves." he spoke english in a broken manner and with a false accent, which often gave interest to what he said when the matter was not otherwise remarkable. _ d_. rev. john clark, of northville, montgomery co., n.y., of the methodist connection, writes: "should it please divine providence, i hope to be at your place in may or june next, for the purpose of opening a permanent mission and school among the chippewas at such place, and as early as may be advisable." _ th_. rev. w. t. boutwell, of the a. b. commissioners for foreign missions, now at la pointe, lake superior, writes: "i could not, to a degree, help entering into all your anxieties about the cholera, which reports were calculated to beget, but rejoice, not less than yourself, that the lord has spared those who are dear to us both. my fears, i rejoice to say, have not been realized, in relation to my friends at mackinack and the sault, when i heard of the disease actually existing at mackinack. were it not that the lord is righteous and knoweth them that are his, the righteous even might fear and tremble, when judgments are abroad in the land. "i was happy indeed to learn that you remain at the sault, the present winter. happy for brother porter's sake, and for the sake of those whose hands you may and will strengthen, and hearts encourage. i never think of the sault but i wish myself there. 'it is now a happy spot--a place favored of heaven,' said one of my mackinack friends to me once in conversation; 'i once felt as though i could never see that place, as i always associated with it everything wicked, but now i should love to go there--the lord is there.'" _oct. th_. dr. torrey writes from n.y.: "i rejoice to learn that you have returned in safety from your fatiguing and perilous journey to the north-west. dr. houghton wrote me a letter which i received a few days ago, dated sault de st. marie, stating the general results of the expedition, but i have read, with great satisfaction, the account which was published in the _detroit journal_ of sept. th. a kind providence has preserved you during another absence, and i hope he will cause the results of your labors to prove a blessing to our red brethren, as well as the united states at large." "dr. houghton sent me some of the more interesting plants which he brought with him last year, but he said the best part of your collections were destroyed by getting wet. "by all means send mr. cooper your shells. he knows more about fresh water shells than any naturalist in new york. by the way, have you seen mr. lea's splendid monograph (with colored plates) of unios, in the _transactions of the american philosophical society?"_ "are we to have a narrative of the two expeditions in print? i hope you consent to publish, and let us have an appendix containing descriptions of the objects in natural history. "you have heard, perhaps, something about the university of the city of new york, which was planned about two years ago. it went into operation a few days ago, under the most favorable prospects. the council have given me a place in it (prof. chem. bot. and mineralogy), the duties of which i can discharge in addition to those which i attend to in the medical college, as the latter occupies only four months in the year." about the middle of september i embarked at the sault for detroit, for the purpose chiefly of meeting the secretary of war--taking with me thus far, my little sister anna maria, on her way to school at hadley, in massachusetts. while at detroit, several meetings of benevolent individuals were held, and the constitution of the algic society was signed by many gentlemen of standing and note, and an election of officers made. having been honored with the presidency, i delivered a brief address at one of these meetings. this, together with the following resolutions, which were passed at the same time, indicate the contemplated mode of action.[ ] it was not intended to be exclusively a missionary or educational society, but also, to collect scientific and statistical information essential to both objects, and to offer facilities to laborers on the frontiers, and answer inquiries made by agents authorized by the general boards from the old states. the effort was appreciated and warmly approved by the friends of missions and humanity; but it required great and continual personal efforts to enlist a sufficient number of persons in the true objects, and to keep their minds alive in the work. it demanded, in fact, a kind of literary research, which it is always difficult to command on the frontiers. to act, and not to pursue the quiet paths of study, is the tendency of the frontier mind. [footnote : _resolved_, that the thanks of the society be presented to henry r. schoolcraft, esq., for the valuable introductory remarks offered by him, and that he be requested to furnish a copy of the same for publication. _resolved_, that the domestic secretary, be directed to prepare and submit for the approbation of the official board, a circular, to be addressed to such persons as have been elected members of this society, and others, setting forth its objects, its organization, constitution, and initial proceedings, which circular, when so prepared, shall be printed for the purpose of distribution. _resolved_, that the official board be directed to prepare a succinct temperance and peace circular, suited to the wants and situation of the north-western tribes, to be addressed, through the intervention of the hon. the secretary of war, to the agents of the government and officers commanding posts on the frontiers, and also to persons engaged in the fur trade; to travelers, and to gentlemen residing in the country, requesting their aid in spreading its influence. _resolved_, that it is expedient for this society to procure an exact statistical account of the names, numbers and location of the different bands of indians, of the algonquin stock, now living within the limits of the united states:--also, the number of missionaries who are now amongst them, and the extent of the field of labor which they present. _resolved_, that this society will aid in sending a winter express to the missionaries who are now stationed near the western extremity of lake superior. _resolved_, that the members of this society residing at sault st. marie and at michilimackinack, shall constitute a standing committee of this society, during the ensuing year, with power to meet for the transaction of business, and shall report from time to time, such measures as they may have adopted to promote the objects of this institution: which proceedings shall be submitted to the society at any stated or special meeting of the same, and if approved by them, shall be entered on the records of the society. _resolved_, that the president of this society be requested to deliver, at such time as shall be convenient to himself, a course of lectures on the grammatical construction of the algonquin language, as spoken by the north-western tribes, and to procure, from living and authentic sources, a full and complete lexicon of that language, for the use of the society. _resolved_, that the rev. beriah green, of the western reserve college, be requested to deliver an address before the society at its next annual meeting: and, that henry r. schoolcraft, esq., be requested to deliver a poem on the indian character, at the same meeting. _resolved_, that the first anniversary of this society be held at detroit, on the second thursday of october, a. d. .] i returned to st. mary's about the middle of october. it was a proof of the care and precision with which my friends looked out for me, that i was met by my "_canoe-elège"_ with a french crew and flag flying at the detour, before the vessel had dropped anchor, so that i went up the river with the accustomed gayety of a song. these french songs have been often alluded to. one of them, the measure of which is adapted, by its music, to the short stroke of the paddle, is given below.[ ] [footnote : omitted.] _ th_. dr. peters, secretary of home missions, writes to me, from on board a steamboat on lake erie, proposing a plan for bringing the subject of chaplaincies in the army to the notice of the secretary of war. a letter from a missionary (boutwell) at la pointe, l.s., says: "i endeavor daily to do something at the language. but imagine for one moment, what you could do with a boy (his interpreter) who knows neither english, french nor indian, and yet is in the habit of mangling all. still i am satisfied he is the best brother f. could send, though but _one_ remove from none. of one thing i am determined, that if i cannot teach him english, i can to cut bushes. however, i find, by daily visiting the lodges, that i may retain, and probably add a little now and then. i find there is a trifling difference between the language here, and as spoken at the sault. the difference consists principally in the accent. i find the interchangeables, if possible, more irregular here than there. "the old chief (pezhiki) is very pleasant and kind. i find him a very good standard for testing accents. his enunciation is very distinct." _ th_. the sub-agent in charge at mackinack writes: "the schooner 'white pigeon' came in this afternoon from green bay, having on board major fowle's company. she is to sail early to-morrow morning for the sault. "the indians appear satisfied with their treatment at this office, and it has been observed by them, that more work has been done for them since my arrival here than colonel b. did for them in one year." his excellency, gov. porter, called here (on his way to green bay) and examined the buildings and rooms of the agency. casting a hasty look, he observed that the building would bring an income of four or five hundred dollars annually, were it at detroit, for rent. he was of opinion that the outer steps required repairs, &c. "gen. brook sailed on board the 'black hawk' for green bay on sabbath last, accompanied by lieut. stockton, and messrs. dousman, abbott, and king. major thomson (who relieves him) arrived on monday last, with the whole of his troops and the officers under his command, captain cobbs, lieut. gallagher, and lieut. patten. "lieut. gallagher joined us at our evening social prayer meeting last night, and it was really cheering and reviving to hear him pray. he is gifted with talent and abilities, and withal meekness and humility." _nov. st_. the same agent writes: "i forward to you the chief shaubowayway's map of that section of the country lying between the detour and point st. ignace, including all the islands on that coast. i am now waiting for the chief to proceed to chenos as a guide, to enable us to strike in a straight line from thence to muddy lake river. messrs. david stuart and mitchell will accompany me." _ th_. mr. johnston writes: "i volunteered my services to accompany mr. ferry to get off the partial wreck of the mission schooner 'supply,' near the second entrance of the chenos, eighteen miles from this. major thompson furnished a detachment of fifteen men under captain cobbs. george dousman went also with three of the company's men. four days' efforts were cheerfully rendered, and the vessel saved and brought into the harbor." _ th_. as commerce increases, and stretches out her briarean hands into the stormy roads and bays of these heretofore uninhabited lakes, losses from wrecks annually redouble. and the want of light-houses, buoys, and harbors is more strongly shown. james abbott, a licensed trader, was cast ashore by the tempests of lake superior, at la pointe, and, being unable to proceed to his designated post, was obliged to winter there. he gave out his credits, and spread his men, therefore, in another man's district. the agent at mackinack (e. stuart) writes, complaining of, and requesting me to interpose in the matter, so as "to confine his trade to such limits as may be equitable to all." it would be impossible to foresee such accidents, and appears almost equally so to correct the irregularities, now that they are done. the difficulty seems rather to have been the employment of a clerk, whose action the company could not fully control. _ th_. mr. b. e. stickney, of vistula (now toledo), writes: "a few days ago i received from the author, with which i was much pleased, 'an address before the chippewa county temperance society on the influence of ardent spirits on the condition of the north american indians.' we conceived it to be the most fortunate effort of your pen upon the greatest subject. while we have so much reason to approve, we hope you will permit us to be frank. we conceive that, although you have been more cautious than is common, in touching sectarianism, yet, if you had not named, or made any kind of allusion to any religious sect, christian, jew, pagan, or mohammedan, you would have produced more effect. there are many individuals who neither touch, taste, nor handle this most dangerous of all poisons, who yet refuse to join in the general effort to destroy, prevent the use, or furnish an antidote, because they conceive that the sectarian poison is not an inferior evil, unless it may, perhaps, be so to the use of alcohol." the true, but concealed, objection of this class of non-concurrents in the cause is not, it is apprehended to "sectarianism," _per se,_ or in any other sense than that it is an evidence of practical christianity--of morals and axioms based on the teachings of the great founder of the system--of a belief in a moral accountability to give all influence possessed to advance the adoption of its maxims among men--in fine, of a living, constant, undying faith, not only in the truth of these maxims, but in the divinity of the sublime utterer of them. _dec. th_. dr. houghton, my companion in two expeditions into the indian country, writes from detroit: "you will undoubtedly be a little surprised to learn that i am now in detroit, but probably not more than i am in being here. my passage through lake huron was tedious beyond endurance; and so long was i detained in consequence of it, that it became useless for me to proceed to new york. under these circumstances, after having visited fredonia, i determined to engage in the practice of my profession, in this place, at least until spring. it is only these three days since i arrived here and i am not yet completely settled, but probably will be in a few days." [here are the initial motives of a man who became a permanent and noted citizen of the territory, and engaged with great ardor in exploring its physical geography and resources. for two years, he was intimately associated with me; and i saw him under various circumstances of fatigue and trial in the wilderness, but always preserving his equanimity and cheerfulness. he was a zealous botanist, and a discriminating geologist. assiduous and temperate, an accurate observer of phenomena, he accumulated facts in the physical history of the country which continually increased the knowledge of its features and character. he was the means of connecting geological observations with the linear surveys of the general land office, and had been several years engaged on the geological survey of michigan, when the melancholy event of his death, in , in a storm on lake superior, was announced.] _ th_. e.a. brush, esq., of detroit, writes: "everybody--not here only, but through the union--seems to think with just foreboding of the result of the measures taken by south carolina. their convention have determined to resist, after the first day of (i think) february. "gov. cass's family are well, but he has not been heard from personally since he left here. he is too much occupied, i suppose, with the affairs of his department, at the opening of the session. of course, you know that general jackson and van buren are in." chapter xlvi. an indian woman builds a church--conchology--south carolina prepares to resist the revenue laws--moral affairs--geography--botany--chippewas and sioux--a native evangelist in john sunday--his letter in english; its philological value--the plural pronoun _we_--an indian battle--political affairs--south carolina affairs--tariff compromise of mr. clay--algic society; it employs native evangelists--plan of visiting europe--president's tour--history of detroit--fresh-water shells--lake tides--prairie--country--reminiscence. . _jan. st_. a remarkable thing recently transpired. mrs. susan johnston, a widow--an indian woman by father and mother--built a church for the presbyterian congregation at this place. the building, which is neat and plain, without a steeple, was finished early in the fall, and has been occupied this season for preaching, lectures, &c. certainly, on the assumption of theories, there is nothing predicted against the descendants of shem ministering in good things to those of japhet; but it is an instance, the like of which i doubt whether there has happened since the discovery. the translation of the indian name of this female is woman of the green valley; or, according to the polysyllabical system of her people, o-shé-wush-ko-da-wá-qua. _ d_. mr. john m. earle, of worcester, mass., solicits contributions to his collection of fresh-water shells. "i have a higher object in view," he remarks, "than the mere making of a collection--viz., doing what i can to ascertain what new species remain undescribed, and what ones of those already described may be only varieties of others; and, in fine, by a careful examination of a large number of shells, brought together from various localities, to fix, more accurately than it has heretofore been done, the nomenclature of the several genera and species, and so particularly to define their specific characteristics as to leave little doubt on the subject. the great variety of our fresh-water shells, exceeding that of any other country, seems to require something of this kind, in addition to the valuable labors of say, barnes, lea, and others, who, although they have done much, have yet left much to be done by others, and have made some mistakes which require rectifying." _ th_. mr. trowbridge writes from detroit: "the period intervening since your last visit to this place has been an eventful one to the nation. south carolina, driven on by a few infatuated men, has made a bold effort to shake off the bonds of union and federal law, and, to the minds of some in whom you and i repose the utmost confidence, a happy government seems to totter on the brink of dissolution. it is a long story, and the papers will tell you all. god grant that the impending evil may be averted, and that the moral and religious improvement of this government may not be retarded by civil war." it is thought that this event, and the course taken by the president, will produce a great reaction in his favor, and that he will be supported by his old political opponents. the governor is much occupied. it is supposed the proclamation is from his pen. _ th_. m. merrill announces the opening of an infant school, in which he is to be assisted by mrs. merrill, on monday next. _ st_. rev. j. porter, pastor of the presbyterian church, reports to the algic society, that there is but little in the present state of religion here that is propitious. "of the little church gathered here during the last year, ten persons are absent, scattered wildly through our land. there now remain twenty-six or twenty-eight communicants. these seem, in a measure, discouraged by the present indifference. the recent apparent conversion of three or four soldiers, and the increasing interest in their prayer-meetings and bible class, give us some promise. the sabbath school, taught entirely by members of the church, is now in a state of pleasing prosperity. and the infant school, lately organized under the direction of an admirably qualified teacher, promises to gratify the hearts of parents." _ d_. the geography of the line of country between sault st. marie and the shores of lake huron, opposite to the island of mackinack, is a perfect terra incognita. it has been passed in the winter only on snow shoes. the distance in a direct line from n.e. to s.w. is about forty or forty-five miles. it is about double that distance by the st. mary's river and lake huron--which is and has been the ordinary route, from the earliest french days, and for uncounted centuries before. mr. g. johnston, who has just passed it, with indian guides on snow shoes, writes: "i reached this place at half-past twelve this day, after experiencing great fatigue, caused by a heavy fall of snow and the river rising. i inclose herein a rough sketched map of the region through which i passed, that is, from lake superior to lake huron in a direct southerly line. "the banks of the pe-ke-sa-we-see, which we ascended, are elevated and pretty uniform. from its mouth to the first fork, is a growth of cedar, on either bank, intermixed with hemlock, pine, birch, and a few scattered maples. thence to the third fork, denoted on the map, the growth is exclusively pine and fir. this river is sluggish and deep, and is navigable for boats of ten to fifteen tons burden, without any obstruction to the third forks. its width is uniform, about sixty to seventy feet wide. "from this point to pine river of lake huron, is invariably level, gently rising to a maple ridge, and susceptible of a road, to be cut with facility. "the banks of pine river are very high. the river we found open in many places, indicating rapids. it is obstructed in many places with drift wood. the pine ridge, on either bank, indicates a vigorous growth of the handsomest pine trees i ever beheld. the water marks are high--say ten to twelve feet, owing to the spring freshets. "i reached the mouth of the river on the sabbath, and encamped, which gave the methodist indian an opportunity of revealing god's holy word to cacogish's band, consisting of thirty souls. we were very kindly received, and supplied with an abundance of food--hares, partridges, trout, pork, corn and flour. we had clean and new mats to sleep on." _feb. th_. the american lyceum at new york invite me, by a letter from their secretary, to prepare an essay on the subject of educating in the west. _ th_. dr. john torrey, of n.y., writes on the eve of his embarkation for europe: "i shall take with me all very rare and doubtful plants, for examination and comparison with the celebrated herbaria of europe. "your boxes and packages of specimens must have been detained on the way by the closing of the (n. y.) canal, as i have as yet received nothing from you. the plan of your proposed narrative i like much, and i hope the work will be given to the public as early as possible. dr. houghton did not come to new york, but has settled himself (as you doubtless know) at detroit." _ th_. lyman m. warren writes from lake superior: "our country at present is in a very unsettled state, caused by the unhappy wars between the sioux and chippewas. the latter have been defeated on rum river--six men and one woman killed. all our chippewas are looking to you for protection, as they consider themselves wronged by the sioux, the latter being, and constantly hunting within the chippewa territory. i am afraid that a very extensive war will commence the ensuing summer, through this region, and the whole upper country, if some effectual method is not adopted to stop it." this war has all the bitterness of a war of races--it is the great algonquin family against the wide-spread dacota stock--the one powerful in the east, the other equally so in the west. and the measures to be adopted to restrain it, and to curb the young warriors on both sides, who pant for fame and scalps, must ever remain, to a great extent, ineffective and temporary, so long as they are not backed up by strong lines of military posts. mr. calhoun was right in his policy of . the rev. mr. boutwell writes from the same region: "we rejoice that you enter so fully into our views and feelings relative to the intellectual and moral improvement of the indians, and rest assured we can most heartily unite with you in bidding god speed, to such as are willing to go and do them good." _ th_. john sunday, a chippewa evangelist from upper canada among the chippewas of lake superior, writes from the bay of keweena, where he is stationed during the winter:-- "i received your kind letter. i undersand you--you want here the indians from this place. i will tell you what to the indians doing. they worshiped idol god. they make god their own. i undersand mr. d., he told all indians not going to hear the word of god. so the indians he believed him. he tell the indians do worship your own way. your will get heaven quick is us. so the indians they do not care to hear the word of god. "but some willing to hear preaching. one family they love to come the meeting. that indian, by and by, he got ligion. he is happy now in his heart. after he got ligion that indian say, indian ligion not good. i have been worship idol god many years. he never make happy. now i know jesus. his ligion is good, because i feel it in my heart. i say white people ligion very good. that indian he can say all in lord's prayer and ten commandments, and apostle creed by heart. perhaps you know him. his name is shah-wau-ne-noo-tin. "i never forget your kindness to me. i thing i shall stay here till the may. i want it to do what the lord say." aside from his teaching among the chippewas, which was unanswerably effective, this letter is of the highest consequence to philology, as its variations from the rules of english syntax and orthography, denote some of the leading principles of aboriginal construction, as they have been revealed to me by the study of the indian language. in truth he uses the indian language to a considerable extent, according to the principles of the chippewa syntax. thus it is perceived from the letter, which is printed verbatim-- . that the letter _t_ is not uttered when standing between a consonant and vowel, as in "understand." . the want and misuse of the prepositions _of, from_, and _to_. . the use of the participial form of the verb for the indicative. . the use of pronouns immediately after nouns to which they refer. . the interchange of _d_ for _t_, and _g_ for _k_, as in _do_ for _to_, and "_thing_" for _think_. . the suppression of the sound of _r_ altogether, as heard in _re_, and _re_ligion, &c. . confounding the perfect past with the present tense. . the misuse of the indefinite article, which is wanting, in the indian. . the habitual non-use of the imperative mood. . the transitive character of verbs requiring _objective_ inflections, for the nominative, &c. . the absence of simple possessives. . the want of the auxiliary verbs _have, are, is_, &c. john sunday came to st. mary's in the autumn of . his prayers and exhortatory teaching completely non-plussed the chippewas. they heard him refute all their arguments in their own language. he had, but a short time before, been one like themselves--a manito worshiper, an idler, a drunkard. he produced a great sensation among them, and overthrew the loose fabric of their theology and mythology with a strong hand. i had never before heard the chippewa language applied to religion, and listened with great interest to catch his phrases. i was anxious to hear how he would get along in the use of the dual pronoun _we_, as applied to inclusive and exclusive persons. he spoke at once of the affections as they exist between a father and his children, and addressed the deity at all times as nosa, which is the term for my father. he thus made god the inclusive head of every family, and brushed away the whole cobweb system of imaginary spirits, of the native jossakeed, medas, and wabanos. _march th_. "my heart was made glad," writes mr. boutwell from lake superior, "that providence directed you to detroit at a season so timely, bringing you into contact with the great and the good--giving you an opportunity of laying before them facts relative to the condition of the indians, which eventuated in so much good. we do indeed rejoice in the formation of the 'algic society,' which is, i trust, the harbinger of great and extensive blessings to this poor and dying people." _ th_. mr. l. m. warren reports from la pointe, at the head of lake superior: "since my last, mr. ayer has arrived from sandy lake. he reports that there have been two war parties sent out against the sioux, by the sandy lake band, thirty or forty men each, without accomplishing anything. afterwards a third party of sixty men assembled and went out under the command of songegomik--a young chief of distinguished character of the sandy lake band. they discovered a sioux camp of nineteen lodges, and succeeded in approaching them before daylight undiscovered, until they reached, in the form of a circle, within ten yards. they then opened a tremendous fire, and, as fast as the sioux attempted to come from their lodges, they were shot dead, the yelling of indians, screaming of women, and crying of children were distressing. one sioux escaped unhurt, and notified a neighboring camp. their approach to the assistance of their friends was ascertained by a distant firing of guns. the chippewas, who by this time had exhausted their ammunition, began, and effected a retreat, leaving nineteen of their enemy dead, and forty wounded. this victory was achieved without the loss of a man on the part of the chippewas. "since that battle was fought, a body of one hundred sioux have attacked a fortified camp of the mille lac and snake river band, and killed nine men and one woman." _ th_. mr. trowbridge writes from detroit: "we have just heard of the adjournment of congress; a new tariff has been passed, together with a law empowering the president to enforce the collection of duties by calling in aid the force of the union. these bills are accompanied by mr. clay's law of compromise, providing for the gradual reduction of duties to a revenue standard. so that the dreaded carolina question will, it is supposed, blow over, leaving the union as it was. the great men, too, who have been on opposite sides of this question, have shaken hands at parting, and this is looked upon as another auspicious sign. "the release of the missionaries in georgia, having settled that disagreeable and disgraceful affair to the state, although not done with that magnanimity which ought to have characterized the proceeding, leaves no general question at issue, but the indian question; and from the prudent measures of government in that regard, it is to be hoped that that also will be, at length, amicably arranged. "i mention these facts because i am told that no newspapers will be sent to the upper country." _ th_. lieut. j. allen, u.s.a., way topographer on the recent expedition, sends me maps of leech lake, cass lake, and itasca lake, to be used in my narrative of the journey to the source of the mississippi river. correspondents appear solicitous for a published account of this expedition, and frequently allude to it, and to the opportunity it gave for extending our knowledge of the geology and natural history of the country. _april th_. dr. j.b. crawe, of waterton, n.y., proposes an interchange of specimens in several departments of science. hon. micah sterling, of the same place, commends to my notice dr. richard clark, who is ordered on this frontier, as a "young man of merit and respectability." my correspondence with naturalists, in all parts of the union, and my list of exchanges, had, indeed, for some years been large and active, and was by no means diminished since my last two expeditions. but new sympathies have been awakened, particularly during the last two years, with philanthropists and christians, which added greatly to the number of my correspondents, without taking from its gratifications. _ th_. rev. ansel r. clark of hudson, ohio, an agent of the education society, writes on the importance of that cause, on the state and prospects of american society, the spread of vital morals in neighborhoods on the great line of the frontiers, indian civilization, &c. in connection with the last topic, he acknowledges the receipt of the proceedings published by the algic society, and expresses his interest in its objects. this society, by its standing committee here, received elder john sunday in the autumn, furnished him with lodgings while at the place, and an outfit for his missions to the indians at keweena bay in lake superior. it also furnished john cabeach and john otanchey--all converted chippewas from the vicinity of toronto, u.c., with the means of practical teaching and traveling among various bands of the northern chippewas. it sent an express in the month of january to la pointe, l.s., to communicate with the mission family there, with their papers, letters, &c. regular monthly meetings of the st. mary's committee were held, and the proceedings denote the collection of much information of high interest to the cause of the red man. _ th_. i was anxious now to extend the sphere of my observation to europe. i had been engaged twelve consecutive years out of a period of fifteen (omitting , , and ) in journeys chiefly in the great valley of the mississippi, the vast flanks of the rocky mountains, the upper lakes, and the north-western frontiers. and i began to sigh for a prospect of older countries and institutions. the time seemed favorable, in my mind, for such a movement, and i wrote to a friend high in influence at washington, on the subject. in a reply of this date, he throws, with adroitness, cold water on the subject. he weighs matters in scales which will only keep their equipoise at the place of the seat of government; and, if i may say so, require their equipoise to be kept up by casting on the golden weights of political expediency. like those seemingly mysterious charms which produce the variations in the compass, the effects are always instantly visible, we see the dip and intensity of the needle, while the causes are in great measure out of sight. a correspondent at washington writes--"the president" talks of a tour to the east. he will probably leave here about the last of may. he will go to portland, then through new hampshire and vermont to lake champlain, and thence through the western part of new york to buffalo. this was originally the programme of gen. jackson's tour to new england in . _ th_. charles cleland, esq., of detroit, writes: "my partner, franklin sawyer, jr., has, for some months past, been collecting materials to enable him to publish a history of detroit, and he has this moment requested me to solicit your friendly aid. you might have in your possession many interesting facts, and much information which might give great value to the work." the true history of detroit lies scattered abroad in the public archives of paris and london, and in the catholic college of quebec. it is inseparable in a measure, not only from the history of michigan, but new france. _ th_. george l. whitney, of detroit, writes me respecting the printing of the narrative of my expedition to itasca lake. _ th_. rev. john clark writes from new york, that the methodist society have determined to establish a mission among the chippewas at sault st. marie--that he is pleased to hear the "native speakers" (sunday, cabeach and tanchay) have wintered in the county, and that he expects to reach st. mary's by the th of june. _ th_. dr. d. houghton transmits from detroit, a map necessary to illustrate my narrative of the expedition to itasca lake. _may th_. wm. cooper, of new york, undertakes to describe the collection of fresh-water shells made on the recent expedition. "you are not, perhaps, aware," he adds, "that dr. torrey is gone to europe. he sailed rather unexpectedly in february, and will be absent until next october. i hope this will not be too great a delay for you, as it would be difficult to find another botanist equally capable of describing your plants. "dr. dekay is in new york at present, and i have no doubt will contribute his assistance in the examination of your collection." major h. whiting remarks: "the lake here is about two feet lower than it was at this time the last year. how is the level with you? i have the cause fixed on record this time. _mem_.--not much snow during the winter, and a dry, a very dry spring--only one brief rain during the months of march and april. we must watch over these things and fix data, which will show that the theorizing of the past, has sprung mostly from the barrenness of observation. "emigration is settling again this way, as if the east were in love with the west. i am not surprised at it. an admirer of the picturesque might like the hills of the former, but a farmer would prefer to see them lie down on one of our prairies--such as prairie rond. i found out all their fascination when lately on a visit to the st. joseph's country." _ th_. i had now performed my last labor at st. mary's--which was the preparation of my narrative of the expedition to itasca lake. i looked, in parting, with fond regret at the trees i had planted, the house i had built, the walks i had constructed, the garden i had cultivated, the meadow lands i had reclaimed from the tangled forest, and the wide and noble prospects which surrounded elmwood. all was to be left--and i only waited for a suitable vessel to embark, bag and baggage, for the sacred island whose formal polysyllables had formed the dread of my spelling days at school--michilimackinack. chapter xlvii. earliest point of french occupancy in the area of the upper lakes--removal of my residence from the sault st. marie to the island of michilimackinack--trip to new york--its objects--american philosophical society--michilimackinack; its etymology--the rage for investment in western lands begins--traditions of saganosh--of porlier--of perrault--of captain thorn--of the chief, old wing--of mudjekewis, of thunder bay--character of indian tradition respecting the massacre at old fort mackinack in . . _june st_. the cascades, or rapids of _sault de ste. marie_, which occur at the point of the sinking of the water level between lakes superior and huron, were, it seems, first visited, under the french government, by charles raumbault, in . it appears to have been one of the earliest points occupied. in , claude d'ablon and james marquette established there the mission of st. mary--since which, the place and the rapids have borne that name. i had been a member of the first exploring expedition which the u.s. government sent into that region in . troops landed here to occupy it in , on which occasion i was entrusted by the president, with the management of indian affairs. i had now lived almost eleven years at this ancient and remote point of settlement, which is at the foot of the geological basin of lake superior--a period which, aside from official duties, was, in truth, devoted to the study of the history, customs, and languages of the indians. these years are consecrated in my memory as a period of intellectual enjoyment, and of profound and pleasing seclusion from the world. it was not without deep regret that i quitted long cherished scenes, abounding in the wild magnificence of nature, and went back one step into the area of the noisy world, for it was impressed on my mind, that i should never find a theatre of equal repose, and one so well adapted to my simple and domestic tastes and habits. for i left here in the precincts of elmwood, a beautiful seat, which i had adorned with trees of my own planting, which abounded in every convenience and comfort, and commanded one of the most magnificent prospects in the world. the change seemed, however, to flow naturally from the development of events. the decision once made, i only waited the entrance into the straits of a first class schooner, which could be chartered to take my collections in natural history, books, and furniture--all which were embarked, with my family, on board the schooner "mariner" the last week in may. captain fowle (who met a melancholy fate many years afterwards, while a lieutenant-colonel on board the steamer "moselle" on the ohio) had been relieved, as commanding officer of the post, at the same time, and embarked on board the same vessel with his family. we had a pleasant passage out of the river and up the lake, until reaching the harbor of mackinack, which we entered early on the morning of the th of may. coming in with an easterly wind, which blows directly into it, the vessel pitched badly at anchor, causing sea-sickness, and the rain falling at the same time. as soon as it could be done, i took mrs. s. and the children and servants in the ship's yawl, and we soon stood on terra firma, and found ourselves at ease in the rural and picturesque grounds and domicil of the u.s. agency, overhung, as it is, by impending cliffs, and commanding one of the most pleasing and captivating views of lake scenery. here the great whirl of lake commerce from buffalo to chicago, continually passed. the picturesque canoe of the indian was constantly gliding, and the footsteps of visitors were frequently seen to tread in haste the "sacred island," rendering it a point of continual contact with the busy world. emigrants of every class, agog for new el dorados in the west, eager merchants prudently looking to their interests in the great area of migration, domestic and foreign visitors, with note-book in hand, and some valetudinarians, hoping in the benefits of a pure air and "white fish"--these constantly filled the harbor, and constituted the ever-moving panorama of our enlarged landscape. the necessary repairs to the buildings were not yet completed, when i embarked about the th of june for new york, in order to fall in with the president's cortege to the east. about seven weeks were devoted to this excursion, during which i made an arrangement with the harpers to publish my narrative of the expedition to itasca lake, the printing to be done at detroit. _july th_. the american philosophical society at philadelphia informs me of my election as a member. _ th_. i returned to michilimackinack from my excursion to new york, and began to inquire of aged persons, white and red, as they visited the office, into the local traditions of the place. there is a hiatus in the history of the island, extending from , the date of the massacre of the british garrison on the mainland, to about , the probable date of the removal of the post from the apex of the peninsula (peekwutinong of the indians) to the island. the name of the place is pronounced mish-i-nim-auk-in-ong, by the indians, the term _mishi_, as heard in _mishipishiu_, panther, and _mishigenabik_, a gigantic serpent of fabled notoriety, signifies _great; nim_, appears to be derived from _nimi_, to dance, and _auk_ from _autig_, tree or standing object; _ong_ is the common termination for locality, the vowels _i_ (second and fifth syllable) being brought into the compound word as connectives. in a language which separates all matter, the whole creation, in fact, into two classes of nouns--deemed animates and inanimates--the distinctions of gender are lost, so far as the laws of syntax are involved. it is necessary only to speak of objects as possessing and wanting vitality, to communicate to them the property named, whether it in reality possesses it in nature or not. for this purpose words which lack it in their penultimate syllables, take the consonant _n_ to make their plurals for inanimates, and _g_ for animates. by this simple method, the whole inanimate creation--woods, trees, rocks, clouds, waters, &c.--is clothed at will with life, or the opposite class of objects are shorn of it, which enables the speaker, whose mind is imbued with his peculiar mythology and necromancy, to create a spiritual world around him. in this creation it is known to all who have investigated the subject, that the indian mind has exercised its ingenuity, by creating classes and species of spirits, of all imaginable kinds, which, to his fancied eye, fill all surrounding space. if he be skilled in the magic rites of the sacred meda, or jesukewin, it is but to call on these spirits, and his necromantic behest is at its highest point of energy. in reference to this spiritual creation, the word _mish_ signifies great, or rather big, but as adjectives are, like substantives, transitive, the term requires a transitive objective sign, to mark the thing or person that is big, hence the term _michi_ signifies big spirit, or "fairy"--for it is a kind of _pukwudjininne_, and not of _monetoes_ that are described. the terms _nim_ and _auk_, dance and tree, and the local _ong_, are introduced to describe the particular locality and circumstances of the mythologic dances. the true meaning of the phrase, therefore, appears to be, place of the dancing spirits. the popular etymology that derives the word from big turtle, is still farther back in the chain of etymology, and is founded on the fact that the _michi_ are turtle spirits. this is the result of my inquiries with the best interpreters of the language. the french, to whom we owe the original orthography, used _ch_ for _sh_, interchanged _n_ for _l_ in the third syllable, and modified the syllables _auk_ and _ong_ into the sounds of _ack_--which are, i believe, general rules founded on the organs of utterance, in their adoption by that nation of indian words. hence michilimackinack. the word has, in indian, a plural inflective in _oag_, which the french threw away. the iroquois, who extended their incursions here, called it ti-e-don-de-ro-ga. _aug. st_. while at detroit (july th) mr. arthur bronson, the money capitalist, and mr. charles butler, from new york, came to that place with a large sum for investment in lands. this appeared to be the first unmistakeable sign in this quarter, of that rage for investment in western lands, which the country experienced for several years, and which, acting universally, produced in a surplus revenue to the u. s. treasury of fifty millions of dollars. _ th_. saganosh, an ottawa chief of st. martin's island, visited the office with eleven followers. i asked him if any of the relatives of gitche naigow, of whom tradition spoke, yet lived. he pointed to his wife, and said she was a daughter of gitche naigow. i asked her her age. she did not know (probably fifty-five to sixty). she said her father died and was buried at the manistee river (north), that he was very old, and died of old age--probably ninety. she said he was so old and feeble, that the last spring before his death, when they came out from their sugar camp to the open lake shore, she carried him on her back. he had not, she said, been at the massacre of old mackinack (described by henry), being then at _l'arbre croche_, but he came to the spot soon afterwards. she had heard him speak of it. says she was a little girl when the british, in removing the post from the main land, first brought over their cattle, and began to take possession of the present island of mackinack. the old fort on the peninsula was called _bik-wut-in-ong_ by the indians, but the island always had the name of _mish-in-e-mauk-in-ong_. her father used to encamp where the village of mackinack is now built. her name is _na-do-wa-kwa_, iroquois woman. thus far the wife of saganosh. the man added that he lived on the island of boisblanc, where he had a garden, when the english vessel arrived to take possession of mackinack. he then went to the largest of the st. martin's islands, where he has continued to reside to this day, with intervals of absence. he does not know his age, he may be seventy. neither of them recollect to have heard of "wawetum," or "menehwehwa," mentioned by alexander henry.[ ] [footnote : henry's travels.] _ th_. mr. porlier, of green bay, remarks that he is now in the sixty-ninth year of his age. fifty years ago, he says, he first came to michilimackinack, and the post had then been removed from the main land about three years. this would place the date of the removal about . on turning to the mss. of john baptiste perrault, in my possession, he says that he arrived at mackinack on the th of june, . that the merchants had not then completed all their buildings consequent on the removal. that the removal had taken place recently under gov. sinclair, a commanding officer, so called by the french, who had been relieved the preceding year by captain robinson. and that the th of july was kept as the anniversary of the removal. it is probable, therefore, that the post had been transferred in or ' . the transfer from old to new mackinack seems to have been gradual with the inhabitants. among the reasons for it, i was told, was the fear of disturbance from the american war. the main reason doubtless was the superiority of the island as a strong military position against indian attacks. captain thorn told me that he had sailed to old mackinack _seven_ years _after_ the massacre. the inhabitants did not go all at once. they dismantled their houses, and took away the windows, doors, &c. _aug. th_. ningwegon (or the wing) visited, with his band, consisting (by the bundles of sticks) of ten men, twelve women, and six children. asked him where he was when the british took possession of this island in . he said at detroit; that he had gone there previous to the taking of the fort by the party from st. joseph's; that he remained at detroit during the war; formed an acquaintance with gov. cass, who was then commanding officer at that post, and had promised that his services should be remembered.[ ] [footnote : this chief received an annuity under the treaty of th march, .] he said his father was a native of detroit, having lived a little above the present site of the city. he was an ottawa. he emigrated, with his father and grandmother, to waganukizzi (_l'arbre croche_), when young, and he had since lived there. his father died, not many years since, a very old man, at maskigon river. he is himself seventy-six years of age, and gray headed--the little hair he has (his head being shaved after the indian fashion). his eyesight fails in relation to near objects, but is good in viewing distant ones. he bears his age well, looks firm, and is erect of body, face full, and voice unimpaired. he is a man above six feet in height, and well proportioned. in speaking of the seneca nation, he called them _as-sig-un-aigs,_ a term by which they are distinguished from the general algonquin term of na-do-wa, or iroquis. of the establishment of the present military post of mackinack, he said that, when young, he had come over from the main with his father, along with the party of british officers who came to reconnoitre the place for the purpose of establishing a post on it. the party dined under the trees (pointing to some large sugar-maples then standing in the military garden, under the cliffs). the british officer, who had led the party, then asked the indians' consent to occupy it. this was not immediately given; they took time to consider, and the removal of the fort was next year. presented him a nest of kettles (twelve), two pieces of factory cloth, two guns, five pounds of net-thread, and two hoes, together with a requisition for provisions. _ th_. mud-je-ke-wiss, chief of thunder bay, a descendant of the captor of old mackinack, being questioned of his family, their former residence, his knowledge and remembrance of affairs at old mackinack, replied that his father's name was mud-je-ke-wiss; it had been kaigwiaidosa when he had been a young man. he had lived at mackinack, going to thunder bay to hunt. he died, not very old, at a treaty held on the maumee. he (himself) had heard of the taking of old mackinack, but was born after the removal of the post to the island, and his father died before he had instructed him. he had not heard of wawitum, or menehwehwa, of whom i questioned him. this answer is a specimen of indian caution and suspicion of white men. i knew but little of the man then, and had seen him but once or twice. he evidently "played shy," and was determined the anglo-saxon race should get no facts from him that might ever be told to the disadvantage of the indians who had once, under the lead of a noted chief (pontiac), been led, under the deception of a ball-play, to fall on the unprepared ranks of a british garrison, and stain their history with a horrible tale of blood. henry's travels preserve the most vivid account of this massacre, for he was himself an eye witness of some of its atrocities, and was spared, by a remarkable providence, from being one of its victims. it was not credible that seventy years should have left so little of indian tradition of that sanguinary event. it is reported that letters written by longlade, indian interpreter at old mackinack, at and during the era of the massacre of the english garrison, are in the possession of the greenough family, at green bay. they would, perhaps, throw some light on a transaction which is by far the most tragic event of this _transition_ period of our indian history. by transition, i mean the era of the change from french to english supremacy. chapter xlviii. anniversary of the algic society--traditions of chusco and mukudapenais respecting gen. wayne's treaty--saliferous column in american geology--fact in lake commerce--traditions of mrs. dousman and mr. abbott respecting the first occupation of the island of michilimackinack--question of the substantive verb in the chippewa language--meteoric phenomena during the month of december--historical fact--minor incidents. . _oct. th_. business called me to detroit, where i had a work in the press, early in october. the algic society held its first anniversary this day, in the session room of the presbyterian church. the secretary read a report of its proceedings, and submitted a body of the vital statistics of the tribes of the upper lakes, which elicited an animated discussion. mr. lathrop called attention to the singular fact, that of the mothers reported in the tables, the rate of reproduction in the hunter tribes did not exceed an average of over two children per female. mr. sheldon thought the causes of their depopulation, since we have been their neighbors, were rather seated in their extraordinary attachment to the use of ardent spirits, than in the effects of wars, internal or external. mr. clark believed the indian youth were capable of being brought under the power of moral and religious instruction. mr. schoolcraft depicted the adverse circumstances under which the masses had heretofore labored, in coming under plans of instruction and christianity, owing to their poverty; their dispersion over large areas of country for large parts of the year; the impracticability of their finding subsistence in large bodies at one place; and the deleterious influence of the commerce in furs and peltries, on their moral and mental character. he submitted a report of the proceedings of the st. mary's committee, showing, in detail, operations within the year. with the limited sum of $ , they had been able to furnish elder john sunday an outfit for keweena bay in lake superior, and given two other native converts, namely, john otanchey and john cabeach, the means of pursuing their labors amongst the chippewas during the winter of . they had sent an express, during the month of february, to the mission of the american board at la pointe, in lake superior. their minutes of monthly meetings denoted that a valuable body of information had been collected, respecting the population and statistics of the chippewa nation, and the grammatical structure of their language, &c. the occasion being coincident with the meeting of the synod of the western reserve, at detroit, many gentlemen of learning, benevolence, and piety, were brought together, and a high degree of interest excited respecting the condition and prospects of the tribes. in accordance with a resolution passed the year previous, i recited a poetic address on the character of the race, which was received with approbation, and directed to be printed. this had been, in fact, sketched in a time of leisure in the wilderness some years before. i returned to mackinack near the close of october, when i resumed my traditionary inquiries. it was sought, as a mere matter of tradition, to obtain from the indians a recognition of the cession of this island, &c. made by them to the united states through the instrumentality of gen. wayne, at greenville, in ohio, in . chusco [ ] (muskrat), the old prophet or jossakeed of the ottawa nation, had told me of his presence at greenville, at the treaty, while a young man, al[ ]with others of his tribe. he was a man who would attract attention, naturally, from the peculiarities of his person and character. he had been a man of small stature, not over five feet four inches, when young, and of very light make. but he was now bent by age, and walked with a staff. his hazel eyes still sparkled in a head of no striking development, and with a peculiarity of expression of his lips, gave him a striking expression of placidity in cunning. hence his name, which was given by the indians from some fancied resemblance to this animal, when jutting its head above water. he had, for forty years, made _jeesuckáwin_ (prophecying) for his people, when he was converted to christianity at the mackinack mission. he gave up at once his indian rites, but retained, to a great degree, his characteristic expression. some one had given him an old blue broadcloth coat with yellow metal buttons, which he matched with dark-colored trousers, a vest, hat, and moccasins. i always received him with marked attention, and often sent him to the kitchen for a meal, where, indeed, the indians had their claims ever allowed by mrs. s. [footnote : from wauzhusko.] _ th_. muekudapenais, or blackbird, an ottawa, chief of l'arbre croche, visited the office. i directed his attention to the tradition mentioned by chusco, respecting wayne's treaty, and the inclusion of michilimackinack in the cessions. he confirmed this tradition. he said that his uncle, ish-ke-bug-ish-kum, gave the island, and that when he returned he denied that he had given it, but the british took away his medal in consequence. he said that three men of the party, who attended this treaty, were still living. they were op-wagun, che-mo-ke-maun, and chusco. he thinks the land taken by the late surveys of mr. ellis, at point st. ignace, was not given, but admits that the cession embraced the area around old mackinack, and the island of boisblanc. the indians called gen. wayne _che nóden_, the strong wind. _ th_. the series of deposits, which embrace fossil salt, or produce strong brine water, in the geological column of the rocks of the united states, constitute a deeply important subject in science, and public economy. mr. james r. rees, of clyde, ontario county, n.y., sends me the result of borings, made at that place, to the depth of feet, with samples of the rock, which appear to denote, if i have rightly judged the geological data, a _roof and floor_, to the saliferous formation. and the result gives a stimulant to further investigations. _ th_. commerce is rapidly invading the wilderness. wheat in bulk, and flour in bags and barrels, were brought down from st. joseph's, through the straits of michigan, this fall; which is the first instance of the kind, but one, in the commercial history of the country. beef and wheat were brought from the same post last season. _nov. th._ a remarkable display of the aurora borealis was observed last night. the indians, who call this phenomenon _jebiug nemeiddewaud_, or dancing spirits, describe it as radiating balls, streams of fire or falling stars from the zenith into the lake. mr. wm. johnston, who was at leech lake, on the sources of the mississippi, describes the changing phenomena as wonderful. "the weather," he says ( th nov.), "is still very pleasant, with very little frost at night. about two or three o'clock in the morning one of the men came and awoke me. 'come and see a strange sight,' he said. we went to the door, where we saw, every now and then, stars shooting or falling. the centre from whence they first appeared to the eye was, to us, nearly in a direct line above our heads--from whence they went in all directions, to all points of the compass. most all our village people were looking at them with fearful astonishment, and they were making their remarks as their feelings caused them. we went in the house, and each smoked his pipe, and we could not say much about the cause of what we had seen, but only expressed our astonishment to each other. "before going to bed, we thought we would take another look at the heavens. what a sight it was! the whole heaven appeared to be lit with the falling stars, and we could now more plainly see, as it were, the centre from whence they would shoot. the night was calm, the air clear; nothing to disturb the stillness, but the hushed breathings of the men. the stars were accompanied with a rustling noise, and, though they appeared to fall as fast and as thick as hail, above them, now and then, we could see some of the fixed stars, shining as bright as ever. but these (falling stars) appeared to be far below them. i can compare it to nothing more comprehensive than a hail storm. the sight was grand beyond description. yet i must confess that my feelings were awed into a perfect silence. we stood and gazed, till we saw the bright streaks of day appearing, and the stars began gradually to be less in number, till the light of the sun caused them to disappear." _ th_. i resumed the old traditions. mrs. michael dousman observes that her father (mcdonnel) came to the island, with the troops, in . that the government house, so called, was then built, and a few other buildings, but nothing as yet had been done towards the present fort on the cliff. gov. sinclair, so called, was then in command. he was relieved that year by captain robinson. she thinks the removal from old mackinack must have taken place about or , under sinclair. the inhabitants transferred their residences gradually, bringing over the sashes and doors of their old houses and setting them up here. after the massacre, the troops remained some time. the indians had not burned the fort. says that wawetum, the indian chief, became blind, and was burned, accidentally, in his lodge at the point (ottawa point). i had been inquiring about henry's account of him. the indians at mackinack, she says, opposed its occupancy. things came to such a height in that gov. sinclair sent to detroit for cannon. it was a remarkable fact that the brig dunmore, sent down on this occasion, was absent from the island but _eight day_, during which she went to and returned from detroit, bringing the expected supply. she entered mackinack harbor on the eighth day, on the same hour she had left it, and fired a salute. mrs. dousman says that charges had been preferred against gov. sinclair (the term constantly used by the old inhabitants) for extravagance. he had, as an example, paid at the rate of a dollar per stump for clearing a cedar swamp, which is now part of the public fields. respecting the massacre in , she says that mr. solomons and a mr. clark, the latter long resident with mr. abbot, were present. _ th_. mr. abbot (sam.) says he arrived at mackinack in . the government-house was then occupied by col. hunt. a man named clark, who had formerly lived with him, was a boy in the employ of solomons at the massacre of old mackinack. he crept up a chimney, where he remained a day or two, and was thus saved. solomons hid himself under a heap of corn, and was thus saved. mr. abbot does not know, with certainty, the date of the transfer of the post, but says the papers of all the notaries, including all grants of commanding officers, are in a trunk at mr. dousman's. thinks these, by showing the date of the earliest grants, will decide the question. _dec. st_. finished an article for the _literary and theological review_, on the influence of the native priests, or metais, and the adaptation of the general principles of christianity to the north american indians. some of the phenomena of the chippewa language are of deep interest. the substantive verb _to be_, deemed by many philologists to be wanting in the indian language of this continent, is perceived to be freely used by mr. peter jones in the translation of john, as in c. i. , , , &c. the existence of this verb in the northern dialects may be adverted to as affording the probable root of many active verbs. it is a subject eliciting discussion, as bearing on a point early stated by theologians, viz., the origin of the tribes. the verb _iau_, spelled "ahyah" in the verses referred to, with the particle, for past tense, "ke," prefixed, and "bun" suffixed, appears to be restricted in its use to objects possessed of _vitality_, but cannot, it seems, be applied to mere _passion_ or _feeling_. these, by a peculiarity of the grammar, are referred to as subordinate parts, or increments inanimate of the organization, _i. e._, as things without flesh and blood, and not as units or whole bodies. the native speaker does not, therefore, say i _am_ glad, i _am_ sorry, &c., but merely i glad, i sorry, &c. this has, probably, led philologists to observe that the verb declarative of existence, was wanting, and discouraged them in the search of it. but is it so? when it becomes necessary for the indian to describe the abstract truth of existence--as that god _is_--the appropriate pronominal form of the verb _iau_ or _i-e-au_ is used, and apparently with great force and propriety. it is a rule of this grammar, not to apply it to emotions. when nouns inanimate proper are used, or objects of a non-vital character, the corresponding verb is _atta_. the present tense, indicative of these two parallel verbs, for material and for god-like existence, are as follows:-- iau (animate) _to be_. atta (inanimate)--_to be_. nin, diau--_i am_, or _my spirit is_. atta--_it is_. ki, diau--_thou art_, &c. atta-aun--_they are_. iau--_he (or she) is_. atta-bun--_it was_. nin, diau-min (ex.)--_we_ (excluding you) _are_. atta-aubun--_they have been_. ki, diau-min (in.)--_we_ (including you) _are_. iah atta--_it shall be_. ki, diau-ni--_ye are_. iah atta-win--_they shall be_. iau-wug--_they are_. there is probably no language so barbarous as not to have words to address god. but, of all languages under heaven, the indian dialects appear to me the most fruitful in terminations and adjuncts to point their expressions, and to give to them living and spiritual meanings. they appear, by their words, to live in a world of spirits. aside from the direct words for father, as the universal parent, and of maker, and great spirit, they have an exact term for the holy ghost; and he who has ever heard a converted indian pray, and can understand his petition, will never afterwards wish to read any philological disquisitions about the adaptation of their languages to the purposes of christianity. _dec. d_. i determined that part of the diversions of my first winter at mackinack should consist of notices of its meteorology, the changes of winds and currents in the straits, &c. shut out from the world by a long expanse of coasts, which cannot be navigated in the winter, much of the sum of our daily observation must necessarily take its impress from local objects. to pass a winter in the midst of one of the great lakes--the huron--was itself a subject of excitement. mild weather had characterized the season, which had been predicted by some persons as the consequence of the remarkable meteoric displays in november. at the monthly concert in the evening, interesting statements were made on the efforts now in progress to evangelize the world. in this the bible, tract, and mission causes were shown to act with harmonious power. _ d_. i employed myself in the morning in a revision of papers relating to subjects of natural history, and in references to conybeare and phillips. in the evening, the rev. mr. ferry and mr. barber were visitors. _ th_. the last vessel for the season, the "marengo," left the harbor for detroit, taking on board our expressmen, who are to return by land. the weather has continued mild, with the winds from the westward and southward. _ th_. some rain fell in the evening, which did not, however, prevent friends from passing the evening with us. _ th_. weather still mild. _ th_. the continued mildness of the atmosphere has induced the indians from the adjacent shores to visit the island. there are no indians permanently resident on it. within the last ten days, rising of eighty souls have visited the agency and shops. some have iron work to mend. most of them have applied for provisions. several aged persons and widows have asked for blankets. i employed the day in reading humboldt's "superposition of rocks in both hemispheres." humboldt is the dr. johnson of geology. _ th_. kwewis, a chippewa convert, returned, after spending a week or more among the point st. ignace indians. he complained of the listlessness and want of attention of the indians to the truths by mr. g., his spiritual guide. i determined to send an express, as soon as the state of the ice will permit, to st. mary's, with directions for its continuance from that place to la pointe, in lake superior--the missionary station. _ th_. the meteorologic phenomena begin to thicken. the thermometer, at p.m. to-day, stood at °, some snow, of a moist, sleety character. wind easterly. not a particle of ice has formed in the harbor up to this day. _ th_. perused stewart's visit to the south seas and the sandwich islands. certainly the author is one of the most gifted religious travelers. he reminds the reader, by his graphic descriptions, sometimes of bishop heber. it is remarkable, that with every improvement, the population of these islands declines. a blow from the east, with depression of temperature, and some snow. _ th_. easterly wind continues. thermometer at noon °. _ th_. strong easterly winds. _ th_. on rising this morning and drawing the curtains aside, i observed a vessel in the harbor from detroit. it proved to be the "general warren," with supplies for the inhabitants, ordered in the fall, but, for two or three weeks back, not expected. by her we have new york city papers to nov. th, and detroit dates to dec. th. what a jumble is a newspaper! here we have the death of ferdinand of spain, and the report of troubles in europe: the appointment of mr. butler as attorney-general, and the busy note of editorial discussion preparatory to the meeting of congress; the result of elections, progress of nullification, "cussin and discussion" by jack downing, a terrible list of murders, accidents, &c. prominent among things for scientific readers, are accounts of the meteoric phenomena of november. _ th_. dispatched an express to st. mary's with letters for the sub-agency, missionaries, &c. in the evening the vessel sailed for detroit with a light westerly breeze, which is fair. mr. abbot, being in the office during the day, remarked that he had examined the old records before alluded to; that the first public act of the commanding officer is the appointment of a notary by gov. sinclair in ; the next is a grant of land in . stating these facts afterwards to mr. mitchell (william), he observed that his father, who was the post surgeon, remarked that the removal of the troops from old mackinack was the year after the massacre, which would be . this is astounding. yet carver's mackinack, in , appears to have been "old mackinack." _ th_. thanksgiving day for the territory. a practical discourse from mr. ferry. lieut. and mrs. k., &c., to dinner. the indian kwewis returns to st. mary's, accompanied by mr. cameron. _ th_. mr. mitchell passed the evening. _ st_. visited mr. ferry in the afternoon. conversation on various religious topics. coming home, found company; lieut. and mrs. p., miss d., and miss h., who remained to tea, and spent the evening. _ d_. s. visited the infant-school in the village, and made some remarks. _ th_. visited mr. barber, who directed conversation to various theological points, and the state of religion on the island. _ th_. christmas. the catholics have had the usual services, and have gone to the usual extremes of a pantomimic ceremony at midnight, &c. as a question of time, we cannot say that this is the exact day of the anniversary of the saviour's birth; but the computation and adjustment of dates were made, i believe, on the best astronomical data, and before the romish church assumed political power. _ th_. wind n. w. depression of temperature; freezes all day. mr. f. visited me, and directed my attention to the mosaical geology, or account of the creation, which he thinks the pride of science has sadly misunderstood. _ th_. snow. no ice; not the slightest _bordage_ yet in the harbor. lieut. p., mrs. p., mrs. k., and dr. turner visit. in the afternoon, the maternal association, at mrs. schoolcraft's invitation, assemble. i wrote to prof. olmstead a notice of the falling stars of nov. th, as described by the indians. _ th_. wind from the westward and southward; moderate for the season. _ th_. wind veers to the east. _ th_. a blow on the lake, creating a perfect tempest. before noon, the wind veers south-easterly, and snow melts on the roofs. ackuckojeesh and band, from the north shore, visit the office. he presents me a small _mukuk_ of maple sugar, made during the month, as a proof of the mildness of the weather. continue my biblical readings, with a view of noticing the coincidence of passages referred to by clergymen who have visited me. quite satisfied that "day," in gen. i, , means, in that place, a natural day of twenty-four hours. the context cannot be read without it. mr. m. and mr. stuart pass the evening. _ st_. no thawing to-day. there has been quite a blow on the lake. began some sketches of biblical geology. chapter xlix. population of michilimackinack--notices of the weather--indian name of the wolverine--harbor closed--intensity of temperature which can be borne--domestic incidents--state of the weather--fort mackinack unsuccessfully attacked in --ossiganoc--death of an indian woman--death of my sister--harbor open--indian name of the sabbath day--horticultural amusement--tradition of the old church door--turpid conduct of thomas shepard, and his fate--wind, tempests, sleet, snow--a vessel beached in the harbor--attempt of the american fur company to force ardent spirits into the country, against the authority of the agent. . _jan. st_. my journal for this winter will be almost purely domestic. it is intended to exhibit a picture of men and things, immediately surrounding a person isolated from the world, on an island in the wide area of lake huron, at the point where the current, driven by the winds, rushes furiously through the straits connected with lake michigan. where the ice in the winter freezes and breaks up continually, where the temperature fluctuates greatly with every wind, and where the tempests of snow, rain and hail create a perpetual scene of changing phenomena. society here is scarcely less a subject of remark. it is based on the old french element of the fur trade--that is, a commonalty who are the descendants of french or canadian boatmen, and clerks and interpreters who have invariably married indian women. the english, who succeeded to power after the fall of quebec, chiefly withdrew, but have also left another element in the mixture of anglo-saxons, irishmen or celts, and gauls, founded also upon intermarriages with the natives. under the american rule, the society received an accession of a few females of various european or american lineage, from educated and refined circles. in the modern accession, since about , are included the chief factors of the fur trade, and the persons charged by benevolent societies with the duties of education and of missionaries; and, more than all, with the families of the officers of the military and civil service of the government. in such a mass of diverse elements the french language, the algonquin, in several dialects, and the english, are employed. and among the uneducated, no small mixture of all are brought into vogue in the existing vocabulary. to _fouchet_, and to _chemai_, were here quite common expressions. the continued mildness of the weather enabled the indians from the surrounding shore to approach the island, not less than fifty-four of whom, in different parties, visited the office during the day. this day is a sort of carnival to these people, who are ever on the _qui vive_ for occasions "to ask an alms." i had prepared for this. to each person a loaf of bread. to adult males a plug of tobacco. no drink of any kind, but water, to a soul. snow fell during the day, rendering it unpleasant. _jan. d_. shabowâwa, a chippewa chief, and part of his band, with the remainder of the point st. ignace band, got across the _traverse_ this morning. the whole number who visited the office during the day was thirty. shabowâwa said we might soon expect cold weather. _ d_. visits from a number of indians (about twenty), who had not before called, to offer the _bon jour_ of the season. among them were several widows and disabled old people, to whom presents of clothing were given. the atmosphere has been severely cold. a hard frost last night. i killed an ox for winter beef, and packed it, when cut into pieces, in snow. there has been floating ice, for the first time, in the harbor. the severe weather prevented the st. ignace indians from returning. one of the st. ignace indians, referring to the meteoric phenomenon of the morning of the th of november, said that the stars shot over in the form of a bow, and seemed to drop into the lake. such a display, he added, was never before seen. he says that the chippewa indians called the wolverine "gween-guh-auga," which means underground drummer. this animal is a great digger or burrower. _ th_. stormy and cold. _ th_. s. cold. mr. barber preached on the character and trials of noah. the old n.e. divines loved to preach from texts in the old testament. _ th_. a change of wind from n. to s.w. created a very perceptible increase of temperature. indians, who had been detained by floating ice since new year's day, got over to point st. ignace. the postmaster sends me word that the second express will start to-morrow, without awaiting the return of the first. on visiting the monthly concert in the evening, i was reminded that this day had been set apart by various churches for imploring a special blessing on the word of god, in the conversion of the world. _ th_. yesterday afternoon the harbor filled with floating ice. this morning it is frozen over into a solid body, completely closing up the harbor. but the passage between it and round island is open, and the lake in other directions. wind northerly and westwardly; thermometer as on the d, th, and th; but the air does not _feel_ to be as cold as those days. this is the effect of its having remained about a week of nearly the same temperature. it is, in truth, the range of the thermometer between given points, and not the absolute degree of it, that creates the sensation of intense change. and herein must be sought the secret of people's standing a great degree of cold in the north, without being duly sensible of the extreme degree of it. this remark ought, perhaps, to be limited to such severe degree of cold (say ° below zero), as a man can withstand or live in. the ice, being only glued together, separated about o'clock, and left the harbor free again before night. the express from st. mary's came in, about two hours after our detroit express left. by letters brought by it, i learn that letters of recall have recently passed the _sault_ for capt. back. it is stated that capt. ross has unexpectedly returned to england, after an absence of four years, great part of which time he had passed among the esquimaux, or in an open boat on the sea. that he had made observations to fix the magnetic meridian, and had discovered a large island, almost the size of great britain, which he named boothea. mr. ferry, lieut. kingsbury, and mr. p. passed the evening with us. fires were seen on the main land, which are supposed to be signals from our express men. _ th_. snow--blustering--cold. our first express to detroit has so far overstayed its time, that it is impossible to say when it may now be expected. fires again seen on the main land, and an unsuccessful attempt made to reach them, the floating ice preventing. _ th_. maternal association meets at my house, which, mrs. s. reports, is well attended. in the evening, mr. h., mr. j., miss mcf., and miss s. floating ice in the straits, and no crossing. _ th_. snowing--blustering. expecting the mail soon, i prepared my letters, and, being saturday, sent them to the post-office, lest the mail should arrive and depart on sunday. _ th_, deep snow drifts, stormy--cold. very difficult, in consequence of the drifts, to reach the teacher's concert, in the evening, which met at the court house. meeting between mr. d. and mr. ferry at my house, to try the effects of conciliation. _ th_. high wind died away last night: the sun rose, this morning, clear and pleasant, but the air still cold. ice completely fills the channel between boisblanc and the main harbor; the outer channel is still open. mrs. kingsbury passed the day with us. the church session on examination accepts her, and mr. d. stuart, the gentleman named in irving's _astoria_. _ th_. the express from detroit arrives, having crossed from the main to boisblanc on the ice, and from thence in a boat. by this mail we have a week's later dates than were brought by the "warren." no political intelligence of importance. i received a number of printed sheets of the appendix to the narrative of my tour to _itasca lake_. heard also from leconte, the engraver, at new york. _ th_. took mr. d. in my cariole to mr. ferry's, to further the object of a reconciliation of the matters in difference between them. it commenced raining, soon after we got there, and continued steadily all evening. got a complete wetting in coming home, and in driving to the fort mrs. kingsbury, whom i found there. _ th_. yesterday's fain has much diminished the quantity of snow; bare ground is to be seen in some spots. atmosphere murky, and surcharged with moisture, rendering it disagreeable to be out of doors. the soldiery of the garrison invite mr. f. to hold a meeting in the garrison every sabbath afternoon, showing an awakened moral sense among them. _ th_. depression of the atmospheric temperature. frost renders the walking slippery, and the snow crusted and hard. this condition of things, in the forest, is fatal to wild hoofed animals, which at every step are subject to break through, and cut their ankles. in this way the indians successfully pursue and take the moose and reindeer of our region. _ th_. mr. david s. and mrs. k. are admitted to the communion, on a profession of faith, and mr. seymour, miss owen, and miss leverett, by letter. the rev. mr. and mrs. barber were also, for the first time, present. snow fell upon the previous glare surface, and, being attended with wind, rendered the day very blustering and boisterous. the wind being from the west, was very strong--so strong as to blow some persons down. the temperature at the same time was quite cold. _ th_. coldness continued; the thermometer stood at only ° above zero at o'clock in the morning; the west wind continuing. the air, in consequence of this depression, became colder than the water of the lake, producing an interchange of temperature, and the striking phenomenon of rising vapor. the open lake waters gave out their latent heat, like a boiling pot, till the equilibrium was restored. this singular phenomenon i had seen before in the north, and it is to be observed, in the basin of the upper lakes, some days every winter. i received a visit from mr. barber. conversation on the state of religious knowledge. do geology and the natural sciences afford external evidence of the truth of god's word? _ st_. atmospheric temperature still low; the thermometer at o'clock a.m. standing at ° above zero. the harbor and straits, between the island and point st. ignace, frozen over; but the channel, in which, there is a strong current, between the outer edge of the harbor and round island, still open. along this edge very deep water is immediately found, and these waters, under the pressure of lake causes, rush with the force of a mill-race. _ d_. the air is slightly warmer, the thermometer standing at o'clock, a.m., at ° above zero. the soldiery further request of mr. f. to hold a bible class in the fort. _ d_. the temperature still rises a few degrees, the thermometer standing at ° at o'clock, a.m. the express from the _sault_ arrives. prepared my mail matter and dispatched it to the office. _ th_. the thermometer falls five degrees, standing at ° at o'clock a.m.; but in consequence of the cessation of winds at night, and accumulation of floating ice, the open districts of the lake were entirely frozen over. kebec, the _sault_ expressman, went off on his way to detroit, at a very early hour, walking on the ice from about abreast of the old still house, direct to the main. the thermometer in the fort was observed to be, at one time during the night, at ° below zero, denoting more intense cold than my o'clock observation indicates. this is, therefore, so far, the maximum cold for january. _ th_. a strong easterly wind broke up the ice, which was solid, as far as the light-house, about ten miles, and again exposed the limpid bosom of the lake in that direction; but it did not disturb the straits west. my son john began, this day, to pronounce words having the sound of _r_, for which, agreeably to a natural organic law recognized by philologists, he has heretofore substituted the sound of _l_. _ th_. s. a sermon on the inefficacy of the prayer of faith without submission to god's better wisdom. i was this day set apart as an elder. _ th_. the temperature, which has risen since the th, still rises, creating a perceptible change in feelings. visited mr. agnew, who reached the island from the sault yesterday. _ th_. the harbor breaks up with a south-east wind, but the ice remains firm between the island and the main, and in the direction to pt. st, ignace. this wind is attended with a farther moderation of the temperature. i fell in descending the steep hill, which is exposed to the south, in coming back from a visit to lieut. penrose, in the fort. this fort is what engineers call a _talus_, being, as i suppose, the exact area, very nearly, of the top of a cliff overlooking the town. it was very effective for controlling the indians, but was found in to be commanded by a still higher point within cannon range, which was seized and fortified by the british. this apex they made the site of fort george; the americans changed the name to fort holmes, after a gallant officer, a kentuckian, who fell in the unsuccessful attempt of col. croghan to retake the island in . _ th_. the temperature still rises, and is mild for the season. gave each of my children a new copy of the scriptures. if these truths are important, as is acknowledged, they cannot too early know them. i visited mr. mitchell. _ th_, the temperature continues to moderate. drove to the mission, accompanied by mr. d., to converse, at his request, with mr. barber, on the unhappy topics of difference between him and mr. f. mr. and mrs. abbott called at my house, in the interval, and were received by mrs. s. in the evening i attended the social prayer meeting at mr. dousman's. _ st_. the sun shone clear; no snow, no high winds, but a serene and pleasant atmosphere. visits were received from maj. whistler and lieut. kingsbury. conversation on the probable reception of the president's message, etc., by our next express. this being mrs. schoolcraft's birth-day, i presented her a bible. _feb. st_. the mildness and pleasantness of the weather continued. drove out to mr. davenport's with mrs. schoolcraft and the children. davenport is a virginian. he was one of the residents driven off the island by the events of the late war, and was on board of commodore st. clair's squadron, sailing around the island, and in sight of his own home, during the expedition to recapture the island, in . for his sufferings and losses he ought to have been remunerated by the government, whom he faithfully served. our second express from detroit arrived, bringing us the expected newspaper intelligence, and letters from friends. heard of the alarming illness of my sister, in oneida county, n.y. _ d_. s. a sermon on the often handled subjects of election and free grace--how god elects, and how man is free to come himself. _ d_. devoted to newspaper reading. in the evening attended the monthly concert. _ th_. a small party at dinner, namely, major whistler, lieut. kingsbury, mr. agnew, mr. stuart the elder, mr. abbott, mr. dousman, and mr. johnston. the weather continues mild, clear, and calm. in the evening i prepared my mail matter for the sault, intending to dispatch it by a private express to-morrow. _ th_. finished and dispatched my mail for st. mary's by two indians, who set out at ten o'clock a.m. i received an official visit from ossiganac, and seven men from the village of l'arbre croche. he stated it to be the wish of the ottawas, to visit washington. the reasons for such a visit arose from a desire to see the president, on the subject of their lands. many of these lands were denuded of game. drummond island had been abandoned. they thought themselves entitled to compensation for it. they were poor and indebted to the traders. the settlements would soon intrude on their territories. wood was now cut for the use of steamboats and not paid for. they had various topics to confer about. this was, in fact, the first move of the lake indians, leading in the sequel to the important treaty of march th, . _ th_. the thermometer is again depressed, and a recurrence of easterly winds. _ th_. the depression of temperature creates the sensation of _coldness_ after the late mild weather, although the thermometer, examined at o'clock, has not fallen below °, but six degrees below the freezing point. i embodied ossiganac's remarks in a letter to the department, and also requesting the survey of the old grants under wayne's treaty of . i likewise proposed the establishment of an indian academy at michilimackinack for the indian tribes of the upper lakes. mackinack has peculiar facilities of access in the open months for a large circle of cognate tribes; and, in view of a future cession of the country, these tribes will possess ample means. i wrote to my sister catharine, in the prospect of her dying of consumption; directing her mind to the great moral remedy in the intercession of christ. _ th_. our third express for detroit left this morning. the day was clear and calm, with the thermometer at ° at o'clock. i began sketching some remarks, to be transmitted to the american lyceum, on the best mode of educating the indians. _ th_. s. mild. an indian woman was buried to-day, who has borne the character of a christian. as her end drew near she said she did not fear to "pass through the valley of death." she appeared to be prepared to die, and had the testimony of christians in her behalf, many of whom attended her funeral. as a general fact, the christian indians whom i have known, seize with great simplicity of faith on an intercessor and his promises. _ th_. mild. in consequence of the protracted mildness of the weather, indians from thunder bay visited the office. they spoke of the meteoric phenomenon of november. i asked the leader of the party what he thought of it. he replied that it betokened evil to the indian race--that sickness would visit them calamitously. in the evening the wind veered from a favorable quarter suddenly to the north, producing a strong sensation of cold. _ th_. dine with kingsbury. _ th_. dine with mitchell. in the afternoon mr. f. and mr. d. met by appointment at my house, to endeavor to close their accounts and terminate their difficulties. _ th_. yesterday's effort to compromise matters between f. and d. was continued and brought to a close, so far as respected items of account; but this left unhealed the wounds caused by mutual hard thoughts, of a moral character, and for which there has seemed, to christians, in mr. d., a cause of disciplinary inquiry. i felt friendly to mr. d., and thought that he was a man whose pride and temper, and partly christian ignorance, had induced to stand unwittingly in error. but he took counsel of those who do not appear to have been actuated by the most conciliatory views. he stood upon his weakest points with an iron brow and "sinews of brass." _ th_. visited mr. barber. meeting in the evening at mr. mitchell's. _ th_. snow. _ th_. the temperature fell several degrees, and lake closed, as seen at a distance. i finished my remarks for the american lyceum. _ th_. engaged in pursuing mr. f.'s lectures, delivered at a prior time, on the character and differences between the protestant and romish churches. _ th_. the weather assumes a milder turn, and gives us rain. messrs. f. and d., having called on mr. mitchell, renew their meeting at my house. _ th_. rain and thunder. _ st_. temperate; sinks and turns cold in the evening. _ d_. cold, with some snow. _ d_. thermometer continues to sink, and the ice is reported as having become strong everywhere. _ th_. the third express from detroit came in at an early hour, and my letters and papers were brought in before breakfast. during breakfast i opened a letter, announcing the death of my sister catharine, on the th of january, at vernon, n. y. mr. agnew and mr. chapman, who have been guests on the island, set out for the sault. the lake is now finally and strongly closed by a covering of solid ice. trains cross to-day, for the first time, to point st. ignace. _ th_. mr. levake, another guest on the island, called at eight o'clock for my letters, with a view of overtaking the party who left yesterday. _ th_. wind west, and so strong as to drive the ice out between the harbor and the light-house, but did not affect the harbor itself, nor the straits. _ th_. snow and rain. richardson may, a discharged soldier, and manito geezhig (spirit-sky), a chippewa indian, arrived with the express mail for saginaw. _ th_. the weather is mild again. an express from the hudson's bay company departed for saginaw, at seven o'clock a.m. the adverb "fiducially" first brought to my notice, as the synonym of confidently, steadily. finished the perusal of mr. f.'s manuscript lectures, on the romish church. think them an offhand practical appeal to truth, clear in method, forcible in illustration. learning and research, such as are to be drawn from books other than the bible, have not been evidently relied on. they might not do to print without revision. the new testament does not, as an example, declare that peter ever was at rome, and yet that fact, got from other sources, is much relied on by that church. _march st._ the change in temperature continues. it is so mild and warm that the snow melts. _ d_. s. mild, and sabbath exercise as usual. _ d_. the temperature falls, and it becomes sensibly cold and wintry. the sky and lower atmosphere, however, remain clear. cadotte, an expressman from la pointe, lake superior, arrived in the course of the afternoon, with letters from mr. warren. miss w., miss d. and mr. j., pass the evening. _ th_. weather mild; snow soft and sloppy. receive visits from mr. abbott, mr. ferry, and mr. mitchell. _ th_. snow has melted so much, in consequence of the change of temperature, that i am compelled to stop my team from drawing wood. the ice is so bad that it is dangerous to cross. the lake has been open from the point of the village to the light-house, since the tempest of the th ultimo. the broad lake below the latter point has been open all winter. the lake west has been, in fact, fast and solidly frozen, so as to be crossed with trains, but twelve days! mr. warren's express set out for lake superior this morning. our fourth express from detroit came in during the evening, bringing new york dates to the th of february. _ th_. the evidences of the approach of spring continue. the sun shines with a clear power, unobstructed by clouds. snow and ice melt rapidly. visited the mission's house in the evening. _ th_. clouds intercept the sun's rays. an east wind broke up the ice in the harbor, and drives much floating ice up the lake. _ th_. the wind drives away the broken and floating ice from the harbor, and leaves all clear between it and round island. it became cold and freezing in the afternoon. conference and prayer meetings at my house. _ th_. very slippery, and bad walking, and icy roads. freezes. _ th_. in consequence of the increase of cold, and the prevalence of a calm during the night, there was formed a complete coating of ice over the bay, extending to round island. this ice was two inches thick. mrs. schoolcraft spent the evening at mrs. dousman's. on coming home, about nine o'clock, we found the ice suddenly and completely broken up by a south wind, and heaped up along shore. _ th_. harbor and channel quite clear; the weather has assumed a mildness, although the sky is overcast, and snow drifted in the roads during the morning. miss jones, mr. d. stuart, dr. turner, and mr. johnston spent the evening with me. _ th_. filled my ice-house with ice of a granular and indifferent quality, none other to be had. _ th_. mild, thawing, spring-like weather. visits by captain and mrs. barnum. _ th_. about eight o'clock this morning, a vessel from detroit dropped anchor in the harbor, causing all hearts to be gay at the termination of our wintry exclusion from the world. it proved to be the "commodore lawrence," of huron, ohio, on a trip to green bay. our last vessel left the harbor on the th of december, making the period of our incarceration just eighty-five days, or but two and a half months. visited by lieut. and mrs. lavenworth. _ th_. mild and pleasant. plucked the seed of the mountain ash in front of the agency dwelling, and planted it on the face of the cliff behind the house. mr. chapman arrived with express news from the _sault_. _ th_. s. _anni-me-au-gee-zhick-ud_, as the indians term it, and a far more appropriate term it is than the unmeaning saxon phrase of _/sunday_. _ th_. very mild and pleasant day. the snow is rapidly disappearing under the influence of the sun. mackinack stands on a horse-shoe bay, on a narrow southern slope of land, having cliffs and high lands immediately back of it, some three hundred feet maximum height. it is, therefore, exposed to the earliest influences of spring, and they develop themselves rapidly. mr. hulbert arrived from the _sault_ in the morning, bringing letters from rev. mr. clark, mr. audrain, my sub-agent at that point, &c. _ th_. wind southerly. this drives the ice from the peninsula into the harbor, it then shifts west, and drives it down the lake. a lowering sky ends with a sprinkling of rain in the forenoon; it then clears up, and the sun appears in the afternoon. dr. turner visits me at the office. conversation turns on my translations into the indian, and the principles of the language. an indian has a term for man and for white; but, when he wishes to express the sense of white man, he employs neither. he then compounds the term _wa-bish-kiz-zi-_--that is, white person. _ th_. the weather is quite spring-like. prune cherry trees and currant bushes. transplant plum tree sprouts. messrs. biddle and drew finish preparing their vessel, and anchor her out. _ th_. the thermometer sinks to ° at eight o'clock a.m. snows, and is boisterous all day, the wind being north-east. _ st_. the snow, which has continued falling all night, is twelve to fourteen inches deep in the morning; being the heaviest fall of snow, at one time, all winter. some ice is formed. _ d_. the body of snow on the ground, and the continuance of cold, give quite a wintery aspect to the landscape. in the course of the day, mr. ferry, mr. mitchell, and mr. stuart call. _ d_. s. cold. _ th_. wintery feeling and aspect. _ th_. the temperature still sinks. visits from mr. mitchell, mr. ferry, and mr. stuart. mr. and mrs. mitchell, mr. hulbert, mr. chapman, and mr. johnston spend the evening. _ th_. drove, with mr. ferry, to mr. boyd's, and thence to mr. davenport's. _ th_. ice still lingers in the harbor, but the day is clear and sunshiny, and the snow melts rapidly. visit the mission, and inquire into the effects of its government and discipline on the character of the boys, one or two of whom have been recently the subject of some scandals. accompanied in this visit by mr. hulbert, mr. stuart, and mr. mitchell. thomas shepard, a mission boy, calls on me at an early hour, and states his contrition for his agency in any reports referred to. _ th_. weather mild; snow melts; wind s.w.; some rain. with this evening's setting sun, years i number forty-one. visited the officers in the fort. rode out in my carriage in the evening, with mrs. schoolcraft, to see mr. and mrs. mitchell, and mr. and mrs. ferry. satan's emissaries appear to be busy in circulating scandal respecting our pastor, mr. f., a person of high moral worth and probity. to put these down effectively, it appears necessary to probe them to the bottom, and ascertain their length and breadth. this was a duty of the eldership, and it could be thoroughly performed without fear, respecting a man of mr. f.'s character. it was necessary, i found, to unmask all the actors. the scandal appears to be one originating with certain metif boys of the mission school. one of these, it was averred, had looked through the key-hole of the common parlor door of the mission house, and beheld the rev. mr. f. sitting near a miss s., one of the assistant missionaries of the establishment. the door was locked. the hair of the young lady was dishevelled; her comb had fallen on the floor. it was early in the morning. another boy was called to look; no change of position was observed--nothing that was not respectful and proper. this story was detailed, a night or two afterwards, by thomas shepard, one of the boys, at a drinking conclave in the village, where _bon vivants_, and some persons inimical to mr. f. were present, and created high merriment. from that den it was spread. it appeared that miss s. had, for some time, had doubts on the subject of her conversion, and sought a conversation with her pastor to resolve them. _ th_. moderate temperature continues. a meeting of some of the leading persons of the place, citizens and officers, at which statements, embracing the above narrative, were made, which were quite satisfactory in regard to the reports above mentioned. the reports are traced to a knot of free livers, free drinkers, and infidels, who meet a-nights, in the village, to be merry, and who drew some of the mission boys into their revelries. a case of discipline in the church, which led, finally, to the excommunication of one of the leading persons of the place, has raised enemies to the rev. mr. f., who were present at these orgies, and helped to spread the report. _ th_. service as usual, but more than usually interesting. _ st_. mild weather continues; clear and sunny; snow melts. the remaining ice is completely broken up by an easterly wind. visit mr. stuart's child, which is very low. _april st_. a dark drizzly morning terminates before ten o'clock in rain. it cleared away at noon; the broken ice of the day and night previous, is mostly driven down the lake by westerly winds. satisfied of the excellency of the mission school, i sent my children to it this morning. the rev. mr. ferry, rev. mr. barber, mr. mitchell, mr. d. stuart, and mr. chapman dine with me. in the evening, capt. and mrs. barnum, and lieut. kingsbury make a visit. _ d_. the harbor is now entirely clear of ice, with a west wind. wrote to rev. d. greene, missionary rooms, boston, giving my opinion respecting the establishment of a mission among the odjibwas at fond du lac, lake superior. _ d_. pleasant, mild, clear. winter has now clearly relaxed his hold. indians who came in to-day from l'arbre croche, report that the ice is, however, still firm at point wa-gosh-ains (little fox point), on the straits above. this point forms the bight of the straits, some twenty miles off, at their entrance into lake michigan. attended the funeral of william dolly, a metif boy, of indian extraction. _ th_. the season is visibly advancing in its warmth and mildness. began to prepare hot-beds. set boxes for flowers and tubs for roots. _ th_. the mission schooner "supply" leaves the harbor on her first trip to detroit, with a fine west wind, carrying our recent guests from st. mary's. transplant flowering shrubs. miss mcfarland passes the day with mrs. schoolcraft at the agency. _ th_. cloudy but mild. adjusting fixtures for gooseberry bushes, &c. _ th_. superintending the construction of a small ornamental mound and side wall to the piazza, for shrubbery and flowers. books are now thrown by for the excitement of horticulture. some indians visit the office. it is remarkable what straits and suffering these people undergo every winter for a bare existence. they struggle against cold and hunger, and are very grateful for the least relief. _kitte-mau-giz-ze sho-wain-e-min_, is their common expression to an agent--i am poor, show me pity, (or rather) charity me; for they use their substantives for verbs. _ th_. the schooner "white pigeon," (the name of an indian chief,) enters the harbor, with a mail from detroit. "a mail! a mail!" is the cry. old saganosh and five indian families come in. the indians start up from their wintering places, as if from a cemetery. they seem almost as lean and hungry as their dogs--for an indian always has dogs--and, if they fare poor, the dogs fare poorer. resumed my preparations at the garden hot-beds. the mail brought me letters from washington, speaking of political excitements. the project for an indian academy is bluffed off, by saying it should come through the delegate. major whiting writes that he is authorized to have a road surveyed from saginaw to mackinack. _ th_. engaged at my horticultural mound. the weather continues mild. _ th_. transplanting cherry trees. _ th_. complete hot-bed, and sow it in part. _ th_. the calmness and mildness of the last few days are continued. spring advances rapidly. _ th_. mild, strong wind from the west, but falls at evening. write to washington respecting an indian academy. walking with the rev. wm. m. ferry through the second street of the village (m.), leading south, as we came near the corner, turning to ottawa point, he pointed out to me, on the right hand, half of a large door, painted red, arched and filled with nails, which tradition asserts was the half of the door of the roman catholic church at old mackinack. the fixtures of the church, as of other buildings, were removed and set up on this spot. i afterwards saw the other half of the door standing against an adjoining house. _ th_. wind westerly. begin to enlarge piazza to the agency. a party of beaver island indians come in, and report the water of the straits as clear of ice, and the navigation for some days open. the schooner "president," from detroit, dropped anchor in the evening. _ th_. the schooners "lawrence," "white pigeon," and "president," left the harbor this morning, on their way to various ports on lake michigan, and we are once more united to the commercial world, on the great chain of lakes above and below us. the "lawrence," it will be remembered, entered the harbor on the th of march, and has waited thirty-two days for the straits to open. _ th_. wind n.e., chilly. it began to rain after twelve o'clock a.m., which was much wanted by the gardens, as we have had no rain for nearly a month. all this while the sun has poured down its rays on our narrow pebbly plain under the cliffs, and made it quite dry. i was present this morning at the mission, at the examination of the metif boy thomas shepard, and was surprised at the recklessness and turpidity of his moral course, as disclosed by himself, and, at the announcement of the names of his abettors. the fate of this boy was singular. he set out alone to return to sault ste. marie, where his relations lived, across the wilderness. after striking the main land, his companions returned. all that was ever heard of him afterwards, was the report of indians whom i sent to follow his trail, as the season opened, who found a spot where he had attempted, unsuccessfully, to strike a fire and encamp. from obscure indian reports from the channels called chenos, the indians there had been alarmed by news of the inroads of na-do-was (iroquois), and seeing some one on the shore, in a questionable plight, they fired and killed him. this is supposed to have been thomas shepard. _ th_. wind westerly--chilly--cloudy--dark. _ th_. the "austerlitz," and "prince eugene," two of mr. newbery's vessels, arrived during the afternoon. rain fell in the evening. _ st_. the schooner "nancy dousman" arrived in the morning from below. a change of weather supervened. wind n.e., with snow. the ground is covered with it to the depth of one or two inches. water frozen, giving a sad check to vegetation. _ d_. this morning develops a north-east storm, during which the "nancy dousman" is wrecked, but all the cargo saved: a proof that the harbor is no refuge from a north-easter. the wind abates in the evening. _ d_. wind west, cloudy, rainy, and some sleet. about midnight the schooner "oregon" came in, having rode out the tempest under point st. ignace. _ th_. still cold and backward, the air not having recovered its equilibrium since the late storm. _ th_. cloudy and cold--flurries of snow during the day. _ th_. the weather recovers its warm tone, giving a calm sky and clear sunshine. the snow of the st rapidly disappears, and by noon is quite gone, and the weather is quite pleasant. the vessels in the harbor continue their voyages. _ th_. s. a boat reaches us from the sault, showing the straits and river st. mary to be open. it brought the rev. mr. clark, of the methodist episcopal church, who occupies mr. f.'s position, before the soldiery, in the evening. _ th_. the atmosphere is still overcast, although the thermometer ranges high. levake, a trader for the indian country, went off about two o'clock p.m. on granting him his license, i directed him to take no ardent spirits. he therefore ordered a barrel of whisky to be taken back to the american fur company's store, where he had purchased it. mr. abbot, the agent, sent it back to him. mr. levake finally remanded it. mr. abbot said, "why! mr. schoolcraft has no authority to prevent your taking it!" the moment, in fact, the boats leave the island they enter the indian country, where the act provides that this article shall not be taken on any pretence. this was an open triumph of the agent of the united states against the fur company. i wrote to the rev. mr. boutwell, at leech lake, by this opportunity. _ th_. the atmosphere has regained its equilibrium fully. it is mild throughout the day. indians begin to come in freely from the adjacent shores. sow radishes and other early seeds. _ th_. the schooner "napoleon," and the "eliza," from lake ontario, come in. the indian world, also, seems to have awaked from its winter's repose. pabaumitabi visits the office with a large retinue of ottawas. shabowawa with his band appear from the chenoes. vessels and canoes now again cross, each other's track in the harbor. chapter l. visit to isle rond--site of an ancient indian village--ossuarie--indian prophet--traditions of chusco and yon respecting the ancient village and bone deposit--indian speech--tradition of mrs. la fromboise respecting chicago--etymology of the name--origin of the bonga family among the chippewas--traditions of viancour--of nolan--of the chief aishquagonaibe, and of sagitondowa--evidences of antique cultivation on the island of mackinack--view of affairs at washington--the senate an area of intellectual excitement--a road directed to be cut through the wilderness from saginaw--traditions of ossaganac and of little bear skin respecting the lake tribes. _ . may st_. at last "the winter is gone and past," and the voice of the robin, if not of the "turtle," begins to be heard in the land. the whole day is mild, clear, and pleasant, notwithstanding a moderate wind from the east. the schooner "huron" comes in without a _mail_--a sad disappointment, as we have been a long time without one. i strolled up over the cliffs with my children, after their return from school at noon, to gather wild flowers, it being may-day. we came in with the spring beauty, called _miscodeed_ by the indians, the adder's tongue, and some wild violets. the day being fine and the lake calm, i visited the isle rond--the locality of an old and long abandoned village. on landing on the south side, discovered the site of an ancient indian town--an open area of several acres, with graves and boulder grave stones. deep paths had been worn to the water. the graves had inclosures, more or less decayed, of cedar and birch bark, and the whole had the appearance of having been last occupied about seventy years ago. yet the graves were, as usual, east and west. i discovered near this site remains of more ancient occupancy, in a deposit of human bones laid in a trench _north_ and _south_. this had all the appearance of one of the antique ossuaries, constructed by an elder race, who collected the bones of their dead periodically. the indians call this island _min-nis-ais_, little island. speaking _of_ it, the local termination _ing_ is added. during the day the old indian prophet chusco came in, having passed the winter at chingossamo's village on the cheboigan river, accompanied by an indian of that village, who calls himself yon, which is probably a corruption of john, for he says that his father was an englishman, and his mother a chippewa of st. mary's. chusco and yon concur in stating that the old town on round island was chi naigow's, where he and aishquonaibee's [ ] father ruled. it was a large village, occupied still while the british held old mackinack, and not finally abandoned until after the occupancy of the island-post. it consisted of chippewas. chi naigow afterwards went to a bay of boisblanc, where the public wharf now is, where he cultivated land and died.[ ] [footnote : a chief of grand traverse.] [footnote : his daughter, who was most likely to know, says he died at manista. see prior part of journal.] these indians also state, that at the existence of the town on round island, a large indian village was seated around the present harbor of mackinack, and the indians cultivated gardens there. yon says, that at that time there was a stratum of black earth over the gravel, and that it was not bare gravel as it is now.[ ] (he is speaking of the shores of the harbor.) [footnote : at mackinack, they, in some places, raise potatoes in clean gravel.] yon says that a man, called sagitondowa, is now living at chingassamo's village, who once lived in chi naigow's village at minnissais--and that he is about his age. yon was about seventy. he further says that the traverse to old mackinack was made directly from the old town, on round island, and that it was from thence they-went over to get rum. chusco made the following speech: "nosa, when i first spoke to you it was at the camp of the strong wind (gen. wayne). you then told me that i should not be troubled with the smoke, (meaning intrusion from settlement.) it was said to me that a place should be provided by our great father for us. my home was then at waganukizzi, the place of the crotched tree (l'arbre croche). "about twenty men had the courage to go, and united in the treaty. chemokoman was one of them. the old chief niskauzhininna did not go. he was afraid of the americans. i carried my ancient implements, which you know i have forever laid aside. (he was the seer.) "the english did not come up to their promises. the land was lost. the posts were lost. they were all given up, and we only were the sufferers. hard is our fate. "strong wind said to the chiefs that there should be a place for the old and disabled, where they should have food. we were absent at this treaty all summer. we came back late in the fall." "forty winters have past. i am poor and old, and cannot go about any more. look at me. i want a house and a shelter. tell me, shall i have it?" [ ] [footnote : in the treaty of th march, , a dormitory was provided for the indians visiting the post of mackinack. chusco was granted an annuity in coin.] _ d_. having, on the th of april, called the attention of mrs. la fromboise, an aged metif lady, to the former state of things here, she says that the post of chicago was first established under english rule, by a negro man named _pointe aux sables_, who was a respectable man. the etymology of chicago appears to be this:-- chi-cag, _animal of the leek or wild onion_. chi-cag-o-wunz, _the wild leek or pole-cat plant_. chi-ca-go, _place of the wild leek_. she also says that captain robinson, while commanding at mackinack, discharged a negro servant named bonga, who afterwards, with his wife, purchased the house and lot in which mr. wendell now lives (the old red house next dousman's, south), where he kept a tavern, and maintained a respectable character. he afterwards sold out and went to detroit, and lived with mr. meldrum. she adds: "the son of this bonga was the late bonga, who died as a _comme_, at lake winnepec, of the fond du lac department. the present stephen bonga of folleavoine, a trustworthy trader, is the grandson of this bonga--robinson's freed slave. his connections are chippewas, and all speak the chippewa language fluently." having seen and known this bonga, the grandson, i was led to remark that climate and intermarriage have had little or no appreciable effect on the color of the skin. the traditions of mr. viancourt, one of the oldest french residents of point st. ignace, who visited the office ( th april), relate that he was born the year montreal was taken, . that mackinack (the island) was first occupied four years after. he further says that gov. sinclair built a small fort on black river, and that he gave his name to that part of the straits which have since been called st. clair.[ ] says he has been on the island forty-seven years, consequently came in . [footnote : consult charlevoix's journal. is not so, go far as the origin of the name is concerned.] the late mr. j.b. nolin, of sault st. marie, remarked to john johnson, esq., that governor sinclair came up with troops the year after the massacre at old mackinack; and that he landed with a broad belt of wampum in his hands. aishkwagon-ai-bee, or the feather of honor, first chief of the chippewas of grand traverse bay, lake michigan, says that the nadowas (iroquois) formerly lived at point st. ignace--that they fell out with the chippewas and ottawas on a certain day, at a ball-playing, when a chippewa was killed. hereupon, the chippewas and ottawas united their strength and drove them away, destroying their village. the chippewas and ottawas then divided the land by natural boundaries. grand traverse bay fell to the chippewas. another indian tradition respecting the old village on isle rond, was gleaned:-- sagitondowa visits the office: he says he lacks one year of fifty. his earliest recollections are of the old village on round island. it was then (say , the close of the american revolutionary war) a large village, and nearly half the island in cultivation. it was not finally abandoned until lately. having his attention called to the deposit of old bones exposed by the action of the lake, he finally said he knew not how they came there; that they must be of ancient date, and were probably of the same era with the bones in the caves of the island of mackinack. he said when he was young there was no village on that part of the bay of mackinack situated between the old government house, and the present catholic church. this was formerly a cedar swamp. there was a village near porkman's (mr. edward biddle's), and another near the presbyterian church. _ d_. seed the borders around the garden lots with clover and timothy, united with oats. continue to plant in hot-beds, and in the ornamental mound. the "huron" departs up the lake, the "austerlitz" returns. drove out in my carriage with mrs. schoolcraft and children, round the island. i found no traces of snow or ice. _ th_. a gale from the east, which began to show itself yesterday. the schooner "lady of the lake" comes in, _without a mail_. during the afternoon, the wind also brings in the "marengo," with a mail, and in the night, the "supply." _ th_. wind from the s.w. and w. rain, chilly, cloudy. _ th_. a complete counterpart of the weather of yesterday. _ th_. the same weather in every respect, with light snow flurries. the last four or five days have been most disheartening weather for this season, and retarded gardening. the leaves of the pie plant have been partially nipped by the frost. _ th_. clear and pleasant--wind west. drove out with mrs. schoolcraft and children to see the arched rock, the sugar-loaf rock, henry's cave, and other prominent curiosities of the island. there are extensive old fields on the eastern part of the island, to which the french apply the term of _grands jardins._ no resident pretends to know their origin. whether due to the labors of the hurons or the wyandots, who are known to have been driven by the iroquois to this island from the st. lawrence valley, early in the th century; or to a still earlier period, when the ancient bones were deposited in the caves, is not known. it is certain that the extent of the fields evince an agricultural industry which is not characteristic of the present algonquin race. the stones have been carefully gathered into heaps, as in the little valley near the arched rock, to facilitate cultivation. these heaps of stones, in various places might be mistaken for celtic cairns. _ th_. the schooner "mariner," our old friend, comes into port with forty emigrants for chicago. during the evening the "commerce" and "america" join her. _ th_. s. cold north-west wind, gloomy and cloudy. _ th_. a report is received that the president has communicated a protest to the senate on the expression of their views respecting the removal of the deposits. i told a party of ottawas, who applied for food, that their great father was not pleased that his bounties should be misused by their employing them merely to further their journeys to foreign agencies, where the counsels they got were such as he could not approve. that hereafter such bounties must not be expected; that the poor and suffering would always find the agency doors open, but i should be compelled to close them to such as turned a deaf ear to his advice, if their practices in visiting these foreign assemblies were persisted in. _ th_. a slight snow covers the ground in the morning, it melts soon, but the day is ungenial, with s.w. wind, and cloudy atmosphere. _ th_. a powder of snow covers the ground in the north, the wind in the n.w. it varies from n.w. to s.w., and by ten o'clock, a.m., it is pleasant and clear. plant garden corn, an early species cultivated by the ottawas. _ th_. cold and clear most of the day. _ th_. young robert gravereat first came to the office in the capacity of interpreter. it is a calm and mild day; the sun shines out. the thermometer stands at ° at o'clock, a.m., and the weather appears to be settled for the season. miss louisa johnston comes to pass the summer. _ th_. ploughed potato land, the backward state of the season having rendered it useless earlier. even now the soil is cold, and requires to lay some time after being ploughed up. the steamer "oliver newberry" arrives in the afternoon, bringing detroit dates of may th, and washington dates a week later. the new brig "john kinzie" enters the harbor on the th, bringing up gov. d.r. porter, of pennsylvania, and suit, with forty passengers. _ th_. i may now advert to what the busy world has been about, while we have been watching fields of floating ice, and battling it with the elements through an entire season. a letter from e.a. brush, esq., washington, march th, says: "nothing is talked about here, as i may well presume you know from the papers, but the deposits and their removal, and their restoration; and that frightful mother of all mischief, the money maker (u.s. bank). every morning (the morning begins here at twelve, meridian) the senate chamber is thronged with ladies and feathers, and their obsequious satellites, to hear the sparring. every morning a speech is made upon presentation of some petition representing that the country is overwhelmed with ruin and disasters, and that the fact is notorious and palpable; or, that the country is highly prosperous and flourishing, and that everybody knows it. one, that its only safety lies in the continuance of the bank; and the other, that our liberties will be prostrated if it is re-chartered. of course, the well in which poor truth has taken refuge, in this exigency, is very deep. "but the senate is, at this moment, an extraordinary constellation of talent. there is mr. webster, and mr. clay, and mr. calhoun, and a no-way inferior, mr. preston, the famous debater in the south carolina troubles, and mr. benj. watkins leigh, the equally celebrated ambassador near the government of south carolina. all are ranged on one side, and it is a phalanx as formidable, in point of moral force, as the twenty-four can produce. mr. forsyth is the atlas upon whose shoulders are made to rest all the sins of the administration. every shaft flies at him, or rather is intended for others through him; and his ajax shield of seven bull hides is more than once pierced, in the course of the frequent encounters to which he is invited, and from which they will not permit him to secede. but it is all talk. they will do nothing. a constitutional majority in the senate (two-thirds) is very doubtful, and a bare one in the house, still more problematical. of course, you are aware that the executive has expressed its unyielding determination not to sign a bill for the re-charter, or to permit a restoration of the deposits. "houses are cracking in the cities, as if in the midst of an earthquake, and there is hardly a man engaged in mercantile operations (i might say not one) who will not feel the 'pressure.'" major w. whiting writes from detroit, march th: "i spoke of the project of a road to mackinack, which you wished me to bear in mind. the secretary approved the project, and the quarter-master general said it might be done without a special appropriation. i was authorized to have the survey made as soon as the season will permit, and an officer has reported to me for that purpose. he will start from saginaw some time in the next month, to make a reconnoisance of the country, and will appear at the head of the peninsula when perhaps you little expect such a visitor. "as soon as the survey shall be completed, the cutting out will be put under contract. when this road shall be completed, you will feel more neighborly to us. the express will be able to perform the journey in half the time, and, of course, the trips can be multiplied." _june th_. reuben smith, a mission scholar of the algonquin lineage, determines to leave his temporary employment at the agency, and complete his education at the eastward. _ th_. ossiganac, an ottawa, who was formerly interpreter at the british post at drummond island, says that ottawa tradition points back to the manitouline islands, as the place of their origin. they call those islands ottawa islands, and lake huron ottawa lake. they call lake superior chippewa lake. all the ottawas, he says, of l'arbre croche, grand river, &c., came from the ottawa or manitouline islands. the french first found them there.[ ] [footnote : this is pretty well for indian tradition, but is not so, in truth, as charlevoix's hist. of new france denotes.] they migrated down lake michigan, and lived with the potawattomies. after awhile, the potawattomies growing uneasy of their presence, accused them of using bad medicine, which was the cause of their people dying. the ottawas replied, that if they were jealous of them, they would retire, and they accordingly withdrew up the peninsula. while in the course of withdrawing, one of their number was killed by the potawattomies. _ th_. ossiganac, at an interview at my house this afternoon, says that the ottawas of maumee, ohio, sent a message to the ottawas of l'arbre croche, in governor hull's time--consequently between and --saying: "we were originally of one fire, and we wish to come back again to you, that we may all derive heat again from the same fire." the ottawas of l'arbre croche replied: "true, but you took a coal to warm yourselves by. now, it will be better that you remain by your own coal, which you saw fit long ago to take from our fire. remain where you are." from that day the ottawas of maumee have said nothing more about joining us. now ( ) the potawattomies come with a request to join our fire. shall we receive them, when we refused our brethren, who are more nearly related to us? i think not. _ th_. the little bear skin, muk-ons-e-wy-an-ais, of manistee, inquires respecting the truth of a rumor, that the potawattomies, since selling their lands at chicago, are coming to the north, amongst the ottawas and chippewas. he deprecates such a movement. says the habits of the potawattomies are so different that they would not be satisfied were they to come. their horses are their canoes. they know nothing of traveling by water; beyond shore navigation. they are sea-sick on the lakes. little bear skin says he lives on the first forks of the manistee. although a chippewa, he is in the habit of cultivating gardens. he is originally, by his parents, from the north--is related to the st. mary's and taquimenon indians. he himself was born on the manistee. he is a temperance man. cherry trees in full bloom. the steamer "uncle sam" enters the harbor, being the first of a line established to chicago. _ th_. apple and plum trees pretty full in flower. _ th_. mrs. robert stuart makes a handsome present of conchological species from foreign localities to be added to my cabinet. _ th_. major whistler interdicts preaching in the fort. mr. b. stuart, having returned recently from the east, resumes the superintendence of the sabbath school at the mission, from which i had relieved him in the autumn. i have written these sketches for my own satisfaction and the refreshment of my memory, in the leading scenes and events of my first winter on the island, giving prominence to the state and changes of the weather, the occurrences among the natives, and the moral, social, and domestic events around me. but the curtain of the world's great drama is now fully raised, by our free commercial and postal union with the region below us; new scenes and topics daily occur, which it would be impossible to note if i tried, and which would be useless if possible. hereafter my notices must be of isolated things, and may be "few and far between." chapter li. trip to detroit--american fur company; its history and organization--american lyceum; its objects--desire to write books on indian subjects by persons not having the information to render them valuable--reappearance of cholera--mission of mackinack; its history and condition--visit of a russian officer of the imperial guards--chicago; its prime position for a great _entrepôt_--area and destiny of the mississippi valley. . about the first of july, i embarked for detroit, for the purpose chiefly of meeting the secretary of war, during his summer refuge from the busy scenes at washington. there were some questions to be decided important to my duties at mackinack and st. mary's, arising from recent changes in the laws or regulations. he wrote to me on the st of july, from the white sulphur springs, in virginia, that he should probably reach detroit before the th or th of august; but his delay had been protracted so much, that after reaching the city i felt compelled to return to my agency without seeing him. one reason for this step, which operated upon my mind, was the change in the partnership and management of the affairs of the american fur company, consequent on mr. john jacob astor's withdrawal from it. this company was founded by this noted and successful merchant's having purchased, at the close of the war, about , the trading posts, consisting of buildings, property, &c., of the british north-west company, who had been so long the commercial, and to all practical intents, the political lords of the regions of the north-west. he organized the concern in shares, under an act of incorporation of the legislature of new york, and began operations by establishing his central point of interior action at michilimackinack. this was in . from data submitted at a treaty at prairie du chien by mr. r. stuart, the whole capital invested in the business, was not less than , dollars. the interior sub-posts were spread over the entire area of the frontiers up to the parallel of ° north latitude, extending to the missouri. together with the posts, indeed, the north-west company turned over, in effect, some of its agents and the principal part of its clerks, interpreters, and boatmen for this area, who were, i believe, without a single exception, foreigners, chiefly canadian french, scotchmen, irishmen, and perhaps a few englishmen. congress passed an act the same year ( ) providing that this trade should be carried on under licenses, by american citizens, who were permitted, however, to employ this class of foreigners, by entering into bonds for their proper conduct. this created a class of duties for the agents, on the line of the canada frontiers, which was at all times onerous. to carry on the trade at all, the old and experienced "servants of the n.w.," as they were called, were necessary, and it was sometimes essential to take out the license in the names of american boys, or persons by no means competent, by their experience in this trade, to conduct the business, which was, in fact, still in the hands of the old employees. it was a false theory, from the start, that ardent spirits was one of the articles necessary to trade. congress entertained an opinion of its injuriousness to the character of the indians, and passed laws excluding it. this constituted another class of duties of the agents who were entrusted with their execution, and required them to "search packages," and to judge of the probabilities of all persons applying for licenses keeping the laws. to expect that this mixed body of foreigners would exert any very favorable political influence on the mass of indian minds in the north-west, was indulging a hope not very likely to be fulfilled. they were employed to glean the indian lodges of furs, and expected to make good returns to their employers at michilimackinack; and, if they kept the ground of neutrality with respect to governments, it was considered as exempting them from censure. the great body of the indians in the upper lakes, and throughout the north-west, extending to the sources of the mississippi, were averse to the american rule. many of them had been embodied to fight against the americans, who were successively met by ambuscade, surprise, or otherwise, as at chicago, at michilimackinack, brownstown, river raisin, maumee, fort harrison, and other places. they had been assembled in large bodies, by the delusive prophesyings of elksatawa, and by the not less delusive promises of the agents of the british indian department, on the lines, that the americans were to be driven back to the line of the illinois, if not of the ohio--an old and very popular idea with the lake indians from early days. the lake indians had suffered severely from the war, chiefly from the camp fevers and irregularities. they had finally been defeated--their great war captain killed, their false prophet driven from the wabash into canada; and, to crown the whole, were themselves abandoned, one and all, by their allies, at the treaty of ghent. many never returned to the homes of their fathers--entire villages were depopulated, and their sites overgrown in a few years with shrubbery. those who came back from the active campaign of , were sullen and desponding. as an evidence of what they had suffered, and how completely they had been abandoned by their allies, the transactions of the first treaty at springwells, at the close of the war, may be referred to. the tribes were literally starving and in rags. the agents of the executive and governors, who were appointed to conduct their intercourse after the war, were, in reality, called to execute a high class of diplomatic functions, second only in general importance to those required at the prime courts of europe. the several classes of duties which have been described denote, to some extent, in what this importance consisted. eighteen years had now elapsed since this important commercial company had furnished traders to the discomfited tribes. during twelve years of this period i had had charge of the intercourse with by far the largest and most unfriendly and warlike of the tribes; and, when i saw that mr. astor had disconnected himself from the concern which he had organized; and that, to some extent, new agents and actors were called to the field, i felt anxious to be at my post, to supervise, personally, the intercourse act, and to see that no improper persons should enter the country. _ th_. dr. l.d. gale, of new york, writes me that the american lyceum has resolved to enlarge the scope of its objects. "we have, therefore," he remarks, "as we now stand, . the department of education. . the department of physical science. . moral and political science. . literature and the arts. the influence of the society has been very much enlarged since its last meeting, and it now enrolls amongst its active members many, indeed i may say a large share of the most valuable men of science of the united states. the chief object of the physical science department is to obtain, as far as possible, a report of the recent history and progress, and, in some cases, the future prospects of the different departments. so that we may be enabled to form a volume of transactions that shall embrace all that is new or recent in the departments, posted up to the present time. "the subject of the antiquities of the western countries of the united states, and especially the remains of towns and fortifications, which appear to have been built by a civilized population, has been frequently agitated this side of the alleghanies, and it was thought by the executive committee that justice would be done to the subject in your hands. they have, accordingly, requested that you would consent to give them a paper on the subject. they presumed that you were in possession of much interesting and valuable matter that has never yet come to the eyes of the world." _ th_. i have been often written to, by persons at a distance wishing for information on the indian tribes, or their languages, or antiquities, and uniformly responded favorably to such applications, sending a little where it was not practicable to do more. it has ever appeared to me, that the giving of information was just one of those points which rendered me not a whit more ignorant myself, and might add something to the knowledge, as it certainly would to the gratifications of others. the only good objection is, that time and attention is required for every such effort. but cannot this be easily redeemed from waste hours, when the object is to add to the moral gratifications of others? a letter was addressed to me, this day, from a mr. h. newcomb, alleghany, near pittsburg, which certainly seems a little onerous in the tax it imposes on my time; as the writer announces his intention of publishing two or three volumes, on the subject of the indians, and presents a formidable array of subjects respecting which he is to treat. in only one respect it strikes me as singular, namely, that any writer west of the alleghanies should set down to write a work on such a subject, without personal observation. in older areas, where the indian has disappeared, books must alone be relied on; but in the west, there should be something fresh, something distinctive and personal, to give vitality to such a work. the writer observes, "i have not yet been able to obtain materials for the first two volumes satisfactory to myself." _august st_. mr. theodore dwight, jr., writes: "cannot a syllabic, or semi-syllabic alphabet, be applied to our indian tongues?" rev. leonard woods, jr., of new york, editor of the new york theological review, desires a paper on the subject of the american indians. "i have found," he says, "that while the subject is one of very general interest, there are few who possess the requisite information to do it justice." _ th_. the cholera, which first appeared in this country in , made its second appearance in detroit, in the month of july. it was not, however, of the same virulence as the first attack. "from present appearances," writes a friend at that place, "the cholera is vanishing." having matters of eminent concern there, i determined to make a brief visit to the place. my health was very good, and had never, indeed, been subject to violent fluctuations of the digestive functions, and, after attaining the object, i returned to mackinack. i again visited detroit for a short time, during the latter part of august, and resumed my position at mackinack in september. indian affairs, in the upper lakes, were now hastening to a crisis, which in a year or two, developed themselves in extensive sales of territory by the indians, who, as game failed, saw themselves in straits. these events will be mentioned as they take definite shapes of action. _sept. d_. mr. david green, secretary of the board of commissioners for american missions, missionary rooms, boston, depicts a crisis in the mission at mackinack. "your favor by mr. ferry," he remarks, "has come to hand. as you anticipated, he has requested our missionary board to relieve him from the missionary service, and they, though with much reluctance, have granted his request. he seems fully convinced that he is not likely to be hereafter useful, to any great extent, in connection with the mackinack mission; and that the claims of his family call him to a different situation. this movement on his part, though he has before suggested that such a step might be expedient, was quite unexpected by us at this time; and i fear that we shall not find it easy to obtain a suitable man to fill his place. no such person is now at our disposal. i have written to the rev. dr. peters, of new york, secretary of the american home missionary society, stating the circumstances of the place, inquiring if it would not properly fall within that portion of the lord's vineyard, and whether they could not furnish a suitable man to cultivate it. "that society, as well as ours, is, i believe, pressed for missionaries on every hand. the prayers of all the lord's people should be, in these exigencies, 'send forth laborers into thy harvest.' _men of devoted piety and zeal, and of high intellectual character, and judgment, and enterprise, are needed in great numbers both in our own land and abroad_. the want of such men is now the most serious impediment which our societies have to contend with. "you may be assured, sir, that we shall do all in our power, consistent with the claims of our other missions, to send some person to mackinack; but we cannot promise to succeed immediately. mr. ferry, we hope, will remain the next spring. "some embarrassment is felt by our board, from the fact that foreign fields, offering access to densely populated districts, where millions speaking the same language, can be easily approached--are more attractive to the candidates for the missionary work than the small, scattered, and migratory bands of our indians. "i fear that a preference of this nature will cause our friends--the indians--to be neglected, if not forgotten. as providence seems, in so many ways, to be against the indians, i often fear that no considerable portion of them are ever to enjoy the blessings of civilization and christianity. but we must leave them in the hands of god, after using faithfully the means which he places at our disposal." "we are glad to hear that you still approve of the course pursued by our missionaries in the north-west, and that the advancement of the cause of christ, in that quarter, is still a subject of care with you, and truth, and divine grace, will enable you rightly to bear the responsibility in this respect, which rests on you." i have put in italics, in the above letter, a high moral truth, which accords with all my observation and experience on the frontiers; and upon the due appreciation and carrying out of which, the success of the missionary cause over the world, in my judgment, depends. it is a sentence that should be inscribed in letters of gold in every missionary room in america. it is certainly a mistake to send feeble men on the frontier, who are not deemed to have sufficient energy, talents, and sound discretion to enter foreign fields. our frontiers are full of cavillers, and shrewd and bold gainsayers of christianity, men of personal energy and will, who generally stand aloof from such efforts, and who, when they come into contact with missionary laborers, judge them by common rules of judgment--who are, indeed, not the best fitted to estimate "devoted piety and zeal," but who are, nevertheless, disposed to respect it, in proportion as it is joined with "high intellectual character, and judgment, and enterprise." in the frequent want of this--we do not include mackinack in this category--is to be sought the true cause of our failures with the indians, to whom the strange and intense story of the gospel appears at first in something as wild and marvelous as some of their own relations; and who are, at any rate, firmly fixed in their heathenish rites and devotions to a subtil system of deism, and the invocation of gods of the elements and demons. with respect to the mission of mackinack, its influence, on the whole, has been eminently good, and not evil. mr. ferry possessed business talents of a high order, with that strict reference to moral responsibilities and accountabilities, which compose the golden fibres of the gospel net. he sought to bring all, white and red men, into this net; and its influences were extensively spread from that central point into the indian country. he gathered, from the remotest quarters, the half-breed children of the traders and clerks, into a large and well organized boarding school, where they were instructed in the points essential to their becoming useful and respectable men and women. they were then sent abroad as teachers and interpreters, and traders' clerks, over a wide space of wilderness, where they disseminated gospel principles. many of their parents also embraced christianity. many of the girls turned out to be ladies of finished education and manners, and married officers of the army or citizens. there were some pure indian converts of both sexes, among whom was the chief prophet of the ottawas--the aged chusco. in , after seven years' labor, he witnessed a revival among the citizens of that town, which appeared to be his crowning labor, and it had the effect to renovate the place, and for many years to drive vice and disorder, if not entirely away, into holes and corners, where they avoided the light. he came to this island first, to begin his mission, i believe, in . the effort to set up a mission there seemed as wild and hopeless, to common judgments, as it would be to dig down the pyramids of the nile with a pin. i defended its course of proceedings from an unjust attack in the legislative council of the territory, in , having had extensive opportunities to scan its principles and workings--which were only offensive to worldly men, because, in upholding the gospel banner, a shrewd knowledge of business transactions was at the same time evinced. to be a fool in worldly things is sometimes supposed, by the wits of the world, to be an evidence of pious zeal. _ th_. being on my passage this day up the river st. clair, in the steamboat "gen. gratiot," in company with several others, i asked capt. wm. thorn several historical questions respecting the settlement of michilimackinack. the following memoranda embrace his replies: he is a native of newport, rhode island, although he was for many years engaged, before the transfer of posts in , in sailing british vessels on the lakes, and therefore deemed, when he was taken prisoner during the late war, to have been a british subject. he says he began his voyages to old mackinack seven years before the removal of the post to the island. this was, he says, in . the post was then in command of a capt. glazier, afterwards of de peyster (who subsequently commanded at detroit), then of patrick sinclair (who had previously built a fort at the mouth of pine river--st. clair co. seat), and then of gov. sinclair (so called). the indians, at the massacre of the garrison of old mackinack, did not burn the fort. it was re-occupied, and it was not till the breaking out of the revolutionary war that the removal from the main to the island took place. it must have been (if he is correct as to the period of seven years) in , and the occupancy of the island is, therefore, coincident with the earliest period of the movement for independence--fifty-nine years.[ ] [footnote : see _ante_.] previous to that era, mackinack was the spot where the men stopped to shave and dress preparatory to the traverse. about the time capt. thorn first began sailing to old mackinack, the indians plundered a boat at the island while the owner stopped to dress, in consequence of which the interpreter at the old post (hanson, i think) went over to demand redress, and killed the depredator, an indian. my inquiries on this topic of old men, red and white, which were commenced last spring, may here drop. it is now rendered certain that the occupancy of old mackinack--the beekwutinong of the indians--was kept up by british troops till ; between that date and the flag was transferred (the letters of the commanding officers to their generals would alone give this date). the principal traders, probably, went with it; the indian intercourse likewise. some residents lingered a few years, but the place was finally abandoned, and the town site is now covered with loose sand. the walls of the fort, which are of stone, remain, and the whole site constitutes an interesting ruin. the post was first founded by marquette as a missionary station about . _ th_. major whiting, of detroit, writes a letter of introduction in the following terms:-- "captain tchehachoff, of the russian imperial guards, is traveling through our country with a view to see its extent and null--its geographical and scenic varieties. as he proposes to visit michilimackinack, i wish him to become acquainted with you, who can give him so much information relative to those portions of it which he may not be able to visit. i have put into his hands some of your works, which may have anticipated something you will have to say. "he is, probably, the first russian who has been on our n.w. interior since the enterprising gentlemen who thought to speculate on the 'copper rock.' but capt. tchehachoff has no other views than those of an enlightened and disinterested observer. i am sure that it will give you pleasure to show him all kindly attentions." capt. tchehachoff visited the island during the month, and accepted an invitation to spend a few days with me. he repaid me for this attention with much agreeable conversation and many anecdotes of russia, germany (where he was educated), and poland. he possesses a character of extreme interest to me, as being a circassian, or descendant of that people, who are the local representatives of the circassian race. he was very fair in complexion, and possessed a fine, manly, tall, and well-proportioned figure, and a beautiful red and white countenance, with dark hair and eyes. he spoke english very well, but with a broad scottish, or rather provincial accent, on some words, which he had evidently got from his early teacher--whom he told me was a female--such as _ouwn_, for own, &c. he told me that, on mr. randolph's first presentation to the russian empress, he kneeled, although he had been notified that such a ceremony would not be expected of him. he told some very characteristic anecdotes of the wild pranks of the german students at the university. he was, i think, in some way related to descendants of count orloff, who was so remarkably strong and compact of muscle that he could push an iron spike, with his thumb, to its head in the sides or planking of a vessel. capt. tchehachoff was certainly strong himself; he had a powerful strength of hands and arms. he used great politeness, and was very punctilious on entering the dining-room, &c. he interested himself in the apparently tidal phenomena of strong currents setting through the harbor and straits, which were in fine view from the piazza of my house, and made some notes upon them. he asked me why i had not concentrated and published my travels, and various works respecting the geology of the western country, and the history and philology of the aboriginal tribes--subjects of such deep and general interest to the philosopher of europe. one morning early in october ( th), he bade us an affectionate adieu, and embarked in a schooner for chicago. _oct. th_. chicago is now the centre of an intense and everyday growing commercial excitement, and however the value of every foot of ground and _water_ of its site is over-estimated, and its prospects inflated, it is evidently the nucleus of a permanent city, destined to be one of the great lake capitals. the rev. jer. porter, our former pastor at st. mary's, who was the first of his church order, i believe, to carry the gospel there in , writes me, under this date, detailing his labors and prospects. these are flattering, and go to prove that the religious element, if means be used, is everywhere destined to attend the tread of the commercial and political elements of power into the great area of the valley of the mississippi. chicago is, in fact, the first and great city of the prairies, where the abundance of its products are destined to be embarked to find a northern market by the way of the lakes, without the risks of entering southern latitudes. this is an advantage which it will ever possess. nature has opened the way for a heavy tonnage by the lake seas. other modes of transportation may divert passengers and light goods, but the staples must ever go in ships, propelled by wind or steam, through the straits of mackinack. chapter lii. philology--structure of the indian languages--letter from mr. duponceau--question of the philosophy of the chippewa syntax--letter from a russian officer on his travels in the west--queries on the physical history of the north--leslie duncan, a maniac--arwin on the force of dissipation--missionary life on the sources of the mississippi--letter from mr. boutwell--theological review--the territory of michigan, tired of a long delay, determines to organize a state government. . _oct. th_. mr. peter s. duponceau, of philadelphia, addresses me on the structure of the indian languages, in terms which are very complimentary, coming, as they do, as a voluntary tribute from a person whom i never saw, and who has taken the lead in investigations on this abtruse topic in america. "i have read," he remarks, "with very great pleasure, your interesting narrative of the expedition to the sources of the mississippi, and particularly your lectures on the chippewa language, and the vocabulary which follows it. it is one of the most philosophical works on the indian languages i have ever read; it gives a true view of their structure, without exaggeration or censure, and must satisfy the mind of every rational man. it is a matter of sincere regret that you have proceeded in your lectures no farther than the noun, and your vocabulary no farther than the letter b. it is much to be hoped that the work will be completed. i should hope that our government could have no objection to printing it at its expense, as a national work,[ ] indispensably necessary for the instruction of our agents and interpreters, and even the military officers employed among the indians." [footnote : this was begun thirteen years afterwards, when a general investigation into the subject of the indians generally, was directed by congress, and placed in my hands. _vide_ information respecting the history, condition, and prospects of the indian tribes of the united states. part i. lippincott, grambo & co., .] "the chippewa, like the algonquin of old,[ ] is the common language of business among the indians, and is as necessary among them as the french is in the courts of europe. the object of this letter, sir, is to be informed whether the remainder of the work is to be published. if government will not do it, some of our learned societies might. at any rate, sir, if my services can be of use to you for this object, i shall be happy to do everything in my power to aid it." [footnote : the languages are, in fact, identical in structure; the word chippewa being a comparatively modern term, which was not used by the old french writers of the missionary era.] this testimony, from the first and most learned philologist in america, gratified and agreeably surprised me. i had studied the chippewa language alone in the forest, without the aid of learned men, or books to aid me. i addressed myself to it with ardor, it is true, and with the very best oral helps, precisely as i would to investigate any moral or physical truth. i found that nouns and verbs had a ground form, or root; that this root carried its general and primary meaning into all words or phrases of which it was a compound; and that every syllable or sound of a letter, put before or behind it, conveyed a new and distinct meaning. by keeping the purposes of a strict philological analysis before me, and by preserving a record of my work, the language soon revealed its principles. when i had attained a clear idea of these principles myself, and had verified them by reference to, and discussion with, the best native speakers, i could as clearly state them to another. this is what mr. duponceau means by the term "most philosophical." the philosophy of the syntax i did not in any respect overstate, but merely recognized or discovered. in one respect it seemed to me a far more simple language than this eminent writer had represented the indian languages generally. and this was in this very philosophy of its syntax. by synthesis i understand the opposite of analysis--the one resolving into its elements what the other compounds. if so, the synthesis of the chippewa language is clearly, to my mind, homogeneous and of a piece--a perfect unity, in fact it seems to be, all along, the result of one kind of reasoning, or thinking, or philosophizing. if, therefore, by the term "polysynthetic," which mr. duponceau, in , introduced for the class of indian languages, it be meant that its grammar consists of many syntheses, or plans of thought, it did not appear to me that the chippewa was polysynthetic. but this i could not state to a man of his learning and standing with the literary public, without incurring the imputation of rashness or assumption. _ th_. p. de tchehachoff, the russian gentleman before named, writes to me in the idiom of a foreigner, from peoria, on his progress through the western country. "i am anxious," he remarks, "to take advantage of the first opportunity of writing to you from this remote western world, where since seven days i did not meet with any other beings but wolves and money-getting yankees. i must acknowledge that one must have a large lot of curiosity to visit these one-fourth civilized regions (that are by far worse than any real wilderness), for, although they are getting settled at an incredible speed, they don't offer to the mere lover of the beauties of nature, or improvement of human civilization, any great charm. here nature is rich, but, _farmerly_ or _businessly_ speaking, killingly prosaic--no romance--no lake superior water--no scenery--nothing, finally, that could captivate a poetical glance. "i am now writing these poor lines under a regular storm of smoke-clouds, and chewing tobacco expectorations. i never experienced so much the benefit of being brought up as a warlike soldier, to stand all that. however, my courage is sinking down, and, therefore, i shoot ahead to-morrow at day-break, as fast as possible, either by water or by land. the coaches here are rather comfortable, but extremely slow. "as i intend to make but a very short stay in st. louis and ohio, i'll not be able to have the pleasure of writing to you again before reaching new york or havana; but, if you continue always to be, for me, as kind as formerly, i hope you'll grant me the particular favor of writing to me once in a while. this will be an impudent theft, on my part, of time so usefully consecrated to scientific pursuits. still i flatter myself you'll pardon it, consequently founded on that (perhaps gratuitous) supposition. i'll ask you to direct your letter to charleston, south carolina (until called for), towards the middle of the next month, and, if possible, answer me on the following queries: . what are the inducements to imagine that any volcanic action exists in the porcupine mountains, and mentioning, approximately, their distance from the ontonagon river; and their probable influence on the diffusion of the copper ores and copper boulders on its shores? . what are the most accurate or probable limits (by degrees) of the primitive region of north america; and whether it forms any chain, or has any probable communication with all its different branches, or the main ridges of the cordilleras or andes? . is there any remarkable evaporation, or any other hygrometric phenomenon, or influence of currents that sustains the level of lakes superior and michigan, so diametrically opposite in their geographical situation? . what constitutes, mainly, the predominating geognostic features of lake superior, the upper mississippi, and the missouri? i shall be extremely happy to see these problems solved." _ th_. this day terminated, at st. mary's, the melancholy fate of poor leslie duncan. insanity is dreadful in all its phases. this man wrote to me early in the spring for some favor, which i granted. he was a dealer in merchandise, in a small way, at st. mary's, where he was known as a reputable, modest, and temperate man, who had been honorably discharged, with some small means, from the army. he visited detroit in may to renew his stock. symptoms of aberration there showed themselves, which became very decided after his return. utter madness supervened. it was necessary to confine him in a separate building, and to chain him to a post, where he passed five months as an appalling spectacle of a human being, without memory, affection, or judgment, and perpetually goaded by the most raving passion. it appeared that the piles--a disease under which he had suffered for many years--had been cured by exsection or scarifying, which healed the issue, but threw the blood upon his brain. _ d_. a functionary of the general government at washington writes me, to bespeak my favorable interest for the wayward son of a friend. arwin, for i will call him by this name, was the son of a kind, intelligent, and indulgent father, dwelling in the district of columbia, who had spared nothing to fit him for a useful and honorable life. the young man also possessed a handsome person, and agreeable and engaging manners and accomplishments. but his love for the coarser amusements of the world and its dissipations, absorbed faculties that were suited for higher objects. as a last, resort, he was commended to some adventurous gentleman engaged in the fur trade on the higher missouri; where, it was hoped, the stern realities of life would arrest his mind, and fix it on nobler pursuits. but a winter or two in those latitudes appeared to have wrought little change. he came to mackinack, on his way back to civilized life, late in the fall of , exhausted in means, poor and shabby in his wardrobe, and evidently not a pilgrim from the "land of steady habits." i invited him to my house, in the hope of winning him over to the side of morals, gave him a bed and plate, and treated him with courteous and respectful attention. he was placed under restraint by these attentions, but it was found to be restraint only. he was secretly engaged in dissipations, which finally became so low, that i was compelled to leave him to pursue his course, and thus to witness another example of the application of that striking remark of dr. johnson, "that negligence and irregularity, if long continued, will render knowledge useless, wit ridiculous, and genius contemptible." _nov. th_. the rough scenes required by a missionary life on the sources of the mississippi, are depicted in a letter from the rev. w.s. boutwell, who has just planted himself among the pillagers at leech lake. this is the same gentleman who accompanied me to itasca lake in . "your favors," he says, "of april th and july th, are before me; and would that i could command time to compensate you for at least half! but look at a man whose head and hands are full of cares and duties. the only time i get to write is stolen, if i may so say, from the hours of repose. october the ninth i arrived here. there was not a sack of corn nor rice to be bought or sold. i had but two men, and with these a house must be built and a winter's stock of fish laid up. what must be done? i will briefly tell you what i did. four days after my arrival i sent my fisherman to pelican island, and pulled off my coat and shouldered my axe, and led the other into the bush to make a house. in about ten days, with the help of one man, i had the timber cut and on the spot for a log-cottage twenty-two by twenty-four. some part of this i not only cut, but assisted in carrying on my own back. but for every inch of over-exertion i got my pay at night, when i was sure to be 'double and twisted' with the rheumatism. i have located about two miles east of the old fort, where you counseled with the indians at this place. as you cross the point of land upon which the old fort is built, you fall on a beautiful bay, a mile and a half broad, on the east side of which i have located, in the midst of a delightful grove of maples. south-west, three-fourths of a mile, is the present trading house. "when i arrived i had not sufficient corn to feed my men three days. there was also at that time a great scarcity of fish. but the god of elijah did not forsake us. we soon were in the midst of plenty. on the th of the present instant my fisherman returned, having been absent not quite four weeks, and with but four nets, yet i had nearly tulibees (this is a small species of whitefish) on my scaffold. my house, in the meantime, was going forward, though rather tardily, with but one man. in two days more i hope to quit my bark lodge for my log and mud-walled cottage, though it has neither chair nor three-legged stool, table nor bedstead. but all this does not frighten me. no, it is good for a man sometimes to stand in need, that he may the better know how to feel for his fellow-man. "you mention the receipt of a letter from mr. greene, relative to the field at fond du lac. i am happy to hear so full an expression of your views in relation to that post. as the board were unable to supply a teacher, mr. hall, on visiting them in september, with myself and mr. ely--we were all of the same opinion, that it must be occupied--and finally, with the advice of mr. aitkin, concluded that it was best for mr. ely to pass the winter there. mr. cotè was also very desirous of a school being opened. sandy lake, of course, is without a teacher this winter. i was not a little disappointed, after the repeated assurances and encouragements of the board to expect aid, and after the provision i had made for a fellow-laborer, to be directed to return and pass another winter as i did the past. suffice it to say, i have learned more of indian habits, customs, prejudices, &c., than i knew two years, or even one year before. "to pass my time in the family of the trader, i could not avoid giving the impression that i was more interested in the trade than in their temporal and spiritual welfare. to live alone i could not, and live above their suspicion from the habits of single men who are engaged in the trade. to live in the family with my hired man, would be quite as bad. i, therefore, concluded that the time had now come when duty was too imperious not to receive a hearing. a sense of duty, duty to god, the cause of christianity, myself and this people, therefore, led me to change my condition. "i am giving you no news (i presume), only the reasons which satisfy myself, and that for an enlightened moral being is enough, at least it is all i need or wish to meet friend or foe. "the indians now are all at their wintering grounds, and on good terms with the sioux, as i, this evening, learn from mr. d., who has just returned from an excursion among them. they have appeared quite as friendly, and by far more civil, this fall than last." _dec. th_. mr. leonard woods, and dr. a.w. ives, of new york, press me to write for the pages of the _theological review_, a periodical of great spirit and judgment in its department. _ st_. the people of this territory have evinced, in various ways, great uneasiness in not being admitted, by a preparatory act of congress, to the right of forming a state constitution, and admission into the union, agreeably to the ordinance of . the population has, for some time, been more than sufficient to authorize one representative. in some respects, the term of territorial probation and privilege has been extraordinary, and bears a striking analogy to that of a plant, thrice plucked up by the roots, and watered, and nourished, and set out again. it has been _twenty-nine_ years a territory, having been first organized, i believe, in , for the first seven years it was under the government of gen. hull, by whom it was lost, and fell under foreign conquest. it then had about a year of military government under gen. brock, and, after being re-conquered in , lived on, awhile, under the rule of our own commanding generals. gen. cass was, i think, appointed by mr. monroe, late in , and governed it for the long period of eighteen years. geo. b. porter succeeded, and, since his death, there has been a confused interregnum of secretaries. "thrice plucked up" was it, by the total destruction of detroit (which was in fact the territory) by fire in , by the terrible indian and british war in , and by the indian war of the black hawk of . it has suffered in blood and toil more than any, or all the other north-western territories together. it has been the entering point for all hostilities from canada; and, to symbolize its position, it has been the anvil on which all the grand weapons of our indian scath have been hammered. its old french and american families have been threshed by the flail of war, like grain on a floor. and it is no wonder that the people are tired of waiting for sovereignty, and think of taking the remedy into their own hands. on the th of september, the legislative council passed an act for taking the census. the result shows a population of , , in the fourteen lower counties, and the first steps for a self-called convention are in progress. chapter liiii. indications of a moral revolution in the place--political movements at detroit--review of the state of society at michilimackinack, arising from its being the great central power of the north-west fur trade--a letter from dr. greene--prerequisites of the missionary function--discouragements--the state of the mackinack mission--problem of employing native teachers and evangelists--letter of mr. duponceau--ethnological gossip--translation of the bible into algonquin--don m. najera--premium offered by the french institute--persistent satanic influence among the indian tribes--boundary dispute with ohio--character of the state convention. . _jan. th._ the year opened with some bright moral gleams. the members of the church had, early in the autumn, felt the necessity of a close union. left by their esteemed pastor, who had been their "guide, philosopher, and friend" for twelve years, and by some of its leading members, they rested with more directness and simplicity of faith on god. they ordained a fast. evening and lecture meetings were observed to be full of eager listeners. a marked attention was paid on the sabbath when mr. j.d. stevens, who had come into the harbor late in the fall, bound westward, agreed to pass the winter and occupied mr. ferry's empty desk. the sabbath schools in the village and at the mission were observed to be well attended. indeed, it was not long in being noticed that we were in the midst of a quiet and deeply-spread revival. never, it would seem, was there a truer exemplification of the maxim that "the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong," for we had supposed ourselves to be shorn of all strength by the loss of our pastor, by the failure of help from the home missionary society, and by the withdrawal from the island of some of our most efficient members. this feeling of weakness and desertion was, in fact, the secret of our strength, which laid in the church's humility. ere we were aware of it, a spirit of profound seriousness stole over the community like a soft and gentle wind. _ th_. maj. whiting writes, from detroit: "there is nothing new in the political world, excepting that michigan has no governor yet, and that the council has authorized a convention to form a state government next april. some think the step premature; others that it is all a matter of course. the cold has been excessive on the atlantic seaboard--down to about ° below zero in new england, and even ° below at washington. here we have had it hardly down to ." _feb. d_. mr. robert stuart writes, from brooklyn, in relation to the revival in a portion of the inhabitants of this island, among whom he has so long lived, in terms of christian sympathy. mackinack is a point where, to amass "silver and gold," has been the great struggle of men from the earliest days of our history. few places on the continent have been so celebrated a locality, for so long a period, of wild and unlicensed enjoyment, for both _burgeois_ and _voyageur_ engaged in the perilous and adventuresome business of the fur trade. those who speak of its history during the last half of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century, depict the periods of the annual return of the traders from their wintering stations in the great panorama of the wilderness, east, west, north, and south, as a perfect carnival, in which eating and drinking and wild carousals prevailed. the earnings of a year were often spent in a week or a day. as to practical morality, it was regarded by the higher order of "merchant-voyageurs" as something spoken of in books, but not worth the while of a _bon vivant_. the common hands, who paddled canoes and underwent the drudgery of the trade (who were exclusively of the lower order of canadian peasantry), squared their moral accounts once a year with a well-conducted confessional interview and a crown, and felt as happy as the "christian pilgrim" when he had been relieved of his burden. it would, probably, be wrong to say that the lordly highlander, the impetuous son of erin, or the proud and independent englishman, who vied with each other in feats of sumptuous hospitality during these periods of relaxation, did much better on the score of moral responsibilities. they broke, generally, nine out of the ten commandments without a wince, but kept the other very scrupulously, and would flash up and call their companions to a duel who doubted them on that point. but of the practical things of religion, as they are depicted by paul and the apostles, they lived in utter disregard; these things were laid aside, like the heavier parts of dr. drowsy's sermon, for "some more fitting opportunity," that is to say, till a fortune was secured from the avails of "skins and peltries," and they returned triumphantly to the precincts of civilized and christian society. of the wild and picturesque indian, who was ever a man most scrupulous of rites and ceremonies, it was hardly deemed worth inquiry whether he had a soul, or whether the deity of the elements, whom he worshiped under the name of the great spirit, was not, in the language of the universalist poet, "jehovah, jove, or lord." a society which, like that of michilimackinack, was based on such a state of affairs but a few years back, could hardly be regarded without strong solicitude, for my correspondent had been a witness, in the first revival under mr. ferry, in , of which he was himself a subject, that there is a "power that breaketh the flinty heart in pieces, who also giveth freely and upbraideth not." most, of the subjects of hope at this time were, however, of a younger growth and a more recent type of migration. "may the spirit of lord jesus christ," is his pious remark, "be with, and direct you all in the great work of leading souls into the kingdom of his grace! it is a fearful responsibility, but if you look to him, and him alone, for guidance, he will bless and prosper your efforts." _ th_. rev. david greene, missionary rooms, boston, discusses in a letter of this date, some questions respecting the policy and high function of missionary labor--the present state of the mackinack mission; and the character and fitness of educated persons of the native stocks for evangelists, which are of high importance. he remarks:-- "all you write respecting the impropriety of being disheartened--the demand of the indians on our church, and candidates for missionary service--the necessity of withdrawing our dependence for success and the work of converting men, from any particular human instruments, and placing them on god alone; and the propriety of having missionaries released from secular cares and labors, as far as practicable, accords perfectly with my own views, and, so far as i know, with those entertained by our committee. "but the difficulty, after all, remains, of obtaining suitable persons to carry forward our plans--of making our young men feel that they ought to turn away from the millions, in the populous nations of asia, and go among our scattered tribes. here is our whole ground of discouragement. so far as conversions are concerned (and these are the great objects of a missionary's labor), none of our missions have been more successful than those among the indians; and if we had a hundred men of the spirit and activity of david brainerd, or eliot, i should have the strongest expectations that all our indian tribes would be converted without great delay. but we have no prospect of obtaining them. i fear there are few such in our churches. "i think that the mission of mackinack has been a very successful one, especially in exerting an extensive religious influence, and being, as you justly remark, 'the nucleus of christianity in the north-west.' how far the recent changes in the arrangements of the american fur company are going to affect its importance in these respects and others, i cannot say, but our committee are by no means disposed to relinquish it, while there is a hope of doing sufficient good there to justify the keeping up of the requisite establishment. the farm we do not wish to retain, if we can sell it at a reasonable price. all the secular affairs we would be glad to reduce, and intend to do it as soon as it can be done without too great sacrifice of property. the family, we know, is too large, and we hope it may be reduced; but there are some impediments in the way of doing it at once, especially as the females there have been worn out in the service, and possess a genuine missionary spirit. we desire to obtain a missionary, and have made many inquiries for one, but hear of none with whom the church and other residents, together with the visitors at mackinack, would be satisfied. "as to a school for evangelists and teachers. do you think, dear sir, that the persons of indian descent could now be found, possessed of piety, talents, good character, and a disposition to take this course of life, in sufficient numbers to justify giving the school such a turn? or, are there youths sufficiently promising, though not pious, with whose education you would think it advisable to proceed, hoping that, by the blessings of god, they would be converted and made heralds of mercy to their red brethren? i have supposed there were not, and that an attempt of this kind would almost certainly prove abortive. a more detailed knowledge of facts, which you are in a situation to possess, might change my opinion. there is nothing we more desire and labor for, at all our missions, than _good native helpers_. they are an invaluable acquisition, but our experience teaches us that they are exceedingly rare. not one educated heathen youth in ten, even if pious when he commences his studies, has been found fit for an office requiring judgment, good common sense, and energy of character. still we do not think that this ought to deter us from attempts to raise up native teachers and evangelists. most of the work of converting the heathen nations must unquestionably be performed by them. if the opening should seem fair, we would try it at mackinack." _ th._ in a letter from mr. duponceau, respecting the publication of my lectures on the grammatical structure of the chippewa language, he communicates the latest philological news in this and other parts of the world, respecting the indian languages. "you will not be a little astonished that a translation of the _bible_ is now making at rome into the algonquin (which i presume to be the same, or nearly the same as the chippewa) language, under the auspices of the present pope, gregory xvi. the translator is a french missionary, who has long resided among those indians in canada. he has written a grammar and dictionary of that idiom, which he writes me he is shortly going to put to press. it will be curious to compare that grammar and that dictionary with your own, and to see how far the two languages, the algonquin and the chippewa, agree with or differ from each other. when i was in canada i heard much of this mr. thavenet, the name of that missionary. he enjoys a great reputation in this country, and it seems he has obtained the favor of the pope. "we have in this city a mexican gentleman, don manuel najera, a man of letters, well skilled in the mexican and other indian languages of that country. he says they are all, as i call them, polysynthetic, and resemble in that respect those of the indians of the united states. one only he excepts, the othomi, and that, he says, is monosyllabic, like the chinese. he has translated into it, from the greek, the eleventh ode of anacreon, which i am going to present to the philosophical society. he has added grammatical notes, which are extremely curious. he has also written in latin, several interesting dissertations on other mexican idioms, also for the society, which i expect will be published in their transactions, either in the original or in a translation. he is greatly pleased with your specimen of a chippewa grammar. he understands english very well, also french, italian, and, of course, his native spanish. "the philosophy of our indian languages has become very fashionable among the learned in europe. the institute of france has offered a premium of a gold medal, of the value of francs, for the best essay on the grammatical construction of the family of north american languages, of which the chippewa, the delaware and mohegan are considered the principal branches, of course including the iroquois, wyandot, naudowessie, &c. the premium is to be awarded on the st of may next. i would have informed you of it at the time, if it had not been made a _sine qua non_ that the memoirs should be written in latin or french. i have, therefore, ventured on sending one, in which i have availed myself of your excellent grammar, giving credit for it, as in duty bound. i have literally translated what you say at the beginning of your first and of your second lecture, which will be found the best part of my work, as it is impossible to describe the character of those languages with more clearness and elegance." _ th_. a young gentleman (mr. w. fred. williams) spent a few days at my house, at michilimackinack, much to our gratification, and, it seems from a kind letter of this date, written from buffalo, also to his own. he sends me a box of geological specimens, and a chinese idol, and some sticks of frankincense--just received by him from a relative, who is a missionary in canton, as an offering of remembrance. the heart is gratified with friendly little interchanges of respect, and it is a false sense of human dignity that prevents their instant acknowledgment. we study, read, investigate, compare, experiment, judge as philosophers, but we live as men--as common men. facts move or startle the judgment; but such little things as the gift of even an apple, or a smiling friendly countenance, appeal to the heart. _ th_. my article for the _theological review_ was well received. "it was in time," says the editor, "for the march number, and you will receive it in a few days. i read it, and so did the committee, with the highest satisfaction. it contains much new information relating to the superstitions of the indians, and is well calculated to have the effect you designed, of awakening the interest of the christian community in behalf of our aborigines. i was particularly gratified with the coincidence of your judgment with the opinion i have entertained for some years, respecting the _reality of satanic influence at the present time_. we intend shortly to publish on this point." this is a point incidentally brought out, in the examination of the aged converted _jossakeed_, or prophet of the ottawa nation, called chusco. he insisted, and could not be made, to waver from the point, that satanic influences alone helped him to perform his tricks of jugglery, particularly the often noted one of shaking and agitating the tight-wound pyramidal, oracular lodge. no cross-questioning could make him give up this explanation. he avowed, that, aside of his incantations, he had no part in the matter, and never put his hands to the poles. it resulted, as the only conclusion to be drawn from this instance of his art, that the satanic influence, although invisible, was veritably present, adapting itself to the devices of the indian priesthood, for the purpose of deceiving the tribe. i reported this to his pastor who had admitted his evidences of faith, who replied, on reflection, that this was the gospel doctrine, which was everywhere disclosed by the new testament, which depicts the "prince of the power of the air" as really present and free to act in the deception of men and nations, the world over. if so, we should no longer wonder at human crime and folly. murders and robberies of the blackest dye become intelligible. and every plan of false prophecy, from the arabian, who has enslaved half asia, to the simple performer of forest juggling on the banks of lakes huron and michigan, is explained as with beams of light. _ st_. a mr. h. howe, of worcester, mass., writes, wishing to be informed of same stream of the upper mississippi, having sufficient water power, with pine timber, and means of ready issue into the mississippi, to furnish a suitable site for a saw-mill. the question is readily answered: there are many such, but it is entirely indian country, and cannot be entered for such a purpose without violating the indian intercourse act, which it is a part of my duty, as an indian agent, to enforce. it would be a trespass, subjecting him to a suit in the u.s. district court. i replied to him, stating these views. _april th_. the dispute with ohio, respecting our southern boundary, grows warmer, and is fomented, on her part, by speculators in public lands on the western shores of maumee bay. otherwise it could be easily settled. the mere historical and geographical question, as founded on the language of the ordinance of , would appear to leave the right with michigan. ohio legislation, or constitutional encroachment, could not surely overrule an act of congress. "the difficulty with ohio," says major w., of detroit, "is of a threatening character. it is not now, perhaps, any nearer adjustment that at any previous stage, although pacificators have been sent on by the president. but the 'million of freemen' state does not think it comports with her dignity to desist, or vacate michigan, is prepared for war, and is determined to proceed to blood if need be. gov. cass will be here, it is said on good authority, in may or june. political divisions here, unfortunately, run too high for a proper convention. party feeling has governed exclusively, in a case where they, perhaps, can have no operation. whoever goes into the convention will probably have nearly the same views, and it would have been well to have sent the best and most intelligent. but, on the whole, probably three-fourths of the members will find it as new business as if they were to undertake astronomy." _ th_. charles fotheringay, of toronto, u.c., issues and forwards a circular headed "lyceum of natural history and the fine arts." the object is to found, in that city, a cabinet which shall do justice to the claims of science and philosophical learning on this subject. chapter liv. requirements of a missionary laborer--otwin--american quadrupeds--geological question--taste of an indian chief for horticulture--swiss missionaries to the indians--secretary of war visits the island--frivolous literary, diurnal, and periodical press--letter of dr. ives on this topic--lost boxes of minerals and fresh-water shells--geological visit of mr. featherstonehaugh and lieut. mather--mr. hastings--a theological graduate. _april st_. missionary labor requires an energy and will that surmount aft obstacles and brave all climates and all risks. a feeble constitution, a liability to take colds on every slight change of temperature, a sick wife who fears to put her feet on the ground, are the very last things to bring on to the frontiers. the risks must be run; the determined mind makes a way for everything. to ponder and doubt on a thousand points which may occur on such a subject, is something in effect like asking a bond of the lord, in addition to his promises, that he will preserve the man and his family in all scenes of sickness and dangers, in the forest and out of the forest, scathless. such a man has no call clearly for the work; but he may yet labor efficiently at home. there is a species of moral heroism required for the true missionary, such as brainerd and henry martin felt. these feelings result from a letter of this date, written by a reverend gentleman of phillipsburg, n.y., whose mind has been directed to the mackinack field. he puts too many questions respecting the phenomena of temperature, the liability to colds, and the general diseases of the country, for one who has fearlessly "put on the whole armor of god," to invade the heathen wilderness. the truth is, in relation to this position, the climate is generally dry, and has no causes of disease in it. the air is a perfect restorative to invalids, and never fails to provoke appetite and health. it is already a partial resort for persons out of health, and cannot fail to be appreciated as a watering place in the summer months as the country increases in population. to chicago, st. louis, natchez, and new orleans, as well as detroit, cleveland, cincinnati, and buffalo, i should suppose it to be a perfect montpelier in the summer season. _may th_. in the scenes of domestic and social and moral significancy, which have rendered the island a place of delight to many persons during the seclusion of the winter, no one has entered with a more pleasing zeal into the area than a young man whose birth, i think, was not far from the rock of plymouth. i shall call him otwin. i invited him to pass the winter as a guest in my house, where his conversation, manners, and deep enthusiastic and poetic feeling, and just discrimination of the moral obligation in men, rendered him an agreeable inmate. he had a saying and a text for almost everybody, but uttered all he said in such a pleasing spirit as to give offence to none. he was ever in the midst of those who came together to sing and pray, and was quite a favorite with the soldiers of the garrison. he wrote during the season some poetic sketches of bible scenes, which he sent by a friend to new york in the hope that they might merit publication. dr. ives, of n.y., to whom i wrote in relation to them, put the manuscript into the hands of the sabbath school publishing committee, which appeared to be a judicious disposition. it was, probably, thought to require something more than moral didactic dialogues to justify the experiment of printing them. otwin himself went into the missionary field of lake superior. _ th_. the indians have brought me at various times the skins of a white deer, of an arctic fox, of a wolverine, and some other species which have either past out of their usual latitudes or assumed some new trait. elks' and deers' horns, the foot, horns, and skin of the cariboo, which is the _c. sylvestris_, are deposited in my cabinet, and are mementos of their gifts from the forest. one of the questions hardest for the christian geologist to solve is--how the animals of our forests got to america. for there is every evidence, both from the sacred record and from the examination of the strata, that the ancient disruption was universal, and destroyed the species and genera which could not exist in water. one of two conditions of the globe seems necessary, on the basis of the pentateuch, to account for their migration--either that a continental connection existed, or that the seas in northern latitudes were frozen over. but, in the latter case, how did the tropical animals _subsist_ and _exist?_ the polar bear, the arctic fox, and the musk ox would do well enough; but how was the armadillo, the cougar, the lama, and even the bison to fare? this question is far more difficult to solve than that of the migration of the aborigines, for they could cross in various ways; but quadrupeds could not come in boats. birds could fly from island to island, snakes and dogs might swim, but how came the sloth and the other quadrupeds of the torrid zone? who can assert that there has not been a powerful disruptive geological action in the now peaceable pacific? it is replete with volcanic powers. _ th_. chabowawa, an indian chief, a chippewa, called to get some slips of the currant-bush from my garden, to take to his village. although the buds were too near the point of expansion, in the open and sunny parts of the garden, some slips were found near the fences more backward, and he was thus supplied. _ th_. i have long deliberated what i should do with my materials, denoting a kind of oral literature among the chippewas and other tribes, in the shape of legends and wild tales of the imagination. the narrations themselves are often so incongruous, grotesque, and fragmentary, as to require some hand better than mine, to put them in shape. and yet, i feel that nearly all their value, as indices of indian imagination, must depend on preserving their original form. some little time since, i wrote to washington irving on the subject. in a response of this date, he observes:-- "the little i have seen of our indian tribes has awakened an earnest anxiety to know more concerning them, and, if possible, to embody some of their fast-fading characteristics and traditions in our popular literature. my own personal opportunities of observing them must, necessarily, be few and casual; but i would gladly avail myself of any information derived from others who have been enabled to mingle among them, and capacitated to perceive and appreciate their habits, customs, and moral qualities. i know of no one to whom i would look with more confidence, in these respects, than to yourself; and, i assure you, i should receive as high and unexpected favors any communication of the kind you suggest, that would aid me in furnishing biographies, tales or sketches, illustrative of indian life, indian character, and indian mythology and superstitions." i had never regarded these manuscripts, gleaned from the lodges with no little pains-taking, as mere materials to be worked up by the literary loom, although the work should be done by one of the most popular and fascinating american pens. i feared that the roughness, which gave them their characteristic originality and doric truthfulness, would be smoothed and polished off to assume the shape of a sort of indo-american series of tales; a cross between the anglo-saxon and the algonquin. _ th_. switzerland enters the missionary field of america for the purpose of improving the condition of the aborigines. this impressed me as well. we leave the red man sitting in every want, at our doors, and rush to india. it is true, that field counts its millions, where we can thousands. but an appeal to the missionary record shows, if i am not greatly mistaken, that the proportionate number of converts from an indian tribe is greater than that of the tribes of asia, and that an infinitely greater sum is expended by our churches for every convert to christianity made among the heathen of asia than of america. the rev. henry olivier, from the evangelical society in switzerland, visited me, this day, with a companion in his labors. he detailed to me his plans. it is his design to select the dacotah tribe, on the upper mississippi, as the object of his exertions. _june d_. commenced setting new pickets in front of the agency lot, and removing the old ones of white cedar, which, tradition says, have stood near half a century. _ th_. the editors of the knickerbocker magazine (clark and edson) solicit contributions to its pages. this periodical has always maintained a respectable rank, and appears destined to hold on its course. i am too far out of the world to judge well. the conflict of periodicals appears to increase; but i do not think that the number of sound readers, who seek useful knowledge, keeps pace with it. i think not. we seem to be on the eve of a light and trifling kind of literature, which is hashed up with condiments for weak stomachs. _july d_. the weather, for the entire month of june, was most delightful and charming. on one of the latter days of the month the fine and large steamer "michigan" came into the harbor, with a brilliant throng of visitors, among the number the secretary of war (gen. cass) and his daughter. the arrival put joy and animation into every countenance. the secretary reviewed the troops, and visited the agency, and the workshops for the benefit of the indians. he, and the gay and brilliant throng, visited whatever was curious and interesting, and embarked on their return to detroit, after receiving the warm congratulations of the citizens. i took the occasion to accompany the party to detroit. _ th_. the debasing character of the light and popular literature which is coming into vogue, is happily alluded to in a casual letter from dr. a.w. ives, of new york. "i regret," he says, "that the well directed labors of the excellent otwin cannot be made available, but the truth is, there is such an unspeakable mass of matter written for the press at the present day, that all of it cannot be printed, much less be read. i think it one of the great toils of the age. indolence is a natural attribute of man, and he dislikes intellectual even more than physical toil. most men read, therefore, only such things as require no thought, and consequently there is a bounty offered for the most frivolous literary productions.... "your isolated position prevents your realizing, to its greatest extent, the evil of this superfluity of books; but if you were constantly receiving from thirty to forty daily, weekly, and monthly periodicals, besides one or more ponderous volumes, every week, i cannot but think that, with all your ambition and thirst for knowledge, you would wish rather for an alexandrian conflagration than an increase of books. "every man who thinks he has a new thought, or striking thought, thinks himself justified in writing a volume. of this i would not complain if he would have the ingenuousness to inform the reader, in a _nota bene_, on what page the new idea could be found, so that, if he paid for the book, he should be spared the trouble of hunting for the kernel in the bushel of compiled and often incongruous chaff, in which the author has dexterously hid it. "but the labor and expense of new publications are the least of their evils. you cannot imagine what an influence is exerted, in this city, at the present time, by 'penny newspapers.' there are from fifteen to twenty, i believe, published daily, and not less on an average, i presume, than copies of each. a number of them strike off from , to , every day. they have no regular subscribers, or at least, they do not depend upon subscribers for a support. they are hawked about the streets, the steamboats and taverns by boys, and are, for the most part, extravagant stories, caricature descriptions, police reports, infidel vulgarity and profanity, and, in short, of just such matter as unprincipled, selfish, and bad men know to be best fitted to pamper the appetites and passions of the populace, and so uproot and destroy all that is valuable and sacred in our literary, civil, and religious institutions. "a spirit of ultraism seems to pervade the whole community. the language of milton's archdevil 'evil, be thou my good,' is the creed of modern reformers, or, in other words--_anything for a change_. what is to come of all this, i have not wisdom even to guess. it is an age of _transition_, and whether you and i live to see the elements of the moral and political world at rest, is, i think, extremely doubtful. but our consolation should be that the lord reigns--that he loves good order and truth better than we do--and, blessed be his name, he is able to establish and maintain them. "this is the anniversary of our national independence, and ought to be celebrated with thanksgiving and praise to god. alas! how it is perverted." _ d_. mr. green, of the missionary rooms, boston, again writes about the mackinack mission. "i believe that my views accord very nearly with your own, as to what it would be desirable to do, provided the suitable persons could be procured to perform the work. there is a great deficiency in well qualified laborers. we can generally obtain persons who will answer our purpose, if we will wait long enough, but it often happens, in the mean time, that the circumstances so change that the proposed plan becomes of doubtful expediency. we have been continually on the lookout, since mr. ferry left mackinack, for some one to fill his place, but as yet have found no one, and have no one in view." _ th_. mr. w. fred. williams, of buffalo, communicates information respecting three boxes of specimens of natural history, which i lost in the fall of . "my conversation with you having made me acquainted with the fact that you once lost two boxes of minerals and one of shells, i have been rather on the lookout for information respecting them, and am now able to inform you as to what became of them, and to correct the statement which i made (as i said) on supposition of the manner in which edgerton became possessed of them. "in the spring of , a stranger from troy or albany came to mr. edgerton, at utica, and told him that he had two boxes of minerals which he had received from mr. schoolcraft, and that if he (e.) would label them, he (e.) might take what he wished to retain for his trouble. he said, also, that he was about to establish a school at lockport, but, knowing nothing of mineralogy, he wished to get the specimens labeled. mr. edgerton unpacked the boxes, took a few for himself, labeled and repacked the rest, and returned them to the stranger. "the box of shells was left at the tavern of levi cozzens, in utica, where they remained two years, waiting for some one to claim them; about this time mr. c., closing up his concern, opened the box and gave the shells to his children for playthings, and sent the _mocock_ of sugar (which had your name on or about it) to his mother. if the person who had the minerals still remains at lockport, perhaps they may be recovered, but the shells are all destroyed." the minerals referred to consisted of choice and large specimens of the colored and crystaline fluates of lime from illinois, and the attractive species and varieties of sulphates of barytes, sulphurets of lead, radiated quartz, &c. &c., from missouri, which i had revisited in . they were fine cabinet specimens, but contained no new species or varieties. not so with the fresh-water shells. they embraced all the species of the wabash river, whose entire length i had traversed that year, from its primary forks to its entrance into the ohio. among them were some new things, which would, at that time, have proved a treat to my conchological friends. _ th_. mukonsewyan, or the little bear skin, visited the office, with a retinue. he asked whether any indians from the fond du lac, or upper mississippi, had visited the office this season. i stated to him the renewal of hostilities between the sioux and chippewas, as a probable reason why they had not. he entered freely into conversation on the history of the sioux, and spoke of their perfidy to the chippewas. i asked him if they were as treacherous to the americans as they had been to the british--several of whose traders they had in former days killed. he said he had seen the sioux offenders of that day, encamped at mackinack, while the british held it, under the guns of the fort, and all the indians expected that they would have been seized. but they were suffered to retire unmolested. _ th_. i went to round island with mr. featherstonehaugh and lieut. mather. examined the ancient ossuaries and the scenery on that island. mr. f. is on his way to the upper mississippi as a geologist in the service of the topographical bureau. he took a good deal of interest in examining my cabinet, and proposed i should exchange the lake superior minerals for the gold ores of virginia, &c. he showed me his idea of the geological column, and drew it out. i accompanied him around the island, to view its reticulated and agaric filled limestone cliffs; but derived no certain information from him of the position in the geological scale of this very striking stratum. it is, manifestly, the magnesian limestone of conybeare and phillips, or _muschelkalk_ of the germans. lieut. mather brought me a letter from major whiting, from which i learn that he has been professor of mineralogy in the military academy at west point. i found him to be animated with a zeal for scientific discovery, united with accurate and discriminating powers of observation. among my visitors about this time, none impressed me more pleasingly than a young gentleman from cincinnati--a graduate of lane seminary--a mr. hastings, who brought me a letter from a friend at detroit. he appeared to be imbued with the true spirit of piety, to be learned in his vocation without ostentation, and discriminating without ultraism. and he left me, after a brief stay, with an impression that he was destined to enter the field of moral instruction usefully to his fellow-men, believing that it is far better to undertake to persuade than to drive men by assault, as with cannon, from their strongholds of opinion. chapter lv. rage for investment in western lands--habits of the common deer--question of the punishment of indian murders committed in the indian country--a chief calls to have his authority recognized on the death of a predecessor--dr. julius, of prussia--gen. robert patterson--pressure of emigration--otwin--dr. gilman and mr. hoffman--picturesque trip to lake superior--indians desire to cede territory--g.w. featherstonehaugh--sketch of his geological reconnoisance of the st. peter's river--dr. thomas h. webb--question of inscriptions on american rocks--antiquities--embark for washington, and come down the lakes in the great tempest of . . _august_. the rage for investment in lands was now manifest in every visitor that came from the east to the west. everybody, more or less, yielded to it. i saw that friends, in whose prudence and judgment i had confided for years, were engaged in it. i doubted the soundness of the ultra predictions which were based on every sort of investment of this kind, whether of town property or farming land, and held quite conservative opinions on the subject, but yielded partially, and in a moderate way, to the general impulse, by making some investments in wisconsin. among other plans, an opinion arose that michilimackinack must become a favorite watering place, or refuge for the opulent and invalids during the summer; and lots were eagerly bought up from detroit and chicago. _ th_. i embarked in a steamer for green bay--where i attended the first land sales, and made several purchases. while there, i remarked the curious fluctuations in the level of the waters at the mouth of fox river. the lake (michigan) and the bay appear to hold the relation of separate parts of a syphon. it was now fourteen years since i had first noticed this phenomenon, as a member of the expedition to the sources of the mississippi. while at green bay i procured a young fawn, and carried it to be a tenant of my garden and grounds. this animal grew to its full size, and revealed many interesting traits. its motions were most graceful. it was perfectly tame. it would walk into the hall and dining-room, when the door was open, and was once observed to step up, gracefully, and take bread from the table. it perambulated the garden walks. it would, when the back-gate was shut, jump over a six feet picket fence, with the ease and lightness of a bird. some of its instincts were remarkable. at night it would choose its place of lying down invariably to the leeward of an object which sheltered it from the prevailing wind. one of its most remarkable instincts was developed with respect to ladies. on one occasion, while an unattended lady was walking up the avenue from my front gate to the door, through the garden grounds, the animal approached from behind, in the gentlest manner possible, and placed his fore feet on her shoulders. this happened more than once. its propensity to eat plum leaves at last banished it from the garden. it was then allowed to visit distant parts of the island, and, at length, some vicious person broke one of its legs, from its propensity to browse on the young leaves of fruit trees. this was fatal to it, and i was induced to allow its being shot, after it had been an inmate of my grounds for about three years, where it was familiarly known to all by the name of nimmi. poor nimmi, some are hanged for being thieves, but thou, poor beast! wast killed for eating leaves. _ th_. i received instructions from washington respecting recent murders of chippewas by the sioux. this is a constantly recurring topic for the action of an indian agent. unfortunately, his powers in the matter are only advisory. the intercourse act does not declare it a crime for one indian nation to make reprisals, club in hand, on another indian nation, on the area in which their sovereignty is acknowledged. it only makes it a criminal offence to kill a white man in such a position, for which his nation can be invaded, and the murderer seized and delivered up to justice. _ th_. ottawance, chief of the beaver islands, died last summer ( ). kin-wa-be-kiz-ze, or man of the long stone (noun inanimate), called to day, and announced himself as the successor, and asked for the usual present of tobacco, &c. by this recognition of the office, his authority was sought to be confirmed. _ th_. dr. julius, of prussia, visited me, being on his return from chicago. he evinced a deep interest in the history of the indian race. he remarked the strong resemblance they bore in features and manners to the asiatics. he had remarked that the potawattomies seem like dogs, which he observed was also the custom of the tartars; but that the eyes of the latter were set diagonally, whereas the american indians had theirs parallel. in other respects, he saw great resemblances. he expressed himself as greatly interested in the discovery of an oral literature among the indians, in the form of imaginative legends. gen. robert patterson, of philadelphia, with his daughter and niece, make a brief visit, on their way from chicago and the west, and view the curiosities of the island. these visits of gentlemen of wealth, to the great area of the upper lakes, may be noticed as commencing with this year. people seem to have suddenly waked up in the east, and are just becoming aware that there _is a west_--to which they hie, in a measure, as one who hunts for a pleasant land fancied in dreams. but the great mississippi valley is a waking reality. fifty years will tell her story on the population and resources of the world. _sept. th_. received instructions from the department, to ascertain whether the indians north of grand river would sell their lands, and on what terms. the letter to which this was a reply was the first official step in the causes which led to the treaty of march th, . a leading step in the policy of the department respecting the tribes of the upper lakes. _ th_. the great lakes can no longer be regarded as solitary seas, where the indian war-whoop has alone for so many uncounted centuries startled its echoes. the eastern world seems to be alive, and roused up to the value of the west. every vessel, every steamboat, brings up persons of all classes, whose countenances the desire of acquisition, or some other motive, has rendered sharp, or imparted a fresh glow of hope to their eyes. more persons, of some note or distinction, natives or foreigners, have visited me, and brought me letters of introduction this season, than during years before. sitting on my piazza, in front of which the great stream of ships and commerce passes, it is a spectacle at once novel, and calculated to inspire high anticipations of the future glory of the mississippi valley. _oct. th_. washington irving responds, in the kindest terms, to my letter transmitting some manuscript materials relative to the indian history. _ th_. mr. green, of boston, wrote me on the th instant unfavorably to the stability of the christian character of my friend otwin, whom i had recommended to the board for employment in the missionary field in lake superior, in connection with the missionary family at la pointe. mr. s. hall, the head of that mission, writes (oct. th): "i am glad that the providence of god directed (him) this way, and trust his coming into this region will be for the interest of zion's kingdom here. he appears to be a man of faith and prayer. i trust he will be the means of stirring up to more diligence in the service of our master." what greater aid could be given to a lone far off indian mission, than "a man of faith and prayer." when an observer in the vast panorama of the west and north has seen a poor missionary and his family, living five-hundred miles from the nearest verge of civilization, solitary and desolate, surrounded with heathen red men, and worse than heathen white men, with none out of his little circle to honor god or appreciate his word, it is presumable to him that any reinforcement of help must be hailed as cold water to a parched tongue. not that there is any supposed difference of opinion on the main question, between the head and the forest hands, so to say, of the board, but it is difficult, at boston, to appreciate the disheartening circumstances surrounding the missionary in the field. and any youthful instability, or eccentricity of means in the way of advancing the gospel, should be forgiven, for the cause, after years of experience, and not written against "a man of faith and prayer," as it appears to have been by the pastor of middleburgh, as with a pen of iron. _ th_. pendonwa, son of wahazo, a brother of the ottawa chief, wing, reports himself as electing to become "an american," and says he had so declared himself to col. boyd, the former indian agent. _ th_. dr. c.r. gilman, of new york, having, with major m. hoffman, of wall street, paid me a visit and made a picturesque "trip to the pictured rocks of lake superior," writes me after his safe return to the city, piquing himself on that adventure, after having exchanged congratulations with his less enterprising cityloving friends. it was certainly an event to be booked, that two civilians so soldered down to the habits of city life in different lines as the doctor and the major, should have extended their summer excursion as far as michilimackinack. but it was a farther evidence of enterprise, and the love of the picturesque, that they should have taken an indian canoe, and a crew of engagees, at that point, and ventured to visit the pictured rocks in lake superior. "life on the lakes" (the title of dr. g.'s book) was certainly a widely different affair to "life in new york." _ st_. circumstances had now inclined the chippewa and ottawa tribes of indians to cede to the united states a portion of their extensive territory. game had failed in the greater part of it, and they had no other method of raising funds to pay their large outstanding credits to the class of traders, and to provide for an interval of transition, which must indeed happen, in view of their future improvement, between the hunter and agricultural state. the drummond island band had, for a year or two, advocated a sale. the ottawas of the peninsula determined to send a delegation to washington on the subject. i could not hesitate as to the course which duty proscribed to me, under these important circumstances, and determined to proceed to washington, although the secretary and acting governor of the territory, mr. horner, on being consulted by letter, refused his assent to this step. his want of proper information on the subject, being but recently come to the territory, did not appear to be such as to justify me in remaining on the island, while the question had been carried by the indians themselves to, and was, probably, to be decided at washington before another season. i determined, therefore, to proceed to washington, taking one of the latest vessels for the season, on their return from the ports on lake michigan. _nov. d_. mr. featherstonehaugh writes to me from galena, on his return from his geological reconnoisance in the north-west, sketching some of the leading events of his progress:-- "desirous of giving you a passing notice of my progress, i make time, a few moments' leisure, to say that, when i had entered the terre bleu river, which you remember is that tributary of the st. peter's i was anxious to visit, i found i could not penetrate to the coteau de prairie from that quarter, and no resource was left to me but to return, or go about three hundred miles higher up, where i was aware i should meet a pretty insolent set of fellows amongst the yanktons and tetons. the sioux, who had committed pretty bad indian murders amongst the chippewas, were in great numbers about lac qui parle, and there was no avoiding them. however, it was in the line of the duty i had undertaken, and i was willing to run some risks to see them. they were a precious set when i got to them, but by prudence and presents i got along with them, and, having began to sputter a little sioux, i took courage, left my canoe and men there, and took a guide and interpreter and pushed on to lac traverse, and from thence to coteau de prairie, the head waters of the st. peter's, and to within four days' march of the mandan village, here i wheeled about back, afraid of winter. indeed, on my arrival at lac traverse, the weather was bitterly cold, and wood and water were sometimes found with great difficulty, in the intermediate prairies. the day i left fort snelling, the thermometer was very low, the snow six or eight inches deep on the ground; in fact it was quite winter, and all were of opinion, at the fort, that ice would form and drive in a few days. "i found mr. keating's account of the mississippi, and especially of the st. peter's, most surprisingly erroneous, and old jonathan carver's book, which he is constantly denouncing, _very accurate_. "i ascertained, to my perfect satisfaction, the termination of the horizontal beds of sandstone of carboniferous limestone formation, and came upon the outcrop of the adjacent granite, just where i expected to find the primary rocks." "you will greatly oblige me by communicating to me your opinion, approximatively, of the course held by the primary rocks south of lake superior, as far as you are acquainted with it, or with the edges of the secondary rocks, which have a junction line with, or near them. i found no primary rocks on my way from green bay to prairie du chien. the rocks in place at fort winnebago, are secondary sandstone of the carboniferous series." _ d_. the question of "inscriptions" on rocks by the aborigines has recently attracted some attention. dr. thomas h. webb, of providence, rhode island, in a letter of this date, notifying me of my election as an honorary member of the rhode island historical society, calls my attention to this subject. "in your last work," he remarks, "you allude to some hieroglyphics on a tree. have you particularly examined any on rocks; and if so, were they mere paintings, or were they inscribed thereon? if the latter, in what manner do they appear to have been done--pecked in with a pointed instrument, or chizzled out? are they simply representations of men and animals, without method in their arrangement, or combinations of these, with other characters bearing evidence of greater design? will you be kind enough to furnish me with the locations of those with which you are acquainted? is it possible for me to procure drawings of them? do you know any one living near such rocks, whom i could hire to take copies of them, and upon the accuracy of whose work reliance can be placed? "i do not wish finished views--correct drawings of the _characters_ with a pen will be amply sufficient for my purposes; although i should not object to outlines of the rocks themselves. i would also ask if some of the 'relics of things that have passed away,' which are found so abundantly in the west, _e.g._, articles of pottery, iron and copper implements, &c., can be procured by purchase, or in the way of exchange for minerals, or in some other way?" imprimis--no "iron" implements have ever been found. secondly, no observations not made by an antiquarian can be relied on. _ th_. i embarked for detroit, on board a schooner under command of an experienced navigator (capt. ward), just on the eve, unknown to us, of a great tempest, which rendered that season memorable in the history of wrecks on the great lakes. we had scarcely well cleared the light-house, when the wind increased to a gale. we soon went on furiously. sails were reefed, and every preparation made to keep on our way, but the wind did not admit of it. the captain made every effort to hug the shore, and finally came to anchor in great peril, under the highlands of sauble. here we pitched terribly, and were momently in peril of being cast on shore. in the effort to work the ship, one of the men fell from the bowsprit, and passed under the vessel, and was lost. it was thought that our poor little craft must go to the bottom; it seemed like a chip on the ocean contending against the powers of the almighty. it seemed as if, agreeably to indian fable, ishkwondameka himself was raising a tempest mountain high for some sinister purposes of his own. but, owing to the skill of the old lake mariner, we eventually triumphed. he never faltered in the darkest exigency. for a day and night he struggled against the elements, and finally entered the straits at fort gratiot, and he brought us safely into the port of our destination. on reaching detroit, the lateness of the season admonished me to lose no time in making my way over the stormy erie to buffalo, whence i pursued my journey to new york. i reached the latter city the day prior to the great fire, in december. i took lodgings at the atlantic hotel, which is near the foot of broadway, and immediately west of the great scene of conflagration. the cold was so bitter while the fire raged that i could not long endure the open air, which seemed to be surcharged with oxygen. i reached philadelphia the th, and washington a day or two after. chapter lvi. florida war--startling news of the massacre of dade--peoria on the illinois--abanaki language--oregon--things shaping for a territorial claim--responsibility of claim in an enemy's country--a true soldier--southern literary messenger--missionary cause--resources of missouri--indian portfolio of lewis--literary gossip--sir francis head--the crane and addik totem--treaty of march th, , with the ottawas and chippewas--treaty with the saginaws of may th--treaty with the swan creek and black river chippewas of may th--return to michilimackinack--death of charlotte, the daughter of songageezhig. . the year opened with the portentous news of indian hostilities. the massacre of major dade and his entire command on the waters of the wythlacootche river in florida, and the prospect of an indian war in florida, excited great sensation in all circles. i was at the secretary of war's domicil one evening, when he first received and read out the shocking details. the same night troops were ordered to be put in motion from every point in the union, to be concentrated in that territory; and the greatest activity pervaded the departments. gen. jackson expressed himself with energy on the subject. he had formerly conducted a successful campaign against the seminoles, but he could not be persuaded that there were more than five hundred of this tribe in the whole territory. this led him to believe that the troops actually put in motion for the field of action, were fully adequate to cope with the enemy, and promptly to put them down. _jan. th_. the american lyceum request me to prepare a paper for their sixth anniversary. _ th_. i received a letter from my former pastor, rev. j. porter, at peoria, ill., denoting him to be in a new field of ministerial labor. "i bade adieu to my dear people at chicago, on the second sabbath in november, and commenced my labors here on the fourth sabbath of the same month--just four years from the day i first preached at the sault. "the town is on the north bank of lake peoria, which is an expansion of the illinois. the site is one of the first in our land. the ground rises with a delightful slope from the water's edge for the distance of half a mile--then there is table land for another half mile back to a high bluff. the town began to be built about two years since; it has now a population of eight hundred and fifty." a descendant of the great theologian edwards, it is pleasing to note that this gentleman is destined to be employed in various fields, in diffusing christianity through the great valley. _ th_. mr. thomas l. winthrop, of boston, transmits me "the first volume of a new series of the transactions of the american academy of arts and sciences. this volume, amongst other valuable matter, contains a dictionary of the abinaki language of north america, by father sebastian rasles." _ th_. i addressed a memoir to the secretary of war on the state of indian affairs in oregon. my position at st. mary's being on the great line of communication between montreal and the principal posts at vancouver, &c., north of the columbia, has afforded me opportunities of becoming familiar with the leading policy of the hudson's bay factors in relation to that region. the means pursued are such as must influence all the indian tribes in that quarter strongly in favor of the political power wielded by that company, and as strongly against the government of the united states, which has not a shadow of a power of any kind on the pacific. silently, but surely, a vast influence is being built up on those coasts, adverse to our claims to the territory, and it cannot be long till those intrepid factors, sustained by the government at home, will assert it in a manner not easy to be resisted. i embodied these ideas strongly in my paper. the secretary was arrested by the justice of my conclusions, and seemed disposed to do something, but the subject was, apparently, weighed down and forgotten in the press of other matters. _ th_. hon. e. whittlesey, chairman of the committee on claims, house of representatives, remarks in effect, in a letter of this date, that to create a just claim against the united states, it must be shown that property and provisions taken by the troops, when operating in an enemy's country, were applied to the subsistence or clothing of the army or navy, although it was private property, and the orders of the commandant were, in all cases, to respect "private property." consequently, that the disrespect of such orders might make the commander or his troops _personally_ liable to amercement; but the government is not justly liable. certainly, that officer is to be pitied whose sovereign will not stand by him in the execution of written orders! nor do i see how the strict legality and morality of the question is to be got along with. may the government turn pirate with impunity? does it war against women and children, and the ordinary private and domestic rights guaranteed to the citizen by the original rights of society defined in blackstone? _ th_. a soldier, in garrison at fort mackinack, writes to me, wishing, on the expiration of his term of enlistment, to become "a soldier of christ," and to enter the missionary field. that is a good thought, sergeant humphrey snow! better to fight against human sins than to shoot down sinners. _ th_. dr. c.r. gilman inquires, "is the rock at gros cap granite? can you give me particulars about the indian fairies?" _ th_. i am requested, from a high quarter, to furnish an article for the _southern literary messenger_. "you are in for a scrape," says a gay note on the subject. "i have told mr. white all about it. i am greatly obliged to you for relieving me." truth is, i have never regarded the employment of literary time as thrown away. the discipline of the mind, induced by composition, is something, and it is surprising what may be done by a person who carefully "redeems" all his time. it does not, in the least, incapacitate him for business. it rather quickens his intellect for it. _feb. st_. my former agreeable guest at mackinack (rev. geo. h. hastings) writes me from walnut hills, ohio: "there is a missionary spirit in our institution (lane seminary) that responds to the wants of the world. the faculty have pressed upon the minds of us all the duty of examining early the question, 'ought i to be a missionary?'" _ th_. my brother james writes from st. mary's, foot of lake superior: "the month has been remarkably cold, the thermometer having ranged from °. to ° below zero. snow we have had in great abundance." _ th_. hon. lewis f. linn, u.s. senator, writes respecting the scientific character and resources of missouri, in view of a project, matured by him, for establishing a western armory: "your intimate knowledge of the ozark mountains, its streams descending north and south, and those passing through to the east, with its unequaled mineral resources, would be, to me, of infinite service, to accomplish the purpose i have in view, should you be so kind as to communicate them, in reference to this particular measure, and by so doing you would confer a lasting obligation." the resources of missouri in iron, lead, and coal, to which i first called attention in , are of such a noble character as surely to require no bolstering from the effects of particular measures. _march th_. mr. j.o. lewis, of philadelphia, furnishes me seven numbers of his _indian portfolio_. few artists have had his means of observation of the aboriginal man, in the great panorama of the west, where he has carried his easel. the results are given, in this work, with biographical notices of the common events in the lives of the chiefs. altogether, it is to be regarded as a valuable contribution to this species of knowledge. he has painted the indian lineaments on the spot, and is entitled to patronage--not as supplying all that is desirable, or practicable, perhaps, but as a first and original effort. we should cherish all such efforts. _ th_. a shrewd and discriminating judge of literary things in new york, writes: "have you seen the last number of hoffman's magazine? there is a pretty thing of his in it about indian corn, and an indian story by the author of 'tales in the north-west,' which i do not, think good. the number generally is indifferent. some one recently told me, that the true orthography of illinois is illinwa, like ottawa, &c. do you think that the fact?[ ] by the way, why have you, and all other indian travelers, used the french word 'lodge,' instead of the indian wigwam? don't you think the latter the better term? i do, and if my book was to print again, i would always use wigwam instead of _lodge_. we have so few relics of the poor indians, that i am unwilling to part with any one, even so trifling as adopting the red man's name for the red man's house." [footnote : no.] we have no news here. paulding's book on slavery has been little noticed. dr. hawk's 'history of episcopacy in virginia' is good--very good, so they say, for i have not read it. some jerseyman has written a bad novel called "herbert--" something or other--i forget what. what do they say at washington, and what do you say about gen. macomb's 'pontiac?'[ ] is the indian prince, who was traveling in these parts a while ago, one of the getters up of this affair? i suspect him. does the prince go to 'profane stageplays and such like vanities,' as the dear old puritans would say? [footnote : fudge!] "i hear nothing of mr. gallatin and his indian languages. do you? i see, by the english magazines, that willis and his 'pencilings' get little quarter there; they deserve none. the book is not yet published here. walsh, they say, will kill it, unless it should chance to be still-born. hoffman is a friend of it, or rather he has made up his mind to join hands with the 'mirror' set. i think he has made a mistake. they will sink him before he raises them. i suppose, however, if he will praise them they will praise him, and praise is sweet, we all know." _ th_. rev. william mcmurray writes, from the canadian side of sault st. marie: "our excellent governor, sir john colbourne, has resigned his situation, which is at present filled by sir francis head, who has recently arrived from england. as far as i can learn, he is rather a literary character, and is the same person who, some years ago, visited south america on a mining expedition. the most correct intelligence i have received respecting him is by an express from toronto. from it i learn that he is disposed to be kind and good towards the poor indians. as an instance of which, he intends visiting every indian mission next summer, in order that he may see for himself their secret wants, and how their condition may be best ameliorated." my brother james gives a somewhat amusing account of indian matters at the sault after the leaving of their delegates for washington. "since whaiskee's departure, the whole sault has been troubled; i mean the 'busy bodies,' and this, by the way, comprises nearly the whole population. a council has accordingly been held before the major-agent, in which the british chief, gitshee kawgaosh, appeared as orator. the harangue from the sachem ran very much as follows:--" 'father, _why_ and for what purpose has the man whaiskee gone to the home of our great father? _why_ did he leave without notifying _me_, and the other men of _influence_ of my tribe, of the nature of his mission? why should he, whose _totem-fathers_ live about shaugawaumekong (la pointe), be, at his own will, made the representative of the ancient band of the red men whose _totem_ is the lofty crane? say, father? father, we ask you to know; we ask of you to tell _why_ this strange man has so strangely gone to smoke with the great chief of the "long knives?" kunnah-gakunnah!' "here the chief, drawing the folds of his blanket with perfect grace, and extending his right arm with dignity to the agent, seated himself again upon the floor, while, at the same time, a warrior of distinction, whose eagle-plumed head spoke him the fiercest of his tribe, gave to the sachem the lighted pipe. the eyes of the red men, like those of their snowy chief, were now riveted to the floor." 'sons of the forest,' answered the american agent, '_i_, like yourselves, know nothing of this strange business! _i_, the father of all the red men, have not been consulted in this man's going beyond the lakes to "the great waters!" _i_ am the man through whom such messages should come! _i_, the man who should hand the wampum, and _i_, the man to whom the red men should look for redress! friends, your speech shall reach the ears of our great father, and then this strange man of the far-off _totem_ of addik shall know that the crane _totem_ is protected by me, the hero of the southern clime! men of the forest, i am done.' "tobacco was then distributed to the assembly, and, after many _hoghs_, the red men dispersed." _ th_. mr. bancroft, bringing a few lines from the secretary of war, came to see me to confer on the character of the indians, which he is about to handle in the next volume of his history. this care to assure himself of the truth of the conclusions to be introduced in his work, is calculated to inspire confidence in his mode of research. _ th_. washington. my reception here has been most cordial, and such as to assure me in the propriety of the step i took, in resolving to proceed to the capital, without the approval of the secretary and acting governor (horner), who was, indeed, from his recent arrival and little experience in this matter, quite in the dark respecting the true condition of indian affairs in michigan. the self-constituted ottawa delegation of chiefs from the lower peninsula had preceded me a few days. after a conference between them and the secretary of war, they were referred to me, under authority from the president, communicated by special appointment, as commissioner for treating with them. it was found that the deputation was quite too local for the transaction of any general business. the ottawas, from the valley of grand river, an important section, were unrepresented. the various bands of chippewas living intercalated among them, on the lower peninsula, extending down the huron shore to thunder bay, were unapprized of the movement. the chippewas of the upper peninsula, north of michilimackinack, were entirely unrepresented. i immediately wrote, authorizing deputations to be sent from each of the unrepresented districts, and transmitting funds for the purpose. this authority to collect delegates from the two nations, whose interests in the lands were held in common, was promptly and efficiently carried out; and, when the chiefs and delegates arrived, they were assembled in public council, at the masonic hall, corner of - / street, and negotiations formally opened. these meetings were continued from day to day, and resulted in an important cession of territory, comprising all their lands lying in the lower peninsula of michigan, north of grand river and west of thunder bay; and on the upper peninsula, extending from drummond island and detour, through the straits of st. mary, west to chocolate river, on lake superior, and thence southerly to green bay. this cession was obtained on the principle of making limited reserves for the principal villages, and granting the mass of indian population the right to live on and occupy any portion of the lands until it is actually required for settlement. the compensation, for all objects, was about two millions of dollars. it had been arranged to close and sign the treaty on the th of march, but some objections were made by the ottawas to a matter of detail, which led to a renewed discussion, and it was not until the th that the treaty was signed. it did not occur to me, till afterwards, that this was my birth-day. the senate who, at the same time, had the important cherokee treaty of new echota before them, did not give it their assent till the th of may, and then ratified it with some essential modifications, which have not had a wholly propitious tendency. liberal provisions were made for their education and instruction in agriculture and the arts. their outstanding debts to the merchants were provided for, and such aid given them in the initial labor of subsisting themselves, as were required by a gradual change from the life of hunters to that of husbandmen. about twelve and a half cents per acre was given for the entire area, which includes some secondary lands and portions of muskeegs and waste grounds about the lakes--which it was, however, thought ought, in justice to the indians, to be included in the cession. the whole area could not be certainly told, but was estimated at about sixteen millions of acres. about the beginning of may a delegation of saginaws arrived, for the purpose of ceding to the government the reservations in michigan, made under the treaty of . this delegation was referred to me, with instructions to form a treaty with them. the terms of it were agreed on in several interviews, and the treaty was signed on the th of may, . a third delegation of chippewas, from michigan, having separate interest in the regions of swan creek and black river, presented themselves, with the view of ceding the reservations made to them by a treaty concluded by gen. hull, nov. th, . they were also referred to me to adjust the terms of a sale of these reservations. the treaty was signed by their chiefs on the th of may, . as soon as these several treaties were acted on by the senate, i left the city on my return. it was one of the last days of may when i left washington. a new era had now dawned in the upper lake country, and joy and gladness sat in every face i met. the indians rejoiced, because they had accomplished their end and provided for their wants. the class of merchants and inland traders rejoiced, because they would now be paid the amount of their credits to the indians. the class of metifs and half-breeds were glad, because they had been remembered by the chiefs, who set apart a fund for their benefit. the citizens generally participated in these feelings, because the effect of the treaties would be to elicit new means and sources of prosperity. i reached mackinack on the th of june, in the steamer "columbia." i found all my family well and ready to welcome me home, but one--charlotte, the daughter of songageezhig, who had been brought up from a child as one of my family. her father, a chippewa, had been killed in an affray at the sault st. marie in , leaving a wife and three children. she had been adopted and carefully instructed in every moral and religious duty. she could read her bible well, and was a member of the church, in good standing at the time of her death. a rapid consumption developed itself during the winter of my absence, which no medical skill could arrest. she had attained about her fifteenth year, and died leaving behind her a consecrated memory of pleasing piety and gentle manners. a forest flower, but few so well could claim a daughter's, sister's, and a christian's name. chapter lvii. home matters--massachusetts historical society--question of the u.s. senate's action on certain treaties of the lake indians--hugh l. white--dr. morton's crania americana--letter from mozojeed--state of the pillagers--visit of dr. follen and miss martineau--treaty movements--young lord selkirk--character and value of upper michigan--hon. john norvell's letter--literary items--execution of the treaty of march th--amount of money paid--effects of the treaty--baron de behr--ornithology. . _june th_. my winter in washington had thrown my correspondence sadly in the rear. most of my letters had been addressed to me directly at mackinack, and they were first read several months after date. whilst at the seat of government my duties had been of an arduous character, and left me but little time on my hands. and now, that i had got back to my post in the interior, the duties growing out of the recent treaties had been in no small degree multiplied. while preparing for the latter, the former were not, however, to be wholly neglected, or left unnoticed. i will revert to them. _april th_. the massachusetts historical society this day approved a report from a committee charged with the subject--"that, in their opinion, the dissertation on the odjibwa language with a vocabulary of the same, contemplated by mr. schoolcraft, would be a suitable and valuable contribution to our collections, and that he be requested to proceed and complete the work, and transmit it to the society for publication." this was communicated to me by hon. thomas l. winthrop, their president, on the d of may, and opened an eligible way for my bringing forward my investigations of this language, without expense to myself. the difficulty now was, that the offer had come, at a time when it was impossible to complete the paper. i was compelled to defer it till the pressure of business, which now began to thicken on my hands, should abate. it was in this manner, and in the hope that the next season would afford me leisure, that the matter was put off, from time to time, till it was in a measure cast behind and out of sight, and not from a due appreciation of the offer. _may th_ in the letter of appointment to me, of this date, from the secretary of war, to treat with the saginaws, it is stated: "you are authorized to offer them the proceeds which their lands may bring, deducting such expenses as may be necessary for its survey, sale, &c. you will take care that a sufficient fund is reserved to provide for their removal, and such arrangements made for the security and application of the residue as will be most beneficial to them." these instructions were carried out, in articles of a compact, in which the government furthermore agreed, in view of the lands not being immediately brought into market, to make a reasonable advance to these indians. yet the senate rejected it, not, it would seem, for the liberality of the offer of the nett proceeds of the lands, but for the almost _per necessitate_ offer of a moderate advance, to enable the people to turn themselves in straitened circumstances, which had been the prime motive for selling. the advance was, in fact, as i have reason to believe, a mere bagatelle, but the chairman of the indian committee in the senate was rather on the lookout for something, or anything, to embarrass or disoblige general jackson and his agents, having fallen out with him, and being then, indeed, a candidate for president of the u.s. himself, at the coming election. if i had not heard the pointed expressions of hon. hugh l. white, on more than one occasion, in which my three treaties were before him, in relation to this matter of not affording the presidential incumbent new sources of patronage, &c., i should not deem it just to add the latter remark. he was a man of strong will and feelings, which often betrayed themselves when subjects of public policy were the topics. and, so far as he interfered with the principles of the treaties which i had negotiated with the lake indians in , he evinced an utter ignorance of their history, character, and best interests. he violated, in some respects, the very principle on which alone two of the original cessions, namely, those of the ottawas and chippewas and of the saginaws, were obtained; and introduced features of discord, which disturb the tribes, and some of which will long continue to be felt. and the result is a severe caution against the senate's ever putting private reasons in the place of public, and interfering with matters which they necessarily know but little about. _ th_. dr. samuel george morton, of philadelphia, makes an appeal to gentlemen interested in the philosophical and historical questions connected with the indians, to aid him in the collection of crania--to be used in the comprehensive work which he is preparing on the subject. _ th_. hon. j. b. sutherland expresses the wish to see an indian lexicography prepared under the auspices of the indian department, and urges me to undertake it. _ th_. mozojeed, or the moose's tail, an ojibwa chief of ottawa lake, in the region at the source of chippewa river of the upper mississippi, dictates a letter to me. the following is an extract:-- "my father--i have a few remarks to make. every _morning of the year_ i wish to come and see you. as soon as i take up my paddle i fall sick. it is now two years since i began to be sick. sometimes i am better--sometimes worse. i am pained in mind that i am not to see you this summer. "since you gave me the shonea nahbekawahgun (silver medal) i think i _have walked in your commands_. i have done all i could to have the indians sit still. those that are far off i could not sway, but those that are near have listened to me." his influence to keep the indians at peace, and the reasons which have hindered the influence in part, are thus, partly by symbolic figures, as well expressed as could be done by an educated mind. i have italicised two sentences for their peculiarity of thought. _ st_. mr. featherstonehaugh expresses a wish to have me point out the best map extant of the eastern borders of the upper mississippi, above the point visited by him in his recent reconnoissance, in order "to avoid gross blunders--_all_ i do not expect to avoid!" why undertake to make a map of a part of the country which he did not see? _ st_. rev. alvan coe, of vernon, o., expresses his interest in the provisions of the late treaty with the ottawas and chippewas, which regards their instruction. _june st_. mr. w. t. boutwell, from leech lake, depicts the present condition of the odjibwas on the extreme sources of the mississippi. "there has been nothing, so far as i have discovered, or been informed, like a disposition to go to war this spring. there is, evidently, a growing desire on the part of not a few, to cultivate their gardens more extensively and better. these are making gardens by the side of me. i have furnished them with seed and lent them hoes, on condition that they do not work on the sabbath. from fifteen to twenty bushels of potatoes i have given to one and another to plant. "the big cloud has required his two children to attend regularly to instruction; others occasionally. the elder brother has procured him a comfortable log house to be built--bought a horse and cow. i have bought a calf of mr. a. for him. "i am making the experiment whether i can keep cattle here. they have wintered and passed the spring, and we are now favored with milk, which is a rarity and luxury here. "mr. aitkin is establishing a permanent post at otter tail lake. g. bonga had gone with a small assortment of goods to build and pass the summer there. the indians are divided in opinion and feeling with regard to the measure. those who belong to this lake, or who make gardens in this vicinity, are opposed to the measure. those who pass the summer in the deer country and make rice towards the height of land, are in its favor. it is on the line dividing us and our enemies--some say, where we do not wish to go. whether he has consulted the agent on the subject, i know not. "the past winter has been severe--the depth of snow greater, by far, than has fallen for several years. feb. the mercury fell to ° below zero. this is the extreme. graduated on the scale i have--it fell nearly into the ball." _ th_. the secretary of war writes me a private letter, suggesting the employment of mr. ryly, of schenectady, in carrying out the large deliveries of goods ($ , ) required by the late treaty, and speaking most favorably of him, as a former resident of michigan, and a patriotic man in days when patriotism meant something. _ th_. my brother james writes in his usual frank and above-board manner: "if the indians are to audit accounts against the indians (agreeably to the senate's alteration of the treaty), there will be a pretty humbug made of it; then he that has most _whisky_ will get most _money_." _july th_. dr. follen and lady, of cambridge, mass., accompanied by miss martineau, of england, visited me in the morning, having landed in the ship milwaukee. they had, previously, visited the chief curiosities and sights on the island. miss martineau expressed her gratification in having visited the upper lakes and the island. she said she had, from early childhood, felt an interest in them. i remarked, that i supposed she had seen enough of america and the americans, to have formed a definite opinion, and asked her what she thought of them? she said she had not asked herself that question. she had hardly made up an opinion, and did not know what it might be, on getting back to england. she thought society hardly formed here, that it was rather early to express opinions; but she thought favorably of the elements of such a mixed society, as suited to lead to the most liberal traits. she spoke highly of cincinnati, and some other places, and expressed an enthusiastic admiration for the natural beauties of michilimackinack. she said she had been nearly two years in america, and was now going to the seaboard to embark on her return to england. _ th_. instructions were issued at washington for the execution of the treaty, which had been ratified, with amendments, by the senate. _ th_. the admission of michigan as one of the states, had left the office of superintendent of indian affairs, for the region, vacant. an act of congress, passed near the close of the session, had devolved the duties of this office on the agent at michilimackinack. instructions were, this day, issued to carry this act into effect. _ th_. the chiefs in general council assembled by special messengers at the agency at mackinack, this day assented to the senate's alterations of the treaty. its principles were freely and fully discussed. _ th_ and _ th_. signatures continue to be affixed to the articles of assent. _ th_. i notified the various bands of indians to attend in mass, the payments, which were appointed to commence on the st of september. _ th_. a friend writes from detroit: "lord selkirk, from scotland, is on his route to lake superior, and, as he passes through mackinack, i write to introduce him to you, as a gentleman with whom you would be pleased to have more than a transient association. the name of his father is connected with many north-western events of much interest and notoriety, and a most agreeable recollection of his mother, lady selkirk, has recommended him strongly to our kindness. i feel assured you will befriend him, in the way of information, as to the best means of getting on to the sault st. marie." i found the bearer an easy, quiet, young gentleman, with not the least air of pretence or superciliousness, and one of those men to whom attentions ever become a pleasure. _aug. d_. hon. john norvell, u.s.s., calls my attention to the recent annexation to michigan of the vast region north of the straits of michilimackinack. "your personal knowledge," he observes, "of the country on lake superior, which, by a late act of congress has been annexed to, and made a part of the state of michigan, induces me respectfully to request of you information concerning the nature and extent of the territory thus attached to the state; the qualities of its various soils; the timber and water-powers embraced in it; its minerals and their probable value; the extent of lake-coast added to michigan; the fisheries and their probable value and duration; the capabilities and conveniences of lake superior and the northern michigan shores, and the cheapness and facility with which a communication may be opened with the lower lakes; together with such other information as it may be in your power to furnish, and as may enable the people of michigan duly to appreciate the importance of the acquisition." _vide_ letters of albion in reply. _ th_. mr. daniel b. woods, of new york, announces the project of the publication of "a religious and missionary souvenir," and solicits my aid in the preparation of an article. _ th_. the citizens, merchants, and traders of the town agree not to sell or furnish whisky or ardent spirits to the indians during the payments and preliminary examinations--a conclusive evidence this that, where the _interests_ of the population combine to stop the traffic in ardent spirits, it requires no congressional or state laws. _sept. th_. john g. palfrey, esq., editor of the _north american review_, wishes me to review mr. gallatin's forthcoming paper on the indian languages, which is about to appear in the second volume of the collections of the american antiquarian society. _ th_. a busy business summer, replete with incident and excitement on the island, closes this day by the termination of the several classes of payments made under the treaty of march th, . upwards of four thousand indians have been encamped along the pebbly beaches and coves of the island, and subsisted by the indian department for about a month. to these an annuity of $ , has been paid _per capita_. of these there were chiefs, namely, of the first class, of the second, and of the third class, who received an additional payment of $ , . in addition to the provisions consumed, two thousand dollars worth of flour, pork, rice, and corn were delivered to the separate villages in bulk prior to their departure, and one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in the best quality of indian goods and merchandise, cutlery, and other articles of prime necessity, systematically divided amongst the mass. the sum of two hundred and twenty thousand dollars has been paid on accounts exhibited to the agent, and approved by the creditors of the two tribes. one hundred and fifty thousand dollars have also been paid to the half-breed relatives of the two tribes on carefully prepared lists. these several duties required care and involved responsibilities of no ordinary character. they have been shared by major h. whiting, the paymaster of the northern department, by whom the funds were exclusively paid, and john w. edwards, esq., of new york, who divided the half-breed fund, to both of whom i am indebted for the diligence with which they addressed themselves to the duty, and the kindness and urbanity of their manners. so large an assemblage of red and white men probably never assembled here before, and a greater degree of joy and satisfaction was never evinced by the same number. the indians went away with their canoes literally loaded with all an indian wants, from silver to a steel trap, and a practical demonstration was given which will shut their mouths forever with regard to the oft-repeated scandal of the stinginess and injustice of the american government. not a man was left, of any caste or shade of nativity, to utter a word to gainsay or cavil with the noble and high public manner in which these proceedings were done. the blood-relatives of the indian found that the two nations, actuated by a sense of their kindness and real friendship for years, had remembered them in the day of their prosperity. the large number of indian creditors, who had toiled and suffered and lost property in a trade which is always hazardous, were glad in seeing the ample provision for their payment. the agents of the government also rejoiced in the happy termination of their labors, and the drum, whose roll had carried away the troops who had been present to preserve order, now converted to a symbol of peace, was never more destined to be beaten to assemble white men to march in hostility against these tribes. they were forever our friends. what war had not accomplished, the arts of peace certainly had. kindness, justice, and liberality, like the "still small voice" at sinai, had done what the whirlwind and the tempest failed to do. fourteen years before, i had taken the management of these tribes in hand, to conduct their intercourse and to mould and guide their feelings, on the part of the government. they were then poor, in a region denuded of game, and without one dollar in annuities. they were yet smarting under the war of , and all but one man, the noble wing, or ningwegon, hostile to the american name. they were now at the acme of indian hunter prosperity, with every want supplied, and a futurity of pleasing anticipation. they were friends of the american government. i had allied myself to the race. i was earnest and sincere in desiring and advancing their welfare. i was gratified with a result so auspicious to every humane and exalted wish. war, ye wild tribes, hath no rewards like this; 'tis peaceful labors that result in bliss. _ th_. baron de behr, minister of belgium, presented himself at my office. he was cordially received, although bringing me no letter to apprize me of his official standing at washington. he had been to the sault ste. marie, and visited the entrance into lake superior. he presented me a petrifaction picked up on drummond island, and looked at my cabinet with interest. the troops under major hoffman embarked in a steamer for detroit. also major whiting, the u.s. paymaster, and mr. edmonds, my adjuncts in official labor. _oct. th._ old friends from middlebury, vermont, came up in a steamer bound to green bay, among whom i was happy to recognize mrs. henshaw, mother of the bishop of that name of rhode island. _ th_. alfred schoolcraft, who had commenced the study of ornithology with decided ability, hands me the following list of birds, which have been observed to extend their visits to this island and the basin of lake huron. _________________________________________________________________________ | | | | common name. | order. | family. | genus. | ___________________|__________|_____________|___________|________________ | | | | brown thrush |passeres |canori |turdus |t. rufus. cedar bird | " |sericati |bonelycilla|b. carolinensis. canada jay | " |gregarii |corvus |c. canadensis. crow | " | " | " |c. corone. house wren | " | " |trylodites |t. edom. blue jay | " | " |corvus |c. vociferus. raven | " | " | " |c. corax. snow bird | " |passerini |fringilla |f. hyemalis. sing cicily | " | " | " |f. melodia. robin | " |canori |turdus |t. migratoria. | " |passerini |loxia |l. corvurostra. red winged starling| " |gregarii |icterus |i. phoenicus. goldfinch | " |passerini |fringilla |f. tristis. little owl |accipetres|stapaces |stryx |s. sparrow hawk | " | " |falco |f. sparverius. golden plover |gralle |pressirostre |charadrus |c. plurailis. woodcock | " |semicole |scolipax |s. minor. green winged teal | |lamelasodenta|anas |anas crecca. wood duck | | " | " |a. sponsa. golden eyed duck | | " |fatigula |f. clengula. hooping crane | |herodii |grus |g. americana. kingfisher |passeres |augubrostres |alcedo |a. alcyon. loon | |pygopodes |colymbus |c. glacialis. partridge | |galinacia |perdix |p. virginiana. of their habits he appends the following remarks:-- "the canada jay (_c. canadensis_) preys upon smaller birds of the sparrow kind. this fact has been related to me by persons of undoubted veracity, and i have myself seen one of them in pursuit of small birds. "there is a small species of sparrow, that inhabits the forests near the settlements in this region, of a very interesting character. it matters not how intense the cold, it never deserts our woods, but remains hunting for insects in the cavities and among the branches of the trees with the most assiduous caution. they hatch their young in holes, which they perforate in decayed trees with their sharp bills. if a person happens to come near their nests during the time of incubation, it vociferates most strenuously against the intrusion, while its feathers expand, its eyes sparkle with rage, and it darts from branch to branch with the most astonishing rapidity. it is frequently to be seen near our houses in the winter, and in the most severe and inclement weather they will tend, by their chirping and gambols, to amuse and enliven our minds, while at the same time they afford us an entertaining study. "their wants are very small. if a piece of meat, weighing two or three pounds, is hung against some tree or fence near to our houses in the winter, we can have the pleasure of witnessing them merrily banqueting on it every day for several weeks. "sandpipers of the smaller kinds can swim on the surface of the water, dive beneath and remain under it with the same facility as the duck and other aquatic birds, although they do not make use of this property unless driven to extremity. this fact i can pledge my veracity on from personal observation. they need not use this power of swimming for the purpose of procuring food, as the substances on which they subsist are found on the margin of the water." chapter lviii. value of the equivalent territory granted to michigan, by congress, for the disputed ohio boundary--rapid improvement of michigan--allegan--indian legend--baptism and death of kagoosh, a very aged chief at st. mary's--new system of writing indian, proposed by mr. nash--indian names for new towns--a bishop's notion of the reason for applying to government for education funds under indian treaties--mr. gallatin's paper on the indians--the temperance movement. _ . oct. th_. i embarked this day, at michilimackinack, with my family, for detroit, to assume the duties of the superintendency at that point. nothing, demanding notice, occurred on the passage; we reached our destination on the th. political feeling still ran high respecting the terms of admission proposed by congress to michigan, and the convention, which recently met at ann arbor, refused their assent to these terms, under a mistaken view of the case, as i think, and the lead of rash and heady advisors; for there is no doubt in my mind that the large area of territory in the upper country, offered as an equivalent for the disputed boundary with ohio, will be found of far greater value and importance to the state than the "seven mile strip" surrendered--an opinion, the grounds of which are discussed in my "albion" letters. i expressed this opinion in the spring of the year, before the judiciary committee of the senate, where i attended, on the invitation of hon. silas wright, to impart information, which i was supposed to possess, on the geography and natural resources of the lake superior region. _nov. d/_. mr. j.g. palfrey, acting editor of the _n.a. review_, invites me to become a contributor to the pages of that standard periodical. _ th_. no territory in the union has required so long, so very long a time for its appreciation, as michigan, and now, that emigration is freely coming in, it is difficult to estimate the very rapid improvement of places. an instance of the kind occurs in the details of a letter which i have just received. "it may not be amiss," says mr. a.l. ely, "to give you a short description of the growth of allegan. the site was bought at government prices, in the spring of , by two gentlemen now living at bronson, namely, anthony cooly and stephen vickery. in november of that year, my father, who was then in michigan looking for a location, both for him and myself, purchased for me one-third of the property, there being in all about acres of land, for which he paid $ . in june, , we sent one family from rochester, who built two log houses, and grubbed the ground for a mill race. in october, , mr. sidney ketchum, as agent for some gentlemen in boston, purchased all the interests in the property, except those held by me, for something under $ , . "the winter of ' and ' was spent in making roads, and getting provisions together, and preparing to commence improvements. in april, , we commenced the dam and canal for a double saw mill, which were completed that fall. in may, our plat was laid out in lots. in june, we commenced selling them. we have sold up to this date lots. in june, , the second family came into the place. in november, the first merchant commenced selling goods. in december, we commenced the erection of a small building for a church; it was completed in may, , and a few days after, accidentally burnt down. "there are now (nov. ) in allegan three stores, two large taverns, a cupola furnace, a chairmaker's shop, two cabinet shops, two blacksmiths, a shoemaker's shop, a tailor's shop, a school house by , costing $ ; about frame buildings, and over people." _ th_. i have for many years been collecting from the indian lodges a species of oral fictitious legends, which attest in the race no little power of imagination; and certainly exhibit them in a different light from any in which they have been heretofore viewed. the rev. mr. mcmurray, of st. mary's, transmits me a story of this kind, obtained some two months ago by his wife (who is a descendant, by the mother's side, of chippewa parents) from one of the natives. this tale impressed me as worthy of being preserved. i have applied to it, from one of its leading traits, the name of "the enchanted moccasons." "i have written the story," he remarks, "as near the language in which charlotte repeated it as possible, leaving you the task to clothe it with such garb as may suit those which you have already collected, or as the substance will merit." _sept. th_. mr. mcmurray (who is an episcopal missionary at st. mary's) announces the death of one of the principal and most aged chiefs of the odjibwas, in that quarter of the country--kagcosh. "he bade adieu to this world of trouble last evening at sunset. i visited him about two weeks since, and conversed with him on religious subjects, to which he gave the utmost attention, and on that occasion requested me to baptize him. i told him that i was willing to do so whenever i could, without leaving a doubt in my mind as to his preparedness for the rite. i, however, promised, if his mind did not change, to administer it soon. he sent for me the day before he died, and requested me again, without delay, to baptize him, which i did, and have every reason to believe that he understood and felt the necessity of it." this venerable chief must have been about ninety years of age. his head was white. he was about six feet two inches in height, lithe of form, and long featured, with a grave countenance, and cranial developments of decided intellectuality. he was of the crane totem, the reigning family of that place, and the last survivor of seven brothers, of whom shingabowossin, who died in the fall of , was noted as the most distinguished, and as a good speaker. he was entitled to $ , under the treaty of th march, as one of the first class chiefs of his nation. _nov. d_. rev. mr. nash presented me letters as a missionary to the chippewas. he had prepared a new set of characters by which to write that language, and presented me a copy of it. every one is not a cadmus, and the want of success which has, therefore, attended the efforts at new systems of signs to express sounds, should teach men that it is easier, and there are more practical advantages attending the use of an old and well-known system, like that of the english alphabet, than a new and unknown system, however ingenious and exact. the misfortune is that all attempts of this sort, like new systems of notation with the roman alphabet, are designed rather to show that their authors are inventive and exact, than to benefit the indian race. for if an indian be taught by these systems to read, yet he can read nothing but books prepared for him by this system; and the whole body of english literature, history, and poetry, is a dead letter to him. above all, he cannot read the english version of the bible. _ d_. a friend asked me to furnish him an aboriginal name for a new town. i gave him the choice of several. he selected algonac. in this word the particle _ac_, is taken from _ace_, land or earth; and its prefixed dissyllable _algon_, from the word algonquin. this system, by which a part of a word is made to stand for, and carry the meaning of a whole word, is common to indian compound substantives. thus _wa-we-a-tun-ong_, the algonquin name for detroit, is made up from the term _wa-we_, a roundabout course, _atun_ a channel, and _ong_, locality. our geographical terminology might be greatly mended by this system. at least repetition, by some such attention to-our geographical names, to the liability of misdirecting letters, might be, to a great extent, avoided. _ th_. mr. bishop rese, of the catholic church, called to make some inquiry respecting a provision in the late treaty, designed to benefit his church. i had traveled on the lake with the bishop. he is a short, club nosed, smiling man, of a quizzical physiognomy. he asked me what i supposed was the cause of the press for the treaty appropriations for educations, by protestant missions. i told him that i supposed the conversion of the souls of the indians constituted the object of these applications. "poh! poh!" said he, "it is the money itself." _dec th_. mr. gallatin's _synopsis of the indian tribes_ is forwarded to me for a review. "the publication," says mr. palfrey, "of the second volume of _transactions of the american antiquarian society_ was delayed considerably beyond the time appointed. it was only a week ago that a copy reached me. i transmit it by mail. should it not reach you within a week after the receipt of this, will you have the goodness to inform me, and i will forthwith let another copy try its fortune." _ d_. the temperance movement has excited the community of detroit this season, as a subject essential to the cause of sound morals. its importance is undeniable on all hands, but there is always a tendency in new measures of reform, to make the method insisted on a sort of moral panacea, capable of doing all things, to the no little danger of setting up a standard higher than that of the decalogue itself. in the midst of this tendency to ultraism, the least particle of conservative opinion would be seized upon by its leaders as the want of a thorough acquiescence and heartiness in the cause. rev. mr. cleaveland transmits me a resolution of the "total abstinence city temperance society," for an address to be delivered in one week. "do not, do not, do not," he remarks, "say us nay." i determined to devote two or three winter evenings to gratify this desire. chapter lix. difficulties resulting from a false impression of the indian character--treaty with the saginaws--ottawas of grand river establish themselves in a colony in barry county--payments to the ottawas of maumee, ohio--temperance--assassination of young aitkin by an indian at leech lake--mackinack mission abandoned--wyandots complain of a trespass from a mill-dam--mohegans of green bay apply for aid on their way to visit stockbridge, mass.--mohegan traditions--historical society--programme of a tour in the east--parental disobedience--indian treaties--dr. warren's collection of crania--hebrew language--geology--"goods offer"--mrs. jameson--mastodon's tooth in michigan--captain marryatt--the icelandic language--munsees--speech of little bear skin chief, or mu-kónsewyán. office indian affairs, detroit. _ . jan. th_. difficulties are reported as existing between a party of indians (of about fifteen souls) of bobish, and the settlers of coldwater, branch county, (township , s. range, west.) about forty families have settled there within the last fall and summer. the indians, who have been in the habit of making sugar and hunting on the public lands, are disposed not to relinquish these privileges, probably not understanding fully their right. mutual threats have passed, which are repeated by thomas g. holden, who requests the interposition of the department. settlers generally move into the new districts with strong prejudices against the indians, whom they regard, mistakingly, as thirsting for blood and plunder. it only requires a little conciliation, and proper explanations, as in this case, to induce them at once to adopt the proper course. _ th_. articles of a new treaty were this day signed at my office, by the saginaw chiefs, for the sale of all their reservations in michigan. these reservations were made under the treaty of september th, . they were ceded by them at washington, in the spring of , but the terms, and particularly the advance of money stipulated to be made, were deemed too liberal by the senate, and, in consequence, the treaty was rejected. the object is now attained in a manner which, it is hoped, will prove satisfactory. by this, as the former treaty, this tribe are allowed the entire proceeds of the sale of their lands. _ th_. rev. mr. slater reports that the ottawas of grand river, who were parties to the treaty of th of march, have purchased lands in barry county for the $ , allowed by the ninth article of the treaty, in trust for chiminonoquet; and that a mission has been established on the lands purchased, which is called ottawa colony. difficulties have occurred with pre-emption claimants in the same lands. _ st_. captain simonton reports the payment of the annuity, amounting to $ , , due to the ottawas of maumee, ohio. the entire number of persons paid by him was four hundred and thirty-three, dividing a fraction under $ per soul. in these payments old and young fare alike. henry connor, esq., the interpreter present, confirms the report of the equal division, _per capita_, among the indians, and the satisfaction which attended the payment, on their part. _feb. st_. delivered an address at the presbyterian church, before a crowded audience, on the temperance movement, showing that the whole question to be decided was, in which class of moderate drinkers men elected themselves to be arranged, and that ardent spirits, as a beverage, were wholly unnecessary to a healthy constitution. transmitted to mr. palfrey a review of mr. gallatin's "synopsis of the indian tribes of america." _feb. st_. mr. william a. aitkin writes from sandy lake: "since i left you at st. peter's i have had a severe trial to go through. i came up by swan river, but heard nothing there of the melancholy event which had taken place during my absence at upper red cedar lake. my eldest son had been placed at that place last fall, in charge of that post. you saw him, i believe, last summer; he was in charge of leech lake when you were at that place. he was a young man of twenty-two years of age, of a very amiable temper, humane and brave, possessed of the most unbounded obedience to my will, and of the most filial affection for my person. this, my son, was murdered in the most atrocious manner by a bloody monster of an indian. my poor boy had arrived the evening previous to the bloody act, from a voyage to red lake. early the next morning he sent off all the men he had to lake winnipeck, excepting one frenchman, to bring up some things which he had left there in the fall. a short time after his men had gone, he sent the remaining man to bring some water from the river; the man returned into the house immediately, and told him an indian had broken open the store, and was in it. he went very deliberately to the store, took hold of the villain, who tried to strike him with his tomahawk, dragged him out of the store and disarmed him of his axe, threw him on the ground, and then let him go--and was turned round in the act of locking the store-door. the villain stepped behind the door, where he had hid his gun, came on him unawares and shot him dead, without the least previous provocation whatever on the part of my poor lost boy. when arrived, i found the feelings of every one prepared for vengeance. i immediately, without one moment's loss of time, proceeded to leech lake. in a moment there were twenty half-breeds gathered round, with francis brunette at their head, full-armed, ready to execute any commands that i should give them. we went immediately to the camp where the villain was, beyond red cedar lake, determined to cut off the whole band if they should raise a finger in his defence. our mutual friend, mr. boutwell, joined the party, with his musket on his shoulder, as a man and a christian, for he knew it was a righteous cause, and that the arm of god was with him. we arrived on the wretches unawares, disarmed the band, and dragged the monster from his lodge. i would have put the villain to death in the midst of his relations, but mr. boutwell advised it would be better to take him where he might be made an example of. the monster escaped from us two days after we had taken him, but my half-breeds pursued him for six days and brought him back, and he is now on his way to st. peter's in irons, under a strong guard. my dear friend, i cannot express to you the anguish of my heart at this present moment. "the indians of all this department have behaved like villains during my absence, particularly the indians of leech lake, committing the greatest depredations on our people, and would surely have murdered them if they had shown the least disposition to resist their aggravations. you will excuse me from giving you any other news at present. i'm not in a state of mind to do it." _feb. d_. rev. david green, of boston, communicates the determination of the board of commissioners for foreign missions to break up and abandon the school and mission at mackinack. this decision i have long feared, and cannot but deplore. the school is large, and the education of many of the pupils is such that in a few years they would make useful practicable men and women, and carry a christian influence over a wide circle. by dispersing them now the labor is to some extent lost. _ th_. received, a vote of thanks of the detroit total abstinence society, for my temperance address of the st instant, which is courteously called "elegant and appropriate." so, ho! _ d_. a party of wyandots from the river huron, of michigan, visited the office. they complain that trespasses are committed by settlers on the lands reserved to them. the trespasses arise from the construction of mill-dams, by which their grounds are overflowed. they asked whether they hold the reservation for fifty years or otherwise. i replied that they hold them, by the terms of the treaty, as long as they shall have any posterity to live on the lands. they only escheat to the united states in failure of this. but that i would send an agent to inquire into the justice of their complaint, and to redress it. _ th_. robert kankapot presents himself with about twenty followers. he is a stockbridge indian of green bay, wisconsin, on his way to the east. he is short of funds, and asks for relief. no annuity or other funds are payable, at this office, to this tribe. i deemed his plea, however, a reasonable one, and loaned him personally one hundred dollars. i detained him with some historical questions. he says he is sixty-four years of age, that he was born in stockbridge, on the head of the housatonic river, in massachusetts. from this town they take their present name. they are, however, the descendants of the ancient mohegans, who lived on the sea coast and in the hudson valley. they were instructed by the rev. jonathan edwards, the eminent theologian, who was afterwards president of princeton college. their first migration was into new stockbridge, in oneida county, new york, where the oneida tribe assigned them lands. this was about the era of the american revolution. they next went, about , to fox river of green bay, where they now reside. their oldest chief, at that point, is metoxon, who is now sixty-nine. he says his remote ancestry were from long island (metoacs), and that montauk means great sea island. (this does not appear probable philologically.) he says the opposite coast, across the east river, was called _monhautonuk_. he afterwards, the next day, said that long island was called _paum-nuk-kah-huk._ _march st_. to a friend abroad i wrote: "i have written during the winter an article on mr. gallatin's recently published paper on the indian languages, entitled _a synopsis of the indian tribes_, which is published by the american antiquarian society. it was with great reluctance that i took up the subject, and when i did, i have been so complete a fact hunter all my life, that i found it as difficult to lay it down. the result is probably an article too long for ninety-nine readers out of a hundred, and too short for the hundredth man." _ th_. mr. palfrey acknowledges the safe arrival of my article for the _north american review_. the american board of commissioners for foreign missions decline $ for the abandoned missionary house at mackinack, offered under the view of its being converted into a dormitory for receiving indian visitors at that point under the provisions of the treaty of . _ th_. received a letter of thanks from old zachariah chusco, the converted jos-sa-keed, for kindness. _ d_ received a commission from gov. mason, appointing me a regent of the university of michigan. _ d_. the historical society of michigan hold their annual meeting at my office. in the election for officers i was honored by being selected its president. a deep interest in historical letters had been manifested by this institution since its organization in , particularly in the history of the aboriginal tribes, and means have been put on foot for the collection of facts. to these, the recent and extraordinary settlement of the country by emigration from the bast, has added a new branch of inquiry, respecting town, county, and neighborhood settlements. much of this is held in the memory of old persons, and will be lost if not gleaned up and preserved in the shape of narratives. resolutions for this purpose were adopted, and an appeal made to the legislature to facilitate the collection of pamphlets and printed documents. men live so rapidly now that few think of posterity; society hastens at a horse's pace, and we pass over so large a surface in so short a time, that the historian and antiquarian will stand aghast, in a few years, and exclaim "would that more minute facts were within our reach!" _ d_. the department at washington instructs me to examine additional and unsatisfied claims arising under the th article of the treaty of march th, , and, after submitting them to the indians, to report them for payment. _ th_. very different are the diurnal scenes enacted from those which passed before my eyes at the ice-closed post of mackinack last winter. yet in one respect they are entitled to have a similar effect on my mind; it is in the craving that exists to fill the intervals of business with some moral and intellectual occupation that may tend to relieve it of the tedium of long periods of leisure. when a visitor is dismissed, or a transaction is settled, and the door closes on a man habituated to mental labor, the ever-ready inquiry is, what next? to sit still--to do nothing absolutely but to turn over the thoughts of other men, though this be a privilege, is not ultimate happiness. there is still a void, which the desire to be remembered, or something else, must fill. _ st_. gen. cass writes from paris that he is on the eve of setting out, with his family, for the levant, to embark on a tour to the east, to visit the ancient seats of oriental power. "we proceed directly to toulon, where we shall embark on board the frigate constitution. from thence we touch at leghorn, civita vecchia, naples, and sicily, and then proceed to alexandria. after seeing cairo, the pyramids, memphis, and, i hope, the red sea, we shall proceed to palestine, look at jerusalem, see the dead sea, and other interesting places of holy writ, pass by and touch at tyre and sidon, land at beyrout, and visit damascus and baalbec, and probably palmyra; touch at smyrna, proceed to constantinople and the black sea, and then to greece, &c.; after that to the islands of the archipelago, then up the adriatic to venice and trieste, and thence return to this place. so, you see, here is the programme of a pretty good expedition, certainly a very interesting one." _april th_. by letters received from albany, a singular chapter of the inscrutable course and awards of providence for parental disobedience and youthful deception is revealed. alfredus, who departed from my office in detroit early in march last, to receive a warrant as a cadet at west point, has not appeared among his friends. he was a young man of good mind, figure, and address, and would doubtless have justified the judgment of his friends in giving him a military education. his father had been one of the patriots of , and served on the memorable field of saratoga. but the young man was smitten with the romance of going to texas and joining the ranks of that country, striving for a rank among nations. this secret wish he carefully concealed from me, and, setting out with the view of returning to his father's roof, and solacing his age by entering the military academy, he secretly took the stage to columbus, ohio. thence he pushed his way to new orleans and galveston. the next intelligence received of him, was a careful measurement of his length, by unknown hands, and the statement that, in ascending the brazos, he had taken the fever and died. _ th_. issued notice to claimants for indian debts, under the th article of the treaty of march th, ; that additional claims would be considered, and that such claims, with the evidence in support of them, must be produced previous to the first of june next. _ th_. received notice of my election as a corresponding member of the hartford natural history society, connecticut. i have filled the pauses of official duty, during the season, by preparing for the press the oral legends which have been gleaned from the indians since my residence at sault st. marie, in the basin of lake superior, and at michilimackinack, under the name of _algic researches_, vol. i. _ th_. by the treaty of th may, , with the swan creek and black river chippewas, the united states agree to furnish them thirteen sections of land west, in lieu of the cessions relinquished in michigan, besides accounting to them for the nett proceeds of the land ceded. measures were now taken to induce them to send delegates to the indian territory west of the missouri, to locate this tract, and an agent was appointed to accompany them. _ th_. received a copy of my article on indian languages. _ th_. the saginaws, by the cession of the th of january, agreed to leave michigan, and accept a location elsewhere; and they were now urged to send delegates to the head waters of the osage river, where they can be provided with fine lands, and placed in juxtaposition to cognate tribes. _ th_. received a letter from the editor of the "knickerbocker." [ ] [footnote : birchen canoe: song of the ship.] _may th_. received notice of my election as one of the vice presidents of the american society for the diffusion of useful knowledge, at new york. _ d_. william ward, esq., of the war office, washington, d.c., writes: "i have received two communications from dr. warren, of boston, on the subject of a collection of crania and bones of the aborigines. he is desirous of procuring specimens from the different tribes, and from the mounds in the different sections of the country. "trusting, in a great measure, to your readiness to co-operate in every effort to advance the cause of science, i have promised him to use the means my connection with the office might give me to forward his views. his high reputation must be known to you, and i am sure you will aid him to complete a collection which, i understand, he has been occupied many years in making. "i gather from his letters, that he wishes to procure a few complete skeletons, and a number of crania, and that it will be desirable to have as much as possible of the history of each head." _june th_. michilimackinack. received a copy of _bush's grammar of the hebrew language_, and commenced comparing the indian tongues with it. this language has twenty-two letters. in order to impress the elements upon my own mind, as well as improve theirs, i commenced teaching my children the language, just keeping ahead of them, and hearing their recitations every morning. _ th_. receive a letter of introduction from governor mason, by mr. massingberd, of england, an intelligent and estimable traveler in america. _ th_. dr. edward spring, son of the rev. gardiner spring, of new york, visits the island with the view of a temporary practice. _july st_. a copy of _stuart's hebrew grammar_ reached me this morning. i have a special motive in making myself acquainted with this ancient, and, as i find, simple tongue. the course of my investigation of the algonquin language, has shown me the want of the means of enlarged comparison, which i could not institute without it. _ th_. major whiting writes: "i have lately begun _buckland's treatise,_ and a noble work it is; the subject he treats just in that way which will communicate the greatest amount of information to the reading public. that part which explains the bearing of the scriptures on geology, will have a most salutary effect on the public mind. it was all important that such explanations should be given. many good minds have been startled, and approached geology with averted eyes, apprehending that it ran counter to the great truths of the bible. viewed as the bible generally has been, geological facts are likely to disturb the moral world. either they must be disbelieved, or that literal interpretation of genesis, so long received, must be abandoned. to make this abandonment, without having satisfactory reasons for it, would have risked much, that never should be put in jeopardy. it had come to this, geology must be sealed up and anathematized, or it must be reconciled with the sacred writ. buckland has undoubtedly done the latter; and he has thus conferred an inestimable blessing on mankind." _ th_. a remarkable land claim, upon the indians, who are parties to the late treaty of , came before me. this consisted of a grant given by the chippewas in , to major robert rodgers, of anti-revolutionary fame, to a valuable part of the upper region on lake superior. the present heir is james chaloner alabaster, who says the deed, of which a copy is furnished, has been in the possession of his family in england about sixty years. it appears to have been executed in due form for a consideration. it is prior to the proclamation of george iii. interdicting grants. _ th_. a band of chippewas, originally hailing from grand island, in lake superior, but now living on the extreme northern head of green bay, visited the office. it embraced the eldest son of the late oshawn epenaysee (south bird), who died, in the first class of chiefs, at grand island last fall. his name is ado-wa-wa-e-go (something of an inanimate kind beating about in the water on shore). they requested that he might be recognized as their chief. on examination this request was acceded to, and i invested him with a flag. _ th_. the department submitted a proposition to the indians, to take half their annuities under the treaty of , at the approaching payments, in goods, and half in silver. if the goods were declined, they were requested to receive the half annuity in silver, with the other annuities provided by the treaty, in kind, and to wait for the other moiety till the next year. i submitted the offer to a full council of the chiefs and warriors this day. they debated it fully. a delegation visited the goods, which were shown by an agent. they decline receiving them, but agree to receive the half annuity in coin, and wait, as requested, for the other half till the next payment. this proposition was called the "goods offer," and was much distorted by the public-press. i was blamed for having carried the offer into effect, whereas it was declined, and the half annuity in silver accepted, and the credit asked for, given for the rest. _ th_. two bands who had not united in this decision, namely, the bands of point st. ignace and chenos, came in, by their chiefs, and yielded their assent to the arrangement of yesterday. thus the consent became unanimous on the part of the indians. a notification, by a special messenger, to the grand river ottawas, is dispatched to attend the payments at this place on the st of september, and to signify their assent or dissent to the proposed arrangement. rix robinson and louis campeau, esqrs., of that valley, and the rev. leonard slater, of barry, are requested to give this notice publicity. _ th_. mrs. jameson embarks in an open boat for sault ste. marie, accompanied by mrs. schoolcraft, after having spent a short time as a most intelligent and agreeable inmate under our roof. this lady, respecting whom i had received letters from my brother-in-law mr. mcmurray, a clergyman of canada west, evinced a most familiar knowledge of artistic life and society in england and germany. her acquaintance with goethe, and other distinguished writers, gave a life and piquancy to her conversation and anecdotes, which made us cherish her society the more. she is, herself, an eminent landscape painter, or rather sketcher in crayon, and had her portfolio ever in hand. she did not hesitate freely to walk out to prominent points, of which the island has many, to complete her sketches. this freedom from restraint in her motions, was an agreeable trait in a person of her literary tastes and abilities. she took a very lively interest in the indian race, and their manners and customs, doubtless with views of benevolence for them as a peculiar race of man, but also as a fine subject of artistic observation. notwithstanding her strong author-like traits and peculiarities, we thought her a woman of hearty and warm affections and attachments; the want of which, in her friends, we think she would exquisitely feel. mrs. jameson several times came into the office and heard the indians speaking. she also stepped out on the piazza and saw the wild indians dancing; she evidently looked on with the eye of a claude lorraine or michael angelo. _ th_. the term _ego_, added to an active indian verb, renders it passive. i have given an example of this before in the case of a man's name. here is another: the verb _to carry_ is be-moan in the algonquin. by the pronominal prefix _nim_, we have the sense _i carry_. by adding to the latter the suffix _ego_, the action is reflected and this sense is rendered passive. _ th_. a treaty is concluded this day at fort snelling, st. peter's, between governor h. dodge and the chippewa indians, by which they cede a large and important tract to the united states. _aug. st_. a discovery of a tooth of the mastodon has lately been made in the bed of the papaw river, in berrian county, michigan. it is about six inches long and three broad. the enamel is nearly perfect, and that part of the tooth which was covered by it nearly whole, while the portion which must have been inserted in the socket is mostly broken off. the diluvian soil of the michigan peninsula is thus added to the wide area of the _mastodonic period_. _ d_. capt. marryatt came up in the steamer of last night. a friend writes: "he is one of smollett's sea captains---much more of the trunnion than one would have expected to find in a literary man. stick mackinack into him, with all its _rock-osities._ he is not much disposed to the _admirari_ without the _nil_--affects little enthusiasm about anything, and perhaps feels as little." he turned out here a perfect sea urchin, ugly, rough, ill-mannered, and conceited beyond all bounds. solomon says, "answer not a fool according to his folly," so i paid him all attention, drove him over the island in my carriage, and rigged him out with my _canoe-elège_ to go to st. mary's. _ d_. george tucker, professor in the university of virginia, came up in the last steamer. i hasted, while it stayed, to drive him out and show off the curiosities of the island to the best advantage. _ th_. mrs. schoolcraft writes from the _sault_, that mrs. jameson and the children suffered much on the trip to that place from mosquitoes, but by dint of a douceur of five dollars extra to the men, which mrs. jameson made to the crew, they rowed all night, from sailor's encampment, and reached the sault at o'clock in the morning. "i feel delighted," she says, "at my having come with mrs. jameson, as i found that she did not know how to get along at all at all. mr. mcmurray and family and mrs. jameson started off on tuesday morning for manitouline with a fair wind and fair day, and i think they have had a fine voyage down. poor mrs. jameson cried heartily when she parted with me and my children; she is indeed a woman in a thousand. while here, george came down the rapids with her in fine style and spirits. she insisted on being baptized and named in indian, after her _sail_ down the falls. we named her was-sa-je-wun-e-qua (woman of the bright stream), with which she was mightily pleased." _ th_. delegates from the saginaws, from the swan creek and black chippewas of lower michigan, stop, on their way, to explore a new location west, in charge of a special exploring agent. mr. ord, recently appointed a sub-agent in this superintendency, reaches the island. he is the second person i have known who has made the names of his children an object of singularity. mr. stickney, who figured prominently in the toledo war, called his male children one, two, &c. mr. ord has not evidently differed in this respect from general custom, for the same reason, namely, an objection to _christian_ prejudice for john and james, or aaron and moses. he has simply given them latin nominatives, from the mere love he has apparently for that tongue. i believe he was formerly a georgetown professor. capt. marryatt embarked on board the steamer michigan, on his return from the island, after having spent several days in a social visit, including a trip to the sault, in company with mr. lay, of batavia. while here, i saw a good deal of the novelist. his manners and style of conversation appeared to be those of a sailor, and such as we should look for in his own peter simple. temperance and religion, if not morality, were to him mere cant words, and whether he was observed, either before dinner or after dinner--in the parlor or out of it--his words and manners were anything but those of a quiet, modest, english gentleman. i drove mr. lay and himself out one day after dinner to see the curiosities of the island. he would insist walking over the arched rock. "it is a fearful and dizzy height." when on the top he stumbled. my heart was in my throat; i thought he would have been hurled to the rocks below and dashed to a thousand pieces; but, like a true sailor, he crouched down, as if on a yardarm, and again arose and completed his perilous walk. we spoke of railroads. he said they were not built permanently in this country, and attributed the fault to our excessive go-aheadiveness. mr. lay: "true; but if we expended the sums you do on such works, they could not be built at all. they answer a present purpose, and we can afford to renew them in a few years from their own profits." the captain's knowledge of natural history was not precise. he aimed to be knowing when it was difficult to conceal ignorance. he called some well-characterized species of _septaria_ in my cabinet _pudding-stone,_ beautiful specimens of limpid hexagonal crystals of quartz, _common quartz_, &c. mr. george p. marsh, of vermont, brings me a letter of introduction. this gentleman has the quiet easy air of a man who has seen the world. his fine taste and acquirements have procured him a wide reputation. his translation of _rusk's icelandic grammar_ is a scholar-like performance, and every way indicative of the propensities of his mind for philological studies. it is curious to observe, in this language, the roots of many english words, and it denotes through what lengths of mutations of history the stock words of a generic language may be traced. lond, skip, flaska, sumar, hamar, ketill, dal, are clearly the radices respectively of land, ship, flask, summer, hammer, kettle, dale. this property of the endurance of orthographical forms gives one a definite illustration of the importance of language on history. _ th_. a large party of munsees and delawares from the river thames, in upper canada, reach the harbor in a vessel bound for green bay, wisconsin. the rev. mr. vogel, in whose charge they are, lands and visits the office with some of the principal men. he says that most of them have been known as "christian indians." that the number recognized by this title on the thames is , of whom have been excommunicated. of these christian indians, have been left on the thames, in charge of the rev. abraham lukenbach. mr. vogel has in his company persons, but says that others, rendering their number souls inclusive, are on their way by land. thirteen of this party, with white eyes, son of white eyes of frontier war celebrity, came on the th instant, and have been lodged in the public dormitory. they are on their way, in the first place, to the stockbridges, at green bay, and, finally, to their kindred, the delawares, on the kanzas. _ th_. early one morning i was agreeably surprised by the arrival of mrs. jameson, whom i had previously expected to spend some time with me, and found her a most agreeable, refined and intelligent guest, with none of the supercilious and conceited airs, which i had noticed in some of her traveling countrywomen of the class of authors. _ th_. mukonsiwyan, a chippewa chief of the first class, calls, on his way back from a visit to the british annual meeting of the indians, to get their subsidies at the manitouline islands. he was evidently piqued in not having received as much as he expected. he attempted to throw dust in the agent's eyes by the following speech:-- "my father, i wish to warm myself by your fire. i have tried to warm myself by the british fire, but i could not, although i sat close by. they put on _green poplar_, which would throw out no heat. _this_ is the place where hard wood grows,[ ] and i expect to be warmed by its heat." [footnote : the island of mackinack was formerly covered with a forest of rock-maple, ironwood, &c., and much of it is still characterized by these species.] it was said that an _inferior_ quality of blankets had been issued at manitouline. this was the _green poplar_. no guns and no kettles were given. this is the coldness and want of heat, although sitting close by the fire. on the contrary, large and extraordinary presents, and of the best quality, were issued here last season at the execution of the treaty of . this is the _hard wood_ and _good heat_ thrown out to all. the figure derived appositeness from the prevalence of such species on the island. chapter lx. notions of foreigners about america--mrs. jameson--appraisements of indian property--le jeune's early publication on the iroquois--troops for florida--a question of indian genealogy--annuity payments--indians present a claim of salvage--death of the prophet chusco--indian sufferings--gen. dodge's treaty--additional debt claims--gazetteer of michigan--stone's life of brant--university of michigan--christian keepsake--indian etymology--small-pox breaks out on the missouri--missionary operation in the north-west--treaty of flint river with the saginaws. . _aug. th_. a mr. nathan, an english traveler, of quiet and pleasing manners, was introduced. he had been to st. mary's falls, and to the magnificent entrance into lake superior, of whose fine scenery he spoke in terms of admiration. it seems to me that englishmen and englishwomen, for i have had a good many of both sexes to visit me recently, look on america very much as one does when he peeps through a magnifying glass on pictures of foreign scenes, and the picturesque ruins of old cities, and the like. they are really very fine, but it is difficult to realize that such things are. it is all an optical deception. it was clearly so with marryatt, a very superficial observer; miss martineau, who was in search of something ultra and elementary, and even mrs. jameson, who had the most accurate and artistic eye of all, but who, with the exception of some bits of womanly heart, appeared to regard our vast woods, and wilds, and lakes, as a magnificent panorama, a painting in oil. it does not appear to occur to them, that here are the very descendants of that old saxa-gothic race who sacked rome, who banished the stuarts from the english throne, and who have ever, in all positions, used all their might to battle tyranny and oppression, who hate taxations as they hate snakes, and whose day and night dreams have ever been of liberty, that dear cry of _freiheit_, whichever war made "germania" ring. it has appeared to me to be very much the same with the austrian and italian functionaries who have wandered as far as michilimackinack within a few years, but who are yet more slow to appreciate our institutions than the english. the whole problem of our system, one would judge, seems to them like "apples of ashes," instead of the golden fruits of hesperides. they alike mistake realities for fancies; real states of flesh and blood, bone and muscle, for cosmoramic pictures on a wall. they do not appear to dream how fast our millions reduplicate, what triumphs the plough, and the engine, and loom, are making, how the principles of a well guarded representative system are spreading over the world, and what indomitable moral, and sound inductive principles lie at the bottom of the whole fabric. troops arrived from st. mary's this day, to garrison the fort, to keep order during the annuity payments. the chiefs from st. mary's send over a boat for their share of the treaty, tobacco, salt, rice, &c. _ th_. mr. conner, the sub-agent, writes that the saginaws are afflicted by want and threatened by starvation; and, to render their condition extreme, the small-pox has broken out amongst them. ordered relief to be given in the cases specified. _ th_. mrs. jameson writes to mrs. schoolcraft, from toronto: "if i were to begin by expressing all the pain it gave me to part from you, i should not know when or where to end. i do sometimes thank god, that in many different countries i possess friends worthy that name; kind hearts that feel _with_ and _for_ me; hearts upon which my own could be satisfied to rest; but then that parting, that forced, and often hopeless separation which too often follows such a meeting, makes me repine. i will not say, pettishly, that i could wish _never_ to have known or seen a treasure i cannot possess: no! how can i think of you and feel regret that i have known you? as long as i live, the impression of your kindness, and of your character altogether, remains with me; your image will often come back to me, and i dare to hope that you will not forget me _quite_. i am not so unreasonable as to ask you to write to me; i know too well how entirely your time is occupied to presume to claim even a few moments of it, and it is a pity, for 'we do not live by bread alone,' and every faculty and affection implanted in us by the good god of nature, craves the food which he has prepared for it, even in this world; so that i do wish you had a little leisure from eating and drinking, cares and household matters, to bestow on less important things, on me for instance! poor little me, at the other side of the world. "mrs. mcmurray has told you the incidents of our voyage to the manitouline island, from thence to toronto; it was all delightful; the most extraordinary scenery i ever beheld, the wildest! i recall it as a dream. i arrived at my own house at three o'clock on the morning of the th, tired and much eaten by those abominable mosquitoes, but otherwise better in health than i have been for many months. still i have but imperfectly achieved the object of my journey; and i feel that, though i seized on my return every opportunity of seeing and visiting the indian lodges, i know but too little of them, of the women particularly. if only i had been able to talk a little more to my dear neengay! how often i think of her with regret, and of you all! but it is in vain to repine. i must be thankful for what i have gained, what i have seen and done! i have written to mrs. mcmurray, and troubled her with several questions relative to the women. i remark generally, that the propinquity of the white man is destruction to the red man; and the farther the indians are removed from us, the better for them. in their own woods, they are a noble race; brought near to us, a degraded and stupid race. we are destroying them off the face of the earth. may god forgive us our tyranny, our avarice, our ignorance, for it is very terrible to think of!" _ st_. judge mcdonnel, of detroit, reached the island with captain clark of st. clair, these gentlemen having been engaged since spring, in a careful and elaborate appraisement of the indian improvements, under the th article of the treaty of th march, . they commenced their labor in the grand river valley, and continued it along the entire eastern coast of lake michigan, to michilimackinack, not omitting anything which could, by the most liberal construction, be considered "as giving value to the lands ceded." not an apple tree, not a house, or log wigwam, and not an acre, once in cultivation, though now waste, was omitted. they report the whole number of villages in this district at twenty-two, the whole number of improvements at , and the gross population at , souls. this population live in log and bark dwellings of every grade, cultivate acres of land, on which there are , apple trees; besides old fields, the aggregate value of which is put at $ , . they add that these appraisements have been deemed everywhere fully satisfactory to the indians. _ d_. a poor decrepit indian woman, who was abandoned on the beach by her relatives some ten days ago, applied for relief. it is found that she has been indebted for food in the interim to the benevolence of mrs. lafromboise. _ d_. "i take the liberty," says a. w. buel, esq., of detroit, "of addressing you concerning the little book in my possession, touching the early history of new france and the iroquois. you may recollect, perhaps, that on one occasion last winter or spring, when you were in this city, i had some conversation with you concerning it. it is written in french, of old orthography, and was published at paris, a. d. . it purports to have been written by a jesuit, paul le jeune; i am however, inclined to think that it was not all written by him, inasmuch as the orthography of the same indian words varies in different parts of the book. it is rather a small duodecimo volume and contains about pages, of rather coarse print. to give you a better idea of the contents, i will mention the titles of the several chapters." these are omitted. "a few others are appended. the early history of the iroquois, and of our own country, even after its settlement by europeans, you are well aware, is buried in great obscurity. even charlevoix's _histoire de nouvelle france_, i believe, has never been translated into english. i have never seen it, if it has been. that work i suppose to be at present the starting point in the history of the iroquois and new france, as regards minuteness of detail. "this little book (le jeune) was published a considerable time previous. it appears by it that the jesuits had, for several years previously, sent some letters; but i am confident that this is the first book ever published touching directly and minutely the history of the iroquois. caleb atwater, in his book on western antiquities, speaks of a little work published in latin at paris, i think, in , as the first touching the history of new france and the iroquois. i could not at first decide whether it be of much value, i thought it to be such a book as would immediately find its way to the missionaries, and so small as to be easily overlooked. i became at once so far interested in it, as to translate it into english, not certain that i should ever make any further use of it. i have, however, been solicited by some, either to publish a translation of it, or a compendium of the principal matter contained in it, and beg to trouble you so much as to ask your views of the probability of the utility of doing so. will the task be equal to the reward?" _ th_. troops from green bay pass mackinack on their way to florida, to act in the campaign against the seminoles--a weary long way to send reinforcements; but our army is so small, and has so large a frontier to guard, that it must face to the right and left as often as raw recruits under drill. _ th_. received a copy of the _miner's free press_ of wisconsin of the th of august, containing an abstract of a treaty concluded by gov. dodge with the chippewas of the upper mississippi, ceding an important tract of country, lying below the crow-wing river. _sept. d_. the old chief saganosh died. _ th_. the chippewas of sault ste. marie got into a difficulty, among each other, respecting the true succession of the principal chieftainship, and the chiefs came in a body to leave the matter to me. the point of genealogy to be settled runs through three generations, and was stated thus:-- gitcheojeedebun, of the crane totem, had four sons, namely, maidosagee, bwoinais, nawgitchigomee, and kezhawokumijishkum. maidosagee, being the eldest, had nine sons, called, shingabowossin, sizzah, kaugayosh, nattaowa, ussaba, wabidjejauk, muckadaywuckwut, wabidjejaukons, and odjeeg. on the principles of indian descent, these were all cranes of the proper mark, but the chieftainship would descend in the line of the eldest son's children. this would leave shingabowossin's eldest son without a competitor. i determined, therefore, to award the first chiefs medal to kabay noden, the deceased chief shingabowossin's eldest son. _ th_. the annuity payments commence. major jno. garland, u.s.a., having succeeded major whiting as the general disbursing officer on this frontier, arrived early in the month. this officer has been engaged, with his assistants and the aid of the indian department, about a week, in preparing the pay rolls of the indian families, and correcting the lists for deaths, births, and new families. all the payments which were made in silver, at the agency, in my presence, were divided _per capita_. this business of counting and division took three days, during which time the proportionate share of $ , , in half dollars, was paid. the annuities in provisions, tobacco, &c., were delivered in bulk to the chiefs of villages, to be divided by them. mr. john j. blois, of detroit, proposes to publish a gazetteer of michigan, and writes requesting statistical information, &c., of the upper country, an indian nomenclature, &c. mr. palfrey writes proposing to me to review stone's _life of brant_, and mr. dearborn, the publisher at new york, sends me the proofs. _ th_. the payments are finished, and the indians begin to disperse. i invested kabay noden with his father's medal, and his uncle, muckadaywuckwut, with a flag; recommending at the same time the division of the st. mary's chippewas into three bands, agreeably to fixed geographical boundaries. having finished the business of the payments, the disbursing agent embarks on board of the steamer michigan, and the island, which has been thronged for three weeks with indians, indian traders, and visitors, began immediately to empty itself of population. during this assemblage, to pay the ottawas and chippewas their annuity, great care and exactitude have been observed by the concurrently acting officers of the army and the indian department, to carry out strictly the agreements made with them in the spring, by which the payment of half their annuity in silver, due for , was postponed till . yet it was reported in a few days, and reiterated by the press, that the indians had been defrauded out of half their annuities, and that goods, and those of a bad quality, had been given them for silver. and my name was coupled with the transaction, although the indians of all nations who were under my charge, in the state of michigan, had, from first to last, been treated with the kindness and justice of a father. the government at washington came in for no little abuse. mrs. jameson wrote from toronto, asking "whether it was true that a miami chief had offered $ , to enable the indian department to pay their debt to the indians in specie." _ d_. the indians akukojeesh and akawkoway brought a case of salvage for my action. they had found a new carriage body, and harness; a box of by glass, and chairs, floating on the lake (huron), n.e. of the island. they supposed the articles had been thrown overboard, in a recent storm, or by a vessel aground on the point of goose island, called nekuhmenis. the nekuh is a brant. _ th_. chusco dies. completed and transmitted the returns and abstracts of the year's proceedings and expenditures. _oct st_. i sent the interpreter and farmers of the department to perform the funeral rites for chusco, the ottawa jossakeed, who died yesterday at the house erected for him on round island. he was about years of age; a small man, of light frame and walked a little bent. he had an expression of cunning and knowingness, which induced his people, when young, to think he resembled the muskrat, just rising from the water, after a dive. this trait was implied by his name. for many years he had acted as a jossakeed, or seer, for his tribe. in this business he told me that the powers he relied on, were the spirits [ ] of the tortoise, crow, swan, and woodpecker. these he considered his familiar spirits, who received their miraculous power to aid him directly from _mudjee moneto_, or the great evil spirit. after the establishment of the mission at mackinack, his wife embraced christianity. this made him mad. at length his mind ran so much on the theme, that he fell into doubts and glooms when thinking it over, and finally embraced christianity himself; and he was admitted, after a probation of a year or two, to church membership. i asked him, after this period, how he had deceived his people by the art of powwowing, or jugglery. he said that he had accomplished it by the direct influence of satan. he had addressed him, on these occasions, and sung his songs to him, beating the drum or shaking the rattle. he adhered firmly to this opinion. he appeared to have great faith in the atonement of christ, and relied with extraordinary simplicity upon it. he gave a striking proof of this, the autumn after his conversion, when he went with his wife, according to custom, to dig his potatoes on a neighboring island. the wife immediately began to dig. "stop," said he, "let us first kneel and return thanks for their growth." he was aware of his former weakness on the subject of strong drink, and would not indulge in it after he became a church member. [footnote : indians believe animals have souls.] _ d_. received an application for relief from the black river chippewas, near fort gratiot. it is astonishing how completely the resources of the indians have failed with the game, on which they formerly relied. when a calamity arrives, such as a white settlement would surmount without an effort, they at once become objects of public charity. kittemagizzi is their immediate cry. this is now raised by the black river band, under the influence of small-pox. _ th_. received a copy of the treaty of the th of july last with the chippewas. this tribe, like all the other leading tribes of the race, is destined to fritter away their large domain for temporary and local ends, without making any general and permanent provision for their prosperity. the system of temporary annuities will, at last, leave them without a home. when the buffalo, and the deer, and the beaver, are extinct, the indian must work or die. in a higher view, there is no blessing which is not pronounced in connection with _labor_ and _faith_. these the nation falter at. _ th_. finished my report on the additional debt claim, under the treaty of , agreeably to the instructions of the commission of indian affairs, of the d march last, and to the published notice of april th. these claims on the debt fund of the treaty have received the best consideration of the agent and the indian chiefs, with the aid of a secretary authorized at washington, and the result is forwarded with confidence to head-quarters. _ th_. my arduous duties during the summer had thrown some of my private correspondence in the rear. it may now be proper to notice some of it. a letter (aug. th) from st. mary's says: "the schooner john jacob astor arrived on the th instant from the head of lake superior, and the captain brings us information of mr. warren's arrival at la pointe. he attended the treaty at st. peter's, concluded by gov. dodge. the indians are to receive $ , in annuities for twenty years, $ , to the half-breeds, and $ , for indian creditors." "captain stanard brought down a specimen of native copper, similar to the piece of forty-nine pounds weight in your cabinet. it was at de l'isle, fifteen leagues on the north shore from fond du lac." mr. john t. blois, of detroit (sept. th), informs me that he is preparing a gazetteer of michigan. "of the topics," he remarks, "i had proposed to submit to your consideration, one was the etymology of the indian nomenclature, to the extent it has been adopted in the application of proper names to our lakes, rivers, and other inanimate objects. in the preparation of my work, this subject has frequently presented itself to my mind as one of interesting importance, and whose development is more auspicious, at the present time, than it may be at a future day. i had a particular desire to rescue the indian names from that oblivion to which the negligence of the early settlers of other states has permitted them to descend, by the substitution, for no reasonable cause, of insignificant english or french names, without regard to either good taste or propriety. "i wish, among other things, to ask of you the favor to inform me of the origin and signification of the name of our adopted state, michigan." a correspondent at detroit (j.l.s.) writes ( st sept.): "bills have been introduced into both houses to carry out the president's sub-treasury system, and 'tis said calhoun will support the measure. these bills, which were introduced by wright and cambreleng, propose that treasury notes shall be issued not to exceed $ , , ." mr. palfrey ( th sept.) suggests my reviewing col. stone's "life of joseph brant," and the publishers (geo. dearborn and co.) transmit me the proof sheets on sized paper. i sat down with enthusiasm to read them (as far as sent) preparatory to a decision. many things are desirable, and most worthy of commendation. but there were some errors of fact and opinions, which i could not pass over without bringing forward facts which i felt no capacity to manage, without giving offence to one whom i had every reason to regard as a friend. brant had been the scourge of my native state during all the long and bloody war of the revolution; and his enormities had the less excuse to be plastered over on account of his having received a christian education, and speaking and writing his own language. he was doubtless a man much above his red brethren generally, for mental conception and boldness. it is true, i had heard all the terrific details of his cruelties from the lips of my father, who was an actor in the scenes described, at an age when impressions sink deep. but i had outlived my youthful impressions, and felt disposed to regard him as one of the most celebrated individuals of his race, which race i had learned to regard as one of the peculiar types of mankind. but i thought it injudicious to lay the story of the revolution on his shoulders--with the real causes of which his life had about as much to do as the fly on the wagon-wheel, in turning it. i therefore on broad grounds declined it. the establishment of the university of michigan and its branches over the state, now excited considerable attention, and i began to receive letters from various quarters on the subject. "at a meeting of the people of this county (kalamazoo)," says a. edwards, esq., "very advantageous offers were made to the board, in case it was by them deemed proper to establish here one of the two branches contemplated within the senatorial district." mr. daniel b. woods, dorchester, mass., writes me respecting an article for the "christian keepsake," which has passed to the hands of the rev. mr. clark, of philadelphia. _ th_. letters were received to-day from the secretaries of the presbyterian, and from the methodist boards of missions at new york, proposing the establishment of missions for the ottawas and chippewas, under the fourth article of the treaty of . i advised mr. lowry, the organ of the former, and also the methodist society, to select positions south of this island in lake michigan. _ th_. the first snow falls for the season. _ th_. the chiefs of the ottawas at l'arbre croche request that i would procure and send them vaccine matter, having heard that the small-pox existed at grand river, and at maskigo, an ottawa indian, called mis-kweiu-wauk (red cedar) brought a counterfeit half dollar, saying that he had received it at the payments, from major garland. it seemed to me that such was not the fact, but that he had been sent by some saucy fellow. but i thought prudent to give him a good half dollar in its place. _nov. th_. information was received, that a strong party of boisbrules and indians, who went west from red river early in the fall, to hunt the buffalo agreeably to their custom, were met and attacked by the gros venters and sioux of the plains, and one hundred of their number killed in the affray. _ th_. completed arrangements to leave the office during the winter in charge of mr. f. w. shearman. _ th_. embarked at mackinack on board the steamer "madison," for the lower country. _ th_. arrived at detroit, and resumed the duties of the superintendency at that point. charles rodd reports that three hundred saginaws have taken shelter on the st. clair, from the ravages of the small-pox, that they will pass the winter in the vicinity of point au barques; and that, consequently, they will not attend the payments at saginaw this fall. _ th_. asked h. conner, esq., the signification 'of "monguagon," he replied, the true name is mo-gwau-go [nong], and was a man's name, signifying dirty backsides. it was the name of a wyandot who died there. _mo_, in the algonquin, means excrement; _gwau_ is a personal term; _o_, the accusative; and _nong_, place. i observe that, in the hebrew, the same word _mo_, denotes semen. the mode of combination, too, is not diverse; thus, _mo-ab,_ in hebrew, is a substantive of two roots, _mo_, semen, and _ab_, father. paukad [hebrew], hebrew, means to strike upon or against any person or thing. pukatai chip, is to strike anything animate or inanimate. paukad, in the same tongue, means a stroke of lightning. _ th_. judge riggs, who has charge of affairs at saginaw, reports that about twenty indians have been carried off by the small-pox, on the shiawassa, and the same number on the flint river. says the disease was first brought to saginaw by mr. gardiner d. williams, and it was afterwards extended to the flint by mr. campau. _ st_. rev. j. a. agnew, of n.y., addresses me as one of the regents of the university, under a belief that the board will, very soon, proceed to the election of a chancellor and professors. he takes a very just view of the importance of making it a fundamental point, to base the course of instruction on a sound morality, and of insuring the confidence of religious teachers of evangelical views, _ th_. mr. conner brought me, some days ago, a cranium of an indian, named b-tow-i-ge-zhig (both sides of the sun), who was killed and buried near his house in a singular way. it seems that another indian, a young man, had fallen from a tree, and, in his descent, injured his testicles, which swelled up amazingly. etowigezhig laughed at him, which so incensed the young fellow that he suddenly picked up a pot-hook and struck him on the skull. it fractured it, and killed him. so he died for a laugh. he was a good-natured man, about forty-five, and a good hunter. i gave the skull to mr. toulmin smith, a phrenological lecturer. _ th_. mr. cleaveland (rev. john) preached his farewell sermon to the first presbyterian church, detroit, from jonah iii. : "arise and go to nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that i bid thee." this message he has faithfully and ably delivered to them for about five years that he has occupied this pulpit. _ th_. a letter of this date, from fort union, on the missouri, published in the st. louis bulletin, gives a frightful account of the ravages of the small-pox among the mandans, aurickerees, minitares and gros venters, of the missouri. this disease, which first broke out about the th of july, among the mandans, carried off about fifteen hundred of that tribe. it left about one hundred and thirty souls.[ ] it spread rapidly, and during the autumn carried off about half of the two tribes mentioned. it was carried to the blackfeet, crees, and assinaboines, who also suffered dreadfully. upwards of one thousand of the blackfeet perished, and about five hundred minitares. whole lodges were swept away, and the desolations created were frightful. [footnote : the report that they were entirely extinguished was an error. the survivors fled to their relatives, the minnitares, where they increased rapidly, when they returned to their ancient villages on the missouri, where they now ( ) reside, numbering about five hundred souls.] _ th_. mr. f. ayer writes from pokegoma, on snake river, of the st. croix valley of the upper mississippi: "shall we be molested by government soon, or at a future time; or, in case the government sell the land to a company, or to individuals, will they consider our case and make any reservation in our favor?" _dec. d_. rev. oren o. thompson writes in relation to michilimackinack:-- " . have you a missionary engaged for that station? " . do you feel the importance and necessity of obtaining one who is already acquainted with the indian language? " . do you wish to engage one for that station, who is in sentiment a presbyterian? " . are there appropriations for his support? " . what will be his business particularly? " . how long will he probably be wanted there? " . what, in your opinion, is the prospect of his usefulness there?" _dec. st_. mr. hamill, of lawrenceville, n.j., responds to my inquiry for a suitable school for my son--a matter respecting which i am just now very solicitous. _ th_. set out by railroad for flint river, accompanied by major garland and mr. conner. weather very cold, and the snow forming a good road. at pontiac, we took a double sleigh, and drove out to flint village. i was invited to his house by mr. hascall, who did everything to render the visit agreeable. between and indians were assembled. they appeared poorly clad, and needy, having suffered greatly from the small-pox during the autumn and winter. about had died on the shiawassa river, and some on the flint. after the major had completed the payment of their annuities and delivery of goods, i opened a negotiation with them to complete the sale of their reservations. _ th_. in a letter of this date, dr. greene, sec. of the a.b.c., for f. missions, adverts to the positions heretofore taken, by that board, respecting the missionary establishment at mackinack. the moral position of that board, with respect to _that_ mission, appears to me to be wrong. this mission involves the mission cause, in some important respects, with the entire question of missionary operations over the north-west--reaching from lat. ° to °, with many degrees of longitude; for, from all this region, the indian boys and girls of the mission have been collected. it began operations with them, i think, in ; and having, in this interval, expended many thousand dollars, and erected expensive buildings, it now drops the thing, just at the point when the indians have commenced important cessions, and when their condition is such that they are not only inclined to receive interior teachers and evangelists, which have been raised at that central point, but, by these cessions to the government, they have provided funds for schools and teachers. merely because the excellent superintendent determined, two or three years ago, to leave this important point and enter into secular business, to provide for a growing family; and because the attraction of foreign fields carries young clergymen abroad, to the detriment of the home field, it does not, i think, fulfil the highest requisitions of duty to abandon the field, and thereby to leave it to be said that the board doubts god's purposes with regard to the red man. if the missionary himself, who has so many years conducted the concern with approbation, was not willing to trust his rewards to a higher power, but aimed, as it were, to steady himself by stretching forth his hand, it seems to me the race ought not to be the sufferers for such a course. they constitute a vastly more appropriate field of labor than the "millions of foreign lands," who sit, to a large extent, unaffected by the gospel. not, indeed, that those fields should be neglected; but the indian race, and these large families of it, are worthy of a warmer sympathy than i can see in dr. greene's letters, or the decisions of the board by whom he is governed. _ th_. signed a supplementary treaty with the saginaws at flint. by this treaty the saginaws relinquish their reserves in this valuable and rapidly settling portion of the country, and agree to accept a location on the head waters of the osage, which their chiefs, have explored. they are to occupy two of their reservations on the west shores of saginaw bay, for five years. the government is to pay them the entire proceeds of the land, as sold in the public land offices. they set apart funds for schools, and to pay their debts. this tribe has now no instructors. they have the reputation of being turbulent, and averse to all plans of improvement. their history is fraught with deeds of violence. they made bloody inroads on the settlements of western virginia and pennsylvania, after the close of the war of the revolution, and brought away captives. one of these was the notorious and infamous john tanner. they lived under a perfect dictator, in the person of kish-ka-ko, who made and altered laws to suit a strong-willed savage mind. they were originally a band of chippewa refugees. they settled here when the sauks in the th century were driven off. their name is derived from this. the true sound of the word is _saukinong_, or place of the sauks. it has been improperly assimilated to saganosh, _i.e._, englishman. _ d_. rev. john a. clark, of philadelphia, writes, requesting a contribution to the "christian keepsake," which denotes the interest in the indian subject to be unabated. chapter lxi. tradition of pontiac's conspiracy and death--patriot war--expedition of a body of men to boisblanc--question of schools and missions among the indians--indian affairs--storm at michilimackinack--life of brant--interpreterships and indian language--a mohegan--affair of the "caroline"--makons--plan of names for new towns--indian legends--florida war--patriot war--arrival of gen. scott on the frontiers--résumé of the difficulties of the florida war--natural history and climate of florida--death of doctor lutner. . _jan. st_. office of indian affairs, detroit,--in the recent trip to flint river, mr. henry conner told me one day that he had been acquainted with the indian person who, in , informed major gladwyn, the commanding officer at detroit, of pontiac's conspiracy. the affair had other motives than carver imagines. she thought more of saving the life of major gladwin than of saving the whole anglo-saxon race. she had been a very handsome person in her youth, being nearly white, though of indian blood. owing to her gallantries, her husband had bit off her nose. when an old woman, she became intemperate, and, on one of these occasions, at a sugar camp on the clinton river, she fell backward into a boiling kettle of sap, and thus perished. truly "the way of the transgressor is hard." he stated the tradition respecting pontiac's death as it was related by a chief who well knew the facts. the english made great efforts to conciliate a man of such powerful abilities and influence, and endeavored to enlist him as an ambassador among the western indians to bring them into their interests. pontiac used deception in appearing to fall in with their views, and went on this business to the country of the illinois, which was then about to be surrendered to them. they took the precaution to send with him, as an associate, a chief called chianocquot, or the big cloud, who was strongly attached to their interests. when pontiac reached the region of the illinois posts, instead of persuading the indians to peace and friendship with the english, he advised them not to surrender the country, and, in his addresses to them, he used the most persuasive arguments to dissuade them from permitting the surrendry at all, and gave vent to his natural feelings and sentiments in favor of the french and against the english. this had been his policy at detroit. he appeared instinctively to dread the advance of the english race, or, perhaps, really foresaw that their arts and industry, against the adoption of which he so vehemently inveighed, would uproot and crush the aboriginal race. chianocquot was roused to anger by this duplicity and dispatched him.[ ] [footnote : nicollet, in his _hydrographical report_ in , has placed this tradition in its proper light. he gives a somewhat different account of pontiac's death, which he states to have taken place when he was in liquor, and the blow was insidiously given. a kaskaskia indian, it seems, was hired for a barrel of rum by an indian trader to commit the act. the blow he inflicted by his club fractured the skull of his victim, who lingered a while, but eventually died of the wound. this was at fort chartres, in illinois.] mr. conner continued: pontiac's village and residence near detroit was peach island and the main shore directly abreast of it, north-east. in the summer he lived on the island, and in the winter on the main land. pontiac was offended at the indian who, during the siege, killed mcdougel, and would have put him to death for the act had the murderer not fled. the man who did it had been absent, and did not know that this officer had received permission to return to the fort. _ th_. walter lowrie, esq., secretary of the presbyterian board of foreign missions at new york, writes that the executive committee have determined to establish a mission and school among the chippewas and ottawas of lake michigan as early in the spring as suitable men can be procured. _ th_. the canadian, or patriot war, is now at its height. the city has been kept in a perfect turmoil by it for weeks. the setting fire to outbuildings or deserted houses almost every dark night, appears to be connected with it. one dark night i stumbled and fell on an uneven pavement on a part of jefferson avenue, and immediately a voice cried "hurrah for canada!" there was an intense excitement among the lower classes in its favor, which it required a high degree of moral energy in the lovers of law and order to keep down. this morning a conservative force of volunteer militia embarked, at two p.m., in a steamer for amherstburg (the malden of the war of ), to demand the surrendry of the state arms recently taken from their place of deposit--the city jail. this demand is to be made of the patriot refugee force from canada, who are about to take post on the island of boisblanc, at the mouth of the detroit river. it was a well-armed force, with muskets and cartridge-boxes well filled; but it was found that, on the way down the river, their cartridge-boxes had been relieved, by persons friendly to the patriots on board, of every particle of ammunition. the detachment returned about eleven o'clock at night, having proved wholly unsuccessful in the object of the movement. mr. ball, a representative in the local legislature from kent county, called this day to inquire into the propriety of establishing a sub-agency at grand rapids, on grand river, for the ostensible benefit of the ottawas in that quarter. the question of the division of funds between schools established for a part of the same people at gull prairie, under the care of mr. slater, and the separate school at sault ste. marie, in chippewa county, in the care of mr. bingham, both of which are under the general direction of the baptist missionary board at boston, was considered and approved, and letters written accordingly. these efforts, at detached points, to improve the race must, we are inclined to believe, eventually fail. two races so diverse in mind and habits cannot prosper together permanently; but the hope is that temporary good may be done. an indian who is converted and dies in the faith, is essentially "a brand plucked out of the fire," and no man can undertake to estimate the moral value of the act. a child who is taught to read and write is armed with two requisites for entering civilized life. but the want of general efficient efforts, unobstructed by local laws and deleterious influences, cannot but, in a few years, convince the boards that the colonization of the tribes west is the best, if not the only hope of prosperity to the race _as a race_. _ th_. lieut. e. s. sibley, u.s.a., sets out to pay the grand river indians. i commissioned charles h. oakes, esq., to witness the pay rolls. mr. conner returns the same day from attending the payments of the swan creek and black river bands. he reports the indians on the american side of the lines not disposed to engage in the present unhappy contest in the canadas. exertions, he affirms, have been made by the british authorities to induce the chippewas living in canada, opposite to the mouth of black river, to engage in the conflict against their revolted people, but without success. they threatened, if matters were pushed, to flee to the american side. he states, also, that a council to the same effect had been held with the canada indians opposite peach island, at the foot of lake st. glair, which resulted in the same declaration. _ th_. the appraisement rolls transmitted to washington by messrs. macdonnel & clarke, the appraisers appointed under the th article of the treaty of th march, , were judged to be too high; and the subject was referred for revision to maj. garland and myself. i this day transmitted a joint reply of the major and myself, stating how impossible it would be to revise so complex a subject without opportunities of personal examination in each case--a business which neither of us desires. _ th_. received the first winter express from mackinack, transmitting reports from the various persons in official employ there. they report a great storm at that place on the th and th of december, , in the course of which the light-house on boisblanc was blown down, and other damage done by the rise of water. _ th_. received the senate's printed document, no. , containing the president's annual message and all the secretaries' reports. the commissioner of indian affairs recommends the abolition of sub-agencies, and the raising of the pay of interpreters--two measures recommended in my annual report. the department is very much in the hands of ignorant and immoral interpreters, who frequently misconceive the point to be interpreted. could we raise up a set of educated and moral men for this duty, the department would stand on high grounds. surely, a sort of normal institute could teach the principles of the indian grammar, as well as the greek. there is no _sound_ without a _meaning_, and no meaning conveyed without an orthographical _rule_. they do not _gabble_ at random, as some think. their modes of utterance are, it is true, often defective, but they are not without grammatical _laws_, i inquired into this matter at my first entrance into the indian country of the algonquins, sixteen years ago. i found that verbs had eight classes of conjugations, and ten including the broad vowels; five declensions of nouns, and two sets of pronouns, one to be placed before and the other at the end of the verb and substantive. that all substantives could be changed into verbs; that there were a stock of adjective and prepositional participles, and that the mode of forming compounds and derivatives was varied, but all subject to the most exact rules. they have a very accurate appreciation of _sound_ and its varied meanings, and are pushed to use figures to help out or illustrate a meaning; but the excessive refinements of syntax, for which some contend, are theories in the minds of unpracticed collaborators. _ th_. i wrote to mr. palfrey, e.n.a.r., declining to review stone's "brant," and apprizing him of the preparation of an article on the "north-west," by mr. i. lanman. "i take this occasion to say that i have received the proof-sheets of some hundred and fifty pages of col. stone's _life of brant_. it is a work somewhat discursive, and involves some critical points in indian history and customs. i should not feel willing to commence a notice of it, without having the whole before me. the hero of the work hardly exerts influence enough on the revolutionary contest to justify the attempt of piling on him so much of the materials of that momentous contest, and i think, moreover, there is a perceptible attempt made to _whitewash_ a man who lived and died with no slight nor undeserved opprobrium." _ th_. hendrick apaumut, a mohegan chief, of wisconsin, applied for aid, in money, to facilitate his journey to washington. what the indians lack, in their business affairs, is system and method; foresight to plan, and stability to carry into effect. received a copy of the message of the president, communicating the thrilling circumstances of the recent massacre on board of the ill-fated steamer "caroline," and the gross outrage of national rights committed by the burning of that boat and the destruction of her crew. palliatives for the act will undoubtedly be plead; but the act itself will probably make a hero, in the estimation of his countrymen, of mr. mcnab, if it does nothing more. _ d_. the friends of education in michigan, having assembled in convention, issue a circular calling attention to that vital subject, and recommend a "journal of public instruction" to the patronage of the people. there can be no fear of our institutions as long as education is cherished. _ th_. maconse (the little bear), chief of the swan creeks, writes to gov. mason that it is reported some of his people are about to join the canadian authorities to put down the partial revolt. the governor, probably thinking i would better know how to deal with him, sends the letter to me. the fellow, whose moral code is not very high, only meant to give himself a little consequence by it. both he and his people will take good care to keep out of harm's way. _ th_. gov. mason informs me that he has communicated to the legislature of michigan my plan for a system of indian names communicated to him on the th instant, for the new counties and towns, founded on the idea of the avoidance of the number of dead letters reported as annually received at washington, from their misdirection. this misdirection is supposed to arise chiefly from great repetition of old township, city, county, and village names. let any one take up a gazetteer or post-office list who wishes to see this. names that are sonorous and appropriate are rejected; but there is hardly a county in any of the new states without their springfields, and fairfields, and oxfords, and warwicks without number. where they do not abound taste is often put to shame. mud creek, and jack's corner, and shingle hollow are doubtless appropriate names compared to some. but cannot _we supply a remedy by drawing on the aboriginal vocabulary_? _ th_. completed the revision of a body of indian oral legends, collected during many years with labor. these oral tales show up the indian in a new light. their chief value consists in their exhibition of aboriginal opinions. but, if published, incredulity will start up critics to call their authenticity in question. there are so many indian tales fancied, by writers, that it will hardly be admitted that there exist any _real_ legends. if there be any literary labor which has cost me more than usual pains, it is this. i have weeded out many vulgarisms. i have endeavored to restore the simplicity of the original style. in this i have not always fully succeeded, and it has been sometimes found necessary, to avoid incongruity, to break a legend in two, or cut it short off. the steamer "robert fulton" arrived at detroit, with three companies of u.s. troops, under the command of col. worth, to keep up neutrality, put down the wild "patriot movement," and prevent disturbances on the frontier. _ th_. mr. trowbridge tells me that he has heard of the arrival of our minister to france (gen. cass), at port mahon, with his family, on his return to paris, from his mediterranean tour. he had carried out a letter to com. elliot, from the president, to offer him every facility in this trip to visit the sites of oriental cities. _ th_. transmit to washington a plan and estimates for building a dormitory at mackinack, under the provision of the treaty of march, . such a building has been long called for at that point, where the indians are often sojourners, without a place to sleep, or cook the provisions furnished them. _feb. st_. the _knickerbocker magazine says_: "that the indian oratory contains many attributes of true eloquence. with a language so barren, and minds too free for the rules of rhetoric, they still attained a power of touching the feelings, and a sublimity of style, which rival the highest productions of their more cultivated enemies." _ th_. mr. palfrey, in a letter of this date, observes: "i have only to repeat that, in the preparation of the article (on stone's 'brant'--which i hope you will not think of giving up), i trust you will not hesitate to introduce, with the utmost freedom, whatever your respect for the truth of history, and distaste for the tricks of bookmaking, may dictate." _ th_. general jessup writes to the department that, "we have committed the error of attempting to remove the seminoles, when their lands were not required for agricultural purposes, when they were not in the way of the white inhabitants, and when the greater portion of their country was an unexplored wilderness, of the interior of which we were as ignorant as of the interior of china." he recommends a line of occupancy west of the kissamee and okee chubbe, which they may be allowed to occupy. _ th_. w. lowrie, esq., s.p.b.f. missions, in a letter of this date, says: "i was glad to see your suggestion to the government in relation to a cabinet and library in the indian office." _ d_. charles e. anderson, esq., of new york, announces his intention to visit europe. "i will not leave here until the th of march, at least, when i shall take out my wife with me, and anticipate much gratification in presenting her to such a pattern of goodness and true feminine excellence as mrs. cass. anything you wish to forward i will attend to with pleasure, and when in paris will not forget the interesting subject of your letter, and will inform you what books may be obtained respecting the early history of the country." _ th_. gen. scott this day arrived at detroit, with a view to quiet the disturbances on the lines, and see to the proper disposition of the troops along the chain of lakes to effect this end. i immediately called on him, and offered him any of the peculiar facilities, which are at the command of the indian department, in sending expresses in the indian country, &c. _ th_. major h. whiting, u.s.a., writes from st. augustine, florida: "i have been favored with your letter of a month since, it having, i dare say, made all due diligence the post office arrangements admit. but the time shows the sort of intercourse i am doomed to have with my detroit friends. i consider that the country ought to feel under obligations to one who serves her at such a sacrifice. indeed, she can make us no adequate return, but to allow me to return--the only _return_ i ask. when, however, that favor will be granted is past my guessing. you ask when the war will terminate? you could not puzzle any of us more than by putting such a question. we are more at our wit's end than the war's end. and yet i do not see that anything has been left undone, that might have been done. the army has moved steadily toward its objects. but those objects are like a mirage, they are always nearly the same distance off. what can we do in such a case? "the army for the last few weeks has been operating in a country that is more than half under water. it has often been difficult to find a spot dry enough for an encampment. if the troops do not all come out web-footed, it is because water can't make a duck's leg. "i am on the lookout for specimens. i have one small alligator's bones, and have laid in for those of a larger one, an old settler, no doubt going back to bartram's days. alligators here have suffered more than the indians in this war. i should judge that several hundreds have been killed from the boats as they pass up and down. they all have a bed just in the bank of the river, where they sleep in the sun, and the temptation is too great for any rifle, and they generally wake up a little too late. mineral specimens here are not various. i have collected a few in order to show my friends, who can draw inferences from them. shells have had a principal hand in the formation of this peninsula. they form the ninety-ninth part of the rock in this quarter. it is a most convenient formation, being worked almost as easily as clay, and yet it makes substantial walls. frost, i presume, would play the deuce with it. but that is a thing not much known here. i have not yet had the pleasure to fix my northern eye on a piece of ice this winter, though there has been a cream thickness of it once or twice. a pitcher frozen over here makes more noise than the river frozen over at detroit. the frogs have piped here all winter--happy dogs. i have been out at all times and in all places, and i don't think my nose has been blue but once since i have been here--i have not been blue myself once. i have not yet been to ponce de leon's spring. but there are some springs here of a wondrous look. they are so transparent that the fish can scarce believe themselves there in their own element. the mackinack waters are almost turbid to them. they have a most sulphurous odour, and _might_ renew a man's youth, but it must be at the expense of all sweet smells. i would rather keep on than go back on such conditions. "in the fight which lieut. powell had with the indians, a doctor lutner was killed, who was a scientific man, and had joined the expedition to botanize, &c. he had already done something in that way, and would have done much more. such a life is a great loss." chapter lxii. indiana tampered with at grand river--small-pox in the missouri valley--living history at home--sunday schools--agriculture--indian names--murder of the glass family--dr. morton's inquiries respecting indian crania--necessity of one's writing his name plain--michigan gazetteer in preparation--attempt to make the indian a political pack-horse--return to the agency of michilimackinack--indian skulls phrenologically examined--j. toulmin smith--cherokee question--trip to grand river--treaty and annuity payments--the department accused of injustice to the indians. . _march d_. lieut. e. s. sibley, u.s.a., called at the office, and reported certain things which had been put into the heads of the indians of grand river, by interested persons, which they had at the recent annuity payments, requested him to state to me. also, the fact of an outrage upon one of their number, committed by a white person, which should have been redressed at once by the civil magistrates. there is but one way of escape for the indians living in white communities, that is, to place them, at once, under the protection, and subject to the penalties of our criminal and civil codes. _ d_. renewed and confirmatory accounts are published at st. louis, of the desolating effects of the small-pox among the indian tribes on the missouri. in addition to the tribes mentioned in the first accounts as having suffered, the upsarokees, or crows, have been dreadfully afflicted. the various bands of the pie-gans, blood indians, and blackfeet, have lost great numbers. and the visitation of this appalling disease, against which they have no remedy, has been one of the severest ever felt by these tribes. compared to it, the loss that the saginaws and other local bands in michigan have felt, is small; but it is an instructive fact, that the outbreak has been concurrent in point of time, on the missouri and in michigan, which would seem to imply a climatic condition of the atmosphere, on a wide scale, favorable to morbid eruptions. _ th_. a.e. wing, esq., declines to deliver the annual address before the michigan historical society, owing to other engagements. few men who have capacity are found willing to devote the time necessary for the preparation of a literary address, even where the materials for it would appear to lie ready. the pressing practical calls of life, in a new country, where there is no hereditary wealth, appear to furnish a valid reason for this. but another reason is, that the materials and frame-work of an address are sought for at too great a distance, and are thought to lie too deeply buried, to be disinterred by any but extraordinary hands. this is a mistake. the subjects are at home, and exist not only in exploring old literary mines, but in the very circumstances around us. what more extraordinary than the current which throws such masses of people daily among us, tearing up, as it were, the old plan of life, and laying the foundations of new social ties in the wilderness. not a county is settled in the west, the initial steps of which does not furnish legitimate materials for an address which would edify the living generation, and instruct those which are to follow us. a single century hence, and how much tradition will sleep in the grave that might now be rescued! somebody has written a book "how to observe," but there is good need of another--"how to think." _ th_. a new and growing society has every kind of moral want. the necessity for education exists in a thousand forms; and if the friends of it do not bestir themselves, the enemies will. the friends of the sunday school union, in michigan, feeling impressed with these views, issued a circular this day, making an appeal which deserves a hearty response. michigan mind appears very active in every department. _ th_. received a circular (from messrs. baloh & wales, of marshall, calhoun co.) for the issue of an agricultural paper, adequate to the wants of that interest. _ th_. dr. d. houghton, the agent of the geological survey of the state, which is in progress, commits to me, in a letter of this date, the topic of the indian terminology, and the bestowal of new names, from the aboriginal vocabulary. _ th_. an inquest was held this day, in ionia, on the head waters of grand river, on the bodies of a woman and two children, supposed (mistakingly) to have been murdered by the indians. by the testimony adduced, it is shown that a mr. aensel d. glass, of whose family the bodies consist, lived about four miles from the nearest neighbor. he had not been seen since the th of the month. on the th, a mr. hiram brown, one of his nearest neighbors, went there on business, and found the house burned, and the bodies of his wife and children lying half burned in the area of the house (which was of logs), having been previously most horribly mutilated. no trace could be found of mr. glass, nor of a good rifle, two axes, and two barrels of flour, which he was known to have had. suspicion first fell on the grand river ottawas. i investigated the subject, and found this unjust. they are a peaceable, orderly, agricultural people, friendly to the settlers, and having no cause of dislike to them. suspicion next fell on the saginaws, who hunt in that quarter, and whose character has not recovered from the imputation of murder and plunder committed during the war of . petossegay was named as the probable aggressor. but on an investigation made by mr. conner, at saginaw, this imputation was also found improbable, and he was dismissed, leaving the horrible mystery unexplained.[ ] [footnote : mr. glass was subsequently, in , found alive in wisconsin.] _april st_. dr. samuel george morton, of philadelphia, who is preparing a comprehensive work on aboriginal crania, writes:--"your obliging letter, offering me any information you might possess that would promote my work on the skulls of the american tribes, makes me free to put to you the following inquiries, inasmuch as i am desirous of seeing as many tribes, and as many individuals as possible, in a limited space of time. "when will the next annual payment be made at mackinaw, and how many tribes, and what number of people do you think will assemble on that occasion? "if i visit mackinaw, can i readily cross the country to the mississippi, and what length of time will be required on the journey? "it is my intention to visit mackinaw, or any adjacent place, that, in your judgment, will give me the greatest opportunity for seeing the indians, and i shall await your advice thereon. "my work progresses rapidly. twenty of sixty plates are already finished, and i hope to complete the work before the close of the year. i shall soon have an opportunity of forwarding, as far as detroit, a set of my plates for your inspection and acceptance." _ th_. washington irving writes: "i have to acknowledge the receipt of a letter informing me of my having been elected an honorary member of the michigan historical society, of which, i perceive, you are president. not being able to make out the name of the corresponding secretary, i have to ask the favor of you to assure the society of the deep sense i entertain of the honor they have done me, and my ready disposition to promote the views of so meritorious an institution." what is worthy of note herein is this, that the name which the distinguished writer could not make out, is that of one of our most fluent penmen, namely, c.c. trowbridge, esq., but who, on scrutiny, i perceive, writes his name worse than anything else, and so inconceivably bad that a stranger might not be able to guess it. _ th_. mr. john t. blois, who is engaged on a gazetteer of the state of michigan, acknowledges the receipt from me of some details respecting the statistical and topographical departments of his work. the difficulty to be met with by all gazetteers of the new states, consists in this, that most classes of the data alter so much in a few years that the books do not present the true state of things. towns and counties spring up like magic, and if old aladdin had his lamp he could not more expeditiously cover the shores of streams, and valleys, and plains, with seats, mills, and various institutions belonging to our system.[ ] [footnote : this was proved by the result. the work was published in oct., , and was a very creditable performance, but the author had been two or three or even four years about it, and the information was just this time out of date.] _ th_. a memorial is got up in ionia county, on grand river, respecting the indians, their feelings and their affairs. in it facts are distorted, opinions misapprehended, and the acts and policy of the government and its agents greatly misconceived in some things, and wholly misrepresented in others. and the paper, when examined by the lights of treaties and acts, as they really occurred, is to be regarded as the work of some ambitious man who wishes to get on the backs of the indians to ride into office, or to promote, in some other way, selfish and concealed ends. all such attempts, though they may seem to "run well" for a time, and may result in temporary success, may be safely left to the counteraction of right opinions. for it has always remained an axiom of truth, verified by every day's experience, "that he that diggeth a pit for his neighbor shall himself fall into it." _ th_. general jo. m. brown, of the militia, who with the valor of the redoubtable peter stuyvesant at christina, marched into toledo, "brimful of wrath and cabbage," transmits the above precious memorial, not to the department, or the president, to whom it is ostensibly addressed, but to the editor of a political party paper at detroit, to "manufacture" public opinion, claiming, at the same time, very high motives for so very disinterested an act, in which the good of the indians, and the integrity of public faith, are clearly held forth as the aim of the writer. the editor endorsing it with most high-sounding phrases, in which he speaks of it as taking fit place beside the most atrocious fictions, which have been conjured up by mistaken heads and zealous hearts, anxious to ride the aforesaid "indian question," in relation to the cherokees and florida indians. when all this grandiloquent display of parental sympathy, and a sense of outraged justice, is stripped of its false garbs and put into the crucible of truth, the result is, that political capital can be made just now of the handling of the topic. a delay of a few months (owing to the fiscal crisis at washington) in the payment of half the annuity for the year, and the neglect or refusal of a few bands to come for the other moiety, as ready in silver, and paid at the stipulated time and place, is made the subject of allusion in this political hue and cry. as to these bands, they are the most peaceable, corn-planting, and semi-agricultural bands in the state. they have been pre-eminently cultivators from an early date of their history, and have been so characteristically addicted to barter, in the products of their industry as to be called by the other algonquin bands, ottawas, or traders from the days of champlain. they had probably as little to do with the glass murder in ionia, which is alleged as an instance of hostility to the united states, as gen. jo. m. brown himself. _ th_. mrs. caroline lee hentz, one of our female writers, in a note of acknowledgment to the hist. soc., falls into the same quandary about making out the signature of one of our most expert and beautiful penmen, that washington irving did. she could by no means make out mr. trowbridge's name, and addressed her reply to me. _ st_. having passed the winter at detroit, i left the superintendency office in charge of mr. lee, an efficient clerk, and embraced the sailing of one of the earliest vessels for the upper lakes, to return to michilimackinack. winter still showed some of its aspects there, although gardening at detroit had been commenced for weeks. the difference in latitude is nearly four and a half degrees; the geographical distance is computed by mariners at miles. _may st._ in a communication from mr. j. toulmin smith, he expresses his anxiety to procure some indian skulls from the tribes of the upper lakes, to be employed in his lectures on phrenology; and, also, for the purpose of transmission to london. this gentleman lectured acceptably on this topic during the winter at detroit. during these lectures, i gave him the skull of etowigezhik, a chippewa, who was killed on mr. conner's farm about four or five years ago. he pronounced the anterior portion to exceed in measurement by one-half an inch the posterior, and drew conclusions favorable to the natural intellect. _ th_. the cherokee question assumes a definite crisis. gen. scott issues, under this date, a friendly proclamation to the cherokees, calling on them to remove peaceably, under the terms of the treaty of , telling them that more than two years had already elapsed after the time agreed on, and that they would be provided, in their removal to the west of the mississippi, with food, clothing, and every means of transportation; and making a just and humane appeal to their sense of justice to remote; but assuring them that, if these considerations were allowed to pass unheeded, his instructions were imperative, and he had an army at his command, and would be compelled to order it to act in the premises. such an appeal must be successful. however much we may sympathize with the poetic view of the subject, and admire that spirit of the human heart which loves to linger about its ancient seats and homes, the question in this case has assumed a purely practical aspect founded on public transactions, which cannot be recalled. the inaptitude of the indian tribes generally, for conducting the business of self-government, and their want of a wise foresight in anticipating the relative power and position of the two great opposing races in america, namely, the white and red, has been the primary cause of all their treaty difficulties. the treaties themselves are not violated in any respect, but being written by lawyers and legalists, the true intent of some of these provisions, or the relative condition of the parties at a given time, are not sometimes fully appreciated; and at other times, the indian chiefs exercise diplomatic functions which their nation has not restored, as in the case of the creeks of georgia, or to the exercise of which the majority are actually opposed, as in the treaty of new echota with the cherokees. some of their most intelligent and best minds led the way to and signed the treaty of final cession of new echota, in . but the compensation being found ample, and the provisions wise, and such as would, in the judgment of the united states senate, secure their prosperity and advancement permanently, that body, on large consideration, yielded its assent, making, at the same time, further concessions to satisfy the malcontents. these are the final arrangements for leaving the land to which gen. scott, in his proclamation, alludes. this tribe has lived in its present central position longer than the period of exact history denotes. they are first heard of under the name of "achalaques," by the narrator of de soto's conquest of florida, in ; within a dozen years of three centuries ago. _june d_. i proceeded, during the latter part of may, to visit the ottawas of the southern part of michigan, to inquire about their schools under the treaty of ' , and to learn, personally, their condition during the state of the rapid settlements pressing around them. i went to chicago by steamboat, and there found a schooner for grand river. here i was pleased to meet our old pastor, mr. ferry, as a proprietor and pastor of the newly-planned town of grand haven. i had to wait here, some days, for a conveyance to the grand rapids, which gave me time to ramble, with my little son, about the sandy eminences of the neighborhood, and to pluck the early spring flowers in the valley. the "washtenong," a small steamer with a stern-wheel, in due time carried us up. among the passengers was an emigrant english family from canada, who landed at a log house in the woods. i was invited, at the rapids, to take lodgings with mr. lewis campeau, the proprietor of the village. the fall of grand river here creates an ample water power. the surrounding country is one of the most beautiful and fertile imaginable, and its rise to wealth and populousness must be a mere question of time, and that time hurried on by a speed that is astonishing. this generation will hardly be in their graves before it will have the growth and improvements which, in other countries, are the results of centuries. _ th_. i this day, in a public council at the court house, paid the indians the deferred half annuity of last year ( ) in silver coin, and afterwards concluded a treaty with them, modifying the treaty of th march, , so far as to make it obligatory on the government to pay their annuities here instead of michilimackinack. the annuities in salt, tobacco, provisions and goods, were also delivered to them by agents appointed for the purpose. they expressed themselves, and appeared to be highly gratified, with the just fulfilment of every treaty obligation, and with the kind and benevolent policy and treatment of the american government. i took this occasion to call their attention to the murder of the glass family in ionia, in the month of march last. they utterly disclaimed it, or any participation of any kind in its perpetration. they agreed to send delegates west, in accordance with the th art. of the treaty of ' , to explore the country on the sources of the osage river, for their future permanent residence. they were well content with their teachers and missionaries of all denominations. the chief nawequageezhig, in particular, spoke with a commanding voice and just appreciation on the subject, which evinced no ordinary mental elevation, purpose and dignity. _ th_. george bancroft, esq., of boston, in a letter of this date, observes: "i can only repeat, what before i have urged on you, to collect all the materials that can illustrate the language, character and origin of the natives, and the early settlement of the french." the encouragement i receive from my literary and scientific friends, and which has been continued these many years, is, indeed, of a character which is calculated to stimulate to new exertions, although the love for such exertions pre-exists. i do not know that i shall live to make use of the materials i collect, or that i have the capacity to digest and employ them; but if not, they may be useful in the hands of other laborers. _ th_. office of indian affairs, michilimackinack. on returning from grand river, i observed a continuation of the misrepresentations begun last winter, respecting the indian policy and proceedings of the department. a ground for these misconceptions, and in some things, perversions, arose from the _goods' offer_ for the half annuity, made in . this offer being rejected by the michigan indians, was renewed to those of wisconsin, and accepted by the menomonies of green bay. traders and merchants who were expecting the usual payments of cash annuities to the indians, were sorely disappointed by finding a single tribe in the lake country paid in merchandise. the policy itself was a bad one, and denoted the inexperience and consequent unfitness of mr. carey a. harris for the post of commissioner of indian affairs at washington. i anticipated the storm it would raise on the frontiers, and, when the project was transmitted to me, did not attempt to influence my indians (the michigan indians) to accept or reject it, but left it entirely to their own judgments, after appointing two honest men to show the goods and state the prices. a less impartial course appears to have been pursued at green bay, where this policy of the "goods offer" of was loudly called in question. i had shielded the tribes under my care from it, and should have had credit for it from all honest and candid men, but finding no disposition in some quarters to discriminate, i immediately, on reaching home, sat down and wrote a plain and clear statement of the affair for the public press, and having thus satisfied my sense of justice and truth, left others, who had acted wholly out of my jurisdiction and influence, to vindicate themselves. j.w. edmonds, esq., and maj. john garland, who had been chief actors in the matter, did so. but it seemed like talking against a whirlwind. the whole action of this offer, on the michigan indians, _was to postpone, by their own consent_, the payment of the half annuity in coin one year. the grand river indians declined to come to mackinack, the place specially named in the treaty, to receive their half annuity, in consequence of which, it was not practicable to send it to them till the next spring. i paid it myself on the th of june, , in silver. yet the rumor of gross injustice to the indians only gained force as it spread. the grand river memorialists made "nuts" of it, and general jim wilson wielded it for my benefit, in his classical stump speeches in new hampshire. i had carefully shielded my indians from a cent's loss, yet my name was pitched into the general condemnation, like the thirteenth biscuit in a baker's dozen. nothing rolls up so fast as a lie, when once afloat.[ ] [footnote : harris felt disobliged by my independence of action respecting the "goods offer." he had, in fact, been overreached by a noted commercial house, who dealt heavily in indian goods in new york, who sold him the goods on credit; but who actually collected the _specie_ from the western land offices, on public drafts, before the year expired. he vented this pique officially, by suspending my report of oct. th, , on the debt claims against the indians, finally _assumed_ powers in relation to them, directly subversive of the principles of the treaty of march th, , which had been negotiated by me, and referred them for revision to a more supple agent of his wishes at new york, who had been one of the efficient actors in the "goods offer" at green bay, wisconsin, as above detailed.] chapter lxiii. missions--hard times, consequent on over-speculation--question of the rise of the lakes--scientific theory--trip to washington--trip to lake superior and the straits of st. mary--john tanner--indian improvements north of michilimackinack--great cave--isle nabiquon--superstitious ideas of the indians connected with females--scotch royals--mckenzie--climate of the united states--foreign coins and natural history--antique fort in adams county, ohio--royal society of northern antiquaries--statistics of lands purchased from the indians--sun's eclipse--government payments. . _june th_. w. lowrie, esq., missionary rooms, n.y., announces the sending of an agent to explore the missionary field, which it is proposed to occupy by the presbyterian board, in the region of lake michigan, bespeaking my friendly offices to the agent. the plethora of success which has animated every department of life and business, puffing them up like gas in a balloon, since about ' has departed and left the fiscal system perfectly flaccid and lifeless. the rage for speculation in real estate has absorbed all loose cash, and the country is now groaning for its fast-locked circulating medium. a friend at detroit writes: "with fifty thousand dollars of productive real estate in the city, and as much more in stocks and mortgages, i am absolutely in want of small sums to pay my current expenses, and to rid myself of the mortification produced by this feeling i am prepared to make almost any sacrifice." _ th_. received a communication from the chief engineer of the new york canal (alfred barrett, esq.) on the subject of the rise of water in the lakes. "a question of considerable importance," he says, "has arisen in our state legislature, in relation to the rise of water in lake erie. the lake has been gradually increasing in its height for the last ten years, and has gained an elevation of four feet above that of . the inhabitants along the shores of the lake as far as detroit, upon both sides, and many throughout our state, have been led to attribute this increase to the erection of the state and the united states pier at the outlet of the lake, opposite black rock, which presents an obstruction to the action of the river. but this evidently is not the only cause of the rise of the lake, for, by observation, we find the niagara river below the dam, and the surface of lake ontario, to have increased in the same ratio in the same time. lake ontario is four feet higher than it was in . "our legislature has called for information on the subject. and for many important facts we shall be indebted to the goodness of persons residing or acquainted at the places where they may exist. the canal commissioners of the state have desired me to communicate with you, desiring such data as you may have in your possession relevant to the subject. and we are induced to trouble you for information respecting the condition of the water in lake superior and other western waters, believing that your extensive acquaintance and close observation in that region have put you in possession of facts which will enable you to determine, with a degree of accuracy, the fluctuations of these waters, and their present increased or diminished height, as well as to trace some of the causes which have an influence in producing the results that are experienced in the rise and fall of the lakes." this rise and fall is found to be concurrent in volume and time in the whole series of lake basins, and is not at all influenced by artificial constructions. it is believed to be dependent on the annual fall of water, on the water sheds of the lake basins, and the comparative evaporation caused by the annual diffusion of solar heat during the same periods. nothing less than the accumulation of facts to illustrate these general laws, for considerable periods of time, will, it is believed, philosophically account for the phenomena. tables of solar heat, rain guages, and scientific measures, to determine the fall of snow over the large continental era of the whole series of basins, are, therefore, the scientific means that should be employed before we can theorize properly. as to periodical rises, actually observed, they are believed to be the very measure of these phenomena, namely, the fall of atmospheric moisture, and the concurrent intensity of solar heat _between the unknown periods of the rise_. the fluctuations in lake michigan and the straits of michilimackinack are capable of being accounted for on a separate theory, namely, the theory of lake winds. _ th july_. letters from detroit show that the political agitations respecting canada still continue. one correspondent remarks: "the fourth of july passed off here with more _apparent_ patriotic feeling than i have ever known before. canada is still across the river--the _pat-riots_ have not yet removed any part of it; they are, however, still busy." another says: "times look troublesome, but i am in hopes that it will all blow over and peace continue, which should be the earnest wish of every christian." _ d_. public business calling me to washington, i left mackinack late in june, and, pushing day and night, reached that city on the th of july. the day of my arrival was a hot one, and, during our temporary stop in the cars between the relay house and bladensburg, some pickpocket eased me of my pocket-book, containing a treasury-note for $ , about $ in bills, and sundry papers. the man must have been a genteel and well-dressed fellow, for i conversed with none other, and very adroit at his business. i did not discover my loss till reaching the hotel, and all inquiry was then fruitless. after four days i again set out for the north in an immense train of cars, having half of congress aboard, as they had just adjourned, and reached mackinack about the tenth day's travel. this was a toilsome trip, the whole journey to the seat of government and back, say , miles, being made in some twenty-five days, all stops inclusive. _ st_. i set out this day from mackinack in a boat for lake superior and the straits of st. mary, for the purpose of estimating the value of the indian improvements north, under the eighth art. of the treaty of march th, . the weather being fine, and anticipating no high winds at this season, i determined, as a means of health and recreation, to take mrs. s. and her niece, julia, a maid, and the children along, having tents and every camping apparatus to make the trip a pleasant one. my boat was one of the largest and best of those usually employed in the trade, manned with seven rowers and provided with a mast and sails. an awning was prepared to cover the centre-bar, which was furnished with seats made of our rolled-up beds. magazines, a spy-glass, &c., &c., served to while away the time, and a well-furnished mess-basket served to make us quite easy in that department. at sault st. marie i took on board mr. placidus ord to keep, the record of appraisements. while here, the notorious john tanner, who had been on very ill terms with the civilized world for many years--for no reason, it seems, but that it would not support him in idleness--this man, whose thoughts were bitter and suspicious of every one, followed me one day unperceived into a canoe-house, where i had gone alone to inspect a newly-made canoe. he began to talk after his manner, when, lifting my eyes to meet his glance, i saw mischief evidently in their cold, malicious, bandit air, and, looking him determinedly in the eyes, instantly raising my heavy walking-cane, confronted him with the declaration of his secret purpose with a degree of decision of tone and manner which caused him to step back out of the open door and leave the premises. i was perfectly surprised at his dastardly movement, for i had supposed him before to be a brave man, and i heard or saw no more of him while there.[ ] [footnote : eight years afterwards, namely, in july, , this lawless vagabond waylaid and shot my brother james, having concealed himself in a cedar thicket.] tanner was stolen by old kishkako, the saginaw, from kentucky, when he was a boy of about nine years old. he is now a gray-headed, hard-featured old man, whose feelings are at war with every one on earth, white and red. every attempt to meliorate his manners and indian notions, has failed. he has invariably misapprehended them, and is more suspicious, revengeful, and bad tempered than any indian i ever knew. dr. james, who made, by the way, a mere pack-horse of indian opinions of him, did not suspect his fidelity, and put many things in his narrative which made the whites about st. mary's call him an old liar. this enraged him against the doctor, whom he threatened to kill. he had served me awhile as an interpreter, and, while thus employed, he went to detroit, and was pleased with a country girl, who was a chambermaid at old ben. woodworth's hotel. he married her, but, after having one child, and living with him a year, she was glad to escape with life, and, under the plea of a visit, made some arrangement with the ladies of fort brady to slip off, on board of a vessel, and so eluded him. the legislature afterwards granted her a divorce. he blamed me for the escape, though i was entirely ignorant of its execution, and knew nothing of it, till it had transpired. in this trip to the north, i called on the indians to show me their old fields and gardens at every point. it was found that there were _eight_ geographical bands, consisting of separate villages, living on the ceded tract. the whole population of these did not exceed, by a close count, souls. the population had evidently deteriorated from the days of the french and british rule, when game was abundant. this was the tradition they gave, and was proved by the comparatively large old fields, not now in cultivation, particularly at portagunisee, at various points on the straits of st. mary's, and at grand island and its coasts on lake superior. they cultivate chiefly, the potato, and retire in the spring to certain points, where the _acer saccharinum_ abounds, and all rely on the quantity of maple sugar made. this is eaten by all, and appears to have a fattening effect, particularly on the children. the season of sugar-making is indeed a sort of carnival, at which there is general joy and hilarity. the whole number of acres found in cultivation by individuals, was - / acres; and by bands, and in common, - / acres, which would give an average of a little over / of an acre per soul. even this is thought high. there were acres of old fields, partly run up in brush. there were also acres of abandoned village sites, where not a soul lived. i counted dwellings which had a fixity, and nineteen apple trees in the forest. in proportion as they had little, they set a high value on it, and insisted on showing everything, and they gave me a good deal of information. the whole sum appraised to individuals was $ , ; and to collective bands, $ , $ , . while off the mural coast of the pictured rocks, the lake was perfectly calm, and the wind hushed. i directed the men to row in to the cave or opening of the part where the water has made the most striking inroad upon the solid coast. this coast is a coarse sandstone, easily disintegrated. i doubted if the oarsmen could enter without pulling in their oars. but nothing seemed easier when we attempted it. they, in fact, rowed us, in a few moments, masts standing, into a most extraordinary and gigantic cave, under the loftiest part of the coast. i thought of the rotunda in the capitol at washington, as giving some idea of its vastness, but nothing of its dark and sombre appearance; its vast side arches, and the singular influence of the light beaming in from the open lake. i took out my note-book and drew a sketch of this very unique view.[ ] [footnote : see ethnological researches, vol. i., plate xliv.] the next day the calmness continued on the lake, and i took advantage of it to visit the dimly seen island in the lake, off presque isle and granite point, called _nabikwon_ by the indians, from the effects of mirage. its deep volcanic chasms, and upheaved rocks, tell a story of mighty elemental conflicts in the season of storms; but it did not reward me with much in the way of natural history, except in geological specimens. _aug. th_. the chippewas have some strange notions. articles which have been stepped over by indian females are considered unclean, and are condemned by the men. great aversion is shown by the females at finding hairs drawn out by the comb, which they roll up, and, making a hole in the ashes, bury. indian females never go before a man: they never walk in front in the path, or cross in front of the place where a sachem is sitting. a man will never eat out of the same dish with a woman. the lodge-separation, at the period of illness, is universally observed, where the original manners have not been broken down. if she have no barks, or apukwas to make a separate lodge, a mere booth or bower of branches is made near by. _ th_. mrs. deborah schoolcraft johnson died at albany, aged fifty-four years. the father of this lady (john mckenzie, usually called mckenny) was a native of scotland, and served with credit in the regiment of royal highlanders, before the revolutionary war, of whose movements he kept a journal. he was present during the siege of fort niagara, in , witnessed the death of gen. prideau, and participated in the capture of the works, under sir william johnson. he was also engaged in the movements of gen. bradstreet, to relieve the fort of detroit from the hosts brought against it by pontiac and his confederates three or four years after. he settled, after the war, as a merchant at anthony's nose, on the mohawk, where he was surprised, his store and dwelling-house pillaged, and himself scalped. he recovered from this, as the blow he received had only been stunning, and the copious bleeding, as is usual in such cases, had soon restored consciousness. he then settled at albany, a place of comparative safety, and devoted himself in old age to instruction. he left a numerous family. his son john, who embraced the medical profession, became a distinguished man in washington county (n.y.), where his science, as a practitioner, and his talents as a politician, rendered him alike eminent. but he embraced the politics of burr, a man whose talents he admired, when that erratic man ran for governor of the state, and shortly after died. five daughters married respectable individuals in the county, all of whom have left families. of such threads of genealogy is the base of society in all parts of america composed. one of her granddaughters, now living in paris, is a lady entitled to respect, on various accounts. deborah, whose death is announced, married in early life, as her first husband, john schoolcraft, jr., esq., a most gifted son of one of the actors and patriots of the revolution--a man who was engaged in one of its earliest movements; who shared its deepest perils, and lived long to enjoy its triumphs. the early death of this object of her choice, induced her in after years to contract a second marriage with an enterprising son of massachusetts (r. johnson), with whom she migrated to detroit. death here again, in a few years, left her free to rejoin her relatives in albany, where, at last at ease in her temporal affairs, she finally fell a victim to consumption, at a not very advanced age, meeting her death with the calmness and preparedness of a christian. "as those we love decay, we die in part." _ th_. returned to michilimackinack, at a quarter past one o'clock, a.m., from my trip to the north, for the appraisal of the indian improvements. _ st_. according to observations kept, the average temperature of the month of august (lat. °) was . degrees. last year the average temperature of the same month was sixty-five degrees. the average temperature of the entire summer of was . ; while that of the summer of was but . . our lakes must sink with such a temperature, if the comparative degree of heat has been kept up in the upper lakes during the year. _sept. th_. troops arrive at fort mackinack to attend the payments. an officer of the army, who has spent a year or so in florida, and has just returned to michigan, says: "i have seen much that was well worth seeing, am much wiser than i was before, and am all the better contented with a lot midway of the map. the climate of florida, during the winter, was truly delicious, but the summers, a part of one of which i saw and felt, are uncomfortable, perhaps more so than our winters. this puts the scales even, if, it do not incline the balance in our favor. the summer annoyances of insects, &c., are more than a counterbalance for our ice and snow, especially when we can rectify their influences by a well-warmed house." _ th_. a literary friend in paris writes: "i send a box to detroit to-day, to the address of mr. trowbridge. it contains, for you, upwards of coins, among which is one chinese, and the rest ancient. you must busy yourself in arranging and deciphering them. i send you, also, some specimens, one from the catacombs of paris, others from the great excavations of maestricht, where such large antediluvian remains have been found, also relics from the field of waterloo. the petrifactions are from mount lebanon." mr. palfrey writes in relation to the expected notice of stone's "brant," but my engagements have not permitted me to write a line on the subject. _ th_. dr. john locke, of ohio, announces the discovery in adams county, in that state, of the remains of an antique fort, supposed to be years old. it is on a plateau feet above brush creek, and is estimated at to feet above the ohio at low water. it is covered by soil, forest, and trees. some of the trees in the vicinity are twenty-one feet in diameter. he infers the age from a large chestnut in the enclosure. his data would give a.d. , as the date of the abandonment. we must approach the subject of our western antiquities with great care and not allow hasty and warm fancies to run away with us. _ th_. a communication from mr. rafn informs me that the royal society of antiquaries of copenhagen, denmark, have honored me by enrolling my name as one of its members. _ th_. congress publishes a statement submitted by the indian bureau, showing, . that upwards of fifty treaties have been concluded with various tribes since jan. , , for their removal to the west, in accordance with the principles of the organic act of may th, . . that by these treaties , , acres of land have been acquired. . that the probable value of this land to the united states is $ , , . . that the total cost of these cessions, including the various expenses of carrying the treaties into effect, is $ , , . _ th_. major chancy bush, assistant to major garland, the disbursing agent, arrives with funds to make the annuity payments. _ th_. the cherokees west, meet in general council to consult on their affairs, and adopt some measures preparatory to the arrival of the eastern body of the nation. john ridge, a chief of note of the cherokees west, states, that this meeting is entirely pacific--entirely deliberative--and by no means of a hostile character, as has been falsely reported. _ th_. the obscurity which attends an indian's power of ratiocination may be judged of by the following claim, verbally made to me and supported by some bit of writing, this day, by gabriel muccutapenais, an ottawa chief of l'arbre croche. he states that, at one time, a trader took from him forty beavers; at another, thirty beavers and bears; at another, ten beavers, and at another, thirty beavers, and four carcasses of beavers, for all which he received no pay, although promised it. he also served as a clerk or sub-trader for a merchant, for which he was to have received $ , and never received a cent. he requests the president of the united states to pay for all these things. on inquiry, the skins were hunted, and the service rendered, and the wrong received at athabasca lake, in the hudson's bay territory, when he was a young man. he is now about sixty-six years old. _ th_. the sun's eclipse took place, and was very plainly visible to the naked eye, agreeably to the calculation for its commencement and termination. i took the occasion of its termination (four o'clock, fifty minutes) to set my watch by astronomical time. _ th_. the indian payments were completed by major bush this day. these payments included the full annuity for , and the deferred half annuity for , making a total of $ , , which was paid in coin _per capita_. the whole number of indians on the pay rolls this year amounted to , , of whom , were in the grand river valley. last year they numbered, in all, , , denoting an increase of . this increase, however, is partly due to emigrations from the south, and partly to imperfect counts last season, and but partially to the increase of _births_ over _deaths_. the annuity divided $ on the north, $ in the middle, or thunder bay district, and $ on the southern pay list. the indians requested that these _per capita_ divisions might be equalized, but the terms in the treaty itself create the geographical districts. chapter lxiv. descendant of one spared at the massacre of st. bartholomew's--death of gen. clarke--massacre of peurifoy's family in florida--gen. harrison's historical discourse--death of an emigrant on board a steamboat--murder of an indian--history of mackinack--incidents of the treaty of th july, --mr. fleming's account of the missionaries leaving georgia, and of the improvements of the indians west--death of black hawk--incidents of his life and character--dreadful cruelty of the pawnees in burning a female captive--cherokee emigration--phrenology--return to detroit--university--indian affairs--cherokee removal--indians shot at fort snelling. . _sept. th_, count castleneau, a french gentleman on his travels in america, brings me a note of introduction from a friend. i was impressed with his suavity of manners, and the interest he manifested in natural history, and furnished him some of our characteristic northern specimens in mineralogy. i understood him to say, in some familiar conversation, that he was the descendant of a child saved accidentally at the memorable massacre of st. bartholomew's; and suppose, of course, that he is of protestant parentage. _ st_. the st. louis papers are dressed in mourning, on account of the death of gen. william clarke. few men have acted a more distinguished part in the indian history of the country. he was widely known and respected by the indians on the prairies, who sent in their delegations to him with all the pomp and pride of so many eastern rajahs. gen. clarke was, i believe, the second territorial governor of missouri, an office which he held until it became a state, when congress provided the office of superintendent of indian affairs for him. he contributed largely, by his enterprise and knowledge, to the prosperity of the west. the expedition which he led, in conjunction with capt. meriwether lewis, across the rocky mountains to the pacific, in and , first opened the way to the consideration of its resources and occupancy. without that expedition, oregon would have been a foreign province. _ th_. letters from florida indicate the war with the seminoles to be lingering, without reasonable expectation of bringing it soon to a close. etha emathla, however, the chief of the tallasees, is daily expected to come in, his children being already arrived, and he has promised to bring in his people. but what a war of details, which are harassing to the troops, whose action is paralyzed in a maze of swamps and morasses; and how many scenes has it given birth to which are appalling to the heart! a recent letter from a mr. t.d. peurifoy, superintendent of the alachua mission, describes a most shocking murder in his own family, communicated to him at first by letter:-- "it informed me," he says, "that the indians had murdered my family! i set out for home, hoping that it might not prove as bad as the letter stated; but, o my god, it is even worse! my precious children, corick, pierce and elizabeth, were killed and burned up in the house. my dear wife was stabbed, shot, and stamped, seemingly to death, in the yard. but after the wretches went to pack up their plunder, she revived and crawled off from the scene of death, to suffer a thousand deaths during the dreadful night which she spent alone by the side of a pond, bleeding at four bullet holes and more than half a dozen stabs--three deep gashes to the bone on her head and three stabs through the ribs, besides a number of small cuts and bruises. she is yet living; and o, help me to pray that she may yet live! my negroes lay dead all about the yard and woods, and my everything else burned to ashes." _oct. st_. mr. palfrey, editor of the _north american review_, requests me (sept. th) to notice gen. harrison's late discourse on the aboriginal history, delivered before the ohio historical society. the difficulty in all these cares is to steer clear of some objectional theory. to the general, the delawares have appeared to play the key-note. but it has not fallen to his lot, while bearing a distinguished part in indian affairs in the west, to examine their ancient history with much attention. the steamer madison arrived with a crowd of emigrants for the west, one of whom had died on the passage from detroit. it proved to be a young man named jesse cummings, from groton, n.h., a member of the congregational church of that place. having no pastor, i conducted the religious observance of the funeral, and selected a spot for his burial, in a high part of the presbyterian burial ground, towards the n.e., where a few loose stones are gathered to mark the place. _ d_. wakazo, a chief, sent to tell me that an ottawa indian, ishquondaim's son, had killed a chippewa called debaindung, of manistee river. both had been drinking. i informed him that an indian killing an indian on a reserve, where the case occurred, which is still "indian country," did not call for the interposition of our law. our criminal indian code, which is defective, applies only to the murder of white men killed in the indian country. so that justice for a white man and an indian is weighed in two scales. _ d_. mrs. therese schindler, a daughter of a former factor of the n.w. company at mackinack, visited the office. i inquired her age. she replied , which would give the year as her birth. having lived through a historical era of much interest, on this island, and possessing her faculties unimpaired, i obtained the following facts from her. the british commanding officers remembered by her were sinclair, robinson, and doyle. the interpreters acting under them, extending to a later period, were charles góthier, lamott, charles chabollier, and john asken. the first interpreter here was hans, a half-breed, and father to the present chief ance, of point st. ignace. his father had been a hollander, as the name implies. longlade was the interpreter at old fort mackinack, on the main, at the massacre. she says she recollects the transference of the post to the island. if so, that event could not have happened, so as to be recollected by her, till about . asken went along with the british troops on the final surrender of the island to the americans in , and returned in the surprise and taking of the island in . _ th_. finished my report on a resolution of congress of march th respecting the interference of the british indian department in the indian affairs of the frontier. the treaty of ghent terminated the war between great britain and the united states, but it did not terminate the feelings and spirit with which the indian tribes had, from the fall of their french power regarded them. mr. warren (lyman m.), of la pointe, lake superior, visited the office. having been long a trader in the north, and well acquainted with indian affairs in that quarter, i took occasion to inquire into the circumstances of the cession of the treaty of the th of july, , and asked him why it was that so little had been given for so large a cession, comprehending the very best lands of the chippewas in the mississippi valley. he detailed a series of petty intrigues by the st. peter's agent, who had flattered two of the pillager chiefs, and loaded them with new clothes and presents. one of these, hole-in-the-day, came down twenty days before the time. the pillagers, in fact, made the treaty. the bands of the st. croix and chippewa rivers, who really lived on the land and owned it, had, in effect, no voice. so with respect to the la pointe indians. he stated that gen. dodge really knew nothing of the fertility and value of the country purchased, having never set foot on it. governor dodge thought the tract chiefly valuable for its pine, and natural mill-power; and there was no one to undeceive him. he had been authorized to offer $ , ; but the chippewas managed badly--they knew nothing of _thousands_, or how the annuity would divide among so many, and were, in fact, cowed down by the braggadocia of the flattered pillager war chief, hole-in-the-day. mr. warren stated that the _lac courtorielle_ band had not united in the sale, and would not attend the payment of the annuities; nor would the st. croix and lac du flambeau indians. he said the present of $ , would not exceed a breech-cloth and a pair of leggins apiece. i have not the means of testing these facts, but have the highest confidence in the character, sense of justice, and good natural judgment of gov. dodge. he may have been ill advised of some facts. the pillagers certainly do not, i think, as a band, own or occupy a foot of the soil east of the mississippi below sandy lake, but their warlike character has a sensible influence on those tribes, quite down to the st. croix and chippewa rivers. the sources of these rivers are valuable only for their pineries, and their valleys only become fertile below their falls and principal rapids. from mr. warren's statements, the sub-agencies of crow-wing river and la pointe have been improperly divided by a _longitudinal_ instead of a _latitudinal_ line, by which it happens that the st. croix and chippewa river indians are required to travel from to miles up the mississippi, by all its falls and rapids, to crow-wing river, to get their pay. the chief, hole-in-the-day, referred to, was one of the most hardened, blood-thirsty wretches of whom i have ever heard. mr. aitkin, the elder, told me that having once surprised and killed a sioux family, the fellow picked up a little girl, who had fled from the lodge, and pitched her into the mississippi. the current bore her against a point of land. seeing it, the hardened wretch ran down and again pushed her in. _ th_. the rev. mr. fleming and the rev. mr. dougherty arrived as missionaries under the presbyterian board at new york. mr. fleming stated that he had been one of the expelled missionaries from the creek country, georgia. that he had labored four years there, under the american board of commissioners, and had learned the creek language so as to preach in it, by first _writing_ his discourse. the order to have the missionaries quit the creek country was given by capt. armstrong (now act. supt. western territory), who then lived at the choctaw agency, sixty miles off, and was sudden and unexpected. he went to see him for the purpose of refuting the charges, but found gen. arbuckle there, as acting agent, who told him that, in capt. armstrong's absence, he had nothing to do but to enforce the order. mr. fleming said that he had since been in the indian country, west, in the region of the osage, &c., and spoke highly in favor of the fertility of the country, and the advanced state of the indians who had emigrated. he said the belt of country immediately west of missouri state line, was decidedly the richest in point of natural fertility in the region. that there was considerable wood on the streams, and of an excellent kind, namely: hickory, hackberry, cottonwood, cypress, with blackjack on the hills, which made excellent fire-wood. as an instance of the improvement made by the indians in their removal, he said that the first party of creeks who went west, immediately after mackintosh's treaty, were the most degraded indians in georgia; but that recently, on the arrival of the large body of creeks at the west, they found their brethren in the possession of every comfort, and decidedly superior to them. he said that the maumee ottawas, so besotted in their habits on leaving ohio, had already improved; were planting; had given up drink, and listened to teachers of the gospel. he spoke of the shawnese as being in a state of enviable advancement, &c. _ th_. first frost at mackinack for the season. a friend at detroit writes: "the rev. mr. duffield (called as pastor here) preached last sabbath. in the morning, when he finished, there was scarce a dry eye in the house. he excels in the pathetic--his voice and whole manner being suited to that style. he is clear-headed, and has considerable power of illustration, though different from mr. cleaveland. i like him much on first hearing." _ th_. finished grading and planting trees in front of the dormitory. _ th_. the _iowa gazette_ mentions the death of black hawk, who was buried, agreeably to his own request, by being placed on the surface of the earth, in a sitting posture, with his cane clenched in his hands. his body was then enclosed with palings, and the earth filled in. this is said to be the method in which sac chiefs are usually buried. the spectacle of his sepulchre was witnessed by many persons who were anxious to witness the last resting place of a man who had made so much noise and disturbance. he was years of age, having, by his own account, published in , been born in the sac village on rock river, in --the year of the death of pontiac. in his indomitable enmity to the (_american type of the_) anglo-saxon race, he was animated with the spirit of this celebrated chief, and had some of his powers of combination. his strong predilections for the british government were undoubtedly fostered by the annual visits of his tribe to the depot of malden. his denial of the authority of the men who, in , sold the sac and fox country, east of the mississippi, may have had the sanction of his own judgment, but without it he would have found it no difficult matter to hatch up a cause of war with the united states. that war seems to have been brooded over many years: it had been the subject of innumerable war messages to the various tribes, a large number of whom had favored his views. and when it broke out in the spring of , the suddenness of the movement, the great cruelties of the onset, and the comparatively defenceless state of the frontier, gave it all its alarming power. as soon as the army could be got to the frontiers, and the indian force brought to action, the contest was over. the battle of the badaxe annihilated his forces, and he was carried a prisoner to washington. but he was more to be respected and pitied than blamed. his errors were the result of ignorance, and none of the cruelties of the war were directly chargeable to him. he was honest in his belief--honest in the opinion that the country east of the mississippi had been unjustly wrested from him; and there is no doubt but the trespasses and injuries received from the reckless frontier emigrants were of a character that provoked retaliation. he has been compared, in some things, to pontiac. like him, he sought to restore his people to a position and rights, which he did not perceive were inevitably lost. he possessed a degree of intellectual vigor and decision of character far beyond the mass, and may be regarded as one of the principal minds of the indians of the first half of the th century. _ th_. a letter of this date from council bluffs, describes a most shocking and tragic death of a sioux girl, of only fourteen years of age, who was sacrificed to the spirit of corn, by the pawnees, on the d of february last. for this purpose she was placed on a foot-rest, between two trees, about two feet apart, and raised above the ground, just high enough to have a torturing fire built under her feet. here she was held by two warriors, who mounted the rest beside her, and who applied lighted splinters under her arms. at a given signal a hundred arrows were let fly, and her whole body was pierced. these were immediately withdrawn, and her flesh cut from her bones in small pieces, which were put into baskets, and carried into the corn-field, where the grain was being planted, and the blood squeezed out in each hill. cherokee emigration.--a letter from gen. scott of this date, to the governor of georgia, states that, of the two parties of cherokees, or those who are for and against the treaty of new echota, only about five hundred (including three hundred and seventy-sixty creeks) remain east of the mississippi, and of the anties a little over five thousand souls. about two thousand five hundred of these had been emigrated in june, when the emigration was suspended on account of sickness. an arrangement was made in the month of september, by which john ross was, in effect, constituted the contractor for the removal of the remainder (twelve thousand five hundred) of his people. _ th_. mr. j. toulmin smith, the phrenologist, of boston, writes: "i perfectly concur with you in your remarks on the _minor details_ of phrenology. they have hitherto been loose and vague, but though at first sight they seem _minor_, they will be found, in truth, of great importance to the thorough elucidation and application of the subject. "the indian tribes do, indeed, present most interesting subjects for examination, and it is an anxious wish of my mind to be able to examine them thoroughly (per crania), and also to compare them with the crania found in their ancient burial-places, supposed to be the remnants of an anterior race. not only will this throw light on their history, but it will do so also on those 'minor' but most interesting points, to the elucidation of which my attention has been, and is particularly directed. i should be exceedingly happy to be able to compare also one or two _female_ indian skulls with the males of the same tribe. the females, i presume, may be easily recognized phrenologically; it may be done with facility by the large philoprogenitiveness, and the smaller general size of the head." _ d_. rumor says that mr. harris, com. indian affairs, had entered into land speculations in arkansas, which led mr. van buren to call for a report, which, being made, the president returned it with the pithy and laconic endorsement "unsatisfactory," whereupon mr. h. tendered his resignation. rumor also says, that mr. t. hartley crawford, of pennsylvania, is appointed in his stead. this gentleman is represented to be a person of some ability; an old black-letter lawyer, but a man who is apt to lose sight of main questions in the search after technicalities. they say he is very opinionated and dogmatical; personally unacquainted with the character of the indians, and the geography of the western country, and not likely, therefore, to be very ready or practical in the administrative duties of the office. time must test this, and time sometimes agreeably disappoints us. _ th_. i reached detroit this day, with my family, in the new steamer "illinois," having had a pleasant passage, for the season, from mackinack. the style of the lake steamboats is greatly improved within the last few years, and one of the first-class boats bears no slight resemblance to a floating parlor, where every attention and comfort is promptly provided. he must be fastidious, indeed, who is not pleased. _ st_. col. whiting called at my office to get the loan of an elementary work on conchology. dr. pitcher stated that the board of regents of the university of michigan had adopted a plan of buildings to be erected at ann arbor. four saginaw delegates are sent in by ogema kegido, to ascertain the time and place of their annuity payments. _nov. th_. the regents of the university of michigan adopt resolutions respecting the establishment of branches in the counties, which are apprehended to be rather in advance of their means; but the measure is stated to be popular. _ d_. mr. james lawrence schoolcraft, the acting agent of indian affairs at michilimackinack, writes respecting the additional claim of the estate of john johnston, an irish gentleman of the upper country, whose name is mentioned in a prior part of these memoirs: "i have looked over the old books belonging to the estate, and find the following result upon the most critical examination. "william's account of the beaver skins due was , . mr. edmonds' account was , . my own , . william's account exceeded mine , . mine exceeds mr. edmonds' , . in my account i have cast out all debts (or skins) charged for liquor. william did not. mr. edmonds did. "i found all the books but one in the box, which one, according to william's account, contained five hundred and sixty skins. from these five hundred and sixty, i made deductions corresponding with the skins found to be charged in all the other books, so that the difference can be but very trifling, and, by the liberal discount made, i think, will be in favor of the claim." the account stands thus:-- due , beavers at $ = $ , average loss on four years' trade, from to , at $ , per annum = $ , add:-- item as allowed in . $ , " " " . $ , " " " . $ , " " " . $ = $ , ---------- $ , allowed in . = $ , ---------- $ , "books are shown from to , a period of twelve years; consequently twelve divided into , will give the average loss for the four years' trade, for which no books are shown. mr. edmonds made an error in computing the number of skins due; the other difference was, of course, in consequence. i am inclined to think mr. e. was prejudiced against the claim, as i cannot see how he could so much reduce the number of skins due." _ th_. the rev. mr. potter, a missionary for sixteen years among the cherokees, called and introduced himself to me. he said that he thought the cherokees had received enough for their lands; that they were peaceably emigrating west, but had been delayed by low water in the streams. while thus waiting, about five hundred persons had died. this gentleman had been stationed at creek path, where the morally celebrated catherine brown and her brother and parents lived. while there, he had a church of about sixty members, and thinks they exhibited as good evidences of christianity as the same number of whites would do. he speaks in raptures of the country this people are living in, and are now emigrating from, in the cumberland mountains, as full of springs, a region of great salubrity, fertility, and picturesque beauty. says a portion of the country, to which they are embarking west, is also fertile. florida, the papers of this date tell us, is now free from indians. this can only be strictly true of the towns on the apalachicola, &c. the majority of them are doubtless gone. a wyandot, of michigan, named thomas short, complains that his lands, at flat rock, are overflowed by raising a mill-dam. dispatched a special agent to inquire into and remedy this trespass. the swan creeks complain that a frenchman, named yaks, having been permitted to live in one of their houses at salt river, on rent, refuses to leave it, intending to set up a pre-emption right to the lands. i replied, "that is a matter i will inquire into. but you have ceded the land without stipulating for improvements, and cannot prevent pre-emptions." _ th_. i received instructions from washington, dated th oct., to draw requisitions in favor of the ottawas and chippewas, for the amounts awarded for their _public_ improvements in the lower peninsula, agreeably to the estimates of messrs. macdonnel and clarke, under the treaty of march th, . eshtonaquot (clear sky), principal chief of the swan creeks, states that his people will be ready to remove to their location on the osage, by the middle of next summer. he states that his brother-in-law, an indian, living at river _au sables_, in upper canada, reports that a large number of potawattomies have fled to that province from illinois; and that many of the grand river ottawas, during the past summer, visited the manitoulines, and gave in their names to migrate thither. little reliance can be placed on this information. besides, the government does not propose to hinder the movements of the indians. maj. garland states that he was present, a few years ago, at fort snelling, upper mississippi, at the time the fracas occurred in which the sioux fired on the chippewas and killed four of their number. col. snelling exhibited the greatest decision of character on this occasion. he immediately put the garrison under arms, and seized four sioux, and put them in hold till their tribe should surrender the real murderers. next day the demand was complied with, by the delivery of two men, to replace two of the four hostages, the other two of the prisoners being, by hap, the murderers. the indian agent vacillated as to the course to be adopted. col. snelling said that he would take the responsibility of acting. he then turned the aggressors over to the chippewas, saying: "punish them according to your law; and, if you do not, i will." the chippewas selected nine of their party as executioners. they then told the prisoners to run, and shot them down as they fled. two were shot on the very day after the murder, and two the following day, when they were brought in. one of the latter was a fine, bold, tall young fellow, who, having hold of the other prisoner's hand, observed him to tremble. he instantly threw his hand loose from him, declaring "that he was ashamed of being made to suffer with a coward." _ th_. col. whiting exhibited to me, at his office, several bound volumes of mss., being the orderly book of his father, an adjutant in a regiment of massachusetts continentals, during the great struggle of . many of the orders of gen. washington show the exact care and knowledge of details, which went to make up a part of his military reputation. _ th_. texas is involved in troubles with fierce and intractable bands of indians. among these the camanches are prominent, who have shown themselves, in force, near bexar, and in a conflict killed ten americans with arrows. chapter lxv. embark for new york--a glimpse of texan affairs--toltecan monuments--indian population of texas--horrible effects of drinking ardent spirits among the indians--mr. gallatin--his opinions on various subjects of philosophy and history--visit to the south--philadelphia--washington--indian affairs--debt claim--leave to visit europe--question of neutrality--mr. van buren--american imaginative literature--knickerbocker--résumé of the indian question of sovereignty. . _nov. th_. i embarked in a steamer, with my family, for new york, having the double object of placing my children at eligible boarding-schools, and seeking the renovation of mrs. s.'s health. the season being boisterous, we ran along shore from river to river, putting in and putting out, in nautical phrase, as we could. on the way, scarlatina developed itself in my daughter. fortunately a dr. hume was among the passengers, by whose timely remedies the case was successfully treated, and a temporary stop at buffalo enabled us to pursue our way down the canal. ice and frost were now the cause of apprehension, and our canal packet was at length frozen in, when reaching the vicinity of utica, which we entered in sleighs. in conversation on board the packet boat on the canal, mr. thomas borden, of buffalo bayou, texas, stated that there is a mistake in the current report of the camanche indians being about to join the mexicans. they are, perhaps, in league with the spaniards of nacogdoches, who now cry out for the federal constitution of ; but there is no coalition between them and the mexicans. lamar is elected president, the population has greatly increased within the last year, customs are collected, taxes paid, and a revenue raised to support the government. mr. borden said, he was one of the original three hundred families who went to texas, with my early friend stephen f. austin, esq., the founder of texas, of whom he spoke highly. "hurry" was the word on all parts of our route; but, after reaching the hudson, we felt more at ease, and we reached new york and got into lodgings, on the evening of the th (nov.). the next day was celebrated, to the joy of the children, as "evacuation day," by a brilliant display of the military, our windows overlooking the park, which was the focus of this turnout. _ th_. in conversation with the rev. henry dwight, of. geneva, he made some pertinent remarks on the toltecan monuments, and the skill of this ancient people in architecture, in connection with some specimens of antiquities just deposited in the new york historical society. this nation had not only preceded the aztecs in time, as is very clearly shown by the traditions of the latter, but also, there is every reason to believe, in knowledge. _ th_. texas papers contain the following statistics of the indian population of that republic, of whom it is estimated that there may be , . "the different tribes known as wild indians, comprise about , , west and south-west. there are on the north ten tribes, known as the 'ten united bands,' between the trinity and red river, numbering between and . of these latter tribes, three are said to have wandered off beyond the rio grande and the rocky mountains. of the _comances_, nearly one-half of the indians known by that name are, and have always been, _without_ the limits, and press upon the tribes of new mexico. in all it appears that we have within the limits of texas, an indian population of , --of whom one-fifth may be accounted warriors. there are one or two remnants of tribes (perhaps not more than fifty in number) living within the settlements of the whites, whom they supply with venison, and in that way support themselves. "some of these tribes are the hereditary enemies of mexico, who has nevertheless furnished them with arms and ammunition, in the hope of inciting them against our people, at a risk to her own. if, looking beyond our borders, we turn our eyes to the north, we behold within striking distance of the united states frontier on the north-west, an indigenous indian population of , , and on their western frontier , ; in all between and , indians within the jurisdiction of the united states--against whom, were they to combine, they could at any moment direct a war force of , men." these popular estimates, may serve the purpose of general comparison, but require some considerable abatements. there is a tendency to estimate the numbers of indian tribes like those of flocks of birds and schools of fish. we soon get into thousands, and where the theme is guessing, thousands are soon added to thousands. _dec. th_. james l. schoolcraft of michilimackinack, in a letter of nov. th, describes a most revolting scene of murder, which, owing to the effects of drinking, recently occurred at the menomonie pay-ground at grande chute, wisconsin. "since closing my letter of this morning, lieut. root, just from fort winnebago, informs me that he attended the payment of the menomonies, at the _grande chute_; that liquor, as usual, had found its way to the place of payment, and that, in consequence, an indian had killed two indian women. that the individual (murderer) was taken to the tent of the agent, colonel boyd, but that, in consequence of the repeated and threatening demands of the indians for the man, the agent was obliged to deliver him up to them, and that they then, in front of the tent, inflicted wounds of death, from six different blades, upon the body of the murderer, beat his brain out with clubs, and then threw his body upon a burning fire, after which he was dragged some distance, to which place he might be traced by attached embers strewed along the path. "a child was crushed to death by a drunken indian accidentally. lieut. root informs me that he left the ground, soon after the scene above alluded to, and that many of the indians were armed with knives, and in much excitement." _ th_. i visited mr. gallatin at his house in bleecker street, and spent the entire morning in listening to his instructive conversation, in the course of which he spoke of early education, geometric arithmetic, the principles of languages and history, american and european. he said, speaking of the early education of children.--few children are taught to read well early, and, in consequence, they never can become good readers. a page should, as it were, dissolve before the eye, and be absorbed by the mind. reading and spelling correctly cannot be too early taught, and should be thoroughly taught. _arithmetic_.--_g_. there is no good arithmetic in which the reasons are given, so as to be intelligible to children. condorcet wrote the best tract on the subject, while in confinement at a widow's house near paris, before his execution. the language of arithmetic is universal, the eight digits serving all combinations. they were not introduced till . the russians count by sticks and beads. the romans must have had some such method. m stood for , d for , c for , l for , x for ten, v for five, and i for one. but how could they multiply complex sums by placing one under another. languages.--_s_. how desirable it would be if so simple a system could be applied to language. _g_. ah! it was not designed by the creator. he evidently designed diversity. i have recently received some of the native vocabularies from mackenzie--the blackfeet and fall indians, &c. parker had furnished in his travels vocabularies of the nez perces, chinooks, &c. leading families.--_s_. the term algonquin, as commonly understood, is not sufficiently comprehensive for the people indicated. _g_. i intended to extend it by adding the term "lenape." the choctaw and the muscogee is radically the same. the chickasaw and choctaw has been previously deemed one. du pratz wrote about the mobilian language without even suspecting that it was the choctaw. _g_. the national institute at paris has printed mr. duponceau's prize essay on the algonquin. dr. james wrote unsuccessfully for the prize. duponceau first mentioned you to me. he has freely translated from your lectures on the substantive, which gives you a european reputation. publishers on philology.--_g_. there is no patronage for such works here. germany and france are the only countries where treatises on philology can be published. it is berlin or paris, and of these berlin holds the first place. in great britain, as in this country, there is not sufficient interest on the subject for booksellers to take hold of mere works of fact of this sort. they are given to reading tales and light literature, as here. oral tales of the indians--_g_. your "indian tales" and your "hieroglyphics" would sell here; but grammatical materials on the languages will not do, unless they can be arranged as appendices. _s_. i urged governor cass to write on this subject, and he declined. _g_. does he understand the languages? _s_. pronouns, in our indian languages, are of a more permanent character than philologists have admitted. they endure in some form, in kindred dialects, the most diverse. _g_. this is true, the sign is always left, and enables one, clearly enough, to trace stocks. dialects are easily made. there are many in france, and they fill other parts of europe. every department in france has one. discriminating views of philology and philologists.--_g_. it is not clear what heckewelder meant by "whistling sound," in the prefix pronouns. i told mr. duponceau that it had been better that the gentleman's mss. were left as he originally wrote them, with mere corrections as to grammar--that we should then, in fact, have had _indian_ information. for heckewelder thought and felt like a delaware, and believed all their stories.[ ] [footnote : this admission of the re-composition of mr. heckewelder's letters, and the excellent missionary's general deficiency, furnishes a striking confirmation of the views and sagacity of a critic of the _north american review_, writing on that topic, in . and the more so, as those views were conjectural, but they were the conjectures of one who had personally known mr. heckewelder.] monosyllabic language.--_g_. you have asserted that all the indian roots are monosyllables. _s_. most of them, not all. this is a branch to which i have paid particular attention; and if there is anything in indian philology in which i deem myself at home, it is in the analysis of indian words, the digging out of roots, and showing their derivatives and compounds. _g_. the societies would print your observations on these topics. they are of much interest. origin of the indian language.--_s_. the hebrew is based on roots like the indian, which appear to have strong analogies to the semitic family. it is not clearly hindostanee, or chinese, or norse. i have perused rafn's grammar by marsh. the icelandic (language) clearly lies at the foundation of the teutonic. _g_. i have not seen this. the grammatical principles of the hebrew [ ] are widely different (from the indian). there is, in this respect, no resemblance. i think the indian language has principles akin to the greek. the middle moods, or voices, in the greek and indian dialects are alike; they make the imperfect past, or _aorist_, in a similar manner. [footnote : mr. g. did not understand the hebrew, and was not aware that the person he addressed had made a study of it in particular reference to the indian.] patois.--_g_. the great impediment to popular instruction in france, is the multiplicity of _patois_, and the tenacity of the peasantry for them. the same objection exists to the use of so many indian dialects by such numbers of petty tribes. pity these were not all abolished. they can never prosper without coming on to general grounds in this respect. chinese.--mr. duponceau had published col. galindo's account of the ottomic of mexico, and likened it to the chinese. it was the very reverse. english language.--_s_. the english language of chaucer's day, is based on the frisic, belgic, and low dutch; and not on the saxon. (examples were given. he fully assented to this, and used his familiarity with european history to demonstrate it.) _g_. there was, in fact, no anglo-saxon but that of alfred, which was the old english. the early migrations were from belgium. doubtless the teutons had made the conquest ascribed to them, but i think they did not revolutionize the language. they conquered the people, but not the language. washington irving.--_g_. washington irving is the most popular writer. anything from his pen would sell. john jacob astor.--several years ago, j. j. a. put into my hands the journal of his traders on the columbia, desiring me to use it. i put it into the hands of malte brun, at paris, who employed the geographical facts in his work, but paid but little respect to mr. astor, whom he regarded merely as a merchant seeking his own profit, and not a discoverer. he had not even sent a man to observe the facts in the natural history. astor did not like it. he was restive several years, and then gave washington irving $ , to take up the mss. this is the history of "astoria." rafinesque.--this erratic naturalist being referred to, he said-- "who is rafinesque, and what is his character?" napoleon and nero.--bonaparte was a mathematician; but, whatever he did, he did not appreciate other branches of science and research. on taking rome, he carried to paris all the pope's archives, containing, in fact, the materials for the secret history of europe. the papers occupied seventy large boxes, which were carefully corded and sealed, and put away in a garret of the louvre at paris, and never opened. on the restoration of the bourbons, louis xviii. gave them back to the pope's nuncio. the seals had never been broken. bonaparte hated tacitus. he was an aristocrat, he said, and lied in his history. he had blackened the character of nero merely because he was a republican. "that may be, sire," said ----, "but it is not the generally received opinion, and authorities sustain him." "read suetonius," said he. "truly," said m. gallatin, "it is there stated that the people strewed flowers on nero's grave for years." algic researches.--the oral legends of the indians collected by me being adhered to, he said, "take care that, in publishing your indian legends, you do not subject yourself to the imputations made against macpherson." on leaving the hall, whither he came to see me out, he said: "i am seventy-eight, and (assuming a gayer vein) in a good state of preservation." he was then a little bent, but preserved in conversation the vivacity of his prime. he had, i think, been a man of about five feet ten or eleven inches. his accent and tone of voice are decidedly french. his eye, which is black and penetrating, kindled up readily. he wore a black silk cap to hide baldness. _ th_. a singular coincidence of the names and ages of indian chiefs, is shown in the following notice from a russian source:-- "we have just received from nova archangesk, an account of the death of the chief of one of the most powerful tribes of north america, black hawk, who was suddenly carried off on the banks of the river moivna, in the seventy-first year of his age. the loss of this chief, who kept up friendly relations with the authorities of the russian colony, and was always hostile to the english, is felt in a lively manner by the russian government, who rested great hopes on the influence exercised by black hawk, not only over his own tribe, but also over all the neighboring nations. the czar has ordered the new governor-general of the russian colony in america to endeavor by all means to secure the friendship of the three sons of black hawk, the eldest of whom, now forty-eight years of age, has succeeded his father in the government of the tribe."--_le commerce_. _ d_. i left new york on the th, in the cars, with mrs. schoolcraft and the children, for washington, stopping at the princeton depot, and taking a carriage for princeton. i determined to leave my son at the round hill school, in charge of mr. hart, and the next day went to philadelphia, where i accepted the invitation of gen. robert patterson to spend a few days at his tasteful mansion in locust street. i visited the academy of natural sciences, and examined dr. samuel george morton's extensive collection of indian crania. while here, i placed my daughter in the private school of the misses guild, south fourth street. i attended one of the "wistar parties" of the season, on the th, at mr. lea's, the distinguished bookseller and conchologist, and reached the city of washington on the st, taking lodgings at my excellent friends, the miss polks. _ th_. submitted an application to the department for expending a small part of the indian education fund, for furthering the general object, by publishing, for the use of teachers and scholars, a compendious dictionary, and general grammar of the indian languages. _ th_. in a conference with mr. murray, of pennsylvania, a recent commissioner to adjust indian claims at prairie du chien, wisconsin, he gave me mr. robert stuart's testimony respecting the indian trade, to read. it appears from the document that the gain on trade of the american fur company, from to , was $ , . from to it was $ , . from the aggregate of ten years' business, there is to be deducted $ , , being a loss from to , which leaves a profit on seventeen years' trade of $ , . mr. murray presented me a copy of the commissioner's report. these claims have not yet received the action of the department. the commissioners set out with requiring of traders high evidence of the _individual_ indebtedness by indians. they finally decided that the winnebago debts were _national_. they went further--they approved and adopted the decision of a meeting of the claimants themselves, as to the application to individual firms, of the fund. this decision was subsequently sanctioned by _eight_ winnebago chiefs, who were stated to be authorized to act for the nation. the error, in all these cases, seems to be, that where a tribe has agreed to set apart a generic sum to satisfy debts, and the united states has accepted the trusteeship of determining the individual shares, that the indians, who cannot _read, or write, or understand figures, or accounts at all_, and cannot possibly tell the arithmetical difference between one figure and another, should yet be made the subject of these minor appeals. the trustee himself should determine _that_, by such testimony as he approves, and not appear to seek to bolster up the decisions of truth and faithfulness, by calling on indian ignorance and imbecility, which is subject to be operated on by every species of selfishness. _ th_. i applied to the department this day, by letter, for leave of absence from my post on the frontier, to visit europe. _ th_. i called on mr. poinsett, the secretary of war, and received from him the permission which i had yesterday solicited. i also called on the president (mr. van buren), who, in turning the conversation to the state of disturbances on the frontier, evinced the deepest interest that neutrality should be preserved, and asked me whether the united states marshal at detroit had faithfully performed his duty. _ th_. visited mr. paulding (secretary of the navy) in the evening. found him a father aged bald-headed man, of striking physiognomy, prominent intellectual developments, and easy dignified manners. it was pleasing to recognize one of the prominent authors of _salmagundi_, which i had read in my schoolboy days, and never even hoped to see the author of this bit of fun in our incipient literature. for it is upon this, and the still higher effort of irving's facetious history of new york, that we must base our imaginative literature. they first taught us that we had a right to laugh. we were going on, on so very stiff a model, that, without the knickerbocker, we should not have found it out. _ th_. i prepared a list of queries for the department, designed to elicit a more precise and reliable account of the indian tribes than has yet appeared. it is astonishing how much gross error exists in the popular mind respecting their true character. talk of an indian--why the very stare says, plain as language, sir, have you been there? do tell me, has a potawattomie a soul, and have the tribes a language? now that's droll-- they tell me some have tails like wolves, and others claws, those winnebagoes, and piankashaws. _ th_. mr. paulding transmits a note of thanks for some indian words. the euphony of the aboriginal vocabulary impresses most persons. in most of their languages this appears to result, in part, from the fact that a vowel and a consonant go in pairs--_i.e._ a vowel either precedes or follows a consonant, and it is comparatively rare that two consonants are required to be uttered together. there is but one language that has the _th_, so common in english. _sh_ and _gh_ are, however, frequently sounded in the chippewa. the most musical words are found in the great muscogee and algonquin families, and it is in these that the regular succession of vowels and consonants is found. _ st_. the year has been a marked one in our indian relations. the southern indians have experienced an extensive breaking up, in their social institutions, and been thrown, by the process of emigration, west of the mississippi, and the policy of the government on this head, which was first shadowed out in , and finally sanctioned by the act of land exchanges, , may be deemed as having been practically settled. the cherokees, who required the movements of an army to induce them to carry out the principles of the treaty of new echota, have made their first geographical movement since the discovery of the continent, a period of years. how much longer they had dwelt in the country abandoned we know not. they clung to it with almost a death grasp. it is a lovely region, and replete with a thousand advantages and a thousand reminiscences. nothing but the drum of the anglo-saxon race could have given them an effectual warning to go. gen. scott, in his well advised admonitory proclamation, well said, that the voice under which both he and they acted is imperative, and that by heeding it, it is hoped that "they will spare him the horror of witnessing the destruction of the cherokees." the great muskogee family had been broken up, by the act of georgia, before. the seminoles, who belong to that family, broke out themselves in a foolish hostility very late in , and have kept up a perfectly senseless warfare, in the shelter of hummocks and quagmires since. the choctaws and chickasaws, with a wise forecast, had forseen their position, and the utter impossibility of setting up independent governments in the boundaries of the states. it is now evident to all, that the salvation of these interesting relics of oriental races lies in colonization west. their teachers, the last to see the truth, have fully assented to it. public sentiment has settled on that ground; sound policy dictates it; and the most enlarged philanthropy for the indian race perceives its best hopes in the measure. chapter lxvi. sentiments of loyalty--northern antiquarian society--indian statistics--rhode island historical society--gen. macomb--lines in the odjibwa language by a mother on placing her children at school--mehemet ali--mrs. jameson's opinion on publishers and publishing--her opinion of my indian legends--false report of a new indian language--indian compound words--delafield's antiquities--american fur company--state of indian disturbances in texas and florida--causes of the failure of the war in florida, by an officer--death of an indian chief--mr. bancroft's opinion on the dighton rock inscription--skroellings not in new england--mr. gallatin's opinion on points of esquimaux language, connected with our knowledge of our archaeology. . _jan. st_. i called, amid the throng, on the president. his manners were bland and conciliatory. these visits, on set days, are not without the sentiment of strong personality in many of the visitors, but what gives them their most significant character is the general loyalty they evince to the constitution, and government, and supreme law of the land. the president is regarded, for the time, as the embodiment of this sentiment, and the tacit fealty paid to him, as the supreme law officer, is far more elevating to the self-balanced and independent mind than if he were a monarch _ad libitum_, and not for four years merely. _ d_. i received a notice of my election as a member of the royal northern antiquarian society of copenhagen, of which fact i had been previously notified by that society. this society shows us how the art of engraving may be brought in as an auxiliary to antiquarian letters; but it certainly undervalues american sagacity if it conjectures that such researches and speculations as those of mr. magnusen, on the dighton rock, and what it is fashionable now-a-days to call the newport ruin, can satisfy the purposes of a sound investigation of the anti-columbian period of american history. there was a perfect jam this evening at blair's. what sort of a compliment is it to be one of five or six hundred people, not half of whom can be squeezed into a small house, and not one of whom can pretend to taste a morsel without the danger of having server and all jammed down his throat. _ d_. the mail hunts up everybody. go where you will, and particularly to the seat of government, and letters will follow you. whoever is in the service of government bears a part of the functions of it, though it be but an infinitesimal part. mr. h. conner, the saginaw sub-agent, in a letter of this date, reports the saginaws at one thousand four hundred and forty-three souls, and the swan creek and black river chippewas at one hundred and ninety-eight. one of the most singular facts in the statistics of the most of the frontier indian tribes of the lakes, is, in the long run, that they neither _increase_ nor _decline_, but just keep up a sort of dying existence. _ th_. dr. thomas h. webb, secretary of the rhode island historical society, announces the plan of that society in publishing a series of works illustrating, in the first place, the history and language of the indians, and soliciting me to become a contributor of original observations. the difficulty in all true efforts of our literary history is the want of means. a man must devote all his leisure in researches, and then finds that there is no way in which these labors can be made to aid in supplying him the means of subsistence. he must throw away his time, and yet buy his bread. there is no real taste for letters in a people who will not pay for them. it is too early in our history, perhaps, to patronize them as a general thing. making and inventing new ploughs will pay, but not books. _ th_. the secretary of war confirms my leave of absence, to visit europe, and extends it beyond the contingencies of a re-appointment, on the th of march next. _ th_. attended a general and crowded party at gen. macomb's, in the evening, with mrs. schoolcraft. the general has always appeared to me a perfect amateur in military science, although he has distinguished himself in the field. he is a most polished and easy man in all positions in society, and there is an air and manner by which he constantly reveals his french blood. he has a keen perception of the ridiculous, and a nice appreciation of the mock gravity of the heroic in character, and related to me a very effective scene of this latter kind, which occurred at mr. john johnston's, at st. mary's falls, on the close of the late war. he had visited that place in perhaps or , as military commander of the district of michigan, in the suite of major-gen. brown. they were guests of mr. johnston. in going up the river to see gros cape, at the foot of lake superior, the american party had been fired upon by the chippewas, who were yet hostile in feeling. when the party returned to the house of mr. johnston, their host, the latter drew himself up in the spirit of the border times of waverley, and, with the air and accent of a chief of those days--which, by the way, was not altogether unnatural to him--manifested the high gentlemanly indignation of a host whose hospitality had been violated. he exclaimed to his eldest son, "let our followers be ready to repel this gross affront." the general's eye danced in telling it. the thing of the firing had been done--nobody was hurt--nobody was in fact in hostile array; and far less was the party itself alarmed. it had been some crack-brained indian, i believe sassaba, who yet smarted at the remembrance of the death of his brother, who was killed with tecumseh in the battle of the thames. _ th_. left washington, with my family, in the cars for baltimore, where we lodged; reached philadelphia the next day, at four p.m.; remained the th and th, and reached new york on the th, at o'clock p.m. _ th_. mrs. schoolcraft, having left her children at school, at philadelphia and princeton, remained pensive, and wrote the following lines in the indian tongue, on parting from them, which. i thought so just that i made a translation of them. nyau nin de nain dum may kow e yaun in ain dah nuk ki yaun waus sa wa kom eg ain dah nuk ki yaun ne dau nig ainse e ne gwis is ainse e ishe nau gun ug wau waus sa wa kom eg she gwau go sha ween ba sho waud e we nin zhe ka we yea ishe ez hau jau yaun ain dah nuk ke yaun ain dah nuk ke yaun nin zhe ke we yea ishe ke way aun e nyau ne gush kain dum [free translation.] ah! when thought reverts to my country so dear, my heart fills with pleasure, and throbs with a fear: my country, my country, my own native land, so lovely in aspect, in features so grand, far, far in the west. what are cities to me, oh! land of my mother, compared unto thee? fair land of the lakes! thou are blest to my sight, with thy beaming bright waters, and landscapes of light; the breeze and the murmur, the dash and the roar, that summer and autumn cast over the shore, they spring to my thoughts, like the lullaby tongue, that soothed me to slumber when youthful and young. one feeling more strongly still binds me to thee, there roved my forefathers, in liberty free-- there shook they the war lance, and sported the plume, ere europe had cast o'er this country a gloom; nor thought they that kingdoms more happy could be, white lords of a land so resplendent and free. yet it is not alone that my country is fair, and my home and my friends are inviting me there; while they beckon me onward, my heart is still here, with my sweet lovely daughter, and bonny boy dear: and oh! what's the joy that a home can impart, removed from the dear ones who cling to my heart. it is learning that calls them; but tell me, can schools repay for my love, or give nature new rules? they may teach them the lore of the wit and the sage, to be grave in their youth, and be gay in their age; but ah! my poor heart, what are schools to thy view, while severed from children thou lovest so true! i return to my country, i haste on my way, for duty commands me, and duty must sway; yet i leave the bright land where my little ones dwell, with a sober regret, and a bitter farewell; for there i must leave the dear jewels i love, the dearest of gifts from my master above. new york, _march th_, . _ th_. went, in the evening, to hear mr. stephens, the celebrated traveler, lecture before the historical society, at the stuyvesant institute, on mehemet ali. public opinion places lecturers sometimes in a false position. an attempt was here made to make out mehemet ali a great personage, exercising much influence in his times. an old despotic rajah in a tea-pot! who looks to him for exaltation of sentiment, liberality and enlargement of views, or as an exemplar of political truth? mr. stephens, however, knew the feeling and expectation of his audience, and drew a picture, which was eloquently done, and well received. this popular mode of lecturing is certainly better than the run-a-muck amusements of the day. but it panders to an excited intellectual appetite, and is anything but philosophical, historical, or strictly just. _ th_. i received instructions from washington, to form a treaty with the saginaws, for the cession of a tract of ground on which to build a light-house on saginaw bay. the next letter i opened was from mrs. jameson, of london, who writes that her plan of publication is, to divide the profits with her publishers, and, as these are honest men and gentlemen, she has found that the best way. she advises me to adopt the same course with respect to my indian legends.[ ] [footnote : i followed this advice, but fell into the hands of the philistines.] "i published," she says, "in my little journal, one or two legends which mrs. schoolcraft gave me, and they have excited very general interest. the more exactly you can (in translation) adhere to the _style_ of the language of the indian nations, instead of emulating a fine or correct english style--the more characteristic in all respects--the more original--the more interesting your work will be." _ st_. i read the following article in the new york herald:-- new indian tribe.--dr. jackson, in his report of the geology of the public lands, states that at the mouth of the tobique there is an indian settlement, where a large tribe of indians reside, and gain a livelihood by trapping the otter and beaver. these indians are quite distinct from the penobscot tribe, and speak a peculiar language. _query_. what is the name of this tribe? what language do they speak? and what evidence is there that they are not souriquois or miemacks, who have been known to us since the first settlement of acadia and nova scotia? indian compound words are very composite. _aco_, in the names of places once occupied by algonquin bands, means, _a limit_, or _as far as_, and is intended to designate the boundary or reach of woods and waters. _ac-ow_ means length of area. _accomac_ appears to mean, at the place of the trees, or, as far as the open lands extend to the woods: _mac_, in this word, may be either a derivative from _acké_, earth, or, more probably, _auk_, a generic participle for tree or trunk. _ st_. the editor of the _north american review_ directs my attention to delafield's antiquities as the subject of a notice for his pages. delafield appears to have undertaken a course of reading on mexican antiquities. the result is given in this work, with his conjectures and speculations on the origin of the race. the cause of antiquarian knowledge is indebted to him for the first publication of the pictorial aztec map of butturini. _ th_. called on mr. ramsey crooks, president of the american fur company, at his counting-house, in ann street. he gave me an interesting sketch of his late tour from la pointe, lake superior, to the mississippi. the chippewas were not paid at la pointe till october. this made him late at the country. the st. croix river froze before he reached the mississippi, and he went down the latter, from st. peter's, in a sleigh. bonga had been sent to notify the milles lacs, sandy lake, and leoch lake indians to come to the payments. when he reached leech lake, guelle plat had gone, with twenty-four canoes, to open a trade with the hudson's bay factor, at rainy lake. mr. crooks thinks that the dissatisfaction among these bands can be readily allayed by judicious measures. thinks the governor of wisconsin ought to call the chiefs together at some central point within the country, and make explanations. that the payments, in future, should be made at _one_ place, and not divided. that the leech lake, and other bands _living without the ceded district_, ought not to participate in the annuities. mr. crook's manner is always prompt and cordial. he concentrates, in his reminiscences, the history of the fur trade in america for the last forty years. i have always thought it a subject of regret, that such a man should not have kept a journal. there was much, it is true, that could not be put down, and he was always so exclusively an active business man that mere literary memoranda never attracted his attention; they were not adverse to his tastes. he has nearly, i should judge, recovered from the severe hardships and privations which attended his perilous journey across the rocky mountains, on the abandonment of astoria, on the pacific, in . _ th_. texas and florida continue to be the rallying points of indian warfare. the frontier of texas is harassed by wandering parties of indians. a mr. morgan, who resided near the falls of brazos, had been killed, and three women carried off by a band of fifteen savages. a company of rangers was sent in pursuit. the florida war still lingers, without decisive results. the _new orleans bee_ says that general taylor has been very active, the past season, in trying to bring it to a close. a writer from tampa bay, of the th instant, who appears to have good knowledge of matters, states three causes, particularly as opposing a successful prosecution and consummation of it, namely:-- " st. an ignorance of the topography of florida--the position of the numerous swamps and hummocks, the usual hiding-places of the indians. " d. a want of proper interpreters. " d. a countervailing influence from some unknown quarter." he supports his view as follows: "it is a well known fact that, previous to the year , the portion of florida south of the military road from tampa to garey's ferry was unexplored and unknown, and since that time the only information has been derived from the hasty reconnoissances of officers, made in the progress of the several divisions of the army through the country. since the organization of the corps of topographical engineers, several have been sent to this country, and are now actively engaged in making surveys and plotting maps. could the information they are expected to give have been known even before the commencement of the last campaign, it would have aided materially in the subjugation of the enemy. a correct knowledge of this country is needed more especially because such another theatre of war probably has not a place on the earth; a theatre so peculiarly favorable to the indians and disadvantageous to the white man. swamps may be delineated as well perhaps as any other natural object; but _such_ swamps as are found in florida, are not to be imitated in painting or described by words. as an instance, i may mention the halpataokee or alligator water, which is made up of small islands, surrounded by water of various depths, through which for two miles the road of the army passed during the winter of ." "_ d_. the only interpreters are seminole negroes, who, for the most part, find it difficult to understand english. as an instance of the numerous mistakes occurring daily, may be mentioned the following: the general told the interpreter to say to nettetok emathla, that 'patience and perseverance would accomplish everything.' while he was speaking to the indian, the remark was made that he did not know the meaning of the sentence. when questioned the following day, he said 'patience and 'suverance mean a little book,' our laughter convinced him he was mistaken, and he said 'patience mean you must be patien; i don't zackly know what 'suverance do mean, sar!' numerous errors of this nature are doubtless occurring daily, and among a people who are so scrupulously nice and formal in their 'talks,' such trifling mistakes may be injurious. "_ d_. we are now to speak of the most important difficulty in the way of termination of hostilities, and the removal of the seminoles to their new homes beyond the 'muddy water.' that the indians are and have been supplied by whites, americans or spaniards, is a point so decisively settled that 'no hinge is left whereon to hang a doubt.' however shameless it may appear, proofs are not wanting to establish the fact, so much to the discredit of our patriotism. when coacoochee escaped from st. augustine he carried with him bolts of calico and factory cloths, which he afterwards sold to the indians in the woods for three chalks (six shillings) per yard. it was reported to colonel taylor, then at fort bassinger, by an indian woman, who ran away from coacoochee's camp, that he had one poney packed solely with powder; that he had plenty of lead, provisions, etc., and was determined never to come in or go to arkansas. on several occasions when indians have been killed or taken, or their camps surprised, new calico, fresh tobacco, bank bills, and other articles of a _civilized_ character, have been found in their possession. besides, this, the indians are constantly reporting in their talks that some persons on the other side of the territory prevent the hostiles from complying with the treaty. ethlo emathla, governor of the tallahassees, promised the general to be in with his people on a specified day. it is reduced almost to a certainty that he has been prevented from doing so by the representations of some person or persons in a quarter, the name of which charity alone forbids to mention. the only object is, and for a long time has been, to keep entirely out of the way, to hide themselves from the whites, and every effort to bring them to battle, either by sending small or large parties among them, has proved useless. _they will not fight_, and thirty thousand men cannot find them, broken up as they are into small parties. what then is to be done? protect the inhabitants of the frontiers, gradually push the indians south, and at no distant day, the necessary, unavoidable and melancholy consummation must arrive, viz., the expulsion of the last tribe of red men from the soil over which they once roamed the sole lords and possessors." _ th_. the oldest man in the ottawa nation, a chief called nish-caud-jin-in-a, or the man of wrath, died this day at l'arbre croche, michigan. he was between ninety and one hundred years of age, withered and dry, and slightly bent, but still preserving the outlines of a man of strength, good figure, and intellect. what a mass of reminiscences and elements of history dies with every old person of observation, white or red. _feb. th_. mr. james h. lanman writes respecting the prospects of his publishing a history of michigan--a subject which i gave him every encouragement to go forward in, while he lived in that state. the theme is an ambitious one, involving as it does the french era of settlements, and the day for handling it effectively has not yet arrived. but the sketches that may be made from easily-got, existing materials, may subserve a useful purpose, with the hope always that some new fact may be elicited, which will add to the mass of materials. "i have been delayed here," he says, "in preparing the book, and the delay has been occasioned by my publishers having failed. it is now, however, stereotyped, and will be out in about a fortnight." [ ] [footnote : he afterwards re-cast the work, and it was published by the harpers as one of the volumes of their library.] _ st_. mr. bancroft writes to me, giving every encouragement to bring forward before the public my collections and researches on indian history and language, and expressing his opinion of success, unless i should be "cursed with a bad publisher." "father duponceau," he says, "won his prize out of your books, and gallatin owes much to you. go on; persevere; build a monument to yourself and the unhappy algonquin race." making every allowance for mr. bancroft's enthusiastic way of speaking, it yet appears to me that i should endeavor to publish the results of investigations of indian subjects. my connection with the johnston family has thrown open to me the whole arcanum of the indian's thoughts. i wrote an article for dr. absalom peter's magazine, expressing my dissent from the very fanciful explanations of the dighton rock characters, as given by mr. magrusen in the first volume of the royal society of northern antiquarians, published at copenhagen. it appears to me that those characters (throwing out two or three) are the indian _kekéwin_--a species of hieroglyphics or symbolic devices, still in vogue among them. to this view of the matter mr. bancroft assents. "if you have a proof-sheet of your article on the daneschrift, send it me. all they say about the dighton rock is, i think, the sublime of humbuggery." what is said in the interpreted sagas, of the skroellings or esquimaux being in new england at the date of eric's voyage (a. d. ) is, i think, problematical. those tribes are not known to have extended further south than the straits of belleisle, about °, or to parts of newfoundland. the term deduced from the old journals appear to belong to the esquimaux proper, rather than to the new england class of the algonquins. the esquimaux had the free use of the sound of the letter _l_, which was not used at all by the n.e. indians. mr. gallatin, in a letter of feb. , in response to me on this subject, says: "the letter _l_ occurs in every esquimaux dialect of which i have any knowledge. thus heaven or sky, is in greenland, _killak_; hudson's bay, _keiluk_; kadick islands, _kelisk_; kotzebue's sound, _keilyak_; asiatic tshuktchi, _kuelok_. "i am not so certain about the _v_, which i find used only by egede, or crantz (not distinguished from each other in my collection) for the greenland dialect. in their conjurations i find 'we (sing. and dual) wash them' ernikp-auvut, and ernikp-auvuk. in the mithradites, the same letter _v_ is repeatedly used in dual examples of the greenland and labrador dialects, principally (as it appears to me) but not exclusively in the pronominal terminations, _picksaukonik, akeetvor, tivut_, profetiv-vit! that is, good ours, debtors ours, a prophet art thou. "by comparing this with the pronouns of the other esquimaux dialects, i suspect that _oo_ and _w_ in these, are used instead of _v_. but the difference may arise from that in the mother tongue, or in the delicacy of the ear, of those who have supplied us with other verbal and pronominal forms or vocabularies." _ d_, the indian names may be studied analytically. _ches_ (pronounced by the algonquin indians _chees_), signifies a plant of the turnip family. _beeg_ is the plural, and denotes water existing in large bodies, such as accumulations in the form of lakes and seas. if these two roots be connected by the usual sound in algonquin words, thus ches-a-beeg, a sound much resembling chesapeake would be produced. the nanticokes, who inhabited this bay on its discovery, were of the algonquin stock. potomac appears to be a clipped expression, derived, i believe, from po-to-wau-me-ac. po-to-wau, as we have it, in potawattomie, means to make a fire in a place where fires, such as council fires, are usually made. the _ac_ in the word is apparently from _ak_ or _wak_, a standing tree. the whole appears descriptive of a burning tree, or a burning forest. megiddo in the algonquin means he barks, or a barker. hence me-giz-ze, an eagle or the bird that barks. chapter lxvii. workings of unshackled mind--comity of the american addison--lake periodical fluctuations--american antiquities--indian doings in florida and texas--wood's new england's prospect--philological and historical comments--death of ningwegon--creeks--brothertons made citizens--charles fenno hoffman--indian names for places on the hudson--christian indians--etymology--theodoric--appraisements of indian property--algic researches--plan and object. . _feb. d_. hon. lucius lyon, senator in congress from michigan, writes, informing me of the movements of political affairs in that state. the working of our system in the new states is peculiar. popular opinion must have its full swing. it rights itself. natural good sense and sound moral appreciation of right are at work at the bottom, and the lamp of knowledge is continually replenished with oil, by schools and teaching. that light cannot be put out. it will burn on till the world is not only free, but enlightened and renovated. _ th_. washington irving kindly encloses me a letter to colonel aspinwall of london, commending to him my contemplated publication on the oral legends of the north american indians. "i regret to say," he adds, "that the last time he wrote to me, he was in great uneasiness, apprehending the loss of one of his daughters, who appeared to be in a rapid decline." _ th_. mrs. jameson, on returning from her trip to the lakes, writes for my opinion on the causes of the phenomenon of the rise in the waters of the lakes. alluding to this subject, the superintendent of the works in the ohio says: "the water of lake erie, which has been rising for many years, and has attained a height unequaled in the memory of man, seems to have attained its maximum, and to have commenced its reflux. since the first day of june last, as i have ascertained by means of graduated rods at different points along the coast of lake erie, the water has fallen perpendicularly nineteen inches, and is still falling. the meteorological character of the present season, as compared with that of several previous seasons, clearly shows the cause of the rise and fall of the lakes not to be periodical, as has heretofore been asserted, but entirely accidental. for several years the summers have been cloudy and cold, with a prevalence of easterly winds and rainy weather. the last summer has been excessively warm for the whole season, and of exceeding drought. when it is remembered that the amount of water evaporated over the surface of these vast bodies of water, during a period of warm sunny weather, greatly exceeds that which passes the outlet of one of these lakes (niagara river, for example), the cause of the phenomenon is apparent."--see _mr. barrett's inquiries, ante_. _ th_. the _new york star_ publishes a notice of _delafield's antiquities_. this handsomely printed and illustrated work contains four things that are new to the antiquarian inquirer: . a theory by the author, by which he conceives the indian race to be descended from the ancient cuthites, who are hamitic. this is wrong. . a curious and valuable pictographic map of the migration of the aztecs, not heretofore printed. this is an acquisition. . a disquisition of dr. lakey, of cincinnati, on the superiority of the northern to the southern race of red men. this seems true. . a preface, by bishop mcilvaine, showing the importance in all inquiries of the kind, of keeping the record of the bible strictly in view. this is right. _ th_. the _houston telegraph_ of this date gays: "a party of about eighty men from bastrop county, accompanied by castro and forty lipan warriors, recently made an expedition into the comanche country, and, near the san saba, attacked and routed a large body of comanches, who, with their women and children, were encamped on a small branch of the stream. about thirty of the comanche warriors were killed in the engagement, many huts and considerable baggage destroyed, and a large number of horses and mules captured. on their return, however, a few comanches stole silently into the droves of horses, while feeding at night, and recaptured the whole except ninety-three horses, which the shrewd castro, with ten of his warriors, had driven far in advance of the main company, and which he subsequently brought in safety to lagrange. only two of the citizens of texas were injured on this expedition." "general burlison, at the head of about seventy men, recently encountered a large body of indians on the brushy, and, after one or two skirmishes, finding the enemy numerous, retreated to a ravine in order to engage them with more advantage; but the indians, fearing to attack him in his new position, drew off and retreated into a neighboring thicket. being unable to pursue them, he returned to bastrop. it is reported that he has lost three men in this engagement; the loss of the indians is not known; it, however, must have been considerable, as most of the men under burlison were excellent marksmen, and had often been engaged in indian warfare." _march th_. the _n. y. evening post_ says, that a gentleman from tallahassee, just arrived at washington, states that murders by the indians are of everyday occurrence in that vicinity, and that between the th and st feb. fifteen persons had been killed. _ th_. finished the perusal of william wood's "_new england's prospects_," a work of mo pages, printed at london, . this was fourteen years after the first landing of the pilgrims at plymouth, and the same year that john eliot came over. its chief claim to notice is its antiquity. "some have thought," he says, "that they (the indians) might be descendants of the jews, because some of their words be near unto the hebrew; but by the same rule they may conclude them to be some of the gleanings of all nations, because they have words which sound after the greek, latin, french, and other tongues. their language is hard to learn, few of the english being able to speak any of it, or capable of the right pronunciation, which is the chief grace of their tongue. they pronounce much after the diphthongs, excluding b and l, which, in our english tongue, they pronounce with much difficulty, as most of the dutch do t and h, calling a lobster, a _nobstan_." the examples of a vocabulary he gives show them to be algonquins, and not "skroellings," or esquimaux, as they are represented to have been by the scandinavians (vide ant. amer.), who visited the present area of massachusetts in the tenth century. the close alliance of their language with the existing chippewa and ottawa of the north, is shown by the following specimens:-- _new england tribes_. _chippewa of lake superior_. . . _woman_, squa, e-qua. _water_, nip-pe, ne-bé. _a raccoon_, au-supp, a se-bun. _daughter_, tawonis, o-dau-nis. _a duck_, sea-sceep, she-sheeb. _summer_, se-quan, se-gwun. _red_ squi, mis-qui. _a house_, wig-wam, weeg-wam. he divides the tribes into:-- tarrenteens. churhers (local tribes even then under instruction). aberginians (algonquins of the st. lawrence, probably). narragansetts (a tribe of the n.e. algonquins with dialectic peculiarities). pequants (" " ") nepnets (" " ") connectacuts (" " ") mohawks (a tribe of iroquois). the people whom he calls "tarrenteens," are clearly abenakies. cotton mather, l. of e., , p. , denominates the indians "the veriest ruins of mankind. their name for an englishman was a knifeman; stone was used instead of metal for their tools; and for their coins they have only little beads, with holes in them, to string them upon a bracelet, whereof some are _white_, and of these there go six for a penny; some are _black_ or _blue_, and of these go three for a penny; this _wampum_, as they call it, is made of shell fish, which lies upon the sea-coast continually." p. . "_nokehick_, that is, a spoonful of parched meal with a spoonful of water, which will strengthen them to travel a day." "reading and writing are altogether unknown to them, though there is a stone or two in the country that has unaccountable characters engraved upon it." the intention of the king in granting the royal charter to massachusetts was, says cotton mather:-- "to win and invite the natives of that country to the knowledge and obedience of the only true god and saviour of mankind, and the christian faith, is our royal intentions, and the adventurer's free profession is the principal end of the plantation."--_life of eliot_, p. . _ th_. died at little traverse bay, on lake michigan, ningwegon, or the wing, the well-known american-ottawa chief--a man who distinguished himself for the american cause at detroit, in , and was thrown into prison by the british officers for his boldness in expressing his sentiments. he received a life annuity under the treaty of th march, . _ th_. received notice of my election as a corresponding member of the brooklyn lyceum. _ th_. a small party of chiefs of the seneca tribe under the command of "blacksmith," successor to red jacket, arrived in this city yesterday from washington, and took lodgings at the western hotel in courtland street. they were received by the mayor at the governor's room about o'clock. in the address made by one of the number, it was stated that the object of their visit had been to urge upon the president the impropriety of driving them from their present possessions. _ th_, peace among the indians.--the two nations of upper and lower creeks, who were hostile while residing east of the mississippi, have, in their new homes in arkansas, united in general council, at which fifteen hundred were present. the oratory on this occasion, of smoking the calumet, is described as of the highest order. _ th_. judge bronson, of florida, last evening, at a party at his cousin's (arthur bronson, bond street, n. y.), states that, as chairman of a committee in congress, a few years ago, he had reported a bill for allowing the brotherton indians to hold their property in wisconsin individually, and to enjoy the rights of citizenship; and that this bill passed both houses. _ th_. went to dine with charles fenno hoffman, at his lodgings in houston street. found his room garnished with curiosities of various sorts, indicative, among other things, of his interest in the indian race. a poet in his garret i had long heard of, but a liberal gentlemanly fellow, surrounded by all the elegances of life, i had not thought of as the domicil of the muses. mr. hoffman impressed me as being very english in his appearance and manners. his forehead is quite byronic in its craniological developments. his eye and countenance are of the most commanding character. pity that such a handsome man, so active in everything that calls for the gun, the rod, the boat, the horse, the dog, should have been shorn of so essential a prerequisite as a leg. his conversational powers are quite extraordinary. i felt constantly as if i were in the presence of a lover of nature and natural things; a _bon vivant_ perhaps, or an epicure, a tom moore, in some sense, whose day-dreams of heaven are mixed up with glowing images of women and wine. _ th_. i was directed from washington to relieve the principal disbursing officer at detroit. here then my hopes of visiting europe are blown sky high for the present. i must return to the north, and, so far as labor is concerned, "heap pelion on ossa." _april th_. there is hardly a word in the indian languages which does not readily yield to the power of analysis. they call tobacco, ussama. _ussa_, means to put (anything inanimate). _ma_, is a particle denoting smell. the _us_, in the first syllable, is sounded very slight, and often, perhaps, nearly dropt, and the word then seems as if spelt _sa ma_. the last vowel is broad. _ th_. left the city for detroit. in ascending the hudson, with so good an interpreter at my side as mrs. schoolcraft, whom i have carried through a perfect course of philological training in the english, latin, and hebrew principles of formation, i analyzed many of the old indian names, which, until we reached albany, are all in a peculiar dialect of the algonquin. sing sing.--this name is the local form of the name for rocks, and conveys the idea of the plural in the terminal letter. _os-sin_ in modern algonquin (the chippewa dialect), is stone, or rock. _ing_, is the local form of all nouns proper. the term may be rendered simply _place of rocks_. nyac.--this appears to be the name of a band of indians who lived there. the termination in _ac_, is generally from _acke_, land. croton.--historically, this is known to have been the name of a noted indian chief, who resided near the mouth of the river. the word appears to be derived from _nötin_, a wind. if we admit the interchange of sounds of _n_ for _r_, as being made, and the ordinary change of _t_ for _d_, between the holland and indian races, this derivation is probable. the letter c seems to be the sign of a pronoun. tappan sea.--it is perceived from vanderdonk, and from old maps and records, that a band of indians lived here, who were called the "_tappansees_." poughkeepsie is a derivative of _au-po-keep-sing, i.e._, place of shelter. the entrance of the fall kill into the hudson is the feature meant. coxackie, is evidently made up in the original from _kuk_, to cut, and _aukie_, earth, which was, probably, in old days, as it is in fact yet, a graphic description of a ridge cut and tumbled in by the waters of the hudson pressing hard on that shore. claverack is not indian. _clove_, in the hollandais, is an opening or side-gorge in the valley. _rack_, is a reach or bend in the river, the whole length of which was known, as we see, to the old skippers as separate _racks_. the _reach of cloves_ began at what is now the city of hudson, the old claverack landing. tawasentha.--normanskill is the first iroquois name noticed. it means the hill of the dead. albany itself has taken the name of a scottish dukedom for its ancient iroquois cognomen, ske-nek-ta-dea: of this compound term, _ske_ is a propositional particle, and means beyond; _nek_ is the mohawk name for a pine; and the term _ta-dea_ is descriptive of a valley. _ th_. reached detroit in the steamer "gen. wayne," and assumed the duties of my new appointment. one of the earliest washington papers i opened, gave an account of the death of mr. william ward, a most valuable clerk in the indian bureau; a man of a fine literary taste, who formerly edited and established the _north-west journal_, at the city of detroit. _ th_. a singular denouement is made this morning, which appeals strongly to my feelings. on getting in the stage at vernon, in western new york, a gentleman of easy manners, good figure, and polite address, whom we will call theodoric, kindly made way for me and my family, which led us to notice him, and we traveled together quite to detroit, and put up at the same hotel. this morning a note from him reveals him to be a young virginian, seeking his fortune west, and out of funds, and makes precisely such an appeal as it is hard, and wrong in fact, to resist. i told theodoric to take his trunk and go, by the next steamer, to my house at mackinack, and i should be up in a short time, and furnish him employment in the indian department. _ th_. rev. mr. lukenbach, of the moravian towns, canada, writes, that the proportional annuity of the christian indians, for , is unpaid. he says they were paid / ths, in , being one-third of the original annuity. he states that mr. vogler and mr. mickeh arrived on the kanzas with upwards of seventy souls, having left nearly one hundred at green bay, who are to follow them; and that these two men have commenced a new mission among the delawares. mr. l. says that there are but about one hundred and twenty souls left, who propose to remain in canada with him. _ th_. ke-bic! an exclamation of the algonquins in passing dangerous rocky shores in their canoes, when the current is strong. query. is not this the origin of the name quebec? _may d_. major garland, my predecessor in the disbursements, writes from washington: "you have a heavy task on your hands for this season; and, in addition to the hands of briareus, you will need the eyes of argus." _ d_. i made the payments to the saginaw chiefs in specie, under the treaty of the th of january, . _ th_. mr. f.w. shearman, the able and ingenious editor of the _journal of education_, writes from marshall, that it receives an increased circulation and excites a deeper interest in the people, with his plans for further improvements. _ th_. letters from mackinack informs me that the ottawas design leaving their location in the united states for the manitouline islands, in canada, where inducements are held out to them by agents of the british government. they fear going west: they cling to the north. _ th_. the harpers, publishers at new york, send me copies of the first issue of my _algic researches_, in two vols., mo. they intend to _publish_ the work on the st proximo. _ d_. letters from washington speak of the treasury as being low in specie funds. _ th_. sales of the lands of the swan creek and black river chippewas, are made at the land office in detroit, in conformity with the treaty of may th, . the _three_ years that have elapsed in this operation, have brought the prices of lands from the summer heat to the zero of prices. _ th. na_, in the algonquin language, means excellent or transcendent, and _wa_, motion. thus the names of two chiefs who visited me to day on business, are _na-geezhig_, excellent or transcendent day, and _ke-wa-geezhig_, or returning cloud. whether the word _geezhig_ shall be rendered day, or cloud, or sky, depends on the nature of its prefix. to move back is _ke-wa_, and hence the prefixed term to the latter name. _june th_. received from col. de garme jones, mayor of detroit, sundry manuscript documents relative to the administration of indian affairs of gov. hull, of the dates of , ' and ' . mr. johnstone, of aloor, near edinburgh, scotland, brings me a note of introduction from gen. james talmadge, of new york. mr. j. is a highly respected man at home, and is traveling in america to gratify a laudable curiosity. _ th_. reached mackinack, on board the steamer great western, capt. walker. _ th_. _the albany evening journal_ has a short editorial under the head of _algic researches_: "such is the title of a work from our countryman schoolcraft, which the harpers have just published, in two volumes. it consists of tales and legends, which the author has gleaned in the course of his long and familiar intercourse with the children of the forest, illustrating the mental powers and characteristics of the north american indians. "mr. schoolcraft has traveled far into the western wilds. he has lived much with the indians, and has studied their character thoroughly. he is withal a scholar and a gentleman, whose name is a sufficient guarantee for the excellence of all he writes." _ th_. i set out to complete the appraisement of the indian improvements on the north shore of lake huron, under the th article of the treaty of march th, . _ th_. paid the indians of l'arbre croche villages at little traverse bay, the amount of the appraisement of their _public_ improvements, made under the treaty of . _ th_. proceed to grand traverse bay, to view the location of a mission by messrs. dougherty and fleming. found it located on the sands, near the bottom of the bay, where a vessel could not unload, at a point so utterly destitute of advantages that it would not have been possible to select a worse site in the compass of the whole bay, which is large, and abounds in ship harbors. condemned the site forthwith, and the same day removed the site of operations to kosa's village, on a bay near the end of the peninsula. i afterwards encamped on the open lake shore, behind a sand drift, to avoid the force of the wind, and, as soon as the waters of the lake lulled, made the traverse to the beaver islands, to appraise the value of the indian improvements at that place, and, having done this, put across to the main shore north, for the same purpose. in this trip mr. turner accompanied me to keep the lists, and dr. douglass to vaccine the indians, the latter of whom reported persons as having submitted to receive the virus. the albany papers continue to publish notices of _algic researches_. the _argus_ of the th june, says: "mr. h.r. schoolcraft has added another to his claims upon the consideration of the reading public, by a recent work (from the press of the messrs. harper), entitled '_algic researches_, comprising inquiries respecting the mental characteristics of the north american indians.' it is the first of a series, which the author promises to continue at a future day, illustrative of the mythology, distinctive opinions, and intellectual character of the aborigines. these volumes comprise their oral tales, with preliminary observations and a general introduction. the term _algic_, is introduced by the author, in a generic sense, for all the tribes, with few exceptions, that were found in spread out between the atlantic and the mississippi. "to those who care to look into the philosophy of the indian character, these oral fictions will be read with interest. they are curious in themselves, and not less so as a material step in the researches that may serve, in the sequel, to unveil the origin, as well as the intellectual traits, of these tribes. they will at least establish the fact of 'an oral imaginative lore' among the aborigines of this continent, of which they give us faithful specimens. "probably no man in this country is better qualified to pursue these researches than mr. schoolcraft. a long residence in the indian country, and official intercourse with the tribes, have given him an access to the indian mind which few have enjoyed, and which none have improved to a greater extent by habits of observation and philosophical investigation. a residence at mackinaw is of itself calculated to beget, as it is to gratify, a taste for the prosecution of these inquiries. it is described by miss martineau as 'the wildest and tenderest piece of beauty that she had yet seen on god's earth.' it is indeed a spot of rare attractiveness. standing upon the promontory, in the rear of the fort and town, the view embraces to the north the head waters of the huron and the far-off isles of st. martin, to the west green isle and the straits of mackinaw, and to the east and south bois blanc and the great lake. it is a delightful summer retreat, and many are the legends and reminiscences of the scenes of enjoyment passed here in absolute, and we are assured happy, exclusion from the outward world, during the winter months. it has been regarded, at no distant day, as important not only as the rendezvous of the fur companies' agents and employers and the indian traders, but as a government military post. it is still a great resort of the northern indians. often their lodges and their bark canoes, of beautiful construction, line the pebbly shore; and the aboriginal habits and mental characteristics may be studied on the spot. "it is to be hoped that mr. s. will resume the course of inquiry and research that he has marked out for himself; and that he will be induced to give to the public the results of his long and intimate familiarity with the indian life and character." _ th_. the _detroit daily advertiser_, of this day, has the following critical notice on the work of _algic researches_, under the head of _indian tales and legends_. "this work has just been offered for sale at our book-stores, and we strongly recommend it to all those who feel an interest in the character of our aborigines. it is well known to many of us here, that mr. schoolcraft has, for the last several years, been industriously engaged in collecting facts which illustrate the 'mythology, distinctive opinions, and intellectual character' of the indians. his researches have embraced 'their oral tales, fictitious and historical; their hieroglyphics, music, and poetry; and the grammatical structure of their languages, the principles of their construction, and the actual state of their vocabulary.' the materials he has now on hand afford him the means of fulfilling this extensive plan, and this 'first series' is only a leading publication. "when the position which mr. s. has occupied for the last seventeen or more years is recollected, as well as his fitness and exertions to improve all its advantages, we shall at once see the benefit to the literary and scientific world which his researches in these various departments are likely to produce. the subjects which have engaged his attention are regarded with deep interest by the philanthropist, the philologist, the archaeologist, as well as many other liberal inquirers, both in europe and america, who, amid the scanty facts, cursory observations, and hurried, random conjectures of those who have been favored with a comparatively near view of them, have lamented the want of such deliberate investigations and comparative examinations, continued with sober judgment through a long series of years, as are now offered to the public. we trust that a proper and enlightened patronage will warrant mr. schoolcraft in completing his design. no man, possessing his qualifications, has enjoyed his advantages. he has been able to take up, at his leisure, the scattered links of a broken chain, and fit them together. a chaos of aboriginal facts will be reduced, under his hand, to some degree of order. "mr. schoolcraft and mr. catlin have done more to preserve the fleeting traits of aboriginal character and history than all their predecessors in this field of inquiry, and none can follow them with the same success, as none can have the same range of subjects before them. the scene is changing with each year, and the past, with respect to the savages, does not recur. they fall back with no hope to recover lost ground; they diminish with no hope to increase again; they degenerate with no hope to revive in physical or moral strength. those who have seen them most during the last few years, have seen them best. after observers will find mere fragments, or a heterogeneous mass, in which all original identity is distorted or gone. "the tales now published must not be estimated for their intrinsic merit alone. they may have less variety of construction, less beauty of imagination, less singularity of incident, than belong to oriental tales, the productions of more refined times, or more excitable people. but the estimate must not be comparative. they are to be regarded as the type of aboriginal mind, as the measure of intellectual power of our sons of the forest; as speaking their sentiments, their hopes and their fears, whatever they were or are, whether elevated or depressed, whether raising the race or sinking it in the scale of untutored nations. whether they prove a poverty of mental energy, a feebleness of imagination, a want of invention, or the reverse, cannot affect the value of these volumes in the opinion of those who look into them for evidences of the true character of the indians. mr. schoolcraft, or any other gentleman of taste and skill, might have formed out of these materials a series of tales, highly finished in their unity and design, strikingly colored by fancy, such as would have caught the popular whim. but this was not his object. he has been honest in his renderings of the aboriginal sense, whether pointed or mystical, of the indian's mythology, whether intelligible or obscure; of their shadowy glimpses of the past and the future; of the beginning and end of things, without alteration or embellishment. such a work was wanted, and such a work was expected from mr. schoolcraft. "if we have room, we will quote one or two of the shorter tales, such as 'mon-daw-min, or the origin of indian corn,' and the 'celestial sisters,' both of which are very characteristic, and show, under the garb of much figurative beauty, how indians appreciate the blessings of a kind providence, and, how his domestic affections may glow and endure. indeed, there are few of these tales that would not give interest to our columns, and we shall be pleased to give our readers an occasional taste, provided we thereby induce them to supply themselves with the full feast in their power." _ th_. it is stated that the oldest town in the united states is st. augustine, florida, by more than forty years. it was founded forty years before virginia was colonized. some of the houses are yet standing which are said to have been built more than three centuries ago, that is to say, about . de soto landed in florida in . narvaez, in his unfortunate expedition, landed in . both these expeditions were confined to the exploration of the country west and north of the bay of espiritu santo, reaching to the mississippi. de soto crossed the latter into the southeastern corner of the present state of missouri, and into the area of arkansas, where he died. _ st_. _the detroit free press_, of this day, has the following remarks:-- "much interest is manifested in this work of mr. schoolcraft, as a timely rescue from oblivion of an important portion of the great world of mind--important inasmuch as it is a manifestation of two principles of human nature prominent in an interesting variety of the human race, the sense of the marvelous and the sense of the beautiful, or the developments of wonder and ideality. the character of a people cannot be fully understood without a reference to its tales of fiction and its poetry. poetry is the offspring of the beautiful and the wonderful, and much of it the reader will find embodied in the indian tales to which the author of the _algic researches_ has given an enduring record. "much of this work strongly reminds the reader of the grecian mythology and the _arabian nights entertainments_. "according to one of the odjibwa tales, the morning star was once a beautiful damsel that longed to go to 'the place of the breaking of daylight." by the following poetic invocation of her brother, she was raised upon the winds, blowing from 'the four corners of the earth,' to the heaven of her hopes:-- blow winds, blow! my sister lingers from her dwelling in the sky, where _the morn with rosy fingers_, shall her cheeks with vermil dye. there, my earliest views directed, shall from her their color take, and her smiles, through clouds reflected, guide me on, by wood and lake. "the work abounds with similar beautiful thoughts and inventions. "catlin may be called the red man's painter; schoolcraft his poetical historian. they have each painted in living colors the workings of the indian mind, and painted nature in her unadorned simplicity. they have done much which, without them, would, perhaps, have remained undone, and become extinct with the indian race. as monuments of history for future ages, their works are not sufficiently appreciated. "the author of these volumes has stamped upon his page much of the intellectual existence of the simple children of the forest, and bequeathed us a detail map of their _terra incognita_--their fireside amusements in legendary lore." i am willing to notice this and some other criticisms of this work as popular expressions of opinion on the subject. but it is difficult for an editor to judge, from the mere face of the volumes, what an amount of auxiliary labor it has required to collect these legends from the indian wigwams. they had to be gleaned and translated from time to time. seventeen years have passed since i first began them--not that anything like this time, or the half of it, has been devoted to it. it was one of my amusements in the long winter evenings--the only time of the year when indians will tell stories and legends. they required pruning and dressing, like wild vines in a garden. but they are, exclusively (with the exception of the allegory of the vine and oak), wild vines, and not pumpings up of my own fancy. the attempts to lop off excrescences are not, perhaps, always happy. there might, perhaps, have been a fuller adherence to the original language and expressions; but if so, what a world of verbiage must have been retained. the indians are prolix, and attach value to many minutiae in the relation which not only does not help forward the denouement, but is tedious and witless to the last degree. the gems of the legends--the essential points--the invention and thought-work are all preserved. their chief value i have ever thought to consist in the insight they give into the dark cave of the indian mind--its beliefs, dogmas, and opinions--its secret modes of turning over thought--its real philosophy; and it is for this trait that i believe posterity will sustain the book. a literary friend, of good judgment, of detroit, writes ( th): "your tales have reached me, and i have read them over with a deep interest, arising from a double source--the intrinsic value of such stories and the insight they give of indian intellect and modes of thought. they form a truly important acquisition to our literary treasures, as they throw a light oft the indian character which has been imparted from no other quarter. they form a standard by which to determine what is true and what is false in the representations made heretofore of the aboriginal nations on most prominent subjects. no one will doubt that you render the genuine indian mind and heart. those who conform to these renderings will pass muster; the rest will be rejected. let mr. cooper and others be thus measured." _ th_. muk-kud-da ka-niew (or the black war eagle), chief of the coasts of arenac, brought me an antique pipe of peculiar construction, disinterred at thunder bay. it was found about six feet underground; and was disclosed by the blowing down of a large pine, which tore up a quantity of earth by its roots. the tree was two fathoms round, and would make a large canoe. with the pipe were found two earthen vases, which broke on taking them up. in these vases were some small bones of the pickerel's spine. he saw also the leg bones of an indian, but the upper part of the skeleton appeared to be decomposed, and was not visible. he thinks the tree must have grown up on an old grave. the pipe consisted of a squared and ornamented bowl, with a curved and tapering handle, all made solid from a sort of coarse _terra cotta_. he says it was used by taking the small end in the mouth, and thinks such was the practice of the ancient indians, although the mode is now so different by their descendants. the chief ornament consists of eight dots on each face, separated by longitudinal strokes, leaving four in a compartment. if the tree was four feet diameter, as he states, it denotes an ancient occupation of the shores of lake huron, which was probably of the old era of the mining for copper in lake superior. chapter lxviii. american antiquities--michilimackinack a summer resort--death of ogimau keegido--brothertons--an indian election--cherokee murders--board of regents of the michigan university--archaeological facts and rumors--woman of the green valley--a new variety of fish--visits of the austrian and sardinian ministers to the u.s.--mr. gallup--sioux murders--a remarkable display of aurora borealis--ottawas of maumee--extent of auroral phenomena--potawattomie cruelty--mineralogy--death of ondiaka--chippewa tradition--fruit trees--stone's preparation of the life and times of sir william johnson--dialectic difference between the language of the ottawas and the chippewas--philological remarks on the indian languages--mr. t. hulbert. . _june th_. alex v.v. bradford, esq., of new york, being about to publish a work on american antiquities,[ ] solicits permission to use some of my engravings. i am glad to see an increasing interest in our archaeology, and hope to live to see the day when the popular tastes will permit books to be published on the subject. [footnote : this work was published, i think, in .] _ th_. mrs. morris brings a letter from hon. a.e. wing, of monroe. she contemplates spending the summer on the island on account of impaired health. the pure air and fine summer climate of mackinack begin to be appreciated within a year or two by valetudinarians. it is a perfect montpelier to them. the inhaling of its pure and dry atmosphere in midsummer is found to act very favorably on the digestive organs. no process of _health-making gymnastics_ is prescribed by physicians. they merely direct persons to walk about and enjoy the sights and scenes about them, to saunter along its winding paths, or go fishing or gunning. its woods are delightful, and its cliffs command the sublimest views. one would think that if the muses are ever routed from the bare hills of olympus and the springs of helicon, they would take shelter in the glens of michilimackinack, where the indian _pukwees_, or _fairies_, danced of old. i received intelligence of the death of ogimau keegido (speaker chief), the head sachem of the saginaws. he had indulged some time in drinking, and, after getting out of this debauch, was confined by sickness three days. death came to his relief. some years ago this man met with an accident by the discharge of a gun, by which his liver protruded; he took his knife and cut off a small piece, which he ate as a panacea. he was a man of strong passions and ungoverned will. he visited washington in , and, with other chiefs, sold the saginaw reservations. the party of saginaws who brought me the above information had among them twenty-two orphan children, whose parents had died of small-pox. they were on their way to the manitoulines. _ th_. mud-je-ke-wis, a minor chief of grand traverse bay, surrenders a belt of blue and white wampum, and a gilt gorget, which he had received from some officer of the british indian department in canada, saying he renounces allegiance to that government, and reports himself, from this day, as an american. _ th_. chingossamo (big sail), of cheboigan, having migrated to the manitouline islands with thirteen families, about seventy-nine souls, an election was this day held, at this office, by the indians, to supply the place of ruling chief. sticks, of two colors, were prepared as ballots for the two candidates. of these, keeshowa received two-thirds, and was declared duly elected. i granted a certificate of this election. the present population is reduced to forty-four souls, who live in thirteen families. this band are chippewas. gen. scott arrives at this post, on a general tour of inspection of the northern posts, and proceeds the same day to sault st. marie, accompanied by maj. whiting. _july d_. the _wisconsin democrat_, of this date, contains an interesting sketch of the history of the brotherton indians, which is represented to be "composed of the descendants of the six following named tribes of indians, viz., the naragansetts, of rhode island; the stoningtons, or pequoits, of groton, connecticut; the montauks, of long island; the mohegans, nianticks, and farmington indians, also of connecticut. several years before the american revolution, a single indian of the montauk tribe left his nation and traveled into the state of new york. he had no fixed purpose in view more than (as he expressed it) to see the world. during his absence, however, he fortunately paid a visit to the oneidas, then a very large and powerful tribe of indians residing in the state of new york. with them he concluded to rest a short time. they, discovering that he possessed 'some of the white man's learning,' employed him to teach a common reading and writing school among them. he remained with them longer than he at first intended. during this time the oneida chief made many inquiries respecting his (the montauk) tribe, and the other tribes before mentioned, and received, for answer, 'that they had almost become extinct--that their game was fast disappearing--that their landed possessions were very small--that the pure blood of their ancestors had become mixed with both the blood of the white man and the african---that new and fatal diseases had appeared among them--that the curse of all curses, the white man's stream of liquid fire, was inundating their very existence, and the gloomy prospect of inevitable annihilation seemed to stare them in the face--that no 'hope with a goodly prospect fed the eye.' the oneida chief, actuated partly with a desire to extend the hand of brotherly affection to rescue the above tribes from the melancholy fate that seemed to await them, and partly with a desire to manifest his deep sense of the valuable services rendered to him and his nation in his having taught among them a school, gave to the schoolteacher a tract of land twelve miles square for the use and benefit of his tribe, and the other tribes mentioned." the treaty of the th of january, , with the saginaws, is confirmed by the senate. _ d_. the _arkansas little rock gazette_, of this date, states that the long existing feud in the cherokee nation, which has divided its old and new settlers, has terminated in a series of frightful murders. its language is this:-- "we briefly alluded in our last to a report from the west that john ridge, one of the principal chiefs of the cherokee nation, had been assassinated. more recent accounts confirm the fact, and bring news of the murder of ridge's father, together with elias boudinot and some ten or twelve men of less distinction (some accounts say thirty or forty), all belonging to ridge's party. "these murders are acknowledged to have been committed by the partisans of john boss, between whom and ridge a difference has for a long time subsisted, growing out of the removal of the cherokees from the old nation to the west, ridge having uniformly been favorable to that course and ross opposing it." a council was recently held to consult in relation to the laws to be adopted by the united nation in their present country, there being some essential differences between the code by which that portion of the nation recently emigrated from the east had been governed, and the laws adopted by the old settlers in the west. each party contended for the adoption of its own code, and neither would concede to the other, and the council finally broke up without being able to come to any understanding on the subject. on his way from this council, ridge was murdered. ridge, although a recent emigrant, we understand agreed with the old settlers in regard to the adoption of their laws, while ross contended for those of the old nation east. after the murder of ridge, general arbuckle, the commander of the united states forces on this frontier, sent a detachment of dragoons to ross, with a request that he would come to the garrison, who declined unless he could be allowed to bring with him some six or seven hundred of his armed partisans, and take them into the garrison with him. this, of course, could not be allowed, and so the detachment returned to the garrison, and after that the murders subsequent to that of ridge were committed. one of them was perpetrated within the bounds of washington county, in this state, and we hope the necessary steps will be taken by our authorities to secure and bring to trial the murderer, and thus preserve inviolate the jurisdiction of our state over her own soil. "we learn that a council was called of the whole nation, to be held yesterday, with a view of settling the existing difficulties, and we hope it may result in establishing peace among them." _ d_. i received a letter introducing mr. and mrs. kane, of albany. we love an agreeable surprise. i recognized in mrs. k. the daughter of an old friend--a most lady-like, agreeable, and talented woman; and deemed my time agreeably devoted in showing my visitors the curiosities of the island. _ th_. the business of my superintendency calls me to detroit. fiscal questions, the employment of special agents, the collection of treasury drafts, the payment of annuities; these are some of the constant cares, full of responsibilities, which call for incessant vigilance. i reached the city in the steamer "gen. wayne," at o'clock, in the morning. _ th_. john a. bell, and sand watie, cherokee chiefs, publish in the _arkansas gazette_, an appeal to public justice, on the murder of the ridges and boudinot, which took place on the d of june previous. _ th_. rev. mr. duffield informs me of some geological antiquities, reported to have been recently discovered in ohio, made in the course of the excavations on the line of the canal, between cleaveland and beaver. _ th_. the board of regents of the university of michigan inform me, by their secretary, of my having been placed on a committee, as chairman, to report "such amendments to the organic law of the university, as they shall deem essential, with a view to their presentation to the next legislature." _ th_. being on my passage from detroit to mackinack, on lake huron, a mr. wetzler, of rock river, wisconsin, stated to me that a mr. davy, an english emigrant, found, in making an excavation in his land near "oregon," some antiquities, consisting of silver coins, for which mr. wetzler offered him, unsuccessfully, $ . the story looks very much like a humbug, but it was told with all seriousness by a respectable looking man. a mr. ruggles, of huron, ohio, who was aboard of the same vessel, said, that hacks of an axe were found in buried cedars, some years ago, at a depth of about feet below the surface, near the east edge of huron county, ohio. there are no cedars, he adds, now growing in that section of ohio. the _burlington gazette_ (iowa) says, "that a sac and fox war party recently returned from the missouri, bringing eight scalps, and a number of female prisoners, and horses. the indians murdered were of the omaha tribe. the party consisted of ten men, with their squaws; and, although only eight scalps were brought in, it is supposed that not a single man escaped. we are not aware that feelings of hostility have heretofore existed between these nations. the ostensible object of the sac and fox party was to chastise the sioux. the expedition was headed by pa-ma-sa, the bold and daring brave who recently inflicted a dangerous wound upon the person of ke-o-kuk." _ th_. arrived at mackinack, in the steamer "united states," at o'clock in the morning, after an absence of about twenty days. _ th_. mr. john r. kellogg says, that during the early settlement of onondaga, n.y., say about , in cutting into a tree, in the vicinity of skaneateles, _iron_ was struck. on searching, they cut out a rude chain, which was wound about in the wood, and appeared to have been fastened above. query, had this been a pot trammel of some ancient explorer? onondaga is known to have been early visited. he also stated that three distinct hacks of an axe, of the ordinary size, were found, in cutting down an oak, at the same period, in ontario county. six hundred cortical layers were found _outside_ of these antique hacks, indicating that they were made in the th century. i record these archaeological memoranda merely for inquiry. _ th_. osha-wus-coda-waqua, a daughter of wabojeeg, a celebrated war chief of the close of last century, of lake superior, visited the office. she states that her name is the result of a dream, by some ancient crone, who officiated at her nativity, and that it means _the woman of the green valley_. she is now about years of age. when about or , she is said to have been a slender, comely lass, with large bright hazel eyes, and a graceful figure. at this age, she married a young gentleman from the north of ireland, of good family and standing, and high connections, who made a wild adventure into this region. this is the origin of the johnston family, in the basin of lake superior, and the straits of st. mary's. she has had eight children, four sons and four daughters, all of whom grew up to maturity, and all but the eldest are now living. her husband, who became a noted merchant or outfitter, a man of great influence with the indians, and high intelligence and social virtues, died in , at the age of about years. she is now subject to some infirmities; fleshy and heavy, and strongly inclined, i should judge, to apoplexy. her father, wabojeeg, died of consumption, not very old. she told me that the hieroglyphics and pictures which the indians cut on trees, or draw on barks, or rocks, which are designed to convey _instruction_, are called ke-k�e-win--a word which has its plural in _un_. it is a noun inanimate. she laughs at the attempts of the american and foreign traders to speak the indian, the rules of which they perpetually, she says, violate. _ st_. a new species of white fish appears in the st. mary's this spring. it is characterized by a very small mouth, and pointed head, and a crowning back, and is a remarkably _fat_ fish. the odjibwas call it _o-don-i-bee,_ or water-mouth. hence the canadian word _tulibee_. wakazo, an ottawa chief of waganukizzie, and his band visit the office, to confer on their affairs. he persists in his former determination to form an agricultural settlement with his people, on the north black river, michigan shore, and says that they will go down, to open their farms, soon after the payment of the annuities. _aug. st_. visited by the baron mareschal, austrian minister at washington, and count de colobiano, minister of the kingdom of sardinia. these gentlemen both impressed me with their quiet, easy manner, and perfect freedom from all pretence. i went out with them, to show them the arched rock, the sugar-loaf rock, and other natural curiosities. at the sugar-loaf rock they got out of the carriage and strolled about. the baron and count at last seated themselves on the grass. the former was a tall, rather grave man, with blue eyes, well advanced in years, and a german air; the latter, three or four inches shorter of stature, with black eyes, an animated look, and many years the junior. _ th_. my children arrived at mackinack this evening, from their respective schools at brooklyn and philadelphia, on their summer vacation, and have, on examination, made good progress. _ th_. albert gallup, esq., of albany, lands on his way to green bay as a u.s. commissioner to treat with the stockbridges. this gentleman brought me official dispatches relative to his mission and the expenditures of it, and, by his ready and prompt mode of acting and speaking, led me to call to mind another class of visitors, who seem to aim by extreme formality and circumlocution to strive to hide want of capacity and narrow-mindedness. mr. gallup mentioned a passage of scripture, which is generally quoted wrong--"he who reads may run"--which set me to hunting for it. the passage is "that he may run that readeth it."--habakkuk ii. . _ th_. mr. stringham, of green bay, reports that he had recently visited the scene of a battle or affray between the sioux and chippewas, on lake st. croix, near the mouth of the st. croix river, upper mississippi. one or two sioux, it seems, had been killed by some thoughtless young men of a party of chippewas, about three hundred strong. this party encamped on the south shores of lake st. croix. they were secretly followed by the sioux, who, watching their opportunity, fell on the camp while they were asleep, near daylight. one hundred and twenty were killed in the onset. as soon as the chippewas discovered their position, and recovered their self-possession, they rallied, and, attacking the assailants, drove them from the field, killed twenty, and chased them to near their village. hearing of this, the captain of the steamer, on board of which mr. s. was, went into the lake, and they viewed the dead bodies. _ th_. returned to mackinack, after a trip of eight days to detroit. the iowa papers give accounts of the recent shocking murders committed by the sioux. "we learn," says the _burlington patriot_, "from governor lucas and another gentleman, who came passengers on the 'ione,' last evening, that two hundred and twenty indians were killed in the upper country about the st inst. the facts, as they were related by a young gentleman who was at the treaty, are as follows: the sioux had invited the chippewas to meet them at st. peter's, for the purpose of making a treaty of everlasting friendship. the chippewas assembled accordingly--the pipe of peace was smoked--and they parted apparently good friends. a large party of the chippewas was encamped at the falls of st. anthony, and a smaller party encamped on the st. croix, on their way home, without the least suspicion of treachery on the part of the sioux. while they were thus peaceably encamped, they were surprised by the sioux, who commenced their butchery. they immediately rallied, but before the battle terminated the chippewas lost one hundred and fifty at the falls and twenty on the st. croix. the number of sioux killed on the occasion amounted to about fifty. we do not much wonder at the hostility that has been exhibited by the sauks and foxes against the sioux, if this latter tribe has always been as treacherous as they were on the above occasion." _sept. d_. a remarkable and most magnificent display of the aurora borealis occurred in the evening. it began a quarter before eight, as i was sitting on the piazza in front of my house, which commands a view of the lake in front, and the whole southern hemisphere. from the zenith points of light flared down the southern hemisphere. the north had none. for five minutes the appearance, was most magnificent. streaks of blue and crimson red light appeared in several parts. at ten minutes to eight, long lines began to form on the east, then west, and varying to north-west, very bright, silvery and phosphorescent. before nine, the rays shot up from the horizon north-east, and finally north--the southern hemisphere, at the same time, losing its brilliance. this light continued in full activity of effulgence to ten, and, after my retiring from the piazza, its gleams were visible through the windows the greater part of the night, till two o'clock or later. _ th_. a chief from st. mary's, called iawba waddik (male reindeer), visited the office. this man's name affords an evidence of the manner in which a noun or adjective prefix is joined to a noun proper, namely, by the interposition of a consonant before the noun, whenever the latter _begins_, and the former _ends_, with a vowel. we cannot say, iawba-_addik_--male deer; but euphony requires that, in these cases, the letter _w_ should precede, and soften the sound of the initial _a_. this chief was first introduced to me in . his tall and lithe form, his ease of manners, and a certain mild and civilized air, made me notice him. he turned out to be the youngest son of a noted war chief, called the white fisher--wa-bo-jeeg. he had, however, never been on the war path, but addressed himself early to the art of hunting, in which he excelled, and furnished his family with a plentiful supply of food and clothing. he had had twelve children by one wife, giving an impressive lesson, that peaceful habits and a plentiful supply of the means of subsistence, are conducive to their usual results. he is now about years of age. the seventeen years during which i have known him, have not detracted from his erect figure, his mild and easy manners, or his docile and decidedly domestic disposition. _ th_. the payment of the indian annuities, which commenced on the d instant, was continued till the th, and, skipping the th (sunday), finished this day. these payments were made as usual, in specie, and _per capita_--man, woman, and child faring alike. the annuities in provisions, tobacco, salt, &c., were, in conformity with custom, turned over to the chiefs of bands in bulk; and by them divided, with scrupulous care, among their people. the payments and deliveries have engaged the whole force of the department for seven or eight days, and have ended satisfactory to the indians, who have been subsisted, meantime, on the public provisions, without trenching on their own stock. _ th_. the maumee ottawas arrive at louisville, ky., on their way to the west. among this band there are two chiefs, anto-kee, the head chief, and petonoquette, a much younger man. anto-kee is a son of the celebrated chief tushquaquier, who was looked upon by the ottawas as the father of the tribe. petanoquette is half french, son of louisan, a distinguished chief, who was killed, when petonoquette was a mere child, by that most barbarous and ferocious of all warriors, kish-kau-go, who afterwards committed suicide in the detroit jail, in which he was confined for murder. anto-kee and petonoquette are represented as very good men, well informed, and not much inclined to barbarity. the former is said to be a relative of the great pontiac. _ th_. leave mackinack for detroit. _ th_. return from an official visit to the office at detroit. _ th_. a london paper of sept. th notices a brilliant display of the aurora borealis and falling stars, on the same day of the extraordinary display of the same kind, witnessed on this island. the first impression in that city, was of a great fire in some distant part of the city, there being, at first, a dense red light. the difference between the two places is about ° of latitude. its commencement was about half, or three quarters of an hour later. the editor says:-- "between the hours of ten last night and three this morning in the heavens were observed one of the most magnificent specimens of that extraordinary phenomena--the falling stars and northern lights--ever witnessed for many years past. the first indication of this singular phenomenon was about ten minutes before ten, when a light crimson, apparently vapor, rose from the northern portion of the hemisphere, and gradually extended to the centre of the heavens, and by ten o'clock, or a quarter past, the whole, from east to west, was in one vast sheet of light. it had a most alarming appearance, and was exactly like that occasioned by a terrific fire. the light varied considerably; at one time it seemed to fall, and directly after rose with intense brightness. there were to be seen mingled with it volumes of smoke, which rolled over and over, and every beholder seemed convinced that it was 'a tremendous conflagration.' the consternation in the metropolis was very great; thousands of persons were running in the direction of the supposed catastrophe. the engines belonging to the fire brigade stations in baker street, farringdon street, wattling street, waterloo road, and likewise those belonging to the west of england station; in fact, every fire-engine in london was horsed, and galloped after the supposed 'scene of destruction' with more than ordinary energy, followed by carriages, horsemen, and vast mobs. some of the engines proceeded as far as highgate and holloway before the error was discovered. "these appearances lasted for upwards of two hours, and towards morning the spectacle became one of more grandeur. at two o'clock this morning, the phenomenon presented a most gorgeous scene, and one very difficult to describe. the whole of london was illuminated as light as noonday, and the atmosphere was remarkably clear. the southern hemisphere, at the time mentioned, although unclouded, was very dark, but the stars, which were innumerable, shone beautifully. the opposite side of the heavens presented a singular but magnificent contrast; it was clear to the extreme, and the light was very vivid; there was a continual succession of meteors, which varied in splendor. they apparently formed in the centre of the heavens, and spread till they seemed to burst; the effect was electrical; myriads of small stars shot out over the horizon, and darted with that swiftness towards the earth that the eye scarcely could follow the track; they seemed to burst also and throw a dark crimson over the entire hemisphere. the colors were the most magnificent that ever were seen. at half-past two o'clock the spectacle changed to darkness, which, on dispersing, displayed a luminous rainbow in the zenith of the heavens and round the ridge of darkness that overhung the southern portion of the country. soon afterwards, columns of silvery light radiated from it; they increased wonderfully, intermingled amongst crimson vapor, which formed at the same time; and, when at the full height, the spectacle was beyond all imagination. stars were darting about in all directions, and continued until four o'clock, and all died away. during the time that they lasted, a great many persons assembled on the bridges across the river thames, where they had a commanding view of the heavens, and watched the progress of the phenomenon attentively." _oct. d_. mr. j.h. kinzie, of chicago, mentioned to me, in a former interview, a striking trait of the barbarity of the potawattomies in the treatment of their women. two female slaves, or wives of wabunsee, had a quarrel. one of them went, in her excited state of feeling, to the chief, and told him that the other had ill-treated his children. he ordered the accused to come before him. he told her to lie down on her back on the ground. he then directed the other (her accuser) to take a tomahawk and dispatch her. she split open her skull, and killed her immediately. he left her unburied, but was afterwards persuaded to direct the murderess to bury her. she dug a grave so shallow, that the wolves dug out the body that night and partly devoured it. _ d_. james l. schoolcraft brought me some mineralogical and geological specimens from _isle cariboo_--the land of golden dreams and fogs in lake superior. the island has a basis of chocolate-colored sandstone. _ th_. the _oneida whig_ mentions the death, on the th ultimo, near oneida castle, new york, of ondayaka, head chief of the onondagas, aged about ninety-six. at the time of his death, ondayaka, and the subordinate chiefs and principal men of his nation, were on their way to join in the ceremonies of electing a head chief of the oneidas. within a few miles of the council house of the latter tribe, ondayaka placed himself at the head of the deputation of the onondagas, and commenced the performance of the ceremonies observed on such occasions, when he was suddenly seized with the bilious colic. calling the next chief in authority to fill his station, he withdrew to the road side, when he soon after expressed a consciousness that "it was the will of the _great spirit_ that he should live no longer upon the earth." he then sent for his people, and took leave of them, after counseling them to cultivate and practice temperance and brotherly love in their councils and among the people of the nation, and friendship and integrity with all. he soon after became unable to speak, and in a few hours his spirit was gathered to the great spirit who gave it. _ th_. the following is an odjibwa tradition. adjejauk and oshugee were brothers, living at st. mary's falls. oshugee was the elder. one day he took his brother's fishing-pole into the rapids, and accidentally broke it. this caused a quarrel. oshugee went off south, and was referred to as shawnee. this was the origin of that tribe who call the chippewas _younger brother_, to this day. this is said by nabunwa. the shawnee (southman) here named is not the shawnee tribe. with this explanation, the tradition may be admitted. it was probably the origin of the potawattomies. _ th_. two plum trees, standing in front of the agency, which had attained their full growth, and borne fruit plentifully, for some few years, began to droop, and finally died during the autumn. i found, by examination, that their roots had extended into cold underground springs of water, which have their issue under the high cliff immediately behind the agency. they had originally been set out as wall fruit, within a few feet of the front wall of the house, on its southern side. the one was the common blue plum, the other an egg plum. a mountain ash, standing some twenty feet west of them, had protruded its roots into a similar cold moisture, but, so far from injuring it, the tree grew more luxuriantly, putting forth leaves and berries in the greatest profusion. seeing this disposition to flourish by its proximity to underground currents, i cut the bark of the tree, which is of a close binding character, to allow it to expand, and found this to have an excellent effect. this tree bears a white bell-shaped cluster of blossoms, which originate the most beautiful scarlet berries in the autumn. the one species is a native, the other an exotic. _ th_. _pemid-jee_, signifies in chippewa across, sideways. _go-daus_ is a garment, or cloth designed for it. hence _mad-jee-co-ta_ a skirt or side-cloth. _ th_. col. wm.l. stone writes that he is making progress in his _life and times of sir william johnson_, and begs a copy of the old military orderly book, in my possession, detailing the siege and taking of fort niagara, &c. he says of _algie researches_: "by the way, what a delightful book you furnished us. don't you remember that i told you not to go to ---- for revision? he would have spoiled your simple and beautiful tales. president wayland, my brother-in-law, was delighted with them." _dec. th_. abraham schoolcraft, special emigrating agent, reports the safe arrival of the swan creeks at their destination on the river osage. the lands are fertile, the waters good, forest trees in abundance for fire-wood and fences. everything promises well for their future prosperity. _ th_. wrote to col. stone, transmitting him a copy of the old journal, before alluded to, of the siege of niagara, in , the march of gen. bradstreet for the relief of detroit, in , &c. _ th_. mackinack has again assumed its winter phase. we are shut in from the tumult of the world, and must rely for our sources of intellectual sustenance and diversion on books, or researches, such as may present themselves. the following words, i am assured, are different, in the ottawa and chippewa dialects:-- chippewa. ottawa. . axe, wag-á-kwut, nah-bah-gun. . point, na-au-shi, sin-gang. . spring (season), se-gwun, me-no-ka-mi. . scissors, mozh-wá-gun, sip-po-ne-gun. . spear, ah-nit, nah-bah-e-gun. . stop; cease; be still, ah-no-wa-tan, mah-ga-nick. . it's flown away, ke-pah-ze-qwah-o, ke-ke-ze-kay. . maple tree, in-ne-nah-tig, as-sin-ah-mish. . milk, to-dosh-á-bo, mo-nah-gan-á-bo. . small lake, or pond, sah-gi-e-gan, ne-bis. . he smokes, sug-gus-wau, pin-dah-qua. . it is calm, ah-no-wá-tin, to-kis-sin. . it will be a severe, or bad day, tah-mat-chi-geezh-ik-ud. tah-goot-au-gan. . i will visit, ningah-mah-wa-tish-e-way, ningah-ne- bwatch-e-way. . he will quarrel (with) you, kegah-ke-kau-mig, kegau-ne-tehi-we-ig. . he will strike you, kegah-puk-e-tay-og, kegah-wa-po-taig. . hammer, puk-ke-tai-e-gun, wap-o-ge-gin. . dog, an-ne-moosh, an-ne-mo-kau-gi. . my mother, nin-guh, nin-gush, . yes, aih, au-nin-da. it is evident that these dialectic differences arise, not from the use of a different language, but a different mode of applying the same language--a language in which every syllable has a well-known primitive meaning. thus, in the name for maple tree( ), the chippewa means, spouted, or man tree (alluding to its being tapped for its sap), and the ottawa, stoned, or cut tree, alluding to the same feature. the same terms are equally well known, and proper in both dialects. so in , the one says a collection of running water, the other, a little mass of water. so in , the one says, literally, it will be a bad day; the other, it will storm. so in , the one says strike-instrument; the other swing-instrument. so in , one uses an affirmative particle, the other says, certainly. _ st_. rev. thomas hulbert, of the pic, on the north shores of lake superior, writes about the orthography and principles of the indian languages. when this gentleman was on his way inland, he stopped at my house, and evinced much interest in the oral traditions of the indians, as shown in _algic researches_, and presented me the conjugation of the indian verb "_to see_," filling many pages of an old folio account book--all written in the wretched system of notation of mr. evans.[ ] i stated to him the analytical mode which i had pursued in my lectures on the structure of the languages, with the very best helps at st. mary's; and that i had found it to yield to this process--that the algonquin was, in fact, an aggregation of monasyllabic roots: that words and expressions were formed entirely of a limited number of original roots and particles, which had generic meanings. that new words, however compounded, carried these meanings to the indian ear, and were understood by it in all possible forms of accretion and syllabication. that the derivatives founded on these roots of one or two syllables, could all be taken apart and put together like a piece of machinery. that the principles were fixed, philosophical, and regular, and that, although the language had some glaring defects, as the want of a feminine pronoun, and many redundancies, they were admirably adapted to describe geographical and meteorological scenes. that it was a language of _woods and wilds_. that it failed to convey knowledge, only because it had apparently never been applied to it. and that those philologists who had represented it as an _agglutinated mass_, and capable of the most recondite, pronominal, and tensal meanings, exceeding those of greece and rome, had no clear conceptions of what they were speaking of. that its principles are not, in fact, polysynthetic, but on the contrary _unasynthetic_: its rules were all of one piece. that, in fine, we should never get at the truth till we pulled down the, erroneous fabric of the extreme polysynthesists, which was erected on materials furnished by an excellent, but entirely unlearned missionary. but that this could not be done now, such was the _prestige_ of names; and that he and i, and all humble laborers in the field, must wait to submit our views till time had opened a favorable door for us. it was our present duty to accumulate facts, not to set up new theories, nor aim, by any means, to fight these intellectual giants while we were armed but with small weapons. [footnote : a wesleyan missionary, some time at port sarnia, opposite fort gratiot, canada.] mr. hurlbut entered into these views. he had now reflected upon them, and he made some suggestions of philological value. he was an apt learner of the language, as spoken north of the basin of lake superior. "orthography," he writes, "though of much importance, did not engage so much of my attention as the construction of the language. i am not so sanguine as to that performance (the conjugation of the verb _to see_) as to be anxious to bring forward another. i am aware that an indian speaker, who had never studied his own language, would pronounce much of that incorrect (in following a particular system imposed on him), particularly in the characterizing (definitive) form, for in this conjugation the root always undergoes a change. if the first syllable be short, it is lengthened, as _be-moo-za, ba-moo-zad._ if it be long, another is added, as _ouu-bet, ou-euu-bed._[ ] but when a particle is used, as is more generally the case, the root resumes its original form, as _guu-ouu-bed._ i thought it best to preserve uniformity. i inserted a note explaining this. upon this, principle of euphony, mr. evans' orthography will answer better than may at first appear. when the towel is short, the final consonant is sharp, as _mek, muk, met_; but when the vowel is long, it sounds like _meeg, seeg, neeg, nuug, meed_." [footnote : this is in mr. evans' system of orthography.] i had thought of making a collection of words, as a commencement for a lexicon, but there are impediments in jay way for the present: st, i want a plan; i want the opinion of those versed in the language, as two roots frequently coalesce and form compound terms, and sometimes two verbs and a noun amalgamate by clipping all; and it requires a skillful hand to dissect them and show the originals. should all these compound terms be introduced (in the contemplated lexicon), it would swell the work to a good size. if this be not done, _we must find some rule for compounding the terms_, that the learner may be able to do it for himself. this (the rule) i have not yet ascertained. "i am favorably situated for making philological observations. i observe that the cree, although essentially the same language as the chippewa, yet drops, or never had, many of the suffix expletive particles of the latter, though the prefix particles are pretty much the same in both. the cree has not, i believe, the double negative nor the adverbial and plaintive forms of verbs, as i have termed them. this renders the language less complex, and much more easy of acquisition than the chippewa. "one thought was forcibly impressed on my mind while perusing the publications of the american antiquarian society. in these publications they introduce the names of things in order to show the affinity of different tribes. from my knowledge of indian, i am inclined to think that the names of things change the soonest in any language, and that, in order to ascertain the original stock of any tribe or nation by comparing languages, we must descend to the groundwork of the languages and search, not so much for similarity of sound as for the arrangement and essential and peculiar principles of the languages. "a principle that prevails in the american languages, as far as my information extends, is, that the verb, with its nominative and objective cases, be inseparably connected. the delaware, the chippewa (under whatever name), and the cree, &c., make the change in person, number, &c., by a change in the prefix or suffix. but the mohawk and chippewyan [ ] make the change, in some cases, in the middle of the word, when the chippewa and others always remain unchanged." [footnote : it must be remembered that the chippewas and chippewyans, are diverse tribes. the two words are both chippewa; but the tribes are of different groups. the one is algonquin; the other athapasca. the mohawk belongs to a third group of languages, namely, the iroquois.] chapter lxix. popular error respecting the indian character and history--remarkable superstition--theodoric--a missionary choosing a wild flower--piety and money--a fiscal collapse in michigan--mission of grand traverse--simplicity of the school-girl's hopes--singular theory of the indians respecting story-telling--oldest allegory on record--political aspects--seneca treaty--mineralogy--farming and mission station on lake michigan. . _jan. st_. having determined to pass another winter (some ten weeks of which are past) at mackinack, i have found my best and pleasantest employment in my old resource, the investigation of the indian character and history. the subject is exhaustless in every branch of inquiry, but the more it is turned over and sifted, the more cause there is to see that there is error to be encountered at almost every step. travelers have been chiefly intent on the picturesque, and have given themselves but little trouble to investigate. the historian has had his mind full of prepossessions derived from ancient reading, and has, generally, been seated three thousand miles across the water, where the work of personal comparison was impossible. left to the repose of himself, mentally and physically, without being placed in the crucible of war, without being made the tool of selfishness, or driven to a state of half idiocy by the use of liquor, the indian is a man of naturally good feelings and affections, and of a sense of justice, and, although destitute of an inductive mind, is led to appreciate truth and virtue as he apprehends them. but he is subject to be swayed by every breath of opinion, has little fixity of purpose, and, from a defect of business capacity, is often led to pursue just those means which are least calculated to advance his permanent interests, and his mind is driven to and fro like a feather in the winds. _this_ man, and _that_ man, are continually bringing up indians to speak for some selfish object, which, being a little out of sight, he does not perceive in its true light, but which he nevertheless is soon made to comprehend, if a public agent sets it plainly before him. but there is a perpetual watch necessary to protect him from deception, and this necessity becomes stringent in the exact proportion that a tribe has _funds_ or _treaty rights_ of any kind. if these attempts to make the indian a stalking-horse for masked or misstated objects be independently met, and with just sentiments of dissent, the agent of the government is liable to calumniation, and it becomes the policy of unscrupulous men to get their affairs placed in hands having less well-defined notions of moral right, or more easily swayed in their opinions. _ th_. the season of new-year has been as usual a holiday, that is to say, a time of hilarity and good wishes, with the indians in this vicinity, numbers of which have visited the office. _ th_. some of the superstitions of the indians are explicable only on the ground of their belief in magic. an old blind man of grand traverse bay, called ogimauwish (literally bad chief), referring to the early period of the visits of europeans to the continent, related the following:-- when the whites first came to this country, wars and atrocious cruelties existed between the new race of men and the indians. when this animosity began to abate, a treaty was held, which was attended by the indians far and wide. they were told by an interpreter, one of the white men who had already learned their language, that the indian tribes appeared, in the eyes of white men, while in action, like the beasts of the forests and the birds of prey, changing from one form to the other, and that the bullets of the foreigners had no effect on them. the reason for this exemption from harm was this:-- in those times the indians made use of the pazhikewash, or buffalo-weed, which is still used by some of them to this day, especially on war excursions. this made them invulnerable to balls. they made a liquor from it, and sprinkled themselves and their implements, and carried it in their meda bags. they are under the belief that this medicine not only wards off the balls and missiles, but tends to make them invisible. this, with their reliance on the guardian spirits of whom they have dreamed at their initial fasts, throws around them a double influence, making them both invisible and invulnerable. there is a root used by the pillagers, to which they attribute similar protecting influences, or attribute the gift of courage in war. it is called by them ozhigawak. _ d_. theodoric (_vide ante_, april th,) writes me from detroit in terms of the kindest appreciation for my kindness of him. on his arrival at mackinack he most acceptably executed several trusts--writing a good hand, being of gentlemanly manners and deportment, and an obliging disposition, and withal a high moral tone of character--as the winter drew on, i judged he would make a good representative for the county in the legislature, and started him in political life. he received the popular vote, and proceeded to the capitol accordingly. he writes: "i wish to say to you that my reception here, both in my public and private capacity, has been all that my best friends could desire, and far above what i had any reason to expect. i allude to this subject because it furnishes me with an occasion to acknowledge my deep indebtedness to your kindness, and it affords me pleasure to recognize it, under god, as the chief instrument in conferring on me my present advantages. and i assure you my great and constant anxiety shall be, so to conduct myself as not to disappoint any expectations which you may have been instrumental in raising in regard to me." _ th_. a zealous and pious missionary of the church of england came to the chippewas located on the left, or british, side of the st. mary's river some years ago, under the patronage of the ecclesiastical authorities of toronto. at this place he married one of the daughters of the woman of the green valley (ozhawuscodawaqua) heretofore noticed as the daughter of wabojeeg. he now writes from canada west: "charlotte and myself are very much obliged to you for your kind offer of assistance, of which we will avail ourselves. although i have now a promise of this rectory, or i may say, a former one has been confirmed by bishop strachan two or three days ago." _ st_. a friend--a trustee of one of the principal churches at detroit, writes: "you may think it strange that we of the first protestant society of this city are not able to pay our very worthy and deserving pastor, and so it is; but it is no less strange than true! some of our subscribers are dead; some have failed, and so they can pay nothing, and others have left the country in search of a more congenial clime, and those remaining and much difficulty in meeting their money engagements, though nearly all are in the habit of attending the preaching of this best of men, and we are driven to the necessity of making a call on you, though at a distance. "mr. duffield is continuing his sunday evening lectures, with his thursday evening bible class exercises, and they are constantly increasing in interest. we think him a _wonder;_ he renders every subject he touches, simple, and gives the doctrines he treats upon, what the scriptures pronounce them to be, 'a man, though a fool, need not err therein.' "our legislature is moving on slowly; the shafts of wit wielded at each other by ----, and ----, are, as the common phrase is, 'a caution;' it requires a man of more than common discernment to see their point. you have, doubtless, before this, seen the announcement of the appointment of hastings and stuart, as auditor and treasurer; what will become of the internal improvement system, is doubtful. committees are now engaged in examining the bank of michigan, and the farmers' and mechanics' bank." another friend, who was _au fait_ on fiscal affairs ( th feb.), says: "we get on quite well. the legislative committee will be compelled to state facts, and if they do nothing more they must give us a clean bill of health. i miss you much this winter, and hope, if we are spared, you will not immure yourself again so long." the fiscal crisis that was now impending over michigan, it was evident was in the process of advance; but it was not possible to tell when it would fall, nor with what severity. all had been over-speculating--over-trading--over-banking, overdoing everything, in short, that prudence should dictate. but the public were _in_ for it, and could not, it seems, back out, and every one hoped for the best. my best friends, the most cautious guides of my youth, had entered into the speculating mania, and there appeared to be, in fact, nobody of means or standing, who had been proof against the temptation of getting rich soon. i "immured" myself far away from the scene of turmoil and strife, and was happy so long as i kept my eyes on my books and manuscripts. _feb. th_. the mission recently established by the presbyterian board at grand traverse bay, flourishes as well as it is reasonable to expect. mr. johnston writes: "the chief kosa, and another indian, have cut logs sufficient for their houses. this finishes our pinery on this point. we cannot now get timber short of the river on the south-east side of the bay, or at the bottom of it, twelve miles distant. mr. dougherty has a prayer meeting on saturday night, and bible class on sabbath afternoon. his meetings on sunday are regularly attended by all the indians who spend the winter with us; they continue to manifest a kind feeling towards us, and appear anxious to acquire useful knowledge." _march th_. while politicians, financiers, speculators in real estate, anxious holders of bank stock, and missionaries careful of the indian tribes are thus busy--each class animated by a separate hope--it is refreshing to see that my little daughter (jane) who writes under this date from her school at philadelphia, is striving after p's and g's. "i am getting along in my studies very well. i love music as much as ever. i like my french studies much. i have got all p's for my lessons, but one g. g is for good, and p for perfect." what a pity that all classes of adult men were not pursuing their g's and p's with equal simplicity of emulation and purity of purpose. _ th_. prof. l. fasquelle, of livingston, transmits to me a translation of the so-called "pontiac manuscript." this document consists of an ancient french journal, of daily events during the siege of the fort of detroit by that redoubtable chief and his confederates in . it was found in the garret of one of the french _habitants_, thrust away between the plate and the roof; partly torn, and much soiled by rains and the effects of time. _ th_. the chippewa indians say that the woods and shores, bays and islands, are inhabited by innumerable spirits, who are ever wakeful and quick to hear everything during the summer season, but during the winter, after the snow falls, these spirits appear to exist in a torpid state, or find their abodes in inanimate bodies. the tellers of legends and oral tales among them are, therefore, permitted to exercise their fancies and functions to amuse their listeners during the winter season, for the spirits are then in a state of inactivity, and cannot hear. but their vocation as story tellers is ended the moment the spring opens. the shrill piping of the frog, waking from his wintry repose, is the signal for the termination of their story craft, and i have in vain endeavored to get any of them to relate this species of imaginary lore at any other time. it is evaded by some easy and indifferent remark. but the true reason is given above. young and old adhere to this superstition. it is said that, if they violate the custom, the snakes, toads, and other reptiles, which are believed to be under the influence of the spirits, will punish them. it is remarkable that this propensity of inventing tales and allegories, which is so common to our indians, is one of the most general traits of the human mind. the most ancient effort of this kind by far, in the way of the allegorical, is in the following words: "the thistle that was in lebanon sent to the cedar, saying, give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast and trod down the thistle." ( kings, xiv. .) _april th_. a representative in congress writes from washington: "the house moves very slowly in its business--that is, the business of the nation. the principal object seems to be to make or unmake a president." _ th_. the rev. benj. dorr, of christ church, philadelphia, commends to my attentions a mr. wagner, a gentleman of intelligence, refinement, and scientific tastes, who leaves that city on a tour to the lakes and st. anthony's falls. "his object is to see as much as possible, in one summer's tour, of our great western world, and i hope he may stop a short time at mackinack, that he may have an opportunity of forming your acquaintance, of seeing your beautiful island, and examining your splendid cabinet of minerals, which would particularly interest him, as he, has a taste for geological studies." _ th_. hon. a. vanderpool, m.c. from n.y., observes: "the senate has, by the casting vote of the vice president, decided in favor of the seneca treaty, i.e., that the indians shall be removed. much opposition has been made to the treaty, as you will perceive from the speech of senator linn, which i send you." it has been alleged against this treaty that it was carried through by the zealous efforts of the persons holding (by an old compact) the reversionary right to the soil after the senecas should decide to leave it, and that the obvious interests of these persons produced an undue influence on this feature in the result. it is averred that the tonewonda band of the senecas, who hold a separate and valuable reservation on the banks of the tonewonda river, opposed the proposition altogether, and refused to place their signatures to the instrument. it was supposed that small indian communities, living on limited reservations, surrounded entirely on all sides by white settlements, could not sustain themselves, but must be inevitably swept away. but the result, in the case of the senecas and other remnants of the ancient iroquois, does not sustain this theory. it is true that numbers have yielded to dissipation, idleness, and vice, and thus perished; but the very pressure upon the mass of the tribes, and the danger of their speedy destruction without resorting to agriculture, appear to have brought out latent powers in the race which were not believed to exist. they have taken manfully hold of the plough, cultivated crops of wheat and corn, and raised horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs. they have adopted the style of houses, fences, implements, carriages, dress, and, to some extent, the language, manners, and modes of transacting business, of their neighbors. and, perceiving their ability to sustain themselves by cultivation and the arts, now turn round and solicit the protecting arms of the state and general government to permit them to develop their industrial capacities. too late, almost, they have been convinced of the erroneous policy of their ancestors, &c. every right-thinking man must approve this. _may th_. prof. orren root, of syracuse academy, new york, appeals to me to contribute towards the formation of a mineralogical cabinet at that institution. _ th_. the new farming station and mission for the chippewas of grand traverse bay is successfully established. the rev. mr. dougherty reports that a school for indian children has been well attended since november. a blacksmith's shop is in successful operation. the u.s. farmer reports that he has just completed ploughing the indian fields. he has put in several acres of oats, and the corn is about six inches above the ground. the indians generally are making large fields, and have planted more corn than usual, and manifest a disposition to become industrious, and to avail themselves of the double advantage that is furnished them by the department of indian affairs and by the mission board which has taken them in hand. chapter lxx. death of col. lawrence schoolcraft--perils of the revolutionary era--otwin--mr. bancroft's history in the feature of its indian relations--a tradition of a noted chief on lake michigan--the collection of information for a historical volume--opinions of mr. paulding, dr. webster, mr. duer, john quincy adams--holyon and alholyon--family monument--mr. stevenson, american minister at london--joanna baillie--wisconsin--ireland--detroit--michilimackinack. . _june th_. the first of june found me in detroit, on my way to washington, where i was in a few days met by the appalling intelligence of the death of my father (col. lawrence schoolcraft), an event which took place on this day at vernon, oneida county, new york. he had reached his eighty-fourth year, and possessed a vigor of constitution which promised longer life, until within a few days of his demise. a dark spot appeared on one of his feet, which had, i think, been badly gashed with an axe in early life. this discoloration expanded upwards in the limb, and terminated in what appeared to be a dry mortification. in him terminated the life of one of the most zealous actors in the drama of the american revolution, in which he was at various times a soldier and an officer, a citizen and a civil magistrate. "temperate, ardent and active, of a mind vigorous and energetic, of a spirit bold and daring, nay, even indomitable in its aspirations for freedom, he became at once conspicuous among his brethren in arms, and a terror to his country's foes." [ ] [footnote : nat. intell. july , .] his grandfather was an englishman, and had served with reputation under the duke of marlborough in some of his famous continental battles, in the days of queen anne, and he cherished the military principle with great ardor. he spoke fluently the german and dutch languages, and was thus able to communicate with the masses of the varied population, originally from the upper rhine and the scheldt, who formed a large portion of the inhabitants of the then frontier portions of albany county, including the wild and picturesque range of the helderbergs and of the new settlements of schoharie, the latter being in immediate contact with the mohawk iroquois. the influence of the british government over this tribe, through the administration of sir william johnson, was unbounded. many of the foreign emigrants and their descendants were also under this sway, and the whole frontier was spotted with loyalists under the ever hateful name of tories. these kept the enemy minutely informed of all movements of the revolutionists, and were, at the same time, the most cruel of america's foes, not excepting the mohawks. for the fury of the latter was generally in battle, but the former exercised their cruelties in cold blood, and generally made deliberate preparations for them, by assuming the guise of indians. in these infernal masks they gave vent to private malice, and cut the throats of their neighbors and their innocent children. in such a position a patriot's life was doubly assailed, and it was often the price of it, to declare himself "a son of liberty," a term then often used by the revolutionists. he had just entered his seventeenth year when the war against the british authorities in the land broke out, and he immediately declared for it; the wealthy farmer (swartz) with whom he lived, being one of the first who were overhauled and "spotted" by the local committee of safety, who paraded through the settlement with a drum and fife. he was at the disarming of sir john johnson, at johnstown, under gen. schuyler, where a near relative, conrad wiser, esq., was the government interpreter. he was at ticonderoga when the troops were formed into hollow square to hear the declaration of independence read. he marched with the army that went to reinforce gen. montgomery, at quebec, and was one of the besieged in fort stanwix, on the source of the mohawk, while gen. burgoyne, with his fine army, was being drawn into the toils of destruction by gen. schuyler, at saratoga--a fate from which his _supersedeas_ by gen. gates, the only unjust act of washington, did not extricate him. the adventures, perils, and anecdotes of this period, he loved in his after days to recite; and i have sometimes purposed to record them, in connection with his name; but the prospect of my doing so, while still blessed with an excellent memory, becomes fainter and fainter. _ th_. otwin (_vide ante_) writes from la pointe, in lake superior, in the following terms:-- "i often look back to the happy days i spent in your family, and feel grateful in view of them. a thousand blessings rest on your head, my dear friend, and that of your wife, for all your kindness to me, when first a stranger in a distant land. i cannot reward you, but know that you will be rewarded at the resurrection of the just." _ th_. "i know of no good reason," says a correspondent, "why a man should not, at all times, stand ready to sustain the truth." this is a maxim worthy dr. johnson; but the experience of life shows that such high moral independence is rare. most men will speak out, and even vindicate the truth, _sometimes_. but the worldling will stand mute, or _evade_ its declaration, whenever his interests are to be unfavorably affected by it. i reached washington on public business during the heats of june, and, coming from northern latitudes, felt their oppressiveness severely. _ th_. mr. bancroft, the historian, pursues exactly the course he should, to ferret out all facts, new and old. he does not hold himself too dignified to pick up information, or investigate facts, whenever and wherever he can find them. in what he has to say about the indians, a subject that lies as a superstratum under his work, he is anxious to hear all that can be said. "let me hear from you," he adds in a letter of this date, "before you go back. i want to consult you on my chapter about the indians, and for that end should like to send you a copy of it." the chief, eshquagonaby, of grand traverse bay, lake michigan, relates the following traditions: when gezha manido (the good spirit) created this island (continent), it was a perfect plain, without trees or shrubs. he then created an indian man and woman. when they had multiplied so as to number ten persons, death happened. at this the man lamented, and went to and fro over the earth, complaining. why, he exclaimed, did the good spirit create me to know death and misery so soon? the good spirit heard this, and, after assembling his angels to counsel, said to them, what shall we do to better the condition of man? i have created him frail and weak. they answered, o, good spirit, thou hast created us, and thou art everlasting, and knowest all things; thou alone knowest what is best. six days were given to this consultation. during this time not a breath of wind blew to disturb the waters. this is now called _unwatin_ (a calm). on the seventh day not a cloud was seen; the sky was blue and serene. this is called _nageezhik_ (excellent day) by the indians. during this day he sent down a messenger, placing in his right bosom a piece of white hare skin, and in his left, part of the head of the white-headed eagle. both these substances had a blue stripe on them of the nature and substance of the blue sky, being symbols of peace. the messenger said to the man that complained: "your words are heard, and i am come from the good spirit with good words. you must conform yourself to his commands. i bring pieces of the white hare skin and the white eagle's head, which you must use in your medawa (religico-medical rites), and whatsoever is asked on those occasions will be granted, and long life given to the sick." the messenger also gave them a white otter skin, with a blue stripe painted on the back part of the head. other ceremonial rites and directions were added, but these may suffice to indicate the character of mr. eshquagonaby's tradition, which has just been sent to me. _july st_. i was now anxious to collect materials for the publication of a volume of collections by the michigan historical society, and addressed several gentlemen of eminence on the subject. mr. j. k. paulding, sec. of the navy (july th), pleads official engagements as preventing him from doing much in the literary way while thus employed. dr. noah webster, of new haven, expresses his interest in the history of the country generally, and his willingness to contribute to the collection and preservation of passing materials. "in answer to the request for aid in collecting national documents, i can sincerely say it will give me pleasure to lend any aid in my power. respecting the state of michigan, i presume i could furnish nothing of importance. respecting the history of our government for the last fifty years, i might be able to add something to the stock of information possessed by the present generation, for i find men in middle life absolutely ignorant of some material facts which have a bearing on our political concerns. but little can be expected, however, from a man of _eighty-two,_ whose toils must be drawing to a close." the hon. john a. duer, prest. col. college (july th), while expressing a sympathy in the object, declares himself too much occupied in the duties of his charge to permit him to hold forth any promise of usefulness in the case specified. hon. john quincy adams forwarded, with the expression of his interest in the subject, twelve pamphlets of historical value, the titles of each of which he carefully recites in his letter. "it will give me much pleasure," he says, "to transmit to the society, when it may be in my power, any of the articles pertaining to the history of the country and mentioned in your letter, as suited to promote the purposes for which it was instituted." from other quarters and observers less absorbed in the discharge of specific functions, i received several valuable manuscript communications, chiefly relative, to transactions on the frontiers or to indian history. _ d_. two half-breeds from the upper lakes, whom i shall designate holyon and alholyon, made their way to the seat of government during the winter of . holyon had been dismissed for improper conduct from the office of indian interpreter at mackinack about may. alholyon had been frustrated in two several attempts to get himself recognized as head chief by the ottawas, and consequently to some influence in the use of the public funds, which were now considerable. one was of the chippewa, the other of the ottawa stock. holyon was bold and reckless, alholyon more timid and polite, but equally destitute of moral principles. they induced some of the indians to believe that, if furnished by them with funds, they could exercise a favorable influence at washington, in regard to the sale of their lands. the poor ignorant indians are easily hoodwinked in matters of business. at the same time they presented, in secret council, a draft for $ for their services, which they induced some of the chiefs to sign. this draft they succeeded in negotiating to some merchant for a small part of its value. no sooner had they got to head-quarters, and found they were anticipated in the _draft matter_, and the _project of a chieftainship_, by letters from the agent, than they drew up a long list of accusations against him, containing every imaginable and abominable abuse of office. this was presented at the indian office, where its obvious character should have, it would seem, been at once suspected. the head of that bureau, who began to see from the strong political demonstrations around him, "how the cat was about to jump," acceded to a request of holyon and alholyon, that the matter be referred for local examination to one or two of their personal advisers inland. this step (in entire ignorance of the private relations of the parties, it must be presumed,) was assented to. in a letter of holyon to j.l.s., of may th, , he says: "the department was predisposed against him (the agent), and wanted only a cause to proceed against him." but it left a stain on its fairness and candor by omitting the usual course of furnishing the agent a copy of the charges and requesting his attention thereto, or even of informing him of the pendency of an investigation. as the charges were entirely unfounded, and had been the diseased imaginings of disappointed and unprincipled minds, it only put the agent to the necessity of confronting his assailants, and with every advantage of accusers, examiners and the appellant power against him, he was triumphantly acquitted, by an official letter, of every charge whatever, and of every moral imputation of wrong. "should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?" (job xi. .) _ th_. i left washington for the north, taking my children along from their respective schools at philadelphia and brooklyn, for their summer vacation, and only halting long enough at utica and vernon, to direct a marble monument to be erected to the memory of my father. the site selected for this was the cemetery on the scanado (usually spelled without regard however to the popular pronunciation _skenandoah_), vernon. it appeared expedient to make this a family monument, and i directed the several faces to be inscribed as follows:-- this monument is erected in memory of a father, a mother and a sister, by the surviving children. * * * * * colonel lawrence schoolcraft, a soldier of the revolution of , (he being the second in descent from james, who came from england in the reign of queen anne,) born feb. d, . died june th, , in his th year. he lived and died a patriot, a christian, and an honest man. * * * * * margaret ann barbara, consort of col. lawrence schoolcraft, died feb. th, , aged . "her children rise up and call her blessed."--prov. * * * * * miss margaret helen, daughter of lawrence and margaret ann barbara schoolcraft, born th june, died th april, , in her d year. i reached detroit early in august. a letter from mackinack, of the th of that month, says: "the children arrived at midnight past, safe and sound, and they seem quite delighted. eveline seems to be the centre of attraction with them all. i have not a word new to say. a change has come over the spirit of our notables. samuel, the day before your letter was received, expressed his opinion, that 'it would go hard with you.' a dog when he supposes himself unnoticed in the act of stealing, looks mean, but when he is _discovered_ in the act, he looks meaner still. and i know of no better comparison than _this_ clique, and _that_ dog." _ th_. hon. andrew stevenson, american minister in london, responds to my inquiries on certain historical points, respecting which he has kindly charged his agent to institute inquiries. _sept. th_. i reached the agency at mackinack about the beginning of september. facilis, a young man of equally ready and respectable talents, writes me, from detroit, under this date, expressing a wish to be employed in the execution of some of the fiscal duties of the superintendency during the season. "i write to you," he adds, "as a friend. times are hard, and every little that is directed to aid one in his efforts to stem the current of life, possesses an incalculable value." i yielded the more readily to this request from the chain of circumstances which, however favorable, had hitherto disappointed his most ardent aims and the just expectations of his friends. _ th_. joanna baillie, the celebrated authoress, who has spent a long life in the most honorable and deeply characteristic literary labors, writes from her residence at hampstead (eng.), as if with undiminished vigor of hope, expressing her interest in the progress of historical letters in this (to her) remote part of the world. how much closer bonds these literary sympathies are in drawing two nations of a kindred blood together, than dry and formal diplomatics, in which it is the object, as talleyrand says, of human language to conceal thought! _oct. th_. wisconsin is slowly, but surely, filling up with a healthy population, and founding her moral, as well as political institutions, on a solid basis. rev. jer. porter, my old friend during the interesting scenes at st. mary's, in and , writes me, that, after passing a few years in illinois, he has settled at green bay, as the pastor of a healthful and increasing church. "i have recently," he writes, "made an excursion on horseback, in the interior of the territory. i traveled about miles, being from home sixteen days. i went to meet a convention of ministers and delegates from presbyterian and congregational churches, to see if we could form a union of the two denominations in the territory, so that we might have a perfect co-operation in every good work. we had twelve ministers of these denominations present, all but four or five now in the territory, and were so happy as to form a basis of union, which will, i trust, prove permanent, and be a great blessing to our churches. this seems to us a very favorable beginning. "i find the beautiful prairies of the interior rapidly settling with a very good population from the eastern states, and the healthiness of the country gives it some advantages over illinois. with the blessing of the lord, i think this may yet be one of the best states in the union." _ th_. the rev. henry kearney, of kitternan glebe, dublin (ireland), communicates notices of some of the inroads made by death on the rank of our friends and relatives in that land. "since my last, the valued friend of the family, the right hon'ble wm. saurin (late attorney-general) was removed from this world of changes to the world of durable realities. he was past eighty. the bishop (dromore) is still alive, not more than a year younger than his brother. old age--found in the ways of righteousness--how honorable! "you will have learned, from the european newspapers, the agitated state of all the countries from china to great britain. is the lord about to bring to pass the predicted days of retribution on the nations for abused responsibility, and the restoration of the ancient nation of israel, to be, once more, the depository of his judgment and truth for the recovery of all nations to the great principles of government and religion taught us in his holy word?" _nov. st_. having concluded the indian business in the upper lakes for the season, i returned with my family to detroit, and employed my leisure in literary investigations. _dec. d_. mr. josiah snow apprizes me that he is about, in a few weeks, to issue the first number of a newspaper devoted to agriculture, in which he solicits my aid. _ th_. j. k. tefft, esq., of savannah, informs me of my election, on the th sept. last, as an honorary member of the georgia historical society. _ th_. i wrote the following lines in memory of my father:-- the drum no more shall rouse his heart to beat with patriot fires, nor to his kindling eye impart the flash of martial ires: montgomery's fall, burgoyne's advance, awake no transient fear; e'en joy be dumb that noble france grasped in our cause the spear. the cloud that, lowering northward spread, presaging woe and blight, in that wild host st. leger led, no longer arm for fight; the bomb, the shell, the flash, the shot, the sortie, and the roar, no longer nerve for battle hot--the soldier is no more. but long shall memory speak his praise, and mark the grave that blest, when eighty years had crowned his days, he laid him down to rest; the stone that marks the sylvan spot, the line that tells his name, the stream, the shore; be ne'er forgot, and freedom's be his fame. 'twas liberty that fired him first, when kings and tyrants plan'd, and proud oppression's car accurst, drove madly o'er the land; and long he lived when that red car--the driver and the foe unhorsed in fight, o'ermatched in war--laid impotent and low. he told his children oft the tale--how tyrants would have bound, and murderous yells filled all the vale, and blood begrimed the ground. they loved the story of the harms that patriot hands repelled, and glowed with ire of wars and arms, and fast the words they held. the right, the power, the wealth, the fame, for which the valiant fought, have long been ours in deed and name--life, liberty, and thought; and while we hold these blessings, bought with valor, blood, and thrall, embalmed in thought be those who fought and freely periled all. _ d_. the detroit branch of the university of michigan organized, and the principal sends me a programme of its studies. mr. williams also sends me the programme of the pontiac branch. _ st_. "we were in hopes," says james l. schoolcraft, in a letter from mackinack, "of seeing a steamboat up during the fine weather in the latter part of november. it is now, however, since th inst., cold. theodoric has undertaken to conduct a weekly paper, the _pic nic_, which, thus far, goes off well. lieut. pemberton, in the fort, is engaged in getting up a private theatre. thus, you see, we endeavor to ward off winter and solitude in various ways. the rats are playing the devil with your house. i have removed all the bedding. they have injured some of your books." chapter lxxi. philology of the indian tongues--its difficulties--belles lettres and money--michigan and georgia--number of species in natural history--etymology--nebahquam's dream--trait in indian legends--pictography--numeration of the races of polynesia and the upper lakes--love of one's native tongue--death of gen. harrison--rush for office on his inauguration--ornamental and shade trees--historical collections--mission of "old wing." . _jan. th_. the rev. thomas hulbert, of pic, lake superior, who has studied the chippewa language, says: "i fully concur in your remarks on the claims of philology. circumstances may be easily conceived in which the missionary could in no way serve the cause of christianity so effectually as by the study of barbarous languages. his primary object, it is true, is christian instruction; but he would, at the same time, serve the cause of science, by assisting in the advance of comparative philology. in this light i view your _algic, researches_, which i consider a valuable acquisition to the missionary, as it introduces him into the stronghold of indian prejudices. the introductory remarks i studied with peculiar interest. "i find the principal difficulty in getting at the principles of the language to be in the compounds. i have long thought upon the subject, but have as yet ascertained no rule to guide me. however, i do not despair. if it cannot be taken by a '_coup de main_,' patience and perseverance may in the end prevail. i intend to bend my mind to this subject for the future. it will probably require much research to settle this matter. there are some compounds that i form readily, in others i fail. i have not observed anything in the language like the rythmatic flow of greek and latin poetry; there is no alternation of long and short syllables; some words are composed entirely of long syllables, others of short ones, but generally there is at least one of each in a word. "i have nothing in the shape of indian poetry or hieroglyphics, neither have i seen the rocks you mention south-east of this place, but i have heard of them. all their traditions, or comic and tragic lore, should be collected, though it could not all be published in consequence of its obscenity. almost all the _ah-te-soo-kaum_ i have heard, has had more or less of this ingredient." those who contend for a welsh element in the languages of the american stocks, find little or no support in modern vocabularies. english. german. welsh. algonquin. fire, feuer, tan, schoda. water, wasser, duel, neebi. earth, erde, daal, aki. welt, wind, wind, gwint, noden. sky, volka, avere, geezhikud. sea, meer, more, gitchigomi. book, buch, llyfer, muzzenyegun. this topic requires, however, to be investigated on a broad scale. it is merely adverted to here. it is among the western nations that inquiries should be extended. _feb. th_. i received a diploma of membership from the georgia historical society, forwarded in accordance with a previous notice; and a few days after, through the medium of the hon. a.s. porter, the first volume of their transactions. southern zeal quite outdoes us, in our literary efforts here of late. the truth is, men have speculated so wildly, they have no money to devote to historical or literary plans. a correspondent writes me (feb. th) on these visionary plans of investment. "h. wants me to go farther in the cass front; but i am determined to fall in the rear, as i have written to him. for the last three years i have been going on the dutch plan, which, had i always pursued, i should now have had $ , in gold in my trunk, instead of having ten thousand trunks full of _ground_." _ th_. dick says that there are about , species in the animal kingdom. of these, species are mammalia, or sucklings, mostly four-footed; , birds, , fish, reptiles, , insects, about , shell fish, and to , animalcula, invisible to the naked eye. perhaps these species may reach to , altogether. yet here are no estimates for plants, ferns, mosses, madrepores, extinct fossil species, minerals and rocks. what a field for the naturalist! yet pope could exclaim-- "say what the use, were finer optics given, t' inspect a mite--not comprehend the heaven." we are, in fact, equally and as much in want of microscopic and telescopic knowledge. _ th_. an indian, a chippewa, recently visited the office, whose name is nageezhik. this is one of the simplest compounds. i spent some time, however, with the man and his companions to get its exact etymology. _geezhik_ is the sky, or visible firmament, seen through the clouds. the word denotes two phenomena: first, something visible to the eye that is fixed and does not move, which is implied by the root _geezh_, and the inflection _ik_, which seems applicable to all inanimate substances, to denote the fact of their substantivity. the sky is thus described apparently as a created, or made thing. _na_ (the _aa_ in aaron) is a qualifying particle of very general use. it appears to place substances to which it is affixed in a superlative sense, and always as exalting the object. thus its meaning may be fair, admirable, or excellent. applied to geezhik, it implies an excellent quality in only one sense, that is excellent or fair, for a spot on the blue profound, of which geezhik is the description. for fairness or excellence cannot exist, or be described in their language, unless seen plainly by the eye. it is the spot made by a small cloud that makes it excellent or fair. the meaning is the fair or excellent (spot) on the sky. _march st_. madwaybuggashe, a chippewa indian, of grand traverse bay, lake michigan, related the following dream of nebahquam, an indian who recently died at that place:-- nebahquam dreamed that he saw a white man coming towards him, who said, you are called. he replied, where am i called? the white man pointed to a straight path, leading south-east. follow that. nebahquam obeyed and followed it, till he came to a thick wooded country through which the path led. he soon came to stumps of trees newly cut down, and afterwards heard a cock crowing. he next passed through a new town, where he was inclined to stop, but was told to go on. again the cock crew. he next came to an immense plain, through which his path led straight forward for some time, till he came to the foot of a ladder. he was told to ascend this, but it reached up as he went, till, looking back, he had a wide bird's-eye view of towns, cities, and villages. he continued to go up until he reached the skies. here stood another white man, who told him to look round a new earth. there were four splendid houses. his guide told him to enter one of these. as he got near it, a door opened, and he entered into a splendid apartment where four white men were seated. two of these had heads white as snow. they spoke to him saying, here is the place to which you are called. no indian has ever reached here before. few white men come here. look down and behold the bones of those who have attempted to ascend, bleaching at the foot of the ladder. the two venerable men then gave him a bright-red deer's tail, and an eagle's feather, which he was directed to wear on his head; they were talismans that would protect him from peril and danger, and insure him the favor of the master of life. both white and red men could have reached the place, they continued, but for refusing to receive him who was sent to save them, and for reviling and killing him. look around again, they continued to say, and he saw animals and birds of every kind in abundance. these are for the red men, and are placed here to show the peculiar care of the great spirit for them. nebahquam was a roman catholic, and died in that faith. but he said that he had heard the dream in his youth, and he regarded it as sacred. such are the blendings of superstition and religion in the indian mind. _ d_. some of the incidents of the fictitious legends of the indians teach lessons which would scarcely be expected. manibozho, when he had killed a moose, was greatly troubled as to the manner in which he should eat the animal. "if i begin at the head," said he, "they will say i eat him head first. if i begin at the side, they will say i eat him sideways. if i begin at the tail, they will say i eat him tail first." while he deliberated, the wind caused two limbs of a tree that touched to make a harsh creaking noise. "i cannot eat with this noise," said he, and immediately climbed the tree to prevent it, where he was caught by the arm and held fast between the two trees. whilst thus held, a pack of hungry wolves came that way and devoured the carcass of the moose before his eyes. the listener to the story is plainly taught to draw this conclusion: if thou hast meat in thy wanderings, trouble not thyself as to little things, nor let trifles disturb thy temper, lest in trying to rectify small things thou lose greater ones. _ th_. some years ago, a chippewa hunter of grand traverse bay, lake michigan, found that an indian of a separate band had been found trespassing on his hunting grounds by trapping furred animals. he determined to visit him, but found on reaching his lodge the family absent, and the lodge door carefully closed and tied. in one corner of the lodge he found two small packs of furs. these he seized. he then took his hatchet and blazed a large tree. with a pencil made of a burned end of a stick, he then drew on this surface the figure of a man holding a gun, pointing at another man having traps in his hands. the two packs of furs were placed between them. by these figures he told the tale of the trespass, the seizure of the furs, and the threat of shooting him if he persevered in his trespass. this system of figurative symbols i am inclined to call pictography, as it appears to me to be a peculiar and characteristic mode of picture-writing. _ d_. mr. ellis, in his polynesian researches, represents the pacific islands as being inhabited by two distinct races of men, each of whom appears to preserve the separate essential marks of a physical and mental type. the first, which is thought the most ancient, consists of the oceanic negroes, who are distinguished by dark skins, small stature, and woolly or crisped hair. they are clearly hametic. they occupy australia, and are found to be aborigines in tasmania, new guinea, new britain, new caledonia and new hebrides. the other race has many of the features of the malays and south americans, yet differs materially from either. yet what is most remarkable, the latter have an ingenious system of numeration, by which they can compute very high numbers. they proceed by decimals, precisely like the algonquin tribes, but while the arithmetical theory is precisely the same, a comparison shows that the names of the numerals have not the slightest resemblance. polynesian. algonquin. one, atabi, pazhik. two, arua, neezh. three, atora, niswi. four, amaha, newin. five, arima. nanun. six, aono, ningodwaswa. seven, ahitu, nizhwaswa. eight, avaru, schwaswa. nine, aiva, shonguswa. ten, ahuru, metonna. the polynesians, like the algonquins, then say, ten and one for eleven, &c., till twenty, which is _erua ahuru_, this is two tens; twenty-one consists of the terms for two tens and one. in this manner they count to ten tens, which is _rau_. ten _raus_ is one _mano_, or thousand; ten _manos_ one million, and so on. how exactly the algonquin method, but not a speck of analogy in words. _ th_. one of the emigrant germans who swarm about the city, a poor ill-dressed wood-sawyer, met me, on coming out of my office door, and, mistaking me for the owner of a visible pile of wood, addressed me in one of the rhine dialects, inquiring the owner. i replied: _ich wies necht--es is necht mein_. he looked with delighted astonishment at an american speaking his language--"a stranger in a strange land"--and was ready to proffer any services in his power. _april th_. a friend from lancaster, in pennsylvania, writes: "it was my luck to be called to washington the latter part of february, and to be detained until the th ultimo, and in that great city business occupied my attention all the time. the congregation of strangers from all parts of the union was immense; the number estimated at fifty thousand. thirty thousand of them, at least, expectants, or thinking themselves worthy of office. but, alas! for the ingratitude of man, they were, almost to a man, sent home without getting their share of the pottage.... there has yet been no change in the head of the indian bureau, although there are three candidates in the field. "i have just heard the rumor of the death of gen. harrison (the newly-elected president of u.s.), and, upon inquiry, find that it is well founded. it is said that he died last night at twelve o'clock. he has been suffering for a week past with a severe attack of pneumonia, or bilious pleurisy. should this be so,[ ] it will make a great change in the political destiny of the country for four years to come. mr. tyler is a southern man with southern principles, rather a conservative, opposed to a heavy tariff, if in favor of any. there will be a different policy pursued, and you will find great disappointment and confusion. he is not a man who will pursue a proscriptive course in turning out and putting into office, but who will go upon the great principle of the virginia school in regard to office-holders. 'is he honest? is he capable?' i am of the opinion that the chartering of a national bank will not meet his approval. but there is no telling. politicians, in these days of humbug, make so many turnabouts that it is impossible to scan their future conduct by their past deeds." [footnote : it was.] _ th_. wrote a communication for the _michigan farmer_, on the important subject, as a matter of taste, of "ornamental and shade trees." new settlers are bent on denuding their lands of every tree, and a newly opened farm looks as if a tornado had passed over it. _ th_. messrs. dawson and bates submit estimates for the contemplated historical volume, for which i am taking every means of preparing the materials. i am satisfied that without publication the hist. society cannot acquire a basis with the literary world to stand upon. my own collections respecting the language and history of the indian tribes are alone adequate to the publication of several volumes, and i have long sought, without being able to find, a proper medium of bringing these materials forward. my local position is unfavorable to sending them to the american philosophical society, or to any of the cities on the seaboard, where they would, however, be mangled, as i told mr. duponceau, for want of proof-reading; and here, alas! it is a question of _dollars_. _ th_. rev. geo. n. smith reports the state of the new mission at "old wing," on little traverse bay, lake michigan, as encouraging. the american board (who gave up this general field just at a time when, some thought, it was ready to bear fruits) transferred the treaty fund under which this mission was undertaken. "we chopped in all," writes mr. s. "about forty-five acres, but a team is necessary to clear off the timber, so that the land can be cleared and prepared for a crop this season. during the winter we had a school, which produced very encouraging results. i taught it in my own house. the scholars applied themselves closely to their studies and made great progress in learning, so that, if we had funds to go forward without embarrassment, our progress of ameliorating the condition of this band would be very flattering. "the indians say they are going to remain here this summer, and improve their lands, and that, if they can get their oxen, wagons, tools, &c., this spring, those who have never been here since they purchased (these purchases were in the u.s. land office), will come immediately and settle. and, i think, if their expectations in this respect could be realized, they would go forward with renewed encouragement, and with a success which would well compare with our best expectations. also if their annuities could be paid somewhere in this vicinity, it would be of great advantage to them, as it would save much time which might be very profitably spent at home." chapter lxxii. popular common school education--iroquois name for mackinack--its scenic beauties poetically considered--phenomenon of two currents of adverse wind meeting--audubon's proposed work on american quadrupeds-- adario--geographical range of the mocking-bird--removal from the west to the city of new york--an era accomplished--visit to europe. . _may d_. f. sawyer, jr., esq., a gentleman recently appointed superintendent of public instruction, from ann arbor, writes: "yours of the th april came during my absence at marshall, and i take the first opportunity to reply, thanking you for the suggestions made. it is my intention to attempt the publication of a monthly, something after the manner of the _boston common school journal_, one of the best things of the kind, in my humble opinion, to be found in the union. as the legislative resolution authorizing a subscription for such a publication is repealed, a journal, if started, will depend upon the disposition of the people to sustain it. "my intention is to address a circular to the different boards of school inspectors throughout michigan, urging upon them the necessity of doing something for the cause, and invoking their efficiency in the matter. if they will take hold and raise a certain amount in their district, and pledge their constant exertions to excite and keep alive public interest on the subject of common schools, much will have been effected. "to succeed, the journal must treat of subjects in the most popular manner, avoiding, as far as is consistent with the dignity of the object in view, very elaborate and prosy disquisitions. i shall endeavor to get a circular out next week. meantime accept my thanks for the interest you take in the subject, and be assured that if i succeed in starting the journal, i shall, at all times, be grateful for contributions from you." _ d_. landed at mackinack after having passed the winter at detroit. it appears from colden that the iroquois called this island teiodondoraghie. what an amount of word-craft is here--what a poetic description thrown into the form of a compound phrase! the local term in _doraghie_ is apparently the same heard in ticon_deroga_--the imprecision of writing indian making the difference. _ti_ is the iroquois particle for water, as in _tioga_, &c. _on_ is, in like manner, the clipped or coalescent particle for hill or mountain, as heard in onondaga. the vowels _i, o_, carry the same meaning, evidently, that they do in ontario and ohio, where they are an exclamatory description for beautiful scenery. what a philosophy of language is here! _june th_. the balmy, soft influence of a june atmosphere, resting upon this lovely scene of water, woods, and rocks--a perfect gem in creation, deeply impressed me. under a strong sense of its geological frame-work of cliffs and winding paths, it appeared that it only required a poetic drapery to be thrown over it and its historical associations, to render it a pleasing theme of description. so unlike english scenery, and yet so characteristic--so very american. _ st_. while standing on the piazza in front of the agency house at mackinack, about five o'clock p.m., my attention was directed to the strong current which set through the strait, west, under the influence of a strong easterly wind. the waves were worked up into a perfect series of foam wreaths, succeeding each other for miles. while admiring this phenomenon, a cloud gathered suddenly in the west, and, in a few minutes, poured forth a gust of wind towards the east, attended with heavy rain. so suddenly was this jet of wind propagated towards the east, that the foam of waves running west was driven back eastwardly, before the waves had time to reverse their motion, which created the unusual spectacle of two opposing currents of wind and waves, in the most active and striking manner. the wave current still running west, while the wind current seized its foam and carried it in a long line towards the east. the new current soon prevailed. at half-past six o'clock the storm had quite abated, and the wind settled lightly from the south-west. _ th_. mr. john j. audubon announces his intention to prepare a complete work on american quadrupeds, correspondent, in the style of execution, to his great work on ornithology. "as i do not know," he modestly says, "whether you are aware of my having published a work on the birds of america, i take this opportunity to assure you that i have, and, at the same time, to apprise you of my having undertaken, and in fact, began another on the viviparous quadrupeds of our country, which it is also my intention to publish as soon as i can. "in all such undertakings, the simple though unintermitted labors of an individual are not sufficient, and assistance from others is not only agreeable, but is, in my opinion, absolutely necessary to render them as complete as possible. "having not only heard, but also read, of your having rendered essential services to charles bonaparte, mr. cooper of this city, and other eminent naturalists, i think that perhaps, you would not look upon my endeavors to advance science as not unworthy of the same species of assistance at your hands, and i will therefore say, at once, what my desires are, and wish of you to have the goodness to let me know, whether it is agreeable or convenient for you to assist me. "my wishes are to procure of quadrupeds, of moderate and small sizes, preserved entire in the flesh, and in strong common rum (no other spiritous liquor will preserve them equally well), and the _heads_ and _feet_ of the larger species, likewise in rum. the large animals in the skins, after having taken accurate notes of measurements, the color of the eyes, date of capture, locality, and also, whatever may relate to their _habits_ and _habitats_! by the first of which, i more particularly mean, their usual and unusual postures, gaits, &c., and whether they climb trees, or are altogether terrestrial. my desire to have the animals in the flesh, is in connection with my wish to give their anatomy, or as much of it as may be thought useful or necessary to the student of nature, and by which the species may be better hereafter known than heretofore." _ th_, maj. delafield writes respecting the contemplated work of audubon: "if in your power to aid him as proposed, you will contribute to another magnificent american work on natural science, intended to be on the same grand scale with his ornithology." _july th_. among the most noted aboriginal characters who have, in bygone times, lived here, was adario, a wyandot, who flourished while that tribe were in exile on this island. he appears to me, from the descriptions given of him, to have had larger inductive powers than the indians generally though they were only employed on stratagems and in negotiations, in which, curiously enough, he succeeded in making the iroquois vengeance fall on the french, his allies. to be wise with him was more than to be just. look at colden. the philosophy put into his mouth by la hontan, probably has some basis, in actual talk, with the gay baron. the following appear to be turning points in iroquois history:-- father de moyn discovers the onondaga country erie war closes new amsterdam surrenders to the duke of york first treaty of the iroquois with the french la salle builds the first vessel on the lakes la salle lays the foundation of fort niagara english revolution bringing in a new dynasty in william capture and burning of schenectady _ th_. i received notice of my election as an honorary member of the pennsylvania historical society. _aug. st_. during the number of years i have passed in the country of the upper lakes, i have noticed the mocking bird, _t. polyglottis_, but once or twice as far north as the island of michilimackinack. i have listened to its varied notes, during the spring season, with delight. it is not an ordinary inhabitant, nor have i ever noticed it on, the st. mary's straits, or on the shores of lake huron north of this island. this island may, i think, be referred to as its extreme, northern and occasional limit. _ th_. i determined to remove from michilimackinack to the city of new york. more than thirty years of my life have been spent in western scenes, in various situations, in western new york, the mississippi valley, and the basins of the great lakes, the position is one which, however suitable it is for observation on several topics, is by no means favorable to the publication of them, while the seaboard cities possess numerous advantages of residence, particularly for the education of the young. so much of my time had been given to certain topics of natural history, and to the languages and history, antiquities, manners, and customs of the indian tribes, that i felt a desire to preserve the record of it, and, in fact, to study my own materials in a position more favorable to the object than the shores, however pleasing, of these vast inland seas. the health of mrs. schoolcraft having been impaired for several years, furnished another motive for a change of residence. however great was the geographical area to be traversed, the change could be readily effected, and promised many of the highest concomitants of civilization. beyond all, it was a return to my native state after long years of travel and wandering, adventure, and residence, which would bear, i thought, to-be looked at and reflected on through the mellowed medium of reminiscence and study. the journey was easily performed by steamers and railroads, which occupy every foot of the way, and it was accomplished without any but agreeable incidents. i left the island, which is the object of so many pleasant recollections, about the middle of august, and reached the city of new york during that month, in season, after some weeks agreeably passed at a hotel, to take a private dwelling-house in the upper part of it (chelsea, th street) early in september. i now cast myself about to publish the results of my observation on the red race, whom i had found, in many traits, a subject of deep interest; in some things wholly misunderstood and misrepresented; and altogether an object of the highest humanitarian interest. but our booksellers, or rather book-publishers, were not yet prepared in their views to undertake anything corresponding to my ideas. the next year i executed my long-deferred purpose of visiting england and the continent with this plan in view, and was highly gratified with the means of comparison which these finished countries afforded with the rough scenes of western america. france, belgium, prussia, germany and holland were embraced in this tour. this visit was one of high intellectual gratification, and carried me into scenes and situations for which the reading of books had but poorly prepared me. i kept a journal to refresh my memory of things seen and heard, approved and disapproved. the western world, they tell me, turns too fast, by european optics scanned and glassed; but when we look at europe, although fair, they must have had new joshuas working there; for, be our eagerness just what it will, she, spell-bound, seems to stand profoundly still. the end. catalogue of valuable books, published by lippincott, grambo & co., (successors to grigg, elliot & co.) no. south fourth street, philadelphia; consisting of a large assortment of bibles, prayer-books, commentaries, standard poets, medical, theological and miscellaneous works, etc., particularly suitable for public and private libraries. for sale by booksellers and country merchants generally throughout the united states. * * * * * the best & most complete family commentary. the comprehensive commentary on the holy bible; containing the text according to the authorized version, scotts marginal references; matthew henry's commentary, condensed, but retaining every useful thought; the practical observations of rev. thomas scott, d.d.; with extensive explanatory, critical and philological notes, selected from scott, doddridge, gill, adam clarke, patrick, poole, lowth, burder, harmer, calmet, rosenmueller, bloomfield, stuart, bush, dwight, and many other writers on the scriptures. the whole designed to be a digest and combination of the advantages of the best bible commentaries, and embracing nearly all that is valuable in henry, scott, and doddridge. conveniently arranged for family and private reading, and, at the same time, particularly adapted to the wants of sabbath-school teachers and bible classes; with numerous useful tables, and a neatly engraved family record. edited by rev. william jenks, d.d., pastor of green street church, boston. embellished with five portraits, and other elegant engravings, from steel plates; with several maps and many wood-cuts, illustrative of scripture manners, customs, antiquities, &c. in vols, super-royal vo. including supplement, bound in cloth, sheep, calf, &c., varying in price from $ to $ . the whole forming the most valuable as well as the cheapest commentary published in the world. presidential edition the winning of the west by theodore roosevelt volume two from the alleghanies to the mississippi - with maps this book is dedicated with his permission to francis parkman to whom americans who feel a pride in the pioneer history of their country are so greatly indebted contents. chapter i.--the war in the northwest, - . ii.--clark's conquest of the illinois, . iii.--clark's campaign against vincennes, . iv.--continuance of the struggle in kentucky and the northwest, - . v.--the moravian massacre, - . vi.--the administration of the conquered french settlements, - . vii.--kentucky until the end of the revolution, - . viii.--the holston settlements, - . ix--king's mountain, . x.--the holston settlements to the end of the revolution, - . xi.--robertson founds the cumberland settlement, - . xii.--the cumberland settlements to the close of the revolution, - . xiii.--what the westerners had done during the revolution. appendices: appendix a--to chapter i. appendix b--to chapter ii. appendix c--to chapter iii. appendix d--to chapter iv. appendix e--to chapter vii. appendix f--to chapter vii. appendix g--to chapter x. appendix h--to chapter xii. appendix i--to chapter xiii. appendix j--to chapter xiii. index [illustration: the colonies in , when the first continental congress assembled. the heavy line marks roughly the extension of population westward. based on a map by g. p. putnam's sons, new york and london.] [illustration: the states in , when peace was declared. based on a map by g. p. putnam's sons, new york and london.] chapter i. the war in the northwest, - . the tribes hold councils at detroit. in the fall of it became evident that a formidable indian war was impending. at detroit great councils were held by all the northwestern tribes, to whom the six nations sent the white belt of peace, that they might cease their feuds and join against the americans. the later councils were summoned by henry hamilton, the british lieutenant-governor of the northwestern region, whose head-quarters were at detroit. he was an ambitious, energetic, unscrupulous man, of bold character, who wielded great influence over the indians; and the conduct of the war in the west, as well as the entire management of frontier affairs, was intrusted to him by the british government. [footnote: haldimand mss. sir guy carleton to hamilton, september , .] he had been ordered to enlist the indians on the british side, and have them ready to act against the americans in the spring; [footnote: _do_., carleton to hamilton, october , .] and accordingly he gathered the tribes together. he himself took part in the war-talks, plying the indians with presents and fire-water no less than with speeches and promises. the headmen of the different tribes, as they grew excited, passed one another black, red or bloody, and tomahawk belts, as tokens of the vengeance to be taken on their white foes. one delaware chief still held out for neutrality, announcing that if he had to side with either set of combatants it would be with the "buckskins," or backwoodsmen, and not with the red-coats; but the bulk of the warriors sympathized with the half king of the wyandots when he said that the long knives had for years interfered with the indians' hunting, and that now at last it was the indians' turn to threaten revenge. [footnote: "am. archives," st series, vol. ii., p. . there were several councils held at detroit during this fall, and it is difficult--and not very important--to separate the incidents that occurred at each. some took place before hamilton arrived, which, according to his "brief account," was november th. he asserts that he did not send out war parties until the following june; but the testimony seems conclusive that he was active in instigating hostility from the time of his arrival.] lt-gov. henry hamilton. scalp buying. hamilton was for the next two years the mainspring of indian hostility to the americans in the northwest. from the beginning he had been anxious to employ the savages against the settlers, and when the home government bade him hire them he soon proved himself very expert, as well as very ruthless, in their use. [footnote: haldimand mss. germaine to carlton, march , .] he rapidly acquired the venomous hatred of the backwoodsmen, who held him in peculiar abhorrence, and nicknamed him the "hair-buyer" general, asserting that he put a price on the scalps of the americans. this allegation may have been untrue as affecting hamilton personally; he always endeavored to get the war parties to bring in prisoners, and behaved well to the captives when they were in his power; nor is there any direct evidence that he himself paid out money for scalps. but scalps were certainly bought and paid for at detroit; [footnote: see the "american pioneer," i., , for a very curious account of an indian, who by dividing a large scalp into two got fifty dollars for each half at detroit.] and the commandant himself was accustomed to receive them with formal solemnity at the councils held to greet the war parties when they returned from successful raids. [footnote: haldimand mss; _passim;_ also heckewelder, etc.] the only way to keep the friendship of the indians was continually to give them presents; these presents were naturally given to the most successful warriors; and the scalps were the only safe proofs of a warrior's success. doubtless the commandant and the higher british officers generally treated the americans humanely when they were brought into contact with them; and it is not likely that they knew, or were willing to know, exactly what the savages did in all cases. but they at least connived at the measures of their subordinates. these were hardened, embittered, men who paid for the zeal of their indian allies accordingly as they received tangible proof thereof; in other words, they hired them to murder non-combatants as well as soldiers, and paid for each life, of any sort, that was taken. the fault lay primarily with the british government, and with those of its advisers who, like hamilton, advocated the employment of the savages. they thereby became participants in the crimes committed; and it was idle folly for them to prate about having bidden the savages be merciful. the sin consisted in having let them loose on the borders; once they were let loose it was absolutely impossible to control them. moreover, the british sinned against knowledge; for some of their highest and most trusted officers on the frontier had written those in supreme command, relating the cruelties practised by the indians upon the defenceless, and urging that they should not be made allies, but rather that their neutrality only should be secured. [footnote: e. g. in haldimand mss. lieut.-gov. abbott to general carleton, june , .] the average american backwoodsman was quite as brutal and inconsiderate a victor as the average british officer; in fact, he was in all likelihood the less humane of the two; but the englishman deliberately made the deeds of the savage his own. making all allowance for the strait in which the british found themselves, and admitting that much can be said against their accusers, the fact remains that they urged on hordes of savages to slaughter men, women, and children along the entire frontier; and for this there must ever rest a dark stain on their national history. hamilton organized a troop of white rangers from among the french, british, and tories at detroit. they acted as allies of the indians, and furnished leaders to them. three of these leaders were the tories mckee, elliot, and girty, who had fled together from pittsburg [footnote: haldimand mss. hamilton's letter, april . . "april the th-edward hayle (who had undertaken to carry a letter from me to the moravian minister at kushayhking) returned, having executed his commission--he brought me a letter & newspapers from mr. mckee who was indian agent for the crown and has been a long time in the hands of the rebels at fort pitt, at length has found means to make his escape with three other men, two of the name of girty (mentioned in lord dunmore's list) interpreters & matthew elliott the young man who was last summer sent down from this place a prisoner.--this last person i am informed has been at new york since he left quebec, and probably finding the change in affairs unfavourable to the rebels, has slipp'd away to make his peace here. " d--hayle went off again to conduct them all safe through the villages having a letter & wampum for that purpose. alexander mckee is a man of good character, and has great influence with the shawanese is well acquainted with the country & can probably give some useful intelligence, he will probably reach this place in a few days."] they all three warred against their countrymen with determined ferocity. girty won the widest fame on the border by his cunning and cruelty; but he was really a less able foe than the two others. mckee in particular showed himself a fairly good commander of indians and irregular troops; as did likewise an englishman named caldwell, and two french partisans, de quindre and lamothe, who were hearty supporters of the british. the british begin a war of extermination. hamilton and his subordinates, both red and white, were engaged in what was essentially an effort to exterminate the borderers. they were not endeavoring merely to defeat the armed bodies of the enemy. they were explicitly bidden by those in supreme command to push back the frontier, to expel the settlers from the country. hamilton himself had been ordered by his immediate official superior to assail the borders of pennsylvania and virginia with his savages, to destroy the crops and buildings of the settlers who had advanced beyond the mountains, and to give to his indian allies,--the hurons, shawnees, and other tribes,--all the land of which they thus took possession. [footnote: haldimand mss. haldimand to hamilton, august , .] with such allies as hamilton had this order was tantamount to proclaiming a war of extermination, waged with appalling and horrible cruelty against the settlers, of all ages and sexes. it brings out in bold relief the fact that in the west the war of the revolution was an effort on the part of great britain to stop the westward growth of the english race in america, and to keep the region beyond the alleghanies as a region where only savages should dwell. all the northwestern tribes go to war. all through the winter of ' - the northwestern indians were preparing to take up the tomahawk. runners were sent through the leafless, frozen woods from one to another of their winter camps. in each bleak, frail village, each snow-hidden cluster of bark wigwams, the painted, half-naked warriors danced the war dance, and sang the war song, beating the ground with their war clubs and keeping time with their feet to the rhythmic chant as they moved in rings round the peeled post, into which they struck their hatchets. the hereditary sachems, the peace chiefs, could no longer control the young men. the braves made ready their weapons and battle gear; their bodies were painted red and black, the plumes of the war eagle were braided into their long scalp locks, and some put on necklaces of bears' claws, and head-dresses made of panther skin, or of the shaggy and horned frontlet of the buffalo. [footnote: for instances of an indian wearing this buffalo cap, with the horns on, see kercheval and de haas.] before the snow was off the ground the war parties crossed the ohio and fell on the frontiers from the monongahela and kanawha to the kentucky. [footnote: state department mss. for , _passim_. so successful were the indian chiefs in hoodwinking the officers at fort pitt that some of the latter continued to believe that only three or four hundred indians had gone on the war path.] on the pennsylvanian and virginian frontiers the panic was tremendous. the people fled into the already existing forts, or hastily built others; where there were but two or three families in a place, they merely gathered into block-houses--stout log-cabins two stories high, with loop-holed walls, and the upper story projecting a little over the lower. the savages, well armed with weapons supplied them from the british arsenals on the great lakes, spread over the country; and there ensued all the horrors incident to a war waged as relentlessly against the most helpless non-combatants as against the armed soldiers in the field. block-houses were surprised and burnt; bodies of militia were ambushed and destroyed. the settlers were shot down as they sat by their hearth-stones in the evening, or ploughed the ground during the day; the lurking indians crept up and killed them while they still-hunted the deer, or while they lay in wait for the elk beside the well-beaten game trails. the captured women and little ones were driven off to the far interior. the weak among them, the young children, and the women heavy with child, were tomahawked and scalped as soon as their steps faltered. the able-bodied, who could stand the terrible fatigue, and reached their journey's end, suffered various fates. some were burned at the stake, others were sold to the french or british traders, and long afterwards made their escape, or were ransomed by their relatives. still others were kept in the indian camps, the women becoming the slaves or wives of the warriors, [footnote: occasionally we come across records of the women afterwards making their escape; very rarely they took their half-breed babies with them. de haas mentions one such case where the husband, though he received his wife well, always hated the copper-colored addition to his family; the latter, by the way, grew up a thorough indian, could not be educated, and finally ran away, joined the revolutionary army, and was never heard of afterwards.] while the children were adopted into the tribe, and grew up precisely like their little red-skinned playmates. sometimes, when they had come to full growth, they rejoined the whites; but generally they were enthralled by the wild freedom and fascination of their forest life, and never forsook their adopted tribesmen, remaining inveterate foes of their own color. among the ever-recurring: tragedies of the frontier, not the least sorrowful was the recovery of these long-missing children by their parents, only to find that they had lost all remembrance of and love for their father and mother, and had become irreclaimable savages, who eagerly grasped the first chance to flee from the intolerable irksomeness and restraint of civilized life. [footnote: for an instance where a boy finally returned, see "trans-alleghany pioneers," p. ; see also pp. , , , for instances of the capture and treatment of whites by indians.] the attack on wheeling. among others, the stockade at wheeling [footnote: fort henry. for an account of the siege, see de haas, pp. - . it took place in the early days of september.] was attacked by two or three hundred indians; with them came a party of detroit rangers, marshalled by drum and fife, and carrying the british colors. [footnote the accounts of the different sieges of wheeling were first written down from the statements of the pioneers when they had grown very aged. in consequence, there is much uncertainty as to the various incidents. thus there seems to be a doubt whether girty did or did not command the indians in this first siege. the frontiersmen hated girty as they did no other man, and he was credited with numerous actions done by other white leaders of the indians; the british accounts say comparatively little about him. he seems to have often fought with the indians as one of their own number, while his associates led organized bands of rangers; he was thus more often brought into contact with the frontiersmen, but was really hardly as dangerous a foe to them as were one or two of his tory companions.] most of the men inside the fort were drawn out by a stratagem, fell into an ambuscade, and were slain; but the remainder made good the defence, helped by the women, who ran the lead into bullets, cooled and loaded the guns, and even, when the rush was made, assisted to repel it by firing through the loopholes. after making a determined effort to storm the stockade, in which some of the boldest warriors were slain while trying in vain to batter down the gates with heavy timbers, the baffled indians were obliged to retire discomfited. the siege was chiefly memorable because of an incident which is to this day a staple theme for story-telling in the cabins of the mountaineers. one of the leading men of the neighborhood was major samuel mccolloch, renowned along the border as the chief in a family famous for its indian fighters, the dread and terror of the savages, many of whose most noted warriors he slew, and at whose hands he himself, in the end, met his death. when wheeling was invested, he tried to break into it, riding a favorite old white horse. but the indians intercepted him, and hemmed him in on the brink of an almost perpendicular slope, [footnote: the hill overlooks wheeling; the slope has now much crumbled away, and in consequence has lost its steepness.] some three hundred feet high. so sheer was the descent that they did not dream any horse could go down it, and instead of shooting they advanced to capture the man whom they hated. mccolloch had no thought of surrendering, to die by fire at the stake, and he had as little hope of resistance against so many foes. wheeling short round, he sat back in the saddle, shifted his rifle into his right hand, reined in his steed, and spurred him over the brink. the old horse never faltered, but plunged headlong down the steep, boulder-covered, cliff-broken slope. good luck, aided by the wonderful skill of the rider and the marvellous strength and sure-footedness of his steed, rewarded, as it deserved, one of the most daring feats of horsemanship of which we have any authentic record. there was a crash, the shock of a heavy body, half springing, half falling, a scramble among loose rocks, and the snapping of saplings and bushes; and in another moment the awe-struck indians above saw their unharmed foe, galloping his gallant white horse in safety across the plain. to this day the place is known by the name of mccolloch's leap. [footnote: in the west this feat is as well known as is putnam's similar deed in the north.] in virginia and pennsylvania the indian outrages meant only the harassing of the borderers; in kentucky they threatened the complete destruction of the vanguard of the white advance and, therefore the stoppage of all settlement west of the alleghanies until after the revolutionary war, when very possibly the soil might not have been ours to settle. fortunately hamilton did not yet realize the importance of the kentucky settlements, nor the necessity of crushing them, and during the war bands organized at detroit were sent against the country round pittsburg; while the feeble forts in the far western wilderness were only troubled by smaller war parties raised among the tribes on their own account. a strong expedition, led by hamilton in person, would doubtless at this time have crushed them. the struggle in kentucky. as it was, there were still so few whites in kentucky that they were greatly outnumbered by the invading indians. they were, in consequence, unable to meet the enemy in the open field, and gathered in their stations or forted villages. therefore the early conflicts, for the most part, took the form of sieges of these wooden forts. such sieges, had little in common with the corresponding operations of civilized armies. the indians usually tried to surprise a fort; if they failed, they occasionally tried to carry it by open assault, or by setting fire to it, but very rarely, indeed, beleaguered it in form. for this they lacked both the discipline and the commissariat. accordingly, if their first rush miscarried, they usually dispersed in the woods to hunt, or look for small parties of whites; always, however, leaving some of their number to hover round the fort and watch any thing that took place. masters in the art of hiding, and able to conceal themselves behind a bush, a stone, or a tuft of weeds, they skulked round the gate before dawn, to shoot the white sentinels; or they ambushed the springs, and killed those who came for water; they slaughtered all of the cattle that had not been driven in, and any one venturing incautiously beyond the walls was certain to be waylaid and murdered. those who were thus hemmed in the fort were obliged to get game on which to live; the hunters accordingly were accustomed to leave before daybreak, travel eight or ten miles, hunt all day at the risk of their lives, and return after dark. being of course the picked men of the garrison, they often eluded the indians, or slew them if an encounter took place, but very frequently indeed they were themselves slain. the indians always trusted greatly to wiles and feints to draw their foes into their power. as ever in this woodland fighting, their superiority in hiding, or taking advantage of cover, counterbalanced the superiority of the whites as marksmen; and their war parties were thus at least a match, man against man, for the kentuckians, though the latter, together with the watauga men, were the best woodsmen and fighters of the frontier. only a very few of the whites became, like boon and kenton, able to beat the best of the savages at their own game. the innumerable sieges that took place during the long years of indian warfare differed in detail, but generally closely resembled one another as regards the main points. those that occurred in may be considered as samples of the rest; and accounts of these have been preserved by the two chief actors, boon and clark. [footnote: in boon's narrative, written down by filson, and in clark's diary, as given by morehead. the mcafee mss. and butler's history give some valuable information. boon asserts that at this time the "long knives" proved themselves superior to their foe in almost every battle; but the facts do not seem to sustain him, though the statement was doubtless true as regards a few picked men. his estimates of the indian numbers and losses must be received with great caution.] boonsborough attacked. boonsborough, which was held by twenty-two riflemen, was attacked twice, once in april and again in july, on each occasion by a party of fifty or a hundred warriors. [footnote: boon says april th and july th. clark's diary makes the first date april th. boon says one hundred indians, clark " or ." clark's account of the loss on both sides agrees tolerably well with boon's. clark's diary makes the second attack take place on may d. his dates are probably correct, as boon must have written only from memory.] the first time the garrison was taken by surprise; one man lost his scalp, and four were wounded, including boon himself, who had been commissioned as captain in the county militia. [footnote: two of the other wounded men were captain john todd and boon's old hunting companion, stoner.] the indians promptly withdrew when they found they could not carry the fort by a sudden assault. on the second occasion the whites were on their guard, and though they had one man killed and two wounded (leaving but thirteen unhurt men in the fort), they easily beat off the assailants, and slew half a dozen of them. this time the indians stayed round two days, keeping up a heavy fire, under cover of which they several times tried to burn the fort. [footnote: clark's diary.] logan's adventures. logan's [footnote: boon says july th, clark's diary makes it may th: clark is undoubtedly right; he gives the names of the man who was killed and of the two who were wounded.] station at st. asaphs was likewise attacked; it was held by only fifteen gunmen. when the attack was made the women, guarded by part of the men, were milking the cows outside the fort. the indians fired at them from the thick cane that still stood near-by, killing one man and wounding two others, one mortally. [footnote: the name of the latter was burr harrison; he died a fortnight afterward.--clark.] the party, of course, fled to the fort, and on looking back they saw their mortally wounded friend weltering on the ground. his wife and family were within the walls; through the loopholes they could see him yet alive, and exposed every moment to death. so great was the danger that the men refused to go out to his rescue, whereupon logan alone opened the gate, bounded out, and seizing the wounded man in his arms, carried him back unharmed through a shower of bullets. the indians continued to lurk around the neighborhood, and the ammunition grew very scarce. thereupon logan took two companions and left the fort at night to go to the distant settlements on the holston, where he might get powder and lead. he knew that the indians were watching the wilderness road, and trusting to his own hardiness and consummate woodcraft, he struck straight out across the cliff-broken, wood-covered mountains, sleeping wherever night overtook him, and travelling all day long with the tireless speed of a wolf. [footnote: not a fanciful comparison; the wolf is the only animal that an indian or a trained frontiersman cannot tire out in several days' travel. following a deer two days in light snow, i have myself gotten near enough to shoot it without difficulty.] he returned with the needed stores in ten days from the time he set out. these tided the people over the warm months. in the fall, when the hickories had turned yellow and the oaks deep red, during the weeks of still, hazy weather that mark the indian summer, their favorite hunting season, [footnote: usually early in november.--mcafee mss.] the savages again filled the land, and logan was obliged to repeat his perilous journey. [footnote: marshall, .] he also continually led small bands of his followers against the indian war--and hunting-parties, sometimes surprising and dispersing them, and harassing them greatly. moreover he hunted steadily throughout the year to keep the station in meat, for the most skilful hunters were, in those days of scarcity, obliged to spend much of their time in the chase. once, while at a noted game lick, [footnote: these game licks were common, and were of enormous extent. multitudes of game, through countless generations, had tramped the ground bare of vegetation, and had made deep pits and channels with their hoofs and tongues. see mcafee mss. sometimes the licks covered acres of ground, while the game trails leading towards them through the wood were as broad as streets, even feet wide. i have myself seen small game licks, the largest not a hundred feet across, in the selkirks, coeur d'alenes, and bighorns, the ground all tramped up by the hoofs of elk, deer, wild sheep, and white goats, with deep furrows and hollows where the saline deposits existed. in the little missouri bad lands there is so much mineral matter that no regular licks are needed. as the game is killed off the licks become overgrown and lost.] waiting for deer, he was surprised by the indians, and by their fire was wounded in the breast and had his right arm broken. nevertheless he sprang on his horse and escaped, though the savages were so close that one, leaping at him, for a moment grasped the tail of the horse. every one of these pioneer leaders, from clark and boon to sevier and robertson, was required constantly to expose his life; each lost sons or brothers at the hands of the indians, and each thinned the ranks of the enemy with his own rifle. in such a primitive state of society the man who led others was expected to show strength of body no less than strength of mind and heart; he depended upon his physical prowess almost as much as upon craft, courage, and headwork. the founder and head of each little community needed not only a shrewd brain and commanding temper, but also the thews and training to make him excel as woodsman and hunter, and the heart and eye to enable him to stand foremost in every indian battle. clark shares in the defense of kentucky. clark spent most of the year at harrodstown, taking part in the defence of kentucky. all the while he was revolving in his bold, ambitious heart a scheme for the conquest of the illinois country, and he sent scouts thither to spy out the land and report to him what they saw. the indians lurked round harrodstown throughout the summer; and clark and his companions were engaged in constant skirmishes with them. once, warned by the uneasy restlessness of the cattle (who were sure to betray the presence of indians if they got sight or smell of them), they were able to surround a party of ten or twelve, who were hidden in a tall clump of weeds. the savages were intent on cutting off some whites who were working in a turnip patch two hundred yards from the fort; clark's party killed three--he himself killing one,--wounded another, and sold the plunder they took, at auction, for seventy pounds. at other times the skirmishes resulted differently, as on the occasion chronicled by clark in his diary, when they "went out to hunt indians; one wounded squire boon and escaped." [footnote: clark's diary, entry for july th.] the corn was brought in from the cribs under guard; one day while shelling a quantity, a body of thirty-seven whites were attacked, and seven were killed or wounded, though the indians were beaten off and two scalps taken. in spite of this constant warfare the fields near the forts were gradually cleared, and planted with corn, pumpkins, and melons; and marrying and mirth-making went on within the walls. one of clark's scouts, shortly after returning from the illinois, got married, doubtless feeling he deserved some reward for the hardships he had suffered; on the wedding night clark remarks that there was "great merriment." the rare and infrequent expresses from pittsburg or williamsburg brought letters telling of washington's campaigns, which clark read with absorbed interest. on the first of october, having matured his plans for the illinois campaign, he left for virginia, to see if he could get the government to help him put them into execution. the holston men help kentucky. during the summer parties of backwoods militia from the holston settlements--both virginians and carolinians--came out to help the kentuckians in their struggle against the indians; but they only stayed a few weeks, and then returned home. in the fall, however, several companies of immigrants came out across the mountains; and at the same time the small parties of hunters succeeded in pretty well clearing the woods of indians. many of the lesser camps and stations had been broken up, and at the end of the year there remained only four--boonsborough, harrodstown, logan's station at st. asaphs, and mcgarry's, at the shawnee springs. they contained in all some five or six hundred permanent settlers, nearly half of them being able-bodied riflemen. [footnote: the mcafee mss. give these four stations; boon says there were but three. he was writing from memory, however, and was probably mistaken; thus he says there were at that time settlers at the falls, an evident mistake, as there were none there till the following year. collins, following marshall, says there were at the end of the year only one hundred and two men in kentucky,--sixty-five at harrodstown, twenty-two at boonsborough, fifteen at logan's. this is a mistake based on a hasty reading of boon's narrative, which gives this number for july, and particularly adds that after that data they began to strengthen. in the mcafee mss. is a census of harrodstown for the fall of , which sums up: men in service, ; men not in service, ; women, ; children above ten, ; children under ten, ; slaves above ten, ; slaves under ten, ; total, . in october clark in his diary records meeting fifty men with their families, (therefore permanent settlers), on their way to boon, and thirty-eight men on their way to logan's. at the end of the year, therefore, boonsborough and harrodstown must have held about two hundred souls apiece; logan's and mcgarry's were considerably smaller. the large proportion of young children testifies to the prolific nature of the kentucky women, and also shows the permanent nature of the settlements. two years previously, in , there had been, perhaps, three hundred people in kentucky, but very many of them were not permanent residents.] boon captured. early in a severe calamity befell the settlements. in january boon went, with twenty-nine other men, to the blue licks to make salt for the different garrisons--for hitherto this necessary of life had been brought in, at great trouble and expense, from the settlements. [footnote: see clark's diary, entry for october , .] the following month, having sent three men back with loads of salt, he and all the others were surprised and captured by a party of eighty or ninety miamis, led by two frenchmen, named baubin and lorimer. [footnote: haldimand mss. b., , p. . hamilton to carleton, april , . he says four-score miamis.] when surrounded, so that there was no hope of escape, boon agreed that all should surrender on condition of being well treated. the indians on this occasion loyally kept faith. the two frenchmen were anxious to improve their capture by attacking boonsborough; but the fickle savages were satisfied with their success, and insisted on returning to their villages. boon was taken, first to old chillicothe, the chief shawnee town on the little miami, and then to detroit, where hamilton and the other englishmen treated him well, and tried to ransom him for a hundred pounds sterling. however, the indians had become very much attached to him, and refused the ransom, taking their prisoner back to chillicothe. here he was adopted into the tribe, and remained for two months, winning the good-will of the shawnees by his cheerfulness and his skill as a hunter, and being careful not to rouse their jealousy by any too great display of skill at the shooting-matches. hamilton was urging the indians to repeat their ravages of the preceding year; mingos, shawnees, delawares, and miamis came to detroit, bringing scalps and prisoners. a great council was held at that post early in june. [footnote: _do._, june , .] all the northwestern tribes took part, and they received war-belts from the iroquois and messages calling on them to rise as one man. they determined forthwith to fall on the frontier in force. by their war parties, and the accompanying bands of tories, hamilton sent placards to be distributed among the frontiersmen, endeavoring both by threat and by promise of reward, to make them desert the patriot cause. [footnote: do., april , .] boon escapes and makes a foray. in june a large war party gathered at chillicothe to march against boonsborough, and boon determined to escape at all hazards, so that he might warn his mends. one morning before sunrise he eluded the vigilance of his indian companions and started straight through the woods for his home where he arrived in four days, having had but one meal during the whole journey of a hundred and sixty miles. [footnote: boon's narrative.] on reaching boonsborough he at once set about putting the fort in good condition; and being tried by court-martial for the capture at the blue licks, he was not only acquitted but was raised to the rank of major. his escape had probably disconcerted the indian war party, for no immediate attack was made on the fort. after waiting until august he got tired of the inaction, and made a foray into the indian country himself with nineteen men, defeating a small party of his foes on the sciota. at the same time he learned that the main body of the miamis had at last marched against boonsborough. instantly he retraced his steps with all possible speed, passed by the indians, and reached the threatened fort a day before they did. boonsborough again beseiged. on the eighth day of the month the savages appeared before the stockade. they were between three and four hundred in number, shawnees and miamis, and were led by captain daigniau de quindre, a noted detroit partisan [footnote: haldimand mss. aug. , , girty reports that four hundred indians have gone to attack "fort kentuck." hamilton's letter of sept. th speaks of there being three hundred shawnees with de quindre (whom boon calls duquesne).]; with him were eleven other frenchmen, besides the indian chiefs. they marched into view with british and french colors flying, and formally summoned the little wooden fort to surrender in the name of his britannic majesty. the negotiations that followed showed, on the part of both whites and reds, a curious mixture of barbarian cunning and barbarian childishness; the account reads as if it were a page of graeco-trojan diplomacy. [footnote: see boon's narrative.] boon first got a respite of two days to consider de quindre's request, and occupied the time in getting the horses and cattle into the fort. at the end of the two days the frenchman came in person to the walls to hear the answer to his proposition; whereupon boon jeered at him for his simplicity, thanking him in the name of the defenders for having given them time to prepare for defence, and telling him that now they laughed at his attack. de quindre, mortified at being so easily outwitted, set a trap in his turn for boon. he assured the latter that his orders from detroit were to capture, not to destroy, the garrison, and proposed that nine of their number should come out and hold a treaty. the terms of the treaty are not mentioned; apparently it was to be one of neutrality, boonsborough acting as if it were a little independent and sovereign commonwealth, making peace on its own account with a particular set of foes. at any rate, de quindre agreed to march his forces peaceably off when it was concluded. boon accepted the proposition, but, being suspicious of the good-faith of his opponents, insisted upon the conference being held within sixty yards of the fort. after the treaty was concluded the indians proposed to shake hands with the nine white treaty-makers, and promptly grappled them. [footnote: apparently there were eighteen indians on the treaty ground, but these were probably, like the whites, unarmed.] however, the borderers wrested themselves free, and fled to the fort under a heavy fire, which wounded one of their number. the indians then attacked the fort, surrounding it on every side and keeping up a constant fire at the loop-holes. the whites replied in kind, but the combatants were so well covered that little damage was done. at night the indians pitched torches of cane and hickory bark against the stockade, in the vain effort to set it on fire, [footnote: mcafee mss.] and de quindre tried to undermine the walls, starting from the water mark. but boon discovered the attempt, and sunk a trench as a countermine. then de quindre gave up and retreated on august th, after nine days' fighting, in which the whites had but two killed and four wounded; nor was the loss of the indians much heavier. [footnote: de quindre reported to hamilton that, though foiled, he had but two men killed and three wounded. in haldimand mss., hamilton to haldimand, october , . often, however, these partisan leaders merely reported the loss in their own particular party of savages, taking no account of the losses in the other bands that had joined them--as the miamis joined the shawnees in this instance. but it is certain that boon (or filson, who really wrote the narrative) greatly exaggerated the facts in stating that thirty-seven indians were killed, and that the settlers picked up pounds' weight of bullets which had been fired into the fort.] this was the last siege of boonsborough. had de quindre succeeded he might very probably have swept the whites from kentucky; but he failed, and boon's successful resistance, taken together with the outcome of clark's operations at the same time, ensured the permanency of the american occupation. the old-settled region lying around the original stations, or forts, was never afterwards seriously endangered by indian invasion. ferocious individual warfare. the savages continued to annoy the border throughout the year . the extent of their ravages can be seen from the fact that, during the summer months those around detroit alone brought in to hamilton eighty-one scalps and thirty-four prisoners, [footnote: haldimand mss. letter of hamilton, september , . hamilton was continually sending out small war parties; thus he mentions that on august th a party of fifteen miamis went out; on september th, thirty-one miamis; on september th, one frenchman, five chippewas, and fifteen miamis, etc.] seventeen of whom they surrendered to the british, keeping the others either to make them slaves or else to put them to death with torture. during the fall they confined themselves mainly to watching the ohio and the wilderness road, and harassing the immigrants who passed along them. [footnote: mcafee mss.] boon, as usual, roamed restlessly over the country, spying out and harrying the indian war parties, and often making it his business to meet the incoming bands of settlers, and to protect and guide them on the way to their intended homes. [footnote: marshall, .] when not on other duty he hunted steadily, for game was still plentiful in kentucky, though fast diminishing owing to the wanton slaughter made by some of the more reckless hunters. [footnote: mcafee mss.] he met with many adventures, still handed down by tradition, in the chase of panther, wolf, and bear, of buffalo, elk, and deer. the latter he killed only when their hides and meat were needed, while he followed unceasingly the dangerous beasts of prey, as being enemies of the settlers. throughout these years the obscure strife, made up of the individual contests of frontiersman and indian, went on almost without a break. the sieges, surprises, and skirmishes in which large bands took part were chronicled; but there is little reference in the books to the countless conflicts wherein only one or two men on a side were engaged. the west could never have been conquered, in the teeth of so formidable and ruthless a foe, had it not been for the personal prowess of the pioneers themselves. their natural courage and hardihood, and their long training in forest warfare, [footnote: the last point is important. no europeans could have held their own for a fortnight in kentucky; nor is it likely that the western men twenty years before, at the time of braddock's war, could have successfully colonized such a far-off country.] made them able to hold their own and to advance step by step, where a peaceable population would have been instantly butchered or driven off. no regular army could have done what they did. only trained woodsmen could have led the white advance into the vast forest-clad regions, out of which so many fair states have been hewn. the ordinary regular soldier was almost as helpless before the indians in the woods as he would have been if blindfolded and opposed to an antagonist whose eyes were left uncovered. much the greatest loss, both to indians and whites, was caused by this unending personal warfare. every hunter, almost every settler, was always in imminent danger of indian attack, and in return was ever ready, either alone or with one or two companions, to make excursions against the tribes for scalps and horses. one or two of simon kenton's experiences during this year may be mentioned less for their own sake than as examples of innumerable similar deeds that were done, and woes that were suffered, in the course of the ceaseless struggle. simon kenton's adventures. kenton was a tall, fair-haired man of wonderful strength and agility; famous as a runner and wrestler, an unerring shot, and a perfect woodsman. like so many of these early indian fighters, he was not at all bloodthirsty. he was a pleasant, friendly, and obliging companion; and it was hard to rouse him to wrath. when once aroused, however, few were so hardy as not to quail before the terrible fury of his anger. he was so honest and unsuspecting that he was very easily cheated by sharpers; and he died a poor man. he was a staunch friend and follower of boon's. [footnote: see mcclung's "sketches of western adventure," pp. - ; the author had received from kenton, and other pioneers, when very old, the tales of their adventures as young men. mcclung's volume contains very valuable incidental information about the customs of life among the borderers,] and about indian warfare; but he is a very inaccurate and untrustworthy writer; he could not even copy a printed narrative correctly (see his account of slover's and mcknight's adventures), and his tales about kenton must be accepted rather as showing the adventures incident to the life of a peculiarly daring indian fighter than as being specifically and chronologically correct in kenton's individual case. once, in a fight outside the stockade at boonsborough, he saved the life of his leader by shooting an indian who was on the point of tomahawking him. boon was a man of few words, cold and grave, accustomed to every kind of risk and hairbreadth escape, and as little apt to praise the deeds of others as he was to mention his own; but on this occasion he broke through his usual taciturnity to express his thanks for kenton's help and his admiration for kenton himself. kenton went with his captain on the expedition to the scioto. pushing ahead of the rest, he was attracted by the sound of laughter in a canebrake. hiding himself, he soon saw two indians approach, both riding on one small pony, and chatting and laughing together in great good-humor. aiming carefully, he brought down both at once, one dead and the other severely wounded. as he rushed up to finish his work, his quick ears caught a rustle in the cane, and looking around he saw two more indians aiming at him. a rapid spring to one side on his part made both balls miss. other indians came up; but, at the same time, boon and his companions appeared, running as fast as they could while still keeping sheltered. a brisk skirmish followed, the indians retreated, and kenton got the coveted scalp. when boon returned to the fort, kenton stayed behind with another man and succeeded in stealing four good horses, which he brought back in triumph. much pleased with his success he shortly made another raid into the indian country, this time with two companions. they succeeded in driving off a whole band of one hundred and sixty horses, which they brought in safety to the banks of the ohio. but a strong wind was blowing, and the river was so rough that in spite of all their efforts they could not get the horses to cross; as soon as they were beyond their depth the beasts would turn round and swim back. the reckless adventurers could not make up their minds to leave the booty; and stayed so long, waiting for a lull in the gale, and wasting their time in trying to get the horses to take to the water in spite of the waves, that the pursuing indians came up and surprised them. their guns had become wet and useless; and no resistance could be made. one of them was killed, another escaped, and kenton himself was captured. the indians asked him if "captain boon" had sent him to steal horses; and when he answered frankly that the stealing was his own idea, they forthwith proceeded to beat him lustily with their ramrods, at the same time showering on him epithets that showed they had at least learned the profanity of the traders. they staked him out at night, tied so that he could move neither hand nor foot; and during the day he was bound on an unbroken horse, with his hands tied behind him so that he could not protect his face from the trees and bushes. this was repeated every day. after three days he reached the town of chillicothe, stiff, sore, and bleeding. next morning he was led out to run the gauntlet. a row of men, women, and boys, a quarter of a mile long, was formed, each with a tomahawk, switch, or club; at the end of the line was an indian with a big drum, and beyond this was the council-house, which, if he reached, would for the time being protect him. the moment for starting arrived; the big drum was beaten; and kenton sprang forward in the race. [footnote: for this part of kenton's adventures compare the "last of the mohicans."] keeping his wits about him he suddenly turned to one side and darted off with the whole tribe after him. his wonderful speed and activity enabled him to keep ahead, and to dodge those who got in his way, and by a sudden double he rushed through an opening in the crowd, and reached the council-house, having been struck but three or four blows. he was not further molested that evening. next morning a council was held to decide whether he should be immediately burnt at the stake, or should first be led round to the different villages. the warriors sat in a ring to pass judgment, passing the war club from one to another; those who passed it in silence thereby voted in favor of sparing the prisoner for the moment, while those who struck it violently on the ground thus indicated their belief that he should be immediately put to death. the former prevailed, and kenton was led from town to town. at each place he was tied to the stake, to be switched and beaten by the women and boys; or else was forced to run the gauntlet, while sand was thrown in his eyes and guns loaded with powder fired against his body to burn his flesh. once, while on the march, he made a bold rush for liberty, all unarmed though he was; breaking out of the line and running into the forest. his speed was so great and his wind so good that he fairly outran his pursuers; but by ill-luck, when almost exhausted, he came against another party of indians. after this he abandoned himself to despair. he was often terribly abused by his captors; once one of them cut his shoulder open with an axe, breaking the bone. his face was painted black, the death color, and he was twice sentenced to be burned alive, at the pickaway plains and at sandusky. but each time he was saved at the last moment, once through a sudden spasm of mercy on the part of the renegade girty, his old companion in arms at the time of lord dunmore's war, and again by the powerful intercession of the great mingo chief, logan. at last, after having run the gauntlet eight times and been thrice tied to the stake, he was ransomed by some traders. they hoped to get valuable information from him about the border forts, and took him to detroit. here he stayed until his battered, wounded body was healed. then he determined to escape, and formed his plan in concert with two other kentuckians, who had been in boon's party that was captured at the blue licks. they managed to secure some guns, got safely off, and came straight down through the great forests to the ohio, reaching their homes in safety. [footnote: mcclung gives the exact conversations that took place between kenton, logan, girty, and the indian chiefs. they are very dramatic, and may possibly be true; the old pioneer would probably always remember even the words used on such occasions; but i hesitate to give them because mcclung is so loose in his statements. in the account of this very incident he places it in ' , and says kenton then accompanied clark to the illinois. but in reality--as we know from boon--it took place in ' , and kenton must have gone with clark first.] boon and kenton have always been favorite heroes of frontier story,--as much so as ever were robin hood and little john in england. both lived to a great age, and did and saw many strange things, and in the backwoods cabins the tale of their deeds has been handed down in traditional form from father to son and to son's son. they were known to be honest, fearless, adventurous, mighty men of their hands; fond of long, lonely wanderings; renowned as woodsmen and riflemen, as hunters and indian fighters. in course of time it naturally came about that all notable incidents of the chase and woodland warfare were incorporated into their lives by the story-tellers. the facts were altered and added to by tradition year after year; so that the two old frontier warriors already stand in that misty group of heroes whose rightful title to fame has been partly overclouded by the haze of their mythical glories and achievements. chapter ii. clark's conquest of the illinois, . kentucky had been settled, chiefly through boon's instrumentality, in the year that saw the first fighting of the revolution, and it had been held ever since, boon still playing the greatest part in the defence. clark's more far-seeing and ambitious soul now prompted him to try and use it as a base from which to conquer the vast region northwest of the ohio. the country beyond the ohio. the country beyond the ohio was not, like kentucky, a tenantless and debatable hunting-ground. it was the seat of powerful and warlike indian confederacies, and of clusters of ancient french hamlets which had been founded generations before the kentucky pioneers were born; and it also contained posts that were garrisoned and held by the soldiers of the british king. virginia, and other colonies as well, made, it is true, vague claims to some of this territory. [footnote: some of the numerous land speculation companies, which were so prominent about this time, both before and after the revolution, made claims to vast tracts of territory in this region, having bought them for various trinkets from the indian chiefs. such were the "illinois land company" and "wabash land company," that, in and , made purchases from the kaskaskias and piankeshaws. the companies were composed of british, american, and canadian merchants and traders, of london, philadelphia, baltimore, quebec, etc. lord dunmore was in the wabash company. the agents of the companies, in after years, made repeated but unsuccessful efforts to get congress to confirm their grants. although these various companies made much noise at the time, they introduced no new settlers into the land, and, in fact, did nothing of lasting effect; so that it is mere waste of time to allude to most of them. see, however, the "history of indiana," by john b. dillon (indianapolis, ), pp. - , etc.] but their titles were as unreal and shadowy as those acquired by the spanish and portuguese kings when the pope, with empty munificence, divided between them the eastern and the western hemispheres. for a century the french had held adverse possession; for a decade and a half the british, not the colonial authorities, had acted as their unchallenged heirs; to the americans the country was as much a foreign land as was canada. it could only be acquired by force, and clark's teeming brain and bold heart had long been busy in planning its conquest. he knew that the french villages, the only settlements in the land, were the seats of the british power, the head-quarters whence their commanders stirred up, armed, and guided the hostile indians. if these settled french districts were conquered, and the british posts that guarded them captured, the whole territory would thereby be won for the federal republic, and added to the heritage of its citizens; while the problem of checking and subduing the northwestern indians would be greatly simplified, because the source of much of both their power and hostility would be cut off at the springs. the friendship of the french was invaluable, for they had more influence than any other people with the indians. clark sends spies to the illinois. in clark sent two young hunters as spies to the illinois country and to the neighborhood of vincennes, though neither to them nor to any one else did he breathe a hint of the plan that was in his mind. they brought back word that, though some of the adventurous young men often joined either the british or the indian war parties, yet that the bulk of the french population took but little interest in the struggle, were lukewarm in their allegiance to the british flag, and were somewhat awed by what they had heard of the backwoodsmen. [footnote: the correctness of this account is amply confirmed by the haldimand mss., letters of hamilton, _passim_; also rocheblave to carleton, july , ; and to hamilton, april , .] clark judged from this report that it would not be difficult to keep the french neutral if a bold policy, strong as well as conciliatory, was pursued towards them; and that but a small force would be needed to enable a resolute and capable leader to conquer at least the southern part of the country. it was impossible to raise such a body among the scantily garrisoned forted villages of kentucky. the pioneers, though warlike and fond of fighting, were primarily settlers; their soldiering came in as a purely secondary occupation. they were not a band of mere adventurers, living by the sword and bent on nothing but conquest. they were a group of hard-working, hard-fighting freemen, who had come in with their wives and children to possess the land. they were obliged to use all their wit and courage to defend what they had already won without wasting their strength by grasping at that which lay beyond. the very conditions that enabled so small a number to make a permanent settlement forbade their trying unduly to extend its bounds. he goes to virginia to raise troops. clark knew he could get from among his fellow-settlers some men peculiarly suited for his purpose, but he also realized that he would have to bring the body of his force from virginia. accordingly he decided to lay the case before patrick henry, then governor of the state of which kentucky was only a frontier county. on october , , he started from harrodsburg, [footnote: in the earlier mss, it is called sometimes harrodstown and sometimes harrodsburg; but from this time on the latter name is in general use.] to go over the wilderness road. the brief entries of his diary for this trip are very interesting and sometimes very amusing. before starting he made a rather shrewd and thoroughly characteristic speculation in horseflesh, buying a horse for £ , and then "swapping" it with isaac shelby and getting £ to boot. he evidently knew how to make a good bargain, and had the true backwoods passion for barter. he was detained a couple of days by that commonest of frontier mischances, his horses straying; a natural incident when the animals were simply turned loose on the range and looked up when required. [footnote: this, like so many other incidents in the every-day history of the old pioneers, is among the ordinary experiences of the present sojourner in the far west.] he travelled in company with a large party of men, women, and children who, disheartened by the indian ravages, were going back to the settlements. they marched from fifteen to twenty miles a day, driving beeves along for food. in addition the scouts at different times killed three buffalo [footnote: one at rockcastle river, two at cumberland ford.] and a few deer, so that they were not stinted for fresh meat. when they got out of the wilderness he parted from his companions and rode off alone. he now stayed at the settler's house that was nearest when night overtook him. at a large house, such as that of the campbell's, near abingdon, he was of course welcomed to the best, and treated with a generous hospitality, for which it would have been an insult to offer money in return. at the small cabins he paid his way; usually a shilling and threepence or a shilling and sixpence for breakfast, bed, and feed for the horse; but sometimes four or five shillings. he fell in with a captain campbell, with whom he journeyed a week, finding him "an agreeable companion." they had to wait over one stormy day, at a little tavern, and probably whiled away the time by as much of a carouse as circumstances allowed; at any rate, clark's share of the bill when he left was £ _s_. [footnote: the items of expense jotted down in the diary are curious. for a night's lodging and board they range from s. d. to s. in williamsburg, the capital, they were for a fortnight £ s.] finally, a month after leaving harrodsburg, having travelled six hundred and twenty miles, he reached his father's house. [footnote seventy miles beyond charlottesville; he gives an itinerary of his journey, making it six hundred and twenty miles in all, by the route he travelled. on the way he had his horse shod and bought a pair of shoes for himself; apparently he kept the rest of his backwoods apparel. he sold his gun for £ and swapped horses again--this time giving £ l _s_. to boot.] after staying only a day at his old home, he set out for williamsburg, where he was detained a fortnight before the state auditors would settle the accounts of the kentucky militia, which he had brought with him. the two things which he deemed especially worthy of mention during this time were his purchase of a ticket in the state lottery, for three pounds, and his going to church on sunday--the first chance he had had to do so during the year. [footnote: when his accounts were settled he immediately bought "a piece of cloth for a jacket; price, £ _s_; buttons, etc., _s_."] he was overjoyed at the news of burgoyne's surrender; and with a light heart he returned to his father's house, to get a glimpse of his people before again plunging into the wilds. clark and patrick henry. after a week's rest he went back to the capital, laid his plans before patrick henry, and urged their adoption with fiery enthusiasm. [footnote: clark has left a full ms. memoir of the events of , , and . it was used extensively by mann butler, the first historian who gave the campaign its proper prominence, and is printed almost complete by dillon, on pp. - of his "indiana." it was written at the desire of presidents jefferson and madison; and therefore some thirty or forty years after the events of which it speaks. valuable though it is, as the narrative of the chief actor, it would be still more valuable had it been written earlier; it undoubtedly contains some rather serious errors.] henry's ardent soul quickly caught flame; but the peril of sending an expedition to such a wild and distant country was so great, and virginia's resources were so exhausted, that he could do little beyond lending clark the weight of his name and influence. the matter could not be laid before the assembly, nor made public in any way; for the hazard would be increased tenfold if the strictest secrecy were not preserved. finally henry authorized clark to raise seven companies, each of fifty men, who were to act as militia and to be paid as such. [footnote: henry's private letter of instructions, january , .] he also advanced him the sum of twelve hundred pounds (presumably in depreciated paper), and gave him an order on the authorities at pittsburg for boats, supplies, and ammunition; while three of the most prominent virginia gentlemen [footnote: thomas jefferson, george mason, and george wythe.] agreed in writing to do their best to induce the virginia legislature to grant to each of the adventurers three hundred acres of the conquered land, if they were successful. he was likewise given the commission of colonel, with instructions to raise his men solely from the frontier counties west of the blue ridge, [footnote: butler, p. ; but henry's public instructions authorized clark to raise his men in any county.] so as not to weaken the people of the seacoast region in their struggle against the british. clark alone organizes the expedition. thus the whole burden of making ready the expedition was laid on clark's shoulders. the hampered virginian authorities were able to give him little beyond their good-will. he is rightfully entitled to the whole glory; the plan and the execution were both his. it was an individual rather than a state or national enterprise. governor henry's open letter of instructions merely ordered clark to go to the relief of kentucky. he carried with him also the secret letter which bade him attack the illinois regions; for he had decided to assail this first, because, if defeated, he would then be able to take refuge in the spanish dominions beyond the mississippi. he met with the utmost difficulty in raising men. some were to be sent to him from the holston overland, to meet him in kentucky; but a combination of accidents resulted in his getting only a dozen or so from this source. [footnote: four companies were to be raised on the holston; but only one actually went to kentucky; and most of its members deserted when they found out about the true nature of the expedition.] around pittsburg the jealousy between the virginians and pennsylvanians hampered him greatly. moreover, many people were strongly opposed to sending any men to kentucky at all, deeming the drain on their strength more serious than the value of the new land warranted; for they were too short-sighted rightly to estimate what the frontiersmen had really done. when he had finally raised his troops he was bothered by requests from the different forts to aid detachments of the local militia in expeditions against bands of marauding indians. he starts down the ohio. but clark never for a moment wavered nor lost sight of his main object. he worked steadily on, heedless of difficulty and disappointment, and late in the spring at last got together four small companies of frontiersmen from the clearings and the scattered hunters' camps. in may, , he left the redstone settlements, taking not only his troops--one hundred and fifty in all [footnote: clark's letter to george mason, nov. , . given in "clark's campaign in the illinois" (cincinnati, ), for the first time; one of robert clarke's excellent ohio valley historical series.]--but also a considerable number of private adventurers and settlers with their families. he touched at pittsburg and wheeling to get his stores. then the flotilla of clumsy flatboats, manned by tall riflemen, rowed and drifted cautiously down the ohio between the melancholy and unbroken reaches of indian-haunted forest. the presence of the families shows that even this expedition had the usual peculiar western character of being undertaken half for conquest, half for settlement. he landed at the mouth of the kentucky, but rightly concluded that as a starting-point against the british posts it would be better to choose a place farther west, so he drifted on down the stream, and on the th of may [footnote: this is the date given in the deposition, in the case of floyd's heirs, in ; see mss. in col. durrett's library at louisville. clark's dates, given from memory, are often a day or two out. his "memoir" is of course less accurate than the letter to mason.] reached the falls of the ohio, where the river broke into great rapids or riffles of swift water. this spot he chose, both because from it he could threaten and hold in check the different indian tribes, and because he deemed it wise to have some fort to protect in the future the craft that might engage in the river trade, when they stopped to prepare for the passage of the rapids. most of the families that had come with him had gone off to the interior of kentucky, but several were left, and these settled on an island near the falls, where they raised a crop of corn; and in the autumn they moved to the mainland. on the site thus chosen by the clear-eyed frontier leader there afterwards grew up a great city, named in honor of the french king, who was then our ally. clark may fairly be called its founder. [footnote: it was named louisville in , but was long known only as the falls. many other men had previously recognized the advantages of the place; hunters and surveyors had gone there, but clark led thither the first permanent settlers. conolly had laid out at the falls a grant of two thousand acres, of which he afterwards surrendered half. his grant, covering much of the present site of the city, was on july , , declared to be forfeited by a jury consisting of daniel boon and eleven other good men and true, empanelled by the sheriff of the county. see durrett mss. in "papers relating to louisville, ky."] clark at the falls. here clark received news of the alliance with france, which he hoped would render easier his task of winning over the habitants of the illinois. he was also joined by a few daring kentuckians, including kenton, and by the only holston company that had yet arrived. he now disclosed to his men the real object of his expedition. the kentuckians, and those who had come down the river with him, hailed the adventure with eager enthusiasm, pledged him their hearty support, and followed him with staunch and unflinching loyalty. but the holston recruits, who had not come under the spell of his personal influence, murmured against him. they had not reckoned on an expedition so long and so dangerous, and in the night most of them left the camp and fled into the woods. the kentuckians, who had horses, pursued the deserters, with orders to kill any who resisted; but all save six or eight escaped. yet they suffered greatly for their crime, and endured every degree of hardship and fatigue, for the kentuckians spurned them from the gates of the wooden forts, and would not for a long time suffer them to enter, hounding them back to the homes they had dishonored. they came from among a bold and adventurous people, and their action was due rather to wayward and sullen disregard of authority than to cowardice. when the pursuing horsemen came back a day of mirth and rejoicing was spent between the troops who were to stay behind to guard kentucky and those who were to go onward to conquer illinois. on the th of june clark's boats put out from shore, and shot the falls at the very moment that there was a great eclipse of the sun, at which the frontiersmen wondered greatly, but for the most part held it to be a good omen. clark had weeded out all those whom he deemed unable to stand fatigue and hardship; his four little companies were of picked men, each with a good captain. [footnote: the names of the four captains were john montgomery, joseph bowman, leonard helm, and william harrod. each company nominally consisted of fifty men, but none of them was of full strength.] his equipment was as light as that of an indian war party, for he knew better than to take a pound of baggage that could possibly be spared. he meets a party of hunters. he intended to land some three leagues below the entrance of the tennessee river, [footnote: at the old fort massac, then deserted. the name is taken from that of an old french commander; it is not a corruption of fort massacre, as has been asserted.] thence to march on foot against the illinois towns; for he feared discovery if he should attempt to ascend the mississippi, the usual highway by which the fur traders went up to the quaint french hamlets that lay between the kaskaskia and the illinois rivers. accordingly he double-manned his oars and rowed night and day until he reached a small island off the mouth of the tennessee, where he halted to make his final preparations, and was there joined by a little party of american hunters, [footnote in his "memoir" he says "from the states"; in his letter to mason he calls them "englishmen," probably to show that they were not french, as they had just come from kaskaskia. he almost always spoke of the english proper as british.] who had recently been in the french settlements. the meeting was most fortunate. the hunters entered eagerly into clark's plans, joining him for the campaign, and they gave him some very valuable information. they told him that the royal commandant was a frenchman, rocheblave, whose head-quarters were at the town of kaskaskia; that the fort was in good repair, the militia were well drilled and in constant readiness to repel attack, while spies were continually watching the mississippi, and the indians and the coureurs des bois were warned to be on the look-out for any american force, if the party were discovered in time the hunters believed that the french would undoubtedly gather together instantly to repel them, having been taught to hate and dread the backwoodsmen as more brutal and terrible than any indians; and in such an event the strength of the works and the superiority of the french in numbers would render the attack very hazardous. but they thought that a surprise would enable clark to do as he wished, and they undertook to guide him by the quickest and shortest route to the towns. the march to kaskaskia. clark was rather pleased than otherwise to learn of the horror with which the french regarded the backwoodsmen. he thought it would render them more apt to be panic-struck when surprised, and also more likely to feel a strong revulsion of gratitude when they found that the americans meant them well and not ill. taking their new allies for guides, the little body of less than two hundred men started north across the wilderness, scouts being scattered out well ahead of them, both to kill game for their subsistence and to see that their march was not discovered by any straggling frenchman or indian. the first fifty miles led through tangled and pathless forest, the toil of travelling being very great. after that the work was less difficult as they got out among the prairies, but on these great level meadows they had to take extra precautions to avoid being seen. once the chief guide got bewildered and lost himself; he could no longer tell the route, nor whither it was best to march. [footnote: even experienced woodsmen or plainsmen sometimes thus become lost or "turned round," if in a country of few landmarks, where they have rarely been before.] the whole party was at once cast into the utmost confusion; but clark soon made the guide understand that he was himself in greater jeopardy than any one else, and would forfeit his life if he did not guide them straight. not knowing the man, clark thought he might be treacherous; and, as he wrote an old friend, he was never in his life in such a rage as when he found his troops wandering at random in a country where, at any moment, they might blunder on several times their number of hostile indians; while, if they were discovered by any one at all, the whole expedition was sure to miscarry. however, the guide proved to be faithful; after a couple of hours he found his bearings once more, and guided the party straight to their destination. the surprise of kaskaskia. on the evening of the fourth of july [footnote: so says clark; and the haldimand mss. contains a letter of rocheblave of july th. for these campaigns of i follow where possible clark's letter to mason as being nearly contemporary; his "memoir," as given by dillon, comes next in authority; while butler, who was very accurate and painstaking, also got hold of original information from men who had taken part in the expedition, or from their descendants, besides making full use of the "memoir."] they reached the river kaskaskia, within three miles of the town, which lay on the farther bank. they kept in the woods until after it grew dusk, and then marched silently to a little farm on the hither side of the river, a mile from the town. the family were taken prisoners, and from them clark learned that some days before the townspeople had been alarmed at the rumor of a possible attack; but that their suspicions had been lulled, and they were then off their guard. there were a great many men in the town, but almost all french, the indians having for the most part left. the account proved correct. rocheblave, the creole commandant, was sincerely attached to the british interest. he had been much alarmed early in the year by the reports brought to him by indians that the americans were in kentucky and elsewhere beyond the alleghanies. he had written repeatedly to detroit, asking that regulars could be sent him, and that he might himself be replaced by a commandant of english birth; for though the french were well-disposed towards the crown, they had been frightened by the reports of the ferocity of the backwoodsmen, and the indians were fickle. in his letters he mentioned that the french were much more loyal than the men of english parentage. hamilton found it impossible to send him reinforcements however, and he was forced to do the best he could without them; but he succeeded well in his endeavors to organize troops, as he found the creole militia very willing to serve, and the indians extremely anxious to attack the americans. [footnote: haldimand mss. carleton to hamilton, may , ; rocheblave to carleton, february , ; rocheblave to hamilton, april , ; rocheblave to carleton, july , .] he had under his orders two or three times as many men as clark, and he would certainly have made a good fight if he had not been surprised. it was only clark's audacity and the noiseless speed of his movements that gave him a chance of success with the odds so heavily against him. getting boats the american leader ferried his men across the stream under cover of the darkness and in profound silence; the work occupying about two hours. he then approached kaskaskia under cover of the night, dividing his force into two divisions, one being spread out to surround the town so that none might escape, while he himself led the other up to the walls of the fort. inside the fort the lights were lit, and through the windows came the sounds of violins. the officers of the post had given a ball, and the mirth-loving creoles, young men and girls, were dancing and revelling within, while the sentinels had left their posts. one of his captives showed clark a postern-gate by the river-side, and through this he entered the fort, having placed his men round about at the entrance. advancing to the great hall where the revel was held, he leaned silently with folded arms against the door-post, looking at the dancers. an indian, lying on the floor of the entry, gazed intently on the stranger's face as the light from the torches within flickered across it, and suddenly sprang to his feet uttering the unearthly war-whoop. instantly the dancing ceased; the women screamed, while the men ran towards the door. but clark, standing unmoved and with unchanged face, grimly bade them continue their dancing, but to remember that they now danced under virginia and not great britain. [footnote: memoir of major e. denny, by wm. h. denny, p. . in "record of the court of upland and military journal of major e. denny," philadelphia, (historical society of penn.). the story was told to major denny by clark himself, some time in ' or ' ; in process of repetition it evidently became twisted, and, as related by denny, there are some very manifest inaccuracies, but there seems no reason to reject it entirely.] at the same time his men burst into the fort, and seized the french officers, including the commandant, rocheblave. [footnote: it is worth noting that these illinois french, and most of the indians with whom the french fur traders came in contact, called the americans "bostonnais." (in fact the fur traders have taught this name to the northern tribes right across to the pacific. while hunting in the selkirk mountains last fall, the kootenai indian who was with me always described me as a "boston man.") similarly the indians round the upper ohio and thence southward often called the backwoodsmen "virginians." in each case the french and indians adopted the name of their leading and most inveterate enemies as the title by which to call all of them.] immediately clark had every street secured, and sent runners through the town ordering the people to keep close to their houses on pain of death; and by daylight he had them all disarmed. the backwoodsmen patrolled the town in little squads; while the french in silent terror cowered within their low-roofed houses. clark was quite willing that they should fear the worst; and their panic was very great. the unlooked-for and mysterious approach and sudden onslaught of the backwoodsmen, their wild and uncouth appearance, and the ominous silence of their commander, all combined to fill the french with fearful forebodings for their future fate. [footnote: in his "memoir" clark dwells at length on the artifices by which he heightened the terror of the french; and butler enlarges still further upon them. i follow the letter to mason, which is much safer authority, the writer having then no thought of trying to increase the dramatic effect of the situation--which in butler, and indeed in the "memoir" also, is strained till it comes dangerously near bathos.] clark's diplomacy. next morning a deputation of the chief men waited upon clark; and thinking themselves in the hands of mere brutal barbarians, all they dared to do was to beg for their lives, which they did, says clark, "with the greatest servancy [saying] they were willing to be slaves to save their families," though the bolder spirits could not refrain from cursing their fortune that they had not been warned in time to defend themselves. now came clark's chance for his winning stroke. he knew it was hopeless to expect his little band permanently to hold down a much more numerous hostile population, that was closely allied to many surrounding tribes of warlike indians; he wished above all things to convert the inhabitants into ardent adherents of the american government. so he explained at length that, though the americans came as conquerors, who by the laws of war could treat the defeated as they wished, yet it was ever their principle to free, not to enslave, the people with whom they came in contact. if the french chose to become loyal citizens, and to take the oath of fidelity to the republic, they should be welcomed to all the privileges of americans; those who did not so choose should be allowed to depart from the land in peace with their families. the creoles espouse the american cause. the mercurial creoles who listened to his speech passed rapidly from the depth of despair to the height of joy. instead of bewailing their fate they now could not congratulate themselves enough on their good-fortune. the crowning touch to their happiness was given by clark when he told the priest, pierre gibault, in answer to a question as to whether the catholic church could be opened, that an american commander had nothing to do with any church save to defend it from insult, and that by the laws of the republic his religion had as great privileges as any other. with that they all returned in noisy joy to their families, while the priest, a man of ability and influence, became thenceforth a devoted and effective champion of the american cause. the only person whom clark treated harshly was m. rocheblave, the commandant, who, when asked to dinner, responded in very insulting terms. thereupon clark promptly sent him as a prisoner to virginia (where he broke his parole and escaped), and sold his slaves for five hundred pounds, which was distributed among the troops as prize-money. a small detachment of the americans, accompanied by a volunteer company of french militia, at once marched rapidly on cahokia. the account of what had happened in kaskaskia, the news of the alliance between france and america, and the enthusiastic advocacy of clark's new friends, soon converted cahokia; and all of its inhabitants, like those of kaskaskia, took the oath of allegiance to america. almost at the same time the priest gibault volunteered to go, with a few of his compatriots, to vincennes, and there endeavor to get the people to join the americans, as being their natural friends and allies. he started on his mission at once, and on the first of august returned to clark with the news that he had been completely successful, that the entire population, after having gathered in the church to hear him, had taken the oath of allegiance, and that the american flag floated over their fort. [footnote: judge john law's "address on the colonial history of vincennes," p .] no garrison could be spared to go to vincennes; so one of the captains [footnote: leonard helm. vol. ii.] was sent thither alone to take command. the priest gibault had given convincing proof of his loyalty. he remarked to clark rather dryly that he had, properly speaking, nothing to do with the temporal affairs of his flock, but that now and then he was able to give them such hints in a spiritual way as would tend to increase their devotion to their new friends. clark's difficulties. clark now found himself in a position of the utmost difficulty. with a handful of unruly backwoodsmen, imperfectly disciplined and kept under control only by his own personal influence, he had to protect and govern a region as large as any european kingdom. moreover, he had to keep content and loyal a population of alien race, creed, and language, while he held his own against the british and against numerous tribes of indians, deeply imbittered against all americans and as blood-thirsty and treacherous as they were warlike. it may be doubted if there was another man in the west who possessed the daring and resolution, the tact, energy, and executive ability necessary for the solution of so knotty a series of problems. he was hundreds of miles from the nearest post containing any american troops; he was still farther from the seat of government. he had no hope whatever of getting reinforcements or even advice and instruction for many months, probably not for a year; and he was thrown entirely on his own resources and obliged to act in every respect purely on his own responsibility. governor patrick henry, although leaving every thing in the last resort to clark's discretion, had evidently been very doubtful whether a permanent occupation of the territory was feasible, [footnote: in his secret letter of instructions he orders clark to be especially careful to secure the artillery and military stores at kaskia, laying such stress upon this as to show that he regarded the place itself as of comparatively little value. in fact, all henry's order contemplated was an attack on "the british post at kaskasky." however, he adds, that if the french are willing to become american citizens, they shall be fully protected against their foes. the letter earnestly commands clark to treat not only the inhabitants, but also all british prisoners, with the utmost humanity.] though both he, and especially jefferson, recognized the important bearing that its acquisition would have upon the settlement of the northwestern boundary, when the time came to treat for peace. probably clark himself had not at first appreciated all the possibilities that lay within his conquest, but he was fully alive to them now and saw that, provided he could hold on to it, he had added a vast and fertile territory to the domain of the union. to the task of keeping it he now bent all his energies. clark prepares for defence. the time of service of his troops had expired, and they were anxious to go home. by presents and promises he managed to enlist one hundred of them for eight months longer. then, to color his staying with so few men, he made a feint of returning to the falls, alleging as a reason his entire confidence in the loyalty of his french friends and his trust in their capacity to defend themselves. he hoped that this would bring out a remonstrance from the inhabitants, who, by becoming american citizens, had definitely committed themselves against the british. the result was such as he expected. on the rumor of his departure, the inhabitants in great alarm urged him to stay, saying that otherwise the british would surely retake the post. he made a show of reluctantly yielding to their request, and consented to stay with two companies; and then finding that many of the more adventurous young creoles were anxious to take service, he enlisted enough of them to fill up all four companies to their original strength. his whole leisure was spent in drilling the men, americans and french alike, and in a short time he turned them into as orderly and well disciplined a body as could be found in any garrison of regulars. he also established very friendly relations with the spanish captains of the scattered creole villages across the mississippi, for the spaniards were very hostile to the british, and had not yet begun to realize that they had even more to dread from the americans. clark has recorded his frank surprise at finding the spanish commandant, who lived at st. louis, a very pleasant and easy companion, instead of haughty and reserved, as he had supposed all spaniards were. dealings with the indians. the most difficult, and among the most important, of his tasks, was dealing with the swarm of fickle and treacherous savage tribes that surrounded him. they had hitherto been hostile to the americans; but being great friends of the spaniards and french they were much confused by the change in the sentiments of the latter, and by the sudden turn affairs had taken. some volunteers--americans, french, and friendly indians--were sent to the aid of the american captain at vincennes, and the latter, by threats and promises, and a mixture of diplomatic speech-making with a show of force, contrived, for the time being, to pacify the immediately neighboring tribes. clark took upon himself the greater task of dealing with a huge horde of savages, representing every tribe between the great lakes and the mississippi, who had come to the illinois, some from a distance of five hundred miles, to learn accurately all that had happened, and to hear for themselves what the long knives had to say. they gathered to meet him at cahokia, chiefs and warriors of every grade; among them were ottawas and chippewas, pottawatomies, sacs, and foxes, and others belonging to tribes whose very names have perished. the straggling streets of the dismayed little town were thronged with many hundreds of dark-browed, sullen-looking savages, grotesque in look and terrible in possibility. they strutted to and fro in their dirty finery, or lounged round the houses, inquisitive, importunate, and insolent, hardly concealing a lust for bloodshed and plunder that the slightest mishap was certain to render ungovernable. fortunately clark knew exactly how to treat them. he thoroughly understood their natures, and was always on his guard, while seemingly perfectly confident; and he combined conciliation with firmness and decision, and above all with prompt rapidity of action. for the first two or three days no conclusion was reached, though there was plenty of speech-making. but on the night of the third a party of turbulent warriors [footnote: "a party of puans and others."--clark's letter to mason.] endeavored to force their way into the house where he was lodging, and to carry him off. clark, who, as he records, had been "under some apprehensions among such a number of devils," was anticipating treachery. his guards were at hand, and promptly seized the savages; while the townspeople took the alarm and were under arms in a couple of minutes, thus convincing the indians that their friendship for the americans was not feigned. clark and the savages. clark instantly ordered the french militia to put the captives, both chiefs and warriors, in irons. he had treated the indians well, and had not angered them by the harshness and brutality that so often made them side against the english or americans and in favor of the french; but he knew that any signs of timidity would be fatal. his boldness and decision were crowned with complete success. the crestfallen prisoners humbly protested that they were only trying to find out if the french were really friendly to clark, and begged that they might be released. he answered with haughty indifference, and refused to release them, even when the chiefs of the other tribes came up to intercede. indians and whites alike were in the utmost confusion, every man distrusting what the moment might bring forth. clark continued seemingly wholly unmoved, and did not even shift his lodgings to the fort, remaining in a house in the town, but he took good care to secretly fill a large room adjoining his own with armed men, while the guards were kept ready for instant action. to make his show of indifference complete, he "assembled a number of gentlemen and ladies and danced nearly the whole night." the perplexed savages, on the other hand, spent the hours of darkness in a series of councils among themselves. next morning he summoned all the tribes to a grand council, releasing the captive chiefs, that he might speak to them in the presence of their friends and allies. the preliminary ceremonies were carefully executed in accordance with the rigid indian etiquette. then clark stood up in the midst of the rings of squatted warriors, while his riflemen clustered behind him in their tasselled hunting-shirts, travel-torn and weather-beaten. he produced the bloody war-belt of wampum, and handed it to the chiefs whom he had taken captive, telling the assembled tribes that he scorned alike their treachery and their hostility; that he would be thoroughly justified in putting them to death, but that instead he would have them escorted safely from the town, and after three days would begin war upon them. he warned them that if they did not wish their own women and children massacred, they must stop killing those of the americans. pointing to the war-belt, he challenged them, on behalf of his people, to see which would make it the most bloody; and he finished by telling them that while they stayed in his camp they should be given food and strong drink, [footnote: "provisions and rum." letter to mason. this is much the best authority for these proceedings. the "memoir," written by an old man who had squandered his energies and sunk into deserved obscurity, is tedious and magniloquent, and sometimes inaccurate. moreover, dillon has not always chosen the extracts judiciously. clark's decidedly prolix speeches to the indians are given with intolerable repetition. they were well suited to the savages, drawing the causes of the quarrel between the british and americans in phrases that could be understood by the indian mind; but their inflated hyperbole is not now interesting. they describe the americans as lighting a great council-fire, sharpening tomahawks, striking the war-post, declining to give "two bucks for a blanket," as the british wanted them to, etc.; with incessant allusions to the great spirit being angry, the roads being made smooth, refusing to listen to the bad birds who flew through the woods, and the like. occasional passages are fine; but it all belongs to the study of indians and indian oratory, rather than to the history of the americans.] and that now he had ended his talk to them, and he wished them to speedily depart. not only the prisoners, but all the other chiefs in turn forthwith rose, and in language of dignified submission protested their regret at having been led astray by the british, and their determination thenceforth to be friendly with the americans. in response clark again told them that he came not as a counsellor but as a warrior, not begging for a truce but carrying in his right hand peace and in his left hand war; save only that to a few of their worst men he intended to grant no terms whatever. to those who were friendly he, too, would be a friend, but if they chose war, he would call from the thirteen council fires [footnote: in his speeches, as in those of his successors in treaty-making, the united states were sometimes spoken of as the thirteen fires, and sometimes as the great fire.] warriors so numerous that they would darken the land, and from that time on the red people would hear no sound but that of the birds that lived on blood. he went on to tell them, that there had been a mist before their eyes, but that he would clear away the cloud and would show them the right of the quarrel between the long knives and the king who dwelt across the great sea; and then he told them about the revolt in terms which would almost have applied to a rising of hurons or wyandots against the iroquois. at the end of his speech he offered them the two belts of peace and war. the indians make peace. they eagerly took the peace belt, but he declined to smoke the calumet, and told them he would not enter into the solemn ceremonies of the peace treaty with them until the following day. he likewise declined to release all his prisoners, and insisted that two of them should be put to death. they even yielded to this, and surrendered to him two young men, who advanced and sat down before him on the floor, covering their heads with their blankets, to receive the tomahawk. [footnote: i have followed the contemporary letter to mason rather than the more elaborate and slightly different account of the "memoir." the account written by clark in his old age, like shelby's similar autobiography, is, in many respects, not very trustworthy. it cannot be accepted for a moment where it conflicts with any contemporary accounts.] then he granted them full peace and forgave the young men their doom, and the next day, after the peace council, there was a feast, and the friendship of the indians was won. clark ever after had great influence over them; they admired his personal prowess, his oratory, his address as a treaty-maker, and the skill with which he led his troops. long afterwards, when the united states authorities were endeavoring to make treaties with the red men, it was noticed that the latter would never speak to any other white general or commissioner while clark was present. after this treaty there was peace in the illinois country; the indians remained for some time friendly, and the french were kept well satisfied. chapter iii. clark's campaign against vincennes, . hamilton, at detroit, had been so encouraged by the successes of his war parties that, in , he began to plan an attack on fort pitt [footnote: haldimand mss. hamilton to carleton, january, .]; but his plans were forestalled by clark's movements, and he, of course, abandoned them when the astounding news reached him that the rebels had themselves invaded the illinois country, captured the british commandant, rocheblave, and administered to the inhabitants the oath of allegiance to congress. [footnote: _do_. hamilton's letter of august th.] shortly afterwards he learned that vincennes likewise was in the hands of the americans. hamilton prepares to reconquer the country. he was a man of great energy, and he immediately began to prepare an expedition for the reconquest of the country. french emissaries who were loyal to the british crown were sent to the wabash to stir up the indians against the americans; and though the piankeshaws remained friendly to the latter, the kickapoos and weas, who were more powerful, announced their readiness to espouse the british cause if they received support, while the neighboring miamis were already on the war-path. the commandants at the small posts of mackinaw and st. josephs were also notified to incite the lake indians to harass the illinois country. [footnote: hamilton to haldimand, september , .] he led the main body in person, and throughout september every soul in detroit was busy from morning till night in mending boats, baking biscuit, packing provisions in kegs and bags, preparing artillery stores, and in every way making ready for the expedition. fifteen large bateaux and pirogues were procured, each capable of carrying from , to , pounds; these were to carry the ammunition, food, clothing, tents, and especially the presents for the indians. cattle and wheels were sent ahead to the most important portages on the route that would be traversed; a six-pounder gun was also forwarded. hamilton had been deeply exasperated by what he regarded as the treachery of most of the illinois and wabash creoles in joining the americans; but he was in high spirits and very confident of success. he wrote to his superior officer that the british were sure to succeed if they acted promptly, for the indians were favorable to them, knowing they alone could give them supplies; and he added "the spaniards are feeble and hated by the french, the french are fickle and have no man of capacity to advise or lead them, and the rebels are enterprising and brave, but want resources." the bulk of the detroit french, including all their leaders, remained staunch supporters of the crown, and the militia eagerly volunteered to go on the expedition. feasts were held with the ottawas, chippewas, and pottawatomies, at which oxen were roasted whole, while hamilton and the chiefs of the french rangers sang the war-song in solemn council, and received pledges of armed assistance and support from the savages. [footnote: _do_. hamilton to haldimand, september , october , .] he starts against vincennes. on october th the expedition left detroit; before starting the venerable jesuit missionary gave the catholic french who went along his solemn blessing and approval, conditionally upon their strictly keeping the oath they had taken to be loyal and obedient servants of the crown. [footnote: haldimand mss., series b., vol. , p. . hamilton's letter of july , , containing a "brief account" of the whole expedition, taken from what he calls a "diary of transactions" that he had preserved.] it is worthy of note that, while the priest at kaskaskia proved so potent an ally of the americans, the priest at detroit was one of the staunchest supporters of the british. hamilton started with thirty-six british regulars, under two lieutenants, forty-five detroit volunteers (chiefly french), who had been carefully drilled for over a year, under captain lamothe; seventy-nine detroit militia, under a major and two captains; and seventeen members of the indian department (including three captains and four lieutenants) who acted with the indians. there were thus in all one hundred and seventy-seven whites. [footnote: _do_., series b., vol. , p. , return of forces on dec. th.] sixty indians started with the troops from detroit, but so many bands joined him on the route that when he reached vincennes his entire force amounted to five hundred men. [footnote: _do_. hamilton's letter of july , , the "brief account." clark's estimate was very close to the truth; he gave hamilton six hundred men, four hundred of them indians. see state department mss., no. , vol. i., p. . papers continental congress. letter of g. r. clark to gov. henry, april , . this letter was written seven months before that to mason, and many years before the "memoir," so i have, where possible, followed it as being better authority than either.] difficulties of the route. having embarked, the troops and indians paddled down stream to lake erie, reaching it in a snowstorm, and when a lull came they struck boldly across the lake, making what bateau men still call a "traverse" of thirty-six miles to the mouth of the maumee. darkness overtook them while still on the lake, and the head boats hung out lights for the guidance of those astern; but about midnight a gale came up, and the whole flotilla was nearly swamped, being beached with great difficulty on an oozy flat close to the mouth of the maumee. the waters of the maumee were low, and the boats were poled slowly up against the current, reaching the portage point, where there was a large indian village, on the th of the month. here a nine miles' carry was made to one of the sources of the wabash, called by the voyageurs "la petite rivière." this stream was so low that the boats could not have gone down it had it not been for a beaver dam four miles below the landing-place, which backed up the current. an opening was made in the dam to let the boats pass. the traders and indians thoroughly appreciated the help given them at this difficult part of the course by the engineering skill of the beavers--for hamilton was following the regular route of the hunting, trading, and war parties,--and none of the beavers of this particular dam were ever molested, being left to keep their dam in order, and repair it, which they always speedily did whenever it was damaged. [footnote: haldimand's mss. hamilton's "brief account."] it proved as difficult to go down the wabash as to get up the maumee. the water was shallow, and once or twice in great swamps dykes had to be built that the boats might be floated across. frost set in heavily, and the ice cut the men as they worked in the water to haul the boats over shoals or rocks. the bateaux often needed to be beached and caulked, while both whites and indians had to help carry the loads round the shoal places. at every indian village it was necessary to stop, hold a conference, and give presents. at last the wea village--or ouiatanon, as hamilton called it--was reached. here the wabash chiefs, who had made peace with the americans, promptly came in and tendered their allegiance to the british, and a reconnoitering party seized a lieutenant and three men of the vincennes militia, who were themselves on a scouting expedition, but who nevertheless were surprised and captured without difficulty. [footnote: _do._ the french officer had in his pocket one british and one american commission; hamilton debated in his mind for some time the advisability of hanging him.] they had been sent out by captain leonard helm, then acting as commandant at vincennes. he had but a couple of americans with him, and was forced to trust to the creole militia, who had all embodied themselves with great eagerness, having taken the oath of allegiance to congress. having heard rumors of the british advance, he had dispatched a little party to keep watch, and in consequence of their capture he was taken by surprise. hamilton captures vincennes. from ouiatanon hamilton dispatched indian parties to surround vincennes and intercept any messages sent either to the falls or to the illinois; they were completely successful, capturing a messenger who carried a hurried note written by helm to clark to announce what had happened. an advance guard, under major hay, was sent forward to take possession, but helm showed so good a front that nothing was attempted until the next day, the th of december, just seventy-one days after the expedition had left detroit, when hamilton came up at the head of his whole force and entered vincennes. poor helm was promptly deserted by all the creole militia. the latter had been loud in their boasts until the enemy came in view, but as soon as they caught sight of the red-coats they began to slip away and run up to the british to surrender their arms. [footnote: _do._ intercepted letter of captain helm, series b., vol. , p. .] he was finally left with only one or two men, americans. nevertheless he refused the first summons to surrender; but hamilton, who knew that helm's troops had deserted him, marched up to the fort at the head of his soldiers, and the american was obliged to surrender, with no terms granted save that he and his associates should be treated with humanity. [footnote: letter of hamilton, dec. - , . the story of helm's marching out with the honors of war is apparently a mere invention. even mann butler, usually so careful, permits himself to be led off into all sorts of errors when describing the incidents of the illinois and vincennes expeditions, and the writers who have followed him have generally been less accurate. the story of helm drinking toddy by the fire-place when clark retook the fort, and of the latter ordering riflemen to fire at the chimney, so as to knock the mortar into the toddy, may safely be set down as pure--and very weak--fiction. when clark wrote his memoirs, in his old age, he took delight in writing down among his exploits all sorts of childish stratagems; the marvel is that any sane historian should not have seen that these were on their face as untrue as they were ridiculous.] the instant the fort was surrendered the indians broke in and plundered it; but they committed no act of cruelty, and only plundered a single private house. measures to secure his conquest. the french inhabitants had shown pretty clearly that they did not take a keen interest in the struggle, on either side. they were now summoned to the church and offered the chance--which they for the most part eagerly embraced--of purging themselves of their past misconduct by taking a most humiliating oath of repentance, acknowledging that they had sinned against god and man by siding with the rebels, and promising to be loyal in the future. two hundred and fifty of the militia, being given back their arms, appeared with their officers, and took service again under the british king, swearing a solemn oath of allegiance. they certainly showed throughout the most light-hearted indifference to chronic perjury and treachery; nor did they in other respects appear to very good advantage. clark was not in the least surprised at the news of their conduct; for he had all along realized that the attachment of the french would prove but a slender reed on which to lean in the moment of trial. hamilton had no fear of the inhabitants themselves, for the fort completely commanded the town. to keep them in good order he confiscated all their spirituous liquors, and in a rather amusing burst of puritan feeling destroyed two billiard tables, which he announced were "sources of immorality and dissipation in such a settlement." [footnote: _do._] he had no idea that he was in danger of attack from without, for his spies brought him word that clark had only a hundred and ten men in the illinois county [footnote: _do._ "fourscore at kaskaskia and thirty at cahokia."]; and the route between was in winter one of extraordinary difficulty. he goes into winter quarters. he had five hundred men and clark but little over one hundred. he was not only far nearer his base of supplies and reinforcements at detroit, than clark was to his at fort pitt, but he was also actually across clark's line of communications. had he pushed forward at once to attack the americans, and had he been able to overcome the difficulties of the march, he would almost certainly have conquered. but he was daunted by the immense risk and danger of the movement. the way was long and the country flooded, and he feared the journey might occupy so much time that his stock of provisions would be exhausted before he got half-way. in such a case the party might starve to death or perish from exposure. besides he did not know what he should do for carriages; and he dreaded the rigor of the winter weather. [footnote: haldimand mss.; in his various letters hamilton sets forth the difficulties at length.] there were undoubtedly appalling difficulties in the way of a mid-winter march and attack; and the fact that clark attempted and performed the feat which hamilton dared not try, marks just the difference between a man of genius and a good, brave, ordinary commander. he plans a great campaign in the spring. having decided to suspend active operations during the cold weather, he allowed the indians to scatter back to their villages for the winter, and sent most of the detroit militia home, retaining in garrison only thirty-four british regulars, forty french volunteers, and a dozen white leaders of the indians [footnote: _do._ b. vol. , p. . return of vincennes garrison for jan. , .]; in all eighty or ninety whites, and a probably larger number of red auxiliaries. the latter were continually kept out on scouting expeditions; miamis and shawnees were sent down to watch the ohio, and take scalps in the settlements, while bands of kickapoos, the most warlike of the wabash indians, and of ottawas, often accompanied by french partisans, went towards the illinois country. [footnote: hamilton's "brief account," and his letter of december th.] hamilton intended to undertake a formidable campaign in the spring. he had sent messages to stuart, the british indian agent in the south, directing him to give war-belts to the chickasaws, cherokees, and creeks, that a combined attack on the frontier might take place as soon as the weather opened. he himself was to be joined by reinforcements from detroit, while the indians were to gather round him as soon as the winter broke. he would then have had probably over a thousand men, and light cannon with which to batter down the stockades. he rightly judged that with this force he could not only reconquer the illinois, but also sweep kentucky, where the outnumbered riflemen could not have met him in the field, nor the wooden forts have withstood his artillery. undoubtedly he would have carried out his plan, and have destroyed all the settlements west of the alleghanies, had he been allowed to wait until the mild weather brought him his hosts of indian allies and his reinforcements of regulars and militia from detroit. panic among the illinois french. but in clark he had an antagonist whose far-sighted daring and indomitable energy raised him head and shoulders above every other frontier leader. this backwoods colonel was perhaps the one man able in such a crisis to keep the land his people had gained. when the news of the loss of vincennes reached the illinois towns, and especially when there followed a rumor that hamilton himself was on his march thither to attack them, [footnote: the rumor came when clark was attending a dance given by the people of the little village of la prairie du rocher. the creoles were passionately fond of dancing and the kentuckians entered into the amusement with the utmost zest.] the panic became tremendous among the french. they frankly announced that though they much preferred the americans, yet it would be folly to oppose armed resistance to the british; and one or two of their number were found to be in communication with hamilton and the detroit authorities. clark promptly made ready for resistance, tearing down the buildings near the fort at kaskaskia--his head-quarters--and sending out scouts and runners; but he knew that it was hopeless to try to withstand such a force as hamilton could gather. he narrowly escaped being taken prisoner by a party of ottawas and canadians, who had come from vincennes early in january, when the weather was severe and the travelling fairly good. [footnote: haldimand mss. hamilton's letter january , .] he was at the time on his way to cahokia, to arrange for the defence; several of the wealthier frenchmen were with him in "chairs"--presumably creaking wooden carts,--and one of them "swampt," or mired down, only a hundred yards from the ambush. clark and his guards were so on the alert that no attack was made. clark receives news concerning vincennes. in the midst of his doubt and uncertainty he received some news that enabled him immediately to decide on the proper course to follow. he had secured great influence over the bolder, and therefore the leading, spirits among the french. one of these was a certain francis vigo, a trader in st. louis. he was by birth an italian, who had come to new orleans in a spanish regiment, and having procured his discharge, had drifted to the creole villages of the frontier, being fascinated by the profitable adventures of the indian trade. journeying to vincennes, he was thrown into prison by hamilton; on being released, he returned to st. louis. thence he instantly crossed over to kaskaskia, on january , , [footnote: state department mss. letters to washington, , p. .] and told clark that hamilton had at the time only eighty men in garrison, with three pieces of cannon and some swivels mounted, but that as soon as the winter broke, he intended to gather a very large force and take the offensive. [footnote: state department mss. papers of continental congress, no. , vol. i., p. .] clark determines to strike the first blow. clark instantly decided to forestall his foe, and to make the attack himself, heedless of the almost impassable nature of the ground and of the icy severity of the weather. not only had he received no reinforcements from virginia but he had not had so much as "a scrip of a pen" from governor henry since he had left him, nearly twelve months before. [footnote: _do._] so he was forced to trust entirely to his own energy and power. he first equipped a row-galley with two four-pounders and four swivels, and sent her off with a crew of forty men, having named her the willing. [footnote: under the command of clark's cousin, lt. john rogers.] she was to patrol the ohio, and then to station herself in the wabash so as to stop all boats from descending it. she was the first gun-boat ever afloat on the western waters. his march against vincennes. then he hastily drew together his little garrisons of backwoodsmen from the french towns, and prepared for the march overland against vincennes. his bold front and confident bearing, and the prompt decision of his measures, had once more restored confidence among the french, whose spirits rose as readily as they were cast down; and he was especially helped by the creole girls, whose enthusiasm for the expedition roused many of the more daring young men to volunteer under clark's banner. by these means he gathered together a band of one hundred and seventy men, at whose head he marched out of kaskaskia on the th of february. [footnote: letter to henry. the letter to mason says it was the th.] all the inhabitants escorted them out of the village, and the jesuit priest, gibault, gave them absolution at parting. the route by which they had to go was two hundred and forty miles in length. it lay through a beautiful and well watered country, of groves and prairies; but at that season the march was necessarily attended with the utmost degree of hardship and fatigue. the weather had grown mild, so that there was no suffering from cold; but in the thaw the ice on the rivers melted, great freshets followed, and all the lowlands and meadows were flooded. clark's great object was to keep his troops in good spirits. of course he and the other officers shared every hardship and led in every labor. he encouraged the men to hunt game; and to "feast on it like indian war-dancers," [footnote: clark's "memoir."] each company in turn inviting the others to the smoking and plentiful banquets. one day they saw great herds of buffaloes and killed many of them. they had no tents [footnote: state department mss. letters to washington, vol. , p. . "a journal of col. g. r. clark. proceedings from the th jan'y to the th march inst." [by captain bowman]. this journal has been known for a long time. the original is supposed to have been lost; but either this is it or else it is a contemporary ms. copy. in the "campaign in the illinois" (cincinnati, robert clarke and co., ), p. , there is a printed copy of the original. the washington ms. differs from it in one or two particulars. thus, the printed diary in the "campaign," on p. , line , says "fifty volunteers"; the ms. copy says " french volunteers." line in the printed copy says "and such other americans"; in the ms. it says "and several other americans." lines and of the printed copy read as follows in the ms. (but only make doubtful sense): "these with a number of horses designed for the settlement of kantuck &c. jan. th, on which col. clark," etc. lines and of the printed copy read in the ms.: "was let alone till spring that he with his indians would undoubtedly cut us all off." lines and , of the printed copy read in the ms. "jan. st, sent an express to cahokia for volunteers. nothing extraordinary this day."]; but at nightfall they kindled huge camp-fires, and spent the evenings merrily round the piles of blazing logs, in hunter fashion, feasting on bear's ham and buffalo hump, elk saddle, venison haunch, and the breast of the wild turkey, some singing of love and the chase and war, and others dancing after the manner of the french trappers and wood-runners. thus they kept on, marching hard but gleefully and in good spirits until after a week they came to the drowned lauds of the wabash. they first struck the two branches of the little wabash. their channels were a league apart, but the flood was so high that they now made one great river five miles in width, the overflow of water being three feet deep in the shallowest part of the plains between and alongside them. clark instantly started to build a pirogue; then crossing over the first channel he put up a scaffold on the edge of the flooded plain. he ferried his men over, and brought the baggage across and placed it on the scaffold; then he swam the pack-horses over, loaded them as they stood belly-deep in the water beside the scaffold, and marched his men on through the water until they came to the second channel, which was crossed as the first had been. the building of the pirogue and the ferrying took three days in all. they had by this time come so near vincennes that they dared not fire a gun for fear of being discovered; besides, the floods had driven the game all away; so that they soon began to feel hunger, while their progress was very slow, and they suffered much from the fatigue of travelling all day long through deep mud or breast-high water. on the th they reached the embarras river, but could not cross, nor could they find a dry spot on which to camp; at last they found the water falling off a small, almost submerged hillock, and on this they huddled through the night. at daybreak they heard hamilton's morning gun from the fort, that was but three leagues distant; and as they could not find a ford across the embarras, they followed it down and camped by the wabash. there clark set his drenched, hungry, and dispirited followers to building some pirogues; while two or three unsuccessful attempts were made to get men across the river that they might steal boats. he determined to leave his horses at this camp; for it was almost impossible to get them further. [footnote: this is not exactly stated in the "memoir"; but it speaks of the horses as being with the troops on the th; and after they left camp, on the evening of the st, states that he "would have given a good deal ... for one of the horses."] hardship and suffering. on the morning of the th the men had been without food for nearly two days. many of the creole volunteers began to despair, and talked of returning. clark knew that his americans, veterans who had been with him for over a year, had no idea of abandoning the enterprise, nor yet of suffering the last extremities of hunger while they had horses along. he paid no heed to the request of the creoles, nor did he even forbid their going back; he only laughed at them, and told them to go out and try to kill a deer. he knew that without any violence he could yet easily detain the volunteers for a few days longer; and he kept up the spirits of the whole command by his undaunted and confident mien. the canoes were nearly finished; and about noon a small boat with five frenchmen from vincennes was captured. from these clark gleaned the welcome intelligence that the condition of affairs was unchanged at the fort, and that there was no suspicion of any impending danger. in the evening the men were put in still better heart by one of the hunters killing a deer. it rained all the next day. by dawn clark began to ferry the troops over the wabash in the canoes he had built, and they were soon on the eastern bank of the river, the side on which vincennes stood. they now hoped to get to town by nightfall; but there was no dry land for leagues round about, save where a few hillocks rose island-like above the flood. the frenchmen whom they had captured said they could not possibly get along; but clark led the men in person, and they waded with infinite toil for about three miles, the water often up to their chins; and they then camped on a hillock for the night. clark kept the troops cheered up by every possible means, and records that he was much assisted by "a little antic drummer," a young boy who did good service by making the men laugh with his pranks and jokes. [footnote: law, in his "vincennes" (p. ), makes the deeds of the drummer the basis for a traditional story that is somewhat too highly colored. thus he makes clark's men at one time mutiny, and refuse to go forwards. this they never did; the creoles once got dejected and wished to return, but the americans, by clark's own statement, never faltered at all. law's "vincennes" is an excellent little book, but he puts altogether too much confidence in mere tradition. for another instance besides this, see page , where he describes clark as entrapping and killing "upwards of fifty indians," instead of only eight or nine, as was actually the case.] next morning they resumed their march, the strongest wading painfully through the water, while the weak and famished were carried in the canoes, which were so hampered by the bushes that they could hardly go even as fast as the toiling footmen. the evening and morning guns of the fort were heard plainly by the men as they plodded onward, numbed and weary. clark, as usual, led them in person. once they came to a place so deep that there seemed no crossing, for the canoes could find no ford. it was hopeless to go back or stay still, and the men huddled together, apparently about to despair. but clark suddenly blackened his face with gunpowder, gave the war-whoop, and sprang forwards boldly into the ice-cold water, wading out straight towards the point at which they were aiming; and the men followed him, one after another, without a word. then he ordered those nearest him to begin one of their favorite songs; and soon the whole line took it up, and marched cheerfully onward. he intended to have the canoes ferry them over the deepest part, but before they came to it one of the men felt that his feet were in a path, and by carefully following it they got to a sugar camp, a hillock covered with maples, which once had been tapped for sugar. here they camped for the night, still six miles from the town, without food, and drenched through. the prisoners from vincennes, sullen and weary, insisted that they could not possibly get to the town through the deep water; the prospect seemed almost hopeless even to the iron-willed, steel-sinewed backwoodsmen [footnote: bowman ends his entry for the day with: "no provisions yet. lord help us!"]; but their leader never lost courage for a moment. that night was bitterly cold, for there was a heavy frost, and the ice formed half an inch thick round the edges and in the smooth water. but the sun rose bright and glorious, and clark, in burning words, told his stiffened, famished, half-frozen followers that the evening would surely see them at the goal of their hopes. without waiting for an answer, he plunged into the water, and they followed him with a cheer, in indian file. before the third man had entered the water he halted and told one of his officers [footnote: bowman] to close the rear with twenty-five men, and to put to death any man who refused to march; and the whole line cheered him again. then came the most trying time of the whole march. before them lay a broad sheet of water, covering what was known as the horse shoe plain; the floods had made it a shallow lake four miles across, unbroken by so much as a handsbreadth of dry land. on its farther side was a dense wood. clark led breast high in the water with fifteen or twenty of the strongest men next him. about the middle of the plain the cold and exhaustion told so on the weaker men that the canoes had to take them aboard and carry them on to the land; and from that time on the little dug-outs plied frantically to and fro to save the more helpless from drowning. those, who, though weak, could still move onwards, clung to the stronger, and struggled ahead, clark animating them in every possible way. when they at last reached the woods the water became so deep that it was to the shoulders of the tallest, but the weak and those of low stature could now cling to the bushes and old logs, until the canoes were able to ferry them to a spot of dry land, some ten acres in extent, that lay near-by. the strong and tall got ashore and built fires. many on reaching the shore fell flat on their faces, half in the water, and could not move farther. it was found that the fires did not help the very weak, so every such a one was put between two strong men who ran him up and down by the arms, and thus soon made him recover. [footnote: clark's "memoir."] fortunately at this time an indian canoe, paddled by some squaws, was discovered and overtaken by one of the dug-outs. in it was half a quarter of a buffalo, with some corn, tallow and kettles. this was an invaluable prize. broth was immediately made, and was served out to the most weakly with great care; almost all of the men got some, but very many gave their shares to the weakly, rallying and joking them to put them in good heart. the little refreshment, together with the fires and the bright weather, gave new life to all. they set out again in the afternoon, crossed a deep, narrow lake in their canoes, and after marching a short distance came to a copse of timber from which they saw the fort and town not two miles away. here they halted, and looked to their rifles and ammunition, making ready for the fight. every man now feasted his eyes with the sight of what he had so long labored to reach, and forthwith forgot that he had suffered any thing; making light of what had been gone through, and passing from dogged despair to the most exultant self-confidence. between the party and the town lay a plain, the hollows being filled with little pools, on which were many water-fowl, and some of the townspeople were in sight, on horseback, shooting ducks. clark sent out a few active young creoles, who succeeded in taking prisoner one of these fowling horsemen. from him it was learned that neither hamilton nor any one else had the least suspicion that any attack could possibly be made at that season, but that a couple of hundred indian warriors had just come to town. clark was rather annoyed at the last bit of information. the number of armed men in town, including british, french, and indians about quadrupled his own force. this made heavy odds to face, even with the advantage of a surprise, and in spite of the fact that his own men were sure to fight to the last, since failure meant death by torture. moreover, if he made the attack without warning, some of the indians and vincennes people would certainly be slain, and the rest would be thereby made his bitter enemies, even if he succeeded. on the other hand, he found out from the prisoner that the french were very lukewarm to the british, and would certainly not fight if they could avoid it; and that half of the indians were ready to side with the americans. finally, there was a good chance that before dark some one would discover the approach of the troops and would warn the british, thereby doing away with all chance of a surprise. after thinking it over clark decided, as the less of two evils, to follow the hazardous course of himself announcing his approach. he trusted that the boldness of such a course, together with the shock of his utterly unexpected appearance, would paralyze his opponents and incline the wavering to favor him. so he released the prisoner and sent him in ahead, with a letter to the people of vincennes. by this letter he proclaimed to the french that he was that moment about to attack the town; that those townspeople who were friends to the americans were to remain in their houses, where they would not be molested; that the friends of the king should repair to the fort, join the "hair-buyer general," and fight like men; and that those who did neither of these two things, but remained armed and in the streets, must expect to be treated as enemies. [footnote: clark's "memoir."] surprise of the town. having sent the messenger in advance, he waited until his men were rested and their rifles and powder dry, and then at sundown marched straight against the town. he divided his force into two divisions, leading in person the first, which consisted of two companies of americans and of the kaskaskia creoles; while the second, led by bowman, contained bowman's own company and the cahokians. his final orders to the men were to march with the greatest regularity, to obey the orders of their officers, and, above all, to keep perfect silence. [footnote: in the haldimand mss., series b., vol. , p. , there is a long extract from what is called "col. clark's journal." this is the official report which he speaks of as being carried by william moires, his express, who was taken by the indians (see his letter to henry of april th; there seems, by the way, to be some doubt whether this letter was not written to jefferson; there is a copy in the jefferson mss. series i., vol. i.). this is not only the official report, but also the earliest letter clark wrote on the subject and therefore the most authoritative. the paragraph relating to the final march against vincennes is as follows: "i order'd the march in the first division capt. williams, capt. worthingtons company & the kaskaskia volunteers, in the d commanded by capt. bowman his own company & the cohos volunteers. at sun down i put the divisions in motion to march in the greatest order & regularity & observe the orders of their officers. above all to be silent--the men we took in the canoes were our guides. we entered the town on the upper part leaving detached lt. bayley & rifle men to attack the fort & keep up a fire to harrass them untill we took possession of the town & they were to remain on that duty till relieved by another party, the two divisions marched into the town & took possession of the main street, put guards &c without the least molestation." this effectually disposes of the account, which was accepted by clark himself in his old age, that he ostentatiously paraded his men and marched them to and fro with many flags flying, so as to impress the british with his numbers. instead of indulging in any such childishness (which would merely have warned the british, and put them on their guard), he in reality made as silent an approach as possible, under cover of the darkness. hamilton, in his narrative, speaks of the attack as being made on the d of february, not the d as clark says.] the rapidly gathering dusk prevented any discovery of his real numbers. in sending in the messenger he had builded even better than he knew; luck which had long been against him now at last favored him. hamilton's runners had seen clark's camp-fires the night before; and a small scouting party of british regulars, detroit volunteers, and indians had in consequence been sent to find out what had caused them. [footnote: hamilton's "brief account" in the haldimand mss. the party was led by lt. schieffelin of the regulars and the french captains lamothe and maisonville.] these men were not made of such stern stuff as clark's followers, nor had they such a commander; and after going some miles they were stopped by the floods, and started to return. before they got back, vincennes was assailed. hamilton trusted so completely to the scouting party, and to the seemingly impassable state of the country, that his watch was very lax. the creoles in the town, when clark's proclamation was read to them, gathered eagerly to discuss it; but so great was the terror of his name, and so impressed and appalled were they by the mysterious approach of an unknown army, and the confident and menacing language with which its coming was heralded, that none of them dared show themselves partisans of the british by giving warning to the garrison. the indians likewise heard vague rumors of what had occurred and left the town; a number of the inhabitants who were favorable to the british, followed the same course. [footnote: haldimand mss. series b., vol. , p. . account brought to the people of detroit of the loss of vincennes, by a captain chêne, who was then living in the village. as the virginians entered it he fled to the woods with some huron and ottawa warriors; next day he was joined by some french families and some miamis and pottawatomies.] hamilton, attracted by the commotion, sent down his soldiers to find out what had occurred; but before they succeeded, the americans were upon them. about seven o'clock [footnote: clark's letter to henry.] clark entered the town, and at once pushed his men on to attack the fort. had he charged he could probably have taken it at once; for so unprepared were the garrison that the first rifle shots were deemed by them to come from drunken indians. but of course he had not counted on such a state of things. he had so few men that he dared not run the risk of suffering a heavy loss. moreover, the backwoodsmen had neither swords nor bayonets. most of the creole townspeople received clark joyfully, and rendered him much assistance, especially by supplying him with powder and ball, his own stock of ammunition being scanty. one of the indian chiefs [footnote: a son of the piankeshaw head-chief tabae.]offered to bring his tribe to the support of the americans, but clark answered that all he asked of the red men was that they should for the moment remain neutral. a few of the young creoles were allowed to join in the attack, however, it being deemed good policy to commit them definitely to the american side. the attack on the fort. fifty of the american troops were detached to guard against any relief from without, while the rest attacked the fort: yet hamilton's scouting party crept up, lay hid all night in an old barn, and at daybreak rushed into the fort. [footnote: hamilton's narrative. clark in his "memoir" asserts that he designedly let them through, and could have shot them down as they tried to clamber over the stockade if he had wished. bowman corroborates hamilton, saying: "we sent a party to intercept them, but missed them. however, we took one of their men, ... the rest making their escape under the cover of the night into the fort." bowman's journal is for this siege much more trustworthy than clark's "memoir." in the latter, clark makes not a few direct misstatements, and many details are colored so as to give them an altered aspect. as an instance of the different ways in which he told an event at the time, and thirty years later, take the following accounts of the same incident. the first is from the letter to henry (state department mss.), the second from the "memoir." i. "a few days ago i received certain intelligence of wm. moires my express to you being killed near the falls of ohio, news truly disagreeable to me, as i fear many of my letters will fall into the hands of the enemy at detroit." . "poor myres the express, who set out on the th, got killed on his passage, and his packet fell into the hands of the enemy; but i had been so much on my guard that there was not a sentence in it that could be of any disadvantage to us for the enemy to know; and there were private letters from soldiers to their friends designedly wrote to deceive in cases of such accidents." firing was kept up with very little intermission throughout the night. his whole account of the night attack and of his treating with hamilton is bombastic. if his account of the incessant "blaze of fire" of the americans is true, they must have wasted any amount of ammunition perfectly uselessly. unfortunately, most of the small western historians who have written about clark have really damaged his reputation by the absurd inflation of their language. they were adepts in the forcible-feeble style of writing, a sample of which is their rendering him ludicrous by calling him "the hannibal of the west," and the "washington of the west." moreover, they base his claims to greatness not on his really great deeds, but on the half-imaginary feats of childish cunning he related in his old age.] at one o'clock the moon set, and clark took advantage of the darkness to throw up an intrenchment within rifle-shot of the strongest battery, which consisted of two guns. all of the cannon and swivels in the fort were placed about eleven feet above the ground, on the upper floors of the strong block-houses that formed the angles of the palisaded walls. at sunrise on the th the riflemen from the intrenchment opened a hot fire into the port-holes of the battery, and speedily silenced both guns. [footnote: clark's letter to henry.] the artillery and musketry of the defenders did very little damage to the assailants, who lost but one man wounded, though some of the houses in the town were destroyed by the cannon-balls. in return, the backwoodsmen, by firing into the ports, soon rendered it impossible for the guns to be run out and served, and killed or severely wounded six or eight of the garrison; for the americans showed themselves much superior, both in marksmanship and in the art of sheltering themselves, to the british regulars and french canadians against whom they were pitted. early in the forenoon clark summoned the fort to surrender, and while waiting for the return of the flag his men took the opportunity of getting breakfast, the first regular meal they had had for six days. hamilton declined to surrender, but proposed a three days' truce instead. this proposition clark instantly rejected, and the firing again began, the backwoodsmen beseeching clark to let them storm the fort; he refused. while the negotiations were going on a singular incident occurred. a party of hamilton's indians returned from a successful scalping expedition against the frontier, and being ignorant of what had taken place, marched straight into the town. some of clark's backwoodsmen instantly fell on them and killed or captured nine, besides two french partisans who had been out with them. [footnote: _do_. in the letter to mason he says two scalped, six captured and after-wards tomahawked. bowman says two killed, three wounded, six captured; and calls the two partisans "prisoners." hamilton and clark say they were french allies of the british, the former saying there were two, the latter mentioning only one. hamilton says there were fifteen indians.] one of the latter was the son of a creole lieutenant in clark's troops, and after much pleading his father and friends procured the release of himself and his comrade. [footnote: the incident is noteworthy as showing how the french were divided; throughout the revolutionary war in the west they furnished troops to help in turn whites and indians, british and americans. the illinois french, however, generally remained faithful to the republic, and the detroit french to the crown.] clark determined to make a signal example of the six captured indians, both to strike terror into the rest and to show them how powerless the british were to protect them; so he had them led within sight of the fort and there tomahawked and thrown into the river. [footnote: hamilton, who bore the most vindictive hatred to clark, implies that the latter tomahawked the prisoners himself; but bowman explicitly says that it was done while clark and hamilton were meeting at the church. be it noticed in passing, that both clark and hamilton agree that though the vincennes people favored the americans, only a very few of them took active part on clark's side.] the sight did not encourage the garrison. the english troops remained firm and eager for the fight, though they had suffered the chief loss; but the detroit volunteers showed evident signs of panic. surrender of the fort. in the afternoon hamilton sent out another flag, and he and clark met in the old french church to arrange for the capitulation. helm, who was still a prisoner on parole, and was told by clark that he was to remain such until recaptured, was present; so were the british major hay and the american captain bowman. there was some bickering and recrimination between the leaders, clark reproaching hamilton with having his hands dyed in the blood of the women and children slain by his savage allies; while the former answered that he was not to blame for obeying the orders of his superiors, and that he himself had done all he could to make the savages act mercifully. it was finally agreed that the garrison, seventy-nine men in all, [footnote: letter to henry. hamilton's letter says sixty rank and file of the th regiment and detroit volunteers; the other nineteen were officers and under-officers, artillerymen, and french partisan leaders. the return of the garrison already quoted shows he had between eighty and ninety white troops.] should surrender as prisoners of war. the british commander has left on record his bitter _mortification_ at having to yield the fort "to a set of uncivilized virginia woodsmen armed with rifles." in truth, it was a most notable achievement. clark had taken, without artillery, a heavy stockade, protected by cannon and swivels, and garrisoned by trained soldiers. his superiority in numbers was very far from being in itself sufficient to bring about the result, as witness the almost invariable success with which the similar but smaller kentucky forts, unprovided with artillery and held by fewer men, were defended against much larger forces than clark's. much credit belongs to clark's men, but most belongs to their leader. the boldness of his plan and the resolute skill with which he followed it out, his perseverance through the intense hardships of the midwinter march, the address with which he kept the french and indians neutral, and the masterful way in which he controlled his own troops, together with the ability and courage he displayed in the actual attack, combined to make his feat the most memorable of all the deeds done west of the alleghanies in the revolutionary war. [footnote: hamilton himself, at the conclusion of his "brief account," speaks as follows in addressing his superiors: "the difficulties and dangers of colonel clark's march from the illinois were such as required great courage to encounter and great perseverance to overcome. in trusting to traitors he was more fortunate than myself; whether, on the whole, he was entitled to success is not for me to determine." both clark and hamilton give minute accounts of various interviews that took place between them; the accounts do not agree, and it is needless to say that in the narration of each the other appears to disadvantage, being quoted as practically admitting various acts of barbarity, etc.] it was likewise the most important in its results, for had he been defeated we would not only have lost the illinois, but in all probability kentucky also. capture of a convoy from detroit. immediately after taking the fort clark sent helm and fifty men, in boats armed with swivels, up the wabash to intercept a party of forty french volunteers from detroit, who were bringing to vincennes bateaux heavily laden with goods of all kinds, to the value of ten thousand pounds sterling. [footnote: letter to henry.] in a few days helm returned successful, and the spoils, together with the goods taken at vincennes, were distributed among the soldiers, who "got almost rich." [footnote: "memoir."] the officers kept nothing save a few needed articles of clothing. the gun-boat _willing_ appeared shortly after the taking of the fort, the crew bitterly disappointed that they were not in time for the fighting. the long-looked-for messenger from the governor of virginia also arrived, bearing to the soldiers the warm thanks of the legislature of that state for their capture of kaskaskia and the promise of more substantial reward. [footnote: one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land opposite louisville were finally allotted them. some of the piankeshaw indians ceded clark a tract of land for his own use, but the virginia legislature very properly disallowed the grant.] disposal of the prisoners. clark was forced to parole most of his prisoners, but twenty-seven, including hamilton himself, were sent to virginia. the backwoodsmen regarded hamilton with revengeful hatred, and he was not well treated while among them, [footnote: in hamilton's "brief account" he says that their lives were often threatened by the borderers, but that "our guard behaved very well, protected us, and hunted for us." at the falls he found "a number of settlers who lived in log-houses, in eternal apprehension from the indians," and he adds: "the people at the forts are in a wretched state, obliged to enclose the cattle every night within the fort, and carry their rifles to the field when they go to plough or cut wood." he speaks of boon's kindness in his short printed narrative in the _royal gazette_.] save only by boon--for the kind-hearted, fearless old pioneer never felt any thing but pity for a fallen enemy. all the borderers, including clark, [footnote: clark, in his letter to mason, alludes to hamilton's "known barbarity"; but in his memoir he speaks very well of hamilton, and attributes the murderous forays to his subordinates, one of whom, major hay, he particularly specifies.] believed that the british commander himself gave rewards to the indians for the american scalps they brought in; and because of his alleged behavior in this regard he was kept in close confinement by the virginia government until, through the intercession of washington, he was at last released and exchanged. exactly how much he was to blame it is difficult to say. certainly the blame rests even more with the crown, and the ruling class in britain, than with hamilton, who merely carried out the orders of his superiors; and though he undoubtedly heartily approved of these orders, and executed them with eager zest, yet it seems that he did what he could--which was very little--to prevent unnecessary atrocities. the crime consisted in employing the savages at all in a war waged against men, women, and children alike. undoubtedly the british at detroit followed the example of the french [footnote: see parkman's "montcalm and wolfe," ii., , for examples of french payments, some of a peculiarly flagrant sort. a certain kind of american pseudo-historian is especially fond of painting the british as behaving to us with unexampled barbarity; yet nothing is more sure than that the french were far mote cruel and less humane in their contests with us than were the british.] in paying money to the indians for the scalps of their foes. it is equally beyond question that the british acted with much more humanity than their french predecessors had shown. apparently the best officers utterly disapproved of the whole business of scalp buying; but it was eagerly followed by many of the reckless agents and partisan leaders, british, tories, and canadians, who themselves often accompanied the indians against the frontier and witnessed or shared in their unmentionable atrocities. it is impossible to acquit either the british home government or its foremost representatives at detroit of a large share in the responsibility for the appalling brutality of these men and their red allies; but the heaviest blame rests on the home government. the country pacified. clark soon received some small reinforcements, and was able to establish permanent garrisons at vincennes, kaskaskia, and cahokia. with the indian tribes who lived round about he made firm peace; against some hunting bands of delawares who came in and began to commit ravages, he waged ruthless and untiring war, sparing the women and children, but killing all the males capable of bearing arms, and he harried most of them out of the territory, while the rest humbly sued for peace. his own men worshipped him; the french loved and stood in awe of him while the indians respected and feared him greatly. during the remainder of the revolutionary war the british were not able to make any serious effort to shake the hold he had given the americans on the region lying around and between vincennes and the illinois. moreover he so effectually pacified the tribes between the wabash and the mississippi that they did not become open and formidable foes of the whites until, with the close of the war against britain, kentucky passed out of the stage when indian hostilities threatened her very life. the fame of clark's deeds and the terror of his prowess spread to the southern indians, and the british at natchez trembled lest they should share the fate that had come on kaskaskia and vincennes. [footnote: state department mss. [intercepted letters], no. , vol. ii., pp. and . letter of james colbert, a half-breed in the british interest, resident at that time among the chickasaws, may , , etc.] flat-boats from the illinois went down to new orleans, and keel-boats returned from that city with arms and munitions, or were sent up to pittsburg [footnote: the history of the early navigation of the ohio and mississippi begins many years before the birth of any of our western pioneers, when the french went up and down them. long before the revolutionary war occasional hunters, in dug-outs, or settlers going to natchez in flat-boats, descended these rivers, and from pittsburg craft were sent to new orleans to open negotiations with the spaniards as soon as hostilities broke out; and ammunition was procured from new orleans as soon as independence was declared.]; and the following spring clark built a fort on the east bank of the mississippi below the ohio. [footnote: in lat. ° '; it was named fort jefferson. jefferson mss., st series, vol. . clark's letter.] it was in the chickasaw territory, and these warlike indians soon assaulted it, making a determined effort to take it by storm, and though they were repulsed with very heavy slaughter, yet, to purchase their neutrality, the americans were glad to abandon the fort. clark moves to the falls of ohio. clark himself, towards the end of , took up his abode at the falls of the ohio, where he served in some sort as a shield both for the illinois and for kentucky, and from whence he hoped some day to march against detroit. this was his darling scheme, which he never ceased to cherish. through no fault of his own, the day never came when he could put it in execution. he was ultimately made a brigadier-general of the virginian militia, and to the harassed settlers in kentucky his mere name was a tower of strength. he was the sole originator of the plan for the conquest of the northwestern lands, and, almost unaided, he had executed his own scheme. for a year he had been wholly cut off from all communication with the home authorities, and had received no help of any kind. alone, and with the very slenderest means, he had conquered and held a vast and beautiful region, which but for him would have formed part of a foreign and hostile empire [footnote: it is of course impossible to prove that but for clark's conquest the ohio would have been made our boundary in , exactly as it is impossible to prove that but for wolfe the english would not have taken quebec. but when we take into account the determined efforts of spain and france to confine us to the land east of the alleghanies, and then to the land southeast of the ohio, the slavishness of congress in instructing our commissioners to do whatever france wished, and the readiness shown by one of the commissioners, franklin, to follow these instructions, it certainly looks as if there would not even have been an effort made by us to get the northwestern territory had we not already possessed it, thanks to clark. as it was, it was only owing to jay's broad patriotism and stern determination that our western boundaries were finally made so far-reaching. none of our early diplomats did as much for the west as jay, whom at one time the whole west hated and reviled; mann butler, whose politics are generally very sound, deserves especial credit for the justice he does the new yorker. it is idle to talk of the conquest as being purely a virginian affair. it was conquered by clark, a virginian, with some scant help from virginia, but it was retained only owing to the power of the united states and the patriotism of such northern statesmen as jay, adams, and franklin, the negotiators of the final treaty. had virginia alone been in interest, great britain would not have even paid her claims the compliment of listening to them. virginia's share in the history of the nation has ever been gallant and leading; but the revolutionary war was emphatically fought by americans for america; no part could have won without the help of the whole, and every victory was thus a victory for all, in which all alike can take pride.]; he had clothed and paid his soldiers with the spoils of his enemies; he had spent his own fortune as carelessly as he had risked his life, and the only reward that he was destined for many years to receive was the sword voted him by the legislature of virginia. [footnote: a probably truthful tradition reports that when the virginian commissioners offered clark the sword, the grim old fighter, smarting under the sense of his wrongs, threw it indignantly from him, telling the envoys that he demanded from virginia his just rights and the promised reward of his services, not an empty compliment.] chapter iv. continuance of the struggle in kentucky and the northwest, - . clark's conquests benefit kentucky. clark's successful campaigns against the illinois towns and vincennes, besides giving the americans a foothold north of the ohio, were of the utmost importance to kentucky. until this time, the kentucky settlers had been literally fighting for life and home, and again and again their strait had been so bad, that it seemed--and was--almost an even chance whether they would be driven from the land. the successful outcome of clark's expedition temporarily overawed the indians, and, moreover, made the french towns outposts for the protection of the settlers; so that for several years thereafter the tribes west of the wabash did but little against the americans. the confidence of the backwoodsmen in their own ultimate triumph was likewise very much increased; while the fame of the western region was greatly spread abroad. from all these causes it resulted that there was an immediate and great increase of immigration thither, the bulk of the immigrants of course stopping in kentucky, though a very few, even thus early, went to illinois. every settlement in kentucky was still in jeopardy, and there came moments of dejection, when some of her bravest leaders spoke gloomily of the possibility of the americans being driven from the land. but these were merely words such as even strong men utter when sore from fresh disaster. after the spring of , there was never any real danger that the whites would be forced to abandon kentucky. the land laws. the land laws which the virginia legislature enacted about this time [footnote: may, ; they did not take effect nor was a land court established until the following fall, when the land office was opened at st. asaphs, oct. th. isaac shelby's claim was the first one considered and granted. he had raised a crop of corn in the country in .] were partly a cause, partly a consequence, of the increased emigration to kentucky, and of the consequent rise in the value of its wild lands. long before the revolution, shrewd and far-seeing speculators had organized land companies to acquire grants of vast stretches of western territory; but the land only acquired an actual value for private individuals after the incoming of settlers. in addition to the companies, many private individuals had acquired rights to tracts of land; some, under the royal proclamation, giving bounties to the officers and soldiers in the french war; others by actual payment into the public treasury. [footnote: the ohio company was the greatest of the companies. there were "also, among private rights, the ancient importation rights, the henderson company rights, etc." see marshall, i., .] the virginia legislature now ratified all titles to regularly surveyed ground claimed under charter, military bounty, and old treasury rights, to the extent of four hundred acres each. tracts of land were reserved as bounties for the virginia troops, both continentals and militia. each family of actual settlers was allowed a settlement right to four hundred acres for the small sum of nine dollars, and, if very poor, the land was given them on credit. every such settler also acquired a preemptive right to purchase a thousand acres adjoining, at the regulation state price, which was forty pounds, paper money, or forty dollars in specie, for every hundred acres. one peculiar provision was made necessary by the system of settling in forted villages. every such village was allowed six hundred and forty acres, which no outsider could have surveyed or claim, for it was considered, the property of the townsmen, to be held in common until an equitable division could be made; while each family likewise had a settlement right to four hundred acres adjoining the village. the vacant lands were sold, warrants for a hundred acres costing forty dollars in specie; but later on, towards the close of the war, virginia tried to buoy up her mass of depreciated paper currency by accepting it nearly at par for land warrants, thereby reducing the cost of these to less than fifty cents for a hundred acres. no warrant applied to a particular spot; it was surveyed on any vacant or presumably vacant ground. each individual had the surveying done wherever he pleased, the county surveyor usually appointing some skilled woodsman to act as his deputy. in the end the natural result of all this was to involve half the people of kentucky in lawsuits over their land, as there were often two or three titles to each patch, [footnote: mcafee mss.] and the surveys crossed each other in hopeless tangles. immediately, the system gave a great stimulus to immigration, for it made it easy for any incoming settler to get title to his farm, and it also strongly attracted all land speculators. many well-to-do merchants or planters of the seaboard sent agents out to buy lands in kentucky; and these agents either hired the old pioneers, such as boon and kenton, to locate and survey the lands, or else purchased their claims from them outright. the advantages of following the latter plan were of course obvious; for the pioneers were sure to have chosen fertile, well-watered spots; and though they asked more than the state, yet, ready money was so scarce, and the depreciation of the currency so great, that even thus the land only cost a few cents an acre. [footnote: from the clay mss. "virginia, frederick co. to wit: this day came william smith of [illegible] before me john a. woodcock, a justice of the peace of same county, who being of full age deposeth and saith that about the first of june , being in kentuckey and empowered to purchase land, for mr. james ware, he the deponent agreed with a certain simon kenton of kentucky for acres of land about or miles from the big salt spring on licking, that the sd. kenton on condition that the sd. smith would pay him £ in hand and £ more when sd. land was surveyed,... sd. kenton on his part wou'd have the land surveyed, and a fee simple made there to.... sd. land was first rate land and had a good spring thereon.... he agreed to warrant and defend the same ... against all persons whatsoever.... sworn too before me this th day of nov. ." later on, the purchaser, who did not take possession of the land for eight or nine years, feared it would not prove as fertile as kenton had said, and threatened to sue kenton; but kenton evidently had the whip-hand in the controversy, for the land being out in the wilderness, the purchaser did not know its exact location, and when he threatened suit, and asked to be shown it, kenton "swore that he would not shoe it at all." letter of james ware, nov. , .] inrush of settlers. thus it came about that with the fall of a strong stream of emigration set towards kentucky, from the backwoods districts of pennsylvania, virginia, and north carolina. in company with the real settlers came many land speculators, and also many families of weak, irresolute, or shiftless people, who soon tired of the ceaseless and grinding frontier strife for life, and drifted back to the place whence they had come. [footnote: thus the increase of population is to be measured by the net gain of immigration over emigration, not by immigration alone. it is probably partly neglect of this fact, and partly simple exaggeration, that make the early statements of the additions to the kentucky population so very untrustworthy. in , at the end of the revolution, the population of kentucky was probably nearer , than , , and it had grown steadily each year. yet butler quotes floyd as saying that in the spring of three hundred large family boats arrived at the falls, which would mean an increase of perhaps four or five thousand people; and in the mcafee mss. occurs the statement that in and nearly , people came to kentucky. both of these statements are probably mere estimates, greatly exaggerated; any westerner of to-day can instance similar reports of movements to western localities, which under a strict census dwindled wofully.] thus there were ever two tides--the larger setting towards kentucky, the lesser towards the old states; so that the two streams passed each other on the wilderness road--for the people who came down the ohio could not return against the current. very many who did not return nevertheless found they were not fitted to grapple with the stern trials of existence on the border. some of these succumbed outright; others unfortunately survived, and clung with feeble and vicious helplessness to the skirts of their manlier fellows; and from them have descended the shiftless squatters, the "mean whites," the listless, uncouth men who half-till their patches of poor soil, and still cumber the earth in out-of-the-way nooks from the crannies of the alleghanies to the canyons of the southern rocky mountains. in april, before this great rush of immigration began, but when it was clearly foreseen that it would immediately take place, the county court of kentucky issued a proclamation to the new settlers, recommending them to keep as united and compact as possible, settling in "stations" or forted towns; and likewise advising each settlement to choose three or more trustees to take charge of their public affairs. [footnote: durrett mss., in the bound volume of "papers relating to louisville and kentucky." on may , , the people living at the falls, having established a town, forty-six of them signed a petition to have their title made good against conolly. on feb. , , john todd and five other trustees of louisville met; they passed resolutions to erect a grist mill and make surveys.] their recommendations and advice were generally followed. bowman attacks chillicothe. during the indian war dragged on much as usual. the only expedition of importance was that undertaken in may by one hundred and sixty kentuckians, commanded by the county lieutenant, john bowman, against the indian town of chillicothe. [footnote: ms. "notes on kentucky," by george bradford, who went there in ; in the durrett collection. haldimand mss., letter of henry bird, june , . as this letter is very important, and gives for the first time the indian side, i print it in the appendix almost in full. the accounts of course conflict somewhat; chiefly as to the number of cabins burnt--from five to forty, and of horses captured--from thirty to three hundred. they agree in all essential points. but as among the whites themselves there is one serious question. logan's admirers, and most kentucky historians, hold bowman responsible for the defeat; but in reality (see butler, p. ) there seems strong reason to believe that it was simply due to the unexpectedly strong resistance of the indians. bird's letter shows, what the kentuckians never suspected, that the attack was a great benefit to them in frightening the indians and stopping a serious inroad. it undoubtedly accomplished more than clark's attack on piqua next year, for instance.] logan, harrod, and other famous frontier fighters went along. the town was surprised, several cabins burned, and a number of horses captured. but the indians rallied, and took refuge in a central block-house and a number of strongly built cabins surrounding it, from which they fairly beat off the whites. they then followed to harass the rear of their retreating foes, but were beaten off in turn. of the whites, nine were killed and two or three wounded; the indians' loss was two killed and five or six wounded. the defeat caused intense mortification to the whites; but in reality the expedition was of great service to kentucky, though the kentuckians never knew it. the detroit people had been busily organizing expeditions against kentucky. captain henry bird had been given charge of one, and he had just collected two hundred indians at the mingo town when news of the attack on chillicothe arrived. instantly the indians dissolved in a panic, some returning to defend their towns; others were inclined to beg peace of the americans. so great was their terror that it was found impossible to persuade them to make any inroad as long as they deemed themselves menaced by a counter attack of the kentuckians. [footnote: haldimand mss. de peyster to haldimand, nov. , .] occasional indian forays. it is true that bands of mingos, hurons, delawares, and shawnees made occasional successful raids against the frontier, and brought their scalps and prisoners in triumph to detroit, [footnote: haldimand mss. de peyster to haldimand, oct. , .] where they drank such astonishing quantities of rum as to incite the indignation of the british commander-in-chief. [footnote: haldimand mss. haldimand's letter, july , .] but instead of being able to undertake any formidable expedition against the settlers, the detroit authorities were during this year much concerned for their own safety, taking every possible means to provide for the defence, and keeping a sharp look-out for any hostile movement of the americans. [footnote: haldimand mss., april , .] the incoming settlers were therefore left in comparative peace. they built many small palisaded towns, some of which proved permanent, while others vanished utterly when the fear of the indians was removed and the families were able to scatter out on their farms. at the falls of the ohio a regular fort was built, armed with cannon and garrisoned by virginia troops, [footnote: one hundred and fifty strong, under col. george slaughter.] who were sent down the river expressly to reinforce clark. the indians never dared assail this fort; but they ravaged up to its walls, destroying the small stations on bear grass creek and scalping settlers and soldiers when they wandered far from the protection of the stockade. the hard winter. the new-comers of were destined to begin with a grim experience, for the ensuing winter [footnote: boon, in his narrative, makes a mistake in putting this hard winter a year later; all the other authorities are unanimous against him.] was the most severe ever known in the west, and was long recalled by the pioneers as the "hard winter." cold weather set in towards the end of november, the storms following one another in unbroken succession, while the snow lay deep until the spring. most of the cattle, and very many of the horses, perished; and deer and elk were likewise found dead in the woods, or so weak and starved that they would hardly move out of the way, while the buffalo often came up at nightfall to the yards, seeking to associate with the starving herds of the settlers. [footnote: mcafee mss. of the mcafees' horses ten died, and only two survived, a brown mare and "a yellow horse called chickasaw." exactly a hundred years later, in the hard winter of - , and the still worse winter of - , the settlers on the yellowstone and the few hunters who wintered on the little missouri had a similar experience. the buffalo crowded with the few tame cattle round the hayricks and log-stables; the starving deer and antelope gathered in immense bands in sheltered places. riding from my ranch to a neighbor's i have, in deep snows, passed through herds of antelope that would barely move fifty or a hundred feet out of my way.] the scanty supply of corn gave out, until there was not enough left to bake into johnny-cakes on the long boards in front of the fire. [footnote: _do._] even at the falls, where there were stores for the troops, the price of corn went up nearly fourfold, [footnote: from fifty dollars (continental money) a bushel in the fall to one hundred and seventy-five in the spring.] while elsewhere among the stations of the interior it could not be had at any price, and there was an absolute dearth both of salt and of vegetable food, the settlers living for weeks on the flesh of the lean wild game, [footnote: mcafee mss.] especially of the buffalo. [footnote: boon's narrative.] the hunters searched with especial eagerness for the bears in the hollow trees, for they alone among the animals kept fat; and the breast of the wild turkey served for bread. [footnote: mcafee mss.] nevertheless, even in the midst of this season of cold and famine, the settlers began to take the first steps for the education of their children. in this year joseph doniphan, whose son long afterwards won fame in the mexican war, opened the first regular school at boonsborough, [footnote: _historical magazine_, second series, vol. viii.] and one of the mcafees likewise served as a teacher through the winter. [footnote: mcafee mss.] but from the beginning some of the settlers' wives had now and then given the children in the forts a few weeks' schooling. through the long, irksome winter, the frontiersmen remained crowded within the stockades. the men hunted, while the women made the clothes, of tanned deer-hides, buffalo-wool cloth, and nettle-bark linen. in stormy weather, when none could stir abroad, they turned or coopered the wooden vessels; for tin cups were as rare as iron forks, and the "noggin" was either hollowed out of the knot of a tree, or else made with small staves and hoops. [footnote: mcafee mss.] every thing was of home manufacture--for there was not a store in kentucky,--and the most expensive domestic products seem to have been the hats, made of native fur, mink, coon, fox, wolf, and beaver. if exceptionally fine, and of valuable fur, they cost five hundred dollars in paper money, which had not at that time depreciated a quarter as much in outlying kentucky as at the seat of government. [footnote: marshall, p. .] as soon as the great snow-drifts began to melt, and thereby to produce freshets of unexampled height, the gaunt settlers struggled out to their clearings, glad to leave the forts. they planted corn, and eagerly watched the growth of the crop; and those who hungered after oatmeal or wheaten bread planted other grains as well, and apple-seeds and peach-stones. [footnote: mcafee mss.] many new settlers arrive in the spring. as soon as the spring of opened, the immigrants began to arrive more numerously than ever. some came over the wilderness road; among these there were not a few haggard, half-famished beings, who, having stalled too late the previous fall, had been overtaken by the deep snows, and forced to pass the winter in the iron-bound and desolate valleys of the alleghanies, subsisting on the carcasses of their stricken cattle, and seeing their weaker friends starve or freeze before their eyes. very many came down the ohio, in flat-boats. a good-sized specimen of these huge unwieldly scows was fifty-five feet long, twelve broad, and six deep, drawing three feet of water; [footnote: lettres d'un cultivateur americain, st. john de creve coeur, paris, . p. . he visited kentucky in .] but the demand was greater than the supply, and a couple of dozen people, with half as many horses, and all their effects, might be forced to embark on a flat-boat not twenty-four feet in length. [footnote: ms. journals of rev. james smith. tours in western country in - (in col. durrett's library).] usually several families came together, being bound by some tie of neighborhood or purpose. not infrequently this tie was religious, for in the back settlements the few churches were almost as much social as religious centres. thus this spring, a third of the congregation of a low dutch reformed church came to kentucky bodily, to the number of fifty heads of families, with their wives and children, their beasts of burden and pasture, and their household goods; like most bands of new immigrants, they suffered greatly from the indians, much more than did the old settlers. [footnote: state department mss. no. , vol. v., memorials k, l, - , pp. - , petition of low dutch reformed church, etc.] the following year a baptist congregation came out from virginia, keeping up its organization even while on the road, the preacher holding services at every long halt. de peyster at detroit. soon after the rush of spring immigration was at its height, the old settlers and the new-comers alike were thrown into the utmost alarm by a formidable inroad of indians, accompanied by french partisans, and led by a british officer. de peyster, a new york tory of old knickerbocker family, had taken command at detroit. he gathered the indians around him from far and near, until the expense of subsidizing these savages became so enormous as to call forth serious complaints from head-quarters. [footnote: haldimand mss. haldimand to guy johnson, june , .] he constantly endeavored to equip and send out different bands, not only to retake the illinois and vincennes, but to dislodge clark from the falls [footnote: _do._ haldimand to de peyster, feb. and july , .]; he was continually receiving scalps and prisoners, and by may he had fitted out two thousand warriors to act along the ohio and the wabash. [footnote: _do._ de peyster to haldimand, june , .] the rapid growth of kentucky especially excited his apprehension, [footnote: _do._ march , .] and his main stroke was directed against the clusters of wooden forts that were springing up south of the ohio. [footnote: _do._ may to july , .] bird's inroad. late in may, some six hundred indians and a few canadians, with a couple of pieces of light field artillery, were gathered and put under the command of captain henry bird. following the rivers where practicable, that he might the easier carry his guns, he went down the miami, and on the d of june, surprised and captured without resistance ruddle's and martin's stations, two small stockades on the south fork of the licking. [footnote: he marched overland from the forks of the licking. marshall says the season was dry and the waters low; but the bradford mss. particularly declare that bird only went up the licking at all because the watercourses were so full, and that he had originally intended to attack the settlements at the falls.] but bird was not one of the few men fitted to command such a force as that which followed him; and contenting himself with the slight success he had won, he rapidly retreated to detroit, over the same path by which he had advanced. the indians carried off many horses, and loaded their prisoners with the plunder, tomahawking those, chiefly women and children, who could not keep up with the rest; and bird could not control them nor force them to show mercy to their captives. [footnote: collins, butler, etc. marshall thinks that if the force could have been held together it would have depopulated kentucky; but this is nonsense, for within a week clark had gathered a very much larger and more efficient body of troops.] he did not even get his cannon back to detroit, leaving them at the british store in one of the upper miami towns, in charge of a bombardier. the bombardier did not prove a very valorous personage, and on the alarm of clark's advance, soon afterwards, he permitted the indians to steal his horses, and was forced to bury his ordnance in the woods. [footnote: haldimand mss. letter of bombardier wm. homan, aug. , . he speaks of "the gun" and "the smaller ordnance," presumably swivels. it is impossible to give bird's numbers correctly, for various bands of indians kept joining and leaving him.] clark hears the news before this inroad took place clark had been planning a foray into the indian country, and the news only made him hasten his preparations. in may this adventurous leader had performed one of the feats which made him the darling of the backwoodsmen. painted and dressed like an indian so as to deceive the lurking bands of savages, he and two companions left the fort he had built on the bank of the mississippi, and came through the wilderness to harrodsburg. they lived on the buffaloes they shot, and when they came to the tennessee river, which was then in flood, they crossed the swift torrent on a raft of logs bound together with grapevines. at harrodsburg they found the land court open, and thronged with an eager, jostling crowd of settlers and speculators, who were waiting to enter lands in the surveyor's office. even the dread of the indians could not overcome in these men's hearts the keen and selfish greed for gain. clark instantly grasped the situation. seeing that while the court remained open he could get no volunteers, he on his own responsibility closed it off-hand, and proclaimed that it would not be opened until after he came back from his expedition. the speculators grumbled and clamored, but this troubled clark not at all, for he was able to get as many volunteers as he wished. the discontent, and still more the panic over bird's inroad, made many of the settlers determine to flee from the country, but clark sent a small force to crab orchard, at the mouth of the wilderness road, the only outlet from kentucky, with instructions to stop all men from leaving the country, and to take away their arms if they persisted; while four fifths of all the grown men were drafted, and were bidden to gather instantly for a campaign. [footnote: bradford mss.] his campaign against piqua. he appointed the mouth of the licking as the place of meeting. thither he brought the troops from the falls in light skiffs he had built for the purpose, leaving behind scarce a handful of men to garrison the stockade. logan went with him as second in command. he carried with him a light three-pounder gun; and those of the men who had horses marched along the bank beside the flotilla. the only mishap that befell the troops happened to mcgarry, who had a subordinate command. he showed his usual foolhardy obstinacy by persisting in landing with a small squad of men on the north bank of the river, where he was in consequence surprised and roughly handled by a few indians. nothing was done to him because of his disobedience, for the chief of such a backwoods levy was the leader, rather than the commander, of his men. at the mouth of the licking clark met the riflemen from the interior stations, among them being kenton, harrod, and floyd, and others of equal note. they had turned out almost to a man, leaving the women and boys to guard the wooden forts until they came back, and had come to the appointed place, some on foot or on horseback, others floating and paddling down the licking in canoes. they left scanty provisions with their families, who had to subsist during their absence on what game the boys shot, on nettle tops, and a few early vegetables; and they took with them still less. dividing up their stock, each man had a couple of pounds of meal and some jerked venison or buffalo meat. [footnote: mcafee mss.; the bradford ms. says six quarts of parched corn.] all his troops having gathered, to the number of nine hundred and seventy, clark started up the ohio on the second of august. [footnote: this date and number are those given in the bradford ms. the mcafee mss. say july st; but it is impossible that the expedition should have started so soon after bird's inroad. on july st, bird himself was probably at the mouth of the licking.] the skiffs, laden with men, were poled against the current, while bodies of footmen and horsemen marched along the bank. after going a short distance up stream the horses and men were ferried to the farther bank, the boats were drawn up on the shore and left, with a guard of forty men, and the rest of the troops started overland against the town of old chillicothe, fifty or sixty miles distant. the three-pounder was carried along on a pack-horse. the march was hard, for it rained so incessantly that it was difficult to keep the rifles dry. every night they encamped in a hollow square, with the baggage and horses in the middle. chillicothe, when reached, was found to be deserted. it was burned, and the army pushed on to piqua, a town a few miles distant, on the banks of the little miami, [footnote: the indians so frequently shifted their abode that it is hardly possible to identify the exact location of the successive towns called piqua or pickaway.] reaching it about ten in the morning of the th of august. [footnote: "papers relating to g. r. clark." in the durrett mss. at louisville. the account of the death of joseph rogers. this settles, by the way, that the march was made in august, and not in july.] piqua was substantially built, and was laid out in the manner of the french villages. the stoutly built log-houses stood far apart, surrounded by strips of corn-land, and fronting the stream; while a strong block-house with loop-holed walls stood in the middle. thick woods, broken by small prairies, covered the rolling country that lay around the town. the fight at piqua. clark divided his army into four divisions, taking the command of two in person. giving the others to logan, he ordered him to cross the river above the town [footnote: there is some conflict as to whether logan went up or down stream.] and take it in the rear, while he himself crossed directly below it and assailed it in front. logan did his best to obey the orders, but he could not find a ford, and he marched by degrees nearly three miles up stream, making repeated and vain attempts to cross; when he finally succeeded the day was almost done, and the fighting was over. meanwhile clark plunged into the river, and crossed at the head of one of his own two divisions; the other was delayed for a short time. both simon girty and his brother were in the town, together with several hundred indian warriors; exactly how many cannot be said, but they were certainly fewer in number than the troops composing either wing of clark's army. [footnote: haldimand mss. mckee to de peyster, aug. , . he was told of the battle by the indians a couple of days after it took place. he gives the force of the whites correctly as nine hundred and seventy, forty of whom had been left to guard the boats. he says the indians were surprised, and that most of the warriors fled, so that all the fighting was done by about seventy, with the two girtys. this was doubtless not the case; the beaten party in all these encounters was fond of relating the valorous deeds of some of its members, who invariably state that they would have conquered, had they not been deserted by their associates. mckee reported that the indians could find no trace of the gun-wheels--the gun was carried on a pack-horse,--and so he thought that the kentuckians were forced to leave it behind on their retreat. he put the killed of the kentuckians at the modest number of forty-eight; and reported the belief of girty and the indians that "three hundred [of them] would have given [clark's men] a total rout." a very common feat of the small frontier historian was to put high praise of his own side in the mouth of a foe. withers, in his "chronicles of border warfare," in speaking of this very action, makes girty withdraw his three hundred warriors on account of the valor of clark's men, remarking that it was "useless to fight with fools or madmen." this offers a comical contrast to girty's real opinion, as shown in mckee's letter.] they were surprised by clark's swift advance just as a scouting party of warriors, who had been sent out to watch the whites, were returning to the village. the warning was so short that the squaws and children had barely time to retreat out of the way. as clark crossed the stream, the warriors left their cabins and formed in some thick timber behind them. at the same moment a cousin of clark's, who had been captured by the indians, and was held prisoner in the town, made his escape and ran towards the americans, throwing up his hands, and calling out that he was a white man. he was shot, whether by the americans or the indians none could say. clark came up and spoke a few words with him before he died. [footnote: durrett mss. volume: "papers referring to g. r. clark." the cousin's name was joseph rogers, a brother of the commander of the galley.] a long-range skirmish ensued with the warriors in the timber; but on the approach of clark's second division the indians fell back. the two divisions followed in pursuit, becoming mingled in disorder. after a slight running fight of two hours the whites lost sight of their foes, and, wondering what had become of logan's wing, they gathered together and marched back towards the river. one of the mcafees, captain over a company of riflemen from salt river, was leading, when he discovered an indian in a tree-top. he and one of his men sought shelter behind the same tree; whereupon he tried to glide behind another, but was shot and mortally wounded by the indian, who was himself instantly killed. the scattered detachments now sat down to listen for the missing wing. after half an hour's silent waiting, they suddenly became aware of the presence of a body of indians, who had slipped in between them and the town. the backwoodsmen rushed up to the attack, while the indians whooped and yelled defiance. there was a moment's heavy firing; but as on both sides the combatants carefully sheltered themselves behind trees, there was very little loss; and the indians steadily gave way until they reached the town, about two miles distant from the spot where the whites had halted. they then made a stand, and, for the first time, there occurred some real fighting. the indians stood stoutly behind the loop-holed walls of the cabins, and in the block-house; the americans, advancing cautiously and gaining ground inch by inch, suffered much more loss than they inflicted. late in the afternoon clark managed to bring the three-pounder into action, from a point below the town; while the riflemen fired at the red warriors as they were occasionally seen running from the cabins to take refuge behind the steep bank of the river. a few shots from the three-pounder dislodged the defenders of the block-house; and about sunset the americans closed in, but only to find that their foes had escaped under cover of a noisy fire from a few of the hindmost warriors. they had run up stream, behind the banks, until they came to a small "branch" or brook, by means of which they gained the shelter of the forest, where they at once scattered and disappeared. a few of their stragglers exchanged shots with the advance guard of logan's wing as it at last came down the bank; this was the only part logan was able to take in the battle. of the indians six or eight were slain, whereas the whites lost seventeen killed, and a large number wounded. [footnote: bradford ms.; the mcafee mss. make the loss " or indians" in the last assault, and "nearly as many" whites. boon's narrative says seventeen on each side. but mckee says only six indians were killed and three wounded; and bombardier homan, in the letter already quoted, says six were killed and two captured, who were afterwards slain. the latter adds from hearsay that the americans cruelly slew an indian woman; but there is not a syllable in any of the other accounts to confirm this, and it may be set down as a fiction of the by-no-means-valorous bombardier. the bombardier mentions that the indians in their alarm and anger immediately burnt all the male prisoners in their villages. the kentucky historians give very scanty accounts of this expedition; but as it was of a typical character it is worth while giving in full. the mcafee mss. contain most information about it.] clark destroyed all the houses and a very large quantity of corn; and he sent out detachments which destroyed another village, and the stores of some british and french canadian traders. then the army marched back to the mouth of the licking and disbanded, most of the volunteers having been out just twenty-five days. [footnote: bradford ms.] effect of the victory. the indians were temporarily cowed by their loss and the damage they had suffered, [footnote: see haldimand mss. de peyster to haldimand, aug. , .] and especially by the moral effect of so formidable a retaliatory foray following immediately on the heels of bird's inroad. therefore, thanks to clark, the settlements south of the ohio were but little molested for the remainder of the year. [footnote: mcafee mss.] the bulk of the savages remained north of the river, hovering about their burned towns, planning to take vengeance in the spring. [footnote: virginia state papers, i., .] nevertheless small straggling bands of young braves occasionally came down through the woods; and though they did not attack any fort or any large body of men, they were ever on the watch to steal horses, burn lonely cabins, and waylay travellers between the stations. they shot the solitary settlers who had gone out to till their clearings by stealth, or ambushed the boys who were driving in the milk cows or visiting their lines of traps. it was well for the victim if he was killed at once; otherwise he was bound with hickory withes and driven to the distant indian towns, there to be tortured with hideous cruelty and burned to death at the stake. [footnote: mcafee mss. the last was an incident that happened to a young man named mccoun on march , .] boon himself suffered at the hands of one of these parties. he had gone with his brother to the blue licks, to him a spot always fruitful of evil; and being ambushed by the indians, his brother was killed, and he himself was only saved by his woodcraft and speed of foot. the indians had with them a tracking dog, by the aid of which they followed his trail for three miles; until he halted, shot the dog, and thus escaped. [footnote: boon's narrative.] life of the settlers. during this comparatively peaceful fall the settlers fared well; though the men were ever on the watch for indian war parties, while the mothers, if their children were naughty, frightened them into quiet with the threat that the shawnees would catch them. the widows and the fatherless were cared for by the other families of the different stations. the season of want and scarcity had passed for ever; from thenceforth on there was abundance in kentucky. the crops did not fail; not only was there plenty of corn, the one essential, but there was also wheat, as well as potatoes, melons, pumpkins, turnips, and the like. sugar was made by tapping the maple trees; but salt was bought at a very exorbitant price at the falls, being carried down in boats from the old redstone fort. flax had been generally sown (though in the poorer settlements nettle bark still served as a substitute), and the young men and girls formed parties to pick it, often ending their labor by an hour or two's search for wild plums. the men killed all the game they wished, and so there was no lack of meat. they also surveyed the land and tended the stock--cattle, horses, and hogs, which throve and multiplied out on the range, fattening on the cane, and large white buffalo-clover. at odd times the men and boys visited their lines of traps. furs formed almost the only currency, except a little paper money; but as there were no stores west of the mountains, this was all that was needed, and each settlement raised most things for itself, and procured the rest by barter. the law courts were as yet very little troubled, each small community usually enforcing a rough-and-ready justice of its own. on a few of the streams log-dams were built, and tub-mills started. in harrodsburg a toll mill was built in . the owner used to start it grinding, and then go about his other business; once on returning he found a large wild turkey-gobbler so busily breakfasting out of the hopper that he was able to creep quietly up and catch him with his hands. the people all worked together in cultivating their respective lands; coming back to the fort before dusk for supper. they would then call on any man who owned a fiddle and spend the evening, with interludes of singing and story-telling, in dancing--an amusement they considered as only below hunting. on sundays the stricter parents taught their children the catechism; but in spite of the presence of not a few devout baptists and presbyterians there was little chance for general observance of religious forms. ordinary conversation was limited to such subjects as bore on the day's doings; the game that had been killed, the condition of the crops, the plans of the settlers for the immediate future, the accounts of the last massacre by the savages, or the rumor that indian sign had been seen in the neighborhood; all interspersed with much banter, practical joking, and rough, good-humored fun. the scope of conversation was of necessity narrowly limited even for the backwoods; for there was little chance to discuss religion and politics, the two subjects that the average backwoodsman regards as the staples of deep conversation. the deeds of the indians of course formed the one absorbing topic. [footnote: for all this see mcafee mss.] an abortive separatist movement. an abortive separatist movement was the chief political sensation of this summer. many hundreds and even thousand of settlers from the backwoods districts of various states, had come to kentucky, and some even to illinois, and a number of them were greatly discontented with the virginian rule. they deemed it too difficult to get justice when they were so far from the seat of government; they objected to the land being granted to any but actual settlers; and they protested against being taxed, asserting that they did not know whether the country really belonged to virginia or the united states. accordingly, they petitioned the continental congress that kentucky and illinois combined might be made into a separate state; [footnote: state department mss. no. . see appendix g. as containing an account of the first, and hitherto entirely unnoticed, separatist movement in kentucky, i give the petition entire.] but no heed was paid to their request, nor did their leading men join in making it. kentucky divided into counties. in november the virginia legislature divided kentucky into the three counties of jefferson, lincoln, and fayette, appointing for each a colonel, a lieutenant-colonel, and a surveyor. the three colonels, who were also justices of the counties, [footnote: calendar of virginia state papers, vol. ii., p. .] were, in their order, john floyd--whom clark described as "a soldier, a gentleman and a scholar," [footnote: _do_., vol. i., p. .]--benjamin logan, and john todd. clark, whose station was at the falls of the ohio, was brigadier-general and commander over all. boon was lieutenant-colonel under todd; and their county of fayette had for its surveyor thomas marshall, [footnote: collins, i., .] the father of the great chief-justice, whose services to the united states stand on a plane with those of alexander hamilton. [footnote: roughly, fayette embraced the territory north and northeast of the kentucky river, jefferson that between green river and the lower kentucky, and lincoln the rest of the present state.] clark's plans to attack detroit. the winter passed quietly away, but as soon as the snow was off the ground in , the indians renewed their ravages. early in the winter clark went to virginia to try to get an army for an expedition against detroit. he likewise applied to washington for assistance. washington fully entered into his plans, and saw their importance. he would gladly have rendered him every aid. but he could do nothing, because of the impotence to which the central authority, the continental congress, had been reduced by the selfishness and supine indifference of the various states--virginia among the number. he wrote clark: "it is out of my power to send any reinforcements to the westward. if the states would fill their continental battalions we should be able to oppose a regular and permanent force to the enemy in every quarter. if they will not, they must certainly take measures to defend themselves by their militia, however expensive and ruinous the system." [footnote: state department mss., no. , vol. v. reports of board of war. letter of washington, june , . it is impossible to study any part of the revolutionary struggle without coming to the conclusion that washington would have ended it in half the time it actually lasted, had the jangling states and their governments, as well as the continental congress, backed him up half as effectively as the confederate people and government backed up lee, or as the northerners and the washington administration backed up mcclellan--still more as they backed up grant. the whole of our revolutionary history is a running commentary on the anarchic weakness of disunion, and the utter lack of liberty that follows in its train.] it was impossible to state with more straightforward clearness the fact that kentucky owed the unprotected condition in which she was left, to the divided or states-rights system of government that then existed; and that she would have had ample protection--and incidentally greater liberty--had the central authority been stronger. why his efforts were baffled. at last, clark was empowered to raise the men he wished, and he passed and repassed from fort pitt to the falls of the ohio and thence to the illinois in the vain effort to get troops. the inertness and shortsightedness of the frontiersmen, above all the exhaustion of the states, and their timid selfishness and inability to enforce their commands, baffled all of clark's efforts. in his letters to washington he bitterly laments his enforced dependence upon "persuasive arguments to draw the inhabitants of the country into the field." [footnote: state department mss. letters to washington, vol. , p. , may , . the entire history of the western operations shows the harm done by the weak and divided system of government that obtained at the time of the revolution, and emphasizes our good fortune in replacing it by a strong and permanent union.] the kentuckians were anxious to do all in their power, but of course only a comparatively small number could be spared for so long a campaign from their scattered stockades. around pittsburg, where he hoped to raise the bulk of his forces, the frontiersmen were split into little factions by their petty local rivalries, the envy their leaders felt of clark himself, and the never-ending jealousies and bickerings between the virginians and pennsylvanians. [footnote: calendar of virginia state papers, i., pp. , , etc.; ii., pp. , , , . the kentuckians were far more eager for action than the pennsylvanians.] the fort at the falls, where clark already had some troops, was appointed as a gathering-place for the different detachments that were to join him; but from one cause or another, all save one or two failed to appear. most of them did not even start, and one body of pennsylvanians that did go met with an untoward fate. this was a party of a hundred westmoreland men under their county-lieutenant, col. archibald loughry. they started down the ohio in flat-boats, but having landed on a sand bar to butcher and cook a buffalo that they had killed, they were surprised by an equal number of indians under joseph brant, and being huddled together, were all slain or captured with small loss to their assailants. [footnote: at loughry's creek, some ten miles below the mouth of the miami, on august , . diary of captain isaac anderson, quoted in "indiana hist. soc. pamphlets, no. ," by charles martindale, indianapolis, . collins, whose accuracy by no means equals his thirst for pure detail, puts this occurrence just a year too late. brant's force was part of a body of several hundred indians gathered to resist clark.] many of the prisoners, including loughry himself, were afterwards murdered in cold blood by the indians. fighting on the frontier. during this year the indians continually harassed the whole frontier, from pennsylvania to kentucky, ravaging the settlements and assailing the forts in great bands of five or six hundred warriors. [footnote: it is most difficult to get at the number of the indian parties; they were sometimes grossly exaggerated and sometimes hopelessly underestimated.] the continental troops stationed at fort pitt were reduced to try every expedient to procure supplies. though it was evident that the numbers of the hostile indians had largely increased and that even such tribes as the delawares, who had been divided, were now united against the americans, nevertheless, because of the scarcity of food, a party of soldiers had to be sent into the indian country to kill buffalo, that the garrison might have meat. [footnote: state department mss., no. , vol. vi. reports of board of war. march , .] the indians threatened to attack the fort itself, as well as the villages it protected; passing around and on each side, their war parties ravaged the country in its rear, distressing greatly the people; and from this time until peace was declared with great britain, and indeed until long after that event, the westernmost pennsylvanians knew neither rest nor safety. [footnote: _do_., no. , vol. i.. january , ; no. , vol. i., august , ; no. , vol. ii., p. ; no. , vol. iii., p. . federal garrisons were occasionally established at, or withdrawn from, other posts on the upper ohio besides fort pitt; but their movements had no permanent value, and only require chronicling by the local, state, or county historians. in fort mcintosh was built at beaver creek, on the north bank of the ohio, and fort laurens seventy miles towards the interior. the latter was soon abandoned; the former was in pennsylvania, and a garrison was kept there.] among many others the forted village at wheeling was again attacked. but its most noteworthy siege occurred during the succeeding summer, when [footnote: the commanders at the unmolested forts and the statesmen who stayed at home only saw those members of the tribes who claimed to be peaceful, and invariably put the number of warriors on the warpath at far too low a figure. madison's estimates, for instance, were very much out of the way, yet many modern critics follow him.] simon girty, with fife and drum, led a large band of indians and detroit rangers against it, only to be beaten off. the siege was rendered memorable by the heroism of a girl, who carried powder from the stockade to an outlying log-house, defended by four men; she escaped unscathed because of her very boldness, in spite of the fire from so many rifles, and to this day the mountaineers speak of her deed. [footnote: see de haas, - , for the fullest, and probably most accurate, account of the siege; as already explained he is the most trustworthy of the border historians. but it is absolutely impossible to find out the real facts concerning the sieges of wheeling; it is not quite certain even whether there were two or three. the testimony as to whether the heroine of the powder feat was betty zane or molly scott is hopelessly conflicting; we do not know which of the two brothers girty was in command, nor whether either was present at the first attack. much even of de haas' account is, to put it mildly, greatly embellished; as for instance his statement about the cannon (a small french gun, thrown into the monongahela when fort du quesne was abandoned, and fished up by a man named naly, who was in swimming), which he asserts cut "a wide passage" through the "deep columns" of the savages. there is no reason to suppose that the indians suffered a serious loss. wheeling was a place of little strategic importance, and its fall would not have produced any far-reaching effects.] it would be tiresome and profitless to so much as name the many different stations that were attacked. in their main incidents all the various assaults were alike, and that made this summer on mcafee's station may be taken as an illustration. the attack on mcafee's station. the mcafees brought their wives and children to kentucky in the fall of ' , and built a little stockaded hamlet on the banks of salt river, six or seven miles from harrodsburg. some relatives and friends joined them, but their station was small and weak. the stockade, on the south side, was very feeble, and there were but thirteen men, besides the women and children, in garrison; but they were strong and active, good woodsmen, and excellent marksmen. the attack was made on may , . [footnote: mcafee mss. this is the date given in the ms. "autobiography of robert mcafee"; the ms. "history of first settlement on salt river" says may th. i draw my account from these two sources; the discrepancies are trivial.] the indians lay all night at a corn-crib three-quarters of a mile distant from the stockade. the settlers, though one of their number had been carried off two months before, still continued their usual occupations. but they were very watchful and always kept a sharp look-out, driving the stock inside the yard at night. on the day in question, at dawn, it was noticed that the dogs and cattle betrayed symptoms of uneasiness; for all tame animals dreaded the sight or smell of an indian as they did that of a wild beast, and by their alarm often warned the settlers and thus saved their lives. in this case the warning was unheeded. at daybreak the stock were turned loose and four of the men went outside the fort. two began to clear a patch of turnip-land about a hundred and fifty yards off, leaving their guns against a tree close at hand. the other two started towards the corn-crib, with a horse and bag. after going a quarter of a mile, the path dipped into a hollow, and here they suddenly came on the indians, advancing stealthily toward the fort. at the first fire one of the men was killed, and the horse, breaking loose, galloped back to the fort. the other man likewise turned and ran towards home, but was confronted by an indian who leaped into the path directly ahead of him. the two were so close together that the muzzles of their guns crossed, and both pulled trigger at once; the indian's gun missed fire and he fell dead in his tracks. continuing his flight, the survivor reached the fort in safety. when the two men in the turnip-patch heard the firing they seized their guns and ran towards the point of attack, but seeing the number of the assailants they turned back to the fort, trying to drive the frightened stock before them. the indians coming up close, they had to abandon the attempt, although most of the horses and some of the cattle got safely home. one of the men reached the gate ahead of the indians; the other was cut off, and took a roundabout route through the woods. he speedily distanced all of his pursuers but one; several times he turned to shoot the latter, but the indian always took prompt refuge behind a tree, and the white man then renewed his flight. at last he reach a fenced orchard, on the border of the cleared ground round the fort. throwing himself over the fence he lay still among the weeds on the other side. in a minute or two the pursuer, running up, cautiously peered over the fence, and was instantly killed; he proved to be a shawnee chief, painted, and decked with many silver armlets, rings, and brooches. the fugitive then succeeded in making his way into the fort. the settlers inside the stockade had sprung to arms the moment the first guns were heard. the men fired on the advancing indians, while the women and children ran bullets and made ready the rifle-patches. every one displayed the coolest determination and courage except one man who hid under a bed, until found by his wife; whereupon he was ignominiously dragged out and made to run bullets with the women. as the indians advanced they shot down most of the cattle and hogs and some of the horses that were running frantically round the stockade; and they likewise shot several dogs that had sallied out to help their masters. they then made a rush on the fort, but were driven off at once, one of their number being killed and several badly hurt, while but one of the defenders was wounded, and he but slightly. after this they withdrew to cover and began a desultory firing, which lasted for some time. suddenly a noise like distant thunder came to the ears of the men in the fort. it was the beat of horsehoofs. in a minute or two forty-five horsemen, headed by mcgarry, appeared on the road leading from harrodsburg, shouting and brandishing their rifles as they galloped up. the morning was so still that the firing had been heard a very long way; and a band of mounted riflemen had gathered in hot haste to go to the relief of the beleaguered stockade. the indians, whooping defiance, retired; while mcgarry halted a moment to allow the rescued settlers to bridle their horses--saddles were not thought of. the pursuit was then begun at full speed. at the ford of a small creek near by, the rearmost indians turned and fired at the horsemen, killing one and wounding another, while a third had his horse mired down, and was left behind. the main body was overtaken at the corn-crib, and a running fight followed; the whites leaving their horses and both sides taking shelter behind the tree-trunks. soon two indians were killed, and the others scattered in every direction, while the victors returned in triumph to the station. slight losses of the indians. it is worthy of notice that though the indians were defeated, and though they were pitted against first-class rifle shots, they yet had but five men killed and a very few wounded. they rarely suffered a heavy loss in battle with the whites, even when beaten in the open or repulsed from a fort. they would not stand heavy punishment, and in attacking a fort generally relied upon a single headlong rush, made under cover of darkness or as a surprise; they tried to unnerve their antagonists by the sudden fury of their onslaught and the deafening accompaniment of whoops and yells. if they began to suffer much loss they gave up at once, and if pursued scattered in every direction, each man for himself, and owing to their endurance, woodcraft, and skill in hiding, usually got off with marvellously little damage. at the outside a dozen of their men might be killed in the pursuit by such of the vengeful backwoodsmen as were exceptionally fleet of foot. the northwestern tribes at this time appreciated thoroughly that their marvellous fighting qualities were shown to best advantage in the woods, and neither in the defence nor in the assault of fortified places. they never cooped themselves in stockades to receive an attack from the whites, as was done by the massachusetts algonquins in the seventeenth century, and by the creeks at the beginning of the nineteenth; and it was only when behind defensive works from which they could not retreat that the forest indians ever suffered heavily when defeated by the whites. on the other hand, the defeat of the average white force was usually followed by a merciless slaughter. skilled backwoodsmen scattered out, indian fashion, but their less skilful or more panic-struck brethren, and all regulars or ordinary militia, kept together from a kind of blind feeling of safety in companionship, and in consequence their nimble and ruthless antagonists destroyed them at their ease. indian war parties repulsed. still, the indian war parties were often checked, or scattered; and occasionally one of them received some signal discomfiture. such was the case with a band that went up the kanawha valley just as clark was descending the ohio on his way to the illinois. finding the fort at the mouth of the kanawha too strong to be carried, they moved on up the river towards the greenbriar settlements, their chiefs shouting threateningly to the people in the fort, and taunting them with the impending destruction of their friends and kindred. but two young men in the stockade forthwith dressed and painted themselves like indians, that they might escape notice even if seen, and speeding through the woods reached the settlements first and gave warning. the settlers took refuge on a farm where there was a block-house with a stockaded yard. the indians attacked in a body at daybreak when the door was opened, thinking to rush into the house; but they were beaten off, and paid dear for their boldness, for seventeen of them were left dead in the yard, besides the killed and wounded whom they carried away. [footnote: mckee was the commander at the fort; the block-house was owned by col. andrew donelly; hanlon and prior were the names of the two young men. this happened in may, . for the anecdotes of personal prowess in this chapter see de haas, or else kercheval, mcclung, doddridge, and the fifty other annalists of those western wars, who repeat many of the same stories. all relate facts of undoubted authenticity and wildly improbable tales, resting solely on tradition, with exactly the same faith. the chronological order of these anecdotes being unimportant, i have grouped them here. it must always be remembered that both the men and the incidents described are interesting chiefly as examples; the old annalists give many hundreds of such anecdotes, and there must have been thousands more that they did not relate.] in the same year a block-house was attacked while the children were playing outside. the indians in their sudden rush killed one settler, wounded four, and actually got inside the house; yet three were killed or disabled, and they were driven out by the despairing fury of the remaining whites, the women fighting together with the men. then the savages instantly fled, but they had killed and scalped, or carried off, ten of the children. be it remembered that these instances are taken at random from among hundreds of others, extending over a series of years longer than the average life of a generation. the indians warred with the odds immeasurably in their favor. the ohio was the boundary between their remaining hunting-grounds and the lands where the whites had settled. in kentucky alone this frontier was already seventy miles in length. [footnote: virginia state papers, i., . letter of col. john floyd. the kentuckians, he notices, trust militia more than they do regulars.] beyond the river stretched the frowning forest, to the indians a sure shield in battle, a secure haven in disaster, an impenetrable mask from behind which to plan attack. nature of the indian forays. clark, from his post at the falls, sent out spies and scouts along the banks of the river, and patrolled its waters with his gun-boat; but it was absolutely impossible to stop all the forays or to tell the point likely to be next struck. a war party starting from the wigwam-towns would move silently down through the woods, cross the ohio at any point, and stealthily and rapidly traverse the settlements, its presence undiscovered until the deeds of murder and rapine were done, and its track marked by charred cabins and the ghastly, mutilated bodies of men, women, and children. if themselves assailed, the warriors fought desperately and effectively. they sometimes attacked bodies of troops, but always by ambush or surprise; and they much preferred to pounce on unprepared and unsuspecting surveyors, farmers, or wayfarers, or to creep up to solitary, outlying cabins. they valued the scalps of women and children as highly as those of men. striking a sudden blow, where there was hardly any possibility of loss to themselves, they instantly moved on to the next settlement, repeating the process again and again. tireless, watchful, cautious, and rapid, they covered great distances, and their stealth and the mystery of their coming and going added to the terror produced by the horrible nature of their ravages. when pursued they dextrously covered their trail, and started homewards across a hundred leagues of trackless wilderness. the pursuers almost of necessity went slower, for they had to puzzle out the tracks; and after a certain number of days either their food gave out or they found themselves too far from home, and were obliged to return. in most instances the pursuit was vain. thus a party of twenty savages might make a war-trail some hundreds of miles in length, taking forty or fifty scalps, carrying off a dozen women and children, and throwing a number of settlements, with perhaps a total population of a thousand souls, into a rage of terror and fury, with a loss to themselves of but one or two men killed and wounded. a great war band threatens kentucky throughout the summer of the settlers were scourged by an unbroken series of raids of this kind. in august mckee, brant, and other tory and indian leaders assembled on the miami an army of perhaps a thousand warriors. they were collected to oppose clark's intended march to detroit; for the british leaders were well aware of clark's intention, and trusted to the savages to frustrate it if he attempted to put it into execution. brant went off for a scout with a hundred warriors, and destroyed loughry's party of westmoreland men, as already related, returning to the main body after having done so. the fickle savages were much elated by this stroke, but instead of being inspired to greater efforts, took the view that the danger of invasion was now over. after much persuasion brant, mckee, and the captain of the detroit rangers, thompson, persuaded them to march towards the falls. on september th they were within thirty miles of their destination, and halted to send out scouts. two prisoners were captured, from whom it was learned that clark had abandoned his proposed expedition. [footnote: haldimand mss. captain a. thompson to de peyster, september , .] instantly the indians began to disband, some returning to their homes, and others scattering out to steal horses and burn isolated cabins. nor could the utmost efforts of their leaders keep them together. they had no wish to fight clark unless it was absolutely necessary, in order to save their villages and crops from destruction; and they much preferred plundering on their own account. however, a couple of hundred hurons and miamis, under brant and mckee, were kept together, and moved southwards between the kentucky and salt rivers, intending "to attack some of the small forts and infest the roads." [footnote: _do._ captain a. mckee to de peyster, september , .] about the middle of the month they fell in with a party of settlers led by squire boon. squire boon and floyd defeated. squire boon had built a fort, some distance from any other, and when rumors of a great indian invasion reached him, he determined to leave it and join the stations on bear grass creek. when he reached long run, with his men, women, and children, cattle, and household goods, he stumbled against the two hundred warriors of mckee and brant. his people were scattered to the four winds, with the loss of many scalps and all their goods and cattle. the victors camped on the ground with the intention of ambushing any party that arrived to bury the dead; for they were confident some of the settlers would come for this purpose. nor were they disappointed; for next morning floyd, the county lieutenant, with twenty-five men, made his appearance. floyd marched so quickly that he came on the indians before they were prepared to receive him. a smart skirmish ensued; but the whites were hopelessly outnumbered, and were soon beaten and scattered, with a loss of twelve or thirteen men. floyd himself, exhausted and with his horse shot, would have been captured had not another man, one samuel wells, who was excellently mounted, seen his plight. wells reined in, leaped off his horse, and making floyd ride, he ran beside him, and both escaped. the deed was doubly noble, because the men had previously been enemies. [footnote: marshall, i., . floyd had previously written jefferson (virginia state papers, i., ) that in his county there were but three hundred and fifty-four militia between sixteen and fifty-four years old; that all people were living in forts, and that forty-seven of the settlers of all ages had been killed, and many wounded, since january; so his defeat was a serious blow.] the frontiersmen had made a good defence in spite of the tremendous odds against them, and had slain four of their opponents, three hurons and a miami. [footnote: haldimand mss. thompson's letter; mckee only mentions the three hurons. as already explained, the partisan leaders were apt, in enumerating the indian losses, only to give such as had occurred in their own particular bands. marshall makes the fight take place in april; the haldimand mss. show that it was in september. marshall is as valuable for early kentucky history as haywood for the corresponding periods in tennessee; but both one and the other write largely from tradition, and can never be followed when they contradict contemporary reports.] among the former was the head chief, a famous warrior; his death so discouraged the indians that they straightway returned home with their scalps and plunder, resisting mckee's entreaty that they would first attack boonsborough. one war party carried off logan's family; but logan, following swiftly after, came on the savages so suddenly that he killed several of their number, and rescued all his own people unhurt. [footnote: bradford mss.] complicity of the british. often french canadians, and more rarely tories, accompanied these little bands of murderous plunderers [footnote: at this very time a small band that had captured a family in the kanawha valley were pursued fifty miles, overtaken, several killed and wounded, and the prisoners recaptured, by col. andrew donelly, mentioned in a previous note; it consisted of two french and eight indians. virginia state papers, i., .]--besides the companies of detroit rangers who went with the large war parties--and they were all armed and urged on by the british at detroit. one of the official british reports to lord george germaine, made on october d of this year, deals with the indian war parties employed against the northwestern frontier. "many smaller indian parties have been very successful.... it would be endless and difficult to enumerate to your lordship the parties that are continually employed upon the back settlements. from the illinois country to the frontiers of new york there is a continual succession... the perpetual terror and losses of the inhabitants will i hope operate powerfully in our favor" [footnote: see full copy of the letter in mr. martindale's excellent pamphlet, above quoted.];--so runs the letter. at the same time the british commander in canada was pointing out to his subordinate at detroit that the real danger to british rule arose from the extension of the settlements westwards, and that this the indians could prevent [footnote: haldimand mss. haldimand to de peyster, june , . throughout the letters of the british officers at and near detroit there are constant allusions to scalps being brought in; but not one word, as far as i have seen, to show that the indians were ever reproved because many of the scalps were those of women and children. it is only fair to say, however, that there are several instances of the commanders exhorting the indians to be merciful--which was a waste of breath,--and several other instances where successful efforts were made to stop the use of torture. the british officers were generally personally humane to their prisoners.]; in other words, the savages were expressly directed to make war on non-combatants, for it was impossible to attack a settlement without attacking the women and children therein. in return the frontiersmen speedily grew to regard both british and indians with the same venomous and indiscriminate anger. nature of the ceaseless strife in the writings of the early annalists of these indian wars are to be found the records of countless deeds of individual valor and cowardice, prowess and suffering, of terrible woe in time of disaster and defeat, and of the glutting of ferocious vengeance in the days of triumphant reprisal. they contain tales of the most heroic courage and of the vilest poltroonery; for the iron times brought out all that was best and all that was basest in the human breast. we read of husbands leaving their wives, and women their children, to the most dreadful of fates, on the chance that they themselves might thereby escape; and on the other hand, we read again and again of the noblest acts of self-sacrifice, where the man freely gave his life for that of his wife or child, his brother or his friend. many deeds of unflinching loyalty are recorded, but very, very few where magnanimity was shown to a fallen foe. the women shared the stern qualities of the men; often it happened that, when the house-owner had been shot down, his wife made good the defence of the cabin with rifle or with axe, hewing valiantly at the savages who tried to break through the door, or dig under the puncheon floor, or, perhaps, burst down through the roof or wide chimney. many hundreds of these tales could be gathered together; one or two are worth giving, not as being unique, but rather as samples of innumerable others of the same kind. feat of the two poes. in those days [footnote: , de haas; doddridge, whom the other compilers follow, gives a wrong date ( ), and reverses the parts the two brothers played.] there lived beside the ohio, in extreme northwestern virginia, two tall brothers, famed for their strength, agility, and courage. they were named adam and andrew poe. in the summer of ' a party of seven wyandots or hurons came into their settlement, burned some cabins, and killed one of the settlers. immediately eight backwoodsmen started in chase of the marauders; among them were the two poes. the wyandots were the bravest of all the indian tribes, the most dangerous in battle, and the most merciful in victory, rarely torturing their prisoners; the backwoodsmen respected them for their prowess more than they did any other tribe, and, if captured, esteemed themselves fortunate to fall into wyandot hands. these seven warriors were the most famous and dreaded of the whole tribe. they included four brothers, one being the chief bigfoot, who was of gigantic strength and stature, the champion of all, their most fearless and redoubtable fighter. yet their very confidence ruined them, for they retreated in a leisurely manner, caring little whether they were overtaken or not, as they had many times worsted the whites, and did not deem them their equals in battle. the backwoodsmen followed the trail swiftly all day long, and, by the help of the moon, late into the night. early next morning they again started and found themselves so near the wyandots that andrew poe turned aside and went down to the bed of a neighboring stream, thinking to come up behind the indians while they were menaced by his comrades in front. hearing a low murmur, he crept up through the bushes to a jutting rock on the brink of the watercourse, and peering cautiously over, he saw two indians beneath him. they were sitting under a willow, talking in deep whispers; one was an ordinary warrior, the other, by his gigantic size, was evidently the famous chief himself. andrew took steady aim at the big chiefs breast and pulled trigger. the rifle flashed in the pan; and the two indians sprang to their feet with a deep grunt of surprise. for a second all three stared at one another. then andrew sprang over the rock, striking the big indian's breast with a shock that bore him to the earth; while at the moment of alighting, he threw his arm round the small indian's neck, and all three rolled on the ground together. at this instant they heard sharp firing in the woods above them. the rest of the whites and indians had discovered one another at the same time. a furious but momentary fight ensued; three backwoodsmen and four indians were killed outright, no other white being hurt, while the single remaining red warrior made his escape, though badly wounded. but the three men who were struggling for life and death in the ravine had no time to pay heed to outside matters. for a moment andrew kept down both his antagonists, who were stunned by the shock; but before he could use his knife the big indian wrapped him in his arms and held him as if in a vise. this enabled the small indian to wrest himself loose, when the big chief ordered him to run for his tomahawk, which lay on the sand ten feet away, and to kill the white man as he lay powerless in the chiefs arms. andrew could not break loose, but watching his chance, as the small indian came up, he kicked him so violently in the chest that he knocked the tomahawk out of his hand and sent him staggering into the water. thereat the big chief grunted out his contempt, and thundered at the small indian a few words that andrew could not understand. the small indian again approached and after making several feints, struck with the tomahawk, but andrew dodged and received the blow on his wrist instead of his head; and the wound though deep was not disabling. by a sudden and mighty effort he now shook himself free from the giant, and snatching up a loaded rifle from the sand, shot the small indian as he rushed on him. but at that moment the larger indian, rising up, seized him and hurled him to the ground. he was on his feet in a second, and the two grappled furiously, their knives being lost; andrew's activity and skill as a wrestler and boxer making amends for his lack of strength. locked in each other's arms they rolled into the water. here each tried to drown the other, and andrew catching the chief by the scalp lock held his head under the water until his faint struggles ceased. thinking his foe dead, he loosed his grip to try to get at his knife, but, as andrew afterwards said, the indian had only been "playing possum," and in a second the struggle was renewed. both combatants rolled into deep water, when they separated and struck out for the shore. the indian proved the best swimmer, and ran up to the rifle that lay on the sand, whereupon andrew turned to swim out into the stream, hoping to save his life by diving. at this moment his brother adam appeared on the bank, and seeing andrew covered with blood and swimming rapidly away, mistook him for an indian, and shot him in the shoulder. immediately afterwards he saw his real antagonist. both had empty guns, and the contest became one as to who could beat the other in loading, the indian exclaiming: "who load first, shoot first!" the chief got his powder down first, but, in hurriedly drawing out his ramrod, it slipped through his fingers and fell in the river. seeing that it was all over, he instantly faced his foe, pulled open the bosom of his shirt, and the next moment received the ball fair in his breast. adam, alarmed for his brother, who by this time could barely keep himself afloat, rushed into the river to save him, not heeding andrew's repeated cries to take the big indian's scalp. meanwhile the dying chief, resolute to save the long locks his enemies coveted--always a point of honor among the red men,--painfully rolled himself into the stream. before he died he reached the deep water, and the swift current bore his body away. other feats of personal prowess about this time a hunter named mcconnell was captured near lexington by five indians. at night he wriggled out of his bonds and slew four of his sleeping captors, while the fifth, who escaped, was so bewildered that, on reaching the indian town, he reported that his party had been attacked at night by a number of whites, who had not only killed his companions but the prisoner likewise. a still more remarkable event had occurred a couple of summers previously. some keel boats, manned by a hundred men under lieutenant rogers, and carrying arms and provisions procured from the spaniards at new orleans, were set upon by an indian war party under girty and elliott, [footnote: haldimand mss. de peyster to haldimand, november , .] while drawn up on a sand beach of the ohio. the boats were captured and plundered, and most of the men were killed; several escaped, two under very extraordinary circumstances. one had both his arms, the other both his legs, broken. they lay hid till the indians disappeared, and then accidentally discovered each other. for weeks the two crippled beings lived in the lonely spot where the battle had been fought, unable to leave it, each supplementing what the other could do. the man who could walk kicked wood to him who could not, that he might make a fire, and making long circuits, chased the game towards him for him to shoot it. at last they were taken off by a passing flat-boat. the backwoodsmen, wonted to vigorous athletic pastimes, and to fierce brawls among themselves, were generally overmatches for the indians in hand-to-hand struggles. one such fight, that took place some years before this time, deserves mention. a man of herculean strength and of fierce, bold nature, named bingaman, lived on the frontier in a lonely log-house. the cabin had but a single room below, in which bingaman slept, as well as his mother, wife, and child; a hired man slept in the loft. one night eight indians assailed the house. as they burst in the door bingaman thrust the women and the child under the bed, his wife being wounded by a shot in the breast. then having discharged his piece he began to beat about at random with the long heavy rifle. the door swung partially to, and in the darkness nothing could be seen. the numbers of the indians helped them but little, for bingaman's tremendous strength enabled him to shake himself free whenever grappled. one after another his foes sank under his crushing blows, killed or crippled; it is said that at last but one was left to flee from the house in terror. the hired man had not dared to come down from the loft, and when bingaman found his wife wounded he became so enraged that it was with difficulty he could be kept from killing him. [footnote: it is curious how faithfully, as well as vividly, cooper has reproduced these incidents. his pictures of the white frontiersmen are generally true to life; in his most noted indian characters he is much less fortunate. but his "indian john" in the "pioneers" is one of his best portraits; almost equal praise can he given to susquesus in the "chainbearers."] incidents such as these followed one another in quick succession. they deserve notice less for their own sakes than as examples of the way the west was won; for the land was really conquered not so much by the actual shock of battle between bodies of soldiers, as by the continuous westward movement of the armed settlers and the unceasing individual warfare waged between them and their red foes. for the same reason one or two of the more noted hunters and indian scouts deserve mention, as types of hundreds of their fellows, who spent their lives and met their deaths in the forest. it was their warfare that really did most to diminish the fighting force of the tribes. they battled exactly as their foes did, making forays, alone or in small parties, for scalps and horses, and in their skirmishes inflicted as much loss as they received; in striking contrast to what occurred in conflicts between the savages and regular troops. the hunter wetzel. one of the most formidable of these hunters was lewis wetzel. [footnote: the name is variously spelt; in the original german records of the family it appears as wätzel, or watzel.] boon, kenton, and harrod illustrate by their lives the nobler, kindlier traits of the dauntless border-folk; wetzel, like mcgarry, shows the dark side of the picture. he was a good friend to his white neighbors, or at least to such of them as he liked, and as a hunter and fighter there was not in all the land his superior. but he was of brutal and violent temper, and for the indians he knew no pity and felt no generosity. they had killed many of his friends and relations, among others his father; and he hunted them in peace or war like wolves. his admirers denied that he ever showed "unwonted cruelty" [footnote: de haas, .] to indian women and children; that he sometimes killed them cannot be gainsaid. some of his feats were cold-blooded murders, as when he killed an indian who came in to treat with general harmar, under pledge of safe conduct; one of his brothers slew in like fashion a chief who came to see col. brodhead. but the frontiersmen loved him, for his mere presence was a protection, so great was the terror he inspired among the red men. his hardihood and address were only equalled by his daring and courage. he was literally a man without fear; in his few days of peace his chief amusements were wrestling, foot-racing, and shooting at a mark. he was a dandy, too, after the fashion of the backwoods, especially proud of his mane of long hair, which, when he let it down, hung to his knees. he often hunted alone in the indian country, a hundred miles beyond the ohio. as he dared not light a bright fire on these trips, he would, on cold nights, make a small coal-pit, and cower over it, drawing his blanket over his head, when, to use his own words, he soon became as hot as in a "stove room." once he surprised four indians sleeping in their camp; falling on them he killed three. another time, when pursued by the same number of foes, he loaded his rifle as he ran, and killed in succession the three foremost, whereat the other fled. in all, he took over thirty scalps of warriors, thus killing more indians than were slain by either one of the two large armies of braddock and st. clair during their disastrous campaigns. wetzel's frame, like his heart, was of steel. but his temper was too sullen and unruly for him ever to submit to command or to bear rule over others. his feats were performed when he was either alone or with two or three associates. an army of such men would have been wholly valueless. brady and his scouts. another man, of a far higher type, was captain samuel brady, already a noted indian fighter on the alleghany. for many years after the close of the revolutionary war he was the chief reliance of the frontiersmen of his own neighborhood. he had lost a father and a brother by the indians; and in return he followed the red men with relentless hatred. but he never killed peaceful indians nor those who came in under flags of truce. the tale of his wanderings, his captivities, his hairbreadth escapes, and deeds of individual prowess would fill a book. he frequently went on scouts alone, either to procure information or to get scalps. on these trips he was not only often reduced to the last extremity by hunger, fatigue, and exposure, but was in hourly peril of his life from the indians he was hunting. once he was captured; but when about to be bound to the stake for burning, he suddenly flung an indian boy into the fire, and in the confusion burst through the warriors, and actually made his escape, though the whole pack of yelling savages followed at his heels with rifle and tomahawk. he raised a small company of scouts or rangers, and was one of the very few captains able to reduce the unruly frontiersmen to order. in consequence his company on several occasions fairly whipped superior numbers of indians in the woods; a feat that no regulars could perform, and to which the backwoodsmen themselves were generally unequal, even though an overmatch for their foes singly, because of their disregard of discipline. [footnote: in the open plain the comparative prowess of these forest indians, of the backwoodsmen, and of trained regulars was exactly the reverse of what it was in the woods.] so, with foray and reprisal, and fierce private war, with all the border in a flame, the year came to an end. at its close there were in kentucky seven hundred and sixty able-bodied militia, fit for an offensive campaign. [footnote: letter of john todd, october , . virginia state papers, ii., . the troops at the falls were in a very destitute condition, with neither supplies nor money, and their credit worn threadbare, able to get nothing from the surrounding country (_do_., p. ). in clark's absence the colonel let his garrison be insulted by the townspeople, and so brought the soldiers into contempt, while some of the demoralized officers tampered with the public stores. it was said that much dissipation prevailed in the garrison, to which accusation clark answered sarcastically: "however agreeable such conduct might have been to their sentiments, i believe they seldom had the means in their power, for they were generally in a starving condition" (_do_., vol. iii., pp. and ).] as this did not include the troops at the falls, nor the large shifting population, nor the "fort soldiers," the weaker men, graybeards, and boys, who could handle a rifle behind a stockade, it is probable that there were then somewhere between four and five thousand souls in kentucky. chapter v. the moravian massacre, - . the moravians. after the moravian indians were led by their missionary pastors to the banks of the muskingum they dwelt peacefully and unharmed for several years. in lord dunmore's war special care was taken by the white leaders that these quaker indians should not be harmed; and their villages of salem, gnadenhutten, and schönbrunn received no damage whatever. during the early years of the revolutionary struggle they were not molested, but dwelt in peace and comfort in their roomy cabins of squared timbers, cleanly and quiet, industriously tilling the soil, abstaining from all strong drink, schooling their children, and keeping the seventh day as a day of rest. they sought to observe strict neutrality, harming neither the americans nor the indians, nor yet the allies of the latter, the british and french at detroit. they hoped thereby to offend neither side, and to escape unhurt themselves. but this was wholly impossible. they occupied an utterly untenable position. their villages lay mid-way between the white settlements southeast of the ohio, and the towns of the indians round sandusky, the bitterest foes of the americans, and those most completely under british influence. they were on the trail that the war-parties followed whether they struck at kentucky or at the valleys of the alleghany and monongahela. consequently the sandusky indians used the moravian villages as halfway houses, at which to halt and refresh themselves whether starting on a foray or returning with scalps and plunder. the wild indians hate them. by the time the war had lasted four or five years both the wild or heathen indians and the backwoodsmen had become fearfully exasperated with the unlucky moravians. the sandusky indians were largely wyandots, shawnees, and delawares, the latter being fellow-tribesmen of the christian indians; and so they regarded the moravians as traitors to the cause of their kinsfolk, because they would not take up the hatchet against the whites. as they could not goad them into declaring war, they took malicious pleasure in trying to embroil them against their will, and on returning from raids against the settlements often passed through their towns solely to cast suspicion on them and to draw down the wrath of the backwoodsmen on their heads. the british at detroit feared lest the americans might use the moravian villages as a basis from which to attack the lake posts; they also coveted their men as allies; and so the baser among their officers urged the sandusky tribes to break up the villages and drive off the missionaries. the other indian tribes likewise regarded them with angry contempt and hostility; the iroquois once sent word to the chippewas and ottawas that they gave them the christian indians "to make broth of." so do the americans. the americans became even more exasperated. the war parties that plundered and destroyed their homes, killing their wives, children, and friends with torments too appalling to mention, got shelter and refreshment from the moravians, [footnote: heckewelder's "narrative of the mission of the united brethren," philadelphia, , p. .] --who, indeed, dared not refuse it. the backwoodsmen, roused to a mad frenzy of rage by the awful nature of their wrongs, saw that the moravians rendered valuable help to their cruel and inveterate foes, and refused to see that the help was given with the utmost reluctance. moreover, some of the young christian indians backslid, and joined their savage brethren, accompanying them on their war parties and ravaging with as much cruelty as any of their number. [footnote: _pennsylvania packet_ (philadelphia, april , ); heckewelder, ; loskiel's "history of the mission of the united brethren" (london, ), p-- . ] soon the frontiersmen began to clamor for the destruction of the moravian towns; yet for a little while they were restrained by the continental officers of the few border forts, who always treated these harmless indians with the utmost kindness. they blindly court their fate. on either side were foes, who grew less governable day by day, and the fate of the hapless and peaceful moravians, if they continued to dwell on the muskingum, was absolutely inevitable. with blind fatuity their leaders, the missionaries, refused to see the impending doom; and the poor, simple indians clung to their homes till destroyed. the american commander at pittsburg, col. gibson, endeavored to get them to come into the american lines, where he would have the power, as he already had the wish, to protect them; he pointed out that where they were they served in some sort as a shield to the wild indians, whom he had to spare so as not to harm the moravians. [footnote: loskiel, p. .] the half king of the wyandots, from the other side, likewise tried to persuade them to abandon their dangerous position, and to come well within the indian and british lines, saying: "two mighty and angry gods stand opposite to each other with their mouths wide open, and you are between them, and are in danger of being crushed by one or the other, or by both." [footnote: state department mss., no. , vol. iii., pp. , ; extract from diary of rev. david zeisburger.] but in spite of these warnings, and heedless of the safety that would have followed the adoption of either course, the moravians followed the advice of their missionaries and continued where they were. they suffered greatly from the wanton cruelty of their red brethren; and their fate remains a monument to the cold-blooded and cowardly brutality of the borderers, a stain on frontier character that the lapse of time cannot wash away; but it is singular that historians have not yet pointed out the obvious truth, that no small share of the blame for their sad end should be put to the credit of the blind folly of their missionary leaders. their only hope in such a conflict as was then raging, was to be removed from their fatally dangerous position; and this the missionaries would not see. as long at they stayed where they were, it was a mere question of chance and time whether they would be destroyed by the indians or the whites; for their destruction at the hands of either one party or the other was inevitable. their fate was not due to the fact that they were indians; it resulted from their occupying an absolutely false position. this is clearly shown by what happened twenty years previously to a small community of non-resistant christian whites. they were dunkards--quaker-like germans--who had built a settlement on the monongahela. as they helped neither side, both distrusted and hated them. the whites harassed them in every way, and the indians finally fell upon and massacred them. [footnote: withers, .] the fates of these two communities, of white dunkards and red moravians, were exactly parallel. each became hateful to both sets of combatants, was persecuted by both, and finally fell a victim to the ferocity of the race to which it did not belong. evil conduct of the backwoodsmen. the conduct of the backwoodsmen towards these peaceful and harmless christian indians was utterly abhorrent, and will ever be a subject of just reproach and condemnation; and at first sight it seems incredible that the perpetrators of so vile a deed should have gone unpunished and almost unblamed. it is a dark blot on the character of a people that otherwise had many fine and manly qualities to its credit. but the extraordinary conditions of life on the frontier must be kept in mind before passing too severe a judgment. in the turmoil of the harassing and long-continued indian war, and the consequent loosening of social bonds, it was inevitable that, as regards outside matters, each man should do what seemed right in his own eyes. the bad and the good alike were left free and untrammelled to follow the bent of their desires. the people had all they could do to beat off their savage enemies, and to keep order among themselves. they were able to impose but slight checks on ruffianism that was aimed at outsiders. there were plenty of good and upright men who would not harm any indians wrongfully, and who treated kindly those who were peaceable. on the other hand, there were many of violent and murderous temper. these knew that their neighbors would actively resent any wrong done to themselves, but knew, also, that, under the existing conditions, they would at the worst do nothing more than openly disapprove of an outrage perpetrated on indians. its explanation. the violence of the bad is easily understood. the indifference displayed towards their actions by the better men of the community, who were certainly greatly in the majority, is harder to explain. it rose from varying causes. in the first place, the long continuance of indian warfare, and the unspeakable horrors that were its invariable accompaniments had gradually wrought up many even of the best of the backwoodsmen to the point where they barely considered an indian as a human being. the warrior was not to them a creature of romance. they knew him for what he was--filthy, cruel, lecherous, and faithless. he sometimes had excellent qualities, but these they seldom had a chance to see. they always met him at his worst. to them he was in peace a lazy, dirty, drunken beggar, whom they despised, and yet whom they feared; for the squalid, contemptible creature might at any moment be transformed into a foe whose like there was not to be found in all the wide world for ferocity, cunning, and blood-thirsty cruelty. the greatest indians, chiefs like logan and cornstalk, who were capable of deeds of the loftiest and most sublime heroism, were also at times cruel monsters or drunken good-for-nothings. their meaner followers had only such virtues as belong to the human wolf--stealth, craft, tireless endurance, and the courage that prefers to prey on the helpless, but will fight to the death without flinching if cornered. grimness of the backwoods character. moreover, the backwoodsmen were a hard people; a people who still lived in an iron age. they did not spare themselves, nor those who were dear to them; far less would they spare their real or possible foes. their lives were often stern and grim; they were wonted to hardship and suffering. in the histories or traditions of the different families there are recorded many tales of how they sacrificed themselves, and, in time of need, sacrificed others. the mother who was a captive among the indians might lay down her life for her child; but if she could not save it, and to stay with it forbade her own escape it was possible that she would kiss it good-by and leave it to its certain fate, while she herself, facing death at every step, fled homewards through hundreds of miles of wilderness. [footnote: see hale's "trans-alleghany pioneers," the adventures of mrs. inglis. she was captured on the head-waters of the kanawha, at the time of braddock's defeat. the other inhabitants of the settlement were also taken prisoners or massacred by the savages, whom they had never wronged in any way. she was taken to the big bone lick in kentucky. on the way her baby was born, but she was not allowed to halt a day on account of this incident. she left it in the indian camp, and made her escape in company with "an old dutch woman." they lived on berries and nuts for forty days, while they made their way homewards. both got in safely, though they separated after the old dutch woman, in the extremity of hunger, had tried to kill her companion that she might eat her. when cornstalk's party perpetrated the massacre of the clendennins during pontiac's war (see stewart's narrative), mrs. clendennin likewise left her baby to its death, and made her escape; her husband had previously been killed and his bloody scalp tied across her jaws as a gag.] the man who daily imperilled his own life, would, if water was needed in the fort, send his wife and daughter to draw it from the spring round which he knew indians lurked, trusting that the appearance of the women would make the savages think themselves undiscovered, and that they would therefore defer their attack. [footnote: as at the siege of bryan's station.] such people were not likely to spare their red-skinned foes. many of their friends, who had never hurt the savages in any way, had perished the victims of wanton aggression. they themselves had seen innumerable instances of indian treachery. they had often known the chiefs of a tribe to profess warm friendship at the very moment that their young men were stealing and murdering. they grew to think of even the most peaceful indians as merely sleeping wild beasts, and while their own wrongs were ever vividly before them, they rarely heard of or heeded those done to their foes. in a community where every strong courageous man was a bulwark to the rest, he was sure to be censured lightly for merely killing a member of a loathed and hated race. many of the best of the backwoodsmen were bible-readers, but they were brought up in a creed that made much of the old testament, and laid slight stress on pity, truth, or mercy. they looked at their foes as the hebrew prophets looked at the enemies of israel. what were the abominations because of which the canaanites were destroyed before joshua, when compared with the abominations of the red savages whose lands they, another chosen people, should in their turn inherit? they believed that the lord was king for ever and ever, and they believed no less that they were but obeying his commandment as they strove mightily to bring about the day when the heathen should have perished out of the land; for they had read in the book that he was accursed who did the work of the lord deceitfully, or kept his sword back from blood. there was many a stern frontier zealot who deemed all the red men, good and bad, corn ripe for the reaping. such a one rejoiced to see his fellows do to the harmless moravians as the danites once did to the people of laish, who lived quiet and secure, after the manner of the sidonians, and had no business with any man, and who yet were smitten with the edge of the sword, and their city burnt with fire. the moravians themselves not blameless. finally, it must not be forgotten that there were men on the frontier who did do their best to save the peaceful indians, and that there were also many circumstances connected with the latter that justly laid them open to suspicion. when young backsliding moravians appeared in the war parties, as cruel and murderous as their associates, the whites were warranted in feeling doubtful as to whether their example might not infect the remainder of their people. war parties, whose members in dreadful derision left women and children impaled by their trail to greet the sight of the pursuing husbands and fathers, found food and lodging at the moravian towns. no matter how reluctant the aid thus given, the pursuers were right in feeling enraged, and in demanding that the towns should be removed to where they could no longer give comfort to the enemy. when the missionaries refused to consent to this removal, they thereby became helpers of the hostile indians; they wronged the frontiersmen, and they still more grievously wronged their own flocks. they certainly had ample warning of the temper of the whites. col. brodhead was in command at fort pitt until the end of . at the time that general sullivan ravaged the country of the six nations, he had led a force up the alleghany and created a diversion by burning one or two iroquois towns. in he led a successful expedition against a town of hostile delawares on the muskingum, taking it by surprise and surrounding it so completely that all within were captured. sixteen noted warriors and marauders were singled out and put to death. the remainder fared but little better, for, while marching back to fort pitt, the militia fell on them and murdered all the men, leaving only the women and children. the militia also started to attack the moravians, and were only prevented by the strenuous exertions of brodhead. even this proof of the brutality of their neighbors was wasted on the missionaries. maltreated by the british and wild indians. the first blow the moravians received was from the wild indians. in the fall of this same year ( ) their towns were suddenly visited by a horde of armed warriors, horsemen and footmen, from sandusky and detroit. conspicuous among them were the wyandots, under the half king; the delawares, also led by a famous chief, captain pipe; and a body of white rangers from detroit, including british, french, and tories, commanded by the british captain elliott, and flying the british flag. [footnote: state department mss., no. , vol. iii., p. .] with them came also shawnees, chippewas, and ottawas. all were acting in pursuance of the express orders of the commandant at detroit. [footnote: haldimand mss. de peyster to haldimand, october th and st, ; mckee to de peyster, october th.] these warriors insisted on the christian indians abandoning their villages and accompanying them back to sandusky and detroit; and they destroyed many of the houses, and much of the food for the men and the fodder for the horses and cattle. the moravians begged humbly to be left where they were, but without avail. they were forced away to lake erie, the missionaries being taken to detroit, while the indians were left on the plains of sandusky. the wild indians were very savage against them, but the british commandant would not let them be seriously maltreated, [footnote: _do_., december u, .] though they were kept in great want and almost starved. also by the americans. a few moravians escaped, and remained in their villages; but these, three or four weeks later, were captured by a small detachment of american militia, under col. david williamson, who had gone out to make the moravians either move farther off or else come in under the protection of fort pitt. williamson accordingly took the indians to the fort, where the continental commander, col. john gibson, at once released them, and sent them back to the villages unharmed. [footnote: gibson was the old friend of the chief logan. it is only just to remember that the continental officers at fort pitt treated the moravians even better than did the british officers at detroit.] gibson had all along been a firm friend of the moravians. he had protected them against the violence of the borderers, and had written repeated and urgent letters to congress and to his superior officers, asking that some steps might be taken to protect the friendly christian indians. [footnote: haldimand mss. jan. , (intercepted letters).] in the general weakness and exhaustion, however, nothing was done; and, as neither the state nor federal governments took any steps to protect them, and as their missionaries refused to learn wisdom, it was evident that the days of the moravians were numbered. the failure of the government to protect them was perhaps inevitable, but was certainly discreditable. the very day after gibson sent the christian indians back to their homes, several murders were committed near pittsburg, and many of the frontiersmen insisted that they were done with the good will or connivance of the moravians. the settlements had suffered greatly all summer long, and the people clamored savagely against all the indians, blaming both gibson and williamson for not having killed or kept captive their prisoners. the ruffianly and vicious of course clamored louder than any; the mass of people who are always led by others, chimed in, in a somewhat lower key; and many good men were silent for the reasons given already. in a frontier democracy, military and civil officers are directly dependent upon popular approval, not only for their offices, but for what they are able to accomplish while filling them. they are therefore generally extremely sensitive to either praise or blame. ambitious men flatter and bow to popular prejudice or opinion, and only those of genuine power and self-reliance dare to withstand it. williamson was physically a fairly brave officer and not naturally cruel; but he was weak and ambitious, ready to yield to any popular demand, and, if it would advance his own interests, to connive at any act of barbarity. [footnote: this is the most favorable estimate of his character, based on what doddridge says (p. ). he was a very despicable person, but not the natural brute the missionaries painted him.] gibson, however, who was a very different man, paid no heed to the cry raised against him. they refuse to be warned and return to their homes. with incredible folly the moravians refused to heed even such rough warnings as they had received. during the long winter they suffered greatly from cold and hunger, at sandusky, and before the spring of opened, a hundred and fifty of them returned to their deserted villages. that year the indian outrages on the frontiers began very early. in february there was some fine weather; and while it lasted, several families of settlers were butchered, some under circumstances of peculiar atrocity. in particular, four sandusky indians having taken some prisoners, impaled two of them, a woman and a child, while on their way to the moravian towns, where they rested and ate, prior to continuing their journey with their remaining captives. when they left they warned the moravians that white men were on their trail. [footnote: heckewelder, : .] a white man who had just escaped this same impaling party, also warned the moravians that the exasperated borderers were preparing a party to kill them; and gibson, from fort pitt, sent a messenger to them, who, however, arrived too late. but the poor christian indians, usually very timid, now, in the presence of a real danger, showed a curious apathy; their senses were numbed and dulled by their misfortunes, and they quietly awaited their doom. [footnote: loskiel, .] it was not long deferred. eighty or ninety frontiersmen, under williamson, hastily gathered together to destroy the moravian towns. it was, of course, just such an expedition as most attracted the brutal, the vicious, and the ruffianly; but a few decent men, to their shame, went along. they started in march, and on the third day reached the fated villages. that no circumstance might be wanting to fill the measure of their infamy, they spoke the indians fair, assured them that they meant well, and spent an hour or two in gathering together those who were in salem and gnadenhutten, putting them all in two houses at the latter place. those at the third town, of schönbrunn, got warning and made their escape. as soon as the unsuspecting indians were gathered in the two houses, the men in one, the women and children in the other, the whites held a council as to what should be done with them. the great majority were for putting them instantly to death. eighteen men protested, and asked that the lives of the poor creatures should be spared; and then withdrew, calling god to witness that they were innocent of the crime about to be committed. by rights they should have protected the victims at any hazard. one of them took off with him a small indian boy, whose life was thus spared. with this exception only two lads escaped. they are massacred. when the murderers told the doomed moravians their fate, they merely requested a short delay in which to prepare themselves for death. they asked one another's pardon for whatever wrongs they might have done, knelt down and prayed, kissed one another farewell, "and began to sing hymns of hope and of praise to the most high." then the white butchers entered the houses and put to death the ninety-six men, women, and children that were within their walls. more than a hundred years have passed since this deed of revolting brutality; but even now a just man's blood boils in his veins at the remembrance. it is impossible not to regret that fate failed to send some strong war party of savages across the path of these inhuman cowards, to inflict on them the punishment they so richly deserved. we know that a few of them were afterwards killed by the indians; it is a matter of keen regret that any escaped. when the full particulars of the affair were known, all the best leaders of the border, almost all the most famous indian fighters, joined in denouncing it. [footnote: col. james smith, then of kentucky, in calls it "an act of barbarity equal to any thing i ever knew to be committed by the savages themselves, except the burning of prisoners."] nor is it right that the whole of the frontier folk should bear the blame for the deed. it is a fact, honorable and worthy of mention, that the kentuckians were never implicated in this or any similar massacre. [footnote: the germans of up-country north carolina were guilty of as brutal massacres as the scotch-irish backwoodsmen of pennsylvania. see adair, . there are two or three individual instances of the barbarity of kentuckians--one being to the credit of mcgarry,--but they are singularly few, when the length and the dreadful nature of their indian wars are taken into account. throughout their history the kentucky pioneers had the right on their side in their dealings with the indians. they were not wanton aggressors; they entered upon vacant hunting-grounds, to which no tribe had a clear title, and to which most even of the doubtful titles had been fairly extinguished. they fought their foes fiercely, with varying fortune, and eventually wrested the land from them; but they very rarely wronged them; and for the numerous deeds of fearful cruelty that were done on kentucky soil, the indians were in almost every case to blame.] but at the time, and in their own neighborhood--the corner of the upper ohio valley where pennsylvania and virginia touch,--the conduct of the murderers of the moravians roused no condemnation. the borderers at first felt about it as the english whigs originally felt about the massacre of glencoe. for some time the true circumstances of the affair were not widely known among them. they were hot with wrath against all the red-skinned race; and they rejoiced to hear of the death of a number of treacherous indians who pretended to be peaceful, while harboring and giving aid and comfort to, and occasionally letting their own young men join, bands of avowed murderers. of course, the large wicked and disorderly element was loud in praise of the deed. the decent people, by their silence, acquiesced. a terrible day of reckoning was at hand; the retribution fell on but part of the real criminals, and bore most heavily on those who were innocent of any actual complicity in the deed of evil. nevertheless it is impossible to grieve overmuch for the misfortune that befell men who freely forgave and condoned such treacherous barbarity. crawford marches against sandusky. in may a body of four hundred and eighty pennsylvania and virginia militia gathered at mingo bottom, on the ohio, with the purpose of marching against and destroying the towns of the hostile wyandots and delawares in the neighborhood of the sandusky river. the sandusky indians were those whose attacks were most severely felt by that portion of the frontier; and for their repeated and merciless ravages they deserved the severest chastisement. the expedition against them was from every point of view just; and it was undertaken to punish them, and without any definite idea of attacking the remnant of the moravians who were settled among them. on the other hand, the militia included in their ranks most of those who had taken part in the murderous expedition of two months before; this fact, and their general character, made it certain that the peaceable and inoffensive indians would, if encountered, be slaughtered as pitilessly as their hostile brethren. how little the militia volunteers disapproved of the moravian massacre was shown when, as was the custom, they met to choose a leader. there were two competitors for the place, williamson, who commanded at the massacre, being one; and he was beaten by only five votes. his successful opponent, colonel william crawford, was a fairly good officer, a just and upright man, but with no special fitness for such a task as that he had undertaken. nor were the troops he led of very good stuff [footnote: a minute and exhaustive account of crawford's campaign is given by mr. c. w. butterfield in his "expedition against sandusky." (cincinnati: robert clarke & co., ). mr. butterfield shows conclusively that the accepted accounts are wholly inaccurate, being derived from the reports of the moravian missionaries, whose untruthfulness (especially heckewelder's) is clearly demonstrated. he shows the apocryphal nature of some of the pretended narratives of the expedition, such as two in "the american pioneer," etc. he also shows how inaccurate mcclung's "sketches" are--for mcclung was like a host of other early western annalists, preserving some valuable facts in a good deal of rubbish, and having very little appreciation indeed of the necessity of so much as approximate accuracy. only a few of these early western historians had the least conception of the value of evidence or of the necessity of sifting it, or of weighing testimony. on the other hand, mr. butterfield is drawn into grave errors by his excessive partisanship of the borderers. he passes lightly over their atrocious outrages, colors favorably many of their acts, and praises the generalship of crawford and the soldiership of his men; when in reality the campaign was badly conducted from beginning to end, and reflected discredit on most who took part in it; crawford did poorly, and the bulk of his men acted like unruly cowards.]; though they included a few veteran indian fighters. the party left mingo bottom on the th of may. after nine days' steady marching through the unbroken forests they came out on the sandusky plains; billowy stretches of prairie, covered with high coarse grass and dotted with islands of timber. as the men marched across them they roused quantities of prairie fowl, and saw many geese and sand-hill cranes, which circled about in the air, making a strange clamor. crawford hoped to surprise the indian towns; but his progress was slow and the militia every now and then fired off their guns. the spies of the savages dogged his march and knew all his movements [footnote: heckewelder, . butterfield shows conclusively that there is not the slightest ground to accept heckewelder's assertion that crawford's people openly declared that "no indian was to be spared, friend or foe."]; and runners were sent to detroit asking help. this the british commandant at once granted. he sent to the assistance of the threatened tribes a number of lake indians and a body of rangers and canadian volunteers, under captain caldwell. [footnote: haldimand mss. may , . de peyster to haldimand.] the fight at sandusky. on the fourth of june crawford's troops reached one of the wyandot towns. it was found to be deserted; and the army marched on to try and find the others. late in the afternoon, in the midst of the plains, near a cranberry marsh, they encountered caldwell and his detroit rangers, together with about two hundred delawares, wyandots, and lake indians. [footnote: _do_. official report of lt. john turney of the rangers, june , .] the british and indians united certainly did not much exceed three hundred men; but they were hourly expecting reinforcements, and decided to give battle. they were posted in a grove of trees, from which they were driven by the first charge of the americans. a hot skirmish ensued, in which, in spite of crawford's superiority in force, and of the exceptionally favorable nature of the country, he failed to gain any marked advantage. his troops, containing so large a leaven of the murderers of the moravians, certainly showed small fighting capacity when matched against armed men who could defend themselves. after the first few minutes neither side gained or lost ground. of the americans five were killed and nineteen wounded--in all twenty-four. of their opponents the rangers lost two men killed and three wounded, caldwell being one of the latter; and the indians four killed and eight wounded--in all seventeen. [footnote: _do_. probably some of this loss occurred on the following day. i rely on butterfield for the american loss, as he quotes irvine's official report, etc. he of course wrote without knowledge of the british reports; and his account of the indian losses and numbers is all wrong. he fails signally in his effort to prove that the americans behaved bravely.] that night crawford's men slept by their watch-fires in the grove, their foes camping round about in the open prairie. next morning the british and indians were not inclined to renew the attack; they wished to wait until their numbers were increased. the only chance of the american militia was to crush their enemies before reinforcements arrived, yet they lay supine and idle all day long, save for an occasional harmless skirmish. crawford's generalship was as poor as the soldiership of his men. rout of the whites. in the afternoon the indians were joined by one hundred and forty shawnees. at sight of this accession of strength the disspirited militia rout gave up all thought of any thing but flight, though they were still equal in numbers to their foes. that night they began a hurried and disorderly retreat. the shawnees and delawares attacked them in the darkness, causing some loss and great confusion, and a few of the troops got into the marsh. many thus became scattered, and next morning there were only about three hundred men left together in a body. crawford himself was among the missing, so williamson took command, and hastily continued the retreat. the savages did not make a very hot pursuit; nevertheless, in the afternoon of that day a small number of indians and detroit rangers overtook the americans. they were all mounted. a slight skirmish followed, and the americans lost eleven men, but repulsed their pursuers. [footnote: who were probably at this point much fewer in number than the americans; butterfield says the reverse, but his account is untrustworthy on these matters.] after this they suffered little molestation, and reached mingo bottom on the th of the month. [footnote: as butterfield shows, heckewelder's account of crawford's whole expedition is a piece of sheer romancing.] many of the stragglers came in afterwards. in all about seventy either died of their wounds, were killed outright, or were captured. of the latter, those who were made prisoners by the wyandots were tomahawked and their heads stuck on poles; but if they fell into the hands of the shawnees or delawares they were tortured to death with fiendish cruelty. among them was crawford himself, who had become separated from the main body when it began its disorderly night retreat. after abandoning his jaded horse he started homewards on foot, but fell into the hands of a small party of delawares, together with a companion named knight. these two prisoners were taken to one of the delaware villages. the indians were fearfully exasperated by the moravian massacre [footnote: haldimand mss. de peyster to haldimand, june , .]; and some of the former moravians, who had rejoined their wild tribesmen, told the prisoners that from that time on not a single captive should escape torture. nevertheless it is likely that crawford would have been burned in any event, and that most of the prisoners would have been tortured to death even had the moravians never been harmed; for such had always been the custom of the delawares. the british, who had cared for the remnants of the moravians, now did their best to stop the cruelties of the indians, [footnote: _do_. aug. , .] but could accomplish little or nothing. even the mingos and hurons told them that though they would not torture any americans, they intended thenceforth to put all their prisoners to death. [footnote: _do_. dec. , .] crawford tortured to death. crawford was tied to the stake in the presence of a hundred indians. among them were simon girty, the white renegade, and a few wyandots. knight, crawford's fellow-captive, was a horrified spectator of the awful sufferings which he knew he was destined by his captors ultimately to share. crawford, stripped naked, and with his hands bound behind him, was fastened to a high stake by a strong rope; the rope was long enough for him to walk once or twice round the stake. the fire, of small hickory poles, was several yards from the post, so as only to roast and scorch him. powder was shot into his body, and burning fagots shoved against him, while red embers were strewn beneath his feet. for two hours he bore his torments with manly fortitude, speaking low, and beseeching the almighty to have mercy on his soul. then he fell down, and his torturers scalped him, and threw burning coals on his bare skull. rising, he walked about the post once or twice again, and then died. girty and the wyandots looked on, laughing at his agony, but taking no part in the torture. when the news of his dreadful fate was brought to the settlements, it excited the greatest horror, not only along the whole frontier, but elsewhere in the country; for he was widely known, was a valued friend of washington and was everywhere beloved and respected. knight, a small and weak-looking man, was sent to be burned at the shawnee towns, under the care of a burly savage. making friends with the latter, he lulled his suspicions, the more easily because the indian evidently regarded so small a man with contempt; and then, watching his opportunity, he knocked his guard down and ran off into the woods, eventually making his way to the settlements. another of the captives, slover by name, made a more remarkable escape. slover's life history had been curious. when a boy eight years old, living near the springs of the kanawha, his family was captured by indians, his brother alone escaping. his father was killed, and his two little sisters died of fatigue on the road to the indian villages; his mother was afterwards ransomed. he lived twelve years with the savages, at first in the miami towns, and then with the shawnees. when twenty years old he went to fort pitt, where, by accident, he was made known to some of his relations. they pressed him to rejoin his people, but he had become so wedded to savage life that he at first refused. at last he yielded, however, took up his abode with the men of his own color, and became a good citizen, and a worthy member of the presbyterian church. at the outbreak of the revolution he served fifteen months as a continental soldier, and when crawford started against the sandusky indians, he went along as a scout. slover, when captured, was taken round to various indian towns, and saw a number of his companions, as well as other white prisoners, tomahawked or tortured to death. he was examined publicly about many matters at several great councils--for he spoke two or three different indian languages fluently. at one of the councils he heard the indians solemnly resolve to take no more prisoners thereafter, but to kill all americans, of whatever sex and age; some of the british agents from detroit signifying their approval of the resolution. [footnote: slover asserts that it was taken in consequence of a message sent advising it by the commandant at detroit. this is doubtless untrue; the commandant at detroit did what he could to stop such outrages, although many of his more reckless and uncontrollable subordinates very probably pursued an opposite course. the ignorant and violently prejudiced backwoodsmen naturally believed all manner of evil of their british foes; but it is singular that writers who ought to be well informed should even now continue to accept all their wild assertions as unquestioned facts. the conduct of the british was very bad; but it is silly to describe it in the terms often used. the year after their escape slover dictated, and knight wrote, narratives of their adventures, which were together published in book form at philadelphia in . they are very interesting.] slover's escape. at last he was condemned to be burned, and was actually tied to the stake. but a heavy shower came on, so wetting the wood that it was determined to reprieve him till the morrow. that night he was bound and put in a wigwam under the care of three warriors. they laughed and chatted with the prisoner, mocking him, and describing to him with relish all the torments that he was to suffer. at last they fell asleep, and, just before daybreak, he managed to slip out of his rope and escape, entirely naked. catching a horse, he galloped away sitting on a piece of old rug, and guiding the animal with the halter. he rode steadily and at speed for seventy miles, until his horse dropped dead under him late in the afternoon. springing off, he continued the race on foot. at last he halted, sick and weary; but, when he had rested an hour or two, he heard afar off the halloo of his pursuers. struggling to his feet he continued his flight, and ran until after dark. he then threw himself down and snatched a few hours' restless sleep, but, as soon as the moon rose, he renewed his run for life, carefully covering his trail whenever possible. at last he distanced his enemies. for five days he went straight through the woods, naked, bruised, and torn, living on a few berries and a couple of small crawfish he caught in a stream. he could not sleep nor sometimes even lie down at night because of the mosquitoes. on the morning of the sixth day he reached wheeling, after experiencing such hardship and suffering as none but an iron will and frame could have withstood. woe on the frontier. until near the close of the year the frontiers suffered heavily. a terrible and deserved retribution fell on the borderers for their crime in failing to punish the dastardly deed of williamson and his associates. the indians were roused to savage anger by the murder of the moravians, and were greatly encouraged by their easy defeat of crawford's troops. they harassed the settlements all along the upper ohio, the alleghany and the monongahela, and far into the interior, [footnote: va. state papers, iii., .] burning, ravaging, and murdering, and bringing dire dismay to every lonely clearing, and every palisaded hamlet of rough log-cabins. chapter vi. the administration of the conquered french settlements, - . illinois made a county. the virginian government took immediate steps to provide for the civil administration of the country clark had conquered. in the fall of the entire region northwest of the ohio was constituted the county of illinois, with john todd as county-lieutenant or commandant. todd was a firm friend and follower of clark's, and had gone with him on his campaign against vincennes. it therefore happened that he received his commission while at the latter town, early in the spring of ' . in may he went to kaskaskia, to organize the county; and clark, who remained military commandant of the virginia state troops that were quartered in the district, was glad to turn over the civil government to the charge of his old friend. together with his commission, todd received a long and excellent letter of instructions from governor patrick henry. he was empowered to choose a deputy-commandant, and officers for the militia; but the judges and officers of the court were to be elected by the people themselves. he was given large discretionary power, henry impressing upon him with especial earnestness the necessity to "cultivate and conciliate the french and indians." [footnote: see col. john todd's "record book," while county lieutenant of illinois. there is an ms. copy in col. durrett's library at louisville. it is our best authority for these years in illinois. the substance of it is given on pp. - of mr. edward g. mason's interesting and valuable pamphlet on "illinois in the th century" (chicago, fergus printing co., ).] with this end in view, he was bidden to pay special heed to the customs of the creoles, to avoid shocking their prejudices, and to continually consult with their most intelligent and upright men. he was to coöperate in every way with clark and his troops, while at the same time the militia were to be exclusively under his own control. the inhabitants were to have strict justice done them if wronged by the troops; and clark was to put down rigorously any licentiousness on the part of his soldiers. the wife and children of the former british commandant--the creole rocheblave--were to be treated with particular respect, and not suffered to want for any thing. he was exhorted to use all his diligence and ability to accomplish the difficult task set him. finally henry advised him to lose no opportunity of inculcating in the minds of the french the value of the liberty the americans brought them, as contrasted with "the slavery to which the illinois was destined" by the british. this last sentence was proved by subsequent events to be a touch of wholly unconscious but very grim humor. the french were utterly unsuited for liberty, as the americans understood the term, and to most of them the destruction of british rule was a misfortune. the bold, self-reliant, and energetic spirits among them, who were able to become americanized, and to adapt themselves to the new conditions, undoubtedly profited immensely by the change. as soon as they adopted american ways, they were received by the americans on terms of perfect and cordial equality, and they enjoyed a far higher kind of life than could possibly have been theirs formerly, and achieved a much greater measure of success. but most of the creoles were helplessly unable to grapple with the new life. they had been accustomed to the paternal rule of priest and military commandant, and they were quite unable to govern themselves, or to hold their own with the pushing, eager, and often unscrupulous, new-comers. so little able were they to understand precisely what the new form of government was, that when they went down to receive todd as commandant, it is said that some of them, joining in the cheering, from force of habit cried "vive le roi." for the first year of todd's administration, while clark still remained in the county as commandant of the state troops, matters went fairly well. clark kept the indians completely in check, and when some of them finally broke out, and started on a marauding expedition against cahokia, he promptly repulsed them, and by a quick march burned their towns on rock river, and forced them to sue for peace. [footnote: in the beginning of . bradford ms.] todd appointed a virginian, richard winston, as commandant at kaskaskia; all his other appointees were frenchmen. an election was forthwith held for justices; to the no small astonishment of the creoles, unaccustomed as they were to american methods of self-government. among those whom they elected as judges and court officers were some of the previously appointed militia captains and lieutenants, who thus held two positions. the judges governed their decisions solely by the old french laws and customs. [footnote: state department mss., no. , p. .] todd at once made the court proceed to business. on its recommendation he granted licenses to trade to men of assured loyalty. he also issued a proclamation in reference to new settlers taking up lands. being a shrewd man, he clearly foresaw the ruin that was sure to arise from the new virginia land laws as applied to kentucky, and he feared the inrush of a horde of speculators, who would buy land with no immediate intention of settling thereon. besides, the land was so fertile in the river bottoms, that he deemed the amount virginia allotted to each person excessive. so he decreed that each settler should take up his land in the shape of one of the long narrow french farms, that stretched back from the water-front; and that no claim should contain a greater number of acres than did one of these same farms. this proclamation undoubtedly had a very good effect. financial difficulties. he next wrestled steadily, but much less successfully, with the financial question. he attempted to establish a land bank, as it were, setting aside a great tract of land to secure certain issues of continental money. the scheme failed, and in spite of his public assurance that the continental currency would shortly be equal in value to gold and silver, it swiftly sank until it was not worth two cents on the dollar. this wretched and worthless paper-money, which the americans brought with them, was a perfect curse to the country. its rapid depreciation made it almost impossible to pay the troops, or to secure them supplies, and as a consequence they became disorderly and mutinous. two or three prominent creoles, who were devoted adherents of the american cause, made loans of silver to the virginian government, as represented by clark, thereby helping him materially in the prosecution of his campaign. chief among these public-spirited patriots were francis vigo, and the priest gibault, both of them already honorably mentioned. vigo advanced nearly nine thousand dollars in specie,--piastres or spanish milled dollars,--receiving in return bills on the "agent of virginia," which came back protested for want of funds; and neither he nor his heirs ever got a dollar of what was due them. he did even more. the creoles at first refused to receive any thing but peltries or silver for their goods; they would have nothing to do with the paper, and to all explanations as to its uses, simply answered "that their commandants never made money." [footnote: law's "vincennes," pp. , . for some inscrutable reason, by the way, the americans for a long time persisted in speaking of the place as _st._ vincennes.] finally they were persuaded to take it on vigo's personal guaranty, and his receiving it in his store. even he, however, could not buoy it up long. gibault likewise [footnote see his letter to governor st. clair, may i, .] advanced a large sum of money, parted with his titles and beasts, so as to set a good example to his parishioners, and, with the same purpose, furnished goods to the troops at ordinary prices, taking the paper in exchange as if it had been silver. in consequence he lost over fifteen hundred dollars, was forced to sell his only two slaves, and became almost destitute; though in the end he received from the government a tract of land which partially reimbursed him. being driven to desperate straits, the priest tried a rather doubtful shift. he sold, or pretended to sell, a great natural meadow, known as la prairie du pont, which the people of cahokia claimed as a common pasture for their cattle. his conduct drew forth a sharp remonstrance from the cahokians, in the course of which they frankly announced that they believed the priest should confine himself to ecclesiastical matters, and should not meddle with land grants, especially when the land he granted did not belong to him. [footnote: state department mss., no. , p. . petition of j. b. la croix and a. girardin.] it grew steadily more difficult to get the creoles to furnish supplies; todd had to forbid the exportation of any provisions whatever, and, finally, the soldiers were compelled to levy on all that they needed. todd paid for these impressed goods, as well as for what the contractors furnished, at the regulation prices--one third in paper-money and two thirds in peltries; and thus the garrisons at kaskaskia, cahokia, and vincennes were supplied with powder, lead, sugar, flour, and, above all, hogsheads of taffia, of which they drank an inordinate quantity. the justices did not have very much work; in most of the cases that came before them the plaintiff and defendant were both of the same race. one piece of recorded testimony is rather amusing, being to the effect that "monsieur smith est un grand vilain coquin." [footnote: this and most of the other statements for which no authority is quoted, are based on todd's ms. "record book."] burning of negroes accused of sorcery. yet there are two entries in the proceedings of the creole courts for the summer of , as preserved in todd's "record book," which are of startling significance. to understand them it must be remembered that the creoles were very ignorant and superstitious, and that they one and all including, apparently, even, their priests, firmly believed in witchcraft and sorcery. some of their negro slaves had been born in africa, the others had come from the lower mississippi or the west indies; they practised the strange rites of voudooism, and a few were adepts in the art of poisoning. accordingly the french were always on the look-out lest their slaves should, by spell or poison, take their lives. it must also be kept in mind that the pardoning power of the commandant did not extend to cases of treason or murder--a witchcraft trial being generally one for murder,--and that he was expressly forbidden to interfere with the customs and laws, or go counter to the prejudices, of the inhabitants. at this time the creoles were smitten by a sudden epidemic of fear that their negro slaves were trying to bewitch and poison them. several of the negroes were seized and tried, and in june two were condemned to death. one, named moreau, was sentenced to be hung outside cahokia. the other, a kaskaskian slave named manuel, suffered a worse fate. he was sentenced "to be chained to a post at the water-side, and there to be burnt alive and his ashes scattered." [footnote: the entries merely record the sentences, with directions that they be immediately executed. but there seems very little doubt that they were for witchcraft, or voudouism, probably with poisoning at the bottom--and that they were actually carried out. see mason's pamphlet, p. .] these two sentences, and the directions for their immediate execution, reveal a dark chapter in the early history of illinois. it seems a strange thing that, in the united states, three years after the declaration of independence, men should have been burnt and hung for witchcraft, in accordance with the laws, and with the decision of the proper court. the fact that the victim, before being burned, was forced to make "honorable fine" at the door of the catholic church, shows that the priest at least acquiesced in the decision. the blame justly resting on the puritans of seventeenth-century new england must likewise fall on the catholic french of eighteenth-century illinois. early in the spring of clark left the country; he did not again return to take command, for after visiting the fort on the mississippi, and spending the summer in the defence of kentucky, he went to virginia to try to arrange for an expedition against detroit. todd also left about the same time, having been elected a kentucky delegate to the virginia legislature. he afterwards made one or two flying visits to illinois, but exerted little influence over her destiny, leaving the management of affairs entirely in the hands of his deputy, or lieutenant-commandant for the time being. he usually chose for this position either richard winston, the virginian, or else a creole named timothea demunbrunt. disorders in the government. todd's departure was a blow to the country; but clark's was a far more serious calamity. by his personal influence he had kept the indians in check, the creoles contented, and the troops well fed and fairly disciplined. as soon as he went, trouble broke out. the officers did not know how to support their authority; they were very improvident, and one or two became implicated in serious scandals. the soldiers soon grew turbulent, and there was constant clashing between the civil and military rulers. gradually the mass of the creoles became so angered with the americans that they wished to lay their grievances before the french minister at philadelphia; and many of them crossed the mississippi and settled under the spanish flag. the courts rapidly lost their power, and the worst people, both americans and creoles, practised every kind of rascality with impunity. all decent men joined in clamoring for clark's return; but it was impossible for him to come back. the freshets and the maladministration combined to produce a dearth, almost a famine, in the land. the evils were felt most severely in vincennes, where helm, the captain of the post, though a brave and capable man, was utterly unable to procure supplies of any kind. he did not hear of clark's success against piqua and chillicothe until october. then he wrote to one of the officers at the falls, saying that he was "sitting by the fire with a piece of lightwood and two ribs of an old buffloe, which is all the meat we have seen this many days. i congratulate your success against the shawanohs, but there's never doubts where that brave col. clark commands; we well know the loss of him in illinois.... excuse haste as the lightwood's just out and mouth watering for part of the two ribs." [footnote: calendar of va. state papers, i., pp. , , , oct. - , .] la balme's expedition. in the fall of a frenchman, named la balme, led an expedition composed purely of creoles against detroit. he believed that he could win over the french at that place to his side, and thus capture the fort as clark had captured vincennes. he raised some fifty volunteers round cahokia and kaskaskia, perhaps as many more on the wabash, and marched to the maumee river. here he stopped to plunder some british traders; and in november the neighboring indians fell on his camp, killed him and thirty or forty of his men, and scattered the rest. [footnote: haldimand mss. de peyster to haldimand, nov. , .] his march had been so quick and unexpected that it rendered the british very uneasy, and they were much rejoiced at his discomfiture and death. the following year a new element of confusion was added. in spain declared war on great britain. the spanish commandant at new orleans was don bernard de galvez, one of the very few strikingly able men spain has sent to the western hemisphere during the past two centuries. he was bold, resolute, and ambitious; there is reason to believe that at one time he meditated a separation from spain, the establishment of a spanish-american empire, and the founding of a new imperial house. however this may be, he threw himself heart and soul into the war against britain; and attacked british west florida with a fiery energy worthy of wolfe or montcalm. he favored the americans; but it was patent to all that he favored them only the better to harass the british. [footnote: state department mss., no. , p. .] besides the creoles and the british garrisons, there were quite a number of american settlers in west florida. in the immediate presence of spanish and indian foes, these, for the most part, remained royalists. in a party of armed americans, coming down the ohio and mississippi, tried to persuade them to turn whig, but, becoming embroiled with them, the militant missionaries were scattered and driven off. afterwards the royalists fought among themselves; but this was a mere faction quarrel, and was soon healed. towards the end of , galvez, with an army of spanish and french creole troops, attacked the forts along the mississippi--manchac, baton rouge, natchez, and one or two smaller places,--speedily carrying them and capturing their garrisons of british regulars and royalist militia. during the next eighteen months he laid siege to and took mobile and pensacola. while he was away on his expedition against the latter place, the royalist americans round natchez rose and retook the fort from the spaniards; but at the approach of galvez they fled in terror, marching overland towards georgia, then in the hands of the tories. on the way they suffered great loss and damage from the creeks and choctaws. a spanish attempt on st. joseph. the spanish commander at st. louis was inspired by the news of these brilliant victories to try if he, too, could not gain a small wreath at the expense of spain's enemies. clark had already become thoroughly convinced of the duplicity of the spaniards on the upper mississippi; he believed that they were anxious to have the british retake illinois, so that they, in their turn, might conquer and keep it. [footnote: clark to todd, march, . va. state papers, i., .] they never had the chance to execute this plan; but, on january , , a spanish captain, don eugénio pierro, led a hundred and twenty men, chiefly indians and creoles, against the little french village, or fur post, of st. joseph, where they burned the houses of one or two british traders, claimed the country round the illinois river as conquered for the spanish king, and forthwith returned to st. louis, not daring to leave a garrison of any sort behind them, and being harassed on their retreat by the indians. on the strength of this exploit spain afterwards claimed a large stretch of country to the east of the mississippi. in reality it was a mere plundering foray. the british at once retook possession of the place, and, indeed, were for some time ignorant whether the raiders had been americans or spaniards. [footnote: haldimand mss. haldimand to de peyster, april , . report of council at st. joseph, march , .] soon after the recapture, the detroit authorities sent a scouting party to dislodge some illinois people who had attempted to make a settlement at chicago. [footnote: _do._ haldimand to de peyster, may , . this is the first record of an effort to make a permanent settlement at chicago.] at the end of the year the unpaid troops in vincennes were on the verge of mutiny, and it was impossible longer even to feed them, for the inhabitants themselves were almost starving. the garrison was therefore withdrawn; and immediately the wabash indians joined those of the miami, the sandusky, and the lakes in their raids on the settlements. [footnote: va. state papers, iii., .] by this time, however, cornwallis had surrendered at yorktown, and the british were even more exhausted than the americans. some of the french partisans of the british at detroit, such as rocheblave and lamothe, who had been captured by clark, were eager for revenge, and desired to be allowed to try and retake vincennes and the illinois; they saw that the americans must either be exterminated or else the land abandoned to them. [footnote: haldimand mss. letter of rocheblave, oct. , ; of lamothe, april , .] but the british commandant was in no condition to comply with their request, or to begin offensive operations. clark had not only conquered the land, but he had held it firmly while he dwelt therein; and even when his hand was no longer felt, the order he had established took some little time before crumbling. meanwhile, his presence at the falls, his raids into the indian country, and his preparations for an onslaught on detroit kept the british authorities at the latter place fully occupied, and prevented their making any attempt to recover what they had lost. by the beginning of the active operations of the revolutionary war were at an end, and the worn-out british had abandoned all thought of taking the offensive anywhere, though the indian hostilities continued with unabated vigor. thus the grasp with which the americans held the conquered country was not relaxed until all danger that it would be taken from them had ceased. confusion at vincennes. in the whole illinois region lapsed into anarchy and confusion. it was perhaps worst at vincennes, where the departure of the troops had left the french free to do as they wished. accustomed for generations to a master, they could do nothing with their new-found liberty beyond making it a curse to themselves and their neighbors. they had been provided with their own civil government in the shape of their elective court, but the judges had literally no idea of their proper functions as a governing body to administer justice. at first they did nothing whatever beyond meet and adjourn. finally it occurred to them that perhaps their official position could be turned to their own advantage. their townsmen were much too poor to be plundered; but there were vast tracts of fertile wild land on every side, to which, as far as they knew, there was no title, and which speculators assured them would ultimately be of great value. vaguely remembering todd's opinion, that he had power to interfere under certain conditions with the settlement of the lands, and concluding that he had delegated this power, as well as others, to themselves, the justices of the court proceeded to make immense grants of territory, reciting that they did so under "_les pouvoirs donnés a mons'rs les magistrats de la cour de vincennes par le snr. jean todd, colonel et grand judge civil pour les �tats unis_"; todd's title having suffered a change and exaltation in their memories. they granted one another about fifteen thousand square miles of land round the wabash; each member of the court in turn absenting himself for the day on which his associates granted him his share. this vast mass of virgin soil they sold to speculators at nominal prices, sometimes receiving a horse or a gun for a thousand acres. the speculators of course knew that their titles were worthless, and made haste to dispose of different lots at very low prices to intending settlers. these small buyers were those who ultimately suffered by the transaction, as they found they had paid for worthless claims. the speculators reaped the richest harvest; and it is hard to decide whether to be amused or annoyed at the childish and transparent rascality of the french creoles. [footnote: state department mss., nos. and . laws "vincennes."] lawlessness in the illinois. in the illinois country proper the troops, the american settlers, speculators, and civil officials, and the creole inhabitants all quarrelled together indiscriminately. the more lawless new-comers stole horses from the quieter creoles; the worst among the french, the idle coureurs-des-bois, voyageurs, and trappers plundered and sometimes killed the peaceable citizens of either nationality. the soldiers became little better than an unruly mob; some deserted, or else in company with other ruffians, both french and american, indulged in furious and sometimes murderous orgies, to the terror of the creoles who had property. the civil authorities, growing day by day weaker, were finally shorn of all power by the military. this, however, was in nowise a quarrel between the french and the americans. as already explained, in todd's absence the position of deputy was sometimes filled by a creole and sometimes by an american. he had been particular to caution them in writing to keep up a good understanding with the officers and troops, adding, as a final warning: "if this is not the case you will be unhappy." unfortunately for one of the deputies, richard winston, he failed to keep up the good understanding, and, as todd had laconically foretold, he in consequence speedily became very "unhappy." we have only his own account of the matter. according to this, in april, , he was taken out of his house "in despite of the civil authority, disregarding the laws and on the malitious alugation of jno. williams and michel pevante." thus a frenchman and an american joined in the accusation, for some of the french supported the civil, others the military, authorities. the soldiers had the upper hand, however, and winston records that he was forthwith "confined by tyrannick military force." from that time the authority of the laws was at an end, and as the officers of the troops had but little control, every man did what pleased him best. in january, , the virginia legislature passed an act ceding to congress, for the benefit of the united states, all of virginia's claim to the territory northwest of the ohio; but the cession was not consummated until after the close of the war with great britain, and the only immediate effect of the act was to still further derange affairs in illinois. the whole subject of the land cessions of the various states, by which the northwest territory became federal property, and the heart of the union, can best be considered in treating of post-revolutionary times. the french creoles had been plunged in chaos. in their deep distress they sent to the powers that the chances of war had set above them petition after petition, reciting their wrongs and praying that they might be righted. there is one striking difference between these petitions and the similar requests and complaints made from time to time by the different groups of american settlers west of the alleghanies. both alike set forth the evils from which the petitioners suffered, and the necessity of governmental remedy. but whereas the americans invariably asked that they be allowed to govern themselves, being delighted to undertake the betterment of their condition on their own account, the french, on the contrary, habituated through generations to paternal rule, were more inclined to request that somebody fitted for the task should be sent to govern them. they humbly asked congress either to "immediately establish some form of government among them, and appoint officers to execute the same," or else "to nominate commissioners to repair to the illinois and inquire into the situation." [footnote: state department mss., no. , p. . memorial of françois carbonneaux, agent for the inhabitants of illinois.] one of the petitions is pathetic in its showing of the bewilderment into which the poor creoles were thrown as to who their governors really were. it requests "their sovereign lords," [footnote: "nos souverains seigneurs." the letter is ill-written and worse spelt, in an extraordinary french patois. state department mss., no. , page . it is dated december , . many of the surnames attached are marked with a cross; others are signed. two are given respectively as "bienvenus fils" and "blouin fils."] whether of the congress of the united states or of the province of virginia, whichever might be the owner of the country, to nominate "a lieutenant or a governor, whomever it may please our lords to send us." [footnote: state department mss., no. , p. , "de nomer un lieutenant ou un gouverneur tel qu'il plaira a nos seigneurs de nous l'envoyer."] the letter goes on to ask that this governor may speak french, so that he may preside over the court; and it earnestly beseeches that the laws may be enforced and crime and wrong-doing put down with a strong hand. the conquest of the illinois territory was fraught with the deepest and most far-reaching benefits to all the american people; it likewise benefited, in at least an equal degree, the boldest and most energetic among the french inhabitants, those who could hold their own among freemen, who could swim in troubled waters; but it may well be doubted whether to the mass of the ignorant and simple creoles it was not a curse rather than a blessing. chapter vii. kentucky until the end of the revolution, - . seventeen hundred and eighty-two proved to be kentucky's year of blood. the british at detroit had strained every nerve to drag into the war the entire indian population of the northwest. they had finally succeeded in arousing even the most distant tribes--not to speak of the twelve thousand savages immediately tributary to detroit. [footnote: haldimand mss. census for , , .] so lavish had been the expenditure of money and presents to secure the good-will of the savages and enlist their active services against the americans, that it had caused serious complaint at headquarters. [footnote: _do._ haldimand to de peyster, april , october , .] renewal of the indian forays. early in the spring the indians renewed their forays; horses were stolen, cabins burned, and women and children carried off captive. the people were confined closely to their stockaded forts, from which small bands of riflemen sallied to patrol the country. from time to time these encountered marauding parties, and in the fights that followed sometimes the whites, sometimes the reds, were victorious. one of these conflicts attracted wide attention on the border because of the obstinacy with which it was waged and the bloodshed that accompanied it. in march a party of twenty-five wyandots came into the settlements, passed boonsborough, and killed and scalped a girl within sight of estill's station. the men from the latter, also to the number of twenty-five, hastily gathered under captain estill, and after two days' hot pursuit overtook the wyandots. a fair stand-up fight followed, the better marksmanship of the whites being offset, as so often before, by the superiority their foes showed in sheltering themselves. at last victory declared for the indians. estill had despatched a lieutenant and seven men to get round the wyandots and assail them in the rear; but either the lieutenant's heart or his judgment failed him, he took too long, and meanwhile the wyandots closed in on the others, killing nine, including estill, and wounding four, who, with their unhurt comrades, escaped. it is said that the wyandots themselves suffered heavily. [footnote: of course not as much as their foes. the backwoodsmen (like the regular officers of both the british and american armies in similar cases, as at grant's and st. clair's defeats) were fond of consoling themselves for their defeats by snatching at any wild tale of the losses of the victors. in the present instance it is even possible that the loss of the wyandots was very light instead of very heavy.] these various ravages and skirmishes were but the prelude to a far more serious attack. in july the british captains caldwell and mckee came down from detroit with a party of rangers, and gathered together a great army of over a thousand indians [footnote: haldimand mss. letter from capt. caldwell, august , ; and letter of captain mckee, august , . these two letters are very important, as they give for the first time the british and indian accounts of the battle of the blue licks; i print them in the appendix.]--the largest body of either red men or white that was ever mustered west of the alleghanies during the revolution. they meant to strike at wheeling; but while on their march thither were suddenly alarmed by the rumor that clark intended to attack the shawnee towns. [footnote: this rumor was caused by clark's gunboat, which, as will be hereafter mentioned, had been sent up to the mouth of the licking; some shawnees saw it, and thought clark was preparing for an inroad.] they at once countermarched, but on reaching the threatened towns found that the alarm had been groundless. most of the savages, with characteristic fickleness of temper, then declined to go farther; but a body of somewhat over three hundred hurons and lake indians remained. with these, and their detroit rangers, caldwell and mckee crossed the ohio and marched into kentucky, to attack the small forts of fayette county. fayette lay between the kentucky and the ohio rivers, and was then the least populous and most exposed of the three counties into which the growing young commonwealth was divided. in it contained but five of the small stockaded towns in which all the early settlers were obliged to gather. the best defended and most central was lexington, round which were grouped the other four--bryan's (which was the largest), mcgee's, mcconnell's, and boon's. boon's station, sometimes called boon's new station, where the tranquil, resolute old pioneer at that time dwelt, must not be confounded with his former fort of boonsborough, from which it was several miles distant, north of the kentucky. since the destruction of martin's and ruddle's stations on the licking, bryan's on the south bank of the elkhorn was left as the northernmost outpost of the settlers. its stout, loopholed palisades enclosed some forty cabins, there were strong block-houses at the corners, and it was garrisoned by fifty good riflemen. these five stations were held by backwoodsmen of the usual kentucky stamp, from the up-country of pennsylvania, virginia, and north carolina. generations of frontier life had made them with their fellows the most distinctive and typical americans on the continent, utterly different from their old-world kinsfolk. yet they still showed strong traces of the covenanting spirit, which they drew from the irish-presbyterian, the master strain in their mixed blood. for years they had not seen the inside of a church; nevertheless, mingled with men who were loose of tongue and life, there still remained many sabbath-keepers and bible-readers, who studied their catechisms on sundays, and disliked almost equally profane language and debauchery. [footnote: mcafee mss.] patterson and reynolds. an incident that occurred at this time illustrates well their feelings. in june a fourth of the active militia of the county was ordered on duty, to scout and patrol the country. accordingly forty men turned out under captain robert patterson. they were given ammunition, as well as two pack-horses, by the commissary department. every man was entitled to pay for the time he was out. whether he would ever get it was problematical; at the best it was certain to be given him in worthless paper-money. their hunters kept them supplied with game, and each man carried a small quantity of parched corn. the company was ordered to the mouth of the kentucky to meet the armed row-boat, sent by clark from the falls. on the way patterson was much annoyed by a "very profane, swearing man" from bryan's station, named aaron reynolds. reynolds was a good-hearted, active young fellow, with a biting tongue, not only given to many oaths, but likewise skilled in the rough, coarse banter so popular with the backwoodsmen. after having borne with him four days patterson made up his mind that he would have to reprove him, and, if no amendment took place, send him home. he waited until, at a halt, reynolds got a crowd round him, and began to entertain them "with oaths and wicked expressions," whereupon he promptly stepped in "and observed to him that he was a very wicked and profane man," and that both the company as well as he, the captain, would thank him to desist. on the next day, however, reynolds began to swear again; this time patterson not only reproved him severely, but also tried the effect of judicious gentleness, promising to give him a quart of spirits on reaching the boat if he immediately "quit his profanity and swearing." four days afterwards they reached the boat, and aaron reynolds demanded the quart of spirits. patterson suggested a doubt as to whether he had kept his promise, whereupon he appealed to the company, then on parade, and they pronounced in his favor, saying that they had not heard him swear since he was reproved. patterson, who himself records the incident, concludes with the remark: "the spirits were drank." [footnote: patterson's paper, given by col. john mason brown, in his excellent pamphlet on the "battle of the blue licks" (franklin, ky., ). i cannot forbear again commenting on the really admirable historic work now being done by messrs. brown, durrett, speed, and the other members of the louisville "filson club."] evidently the company, who had so impartially acted as judges between their fellow-soldier and their superior officer, viewed with the same equanimity the zeal of the latter and the mixed system of command, entreaty, and reward by which he carried his point. as will be seen, the event had a striking sequel at the battle of the blue licks. throughout june and july the gunboat patrolled the ohio, going up to the licking. parties of backwoods riflemen, embodied as militia, likewise patrolled the woods, always keeping their scouts and spies well spread out, and exercising the greatest care to avoid being surprised. they greatly hampered the indian war bands, but now and then the latter slipped by and fell on the people they protected. early in august such a band committed some ravages south of the kentucky, beating back with loss a few militia who followed it. some of the fayette men were about setting forth to try and cut off its retreat, when the sudden and unlooked-for approach of caldwell and mckee's great war party obliged them to bend all their energies to their own defence. the blow fell on bryan's station. the rangers and warriors moved down through the forest with the utmost speed and stealth, hoping to take this, the northernmost of the stockades, by surprise. if they had succeeded, lexington and the three smaller stations north of the kentucky would probably likewise have fallen. the attack on bryan's station. the attack was made early on the morning of the th of august. some of the settlers were in the corn-fields, and the rest inside the palisade of standing logs; they were preparing to follow the band of marauders who had gone south of the kentucky. a few outlying indian spies were discovered, owing to their eagerness; and the whites being put on their guard, the attempt to carry the fort by the first rush was, of course, foiled. like so many other stations--but unlike lexington,--bryan's had no spring within its walls; and as soon as there was reason to dread an attack, it became a matter of vital importance to lay in a supply of water. it was feared that to send the men to the spring would arouse suspicion in the minds of the hiding savages; and, accordingly, the women went down with their pails and buckets as usual. the younger girls showed some nervousness, but the old housewives marshalled them as coolly as possible, talking and laughing together, and by their unconcern completely deceived the few indians who were lurking near by--for the main body had not yet come up. [footnote: caldwell's letter says that a small party of indians was sent ahead first; the watering incident apparently took place immediately on this small party being discovered.] this advance guard of the savages feared that, if they attacked the women, all chance of surprising the fort would be lost; and so the water-carriers were suffered to go back unharmed. [footnote: this account rests on tradition; it is recorded by mcclung, a most untrustworthy writer; his account of the battle of the blue licks is wrong from beginning to end. but a number of gentlemen in kentucky have informed me that old pioneers whom they knew in their youth had told them that they had themselves seen the incident, and that, as written down, it was substantially true. so with reynold's speech to girty. of course, his exact words, as given by mcclung, are incorrect; but mr. l. c. draper informs me that, in his youth, he knew several old men who had been in bryan's station, and had themselves heard the speech. if it were not for this i should reject it, for the british accounts do not even mention that girty was along, and do not hint at the incident. it was probably an unauthorized ruse of girty's. the account of the decoy party of indians is partially confirmed by the british letters. both marshall and mcclung get this siege and battle very much twisted in their narratives; they make so many mistakes that it is difficult to know what portion of their accounts to accept. nevertheless it would be a great mistake to neglect all, even of mcclung's statements. thus boon and levi todd in their reports make no mention of mcgarry's conduct; and it might be supposed to be a traditional myth, but mcclung's account is unexpectedly corroborated by arthur campbell's letter, hereafter to be quoted, which was written at the time. marshall is the authority for netherland's feat at the ford. boon's description in the filson narrative differs on several points from his earlier official letter, one or two grave errors being made; it is one of the incidents which shows how cautiously the filson sketch must be used, though it is usually accepted as unquestionable authority.] hardly were they within the fort, however, when some of the indians found that they had been discovered, and the attack began so quickly that one or two of the men who had lingered in the corn-fields were killed, or else were cut off and fled to lexington, while, at the same time, swift-footed runners were sent out to carry the alarm to the different stockades, and summon their riflemen to the rescue. at first but a few indians appeared, on the side of the lexington road; they whooped and danced defiance to the fort, evidently inviting an attack. their purpose was to lure the defenders into sallying out after them, when their main body was to rush at the stockade from the other side. but they did not succeed in deceiving the veteran indian fighters who manned the heavy gates of the fort, stood behind the loopholed walls, or scanned the country round about from the high block-houses at the corners. a dozen active young men were sent out on the lexington road to carry on a mock skirmish with the decoy party, while the rest of the defenders gathered behind the wall on the opposite side. as soon as a noisy but harmless skirmish had been begun by the sallying party, the main body of warriors burst out of the woods and rushed towards the western gate. a single volley from the loopholes drove them back, while the sallying party returned at a run and entered the lexington gate unharmed, laughing at the success of their counter-stratagem. the indians surrounded the fort, each crawling up as close as he could find shelter behind some stump, tree, or fence. an irregular fire began, the whites, who were better covered, having slightly the advantage, but neither side suffering much. this lasted for several hours, until early in the afternoon a party from lexington suddenly appeared and tried to force its way into the fort. the runners who slipped out of the fort at the first alarm went straight to lexington. there they found that the men had just started out to cut off the retreat of the marauding savages who were ravaging south of the kentucky. following their trail they speedily overtook the troops, and told of the attack on bryan's. instantly forty men under major levi todd countermarched to the rescue. being ignorant of the strength of the indians they did not wait for the others, but pushed boldly forward, seventeen being mounted and the others on foot. [footnote: va. state papers, iii., p. . mcclung's and collins' accounts of this incident are pure romance.] the road from lexington to bryan's for the last few hundred yards led beside a field of growing corn taller than a man. some of the indians were lying in this field when they were surprised by the sudden appearance of the rescuers, and promptly fired on them. levi todd and the horsemen, who were marching in advance, struck spurs into their steeds, and galloping hard through the dust and smoke reached the fort in safety. the footmen were quickly forced to retreat towards lexington; but the indians were too surprised by the unlooked-for approach to follow, and they escaped with the loss of one man killed and three wounded. [footnote: _do._] that night the indians tried to burn the fort, shooting flaming arrows onto the roofs of the cabins and rushing up to the wooden wall with lighted torches. but they were beaten off at each attempt. when day broke they realized that it was hopeless to make any further effort, though they still kept up a desultory fire on the fort's defenders; they had killed most of the cattle and pigs, and some of the horses, and had driven away the rest. girty, who was among the assailants, as a last shift, tried to get the garrison to surrender, assuring them that the indians were hourly expecting reinforcements, including the artillery brought against ruddle's and martin's stations two years previously; and that if forced to batter down the walls no quarter would be given to any one. among the fort's defenders was young aaron reynolds, the man whose profanity had formerly roused captain patterson's ire; and he now undertook to be spokesman for the rest. springing up into sight he answered girty in the tone of rough banter so dear to the backwoodsmen, telling the renegade that he knew him well, and despised him, that the men in the fort feared neither cannon nor reinforcements, and if need be, could drive girty's tawny followers back from the walls with switches; and he ended by assuring him that the whites, too, were expecting help, for the country was roused, and if the renegade and his followers dared to linger where they were for another twenty-four hours, their scalps would surely be sun-dried on the roofs of the cabins. the indians knew well that the riflemen were mustering at all the neighboring forts; and, as soon as their effort to treat failed, they withdrew during the forenoon of the th. [footnote: there are four contemporary official reports of this battle: two american, those of boon and levi todd; and two british, those of mckee and caldwell. all four agree that the fort was attacked on one day, the siege abandoned on the next, pursuit made on the third, and the battle fought on the fourth. boon and todd make the siege begin on august th, and the battle take place on the th; caldwell makes the dates the th and th; mckee makes them the th and st. i therefore take boon's and todd's dates. mcclung and marshall make the siege last three or four days instead of less than two. all the accounts of the battle of the blue licks, so far, have been very inaccurate, because the british reports have never been even known to exist, and the reports of the american commanders, printed in the virginia state papers, have but recently seen the light. mr. whitsitt, in his recent excellent "life of judge wallace," uses the latter, but makes the great mistake of incorporating into his narrative some of the most glaring errors of mcclung and marshall.] they were angry and sullen at their discomfiture. five of their number had been killed and several wounded. of the fort's defenders four had been killed and three wounded. among the children within its walls during the siege there was one, the youngest, a kentucky-born baby, named richard johnson; over thirty years later he led the kentucky mounted riflemen at the victory of the thames, when they killed not only the great indian chief tecumseh, but also, it is said, the implacable renegade simon girty himself, then in extreme old age. battle of the blue licks. all this time the runners sent out from bryan's had been speeding through the woods, summoning help from each of the little walled towns. the fayette troops quickly gathered. as soon as boon heard the news he marched at the head of the men of his station, among them his youngest son israel, destined shortly to be slain before his eyes. the men from lexington, mcconnell's, and mcgee's, rallied under john todd, who was county lieutenant, and, by virtue of his commission in the virginia line, the ranking officer of kentucky, second only to clark. troops also came from south of the kentucky river; lieutenant-colonel trigg and majors mcgarry and harlan led the men from harrodsburg, who were soonest ready to march, and likewise brought the news that logan, their county lieutenant, was raising the whole force of lincoln in hot haste, and would follow in a couple of days. these bands of rescuers reached bryan's station on the afternoon of the day the indians had left. the men thus gathered were the very pick of the kentucky pioneers; sinewy veterans of border strife, skilled hunters and woodsmen, long wonted to every kind of hardship and danger. they were men of the most dauntless courage, but unruly and impatient of all control. only a few of the cooler heads were willing to look before they leaped; and even their chosen and trusted leaders were forced to advise and exhort rather than to command them. all were eager for battle and vengeance, and were excited and elated by the repulse that had just been inflicted on the savages; and they feared to wait for logan lest the foe should escape. next morning they rode out in pursuit, one hundred and eighty-two strong, all on horseback, and all carrying long rifles. there was but one sword among them, which todd had borrowed from boon--a rough weapon, with short steel blade and buckhorn hilt. as with most frontier levies, the officers were in large proportion; for, owing to the system of armed settlement and half-military organization, each wooden fort, each little group of hunters or hard-fighting backwoods farmers, was forced to have its own captain, lieutenant, ensign, and sergeant. [footnote: for the american side of the battle of blue licks i take the contemporary reports of boon, levi todd, and logan, va. state papers, vol. iii., pp. , , , . boon and todd both are explicit that there were one hundred and eighty-two riflemen, all on horseback, and substantially agree as to the loss of the frontiersmen. later reports underestimate both the numbers and loss of the whites. boon's narrative, written two years after the event, from memory, conflicts in one or two particulars with his earlier report. patterson, writing long afterwards, and from memory, falls into gross errors, both as to the number of troops and as to some of them being on foot; his account must be relied on chiefly for his own adventures. most of the historians of kentucky give the affair very incorrectly. butler follows marshall; but from the clark papers he got the right number of men engaged. marshall gives a few valuable facts; but he is all wrong on certain important points. for instance, he says todd hurried into action for fear logan would supersede him in the command; but in reality todd ranked logan. mcclung's ornate narrative, that usually followed, hangs on the very slenderest thread of truth; it is mainly sheer fiction. prolix, tedious collins follows the plan he usually does when his rancorous prejudices do not influence him, and presents half a dozen utterly inconsistent accounts, with no effort whatever to reconcile them. he was an industrious collector of information, and gathered an enormous quantity, some of it very useful; he recorded with the like complacency authentic incidents of the highest importance and palpable fabrications or irrelevant trivialities; and it never entered his head to sift evidence or to exercise a little critical power and judgment.] the indians, in their unhurried retreat, followed the great buffalo trace that led to the blue licks, a broad road, beaten out through the forest by the passing and repassing of the mighty herds through countless generations. they camped on the farther side of the river; some of the savages had left, but there were still nearly three hundred men in all--hurons and lake indians, with the small party of rangers. [footnote: caldwell says that he had at first "three hundred indians and rangers," but that before the battle "nigh indians left." mckee says that there were at first "upwards of three hundred hurons and lake indians," besides the rangers and a very few mingos, delawares, and shawnees. later he says of the battle: "we were not much superior to them in numbers, they being about two hundred." levi todd put the number of the indians at three hundred, which was pretty near the truth; boon thought it four hundred; later writers exaggerate wildly, putting it even at one thousand.] the backwoods horsemen rode swiftly on the trail of their foes, and before evening came to where they had camped the night before. a careful examination of the camp-fires convinced the leaders that they were heavily outnumbered; nevertheless they continued the pursuit, and overtook the savages early the following morning, the th of august. as they reached the blue licks, they saw a few indians retreating up a rocky ridge that led from the north bank of the river. the backwoodsmen halted on the south bank, and a short council was held. all turned naturally to boon, the most experienced indian fighter present, in whose cool courage and tranquil self-possession all confided. the wary old pioneer strongly urged that no attack be made at the moment, but that they should await the troops coming up under logan. the indians were certainly much superior in numbers to the whites; they were aware that they were being followed by a small force, and from the confident, leisurely way in which they had managed their retreat, were undoubtedly anxious to be overtaken and attacked. the hurried pursuit had been quite proper in the first place, for if the indians had fled rapidly they would surely have broken up into different bands, which could have been attacked on even terms, while delay would have permitted them to go off unscathed. but, as it was, the attack would be very dangerous; while the delay of waiting for logan would be a small matter, for the indians could still be overtaken after he had arrived. well would it have been for the frontiersmen had they followed boon's advice. [footnote: va. state papers, iii., . col. campbell's letter of oct. , . the letter is interesting as showing by contemporary authority that boon's advice and mcgarry's misbehavior are not mere matters of tradition. it is possible that there was some jealousy between the troops from lincoln and those from fayette; the latter had suffered much from the indians, and were less rash in consequence; while many of the lincoln men were hot for instant battle.] todd and trigg both agreed with him, and so did many of the cooler riflemen--among others a man named netherland, whose caution caused the young hotheads to jeer at him as a coward. but the decision was not suffered to rest with the three colonels who nominally commanded. doubtless the council was hasty and tumultuous, being held by the officers in the open, closely pressed upon, and surrounded by a throng of eager, unruly soldiers, who did not hesitate to offer advice or express dissatisfaction. many of the more headlong and impatient among the bold spirits looking on desired instant action; and these found a sudden leader in major hugh mcgarry. he was a man utterly unsuited to command of any kind; and his retention in office after repeated acts of violence and insubordination shows the inherent weakness of the frontier militia system. he not only chafed at control, but he absolutely refused to submit to it; and his courage was of a kind better fitted to lead him into a fight than to make him bear himself well after it was begun. he wished no delay, and was greatly angered at the decision of the council; nor did he hesitate to at once appeal therefrom. turning to the crowd of backwoodsmen he suddenly raised the thrilling war-cry, and spurred his horse into the stream, waving his hat over his head and calling on all who were not cowards to follow him. the effect was electrical. in an instant all the hunter-soldiers plunged in after him with a shout, and splashed across the ford of the shallow river in huddled confusion. boon and todd had nothing to do but follow. on the other side they got the men into order, and led them on, the only thing that was possible under the circumstances. these two leaders acted excellently throughout; and they now did their best to bring the men with honor through the disaster into which they had been plunged by their own headstrong folly. as the indians were immediately ahead, the array of battle was at once formed. the troops spread out into a single line. the right was led by trigg, the centre by colonel-commandant todd in person, with mcgarry under him, and an advance guard of twenty-five men under harlan in front; while the left was under boon. the ground was equally favorable to both parties, the timber being open and good. [footnote: levi todd's letter, aug. , .] but the indians had the advantage in numbers, and were able to outflank the whites. in a minute the spies brought word that the enemy were close in front. [footnote: it is absolutely erroneous to paint the battle as in any way a surprise. boon says: "we discovered the enemy lying in wait for us; on this discovery we formed our columns into a single line, and marched up in their front." there was no ambush, except that of course the indians, as usual, sheltered themselves behind trees or in the long grass. from what boon and levi todd say, it is evident that the firing began on both sides at the same time. caldwell says the indians fired one gun whereupon the kentuckians fired a volley.] the kentuckians galloped up at speed to within sixty yards of their foes, leaped from their horses, and instantly gave and received a heavy fire. [footnote: levi todd's letter.] boon was the first to open the combat; and under his command the left wing pushed the indians opposite them back for a hundred yards. the old hunter of course led in person; his men stoutly backed him up, and their resolute bearing and skilful marksmanship gave to the whites in this part of the line a momentary victory. but on the right of the kentucky advance, affairs went badly from the start. the indians were thrown out so as to completely surround triggs' wing. almost as soon as the firing became heavy in front, crowds of painted warriors rose from some hollows of long grass that lay on trigg's right and poured in a close and deadly volley. rushing forward, they took his men in rear and flank, and rolled them up on the centre, killing trigg himself. harlan's advance guard was cut down almost to a man, their commander being among the slain. the centre was then assailed from both sides by overwhelming numbers. todd did all he could by voice and example to keep his men firm, and cover boon's successful advance, but in vain. riding to and fro on his white horse, he was shot through the body, and mortally wounded. he leaped on his horse again, but his strength failed him; the blood gushed from his mouth; he leaned forward, and fell heavily from the saddle. some say that his horse carried him to the river, and that he fell into its current. with his death the centre gave way; and of course boon and the men of the left wing, thrust in advance, were surrounded on three sides. a wild rout followed, every one pushing in headlong haste for the ford. "he that could remount a horse was well off; he that could not, had no time for delay," wrote levi todd. the actual fighting had only occupied five minutes. [footnote: levi todd's letter.] in a mad and panic race the kentuckians reached the ford, which was fortunately but a few hundred yards from the battle-field, the indians being mixed in with them. among the first to cross was netherland, whose cautious advice had been laughed at before the battle. no sooner had he reached the south bank, than he reined up his horse and leaped off, calling on his comrades to stop and cover the flight of the others; and most of them obeyed him. the ford was choked with a struggling mass of horsemen and footmen, fleeing whites and following indians. netherland and his companions opened a brisk fire upon the latter, forcing them to withdraw for a moment and let the remainder of the fugitives cross in safety. then the flight began again. the check that had been given the indians allowed the whites time to recover heart and breath. retreating in groups or singly through the forest, with their weapons reloaded, their speed of foot and woodcraft enabled such as had crossed the river to escape without further serious loss. boon was among the last to leave the field. his son israel was slain, and he himself was cut off from the river; but turning abruptly to one side, he broke through the ranks of the pursuers, outran them, swam the river, and returned unharmed to bryan's station. among the men in the battle were capt. robert patterson and young aaron reynolds. when the retreat began patterson could not get a horse. he was suffering from some old and unhealed wounds received in a former indian fight, and he speedily became exhausted. as he was on the point of sinking, reynolds suddenly rode up beside him, jumped off his horse, and without asking patterson whether he would accept, bade him mount the horse and flee. patterson did so, and was the last man over the ford. he escaped unhurt, though the indians were running alongside and firing at him. meanwhile reynolds, who possessed extraordinary activity, reached the river in safety and swam across. he then sat down to take off his buckskin trowsers, which, being soaked through, hampered him much; and two indians suddenly pounced on and captured him. he was disarmed and left in charge of one. watching his chance, he knocked the savage down, and running off into the woods escaped with safety. when patterson thanked him for saving his life, and asked him why he had done it, he answered, that ever since patterson had reproved him for swearing, he had felt a strong and continued attachment for him. the effect of the reproof, combined with his narrow escape, changed him completely, and he became a devout member of the baptist church. patterson, to show the gratitude he felt, gave him a horse and saddle, and a hundred acres of prime land, the first he had ever owned. the loss of the defeated kentuckians had been very great. seventy were killed outright, including colonel todd and lieutenant-colonel trigg, the first and third in command. seven were captured, and twelve of those who escaped were badly wounded. [footnote: those are the figures of boon's official report, and must be nearly accurate. the later accounts give all sorts of numbers.] the victors lost one of the detroit rangers (a frenchman), and six indians killed and ten indians wounded. [footnote: caldwell's letter. but there are some slight discrepancies between the letters of mckee and caldwell. caldwell makes the loss at bryan's station and the blue licks together twelve killed and twelve wounded; mckee says eleven killed and fourteen wounded. both exaggerate the american loss, but not as much as the americans exaggerated that of the indians, boon in his narrative giving the wildest of all the estimates.] almost their whole loss was caused by the successful advance of boon's troops, save what was due to netherland when he rallied the flying backwoodsmen at the ford. of the seven white captives four were put to death with torture; three eventually rejoined their people. one of them owed his being spared to a singular and amusing feat of strength and daring. when forced to run the gauntlet he, by his activity, actually succeeded in reaching the council-house unharmed; when almost to it, he turned, seized a powerful indian and hurled him violently to the ground, and then, thrusting his head between the legs of another pursuer, he tossed him clean over his back, after which he sprang on a log, leaped up and knocked his heels together, crowed in the fashion of backwoods victors, and rallied the indians as a pack of cowards. one of the old chiefs immediately adopted him into the tribe as his son. all the little forted villages north of the kentucky, and those lying near its southern bank, were plunged into woe and mourning by the defeat. [footnote: arthur campbell, in the letter already quoted, comments with intense bitterness on the defeat, which, he says, was due largely to mcgarry's "vain and seditious expressions." he adds that todd and trigg had capacity but no experience, and boon experience but no capacity, while logan was "a dull and narrow body," and clark "a sot, if nothing worse." campbell was a holston virginian, an able but very jealous man, who disliked the kentucky leaders, and indeed had no love for kentucky itself; he had strenuously opposed its first erection as a separate county.] in every stockade, in almost every cabin, there was weeping for husband or father, son, brother, or lover. the best and bravest blood in the land had been shed like water. there was no one who had not lost some close and dear friend, and the heads of all the people were bowed and their hearts sore stricken. the bodies of the dead lay where they had fallen, on the hill-slope, and in the shallow river; torn by wolf, vulture, and raven, or eaten by fishes. in a day or two logan came up with four hundred men from south of the kentucky, tall simon kenton marching at the head of the troops, as captain of a company. [footnote: mcbride's "pioneer biography," i., ] they buried the bodies of the slain on the battle-field, in long trenches, and heaped over them stones and logs. meanwhile the victorious indians, glutted with vengeance, recrossed the ohio and vanished into the northern forests. the indian ravages continued throughout the early fall months; all the outlying cabins were destroyed, the settlers were harried from the clearings, and a station on salt river was taken by surprise, thirty-seven people being captured. stunned by the crushing disaster at the blue licks, and utterly disheartened and cast down by the continued ravages, many of the settlers threatened to leave the country. the county officers sent long petitions to the virginia legislature, complaining that the troops posted at the falls were of no assistance in checking the raids of the indians, and asserting that the operations carried on by order of the executive for the past eighteen months had been a detriment rather than a help. the utmost confusion and discouragement prevailed everywhere. [footnote: va. state papers, iii., pp. , . letter of william christian, september th. petition of boon, todd, netherland, etc., september th. in morehead's "address" is a letter from nathaniel hart. he was himself as a boy, witness of what he describes. his father, who had been henderson's partner and bore the same name as himself, was from north carolina. he founded in kentucky a station known as white oak springs; and was slain by the savages during this year. the letter runs: "it is impossible at this day to make a just impression of the sufferings of the pioneers about the period spoken of. the white oak springs fort in , with perhaps one hundred souls in it was reduced in august to three fighting white men--and i can say with truth that for two or three weeks my mother's family never unclothed themselves to sleep, nor were all of them within that time at their meals together, nor was any household business attempted. food was prepared and placed where those who chose could eat. it was the period when bryant's station was beseiged, and for many days before and after that gloomy event we were in constant expectation of being made prisoners. we made application to col. logan for a guard and obtained one, but not until the danger was measureably over. it then consisted of two men only. col. logan did every thing in his power, as county lieutenant, to sustain the different forts--but it was not a very easy matter to order a married man from a fort where his family was to defend some other when his own was in imminent danger. "i went with my mother in january, , to logan's station to prove my father's will. he had fallen in the preceding july. twenty armed men were of the party. twenty-three widows were in attendance upon the court to obtain letters of administration on the estates of their husbands who had been killed during the past year." the letter also mentions that most of the original settlers of the fort were from pennsylvania, "orderly respectable people and the men good soldiers. but they were unaccustomed to indian warfare, and the consequence was that of some ten or twelve men all were killed but two or three." this incident illustrates the folly of the hope, at one time entertained, that the continental troops, by settling in the west on lands granted them, would prove a good barrier against the indians; the best continentals in washington's army would have been almost as helpless as british grenadiers in the woods.] clark's counter-stroke. at last the news of repeated disaster roused clark into his old-time energy. he sent out runners through the settlements, summoning all the able-bodied men to make ready for a blow at the indians. the pioneers turned with eager relief towards the man who had so often led them to success. they answered his call with quick enthusiasm; beeves, pack-horses, and supplies were offered in abundance, and every man who could shoot and ride marched to the appointed meeting-places. the men from the eastern stations gathered at bryan's, under logan; those from the western, at the falls, under floyd. the two divisions met at the mouth of the licking, where clark took supreme command. on the th of november, he left the banks of the ohio and struck off northward through the forest, at the head of one thousand and fifty mounted riflemen. on the th he attacked the miami towns. his approach was discovered just in time to prevent a surprise. the indians hurriedly fled to the woods, those first discovered raising the alarm-cry, which could be heard an incredible distance, and thus warning their fellows. in consequence no fight followed, though there was sharp skirmishing between the advance guard and the hindermost indians. ten scalps were taken and seven prisoners, besides two whites being recaptured. of clark's men, one was killed and one wounded. the flight of the indians was too hasty to permit them to save any of their belongings. all the cabins were burned, together with an immense quantity of corn and provisions--a severe loss at the opening of winter. mckee, the detroit partisan, attempted to come to the rescue with what indians he could gather, but was met and his force promptly scattered. [footnote: haldimand mss. letter of alex. mckee, november , . he makes no attempt to hide the severity of the blow; his letter shows a curious contrast in tone to the one he wrote after the blue licks. he states that the victory has opened the road to detroit to the americans.] logan led a detachment to the head of the miami, and burned the stores of the british traders. the loss to the savages at the beginning of cold weather was very great; they were utterly cast down and panic-stricken at such a proof of the power of the whites, coming as it did so soon after the battle of the blue licks. the expedition returned in triumph, and the kentuckians completely regained their self-confidence; and though for ten years longer kentucky suffered from the inroads of small parties of savages, it was never again threatened by a serious invasion. [footnote: va. state papers, p. . clark's letter of november , .] wonderful growth of kentucky. at the beginning of , when the news of peace was spread abroad, immigration began to flow to kentucky down the ohio, and over the wilderness road, in a flood of which the volume dwarfed all former streams into rivulets. indian hostilities continued at intervals throughout this year, [footnote: _do_., p. . letter of benjamin logan, august , .] but they were not of a serious nature. most of the tribes concluded at least a nominal peace, and liberated over two hundred white prisoners, though they retained nearly as many more. [footnote: _pennsylvania packet_, no. , , august , .] nevertheless in the spring one man of note fell victim to the savages, for john floyd was waylaid and slain as he was riding out with his brother. thus within the space of eight months, two of the three county lieutenants had been killed, in battle or ambush. the inrush of new settlers was enormous, [footnote: mcafee mss.] and kentucky fairly entered on its second stage of growth. the days of the first game hunters and indian fighters were over. by this year the herds of the buffalo, of which the flesh and hides had been so important to the earlier pioneers, were nearly exterminated; though bands still lingered in the remote recesses of the mountains, and they were plentiful in illinois. the land claims began to clash, and interminable litigation followed. this rendered very important the improvement in the judiciary system which was begun in march by the erection of the three counties into the "district of kentucky," with a court of common law and chancery jurisdiction coextensive with its limits. the name of kentucky, which had been dropped when the original county was divided into three, was thus permanently revived. the first court sat at harrodsburg, but as there was no building where it could properly be held, it adjourned to the dutch reformed meeting-house six miles off. the first grand jury empanelled presented nine persons for selling liquor without license, eight for adultery and fornication, and the clerk of lincoln county for not keeping a table of fees; besides several for smaller offences. [footnote: marshall, i., .] a log court-house and a log jail were immediately built. manufactories of salt were started at the licks, where it was sold at from three to five silver dollars a bushel. [footnote: mcafee mss.] this was not only used by the settlers for themselves, but for their stock, which ranged freely in the woods; to provide for the latter a tree was chopped down and the salt placed in notches or small troughs cut in the trunk, making it what was called a lick-log. large grist-mills were erected at some of the stations; wheat crops were raised; and small distilleries were built. the gigantic system of river commerce of the mississippi had been begun the preceding year by one jacob yoder, who loaded a flat-boat at the old redstone fort, on the monongahela, and drifted down to new orleans, where he sold his goods, and returned to the falls of the ohio by a roundabout course leading through havana, philadelphia, and pittsburg. several regular schools were started. there were already meeting-houses of the baptist and dutch reformed congregations, the preachers spending the week-days in clearing and tilling the fields, splitting rails, and raising hogs; in a permanent presbyterian minister arrived, and a log church was speedily built for him. the sport-loving kentuckians this year laid out a race track at shallowford station. it was a straight quarter of a mile course, within two hundred yards of the stockade; at its farther end was a canebrake, wherein an indian once lay hid and shot a rider, who was pulling up his horse at the close of a race. there was still but one ferry, that over the kentucky river at boonsborough; the price of ferriage was three shillings for either man or horse. the surveying was still chiefly done by hunters, and much of it was in consequence very loose indeed. [footnote: mcafee mss. marshall, collins, brown's pamphlets.] the first retail store kentucky had seen since henderson's, at boonsborough, was closed in , was established this year at the falls; the goods were brought in wagons from philadelphia to pittsburg, and thence down the ohio in flat-boats. the game had been all killed off in the immediate neighborhood of the town at the falls, and clark undertook to supply the inhabitants with meat, as a commercial speculation. accordingly he made a contract with john saunders, the hunter who had guided him on his march to the illinois towns; the latter had presumably forgiven his chief for having threatened him with death when he lost the way. clark was to furnish saunders with three men, a packhorse, salt, and ammunition; while saunders agreed to do his best and be "assiduously industrious" in hunting. buffalo beef, bear's meat, deer hams, and bear oil were the commodities most sought after. the meat was to be properly cured and salted in camp, and sent from time to time to the falls, where clark was to dispose of it in market, a third of the price going to saunders. the hunting season was to last from november st to january th. [footnote: original agreement in durrett mss.; bound volume of "papers relating to g. r. clark." this particular agreement is for ; but apparently he entered into several such in different years.] thus the settlers could no longer always kill their own game; and there were churches, schools, mills, stores, race tracks, and markets in kentucky. chapter viii. the holston settlements, - . organization of the holston settlements. the history of kentucky and the northwest has now been traced from the date of the cherokee war to the close of the revolution. those portions of the southwestern lands that were afterwards made into the state of tennessee, had meanwhile developed with almost equal rapidity. both kentucky and tennessee grew into existence and power at the same time, and were originally settled and built up by precisely the same class of american backwoodsmen. but there were one or two points of difference in their methods of growth. kentucky sprang up afar off in the wilderness, and as a separate entity from the beginning. the present state has grown steadily from a single centre, which was the part first settled; and the popular name of the commonwealth has always been kentucky. tennessee, on the other hand, did not assume her present name until a quarter of a century after the first exploration and settlement had begun; and the state grew from two entirely distinct centres. the first settlements, known as the watauga, or afterwards more generally as the holston, settlements, grew up while keeping close touch with the virginians, who lived round the tennessee head-waters, and also in direct communication with north carolina, to which state they belonged. it was not until that a portion of these holston people moved to the bend of the cumberland river and started a new community, exactly as kentucky had been started before. at first this new community, known as the cumberland settlement, was connected by only the loosest tie with the holston settlements. the people of the two places were not grouped together; they did not even have a common name. the three clusters of holston, cumberland, and kentucky settlements developed independently of one another, and though their founders were in each case of the same kind, they were at first only knit one to another by a lax bond of comradeship. in the watauga pioneers probably numbered some six hundred souls in all. having at last found out the state in which they lived, they petitioned north carolina to be annexed thereto as a district or county. the older settlements had evidently been jealous of them, for they found it necessary to deny that they were, as had been asserted, "a lawless mob"; it may be remarked that the transylvanian colonists had been obliged to come out with a similar statement. in their petition they christened their country "washington district," in honor of the great chief whose name already stood first in the hearts of all americans. the document was written by sevier. it set forth the history of the settlers, their land purchases from the indians, their successful effort at self-government, their military organization, with robertson as captain, and finally their devotion to the revolutionary cause; and recited their lack of proper authority to deal promptly with felons, murderers, and the like, who came in from the neighboring states, as the reason why they wished to become a self-governing portion of north carolina. [footnote: the petition, drawn up in the summer of ' , was signed by men. it is given in full by ramsey, p. . see also phelan, p. .] the legislature of the state granted the prayer of the petitioners, washington district was annexed, and four representatives therefrom, one of them sevier, took their seats that fall in the provincial congress at halifax. but no change whatever was made in the government of the watauga people until . in the spring of that year laws were passed providing for the establishment of courts of pleas and quarter sessions in the district, as well as for the appointment of justices of the peace, sheriffs, and militia officers; and in the fall the district was made a county, under the same name. the boundaries of washington county were the same as those of the present state of tennessee, and seem to have been outlined by sevier, the only man who at that time had a clear idea as to what should be the logical and definite limits of the future state. upholding the law. the nominal change of government worked little real alteration in the way the holston people managed their affairs. the members of the old committee became the justices of the new court, and, with a slight difference in forms, proceeded against all offenders with their former vigor. being eminently practical men, and not learned in legal technicalities, their decisions seem to have been governed mainly by their own ideas of justice, which, though genuine, were rough. as the war progressed and the southern states fell into the hands of the british, the disorderly men who had streamed across the mountains became openly defiant towards the law. the tories gathered in bands, and every man who was impatient of legal restraint, every murderer, horse-thief, and highway robber in the community flocked to join them. the militia who hunted them down soon ceased to discriminate between tories and other criminals, and the courts rendered decisions to the same effect. the caption of one indictment that has been preserved reads against the defendant "in toryism." he was condemned to imprisonment during the war, half his goods was confiscated to the use of the state, and the other half was turned over for the support of his family. in another case the court granted a still more remarkable order, upon the motion of the state attorney, which set forth that fifteen hundred pounds, due to a certain h., should be retained in the hands of the debtor, because "there is sufficient reason to believe that the said h's estate will be confiscated to the use of the state for his misdemeanours." there is something refreshing in the solemnity with which these decisions are recorded, and the evident lack of perception on the part of the judges that their records would, to their grandchildren, have a distinctly humorous side. to tories, and evil-doers generally, the humor was doubtless very grim; but as a matter of fact, the decisions, though certainly of unusual character, were needful and just. the friends of order had to do their work with rough weapons, and they used them most efficiently. under the stress of so dire an emergency as that they confronted they were quite right in attending only to the spirit of law and justice, and refusing to be hampered by the letter. they would have discredited their own energy and hard common-sense had they acted otherwise, and, moreover, would have inevitably failed to accomplish their purpose. in the summer of ' , when indian hostilities almost entirely ceased, most of the militia were disbanded, and, in consequence, the parties of tories and horse-thieves sprang into renewed strength, and threatened to overawe the courts and government officers. immediately the leaders among the whigs, the friends of order and liberty, gathered together and organized a vigilance committee. the committee raised two companies of mounted riflemen, who were to patrol the country and put to death all suspicious characters who resisted them or who refused to give security to appear before the committee in december. the proceedings of the committee were thus perfectly open; the members had no idea of acting secretly or against order. it was merely that in a time of general confusion they consolidated themselves into a body which was a most effective, though irregular, supporter of the cause of law. the mounted riflemen scoured the country and broke up the gangs of evil-doers, hanging six or seven of the leaders, while a number of the less prominent were brought before the committee, who fined some and condemned others to be whipped or branded. all of doubtful loyalty were compelled to take the test oath. [footnote: haywood, p. . as haywood's narrative is based largely on what the pioneers in their old age told him, his dates, and especially his accounts of the numbers and losses of the indians in their battles, are often very inaccurate. in this very chapter he gives, with gross inaccuracy of detail, an account of one of sevier's campaigns as taking place in , whereas it really occurred after his return from king's mountain. there is therefore need to be cautious in using him.] such drastic measures soon brought about peace; but it was broken again and again by similar risings and disturbances. by degrees most of the worst characters fled to the cherokees, or joined the british as their forces approached the up-country. until the battle of kings mountain, the pioneers had to watch the tories as closely as they did the indians; there was a constant succession of murders, thefts, and savage retaliations. once a number of tories attempted to surprise and murder sevier in his own house; but the plot was revealed by the wife of the leader, to whom sevier's wife had shown great kindness in her time of trouble. in consequence the tories were themselves surprised and their ringleaders slain. every man in the country was obliged to bear arms the whole time, not only because of the indian warfare, but also on account of the inveterate hatred and constant collisions between the whigs and the loyalists. many dark deeds were done, and though the tories, with whom the criminal classes were in close alliance, were generally the first and chief offenders, yet the patriots cannot be held guiltless of murderous and ferocious reprisals. they often completely failed to distinguish between the offenders against civil order, and those whose only crime was an honest, if mistaken, devotion to the cause of the king. land laws early in ' a land office was opened in the holston settlements, and the settlers were required to make entries according to the north carolina land laws. hitherto they had lived on their clearings undisturbed, resting their title upon purchase from the indians and upon their own mutual agreements. the old settlers were given the prior right to the locations, and until the beginning of ' in which to pay for them. each head of a family was allowed to take up six hundred and forty acres for himself, one hundred for his wife, and one hundred for each of his children, at the price of forty shillings per hundred acres, while any additional amount cost at the rate of one hundred shillings, instead of forty. all of the men of the holston settlements were at the time in the service of the state as militia, in the campaign against the indians; and when the land office was opened, the money that was due them sufficed to pay for their claims. they thus had no difficulty in keeping possession of their lands, much to the disappointment of the land speculators, many of whom had come out at the opening of the office. afterwards large tracts were given as bounty, or in lieu of pay, to the revolutionary soldiers. all the struggling colonies used their wild land as a sort of military chest; it was often the only security of value in their possession. the same year that the land office was opened, it was enacted that the bridle path across the mountains should be chopped out and made into a rough wagon road. [footnote: however this was not actually done until some years later.] the following spring the successful expedition against the chicamaugas temporarily put a stop to indian troubles. the growing security, the opening of the land office, and the increase of knowledge concerning the country, produced a great inflow of settlers in , and from that time onward the volume of immigration steadily increased. character and life of the settlers. many of these new-comers were "poor whites," or crackers; lank, sallow, ragged creatures, living in poverty, ignorance, and dirt, who regarded all strangers with suspicion as "outlandish folks." [footnote: smythe's tours, i., , describes the up-country crackers of north carolina and virginia.] with every chance to rise, these people remained mere squalid cumberers of the earth's surface, a rank, up-country growth, containing within itself the seeds of vicious, idle pauperism, and semi-criminality. they clustered in little groups, scattered throughout the backwoods settlements, in strong contrast to the vigorous and manly people around them. by far the largest number of the new-comers were of the true, hardy backwoods stock, fitted to grapple with the wilderness and to hew out of it a prosperous commonwealth. the leading settlers began, by thrift and industry, to acquire what in the backwoods passed for wealth. their horses, cattle, and hogs throve and multiplied. the stumps were grubbed out of the clearings, and different kinds of grains and roots were planted. wings were added to the houses, and sometimes they were roofed with shingles. the little town of jonesboro, the first that was not a mere stockaded fort, was laid off midway between the watauga and the nolichucky. as soon as the region grew at all well settled, clergymen began to come in. here, as elsewhere, most of the frontiersmen who had any religion at all professed the faith of the scotch-irish; and the first regular church in this cradle-spot of tennessee was a presbyterian log meeting-house, built near jonesboro in , and christened salem church. its pastor was a pioneer preacher, who worked with fiery and successful energy to spread learning and religion among the early settlers of the southwest. his name was samuel doak. he came from new jersey, and had been educated in princeton. possessed of the vigorous energy that marks the true pioneer spirit, he determined to cast in his lot with the frontier folk. he walked through maryland and virginia, driving before him an old "flea-bitten grey" horse, loaded with a sackful of books; crossed the alleghanies, and came down along blazed trails to the holston settlements. the hardy people among whom he took up his abode were able to appreciate his learning and religion as much as they admired his adventurous and indomitable temper; and the stern, hard, god-fearing man became a most powerful influence for good throughout the whole formative period of the southwest. [footnote: see "east tennessee a hundred years ago," by the hon. john allison, nashville, , p. .] not only did he found a church, but near it he built a log high-school, which soon became washington college, the first institution of the kind west of the alleghanies. other churches, and many other schools, were soon built. any young man or woman who could read, write, and cipher felt competent to teach an ordinary school; higher education, as elsewhere at this time in the west, was in the hands of the clergy. as elsewhere, the settlers were predominantly of calvinistic stock; for of all the then prominent faiths calvinism was nearest to their feelings and ways of thought. of the great recognized creeds it was the most republican in its tendencies, and so the best suited to the backwoodsmen. they disliked anglicanism as much as they abhorred and despised romanism--theoretically at least, for practically then as now frontiersmen were liberal to one another's religious opinions, and the staunch friend and good hunter might follow whatever creed he wished, provided he did not intrude it on others. but backwoods calvinism differed widely from the creed as first taught. it was professed by thorough-going americans, essentially free and liberty-loving, who would not for a moment have tolerated a theocracy in their midst. their social, religious, and political systems were such as naturally flourished in a country remarkable for its temper of rough and self-asserting equality. nevertheless the old calvinistic spirit left a peculiar stamp on this wild border democracy. more than any thing else, it gave the backwoodsmen their code of right and wrong. though they were a hard, narrow, dogged people, yet they intensely believed in their own standards and ideals. often warped and twisted, mentally and morally, by the strain of their existence, they at least always retained the fundamental virtues of hardihood and manliness. presbyterianism was not, however, destined even here to remain the leading frontier creed. other sects still more democratic, still more in keeping with backwoods life and thought, largely supplanted it. methodism did not become a power until after the close of the revolution; but the baptists followed close on the heels of the presbyterians. they, too, soon built log meeting-houses here and there, while their preachers cleared the forest and hunted elk and buffalo like the other pioneer settlers. [footnote: ramsey, .] to all the churches the preacher and congregation alike went armed, the latter leaning their rifles in their pews or near their seats, while the pastor let his stand beside the pulpit. on week-days the clergymen usually worked in the fields in company with the rest of the settlers; all with their rifles close at hand and a guard stationed. in more than one instance when such a party was attacked by indians the servant of the lord showed himself as skilled in the use of carnal weapons as were any of his warlike parishioners. the leaders of the frontiersmen were drawn from among several families, which, having taken firm root, were growing into the position of backwoods gentry. of course the use of this term does not imply any sharp social distinctions in backwoods life, for there were none such. the poorest and richest met on terms of perfect equality, slept in one another's houses, and dined at one another's tables. but certain families, by dint of their thrift, the ability they showed in civil affairs, or the prowess of some of their members in time of war, had risen to acknowledged headship. the part of washington county northwest of the holston was cut off and made into the county of sullivan by the north carolina legislature in . in this part the shelbys were the leading family; and isaac shelby was made county lieutenant. it had been the debatable ground between virginia and north carolina, the inhabitants not knowing to which province they belonged, and sometimes serving the two governments alternately. when the line was finally drawn, old evan shelby's estate was found to lie on both sides of it; and as he derived his title from virginia, he continued to consider himself a virginian, and held office as such. [footnote: campbell mss. notes by gov. david campbell.] in washington county sevier was treated as practically commander of the militia some time before he received his commission as county lieutenant. he was rapidly becoming the leader of the whole district. he lived in a great, rambling one-story log house on the nolichucky, a rude, irregular building with broad verandas and great stone fire-places. the rooms were in two groups, which were connected by a covered porch--a "dog alley," as old settlers still call it, because the dogs are apt to sleep there at night. here he kept open house to all comers, for he was lavishly hospitable, and every one was welcome to bed and board, to apple-jack and cider, hominy and corn-bread, beef, venison, bear meat, and wild fowl. when there was a wedding or a merrymaking of any kind he feasted the neighborhood, barbecuing oxen--that is, roasting them whole on great spits,--and spreading board tables out under the trees. he was ever on the alert to lead his mounted riflemen against the small parties of marauding indians that came into the country. he soon became the best commander against indians that there was on this part of the border, moving with a rapidity that enabled him again and again to overtake and scatter their roving parties, recovering the plunder and captives, and now and then taking a scalp or two himself. his skill and daring, together with his unfailing courtesy, ready tact, and hospitality, gained him unbounded influence with the frontiersmen, among whom he was universally known as "nolichucky jack." [footnote: mss. "notes of conversations with old pioneers," by ramsey, in tenn. hist. soc. campbell mss.] the virginian settlements on the holston, adjoining those of north carolina, were in likewise made into a county of washington. the people were exactly the same in character as those across the line; and for some years the fates of all these districts were bound up together. their inhabitants were still of the usual backwoods type, living by tilling their clearings and hunting; the elk and buffalo had become very scarce, but there were plenty of deer and bear, and in winter countless wild swans settled down on the small lakes and ponds. the boys followed these eagerly; one of them, when an old man, used to relate how his mother gave him a pint of cream for every swan he shot, with the result that he got the pint almost every day. [footnote: "sketch of mrs. elizabeth russell," by her grandson, thomas l. preston, nashville, , p. . an interesting pamphlet.] the leading family among these holston virginians was that of the campbells, who lived near abingdon. they were frontier farmers, who chopped down the forest and tilled the soil with their own hands. they used the axe and guided the plow as skilfully as they handled their rifles; they were also mighty hunters, and accustomed from boyhood to indian warfare. the children received the best schooling the back country could afford, for they were a book-loving race, fond of reading and study as well as of out-door sports. the two chief members were cousins, arthur and william. arthur was captured by the northern indians when sixteen, and was kept a prisoner among them several years; when lord dunmore's war broke out he made his escape, and acted as scout to the earl's army. he served as militia colonel in different indian campaigns, and was for thirty years a magistrate of the county; he was a man of fine presence, but of jealous, ambitious, overbearing temper. he combined with his fondness for indian and hunter life a strong taste for books, and gradually collected a large library. so keen were the jealousies, bred of ambition, between himself and his cousin william campbell, they being the two ranking officers of the local forces, that they finally agreed to go alternately on the different military expeditions; and thus it happened that arthur missed the battle of king's mountain, though he was at the time county lieutenant. william campbell stood next in rank. he was a man of giant strength, standing six feet two inches in height, and straight as a spear-shaft, with fair complexion, red hair, and piercing, light blue eyes. a firm friend and staunch patriot, a tender and loving husband and father, gentle and courteous in ordinary intercourse with his fellows, he was, nevertheless, if angered, subject to fits of raging wrath that impelled him to any deed of violence. [footnote: campbell mss. notes, by gov. david campbell.] he was a true type of the roundheads of the frontier, the earnest, eager men who pushed the border ever farther westward across the continent. he followed indians and tories with relentless and undying hatred; for the long list of backwoods virtues did not include pity for either public or private foes. the tories threatened his life and the lives of his friends and families; they were hand in glove with the outlaws who infested the borders, the murderers, horse-thieves, and passers of counterfeit money. he hunted them down with a furious zest, and did his work with merciless thoroughness, firm in the belief that he thus best served the lord and the nation. one or two of his deeds illustrate admirably the grimness of the times, and the harsh contrast between the kindly relations of the border folks with their friends, and their ferocity towards their foes. they show how the better backwoodsmen, the upright, church-going men, who loved their families, did justice to their neighbors, and sincerely tried to serve god, not only waged an unceasing war on the red and white foes of the state and of order, but carried it on with a certain ruthlessness that indicated less a disbelief in, than an utter lack of knowledge of, such a virtue as leniency to enemies. one sunday campbell was returning from church with his wife and some friends, carrying his baby on a pillow in front of his saddle, for they were all mounted. suddenly a horseman crossed the road close in front of them, and was recognized by one of the party as a noted tory. upon being challenged, he rode off at full speed. instantly campbell handed the baby to a negro slave, struck spur into his horse, and galloping after the fugitive, overtook and captured him. the other men of the party came up a minute later. several recognized the prisoner as a well-known tory; he was riding a stolen horse; he had on him letters to the british agents among the cherokees, arranging for an indian rising. the party of returning church-goers were accustomed to the quick and summary justice of lynch law. with stern gravity they organized themselves into a court. the prisoner was adjudged guilty, and was given but a short shrift; for the horsemen hung him to a sycamore tree before they returned to the road where they had left their families. on another occasion, while campbell was in command of a camp of militia, at the time of a cherokee outbreak, he wrote a letter to his wife, a sister of patrick henry, that gives us a glimpse of the way in which he looked at indians. his letter began, "my dearest betsy"; in it he spoke of his joy at receiving her "sweet and affectionate letter"; he told how he had finally got the needles and pins she wished, and how pleased a friend had been with the apples she had sent him. he urged her to buy a saddle-horse, of which she had spoken, but to be careful that it did not start nor stumble, which were bad faults, "especially in a woman's hackney." in terms of endearment that showed he had not sunk the lover in the husband, he spoke of his delight at being again in the house where he had for the first time seen her loved face, "from which happy moment he dated the hour of all his bliss," and besought her not to trouble herself too much about him, quoting to her solomon's account of a good wife, as reminding him always of her; and he ended by commending her to the peculiar care of heaven. it was a letter that it was an honor to a true man to have written; such a letter as the best of women and wives might be proud to have received. yet in the middle of it he promised to bring a strange trophy to show his tender and god-fearing spouse. he was speaking of the indians; how they had murdered men, women, and children near-by, and how they had been beaten back; and he added: "i have now the scalp of one who was killed eight or nine miles from my house about three weeks ago. the first time i go up i shall take it along to let you see it." evidently it was as natural for him to bring home to his wife and children the scalp of a slain indian as the skin of a slain deer. [footnote: see preston's pamphlet on mrs. russell, pp. - .] the times were hard, and they called for men of flinty fibre. those of softer, gentler mould would have failed in the midst of such surroundings. the iron men of the border had a harsh and terrible task allotted them; and though they did it roughly, they did it thoroughly and on the whole well. they may have failed to learn that it is good to be merciful, but at least they knew that it is still better to be just and strong and brave; to see clearly one's rights, and to guard them with a ready hand. these frontier leaders were generally very jealous of one another. the ordinary backwoodsmen vied together as hunters, axemen, or wrestlers; as they rose to leadership their rivalries grew likewise, and the more ambitious, who desired to become the civil and military chiefs of the community, were sure to find their interests clash. thus old evan shelby distrusted sevier; arthur campbell was jealous of both sevier and isaac shelby; and the two latter bore similar feelings to william campbell. when a great crisis occurred all these petty envies were sunk; the nobler natures of the men came uppermost; and they joined with unselfish courage, heart and hand, to defend their country in the hour of her extreme need. but when the danger was over the old jealousies cropped out again. some one or other of the leaders was almost always employed against the indians. the cherokees and creeks were never absolutely quiet and at peace. indian troubles. after the chastisement inflicted upon the former by the united forces of all the southern backwoodsmen, treaties were held with them, [footnote: see _ante_, chapter xi. of vol. i.] in the spring and summer of . the negotiations consumed much time, the delegates from both sides meeting again and again to complete the preliminaries. the credit of the state being low, isaac shelby furnished on his own responsibility the goods and provisions needed by the virginians and holston people in coming to an agreement with the otari, or upper cherokees [ footnote: shelby's ms. autobiography, copy in col. durrett's library.]; and some land was formally ceded to the whites. but the chief dragging canoe would not make peace. gathering the boldest and most turbulent of the young braves about him, he withdrew to the great whirl in the tennessee, [footnote: va. state papers, iii., ; the settlers always spoke of it as the "suck" or "whirl."] at the crossing-place of the creek war parties, when they followed the trail that led to the bend of the cumberland river. here he was joined by many creeks, and also by adventurous and unruly members from almost all the western tribes [footnote: shelby ms.]--chickasaws, chocktaws, and indians from the ohio. he soon had a great band of red outlaws round him. these freebooters were generally known as the chickamaugas, and they were the most dangerous and least controllable of all the foes who menaced the western settlements. many tories and white refugees from border justice joined them, and shared in their misdeeds. their shifting villages stretched from chickamauga creek to running water. between these places the tennessee twists down through the sombre gorges by which the chains of the cumberland ranges are riven in sunder. some miles below chickamauga creek, near chattanooga, lookout mountain towers aloft into the clouds; at its base the river bends round moccasin point, and then rushes through a gap between walden's ridge and the raccoon hills. then for several miles it foams through the winding narrows between jutting cliffs and sheer rock walls, while in its boulder-strewn bed the swift torrent is churned into whirlpools, cataracts, and rapids. near the great crossing, where the war parties and hunting parties were ferried over the river, lies nick-a-jack cave, a vast cavern in the mountain side. out of it flows a stream, up which a canoe can paddle two or three miles into the heart of the mountain. in these high fastnesses, inaccessible ravines, and gloomy caverns the chickamaugas built their towns, and to them they retired with their prisoners and booty after every raid on the settlements. no sooner had the preliminary treaty been agreed to in the spring of ' than the indians again began their ravages. in fact, there never was any real peace. after each treaty the settlers would usually press forward into the indian lands, and if they failed to do this the young braves were sure themselves to give offence by making forays against the whites. on this occasion the first truce or treaty was promptly broken by the red men. the young warriors refused to be bound by the promises of the chiefs and headmen, and they continued their raids for scalps, horses, and plunder. within a week of the departure of the indian delegates from the treaty ground in april, twelve whites were murdered and many horses stolen. robertson, with nine men, followed one of these marauding parties, killed one indian, and retook ten horses; on his return he was attacked by a large band of creeks and cherokees, and two of his men were wounded; but he kept hold of the recaptured horses and brought them safely in. [footnote: chas. robertson to captain-general of north carolina, april , .] on the other hand, a white scoundrel killed an indian on the treaty ground, in july, the month in which the treaties were finally completed in due form. by act of the legislature the holston militia were kept under arms throughout most of the year, companies of rangers, under sevier's command, scouring the woods and canebrakes, and causing such loss to the small indian war parties that they finally almost ceased their forays. bands of these holston rangers likewise crossed the mountains by boon's trail, and went to the relief of boonsborough and st. asaphs, in kentucky, then much harassed by the northwestern warriors. [footnote: see _ante_ chap. i.] though they did little or no fighting, and stayed but a few days, they yet by their presence brought welcome relief to the hard-pressed kentuckians. [footnote: monette (followed by ramsey and others) hopelessly confuses these small relief expeditions; he portrays logan as a messenger from boon's station, is in error as to the siege of the latter, etc.] kentucky during her earliest and most trying years received comparatively little help from sorely beset virginia; but the backwoodsmen of the upper tennessee valley--on both sides of the boundary--did her real and lasting service. in the militia were disbanded, as the settlements were very little harried; but as soon as the vigilance of the whites was relaxed the depredations and massacres began again, and soon became worse than ever. robertson had been made superintendent of indian affairs for north carolina; and he had taken up his abode among the cherokees at the town of chota in the latter half of the year . he succeeded in keeping them comparatively quiet and peaceable during , and until his departure, which took place the following year, when he went to found the settlements on the cumberland river. but the chickamaugas refused to make peace, and in their frequent and harassing forays they were from time to time joined by parties of young braves from all the cherokee towns that were beyond the reach of robertson's influence--that is, by all save those in the neighborhood of chota. the chickasaws and choctaws likewise gave active support to the king's cause; the former scouted along the ohio, the latter sent bands of young warriors to aid the creeks and cherokees in their raids against the settlements. [footnote: haldimand mss. letter of rainsford and tait to hamilton. april , .] the british agents among the southern indians had received the letters hamilton sent them after he took vincennes; in these they were urged at once to send out parties against the frontier, and to make ready for a grand stroke in the spring. in response the chief agent, who was the scotch captain cameron, a noted royalist leader, wrote to his official superior that the instant he heard of any movement of the northwestern indians he would see that it was backed up, for the creeks were eager for war, and the cherokees likewise were ardently attached to the british cause; as a proof of the devotion of the latter, he added: "they keep continually killing and scalping in virginia, north carolina, and the frontier of georgia, although the rebels are daily threatening to send in armies from all quarters and extirpate the whole tribe." [footnote: haldimand mss. series b., vol. , p. . letter of alexander cameron, july , .] it would certainly be impossible to desire better proof than that thus furnished by this royal officer, both of the ferocity of the british policy towards the frontiersmen, and of the treachery of the indians, who so richly deserved the fate that afterwards befell them. while waiting for the signal from hamilton, cameron organized two indian expeditions against the frontier, to aid the movements of the british army that had already conquered georgia. a great body of creeks, accompanied by the british commissaries and most of the white traders (who were, of course, tories), set out in march to join the king's forces at savannah; but when they reached the frontier they scattered out to plunder and ravage. a body of americans fell on one of their parties and crushed it; whereupon the rest returned home in a fright, save about seventy, who went on and joined the british. at the same time three hundred chickamaugas, likewise led by the resident british commissaries, started out against the carolina frontier. but robertson, at chota, received news of the march, and promptly sent warning to the holston settlements [footnote: _do_. "a rebel commissioner in chote being informed of their movements here sent express into holston river." this "rebel commissioner" was in all probability robertson.]; and the holston men, both of virginia and north carolina, decided immediately to send an expedition against the homes of the war party. this would not only at once recall them from the frontier, but would give them a salutary lesson. accordingly the backwoods levies gathered on clinch river, at the mouth of big creek, april th, and embarked in pirogues and canoes to descend the tennessee. there were several hundred of them [footnote: state department mss. no. , vol. ii., p. , a letter from the british agents among the creeks to lord george germaine, of july , . it says, "near rebels"; haywood, whose accounts are derived from oral tradition, says one thousand. cameron's letter of july th in the haldimand mss. says seven hundred. some of them were virginians who had been designed for clark's assistance in his illinois campaign, but who were not sent him. shelby made a very clever stroke, but it had no permanent effect, and it is nonsense to couple it, as has been recently done, with clark's campaigns.] under the command of evan shelby; isaac shelby having collected the supplies for the expedition by his individual activity and on his personal credit. the backwoodsmen went down the river so swiftly that they took the chickamaugas completely by surprise, and the few warriors who were left in the villages fled to the wooded mountains without offering any resistance. several indians were killed [footnote: cameron in his letter says four, which is probably near the truth. haywood says forty, which merely represents the backwoods tradition on the subject, and is doubtless a great exaggeration.] and a number of their towns were burnt, together with a great deal of corn; many horses and cattle were recaptured, and among the spoils were large piles of deer hides, owned by a tory trader. the troops then destroyed their canoes and returned home on foot, killing game for their food; and they spread among the settlements many stories of the beauty of the lands through which they had passed, so that the pioneers became eager to possess them. the chickamaugas were alarmed and confounded by this sudden stroke; their great war band returned at once to the burned towns, on being informed by swift runners of the destruction that had befallen them. all thoughts of an immediate expedition against the frontier were given up; peace talks were sent to evan shelby [footnote: state department mss. no. , vol. i., p. , letter of evan shelby, june , .]; and throughout the summer the settlements were but little molested. yet all the while they were planning further attacks; at the same time that they sent peace talks to shelby they sent war talks to the northwestern indians, inviting them to join in a great combined movement against the americans. [footnote: haldimand mss. series b., vol. , p. . a talk from the cherokees to the envoy from the wabash and other indians, july , . one paragraph is interesting: "we cannot forget the talk you brought us some years ago into this nation, which was to take up the hatchet against the virginians. we heard and listened to it with great attention, and before the time that was appointed to lift it we took it up and struck the virginians. our nation was alone and surrounded by them. they were numerous and their hatchets were sharp; and after we had lost some of our best warriors, we were forced to leave our towns and corn to be burnt by them, and now we live in the grass as you see us. but we are not yet conquered, and to convince you that we have not thrown away your talk here are strands of whampums we received from you when you came before as a messenger to our nation."] when the news of hamilton's capture was brought it wrought a momentary discouragement; but the efforts of the british agents were unceasing, and by the end of the year most of the southwestern indians were again ready to take up the hatchet. the rapid successes of the royal armies in the southern states had turned the creeks into open antagonists of the americans, and their war parties were sent out in quick succession, the british agents keeping alive the alliance by a continued series of gifts--for the creeks were a venal, fickle race whose friendship could not otherwise be permanently kept. [footnote: state department mss. papers continental congress. intercepted letters, no. . vol. ii. letter of british agents messrs. rainsford, mitchell, and macullagh, of july , . "the present unanimity of the creek nation is no doubt greatly owing to the rapid successes of his majesty's forces in the southern provinces, as they have now no cause to apprehend the least danger from the rebels ... we have found by experience that without presents the indians are not to be depended on."] as for the cherokees, they had not confined themselves to sending the war belt to the northwestern tribes, while professing friendship for the americans; they had continued in close communication with the british indian agents, assuring them that their peace negotiations were only shams, intended to blind the settlers, and that they would be soon ready to take up the hatchet. [footnote: _do_., no. , vol. ii., p. . letter of david tait to oconostota. "i believe what you say about telling lies to the virginians to be very right."] this time cameron himself marched into the cherokee country with his company of fifty tories, brutal outlaws, accustomed to savage warfare, and ready to take part in the worst indian outrages. [footnote: _do_., no. , vol. ii. letter of the three agents. "the cherokees are now exceedingly well disposed. mr. cameron is now among them ... captain cameron has his company of loyal refugees with him, who are well qualified for the service they are engaged in.... he carried up with him a considerable quantity of presents and ammunition which are absolutely necessary to engage the indians to go upon service."] the ensuing cherokee war was due not to the misdeeds of the settlers--though doubtless a few lawless whites occasionally did wrong to their red neighbors--but to the short-sighted treachery and ferocity of the savages themselves, and especially to the machinations of the tories and british agents. the latter unceasingly incited the indians to ravage the frontier with torch and scalping knife. they deliberately made the deeds of the torturers and women-killers their own, and this they did with the approbation of the british government, and to its merited and lasting shame. yet by the end of the inrush of settlers to the holston regions had been so great that, as with kentucky, there was never any real danger after this year that the whites would be driven from the land by the red tribes whose hunting-ground it once had been. chapter ix. king's mountain, . the british in the southern states. during the revolutionary war the men of the west for the most part took no share in the actual campaigning against the british and hessians. their duty was to conquer and hold the wooded wilderness that stretched westward to the mississippi; and to lay therein the foundations of many future commonwealths. yet at a crisis in the great struggle for liberty, at one of the darkest hours for the patriot cause, it was given to a band of western men to come to the relief of their brethren of the seaboard and to strike a telling and decisive blow for all america. when the three southern provinces lay crushed and helpless at the feet of cornwallis, the holston backwoodsmen suddenly gathered to assail the triumphant conqueror. crossing the mountains that divided them from the beaten and despairing people of the tidewater region, they killed the ablest lieutenant of the british commander, and at a single stroke undid all that he had done. by the end of the british had reconquered georgia. in may, , they captured charleston, speedily reduced all south carolina to submission, and then marched into the old north state. cornwallis, much the ablest of the british generals, was in command over a mixed force of british, hessian, and loyal american regulars, aided by irish volunteers and bodies of refugees from florida. in addition, the friends to the king's cause, who were very numerous in the southernmost states, rose at once on the news of the british successes, and thronged to the royal standards; so that a number of regiments of tory militia were soon embodied. mcgillivray, the creek chief, sent bands of his warriors to assist the british and tories on the frontier, and the cherokees likewise came to their help. the patriots for the moment abandoned hope, and bowed before their victorious foes. cornwallis himself led the main army northward against the american forces. meanwhile he entrusted to two of his most redoubtable officers the task of scouring the country, raising the loyalists, scattering the patriot troops that were still embodied, and finally crushing out all remaining opposition. these two men were tarleton the dashing cavalryman, and ferguson the rifleman, the skilled partisan leader. colonel ferguson. patrick ferguson, the son of lord pitfour, was a scotch soldier, at this time about thirty-six years old, who had been twenty years in the british army. he had served with distinction against the french in germany, had quelled a carib uprising in the west indies, and in was given the command of a company of riflemen in the army opposed to washington. [footnote: "biographical sketch or memoir of lieutenant-colonel patrick ferguson," by adam ferguson, ll.d., edinburgh, , p. . the copy was kindly lent me by mr. geo. h. moore of the lenox library.] he played a good part at brandywine and monmouth. at the former battle he was wounded by an american sharpshooter, and had an opportunity, of which he forbore taking advantage, to himself shoot an american officer of high rank, who unsuspectingly approached the place where he lay hid; he always insisted that the man he thus spared was no less a person than washington. while suffering from his wound, sir william howe disbanded his rifle corps, distributing it among the light companies of the different regiments; and its commander in consequence became an unattached volunteer in the army. but he was too able to be allowed to remain long unemployed. when the british moved to new york he was given the command of several small independent expeditions, and was successful in each case; once, in particular, he surprised and routed pulaski's legion, committing great havoc with the bayonet, which was always with him a favorite weapon. his energy and valor attracted much attention; and when a british army was sent against charleston and the south he went along, as a lieutenant-colonel of a recently raised regular regiment, known as the american volunteers. [footnote: though called volunteers they were simply a regular regiment raised in america instead of england; ferguson's "memoir" p. , etc., always speaks of them as regulars. the british gave an absurd number of titles to their various officers; thus ferguson was a brigadier-general of militia, lieutenant-colonel of volunteers, a major in the army, etc.] cornwallis speedily found him to be peculiarly fitted for just such service as was needed; for he possessed rare personal qualities. he was of middle height and slender build, with a quiet, serious face and a singularly winning manner; and withal, he was of literally dauntless courage, of hopeful, eager temper, and remarkably fertile in shifts and expedients. he was particularly fond of night attacks, surprises, and swift, sudden movements generally, and was unwearied in drilling and disciplining his men. not only was he an able leader, but he was also a finished horseman, and the best marksman with both pistol and rifle in the british army. being of quick, inventive mind, he constructed a breech-loading rifle, which he used in battle with deadly effect. this invention had been one of the chief causes of his being brought into prominence in the war against america, for the british officers especially dreaded the american sharpshooters. [footnote: ferguson's "memoir," p. .] it would be difficult to imagine a better partisan leader, or one more fitted by his feats of prowess and individual skill, to impress the minds of his followers. moreover, his courtesy stood him in good stead with the people of the country; he was always kind and civil, and would spend hours in talking affairs over with them and pointing out the mischief of rebelling against their lawful sovereign. he soon became a potent force in winning the doubtful to the british side, and exerted a great influence over the tories; they gathered eagerly to his standard, and he drilled them with patient perseverance. after the taking of charleston ferguson's volunteers and tarleton's legion, acting separately or together, speedily destroyed the different bodies of patriot soldiers. their activity and energy was such that the opposing commanders seemed for the time being quite unable to cope with them, and the american detachments were routed and scattered in quick succession. [footnote: "history of the campaigns of and ," lt.-col. tarleton, london ( ). see also the "strictures" thereon, by roderick mackenzie, london, same date.] on one of these occasions, the surprise at monk's corners, where the american commander, huger, was slain, ferguson's troops again had a chance to show their skill in the use of the bayonet. tarleton did his work with brutal ruthlessness; his men plundered and ravaged, maltreated prisoners, outraged women, and hung without mercy all who were suspected of turning from the loyalist to the whig side. his victories were almost always followed by massacres; in particular, when he routed with small loss a certain captain buford, his soldiers refused to grant quarter, and mercilessly butchered the beaten. americans. [footnote: it is worth while remembering that it was not merely the tories who were guilty of gross crimes; the british regulars, including even some of their officers, often behaved with abhorrent brutality.] ferguson, on the contrary, while quite as valiant and successful a commander, showed a generous heart, and treated the inhabitants of the country fairly well. he was especially incensed at any outrage upon women, punishing the offender with the utmost severity, and as far as possible he spared his conquered foes. yet even ferguson's tender mercies must have seemed cruel to the whigs, as may be judged by the following extract from a diary kept by one of his lieutenants [footnote: diary of lt. anthony allaire, entry for march , .]: "this day col. ferguson got the rear guard in order to do his king and country justice, by protecting friends and widows, and destroying rebel property; also to collect live stock for the use of the army. all of which we effect as we go by destroying furniture, breaking windows, etc., taking all their horned cattle, horses, mules, sheep, etc., and their negroes to drive them." when such were the authorized proceedings of troops under even the most merciful of the british commanders, it is easy to guess what deeds were done by uncontrolled bodies of stragglers bent on plunder. when ferguson moved into the back country of the two carolinas still worse outrages followed. in the three southernmost of the thirteen rebellious colonies there was a very large tory party. [footnote: gates mss., _passim_, for july-october, . _e.g._, letter of mr. ramsey, august , , describes how "the scotch are all lying out," the number of tories in the "drowning creek region," their resistance to the levy of cattle, etc. in these colonies, as in the middle colonies, the tory party was very strong.] in consequence the struggle in the carolinas and georgia took the form of a ferocious civil war. each side in turn followed up its successes by a series of hangings and confiscations, while the lawless and violent characters fairly revelled in the confusion. neither side can be held guiltless of many and grave misdeeds; but for reasons already given the bulk--but by no means the whole--of the criminal and disorderly classes espoused the king's cause in the regions where the struggle was fiercest. they murdered, robbed, or drove off the whigs in their hour of triumph; and in turn brought down ferocious reprisals on their own heads and on those of their luckless associates. moreover cornwallis and his under-officers tried to cow and overawe the inhabitants by executing some of the men whom they deemed the chief and most criminal leaders of the rebellion, especially such as had sworn allegiance and then again taken up arms; [footnote: gates mss. see letter from sumter, august th and _passim_, for instances of hanging by express command of the british officers.] of course retaliation in kind followed. ferguson himself hung some men; and though he did his best to spare the country people, there was much plundering and murdering by his militia. in june he marched to upper south carolina, moving to and fro, calling out the loyal militia. they responded enthusiastically, and three or four thousand tories were embodied in different bands. those who came to ferguson's own standard were divided into companies and regiments, and taught the rudiments of discipline by himself and his subalterns. he soon had a large but fluctuating force under him; in part composed of good men, loyal adherents of the king (these being very frequently recent arrivals from england, or else scotch highlanders), in part also of cut-throats, horse-thieves, and desperadoes of all kinds who wished for revenge on the whigs and were eager to plunder them. his own regular force was also mainly composed of americans, although it contained many englishmen. his chief subordinates were lieutenant-colonels de peyster [footnote: a relative of the detroit commander.] and cruger; the former usually serving under him, the latter commanding at ninety-six. they were both new york loyalists, members of old knickerbocker families; for in new york many of the gentry and merchants stood by the king. ferguson approaches the mountains. ferguson moved rapidly from place to place, breaking up the bodies of armed whigs; and the latter now and then skirmished fiercely with similar bands of tories, sometimes one side winning sometimes the other. having reduced south carolina to submission the british commander then threatened north carolina; and col. mcdowell, the commander of the whig militia in that district, sent across the mountains to the holston men praying that they would come to his help. though suffering continually from indian ravages, and momentarily expecting a formidable inroad, they responded nobly to the call. sevier remained to patrol the border and watch the cherokees, while isaac shelby crossed the mountains with a couple of hundred mounted riflemen, early in july. the mountain men were joined by mcdowell, with whom they found also a handful of georgians and some south carolinians; who when their states were subdued had fled northward, resolute to fight their oppressors to the last. the arrival of the mountain men put new life into the dispirited whigs. on july th a mixed force, under shelby and two or three local militia colonels, captured thickett's fort, with ninety tories, near the pacolet. they then camped at the cherokee ford of broad river, and sent out parties of mounted men to carry on a guerilla or partisan warfare against detachments, not choosing to face ferguson's main body. after a while they moved south to cedar spring. here, on the th of august, they were set upon by ferguson's advanced guard, of dragoons and mounted riflemen. these they repulsed, handling the british rather roughly; but, as ferguson himself came up, they fled, and though he pursued them vigorously he could not overtake them. [footnote: shelby's ms. autobiography, and the various accounts he wrote of these affairs in his old age (which haywood and most of the other local american historians follow or amplify), certainly greatly exaggerate the british force and loss, as well as the part shelby himself played, compared to the georgia and carolina leaders. the americans seemed to have outnumbered ferguson's advance guard, which was less than two hundred strong, about three to one. shelby's account of the musgrove affair is especially erroneous. see p. of l. c. draper's "king's mountain and its heroes" (cincinnati, ). mr. draper has with infinite industry and research gathered all the published and unpublished accounts and all the traditions concerning the battle; his book is a mine of information on the subject. he is generally quite impartial, but some of his conclusions are certainly biassed; and the many traditional statements, as well as those made by very old men concerning events that took place fifty or sixty years previously, must be received with extreme caution. a great many of them should never have been put in the book at all. when they take the shape of anecdotes, telling how the british are overawed by the mere appearance of the americans on some occasion (as pp. , , etc.), they must be discarded at once as absolutely worthless, as well as ridiculous. the british and tory accounts, being forced to explain ultimate defeat, are, if possible, even more untrustworthy, when taken solely by themselves, than the american.] on the th of the month the mountain men, assisted as usual by some parties of local militia, all under their various colonels, performed another feat; one of those swift, sudden strokes so dear to the hearts of these rifle-bearing horsemen. it was of a kind peculiarly suited to their powers; for they were brave and hardy, able to thread their way unerringly through the forests, and fond of surprises; and though they always fought on foot, they moved on horseback, and therefore with great celerity. their operations should be carefully studied by all who wish to learn the possibilities of mounted riflemen. yet they were impatient of discipline or of regular service, and they really had no one commander. the different militia officers combined to perform some definite piece of work, but, like their troops, they were incapable of long-continued campaigns; and there were frequent and bitter quarrels between the several commanders, as well as between the bodies of men they led. it seems certain that the mountaineers were, as a rule, more formidable fighters than the lowland militia, beside or against whom they battled; and they formed the main strength of the attacking party that left the camp at the cherokee ford before sunset on the th. ferguson's army was encamped southwest of them, at fair forest shoals; they marched round him, and went straight on, leaving him in their rear. sometimes they rode through open forest, more often they followed the dim wood roads; their horses pacing or cantering steadily through the night. as the day dawned they reached musgrove's ford, on the enoree, having gone forty miles. here they hoped to find a detachment of tory militia; but it had been joined by a body of provincial regulars, the united force being probably somewhat more numerous than that of the americans. the latter were discovered by a patrol, and the british after a short delay marched out to attack them. the americans in the meantime made good use of their axes, felling trees for a breastwork, and when assailed they beat back and finally completely routed their assailants. [footnote: shelby's account of this action, written in his old age, is completely at fault; he not only exaggerates the british force and loss, but he likewise greatly overestimates the number of the americans--always a favorite trick of his. each of the militia colonels of course claimed the chief share of the glory of the day. haywood, ramsey, and even phelan simply follow shelby. draper gives all the different accounts; it is quite impossible to reconcile them; but all admit that the british were defeated. i have used the word "british"; but though there were some englishmen and scotchmen among the tories and provincials, they were mainly loyalist americans.] however, the victory was of little effect, for just as it was won word was brought to shelby that the day before cornwallis had met gates at camden, and had not only defeated but practically destroyed the american army; and on the very day of the fight on the enoree, tarleton surprised sumter, and scattered his forces to the four winds. the panic among the whigs was tremendous, and the mountaineers shared it. they knew that ferguson, angered at the loss of his detachment, would soon be in hot pursuit, and there was no time for delay. the local militia made off in various directions; while shelby and his men pushed straight for the mountains, crossed them, and returned each man to his own home. ferguson speedily stamped out the few remaining sparks of rebellion in south carolina, and crossing the boundary into the north state he there repeated the process. on september th he caught mcdowell and the only remaining body of militia at cane creek, of the catawba, and beat them thoroughly, [footnote: draper apparently endorses the absurd tradition that makes this a whig victory instead of a defeat. it seems certain (see draper), contrary to the statements of the tennessee historians, that sevier had no part in these preliminary operations.] the survivors, including their commander, fleeing over the mountains to take refuge with the holston men. except for an occasional small guerilla party there was not a single organized body of american troops left south of gates' broken and dispirited army. all the southern lands lay at the feet of the conquerors. the british leaders, overbearing and arrogant, held almost unchecked sway throughout the carolinas and georgia; and looking northward they made ready for the conquest of virginia. [footnote: the northern portion of north carolina was still in possession of the remainder of gates' army, but they could have been brushed aside without an effort.] their right flank was covered by the waters of the ocean, their left by the high mountain barrier-chains, beyond which stretched the interminable forest; and they had as little thought of danger from one side as from the other. the mountaineers gather to the attack. suddenly and without warning, the wilderness sent forth a swarm of stalwart and hardy riflemen, of whose very existence the british had hitherto been ignorant. [footnote: "a numerous army now appeared on the frontier drawn from nolachucky and other settlements beyond the mountains, whose very names had been unknown to us." lord rawdon's letter of october , . clarke of georgia had plundered a convoy of presents intended for the indians, at augusta, and the british wrongly supposed this to be likewise the aim of the mountaineers.] riders spurring in hot haste brought word to the king's commanders that the backwater men had come over the mountains. the indian fighters of the frontier, leaving unguarded their homes on the western waters, had crossed by wooded and precipitous defiles, and were pouring down to the help of their brethren of the plains. ferguson had pushed his victories to the foot of the smoky and the yellow mountains. here he learned, perhaps for the first time, that there were a few small settlements beyond the high ranges he saw in his front; and he heard that some of these backwoods mountaineers had already borne arms against him, and were now harboring men who had fled from before his advance. by a prisoner whom he had taken he at once sent them warning to cease their hostilities, and threatened that if they did not desist he would march across the mountains, hang their leaders, put their fighting men to the sword, and waste their settlements with fire. he had been joined by refugee tories from the watauga, who could have piloted him thither; and perhaps he intended to make his threats good. it seems more likely that he paid little heed to the mountaineers, scorning their power to do him hurt; though he did not regard them with the haughty and ignorant disdain usually felt for such irregulars by the british army officers. when the holston men learned that ferguson had come to the other side of the mountains, and threatened their chiefs with the halter and their homes with the torch, a flame of passionate anger was kindled in all their hearts. they did not wait for his attack; they sallied from their strongholds to meet him. their crops were garnered, their young men were ready for the march; and though the otari war bands lowered like thunder-clouds on their southern border, they determined to leave only enough men to keep the savages at bay for the moment, and with the rest to overwhelm ferguson before he could retreat out of their reach. hitherto the war with the british had been something afar off; now it had come to their thresholds and their spirits rose to the danger. shelby was the first to hear the news. he at once rode down to sevier's home on the nolichucky; for they were the two county lieutenants, [footnote: shelby was regularly commissioned as county lieutenant. sevier's commission was not sent him until several weeks later; but he had long acted as such by the agreement of the settlers, who paid very little heed to the weak and disorganized north carolina government.] who had control of all the militia of the district. at sevier's log-house there was feasting and merry-making, for he had given a barbecue, and a great horse race was to be run, while the backwoods champions tried their skill as marksmen and wrestlers. in the midst of the merry-making shelby appeared, hot with hard riding, to tell of the british advance, and to urge that the time was ripe for fighting, not feasting. sevier at once entered heartily into his friend's plan, and agreed to raise his rifle-rangers, and gather the broken and disorganized refugees who had fled across the mountains under mcdowell. while this was being done shelby returned to his home to call out his own militia and to summon the holston virginians to his aid. with the latter purpose he sent one of his brothers to arthur campbell, the county lieutenant of his neighbors across the border. arthur at once proceeded to urge the adoption of the plan on his cousin, william campbell, who had just returned from a short and successful campaign against the tories round the head of the kanawha, where he had speedily quelled an attempted uprising. gates had already sent william campbell an earnest request to march down with his troops and join the main army. this he could not do, as his militia had only been called out to put down their own internal foes, and their time of service had expired. [footnote: gates mss. letter of william campbell, sept. , . he evidently at the time failed to appreciate the pressing danger; but he ended by saying that "if the indians were not harassing their frontier," and a corps of riflemen were formed, he would do all in his power to forward them to gates.] but the continued advance of the british at last thoroughly alarmed the virginians of the mountain region. they promptly set about raising a corps of riflemen, [footnote: gates mss. letter of william preston, sept. , . the corps was destined to join gates, as preston says; hence campbell's reluctance to go with shelby and sevier. there were to be from five hundred to one thousand men. see letter of wm. davidson, sept. , .] and as soon as this course of action was determined on campbell was foremost in embodying all the holston men who could be spared, intending to march westward and join any virginia army that might be raised to oppose cornwallis. while thus employed he received shelby's request, and, for answer, at first sent word that he could not change his plans; but on receiving a second and more urgent message he agreed to come as desired. [footnote: shelby's ms. autobiography. campbell mss., especially ms. letters of col. arthur campbell of sept. , , oct. , , etc.; ms. notes on sevier in tenn. hist. soc. the latter consist of memoranda by his old soldiers, who were with him in the battle; many of their statements are to be received cautiously, but there seems no reason to doubt their account of his receiving the news while giving a great barbecue. shelby is certainly entitled to the credit of planning and starting the campaign against ferguson.] the appointed meeting-place was at the sycamore shoals of the watauga. there the riflemen gathered on the th of september, campbell bringing four hundred men, sevier and shelby two hundred and forty each, while the refugees under mcdowell amounted to about one hundred and sixty. with shelby came his two brothers, one of whom was afterwards slightly wounded at king's mountain; while sevier had in his regiment no less than six relations of his own name, his two sons being privates, and his two brothers captains. one of the latter was mortally wounded in the battle. to raise money for provisions sevier and shelby were obliged to take, on their individual guaranties, the funds in the entry-taker's offices that had been received from the sale of lands. they amounted in all to nearly thirteen thousand dollars, every dollar of which they afterward refunded. the march to the battle. on the th [footnote: "state of the proceedings of the western army from sept. , , to the reduction of major ferguson and the army under his command," signed by campbell, shelby, and cleavland. the official report; it is in the gates mss. in the n. y. hist. society. it was published complete at the time, except the tabulated statement of loss, which has never been printed; i give it further on.] they began the march, over a thousand strong, most of them mounted on swift, wiry horses. they were led by leaders they trusted, they were wonted to indian warfare, they were skilled as horsemen and marksmen, they knew how to face every kind of danger, hardship, and privation. their fringed and tasselled hunting-shirts were girded in by bead-worked belts, and the trappings of their horses were stained red and yellow. on their heads they wore caps of coon-skin or mink-skin, with the tails hanging down, or else felt hats, in each of which was thrust a buck-tail or a sprig of evergreen. every man carried a small-bore rifle, a tomahawk, and a scalping knife. a very few of the officers had swords, and there was not a bayonet nor a tent in the army. [footnote: gen. wm. lenoir's account, prepared for judge a. d. murphy's intended history of north carolina. lenoir was a private in the battle.] before leaving their camping-ground at the sycamore shoals they gathered in an open grove to hear a stern old presbyterian preacher [footnote: rev. samuel doak. draper, . a tradition, but probably truthful, being based on the statements of sevier and shelby's soldiers in their old age. it is the kind of an incident that tradition will often faithfully preserve.] invoke on the enterprise the blessing of jehovah. leaning on their long rifles, they stood in rings round the black-frocked minister, a grim and wild congregation, who listened in silence to his words of burning zeal as he called on them to stand stoutly in the battle and to smite their foes with the sword of the lord and of gideon. the army marched along doe river, driving their beef cattle with them, and camped that night at the "resting-place," under shelving rock, beyond crab orchard. next morning they started late, and went up the pass between roan and yellow mountains. the table-land on the top was deep in snow. [footnote: diary of ensign robert campbell.] here two tories who were in sevier's band deserted and fled to warn ferguson; and the troops, on learning of the desertion, abandoned their purpose of following the direct route, and turned to the left, taking a more northerly trail. it was of so difficult a character that shelby afterwards described it as "the worst route ever followed by an army of horsemen." [footnote: shelby ms.] that afternoon they partly descended the east side of the range, camping in elk hollow, near roaring run. the following day they went down through the ravines and across the spurs by a stony and precipitous path, in the midst of magnificent scenery, and camped at the mouth of grassy creek. on the th they crossed the blue ridge at gillespie's gap, and saw afar off, in the mountain coves and rich valleys of the upper catawba, the advanced settlements of the carolina pioneers,--for hitherto they had gone through an uninhabited waste. the mountaineers, fresh from their bleak and rugged hills, gazed with delight on the soft and fertile beauty of the landscape. that night they camped on the north fork of the catawba, and next day they went down the river to quaker meadows, mcdowell's home. at this point they were joined by three hundred and fifty north carolina militia from the counties of wilkes and surrey, who were creeping along through the woods hoping to fall in with some party going to harass the enemy. [footnote: shelby ms. autobiography. see also gates mss. letter of wm. davidson, sept. , . davidson had foreseen that there would be a fight between the western militia and ferguson, and he had sent word to his militia subordinates to join any force--as mcdowell's--that might go against the british leader. the alarm caused by the latter had prevented the militia from joining davidson himself.] they were under col. benjamin cleavland, a mighty hunter and indian fighter, and an adventurous wanderer in the wilderness. he was an uneducated backwoodsman, famous for his great size, and his skill with the rifle, no less than for the curious mixture of courage, rough good humor, and brutality in his character. he bore a ferocious hatred to the royalists, and in the course of the vindictive civil war carried on between the whigs and tories in north carolina he suffered much. in return he persecuted his public and private foes with ruthless ferocity, hanging and mutilating any tories against whom the neighboring whigs chose to bear evidence. as the fortunes of the war veered about he himself received many injuries. his goods were destroyed, and his friends and relations were killed or had their ears cropped off. such deeds often repeated roused to a fury of revenge his fierce and passionate nature, to which every principle of self-control was foreign. he had no hope of redress, save in his own strength and courage, and on every favorable opportunity he hastened to take more than ample vengeance. admitting all the wrongs he suffered, it still remains true that many of his acts of brutality were past excuse. his wife was a worthy helpmeet. once, in his absence, a tory horse-thief was brought to their home, and after some discussion the captors, cleavland's sons, turned to their mother, who was placidly going on with her ordinary domestic avocations, to know what they should do with the prisoner. taking from her mouth the corn-cob pipe she had been smoking, she coolly sentenced him to be hung, and hung he was without further delay or scruple. [footnote: draper, .] yet cleavland was a good friend and neighbor, devoted to his country, and also a staunch presbyterian. [footnote: allaire's diary, entry for october th.] the tories were already on the alert. some of them had been harassing cleavland, and they had ambushed his advance guard, and shot his brother, crippling him for life. but they did not dare try to arrest the progress of so formidable a body of men as had been gathered together at quaker meadows; and contented themselves with sending repeated warnings to ferguson. on october st the combined forces marched past pilot mountain, and camped near the heads of cane and silver creeks. hitherto each colonel had commanded his own men, there being no general head, and every morning and evening the colonels had met in concert to decide the day's movements. the whole expedition was one of volunteers, the agreement between the officers and the obedience rendered them by the soldiers simply depending on their own free-will; there was no legal authority on which to go, for the commanders had called out the militia without any instructions from the executives of their several states. [footnote: gates mss. letter of campbell, shelby, cleavland, etc., oct. , .] disorders had naturally broken out. the men of the different companies felt some rivalry towards one another; and those of bad character, sure to be found in any such gathering, could not be properly controlled. some of cleavland's and mcdowell's people were very unruly; and a few of the watauga troops also behaved badly, plundering both whigs and tories, and even starting to drive the stolen stock back across the mountains. [footnote: deposition of col. matthew willoughby (who was in the fight), april , , _richmond enquirer_, may , .] at so important a crisis the good-sense and sincere patriotism of the men in command made them sink all personal and local rivalries. on the d of october they all gathered to see what could be done to stop the disorders and give the army a single head; for it was thought that in a day or two they would close in with ferguson. they were in col. charles mcdowell's district, and he was the senior officer; but the others distrusted his activity and judgment, and were not willing that he should command. to solve the difficulty shelby proposed that supreme command should be given to col. campbell, who had brought the largest body of men with him, and who was a virginian, whereas the other four colonels were north carolinians. [footnote: though by birth three were virginians, and one, shelby, a marylander. all were presbyterians. mcdowell, like campbell, was of irish descent; cleavland of english, shelby of welsh, and sevier of french huguenot. the families of the first two had originally settled in pennsylvania.] meanwhile mcdowell should go to gates' army to get a general to command them, leaving his men under the charge of his brother joseph, who was a major. this proposition was at once agreed to; and its adoption did much to ensure the subsequent success. shelby not only acted wisely, but magnanimously; for he was himself of superior rank to campbell, and moreover was a proud, ambitious man, desirous of military glory. the army had been joined by two or three squads of partisans, including some refugee georgians. they were about to receive a larger reinforcement; for at this time several small guerilla bands of north and south carolina whigs were encamped at flint hill, some distance west of the encampment of the mountain men. these flint hill bands numbered about four hundred men all told, under the leadership of various militia colonels--hill, lacey, williams, graham, and hambright. [footnote: hambright was a pennsylvania german, the father of eighteen children. hill, who was suffering from a severe wound, was unfit to take an active part in the king's mountain fight. his ms. narrative of the campaign is largely quoted by draper.] hill and lacey were two of sumter's lieutenants, and had under them some of his men; williams, [footnote: bancroft gives williams an altogether undeserved prominence. as he had a commission as brigadier-general, some of the british thought he was in supreme command at king's mountain; in a recent magazine article gen. de peyster again sets forth his claims. in reality he only had a small subordinate or independent command, and had no share whatever in conducting the campaign, and very little in the actual battle, though he behaved with much courage and was killed.] who was also a south carolinian, claimed command of them because he had just been commissioned a brigadier-general of militia. his own force was very small, and he did not wish to attack ferguson, but to march southwards to ninety-six. sumter's men, who were more numerous, were eager to join the mountaineers, and entirely refused to submit to williams. a hot quarrel, almost resulting in a fight, ensued; hill and lacey accusing williams of being bent merely on plundering the wealthy tories and of desiring to avoid a battle with the british. their imputation on his courage was certainly unjust; but they were probably quite right when they accused him of a desire to rob and plunder the tories. a succession of such quarrels speedily turned this assemblage of militia into an armed and warlike rabble. fortunately hill and lacey prevailed, word was sent to the mountaineers, and the flint hill bands marched in loose order to join them at the cowpens. [footnote: gates mss. letter of gen. wm. davidson, oct. , . also hill's narrative.] the mountain army had again begun its march on the afternoon of the third day of the month. before starting the colonels summoned their men, told them the nature and danger of the service, and asked such as were unwilling to go farther to step to the rear; but not a man did so. then shelby made them a short speech, well adapted to such a levy. he told them when they encountered the enemy not to wait for the word of command, but each to "be his own officer," and do all he could, sheltering himself as far as possible, and not to throw away a chance; if they came on the british in the woods they were "to give them indian play," and advance from tree to tree, pressing the enemy unceasingly. he ended by promising them that their officers would shrink from no danger, but would lead them everywhere, and, in their turn, they must be on the alert and obey orders. when they set out their uncertainty as to ferguson's movements caused them to go slowly, their scouts sometimes skirmishing with lurking tories. they reached the mouth of cane creek, near gilbert town, on october th. with the partisans that had joined them they then numbered fifteen hundred men. mcdowell left them at this point to go to gates with the request for the appointment of a general to command them. [footnote: gates mss. (in new york hist. soc.). it is possible that campbell was not chosen chief commander until this time; ensign robert campbell's account (mss. in tenn. hist. soc.) explicitly states this to be the case. the shelby ms. and the official report make the date the st or d. one letter in the gates mss. has apparently escaped all notice from historians and investigators; it is the document which mcdowell bore with him to gates. it is dated "oct. th, , near gilbert town," and is signed by cleavland, shelby, sevier, campbell, andrew hampton, and j. winston. it begins: "we have collected at this place good men drawn from the counties of surrey, wilkes, burk, washington, and sullivan counties (_sic_) in this state and washington county in virginia." it says that they expect to be joined in a few days by clark of ga. and williams of s. c. with one thousand men (in reality clark, who had nearly six hundred troops, never met them); asks for a general; says they have great need of ammunition, and remarks on the fact of their "troops being all militia, and but little acquainted with discipline." it was this document that gave the first impression to contemporaries that the battle was fought by fifteen hundred americans. thus general davidson's letter of oct. th to gates, giving him the news of the victory, has served as a basis for most subsequent writers about the numbers. he got his particulars from one of sumter's men, who was in the fight; but he evidently mixed them up in his mind, for he speaks of williams, lacey, and their companions as joining the others at gilbert town, instead of the cowpens; makes the total number three thousand, whereas, by the official report of october th, campbell's party only numbered fifteen hundred, and williams, lacey, etc., had but four hundred, or nineteen hundred in all; says that sixteen hundred good horses were chosen out, evidently confusing this with the number at gilbert town; credits ferguson with fourteen hundred men, and puts the american loss at only twenty killed.] for some days the men had been living on the ears of green corn which they plucked from the fields, but at this camping-place they slaughtered some beeves and made a feast. the mountaineers had hoped to catch ferguson at gilbert town, but they found that he had fled towards the northeast, so they followed after him. many of their horses were crippled and exhausted, and many of the footmen footsore and weary; and the next day they were able to go but a dozen miles to the ford of green river. that evening campbell and his fellow-officers held a council to decide what course was best to follow. lacey, riding over from the militia companies who were marching from flint hill, had just reached their camp; he told them the direction in which ferguson had fled, and at the same time appointed the cowpens as the meeting-place for their respective forces. their whole army was so jaded that the leaders knew they could not possibly urge it on fast enough to overtake ferguson, and the flight of the latter made them feel all the more confident that they could beat him, and extremely reluctant that he should get away. in consequence they determined to take seven or eight hundred of the least tired, best armed, and best mounted men, and push rapidly after their foe, picking up on the way any militia they met, and leaving the other half of their army to follow as fast as it could. at daybreak on the morning of the sixth the picked men set out, about seven hundred and fifty in number. [footnote: ms. narrative of ensign robert campbell (see also draper, ) says seven hundred; and about fifty of the footmen who were in good training followed so quickly after them that they were able to take part in the battle. lenoir says the number was only five or six hundred. the modern accounts generally fail to notice this green river weeding out of the weak men, or confuse it with what took place at the cowpens; hence many of them greatly exaggerate the number of americans who fought in the battle.] in the afternoon they passed by several large bands of tories, who had assembled to join ferguson; but the holston men were resolute in their determination to strike at the latter, and would not be diverted from it, nor waste time by following their lesser enemies. riding all day they reached the cowpens when the sun had already set, a few minutes after the arrival of the flint hill militia under lacey, hill, and williams. the tired troops were speedily engaged in skinning beeves for their supper, roasting them by the blazing camp-fires; and fifty acres of corn, belonging to the rich tory who owned the cowpens, materially helped the meal. meanwhile a council was held, in which all the leading officers, save williams, took part. campbell was confirmed as commander-in-chief, and it was decided to once more choose the freshest soldiers, and fall on ferguson before he could either retreat or be reinforced. the officers went round, picking out the best men, the best rifles, and the best horses. shortly after nine o'clock the choice had been made, and nine hundred and ten [footnote: the official report says nine hundred; shelby, in all his earlier narratives, nine hundred and ten; hill, nine hundred and thirty-three. the last authority is important because he was one of the four hundred men who joined the mountaineers at the cowpens, and his testimony confirms the explicit declaration of the official report that the nine hundred men who fought in the battle were chosen after the junction with williams, lacey, and hill. a few late narratives, including that of shelby in his old age, make the choice take place before the junction, and the total number then amount to thirteen hundred; evidently the choice at the cowpens is by these authors confused with the choice at green river. shelby's memory when he was old was certainly very treacherous; in similar fashion he, as has been seen, exaggerated greatly his numbers at the enoree. on the other hand, robert campbell puts the number at only seven hundred, and lenoir between six and seven hundred. both of these thus err in the opposite direction.] picked riflemen, well mounted, rode out of the circle of flickering firelight, and began their night journey. a few determined footmen followed, going almost as fast as the horse, and actually reached the battle-field in season to do their share of the fighting. ferguson makes ready. all this time ferguson had not been idle. he first heard of the advance of the backwoodsmen on september th, from the two tories who deserted sevier on yellow mountain. he had furloughed many of his loyalists, as all formidable resistance seemed at an end; and he now sent out messengers in every direction to recall them to his standard. meanwhile he fell slowly back from the foot-hills, so that he might not have to face the mountaineers until he had time to gather his own troops. he instantly wrote for reinforcements to cruger, at ninety-six. cruger had just returned from routing the georgian colonel clark, who was besieging augusta. in the chase a number of americans were captured, and thirteen were hung. the british and tories interpreted the already sufficiently severe instructions of their commander-in-chief with the utmost liberality, even the officers chronicling the hanging with exultant pleasure, as pointing out the true way by which to end the war. [footnote: draper, p. , quotes a printed letter from a british officer to this effect.] cruger, in his answer to ferguson, explained that he did not have the number of militia regiments with which he was credited; and he did not seem to quite take in the gravity of the situation, [footnote: probably ferguson himself failed to do so at this time.] expressing his pleasure at hearing how strongly the loyalists of north carolina had rallied to ferguson's support, and speaking of the hope he had felt that the north carolina tories would by themselves have proved "equal to the mountain lads." however, he promptly set about forwarding the reinforcements that were demanded; but before they could reach the scene of action the fate of the campaign had been decided. ferguson had not waited for outside help. he threw himself into the work of rallying the people of the plains, who were largely loyalists, [footnote: gates mss. letter of davidson, september th, speaks of the large number of tories in the counties where ferguson was operating.] against the over-mountain men, appealing not only to their royalist sentiments, but to their strong local prejudices, and to the dread many of them felt for the wild border fighters. on the st of october he sent out a proclamation, of which copies were scattered broadcast among the loyalists. it was instinct with the fiery energy of the writer, and well suited to goad into action the rough tories, and the doubtful men, to whom it was addressed. he told them that the back water men had crossed the mountains, with chieftains at their head who would surely grant mercy to none who had been loyal to the king. he called on them to grasp their arms on the moment and run to his standard, if they desired to live and bear the name of men; to rally without delay, unless they wished to be eaten up by the incoming horde of cruel barbarians, to be themselves robbed and murdered, and to see their daughters and wives abused by the dregs of mankind. in ending, he told them scornfully that if they chose to be spat [footnote: the word actually used was still stronger.] upon and degraded forever by a set of mongrels, to say so at once, that their women might turn their backs on them and look out for real men to protect them. hoping to be joined by cruger's regiments, as well as by his own furloughed men, and the neighboring tories, he gradually drew off from the mountains, doubling and turning, so as to hide his route and puzzle his pursuers. exaggerated reports of the increase in the number of his foes were brought to him, and, as he saw how slowly they marched, he sent repeated messages to cornwallis, asking for reinforcements; promising speedily to "finish the business," if three or four hundred soldiers, part dragoons, were given him, for the americans were certainly making their "last push in this quarter." [footnote: see letter quoted by tarleton.] he was not willing to leave the many loyal inhabitants of the district to the vengeance of the whigs [footnote: ferguson's "memoir," p. .]; and his hopes of reinforcements were well founded. every day furloughed men rejoined him, and bands of loyalists came into camp; and he was in momentary expectation of help from cornwallis or cruger. it will be remembered that the mountaineers on their last march passed several tory bands. one of these alone, near the cowpens, was said to have contained six hundred men; and in a day or two they would all have joined ferguson. if the whigs had come on in a body, as there was every reason to expect, ferguson would have been given the one thing he needed--time; and he would certainly have been too strong for his opponents. his defeat was due to the sudden push of the mountain chieftains; to their long, swift ride from the ford of green river, at the head of their picked horse-riflemen. the british were still in the dark as to the exact neighborhood from which their foes--the "swarm of backwoodsmen," as tarleton called them [footnote: "tarleton's campaigns," p. .]--really came. it was generally supposed that they were in part from kentucky, and that boon himself was among the number. [footnote: british historians to the present day repeat this. even lecky, in his "history of england," speaks of the backwoodsmen as in part from kentucky. having pointed out this trivial fault in lecky's work, it would be ungracious not to allude to the general justice and impartiality of its accounts of these revolutionary campaigns--they are very much more trustworthy than bancroft's, for instance. lecky scarcely gives the right color to the struggle in the south; but when bancroft treats of it, it is not too much to say that he puts the contest between the whigs and the british and tories in a decidedly false light. lecky fails to do justice to washington's military ability, however; and overrates the french assistance.] however, ferguson probably cared very little who they were; and keeping, as he supposed, a safe distance away from them, he halted at king's mountain in south carolina on the evening of october th, pitching his camp on a steep, narrow hill just south of the north carolina boundary. the king's mountain range itself is about sixteen miles in length, extending in a southwesterly course from one state into the other. the stony, half isolated ridge on which ferguson camped was some six or seven hundred yards long and half as broad from base to base, or two thirds that distance on top. the steep sides were clad with a growth of open woods, including both saplings and big timber. ferguson parked his baggage wagons along the northeastern part of the mountain. the next day he did not move; he was as near to the army of cornwallis at charlotte as to the mountaineers, and he thought it safe to remain where he was. he deemed the position one of great strength, as indeed it would have been, if assailed in the ordinary european fashion; and he was confident that even if the rebels attacked him, he could readily beat them back. but as general lee, "light-horse harry," afterwards remarked, the hill was much easier assaulted with the rifle than defended with the bayonet. the backwoodsmen, on leaving the camp at the cowpens, marched slowly through the night, which was dark and drizzly; many of the men got scattered in the woods, but joined their commands in the morning--the morning of october th. the troops bore down to the southward, a little out of the straight route, to avoid any patrol parties; and at sunrise they splashed across the cherokee ford. [footnote: "am. pioneer," ii., . an account of one of the soldiers, benj. sharp, written in his old age; full of contradictions of every kind (he for instance forgets they joined williams at the cowpens); it cannot be taken as an authority, but supplies some interesting details.] throughout the forenoon the rain continued but the troops pushed steadily onwards without halting, [footnote: late in life shelby asserted that this steadiness in pushing on was due to his own influence. the other accounts do not bear him out.] wrapping their blankets and the skirts of their hunting-shirts round their gun-locks, to keep them dry. some horses gave out, but their riders, like the thirty or forty footmen who had followed from the cowpens, struggled onwards and were in time for the battle. when near king's mountain they captured two tories, and from them learned ferguson's exact position; that "he was on a ridge between two branches," [footnote: _i. e._, brooks.] where some deer hunters had camped the previous fall. these deer hunters were now with the oncoming backwoodsmen, and declared that they knew the ground well. without halting, campbell and the other colonels rode forward together, and agreed to surround the hill, so that their men might fire upwards without risk of hurting one another. it was a bold plan; for they knew their foes probably outnumbered them; but they were very confident of their own prowess, and were anxious to strike a crippling blow. from one or two other captured tories, and from a staunch whig friend, they learned the exact disposition of the british and loyalist force, and were told that their noted leader wore a light, parti-colored hunting-shirt; and he was forthwith doomed to be a special target for the backwoods rifles. when within a mile of the hill a halt was called, and after a hasty council of the different colonels--in which williams did not take part,--the final arrangements were made, and the men, who had been marching in loose order, were formed in line of battle. they then rode forward in absolute silence, and when close to the west slope of the battle-hill, beyond king's creek, drew rein and dismounted. they tied their horses to trees, and fastened their great coats and blankets to the saddles, for the rain had cleared away. a few of the officers remained mounted. the countersign of the day was "buford," the name of the colonel whose troops tarleton had defeated and butchered. the final order was for each man to look carefully at the priming of his rifle, and then to go into battle and fight till he died. the battle. the foes were now face to face. on the one side were the american backwoodsmen, under their own leaders, armed in their own manner, and fighting after their own fashion, for the freedom and the future of america; on the opposite side were other americans--the loyalists, led by british officers, armed and trained in the british fashion, and fighting on behalf of the empire of britain and the majesty of the monarchy. the americans numbered, all told, about nine hundred and fifty men. [footnote: nine hundred and ten horsemen (possibly nine hundred, or perhaps nine hundred and thirty-three) started out; and the footmen who kept up were certainly less than fifty in number. there is really no question as to the american numbers; yet a variety of reasons have conspired to cause them to be generally greatly overstated, even by american historians. even phelan gives them fifteen hundred men, following the ordinary accounts. at the time, many outsiders supposed that all the militia who were at the cowpens fought in the battle; but this is not asserted by any one who knew the facts. general j. watts depeyster, in the _mag. of am. hist._ for ,--"the affair at king's mountain,"--gives the extreme tory view. he puts the number of the americans at from thirteen hundred to nineteen hundred. his account, however, is only based on shelby's later narratives, told thirty years after the event, and these are all that need be considered. when shelby grew old, he greatly exaggerated the numbers on both sides in all the fights in which he had taken part. in his account of king's mountain, he speaks of williams and the four hundred flint hill men joining the attacking body _after_, not _before_, the nine hundred and ten picked men started. but his earlier accounts, including the official report which he signed, explicitly contradict this. the question is thus purely as to the time of the junction; as to whether it was after or before this that the body of nine hundred actual fighters was picked out. shelby's later report contains the grossest self-contradictions. thus it enumerates the companies which fought the battle in detail, the result running up several hundred more than the total he gives. the early and official accounts are in every way more worthy of credence; but the point is settled beyond dispute by hill's narrative. hill was one of the four hundred men with williams, and he expressly states that after the junction at the cowpens the force, from both commands, that started out numbered nine hundred and thirty-three. the question is thus definitely settled. most of the later accounts simply follow the statements shelby made in his old age.] the british forces were composed in bulk of the carolina loyalists--troops similar to the americans who joined the mountaineers at quaker meadows and the cowpens [footnote: there were many instances of brothers and cousins in the opposing ranks at king's mountain; a proof of the similarity in the character of the forces.]; the difference being that besides these low-land militia, there were arrayed on one side the men from the holston, watauga, and nolichucky, and on the other the loyalist regulars. ferguson had, all told, between nine hundred and a thousand troops, a hundred and twenty or thirty of them being the regulars or "american volunteers," the remainder tory militia. [footnote: the american official account says that they captured the british provision returns, according to which their force amounted to eleven hundred and twenty-five men. it further reports, of the regulars nineteen killed, thirty-five wounded and left on the ground as unable to march, and seventy-eight captured; of the tories two hundred and six killed, one hundred and twenty-eight wounded and left on the ground unable to march, and six hundred and forty-eight captured. the number of tories killed must be greatly exaggerated. allaire, in his diary, says ferguson had only eight hundred men, but almost in the same sentence enumerates nine hundred and six, giving of the regulars nineteen killed, thirty-three wounded, and sixty-four captured (one hundred and sixteen in all, instead of one hundred and thirty-two, as in the american account), and of the tories one hundred killed, ninety wounded, and "about" six hundred captured. this does not take account of those who escaped. from ramsey and de peyster down most writers assert that every single individual on the defeated side were killed or taken; but in colonel chesney's admirable "military biography" there is given the autobiography or memoir of a south carolina loyalist who was in the battle. his account of the battle is meagre and unimportant, but he expressly states that at the close he and a number of others escaped through the american lines by putting sprigs of white paper in their caps, as some of the whig militia did--for the militia had no uniforms, and were dressed alike on both sides. a certain number of men who escaped must thus be added.] the forces were very nearly equal in number. what difference there was, was probably in favor of the british and tories. there was not a bayonet in the american army, whereas ferguson trusted much to this weapon. all his volunteers and regulars were expert in its use, and with his usual ingenuity he had trained several of his loyalist companies in a similar manner, improvising bayonets out of their hunting-knives. the loyalists whom he had had with him for some time were well drilled. the north carolina regiment was weaker on this point, as it was composed of recruits who had joined him but recently. [footnote: there were undoubtedly very many horse-thieves, murderers, and rogues of every kind with ferguson, but equally undoubtedly the bulk of his troops were loyalists from principle, and men of good standing, especially those from the seaboard. many of the worst tory bandits did not rally to him, preferring to plunder on their own account. the american army itself was by no means free from scoundrels. most american writers belittle the character of ferguson's force, and sneer at the courage of the tories, although entirely unable to adduce any proof of their statements, the evidence being the other way. apparently they are unconscious of the fact that they thus wofully diminish the credit to be given to the victors. it may be questioned if there ever was a braver or finer body of riflemen than the nine hundred who surrounded and killed or captured a superior body of well posted, well led, and courageous men, in part also well drilled, on king's mountain. the whole world now recognizes how completely the patriots were in the right; but it is especially incumbent on american historians to fairly portray the acts and character of the tories, doing justice to them as well as to the whigs, and condemning them only when they deserve it. in studying the revolutionary war in the southern states, i have been struck by the way in which the american historians alter the facts by relying purely on partisan accounts, suppressing the innumerable whig excesses and outrages, or else palliating them. they thus really destroy the force of the many grave accusations which may be truthfully brought against the british and tories. i regret to say that bancroft is among the offenders. hildreth is an honorable exception. most of the british historians of the same events are even more rancorous and less trustworthy than the american writers; and while fully admitting the many indefensible outrages committed by the whigs, a long-continued and impartial examination of accessible records has given me the belief that in the districts where the civil war was most ferocious, much the largest number of the criminal class joined the tories, and the misdeeds of the latter were more numerous than those of the whigs. but the frequency with which both whigs and tories hung men for changing sides, shows that quite a number of the people shifted from one party to the other; and so there must have been many men of exactly the same stamp in both armies. much of the nominal changing of sides, however, was due to the needless and excessive severity of cornwallis and his lieutenants.] the americans were discovered by their foes when only a quarter of a mile away. they had formed their forces as they marched. the right centre was composed of campbell's troops; the left centre of shelby's. these two bodies separated slightly so as to come up opposite sides of the narrow southwestern spur of the mountain. the right wing was led by sevier, with his own and mcdowell's troops. on the extreme right major winston, splitting off from the main body a few minutes before, had led a portion of cleavland's men by a roundabout route to take the mountain in the rear, and cut off all retreat. he and his followers "rode like fox-hunters," as was afterwards reported by one of their number who was accustomed to following the buck and the gray fox with horn and hound. they did not dismount until they reached the foot of the mountain, galloping at full speed through the rock-strewn woods; and they struck exactly the right place, closing up the only gap by which the enemy could have retreated. the left wing was led by cleavland. it contained not only the bulk of his own wilkes and surrey men, but also the north and south carolinians who had joined the army at the cowpens under the command of williams, lacey, hambright, chronicle, and others. [footnote: draper gives a good plan of the battle. he also gives some pictures of the fighting, in which the backwoodsmen are depicted in full continental uniform, which probably not a man--certainly very few of them--wore.] the different leaders cheered on their troops by a few last words as they went into the fight; being especially careful to warn them how to deal with the british bayonet charges. campbell had visited each separate band, again requesting every man who felt like flinching not to go into the battle. he bade them hold on to every inch of ground as long as possible, and when forced back to rally and return at once to the fight. cleavland gave much the same advice; telling his men that when once engaged they were not to wait for the word of command, but to do as he did, for he would show them by his example how to fight, and they must then act as their own officers. the men were to fire quickly, and stand their ground as long as possible, if necessary sheltering themselves behind trees. if they could do no better they were to retreat, but not to run quite off; but to return and renew the struggle, for they might have better luck at the next attempt. [footnote: ramsay ("revolution in south carolina"), writing in , gives the speech verbatim, apparently from cleavland himself. it is very improbable that it is verbally correct, but doubtless it represents the spirit of his remarks.] so rapid were the movements of the americans, and so unexpected the attack, that a loyalist officer, who had been out reconnoitring, had just brought word to the british commander that there was no sign of danger, when the first shots were heard; and by the time the officer had paraded and posted his men, the assault had begun, his horse had been killed, and he himself wounded. [footnote: "essays in military biography," col. charles cornwallis chesney, london, . on p. begins a memoir of "a carolina loyalist in the revolutionary war." it is written by the loyalist himself, who was presumably a relation of col. chesney's. it was evidently written after the event, and there are some lapses. thus he makes the war with the cherokees take place in , instead of ' . his explanation of tarleton's defeat at the cowpens must be accepted with much reserve. at king's mountain he says the americans had fifteen hundred men, instead of twenty-five hundred, of which allaire speaks. allaire probably consciously exaggerated the number.] when ferguson learned that his foes were on him, he sprang on his horse, his drums beat to arms, and he instantly made ready for the fight. though surprised by the unexpected approach of the american, he exerted himself with such energy that his troops were in battle array when the attack began. the outcrops of slaty rock on the hill-sides made ledges which, together with the boulders strewn on top, served as breastworks for the less disciplined tories; while he in person led his regulars and such of the loyalist companies as were furnished with the hunting-knife bayonets. he hoped to be able to repulse his enemies by himself taking the offensive, with a succession of bayonet charges; a form of attack in which his experience with pulaski and huger had given him great confidence. at three o'clock in the afternoon the firing began, as the americans drove in the british pickets. the brunt of the battle fell on the american centre, composed of campbell's and shelby's men, who sustained the whole fight for nearly ten minutes [footnote: campbell mss. letter of col. wm. campbell, oct. , , says minutes: the official report (gates mss.) says minutes.] until the two wings had had time to get into place and surround the enemy. campbell began the assault, riding on horseback along the line of his riflemen. he ordered them to raise the indian war-whoop, which they did with a will, and made the woods ring. [footnote: _richmond enquirer_ (nov. , and may , ) certificates of king's mountain survivors--of james crow, may , ; david beattie, may , , etc., etc. all the different commanders claimed the honor of beginning the battle in after-life; the official report decides it in favor of campbell and shelby, the former being the first actually engaged, as is acknowledged by shelby in his letter to arthur campbell on october , .] they then rushed upwards and began to fire, each on his own account; while their war cries echoed along the hill-side. ferguson's men on the summit responded with heavy volley firing, and then charged, cheering lustily. the mountain was covered with smoke and flame, and seemed to thunder. [footnote: haywood, ; doubtless he uses the language of one of the actors.] ferguson's troops advanced steadily, their officers riding at their head, with their swords flashing; and the mountaineers, who had no bayonets, could not withstand the shock. they fled down the hill-side, and being sinewy, nimble men, swift of foot, they were not overtaken, save a few of sullen temper, who would not retreat and were bayoneted. one of their officers, a tall backwoodsman, six feet in height, was cut down by lieutenant allaire, a new york loyalist, as the latter rode at the head of his platoon. no sooner had the british charge spent itself than campbell, who was riding midway between the enemy and his own men, called out to the latter in a voice of thunder to rally and return to the fight, and in a minute or two they were all climbing the hill again, going from tree to tree, and shooting at the soldiers on the summit. campbell's horse, exhausted by the breakneck galloping hither and thither over the slope, gave out; he then led the men on foot, his voice hoarse with shouting, his face blackened with powder; for he was always in the front of the battle and nearest the enemy. no sooner had ferguson returned from his charge on campbell than he found shelby's men swarming up to the attack on the other side. shelby himself was at their head. he had refused to let his people return the dropping fire of the tory skirmishers until they were close up. ferguson promptly charged his new foes and drove them down the hill-side; but the instant he stopped, shelby, who had been in the thick of the fight, closest to the british, brought his marksmen back, and they came up nearer than ever, and with a deadlier fire. [footnote: shelby ms.] while ferguson's bayonet-men--both regulars and militia--charged to and fro, the rest of the loyalists kept up a heavy fire from behind the rocks on the hill-top. the battle raged in every part, for the americans had by this time surrounded their foes, and they advanced rapidly under cover of the woods. they inflicted much more damage than they suffered, for they were scattered out while the royalist troops were close together, and moreover, were continually taken in flank. ferguson, conspicuous from his hunting-shirt, [footnote: the "carolina loyalist" speaks as if the hunting-shirt were put on for disguise; he says ferguson was recognized, "although wearing a hunting-shirt."] rode hither and thither with reckless bravery, his sword in his left hand-for he had never entirely regained the use of his wounded right--while he made his presence known by the shrill, ear-piercing notes of a silver whistle which he always carried. whenever the british and tories charged with the bayonet, under ferguson, de peyster, or some of their lieutenants, the mountaineers were forced back down the hill; but the instant the red lines halted and returned to the summit, the stubborn riflemen followed close behind, and from every tree and boulder continued their irregular and destructive fire. the peculiar feature of the battle was the success with which, after every retreat, campbell, shelby, sevier, and cleavland rallied their followers on the instant; the great point was to prevent the men from becoming panic-stricken when forced to flee. the pealing volleys of musketry at short intervals drowned the incessant clatter of the less noisy but more deadly backwoods rifles. the wild whoops of the mountain men, the cheering of the loyalists, the shouts of the officers, and the cries of the wounded mingled with the reports of the firearms, and shrill above the din rose the calling of the silver whistle. wherever its notes were heard the wavering british line came on, and the americans were forced back. ferguson dashed from point to point, to repel the attacks of his foes, which were made with ever-increasing fury. two horses were killed under him; [footnote: ferguson's "memoir," p. .] but he continued to lead the charging parties; slashing and hewing with his sword until it was broken off at the hilt. at last, as he rode full speed against a part of sevier's men, who had almost gained the hill crest, he became a fair mark for the vengeful backwoods riflemen. several of them fired together and he fell suddenly from his horse, pierced by half a dozen bullets almost at the same instant. the gallant british leader was dead, while his foot yet hung in the stirrup. [footnote: the "south carolina loyalist" says he was killed just as he had slain col. williams "with his left hand." ramsey, on the other side, represents col. williams as being shot while dashing forward to kill ferguson. williams certainly was not killed by ferguson himself; and in all probability the latter was slain earlier in the action and in an entirely different part of the line. the "loyalist" is also in error as to cleavland's regiment being the first that was charged. there is no ground whatever for the statement that ferguson was trying to escape when shot; nor was there any attempt at a charge of horsemen, made in due form. the battle was purely one of footmen and the attempt to show an effort at a cavalry charge at the end is a simple absurdity.] the silver whistle was now silent, but the disheartened loyalists were rallied by de peyster, who bravely continued the fight. [footnote: in his _hist. mag._ article gen. watts de peyster clears his namesake's reputation from all charge of cowardice; but his account of how de peyster counselled and planned all sorts of expedients that might have saved the loyalists is decidedly mythical.] it is said that he himself led one of the charges which were at this time made on cleavland's line; the "south fork" men from the catawba, under hambright and chronicle, being forced back, chronicle being killed and hambright wounded. when the americans fled they were scarcely a gun's length ahead of their foes; and the instant the latter faced about, the former were rallied by their officers, and again went up the hill. one of the backwoodsmen was in the act of cocking his rifle when a loyalist, dashing at him with the bayonet, pinned his hand to his thigh; the rifle went off, the ball going through the loyalist's body, and the two men fell together. hambright, though wounded, was able to sit in the saddle, and continued in the battle. cleavland had his horse shot under him, and then led his men on foot. as the lines came close together, many of the whigs recognized in the tory ranks their former neighbors, friends, or relatives; and the men taunted and jeered one another with bitter hatred. in more than one instance brother was slain by brother or cousin by cousin. the lowland tories felt an especial dread of the mountaineers; looking with awe and hatred on their tall, gaunt, rawboned figures, their long, matted hair and wild faces. one wounded tory, as he lay watching them, noticed their deadly accuracy of aim, and saw also that the loyalists, firing from the summit, continually overshot their foes. the british regulars had lost half their number; the remainder had been scattered and exhausted in their successive charges. the bayonet companies of the loyalist militia were in the same plight; and the north carolina tories, the least disciplined, could no longer be held to their work. sevier's men gained the summit at the same time with campbell's and part of shelby's. the three colonels were heading their troops; and as sevier saw shelby, he swore, by god, the british had burned off part of his hair; for it was singed on one side of his head. when the holston and watauga men gained the crest the loyalists broke and fled to the east end of the mountain, among the tents and baggage wagons, where they again formed. but they were huddled together, while their foes surrounded them on every hand. the fighting had lasted an hour; all hope was gone; and de peyster hoisted a white flag. in the confusion the firing continued in parts of the lines on both sides. some of the backwoodsmen did not know what a white flag meant; others disregarded it, savagely calling out, "give them buford's play," in allusion to tarleton's having refused quarter to buford's troops. [footnote: deposition of john long, in _enquirer_, as quoted.] others of the men as they came up began shooting before they learned what had happened; and some tories who had been out foraging returned at this moment, and also opened fire. a number of the loyalists escaped in turmoil, putting badges in their hats like those worn by certain of the american militia, and thus passing in safety through the whig lines. [footnote: chesney, p. .] it was at this time, after the white flag had been displayed, that col. williams was shot, as he charged a few of the tories who were still firing. the flag was hoisted again, and white handkerchiefs were also waved, from guns and ramrods. shelby, spurring up to part of their line, ordered the tories to lay down their arms, which they did. [footnote: shelby ms.] campbell, at the same moment, running among his men with his sword pointed to the ground, called on them for god's sake to cease firing; and turning to the prisoners he bade the officers rank by themselves, and the men to take off their hats and sit down. he then ordered de peyster to dismount; which the latter did, and handed his sword to campbell. [footnote: campbell mss. letter of general george rutledge (who was in the battle, an eye-witness of what he describes), may , . but there is an irreconcilable conflict of testimony as to whether campbell or evan shelby received de peyster's sword.] the various british officers likewise surrendered their swords, to different americans; many of the militia commanders who had hitherto only possessed a tomahawk or scalping-knife thus for the first time getting possession of one of the coveted weapons. almost the entire british and tory force was killed or captured; the only men who escaped were the few who got through the american lines by adopting the whig badges. about three hundred of the loyalists were killed or disabled; the slightly wounded do not seem to have been counted. [footnote: for the loyalist losses, see _ante_, note discussing their numbers. the "south carolina loyalist" says they lost about a third of their number. it is worthy of note that the actual fighting at king's mountain bore much resemblance to that at majuba hill a century later; a backwoods levy was much like a boer commando.] the colonel-commandant was among the slain; of the four militia colonels present, two were killed, one wounded, [footnote: in some accounts this officer is represented as a major, in some as a colonel; at any rate he was in command of a small regiment, or fragment of a regiment.] and the other captured--a sufficient proof of the obstinacy of the resistance. the american loss in killed and wounded amounted to less than half, perhaps only a third, that of their foes. [footnote: the official report as published gave the american loss as twenty-eight killed and sixty wounded. the original document (in the gates mss., n. y. hist. soc.) gives the loss in tabulated form in an appendix, which has not heretofore been published. it is as follows: return of killed and wounded. killed | wounded | col. | col. | | major. | | major. | | | capt. | | | capt. | | | | lieut. | | | | lieut. | | | | | ensign. | | | | | ensign. | | | | | | sergt. | | | | | | sergt. | | | | | | | private. | | | | | | private. regiments. | | | | | | | total.| | | | | | | total. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |grand | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | total. campbell's.. | mcdowell's.. | thomas'..... | cleavland's. | shelby's.... | sevier's.... | hayes'...... | brannon's... | col. williams' | ----------------------------------------------------- | it will be seen that these returns are imperfect. they do not include shelby's loss; yet his regiment was alongside of campbell's, did its full share of the work, and probably suffered as much as sevier's, for instance. but it is certain that in the hurry not all the killed and wounded were enumerated (compare draper, pp. - ). hayes', thomas', and "brannon's" (brandon's) commands were some of those joining at the cowpens. winston's loss is doubtless included under cleavland's. it will be seen that williams' troops could have taken very little part in the action.] campbell's command suffered more than any other, the loss among the officers being especially great; for it bore the chief part in withstanding the successive bayonet charges of the regulars, and the officers had been forced to expose themselves with the utmost freedom, in order to rally their men when beaten back. [footnote: it would be quite impossible to take notice of the countless wild absurdities of the various writers who have given "histories" so-called, of the battle. one of the most recent of them, mr. kirke, having accepted as the number of the british dead two hundred and twenty-five, and the wounded one hundred and eighty five, says that the disproportion shows "the wonderful accuracy of the backwoods rifle"--the beauty of the argument being that it necessarily implies that the backwoodsmen only fired some four hundred and ten shots. mr. kirke's account of the battle having been "won" owing to a remarkable ride taken by sevier to rally the men at the critical moment is, of course, without any historic basis whatever.] after the victory. the mountain-men had done a most notable deed. they had shown in perfection the best qualities of horse-riflemen. their hardihood and perseverance had enabled them to bear up well under fatigue, exposure, and scanty food. their long, swift ride, and the suddenness of the attack, took their foes completely by surprise. then, leaving their horses, they had shown in the actual battle such courage, marksmanship, and skill in woodland fighting, that they had not only defeated but captured an equal number of well-armed, well-led, resolute men, in a strong position. the victory was of far-reaching importance, and ranks among the decisive battles of the revolution. it was the first great success of the americans in the south, the turning-point in the southern campaign, and it brought cheer to the patriots throughout the union. the loyalists of the carolinas were utterly cast down, and never recovered from the blow; and its immediate effect was to cause cornwallis to retreat from north carolina, abandoning his first invasion of that state. [footnote: "tarleton's campaigns," p. .] the expedition offered a striking example of the individual initiative so characteristic of the backwoodsmen. it was not ordered by any one authority; it was not even sanctioned by the central or state governments. shelby and sevier were the two prime movers in getting it up; campbell exercised the chief command; and the various other leaders, with their men, simply joined the mountaineers, as they happened to hear of them and come across their path. the ties of discipline were of the slightest. the commanders elected their own chief without regard to rank or seniority; in fact the officer [footnote: williams.] who was by rank entitled to the place was hardly given any share in the conduct of the campaign. the authority of the commandant over the other officers, and of the various colonels over their troops, resembled rather the control exercised by indian chiefs over their warriors than the discipline obtaining in a regular army. but the men were splendid individual fighters, who liked and trusted their leaders; and the latter were bold, resolute, energetic, and intelligent. cornwallis feared that the mountain men would push on and attack his flank; but there was no such danger. by themselves they were as little likely to assail him in force in the open as andreas hofer's tyrolese--with whom they had many points in common--were to threaten napoleon on the danubian plains. had they been continental troops, the british would have had to deal with a permanent army. but they were only militia [footnote: the striking nature of the victory and its important consequences must not blind us to the manifold shortcomings of the revolutionary militia. the mountaineers did well in spite of being militia; but they would have done far better under another system. the numerous failures of the militia as a whole must be balanced against the few successes of a portion of them. if the states had possessed wisdom enough to back washington with continentals, or with volunteers such as those who fought in the civil war, the revolutionary contest would have been over in three years. the trust in militia was a perfect curse. many of the backwoods leaders knew this. the old indian fighter, andrew lewis, about this time wrote to gates (see gates mss., sept. , ), speaking of "the dastardly conduct of the militia," calling them "a set of poltroons," and longing for continentals.]after all, however formidable from their patriotic purpose and personal prowess. the backwoods armies were not unlike the armies of the scotch highlanders; tumultuous gatherings of hardy and warlike men, greatly to be dreaded under certain circumstances, but incapable of a long campaign, and almost as much demoralized by a victory as by a defeat. individually or in small groups they were perhaps even more formidable than the highlanders; but in one important respect they were inferior, for they totally lacked the regimental organization which the clan system gave the scotch celts. the mountaineers had come out to do a certain thing--to kill ferguson and scatter his troops. they had done it, and now they wished to go home. the little log-huts in which their families lived were in daily danger of indian attack; and it was absolutely necessary that they should be on hand to protect them. they were, for the most part, very poor men, whose sole sources of livelihood were the stock they kept beyond the mountains. they loved their country greatly, and had shown the sincerity of their patriotism by the spontaneous way in which they risked their lives on this expedition. they had no hope of reward; for they neither expected nor received any pay, except in liquidated certificates, worth two cents on the dollar. shelby's share of these, for his services as colonel throughout ' and ' , was sold by him for "six yards of middling broadcloth" [footnote: shelby's ms. autobiography.]; so it can be readily imagined how little each private got for the king's mountain expedition. [footnote: among these privates was the father of davy crockett.] the day after the battle the americans fell back towards the mountains, fearing lest, while cumbered by prisoners and wounded, they should be struck by tarleton or perhaps cruger. the prisoners were marched along on foot, each carrying one or two muskets, for twelve hundred stand of arms had been captured. the americans had little to eat, and were very tired; but the plight of the prisoners was pitiable. hungry, footsore, and heartbroken, they were hurried along by the fierce and boastful victors, who gloried in the vengeance they had taken, and recked little of such a virtue as magnanimity to the fallen. the only surgeon in either force was ferguson's. he did what he could for the wounded; but that was little enough, for, of course, there were no medical stores whatever. the americans buried their dead in graves, and carried their wounded along on horse-litters. the wounded loyalists were left on the field, to be cared for by the neighboring people. the conquerors showed neither respect nor sympathy for the leader who had so gallantly fought them. [footnote: but the accounts of indignity being shown him are not corroborated by allaire and ryerson, the two contemporary british authorities, and are probably untrue.] his body and the bodies of his slain followers were cast into two shallow trenches, and loosely covered with stones and earth. the wolves, coming to the carnage, speedily dug up the carcasses, and grew so bold from feasting at will on the dead that they no longer feared the living. for months afterwards king's mountain was a favorite resort for wolf hunters. the victory once gained, the bonds of discipline over the troops were forthwith loosened; they had been lax at the best, and only the strain of the imminent battle with the british had kept them tense for the fortnight the mountaineers had been away from their homes. all the men of the different commands were bragging as to their respective merits in the battle, and the feats performed by the different commanders. [footnote: certificate of matthew willoughby, in _richmond enquirer_, as quoted.] the general break up of authority, of course, allowed full play to the vicious and criminal characters. even before the mountaineers came down the unfortunate carolinas had suffered from the misdeeds of different bodies of ill-disciplined patriot troops, [footnote: gates mss., deposition of john satty, and others, sept. , ; of wm. hamilton, sept. th, etc., etc., etc.] almost as much as from the british and tories. the case was worse now. many men deserted from the returning army for the especial purpose of plundering the people of the neighborhood, paying small heed which cause the victims had espoused; and parties continually left camp avowedly with this object. campbell's control was of the slightest; he was forced to entreat rather than command the troops, complaining that they left their friends in "almost a worse situation than the enemy would have done," and expressing what was certainly a moderate "wish," that the soldiers would commit no "unnecessary injury" on the inhabitants of the county. [footnote: campbell's general orders, oct. th, and oct. th.] naturally such very mild measures produced little effect in stopping the plundering. however, campbell spoke in stronger terms of an even worse set of outrages. the backwoodsmen had little notion of mercy to beaten enemies, and many of them treated the captured loyalists with great brutality, even on the march, [footnote: "our captors ... cutting and striking us in a most savage manner,"--"south carolina loyalist."] col. cleavland himself being one of the offenders. [footnote: allaire's diary, entry of nov. st.] those of their friends and relatives who had fallen into the hands of the tories, or of cornwallis' regulars, had fared even worse; yet this cannot palliate their conduct. campbell himself, when in a fit of gusty anger, often did things he must have regretted afterwards; but he was essentially manly, and his soul revolted at the continued persecution of helpless enemies. he issued a sharp manifesto in reference to the way the prisoners were "slaughtered and disturbed," assuring the troops that if it could not be prevented by moderate measures, he would put a stop to it by taking summary vengeance on the offenders. [footnote: campbell's general orders, oct. th.] after this the prisoners were, on the whole, well treated. when they met a couple of continental officers, the latter were very polite, expressing their sympathy for their fate in falling into such hands; for from washington and greene down, the continental troops disliked and distrusted the militia almost as much as the british regulars did the tories. there was one dark deed of vengeance. it had come to be common for the victors on both sides to hang those whom they regarded as the chief offenders among their conquered opponents. as the different districts were alternately overrun, the unfortunate inhabitants were compelled to swear allegiance in succession to congress and to king; and then, on whichever side they bore arms, they were branded as traitors. moreover, the different leaders, both british and american, from tarleton and ferguson to sumter and marion, often embodied in their own ranks some of their prisoners, and these were of course regarded as deserters by their former comrades. cornwallis, seconded by rawdon, had set the example of ordering all men found in the rebel ranks after having sworn allegiance to the king, to be hung; his under-officers executed the command with zeal, and the americans, of course, retaliated. ferguson's troops themselves had hung some of their prisoners. [footnote: allaire's diary, entry for aug. th; also see aug. d. he chronicles these hangings with much complacency, but is, of course, shocked at the "infamous" conduct of the americans when they do likewise.] all this was fresh in the minds of the americans who had just won so decisive a victory. they were accustomed to give full vent to the unbridled fury of their passions; they with difficulty brooked control; they brooded long over their own wrongs, which were many and real, and they were but little impressed by the misdeeds committed in return by their friends. inflamed by hatred and the thirst for vengeance, they would probably have put to death some of their prisoners in any event; but all doubt was at an end when on their return march they were joined by an officer who had escaped from before augusta, and who brought word that cruger's victorious loyalists had hung a dozen of the captured patriots. [footnote: shelby ms.] this news settled the doom of some of the tory prisoners. a week after the battle a number of them were tried, and thirty were condemned to death. nine, including the only tory colonel who had survived the battle, were hung; then sevier and shelby, men of bold, frank nature, could no longer stand the butchery, and peremptorily interfered, saving the remainder. [footnote: _do._] of the men who were hung, doubtless some were murderers and marauders, who deserved their fate; others, including the unfortunate colonel, were honorable men, executed only because they had taken arms for the cause they deemed right. leaving the prisoners in the hands of the lowland militia, the mountaineers returned to their secure fastnesses in the high hill-valleys of the holston, the watauga, and the nollchucky. they had marched well and fought valiantly, and they had gained a great victory; all the little stockaded forts, all the rough log-cabins on the scattered clearings, were jubilant over the triumph. from that moment their three leaders were men of renown. the legislatures of their respective states thanked them publicly and voted them swords for their services. campbell, next year, went down to join greene's army, did gallant work at guilford courthouse, and then died of camp-fever. sevier and shelby had long lives before them. [footnote: thirty years after the battle, when campbell had long been dead, shelby and sevier started a most unfortunate controversy as to his conduct in the battle. they insisted that he had flinched, and that victory was mainly due to them. doubtless they firmly believed what they said; for as already stated, the jealousies and rivalries among the backwoods leaders were very strong; but the burden of proof, after thirty years' silence, rested on them, and they failed to make their statements good--nor was their act a very gracious one. shelby bore the chief part in the quarrel, campbell's surviving relatives, of course, defending the dead chieftain. i have carefully examined all the papers in the case, in the tenn. historical society, the shelby, mss., and the campbell mss., besides the files of the _richmond enquirer_, etc.; and it is evident that the accusation was wholly groundless. shelby and sevier rest their case: st, on their memory, thirty years after the event, of some remarks of campbell to them in private after the close of the battle, which they construed as acknowledgments of bad conduct. against these memories of old men it is safe to set shelby's explicit testimony, in a letter written six days after the battle (see _virginia argus_, oct. , ), to the good-conduct of the "gallant commander" (campbell). d, on the fact that campbell was seen on a black horse in the rear during the fighting; but a number of men of his regiment swore that he had given his black horse to a servant who sat in the rear, while he himself rode a bay horse in the battle. see their affidavits in the _enquirer_. d, on the testimony of one of shelby's brothers, who said he saw him in the rear. this is the only piece of positive testimony in the case. some of campbell's witnesses (as matthew willoughby) swore that this brother of shelby was a man of bad character, engaged at the time in stealing cattle from both whigs and tories. th, on the testimony of a number of soldiers who swore they did not see campbell in the latter part of the battle, nor until some moments after the surrender. of course, this negative testimony is simply valueless; in such a hurly burly it would be impossible for the men in each part of the line to see all the commanders, and campbell very likely did not reach the places where these men were until some time after the surrender. on the other hand, forty officers and soldiers of campbell's, sevier's, and shelby's regiments, headed by general rutledge, swore that they had seen campbell valiantly leading throughout the whole battle, and foremost at the surrender. this positive testimony conclusively settles the matter; it outweighs that of shelby's brother, the only affirmative witness on the other side. but it is a fair question as to whether campbell or another of shelby's brothers received de peyster's sword.] chapter x. the holston settlements to the end of the revolution, - . john sevier. john sevier had no sooner returned from doing his share in defeating foes who were of his own race, than he was called on to face another set of enemies, quite as formidable and much more cruel. these were the red warriors, the ancient owners of the soil, who were ever ready to take advantage of any momentary disaster that befell their hereditary and victorious opponents, the invading settlers. for many years sevier was the best indian fighter on the border. he was far more successful than clark, for instance, inflicting greater loss on his foes and suffering much less himself, though he never had any thing like clark's number of soldiers. his mere name was a word of dread to the cherokees, the chickamaugas, and the upper creeks. his success was due to several causes. he wielded great influence over his own followers, whose love for and trust in "chucky jack" were absolutely unbounded; for he possessed in the highest degree the virtues most prized on the frontier. he was open-hearted and hospitable, with winning ways towards all, and combined a cool head with a dauntless heart; he loved a battle for its own sake, and was never so much at his ease as when under fire; he was a first-class marksman, and as good a horseman as was to be found on the border. in his campaigns against the indians he adopted the tactics of his foes, and grafted on them some important improvements of his own. much of his success was due to his adroit use of scouts or spies. he always chose for these the best woodsmen of the district, men who could endure as much, see as much, and pass through the woods as silently, as the red men themselves. by keeping these scouts well ahead of him, he learned accurately where the war parties were. in the attack itself he invariably used mounted riflemen, men skilled in forest warfare, who rode tough little horses, on which they galloped at speed through the forest. once in position they did the actual fighting on foot, sheltering themselves carefully behind the tree-trunks. he moved with extreme rapidity and attacked with instantaneous suddenness, using ambushes and surprises wherever practicable. his knowledge of the whereabouts and size of the hostile parties, and the speed of his own movements, generally enabled him to attack with the advantage of numbers greatly on his side. [footnote: the old tennessee historians, headed by haywood, base their accounts, of the actions on statements made by the pioneers, or some of the pioneers, forty or fifty years after the event; and they do a great deal of bragging about the prowess of the old indian fighters. the latter did most certainly perform mighty deeds; but often in an entirely different way from that generally recorded; for they faced a foe who on his own ground was infinitely more to be dreaded than the best trained european regulars. thus haywood says that after the battle of the island flats, the whites were so encouraged that thenceforward they never asked concerning their enemies, "how many are they?" but "where are they?" of course, this is a mere piece of barbaric boasting. if the whites had really acted on any such theory there would have been a constant succession of disasters like that at the blue licks. sevier's latest biographer, mr. kirke, in the "rear-guard of the revolution," goes far beyond even the old writers. for instance, on p. he speaks of sevier's victories being "often" gained over "twenty times his own number" of indians. as a matter of fact, one of the proofs of sevier's skill as a commander is that he almost always fought with the advantage of numbers on his side. not a single instance can be produced where either he or any one else during his lifetime gained a victory over twenty times his number of indians, unless the sieges are counted. it is necessary to keep in mind the limitations under which haywood did his work, in order to write truthfully; but a debt of gratitude will always be due him for the history he wrote. like marshall's, it is the book of one who himself knew the pioneers, and it has preserved very much of value which would otherwise have been lost. the same holds true of ramsey.] he could then outflank or partially surround the indians, while his sudden rush demoralized them; so that, in striking contrast to most other indian fighters, he inflicted a far greater loss than he received. he never fought a big pitched battle, but, by incessantly harrying and scattering the different war bands, he struck such terror to the hearts of the indians that he again and again, in a succession of wars, forced them into truces, and for the moment freed the settlements from their ravages. he was almost the only commander on the frontier who ever brought an indian war, of whatever length, to an end, doing a good deal of damage to his foes and suffering very little himself. still, he never struck a crushing blow, nor conquered a permanent peace. he never did any thing to equal clark's campaigns in the illinois and against vincennes, and, of course, he cannot for a moment be compared to his rival and successor, grim old hickory, the destroyer of the creeks and the hero of new orleans. sevier's cherokee campaigns. when the men of the holston or upper tennessee valley settlements reached their homes after the king's mountain expedition, they found them menaced by the cherokees. congress had endeavored in vain to persuade the chiefs of this tribe to make a treaty of peace, or at least to remain neutral. the efforts of the british agents to embroil them with the whites were completely successful; and in november the otari or overhill warriors began making inroads along the frontier. they did not attack in large bands. a constant succession of small parties moved swiftly through the county, burning cabins, taking scalps, and, above all, stealing horses. as the most effectual way of stopping such inroads, the alarmed and angered settlers resolved to send a formidable retaliatory expedition against the overhill towns. [footnote: campbell mss. letter of gov. thos. jefferson, feb. , .] all the holston settlements both north and south of the virginia line joined in sending troops. by the first week in december, , seven hundred mounted riflemen were ready to march, under the joint leadership of colonel arthur campbell and of sevier, the former being the senior officer. they were to meet at an appointed place on the french broad. sevier started first, with between two and three hundred of his watauga and nolichucky followers. he marched down to the french broad, but could hear nothing of campbell. he was on the great war trace of the southern indians, and his scouts speedily brought him word that they had exchanged shots with a cherokee war party, on its way to the settlements, and not far distant on the other side of the river. he instantly crossed, and made a swift march towards the would-be marauders, camping on boyd's creek. the scouts were out by sunrise next morning--december th,--and speedily found the indian encampment, which the warriors had just left. on receipt of the news sevier ordered the scouts to run on, attack the indians, and then instantly retreat, so as to draw them into an ambuscade. meanwhile the main body followed cautiously after, the men spread out in a long line, with the wings advanced; the left wing under major jesse walton, the right under major jonathan tipton, while sevier himself commanded the centre, which advanced along the trail by which the scouts were to retreat. when the indians were drawn into the middle, the two wings were to close in, when the whole party would be killed or captured. the plan worked well. the scouts soon came up with the warriors, and, after a moment's firing, ran back, with the indians in hot pursuit. sevier's men lay hid, and, when the leading warriors were close up, they rose and fired. walton's wing closed in promptly; but tipton was too slow, and the startled cherokees ran off through the opening he had left, rushed into a swamp impassable for horsemen, and scattered out, each man for himself, being soon beyond pursuit. nevertheless, sevier took thirteen scalps, many weapons, and all their plunder. in some of their bundles there were proclamations from sir henry clinton and other british commanders. the indians were too surprised and panic-struck to offer any serious resistance, and not a man of sevier's force was even wounded. [footnote: campbell mss. copy of the official report of col. arthur campbell, jan. , . the accounts of this battle of boyd's creek illustrate well the growth of such an affair under the hands of writers who place confidence in all kinds of tradition, especially if they care more for picturesqueness than for accuracy. the contemporary official report is explicit. there were three hundred whites and seventy indians. of the latter, thirteen were slain. campbell's whole report shows a jealousy of sevier, whom he probably knew well enough was a man of superior ability to himself; but this jealousy appears mainly in the coloring. he does not change any material fact, and there is no reason for questioning the substantial truth of his statements. forty years afterward haywood writes of the affair, trying to tell simply the truth, but obliged to rely mainly on oral tradition. he speaks of sevier's troops as only two hundred in number; and says twenty-eight indians were killed. he does not speak of the number of the indians, but from the way he describes sevier's troops as encircling them, he evidently knew that the white men were more numerous than their foes. his mistake as to the number of indian dead is easily explicable. the official report gives twenty-nine as the number killed in the entire campaign, and haywood, as in the island flats battle, simply puts the total of several skirmishes into one. thirty years later comes ramsey. he relies on traditions that have grown more circumstantial and less accurate. he gives two accounts of what he calls "one of the best-fought battles in the border war of tennessee"; one of these accounts is mainly true; the other entirely false; he does not try to reconcile them. he says three whites were wounded, although the official report says that in the whole campaign but one man was killed and two wounded. he reduces sevier's force to one hundred and seventy men, and calls the indians "a large body." thirty-four years later comes mr. kirke, with the "rear-guard of the revolution." out of his inner consciousness he evolves the fact that there were "not less than a thousand" indians, whom sevier, at the head of one hundred and seventy men, vanquishes, after a heroic combat, in which sevier and some others perform a variety of purely imaginary feats. by diminishing the number of the whites, and increasing that of the indians, he thus makes the relative force of the latter about _twenty-five times as great as it really was_, and converts a clever ambuscade, whereby the whites gave a smart drubbing to a body of indians one fourth their own number, into a homeric victory over a host six times as numerous as the conquerors. this is not a solitary instance; on the contrary it is typical of almost all that is gravely set forth as history by a number of writers on these western border wars, whose books are filled from cover to cover with just such matter. almost all their statements are partly, and very many are wholly, without foundation.]having thus made a very pretty stroke, sevier returned to the french broad, where campbell joined him on the d, with four hundred troops. among them were a large number of shelby's men, under the command of major joseph martin. the next day the seven hundred horsemen made a forced march to the little tennessee; and on the th crossed it unopposed, making a feint at one ford, while the main body passed rapidly over another. the indians did not have the numbers to oppose so formidable a body of good fighters, and only ventured on a little very long range and harmless skirmishing with the vanguard. dividing into two bodies, the troops destroyed chota and the other towns up and down the stream, finding in them a welcome supply of provisions. the next day martin, with a detachment, fell on a party of flying indians, killed one, and captured seventeen horses loaded with clothing, skins, and the scanty household furniture of the cabins; while another detachment destroyed the part of chilhowee that was on the nearer side of the river. on the th the rest of chilhowee was burned, three indians killed, and nine captured. tipton, with one hundred and fifty men, was sent to attack another town beyond the river; but owing to the fault of their commander, [footnote: his "unmilitary behavior," says campbell. ramsey makes him one of the (imaginary) wounded at boyd's creek. kirke improves on this by describing him as falling "badly wounded" just as he was about to move his wing forward, and ascribes to his fall the failure of the wing to advance.] this body failed to get across. the indian woman, nancy ward, who in ' had given the settlers timely warning of the intended attack by her tribesmen here came into camp. she brought overtures of peace from the chiefs; but to these campbell and sevier would not listen, as they wished first to demolish the hiawassee towns, where the warriors had been especially hostile. accordingly, they marched thither. on their way there were a couple of skirmishes, in which several indians were killed and one white man. the latter, whose name was elliot, was buried in the tellico town, a cabin being burned down over his grave, that the indians might not know where it was. the indians watched the army from the hills. at one point a warrior was seen stationed on a ridge to beat a drum and give signals to the rest; but the spies of the whites stole on him unawares, and shot him. the hiawassee towns and all the stores of provisions they contained were destroyed, the work being finished on the last day of the year. on january , , the army broke up into detachments which went home by different routes, some additional towns being destroyed. the indians never ventured to offer the invaders a pitched battle. many of the war parties were absent on the frontier, and, at the very time their own country was being invaded, they committed ravages in powell's valley, along the upper holston, and on the kentucky road, near cumberland gap. the remaining warriors were cowed by sevier's first success, and were puzzled by the rapidity with which the troops moved; for the mounted riflemen went at speed wherever they wished, and were not encumbered by baggage, each man taking only his blanket and a wallet of parched corn. all the country of the overhill cherokees was laid waste, a thousand cabins were burned, and fifty thousand bushels of corn destroyed. twenty-nine warriors in all were killed, and seventeen women and children captured, not including the family of nancy ward, who were treated as friends, not prisoners. but one white man was killed and two wounded. [footnote: campbell mss. arthur campbell's official report. the figures of the cabins and corn destroyed are probably exaggerated. all the tennessee historians, down to phelan, are hopelessly in the dark over this campaign. haywood actually duplicates it (pp. and ) recounting it first as occurring in ' , and then with widely changed incidents as happening in ' l--making two expeditions. when he falls into such a tremendous initial error, it is not to be wondered at that the details he gives are very untrustworthy. ramsey corrects haywood as far as the two separate expeditions are concerned, but he makes a number of reckless statements apparently on no better authority than the traditions current among the border people, sixty or seventy years after the event. these stand on the same foundation with the baseless tale that makes isaac shelby take part in the battle of island flats. the tennessee historians treat sevier as being the chief commander; but he was certainly under campbell; the address they sent out to the indians is signed by campbell first, sevier second, and martin third. haywood, followed by ramsey, says that sevier marched to the chickamauga towns, which he destroyed, and then marched down the coosa to the region of the cypress swamps. but campbell's official report says that the towns "in the neighborhood of chickamauga and the town of cologn, situated on the sources of the mobile" were _not_ destroyed, nor visited, and he carefully enumerates all the towns that the troops burned and the regions they went through. they did not go near chickamauga nor the coosa. unless there is some documentary evidence in favor of the assertions of haywood and ramsey they cannot for a moment be taken against the explicit declaration of the official report. mr. kirke merely follows ramsey, and adds a few flourishes of his own, such as that at the chickamauga towns "the blood of the slaughtered cattle dyed red the tennessee" for some twenty miles, and that "the homes of over forty thousand people were laid in ashes." this last estimate is just about ten times too strong, for the only country visited was that of the overhill cherokees, and the outside limit for the population of the devastated territory would be some four thousand souls, or a third of the cherokee tribe, which all told numbered perhaps twelve thousand people.] in the burnt towns, and on the dead warriors, were found many letters and proclamations from the british agents and commanders, showing that almost every chief in the nation had been carrying on a double game; for the letters covered the periods at which they had been treating with the americans and earnestly professing their friendship for the latter and their determination to be neutral in the contest then waging. as campbell wrote in his report to the virginian governor, no people had ever acted with more foolish duplicity. before returning, the three commanders, campbell, sevier, and martin, issued an address to the otari chiefs and warriors, and sent it by one of their captured braves, who was to deliver it to the head-men. [footnote: campbell mss. issued at kai-a-tee, jan. , ; the copy sent to governor jefferson is dated feb. th.] the address set forth what the white troops had done, telling the indians it was a just punishment for their folly and perfidy in consenting to carry out the wishes of the british agents; it warned them shortly to come in and treat for peace, lest their country should again be visited, and not only laid waste, but conquered and held for all time. some chiefs came in to talk, and were met at chota [footnote: the tennessee historians all speak of this as a treaty; and probably a meeting did take place as described; but it led to nothing, and no actual treaty was made until some months later.]; but though they were anxious for peace they could not restrain the vindictive spirit of the young braves, nor prevent them from harassing the settlements. nor could the white commanders keep the frontiersmen from themselves settling within the acknowledged boundaries of the indian territory. they were constantly pressing against the lines, and eagerly burst through at every opening. when the army marched back from burning the overhill towns, they found that adventurous settlers had followed in its wake, and had already made clearings and built cabins near all the best springs down to the french broad. people of every rank showed keen desire to encroach on the indian lands. [footnote: calendar of va. state papers, ii., letter of col. wm. christian to governor of virginia, april , .] the success of this expedition gave much relief to the border, and was hailed with pleasure throughout virginia [footnote: state department mss., no. , feb. , .] and north carolina. nevertheless the war continued without a break, bands of warriors from the middle towns coming to the help of their disheartened overhill brethren. sevier determined to try one of his swift, sudden strokes against these new foes. early in march he rode off at the head of a hundred and fifty picked horsemen, resolute to penetrate the hitherto untrodden wilds that shielded the far-off fastnesses where dwelt the erati. nothing shows his daring, adventurous nature more clearly than his starting on such an expedition; and only a man of strong will and much power could have carried it to a successful conclusion. for a hundred and fifty miles he led his horsemen through a mountainous wilderness where there was not so much as a hunter's trail. they wound their way through the deep defiles and among the towering peaks of the great smoky mountains, descending by passes so precipitous that it was with difficulty the men led down them even such surefooted beasts as their hardy hill-horses. at last they burst out of the woods and fell like a thunderbolt on the towns of the erati, nestling in their high gorges. the indians were completely taken by surprise; they had never dreamed that they could be attacked in their innermost strongholds, cut off, as they were, from the nearest settlements by vast trackless wastes of woodland and lofty, bald-topped mountain chains. they had warriors enough to overwhelm sevier's band by sheer force of numbers, but he gave them no time to gather. falling on their main town, he took it by surprise and stormed it, killing thirty warriors and capturing a large number of women and children. of these, however, he was able to bring in but twenty, who were especially valuable because they could be exchanged for white captives. he burnt two other towns and three small villages, destroying much provision and capturing two hundred horses. he himself had but one man killed and one wounded. before the startled warriors could gather to attack him he plunged once more into the wilderness, carrying his prisoners and plunder, and driving the captured horses before him; and so swift were his motions that he got back in safety to the settlements. [footnote: _do_. letters of col. wm. christian, april , ; of joseph martin, march st; and of arthur campbell, march th. the accounts vary slightly; for instance, christian gives him one hundred and eighty, campbell only one hundred and fifty men. one account says he killed thirty, another twenty indians. martin, by the way, speaks bitterly of the militia as men "who do duty at times as their inclination leads them." the incident, brilliant enough anyhow, of course grows a little under ramsey and haywood; and mr. kirke fairly surpasses himself when he comes to it.] the length of the journey, the absolutely untravelled nature of the country, which no white man, save perhaps an occasional wandering hunter, had ever before traversed, the extreme difficulty of the route over the wooded, cliff-scarred mountains, and the strength of the cherokee towns that were to be attacked, all combined to render the feat most difficult. for its successful performance there was need of courage, hardihood, woodcraft, good judgment, stealth, and great rapidity of motion. it was one of the most brilliant exploits of the border war. even after his return sevier was kept busy pursuing and defeating small bands of plundering savages. in the early summer he made a quick inroad south of the french broad. at the head of over a hundred hard riders he fell suddenly on the camp of a war party, took a dozen scalps, and scattered the rest of the indians in every direction. a succession of these blows completely humbled the cherokees, and they sued for peace; thanks to sevier's tactics, they had suffered more loss than they had inflicted, an almost unknown thing in these wars with the forest indians. in midsummer peace was made by a treaty at the great island of the holston. end of the war with the british and tories. during the latter half of the year, when danger from the indians had temporarily ceased, sevier and shelby led down bands of mounted riflemen to assist the american forces in the carolinas and georgia. they took an honorable share under marion in some skirmishes against the british and hessians but they did not render any special service, and greene found he could place no reliance on them for the actual stubborn campaigns that broke the strength of the king's armies. they enlisted for very short periods, and when their time was up promptly returned to their mountains, for they were sure to get home-sick and uneasy about their families; and neither the officers nor the soldiers had any proper idea of the value of obedience. among their own hills and forests and for their own work, they were literally unequalled; and they were ready enough to swoop down from their strongholds, strike some definite blow, or do some single piece of valiant fighting in the low country, and then fall back as quickly as they had come. but they were not particularly suited for a pitched battle in the open, and were quite unfitted to carry on a long campaign. [footnote: shelby mss. of course shelby paints these skirmishes in very strong colors. haywood and ramsey base their accounts purely on his papers.]; [footnote: ramsey and his followers endeavor to prove that the mountain men did excellently in these campaigns; but the endeavor is futile. they were good for some one definite stroke, but their shortcomings were manifest the instant a long campaign was attempted; and the comments of the south carolina historians upon their willingness to leave at unfortunate moments are on the whole just. they behaved somewhat as stark and the victors at bennington did when they left the american army before saratoga; although their conduct was on the whole better than that of stark's men. they were a brave, hardy, warlike band of irregulars, probably better fighters than any similar force on this continent or elsewhere; but occasional brilliant exceptions must not blind us to the general inefficiency of the revolutionary militia, and their great inferiority to the continentals of washington, greene, and wayne. see appendix.] in one respect the mountain men deserve great credit for their conduct in the carolinas. as a general thing they held aloof from the plundering. the frightful character of the civil war between the whigs and tories, and the excesses of the british armies, had utterly demoralized the southern states; they were cast into a condition of anarchic disorder, and the conflicts between the patriots and loyalists degenerated into a bloody scramble for murder and plunder wherein the whigs behaved as badly as ever the tories had done. [footnote: in the clay mss. there is a letter from jesse benton (the father of the great missouri senator) to col. thos. hart, of march d, , which gives a glimpse of the way in which the tories were treated even after the british had been driven out; it also shows how soon maltreatment of royalists was turned into general misrule and rioting. the letter runs, in part, as follows: "i cannot help mentioning to you an evil which seems intaild upon the upper part of this state, to wit, mobbs and commotions amongst the people. i shall give you the particulars of the last work of this kind which lately happend, & which is not yet settled; plunder being the first cause. the scoundrels, under the cloak of great whigs cannot bear the thought of paying the unfortunate wretches whom fame and ill will call tories (though many of them perhaps honest, industrious and useful men) for plunderd property; but on the other hand think they together with their wives and children (who are now beging for mercy) ought to be punished to the utmost extremity. i am sorry that col. o neal and his brother peter, who have been useful men and whom i am in hopes are pretty clear of plundering, should have a hand in arbitrary measures at this day when the civil laws might take place. "one jacob graves son of old john of stinking quarter, went off & was taken with the british army, escaped from the guards, came & surrendered himself to gen'l butler, about the middle of last month & went to his family upon parole. col. o neal being informed of this, armed himself with gun and sword, went to graves's in a passion, graves shut the door, o neal broke it down, graves i believe thinking his own life at stake, took his brothers gun which happened to be in the house & shot o neal through the breast. "o neal has suffered much but is now recovering. this accident has inflamed and set to work those who were afraid of suffering for their unjust and unwarrantable deeds, the ignorant honest men are also willing to take part against their rulers & i don't know when nor where it is to end, but i wish it was over. at the guilford feb'y court peter o neal & others armed with clubs in the face of the court then sitting and in the court house too, beat some men called tories so much that their lives were despaired of, broke up the court and finally have stopd the civil laws in that county. your old friend col. dunn got out at window, fled in a fright, took cold and died immediately. rowan county court i am told was also broke up. "if o neal should die i fear that a number of the unhappy wretches called tories will be murdered, and that a man disposed to do justice dare not interfere, indeed the times seem to imitate the commencement of the regulators."] men were shot, houses burned, horses stolen, and negroes kidnapped; even the unfortunate freedmen of color were hurried off and sold into slavery. it was with the utmost difficulty that a few wise and good commanders, earnest lovers of their country, like the gallant general pickens, were able to put a partial stop to these outrages, and gather a few brave men to help in overcoming the foreign foe. to the honor of the troops under sevier and shelby be it said that they took little part in these misdeeds. there were doubtless some men among them who shared in all the evil of that turbulent time; but most of these frontier riflemen, though poor and ignorant, were sincerely patriotic; they marched to fight the oppressor, to drive out the stranger, not to ill-treat their own friends and countrymen. towards the end of these campaigns, which marked the close of the revolutionary struggle, shelby was sent to the north carolina legislature, where he served for a couple of terms. then, when peace was formally declared, he removed to kentucky, where he lived ever afterwards. sevier stayed in his home on the nolichucky, to be thenceforth, while his life lasted, the leader in peace and war of his beloved mountaineers. quarrels over the land early in fresh difficulties arose with the indians. in the war just ended the cherokees themselves had been chiefly to blame. the whites were now in their turn the aggressors the trouble being, as usual, that they encroached on lands secured to the red men by solemn treaty. the watauga settlements had been kept compact by the presence of the neighboring indians. they had grown steadily but slowly. they extended their domain slightly after every treaty, such treaty being usually though not always the sequel to a successful war; but they never gained any large stretch of territory at once. had it not been for the presence of the hostile tribes they would have scattered far and wide over the country, and could not have formed any government. the preceding spring ( ) the land office had been closed, not to be opened until after peace with great britain was definitely declared, the utter demoralization of the government bringing the work to a standstill. the rage for land speculation, however, which had continued, even in the stormiest days of the revolution, grew tenfold in strength after yorktown, when peace at no distant day was assured. the wealthy land speculators of the seaboard counties made agreements of various sorts with the more prominent frontier leaders in the effort to secure large tracts of good country. the system of surveying was much better than in kentucky, but it was still by no means perfect, as each man placed his plot wherever he chose, first describing the boundary marks rather vaguely, and leaving an illiterate old hunter to run the lines. moreover, the intending settler frequently absented himself for several months, or was temporarily chased away by the indians, while the official record books were most imperfect. in consequence, many conflicts ensued. the frontiersmen settled on any spot of good land they saw fit, and clung to it with defiant tenacity, whether or not it afterwards proved to be on a tract previously granted to some land company or rich private individual who had never been a hundred miles from the sea-coast. public officials went into these speculations. thus major joseph martin, while an indian agent, tried to speculate in cherokee lands. [footnote: see va. state papers, iii., .] of course the officer's public influence was speedily destroyed when he once undertook such operations; he could no longer do justice to outsiders. occasionally the falseness of his position made him unjust to the indians; more often it forced him into league with the latter, and made him hostile to the borderers. [footnote: this is a chief reason why the reports of the indian agents are so often bitterly hostile towards those of their own color.] before the end of the revolution the trouble between the actual settlers and the land speculators became so great that a small subsidiary civil war was threatened. the rough riflemen resolutely declined to leave their clearings, while the titular owners appealed to the authority of the loose land laws, and wished them to be backed up by the armed force of the state. [footnote: see in durrett mss. papers relating to isaac shelby; letter of john taylor to isaac shelby, june , .] the government of north carolina was far too weak to turn out the frontiersmen in favor of the speculators to whom the land had been granted,--often by fraudulent means, or at least for a ridiculously small sum of money. still less could it prevent its unruly subjects from trespassing on the indian country, or protect them if they were themselves threatened by the savages. it could not do justice as between its own citizens, and it was quite incompetent to preserve the peace between them and outsiders. [footnote: calendar of va. state papers, iii., p. .] the borderers were left to work out their own salvation. further indian troubles. by the beginning of settlements were being made south of the french broad. this alarmed and irritated the indians, and they sent repeated remonstrances to major martin, who was indian agent, and also to the governor of north carolina. the latter wrote sevier, directing him to drive off the intruding settlers, and pull down their cabins. sevier did not obey. he took purely the frontier view of the question, and he had no intention of harassing his own staunch adherents for the sake of the savages whom he had so often fought. nevertheless, the cherokees always liked him personally, for he was as open-handed and free-hearted to them as to every one else, and treated them to the best he had whenever they came to his house. he had much justification for his refusal, too, in the fact that the indians themselves were always committing outrages. when the americans reconquered the southern states many tories fled to the cherokee towns, and incited the savages to hostility; and the outlying settlements of the borderers were being burned and plundered by members of the very tribes whose chiefs were at the same time writing to the governor to complain of the white encroachments. [footnote: _do_., p. .] when in april the cherokees held a friendly talk with evan shelby they admitted that the tories among them and their own evil-disposed young men committed ravages on the whites, but asserted that most of them greatly desired peace, for they were weak and distressed, and had shrunk much in numbers. [footnote: _do_., p. , april , .] the trouble was that when they were so absolutely unable to control their own bad characters, it was inevitable that they should become embroiled with the whites. the worst members of each race committed crimes against the other, and not only did the retaliation often fall on the innocent, but, unfortunately, even the good men were apt to make common cause with the criminals of their own color. thus in july the chickamaugas sent in a talk for peace; but at that very time a band of their young braves made a foray into powell's valley, killing two settlers and driving off some stock. they were pursued, one of their number killed, and most of the stock retaken. in the same month, on the other hand, two friendly indians, who had a canoe laden with peltry, were murdered on the holston by a couple of white ruffians, who then attempted to sell the furs. they were discovered, and the furs taken from them; but to their disgrace be it said, the people round about would not suffer the criminals to be brought to justice. [footnote: _do_., pp. , .] the mutual outrages continued throughout the summer, and in september they came to a head. the great majority of the otari of the overhill towns were still desirous of peace, and after a council of their head-men the chief old tassel, of the town of chota, sent on their behalf a strong appeal to the governors of both virginia and north carolina. the document is written with such dignity, and yet in a tone of such curious pathos, that it is worth giving in full, as putting in strongest possible form the indian side of the case, and as a sample of the best of these indian "talks." "a talk to colonel joseph martin, by the old tassell, in chota, the th of september, , in favour of the whole nation. for his excellency, the governor of north carolina. present, all the chiefs of the friendly towns and a number of young men. "brother: i am now going to speak to you. i hope you will listen to me. a string. i intended to come this fall and see you, but there was such confusion in our country, i thought it best for me to stay at home and send my talks by our friend colonel martin, who promised to deliver them safe to you. we are a poor distressed people, that is in great trouble, and we hope our elder brother will take pity on us and do us justice. your people from nolichucky are daily pushing us out of our lands. we have no place to hunt on. your people have built houses within one day's walk of our towns. we don't want to quarrel with our elder brother; we, therefore, hope our elder brother will not take our lands from us, that the great man above gave us. he made you and he made us; we are all his children, and we hope our elder brother will take pity on us, and not take our lands from us that our father gave us, because he is stronger than we are. we are the first people that ever lived on this land; it is ours, and why will our elder brother take it from us? it is true, some time past, the people over the great water persuaded some of our young men to do some mischief to our elder brother, which our principal men were sorry for. but you our elder brothers come to our towns and took satisfaction, and then sent for us to come and treat with you, which we did. then our elder brother promised to have the line run between us agreeable to the first treaty, and all that should be found over the line should be moved off. but it is not done yet. we have done nothing to offend our elder brother since the last treaty, and why should our elder brother want to quarrel with us? we have sent to the governor of virginia on the same subject. we hope that between you both, you will take pity on your younger brother, and send col. sevier, who is a good man, to have all your people moved off our land. i should say a great deal more, but our friend, colonel martin, knows all our grievances, and he can inform you. a string." [footnote: ramsey, . the "strings" of wampum were used to mark periods and to indicate, and act as reminders of, special points in the speech.] the speech is interesting because it shows that the indians both liked and respected sevier, their most redoubtable foe; and because it acknowledges that in the previous war the cherokees themselves had been the wrongdoers. even old tassel had been implicated in the treacherous conduct of the chiefs at that period; but he generally acted very well, and belonged with the large number of his tribesmen who, for no fault of their own, were shamefully misused by the whites. the white intruders were not removed. no immediate collision followed on this account; but when old tassel's talk was forwarded to the governor, small parties of chickamaugas, assisted by young braves from among the creeks and erati, had already begun to commit ravages on the outlying settlements. two weeks before old tassel spoke, on the th of september, a family of whites was butchered on moccasin creek. the neighbors gathered, pursued the indians, and recaptured the survivors. [footnote: calendar of va. state papers, iii., p. .] other outrages followed, throughout the month. sevier as usual came to the rescue of the angered settlers. he gathered a couple of hundred mounted riflemen, and made one of his swift retaliatory inroads. his men were simply volunteers, for there was no money in the country treasury with which to pay them or provide them with food and provisions; it was their own quarrel, and they furnished their own services free, each bringing his horse, rifle, ammunition, blanket, and wallet of parched corn. naturally such troops made war purely according to their own ideas, and cared nothing whatever for the commands of those governmental bodies who were theoretically their superiors. they were poor men, staunch patriots, who had suffered much and done all they could during the revolution [footnote: _do_.]; now, when threatened by the savages they were left to protect themselves, and they did it in their own way. sevier led his force down through the overhill towns, doing their people no injury and holding a peace talk with them. they gave him a half breed, john watts, afterwards one of their chiefs, as guide; and he marched quickly against some of the chickamauga towns, where he destroyed the cabins and provision hoards. afterwards he penetrated to the coosa, where he burned one or two creek villages. the inhabitants fled from the towns before he could reach them; and his own motions were so rapid that they could never gather in force strong enough to assail him. [footnote: the authority for this expedition is haywood (p. ); ramsey simply alters one or two unimportant details. haywood commits so many blunders concerning the early indian wars that it is only safe to regard his accounts as true in outline; and even for this outline it is to be wished we had additional authority. mr. kirke, in the "rear-guard," p. , puts in an account of a battle on lookout mountain, wherein sevier and his two hundred men defeat "five hundred tories and savages." he does not even hint at his authority for this, unless in a sentence of the preface where he says, "a large part of my material i have derived from what may be termed 'original sources'--old settlers." of course the statement of an old settler is worthless when it relates to an alleged important event which took place a hundred and five years before, and yet escaped the notice of all contemporary and subsequent historians. in plain truth unless mr. kirke can produce something like contemporary--or approximately contemporary--documentary evidence for this mythical battle, it must be set down as pure invention. it is with real reluctance that i speak thus of mr. kirke's books. he has done good service in popularizing the study of early western history, and especially in calling attention to the wonderful careers of sevier and robertson. had he laid no claim to historic accuracy i should have been tempted to let his books pass unnoticed; but in the preface to his "john sevier" he especially asserts that his writings "may be safely accepted as authentic history." on first reading his book i was surprised and pleased at the information it contained; when i came to study the subject i was still more surprised and much less pleased at discovering such wholesale inaccuracy--to be perfectly just i should be obliged to use a stronger term. even a popular history ought to pay at least some little regard to truth.] very few indians were killed, and apparently none of sevier's people; a tory, an ex-british sergeant, then living with an indian squaw, was among the slain. this foray brought but a short relief to the settlements. on christmas day three men were killed on the clinch; and it was so unusual a season for the war parties to be abroad that the attack caused widespread alarm. [footnote: calendar of va. state papers, iii., p. .] early in the spring of the ravages began again. [footnote: _do_., p. .] some time before general wayne had addressed the creeks and choctaws, reproaching them with the aid they had given the british, and threatening them with a bloody chastisement if they would not keep the peace. [footnote: state department mss. letters of washington, no. , vol. xi., feb. i, .] a threat from mad anthony meant something, and the indians paid at least momentary heed. georgia enjoyed a short respite, which, as usual, the more reckless borderers strove to bring to an end by encroaching on the indian lands, while the state authorities, on the other hand, did their best to stop not only such encroachments, but also all travelling and hunting in the indian country, and especially the marking of trees. this last operation, as governor lyman hall remarked in his proclamation, gave "great offence to the indians," [footnote: gazette of the state of georgia, july . .] who thoroughly understood that the surveys indicated the approaching confiscation of their territory. towards the end of a definite peace was concluded with the chickasaws, who ever afterwards remained friendly [footnote: va. state papers, iii., p. .]; but the creeks, while amusing the georgians by pretending to treat, let their parties of young braves find an outlet for their energies by assailing the holston and cumberland settlements. [footnote: _do_., p. .] the north carolina legislature, becoming impatient, passed a law summarily appropriating certain lands that were claimed by the unfortunate cherokees. the troubled peace was continually threatened by the actions either of ungovernable frontiersmen or of bloodthirsty and vindictive indians. [footnote: _do_., p. .] small parties of scouts were incessantly employed in patrolling the southern border. growth of the settlements. nevertheless, all pressing danger from the indians was over. the holston settlements throve lustily. wagon roads were made, leading into both virginia and north carolina. settlers thronged into the country, the roads were well travelled, and the clearings became very numerous. the villages began to feel safe without stockades, save those on the extreme border, which were still built in the usual frontier style. the scattering log school-houses and meeting-houses increased steadily in numbers, and in , methodism, destined to become the leading and typical creed of the west, first gained a foothold along the holston, with a congregation of seventy-six members. [footnote: "history of methodism in tennessee," john b. m'ferrin (nashville, ), i., .] these people of the upper tennessee valleys long continued one in interest as in blood. whether they lived north or south of the virginia or north carolina boundary, they were more closely united to one another than they were to the seaboard governments of which they formed part. their history is not generally studied as a whole, because one portion of their territory continued part of virginia, while the remainder was cut off from north carolina as the nucleus of a separate state. but in the time of their importance, in the first formative period of the young west, all these holston settlements must be treated together, or else their real place in our history will be totally misunderstood. [footnote: nothing gives a more fragmentary and twisted view of our history than to treat it purely by states; this is the reason that a state history is generally of so little importance when taken by itself. on the other hand it is of course true that the fundamental features in our history can only be shown by giving proper prominence to the individual state life.] frontier towns. the two towns of abingdon and jonesboro, respectively north and south of the line, were the centres of activity. in jonesboro the log court-house, with its clapboard roof, was abandoned, and in its place a twenty-four-foot-square building of hewn logs was put up; it had a shingled roof and plank floors, and contained a justice's bench, a lawyers' and clerk's bar, and a sheriff's box to sit in. the county of washington was now further subdivided, its southwest portion being erected into the county of greene, so that there were three counties of north carolina west of the mountains. the court of the new county consisted of several justices, who appointed their own clerk, sheriff, attorney for the state, entry-taker, surveyer, and registrar. they appropriated money to pay for the use of the log-house where they held sessions, laid a tax of a shilling specie on every hundred pounds for the purpose of erecting public buildings, laid out roads, issued licenses to build mills, and bench warrants to take suspected persons. [footnote: ramsey, . the north carolina legislature, in , passed an act giving henderson two hundred thousand acres, and appointed joseph martin indian agent, arranged for a treaty with the cherokees, and provided that any good men should be allowed to trade with the indians.] abingdon was a typical little frontier town of the class that immediately succeeded the stockaded hamlets. a public square had been laid out, round which, and down the straggling main street, the few buildings were scattered; all were of logs, from the court house and small jail down. there were three or four taverns. the two best were respectively houses of entertainment for those who were fond of their brandy, and for the temperate. there were a blacksmith shop and a couple of stores. [footnote: one was "kept by two irishmen named daniel and manasses freil" (_sic_; the names look very much more german than irish).] the traders brought their goods from alexandria, baltimore, or even philadelphia, and made a handsome profit. the lower taverns were scenes of drunken frolic, often ending in free fights. there was no constable, and the sheriff, when called to quell a disturbance, summoned as a posse those of the bystanders whom he deemed friendly to the cause of law and order. there were many strangers passing through; and the better class of these were welcome at the rambling log-houses of the neighboring backwoods gentry, who often themselves rode into the taverns to learn from the travellers what was happening in the great world beyond the mountains. court-day was a great occasion; all the neighborhood flocked in to gossip, lounge, race horses, and fight. of course in such gatherings there were always certain privileged characters. at abingdon these were to be found in the persons of a hunter named edward callahan, and his wife sukey. as regularly as court-day came round they appeared, sukey driving a cart laden with pies, cakes, and drinkables, while edward, whose rolls of furs and deer hides were also in the cart, stalked at its tail on foot, in full hunter's dress, with rifle, powder-horn, and bullet-bag, while his fine, well-taught hunting-dog followed at his heels. sukey would halt in the middle of the street, make an awning for herself and begin business, while edward strolled off to see about selling his peltries. sukey never would take out a license, and so was often in trouble for selling liquor. the judges were strict in proceeding against offenders--and even stricter against the unfortunate tories--but they had a humorous liking for sukey, which was shared by the various grand juries. by means of some excuse or other she was always let off, and in return showed great gratitude to such of her benefactors as came near her mountain cabin. [footnote: campbell mss.; an account of the "town of abingdon," by david campbell, who "first saw it in ."] court-day was apt to close with much hard drinking; for the backwoodsmen of every degree dearly loved whiskey. chapter xi. robertson founds the cumberland settlement, - . james robertson. robertson had no share in the glory of king's mountain, and no part in the subsequent career of the men who won it; for, at the time, he was doing his allotted work, a work of at least equal importance, in a different field. the year before the mountaineers faced ferguson, the man who had done more than any one in founding the settlements from which the victors came, had once more gone into the wilderness to build a new and even more typical frontier commonwealth, the westernmost of any yet founded by the backwoodsmen. robertson had been for ten years a leader among the holston and watauga people. he had at different times played the foremost part in organizing the civil government and in repelling outside attack. he had been particularly successful in his dealings with the indians, and by his missions to them had managed to keep the peace unbroken on more than one occasion when a war would have been disastrous to the whites. he was prosperous and successful in his private affairs; nevertheless, in , the restless craving for change and adventure surged so strongly in his breast that it once more drove him forth to wander in the forest. in the true border temper he determined to abandon the home he had made, and to seek out a new one hundreds of miles farther in the heart of the hunting-grounds of the red warriors. the point pitched upon was the beautiful country lying along the great bend of the cumberland. many adventurous settlers were anxious to accompany robertson, and, like him, to take their wives and children with them into the new land. it was agreed that a small party of explorers should go first in the early spring, to plant corn, that the families might have it to eat when they followed in the fall. the cumberland country. the spot was already well known to hunters. who had first visited it cannot be said; though tradition has kept the names of several among the many who at times halted there while on their wanderings. [footnote: one stone or stoner, perhaps boon's old associate, is the first whose name is given in the books. but in both kentucky and tennessee it is idle to try to find out exactly who the first explorers were. they were unlettered woodsmen; it is only by chance that some of their names have been kept and others lost; the point to be remembered is that many hunters were wandering over the land at the same time, that they drifted to many different places, and that now and then an accident preserved the name of some hunter and of some place he visited.] old kasper mansker and others had made hunting trips thither for ten years past; and they had sometimes met the creole trappers from the illinois. when mansker first went to the bluffs, [footnote: the locality where nashborough was built, was sometimes spoken of as the bluffs, and sometimes as the french lick.] in , the buffaloes were more numerous than he had ever seen them before; the ground literally shook under the gallop of the mighty herds, they crowded in dense throngs round the licks, and the forest resounded with their grunting bellows. he and other woodsmen came back there off and on, hunting and trapping, and living in huts made of buffalo hides; just such huts as the hunters dwelt in on the little missouri and powder rivers as late as , except that the plainsmen generally made dug-outs in the sides of the buttes and used the hides only for the roofs and fronts. so the place was well known, and the reports of the hunters had made many settlers eager to visit it, though as yet no regular path led thither. in the first permanent settler arrived in the person of a hunter named spencer, who spent the following winter entirely alone in this remote wilderness, living in a hollow sycamore-tree. spencer was a giant in his day, a man huge in body and limb, all whose life had been spent in the wilderness. he came to the bend of the cumberland from kentucky in the early spring, being in search of good land on which to settle. other hunters were with him, and they stayed some time. a creole trapper from the wabash was then living in a cabin on the south side of the river. he did not meet the new-comers; but one day he saw the huge moccasin tracks of spencer, and on the following morning the party passed close by his cabin in chase of a wounded buffalo, halloing and shouting as they dashed through the underwood. whether he thought them indians, or whether, as is more likely, he shared the fear and dislike felt by most of the creoles for the american backwoodsmen, cannot be said; but certainly he left his cabin, swam the river, and plunging into the forest, straightway fled to his kinsfolk on the banks of the wabash. spencer was soon left by his companions; though one of them stayed with him a short time, helping him to plant a field of corn. then this man, too, wished to return. he had lost his hunting-knife; so spencer went with him to the barrens of kentucky, put him on the right path, and breaking his own knife, gave his departing friend a piece of the metal. the undaunted old hunter himself returned to the banks of the cumberland, and sojourned throughout the fall and winter in the neighborhood of the little clearing on which he had raised the corn crop; a strange, huge, solitary man, self-reliant, unflinching, cut off from all his fellows by endless leagues of shadowy forest. thus he dwelt alone in the vast dim wastes, wandering whithersoever he listed through the depths of the melancholy and wintry woods, sleeping by his camp-fire or in the hollow tree-trunk, ever ready to do battle against brute or human foe--a stark and sombre harbinger of the oncoming civilization. spencer's figure, seen through the mist that shrouds early western history, is striking and picturesque in itself; yet its chief interest lies in the fact that he was but a type of many other men whose lives were no less lonely and dangerous. he had no qualities to make him a leader when settlements sprang up around him. to the end of his days he remained a solitary hunter and indian fighter, spurning restraint and comfort, and seeking the strong excitement of danger to give zest to his life. even in the time of the greatest peril from the savages he would not stay shut up in the forts, but continued his roving, wandering life, trusting to his own quick senses, wonderful strength, and iron nerves. he even continued to lie out at night, kindling a fire, and then lying down to sleep far from it. [footnote: _southwestern monthly_, nashville, , vol. ii. general hall's narrative.] robertson travels thither. early in the year a leader of men came to the place where the old hunter had roamed and killed game; and with the new-comer came those who were to posses the land. robertson left the watauga settlements soon after the spring opened, [footnote: it is very difficult to reconcile the dates of these early movements; even the contemporary documents are often a little vague, while haywood, ramsey, and putnam are frequently months out of the way. apparently robertson stayed as commissioner in chota until february or march, , when he gave warning of the intended raid of the chickamaugas, and immediately afterwards came back to the settlements and started out for the cumberland, before shelby left on his chickamauga expedition. but it is possible that he had left chota before, and that another man was there as commissioner at the time of the chickamauga raid which was followed by shelby's counter-stroke.] with eight companions, one of them a negro. he followed boon's trace,--wilderness road,--through cumberland gap, and across the cumberland river. then he struck off southwest through the wilderness, lightening his labor by taking the broad, well-beaten buffalo trails whenever they led in his direction; they were very distinct near the pools and springs, and especially going to and from the licks. the adventurers reached the bend of the cumberland without mishap, and fixed on the neighborhood of the bluff, the ground near the french lick, as that best suited for their purpose; and they planted a field of corn on the site of the future forted village of nashborough. a few days after their arrival they were joined by another batch of hunter-settlers, who had come out under the leadership of kasper mansker. as soon as the corn was planted and cabins put up, most of the intending settlers returned to their old homes to bring out their families, leaving three of their number "to keep the buffaloes out of the corn." [footnote: haywood, .] robertson himself first went north through the wilderness to see george rogers clark in illinois, to purchase cabin-rights from him. this act gives an insight into at least some of the motives that influenced the adventurers. doubtless they were impelled largely by sheer restlessness and love of change and excitement; [footnote: phelan, p. , fails to do justice to these motives, while very properly insisting on what earlier historians ignored, the intense desire for land speculation.] and these motives would probably have induced them to act as they did, even had there been no others. but another and most powerful spring of action was the desire to gain land--not merely land for settlement, but land for speculative purposes. wild land was then so abundant that the quantity literally seemed inexhaustible; and it was absolutely valueless until settled. our forefathers may well be pardoned for failing to see that it was of more importance to have it owned in small lots by actual settlers than to have it filled up quickly under a system of huge grants to individuals or corporations. many wise and good men honestly believed that they would benefit the country at the same time that they enriched themselves by acquiring vast tracts of virgin wilderness, and then proceeding to people them. there was a rage for land speculation and land companies of every kind. the private correspondence of almost all the public men of the period, from washington, madison, and gouverneur morris down, is full of the subject. innumerable people of position and influence dreamed of acquiring untold wealth in this manner. almost every man of note was actually or potentially a land speculator; and in turn almost every prominent pioneer from clark and boon to shelby and robertson was either himself one of the speculators or an agent for those who were. many people did not understand the laws on the subject, or hoped to evade them; and the hope was as strong in the breast of the hunter, who made a "tomahawk claim" by blazing a few trees, and sold it for a small sum to a new-comer, as in that of the well-to-do schemer, who bought an indian title for a song, and then got what he could from all outsiders who came in to dwell on the land. this speculative spirit was a powerful stimulus to the settlement not only of kentucky, but of middle tennessee. henderson's claim included the cumberland country, and when north carolina annulled his rights, she promised him a large but indefinitely located piece of land in their place. he tried to undersell the state in the land market, and undoubtedly his offers had been among the main causes that induced robertson and his associates to go to the cumberland when they did. but at the time it was uncertain whether cumberland lay in virginia or north carolina, as the line was not run by the surveyors until the following spring; and robertson went up to see clark, because it was rumored that the latter had the disposal of virginia "cabin-rights"; under which each man could, for a small sum, purchase a thousand acres, on condition of building a cabin and raising a crop. however, as it turned out, he might have spared himself the journey, for the settlement proved to be well within the carolina boundary. many settlers join him. in the fall very many men came out to the new settlement, guided thither by robertson and mansker; the former persuading a number who were bound to kentucky to come to the cumberland instead. among them were two or three of the long hunters, whose wanderings had done so much to make the country known. robertson's especial partner was a man named john donelson. the latter went by water and took a large party of immigrants, including all the women and children, down the tennessee, and thence up the ohio and cumberland to the bluff or french lick. [footnote: the plan was that robertson should meet this party at the muscle shoals, and that they should go from thence overland; but owing to the severity of the winter, robertson could not get to the shoals.] among them were robertson's entire family, and donelson's daughter rachel, the future wife of andrew jackson, who missed by so narrow a margin being mistress of the white house. robertson, meanwhile, was to lead the rest of the men by land, so that they should get there first and make ready for the coming of their families. robertson's party started in the fall, being both preceded and followed by other companies of settlers, some of whom were accompanied by their wives and children. cold weather of extraordinary severity set in during november; for this was the famous "hard winter" of ' - , during which the kentucky settlers suffered so much. they were not molested by indians, and reached the bluff about christmas. the river was frozen solid, and they all crossed the ice in a body; when in mid-stream the ice jarred, and--judging from the report--the jar or crack must have gone miles up and down the stream; but the ice only settled a little and did not break. by january first there were over two hundred people scattered on both sides of the river. in robertson's company was a man named john rains, who brought with him twenty-one horned cattle and seventeen horses; the only cattle and horses which any of the immigrants succeeded in bringing to the cumberland. but he was not the only man who had made the attempt. one of the immigrants who went in donelson's flotilla, daniel dunham by name, offered his brother john, who went by land, £ to drive along his horses and cattle. john accepted, and tried his best to fulfil his share of the bargain; but he was seemingly neither a very expert woodsman nor yet a good stock hand. there is no form of labor more arduous and dispiriting than driving unruly and unbroken stock along a faint forest or mountain trail, especially in bad weather; and this the would-be drover speedily found out. the animals would not follow the trail; they incessantly broke away from it, got lost, scattered in the brush, and stampeded at night. finally the unfortunate john, being, as he expressed it, nearly "driven mad by the drove," abandoned them all in the wilderness. [footnote: mss. on "dunham pioneers," in nashville hist. society. daniel, a veteran stockman, was very angry when he heard what had happened.] voyage of the "adventure." the settlers who came by water passed through much greater peril and hardship. by a stroke of good fortune the journal kept by donelson, the leader of the expedition, has been preserved. [footnote: original ms. "journal of voyage intended by god's permission in the good boat _adventure_ from fort patrick henry of holston river to the french salt springs on cumberland river, kept by john donelson." an abstract, with some traditional statements interwoven, is given by haywood; the journal itself, with some inaccuracies, and the name of the writer misspelt by ramsey; and in much better and fuller shape by a. n. putnam in his "history of middle tennessee." i follow the original, in the nashville historical society.] as with all the other recorded wanderings and explorations of these backwoods adventurers, it must be remembered that while this trip was remarkable in itself, it is especially noteworthy because, out of many such, it is the only one of which we have a full account. the adventures that befell donelson's company differed in degree, but not in kind, from those that befell the many similar flotillas that followed or preceded him. from the time that settlers first came to the upper tennessee valley occasional hardy hunters had floated down the stream in pirogues, or hollowed out tree-trunks. before the revolution a few restless emigrants had adopted this method of reaching natchez; some of them made the long and perilous trip in safety, others were killed by the chickamaugas or else foundered in the whirlpools, or on the shoals. the spring before donelson started, a party of men, women, and children, in forty canoes or pirogues, went down the tennessee to settle in the newly conquered illinois country, and skirmished with the cherokees or their way. [footnote: state department mss., no. , vol. ii., p. : "james colbert to chas. stuart. "chickasaw nation, may , . "sir,--i was this day informed that there is forty large cannoes loaded with men women and children passed by here down the cherokee river who on their way down they took a dellaway indian prisoner & kept him till they found out what nation he was of--they told him they had come from long island and were on their way to illinois with an intent to settle--sir i have some reason to think they are a party of rebels. my reason is this after they let the dellaway indian at liberty they met with some cherokees whom they endeavoured to decoy, but finding they would not be decoyed they fired on them but they all made their escape with the loss of their arms and ammunition and one fellow wounded, who arrived yesterday. the dellaway informs me that lieut. governor hamilton is defeated and himself taken prisoner," etc. it is curious that none of the tennessee annalists have noticed the departure of this expedition; very, very few of the deeds and wanderings of the old frontiersmen have been recorded; and in consequence historians are apt to regard these few as being exceptional, instead of typical. donelson was merely one of a hundred leaders of flotillas that went down the western rivers at this time.] donelson's flotilla, after being joined by a number of other boats, especially at the mouth of the clinch, consisted of some thirty craft, all told--flat-boats, dug-outs, and canoes. there were probably two or three hundred people, perhaps many more, in the company; among them, as the journal records, "james robertson's lady and children," the latter to the number of five. the chief boat, the flag-ship of the flotilla, was the _adventure_, a great scow, in which there were over thirty men, besides the families of some of them. they embarked at holston, long island, on december d, but falling water and heavy frosts detained them two months, and the voyage did not really begin until they left cloud creek on february , . the first ten days were uneventful. the adventure spent an afternoon and night on a shoal, until the water fortunately rose, and, all the men getting out, the clumsy scow was floated off. another boat was driven on the point of an island and sunk, her crew being nearly drowned; whereupon the rest of the flotilla put to shore, the sunken boat was raised and bailed out, and most of her cargo recovered. at one landing-place a man went out to hunt, and got lost, not being taken up again for three days, though "many guns were fired to fetch him in," and the four-pounder on the adventure was discharged for the same purpose. a negro became "much frosted in his feet and legs, of which he died." where the river was wide a strong wind and high sea forced the whole flotilla to lay to, for the sake of the smaller craft. this happened on march th, just before coming to the uppermost chickamauga town; and that night, the wife of one ephraim peyton, who had himself gone with robertson, overland, was delivered of a child. she was in a boat whose owner was named jonathan jennings. the next morning they soon came to an indian village on the south shore. the indians made signs of friendliness, and two men started toward them in a canoe which the _adventure_ had in tow, while the flotilla drew up on the opposite side of the river. but a half-breed and some indians jumping into a pirogue paddled out to meet the two messengers and advised them to return to their comrades, which they did. several canoes then came off from the shore to the flotilla. the indians who were in them seemed friendly and were pleased with the presents they received; but while these were being distributed the whites saw a number of other canoes putting off, loaded with armed warriors, painted black and red. the half-breed instantly told the indians round about to paddle to the shore, and warned the whites to push off at once, at the same time giving them some instructions about the river. the armed indians went down along the shore for some time as if to intercept them; but at last they were seemingly left behind. in a short time another indian village was reached, where the warriors tried in vain to lure the whites ashore; and as the boats were hugging the opposite bank, they were suddenly fired at by a party in ambush, and one man slain. immediately afterwards a much more serious tragedy occurred. there was with the flotilla a boat containing twenty-eight men, women, and children, among whom small-pox had broken out. to guard against infection, it was agreed that it should keep well in the rear; being warned each night by the sound of a horn when it was time to go into camp. as this forlorn boat-load of unfortunates came along, far behind the others, the indians, seeing its defenceless position, sallied out in their canoes, and butchered or captured all who were aboard. their cries were distinctly heard by the rearmost of the other craft, who could not stem the current and come to their rescue. but a dreadful retribution fell on the indians; for they were infected with the disease of their victims, and for some months virulent small-pox raged among many of the bands of creeks and cherokees. when stricken by the disease, the savages first went into the sweat-houses, and when heated to madness, plunged into the cool streams, and so perished in multitudes. when the boats entered the narrows they had lost sight of the indians on shore, and thought they had left them behind. a man, who was in a canoe, had gone aboard one of the larger boats with his family, for the sake of safety while passing through the rough water. his canoe was towed alongside, and in the rapids it was overturned, and the cargo lost. the rest of the company, pitying his distress over the loss of all his worldly goods, landed, to see if they could not help him recover some of his property. just as they got out on the shore to walk back, the indians suddenly appeared almost over them, on the high cliffs opposite, and began to fire, causing a hurried retreat to the boats. for some distance the indians lined the bluffs, firing from the heights into the boats below. yet only four people were wounded, and they not dangerously. one of them was a girl named nancy gower. when, by the sudden onslaught of the indians, the crew of the boat in which she was were thrown into dismay, she took the helm and steered, exposed to the fire of the savages. a ball went through the upper part of one of her thighs, but she neither flinched nor uttered any cry; and it was not known that she was wounded until, after the danger was past, her mother saw the blood soaking through her clothes. she recovered, married one of the frontiersmen, and lived for fifty years afterwards, long enough to see all the wilderness filled with flourishing and populous states. one of the clumsy craft, however, did not share the good fortune that befell the rest, in escaping with so little loss and damage. jonathan jennings' boat, in which was mrs. peyton, with her new-born baby, struck on a rock at the upper end of the whirl, the swift current rendering it impossible for the others to go to his assistance; and they drifted by, leaving him to his fate. the indians soon turned their whole attention to him, and from the bluffs opened a most galling fire upon the disabled boat. he returned it as well as he could, keeping them somewhat in check, for he was a most excellent marksman. at the same time he directed his two negroes, a man and woman, his nearly grown son, and a young man who was with him, to lighten the boat by throwing his goods into the river. before this was done, the negro man, the son, and the other young man most basely jumped into the river, and swam ashore. it is satisfactory to record that at least two of the three dastards met the fate they deserved. the negro was killed in the water, and the other two captured, one of them being afterwards burned at the stake, while the other, it is said, was ultimately released. meanwhile mrs. jennings, assisted by the negro woman and mrs. peyton, actually succeeded in shoving the lightened boat off the rock, though their clothes were cut in many places by the bullets; and they rapidly drifted out of danger. the poor little baby was killed in the hurry and confusion; but its mother, not eighteen hours from child-bed, in spite of the cold, wet, and exertion, kept in good health. sailing by night as well as day, they caught up with the rest of the flotilla before dawn on the second morning afterwards, the men being roused from their watch-fires by the cries of "help poor jennings," as the wretched and worn-out survivors in the disabled boat caught the first glimpse of the lights on shore. having successfully run the gauntlet of the chickamauga banditti, the flotilla was not again molested by the indians, save once when the boats that drifted near shore were fired on by a roving war party, and five men wounded. they ran over the great muscle shoals in about three hours without accident, though the boats scraped on the bottom here and there. the swift, broken water surged into high waves, and roared through the piles of driftwood that covered the points of the small islands, round which the currents ran in every direction; and those among the men who were unused to river-work were much relieved when they found themselves in safety. one night, after the fires had been kindled, the tired travellers were alarmed by the barking of the dogs. fearing that indians were near by, they hastily got into the boats and crossed to camp on the opposite shore. in the morning two of them returned to pick up some things that had been left; they found that the alarm had been false, for the utensils that had been overlooked in the confusion were undisturbed, and a negro who had been left behind in the hurry was still sleeping quietly by the camp-fires. on the th of the month they reached the ohio. some of the boats then left for natchez, and others for the illinois country; while the remainder turned their prows up stream, to stem the rapid current--a task for which they were but ill-suited. the work was very hard, the provisions were nearly gone, and the crews were almost worn out by hunger and fatigue. on the th they entered the mouth of the cumberland. the _adventure_, the heaviest of all the craft, got much help from a small square-sail that was set in the bow. two days afterwards the hungry party killed some buffalo, and feasted on the lean meat, and the next day they shot a swan "which was very delicious," as donelson recorded. their meal was exhausted and they could make no more bread; but buffalo were plenty, and they hunted them steadily for their meat; and they also made what some of them called "shawnee salad" from a kind of green herb that grew in the bottoms. on the last day of the month they met col. richard henderson, who had just come out and was running the line between virginia and north carolina. the crews were so exhausted that the progress of the boats became very slow, and it was not until april th that they reached the big salt lick, and found robertson awaiting them. the long, toilsome, and perilous voyage had been brought to a safe end. there were then probably nearly five hundred settlers on the cumberland, one half of them being able-bodied men in the prime of life. [footnote: two hundred and fifty-six names are subscribed to the compact of government; and in addition there were the women, children, the few slaves, and such men as did not sign.] the central station, the capitol of the little community, was that at the bluff, where robertson built a little stockaded hamlet and called it nashborough [footnote: after a. nash; he was the governor of north carolina; where he did all he could on the patriot side. see gates mss. sept. , .]; it was of the usual type of small frontier forted town. other stations were scattered along both sides of the river; some were stockades, others merely block-houses, with the yard and garden enclosed by stout palings. as with all similar border forts or stations, these were sometimes called by the name of the founder; more rarely they were named with reference to some natural object, such as the river, ford, or hill by which they were, or commemorated some deed, or the name of a man the frontiersmen held in honor; and occasionally they afforded true instances of clan-settlement and clan-nomenclature, several kindred families of the same name building a village which grew to be called after them. among these cumberland stations was mansker's (usually called kasper's or gaspers--he was not particular how his name was spelled), stone river, bledsoe's, freeland's, eatons', clover-bottom, and fort union. as the country where they had settled belonged to no tribe of indians, some of the people thought they would not be molested, and, being eager to take up the best lands, scattered out to live on separate claims. robertson warned them that they would soon suffer from the savages; and his words speedily came true--whereupon the outlying cabins were deserted and all gathered within the stockades. in april roving parties of delawares, chickasaws, and choctaws began to harass the settlement. as in kentucky, so on the banks of the cumberland, the indians were the first to begin the conflict. the lands on which the whites settled were uninhabited, and were claimed as hunting-grounds by many hostile tribes; so that it is certain that no one tribe had any real title to them. formation of a government. true to their customs and traditions, and to their race-capacity for self-rule, the settlers determined forthwith to organize some kind of government under which justice might be done among themselves, and protection afforded against outside attack. not only had the indians begun their ravages, but turbulent and disorderly whites were also causing trouble. robertson, who had been so largely instrumental in founding the watauga settlement, and giving it laws, naturally took the lead in organizing this, the second community which he had caused to spring up in the wilderness. he summoned a meeting of delegates from the various stations, to be held at nashborough; [footnote: it is to putnam that we owe the publication of the compact of government, and the full details of the methods and proceedings by which it was organized and carried on. see "history of middle tennessee," pp. - .] henderson being foremost in advocating the adoption of the plan. in fact, henderson, the treaty-maker and land-speculator, whose purchase first gave the whites clear color of title to the valleys of the kentucky and cumberland, played somewhat the same part, though on a smaller scale, in the settlement made by robertson as in that made by boon. he and the virginian commissioner walker, had surveyed the boundary line and found that the cumberland settlements were well to the south of it. he then claimed the soil as his under the cherokee deed; and disposed of it to the settlers who contracted to pay ten dollars a thousand acres. this was but a fraction of the state price, so the settlers were all eager to hold under henderson's deed; one of the causes of their coming out had been the chance of getting land so cheap. but henderson's claim was annulled by the legislature, and the satisfaction-piece of , acres allotted him was laid off elsewhere; so his contracts with the settlers came to nothing, and they eventually got title in the usual way from north carolina. they suffered no loss in the matter, for they had merely given henderson promises to pay when his title was made good. the settlers, by their representatives, met together at nashborough, and on may , , entered into articles of agreement or a compact of government. it was doubtless drawn up by robertson, with perhaps the help of henderson, and was modelled upon what may be called the "constitution" of watauga, with some hints from that of transylvania. [footnote: phelan, the first historian who really grasped what this movement meant, and to what it was due, gives rather too much weight to the part henderson played. henderson certainly at this time did not aspire to form a new state on the cumberland; the compact especially provided for the speedy admission of cumberland as a county of north carolina. the marked difference between the transylvania and the cumberland "constitutions," and the close agreement of the latter with the watauga articles, assuredly point to robertson as the chief author.] the settlers ratified the deeds of their delegates on may th, when they signed the articles, binding themselves to obey them to the number of two hundred and fifty-six men. the signers practically guaranteed one another their rights in the land, and their personal security against wrong-doers; those who did not sign were treated as having no rights whatever--a proper and necessary measure as it was essential that the naturally lawless elements should be forced to acknowledge some kind of authority. the compact provided that the affairs of the community should be administered by a court or committee of twelve judges, triers or general arbitrators, to be elected in the different stations by vote of all the freemen in them who were over twenty-one years of age. three of the triers were to come from nashborough, two from mansker's, two from bledsoe's, and one from each of five other named stations. [footnote: putnam speaks of these men as "notables"; apparently they called themselves as above. putnam's book contains much very valuable information; but it is written in most curious style and he interlards it with outside matter; much that he puts in quotation marks is apparently his own material. it is difficult to make out whether his "tribunal of notables" is his own expression or a quotation, but apparently it is the former.] whenever the freemen of any station were dissatisfied with their triers, they could at once call a new election, at which others might be chosen in their stead. the triers had no salaries, but the clerk of the court was allowed some very small fees, just enough to pay for the pens, ink, and paper, all of them scarce commodities. [footnote: haywood, .] the court had jurisdiction in all cases of conflict over land titles; a land office being established and an entry taker appointed. over half of the compact was devoted to the rules of the land office. the court, acting by a majority of its members, was to have jurisdiction for the recovery of debt or damages, and to be allowed to tax costs. three triers were competent to make a court to decide a case where the debt or damage was a hundred dollars or less; and there was no appeal from their decision. for a larger sum an appeal lay to the whole court. the court appointed whomsoever it pleased to see decisions executed. it had power to punish all offences against the peace of the community, all misdemeanors and criminal acts, provided only that its decisions did not go so far as to affect the life of the criminal. if the misdeed of the accused was such as to be dangerous to the state, or one "for which the benefit of clergy was taken away by law," he was to be bound and sent under guard to some place where he could be legally dealt with. the court levied fines, payable in money or provisions, entered up judgments and awarded executions, and granted letters of administration upon estates of deceased persons, and took bonds "payable to the chairman of the committee." the expenses were to be paid proportionately by the various settlers. it was provided, in view of the indian incursions, that the militia officers elected at the various stations should have power to call out the militia when they deemed it necessary to repel or pursue the enemy. they were also given power to fine such men as disobeyed them, and to impress horses if need be; if damaged, the horses were to be paid for by the people of the station in the proportion the court might direct. it was expressly declared that the compact was designed as a "temporary method of restraining the licentious"; that the settlement did not desire to be exempt from the ratable share of the expense for the revolutionary war, and earnestly asked that north carolina would immediately make it part of the state, erecting it into a county. robertson was elected chairman of the court, and colonel of the militia, being thus made both civil and military commandant of the settlement. in common with the other triers he undertook the solemnization of marriages; and these were always held legal, which was fortunate, as it was a young and vigorous community, of which the members were much given to early wedlock. thus a little commonwealth, a self-governing state, was created. it was an absolute democracy, the majority of freemen of full age in each stockade having power in every respect, and being able not only to elect, but to dismiss their delegates at any moment. their own good sense and a feeling of fair play could be depended upon to protect the rights of the minority, especially as a minority of such men would certainly not tolerate any thing even remotely resembling tyranny. they had formed a representative government in which the legislative and judicial functions were not separated, and were even to a large extent combined with the executive. they had proceeded in an eminently practical manner, having modelled their system on what was to them the familiar governmental unit of the county with its county court and county militia officers. they made the changes that their peculiar position required, grafting the elective and representative systems on the one they adopted, and of course enlarging the scope of the court's action. their compact was thus in some sort an unconscious reproduction of the laws and customs of the old-time court-leet, profoundly modified to suit the peculiar needs of backwoods life, the intensely democratic temper of the pioneers and above all the military necessities of their existence. they had certain theories of liberty and justice; but they were too shrewd and hard-headed to try to build up a government on an entirely new foundation, when they had ready to hand materials with which they were familiar. they knew by experience the workings of the county system; all they did was to alter the immediate channel from which the court drew its powers, and to adapt the representation to the needs of a community where constant warfare obliged the settlers to gather in little groups, which served as natural units. when the settlers first came to the country they found no indians living in it, no signs of cultivation or cleared land, and nothing to show that for ages past it had been inhabited. it was a vast plain, covered with woods and canebrakes, through which the wild herds had beaten out broad trails. the only open places were the licks, sometimes as large as corn-fields, where the hoofs of the game had trodden the ground bare of vegetation, and channelled its surface with winding seams and gullies. it is even doubtful if the spot of bare ground which mansker called an "old field" or sometimes a "chickasaw old field" was not merely one of these licks. buffalo, deer, and bear abounded; elk, wolves, and panthers were plentiful. yet there were many signs that in long by-gone times a numerous population had dwelt in the land. round every spring were many graves, built in a peculiar way, and covered eight or ten inches deep by mould. in some places there were earth-covered foundations of ancient walls and embankments that enclosed spaces of eight or ten acres. the indians knew as little as the whites about these long-vanished mound-builders, and were utterly ignorant of the race to which they had belonged. [footnote: haywood. at present it is believed that the mound-builders were indians. haywood is the authority for the early indian wars of the cumberland settlement, putnam supplying some information.] indian hostilities. for some months the whites who first arrived dwelt in peace. but in the spring, hunting and war parties from various tribes began to harass the settlers. unquestionably the savages felt jealous of the white hunters, who were killing and driving away the game, precisely as they all felt jealous of one another, and for the same reason. the chickasaws in particular, were much irritated by the fort clark had built at iron bank, on the mississippi. but the most powerful motive for the attacks was doubtless simply the desire for scalps and plunder. they gathered from different quarters to assail the colonists, just as the wild beasts gathered to prey on the tame herds. the indians began to commit murders, kill the stock, and drive off the horses in april, and their ravages continued unceasingly throughout the year. among the slain was a son of robertson, and also the unfortunate jonathan jennings, the man who had suffered such loss when his boat was passing the whirl of the tennessee river. the settlers were shot as they worked on their clearings, gathered the corn crops, or ventured outside the walls of the stockades. hunters were killed as they stooped to drink at the springs, or lay in wait at the licks. they were lured up to the indians by imitations of the gobbling of a turkey or the cries of wild beasts. they were regularly stalked as they still-hunted the game, or were ambushed as they returned with their horses laden with meat. the inhabitants of one station were all either killed or captured. robertson led pursuing parties after one or two of the bands, and recovered some plunder; and once or twice small marauding parties were met and scattered, with some loss, by the hunters. but, on the whole, very little could be done at first to parry or revenge the strokes of the indians. [footnote: putnam, p. , talks as if the settlers were utterly unused to indian warfare, saying that until the first murder occurred, in this spring, "few, if any" of them had ever gazed on the victim of scalping-knife and tomahawk. this is a curiously absurd statement. many of the settlers were veteran indian fighters. almost all of them had been born and brought up on the frontier, amid a succession of indian wars. it is, unfortunately, exceedingly difficult in putnam's book to distinguish the really valuable authentic information it contains from the interwoven tissue of matter written solely to suit his theory of dramatic effect. he puts in with equal gravity the "articles of agreement" and purely fictitious conversations, jokes, and the like. (see pp. , , and _passim_.)] horses and cattle had been brought into the new settlement in some number during the year; but the savages killed or drove off most of them, shooting the hogs and horned stock, and stealing the riding animals. the loss of the milch cows in particular, was severely felt by the women. moreover, there were heavy freshets, flooding the low bottoms on which the corn had been planted, and destroying most of the crop. these accumulated disasters wrought the greatest discouragement among the settlers. many left the country, and most of the remainder, when midsummer was past, began to urge that they should all go back in a body to the old settlements. the panic became very great. one by one the stockades were deserted, until finally all the settlers who remained were gathered in nashborough and freelands. [footnote: by some accounts there were also a few settlers left in eaton's station; and mansker's was rarely entirely deserted for any length of time.] the cumberland country would have been abandoned to the indians, had robertson not shown himself to be exactly the man for whom the crisis called. robertson was not a dashing, brilliant indian fighter and popular frontier leader, like sevier. he had rather the qualities of boon, with the difference that he was less a wandering hunter and explorer, and better fitted to be head of a settled community. he was far-seeing, tranquil, resolute, unshaken by misfortune and disaster; a most trustworthy man, with a certain severe fortitude of temper. all people naturally turned to him in time of panic, when the ordinarily bold and daring became cowed and confused. the straits to which the settlers were reduced, and their wild clamor for immediate flight, the danger from the indians, the death of his own son all combined failed to make him waver one instant in his purpose. he strongly urged on the settlers the danger of flight through the wilderness. he did not attempt to make light of the perils that confronted them if they remained, but he asked them to ponder well if the beauty and fertility of the land did not warrant some risk being run to hold it, now that it was won. they were at last in a fair country fitted for the homes of their children. now was the time to keep it. if they abandoned it, they would lose all the advantages they had gained, and would be forced to suffer the like losses and privations if they ever wished to retake possession of it or of any similar tract of land. he, at least, would not turn back, but would stay to the bitter end. his words and his steadfast bearing gave heart to the settlers, and they no longer thought of flight. as their corn had failed them they got their food from the woods. some gathered quantities of walnuts, hickory-nuts, and shelbarks, and the hunters wrought havoc among the vast herds of game. during the early winter one party of twenty men that went up caney fork on a short trip, killed one hundred and five bears, seventy-five buffaloes, and eighty-seven deer, and brought the flesh and hides back to the stockades in canoes; so that through the winter there was no lack of jerked and smoke-dried meat. the hunters were very accurate marksmen; game was plenty, and not shy, and so they got up close and rarely wasted a shot. moreover, their smallbore rifles took very little powder--in fact the need of excessive economy in the use of ammunition when on their long hunting-trips was one of the chief reasons for the use of small bores. they therefore used comparatively little ammunition. nevertheless, by the beginning of winter both powder and bullets began to fail. in this emergency robertson again came to the front to rescue the settlement he had founded and preserved. he was accustomed to making long, solitary journeys through the forest, unmindful of the indians; he had been one of the first to come from north carolina to watauga; he had repeatedly been on perilous missions to the cherokees; he had the previous year gone north to the illinois country to meet clark. he now announced that he would himself go to kentucky and bring back the needed ammunition; and at once set forth on his journey, across the long stretches of snow-powdered barrens, and desolate, indian-haunted woodland. chapter xii. the cumberland settlements to the close of the revolution, - . robertson passed unharmed through the wilderness to kentucky. there he procured plenty of powder, and without delay set out on his return journey to the cumberland. as before, he travelled alone through the frozen woods, trusting solely to his own sharp senses for his safety. attack on freeland's. in the evening of january , , he reached freeland's station, and was joyfully received by the inmates. they supped late, and then sat up for some time, talking over many matters. when they went to bed all were tired, and neglected to take the usual precautions against surprise; moreover, at that season they did not fear molestation. they slept heavily, none keeping watch. robertson alone was wakeful and suspicious; and even during his light slumbers his keen and long-trained senses were on the alert. at midnight all was still. the moon shone brightly down on the square block-houses and stockaded yard of the lonely little frontier fort; its rays lit up the clearing, and by contrast darkened the black shadow of the surrounding forest. none of the sleepers within the log-walls dreamed of danger. yet their peril was imminent. an indian war band was lurking near by, and was on the point of making an effort to carry freeland's station by an attack in the darkness. in the dead of the night the attempt was made. one by one the warriors left the protection of the tangled wood-growth, slipped silently across the open space, and crouched under the heavy timber pickets of the palisades, until all had gathered together. though the gate was fastened with a strong bar and chain, the dextrous savages finally contrived to open it. in so doing they made a slight noise, which caught robertson's quick ear, as he lay on his buffalo-hide pallet. jumping up he saw the gate open, and dusky figures gliding into the yard with stealthy swiftness. at his cry of "indians," and the report of his piece, the settlers sprang up, every man grasping the loaded arm by which he slept. from each log cabin the rifles cracked and flashed; and though the indians were actually in the yard they had no cover, and the sudden and unexpected resistance caused them to hurry out much faster than they had come in. robertson shot one of their number, and they in return killed a white man who sprang out-of-doors at the first alarm. when they were driven out the gate was closed after them; but they fired through the loopholes; especially into one of the block-houses, where the chinks had not been filled with mud, as in the others. they thus killed a negro, and wounded one or two other men; yet they were soon driven off. robertson's return had been at a most opportune moment. as so often before and afterwards, he had saved the settlement from destruction. other bands of indians joined the war party, and they continued to hover about the stations, daily inflicting loss and damage on the settlers. they burned down the cabins and fences, drove off the stock and killed the hunters, the women and children who ventured outside the walls, and the men who had gone back to their deserted stockades. [footnote: haywood says they burned "immense quantities of corn"; as putnam points out, the settlers could have had very little corn to burn. haywood is the best authority for the indian fighting in the cumberland district during ' , ' , and ' . putnam supplies some details learned from mrs. robertson in her old age. the accounts are derived mainly from the statements of old settlers; but the robertsons seem always to have kept papers, which served to check off the oral statements. for all the important facts there is good authority. the annals are filled with name after name of men who were killed by the indians. the dates, and even the names, may be misplaced in many of these instances; but this is really a matter of no consequence, for their only interest is to show the nature of the harassing indian warfare, and the kind of adventure then common.] attack on nashborough. on the d day of april another effort was made by a formidable war party to get possession of one of the two remaining stations--freeland's and nashborough--and thus, at a stroke, drive the whites from the cumberland district. this time nashborough was the point aimed at. a large body [footnote: how large it is impossible to say. one or two recent accounts make wild guesses, calling it , ; but this is sheer nonsense; it is more likely to have been .] of cherokees approached the fort in the night, lying hid in the bushes, divided into two parties. in the morning three of them came near, fired at the fort, and ran off towards where the smaller party lay ambushed, in a thicket through which ran a little "branch." instantly twenty men mounted their horses and galloped after the decoys. as they overtook the fugitives they saw the indians hid in the creek-bottom, and dismounted to fight, turning their horses loose. a smart interchange of shots followed, the whites having, if any thing, rather the best of it, when the other and larger body of indians rose from their hiding-place, in a clump of cedars, and running down, formed between the combatants and the fort, intending to run into the latter, mixed with the fleeing riflemen. the only chance of the hemmed-in whites was to turn and try to force their way back through their far more numerous foes. this was a desperate venture, for their pieces were all discharged, and there was no time to reload them; but they were helped by two unexpected circumstances. their horses had taken flight at the firing, and ran off towards the fort, passing to one side of the intervening line of indians; and many of the latter, eager for such booty, ran off to catch them. meanwhile, the remaining men in the fort saw what had happened, and made ready for defense, while all the women likewise snatched up guns or axes, and stood by loopholes and gate. the dogs in the fort were also taking a keen interest in what was going on. they were stout, powerful animals, some being hounds and others watch dogs, but all accustomed to contests with wild beasts; and by instinct and training they mortally hated indians. seeing the line of savages drawn up between the fort and their masters, they promptly sallied out and made a most furious onset upon their astonished foes. taking advantage of this most opportune diversion, the whites ran through the lines and got into the fort, the indians being completely occupied in defending themselves from the dogs. five of the whites were killed, and they carried two wounded men into the fort. another man, when almost in safety, was shot, and fell with a broken thigh; but he had reloaded his gun as he ran, and he killed his assailant as the latter ran up to scalp him. the people from the fort then, by firing their rifles, kept his foes at bay until he could be rescued; and he soon recovered from his hurt. yet another man was overtaken almost under the walls, the indian punching him in the shoulder with the gun as he pulled the trigger; but the gun snapped, and a hunter ran out of the fort and shot the indian. the gates were closed, and the whites all ready; so the indians abandoned their effort and drew off. they had taken five scalps and a number of horses; but they had failed in their main object, and the whites had taken two scalps, besides killing and wounding others of the red men, who were carried off by their comrades. after the failure of this attempt the indians did not, for some years, make any formidable attack on any of the larger stations. though the most dangerous of all foes on their own ground, their extreme caution and dislike of suffering punishment prevented them from ever making really determined efforts to carry a fort openly by storm; moreover, these stockades were really very defensible against men unprovided with artillery, and there is no reason for supposing that any troops could have carried them by fair charging, without suffering altogether disproportionate loss. the red tribes acted in relation to the cumberland settlements exactly as they had previously done towards those on the kentucky and watauga. they harassed the settlers from the outset; but they did not wake up to the necessity for a formidable and combined campaign against them until it was too late for such a campaign to succeed. if, at the first, any one of these communities had been forced to withstand the shock of such indian armies as were afterwards brought against it, it would, of necessity, have been abandoned. indian hostilities. throughout ' and ' the cumberland settlers were worried beyond description by a succession of small war parties. in the first of these years they raised no corn; in the second they made a few crops on fields they had cleared in . no man's life was safe for an hour, whether he hunted, looked up strayed stock, went to the spring for water, or tilled the fields. if two men were together, one always watched while the other worked, ate, or drank; and they sat down back to back, or, if there were several, in a ring, facing outwards, like a covey of quail. the indians were especially fond of stealing the horses; the whites pursued them in bands, and occasionally pitched battles were fought, with loss on both sides, and apparently as often resulting in the favor of one party as of the other. the most expert indian fighters naturally became the leaders, being made colonels and captains of the local militia. the position and influence of the officers depended largely on their individual prowess; they were the actual, not titular, leaders of their men. old kasper mansker, one of the most successful, may be taken as a type of the rest. he was ultimately made a colonel, and shared in many expeditions; but he always acted as his own scout, and never would let any of his men ride ahead or abreast of him, preferring to trust to his own eyes and ears and knowledge of forest warfare. the hunters, who were especially exposed to danger, were also the men who inflicted most loss on the indians, and though many more of the settlers than of their foes were slain, yet the tables were often turned on the latter, even by those who seemed their helpless victims. thus, once, two lads were watching at a deer lick, when some indians came to it; each of the boys chose his man, fired, and then fled homewards; coming back with some men they found they had killed two indians, whose scalps they took. the eagerness of the indians to get scalps caused them frequently to scalp their victims before life was extinct; and, as a result, there were numerous instances in which the scalped unfortunate, whether man, woman, or child, was rescued and recovered, living many years. one of these instances is worth giving in the quaint language of the old tennessee historian, haywood: "in the spring of the year a party of indians fired upon three persons at french lick, and broke the arms of john tucker and joseph hendricks, and shot down david hood, whom they scalped and stamped, as he said, and followed the others towards the fort; the people of the fort came out and repulsed them and saved the wounded men. supposing the indians gone, hood got up softly, wounded and scalped as he was, and began to walk towards the fort on the bluff, when, to his mortification, he saw, standing upon the bank of the creek, a number of indians, the same who had wounded him before, making sport of his misfortune and mistake. they then fell upon him again, and having given him, in several places, new wounds that were apparently mortal, then left him. he fell into a brush heap in the mow, and next morning was tracked and found by his blood, and was placed as a dead man in one of the out-houses, and was left alone; after some time he recovered, and lived many years." many of the settlers were killed, many others left for kentucky, illinois, or natchez, or returned to their old homes among the alleghanies; and in the inhabitants, who had steadily dwindled in numbers, became so discouraged that they again mooted the question of abandoning the cumberland district in a body. only robertson's great influence prevented this being done; but by word and example he finally persuaded them to remain. the following spring brought the news of peace with great britain. a large inflow of new settlers began with the new year, and though the indian hostilities still continued, the cumberland country throve apace, and by the end the old stations had been rebuilt and many new ones founded. some of the settlers began to live out on their clearings. rude little corn-mills and "hominy pounders" were built beside some of the streams. the piles of furs and hides that had accumulated in the stockades were sent back to the coast country on pack-horses. after this year there was never any danger that the settlements would be abandoned. during the two years of petty but disastrous indian warfare that followed the attack on freelands, the harassed and diminishing settlers had been so absorbed in the contest with the outside foe that they had done little towards keeping up their own internal government. when opened new settlers began to flock in, the indian hostilities abated, and commissioners arrived from north carolina under a strong guard, with the purpose of settling the claim of the various settlers [footnote: haywood. six hundred and forty acres were allowed by preëmption claim to each family settled before june , ; after that date they had to make proper entries in the courts. the salt-licks were to be held as public property.] and laying off the bounty lands, promised to the continental troops. [footnote: isaac shelby was one of these commissioners.] it therefore became necessary that the committee or court of triers should again be convened, to see that justice was done as between man and man. internal government. the ten men elected from the different stations met at nashborough on january th, robertson being again made chairman, as well as colonel of the militia, while a proper clerk and sheriff were chosen. each member took a solemn oath to do equal justice according to the best of his skill and ability. a number of suits between the settlers themselves were disposed of. these related to a variety of subjects. a kettle had been "detained" from humphrey hogan; he brought suit, and it was awarded him, the defendant "and his mother-in-law" being made to pay the cost of the suit. a hog case, a horse used in hunting, a piece of cleared ground, a bed which had not been made according to contract, the ownership of a canoe, and of a heifer, a "clevis lent and delayed to be returned"--such were some of the cases on which the judges had to decide. there were occasional slander suits; for in a small backwoods community there is always much jealousy and bitter gossip. when suit was brought for "cattle won at cards," the committee promptly dismissed the claim as illegal; they evidently had clear ideas as to what was good public policy. a man making oath that another had threatened his life, the latter was taken and put under bonds. another man produced a note of hand for the payment of two good cows, "against john sadler"; he "proved his accompt," and procured an attachment against the estate of "sd. sadler." when possible, the committee compromised the cases, or advised the parties to adjust matters between themselves. the sheriff executed the various decrees, in due form; he arrested the men who refused to pay heed to the judgments of the court, and when necessary took out of their "goods and chattles, lands and tenements," the damages awarded, and also the costs and fees. the government was in the hands of men who were not only law-abiding themselves but also resolute to see that the law was respected by others. the committee took cognizance of all affairs concerning the general welfare of the community. they ordered roads to be built between the different stations, appointing overseers who had power to "call out hands to work on the same." besides the embodiment of all the full-grown men as militia,--those of each station under their own captain, lieutenant, and ensign,--a diminutive force of paid regulars was organized; that is, six spies were "kept out to discover the motions of the enemy so long as we shall be able to pay them; each to receive seventy-five bushels of indian corn per month." they were under the direction of colonel robertson, who was head of all the branches of the government. one of the committee's regulations followed an economic principle of doubtful value. some enterprising individuals, taking advantage of the armed escort accompanying the carolina commissioners, brought out casks of liquors. the settlers had drunk nothing but water for many months, and they eagerly purchased the liquor, the merchants naturally charging all that the traffic would bear. this struck the committee as a grievance, and they forthwith passed a decree that any person bringing in liquor "from foreign ports," before selling the same, must give bond that they would charge no more than one silver dollar, or its value in merchandise, per quart. some of the settlers would not enter the association, preferring a condition of absolute freedom from law. the committee, however, after waiting a proper time, forced these men in by simply serving notice, that thereafter they would be treated as beyond the pale of the law, not entitled to its protection, but amenable to its penalties. a petition was sent to the north carolina legislature, asking that the protection of government should be extended to the cumberland people, and showing that the latter were loyal and orderly, prompt to suppress sedition and lawlessness, faithful to the united states, and hostile to its enemies. [footnote: this whole account is taken from putnam, who has rendered such inestimable service by preserving these records.] to show their good feeling the committee made every member of the community, who had not already done so, take the oath of abjuration and fidelity. affairs with outside powers. until full governmental protection could be secured the commonwealth was forced to act as a little sovereign state, bent on keeping the peace, and yet on protecting itself against aggression from the surrounding powers, both red and white. it was forced to restrain its own citizens, and to enter into quasi-diplomatic relations with its neighbors. thus early this year fifteen men, under one colbert, left the settlements and went down the river in boats, ostensibly to trade with the indians, but really to plunder the spaniards on the mississippi. they were joined by some chickasaws, and at first met with some success in their piratical attacks, not only on the spanish trading-boats, but on those of the french creoles, and even the americans, as well. finally they were repulsed in an attempt against the spaniards at ozark; some were killed, and the rest scattered. [footnote: calendar va. state papers, iii., pp. , .] immediately upon learning of these deeds, the committee of triers passed stringent resolutions forbidding all persons trading with the indians until granted a license by the committee, and until they had furnished ample security for their good behavior. the committee also wrote a letter to the spanish governor at new orleans, disclaiming all responsibility for the piratical misdeeds of colbert and his gang, and announcing the measures they had taken to prevent any repetition of the same in the future. they laid aside the sum of twenty pounds to pay the expenses of the messengers who carried this letter to the virginian "agent" at the illinois, whence it was forwarded to the spanish governor. [footnote: putnam, pp. , , .] one of the most difficult questions with which the committee had to deal was that of holding a treaty with the indians. commissioners came out from virginia and north carolina especially to hold such a treaty [footnote: donelson, who was one of the men who became discouraged and went to kentucky, was the virginian commissioner. martin was the commissioner from north carolina. he is sometimes spoken of as if he likewise represented virginia.]; but the settlers declined to allow it until they had themselves decided on its advisability. they feared to bring so many savages together, lest they might commit some outrage, or be themselves subjected to such at the hands of one of the many wronged and reckless whites; and they knew that the indians would expect many presents, while there was very little indeed to give them. finally, the committee decided to put the question of treaty or no treaty to the vote of the freemen in the several stations; and by a rather narrow majority it was decided in the affirmative. the committee then made arrangements for holding the treaty in june, some four miles from nashborough; and strictly prohibited the selling of liquor to the savages. at the appointed time many chiefs and warriors of the chickasaws, cherokees, and even creeks appeared. there were various sports, such as ball-games and footraces; and the treaty was brought to a satisfactory conclusion. [footnote: putnam, .] it did not put a complete stop to the indian outrages, but it greatly diminished them. the chickasaws thereafter remained friendly; but, as usual, the cherokee and creek chiefs who chose to attend were unable to bind those of their fellows who did not. the whole treaty was, in fact, on both sides, of a merely preliminary nature. the boundaries it arranged were not considered final until confirmed by the treaty of hopewell a couple of years later. robertson meanwhile was delegated by the unanimous vote of the settlers to go to the assembly of north carolina, and there petition for the establishment of a regular land office at nashborough, and in other ways advance the interests of the settlers. he was completely successful in his mission. the cumberland settlements were included in a new county, called davidson [footnote: in honor of general wm. davidson, a very gallant and patriotic soldier of north carolina during the revolutionary war. the county government was established in october, .]; and an inferior court of pleas and common sessions, vested by the act with extraordinary powers, was established at nashborough. the four justices of the new court had all been triers of the old committee, and the scheme of government was practically not very greatly changed, although now resting on an indisputably legal basis. the cumberland settlers had for years acted as an independent, law-abiding, and orderly commonwealth, and the court of triers had shown great firmness and wisdom. it spoke well for the people that they had been able to establish such a government, in which the majority ruled, while the rights of each individual were secured. robertson deserves the chief credit as both civil and military leader. the committee of which he was a member, had seen that justice was done between man and man, had provided for defense against the outside foe, and had striven to prevent any wrongs being done to neutral or allied powers. when they became magistrates of a county of north carolina they continued to act on the lines they had already marked out. the increase of population had brought an increase of wealth. the settlers were still frontiersmen, clad in buckskin or homespun, with rawhide moccasins, living in log-cabins, and sleeping under bearskins on beds made of buffalo hides; but as soon as they ventured to live on their clearings the ground was better tilled, corn became abundant, and cattle and hogs increased as the game diminished. nashborough began to look more like an ordinary little border town. [footnote: the justices built a court-house and jail of hewed logs, the former eighteen feet square, with a lean-to or shed of twelve feet on one side. the contracts for building were let out at vendue to the lowest bidder.] correspondence with the spaniards. during this year robertson carried on some correspondence with the spanish governor at new orleans, don estevan miro. this was the beginning of intercourse between the western settlers and the spanish officers, an intercourse which was absolutely necessary, though it afterwards led to many intrigues and complications. robertson was obliged to write to miro not only to disclaim responsibility for the piratical deeds of men like colbert, but also to protest against the conduct of certain of the spanish agents among the creeks and chickamaugas. no sooner had hostilities ceased with the british than the spaniards began to incite the savages to take up once more the hatchet they had just dropped, [footnote: calendar of va. state papers, iii., , , etc.] for spain already recognized in the restless borderers possible and formidable foes. miro in answering robertson assured him that the spaniards were very friendly to the western settlers, and denied that the spanish agents were stirring up trouble. he also told him that the harassed cherokees, weary of ceaseless warfare, had asked permission to settle west of the mississippi--although they did not carry out their intention. he ended by pressing robertson and his friends to come down and settle in spanish territory, guaranteeing them good treatment. [footnote: robertson mss. as the letter is important i give it in full in the appendix.] in spite of miro's fair words the spanish agents continued to intrigue against the americans, and especially against the cumberland people. yet there was no open break. the spanish governor was felt to be powerful for both good and evil, and at least a possible friend of the settlers. to many of their leaders he showed much favor, and the people as a whole were well impressed by him; and as a compliment to him they ultimately, when the cumberland counties were separated from those lying to the eastward, united the former under the name of mero [footnote: so spelt; but apparently his true name was miro.] district. chapter xiii. what the westerners had done during the revolution, . when the first continental congress began its sittings the only frontiersmen west of the mountains, and beyond the limits of continuous settlement within the old thirteen colonies, [footnote: this qualification is put in because there were already a few families on the monongahela, the head of the kanawha, and the upper holston; but they were in close touch with the people behind them.] were the two or three hundred citizens of the little watauga commonwealth. when peace was declared with great britain the backwoodsmen had spread westward, in groups, almost to the mississippi, and they had increased in number to some twenty-five thousand souls, [footnote: these figures are simply estimates; but they are based on careful study and comparison, and though they must be some hundreds, and maybe some thousands, out of the way, are quite near enough for practical purposes.] of whom a few hundred dwelt in the bend of the cumberland, while the rest were about equally divided between kentucky and holston. the winning of the west. this great westward movement of armed settlers was essentially one of conquest, no less than of colonization. thronging in with their wives and children, their cattle, and their few household goods, they won and held the land in the teeth of fierce resistance, both from the indian claimants of the soil and from the representatives of a mighty and arrogant european power. the chain of events by which the winning was achieved is perfect; had any link therein snapped it is likely that the final result would have been failure. the wide wanderings of boon and his fellow hunters made the country known and awakened in the minds of the frontiersmen a keen desire to possess it. the building of the watauga commonwealth by robertson and sevier gave a base of operations, and furnished a model for similar communities to follow. lord dunmore's war made the actual settlement possible, for it cowed the northern indians, and restrained them from seriously molesting kentucky during its first and most feeble years. henderson and boon made their great treaty with the cherokees in , and then established a permanent colony far beyond all previous settlements, entering into final possession of the new country. the victory over the cherokees in made safe the line of communication along the wilderness road, and secured the chance for further expansion. clark's campaigns gained the illinois, or northwestern regions. the growth of kentucky then became very rapid; and in its turn this, and the steady progress of the watauga settlements, rendered possible robertson's successful effort to plant a new community still farther west, on the cumberland. the wars of the backwoodsmen the backwoodsmen pressed in on the line of least resistance, first taking possession of the debatable hunting-grounds lying between the algonquins of the north and the appalachian confederacies of the south. then they began to encroach on the actual tribal territories. every step was accompanied by stubborn and bloody fighting with the indians. the forest tribes were exceedingly formidable opponents; it is not too much to say that they formed a far more serious obstacle to the american advance than would have been offered by an equal number of the best european troops. their victories over braddock, grant, and st. clair, gained in each case with a smaller force, conclusively proved their superiority, on their own ground, over the best regulars, disciplined and commanded in the ordinary manner. almost all of the victories, even of the backwoodsmen, were won against inferior numbers of indians. [footnote: that the contrary impression prevails is due to the boastful vanity which the backwoodsmen often shared with the indians, and to the gross ignorance of the average writer concerning these border wars. many of the accounts in the popular histories are sheer inventions. thus, in the "chronicles of border warfare," by alex. s. withers (clarksburg, va., , p. ), there is an absolutely fictitious account of a feat of the kentucky colonel scott, who is alleged to have avenged st. clair's defeat by falling on the victorious indians while they were drunk, and killing two hundred of them. this story has not even a foundation in fact; there was not so much as a skirmish of the sort described. as mann butler--a most painstaking and truthful writer--points out, it is made up out of the whole cloth, thirty years after the event; it is a mere invention to soothe the mortified pride of the whites. gross exaggeration of the indian numbers and losses prevails even to this day. mr. edmund kirke, for instance, usually makes the absolute or relative numbers of the indians from five to twenty-five times as great as they really were. still, it is hard to blame backwoods writers for such slips in the face of the worse misdeeds of the average historian of the greek and roman wars with barbarians.] the red men were fickle of temper, and large bodies could not be kept together for a long campaign, nor, indeed, for more than one special stroke; the only piece of strategy any of their chiefs showed was cornstalk's march past dunmore to attack lewis; but their tactics and discipline in the battle itself were admirably adapted to the very peculiar conditions of forest warfare. writers who speak of them as undisciplined, or as any but most redoubtable antagonists, fall into an absurd error. an old indian fighter, who, at the close of the last century, wrote, from experience, a good book on the subject, summed up the case very justly when he said: "i apprehend that the indian discipline is as well calculated to answer the purpose in the woods of america as the british discipline is in flanders; and british discipline in the woods is the way to have men slaughtered, with scarcely any chance of defending themselves." [footnote: col. jas. smith, "an account," etc., lexington, ky., .] a comparison of the two victories gained by the backwoodsmen, at the great kanawha, over the indians, and at kings mountain over ferguson's british and tories, brings out clearly the formidable fighting capacity of the red men. at the kanawha the americans outnumbered their foes, at king's mountain they were no more than equal; yet in the former battle they suffered twice the loss they did in the latter, inflicted much less damage in return, and did not gain nearly so decisive a victory. twofold character of the revolution. the indians were urged on by the british, who furnished them with arms, ammunition, and provisions, and sometimes also with leaders and with bands of auxiliary white troops, french, british, and tories. it was this that gave to the revolutionary contest its twofold character, making it on the part of the americans a struggle for independence in the east, and in the west a war of conquest, or rather a war to establish, on behalf of all our people, the right of entry into the fertile and vacant regions beyond the alleghanies. the grievances of the backwoodsmen were not the same as the grievances of the men of the seacoast. the ohio valley and the other western lands of the french had been conquered by the british, not the americans. great britain had succeeded to the policy as well as the possessions of her predecessor, and, strange to say, had become almost equally hostile to the colonists of her own stock. as france had striven for half a century, so england now in her turn strove, to bar out the settlers of english race from the country beyond the alleghanies. the british crown, parliament, and people were a unit in wishing to keep woodland and prairie for the sole use of their own merchants, as regions tenanted only by indian hunters and french trappers and traders. they became the guardians and allies of all the indian tribes. on the other hand, the american backwoodsmen were resolute in their determination to go in and possess the land. the aims of the two sides thus clashed hopelessly. under all temporary and apparent grounds of quarrel lay this deep-rooted jealousy and incompatibility of interests. beyond the alleghanies the revolution was fundamentally a struggle between england, bent on restricting the growth of the english race, and the americans, triumphantly determined to acquire the right to conquer the continent. the west actually conquered. had not the backwoodsmen been successful in the various phases of the struggle, we would certainly have been cooped up between the sea and the mountains. if in and ' they had been beaten by the ohio tribes and the cherokees, the border ravaged, and the settlements stopped or forced back as during what the colonists called braddock's war, [footnote: during this indian war, covering the period from braddock's to grant's defeats, smith, a good authority, estimates that the frontiers were laid waste, and population driven back, over an area nearly three hundred miles long by thirty broad.] there is every reason to believe that the alleghanies would have become our western frontier. similarly, if clark had failed in his efforts to conquer and hold the illinois and vincennes, it is overwhelmingly probable that the ohio would have been the boundary between the americans and the british. before the revolution began, in , the british parliament had, by the quebec act, declared the country between the great lakes and the ohio to be part of canada; and under the provisions of this act the british officers continued to do as they had already done--that is, to hold adverse possession of the land, scornfully heedless of the claims of the different colonies. the country was _de facto_ part of canada; the americans tried to conquer it exactly as they tried to conquer the rest of canada; the only difference was that clark succeeded, whereas arnold and montgomery failed. but only definitely secured by diplomacy. of course the conquest by the backwoodsmen was by no means the sole cause of our acquisition of the west. the sufferings and victories of the westerners would have counted for nothing, had it not been for the success of the american arms in the east, and for the skill of our three treaty-makers at paris--jay, adams, and franklin, but above all the two former, and especially jay. on the other hand, it was the actual occupation and holding of the country that gave our diplomats their vantage-ground. when the treaty was made, in , the commissioners of the united states represented a people already holding the whole ohio valley, as well as the illinois. the circumstances of the treaty were peculiar; but here they need to be touched but briefly, and only so far as they affected the western boundaries. the united states, acting together with france and spain, had just closed a successful war with england; but when the peace negotiations were begun, they speedily found that their allies were, if any thing, more anxious than their enemy to hamper their growth. england, having conceded the grand point of independence, was disposed to be generous, and not to haggle about lesser matters. spain, on the contrary, was quite as hostile to the new nation as to england. through her representative, count aranda, she predicted the future enormous expansion of the federal republic at the expense of florida, louisiana, and mexico, unless it was effectually curbed in its youth. the prophecy has been strikingly fulfilled, and the event has thoroughly justified spain's fear; for the major part of the present territory of the united states was under spanish dominion at the close of the revolutionary war. spain, therefore, proposed to hem in our growth by giving us the alleghanies for our western boundary. [footnote: at the north this boundary was to follow the upper ohio, and end towards the foot of lake erie. see maps at end of volume.] france was the ally of america; but as between america and spain, she favored the latter. moreover, she wished us to remain weak enough to be dependent upon her further good graces. the french court, therefore, proposed that the united states should content themselves with so much of the trans-alleghany territory as lay round the head-waters of the tennessee and between the cumberland and ohio. this area contained the bulk of the land that was already settled [footnote: excluding only so much of robertson's settlement as lay south of the cumberland, and clark's conquest.]; and the proposal showed how important the french court deemed the fact of actual settlement. thus the two allies of america were hostile to her interests. the open foe, england, on the contrary was anxious to conclude a separate treaty, so that she might herself be in better condition to carry on negotiations with france and spain; she cared much less to keep the west than she did to keep gibraltar, and an agreement with the united states about the former left her free to insist on the retention of the latter. congress, in a spirit of slavish subserviency, had instructed the american commissioners to take no steps without the knowledge and advice of france. franklin was inclined to obey these instructions; but jay, supported by adams, boldly insisted on disregarding them; and accordingly a separate treaty was negotiated with england. in settling the claims to the western territory, much stress was laid on the old colonial charters; but underneath all the verbiage it was practically admitted that these charters conferred merely inchoate rights, which became complete only after conquest and settlement. the states themselves had already by their actions shown that they admitted this to be the case. thus north carolina, when by the creation of washington county--now the state of tennessee--she rounded out her boundaries, specified them as running to the mississippi. as a matter of fact the royal grant, under which alone she could claim the land in question, extended to the pacific; and the only difference between her rights to the regions east and west of the river was that her people were settling in one, and could not settle in the other. the same was true of kentucky, and of the west generally; if the states could rightfully claim to run to the mississippi, they could also rightfully claim to run to the pacific. the colonial charters were all very well as furnishing color of title; but at bottom the american claim rested on the peculiar kind of colonizing conquest so successfully carried on by the backwoodsmen. when the english took new amsterdam they claimed it under old charters; but they very well knew that their real right was only that of the strong hand. it was precisely so with the americans and the ohio valley. they produced old charters to support their title; but in reality it rested on clark's conquests and above all on the advance of the backwoods settlements. [footnote: mr. r. a. hinsdale, in his excellent work on the "old northwest" (new york, ), seems to me to lay too much stress on the weight which our charter-claims gave us, and too little on the right we had acquired by actual possession. the charter-claims were elaborated with the most wearisome prolixity at the time; but so were the english claims to new amsterdam a century earlier. conquest gave the true title in each case; the importance of a claim is often in inverse order to the length at which it is set forth in a diplomatic document. the west was gained by: ( ) the westward movement of the backwoodsmen during the revolution; ( ) the final success of the continental armies in the east; ( ) the skill of our diplomats at paris; failure on any one of these three points would have lost us the west. mr. hinsdale seems to think that clark's conquest prevented the illinois from being conquered from the british by the spaniards; but this is very doubtful. the british at detroit would have been far more likely to have conquered the spaniards at st. louis; at any rate there is small probability that they would have been seriously troubled by the latter. the so-called spanish conquest of st. joseph was not a conquest at all, but an unimportant plundering raid. the peace negotiations are best discussed in john jay's chapter thereon, in the seventh volume of winsor's "narrative and critical history of north america." sparks' account is fundamentally wrong on several points. bancroft largely follows him, and therefore repeats and shares his errors.] this view of the case is amply confirmed by a consideration of what was actually acquired under the treaty of peace which closed the revolutionary struggle. map-makers down to the present day have almost invariably misrepresented the territorial limits we gained by this treaty. they represent our limits in the west in as being the great lakes, the mississippi, and the st parallel of latitude from the mississippi to the chattahoochee; [footnote: the map in mr. hinsdale's book may be given as a late instance.] but in reality we did not acquire these limits until a dozen years later, by the treaties of jay and pinckney. two points must be kept in mind: first, that during the war our ally, spain, had conquered from england that portion of the gulf coast known as west florida; and second, that when the treaty was made the united states and great britain mutually covenanted to do certain things, some of which were never done. great britain agreed to recognize the lakes as our northern boundary, but, on the alleged ground that we did not fulfil certain of our promises, she declined to fulfil this agreement, and the lake posts remained in her hands until the jay treaty was ratified. she likewise consented to recognize the st parallel as our southern boundary, but by a secret article it was agreed that if by the negotiations she recovered west florida, then the boundary should run about a hundred miles farther north, ending at the mouth of the yazoo. the discovery of this secret article aroused great indignation in spain. as a matter of fact, the disputed territory, the land drained by the gulf rivers, was not england's to grant, for it had been conquered and was then held by spain. nor was it given up to us until we acquired it by pinckney's masterly diplomacy. the treaty represented a mere promise which in part was not and in part could not be fulfilled. all that it really did was to guarantee us what we already possessed--that is, the ohio valley and the illinois, which we had settled and conquered during the years of warfare. our boundary lines were in reality left very vague. on the north the basin of the great lakes remained british; on the south the lands draining into the gulf remained spanish, or under spanish influence. the actual boundaries we acquired can be roughly stated in the north to have followed the divide between the waters of the lake and the waters of the ohio, and in the south to have run across the heads of the gulf rivers. had we remained a loose confederation these boundaries, would more probably have shrunk than advanced; we did not overleap them until some years after washington had become the head of a real, not merely a titular, nation. the peace of , as far as our western limits were affected, did nothing more than secure us undisturbed possession of lands from which it had proved impossible to oust us. we were in reality given nothing more than we had by our own prowess gained; the inference is strong that we got what we did get only because we had won and held it. the backwoods governments. the first duty of the backwoodsmen who thus conquered the west was to institute civil government. their efforts to overcome and beat back the indians went hand in hand with their efforts to introduce law and order in the primitive communities they founded; and exactly as they relied purely on themselves in withstanding outside foes, so they likewise built up their social life and their first systems of government with reference simply to their special needs, and without any outside help or direction. the whole character of the westward movement, the methods of warfare, of settlement, and government, were determined by the extreme and defiant individualism of the backwoodsmen, their inborn independence and self-reliance, and their intensely democratic spirit. the west was won and settled by a number of groups of men, all acting independently of one another, but with a common object, and at about the same time. there was no one controlling spirit; it was essentially the movement of a whole free people, not of a single master-mind. there were strong and able leaders, who showed themselves fearless soldiers and just law-givers, undaunted by danger, resolute to persevere in the teeth of disaster; but even these leaders are most deeply interesting because they stand foremost among a host of others like them. there were hundreds of hunters and indian fighters like mansker, wetzel, kenton, and brady; there were scores of commonwealth founders like logan, todd, floyd, and harrod; there were many adventurous land speculators like henderson; there were even plenty of commanders like shelby and campbell. these were all men of mark; some of them exercised a powerful and honorable influence on the course of events in the west. above them rise four greater figures, fit to be called not merely state or local, but national heroes. clark, sevier, robertson, and boon are emphatically american worthies. they were men of might in their day, born to sway the minds of others, helpful in shaping the destiny of the continent. yet of clark alone can it be said that he did a particular piece of work which without him would have remained undone. sevier, robertson, and boon only hastened, and did more perfectly, a work which would have been done by others had they themselves fallen by the wayside. [footnote: sevier's place would certainly have been taken by some such man as his chief rival, tipton. robertson led his colony to the cumberland but a few days before old mansker led another; and though without robertson the settlements would have been temporarily abandoned, they would surely have been reoccupied. if henderson had not helped boon found kentucky, then hart or some other of henderson's associates would doubtless have done so; and if boon had been lacking, his place would probably have been taken by some such man as logan. the loss of these men would have been very serious, but of no one of them can it be said, as of clark, that he alone could have done the work he actually did.] important though they are for their own sakes, they are still more important as types of the men who surrounded them. the individualism of the backwoodsmen, however, was tempered by a sound common-sense, and capacity for combination. the first hunters might come alone or in couples, but the actual colonization was done not by individuals, but by groups of individuals. the settlers brought their families and belongings either on pack-horses along the forest trails, or in scows down the streams; they settled in palisaded villages, and immediately took steps to provide both a civil and military organization. they were men of facts, not theories; and they showed their usual hard common-sense in making a government. they did not try to invent a new system; they simply took that under which they had grown up, and applied it to their altered conditions. they were most familiar with the government of the county; and therefore they adopted this for the framework of their little independent, self-governing commonwealths of watauga, cumberland, and transylvania. [footnote: the last of these was the most pretentious and short-lived and least characteristic of the three, as henderson made an abortive effort to graft on it the utterly foreign idea of a proprietary colony.] they were also familiar with the representative system; and accordingly they introduced it into the new communities, the little forted villages serving as natural units of representation. they were already thoroughly democratic, in instinct and principle, and as a matter of course they made the offices elective, and gave full play to the majority. in organizing the militia they kept the old system of county lieutenants, making them elective, not appointive; and they organized the men on the basis of a regiment, the companies representing territorial divisions, each commanded by its own officers, who were thus chosen by the fighting men of the fort or forts in their respective districts. thus each of the backwoods commonwealths, during its short-lived term of absolute freedom, reproduced as its governmental system that of the old colonial county, increasing the powers of the court, and changing the justices into the elective representatives of an absolute democracy. the civil head, the chairman of the court or committee, was also usually the military head, the colonel-commandant. in fact the military side of the organization rapidly became the most conspicuous, and, at least in certain crises, the most important. there were always some years of desperate warfare during which the entire strength of the little commonwealth was drawn on to resist outside aggression, and during these years the chief function of government was to provide for the griping military needs of the community, and the one pressing duty of its chief was to lead his followers with valor and wisdom in the struggle with the stranger. [footnote: my friend, professor alexander johnson, of princeton, is inclined to regard these frontier county organizations as reproductions of a very primitive type of government indeed, deeming that they were formed primarily for war against outsiders, that their military organization was the essential feature, the real reason for their existence. i can hardly accept this view in its entirety; though fully recognizing the extreme importance of the military side of the little governments, it seems to me that the preservation of order, and especially the necessity for regulating the disposition of the land, were quite as powerful factors in impelling the settlers to act together. it is important to keep in mind the territorial organization of the militia companies and regiments; a county and a regiment, a forted village and a company, were usually coextensive.] these little communities were extremely independent in feeling, not only of the federal government, but of their parent states, and even of one another. they had won their positions by their own courage and hardihood; very few state troops and hardly a continental soldier had appeared west of the alleghanies. they had heartily sympathized with their several mother colonies when they became the united states, and had manfully played their part in the revolutionary war. moreover they were united among themselves by ties of good-will and of services mutually rendered. kentucky, for instance, had been succored more than once by troops raised among the watauga carolinians or the holston virginians, and in her turn she had sent needed supplies to the cumberland. but when the strain of the war was over the separatist spirit asserted itself very strongly. the groups of western settlements not only looked on the union itself very coldly, but they were also more or less actively hostile to their parent states, and regarded even one another as foreign communities; [footnote: see in gardoqui mss. the letters of george rogers clark to gardoqui, march , ; and of john sevier to gardoqui, september , ; and in the robertson ms. the letter of robertson to mcgillivray, august , . it is necessary to allude to the feeling here; but the separatist and disunion movements did not gather full force until later, and are properly to be considered in connection with post-revolutionary events.] they considered the confederation as being literally only a lax league of friendship. character of the pioneer population. up to the close of the revolutionary contest the settlers who were building homes and states beyond the alleghanies formed a homogeneous backwoods population. the wood-choppers, game hunters, and indian fighters, who dressed and lived alike, were the typical pioneers. they were a shifting people. in every settlement the tide ebbed and flowed. some of the new-comers would be beaten in the hard struggle for existence, and would drift back to whence they had come. of those who succeeded some would take root in the land, and others would move still farther into the wilderness. thus each generation rolled westward, leaving its children at the point where the wave stopped no less than at that where it started. the descendants of the victors of king's mountain are as likely to be found in the rockies as in the alleghanies. with the close of the war came an enormous increase in the tide of immigration; and many of the new-comers were of a very different stamp from their predecessors. the main current flowed towards kentucky, and gave an entirely different character to its population. the two typical figures in kentucky so far had been clark and boon, but after the close of the revolution both of them sank into unimportance, whereas the careers of sevier and robertson had only begun. the disappearance of the two former from active life was partly accidental and partly a resultant of the forces that assimilated kentucky so much more rapidly than tennessee to the conditions prevailing in the old states. kentucky was the best known and the most accessible of the western regions; within her own borders she was now comparatively safe from serious indian invasion, and the tide of immigration naturally flowed thither. so strong was the current that, within a dozen years, it had completely swamped the original settlers, and had changed kentucky from a peculiar pioneer and backwoods commonwealth into a state differing no more from virginia, pennsylvania, and north carolina than these differed from one another. the men who gave the tone to this great flood of new-comers were the gentry from the sea-coast country, the planters, the young lawyers, the men of means who had been impoverished by the long-continued and harassing civil war. straitened in circumstances, desirous of winning back wealth and position, they cast longing eyes towards the beautiful and fertile country beyond the mountains, deeming it a place that afforded unusual opportunities to the man with capital, no less than to him whose sole trust was in his own adventurous energy. most of the gentle folks in virginia and the carolinas, the men who lived in great roomy houses on their well-stocked and slave-tilled plantations, had been forced to struggle hard to keep their heads above water during the revolution. they loyally supported the government, with blood and money; and at the same time they endeavored to save some of their property from the general wreck, and to fittingly educate their girls, and those of their boys who were too young to be in the army. the men of this stamp who now prepared to cast in their lot with the new communities formed an exceptionally valuable class of immigrants; they contributed the very qualities of which the raw settlements stood most in need. they had suffered for no fault of their own; fate had gone hard with them. the fathers had been in the federal or provincial congresses; the older sons had served in the continental line or in the militia. the plantations were occasionally overrun by the enemy; and the general disorder had completed their ruin. nevertheless, the heads of the families had striven to send the younger sons to school or college. for their daughters they did even more; and throughout the contest, even in its darkest hours, they sent them down to receive the final touches of a lady-like education at some one of the state capitals not at the moment in the hands of the enemy--such as charleston or philadelphia. there the young ladies were taught dancing and music, for which, as well as for their frocks and "pink calamanco shoes," their fathers paid enormous sums in depreciated continental currency. [footnote: clay mss. account of robert morris with miss elizabeth hart, during her residence in philadelphia in - . the account is so curious that i give it in full in the appendix.] even the close of active hostilities, when the british were driven from the southern states, brought at first but a slight betterment of condition to the straggling people. there was no cash in the land, the paper currency was nearly worthless, every one was heavily in debt, and no one was able to collect what was owing to him. there was much mob violence, and a general relaxation of the bonds of law and order. even nature turned hostile; a terrible drought shrunk up all the streams until they could not turn the grist-mills, while from the same cause the crops failed almost completely. a hard winter followed, and many cattle and hogs died; so that the well-to-do were brought to the verge of bankruptcy and the poor suffered extreme privations, being forced to go fifty or sixty miles to purchase small quantities of meal and grain at exorbitant prices. [footnote: clay mss. letters of jesse benton, and ' . see appendix.] this distress at home inclined many people of means and ambition to try their fortunes in the west: while another and equally powerful motive was the desire to secure great tracts of virgin lands, for possession or speculation. many distinguished soldiers had been rewarded by successive warrants for unoccupied land, which they entered wherever they chose, until they could claim thousands upon thousands of acres. [footnote: thus col. wm. christian, for his services in braddock's and dunmore's wars and against the cherokees, received many warrants; he visited kentucky to enter them, , acres in all. see "life of caleb wallace," by wm. h. whitsitt, louisville, .] sometimes they sold these warrants to outsiders; but whether they remained in the hands of the original holders or not, they served as a great stimulus to the westward movement, and drew many of the representatives of the wealthiest and most influential families in the parent states to the lands on the farther side of the mountains. at the close of the revolution, however, the men from the sea-coast region formed but an insignificant portion of the western pioneers. the country beyond the alleghanies was first won and settled by the backwoodsmen themselves, acting under their own leaders, obeying their own desires, and following their own methods. they were a marked and peculiar people. the good and evil traits in their character were such as naturally belonged to a strong, harsh, and homely race, which, with all its shortcomings, was nevertheless bringing a tremendous work to a triumphant conclusion. the backwoodsmen were above all things characteristically american; and it is fitting that the two greatest and most typical of all americans should have been respectively a sharer and an outcome of their work. washington himself passed the most important years of his youth heading the westward movement of his people; clad in the traditional dress of the backwoodsmen, in tasselled hunting-shirt and fringed leggings, he led them to battle against the french and indians, and helped to clear the way for the american advance. the only other man who in the american roll of honor stands by the side of washington, was born when the distinctive work of the pioneers had ended; and yet he was bone of their bone and flesh of their flesh; for from the loins of this gaunt frontier folk sprang mighty abraham lincoln. appendices. * * * * * appendix a--to chapter i. during the early part of this century our more pretentious historians who really did pay some heed to facts and wrote books that--in addition to their mortal dulness--were quite accurate, felt it undignified and beneath them to notice the deeds of mere ignorant indian fighters. they had lost all power of doing the best work; for they passed their lives in a circle of small literary men, who shrank from any departure from conventional european standards. on the other hand, the men who wrote history for the mass of our people, not for the scholars, although they preserved much important matter, had not been educated up to the point of appreciating the value of evidence, and accepted undoubted facts and absurd traditions with equal good faith. some of them (notably flint and one or two of boon's other biographers) evidently scarcely regarded truthfulness and accuracy of statement as being even desirable qualities in a history. others wished to tell the facts, but lacked all power of discrimination. certain of their books had a very wide circulation. in some out-of-the-way places they formed, with the almanac, the staple of secular literature. but they did not come under the consideration of trained scholars, so their errors remained uncorrected; and at this day it is a difficult, and often an impossible task, to tell which of the statements to accept and which to reject. many of the earliest writers lived when young among the old companions of the leading pioneers, and long afterwards wrote down from memory the stories the old men had told them. they were themselves often clergymen, and were usually utterly inexperienced in wild backwoods life, in spite of their early surroundings--exactly as to-day any town in the rocky mountains is sure to contain some half-educated men as ignorant of mountain and plains life, of indians and wild beasts, as the veriest lout on an eastern farm. accordingly they accepted the wildest stories of frontier warfare with a faith that forcibly reminds one of the equally simple credulity displayed by the average classical scholar concerning early greek and roman prowess. many of these primitive historians give accounts of overwhelming indian numbers and enormous indian losses, that read as if taken from the books that tell of the gaulish hosts the romans conquered, and the persian hordes the greeks repelled; and they are almost as untrustworthy. some of the anecdotes they relate are not far removed from the chinese-like tale--given, if my memory is correct, in herodotus--of the athenian soldier, who went into action with a small grapnel or anchor attached by a chain to his waist, that he might tether himself out to resist the shock of the charging foe. a flagrant example is the story which describes how the white man sees an indian very far off making insulting gestures; how he forthwith loads his rifle with two bullets--which the narrator evidently thinks will go twice as far and twice as straight as one,--and, taking careful aim, slays his enemy. like other similar anecdotes, this is told of a good many different frontier heroes; the historian usually showing a delightful lack of knowledge of what is and what is not possible in hunting, tracking, and fighting. however, the utter ignorance of even the elementary principles of rifle-shooting may not have been absolutely confined to the historians. any one accustomed to old hunters knows that their theories concerning their own weapons are often rather startling. a year ago last fall i was hunting some miles below my ranch (on the little missouri) to lay in the winter stock of meat, and was encamped for a week with an old hunter. we both had - winchester rifles; and i was much amused at his insisting that his gun "shot level" up to two hundred yards--a distance at which the ball really drops considerably over a foot. yet he killed a good deal of game; so he must either in practice have disregarded his theories, or else he must have always overestimated the distances at which he fired. the old writers of the simpler sort not only delighted in impossible feats with the rifle, but in equally impossible deeds of strength, tracking and the like; and they were very fond of attributing all the wonderful feats of which they had heard to a single favorite hero, not to speak of composing speeches for him. it seems--though it ought not to be--necessary to point out to some recent collectors of backwoods anecdotes, the very obvious truths: that with the best intentions in the world the average backwoodsman often has difficulty in describing a confused chain of events exactly as they took place; that when the events are described after a long lapse of years many errors are apt to creep in; and that when they are reported from tradition it is the rarest thing imaginable for the report to be correct. * * * * * appendix b-to chapter ii. (the following account of the first negotiations of the americans with the indians near vincennes is curious as being the report of one of the indians; but it was evidently colored to suit his hearer, for as a matter of fact the indians of the wabash were for the time being awed into quiet, the piankeshaws sided with the americans, and none of them dared rise until the british approached.) (_haldimand mss._, series b, vol. , p. .) proceedings of the rebels at st. vincennes as related to lieut govr. hamilton by neegik an ottawa war chief sent forward to gain intelligence. camp at rocher de bout th octr. -- on the rebels first arrival at st. vincennes they took down the english flag left there by lieut. gen. abbott, wrapped a large stone in it, and threw it into the ouabash, saying to the indians, thus we mean to treat your father-- having called the indians together they laid a war belt colored red, & a belt colored green before them, telling them that if they delighted in mischief and had no compassion on their wives & children they might take up the red one, if on the contrary they were wise & preferred peace, the green one-- the old tobacco a chief of the [piankeshaws] spoke as follows--my brothers--you speak in a manner not to be understood, i never yet saw, nor have i heard from my ancestors that it was customary to place good & bad things in the same dish--you talk to us as if you meant us well, yet you speak of war & peace in the same minute, thus i treat the speeches of such men--on which with a violent kick he spurned their belts from him. the son of lagesse, a young chief of the pontconattamis of st joseph spoke next to them. my brothers--'tis because i have listened to the voice of our old men, & because i have regard to our women & children that i have not before now struck my tomahawk into some of your heads--attend to what i say, i will only go to see in what condition our wives & children are (meaning i will first place them in security) & then you may depend on seeing me again-- the rebel speaker then said-- you are young men & your youth excuses your ignorances, you would not else talk as you do--our design is to march thro' your country, & if we find any fires in our way, we shall just tread them out as we walk along & if we meet with any obstacle or barrier we shall remove it with all ease, but the bystanders must take care lest the splinters should scar their faces. we shall then proceed to detroit where your father is whom we consider as a hog put to fatten in a penn, we shall enclose him in his penn, till he be fat, & then we will throw him into the river--we shall draw a reinforcement from the falls on the ohio & from thence & the ilinois send six hundred men to chicagou-- to this the indians replied--you that are so brave, what need have you to be reinforced, go to detroit, you that can put out our fires & so easyly remove our barriers.--this we say to you, take care that in attempting to extinguish our fires you do not burn yourselves, & that in breaking down our barriers you do not run splinters into your hands. you may also expect that we shall not suffer a single frenchman to accompany you to detroit. end of the conference. * * * * * appendix c--to chapter iv. (from canadian archives.) (_haldimand mss._, series b, vol. , p. .) (copy.) upper st. duski, june , . dear sir, after much running about, some presents to chiefs, we had collected at the mingo town near savages chiefly shawanese--when lo! a runner arrived with accounts of the shawanese towns being attacked by a body from kentuck, they burnt five houses, killed one indian & wounded the chief badly--lost their own commander _heron_ or _herington_--they carried off horses, were pursued by fifty shawanese, the shawanese were beat back with loss of five & six wounded--news flew that all the towns were to be attack'd & our little body seperated in an instant past reassembling--confusion still prevails--much counselling--no resolves--many are removing--more for peace. the delawares make it dangerous travelling. by this opportunity davison & cook return sick--girty is flying about--mccarty stays with me with some ottawas--these unsteady rogues put me out of all patience,--i will go with him in a few days, if nothing material occurs--see the enemy that i may not be laugh'd at then return.--the rebels mean i believe to destroy the villages & corn now up--the method they bring their little armies into the field as follows: every family on the borders receive orders to send according to their strength (one or two men) to the place of rendezvous at a time appointed (on pain of fine or imprisonment) with fifteen or twenty days provisions, they immediately receive their ammunition & proceed quickly to action--i am credibly inform'd by various means, that they can raise in that manner three or four thousand in a few days for such excursions--i was obliged to kill four more cattle for the indians at the mingo town--they are always cooking or counselling. i have nothing more to inform you off if anything material occurs, which i really expect in a day or two, i will inform you by express. i am &c henry bird. to capt. lernoult. (copy.) june th, upper st. duski. sir, couriers after couriers arrive with accounts of the rebels advancing to destroy the savage villages now all their corn is planted-- * * * * * appendix d--to chapter iv. (_state department mss._; no. , vol. "memorials &c inhabitants of illinois, kaskaskias and kentucky.") the petition and prayr. of the people of that part of contry [sic] now claim'd. by the state of virginia in the countys of kaintuckey and ilinois humbly sheweth--that we the leige subjects of the united states labour under many greivences on acount of not being formd into a seperate state or the mind and will of congress more fully known respecting us--and we humbly beg leave to present to the honorable continental congress our humble petition seting forth the grievences and oppressions we labour under and pray congress may consider such our greivences and grant us redress. we your petitioners being situate in a wide extencive uncultivated contry and exposd. on every side to incursions of the savage indians humbly conceive ourselves approssed by several acts of the general assembly of virginia for granting large grants for waist and unapropriated lands on the western waters without reservation for cultivating and settling the same whereby setling the contry is discouraged and the inhabitants are greatly exposd. to the saviges by whome our wives and childring are daly cruily murdered notwithstanding our most humble petitions canot obtain redress--by an other act we are taxd. which in our present situation we conceive to be oppresive and unjust being taxd. with money and grain whilst enrold and in actual pay residing in garrisons. we are situate from six hundred to one thousand miles from our present seite of goverment, whereby criminals are suffered to escape with impunity, great numbers who ware ocationaly absent are deprived of an opertunity of their just rights and emprovements and here we are obliged to prosecute all apeals, and whillst we remain uncertain whether the unbounded claim of this extencive contry ought of right to belong to the united states or the state of virginia, they have by another late act required of us to sware alegince to the state of virginia in particular notwithstanding we have aredy taken the oath of alegance to the united states. these are greivences too heavy to be born, and we do humbly pray that the continental congress will take proper methods to form us into a seperate state or grant us such rules and regulations as they in their wisdoms shall think most proper, during the continuance of the present war and your petitioners shall ever pray may th, . [signed] robert tyler richard connor thomas hughes archibald mcdonald abraham van meter (and others to the number of ). * * * * * appendix e--to chapter vii. (_haldimand mss._ series b, vol. , p. .) sir, my letter of the nd & rd of july informed you of the reports brought us of the enemy's motions at that time which was delivered by the chiefs of the standing stone village & confirmed by belts & strings of wampum in so earnest a manner that could not but gain credit with us. we had upon this occasion the greatest body of indians collected to an advantageous peice of ground near the picawee village that have been assembled in this quarter since the commencement of the war & perhaps may never be in higher spirits to engage the enemy, when the return of scouts from the ohio informed us that the account we had received was false; this disappointment notwithstanding all our endeavours to keep them together occasioned them to disperse in disgust with each other, the inhabitants of this country who were the most immediately interested in keeping in a body ware the first that broke off & though we advanced towards the ohio with upwards of three hundred hurons & lake indians few of the delawares, shawanese or mingoes followed us. on our arrival at the ohio we remain'd still in uncertainty with respect to the enemys motions, & it was thought best from hence to send scouts to the falls & that the main body should advance into the enemy's country and endeavour to lead out a party from some of their forts by which we might be able to gain some certain intelligence accordingly we crossed the ohio and arrived the th inst. at one of the enemys settlements--call'd bryans station, but the indians discovering their numbers prevented their coming out and the lake indians finding this rush'd up to the fort and set several out houses on fire but at too great a distance to touch the fort the wind blowing the contrary way. the firing continued this day during which time a party of about twenty of the enemy approached a part that happened not to be guarded & about one half of them reached it the rest being drove back by a few indians who ware near the place, the next morning finding it to no purpose to keep up a fire longer upon the fort as we were getting men killed, & had already several men wounded which ware to be carried, the indians determined to retreat & the th reached the blue licks where we encamp'd near an advantageous hill and expecting the enemy would pursue determined here to wait for them keeping spies at the lick who in the morning of the st discovered them & at half past o'clock we engaged them & in a short time totally defeated them, we ware not much superior to them in numbers they being about two hundred picked men from the settlement of kentucky. commanded by the colonels todd, trigg, boon & todd, with the majors harlin, and mcgary most of whom fell in the action, from the best inquiry i could make upon the spot there was upwards of one hundred & forty killed & taken with near an hundred rifles several being thrown into a deep river that ware not recovered. it was said by the prisoners that a colonel logan was expected to join them with one hundred men more we waited upon the ground to-day for him, but seeing there was not much probability of his coming we set off & crossed the ohio the second day after the action. captain caldwell & i arrived at this place last night with a design of sending some assistance to those who are bring on the wounded people who are fourteen in number, we had ten indians kill'd with mr. la bute of the indian department who by sparing the life of one of the enemy & endeavouring to take him prisoner loss'd his own, to our disappointment we find no provisions brought forward to this place or likely hood of any for some time, and we have entirely subsisted since we left this on what we got in the woods, and took from the enemy. the prisoners all agree in their account that there is no talk of an expedition from that quarter, nor indeed are they able without assistance from the colonies, & that the militia of the country have been employed during the summer in building the fort at the falls, & what they call a row galley which has made one trip up the river to the mouth of the big miamis & occasioned that alarm that created us so much trouble, she carries one six pounder, six four pounders & two two pounders & row's eighty oars, she had at the big bone lick one hundred men but being chiefly draughts from the militia many of them left her on different parts of the river. one of the prisoners mentions the arrival of boats lately from fort pitt & that letters has pass'd between the commanding officer of that place & mr. clark intimating that preparation is making there for another expedition into the indian country, we have since our arrival heard something of this matter and that the particulars has been forwarded to you, a detachment of rangers with a large party of delawares, & shawanese are gone that way who will be able to discover the truth of this matter. i am this day favoured with yours of the th augt. containing the report of isaac gians concerning the cruelties of the indians. it is true they have made sacrifices to their revenge after the massacre of their women & children some being known to them to be perpetraters of it, but it was done in my absence or before i could reach any of the places to interfere. and i can assure you sir that there is not a white person here wanting in their duty to represent to the indians in the strongest terms the highest abhorence of such conduct as well as the bad consequences that may attend it to both them & us being contrary to the rule of carrying on war by civilized nations, however it is not improbable that gians may have exaggerated matters greatly being notoriously known for a disaffected person and concerned in sending prisoners away with intelligence to the enemy at the time captain bird came out as we ware then informed. i flatter myself that i may by this time have an answer to the letter i had the honor of writing to the commandr. in chief on leaving detroit. mr. elliot is to be the bearer of this who will be able to give you any farther information necessary respecting matters here. i am with respect sir your most obedient & very humble servant a. mckee. shawanese country, august th, . major de peyster. * * * * * appendix f--to chapter vii. (_haldimand mss._, series b, vol. , p. .) extract of a letter from captain caldwell, dated at wakitamiki, august , . "when i last had the pleasure of writing you, i expected to have struck at wheeling as i was on my march for that place, but was overtaken by a messenger from the shawnese, who informed me that the enemy was on their march for their country, which obliged me to turn their way, and to my great mortification found the alarm false & that it was owing to a gondals coming up to the mouth of licking creek, and landing some men upon the south side of the ohio which when the indians saw supposed it must be clark. it would have been a lucky circumstance if they had come on, as i had eleven hundred indians on the ground, and three hundred within a days march of me. when the report was contradicted they mostly left us, many of them had left their towns no way equipped for war, as they expected as well as myself to fight in a few days, notwithstanding i was determined to pay the enemy a visit with as many indians as would follow me: accordingly i crossed the ohio with three hundred indians & rangers, and marched for bryants station on kentuck, and surrounded the fort the th in the morning, & tried to draw 'em out by sending up a small party to try to take a prisoner and shew themselves, but the indians were in too great a hurry and the whole shewed too soon--i then saw it was in vain to wait any longer and so drew nigh the fort, burnt houses which are part of the fort but the wind being contrary prevented it having the desired effect. killed upwards of hogs, head of cattle, and a number of sheep, took a number of horses, pull'd up and destroy'd their potatoes, cut down a great deal of their corn, burn't their hemp and did other considerable damage--by the indians exposing themselves too much we had killed & wounded. we retreated the th and came as far as biddle's former station, when nigh indians left me, as they went after their things they left at the forks of licking, and i took the road by the blue licks as it was nigher and the ground more advantageous in case the enemy should pursue us--got to the licks on the th and encamped. on the th in the morning, one of my party that was watching the road came in and told me the enemy was within a mile of us, upon which i drew up to fight them--at / past seven they advanced in three divisions in good order, they had spied some of us and it was the very place they expected to overtake us.--we had but fired one gun till they gave us a volley and stood to it very well for some time,'till we rushed in upon them, when they broke immediately.--we pursued for about two miles, and as the enemy was mostly on horseback, it was in vain to follow further. we killed and took one hundred and forty six. amongst the killed is col. todd the commandr col. boon, lt. col. trigg, major harlin who commanded their infantry, major magara and a number more of their officers. our loss is monsr. la bute killed, he died like a warrior fighting arm to arm, six indians killed and ten wounded--the indians behaved extremely well, and no people could behave better than both officers & men in general--the indians i had with me were the wyandots and lake indians--the wyandots furnished me with what provisions i wanted, and behaved extremely well." * * * * * appendix g--to chapter x. it has been so habitual among american writers to praise all the deeds, good, bad, and indifferent, of our revolutionary ancestors, and to belittle and make light of what we have recently done, that most men seem not to know that the union and confederate troops in the civil war fought far more stubbornly and skilfully than did their forefathers at the time of the revolution. it is impossible to estimate too highly the devoted patriotism and statesmanship of the founders of our national life; and however high we rank washington, i am confident that we err, if any thing, in not ranking him high enough, for on the whole the world has never seen a man deserving to be placed above him; but we certainly have overestimated the actual fighting qualities of the revolutionary troops, and have never laid enough stress on the folly and jealousy with which the states behaved during the contest. in the americans were still in the gristle; and the feats of arms they then performed do not bear comparison with what they did in the prime of their lusty youth, eighty or ninety years later. the continentals who had been long drilled by washington and greene were most excellent troops; but they never had a chance to show at their best, because they were always mixed in with a mass of poor soldiers, either militia or just-enlisted regulars. the resolute determination of the americans to win, their trust in the justice of their cause, their refusal to be cast down by defeat, the success with which they overran and conquered the west at the very time they were struggling for life or death in the east, the heroic grandeur of their great leader--for all this they deserve full credit. but the militia who formed the bulk of the revolutionary armies did not generally fight well. sometimes, as at bunker's hill and king's mountain, they did excellently, and they did better, as a rule, than similar european bodies--than the spanish and portuguese peasants in - , for instance. at that time it was believed that the american militia could not fight at all; this was a mistake, and the british paid dearly for making it; but the opposite belief, that militia could be generally depended upon, led to quite as bad blunders, and the politicians of the jeffersonian school who encouraged the idea made us in our turn pay dearly for our folly in after years, as at bladensburg and along the niagara frontier in . the revolutionary war proved that hastily gathered militia, justly angered and strung to high purpose, could sometimes whip regulars, a feat then deemed impossible; but it lacked very much of proving that they would usually do this. moreover, even the stalwart fighters who followed clark and sevier, and who did most important and valorous service, cannot point to any one such desperate deed of fierce courage as that of the doomed texans under bowie and davy crockett in the alamo. a very slight comparison of the losses suffered in the battles of the revolution with those suffered in the battles of the civil war is sufficient to show the superiority of the soldiers who fought in the latter (and a comparison of the tactics and other features of the conflicts will make the fact even clearer). no revolutionary regiment or brigade suffered such a loss as befell the st minnesota at gettysburg, where it lost out of men, per cent.; the th illinois at shiloh, where it lost out of men, per cent.; the st maine at petersburg, which lost out of men, per cent.; or caldwell's brigade of new york, new hampshire, and pennsylvania troops, which, in hancock's attack at fredericksburg, lost out of , men, per cent.; or, turning to the southern soldiers, such a loss as that of the st texas at antietam, when out of men fell, per cent.; or of the th north carolina, which, at gettysburg, lost out of men, per cent.; or the th tennessee, at murfreesboro, which lost out of men, or per cent.; or garnett's brigade of virginians, which, in pickett's charge, lost men out of , , or per cent. there were over a hundred regiments, and not a few brigades, in the union and confederate armies, each of which in some one action suffered losses averaging as heavy as the above. the revolutionary armies cannot show such a roll of honor as this. still, it is hardly fair to judge them by this comparison, for the civil war saw the most bloody and desperate fighting that has occurred of late years. none of the european contests since the close of the napoleonic struggles can be compared to it. thus the light brigade at balaclava lost only per cent., or men out of , while the guards at inkermann lost but per cent., or out of , ; and the heaviest german losses in the franco-prussian war were but and per cent., occurring respectively to the third westphalian regiment at mars-le-tours, and the garde-schutzen battalion at metz. these figures are taken from "regimental losses in the american civil war," by col. wm. f. fox, albany, ; the loss in each instance includes few or no prisoners, save in the cases of garnett's brigade and of the third westphalian regiment. * * * * * appendix h--to chapter xii. (from the _robertson mss._, vol. i., letter of don miro.) new orleans, the th april, . sir i received yours of th january last, & am highly pleased in seeing the good intentions of the people of that district, & knowing the falsehood of the report we have heard they are willing to attack their province. you ought to make the same account of the news you had that the indians have been excited in their province against you, since i wrote quite the contrary at different times to alexander mcgillevray to induce him to make peace, & lastly he answered me that he gave his word to the governor of north carolina that the creeks would not trouble again those settlements: notwithstanding after the letter received from you, and other from brigadier general daniel smith esqr i will writte to him engaging him to be not more troublesome to you. i have not any connection with cheroquis & marcuten, but as they go now & then to illinois i will give advice to that commander to induce them to be quiet: in respect to the former in the month of may of last year they asked the permission of settling them selves on the west side of the mississippi river which is granted & they act accordingly, you plainly see you are quite free from their incursions. i will give the passeport you ask for your son-in-law, & i will be highly pleased with his coming down to setle in this province & much more if you, & your family should come along with him, since i can assure you that you will find here your welfare, without being either molested on religious matters or paying any duty & under the circumstances of finding allwais market for your crops which makes every one of the planters settled at natchez or elsewhere to improve every day, much more so than if they were to purchase the lands, as they are granted gratis. i wish to be usefull to you being with regard sir your most obt. hl. servant estevan miro. (dupte.) colonel james robertson, esqr. the duplicity of the spaniards is well illustrated by the fact that the gardoqui mss. give clear proof that they were assisting the creeks with arms and ammunition at the very time miro was writing these letters. see the gardoqui mss., _passim_, especially miro's letter of june , . appendix i-to chapter xiii. account of robert morris with miss betsey hart, philadelphia, - . from the clay mss. dr. miss harte in account current with robert morris cr. [oldest daughter of col. thomas hart. she married dr. richard pendell.] aug. to cash paid for a pair of shoes for you £ , , at for £ , , (continental, exchange, specie) to a chest of sugar delivered mrs. brodeau & porterage , , do , , to two ps sheeting delivered ditto , , at do , , to cash paid wm. mcdugall's bill for one & a half quarters tuition at dancing , , at do , , paid e. denaugheys bill for washing done for you , , at do , , dec. to ditto for hannah estys bill for making frocks for you £ , paid d denaugheys bill for washg £ . . , , at for , , dec. to ditto pair for pair of pink calemancoi shoes for you , , at do , , feb. to ditto paid b. victor your music master for one quarter tuition of music , , at for , , to the following articles delivered mrs. brodeau on your accot one firkin of butter one box of candles & a box of soap amounting p account to , , at do , , to cash paid mrs. brodeau in full of her accot. to october last against you , , at do , , total: £ , , (specie) allowed for depreciation , , ========= £ , , received philad. april th the one hundred and seventy two pounds / state specie being in full the amount of the annexed account for robt. morris £ . . state specie j. swannick appendix j--to chapter xiii. in the clay mss. the letters of jesse benton to col. hart, of december , , and march , , paint vividly the general distress in the carolinas. they are taken up mostly with accounts of bad debts and of endeavors to proceed against various debtors; they also touch on other subjects. in the first, of december , , benton writes: "it seems the powers above are combined against us this year. such a drouth was never known here [in the upper carolinas] before; corn sells from the stack at & / p. bushel, wheat & /, rye the same, oats / &c &c ... i have not had water to keep the grist mill fuling mill and oyl mill at work before this week.... johny rice has gone to kentuck with his goods to buy furs, but before he went we talked of your debts and he did not like to be concerned, saying he should gain ill will for no profit; however i will immediately enforce the law to recover your debts ... the lands which you had of me would sell as soon as any but this hard year makes many settlers and few buyers. i have heard nothing more of major haywoods desire of purchasing & all i ever heard upon the subject was from his son-in-law who now appears very sick of his late purchase of elegant buildings.... your brother capt. nat hart, our worthy and respectable friend, i doubt is cut off by the savages at the time and in the manner as first represented, to wit, that he went out to hunt his horses in the month of july or august it is supposed the indians in ambuscade between boonsboro and knockbuckle, intended to take him prisonner, but killd his horse and at the same time broke his thigh, that the savages finding their prisonner with his thigh broken was under the necessity of puting him to death by shooting him through the heart at so small a distance as to powder burn his flesh. he was tomhawkd, scalped & lay two days before he was found and buried. this account has come by difrent hands & confirmd to col. henderson by a letter from an intimate friend of his at kentuck." this last bit of information is sandwiched in between lamentations over bad debts, concerning which the writer manifested considerably more emotion than over the rather startling fate of captain hart. the second letter contains an account of the "trafficking off" of a wagon and fine pair of pennsylvania horses, the news that a debt had been partially liquidated by the payment of sixty pounds' worth of rum and sugar, which in turn went to pay workmen, and continues: "the common people are and will be much distressed for want of bread. i have often heard talk of famine, but never thought of seeing any thing so much like it as the present times in this part of the country. three fourths of the inhabitants of this country are obliged to purchase their bread at & miles distance at the common price of / and upwards per barrel. the winter has been very hard upon the live stock & i am convinced that abundance of hogs and cattle will die this spring for want of food.... cash is now scarcer here than it ever was before.... i have been industrious to get the mills in good repair and have succeeded well, but have rcd. very little benefit from them yet owing intirely to the general failure of a crop. we have done no merchant work in the grist mill, & she only supplies my family and workmen with bread. rye, the people are glad to eat. flaxseed the cattle have chiefly eaten though i have got as much of that article as made gallons of oyl at / per bushel. the oyl is in great demand; i expect two dollars p. gallon for it at halifax or edenton, & perhaps a better price. we were very late in beginning with the fulling business; for want of water.... [there are many] mobbs and commotions among the people." index to volumes i. and ii. abingdon, a typical frontier town, ii; _adventure_, the, voyage of, ii; algonquins, the, their location, i; dwellings and dress; their relations with the iroquois and the southern indians; tribal relations; their numbers; lack of cohesion; numbers in the field; their prowess in war; their mode of war; their discipline in battle; their superiority to european troops; usually the attacking party; their cruelty allaire, lieut., a new york loyalist, ii; alleghanies, the, our western border for a century and a half, i; america, its importance and accessibility, i; twofold character of warfare in; spain's share in the conquest of; difference between the spanish-english conquests in; constant succession of contests in; her allies hostile to her interests, ii; americans, a distinct people from the british, i; western conquest, the great work of the; their sharpshooters dreaded by the british officers, ii; as soldiers, appendix; appalachian confederacies, the, i; their geographical position; origin of the name; how divided; numbers; australia, small difficulty in settling; axe, the, its importance in the conquest of the west; backwoods levies, the character of; backwoodsmen, the, of kentucky, i; of the alleghanies; little in common with the tide-water inhabitants; americans by birth and parentage; scotch-irish, the dominant strain in their blood; from one people; their creed, presbyterian; their intense americanism; their difference from the rest of the world; their villages; not a town-building race; won and kept their lands by force; their natural weapons; their forts; their mode of life; size of farms; society, dress, and arms; their first lesson; their helpfulness; sports and quarrels; weddings; funerals; schooling; home employments; pack-trains; dangers of life; as hunters; warlike character; their own soldiers; military organization; administration of justice; sharp contrasts of society among; wickedness of the lawless among; their summary modes of punishment; their superstitions; their religion; summary of their lives; desire for revenge; hasten to join lewis; assemble at the great levels of greenbriar; march of lewis' army; grimness of their character, ii; gather at bryan's station; defeated at the blue licks; fate of the captured; their increase during the revolution; their wars; governments instituted by them; their individualism; character of the pioneer population; what they had done at the close of the revolution; balme la, his expedition against detroit, ii; baubin captures boon, ii; bear grass creek, ravaged by indians, ii; big bone lick, remains of mastodon discovered at, i; big foot, a gigantic chief of the wyandots, ii; fight with andrew poe, ; killed by adam poe; big island of the french broad, the; christian's army reach, i; bingaman, his fight in the dark, ii; bird, capt. henry, dissolution of his expedition, ii; his inroad; his retreat; loses his cannon; blue licks, visited by boon, ii; indians retreat to; the backwoodsmen reach; the fight begins; battle of the; defeat of the whites; a wild panic; the indians checked; a crushing disaster; boiling springs, fort built at, i; boon, daniel, his birth, i; removes to north carolina and marries; his passion for hunting and exploration; his appearance; his character; his inscription on a tree; connection with henderson; his claim to distinction; his success; goes to kentucky; beauty of the country and abundance of game; attacked by indians; capture and escape; wanderings; joined by his brother; lonely sojourn in the wilderness; joined by other hunters; "gulliver's travels" in camp; returns to north carolina; meets the mcafees' at powell's valley; attempts to settle kentucky; attacked by indians; his son killed; pilots in lord dunmore's surveyors; in command of frontier forts; attacked by indians; reaches the kentucky river; begins to build boonsborough; welcomes henderson's company; the fort at boonsborough; returns to north carolina for his family; his prominence in kentucky history; serves as a kentucky burgess in the virginia legislature; his strange life; his daughter captured by indians and rescued; the historic tree; original letter of; wounded in the attack on boonsborough, ii; captured by indians; taken to old chillicothe; adopted into the shawnee tribe; escapes from the indians; makes a foray into the indian country; outwits de quindre; thanks kenton for saving his life; comes to the rescue of kenton; a favorite hero of frontier story; loses his brother by the indians; lieut.-colonel under todd; marches to relieve bryan's station; opposed to the attack at blue licks; commands the left wing at battle of blue licks; his successful advance; surrounded and routed; last to leave the field; his son isaac slain; boon, squire, joins his brother daniel in kentucky, i; boonsborough, founding of, saves kentucky, i; receives henderson and his party; completion of the fort; land office opens at; store opened by the transylvania company; meeting of the transylvanian legislature; attacked by indians, ii; again besieged; retreat of the indians; school opened at; boon's station, not boonsborough, ii; borderers, the, misdeeds of, i; contempt for pennsylvanian government; border wars, the, inevitable, i; begun by the indians; struggle for the land, one great cause of; bowman, john, advances against vincennes, ii; attacks chillicothe; defeated by the indians brady, capt. samuel, a noted indian fighter, ii; captured and bound to the stake; escapes; whips the indians; brant, joseph, surprises loughry, ii; defeats squire boon and floyd british, the, incite the southern indians to war against the americans, i; hatred of, inherited by the sons and grandsons of the backwoodsmen; their intrigues with the indians; scalp-buying, ii; begun a war of extermination; their complicity in the indian murders; in the southern states; defeated at king's mountain; brodhead, col., in command at fort pitt, ii; burns some iroquois towns; prevents the militia from attacking the moravians; bryan's station, attack on, ii; danger of procuring water; the settlers rally to the relief of buford, captain, routed by tarleton, ii butler, his party attacked by cherokees, i cahokia, converted to the american cause, ii; council at caldwell, capt., a good commander of irregular troops, ii; commands canadian volunteers; defeats crawford at sandusky; wounded; invades kentucky; letter from, appendix; california, the winning of, i; calk, william, his journal of henderson's journey, ii; callahan, edward, a privileged character, ii; cameron, the british agent in the cherokee country, i; attempt to capture him; leads his tories and the cherokees against south carolina; organizes expeditions against the frontier, ii; campbell, arthur, his character, ii; misses the battle of king's mountain; his jealousy; campbell, william, his appearance and character, ii; anecdotes of; raises troops to oppose cornwallis; made commander-in-chief; encourages his men on the eve of battle; begins the assault at king's mountain; rallies his troops; manifesto to his troops; death of canada, extension westward of the english race in, i; canadian archives, ii, appendix; carolinas, the, attacked by indians and tories, i; carpenter, a cherokee chief, i; signs the treaty of the sycamore shoals; carter's valley, ravaged by the indians, i; castleman, his escape from death, i; charleston captured by the british, ii; cherokees, the, in the barbarous rather than savage state, i; divided into the otari and the erati; their numbers; and location; not successful fighters; their dwellings; character; games and amusements; renegade bands of; their great war trail; treaty with virginia; negotiations opened with; the otaris assemble at the sycamore shoals of the watauga; irritated at the conduct of the frontiersmen; take up the tomahawk at the bidding of the british; begin the war on the frontier; numbers of their warriors; suddenness of their attack; fall upon the watauga settlers; ravage carter's valley; defeated by the whites at the battle of the island flats; the watauga fort besieged; retreat from the watauga; ravage the georgian and carolinian frontiers; come down the catawba; their furious attacks on south carolina; their country invaded; towns destroyed; again attacked; defeat of the indians; destruction of the cherokee settlements; the warriors gather at the big island of the french broad; flight of the indians; sue for peace; destruction of tuskega; peace declared; their severe chastisement; defeated by sevier, ii; their country overrun; the country of the erati ravaged by sevier; sue for peace; attack nashborough; chicago, attempted settlement of, ii chickamaugas, the, a tribe of freebooters, i; their fastnesses; refuse to make peace; their towns burned; chickasaws, the, belonged to the appalachian confederacy, i; the smallest of the southern nations; their numbers; their unity; their wars and successes; definite peace concluded with, ii; chillicothe, attacked by boon, ii; burned; chippewas, the, location of, i; choctaws, the, an appalachian tribe, i; the rudest of the confederacy; their location; numbers; character; christian, col. william, commands the fincastle men, i; refused permission to march with lewis; reaches the great kanawha after the battle; gathers the virginia troops at the great island of the holston; marches against the cherokees; reply to the cherokees; destroys the indian towns; agrees to terms of peace; marches homeward; chronicle, killed at king's mountain, ii; civil war on the border, i; clark, george rogers; compared to allen and marion, i; relieves a party of hunters in kentucky; with cresap at the outbreak of lord dunmore's war; his character; accompanies lord dunmore; arrives at harrodstown; sent to virginia as a delegate; presents petition to governor and council; asks for gunpowder; transports it in safety to kentucky; procures the erection of kentucky county; living at harrodstown, ii; shares in the defence of kentucky; skirmishes with the indians; matures his plans for the illinois campaign; goes to virginia to raise troops; incidents of travel; lays his plans before patrick henry; authorized to raise troops; organizes the expedition; difficulty in raising men; starts down the ohio; lands at the mouth of the kentucky; reaches the falls of the ohio; joined by kenton and the kentuckians; meets a party of hunters; the march to kaskaskia; surprises the town; a dramatic picture; his diplomacy; his winning stroke; sends troops to cahokia; his difficulties; prepares for defence; establishes friendly relations with the spanish authorities; dealings with the indians; apprehensive of treachery; puts the indians in irons; his seeming carelessness; offers peace or war to the indians; makes peace with the indians; his influence over them; prepares to resist hamilton; narrow escape from the indians; receives news of vincennes; determines to strike the first blow; equips the first gunboat on the western waters; marches against vincennes; reaches the drowned lands of the wabash; hardships and sufferings of his troops; encourages his troops; difficulties of approach to vincennes; crosses the horse shoe plain; exhaustion of the troops; surprises vincennes; attacks the fort; summons the fort to surrender; destroys a scouting party; surrender of the fort; reproaches hamilton; importance of the result of the expedition; sends helm to intercept a convoy; disposes of his prisoners; receives reinforcements; pacifies the country; builds a fort on the mississippi; moves to the falls of the ohio; made a brigadier-general; greatness of his deeds; hears of bird's inroads; his campaign against piqua; musters his troops at the mouth of the licking; starts up the ohio; burns chillicothe; surprises the indians at piqua; disperses the indians; destroys the town; disbands his army; effects of the victory; his plan to attack detroit; why his efforts were baffled; commandant of state troops; roused by the battle of the blue licks; his counter-stroke; destroys the miami towns; undertakes to supply the settlements with meat; clay mss., ii, appendix; cleavland, col. benjamin, commands north carolina militia, ii; commands left wing at king's mountain; clinch river, settlers of, at war with shawnees, i; a feeder of the tennessee river; conolly, capt. john, his hostilities against pennsylvania, i; his rashness; his open letter; appalled by the storm he had raisen; holds councils with delawares and iroquois; defied by the shawnees; cornstalk, a shawnee chief, i; first heard of in pontiac's war; opposed to the war with the whites; his strategy; advances to attack lewis; crossing the ohio; fails to surprise lewis' army; displays the only generalship at the battle of the great kanawha; bids defiance to his foes; sues for peace; his eloquence; his grand death cornwallis, lord, in command at the south, ii; marches through the up-country; retreats from north carolina; crab orchard, regarded with affection by travellers, i; crawford, col. william, a fairly good officer, ii; marches against sandusky; routed; captured; tortured; a valued friend of washington creeks, the, made up of many bands, i; strongest of the appalachian tribes; their numbers; location; semi-civilization of; their cattle and slaves; agriculture; mode of life; towns; houses; council-house; dress and adornments; red and white towns of; feasts and dances; looseness of the creek confederacy; the chief mcgillivray; their hostility to the whites; scalps, their ideal of glory; observe a kind of nominal neutrality; incited by the british to war; their reply to the cherokees; ravage the georgia frontier; creoles, the, of kaskaskia, ii; panic among, at the loss of vincennes; french abandon the illinois country; unfit for self-government; cresap, a type of the pioneer, i; with his band at wheeling; attacks friendly shawnees; continues hostilities; accused of the murder of logan's kinsfolk; deposed from his command; restored by lord dunmore; a scout with lord dunmore; dies a revolutionary soldier; cruger, lieut.-col.; commands at ninety-six, ii; letter to ferguson; cumberland gap; origin of name, i., note; traversed by floyd; cumberland river; origin of name, i., note; boon driven back to the valley of the; cumberland settlement, the; started at the bend of the cumberland river, ii; founded by robertson; abundance of game; formation of a government; indian hostilities; attack on freeland's station; nashborough attacked by indians; indian hostilities; internal government; affairs with outside powers; establishment of county government; debatable land, the, i; formed by the hunting-grounds between the ohio and the tennessee; delawares, the, location of, i; oppressed by the iroquois; their growth in warlike power; hold councils with conolly; declare for neutrality; de peyster, at detroit, ii; serves under cornwallis; rallies the loyalists at king's mountain; surrenders; detroit, population of, i., note; in british hands; the tribes hold councils at, ii; de peyster at; dewitt's corners scene of treaty with the lower cherokees, i; doak, samuel, rev.; his journey to jonesboro, ii; his powerful influence; doniphan, joseph, opens school at boonsborough, ii; dragging canoe; opposed to the treaty of sycamore shoals, i; an inveterate foe to the whites; warns henderson; ravages the country near eaton's station; leads the indians at the battle of the island flats; severely wounded; refuses to accept peace; dunham, daniel, his offer to his brother, ii; dunmore, lord, governor of virginia, i; ambitious of glory; prepares for war; raises a formidable army; takes command in person; marches to fort pitt; changes his plans; descends the ohio to the hockhocking; ascends the hockhocking and marches to the scioto; destroys certain of the hostile towns; accused of treachery; his ferocious conduct; orders lewis to join him; orders the backwoodsmen to march homewards; makes treaty of peace with the indians; sends gibson to logan; reads logan's letter to the army; marches home; resolution of thanks to; driven from virginia at the outbreak of the revolution; east florida, her decay under spanish rule, i; eaton station, situation of, i; country around ravaged by indians; settlers gather at; march from to the island flats; elk creek reached by lewis' army, i; elliot, a tory leader, ii; elliott, capt., removes the moravians from their homes, ii; england, making of, i; separate position of; struggle with holland for naval supremacy; wins canada and the ohio valley from france; her policy in the northwest; adopts the french policy; eseneka, captured by williamson, i; christened fort rutledge; garrisoned by williamson; estill, capt.; overtakes the wyandots, ii; is killed; estill's station, girl scalped at, ii; europe, immense emigration from, i; explorers, different kinds of, i; falls of the ohio, ii; clark joined by kenton and others at the; clark removes to the; a regular fort built; fayette county, invaded by the indians, ii; ferguson, patrick, son of lord pitcairn, ii; wounded at brandywine; surprises pulaski's legion; lieut.-col. of the american volunteers; his appearance; mode of warfare; commits outrages in the back-country; character of his forces; rapidity of his movements; approaches the mountains; makes ready to receive the backwoodsmen; rallies the loyalists; halts at king's mountain; his confidence in the bayonet; attacked by the mountaineers; at the battle of king's mountain; his reckless bravery; his death; field, colonel john, serves under gen. lewis, i; starts off on his own account; despatched to the front; his timely arrival; restores the battle; death of; fincastle men, the, from the holston, clinch, watauga, and new river settlements, i; commanded by col. william christian; delay of; most of them too late to join in the battle of the great kanawha; reach the great kanawha after the battle; first explorers, i; fleming, col. william, i; serves under gen. lewis; ordered to advance; rallies the backwoodsmen; florida, the winning of, i; floyd, john, i; leads a party of surveyors to kentucky; descends the kanawha; surveys for washington and henry; goes down the ohio; his party splits up at mouth of the kentucky; arrives at falls of the ohio; explores the land; reaches clinch river; appointed colonel, ii; defeated at long run; with clark among the miamis; ravages the country; killed by indians; forests, the, i; extended from the alleghanies to the mississippi, penetrated by hunters; forest warfare, merciless ferocity of, i; fort pitt, i; claimed by virginia; lord dunmore's army advances to; fort rutledge. see eseneka; france, the ally of america, ii; freeland station, attacked by indians; french broad river, a feeder of the tennessee, i; french creoles, the; life of, i; tillers of the soil among; much mixture of blood among; unthriftiness of; utterly unacquainted with liberty; as traders and trappers; great personal influence of the priesthood among; personal character of; social life of; villages of. frontier, the, outrages and reprisals on, i; ravaged by the northwestern indians, ii; ravages on the, following the moravian massacre de galvez, don bernard, spanish commandant at new orleans, ii; meditates the establishment of a spanish-american empire; attacks british west florida; captures the forts along the mississippi; takes mobile and pensacola game, abundance of, in illinois prairies, i; in kentucky; enormous quantities of, seen at french lick, now nashville, tenn.; georgia, ravaged by the indians and tories, i; her share in the struggle germanic peoples, overflow of, i; conquer europe; fails to extend germany. gibault, pierre, the priest of kaskaskia, ii; a devoted champion in the american cause; goes to vincennes; advances money to clark; gibson, john, bears logan's speech to lord dunmore, i; girty, simon, "the white renegade," i; arrives in camp; shows a spark of compassion; serves under hamilton, ii.; his cunning and cruelty; saves kenton's life; a witness of crawford's awful torture; at the attack on bryan's station. gnadenhütten, a settlement of moravian indians, i; greathouse, his claim to remembrance, i; murders logan's kinsfolk; great kanawha, battle of the, i; fierce attack of the indians; the backwoodsmen five way; they push the indians; charles lewis mortally wounded; death of col. field; isaac shelby in command; steadiness of the backwoodsmen; skill and bravery of the indians; cornstalk cheers his braves; flank movement of the indians repulsed; the indians outflanked; the indians fall back; end of the action; loss of the whites exceeds that of the indians; a purely american victory; results of the battle; isaac shelby's account of, appendix; wm. preston's account of, appendix; great kanawha river, lord dunmore's forces to unite at the mouth of, i; great smoky mountains, i; half-breeds of the red river and the saskatchewan, i; hambright wounded at king's mountain, ii; hamilton, henry, summons a council of the tribes at detroit, ii; his character; lieutenant-governor of the northwest; the mainspring of hostility to the americans; nicknamed the "hair-buyer" general; organizes a troop of rangers; tries to ransom boon; plans an attack on fort pitt; marches to reconquer illinois; muster of his forces; starts against vincennes; difficulties of the route; captures vincennes; measures to secure his conquest; goes into winter quarters; plans a great campaign; surrenders vincennes to clark; sent a prisoner to virginia; hatred towards, of the backwoodsmen; hammond, colonel, rallies the troops at the capture of eseneka, i; crosses the kiowee; saves the troops a second time from disaster; hampton, lieutenant, gallantly seconds hammond's efforts, i; harlan, with the harrodsburg men at the battle of the blue licks, ii; leads the advance guard; his death; harrod, james, hunts in tennessee, i; with saowdowski founds harrodsburg; leads a band to kentucky; his memory revered by the old settlers; harrodsburg, settlement of, i; made the county seat; toll mill built in, ii; harrodstown, fort built at, i; a baptist preacher's account of; convention at; delegates chosen to go to williamsburg; arrival of clark. see harrodsburg. hart, colonel, letter of jesse benton to, ii, appendix; hart, nathaniel, a partner of henderson, i; hay, major, bluffed by helm, ii; helm, captain leonard, commands at vincennes, ii; surrenders to hamilton; intercepts a convoy; henderson, richard, a land speculator, i; his colonizing scheme; confidence in boon; negotiates the treaty of the sycamore shoals; obtains a grant of the lands between the kentucky and the cumberland rivers; names his new colony transylvania; sends boon to kentucky; follows boon; leaves his wagons in powell's valley; met by boon's runner; reaches boonsborough; opens a land office; organizes a government; addresses the delegates; advises game laws; collapse of the transylvania colony; denounced by lord dunmore; drifts out of history; henry, patrick, adopts clark's plans, ii; letter of instructions to clark; history, peculiarity of english, i; hockhocking, the stockade built at the mouth of, i; holland, naval warfare with spain and england, i; holston, great island, garrisoned by troops by christian's army, i; treaties of peace made at; holston men, the, help kentucky, ii; join clark at the falls of the ohio; desert at night; their sufferings; respond to mcdowell's appeal; advance to meet ferguson; begin their march; at the battle of king's mountain; after the victory; holston river, a feeder of the tennessee river, i; holston settlements, the, organization of, ii; first known as the watauga settlements; start a new community; christened "washington district,"; the laws upheld; tories and horse thieves; land laws; indian troubles; character and life of the settlers; arrival of clergymen; calvinism their prominent faith; the leading families; jealousies of the leaders; war with the chickamaugas, the creeks, and cherokees; inrush of settlers; war with indians; end of the war with the british and tories; quarrels over the land; system of surveying; further indian troubles; peace concluded with the chickasaws; growth of; frontier towns; frontier characters huger slain at monk's corners, ii hunters, the, perils of, i; unsuccessful in killing buffalo with small-bore rifles; a party relieved by clark; hurons, the. see wyandots; illinois, the, location of the scattered survivors of, i; clark's conquest of, ii; claimants of; clark sends spies to; made a county; todd appointed commandant; financial difficulties; burning of negroes accused of sorcery; disorders of the government; lawlessness; the land question; benefits of the conquest of; memorial of the inhabitants of; illinois towns, the, situation of, i; population of; indian fighters, i; indian lands, untrustworthiness of official reports regarding encroachments on, i. indians, the, the most formidable of savage foes, i; effect of, upon our history; estimate of their numbers; civilization of, in the indian territory; strongest and most numerous tribes of, in the southwest; number of the northwest; strike the first blow in kentucky; tribes engaged in lord dunmore's war; their inroads; double dealing of; a true history of our national dealings with, greatly needed; instances of our indian injustice; question of the ownership of land; indian reservations; our indian policy; literature of the indian question; foolish sentiment wasted on; employment of, by the british against the americans, ii; slight losses of, in conflicts with the whites; indian talks, a sample of, ii; indian wars, importance of, i; lord dunmore's begun by the shawnees; the northwest indians go to war, ii; odds immeasurably in favor of the indians; nature of their forays; nature of the ceaseless strife; iroquois hold their own for two centuries, i; their dwelling-place; their numbers; hostile relations with the algonquins of the northwest; ancient superiority acknowledged island flats on the holston river, i; march of the settlers to, from eaton station; indians surprised near; the battle of; defeat of the indians jack, colonel samuel, destroys some indian towns, i; jails, scarcity of, in the wilderness, i; jennings, jonathan, accompanies donaldson, ii; his boat wrecked; killed by the indians; johnson, richard, a babe at bryan's station during the attack, ii; leads the kentucky riflemen at the victory of the thames; jonesborough, first town in the holston settlements, ii; salem church built at; kaskaskia, condition of, reported to clark, ii; march of clark to; surprised; ball at the fort; interrupted by clark kenton, simon, first heard of, i; reaches kentucky; one of his companions burned alive by indians; a scout in lord dunmore's army; the bane of the indian tribes; saved from torture and death by logan; reaches boonsborough; his character, ii; saves boon's life; accompanies boon to the scioto; fight with the indians; steals horses from the indians; captured by the indians; treatment of, by the indians; runs the gauntlet; taken from town to town; tortured by women and boys; abandons himself to despair; ransomed by traders; escapes and reaches home in safety; a favorite hero of frontier history; joins clark at the falls of the ohio; with logan at the blue licks; kentucky claimed by a dozen tribes, i; belonged to no one; famous for game; excites boon's interest; its beauty as seen by boon; first white victim to indian treachery; "like a paradise,"; abandoned by whites in ; isolation of the first settlers; called by the cherokees "the dark and bloody ground,"; religion of the settlers; jefferson and henry determine to keep it a part of virginia; foothold of the americans in; permanent settlers come in; early marriages; dislike to the episcopal church; baptist preachers arrive in; different types among the settlers; three routes to; danger from savages; hardships endured by settlers; amusements and explorations; growth of; war with the indians; population of as set forth in shater's "history of kentucky"; the struggle in, ii; whites outnumbered by the invading indians in; bloodthirstiness of war in; settled chiefly through boon's instrumentality; clark's conquests benefit; land laws; inrush of settlers; occasional indian forays; the hard winter; an abortive separatist movement; divided into counties; indian war parties repulsed; threatened by a great war band; renewal of indian forays; wonderful growth of; first grand jury impanelled; court house and jail built; manufactories of salt started; grist mills erected; race track laid out king's mountain where ferguson halted, ii; battle of; victory of the americans at; importance of the victory at; knight captured with crawford, ii; witnesses his tortures; escapes; lamothe supports the british, ii; language spread of the english, i; latin race leader of europe, i; leni-lenape, the. see delawares; levels of greenbriar, the gathering-place of lewis' army, i; lewis, general andrew, in command of frontiersmen in lord dunmore's army, i; the force under his command; divides his army into three divisions; leaves his worst troops to garrison small forts; reaches the kanawha river; camps at point pleasant at the mouth of the kanawha; prepares to obey lord dunmore's orders; attacked by indians; despatches col. field to the front; fortifies his camp; battle of the great kanawha; repulses the indians; leaves his sick and wounded in camp and marches to join lord; dunmore; served creditably in the revolution; lewis colonel charles, a brother of general lewis, i; commands augusta troops; marches with the bulk of gen. lewis' army; ordered to advance; mortally wounded; lexington how named i; logan an iroquois of note, i; a friend of the whites; murder of his kinsfolk; his revenge; letter to cresap; refuses to attend a council; his eloquent speech; perishes in a drunken brawl; evidence of the authenticity of his speech; intercedes successfully for kenton ii; logan, benjamin leads a party to kentucky, i; his character; his bravery ii; goes to the holston for powder and lead; surprised by indians; second in command; missing at the fight at piqua; appointed colonel; capture of his family by the savages and their rescue; raises the whole force of lincoln; buries the dead after the battle of the blue licks; with clark in the miami country; destroys stores of british traders; logan's station, fort built at, i; attacked by indians, ii; long hunters, the, why so called, i; long knives, designation given virginians by the indians, i; extension of the term, i; long run, squire boon defeated at, ii lord dunmore's war, begun by the indians, i; cresap's reprisals; murder of logan's kinsfolk; wrath of the indians; the frontier ravaged by indians; panic on the border; logan's revenge; counterstrokes of backwoodsmen; burn a shawnee village; the opening act of the drama that was closed at yorktown; lorimer surprises and captures boon, ii; loughry, annihilation of his party, ii; louisiana, purchase of, i; ceded by france to spain louisville, founded by clark, ii; lulbegrud creek, origin of name, i; mcafee brothers, the, incident in their career, i; visit kentucky; meet cornstalk and the shawnees; visit big bone lick; their sufferings on their homeward journey; reach powell's valley; meet boon there; return to kentucky; build a stockade, ii; attacked by indians; narrow individual escapes; relieved by mcgarry mcconnell, names his hut lexington, i; captured near lexington, ii; slays his captors and escapes mcculloch, major samuel, a leading man on the border, ii; escape from the indians mcdowell, col., asks the holston men for help, ii; beaten by ferguson; goes to gates' army mcgarry, reaches kentucky, i; his character; surprised by indians, ii; relieves mcafee's station; his insubordination; serves under col. todd mcgillivray, alexander, chief of the creek nation, i; his birth; education; claimed by the creeks; his chieftainship; aids the british, i; mcgillivray, lachlan, his career; marriage; children; influence over the savages mckee, a tory leader, ii; a fairly good commander; defeated by clark; a letter to de peyster; maine, settlers of, confined to the sea-coast, i; mansker, kasper, leads a party of hunters down the cumberland river, i; returns overland to georgia; returns to tennessee; skill as a marksman and woodsman; his "nancy,"; outwits an indian; adventure with indians; becomes a methodist; hunts in the cumberland country, ii marshall, thomas, surveyor of fayette county, ii; martin, major joseph, joins sevier's troops, ii; disperses the indians; tries to speculate in cherokee lands; sample indian "talk" to; methodism, a power after the revolution, ii miamis, the, location of, i; surprise and capture boon, ii milfort, a french adventurer, i; marries a sister of mcgillivray; his untruthfulness and braggadocio; mingos, the, renegade indians, i; a mongrel banditti; their camp destroyed; declare for neutrality; try to kill the american indian agents; miro, estevan, letter to robertson, ii; monk's corners, ferguson defeats the americans at, ii; monongahela, valley of the, claimed by virginia, i; moravian indians, the, a peaceful race, i; mostly delawares; oppressed in pennsylvania; remove to the west; settle on the muskingum; teachings of the missionaries; their strict neutrality, ii; hated by the wild indians; the british endeavor to break up their villages; exasperate the americans; blindly court their fate; evil conduct of the backwoodsmen; moravians themselves not blameless; maltreated by the british and wild indians; maltreated by the americans; return to their homes; warned of their danger; massacred; morris, robert, account with miss betsy hart, ii; mound builders, the, remains of, i; at mouth of the scioto; munceys, the, a sub-tribe of the delawares, i muscogees, the. see creeks; nashborough, built by robertson, ii; attacked by indians; failure of the attack; government established at; treaty with the indians held at; natchez, the, take refuge with the chickasaws, i; neely, alexander, takes two indian scalps, i; netherland, jeered at as a coward, ii; rallies his comrades; checks the indians; new england, english stock purest in, i new mexico, the winning of, i; new york, small proportion of english blood in, in , i "nolichucky jack." see john sevier; nolichucky river, a feeder of the tennessee river, i; north carolina, separated from eastern tennessee by the unaka mountains, i; a turbulent and disorderly colony; war between tryon and the regulators; northwest, the, settlement of, preceded by the regular army, i; settled under national ordinance of ; english conquest of; claims of the colonies to; worthlessness of titles to; how we gained it; french inhabitants little affected by change of allegiance; war in, ii oconostota, head-chief of the cherokees, i; signs the treaty of the sycamore shoals; warns the treaty-makers; ohio valley, in possession of the french, i; conquered by the british, ii; old chillicothe, near pickaway plains; old tassell, his "talk" to col. martin, ii ottawas, the, location of, i; ouatinous, the. see weas; pack-trains, sole means of transport, i; patterson, capt. robert, patrols the country, ii; annoyed by reynolds; compact with reynolds; at the battle of the blue licks; saved by reynolds; shows his gratitude; peace, difficulties in the way of, i; pennsylvania, english blood in, in , i; evil of indian policy in; imminency of fight with virginia; conflict of interests with virginia; traders; neutrality in lord dunmore's war; her traders protected by shawnees; panic on the frontier; pensacola, residence of the governor of west florida, i; personal prowess, ii; piankeshaws, the, associated with the miamis, i; pickaway plains, base of lord dunmore's operations, i; picken's fort, gathering-place of williamson's forces, i; pierre, don eugénio, plunders st. joseph, ii; pike, capt., a famous delaware chief, ii; piqua, the fight at, ii; destroyed by clark; poe, adam, starts in pursuit of indians, ii; saves his brother; poe, andrew, pursues the indians, ii; fight with two indians; saved by his brother; point pleasant, camping-place of lewis' army, i; battle of; murder of cornstalk at; population, movements of, i; portugal, her share in the new world, i. pottawattamies, the, location of, i; powell's valley, boon and the mcafees meet in, i; visited by floyd; henderson leaves his wagons at; prairie, origin of our use of the word, i; description of illinois; presbyterian-irish. see scotch-irish; presbyterianism, leading creed of the frontier, ii; preston, wm., account of the battle of the great kanawha, i; quebec, province of, a french state to-day, i; de quindre, captain daignian, a noted detroit partisan, ii; outwitted by boon; race, accountability of each, for individual misdeeds, i; raven, signs the treaty of the sycamore shoals, i; redhawk, murdered at point pleasant, i; revolution, the, i; westerners in the; civil war on the border; whigs and tories; ferocity of the partisans; the british rouse the indian tribes to begin hostilities; twofold character of, ii; rewards offered by the south carolina legislature, i; reynolds, aaron, "a very profane, swearing man," ii; rebuked by patterson; taunts girty; saves patterson at the battle of the blue licks; capture of, by the indians and escape; rifle, the, the national weapon of the backwoodsman, i; robertson, james, comes to the watauga in , i; a mighty hunter; returns to north carolina; leads a band of settlers to tennessee; his energy and ability; a member of the civil government of the watauga commonwealth; treats with the cherokees; his mission of peace; trusted by the cherokees; success of mission; a sergeant in lord dunmore's war; discovers cornstalk's army; attacks the indians; made superintendent of indian affairs; sends warning to the holston settlements; value of gilmore's life of; founds the cumberland settlement, ii; travels to the cumberland; visits george rogers clark; guides settlers to the cumberland; builds nashborough; warns the settlers; draws up a compact of government; his son killed by the indians; his character rocheblave commands at kaskaskia, ii; attached to the british interest; treated harshly by clark; sent a prisoner to virginia rogers, lieut., defeated by girty and elliott, ii; russell, capt., joins lewis before the battle of the great kanawha, i; rutherford, gen. griffith, relieves the besieged stations, i; takes the field against the cherokees; his route; destroys the middle towns; proceeds against the valley towns; escapes falling-into an ambush; returns to canucca; meets williamson; reaches home in safety; result of his expedition; st. asaphs. see logan's station, i; st. augustine, her prosperity and decay, i; sacs and foxes, the, their location, i; salem, a settlement of moravian indians, i; salem church, the first in tennessee, ii; sandusky, the fight at, ii; saunders, john, his contract with clark, ii; scioto river, the, remains of mound builders at mouth of, i; scotch-irish, the, the dominant strain in the blood of the backwoodsmen, i; a mixed people; their religious antipathies; a bold and hardy race; backbone of the order-loving element; staunch patriots; seminoles, the, their bloody wars with the spaniards, i; an offshoot of the creeks; senecas, the, the largest of the six nations, i; sevier, john, plays a chief part in the history of tennessee, i; reaches the watauga; his ancestry and education; his appearance and influence; a member of the watauga civil government; builds a fort; in lord dunmore's war; notifies the fincastle men of the indian advance; falls in love and marries during the siege of the watauga fort; value of gilmore's life of; attempted murder of, ii; leader of the whole district; his home and hospitality; "nolichucky jack,"; patrols the border; raises his rifle-rangers; leads the right wing at the battle of king's mountain; rallies his men; the best indian fighter on the border; influence over his followers; secret of his success; campaigns against the cherokees; defeats the indians; issues an address to the otari chiefs; expedition against the erati; ravages their country; services in the revolutionary war; sevier, valentine, stumbles upon the indians and escapes, i; shawnees, the location of, i; closely united to the delawares and wyandots; under cornstalk meet the mcafee's; declare war; discriminate between virginians and pennsylvanians; defy conolly; defeated by backwoodsmen; their town muskingum burned; give hostages to lord dunmore; declare for neutrality; give the war belt to the cherokees shelby, evan, a captain in lewis' army, i; joins lewis before the battle of the great kanawha; transfers the command to his son isaac; his estate, ii; surprises the chickamaugas shelby, isaac, serves under his father, i; a prominent figure on the border; commands at the battle of the great kanawha; his letter with account of the battle of the great kanawha; county lieutenant, ii; lends his credit to the state; crosses the mountains; carries on a guerilla warfare; rides to sevier's; gathers his troops; proposes campbell as commander; addresses the troops; commands the left centre at king's mountain; in the thick of the fight; sherrill, kate, escapes from the indians; marries sevier; six nations, the, surrender lands to the english, i; took no part in lord dunmore's war; send the white belt of peace to the northwestern tribes, ii; slover, his curious history, ii; captured by the indians; condemned to be burned; his escape southwest, the, won by individual settlers, ii; sowdowsky, with harrod founds harrodsburg, i; descends the mississippi; spain, her conquests in america in the th century, i; wars with holland, england, and france; surrenders both floridas to england; declares war on great britain, ii; claims country to the east of the mississippi; hostile to america spencer, the first permanent settler in the cumberland country, ii; mode of life; stoner, hunts in the bend of the cumberland, i; pilots in lord dunmore's surveyors; sullivan county, erected, ii; surveyors, the, their part in the exploration of the west, i; descend the ohio; washington, clark, and boon among; sent by lord dunmore to the falls of the ohio; sycamore shoals, the, treaty of; tallasotchee, the white chief of, i; tarleton, his brutality, ii; tennessee, description of the eastern part of, i; first settlements in; formed part of north carolina; first settlers mainly from virginia; character of the first settlers of; organized into washington county, north carolina; texas, the meaning of, i; tipton, major jonathan, commands sevier's right wing, ii; failure of his expedition; todd, john, reaches boonsborough, i; defeated at the licking by indians; appointed colonel, ii; commandant of illinois; his letter of instructions; appoints winston commandant at kaskaskia; his financial difficulties; extract from his "record book,"; elected a delegate to the virginia legislature; ranking officer in kentucky; pursues the indians; leads the centre at the battle of the blue licks; his bravery and death; todd, major levi, marches to the relief of bryan's station, ii; at the battle of the blue licks; torments, inflicted by indians, i; transylvania, henderson's colony, i; meeting of the legislature of; legislature of, dissolved; collapse of the colony; trappers, descend the mississippi, i; treaty of fort stanwix, i; trigg, lieut.-col., leads the men from harrodsburg, ii; commands the right at the battle of the blue licks; surrounded and killed; twigtwees, the. see miamis; unaka mountains, i; united states, had to be conquered before being settled, i; territorial advances of the people of the; the southwest won by the people themselves; the northwest won by the nation; the boundaries of, ii; vigo, francis, a st. louis trader, ii; bears news from vincennes to clark; a public-spirited patriot; loans silver to the virginian government; vincennes, situation of, i; confusion at, ii; proceedings of the rebels at; virginia, french, irish, and german mixture in, i; makes a treaty with the cherokee indians; boundaries claimed by; border ravaged by indians; virginians, lord dunmore's war fought wholly by them, i; the only foes dreaded by the indians; styled by the indians "long knives,"; gather at the great island of the holston; march against; the cherokees; reach the big island of the french broad; ravage the cherokee towns; return home; walton, major jesse, serves under sevier, ii; ward, nancy, brings overtures of peace, ii; her family respected; warfare, ferocious individual, ii; washington college founded by doak, ii; washington district. see holston settlements; washington, gen. geo., unable to help clark, ii; watauga commonwealth, , date of first permanent settlement, i; supposed by settlers to form part of virginia; discovered to be part of north carolina; immigration from north carolina to; character of the settlers; palisaded villages in; life of the settlers; their amusements; settlers organize a government; articles of the watauga association; their first convention held at robertson's station; plan of civil government; endures for six years; settlers ordered to leave their lands; settlers successfully solve the problem of self-government; makes a treaty with cherokees; attacked by the cherokees; watauga fort, the, commanded by sevier and robertson, i; attacked by the indians; the indians beaten back; watauga river, a feeder of the tennessee river, i; first settlement on the banks of the; watts, john, sevier's guide against the chickamauga towns, ii wayne, gen. anthony, threatens the indians, ii; weas, the, living with the miamis, i; wells, his noble deed, ii; west, the, the winning of, ii; actually conquered; definitely secured by diplomacy; west florida, its boundaries, i; wetzel, lewis, a formidable hunter, ii; his adventures; wheeling, attacked by indians, ii; attacked by simon girty; heroism of a girl; whites, the, provocation suffered by, i; retaliation by; white top mountain, a landmark, i; wilderness, the, life in, i; wilderness road, the, forever famous in kentucky history, i; exists to-day; williams, col., shot at the battle of king's mountain, ii williamson, colonel andrew, gathers a force at picken's fort, i; advances against the indians; his campaign against the cherokees; attempt to surprise cameron; falls into an ambush; defeats the indians; destroys their houses; garrisons fort rutledge; meets rutherford; falls into an ambush; defeats the indians; reaches the valley towns; joined by rutherford; destroys all the cherokee settlements west of appalachians; returns to fort rutledge; williamson, col. david, removes the remnant of the moravians to fort pitt, ii; blamed by the people; leads the frontiersmen to the moravian towns; commands the retreat from sandusky; _willing_, the, the first gunboat in western waters, ii; reaches vincennes; winnebagos, the, location of, i; winston, major, cuts off the retreat of the british, ii; winston, richard, appointed commandant at kaskaskia, ii; becomes "unhappy"; wyandots, the, location of, i; redoubtable foes; claim respect from the algonquins; surpass their neighbors in mercifulness as well as valor; the half king of, threatens revenge, ii; defeat and kill estill; [illustration: arched rock at mackinaw] summer on the lakes in by s. m. fuller mdcccxliv. summer on the lakes. summer days of busy leisure, long summer days of dear-bought pleasure, you have done your teaching well; had the scholar means to tell how grew the vine of bitter-sweet, what made the path for truant feet, winter nights would quickly pass, gazing on the magic glass o'er which the new-world shadows pass; but, in fault of wizard spell, moderns their tale can only tell in dull words, with a poor reed breaking at each time of need. but those to whom a hint suffices mottoes find for all devices, see the knights behind their shields, through dried grasses, blooming fields. to a friend. some dried grass-tufts from the wide flowery plain, a muscle shell from the lone fairy shore, some antlers from tall woods which never more to the wild deer a safe retreat can yield, an eagle's feather which adorned a brave, well-nigh the last of his despairing band, for such slight gifts wilt thou extend thy hand when weary hours a brief refreshment crave? i give you what i can, not what i would, if my small drinking-cup would hold a flood, as scandinavia sung those must contain with which the giants gods may entertain; in our dwarf day we drain few drops, and soon must thirst again. chapter i. niagara, june , . since you are to share with me such foot-notes as may be made on the pages of my life during this summer's wanderings, i should not be quite silent as to this magnificent prologue to the, as yet, unknown drama. yet i, like others, have little to say where the spectacle is, for once, great enough to fill the whole life, and supersede thought, giving us only its own presence. "it is good to be here," is the best as the simplest expression that occurs to the mind. we have been here eight days, and i am quite willing to go away. so great a sight soon satisfies, making us content with itself, and with what is less than itself. our desires, once realized, haunt us again less readily. having "lived one day" we would depart, and become worthy to live another. we have not been fortunate in weather, for there cannot be too much, or too warm sunlight for this scene, and the skies have been lowering, with cold, unkind winds. my nerves, too much braced up by such an atmosphere, do not well bear the continual stress of sight and sound. for here there is no escape from the weight of a perpetual creation; all other forms and motions come and go, the tide rises and recedes, the wind, at its mightiest, moves in gales and gusts, but here is really an incessant, an indefatigable motion. awake or asleep, there is no escape, still this rushing round you and through you. it is in this way i have most felt the grandeur--somewhat eternal, if not infinite. at times a secondary music rises; the cataract seems to seize its own rhythm and sing it over again, so that the ear and soul are roused by a double vibration. this is some effect of the wind, causing echoes to the thundering anthem. it is very sublime, giving the effect of a spiritual repetition through all the spheres. when i first came i felt nothing but a quiet satisfaction. i found that drawings, the panorama, &c. had given me a clear notion of the position and proportions of all objects here; i knew where to look for everything, and everything looked as i thought it would. long ago, i was looking from a hill-side with a friend at one of the finest sunsets that ever enriched this world. a little cow-boy, trudging along, wondered what we could be gazing at. after spying about some time, he found it could only be the sunset, and looking, too, a moment, he said approvingly "that sun looks well enough;" a speech worthy of shakspeare's cloten, or the infant mercury, up to everything from the cradle, as you please to take it. even such a familiarity, worthy of jonathan, our national hero, in a prince's palace, or "stumping" as he boasts to have done, "up the vatican stairs, into the pope's presence, in my old boots," i felt here; it looks really _well enough_, i felt, and was inclined, as you suggested, to give my approbation as to the one object in the world that would not disappoint. but all great expression, which, on a superficial survey, seems so easy as well as so simple, furnishes, after a while, to the faithful observer its own standard by which to appreciate it. daily these proportions widened and towered more and more upon my sight, and i got, at last, a proper foreground for these sublime distances. before coming away, i think i really saw the full wonder of the scene. after awhile it so drew me into itself as to inspire an undefined dread, such as i never knew before, such as may be felt when death is about to usher us into a new existence. the perpetual trampling of the waters seized my senses. i felt that no other sound, however near, could be heard, and would start and look behind me for a foe. i realized the identity of that mood of nature in which these waters were poured down with such absorbing force, with that in which the indian was shaped on the same soil. for continually upon my mind came, unsought and unwelcome, images, such as never haunted it before, of naked savages stealing behind me with uplifted tomahawks; again and again this illusion recurred, and even after i had thought it over, and tried to shake it off, i could not help starting and looking behind me. as picture, the falls can only be seen from the british side. there they are seen in their veils, and at sufficient distance to appreciate the magical effects of these, and the light and shade. from the boat, as you cross, the effects and contrasts are more melodramatic. on the road back from the whirlpool, we saw them as a reduced picture with delight. but what i liked best was to sit on table rock, close to the great fall. there all power of observing details, all separate consciousness, was quite lost. once, just as i had seated myself there, a man came to take his first look. he walked close up to the fall, and, after looking at it a moment, with an air as if thinking how he could best appropriate it to his own use, he spat into it. this trait seemed wholly worthy of an age whose love of _utility_ is such that the prince puckler muskau suggests the probability of men coming to put the bodies of their dead parents in the fields to fertilize them, and of a country such as dickens has described; but these will not, i hope, be seen on the historic page to be truly the age or truly the america. a little leaven is leavening the whole mass for other bread. the whirlpool i like very much. it is seen to advantage after the great falls; it is so sternly solemn. the river cannot look more imperturbable, almost sullen in its marble green, than it does just below the great fall; but the slight circles that mark the hidden vortex, seem to whisper mysteries the thundering voice above could not proclaim,--a meaning as untold as ever. it is fearful, too, to know, as you look, that whatever has been swallowed by the cataract, is like to rise suddenly to light here, whether uprooted tree, or body of man or bird. the rapids enchanted me far beyond what i expected; they are so swift that they cease to seem so; you can think only of their beauty. the fountain beyond the moss islands, i discovered for myself, and thought it for some time an accidental beauty which it would not do to leave, lest i might never see it again. after i found it permanent, i returned many times to watch the play of its crest. in the little waterfall beyond, nature seems, as she often does, to have made a study for some larger design. she delights in this,--a sketch within a sketch, a dream within a dream. wherever we see it, the lines of the great buttress in the fragment of stone, the hues of the waterfall, copied in the flowers that star its bordering mosses, we are delighted; for all the lineaments become fluent, and we mould the scene in congenial thought with its genius. people complain of the buildings at niagara, and fear to see it further deformed. i cannot sympathize with such an apprehension: the spectacle is capable to swallow up all such objects; they are not seen in the great whole, more than an earthworm in a wide field. the beautiful wood on goat island is full of flowers; many of the fairest love to do homage here. the wake robin and may apple are in bloom now; the former, white, pink, green, purple, copying the rainbow of the fall, and fit to make a garland for its presiding deity when he walks the land, for they are of imperial size, and shaped like stones for a diadem. of the may apple, i did not raise one green tent without finding a flower beneath. and now farewell, niagara. i have seen thee, and i think all who come here must in some sort see thee; thou art not to be got rid of as easily as the stars. i will be here again beneath some flooding july moon and sun. owing to the absence of light, i have seen the rainbow only two or three times by day; the lunar bow not at all. however, the imperial presence needs not its crown, though illustrated by it. general porter and jack downing were not unsuitable figures here. the former heroically planted the bridges by which we cross to goat island, and the wake-robin-crowned genius has punished his temerity with deafness, which must, i think, have come upon him when he sank the first stone in the rapids. jack seemed an acute and entertaining representative of jonathan, come to look at his great water-privilege. he told us all about the americanisms of the spectacle; that is to say, the battles that have been fought here. it seems strange that men could fight in such a place; but no temple can still the personal griefs and strifes in the breasts of its visiters. no less strange is the fact that, in this neighborhood, an eagle should be chained for a plaything. when a child, i used often to stand at a window from which i could see an eagle chained in the balcony of a museum. the people used to poke at it with sticks, and my childish heart would swell with indignation as i saw their insults, and the mien with which they were borne by the monarch-bird. its eye was dull, and its plumage soiled and shabby, yet, in its form and attitude, all the king was visible, though sorrowful and dethroned. i never saw another of the family till, when passing through the notch of the white mountains, at that moment striding before us in all the panoply of sunset, the driver shouted, "look there!" and following with our eyes his upward-pointing finger, we saw, soaring slow in majestic poise above the highest summit, the bird of jove. it was a glorious sight, yet i know not that i felt more on seeing the bird in all its natural freedom and royalty, than when, imprisoned and insulted, he had filled my early thoughts with the byronic "silent rages" of misanthropy. now, again, i saw him a captive, and addressed by the vulgar with the language they seem to find most appropriate to such occasions--that of thrusts and blows. silently, his head averted, he ignored their existence, as plotinus or sophocles might that of a modern reviewer. probably, he listened to the voice of the cataract, and felt that congenial powers flowed free, and was consoled, though his own wing was broken. the story of the recluse of niagara interested me a little. it is wonderful that men do not oftener attach their lives to localities of great beauty--that, when once deeply penetrated, they will let themselves so easily be borne away by the general stream of things, to live any where and any how. but there is something ludicrous in being the hermit of a show-place, unlike st. francis in his mountain-bed, where none but the stars and rising sun ever saw him. there is also a "guide to the falls," who wears his title labeled on his hat; otherwise, indeed, one might as soon think of asking for a gentleman usher to point out the moon. yet why should we wonder at such, either, when we have commentaries on shakspeare, and harmonics of the gospels? and now you have the little all i have to write. can it interest you? to one who has enjoyed the full life of any scene, of any hour, what thoughts can be recorded about it, seem like the commas and semicolons in the paragraph, mere stops. yet i suppose it is not so to the absent. at least, i have read things written about niagara, music, and the like, that interested _me_. once i was moved by mr. greenwood's remark, that he could not realize this marvel till, opening his eyes the next morning after he had seen it, his doubt as to the possibility of its being still there, taught him what he had experienced. i remember this now with pleasure, though, or because, it is exactly the opposite to what i myself felt. for all greatness affects different minds, each in "its own particular kind," and the variations of testimony mark the truth of feeling. i will add a brief narrative of the experience of another here, as being much better than anything i could write, because more simple and individual. "now that i have left this 'earth-wonder,' and the emotions it excited are past, it seems not so much like profanation to analyze my feelings, to recall minutely and accurately the effect of this manifestation of the eternal. but one should go to such a scene prepared to yield entirely to its influences, to forget one's little self and one's little mind. to see a miserable worm creep to the brink of this falling world of waters, and watch the trembling of its own petty bosom, and fancy that this is made alone, to act upon him excites--derision?--no,--pity." as i rode up to the neighborhood of the falls, a solemn awe imperceptibly stole over me, and the deep sound of the ever-hurrying rapids prepared my mind for the lofty emotions to be experienced. when i reached the hotel, i felt a strange indifference about seeing the aspiration of my life's hopes. i lounged about the rooms, read the stage bills upon the walls, looked over the register, and, finding the name of an acquaintance, sent to see if he was still there. what this hesitation arose from, i know not; perhaps it was a feeling of my unworthiness to enter this temple which nature has erected to its god. at last, slowly and thoughtfully i walked down to the bridge leading to goat island, and when i stood upon this frail support, and saw a quarter of a mile of tumbling, rushing rapids, and heard their everlasting roar, my emotions overpowered me, a choaking sensation rose to my throat, a thrill rushed through my veins, "my blood ran rippling to my finger's ends." this was the climax of the effect which the falls produced upon me--neither the american nor the british fall moved me as did these rapids. for the magnificence, the sublimity of the latter i was prepared by descriptions and by paintings. when i arrived in sight of them i merely felt, "ah, yes, here is the fall, just as i have seen it in picture." when i arrived at the terrapin bridge, i expected to be overwhelmed, to retire trembling from this giddy eminence, and gaze with unlimited wonder and awe upon the immense mass rolling on and on, but, somehow or other, i thought only of comparing the effect on my mind with what i had read and heard. i looked for a short time, and then with almost a feeling of disappointment, turned to go to the other points of view to see if i was not mistaken in not feeling any surpassing emotion at this sight. but from the foot of biddle's stairs, and the middle of the river, and from below the table rock, it was still "barren, barren all." and, provoked with my stupidity in feeling most moved in the wrong place, i turned away to the hotel, determined to set off for buffalo that afternoon. but the stage did not go, and, after nightfall, as there was a splendid moon, i went down to the bridge, and leaned over the parapet, where the boiling rapids came down in their might. it was grand, and it was also gorgeous; the yellow rays of the moon made the broken waves appear like auburn tresses twining around the black rocks. but they did not inspire me as before. i felt a foreboding of a mightier emotion to rise up and swallow all others, and i passed on to the terrapin bridge. everything was changed, the misty apparition had taken off its many-colored crown which it had worn by day, and a bow of silvery white spanned its summit. the moonlight gave a poetical indefiniteness to the distant parts of the waters, and while the rapids were glancing in her beams, the river below the falls was black as night, save where the reflection of the sky gave it the appearance of a shield of blued steel. no gaping tourists loitered, eyeing with their glasses, or sketching on cards the hoary locks of the ancient river god. all tended to harmonize with the natural grandeur of the scene. i gazed long. i saw how here mutability and unchangeableness were united. i surveyed the conspiring waters rushing against the rocky ledge to overthrow it at one mad plunge, till, like toppling ambition, o'erleaping themselves, they fall on t'other side, expanding into foam ere they reach the deep channel where they creep submissively away. then arose in my breast a genuine admiration, and a humble adoration of the being who was the architect of this and of all. happy were the first discoverers of niagara, those who could come unawares upon this view and upon that, whose feelings were entirely their own. with what gusto does father hennepin describe "this great downfall of water," "this vast and prodigious cadence of water, which falls down after a surprising and astonishing manner, insomuch that the universe does not afford its parallel. 'tis true italy and swedeland boast of some such things, but we may well say that they be sorry patterns when compared with this of which we do now speak." chapter ii. the lakes. scene, steamboat.--_about to leave buffalo--baggage coming on board--passengers bustling for their berths--little boys persecuting everybody with their newspapers and pamphlets--j., s. and m. huddled up in a forlorn corner, behind a large trunk--a heavy rain falling_. _m_. water, water everywhere. after niagara one would like a dry strip of existence. and at any rate it is quite enough for me to have it under foot without having it over head in this way. _j_. ah, do not abuse the gentle element. it is hardly possible to have too much of it, and indeed, if i were obliged to choose amid the four, it would be the one in which i could bear confinement best. _s_. you would make a pretty undine, to be sure! _j_. nay, i only offered myself as a triton, a boisterous triton of the sounding shell ... you; m. i suppose, would be a salamander, rather. _m_. no! that is too equivocal a position, whether in modern mythology, or hoffman's tales. i should choose to be a gnome. _j_. that choice savors of the pride that apes humility. _m_. by no means; the gnomes are the most important of all the elemental tribes. is it not they who make the money? _j_. and are accordingly a dark, mean, scoffing,-- _m_. you talk as if you had always lived in that wild unprofitable element you are so fond of, where all things glitter, and nothing is gold; all show and no substance. my people work in the secret, and their works praise them in the open light; they remain in the dark because only there such marvels could be bred. you call them mean. they do not spend their energies on their own growth, or their own play, but to feed the veins of mother earth with permanent splendors, very different from what she shows on the surface. think of passing a life, not merely in heaping together, but making gold. of all dreams, that of the alchymist is the most poetical, for he looked at the finest symbol. gold, says one of our friends, is the hidden light of the earth, it crowns the mineral, as wine the vegetable order, being the last expression of vital energy. _j_. have you paid for your passage? _m_. yes! and in gold, not in shells or pebbles. _j_. no really wise gnome would scoff at the water, the beautiful water. "the spirit of man is like the water." _s_. yes, and like the air and fire, no less. _j_. yes, but not like the earth, this low-minded creature's chosen dwelling. _m_. the earth is spirit made fruitful,--life. and its heart-beats are told in gold and wine. _j_. oh! it is shocking to hear such sentiments in these times. i thought that bacchic energy of yours was long since repressed. _m_. no! i have only learned to mix water with my wine, and stamp upon my gold the heads of kings, or the hieroglyphics of worship. but since i have learnt to mix with water, let's hear what you have to say in praise of your favorite. _j_. from water venus was born, what more would you have? it is the mother of beauty, the girdle of earth, and the marriage of nations. _s_. without any of that high-flown poetry, it is enough, i think, that it is the great artist, turning all objects that approach it to picture. _j_. true, no object that touches it, whether it be the cart that ploughs the wave for sea-weed, or the boat or plank that rides upon it, but is brought at once from the demesne of coarse utilities into that of picture. all trades, all callings, become picturesque by the water's side, or on the water. the soil, the slovenliness is washed out of every calling by its touch. all river-crafts, sea-crafts, are picturesque, are poetical. their very slang is poetry. _m_. the reasons for that are complex. _j_. the reason is, that there can be no plodding, groping words and motions, on my water as there are on your earth. there is no time, no chance for them where all moves so rapidly, though so smoothly, everything connected with water must be like itself, forcible, but clear. that is why sea-slang is so poetical; there is a word for everything and every act, and a thing and an act for every word. seamen must speak quick and bold, but also with utmost precision. they cannot reef and brace other than in a homeric dialect--therefore,--(steamboat bell rings.) but i must say a quick good-by. _m_. what, going, going back to earth after all this talk upon the other side. well, that is nowise homeric, but truly modern. j. is borne off without time for any reply, but a laugh--at himself, of course. s. and m. retire to their state-rooms to forget the wet, the chill and steamboat smell in their just-bought new world of novels. next day, when we stopped at cleveland, the storm was just clearing up; ascending the bluff, we had one of the finest views of the lake that could have been wished. the varying depths of these lakes give to their surface a great variety of coloring, and beneath this wild sky and changeful lights, the waters presented kaleidoscopic varieties of hues, rich, but mournful. i admire these bluffs of red, crumbling earth. here land and water meet under very different auspices from those of the rock-bound coast to which i have been accustomed. there they meet tenderly to challenge, and proudly to refuse, though not in fact repel. but here they meet to mingle, are always rushing together, and changing places; a new creation takes place beneath the eye. the weather grew gradually clearer, but not bright; yet we could see the shore and appreciate the extent of these noble waters. coming up the river st. clair, we saw indians for the first time. they were camped out on the bank. it was twilight, and their blanketed forms, in listless groups or stealing along the bank, with a lounge and a stride so different in its wildness from the rudeness of the white settler, gave me the first feeling that i really approached the west. the people on the boat were almost all new englanders, seeking their fortunes. they had brought with them their habits of calculation, their cautious manners, their love of polemics. it grieved me to hear these immigrants who were to be the fathers of a new race, all, from the old man down to the little girl, talking not of what they should do, but of what they should get in the new scene. it was to them a prospect, not of the unfolding nobler energies, but of more ease, and larger accumulation. it wearied me, too, to hear trinity and unity discussed in the poor, narrow doctrinal way on these free waters; but that will soon cease, there is not time for this clash of opinions in the west, where the clash of material interests is so noisy. they will need the spirit of religion more than ever to guide them, but will find less time than before for its doctrine. this change was to me, who am tired of the war of words on these subjects, and believe it only sows the wind to reap the whirlwind, refreshing, but i argue nothing from it; there is nothing real in the freedom of thought at the west, it is from the position of men's lives, not the state of their minds. so soon as they have time, unless they grow better meanwhile, they will cavil and criticise, and judge other men by their own standard, and outrage the law of love every way, just as they do with us. we reached mackinaw the evening of the third day, but, to my great disappointment, it was too late and too rainy to go ashore. the beauty of the island, though seen under the most unfavorable circumstances, did not disappoint my expectations. but i shall see it to more purpose on my return. as the day has passed dully, a cold rain preventing us from keeping out in the air, my thoughts have been dwelling on a story told when we were off detroit, this morning, by a fellow passenger, and whose moral beauty touched me profoundly. some years ago, said mrs. l., my father and mother stopped to dine at detroit. a short time before dinner my father met in the hall captain p., a friend of his youthful days. he had loved p. extremely, as did many who knew him, and had not been surprised to hear of the distinction and popular esteem which his wide knowledge, talents, and noble temper commanded, as he went onward in the world. p. was every way fitted to succeed; his aims were high, but not too high for his powers, suggested by an instinct of his own capacities, not by an ideal standard drawn from culture. though steadfast in his course, it was not to overrun others, his wise self-possession was no less for them than himself. he was thoroughly the gentleman, gentle because manly, and was a striking instance that where there is strength for sincere courtesy, there is no need of other adaptation to the character of others, to make one's way freely and gracefully through the crowd. my father was delighted to see him, and after a short parley in the hall--"we will dine together," he cried, "then we shall have time to tell all our stories." p. hesitated a moment, then said, "my wife is with me." "and mine with me," said my father, "that's well; they, too, will have an opportunity of getting acquainted and can entertain one another, if they get tired of our college stories." p. acquiesced, with a grave bow, and shortly after they all met in the dining-room. my father was much surprised at the appearance of mrs. p. he had heard that his friend married abroad, but nothing further, and he was not prepared to see the calm, dignified p. with a woman on his arm, still handsome, indeed, but whose coarse and imperious expression showed as low habits of mind as her exaggerated dress and gesture did of education. nor could there be a greater contrast to my mother, who, though understanding her claims and place with the certainty of a lady, was soft and retiring in an uncommon degree. however, there was no time to wonder or fancy; they sat down, and p. engaged in conversation, without much vivacity, but with his usual ease. the first quarter of an hour passed well enough. but soon it was observable that mrs. p. was drinking glass after glass of wine, to an extent few gentlemen did, even then, and soon that she was actually excited by it. before this, her manner had been brusque, if not contemptuous towards her new acquaintance; now it became, towards my mother especially, quite rude. presently she took up some slight remark made by my mother, which, though it did not naturally mean anything of the sort, could be twisted into some reflection upon england, and made it a handle, first of vulgar sarcasm, and then, upon my mother's defending herself with some surprise and gentle dignity, hurled upon her a volley of abuse, beyond billingsgate. my mother, confounded, feeling scenes and ideas presented to her mind equally new and painful, sat trembling; she knew not what to do, tears rushed into her eyes. my father, no less distressed, yet unwilling to outrage the feelings of his friend by doing or saying what his indignation prompted, turned an appealing look on p. never, as he often said, was the painful expression of that sight effaced from his mind. it haunted his dreams and disturbed his waking thoughts. p. sat with his head bent forward, and his eyes cast down, pale, but calm, with a fixed expression, not merely of patient wo, but of patient shame, which it would not have been thought possible for that, noble countenance to wear, "yet," said my father, "it became him. at other times he was handsome, but then beautiful, though of a beauty saddened and abashed. for a spiritual light borrowed from the worldly perfection of his mien that illustration by contrast, which the penitence of the magdalen does from the glowing earthliness of her charms." seeing that he preserved silence, while mrs. p. grew still more exasperated, my father rose and led his wife to her own room. half an hour had passed, in painful and wondering surmises, when a gentle knock was heard at the door, and p. entered equipped for a journey. "we are just going," he said, and holding out his hand, but without looking at them, "forgive." they each took his hand, and silently pressed it, then he went without a word more. some time passed and they heard now and then of p., as he passed from one army station to another, with his uncongenial companion, who became, it was said, constantly more degraded. whoever mentioned having seen them, wondered at the chance which had yoked him to such a woman, but yet more at the silent fortitude with which he bore it. many blamed him for enduring it, apparently without efforts to check her; others answered that he had probably made such at an earlier period, and finding them unavailing, had resigned himself to despair, and was too delicate to meet the scandal that, with such a resistance as such a woman could offer, must attend a formal separation. but my father, who was not in such haste to come to conclusions, and substitute some plausible explanation for the truth, found something in the look of p. at that trying moment to which none of these explanations offered a key. there was in it, he felt, a fortitude, but not the fortitude of the hero, a religious submission, above the penitent, if not enkindled with the enthusiasm of the martyr. i have said that my father, was not one of those who are ready to substitute specious explanations for truth, and those who are thus abstinent rarely lay their hand on a thread without making it a clue. such an one, like the dexterous weaver, lets not one color go, till he finds that which matches it in the pattern; he keeps on weaving, but chooses his shades, and my father found at last what he wanted to make out the pattern for himself. he met a lady who had been intimate with both himself and p. in early days, and finding she had seen the latter abroad, asked if she knew the circumstances of the marriage. "the circumstances of the act i know," she said, "which sealed the misery of our friend, though as much in the dark as any one about the motives that led to it." we were quite intimate with p. in london, and he was our most delightful companion. he was then in the full flower of the varied accomplishments, which set off his fine manners and dignified character, joined, towards those he loved, with a certain soft willingness which gives the desirable chivalry to a man. none was more clear of choice where his personal affections were not touched, but where they were, it cost him pain to say no, on the slightest occasion. i have thought this must have had some connexion with the mystery of his misfortunes. one day he called on me, and, without any preface, asked if i would be present next day at his marriage. i was so surprised, and so unpleasantly surprised, that i did not at first answer a word. we had been on terms so familiar, that i thought i knew all about him, yet had never dreamed of his having an attachment, and, though i had never inquired on the subject, yet this reserve, where perfect openness had been supposed, and really, on my side, existed, seemed to me a kind of treachery. then it is never pleasant to know that a heart, on which we have some claim, is to be given to another. we cannot tell how it will affect our own relations with a person; it may strengthen or it may swallow up other affections; the crisis is hazardous, and our first thought, on such an occasion, is too often for ourselves, at least, mine was. seeing me silent, he repeated his question. to whom, said i, are you to be married? that, he replied, i cannot tell you. he was a moment silent, then continued with an impassive look of cold self-possession, that affected me with strange sadness. "the name of the person you will hear, of course, at the time, but more i cannot tell you. i need, however, the presence, not only of legal, but of respectable and friendly witnesses. i have hoped you and your husband would do me this kindness. will you?" something in his manner made it impossible to refuse. i answered before i knew i was going to speak, "we will," and he left me. i will not weary you with telling how i harassed myself and my husband, who was, however, scarce less interested, with doubts and conjectures. suffice it that, next morning, p. came and took us in a carriage to a distant church. we had just entered the porch when a cart, such as fruit and vegetables are brought to market in, drove up, containing an elderly woman and a young girl. p. assisted them to alight, and advanced with the girl to the altar. the girl was neatly dressed and quite handsome, yet, something in her expression displeased me the moment i looked upon her. meanwhile the ceremony was going on, and, at its close, p. introduced us to the bride, and we all went to the door. good-by, fanny, said the elderly woman. the new-made mrs. p. replied without any token of affection or emotion. the woman got into the cart and drove away. from that time i saw but little of p. or his wife. i took our mutual friends to see her, and they were civil to her for his sake. curiosity was very much excited, but entirely baffled; no one, of course, dared speak to p. on the subject, and no other means could be found of solving the riddle. he treated his wife with grave and kind politeness, but it was always obvious that they had nothing in common between them. her manners and tastes were not at that time gross, but her character showed itself hard and material. she was fond of riding, and spent much time so. her style in this, and in dress, seemed the opposite of p.'s; but he indulged all her wishes, while, for himself, he plunged into his own pursuits. for a time he seemed, if not happy, not positively unhappy; but, after a few years, mrs. p. fell into the habit of drinking, and then such scenes as you witnessed grew frequent. i have often heard of them, and always that p. sat, as you describe him, his head bowed down and perfectly silent all through, whatever might be done or whoever be present, and always his aspect has inspired such sympathy that no person has questioned him or resented her insults, but merely got out of the way, so soon as possible. hard and long penance, said my father, after some minutes musing, for an hour of passion, probably for his only error. is that your explanation? said the lady. o, improbable. p. might err, but not be led beyond himself. i know his cool gray eye and calm complexion seemed to say so, but a different story is told by the lip that could tremble, and showed what flashes might pierce those deep blue heavens; and when these over intellectual beings do swerve aside, it is to fall down a precipice, for their narrow path lies over such. but he was not one to sin without making a brave atonement, and that it had become a holy one, was written on that downcast brow. the fourth day on these waters, the weather was milder and brighter, so that we could now see them to some purpose. at night was clear moon, and, for the first time, from the upper deck, i saw one of the great steamboats come majestically up. it was glowing with lights, looking many-eyed and sagacious; in its heavy motion it seemed a dowager queen, and this motion, with its solemn pulse, and determined sweep, becomes these smooth waters, especially at night, as much as the dip of the sail-ship the long billows of the ocean. but it was not so soon that i learned to appreciate the lake scenery; it was only after a daily and careless familiarity that i entered into its beauty, for nature always refuses to be seen by being stared at. like bonaparte, she discharges her face of all expression when she catches the eye of impertinent curiosity fixed on her. but he who has gone to sleep in childish ease on her lap, or leaned an aching brow upon her breast, seeking there comfort with full trust as from a mother, will see all a mother's beauty in the look she bends upon him. later, i felt that i had really seen these regions, and shall speak of them again. in the afternoon we went on shore at the manitou islands, where the boat stops to wood. no one lives here except woodcutters for the steamboats. i had thought of such a position, from its mixture of profound solitude with service to the great world, as possessing an ideal beauty. i think so still, after seeing the woodcutters and their slovenly huts. in times of slower growth, man did not enter a situation without a certain preparation or adaptedness to it. he drew from it, if not to the poetical extent, at least, in some proportion, its moral and its meaning. the woodcutter did not cut down so many trees a day, that the hamadryads had not time to make their plaints heard; the shepherd tended his sheep, and did no jobs or chores the while; the idyl had a chance to grow up, and modulate his oaten pipe. but now the poet must be at the whole expense of the poetry in describing one of these positions; the worker is a true midas to the gold he makes. the poet must describe, as the painter sketches irish peasant girls and danish fishwives, adding the beauty, and leaving out the dirt. i come to the west prepared for the distaste i must experience at its mushroom growth. i know that where "go ahead" is the only motto, the village cannot grow into the gentle proportions that successive lives, and the gradations of experience involuntarily give. in older countries the house of the son grew from that of the father, as naturally as new joints on a bough. and the cathedral crowned the whole as naturally as the leafy summit the tree. this cannot be here. the march of peaceful is scarce less wanton than that of warlike invasion. the old landmarks are broken down, and the land, for a season, bears none, except of the rudeness of conquest and the needs of the day, whose bivouac fires blacken the sweetest forest glades. i have come prepared to see all this, to dislike it, but not with stupid narrowness to distrust or defame. on the contrary, while i will not be so obliging as to confound ugliness with beauty, discord with harmony, and laud and be contented with all i meet, when it conflicts with my best desires and tastes, i trust by reverent faith to woo the mighty meaning of the scene, perhaps to foresee the law by which a new order, a new poetry is to be evoked from this chaos, and with a curiosity as ardent, but not so selfish as that of macbeth, to call up the apparitions of future kings from the strange ingredients of the witch's caldron. thus, i will not grieve that all the noble trees are gone already from this island to feed this caldron, but believe it will have medea's virtue, and reproduce them in the form of new intellectual growths, since centuries cannot again adorn the land with such. on this most beautiful beach of smooth white pebbles, interspersed with agates and cornelians, for those who know how to find them, we stepped, not like the indian, with some humble offering, which, if no better than an arrow-head or a little parched corn, would, he judged, please the manitou, who looks only at the spirit in which it is offered. our visit was so far for a religious purpose that one of our party went to inquire the fate of some unitarian tracts left among the woodcutters a year or two before. but the old manitou, though, daunted like his children by the approach of the fire-ships which he probably considered demons of a new dynasty, he had suffered his woods to be felled to feed their pride, had been less patient of an encroachment, which did not to him seem so authorized by the law of the strongest, and had scattered those leaves as carelessly as the others of that year. but s. and i, like other emigrants, went not to give, but to get, to rifle the wood of flowers for the service of the fire-ship. we returned with a rich booty, among which was the uva ursi, whose leaves the indians smoke, with the kinnick-kinnick, and which had then just put forth its highly-finished little blossoms, as pretty as those of the blueberry. passing along still further, i thought it would be well if the crowds assembled to stare from the various landings were still confined to the kinnick-kinnick, for almost all had tobacco written on their faces, their cheeks rounded with plugs, their eyes dull with its fumes. we reached chicago on the evening of the sixth day, having been out five days and a half, a rather longer passage than usual at a favorable season of the year. chicago, june . there can be no two places in the world more completely thoroughfares than this place and buffalo. they are the two correspondent valves that open and shut all the time, as the life-blood rushes from east to west, and back again from west to east. since it is their office thus to be the doors, and let in and out, it would be unfair to expect from them much character of their own. to make the best provisions for the transmission of produce is their office, and the people who live there are such as are suited for this; active, complaisant, inventive, business people. there are no provisions for the student or idler; to know what the place can give, you should be at work with the rest, the mere traveller will not find it profitable to loiter there as i did. since circumstances made it necessary for me so to do, i read all the books i could find about the new region, which now began to become real to me. all the books about the indians, a paltry collection, truly, yet which furnished material for many thoughts. the most narrow-minded and awkward recital, still bears some lineaments of the great features of this nature, and the races of men that illustrated them. catlin's book is far the best. i was afterwards assured by those acquainted with the regions he describes, that he is not to be depended on for the accuracy of his facts, and, indeed, it is obvious, without the aid of such assertions, that he sometimes yields to the temptation of making out a story. they admitted, however, what from my feelings i was sure of, that he is true to the spirit of the scene, and that a far better view can be got from him than from any source at present existing, of the indian tribes of the far west, and of the country where their inheritance lay. murray's travels i read, and was charmed by their accuracy and clear broad tone. he is the only englishman that seems to have traversed these regions, as man, simply, not as john bull. he deserves to belong to an aristocracy, for he showed his title to it more when left without a guide in the wilderness, than he can at the court of victoria. he has, himself, no poetic force at description, but it is easy to make images from his hints. yet we believe the indian cannot be looked at truly except by a poetic eye. the pawnees, no doubt, are such as he describes them, filthy in their habits, and treacherous in their character, but some would have seen, and seen truly, more beauty and dignity than he does with all his manliness and fairness of mind. however, his one fine old man is enough to redeem the rest, and is perhaps the relic of a better day, a phocion among the pawnees. schoolcraft's algic researches is a valuable book, though a worse use could hardly have been made of such fine material. had the mythological or hunting stones of the indians been written down exactly as they were received from the lips of the narrators, the collection could not have been surpassed in interest, both for the wild charm they carry with them, and the light they throw on a peculiar modification of life and mind. as it is, though the incidents have an air of originality and pertinence to the occasion, that gives us confidence that they have not been altered, the phraseology in which they were expressed has been entirely set aside, and the flimsy graces, common to the style of annuals and souvenirs, substituted for the spartan brevity and sinewy grasp of indian speech. we can just guess what might have been there, as we can detect the fine proportions of the brave whom the bad taste of some white patron has arranged in frock-coat, hat, and pantaloons. the few stories mrs. jameson wrote out, though to these also a sentimental air has been given, offend much less in that way than is common in this book. what would we give for a completely faithful version of some among them. yet with all these drawbacks we cannot doubt from internal evidence that they truly ascribe to the indian a delicacy of sentiment and of fancy that justifies cooper in such inventions as his uncas. it is a white man's view of a savage hero, who would be far finer in his natural proportions; still, through a masquerade figure, it implies the truth. irving's books i also read, some for the first, some for the second time, with increased interest, now that i was to meet such people as he received his materials from. though the books are pleasing from their grace and luminous arrangement, yet, with the exception of the tour to the prairies, they have a stereotype, second-hand air. they lack the breath, the glow, the charming minute traits of living presence. his scenery is only fit to be glanced at from dioramic distance; his indians are academic figures only. he would have made the best of pictures, if he could have used his own eyes for studies and sketches; as it is, his success is wonderful, but inadequate. mckenney's tour to the lakes is the dullest of books, yet faithful and quiet, and gives some facts not to be met with elsewhere. i also read a collection of indian anecdotes and speeches, the worst compiled and arranged book possible, yet not without clues of some value. all these books i read in anticipation of a canoe-voyage on lake superior as far as the pictured rocks, and, though i was afterwards compelled to give up this project, they aided me in judging of what i afterwards saw and heard of the indians. in chicago i first saw the beautiful prairie flowers. they were in their glory the first ten days we were there-- "the golden and the flame-like flowers." the flame-like flower i was taught afterwards, by an indian girl, to call "wickapee;" and she told me, too, that its splendors had a useful side, for it was used by the indians as a remedy for an illness to which they were subject. beside these brilliant flowers, which gemmed and gilt the grass in a sunny afternoon's drive near the blue lake, between the low oakwood and the narrow beach, stimulated, whether sensuously by the optic nerve, unused to so much gold and crimson with such tender green, or symbolically through some meaning dimly seen in the flowers, i enjoyed a sort of fairyland exultation never felt before, and the first drive amid the flowers gave me anticipation of the beauty of the prairies. at first, the prairie seemed to speak of the very desolation of dullness. after sweeping over the vast monotony of the lakes to come to this monotony of land, with all around a limitless horizon,--to walk, and walk, and run, but never climb, oh! it was too dreary for any but a hollander to bear. how the eye greeted the approach of a sail, or the smoke of a steamboat; it seemed that any thing so animated must come from a better land, where mountains gave religion to the scene. the only thing i liked at first to do, was to trace with slow and unexpecting step the narrow margin of the lake. sometimes a heavy swell gave it expression; at others, only its varied coloring, which i found more admirable every day, and which gave it an air of mirage instead of the vastness of ocean. then there was a grandeur in the feeling that i might continue that walk, if i had any seven-leagued mode of conveyance to save fatigue, for hundreds of miles without an obstacle and without a change. but after i had rode out, and seen the flowers and seen the sun set with that calmness seen only in the prairies, and the cattle winding slowly home to their homes in the "island groves"--peacefullest of sights--i began to love because i began to know the scene, and shrank no longer from "the encircling vastness." it is always thus with the new form of life; we must learn to look at it by its own standard. at first, no doubt my accustomed eye kept saying, if the mind did not, what! no distant mountains? what, no valleys? but after a while i would ascend the roof of the house where we lived, and pass many hours, needing no sight but the moon reigning in the heavens, or starlight falling upon the lake, till all the lights were out in the island grove of men beneath my feet, and felt nearer heaven that there was nothing but this lovely, still reception on the earth; no towering mountains, no deep tree-shadows, nothing but plain earth and water bathed in light. sunset, as seen from that place, presented most generally, low-lying, flaky clouds, of the softest serenity, "like," said s., "the buddhist tracts." one night a star shot madly from its sphere, and it had a fair chance to be seen, but that serenity could not be astonished. yes! it was a peculiar beauty of those sunsets and moonlights on the levels of chicago which chamouny or the trosachs could not make me forget. notwithstanding all the attractions i thus found out by degrees on the flat shores of the lake, i was delighted when i found myself really on my way into the country for an excursion of two or three weeks. we set forth in a strong wagon, almost as large, and with the look of those used elsewhere for transporting caravans of wild beasteses, loaded with every thing we might want, in case nobody would give it to us--for buying and selling were no longer to be counted on--with a pair of strong horses, able and willing to force their way through mud holes and amid stumps, and a guide, equally admirable as marshal and companion, who knew by heart the country and its history, both natural and artificial, and whose clear hunter's eye needed neither road nor goal to guide it to all the spots where beauty best loves to dwell. add to this the finest weather, and such country as i had never seen, even in my dreams, although these dreams had been haunted by wishes for just such an one, and you may judge whether years of dullness might not, by these bright days, be redeemed, and a sweetness be shed over all thoughts of the west. the first day brought us through woods rich in the moccasin flower and lupine, and plains whose soft expanse was continually touched with expression by the slow moving clouds which "sweep over with their shadows, and beneath the surface rolls and fluctuates to the eye; dark hollows seem to glide along and chase the sunny ridges," to the banks of the fox river, a sweet and graceful stream. we reached geneva just in time to escape being drenched by a violent thunder shower, whose rise and disappearance threw expression into all the features of the scene. geneva reminds me of a new england village, as indeed there, and in the neighborhood, are many new englanders of an excellent stamp, generous, intelligent, discreet, and seeking to win from life its true values. such are much wanted, and seem like points of light among the swarms of settlers, whose aims are sordid, whose habits thoughtless and slovenly. with great pleasure we heard, with his attentive and affectionate congregation, the unitarian clergyman, mr. conant, and afterward visited him in his house, where almost everything bore traces of his own handy work or that of his father. he is just such a teacher as is wanted in this region, familiar enough with the habits of those he addresses to come home to their experience and their wants; earnest and enlightened enough to draw the important inferences from the life of every day. a day or two we remained here, and passed some happy hours in the woods that fringe the stream, where the gentlemen found a rich booty of fish. next day, travelling along the river's banks, was an uninterrupted pleasure. we closed our drive in the afternoon at the house of an english gentleman, who has gratified, as few men do, the common wish to pass the evening of an active day amid the quiet influences of country life. he showed us a bookcase filled with books about this country; these he had collected for years, and become so familiar with the localities that, on coming here at last, he sought and found, at once, the very spot he wanted, and where he is as content as he hoped to be, thus realizing wordsworth's description of the wise man, who "sees what he foresaw." a wood surrounds the house, through which paths are cut in every direction. it is, for this new country, a large and handsome dwelling; but round it are its barns and farm yard, with cattle and poultry. these, however, in the framework of wood, have a very picturesque and pleasing effect. there is that mixture of culture and rudeness in the aspect of things as gives a feeling of freedom, not of confusion. i wish it were possible to give some idea of this scene as viewed by the earliest freshness of dewy dawn. this habitation of man seemed like a nest in the grass, so thoroughly were the buildings and all the objects of human care harmonized with what was natural. the tall trees bent and whispered all around, as if to hail with sheltering love the men who had come to dwell among them. the young ladies were musicians, and spoke french fluently, having been educated in a convent. here in the prairie, they had learned to take care of the milk-room, and kill the rattlesnakes that assailed their poultry yard. beneath the shade of heavy curtains you looked out from the high and large windows to see norwegian peasants at work in their national dress. in the wood grew, not only the flowers i had before seen, and wealth of tall, wild roses, but the splendid blue spiderwort, that ornament of our gardens. beautiful children strayed there, who were soon to leave these civilized regions for some really wild and western place, a post in the buffalo country. their no less beautiful mother was of welsh descent, and the eldest child bore the name of gwynthleon. perhaps there she will meet with some young descendants of madoc, to be her friends; at any rate, her looks may retain that sweet, wild beauty, that is soon made to vanish from eyes which look too much on shops and streets, and the vulgarities of city "parties." next day we crossed the river. we ladies crossed on a little foot-bridge, from which we could look down the stream, and see the wagon pass over at the ford. a black thunder cloud was coming up. the sky and waters heavy with expectation. the motion of the wagon, with its white cover, and the laboring horses, gave just the due interest to the picture, because it seemed as if they would not have time to cross before the storm came on. however, they did get across, and we were a mile or two on our way before the violent shower obliged us to take refuge in a solitary house upon the prairie. in this country it is as pleasant to stop as to go on, to lose your way as to find it, for the variety in the population gives you a chance for fresh entertainment in every hut, and the luxuriant beauty makes every path attractive. in this house we found a family "quite above the common," but, i grieve to say, not above false pride, for the father, ashamed of being caught barefoot, told us a story of a man, one of the richest men, he said, in one of the eastern cities, who went barefoot, from choice and taste. near the door grew a provence rose, then in blossom. other families we saw had brought with them and planted the locust. it was pleasant to see their old home loves, brought into connection with their new splendors. wherever there were traces of this tenderness of feeling, only too rare among americans, other things bore signs also of prosperity and intelligence, as if the ordering mind of man had some idea of home beyond a mere shelter, beneath which to eat and sleep. no heaven need wear a lovelier aspect than earth did this afternoon, after the clearing up of the shower. we traversed the blooming plain, unmarked by any road, only the friendly track of wheels which tracked, not broke the grass. our stations were not from town to town, but from grove to grove. these groves first floated like blue islands in the distance. as we drew nearer, they seemed fair parks, and the little log houses on the edge, with their curling smokes, harmonized beautifully with them. one of these groves, ross's grove, we reached just at sunset. it was of the noblest trees i saw during this journey, for the trees generally were not large or lofty, but only of fair proportions. here they were large enough to form with their clear stems pillars for grand cathedral aisles. there was space enough for crimson light to stream through upon the floor of water which the shower had left. as we slowly plashed through, i thought i was never in a better place for vespers. that night we rested, or rather tarried at a grove some miles beyond, and there partook of the miseries so often jocosely portrayed, of bedchambers for twelve, a milk dish for universal handbasin, and expectations that you would use and lend your "hankercher" for a towel. but this was the only night, thanks to the hospitality of private families, that we passed thus, and it was well that we had this bit of experience, else might we have pronounced all trollopian records of the kind to be inventions of pure malice. with us was a 'young lady who showed herself to have been bathed in the britannic fluid, wittily described by a late french writer, by the impossibility she experienced of accommodating herself to the indecorums of the scene. we ladies were to sleep in the bar-room, from which its drinking visitors could be ejected only at a late hour. the outer door had no fastening to prevent their return. however, our host kindly requested we would call him, if they did, as he had "conquered them for us," and would do so again. we had also rather hard couches; (mine was the supper table,) but we yankees, born to rove, were altogether too much fatigued to stand upon trifles, and slept as sweetly as we would in the "bigly bower" of any baroness. but i think england sat up all night, wrapped in her blanket shawl, and with a neat lace cap upon her head; so that she would have looked perfectly the lady, if any one had come in; shuddering and listening. i know that she was very ill next day, in requital. she watched, as her parent country watches the seas, that nobody may do wrong in any case, and deserved to have met some interruption, she was so well prepared. however, there was none, other than from the nearness of some twenty sets of powerful lungs, which would not leave the night to a deadly stillness. in this house we had, if not good beds, yet good tea, good bread, and wild strawberries, and were entertained with most free communications of opinion and history from our hosts. neither shall any of us have a right to say again that we cannot find any who may be willing to hear all we may have to say. "a's fish that comes to the net," should be painted on the sign at papaw grove. chapter iii. in the afternoon of this day we reached the rock river, in whose neighborhood we proposed to make some stay, and crossed at dixon's ferry. this beautiful stream flows full and wide over a bed of rocks, traversing a distance of near two hundred miles, to reach the mississippi. great part of the country along its banks is the finest region of illinois, and the scene of some of the latest romance of indian warfare. to these beautiful regions black hawk returned with his band "to pass the summer," when he drew upon himself the warfare in which he was finally vanquished. no wonder he could not resist the longing, unwise though its indulgence might be, to return in summer to this home of beauty. of illinois, in general, it has often been remarked that it bears the character of country which has been inhabited by a nation skilled like the english in all the ornamental arts of life, especially in landscape gardening. that the villas and castles seem to have been burnt, the enclosures taken down, but the velvet lawns, the flower gardens, the stately parks, scattered at graceful intervals by the decorous hand of art, the frequent deer, and the peaceful herd of cattle that make picture of the plain, all suggest more of the masterly mind of man, than the prodigal, but careless, motherly love of nature. especially is this true of the rock river country. the river flows sometimes through these parks and lawns, then betwixt high bluffs, whose grassy ridges are covered with fine trees, or broken with crumbling stone, that easily assumes, the forms of buttress, arch and clustered columns. along the face of such crumbling rocks, swallows' nests are clustered, thick as cities, and eagles and deer do not disdain their summits. one morning, out in the boat along the base of these rocks, it was amusing, and affecting too, to see these swallows put their heads out to look at us. there was something very hospitable about it, as if man had never shown himself a tyrant near them. what a morning that was! every sight is worth twice as much by the early morning light. we borrow something of the spirit of the hour to look upon them. the first place, where we stopped was one of singular beauty, a beauty of soft, luxuriant wildness. it was on the bend of the river, a place chosen by an irish gentleman, whose absenteeship seems of the wisest kind, since for a sum which would have been but a drop of water to the thirsty fever of his native land, he commands a residence which has all that is desirable, in its independence, its beautiful retirement, and means of benefit to others. his park, his deer-chase, he found already prepared; he had only to make an avenue through it. this brought us by a drive, which in the heat of noon seemed long, though afterwards, in the cool of morning and evening, delightful, to the house. this is, for that part of the world, a large and commodious dwelling. near it stands the log-cabin where its master lived while it was building, a very ornamental accessory. in front of the house was a lawn, adorned by the most graceful trees. a few of these had been taken out to give a full view of the river, gliding through banks such as i have described. on this bend the bank is high and bold, so from the house or the lawn the view was very rich and commanding. but if you descended a ravine at the side to the water's edge, you found there a long walk on the narrow shore, with a wall above of the richest hanging wood, in which they said the deer lay hid. i never saw one, but often fancied that i heard them rustling, at daybreak, by these bright clear waters, stretching out in such smiling promise, where no sound broke the deep and blissful seclusion, unless now and then this rustling, or the plash of some fish a little gayer than the others; it seemed not necessary to have any better heaven, or fuller expression of love and freedom than in the mood of nature here. then, leaving the bank, you would walk far and far through long grassy paths, full of the most brilliant, also the most delicate flowers. the brilliant are more common on the prairie, but both kinds loved this place. amid the grass of the lawn, with a profusion of wild strawberries, we greeted also a familiar love, the scottish harebell, the gentlest, and most touching form of the flower-world. the master of the house was absent, but with a kindness beyond thanks had offered us a resting place there. here we were taken care of by a deputy, who would, for his youth, have been assigned the place of a page in former times, but in the young west, it seems he was old enough for a steward. whatever be called his function, he did the honors of the place so much in harmony with it, as to leave the guests free to imagine themselves in elysium. and the three days passed here were days of unalloyed, spotless happiness. there was a peculiar charm in coming here, where the choice of location, and the unobtrusive good taste of all the arrangements, showed such intelligent appreciation of the spirit of the scene, after seeing so many dwellings of the new settlers, which showed plainly that they had no thought beyond satisfying the grossest material wants. sometimes they looked attractive, the little brown houses, the natural architecture of the country, in the edge of the timber. but almost always when you came near, the slovenliness of the dwelling and the rude way in which objects around it were treated, when so little care would have presented a charming whole, were very repulsive. seeing the traces of the indians, who chose the most beautiful sites for their dwellings, and whose habits do not break in on that aspect of nature under which they were born, we feel as if they were the rightful lords of a beauty they forbore to deform. but most of these settlers do not see it at all; it breathes, it speaks in vain to those who are rushing into its sphere. their progress is gothic, not roman, and their mode of cultivation will, in the course of twenty, perhaps ten, years, obliterate the natural expression of the country. this is inevitable, fatal; we must not complain, but look forward to a good result. still, in travelling through this country, i could not but be struck with the force of a symbol. wherever the hog comes, the rattlesnake disappears; the omnivorous traveller, safe in its stupidity, willingly and easily makes a meal of the most dangerous of reptiles, and one whom the indian looks on with a mystic awe. even so the white settler pursues the indian, and is victor in the chase. but i shall say more upon the subject by-and-by. while we were here we had one grand thunder storm, which added new glory to the scene. one beautiful feature was the return of the pigeons every afternoon to their home. every afternoon they came sweeping across the lawn, positively in clouds, and with a swiftness and softness of winged motion, more beautiful than anything of the kind i ever knew. had i been a musician, such as mendelsohn, i felt that i could have improvised a music quite peculiar, from the sound they made, which should have indicated all the beauty over which their wings bore them. i will here insert a few lines left at this house, on parting, which feebly indicate some of the features. familiar to the childish mind were tales of rock-girt isles amid a desert sea, where unexpected stretch the flowery vales to soothe the shipwrecked sailor's misery. fainting, he lay upon a sandy shore, and fancied that all hope of life was o'er; but let him patient climb the frowning wall, within, the orange glows beneath the palm tree tall, and all that eden boasted waits his call. almost these tales seem realized to-day, when the long dullness of the sultry way, where "independent" settlers' careless cheer made us indeed feel we were "strangers" here, is cheered by sudden sight of this fair spot, on which "improvement" yet has made no blot, but nature all-astonished stands, to find her plan protected by the human mind. blest be the kindly genius of the scene; the river, bending in unbroken grace, the stately thickets, with their pathways green, fair lonely trees, each in its fittest place. those thickets haunted by the deer and fawn; those cloudlike flights of birds across the lawn; the gentlest breezes here delight to blow, and sun and shower and star are emulous to deck the show. wondering, as crusoe, we survey the land; happier than crusoe we, a friendly band; blest be the hand that reared this friendly home, the heart and mind of him to whom we owe hours of pure peace such as few mortals know; may he find such, should he be led to roam; be tended by such ministering sprites-- enjoy such gaily childish days, such hopeful nights! and yet, amid the goods to mortals given, to give those goods again is most like heaven. hazelwood, rock river, june th, . the only really rustic feature was of the many coops of poultry near the house, which i understood it to be one of the chief pleasures of the master to feed. leaving this place, we proceeded a day's journey along the beautiful stream, to a little town named oregon. we called at a cabin, from whose door looked out one of those faces which, once seen, are never forgotten; young, yet touched with many traces of feeling, not only possible, but endured; spirited, too, like the gleam of a finely tempered blade. it was a face that suggested a history, and many histories, but whose scene would have been in courts and camps. at this moment their circles are dull for want of that life which is waning unexcited in this solitary recess. the master of the house proposed to show us a "short cut," by which we might, to especial advantage, pursue our journey. this proved to be almost perpendicular down a hill, studded with young trees and stumps. from these he proposed, with a hospitality of service worthy an oriental, to free our wheels whenever they should get entangled, also, to be himself the drag, to prevent our too rapid descent. such generosity deserved trust; however, we women could not be persuaded to render it. we got out and admired, from afar, the process. left by our guide--and prop! we found ourselves in a wide field, where, by playful quips and turns, an endless "creek," seemed to divert itself with our attempts to cross it. failing in this, the next best was to whirl down a steep bank, which feat our charioteer performed with an air not unlike that of rhesus, had he but been as suitably furnished with chariot and steeds! at last, after wasting some two or three hours on the "short cut," we got out by following an indian trail,--black hawk's! how fair the scene through which it led! how could they let themselves be conquered, with such a country to fight for! afterwards, in the wide prairie, we saw a lively picture of nonchalance, (to speak in the fashion of dear ireland.) there, in the wide sunny field, with neither tree nor umbrella above his head, sat a pedler, with his pack, waiting apparently for customers. he was not disappointed. we bought, what hold in regard to the human world, as unmarked, as mysterious, and as important an existence, as the infusoria to the natural, to wit, pins. this incident would have delighted those modern sages, who, in imitation of the sitting philosophers of ancient ind, prefer silence to speech, waiting to going, and scornfully smile in answer to the motions of earnest life, "of itself will nothing come, that ye must still be seeking?" however, it seemed to me to-day, as formerly on these sublime occasions, obvious that nothing would come, unless something would go; now, if we had been as sublimely still as the pedler, his pins would have tarried in the pack, and his pockets sustained an aching void of pence! passing through one of the fine, park-like woods, almost clear from underbrush and carpeted with thick grasses and flowers, we met, (for it was sunday,) a little congregation just returning from their service, which had been performed in a rude house in its midst. it had a sweet and peaceful air, as if such words and thoughts were very dear to them. the parents had with them all their little children; but we saw no old people; that charm was wanting, which exists in such scenes in older settlements, of seeing the silver bent in reverence beside the flaxen head. at oregon, the beauty of the scene was of even a more sumptuous character than at our former "stopping place." here swelled the river in its boldest course, interspersed by halcyon isles on which nature had lavished all her prodigality in tree, vine, and flower, banked by noble bluffs, three hundred feet high, their sharp ridges as exquisitely definite as the edge of a shell; their summits adorned with those same beautiful trees, and with buttresses of rich rock, crested with old hemlocks, which wore a touching and antique grace amid the softer and more luxuriant vegetation. lofty natural mounds rose amidst the rest, with the same lovely and sweeping outline, showing everywhere the plastic power of water,--water, mother of beauty, which, by its sweet and eager flow, had left such lineaments as human genius never dreamt of. not far from the river was a high crag, called the pine rock, which looks out, as our guide observed, like a helmet above the brow of the country. it seems as if the water left here and there a vestige of forms and materials that preceded its course, just to set off its new and richer designs. the aspect of this country was to me enchanting, beyond any i have ever seen, from its fullness of expression, its bold and impassioned sweetness. here the flood of emotion has passed over and marked everywhere its course by a smile. the fragments of rock touch it with a wildness and liberality which give just the needed relief. i should never be tired here, though i have elsewhere seen country of more secret and alluring charms, better calculated to stimulate and suggest. here the eye and heart are filled. how happy the indians must have been here! it is not long since they were driven away, and the ground, above and below, is full of their traces. "the earth is full of men." you have only to turn up the sod to find arrowheads and indian pottery. on an island, belonging to our host, and nearly opposite his house, they loved to stay, and, no doubt, enjoyed its lavish beauty as much as the myriad wild pigeons that now haunt its flower-filled shades. here are still the marks of their tomahawks, the troughs in which they prepared their corn, their caches. a little way down the river is the site of an ancient indian village, with its regularly arranged mounds. as usual, they had chosen with the finest taste. it was one of those soft shadowy afternoons when we went there, when nature seems ready to weep, not from grief, but from an overfull heart. two prattling, lovely little girls, and an african boy, with glittering eye and ready grin, made our party gay; but all were still as we entered their little inlet and trod those flowery paths. they may blacken indian life as they will, talk of its dirt, its brutality, i will ever believe that the men who chose that dwelling-place were able to feel emotions of noble happiness as they returned to it, and so were the women that received them. neither were the children sad or dull, who lived so familiarly with the deer and the birds, and swam that clear wave in the shadow of the seven sisters. the whole scene suggested to me a greek splendor, a greek sweetness, and i can believe that an indian brave, accustomed to ramble in such paths, and be bathed by such sunbeams, might be mistaken for apollo, as apollo was for him by west. two of the boldest bluffs are called the deer's walk, (not because deer do _not_ walk there,) and the eagle's nest. the latter i visited one glorious morning; it was that, of the fourth of july, and certainly i think i had never felt so happy that i was born in america. wo to all country folks that never saw this spot, never swept an enraptured gaze over the prospect that stretched beneath. i do believe rome and florence are suburbs compared to this capital of nature's art. the bluff was decked with great bunches of a scarlet variety of the milkweed, like cut coral, and all starred with a mysterious-looking dark flower, whose cup rose lonely on a tall stem. this had, for two or three days, disputed the ground with the lupine and phlox. my companions disliked, i liked it. here i thought of, or rather saw, what the greek expresses under the form of jove's darling, ganymede, and the following stanzas took form. ganymede to his eagle, suggested by a work of thorwaldsen's. composed on the height called the eagle's nest, oregon, rock river, july th, . upon the rocky mountain stood the boy, a goblet of pure water in his hand, his face and form spoke him one made for joy, a willing servant to sweet love's command, but a strange pain was written on his brow, and thrilled throughout his silver accents now-- "my bird," he cries, "my destined brother friend, o whither fleets to-day thy wayward flight? hast thou forgotten that i here attend, from the full noon until this sad twilight? a hundred times, at least, from the clear spring, since the full noon o'er hill and valley glowed, i've filled the vase which our olympian king upon my care for thy sole use bestowed; that at the moment when thou should'st descend, a pure refreshment might thy thirst attend. hast thou forgotten earth, forgotten me, thy fellow bondsman in a royal cause, who, from the sadness of infinity, only with thee can know that peaceful pause in which we catch the flowing strain of love, which binds our dim fates to the throne of jove? before i saw thee, i was like the may, longing for summer that must mar its bloom, or like the morning star that calls the day, whose glories to its promise are the tomb; and as the eager fountain rises higher to throw itself more strongly back to earth, still, as more sweet and full rose my desire, more fondly it reverted to its birth, for, what the rosebud seeks tells not the rose, the meaning foretold by the boy the man cannot disclose. i was all spring, for in my being dwelt eternal youth, where flowers are the fruit, full feeling was the thought of what was felt, its music was the meaning of the lute; but heaven and earth such life will still deny, for earth, divorced from heaven, still asks the question _why?_ upon the highest mountains my young feet ached, that no pinions from their lightness grew, my starlike eyes the stars would fondly greet, yet win no greeting from the circling blue; fair, self-subsistent each in its own sphere, they had no care that there was none for me; alike to them that i was far or near, alike to them, time and eternity. but, from the violet of lower air, sometimes an answer to my wishing came, those lightning births my nature seemed to share, they told the secrets of its fiery frame, the sudden messengers of hate and love, the thunderbolts that arm the hand of jove, and strike sometimes the sacred spire, and strike the sacred grove. come in a moment, in a moment gone, they answered me, then left me still more lone, they told me that the thought which ruled the world, as yet no sail upon its course had furled, that the creation was but just begun, new leaves still leaving from the primal one, but spoke not of the goal to which _my_ rapid wheels would run. still, still my eyes, though tearfully, i strained to the far future which my heart contained, and no dull doubt my proper hope profaned. at last, o bliss, thy living form i spied, then a mere speck upon a distant sky, yet my keen glance discerned its noble pride, and the full answer of that sun-filled eye; i knew it was the wing that must upbear my earthlier form into the realms of air. thou knowest how we gained that beauteous height, where dwells the monarch of the sons of light, thou knowest he declared us two to be the chosen servants of his ministry, thou as his messenger, a sacred sign of conquest, or with omen more benign, to give its due weight to the righteous cause, to express the verdict of olympian laws. and i to wait upon the lonely spring, which slakes the thirst of bards to whom 'tis given the destined dues of hopes divine to sing, and weave the needed chain to bind to heaven. only from such could be obtained a draught for him who in his early home from jove's own cup has quaffed. to wait, to wait, but not to wait too long, till heavy grows the burthen of a song; o bird! too long hast thou been gone to-day, my feet are weary of their frequent way, the spell that opes the spring my tongue no more can say. if soon thou com'st not, night will fall around, my head with a sad slumber will be bound, and the pure draught be spilt upon the ground. remember that i am not yet divine, long years of service to the fatal nine are yet to make a delphian vigor mine. o, make them not too hard, thou bird of jove, answer the stripling's hope, confirm his love, receive the service in which he delights, and bear him often to the serene heights, where hands that were so prompt in serving thee, shall be allowed the highest ministry, and rapture live with bright fidelity. the afternoon was spent in a very different manner. the family, whose guests we were, possessed a gay and graceful hospitality that gave zest to each moment. they possessed that rare politeness which, while fertile in pleasant expedients to vary the enjoyment of a friend, leaves him perfectly free the moment he wishes to be so. with such hosts, pleasure may be combined with repose. they lived on the bank opposite the town, and, as their house was full, we slept in the town, and passed three days with them, passing to and fro morning and evening in their boats. (to one of these, called the fairy, in which a sweet little daughter of the house moved about lighter than any scotch ellen ever sung, i should indite a poem, if i had not been guilty of rhyme on the very last page.) at morning this was very pleasant; at evening, i confess i was generally too tired with the excitements of the day to think it so. their house--a double log cabin--was, to my eye, the model of a western villa. nature had laid out before it grounds which could not be improved. within, female taste had veiled every rudeness--availed itself of every sylvan grace. in this charming abode what laughter, what sweet thoughts, what pleasing fancies, did we not enjoy! may such never desert those who reared it and made us so kindly welcome to all its pleasures! fragments of city life were dexterously crumbled into the dish prepared for general entertainment. ice creams followed the dinner drawn by the gentlemen from the river, and music and fireworks wound up the evening of days spent on the eagle's nest. now they had prepared a little fleet to pass over to the fourth of july celebration, which some queer drumming and fifing, from the opposite bank, had announced to be "on hand." we found the free and independent citizens there collected beneath the trees, among whom many a round irish visage dimpled at the usual puffs of ameriky. the orator was a new englander, and the speech smacked loudly of boston, but was received with much applause, and followed by a plentiful dinner, provided by and for the sovereign people, to which hail columbia served as grace. [illustration: log cabin at rock river] returning, the gay flotilla hailed the little flag which the children had raised from a log-cabin, prettier than any president ever saw, and drank the health of their country and all mankind, with a clear conscience. dance and song wound up the day. i know not when the mere local habitation has seemed to me to afford so fair a chance of happiness as this. to a person of unspoiled tastes, the beauty alone would afford stimulus enough. but with it would be naturally associated all kinds of wild sports, experiments, and the studies of natural history. in these regards, the poet, the sportsman, the naturalist, would alike rejoice in this wide range of untouched loveliness. then, with a very little money, a ducal estate may be purchased, and by a very little more, and moderate labor, a family be maintained upon it with raiment, food and shelter. the luxurious and minute comforts of a city life are not yet to be had without effort disproportionate to their value. but, where there is so great, a counterpoise, cannot these be given up once for all? if the houses are imperfectly built, they can afford immense fires and plenty of covering; if they are small, who cares?--with such fields to roam in. in winter, it may be borne; in summer, is of no consequence. with plenty of fish, and game, and wheat, can they not dispense with a baker to bring "muffins hot" every morning to the door for their breakfast? here a man need not take a small slice from the landscape, and fence it in from the obtrusions of an uncongenial neighbor, and there cut down his fancies to miniature improvements which a chicken could run over in ten minutes. he may have water and wood and land enough, to dread no incursions on his prospect from some chance vandal that may enter his neighborhood. he need not painfully economise and manage how he may use it all; he can afford to leave some of it wild, and to carry out his own plans without obliterating those of nature. here, whole families might live together, if they would. the sons might return from their pilgrimages to settle near the parent hearth; the daughters might find room near their mother. those painful separations, which already desecrate and desolate the atlantic coast, are not enforced here by the stern need of seeking bread; and where they are voluntary, it is no matter. to me, too, used to the feelings which haunt a society of struggling men, it was delightful to look upon a scene where nature still wore her motherly smile and seemed to promise room not only for those favored or cursed with the qualities best adapting for the strifes of competition, but for the delicate, the thoughtful, even the indolent or eccentric. she did not say, fight or starve; nor even, work or cease to exist; but, merely showing that the apple was a finer fruit than the wild crab, gave both room to grow in the garden. a pleasant society is formed of the families who live along the banks of this stream upon farms. they are from various parts of the world, and have much to communicate to one another. many have cultivated minds and refined manners, all a varied experience, while they have in common the interests of a new country and a new life. they must traverse some space to get at one another, but the journey is through scenes that make it a separate pleasure. they must bear inconveniences to stay in one another's houses; but these, to the well-disposed, are only a source of amusement and adventure. the great drawback upon the lives of these settlers, at present, is the unfitness of the women for their new lot. it has generally been the choice of the men, and the women follow, as women will, doing their best for affection's sake, but too often in heart-sickness and weariness. beside it frequently not being a choice or conviction of their own minds that it is best to be here, their part is the hardest, and they are least fitted for it. the men can find assistance in field labor, and recreation with the gun and fishing-rod. their bodily strength is greater, and enables them to bear and enjoy both these forms of life. the women can rarely find any aid in domestic labor. all its various and careful tasks must often be performed, sick or well, by the mother and daughters, to whom a city education has imparted neither the strength nor skill now demanded. the wives of the poorer settlers, having more hard work to do than before, very frequently become slatterns; but the ladies, accustomed to a refined neatness, feel that they cannot degrade themselves by its absence, and struggle under every disadvantage to keep up the necessary routine of small arrangements. with all these disadvantages for work, their resources for pleasure are fewer. when they can leave the housework, they have not learnt to ride, to drive, to row, alone. their culture has too generally been that given to women to make them "the ornaments of society." they can dance, but not draw; talk french, but know nothing of the language of flowers; neither in childhood were allowed to cultivate them, lest they should tan their complexions. accustomed to the pavement of broadway, they dare not tread the wild-wood paths for fear of rattlesnakes! seeing much of this joylessness, and inaptitude, both of body and mind, for a lot which would be full of blessings for those prepared for it, we could not but look with deep interest on the little girls, and hope they would grow up with the strength of body, dexterity, simple tastes, and resources that would fit them to enjoy and refine the western farmer's life. but they have a great deal to war with in the habits of thought acquired by their mothers from their own early life. everywhere the fatal spirit of imitation, of reference to european standards, penetrates, and threatens to blight whatever of original growth might adorn the soil. if the little girls grow up strong, resolute, able to exert their faculties, their mothers mourn over their want of fashionable delicacy. are they gay, enterprising, ready to fly about in the various ways that teach them so much, these ladies lament that "they cannot go to school, where they might learn to be quiet." they lament the want of "education" for their daughters, as if the thousand needs which call out their young energies, and the language of nature around, yielded no education. their grand ambition for their children, is to send them to school in some eastern city, the measure most likely to make them useless and unhappy at home. i earnestly hope that, ere long, the existence of good schools near themselves, planned by persons of sufficient thought to meet the wants of the place and time, instead of copying new york or boston, will correct this mania. instruction the children want to enable them to profit by the great natural advantages of their position; but methods copied from the education of some english lady augusta, are as ill suited to the daughter of an illinois farmer, as satin shoes to climb the indian mounds. an elegance she would diffuse around her, if her mind were opened to appreciate elegance; it might be of a kind new, original, enchanting, as different from that of the city belle as that of the prairie torch-flower from the shopworn article that touches the cheek of that lady within her bonnet. to a girl really skilled to make home beautiful and comfortable, with bodily strength to enjoy plenty of exercise, the woods, the streams, a few studies, music, and the sincere and familiar intercourse, far more easily to be met here than elsewhere, would afford happiness enough. her eyes would not grow dim, nor her cheeks sunken, in the absence of parties, morning visits, and milliner's shops. as to music, i wish i could see in such places the guitar rather than the piano, and good vocal more than instrumental music. the piano many carry with them, because it is the fashionable instrument in the eastern cities. even there, it is so merely from the habit of imitating europe, for not one in a thousand is willing to give the labor requisite to ensure any valuable use of the instrument. but, out here, where the ladies have so much less leisure, it is still less desirable. add to this, they never know how to tune their own instruments, and as persons seldom visit them who can do so, these pianos are constantly out of tune, and would spoil the ear of one who began by having any. the guitar, or some portable instrument which requires less practice, and could be kept in tune by themselves, would be far more desirable for most of these ladies. it would give all they want as a household companion to fill up the gaps of life with a pleasant stimulus or solace, and be sufficient accompaniment to the voice in social meetings. singing in parts is the most delightful family amusement, and those who are constantly together can learn to sing in perfect accord. all the practice it needs, after some good elementary instruction, is such as meetings by summer twilight, and evening firelight naturally suggest. and, as music is an universal language, we cannot but think a fine italian duet would be as much at home in the log cabin as one of mrs. gore's novels. the sixth july we left this beautiful place. it was one of those rich days of bright sunlight, varied by the purple shadows of large sweeping clouds. many a backward look we cast, and left the heart behind. our journey to-day was no less delightful than before, still all new, boundless, limitless. kinmont says, that limits are sacred; that the greeks were in the right to worship a god of limits. i say, that what is limitless is alone divine, that there was neither wall nor road in eden, that those who walked there lost and found their way just as we did, and that all the gain from the fall was that we had a wagon to ride in. i do not think, either, that even the horses doubted whether this last was any advantage. everywhere the rattlesnake-weed grows in profusion. the antidote survives the bane. soon the coarser plantain, the "white man's footstep," shall take its place. we saw also the compass plant, and the western tea plant. of some of the brightest flowers an indian girl afterwards told me the medicinal virtues. i doubt not those students of the soil knew a use to every fair emblem, on which we could only look to admire its hues and shape. after noon we were ferried by a girl, (unfortunately not of the most picturesque appearance) across the kishwaukie, the most graceful stream, and on whose bosom rested many full-blown water-lilies, twice as large as any of ours. i was told that, _en revanche_, they were scentless, but i still regret that i could not get at one of them to try. query, did the lilied fragrance which, in the miraculous times, accompanied visions of saints and angels, proceed from water or garden lilies? kishwaukie is, according to tradition, the scene of a famous battle, and its many grassy mounds contain the bones of the valiant. on these waved thickly the mysterious purple flower, of which i have spoken before. i think it springs from the blood of the indians, as the hyacinth did from that of apollo's darling. the ladies of our host's family at oregon, when they first went there, after all the pains and plagues of building and settling, found their first pastime in opening one of these mounds, in which they found, i think, three of the departed, seated in the indian fashion. one of these same ladies, as she was making bread one winter morning, saw from the window a deer directly before the house. she ran out, with her hands covered with dough, calling the others, and they caught him bodily before he had time to escape. here (at kishwaukie) we received a visit from a ragged and barefoot, but bright-eyed gentleman, who seemed to be the intellectual loafer, the walking will's coffeehouse of the place. he told us many charming snake stories; among others, of himself having seen seventeen young ones reenter the mother snake, on the intrusion of a visiter. this night we reached belvidere, a flourishing town in boon county, where was the tomb, now despoiled, of big thunder. in this later day we felt happy to find a really good hotel. from this place, by two days of very leisurely and devious journeying, we reached chicago, and thus ended a journey, which one at least of the party might have wished unending. i have not been particularly anxious to give the geography of the scene, inasmuch as it seemed to me no route, nor series of stations, but a garden interspersed with cottages, groves and flowery lawns, through which a stately river ran. i had no guide-book, kept no diary, do not know how many miles we travelled each day, nor how many in all. what i got from the journey was the poetic impression of the country at large; it is all i have aimed to communicate. the narrative might have been made much more interesting, as life was at the time, by many piquant anecdotes and tales drawn from private life. but here courtesy restrains the pen, for i know those who received the stranger with such frank kindness would feel ill requited by its becoming the means of fixing many spy-glasses, even though the scrutiny might be one of admiring interest, upon their private homes. for many of these, too, i was indebted to a friend, whose property they more lawfully are. this friend was one of those rare beings who are equally at home in nature and with man. he knew a tale of all that ran and swam, and flew, or only grew, possessing that extensive familiarity with things which shows equal sweetness of sympathy and playful penetration. most refreshing to me was his unstudied lore, the unwritten poetry which common life presents to a strong and gentle mind. it was a great contrast to the subtleties of analysis, the philosophic strainings of which i had seen too much. but i will not attempt to transplant it. may it profit others as it did me in the region where it was born, where it belongs. the evening of our return to chicago the sunset was of a splendor and calmness beyond any we saw at the west. the twilight that succeeded was equally beautiful; soft, pathetic, but just so calm. when afterwards i learned this was the evening of allston's death, it seemed to me as if this glorious pageant was not without connection with that event; at least, it inspired similar emotions,--a heavenly gate closing a path adorned with shows well worthy paradise. * * * * * farewell, ye soft and sumptuous solitudes! ye fairy distances, ye lordly woods, haunted by paths like those that poussin knew, when after his all gazers eyes he drew; i go,--and if i never more may steep an eager heart in your enchantments deep, yet ever to itself that heart may say, be not exacting; thou hast lived one day; hast looked on that which matches with thy mood, impassioned sweetness of full being's flood, where nothing checked the bold yet gentle wave, where nought repelled the lavish love that gave. a tender blessing lingers o'er the scene, like some young mother's thought, fond, yet serene, and through its life new-born our lives have been. once more farewell,--a sad, a sweet farewell; and, if i never must behold you more, in other worlds i will not cease to tell the rosary i here have numbered o'er; and bright-haired hope will lend a gladdened ear, and love will free him from the grasp of fear, and gorgon critics, while the tale they hear, shall dew their stony glances with a tear, if i but catch one echo from your spell;-- and so farewell,--a grateful, sad farewell! chapter iv. chicago again. chicago had become interesting to me now, that i knew it as the portal to so fair a scene. i had become interested in the land, in the people, and looked sorrowfully on the lake on which i must soon embark, to leave behind what i had just begun to enjoy. now was the time to see the lake. the july moon was near its full, and night after night it rose in a cloudless sky above this majestic sea. the heat was excessive, so that there was no enjoyment of life, except in the night, but then the air was of that delicious temperature, worthy of orange groves. however, they were not wanted;--nothing was, as that full light fell on the faintly rippling waters which then seemed boundless. a poem received shortly after, from a friend in massachusetts, seemed to say that the july moon shone there not less splendid, and may claim insertion here. triformis. so pure her forehead's dazzling white, so swift and clear her radiant eyes, within the treasure of whose light lay undeveloped destinies,-- of thoughts repressed such hidden store was hinted by each flitting smile, i could but wonder and adore, far off, in awe, i gazed the while. i gazed at her, as at the moon, hanging in lustrous twilight skies, whose virgin crescent, sinking soon, peeps through the leaves before it flies. untouched diana, flitting dim, while sings the wood its evening hymn. ii. again we met. o joyful meeting! her radiance now was all for me, like kindly airs her kindly greeting, so full, so musical, so free. within romantic forest aisles, within romantic paths we walked, i bathed me in her sister smiles, i breathed her beauty as we talked. so full-orbed cynthia walks the skies, filling the earth with melodies, even so she condescends to kiss drowsy endymions, coarse and dull, or fills our waking souls with bliss, making long nights too beautiful. iii. o fair, but fickle lady-moon, why must thy full form ever wane? o love! o friendship! why so soon must your sweet light recede again? i wake me in the dead of night, and start,--for through the misty gloom red hecate stares--a boding sight!-- looks in, but never fills my room. thou music of my boyhood's hour! thou shining light on manhood's way! no more dost thou fair influence shower to move my soul by night or day. o strange! that while in hall and street thy hand i touch, thy grace i meet, such miles of polar ice should part the slightest touch of mind and heart! but all thy love has waned, and so i gladly let thy beauty go. now that i am borrowing, i will also give a letter received at this time, and extracts from others from an earlier traveller, and in a different region of the country from that i saw, which, i think, in different ways, admirably descriptive of the country. [illustration: prairie & long grove in the distance] "and you, too, love the prairies, flying voyager of a summer hour; but _i_ have only there owned the wild forest, the wide-spread meadows; there only built my house, and seen the livelong day the thoughtful shadows of the great clouds color, with all-transient browns, the untrampled floor of grass; there has spring pranked the long smooth reaches with those golden flowers, whereby became the fields a sea too golden to o'erlast the heats. yes! and with many a yellow bell she gilded our unbounded path, that sank in the light swells of the varied surface, skirted the unfilled barrens, nor shunned the steep banks of rivers darting merrily on. there has the white snow frolicsomely strown itself, till all that vast, outstretched distance glittered like a mirror in which only the heavens were reflected, and among these drifts our steps have been curbed. ah! many days of precious weather are on the prairies! "you have then found, after many a weary hour, when time has locked your temples as in a circle of heated metal, some cool, sweet, swift-gliding moments, the iron ring of necessity ungirt, and the fevered pulses at rest. you have also found this where fresh nature suffers no ravage, amid those bowers of wild-wood, those dream-like, bee-sung, murmuring and musical plains, swimming under their hazy distances, as if there, in that warm and deep back ground, stood the fairy castle of our hopes, with its fountains, its pictures, its many mystical figures in repose. ever could we rove over those sunny distances, breathing that modulated wind, eyeing those so well-blended, imaginative, yet thoughtful surfaces, and above us wide--wide a horizon effortless and superb as a young divinity. "i was a prisoner where you glide, the summer's pensioned guest, and my chains were the past and the future, darkness and blowing sand. there, very weary, i received from the distance a sweet emblem of an incorruptible, lofty and pervasive nature, but was i less weary? i was a prisoner, and you, plains, were my prison bars. "yet never, o never, beautiful plains, had i any feeling for you but profoundest gratitude, for indeed ye are only fair, grand and majestic, while i had scarcely a right there. now, ye stand in that past day, grateful images of unshattered repose, simple in your tranquillity, strong in your self-possession, yet ever musical and springing as the footsteps of a child. "ah! that to some poet, whose lyre had never lost a string, to whom mortality, kinder than is her custom, had vouchsafed a day whose down had been untouched,--that to him these plains might enter, and flow forth in airy song. and you, forests, under whose symmetrical shields of dark green the colors of the fawns move, like the waters of the river under its spears,--its cimeters of flag, where, in gleaming circles of steel, the breasts of the wood-pigeons flash in the playful sunbeam, and many sounds, many notes of no earthly music, come over the well-relieved glades,--should not your depth pass into that poet's heart,--in your depths should he not fuse his own?" the other letters show the painter's eye, as this the poet's heart. "springfield, illinois, may , . "yesterday morning i left griggsville, my knapsack at my back, pursued my journey all day on foot, and found so new and great delight in this charming country, that i must needs tell you about it. do you remember our saying once, that we never found the trees tall enough, the fields green enough. well, the trees are for once tall, and fair to look upon, and one unvarying carpet of the tenderest green covers these marvellous fields, that spread out their smooth sod for miles and miles, till they even reach the horizon. but, to begin my day's journey. griggsville is situated on the west side of the illinois river, on a high prairie; between it and the river is a long range of bluffs which reaches a hundred miles north and south, then a wide river bottom, and then the river. it was a mild, showery morning, and i directed my steps toward the bluffs. they are covered with forest, not like our forests, tangled and impassable, but where the trees stand fair and apart from one another, so that you might ride every where about on horseback, and the tops of the hills are generally bald, and covered with green turf, like our pastures. indeed, the whole country reminds me perpetually of one that has been carefully cultivated by a civilized people, who had been suddenly removed from the earth, with all the works of their hands, and the land given again into nature's keeping. the solitudes are not savage; they have not that dreary, stony loneliness that used to affect me in our own country; they never repel; there are no lonely heights, no isolated spots, but all is gentle, mild, inviting,--all is accessible. in following this winding, hilly road for four or five miles, i think i counted at least a dozen new kinds of wild flowers, not timid, retiring little plants like ours, but bold flowers of rich colors, covering the ground in abundance. one very common flower resembles our cardinal flower, though not of so deep a color, another is very like rocket or phlox, but smaller and of various colors, white, blue and purple. beautiful white lupines i find too, violets white and purple. the vines and parasites are magnificent. i followed on this road till i came to the prairie which skirts the river, and this, of all the beauties of this region, is the most peculiar and wonderful. imagine a vast and gently-swelling pasture of the brightest green grass, stretching away from you on every side, behind, toward these hills i have described, in all other directions, to a belt of tall trees, all growing up with noble proportions, from the generous soil. it is an unimagined picture of abundance and peace. somewhere about, you are sure to see a huge herd, of cattle, often white, and generally brightly marked, grazing. all looks like the work of man's hand, but you see no vestige of man, save perhaps an almost imperceptible hut on the edge of the prairie. reaching the river, i ferried myself across, and then crossed over to take the jacksonville railroad, but, finding there was no train, passed the night at a farm house. and here may find its place this converse between the solitary old man and the young traveller. solitary. my son, with weariness thou seemest spent, and toiling on the dusty road all day, weary and pale, yet with inconstant step, hither and thither turning,--seekest thou to find aught lost, or what dark care pursues thee? if thou art weary, rest, if hungry, eat. traveller. oh rather, father, let me ask of thee what is it i do seek, what thing i lack? these many days i've left my father's hall, forth driven by insatiable desire, that, like the wind, now gently murmuring, enticed me forward with its own sweet voice through many-leaved woods, and valleys deep, yet ever fled before me. then with sound stronger than hurrying tempest, seizing me, forced me to fly its power. forward still, bound by enchanted ties, i seek its source. sometimes it is a something i have lost, known long since, before i bent my steps toward this beautiful broad plane of earth. sometimes it is a spirit yet unknown, in whose dim-imaged features seem to smile the dear delight of these high-mansioned thoughts, that sometimes visit me. like unto mine her lineaments appear, but beautiful, as of a sister in a far-off world, waiting to welcome me. and when i think to reach and clasp the figure, it is gone, and some ill-omened ghastly vision comes to bid beware, and not too curiously demand the secrets of that distant world, whose shadow haunts me.--on the waves below but now i gazed, warmed with the setting sun, who sent his golden streamers to my feet, it seemed a pathway to a world beyond, and i looked round, if that my spirit beckoned that i might follow it. solitary. dreams all, my son. yes, even so i dreamed, and even so was thwarted. you must learn to dream another long and troublous dream. the dream of life. and you shall think you wake, and think the shadows substance, love and hate, exchange and barter, joy, and weep, and dance, and this too shall be dream. traveller. oh who can say where lies the boundary? what solid things that daily mock our senses, shall dissolve before the might within, while shadowy forms freeze into stark reality, defying the force and will of man. these forms i see, they may go with me through eternity, and bless or curse with ceaseless company, while yonder man, that i met yesternight, where is he now? he passed before my eyes, he is gone, but these stay with me ever. that night the young man rested with the old, and, grave or gay, in laughter or in tears, they wore the night in converse. morning came, the dreamer took his solitary way; and, as he pressed the old man's hand, he sighed, must this too be a dream? afterwards, of the rolling prairie. "there was one of twenty miles in extent, not flat, but high and rolling, so that when you arrived at a high part, by gentle ascents, the view was beyond measure grand; as far as the eye could reach, nothing but the green, rolling plain, and at a vast distance, groves, all looking gentle and cultivated, yet all uninhabited. i think it would impress you, as it does me, that these scenes are truly sublime. i have a sensation of vastness which i have sought in vain among high mountains. mountains crowd one sensation on another, till all is excitement, all is surprise, wonder, enchantment. here is neither enchantment or disappointment, but expectation fully realized. i have always had an attachment for a plain. the roman campagna is a prairie. peoria is in a most lovely situation. in fact i am so delighted that i am as full of superlatives as the italian language. i could, however, find fault enough, if you ask what i dislike." but no one did ask; it is not worth while where there is so much to admire. yet the following is a good statement of the shadow side. "as to the boasts about the rapid progress here, give me rather the firm fibre of a slow and knotty growth. i could not help, thinking as much when i was talking to e. the other day, whom i met on board the boat. he quarrelled with boston for its slowness; said it was a bad place for a young man. he could not make himself felt, could not see the effects of his exertions as he could here.--to be sure he could not. here he comes, like a yankee farmer, with all the knowledge that our hard soil and laborious cultivation could give him, and what wonder if he is surprised at the work of his own hands, when he comes to such a soil as this. but he feeds not so many mouths, though he tills more acres. the plants he raises have not so exquisite a form, the vegetables so fine a flavor. his cultivation becomes more negligent, he is not so good a farmer. is not this a true view? it strikes me continually. the traces of a man's hand in a new country are rarely productive of beauty. it is a cutting down of forest trees to make zigzag fences." the most picturesque objects to be seen from chicago on the inland side were the lines of hoosier wagons. these rude farmers, the large first product of the soil, travel leisurely along, sleeping in their wagons by night, eating only what they bring with them. in the town they observe the same plan, and trouble no luxurious hotel for board and lodging. in the town they look like foreign peasantry, and contrast well with the many germans, dutch, and irish. in the country it is very pretty to see them prepared to "camp out" at night, their horses taken out of harness, and they lounging under the trees, enjoying the evening meal. on the lake side it is fine to see the great boats come panting it from their rapid and marvellous journey. especially at night the motion of their lights is very majestic. when the favorite boats, the great western and illinois, are going out, the town is thronged with people from the south and farther west, to go in them. these moonlight nights i would hear the french rippling and fluttering familiarly amid the rude ups and downs of the hoosier dialect. at the hotel table were daily to be seen new faces, and new stories to be learned. and any one who has a large acquaintance may be pretty sure of meeting some of them here in the course of a few days. among those whom i met was mrs. z., the aunt of an old schoolmate, to whom i impatiently hastened, as soon as the meal was over, to demand news of mariana. the answer startled me. mariana, so full of life, was dead. that form, the most rich in energy and coloring of any i had ever seen, had faded from the earth. the circle of youthful associations had given way in the part, that seemed the strongest. what i now learned of the story of this life, and what was by myself remembered, may be bound together in this slight sketch. at the boarding-school to which i was too early sent, a fond, a proud, and timid child, i saw among the ranks of the gay and graceful, bright or earnest girls, only one who interested my fancy or touched my young heart; and this was mariana. she was, on the father's side, of spanish creole blood, but had been sent to the atlantic coast, to receive a school education under the care of her aunt, mrs. z. this lady had kept her mostly at home with herself, and mariana had gone from her house to a day-school; but the aunt, being absent for a time in europe, she had now been unfortunately committed for some time to the mercies of a boarding-school. a strange bird she proved there,--a lonely swallow that could not make for itself a summer. at first, her schoolmates were captivated with her ways; her love of wild dances and sudden song, her freaks of passion and of wit. she was always new, always surprising, and, for a time, charming. but, after awhile, they tired of her. she could never be depended on to join in their plans, yet she expected them to follow out hers with their whole strength. she was very loving, even infatuated in her own affections, and exacted from those who had professed any love for her, the devotion she was willing to bestow. yet there was a vein of haughty caprice in her character; a love of solitude, which made her at times wish to retire entirely, and at these times she would expect to be thoroughly understood, and let alone, yet to be welcomed back when she returned. she did not thwart others in their humors, but she never doubted of great indulgence from them. some singular habits she had which, when new, charmed, but, after acquaintance, displeased her companions. she had by nature the same habit and power of excitement that is described in the spinning dervishes of the east. like them, she would spin until all around her were giddy, while her own brain, instead of being disturbed, was excited to great action. pausing, she would declaim verse of others or her own; act many parts, with strange catch-words and burdens that seemed to act with mystical power on her own fancy, sometimes stimulating her to convulse the hearer with laughter, sometimes to melt him to tears. when her power began to languish, she would spin again till fired to recommence her singular drama, into which she wove figures from the scenes of her earlier childhood, her companions, and the dignitaries she sometimes saw, with fantasies unknown to life, unknown to heaven or earth. this excitement, as may be supposed, was not good for her. it oftenest came on in the evening, and often spoiled her sleep. she would wake in the night, and cheat her restlessness by inventions that teazed, while they sometimes diverted her companions. she was also a sleep-walker; and this one trait of her case did somewhat alarm her guardians, who, otherwise, showed the same profound stupidity as to this peculiar being, usual in the overseers of the young. they consulted a physician, who said she would outgrow it, and prescribed a milk diet. meantime, the fever of this ardent and too early stimulated nature was constantly increased by the restraints and narrow routine of the boarding school. she was always devising means to break in upon it. she had a taste which would have seemed ludicrous to her mates, if they had not felt some awe of her, from a touch of genius and power that never left her, for costume and fancy dresses, always some sash twisted about her, some drapery, something odd in the arrangement of her hair and dress, so that the methodical preceptress dared not let her go out without a careful scrutiny and remodelling, whose soberizing effects generally disappeared the moment she was in the free air. at last, a vent for her was found in private theatricals. play followed play, and in these and the rehearsals she found entertainment congenial with her. the principal parts, as a matter of course, fell to her lot; most of the good suggestions and arrangements came from her, and for a time she ruled masterly and shone triumphant. during these performances the girls had heightened their natural bloom with artificial red; this was delightful to them--it was something so out of the way. but mariana, after the plays were over, kept her carmine saucer on the dressing-table, and put on her blushes regularly as the morning. when stared and jeered at, she at first said she did it because she thought it made her look prettier; but, after a while, she became quite petulant about it,--would make no reply to any joke, but merely kept on doing it. this irritated the girls, as all eccentricity does the world in general, more than vice or malignity. they talked it over among themselves, till they got wrought up to a desire of punishing, once for all, this sometimes amusing, but so often provoking nonconformist. having obtained the leave of the mistress, they laid, with great glee, a plan one evening, which was to be carried into execution next day at dinner. among mariana's irregularities was a great aversion to the meal-time ceremonial. so long, so tiresome she found it, to be seated at a certain moment, to wait while each one was served at so large a table, and one where there was scarcely any conversation; from day to day it became more heavy to her to sit there, or go there at all. often as possible she excused herself on the ever-convenient plea of headache, and was hardly ever ready when the dinner-bell rang. to-day it found her on the balcony, lost in gazing on the beautiful prospect. i have heard her say afterwards, she had rarely in her life been so happy,--and she was one with whom happiness was a still rapture. it was one of the most blessed summer days; the shadows of great white clouds empurpled the distant hills for a few moments only to leave them more golden; the tall grass of the wide fields waved in the softest breeze. pure blue were the heavens, and the same hue of pure contentment was in the heart of mariana. suddenly on her bright mood jarred the dinner bell. at first rose her usual thought, i will not, cannot go; and then the _must_, which daily life can always enforce, even upon the butterflies and birds, came, and she walked reluctantly to her room. she merely changed her dress, and never thought of adding the artificial rose to her cheek. when she took her seat in the dining-hall, and was asked if she would be helped, raising her eyes, she saw the person who asked her was deeply rouged, with a bright glaring spot, perfectly round, in either cheek. she looked at the next, same apparition! she then slowly passed her eyes down the whole line, and saw the same, with a suppressed smile distorting every countenance. catching the design at once, she deliberately looked along her own side of the table, at every schoolmate in turn; every one had joined in the trick. the teachers strove to be grave, but she saw they enjoyed the joke. the servants could not suppress a titter. when warren hastings stood at the bar of westminster hall--when the methodist preacher walked through a line of men, each of whom greeted him with a brickbat or a rotten egg, they had some preparation for the crisis, and it might not be very difficult to meet it with an impassive brow. our little girl was quite unprepared to find herself in the midst of a world which despised her, and triumphed in her disgrace. she had ruled, like a queen, in the midst of her companions; she had shed her animation through their lives, and loaded them with prodigal favors, nor once suspected that a powerful favorite might not be loved. now, she felt that she had been but a dangerous plaything in the hands of those whose hearts she never had doubted. yet, the occasion found her equal to it, for mariana had the kind of spirit, which, in a better cause, had made the roman matron truly say of her death-wound, "it is not painful, poetus." she did not blench--she did not change countenance. she swallowed her dinner with apparent composure. she made remarks to those near her, as if she had no eyes. the wrath of the foe of course rose higher, and the moment they were freed from the restraints of the dining-room, they all ran off, gaily calling, and sarcastically laughing, with backward glances, at mariana, left alone. she went alone to her room, locked the door, and threw herself on the floor in strong convulsions. these had sometimes threatened her life, as a child, but of later years, she had outgrown them. school-hours came, and she was not there. a little girl, sent to her door, could get no answer. the teachers became alarmed, and broke it open. bitter was their penitence and that of her companions at the state in which they found her. for some hours, terrible anxiety was felt; but, at last, nature, exhausted, relieved herself by a deep slumber. from this mariana rose an altered being. she made no reply to the expressions of sorrow from her companions, none to the grave and kind, but undiscerning comments of her teacher. she did not name the source of her anguish, and its poisoned dart sank deeply in. it was this thought which stung her so. what, not one, not a single one, in the hour of trial, to take my part, not one who refused to take part against me. past words of love, and caresses, little heeded at the time, rose to her memory, and gave fuel to her distempered thoughts. beyond the sense of universal perfidy, of burning resentment, she could not get. and mariana, born for love, now hated all the world. the change, however, which these feelings made in her conduct and appearance bore no such construction to the careless observer. her gay freaks were quite gone, her wildness, her invention. her dress was uniform, her manner much subdued. her chief interest seemed now to lie in her studies, and in music. her companions she never sought, but they, partly from uneasy remorseful feelings, partly that they really liked her much better now that she did not oppress and puzzle them, sought her continually. and here the black shadow comes upon her life, the only stain upon the history of mariana. they talked to her, as girls, having few topics, naturally do, of one another. and the demon rose within her, and spontaneously, without design, generally without words of positive falsehood, she became a genius of discord among them. she fanned those flames of envy and jealousy which a wise, true word from a third will often quench forever; by a glance, or a seemingly light reply, she planted the seeds of dissension, till there was scarce a peaceful affection, or sincere intimacy in the circle where she lived, and could not but rule, for she was one whose nature was to that of the others as fire to clay. it was at this time that i came to the school, and first saw mariana. me she charmed at once, for i was a sentimental child, who, in my early ill health, had been indulged in reading novels, till i had no eyes for the common greens and browns of life. the heroine of one of these, "the bandit's bride," i immediately saw in mariana. surely the bandit's bride had just such hair, and such strange, lively ways, and such a sudden flash of the eye. the bandit's bride, too, was born to be "misunderstood" by all but her lover. but mariana, i was determined, should be more fortunate, for, until her lover appeared, i myself would be the wise and delicate being who could understand her. it was not, however, easy to approach her for this purpose. did i offer to run and fetch her handkerchief, she was obliged to go to her room, and would rather do it herself. she did not like to have people turn over for her the leaves of the music book as she played. did i approach my stool to her feet, she moved away, as if to give me room. the bunch of wild flowers which i timidly laid beside her plate was left there. after some weeks my desire to attract her notice really preyed upon me, and one day meeting her alone in the entry, i fell upon my knees, and kissing her hand, cried, "o mariana, do let me love you, and try to love me a little." but my idol snatched away her hand, and, laughing more wildly than the bandit's bride was ever described to have done, ran into her room. after that day her manner to me was not only cold, but repulsive; i felt myself scorned, and became very unhappy. perhaps four months had passed thus, when, one afternoon, it became obvious that something more than common was brewing. dismay and mystery were written in many faces of the older girls; much whispering was going on in corners. in the evening, after prayers, the principal bade us stay; and, in a grave, sad voice, summoned forth mariana to answer charges to be made against her. mariana came forward, and leaned against the chimney-piece. eight of the older girls came forward, and preferred against her charges, alas, too well-founded, of calumny and falsehood. my heart sank within me, as one after the other brought up their proofs, and i saw they were too strong to be resisted. i could not bear the thought of this second disgrace of my shining favorite. the first had been whispered to me, though the girls did not like to talk about it. i must confess, such is the charm of strength to softer natures, that neither of these crises could deprive mariana of hers in my eyes. at first, she defended herself with self-possession and eloquence. but when she found she could no more resist the truth, she suddenly threw herself down, dashing her head, with all her force, against the iron hearth, on which a fire was burning, and was taken up senseless. the affright of those present was great. now that they had perhaps killed her, they reflected it would have been as well, if they had taken warning from the former occasion, and approached very carefully a nature so capable of any extreme. after awhile she revived, with a faint groan, amid the sobs of her companions. i was on my knees by the bed, and held her cold hand. one of those most aggrieved took it from me to beg her pardon, and say it was impossible not to love her. she made no reply. neither that night, nor for several days, could a word be obtained from her, nor would she touch food; but, when it was presented to her, or any one drew near for any cause, she merely turned away her head, and gave no sign. the teacher saw that some terrible nervous affection had fallen upon her, that she grew more and more feverish. she knew not what to do. meanwhile a new revolution had taken place in the mind of the passionate, but nobly-tempered child. all these months nothing but the sense of injury had rankled in her heart. she had gone on in one mood, doing what the demon prompted, without scruple and without fear. but, at the moment of detection, the tide ebbed, and the bottom of her soul lay revealed to her eye. how black, how stained and sad. strange, strange that she had not seen before the baseness and cruelty of falsehood, the loveliness of truth. now, amid the wreck, uprose the moral nature which never before had attained the ascendant. "but," she thought, "too late, sin is revealed to me in all its deformity, and, sin-defiled, i will not, cannot live. the, mainspring of life is broken." and thus passed slowly by her hours in that black despair of which only youth is capable. in older years men suffer more dull pain, as each sorrow that comes drops its leaden weight into the past, and, similar features of character bringing similar results, draws up a heavy burden buried in those depths. but only youth has energy, with fixed unwinking gaze, to contemplate grief, to hold it in the arms and to the heart, like a child which makes it wretched, yet is indubitably its own. the lady who took charge of this sad child had never well understood her before, but had always looked on her with great tenderness. and now love seemed, when all around were in greatest distress, fearing to call in medical aid, fearing to do without it, to teach her where the only balm was to be found that could have healed this wounded spirit. one night she came in, bringing a calming draught. mariana was sitting, as usual, her hair loose, her dress the same robe they had put on her at first, her eyes fixed vacantly upon the whited wall. to the proffers and entreaties of her nurse she made no reply. the lady burst into tears, but mariana did not seem even to observe it. the lady then said, "o my child, do not despair, do not think that one great fault can mar a whole life. let me trust you, let me tell you the griefs of my sad life. i will tell to you, mariana, what i never expected to impart to any one." and so she told her tale: it was one of pain, of shame, borne, not for herself, but for one near and dear as herself. mariana knew the lady, knew the pride and reserve of her nature; she had often admired to see how the cheek, lovely, but no longer young, mantled with the deepest blush of youth, and the blue eyes were cast down at any little emotion. she had understood the proud sensibility of the character. she fixed her eyes on those now raised to hers, bright with fast falling tears. she heard the story to the end, and then, without saying a word, stretched out her hand for the cup. she returned to life, but it was as one who has passed through the valley of death. the heart of stone was quite broken in her. the fiery life fallen from flame to coal. when her strength was a little restored, she had all her companions summoned, and said to them; "i deserved to die, but a generous trust has called me back to life. i will be worthy of it, nor ever betray the truth, or resent injury more. can you forgive the past?" and they not only forgave, but, with love and earnest tears, clasped in their arms the returning sister. they vied with one another in offices of humble love to the humbled one; and, let it be recorded as an instance of the pure honor of which young hearts are capable, that these facts, known to forty persons, never, so far as i know, transpired beyond those walls. it was not long after this that mariana was summoned home. she went thither a wonderfully instructed being, though in ways those who had sent her forth to learn little dreamed of. never was forgotten the vow of the returning prodigal. mariana could not resent, could not play false. the terrible crisis, which she so early passed through, probably prevented the world from hearing much of her. a wild fire was tamed in that hour of penitence at the boarding school, such as has oftentimes wrapped court and camp in its destructive glow. but great were the perils she had yet to undergo, for she was one of those barks which easily get beyond soundings, and ride not lightly on the plunging billow. her return to her native climate seconded the effects of inward revolutions. the cool airs of the north had exasperated nerves too susceptible for their tension. those of the south restored her to a more soft and indolent state. energy gave place to feeling, turbulence to intensity of character. at this time love was the natural guest, and he came to her under a form that might have deluded one less ready for delusion. sylvain was a person well proportioned to her lot in years, family, and fortune. his personal beauty was not great, but of a noble character. repose marked his slow gesture, and the steady gaze of his large brown eye, but it was a repose that would give way to a blaze of energy when the occasion called. in his stature, expression, and heavy coloring, he might not unfitly be represented by the great magnolias that inhabit the forests of that climate. his voice, like everything about him, was rich and soft, rather than sweet or delicate. mariana no sooner knew him than she loved, and her love, lovely as she was, soon excited his. but, oh! it is a curse to woman to love first, or most. in so doing she reverses the natural relations, and her heart can never, never be satisfied with what ensues. mariana loved first, and loved most, for she had most force and variety to love with. sylvain seemed, at first, to take her to himself, as the deep southern night might some fair star. but it proved not so. mariana was a very intellectual being, and she needed companionship. this she could only have with sylvain, in the paths of passion and action. thoughts he had none, and little delicacy of sentiment. the gifts she loved to prepare of such for him, he took with a sweet, but indolent smile; he held them lightly, and soon they fell from his grasp. he loved to have her near him, to feel the glow and fragrance of her nature, but cared not to explore the little secret paths whence that fragrance was collected. mariana knew not this for a long time. loving so much, she imagined all the rest, and, where she felt a blank, always hoped that further communion would fill it up. when she found this could never be; that there was absolutely a whole province of her being to which nothing in his answered, she was too deeply in love to leave him. often after passing hours together, beneath the southern moon, when, amid the sweet intoxication of mutual love, she still felt the desolation of solitude, and a repression of her finer powers, she had asked herself, can i give him up? but the heart always passionately answered, no! i may be miserable with him, but i cannot live without him. and the last miserable feeling of these conflicts was, that if the lover, soon to be the bosom friend, could have dreamed of these conflicts, he would have laughed, or else been angry, even enough to give her up. ah weakness of the strong. of these strong only where strength is weakness. like others she had the decisions of life to make, before she had light by which to make them. let none condemn her. those who have not erred as fatally, should thank the guardian angel who gave them more time to prepare for judgment, but blame no children who thought at arm's length to find the moon. mariana, with a heart capable of highest eros, gave it to one who knew love only as a flower or plaything, and bound her heartstrings to one who parted his as lightly as the ripe fruit leaves the bough. the sequel could not fail. many console themselves for the one great mistake with their children, with the world. this was not possible to mariana. a few months of domestic life she still was almost happy. but sylvain then grew tired. he wanted business and the world; of these she had no knowledge, for them no faculties. he wanted in her the head of his house; she to make her heart his home. no compromise was possible between natures of such unequal poise, and which had met only on one or two points. through all its stages she "felt the agonizing sense of seeing lore from passion melt into indifference; the fearful shame that, day by day, burns onward, still to burn, to have thrown her precious heart away, and met this black return," till death at last closed the scene. not that she died of one downright blow on the heart. that is not the way such cases proceed. i cannot detail all the symptoms, for i was not there to watch them, and aunt z. was neither so faithful an observer or narrator as i have shown myself in the school-day passages; but, generally, they were as follows. sylvain wanted to go into the world, or let it into his house. mariana consented; but, with an unsatisfied heart, and no lightness of character, she played her part ill there. the sort of talent and facility she had displayed in early days, were not the least like what is called out in the social world by the desire to please and to shine. her excitement had been muse-like, that of the improvisatrice, whose kindling fancy seeks to create an atmosphere round it, and makes the chain through which to set free its electric sparks. that had been a time of wild and exuberant life. after her character became more tender and concentrated, strong affection or a pure enthusiasm might still have called out beautiful talents in her. but in the first she was utterly disappointed. the second was not roused within her thought. she did not expand into various life, and remained unequal; sometimes too passive, sometimes too ardent, and not sufficiently occupied with what occupied those around her to come on the same level with them and embellish their hours. thus she lost ground daily with her husband, who, comparing her with the careless shining dames of society, wondered why he had found her so charming in solitude. at intervals, when they were left alone, mariana wanted to open her heart, to tell the thoughts of her mind. she was so conscious of secret riches within herself, that sometimes it seemed, could she but reveal a glimpse of them to the eye of sylvain, he would be attracted near her again, and take a path where they could walk hand in hand. sylvain, in these intervals, wanted an indolent repose. his home was his castle. he wanted no scenes too exciting there. light jousts and plays were well enough, but no grave encounters. he liked to lounge, to sing, to read, to sleep. in fine, sylvain became the kind, but preoccupied husband, mariana, the solitary and wretched wife. he was off continually, with his male companions, on excursions or affairs of pleasure. at home mariana found that neither her books nor music would console her. she was of too strong a nature to yield without a struggle to so dull a fiend as despair. she looked into other hearts, seeking whether she could there find such home as an orphan asylum may afford. this she did rather because the chance came to her, and it seemed unfit not to seize the proffered plank, than in hope, for she was not one to double her stakes, but rather with cassandra power to discern early the sure course of the game. and cassandra whispered that she was one of those "whom men love not, but yet regret." and so it proved. just as in her childish days, though in a different form, it happened betwixt her and these companions. she could not be content to receive them quietly, but was stimulated to throw herself too much into the tie, into the hour, till she filled it too full for them. like fortunio, who sought to do homage to his friends by building a fire of cinnamon, not knowing that its perfume would be too strong for their endurance, so did mariana. what she wanted to tell, they did not wish to hear; a little had pleased, so much overpowered, and they preferred the free air of the street, even, to the cinnamon perfume of her palace. however, this did not signify; had they staid, it would not have availed her! it was a nobler road, a higher aim she needed now; this did not become clear to her. she lost her appetite, she fell sick, had fever. sylvain was alarmed, nursed her tenderly; she grew better. then his care ceased, he saw not the mind's disease, but left her to rise into health and recover the tone of her spirits, as she might. more solitary than ever, she tried to raise herself, but she knew not yet enough. the weight laid upon her young life was a little too heavy for it. one long day she passed alone, and the thoughts and presages came too thick for her strength. she knew not what to do with them, relapsed into fever, and died. notwithstanding this weakness, i must ever think of her as a fine sample of womanhood, born to shed light and life on some palace home. had she known more of god and the universe, she would not have given way where so many have conquered. but peace be with her; she now, perhaps, has entered into a larger freedom, which is knowledge. with her died a great interest in life to me. since her i have never seen a bandit's bride. she, indeed, turned out to be only a merchant's.--sylvain is married again to a fair and laughing girl, who will not die, probably, till their marriage grows a "golden marriage." aunt z. had with her some papers of mariana's, which faintly shadow forth the thoughts that engaged her in the last days. one of these seems to have been written when some faint gleam had been thrown across the path, only to make its darkness more visible. it seems to have been suggested by remembrance of the beautiful ballad, _helen of kirconnel lee_, which once she loved to recite, and in tones that would not have sent a chill to the heart from which it came. "death opens her sweet white arms, and whispers peace; come, say thy sorrows in this bosom! this will never close against thee, and my heart, though cold, cannot be colder much than man's." "i wish i were where helen lies," a lover in the times of old, thus vents his grief in lonely sighs, and hot tears from a bosom cold. but, mourner for thy martyred love, could'st thou but know what hearts must feel, where no sweet recollections move, whose tears a desert fount reveal. when "in thy arms burd helen fell," she died, sad man, she died for thee, nor could the films of death dispel her loving eye's sweet radiancy. thou wert beloved, and she had loved, till death alone the whole could tell, death every shade of doubt removed, and steeped the star in its cold well. on some fond breast the parting soul relies,--earth has no more to give; who wholly loves has known the whole, the wholly loved doth truly live. but some, sad outcasts from this prize, wither down to a lonely grave, all hearts their hidden love despise, and leave them to the whelming wave. they heart to heart have never pressed, nor hands in holy pledge have given, by father's love were ne'er caressed, nor in a mother's eye saw heaven. a flowerless and fruitless tree, a dried up stream, a mateless bird, they live, yet never living be, they die, their music all unheard. i wish i were where helen lies, for there i could not be alone; but now, when this dull body dies, the spirit still will make its moan. love passed me by, nor touched my brow; life would not yield one perfect boon; and all too late it calls me now, o all too late, and all too soon. if thou couldst the dark riddle read which leaves this dart within my breast, then might i think thou lov'st indeed, then were the whole to thee confest. father, they will not take me home, to the poor child no heart is free; in sleet and snow all night i roam; father,--was this decreed by thee? i will not try another door, to seek what i have never found; now, till the very last is o'er, upon the earth i'll wander round. i will not hear the treacherous call that bids me stay and rest awhile, for i have found that, one and all, they seek me for a prey and spoil. they are not bad, i know it well; i know they know not what they do; they are the tools of the dread spell which the lost lover must pursue. in temples sometimes she may rest, in lonely groves, away from men, there bend the head, by heats distrest, nor be by blows awoke again. nature is kind, and god is kind, and, if she had not had a heart, only that great discerning mind, she might have acted well her part. but oh this thirst, that none can still, save those unfounden waters free; the angel of my life should fill and soothe me to eternity! it marks the defect in the position of woman that one like mariana should have found reason to write thus. to a man of equal power, equal sincerity, no more!--many resources would have presented themselves. he would not have needed to seek, he would have been called by life, and not permitted to be quite wrecked through the affections only. but such women as mariana are often lost, unless they meet some man of sufficiently great soul to prize them. van artevelde's elena, though in her individual nature unlike my mariana, is like her in a mind whose large impulses are disproportioned to the persons and occasions she meets, and which carry her beyond those reserves which mark the appointed lot of woman. but, when she met van artevelde, he was too great not to revere her rare nature, without regard to the stains and errors of its past history; great enough to receive her entirely and make a new life for her; man enough to be a lover! but as such men come not so often as once an age, their presence should not be absolutely needed to sustain life. at chicago i read again philip van artevelde, and certain passages in it will always be in my mind associated with the deep sound of the lake, as heard in the night. i used to read a short time at night, and then open the blind to look out. the moon would be full upon the lake, and the calm breath, pure light, and the deep voice harmonized well with the thought of the flemish hero. when will this country have such a man? it is what she needs; no thin idealist, no coarse realist, but a man whose eye reads the heavens while his feet step firmly on the ground, and his hands are strong and dexterous for the use of human implements. a man religious, virtuous and--sagacious; a man of universal sympathies, but self-possessed; a man who knows the region of emotion, though he is not its slave; a man to whom this world is no mere spectacle, or fleeting shadow, but a great solemn game to be played with good heed, for its stakes are of eternal value, yet who, if his own play be true, heeds not what he loses by the falsehood of others. a man who hives from the past, yet knows that its honey can but moderately avail him; whose comprehensive eye scans the present, neither infatuated by its golden lures, nor chilled by its many ventures; who possesses prescience, as the wise man must, but not so far as to be driven mad to-day by the gift which discerns to-morrow. when there is such a man for america, the thought which urges her on will be expressed. now that i am about to leave illinois, feelings of regret and admiration come over me, as in parting with a friend whom we have not had the good sense to prize and study, while hours of association, never perhaps to return, were granted. i have fixed my attention almost exclusively on the picturesque beauty of this region; it was so new, so inspiring. but i ought to have been more interested in the housekeeping of this magnificent state, in the education she is giving her children, in their prospects. illinois is, at present, a by-word of reproach among the nations, for the careless, prodigal course, by which, in early youth, she has endangered her honor. but you cannot look about you there, without seeing that there are resources abundant to retrieve, and soon to retrieve, far greater errors, if they are only directed with wisdom. [illustration: rolling prairie of illinois] might the simple maxim, that honesty is the best policy be laid to heart! might a sense of the true aims of life elevate the tone of politics and trade, till public and private honor become identical! might the western man in that crowded and exciting life which develops his faculties so fully for to-day, not forget that better part which could not be taken from him! might the western woman take that interest and acquire that light for the education of the children, for which she alone has leisure! this is indeed the great problem of the place and time. if the next generation be well prepared for their work, ambitious of good and skilful to achieve it, the children of the present settlers may be leaven enough for the mass constantly increasing by emigration. and how much is this needed where those rude foreigners can so little understand the best interests of the land they seek for bread and shelter. it would be a happiness to aid in this good work, and interweave the white and golden threads into the fate of illinois. it would be a work worthy the devotion of any mind. in the little that i saw, was a large proportion of intelligence, activity, and kind feeling; but, if there was much serious laying to heart of the true purposes of life, it did not appear in the tone of conversation. having before me the illinois guide-book, i find there mentioned, as a "visionary," one of the men i should think of as able to be a truly valuable settler in a new and great country--morris birkbeck, of england. since my return, i have read his journey to, and letters from, illinois. i see nothing promised there that will not surely belong to the man who knows how to seek for it. mr. birkbeck was an enlightened philanthropist, the rather that he did not wish to sacrifice himself to his fellow men, but to benefit them with all he had, and was, and wished. he thought all the creatures of a divine love ought to be happy and ought to be good, and that his own soul and his own life were not less precious than those of others; indeed, that to keep these healthy, was his only means of a healthy influence. but his aims were altogether generous. freedom, the liberty of law, not license; not indolence, work for himself and children, and all men, but under genial and poetic influences;--these were his aims. how different from those of the new settlers in general! and into his mind so long ago shone steadily the two thoughts, now so prevalent in thinking and aspiring minds, of "resist not evil," and "every man his own priest, and the heart the only true church." he has lost credit for sagacity from accidental circumstances. it does not appear that his position was ill chosen, or his means disproportioned to his ends, had he been sustained by funds from england, as he had a right to expect. but through the profligacy of a near relative, commissioned to collect these dues, he was disappointed of them, and his paper protested and credit destroyed in our cities, before he became aware of his danger. still, though more slowly and with more difficulty, he might have succeeded in his designs. the english farmer might have made the english settlement a model for good methods and good aims to all that region, had not death prematurely cut short his plans. i have wished to say these few words, because the veneration with which i have been inspired for his character by those who knew him well, makes me impatient of this careless blame being passed from mouth to mouth and book, to book. success is no test of a man's endeavor, and illinois will yet, i hope, regard this man, who knew so well what _ought_ to be, as one of her true patriarchs, the abraham of a promised land. he was one too much before his time to be soon valued; but the time is growing up to him, and will understand his mild philanthropy and clear, large views. i subjoin the account of his death, given me by a friend, as expressing, in fair picture, the character of the man. "mr. birkbeck was returning from the seat of government, whither he had been on public business, and was accompanied by his son bradford, a youth of sixteen or eighteen. it was necessary to cross a ford, which was rendered difficult by the swelling of the stream. mr. b.'s horse was unwilling to plunge into the water, so his son offered to go first, and he followed. bradford's horse had just gained footing on the opposite shore, when he looked back and perceived his father was dismounted, struggling in the water, and carried down by the current. "mr. birkbeck could not swim; bradford could; so he dismounted, and plunged into the stream to save his father. he got to him before he sank, held him up above water, and told him to take hold of his collar, and he would swim ashore with him. mr. b. did so, and bradford exerted all his strength to stem the current and reach the shore at a point where they could land; but, encumbered by his own clothing and his father's weight, he made no progress; and when mr. b. perceived this, he, with his characteristic calmness and resolution, gave up his hold of his son, and, motioning to him to save himself, resigned himself to his fate. his son reached the shore, but was too much overwhelmed by his loss to leave it. he was found by some travellers, many hours after, seated on the margin of the stream, with his head in his hands, stupefied with grief. "the body was found, and on the countenance was the sweetest smile; and bradford said, 'just so he smiled upon me when he let go and pushed me away from him.'" many men can choose the right and best on a great occasion, but not many can, with such ready and serene decision, lay aside even life, when it is right and best. this little narrative touched my imagination in very early youth, and often has come up, in lonely vision, that face, serenely smiling above the current which bore him away to another realm of being. chapter v. wisconsin. a territory, not yet a state; still, nearer the acorn than we were. it was very pleasant coming up. these large and elegant boats are so well arranged that every excursion may be a party of pleasure. there are many fair shows to see on the lake and its shores, almost always new and agreeable persons on board, pretty children playing about, ladies singing, (and if not very well, there is room to keep out of the way.) you may see a great deal here of life, in the london sense, if you know a few people; or if you do not, and have the tact to look about you without seeming to stare. we came to milwaukie, where we were to pass a fortnight or more. this place is most beautifully situated. a little river, with romantic banks, passes up through the town. the bank of the lake is here a bold bluff, eighty feet in height. from its summit, you enjoyed a noble outlook on the lake. a little narrow path wound along the edge of the lake below. i liked this walk much. above me this high wall of rich earth, garlanded on its crest with trees, the long ripples of the lake coming up to my feet. here, standing in the shadow, i could appreciate better its magnificent changes of color, which are the chief beauties of the lake-waters; but these are indescribable. it was fine to ascend into the lighthouse, above this bluff, and watch from thence the thunder-clouds which so frequently rose over the lake, or the great boats coming in. approaching the milwaukie pier, they made a bend, and seemed to do obeisance in the heavy style of some dowager duchess entering a circle she wishes to treat with especial respect. these boats come in and out every day, and still afford a cause for general excitement. the people swarm down to greet them, to receive and send away their packages and letters. to me they seemed such mighty messengers, to give, by their noble motion, such an idea of the power and fullness of life, that they were worthy to carry despatches from king to king. it must be very pleasant for those who have an active share in carrying on the affairs of this great and growing world to see them come in. it must be very pleasant to those who have dearly loved friends at the next station. to those who have neither business nor friends, it sometimes gives a desolating sense of insignificance. the town promises to be, some time, a fine one, as it is so well situated; and they have good building material--a yellow brick, very pleasing to the eye. it seems to grow before you, and has indeed but just emerged from the thickets of oak and wild roses. a few steps will take you into the thickets, and certainly i never saw so many wild roses, or of so beautiful a red. of such a color were the first red ones the world ever saw, when, says the legend, venus flying to the assistance of adonis, the rosebushes kept catching her to make her stay, and the drops of blood the thorns drew from her feet, as she tore herself away, fell on the white roses, and turned them this beautiful red. i will here insert, though with no excuse, except that it came to memory at the time, this description of titian's venus and adonis. "this picture has that perfect balance of lines and forms that it would, (as was said of all raphael's) 'seen at any distance have the air of an ornamental design.' it also tolls its story at the first glance, though, like all beautiful works, it gains by study. "on one side slumbers the little god of love, as an emblem, i suppose, that only the love of man is worth embodying, for surely cytherea's is awake enough. the quiver of cupid, suspended to a tree, gives sportive grace to the scene which softens the tragedy of a breaking tie. the dogs of adonis pull upon his hand; he can scarce forbear to burst from the detaining arms of beauty herself, yet he waits a moment to coax her--to make an unmeaning promise. 'a moment, a moment, my love, and i will return; a moment only.' adonis is not beautiful, except in his expression of eager youth. the queen of beauty does not choose apollo. venus herself is very beautiful; especially the body is lovely as can be; and the soft, imploring look, gives a conjugal delicacy to the face which purifies the whole picture. this venus is not as fresh, as moving and breathing as shakspeare's, yet lovelier to the mind if not to the sense. 't is difficult to look at this picture without indignation, because it is, in one respect, so true. why must women always try to detain and restrain what they love? foolish beauty; let him go; it is thy tenderness that has spoiled him. be less lovely--less feminine; abandon thy fancy for giving thyself wholly; cease to love so well, and any hercules will spin among thy maids, if thou wilt. but let him go this time; thou canst not keep him. sit there, by thyself, on that bank, and, instead of thinking how soon he will come back, think how thou may'st love him no better than he does thee, for the time has come." it was soon after this moment that the poor queen, hearing the frightened hounds, apprehended the rash huntsman's danger, and, flying through the woods, gave their hue to the red roses. to return from the grecian isles to milwaukie. one day, walking along the river's bank in search of a waterfall to be seen from one ravine, we heard tones from a band of music, and saw a gay troop shooting at a mark, on the opposite bank. between every shot the band played; the effect was very pretty. on this walk we found two of the oldest and most gnarled hemlocks that ever afforded study for a painter. they were the only ones we saw; they seemed the veterans of a former race. at milwaukie, as at chicago, are many pleasant people, drawn together from all parts of the world. a resident here would find great piquancy in the associations,--those he met having such dissimilar histories and topics. and several persons i saw evidently transplanted from the most refined circles to be met in this country. there are lures enough in the west for people of all kinds;--the enthusiast and the cunning man; the naturalist, and the lover who needs to be rich for the sake of her he loves. the torrent of emigration swells very strongly towards this place. during the fine weather, the poor refugees arrive daily, in their national dresses, all travel-soiled and worn. the night they pass in rude shantees, in a particular quarter of the town, then walk off into the country--the mothers carrying their infants, the fathers leading the little children by the hand, seeking a home, where their hands may maintain them. one morning we set off in their track, and travelled a day's journey into this country,--fair, yet not, in that part which i saw, comparable, in my eyes, to the rock river region. it alternates rich fields, proper for grain, with oak openings, as they are called; bold, various and beautiful were the features of the scene, but i saw not those majestic sweeps, those boundless distances, those heavenly fields; it was not the same world. neither did we travel in the same delightful manner. we were now in a nice carriage, which must not go off the road, for fear of breakage, with a regular coachman, whose chief care was not to tire his horses, and who had no taste for entering fields in pursuit of wild flowers, or tempting some strange wood path in search of whatever might befall. it was pleasant, but almost as tame as new england. but charming indeed was the place where we stopped. it was in the vicinity of a chain of lakes, and on the bank of the loveliest little stream, called the bark river, which flowed in rapid amber brightness, through fields, and dells, and stately knolls, of most idylic beauty. the little log cabin where we slept, with its flower garden in front, disturbed the scene no more than a stray lock on the fair cheek. the hospitality of that house i may well call princely; it was the boundless hospitality of the heart, which, if it has no aladdin's lamp to create a palace for the guest, does him still higher service by the freedom of its bounty up to the very last drop of its powers. sweet were the sunsets seen in the valley of this stream, though here, and, i grieve to say, no less near the rock river, the fiend, who has ever liberty to tempt the happy in this world, appeared in the shape of mosquitoes, and allowed us no bodily to enjoy our mental peace. one day we ladies gave, under the guidance of our host, to visiting all the beauties of the adjacent lakes--nomabbin, silver, and pine lakes. on the shore of nomabbin had formerly been one of the finest indian villages. our host said that, one day, as he was lying there beneath the bank, he saw a tall indian standing at gaze on the knoll. he lay a long time, curious to see how long the figure would maintain its statue-like absorption. but, at last, his patience yielded, and, in moving, he made a slight noise. the indian saw him, gave a wild, snorting sound of indignation and pain, and strode away. what feelings must consume their heart at such moments! i scarcely see how they can forbear to shoot the white man where he stands. but the power of fate is with the white man, and the indian feels it. this same gentleman told of his travelling through the wilderness with an indian guide. he had with him a bottle of spirit which he meant to give him in small quantities, but the indian, once excited, wanted the whole at once. i would not, said mr.----, give it him, for i thought if he got really drunk, there was an end to his services as a guide. but he persisted, and at last tried to take it from me. i was not armed; he was, and twice as strong as i. but i knew an indian could not resist the look of a white man, and i fixed my eye steadily on his. he bore it for a moment, then his eye fell; he let go the bottle. i took his gun and threw it to a distance. after a few moments' pause, i told him to go and fetch it, and left it in his hands. from that moment he was quite obedient, even servile, all the rest of the way. this gentleman, though in other respects of most kindly and liberal heart, showed the aversion that the white man soon learns to feel for the indian on whom he encroaches, the aversion of the injurer for him he has degraded. after telling the anecdote of his seeing the indian gazing at the seat of his former home, "a thing for human feelings the most trying," and which, one would think, would have awakened soft compassion--almost remorse--in the present owner of that fair hill, which contained for the exile the bones of his dead, the ashes of his hopes,--he observed, "they cannot be prevented from straggling back here to their old haunts. i wish they could. they ought not to permitted to drive away _our_ game." our game--just heavens! the same gentleman showed, on a slight occasion, the true spirit of the sportsman, or, perhaps i might say of man, when engaged in any kind of chase. showing us some antlers, he said, "this one belonged to a majestic creature. but this other was the beauty. i had been lying a long time at watch, when at last i heard them come crackling along. i lifted my head cautiously, as they burst through the trees. the first was a magnificent fellow; but then i saw coming one, the prettiest, the most graceful i ever beheld--there was something so soft and beseeching in its look. i chose him at once; took aim, and shot him dead. you see the antlers are not very large; it was young, but the prettiest creature!" in the course of this morning's drive, we visited the gentlemen on their fishing party. they hailed us gaily, and rowed ashore to show us what fine booty they had. no disappointment there, no dull work. on the beautiful point of land from which we first saw them, lived a contented woman, the only one i heard of out there. she was english, and said she had seen so much suffering in her own country that the hardships of this seemed as nothing to her. but the others--even our sweet and gentle hostess--found their labors disproportioned to their strength, if not to their patience; and, while their husbands and brothers enjoyed the country in hunting or fishing, they found themselves confined to a comfortless and laborious indoor life. but it need not be so long. this afternoon, driving about on the banks of these lakes, we found the scene all of one kind of loveliness; wide, graceful woods, and then these fine sheets of water, with fine points of land jutting out boldly into them. it was lovely, but not striking or peculiar. all woods suggest pictures. the european forest, with its long glades and green sunny dells, naturally suggested the figures of armed knight on his proud steed, or maiden, decked in gold and pearl, pricking along them on a snow white palfrey. the green dells, of weary palmer sleeping there beside the spring with his head upon his wallet. our minds, familiar with such figures, people with them the new england woods, wherever the sunlight falls down a longer than usual cart-track, wherever a cleared spot has lain still enough for the trees to look friendly, with their exposed sides cultivated by the light, and the grass to look velvet warm, and be embroidered with flowers. these western woods suggest a different kind of ballad. the indian legends have, often, an air of the wildest solitude, as has the one mr. lowell has put into verse, in his late volume. but i did not see those wild woods; only such as suggest little romances of love and sorrow, like this: a maiden sat beneath the tree, tear-bedewed her pale cheeks be, and she sigheth heavily. from forth the wood into the light, a hunter strides with carol light, and a glance so bold and bright. he careless stopped and eyed the maid; "why weepest thou?" he gently said, "i love thee well; be not afraid." he takes her hand, and leads her on; she should have waited there alone, for he was not her chosen one. he leans her head upon his breast, she knew 't was not her home of rest, but ah! she had been sore distrest. the sacred stars looked sadly down; the parting moon appeared to frown, to see thus dimmed the diamond crown. then from the thicket starts a deer, the huntsman, seizing on his spear, cries, "maiden, wait thou for me here." she sees him vanish into night, she starts from sleep in deep affright, for it was not her own true knight. though but in dream gunhilda failed; though but a fancied ill assailed, though she but fancied fault bewailed. yet thought of day makes dream of night: she is not worthy of the knight, the inmost altar burns not bright. if loneliness thou canst not bear, cannot the dragon's venom dare, of the pure meed thou shouldst despair. now sadder that lone maiden sighs, far bitterer tears profane her eyes, crushed in the dust her heart's flower lies. [illustration: indian encampment] on the bank of silver lake we saw an indian encampment. a shower threatened us, but we resolved to try if we could not visit it before it came on. we crossed a wide field on foot, and found them amid the trees on a shelving bank; just as we reached them the rain began to fall in torrents, with frequent thunder claps, and we had to take refuge in their lodges. these were very small, being for temporary use, and we crowded the occupants much, among whom were several sick, on the damp ground, or with only a ragged mat between them and it. but they showed all the gentle courtesy which marks them towards the stranger, who stands in any need; though it was obvious that the visit, which inconvenienced them, could only have been caused by the most impertinent curiosity, they made us as comfortable as their extreme poverty permitted. they seemed to think we would not like to touch them: a sick girl in the lodge where i was, persisted in moving so as to give me the dry place; a woman with the sweet melancholy eye of the race, kept off the children and wet dogs from even the hem of my garment. without, their fires smouldered, and black kettles, hung over them on sticks, smoked and seethed in the rain. an old theatrical looking indian stood with arms folded, looking up to the heavens, from which the rain dashed and the thunder reverberated; his air was french-roman, that is, more romanesque than roman. the indian ponies, much excited, kept careering through the wood, around the encampment, and now and then halting suddenly, would thrust in their intelligent, though amazed, phizzes, as if to ask their masters when this awful pother would cease, and then, after a moment, rush and trample off again. at last we got off, well wetted, but with a picturesque scene for memory. at a house where we stopped to get dry, they told us that this wandering band (of pottawattamies,) who had returned on a visit, either from homesickness, or need of relief, were extremely destitute. the women had been there to see if they could barter their head bands with which they club their hair behind into a form not unlike a grecian knot, for food. they seemed, indeed, to have neither food, utensils, clothes, nor bedding; nothing but the ground, the sky, and their own strength. little wonder if they drove off the game! part of the same band i had seen in milwaukie, on a begging dance. the effect of this was wild and grotesque. they wore much paint and feather head-dresses. "indians without paint are poor coots," said a gentleman who had been a great deal with, and really liked, them; and i like the effect of the paint on them; it reminds of the gay fantasies of nature. with them in milwaukie, was a chief, the finest indian figure i saw, more than six feet in height, erect, and of a sullen, but grand gait and gesture. he wore a deep red blanket, which fell in large folds from his shoulders to his feet, did not join in the dance, but slowly strode about through the streets, a fine sight, not a french-roman, but a real roman. he looked unhappy, but listlessly unhappy, as if he felt it was of no use to strive or resist. while in the neighborhood of these lakes, we visited also a foreign settlement of great interest. here were minds, it seemed, to "comprehend the trusts," of their new life; and if they can only stand true to them, will derive and bestow great benefits therefrom. but sad and sickening to the enthusiast who comes to these shores, hoping the tranquil enjoyment of intellectual blessings, and the pure happiness of mutual love, must be a part of the scene that he encounters at first. he has escaped from the heartlessness of courts, to encounter the vulgarity of a mob; he has secured solitude, but it is a lonely, a deserted solitude. amid the abundance of nature he cannot, from petty, but insuperable obstacles, procure, for a long time, comforts, or a home. but let him come sufficiently armed with patience to learn the new spells which the new dragons require, (and this can only be done on the spot,) he will not finally be disappointed of the promised treasure; the mob will resolve itself into men, yet crude, but of good dispositions, and capable of good character; the solitude will become sufficiently enlivened and home grow up at last from the rich sod. in this transition state we found one of these homes. as we approached it seemed the very eden which earth might still afford to a pair willing to give up the hackneyed pleasures of the world, for a better and more intimate communion with one another and with beauty: the wild road led through wide beautiful woods, to the wilder and more beautiful shores of the finest lake we saw. on its waters, glittering in the morning sun, a few indians were paddling to and fro in their light canoes. on one of those fair knolls i have so often mentioned, stood the cottage, beneath trees which stooped as if they yet felt brotherhood with its roof tree. flowers waved, birds fluttered round, all had the sweetness of a happy seclusion; all invited on entrance to cry, all hail ye happy ones! to those who inhabited it. but on entrance to those evidently rich in personal beauty, talents, love, and courage, the aspect of things was rather sad. sickness had been with them, death, care, and labor; these had not yet blighted them, but had turned their gay smiles grave. it seemed that hope and joy had given place to resolution. how much, too, was there in them, worthless in this place, which would have been so valuable elsewhere. refined graces, cultivated powers, shine in vain before field laborers, as laborers are in this present world; you might as well cultivate heliotropes to present to an ox. oxen and heliotropes are both good, but not for one another. with them were some of the old means of enjoyment, the books, the pencil, the guitar; but where the wash-tub and the axe are so constantly in requisition, there is not much time and pliancy of hand for these. in the inner room the master of the house was seated; he had been sitting there long, for he had injured his foot on ship-board, and his farming had to be done by proxy. his beautiful young wife was his only attendant and nurse, as well as a farm housekeeper; how well she performed hard and unaccustomed duties, the objects of her care shewed; everything that belonged to the house was rude but neatly arranged; the invalid, confined to an uneasy wooden chair, (they had not been able to induce any one to bring them an easy chair from the town,) looked as neat and elegant as if he had been dressed by the valet of a duke. he was of northern blood, with clear full blue eyes, calm features, a tempering of the soldier, scholar, and man of the world, in his aspect; whether that various intercourses had given himself that thorough-bred look never seen in americans, or that it was inherited from a race who had known all these disciplines. he formed a great but pleasing contrast to his wife, whose glowing complexion and dark mellow eye bespoke an origin in some climate more familiar with the sun. he looked as if he could sit there a great while patiently, and live on his own mind, biding his time; she, as if she could bear anything for affection's sake, but would feel the weight of each moment as it passed. seeing the album full of drawings and verses which bespoke the circle of elegant and affectionate intercourse they had left, behind, we could not but see that the young wife sometimes must need a sister, the husband a companion, and both must often miss that electricity which sparkles from the chain of congenial minds. for man, a position is desirable in some degree proportioned to his education. mr. birkbeck was bred a farmer, but these were nurslings of the court and city; they may persevere, for an affectionate courage shone in their eyes, and, if so, become true lords of the soil, and informing geniuses to those around; then, perhaps, they will feel that they have not paid too dear for the tormented independence of the new settler's life. but, generally, damask roses will not thrive in the wood, and a ruder growth, if healthy and pure, we wish rather to see there. i feel very differently about these foreigners from americans; american men and women are inexcusable if they do not bring up children so as to be fit for vicissitudes; that is the meaning of our star, that here all men being free and equal, all should be fitted for freedom and an independence by his own resources wherever the changeful wave of our mighty stream may take him. but the star of europe brought a different horoscope, and to mix destinies breaks the thread of both. the arabian horse will not plough well, nor can the plough-horse be rode to play the jereed. but a man is a man wherever he goes, and something precious cannot fail to be gained by one who knows how to abide by a resolution of any kind, and pay the cost without a murmur. returning, the fine carriage at last fulfilled its threat of breaking down. we took refuge in a farm house. here was a pleasant scene. a rich and beautiful estate, several happy families, who had removed together, and formed a natural community, ready to help and enliven one another. they were farmers at home, in western new york, and both men and women knew how to work. yet even here the women did not like the change, but they were willing, "as it might be best for the young folks." their hospitality was great, the housefull of women and pretty children seemed all of one mind. returning to milwaukie much fatigued, i entertained myself for a day or two with reading. the book i had brought with me was in strong contrast with the life around me. very strange was this vision of an exalted and sensitive existence, which seemed to invade the next sphere, in contrast with the spontaneous, instinctive life, so healthy and so near the ground i had been surveying. this was the german book entitled: die scherin von prevorst.--eröffnungen über das innere leben des menschen und über das hereinragen einer geisterwelt in die unsere. mitgetheilt von justinus kerner. the seeress of prevorst.--revelations concerning the inward life of man, and the projection of a world of spirits into ours, communicated by justinus kerner. this book, published in germany some twelve years since, and which called forth there plenteous dews of admiration, as plenteous hail-storms of jeers and scorns, i never saw mentioned till some year or two since, in any english publication. then a playful, but not sarcastic account of it, in the dublin magazine, so far excited my curiosity that i procured the book intending to read it so soon as i should have some leisure days, such as this journey has afforded. dr. kerner, its author, is a man of distinction in his native land, both as a physician and a thinker, though always on the side of reverence, marvel, and mysticism. he was known to me only through two or three little poems of his in catholic legends, which i much admired for the fine sense they showed of the beauty of symbols. he here gives a biography, mental and physical, of one of the most remarkable cases of high nervous excitement that the age, so interested in such, yet affords, with all its phenomena of clairvoyance and susceptibility of magnetic influences. i insert some account of this biography at the request of many who have been interested by slight references to it. the book, a thick and heavy volume, written with true german patience, some would say clumsiness, has not, probably, and may not be translated into other languages. as to my own mental position on these subjects it may be briefly expressed by a dialogue between several persons who honor me with a portion of friendly confidence and of criticism, and myself expressed as _free hope_. the others may be styled _old church, good sense_, and _self-poise_. _good sense_. i wonder you can take any interest in such observations or experiments. don't you see how almost impossible it is to make them with any exactness, how entirely impossible to know anything about them unless made by yourself, when the least leaven of credulity, excited fancy, to say nothing of willing or careless imposture, spoils the whole loaf. beside, allowing the possibility of some clear glimpses into a higher state of being, what do we want of it now? all around us lies what we neither understand nor use. our capacities, our instincts for this our present sphere are but half developed. let us confine ourselves to that till the lesson be learned; let us be completely natural, before we trouble ourselves with the supernatural. i never see any of these things but i long to get away and lie under a green tree and let the wind blow on me. there is marvel and charm enough in that for me. _free hope_. and for me also. nothing is truer than the wordsworthian creed, on which carlyle lays such stress, that we need only look on the miracle of every day, to sate ourselves with thought and admiration every day. but how are our faculties sharpened to do it? precisely by apprehending the infinite results of every day. who sees the meaning of the flower uprooted in the ploughed field? the ploughman who does not look beyond its boundaries and does not raise his eyes from the ground? no--but the poet who sees that field in its relations with the universe, and looks oftener to the sky than on the ground. only the dreamer shall understand realities, though, in truth, his dreaming must not be out of proportion to his waking! the mind, roused powerfully by this existence, stretches of itself into what the french sage calls the "aromal state." from the hope thus gleaned it forms the hypothesis, under whose banner it collects its facts. long before these slight attempts were made to establish as a science what is at present called animal magnetism, always, in fact men were occupied more or less with this vital principle, principle of flux and influx, dynamic of our mental mechanics, human phase of electricity. poetic observation was pure, there was no quackery in its free course, as there is so often in this wilful tampering with the hidden springs of life, for it is tampering unless done in a patient spirit and with severe truth; yet it may be, by the rude or greedy miners, some good ore is unearthed. and some there are who work in the true temper, patient and accurate in trial, not rushing to conclusions, feeling there is a mystery, not eager to call it by name, till they can know it as a reality: such may learn, such may teach. subject to the sudden revelations, the breaks in habitual existence caused by the aspect of death, the touch of love, the flood of music, i never lived, that i remember, what you call a common natural day. all my days are touched by the supernatural, for i feel the pressure of hidden causes, and the presence, sometimes the communion, of unseen powers. it needs not that i should ask the clairvoyant whether "a spirit-world projects into ours." as to the specific evidence, i would not tarnish my mind by hasty reception. the mind is not, i know, a highway, but a temple, and its doors should not be carelessly left open. yet it were sin, if indolence or coldness excluded what had a claim to enter; and i doubt whether, in the eyes of pure intelligence, an ill-grounded hasty rejection be not a greater sign of weakness than an ill-grounded and hasty faith. i will quote, as my best plea, the saying of a man old in years, but not in heart, and whose long life has been distinguished by that clear adaptation of means to ends which gives the credit of practical wisdom. he wrote to his child, "i have lived too long, and seen too much to be incredulous." noble the thought, no less so its frank expression, instead of saws of caution, mean advices, and other modern instances. such was the romance of socrates when he bade his disciples "sacrifice a cock to aesculapius." _old church_. you are always so quick-witted and voluble, free hope, you don't get time to see how often you err, and even, perhaps, sin and blaspheme. the author of all has intended to confine our knowledge within certain boundaries, has given us a short span of time for a certain probation, for which our faculties are adapted. by wild speculation and intemperate curiosity we violate his will and incur dangerous, perhaps fatal, consequences. we waste our powers, and, becoming morbid and visionary, are unfitted to obey positive precepts, and perform positive duties. _free hope_. i do not see how it is possible to go further beyond the results of a limited human experience than those do who pretend to settle the origin and nature of sin, the final destiny of souls, and the whole plan of the causal spirit with regard to them. i think those who take your view, have not examined themselves, and do not know the ground on which they stand. i acknowledge no limit, set up by man's opinion, as to the capacities of man. "care is taken," i see it, "that the trees grow not up into heaven," but, to me it seems, the more vigorously they aspire the better. only let it be a vigorous, not a partial or sickly aspiration. let not the tree forget its root. so long as the child insists on knowing where its dead parent is, so long as bright eyes weep at mysterious pressures, too heavy for the life, so long as that impulse is constantly arising which made the roman emperor address his soul in a strain of such touching softness, vanishing from the thought, as the column of smoke from the eye, i know of no inquiry which the impulse of man suggests that is forbidden to the resolution of man to pursue. in every inquiry, unless sustained by a pure and reverent spirit, he gropes in the dark, or falls headlong. _self-poise_. all this may be very true, but what is the use of all this straining? far-sought is dear-bought. when we know that all is in each, and that the ordinary contains the extraordinary, why should we play the baby, and insist upon having the moon for a toy when a tin dish will do as well. our deep ignorance is a chasm that we can only fill up by degrees, but the commonest rubbish will help us as well as shred silk. the god brahma, while on earth, was set to fill up a valley, but he had only a basket given him in which to fetch earth for this purpose; so is it with us all. no leaps, no starts will avail us, by patient crystallization alone the equal temper of wisdom is attainable. sit at home and the spirit-world will look in at your window with moonlit eyes; run out to find it, and rainbow and golden cup will have vanished and left you the beggarly child you were. the better part of wisdom is a sublime prudence, a pure and patient truth that will receive nothing it is not sure it can permanently lay to heart. of our study there should be in proportion two-thirds of rejection to one of acceptance. and, amid the manifold infatuations and illusions of this world of emotion, a being capable of clear intelligence can do no better service than to hold himself upright, avoid nonsense, and do what chores lie in his way, acknowledging every moment that primal truth, which no fact exhibits, nor, if pressed by too warm a hope, will even indicate. i think, indeed, it is part of our lesson to give a formal consent to what is farcical, and to pick up our living and our virtue amid what is so ridiculous, hardly deigning a smile, and certainly not vexed. the work is done through all, if not by every one. _free hope._ thou art greatly wise, my friend, and ever respected by me, yet i find not in your theory or your scope, room enough for the lyric inspirations, or the mysterious whispers of life. to me it seems that it is madder never to abandon oneself, than often to be infatuated; better to be wounded, a captive, and a slave, than always to walk in armor. as to magnetism, that is only a matter of fancy. you sometimes need just such a field in which to wander vagrant, and if it bear a higher name, yet it may be that, in last result, the trance of pythagoras might be classed with the more infantine transports of the seeress of prevorst. what is done interests me more than what is thought and supposed. every fact is impure, but every fact contains in it the juices of life. every fact is a clod, from which may grow an amaranth or a palm. do you climb the snowy peaks from whence come the streams, where the atmosphere is rare, where you can see the sky nearer, from which you can get a commanding view of the landscape. i see great disadvantages as well as advantages in this dignified position. i had rather walk myself through all kinds of places, even at the risk of being robbed in the forest, half drowned at the ford, and covered with dust in the street. i would beat with the living heart of the world, and understand all the moods, even the fancies or fantasies, of nature. i dare to trust to the interpreting spirit to bring me out all right at last--to establish truth through error. whether this be the best way is of no consequence, if it be the one individual character points out. for one, like me, it would be vain from glittering heights the eyes to strain; i the truth can only know, tested by life's most fiery glow. seeds of thought will never thrive till dews of love shall bid them live. let me stand in my age with all its waters flowing round me. if they sometimes subdue, they must finally upbear me, for i seek the universal--and that must be the best. the spirit, no doubt, leads in every movement of my time: if i seek the how, i shall find it, as well as if i busied myself more with the why. whatever is, is right, if only men are steadily bent to make it so, by comprehending and fulfilling its design. may not i have an office, too, in my hospitality and ready sympathy? if i sometimes entertain guests who cannot pay with gold coin, with "fair rose nobles," that is better than to lose the chance of entertaining angels unawares. you, my three friends, are held in heart-honor, by me. you, especially, good-sense, because where you do not go yourself, you do not object to another's going, if he will. you are really liberal. you, old church, are of use, by keeping unforgot the effigies of old religion, and reviving the tone of pure spenserian sentiment, which this time is apt to stifle in its childish haste. but you are very faulty in censuring and wishing to limit others by your own standard. you, self-poise, fill a priestly office. could but a larger intelligence of the vocations of others, and a tender sympathy with their individual natures be added, had you more of love, or more of apprehensive genius, (for either would give you the needed expansion and delicacy) you would command my entire reverence. as it is, i must at times deny and oppose you, and so must others, for you tend, by your influence, to exclude us from our full, free life. we must be content when you censure, and rejoiced when you approve; always admonished to good by your whole being, and sometimes by your judgment. and so i pass on to interest myself and others in the memoir of the scherin von prevorst. aside from löwenstein, a town of wirtemberg, on mountains whose highest summit is more than eighteen hundred feet above the level of the sea, lies in romantic seclusion, surrounded on all sides by woods and hills, the hamlet of prevorst. its inhabitants number about four hundred and fifty, most of whom support themselves by wood-cutting, and making charcoal, and collecting wood seed. as is usual with those who live upon the mountains, these are a vigorous race, and generally live to old age without sickness. diseases that infest the valley, such as ague, never touch them; but they are subject in youth to attacks upon the nerves, which one would not expect in so healthy a class. in a town situated near to, and like prevorst, the children were often attacked with a kind of st. vitus's dance. they would foresee when it would seize upon them, and, if in the field, would hasten home to undergo the paroxysms there. from these they rose, as from magnetic sleep, without memory of what had happened. other symptoms show the inhabitants of this region very susceptible to magnetic and sidereal influences. on this mountain, and indeed in the hamlet of prevorst, was, in , a woman born, in whom a peculiar inner life discovered itself from early childhood. frederica hauffe, whose father was gamekeeper of this district of forest, was, as the position and solitude of her birthplace made natural, brought up in the most simple manner. in the keen mountain air and long winter cold, she was not softened by tenderness either as to dress or bedding, but grew up lively and blooming; and while her brothers and sisters, under the same circumstances, were subject to rheumatic attacks, she remained free from them. on the other hand, her peculiar tendency displayed itself in her dreams. if anything affected her painfully, if her mind was excited by reproof, she had instructive warning, or prophetic dreams. while yet quite young, her parents let her go, for the advantages of instruction, to her grandfather, johann schmidgall, in löwenstein. here were discovered in her the sensibility to magnetic and ghostly influences, which, the good kerner assures us, her grandparents deeply lamented, and did all in their power to repress. but, as it appears that her grandfather, also, had seen a ghost, and there were evidently legends in existence about the rooms in which the little frederika saw ghosts, and spots where the presence of human bones caused her sudden shivering, we may be allowed to doubt whether indirect influence was not more powerful than direct repression upon these subjects. there is the true german impartiality with regard to the scene of appearance for these imposing visiters; sometimes it is "a room in the castle of löwenstein, long disused," à la radcliffe, sometimes "a deserted kitchen." this "solemn, unhappy gift," brought no disturbance to the childish life of the maiden, she enjoyed life with more vivacity than most of her companions. the only trouble she had was the extreme irritability of the optic nerve, which, though without inflammation of the eyes, sometimes confined her to a solitary chamber. "this," says dr. k. "was probably a sign of the development of the spiritual in the fleshly eye." sickness of her parents at last called her back to the lonely prevorst, where, by trouble and watching beside sick beds, her feelings were too much excited, so that the faculty for prophetic dreams and the vision of spirits increased upon her. from her seventeenth to her nineteenth year, when every outward relation was pleasant for her, this inward life was not so active, and she was distinguished from other girls of her circle only by the more intellectual nature, which displayed itself chiefly in the eyes, and by a greater liveliness which, however, never passed the bounds of grace and propriety. she had none of the sentimentality so common at that age, and it can be proved that she had never an attachment, nor was disappointed in love, as has been groundlessly asserted. in her nineteenth year, she was by her family betrothed to herr h. the match was desirable on account of the excellence of the man, and the sure provision it afforded for her comfort through life. but, whether from presentiment of the years of suffering that were before her, or from other hidden feelings, of which we only know with certainty that, if such there were, they were not occasioned by another attachment, she sank into a dejection, inexplicable to her family; passed whole days in weeping; scarcely slept for some weeks, and thus the life of feeling which had been too powerful in her childhood was called up anew in full force. on the day of her solemn betrothal, took place, also, the funeral of t., the preacher of oberstenfeld, a man of sixty and more years, whose preaching, instruction, and character, (he was goodness itself,) had had great influence upon her life. she followed the dear remains, with others, to the church-yard. her heart till then so heavy, was suddenly relieved and calmed, as she stood beside the grave. she remained there long, enjoying her new peace, and when she went away found herself tranquil, but indifferent to all the concerns of this world. here began the period, not indeed as yet of sickness, but of her peculiar inward life, which knew afterward no pause. later, in somnambulic state, she spoke of this day in the following verses. the deceased had often appeared to her as a shape of light, protecting her from evil spirits. (these are little simple rhymes; they are not worth translating into verse, though, in the original, they have a childish grace.) what was once so dark to me, i see now clearly. in that day when i had given in marriage myself away, i stood quite immersed in thee, thou angel figure above thy grave mound. willingly would i have exchanged with thee, willingly given up to thee my earthly luck, which those around praised as the blessing of heaven. i prayed upon thy grave for one blessing only, that the wings of this angel might henceforward on the hot path of life, waft around me the peace of heaven. there standest thou, angel, now; my prayer was heard. she was, in consequence of her marriage, removed to kürnbach, a place on the borders of würtemberg and baden. its position is low, gloomy, shut in by hills; opposite in all the influences of earth and atmosphere to those of prevorst and its vicinity. those of electrical susceptibility are often made sick or well by change of place. papponi, (of whom amoretti writes,) a man of such susceptibility, was cured of convulsive attacks by change of place. penriet could find repose while in one part of calabria, only by wrapping himself in an oil-cloth mantle, thus, as it were, isolating himself. that great sense of sidereal and imponderable influences, which afterward manifested itself so clearly in the seherin, probably made this change of place very unfavorable to her. later, it appeared, that the lower she came down from the hills, the more she suffered from spasms, but on the heights her tendency to the magnetic state was the greatest. but also mental influences were hostile to her. already withdrawn from the outward life, she was placed, where, as consort and housekeeper to a laboring man, the calls on her care and attention were incessant. she was obliged hourly to forsake her inner home, to provide for an outer, which did not correspond with it. she bore this seven months, though flying to solitude, whenever outward relations permitted. but longer it was not possible to conceal the inward verity by an outward action, "the body sank beneath the attempt, and the spirit took refuge in the inner circle." one night she dreamed that she awoke and found the dead body of the preacher t. by her side; that at the same time her father, and two physicians were considering what should be done for her in a severe sickness. she called out that "the dead friend would help her; she needed no physician." her husband, hearing her cry out in sleep, woke her. this dream was presage of a fever, which seized her next morning. it lasted fourteen days with great violence, and was succeeded by attacks of convulsion and spasm. this was the beginning of that state of bodily suffering and mental exaltation in which she passed the remaining seven years of her life. she seems to have been very injudiciously treated in the first stages of her illness. bleeding was resorted to, as usual in cases of extreme suffering where the nurses know not what else to do, and, as usual, the momentary relief was paid for by an increased nervousness, and capacity for suffering. magnetic influences from other persons were of frequent use to her, but they were applied without care as to what characters and constitutions were brought into connexion with hers, and were probably in the end just as injurious to her as the loss of blood. at last she became so weak, so devoid of all power in herself, that her life seemed entirely dependent on artificial means and the influence of other men. there is a singular story of a woman in the neighborhood, who visited her once or twice, apparently from an instinct that she should injure her, and afterwards, interfered in the same way, and with the same results, in the treatment of her child. this demoniacal impulse and power, which were ascribed to the canidias of ancient superstition, may be seen subtly influencing the members of every-day society. we see persons led, by an uneasy impulse, towards the persons and the topics where they are sure they can irritate and annoy. this is constantly observable among children, also in the closest relations between grown up people who have not yet the government of themselves, neither are governed by the better power. there is also an interesting story of a quack who treated her with amulets, whose parallel may be found in the action of such persons in common society. it is an expression of the power that a vulgar and self-willed nature will attain over one delicate, poetical, but not yet clear within itself; outwardly it yields to a power which it inwardly disclaims. a touching little passage is related of a time in the first years, when she seemed to be better, so much so as to receive an evening visit from some female friends. they grew merry and began to dance; she remained sad and thoughtful. when they stopped, she was in the attitude of prayer. one of her intimates, observing this, began to laugh. this affected her so much, that she became cold and rigid like a corpse. for some time they did not hear her breathe, and, when she did, it was with a rattling noise. they applied mustard poultices, and used foot and hand baths; she was brought back to life, but to a state of great suffering. she recognized as her guardian spirit, who sometimes magnetized her or removed from her neighborhood substances that were hurtful to her, her grandmother; thus coinciding with the popular opinion that traits reappear in the third generation. now began still greater wonders; the second sight, numerous and various visits from spirits and so forth. the following may be mentioned in connection with theories and experiments current among ourselves. "a friend, who was often with her at this time, wrote to me (kerner): when i, with my finger, touch her _on the forehead between the eyebrows_, she says each time something that bears upon the state of my soul. some of these sentences i record. "keep thy soul so that thou mayst bear it in thy hands." "when thou comest into a world of bustle and folly, hold the lord fast in thy heart." "if any seek to veil from thee thy true feeling, pray to god for grace." "permit not thyself to stifle the light that springs up within thyself." "think often of the cross of jesus; go forth and embrace it." "as the dove found a resting-place in noah's ark, so wilt thou, also, find a resting-place which god has appointed for thee." when she was put under the care of kerner, she had been five years in this state, and was reduced to such weakness, that she was, with difficulty, sustained from hour to hour. he thought at first it would be best to take no notice of her magnetic states and directions, and told her he should not, but should treat her with regard to her bodily symptoms, as he would any other invalid. "at this time she fell every evening into magnetic sleep, and gave orders about herself; to which, however, those round her no longer paid attention. i was now called in. i had never seen this woman, but had heard many false or perverted accounts of her condition. i must confess that i shared the evil opinion of the world as to her illness; that i advised to pay no attention to her magnetic situation, and the orders she gave in it; in her spasms, to forbear the laying of hands upon her; to deny her the support of persons of stronger nerves; in short, to do all possible to draw her out of the magnetic state, and to treat her with attention, but with absolutely none but the common medical means. these views were shared by my friend, dr. off, of löwenstein, who continued to treat her accordingly. but without good results. hemorrhage, spasms, night-sweats continued. her gums were scorbutically affected, and bled constantly; she lost all her teeth. strengthening remedies affected her like being drawn up from her bed by force; she sank into a fear of all men, and a deadly weakness. her death was to be wished, but it came not. her relations, in despair, not knowing themselves what they could do with her, brought her, almost against my will, to me at weinsburg. she was brought hither an image of death, perfectly emaciated, unable to raise herself. every three or four minutes, a teaspoonful of nourishment must be given her, else she fell into faintness or convulsion. her somnambulic situation alternated with fever, hemorrhage, and night-sweats. every evening, about seven o'clock, she fell into magnetic sleep. she then spread out her arms, and found herself, from that moment, in a clairvoyant state; but only when she brought them back upon her breast, did she begin to speak. (kerner mentions that her child, too, slept with its hands and feet crossed.) in this state her eyes were shut, her face calm and bright. as she fell asleep, the first night after her arrival, she asked for me, but i bade them tell her that i now, and in future, should speak to her only when awake. after she awoke, i went to her and declared, in brief and earnest terms, that i should pay no attention to what she said in sleep, and that her somnambulic state, which had lasted so long to the grief and trouble of her family, must now come to an end. this declaration i accompanied by an earnest appeal, designed to awaken a firm will in her to put down the excessive activity of brain that disordered her whole system. afterwards, no address was made to her on any subject when in her sleep-waking state. she was left to lie unheeded. i pursued a homoeopathic treatment of her case. but the medicines constantly produced effects opposite to what i expected. she now suffered less from spasm and somnambulism, but with increasing marks of weakness and decay. all seemed as if the end of her sufferings drew near. it was too late for the means i wished to use. affected so variously and powerfully by magnetic means in the first years of her illness, she had now no life more, so thoroughly was the force of her own organization exhausted, but what she borrowed from others. in her now more infrequent magnetic trance, she was always seeking the true means of her cure. it was touching to see how, retiring within herself, she sought for help. the physician who had aided her so little with his drugs, must often stand abashed before this inner physician, perceiving it to be far better skilled than himself." after some weeks forbearance, kerner did ask her in her sleep what he should do for her. she prescribed a magnetic treatment, which was found of use. afterwards, she described a machine, of which there is a drawing in this book, which she wished to have made for her use; it was so, and she derived benefit from it. she had indicated such a machine in the early stages of her disease, but at that time no one attended to her. by degrees she grew better under this treatment, and lived at weinsberg, nearly two years, though in a state of great weakness, and more in the magnetic and clairvoyant than in the natural human state. how his acquaintance with her affected the physician, he thus expresses: "during those last months of her abode on the earth, there remained to her only the life of a sylph. i have been interested to record, not a journal of her sickness, but the mental phenomena of such an almost disembodied life. such may cast light on the period when also our psyche may unfold her wings, free from bodily bonds, and the hindrances of space and time. i give facts; each reader may interpret them in his own way. the manuals of animal magnetism and other writings have proposed many theories by which to explain such. all these are known to me. i shall make no reference to them, but only, by use of parallel facts here and there, show that the phenomena of this case recall many in which there is nothing marvellous, but which are manifestly grounded in our common existence. such apparitions cannot too frequently, if only for moments, flash across that common existence, as electric lights from the higher world. frau h. was, previous to my magnetic treatment, in so deep a somnambulic life, that she was, in fact, never rightly awake, even when she seemed to be; or rather, let us say, she was at all times more awake than others are; for it is strange to term sleep this state which is just that of the clearest wakefulness. better to say she was immersed in the inward state. in this state and the consequent excitement of the nerves, she had almost wholly lost organic force, and received it only by transmission from those of stronger condition, principally from their eyes and the ends of the fingers. the atmosphere and nerve communications of others, said she, bring me the life which i need; they do not feel it; these effusions on which i live, would flow from them and be lost, if my nerves did not attract them; only in this way can i live. she often assured us that others did not suffer by loss of what they imparted to her; but it cannot be denied that persons were weakened by constant intercourse with her, suffered from contraction in the limbs, trembling, &c. they were weakened also in the eyes and pit of the stomach. from those related to her by blood, she could draw more benefit than from others, and, when very weak, from them only; probably on account of a natural affinity of temperament. she could not bear to have around her nervous and sick persons; those from whom she could gain nothing made her weaker. even so it is remarked that flowers soon lose their beauty near the sick, and suffer peculiarly under the contact or care of some persons. other physicians, beside myself, can vouch that the presence of some persons affected her as a pabulum vitae, while, if left with certain others or alone, she was sure to grow weaker. from the air, too, she seemed to draw a peculiar ethereal nourishment of the same sort; she could not remain without an open window in the severest cold of winter.[ ] [footnote : near us, this last winter, a person who suffered, and finally died, from spasms like those of the seherin, also found relief from having the windows open, while the cold occasioned great suffering to his attendants.] the spirit of things, about which we have no perception, was sensible to her, and had influence on her; she showed this sense of the spirit of metals, plants, animals, and men. imponderable existences, such as the various colors of the ray, showed distinct influences upon her. the electric fluid was visible and sensible to her when it was not to us. yea! what is incredible! even the written words of men she could discriminate by touch.[ ] [footnote : facts of the same kind are asserted of late among ourselves, and believed, though "incredible."] these experiments are detailed under their several heads in the book. from her eyes flowed a peculiar spiritual light which impressed even those who saw her for a very short time. she was in each relation more spirit than human. should we compare her with anything human, we would say she was as one detained at the moment of dissolution, betwixt life and death; and who is better able to discern the affairs of the world that lies before, than that behind him. she was often in situations when one who had, like her, the power of discerning spirits, would have seen her own free from the body, which at all times enveloped it only as a light veil. she saw herself often out of the body; saw herself double. she would say, "i seem out of myself, hover above my body, and think of it as something apart from myself. but it is not a pleasant feeling, because i still sympathize with my body. if only my soul were bound more firmly to the nerve-spirit, it might be bound more closely with the nerves themselves; but the bond of my nerve-spirit is always becoming looser." she makes a distinction between spirit as the pure intelligence; soul, the ideal of this individual man; and nerve-spirit, the dynamic of his temporal existence. of this feeling of double identity, an invalid, now wasting under nervous disease, often speaks to me. he has it when he first awakes from sleep. blake, the painter, whose life was almost as much a series of trances as that of our seherin, in his designs of the resurrection, represents spirits as rising from, or hovering over, their bodies in the same way. often she seemed quite freed from her body, and to have no more sense of its weight. as to artificial culture, or dressing, (dressur,) frau h. had nothing of it. she had learned no foreign tongue, neither history, nor geography, nor natural philosophy, nor any other of those branches now imparted to those of her sex in their schools. the bible and hymn-book were, especially in the long years of her sickness, her only reading: her moral character was throughout blameless; she was pious without fanaticism. even her long suffering, and the peculiar manner of it, she recognized as the grace of god; as she expresses in the following verses: great god! how great is thy goodness, to me thou hast given faith and love, holding me firm in the distress of my sufferings. in the darkness of my sorrow, i was so far led away, as to beg for peace in speedy death. but then came to me the mighty strong faith; hope came; and came eternal love; they shut my earthly eyelids. when, o bliss! dead lies my bodily frame, but in the inmost mind a light burns up, such as none knows in the waking life. is it a light? no! but a sun of grace! often in the sense of her sufferings, while in the magnetic trance, she made prayers in verse, of which this is one: father, hear me! hear my prayer and supplication. father, i implore thee, let not thy child perish! look on my anguish, my tears. shed hope into my heart, and still its longing, father, on thee i call; have pity! take something from me, the sick one, the poor one. father, i leave thee not, though sickness and pain consume me. if i the spring's light, see only through the mist of tears, father, i leave thee not. these verses lose their merit of a touching simplicity in an unrhymed translation; but they will serve to show the habitual temper of her mind. "as i was a maker of verses," continues dr. kerner, "it was easy to say, frau h. derived this talent from my magnetic influence; but she made these little verses before she came under my care." not without deep significance was apollo distinguished as being at once the god of poesy, of prophecy, and the medical art. sleep-waking develops the powers of seeing, healing, and poesy. how nobly the ancients understood the inner life; how fully is it indicated in their mysteries? i know a peasant maiden, who cannot write, but who, in the magnetic state, speaks in measured verse. galen was indebted to his nightly dreams for a part of his medical knowledge. the calumnies spread about frau h. were many and gross; this she well knew. as one day she heard so many of these as to be much affected by them, we thought she would express her feelings that night in the magnetic sleep, but she only said "they can affect my body, but not my spirit." her mind, raised above such assaults by the consciousness of innocence, maintained its tranquillity and dwelt solely on spiritual matters. once in her sleep-waking she wrote thus: when the world declares of me such cruel ill in calumny, and to your ears it finds a way, do you believe it, yea or nay? i answered: to us thou seemest true and pure, let others view it as they will; we have our assurance still if our own sight can make us sure. people of all kinds, to my great trouble, were always pressing to see her. if we refused them access to the sick room, they avenged themselves by the invention of all kinds of falsehoods. she met all with an equal friendliness, even when it cost her bodily pain, and those who defamed her, she often defended. there came to her both good and bad men. she felt the evil in men clearly, but would not censure; lifted up a stone to cast at no sinner, but was rather likely to awake, in the faulty beings she suffered near her, faith in a spiritual life which might make them better. years before she was brought to me, the earth, with its atmosphere, and all that is about and upon it, human beings not excepted, was no more for her. she needed, not only a magnetizer, not only a love, an earnestness, an insight, such as scarce lies within the capacity of any man, but also what no mortal could bestow upon her, another heaven, other means of nourishment, other air than that of this earth. she belonged to the world of spirits, living here herself, as more than half spirit. she belonged to the state after death, into which she had advanced more than half way. it is possible she might have been brought back to an adaptation for this world in the second or third year of her malady; but, in the fifth, no mode of treatment could have effected this. but by care she was aided to a greater harmony and clearness of the inward life; she enjoyed at weinsberg, as she after said, the richest and happiest days of this life, and to us her abode here remains a point of light. as to her outward form, we have already said it seemed but a thin veil about her spirit. she was little, her features of an oriental cast, her eye had the penetrating look of a seer's eye, which was set off by the shade of long dark eyelashes. she was a light flower that only lived on rays. eschenmayer writes thus of her in his "mysteries." "her natural state was a mild, friendly earnestness, always disposed to prayer and devotion; her eye had a highly spiritual expression, and remained, notwithstanding her great sufferings, always bright and clear. her look was penetrating, would quickly change in the conversation, seem to give forth sparks, and remain fixed on some one place,--this was a token that some strange apparition fettered it,--then would she resume the conversation. when i first saw her, she was in a situation which showed that her bodily life could not long endure, and that recovery to the common natural state was quite impossible. without visible derangement of the functions, her life seemed only a wick glimmering in the socket. she was, as kerner truly describes her, like one arrested in the act of dying and detained in the body by magnetic influences. spirit and soul seemed often divided, and the spirit to have taken up its abode in other regions, while the soul was yet bound to the body." i have given these extracts as being happily expressive of the relation between the physician and the clairvoyant, also of her character. it seems to have been one of singular gentleness, and grateful piety, simple and pure, but not at all one from which we should expect extraordinary development of brain in any way; yet the excitement of her temperament from climate, scenery, the influence of traditions which evidently flowed round her, and a great constitutional impressibility did develop in her brain the germs both of poetic creation and science. i say poetic creation, for, to my mind, the ghosts she saw were projections of herself into objective reality. the hades she imagines is based in fact, for it is one of souls, who, having neglected their opportunities for better life, find themselves left forlorn, helpless, seeking aid from beings still ignorant and prejudiced, perhaps much below themselves in natural powers. having forfeited their chance of direct access to god, they seek mediation from the prayers of men. but in the coloring and dress[ ] of these ghosts, as also in their manner and mode of speech, there is a great deal which seems merely fanciful--local and peculiar. [footnote : the women ghosts all wear veils, put on the way admired by the italian poets, of whom, however, she could know nothing.] to me, these interviews represent only prophecies of her mind; yet, considered in this way, they are, if not ghostly, spiritual facts of high beauty, and which cast light on the state of the soul after its separation from the body. her gentle patience with them, her steady reference to a higher cause, her pure joy, when they became white in the light of happiness obtained through aspiration, are worthy of a more than half enfranchised angel. as to the stories of mental correspondence and visits to those still engaged in this world, such as are told of her presentiment of her father's death, and connexion with him in the last moments, these are probably pure facts. those who have sufficient strength of affection to be easily disengaged from external impressions and habits, and who dare trust their mental impulses are familiar with such. her invention of a language seems a simply natural motion of the mind when left to itself. the language we habitually use is so broken, and so hackneyed by ages of conventional use, that, in all deep states of being, we crave one simple and primitive in its stead. most persons make one more or less clear from looks, tones, and symbols:--this woman, in the long leisure of her loneliness, and a mind bent upon itself, attempted to compose one of letters and words. i look upon it as no gift from without, but a growth from her own mind. her invention of a machine, of which she made a drawing, her power of drawing correctly her life-circle, and sun-circle, and the mathematical feeling she had of her existence, in correspondent sections of the two, are also valuable as mental facts. these figures describe her history and exemplify the position of mathematics toward the world of creative thought. every fact of mental existence ought to be capable of similar demonstration. i attach no especial importance to her circles:--we all live in such; all who observe themselves have the same sense of exactness and harmony in the revolutions of their destiny. but few attend to what is simple and invariable in the motions of their minds, and still fewer seek out means clearly to express them to others. goethe has taken up these facts in his wanderjahre, where he speaks of his macaria; also, one of these persons who are compensated for bodily infirmity by a more concentrated and acute state of mind, and consequent accesses of wisdom, as being bound to a star. when she was engaged by a sense of these larger revolutions, she seemed to those near her on the earth, to be sick; when she was, in fact, lower, but better adapted to the details and variations of an earthly life, these said she was well. macaria knew the sun and life circles, also, the lives of spirit and soul, as did the forester's daughter of prevorst. her power of making little verses was one of her least gifts. many excitable persons possess this talent at versification, as all may possess it. it is merely that a certain exaltation of feeling raises the mode of expression with it, in the same way as song differs from speech. verses of this sort do not necessarily demand the high faculties that constitute the poet,--the creative powers. many verses, good ones, are personal or national merely. ballads, hymns, love-lyrics, have often no claim differing from those of common prose speech, to the title of poems, except a greater keenness and terseness of expression. the verses of this seherin are of the simplest character, the natural garb for the sighs or aspirations of a lonely heart. she uses the shortest words, the commonest rhymes, and the verses move us by their nature and truth alone. the most interesting of these facts to me, are her impressions from minerals and plants. her impressions coincide with many ancient superstitions. the hazel woke her immediately and gave her more power, therefore the witch with her hazel wand, probably found herself superior to those around her. we may also mention, in reference to witchcraft, that dr. k. asserts that, in certain moods of mind, she had no weight, but was upborne upon water, like cork, thus confirming the propriety, and justice of our forefathers' ordeal for witchcraft! the laurel produced on her the highest magnetic effect, therefore the sibyls had good reasons for wearing it on their brows. "the laurel had on her, as on most sleep-wakers, a distinguished magnetic effect. we thus see why the priestess at delphi, previous to uttering her oracles, shook a laurel tree, and then seated herself on a tripod covered with laurel boughs. in the temple of aesculapius, and others, the laurel was used to excite sleep and dream." from grapes she declared impressions, which corresponded with those caused by the wines made from them. many kinds were given her, one after the other, by the person who raised them, and who gives a certificate as to the accuracy of her impressions, and his belief that she could not have derived them from any cause, but that of the touch. she prescribed vegetable substances to be used in her machine, (as a kind of vapor bath,) and with good results to herself. she enjoyed contact with minerals, deriving from those she liked a sense of concentrated life. her impressions of the precious stones, corresponded with many superstitions of the ancients, which led to the preference of certain gems for amulets, on which they had engraved talismanic figures. the ancients, in addition to their sense of the qualities that distinguish the diamond above all gems, venerated it as a talisman against wild beasts, poison, and evil spirits, thus expressing the natural influence of what is so enduring, bright, and pure. townshend, speaking of the effect of gems on one of his sleep-wakers, said, she loved the diamond so much that she would lean her forehead towards it, whenever it was brought near her. it is observable that these sleep-wakers, in their prescriptions, resemble the ancient sages, who culled only simples for the sick. but if they have this fine sense, also, for the qualities of animal and mineral substances, there is no reason why they should not turn bane to antidote, and prescribe at least homeopathic doses of poison, to restore the diseased to health. the seherin ascribed different states to the right and left sides of every body, even of the lady moon. the left is most impressible. query: is this the reason why the left hand has been, by the custom of nations, so almost disused, because the heart is on the left side? she also saw different sights in the left from the right eye. in the left, the bodily state of the person; in the right, his real or destined self, how often unknown to himself, almost always obscured or perverted by his present ignorance or mistake. she had also the gift of second sight. she saw the coffins of those about to die. she saw in mirrors, cups of water; in soap-bubbles, the coming future. we are here reminded of many beautiful superstitions and legends; of the secret pool in which the daring may, at mid-moon of night, read the future; of the magic globe, on whose pure surface britomart sees her future love, whom she must seek, arrayed in knightly armor, through a difficult and hostile world. a looking-glass, right wondrously aguized, whose virtues through the wyde world soon were solemnized. it vertue had to show in perfect sight, whatever thing was in the world contayned, betwixt the lowest earth and hevens hight; so that it to the looker appertayned, whatever foe had wrought, or friend had fayned, herein discovered was, ne ought mote pas, ne ought in secret from the same remayned; forthy it round and hollow shaped was, like to the world itselfe, and seemed a world of glas. _faerie queene, book iii_. such mirrors had cornelius agrippa and other wizards. the soap-bubble is such a globe; only one had need of second sight or double sight to see the pictures on so transitory a mirror. perhaps it is some vague expectation of such wonders, that makes us so fond of blowing them in childish years. but, perhaps, it is rather as a prelude to the occupation of our lives, blowing bubbles where all things may be seen, that, "to the looker appertain," if we can keep them long enough or look quick enough. in short, were this biography of no other value, it would be most interesting as showing how the floating belief of nations, always no doubt shadowing forth in its imperfect fashion the poetic facts with their scientific exposition, is found to grow up anew in a simple, but high-wrought nature. the fashioning spirit, working upwards from the clod to man, proffers as its last, highest essay, the brain of man. in the lowest zoophyte it aimed at this; some faint rudiments may there be discerned: but only in man has it perfected that immense galvanic battery that can be loaded from above, below, and around;--that engine, not only of perception, but of conception and consecutive thought,--whose right hand is memory, whose life is idea, the crown of nature, the platform from which spirit takes-wing. yet, as gradation is the beautiful secret of nature, and the fashioning spirit, which loves to develop and transcend, loves no less to moderate, to modulate, and harmonize, it did not mean by thus drawing man onward to the next state of existence, to destroy his fitness for this. it did not mean to destroy his sympathies with the mineral, vegetable, and animal realms, of whose components he is in great part composed; which were the preface to his being, of whom he is to take count, whom he should govern as a reasoning head of a perfectly arranged body. he was meant to be the historian, the philosopher, the poet, the king of this world, no less than the prophet of the next. these functions should be in equipoise, and when they are not, when we see excess either on the natural (so called as distinguished from the spiritual,) or the spiritual side, we feel that the law is transgressed. and, if it be the greatest sorrow to see brain merged in body, to see a man more hands or feet than head, so that we feel he might, with propriety, be on all fours again, or even crawl like the serpent; it is also sad to see the brain, too much excited on some one side, which we call madness, or even unduly and prematurely, so as to destroy in its bloom, the common human existence of the person, as in the case before us, and others of the poetical and prophetical existence. we would rather minds should foresee less and see more surely, that death should ensue by gentler gradation, and the brain be the governor and interpreter, rather than the destroyer, of the animal life. but, in cases like this, where the animal life is prematurely broken up, and the brain prematurely exercised, we may as well learn what we can from it, and believe that the glimpses thus caught, if not as precious as the full view, are bright with the same light, and open to the same scene. there is a family character about all the german ghosts. we find the same features in these stories as in those related by jung stilling and others. they bear the same character as the pictures by the old masters, of a deep and simple piety. she stands before as, this piety, in a full, high-necked robe, a simple, hausfrauish cap, a clear, straightforward blue eye. these are no terrible, gloomy ghosts with spanish mantle or italian dagger. we feel quite at home with them, and sure of their good faith. to the seherin, they were a real society, constantly inspiring good thoughts. the reference to them in these verses, written in her journal shortly before her death, is affecting, and shows her deep sense of their reality. she must have felt that she had been a true friend to them, by refusing always, as she did, requests she thought wrong, and referring them to a saviour. farewell, my friends, all farewell, god bless you for your love-- bless you for your goodness. all farewell! and you, how shall i name you? who have so saddened me, i will name you also--friends; you have been discipline to me. farewell! farewell! farewell! you my dear ones, soon will you know[ ] how hard have been my sufferings in the pilgrim land. farewell! let it not grieve you, that my woes find an end; farewell, dear ones, till the second meeting; farewell! farewell! [footnote : the physician thought she here referred to the examination of her body that would take place after her death. the brain was found to be sound, though there were marks of great disease elsewhere.] in this journal her thoughts dwell much upon those natural ties which she was not permitted to enjoy. she thought much of her children, and often fancied she had saw the one who had died, growing in the spirit land. any allusion to them called a sweet smile on her face when in her trance. other interesting poems are records of these often beautiful visions, especially of that preceding her own death; the address to her life-circle, the thought of which is truly great, (this was translated in the dublin magazine,) and descriptions of her earthly state as an imprisonment. the story of her life, though stained like others, by partialities, and prejudices, which were not justly distinguished from what was altogether true and fair, is a poem of so pure a music; presents such gentle and holy images, that we sympathize fully in the love and gratitude kerner and his friends felt towards her, as the friend of their best life. she was a st. theresa in her way. his address to her, with which his volume closes, may thus be translated in homely guise. in the original it has no merit, except as uttering his affectionate and reverent feeling towards his patient, the peasant girl,--"the sick one, the poor one." but we like to see how, from the mouths of babes and sucklings, praise may be so perfected as to command this reverence from the learned and worldly-wise. farewell; the debt i owe thee ever in heart i bear; my soul sees, since i know thee, the spirit depths so clear. whether in light or shade, thy soul now dwelling hath; be, if my faith should fade, the guide upon my path. livest thou in mutual power, with spirits blest and bright, o be, in death's dark hour, my help to heaven's light. upon thy grave is growing, the plant by thee beloved,[ ] st. johns-wort golden glowing, like st. john's thoughts of love. witness of sacred sorrow, whene'er thou meet'st my eye, o flower, from thee i borrow, thoughts for eternity. farewell! the woes of earth no more my soul affright; who knows their temporal birth can easy bear their weight. [footnote : she received great benefit from decoctions of this herb, and often prescribed it to others.] i do confess this is a paraphrase, not a translation, also, that in the other extracts, i have taken liberties with the original for the sake of condensation, and clearness. what i have written must be received as a slight and conversational account, of the work. two or three other remarks, i had forgotten, may come in here. the glances at the spirit-world have none of that large or universal significance, none of that value from philosophical analogy, that is felt in any picture by swedenborg, or dante, of permanent relations. the mind of the forester's daughter was exalted and rapidly developed; still the wild cherry tree bore no orange; she was not transformed into a philosophic or poetic organization. yet many of her untaught notions remind of other seers of a larger scope. she, too, receives this life as one link in a long chain; and thinks that immediately after death, the meaning of the past life will appear to us as one word. she tends to a belief in the aromal state, and in successive existences on this earth; for behind persons she often saw another being, whether their form in the state before or after this, i know not; behind a woman a man, equipped for fight, and so forth. her perception of character, even in cases of those whom she saw only as they passed her window, was correct. kerner aims many a leaden sarcasm at those who despise his credulity. he speaks of those sages as men whose brain is a glass table, incapable of receiving the electric spark, and who will not believe, because, in their mental isolation, they are incapable of feeling these facts. certainly, i think he would be dull, who could see no meaning or beauty in the history of the forester's daughter of prevorst. she lived but nine-and-twenty years, yet, in that time, had traversed a larger portion of the field of thought than all her race before, in their many and long lives. of the abuses to which all these magical implements are prone, i have an instance, since leaving milwaukie, in the journal of a man equally sincere, but not equally inspired, led from germany hither by signs and wonders, as a commissioned agent of providence, who, indeed, has arranged every detail of his life with a minuteness far beyond the promised care of the sparrow. he props himself by spiritual aid from a maiden now in this country, who was once an attendant on the seeress, and who seems to have caught from her the contagion of trance, but not its revelations. do not blame me that i have written so much about germany and hades, while you were looking for news of the west. here, on the pier, i see disembarking the germans, the norwegians, the swedes, the swiss. who knows how much of old legendary lore, of modern wonder, they have already planted amid the wisconsin forests? soon, soon their tales of the origin of things, and the providence which rules them, will be so mingled with those of the indian, that the very oak trees will not know them apart,--will not know whether itself be a runic, a druid, or a winnebago oak. some seeds of all growths that have ever been known in this world might, no doubt, already be found in these western wilds, if we had the power to call them to life. i saw, in the newspaper, that the american tract society boasted of their agents' having exchanged, at a western cabin door, tracts for the devil on two sticks, and then burnt that more entertaining than edifying volume. no wonder, though, they study it there. could one but have the gift of reading the dreams dreamed by men of such various birth, various history, various mind, it would afford much more extensive amusement than did the chambers of one spanish city! could i but have flown at night through such mental experiences, instead of being shut up in my little bedroom at the milwaukie boarding house, this chapter would have been worth reading. as it is, let us hasten to a close. had i been rich in money, i might have built a house, or set up in business, during my fortnight's stay at milwaukie, matters move on there at so rapid a rate. but, being only rich in curiosity, i was obliged to walk the streets and pick up what i could in casual intercourse. when i left the street, indeed, and walked on the bluffs, or sat beside the lake in their shadow, my mind was rich in dreams congenial to the scene, some time to be realized, though not by me. a boat was left, keel up, half on the sand, half in the water, swaying with each swell of the lake. it gave a picturesque grace to that part of the shore, as the only image of inaction--only object of a pensive character to be seen. near this i sat, to dream my dreams and watch the colors of the jake, changing hourly, till the sun sank. these hours yielded impulses, wove webs, such as life will not again afford. returning to the boarding house, which was also a boarding school, we were sure to be greeted by gay laughter. this school was conducted by two girls of nineteen and seventeen years; their pupils were nearly as old as themselves; the relation seemed very pleasant between them. the only superiority--that of superior knowledge--was sufficient to maintain authority--all the authority that was needed to keep daily life in good order. in the west, people are not respected merely because they are old in years; people there have not time to keep up appearances in that way; when they cease to have a real advantage in wisdom, knowledge, or enterprise, they must stand back, and let those who are oldest in character "go ahead," however few years they may count. there are no banks of established respectability in which to bury the talent there; no napkin of precedent in which to wrap it. what cannot be made to pass current, is not esteemed coin of the realm. to the windows of this house, where the daughter of a famous "indian fighter," i.e. fighter against the indians, was learning french and the piano, came wild, tawny figures, offering for sale their baskets of berries. the boys now, instead of brandishing the tomahawk, tame their hands to pick raspberries. here the evenings were much lightened by the gay chat of one of the party, who, with the excellent practical sense of mature experience, and the kindest heart, united a naiveté and innocence such as i never saw in any other who had walked so long life's tangled path. like a child, she was everywhere at home, and like a child, received and bestowed entertainment from all places, all persons. i thanked her for making me laugh, as did the sick and poor, whom she was sure to find out in her briefest sojourn in any place, for more substantial aid. happy are those who never grieve, and so often aid and enliven their fellow men! this scene, however, i was not sorry to exchange for the much celebrated beauties of the island of mackinaw. chapter vi. mackinaw. late at night we reached this island, so famous for its beauty, and to which i proposed a visit of some length. it was the last week in august, when a large representation from the chippewa and ottowa tribes are here to receive their annual payments from the american government. as their habits make travelling easy and inexpensive to them, neither being obliged to wait for steamboats, or write to see whether hotels are full, they come hither by thousands, and those thousands in families, secure of accommodation on the beach, and food from the lake, to make a long holiday out of the occasion. there were near two thousand encamped on the island already, and more arriving every day. as our boat came in, the captain had some rockets let off. this greatly excited the indians, and their yells and wild cries resounded along the shore. except for the momentary flash of the rockets, it was perfectly dark, and my sensations as i walked with a stranger to a strange hotel, through the midst of these shrieking savages, and heard the pants and snorts of the departing steamer, which carried away all my companions, were somewhat of the dismal sort; though it was pleasant, too, in the way that everything strange is; everything that breaks in upon the routine that so easily incrusts us. i had reason to expect a room to myself at the hotel, but found none, and was obliged to take up my rest in the common parlor and eating-room, a circumstance which ensured my being an early riser. with the first rosy streak, i was out among my indian neighbors, whose lodges honey-combed the beautiful beach, that curved away in long, fair outline on either side the house. they were already on the alert, the children creeping out from beneath the blanket door of the lodge; the women pounding corn in their rude mortars, the young men playing on their pipes. i had been much amused, when the strain proper to the winnebago courting flute was played to me on another instrument, at any one fancying it a melody; but now, when i heard the notes in their true tone and time, i thought it not unworthy comparison, in its graceful sequence, and the light flourish, at the close, with the sweetest bird-songs; and this, like the bird-song, is only practised to allure a mate. the indian, become a citizen and a husband, no more thinks of playing the flute than one of the "settled down" members of our society would of choosing the "purple light of love" as dye-stuff for a surtout. mackinaw has been fully described by able pens, and i can only add my tribute to the exceeding beauty of the spot and its position. it is charming to be on an island so small that you can sail round it in an afternoon, yet large enough to admit of long secluded walks through its gentle groves. you can go round it in your boat; or, on foot, you can tread its narrow beach, resting, at times, beneath the lofty walls of stone, richly wooded, which rise from it in various architectural forms. in this stone, caves are continually forming, from the action of the atmosphere; one of these is quite deep, and with a fragment left at its mouth, wreathed with little creeping plants, that looks, as you sit within, like a ruined pillar. [illustration: arched rock from the water] the arched rock surprised me, much as i had heard of it, from the perfection of the arch. it is perfect whether you look up through it from the lake, or down through it to the transparent waters. we both ascended and descended, no very easy matter, the steep and crumbling path, and rested at the summit, beneath the trees, and at the foot upon the cool mossy stones beside the lapsing wave. nature has carefully decorated all this architecture with shrubs that take root within the crevices, and small creeping vines. these natural rains may vie for beautiful effect with the remains of european grandeur, and have, beside, a charm as of a playful mood in nature. the sugar-loaf rock is a fragment in the same kind as the pine rock we saw in illinois. it has the same air of a helmet, as seen from an eminence at the side, which you descend by a long and steep path. the rock itself may be ascended by the bold and agile. halfway up is a niche, to which those, who are neither, can climb by a ladder. a very handsome young officer and lady who were with us did so, and then, facing round, stood there side by side, looking in the niche, if not like saints or angels wrought by pious hands in stone, as romantically, if not as holily, worthy the gazer's eye. the woods which adorn the central ridge of the island are very full in foliage, and, in august, showed the tender green and pliant leaf of june elsewhere. they are rich in beautiful mosses and the wild raspberry. from fort holmes, the old fort, we had the most commanding view of the lake and straits, opposite shores, and fair islets. mackinaw, itself, is best seen from the water. its peculiar shape is supposed to have been the origin of its name, michilimackinac, which means the great turtle. one person whom i saw, wished to establish another etymology, which he fancied to be more refined; but, i doubt not, this is the true one, both because the shape might suggest such a name, and that the existence of an island in this commanding position, which did so, would seem a significant fact to the indians. for henry gives the details of peculiar worship paid to the great turtle, and the oracles received from this extraordinary apollo of the indian delphos. it is crowned most picturesquely, by the white fort, with its gay flag. from this, on one side, stretches the town. how pleasing a sight, after the raw, crude, staring assemblage of houses, everywhere else to be met in this country, an old french town, mellow in its coloring, and with the harmonious effect of a slow growth, which assimilates, naturally, with objects round it. the people in its streets, indian, french, half-breeds, and others, walked with a leisure step, as of those who live a life of taste and inclination, rather than of the hard press of business, as in american towns elsewhere. on the other side, along the fair, curving beach, below the white houses scattered on the declivity, clustered the indian lodges, with their amber brown matting, so soft, and bright of hue, in the late afternoon sun. the first afternoon i was there, looking down from a near height, i felt that i never wished to see a more fascinating picture. it was an hour of the deepest serenity; bright blue and gold, rich shadows. every moment the sunlight fell more mellow. the indians were grouped and scattered among the lodges; the women preparing food, in the kettle or frying-pan, over the many small fires; the children, half-naked, wild as little goblins, were playing both in and out of the water. here and there lounged a young girl, with a baby at her back, whose bright eyes glanced, as if born into a world of courage and of joy, instead of ignominious servitude and slow decay. some girls were cutting wood, a little way from me, talking and laughing, in the low musical tone, so charming in the indian women. many bark canoes were upturned upon the beach, and, by that light, of almost the same amber as the lodges. others, coming in, their square sails set, and with almost arrowy speed, though heavily laden with dusky forms, and all the apparatus of their household. here and there a sail-boat glided by, with a different, but scarce less pleasing motion. it was a scene of ideal loveliness, and these wild forms adorned it, as looking so at home in it. all seemed happy, and they were happy that day, for they had no firewater to madden them, as it was sunday, and the shops were shut. from my window, at the boarding house, my eye was constantly attracted by these picturesque groups. i was never tired of seeing the canoes come in, and the new arrivals set up their temporary dwellings. the women ran to set up the tent-poles, and spread the mats on the ground. the men brought the chests, kettles, &c.; the mats were then laid on the outside, the cedar boughs strewed on the ground, the blanket hung up for a door, and all was completed in less than twenty minutes. then they began to prepare the night meal, and to learn of their neighbors the news of the day. the habit of preparing food out of doors, gave all the gipsy charm and variety to their conduct. continually i wanted sir. walter scott to have been there. if such romantic sketches were suggested to him, by the sight of a few gipsies, not a group near one of these fires but would have furnished him material for a separate canvass. i was so taken up with the spirit of the scene, that i could not follow out the stories suggested by these weather-beaten, sullen, but eloquent figures. they talked a great deal, and with much variety of gesture, so that i often had a good guess at the meaning of their discourse. i saw that, whatever the indian may be among the whites, he is anything but taciturn with his own people. and he often would declaim, or narrate at length, as indeed it is obvious, that these tribes possess great power that way, if only from the fables taken from their stores, by mr. schoolcraft. i liked very much to walk or sit among them. with the women i held much communication by signs. they are almost invariably coarse and ugly, with the exception of their eyes, with a peculiarly awkward gait, and forms bent by burthens. this gait, so different from the steady and noble step of the men, marks the inferior position they occupy. i had heard much eloquent contradiction of this. mrs. schoolcraft had maintained to a friend, that they were in fact as nearly on a par with their husbands as the white woman with hers. "although," said she, "on account of inevitable causes, the indian woman is subjected to many hardships of a peculiar nature, yet her position, compared with that of the man, is higher and freer than that of the white woman. why will people look only on one side? they either exalt the red man into a demigod or degrade him into a beast. they say that he compels his wife to do all the drudgery, while he does nothing but hunt and amuse himself; forgetting that, upon his activity and power of endurance as a hunter, depends the support of his family; that this is labor of the most fatiguing kind, and that it is absolutely necessary that he should keep his frame unbent by burdens and unworn by toil, that he may be able to obtain the means of subsistence. i have witnessed scenes of conjugal and parental love in the indian's wigwam from which i have often, often thought the educated white man, proud of his superior civilization, might learn an useful lesson. when he returns from hunting, worn out with fatigue, having tasted nothing since dawn, his wife, if she is a good wife, will take off his moccasons and replace them with dry ones, and will prepare his game for their repast, while his children will climb upon him, and he will caress them with all the tenderness of a woman; and in the evening the indian wigwam is the scene of the purest domestic pleasures. the father will relate for the amusement of the wife, and for the instruction of the children, all the events of the day's hunt, while they will treasure up every word that falls, and thus learn the theory of the art, whose practice is to be the occupation of their lives. mrs. grant speaks thus of the position of woman amid the mohawk indians: "lady mary montague says, that the court of vienna was the paradise of old women, and that there is no other place in the world where a woman past fifty excites the least interest. had her travels extended to the interior of north america, she would have seen another instance of this inversion of the common mode of thinking. here a woman never was of consequence, till she had a son old enough to fight the battles of his country. from that date she held a superior rank in society; was allowed to live at ease, and even called to consultations on national affairs. in savage and warlike countries, the reign of beauty is very short, and its influence comparatively limited. the girls in childhood had a very pleasing appearance; but excepting their fine hair, eyes, and teeth, every external grace was soon banished by perpetual drudgery, carrying burdens too heavy to be borne, and other slavish employments considered beneath the dignity of the men. these walked before erect and graceful, decked with ornaments which set off to advantage the symmetry of their well-formed persons, while the poor women followed, meanly attired, bent under the weight of the children and utensils, which they carried everywhere with them, and disfigured and degraded by ceaseless toils. they were very early married, for a mohawk had no other servant but his wife, and, whenever he commenced hunter, it was requisite he should have some one to carry his load, cook his kettle, make his moccasons, and, above all, produce the young warriors who were to succeed him in the honors of the chase and of the tomahawk. wherever man is a mere hunter, woman is a mere slave. it is domestic intercourse that softens man, and elevates woman; and of that there can be but little, where the employments and amusements are not in common; the ancient caledonians honored the fair; but then it is to be observed, they were fair huntresses, and moved in the light of their beauty to the hill of roes; and the culinary toils were entirely left to the rougher sex. when the young warrior made his appearance, it softened the cares of his mother, who well knew that, when he grew up, every deficiency in tenderness to his wife would be made up in superabundant duty and affection to her. if it were possible to carry filial veneration to excess, it was done here; for all other charities were absorbed in it. i wonder this system of depressing the sex in their early years, to exalt them when all their juvenile attractions were flown, and when mind alone can distinguish them, has not occurred to our modern reformers. the mohawks took good care not to admit their women to share their prerogatives, till they approved themselves good wives and mothers." the observations of women upon the position of woman are always more valuable than those of men; but, of these two, mrs. grant's seems much nearer the truth than mrs. schoolcraft's, because, though her opportunities for observation did not bring her so close, she looked more at both sides to find the truth. carver, in his travels among the winnebagoes, describes two queens, one nominally so, like queen victoria; the other invested with a genuine royalty, springing from her own conduct. in the great town of the winnebagoes, he found a queen presiding over the tribe, instead of a sachem. he adds, that, in some tribes, the descent is given to the female line in preference to the male, that is, a sister's son will succeed to the authority, rather than a brother's son. the position of this winnebago queen, reminded me forcibly of queen victoria's. "she sat in the council, but only asked a few questions, or gave some trifling directions in matters relative to the state, for women are never allowed to sit in their councils, except they happen to be invested with the supreme authority, and then it is not customary for them to make any formal speeches, as the chiefs do. she was a very ancient woman, small in stature, and not much distinguished by her dress from several young women that attended her. these, her attendants, seemed greatly pleased whenever i showed any tokens of respect to their queen, especially when i saluted her, which i frequently did to acquire her favor." the other was a woman, who being taken captive, found means to kill her captor, and make her escape, and the tribe were so struck with admiration at the courage and calmness she displayed on the occasion, as to make her chieftainess in her own right. notwithstanding the homage paid to women, and the consequence allowed her in some cases, it is impossible to look upon the indian women, without feeling that they _do_ occupy a lower place than women among the nations of european civilization. the habits of drudgery expressed in their form and gesture, the soft and wild but melancholy expression of their eye, reminded me of the tribe mentioned by mackenzie, where the women destroy their female children, whenever they have a good opportunity; and of the eloquent reproaches addressed by the paraguay woman to her mother, that she had not, in the same way, saved her from the anguish and weariness of her lot. more weariness than anguish, no doubt, falls to the lot of most of these women. they inherit submission, and the minds of the generality accommodate themselves more or less to any posture. perhaps they suffer less than their white sisters, who have more aspiration and refinement, with little power of self-sustenance. but their place is certainly lower, and their share of the human inheritance less. their decorum and delicacy are striking, and show that when these are native to the mind, no habits of life make any difference. their whole gesture is timid, yet self-possessed. they used to crowd round me, to inspect little things i had to show them, but never press near; on the contrary, would reprove and keep off the children. anything they took from my hand, was held with care, then shut or folded, and returned with an air of lady-like precision. they would not stare, however curious they might be, but cast sidelong glances. a locket that i wore, was an object of untiring interest; they seemed to regard it as a talisman. my little sun-shade was still more fascinating to them; apparently they had never before seen one. for an umbrella they entertain profound regard, probably looking upon it as the most luxurious superfluity a person can possess, and therefore a badge of great wealth. i used to see an old squaw, whose sullied skin and coarse, tanned locks, told that she had braved sun and storm, without a doubt or care, for sixty years at the least, sitting gravely at the door of her lodge, with an old green umbrella over her head, happy for hours together in the dignified shade. for her happiness pomp came not, as it so often does, too late; she received it with grateful enjoyment. one day, as i was seated on one of the canoes, a woman came and sat beside me, with her baby in its cradle set up at her feet. she asked me by a gesture, to let her take my sun-shade, and then to show her how to open it. then she put it into her baby's hand, and held it over its head, looking at me the while with a sweet, mischievous laugh, as much as to say, "you carry a thing that is only fit for a baby;" her pantomime was very pretty. she, like the other women, had a glance, and shy, sweet expression in the eye; the men have a steady gaze. that noblest and loveliest of modern preux, lord edward fitzgerald, who came through buffalo to detroit and mackinaw, with brant, and was adopted into the bear tribe by the name of eghnidal, was struck, in the same way, by the delicacy of manners in the women. he says, "notwithstanding the life they lead, which would make most women rough and masculine, they are as soft, meek and modest, as the best brought up girls in england. somewhat coquettish too! imagine the manners of mimi in a poor _squaw_, that has been carrying packs in the woods all her life." mckenney mentions that the young wife, during the short bloom of her beauty, is an object of homage and tenderness to her husband. one indian woman, the flying pigeon, a beautiful, an excellent woman, of whom he gives some particulars, is an instance of the power uncommon characters will always exert of breaking down the barriers custom has erected round them. she captivated by her charms, and inspired with reverence for her character, her husband and son. the simple praise with which the husband indicates the religion, the judgment, and the generosity he saw in her, are as satisfying as count zinzendorf's more labored eulogium on his "noble consort." the conduct of her son, when, many years after her death, he saw her picture at washington, is unspeakably affecting. catlin gives anecdotes of the grief of a chief for the loss of a daughter, and the princely gifts he offers in exchange for her portrait, worthy not merely of european, but of troubadour sentiment. it is also evident that, as mrs. schoolcraft says, the women have great power at home. it can never be otherwise, men being dependent upon them for the comfort of their lives. just, so among ourselves, wives who are neither esteemed nor loved by their husbands, have great power over their conduct by the friction of every day, and over the formation of their opinions by the daily opportunities so close a relation affords, of perverting testimony and instilling doubts. but these sentiments should not come in brief flashes, but burn as a steady flame, then there would be more women worthy to inspire them. this power is good for nothing, unless the woman be wise to use it aright. has the indian, has the white woman, as noble a feeling of life and its uses, as religious a self-respect, as worthy a field of thought and action, as man? if not, the white woman, the indian woman, occupies an inferior position to that of man. it is not so much a question of power, as of privilege. the men of these subjugated tribes, now accustomed to drunkenness and every way degraded, bear but a faint impress of the lost grandeur of the race. they are no longer strong, tall, or finely proportioned. yet as you see them stealing along a height, or striding boldly forward, they remind you of what _was_ majestic in the red man. on the shores of lake superior, it is said, if you visit them at home, you may still see a remnant of the noble blood. the pillagers--(pilleurs)--a band celebrated by the old travellers, are: still existant there. "still some, 'the eagles of their tribe,' may rush." i have spoken of the hatred felt by the white man for the indian: with white women it seems to amount to disgust, to loathing. how i could endure the dirt, the peculiar smell of the indians, and their dwellings, was a great marvel in the eyes of my lady acquaintance; indeed, i wonder why they did not quite give me up, as they certainly looked on me with great distaste for it. "get you gone, you indian dog," was the felt, if not the breathed, expression towards the hapless owners of the soil. all their claims, all their sorrows quite forgot, in abhorrence of their dirt, their tawny skins, and the vices the whites have taught them. a person who had seen them during great part of a life, expressed his prejudices to me with such violence, that i was no longer surprised that the indian children threw sticks at him, as he passed. a lady said, "do what you will for them, they will be ungrateful. the savage cannot be washed out of them. bring up an indian child and see if you can attach it to you." the next moment, she expressed, in the presence of one of those children whom she was bringing up, loathing at the odor left by one of her people, and one of the most respected, as he passed through the room. when the child is grown she will consider it basely ungrateful not to love her, as it certainly will not; and this will be cited as an instance of the impossibility of attaching the indian. whether the indian could, by any efforts of love and intelligence from the white man, have been civilized and made a valuable ingredient in the new state, i will not say; but this we are sure of; the french catholics, at least, did not harm them, nor disturb their minds merely to corrupt them. the french they loved. but the stern presbyterian, with his dogmas and his task-work, the city circle and the college, with their niggard concessions and unfeeling stare, have never tried the experiment. it has not been tried. our people and our government have sinned alike against the first-born of the soil, and if they are the fated agents of a new era, they have done nothing--have invoked no god to keep them sinless while they do the hest of fate. worst of all, when they invoke the holy power only to mask their iniquity; when the felon trader, who, all the week, has been besotting and degrading the indian with rum mixed with red pepper, and damaged tobacco, kneels with him on sunday before a common altar, to tell the rosary which recalls the thought of him crucified for love of suffering men, and to listen to sermons in praise of "purity"!! my savage friends, cries the old fat priest, you must, above all things, aim at _purity_. oh, my heart swelled when i saw them in a christian church. better their own dog-feasts and bloody rites than such mockery of that other faith. "the dog," said an indian, "was once a spirit; he has fallen for his sin, and was given by the great spirit, in this shape, to man, as his most intelligent companion. therefore we sacrifice it in highest honor to our friends in this world,--to our protecting geniuses in another." there was religion in that thought. the white man sacrifices his own brother, and to mammon, yet he turns in loathing from the dog-feast. "you say," said the indian of the south to the missionary, "that christianity is pleasing to god. how can that be?--those men at savannah are christians." yes! slave-drivers and indian traders are called christians, and the indian is to be deemed less like the son of mary than they! wonderful is the deceit of man's heart! i have not, on seeing something of them in their own haunts, found reason to change the sentiments expressed in the following lines, when a deputation of the sacs and foxes visited boston in , and were, by one person at least, received in a dignified and courteous manner. governor everett receiving the indian chiefs, november, . who says that poesy is on the wane, and that the muses tune their lyres in vain? 'mid all the treasures of romantic story, when thought was fresh and fancy in her glory, has ever art found out a richer theme, more dark a shadow, or more soft a gleam, than fall upon the scene, sketched carelessly, in the newspaper column of to-day? american romance is somewhat stale. talk of the hatchet, and the faces pale, wampum and calumets and forests dreary, once so attractive, now begins to weary. uncas and magawisca please us still, unreal, yet idealized with skill; but every poetaster scribbling witling, from the majestic oak his stylus whittling, has helped to tire us, and to make us fear the monotone in which so much we hear of "stoics of the wood," and "men without a tear." yet nature, ever buoyant, ever young, if let alone, will sing as erst she sung; the course of circumstance gives back again the picturesque, erewhile pursued in vain; shows us the fount of romance is not wasted-- the lights and shades of contrast not exhausted. shorn of his strength, the samson now must sue for fragments from the feast his fathers gave, the indian dare not claim what is his due, but as a boon his heritage must crave; his stately form shall soon be seen no more through all his father's land, th' atlantic shore, beneath the sun, to _us_ so kind, _they_ melt, more heavily each day our rule is felt; the tale is old,--we do as mortals must: might makes right here, but god and time are just. so near the drama hastens to its close, on this last scene awhile your eyes repose; the polished greek and scythian meet again, the ancient life is lived by modern men-- the savage through our busy cities walks,-- he in his untouched grandeur silent stalks. unmoved by all our gaieties and shows, wonder nor shame can touch him as he goes; he gazes on the marvels we have wrought, but knows the models from whence all was brought; in god's first temples he has stood so oft, and listened to the natural organ loft-- has watched the eagle's flight, the muttering thunder heard, art cannot move him to a wondering word; perhaps he sees that all this luxury brings less food to the mind than to the eye; perhaps a simple sentiment has brought more to him than your arts had ever taught. what are the petty triumphs _art_ has given, to eyes familiar with the naked heaven? all has been seen--dock, railroad, and canal, fort, market, bridge, college, and arsenal, asylum, hospital, and cotton mill, the theatre, the lighthouse, and the jail. the braves each novelty, reflecting, saw, and now and then growled out the earnest _yaw_. and now the time is come, 'tis understood, when, having seen and thought so much, a _talk_ may do some good. a well-dressed mob have thronged the sight to greet, and motley figures throng the spacious street; majestical and calm through all they stride, wearing the blanket with a monarch's pride; the gazers stare and shrug, but can't deny their noble forms and blameless symmetry. if the great spirit their morale has slighted, and wigwam smoke their mental culture blighted, yet the physique, at least, perfection reaches, in wilds where neither combe nor spursheim teaches; where whispering trees invite man to the chase, and bounding deer allure him to the race. would thou hadst seen it! that dark, stately band, whose ancestors enjoyed all this fair land, whence they, by force or fraud, were made to flee, are brought, the white man's victory to see. can kind emotions in their proud hearts glow, as through these realms, now decked by art, they go? the church, the school, the railroad and the mart-- can these a pleasure to their minds impart? all once was theirs--earth, ocean, forest, sky-- how can they joy in what now meets the eye? not yet religion has unlocked the soul, nor each has learned to glory in the whole! must they not think, so strange and sad their lot, that they by the great spirit are forgot? from the far border to which they are driven, they might look up in trust to the clear heaven; but _here_--what tales doth every object tell where massasoit sleeps--where philip fell! we take our turn, and the philosopher sees through the clouds a hand which cannot err, an unimproving race, with all their graces and all their vices, must resign their places; and human culture rolls its onward flood over the broad plains steeped in indian blood. such thoughts, steady our faith; yet there will rise some natural tears into the calmest eyes-- which gaze where forest princes haughty go, made for a gaping crowd a raree show. but _this_ a scene seems where, in courtesy, the pale face with the forest prince could vie, for one presided, who, for tact and grace, in any age had held an honored place,-- in beauty's own dear day, had shone a polished phidian vase! oft have i listened to his accents bland, and owned the magic of his silvery voice, in all the graces which life's arts demand, delighted by the justness of his choice. not his the stream of lavish, fervid thought,-- the rhetoric by passion's magic wrought; not his the massive style, the lion port, which with the granite class of mind assort; but, in a range of excellence his own, with all the charms to soft persuasion known, amid our busy people we admire him--"elegant and lone." he scarce needs words, so exquisite the skill which modulates the tones to do his will, that the mere sound enough would charm the ear, and lap in its elysium all who hear. the intellectual paleness of his cheek, the heavy eyelids and slow, tranquil smile, the well cut lips from which the graces speak, fit him alike to win or to beguile; then those words so well chosen, fit, though few, their linked sweetness as our thoughts pursue, we deem them spoken pearls, or radiant diamond dew. and never yet did i admire the power which makes so lustrous every threadbare theme-- which won for lafayette one other hour, and e'en on july fourth could cast a gleam-- as now, when i behold him play the host, with all the dignity which red men boast-- with all the courtesy the whites have lost;-- assume the very hue of savage mind, yet in rude accents show the thought refined:-- assume the naiveté of infant age, and in such prattle seem still more a sage; the golden mean with tact unerring seized, a courtly critic shone, a simple savage pleased; the stoic of the woods his skill confessed, as all the father answered in his breast, to the sure mark the silver arrow sped, the man without a tear a tear has shed; and thou hadst wept, hadst thou been there, to see how true one sentiment must ever be, in court or camp, the city or the wild, to rouse the father's heart, you need but name his child. 'twas a fair scene--and acted well by all; so here's a health to indian braves so tall-- our governor and boston people all! i will copy the admirable speech of governor everett on that occasion, as i think it the happiest attempt ever made to meet the indian in his own way, and catch the tone of his mind. it was said, in the newspapers, that keokuck did actually shed tears when addressed as a father. if he did not with his eyes, he well might in his heart. everett's speech. chiefs and warriors of the sauks and foxes, you are welcome to our hall of council. brothers! you have come a long way from home to visit your white brethren; we rejoice to take you by the hand. brothers! we have heard the names of your chiefs and warriors; our brothers, who have travelled into the west, have told us a great deal of the sauks and foxes; we rejoice to see you with our own eyes, and take you by the hand. brothers! we are called the massachusetts. this is the name of the red men that once lived here. their wigwams filled yonder field; their council fire was kindled on this spot. they were of the same great race as the sauks and misquakuiks. brothers! when our fathers came over the great waters, they were a small band. the red man stood upon the rock by the seaside, and saw our fathers. he might have pushed them into the water and drowned them. but he stretched out his arm to our fathers and said, "welcome, white men!" our fathers were hungry, and the red men gave them corn and venison. our fathers were cold, and the red man wrapped them up in his blanket. we are now numerous and powerful, but we remember the kindness of the red man to our fathers. brothers, you are welcome; we are glad to see you. brothers! our faces are pale, and your faces are dark; but our hearts are alike. the great spirit has made his children of different colors, but he loves them all. brothers! you dwell between the mississippi and the missouri. they are mighty rivers. they have one branch far east in the alleghanies, and the other far west in the rocky mountains; but they flow together at last into one great stream, and run down together into the sea. in like manner, the red man dwells in the west, and the white man in the east, by the great waters; but they are all one branch, one family; it has many branches and one head. brothers! as you entered our council house, you beheld the image of our great father washington. it is a cold stone--it cannot speak. but he was the friend of the red man, and bad his children live in peace with their red brethren. he is gone to the world of spirits. but his words have made a very deep print in our hearts, like the step of a strong buffalo on the soft clay of the prairie. brother! i perceive your little son between your knees. god preserve his life, my brother. he grows up before you like the tender sapling by the side of the mighty oak. may the oak and the sapling flourish a long time together. and when the mighty oak is fallen to the ground, may the young tree fill its place in the forest, and spread out its branches over the tribe like the parent trunk. brothers! i make you a short talk, and again bid you welcome to our council hall. not often have they been addressed with such intelligence and tact. the few who have not approached them with sordid rapacity, but from love to them, as men, and souls to be redeemed, have most frequently been persons intellectually too narrow, too straightly bound in sects or opinions, to throw themselves into the character or position of the indians, or impart to them anything they can make available. the christ shown them by these missionaries, is to them but a new and more powerful manito; the signs of the new religion, but the fetiches that have aided the conquerors. here i will copy some remarks made by a discerning observer, on the methods used by the missionaries, and their natural results. "mr. ---- and myself had a very interesting conversation, upon the subject of the indians, their character, capabilities, &c. after ten years' experience among them, he was forced to acknowledge, that the results of the missionary efforts had produced nothing calculated to encourage. he thought that there was an intrinsic disability in them, to rise above, or go beyond the sphere in which they had so long moved. he said, that even those indians who had been converted, and who had adopted the habits of civilization, were very little improved in their real character; they were as selfish, as deceitful, and as indolent, as those who were still heathens. they had repaid the kindnesses of the missionaries with the basest ingratitude, killing their cattle and swine, and robbing them of their harvests, which they wantonly destroyed. he had abandoned the idea of effecting any general good to the indians. he had conscientious scruples, as to promoting an enterprise so hopeless, as that of missions among the indians, by sending accounts to the east, that might induce philanthropic individuals to contribute to their support. in fact, the whole experience of his intercourse with them, seemed to have convinced him of the irremediable degradation of the race. their fortitude under suffering, he considered the result of physical and mental insensibility; their courage, a mere animal excitement, which they found it necessary to inflame, before daring to meet a foe. they have no constancy of purpose; and are, in fact, but little superior to the brutes, in point of moral development. it is not astonishing, that one looking upon the indian character, from mr. ----'s point of view, should entertain such sentiments. the object of his intercourse with them was, to make them apprehend the mysteries of a theology, which, to the most enlightened, is an abstruse, metaphysical study; and it is not singular they should prefer their pagan superstitions, which address themselves more directly to the senses. failing in the attempt to christianize, before civilizing them, he inferred, that, in the intrinsic degradation of their faculties, the obstacle was to be found." thus the missionary vainly attempts, by once or twice holding up the cross, to turn deer and tigers into lambs; vainly attempts to convince the red man that a heavenly mandate takes from him his broad lands. he bows his head, but does not at heart acquiesce. he cannot. it is not true; and if it were, the descent of blood through the same channels, for centuries, had formed habits of thought not so easily to be disturbed. amalgamation would afford the only true and profound means of civilization. but nature seems, like all else, to declare, that this race is fated to perish. those of mixed blood fade early, and are not generally a fine race. they lose what is best in either type, rather than enhance the value of each, by mingling. there are exceptions, one or two such i know of, but this, it is said, is the general rule. a traveller observes, that the white settlers, who live in the woods, soon become sallow, lanky, and dejected; the atmosphere of the trees does not agree with caucasian lungs; and it is, perhaps, in part, an instinct of this, which causes the hatred of the new settlers towards trees. the indian breathed the atmosphere of the forests freely; he loved their shade. as they are effaced from the land, he fleets too; a part of the same manifestation, which cannot linger behind its proper era. the chippewas have lately petitioned the state of michigan, that they may be admitted as citizens; but this would be vain, unless they could be admitted, as brothers, to the heart of the white man. and while the latter feels that conviction of superiority, which enabled our wisconsin friend to throw away the gun, and send the indian to fetch it, he had need to be very good, and very wise, not to abuse his position. but the white man, as yet, is a half-tamed pirate, and avails himself, as much as ever, of the maxim, "might makes right." all that civilization does for the generality, is to cover up this with a veil of subtle evasions and chicane, and here and there to rouse the individual mind to appeal to heaven against it. i have no hope of liberalizing the missionary, of humanizing the sharks of trade, of infusing the conscientious drop into the flinty bosom of policy, of saving the indian from immediate degradation, and speedy death. the, whole sermon may be preached from the text, "needs be that offences must come, yet we them by whom they come." yet, ere they depart, i wish there might be some masterly attempt to reproduce, in art or literature, what is proper to them, a kind of beauty and grandeur, which few of the every-day crowd have hearts to feel, yet which ought to leave in the world its monuments, to inspire the thought of genius through all ages. nothing in this kind has been done masterly; since it was clevengers's ambition, 'tis pity he had not opportunity to try fully his powers. we hope some other mind may be bent upon it, ere too late. at present the only lively impress of their passage through the world is to be found in such books as catlin's and some stories told by the old travellers, of which i purpose a brief account. first, let me give another brief tale of the power exerted by the white man over the savage in a trying case, but, in this case, it was righteous, was moral power. "we were looking over mckenney's trip to the lakes, and, on observing the picture of key-way-no-wut, or the going cloud, mr. b. observed "ah, that is the fellow i came near having a fight with," and he detailed at length the circumstances. this indian was a very desperate character, and whom all the leech lake band stood in fear of. he would shoot down any indian who offended him, without the least hesitation, and had become quite the bully of that part of the tribe. the trader at leech lake warned mr. b. to beware of him, and said that he once, when he (the trader) refused to give up to him his stock of wild rice, went and got his gun and tomahawk, and shook the tomahawk over his head, saying "_now_, give me your wild rice." the trader complied with his exaction, but not so did mr. b. in the adventure which i am about to relate. key-way-no-wut came frequently to him with furs, wishing him to give for them cotton cloth, sugar, flour, &c. mr. b. explained to him that he could not trade for furs, as he was sent there as a teacher, and that it would be like putting his hand into the fire to do so, as the traders would inform against him, and he would be sent out of the country. at the same time, he _gave_ him the articles which he wished. key-way-no-wut found this a very convenient way of getting what he wanted, and followed up this sort of game, until, at last, it became insupportable. one day the indian brought a very large otter skin, and said "i want to get for this ten pounds of sugar, and some flour and cloth," adding, "i am not like other indians, _i_ want to pay for what i get. mr. b. found that he must either be robbed of all he had by submitting to these exactions, or take a stand at once. he thought, however, he would try to avoid a scrape, and told his customer he had not so much sugar to spare. "give me then," said he, "what you can spare," and mr. b. thinking to make him back out, told him he would give him five pounds of sugar for his skin. "take it," said the indian. he left the skin, telling mr. b. to take good care of it. mr. b. took it at once to the trader's store, and related the circumstance, congratulating himself that he had got rid of the indian's exactions. but, in about a month, key-way-no-wut appeared bringing some dirty indian sugar, and said "i have brought back the sugar that i borrowed of you, and i want my otter skin back." mr. b. told him, "i _bought_ an otter skin of you, but if you will return the other articles you have got for it, perhaps i can get it for you." "where is the skin?" said he very quickly, "what have you done with it?" mr. b. replied it was in the trader's store, where he (the indian) could not get it. at this information he was furious, laid his hands on his knife and tomahawk, and commanded mr. b. to bring it at once. mr. b. found this was the crisis, where he must take a stand or be "rode over rough shod" by this man; his wife, who was present was much alarmed, and begged he would get the skin for the indian, but he told her that "either he or the indian would soon be master of his house, and if she was afraid to see it decided which was to be so, she had better retire." he turned to key-way-no-wut, and addressed him in a stern voice as follows: "i will _not_ give you the skin. how often have you come to my house, and i have shared with you what i had. i gave you tobacco when you were well, and medicine when you were sick, and you never went away from my wigwam with your hands empty. and this is the way you return my treatment to you. i had thought you were a man and a chief, but you are not, you are nothing but an old woman. leave this house, and never enter it again." mr. b. said he expected the indian would attempt his life when he said this, but that he had placed himself in a position so that he could defend himself, and he looked straight into the indian's eye, and like other wild beasts he quailed before the glance of mental and moral courage. he calmed down at once, and soon began to make apologies. mr. b. then told him kindly, but firmly, that, if he wished to walk in the same path with him, he must walk as straight as the crack on the floor before them; adding that he would not walk with anybody who would jostle him by walking so crooked as he had done. he was perfectly tamed, and mr. b. said he never had any more trouble with him." the conviction here livingly enforced of the superiority on the side of the white man, was thus expressed by the indian orator at mackinaw while we were there. after the customary compliments about sun, dew, &c., "this," said he, "is the difference between the white and the red man; the white man looks to the future and paves the way for posterity." this is a statement uncommonly refined for an indian; but one of the gentlemen present, who understood the chippeway, vouched for it as a literal rendering of his phrases; and he did indeed touch the vital point of difference. but the indian, if he understands, cannot make use of his intelligence. the fate of his people is against it, and pontiac and philip have no more chance, than julian in the times of old. now that i am engaged on this subject, let me give some notices of writings upon it, read either at mackinaw or since my return. mrs. jameson made such good use of her brief visit to these regions, as leaves great cause to regret she did not stay longer and go farther; also, that she did not make more use of her acquaintance with, indeed, adoption by, the johnson family. mr. johnson seems to have been almost the only white man who knew how to regard with due intelligence and nobleness, his connexion with the race. neither french or english, of any powers of sympathy, or poetical apprehension, have lived among the indians without high feelings of enjoyment. perhaps no luxury has been greater, than that experienced by the persons, who, sent either by trade or war, during the last century, into these majestic regions, found guides and shelter amid the children of the soil, and recognized in a form so new and of such varied, yet simple, charms, the tie of brotherhood. but these, even sir william johnston, whose life, surrounded by the indians in his castle on the mohawk, is described with such vivacity by mrs. grant, have been men better fitted to enjoy and adapt themselves to this life, than to observe and record it. the very faculties that made it so easy for them to live in the present moment, were likely to unfit them for keeping its chronicle. men, whose life is full and instinctive, care little for the pen. but the father of mrs. schoolcraft seems to have taken pleasure in observation and comparison, and to have imparted the same tastes to his children. they have enough of european culture to have a standard, by which to judge their native habits and inherited lore. by the premature death of mrs. schoolcraft was lost a mine of poesy, to which few had access, and from which mrs. jameson would have known how to coin a series of medals for the history of this ancient people. we might have known in clear outline, as now we shall not, the growths of religion and philosophy, under the influences of this climate and scenery, from such suggestions as nature and the teachings of the inward mind presented. now we can only gather that they had their own theory of the history of this globe; had perceived a gap in its genesis, and tried to fill it up by the intervention of some secondary power, with moral sympathies. they have observed the action of fire and water upon this earth; also that the dynasty of animals has yielded to that of man. with these animals they have profound sympathy, and are always trying to restore to them their lost honors. on the rattlesnake, the beaver, and the bear, they seem to look with a mixture of sympathy and veneration, as on their fellow settlers in these realms. there is something that appeals powerfully to the imagination in the ceremonies they observe, even in case of destroying one of these animals. i will say more of this by-and-by. the dog they cherish as having been once a spirit of high intelligence; and now in its fallen, and imprisoned state, given to man as his special companion. he is therefore to them a sacrifice of peculiar worth: whether to a guardian spirit or a human friend. yet nothing would be a greater violation than giving the remains of a sacrificial feast to the dogs, or even suffering them to touch the bones. similar inconsistences may be observed in the treatment of the dog by the white man. he is the most cherished companion in the familiar walks of many men; his virtues form the theme of poetry and history; the nobler races present grand traits, and are treated with proportionate respect. yet the epithets dog and hound, are there set apart to express the uttermost contempt. goethe, who abhorred dogs, has selected that animal for the embodiment of the modern devil, who, in earlier times, chose rather the form of the serpent. there is, indeed, something that peculiarly breaks in on the harmony of nature, in the bark of the dog, and that does not at all correspond with the softness and sagacity observable in his eye. the baying the moon, i have been inclined to set down as an unfavorable indication; but, since fourier has found out that the moon is dead, and "no better than carrion;" and the greeks have designated her as hecate, the deity of suicide and witchcraft, the dogs are perhaps in the right. they have among them the legend of the carbuncle, so famous in oriental mythos. adair states that they believe this fabulous gem may be found on the spot where the rattlesnake has been destroyed. if they have not the archetypal man, they have the archetypal animal, "the grandfather of all beavers;" to them, who do not know the elephant, this is the symbol of wisdom, as the rattlesnake and bear of power. i will insert here a little tale about the bear, which has not before appeared in print, as representing their human way of looking on these animals, even when engaged in their pursuit. to me such stories give a fine sense of the lively perceptions and exercise of fancy, enjoyed by them in their lives of woodcraft: muckwa, or the bear. a young indian, who lived a great while ago, when he was quite young killed a bear; and the tribe from that circumstance called him muckwa. as he grew up he became an expert hunter, and his favorite game was the bear, many of which he killed. one day he started off to a river far remote from the lodges of his tribe, and where berries and grapes were very plenty, in pursuit of bears. he hunted all day but found nothing; and just at night he came to some lodges which he thought to be those of some of his tribe. he approached the largest of them, lifted the curtain at its entrance, and went in, when he perceived the inmates to be bears, who were seated around the fire smoking. he said nothing, but seated himself also and smoked the pipe which they offered him, in silence. an old grey bear, who was the chief, ordered supper to be brought for him, and after he had eaten it, addressed him as follows: "my son, i am glad to see you come among us in a friendly manner. you have been a great hunter, and all the she-bears of our tribe tremble when they hear your name. but cease to trouble us, and come and live with me; we have a very pleasant life, living upon the fruits of the earth; and in the winter, instead of being obliged to hunt and travel through the deep snow, we sleep soundly until the sun unchains the streams, and makes the tender buds put forth for our subsistence. i will give you my daughter for a wife, and we will live happily together." muckwa was inclined to accept the old bear's offer; but when he saw the daughter, who came and took off his wet moccasons, and gave him dry ones, he thought that he had never seen any indian woman so beautiful. he accepted the offer of the chief of the bears, and lived with his wife very happily for some time. he had by her two sons, one of whom was like an indian, and the other like a bear. when the bear-child was oppressed with heat, his mother would take him into the deep cool caves, while the indian-child would shiver with cold, and cry after her in vain. as the autumn advanced, the bears began to go out in search of acorns, and then the she-bear said to muckwa, "stay at home here and watch our house, while i go to gather some nuts." she departed and was gone for some days with her people. by-and-by muckwa became tired of staying at home, and thought that he would go off to a distance and resume his favorite bear-hunting. he accordingly started off, and at last came to a grove of lofty oaks, which were full of large acorns. he found signs of bear, and soon espied a fat she-bear on the top of a tree. he shot at her with a good aim, and she fell, pierced by his unerring arrow. he went up to her, and found it was his sister-in-law, who reproached him with his cruelty, and told him to return to his own people. muckwa returned quietly home, and pretended not to have left his lodge. however, the old chief understood, and was disposed to kill him in revenge; but his wife found means to avert her father's anger. the winter season now coming on, muckwa prepared to accompany his wife into winter quarters; they selected a large tamarack tree, which was hollow, and lived there comfortably until a party of hunters discovered their retreat. the she-bear told muckwa to remain quietly in the tree, and that she would decoy off the hunters. she came out of the hollow, jumped from a bough of the tree, and escaped unharmed, although the hunters shot after her. some time after, she returned to the tree, and told muckwa that he had better go back to his own people. "since you have lived among us," said she, "we have nothing but ill-fortune; you have killed my sister; and now your friends have followed your footsteps to our retreats to kill us. the indian and the bear cannot live in the same lodge, for the master of life has appointed for them different habitations." so muckwa returned with his son to his own people; but he never after would shoot a she-bear, for fear that he should kill his wife." i admire this story for the _savoir faire_, the nonchalance, the vivian greyism of indian life. it is also a poetical expression of the sorrows of unequal relations; those in which the master of life was not consulted. is it not pathetic; the picture of the mother carrying off the child that was like herself into the deep, cool caves, while the other, shivering with cold, cried after her in vain? the moral, too, of muckwa's return to the bear lodges, thinking to hide his sin by silence, while it was at once discerned by those connected with him, is fine. we have a nursery tale, of which children never weary, of a little boy visiting a bear house and holding intercourse with them on terms as free as muckwa did. so, perhaps, the child of norman-saxon blood, no less than the indian, finds some pulse of the orson in his veins. as they loved to draw the lower forms of nature up to them, divining their histories, and imitating their ways, in their wild dances and paintings; even so did they love to look upward and people the atmosphere that enfolds the earth, with fairies and manitoes. the sister, obliged to leave her brother on the earth, bids him look up at evening, and he will see her painting her face in the west. all places, distinguished in any way by nature, aroused the feelings of worship, which, however ignorant, are always elevating. see as instances in this kind, the stories of nanabojou, and the winnebago prince, at the falls of st. anthony. as with the greeks, beautiful legends grow up which express the aspects of various localities. from the distant sand-banks in the lakes, glittering in the sun, come stories of enchantresses combing, on the shore, the long golden hair of a beautiful daughter. the lorelei of the rhine, with her syren song, and the sad events that follow, is found on the lonely rocks of lake superior. the story to which i now refer, may be found in a book called life on the lakes, or, a trip to the pictured rocks. there are two which purport to be indian tales; one is simply a romantic narrative, connected with a spot at mackinaw, called robinson's folly. this, no less than the other, was unknown to those persons i saw on the island; but as they seem entirely beyond the powers of the person who writes them down, and the other one has the profound and original meaning of greek tragedy, i believe they must be genuine legends. the one i admire is the story of a young warrior, who goes to keep, on these lonely rocks, the fast which is to secure him vision of his tutelary spirit. there the loneliness is broken by the voice of sweet music from the water. the indian knows well that to break the fast, which is the crisis of his life, by turning his attention from seeking the great spirit, to any lower object, will deprive him through life of heavenly protection, probably call down the severest punishment. but the temptation is too strong for him; like the victims of the lorelei, he looks, like them beholds a maiden of unearthly beauty, to him the harbinger of earthly wo. the development of his fate, that succeeds; of love, of heart-break, of terrible revenge, which back upon itself recoils, may vie with anything i have ever known of stern tragedy, is altogether unlike any other form, and with all the peculiar expression we see lurking in the indian eye. the demon is not frightful and fantastic, like those that haunt the german forest; but terribly human, as if of full manhood, reared in the shadow of the black forests. an indian sarcasm vibrates through it, which, with indian fortitude, defies the inevitable torture. the indian is steady to that simple creed, which forms the basis of all this mythology; that there is a god, and a life beyond this; a right and wrong which each man can see, betwixt which each man should choose; that good brings with it its reward and vice its punishment. their moral code, if not refined as that of civilized nations, is clear and noble in the stress laid upon truth and fidelity. and all unprejudiced observers bear testimony that the indians, until broken from their old anchorage by intercourse with the whites, who offer them, instead, a religion of which they furnish neither interpretation nor example, were singularly virtuous, if virtue be allowed to consist in a man's acting up to his own ideas of right. old adair, who lived forty years among the indians; not these tribes, indeed, but the southern indians; does great justice to their religious aspiration. he is persuaded that they are jews, and his main object is to identify their manifold ritual, and customs connected with it, with that of the jews. his narrative contains much that is worthless, and is written in the most tedious manner of the folios. but his devotion to the records of ancient jewry, has really given him power to discern congenial traits elsewhere, and for the sake of what he has expressed of the noble side of indian character, we pardon him our having to wade through so many imbecilities. an infidel; he says, is, in their language, "one who has shaken hands with the accursed speech;" a religious man, "one who has shaken hands with the beloved speech." if this be a correct definition, we could wish adair more religious. he gives a fine account of their methods of purification. these show a deep reliance on the sustaining spirit. by fasting and prayer they make ready for all important decisions and actions. even for the war path, on which he is likely to endure such privations, the brave prepares by a solemn fast. his reliance is on the spirit in which he goes forth. we may contrast with the opinion of the missionary, as given on a former page, the testimony of one, who knew them as adair did, to their heroism under torture. he gives several stories, illustrative both of their courage, fortitude, and resource in time of peril, of which i will cite only the two first. "the shawano indians took a muskohge warrior, known by the name of "old scrany;" they bastinadoed him in the usual manner, and condemned him to the fiery torture. he underwent a great deal, without showing any concern; his countenance and behavior were as if he suffered not the least pain, and was formed beyond the common laws of nature. he told them, with a bold voice, that he was a very noted warrior, and gained most of his martial preferments at the expense of their nation, and was desirous of showing them in the act of dying that he was still as much their superior, as when he headed his gallant countrymen against them. that, although he had fallen into their hands, in forfeiting the protection of the divine power, by some impurity or other, yet he had still so much virtue remaining, as would enable him to punish himself more exquisitely than all their despicable, ignorant crowd could possibly do, if they gave him liberty by untying him, and would hand to him one of the red hot gun-barrels out of the fire. the proposal, and his method of address, appeared so exceedingly bold and uncommon, that his request was granted. then he suddenly seized one end of the red hot barrel, and, brandishing it from side to side, he found his way through the armed and surprised multitude, and leaped down a prodigious steep and high bank into a branch of the river, dived through it, ran over a small island, passed the other branch amidst a shower of bullets, and, though numbers of his eager enemies were in close pursuit of him, he got to a bramble swamp, and in that naked, mangled condition, reached his own country. he proved a sharp thorn in their side afterwards, to the day of his death. the shawano also captivated a warrior of the anantooiah, and put him to the stake, according to their usual cruel solemnities. having unconcernedly suffered much sharp torture, he told them with scorn, they did not know how to punish a noted enemy, therefore he was willing to teach them, and would confirm the truth of his assertion, if they allowed him the opportunity. accordingly he requested of them a pipe and some tobacco, which was given him; as soon as he lighted it, he sat down, naked as he was, on the women's burning torches, that were within his circle, and continued smoking his pipe without the least discomposure. on this a head warrior leaped up, and said they had seen, plain enough, that he was a warrior, and not afraid of dying; nor should he have died, but that he was both spoiled by the fire, and devoted to it by their laws; however, though he was a very dangerous enemy, and his nation a treacherous people, it should appear they paid a regard to bravery, even in one, who was marked over the body with war streaks at the cost of many lives of their beloved kindred. and then, by way of favor, he, with his friendly tomahawk, put an end to all his pains: though this merciful but bloody instrument was ready some minutes before it gave the blow, yet, i was assured, the spectators could not perceive the sufferer to change, either his posture, or his steady, erect countenance in the least." some stories as fine, but longer, follow. in reference to which adair says, "the intrepid behavior of these red stoics, their surprising contempt of and indifference to life or death, instead of lessening, helps to confirm our belief of that supernatural power, which supported the great number of primitive martyrs, who sealed the christian faith with their blood. the indians have as much belief and expectation of a future state, as the greater part of the israelites seem to have. but the christians of the first centuries, may justly be said to exceed even the most heroic american indians, for they bore the bitterest persecution with steady patience, in imitation of their divine leader messiah, in full confidence of divine support and of a glorious recompense of reward; and, instead of even wishing for revenge on their cruel enemies and malicious tormentors, (which is the chief principle that actuates the indians,) they not only forgave them, but, in the midst of their tortures, earnestly prayed for them, with composed countenances, sincere love, and unabated fervor. and not only men of different conditions, but the delicate women and children suffered with constancy, and died praying for their tormentors: the indian women and children, and their young men untrained to war, are incapable of displaying the like patience and magnanimity." thus impartially looks the old trader. i meant to have inserted other passages, that of the encampment at yowanne, and the horse race to which he challenged them, to show how well he could convey in his garrulous fashion the whole presence of indian life. that of yowanne, especially, takes my fancy much, by its wild and subtle air, and the old-nurse fashion in which every look and gesture is detailed. his enjoyment, too, at outwitting the indians in their own fashion is contagious. there is a fine history of a young man driven by a presentiment to run upon his death. but i find, to copy these stories, as they stand, would half fill this little book, and compression would spoil them, so i must wait some other occasion. the story, later, of giving an indian liquid fire to swallow, i give at full length, to show how a kind-hearted man and one well disposed towards them, can treat them, and view his barbarity as a joke. it is not then so much wonder, if the trader, with this same feeling that they may be treated, (as however brutes should not be,) brutally, mixes red pepper and damaged tobacco with the rum, intending in their fever to fleece them of all they possess. like murray and henry, he has his great indian chief, who represents what the people should be, as pericles and phocion what the greek people should be. if we are entitled to judge by its best fruits of the goodness of the tree, adair's red shoes, and henry's wawatam, should make us respect the first possessors of our country, and doubt whether we are in all ways worthy to fill their place. of the whole tone of character, judgment may be formed by what is said of the death of red shoes. "this chief, by his several transcendent qualities had arrived at the highest pitch of the red glory.... he was murdered, for the sake of a french reward by one of his own countrymen. he had the misfortune to be taken very sick on the road, and to lodge apart from the camp, according to their custom. a judas, tempted by the high reward of the french for killing him, officiously pretended to take great care of him. while red shoes kept his face toward him, the barbarian had such feelings of awe and pity that he had not power to perpetrate his wicked design; but when he turned his back, then gave the fatal shot. in this manner fell this valuable brave man, by hands that would have trembled to attack him on an equality." adair, with all his sympathy for the indian, mixes quite unconsciously some white man's views of the most decided sort. for instance, he recommends that the tribes be stimulated as much as possible to war with each other, that they may the more easily and completely be kept under the dominion of the whites, and he gives the following record of brutality as quite a jocose and adroit procedure. "i told him; on his importuning me further, that i had a full bottle of the water of _ane hoome_, "bitter ears," meaning long pepper, of which he was ignorant. we were of opinion that his eager thirst for liquor, as well as his ignorance of the burning quality of the pepper, would induce the bacchanal to try it. he accordingly applauded my generous disposition, and said his heart had all along told him i would not act beneath the character i bore among his country people. the bottle was brought, i laid it on the table, and then told him, as he was spitting very much, (a general custom among the indians when they are eager for anything,) if i drank it all at one sitting it would cause me to spit in earnest, as i used it only when i ate, and then very moderately; but though i loved it, if his heart was very poor for it, i should be silent, and not the least grudge him for pleasing his mouth. he said, 'your heart is honest, indeed; i thank you, for it is good to my heart, and makes it greatly to rejoice.' without any further ceremony he seized the bottle, uncorked it, and swallowed a large quantity of the burning liquid, till he was nearly strangled. he gasped for a considerable time, and as soon as he recovered his breath, he said _hah_, and soon after kept stroking his throat with his right hand. when the violence of this burning draught was pretty well over, he began to flourish away in praise of the strength of the liquor and bounty of the giver. he then went to his companion and held the liquor to his mouth according to custom, till he took several hearty swallows. this indian seemed rather more sensible of its fiery quality than the other, for it suffocated him for a considerable time; but as soon as he recovered his breath, he tumbled about the floor like a drunken person. in this manner they finished the whole bottle, into which two others had been decanted. the burning liquor so highly inflamed their bodies, that one of the choctaws, to cool his inward parts, drank water till he almost burst; the other, rather than bear the ridicule of the people, and the inward fire that distracted him, drowned himself the second night after in a broad and shallow clay hole.... there was an incident similar, which happened among the cherokees. when all the liquor was expended the indians went home, leading with them, at my request, those that were drunk. one, however, soon came back, and earnestly importuned me for more nawahti, which signifies both physic and spirituous liquor. they, as they are now become great liars, suspect all others of being infected with their own disposition and principles. the more i excused myself, the more anxious he grew, so as to become offensive. i then told him i had only one quarter of a bottle of strong physic, which sick people might drink in small quantities, for the cure of inward pains: and, laying it down before him, i declared i did not on any account choose to part with it, but as his speech had become very long and troublesome, he might do just as his heart directed him concerning it. he took it up, saying, his heart was very poor for physic, but he would cure it, and make it quite straight. the bottle contained three gills of strong spirits of turpentine, which, in a short time he drank off. such a quantity would have demolished me or any white person. the indians, in general, are either capable of suffering exquisite pain longer than we are, or of showing more constancy and composure in their torments. the troublesome visiter soon tumbled down and foamed prodigiously. i then sent for some of his relations to carry him home. they came; i told them he drank greedily, and too much of the physic. they said, it was his usual custom, when the red people bought the english physic. they gave him a decoction of proper herbs and roots, the next day sweated him, repeated the former draught, and he got well. as these turpentine spirits did not inebriate him, but only inflamed his intestines, he well remembered the burning quality of my favorite physic, and cautioned the rest from ever teasing me for any physic i had concealed in any sort of bottles for my own use; otherwise they might be sure it would spoil them like the eating of fire." we are pleased to note that the same white man, who so resolutely resisted the encroachments of key-way-no-wut, devised a more humane expedient in a similar dilemma. "mr. b. told me that, when he first went into the indian country, they got the taste of his peppermint, and, after that, colics prevailed among them to an alarming extent, till mrs. b. made a strong decoction of flagroot, and gave them in place of their favorite medicine. this effected, as might be supposed, a radical cure." i am inclined to recommend adair to the patient reader, if such may be found in these united states, with the assurance that, if he will have tolerance for its intolerable prolixity and dryness, he will find, on rising from the book, that he has partaken of an infusion of real indian bitters, such as may not be drawn from any of the more attractive memoirs on the same subject. another book of interest, from its fidelity and candid spirit, though written without vivacity, and by a person neither of large mind nor prepared for various inquiry, is carver's travels, "for three years throughout the interior parts of america, for more than five thousand miles." he set out from boston in "june, , and proceeded, by way of albany and niagara, to michilimackinac, a fort situated between the lakes huron and michigan, and distant from boston miles." it is interesting to follow his footsteps in these localities, though they be not bold footsteps. he mentions the town of the sacs, on the wisconsin, as the largest and best built he saw, "composed of ninety houses, each large enough for several families. these are built of hewn plank, neatly jointed, and covered with bark so compactly as to keep out the most penetrating rains. before the doors are placed comfortable sheds, in which the inhabitants sit, when the weather will permit, and smoke their pipes. the streets are regular and spacious. in their plantations, which lie adjacent to their houses, and which are neatly laid out, they raise great quantities of indian corn, beans and melons." such settlements compare very well with those which were found on the mohawk. it was of such that the poor indian was thinking, whom our host saw gazing on the shore of nomabbin lake. he mentions the rise and fall of the lake-waters, by a tide of three feet, once in seven years,--a phenomenon not yet accounted for. his view of the indian character is truly impartial. he did not see it so fully drawn out by circumstances as henry did, (of whose narrative we shall presently speak,) but we come to similar results from the two witnesses. they are in every feature romans, as described by carver, and patriotism their leading impulse. he deserves the more credit for the justice he is able to do them, that he had undergone the terrors of death at their hands, when present at the surrender of one of the forts, and had seen them in that mood which they express by drinking the blood and eating the hearts of their enemies, yet is able to understand the position of their minds, and allow for their notions of duty. no selfish views, says he, influence their advice, or obstruct their consultations. let me mention here the use they make of their vapor baths. "when about to decide on some important measure, they go into them, thus cleansing the skin and carrying off any peccant humors, so that the body may, as little as possible, impede the mind by any ill conditions." they prepare the bath for one another when any arrangement is to be made between families, on the opposite principle to the whites, who make them drunk before bargaining with them. the bath serves them instead of a cup of coffee, to stimulate the thinking powers. he mentions other instances of their kind of delicacy, which, if different from ours, was, perhaps, more rigidly observed. lovers never spoke of love till the daylight was quite gone. "if an indian goes to visit any particular person in a family, he mentions for whom his visit is intended, and the rest of the family, immediately retiring to the other end of the hut or tent, are careful not to come near enough to interrupt them during the whole of the conversation." in cases of divorce, which was easily obtained, the advantage rested with the woman. the reason given is indeed contemptuous toward her, but a chivalric direction is given to the contempt. "the children of the indians are always distinguished by the name of the mother, and, if a woman marries several husbands, and has issue by each of them, they are called after her. the reason they give for this is, that, 'as their offspring are indebted to the father for the soul, the invisible part of their essence, and to the mother for their corporeal and apparent part, it is most rational that they should be distinguished by the name of the latter, from whom they indubitably derive their present being.'" this is precisely the division of functions made by ovid, as the father sees hercules perishing on the funeral pyre. "nec nisi materna vulcanum parte potentem sentiet. aeternum est a me quod traxit et expers atque immune necis, nullaqe domabile flamma." he is not enough acquainted with natural history to make valuable observations. he mentions, however, as did my friend, the indian girl, that those splendid flowers, the wickapee and the root of the wake-robin, afford valuable medicines. here, as in the case of the lobelia, nature has blazoned her drug in higher colors than did ever quack doctor. he observes some points of resemblance between the indians and tartars, but they are trivial, and not well considered. he mentions that the tartars have the same custom, with some of these tribes, of shaving all the head except a tuft on the crown. catlin says this is intended, to afford a convenient means by which to take away the scalp; for they consider it a great disgrace to have the foeman neglect this, as if he considered the conquest, of which the scalp is the certificate, no addition to his honors. "the tartars," he says, "had a similar custom of sacrificing the dog; and among the kamschatkans was a dance resembling the dog-dance of our indians." my friend, who joined me at mackinaw, happened, on the homeward journey, to see a little chinese girl, who had been sent over by one of the missions, and observed that, in features, complexion, and gesture, she was a counterpart to the little indian girls she had just seen playing about on the lake shore. the parentage of these tribes is still an interesting subject of speculation, though, if they be not created for this region, they have become so assimilated to it as to retain little trace of any other. to me it seems most probable, that a peculiar race was bestowed on each region, as the lion on one latitude and the white bear on another. as man has two natures--one, like that of the plants and animals, adapted to the uses and enjoyments of this planet, another, which presages and demands a higher sphere--he is constantly breaking bounds, in proportion as the mental gets the better of the mere instinctive existence. as yet, he loses in harmony of being what he gains in height and extension; the civilized man is a larger mind, but a more imperfect nature than the savage. it is pleasant to meet, on the borders of these two states, one of those persons who combines some of the good qualities of both; not, as so many of these adventurers do, the rapaciousness and cunning of the white, with the narrowness and ferocity of the savage, but the sentiment and thoughtfulness of the one, with the boldness, personal resource, and fortitude of the other. such a person was alexander henry, who left quebec in , for mackinaw and the sault st. marie, and remained in those regions, of which he has given us a most lively account, sixteen years. his visit to mackinaw was premature; the indians were far from satisfied; they hated their new masters. from the first, the omens were threatening, and before many months passed, the discontent ended in the seizing of the fort at mackinaw and massacre of its garrison; on which occasion henry's life was saved by a fine act of indian chivalry. wawatam, a distinguished chief, had found himself drawn, by strong affinity, to the english stranger. he had adopted him as a brother, in the indian mode. when he found that his tribe had determined on the slaughter of the whites, he obtained permission to take henry away with him, if he could. but not being able to prevail on him, as he could not assign the true reasons, he went away deeply saddened, but not without obtaining a promise that his brother should not be injured. the reason he was obliged to go, was, that his tribe felt his affections were so engaged, that his self-command could not be depended on to keep their secret. their promise was not carefully observed, and, in consequence of the baseness of a french canadian in whose house henry took refuge,--baseness such as has not, even by their foes, been recorded of any indian, his life was placed in great hazard. but wawatam returned in time to save him. the scene in which he appears, accompanied by his wife--who seems to have gone hand in hand with him in this matter--lays down all his best things in a heap, in the middle of the hall, as a ransom for the captive, and his little, quiet speech, are as good as the iliad. they have the same simplicity, the same lively force and tenderness. henry goes away with his adopted brother, and lives for some time among the tribe. the details of this life are truly interesting. one time he is lost for several days while on the chase. the description of these weary, groping days, the aspect of natural objects and of the feelings thus inspired, and the mental change after a good night's sleep, form a little episode worthy the epic muse. he stripped off the entire bark of a tree for a coverlet in the snow-storm, going to sleep with "the most distracted thoughts in the world, while the wolves around seemed to know the distress to which he was reduced;" but he waked in the morning another man, clear-headed, able to think out the way to safety. when living in the lodge, he says: "at one time much scarcity of food prevailed. we were often twenty-four hours without eating; and when in the morning we had no victuals for the day before us, the custom was to black our faces with grease and charcoal, and exhibit, through resignation, a temper as cheerful as in the midst of plenty." this wise and dignified proceeding reminds one of a charming expression of what is best in french character, as described by rigolette, in the mysteries of paris, of the household of pere cretu and ramnonette. he bears witness to much virtue among them. their superstitions, as described by him, seem childlike and touching. he gives with much humor, traits that show their sympathy with the lower animals, such as i have mentioned. he speaks of them as, on the whole, taciturn, because their range of topics is so limited, and seems to have seen nothing of their talent for narration. catlin, on the contrary, describes them as lively and garrulous, and says, that their apparent taciturnity among the whites is owing to their being surprised at what they see, and unwilling, from pride, to show that they are so, as well as that they have little to communicate on their side, that they think will be valuable. after peace was restored, and henry lived long at mackinaw and the sault st. marie, as a trader, the traits of his biography and intercourse with the indians, are told in the same bold and lively style. i wish i had room for many extracts, as the book is rare. he made a journey one winter on snow shoes, to prairie du chien, which is of romantic interest as displaying his character. his companions could not travel nearly so fast as he did, and detained him on the way. provisions fell short; soon they were ready to perish of starvation. apprehending this, on a long journey, in the depth of winter, broken by no hospitable station, henry had secreted some chocolate. when he saw his companions ready to lie down and die, he would heat water, boil in it a square of this, and give them. by the heat of the water and the fancy of nourishment, they would be revived, and induced to proceed a little further. at last they saw antlers sticking up from the ice, and found the body of an elk, which had sunk in and been frozen there, and thus preserved to save their lives. on this "and excellent soup" made from bones they found they were sustained to their journey's end; thus furnishing, says henry, one other confirmation of the truth, that "despair was not made for man;" this expression, and his calm consideration for the canadian women that was willing to betray him to death, denote the two sides of a fine character. he gives an interesting account of the tribe called "the weepers," on account of the rites with which they interrupt their feasts in honor of their friends. he gives this humorous notice of a chief, called "the great road." "the chief, to whose kindly reception we were so much indebted, was of a complexion rather darker than that of the indians in general. his appearance was greatly injured by the condition of his hair, and this was the result of an extraordinary superstition. "the indians universally fix upon a particular object as sacred to themselves--as the giver of prosperity and as their preserver from evil. the choice is determined either by a dream or some strong predilection of fancy, and usually falls upon an animal, part of an animal, or something else which is to be met with by land, or by water; but the great road had made choice of his hair, placing, like samson, all his safety in this portion of his proper substance! his hair was the fountain of all his happiness; it was his strength and his weapon--his spear and his shield. it preserved him in battle, directed him in the chase, watched over him in the march, and gave length of days to his wives and children. hair, of a quality like this, was not to be profaned by the touch of human hands. i was assured that it never had been cut nor combed from his childhood upward, and that when any part of it fell from his head, he treasured that part with, care; meanwhile, it did not escape all care, even while growing on the head, but was in the especial charge of a spirit, who dressed it while the owner slept. the spirit's style of hair-dressing was peculiar, the hair being matted into ropes, which spread in all directions." i insert the following account of a visit from some indians to him at mackinaw, with a design to frighten him, and one to carver, for the same purpose, as very descriptive of indian manners: "at two o'clock in the afternoon, the chippeways came to my house, about sixty in number, and headed by mina-va-va-na, their chief. they walked in single file, each with his tomahawk in one hand, and scalping knife in the other. their bodies were naked, from the waist upwards, except in a few examples, where blankets were thrown loosely over the shoulders. their faces were painted with charcoal, worked up with grease; their bodies with white clay in patterns of various fancies. some had feathers thrust through their noses, and their heads decorated with the same. it is unnecessary to dwell on the sensations with which i beheld the approach of this uncouth, if not frightful, assemblage." "looking out, i saw about twenty naked young indians, the most perfect in their shape, and by far the handsomest i had ever seen, coming towards me, and dancing as they approached to the music of their drums. at every ten or twelve yards they halted, and set up their yells and cries. when they reached my tent i asked them to come in, which, without deigning to make me any answer, they did. as i observed they were painted red and black, as they are when they go against an enemy, and perceived that some parts of the war-dance were intermixed with their other movements, i doubted not but they were set on by the hostile chief who refused my salutation. i therefore determined to sell my life as dearly as possible. to this purpose i received them sitting on my chest, with my gun and pistols beside me; and ordered my men to keep a watchful eye on them, and be also on their guard. the indians being entered, they continued their dance alternately, singing at the same time of their heroic exploits, and the superiority of their race over every other people. to enforce their language, though it was uncommonly nervous and expressive, and such as would of itself have carried terror to the firmest heart; at the end of every period they struck their war-clubs against the poles of my tent with such violence, that i expected every moment it would have tumbled upon us. as each of them in dancing round passed by me, they placed their right hands over their eyes, and coming close to me, looked me steadily in the face, which i could not construe into a token of friendship. my men gave themselves up for lost; and i acknowledge for my own part, that i never found my apprehensions more tumultuous on any occasion." he mollified them, however, in the end by presents. it is pity that lord edward fitzgerald did not leave a detailed account of his journey through the wilderness, where he was pilot of an unknown course for twenty days, as murray and henry have of theirs. there is nothing more interesting than to see the civilized man thus thrown wholly on himself and his manhood, and _not_ found at fault. mckenney and hall's book upon the indians is a valuable work. the portraits of the chiefs alone would make a history, and they are beautifully colored. most of the anecdotes may be found again in drake's book of the indians; which will afford a useful magazine to their future historian. i shall, however, cite a few of them, as especially interesting to myself. of guess, the inventor of the cherokee alphabet, it was observable in the picture, and observed in the text, that his face had an oriental cast. the same, we may recall, was said of that of the seeress of prevorst, and the circumstance presents pleasing analogies. intellect dawning through features still simple and national, presents very different apparitions from the "expressive" and "historical" faces of a broken and cultured race, where there is always more to divine than to see. of the picture of the flying pigeon, the beautiful and excellent woman mentioned above, a keen observer said, "if you cover the forehead, you would think the face that of a madonna, but the forehead is still savage; the perceptive faculties look so sharp, and the forehead not moulded like a european forehead." this is very true; in her the moral nature was most developed, and the effect of a higher growth upon her face is entirely different from that upon guess. his eye is inturned, while the proper indian eye gazes steadily, as if on a distant object. that is half the romance of it, that it makes you think of dark and distant places in the forest. guess always preferred inventing his implements to receiving them from others: and, when considered as mad by his tribe, while bent on the invention of his alphabet, contented himself with teaching it to his little daughter; an unimpeachable witness. red jacket's face, too, is much more intellectual than almost any other. but, in becoming so, it loses nothing of the peculiar indian stamp, but only carries these traits to their perfection. irony, discernment, resolution, and a deep smouldering fire, that disdains to flicker where it cannot blaze, may there be read. nothing can better represent the sort of unfeelingness the whites have towards the indians, than their conduct towards his remains. he had steadily opposed the introduction of white religion, or manners, among the indians. he believed that for them to break down the barriers was to perish. on many occasions he had expressed this with all the force of his eloquence. he told the preachers, "if the great spirit had meant your religion for the red man, he would have given it to them. what they (the missionaries) tell us, we do not understand; and the light they ask for us, makes the straight and plain path trod by our fathers dark and dreary." when he died, he charged his people to inter him themselves. "dig my grave, yourselves, and let not the white man pursue me there." in defiance of this last solemn request, and the invariable tenor of his life, the missionaries seized the body and performed their service over it, amid the sullen indignation of his people, at what, under the circumstances, was sacrilege. of indian religion a fine specimen is given in the conduct of one of the war chiefs, who, on an important occasion, made a vow to the sun of entire renunciation in case he should be crowned with success. when he was so, he first went through a fast, and sacrificial dance, involving great personal torment, and lasting several days; then, distributing all his property, even his lodges, and mats, among the tribe, he and his family took up their lodging upon the bare ground, beneath the bare sky. the devotion of the stylites and the hair-cloth saints, is in act, though not in motive, less noble, because this great chief proposed to go on in common life, where he had lived as a prince--a beggar. the memoir by corn plant of his early days is beautiful. very fine anecdotes are told of two of the western chiefs, father and son, who had the wisdom to see the true policy toward the whites, and steadily to adhere to it. a murder having taken place in the jurisdiction of the father, he delivered himself up, with those suspected, to imprisonment. one of his companions chafed bitterly under confinement. he told the chief, if they ever got out, he would kill him, and did so. the son, then a boy, came in his rage and sorrow, to this indian, and insulted him in every way. the squaw, angry at this, urged her husband "to kill the boy at once." but he only replied with "the joy of the valiant," "he will be a great brave," and then delivered himself up to atone for his victim, and met his death with the noblest roman composure. this boy became rather a great chief than a great brave, and the anecdotes about him are of signal beauty and significance. there is a fine story of an old mother, who gave herself to death instead of her son. the son, at the time, accepted the sacrifice, seeing, with indian coolness, that it was better she should give up her few solitary and useless days, than he a young existence full of promise. but he could not abide by this view, and after suffering awhile all the anguish of remorse, he put himself solemnly to death in the presence of the tribe, as the only atonement he could make. his young wife stood by, with her child in her arms, commanding her emotions, as he desired, for, no doubt, it seemed to her also, a sacred duty. but the finest story of all is that of petalesharro, in whose tribe at the time, and not many years since, the custom of offering human sacrifices still subsisted. the fire was kindled, the victim, a young female captive, bound to the stake, the tribe assembled round. the young brave darted through them, snatched the girl from her peril, placed her upon his horse, and both had vanished before the astonished spectators had thought to interpose. he placed the girl in her distant home, and then returned. such is the might of right, when joined with courage, that none ventured a word of resentment or question. his father, struck by truth, endeavored, and with success, to abolish the barbarous custom in the tribe. on a later occasion, petalesharro again offered his life, if required, but it was not. this young warrior visiting washington, a medal was presented him in honor of these acts. his reply deserves sculpture: "when i did it, i knew not that it was good. i did it in ignorance. this medal makes me know that it was good." the recorder, through his playful expressions of horror at a declaration so surprising to the civilized good, shows himself sensible to the grand simplicity of heroic impulse it denotes. were we, too, so good, as to need a medal to show us that we are! the half-breed and half-civilized chiefs, however handsome, look vulgar beside the pure blood. they have the dignity of neither race. the death of oseola, (as described by catlin,) presents a fine picture in the stern, warlike kind, taking leave with kindness, as a private friend, of the american officers; but, as a foe in national regards, he raised himself in his dying bed, and painted his face with the tokens of eternal enmity. the historian of the indians should be one of their own race, as able to sympathize with them, and possessing a mind as enlarged and cultivated as john ross, and with his eye turned to the greatness of the past, rather than the scanty promise of the future. hearing of the wampum belts, supposed to have been sent to our tribes by montezuma, on the invasion of the spaniard, we feel that an indian who could glean traditions familiarly from the old men, might collect much that we could interpret. still, any clear outline, even of a portion of their past, is not to be hoped, and we shall be well contented if we can have a collection of genuine fragments, that will indicate as clearly their life, as a horse's head from the parthenon the genius of greece. such, to me, are the stories i have cited above. and even european sketches of this greatness, distant and imperfect though they be, yet convey the truth, if made in a sympathizing spirit. adair's red shoes, murray's old man, catlin's noble mandan chief, henry's wa-wa-tam, with what we know of philip, pontiac, tecumseh and red jacket, would suffice to give the ages a glimpse at what was great in indian life and indian character. we hope, too, there will be a national institute, containing all the remains of the indians,--all that has been preserved by official intercourse at washington, catlin's collection, and a picture gallery as complete as can be made, with a collection of skulls from all parts of the country. to this should be joined the scanty library that exists on the subject. i have not mentioned mackenzie's travels. he is an accurate observer, but sparing in his records, because his attention was wholly bent on his own objects. this circumstance gives a heroic charm to his scanty and simple narrative. let what will happen, or who will go back, he cannot; he must find the sea, along those frozen rivers, through those starving countries, among tribes of stinted men, whose habitual interjection was "edui, it is hard, uttered in a querulous tone," distrusted by his followers, deserted by his guides, on, on he goes, till he sees the sea, cold, lowering, its strand bristling with foes; but he does see it. his few observations, especially on the tribes who lived on fish, and held them in such superstitious observance, give a lively notion of the scene. a little pamphlet has lately been published, giving an account of the massacre at chicago, which i wish much i had seen while there, as it would have imparted an interest to spots otherwise barren. it is written with animation, and in an excellent style, telling just what we want to hear, and no more. the traits given of indian generosity are as characteristic as those of indian cruelty. a lady, who was saved by a friendly chief holding her under the waters of the lake, while the balls were whizzing around, received also, in the heat of the conflict, a reviving draught from a squaw, who saw she was exhausted; and, as she lay down, a mat was hung up between her and the scene of butchery, so that she was protected from the sight, though she could not be from sounds, full of horror. i have not wished to write sentimentally about the indians, however moved by the thought of their wrongs and speedy extinction. i know that the europeans who took possession of this country, felt themselves justified by their superior civilization and religious ideas. had they been truly civilized or christianized, the conflicts which sprang from the collision of the two races, might have been avoided; but this cannot be expected in movements made by masses of men. the mass has never yet been humanized, though the age may develop a human thought. since those conflicts and differences did arise, the hatred which sprang, from terror and suffering, on the european side, has naturally warped the whites still farther from justice. the indian, brandishing the scalps of his friends and wife, drinking their blood and eating their hearts, is by him viewed as a fiend, though, at a distant day, he will no doubt be considered as having acted the roman or carthaginian part of heroic and patriotic self-defence, according to the standard of right and motives prescribed by his religious faith and education. looked at by his own standard, he is virtuous when he most injures his enemy, and the white, if he be really the superior in enlargement of thought, ought to cast aside his inherited prejudices enough to see this,--to look on him in pity and brotherly goodwill, and do all he can to mitigate the doom of those who survive his past injuries. in mckenney's book, is proposed a project for organizing the indians under a patriarchal government, but it does not look feasible, even on paper. could their own intelligent men be left to act unimpeded in their behalf, they would do far better for them than the white thinker, with all his general knowledge. but we dare not hope the designs of such will not always be frustrated by the same barbarous selfishness they were in georgia. there was a chance of seeing what might have been done, now lost forever. yet let every man look to himself how far this blood shall be required at his hands. let the missionary, instead of preaching to the indian, preach to the trader who ruins him, of the dreadful account which will be demanded of the followers of cain, in a sphere where the accents of purity and love come on the ear more decisively than in ours. let every legislator take the subject to heart, and if he cannot undo the effects of past sin, try for that clear view and right sense that may save us from sinning still more deeply. and let every man and every woman, in their private dealings with the subjugated race, avoid all share in embittering, by insult or unfeeling prejudice, the captivity of israel. chapter vii. sault st. marie. nine days i passed alone at mackinaw, except for occasional visits from kind and agreeable residents at the fort, and mr. and mrs. a. mr. a., long engaged in the fur-trade, is gratefully remembered by many travellers. from mrs. a., also, i received kind attentions, paid in the vivacious and graceful manner of her nation. the society at the boarding house entertained, being of a kind entirely new to me. there were many traders from the remote stations, such as la pointe, arbre croche,--men who had become half wild and wholly rude, by living in the wild; but good-humored, observing, and with a store of knowledge to impart, of the kind proper to their place. there were two little girls here, that were pleasant companions for me. one gay, frank, impetuous, but sweet and winning. she was an american, fair, and with bright brown hair. the other, a little french canadian, used to join me in my walks, silently take my hand, and sit at my feet when i stopped in beautiful places. she seemed to understand without a word; and i never shall forget her little figure, with its light, but pensive motion, and her delicate, grave features, with the pale, clear complexion and soft eye. she was motherless, and much left alone by her father and brothers, who were boatmen. the two little girls were as pretty representatives of allegro and penseroso, as one would wish to see. i had been wishing that a boat would come in to take me to the sault st. marie, and several times started to the window at night in hopes that the pant and dusky-red light crossing the waters belonged to such an one; but they were always boats for chicago or buffalo, till, on the th of august, allegro, who shared my plans and wishes, rushed in to tell me that the general scott had come, and, in this little steamer, accordingly, i set off the next morning. i was the only lady, and attended in the cabin by a dutch girl and an indian woman. they both spoke english fluently, and entertained me much by accounts of their different experiences. the dutch girl told me of a dance among the common people at amsterdam, called the shepherd's dance. the two leaders are dressed as shepherd and shepherdess; they invent to the music all kinds of movements, descriptive of things that may happen in the field, and the rest were obliged to follow. i have never heard of any dance which gave such free play to the fancy as this. french dances merely describe the polite movements of society; spanish and neapolitan, love; the beautiful mazurkas, &c., are warlike or expressive of wild scenery. but in this one is great room both for fun and fancy. the indian was married, when young, by her parents, to a man she did not love. he became dissipated, and did not maintain her. she left him. taking with her their child; for whom and herself she earns a subsistence by going as chambermaid in these boats. now and then, she said, her husband called on her, and asked if he might live with her again; but she always answered, no. here she was far freer than she would have been in civilized life. i was pleased by the nonchalance of this woman, and the perfectly national manner she had preserved after so many years of contact with all kinds of people. the two women, when i left the boat, made me presents of indian work, such as travellers value, and the manner of the two was characteristic of their different nations. the indian brought me hers, when i was alone, looked bashfully down when she gave it, and made an almost sentimental little speech. the dutch girl brought hers in public, and, bridling her short chin with a self-complacent air, observed she had _bought_ it for me. but the feeling of affectionate regard was the same in the minds of both. island after island we passed, all fairly shaped and clustering friendly, but with little variety of vegetation. in the afternoon the weather became foggy, and we could not proceed after dark. that was as dull an evening as ever fell. the next morning the fog still lay heavy, but the captain took me out in his boat on an exploring expedition, and we found the remains of the old english fort on point st. joseph's. all around was so wholly unmarked by anything but stress of wind and weather, the shores of these islands and their woods so like one another, wild and lonely, but nowhere rich and majestic, that there was some charm in the remains of the garden, the remains even of chimneys and a pier. they gave feature to the scene. here i gathered many flowers, but they were the same as at mackinaw. the captain, though he had been on this trip hundreds of times, had never seen this spot, and never would, but for this fog, and his desire to entertain me. he presented a striking instance how men, for the sake of getting a living, forget to live. it is just the same in the most romantic as the most dull and vulgar places. men get the harness on so fast, that they can never shake it off unless they guard against this danger from the very first. in chicago, how many men, who never found time to see the prairies or learn anything unconnected with the business of the day, or about the country they were living in! so this captain, a man of strong sense and good eyesight, rarely found time to go off the track or look about him on it. he lamented, too, that there had been no call which induced him to develop his powers of expression, so that he might communicate what he had seen, for the enjoyment or instruction of others. this is a common fault among the active men, the truly living, who could tell what life is. it should not be so. literature should not be left to the mere literati--eloquence to the mere orator. every caesar should be able to write his own commentary. we want a more equal, more thorough, more harmonious development, and there is nothing to hinder from it the men of this country, except their own supineness, or sordid views. when the weather did clear, our course up the river was delightful. long stretched before us the island of st. joseph's, with its fair woods of sugar maple. a gentleman on board, who belongs to the fort at the sault, said their pastime was to come in the season of making sugar, and pass some time on this island,--the days at work, and the evening in dancing and other amusements. i wished to extract here henry's account of this, for it was just the same sixty years ago as now, but have already occupied too much room with extracts. work of this kind done in the open air, where everything is temporary, and every utensil prepared on the spot, gives life a truly festive air. at such times, there is labor and no care--energy with gaiety, gaiety of the heart. i think with the same pleasure of the italian vintage, the scotch harvest-home, with its evening dance in the barn, the russian cabbage-feast even, and our huskings and hop-gatherings--the hop-gatherings where the groups of men and girls are pulling down and filling baskets with the gay festoons, present as graceful pictures as the italian vintage. i should also like to insert henry's descriptions of the method of catching trout and white fish, the delicacies of this region, for the same reason as i want his account of the gens de terre, the savages among savages, and his tales, dramatic, if not true, of cannibalism. i have no less grieved to omit carver's account of the devotion of a winnebago prince at the falls of st. anthony, which he describes with a simplicity and intelligence, that are very pleasing. i take the more pleasure in both carver and henry's power of appreciating what is good in the indian character, that both had run the greatest risk of losing their lives during their intercourse with the indians, and had seen them in their utmost exasperation, with all its revolting circumstances. i wish i had a thread long enough to string on it all these beads that take my fancy; but, as i have not, i can only refer the reader to the books themselves, which may be found in the library of harvard college, if not elsewhere. how pleasant is the course along a new river, the sight of new shores; like a life, would but life flow as fast, and upbear us with as full a stream. i hoped we should come in sight of the rapids by daylight; but the beautiful sunset was quite gone, and only a young moon trembling over the scene, when we came within hearing of them. i sat up long to hear them merely. it was a thoughtful hour. these two days, the th and th august, are memorable in my life; the latter is the birthday of a near friend. i pass them alone, approaching lake superior; but i shall not enter into that truly wild and free region; shall not have the canoe voyage, whose daily adventure, with the camping out at night beneath the stars, would have given an interlude of such value to my existence. i shall not see the pictured rocks, their chapels and urns. it did not depend on me; it never has, whether such things shall be done or not. my friends! may they see, and do, and be more, especially those who have before them a greater number of birthdays, and of a more healthy and unfettered existence: to edith, on her birthday. if the same star our fates together bind, why are we thus divided, mind from mind? if the same law one grief to both impart, how could'st thou grieve a trusting mother's heart? our aspiration seeks a common aim, why were we tempered of such differing frame? --but 'tis too late to turn this wrong to right; too cold, too damp, too deep, has fallen the night. and yet, the angel of my life replies, upon that night a morning star shall rise, fairer than that which ruled the temporal birth, undimmed by vapors of the dreamy earth; it says, that, where a heart thy claim denies, genius shall read its secret ere it flies; the earthly form may vanish from thy side, pure love will make thee still the spirit's bride. and thou, ungentle, yet much loving child, whose heart still shows the "untamed haggard wild," a heart which justly makes the highest claim, too easily is checked by transient blame; ere such an orb can ascertain its sphere, the ordeal must be various and severe; my prayers attend thee, though the feet may fly, i hear thy music in the silent, sky. i should like, however, to hear some notes of earthly music to-night. by the faint moonshine i can hardly see the banks; how they look i have no guess, except that there are trees, and, now and then, a light lets me know there are homes with their various interests. i should like to hear some strains of the flute from beneath those trees, just to break the sound of the rapids. when no gentle eyebeam charms; no fond hope the bosom warms: of thinking the lone mind is tired-- nought seems bright to be desired; music, be thy sails unfurled, bear me to thy better world; o'er a cold and weltering sea, blow thy breezes warm and free; by sad sighs they ne'er were chilled, by sceptic spell were never stilled; take me to that far-offshore, where lovers meet to part no more; there doubt, and fear and sin are o'er, the star of love shall set no more. with the first light of dawn i was up and out, and then was glad i had not seen all the night before; it came upon me with such power in its dewy freshness. o! they are beautiful indeed, these rapids! the grace is so much more obvious than the power. i went up through the old chippeway burying ground to their head, and sat down on a large stone to look. a little way off was one of the home lodges, unlike in shape to the temporary ones at mackinaw, but these have been described by mrs. jameson. women, too, i saw coming home from the woods, stooping under great loads of cedar boughs, that were strapped upon their backs. but in many european countries women carry great loads, even of wood, upon their backs. i used to hear the girls singing and laughing as they were cutting down boughs at mackinaw; this part of their employment, though laborious, gives them the pleasure of being a great deal in the free woods. i had ordered a canoe to take me down the rapids, and presently i saw it coming, with the two indian canoe-men in pink calico shirts, moving it about with their long poles, with a grace and dexterity worthy fairy land. now and then they cast the scoop-net; all looked just as i had fancied, only far prettier. when they came to me, they spread a mat in the middle of the canoe; i sat down, and in less than four minutes we had descended the rapids, a distance of more than three quarters of a mile. i was somewhat disappointed in this being no more of an exploit than i found it. having heard such expressions used as of "darting," or, "shooting down," these rapids, i had fancied there was a wall of rock somewhere, where descent would somehow be accomplished, and that there would come some one gasp of terror and delight, some sensation entirely new to me; but i found myself in smooth water, before i had time to feel anything but the buoyant pleasure of being carried so lightly through this surf amid the breakers. now and then the indians spoke to one another in a vehement jabber, which, however, had no tone that expressed other than pleasant excitement. it is, no doubt, an act of wonderful dexterity to steer amid these jagged rocks, when one rude touch would tear a hole in the birch canoe; but these men are evidently so used to doing it, and so adroit, that the silliest person could not feel afraid. i should like to have come down twenty times, that i might have had leisure to realize the pleasure. but the fog which had detained us on the way, shortened the boat's stay at the sault, and i wanted my time to walk about. while coming down the rapids, the indians caught a white-fish for my breakfast; and certainly it was the best of breakfasts. the white-fish i found quite another thing caught on this spot, and cooked immediately, from what i had found it at chicago or mackinaw. before, i had had the bad taste to prefer the trout, despite the solemn and eloquent remonstrances of the habitués, to whom the superiority of white fish seemed a cardinal point of faith. i am here reminded that i have omitted that indispensable part of a travelling journal, the account of what we found to eat. i cannot hope to make up, by one bold stroke, all my omissions of daily record; but that i may show myself not destitute of the common feelings of humanity, i will observe that he whose affections turn in summer towards vegetables, should not come to this region, till the subject of diet be better understood; that of fruit, too, there is little yet, even at the best hotel tables; that the prairie chickens require no praise from me, and that the trout and white-fish are worthy the transparency of the lake waters. in this brief mention i by no means mean to give myself an air of superiority to the subject. if a dinner in the illinois woods, on dry bread and drier meat, with water from the stream that flowed hard by, pleased me best of all, yet at one time, when living at a house where nothing was prepared for the table fit to touch, and even the bread could not be partaken of without a headach in consequence, i learnt to understand and sympathize with the anxious tone in which fathers of families, about to take their innocent children into some scene of wild beauty, ask first of all, "is there a good table?" i shall ask just so in future. only those whom the powers have furnished small travelling cases of ambrosia, can take exercise all day, and be happy without even bread morning or night. our voyage back was all pleasure. it was the fairest day. i saw the river, the islands, the clouds to the greatest advantage. on board was an old man, an illinois farmer, whom i found a most agreeable companion. he had just been with his son, and eleven other young men, on an exploring expedition to the shores of lake superior. he was the only old man of the party, but he had enjoyed, most of any, the journey. he had been the counsellor and playmate, too, of the young ones. he was one of those parents,--why so rare?--who understand and live a new life in that of their children, instead of wasting time and young happiness in trying to make them conform to an object and standard of their own. the character and history of each child may be a new and poetic experience to the parent, if he will let it. our farmer was domestic, judicious, solid; the son, inventive, enterprising, superficial, full of follies, full of resources, always liable to failure, sure to rise above it. the father conformed to, and learnt from, a character he could not change, and won the sweet from the bitter. his account of his life at home, and of his late adventures among the indians, was very amusing, but i want talent to write it down. i have not heard the slang of these people intimately enough. there is a good book about indiana, called the new purchase, written by a person who knows the people of the country well enough to describe them in their own way. it is not witty, but penetrating, valuable for its practical wisdom and good-humored fun. [illustration: mackinaw beach] there were many sportsman stories told, too, by those from illinois and wisconsin. i do not retain any of these well enough, nor any that i heard earlier, to write them down, though they always interested me from bringing wild, natural scenes before the mind. it is pleasant for the sportsman to be in countries so alive with game; yet it is so plenty that one would think shooting pigeons or grouse would seem more like slaughter, than the excitement of skill to a good sportsman. hunting the deer is full of adventure, and needs only a scrope to describe it to invest the western woods with _historic_ associations. how pleasant it was to sit and hear rough men tell pieces out of their own common lives, in place of the frippery talk of some fine circle with its conventional sentiment, and timid, second-hand criticism. free blew the wind, and boldly flowed the stream, named for mary mother mild. a fine thunder shower came on in the afternoon. it cleared at sunset, just as we came in sight of beautiful mackinaw, over which a rainbow bent in promise of peace. i have always wondered, in reading travels, at the childish joy travellers felt at meeting people they knew, and their sense of loneliness when they did not, in places where there was everything new to occupy the attention. so childish, i thought, always to be longing for the new in the old, and the old in the new. yet just such sadness i felt, when i looked on the island, glittering in the sunset, canopied by the rainbow, and thought no friend would welcome me there; just such childish joy i felt, to see unexpectedly on the landing, the face of one whom i called friend. the remaining two or three days were delightfully spent, in walking or boating, or sitting at the window to see the indians go. this was not quite so pleasant as their coming in, though accomplished with the same rapidity; a family not taking half an hour to prepare for departure, and the departing canoe a beautiful object. but they left behind, on all the shore, the blemishes of their stay--old rags, dried boughs, fragments of food, the marks of their fires. nature likes to cover up and gloss over spots and scars, but it would take her some time to restore that beach to the state it was in before they came. s. and i had a mind for a canoe excursion, and we asked one of the traders to engage us two good indians, that would not only take us out, but be sure and bring us back, as we could not hold converse with them. two others offered their aid, beside the chief's son, a fine looking youth of about sixteen, richly dressed in blue broadcloth, scarlet sash and leggins, with a scarf of brighter red than the rest, tied around his head, its ends falling gracefully on one shoulder. they thought it, apparently, fine amusement to be attending two white women; they carried us into the path of the steamboat, which was going out, and paddled with all their force,--rather too fast, indeed, for there was something of a swell on the lake, and they sometimes threw water into the canoe. however, it flew over the waves, light as a sea-gull. they would say, "pull away," and "ver' warm," and, after these words, would laugh gaily. they enjoyed the hour, i believe, as much as we. the house where we lived belonged to the widow of a french trader, an indian by birth, and wearing the dress of her country. she spoke french fluently, and was very ladylike in her manners. she is a great character among them. they were all the time coming to pay her homage, or to get her aid and advice; for she is, i am told, a shrewd woman of business. my companion carried about her sketch-book with her, and the indians were interested when they saw her using her pencil, though less so than about the sun-shade. this lady of the tribe wanted to borrow the sketches of the beach, with its lodges and wild groups, "to show to the _savages_," she said. of the practical ability of the indian women, a good specimen is given by mckenney, in an amusing story of one who went to washington, and acted her part there in the "first circles," with a tact and sustained dissimulation worthy of cagliostro. she seemed to have a thorough love of intrigue for its own sake, and much dramatic talent. like the chiefs of her nation, when on an expedition among the foe, whether for revenge or profit, no impulses of vanity or wayside seductions had power to turn her aside from carrying out her plan as she had originally projected it. although i have little to tell, i feel that i have learnt a great deal of the indians, from observing them even in this broken and degraded condition. there is a language of eye and motion which cannot be put into words, and which teaches what words never can. i feel acquainted with the soul of this race; i read its nobler thought in their defaced figures. there _was_ a greatness, unique and precious, which he who does not feel will never duly appreciate the majesty of nature in this american continent. i have mentioned that the indian orator, who addressed the agents on this occasion, said, the difference between the white man and the red man is this: "the white man no sooner came here, than he thought of preparing the way for his posterity; the red man never thought of this." i was assured this was exactly his phrase; and it defines the true difference. we get the better because we do "look before and after." but, from the same cause, we "pine for what is not." the red man, when happy, was thoroughly happy; when good, was simply good. he needed the medal, to let him know that he _was_ good. these evenings we were happy, looking over the old-fashioned garden, over the beach, over the waters and pretty island opposite, beneath the growing moon; we did not stay to see it full at mackinaw. at two o'clock, one night, or rather morning, the great western came snorting in, and we must go; and mackinaw, and all the north-west summer, is now to me no more than picture and dream;-- "a dream within a dream." these last days at mackinaw have been pleasanter than the "lonesome" nine, for i have recovered the companion with whom i set out from the east, one who sees all, prizes all, enjoys much, interrupts never. at detroit we stopped for half a day. this place is famous in our history, and the unjust anger at its surrender is still expressed by almost every one who passes there. i had always shared the common feeling on this subject; for the indignation at a disgrace to our arms that seemed so unnecessary, has been handed down from father to child, and few of us have taken the pains to ascertain where the blame lay. but now, upon the spot, having read all the testimony, i felt convinced that it should rest solely with the government, which, by neglecting to sustain general hull, as he had a right to expect they would, compelled him to take this step, or sacrifice many lives, and of the defenceless inhabitants, not of soldiers, to the cruelty of a savage foe, for the sake of his reputation. i am a woman, and unlearned in such affairs; but, to a person with common sense and good eyesight, it is clear, when viewing the location, that, under the circumstances, he had no prospect of successful defence, and that to attempt it would have been an act of vanity, not valor. i feel that i am not biased in this judgment by my personal relations, for i have always heard both sides, and, though my feelings had been moved by the picture of the old man sitting down, in the midst of his children, to a retired and despoiled old age, after a life of honor and happy intercourse with the public, yet tranquil, always secure that justice must be done at last, i supposed, like others, that he deceived himself, and deserved to pay the penalty for failure to the responsibility he had undertaken. now on the spot, i change, and believe the country at large must, ere long, change from this opinion. and i wish to add my testimony, however trifling its weight, before it be drowned in the voice of general assent, that i may do some justice to the feelings which possessed me here and now. a noble boat, the wisconsin, was to be launched this afternoon, the whole town was out in many-colored array, the band playing. our boat swept round to a good position, and all was ready but--the wisconsin, which could not be made to stir. this was quite a disappointment. it would have been an imposing sight. in the boat many signs admonished that we were floating eastward. a shabbily dressed phrenologist laid his hand on every head which would bend, with half-conceited, half-sheepish expression, to the trial of his skill. knots of people gathered here and there to discuss points of theology. a bereaved lover was seeking religious consolation in--butler's analogy, which he had purchased for that purpose. however, he did not turn over many pages before his attention was drawn aside by the gay glances of certain damsels that came on board at detroit, and, though butler might afterwards be seen sticking from his pocket, it had not weight to impede him from many a feat of lightness and liveliness. i doubt if it went with him from the boat. some there were, even, discussing the doctrines of fourier. it seemed pity they were not going to, rather than from, the rich and free country where it would be so much easier, than with us, to try the great experiment of voluntary association, and show, beyond a doubt, that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," a maxim of the "wisdom of nations," which has proved of little practical efficacy as yet. better to stop before landing at buffalo, while i have yet the advantage over some of my readers. * * * * * the book to the reader who opens, as american readers often do, at the end, with doggerel submission. to see your cousin in her country home, if at the time of blackberries you come, "welcome, my friends," she cries with ready glee, "the fruit is ripened, and the paths are free. but, madam, you will tear that handsome gown; the little boy be sure to tumble down; and, in the thickets where they ripen best, the matted ivy, too, its bower has drest. and then, the thorns your hands are sure to rend, unless with heavy gloves you will defend; amid most thorns the sweetest roses blow, amid most thorns the sweetest berries grow." if, undeterred, you to the fields must go, you tear your dresses and you scratch your hands; but, in the places where the berries grow, a sweeter fruit the ready sense commands, of wild, gay feelings, fancies springing sweet-- of bird-like pleasures, fluttering and fleet. another year, you cannot go yourself, to win the berries from the thickets wild, and housewife skill, instead, has filled the shelf with blackberry jam, "by best receipts compiled,-- not made with country sugar, for too strong the flavors that to maple juice belong; but foreign sugar, nicely mixed 'to suit the taste,' spoils not the fragrance of the fruit." "'tis pretty good," half-tasting, you reply, "i scarce should know it from fresh blackberry. but the best pleasure such a fruit can yield, is to be gathered in the open field; if only as an article of food, cherry or crab-apple are quite as good; and, for occasions of festivity, west india sweetmeats you had better buy." thus, such a dish of homely sweets as these in neither way may chance the taste to please. yet try a little with the evening-bread; bring a good needle for the spool of thread; take fact with fiction, silver with the lead, and, at the mint, you can get gold instead; in fine, read me, even as you would be read. presidential edition the winning of the west by theodore roosevelt volume four louisiana and the northwest - with map this book is dedicated, with his permission to francis parkman to whom americans who feel a pride in the pioneer history of their country are so greatly indebted preface to fourth volume. this volume covers the period which opened with the checkered but finally successful war waged by the united states government against the northwestern indians, and closed with the acquisition and exploration of the vast region that lay beyond the mississippi. it was during this period that the west rose to real power in the union. the boundaries of the old west were at last made certain, and the new west, the far west, the country between the mississippi and the pacific, was added to the national domain. the steady stream of incoming settlers broadened and deepened year by year; kentucky, tennessee, and ohio became states, louisiana, indiana, and mississippi territories. the population in the newly settled regions increased with a rapidity hitherto unexampled; and this rapidity, alike in growth of population and in territorial expansion, gave the west full weight in the national councils. the victorious campaigns of wayne in the north, and the innumerable obscure forays and reprisals of the tennesseeans and georgians in the south, so cowed the indians, that they all, north and south alike, made peace; the first peace the border had known for fifty years. at the same time the treaties of jay and pinckney gave us in fact the boundaries which the peace of had only given us in name. the execution of these treaties put an end in the north to the intrigues of the british, who had stirred the indians to hostility against the americans; and in the south to the far more treacherous intrigues of the spaniards, who showed astounding duplicity, and whose intrigues extended not only to the indians but also to the baser separatist leaders among the westerners themselves. the cession of louisiana followed. its true history is to be found, not in the doings of the diplomats who determined merely the terms upon which it was made, but in the western growth of the people of the united states from to , which made it inevitable. the men who settled and peopled the western wilderness were the men who won louisiana; for it was surrendered by france merely because it was impossible to hold it against the american advance. jefferson, through his agents at paris, asked only for new orleans; but napoleon thrust upon him the great west, because napoleon saw, what the american statesmen and diplomats did not see, but what the westerners felt; for he saw that no european power could hold the country beyond the mississippi when the americans had made good their foothold upon the hither bank. it remained to explore the unknown land; and this task fell, not to mere wild hunters, such as those who had first penetrated the wooded wilderness beyond the alleghanies, but to officers of the regular army, who obeyed the orders of the national government. lewis, clark, and pike were the pioneers in the exploration of the vast territory the united states had just gained. the names of the indian fighters, the treaty-makers, the wilderness wanderers, who took the lead in winning and exploring the west, are memorable. more memorable still are the lives and deeds of the settler folk for whom they fought and toiled; for the feats of the leaders were rendered possible only by the lusty and vigorous growth of the young commonwealths built up by the throng of westward-pushing pioneers. the raw, strenuous, eager social life of these early dwellers on the western waters must be studied before it is possible to understand the conditions that determined the continual westward extension of the frontier. tennessee, during the years immediately preceding her admission to statehood, is especially well worth study, both as a typical frontier community, and because of the opportunity afforded to examine in detail the causes and course of the indian wars. in this volume i have made use of the material to which reference was made in the first; beside the american state papers, i have drawn on the canadian archives, the draper collection, including especially the papers from the spanish archives, the robertson mss., and the clay mss. for hitherto unused matter. i have derived much assistance from the various studies and monographs on special phases of western history; i refer to each in its proper place. i regret that mr. stephen b. weeks' valuable study of the martin family did not appear in time for me to use it while writing about the little state of franklin, in my third volume. theodore roosevelt. sagamore hill, long island, _may_, . contents. chapter i. st. clair's defeat, ii. mad anthony wayne; and the fight of the fallen timbers, - iii. tennessee becomes a state, - iv. intrigues and land speculations--the treaties of jay and pinckney, - . v. the men of the western waters, - vi. the purchase of louisiana; and burr's conspiracy, - vii. the explorers of the far west, - . appendix index [illustration: map showing the first explorations of the great west. based on a map by g.p. putnam's sons, new york and london.] the winning of the west. chapter i. st. clair's defeat, . the westward march of the backwoodsman. the backwoods folk, the stark hunters and tree-fellers, and the war-worn regulars who fought beside them in the forest, pushed ever westward the frontier of the republic. year after year each group of rough settlers and rough soldiers wrought its part in the great epic of wilderness conquest. the people that for one or more generations finds its allotted task in the conquest of a continent, has before it the possibility of splendid victory, and the certainty of incredible toil, suffering, and hardship. the opportunity is great indeed; but the chance of disaster is even greater. success is for a mighty race, in its vigorous and masterful prime. it is an opportunity such as is offered to an army by a struggle against a powerful foe; only by great effort can defeat be avoided, but triumph means lasting honor and renown. as it is in the battle, so it is in the infinitely greater contests where the fields of fight are continents, and the ages form the measure of time. in actual life the victors win in spite of brutal blunders and repeated checks. the grimness and harshness of frontier life. watched nearby, while the fight stamps to and fro, the doers and the deeds stand out naked and ugly. we see all too clearly the blood and sweat, the craft and dunning and blind luck, the raw cruelty and stupidity, the shortcomings of heart and hand, the mad abuse of victory. strands of meanness and cowardice are everywhere shot through the warp of lofty and generous daring. there are failures bitter and shameful side by side with feats of triumphant prowess. of those who venture in the contest some achieve success; others strive feebly and fail ignobly. only a mighty race fit for the trial. if a race is weak, if it is lacking in the physical and moral traits which go to the makeup of a conquering people, it cannot succeed. for three hundred years the portuguese possessed footholds in south africa; but they left to the english and dutch the task of building free communities able to hold in fact as well as in name the country south of the zambesi. temperate south america is as fertile and healthy for the white man as temperate north america, and is so much less in extent as to offer a far simpler problem of conquest and settlement; yet the spaniard, who came to the plata two centuries before the american backwoodsman reached the mississippi, scarcely made as much progress in a decade as his northern rival did in a year. the task must be given the race just at the time when it is ready for the undertaking. the whole future of the world would have been changed had the period of trans-oceanic expansion among the nations of europe begun at a time when the scandinavians or germans were foremost in sea-trade and sea-war; if it had begun when the fleets of the norsemen at the threatened all coasts, or when the hanseatic league was in its prime. no race can succeed save at the right moment. but in the actual event the days of scandinavian supremacy at sea resulted in no spread of the scandinavian tongue or culture; and the temporary maritime prosperity of the north german cities bore no permanent fruit of conquest for the german people. the only nations that profited by the expansion beyond the seas, and that built up in alien continents vast commonwealths with the law, the language, the creed, and the culture, no less than the blood, of the parent stocks, were those that during the centuries of expansion, possessed power on the ocean,--spain, portugal, france, holland, and, above all, england. interest of the race and the individual opposed. even a strong race, in its prime, and given the task at the right moment, usually fails to perform it; for at the moment the immense importance of the opportunity is hardly ever understood, while the selfish interests of the individual and the generation are opposed to the interest of the race as a whole. only the most far-seeing and high-minded statesmen can grasp the real weight, from the race-standpoint, of the possibilities which to the men of their day seem so trivial. the conquest and settlement rarely take place save under seldom-occurring conditions which happen to bring about identity of interest between the individual and the race. dutch seamen knew the coasts of australia and new zealand generations before they were settled by the english, and had the people of holland willed to take possession of them, the dutch would now be one of the leading races of mankind; but they preferred the immediate gains to be derived from the ownership of the trade with the spice islands; and so for the unimportant over-lordship of a few patches of tropical soil, they bartered the chance of building a giant dutch republic in the south seas. had the swedish successors of gustavus adolphus devoted their energies to colonization in america, instead of squabbling with slavs and germans for one or two wretched baltic provinces, they could undoubtedly have built up in the new world a sweden tenfold greater than that in the old. if france had sent to her possessions in america as many colonists as she sent soldiers to war for petty townships in germany and italy, the french would now be masters of half the territory north of the rio grande. england alone, because of a combination of causes, was able to use aright the chances given her for the conquest and settlement of the world's waste spaces; and in consequence the english-speaking peoples now have before them a future more important than that of all the continental european peoples combined. each race indifferent to its own future. it is natural that most nations should be thus blind to the possibilities of the future. few indeed are the men who can look a score of years into the future, and fewer still those who will make great sacrifices for the real, not the fancied, good of their children's children; but in questions of race supremacy the look-ahead should be for centuries rather than decades, and the self-sacrifice of the individual must be for the good not of the next generation but perchance of the fourth or fifth in line of descent. the frenchman and the hollander of the seventeenth century could not even dimly see the possibilities that loomed vast and vague in the colonization of america and australia; they did not have, and it was hardly possible that they should have, the remotest idea that it would be well for them to surrender, one the glory gained by his german conquests, the other the riches reaped from his east indian trade, in order that three hundred years later huge unknown continents should be filled with french and dutch commonwealths. no nation, taken as a whole, can ever see so far into the future; no nation, even if it could see such a future, would ever sacrifice so much to win it. hitherto each race in turn has expanded only because the interests of a certain number of individuals of many succeeding generations have made them active and vigorous agents in the work of expansion. this indifference as marked in new as in old communities. this indifference on the part of individuals to the growth of the race is often nearly as marked in new as in old communities, although the very existence of these new communities depends upon that growth. it is strange to see now the new settlers in the new land tend to turn their faces, not towards the world before them, but towards the world they have left behind. many of them, perhaps most, wish rather to take parts in the struggles of the old civilized powers, than to do their share in laying the obscure but gigantic foundations of the empires of the future. the new englander who was not personally interested in the lands beyond the alleghanies often felt indifferent or hostile to the growth of the trans-montane america; and in their turn these over-mountain men, these kentuckians and tennesseans, were concerned to obtain a port at the mouth of the mississippi rather than the right to move westward to the pacific. there were more men in the new communities than in the old who saw, however imperfectly, the grandeur of the opportunity and of the race-destiny: but there were always very many who did their share in working out their destiny grudgingly and under protest. the race grows because its interests happen to be identical with those of the individual. the race as a whole, in its old homes and its new, learns the lesson with such difficulty that it can scarcely be said to be learnt at all until success or interests failure has done away with the need of learning it. but in the case of our own people it has fortunately happened that the concurrence of the interests of the individual and of the whole organism has been normal throughout most of its history. the united states and great britain in . the attitude of the united states and great britain, as they faced one another in the western wilderness at the beginning of the year , is but another illustration of the truth of this fact. the british held the lake posts, and more or less actively supported the indians in their efforts to bar the americans from the northwest. nominally, they held the posts because the americans had themselves left unfulfilled some of the conditions of the treaty of peace; but this was felt not to be the real reason, and the americans loudly protested that their conduct was due to sheer hatred of the young republic. the explanation was simpler. the british had no far-reaching design to prevent the spread and growth of the english-speaking people on the american continent. they cared nothing, one way or the other, for that spread and growth, and it is unlikely that they wasted a moment's thought on the ultimate future of the race. all that they desired was to preserve the very valuable fur-trade of the region round the great lakes for their own benefit. they were acting from the motives of self-interest that usually control nations; and it never entered their heads to balance against these immediate interests the future of a nation many of whose members were to them mere foreigners. reluctance of the americans to enter into war with the indians. the majority of the americans, on their side, were exceedingly loth to enter into aggressive war with the indians: but were reluctantly forced into the contest by the necessity of supporting the backwoodsmen. the frontier was pushed westward, not because the leading statesmen of america, or the bulk of the american people, foresaw the continental greatness of this country or strove for such greatness; but because the bordermen of the west, and the adventurous land-speculators of the east, were personally interested in acquiring new territory, and because, against their will, the governmental representatives of the nation were finally forced to make the interests of the westerners their own. the people of the seaboard, the leaders of opinion in the coast towns and old-settled districts, were inclined to look eastward, rather than westward. they were interested in the quarrels of the old-world nations; they were immediately concerned in the rights of the fisheries they jealously shared with england, or the trade they sought to secure with spain. they did not covet the indian lands. they had never heard of the rocky mountains--nobody had as yet,--they cared as little for the missouri as for the congo, and they thought of the pacific slope as a savage country, only to be reached by an ocean voyage longer than the voyage to india. they believed that they were entitled, under the treaty, to the country between the alleghanies and the great lakes; but they were quite content to see the indians remain in actual occupancy, and they had no desire to spend men and money in driving them out. nevertheless, they were even less disposed to proceed to extremities against their own people, who in very fact were driving out the indians; and this was the only alternative, for in the end they had to side with one or the other set of combatants. the governmental authorities of the newly created republic shared these feelings. they felt no hunger for the indian lands; they felt no desire to stretch their boundaries and thereby add to their already heavy burdens and responsibilities. they wished to do strict justice to the indians; the treaties they held with them were carried on with scrupulous fairness and were honorably lived up to by the united states officials. the government especially averse to war. they strove to keep peace, and made many efforts to persuade the frontiersmen to observe the indian boundary lines, and not to intrude on the territory in dispute; and they were quite unable to foresee the rapidity of the nation's westward growth. like the people of the eastern seaboard, the men high in governmental authority were apt to look upon the frontiersmen with feelings dangerously akin to dislike and suspicion. nor were these feelings wholly unjustifiable. the men who settle in a new country, and begin subduing the wilderness, plunge back into the very conditions from which the race has raised itself by the slow toil of ages. inevitable shortcomings of the frontiersmen. the conditions cannot but tell upon them. inevitably, and for more than one lifetime--perhaps for several generations--they tend to retrograde, instead of advancing. they drop away from the standard which highly civilized nations have reached. as with harsh and dangerous labor they bring the new land up towards the level of the old, they themselves partly revert to their ancestral conditions; they sink back towards the state of their ages-dead barbarian forefathers. few observers can see beyond this temporary retrogression into the future for which it is a preparation. there is small cause for wonder in the fact that so many of the leaders of eastern thought looked with coldness upon the effort of the westerners to push north of the ohio. the westerners solved the problem. yet it was these western frontiersmen who were the real and vital factors in the solution of the problems which so annoyed the british monarchy and the american republic. they eagerly craved the indian lands; they would not be denied entrance to the thinly-peopled territory wherein they intended to make homes for themselves and their children. rough, masterful, lawless, they were neither daunted by the prowess of the red warriors whose wrath they braved, nor awed by the displeasure of the government whose solemn engagements they violated. the enormous extent of the frontier dividing the white settler from the savage, and the tangled inaccessibility of the country in which it everywhere lay, rendered it as difficult for the national authorities to control the frontiersmen as it was to chastise the indians. why the east backed the west. if the separation of interests between the thickly settled east and the sparsely settled west had been complete it may be that the east would have refused outright to support the west, in which case the advance would have been very slow and halting. but the separation was not complete. the frontiersmen were numerically important in some of the states, as in virginia, georgia, and even pennsylvania and new york; and under a democratic system of government this meant that these states were more or less responsive to their demands. it was greatly to the interest of the frontiersmen that their demands should be gratified, while other citizens had no very concrete concern in the matter one way or the other. in addition to this, and even more important, was the fact that there were large classes of the population everywhere who felt much sense of identity with the frontiersmen, and sympathized with them. the fathers or grandfathers of these peoples had themselves been frontiersmen, and they were still under the influences of the traditions which told of a constant march westward through the vast forests, and a no less constant warfare with a hostile savagery. moreover, in many of the communities there were people whose kinsmen or friends had gone to the border; and the welfare of these adventurers was a matter of more or less interest to those who had stayed behind. finally, and most important of all, though the nation might be lukewarm originally, and might wish to prevent the settlers from trespassing on the indian lands or entering into an indian war, yet when the war had become of real moment and when victory was doubtful, the national power was sure to be used in favor of the hard-pressed pioneers. the government ultimately supports the frontiersmen. at first the authorities at the national capital would blame the whites, and try to temporize and make new treaties, or even threaten to drive back the settlers with a strong hand; but when the ravages of the indians had become serious, when the bloody details were sent to homes in every part of the union by letter after letter from the border, when the little newspapers began to publish accounts of the worst atrocities, when the county lieutenants of the frontier counties were clamoring for help, when the congressmen from the frontier districts were appealing to congress, and the governors of the states whose frontiers were molested were appealing to the president--then the feeling of race and national kinship rose, and the government no longer hesitated to support in every way the hard-pressed wilderness vanguard of the american people. the situation in . the situation had reached this point by the year . for seven years the federal authorities had been vainly endeavoring to make some final settlement of the question by entering into treaties with the northwestern and southwestern tribes. in the earlier treaties the delegates from the continental congress asserted that the united states were invested with the fee of all the land claimed by the indians. in the later treaties the indian proprietorship of the lands was conceded. [footnote: american state papers, vol. iv., indian affairs, i., p. . letter of h. knox, june , . this is the lettering on the back of the volume, and for convenience it will be used in referring to it.] this concession at the time seemed important to the whites; but the indians probably never understood that there had been any change of attitude; nor did it make any practical difference, for, whatever the theory might be, the lands had eventually to be won, partly by whipping the savages in fight, partly by making it better worth their while to remain at peace than to go to war. knox and the treaties. the federal officials under whose authority these treaties were made had no idea of the complexity of the problem. in the secretary of war, the new englander knox, solemnly reported to the president that, if the treaties were only observed and the indians conciliated, they would become attached to the united states, and the expense of managing them, for the next half-century, would be only some fifteen thousand dollars a year. [footnote: american state papers, vol. iv., indian affairs, i., p. .] he probably represented, not unfairly, the ordinary eastern view of the matter. he had not the slightest idea of the rate at which the settlements were increasing, though he expected that tracts of indian territory would from time to time be acquired. he made no allowance for a growth so rapid that within the half-century six or eight populous states were to stand within the indian-owned wilderness of his day. he utterly failed to grasp the central features of the situation, which were that the settlers needed the land, and were bound to have it, within a few years; and that the indians would not give it up, under no matter what treaty, without an appeal to arms. treaties with the southern indians. in the south the united states commissioners, in endeavoring to conclude treaties with the creeks and cherokees, had been continually hampered by the attitude of georgia and the franklin frontiersmen. the franklin men made war and peace with the cherokees just as they chose, and utterly refused to be bound by the treaties concluded on behalf of the united states. georgia played the same part with regard to the creeks. the georgian authorities paid no heed whatever to the desires of congress, and negotiated on their own account a series of treaties with the creeks at augusta, galphinton, and shoulder-bone, in , , and . but these treaties amounted to nothing, for nobody could tell exactly which towns or tribes owned a given tract of land, or what individuals were competent to speak for the indians as a whole; the creeks and cherokees went through the form of surrendering the same territory on the oconee. [footnote: american state papers, iv., . letter of knox, july , .] the georgians knew that the indians with whom they treated had no power to surrender the lands; but all they wished was some shadowy color of title, that might serve as an excuse for their seizing the coveted territory. on the other hand the creeks, loudly though they declaimed against the methods of the georgian treaty-makers, themselves shamelessly disregarded the solemn engagements which their authorized representatives made with the united states. moreover their murderous forays on the georgian settlers were often as unprovoked as were the aggressions of the brutal georgia borderers. mutual wrongs of the creeks and the borderers. the creeks were prompt to seize every advantage given by the impossibility of defining the rights of the various component parts of their loosely knit confederacy. they claimed or disclaimed responsibility as best suited their plans for the moment. when at galphinton two of the creek towns signed away a large tract of territory, mcgillivray, the famous half-breed, and the other chiefs, loudly protested that the land belonged to the whole confederacy, and that the separate towns could do nothing save by consent of all. but in may, , a party of creeks from the upper towns made an unprovoked foray into georgia, killed two settlers, and carried off a negro and fourteen horses; the militia who followed them attacked the first indians they fell in with, who happened to be from the lower towns, and killed twelve; whereupon the same chiefs disavowed all responsibility for the deeds of the upper town warriors, and demanded the immediate surrender of the militia who had killed the lower town people--to the huge indignation of the governor of georgia. [footnote: american state papers, vol. iv., , , . letter of governor matthews, august , , etc.] difficulties of the federal treaty-makers. the united states commissioners were angered by the lawless greed with which the georgians grasped at the indian lands; and they soon found that though the georgians were always ready to clamor for help from the united states against the indians, in the event of hostilities, they were equally prompt to defy the united states authorities if the latter strove to obtain justice for the indians, or if the treaties concluded by the federal and the state authorities seemed likely to conflict. [footnote: _do_., p. . letter of benjamin hawkins and andrew pickens, december , .] the commissioners were at first much impressed by the letters sent them by mcgillivray, and the "talks" they received through the scotch, french, and english half-breed interpreters [footnote: _do_., _e.g._, the letter of galphin and douzeazeaux, june , .] from the outlandishly-named muscogee chiefs--the hallowing king of the war towns, the fat king of the white or peace towns, the white bird king, the mad dog king, and many more. but they soon found that the creeks were quite as much to blame as the georgians, and were playing fast and loose with the united states, promising to enter into treaties, and then refusing to attend; their flagrant and unprovoked breaches of faith causing intense anger and mortification to the commissioners, whose patient efforts to serve them were so ill rewarded. [footnote: american state papers, vol. iv., p. , september , .] moreover, to offset the indian complaints of lands taken from them under fraudulent treaties, the georgians submitted lists [footnote: _do_., p. , october , .] of hundreds of whites and blacks killed, wounded, or captured, and of thousands of horses, horned cattle, and hogs butchered or driven off by indian war parties. the puzzled commissioners having at first been inclined to place the blame of the failure of peace negotiations on the georgians, next shifted the responsibility to mcgillivray, reporting that the creeks were strongly in favor of peace. the event proved that they were in error; for after mcgillivray and his fellow chiefs had come to new york, in the summer of , and concluded a solemn treaty of peace, the indians whom they nominally represented refused to be bound by it in any way, and continued without a change their war of rapine and murder. the indians as much to blame as the whites. in truth the red men were as little disposed as the white to accept a peace on any terms that were possible. the secretary of war, who knew nothing of indians by actual contact, wrote that it would be indeed pleasing "to a philosophic mind to reflect that, instead of exterminating a part of the human race by our modes of population ... we had imparted our knowledge of cultivation and the arts to the aboriginals of the country," thus preserving and civilizing them [footnote: american state papers, vol. iv., pp. , , , , , , etc.]; and the public men who represented districts remote from the frontier shared these views of large, though vague, beneficence. but neither the white frontiersmen nor their red antagonists possessed "philosophic minds." they represented two stages of progress, ages apart; and it would have needed many centuries to bring the lower to the level of the higher. both sides recognized the fact that their interests were incompatible; and that the question of their clashing rights had to be settled by the strong hand. the trouble most serious in the north. in the northwest matters culminated sooner than in the southwest. the georgians, and the settlers along the tennessee and cumberland, were harassed rather than seriously menaced by the creek war parties; but in the north the more dangerous indians of the miami, the wabash, and the lakes gathered in bodies so large as fairly to deserve the name of armies. moreover, the pressure of the white advance was far heavier in the north. the pioneers who settled in the ohio basin were many times as numerous as those who settled on the lands west of the oconee and north of the cumberland, and were fed from states much more populous. the advance was stronger, the resistance more desperate; naturally the open break occurred where the strain was most intense. there was fierce border warfare in the south. in the north there were regular campaigns carried on, and pitched battles fought, between federal armies as large as those commanded by washington at trenton or greene at eutaw springs, and bodies of indian warriors more numerous than had ever yet appeared on any single field. the united states government driven to war. the newly created government of the united states was very reluctant to make formal war on the northwestern indians. not only were president washington and the national congress honorably desirous of peace, but they were hampered for funds, and dreaded any extra expense. nevertheless they were forced into war. throughout the years and an increasing volume of appeals for help came from the frontier countries. the governor of the northwestern territory, the brigadier-general of the troops on the ohio, the members of the kentucky convention, and all the county lieutenants of kentucky, the lieutenants of the frontier counties of virginia proper, the representatives from the counties, the field officers of the different districts, the general assembly of virginia, all sent bitter complaints and long catalogues of injuries to the president, the secretary of war, and the two houses of congress; complaints which were redoubled after harmar's failure. with heavy hearts the national authorities prepared for war. [footnote: american state papers, iv., pp. , , , and iii.] raid on the marietta settlements. their decision was justified by the redoubled fury of the indian raids during the early part of . among others the settlements near marietta were attacked, a day or two after the new year began, in bitter winter weather. a dozen persons, including a woman and two children, were killed, and five men were taken prisoners. the new england settlers, though brave and hardy, were unused to indian warfare. they were taken completely by surprise, and made no effective resistance; the only indian hurt was wounded with a hatchet by the wife of a frontier hunter in the employ of the company. [footnote: "the american pioneer," ii., . american state papers, iv., .] there were some twenty-five indians in the attacking party; they were wyandots and delawares, who had been mixing on friendly terms with the settlers throughout the preceding summer, and so knew how best to deliver the assault. the settlers had not only treated these indians with much kindness, but had never wronged any of the red race; and had been lulled into a foolish feeling of security by the apparent good-will of the treacherous foes. the assault was made in the twilight, on the nd of january, the indians crossing the frozen muskingum and stealthily approaching a block-house and two or three cabins. the inmates were frying meat for supper, and did not suspect harm, offering food to the indians; but the latter, once they were within doors, dropped the garb of friendliness, and shot or tomahawked all save a couple of men who escaped and the five who were made prisoners. the captives were all taken to the miami, or detroit, and as usual were treated with much kindness and humanity by the british officers and traders with whom they came in contact. mckee, the british indian agent, who was always ready to incite the savages to war against the americans as a nation, but who was quite as ready to treat them kindly as individuals, ransomed one prisoner; the latter went to his massachusetts home to raise the amount of his ransom, and returned to detroit to refund it to his generous rescuer. another prisoner was ransomed by a detroit trader, and worked out his ransom in detroit itself. yet another was redeemed from captivity by the famous iroquois chief brant, who was ever a terrible and implacable foe, but a great-hearted and kindly victor. the fourth prisoner died; while the indians took so great a liking to the fifth that they would not let him go, but adopted him into the tribe, made him dress as they did, and, in a spirit of pure friendliness, pierced his ears and nose. after wayne's treaty he was released, and returned to marietta to work at his trade as a stone mason, his bored nose and slit ears serving as mementos of his captivity. cincinnati also suffers. the squalid little town of cincinnati also suffered from the indian war parties in the spring of this year, [footnote: "american pioneer," ii., .] several of the townsmen being killed by the savages, who grew so bold that they lurked through the streets at nights, and lay in ambush in the gardens where the garrison of fort washington raised their vegetables. one of the indian attacks, made upon a little palisaded "station" which had been founded by a man named dunlop, some seventeen miles from cincinnati, was noteworthy because of an act of not uncommon cruelty by the indians. in the station there were some regulars. aided by the settlers they beat back their foes; whereupon the enraged savages brought one of their prisoners within ear-shot of the walls and tortured him to death. the torture began at midnight, and the screams of the wretched victim were heard until daylight. [footnote: mcbride, i., .] difficulties discriminating between hostile and friendly indians. until this year the war was not general. one of the most bewildering problems to be solved by the federal officers on the ohio was to find out which tribes were friendly and which hostile. many of the inveterate enemies of the americans were as forward in professions of friendship as the peaceful indians, were just as apt to be found at the treaties, or lounging about the settlements; and this widespread treachery and deceit made the task of the army officers puzzling to a degree. as for the frontiersmen, who had no means whatever of telling a hostile from a friendly tribe, they followed their usual custom and lumped all the indians, good and bad, together; for which they could hardly be blamed. even st. clair, who had small sympathy with the backwoodsmen, acknowledged [footnote: american state papers, iv., .] that they could not and ought not to submit patiently to the cruelties and depredations of the savages; "they are in the habit of retaliation, perhaps without attending precisely to the nations from which the injuries are received," said he. a long course of such aggressions and retaliations resulted, by the year , in all the northwestern indians going on the war-path. the hostile tribes had murdered and plundered the frontiersmen; the vengeance of the latter, as often as not, had fallen on friendly tribes; and these justly angered friendly tribes usually signalized their taking the red hatchet by some act of treacherous hostility directed against the settlers who had not molested them. treachery of the friendly delawares. in the late winter of the hitherto friendly delawares who hunted or traded along the western frontiers of pennsylvania and virginia proper took this manner of showing that they had joined the open foes of the americans. a big band of warriors spread up and down the alleghany for about forty miles, and on the th of february attacked all the outlying settlements. the indians who delivered this attack had long been on intimate terms with the alleghany settlers, who were accustomed to see them in and about their houses; and as the savages acted with seeming friendship to the last moment, they were able to take the settlers completely unawares, so that no effective resistance was made. [footnote: "american pioneer," i., ; narrative of john brickell.] some settlers were killed and some captured. among the captives was a lad named john brickell, who, though at first maltreated, and forced to run the gauntlet, was afterwards adopted into the tribe, and was not released until after wayne's victory. after his adoption, he was treated with the utmost kindness, and conceived a great liking for his captors, admiring their many good qualities, especially their courage and their kindness to their children. long afterwards he wrote down his experiences, which possess a certain value as giving, from the indian standpoint, an account of some of the incidents of the forest warfare of the day. utter untrustworthiness of the indians. the warriors who had engaged in this raid on their former friends, the settlers along the alleghany. retreated two or three days' journey into the wilderness to an appointed place, where they found their families. one of the girtys was with the indians. no sooner had the last of the warriors come in, with their scalps and prisoners, including the boy brickell, than ten of their number deliberately started back to pittsburgh, to pass themselves as friendly indians, and trade. in a fortnight they returned laden with goods of various kinds, including whiskey. some of the inhabitants, sore from disaster, suspected that these indians were only masquerading as friendly, and prepared to attack them; but one of the citizens warned them of their danger and they escaped. their effrontery was as remarkable as their treachery and duplicity. they had suddenly attacked and massacred settlers by whom they had never been harmed, and with whom they preserved an appearance of entire friendship up to the very moment of the assault. then, their hands red with the blood of their murdered friends, they came boldly into pittsburgh, among the near neighbors of these same murdered men, and stayed there several days to trade, pretending to be peaceful allies of the whites. with savages so treacherous and so ferocious it was a mere impossibility for the borderers to distinguish the hostile from the friendly, as they hit out blindly to revenge the blows that fell upon them from unknown hands. brutal though the frontiersmen often were, they never employed the systematic and deliberate bad faith which was a favorite weapon with even the best of the red tribes. the federal authorities misjudge the settlers. the people who were out of reach of the indian tomahawk, and especially the federal officers, were often unduly severe in judging the borderers for their deeds of retaliation, brickell's narrative shows that the parties of seemingly friendly indians who came in to trade were sometimes--and indeed in this year it was probable they were generally--composed of indians who were engaged in active hostilities against the settlers, and who were always watching for a chance to murder and plunder. on march th, a month after the delawares had begun their attacks, the grim backwoods captain brady, with some of his virginian rangers, fell on a party of them who had come to a block-house to trade, and killed four. the indians asserted that they were friendly, and both the federal secretary of war and the governor of pennsylvania denounced the deed, and threatened the offenders; but the frontiersmen stood by them. [footnote: state department mss., washington papers, ex. c., p. , etc. presly neville to richard butler, march , ; isaac craig to secretary of war, march , ; secretary of war to president, march , .] soon afterwards a delegation of chiefs from the seneca tribe of the iroquois arrived at fort pitt, and sent a message to the president, complaining of the murder of these alleged friendly indians. [footnote: american state papers, iv., , cornplanter and others to the president, march , .] on the very day these seneca chiefs started on their journey home another delaware war party killed nine settlers, men, women, and children, within twenty miles of fort pitt; which so enraged the people of the neighborhood that the lives of the senecas were jeopardized. the united states authorities were particularly anxious to keep at peace with the six nations, and made repeated efforts to treat with them; but the six nations stood sullenly aloof, afraid to enter openly into the struggle, and yet reluctant to make a firm peace or cede any of their lands. [footnote: state department mss., washington papers, knox to the president, april , ; american state papers, iv., pp. - , - , - , etc.] intimate relations of the british and indians. the intimate relations between the indians and the british at the lake posts continued to perplex and anger the americans. while the frontiers were being mercilessly ravaged, the same indians who were committing the ravages met in council with the british agent, alexander mckee, at the miami rapids; the council being held in this neighborhood for the special benefit of the very towns which were most hostile to the americans, and which had been partially destroyed by harmar the preceding fall. the indian war was at its height, and the murderous forays never ceased throughout the spring and summer. mckee came to miami in april, and was forced to wait nearly three months, because of the absence of the indian war parties, before the principal chiefs and headmen gathered to meet him. at last, on july st, they were all assembled; not only the shawnees, delawares, wyandots, ottawas, pottawatamies and others who had openly taken the hatchet against the americans, but also representatives of the six nations, and tribes of savages from lands so remote that they carried no guns, but warred with bows, spears, and tomahawks, and were clad in buffalo-robes instead of blankets. mckee in his speech to them did not incite them to war. on the contrary, he advised them, in guarded language, to make peace with the united states; but only upon terms consistent with their "honor and interest." he assured them that, whatever they did, he wished to know what they desired; and that the sole purpose of the british was to promote the welfare of the confederated indians. such very cautious advice was not of a kind to promote peace; and the goods furnished the savages at the council included not only cattle, corn, and tobacco, but also quantities of powder and balls. [footnote: canadian archives, mckee's speech to the indians, july , ; and francis lafontaine's account of sundries to indians.] the fur trade the prime object of the british. the chief interest of the british was to preserve the fur trade for their merchants, and it was mainly for this reason that they clung so tenaciously to the lake posts. for their purposes it was essential that the indians should remain lords of the soil. they preferred to see the savages at peace with the americans, provided that in this way they could keep their lands; but, whether through peace or war, they wished the lands to remain indian, and the americans to be barred from them. while they did not at the moment advise war, their advice to make peace was so faintly uttered, and so hedged round with conditions as to be of no weight; and they furnished the indians not only with provisions but with munitions of war. while mckee, and other british officers, were at the miami rapids, holding councils with the indians, and issuing to them goods and weapons, bands of braves were continually returning from forays against the american frontier, bringing in scalps and prisoners; and the wilder subjects of the british king, like the girtys, and some of the french from detroit, went off with the war parties on their forays. [footnote: american state papers, iv., . narrative of thomas rhea, july , . this narrative was distrusted; but it is fully borne out by mckee's letter, and the narrative of brickell. he saw brickell, whom he calls "brittle," at the miami.] the authorities at the capital of the new republic were deceived by the warmth with which the british insisted that they were striving to bring about a peace; but the frontiersmen were not deceived, and they were right in their belief that the british were really the mainstay and support of the indians in their warfare. the americans draw the sword. peace could only be won by the unsheathed sword. even the national government was reluctantly driven to this view. as all the northwestern tribes were banded in open war, it was useless to let the conflict remain a succession of raids and counter-raids. only a severe stroke, delivered by a formidable army, could cow the tribes. it was hopeless to try to deliver such a crippling blow with militia alone, and it was very difficult for the infant government to find enough money or men to equip an army composed exclusively of regulars. accordingly preparations were made for a campaign with a mixed force of regulars, special levies, and militia; and st. clair, already governor of the northwestern territory, was put in command of the army as major-general. rangers and scouts are raised. before the army was ready the federal government was obliged to take other measures for the defence of the border. small bodies of rangers were raised from among the frontier militia, being paid at the usual rate for soldiers in the army, a net sum of about two dollars a month while in service. in addition, on the repeated and urgent request of the frontiersmen, a few of the most active hunters and best woodsmen, men like brady, were enlisted as scouts, being paid six or eight times the ordinary rate. these men, because of their skill in woodcraft and their thorough knowledge of indian fighting, were beyond comparison more valuable than ordinary militia or regulars, and were prized very highly by the frontiersmen. [footnote: american state papers, iv., , jan. , .] raid of scott. besides thus organizing the local militia for defense, the president authorized the kentuckians to undertake two offensive expeditions against the wabash indians so as to prevent them from giving aid to the miami tribes, whom st. clair was to attack. both expeditions were carried on by bands of mounted volunteers, such as had followed clark on his various raids. the first was commanded by brigadier-general charles scott; colonel john hardin led his advance guard, and wilkinson was second in command. towards the end of may, scott crossed the ohio, at the head of eight hundred horse-riflemen, and marched rapidly and secretly towards the wabash towns. a mounted indian discovered the advance of the americans and gave the alarm; and so most of the indians escaped just as the kentucky riders fell on the town. but little resistance was offered by the surprised and outnumbered savages. only five americans were wounded, while of the indians thirty-two were slain, as they fought or fled, and forty-one prisoners, chiefly women and children, were brought in, either by scott himself or by his detachments under hardin and wilkinson. several towns were destroyed, and the crowing corn cut down. there were not a few french living in the town, in well-finished log-houses, which were burned with the wigwams. [footnote: american state papers, iv., , scott's report, june , .] raid of wilkinson. the second expedition was under the command of wilkinson, and consisted of over five hundred men. he marched in august, and repeated scott's feats, again burning down two or three of the towns, and destroying the goods and the crops. he lost three or four men killed or wounded, but killed ten indians and captured some thirty. [footnote: _do_., wilkinson's letter, august , .] in both expeditions the volunteers behaved well and committed no barbarous act, except that in the confusion of the actual onslaught two or three non-combatants were slain. the wabash indians were cowed and disheartened by their punishment, and in consequence gave no aid to the miami tribes; but beyond this the raids accomplished nothing, and brought no nearer the wished-for time of peace. st. clair's difficulty in organizing his campaign. meanwhile st. clair was striving vainly to hasten the preparations for his own far more formidable task. there was much delay in forwarding him the men and the provisions and munitions. congress hesitated and debated; the secretary of war, hampered by a newly created office and insufficient means, did not show to advantage in organizing the campaign, and was slow in carrying out his plans; while there was positive dereliction of duty on the part of the quartermaster, and the contractors proved both corrupt and inefficient. the army was often on short commons, lacking alike food for the men and fodder for the horses; the powder was poor, the axes useless, the tents and clothing nearly worthless; while the delays were so extraordinary that the troops did not make the final move from fort washington until mid-september. [footnote: st. clair papers, ii., , report of special committee of congress, march , .] wretched condition of st. clair's army. st. clair himself was broken in health; he was a sick, weak, elderly man, high minded, and zealous to do his duty, but totally unfit for the terrible responsibilities of such an expedition against such foes. the troops were of wretched stuff. there were two small regiments of regular infantry, the rest of the army being composed of six months' levies and of militia ordered out for this particular campaign. the pay was contemptible. each private was given three dollars a month, from which ninety cents was deducted, leaving a net payment of two dollars and ten cents a month. [footnote: american state papers, iv., , report of secy. of war, january , .] sergeants netted three dollars and sixty cents; while the lieutenants received twenty-two, the captains thirty, and the colonels sixty dollars. the mean parsimony of the nation in paying such low wages to men about to be sent on duties at once very arduous and very dangerous met its fit and natural reward. men of good bodily powers, and in the prime of life, and especially men able to do the rough work of frontier farmers, could not be hired to fight indians in unknown forests for two dollars a month. most of the recruits were from the streets and prisons of the seaboard cities. they were hurried into a campaign against peculiarly formidable foes before they had acquired the rudiments of a soldier's training, and, of course, they never even understood what woodcraft meant. [footnote: denny's journal, .] the officers were men of courage, as in the end most of them showed by dying bravely on the field of battle; but they were utterly untrained themselves, and had no time in which to train their men. under such conditions it did not need keen vision to foretell disaster. harmar had learned a bitter lesson the preceding year; he knew well what indians could do, and what raw troops could not; and he insisted with emphasis that the only possible outcome to st. clair's expedition was defeat. the troops gather at fort washington. as the raw troops straggled to pittsburgh they were shipped down the ohio to fort washington; and st. clair made the headquarters of his army at a new fort some twenty-five miles northward, which he christened fort hamilton. during september the army slowly assembled; two small regiments of regulars, two of six months' levies, a number of kentucky militia, a few cavalry, and a couple of small batteries of light guns. after wearisome delays, due mainly to the utter inefficiency of the quartermaster and contractor, the start for the indian towns was made on october the th. the army begins its march. the army trudged slowly through the deep woods and across the wet prairies, cutting out its own road, and making but five or six miles a day. it was in a wilderness which abounded with game; both deer and bear frequently ran into the very camps; and venison was a common food. [footnote: bradley mss. the journal and letters of captain daniel bradley; shown me by the courtesy of his descendants, mr. daniel b. bradley of southport, conn., and mr. arthur w. bradley of cincinnati, ohio.] on october th a halt was made to build another little fort, christened in honor of jefferson. there were further delays, caused by the wretched management of the commissariat department, and the march was not resumed until the th, the numerous sick being left in fort jefferson. then the army once more stumbled northward through the wilderness. the regulars, though mostly raw recruits, had been reduced to some kind of discipline; but the six months' levies were almost worse than the militia. [footnote: denny, october , , etc.] owing to the long delays, and to the fact that they had been enlisted at various times, their terms of service were expiring day by day; and they wished to go home, and tried to, while the militia deserted in squads and bands. those that remained were very disorderly. two who attempted to desert were hung; and another, who shot a comrade, was hung also; but even this severity in punishment failed to stop the demoralization. st. clair a broken-down man and his subordinates with such soldiers there would have been grave risk of disaster under any commander; but st. clair's leadership made the risk a certainty. there was indian sign, old and new, all through woods; and the scouts and stragglers occasionally interchanged shots with small parties of braves, and now and then lost a man, killed or captured. it was, therefore, certain that the savages knew every movement of the army, which, as it slowly neared the miami towns, was putting itself within easy striking range of the most formidable indian confederacy in the northwest. the density of the forest was such that only the utmost watchfulness could prevent the foe from approaching within arm's length unperceived. it behooved st. clair to be on his guard, and he had been warned by washington, who had never forgotten the scenes of braddock's defeat, of the danger of a surprise. but st. clair was broken down by the worry and by continued sickness; time and again it was doubtful whether he could so much as stay with the army. the second in command, major-general richard butler, was also sick most of the time; and, like st. clair, he possessed none of the qualities of leadership save courage. the whole burden fell on the adjutant-general, colonel winthrop sargent, an old revolutionary officer; without him the expedition would probably have failed in ignominy even before the indians were reached, and he showed not only cool courage but ability of a good order; yet in the actual arrangements for battle he was, of course, unable to remedy the blunders of his superiors. his shortcomings. st. clair should have covered his front and flanks for miles around with scouting parties; but he rarely sent any out, and, thanks to letting the management of those that did go devolve on his subordinates, and to not having their reports made to him in person, he derived no benefit from what they saw. he had twenty chickasaws with him; but he sent these off on an extended trip, lost touch of them entirely, and never saw them again until after the battle. he did not seem to realize that he was himself in danger of attack. when some fifty miles or so from the miami towns, on the last day of october, sixty of the militia deserted; and he actually sent back after them one of his two regular regiments, thus weakening by one half the only trustworthy portion of his force. [footnote: bradley mss. in his journal captain bradley expresses his astonishment at seeing the regiment and his inability to understand the object in sending it back. captain bradley was not over-pleased with his life at the fort; as one of the minor ills he mentions in one of his letters to ebenezer banks: "please deliver the enclosed letter to my wife. not a drop of cider have i drinked this twelve month."] the last camp. on november d the doomed army, now reduced to a total of about fourteen hundred men, camped on the eastern fork of the wabash, high up, where it was but twenty yards wide. there was snow on the ground and the little pools were skimmed with ice. the camp was on a narrow rise of ground, where the troops were cramped together, the artillery and most of the horse in the middle. on both flanks, and along most of the rear, the ground was low and wet. all around, the wintry woods lay in frozen silence. in front the militia were thrown across the creek, and nearly a quarter of a mile beyond the rest of the troops. [footnote: st. clair's letter to the secretary of war, nov. , .] parties of indians were seen during the afternoon, and they skulked around the lines at night, so that the sentinels frequently fired at them; yet neither st. clair nor butler took any adequate measures to ward off the impending blow. it is improbable that, as things actually were at this time, they could have won a victory over their terrible foes; but they might have avoided overwhelming disaster. the indians surprise the camp at dawn. on november th the men were under arms, as usual, by dawn, st. clair intending to throw up entrenchments and then make a forced march in light order against the indian towns. but he was forestalled. soon after sunrise, just as the men were dismissed from parade, a sudden assault was made upon the militia, who lay unprotected beyond the creek. the unexpectedness and fury of the onset, the heavy firing, and the appalling whoops and yells of the throngs of painted savages threw the militia into disorder. after a few moments' resistance they broke and fled in wild panic to the camp of the regulars, among whom they drove in a frightened herd, spreading dismay and confusion. the drums beat, and the troops sprang to arms, as soon as they heard the heavy firing at the front; and their volleys for a moment checked the onrush of the plumed woodland warriors. but the check availed nothing. the braves filed off to one side and the other, completely surrounded the camp, killed or drove in the guards and pickets, and then advanced close to the main lines. [footnote: denny, november th; also p. .] desperate fighting follows. a furious battle followed. after the first onset the indians fought in silence, no sound coming from them save the incessant rattle of their fire, as they crept from log to log, from tree to tree, ever closer and closer. the soldiers stood in close order, in the open; their musketry and artillery fire made a tremendous noise, but did little damage to a foe they could hardly see. now and then, through the hanging smoke, terrible figures flitted, painted black and red, the feathers of the hawk and eagle braided in their long scalp-locks; but save for these glimpses, the soldiers knew the presence of their sombre enemy only from the fearful rapidity with which their comrades fell dead and wounded in the ranks. they never even knew the numbers or leaders of the indians. at the time it was supposed that they outnumbered the whites; but it is probable that the reverse was the case, and it may even be that they were not more than half as numerous. it is said that the chief who led them, both in council and battle, was little turtle, the miami. at any rate, there were present all the chiefs and picked warriors of the delawares, shawnees, wyandots, and miamis, and all the most reckless and adventurous young braves from among the iroquois and the indians of the upper lakes, as well as many of the ferocious whites and half-breeds who dwelt in the indian villages. fury and skill of the indians. the indians fought with the utmost boldness and ferocity, and with the utmost skill and caution. under cover of the smoke of the heavy but harmless fire from the army they came up so close that they shot the troops down as hunters slaughter a herd of standing buffalo. watching their chance, they charged again and again with the tomahawk, gliding into close quarters while their bewildered foes were still blindly firing into the smoke-shrouded woods. the men saw no enemy as they stood in the ranks to load and shoot; in a moment, without warning, dark faces frowned through the haze, the war-axes gleamed, and on the frozen ground the weapons clattered as the soldiers fell. as the comrades of the fallen sprang forward to avenge them, the lithe warriors vanished as rapidly as they had appeared; and once more the soldiers saw before them only the dim forest and the shifting smoke wreaths, with vague half glimpses of the hidden foe, while the steady singing of the indian bullets never ceased, and on every hand the bravest and steadiest fell one by one. the troops at first fight resolutely. bravery of the officers in command. at first the army as a whole fought firmly; indeed there was no choice, for it was ringed by a wall of flame. the officers behaved very well, cheering and encouraging their men; but they were the special targets of the indians, and fell rapidly. st. clair and butler by their cool fearlessness in the hour of extreme peril made some amends for their shortcomings as commanders. they walked up and down the lines from flank to flank, passing and repassing one another; for the two lines of battle were facing outward, and each general was busy trying to keep his wing from falling back. st. clair's clothes were pierced by eight bullets, but he was himself untouched. he wore a blanket coat with a hood; he had a long queue, and his thick gray hair flowed from under his three-cornered hat; a lock of his hair was carried off by a bullet. [footnote: mcbride's "pioneer biography," i., . narrative of thomas irwin, a packer, who was in the fight. there are of course discrepancies between the various accounts; in the confusion of such a battle even the most honest eye-witnesses could not see all things alike.] several times he headed the charges, sword in hand. general butler had his arm broken early in the fight, but he continued to walk to and fro along the line, his coat off and the wounded arm in a sling. another bullet struck him in the side, inflicting a mortal wound; and he was carried to the middle of the camp, where he sat propped up by knapsacks. men and horses were falling around him at every moment. st. clair sent an aide, lieutenant ebenezer denny, to ask how he was; he displayed no anxiety, and answered that he felt well. while speaking, a young cadet, who stood nearby, was hit on the kneecap by a spent ball, and at the shock cried aloud; whereat the general laughed so that his wounded side shook. the aide left him; and there is no further certain record of his fate except that he was slain; but it is said that in one of the indian rushes a warrior bounded towards him and sunk the tomahawk in his brain before any one could interfere. the indians capture the artillery. charges and counter-charges. instead of being awed by the bellowing artillery, the indians made the gunners a special object of attack. man after man was picked off, until every officer was killed but one, who was wounded; and most of the privates also were slain or disabled. the artillery was thus almost silenced, and the indians, emboldened by success, swarmed forward and seized the guns, while at the same time a part of the left wing of the army began to shrink back. but the indians were now on comparatively open ground, where the regulars could see them and get at them; and under st. clair's own leadership the troops rushed fiercely at the savages, with fixed bayonets, and drove them back to cover. by this time the confusion and disorder were great; while from every hollow and grass patch, from behind every stump and tree and fallen log, the indians continued their fire. again and again the officers led forward the troops in bayonet charges; and at first the men followed them with a will. each charge seemed for a moment to be successful, the indians rising in swarms and running in headlong flight from the bayonets. in one of the earliest, in which colonel darke led his battalion, the indians were driven several hundred yards, across the branch of the wabash; but when the colonel halted and rallied his men, he found that the savages had closed in behind him, and he had to fight his way back, while the foe he had been driving at once turned and harassed his rear. he was himself wounded, and lost most of his command. on re-entering camp he found the indians again in possession of the artillery and baggage, from which they were again driven; they had already scalped the slain who lay about the guns. major thomas butler had his thigh broken by a bullet; but he continued on horseback, in command of his battalion, until the end of the fight, and led his men in one of the momentarily successful bayonet charges. the only regular regiment present lost every officer, killed or wounded. the commander of the kentucky militia, colonel oldham, was killed early in the action, while trying to rally his men and damning them for cowards. inferiority of the troops to the indians. the charging troops could accomplish nothing permanent. the men were too clumsy and ill-trained in forest warfare to overtake their fleet, half-naked antagonists. the latter never received the shock; but though they fled they were nothing daunted, for they turned the instant the battalion did, and followed firing. they skipped out of reach of the bayonets, and came back as they pleased; and they were only visible when raised by a charge. feats of some of the packhorsemen. among the packhorsemen were some who were accustomed to the use of the rifle and to life in the woods; and these fought well. one, named benjamin van cleve, kept a journal, in which he described what he saw of the fight. [footnote: "american pioneer," ii., ; van cleve's memoranda.] he had no gun, but five minutes after the firing began he saw a soldier near him with his arm swinging useless; and he borrowed the wounded man's musket and cartridges. the smoke had settled to within three feet of the ground, so he knelt, covering himself behind a tree, and only fired when he saw an indian's head, or noticed one running from cover to cover. he fired away all his ammunition, and the bands of his musket flew off; he picked up another just as two levy officers ordered a charge, and followed the charging party at a run. by this time the battalions were broken, and only some thirty men followed the officers. the indians fled before the bayonets until they reached a ravine filled with down timber; whereupon they halted behind the impenetrable tangle of fallen logs. the soldiers also halted, and were speedily swept away by the fire of the indians, whom they could not reach; but van cleve, showing his skill as a woodsman, covered himself behind a small tree, and gave back shot for shot until all his ammunition was gone. before this happened his less skilful companions had been slain or driven off, and he ran at full speed back to camp. here he found that the artillery had been taken and re-taken again and again. stricken men lay in heaps everywhere, and the charging troops were once more driving the indians across the creek in front of the camp. van cleve noticed that the dead officers and soldiers who were lying about the guns had all been scalped and that "the indians had not been in a hurry, for their hair was all skinned off." another of the packers who took part in the fight, one thomas irwin, was struck with the spectacle offered by the slaughtered artillerymen, and with grewsome homeliness compared the reeking heads to pumpkins in a december cornfield. the soldiers lose heart. panic seizes the army. as the officers fell the soldiers, who at first stood up bravely enough, gradually grew disheartened. no words can paint the hopelessness and horror such a struggle as that in which they were engaged. they were hemmed in by foes who showed no mercy and whose blows they could in no way return. if they charged they could not overtake the indians; and the instant the charge stopped the indians came back. if they stood they were shot down by an unseen enemy; and there was no stronghold, no refuge to which to flee. the indian attack was relentless, and could neither be avoided, parried, nor met by counter assault. for two hours or so the troops kept up a slowly lessening resistance; but by degrees their hearts failed. the wounded had been brought towards the middle of the lines, where the baggage and tents were, and an ever growing proportion of unwounded men joined them. in vain the officers tried, by encouragement, by jeers, by blows, to drive them back to the fight. they were unnerved. as in all cases where large bodies of men are put in imminent peril of death, whether by shipwreck, plague, fire, or violence, numbers were swayed by a mad panic of utterly selfish fear, and others became numbed and callous, or snatched at any animal gratification during their last moments. many soldiers crowded round the fires and stood stunned and confounded by the awful calamity; many broke into the officers' marquees and sought for drink, or devoured the food which the rightful owners had left when the drums beat to arms. st. clair resolves on retreat. there was but one thing to do. if possible the remnant of the army must be saved, and it could only be saved by instant flight, even at the cost of abandoning the wounded. the broad road by which the army had advanced was the only line of retreat. the artillery had already been spiked and abandoned. most of the horses had been killed, but a few were still left, and on one of these st. clair mounted. he gathered together those fragments of the different battalions which contained the few men who still kept heart and head, and ordered them to charge and regain the road from which the savages had cut them off. repeated orders were necessary before some of the men could be roused from their stupor sufficiently to follow the charging party; and they were only induced to move when told that it was to retreat. the troops break through the indian ring. colonel darke and a few officers placed themselves at the head of the column, the coolest and boldest men drew up behind them, and they fell on the indians with such fury as to force them back well beyond the road. this made an opening through which, said van cleve the packer, the rest of the troops "pressed like a drove of bullocks." the indians were surprised by the vigor of the charge, and puzzled as to its object. they opened out on both sides and half the men had gone through before they fired more than a chance shot or two. they then fell on the rear, and began a hot pursuit. st. clair sent his aide, denny, to the front to try to keep order, but neither he nor anyone else could check the flight. major clark tried to rally his battalion to cover the retreat, but he was killed and the effort abandoned. wild rout of the army. there never was a wilder rout. as soon as the men began to run, and realized that in flight there lay some hope of safety, they broke into a stampede which soon became uncontrollable. horses, soldiers, and the few camp followers and women who had accompanied the army were all mixed together. neither command nor example had the slightest weight; the men were abandoned to the terrible selfishness of utter fear. they threw away their weapons as they ran. they thought of nothing but escape, and fled in a huddle, the stronger and the few who had horses trampling their way to the front through the old, the weak, and the wounded; while behind them raged the indian tomahawk. fortunately the attraction of plundering the camp was so overpowering that the savages only followed the army about four miles; otherwise hardly a man would have escaped. story of van cleve the packer. st. clair was himself in much danger, for he tried to stay behind and stem the torrent of fugitives; but he failed, being swept forward by the crowd, and when he attempted to ride to the front to rally them, he failed again, for his horse could not be pricked out of a walk. the packer, van cleve, in his journal, gives a picture of the flight. he was himself one of the few who lost neither courage nor generosity in the rout. among his fellow packers were his uncle and a young man named bonham, who was his close and dear friend. the uncle was shot in the wrist, the ball lodging near his shoulder; but he escaped. bonham, just before the retreat began, was shot through both hips, so that he could not walk. young van cleve got him a horse, on which he was with difficulty mounted; then, as the flight began, bonham bade van cleve look to his safety, as he was on foot, and the two separated. bonham rode until the pursuit had almost ceased; then, weak and crippled, he was thrown off his horse and slain. meanwhile van cleve ran steadily on foot. by the time he had gone two miles most of the mounted men had passed him. a boy, on the point of falling from exhaustion, now begged his help; and the kind-hearted backwoodsman seized the lad and pulled him along nearly two miles farther, when he himself became so worn-out that he nearly fell. there were still two horses in the rear, one carrying three men, and one two; and behind the latter van cleve, summoning his strength, threw the boy, who escaped. nor did van cleve's pity for his fellows cease with this; for he stopped to tie his handkerchief around the knee of a wounded man. his violent exertions gave him a cramp in both thighs, so that he could barely walk; and in consequence the strong and active passed him until he was within a hundred yards of the rear, where the indians were tomahawking the old and wounded men. so close were they that for a moment his heart sunk in despair; but he threw off his shoes, the touch of the cold ground seemed to revive him, and he again began to trot forward. he got around a bend in the road, passing half a dozen other fugitives; and long afterwards he told how well he remembered thinking that it would be some time before they would all be massacred and his own turn came. however, at this point the pursuit ceased, and a few miles farther on he had gained the middle of the flying troops, and like them came to a walk. he fell in with a queer group, consisting of the sole remaining officer of the artillery, an infantry corporal, and a woman called red-headed nance. both of the latter were crying, the corporal for the loss of his wife, the woman for the loss of her child. the worn-out officer hung on the corporal's arm, while van cleve "carried his fusee and accoutrements and led nance; and in this sociable way arrived at fort jefferson a little after sunset." the remnant of the army reaches cincinnati. exultation of the victors. before reaching fort jefferson the wretched army encountered the regular regiment which had been so unfortunately detached a couple of days before the battle. the most severely wounded were left in the fort; [footnote: bradley mss. the addition of two hundred sick and wounded brought the garrison to such short commons that they had to slaughter the pack-horses for food.] and then the flight was renewed, until the disorganized and half-armed rabble reached fort washington, and the mean log huts of cincinnati. six hundred and thirty men had been killed and over two hundred and eighty wounded; less than five hundred, only about a third of the whole number engaged in the battle, remained unhurt. but one or two were taken prisoners, for the indians butchered everybody, wounded or unwounded, who fell into their hands. there is no record of the torture of any of the captives, but there was one singular instance of cannibalism. the savage chippewas from the far-off north devoured one of the slain soldiers, probably in a spirit of ferocious bravado; the other tribes expressed horror at the deed. [footnote: brickell's narrative.] the indians were rich with the spoil. they got horses, tents, guns, axes, powder, clothing, and blankets--in short everything their hearts prized. their loss was comparatively slight; it may not have been one twentieth that of the whites. they did not at the moment follow up their victory, each band going off with its own share of the booty. but the triumph was so overwhelming, and the reward so great, that the war spirit received a great impetus in all the tribes. the bands of warriors that marched against the frontier were more numerous, more formidable, and bolder than ever. in the following january wilkinson with a hundred and fifty mounted volunteers marched to the battle-field to bury the slain. the weather was bitterly cold, snow lay deep on the ground, and some of the volunteers were frost bitten. [footnote: mcbride's "pioneer biography," john reily's narrative. this expedition, in which not a single hostile indian was encountered, has been transmuted by withers and one or two other border historians into a purely fictitious expedition of revenge in which hundreds of indians were slain on the field of st. clair's disaster.] kentucky volunteers visit the battle-field and bury the dead. four miles from the scene of the battle, where the pursuit had ended, they began to find the bodies on the road, and close alongside, in the woods, whither some of the hunted creatures had turned at the last, to snatch one more moment of life. many had been dragged from under the snow and devoured by wolves. the others lay where they had fallen, showing as mounds through the smooth white mantle that covered them. on the battle-field itself the slain lay thick, scalped, and stripped of all their clothing which the conquerors deemed worth taking. the bodies, blackened by frost and exposure, could not be identified; and they were buried in a shallow trench in the frozen ground. the volunteers then marched home. news of the disaster is sent to washington. when the remnant of the defeated army reached the banks of the ohio, st. clair sent his aide, denny, to carry the news to philadelphia, at that time the national capital. the river was swollen, there were incessant snowstorms, and ice formed heavily, so that it took twenty days of toil and cold before denny reached wheeling and got horses. for ten days more he rode over the bad winter roads, reaching philadelphia with the evil tidings on the evening of december th. it was thus six weeks after the defeat of the army before the news was brought to the anxious federal authorities. the young officer called first on the secretary of war; but as soon as the secretary realized the importance of the information he had it conveyed to the president. washington was at dinner, with some guests, and was called from the table to listen to the tidings of ill fortune. he returned with unmoved face, and at the dinner, and at the reception which followed, he behaved with his usual stately courtesy to those whom he was entertaining, not so much as hinting at what he had heard. washington's wrath. but when the last guest had gone, his pent-up wrath broke forth in one of those fits of volcanic fury which sometimes shattered his iron outward calm. walking up and down the room he burst out in wild regret for the rout and disaster, and bitter invective against st. clair, reciting how, in that very room, he had wished the unfortunate commander success and honor and had bidden him above all things beware of a surprise. [footnote: tobias lear, washington's private secretary as quoted by both custis and rush. the report of an eyewitness. see also lodge's "washington," p. . denny, in his journal, merely mentions that he went at once to the secretary of war's office on the evening of the th, and does not speak of seeing washington until the following morning. on the strength of this omission one or two of st. clair's apologists have striven to represent the whole account of washington's wrath as apocryphal; but the attempt is puerile; the relation comes from an eyewitness who had no possible motive to distort the facts. the secretary of war, knox, was certain to inform washington of the disaster the very evening he heard of it; and whether he sent denny, or another messenger, or went himself is unimportant. lear might very well have been mistaken as to the messenger who brought the news; but he could not have been mistaken about washington's speech.] "he went off with that last solemn warning thrown into his ears," spoke washington, as he strode to and fro, "and yet to suffer that army to be cut to pieces, hacked, butchered, tomahawked, by a surprise, the very thing i guarded him against! o god, o god, he's worse than a murderer! how can he answer it to his country!" then, calming himself by a mighty effort: "general st. clair shall have justice ... he shall have full justice." and st. clair did receive full justice, and mercy too, from both washington and congress. for the sake of his courage and honorable character they held him guiltless of the disaster for which his lack of capacity as a general was so largely accountable. the blame for the disaster. washington and his administration were not free from blame. it was foolish to attempt the campaign the northwestern indians with men who had only been trained for six months, and who were enlisted at the absurd price of two dollars a month. moreover, there were needless delays in forwarding the troops to fort washington; and the commissary department was badly managed. washington was not directly responsible for any of these shortcomings; he very wisely left to the secretary of war, knox, the immediate control of the whole matter, seeking to avoid all interference with him, so that there might be no clashing or conflict of authority [footnote: state dep. mss., washington papers. war dept. ex. c., washington to knox, april , .]; but he was of course ultimately responsible for the little evil, no less than for the great good, done by his administration. incompetence of st. clair. the chief blunder was the selection of st. clair. as a commander he erred in many ways. he did not, or could not, train his troops; and he had no business to challenge a death fight with raw levies. it was unpardonable of him to send back one of his two regular regiments, the only trustworthy portion of his force, on the eve of the battle. he should never have posted the militia, his poorest troops, in the most exposed situation. above all he should have seen that the patrols and pickets were so numerous, and performed their duty so faithfully, as to preclude the possibility of surprise. with the kind of army furnished him he could hardly have won a victory under any circumstances; but the overwhelming nature of the defeat was mainly due to his incompetence. chapter ii. mad anthony wayne; and the fight of the fallen timbers, - . demoralization caused by st. clair's defeat. the united states government was almost as much demoralized by st. clair's defeat as was st. clair's own army. the loosely-knit nation was very poor, and very loath to undertake any work which involved sustained effort and pecuniary sacrifice; while each section was jealous of every other and was unwilling to embark in any enterprise unlikely to inure to its own immediate benefit. there was little national glory or reputation to be won by even a successful indian war; while another defeat might prove a serious disaster to a government which was as yet far from firm in its seat. the eastern people were lukewarm about a war in which they had no direct interest; and the foolish frontiersmen, instead of backing up the administration, railed at it and persistently supported the party which desired so to limit the powers and energies of the national government as to produce mere paralysis. under such conditions the national administration, instead of at once redoubling its efforts to ensure success by shock of arms, was driven to the ignoble necessity of yet again striving for a hopeless peace. reluctance of the government to carry on the war. it would be impossible to paint in too vivid colors the extreme reluctance of the government to enter into, or to carry on, war with the indians. it was only after every other shift had been vainly tried that resort was had to the edge of the sword. the united states would gladly have made a stable peace on honorable terms, and strove with weary patience to bring about a friendly understanding. but all such efforts were rendered abortive partly by the treachery and truculence of the savages, who could only be cowed by a thorough beating, and partly by the desire of the settlers for lands which the red men claimed as their hunting grounds. peace envoys sent to the tries. in pursuance of their timidly futile policy of friendliness, the representatives of the national government, in the spring of , sent peace envoys, with a flag of truce, to the hostile tribes. the unfortunate ambassadors thus chosen for sacrifice were colonel john hardin, the gallant but ill-starred leader of kentucky horse, who had so often and with such various success encountered the indians on the field of battle; and a federal officer, major alexander trueman. in june they started towards the hostile towns, with one or two companions, and soon fell in with some indians, who on being shown the white flag, and informed of the object of their visit, received them with every appearance of good will. but this was merely a mask. a few hours later the treacherous savages suddenly fell upon and slew the messengers of peace. [footnote: american state papers, iv., , , etc.; also marshall.] it was never learned whether the deed was the mere wanton outrage of some blood-thirsty young braves, or the result of orders given by one of the indian councils. at any rate, the indians never punished the treachery; and when the chiefs wrote to washington they mentioned with cool indifference that "you sent us at different times different speeches, the bearers whereof our foolish young men killed on their way" [footnote: canadian archives, indian affairs, m. , p. . the michigan and wisconsin historical societies have performed a great service by publishing so many of these papers.]; not even expressing regret for the occurrence. treachery of the savages. the truculent violence and bad faith of the savages merited severe chastisement; but the united states government was long-suffering and of the forbearing to a degree. there was no attempt to avenge the murder of the flag-of-truce men. on the contrary, renewed efforts were made to secure a peace by treaty. in the fall of rufus putnam, on behalf of the united states, succeeded in concluding a treaty with the wabash and illinois tribes, [footnote: american state papers, iv., .] which at least served to keep many of their young braves out of actual hostilities. in the following spring three commissioners--benjamin lincoln, beverly randolph, and timothy pickering, all men of note,--were sent to persuade the miami tribes and their allies to agree to a peace. in his letter of instructions the secretary of war impressed upon them the desire of the people of the united states for peace in terms that were almost humiliating, and even directed them if necessary to cede some of the lands already granted by the indians at previous treaties. peace commissioners go to niagara. failure of the negotiations. in may, , the commissioners went to niagara, where they held meetings with various iroquois chiefs and exchanged friendly letters with the british officers of the posts, who assured them that they would help in the effort to conclude a peace. captain brant, the iroquois chief, acted as spokesman for a deputation of the hostile indians from the miami, where a great council was being held, at which not only the northwestern tribes, but the five nations, were in attendance. the commissioners then sailed to the detroit river, having first sent home a strong remonstrance against the activity displayed by the new commander on the ohio, wayne, whose vigorous measures, they said, had angered the indians and were considered by the british "unfair and unwarrantable." this was a preposterous complaint; throughout our history, whether in dealing with indians or with other foes, our peace commissioners have invariably shown to disadvantage when compared with the military commandants, for whom they always betray such jealously. wayne's conduct was eminently proper; and it is difficult to understand the mental attitude of the commissioners who criticised it because the british considered it "unwarrantable." however, a few weeks later they learned to take a more just view of wayne, and to thank him for the care with which he had kept the peace while they were vainly trying to treat; for at the detroit they found they could do nothing. brant and the iroquois urged the northwestern tribes not to yield any point, and promised them help, telling the british agent, mckee, evidently to his satisfaction, "we came here not only to assist with our advice, but other ways, ... we came here with arms in our hands"; and they insisted that the country belonged to the confederated tribes in common, and so could not be surrendered save by all. [footnote: draper mss., brant to mckee, aug. , .] brant was the inveterate foe of the americans, and the pensioner of the british; and his advice to the tribes was sound, and was adopted by them--though he misled them by his never-fulfilled promise of support. they refused to consider any proposition which did not acknowledge the ohio as the boundary between them and the united states; and so, towards the end of august, the commissioners returned to report their failure. [footnote: american state papers, iv., - .] the final solution of the problem was thus left to the sword of wayne. attitude of the british becomes progressively more hostile. the attitude of the british gradually changed from passive to active hostility. in and they still wished the indians to make peace with the americans, provided always there were no such concessions made to the latter as would endanger the british control of the fur trade. but by the beginning of the relations between great britain and the united states had become so strained that open war was threatened; for the advisers of the king, relying on the weakness of the young federal republic, had begun to adopt that tone of brutal insolence, which reflected well the general attitude of the british people towards the americans, and which finally brought on the second war between the two nations. lord dorchester's speech. the british officials in canada were quick to reflect the tone of the home government, and, as always in such cases, the more zealous and belligerent went a little farther than they were authorized. on february th lord dorchester, governor of canada, in an address of welcome to some of the chiefs from the tribes of the north and west said, speaking of the boundary: "children, since my return i find no appearance of a line remains; and from the manner in which the people of the united states push on and act and talk... i shall not be surprised if we are at war with them in the course of the present year; and if so a line must then be drawn by the warriors... we have acted in the most peaceable manner and borne the language and conduct of the people of the united states with patience; but i believe our patience is almost exhausted." [footnote: rives' "life and times of james madison," iii., . a verified copy of the speech from the archives of the london foreign office. the authenticity of the speech was admitted at the time by the british minister; yet, extraordinary to say, not only british, but american historians, have spoken of it as spurious.] of course such a speech, delivered to such an audience, was more than a mere incitement to war; it was a direct appeal to arms. nor did the encouragement given the indians end with words; for in april, simcoe, the lieutenant governor, himself built a fort at the miami rapids, in the very heart of the hostile tribes, and garrisoned it with british regulars, infantry and artillery; which, wrote one of the british officials to another, had "put all the indians here in great spirits" [footnote: canadian archives, thomas duggan to joseph chew, detroit, april , .] to resist the americans. the british and spaniards join in intriguing with the indians. the same official further reported that the spaniards also were exciting the indians to war, and were in communication with simcoe, their messengers coming to him at his post on the miami. at this time the spanish governor, carondelet, was alarmed over clark's threatened invasion of louisiana on behalf of the french republic. he wrote to simcoe asking for english help in the event of such invasion. simcoe, in return, wrote expressing his good will, and enclosing a copy of dorchester's speech to the northern indians; which, carondelet reported to the court of spain, showed that the english were following the same system adopted by the spaniards in reference to the indians, whom they were employing with great success against the americans. [footnote: draper mss., spanish documents, letter of carondelet, july , .] moreover, the spaniards, besides communicating with the british, sent messages to the indians at the miami, urging them to attack the americans, and promising help; [footnote: canadian archives, letter of mckee, may , .] a promise which they never fulfilled, save that in a covert way they furnished the savages with arms and munitions of war. effect of dorchester's speech. the indians greatly encouraged. the canadians themselves were excited and alarmed by dorchester's speech, [footnote: canadian archives, joseph chew to thomas aston coffin, montreal, february , .] copies of which were distributed broadcast; for the general feeling was that it meant that war was about to be declared between great britain and the united states. the indians took the same view, as to what the speech meant; but to them it gave unmixed pleasure and encouragement. the british officials circulated it everywhere among the tribes, reading it aloud to the gathered chiefs and fighting men. "his excellency governor simcoe has just now left my house on his way to detroit with lord dorchester's speech to the seven nations," wrote brant the iroquois chief to the secretary of indian affairs for canada, "and i have every reason to believe when it is delivered that matters will take an immediate change to the westward, as it will undoubtedly give those nations high spirits and enable them by a perfect union to check general wayne." [footnote: canadian archives, brant to chew, april , .] in april, lieutenant colonel john butler, of the british army, addressed a great council of chiefs near buffalo, beginning, "i have now a speech to deliver to you from your father lord dorchester, which is of the utmost consequence, therefore desire you will pay strict attention to it." [footnote: canadian archives, butler to chew, april , .] he then delivered the speech, to the delight of the indians, and continued: "you have heard the great talk of our going to war with the united states, and by the speech of your father just now delivered to you, you cannot help seeing there is a great prospect of it, i have therefore to recommend you to be all unanimous as one man, and to call in all your people that may be scattered about the territories of the united states." mckee, the british indian agent among the northwestern tribes who were at war with the americans, reported with joy the rapid growth of warlike spirit among the savages in consequence of dorchester's speech, and of the building of the british fort on the miami. he wrote, "the face of the indian affairs in this country, i have the greatest satisfaction in informing you, seems considerably altered for the better. his excellency lord dorchester's speech and the arrival here of speeches from the spaniards induce me to believe that a very extensive union of the indian nations will be the immediate consequence. the lieutenant governor has ordered a strong detachment of the th regt. to take post a mile & a half below this place, this step has given great spirits to the indians and impressed them with a hope of our ultimately acting with them and affording a security for their families, should the enemy penetrate to their villages." [footnote: canadian archives, mckee to chew, may , .] the british furnish them with arms and munitions. nor did the british confine their encouragement to words. the canadian authorities forwarded to the miami tribes, through the agent mckee, quantities of guns, rifles, and gunlocks, besides vermillion paint and tobacco. [footnote: canadian archives, chew to coffin, june , .] mckee was careful to get from the home authorities the best firearms he could, explaining that his red protégés preferred the long to the short rifles, and considered the common trade guns makeshifts, to be used only until they could get better ones. british agents greet the scalping parties. the indians made good use of the weapons thus furnished them by the "neutral" british. a party of delawares and shawnees, after a successful skirmish with the americans, brought to mckee six of the scalps they had taken; and part of the speech of presentation at the solemn council where they were received by mckee, ran: "we had two actions with [some of wayne's troops who were guarding convoys] in which a great many of our enemies were killed. part of their flesh we have brought here with us to convince our friend of the truth of their being now in great force on their march against us; therefore, father, [addressing mckee] we desire you to be strong and bid your children make haste to our assistance as was promised by them." the speaker, a delaware chief, afterwards handed the six scalps to a huron chief, that he might distribute them among the tribes. mckee sent to the home authorities a full account of this council, where he had assisted at the reception and distribution of the scalps the savages had taken from the soldiers of a nation with which the british still pretended to be at peace; and a few days later he reported that the lake indians were at last gathering, and that when the fighting men of the various tribes joined forces, as he had reason to believe they shortly would, the british posts would be tolerably secure from any attacks by wayne. [footnote: canadian archives, mckee's letters may and may , .] indians serve the british as police. the indians served the british, not only as a barrier, against the americans, but as a police for their own soldiers, to prevent their deserting. an englishman who visited the lake posts at this time recorded with a good deal of horror the fate that befell one of a party of deserters from the british garrison at detroit. the commander, on discovering that they had gone, ordered the indians to bring them back dead or alive. when overtaken one resisted, and was killed and scalped. the indians brought in his scalp and hung it outside the fort, where it was suffered to remain, that the ominous sight might strike terror to other discontented soldiers. [footnote: draper mss. from parliament library in canada, ms. "canadian letters," descriptive of a tour in canada in - .] anger of the americans over dorchester's speech. the publication of lord dorchester's speech caused angry excitement in the united states. many thought it spurious; but washington, then president, with his usual clear-sightedness, at once recognized that it was genuine, and accepted it as proof of great britain's hostile feeling towards his country. through the secretary of state he wrote to the british minister, calling him to sharp account, not only for dorchester's speech but for the act of building a fort on the miami, and for the double-dealing of his government, which protested friendship, with smooth duplicity, while their agents urged the savages to war. "at the very moment when the british ministry were forwarding assurances of good will, does lord dorchester foster and encourage in the indians hostile dispositions towards the united states," ran the letter, "but this speech only forebodes hostility; the intelligence which has been received this morning is, if true, hostility itself...governor simcoe has gone to the foot of the rapids of the miami, followed by three companies of a british regiment, in order to build a fort there." the british minister, hammond, in his answer said he was "willing to admit the authenticity of the speech," and even the building of the fort; but sought to excuse both by recrimination, asserting that the americans had themselves in various ways shown hostility to great britain. [footnote: wait's state papers and publick documents, i., , . letters of randolph, may , , and hammond, may , .] in spite of this explicit admission, however, the british statesmen generally, both in the house of lords and the house of commons, disavowed the speech, though in guarded terms; [footnote: am. state papers, foreign relations, i., randolph to jay, aug. , .] and many americans were actually convinced by their denials. severity of the indian ravages. raids and counter-raids. throughout this period, whatever the negotiators might say or do, the ravages of the indian war parties never ceased. in the spring following st. clair's defeat the frontiers of pennsylvania suffered as severely as those of virginia, from bands of savages who were seeking for scalps, prisoners, and horses. boats were way-laid and attacked as they descended the ohio; and the remote settlements were mercilessly scourged. the spies or scouts, the trained indian fighters, were out all the while, watching for the war bands; and when they discovered one, a strong party of rangers or militia was immediately gathered to assail it, if it could be overtaken. every variety of good and bad fortune attended these expeditions. thus, in august, , the spies discovered an indian party in the lower settlements of kentucky. thirty militia gathered, followed the trail, and overtook the marauders at rolling fork, killing four, while the others scattered; of the whites one was killed and two wounded. about the same time kenton found a strong indian camp which he attacked at dawn, killing three warriors; but when they turned out in force, and one of his own scouts was killed, he promptly drew back out of danger. neither the indians nor the wild white indian fighters made any point of honor about retreating. they wished to do as much damage as possible to their foes, and if the fight seemed doubtful they at once withdrew to await a more favorable opportunity. as for the individual adventures, their name was legion. all the old annalists, all the old frontiersmen who in after life recorded their memories of the indian wars, tell with interminable repetition stories, grewsome in their blood-thirstiness, and as monotonous in theme as they are varied in detail:--how such and such a settler was captured by two indians, and, watching his chance, fell on his captors when they sat down to dinner and slew them "with a squaw-axe"; how another man was treacherously attacked by two indians who had pretended to be peaceful traders, and how, though wounded, he killed them both; how two or three cabins were surprised by the savages and all the inhabitants slain; or how a flotilla of flatboats was taken and destroyed while moored to the bank of the ohio; and so on without end. [footnote: draper mss., major mccully to captain biddle, pittsburgh, may , ; b. netherland to evan shelby, july , , etc., etc. also kentucky _gazette_, sept. i, ; charleston _gazette_, july , , etc.] the frontiersmen wish war. the united states authorities vainly sought peace; while the british instigated the tribes to war, and the savages themselves never thought of ceasing their hostilities. the frontiersmen also wished war, and regarded the british and indians with an equal hatred. they knew that the presence of the british in the lake posts meant indian war; they knew that the indians would war on them, whether they behaved well or ill, until the tribes suffered some signal overthrow; and they coveted the indian lands with a desire as simple as it was brutal. nor were land hunger and revenge the only motives that stirred them to aggression; meaner feelings were mixed with the greed for untilled prairie and unfelled forest, and the fierce longing for blood. throughout our history as a nation, as long as we had a frontier, there was always a class of frontiersmen for whom an indian war meant the chance to acquire wealth at the expense of the government: and on the ohio in and ' there were plenty of men who, in the event of a campaign, hoped to make profit out of the goods, horses, and cattle they supplied the soldiers. one of madison's kentucky friends wrote him with rather startling frankness that the welfare of the new state hinged on the advent of an army to assail the indians, first, because of the defence it would give the settlers, and, secondly, because it would be the chief means for introducing into the country a sufficient quantity of money for circulation. [footnote: state dep. mss., madison papers, hubbard taylor to madison, jan. , .] madison himself evidently saw nothing out of the way in this twofold motive of the frontiersmen for wishing the presence of an army. in all the border communities there was a lack of circulating medium, and an earnest desire to obtain more by any expedient. like many other frontiersmen, madison's correspondent indulged almost equally in complaints of the indian ravages, and in denunciations of the regular army which alone could put an end to them and of the national party which sustained the army. [footnote: _do._, taylor to madison, april , ; may and , ; may , , etc.] wayne appointed to command western army. major general anthony wayne, a pennsylvanian, had been chosen to succeed st. clair in the command of the army; and on him devolved the task of wresting victory from the formidable forest tribes, fighting as the latter were in the almost impenetrable wilderness of their own country. the tribes were aided by the support covertly, and often openly, yielded them by the british. they had even more effective allies in the suspicion with which the backwoodsmen regarded the regular army, and the supine indifference of the people at large, which forced the administration to try every means to obtain peace before adopting the only manly and honorable course, a vigorous war. wayne's character and history. of all men, wayne was the best fitted for the work. in the revolutionary war no other general, american, british, or french, won such a reputation for hard fighting, and for daring energy and dogged courage. he felt very keenly that delight in the actual shock of battle which the most famous fighting generals have possessed. he gloried in the excitement and danger, and shone at his best when the stress was sorest; and because of his magnificent courage his soldiers had affectionately christened him "mad anthony." but his head was as cool as his heart was stout. he was taught in a rough school; for the early campaigns in which he took part were waged against the gallant generals and splendid soldiery of the british king. by experience he had grown to add caution to his dauntless energy. once, after the battle of brandywine, when he had pushed close to the enemy, with his usual fearless self-confidence, he was surprised in a night attack by the equally daring british general grey, and his brigade was severely punished with the bayonet. it was a lesson he never forgot; it did not in any way abate his self-reliance or his fiery ardor, but it taught him the necessity of forethought, of thorough preparation, and of ceaseless watchfulness. a few days later he led the assault at germantown, driving the hessians before him with the bayonet. this was always his favorite weapon; he had the utmost faith in coming to close quarters, and he trained his soldiers to trust the steel. at monmouth he turned the fortunes of the day by his stubborn and successful resistance to the repeated bayonet charges of the guards and grenadiers. his greatest stroke was the storming of stony point, where in person he led the midnight rush of his troops over the walls of the british fort. he fought with his usual hardihood against cornwallis; and at the close of the revolutionary war he made a successful campaign against the creeks in georgia. during this campaign the creeks one night tried to surprise his camp, and attacked with resolute ferocity, putting to flight some of the troops; but wayne rallied them and sword in hand he led them against the savages, who were overthrown and driven from the field. in one of the charges he cut down an indian chief; and the dying man, as he fell, killed wayne's horse with a pistol shot. wayne reorganizes the army as soon as wayne reached the ohio, in june, , he set about reorganizing the army. he had as a nucleus the remnant of st. clair's beaten forces; and to this were speedily added hundreds of recruits enlisted under new legislation by congress, and shipped to him as fast as the recruiting officers could send them. the men were of precisely the same general character as those who had failed so dismally under st. clair, and it was even more difficult to turn them into good soldiers, for the repeated disasters, crowned by the final crushing horror, had unnerved them and made them feel that their task was hopeless, and that they were foredoomed to defeat. [footnote: bradley mss. letters and journal of captain daniel bradley; see entry of may , , etc.] the mortality among the officers had been great, and the new officers, though full of zeal, needed careful training. among the men desertions were very common; and on the occasion of a sudden alarm wayne found that many of his sentries left their posts and fled. [footnote: "major general anthony wayne," by charles j. stillé, p. .] only rigorous and long continued discipline and exercise under a commander both stern and capable, could turn such men into soldiers fit for the work wayne had before him. he saw this at once, and realized that a premature movement meant nothing but another defeat; and he began by careful and patient labor to turn his horde of raw recruits into a compact and efficient army, which he might use with his customary energy and decision. when he took command of the army--or "legion," as he preferred to call it--the one stipulation he made was that the campaign should not begin until his ranks were full and his men thoroughly disciplined. he makes a winter camp on the ohio. towards the end of the summer of ' he established his camp on the ohio about twenty-seven miles below pittsburgh. he drilled both officers and men with unwearied patience, and gradually the officers became able to do the drilling themselves, while the men acquired the soldierly self-confidence of veterans. as the new recruits came in they found themselves with an army which was rapidly learning how to manoeuvre with precision, to obey orders unhesitatingly, and to look forward eagerly to a battle with the foe. throughout the winter wayne kept at work, and by the spring he had under him twenty-five hundred regular soldiers who were already worthy to be trusted in a campaign. he never relaxed his efforts to improve them; though a man of weaker stuff might well have been discouraged by the timid and hesitating policy of the national government. the secretary of war, in writing to him, laid stress chiefly on the fact that the american people desired at every hazard to avert an indian war, and that on no account should offensive operations be undertaken against the tribes. such orders tied wayne's hands, for offensive operations offered the only means of ending the war; but he patiently bided his time, and made ready his army against the day when his superiors should allow him to use the weapon he had tempered. in spring he shifts his camp to near cincinnati. his second winter camp at greeneville. in may, ' , he brought his army down the ohio to fort washington, and near it established a camp which he christened hobson's choice. here he was forced to wait the results of the fruitless negotiations carried on by the united states peace commissioners, and it was not until about the st of october that he was given permission to begin the campaign. even when he was allowed to move his army forward he was fettered by injunctions not to run any risks--and of course a really good fighting general ought to be prepared to run risks. the secretary of war wrote him that above all things he was to remember to hazard nothing, for a defeat would be fraught with ruinous consequences to the country. wayne knew very well that if such was the temper of the country and the government, it behooved him to be cautious, and he answered that, though he would at once advance towards the indian towns, to threaten the tribes, he would not run the least unnecessary risk. accordingly he shifted his army to a place some eighty miles north of cincinnati, where he encamped for the winter, building a place of strength which he named greeneville in honor of his old comrade in arms, general greene. he sent forward a strong detachment of his troops to the site of st. clair's defeat, where they built a post which was named fort recovery. the discipline of the army steadily improved, though now and then a soldier deserted, usually fleeing to kentucky, but in one or two cases striking through the woods to detroit. the bands of auxiliary militia that served now and then for short periods with the regulars, were of course much less well trained and less dependable. indians attack the convoys. the indians were always lurking about the forts, and threatening the convoys of provisions and munitions as they marched slowly from one to the other. any party that left a fort was in imminent danger. on one occasion the commander of fort jefferson and his orderly were killed and scalped but three hundred yards from the fort. a previous commander of this fort while hunting in this neighborhood had been attacked in similar fashion, and though he escaped, his son and a soldier were slain. on another occasion a dozen men, near the same fort, were surprised while haying; four were killed and the other eight captured, four of whom were burned at the stake. [footnote: bradley mss., journal, entries of feb. , feb. , june , july , .] before wayne moved down the ohio a band of kentucky mounted riflemen, under major john adair, were attacked under the walls of one of the log forts--fort st. clair--as they were convoying a large number of packhorses. the riflemen were in camp at the time, the indians making the assault at dawn. most of the horses were driven off or killed, and the men fled to the fort, which, adair dryly remarked, proved "a place of safety for the bashful"; but he rallied fifty, who drove off the indians, killing two and wounding others. of his own men six were killed and five wounded. [footnote: am. state papers, iv., . adair to wilkinson, nov. , .] defeat of a detachment. wayne's own detachments occasionally fared as badly. in the fall of , just after he had advanced to greeneville, a party of ninety regulars, who were escorting twenty heavily laden wagons, were surprised and scattered, a few miles from the scene of adair's misadventure. [footnote: bradley mss., journal, entry of october , .] the lieutenant and ensign who were in command and five or six of their men were slain, fighting bravely; half a dozen were captured; the rest were panic struck and fled without resistance. the indians took off about seventy horses, leaving the wagons standing in the middle of the road, with their contents uninjured; and a rescue party brought them safely to wayne. the victors were a party of wyandots and ottawas under the chief little otter. on october th the british agent at the miami towns met in solemn council with these indians and with another successful war party. the indians had with them ten scalps and two prisoners. seven of the scalps they sent off, by an indian runner, a special ally friend of the british agent, to be distributed among the different lake indians, to rouse them to war. one of their prisoners, an irishman, they refused to surrender; but the other they gave to the agent. he proved to be a german, a mercenary who had originally been in burgoyne's army. [footnote: canadian archives, duggan to chew, february , . inclosing his journal for the fall of . american state papers, iv., , wayne to knox, october , . the americans lost men; the indian reports of course exaggerated this.] later one of the remaining captives made his escape, killing his two indian owners, a man and a woman, both of whom had been leaders of war parties. another detachment defeats a body of indians. in the spring of , as soon as the ground was dry, wayne prepared to advance towards the hostile towns and force a decisive battle. he was delayed for a long time by lack of provisions, the soldiers being on such short rations that they could not move. the mounted riflemen of kentucky, who had been sent home at the beginning of winter, again joined him. among the regulars, in the rifle company, was a young kentuckian, captain william clark, brother of george rogers clark, and afterwards one of the two famous explorers who first crossed the continent to the pacific. in his letters home clark dwelt much on the laborious nature of his duties, and mentioned that he was "like to have starved," and had to depend on his rifle for subsistence. [footnote: draper mss., william clark to jonathan clark, may , ] in may he was sent from fort washington with twenty dragoons and sixty infantry to escort packhorses to greeneville. when eighteen miles from fort washington indians attacked his van, driving off a few packhorses; but clark brought up his men from the rear and after a smart skirmish put the savages to flight. they left behind one of their number dead, two wounded, and seven rifles; clark lost two men killed and two wounded. [footnote: _do_. also canadian archives, duggan to chew, may , . as an instance of the utter untrustworthiness of these indian or british accounts of the american losses, it may be mentioned that duggan says the indians brought off forty scalps, and killed an unknown number of americans in addition; whereas in reality only two were slain. even duggan admits that the indians were beaten off.] a large war party attacks fort recovery. on the last day of june a determined assault was made by the indians on fort recovery, which was garrisoned by about two hundred men. thanks to the efforts of the british agents, and of the runners from the allied tribes of the lower lakes, the chippewas and all the tribes of the upper lakes had taken the tomahawk, and in june they gathered at the miami. over two thousand warriors, all told, [footnote: canadian archives, mckee to chew, july , .] assembled; a larger body than had ever before marched against the americans. [footnote: am. state papers, iv., , wayne to the secretary of war, . he says they probably numbered from to men, which was apparently about the truth. throughout this campaign the estimate of the americans as to the indian forces and losses were usually close to the facts, and were often under rather than over statements.] they were eager for war, and wished to make a stroke of note against their foes; and they resolved to try to carry fort recovery, built on the scene of their victory over st. clair. they streamed down through the woods in long columns, and silently neared the fort. with them went a number of english and french rangers, most of whom were painted and dressed like the indians. repulse of the savages. when they reached the fort they found camped close to the walls a party of fifty dragoons and ninety riflemen. these dragoons and riflemen had escorted a brigade of packhorses from greeneville the day before, and having left the supplies in the fort were about to return with the unladen packhorses. but soon after daybreak the indians rushed their camp. against such overwhelming numbers no effective resistance could be made. after a few moments' fight the men broke and ran to the fort. the officers, as usual, showed no fear, and were the last to retreat, half of them being killed or wounded,--one of the honorably noteworthy features of all these indian fights was the large relative loss among the officers. most of the dragoons and riflemen reached the fort, including nineteen who were wounded; nineteen officers and privates were killed, and two of the packhorsemen were killed and three captured. two hundred packhorses were captured. the indians, flushed with success and rendered over-confident by their immense superiority in numbers, made a rush at the fort, hoping to carry it by storm. they were beaten back at once with severe loss; for in such work they were no match for their foes. they then surrounded the fort, kept up a harmless fire all day, and renewed it the following morning. in the night they bore off their dead, finding them with the help of torches; eight or ten of those nearest the fort they could not get. they then drew off and marched back to the miami towns. at least twenty-five [footnote: canadian archives, g. la mothe to joseph chew, michilimackinac, july , . mckee says, " men killed"; evidently he either wilfully understated the truth, or else referred only to the particular tribes with which he was associated. la mothe says, "they have lost twenty-five people amongst different nations," but as he was only speaking of the upper lake indians, it may be that the total indian loss was plus , or . mckee always understates the british force and loss, and greatly overstates the loss and force of the americans. in this letter he says that the americans had men killed, instead of ; and that "drivers" (packhorsemen) were taken and killed; whereas in reality were taken and killed.] of them had been killed, and a great number wounded; whereas they had only succeeded in killing one and wounding eleven of the garrison. they were much disheartened at the check, and the upper lake indians began to go home. the savages were as fickle as they were ferocious: and though terrible antagonists when fighting on their own ground and in their own manner, they lacked the stability necessary for undertaking a formidable offensive movement in mass. this army of two thousand warriors, the largest they had ever assembled, was repulsed with loss in an attack on a wooden fort with a garrison not one sixth their strength, and then dissolved without accomplishing anything at all. wayne starts on his march. severity of wayne's discipline. three weeks after the successful defence of fort recovery, wayne was joined by a large force of mounted volunteers from kentucky, under general scott; and on july th he set out towards the miami towns. the indians who watched his march brought word to the british that his army went twice as far in a day as st. clair's, that he kept his scouts well out and his troops always in open order and ready for battle; that he exercised the greatest precaution to avoid an ambush or surprise, and that every night the camps of the different regiments were surrounded by breastworks of fallen trees so as to render a sudden assault hopeless. wayne was determined to avoid the fates of braddock and st. clair. his "legion" of regular troops, was over two thousand strong. his discipline was very severe, yet he kept the loyal affection of his men. he had made the officers devote much of their time to training the infantry in marksmanship and the use of the bayonet and the cavalry in the use of the sabre. he impressed upon the cavalry and infantry alike that their safety lay in charging home with the utmost resolution. by steady drill he had turned his force, which was originally not of a promising character, into as fine an army, for its size, as a general could wish to command. excellence of his troops. the perfection of fighting capacity to which he had brought his forces caused much talk among the frontiersmen themselves. one of the contingent of tennessee militia wrote home in the highest praise of the horsemanship and swordsmanship of the cavalry, who galloped their horses at speed over any ground, and leaped them over formidable obstacles, and of the bayonet practice, and especially of the marksmanship, of the infantry. he remarked that hunters were apt to undervalue the soldiers as marksmen, but that wayne's riflemen were as good shots as any hunters he had ever seen at any of the many matches he had attended in the backwoods. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, august , .] wayne's scouts. wayne showed his capacity as a commander by the use he made of his spies or scouts. a few of these were chickasaw or choctaw indians; the rest, twenty or thirty in number, were drawn from the ranks of the wild white indian-fighters, the men who plied their trade of warfare and the chase right on the hunting grounds of the hostile tribes. they were far more dangerous to the indians, and far more useful to the army, than the like number of regular soldiers or ordinary rangers. efficiency of the scouts. it was on these fierce backwoods riflemen that wayne chiefly relied for news of the indians, and they served him well. in small parties, or singly, they threaded the forest scores of miles in advance or to one side of the marching army, and kept close watch on the indians' movements. as skilful and hardy as the red warriors, much better marksmen, and even more daring, they took many scalps, harrying the hunting parties, and hanging on the outskirts of the big wigwam villages. they captured and brought in indian after indian; from whom wayne got valuable information. the use of scouts, and the consequent knowledge gained by the examination of indian prisoners, emphasized the difference between st. clair and wayne. wayne's reports are accompanied by many examinations of indian captives. [footnote: american state papers, iv., , . examination of two pottawatamies captured on the th of june; of two shawnees captured on the d of june; of a shawnee captured on aug. th, etc., etc.] among these wilderness warriors who served under wayne were some who became known far and wide along the border for their feats of reckless personal prowess and their strange adventures. they were of course all men of remarkable bodily strength and agility, with almost unlimited power of endurance, and the keenest eyesight; and they were masters in the use of their weapons. several had been captured by the indians when children, and had lived for years with them before rejoining the whites; so that they knew well the speech and customs of the different tribes. feats of the scouts. one of these men was the captain of the spies, william wells. when a boy of twelve he had been captured by the miamis, and had grown to manhood among them, living like any other young warrior; his indian name was black snake, and he married a sister of the great war-chief, little turtle. he fought with the rest of the miamis, and by the side of little turtle, in the victories the northwestern indians gained over harmar and st. clair, and during the last battle he killed several soldiers with his own hand. afterwards, by some wayward freak of mind, he became harassed by the thought that perhaps he had slain some of his own kinsmen; dim memories of his childhood came back to him; and he resolved to leave his indian wife and half-breed children and rejoin the people of his own color. tradition relates that on the eve of his departure he made his purpose known to little turtle, and added, "we have long been friends; we are friends yet, until the sun stands so high [indicating the place] in the heavens; from that time we are enemies and may kill one another." be this as it may, he came to wayne, was taken into high favor, and made chief of scouts, and served loyally and with signal success until the end of the campaign. after the campaign he was joined by his indian wife and his children; the latter grew up and married well in the community, so that their blood now flows in the veins of many of the descendants of the old pioneers. wells himself was slain by the indians long afterwards, in , at the chicago massacre. surprise of an indian party. one of wells' fellow spies was william miller. miller, like wells, had been captured by the indians when a boy, together with his brother christopher. when he grew to manhood he longed to rejoin his own people, and finally did so, but he could not persuade his brother to come with him, for christopher had become an indian at heart. in june, , wells, miller, and a third spy, robert mcclellan, were sent out by wayne with special instructions to bring in a live indian. mcclellan, who a number of years afterwards became a famous plainsman and rocky mountain man, was remarkably swift of foot. near the glaize river they found three indians roasting venison by a fire, on a high open piece of ground, clear of brushwood. by taking advantage of the cover yielded by a fallen treetop the three scouts crawled within seventy yards of the camp fire; and wells and miller agreed to fire at the two outermost indians, while mcclellan, as soon as they had fired, was to dash in and run down the third. as the rifles cracked the two doomed warriors fell dead in their tracks; while mcclellan bounded forward at full speed, tomahawk in hand. the indian had no time to pick up his gun; fleeing for his life he reached the bank of the river, where the bluffs were twenty feet high, and sprang over into the stream-bed. he struck a miry place, and while he was floundering mcclellan came to the top of the bluff and instantly sprang down full on him, and overpowered him. the others came up and secured the prisoner, whom they found to be a white man; and to miller's astonishment it proved to be his brother christopher. the scouts brought their prisoner, and the scalps of the two slain warriors, back to wayne. at first christopher was sulky and refused to join the whites; so at greeneville he was put in the guard house. after a few days he grew more cheerful, and said he had changed his mind. wayne set him at liberty, and he not only served valiantly as a scout through the campaign, but acted as wayne's interpreter. early in july he showed his good faith by assisting mcclellan in the capture of a pottawatamie chief. an unexpected act of mercy. on one of wells' scouts he and his companions came across a family of indians in a canoe by the river bank. the white wood rangers were as ruthless as their red foes, sparing neither sex nor age; and the scouts were cocking rifles when wells recognized the indians as being the family into which he had been adopted, and by which he had been treated as a son and brother. springing forward he swore immediate death to the first man who fired; and then told his companions who the indians were. the scouts at once dropped their weapons, shook hands with the miamis, and sent them off unharmed. last scouting trip before the battle. wells' last scouting trip was made just before the final battle of the campaign. as it was the eve of the decisive struggle, wayne was anxious to get a prisoner. wells went off with three companions--mcclellan, a man named mahaffy, and a man named may. may, like wells and miller, had lived long with the indians, first as a prisoner, and afterwards as an adopted member of their tribe, but had finally made his escape. the four scouts succeeded in capturing an indian man and woman, whom they bound securely. instead of returning at once with their captives, the champions, in sheer dare-devil, ferocious love of adventure, determined, as it was already nightfall, to leave the two bound indians where they could find them again, and go into one of the indian camps to do some killing. the camp they selected was but a couple of miles from the british fort. they were dressed and painted like indians, and spoke the indian tongues; so, riding boldly forward, they came right among the warriors who stood grouped around the camp fires. they were at arm's-length before their disguise was discovered. immediately each of them, choosing his man, fired into an indian, and then they fled, pursued by a hail of bullets. may's horse slipped and fell in the bed of a stream, and he was captured. the other three, spurring hard and leaning forward in their saddles to avoid the bullets, escaped, though both wells and mcclellan were wounded; and they brought their indian prisoners into wayne's camp that night. may was recognized by the indians as their former prisoner; and next day they tied him up, made a mark on his breast for a target, and shot him to death. [footnote: mcbride collects or reprints a number of narratives dealing with these border heroes; some of them are by contemporaries who took part in their deeds. brickell's narrative corroborates these stories; the differences are such as would naturally be explained by the fact that different observers were writing of the same facts from memory after a lapse of several years. in their essentials the narratives are undoubtedly trustworthy. in the draper collection there are scores of ms. narratives of similar kind, written down from what the pioneers said in their old age; unfortunately it is difficult to sift out the true from the false, unless the stories are corroborated from outside sources; and most of the tales in the draper mss. are evidently hopelessly distorted. wells' daring attack on the indian camp is alluded to in the bradley mss.; the journal, under date of august th, recites how four white spies went down almost to lake erie, captured two indians, and then attacked the indians in their tents, three of the spies being wounded.] wayne reaches the maumee and builds fort defiance. with his advance effectually covered by his scouts, and his army guarded by his own ceaseless vigilance, wayne marched without opposition to the confluence of the glaize and the maumee, where the hostile indian villages began, and whence they stretched to below the british fort. the savages were taken by surprise and fled without offering opposition; while wayne halted, on august th, and spent a week in building a strong log stockade, with four good blockhouses as bastions; he christened the work fort defiance. [footnote: american state papers, iv., , wayne to secretary of war, aug. , .] the indians had cleared and tilled immense fields, and the troops revelled in the fresh vegetables and ears of roasted corn, and enjoyed the rest; [footnote: bradley mss. letter of captain daniel bradley to ebenezer banks, grand glaize, august , .] for during the march the labor of cutting a road through the thick forest had been very severe, while the water was bad and the mosquitoes were exceedingly troublesome. at one place a tree fell on wayne and nearly killed him; but though somewhat crippled he continued as active and vigilant as ever. [footnote: american pioneer, i., , daily journal of wayne's campaign. by lieutenant boyer. reprinted separately in cincinnati in .] the indians decline to make peace. from fort defiance wayne sent a final offer of peace to the indians, summoning them at once to send deputies to meet him. the letter was carried by christopher miller, and a shawnee prisoner; and in it wayne explained that miller was a shawnee by adoption, whom his soldiers had captured "six month since," while the shawnee warrior had been taken but a couple of days before; and he warned the indians that he had seven indian prisoners, who had been well treated, but who would be put to death if miller were harmed. the indians did not molest miller, but sought to obtain delay, and would give no definite answer; whereupon wayne advanced against them, having laid waste and destroyed all their villages and fields. wayne marches forward. his army marched on the th, and on the th reached roche du bout, by the maumee rapids, only a few miles from the british fort. next day was spent in building rough breastwork to protect the stores and baggage, and in reconnoitring the indian position. [footnote: american state papers, , wayne's report to secretary of war, august , .] the indians--shawnees, delawares, wyandots, ottawas, miamis, pottawatamies, chippewas, and iroquois--were camped closed to the british. there were between fifteen hundred and two thousand warriors; and in addition there were seventy rangers from detroit, french, english, and refugee americans, under captain caldwell, who fought with them in the battle. the british agent mckee was with them; and so was simon girty, the "white renegade," and another partisan leader, elliott. but mckee, girty, and elliott did not actually fight in the battle. [footnote: canadian archives, mckee to chew, august , . mckee says there were indians, and omits all allusion to caldwell's rangers. he always underestimates the indian numbers and loss. in the battle one of caldwell's rangers, antoine lasselle, was captured. he gave in detail the numbers of the indians engaged; they footed up to over . a deserter from the fort, a british drummer of the th regiment, named john bevin, testified that he had heard both mckee and elliott report the number of indians as , in talking to major campbell, the commandant of the fort, after the battle. he and lasselle agree as to caldwell's rangers. see their depositions, american state papers, iv., .] the indians' stand at the fallen timbers. on august , , wayne marched to battle against the indians. [footnote: draper mss., william clark to jonathan clark, august , . mcbride, ii., ; "life of paxton." many of the regulars and volunteers were left in fort defiance and the breastworks on the maumee as garrisons.] they lay about six miles down the river, near the british fort, in a place known as the fallen timbers, because there the thick forest had been overturned by a whirlwind, and the dead trees lay piled across one another in rows. all the baggage was left behind in the breastwork, with a sufficient guard. the army numbered about three thousand men; two thousand were regulars, and there were a thousand mounted volunteers from kentucky under general scott. march of the army. the army marched down the left or north branch of the maumee. a small force of mounted volunteers--kentucky militia--were in front. on the right flank the squadron of dragoons, the regular cavalry, marched next to the river. the infantry, armed with musket and bayonet, were formed in two long lines, the second some little distance behind the first; the left of the first line being continued by the companies of regular riflemen and light troops. scott, with the body of the mounted volunteers, was thrown out on the left with instructions to turn the flank of the indians, thus effectually preventing them from performing a similar feat at the expense of the americans. there could be no greater contrast than that between wayne's carefully trained troops, marching in open order to the attack, and st. clair's huddled mass of raw soldiers receiving an assault they were powerless to repel. heavy skirmishing, the indians stretched in a line nearly two miles long at right angles to the river, and began the battle confidently enough. they attacked and drove in the volunteers who were in advance and the firing then began along the entire front. but their success was momentary. wayne ordered the first line of the infantry to advance with trailed arms, so as to rouse the savages from their cover, then to fire into their backs at close range, and to follow them hard with the bayonet, so as to give them no time to load. the regular cavalry were directed to charge the left flank of the enemy; for wayne had determined "to put the horse hoof on the moccasin." both orders were executed with spirit and vigor. charge of the dragoons. it would have been difficult to find more unfavorable ground for cavalry; nevertheless the dragoons rode against their foes at a gallop, with broad-swords swinging, the horses dodging in and out among the trees and jumping the fallen logs. they received a fire at close quarters which emptied a dozen saddles, both captains being shot down. one, the commander of the squadron, captain mis campbell [footnote: a curious name, but so given in all the reports.], was killed; the other, captain van rensselaer, a representative of one of the old knickerbocker families of new york, who had joined the army from pure love of adventure, was wounded. the command devolved on lieutenant covington, who led forward the troopers, with lieutenant webb alongside him; and the dragoons burst among the savages at full speed, and routed them in a moment. covington cut down two of the indians with his own hand, and webb one. successful bayonet charge. at the same time the first line of the infantry charged with equal impetuosity and success. the indians delivered one volley and were then roused from their hiding places with the bayonet; as they fled they were shot down, and if they attempted to halt they were at once assailed and again driven with the bayonet. they could make no stand at all, and the battle was won with ease. so complete was the success that only the first line of regulars was able to take part in the fighting; the second line, and scott's horse-riflemen, on the left, in spite of their exertions were unable to reach the battle-field until the indians were driven from it; "there not being a sufficiency of the enemy for the legion to play on," wrote clark. the entire action lasted under forty minutes. [footnote: bradley mss., entry in the journal for august th.] less than a thousand of the americans were actually engaged. they pursued the beaten and fleeing indians for two miles, the cavalry halting only when under the walls of the british fort. a complete and easy victory. thirty-three of the americans were killed and one hundred wounded. [footnote: wayne's report; of the wounded afterwards died. he gives an itemized statement. clark in his letter makes the dead (including militia instead of ) and the wounded only . wayne reports the indian loss as twice as great as that of the whites; and says the woods were strewn with their dead bodies and those of their white auxiliaries. clark says indians were killed. the englishman, thomas duggan, writing from detroit to joseph chew, secretary of the indian office, says officially that "great numbers" of the indians were slain. the journal of wayne's campaign says dead were left on the field, and that there was considerable additional, but unascertained, loss in the rapid two miles pursuit. the member of caldwell's company who was captured was a french canadian; his deposition is given by wayne. mckee says the indians lost but men, and that but were engaged, specifying the wyandots and ottawas as being those who did the fighting and suffered the loss; and he puts the loss of the americans, although he admits that they won, at between and . he was furious at the defeat, and was endeavoring to minimize it in every way. he does not mention the presence of caldwell's white company; he makes the mistake of putting the american cavalry on the wrong wing, in trying to show that only the ottawas and wyandots were engaged; and if his figures, dead, have any value at all, they refer only to those two tribes; above i have repeatedly shown that he invariably underestimated the indian losses, usually giving the losses suffered by the band he was with as being the entire loss. in this case he speaks of the fighting and loss as being confined to the ottawas and wyandots; but brickell, who was with the delawares, states that "many of the delawares were killed and wounded." all the indians were engaged; and doubtless all the tribes suffered proportionately; and much more than the americans. captain daniel bradley in his above quoted letter of aug. th to ebenezer banks (bradley mss.) says that between and indians were killed.] it was an easy victory. the indians suffered much more heavily than the americans; in killed they probably lost two or three times as many. among the dead were white men from caldwell's company; and one white ranger was captured. it was the most complete and important victory ever gained over the northwestern indians, during the forty years' warfare to which, it put an end; and it was the only considerable pitched battle in which they lost more than their foes. they suffered heavily among their leaders; no less than eight wyandot chiefs were slain. the british in the fort. from the fort the british had seen, with shame and anger, the rout of their indian allies. their commander wrote to wayne to demand his intentions; wayne responded that he thought they were made sufficiently evident by his successful battle with the savages. the englishman wrote in resentment of this curt reply, complaining that wayne's soldiers had approached within pistol shot of the fort, and threatening to fire upon them if the offence was repeated. wayne responded by summoning him to abandon the fort; a summons which he of course refused to heed. wayne then gave orders to destroy everything up to the very walls of the fort, and his commands were carried out to the letter; not only were the indian villages burned and their crops cut down, but all the houses and buildings of the british agents and traders, including mckee's, were levelled to the ground. the british commander did not dare to interfere or make good his threats: nor, on the other hand, did wayne dare to storm the fort, which was well built and heavily armed. the army marches back. after completing his work of destruction wayne marched his army back to fort defiance. here he was obliged to halt for over a fortnight while he sent back to fort recovery for provisions. he employed the time in work on the fort, which he strengthened so that it would stand an attack by a regular army. the mounted volunteers were turned to account in a new manner, being employed not only to escort the pack-animals but themselves to transport the flour on their horses. there was much sickness among the soldiers, especially from fever and ague, and but for the corn and vegetables they obtained from the indian towns which were scattered thickly along the maumee they would have suffered from hunger. they were especially disturbed because all the whiskey was used up. [footnote: daily journal of wayne's campaign, "american pioneer," i., ] on september th the legion started westward towards the miami towns at the junction of the st. mary's and st. joseph's rivers, the scene of harmar's disaster. in four days the towns were reached, the indians being too cowed to offer resistance. here the army spent six weeks, burned the towns and destroyed the fields and stores of the hostile tribes, and built a fort which was christened fort wayne. british deserters came in from time to time; some of the canadian traders made overtures to the army and agreed to furnish provisions at a moderate price; and of the savages only straggling parties were seen. the mounted volunteers grew mutinous, but were kept in order by their commander scott, a rough, capable backwoods soldier. their term of service at length expired and they were sent home; and the regulars of the legion, leaving a garrison at fort wayne, marched back to greeneville, and reached it on november d, just three months and six days after they started from it on their memorable and successful expedition. wayne had shown himself the best general ever sent to war with the northwestern indians; and his victorious campaign was the most noteworthy ever carried on against them, for it brought about the first lasting peace on the border, and put an end to the bloody turmoil of forty years' fighting. it was one of the most striking and weighty feats in the winning of the west. winter quarters at greeneville. the army went into winter quarters at greeneville. there was sickness among the troops, and there were occasional desertions; the discipline was severe, and the work so hard and dangerous that the men generally refused to re-enlist. [footnote: draper mss., william clark to jonathan clark, november , .] the officers were uneasy lest there should be need of a further campaign. but their fears were groundless. before winter set in heralds arrived from the hostile tribes to say that they wished peace. the indians utterly downcast. the indians were utterly downcast over their defeat. [footnote: canadian archives, william johnson chew to joseph chew, december . .] the destruction of their crops, homes, and stores of provisions was complete, and they were put to sore shifts to live through the winter. their few cattle, and many even of their dogs, died; they could not get much food from the british; and as winter wore on they sent envoy after envoy to the americans, exchanged prisoners, and agreed to make a permanent peace in the spring. they were exasperated with the british, who, they said, had not fulfilled a single promise they had made. [footnote: brickell's narrative.] their anger with the british. the anger of the indians against the british was as just as it was general. they had been lured and goaded into war by direct material aid, and by indirect promises of armed assistance; and they were abandoned as soon as the fortune of war went against them. brant, the iroquois chief, was sorely angered by the action of the british in deserting the indians whom they had encouraged by such delusive hopes; and in his letter to the british officials [footnote: canadian archives, joseph brant to joseph chew, oct. , ; william j. chew to j. chew, oct. , .] he reminded them of the fact that but for their interference the indians would have concluded "an equitable and honorable peace in june "--thus offering conclusive proof that the american commissioners, in their efforts to make peace with the indians in that year, had been foiled by the secret machinations of the british agents, as wayne had always thought. brant blamed the british agent mckee for ever having interfered in the indian councils, and misled the tribes to their hurt; and in writing to the secretary of the indian office for canada he reminded him in plain terms of the treachery with which the british had behaved to the indians at the close of the revolutionary war, and expressed the hope that it would not be repeated; saying:[footnote: canadian archives, brant to joseph chew, feb. , and march , .] "if there is a treaty between great britain and the yankees i hope our father the king will not forget the indians as he did in the year ' ." when his forebodings came true and the british, in assenting to jay's treaty, abandoned their indian allies, brant again wrote to the secretary of the indian office, in repressed but bitter anger at the conduct of the king's agents in preventing the indians from making peace with the americans while they could have made it on advantageous terms, and then in deserting them. he wrote: "this is the second time the poor indians have been left in the lurch & i cannot avoid lamenting that they were prevented at a time when they had it in their power to make an honorable and advantageous peace." [footnote: _do_., brant to chew, jan. , .] wrath of the british indian agents. mckee, the british indian agent, was nearly as frank as brant in expressing his views of the conduct of the british towards their allies; he doubtless felt peculiar bitterness as he had been made the active instrument in carrying out the policy of his chiefs, and had then seen that policy abandoned and even disavowed. in fact he suffered the usual fate of those who are chosen to do some piece of work which unscrupulous men in power wish to have done, but wish also to avoid the responsibility of doing. he foretold evil results from the policy adopted, a policy under which, as he put it, "the distressed situation of the poor indians who have long fought for us and bled farely for us [is] no bar to a peaceable accommodation with america and ... they [are] left to shift for themselves." [footnote: canadian archives, mckee to chew, march , .] that a sentence of this kind could be truthfully written by one british official to another was a sufficiently biting comment on the conduct of the british government. the indians resolve to treat. the battle of the fallen timbers opened the eyes of the indians to more facts than one. they saw that they could not stand against the americans unassisted. furthermore, they saw that though the british would urge them to fight, and would secretly aid them, yet that in the last resort the king's troops would not come to their help by proceeding to actual war. all their leaders recognized that it was time to make peace. the americans found an active ally in the french canadian, antoine lasselle, whom they had captured in the battle. he worked hard to bring about a peace, inducing the canadian traders to come over to the american side, and making every effort to get the indians to agree to terms. being a thrifty soul, he drove a good trade with the savages at the councils, selling them quantities of liquor. they send ambassadors to wayne. in november the wyandots from sandusky sent ambassadors to wayne at greeneville. wayne spoke to them with his usual force and frankness. he told them he pitied them for their folly in listening to the british, who were very glad to urge them to fight and to give them ammunition, but who had neither the power nor the inclination to help them when the time of trial came; that hitherto the indians had felt only the weight of his little finger, but that he would surely destroy all the tribes in the near future if they did not make peace. [footnote: canadian archives, geo. ironside to mckee, dec. , .] the hurons went away much surprised, and resolved on peace; and the other tribes followed their example. in january, , the miamis, chippewas, sacs, delawares, pottawatomies, and ottawas sent ambassadors to greeneville and agreed to treat. [footnote: _do_., antoine lasselle to jacques lasselle, jan. , .] the shawnees were bent on continuing the war; but when their allies deserted them they too sent to greeneville and asked to be included in the peace. [footnote: _do_., letter of lt.-col. england, jan. , ; also copy of treaty of peace of feb. th.] on february th the shawnees, delawares, and miamis formally entered into a preliminary treaty. treaty of greeneville. this was followed in the summer of by the formal treaty of greeneville, at which wayne, on behalf of the united states, made a definite peace with all the northwestern tribes. the sachems, war chiefs, and warriors of the different tribes began to gather early in june; and formal proceedings for a treaty were opened on june th. but many of the tribes were slow in coming to the treaty ground, others vacillated in their course, and unforeseen delays arose; so that it was not until august th that it was possible to come to a unanimous agreement and ratify the treaty. no less than eleven hundred and thirty indians were present at the treaty grounds, including a full delegation from every hostile tribe. all solemnly covenanted to keep the peace; and they agreed to surrender to the whites all of what is now southern ohio and south eastern indiana, and various reservations elsewhere, as at fort wayne, fort defiance, detroit, and michilimackinac, the lands around the french towns, and the hundred and fifty thousand acres near the falls of the ohio which had been allotted to clark and his soldiers. the government, in its turn, acknowledged the indian title to the remaining territory, and agreed to pay the tribes annuities aggregating nine thousand five hundred dollars. all prisoners on both sides were restored. there were interminable harangues and councils while the treaty was pending, the indians invariably addressing wayne as elder brother, and wayne in response styling them younger brothers. in one speech a chippewa chief put into terse form the reasons for making the treaty, and for giving the americans title to the land, saying, "elder brother, you asked who were the true owners of the land now ceded to the united states. in answer i tell you, if any nations should call themselves the owners of it they would be guilty of falsehood; our claim to it is equal; our elder brother has conquered it." [footnote: american state papers, iv., - .] wayne's great achievement. wayne had brought peace by the sword. it was the first time the border had been quiet for over a generation; and for fifteen years the quiet lasted unbroken. the credit belongs to wayne and his army, and to the government which stood behind both. because it thus finally stood behind them we can forgive its manifold shortcomings and vacillations, its futile efforts to beg a peace, and its reluctance to go to war. we can forgive all this; but we should not forget it. americans need to keep in mind the fact that as a nation they have erred far more often in not being willing enough to fight than in being too willing. once roused, they have always been dangerous and hard-fighting foes; but they have been over-difficult to rouse. their educated classes, in particular, need to be perpetually reminded that, though it is an evil thing to brave a conflict needlessly, or to bully and bluster, it is an even worse thing to flinch from a fight for which there is legitimate provocation, or to live in supine, slothful, unprepared ease, helpless to avenge an injury. the misconduct of the british. the conduct of the americans in the years which closed with wayne's treaty did not shine very brightly; but the conduct of the british was black, indeed. on the northwestern frontier they behaved in a way which can scarcely be too harshly stigmatized. this does not apply to the british civil and military officers at the lake posts; for they were merely doing their duty as they saw it, and were fronting their foes bravely, while with loyal zeal they strove to carry out what they understood to be the policy of their superiors. the ultimate responsibility rested with these superiors, the crown's high advisers, and the king and parliament they represented. their treatment both of the indians, whom they professed to protect, and of the americans, with whom they professed to be friendly, forms one of the darkest pages in the annals of the british in america. yet they have been much less severely blamed for their behaviour in this matter, than for far more excusable offences. american historians, for example, usually condemn them without stint because in the army of ross and cockburn burned and looted the public buildings of washington; but by rights they should keep all their condemnation for their own country, so far as the taking of washington is concerned; for the sin of burning a few public buildings is as nothing compared with the cowardly infamy of which the politicians of the stripe of jefferson and madison, and the people whom they represented, were guilty in not making ready, by sea and land, to protect their capital and in not exacting full revenge for its destruction. these facts may with advantage be pondered by those men of the present day who are either so ignorant or of such lukewarm patriotism that they do not wish to see the united states keep prepared for war and show herself willing and able to adopt a vigorous foreign policy whenever there is need of furthering american interests or upholding the honor of the american flag. america is bound scrupulously to respect the rights of the weak; but she is no less bound to make stalwart insistance on her own rights as against the strong. their treachery towards both the indians and the americans. the count against the british on the northwestern frontier is, not that they insisted on their rights, but that they were guilty of treachery to both friend and foe. the success of the british was incompatible with the good of mankind in general, and of the english-speaking races in particular; for they strove to prop up savagery, and to bar the westward march of the settler-folk whose destiny it was to make ready the continent for civilization. but the british cannot be seriously blamed because they failed to see this. their fault lay in their aiding and encouraging savages in a warfare which was necessarily horrible; and still more in their repeated breaches of faith. the horror and the treachery were the inevitable outcome of the policy on which they had embarked; it can never be otherwise when a civilized government endeavors to use, as allies in war, savages whose acts it cannot control and for whose welfare it has no real concern. doubtless the statesmen who shaped the policy of great britain never deliberately intended to break faith, and never fully realized the awful nature of the indian warfare for which they were in part responsible; they thought very little of the matter at all in the years which saw the beginning of their stupendous struggle with france. but the acts of their obscure agents on the far interior frontier were rendered necessary and inevitable by their policy. to encourage the indians to hold their own against the americans, and to keep back the settlers, meant to encourage a war of savagery against the border vanguard of white civilization; and such a war was sure to teem with fearful deeds. moreover, where the interests of the british crown were so manifold it was idle to expect that the crown's advisers would treat as of much weight the welfare of the scarcely-known tribes whom their agents had urged to enter a contest which was hopeless except for british assistance. the british statesmen were engaged in gigantic schemes of warfare and diplomacy; and to them the indians and the frontiersmen alike were pawns on a great chessboard, to be sacrificed whenever necessary. when the british authorities deemed it likely that there would be war with america, the tribes were incited to take up the hatchet; when there seemed a chance of peace with america the deeds of the tribes were disowned; and peace was finally assured by a cynical abandonment of their red allies. in short, the british, while professing peace with the americans, treacherously incited the indians to war against them; and, when it suited their own interests, they treacherously abandoned their indian allies to the impending ruin. [footnote: the ordinary american histories, often so absurdly unjust to england, are right in their treatment of the british actions on the frontier in - . the ordinary british historians simply ignore the whole affair. as a type of their class, mr. percy gregg may be instanced. his "history of the united states" is a silly book; he is often intentionally untruthful, but his chief fault is his complete ignorance of the facts about which he is writing. it is, of course, needless to criticise such writers as mr. gregg and his fellows. but it is worth while calling attention to mr. goldwin smith's "the united states," for mr. goldwin smith is a student, and must be taken seriously. he says: "that the british government or anybody by its authority was intriguing with the indians against the americans is an assertion of which there seems to be no proof." if he will examine the canadian archives, from which i have quoted, and the authorities which i cite, he will find the proof ready to hand. prof. a. c. mclaughlin has made a capital study of this question in his pamphlet on "the western posts and the british debts." what he says cannot well be controverted.] chapter iii. tennessee becomes a state, - . the southwestern territory. "the territory of the united states of america south of the river ohio" was the official title of the tract of land which had been ceded by north carolina to the united states, and which a few years later became the state of tennessee. william blount, the newly appointed governor, took charge late in . he made a tour of the various counties, as laid out under authority of the state of north carolina, rechristening them as counties of the territory, and summoning before him the persons in each county holding commissions from north carolina, at the respective court-houses, where he formally notified them of the change. he read to them the act of congress accepting the cessions of the claims of north carolina; then he read his own commission from president washington; and informed them of the provision by north carolina that congress should assume and execute the government of the new territory "in a manner similar to that which they support northwest of the river ohio." following this he formally read the ordinance for the government of the northwestern territory. he commented upon and explained this proclamation, stating that under it the president had appointed the governor, the judges, and the secretary of the new territory, and that he himself, as governor, would now appoint the necessary county officers. blount inaugurated as governor. slavery in the new territory. the remarkable feature of this address was that he read to the assembled officers in each county, as part of the law apparently binding upon them, article of the ordinance of , which provided that there should be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the northwestern territory. [footnote: blount mss., journal of proceedings of william blount, esq., governor in and over the territory of the united states of america south of the river ohio, in his executive department, october , .] it had been expressly stipulated that this particular provision as regards slavery should not apply to the southwestern territory, and of course blount's omission to mention this fact did not in any way alter the case; but it is a singular thing that he should without comment have read, and his listeners without comment have heard, a recital that slavery was abolished in their territory. it emphasizes the fact that at this time there was throughout the west no very strong feeling on the subject of slavery, and what feeling there was, was if anything hostile. the adventurous backwoods farmers who composed the great mass of the population in tennessee, as elsewhere among and west of the alleghanies, were not a slave-owning people, in the sense that the planters of the seaboard were. they were preeminently folk who did their work with their own hands. master and man chopped and ploughed and reaped and builded side by side, and even the leaders of the community, the militia generals, the legislators, and the judges, often did their share of farm work, and prided themselves upon their capacity to do it well. they had none of that feeling which makes slave-owners look upon manual labor as a badge of servitude. they were often lazy and shiftless, but they never deified laziness and shiftlessness or made them into a cult. the one thing they prized beyond all others was their personal freedom, the right of the individual to do whatsoever he saw fit. indeed they often carried this feeling so far as to make them condone gross excesses, rather than insist upon the exercise of even needful authority. they were by no means entirely logical, but they did see and feel that slavery was abhorrent, and that it was utterly inconsistent with the theories of their own social and governmental life. as yet there was no thought of treating slavery as a sacred institution, the righteousness of which must not be questioned. at the fourth of july celebrations toasts such as "the total abolition of slavery" were not uncommon. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, july , , etc. see also issue jan. , .] it was this feeling which prevented any manifestation of surprise at blount's apparent acquiescence in a section of the ordinance for the government of the territory which prohibited slavery. dulness of the public conscience about slavery. nevertheless, though slaves were not numerous, they were far from uncommon, and the moral conscience of the community was not really roused upon the subject. it was hardly possible that it should be roused, for no civilized people who owned african slaves had as yet abolished slavery, and it was too much to hope that the path toward abolition would be pointed out by poor frontiersmen engaged in a life and death struggle with hostile savages. the slaveholders were not interfered with until they gradually grew numerous enough and powerful enough to set the tone of thought, and make it impossible to root out slavery save by outside action. blount's first appointments. blount recommended the appointment of sevier and robertson as brigadier-generals of militia of the eastern and western districts of the territory, and issued a large number of commissions to the justices of the peace, militia officers, sheriffs, and clerks of the county courts in the different counties. [footnote: blount mss., journal of the proceedings, etc.] in his appointments he shrewdly and properly identified himself with the natural leaders of the frontiersmen. he made sevier and robertson his right-hand men, and strove always to act in harmony with them, while for the minor military and civil officers he chose the persons whom the frontiersmen themselves desired. in consequence he speedily became a man of great influence for good. the secretary of the territory reported to the federal government that the effect of blount's character on the frontiersmen was far greater than was the case with any other man, and that he was able to get them to adhere to the principles of order and to support the laws by his influence in a way which it was hopeless to expect from their own respect for governmental authority. blount was felt by the frontiersmen to be thoroughly in sympathy with them, to understand and appreciate them, and to be heartily anxious for their welfare; and yet at the same time his influence could be counted upon on the side of order, while the majority of the frontier officials in any time of commotion were apt to remain silent and inactive, or even to express their sympathy with the disorderly element. [footnote: american state papers, iv.; daniel smith to the secretary of war, knoxville, july , .] blount's tact in dealing with difficulties. no one but a man of great tact and firmness could have preserved as much order among the frontiersmen as blount preserved. he was always under fire from both sides. the settlers were continually complaining that they were deserted by the federal authorities, who favored the indians, and that blount himself did not take sufficiently active steps to subdue the savages; while on the other hand the national administration was continually upbraiding him for being too active against the indians, and for not keeping the frontiersmen sufficiently peaceable. under much temptations, and in a situation that would have bewildered any one, blount steadfastly followed his course of, on the one hand, striving his best to protect the people over whom he was placed as governor, and to repel the savages, while, on the other hand, he suppressed so far as lay in his power, any outbreak against the authorities, and tried to inculcate a feeling of loyalty and respect for the national government. [footnote: robertson mss., blount to robertson, feb. , .] he did much in creating a strong feeling of attachment to the union among the rough backwoodsmen with whom he had thrown in his lot. treaty of holston with the cherokees. early in blount entered into negotiations with the cherokees, and when the weather grew warm, he summoned them to a treaty. they met on the holston, all of the noted cherokee chiefs and hundreds of their warriors being present, and concluded the treaty of holston, by which, in consideration of numerous gifts and of an annuity of a thousand (afterwards increased to fifteen hundred) dollars, the cherokees at last definitely abandoned their disputed claims to the various tracts of land which the whites claimed under various former treaties. by this treaty with the cherokees, and by the treaty with the creeks entered into at new york the previous summer, the indian title to most of the present state of tennessee, was fairly and legally extinguished. however the westernmost part, was still held by the chickasaws, and certain tracts in the southeast, by the cherokees; while the indian hunting grounds in the middle of the territory were thrust in between the groups of settlements on the cumberland and the holston. knoxville founded. the "knoxville gazette." on the ground where the treaty was held blount proceeded to build a little town, which he made the capital of the territory, and christened knoxville, in honor of washington's secretary of war. at this town there was started, in , under his own supervision, the first newspaper of tennessee, known as the _knoxville gazette_. it was four or five years younger than the only other newspaper of the then far west, the _kentucky gazette_. the paper gives an interesting glimpse of many of the social and political conditions of the day. in political tone it showed blount's influence very strongly, and was markedly in advance of most of the similar papers of the time, including the _kentucky gazette_; for it took a firm stand in favor of the national government, and against every form of disorder, of separatism, or of mob law. as with all of the american papers of the day, even in the backwoods, there was much interest taken in european news, and a prominent position was given to long letters, or extracts from seaboard papers, containing accounts of the operations of the english fleets and the french armies, or of the attitude of the european governments. like most americans, the editorial writers of the paper originally sympathized strongly with the french revolution; but the news of the beheading of marie antoinette, and the recital of the atrocities committed in paris, worked a reaction among those who loved order, and the _knoxville gazette_ ranged itself with them, taking for the time being strong grounds against the french, and even incidentally alluding to the indians as being more blood-thirsty than any man "not a jacobin." [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, march , .] the people largely shared these sentiments. in at the fourth of july celebration at jonesborough there was a public dinner and ball, as there was also at knoxville; federal troops were paraded and toasts were drunk to the president, to the judges of the supreme court, to blount, to general wayne, to the friendly chickasaw indians, to sevier, to the ladies of the southwestern territory, to the american arms, and, finally, "to the true liberties of france and a speedy and just punishment of the murderers of louis xvi." the word "jacobin" was used as a term of reproach for some time. the "gazette" sound in its politics. the paper was at first decidedly federalist in sentiment. no sympathy was expressed with genet or with the efforts undertaken by the western allies of the french minister to organize a force for the conquest of louisiana; and the tennessee settlers generally took the side of law and order in the earlier disturbances in which the federal government was concerned. at the fourth of july celebration in knoxville, in , one of the toasts was "the four western counties of pennsylvania; may they repent their folly and sin no more"; the tennesseeans sympathizing as little with the pennsylvania whiskey revolutionists as four years later they sympathized with the kentuckians and virginians in their nullification agitation against the alien and sedition laws. its gradual change of tone. gradually, however, the tone of the paper changed, as did the tone of the community, at least to the extent of becoming democratic and anti-federal; for the people felt that the easterners did not sympathize with them either in their contests with the indians or in their desire to control the mississippi and the farther west. they grew to regard with particular vindictiveness the federalists,--the aristocrats, as they styled them,--of the southern seaboard states, notably of virginia and south carolina. one pathetic feature of the paper was the recurrence of advertisements by persons whose friends and kinsfolk had been carried off by the indians, and who anxiously sought any trace of them. queer use of the "gazette." but the _gazette_ was used for the expression of opinions not only by the whites, but occasionally even by an indian. one of the cherokee chiefs, the red bird, put into the _gazette_, for two buckskins, a talk to the cherokee chief of the upper towns, in which he especially warned him to leave alone one william cocke, "the white man who lived among the mulberry trees," for, said red bird, "the mulberry man talks very strong and runs very fast"; this same cocke being afterwards one of the first two senators from tennessee. the red bird ended his letter by the expression of the rather quaint wish, "that all the bad people on both sides were laid in the ground, for then there would not be so many mush men trying to make people to believe they were warriors." [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, november , .] efforts to promote higher education. blount brought his family to tennessee at once, and took the lead in trying to build up institutions for higher education. after a good deal of difficulty an academy was organized under the title of blount college, and was opened as soon as a sufficient number of pupils could be gotten together; there were already two other colleges in the territory, greeneville and washington, the latter being the academy founded by doak. like almost all other institutions of learning of the day these three were under clerical control; but blount college was chartered as a non-denomination institution, the first of its kind in the united states. [footnote: see edward t. sanford's "blount college and the university of tennessee," p. .] the clergyman and the lawyer, with the school-master, were still the typical men of letters in all the frontier communities. the doctor was not yet a prominent feature of life in the backwoods, though there is in the _gazette_ an advertisement of one who announces that he intends to come to practise "with a large stock of genuine medicines." [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, june , .] books of the backwoods. the ordinary books were still school books, books of law, and sermons or theological writings. the first books, or pamphlets, published in eastern tennessee were brought out about this time at the _gazette_ office, and bore such titles as "a sermon on psalmody, by rev. hezekiah balch"; "a discourse by the rev. samuel carrick"; and a legal essay called "western justice." [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, jan. and may , .] there was also a slight effort now and then at literature of a lighter kind. the little western papers, like those in the east, had their poets' corners, often with the heading of "sacred to the muses," the poems ranging from "lines to myra" and "an epitaph on john topham" to "the pernicious consequences of smoking cigars." in one of the issues of the _knoxville gazette_ there is advertised for sale a new song by "a gentleman of col. mcpherson's blues, on a late expedition against the pennsylvania insurgents"; and also, in rather incongruous juxtaposition, "toplady's translation of zanchi on predestination." settlers throng into tennessee. settlers were thronging into east tennessee, and many penetrated even to the indian-harassed western district. in travelling to the western parts the immigrants generally banded together in large parties, led by some man of note. among those who arrived in was the old north carolina indian fighter, general griffith rutherford. he wished to settle on the cumberland, and to take thither all his company, with a large number of wagons, and he sent to blount begging that a road might be cut through the wilderness for the wagons; or, if this could not be done, that some man would blaze the route, "in which case," said he "there would be hands of our own that could cut as fast as wagons could march." [footnote: blount mss., rutherford to blount, may , .] meeting of the territorial legislature. in , there being five thousand free male inhabitants, as provided by law, tennessee became entitled to a territorial legislature, and the governor summoned the assembly to the meet at knoxville on august th. so great was the danger from the indians that a military company had to accompany the cumberland legislators to and from the seat of government. for the same reason the judges on their circuits had to go accompanied by a military guard. among the first acts of this territorial legislature was that to establish higher institutions of learning; john sevier was made a trustee in both blount and greeneville colleges. a lottery was established for the purpose of building the cumberland road to nashville, and another one to build a jail and stocks in nashville. a pension act was passed for disabled soldiers and for widows and orphans, who were to be given an adequate allowance at the discretion of the county court. a poll tax of twenty-five cents on all taxable white polls was laid, and on every taxable negro poll fifty cents. land was taxed at the rate of twenty-five cents a hundred acres, town lots one dollar; while a stud horse was taxed four dollars. thus, taxes were laid exclusively upon free males, upon slaves, lands, town lots, and stud horses, a rather queer combination. [footnote: laws of tennessee, knoxville, . first session of territorial legislature, .] many industries established. various industries were started, as the people began to demand not only the necessaries of life but the comforts, and even occasionally the luxuries. there were plenty of blacksmith shops; and a goldsmith and jeweller set up his establishment. in his advertisement he shows that he was prepared to do some work which would be alien to his modern representative, for he notifies the citizens that he makes "rifle guns in the neatest and most approved fashion." [footnote: _knoxville gazelle_, oct. , .] ferries and taverns. ferries were established at the important crossings, and taverns in the county-seats and small towns. one of the knoxville taverns advertises its rates, which were one shilling for breakfast, one shilling for supper, and one and sixpence for dinner; board and lodging for a week costing two dollars, and board only for the same space and of time nine shillings. ferriage was three pence for a man and horse and two shillings for a wagon and team. trade. various stores were established in the towns, the merchants obtaining most of their goods in the great trade centres of philadelphia and baltimore, and thence hauling them by wagon to the frontier. most of the trade was carried on by barter. there was very little coin in the country and but few bank-notes. often the advertisement specified the kind of goods that would be taken and the different values at which they would be received. thus, the salt works at washington, virginia, in advertising their salt, stated that they would sell it per bushel for seven shillings and sixpence if paid in cash or prime furs; at ten shillings if paid in bear or deer skins, beeswax, hemp, bacon, butter, or beef cattle; and at twelve shillings if in other trade and country produce, as was usual. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, june , .] currency. the prime furs were mink, coon, muskrat, wildcat, and beaver. besides this the stores advertised that they would take for their articles cash, beeswax, and country produce or tallow, hogs' lard in white walnut kegs, butter, pork, new feathers, good horses, and also corn, rye, oats, flax, and "old congress money," the old congress money being that issued by the continental congress, which had depreciated wonderfully in value. they also took certificates of indebtedness either from the state or the nation because of services performed against the indians, and certificates of land claimed under various rights. the value of some of these commodities was evidently mainly speculative. the storekeepers often felt that where they had to accept such dubious substitutes for cash they desired to give no credit, and some of the advertisements run: "cheap, ready money store, where no credit whatever will be given," and then proceed to describe what ready money was,--cash, furs, bacon, etc. the stores sold salt, iron-mongery, pewterware, corduroys, rum, brandy, whiskey, wine, ribbons, linen, calamancos, and in fact generally what would be found at that day in any store in the smaller towns of the older states. the best eight by ten crown-glass "was regularly imported," and also "beautiful assortments of fashionable coat and vest buttons," as well as "brown and loaf sugar, coffee, chocolate, tea, and spices." in the towns the families had ceased to kill their own meat, and beef markets were established where fresh meat could be had twice a week. stock on the range. houses and lots were advertised for sale, and one result of the method of allowing the branded stock to range at large in the woods was that the range, there were numerous advertisements for strayed horses, and even cattle, with descriptions of the brands and ear marks. the people were already beginning to pay attention to the breeding of their horses, and fine stallions with pedigrees were advertised, though some of the advertisements show a certain indifference to purity of strain; one stallion being quoted as of "mixed fox-hunting and dray" breed. rather curiously the chickasaw horses were continually mentioned as of special merit, together with those of imported stock. attention was paid both to pacers and trotters. the lottery was still a recognized method of raising money for every purpose, including the advancement of education and religion. one of the advertisements gives as one of the prizes a negro, valued at one hundred and thirty pounds, a horse at ten pounds, and five hundred acres of fine land without improvements at twelve hundred pounds. government escort for immigrants. journeying to the long-settled districts of the east, persons went as they wished, in their own wagons or on their own horses; but to go from east tennessee either to kentucky, or to the cumberland district, or to new orleans, was a serious matter because of the indians. the territorial authorities provided annually an escort for immigrants from the holston country to the cumberland, a distance of one hundred and ten miles through the wilderness, and the departure of this annual escort was advertised for weeks in advance. sometimes the escort was thus provided by the authorities. more often adventurers simply banded together; or else some enterprising man advertised that on a given date he should start and would provide protection for those who chose to accompany him. thus, in the _knoxville gazette_ for february , , a boat captain gives public notice to all persons who wish to sail from the holston country to new orleans, that on march st, if the waters answer, his two boats will start, the _mary_ of twenty-five tons, and the _little polly_ of fifteen tons. those who had contracted for freight and passage are desired to attend previous to that period. lawlessness. there was of course a good deal of lawlessness and a strong tendency to settle assault and battery cases in particular out of court. the officers of justice at times had to subdue criminals by open force. andrew jackson, who was district attorney for the western district, early acquired fame by the energy and success with which he put down any criminal who resisted the law. the worst offenders fled to the mississippi territory, there to live among spaniards, creoles, indians, and lawless americans. lawyers drove a thriving business; but they had their own difficulties, to judge by one advertisement, which appears in the issue of the _gazette_ for march , , where six of them give notice that thereafter they will give no legal advice unless it is legally paid for. endless land speculations. all the settlers, or at least all the settlers who had any ambition to rise in the world, were absorbed in land speculations: blount, robertson, and the other leaders as much so as anybody. they were continually in correspondence with one another about the purchase of land warrants, and about laying them out in the best localities. of course there was much jealousy and rivalry in the effort to get the best sites. robertson, being farthest on the frontier, where there was most wild land, had peculiar advantages. very soon after he settled in the cumberland district at the close of the revolutionary war, blount had entered into an agreement with him for a joint land speculation. blount was to purchase land claims from both officers and soldiers amounting in all to fifty thousand acres and enter them for the western territory, while robertson was to survey and locate the claims, receiving one fourth of the whole for his reward. [footnote: blount mss., agreement between william blount and james robertson, oct. , .] their connection continued during blount's term as governor, and blount's letters to robertson contain much advice as to how the warrants shall be laid out. wherever possible they were of course laid outside the indian boundaries; but, like every one else, blount and robertson knew that eventually the indian lands would come into the possession of the united states, and in view of the utter confusion of the titles, and especially in view of the way the indians as well as the whites continually broke the treaties and rendered it necessary to make new ones, both blount and robertson were willing to place claims on the indian lands and trust to luck to make the claims good if ever a cession was made. the lands thus located were not lands upon which any indian village stood. generally they were tracts of wilderness through which the indians occasionally hunted, but as to which there was a question whether they had yet been formally ceded to the government. [footnote: robertson mss., blount to robertson, april , .] land tax and land sales. blount also corresponded with many other men on the question of these land speculations, and it is amusing to read the expressions of horror of his correspondents when they read that tennessee had imposed a land tax. [footnote: blount mss., thomas hart to blount, lexington, ky., march , .] by his activity he became a very large landed proprietor, and when tennessee was made a state he was taxed on , acres in all. the tax was not excessive, being but $ . . [footnote: _do_., return of taxable property of blount, nashville, sept. , .] it was of course entirely proper for blount to get possession of the land in this way. the theory of government on the frontier was that each man should be paid a small salary, and be allowed to exercise his private business just so long as it did not interfere with his public duties. blount's land speculations were similar to those in which almost every other prominent american, in public or private life, was engaged. neither congress nor the states had as yet seen the wisdom of allowing the laud to be sold only in small parcels to actual occupants, and the favorite kind of speculation was the organization of land companies. of course there were other kinds of business in which prominent men took part. sevier was interested not only in land, but in various mercantile ventures of a more or less speculative kind; he acted as an intermediary with the big importers, who were willing to furnish some of the stores with six months' credit if they could be guaranteed a settlement at the end of that time. [footnote: _do_., david allison to blount, oct. , .] business versatility of the frontiersman one of the characteristics of all the leading frontiersmen was not only the way in which they combined business enterprises with their work as government officials and as indian fighters, but the readiness with which they turned from one business enterprise to another. one of blount's kentucky correspondents, thomas hart, the grandfather of benton, in his letter to blount shows these traits in typical fashion. he was engaged in various land speculations with blount, [footnote: clay mss., blount to hart, knoxville, february , . this was just as hart was moving to kentucky.] and was always writing to him about locating land warrants, advertising the same as required by law, and the like. he and blount held some tens of thousands of acres of the henderson claim, and hart proposed that they should lay it out in five-hundred-acre tracts, to be rented to farmers, with the idea that each farmer should receive ten cows and calves to start with; a proposition which was of course hopeless, as the pioneers would not lease lands when it was so easy to obtain freeholds. in his letters, hart mentioned cheerfully that though he was sixty-three years old he was just as well able to carry on his manufacturing business, and, on occasion, to leave it, and play pioneer, as he ever had been, remarking that he "never would be satisfied in the world while new countries could be found," and that his intention, now that he had moved to kentucky, was to push the mercantile business as long as the indian war continued and money was plenty, and when that failed, to turn his attention to farming and to divide up those of his lands he could not till himself, to be rented by others. [footnote: blount mss., thomas hart to blount, dec. , .] this letter to blount shows, by the way, as was shown by madison's correspondent from kentucky, that the indian war, scourge though it was to the frontiersmen as a whole, brought some attendant benefits in its wake by putting a stimulus on the trade of the merchants and bringing ready money into the country. it must not be forgotten, however, that men like hart and blount, though in some ways they were benefited by the war, were in other ways very much injured, and that, moreover, they consistently strove to do justice to the indians and to put a stop to hostilities. in his letters colonel hart betrays a hearty, healthy love of life, and capacity to enjoy it, and make the best of it, which fortunately exist in many kentucky and tennessee families to this day. he wanted money, but the reason he wanted it was to use it in having a good time for himself and his friends, writing: "i feel all the ardor and spirit for business i did forty years ago, and see myself more capable to conduct it. oh, if my old friend uncle jacob was but living and in this country, what pleasure we should have in raking up money and spending it with our friends!" and he closed by earnestly entreating blount and his family to come to kentucky, which he assured him was the finest country in the world, with moreover, "a very pleasant society, for," said he, "i can say with truth that the society of this place is equal, if not superior, to any that can be found in any inland town in the united states, for there is not a day that passes over our heads but i can have half a dozen strange gentlemen to dine with us, and they are from all parts of the union." [footnote: blount mss., hart to blount, lexington, feb. , .] the neverending indian warfare. incessant violation of the treaties by both the red men and the white. the one overshadowing fact in the history of tennessee during blount's term as governor was the indian warfare. hostilities with the indians were never ceasing, and, so far as tennessee was concerned, during these six years it was the indians, and not the whites who were habitually the aggressors and wrongdoers. the indian warfare in the territory during these years deserves some study because it was typical of what occurred elsewhere. it illustrates forcibly the fact that under the actual conditions of settlement wars were inevitable; for if it is admitted that the land of the indians had to be taken and that the continent had to be settled by white men, it must be further admitted that the settlement could not have taken place save after war. the whites might be to blame in some cases, and the indians in others; but under no combination of circumstances was it possible to obtain possession of the country save as the result of war, or of a peace obtained by the fear of war. any peace which did not surrender the land was sure in the end to be broken by the whites; and a peace which did surrender the land would be broken by the indians. the history of tennessee during the dozen years from to offers an admirable case in point. in the united states commissioners concluded the treaty of hopewell with the indians, and solemnly guaranteed them certain lands. the whites contemptuously disregarded this treaty and seized the lands which it guaranteed to the indians, being themselves the aggressors, and paying no heed to the plighted word of the government, while the government itself was too weak to make the frontiersmen keep faith. the treaties of new york and of holston with the creeks and cherokees in and were fairly entered into by fully authorized representatives of the tribes. under them, for a valuable consideration, and of their own motion, the creeks and cherokees solemnly surrendered all title to what is now the territory of tennessee, save to a few tracts mostly in the west and southeast; and much of the land which was thus ceded they had ceded before. nevertheless, the peace thus solemnly made was immediately violated by the indians themselves. the whites were not the aggressors in any way, and, on the contrary, thanks to the wish of the united states authorities for peace, and to the care with which blount strove to carry out the will of the federal government, they for a long time refrained even from retaliating when injured; yet the indians robbed and plundered them even more freely than when the whites themselves had been the aggressors and had broken the treaty. confusion of the treaties. before making the treaty of holston blount had been in correspondence with benjamin hawkins, a man who had always been greatly interested in indian affairs. he was a prominent politician in north carolina, and afterwards for many years agent among the southern indians. he had been concerned in several of the treaties. he warned blount that since the treaty of hopewell the whites, and not the indians, had been the aggressors; and also warned him not to try to get too much land from the indians, or to take away too great an extent of their hunting grounds, which would only help the great land companies, but to be content with the thirty-fifth parallel for a southern boundary. [footnote: blount mss., hawkins to blount, march , .] blount paid much heed to this advice, and by the treaty of holston he obtained from the indians little more than what the tribes had previously granted; except that they confirmed to the whites the country upon which the pioneers were already settled. the cumberland district had already been granted over and over again by the indians in special treaties, to henderson, to the north carolinians and to the united states. the creeks in particular never had had any claim to this cumberland country, which was a hundred miles and over from any of their towns. all the use they had ever made of it was to visit it with their hunting parties, as did the cherokees, choctaws, chickasaws, shawnees, delawares, and many others. yet the creeks and other indians had the effrontery afterwards to assert that the cumberland country had never been ceded at all, and that as the settlers in it were thus outside of the territory properly belonging to the united states, they were not entitled to protection under the treaty entered into with the latter. blount's good faith with the indians. blount was vigilant and active in seeing that none of the frontiersmen trespassed on the indian lands, and when a party of men, claiming authority under georgia, started to settle at the muscle shoals, he co-operated actively with the indians in having them brought back, and did his best, though in vain, to persuade the grand jury to indict the offenders. [footnote: robertson mss., blount to robertson, sept. , .] he was explicit in his orders to sevier, to robertson, and to district attorney jackson that they should promptly punish any white man who violated the provisions of the treaty; and over a year after it had been entered into he was able to write in explicit terms that "not a single settler had built a house, or made a settlement of any kind, on the cherokee lands, and that no indians had been killed by the whites excepting in defence of their lives and property." [footnote: _do_., blount to robertson, jan. , ; to bloody fellow, sept. , .] robertson heartily co-operated with blount, as did sevier, in the effort to keep peace, robertson showing much good sense and self-control, and acquiescing in blount's desire that nothing should be done "inconsistent with the good of the nation as a whole," and that "the faith of the nation should be kept." [footnote: blount mss., robertson to blount, jan. , .] bad faith of the indians. the indians as a body showed no appreciation whatever of these efforts to keep the peace, and plundered and murdered quite as freely as before the treaties, or as when the whites themselves were the aggressors. the creek confederacy was in a condition of utter disorganization, mcgillivray's authority was repudiated, and most of the towns scornfully refused to obey the treaty into which their representatives had entered at new york. a tory adventurer named bowles, who claimed to have the backing of the english government, landed in the nation and set himself in opposition to mcgillivray. the latter, who was no fighter, and whose tools were treachery and craft, fled to the protection of the spaniards. bowles, among other feats, plundered the stores of panton, a white trader in the spanish interest, and for a moment his authority seemed supreme; but the spaniards, by a trick, got possession of him and put him in prison. intrigues of the spaniards. the spaniards still claimed as their own the southwestern country, and were untiring in their efforts to keep the indians united among themselves and hostile to the americans. they concluded a formal treaty of friendship and of reciprocal guarantee with the choctaws, chickasaws, creeks, and cherokees at nogales, in the choctaw country, on may , . [footnote: draper mss., spanish documents; letter of carondelet to duke of alcudia, nov. , .] the indians entered into this treaty at the very time they had concluded wholly inconsistent treaties with the americans. on the place of the treaty the spaniards built a fort, which they named fort confederation, to perpetuate, as they hoped, the memory of the confederation they had thus established among the southern indians. by means of this fort they intended to control all the territory enclosed between the rivers mississippi, yazoo, chickasaw, and mobile. the spaniards also expended large sums of money in arming the creeks, and in bribing them to do, what they were quite willing to do of their own accord,--that is, to prevent the demarkation of the boundary line as provided in the new york treaty; a treaty which carondelet reported to his court as "insulting and pernicious to spain, the abrogation of which has lately been brought about by the intrigues with the indians." [footnote: draper mss., letter of carondelet, new orleans, sept. , .] carondelet's policy. at the same time that the bill for these expenses was submitted for audit to the home government the spanish governor also submitted his accounts for the expenses in organizing the expedition against the "english adventurer bowles," and in negotiating with wilkinson and the other kentucky separatists, and also in establishing a spanish post at the chickasaw bluffs, for which he had finally obtained the permission of the chickasaws. the americans of course regarded the establishment both of the fort at the chickasaw bluffs and the fort at nogales as direct challenges; and carondelet's accounts show that the frontiersmen were entirely justified in their belief that the spaniards not only supplied the creeks with arms and munitions of war, but actively interfered to prevent them from keeping faith and carrying out the treaties which they had signed. the spaniards did not wish the indians to go to war unless it was necessary as a last resort. they preferred that they should be peaceful, provided always they could prevent the intrusion of the americans. carondelet wrote: "we have inspired the creeks with pacific intentions towards the united states, but with the precise restriction that there shall be no change of the boundaries," [footnote: draper mss., spanish docs.; carondelet's report, oct. , .] and he added that "to sustain our allied nations [of indians] in the possession of their lands becomes therefore indispensable, both to preserve louisiana to spain, and in order to keep the americans from the navigation of the gulf." he expressed great uneasiness at the efforts of robertson to foment war between the chickasaws and choctaws and the creeks, and exerted all his powers to keep the indian nations at peace with one another and united against the settler-folk. [footnote: _do_., carondelet to don louis de las casas, june , , enclosing letter from don m. g. de lemos, governor of natchez.] the spaniards far more treacherous than the british. the spaniards, though with far more infamous and deliberate deceit and far grosser treachery, were pursuing towards the united states and the southwestern indians the policy pursued by the british towards the united states and the northwestern indians; with the difference that the spanish governor and his agents acted under the orders of the court of spain, while the english authorities connived at and profited by, rather than directly commanded, what was done by their subordinates. carondelet expressly states that colonel gayoso and his other subordinates had been directed to unite the indian nations in a defensive alliance, under the protection of spain, with the object of opposing blount, robertson, and the frontiersmen, and of establishing the cumberland river as the boundary between the americans and the indians. the reciprocal guarantee of their lands by the creeks, cherokees, choctaws, and chickasaws was, said carondelet, the only way by which the americans could be retained within their own boundaries. [footnote: carondelet to alcudia, aug. , .] the spaniards devoted much attention to supporting those traders among the indians who were faithful to the cause of spain and could be relied upon to intrigue against the americans. [footnote: _do_., manuel gayoso de lemos to carondelet, nogales, july , .] carondelet's tortuous intrigues. the divided condition of the creeks, some of whom wished to carry out in good faith the treaty of new york, while the others threatened to attack whoever made any move towards putting the treaty into effect, puzzled carondelet nearly as much as it did the united states authorities; and he endeavored to force the creeks to abstain from warfare with the chickasaws by refusing to supply them with munitions of war for any such purpose, or for any other except to oppose the frontiersmen. he put great faith in the endeavor to treat the americans not as one nation, but as an assemblage of different communities. the spaniards sought to placate the kentuckians by promising to reduce the duties on the goods that came down stream to new orleans by six per cent., and thus to prevent an outbreak on their part; at the same time the united states government was kept occupied by idle negotiations. carondelet further hoped to restrain the cumberland people by fear of the creek and cherokee nations, who, he remarked, "had never ceased to commit hostilities upon them and to profess implacable hatred for them." [footnote: carondelet to de lemos, aug. , .] he reported to the spanish court that spain had no means of molesting the americans save through the indians, as it would not be possible with an army to make a serious impression on the "ferocious and well-armed" frontier people, favored as they would be by their knowledge of the country; whereas the indians, if properly supported, offered an excellent defence, supplying from the southwestern tribes fifteen thousand warriors, whose keep in time of peace cost spain not more than fifty thousand dollars a year, and even in time of war not more than a hundred and fifty thousand. [footnote: carondelet to alcudia, sept. , .] he continually incites the indians to war. the spaniards in this manner actively fomented hostilities among the creeks and cherokees. their support explained much in the attitude of these peoples, but doubtless the war would have gone on anyhow until the savages were thoroughly cowed by force of arms. the chief causes for the incessantly renewed hostilities were the desire of the young braves for blood and glory, a vague but well-founded belief among the indians that the white advance meant their ruin unless stayed by an appeal to arms, and, more important still, the absolute lack of any central authority among the tribesmen which could compel them all to war together effectively on the one hand, or all to make peace on the other. seagrove the indian agent. blount was superintendent of indian affairs for the southern indians as well as governor of the territory; and in addition the federal authorities established an indian agent, directly responsible to themselves, among the creeks. his name was james seagrove. he did his best to bring about a peace, and, like all indian agents, he was apt to take an unduly harsh view of the deeds of the frontiersmen, and to consider them the real aggressors in any trouble. of necessity his point of view was wholly different from that of the border settlers. he was promptly informed of all the outrages and aggressions committed by the whites, while he heard little or nothing of the parties of young braves, bent on rapine, who continually fell on the frontiers; whereas the frontiersmen came in contact only with these war bands, and when their kinsfolk had been murdered and their cattle driven off, they were generally ready to take vengeance on the first indians they could find. even seagrove, however, was at times hopelessly puzzled by the attitude of the indians. he was obliged to admit that they were the first offenders, after the conclusion of the treaties of new york and holston, and that for a long time the settlers behaved with great moderation in refraining from revenging the outrages committed on them by the indians, which, he remarked, would have to be stopped if peace was to be preserved. [footnote: american state papers, iv., seagrove to the secretary of war, st. mary's, june , .] disorder among the frontiersmen. mcgillivray bewildered. as the government took no efficient steps to preserve the peace, either by chastising the indians or by bridling the ill-judged vengeance of the frontier inhabitants, many of the latter soon grew to hate and despise those by whom they were neither protected nor restrained. the disorderly element got the upper hand on the georgia frontier, where the backwoodsmen did all they could to involve the nation in a general indian war; and displayed the most defiant and mutinous spirit toward the officers, civil and military, of the united states government. [footnote: _do_., seagrove to the president, rock landing, on the oconee, in georgia, july , .] as for the creeks, seagrove found it exceedingly hard to tell who of them were traitors and who were not; and indeed the chiefs would probably themselves have found the task difficult, for they were obliged to waver more or less in their course as the fickle tribesmen were swayed by impulses towards peace or war. one of the men whom seagrove finally grew to regard as a confirmed traitor was the chief, mcgillivray. he was probably quite right in his estimate of the half-breed's character; and, on the other hand, mcgillivray doubtless had as an excuse the fact that the perpetual intrigues of spanish officers, american traders, british adventurers, creek chiefs who wished peace, and creek warriors who wished war, made it out of the question for him to follow any settled policy. he wrote to seagrove: "it is no wonder the indians are distracted, when they are tampered with on every side. i am myself in the situation of a keeper of bedlam, and nearly fit for an inhabitant." [footnote: american state papers, iv., mcgillivray to seagrove, may , .] however, what he did amounted to but little, for his influence had greatly waned, and in he died. the indians the aggressors. on the georgia frontier the backwoodsmen were very rough and lawless, and were always prone to make aggressions on the red men; nevertheless, even in the case of georgia in and ' , the chief fault lay with the indians. they refused to make good the land cession which they had solemnly guaranteed at the treaty of new york, and which certain of their towns had previously covenanted to make in the various more or less fraudulent treaties entered into with the state of georgia separately. in addition to this their plundering parties continually went among the georgians. the latter, in their efforts to retaliate, struck the hostile and the peaceful alike; and as time went on they made ready to take forcible possession of the lands they coveted, without regard to whether or not these lands had been ceded in fair treaty. in the tennessee country the wrong was wholly with the indians. some of the chiefs of the cherokees went to philadelphia at the beginning of the year to request certain modifications of the treaty of holston, notably an increase in their annuity, which was granted. [footnote: _do_., secretary of war to governor blount, jan. , .] their outrages on the tennesseeans. the general government had conducted the treaties in good faith and had given the indians what they asked. the frontiersmen did not molest them in any way or trespass upon their lands; yet their ravages continued without cessation. the authorities at washington made but feeble efforts to check these outrages, and protect the southwestern settlers. yet at this time tennessee was doing her full part in sustaining the national government in the war against the northwestern tribes; a company of tennessee militia, under captain jacob tipton, joined st. clair's army, and tipton was slain at the defeat, where he fought with the utmost bravery. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, dec. , . i use the word "tennessee" for convenience; it was not at this time used in this sense.] not unnaturally the tennesseeans, and especially the settlers on the far-off cumberland, felt it a hardship for the united states to neglect their defence at the very time that they were furnishing their quota of soldiers for an offensive war against nations in whose subdual they had but an indirect interest. robertson wrote to blount that their silence and remoteness was the cause why the interests of the cumberland settlers were thus neglected, while the kentuckians were amply protected. [footnote: robertson mss., robertson's letter, nashville, aug. , .] anger of the tennesseeans. blindness of the federal government. naturally the tennesseeans, conscious that they had not wronged the indians, and had scrupulously observed the treaty, grew imbittered over, the wanton indian outrages. they were entirely at a loss to explain the reason why the warfare against them was waged with such ferocity. sevier wrote to madison, with whom he frequently corresponded: "this country is wholly involved in a war with the creek and cherokee indians, and i am not able to suggest the reasons or the pretended cause of their depredations. the successes of the northern tribes over our late unfortunate armies have created great exultation throughout the whole southern indians, and the probabilities may be they expect to be equally successful. the spaniards are making use of all their art to draw over the southern tribes, and i fear may have stimulated them to commence their hostilities. governor blount has indefatigably labored to keep these people in a pacific humor, but in vain. war is unavoidable, however ruinous and calamitous it may be." [footnote: state dep. mss., madison papers, sevier's letter, oct. , .] the federal government was most reluctant to look facts in the face and acknowledge that the hostilities were serious, and that they were unprovoked by the whites. the secretary of war reported to the president that the offenders were doubtless merely a small banditti of creeks and cherokees, with a few shawnees who possessed no fixed residence; and in groping for a remedy he weakly suggested that inasmuch as many of the cherokees seemed to be dissatisfied with the boundary line they had established by treaty it would perhaps be well to alter it. [footnote: state dep. mss., washington papers, secretary of war to the president, july , and aug. , .] of course the adoption of such a measure would have amounted to putting a premium on murder and treachery. odd manifestations of particularistic feeling. if the easterners were insensible to the western need for a vigorous indian war, many of the westerners showed as little appreciation of the necessity for any indian war which did not immediately concern themselves. individual kentuckians, individual colonels and captains of the kentucky militia, were always ready to march to the help of the tennesseeans against the southern indians; but the highest officials of kentucky were almost as anxious as the federal authorities to prevent any war save that with the tribes northwest of the ohio. one of the kentucky senators, brown, in writing to the governor, isaac shelby, laid particular stress upon the fact that nothing but the most urgent necessity could justify a war with the southern indians. [footnote: shelby mss., j. brown to isaac shelby, philadelphia, june , .] shelby himself sympathized with this feeling. he knew what an indian war was, for he had owed his election largely to his record as an indian fighter and to the confidence the kentuckians felt in his power to protect them from their red foes. [footnote: _do_., m. d. hardin to isaac shelby, april , , etc., etc.] his correspondence is filled with letters in relation to indian affairs, requests to authorize the use of spies, requests to establish guards along the wilderness road and to garrison blockhouses on the frontier; and sometimes there are more pathetic letters, from a husband who had lost a wife, or from an "old, frail woman," who wished to know if the governor could not by some means get news of her little granddaughter who had been captured in the wilderness two years before by a party of indians. [footnote: _do._, letter of mary mitchell to isaac shelby, may , .] he realized fully what hostilities meant, and had no desire to see his state plunged into any indian war which could be avoided. yet, in spite of this cautious attitude, shelby had much influence with the people of the tennessee territory. they confided to him their indignation with blount for stopping logan's march to the aid of robertson; while on the other hand the virginians, when anxious to prevent the cumberland settlers from breaking the peace, besought him to use his influence with them in order to make them do what was right. [footnote: shelby mss., arthur campbell to shelby, january , ; letter from cumberland to shelby, may , ; john logan to shelby, june , ; petition of inhabitants of nelson county, may , .] when such a man as shelby was reluctant to see the united states enter into open hostilities with the southern indians, there is small cause for wonder in the fact that the authorities at the national capital did their best to deceive themselves into the belief that there was no real cause for war. intolerable hardships of the settlers. inability to look facts in the face did not alter the facts. the indian ravages in the southern territory grew steadily more and more serious. the difficulties of the settlers were enormously increased because the united states strictly forbade any offensive measures. the militia were allowed to drive off any war bands found among the settlements with evidently hostile intent; but, acting under the explicit, often repeated, and emphatic commands of the general government, blount was obliged to order the militia under no circumstances to assume the offensive, or to cross into the indian hunting grounds beyond the boundaries established by the treaty of holston. [footnote: robertson mss., blount to robertson, april , .] the inhabitants of the cumberland region, and of the frontier counties generally, petitioned strongly against this, stating that "the frontiers will break if the inroads of the savages are not checked by counter expeditions." [footnote: _do_., feb. , .] blount's good conduct. it was a very disagreeable situation for blount, who, in carrying out the orders of the federal authorities, had to incur the ill-will of the people whom he had been appointed to govern; but even at the cost of being supposed to be lukewarm in the cause of the settlers, he loyally endeavored to execute the commands of his superiors. yet like every other man acquainted by actual experience with frontier life and indian warfare, he knew the folly of defensive war against indians. at this very time the officers on the frontier of south carolina, which was not a state that was at all inclined to unjust aggression against the indians, notified the governor that the defensive war was "expensive, hazardous, and distressing" to the settlers, because the indians "had such advantages, being so wolfish in their manner and so savage in their nature," that it was impossible to make war upon them on equal terms if the settlers were confined to defending themselves in their own country, whereas a speedy and spirited counter-attack upon them in their homes would probably reduce them to peace, as their mode of warfare fitted them much less to oppose such an attack than to "take skulking, wolfish advantages of the defenceless" settlers. [footnote: american state papers, iv., robert anderson to the governor of south carolina, sep. , .] doublefaced conduct of the creeks and cherokees. the difficulties of blount and the tennessee frontiersmen were increased by the very fact that the cherokees and creeks still nominally remained at peace. the indian towns nearest the frontier knew that they were jeopardized by the acts of their wilder brethren, and generally strove to avoid committing any offense themselves. the war parties from the remote towns were the chief offenders. band after band came up from among the creeks or from among the lower cherokees, and, passing through the peaceful villages of the upper cherokees, fell on the frontier, stole horses, ambushed men, killed or captured women and children, and returned whence they had come. in most cases it was quite impossible to determine even the tribe of the offenders with any certainty; and all that the frontiersmen knew was that their bloody trails led back towards the very villages where the indians loudly professed that they were at peace. they soon grew to regard all the indians with equal suspicion, and they were so goaded by the blows which they could not return that they were ready to take vengeance upon any one with a red skin, or at least to condone such vengeance when taken. the peaceful cherokees, though they regretted these actions and were alarmed and disquieted at the probable consequences, were unwilling or unable to punish the aggressors. blount warns the federal government. blount was soon at his wits' ends to prevent the outbreak of a general war. in november, , he furnished the war department with a list of scores of people--men, women, and children--who had been killed in tennessee, chiefly in the cumberland district, since the signing of the treaty of holston. many others had been carried off, and were kept in slavery. among the wounded were general robertson and one of his sons, who were shot, although not fatally, in may, , while working on their farm. both creeks and cherokees took part in the outrages, and the chickamauga towns on the tennessee, at running water, nickajack, and in the neighborhood, ultimately supplied the most persistent wrongdoers. [footnote: american state papers, iv., blount to secretary of war, nov. , ; also page , etc. many of these facts will be found recited, not only in the correspondence of blount, but in the robertson mss., in the _knoxville gazette_, and in haywood, ramsey, and putman.] effect of the defeat of harmar and st. clair. growth of the war spirit. as sevier remarked, the southern, no less than the northern indians were much excited and encouraged by the defeat of st. clair, coming as it did so close upon the defeat of harmar. the double disaster to the american arms made the young braves very bold, and it became impossible for the elder men to restrain them. [footnote: american state papers, iv., pp. , , etc.] the creeks harassed the frontiers of georgia somewhat, but devoted their main attention to the tennesseeans, and especially to the isolated settlements on the cumberland. the chickamauga towns were right at the crossing place both for the northern indians when they came south and for the creeks when they went north. bands of shawnees, who were at this time the most inveterate of the enemies of the frontiersmen, passed much time among them; and the creek war parties, when they journeyed north to steal horses and get scalps, invariably stopped among them, and on their return stopped again to exhibit their trophies and hold scalp dances. the natural effect was that the chickamaugas, who were mainly lower town cherokees, seeing the impunity with which the ravages were committed, and appreciating the fact that under the orders of the government they could not be molested in their own homes by the whites, began to join in the raids; and their nearness to the settlements soon made them the worst offenders. one of their leading chiefs was john watts, who was of mixed blood. among all these southern indians, half-breeds were far more numerous than among the northerners, and when the half-breeds lived with their mothers' people they usually became the deadliest enemies of their fathers' race. yet, they generally preserved the father's name. in consequence, among the extraordinary indian titles borne by the chiefs of the creeks, cherokees, and choctaws--the bloody fellow, the middle striker, the mad dog, the glass, the breath--there were also many names like john watts, alexander cornell, and james colbert, which were common among the frontiersmen themselves. fruitless peace negotiations. these chickamaugas, and lower cherokees, had solemnly entered into treaties of peace, and blount had been taken in by their professions of friendship, and for some time was loath to believe that their warriors were among war parties who ravaged the settlements. by the spring of , however, the fact of their hostility could no longer be concealed. nevertheless, in may of that year the chiefs of the lower cherokee towns, joined with those of the upper towns in pressing governor blount to come to a council at coyatee, where he was met by two thousand cherokees, including all their principal chiefs and warriors. [footnote: robertson's mss., blount to robertson, may , .] the head men, not only from the upper towns, but from nickajack and running water, including john watts, solemnly assured blount of their peaceful intentions, and expressed their regret at the outrages which they admitted had been committed by their young men. blount told them plainly that he had the utmost difficulty in restraining the whites from taking vengeance for the numerous murders committed on the settlers, and warned them that if they wished to avert a war which would fall upon both the innocent and the guilty they must themselves keep the peace. the chiefs answered, with seeming earnestness, that they were most desirous of being at peace, and would certainly restrain their men; and they begged for the treaty goods which blount had in his possession. so sincere did they seem that he gave them the goods. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, march , ; american state papers, iv., blount to secretary of war, june , , with minutes of conference at coyatee.] this meeting began on the th of may, yet on the th, within twelve miles of knoxville, two boys were killed and scalped while picking strawberries, and on the th a girl had been scalped within four miles of nashville; and on the th itself, while judge campbell of the territorial court was returning from the cumberland circuit his party was attacked, and one killed. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, june , .] chickamaugas make open war. try to deceive blount. when such outrages were committed at the very time the treaty was being held, it was hopeless to expect peace. in september the chickamaugas threw off the mask and made open war. when the news was received blount called out the militia and sent word to robertson that some friendly cherokees had given warning that a big war party was about to fall on the settlements round nashville. [footnote: american state papers, iv., blount to secretary of war, sept. , .] finding that the warning had been given, the chickamauga chiefs sought to lull their foes into security by a rather adroit peace of treachery. two of their chiefs, the glass and the bloody fellow, wrote to blount complaining that they had assembled their warriors because they were alarmed over rumors of a desire on the part of the whites to maltreat them; and on the receipt of assurances from blount that they were mistaken, they announced their pleasure and stated that no hostilities would be undertaken. blount was much relieved at this, and thought that the danger of an outbreak was past. accordingly he wrote to robertson telling him that he could disband his troops, as there was no longer need of them. robertson, however, knew the indian character as few men did know it, and, moreover, he had received confidential information about the impending raid from a half-breed and a frenchman who were among the indians. he did not disband his troops, and wrote to blount that the glass and the bloody fellow had undoubtedly written as they did simply to deceive him and to secure their villages from a counter-attack while they were off on their raid against the cumberland people. accordingly three hundred militia were put under arms. [footnote: robertson mss., blount to robertson, sept. , ; blount to the bloody fellow, sept. , ; to robertson, sept. ; to the glass, sept. ; to the bloody fellow, sept. ; to robertson, sept. ; robertson to blount, sept. , .] attack buchanan's station. failure of the attack. it was well that the whites were on their guard. towards the end of september a big war party, under the command of john watts and including some two hundred cherokees, eighty creeks, and some shawnees, left the chickamauga towns and marched swiftly and silently to the cumberland district. they attempted to surprise one of the more considerable of the lonely little forted towns. it was known as buchanan's station, and in it there were several families, including fifteen "gun-men." two spies went out from it to scour the country and give warning of any indian advance; but with the cherokees were two very white half-breeds, whose indian blood was scarcely noticeable, and these two men met the spies and decoyed them to their death. the indians then, soon after midnight on the th of september, sought to rush the station by surprise. the alarm was given by the running of the frightened cattle, and when the sentinel fired at the assailants they were not ten yards from the gate of the blockhouse. the barred door withstood the shock and the flame-flashes lit up the night as the gun-men fired through the loop-holes. the indians tried to burn the fort, one of the chiefs, a half-breed, leaping on the roof; he was shot through the thigh and rolled off; but he stayed close to the logs trying to light them with his torch, alternately blowing it into a blaze and halloing to the indians to keep on with the attack. however, he was slain, as was the shawnee head chief, and several warriors, while john watts, leader of the expedition, was shot through both thighs. the log walls of the grim little blockhouse stood out black in the fitful glare of the cane torches; and tongues of red fire streamed into the night as the rifles rang. the attack had failed, and the throng of dark, flitting forms faded into the gloom as the baffled indians retreated. so disheartened were they by the check, and by the loss they had suffered, that they did not further molest the settlements, but fell back to their strongholds across the tennessee. among the cherokee chiefs who led the raid were two signers of the treaty of holston. [footnote: robertson mss., blount to robertson, oct. , ; _knoxville gazette_, oct. , and oct. , ; brown's narrative, in _southwestern monthly_.] monotony of the indian outrages. after this the war was open, so far as the indians of the lower cherokee towns and of many of the creek towns were concerned; but the whites were still restrained by strict orders from the united states authorities, who refused to allow them to retaliate. outrage followed outrage in monotonously bloody succession. the creeks were the worst offenders in point of numbers, but the lower cherokees from the chickamauga towns did most harm according to their power. sometimes the bands that entered the settlements were several hundred strong; but their chief object was plunder, and they rarely attacked the strong places of the white frontiersmen, though they forced them to keep huddled in the stockaded stations; nor did they often fight a pitched battle with the larger bodies of militia. there is no reason for reciting in full the countless deeds of rapine and murder. the incidents, though with infinite variety of detail, were in substance the same as in all the indian wars of the backwoods. men, women, and children were killed or captured; outlying cabins were attacked and burned; the husbandman was shot as he worked in the field, and the housewife as she went for water. the victim was now a militiaman on his way to join his company, now one of a party of immigrants, now a settler on his lonely farm, and now a justice of the peace going to court, or a baptist preacher striving to reach the cumberland country that he might preach the word of god to the people who had among them no religious instructor. the express messengers and post riders, who went through the wilderness from one commander to the other, always rode at hazard of their lives. in one of blount's letters to robertson he remarks: "your letter of the th of february sent express by james russell was handed to me, much stained with his blood, by mr. shannon, who accompanied him." russell had been wounded in an ambuscade, and his fifty dollars were dearly earned. [footnote: robertson mss., blount to robertson, march , . the files of the _knoxville gazette_ are full of details of these outrages, and so are the letters of blount to the secretary of war given in the american state papers, as well as the letters of blount and robertson in the two bound volumes of robertson mss. many of them are quoted in more accessible form in haywood.] horse-stealing. brutal white ruffians. the indians were even more fond of horse-stealing than of murder, and they found a ready market for their horses not only in their own nations and among the spaniards, but among the american frontiersmen themselves. many of the unscrupulous white scoundrels who lived on the borders of the indian country made a regular practice of receiving the stolen horses. as soon as a horse was driven from the tennessee or cumberland it was hurried through the indian country to the carolina or georgia frontiers, where the red thieves delivered it to the foul white receivers, who took it to some town on the seaboard, so as effectually to prevent a recovery. at swannanoa in north carolina, among the lawless settlements at the foot of the oconee mountain in south carolina, and at tugaloo in georgia, there were regular markets for these stolen horses. [footnote: blount to the secretary of war, may , , and nov. , . as before, i use the word "tennessee" instead of "southwestern territory" for convenience; it was not regularly employed until .] there were then, and continued to exist as long as the frontier lasted, plenty of white men who, though ready enough to wrong the indians, were equally ready to profit by the wrongs they inflicted on the white settlers, and to encourage their misdeeds if profit was thereby to be made. very little evildoing of this kind took place tennessee, for blount, backed by sevier and robertson, was vigilant to put it down; but as yet the federal government was not firm in its seat, and its arm was not long enough to reach into the remote frontier districts, where lawlessness of every kind throve, and the whites wronged one another as recklessly as they wronged the indians. sufferings of the honest settlers. blount's efforts to prevent brutality. the white scoundrels throve in the confusion of a nominal peace which the savages broke at will; but the honest frontiersmen really suffered more than if there had been open war, as the federal government refused to allow raids to be carried into the indian territory, and in consequence the marauding indians could at any time reach a place of safety. the blockhouses were of little consequence in putting a stop to indian attacks. the most efficient means of defence was the employment of the hardiest and best hunters as scouts or spies, for they travelled hither and thither through the woods and continually harried the war parties. [footnote: american state papers, iv., p. ; letter of secretary of war, may , .] the militia bands also travelled to and fro, marching to the rescue of some threatened settlement, or seeking to intercept the attacking bands or to overtake those who had delivered their stroke and were returning to the indian country. generally they failed in the pursuit. occasionally they were themselves ambushed, attacked, and dispersed; sometimes they overtook and scattered their foes. in such a case they were as little apt to show mercy to the defeated as were the indians themselves. blount issued strict orders that squaws and children were not to be slain, and the frontiersmen did generally refuse to copy their antagonists in butchering the women and children in cold blood. when an attack was made on a camp, however, it was no uncommon thing to have the squaws killed while the fight was hot. blount, in one of his letters to robertson, after the cumberland militia had attacked and destroyed a creek war party which had murdered a settler, expressed his pleasure at the perseverance with which the militia captain had followed the indians to the banks of the tennessee, where he had been lucky enough to overtake them in a position where not one was able to escape. blount especially complimented him upon having spared the two squaws, "as all civilized people should"; and he added that in so doing the captain's conduct offered a most agreeable contrast to the behavior of some of his fellow citizens under like circumstances. [footnote: robertson mss., blount's letter, march , .] repeated failures to secure peace. repeated efforts were made to secure peace with the indians. andrew pickens, of south carolina, was sent to the exposed frontier in to act as peace commissioner. pickens was a high-minded and honorable man, who never hesitated to condemn the frontiersmen when they wronged the indians, and he was a champion of the latter wherever possible. he came out with every hope and belief that he could make a permanent treaty; but after having been some time on the border he was obliged to admit that there was no chance of bringing about even a truce, and that the nominal peace that obtained was worse for the settlers than actual war. he wrote to blount that though he earnestly hoped the people of the border would observe the treaty, yet that the cherokees had done more damage, especially in the way of horse stealing, since the treaty was signed than ever before, and that it was not possible to say what the frontier inhabitants might be provoked to do. he continued: "while a part, and that the ostensible ruling part, of a nation affect to be at, and i believe really are for, peace, and the more active young men are frequently killing people and stealing horses, it is extremely difficult to know how to act. the people, even the most exposed, would prefer an open war to such a situation. the reason is obvious. a man would then know when he saw an indian he saw an enemy, and would be prepared and act accordingly." [footnote: american state papers, pickens to blount, hopewell, april , .] the georgia frontier. the people of tennessee were the wronged, and not the wrongdoers, and it was upon them that the heaviest strokes of the indians fell. the georgia frontiers were also harried continually, although much less severely; but the georgians were themselves far from blameless. georgia was the youngest, weakest, and most lawless of the original thirteen states, and on the whole her dealings with the indians were far from creditable, more than once she inflicted shameful wrong on the cherokees. the creeks, however, generally wronged her more than she wronged them, and at this particular period even the georgia frontiersmen were much less to blame than were their indian foes. by fair treaty the indians had agreed to cede to the whites lands upon which they now refused to allow them to settle. they continually plundered and murdered the outlying georgia settlers; and the militia, in their retaliatory expeditions, having no knowledge of who the murderers actually were, quite as often killed the innocent as the guilty. one of the complaints of the indians was that the georgians came in parties to hunt on the neutral ground, and slew quantities of deer and turkeys by fire hunting at night and by still hunting with the rifle in the daytime, while they killed many bears by the aid of their "great gangs of dogs." [footnote: american state papers, timothy barnard to james seagrove, march , .] this could hardly be called a legitimate objection on the part of the creeks, however, for their own hunting parties ranged freely through the lands they had ceded to the whites and killed game wherever they could find it. evil and fearful deeds were done by both sides. peaceful indians, even envoys, going to the treaty grounds were slain in cold blood; and all that the georgians could allege by way of offset was that the savages themselves had killed many peaceful whites. brutal nature of the contest in georgia. the georgia frontiersmen openly showed their sullen hatred of the united states authorities. the georgia state government was too weak to enforce order. it could neither keep the peace among its own frontiersmen, nor wage effective war on the indians; for when the militia did gather to invade the creek country they were so mutinous and disorderly that the expeditions generally broke up without accomplishing anything. at one period a militia general, elijah clark, actually led a large party of frontiersmen into the unceded creek hunting grounds with the purpose of setting up an independent government; but the georgia authorities for once summoned energy sufficient to break up this lawless community. [footnote: american state papers, iv., pp. , , , , , , , , , , etc.; _knoxville gazette_, sept. , . for further allusion to clark's settlement, see next chapter.] blount's faithful efforts to preserve the peace. the georgians were thus far from guiltless themselves, though at this time they were more sinned against than sinning; but in the tennessee territory the white settlers behaved very well throughout these years, and showed both patience and fairness in their treatment of the indians. blount did his best to prevent outrages, and sevier and robertson heartily seconded him. in spite of the grumbling of the frontiersmen, and in spite of repeated and almost intolerable provocation in the way of indian forays, blount steadily refused to allow counter-expeditions into the indian territory, and stopped both the tennesseeans and kentuckians when they prepared to make such expeditions. [footnote: robertson mss., blount to robertson, jan. , ; to benjamin logan, nov. , , etc.] judge campbell, the same man who was himself attacked by the indians when returning from his circuit, in his charge to the grand jury at the end of , particularly warned them to stop any lawless attack upon the indians. in november, , when five creeks, headed by a scotch half-breed, retreated to the cherokee town of chiloa with stolen horses, a band of fifty whites gathered to march after them and destroy the cherokee town; but sevier dispersed them and made them go to their own homes. the following february a still larger band gathered to attack the cherokee towns and were dispersed by blount himself. robertson, in the summer of , prevented militia parties from crossing the tennessee in retaliation. in october, , the grand jury of hamilton county entreated and adjured the people, in spite of the indian outrages to stand firmly by the law, and not to try to be their own avengers; and when some whites settled in powell's valley, on cherokee lands, governor blount promptly turned them off. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, dec. , ; nov. , ; jan. , ; feb. , mar. , july , sept. , ; nov. and , ; may , .] seagrove's difficulties. the unfortunate indian agent among the creeks, seagrove, speedily became an object of special detestation to the frontiersmen generally, and the inhabitants of the tennessee country in particular, because he persistently reported that he thought the creeks peaceable, and deemed their behavior less blameable than that of the whites. his attitude was natural, for probably most of the creek chiefs with whom he came in contact were friendly, and many of those who were not professed to be so when in his company, if only for the sake of getting the goods he had to distribute; and of course they brought him word whenever the georgians killed a creek, either innocent or guilty, without telling him of the offence which the georgians were blindly trying to revenge. seagrove himself had some rude awakenings. after reporting to the central government at philadelphia that the creeks were warm in professing the most sincere friendship, he would suddenly find, to his horror, that they were sending off war parties and acting in concert with the shawnees; and at one time they actually, without any provocation, attacked a trading store kept by his own brother, and killed the two men who were managing it. [footnote: american state papers, seagrove to james holmes, feb. , ; to mr. payne, april , .] most of the creeks, however, professed, and doubtless felt, regret at these outrages, and seagrove continued to represent their conduct in a favorable light to the central government, though he was forced to admit that certain of the towns were undoubtedly hostile and could not be controlled by the party which was for peace. blount calls seagrove to account. blount was much put out at the fact that seagrove was believed at philadelphia when he reported the creeks to be at peace. in a letter to seagrove, at the beginning of , blount told him sharply that as far as the cumberland district was concerned the creeks had been the only ones to blame since the treaty of new york, for they had killed or enslaved over two hundred whites, attacking them in their houses, fields, or on the public roads, and had driven off over a thousand horses, while the americans had done the creeks no injuries whatever except in defence of their homes and lives, or in pursuing war parties. it was possible of course that occasionally an innocent hunter suffered with the guilty marauders, but this was because he was off his own hunting grounds; and the treaty explicitly showed that the creeks had no claim to the cumberland region, while there was not a particle of truth in their assertion that since the treaty had been entered into there had been intrusion on their hunting grounds. seagrove, in response, wrote that he believed the creeks and cherokees sincerely desired peace. this was followed forthwith by new outrages, and blount wrote to robertson: "it does really seem as if assurances from mr. seagrove of the peaceful disposition of the creeks was the prelude to their murdering and plundering the inhabitants of your district." [footnote: robertson mss., blount to robertson, feb. , ; blount to james seagrove, jan. , ; seagrove to blount, feb. , ; blount to robertson, march , .] the _knoxville gazette_ called attention to the fact that seagrove had written a letter to the effect that the creeks were well disposed, just four days before the attack on buchanan station. on september d seagrove wrote stating that the creeks were peaceable, that all their chief men ardently wished for the cessation of hostilities, and that they had refused the request of the cherokees to go to war with the united states; and his deputy agent, barnard, reiterated the assertions and stated that the upper creeks had remained quiet, although six of their people had been killed at the mouth of the tennessee. the _gazette_ thereupon published a list of twenty-one men, women, and children who at that very time were held in slavery in the creek towns, and enumerated scores of murders which had been committed by the creeks during precisely the period when seagrove and barnard described them as so desirous of peace. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, dec. , ; dec. , .] increasing indignation of the settlers. under such circumstances the settlers naturally grew indignant with the united states because they were not protected, and were not even allowed to defend themselves by punishing their foes. the creeks and cherokees were receiving their annuities regularly, and many presents in addition, while their outrages continued unceasingly. the nashville people complained that the creeks were "as busy in killing and scalping as if they had been paid three thousand dollars for so doing, in the room of fifteen hundred dollars to keep the peace." [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, march , .] a public address was issued in the _knoxville gazette_ by the tennesseeans on the subjects of their wrongs. in respectful and loyal language, but firmly, the tennesseeans called the attention of the government authorities to their sufferings. they avowed the utmost devotion to the union and a determination to stand by the laws, but insisted that it would be absolutely necessary for them to take measures to defend themselves by retaliating on the indians. nature of the indian inroads. a feature of the address was its vivid picture of the nature of the ordinary indian inroad and of the lack of any definite system of defence on the frontier. it stated that the indian raid or outbreak was usually first made known either by the murder of some defenceless farmer, the escape of some indian trader, or the warning of some friendly indian who wished to avoid mischief. the first man who received the news, not having made any agreement with the other members of the community as to his course in such an emergency, ran away to his kinsfolk as fast as he could. every neighbor caught the alarm, thought himself the only person left to fight, and got off on the same route as speedily as possible, until, luckily for all, the meeting of the roads on the general retreat, the difficulty of the way, the straying of horses, and sometimes the halting to drink whiskey, put a stop to "the hurly-burly of the flight" and reminded the fugitives that by this time they were in sufficient force to rally; and then they would return "to explore the plundered country and to bury the unfortunate scalped heads in the fag-end of the retreat"; whereas if there had been an appointed rendezvous where all could rally it would have prevented such a flight from what might possibly have been a body of indians far inferior in numbers to the armed men of the settlements attacked. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, april , .] the frontiersmen ask permission to retaliate. the convention of mero district early petitioned congress for the right to retaliate on the indians and to follow them to their towns, stating that they had refrained from doing so hitherto not from cowardice, but only from regard to government, and that they regretted that their "rulers" (the federal authorities at philadelphia) did not enter into their feelings or seem to sympathize with them. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, august , .] when the territorial legislature met in it petitioned congress for war against the creeks and cherokees, reciting the numerous outrages committed by them upon the whites; stating that since the frontiersmen had been huddled together two or three hundred to the station, anxiously expecting peace, or a legally authorized war from which they would soon wring peace; and adding that they were afraid of war in no shape, but that they asked that their hands be unbound and they be allowed to defend themselves in the only possible manner, by offensive war. they went on to say that, as members of the nation, they heartily approved of the hostilities which were then being carried on against the algerines for the protection of the seafaring men of the coast-towns, and concluded: "the citizens who live in poverty on the extreme frontier are as much entitled to be protected in their lives, their families, and their little properties, as those who roll in luxury, ease, and affluence in the great and opulent atlantic cities,"--for in frontier eyes the little seaboard trading-towns assumed a rather comical aspect of magnificence. the address was on the whole dignified in tone, and it undoubtedly set forth both the wrong and the remedy with entire accuracy. the tennesseeans felt bitterly that the federal government did everything for kentucky and nothing for themselves, and they were rather inclined to sneer at the difficulty experienced by the kentuckians and the federal army in subduing the northwestern indians, while they themselves were left single-handed to contend with the more numerous tribes of the south. they were also inclined to laugh at the continual complaints the georgians made over the comparatively trivial wrongs they suffered from the indians, and at their inability either to control their own people or to make war effectively. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, feb. , , march , , etc., etc.] the situation grows intolerable. such a state of things as that which existed in the tennessee territory could not endure. the failure of the united states authorities to undertake active offensive warfare and to protect the frontiersmen rendered it inevitable that the frontiersmen should protect themselves; and under the circumstances, when retaliation began it was certain sometimes to fall upon the blameless. the rude militia officers began to lead their retaliatory parties into the indian lands, and soon the innocent indians suffered with the guilty, for the frontiersmen had no means of distinguishing between them. the indians who visited the settlements with peaceful intent were of course at any time liable to be mistaken for their brethren who were hostile, or else to be attacked by scoundrels who were bent upon killing all red men alike. thus, on one day, as blount reported, a friendly indian passing the home of one of the settlers was fired upon and wounded; while in the same region five hostile indians killed the wife and three children of a settler in his sight; and another party stole a number of horses from a station; and yet another party, composed of peaceful indian hunters, was attacked at night by some white militia, one man being killed and another wounded. [footnote: state department mss., washington papers, war department, ex. c., page , extract of letter from blount to williamson, april , .] scolacutta, the friendly cherokee. one of the firm friends of the whites was scolacutta, the chief of the upper cherokees. he tried to keep his people at peace, and repeatedly warned the whites of impending attacks, nevertheless, he was unwilling or unable to stop by force the war parties of creeks and lower cherokees who came through his towns to raid against the settlements and who retreated to them again when the raids were ended. many of his young men joined the bands of horse-thieves and scalp-hunters. the marauders wished to embroil him with the whites, and were glad that the latter should see the bloody trails leading back to his towns. for two years after the signing of the treaty of holston the war parties thus passed and repassed through his country, and received aid and comfort from his people, and yet the whites refrained from taking vengeance; but the vengeance was certain to come in the end. his village attacked. in march, , scolacutta's nearest neighbor, an indian living next door to him in his own town, and other indians of the nearest towns, joined one of the war parties which attacked the settlements and killed two unarmed lads. [footnote: american state papers, blount's letter, march , . scolacutta was usually known to the whites as hanging maw.] the indians did nothing to the murderers, and the whites forbore to attack them; but their patience was nearly exhausted. in june following a captain, john beard, with fifty mounted riflemen, fell in with a small party of indians who had killed several settlers. he followed their trail to scolacutta's town, where he slew eight or nine indians, most of whom were friendly. [footnote: robertson mss., smith to robertson, june , , etc.; _knoxville gazette_, june and july , , etc.] the indians clamored for justice and the surrender of the militia who had attacked them. blount warmly sympathized with them, but when he summoned a court-martial to try beard it promptly acquitted him, and the general frontier feeling was strongly in his favor. other militia commanders followed his example. again and again they trailed the war parties, laden with scalps and plunder, and attacked the towns to which they went; killing the warriors and capturing squaws and children. [footnote: _knoxville gazette_, july , july , , etc., etc.] revengeful forays. the following january another party of red marauders was tracked by a band of riflemen to scolacutta's camp. the militia promptly fell on the camp and killed several indians, both the hostile and the friendly. other cherokee towns were attacked and partially destroyed. in but one instance were the whites beaten off. when once the whites fairly began to make retaliatory inroads they troubled themselves but little as to whether the indians they assailed were or were not those who had wronged them. in one case, four frontiersmen dressed and painted themselves like indians prior to starting on a foray to avenge the murder of a neighbor. they could not find the trail of the murderers, and so went at random to a cherokee town, killed four warriors who were asleep on the ground, and returned to the settlements. scolacutta at first was very angry with blount, and taunted him with his inability to punish the whites, asserting that the frontiersmen were "making fun" of their well-meaning governor; but the old chief soon made up his mind that as long as he allowed the war parties to go through his towns he would have to expect to suffer at the hands of the injured settlers. he wrote to blount enumerating the different murders that had been committed by both sides, and stating that his people were willing to let the misdeeds stand as off-setting one another. he closed his letter by stating that the upper towns were for peace, and added: "i want my mate, general sevier, to see my talk ... we have often told lies, but now you may depend on hearing the truth," which was a refreshingly frank admission. [footnote: american state papers, iv., pp. , , etc.; _knoxville gazette_, jan. , and june , .] sevier takes command. he makes a brilliant raid. when, towards the close of , the ravages became very serious, sevier, the man whom the indians feared more than any other, was called to take command of the militia. for a year he confined himself to acting on the defensive, and even thus he was able to give much protection to the settlements. in september, , however, several hundred indians, mostly cherokees, crossed the tennessee not thirty miles from knoxville. they attacked a small station, within which there were but thirteen souls, who, after some resistance, surrendered on condition that their lives should be spared; but they were butchered with obscene cruelty. sevier immediately marched toward the assailants, who fled back to the cherokee towns. thither sevier followed them, and went entirely through the cherokee country to the land of the creeks, burning the towns and destroying the stores of provisions. he marched with his usual quickness, and the indians were never able to get together in sufficient numbers to oppose him. when he crossed high tower river there was a skirmish, but he soon routed the indians, killing several of their warriors, and losing himself but three men killed and three wounded. he utterly destroyed a hostile creek town, the chief of which was named buffalo horn. he returned late in october, and after his return the frontiers of eastern tennessee had a respite from the indian ravages. yet congress refused to pay his militia for the time they were out, because they had invaded the indian country instead of acting on the defensive. [footnote: robertson mss., blount to robertson, oct. , ; _knoxville gazette_, oct. , and nov. , .] destruction of nickajack and running water. to chastise the upper cherokee towns gave relief to the settlements on the holston, but the chief sinners were the chickamaugas of the lower cherokee towns, and the chief sufferers were the cumberland settlers. the cumberland people were irritated beyond endurance, alike by the ravages of these indians and by the conduct of the united states in forbidding them to retaliate. in september, , they acted for themselves. early in the month robertson received certain information that a large body of creeks and lower cherokees had gathered at the towns and were preparing to invade the cumberland settlements. the best way to meet them was by a stroke in advance, and he determined to send an expedition against them in their strongholds. there was no question whatever as to the hostility of the indians, for at this very time settlers were being killed by war parties throughout the cumberland country. some kentuckians, under colonel whitley, had joined the tennesseeans, who were nominally led by a major ore; but various frontier fighters, including kaspar mansker, were really as much in command as was ore. over five hundred mounted riflemen, bold of heart and strong of hand, marched toward the chickamauga towns, which contained some three hundred warriors. when they came to the tennessee they spent the entire night in ferrying the arms across and swimming the horses; they used bundles of dry cane for rafts, and made four "bull-boats" out of the hides of steers. they passed over unobserved and fell on the towns of nickajack and running water, taking the indians completely by surprise; they killed fifty-five warriors and captured nineteen squaws and children. in the entire expedition but one white man was killed and three wounded. [footnote: robertson mss., robertson to blount, oct. , ; blount to robertson, oct. , , sept. , (in which blount expresses the utmost disapproval of robertson's conduct, and says he will not send on robertson's original letter to philadelphia, for fear it will get him into a scrape; and requests him to send a formal report which can be forwarded); _knoxville gazette_, sept. , ; brown's narrative.] this brings the cherokees to terms. not only the federal authorities, but blount himself, very much disapproved of this expedition; nevertheless, it was right and proper, and produced excellent effects. in no other way could the hostile towns have been brought to reason. it was followed by a general conference with the cherokees at tellico blockhouse. scolacutta appeared for the upper, and watts for the lower cherokee towns. watts admitted that "for their folly" the lower cherokees had hitherto refused to make peace, and remarked frankly, "i do not say they did not deserve the chastisement they received." scolacutta stated that he could not sympathize much with the lower towns, saying, "their own conduct brought destruction upon them. the trails of murderers and thieves was followed to those towns ... their bad conduct drew the white people on me, who injured me nearly unto death.... all last winter i was compelled to lay in the woods by the bad conduct of my own people drawing war on me." at last the cherokees seemed sincere in their desire for peace. [footnote: robertson mss., blount's minutes of conference held with cherokees, nov. and , , at tellico blockhouse.] cherokees and chikasaws restrain creeks. these counter-attacks served a double purpose. they awed the hostile cherokees; and they forced the friendly cherokees, for the sake of their own safety, actively to interfere against the bands of hostile creeks. a cherokee chief, the stallion, and a number of warriors, joined with the federal soldiers and tennessee militia in repulsing the creek war parties. they acted under blount's directions, and put a complete stop to the passage of hostile indians through their towns. [footnote: robertson mss., ecooe to john mckee, tellico, feb. , , etc.] the chickasaws also had become embroiled with the creeks. [footnote: blount mss., james colbert to robertson, feb. , .] for over three years they carried on an intermittent warfare with them, and were heartily supported by the frontiersmen, who were prompt to recognize the value of their services. at the same time the hostile indians were much cowed at the news of wayne's victory in the north. treachery of the united states government to the chickasaws. the frontiersmen stand by chickasaws. all these causes combined to make the creeks sue for peace. to its shame and discredit the united states government at first proposed to repeat towards the chickasaws the treachery of which the british had just been guilty to the northern indians; for it refused to defend them from the creeks, against whom they had been acting, partly, it is true, for their own ends, but partly in the interest of the settlers. the frontiersmen, however, took a much more just and generous view of the affair. mansker and a number of the best fighters in the cumberland district marched to the assistance of the chickasaws; and the frontier militia generally showed grateful appreciation of the way both the upper cherokees and the chickasaws helped them put a stop to the hostilities of the chickamaugas and creeks. robertson got the choctaws to interfere on behalf of the chickasaws and to threaten war with the creeks if the latter persisted in their hostilities. moreover, the united states agents, when the treaty was actually made, behaved better than their superiors had promised, for they persuaded the creeks to declare peace with the chickasaws as well as with the whites. [footnote: robertson mss., robertson to blount, jan. , ; blount to robertson, jan. , , and april , ; robertson to blount, april , ; _knoxville gazette_, aug. , , oct. , , june , , july , aug. and aug. , ; american state papers, pp. , , etc., etc.] many of the peaceful creeks had become so alarmed at the outlook that they began to exert pressure on their warlike brethren; and at last the hostile element yielded, though not until bitter feeling had arisen between the factions. the fact was, that the creeks were divided much as they were twenty years later, when the red sticks went to war under the inspiration of the prophet; and it would have been well if wayne had been sent south, to invade their country and anticipate by twenty years jackson's feats. but the nation was not yet ready for such strong measures. the creeks were met half way in their desire for peace; and the entire tribe concluded a treaty the provisions of which were substantially those of the treaty of new york. they ceased all hostilities, together with the cherokees. fatuity of timothy pickering. the concluding stage of the negotiations was marked by an incident which plainly betrayed the faulty attitude of the national government towards southwestern frontiersmen. with incredible folly, timothy pickering, at this time secretary of war, blindly refused to see the necessity of what had been done by blount and the tennessee frontiersmen. in behalf of the administration he wrote a letter to blount which was as offensive as it was fatuous. in it he actually blamed blount for getting the cherokees and chickasaws to help protect the frontier against the hostile indians. he forbade him to give any assistance to the chickasaws. he announced that he disapproved of the stallion's deeds, and that the cherokees must not destroy creeks passing through their country on the way to the frontier. he even intimated that the surrender of the stallion to the creeks would be a good thing. as for protecting the frontier from the ravages of the creeks, he merely vouchsafed the statement that he would instruct seagrove to make "some pointed declarations" to the creeks on the subject! he explained that the united states government was resolved not to have a direct or indirect war with the creeks; and he closed by reiterating, with futile insistency, that the instruction to the cherokees not to permit creek war parties against the whites to come through their country, did not warrant their using force to stop them. [footnote: robertson mss., pickering to blount, march , .] he failed to point out how it was possible, without force, to carry out these instructions. a more shameful letter was never written, and it was sufficient of itself to show pickering's conspicuous incapacity for the position he held. the trouble was that he represented not very unfairly the sentiment of a large portion of the eastern, and especially the northeastern, people. when blount visited philadelphia in the summer of to urge a vigorous national war as the only thing which could bring the indians to behave themselves, [footnote: blount mss., blount to smith, june , .] he reported that washington had an entirely just idea of the whole indian business, but that congress generally knew little of the matter and was not disposed to act. [footnote: robertson mss., blount to gentleman in cumberland, philadelphia, aug. , .] his report was correct; and he might have added that the congressmen were no more ignorant, and no more reluctant to do right, than their constituents. misconduct of the federal government. the truth is that the united states government during the six years from to behaved shamefully to the people who were settled along the cumberland and holston. this was the more inexcusable in view of the fact that, thanks to the example of blount, sevier, and robertson, the tennesseeans, alone among the frontiersmen, showed an intelligent appreciation of the benefits of the union and a readiness to render it loyal support. the kentuckians acted far less rationally; yet the government tolerated much misconduct on their part, and largely for their benefit carried on a great national war against the northwestern indians. in the southwest almost all that the administration did was to prohibit the frontiersmen from protecting themselves. peace was finally brought about largely through the effect of wayne's victory, and the knowledge of the creeks that they would have to stand alone in any further warfare; but it would not have been obtained at all if sevier and the other frontier leaders had not carried on their destructive counter-inroads into the cherokee and upper creek country, and if under robertson's orders nickajack and running water had not been destroyed; while the support of the chickasaws and friendly cherokees in stopping the creek war parties was essential. the southwesterners owed thanks to general wayne and his army and to their own strong right hands; but they had small cause for gratitude to the federal government. they owed still less to the northeasterners, or indeed to any of the men of the eastern seaboard; the benefits arising from pinckney's treaty form the only exception. this neglect brought its own punishment. blount and sevier were naturally inclined to federalism, and it was probably only the supineness of the federal government in failing to support the southwesterners against the indians which threw tennessee, when it became a state, into the arms of the democratic party. peace. however, peace was finally wrung from the indians, and by the beginning of the outrages ceased. the frontiers, north and south alike, enjoyed a respite from indian warfare for the first time in a generation; nor was the peace interrupted until fifteen years afterwards. growth of tennessee. throngs of emigrants had come into tennessee. a wagon road had been chopped to the cumberland district, and as the indians gradually ceased their ravages, the settlements about nashville began to grow as rapidly as the settlements along the holston. in the required limit of population had been reached, and tennessee with over seventy-six thousand inhabitants was formally admitted as a state of the federal union; sevier was elected governor, blount was made one of the senators, and andrew jackson was chosen representative in congress. the tennessee constitution. in their state constitution the hard-working backwoods farmers showed a conservative spirit which would seem strange to the radical democracy of new western states to-day. an elective governor and two legislative houses were provided; and the representation was proportioned, not to the population at large, but to the citizen who paid taxes; for persons with some little property were still considered to be the rightful depositaries of political power. the constitution established freedom of the press, and complete religious liberty--a liberty then denied in the parent state of north carolina; but it contained some unwise and unjust provisions. the judges were appointed by the legislature, and were completely subservient to it; and, through the influence of the land speculators all lands except town lots were taxed alike, so that the men who had obtained possession of the best tracts shifted to other shoulders much of their own proper burden. [footnote: "constitutional history of tennessee," by joshua w. caldwell, p. , another of robert clark's publications; an admirable study of institutional development in tennessee.] chapter iv. intrigues and land speculations--the treaties of jay and pinckney, - . the current of tendency. throughout the history of the winning of the west what is noteworthy is the current of tendency rather than the mere succession of individual events. the general movement, and the general spirit behind the movement, became evident in many different forms, and if attention is paid only to some particular manifestation we lose sight of its true import and of its explanation. particular obstacles retarded or diverted, particular causes accelerated, the current; but the set was always in one direction. the peculiar circumstances of each case must always be taken into account, but it is also necessary to understand that it was but one link in the chain of causation. the causes of the various separatist and filibustering movements. such events as burr's conspiracy or the conquest of texas cannot be properly understood if we fail to remember that they were but the most spectacular or most important manifestations of what occurred many times. the texans won a striking victory and performed a feat of the utmost importance in our history; and, moreover, it happened that at the moment the accession of texas was warmly favored by the party of the slave-holders. burr had been vice-president of the united states, and was a brilliant and able man, of imposing personality, whose intrigues in the west attracted an attention altogether disproportionate to their real weight. in consequence each event is often treated as if it were isolated and stood apart from the general current of western history; whereas in truth each was but the most striking or important among a host or others. the feats performed by austin and houston and the other founders of the texan republic were identical in kind with the feats merely attempted, or but partially performed, by the men who, like morgan, elijah clark, and george rogers clark, at different times either sought to found colonies in the spanish-speaking lands under spanish authority, or else strove to conquer these lands outright by force of arms. boone settled in missouri when it was still under the spanish government, and himself accepted a spanish commission. whether missouri had or had not been ceded first by spain to france and then by france to the united states early in the present century, really would not have altered its final destiny, so far at least as concerns the fact that it would ultimately have been independent of both france and spain, and would have been dominated by an english-speaking people; for when once the backwoodsmen, of whom boone was the forerunner, became sufficiently numerous in the land they were certain to throw off the yoke of the foreigner; and the fact that they had voluntarily entered the land and put themselves under this yoke would have made no more difference to them than it afterwards made to the texans. so it was with aaron burr. his conspiracy was merely one, and by no means the most dangerous, of the various conspiracies in which men like wilkinson, sebastian, and many of the members of the early democratic societies in kentucky, bore a part. it was rendered possible only by the temper of the people and by the peculiar circumstances which also rendered the earlier conspiracies possible; and it came to naught for the same reasons that they came to naught, and was even more hopeless, because it was undertaken later, when the conditions were less favorable. clark's part in the proposed french attack on spain. the movement deliberately entered into by many of the kentuckians in the years and , to conquer louisiana on behalf of france, must be treated in this way. the leader in this movement was george rogers clark. his chance of success arose from the fact that there were on the frontier many men of restless, adventurous, warlike type, who felt a spirit of unruly defiance toward the home government and who greedily eyed the rich spanish lands. whether they got the lands by conquest or by colonization, and whether they warred under one flag or another, was to them a matter of little moment. clark's career is of itself sufficient to prove the truth of this. he had already been at the head of a movement to make war against the spaniards, in defiance of the central government, on behalf of the western settlements. on another occasion he had offered his sword to the spanish government, and had requested permission to found in spanish territory a state which should be tributary to spain and a barrier against the american advance. he had thus already sought to lead the westerners against spain in a warfare undertaken purely by themselves and for their own objects, and had also offered to form by the help of some of these westerners a state which should be a constituent portion of the spanish dominion. he now readily undertook the task of raising an army of westerners to overrun louisiana in the interests of the french republic. the conditions which rendered possible these various movements were substantially the same, although the immediate causes, or occasions, were different. in any event the result would ultimately have been the conquest of the spanish dominions by the armed frontiersmen, and the upbuilding of english-speaking states on spanish territory. the american sympathizers with the french revolution. the expedition which at the moment clark proposed to head took its peculiar shape from outside causes. at this period genet was in the midst of his preposterous career as minister from the french republic to the united states. the various bodies of men who afterwards coalesced into the democratic-republican party were frantically in favor of the french revolution, regarding it with a fatuous admiration quite as foolish as the horror with which it affected most of the federalists. they were already looking to jefferson as their leader, and jefferson, though at the time secretary of state under washington, was secretly encouraging them, and was playing a very discreditable part toward his chief. the ultra admirers of the french revolution not only lost their own heads, but turned genet's as well, and persuaded him that the people were with him and were ready to oppose washington and the central government in the interests of revolutionary france. genet wished to embroil america with england, and sought to fit out american privateers on the seacoast towns to prey on the english commerce, and to organize on the ohio river an armed expedition to conquer louisiana, as spain was then an ally of england and at war with france. the jeffersonians' western policy. all over the country genet's admirers formed democratic societies on the model of the jacobin clubs of france. they were of course either useless or noxious in such a country and under such a government as that of the united states, and exercised a very mischievous effect. kentucky was already under the influence of the same forces that were at work in virginia and elsewhere, and the classes of her people who were politically dominant were saturated with the ideas of those doctrinaire politicians of whom jefferson was chief. these jeffersonian doctrinaires were men who at certain crises, in certain countries, might have rendered great service to the cause of liberty and humanity; but their influence in america was on the whole distinctly evil, save that, by a series of accidents, they became the especial champions of the westward extension of the nation, and in consequence were identified with a movement which was all-essential to the national well-being. kentucky ripe for genet's intrigues. kentucky was ripe for genet's intrigues, and he found the available leader for the movement in the person of george rogers clark. clark was deeply imbittered, not only with the united states government but with virginia, for the virginia assembly had refused to pay any of the debts he had contracted on account of the state, and had not even reimbursed him for what he had spent. [footnote: draper mss., j. clark to g. r. clark, dec. , .] he had a right to feel aggrieved at the state's penuriousness and her indifference to her moral obligations; and just at the time when he was most angered came the news that genet was agitating throughout the united states for a war with england, in open defiance of washington, and that among his plans he included a western movement against louisiana. clark at once wrote to him expressing intense sympathy with the french objects and offering to undertake an expedition for the conquest of st. louis and upper louisiana if he was provided with the means to obtain provisions and stores. clark further informed genet that his country had been utterly ungrateful to him, and that as soon as he received genet's approbation of what he proposed to do he would get himself "expatriated." he asked for commissions for officers, and stated his belief that the creoles would rise, that the adventurous westerners would gladly throng to the contest, and that the army would soon be at the gates of new orleans. [footnote: _do_., letter of george rogers clark, feb. , ; also feb. d and feb. d.] clark commissioned as a french major general. genet immediately commissioned clark as a major general in the service of the french republic, and sent out various frenchmen--michaux, la chaise, and others--with civil and military titles, to co-operate with him, to fit out his force as well as possible, and to promise him pay for his expenses. brown, now one of kentucky's representatives at philadelphia, gave these men letters of introduction to merchants in lexington and elsewhere, from whom they got some supplies; but they found they would have to get most from philadelphia. [footnote: draper mss., michaux to george rogers clark, undated, but early in .] michaux was the agent for the french minister, though nominally his visit was undertaken on purely scientific grounds. jefferson's course in the matter was characteristic. openly, he was endeavoring in a perfunctory manner to carry out washington's policy of strict neutrality in the contest between france and england, but secretly he was engaged in tortuous intrigues against washington and was thwarting his wishes, so far as he dared, in regard to genet. jefferson's double-dealing. it is impossible that he could have been really misled as to michaux's character and the object of his visits; nevertheless, he actually gave him a letter of introduction to the kentucky governor, isaac shelby. [footnote: state department mss., jefferson papers, series i., vol. v., p. .] shelby had shown himself a gallant and capable officer in warfare against both the indians and the tories, but he possessed no marked political ability, and was entirely lacking in the strength of character which would have fitted him to put a stop to rebellion and lawlessness. he hated england, sympathized with france, and did not possess sufficient political good sense to appreciate either the benefits of the central government or the need of preserving order. clark at once proceeded to raise what troops he could, and issued a proclamation signed by himself as major general of the armies of france, commander in chief of the french revolutionary legions on the mississippi. he announced that he proposed to raise volunteers for the reduction of the spanish posts on the mississippi and to open the trade of that river, and promised all who would join him from one to three thousand acres of any unappropriated land in the conquered regions, the officers to receive proportionately more. all lawful plunder was to be equally divided according to the customs of war. [footnote: marshall, ii., page .] the proclamation thus frankly put the revolutionary legions on the footing of a gang of freebooters. each man was to receive a commission proportioned in grade to the number of soldiers he brought to clark's band. in short, it was a piece of sheer filibustering, not differing materially from one of walker's filibustering attempts in central america sixty years later, save that at this time clark had utterly lost his splendid vigor of body and mind and was unfit for the task he had set himself. at first, however, he met with promises of support from various kentuckians of prominence, including benjamin logan. [footnote: draper mss., benjamin logan to george rogers clark, dec. , .] his agents gathered flat-boats and pirogues for the troops and laid in stores of powder, lead, and beef. the nature of some of the provisions shows what a characteristic backwoods expedition it was; for clark's agent notified him that he had ready "upwards of eleven hundred weight of bear meat and about seventy or seventy-four pair of veneson hams." [footnote: draper mss., john montgomery to geo. rogers clark, jan. , .] the democratic societies support clark. the democratic societies in kentucky entered into clark's plans with the utmost enthusiasm, and issued manifestoes against the central government which were, in style, of hysterical violence, and, in matter, treasonable. the preparations were made openly, and speedily attracted the attention of the spanish agents, besides giving alarm to the representatives of the federal government and to all sober citizens who had sense enough to see that the proposed expedition was merely another step toward anarchy. st. clair, the governor of the northwestern territory, wrote to shelby to warn him of what was being done, and wayne, who was a much more formidable person than shelby or clark or any of their backers, took prompt steps to prevent the expedition from starting, by building a fort near the mouth of the ohio, and ordering his lieutenants to hold themselves in readiness for any action he might direct. at the same time the administration wrote to shelby telling him what was on foot, and requesting him to see that no expedition of the kind was allowed to march against the domains of a friendly power. shelby's vacillation. shelby, in response, entered into a long argument to show that he could not interfere with the expedition, and that he doubted his constitutional power to do anything in the matter; his reasons being of the familiar kind usually advanced in such cases, where a government officer, from timidity or any other cause, refuses to do his duty. if his contention as to his own powers and the powers of the general government had been sound, it would logically have followed that there was no power anywhere to back up the law. innes, the federal judge, showed himself equally lukewarm in obeying the federal authorities. [footnote: american state papers, foreign relations, i., pp. , ; marshall, ii., .] blount's decision and patriotism. blount, the governor of the southwestern territory, acted as vigorously and patriotically as st. clair and wayne, and his conduct showed in marked contrast to shelby's. he possessed far too much political good sense not to be disgusted with the conduct of genet, which he denounced in unmeasured terms. he expressed great pleasure when washington summarily rebuked the blatant french envoy. he explained to the tennesseeans that genet had as his chief backers the disappointed office-hunters and other unsavory characters in new york and in the seacoast cities, but that the people at large were beginning to realize what the truth was, and to show a proper feeling for the president and his government. [footnote: robertson mss., blount's letter, philadelphia, aug. , .] some of the cumberland people, becoming excited by the news of clark's preparation, prepared to join him, or to undertake a separate filibustering attack on their own account. blount immediately wrote to robertson directing him to explain to these "inconsiderate persons" that all they could possibly do was to attempt the conquest of west florida, and that they would "lay themselves liable to heavy pains and penalties, both pecuniary and corporal in case they ever returned to their injured country." he warned robertson that it was his duty to prevent the attempt, and that the legal officers of the district must proceed against any of the men having french commissions, and must do their best to stop the movement; which, he said, proceeded "from the machenations no doubt of that jacobin incendiary, genet, which is reason sufficient to make every honest mind revolt at the idea." robertson warmly supported him, and notified the spanish commander at new madrid of the steps which he was taking; at which the spaniards expressed great gratification. [footnote: robertson mss., blount to robertson, jan. , ; letter from portello, new madrid, jan. , .] collapse of the movement. however, the whole movement collapsed when genet was recalled early in , clark being forced at once to abandon his expedition. [footnote: blount mss., blount to smith, april , .] clark found himself out of pocket as the result of what he had done; and as there was no hope of reimbursing himself by spanish plunder, he sought to obtain from the french government reimbursement for the expenses, forwarding to the french assembly, through an agent in france, his bill for the "expenses of expedition ordered by citizen genet." the agent answered that he would try to secure the payment; and after he got to paris he first announced himself as hopeful; but later he wrote that he had discovered that the french agents were really engaged in a dangerous conspiracy against the western country, and he finally had to admit that the claim was disallowed. [footnote: draper mss., clark's accounts, aug. , ; fulton to clark, nantes, nov. , ; _do.,_ paris, april and , .] with this squabble between the french and americans the history of the abortive expedition ends. tortuous diplomacy of the spaniards. the attempt, of course, excited and alarmed the spaniards, and gave a new turn to their tortuous diplomacy. in reading the correspondence of the spanish governor, baron carondelet, both with his subordinates and with his superiors, it is almost amusing to note the frankness with which he avows his treachery. it evidently did not occur to him that there was such a thing as national good faith, or that there was the slightest impropriety in any form of mendacity when exercised in dealing with the ministers or inhabitants of a foreign state. in this he was a faithful reflex of his superiors at the spanish court. at the same time that they were solemnly covenanting for a definite treaty of peace with the united states they were secretly intriguing to bring about a rebellion in the western states; and while they were assuring the americans that they were trying their best to keep the indians peaceful, they were urging the savages to war. their alarm at clark's movements. as for any gratitude to the national government for stopping the piratical expeditions of the westerners, the spaniards did not feel a trace. they had early received news of clark's projected expedition through a frenchman who came to the spanish agents at philadelphia; [footnote: draper mss., spanish documents, carondelet to alcudia, march , .] and when the army began to gather they received from time to time from their agents in kentucky reports which, though exaggerated, gave them a fairly accurate view of what was happening. no overt act of hostility was committed by clark's people, except by some of those who started to join him from the cumberland district, under the lead of a man named montgomery. these men built a wooden fort at the mouth of the cumberland river, and held the boats that passed to trade with spain; one of the boats that they took being a scow loaded with flour and biscuit sent up stream by the spanish government itself. good conduct of the united states government. when wayne heard of the founding of this fort he acted with his usual promptness, and sent an expedition which broke it up and released the various boats. then, to stop any repetition of the offence, and more effectually to curb the overbearing truculence of the frontiersmen, he himself built, as already mentioned, a fort at massac, not far from the mississippi. all this of course was done in the interests of the spaniards themselves and in accordance with the earnest desire of the united states authorities to prevent any unlawful attack on louisiana; yet carondelet actually sent word to gayoso de lemos, the governor of natchez and the upper part of the river, to persuade the chickasaws secretly to attack this fort and destroy it. ingratitude of the spaniards. carondelet always had an exaggerated idea of the warlike capacity of the indian nations, and never understood the power of the americans, nor appreciated the desire of their government to act in good faith. gayoso was in this respect a much more intelligent man, and he positively refused to carry out the orders of his superior, remonstrating directly to the court of spain, by which he was sustained. he pointed out that the destruction of the fort would merely encourage the worst enemies of the spaniards, even if accomplished; and he further pointed out that it was quite impossible to destroy it; for he understood fully the difference between a fort garrisoned by wayne's regulars and one held by a mob of buccaneering militia. [footnote: draper mss., spanish documents, manuel gayoso de lemos to the duke de alcudia, natchez, sept. , .] gayoso and carondelet. it was not the first time that gayoso's superior knowledge of the indians and of their american foes had prevented his carrying out the orders of his superior officer. on one occasion carondelet had directed gayoso to convene the southern indians, and to persuade them to send deputies to the united states authorities with proposals to settle the boundaries in accordance with the wishes of spain, and to threaten open war as an alternative. gayoso refused to adopt this policy, and persuaded carondelet to alter it, showing that it was necessary above all things to temporize, that such a course as the one proposed would provoke immediate hostilities, and that the worst possible line for the spaniards to follow would be one of open war with the entire power of the united states. [footnote: _do.,_ de leraos to carondelet, dec. , .] pressure of the westerners on the spanish domain. of course the action of the american government in procuring the recall of genet and putting a stop to clark's operations lightened for a moment the pressure of the backwoodsmen upon the spanish dominions; but it was only for a moment. the westerners were bent on seizing the spanish territory; and they were certain to persist in their efforts until they were either successful or were definitely beaten in actual war. the acts of aggression were sure to recur; it was only the form that varied. when the chance of armed conquest under the banner of the french republic vanished, there was an immediate revival of plans for getting possession of some part of the spanish domain through the instrumentality of the great land companies. the land companies. these land companies possessed on paper a weight which they did not have in actual history. they occasionally enriched, and more often impoverished, the individual speculators; but in the actual peopling of the waste lands they counted for little in comparison with the steady stream of pioneer farmers who poured in, each to hold and till the ground he in fact occupied. however, the contemporary documents of the day were full of details concerning the companies; and they did possess considerable importance at certain times in the settlement of the west, both because they in places stimulated that settlement, and because in other places they retarded it, inasmuch as they kept out actual settlers, who could not pre-empt land which had been purchased at low rates from some legislative body by the speculators. the companies were sometimes formed by men who wished themselves to lead emigrants into the longed-for region, but more often they were purely speculative in character, and those who founded them wished only to dispose of them at an advantage to third parties. their history is inextricably mixed with the history of the intrigues with and against the spaniards and british in the west. the men who organized them wished to make money. their object was to obtain title to or possession of the lands, and it was quite a secondary matter with them whether their title came from the united states, england, or spain. they were willing to form colonies on spanish or british territory, and they were even willing to work for the dismemberment of the western territory from the union, if by so doing they could increase the value of the lands which they sought to acquire. american adventurers had been in correspondence with lord dorchester, the governor general of canada, looking to the possibility of securing british aid for those desirous of embarking in great land speculations in the west. these men proposed to try to get the westerners to join with the british in an attack upon louisiana, or even to conduct this attack themselves in the british interests, believing that with new orleans in british hands the entire province would be thrown open to trade with the outside world and to settlement; with the result that the lands would increase enormously in value, and the speculators and organizers of the companies, and of the movements generally, grow rich in consequence. [footnote: canadian archives, dorchester to sydney, june , ; grenville to dorchester, may , ; dorchester to beckwith, june , ; dorchester to grenville, sept. , . see brown's "political beginnings," .] they assured the british agents that the western country would speedily separate from the eastern states, and would have to put itself under the protection of some foreign state. dorchester considered these plans of sufficient weight to warrant inquiry by his agents, but nothing ever came of them. the yazoo land companies. much the most famous, or, it would be more correct to say, infamous, of these companies were those organized in connection with the yazoo lands. [footnote: the best and most thorough account of these is to be found in charles h. haskin's "the yazoo land companies."] the country in what is now northern mississippi and alabama possessed, from its great fertility, peculiar fascinations in the eyes of the adventurous land speculators. it was unoccupied by settlers, because as a matter of fact it was held in adverse possession by the indians, under spanish protection. it was claimed by the georgians, and its cession was sought by the united states government, so that there was much uncertainty as to the title, which could in consequence be cheaply secured. wilkinson, brown, innes, and other kentuckians, had applied to the spaniards to be allowed to take these lauds and hold them, in their own interests, but on behalf of spain, and against the united states. the application had not been granted, and the next effort was of a directly opposite character, the adventurers this time proposing, as they could not hold the territory as armed subjects of spain, to wrest it from spain by armed entry after getting title from georgia. in other words, they were going to carry on war as a syndicate, the military operations for the occupation of the ceded territory being part of the business for which the company was organized. their relations with the union were doubtless to be determined by the course of events. the south carolina yazoo company. this company was the south carolina yazoo company. in several companies were formed to obtain from the georgia legislature grants of the western territory which georgia asserted to be hers. one, the virginia company, had among its incorporators patrick henry, and received a grant of nearly , square miles, but accomplished nothing. another, the tennessee company, received a grant of what is now most of northern alabama, and organized a body of men under the leadership of an adventurer named zachariah cox, who drifted down the tennessee in flat-boats to take possession, and repeated the attempt more than once. they were, however, stopped, partly by blount, and partly by the indians. the south carolina yazoo company made the most serious effort to get possession of the coveted territory. its grant included about , square miles in what is now middle mississippi and alabama; the nominal price being , dollars. one of the prime movers in this company was a man named walsh, who called himself washington, a person of unsavory character, who, a couple of years later, was hung at charleston for passing forged paper money in south carolina. all these companies had hoped to pay the very small prices they were asked for the lands in the depreciated currency of georgia; but they never did make the full payments or comply with the conditions of the grants, which therefore lapsed. its abortive efforts in kentucky. before this occurred the south carolina yazoo company had striven to take possession of its purchase by organizing a military expedition to go down the mississippi from kentucky. for commander of this expedition choice was made of a revolutionary soldier named james o'fallon, who went to kentucky, where he married clark's sister. he entered into relations with wilkinson, who drew him into the tangled web of spanish intrigue. he raised soldiers, and drew up a formal contract, entered into between the south carolina yazoo company and their troops of the yazoo battalion--over five hundred men in all, cavalry, artillery and infantry. each private was to receive two hundred and fifty acres of "stipendiary" lands and the officers in proportion, up to the lieutenant colonel, who was to receive six thousand. commissions were formally issued, and the positions of all the regular officers were filled, so that the invasion was on the point of taking place. [footnote: american state papers, indian affairs, i., james o'fallon to the president of the united states, lexington, sept. , , etc., etc.] however, the spanish authorities called the matter to the attention of the united states, and the federal government put a prompt stop to the movement. [footnote: draper mss., spanish documents, carondelet to alcudia, jan. , , and may , .] o'fallon was himself threatened with arrest by the federal officers, and had to abandon his project. [footnote: draper mss., clark and o'fallon papers, anonymous letter to james o'fallon, lexington, march , , etc., etc.] he afterwards re-established his relations with the government, and became one of wayne's correspondents; [footnote: draper mss., wayne to o'fallon, sept. , .] but he entered heartily into clark's plans for the expedition under genet, and, like all the other participators in that wretched affair, became involved in broils with clark and every one else. [footnote: draper mss., de lemos to carondelet, dec. , .] revival of the companies. in the land companies, encouraged by the certainty that the united states would speedily take possession of the yazoo territory, again sprang into life. in that year four, the georgia, the georgia-mississippi, the tennessee, and the upper mississippi, companies obtained grants from the georgia legislature to a territory of over thirty millions of acres, for which they paid but five hundred thousand dollars, or less than two cents an acre. among the grantees were many men of note, congressmen, senators, even judges. the grants were secured by the grossest corruption, every member of the legislature who voted for them, with one exception, being a stockholder in some one of the companies, while the procuring of the cessions was undertaken by james gunn, one of the two georgia senators. the outcry against the transaction was so universal throughout the state that at the next session of the legislature, in , the acts were repealed and the grants rescinded. this caused great confusion, as most of the original grantees had hastily sold out to third parties; the purchases being largely made in south carolina and massachusetts. efforts were made by the original south carolina yazoo company to sue georgia in the federal courts, which led to the adoption of the constitutional provision forbidding such action. their failure. when in , georgia ceded the territory in question, including all of what is now middle and northern alabama and mississippi, to the united states for the sum of twelve hundred and fifty thousand dollars, the national government became heir to these yazoo difficulties. it was not until that the matter was settled by a compromise, after interminable litigation and legislation. [footnote: american state papers, public lands, i., pp. , , , , , ; haskin's "yazoo land companies." in congress, randolph, on behalf of the ultra states'-rights people led the opposition to the claimants, whose special champions were madison and the northern democrats. chief justice marshall in the case of fletcher _vs._ peck, decided that the rescinding act impaired the obligation of contracts, and was therefore in violation of the constitution of the united states; a decision further amplified in the dartmouth case, which has determined the national policy in regard to public contracts. this decision was followed by the passage of the compromise act by congress in , which distributed a large sum of money obtained from the land sales in the territory, in specified proportions among the various claimants.] the land companies were more important to the speculators than to the actual settlers of the mississippi; nevertheless, they did stimulate settlement, in certain regions, and therefore increased by just so much the western pressure upon spain. georgian filibusterers. some of the aggressive movements undertaken by the americans were of so loose a nature that it is hard to know what to call them. this was true of elijah dark's company of georgia freebooters in . accompanied by large bodies of armed men, he on several occasions penetrated into the territory southwest of the oconee. he asserted at one time that he was acting for georgia and in defence of her rights to the lands which the georgians claimed under the various state treaties with the indians, but which by the treaty of new york had been confirmed to the creeks by the united states. on another occasion he entitled his motley force the sans culottes, and masqueraded as a major general of the french army, though the french consul denied having any connection with him. he established for the time being a little independent government, with blockhouses and small wooden towns, in the middle of the unceded hunting grounds, and caused great alarm to the spaniards. the frontiersmen sympathized with him, and when he was arrested in wilkes county the grand jury of the county ordered his discharge, and solemnly declared that the treaty of new york was inoperative and the proclamation of the governor of georgia against clark, illegal. this was too much for the patience of the governor. he ordered out the state troops to co-operate with the small federal force, and clark and his men were ignominiously expelled from their new government and forced to return to georgia. [footnote: steven's "georgia," ii., .] benefit of washington's administration to the west. in such a welter of intrigue, of land speculation, and of more or less piratical aggression, there was immanent danger that the west would relapse into anarchy unless a firm government were established, and unless the boundaries with england and spain were definitely established. as washington's administration grew steadily in strength and in the confidence of the people the first condition was met. the necessary fixity of boundary was finally obtained by the treaties negotiated through john jay with england, and through thomas pinckney with spain. jay's treaty. jay's treaty aroused a perfect torrent of wrath throughout the country, and nowhere more than in the west. a few of the coolest and most intelligent men approved it, and rugged old humphrey marshall, the federalist senator from kentucky, voted for its ratification; but the general feeling against it was intense. even blount, who by this time was pretty well disgusted with the way he had been treated by the central government, denounced it, and expressed his belief that washington would have hard work to explain his conduct in procuring its ratification. [footnote: blount mss., blount to smith, aug. , .] folly of the westerners. yet the westerners were the very people who had no cause whatever to complain of the treaty. it was not an entirely satisfactory treaty; perhaps a man like hamilton might have procured rather better terms; but, taken as a whole, it worked an immense improvement upon the condition of things already existing. washington's position was undoubtedly right. he would have preferred a better treaty, but he regarded the jay treaty as very much better than none at all. moreover, the last people who had a right to complain of it were those who were most vociferous in their opposition. the anti-federalist party was on the whole the party of weakness and disorder, the party that was clamorous and unruly, but ineffective in carrying out a sustained policy, whether of offense or of defence, in foreign affairs. the people who afterwards became known as jeffersonian republicans numbered in their ranks the extremists who had been active as the founders of democratic societies in the french interest, and they were ferocious in their wordy hostility to great britain; but they were not dangerous foes to any foreign government which did not fear words. had they possessed the foresight and intelligence to strengthen the federal government the jay treaty would not have been necessary. futility of the state's-rights men in foreign affairs. only a strong, efficient central government, backed by a good fleet and a well organized army, could hope to wring from england what the french party, the forerunners of the jeffersonian democracy, demanded. but the jeffersonians were separatists and state's-rights men. they believed in a government so weak as to be ineffective, and showed a folly literally astounding in their unwillingness to provide for the wars which they were ready to provoke. they resolutely refused to provide an army or a navy, or to give the central government the power necessary for waging war. they were quite right in their feeling of hostility to england, and one of the fundamental and fatal weaknesses of the federalists was the federalist willingness to submit to england's aggressions without retaliation; but the jeffersonians had no gift for government, and were singularly deficient in masterful statesmen of the kind imperatively needed by any nation which wishes to hold an honorable place among other nations. they showed their governmental ineptitude clearly enough later on when they came into power, for they at once stopped building the fleet which the federalists had begun, and allowed the military forces of the nation to fall into utter disorganization, with, as a consequence, the shameful humiliations of the war of . this war was in itself eminently necessary and proper, and was excellent in its results, but it was attended by incidents of shame and disgrace to america for which jefferson and madison and their political friends and supporters among the politicians and the people have never received a sufficiently severe condemnation. benefits of jay's treaty to the west. jay's treaty was signed late in and was ratified in . [footnote: american state papers, foreign relations, i., pp. , , , , , etc.] the indignation of the kentuckians almost amounted to mania. they denounced the treaty with frantic intemperance, and even threatened violence to those of their own number, headed by humphrey marshall, who supported it; yet they benefited much by it, for it got them what they would have been absolutely powerless to obtain for themselves, that is, the possession of the british posts on the lakes. in the americans took formal possession of these posts, and the boundary line in the northwest as nominally established by the treaty of versailles became in fact the actual line of demarcation between the american and the british possessions. the work of jay capped the work of wayne. federal garrisons were established at detroit and elsewhere, and the indians, who had already entered into the treaty of greeneville, were prevented from breaking it by this intervention of the american military posts between themselves and their british allies. peace was firmly established for the time being in the northwest, and our boundaries in that direction took the fixed form they still retain. [footnote: american state papers, indian affairs, i., p. ; foreign relations, i., _passim_, etc., etc.] systematic treachery of the spaniards. in dealing with the british the americans sometimes had to encounter bad faith, but more often a mere rough disregard for the rights of others, of which they could themselves scarcely complain with a good grace, as they showed precisely the same quality in their own actions. in dealing with the spaniards, on the other hand, they had to encounter deliberate and systematic treachery and intrigue. the open negotiations between the two governments over the boundary ran side by side with a current of muddy intrigue between the spanish government on the one hand, and certain traitorous americans on the other; the leader of these traitors being, as usual, the arch scoundrel, wilkinson. their intrigues with the indians. the spaniards trusted almost as much to indian intrigue as to bribery of american leaders; indeed they trusted to it more for momentary effect, though the far-sighted among them realized that in the long run the safety of the spanish possessions depended upon the growth of divisional jealousies among the americans themselves. the spanish forts were built as much to keep the indians under command as to check the americans. the governor of natchez, de lemos, had already established a fort at the chickasaw bluffs, where there was danger of armed collision between the spaniards and either the cumberland settlers under robertson or the federal troops. among the latter, by the way, the officer for whose ability the spaniards seemed to feel an especial respect was lieutenant william clark. [footnote: draper mss., spanish documents, carondelet to don louis de las casas, june , ; de lemos to carondelet, july , .] the chickasaws befriend the americans. the chickasaws were nearly drawn into a war with the spaniards, who were intensely irritated over their antagonism to the creeks, for which the spaniards insisted that the americans were responsible. [footnote: american state papers, foreign relations, i., p. , etc.] the americans, however, were able to prove conclusively that the struggle was due, not to their advice, but to the outrages of marauders from the villages of the muscogee confederacy. they showed by the letter of the chickasaw chief, james colbert, that the creeks had themselves begun hostilities early in by killing a chickasaw, and that the chickasaws, because of this spilling of blood, made war on the creeks, and sent word to the americans to join in the war. the letter ran: "i hope you will exert yourselves and join us so that we might give the lads a drubbeen for they have encroached on us this great while not us alone you likewise for you have suffered a good dale by them i hope you will think of your wounds." [footnote: blount mss., james colbert to robertson, feb. , .] the americans had "thought of their wounds" and had aided the chickasaws in every way, as was proper; but the original aggressors were the creeks. the chickasaws had entered into what was a mere war of retaliation; though when once in they had fought hard, under the lead of opiamingo, their most noted war chief, who was always friendly to the americans and hostile to the spaniards. the situation at natchez. at the chickasaw bluffs, and at natchez, there was always danger of a clash; for at these places the spanish soldiers were in direct contact with the foremost of the restless backwoods host, and with the indians who were most friendly or hostile to them. open collision was averted, but the spaniards were kept uneasy and alert. there were plenty of american settlers around natchez, who were naturally friendly to the american government; and an agent from the state of georgia, to the horror of the spaniards, came out to the country with the especial purpose of looking over the yazoo lands, at the time when georgia was about to grant them to the various land companies. what with the land speculators, the frontiersmen, and the federal troops, the situation grew steadily more harassing for the spaniards; and carondolet kept the advisors of the spanish crown well informed of the growing stress. the separatists play into the hands of the spaniards. the spanish government knew it would be beaten if the issue once came to open war, and, true to the instincts of a weak and corrupt power, it chose as its weapons delay, treachery, and intrigue. to individual americans the spaniards often behaved with arrogance and brutality; but they feared to give too serious offence to the american people as a whole. like all other enemies of the american republic, from the days of the revolution to those of the civil war, they saw clearly that their best allies were the separatists, the disunionists, and they sought to encourage in every way the party which, in a spirit of sectionalism, wished to bring about a secession of one part of the country and the erection of a separate government. the secessionists then, as always, played into the hands of the men who wished the new republic ill. in the last decade of the eighteenth century the acute friction was not between north and south, but between east and west. the men who, from various motives, wished to see a new republic created, hoped that this republic would take in all the people of the western waters. these men never actually succeeded in carrying the west with them. at the pinch the majority of the westerners remained loyal to the idea of national unity; but there was a very strong separatist party, and there were very many men who, though not separatists, were disposed to grumble loudly about the shortcomings of the federal government. their influence in kentucky. their fatuity. these men were especially numerous and powerful in kentucky, and they had as their organ the sole newspaper of the state, the _kentucky gazette_. it was filled with fierce attacks, not only upon the general government, but upon washington himself. sometimes these attacks were made on the authority of the _gazette_; at other times they appeared in the form of letters from outsiders, or of resolutions by the various democratic societies and political clubs. they were written with a violence which, in striving after forcefulness, became feeble. they described the people of kentucky as having been "degraded and insulted," and as having borne these insults with "submissive patience." the writers insisted that kentucky had nothing to hope from the federal government, and that it was nonsense to chatter about the infraction of treaties, for it was necessary, at any cost, to take louisiana, which was "groaning under tyranny." they threatened the united states with what the kentuckians would do if their wishes were not granted, announcing that they would make the conquest of louisiana an ultimatum, and warning the government that they owed no eternal allegiance to it and might have to separate, and that if they did there would be small reason to deplore the separation. the separatist agitators failed to see that they could obtain the objects they sought, the opening of the mississippi and the acquisition of louisiana, only through the federal government, and only by giving that government full powers. standing alone the kentuckians would have been laughed to scorn not only by england and france, but even by spain. yet with silly fatuity they vigorously opposed every effort to make the government stronger or to increase national feeling, railing even at the attempt to erect a great federal city as "unwise, impolitic, unjust," and "a monument to american folly." [footnote: _kentucky gazette_, feb. , ; sept. , , etc., etc.] the men who wrote these articles, and the leaders of the societies and clubs which inspired them, certainly made a pitiable showing; they proved that they themselves were only learning, and had not yet completely mastered, the difficult art of self government. negotiations of the spanish and american governments. wilkinson's ineffectual treason. it was the existence of these western separatists, nominally the fiercest foes of spain, that in reality gave spain the one real hope of staying the western advance. in the american agents in spain were carrying on an interminable correspondence with the spanish court in the effort to come to some understanding about the boundaries. [footnote: american state papers, foreign relations, i., p. , etc.; letters of carmichael and short to gardoqui, oct. , ; to alcudia, jan. , , etc., etc.] the spanish authorities were solemnly corresponding with the american envoys, as if they meant peace; yet at the same time they had authorized carondelet to do his best to treat directly with the american states of the west so as to bring about their separation from the union. in wilkinson, who was quite incapable of understanding that his infamy was heightened by the fact that he wore the uniform of a brigadier general of the united states, entered into negotiations for a treaty, the base of which should be the separation of the western states from the atlantic states. [footnote: draper mss., spanish documents, carondelet to alcudia, july , .] he had sent two confidential envoys to carondelet. carondelet jumped at the chance of once more trying to separate the west from the east; and under wilkinson's directions he renewed his efforts to try by purchase and pension to attach some of the leading kentuckians to spain. as a beginning he decided to grant wilkinson's request and send him twelve thousand dollars for himself. [footnote: _do_., de lemos to alcudia, sept. , .] de lemos was sent to new madrid in october to begin the direct negotiations with wilkinson and his allies. the funds to further the treasonable conspiracy were also forwarded, as the need arose. failure of the american government to act with proper decision. carondelet was much encouraged as to the outcome by the fact that de lemos had not been dispossessed by force from the chickasaw bluffs. this shows conclusively that washington's administration was in error in not acting with greater decision about the spanish posts. wayne should have been ordered to use the sword, and to dispossess the spaniards from the east bank of the mississippi. as so often in our history, we erred, not through a spirit of over-aggressiveness, but through a willingness to trust to peaceful measures instead of proceeding to assert our rights by force. murder of the messengers to wilkinson. the murderers shielded. the first active step taken by carondelet and de lemos was to send the twelve thousand dollars to wilkinson, as the foundation and earnest of the bribery fund. but the effort miscarried. the money was sent by two men, collins owen, each of whom bore cipher letters to wilkinson, including some that were sewed into the collars of their coats. collins reached wilkinson in safety, but owen was murdered, for the sake of the money he bore, by his boat's crew while on the ohio river. [footnote: _do._, letters of carondelet to alcudia, oct. , , and of de lemos to carondelet, aug. , .] the murderers were arrested and were brought before the federal judge, harry innes. owen was a friend of innes, and had been by him recommended to wilkinson as a trustworthy man for any secret and perilous service. nevertheless, although it was his own friend who had been murdered, innes refused to try the murderers, on the ground that they were spanish subjects; a reason which was simply nonsensical. he forwarded them to wilkinson at fort warren. the latter sent them back to new madrid. on their way they were stopped by the officer at fort massac, a thoroughly loyal man, who had not been engaged in the intrigues of wilkinson and innes. he sent to the spanish commander at new madrid for an interpreter to interrogate the men. of course the spaniards were as reluctant as wilkinson and innes that the facts as to the relations between carondelet and wilkinson should be developed, and, like wilkinson and innes, they preferred that the murderers should escape rather than that these facts should come to light. accordingly the interpreter did not divulge the confession of the villains, all evidence as to their guilt was withheld, and they were finally discharged. the spaniards were very nervous about the affair, and were even afraid lest travellers might dig up owen's body and find the dispatches hidden in his collar; which, said de lemos, they might send to the president of the united states, who would of course take measures to find out what the money and the ciphers meant. [footnote: _do._, letter of de lemos.] wilkinson's motives in acting as he did were of course simple. he could not afford to have the murderers of his friend and agent tried lest they should disclose his own black infamy. the conduct of judge innes is difficult to explain on any ground consistent with his integrity and with the official propriety of his actions. he may not have been a party to wilkinson's conspiracy, but he must certainly have known that wilkinson was engaged in negotiations with the spaniards so corrupt that they would not bear the light of exposure, or else he would never have behaved toward the murderers in the way that he did behave. [footnote: marshall, ii., ; green, p. . even recently defenders of wilkinson and innes have asserted, in accordance with wilkinson's explanations, that the money forwarded him was due him from tobacco contracts entered into some years previously with miro. carondelet in his letters above quoted, however, declares outright that the money was advanced to begin negotiations in kentucky, through wilkinson and others, for the pensioning of kentuckians in the interests of spain and the severance of the western states from the union.] carondelet refuses to give up the posts. carondelet, through de lemos, entered into correspondence with wayne about the fort built by his orders at the chickasaw bluffs. he refused to give up this fort; and as wayne became more urgent in his demands, he continually responded with new excuses for delay. he was enabled to tell exactly what wayne was doing, as wilkinson, who was serving under wayne, punctually informed the spaniard of all that took place in the american army. [footnote: draper mss., spanish documents, carondelet to alcudia, nov. , .] carondelet saw that the fate of the spanish-american province which he ruled, hung on the separation of the western states from the union. [footnote: _do._, carondelet to alcudia, sept. , .] as long as he thought it possible to bring about the separation, he refused to pay heed even to the orders of the court of spain, or to the treaty engagements by which he was nominally bound. he was forced to make constant demands upon the spanish court for money to be used in the negotiations; that is, to bribe wilkinson and his fellows in kentucky. he succeeded in placating the chickasaws, and got from them a formal cession of the chickasaw bluffs, which was a direct blow at the american pretensions. as with all indian tribes, the chickasaws were not capable of any settled policy, and were not under any responsible authority. while some of them were in close alliance with the americans and were warring on the creeks, the others formed a treaty with the spaniards and gave them the territory they so earnestly wished. [footnote: _do._, de lemos to carondelet, enclosed in carondelet's letter of sept. , .] pinckney sent as minister to spain. however, neither carondelet's energy and devotion to the spanish government nor his unscrupulous intrigues were able for long; to defer the fate which hung over the spanish possessions. in washington nominated as minister to spain thomas pinckney, a member of a distinguished family of south carolina statesmen, and a man of the utmost energy and intelligence. pinckney finally wrung from the spaniards a treaty which was as beneficial to the west as jay's treaty, and was attended by none of the drawbacks which marred jay's work. the spaniards at the outset met his demands by a policy of delay and evasion. finally, he determined to stand this no longer, and, on october , , demanded his passports, in a letter to godoy, the "prince of peace." the demand came at an opportune moment; for godoy had just heard of jay's treaty. he misunderstood the way in which this was looked at in the united states, and feared lest, if not counteracted, it might throw the americans into the arms of great britain, with which country spain was on the verge of war. it is not a little singular that jay should have thus rendered an involuntary but important additional service to the westerners who so hated him. he negotiates a treaty. the spaniards now promptly came to terms. they were in no condition to fight the americans; they knew that war would be the result if the conflicting claims of the two peoples were not at once definitely settled, one way or the other; and they concluded the treaty forthwith. [footnote: pinckney receives justice from lodge, in his "washington," ii., . for pinckney's life, see the biography by rev. c. c. pinckney, p. , etc.] its two most important provisions were the settlement of the southern boundary on the lines claimed by the united states, and the granting of the right of deposit to the westerners. the boundary followed the thirty-first degree of latitude from the mississippi to the chattahoochee, down it to the flint, thence to the head of the st. mary's, and down it to the ocean. the spanish troops were to be withdrawn from this territory within the space of six months. the westerners were granted for three years the right of deposit at new orleans; after three years, either the right was to be continued, or another equivalent port of deposit was to be granted somewhere on the banks of the mississippi. the right of deposit carried with it the right to export goods from the place of deposit free from any but an inconsiderable duty. [footnote: american state papers, foreign relations, i., p. , etc.; pinckney to secretary of state, aug. , ; to godoy (alcudia), oct. , ; copy of treaty, oct. th, etc.] the spaniards delay the execution of the treaty. they again try to intrigue with the westerners. the treaty was ratified in , but with astonishing bad faith the spaniards refused to carry out its provisions. at this time carondelet was in the midst of his negotiations with wilkinson for the secession of the west, and had high hopes that he could bring it about. he had chosen as his agent an englishman, named thomas power, who was a naturalized spanish subject, and very zealous in the service of spain. [footnote: gayarre, iii., ;. wilkinson's memoirs, ii., .] power went to kentucky, where he communicated with wilkinson, sebastian, innes, and one or two others, and submitted to them a letter from carondelet. this letter proposed a treaty, of which the first article was that wilkinson and his associates should exert themselves to bring about a separation of the western country and its formation into an independent government wholly unconnected with that of the atlantic states; and carondelet in letter assured the men to whom he was writing, that, because of what had occurred in europe since spain had ratified the treaty of october th, the treaty would not be executed by his catholic majesty. promises of favor to the western people were held out, and wilkinson was given a more substantial bribe, in the shape of ten thousand dollars, by power. sebastian, innes, and their friends were also promised a hundred thousand dollars for their good offices; and carondelet, who had no more hesitation in betraying red men than white, also offered to help the westerners subdue their indian foes; these indian foes being at the moment the devoted allies of spain. failure of their efforts. the time had gone by, however, when it was possible to hope for success in such an intrigue. the treaty with spain had caused much satisfaction in the west, and the kentuckians generally were growing more and more loyal to the central government. innes and his friends, in a written communication, rejected the offer of carondelet. they declared that they were devoted to the union and would not consent to break it up; but they betrayed curiously little surprise or indignation at the offer, nor did they in rejecting it use the vigorous language which beseemed men who, while holding the commissions of a government, were proffered a hundred thousand dollars to betray that government. [footnote: american state papers, miscellaneous, i., ; deposition of harry innes, etc.] power, at the close of , reported to his superiors that nothing could be done. confusion at natchez. the posts surrendered meanwhile carondelet and de lemos had persisted in declining to surrender the posts at the chickasaw bluffs and natchez, on pretexts which were utterly frivolous. [footnote: american state papers, foreign relations, ii., pp. , , , ; report of timothy pickering, january , , etc.] at this time the spanish court was completely subservient to france, which was hostile to the united states; and the spaniards would not carry out the treaty they had made until they had exhausted every device of delay and evasion. andrew ellicott was appointed by washington surveyor-general to run the boundary; but when, early in , he reached natchez, the spanish representative refused point blank to run the boundary or evacuate the territory. meanwhile the spanish minister at philadelphia, yrujo, in his correspondence with the secretary of state, was pursuing precisely the same course of subterfuge and delay. but these tactics could only avail for a time. neither the government of the united states, nor the western people would consent to be balked much longer. the negotiations with wilkinson and his associates had come to nothing. a detachment of american regular soldiers came down the river to support ellicott. the settlers around natchez arose in revolt against the spaniards and established a committee of safety, under protection of the americans. the population of mississippi was very mixed, including criminals fleeing from justice, land speculators, old settlers, well-to-do planters, small pioneer farmers, and adventurers of every kind; and, thanks to the large tory element, there was a british, and a smaller spanish party; but the general feeling was overwhelmingly for the united states. the spanish government made a virtue of necessity and withdrew its garrison, after for some time preserving a kind of joint occupancy with the americans. [footnote: b. a. hinsdale: "the establishment of the first southern boundary of the united states." largely based upon ellicott's journal. both ellicott, and the leaders among the settlers, were warned of blount's scheme of conquest and land speculation, and were hostile to it.] captain isaac guyon, with a body of united states troops, took formal possession of both the chickasaw bluffs and natchez in . in the spaniards finally evacuated the country, [footnote: claiborne's "mississippi," p. . he is a writer of poor judgment; his verdicts on ellicott and wilkinson are astounding.] their course being due neither to the wisdom nor the good faith of their rulers, but to the fear and worry caused by the unceasing pressure of the americans. spain yielded, because she felt that not to do so would involve the loss of all louisiana. [footnote: gayarré, , ; pontalba's memoir, sept. , .] the country was organized as the mississippi territory in june, . [footnote: american state papers, public lands, i., p. .] blount's extraordinary scheme. there was one incident, curious rather than important, but characteristic in its way, which marked the close of the transactions of the western americans with spain at this time. during the very years when carondelet, under the orders of his government, was seeking to delay the execution of the boundary treaty, and to seduce the westerners from their allegiance to the united states, a senator of the united states, entirely without the knowledge of his government, was engaged in an intrigue for the conquest of a part of the spanish dominion. this senator was no less a person than william blount. enterprising and ambitious, he was even more deeply engaged in land speculations than were the other prominent men of his time. [footnote: clay mss., blount to hart, march , , etc., etc.] he felt that he had not been well treated by the united states authorities, and, like all other westerners, he also felt that the misconduct of the spaniards had been so great that they were not entitled to the slightest consideration. moreover, he feared lest the territory should be transferred to france, which would be a much more dangerous neighbor than spain; and he had a strong liking for great britain. if he could not see the territory taken by the americans under the flag of the united states, then he wished to see them enter into possession of it under the standard of the british king. in he entered into a scheme which was in part one of land speculation and in part one of armed aggression against spain. he tried to organize an association with the purpose of seizing the spanish territory west of the mississippi, and putting it under the control of great britain, in the interests of the seizers. the scheme came to nothing. no definite steps were taken, and the british government refused to take any share in the movement. finally the plot was discovered by the president, who brought it to the attention of the senate, and blount was properly expelled from the upper house for entering into a conspiracy to conquer the lands of one neighboring power in the interest of another. the tennesseeans, however, who cared little for the niceties of international law, and sympathized warmly with any act of territorial aggression against the spaniards, were not in the least affected by his expulsion. they greeted him with enthusiasm, and elected him to high office, and he lived among them the remainder of his days, honored and respected. [footnote: blount mss., letter of hugh williamson, march , , etc., etc.] nevertheless, his conduct in this instance was indefensible. it was an unfortunate interlude in an otherwise honorable and useful public career. [footnote: general marcus j. wright, in his "life and services of william blount," gives the most favorable view possible of blount's conduct.] chapter v. the men of the western waters, - . rapid growth of the west. the growth of the west was very rapid in the years immediately succeeding the peace with the indians and the treaties with england and spain. as the settlers poured into what had been the indian-haunted wilderness it speedily became necessary to cut it into political divisions. kentucky had already been admitted as a state in ; tennessee likewise became a state in . the territory of mississippi was organized in , to include the country west of georgia and south of tennessee, which had been ceded by the spaniards under pinckney's treaty. [footnote: claiborne's "mississippi," p. , etc.] in the connecticut reserve, in what is now northeastern ohio, was taken by the united states. the northwestern territory was divided into two parts; the eastern was composed mainly of what is now the state of ohio, while the western portion was called indiana territory, and was organized with w. h. harrison as governor, his capital being at vincennes. [footnote: "annals of the west," by thomas h. perkins, p. . a valuable book, showing much scholarship and research. the author has never received proper credit. very few indeed of the western historians of his date showed either his painstaking care or his breadth of view.] harrison had been wayne's aid-de-camp at the fight of the fallen timbers, and had been singled out by wayne for mention because of his coolness and gallantry. afterwards he had succeeded sargent as secretary of the northwestern territory when sargent had been made governor of mississippi, and he had gone as a territorial delegate to congress. [footnote: jacob burnett in "ohio historical transactions," part ii., vol. i., p. .] ohio becomes a state. in ohio was admitted as a state. st. clair, and st. clair's supporters, struggled to keep the territory from statehood, and proposed to cut it down in size, nominally because they deemed the extent of territory too great for governmental purposes, but really, doubtless, because they distrusted the people, and did not wish to see them take the government into their own hands. the effort failed, however, and the state was admitted by congress, beginning its existence in . [footnote: atwater, "history of ohio," p. .] congress made the proviso that the state constitution should accord with the constitution of the united states, and should embody the doctrines contained in the ordinance of . [footnote: the question of the boundaries of the northwestern states is well treated in "the boundaries of wisconsin," by reuben g. thwaites, the secretary of the state historical society of wisconsin.] the rapid settlement of southeastern ohio was hindered by the fact that the speculative land companies, the ohio and scioto associations, held great tracts of territory which the pioneers passed by in their desire to get to lands which they could acquire in their own right. this was one of the many bad effects which resulted from the government's policy of disposing of its land in large blocks to the highest bidder, instead of allotting it, as has since been done, in quarter sections to actual settlers. [footnote: mr. eli thayer, in his various writings, has rightly laid especial stress on this point.] harrison, st. clair, and sargent. lessons taught by blount's experience. harrison was thoroughly in sympathy with the westerners. he had thrown in his lot with theirs; he deemed himself one of them, and was accepted by them as a fit representative. accordingly he was very popular as governor of indiana. st. clair in ohio and sargent in mississippi were both extremely unpopular. they were appointed by federalist administrations, and were entirely out of sympathy with the western people among whom they lived. one was a scotchman, and one a new englander. they were both high-minded men, with sound ideas on governmental policy, though sargent was the abler of the two; but they were out of touch with the westerners. they distrusted the frontier folk, and were bitterly disliked in return. each committed the fundamental fault of trying to govern the territory over which he had been put in accordance with his own ideas, and heedless of the wishes and prejudices of those under him. doubtless each was conscientious in what he did, and each of course considered the difficulties under which he labored to be due solely to the lawlessness and the many shortcomings of the settlers. but this was an error. the experience of blount when he occupied the exceedingly difficult position of territorial governor of tennessee showed that it was quite possible for a man of firm belief in the union to get into touch with the frontiersmen and to be accepted by them as a worthy representative; but the virtues of st. clair and sargent were so different from the backwoods virtues, and their habits of thought were so alien, that they could not possibly get on with the people among whom their lot had been cast. neither of them in the end took up his abode in the territory of which he had been governor, both returning to the east. the code of laws which they enacted prior to the territories possessing a sufficient number of inhabitants to become entitled to territorial legislatures were deemed by the settlers to be arbitrary and unsuited to their needs. there was much popular feeling against them. on one occasion st. clair was mobbed in chillicothe, the then capital of ohio, with no other effect than to procure a change of capital to cincinnati. finally both sargent and st. clair were removed by jefferson, early in his administration. the jeffersonians the champions of the west. the jeffersonian republican party did very much that was evil, and it advocated governmental principles of such utter folly that the party itself was obliged immediately to abandon them when it undertook to carry on the government of the united states, and only clung to them long enough to cause serious and lasting damage to the country; but on the vital question of the west, and its territorial expansion, the jeffersonian party was, on the whole, emphatically right, and its opponents, the federalists, emphatically wrong. the jeffersonians believed in the acquisition of territory in the west, and the federalists did not. the jeffersonians believed that the westerners should be allowed to govern themselves precisely as other citizens of the united states did, and should be given their full share in the management of national affairs. too many federalists failed to see that these positions were the only proper ones to take. in consequence, notwithstanding all their manifold shortcomings, the jeffersonians, and not the federalists, were those to whom the west owed most. right of the westerners to self-government. whether the westerners governed themselves as wisely as they should have mattered little. the essential point was that they had to be given the right of self-government. they could not be kept in pupilage. like other americans, they had to be left to strike out for themselves and to sink or swim according to the measure of their own capacities. when this was done it was certain that they would commit many blunders, and that some of these blunders would work harm not only to themselves but to the whole nation. nevertheless, all this had to be accepted as part of the penalty paid for free government. it was wise to accept it in the first place, and in the second place, whether wise or not, it was inevitable. many of the federalists saw this; and to many of them, the adamses, for instance, and jay and pinckney, the west owed more than it did to most of the republican statesmen; but as a whole, the attitude of the federalists, especially in the northeast, toward the west was ungenerous and improper, while the jeffersonians, with all their unwisdom and demagogy, were nevertheless the western champions. vagaries of western constitution-making. mississippi and ohio had squabbled with their territorial governors much as the old thirteen colonies had squabbled with the governors appointed by the crown. one curious western consequence of this was common to both cases. when the old colonies became states, they in their constitutions usually imposed the same checks upon the executive they themselves elected as they had desired to see imposed upon the executive appointed by an outside power. the new territories followed the same course. when ohio became a state it adopted a very foolish constitution. this constitution deprived the executive of almost all power, and provided a feeble, short-term judiciary, throwing the control of affairs into the hands of the legislative body, in accordance with what were then deemed democratic ideas. the people were entirely unable to realize that, so far as their discontent with the governor's actions was reasonable, it arose from the fact that he was appointed, not by themselves, but by some body or person not in sympathy with them. they failed to grasp the seemingly self-evident truth that a governor, one man elected by the people, is just as much their representative and is just as certain to carry out their ideas as is a legislature, a body of men elected by the people. they provided a government which accentuated, instead of softening, the defects in their own social system. they were in no danger of suffering from tyranny; they were in no danger of losing the liberty which they so jealously guarded. the perils that threatened them were lawlessness, lack of order, and lack of capacity to concentrate their efforts in time of danger from within or from an external enemy; and against these perils they made no provision whatever. western feeling against the east. the west in close touch with the south. the inhabitants of ohio territory were just as bitter against st. clair as the inhabitants of mississippi territory were against sargent. the mississippians did not object to sargent as a northern man, but, in common with the men of ohio, they objected to governors who were eastern men and out of touch with the west. at the end of the eighteenth century, and during the early years of the nineteenth, the important fact to be remembered in treating of the westerners was their fundamental unity, in blood, in ways of life, and in habits of thought. [footnote: prof. frederick a. turner, of the university of michigan, deserves especial credit for the stress he has laid upon this point.] they were predominantly of southern, not of northern blood; though it was the blood of the southerners of the uplands, not of the low coast regions, so that they were far more closely kin to the northerners than were the seaboard planters. in kentucky and tennessee, in indiana and mississippi, the settlers were of the same quality. they possessed the same virtues and the same shortcomings, the same ideals and the same practices. there was already a considerable eastern emigration to the west, but it went as much to kentucky as to ohio, and almost as much to tennessee and mississippi as to indiana. as yet the northeasterners were chiefly engaged in filling the vacant spaces in new england, new york, and pennsylvania. the great flood of eastern emigration to the west, the flood which followed the parallels of latitude, and made the northwest like the northeast, did not begin until after the war of . it was no accident that made harrison, the first governor of indiana and long the typical representative of the northwest, by birth a virginian, and the son of one of the virginian signers of the declaration of independence. the northwest was at this time in closer touch with virginia than with new england. homogeneity of the west. slavery in the west. there was as yet no hard and fast line drawn between north and south among the men of the western waters. their sense of political cohesion was not fully developed, and the same qualities that at times made them loose in their ideas of allegiance to the union at times also prevented a vivid realization on their part of their own political and social solidarity; but they were always more or less conscious of this solidarity, and, as a rule, they acted together. most important of all, the slavery question, which afterwards rived in sunder the men west of the alleghanies as it rived in sunder those east of them, was of small importance in the early years. west of the alleghanies slaves were still to be found almost everywhere, while almost every where there were also frequent and open expressions of hostility to slavery. the southerners still rather disliked slavery, while the northerners did not as yet feel any very violent antagonism to it. in the indiana territory there were hundreds of slaves, the property of the old french inhabitants and of the american settlers who had come there prior to ; and the majority of the population of this territory actually wished to reintroduce slavery, and repeatedly petitioned congress to be allowed the reintroduction. congress, with equal patriotism, and wisdom, always refused the petition; but it was not until the new century was well under way that the anti-slavery element obtained control in indiana and illinois. even in ohio there was a considerable party which favored the introduction of slavery, and though the majority was against this, the people had small sympathy with the negroes, and passed very severe laws against the introduction of free blacks into the state, and even against those already in residence therein. [footnote: "ohio," by rufus king. pp. , , etc.] on the other hand, when kentucky's first constitutional convention sat, a resolute effort was made to abolish slavery within the state, and this effort was only defeated after a hard struggle and a close vote. to their honor be it said that all of the clergymen--three baptists, one methodist, one dutch reformed, and one presbyterian--who were members of the constitutional convention voted in favor of the abolition of slavery. [footnote: john mason brown, "political beginnings of kentucky," . among the men who deserve honor for thus voting against slavery was harry innes. one of the baptist preachers, gerrard, was elected governor over logan, four years later; a proof that kentucky sentiment was very tolerant of attacks on slavery. all the clergymen, by the way, also voted to disqualify clergymen for service in the legislatures.] in tennessee no such effort was made, but the leaders of thought did not hesitate to express their horror of slavery and their desire that it might be abolished. there was no sharp difference between the attitudes of the northwestern and the southwestern states towards slavery. features of western life. the farmer the typical westerner. north and south alike, the ways of life were substantially the same; though there were differences, of course, and these differences tended to become accentuated. thus, in the mississippi territory the planters, in the closing years of the century, began to turn their attention to cotton instead of devoting themselves to the crops of their brethren farther north; and cotton soon became their staple product. but as yet the typical settler everywhere was the man of the axe and rifle, the small pioneer farmer who lived by himself, with his wife and his swarming children, on a big tract of wooded land, perhaps three or four hundred acres in extent. of this three or four hundred acres he rarely cleared more than eight or ten; and these were cleared imperfectly. on this clearing he tilled the soil, and there he lived in his rough log house with but one room, or at most two and a loft. [footnote: f. a. michaux, "voyages" (in ), pp. , , etc.] game still abundant. the man of the western waters, was essentially a man who dwelt alone in the midst of the forest on his rude little farm, and who eked out his living by hunting. game still abounded everywhere, save in the immediate neighborhood of the towns; so that many of the inhabitants lived almost exclusively by hunting and fishing, and, with their return to the pursuits of savagery, adopted not a little of the savage idleness and thriftlessness. bear, deer, and turkey were staple foods. elk had ceased to be common, though they hung on here and there in out of the way localities for many years; and by the close of the century the herds of bison had been driven west of the mississippi. [footnote: henry ker, "travels," p. .] smaller forms of wild life swarmed. gray squirrels existed in such incredible numbers that they caused very serious damage to the crops, and at one time the kentucky legislature passed a law imposing upon every male over sixteen years of age the duty of killing a certain number of squirrels and crows every year. [footnote: michaux, , ; collins, i., .] the settlers possessed horses and horned cattle, but only a few sheep, which were not fitted to fight for their own existence in the woods, as the stock had to. on the other hand, slab-sided, long-legged hogs were the most plentiful of domestic animals, ranging in great, half-wild droves through the forest. fondness of the westerners for the lonely life of the woods. all observers were struck by the intense fondness of the frontiersmen for the woods and for a restless, lonely life. [footnote: crêvecoeur, "voyage dans la haute pennsylvanie," etc., p. .] they pushed independence to an extreme; they did not wish to work for others or to rent land from others. each was himself a small landed proprietor, who cleared only the ground that he could himself cultivate. workmen were scarce and labor dear. it was almost impossible to get men fit to work as mill hands, or to do high-class labor in forges even by importing them from pennsylvania or maryland. [footnote: clay mss., letter to george nicholas, baltimore, sept. , .] even in the few towns the inhabitants preferred that their children should follow agriculture rather than become handicraftsmen; and skilled workmen such as carpenters and smiths made a great deal of money, so much so that they could live a week on one day's wage. [footnote: michaux, pp. , .] the river trade. in addition to farming there was a big trade along the river. land transportation was very difficult indeed, and the frontiersman's whole life was one long struggle with the forest and with poor roads. the waterways were consequently of very great importance, and the flatboatmen on the mississippi and ohio became a numerous and noteworthy class. the rivers were covered with their craft. there was a driving trade between pittsburgh and new orleans, the goods being drawn to pittsburgh from the seacoast cities by great four-horse wagons, and being exported in ships from new orleans to all parts of the earth. not only did the westerners build river craft, but they even went into shipbuilding; and on the upper ohio, at pittsburgh, and near marietta, at the beginning of the present century, seagoing ships were built and launched to go down the ohio and mississippi, and thence across the ocean to any foreign port. [footnote: thompson mason harris, "journal of tour," etc., , p. ; michaux, p. .] there was, however, much risk in this trade; for the demand for commodities at natchez and new orleans was uncertain, while the waters of the gulf swarmed with british and french cruisers, always ready to pounce like pirates on the ships of neutral powers. [footnote: clay mss., w. h. turner to thomas hart, natchez, may , .] small size of the towns. natchez. yet the river trade was but the handmaid of frontier agriculture. the westerners were a farmer folk who lived on the clearings their own hands had made in the great woods, and who owned the land they tilled. towns were few and small. at the end of the century there were some four hundred thousand people in the west; yet the largest town was lexington, which contained less than three thousand people. [footnote: perrin du lac "voyage," etc., , , p. ; michaux, .] lexington was a neatly built little burg, with fine houses and good stores. the leading people lived well and possessed much cultivation. louisville and nashville were each about half its size. in nashville, of the one hundred and twenty houses but eight were of brick, and most of them were mere log huts. cincinnati was a poor little village. cleveland consisted of but two or three log cabins, at a time when there were already a thousand settlers in its neighborhood on the connecticut reserve, scattered out on their farms. [footnote: "historical collections of ohio," p. .] natchez was a very important town, nearly as large as lexington. it derived its importance from the river traffic on the mississippi. all the boatmen stopped there, and sometimes as many as one hundred and fifty craft were moored to the bank at the same time. the men who did this laborious river work were rude, powerful, and lawless, and when they halted for a rest their idea of enjoyment was the coarsest and most savage dissipation. at natchez there speedily gathered every species of purveyor to their vicious pleasures, and the part of the town known as "natchez under the hill" became a by-word for crime and debauchery. [footnote: henry ker, "travels," p. .] growth of kentucky. kentucky had grown so in population, possessing over two hundred thousand inhabitants, that she had begun to resemble an eastern state. when, in , benjamin logan, the representative of the old woodchoppers and indian fighters, ran for governor and was beaten, it was evident that kentucky had passed out of the mere pioneer days. it was more than a mere coincidence that in the following year henry clay should have taken up his residence in lexington. it showed that the state was already attracting to live within her borders men like those who were fitted for social and political leadership in virginia. the kentucky gentry. the danville political club. though the typical inhabitant of kentucky was still the small frontier farmer, the class of well-to-do gentry had already attained good proportions. elsewhere throughout the west, in tennessee, and even here and there in ohio and the territories of indiana and mississippi, there were to be found occasional houses that were well built and well finished, and surrounded by pleasant grounds, fairly well kept; houses to which the owners had brought their stores of silver and linen and heavy, old-fashioned furniture from their homes in the eastern states. blount, for instance, had a handsome house in knoxville, well fitted, as beseemed that of a man one of whose brothers still lived at blount hall, in the coast region of north carolina, the ancestral seat of his forefathers for generations. [footnote: clay mss., blount to hart, knoxville, feb. , .] but by far the greatest number of these fine houses, and the largest class of gentry to dwell in them, were in kentucky. not only were lexington and louisville important towns, but danville, the first capital of kentucky, also possessed importance, and, indeed, had been the first of the western towns to develop an active and distinctive social and political life. it was in danville that, in the years immediately preceding kentucky's admission as a state, the political club met. the membership of this club included many of the leaders of kentucky's intellectual life, and the record of its debates shows the keenness with which they watched the course of social and political development not only in kentucky but in the united states. they were men of good intelligence and trained minds, and their meetings and debates undoubtedly had a stimulating effect upon kentucky life, though they were tainted, as were a very large number of the leading men of the same stamp elsewhere throughout the country, with the doctrinaire political notions common among those who followed the french political theorists of the day. [footnote: "the political club," by thomas speed, filson club publications.] the large landowners. open-air life. of the gentry many were lawyers, and the law led naturally to political life; but even among the gentry the typical man was still emphatically the big landowner. the leaders of kentucky were men who owned large estates, on which they lived in their great roomy houses. even when they practised law they also supervised their estates; and if they were not lawyers, in addition to tilling the land they were always ready to try their hand at some kind of manufacture. they were willing to turn their attention to any new business in which there was a chance to make money, whether it was to put up a mill, to build a forge, to undertake a contract for the delivery of wheat to some big flour merchant, or to build a flotilla of flatboats, and take the produce of a given neighborhood down to new orleans for shipment to the west indies. [footnote: clay mss., seitz & lowan to garret darling, lexington, january , ; agreement of george nicholas, october , , etc. this was an agreement on the part of nicholas to furnish seitz & lowan with all the flour manufactured at his mill during the season of for exportation, the flour to be delivered by him in kentucky. he was to receive $ . a barrel up to the receipt of $ ; after that it was to depend upon the price of wheat. six bushels of wheat were reckoned to a barrel of flour, and the price of a bushel was put at four shillings; in reality it ranged from three to six.] they were also always engaged in efforts to improve the breed of their horses and cattle, and to introduce new kinds of agriculture, notably the culture of the vine. [footnote: _do._, "minutes of meeting of the directors of the vineyard society," june , .] they speedily settled themselves definitely in the new country, and began to make ready for their children to inherit their homes after them; though they retained enough of the restless spirit which had made them cross the alleghanies to be always on the lookout for any fresh region of exceptional advantages, such as many of them considered the lands along the lower mississippi. they led a life which appealed to them strongly, for it was passed much in the open air, in a beautiful region and lovely climate, with horses and hounds, and the management of their estates and their interest in politics to occupy their time; while their neighbors were men of cultivation, at least by their own standards, so that they had the society for which they most cared. [footnote: _do._, james brown to thomas hart, lexington, april , .] in spite of their willingness to embark in commercial ventures and to build mills, rope-walks, and similar manufactures,--for which they had the greatest difficulty in procuring skilled laborers, whether foreign or native, from the northeastern states [footnote: _do._, j. brown to thomas hart, philadelphia, february , . this letter was brought out to hart by a workman, david dodge, whom brown had at last succeeded in engaging. dodge had been working in new york at a rope-walk, where he received $ a year without board. from hart he bargained to receive $ with board. it proved impossible to engage other journeymen workers, brown expressing his belief that any whom he chose would desert a week after they got to kentucky, and dodge saying that he would rather take raw hands and train them to the business than take out such hands as offered to go.]--and in spite of their liking for the law, they retained the deep-settled belief that the cultivation of the earth was the best of all possible pursuits for men of every station, high or low. [footnote _do._, william nelson to col. george nicholas, caroline, va., december , .] virginia and kentucky. in many ways the life of the kentuckians was most like that of the virginia gentry, though it had peculiar features of its own. judged by puritan standards, it seemed free enough; and it is rather curious to find virginia fathers anxious to send their sons out to kentucky so that they could get away from what they termed "the constant round of dissipation, the scenes of idleness, which boys are perpetually engaged in" in virginia. one virginia gentleman of note, in writing to a prominent kentuckian to whom he wished to send his son, dwelt upon his desire to get him away from a place where boys of his age spent most of the time galloping wherever they wished, mounted on blooded horses. kentucky hardly seemed a place to which a parent would send a son if he wished him to avoid the temptations of horse flesh; but this particular virginian at least tried to provide against this, as he informed his correspondent that he should send his son out to kentucky mounted on an "indifferent nag," which was to be used only as a means of locomotion for the journey, and was then immediately to be sold. [footnote: _do_., william nelson to nicholas, november , .] education. the gentry strove hard to secure a good education for their children, and in kentucky, as in tennessee, made every effort to bring about the building of academies where their boys and girls could be well taught. if this was not possible, they strove to find some teacher capable of taking a class to which he could teach latin and mathematics; a teacher who should also "prepare his pupils for becoming useful members of society and patriotic citizens." [footnote: shelby mss., letter of toulmin, january , ; blount mss., january , , etc.] where possible the leading families sent their sons to some eastern college, princeton being naturally the favorite institution of learning with people who dwelt in communities where the presbyterians took the lead in social standing and cultivation. [footnote: clay mss., _passim;_ letter to thomas hart, october , ; october , , etc. in the last letter, by the way, written by one john umstead, occurs the following sentence: "i have lately heard a piece of news, if true, must be a valuable acquisition to the western world, viz. a boat of a considerable burden making four miles and a half an hour against the strongest current in the mississippi river, and worked by horses."] currency. prices of goods. all through the west there was much difficulty in getting money. in tennessee particularly money was so scarce that the only way to get cash in hand was by selling provisions to the few federal garrisons. [footnote: _do_., blount to hart, knoxville, march , .] credits were long, and payment made largely in kind; and the price at which an article could be sold under such conditions was twice as large as that which it would command for cash down. in the accounts kept by the landowners with the merchants who sold them goods, and the artizans who worked for them, there usually appear credit accounts in which the amounts due on account of produce of various kinds are deducted from the debt, leaving a balance to be settled by cash and by orders. owing to the fluctuating currency, and to the wide difference in charges when immediate cash payments were received as compared with charges when the payments were made on credit and in kind, it is difficult to know exactly what the prices represent. in kentucky currency mutton and beef were fourpence a pound, in the summer of , while four beef tongues cost three shillings, and a quarter of lamb three and a sixpence. in , on the same account, beef was down to threepence a pound. [footnote: _do._, account of james morrison and melchia myer, october , .] linen cost two and fourpence, or three shillings a yard; flannel, four to six shillings; calico and chintz about the same; baize, three shillings and ninepence. a dozen knives and forks were eighteen shillings, and ten pocket handkerchiefs two pounds. worsted shoes were eight shillings a pair, and buttons were a shilling a dozen. a pair of gloves were three and ninepence; a pair of kid slippers, thirteen and sixpence; ribbons were one and sixpence. [footnote: _do._, account of mrs. marion nicholas with tillford, . on this bill appears also a charge for hyson tea, for straw bonnets, at eighteen shillings; for black silk gloves, and for one "aesop's fables," at a cost of three shillings and ninepence.] the blacksmith charged six shillings and ninepence for a new pair of shoes, and a shilling and sixpence for taking off an old pair; and he did all the iron work for the farm and the house alike, from repairing bridle bits and sharpening coulters to mounting "wafil irons" [footnote: _do._, account of morrison and hickey, .]--for the housewives excelled in preparing delicious waffles and hot cakes. holidays of the gentry. the gentry were fond of taking holidays, going to some mountain resort, where they met friends from other parts of kentucky and tennessee, and from virginia and elsewhere. they carried their negro servants with them, and at a good tavern the board would be three shillings a day for the master and a little over a shilling for the man. they lived in comfort and they enjoyed themselves; but they did not have much ready money. from the sales of their crops and stock and from their mercantile ventures they got enough to pay the blacksmith and carpenter, who did odd jobs for them, and the eastern merchants from whom they got gloves, bonnets, hats, and shoes, and the cloth which was made into dresses by the womankind on their plantations. but most of their wants were supplied on their own places. their abundant tables were furnished mainly with, what their own farms yielded. when they travelled they went in their own carriages. the rich men, whose wants were comparatively many, usually had on their estates white hired men or black slaves whose labor could gratify them; while the ordinary farmer, of the class that formed the great majority of the population, was capable of supplying almost all his needs himself, or with the assistance of his family. contrast of old and new methods of settlements. the immense preponderance of the agricultural, land-holding, and land-tilling element, and the comparative utter insignificance of town development was highly characteristic of the western settlement of this time, and offers a very marked contrast to what goes on to-day, in the settlement of new countries. at the end of the eighteenth century the population of the western country was about as great as the population of the state of washington at the end of the nineteenth, and washington is distinctly a pastoral and agricultural state, a state of men who chop trees, herd cattle, and till the soil, as well as trade; but in washington great cities, like tacoma, seattle, and spokane, have sprung up with a rapidity which was utterly unknown in the west a century ago. nowadays when new states are formed the urban population in them tends to grow as rapidly as in the old. a hundred years ago there was practically no urban population at all in a new country. colorado even during its first decade of statehood had a third of its population in its capital city. kentucky during its first decade did not have much more than one per cent of its population in its capital city. kentucky grew as rapidly as colorado grew, a hundred years later; but denver grew thirty or forty times as fast as lexington had ever grown. restlessness of the frontiersman. boone's wanderings. in the strongly marked frontier character no traits were more pronounced than the dislike of crowding and the tendency to roam to and fro, hither and thither, always with a westward trend. boone, the typical frontiersman, embodied in his own person the spirit of loneliness and restlessness which marked the first venturers into the wilderness. he had wandered in his youth from pennsylvania to carolina, and, in the prime of his strength, from north carolina to kentucky. when kentucky became well settled in the closing years of the century, he crossed into missouri, that he might once more take up his life where he could see the game come out of the woods at nightfall, and could wander among trees untouched by the axe of the pioneer. an english traveller of note who happened to encounter him about this time has left an interesting account of the meeting. it was on the ohio, and boone was in a canoe, alone with his dog and gun, setting forth on a solitary trip into the wilderness to trap beaver. he would not even join himself to the other travellers for a night, preferring to plunge at once into the wild, lonely life he so loved. his strong character and keen mind struck the englishman, who yet saw that the old hunter belonged to the class of pioneers who could never themselves civilize the land, because they ever fled from the face of the very civilization for which they had made ready the land. in boone's soul the fierce impatience of all restraint burned like a fire. he told the englishman that he no longer cared for kentucky, because its people had grown too easy of life; and that he wished to move to some place where men still lived untrammelled and unshackled, and enjoyed uncontrolled the free blessings of nature. [footnote: francis bailey's "journal of a tour in unsettled parts of north america in and ," p. .] the isolation of his life and the frequency with which he changed his abode brought out the frontiersman's wonderful capacity to shift for himself, but it hindered the development of his power of acting in combination with others of his kind. the first comers to the new country were so restless and so intolerant of the presence of their kind, that as neighbors came in they moved ever westward. they could not act with their fellows. the permanent settlers. efforts to provide schooling. of course in the men who succeeded the first pioneers, and who were the first permanent settlers, the restlessness and the desire for a lonely life were much less developed. these men wandered only until they found a good piece of land, and took up claims on this land, not because the country was lonely, but because it was fertile. they hailed with joy the advent of new settlers and the upbuilding of a little market town in the neighborhood. they joined together eagerly in the effort to obtain schools for their children. as yet there were no public schools supported by government in any part of the west, but all the settlers of any pretension to respectability were anxious to give their children a decent education. even the poorer people, who were still engaged in the hardest and roughest struggle for a livelihood, showed appreciation of the need of schooling for their children; and wherever the clearings of the settlers were within reasonable distance of one another a log schoolhouse was sure to spring up. the school-teacher boarded around among the different families, and was quite as apt to be paid in produce as in cash. sometimes he was a teacher by profession; more often he took up teaching simply as an interlude to some of his other occupations. schoolbooks were more common than any others in the scanty libraries of the pioneers. the county-system in the west. the settlers who became firmly established in the land gave definite shape to its political career. the county was throughout the west the unit of division, though in the north it became somewhat mixed with the township system. it is a pity that the township could not have been the unit, as it would have rendered the social and political development in many respects easier, by giving to each little community responsibility for, and power in, matters concerning its own welfare; but the backwoodsmen lived so scattered out, and the thinly-settled regions covered so large an extent of territory, that the county was at first in some ways more suited to their needs. moreover, it was the unit of organization in virginia, to which state more than to any other the pioneers owed their social and governmental system. the people were ordinarily brought but little in contact with the government. they were exceedingly jealous of their individual liberty, and wished to be interfered with as little as possible. nevertheless, they were fond of litigation. one observer remarks that horses and lawsuits were their great subjects of conversation. [footnote: michaux, p. .] the lawyers and clergymen forced to much travel. the vast extent of the territory and the scantiness of the population forced the men of law, like the religious leaders, to travel about rather than stay permanently fixed in any one place. in a few towns there were lawyers and clergymen who had permanent homes; but as a rule both rode circuits. the judges and the lawyers travelled together on the circuits, to hold court. at the shire-town all might sleep in one room, or at least under one roof; and it was far from an unusual thing to see both the grand and petty juries sitting under trees in the open. [footnote: atwater, p. .] power to combine among the frontiersmen. the fact that the government did so little for the individual and left so much to be done by him rendered it necessary for the individuals voluntarily to combine. huskings and house-raisings were times when all joined freely to work for the man whose corn men was to be shucked or whose log cabin was to be built, and turned their labor into a frolic and merrymaking, where the men drank much whiskey and the young people danced vigorously to the sound of the fiddle. such merry-makings were attended from far and near, offering a most welcome break to the dreariness of life on the lonely clearings in the midst of the forest. ordinarily the frontiersman at his home only drank milk or water; but at the taverns and social gatherings there was much drunkenness, for the men craved whiskey, drinking the fiery liquor in huge draughts. often the orgies ended with brutal brawls. to outsiders the craving of the backwoodsman for whiskey was one of his least attractive traits. [footnote: perrin du lac, p. ; michaux, , etc.] it must always be remembered, however, that even the most friendly outsider is apt to apply to others his own standards in matters of judgment. the average traveller overstated the drunkenness of the backwoodsman, exactly as he overstated his misery. roughness and poverty of the life. its attractiveness. the frontiersman was very poor. he worked hard and lived roughly, and he and his family had little beyond coarse food, coarse clothing, and a rude shelter. in the severe winters they suffered both from cold and hunger. in the summers there was sickness everywhere, fevers of various kinds scourging all the new settlements. the difficulty of communication was so great that it took three months for the emigrants to travel from connecticut to the western reserve near cleveland, and a journey from a clearing, over the forest roads, to a little town not fifty miles off was an affair of moment to be undertaken but once a year. [footnote: "historical collections of ohio," p. ; perrin du lac, p. .] yet to the frontiersmen themselves the life was far from unattractive. it gratified their intense love of independence; the lack of refinement did not grate on their rough, bold natures; and they prized the entire equality of a life where there were no social distinctions, and few social restraints. game was still a staple, being sought after for the flesh and the hide, and of course all the men and boys were enthralled by the delights of the chase. the life was as free as it was rude, and it possessed great fascinations, not only for the wilder spirits, but even for many men who, when they had the chance, showed that they possessed ability to acquire cultivation. one old pioneer has left a pleasant account of the beginning of an ordinary day's work in a log cabin [footnote: drake's "pioneer life in kentucky." this gives an excellent description of life in a family of pioneers, representing what might be called the average frontiersman of the best type. drake's father and mother were poor and illiterate, but hardworking, honest, god-fearing folk, with an earnest desire to do their duty by their neighbors and to see their children rise in the world.]: life in a log cabin. "i know of no scene in civilized life more primitive than such a cabin hearth as that of my mother. in the morning, a buckeye back-log, a hickory forestick, resting on stone and irons, with a johnny-cake, on a clean ash board, set before the fire to bake; a frying pan, with its long handle resting on a split-bottom turner's chair, sending out its peculiar music, and the tea-kettle swung from a wooden lug pole, with myself setting the table or turning the meat, or watching the johnny-cake, while she sat nursing the baby in the corner and telling the little ones to hold still and let their sister lizzie dress them. then came blowing the conch-shell for father in the field, the howling of old lion, the gathering round the table, the blessing, the dull clatter of pewter spoons and pewter basins, the talk about the crop and stock, the inquiry whether dan'l (the boy) could be spared from the house, and the general arrangements for the day. breakfast over, my function was to provide the sauce for dinner; in winter, to open the potato or turnip hole, and wash what i took out; in spring, to go into the field and collect the greens; in summer and fall, to explore the truck patch, our little garden. if i afterwards went to the field my household labors ceased until night; if not, they continued through the day. as often as possible mother would engage in making pumpkin pies, in which i generally bore a part, and one of these more commonly graced the supper than the dinner table. my pride was in the labors of the field. mother did the spinning. the standing dye-stuff was the inner bark of the white walnut, from which we obtained that peculiar and permanent shade of dull yellow, the butternut [so common and typical in the clothing of the backwoods farmer]. oak bark, with copper as a mordant, when father had money to purchase it, supplied the ink with which i learned to write. i drove the horses to and from the range, and salted them. i tended the sheep, and hunted up the cattle in the woods." [footnote: _do_., pp. , in, etc., condensed.] this was the life of the thrifty pioneers, whose children more than held their own in the world. the shiftless men without ambition and without thrift, lived in laziness and filth; their eating and sleeping arrangements were as unattractive as those of an indian wigwam. peculiar qualities of the pioneers. native americans did best. the pleasures and the toils of the life were alike peculiar. in the wilder parts the loneliness and the fierce struggle with squalid poverty, and with the tendency to revert to savage conditions, inevitably produced for a generation or two a certain falling off from the standard of civilized communities. it needed peculiar qualities to insure success, and the pioneers were almost exclusively native americans. the germans were more thrifty and prosperous, but they could not go first into the wilderness. [footnote: michaux, p. , etc.] men fresh from england rarely succeeded. [footnote: parkinson's "tour in america, - ," pp. , , etc. parkinson loathed the americans. a curious example of how differently the same facts will affect different observers may be gained by contrasting his] the most pitiable group of emigrants that reached the west at this time was formed by the french [footnote: observations with those of his fellow englishman, john davis, whose trip covered precisely the same period; but parkinson's observations as to the extreme difficulty of an old country farmer getting on in the backwoods regions are doubtless mainly true.] who came to found the town of gallipolis, on the ohio. these were mostly refugees from the revolution, who had been taken in by a swindling land company. they were utterly unsuited to life in the wilderness, being gentlemen, small tradesmen, lawyers, and the like. unable to grapple with the wild life into which they found themselves plunged, they sank into shiftless poverty, not one in fifty showing industry and capacity to succeed. congress took pity upon them and granted them twenty-four thousand acres in scioto county, the tract being known as the french grant; but no gift of wild land was able to insure their prosperity. by degrees they were absorbed into the neighboring communities, a few succeeding, most ending their lives in abject failure. [footnote: atwater, p. ; michaux, p. , etc.] trouble with land titles. the trouble these poor french settlers had with their lands was far from unique. the early system of land sales in the west was most unwise. in kentucky and tennessee the grants were made under the laws of virginia and north carolina, and each man purchased or preempted whatever he could, and surveyed it where he liked, with a consequent endless confusion of titles. the national government possessed the disposal of the land in the northwest and in mississippi; and it avoided the pitfall of unlimited private surveying; but it made little effort to prevent swindling by land companies, and none whatever to people the country with actual settlers. congress granted great tracts of lands to companies and to individuals, selling to the highest bidder, whether or not he intended personally to occupy the country. public sales were thus conducted by competition, and congress even declined to grant to the men in actual possession the right of pre-emption at the average rate of sale, refusing the request of settlers in both mississippi and indiana that they should be given the first choice to the lands which they had already partially cleared. [footnote: american state papers, public lands, i., ; also pp. , , , etc.] it was not until many years later that we adopted the wise policy of selling the national domain in small lots to actual occupants. sullen jealousy of the pioneers. clouded economic notions. the pioneer in his constant struggle with poverty was prone to look with puzzled anger at those who made more money than he did, and whose lives were easier. the backwoods farmer or planter of that day looked upon the merchant with much the same suspicion and hostility now felt by his successor for the banker or the railroad magnate. he did not quite understand how it was that the merchant, who seemed to work less hard than he did, should make more money; and being ignorant and suspicious, he usually followed some hopelessly wrong-headed course when he tried to remedy his wrongs. sometimes these efforts to obtain relief took the form of resolutions not to purchase from merchants or traders such articles as woollens, linens, cottons, hats, or shoes, unless the same could be paid for in articles grown or manufactured by the farmers themselves. this particular move was taken because of the alarming scarcity of money, and was aimed particularly at the inhabitants of the atlantic states. it was of course utterly ineffective. [footnote: marshall, ii., p. .] a much less wise and less honest course was that sometimes followed of refusing to pay debts when the latter became inconvenient and pressing. [footnote: the inhabitants of natchez, in the last days of the spanish dominion, became inflamed with hostility to their creditors, the merchants, and insisted upon what were practically stay laws being enacted in their favor. gayarré and claiborne.] vices of the militia system. the frontier virtue of independence and of impatience of outside direction found a particularly vicious expression in the frontier abhorrence of regular troops, and advocacy of a hopelessly feeble militia system. the people were foolishly convinced of the efficacy of their militia system, which they loudly proclaimed to be the only proper mode of national defence. [footnote: marshall, ii., p. .] while in the actual presence of the indians the stern necessities of border warfare forced the frontiersmen into a certain semblance of discipline. as soon as the immediate pressure was relieved, however, the whole militia system sank into a mere farce. at certain stated occasions there were musters for company or regimental drill. these training days were treated as occasions for frolic and merry-making. there were pony races and wrestling matches, with unlimited fighting, drunkenness, and general uproar. such musters were often called, in derision, cornstalk drills, because many of the men, either having no guns or neglecting to bring them, drilled with cornstalks instead. the officers were elected by the men and when there was no immediate danger of war they were chosen purely for their social qualities. for a few years after the close of the long indian struggle there were here and there officers who had seen actual service and who knew the rudiments of drill; but in the days of peace the men who had taken part in indian fighting cared but little to attend the musters, and left them more and more to be turned into mere scenes of horseplay. lack of military training. the frontier people of the second generation in the west thus had no military training whatever, and though they possessed a skeleton militia organization, they derived no benefit from it, because their officers were worthless, and the men had no idea of practising self-restraint or of obeying orders longer than they saw fit. the frontiersmen were personally brave, but their courage was entirely untrained, and being unsupported by discipline, they were sure to be disheartened at a repulse, to be distrustful of themselves and their leaders, and to be unwilling to persevere in the face of danger and discouragement. they were hardy, and physically strong, and they were good marksmen; but here the list of their soldierly qualities was exhausted. they had to be put through a severe course of training by some man like jackson before they became fit to contend on equal terms with regulars in the open or with indians in the woods. their utter lack of discipline was decisive against them at first in any contest with regulars. in warfare with the indians there were a very few of their number, men of exceptional qualities as woodsmen, who could hold their own; but the average frontiersman, though he did a good deal of hunting and possessed much knowledge of woodcraft, was primarily a tiller of the soil and a feller of trees, and he was necessarily at a disadvantage when pitted against an antagonist whose entire life was passed in woodland chase and woodland warfare. these facts must all be remembered if we wish to get an intelligent explanation of the utter failure of the frontiersmen when, in , they were again pitted against the british and the forest tribes. they must also be taken into account when we seek to explain why it was possible but a little later to develop out of the frontiersmen fighting armies which under competent generals could overmatch the red coat and the indian alike. individualism in religious matters. the great revival. the extreme individualism of the frontier, which found expression for good and for evil, both in its governmental system in time of peace and in its military system in time of war, was also shown in religious matters. in and a great revival of religion swept over the west. up to that time the presbyterian had been the leading creed beyond the mountains. there were a few episcopalians here and there, and there were lutherans, catholics, and adherents of the reformed dutch and german churches; but, aside from the presbyterians, the methodists and baptists were the only sects powerfully represented. the great revival of was mainly carried on by methodists and baptists, and under their guidance the methodist and baptist churches at once sprang to the front and became the most important religious forces in the frontier communities. [footnote: mcferrin's "history of methodism in tennessee," , etc.; spencer's "history of kentucky baptists," , etc.] the presbyterian church remained the most prominent as regards the wealth and social standing of its adherents, but the typical frontiersman who professed religion at all became either a methodist or a baptist, adopting a creed which was intensely democratic and individualistic, which made nothing of social distinctions, which distrusted educated preachers, and worked under a republican form of ecclesiastical government. camp meetings. the great revival was accompanied by scenes of intense excitement. under the conditions of a vast wooded wilderness and a scanty population the camp-meeting was evolved as the typical religious festival. to the great camp-meetings the frontiersmen flocked from far and near, on foot, on horseback, and in wagons. every morning at daylight the multitude was summoned to prayer by sound of trumpet. no preacher or exhorter was suffered to speak unless he had the power of stirring the souls of his hearers. the preaching, the praying, and the singing went on without intermission, and under the tremendous emotional stress whole communities became fervent professors of religion. many of the scenes at these camp-meetings were very distasteful to men whose religion was not emotional and who shrank from the fury of excitement into which the great masses were thrown, for under the strain many individuals literally became like men possessed, whether of good or of evil spirits, falling into ecstasies of joy or agony, dancing, shouting, jumping, fainting, while there were widespread and curious manifestations of a hysterical character, both among the believers and among the scoffers; but though this might seem distasteful to an observer of education and self-restraint, it thrilled the heart of the rude and simple backwoodsman and reached him as he could not possibly have been reached in any other manner. often the preachers of the different denominations worked in hearty unison; but often they were sundered by bitter jealousy and distrust. the fiery zeal of the methodists made them the leaders; and in their war on the forces of evil they at times showed a tendency to include all non-methodists--whether baptists, lutherans, catholics, or infidels--in a common damnation. of course, as always in such a movement, many even of the earnest leaders at times confounded the essential and the non-essential, and railed as bitterly against dancing as against drunkenness and lewdness, or anathematized the wearing of jewelry as fiercely as the commission of crime. [footnote: autobiography of peter cartwright, the backwoods preacher.] more than one hearty, rugged old preacher, who did stalwart service for decency and morality, hated calvinism as heartily as catholicism, and yet yielded to no puritan in his austere condemnation of amusement and luxury. good accomplished. trials of the frontier preachers. often men backslid, and to a period of intense emotional religion succeeded one of utter unbelief and of reversion to the worst practices which had been given up. nevertheless, on the whole there was an immense gain for good. the people received a new light, and were given a sense of moral responsibility such as they had not previously possessed. much of the work was done badly or was afterwards undone, but very much was really accomplished. the whole west owes an immense debt to the hard-working frontier preachers, sometimes presbyterian, generally methodist or baptist, who so gladly gave their lives to their labors and who struggled with such fiery zeal for the moral wellbeing of the communities to which they penetrated. wherever there was a group of log cabins, thither some methodist circuit-rider made his way or there some baptist preacher took up his abode. their prejudices and narrow dislikes, their raw vanity and sullen distrust of all who were better schooled than they, count for little when weighed against their intense earnestness and heroic self-sacrifice. they proved their truth by their endeavor. they yielded scores of martyrs, nameless and unknown men who perished at the hands of the savages, or by sickness or in flood or storm. they had to face no little danger from the white inhabitants themselves. in some of the communities most of the men might heartily support them, but in others, where the vicious and lawless elements were in control, they were in constant danger of mobs. the godless and lawless people hated the religious with a bitter hatred, and gathered in great crowds to break up their meetings. on the other hand, those who had experienced religion were no believers in the doctrine of nonresistance. at the core, they were thoroughly healthy men, and they fought as valiantly against the powers of evil in matters physical as in matters moral. some of the successful frontier preachers were men of weak frame, whose intensity of conviction and fervor of religious belief supplied the lack of bodily powers; but as a rule the preacher who did most was a stalwart man, as strong in body as in faith. one of the continually recurring incidents in the biographies of the famous frontier preachers is that of some particularly hardened sinner who was never converted until, tempted to assault the preacher of the word, he was soundly thrashed by the latter, and his eyes thereby rudely opened through his sense of physical shortcoming to an appreciation of his moral iniquity. the frontiersmen threaten the spanish regions. throughout these years, as the frontiersmen pressed into the west, they continued to fret and strain against the spanish boundaries. there was no temptation to them to take possession of canada. the lands south of the lakes were more fertile than those north of the lakes, and the climate was better. the few american settlers who did care to go into canada found people speaking their own tongue, and with much the same ways of life; so that they readily assimilated with them, as they could not assimilate with the french and spanish creoles. canada lay north, and the tendency of the backwoodsman was to thrust west; among the southern backwoodsmen, the tendency was south and southwest. the mississippi formed no natural barrier whatever. boone, when he moved into missouri, was but a forerunner among the pioneers; many others followed him. he himself became an official under the spanish government, and received a grant of lands. of the other frontiersmen who went into the spanish territory, some, like boone, continued to live as hunters and backwoods farmers. [footnote: american state papers, public lands, ii., pp. , .] others settled in st. louis, or some other of the little creole towns, and joined the parties of french traders who ascended the missouri and the mississippi to barter paint, beads, powder, and blankets for the furs of the indians. uneasiness of the spaniards. their religious intolerance. the spanish authorities were greatly alarmed at the incoming of the american settlers. gayoso de lemos had succeeded carondelet as governor, and he issued to the commandants of the different posts throughout the colonies a series of orders in reference to the terms on which land grants were to be given to immigrants; he particularly emphasized the fact that liberty of conscience was not to be extended beyond the first generation, and that the children of the immigrant would either have to become catholics or else be expelled, and that this should be explained to settlers who did not profess the catholic faith. he ordered, moreover, that no preacher of any religion but the catholic should be allowed to come into the provinces. [footnote: gayarré, iii., p. .] the bishop of louisiana complained bitterly of the american immigration and of the measure of religious toleration accorded the settlers, which, he said, had introduced into the colony a gang of adventurers who acknowledged no religion. he stated that the americans had scattered themselves over the country almost as far as texas and corrupted the indians and creoles by the example of their own restless and ambitious temper; for they came from among people who were in the habit of saying to their stalwart boys, "you will go to mexico." already the frontiersmen had penetrated even into new mexico from the district round the mouth of the missouri, in which they had become very numerous; and the bishop earnestly advised that the places where the americans were allowed to settle should be rigidly restricted. [footnote: _do_., p. .] a conflict inevitable. when the spaniards held such views it was absolutely inevitable that a conflict should come. whether the frontiersman did or did not possess deep religious convictions, he was absolutely certain to refuse to be coerced into becoming a catholic; and his children were sure to fight as soon as they were given the choice of changing their faith or abandoning their country. the minute that the american settlers were sufficiently numerous to stand a chance of success in the conflict it was certain that they would try to throw off the yoke of the fanatical and corrupt spanish government. as early as bands of armed americans had penetrated here and there into the spanish provinces in defiance of the commands of the authorities, and were striving to set up little bandit governments of their own. [footnote: _do_., p. .] advantages of the frontiersmen. the frontiersmen possessed every advantage of position, of numbers, and of temper. in any contest that might arise with spain they were sure to take possession at once of all of what was then called upper louisiana. the immediate object of interest to most of them was the commerce of the mississippi river and the possession of new orleans; but this was only part of what they wished, and were certain to get, for they demanded all the spanish territory that lay across the line of their westward march. at the beginning of the nineteenth century the settlers on the western waters recognized in spain their natural enemy, because she was the power who held the mouth and the west bank of the mississippi. they would have transferred their hostility to any other power which fell heir to her possessions, for these possessions they were bound one day to make their own. predominance of the middle west. a thin range of settlements extended from the shores of lake erie on the north to the boundary of florida on the south; and there were out-posts here and there beyond this range, as at fort dearborn, on the site of what is now chicago; but the only fairly well-settled regions were in kentucky and tennessee. these two states were the oldest, and long remained the most populous and influential, communities in the west. they shared qualities both of the northerners and of the southerners, and they gave the tone to the thought and the life in the settlements north of them no less than the settlements south of them. this fact of itself tended to make the west homogeneous and to keep it a unit with a peculiar character of its own, neither northern nor southern in political and social tendency. it was the middle west which was first settled, and the middle west stamped its peculiar characteristics on all the growing communities beyond the alleghanies. inasmuch as west of the mountains the northern communities were less distinctively northern and the southern communities less distinctively southern than was the case with the eastern states on the seaboard, it followed naturally that, considered with reference to other sections of the union, the west formed a unit, possessing marked characteristics of its own. a distinctive type of character was developed west of the alleghanies, and for the first generation the typical representatives of this western type were to be found in kentucky and tennessee. the northwest. the settlement of the northwest had been begun under influences which in the end were to separate it radically from the southwest. it was settled under governmental supervision, and because of and in accordance with governmental action; and it was destined ultimately to receive the great mass of its immigrants from the northeast; but as yet these two influences had not become strong enough to sunder the frontiersmen north of the ohio by any sharp line from those south of the ohio. the settlers on the western waters were substantially the same in character north and south. the westerners formed one people. in sum, the western frontier folk, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, possessed in common marked and peculiar characteristics, which the people of the rest of the country shared to a much less extent. they were backwoods farmers, each man preferring to live alone on his own freehold, which he himself tilled and from which he himself had cleared the timber. the towns were few and small; the people were poor, and often ignorant, but hardy in body and in temper. they joined hospitality to strangers with suspicion of them. they were essentially warlike in spirit, and yet utterly unmilitary in all their training and habits of thought. they prized beyond measure their individual liberty and their collective freedom, and were so jealous of governmental control that they often, to their own great harm, fatally weakened the very authorities whom they chose to act over them. the peculiar circumstances of their lives forced them often to act in advance of action by the law, and this bred a lawlessness in certain matters which their children inherited for generations; yet they knew and appreciated the need of obedience to the law, and they thoroughly respected the law. decadence of separatist feeling. the separatist agitations had largely died out. in and kentucky divided with virginia the leadership of the attack on the alien and sedition laws; but her extreme feelings were not shared by the other westerners, and she acted not as a representative of the west, but on a footing of equality with virginia. tennessee sympathized as little with the nullification movement of these two states at this time as she sympathized with south carolina in her nullification movement a generation later. with the election of jefferson the dominant political party in the west became in sympathy with the party in control of the nation, and the west became stoutly loyal to the national government. importance of the west. the west had thus achieved a greater degree of political solidarity, both as within itself and with the nation as a whole, than ever before. its wishes were more powerful with the east. the pioneers stood for an extreme americanism, in social, political, and religious matters alike. the trend of american thought was toward them, not away from them. more than ever before, the westerners were able to make their demands felt at home, and to make their force felt in the event of a struggle with a foreign power. chapter vi. the purchase of louisiana; and burr's conspiracy, - . a great and growing race may acquire vast stretches of scantily peopled territory in any one of several ways. often the statesman, no less than the soldier, plays an all-important part in winning the new land; nevertheless, it is usually true that the diplomatists who by treaty ratify the acquisition usurp a prominence in history to which they are in no way entitled by the real worth of their labors. ways in which territorial expansion may take place. the territory may be gained by the armed forces of the nation, and retained by treaty. it was in this way that england won the cape of good hope from holland; it was in this way that the united states won new mexico. such a conquest is due, not to the individual action of members of the winning race, but to the nation as a whole, acting through her soldiers and statesmen. it was the english navy which conquered the cape of good hope for england; it was the english diplomats that secured its retention. so it was the american army which added new mexico to the united states; and its retention was due to the will of the politicians who had set that army in motion. in neither case was there any previous settlement of moment by the conquerors in the conquered territory. in neither case was there much direct pressure by the people of the conquering races upon the soil which was won for them by their soldiers and statesmen. the acquisition of the territory must be set down to the credit of these soldiers and statesmen, representing the nation in its collective capacity; though in the case of new mexico there would of course ultimately have been a direct pressure of rifle-bearing settlers upon the people of the ranches and the mud-walled towns. diplomatic victories. in such cases it is the government itself, rather than any individual or aggregate of individuals, which wins the new land for the race. when it is won without appeal to arms, the credit, which would otherwise be divided between soldiers and statesmen, of course accrues solely to the latter. alaska, for instance, was acquired by mere diplomacy. no american settlers were thronging into alaska. the desire to acquire it among the people at large was vague, and was fanned into sluggish activity only by the genius of the far-seeing statesmen who purchased it. the credit of such an acquisition really does belong to the men who secured the adoption of the treaty by which it was acquired. the honor of adding alaska to the national domain belongs to the statesmen who at the time controlled the washington government. they were not figure-heads in the transaction. they were the vital, moving forces. victories with which diplomats have no concern. just the contrary is true of cases like that of the conquest of texas. the government of the united states had nothing to do with winning texas for the english-speaking people of north america. the american frontiersmen won texas for themselves, unaided either by the statesmen who controlled the politics of the republic, or by the soldiers who took their orders from washington. victories of mixed nature. in yet other cases the action is more mixed. statesmen and diplomats have some share in shaping the conditions under which a country is finally taken; in the eye of history they often usurp much more than their proper share; but in reality they are able to bring matters to a conclusion only because adventurous settlers, in defiance or disregard of governmental action, have pressed forward into the longed-for land. in such cases the function of the diplomats is one of some importance, because they lay down the conditions under which the land is taken; but the vital question as to whether the land shall be taken at all, upon no matter what terms, is answered not by the diplomats, but by the people themselves. it was in this way that the northwest was won from the british, and the boundaries of the southwest established by treaty with the spaniards. adams, jay, and pinckney deserve much credit for the way they conducted their several negotiations; but there would have been nothing for them to negotiate about had not the settlers already thronged into the disputed territories or strenuously pressed forward against their boundaries. louisiana really acquired by the western settlers. so it was with the acquisition of louisiana. jefferson, livingston, and their fellow-statesmen and diplomats concluded the treaty which determined the manner in which it came into our possession; but they did not really have much to do with fixing the terms even of this treaty; and the part which they played in the acquisition of louisiana in no way resembles, even remotely, the part which was played by seward, for instance, in acquiring alaska. if it had not been for seward, and the political leaders who thought as he did, alaska might never have been acquired at all; but the americans would have won louisiana in any event, even if the treaty of livingston and monroe had not been signed. the real history of the acquisition must tell of the great westward movement begun in , and not merely of the feeble diplomacy of jefferson's administration. in american settlers were already clustered here and there on the eastern fringe of the vast region which then went by the name of louisiana. all the stalwart freemen who had made their rude clearings, and built their rude towns, on the hither side of the mighty mississippi, were straining with eager desire against the forces which withheld them from seizing with strong hand the coveted province. they did not themselves know, and far less did the public men of the day realize, the full import and meaning of the conquest upon which they were about to enter. for the moment the navigation of the mouth of the mississippi seemed to them of the first importance. even the frontiersmen themselves put second to this the right to people the vast continent which lay between the pacific and the mississippi. the statesmen at washington viewed this last proposition with positive alarm, and cared only to acquire new orleans. the winning of louisiana was due to no one man, and least of all to any statesman or set of statesmen. it followed inevitably upon the great westward thrust of the settler-folk; a thrust which was delivered blindly, but which no rival race could parry, until it was stopped by the ocean itself. pressure of the backwoodsmen on the spanish dominions. louisiana was added to the united states because the hardy backwoods settlers had swarmed into the valleys of the tennessee, the cumberland, and the ohio by hundreds of thousands; and had already begun to build their raw hamlets on the banks of the mississippi, and to cover its waters with their flat-bottomed craft. restless, adventurous, hardy, they looked eagerly across the mississippi to the fertile solitudes where the spaniard was the nominal, and the indian the real, master; and with a more immediate longing they fiercely coveted the creole province at the mouth of the river. the mississippi formed no barrier whatsoever to the march of the backwoodsmen. it could be crossed at any point; and the same rapid current which made it a matter of extreme difficulty for any power at the mouth of the stream to send reinforcements up against the current would have greatly facilitated the movements of the ohio, kentucky, and tennessee levies down-stream to attack the spanish provinces. in the days of sails and oars a great river with rapid current might vitally affect military operations if these depended upon sending flotillas up or down stream. but such a river has never proved a serious barrier against a vigorous and aggressive race, where it lies between two peoples, so that the aggressors have merely to cross it. it offers no such shield as is afforded by a high mountain range. the mississippi served as a convenient line of demarkation between the americans and the spaniards; but it offered no protection whatever to the spaniards against the americans. importance of new orleans. therefore the frontiersmen found nothing serious to bar their farther march westward; the diminutive spanish garrisons in the little creole towns near the missouri were far less capable of effective resistance than were most of the indian tribes whom the americans were brushing out of their path. towards the south the situation was different. the floridas were shielded by the great indian confederacies of the creeks and choctaws, whose strength was as yet unbroken. what was much more important, the mouth of the mississippi was commanded by the important seaport of new orleans, which was accessible to fleets, which could readily be garrisoned by water, and which was the capital of a region that by backwoods standards passed for well settled. new orleans by its position was absolute master of the foreign, trade of the mississippi valley; and any power in command of the seas could easily keep it strongly garrisoned. the vast region that was then known as upper louisiana--the territory stretching from the mississippi to the pacific--was owned by the spaniards, but only in shadowy fashion, and could not have been held by any european power against the sturdy westward pressure of the rifle-bearing settlers. but new orleans and its neighborhood were held even by the spaniards in good earnest; while a stronger power, once in possession, could with difficulty have been dislodged. desire of the settlers for it. it naturally followed that for the moment the attention of the backwoodsmen was directed much more to new orleans than to the trans-mississippi territory. a few wilderness lovers like boone, a few reckless adventurers of the type of philip nolan, were settling around and beyond the creole towns of the north, or were endeavoring to found small buccaneering colonies in dangerous proximity to the spanish commanderies in the southwest. but the bulk of the western settlers as yet found all the vacant territory they wished east of the mississippi. what they needed at the moment was, not more wild land, but an outlet for the products yielded by the land they already possessed. the vital importance to the westerners of the free navigation of the mississippi has already been shown. suffice it to say that the control of the mouth of the great father of waters was of direct personal consequence to almost every tree feller, every backwoods farmer, every land owner, every townsman, who dwelt beyond the alleghanies. these men did not worry much over the fact that the country on the farther bank of the mississippi was still under the spanish flag. for the moment they did not need it, and when they did, they knew they could take it without the smallest difficulty. but the ownership of the mouth of the mississippi was a matter of immediate importance; and though none of the settlers doubted that it would ultimately be theirs, it was yet a matter of much consequence to them to get possession of it as quickly as possible, and with as little trouble as possible, rather than to see it held, perhaps for years, by a powerful hostile nation, and then to see it acquired only at the cost of bloody, and perchance checkered, warfare. terror of the spaniards. this was the attitude of the backwoods people as with sinewy, strenuous shoulder they pressed against the spanish boundaries. the spanish attitude on the other hand was one of apprehension so intense that it overcame even anger against the american nation. for mere diplomacy, the spaniards cared little or nothing; but they feared the westerners. their surrender of louisiana was due primarily to the steady pushing and crowding of the frontiersmen, and the continuous growth of the western commonwealths. in spite of pinckney's treaty the spaniards did not leave natchez until fairly drowned out by the american settlers and soldiers. they now felt the same pressure upon them in new orleans; it was growing steadily and was fast becoming intolerable. year by year, almost month by month, they saw the numbers of their foes increase, and saw them settle more and more thickly in places from which it would be easy to strike new orleans. year by year the offensive power of the americans increased in more than arithmetical ratio as against louisiana. incursions of american adventurers. the more reckless and lawless adventurers from time to time pushed southwest, even toward the borders of texas and new mexico, and strove to form little settlements, keeping the spanish governors and intendants in a constant fume of anxiety. one of these settlements was founded by philip nolan, a man whom rumor had connected with wilkinson's intrigues, and who, like many another lawless trader of the day, was always dreaming of empires to be carved from, or wealth to be won in, the golden spanish realms. in the fall of , he pushed beyond the mississippi with a score or so of companions, and settled on the brazos. the party built pens or corrals, and began to catch wild horses, for the neighborhood swarmed not only with game but with immense droves of mustangs. the handsomest animals they kept and trained, letting the others loose again. the following march these tamers of wild horses were suddenly set upon by a body of spaniards, three hundred strong, with one field-piece. the assailants made their attack at daybreak, slew nolan, and captured his comrades, who for many years afterwards lived as prisoners in the mexican towns. [footnote: pike's letter, july , , in natchez _herald_; in col. durrett's collection; see coue's edition of pike's "expedition," lii.; also gayarré, iii., .] the menace of such buccaneering movements kept the spaniards alive to the imminent danger of the general american attack which they heralded. spain's colonial system. spain watched her boundaries with the most jealous care. her colonial system was evil in its suspicious exclusiveness towards strangers; and her religious system was marked by an intolerance still almost as fierce as in the days of torquemada. the holy inquisition was a recognized feature of spanish political life; and the rulers of the spanish-american colonies put the stranger and the heretic under a common ban. the reports of the spanish ecclesiastics of louisiana dwelt continually upon the dangers with which the oncoming of the backwoodsmen threatened the church no less than the state. [footnote: report of bishop peñalvert, nov. i, , gayarré.] all the men in power, civil, military, and religious alike, showed towards strangers, and especially towards american strangers, a spirit which was doubly unwise; for by their jealousy they created the impression that the lands they so carefully guarded must hold treasures of great price; and by their severity they created an anger which when fully aroused they could not well quell. the frontiersmen, as they tried to peer into the spanish dominions, were lured on by the attraction they felt for what was hidden and forbidden; and there was enough danger in the path to madden them, while there was no exhibition of a strength sufficient to cow them. spain wishes a barrier against american advance. the spanish rulers realized fully that they were too weak effectively to cope with the americans, and as the pressure upon them grew ever heavier and more menacing they began to fear not only for louisiana but also for mexico. they clung tenaciously to all their possessions; but they were willing to sacrifice a part, if by so doing they could erect a barrier for the defence of the remainder. such a chance was now seemingly offered them by france. napoleon's dreams of empire. at the beginning of the century napoleon was first consul; and the france over which he ruled was already the mightiest nation in europe, and yet had not reached the zenith of her power. it was at this time that the french influence over spain was most complete. both the spanish king and the spanish people were dazzled and awed by the splendor of napoleon's victories. napoleon's magnificent and wayward genius was always striving after more than merely european empire. as throne after throne went down before him he planned conquests which should include the interminable wastes of snowy russia, and the sea-girt fields of england; and he always dreamed of yet vaster, more shadowy triumphs, won in the realms lying eastward of the mediterranean, or among the islands and along the coasts of the spanish main. in his dream of eastern conquest was over, but his lofty ambition was planning for france the re-establishment in america of that colonial empire which a generation before had been wrested from her by england. the treaty of san ildefonso. the need of the spaniards seemed to napoleon his opportunity. by the bribe of a petty italian principality he persuaded the bourbon king of spain to cede louisiana to the french, at the treaty of san ildefonso, concluded in october, . the cession was agreed to by the spaniards on the express pledge that the territory should not be transferred to any other power; and chiefly for the purpose of erecting a barrier which might stay the american advance, and protect the rest of the spanish possessions. the right of deposit annulled. every effort was made to keep the cession from being made public, and owing to various political complications it was not consummated for a couple of years; but meanwhile it was impossible to prevent rumors from going abroad, and the mere hint of such a project was enough to throw the west into a fever of excitement. moreover, at this moment, before the treaty between france and spain had been consummated, morales, the intendant of new orleans, deliberately threw down the gage of battle to the westerners. [footnote: gayarré, iii., .] on october , , he proclaimed that the americans had forfeited their right of deposit in new orleans. by pinckney's treaty this right had been granted for three years, with the stipulation that it should then be extended for a longer period, and that if the spaniards chose to revoke the permit so far as new orleans was concerned, they should make some other spot on the river a port of free entry. the americans had taken for granted that the privilege when once conferred would never be withdrawn; but morales, under pretence that the americans had slept on their rights by failing to discover some other spot as a treaty port, declared that the right of deposit had lapsed, and would not be renewed. the governor, salcedo--who had succeeded gayoso, when the latter died of yellow fever, complicated by a drinking-bout with wilkinson--was not in sympathy with the movement; but this mattered little. under the cumbrous spanish colonial system, the governor, though he disapproved of the actions of the intendant, could not reverse them, and morales paid no heed to the angry protests of the spanish minister at washington, who saw that the americans were certain in the end to fight rather than to lose the only outlet for the commerce of the west. [footnote: gayarré, iii., . the king of spain, at the instigation of godoy, disapproved the order of morales, but so late that the news of the disapproval reached louisiana only as the french were about to take possession. however, the reversal of the order rendered the course of the further negotiations easier.] it seems probable that the intendant's action was due to the fact that he deemed the days of spanish dominion numbered, and, in his jealousy of the americans, wished to place the new french authorities in the strongest possible position; but the act was not done with the knowledge of france. anger of the westerners. of this, however, the westerners were ignorant. they felt sure that any alteration in policy so fatal to their interests must be merely a foreshadowing of the course the french intended thereafter to follow. they believed that their worst fears were justified. kentucky and tennessee clamored for instant action, and claiborne offered to raise in the mississippi territory alone a force of volunteer riflemen sufficient to seize new orleans before its transfer into french hands could be effected. jefferson forced into action. jefferson was president, and madison secretary of state. both were men of high and fine qualities who rendered, at one time or another, real and great service to the country. jefferson in particular played in our political life a part of immense importance. but the country has never had two statesmen less capable of upholding the honor and dignity of the nation, or even of preserving its material well-being, when menaced by foreign foes. they were peaceful men, quite unfitted to grapple with an enemy who expressed himself through deeds rather than words. when stunned by the din of arms they showed themselves utterly inefficient rulers. it was these two timid, well-meaning statesmen who now found themselves pitted against napoleon, and napoleon's minister, talleyrand; against the greatest warrior and lawgiver, and against one of the greatest diplomats, of modern times; against two men, moreover, whose sodden lack of conscience was but heightened by the contrast with their brilliant genius and lofty force of character; two men who were unable to so much as appreciate that there was shame in the practice of venality, dishonesty, mendacity, cruelty, and treachery. jefferson was the least warlike of presidents, and he loved the french with a servile devotion. but his party was strongest in precisely those parts of the country where the mouth of the mississippi was held to be of right the property of the united states; and the pressure of public opinion was too strong for jefferson to think of resisting it. the south and the west were a unit in demanding that france should not be allowed to establish herself on the lower mississippi. jefferson was forced to tell his french friends that if their nation persisted in its purpose america would be obliged to marry itself to the navy and army of england. even he could see that for the french to take louisiana meant war with the united states sooner or later; and as above all things else he wished peace, he made every effort to secure the coveted territory by purchase. beginning of negotiations with france. chancellor robert r. livingston of new york represented american interests in paris; but at the very close of the negotiation he was succeeded by monroe, whom jefferson sent over as a special envoy. the course of the negotiations was at first most baffling to the americans. [footnote: in henry adams' "history of the united states," the account of the diplomatic negotiations at this period, between france, spain, and the united states, is the most brilliant piece of diplomatic history, so far as the doings of the diplomats themselves are concerned, that can be put to the credit of any american writer.] talleyrand lied with such unmoved calm that it was impossible to put the least weight upon anything he said; moreover, the americans soon found that napoleon was the sole and absolute master, so that it was of no use attempting to influence any of his subordinates, save in so far as these subordinates might in their turn influence him. for some time it appeared that napoleon was bent upon occupying louisiana in force and using it as a basis for the rebuilding of the french colonial power. the time seemed ripe for such a project. after a decade of war with all the rest of europe, france in concluded the peace of amiens, which left her absolutely free to do as she liked in the new world. napoleon thoroughly despised a republic, and especially a republic without an army or navy. after the peace of amiens he began to treat the americans with contemptuous disregard; and he planned to throw into louisiana one of his generals with a force of veteran troops sufficient to hold the country against any attack. illusory nature of napoleon's hopes. his hopes were in reality chimerical. at the moment france was at peace with her european foes, and could send her ships of war and her transports across the ocean without fear of the british navy. it would therefore have been possible for napoleon without molestation to throw a large body of french soldiers into new orleans. had there been no european war such an army might have held new orleans for some years against american attack, and might even have captured one or two of the american posts on the mississippi, such as natchez; but the instant it had landed in new orleans the entire american people would have accepted france as their deadliest enemy, and all american foreign policy would have been determined by the one consideration of ousting the french from the mouth of the mississippi. to the united states, france was by no means as formidable as great britain, because of her inferiority as a naval power. even if unsupported by any outside alliance the americans would doubtless in the end have driven a french army from new orleans, though very probably at the cost of one or two preliminary rebuffs. the west was stanch in support of jefferson and madison; but in time of stress it was sure to develop leaders of more congenial temper, exactly as it actually did develop andrew jackson a few years later. at this very time the french failed to conquer the negro republic which toussaint louverture had founded in hayti. what they thus failed to accomplish in one island, against insurgent negroes, it was folly to think they could accomplish on the american continent, against the power of the american people. this struggle with the revolutionary slaves in hayti hindered napoleon from immediately throwing an army into louisiana; but it did more, for it helped to teach him the folly of trying to carry out such a plan at all. report of pontaiba. a very able and faithful french agent in the meanwhile sent a report to napoleon plainly pointing out the impossibility of permanently holding louisiana against the americans. he showed that on the western waters alone it would be possible to gather armies amounting in the aggregate to twenty or thirty thousand men, all of them inflamed with the eager desire to take new orleans. [footnote: pontalba's memoir. he hoped that louisiana might, in certain contingencies, be preserved for the french, but he insisted that it could only be by keeping peace with the american settlers, and by bringing about an immense increase of population in the province.] the mississippi ran so as to facilitate the movement of any expedition against new orleans, while it offered formidable obstacles to counter-expeditions from new orleans against the american commonwealths lying farther up stream. an expeditionary force sent from the mouth of the mississippi, whether to assail the towns and settlements along the ohio, or to defend the creole villages near the missouri, could at the utmost hope for only transient success, while its ultimate failure was certain. on the other hand, a backwoods army could move down stream with comparative ease; and even though such an expedition were defeated, it was certain that the attempt would be repeated again and again, until by degrees the mob of hardy riflemen changed into a veteran army, and brought forth some general like "old hickory," able to lead to victory. views of barbé marbois. the most intelligent french agents on the ground saw this. some of napoleon's ministers were equally far-sighted. one of them, barbé marbois, represented to him in the strongest terms the hopelessness of the undertaking on which he proposed to embark. he pointed out that the united states was sure to go to war with france if france took new orleans, and that in the end such a war could only result in victory for the americans. we can now readily see that this victory was certain to come, even had the americans been left without allies. france could never have defended the vast region known as upper louisiana, and sooner or later new orleans itself would have fallen, though it may well be only after humiliating defeats for the americans and much expenditure of life and treasure. but as things actually were the americans would have had plenty of powerful allies. the peace of amiens lasted but a couple of years before england again went to war. napoleon knew, and the american statesmen knew, that the british intended to attack new orleans upon the outbreak of hostilities, if it were in french hands. in such event louisiana would have soon fallen; for any french force stationed there would have found its reinforcements cut off by the english navy, and would have dwindled away until unable to offer resistance. louisiana's destiny really by the backwoodsmen. nevertheless, european wars, and the schemes and fancies of european statesmen, could determine merely the conditions under which the catastrophe was to take place, but not the catastrophe itself. the fate of louisiana was already fixed. it was not the diplomats who decided its destiny, but the settlers of the western states. the growth of the teeming folk who had crossed the alleghanies and were building their rude, vigorous commonwealths in the northeastern portion of the mississippi basin, decided the destiny of all the lands that were drained by that mighty river. the steady westward movement of the americans was the all-important factor in determining the ultimate ownership of new orleans. livingston, the american minister, saw plainly the inevitable outcome of the struggle. he expressed his wonder that other americans should be uneasy in the matter, saying that for his part it seemed as clear as day that no matter what trouble might temporarily be caused, in the end louisiana was certain to fall into the grasp of the united states. [footnote: livingston to madison, sept. , . later livingston himself became uneasy, fearing lest napoleon's wilfulness might plunge him into an undertaking which, though certain to end disastrously to the french, might meanwhile cause great trouble to the americans.] tedious course of the negotiations. there were many americans and many frenchmen of note who were less clear-sighted. livingston encountered rebuff after rebuff, and delay after delay. talleyrand met him with his usual front of impenetrable duplicity. he calmly denied everything connected with the cession of louisiana until even the details became public property, and then admitted them with unblushing equanimity. his delays were so tantalizing that they might well have revived unpleasant memories of the famous x. y. z. negotiations, in which he tried in vain to extort bribe-money from the american negotiators [footnote: jefferson was guilty of much weak and undignified conduct during these negotiations, but of nothing weaker and more petty than his attempt to flatter talleyrand by pretending that the americans disbelieved his admitted venality, and were indignant with those who had exposed it. see adams.]; but livingston, and those he represented, soon realized that it was napoleon himself who alone deserved serious consideration. through napoleon's character, and helping to make it great, there ran an imaginative vein which at times bordered on the fantastic; and this joined with his imperious self-will, brutality, and energy to make him eager to embark on a scheme which, when he had thought it over in cold blood, he was equally eager to abandon. for some time he seemed obstinately bent on taking possession of louisiana, heedless of the attitude which this might cause the americans to assume. he designated as commander of his army of occupation, victor, a general as capable and brave as he was insolent, who took no pains to conceal from the american representatives his intention to treat their people with a high hand. jefferson took various means, official and unofficial, of impressing upon napoleon the strength of the feeling in the united states over the matter; and his utterances came as near menace as his pacific nature would permit. to the great french conqueror however, accustomed to violence and to the strife of giants, jefferson's somewhat vacillating attitude did not seem impressive; and the one course which would have impressed napoleon was not followed by the american president. jefferson refused to countenance any proposal to take prompt possession of louisiana by force or to assemble an army which could act with immediate vigor in time of need; and as he was the idol of the southwesterners, who were bitterly anti-federalist in sympathy, he was able to prevent any violent action on their part until events rendered this violence unnecessary. at the same time, jefferson himself never for a moment ceased to feel the strong pressure of southern and western public sentiment; and so he continued resolute in his purpose to obtain louisiana. napoleon forced to change his purpose. louisiana ceded to the united states. it was no argument of jefferson's or of the american diplomats, but the inevitable trend of events that finally brought about a change in napoleon's mind. the army he sent to hayti wasted away by disease and in combat with the blacks, and thereby not only diminished the forces he intended to throw into louisiana, but also gave him a terrible object lesson as to what the fate of these forces was certain ultimately to be. the attitude of england and austria grew steadily more hostile, and his most trustworthy advisers impressed on napoleon's mind the steady growth of the western-american communities, and the implacable hostility with which they were certain to regard any power that seized or attempted to hold new orleans. napoleon could not afford to hamper himself with the difficult defence of a distant province, and to incur the hostility of a new foe, at the very moment when he was entering on another struggle with his old european enemies. moreover, he needed money in order to carry on the struggle. to be sure he had promised spain not to turn over louisiana to another power; but he was quite as incapable as any spanish statesman, or as talleyrand himself, of so much as considering the question of breach of faith or loss of honor, if he could gain any advantage by sacrificing either. livingston was astonished to find that napoleon had suddenly changed front, and that there was every prospect of gaining what for months had seemed impossible. for some time there was haggling over the terms. napoleon at first demanded an exorbitant sum; but having once made up his mind to part with louisiana his impatient disposition made him anxious to conclude the bargain. he rapidly abated his demands, and the cession was finally made for fifteen millions of dollars. the boundaries undecided. the treaty was signed in may, . the definition of the exact boundaries of the ceded territory was purposely left very loose by napoleon. on the east, the spanish government of the floridas still kept possession of what are now several parishes in the state of louisiana. in the far west the boundary lines which divided upper louisiana from the possessions of britain on the north and of spain on the south led through a wilderness where no white man had ever trod, and they were of course unmapped, and only vaguely guessed at. blindness of the american statesmen. there was one singular feature of this bargain, which showed, as nothing else could have shown, how little american diplomacy had to do with obtaining louisiana, and how impossible it was for any european power, even the greatest, to hold the territory in the face of the steady westward growth of the american people. napoleon forced livingston and monroe to become the reluctant purchasers not merely of new orleans, but of all the immense territory which stretched vaguely northwestward to the pacific. jefferson at moments felt a desire to get all this western territory; but he was too timid and too vacillating to insist strenuously upon anything which he feared napoleon would not grant. madison felt a strong disinclination to see the national domain extend west of the mississippi; and he so instructed monroe and livingston. in their turn the american envoys, with solemn fatuity, believed it might impress napoleon favorably if they made much show of moderation, and they spent no small part of their time in explaining that they only wished a little bit of louisiana, including new orleans and the east bank of the lower mississippi. livingston indeed went so far as to express a very positive disinclination to take the territory west of the mississippi at any price, stating that he should much prefer to see it remain in the hands of france or spain, and suggesting, by way of apology for its acquisition, that it might be re-sold to some european power! but napoleon saw clearly that if the french ceded new orleans it was a simple physical impossibility for them to hold the rest of the louisiana territory. if his fierce and irritable vanity had been touched he might, through mere wayward anger, have dared the americans to a contest which, however disastrous to them, would ultimately have been more so to him; but he was a great statesman, and a still greater soldier, and he did not need to be told that it would be worse than folly to try to keep a country when he had given up the key-position. the great west gained against the wishes of the american diplomats. the region west of the mississippi could become the heritage of no other people save that which had planted its populous communities along the eastern bank of the river, it was quite possible for a powerful european nation to hold new orleans for some time, even though all upper louisiana fell into the hands of the americans; but it was entirely impossible for any european nation to hold upper louisiana if new orleans became a city of the united states. the westerners, wiser than their rulers, but no wiser than napoleon at the last, felt this, and were not in the least disturbed over the fate of louisiana, provided they were given the control of the mouth of the mississippi. as a matter of fact, it is improbable that the fate of the great territory lying west of the upper mississippi would even have been seriously delayed had it been nominally under the control of france or spain. with the mouth of the mississippi once in american hands it was a physical impossibility in any way to retard the westward movement of the men who were settling ohio, kentucky, and tennessee. debates in congress. folly of the federalists. the ratification of the treaty brought on some sharp debates in congress. jefferson had led his party into power as the special champion of states' rights and the special opponent of national sovereignty. he and they rendered a very great service to the nation by acquiring louisiana; but it was at the cost of violating every precept which they had professed to hold dear, and of showing that their warfare on the federalists had been waged on behalf of principles which they were obliged to confess were shams the moment they were put to the test. but the federalists of the northeast, both in the middle states and in new england, at this juncture behaved far worse than the jeffersonian republicans. these jeffersonian republicans did indeed by their performance give the lie to their past promise, and thereby emphasize the unworthiness of their conduct in years gone by; nevertheless, at this juncture they were right, which was far more important than being logical or consistent. but the northeastern federalists, though with many exceptions, did as a whole stand as the opponents of national growth. they had very properly, though vainly, urged jefferson to take prompt and effective steps to sustain the national honor, when it seemed probable that the country could be won from france only at the cost of war; but when the time actually came to incorporate louisiana into the national domain, they showed that jealous fear of western growth which was the most marked defect in northeastern public sentiment until past the middle of the present century. it proved that the federalists were rightly distrusted by the west; and it proved that at this crisis, the jeffersonian republicans, in spite of their follies, weaknesses, and crimes, were the safest guardians of the country, because they believed in its future, and strove to make it greater. the jeremiads of the federalist leaders in congress were the same in kind as those in which many cultivated men of the east always indulged whenever we enlarged our territory, and in which many persons like them would now indulge were we at the present day to make a similar extension. the people of the united states were warned that they were incorporating into their number men who were wholly alien in every respect, and who could never be assimilated. they were warned that when they thus added to their empire, they merely rendered it unwieldy and assured its being split into two or more confederacies at no distant day. some of the extremists, under the lead of quincy, went so far as to threaten dissolution of the union because of what was done, insisting that the northeast ought by rights to secede because of the injury done it by adding strength to the south and west. fortunately, however, talk of this kind did not affect the majority; the treaty was ratified and louisiana became part of the united states. the french prefect laussat. meanwhile the creoles themselves accepted their very rapidly changing fates with something much like apathy. in march, , the french prefect laussat arrived to make preparations to take possession of the country. he had no idea that napoleon intended to cede it to the united states. on the contrary, he showed that he regarded the french as the heirs, not only to the spanish territory, but of the spanish hostility to the americans. he openly regretted that the spanish government had reversed morales' act taking away from the americans the right of deposit; and he made all his preparations as if on the theory that new orleans was to become the centre of an aggressive military government. corruption of the spanish government. his dislikes, however, were broad, and included the spaniards as well as the americans. there was much friction between him and the spanish officials; he complained bitterly to the home government of the insolence and intrigues of the spanish party. he also portrayed in scathing terms the gross corruption of the spanish authorities. as to this corruption he was borne out by the american observers. almost every high spanish official was guilty of peculation at the expense of the government, and of bribe-taking at the expense of the citizens. the creoles not ill-satisfied with it. nevertheless the creoles were far from ill-satisfied with spanish rule. they were not accustomed to self-government, and did not demand it; and they cared very little for the fact that their superiors made money improperly. if they paid due deference to their lay and clerical rulers they were little interfered with; and they were in full accord with the governing classes concerning most questions, both of principle or lack of principle, and of prejudice. the creoles felt that they were protected, rather than oppressed, by people who shared their tastes, and who did not interfere with the things they held dear. on the whole they showed only a tepid joy at the prospect of again becoming french citizens. preparations to turn the country over to the united states. laussat soon discovered that they were to remain french citizens for a very short time indeed; and he prepared faithfully to carry out his instructions, and to turn the country over to the americans. the change in the french attitude greatly increased the friction with the spaniards. the spanish home government was furious with indignation at napoleon for having violated his word, and only the weakness of spain prevented war between it and france. the spanish party in new orleans muttered its discontent so loud that laussat grew alarmed. he feared some outbreak on the part of the spanish sympathizers, and, to prevent such a mischance, he not only embodied the comparatively small portion of the creole militia whom he could trust, but also a number of american volunteers, concerning whose fidelity in such a crisis as that he anticipated there could be no question. it was not until december first, , that he took final possession of the provinces. twenty days afterwards he turned it over to the american authorities. claiborne made governor. wilkinson, now commander of the american army,--the most disgraceful head it has ever had--was entrusted with the governorship of all of upper louisiana. claiborne was made governor of lower louisiana, officially styled the territory of orleans. he was an honest man, loyal to the union, but had no special qualifications for getting on well with the creoles. he could not speak french, and he regarded the people whom he governed with a kindly contempt which they bitterly resented. the americans, pushing and masterful, were inclined to look down on their neighbours, and to treat them overbearingly; while the creoles in their turn disliked the americans as rude and uncultivated barbarians. for some time they felt much discontent with the united states; nor was this discontent allayed when in the territory of orleans was reorganized with a government much less liberal than that enjoyed by indiana or mississippi; nor even when in an ordinary territorial government was provided. a number of years were to pass before louisiana felt itself, in fact no less than in name, part of the union. new orleans offers a field for sedition. naturally there was a fertile field for seditious agitation in new orleans, a city of mixed population, where the numerically predominant race felt a puzzled distrust for the nation of which it suddenly found itself an integral part, and from past experience firmly believed in the evanescent nature of any political connection it might have, whether with spain, france, or the united states. the creoles murmured because they were not given the same privileges as american citizens in the old states, and yet showed themselves indifferent to such privileges as they were given. they were indignant because the national government prohibited the importation of slaves into louisiana, and for the moment even the transfer thither of slaves from the old states--a circumstance, by the way, which curiously illustrated the general dislike and disapproval of slavery then felt, even by an administration under southern control. the creoles further complained of claiborne's indifference to their wishes; and as he possessed little tact he also became embroiled with the american inhabitants, who were men of adventurous and often lawless temper, impatient of restraint. representatives of the french and spanish governments still remained in louisiana, and by their presence and their words tended to keep alive a disaffection for the united states government. it followed from these various causes that among all classes there was a willingness to talk freely of their wrongs and to hint at righting them by methods outlined with such looseness as to make it uncertain whether they did or did not comport with entire loyalty to the united states government. the filibusters. furthermore, there already existed in new orleans a very peculiar class, representatives of which are still to be found in almost every gulf city of importance. there were in the city a number of men ready at any time to enter into any plot for armed conquest of one of the spanish american countries. [footnote: wilkinson's "memoirs," ii., .] spanish america was feeling the stir of unrest that preceded the revolutionary outbreak against spain. already insurrectionary leaders like miranda were seeking assistance from the americans. there were in new orleans a number of exiled mexicans who were very anxious to raise some force with which to invade mexico, and there erect the banner of an independent sovereignty. the bolder spirits among the creoles found much that was attractive in such a prospect; and reckless american adventurers by the score and the hundred were anxious to join in any filibustering expedition of the kind. they did not care in the least what form the expedition took. they were willing to join the mexican exiles in an effort to rouse mexico to throw off the yoke of spain, or to aid any province of mexico to revolt from the rest, or to help the leaders of any defeated faction who wished to try an appeal to arms, in which they should receive aid from the sword of the stranger. incidentally they were even more willing to attempt the conquest on their own account; but they did not find it necessary to dwell on this aspect of the case when nominally supporting some faction which chose to make use of such watchwords as liberty and independence. burr's conspiracy. under such conditions new orleans, even more than the rest of the west, seemed to offer an inviting field for adventurers whose aim was both revolutionary and piratical. a particularly spectacular adventurer of this type now appeared in the person of aaron burr. burr's conspiracy attracted an amount of attention, both at home and in the pages of history, altogether disproportioned to its real consequence. his career had been striking. he had been vice-president of the united states. he had lacked but one vote of being made president, when the election of was thrown into the house of representatives. as friend or as enemy he had been thrown intimately and on equal terms with the greatest political leaders of the day. he had supplied almost the only feeling which jefferson, the chief of the democratic party, and hamilton, the greatest federalist, ever possessed in common; for bitterly though hamilton and jefferson had hated each other, there was one man whom each of them had hated more, and that was aaron burr. there was not a man in the country who did not know about the brilliant and unscrupulous party leader who had killed hamilton in the most famous duel that ever took place on american soil, and who by a nearly successful intrigue had come within one vote of supplanting jefferson in the presidency. burr's previous career in new york. in new york aaron burr had led a political career as stormy and chequered as the careers of new york politicians have generally been. he had shown himself as adroit as he was unscrupulous in the use of all the arts of the machine manager. the fitful and gusty breath of popular favor made him at one time the most prominent and successful politician in the state, and one of the two or three most prominent and successful in the nation. in the state he was the leader of the democratic party, which under his lead crushed the federalists; and as a reward he was given the second highest office in the nation. then his open enemies and secret rivals all combined against him. the other democratic leaders in new york, and in the nation as well, turned upon the man whose brilliant abilities made them afraid, and whose utter untrustworthiness forbade their entering into alliance with him. shifty and fertile in expedients, burr made an obstinate fight to hold his own. without hesitation, he turned for support to his old enemies, the federalists; but he was hopelessly beaten. both his fortune and his local political prestige were ruined; he realized that his chance for a career in new york was over. when beaten in new york he turned to the west. he was no mere new york politician, however. he was a statesman of national reputation; and he turned his restless eyes toward the west, which for a score of years had seethed in a turmoil out of which it seemed that a bold spirit might make its own profit. he had already been obscurely connected with separatist intrigues in the northeast; and he determined to embark in similar intrigues on an infinitely grander scale in the west and southwest. he was a cultivated man, of polished manners and pleasing address, and of great audacity and physical courage; and he had shown himself skilled in all the baser arts of political management. it is small wonder that the conspiracy of which such a man was head should make a noise out of all proportion to its real weight. the conditions were such that if burr journied west he was certain to attract universal attention, and to be received with marked enthusiasm. no man of his prominence in national affairs had ever travelled through the wild new commonwealths on the mississippi. the men who were founding states and building towns on the wreck of the conquered wilderness were sure to be flattered by the appearance of so notable a man among them, and to be impressed not only by his reputation, but by his charm of manner and brilliancy of intellect. moreover they were quite ready to talk vaguely of all kinds of dubious plans for increasing the importance of the west. very many, perhaps most, of them had dabbled at one time or another in the various separatist schemes of the preceding two decades; and they felt strongly that much of the spanish domain would and should ultimately fall into their hands--and the sooner the better. he misunderstands the western situation. there was thus every chance that burr would be favorably received by the west, and would find plenty of men of high standing who would profess friendship for him and would show a cordial interest in his plans so long as he refrained from making them too definite; but there was in reality no chance whatever for anything more than this to happen. in spite of burr's personal courage he lacked entirely the great military qualities necessary to successful revolutionary leadership of the kind to which he aspired. though in some ways the most practical of politicians he had a strong element of the visionary in his character; it was perhaps this, joined to his striking moral defects, which brought about and made complete his downfall in new york. great political and revolutionary leaders may, and often must, have in them something of the visionary; but it must never cause them to get out of touch with the practical. burr was capable of conceiving revolutionary plans on so vast a scale as to be fairly appalling, not only from their daring but from their magnitude. but when he tried to put his plans into practice, it at once became evident that they were even more unsubstantial than they were audacious. his wild schemes had in them too strong an element of the unreal and the grotesque to be in very fact dangerous. the west had grown loyal. besides, the time for separatist movements in the west had passed, while the time for arousing the west to the conquest of part of spanish-america had hardly yet come. a man of burr's character might perhaps have accomplished something mischievous in kentucky when wilkinson was in the first flush of his spanish intrigues; or when the political societies were raving over jay's treaty; or when the kentucky legislature was passing its nullification resolutions. but the west had grown loyal as the nineteenth century came in. the westerners were hearty supporters of the jeffersonian democratic-republican party; jefferson was their idol; they were strongly attached to the washington administration, and strongly opposed to the chief opponents of that administration, the northeastern federalists. with the purchase of louisiana all deep-lying causes of western discontent had vanished. the west was prosperous, and was attached to the national government. its leaders might still enjoy a discussion with burr or among themselves concerning separatist principles in the abstract, but such a discussion was at this time purely academic. nobody of any weight in the community would allow such plans as those of burr to be put into effect. there was, it is true, a strong buccaneering spirit, and there were plenty of men ready to enlist in an invasion of the spanish dominions under no matter what pretext; but even those men of note who were willing to lead such a movement, were not willing to enter into it if it was complicated with open disloyalty to the united states. burr begins his treasonable plotting. burr began his treasonable scheming before he ceased to be vice-president. he was an old friend and crony of wilkinson; and he knew much about the disloyal agitations which had convulsed the west during the previous two decades. these agitations always took one or the other of two forms that at first sight would seem diametrically opposed. their end was always either to bring about a secession of the west from the east by the aid of spain or some other foreign power; or else a conquest of the spanish dominions by the west, in defiance of the wishes of the east and of the central government. burr proposed to carry out both of these plans. he endeavors to enlist the foreign powers. the exact shape which his proposals took would be difficult to tell. seemingly they remained nebulous even in his own mind. they certainly so remained in the minds of those to whom he confided them. at any rate his scheme, though in reality less dangerous than those of his predecessors in western treason, were in theory much more comprehensive. he planned the seizure of washington, the kidnapping of the president, and the corruption of the united states navy. he also endeavored to enlist foreign powers on his side. his first advances were made to the british. he proposed to put the new empire, no matter what shape it might assume, under british protection, in return for the assistance of the british fleet in taking new orleans. he gave to the british ministers full--and false--accounts of the intended uprising, and besought the aid of the british government on the ground that the secession of the west would so cripple the union as to make it no longer a formidable enemy of great britain. burr's audacity and plausibility were such that he quite dazzled the british minister, who detailed the plans at length to his home government, putting them in as favorable a light as he could. the statesmen at london, however, although at this time almost inconceivably stupid in their dealings with america, were not sunk in such abject folly as to think burr's schemes practicable, and they refused to have anything to do with them. he starts west and stays with blennerhassett. in april, , burr started on his tour to the west. one of his first stoppages was at an island on the ohio near parkersburg, where an irish gentleman named blennerhassett had built what was, for the west, an unusually fine house. only mrs. blennerhassett was at home at the time; but blennerhassett later became a mainstay of the "conspiracy." he was a warm-hearted man, with no judgment and a natural tendency toward sedition, who speedily fell under burr's influence, and entered into his plans with eager zeal. with him burr did not have to be on his guard, and to him he confided freely his plans; but elsewhere, and in dealing with less emotional people, he had to be more guarded. how far burr's allies were privy to his treason. it is always difficult to find out exactly what a conspirator of burr's type really intended, and exactly how guilty his various temporary friends and allies were. part of the conspirator's business is to dissemble the truth, and in after-time it is nearly impossible to differentiate it from the false, even by the most elaborate sifting of the various untruths he has uttered. burr told every kind of story, at one time or another, and to different classes of auditors. it would be unsafe to deny his having told a particular falsehood in any given case or to any given man. on the other hand when once the plot was unmasked those persons to whom he had confided his plans were certain to insist that he had really kept them in ignorance of his true intention. in consequence it is quite impossible to say exactly how much guilty knowledge his various companions possessed. when it comes to treating of his relationship with wilkinson all that can be said is that no single statement ever made by either man, whether during the conspiracy or after it, whether to the other or to an outsider, can be considered as either presumptively true or presumptively false. it is therefore impossible to say exactly how far the westerners with whom burr was intimate were privy to his plans. it is certain that the great mass of the westerners never seriously considered entering into any seditious movement under him. it is equally certain that a number of their leaders were more or less compromised by their associations with him. it seems probable that to each of these leaders he revealed what he thought would most attract him in the scheme; but that to very few did he reveal an outright proposition to break up the union. many of them were very willing to hear the distinguished easterner make vague proposals for increasing the power of the west by means which were hinted at with sinister elusiveness; and many others were delighted to go into any movement which promised an attack upon the spanish territory; but it seems likely that there were only a few men--wilkinson, for instance, and adair of kentucky--who were willing to discuss a proposition to commit downright treason. burr and andrew jackson. burr stopped at cincinnati, in ohio, and at one or two places in kentucky. in both states many prominent politicians, even united states senators, received him with enthusiasm. he then visited nashville where he became the guest of andrew jackson. jackson was now major general of the tennessee militia; and the possibility of war, especially of war with the spaniards, roused his hot nature to uncontrollable eagerness. [footnote: adams, iii., .] burr probably saw through jackson's character at once, and realized that with him it was important to dwell solely upon that part of the plan which contemplated an attack upon the spaniards. threatened hostilities with spain. jackson's eagerness to assail spain. the united states was at this time on the verge of war with spain. the spanish governor and intendant remained in new orleans after the cession, and by their conduct gave such offence that it finally became necessary to order them to leave. jefferson claimed, as part of louisiana, portions of both west florida and texas. the spaniards refused to admit the justice of the claim and gathered in the disputed territories armies which, though small, outnumbered the few regular troops that wilkinson had at his disposal. more than once a collision seemed imminent. the westerners clamored for war, desiring above all things to drive the spaniards by force from the debatable lands. for some time jefferson showed symptoms of yielding to their wishes; but he was too timid and irresolute to play a high part, and in the end he simply did nothing. however, though he declined to make actual war on the spaniards, he also refused to recognize their claims as just, and his peculiar, hesitating course, tended to inflame the westerners, and to make them believe that their government would not call them to account for acts of aggression. to jackson doubtless burr's proposals seemed quite in keeping with what he hoped from the united states government. he readily fell in with views so like his own, and began to make preparations for an expedition against the spanish dominions; an expedition which in fact would not have differed essentially from the expeditions he actually did make into the spanish floridas six or eight years afterward, or from the movement which still later his fellow tennessean, houston, headed in texas. burr and wilkinson. from nashville burr drifted down the cumberland, and at fort massac, on the ohio, he met wilkinson, a kindred spirit, who possessed neither honor nor conscience, and could not be shocked by any proposal. moreover, wilkinson much enjoyed the early stages of a seditious agitation, when the risk to himself seemed slight; and as he was at this time both the highest military officer of the united states, and also secretly in the pay of spain, the chance to commit a double treachery gave an added zest to his action. he entered cordially into burr's plans, and as soon as he returned to his headquarters, at st. louis, he set about trying to corrupt his subordinates, and seduce them from their allegiance. burr visits new orleans. meanwhile burr passed down the mississippi to new orleans, where he found himself in the society of persons who seemed more willing than any others he had encountered to fall in with his plans. even here he did not clearly specify his purposes, but he did say enough to show that they bordered on the treasonable; and he was much gratified at the acquiescence of his listeners. his gratification, however, was over-hasty. the creoles, and some of the americans, were delighted to talk of their wrongs and to threaten any course of action which they thought might yield vengeance; but they had little intention of proceeding from words to deeds. claiborne, a straightforward and honest man, set his face like a flint against all of burr's doings. from new orleans burr retraced his steps and visited wilkinson at st. louis. but wilkinson was no longer in the same frame of mind as at fort massac. he had tested his officers, to see if they could be drawn into any disloyal movement, and had found that they were honorable men, firm in their attachment to the union; and he was beginning to perceive that the people generally were quite unmoved by burr's intrigues. accordingly, when burr reached him he threw cold water on his plans, and though he did not denounce or oppose them, he refrained from taking further active part in the seditious propaganda. burr returns to washington. after visiting harrison, the governor of the indiana territory, burr returned to washington. if he had possessed the type of character which would have made him really dangerous as a revolutionist, he would have seen how slight was his hope of stirring up revolt in the west; but he would not face facts, and he still believed he could bring about an uprising against the union in the mississippi valley. his immediate need was money. this he hoped to obtain from some foreign government. he found that nothing could be done with great britain; and then, incredible though it may seem, he turned to spain, and sought to obtain from the spaniards themselves the funds with which to conquer their own territories. his burlesque proposals to spain. this was the last touch necessary to complete the grotesque fantasy which his brain had evolved. he approached the spanish minister first through one of his fellow conspirators and then in his own person. at one time he made his request on the pretence that he wished to desert the other filibusterers, and save spain by committing a double treachery, and betraying the treasonable movement into which he had entered; and again he asked funds on the ground that all he wished to do was to establish a separate government in the west, and thus destroy the power of the united states to molest spain. however, his efforts came to naught, and he was obliged to try what he could do unaided in the west. his second trip to the west. in august, , he again crossed the alleghenies. his first stop of importance was at blennerhassett's. blennerhassett was the one person of any importance who took his schemes so seriously as to be willing to stake his fortune on their success. burr took with him to blennerhassett's his daughter, theodosia, a charming woman, the wife of a south carolinian, allston. the attractions of the daughter, and burr's own address and magnetism, completely overcame both blennerhassett and his wife. they gave the adventurer all the money they could raise, with the understanding that they would receive it back a hundred-fold as the result of a land speculation which was to go hand in hand with the expected revolution. then blennerhassett began, in a very noisy and ineffective way, to make what preparations were possible in the way of rousing the ohio settlers, and of gathering a body of armed men to serve under burr when the time came. it was all done in a way that savored of farce rather than of treason. again visits jackson. there was much less comedy however in what went on in kentucky and tennessee where burr next went. at nashville he was received with open arms by jackson and jackson's friends. this was not much to jackson's credit, for by this time he should have known burr's character; but the temptation of an attack on the spaniards proved irresistible. as major general, he called out the militia of west tennessee, and began to make ready in good earnest to invade florida or mexico. at public dinners he and his friends and burr made speeches in which they threatened immediate war against spain, with which country the united states was at peace; but they did not threaten any attack on the union, and indeed jackson exacted from burr a guarantee of his loyalty to the union. his experience in kentucky. from nashville the restless conspirator returned to kentucky to see if he could persuade the most powerful of the western states to take some decided step in his favor. senator john adair, former companion-in-arms of wilkinson in the wars against the northwestern indians, enlisted in support of burr with heart and soul. kentucky society generally received him with enthusiasm. but there was in the state a remnant of the old federalist party, which although not formidable in numbers, possessed weight because of the vigor and ability of its leaders. the chief among them were humphrey marshall, former united states senator, and joseph h. daveiss, who was still district attorney, not having, as yet, been turned out by jefferson. [footnote: for the kentucky episode, see marshall and greene. gayarré is the authority for what occurred in new orleans. for the whole conspiracy, see adams.] these men saw--what eastern politicians could not see--the connection between burr's conspiracy and the former spanish intrigues of men like wilkinson, sabastian, and innes. they were loyal to the union; and they felt a bitter factional hatred for their victorious foes in whose ranks were to be found all the old time offenders; so they attacked the new conspiracy with a double zest. they not only began a violent newspaper war upon burr and all the former conspirators, but also proceeded to invoke the aid of the courts and the legislature against them. their exposure of the former spanish intrigues, as well as of burr's plots, attracted widespread attention in the west, even at new orleans [footnote: gayarré, iv., .]; but the kentuckians, though angry and ashamed, were at first reluctant to be convinced. twice daveiss presented burr for treason before the grand jury; twice the grand jury declared in his favor; and the leaders of the kentucky democracy gave him their countenance, while henry clay acted as his counsel. daveiss, by a constant succession of letters, kept jefferson fully informed of all that was done. though his attacks on burr for the moment seemed failures, they really accomplished their object. they created such uneasiness that the prominent kentuckians made haste to clear themselves of all possible connection with any treasonable scheme. henry clay demanded and received from burr a formal pledge that his plans were in no wise hostile to the union; and the other people upon whom burr counted most, both in ohio and kentucky, hastily followed this example. this immediate defection showed how hopeless burr's plans were. the moment he attempted to put them into execution, their utter futility was certain to be exposed. friction with the spaniards. meanwhile jefferson's policy with the spaniards, which neither secured peace nor made ready for war, kept up constant irritation on the border. both the spanish governor folch, in west florida, and the spanish general herrera, in texas, menaced the americans. [footnote: gayarré, iv., , , etc.] wilkinson hurried with his little army towards herrera, until the two stood face to face, each asserting that the other was on ground that belonged to his own nation. just at this time burr's envoys, containing his final propositions, reached wilkinson. but wilkinson now saw as cleanly as any one that burr's scheme was foredoomed to fail; and he at once determined to make use of the only weapon in which he was skilled,--treachery. at this very time he, the commander of the united states army, was in the pay of spain, and was in secret negotiation with the spanish officials against whom he was supposed to be acting; he had striven to corrupt his own army and had failed; he had found out that the people of the west were not disloyal. he saw that there was no hope of success for the conspirators; and he resolved to play the part of defender of the nation, and to act with vigor against burr. having warned jefferson, in language of violent alarm, about burr's plans, he prepared to prevent their execution. he first made a truce with herrera in accordance with which each was to retire to his former position, and then he started for the mississippi. burr flees down the mississippi. when burr found that he could do nothing in kentucky and tennessee, he prepared to go to new orleans. the few boats that blennerhassett had been able to gather were sent hurriedly down stream lest they should be interfered with by the ohio authorities. burr had made another visit to nashville. slipping down the cumberland, he joined his little flotilla, passed fort massac, and began the descent of the mississippi. the plot was probably most dangerous at new orleans, if it could be said to be dangerous anywhere. claiborne grew very much alarmed about it, chiefly because of the elusive mystery in which it was shrouded. but when the pinch came it proved as unsubstantial there as elsewhere. the leaders who had talked most loosely about revolutionary proceedings grew alarmed, as the crisis approached, lest they might be called on to make good their words; and they hastened to repudiate all connection with burr, and to avow themselves loyal to the union. even the creole militia,--a body which claiborne regarded with just suspicion,--volunteered to come to the defence of the government when it was thought that burr might actually attack the city. collapse of the conspiracy. but burr's career was already ruined. jefferson, goaded into action, had issued a proclamation for his arrest; and even before this proclamation was issued, the fabric of the conspiracy had crumbled into shifting dust. the ohio legislature passed resolutions demanding prompt action against the conspirators; and the other western communities followed suit. there was no real support for burr anywhere. all his plot had been but a dream; at the last he could not do anything which justified, in even the smallest degree, the alarm and curiosity he had excited. the men of keenest insight and best judgment feared his unmasked efforts less than they feared wilkinson's dark and tortuous treachery. [footnote: e. g. cowles meade; see gayarré, iv., .] as he drifted down the mississippi with his little flotilla, he was overtaken by jefferson's proclamation, which was sent from one to another of the small federal garrisons. near natchez, in january, , he surrendered his flotilla, without resistance, to the acting-governor of mississippi territory. he himself escaped into the land of the choctaws and creeks, disguised as a mississippi boatman; but a month later he was arrested near the spanish border, and sent back to washington. thus ended ingloriously the wildest, most spectacular, and least dangerous, of all the intrigues for western disunion. it never contained within itself the least hope of success. it was never a serious menace to the national government. it was not by any means even a good example of western particularistic feeling. it was simply a sporadic illustration of the looseness of national sentiment, here and there, throughout the country; but of no great significance, because it was in no sense a popular movement, and had its origin in the fantastic imagination of a single man. after-effects in the west. it left scarcely a ripple in the west. when the danger was over wilkinson appeared in new orleans, where he strutted to the front for a little while, playing the part of a fussy dictator and arresting, among others, adair of kentucky. as the panic subsided, they were released. no louisianian suffered in person or property from any retaliatory action of the government; but lasting good was done by the abject failure of the plot and by the exhibition of unused strength by the american people. the creoles ceased to mutter discontent, and all thought of sedition died away in the province. sufferers from the conspiracy. the chief sufferers, aside from blennerhassett, were sebastian and innes, of kentucky. the former resigned from the bench, and the latter lost a prestige he never regained. a few of their intimate friends also suffered. but their opponents did not fare much better. daveiss and marshall were the only men in the west whose action toward burr had been thoroughly creditable, showing alike vigor, intelligence, and loyalty. to both of them the country was under an obligation. jefferson showed his sense of this obligation in a not uncharacteristic way by removing daveiss from office; marshall was already in private life, and all that could be done was to neglect him. the trial of burr. as for burr, he was put on trial for high treason, with wilkinson as state's evidence. jefferson made himself the especial champion of wilkinson; nevertheless the general cut a contemptible figure at the trial, for no explanation could make his course square with honorable dealing. burr was acquitted on a technicality. wilkinson, the double traitor, the bribe-taker, the corrupt servant of a foreign government, remained at the head of the american army. chapter vii. the explorers of the far west, - . the far west. the far west, the west beyond the mississippi, had been thrust on jefferson, and given to the nation, by the rapid growth of the old west, the west that lay between the alleghanies and the mississippi. the actual title to the new territory had been acquired by the united states government, acting for the whole nation. it remained to explore the territory thus newly added to the national domain. the government did not yet know exactly what it had acquired, for the land was not only unmapped but unexplored. nobody could tell what were the boundary lines which divided it from british america on the north and mexico on the south, for nobody knew much of the country through which these lines ran; of most of it, indeed, nobody knew anything. on the new maps the country now showed as part of the united states; but the indians who alone inhabited it were as little affected by the transfer as was the game they hunted. need for its exploration. even the northwestern portion of the land definitely ceded to the united states by great britain in jay's treaty was still left in actual possession of the indian tribes, while the few whites who lived among them were traders owing allegiance to the british government. the head-waters of the mississippi and the beautiful country lying round them were known only in a vague way; and it was necessary to explore and formally take possession of this land of lakes, glades, and forests. beyond the mississippi all that was really well known was the territory in the immediate neighbourhood of the little french villages near the mouth of the missouri. the creole traders of these villages, and an occasional venturous american, had gone up the mississippi to the country of the sioux and the mandans, where they had trapped and hunted and traded for furs with the indians. at the northern most points that they reached they occasionally encountered traders who had travelled south or southwesterly from the wintry regions where the british fur companies reigned supreme. the headwaters of the missouri were absolutely unknown; nobody had penetrated the great plains, the vast seas of grass through which the platte, the little missouri, and the yellowstone ran. what lay beyond them, and between them and the pacific, was not even guessed at. the rocky mountains were not known to exist, so far as the territory newly acquired by the united states was concerned, although under the name of "stonies" their northern extensions in british america were already down on some maps. the national government undertakes the work. the west had passed beyond its first stage of uncontrolled individualism. neither exploring nor fighting was thenceforth to be the work only of the individual settlers. the national government was making its weight felt more and more in the west, because the west was itself becoming more and more an important integral portion of the union. the work of exploring these new lands fell, not to the wild hunters and trappers, such as those who had first explored kentucky and tennessee, but to officers of the united states army, leading parties of united states soldiers, in pursuance of the command of the government or of its representatives. the earliest and most important expeditions of americans into the unknown country which the nation had just purchased were led by young officers of the regular army. jefferson entitled to the credit. the first of these expeditions was planned by jefferson himself and authorised by congress. nominally its purpose was in part to find out the most advantageous places for the establishment of trading stations with the indian tribes over which our government had acquired the titular suzerainty; but in reality it was purely a voyage of exploration, planned with intent to ascend the missouri to its head, and thence to cross the continent to the pacific. the explorers were carefully instructed to report upon the geography, physical characteristics, and zoology of the region traversed, as well as upon its wild human denizens. jefferson was fond of science, and in appreciation of the desirability of non-remunerative scientific observation and investigation he stood honorably distinguished among the public men of the day. to him justly belongs the credit of originating this first exploring expedition ever undertaken by the united states government. lewis and clark chosen. the two officers chosen to carry through the work belonged to families already honorably distinguished for service on the western border. one was captain meriwether lewis, representatives of whose family had served so prominently in dunmore's war; the other was lieutenant (by courtesy captain) william clark, a younger brother of george rogers clark. [footnote: he had already served as captain in the army; see coues' edition of the "history of the expedition," lxxi.] clark had served with credit through wayne's campaigns, and had taken part in the victory of the fallen timbers. [footnote: see his letters, quoted in chap. ii. there is a good deal of hitherto unused material about him in the draper mss.] lewis had seen his first service when he enlisted as a private in the forces which were marshalled to put down the whisky insurrection. later he served under clark in wayne's army. he had also been president jefferson's private secretary. their party. the young officers started on their trip accompanied by twenty-seven men who intended to make the whole journey. of this number one, the interpreter and incidentally the best hunter of the party, was a half-breed; two were french voyageurs; one was a negro servant of clark; nine were volunteers from kentucky; and fourteen were regular soldiers. all, however, except the black slave, were enlisted in the army before starting, so that they might be kept under regular discipline. in addition to these twenty-seven men there were seven soldiers and nine voyageurs who started only to go to the mandan villages on the missouri, where the party intended to spend the first winter. they embarked in three large boats, abundantly supplied with arms, powder, and lead, clothing, gifts for the indians, and provisions. the starting point was st. louis, which had only just been surrendered to the united states government by the spaniards, without any french intermediaries. the explorers pushed off in may, , and soon began stemming the strong current of the muddy missouri, to whose unknown sources they intended to ascend. for two or three weeks they occasionally passed farms and hamlets. the most important of the little towns was st. charles, where the people were all creoles; the explorers in their journal commented upon the good temper and vivacity of these _habitants_, but dwelt on the shiftlessness they displayed and their readiness to sink back towards savagery, although they were brave and hardy enough. the next most considerable town was peopled mainly by americans, who had already begun to make numerous settlements in the new land. the last squalid little village they passed claimed as one of its occasional residents old daniel boone himself. after leaving the final straggling log cabins of the settled country, the explorers, with sails and paddles, made their way through what is now the state of missouri. they lived well, for their hunters killed many deer and wild turkey and some black bear and beaver, and there was an abundance of breeding water fowl. here and there were indian encampments, but not many, for the tribes had gone westward to the great plains of what is now kansas to hunt the buffalo. already buffalo and elk were scarce in missouri, and the party did not begin to find them in any numbers until they reached the neighborhood of what is now southern nebraska. they reached the great plains. from there onwards the game was found in vast herds and the party began to come upon those characteristic animals of the great plains which were as yet unknown to white men of our race. the buffalo and the elk had once ranged eastward to the alleghanies and were familiar to early wanderers through the wooded wilderness; but in no part of the east had their numbers ever remotely approached the astounding multitudes in which they were found on the great plains. the curious prong-buck or prong-horned antelope was unknown east of the great plains. so was the blacktail, or mule deer, which our adventurers began to find here and there as they gradually worked their way northwestward. so were the coyotes, whose uncanny wailing after nightfall varied the sinister baying of the gray wolves; so were many of the smaller animals, notably the prairie dogs, whose populous villages awakened the lively curiosity of lewis and clark. good qualities of lewis and clark. in their note-books the two captains faithfully described all these new animals and all the strange sights they saw. they were men with no pretensions to scientific learning, but they were singularly close and accurate observers and truthful narrators. very rarely have any similar explorers described so faithfully not only the physical features but the animals and plants of a newly discovered land. their narrative was not published until some years later, and then it was badly edited, notable the purely scientific portion; yet it remains the best example of what such a narrative should be. few explorers who did and saw so much that was absolutely new have written of their deeds with such quiet absence of boastfulness, and have drawn their descriptions with such complete freedom from exaggeration. their dealings with the indians. moreover, what was of even greater importance, the two young captains possessed in perfection the qualities necessary to pilot such an expedition through unknown lands and among savage tribes. they kept good discipline among the men; they never hesitated to punish severely any wrong-doer; but they were never over-severe; and as they did their full part of the work, and ran all the risks and suffered all the hardship exactly like the other members of the expedition, they were regarded by their followers with devoted affection, and were served with loyalty and cheerfulness. in dealing with the indians they showed good humor and common-sense mingled with ceaseless vigilance and unbending resolution. only men who possessed their tact and daring could have piloted the party safely among the warlike tribes they encountered. any act of weakness or timidity on the one hand, or of harshness or cruelty on the other, would have been fatal to the expedition; but they were careful to treat the tribes well and to try to secure their good-will, while at the same time putting an immediate stop to any insolence or outrage. several times they were in much jeopardy when they reached the land of the dakotas and passed among the various ferocious tribes whom they knew, and whom we yet know, as the sioux. the french traders frequently came up river to the country of the sioux, who often maltreated and robbed them. in consequence lewis and clark found that the sioux were inclined to regard the whites as people whom they could safely oppress. the resolute bearing of the new-comers soon taught them that they were in error, and after a little hesitation the various tribes in each case became friendly. councils with the indians. with all the indian tribes the two explorers held councils, and distributed presents, especially medals, among the head chiefs and warriors, informing them of the transfer of the territory from spain to the united states and warning them that henceforth they must look to the president as their protector, and not to the king, whether of england or of spain. the indians all professed much satisfaction at the change, which of course they did not in the least understand, and for which they cared nothing. this easy acquiescence gave much groundless satisfaction to lewis and clark, who further, in a spirit of philanthropy, strove to make each tribe swear peace with its neighbors. after some hesitation the tribe usually consented to this also, and the explorers, greatly gratified, passed on. it is needless to say that as soon as they had disappeared the tribes promptly went to war again; and that in reality the indians had only the vaguest idea as to what was meant by the ceremonies, and the hoisting of the american flag. the wonder is that clark, who had already had some experience with indians, should have supposed that the councils, advice, and proclamations would have any effect of the kind hoped for upon these wild savages. however, together with the love of natural science inculcated by the fashionable philosophy of the day, they also possessed the much less admirable, though entirely amiable, theory of universal and unintelligent philanthropy which was embodied in this philosophy. a very curious feature of our dealings with the indians, not only in the days of lewis and clark, but since, has been the combination of extreme and indeed foolish benevolence of purpose on the part of the government, with, on the part of the settlers, a brutality of action which this benevolent purpose could in no wise check or restrain. they winter at the mandan villages. as the fall weather grew cold the party reached the mandan village, where they halted and went into camp for the winter, building huts and a stout blockade, which they christened fort mandan. traders from st. louis and also british traders from the north reached these villages, and the inhabitants were accustomed to dealing with the whites. throughout the winter the party was well treated by the indians, and kept in good health and spirits; the journals frequently mention the fondness the men showed for dancing, although without partners of the opposite sex. yet they suffered much from the extreme cold, and at times from hunger, for it was hard to hunt in the winter weather, and the game was thin and poor. generally game could be killed in a day's hunt from the fort; but occasionally small parties of hunters went off for a trip of several days, and returned laden with meat; in one case they killed thirty-two deer, eleven elk, and a buffalo; in another forty deer, sixteen elk, and three buffalo; thirty-six deer and fourteen elk, etc., etc. the buffalo remaining in the neighborhood during the winter were mostly old bulls, too lean to eat; and as the snows came on most of the antelope left for the rugged country farther west, swimming the missouri in great bands. before the bitter weather began the explorers were much interested by the methods of the indians in hunting, especially when they surrounded and slaughtered bands of buffalo on horseback; and by the curious pens, with huge v-shaped wings, into which they drove antelope. they start westward in the spring. in the spring of , lewis and clark again started westward, first sending down-stream ten of their companions, to carry home the notes of their trip so far, and a few valuable specimens. the party that started westward numbered thirty-two adults, all told; for one sergeant had died, and two or three persons had volunteered at the mandan villages, including a rather worthless french "squaw-man," with an intelligent indian wife, whose baby was but a few weeks old. from this point onwards, when they began to travel west instead of north, the explorers were in a country where no white man had ever trod. it was not the first time the continent had been crossed. the spaniards had crossed and recrossed it, for two centuries, farther south. in british america mackenzie had already penetrated to the pacific, while hearne had made a far more noteworthy and difficult trip than mackenzie, when he wandered over the terrible desolation of the barren grounds, which lie under the arctic circle. but no man had ever crossed or explored that part of the continent which the united states had just acquired; a part far better fitted to be the home of our stock than the regions to the north or south. it was the explorations of lewis and clark, and not those of mackenzie on the north or of the spaniards in the south, which were to bear fruit, because they pointed the way to the tens of thousands of settlers who were to come after them, and who were to build thriving commonwealths in the lonely wilderness which they had traversed. wonderful hunting grounds. from the little missouri on to the head of the missouri proper the explorers passed through a region where they saw few traces of indians. it literally swarmed with game, for it was one of the finest hunting grounds in all the world. [footnote: it so continued for three quarters of a century. until after the region around the little missouri was essentially unchanged from what is was in the days of lewis and clark; game swarmed, and the few white hunters and trappers who followed the buffalo, the elk, and the beaver, were still at times in conflict with hunting parties from various indian tribes. while ranching in this region i myself killed every kind of game encountered by lewis and clark.] there were great numbers of sage fowl, sharp-tailed prairie fowl, and ducks of all kinds; and swans, and tall white cranes; and geese, which nested in the tops of the cottonwood trees. but the hunters paid no heed to birds, when surrounded by such teeming myriads of big game. buffalo, elk, and antelope, whitetail and blacktail deer, and bighorn sheep swarmed in extraordinary abundance throughout the lands watered by the upper missouri and the yellowstone; in their journals the explorers dwell continually on the innumerable herds they encountered while on these plains, both when travelling up-stream and again the following year when they were returning. the antelopes were sometimes quite shy; so were the bighorn; though on occasions both kinds seemed to lose their wariness, and in one instance the journal specifies the fact that, at the mouth of the yellowstone, the deer were somewhat shy, while the antelope, like the elk and buffalo, paid no heed to the men whatever. ordinarily all the kinds of game were very tame. sometimes one of the many herds of elk that lay boldly, even at midday, on the sandbars, or on the brush-covered points, would wait until the explorers were within twenty yards of them before starting. the buffalo would scarcely move out of the path at all, and the bulls sometimes, even when unmolested, threatened to assail the hunters. once, on the return voyage, when clark was descending the yellowstone river, a vast herd of buffalo, swimming and wading, plowed its way across the stream where it was a mile broad, in a column so thick that the explorers had to draw up on shore and wait for an hour, until it passed by, before continuing their journey. two or three times the expedition was thus brought to a halt; and as the buffalo were so plentiful, and so easy to kill, and as their flesh was very good, they were the mainstay for the explorers' table. both going and returning this wonderful hunting country was a place of plenty. the party of course lived almost exclusively on meat, and they needed much; for, when they could get it, they consumed either a buffalo, or an elk and a deer, or four deer, every day. first encounters with the grizzly bear. there was one kind of game which they at times found altogether too familiar. this was the grizzly bear, which they were the first white men to discover. they called it indifferently the grizzly, gray, brown, and even white bear, to distinguish it from its smaller, glossy, black-coated brother with which they were familiar in the eastern woods. they found that the indians greatly feared these bears, and after their first encounters they themselves treated them with much respect. the grizzly was then the burly lord of the western prairie, dreaded by all other game, and usually shunned even by the indians. in consequence it was very bold and savage. again and again these huge bears attacked the explorers of their own accord, when neither molested nor threatened. they galloped after the hunters when they met them on horseback even in the open; and they attacked them just as freely when they found them on foot. to go through the brush was dangerous; again and again one or another of the party was charged and forced to take to a tree, at the foot of which the bear sometimes mounted guard for hours before going off. when wounded the beasts fought with desperate courage, and showed astonishing tenacity of life, charging any number of assailants, and succumbing but slowly even to mortal wounds. in one case a bear that was on shore actually plunged into the water and swam out to attack one of the canoes as it passed. however, by this time all of the party had become good hunters, expert in the use of their rifles, and they killed great numbers of their ursine foes. other brute enemies. nor were the bears their only brute enemies. the rattlesnakes were often troublesome. unlike the bears, the wolves were generally timid, and preyed only on the swarming game: but one night a wolf crept into camp and seized a sleeper by the hand; when driven off he jumped upon another man, and was shot by a third. a less intentional assault was committed by a buffalo bull which one night blundered past the fires, narrowly escaped trampling on the sleepers, and had the whole camp in an uproar before it rushed off into the darkness. when hunted the buffalo occasionally charged; but there was not much danger in their chase. the scourge of mosquitos. all these larger foes paled into insignificance compared with the mosquitos. there are very few places on earth where these pests are so formidable as in the bottom lands of the missouri, and for weeks and even months they made the lives of our explorers a torture. no other danger, whether from hunger or cold, indians or wild beasts, was so dreaded by the explorers as these tiny scourges. pleasant life in the plains country. in the plains country the life of the explorers was very pleasant save only for the mosquitos and the incessant clouds of driving sand along the river bottoms. on their journey west through these true happy hunting grounds they did not meet with any indians, and their encounters with the bears were only just sufficiently dangerous to add excitement to their life. once or twice they were in peril from cloud bursts, and they were lamed by the cactus spines on the prairie, and by the stones and sand of the river bed while dragging the boats against the current; but all these trials, labors, and risks were only enough to give zest to their exploration of the unknown land. at the great falls of the missouri they halted, and were enraptured with their beauty and majesty; and here, as everywhere, they found the game so abundant that they lived in plenty. as they journeyed up-stream through the bright summer weather, though they worked hard, it was work of a kind which was but a long holiday. at nightfall they camped by the boats on the river bank. each day some of the party spent in hunting, either along the river bottoms through the groves of cottonwoods with shimmering, rustling leaves, or away from the river where the sunny prairies stretched into seas of brown grass, or where groups of rugged hills stood, fantastic in color and outline, and with stunted pines growing on the sides of their steep ravines. the only real suffering was that which occasionally befell someone who got lost, and was out for days at a time, until he exhausted all his powder and lead before finding the party. crossing the mountains. fall had nearly come when they reached the head-waters of the missouri. the end of the holiday-time was at hand, for they had before them the labor of crossing the great mountains so as to strike the head-waters of the columbia. their success at this point depended somewhat upon the indian wife of the frenchman who had joined them at mandan. she had been captured from one of the rocky mountains tribes and they relied on her as interpreter. partly through her aid, and partly by their own exertions, they were able to find, and make friends with, a band of wandering shoshones, from whom they got horses. having cached their boats and most of their goods they started westward through the forest-clad passes of the rockies; before this they had wandered and explored in several directions through the mountains and the foot-hills. the open country had been left behind, and with it the time of plenty. in the mountain forests the game was far less abundant than on the plains and far harder to kill; though on the tops of the high peaks there was one new game animal, the white antelope-goat, which they did not see, though the indians brought them hides. the work was hard, and the party suffered much from toil and hunger, living largely on their horses, before they struck one of the tributaries of the snake sufficiently low down to enable them once more to go by boat. the indians they met. they now met many indians of various tribes, all of them very different from the indians of the western plains. at this time the indians both east and west of the rockies, already owned numbers of horses. although they had a few guns, they relied mainly on the spears and tomahawks, and bows and arrows with which they had warred and hunted from time immemorial; for only the tribes on the outer edges had come in contact with the whites, whether with occasional french and english traders who brought them goods, or with the mixed bloods of the northern spanish settlements, upon which they raided. around the mouth of the columbia, however, the indians knew a good deal about the whites; the river had been discovered by captain gray of boston thirteen years before, and ships came there continually, while some of the indian tribes were occasionally visited by traders from the british fur companies. with one or two of these tribes the explorers had some difficulty, and owed their safety to their unceasing vigilance, and to the prompt decision with which they gave the indians to understand that they would tolerate no bad treatment; while yet themselves refraining carefully from committing any wrong. by most of the tribes they were well received, and obtained from them not only information of the route, but also a welcome supply of food. at first they rather shrank from eating the dogs which formed the favorite dish of the indians; but after a while they grew quite reconciled to dog's flesh; and in their journals noted that they preferred it to lean elk and deer meat, and were much more healthy while eating it. lewis and clark reach the pacific coast. they reached the rain-shrouded forests of the coast before cold weather set in, and there they passed the winter; suffering somewhat from the weather, and now and then from hunger, though the hunters generally killed plenty of elk, and deer of a new kind, the blacktail of the columbia. they start eastward again. in march, , they started eastward to retrace their steps. at first they did not live well, for it was before the time when the salmon came up-stream, and game was not common. when they reached the snow-covered mountains there came another period of toil and starvation, and they were glad indeed when they emerged once more on the happy hunting-grounds of the great plains. they found their caches undisturbed. early in july they separated for a time, clark descending the yellowstone and lewis the missouri, until they met at the junction of the two rivers. the party which went down the yellowstone at one time split into two, clark taking command of one division, and a sergeant of the other; they built their own canoes, some of them made out of hollowed trees, while the others were bull boats, made of buffalo hides stretched on a frame. as before they revelled in the abundance of the game. they marvelled at the incredible numbers of the buffalo whose incessant bellowing at this season filled the air with one continuous roar, which terrified their horses; they were astonished at the abundance and tameness of the elk; they fought their old enemies the grizzly bears; and they saw and noted many strange and wonderful beasts and birds. the adventure of lewis and the indians. to lewis there befell other adventures. once, while he was out with three men, a party of eight blackfoot warriors joined them and suddenly made a treacherous attack upon them and strove to carry off their guns and horses. but the wilderness veterans sprang to arms with a readiness that had become second nature. one of them killed an indian with a knife thrust; lewis himself shot another indian, and the remaining six fled, carrying with them one of lewis' horses, but losing four of their own, which the whites captured. this was the beginning of the long series of bloody skirmishes between the blackfeet and the rocky mountain explorers and trappers. clark, at about the same time, suffered at the hands of the crows, who stole a number of his horses. he is shot by one of his own party. none of the party were hurt by the indians, but some time after the skirmish with the blackfeet lewis was accidentally shot by one of the frenchmen of the party and suffered much from the wound. near the mouth of the yellowstone clark joined him, and the reunited company floated down the missouri. before they reached the mandan villages they encountered two white men, the first strangers of their own color the party had seen for a year and a half. these were two american hunters named dickson and hancock, who were going up to trap the head-waters of the missouri on their own account. they had come from the illinois country a year before, to hunt and trap; they had been plundered, and one of them wounded, in an encounter with the fierce sioux, but were undauntedly pushing forwards into the unknown wilderness towards the mountains. they meet two hunters. these two hardy and daring adventurers formed the little vanguard of the bands of hunters and trappers, the famous rocky mountain men, who were to roam hither and hither across great west in lawless freedom for the next three quarters of a century. they accompanied the party back to the mandan village; there one of the soldiers joined them, a man name colter, so fascinated by the life of the wilderness that he was not willing to leave it, even for a moment's glimpse of the civilization, from which he had been so long exiled. [footnote: for colter, and the first explorers of this region, see "the yellowstone national park," by captain h. m. chittenden.] the three turned their canoe up-stream, while lewis and clark and the rest of the party drifted down past the sioux. they return to st. louis. the further voyage of the explorers was uneventful. they had difficulties with the sioux of course, but they held them at bay. they killed game in abundance, and went down-stream as fast as sails, oars, and current could carry them. in september they reached st. louis and forwarded to jefferson an account of what they had done. after-careers of lewis and clark. they had done a great deed, for they had opened the door into the heart of the far west. close on their tracks followed the hunters, trappers, and fur traders who themselves made ready the way for the settlers whose descendants were to possess the land. as for the two leaders of the explorers, lewis was made governor of louisiana territory, and a couple of years afterwards died, as was supposed, by his own hand, in a squalid log cabin on the chickasaw trace--though it was never certain that he had not been murdered. clark was afterwards governor of the territory, when its name had been changed to missouri, and he also served honorably as indian agent. but neither of them did anything further of note; nor indeed was it necessary, for they had performed a feat which will always give them a place on the honor roll of american worthies. pike and his explorations. while lewis and clark were descending the columbia and recrossing the continent from the pacific coast, another army officer was conducting explorations which were only less important than theirs. this was lieut. zebulon montgomery pike. he was not by birth a westerner, being from new jersey, the son of an officer of the revolutionary army; but his name will always be indelibly associated with the west. his two voyages of exploration, one to the head-waters of the mississippi, the other to the springs of the arkansas and the rio grande, were ordered by wilkinson, without authority from congress. when wilkinson's name was smirched by burr's conspiracy the lieutenant likewise fell under suspicion, for it was believed that his south-western trip was undertaken in pursuance of some of wilkinson's schemes. unquestionably this trip was intended by pike to throw light on the exact nature of the spanish boundary claims. in all probability he also intended to try to find out all he could of the military and civil situation in the northern provinces of mexico. such information could be gathered but for one purpose; and it seems probable that wilkinson had hinted to him that part of his plan which included an assault of some kind or other on spanish rule in mexico; but pike was an ardent patriot, and there is not the slightest ground for any belief that wilkinson dared to hint to him his own disloyalty to the union. he ascends the mississippi. in august, , pike turned his face towards the head-waters of the mississippi, his purpose being both to explore the sources of that river, and to show to the indians, and to the british fur traders among them, that the united states was sovereign over the country in fact as well as in theory. he started in a large keel boat, with twenty soldiers of the regular army. the voyage up-stream was uneventful. the party lived largely on game they shot, pike himself doing rather more hunting than anyone else and evidently taking much pride in his exploits; though in his journal he modestly disclaimed any pretensions to special skill. unlike the later explorers, but like lewis and clark, pike could not avail himself of the services of hunters having knowledge of the country. he and his regulars were forced to be their own pioneers and to do their own hunting, until, by dint of hard knocks and hard work, they grew experts, both as riflemen and as woodsmen. encounters with indians. the expedition occasionally encountered parties of indians. the savages were nominally at peace with the whites, and although even at this time they occasionally murdered some solitary trapper or trader, they did not dare meddle with pike's well armed and well prepared soldiers, confining themselves to provocation that just fell short of causing conflict. pike handled them well, and speedily brought those with whom he came into contact to a proper frame of mind, showing good temper and at the same time prompt vigor in putting down any attempt at bullying. on the journey up stream only one misadventure befell the party. a couple of the men got lost while hunting and did not find the boat for six days, by which time they were nearly starved, having used up all their ammunition, so that they could not shoot game. winters on the headwaters of the mississippi. the winter was spent in what is now minnesota. pike made a permanent camp where he kept most of his men, while he himself travelled hither and thither, using dog sleds after the snow fell. they lived almost purely on game, and pike, after the first enthusiasm of the sport had palled a little, commented on the hard slavery of a hunter's life and its vicissitudes; for on one day he might kill enough meat to last the whole party for a week and when that was exhausted they might go three or four days without anything at all. [footnote: pike's journal, entry of november , .] deer and bear were the common game, though they saw both buffalo and elk, and killed several of the latter. pike found his small-bore rifle too light for the chase of the buffalo. council with the sioux. at the beautiful falls of st. anthony, pike held a council with the sioux, and got them to make a grant of about a hundred thousand acres in the neighborhood of the falls; and he tried vainly to make peace between the sioux and the chippewas. in his search for the source of the mississippi he penetrated deep into the lovely lake-dotted region of forests and prairies which surrounds the head-waters of the river. he did not reach lake itasca; but he did explore the leech lake drainage system, which he mistook for the true source. hoists the american flag. at the british trading-posts, strong log structures fitted to repel indian attacks, pike was well received. where he found the british flag flying he had it hauled down and the american flag hoisted in its place, making both the indians and the traders understand that the authority of the united states was supreme in the land. in the spring he floated down stream and reached st. louis on the last day of april, . returns to st. louis and starts westward. in july he was again sent out, this time on a far more dangerous and important trip. he was to march west to the rocky mountains, and explore the country towards the head of the rio grande, where the boundary line between mexico and louisiana was very vaguely determined. his party numbered twenty-three all told, including lieutenant j. b. wilkinson, a son of the general, and a dr. j. h. robinson, whose special business it was to find out everything possible about the spanish provinces, or, in plain english, to act as a spy. the party was also accompanied by fifty osage indians, chiefly women and children who had been captured by the potowatomies, and whose release and return to their homes had been brought about by the efforts of the united states government. the presence of these redeemed captives of course kept the osages in good humor with pike's party. pike journeys to the osage and pawnee villages. the party started in boats, and ascended the osage river as far as it was navigable. they then procured horses and travelled to the great pawnee village known as the pawnee republic, which gave its name to the republican river. before reaching the pawnee village they found that a spanish military expedition, several hundred strong, under an able commander named malgares, had anticipated them, by travelling through the debatable land, and seeking to impress upon the indians that the power of the spanish nation was still supreme. malgares had travelled from new mexico across the arkansas into the pawnee country; during much of his subsequent route pike followed the spaniard's trail. the pawnees had received from malgares spanish flags, as tokens of spanish sovereignty. doubtless the ceremony meant little or nothing to them; and pike had small difficulty in getting the chiefs and warriors of the village to hoist the american flag instead. but they showed a very decided disinclination to let him continue his journey westward. however, he would not be denied. though with perfect good temper, he gave them to understand that he would use force if they ventured to bar his passage; and they finally let him go by. later he had a somewhat similar experience with a large pawnee war party. the swarms of game. the explorers had now left behind them the fertile, tree-clad country, and had entered on the great plains, across which they journeyed to the arkansas, and then up that river. like lewis and clark, pike found the country literally swarming with game; for all the great plains region, from the saskatchewan to the rio grande, formed at this time one of the finest hunting grounds to be found in the whole world. at one place just on the border of the plains pike mentions that he saw from a hill buffalo, elk, antelope, deer, and panther, all in sight at the same moment. when he reached the plains proper the three characteristic animals were the elk, antelope, and, above all, the buffalo. the bison. the myriads of huge shaggy-maned bison formed the chief feature in this desolate land; no other wild animal of the same size, in any part of the world, then existed in such incredible numbers. all the early travellers seem to have been almost equally impressed by the interminable seas of grass, the strange, shifting, treacherous plains rivers, and the swarming multitudes of this great wild ox of the west. under the blue sky the yellow prairie spread out in endless expanse; across it the horseman might steer for days and weeks through a landscape almost as unbroken as the ocean. it was a region of light rainfall; the rivers ran in great curves through beds of quicksand, which usually contained only trickling pools of water, but in times of freshet would in a moment fill from bank to bank with boiling muddy torrents. hither and thither across these plains led the deep buffalo-trails, worn by the hoofs of the herds that had passed and re-passed through countless ages. for hundreds of miles a traveller might never be out of sight of buffalo. at noon they lay about in little groups all over the prairie, the yellow calves clumsily frisking beside their mothers, while on the slight mounds the great bulls moaned and muttered and pawed the dust. towards nightfall the herds filed down in endless lines to drink at the river, walking at a quick, shuffling pace, with heads held low and beards almost sweeping the ground. when pike reached the country the herds were going south from the platte towards their wintering grounds below the arkansas. at first he passed through nothing but droves of bulls. it was not until he was well towards the mountains that he came upon great herds of cows. other game. the prairie was dotted over with innumerable antelope. these have always been beasts of the open country; but the elk, once so plentiful in the great eastern forests, and even now plentiful in parts of the rockies, then also abounded on the plains, where there was not a tree of any kind, save the few twisted and wind-beaten cottonwoods that here and there, in sheltered places fringed the banks of the rivers. indians hunting. lewis and clark had seen the mandan horsemen surround the buffalo herds and kill the great clumsy beasts with their arrows. pike records with the utmost interest how he saw a band of pawnees in similar fashion slaughter a great gang of elk, and he dwells with admiration on the training of the horses, the wonderful horsemanship of the naked warriors, and their skill in the use of bow and spear. it was a wild hunting scene, such as belonged properly to times primeval. but indeed the whole life of these wild red nomads, the plumed and painted horse-indians of the great plains, belonged to time primeval. it was at once terrible and picturesque, and yet mean in its squalor and laziness. from the blackfeet in the north to the comanches in the south they were all alike; grim lords of war and the chase; warriors, hunters, gamblers, idlers; fearless, ferocious, treacherous, inconceivably cruel; revengeful and fickle; foul and unclean in life and thought; disdaining work, but capable at times of undergoing unheard-of toil and hardship, and of braving every danger; doomed to live with ever before their eyes death in the form of famine or frost, battle or torture, and schooled to meet it, in whatever shape it came, with fierce and mutterless fortitude. [footnote: fortunately these horse-indians, and the game they chiefly hunted, have found a fit historian. in his books, especially upon the pawnees and blackfeet, mr. george bird grinnell has portrayed them with a master hand; it is hard to see how his work can be bettered.] wilkinson descends the arkansas. when the party reached the arkansas late in october wilkinson and three or four men journied down it and returned to the settled country. wilkinson left on record his delight when he at last escaped from the bleak windswept plains and again reached the land where deer supplanted the buffalo and antelope and where the cottonwood was no longer the only tree. pike reaches pike's peak. the others struck westward into the mountains, and late in november reached the neighborhood of the bold peak which was later named after pike himself. winter set in with severity soon after they penetrated the mountains. they were poorly clad to resist the bitter weather, and they endured frightful hardships while endeavoring to thread the tangle of high cliffs and sheer canyons. moreover, as winter set in, the blacktail deer, upon which the party had begun to rely for meat, migrated to the wintering grounds, and the explorers suffered even more from hunger than from cold. they had nothing to eat but the game, not even salt. sufferings from cold and hunger. the travelling through the deep snow, whether exploring or hunting, was heart-breaking work. the horses suffered most; the extreme toil, and scant pasturage weakened them so that some died from exhaustion; others fell over precipices and the magpies proved evil foes, picking the sore backs of the wincing, saddle-galled beasts. in striving to find some pass for the horses the whole party was more than once strung out in detachments miles apart, through the mountains. early in january, near the site of the present canyon city, pike found a valley where deer were plentiful. here he built a fort of logs, and left the saddle-band and pack-animals in charge of two of the members of the expedition; intending to send back for them when he had discovered some practicable route. he strikes across the mountains on foot. he himself, with a dozen of the hardiest soldiers, struck through the mountains towards the rio grande. their sufferings were terrible. they were almost starved, and so cold was the weather that at one time no less than nine of the men froze their feet. pike and robinson proved on the whole the hardiest, being kept up by their indomitable will, though pike mentions with gratification that but once, in all their trials, did a single member of the party so much as grumble. the party almost perishes from starvation. pike and robinson were also the best hunters; and it was their skill and stout-heartedness, shown in the time of direst need, that saved the whole party from death. in the wet mountain valley, which they reached mid-january, , at the time that nine of the men froze their feet, starvation stared them in the face. there had been a heavy snowstorm; no game was to be seen; and they had been two days without food. the men with frozen feet, exhausted by hunger, could no longer travel. two of the soldiers went out to hunt, but got nothing. at the same time, pike and robinson started, determined not to return at all unless they could bring back meat. pike wrote that they had resolved to stay out and die by themselves, rather than to go back to camp "and behold the misery of our poor lads." all day they tramped wearily through the heavy snow. towards evening they came on a buffalo, and wounded it; but faint and weak from hunger, they shot badly, and the buffalo escaped; a disappointment literally as bitter as death. that night they sat up among some rocks, all night long, unable to sleep because of the intense cold, shivering in their thin rags; they had not eaten for three days. but they were men of indomitable spirit, and next day trudging painfully on, they at last succeeded, after another heart-breaking failure, in killing a buffalo. at midnight they staggered into camp with the meat, and all the party broke their four days' fast. two men lost their feet through frost-bite, and had to be left in this camp, with all the food. only the fact that a small band of buffalo was wintering in the valley had saved the whole expedition from death by starvation. pike reaches the rio grande. after leaving this valley pike and the remaining men of the expedition finally reached the rio grande, where the weather was milder and deer abounded. here they built a little fort over which they flew the united states flag, though pike well knew that he was in spanish territory. when the spanish commander at santa fé learned of their presence he promptly sent out a detachment of troops to bring them in, though showing great courtesy, and elaborately pretending to believe that pike had merely lost his way. pike is sent home by the spaniards. from santa fé pike was sent home by a roundabout route through chihuahua, and through texas, where he noted the vast droves of wild horses, and the herds of peccaries. he was much impressed by the strange mixture of new world savagery and old world feudalism in the provinces through which he passed. a nobility and a priesthood which survived unchanged from the middle ages held sway over serfs and made war upon savages. the apache and comanche raided on the outlying settlements; the mixed bloods, and the "tame" indians on the great ranches and in the hamlets were in a state of peonage; in the little walled towns, the spanish commanders lived in half civilized, half barbaric luxury, and shared with the priests absolute rule over the people roundabout. the american lieutenant, used to the simplicity of his own service, was struck by the extravagance and luxury of the spanish officers, who always travelled with sumpter mules laden with delicacies; and he was no less struck with the laxity of discipline in all ranks. the spanish cavalry were armed with lances and shields; the militia carried not only old fashioned carbines but lassos and bows and arrows. there was small wonder that the spanish authorities, civil, military, and ecclesiastical alike, should wish to keep intruders out of the land, and should jealously guard the secret of their own weakness. his subsequent career. when pike reached home he found himself in disfavor, as was everyone who was suspected of having any intimate relations with wilkinson. however, he soon cleared himself, and continued to serve in the army. he rose to be a brigadier-general and died gloriously in the hour of triumph, when in command of the american force which defeated the british and captured york. lewis, clark, and pike had been the pioneers in the exploration of the far west. the wandering trappers and traders were quick to follow in their tracks, and to roam hither and thither exploring on their own accord. in one of these restless adventurers reached yellowstone lake, and another lake itasca; and their little trading stations were built far up the missouri and the platte. the west gradually fills with population. while these first rough explorations of the far west were taking place, the old west was steadily filling with population and becoming more and more a coherent portion of the union. in the treaties made from time to time with the northwestern indians, they ceded so much land that at last the entire northern bank of the ohio was in the hands of the settlers. but the indians still held northwestern ohio and the northern portions of what are now indiana and illinois, so that the settlement at detroit was quite isolated; as were the few little stockades, or groups of fur-traders' huts, in what are now northern illinois and wisconsin. the southern indians also surrendered much territory, in various treaties. georgia got control of much of the indian land within her state limits. all the country between knoxville and nashville became part of tennessee, so that the eastern and middle portions of the state were no longer sundered by a jutting fragment of wilderness, infested by indian war parties whenever there were hostilities with the savages. the only indian lands in tennessee or kentucky were those held by the chickasaws, between the tennessee and the mississippi; and the chickasaws were friendly to the americans. power of the west. year by year the west grew better able to defend itself if attacked, and more formidable in the event of its being necessary to undertake offensive warfare. kentucky and tennessee had become populous states, no longer fearing indian inroads; but able on the contrary to equip powerful armies for the aid of the settlers in the more scantily peopled regions north and south of them. ohio was also growing steadily; and in the territory of indiana, including what is now illinois, and the territory of mississippi, including what is now northern alabama, there were already many settlers. dangers threatening the west. nevertheless the shadow of desperate war hung over the west. neither the northern nor the southern indians were yet subdued; sullen and angry they watched the growth of the whites, alert to seize a favorable moment to make one last appeal to arms before surrendering their hunting grounds. moreover in new orleans and detroit the westerners possessed two outposts which it would be difficult to retain in the event of war with england, the only european nation that had power seriously to injure them. these two outposts were sundered from the rest of the settled western territory by vast regions tenanted only by warlike indian tribes. detroit was most in danger from the indians, the british being powerless against it unless in alliance with the formidable tribes that had so long battled against american supremacy. their superb navy gave the british the power to attack new orleans at will. the westerners could rally to the aid of new orleans much more easily than to the aid of detroit; for the mississippi offered a sure channel of communication, and new orleans, unlike detroit, possessed some capacity for self-defence; whereas the difficulties of transit through the indian-haunted wilderness south of the great lakes were certain to cause endless dangers and delays if it became necessary for the westerners either to reinforce or to recapture the little city which commanded the straits between huron and erie. during the dozen years which opened with wayne's campaigns, saw the treaties of jay and pinckney, and closed with the explorations of lewis, clarke, and pike, the west had grown with the growth of a giant, and for the first time had achieved peace; but it was not yet safe from danger of outside attack. the territories which had been won by war from the indians and by treaty from spain, france, and england, and which had been partially explored, were not yet entirely our own. much had been accomplished by the deeds of the indian-fighters, treaty-makers, and wilderness-wanderers; far more had been accomplished by the steady push of the settler folk themselves, as they thrust ever westward, and carved states out of the forest and the prairie; but much yet remained to be done before the west would reach its natural limits, would free itself forever from the pressure of outside foes, and would fill from frontier to frontier with populous commonwealths of its own citizens. the end of vol. iv. appendix it is a pleasure to be able to say that the valuable robertson manuscripts are now in course of publication, under the direction of a most competent editor in the person of mr. w. r. garrett, ph.d. they are appearing in the _american historical magazine_, at nashville, tennessee; the first instalment appeared in january, and the second in april, . the _magazine_ is doing excellent work, exactly where this work is needed; and it could not render a better service to the study of american history than by printing these robertson papers. after the present volume was in press mr. oswald garrison villard, of harvard, most kindly called my attention to the knox papers, in the archives of the new england historical and genealogical society, of boston. these papers are of great interest. they are preserved in a number of big volumes. i was able to make only a most cursory examination of them; but mr. villard with great kindness went carefully through them, and sent me copies of those which i deemed important. there are a number of papers referring to matters connected with the campaigns against the western indians. the most interesting and valuable is a long letter from col. darke giving a very vivid picture of st. clair's defeat, and of the rout which followed. while it can hardly be said to cast any new light on the defeat, it describes it in a very striking manner, and brings out well the gallantry of the officers and the inferior quality of the rank and file; and it gives a very unpleasant picture of st. clair and hamtranck. besides the darke letter there are several other manuscripts containing information of value. in volume xxiii., page , there is a letter from knox to general harmar, dated new york, september , . after much preliminary apology, knox states that it "has been reported, and under circumstances which appear to have gained pretty extensive credit on the frontiers, that you are too apt to indulge yourself to excess in a convivial glass"; and he then points out the inevitable ruin that such indulgence will bring to the general. a letter from st. clair to knox, dated lexington, september , , runs in part: "desertion and sickness have thinned our ranks. still, if i can only get them into action before the time of the levies expires, i think my force sufficient, though that opinion is founded on the calculation of the probable number that is opposed to us, having no manner of information as to the force collected to oppose us." on the th he writes from ft. washington about the coming expiration of enlistments and says: "i am very sensible how hazardous it is to approach, under such circumstances, and my only expectation is that the men will find themselves so far engaged that it will be obviously better to go forward than to return, at the same time it precludes the establishment of another post of communication however necessary, but that indeed is precluded also from our decreasing numbers, and the very little dependence that is to be placed upon the militia." col. winthrop sargent writes to general knox from ft. washington, on january , . he states that there were fourteen hundred indians opposed to st. clair in the battle, and repeats a rumor that six hundred indians from the lakes quarrelled with the miamis over the plunder, and went home without sharing any part, warning their allies that thereafter they should fight their battles alone. sargent dwells upon the need of spies, and the service these spies would have rendered st. clair. a few days afterwards he writes in reference to a rumor that his own office is to be dispensed with, protesting that this would be an outrage, and that he has always discharged his duties well, having entered the service simply from a desire to be of use to his country. he explains that the money he receives would hardly do more than equip him, and that he only went into the army because he valued reputation and honor more than fortune. the letters of the early part of show that the survivors of st. glair's army were torn by jealousy, and that during the winter following his defeat there was much bitter wrangling among the various officers. wilkinson frequently wrote to knox giving his estimate of the various officers, and evidently knox thought very well of him. wilkinson spoke well of sargent; but most of the other officers, whom he mentions at all, he mentions with some disfavor, and he tells at great length of the squabbles among them, his narrative being diversified at times by an account of some other incident such as "a most lawless outrage" by "a party of the soldiery on the person of a civil magistrate in the village of cincinnati." knox gives his views as to promotions in a letter to washington, which shows that he evidently felt a good deal of difficulty in getting men whom he deemed fit for high command, or even for the command of a regiment. one of the worst quarrels was that of the quartermaster, hodgdon, first with major zeigler and then with captain ford. the major resigned, and the captain publicly insulted the quartermaster and threated to horsewhip him. in one letter caleb swan, on march , , advises wilkinson that he had been to kentucky and had paid off the kentucky militia who had served under st. clair. wilkinson in a letter of march th, expresses the utmost anxiety for the retention of st. clair in command. among the numerous men whom wilkinson had complained of was harmar, who, he said, was not only addicted to drink, but was also a bad disciplinarian. he condemned the quartermaster also, although less severely than most of the other officers. darke's letter is worth quoting in full. its spelling and punctuation are extraordinary; and some of the words can not be deciphered. letter from col. darke to george washington, president of the u. s., dated at fort washington, nineth of novr. , (_knox_ papers, vol. xxx., p. .) i take the liberty to communicate to your excellency the disagreeable news of our defeat. we left fort washington the begining of septr a jornel of our march to the place of action and the whole proseeding on our march i hoped to have had the honour to inclose to you but that and all other papers cloathing & &c., was taken by the indians. this jornel i know would have gave you pain but thought it not amis to give you a state of facts and give you every information in my power and had it ready to send to you the very morning we were actacked. we advanced miles from fort washington and bult a small fort which we i thought were long about from thence we advanced along the banks of the meamme river where the fort was arected - / miles on a streight line by the compass west / north though farther the way the road went and bult another fort which we left on the october and from that time to the d novr got miles where we incamped in two lines about yards apart the right whing in frunt commanded by general butler, the left in the rear which i commanded, our piccquets decovered some sculking indians about camp in the night and fired on them. those we expected were horsstealers as they had taken many of our horses near fort washington, and on the way and killed a few of our men. as soon as it was light in the morning of the th novr the advanced guards of the meletia fired the meletia being in-camped a small distance in frunt a scattering fire soon commenced the troops were instandly formed to reserve them and the pannack struck meletia soon broke in to the center of our incampment in a few munites our guards were drove in and our whole camp surrounded by savages advencing up nere to our lines and made from behind trees logs &c., grate havoke with our men i for some time having no orders [indevanced?] to pervent the soldiers from braking and stil finding the enemy growing more bold and coming to the very mouths of our cannon and all the brave artilery officers killed i ordered the left whing to charge which with the assistance of the gallent officers that were then left i with deficuaty prevailed on them to do, the second u s regt was then the least disabled the charge begat with them on the left of the left whing i placed a small company of rifelmen on that flank on the bank of a small crick and persued the enemy about four hundred yards who ran off in all directions but this time the left flank of the right whing gave way and number of the indians got into our camp and got possession of the artilery and scalped i sopose a hundred men or more i turned back and beat them quite off the ground and got posesion of the cannon and had it been possible to get the troops to form and push them we should then have soon beat them of the ground but those that came from the lelf whing run in a huddle with those of the right the enemys fire being allmost over for many munites and all exertions made by many of the brave officer to get them in some order to persue victory was all in vain. they would not form in any order in this confution they remained until the enemy finding they were not pushed and i dare say active officers with them and i beleive several of them white they came on again, and the whole army ran together like a mob at a fair and had it not been for the gratest exertions of the officers would have stood there til all killed the genl then sent to me if possible to get them off that spot by making a charge i found my endevours fruitless for some time but at length got several soldiers together that i had observed behaving brave and incoraged them to lead off which they did with charged bayonetts success the whole followed with grate rapidity i then endevoured to halt the frunt to get them in some order to turn and fire a few shots but the horse i rode being good for little and i wounded in the thigh early in the action and having fatigued my self much was so stif i could make a poor hand of running. the confution in the retreat is beyound description the men throughing away their arms not withstanding all the indevour of the few remaining brave officers i think we must have lost stand of arms meletia included. it is impossible to give any good account of the loss of men at this time but from the loss of officers you may give some gess a list of their names you have in closed the brave and much to be lemented g. b. at their head i have likewise in closed you a small rough scetch of the feald of battle. i at this time am scarcely able to write being worn out with fatigue not having slept hours since the defeat. this fatigue has bean occationed by the cowardly behaviour of major john f. hamtramck, and i am sorry to say not the same exertions of the govenor that i expected. hamtramck was about twenty four miles in our rear with the first u s regiment consisting of upwards of effective men and on hearing of our defeat insted of coming on as his orders was i believe to follow us retreated back miles to fort jefferson we knowing of his being on his march after us and was in hopes of grate releif from him in covering the retreat of perhaps upwards of or wounded men many of whom might easily bean saved with that fresh regiment with whom i should not have bean arraid to have passed the whole indian army if they had persued as the would have bean worn down with the chace and in grate disorder when we got to the fort miles in about hours no one having eat any from the day before the action we found the garison without more than than one days bred and no meat having bean on half alowence two days there was a council called to which i aftar i beleive they had agreed what was to be done was called it was concluded to march of & recommence the retreat at oclock which was begun i think an hour before that time more than wounded and tired in our rear the govenor assured me that he expected provition on every hour i at first concluded to stay with my son who was very dangerously and i expected mortaly wounded but after geting several officers dressed and as well provided for as possible and seing the influance hamtramck had with the genl about twelve oclock i got a horse and followed the army as i thought from apearences that major hamtramck had influance anough to pervent the garison from being supplied with the provition coming on by keeping the first regt as a guard for himself i rode alone about ten miles from twelve oclock at night until i overtook the regiment and the genl i still kept on until i met the pack horses about daylight much alarmed at having heard something of the defeat, the horse master could not prevail on the drivers to go on with him until i assured then i would go back with them lame as i was i ordered the horses to be loaded immediately and i returned as fast as i could to hault the first regiment as a guard, and when i met them told them to halt and make fires to cook immediately as i made sure they would be sent back with the provitions, but when i met the govenor and major hamtramck i pervailed with genl st. clair to order men back only which was all i could possibly get and had the bulock drivers known that was all the guard they were to have they would not have gone on nuther would the horse drivers i believe in sted of the hors loads got on all the rest went back with the army and though the men had bean so long sterving and we then miles from the place of action i could not pervail on them the genl and his fammily or [advisers?] to halt for the sterved worn down soldiers to cook, nor did they i believe even kill a bullock for their releaf i went back to fort jefferson that night with the flour beaves &c. where they was no kind of provision but a miserable poor old horse and many valuable officers wound there and perhaps soldiers it was night when i got back i slept not one moment that night my son and other officers being in such distress. the next day i was busy all day--getting--made to carry of the wounded officers there being no medison there nor any nurishment not even a quart of salt but they were not able to bare the motion of the horses. that night i set off for this place and rode til about oclock by which time my thigh was amassingly sweld near as large as my body and so hot that i could feel the warmth with my hand foot off of it i could sleep none and have slept very little since the wounds begin to separate and are much esier i am aprehensive that fort jeferson is now beseiged by the indians as certain information has bean received that a large body were on sunday night within fifteen miles of it coming on the road we marched out and i am sorey to se no exertions to releive it i cannot tel whether they have the cannon they took from us or not if they have not, they cannot take it nor i don't think they can with for want of ball which they have no grate number of. they took from us eight pieces of ordenence bullocks, about horses upwards of tents and a considerable quantity of flour amunition and all the officers and soldiers cloathing and bagage except what they had on i believe they gave quarters to none as most of the women were killed before we left the ground i think the slaughter far grater than bradocks there being brave officers killd dead on the ground wounded that we know of and some mising exclusive of the meletia and i know their cole, and two captains were killed i do not think our loss so grate as to strike the surviving officers with ideas of despair as it seems to. the chief of the men killd are of the levies and indeed many of them are as well out of the world as in it as for the gallent officers they are much to be lamented as the behaviour of allmost all of them would have done honour to the first veterans in the world. the few that escaped without wounds it was chiefly axedent that saved them as it is impossible to say more in their praise than they deserve. in the few horse officers though they had no horses good for anything capt. truman lieut. sedam debuts boins and gleer behaved like soldiers. capt. snowder is i think not calculated for the army and suliven quartermaster and commt is as grate a poltoon as i ever saw in the world. [footnote: written and lined as above.] ensign shambury of the first united states regiment is as brave good and determined a hero as any in the work lieutenent james stephenson from berkeley of the levies aded to one of the most unspoted and respectable carectors in the world in private life as good an officer as ever drew breth, his gallent behavior in action drew the attention of every officer that was near him more than any other. there is one bisel perhaps a volenteer in the second u s regiment who richly deserved preferment for his bravery through the whole action he made the freeest use of the baonet of any man i noticed in the carcases of the savages. john hamelton i cant say too much in praise of who was along with the army a packhorse master he picked up the dead mens guns and used them freely when he found them loaded and when the indians entered the camp he took up an ax and at them with it. i am intirely at a loss to give you any idea what general st. clair intends to do. i well know what i would do if i was in his place and would venture to forfet my life if the indians have not moved the cannon farther than the meamme towns if i did not retake them by going there in three days insted of two months i well know the have lost many of their braves & wariors and i make no doubt the have near wounded their killed i cannot think bare any perpotion to ours as they lay so concealed but many i know were killd and those the most dareing fellows which has weakened them grately and i know we were able to beat them and that a violent push with one hundred brave men when the left whing returned from persuing them would have turned the scale in our favor indeed i think fifty would in the scatered state they were in and five or six hundred mounted riflemen from conetuck aded to the force we have would be as sure of suchsess as they went many have offer to go with me a number of officers ofer to go as privates and i never was treated with so much respect in any part of the world as i have bean this day in this wilderness in the time i am offered my choice of any horse belonging to the town as i lost all my own horses i shall se the general in the morning and perhaps be no more satisfied than i am now. though i have spoke of all the officers with that respect they richly deserve i cannot in justice to capt. hannah help mentioning him as when all his men were killed wounded and scatered except four got a ( ?) that belonged to capt. darkes company when the cannon was retaken the artilery men being all killed and lying in heaps about the peases who he draged away and stood to the cannon himself til the retreat and then within a few yards of the enemy spiked the gun with his baonet capt. brack (?) and all the captains of the maryland line i cannot say too much in their praise. i have taken the liberty of writing so perticculer to you as i think no one can give a better account nor do i think you will get an account from any that saw so much of the action genl. st. clair not being able to run about as i was if his inclination had been as grate i hope in the course of the winter to have the pleasure of seeing you when i may have it in my power to answer any questions you are pleased to ask concerning the unfortunate campain. i have the honour to be your excellencys most obt. and most humble servent wm. darke novr. i have prevailed on the good genl. to send a strong party to carry supplies to fort jeferson which i hope will be able to releve it and as i have polticed wound and the swelling much asswaged if i find myself able to set on hors back will go with the party as i can be very warm by laping myself with blankets wm. darke his excellency the president of the united states. index. adair, john, skirmish with indians, relations with burr, arrested by wilkinson. americans reluctant to war against indians; culpably lax in defence of their honor. augusta, treaty at. backwoods folk, their deeds; their pressure on the spanish dominions; they were the real factors in acquiring louisiana. barbé marbois, sound advice to napoleon. beard, john, militia captain; kills cherokees. bishop of louisiana, hatred of americans and protestants. blennerhassett. bloody fellow, indian chief. blount college. blount, william, made governor of southwestern territory; organized it; his tact and ability; his loyalty; treats with cherokees; helps cause of education; land speculations; good faith towards indians; superintendent of indian affairs; tries to restrain militia; and avert a general war; deceived by the cherokees; deceived by chickamaugas; puts down horse thieves; prevents outrages on indians; controversy with seagrove; efforts to avert war; successfully directs the war; desires a national war; elected senator; excellent conduct in stopping filibustering; disapproves jay's treaty; his extraordinary land-grabbing scheme; expelled from senate; his handsome house. bonham, killed at st. clair's defeat. books in the backwoods. boone in missouri; his restlessness; meets english traveller; becomes a spanish official; in missouri. bowles, tory adventurer among creeks. brady, attacks indians. brant, the iroquois chief, kindness to prisoners; advises war against americans; pleased with dorchester's speech; anger with british. brickell, captivity of. british, support indians; hostile to americans; treachery of, on northwestern frontier. brown, senator from kentucky, aids genet. buchanan's station, attack on. burr, aaron, conspiracy of; his former career; his relations to the west; his treasonable schemes; he starts west; vagueness of his schemes; his intrigues with wilkinson, jackson, and various other western leaders; his second trip west; his plans foiled by the kentucky federalists; crumbling of his plans; his trial. butler, john, british colonel, reads dorchester's speech to the indians. butler, richard, general, failings as a commander; his courage; his death. butler, thomas, major, gallantry of, at st. clair's defeat. caldwell, british partisan. campbell, captain mis, killed at fallen timbers. campbell, judge, attacked by indians; charge to grand jury. camp-meetings. carondelet, baron, corresponds with simcoe; incites savages to war against americans; intrigues with southern indians; frank treachery; foolishness of; intrigues with westerners; correspondence with wayne; failure of his negotiations with the westerners; declines to carry out treaty. cherokees, (_see_ indians.) chickamaugas, very hostile; treacherous; make open war; repulsed; their towns destroyed. chickasaw bluffs. chickasaws, (_see_ indians.) cincinnati raided. claiborne, governor of mississippi, proposes attack on louisiana; governor of orleans; his loyalty. clark, elijah, his establishment of a little freebooter state. clark, george rogers, wishes to acquire spanish territory; intrigues with french; accepts a french commission; organizes expedition; collapse of expedition. clark, major, killed at st. clair's defeat. clark, william, serves under wayne; defeats indians in skirmish; at fallen timbers; his ability respected by spaniards; starts across continent with lewis; their voyage up the missouri; their wonder at the strange animals; their good qualities as explorers; their attitude towards the indians; they halt at mandan for the winter; start west in the spring; travel through vast hunting grounds; cross the rocky mountains; their return voyage; adventures and accidents; their return; their after-fates. clay, henry, and burr. cocke, william, "the mulberry man". collins, envoy of de lemos. colter. connecticut reserve. county, the unit of organization. creeks, make treaties; raid on georgians; bad faith of; (_see_ indians.) cumberland district, ravaged by indians; the settlers retaliate; rapid growth of. currency in the backwoods. darke, colonel, gallantry of, at st. clair's defeat. daveiss, joseph h., burr's most formidable foe; ingratitude, shown to, by jefferson. defiance, fort, built by wayne. democratic societies, seditious conduct of. denny, st. clair's aide, at st. clair's defeat; carries the news to washington. disunionists, folly and treachery of. doak, founds a college. dorchester, lord, his speech; correspondence with land speculators. dunlop's station, attack on. education, in kentucky and tennessee. elliott, british partisan. ellicott, andrew, surveyor-general at natchez. explorers, of the far west. fallen timbers, battle of. federalist party, wrong in its attitude towards west. filibusters at new orleans. flat boatmen. folch, spanish governor. frontiersmen, tend to retrograde; importance of; hatred of indians; some of them profit by indian wars; characteristics of; fondness for a lonely life; engage in river trade; but fundamentally farmers; build few and small towns; capacity for self-help; traits of those who became permanent settlers; their political organization; join together for common objects; hardness of life; existence in a log cabin; americans the pioneers; failure of old-world immigrants on frontier; pioneers suspicious of merchants; sometimes repudiate debts; viciousness of their military system; their individualism in religious matters; they strain against spanish boundaries; hated and feared by spaniards; their advantages over spaniards. galphinton, treaty at. game, vast herds of, on the great plains. gayoso de lemos, sound advice to carondelet; builds fort at chickasaw bluffs; negotiations with wilkinson; anxiety over murder of his envoy; endeavors to check protestantism among the settlers. genet, french ambassador, his preposterous career; wishes to procure the conquest of louisiana; commissions clark; checked by washington; recalled. georgia, makes her own treaties with creeks; lawlessness of her backwoodsmen; they and the indians commit brutal outrages on one another. girtys, one of, with treacherous delawares; go with war parties of indians; simon, at fallen timbers. glass, indian chief. godoy, prince of peace, makes treaty with pinckney. greeneville, fort and afterwards town of, founded by wayne; treaty of. gunn, senator, connection with yazoo frauds. guyon, isaac, captain. hardin, col. john, treacherously slain by indians. harrison, w. h. hart, thomas. hawkins, benjamin, his advice to blount. hearne, arctic explorer. herrera, spanish general. holston, treaty of, with cherokees. horse-thieves, white allies of. indiana territory. indians, treachery of; hostility of; misjudged by easterners; northwestern, hold great council at miami rapids; band in open war against americans; victory over st. clair; serve british as a protection, and as police; their ravages; innumerable obscure conflicts with; creeks and cherokees; warfare with; the chief fact in early tennessee history; typical character of these tennessee wars; treachery of the southern indians; their peculiar warfare necessitates offensive returns; the divided state of the creeks and cherokees only increases the trouble of the settlers; extraordinary names among; chickamaugas and lower cherokees as hostile as the creeks; mixed war party beaten back from buchanan's station; outrages, conflicts with militia, creeks and georgians; indians and frontiersmen; mutual outrages; chickasaws assail creeks; are helped by frontiersmen; creeks and cherokees forced to make peace; outrages cease; chickasaws and spaniards; their war with creeks; division among them; play into the hands of spaniards; the indians of the far west. innes, judge, lukewarm towards federal government; bad conduct of; honorable attitude towards slavery; assailed by daveiss. irwin, thomas, the packhorse-man. jackson, andrew, wars on criminals; goes to congress; relations with burr. jay, john, wrath of westerners at his treaty; its good effects; its effects on pinckney's treaty. jefferson, his intrigues against washington; secretly aids the french; governmental inaptitude; his timidity; tries to buy louisiana; tries to impress napoleon; his vacillation; abandons his former theories; his ingratitude; louisiana thrust upon him; his great services to science. jeffersonian democracy, folly of; but the champion of the west. judicial officers, ride circuits. kenton, fight with indians. kentucky, anger over jay's treaty; statehood; gentry of; handsome houses of gentry; they are lawyers, manufacturers; but more than all, large landowners; compared with virginians; habits of life. _kentucky gazette_. knox, misunderstands indian question. knoxville, founded; taverns at. _knoxville gazette_, federalist and anti-jacobin; no sympathy with genet; pathetic advertisements in; indian outrages; public address on wrongs of tennesseeans. la chaise, french agent. lake ports, centres for fur trade and indian intrigue; british cling to; taken possession of by americans. land companies, their connection with british and spanish intrigues, land sales, unwise system of. lasselle, antoine, the canadian. laussat, french prefect. lewis, meriwether, _see_ william clark. little otter, indian chief, his wyandots and ottowas defeat one of wayne's detachments. little turtle, miami chief, at st. clair's defeat; anecdote of. livingston, robert r. logan, benjamin, offers to join clark; beaten for governor of kentucky. louisiana, really won for the united states by the western settlers themselves; the diplomats really played a small part in acquiring it; the mississippi no barrier to the backwoodsmen; they covet the mouth of the mississippi; for the moment new orleans of more consequence than the trans-mississippi country; fury of west when louisiana was ceded to france by spain; fate of louisiana inevitable; cession finally made; obtained purely because of growth of west; brief french occupation; apathy of creoles; discontent in, at change; friction between creoles and americans; made into territory of orleans; composite character of the population of new orleans; the creoles and slavery; new orleans offers a field for burr's arts. mackenzie, canadian explorer. madison, his frank kentucky correspondent; secretary of state; fear of west. mahaffy, a scout. malgares, spanish commander. mandan village. mansker, kaspar, the tennessee indian fighter. marietta, settlements near, raided. marshall, humphrey. massac, wayne builds fort at. may, a scout, death of. mcclellan, robert, one of wayne's scouts. mcgillivray, duplicity of; repudiated by creeks; loss of influence; death of. mckee, british indian agent, treats prisoners well; holds council with indians; advises them; incites them to war; presides at war councils; at fallen timbers; taunts the british with their treachery. mero district, convention wishes to retaliate on indians. michaux, french agent. miller, christopher and william, wayne's scouts. mississippi territory. monroe. montgomery, the filibuster. morales, spanish intendant, takes away right of deposit. muscogee, _see_ creek. napoleon, his plans of empire; gets louisiana from spaniards; his utter moral depravity; wishes to occupy louisiana in force; chimerical nature of his hopes; designates victor as commander; his army destroyed in hayti; sells louisiana; recognizes the inevitable. natchez, americans and spaniards at; turmoil at; importance of; lawlessness at. nickajack, chickamauga town, destroyed. nolan, philip, his adventures and death. north carolina, cedes her western territory to united states. o'fallon, james, connection with yazoo companies. ohio, made a state; its development hindered by the speculative land companies; adopts foolish constitution. oldham, col., killed at st. clair's defeat. ore, major, at attack of chickamauga towns. orleans. _see_ louisiana. owen, murder of. pickens, andrew, peace commissioner. pickering, timothy, fatuity of. pike, zebulon montgomery, the explorer; ascends the mississippi; starts for the rocky mountains; hardships and perils encountered; taken by the spaniards; sent home; his death. pinckney, thomas, his treaty. pioneers. _see_ frontiersmen. political club, of danville. power, thomas, spanish envoy. putnam, rufus, treaty with wabash indians. quincy, secessionist speech of. race expansion, methods by which a race can acquire new territory; through deeds of soldiers and diplomats; under conditions established by diplomats; through the action of settlers only; acquisition of alaska and louisiana compared. recovery, fort, built by wayne on scene of st. clair's defeat; attacked by indians. red bird, the cherokee, quaint "talk" of. revival, the great, the methodist and baptist churches, under its influence become the leading churches of the west; enthusiasm of the religious leaders; their self-devotion. robertson, james, made brigadier-general; land speculations; works hand in hand with blount; wounded by indians, together with his son; puts the cumberland militia on guard; protects indians; organizes expedition against chickamauga towns; interferes on behalf of chickasaws; prevents filibustering. robinson, dr. j. h.. rutherford, gen. griffith. salcedo, spanish governor, disapproves of morales. sargent, winthrop, does well in st. glair's expedition; governor of mississippi; failure as such. scolacutta, cherokee chief. scott, general charles, raid on wabash town; joins wayne with mounted volunteers. seagroves, james, indian agent; deceived by indians. sebastian, corruption and treachery of; detection of. settlers, _see_ frontiersmen and westerners. sevier, john, made brigadier-general; a college trustee; mercantile ventures; co-operates with blount; puzzled by the indian attitude; prevents indian outrages; takes command of tennessee militia; successful expedition; elected governor of tennessee. shelby, isaac, agrees with brown that there should be peace with southern indians; beloved by frontiersmen; bad conduct towards united states government; weakness of. shipbuilding on the ohio. shoulderbone, treaty at. simcoe, lieutenant-governor of canada, builds fort on miami; corresponds with carondolet; distributes dorchester's speech. slavery, attitude of west towards. southwestern territory, _see_ tennessee. spaniards, hostility to americans; intrigues with indians; gross treachery of; tortuous intrigues; ingratitude of; bad faith; try to bribe westerners; irritation with frontiersmen; trust to corruption and intrigue; negotiate with united states government; try to corrupt westerners; refuse to yield territory; refuse to fulfil treaty engagements; last efforts to corrupt the west; and to retain their own; yield; religious bigotry; fear westerners; jealous policy; their civilization and government in northern mexico, stallion, cherokee chief, st. clair, put in command of northwestern army; hampered by difficulties; unfit for task; his troops wretched stuff; delays on march; fails to guard against surprise; his camp attacked at dawn; his courage in the battle; leads bayonet charges; destruction of his troops; their wild rout; they reach cincinnati; he is held guiltless of the blame; but showed himself incompetent; effect of his defeat on the southern indians; warns shelby against clark; governor of what is now ohio; unpopularity of, talleyrand's smooth duplicity, tellico blockhouse, peace conference at, tennessee, intolerable nature of; indian outrages in; becomes a state; constitution of; statehood. tennesseeans, wronged by indians and by the federal government; not allowed to retaliate on their foes. territorial legislature of the southwestern territory, petitions for war against the creeks and cherokees. texas, texans. tipton, jacob, slain at st. clair's defeat. toussaint louverture. towns, insignificant development of, as compared with new settlements to-day. trade in the backwoods. trueman, alexander major, treacherously slain by indians. united states commissioners, puzzled by conduct of creeks; peace commissioners, lincoln, randolph, and pickering, failure to make treaty with northwestern indians. united states government, reluctantly wars on indians; injustice of, towards chickasaws; towards blount; towards the southwesterners generally. van cleve, benjamin, at st. clair's defeat. van rensselaer, captain, wounded at fallen timbers. wabash indian towns, ravaged by kentuckians. washington, wrath over st. clair's defeat; effect of his administration on the west. watts, john, cherokee chief; attacks buchanan's station; wounded; speech. wayne, anthony, general, complained of by british; takes command of army; his military training; goes to the ohio; camps near pittsburgh; trains his troops; builds greeneville; his detachments cut off by indians; advances against the tribes; fine horsemanship and marksmanship of his men; his use of indians and backwoodsmen as scouts; reaches the glaize; the miami rapids; the fallen timbers; his decisive victory; his correspondence with british commander; destroys indian towns; goes into winter-quarters at greeneville; concludes treaty of peace; effect of his victory on southern indians; measures against clark; stops filibustering. webb, lieutenant, feat of, at fallen timbers. wells, william, chief of wayne's scouts, his feats. west, the far, unknown and unexplored. westerners, fundamental unity of; relationship with the southerners; extent of their settlements; homogeneity of; characteristics of; importance of, in union. whitley, major, at attack of chickamauga towns. wilkinson, general, raids wabash towns; buries the dead of st. clair's army; peculiar infamy of his intrigues with the spaniards; his relations with burr; acquitted of treason. wilkinson, lieut. j. b.. yazoo land companies, early efforts of various kentuckians to get possession of the yazoo lands; south carolina yazoo company; the virginia company and patrick henry; tennessee company and zachariah cox; south carolina company and walsh and o'fallon; federal authorities interfere against it; yazoo companies again spring into life; corruption caused by; end of. proofreaders presidential edition the winning of the west by theodore roosevelt volume one from the alleghanies to the mississippi - with map this book is dedicated, with his permission to francis parkman to whom americans who feel a pride in the pioneer history of their country are so greatly indebted "o strange new world that yit wast never young, whose youth from thee by gripin' need was wrung, brown foundlin' o' the woods, whose baby-bed was prowled roun' by the injun's cracklin' tread, and who grew'st strong thru shifts an' wants an' pains, nursed by stern men with empires in their brains, who saw in vision their young ishmel strain with each hard hand a vassal ocean's mane; thou skilled by freedom and by gret events to pitch new states ez old world men pitch tents. thou taught by fate to know jehovah's plan, thet man's devices can't unmake a man. * * * * * oh, my friends, thank your god, if you have one, that he 'twixt the old world and you set the gulf of a sea, be strong-backed, brown-handed, upright as your pines, by the scale of a hemisphere shape your designs." --lowell. preface. much of the material on which this work is based is to be found in the archives of the american government, which date back to , when the first continental congress assembled. the earliest sets have been published complete up to , under the title of "american archives," and will be hereafter designated by this name. these early volumes contain an immense amount of material, because in them are to be found memoranda of private individuals and many of the public papers of the various colonial and state governments, as well as those of the confederation. the documents from on--no longer containing any papers of the separate states--have also been gathered and printed under the heading of "american state papers"; by which term they will be hereafter referred to. the mass of public papers coming in between these two series, and covering the period extending from to , have never been published, and in great part have either never been examined or else have been examined in the most cursory manner. the original documents are all in the department of state at washington, and for convenience will be referred to as "state department mss." they are bound in two or three hundred large volumes; exactly how many i cannot say, because, though they are numbered, yet several of the numbers themselves contain from two or three to ten or fifteen volumes apiece. the volumes to which reference will most often be made are the following: * * * * * no. . letters of huntington. no. . letters of the presidents of congress. no. . letter-book b. no. . vol. . reports of committees on state papers. no. . reports of committees on the war office. to . no. . reports of committees. no. . reports of committees of the states and of the week. no. . vol. . memorials e. f. g. - . no. . vol. . memorials k. l. - . no. . letters and papers of oliver pollock. - . no. . vol. intercepted letters. - . no. . indian affairs. no. . vol. . virginia state papers. no. . georgia state papers. no. . vol. . reports of secretary john jay. no. . vol. . american letters. no. . vol. . reports of jay. no. . negotiation book. no. . vol. . reports of board of treasury. no. . vol. . reports of board of treasury. no. . vol. . reports of board of war. no. . vol. . reports of board of war. no. . vol. . reports of board of war. no. . vol. . letters from board of war. no. . vol. . letters and reports from b. lincoln, secretary at war. no. . vol. . letters and reports from b. lincoln, secretary at war. no. . vol. . letters and reports from b. lincoln, secretary at war. no. . vol. . letters of h. knox, secretary at war. no. . vol. . letters of h. knox, secretary at war. no. . vol. . letters of h. knox, secretary at war. no. . vol. . letters of general washington. no. . letters of generals clinton, nixon, nicola, morgan, harmar, muhlenburg. no. . vol. . washington's letters. no. . reports of secretary of congress. besides these numbered volumes, the state department contains others, such as washington's letter-book, marked war department , ' , ' , ' . there are also a series of numbered volumes of "letters to washington," nos. and containing reports from geo. rogers clark. the jefferson papers, which are likewise preserved here, are bound in several series, each containing a number of volumes. the madison and monroe papers, also kept here, are not yet bound; i quote them as the madison mss. and the monroe mss. my thanks are due to mr. w. c. hamilton, asst. librarian, for giving me every facility to examine the material. at nashville, tennessee, i had access to a mass of original matter in the shape of files of old newspapers, of unpublished letters, diaries, reports, and other manuscripts. i was given every opportunity to examine these at my leisure, and indeed to take such as were most valuable to my own home. for this my thanks are especially due to judge john m. lea, to whom, as well as to my many other friends in nashville, i shall always feel under a debt on account of the unfailing courtesy with which i was treated. i must express my particular acknowledgments to mr. lemuel r. campbell. the nashville manuscripts, etc. of which i have made most use are the following: * * * * * the robertson mss., comprising two large volumes, entitled the "correspondence, etc., of gen'l james robertson," from to . they belong to the library of nashville university; i had some difficulty in finding the second volume but finally succeeded. the campbell mss., consisting of letters and memoranda to and from different members of the campbell family who were prominent in the revolution; dealing for the most part with lord dunmore's war, the cherokee wars, the battle of king's mountain, land speculations, etc. they are in the possession of mr. lemuel r. campbell, who most kindly had copies of all the important ones sent me, at great personal trouble. some of the sevier and jackson papers, the original ms. diaries of donelson on the famous voyage down the tennessee and up the cumberland, and of benj. hawkins while surveying the tennessee boundary, memoranda of thos. washington, overton and dunham, the earliest files of the knoxville _gazette_, from to , etc. these are all in the library of the tennessee historical society. for original matter connected with kentucky, i am greatly indebted to col. reuben t. durrett, of louisville, the founder of the "filson club," which has done such admirable historical work of late years. he allowed me to work at my leisure in his library, the most complete in the world on all subjects connected with kentucky history. among other matter, he possesses the shelby mss., containing a number of letters to and from, and a dictated autobiography of, isaac shelby; ms. journals of rev. james smith, during two tours in the western country in and ' ; early files of the "kentucke _gazette_"; books owned by the early settlers; papers of boon, and george rogers clark; ms. notes on kentucky by george bradford, who settled there in ; ms. copy of the record book of col. john todd, the first governor of the illinois country after clark's conquest; the mcafee mss., consisting of an account of the first settlement of salt river, the autobiography of robert mcafee, and a brief memorandum of the civil and natural history of kentucky; ms. autobiography of rev. william hickman, who visited kentucky in , etc., etc. i am also under great obligations to col. john mason brown of louisville, another member of the filson club, for assistance rendered me; particularly for having sent me six bound volumes of mss., containing the correspondence of the spanish minister gardoqui, copied from the spanish archives. at lexington i had access to the breckenridge mss., through the kindness of mr. ethelbert d. warfield; and to the clay mss. through the kindness of miss lucretia hart clay. i am particularly indebted to miss clay for her courtesy in sending me many of the most valuable old hart and benton letters, depositions, accounts, and the like. the blount mss. were sent to me from california by the hon. w. d. stephens of los angeles, although i was not personally known to him; an instance of courtesy and generosity, in return for which i could do nothing save express my sincere appreciation and gratitude, which i take this opportunity of publicly repeating. the gates mss., from which i drew some important facts not hitherto known concerning the king's mountain campaign, are in the library of the new york historical society. the virginia state papers have recently been published, and are now accessible to all. among the most valuable of the hitherto untouched manuscripts which i have obtained are the haldimand papers, preserved in the canadian archives at ottawa. they give, for the first time, the british and indian side of all the northwestern fighting; including clark's campaigns, the siege of boonsborough, the battle of the blue licks, crawford's defeat, etc. the canadian archivist. mr. douglass brymner, furnished me copies of all i needed with a prompt courtesy for which i am more indebted than i can well express. i have been obliged to rely mainly on these collections of early documents as my authorities, especially for that portion of western history prior to . excluding the valuable, but very brief, and often very inaccurate, sketch which filson wrote down as coming from boon, there are no printed histories of kentucky earlier than marshall's, in ; while the first tennessee history was haywood's, in . both marshall and haywood did excellent work; the former was an able writer, the latter was a student, and (like the kentucky historian mann butler) a sound political thinker, devoted to the union, and prompt to stand up for the right. but both of them, in dealing with the early history of the country beyond the alleghanies, wrote about matters that had happened from thirty to fifty years before, and were obliged to base most of their statements on tradition or on what the pioneers remembered in their old age. the later historians, for the most part, merely follow these two. in consequence, the mass of original material, in the shape of official reports and contemporary letters, contained in the haldimand mss., the campbell mss., the mcafee mss., the gardoqui mss., the state department mss., the virginia state papers, etc., not only cast a flood of new light upon this early history, but necessitate its being entirely re-written. for instance, they give an absolutely new aspect to, and in many cases completely reverse, the current accounts of all the indian fighting, both against the cherokees and the northwestern tribes; they give for the first time a clear view of frontier diplomacy, of the intrigues with the spaniards, and even of the mode of life in the backwoods, and of the workings of the civil government. it may be mentioned that the various proper names are spelt in so many different ways that it is difficult to know which to choose. even clark is sometimes spelt clarke, while boon was apparently indifferent as to whether his name should or should not contain the final silent _e_. as for the original indian titles, it is often quite impossible to give them even approximately; the early writers often wrote the same indian words in such different ways that they bear no resemblance whatever to one another. in conclusion i would say that it has been to me emphatically a labor of love to write of the great deeds of the border people. i am not blind to their manifold shortcomings, nor yet am i ignorant of their many strong and good qualities. for a number of years i spent most of my time on the frontier, and lived and worked like any other frontiersman. the wild country in which we dwelt and across which we wandered was in the far west; and there were of course many features in which the life of a cattleman on the great plains and among the rockies differed from that led by a backwoodsman in the alleghany forests a century before. yet the points of resemblance were far more numerous and striking. we guarded our herds of branded cattle and shaggy horses, hunted bear, bison, elk, and deer, established civil government, and put down evil-doers, white and red, on the banks of the little missouri and among the wooded, precipitous foot-hills of the bighorn, exactly as did the pioneers who a hundred years previously built their log-cabins beside the kentucky or in the valleys of the great smokies. the men who have shared in the fast vanishing frontier life of the present feel a peculiar sympathy with the already long-vanished frontier life of the past. theodore roosevelt. sagamore hill, _may_, foreword. in the year the united states finished the work begun over a century before by the backwoodsman, and drove the spaniard outright from the western world. during the march of our people from the crests of the alleghanies to the pacific, the spaniard was for a long period our chief white opponent; and after an interval his place among our antagonists was taken by his spanish-american heir. although during the revolution the spaniard at one time became america's friend in the sense that he was england's foe, he almost from the outset hated and dreaded his new ally more than his old enemy. in the peace negotiations at the close of the contest he was jealously eager to restrict our boundaries to the line of the alleghanies; while even during the concluding years of the war the spanish soldiers on the upper mississippi were regarded by the americans in illinois as a menace no less serious than the british troops at detroit. in the opening years of our national life the western backwoodsman found the spanish ownership of the mouth of the mississippi even more hurtful and irksome than the retention by the british king of the posts on the great lakes. after years of tedious public negotiations, under and through which ran a dark woof of private intrigue, the sinewy western hands so loosened the spanish grip that in despair spain surrendered to france the mouth of the river and the vast territories stretching thence into the dim northwest. she hoped thereby to establish a strong barrier between her remaining provinces and her most dreaded foe. but france in her turn grew to understand that america's position as regards louisiana, thanks to the steady westward movement of the backwoodsman, was such as to render it on the one hand certain that the retention of the province by france would mean an armed clash with the united states, and on the other hand no less certain that in the long run such a conflict would result to france's disadvantage. louisiana thus passed from the hands of spain, after a brief interval, into those of the young republic. there remained to spain, mexico and florida; and forthwith the pressure of the stark forest riflemen began to be felt on the outskirts of these two provinces. florida was the first to fall. after a portion of it had been forcibly annexed, after andrew jackson had marched at will through part of the remainder, and after the increasing difficulty of repressing the american filibustering efforts had shown the imminence of some serious catastrophe, spain ceded the peninsula to the united states. texas, new mexico, and california did not fall into american hands until they had passed from the spaniard to his half-indian sons. many decades went by after spain had lost her foothold on the american continent, and she still held her west indian empire. she misgoverned the islands as she had misgoverned the continent; and in the islands, as once upon the continent, her own children became her deadliest foes. but generation succeeded generation, and the prophecies of those far-seeing statesmen who foretold that she would lose to the northern republic her west indian possessions remained unfulfilled. at last, at the close of one of the bloodiest and most brutal wars that even spain ever waged with her own colonists, the united states intervened, and in a brief summer campaign destroyed the last vestiges of the mediaeval spanish domain in the tropic seas alike of the west and the remote east. we of this generation were but carrying to completion the work of our fathers and of our fathers' fathers. it is moreover a matter for just pride that while there was no falling off in the vigor and prowess shown by our fighting men, there was a marked change for the better in the spirit with which the deed was done. the backwoodsmen had pushed the spaniards from the mississippi, had set up a slave-holding republic in texas, and had conquered the californian gold-fields, in the sheer masterful exercise of might. it is true that they won great triumphs for civilization no less than for their own people; yet they won them unwittingly, for they were merely doing as countless other strong young races had done in the long contest carried on for so many thousands of years between the fit and the unfit. but in the united states, while having gained in strength, showed that there had likewise been gain in justice, in mercy, in sense of responsibility. our conquest of the southwest has been justified by the result. the latin peoples in the lands we won and settled have prospered like our own stock. the sons and grandsons of those who had been our foes in louisiana and new mexico came eagerly forward to serve in the army that was to invade cuba. our people as a whole went into the war, primarily, it is true, to drive out the spaniard once for all from america; but with the fixed determination to replace his rule by a government of justice and orderly liberty. to use the political terminology of the present day, the whole western movement of our people was simply the most vital part of that great movement of expansion which has been the central and all-important feature of our history--a feature far more important than any other since we became a nation, save only the preservation of the union itself. it was expansion which made us a great power; and at every stage it has been bitterly antagonized, not only by the short-sighted and the timid, but even by many who were neither one nor the other. there were many men who opposed the movement west of the alleghanies and the peopling of the lands which now form kentucky, tennessee, and the great states lying between the ohio and the lakes. excellent persons then foretold ruin to the country from bringing into it a disorderly population of backwoodsmen, with the same solemnity that has in our own day marked the prophecies of those who have seen similar ruin in the intaking of hawaii and porto rico. the annexation of louisiana, including the entire territory between the northern mississippi and the pacific ocean, aroused such frantic opposition in the old-settled regions of the country, and especially in the northeast, as to call forth threats of disunion, the language used by the opponents of our expansion into the far west being as violent as that sometimes used in denouncing our acquisition of the philippines. the taking of texas and of california was complicated by the slave question, but much of the opposition to both was simply the general opposition to expansion--that is, to national growth and national greatness. in our long-settled communities there have always been people who opposed every war which marked the advance of american civilization at the cost of savagery. the opposition was fundamentally the same, whether these wars were campaigns in the old west against the shawnees and the miamis, in the new west against the sioux and the apaches, or in luzon against the tagals. in each case, in the end, the believers in the historic american policy of expansion have triumphed. hitherto america has gone steadily forward along the path of greatness, and has remained true to the policy of her early leaders who felt within them the lift towards mighty things. like every really strong people, ours is stirred by the generous ardor for daring strife and mighty deeds, and now with eyes undimmed looks far into the misty future. at bottom the question of expansion in was but a variant of the problem we had to solve at every stage of the great western movement. whether the prize of the moment was louisiana or florida, oregon or alaska, mattered little. the same forces, the same types of men, stood for and against the cause of national growth, of national greatness, at the end of the century as at the beginning. my non-literary work has been so engrossing during the years that have elapsed since my fourth volume was published, that i have been unable to go on with "the winning of the west"; but my design is to continue the narrative as soon as i can get leisure, carrying it through the stages which marked the taking of florida and oregon, the upbuilding of the republic of texas, and the acquisition of new mexico and california as the result of the mexican war. theodore roosevelt executive chamber, albany, n. y. _january_ , . contents. chapter i.--the spread of the english-speaking peoples ii.--the french of the ohio valley, - iii.--the appalachian confederacies, - iv.--the algonquins of the northwest, - v.--the backwoodsmen of the alleghanies, - vi.--boon and the long hunters; and their hunting in no-man's-land, - vii.--sevier, robertson, and the watauga commonwealth, - viii.--lord dunmore's war, ix.--the battle of the great kanawha; and logan's speech, x.--boon and the settlement of kentucky, xi.--in the current of the revolution--the southern backwoodsmen overwhelm the cherokees, xii.--growth and civil organization of kentucky, appendices: appendix a--to chapter iv. appendix b--to chapter v. appendix c--to chapter vi. appendix d--to chapter vi. appendix e--to chapter vii. appendix f--to chapter ix. [illustration: map. the west during the revolution. showing hamilton's route from detroit to vincennes; clark's route from redstone to the illinois, and thence to vincennes; boon's trail, on the wilderness road to kentucky; robertson's trail to the settlement he founded on the cumberland; the water route from the watauga to nashboro, that taken by the _adventure_; the march of the backwoodsmen from the sycamore shoals to king's mountain. the flags denote the battles of the great kanawha, the blue licks, the island flats of the holston, and king's mountain; and the assaults on boonsboro and vincennes. based on a map by g. p. putnam's sons, new york and london.] the winning of the west. chapter i. the spread of the english-speaking peoples. during the past three centuries the spread of the english-speaking peoples over the world's waste spaces has been not only the most striking feature in the world's history, but also the event of all others most far-reaching in its effects and its importance. the tongue which bacon feared to use in his writings, lest they should remain forever unknown to all but the inhabitants of a relatively unimportant insular kingdom, is now the speech of two continents. the common law which coke jealously upheld in the southern half of a single european island, is now the law of the land throughout the vast regions of australasia, and of america north of the rio grande. the names of the plays that shakespeare wrote are household words in the mouths of mighty nations, whose wide domains were to him more unreal than the realm of prester john. over half the descendants of their fellow countrymen of that day now dwell in lands which, when these three englishmen were born, held not a single white inhabitant; the race which, when they were in their prime, was hemmed in between the north and the irish seas, to-day holds sway over worlds, whose endless coasts are washed by the waves of the three great oceans. there have been many other races that at one time or another had their great periods of race expansion--as distinguished from mere conquest,--but there has never been another whose expansion has been either so broad or so rapid. at one time, many centuries ago, it seemed as if the germanic peoples, like their celtic foes and neighbors, would be absorbed into the all-conquering roman power, and, merging their identity in that of the victors, would accept their law, their speech, and their habits of thought. but this danger vanished forever on the day of the slaughter by the teutoburger wald, when the legions of varus were broken by the rush of hermann's wild warriors. two or three hundred years later the germans, no longer on the defensive, themselves went forth from their marshy forests conquering and to conquer. for century after century they swarmed out of the dark woodland east of the rhine, and north of the danube; and as their force spent itself, the movement was taken up by their brethren who dwelt along the coasts of the baltic and the north atlantic. from the volga to the pillars of hercules, from sicily to britain, every land in turn bowed to the warlike prowess of the stalwart sons of odin. rome and novgorod, the imperial city of italy as well as the squalid capital of muscovy, acknowledged the sway of kings of teutonic or scandinavian blood. in most cases, however, the victorious invaders merely intruded themselves among the original and far more numerous owners of the land, ruled over them, and were absorbed by them. this happened to both teuton and scandinavian; to the descendants of alaric, as well as to the children of rurik. the dane in ireland became a celt; the goth of the iberian peninsula became a spaniard; frank and norwegian alike were merged into the mass of romance-speaking gauls, who themselves finally grew to be called by the names of their masters. thus it came about that though the german tribes conquered europe they did not extend the limits of germany nor the sway of the german race. on the contrary, they strengthened the hands of the rivals of the people from whom they sprang. they gave rulers--kaisers, kings, barons, and knights--to all the lands they overran; here and there they imposed their own names on kingdoms and principalities--as in france, normandy, burgundy, and lombardy; they grafted the feudal system on the roman jurisprudence, and interpolated a few teutonic words in the latin dialects of the peoples they had conquered; but, hopelessly outnumbered, they were soon lost in the mass of their subjects, and adopted from them their laws, their culture, and their language. as a result, the mixed races of the south--the latin nations as they are sometimes called--strengthened by the infusion of northern blood, sprang anew into vigorous life, and became for the time being the leaders of the european world. there was but one land whereof the winning made a lasting addition to germanic soil; but this land was destined to be of more importance in the future of the germanic peoples than all their continental possessions, original and acquired, put together. the day when the keels of the low-dutch sea-thieves first grated on the british coast was big with the doom of many nations. there sprang up in conquered southern britain, when its name had been significantly changed to england, that branch of the germanic stock which was in the end to grasp almost literally world-wide power, and by its overshadowing growth to dwarf into comparative insignificance all its kindred folk. at the time, in the general wreck of the civilized world, the making of england attracted but little attention. men's eyes were riveted on the empires conquered by the hosts of alaric, theodoric, and clovis, not on the swarm of little kingdoms and earldoms founded by the nameless chiefs who led each his band of hard-rowing, hard-fighting henchmen across the stormy waters of the german ocean. yet the rule and the race of goth, frank, and burgund have vanished from off the earth; while the sons of the unknown saxon, anglian, and friesic warriors now hold in their hands the fate of the coming years. after the great teutonic wanderings were over, there came a long lull, until, with the discovery of america, a new period of even vaster race expansion began. during this lull the nations of europe took on their present shapes. indeed, the so-called latin nations--the french and spaniards, for instance--may be said to have been born after the first set of migrations ceased. their national history, as such, does not really begin until about that time, whereas that of the germanic peoples stretches back unbroken to the days when we first hear of their existence. it would be hard to say which one of half a dozen races that existed in europe during the early centuries of the present era should be considered as especially the ancestor of the modern frenchman or spaniard. when the romans conquered gaul and iberia they did not in any place drive out the ancient owners of the soil; they simply romanized them, and left them as the base of the population. by the frankish and visigothic invasions another strain of blood was added, to be speedily absorbed; while the invaders took the language of the conquered people, and established themselves as the ruling class. thus the modern nations who sprang from this mixture derive portions of their governmental system and general policy from one race, most of their blood from another, and their language, law, and culture from a third. the english race, on the contrary, has a perfectly continuous history. when alfred reigned, the english already had a distinct national being; when charlemagne reigned, the french, as we use the term to-day, had no national being whatever. the germans of the mainland merely overran the countries that lay in their path; but the sea-rovers who won england to a great extent actually displaced the native britons. the former were absorbed by the subject-races; the latter, on the contrary, slew or drove off or assimilated the original inhabitants. unlike all the other germanic swarms, the english took neither creed nor custom, neither law nor speech, from their beaten foes. at the time when the dynasty of the capets had become firmly established at paris, france was merely part of a country where latinized gauls and basques were ruled by latinized franks, goths, burgunds, and normans; but the people across the channel then showed little trace of celtic or romance influence. it would be hard to say whether vercingetorix or caesar, clovis or syagrius, has the better right to stand as the prototype of a modern french general. there is no such doubt in the other case. the average englishman, american, or australian of to-day who wishes to recall the feats of power with which his race should be credited in the shadowy dawn of its history, may go back to the half-mythical glories of hengist and horsa, perhaps to the deeds of civilis the batavian, or to those of the hero of the teutoburger fight, but certainly to the wars neither of the silurian chief caractacus nor of his conqueror, the after-time emperor vespasian. nevertheless, when, in the sixteenth century, the european peoples began to extend their dominions beyond europe, england had grown to differ profoundly from the germanic countries of the mainland. a very large celtic element had been introduced into the english blood, and, in addition, there had been a considerable scandinavian admixture. more important still were the radical changes brought by the norman conquest; chief among them the transformation of the old english tongue into the magnificent language which is now the common inheritance of so many widespread peoples. england's insular position, moreover, permitted it to work out its own fate comparatively unhampered by the presence of outside powers; so that it developed a type of nationality totally distinct from the types of the european mainland. all this is not foreign to american history. the vast movement by which this continent was conquered and peopled cannot be rightly understood if considered solely by itself. it was the crowning and greatest achievement of a series of mighty movements, and it must be taken in connection with them. its true significance will be lost unless we grasp, however roughly, the past race-history of the nations who took part therein. when, with the voyages of columbus and his successors, the great period of extra-european colonization began, various nations strove to share in the work. most of them had to plant their colonies in lands across the sea; russia alone was by her geographical position enabled to extend her frontiers by land, and in consequence her comparatively recent colonization of siberia bears some resemblance to our own work in the western united states. the other countries of europe were forced to find their outlets for conquest and emigration beyond the ocean, and, until the colonists had taken firm root in their new homes the mastery of the seas thus became a matter of vital consequence. among the lands beyond the ocean america was the first reached and the most important. it was conquered by different european races, and shoals of european settlers were thrust forth upon its shores. these sometimes displaced and sometimes merely overcame and lived among the natives. they also, to their own lasting harm, committed a crime whose shortsighted folly was worse than its guilt, for they brought hordes of african slaves, whose descendants now form immense populations in certain portions of the land. throughout the continent we therefore find the white, red, and black races in every stage of purity and intermixture. one result of this great turmoil of conquest and immigration has been that, in certain parts of america, the lines of cleavage of race are so far from coinciding with the lines of cleavage of speech that they run at right angles to them--as in the four communities of ontario, quebec, havti, and jamaica. each intruding european power, in winning for itself new realms beyond the seas, had to wage a twofold war, overcoming the original inhabitants with one hand, and with the other warding off the assaults of the kindred nations that were bent on the same schemes. generally the contests of the latter kind were much the most important. the victories by which the struggles between the european conquerors themselves were ended deserve lasting commemoration. yet, sometimes, even the most important of them, sweeping though they were, were in parts less sweeping than they seemed. it would be impossible to overestimate the far-reaching effects of the overthrow of the french power in america; but lower canada, where the fatal blow was given, itself suffered nothing but a political conquest, which did not interfere in the least with the growth of a french state along both sides of the lower st. lawrence. in a somewhat similar way dutch communities have held their own, and indeed have sprung up in south africa. all the european nations touching on the atlantic seaboard took part in the new work, with very varying success; germany alone, then rent by many feuds, having no share therein. portugal founded a single state, brazil. the scandinavian nations did little: their chief colony fell under the control of the dutch. the english and the spaniards were the two nations to whom the bulk of the new lands fell: the former getting much the greater portion. the conquests of the spaniards took place in the sixteenth century. the west indies and mexico, peru and the limitless grass plains of what is now the argentine confederation,--all these and the lands lying between them had been conquered and colonized by the spaniards before there was a single english settlement in the new world, and while the fleets of the catholic king still held for him the lordship of the ocean. then the cumbrous spanish vessels succumbed to the attacks of the swift war-ships of holland and england, and the sun of the spanish world-dominion set as quickly as it had risen. spain at once came to a standstill; it was only here and there that she even extended her rule over a few neighboring indian tribes, while she was utterly unable to take the offensive against the french, dutch, and english. but it is a singular thing that these vigorous and powerful new-comers, who had so quickly put a stop to her further growth, yet wrested from her very little of what was already hers. they plundered a great many spanish cities and captured a great many spanish galleons, but they made no great or lasting conquests of spanish territory. their mutual jealousies, and the fear each felt of the others, were among the main causes of this state of things; and hence it came about that after the opening of the seventeenth century the wars they waged against one another were of far more ultimate consequence than the wars they waged against the former mistress of the western world. england in the end drove both france and holland from the field; but it was under the banner of the american republic, not under that of the british monarchy, that the english-speaking people first won vast stretches of land from the descendants of the spanish conquerors. the three most powerful of spain's rivals waged many a long war with one another to decide which should grasp the sceptre that had slipped from spanish hands. the fleets of holland fought with stubborn obstinacy to wrest from england her naval supremacy; but they failed, and in the end the greater portion of the dutch domains fell to their foes. the french likewise began a course of conquest and colonization at the same time the english did, and after a couple of centuries of rivalry, ending in prolonged warfare, they also succumbed. the close of the most important colonial contest ever waged left the french without a foot of soil on the north american mainland; while their victorious foes had not only obtained the lead in the race for supremacy on that continent, but had also won the command of the ocean. they thenceforth found themselves free to work their will in all seagirt lands, unchecked by hostile european influence. most fortunately, when england began her career as a colonizing power in america, spain had already taken possession of the populous tropical and subtropical regions, and the northern power was thus forced to form her settlements in the sparsely peopled temperate zone. it is of vital importance to remember that the english and spanish conquests in america differed from each other very much as did the original conquests which gave rise to the english and the spanish nations. the english had exterminated or assimilated the celts of britain, and they substantially repeated the process with the indians of america; although of course in america there was very little, instead of very much, assimilation. the germanic strain is dominant in the blood of the average englishman, exactly as the english strain is dominant in the blood of the average american. twice a portion of the race has shifted its home, in each case undergoing a marked change, due both to outside influence and to internal development; but in the main retaining, especially in the last instance, the general race characteristics. it was quite otherwise in the countries conquered by cortes, pizarro, and their successors. instead of killing or driving off the natives as the english did, the spaniards simply sat down in the midst of a much more numerous aboriginal population. the process by which central and south america became spanish bore very close resemblance to the process by which the lands of southeastern europe were turned into romance-speaking countries. the bulk of the original inhabitants remained unchanged in each case. there was little displacement of population. roman soldiers and magistrates, roman merchants and handicraftsmen were thrust in among the celtic and iberian peoples, exactly as the spanish military and civil rulers, priests, traders, land-owners, and mine-owners settled down among the indians of peru and mexico. by degrees, in each case, the many learnt the language and adopted the laws, religion, and governmental system of the few, although keeping certain of their own customs and habits of thought. though the ordinary spaniard of to-day speaks a romance dialect, he is mainly of celto-iberian blood; and though most mexicans and peruvians speak spanish, yet the great majority of them trace their descent back to the subjects of montezuma and the incas. moreover, exactly as in europe little ethnic islands of breton and basque stock have remained unaffected by the romance flood, so in america there are large communities where the inhabitants keep unchanged the speech and the customs of their indian forefathers. the english-speaking peoples now hold more and better land than any other american nationality or set of nationalities. they have in their veins less aboriginal american blood than any of their neighbors. yet it is noteworthy that the latter have tacitly allowed them to arrogate to themselves the title of "americans," whereby to designate their distinctive and individual nationality. so much for the difference between the way in which the english and the way in which other european nations have conquered and colonized. but there have been likewise very great differences in the methods and courses of the english-speaking peoples themselves, at different times and in different places. the settlement of the united states and canada, throughout most of their extent, bears much resemblance to the later settlement of australia and new zealand. the english conquest of india and even the english conquest of south africa come in an entirely different category. the first was a mere political conquest, like the dutch conquest of java or the extension of the roman empire over parts of asia. south africa in some respects stands by itself, because there the english are confronted by another white race which it is as yet uncertain whether they can assimilate, and, what is infinitely more important, because they are there confronted by a very large native population with which they cannot mingle, and which neither dies out nor recedes before their advance. it is not likely, but it is at least within the bounds of possibility, that in the course of centuries the whites of south africa will suffer a fate akin to that which befell the greek colonists in the tauric chersonese, and be swallowed up in the overwhelming mass of black barbarism. on the other hand, it may fairly be said that in america and australia the english race has already entered into and begun the enjoyment of its great inheritance. when these continents were settled they contained the largest tracts of fertile, temperate, thinly peopled country on the face of the globe. we cannot rate too highly the importance of their acquisition. their successful settlement was a feat which by comparison utterly dwarfs all the european wars of the last two centuries; just as the importance of the issues at stake in the wars of rome and carthage completely overshadowed the interests for which the various contemporary greek kingdoms were at the same time striving. australia, which was much less important than america, was also won and settled with far less difficulty. the natives were so few in number and of such a low type, that they practically offered no resistance at all, being but little more hindrance than an equal number of ferocious beasts. there was no rivalry whatever by any european power, because the actual settlement--not the mere expatriation of convicts--only began when england, as a result of her struggle with republican and imperial france, had won the absolute control of the seas. unknown to themselves, nelson and his fellow admirals settled the fate of australia, upon which they probably never wasted a thought. trafalgar decided much more than the mere question whether great britain should temporarily share the fate that so soon befell prussia; for in all probability it decided the destiny of the island-continent that lay in the south seas. the history of the english-speaking race in america has been widely different. in australia there was no fighting whatever, whether with natives or with other foreigners. in america for the past two centuries and a half there has been a constant succession of contests with powerful and warlike native tribes, with rival european nations, and with american nations of european origin. but even in america there have been wide differences in the way the work has had to be done in different parts of the country, since the close of the great colonial contests between england, france, and spain. the extension of the english westward through canada since the war of the revolution has been in its essential features merely a less important repetition of what has gone on in the northern united states. the gold miner, the transcontinental railway, and the soldier have been the pioneers of civilization. the chief point of difference, which was but small, arose from the fact that the whole of western canada was for a long time under the control of the most powerful of all the fur companies, in whose employ were very many french voyageurs and coureurs des bois. from these there sprang up in the valleys of the red river and the saskatchewan a singular race of half-breeds, with a unique semi-civilization of their own. it was with these half-breeds, and not, as in the united states, with the indians, that the settlers of northwestern canada had their main difficulties. in what now forms the united states, taking the country as a whole, the foes who had to be met and overcome were very much more formidable. the ground had to be not only settled but conquered, sometimes at the expense of the natives, often at the expense of rival european races. as already pointed out the indians themselves formed one of the main factors in deciding the fate of the continent. they were never able in the end to avert the white conquest, but they could often delay its advance for a long spell of years. the iroquois, for instance, held their own against all comers for two centuries. many other tribes stayed for a time the oncoming white flood, or even drove it back; in maine the settlers were for a hundred years confined to a narrow strip of sea-coast. against the spaniards, there were even here and there indian nations who definitely recovered the ground they had lost. when the whites first landed, the superiority and, above all, the novelty of their arms gave them a very great advantage. but the indians soon became accustomed to the new-comers' weapons and style of warfare. by the time the english had consolidated the atlantic colonies under their rule, the indians had become what they have remained ever since, the most formidable savage foes ever encountered by colonists of european stock. relatively to their numbers, they have shown themselves far more to be dreaded than the zulus or even the maoris. their presence has caused the process of settlement to go on at unequal rates of speed in different places; the flood has been hemmed in at one point, or has been forced to flow round an island of native population at another. had the indians been as helpless as the native australians were, the continent of north america would have had an altogether different history. it would not only have been settled far more rapidly, but also on very different lines. not only have the red men themselves kept back the settlements, but they have also had a very great effect upon the outcome of the struggles between the different intrusive european peoples. had the original inhabitants of the mississippi valley been as numerous and unwarlike as the aztecs, de soto would have repeated the work of cortes, and we would very possibly have been barred out of the greater portion of our present domain. had it not been for their indian allies, it would have been impossible for the french to prolong, as they did, their struggle with their much more numerous english neighbors. the indians have shrunk back before our advance only after fierce and dogged resistance. they were never numerous in the land, but exactly what their numbers were when the whites first appeared is impossible to tell. probably an estimate of half a million for those within the limits of the present united states is not far wrong; but in any such calculation there is of necessity a large element of mere rough guess-work. formerly writers greatly over-estimated their original numbers, counting them by millions. now it is the fashion to go to the other extreme, and even to maintain that they have not decreased at all. this last is a theory that can only be upheld on the supposition that the whole does not consist of the sum of the parts; for whereas we can check off on our fingers the tribes that have slightly increased, we can enumerate scores that have died out almost before our eyes. speaking broadly, they have mixed but little with the english (as distinguished from the french and spanish) invaders. they are driven back, or die out, or retire to their own reservations; but they are not often assimilated. still, on every frontier, there is always a certain amount of assimilation going on, much more than is commonly admitted;[ ] and whenever a french or spanish community has been absorbed by the energetic americans, a certain amount of indian blood has been absorbed also. there seems to be a chance that in one part of our country, the indian territory, the indians, who are continually advancing in civilization, will remain as the ground element of the population, like the creoles in louisiana, or the mexicans in new mexico. the americans when they became a nation continued even more successfully the work which they had begun as citizens of the several english colonies. at the outbreak of the revolution they still all dwelt on the seaboard, either on the coast itself or along the banks of the streams flowing into the atlantic. when the fight at lexington took place they had no settlements beyond the mountain chain on our western border. it had taken them over a century and a half to spread from the atlantic to the alleghanies. in the next three quarters of a century they spread from the alleghanies to the pacific. in doing this they not only dispossessed the indian tribes, but they also won the land from its european owners. britain had to yield the territory between the ohio and the great lakes. by a purchase, of which we frankly announced that the alternative would be war, we acquired from france the vast, ill-defined region known as louisiana. from the spaniards, or from their descendants, we won the lands of florida, texas, new mexico, and california. all these lands were conquered after we had become a power, independent of every other, and one within our own borders; when we were no longer a loose assemblage of petty seaboard communities, each with only such relationship to its neighbor as was implied in their common subjection to a foreign king and a foreign people. moreover, it is well always to remember that at the day when we began our career as a nation we already differed from our kinsmen of britain in blood as well as in name; the word american already had more than a merely geographical signification. americans belong to the english race only in the sense in which englishmen belong to the german. the fact that no change of language has accompanied the second wandering of our people, from britain to america, as it accompanied their first, from germany to britain, is due to the further fact that when the second wandering took place the race possessed a fixed literary language, and, thanks to the ease of communication, was kept in touch with the parent stock. the change of blood was probably as great in one case as in the other. the modern englishman is descended from a low-dutch stock, which, when it went to britain, received into itself an enormous infusion of celtic, a much smaller infusion of norse and danish, and also a certain infusion of norman-french blood. when this new english stock came to america it mingled with and absorbed into itself immigrants from many european lands, and the process has gone on ever since. it is to be noted that, of the new blood thus acquired, the greatest proportion has come from dutch and german sources, and the next greatest from irish, while the scandinavian element comes third, and the only other of much consequence is french huguenot. thus it appears that no new element of importance has been added to the blood. additions have been made to the elemental race-strains in much the same proportion as these were originally combined. some latter-day writers deplore the enormous immigration to our shores as making us a heterogeneous instead of a homogeneous people; but as a matter of fact we are less heterogeneous at the present day than we were at the outbreak of the revolution. our blood was as much mixed a century ago as it is now. no state now has a smaller proportion of english blood than new york or pennsylvania had in . even in new england, where the english stock was purest, there was a certain french and irish mixture; in virginia there were germans in addition. in the other colonies, taken as a whole, it is not probable that much over half of the blood was english; dutch, french, german, and gaelic communities abounded. but all were being rapidly fused into one people. as the celt of cornwall and the saxon of wessex are now alike englishmen, so in hollander and huguenot, whether in new york or south carolina, had become americans, undistinguishable from the new englanders and virginians, the descendants of the men who followed cromwell or charged behind rupert. when the great western movement began we were already a people by ourselves. moreover, the immense immigration from europe that has taken place since, had little or no effect on the way in which we extended our boundaries; it only began to be important about the time that we acquired our present limits. these limits would in all probability be what they now are even if we had not received a single european colonist since the revolution. thus the americans began their work of western conquest as a separate and individual people, at the moment when they sprang into national life. it has been their great work ever since. all other questions save those of the preservation of the union itself and of the emancipation of the blacks have been of subordinate importance when compared with the great question of how rapidly and how completely they were to subjugate that part of their continent lying between the eastern mountains and the pacific. yet the statesmen of the atlantic seaboard were often unable to perceive this, and indeed frequently showed the same narrow jealousy of the communities beyond the alleghanies that england felt for all america. even if they were too broad-minded and far-seeing to feel thus, they yet were unable to fully appreciate the magnitude of the interests at stake in the west. they thought more of our right to the north atlantic fisheries than of our ownership of the mississippi valley; they were more interested in the fate of a bank or a tariff than in the settlement of the oregon boundary. most contemporary writers showed similar shortcomings in their sense of historic perspective. the names of ethan allen and marion are probably better known than is that of george rogers clark; yet their deeds, as regards their effects, could no more be compared to his, than his could be compared to washington's. so it was with houston. during his lifetime there were probably fifty men who, east of the mississippi, were deemed far greater than he was. yet in most cases their names have already almost faded from remembrance, while his fame will grow steadily brighter as the importance of his deeds is more thoroughly realized. fortunately, in the long run, the mass of easterners always backed up their western brethren. the kind of colonizing conquest, whereby the people of the united states have extended their borders, has much in common with the similar movements in canada and australia, all of them, standing in sharp contrast to what has gone on in spanish-american lands. but of course each is marked out in addition by certain peculiarities of its own. moreover, even in the united states, the movement falls naturally into two divisions, which on several points differ widely from each other. the way in which the southern part of our western country--that is, all the land south of the ohio, and from thence on to the rio grande and the pacific--was won and settled, stands quite alone. the region north of it was filled up in a very different manner. the southwest, including therein what was once called simply the west, and afterwards the middle west, was won by the people themselves, acting as individuals, or as groups of individuals, who hewed out their own fortunes in advance of any governmental action. on the other hand, the northwest, speaking broadly, was acquired by the government, the settlers merely taking possession of what the whole country guaranteed them. the northwest is essentially a national domain; it is fitting that it should be, as it is, not only by position but by feeling, the heart of the nation. north of the ohio the regular army went first. the settlements grew up behind the shelter of the federal troops of harmar, st. claire, and wayne, and of their successors even to our own day. the wars in which the borderers themselves bore any part were few and trifling compared to the contests waged by the adventurers who won kentucky, tennessee, and texas. in the southwest the early settlers acted as their own army, and supplied both leaders and men. sevier, robertson, clark, and boon led their fellow pioneers to battle, as jackson did afterwards, and as houston did later still. indeed the southwesterners not only won their own soil for themselves, but they were the chief instruments in the original acquisition of the northwest also. had it not been for the conquest of the illinois towns in we would probably never have had any northwest to settle; and the huge tract between the upper mississippi and the columbia, then called upper louisiana, fell into our hands, only because the kentuckians and tennesseeans were resolutely bent on taking possession of new orleans, either by bargain or battle. all of our territory lying beyond the alleghanies, north and south, was first won for us by the southwesterners, fighting for their own hand. the northern part was afterwards filled up by the thrifty, vigorous men of the northeast, whose sons became the real rulers as well as the preservers of the union; but these settlements of northerners were rendered possible only by the deeds of the nation as a whole. they entered on land that the southerners had won, and they were kept there by the strong arm of the federal government; whereas the southerners owed most of their victories only to themselves. the first-comers around marietta did, it is true, share to a certain extent in the dangers of the existing indian wars; but their trials are not to be mentioned beside those endured by the early settlers of tennessee and kentucky, and whereas these latter themselves subdued and drove out their foes, the former took but an insignificant part in the contest by which the possession of their land was secured. besides, the strongest and most numerous indian tribes were in the southwest. the southwest developed its civilization on its own lines, for good and for ill; the northwest was settled under the national ordinance of , which absolutely determined its destiny, and thereby in the end also determined the destiny of the whole nation. moreover, the gulf coast, as well as the interior, from the mississippi to the pacific, was held by foreign powers; while in the north this was only true of the country between the ohio and the great lakes during the first years of the revolution, until the kentucky backwoodsmen conquered it. our rivals of european race had dwelt for generations along the lower mississippi and the rio grande, in florida, and in california, when we made them ours. detroit, vincennes, st. louis, and new orleans, st. augustine, san antonio, santa fe, and san francisco are cities that were built by frenchmen or spaniards; we did not found them, but conquered them. all but the first two are in the southwest, and of these two one was first taken and governed by southwesterners. on the other hand, the northwestern cities, from cincinnati and chicago to helena and portland, were founded by our own people, by the people who now have possession of them. the southwest was conquered only after years of hard fighting with the original owners. the way in which this was done bears much less resemblance to the sudden filling up of australia and california by the practically unopposed overflow from a teeming and civilized mother country, than it does to the original english conquest of britain itself. the warlike borderers who thronged across the alleghanies, the restless and reckless hunters, the hard, dogged, frontier farmers, by dint of grim tenacity overcame and displaced indians, french, and spaniards alike, exactly as, fourteen hundred years before, saxon and angle had overcome and displaced the cymric and gaelic celts. they were led by no one commander; they acted under orders from neither king nor congress; they were not carrying out the plans of any far-sighted leader. in obedience to the instincts working half blindly within their breasts, spurred ever onwards by the fierce desires of their eager hearts, they made in the wilderness homes for their children, and by so doing wrought out the destinies of a continental nation. they warred and settled from the high hill-valleys of the french broad and the upper cumberland to the half-tropical basin of the rio grande, and to where the golden gate lets through the long-heaving waters of the pacific. the story of how this was done forms a compact and continuous whole. the fathers followed boon or fought at king's mountain; the sons marched south with jackson to overcome the creeks and beat back the british; the grandsons died at the alamo or charged to victory at san jacinto. they were doing their share of a work that began with the conquest of britain, that entered on its second and wider period after the defeat of the spanish armada, that culminated in the marvellous growth of the united states. the winning of the west and southwest is a stage in the conquest of a continent. . to this i can testify of my own knowledge as regards montana, dakota, and minnesota. the mixture usually takes place in the ranks of the population where individuals lose all trace of their ancestry after two or three generations; so it is often honestly ignored, and sometimes mention of it is suppressed, the man regarding it as a taint. but i also know many very wealthy old frontiersmen whose half-breed children are now being educated, generally at convent schools, while in the northwestern cities i could point out some very charming men and women, in the best society, with a strain of indian blood in their veins. chapter ii. the french of the ohio valley, - . the result of england's last great colonial struggle with france was to sever from the latter all her american dependencies, her colonists becoming the subjects of alien and rival powers. england won canada and the ohio valley; while france ceded to her spanish allies louisiana, including therein all the territory vaguely bounded by the mississippi and the pacific. as an offset to this gain spain had herself lost to england both floridas, as the coast regions between georgia and louisiana were then called. thus the thirteen colonies, at the outset of their struggle for independence, saw themselves surrounded north, south, and west, by lands where the rulers and the ruled were of different races, but where rulers and ruled alike were hostile to the new people that was destined in the end to master them all. the present province of quebec, then called canada, was already, what she has to this day remained, a french state acknowledging the english king as her over-lord. her interests did not conflict with those of our people, nor touch them in any way, and she has had little to do with our national history, and nothing whatever to do with the history of the west. in the peninsula of east florida, in the land of the cypress, palmetto, and live oak, of open savannas, of sandy pine forests, and impenetrable, interminable morasses, a european civilization more ancient than any in the english colonies was mouldering in slow decay. its capital city was quaint st. augustine, the old walled town that was founded by the spaniards long years before the keel of the _half-moon_ furrowed the broad hudson, or the ships of the puritans sighted the new england coast. in times past st. augustine had once and again seen her harbor filled with the huge, cumbrous hulls, and whitened by the bellying sails, of the spanish war vessels, when the fleets of the catholic king gathered there, before setting out against the seaboard towns of georgia and the carolinas; and she had to suffer from and repulse the retaliatory inroads of the english colonists. once her priests and soldiers had brought the indian tribes, far and near, under subjection, and had dotted the wilderness with fort and church and plantation, the outposts of her dominion; but that was long ago, and the tide of spanish success had turned and begun to ebb many years before the english took possession of florida. the seminoles, fierce and warlike, whose warriors fought on foot and on horseback, had avenged in countless bloody forays their fellow-indian tribes, whose very names had perished under spanish rule. the churches and forts had crumbled into nothing; only the cannon and the brazen bells, half buried in the rotting mould, remained to mark the place where once stood spire and citadel. the deserted plantations, the untravelled causeways, no longer marred the face of the tree-clad land, for even their sites had ceased to be distinguishable; the great high-road that led to pensacola had faded away, overgrown by the rank luxuriance of the semi-tropical forest. throughout the interior the painted savages roved at will, uncontrolled by spaniard or englishman, owing allegiance only to the white chief of tallasotchee. st. augustine, with its british garrison and its spanish and minorcan townsfolk,[ ] was still a gathering place for a few indian traders, and for the scattered fishermen of the coast; elsewhere there were in all not more than a hundred families.[ ] beyond the chattahooche and the appalachicola, stretching thence to the mississippi and its delta, lay the more prosperous region of west florida.[ ] although taken by the english from spain, there were few spaniards among the people, who were controlled by the scanty british garrisons at pensacola, mobile, and natchez. on the gulf coast the inhabitants were mainly french creoles. they were an indolent, pleasure-loving race, fond of dancing and merriment, living at ease in their low, square, roomy houses on the straggling, rudely farmed plantations that lay along the river banks. their black slaves worked for them; they, themselves spent much of their time in fishing and fowling. their favorite arm was the light fowling-piece, for they were expert wing shots;[ ] unlike the american backwoodsmen, who knew nothing of shooting on the wing, and looked down on smooth-bores, caring only for the rifle, the true weapon of the freeman. in winter the creoles took their negroes to the hills, where they made tar from the pitch pine, and this they exported, as well as indigo, rice, tobacco, bear's oil, peltry, oranges, and squared timber. cotton was grown, but only for home use. the british soldiers dwelt in stockaded forts, mounting light cannon; the governor lived in the high stone castle built of old by the spaniards at pensacola.[ ] in the part of west florida lying along the east bank of the mississippi, there were also some french creoles and a few spaniards, with of course negroes and indians to boot. but the population consisted mainly of americans from the old colonies, who had come thither by sea in small sailing-vessels, or had descended the ohio and the tennessee in flat-boats, or, perchance, had crossed the creek country with pack ponies, following the narrow trails of the indian traders. with them were some english and scotch, and the americans themselves had little sympathy with the colonies, feeling instead a certain dread and dislike of the rough carolinian mountaineers, who were their nearest white neighbors on the east.[ ] they therefore, for the most part, remained loyal to the crown in the revolutionary struggle, and suffered accordingly. when louisiana was ceded to spain, most of the french creoles who formed her population were clustered together in the delta of the mississippi; the rest were scattered out here and there, in a thin, dotted line, up the left bank of the river to the missouri, near the mouth of which there were several small villages,--st. louis, st. genevieve, st. charles.[ ] a strong spanish garrison held new orleans, where the creoles, discontented with their new masters, had once risen in a revolt that was speedily quelled and severely punished. small garrisons were also placed in the different villages. our people had little to do with either florida or louisiana until after the close of the revolutionary war; but very early in that struggle, and soon after the movement west of the mountains began, we were thrown into contact with the french of the northwestern territory, and the result was of the utmost importance to the future welfare of the whole nation. this northwestern land lay between the mississippi, the ohio, and the great lakes. it now constitutes five of our large states and part of a sixth. but when independence was declared it was quite as much a foreign territory, considered from the standpoint of the old thirteen colonies, as florida or canada; the difference was that, whereas during the war we failed in our attempts to conquer florida and canada, we succeeded in conquering the northwest. the northwest formed no part of our country as it originally stood; it had no portion in the declaration of independence. it did not revolt; it was conquered. its inhabitants, at the outset of the revolution, no more sympathized with us, and felt no greater inclination to share our fate, than did their kinsmen in quebec or the spaniards in st. augustine. we made our first important conquest during the revolution itself,--beginning thus early what was to be our distinguishing work for the next seventy years. these french settlements, which had been founded about the beginning of the century, when the english still clung to the estuaries of the seaboard, were grouped in three clusters, separated by hundreds of miles of wilderness. one of these clusters, containing something like a third of the total population, was at the straits, around detroit.[ ] it was the seat of the british power in that section, and remained in british hands for twenty years after we had become a nation. the other two were linked together by their subsequent history, and it is only with them that we have to deal. the village of vincennes lay on the eastern bank of the wabash, with two or three smaller villages tributary to it in the country round about; and to the west, beside the mississippi, far above where it is joined by the ohio, lay the so-called illinois towns, the villages of kaskaskia and cahokia, with between them the little settlements of prairie du rocher and st. philip.[ ] both these groups of old french hamlets were in the fertile prairie region of what is now southern indiana and illinois. we have taken into our language the word prairie, because when our backwoodsmen first reached the land and saw the great natural meadows of long grass--sights unknown to the gloomy forests wherein they had always dwelt--they knew not what to call them, and borrowed the term already in use among the french inhabitants. the great prairies, level or rolling, stretched from north to south, separated by broad belts of high timber. here and there copses of woodland lay like islands in the sunny seas of tall, waving grass. where the rivers ran, their alluvial bottoms were densely covered with trees and underbrush, and were often overflowed in the spring freshets. sometimes the prairies were long, narrow strips of meadow land; again they were so broad as to be a day's journey across, and to the american, bred in a wooded country where the largest openings were the beaver meadows and the clearings of the frontier settlers, the stretches of grass land seemed limitless. they abounded in game. the buffalo crossed and recrossed them, wandering to and fro in long files, beating narrow trails that they followed year in and year out; while bear, elk, and deer dwelt in the groves around the borders.[ ] there were perhaps some four thousand inhabitants in these french villages, divided almost equally between those in the illinois and those along the wabash.[ ] the country came into the possession of the british--not of the colonial english or americans--at the close of pontiac's war, the aftermath of the struggle which decided against the french the ownership of america. it was held as a new british province, not as an extension of any of the old colonies; and finally in , by the famous quebec act, it was rendered an appanage of canada, governed from the latter. it is a curious fact that england immediately adopted towards her own colonists the policy of the very nationality she had ousted. from the date of the triumphant peace won by wolfe's victory, the british government became the most active foe of the spread of the english race in america. this position britain maintained for many years after the failure of her attempt to bar her colonists out of the ohio valley. it was the position she occupied when at ghent in her commissioners tried to hem in the natural progress of her colonists' children by the erection of a great "neutral belt" of indian territory, guaranteed by the british king. it was the role which her statesmen endeavored to make her play when at a later date they strove to keep oregon a waste rather than see it peopled by americans. in the northwest she succeeded to the french policy as well as the french position. she wished the land to remain a wilderness, the home of the trapper and the fur trader, of the indian hunter and the french voyageur. she desired it to be kept as a barrier against the growth of the seaboard colonies towards the interior. she regarded the new lands across the atlantic as being won and settled, not for the benefit of the men who won and settled them, but for the benefit of the merchants and traders who stayed at home. it was this that rendered the revolution inevitable; the struggle was a revolt against the whole mental attitude of britain in regard to america, rather than against any one special act or set of acts. the sins and shortcomings of the colonists had been many, and it would be easy to make out a formidable catalogue of grievances against them, on behalf of the mother country; but on the great underlying question they were wholly in the right, and their success was of vital consequence to the well-being of the race on this continent. several of the old colonies urged vague claims to parts of the northwestern territory, basing them on ancient charters and indian treaties; but the british heeded them no more than the french had, and they were very little nearer fulfilment after the defeat of montcalm and pontiac than before. the french had held adverse possession in spite of them for sixty years; the british held similar possession for fifteen more. the mere statement of the facts is enough to show the intrinsic worthlessness of the titles. the northwest was acquired from france by great britain through conquest and treaty; in a precisely similar way--clark taking the place of wolfe--it was afterwards won from britain by the united states. we gained it exactly as we afterwards gained louisiana, florida, oregon, california, new mexico, and texas: partly by arms, partly by diplomacy, partly by the sheer growth and pressure of our spreading population. the fact that the conquest took place just after we had declared ourselves a free nation, and while we were still battling to maintain our independence, does not alter its character in the least; but it has sufficed to render the whole transaction very hazy in the minds of most subsequent historians, who generally speak as if the northwest territory had been part of our original possessions. the french who dwelt in the land were at the time little affected by the change which transferred their allegiance from one european king to another. they were accustomed to obey, without question, the orders of their superiors. they accepted the results of the war submissively, and yielded a passive obedience to their new rulers.[ ] some became rather attached to the officers who came among them; others grew rather to dislike them: most felt merely a vague sentiment of distrust and repulsion, alike for the haughty british officer in his scarlet uniform, and for the reckless backwoodsman clad in tattered homespun or buckskin. they remained the owners of the villages, the tillers of the soil. at first few english or american immigrants, save an occasional fur trader, came to live among them. but their doom was assured; their rule was at an end forever. for a while they were still to compose the bulk of the scanty population; but nowhere were they again to sway their own destinies. in after years they fought for and against both whites and indians; they faced each other, ranged beneath the rival banners of spain, england, and the insurgent colonists; but they never again fought for their old flag or for their own sovereignty. from the overthrow of pontiac to the outbreak of the revolution the settlers in the illinois and round vincennes lived in peace under their old laws and customs, which were continued by the british commandants.[ ] they had been originally governed, in the same way that canada was, by the laws of france, adapted, however, to the circumstances of the new country. moreover, they had local customs which were as binding as the laws. after the conquest the british commandants who came in acted as civil judges also. all public transactions were recorded in french by notaries public. orders issued in english were translated into french so that they might be understood. criminal cases were referred to england. before the conquest the procureur du roi gave sentence by his own personal decision in civil cases; if the matters were important it was the custom for each party to name two arbitrators, and the procureur du roi a fifth; while an appeal might be made to the council superieur at new orleans. the british commandant assumed the place of the procureur du roi, although there were one or two half-hearted efforts made to introduce the common law. the original french commandants had exercised the power of granting to every person who petitioned as much land as the petitioner chose to ask for, subject to the condition that part of it should be cultivated within a year, under penalty of its reversion to "the king's demesnes."[ ] the english followed the same custom. a large quantity of land was reserved in the neighborhood of each village for the common use, and a very small quantity for religious purposes. the common was generally a large patch of enclosed prairie, part of it being cultivated, and the remainder serving as a pasture for the cattle of the inhabitants.[ ] the portion of the common set aside for agriculture was divided into strips of one arpent in front by forty in depth, and one or more allotted to each inhabitant according to his skill and industry as a cultivator.[ ] the arpent, as used by the western french, was a rather rough measure of surface, less in size than an acre.[ ] the farms held by private ownership likewise ran back in long strips from a narrow front that usually lay along some stream.[ ] several of them generally lay parallel to one another, each including something like a hundred acres, but occasionally much exceeding this amount. the french inhabitants were in very many cases not of pure blood. the early settlements had been made by men only, by soldiers, traders, and trappers, who took indian wives. they were not trammelled by the queer pride which makes a man of english stock unwilling to make a red-skinned woman his wife, though anxious enough to make her his concubine. their children were baptized in the little parish churches by the black-robed priests, and grew up holding the same position in the community as was held by their fellows both of whose parents were white. but, in addition to these free citizens, the richer inhabitants owned both red and black slaves; negroes imported from africa, or indians overcome and taken in battle.[ ] there were many freedmen and freedwomen of both colors, and in consequence much mixture of blood. they were tillers of the soil, and some followed, in addition, the trades of blacksmith and carpenter. very many of them were trappers or fur traders. their money was composed of furs and peltries, rated at a fixed price per pound;[ ] none other was used unless expressly so stated in the contract. like the french of europe, their unit of value was the livre, nearly equivalent to the modern franc. they were not very industrious, nor very thrifty husbandmen. their farming implements were rude, their methods of cultivation simple and primitive, and they themselves were often lazy and improvident. near their town they had great orchards of gnarled apple-trees, planted by their forefathers when they came from france, and old pear-trees, of a kind unknown to the americans; but their fields often lay untilled, while the owners lolled in the sunshine smoking their pipes. in consequence they were sometimes brought to sore distress for food, being obliged to pluck their corn while it was still green.[ ] the pursuits of the fur trader and fur trapper were far more congenial to them, and it was upon these that they chiefly depended. the half-savage life of toil, hardship, excitement, and long intervals of idleness attracted them strongly. this was perhaps one among the reasons why they got on so much better with the indians than did the americans, who, wherever they went, made clearings and settlements, cut down the trees, and drove off the game. but even these pursuits were followed under the ancient customs and usages of the country, leave to travel and trade being first obtained from the commandant[ ] for the rule of the commandant was almost patriarchal. the inhabitants were utterly unacquainted with what the americans called liberty. when they passed under our rule, it was soon found that it was impossible to make them understand such an institution as trial by jury; they throve best under the form of government to which they had been immemorially accustomed--a commandant to give them orders, with a few troops to back him up.[ ] they often sought to escape from these orders, but rarely to defy them; their lawlessness was like the lawlessness of children and savages; any disobedience was always to a particular ordinance, not to the system. the trader having obtained his permit, built his boats,--whether light, roomy bateaux made of boards, or birch-bark canoes, or pirogues, which were simply hollowed out logs. he loaded them with paint, powder, bullets, blankets, beads, and rum, manned them with hardy voyageurs, trained all their lives in the use of pole and paddle, and started off up or down the mississippi,[ ] the ohio, or the wabash, perhaps making a long carry or portage over into the great lakes. it took him weeks, often months, to get to the first trading-point, usually some large winter encampment of indians. he might visit several of these, or stay the whole winter through at one, buying the furs.[ ] many of the french coureurs des bois, whose duty it was to traverse the wilderness, and who were expert trappers, took up their abode with the indians, taught them how to catch the sable, fisher, otter, and beaver, and lived among them as members of the tribe, marrying copper-colored squaws, and rearing dusky children. when the trader had exchanged his goods for the peltries of these red and white skin-hunters, he returned to his home, having been absent perhaps a year or eighteen months. it was a hard life; many a trader perished in the wilderness by cold or starvation, by an upset where the icy current ran down the rapids like a mill-race, by the attack of a hostile tribe, or even in a drunken brawl with the friendly indians, when voyageur, half-breed, and indian alike had been frenzied by draughts of fiery liquor.[ ] next to the commandant in power came the priest. he bore unquestioned rule over his congregation, but only within certain limits; for the french of the backwoods, leavened by the presence among them of so many wild and bold spirits, could not be treated quite in the same way as the more peaceful _habitants_ of lower canada. the duty of the priest was to look after the souls of his sovereign's subjects, to baptize, marry, and bury them, to confess and absolve them, and keep them from backsliding, to say mass, and to receive the salary due him for celebrating divine service; but, though his personal influence was of course very great, he had no temporal authority, and could not order his people either to fight or to work. still less could he dispose of their laud, a privilege inhering only in the commandant and in the commissaries of the villages, where they were expressly authorized so to do by the sovereign.[ ] the average inhabitant, though often loose in his morals, was very religious. he was superstitious also, for he firmly believed in omens, charms, and witchcraft, and when worked upon by his dread of the unseen and the unknown he sometimes did terrible deeds, as will be related farther on. under ordinary circumstances he was a good-humored, kindly man, always polite--his manners offering an agreeable contrast to those of some of our own frontiersmen,--with a ready smile and laugh, and ever eager to join in any merrymaking. on sundays and fast-days he was summoned to the little parish church by the tolling of the old bell in the small wooden belfry. the church was a rude oblong building, the walls made out of peeled logs, thrust upright in the ground, chinked with moss and coated with clay or cement. thither every man went, clad in a capote or blanket coat, a bright silk handkerchief knotted round his head, and his feet shod with moccasins or strong rawhide sandals. if young, he walked or rode a shaggy pony; if older, he drove his creaking, springless wooden cart, untired and unironed, in which his family sat on stools.[ ] the grades of society were much more clearly marked than in similar communities of our own people. the gentry, although not numerous, possessed unquestioned social and political headship and were the military leaders; although of course they did not have any thing like such marked preeminence of position as in quebec or new orleans, where the conditions were more like those obtaining in the old world. there was very little education. the common people were rarely versed in the mysteries of reading and writing, and even the wives of the gentry were often only able to make their marks instead of signing their names.[ ] the little villages in which they dwelt were pretty places,[ ] with wide, shaded streets. the houses lay far apart, often a couple of hundred feet from one another. they were built of heavy hewn timbers; those of the better sort were furnished with broad verandas, and contained large, low-ceilinged rooms, the high mantle-pieces and the mouldings of the doors and windows being made of curiously carved wood. each village was defended by a palisaded fort and block-houses, and was occasionally itself surrounded by a high wooden stockade. the inhabitants were extravagantly fond of music and dancing;[ ] marriages and christenings were seasons of merriment, when the fiddles were scraped all night long, while the moccasined feet danced deftly in time to the music. three generations of isolated life in the wilderness had greatly changed the characters of these groups of traders, trappers, bateau-men, and adventurous warriors. it was inevitable that they should borrow many traits from their savage friends and neighbors. hospitable, but bigoted to their old customs, ignorant, indolent, and given to drunkenness, they spoke a corrupt jargon of the french tongue; the common people were even beginning to give up reckoning time by months and years, and dated events, as the indians did, with reference to the phenomena of nature, such as the time of the floods, the maturing of the green corn, or the ripening of the strawberries.[ ] all their attributes seemed alien to the polished army-officers of old france;[ ] they had but little more in common with the latter than with the american backwoodsmen. but they had kept many valuable qualities, and, in especial, they were brave and hardy, and, after their own fashion, good soldiers. they had fought valiantly beside king louis' musketeers, and in alliance with the painted warriors of the forest; later on they served, though perhaps with less heart, under the gloomy ensign of spain, shared the fate of the red-coated grenadiers of king george, or followed the lead of the tall kentucky riflemen. . "travels by william bartram," philadelphia, , pp. , , , etc. the various indian names are spelt in a dozen different ways. . reise, etc. (in and ), by johann david schopf, , ii. . the minorcans were the most numerous and prosperous; then came the spaniards, with a few creoles, english, and germans. . j. d. f. smyth, "tour in the united states" ( ), london, , ii., . . _do_. . "mémoire ou coup-d'oeil rapide sur mes différentes voyages et mon séjour dans la nation creck, par le gal. milfort, tastanegy ou grand chef de guerre de la nation creck et general de brigade au service de la république française." paris, . writing in , he said mobile contained about forty proprietary families, and was "un petit paradis terrestre." . bartram, . . _magazine of american history_, iv., . letter of a new england settler in . . "annals of st. louis." frederic l. billon. st. louis, . a valuable book. . in the haldimand mss., series b, vol. , p. , is a census of detroit itself, taken in by philip dejean, justice of the peace. according to this there were , souls, of whom were slaves; they dwelt in houses, with barns, and owned , horned cattle, sheep, and , hogs. acre is used as a measure of length; their united farms had a frontage of , and went back from to . some of the people, it is specified, were not enumerated because they were out hunting or trading at the indian villages. besides the slaves, there were servants. this only refers to the settlers of detroit proper, and the farms adjoining. of the numerous other farms, and the small villages on both sides of the straits, and of the many families and individuals living as traders or trappers with the indians, i can get no good record. perhaps the total population, tributary to detroit was , . it may have been over this. any attempt to estimate this creole population perforce contains much guess-work. . state department mss., no. , vol. iii., p. . . _do_ harmar's letter. . state department mss, no , p . memorial of françois carbonneaux, agent for the inhabitants of the illinois country. dec , . "four hundred families [in the illinois] exclusive of a like number at post vincent" [vincennes]. americans had then just begun to come in, but this enumeration did not refer to them. the population had decreased during the revolutionary war, so that at its outbreak there were probably altogether a thousand families. they were very prolific, and four to a family is probably not too great an allowance, even when we consider that in such a community on the frontier there are always plenty of solitary adventurers. moreover, there were a number of negro slaves. harmar's letter of nov. , , states the adult males of kaskaskia and cahokia at four hundred and forty, not counting those at st. philip or prairie du rocher. this tallies very well with the preceding. but of course the number given can only be considered approximately accurate, and a passage in a letter of lt-gov hamilton would indicate that it was considerably smaller. this letter is to be found in the haldimand mss, series b, vol. , p. , it is the 'brief account' of his ill-starred expedition against vincennes. he says "on taking an account of the inhabitants at this place [vincennes], of all ages and sexes we found their number to amount to , of this fit to bear arms on the spot, several being absent hunting buffaloe for their winter provision." but elsewhere in the same letter he alludes to the adult arms-bearing men as being three hundred in number, and of course the outlying farms and small tributary villages are not counted in. this was in december, . possibly some families had left for the spanish possessions after the war broke out, and returned after it was ended. but as all observers seem to unite in stating that the settlements either stood still or went backwards during the revolutionary struggle, it is somewhat difficult to reconcile the figures of hamilton and carbonneaux. . in the haldimand mss., series b, vol. , p. , the letter of m. ste. marie from vincennes, may , , gives utterance to the general feeling of the creoles, when he announces, in promising in their behalf to carry out the orders of the british commandant, that he is "remplie de respect pour tout ce qui porte l'emprinte de l'otorité." [sic.] . state department mss., no. , p. . statement of m. cerre (or carre), july, , translated by john pintard. . _do_. . state department mss., no. , p. . petition of j. b. la croix, a. girardin, etc., dated "at cohoe in the illinois th july, ." . billon, . . an arpent of land was french feet square. ms. copy of journal of matthew clarkson in . in durrett collection. . american state papers, public lands, i., ii. . fergus historical series, no. , "illinois in the th century." edward g. mason, chicago, . a most excellent number of an excellent series. the old parish registers of kaskaskia, going back to , contain some remarkable names of the indian mothers--such as maria aramipinchicoue and domitilla tehuigouanakigaboucoue. sometimes the man is only distinguished by some such title as "the parisian," or "the bohemian." . billon, . . letter of p. a. lafarge, dec. , . billon, . . state department mss., no. , vol. iii., p. . letter of joseph st. mann, aug , . . _do_., p , harmar's letter. . _do_., p , letter of joseph st. marin. . _do_., p. . . journal of jean baptiste perrault, in ; in "indian tribes," by henry r. schoolcraft, part iii., philadelphia, . see also billon, , for an interesting account of the adventures of gratiot, who afterwards, under american rule, built up a great fur business, and drove a flourishing trade with europe, as well as the towns of the american seaboard. . state department mss., no. , p. . a petition concerning a case in point, affecting the priest gibault. . "history of vincennes," by judge john law, vincennes, . pp. and . they are just such carts as i have seen myself in the valley of the red river, and in the big bend of the missouri, carrying all the worldly goods of their owners, the french metis. these metis,--ex-trappers, ex-buffalo runners, and small farmers,--are the best representatives of the old french of the west; they are a little less civilized, they have somewhat more indian blood in their veins, but they are substantially the same people. it may be noted that the herds of buffaloes that during the last century thronged the plains of what are now the states of illinois and indiana furnished to the french of kaskaskia and vincennes their winter meat; exactly as during the present century the saskatchewan metis lived on the wild herds until they were exterminated. . see the lists of signatures in the state department mss., also mason's kaskaskia parish records and law's vincennes. as an example; the wife of the chevalier vinsenne (who gave his name to vincennes, and afterwards fell in the battle where the chickasaws routed the northern french and their indian allies), was only able to make her mark. clark in his letters several times mentions the "gentry," in terms that imply their standing above the rest of the people. . state department mss., no. , vol. iii., p. . . "journal of jean baptiste perrault," . . "voyage en amérique" ( ), general victor collot, paris, , p. . . _do_. collot calls them "un composé de traiteurs, d'aventuriers, de coureurs de bois, rameurs, et de guerriers; ignorans, superstitieux et entêtés, qu'aucunes fatigues, aucunes privations, aucunes dangers ne peuvent arreter dans leurs enterprises, qu'ils mettent toujours fin; ils n'ont conservé des vertus françaises que le courage." chapter iii. the appalachian confederacies, - . when we declared ourselves an independent nation there were on our borders three groups of indian peoples. the northernmost were the iroquois or six nations, who dwelt in new york, and stretched down into pennsylvania. they had been for two centuries the terror of every other indian tribe east of the mississippi, as well as of the whites; but their strength had already departed. they numbered only some ten or twelve thousand all told, and though they played a bloody part in the revolutionary struggle, it was merely as subordinate allies of the british. it did not lie in their power to strike a really decisive blow. their chastisement did not result in our gaining new territory; nor would a failure to chastise them have affected the outcome of the war nor the terms of peace. their fate was bound up with that of the king's cause in america and was decided wholly by events unconnected with their own success or defeat. the very reverse was the case with the indians, tenfold more numerous, who lived along our western frontier. there they were themselves our main opponents, the british simply acting as their supporters; and instead of their fate being settled by the treaty of peace with britain, they continued an active warfare for twelve years after it had been signed. had they defeated us in the early years of the contest, it is more than probable that the alleghanies would have been made our western boundary at the peace. we won from them vast stretches of territory because we had beaten their warriors, and we could not have won it otherwise; whereas the territory of the iroquois was lost, not because of their defeat, but because of the defeat of the british. there were two great groups of these indians, the ethnic corresponding roughly with the geographic division. in the northwest, between the ohio and the lakes, were the algonquin tribes, generally banded loosely together; in the southwest, between the tennessee--then called the cherokee--and the gulf, the so-called appalachians lived. between them lay a vast and beautiful region where no tribe dared dwell, but into which all ventured now and then for war and hunting. the southwestern indians were called appalachians by the olden writers, because this was the name then given to the southern alleghanies. it is doubtful if the term has any exact racial significance; but it serves very well to indicate a number of indian nations whose system of government, ways of life, customs, and general culture were much alike, and whose civilization was much higher than was that of most other american tribes. the appalachians were in the barbarous, rather than in the merely savage state. they were divided into five lax confederacies: the cherokees, chickasaws, choctaws, creeks, and seminoles. the latter were merely a southern offshoot of the creeks or muscogees. they were far more numerous than the northwestern indians, were less nomadic, and in consequence had more definite possession of particular localities; so that their lands were more densely peopled. in all they amounted to perhaps seventy thousand souls.[ ] it is more difficult to tell the numbers of the different tribes; for the division lines between them were very ill defined, and were subject to wide fluctuations. thus the creeks, the most formidable of all, were made up of many bands, differing from each other both in race and speech. the languages of the chickasaws and choctaws did not differ more from the tongue of the cherokees, than the two divisions of the latter did from each other. the cherokees of the hills, the otari, spoke a dialect that could not be understood by the cherokees of the lowlands, or erati. towns or bands continually broke up and split off from their former associations, while ambitious and warlike chiefs kept forming new settlements, and if successful drew large numbers of young warriors from the older communities. thus the boundary lines between the confederacies were ever shifting.[ ] judging from a careful comparison of the different authorities, the following estimate of the numbers of the southern tribes at the outbreak of the revolution may be considered as probably approximately correct. the cherokees, some twelve thousand strong,[ ] were the mountaineers of their race. they dwelt among the blue-topped ridges and lofty peaks of the southern alleghanies,[ ] in the wild and picturesque region where the present states of tennessee, alabama, georgia, and the carolinas join one another. to the west of the cherokees, on the banks of the mississippi, were the chickasaws, the smallest of the southern nations, numbering at the outside but four thousand souls;[ ] but they were also the bravest and most warlike, and of all these tribal confederacies theirs was the only one which was at all closely knit together. the whole tribe acted in unison. in consequence, though engaged in incessant warfare with the far more numerous choctaws, creeks, and cherokees, they more than held their own against them all; besides having inflicted on the french two of the bloodiest defeats they ever suffered from indians. most of the remnants of the natchez, the strange sun-worshippers, had taken refuge with the chickasaws and become completely identified with them, when their own nationality was destroyed by the arms of new orleans. the choctaws, the rudest and historically the least important of these indians, lived south of the chickasaws. they were probably rather less numerous than the creeks.[ ] though accounted brave they were treacherous and thievish, and were not as well armed as the others. they rarely made war or peace as a unit, parties frequently acting in conjunction with some of the rival european powers, or else joining in the plundering inroads made by the other indians upon the white settlements. beyond thus furnishing auxiliaries to our other indian foes, they had little to do with our history. the muscogees or creeks were the strongest of all. their southern bands, living in florida, were generally considered as a separate confederacy, under the name of seminoles. they numbered between twenty-five and thirty thousand souls,[ ] three fourths of them being the muscogees proper, and the remainder seminoles. they dwelt south of the cherokees and east of the choctaws, adjoining the georgians. the creeks and cherokees were thus by their position the barrier tribes of the south, who had to stand the brunt of our advance, and who acted as a buffer between us and the french and spaniards of the gulf and the lower mississippi. their fate once decided, that of the chickasaws and chocktaws inevitably followed. the customs and the political and social systems of these two tribes were very similar; and those of their two western neighbors were merely ruder copies thereof. they were very much further advanced than were the algonquin nations of the north. unlike most mountaineers the cherokees were not held to be very formidable fighters, when compared with their fellows of the lowlands.[ ] in and they had waged a fierce war with the whites, had ravaged the carolina borders, had captured british forts, and successfully withstood british armies; but though they had held their own in the field, it had been at the cost of ruinous losses. since that period they had been engaged in long wars with the chickasaws and creeks, and had been worsted by both. moreover, they had been much harassed by the northern indians. so they were steadily declining in power and numbers.[ ] though divided linguistically into two races, speaking different dialects, the otari and erati, the political divisions did not follow the lines of language. there were three groups of towns, the upper, lower, and middle; and these groups often acted independently of one another. the upper towns lay for the most part on the western waters, as they were called by the americans,--the streams running into the tennessee. their inhabitants were known as overhill cherokees and were chiefly otari; but the towns were none of them permanent, and sometimes shifted their positions, even changing from one group to another. the lower towns, inhabited by the erati, lay in the flat lands of upper georgia and south carolina, and were the least important. the third group, larger than either of the others and lying among the hills and mountains between them, consisted of the middle towns. its borders were ill-marked and were ever shifting. thus the towns of the cherokees stretched from the high upland region, where rise the loftiest mountains of eastern america, to the warm, level, low country, the land of the cypress and the long-leaved pine. each village stood by itself, in some fertile river-bottom, with around it apple orchards and fields of maize. like the other southern indians, the cherokees were more industrious than their northern neighbors, lived by tillage and agriculture as much as by hunting, and kept horses, hogs, and poultry. the oblong, story-high houses were made of peeled logs, morticed into each other and plastered with clay; while the roof was of chestnut bark or of big shingles. near to each stood a small cabin, partly dug out of the ground, and in consequence very warm; to this the inmates retired in winter, for they were sensitive to cold. in the centre of each village stood the great council-house or rotunda, capable of containing the whole population; it was often thirty feet high, and sometimes stood on a raised mound of earth.[ ] the cherokees were a bright, intelligent race, better fitted to "follow the white man's road" than any other indians. like their neighbors, they were exceedingly fond of games of chance and skill, as well as of athletic sports. one of the most striking of their national amusements was the kind of ball-play from which we derive the game of lacrosse. the implements consisted of ball sticks or rackets, two feet long, strung with raw-hide webbing, and of a deer-skin ball, stuffed with hair, so as to be very solid, and about the size of a base ball. sometimes the game was played by fixed numbers, sometimes by all the young men of a village; and there were often tournaments between different towns and even different tribes. the contests excited the most intense interest, were waged with desperate resolution, and were preceded by solemn dances and religious ceremonies; they were tests of tremendous physical endurance, and were often very rough, legs and arms being occasionally broken. the choctaws were considered to be the best ball players.[ ] the cherokees were likewise fond of dances. sometimes these were comic or lascivious, sometimes they were religious in their nature, or were undertaken prior to starting on the war-trail. often the dances of the young men and maidens were very picturesque. the girls, dressed in white, with silver bracelets and gorgets, and a profusion of gay ribbons, danced in a circle in two ranks; the young warriors, clad in their battle finery, danced in a ring around them; all moving in rhythmic step, as they kept time to the antiphonal chanting[ ] and singing, the young men and girls responding alternately to each other. the great confederacy of the muscogees or creeks, consisting of numerous tribes, speaking at least five distinct languages, lay in a well-watered land of small timber.[ ] the rapid streams were bordered by narrow flats of rich soil, and were margined by canebrakes and reed beds. there were fine open pastures, varied by sandy pine barrens, by groves of palmetto and magnolia, and by great swamps and cypress ponds. the game had been largely killed out, the elk and buffalo having been exterminated and even the deer much thinned, and in consequence the hunting parties were obliged to travel far into the uninhabited region to the northward in order to kill their winter supply of meat. but panthers, wolves, and bears still lurked in the gloomy fastnesses of the swamps and canebrakes, whence they emerged at night to prey on the hogs and cattle. the bears had been exceedingly abundant at one time, so much so as to become one of the main props of the creek larder, furnishing flesh, fat, and especially oil for cooking and other purposes; and so valued were they that the indians hit upon the novel plan of preserving them, exactly as europeans preserve deer and pheasants. each town put aside a great tract of land which was known as "the beloved bear ground,"[ ] where the persimmons, haws, chestnuts, muscadines, and fox grapes abounded, and let the bears dwell there unmolested, except at certain seasons, when they were killed in large numbers. however, cattle were found to be more profitable than bears, and the "beloved bear grounds" were by degrees changed into stock ranges.[ ] the creeks had developed a very curious semi-civilization of their own. they lived in many towns, of which the larger, or old towns, bore rule over the smaller,[ ] and alone sent representatives to the general councils. many of these were as large as any in the back counties of the colonies;[ ] but they were shifted from time to time, as the game was totally killed off and the land exhausted by the crops.[ ] the soil then became covered by a growth of pines, and a so-called "old field" was formed. this method of cultivation was, after all, much like that of the southern whites, and the "old fields," or abandoned plantations grown up with pines, were common in the colonies. many of the chiefs owned droves of horses and horned cattle, sometimes as many as five hundred head,[ ] besides hogs and poultry; and some of them, in addition, had negro slaves. but the tillage of the land was accomplished by communal labor; and, indeed, the government, as well as the system of life, was in many respects a singular compound of communism and extreme individualism. the fields of rice, corn, tobacco, beans, and potatoes were sometimes rudely fenced in with split hickory poles, and were sometimes left unfenced, with huts or high scaffolds, where watchers kept guard. they were planted when the wild fruit was so ripe as to draw off the birds, and while ripening the swine were kept penned up and the horses were tethered with tough bark ropes. pumpkins, melons, marsh-mallows, and sunflowers were often grown between the rows of corn. the planting was done on a given day, the whole town being summoned; no man was excepted or was allowed to go out hunting. the under-headman supervised the work.[ ] for food they used all these vegetables, as well as beef and pork, and venison stewed in bear's oil; they had hominy and corn-cakes, and a cool drink made from honey and water,[ ] besides another made from fermented corn, which tasted much like cider.[ ] they sifted their flour in wicker-work sieves, and baked the bread in kettles or on broad, thin stones. moreover, they gathered the wild fruits, strawberries, grapes, and plums, in their season, and out of the hickory-nuts they made a thick, oily paste, called the hickory milk. each town was built round a square, in which the old men lounged all day long, gossiping and wrangling. fronting the square, and surrounding it, were the four long, low communal houses, eight feet high, sixteen feet deep, and forty to sixty in length. they were wooden frames, supported on pine posts, with roof-tree and rafters of hickory. their fronts were open piazzas, their sides were lathed and plastered, sometimes with white marl, sometimes with reddish clay, and they had plank doors and were roofed neatly with cypress bark or clapboards. the eave boards were of soft poplar. the barrier towns, near white or indian enemies, had log houses, with portholes cut in the walls. the communal houses were each divided into three rooms. the house of the micos, or chiefs and headmen, was painted red and fronted the rising sun; it was highest in rank. the houses of the warriors and the beloved men--this last being painted white--fronted south and north respectively, while the house of the young people stood opposite that of the micos. each room was divided into two terraces; the one in front being covered with red mats, while that in the rear, a kind of raised dais or great couch, was strewn with skins. they contained stools hewed out of poplar logs, and chests made of clapboards sewed together with buffalo thongs.[ ] the rotunda or council-house stood near the square on the highest spot in the village. it was round, and fifty or sixty feet across, with a high peaked roof; the rafters were fastened with splints and covered with bark. a raised dais ran around the wall, strewed with mats and skins. sometimes in the larger council-houses there were painted eagles, carved out of poplar wood, placed close to the red and white seats where the chiefs and warriors sat; or in front of the broad dais were great images of the full and the half moon, colored white or black; or rudely carved and painted figures of the panther, and of men with buffalo horns. the tribes held in reverence both the panther and the rattlesnake. the corn-cribs, fowl-houses, and hot-houses or dugouts for winter use were clustered near the other cabins. although in tillage they used only the hoe, they had made much progress in some useful arts. they spun the coarse wool of the buffalo into blankets, which they trimmed with beads. they wove the wild hemp in frames and shuttles. they made their own saddles. they made beautiful baskets of fine cane splints, and very handsome blankets of turkey feathers; while out of glazed clay they manufactured bowls, pitchers, platters, and other pottery. in summer they wore buckskin shirts and breech-clouts; in winter they were clad in the fur of the bear and wolf or of the shaggy buffalo. they had moccasins of elk or buffalo hide, and high thigh-boots of thin deer-skin, ornamented with fawns' trotters, or turkey spurs that tinkled as they walked. in their hair they braided eagle plumes, hawk wings, or the brilliant plumage of the tanager and redbird. trousers or breeches of any sort they despised as marks of effeminacy. vermilion was their war emblem; white was only worn at the time of the green-corn dance. in each town stood the war pole or painted post, a small peeled tree-trunk colored red. some of their villages were called white or peace towns; others red or bloody towns. the white towns were sacred to peace; no blood could be spilt within their borders. they were towns of refuge, where not even an enemy taken in war could be slain; and a murderer who fled thither was safe from vengeance. the captives were tortured to death in the red towns, and it was in these that the chiefs and warriors gathered when they were planning or preparing for war. they held great marriage-feasts; the dead were buried with the goods they had owned in their lifetime. every night all the people of a town gathered in the council-house to dance and sing and talk. besides this, they held there on stated occasions the ceremonial dances; such were the dances of war and of triumph, when the warriors, painted red and black, returned, carrying the scalps of their slain foes on branches of evergreen pine, while they chanted the sonorous song of victory; and such was the dance of the serpent, the dance of lawless love, where the women and young girls were allowed to do whatsoever they listed. once a year, when the fruits ripened, they held the green-corn dance, a religious festival that lasted eight days in the larger towns and four in the smaller. then they fasted and feasted alternately. they drank out of conch-shells the black drink, a bitter beverage brewed from the crushed leaves of a small shrub. on the third day the high-priest or fire-maker, the man who sat in the white seat, clad in snowy tunic and moccasins, kindled the holy fire, fanning it into flames with the unsullied wing of a swan, and burning therein offerings of the first-fruits of the year. dance followed dance. the beloved men and beloved women, the priest and priestesses, danced in three rings, singing the solemn song of which the words were never uttered at any other time; and at the end the warriors, in their wild war-gear, with white-plume headdresses, took part, and also the women and girls, decked in their best, with ear-rings and armlets, and terrapin shells filled with pebbles fastened to the outside of their legs. they kept time with foot and voice; the men in deep tones, with short accents, the women in a shrill falsetto; while the clay drums, with heads of taut deer-hide, were beaten, the whistles blown, and the gourds and calabashes rattled, until the air resounded with the deafening noise.[ ] though they sometimes burnt their prisoners or violated captive women, they generally were more merciful than the northern tribes.[ ] but their political and military systems could not compare with those of the algonquins, still less with those of the iroquois. their confederacy was of the loosest kind. there was no central authority. every town acted just as it pleased, making war or peace with the other towns, or with whites, choctaws, or cherokees. in each there was a nominal head for peace and war, the high chief and the head warrior; the former was supposed to be supreme, and was elected for life from some one powerful family--as, for instance, the families having for their totems the wind or the eagle. but these chiefs had little control, and could not do much more than influence or advise their subjects; they were dependent on the will of the majority. each town was a little hotbed of party spirit; the inhabitants divided on almost every question. if the head-chief was for peace, but the war-chief nevertheless went on the war-path, there was no way of restraining him. it was said that never, in the memory of the oldest inhabitant, had half the nation "taken the war talk" at the same time.[ ] as a consequence, war parties of creeks were generally merely small bands of marauders, in search of scalps and plunder. in proportion to its numbers, the nation never, until , undertook such formidable military enterprises as were undertaken by the wyandots, shawnees, and delawares; and, though very formidable individual fighters, even in this respect it may be questioned if the creeks equalled the prowess of their northern kinsmen. yet when the revolutionary war broke out the creeks were under a chieftain whose consummate craft and utterly selfish but cool and masterly diplomacy enabled them for a generation to hold their own better than any other native race against the restless americans. this was the half-breed alexander mcgillivray, perhaps the most gifted man who was ever born on the soil of alabama.[ ] his father was a scotch trader, lachlan mcgillivray by name, who came when a boy to charleston, then the head-quarters of the commerce carried on by the british with the southern indians. on visiting the traders' quarter of the town, the young scot was strongly attracted by the sight of the weather-beaten packers, with their gaudy, half-indian finery, their hundreds of pack-horses, their curious pack-saddles, and their bales of merchandise. taking service with them, he was soon helping to drive a pack-train along one of the narrow trails that crossed the lonely pine wilderness. to strong, coarse spirits, that were both shrewd and daring, and willing to balance the great risks incident to their mode of life against its great gains, the business was most alluring. young lachlan rose rapidly, and soon became one of the richest and most influential traders in the creek country. like most traders, he married into the tribe, wooing and wedding, at the hickory ground, beside the coosa river, a beautiful half-breed girl, sehoy marchand, whose father had been a french officer, and whose mother belonged to the powerful creek family of the wind. there were born to them two daughters and one son, alexander. all the traders, though facing danger at every moment, from the fickle and jealous temper of the savages, wielded immense influence over them, and none more than the elder mcgillivray, a far-sighted, unscrupulous scotchman, who sided alternately with the french and english interests, as best suited his own policy and fortunes. his son was felt by the creeks to be one of themselves. he was born about , at little tallasee, on the banks of the clear-flowing coosa, where he lived till he was fourteen years old, playing, fishing, hunting, and bathing with the other indian boys, and listening to the tales of the old chiefs and warriors. he was then taken to charleston, where he was well educated, being taught greek and latin, as well as english history and literature. tall, dark, slender, with commanding figure and immovable face, of cool, crafty temper, with great ambition and a keen intellect, he felt himself called to play no common part. he disliked trade, and at the first opportunity returned to his indian home. he had neither the moral nor the physical gifts requisite for a warrior; but he was a consummate diplomat, a born leader, and perhaps the only man who could have used aright such a rope of sand as was the creek confederacy. the creeks claimed him as of their own blood, and instinctively felt that he was their only possible ruler. he was forthwith chosen to be their head chief. from that time on he remained among them, at one or the other of his plantations, his largest and his real home being at little tallasee, where he lived in barbaric comfort, in a great roomy log-house with a stone chimney, surrounded by the cabins of his sixty negro slaves. he was supported by many able warriors, both of the half and the full blood. one of them is worthy of passing mention. this was a young french adventurer, milfort, who in journeyed through the insurgent colonies and became an adopted son of the creek nation. he first met mcgillivray, then in his early manhood, at the town of coweta, the great war-town on the chattahoochee, where the half-breed chief, seated on a bear-skin in the council-house, surrounded by his wise men and warriors, was planning to give aid to the british. afterwards he married one of mcgillivray's sisters, whom he met at a great dance--a pretty girl, clad in a short silk petticoat, her chemise of fine linen clasped with silver, her ear-rings and bracelets of the same metal, and with bright-colored ribbons in her hair.[ ] the task set to the son of sehoy was one of incredible difficulty, for he was head of a loose array of towns and tribes from whom no man could get perfect, and none but himself even imperfect, obedience. the nation could not stop a town from going to war, nor, in turn, could a town stop its own young men from committing ravages. thus the whites were always being provoked, and the frontiersmen were molested as often when they were quiet and peaceful as when they were encroaching on indian land. the creeks owed the land which they possessed to murder and rapine; they mercilessly destroyed all weaker communities, red or white; they had no idea of showing justice or generosity towards their fellows who lacked their strength, and now the measure they had meted so often to others was at last to be meted to them. if the whites treated them well, it was set down to weakness. it was utterly impossible to restrain the young men from murdering and plundering, either the neighboring indians or the white settlements. their one ideal of glory was to get scalps, and these the young braves were sure to seek, no matter how much the older and cooler men might try to prevent them. whether war was declared or not, made no difference. at one time the english exerted themselves successfully to bring about a peace between the creeks and cherokees. at its conclusion a creek chief taunted the mediators as follows: "you have sweated yourselves poor in our smoky houses to make peace between us and the cherokees, and thereby enable our young people to give you in a short time a far worse sweat than you have yet had."[ ] the result justified his predictions; the young men, having no other foe, at once took to ravaging the settlements. it soon became evident that it was hopeless to expect the creeks to behave well to the whites merely because they were themselves well treated, and from that time on the english fomented, instead of striving to put a stop to, their quarrels with the choctaws and chickasaws. the record of our dealings with them must in many places be unpleasant reading to us, for it shows grave wrong-doing on our part; yet the creeks themselves lacked only the power, but not the will, to treat us worse than we treated them, and the darkest pages of their history recite the wrongs that we ourselves suffered at their hands. . letter of commissioners hawkins, pickens, martin, and mcintosh, to the president of the continental congress, dec. , . (given in senate documents, d congress, d session, boundary between ga. and fla.) they give , "gun-men," and say that "at a moderate calculation" there are four times as many old men, women, and children, as there are gun-men. the estimates of the numbers are very numerous and very conflicting. after carefully consulting all accessible authorities, i have come to the conclusion that the above is probably pretty near the truth. it is the deliberate, official opinion of four trained experts, who had ample opportunities for investigation, and who examined the matter with care. but it is very possible that in allotting the several tribes their numbers they err now and then, as the boundaries between the tribes shifted continually, and there were always large communities of renegades, such as the chickamaugas, who were drawn from the ranks of all. . this is one of the main reasons why the estimates of their numbers vary so hopelessly. as a specimen case, among many others, compare the estimate of professor benj. smith barton ("origin of the tribes and nations of america," phila., ) with the report of the commissioner of indian affairs for . barton estimated that in the appalachian nations numbered in all , warriors; considering these as one fifth of the total population, makes it , . in the commissioner reports their numbers at , --almost exactly the same. probably both statements are nearly correct, the natural rate of increase having just about offset the loss in consequence of a partial change of home, and of jackson's slaughtering wars against the creeks and seminoles. but where they agree in the total, they vary hopelessly in the details. by barton's estimate, the cherokees numbered but , , the chocktaws , ; by the commissioner's census the cherokees numbered , , the choctaws , . it is of course out of the question to believe that while in years the cherokees had increased threefold, the choctaws had diminished one half. the terms themselves must have altered their significance or else there was extensive inter-tribal migration. similarly, according to the reports, the creeks had increased by , --the seminoles and choctaws had diminished by , . . "am. archives," th series, iii., . drayton's account, sept. , ' . this was a carefully taken census, made by the indian traders. apart from the outside communities, such as the chickamaugas at a later date, there were: gun-men in the overhill towns " " middle " " " lower " a total of , warriors. the outlying towns, who had cast off their allegiance for the time being, would increase the amount by three or four hundred more. . "history of the american indians, particularly those nations adjoining to the mississippi, east and west florida, georgia, south and north carolina, and virginia." by james adair (an indian trader and resident in the country for forty years), london, . a very valuable book, but a good deal marred by the author's irrepressible desire to twist every indian utterance, habit, and ceremony into a proof that they are descended from the ten lost tribes. he gives the number of cherokee warriors at , . . hawkins, pickens, martin, and mcintosh, in their letter, give them warriors: most other estimates make the number smaller. . almost all the early writers make them more numerous. adair gives them , warriors, hawkins , . but much less seems to have been known about them than about the creeks, cherokees, and chickasaws; and most early estimates of indians were largest when made of the least-known tribes. adair's statement is probably the most trustworthy. the first accurate census showed the creeks to be more numerous. . hawkins, pickens, etc., make them "at least" , in , the indian report for make them , . during the half century they had suffered from devastating wars and forced removals, and had probably slightly decreased in number. in adair's time their population was increasing. . "am. archives," th series, i., . letter of charles lee. . adair, . bartram, . . bartram, . . adair, bartram. . bartram. . "a sketch of the creek country," benjamin hawkins. in coll. ga. hist. soc. written in , but not published till fifty years afterwards. . _do_, p. . . the use of the word "beloved" by the creeks was quite peculiar. it is evidently correctly translated, for milfort likewise gives it as "bien aimé." it was the title used for any thing held in especial regard, whether for economic or supernatural reasons; and sometimes it was used as western tribes use the word "medicine" at the present day. the old chiefs and conjurers were called the "beloved old men"; what in the west we would now call the "medicine squaws," were named "the beloved old women." it was often conferred upon the chief dignitaries of the whites in writing to them. . hawkins, . . bartram, . the uchee town contained at least , people. . _do_. . hawkins, . . hawkins ; adair, . . bartram, . . milfort, . . hawkins, . milfort, . bartram, . adair, . . hawkins and adair, _passim_. . _do_. also _vide_ bartram. . hawkins, , . adair, . . "history of alabama," by albert james pickett, charleston, , ii., . a valuable work. . milfort, , . milfort's book is very interesting, but as the man himself was evidently a hopeless liar and braggart, it can only be trusted where it was not for his interest to tell a falsehood. his book was written after mcgillivray's death, the object being to claim for himself the glory belonging to the half-breed chief. he insisted that he was the war-chief, the arm, and mcgillivray merely the head, and boasts of his numerous successful war enterprises. but the fact is, that during this whole time the creeks performed no important stroke in war; the successful resistance to american encroachments was due to the diplomacy of the son of sehoy. moreover, milfort's accounts of his own war deeds are mainly sheer romancing. he appears simply to have been one of a score of war chiefs, and there were certainly a dozen other creek chiefs, both half-breeds and natives, who were far more formidable to the frontier than he was; all their names were dreaded by the settlers, but his was hardly known. . adair, . chapter iv. the algonquins of the northwest, - . between the ohio and the great lakes, directly north of the appalachian confederacies, and separated from them by the unpeopled wilderness now forming the states of tennessee and kentucky, dwelt another set of indian tribes. they were ruder in life and manners than their southern kinsmen, less advanced towards civilization, but also far more warlike; they depended more on the chase and fishing, and much less on agriculture; they were savages, not merely barbarians; and they were fewer in numbers and scattered over a wider expanse of territory. but they were farther advanced than the almost purely nomadic tribes of horse indians whom we afterwards encountered west of the mississippi. some of their villages were permanent, at any rate for a term of years, and near them they cultivated small crops of corn and melons. their usual dwelling was the conical wigwam covered with bark, skins, or mats of plaited reeds but in some of the villages of the tribes nearest the border there were regular blockhouses, copied from their white neighbors. they went clad in skins or blankets; the men were hunters and warriors, who painted their bodies and shaved from their crowns all the hair except the long scalp-lock, while the squaws were the drudges who did all the work. their relations with the iroquois, who lay east of them, were rarely very close, and in fact were generally hostile. they were also usually at odds with the southern indians, but among themselves they were frequently united in time of war into a sort of lax league, and were collectively designated by the americans as the northwestern indians. all the tribes belonged to the great algonquin family, with two exceptions, the winnebagos and the wyandots. the former, a branch of the dakotahs, dwelt west of lake michigan; they came but little in contact with us, although many of their young men and warriors joined their neighbors in all the wars against us. the wyandots or hurons lived near detroit and along the south shore of lake erie, and were in battle our most redoubtable foes. they were close kin to the iroquois though bitter enemies to them, and they shared the desperate valor of these, their hostile kinsfolk, holding themselves above the surrounding algonquins, with whom, nevertheless, they lived in peace and friendship. the algonquins were divided into many tribes, of ever shifting size. it would be impossible to place them all, or indeed to enumerate them, with any degree of accuracy; for the tribes were continually splitting up, absorbing others, being absorbed in turn, or changing their abode, and, in addition, there were numerous small sub-tribes or bands of renegades, which sometimes were and sometimes were not considered as portions of their larger neighbors. often, also, separate bands, which would vaguely regard themselves as all one nation in one generation, would in the next have lost even this sense of loose tribal unity. the chief tribes, however, were well known and occupied tolerably definite locations. the delawares or leni-lenappe, dwelt farthest east, lying northwest of the upper ohio, their lands adjoining those of the senecas, the largest and most westernmost of the six nations. the iroquois had been their most relentless foes and oppressors in time gone by; but on the eve of the revolution all the border tribes were forgetting their past differences and were drawing together to make a stand against the common foe. thus it came about that parties of young seneca braves fought with the delawares in all their wars against us. westward of the delawares lay the shawnee villages, along the scioto and on the pickaway plains; but it must be remembered that the shawnees, delawares, and wyandots were closely united and their villages were often mixed in together. still farther to the west, the miamis or twigtees lived between the miami and the wabash, together with other associated tribes, the piankeshaws and the weas or ouatinous. farther still, around the french villages, dwelt those scattered survivors of the illinois who had escaped the dire fate which befell their fellow-tribesmen because they murdered pontiac. northward of this scanty people lived the sacs and foxes, and around the upper great lakes the numerous and powerful pottawattamies, ottawas, and chippewas; fierce and treacherous warriors, who did not till the soil, and were hunters and fishers only, more savage even than the tribes that lay southeast of them.[ ] in the works of the early travellers we read the names of many other indian nations; but whether these were indeed separate peoples, or branches of some of those already mentioned, or whether the different travellers spelled the indian names in widely different ways, we cannot say. all that is certain is that there were many tribes and sub-tribes, who roamed and warred and hunted over the fair lands now forming the heart of our mighty nation, that to some of these tribes the whites gave names and to some they did not, and that the named and the nameless alike were swept down to the same inevitable doom. moreover, there were bands of renegades or discontented indians, who for some cause had severed their tribal connections. two of the most prominent of these bands were the cherokees and mingos, both being noted for their predatory and murderous nature and their incessant raids on the frontier settlers. the cherokees were fugitives from the rest of their nation, who had fled north, beyond the ohio, and dwelt in the land shared by the delawares and shawnees, drawing to themselves many of the lawless young warriors, not only of these tribes, but of the others still farther off. the mingos were likewise a mongrel banditti, made up of outlaws and wild spirits from among the wyandots and miamis, as well as from the iroquois and the munceys (a sub-tribe of the delawares). all these northwestern nations had at one time been conquered by the iroquois, or at least they had been defeated, their lands overrun, and they themselves forced to acknowledge a vague over-lordship on the part of their foes. but the power of the iroquois was now passing away: when our national history began, with the assembling of the first continental congress, they had ceased to be a menace to the western tribes, and the latter no longer feared or obeyed them, regarding them merely as allies or neutrals. yet not only the iroquois, but their kindred folk, notably the wyandots, still claimed, and received, for the sake of their ancient superiority, marks of formal respect from the surrounding algonquins. thus, among the latter, the leni-lenappe possessed the titular headship, and were called "grandfathers" at all the solemn councils as well as in the ceremonious communications that passed among the tribes; yet in turn they had to use similar titles of respect in addressing not only their former oppressors, but also their huron allies, who had suffered under the same galling yoke.[ ] the northwestern nations had gradually come to equal the iroquois as warriors; but among themselves the palm was still held by the wyandots, who, although no more formidable than the others as regards skill, hardihood, and endurance, nevertheless stood alone in being willing to suffer heavy punishment in order to win a victory.[ ] the wyandots had been under the influence of the french jesuits, and were nominally christians;[ ] and though the attempt to civilize them had not been very successful, and they remained in most respects precisely like the indians around them, there had been at least one point gained, for they were not, as a rule, nearly so cruel to their prisoners. thus they surpassed their neighbors in mercifulness as well as valor. all the algonquin tribes stood, in this respect, much on the same plane. the delawares, whose fate it had been to be ever buffeted about by both the whites and the reds, had long cowered under the iroquois terror, but they had at last shaken it off, had reasserted the superiority which tradition says they once before held, and had become a formidable and warlike race. indeed it is curious to study how the delawares have changed in respect to their martial prowess since the days when the whites first came in contact with them. they were then not accounted a formidable people, and were not feared by any of their neighbors. by the time the revolution broke out they had become better warriors, and during the twenty years' indian warfare that ensued were as formidable as most of the other redskins. but when moved west of the mississippi, instead of their spirit being broken, they became more warlike than ever, and throughout the present century they have been the most renowned fighters of all the indian peoples, and, moreover, they have been celebrated for their roving, adventurous nature. their numbers have steadily dwindled, owing to their incessant wars and to the dangerous nature of their long roamings.[ ] it is impossible to make any but the roughest guess at the numbers of these northwestern indians. it seems probable that there were considerably over fifty thousand of them in all; but no definite assertion can be made even as to the different tribes. as with the southern indians, old-time writers certainly greatly exaggerated their numbers, and their modern followers show a tendency to fall into the opposite fault, the truth being that any number of isolated observations to support either position can be culled from the works of the contemporary travellers and statisticians.[ ] no two independent observers give the same figures. one main reason for this is doubtless the exceedingly loose way in which the word "tribe" was used. if a man speaks of the miamis and the delawares, for instance, before we can understand him we must know whether he includes therein the weas and the munceys, for he may or may not. by quoting the numbers attributed by the old writers to the various sub-tribes, and then comparing them with the numbers given later on by writers using the same names, but speaking of entire confederacies, it is easy to work out an apparent increase, while a reversal of the process shows an appalling decrease. moreover, as the bands broke up, wandered apart, and then rejoined each other or not as events fell out, two successive observers might make widely different estimates. many tribes that have disappeared were undoubtedly actually destroyed; many more have simply changed their names or have been absorbed by other tribes. similarly, those that have apparently held their own have done so at the expense of their neighbors. this was made all the easier by the fact that the algonquins were so closely related in customs and language; indeed, there was constant intermarriage between the different tribes. on the whole, however, there is no question that, in striking contrast to the southern or appalachian indians, these northwestern tribes have suffered a terrible diminution in numbers. with many of them we did not come into direct contact for long years after our birth as a nation. perhaps those tribes with all or part of whose warriors we were brought into collision at some time during or immediately succeeding the revolutionary war may have amounted to thirty thousand souls.[ ] but though they acknowledged kinship with one another, and though they all alike hated the americans, and though, moreover, all at times met in the great councils, to smoke the calumet of peace and brighten the chain of friendship[ ] among themselves, and to take up the tomahawk[ ] against the white foes, yet the tie that bound them together was so loose, and they were so fickle and so split up by jarring interests and small jealousies, that never more than half of them went to war at the same time. very frequently even the members of a tribe would fail to act together. thus it came about that during the forty years intervening between braddock's defeat and wayne's victory, though these northwestern tribes waged incessant, unending, relentless warfare against our borders, yet they never at any one time had more than three thousand warriors in the field, and frequently not half that number,[ ] and in all the battles they fought with british and american troops there was not one in which they were eleven hundred strong.[ ] but they were superb individual fighters, beautifully drilled in their own discipline;[ ] and they were favored beyond measure by the nature of their ground, of which their whole system of warfare enabled them to take the utmost possible benefit. much has been written and sung of the advantages possessed by the mountaineer when striving in his own home against invaders from the plains; but these advantages are as nothing when weighed with those which make the warlike dweller in forests unconquerable by men who have not his training. a hardy soldier, accustomed only to war in the open, will become a good cragsman in fewer weeks than it will take him years to learn to be so much as a fair woodsman; for it is beyond all comparison more difficult to attain proficiency in woodcraft than in mountaineering.[ ] the wyandots, and the algonquins who surrounded them, dwelt in a region of sunless, tangled forests; and all the wars we waged for the possession of the country between the alleghanies and the mississippi were carried on in the never-ending stretches of gloomy woodland. it was not an open forest. the underbrush grew, dense and rank, between the boles of the tall trees, making a cover so thick that it was in many places impenetrable, so thick that it nowhere gave a chance for human eye to see even as far as a bow could carry. no horse could penetrate it save by following the game trails or paths chopped with the axe; and a stranger venturing a hundred yards from a beaten road would be so helplessly lost that he could not, except by the merest chance, even find his way back to the spot he had just left. here and there it was broken by a rare hillside glade or by a meadow in a stream valley; but elsewhere a man might travel for weeks as if in a perpetual twilight, never once able to see the sun, through the interlacing twigs that formed a dark canopy above his head. this dense forest was to the indians a home in which they had lived from childhood, and where they were as much at ease as a farmer on his own acres. to their keen eyes, trained for generations to more than a wild beast's watchfulness, the wilderness was an open book; nothing at rest or in motion escaped them. they had begun to track game as soon as they could walk; a scrape on a tree trunk, a bruised leaf, a faint indentation of the soil, which the eye of no white man could see, all told them a tale as plainly as if it had been shouted in their ears.[ ] with moccasined feet they trod among brittle twigs, dried leaves, and dead branches as silently as the cougar, and they equalled the great wood-cat in stealth and far surpassed it in cunning and ferocity. they could no more get lost in the trackless wilderness than a civilized man could get lost on a highway. moreover, no knight of the middle ages was so surely protected by his armor as they were by their skill in hiding; the whole forest was to the whites one vast ambush, and to them a sure and ever-present shield. every tree trunk was a breastwork ready prepared for battle; every bush, every moss-covered boulder, was a defence against assault, from behind which, themselves unseen, they watched with fierce derision the movements of their clumsy white enemy. lurking, skulking, travelling with noiseless rapidity, they left a trail that only a master in woodcraft could follow, while, on the other hand, they could dog a white man's footsteps as a hound runs a fox. their silence, their cunning and stealth, their terrible prowess and merciless cruelty, makes it no figure of speech to call them the tigers of the human race. unlike the southern indians, the villages of the northwestern tribes were usually far from the frontier. tireless, and careless of all hardship, they came silently out of unknown forests, robbed and murdered, and then disappeared again into the fathomless depths of the woods. half of the terror they caused was due to the extreme difficulty of following them, and the absolute impossibility of forecasting their attacks. without warning, and unseen until the moment they dealt the death stroke, they emerged from their forest fastnesses, the horror they caused being heightened no less by the mystery that shrouded them than by the dreadful nature of their ravages. wrapped in the mantle of the unknown, appalling by their craft, their ferocity, their fiendish cruelty, they seemed to the white settlers devils and not men; no one could say with certainty whence they came nor of what tribe they were; and when they had finished their dreadful work they retired into a wilderness that closed over their trail as the waves of the ocean close in the wake of a ship. they were trained to the use of arms from their youth up, and war and hunting were their two chief occupations, the business as well as the pleasure of their lives. they were not as skilful as the white hunters with the rifle[ ]--though more so than the average regular soldier,--nor could they equal the frontiersman in feats of physical prowess, such as boxing and wrestling; but their superior endurance and the ease with which they stood fatigue and exposure made amends for this. a white might outrun them for eight or ten miles; but on a long journey they could tire out any man, and any beast except a wolf. like most barbarians they were fickle and inconstant, not to be relied on for pushing through a long campaign, and after a great victory apt to go off to their homes, because each man desired to secure his own plunder and tell his own tale of glory. they are often spoken of as undisciplined; but in reality their discipline in the battle itself was very high. they attacked, retreated, rallied or repelled a charge at the signal of command; and they were able to fight in open order in thick covers without losing touch of each other--a feat that no european regiment was then able to perform. on their own ground they were far more formidable than the best european troops. the british grenadiers throughout the eighteenth century showed themselves superior, in the actual shock of battle, to any infantry of continental europe; if they ever met an over-match, it was when pitted against the scotch highlanders. yet both grenadier and highlander, the heroes of minden, the heirs to the glory of marlborough's campaigns, as well as the sinewy soldiers who shared in the charges of prestonpans and culloden, proved helpless when led against the dark tribesmen of the forest. on the march they could not be trusted thirty yards from the column without getting lost in the woods[ ]--the mountain training of the highlanders apparently standing them in no stead whatever,--and were only able to get around at all when convoyed by backwoodsmen. in fight they fared even worse. the british regulars at braddock's battle, and the highlanders at grant's defeat a few years later, suffered the same fate. both battles were fair fights; neither was a surprise; yet the stubborn valor of the red-coated grenadier and the headlong courage of the kilted scot proved of less than no avail. not only were they utterly routed and destroyed in each case by an inferior force of indians (the french taking little part in the conflict), but they were able to make no effective resistance whatever; it is to this day doubtful whether these superb regulars were able, in the battles where they were destroyed, to so much as kill one indian for every hundred of their own men who fell. the provincials who were with the regulars were the only troops who caused any loss to the foe; and this was true in but a less degree of bouquet's fight at bushy run. here bouquet, by a clever stratagem, gained the victory over an enemy inferior in numbers to himself; but only after a two days' struggle in which he suffered a fourfold greater loss than he inflicted.[ ] when hemmed in so that they had no hope of escape, the indians fought to the death; but when a way of retreat was open they would not stand cutting like british, french, or american regulars, and so, though with a nearly equal force, would retire if they were suffering heavily, even if they were causing their foes to suffer still more. this was not due to lack of courage; it was their system, for they were few in numbers, and they did not believe in losing their men.[ ] the wyandots were exceptions to this rule, for with them it was a point of honor not to yield, and so they were of all the tribes the most dangerous in an actual pitched battle.[ ] but making the attack, as they usually did, with the expectation of success, all were equally dangerous. if their foes were clustered together in a huddle they attacked them without hesitation, no matter what the difference in numbers, and shot them down as if they had been elk or buffalo, they themselves being almost absolutely safe from harm, as they flitted from cover to cover. it was this capacity for hiding, or taking advantage of cover, that gave them their great superiority; and it is because of this that the wood tribes were so much more formidable foes in actual battle than the horse indians of the plains afterwards proved themselves. in dense woodland a body of regular soldiers are almost as useless against indians as they would be if at night they had to fight foes who could see in the dark; it needs special and long-continued training to fit them in any degree for wood-fighting against such foes. out on the plains the white hunter's skill with the rifle and his cool resolution give him an immense advantage; a few determined men can withstand a host of indians in the open, although helpless if they meet them in thick cover; and our defeats by the sioux and other plains tribes have generally taken the form of a small force being overwhelmed by a large one. not only were the indians very terrible in battle, but they were cruel beyond all belief in victory; and the gloomy annals of border warfare are stained with their darkest hues because it was a war in which helpless women and children suffered the same hideous fate that so often befell their husbands and fathers. it was a war waged by savages against armed settlers, whose families followed them into the wilderness. such a war is inevitably bloody and cruel; but the inhuman love of cruelty for cruelty's sake,[ ] which marks the red indian above all other savages, rendered these wars more terrible than any others. for the hideous, unnamable, unthinkable tortures practised by the red men on their captured foes, and on their foes' tender women and helpless children, were such as we read of in no other struggle, hardly even in the revolting pages that tell the deeds of the holy inquisition. it was inevitable--indeed it was in many instances proper--that such deeds should awake in the breasts of the whites the grimmest, wildest spirit of revenge and hatred. the history of the border wars, both in the ways they were begun and in the ways they were waged, make a long tale of injuries inflicted, suffered, and mercilessly revenged. it could not be otherwise when brutal, reckless, lawless borderers, despising all men not of their own color, were thrown in contact with savages who esteemed cruelty and treachery as the highest of virtues, and rapine and murder as the worthiest of pursuits. moreover, it was sadly inevitable that the law-abiding borderer as well as the white ruffian, the peaceful indian as well as the painted marauder, should be plunged into the struggle to suffer the punishment that should only have fallen on their evil-minded fellows. looking back, it is easy to say that much of the wrong-doing could have been prevented; but if we examine the facts to find out the truth, not to establish a theory, we are bound to admit that the struggle was really one that could not possibly have been avoided. the sentimental historians speak as if the blame had been all ours, and the wrong all done to our foes, and as if it would have been possible by any exercise of wisdom to reconcile claims that were in their very essence conflicting; but their utterances are as shallow as they are untruthful.[ ] unless we were willing that the whole continent west of the alleghanies should remain an unpeopled waste, the hunting-ground of savages, war was inevitable; and even had we been willing, and had we refrained from encroaching on the indians' lands, the war would have come nevertheless, for then the indians themselves would have encroached on ours. undoubtedly we have wronged many tribes; but equally undoubtedly our first definite knowledge of many others has been derived from their unprovoked outrages upon our people. the chippewas, ottawas, and pottawatamies furnished hundreds of young warriors to the parties that devastated our frontiers generations before we in any way encroached upon or wronged them. mere outrages could be atoned for or settled; the question which lay at the root of our difficulties was that of the occupation of the land itself, and to this there could be no solution save war. the indians had no ownership of the land in the way in which we understand the term. the tribes lived far apart; each had for its hunting-grounds all the territory from which it was not barred by rivals. each looked with jealousy upon all interlopers, but each was prompt to act as an interloper when occasion offered. every good hunting-ground was claimed by many nations. it was rare, indeed, that any tribe had an uncontested title to a large tract of land; where such title existed, it rested, not on actual occupancy and cultivation, but on the recent butchery of weaker rivals. for instance, there were a dozen tribes, all of whom hunted in kentucky, and fought each other there, all of whom had equally good titles to the soil, and not one of whom acknowledged the right of any other; as a matter of fact they had therein no right, save the right of the strongest. the land no more belonged to them than it belonged to boon and the white hunters who first visited it. on the borders there are perpetual complaints of the encroachments of whites upon indian lands; and naturally the central government at washington, and before it was at washington, has usually been inclined to sympathize with the feeling that considers the whites the aggressors, for the government does not wish a war, does not itself feel any land hunger, hears of not a tenth of the indian outrages, and knows by experience that the white borderers are not easy to rule. as a consequence, the official reports of the people who are not on the ground are apt to paint the indian side in its most favorable light, and are often completely untrustworthy, this being particularly the case if the author of the report is an eastern man, utterly unacquainted with the actual condition of affairs on the frontier. such a man, though both honest and intelligent, when he hears that the whites have settled on indian lands, cannot realize that the act has no resemblance whatever to the forcible occupation of land already cultivated. the white settler has merely moved into an uninhabited waste; he does not feel that he is committing a wrong, for he knows perfectly well that the land is really owned by no one. it is never even visited, except perhaps for a week or two every year, and then the visitors are likely at any moment to be driven off by a rival hunting-party of greater strength. the settler ousts no one from the land; if he did not chop down the trees, hew out the logs for a building, and clear the ground for tillage, no one else would do so. he drives out the game, however, and of course the indians who live thereon sink their mutual animosities and turn against the intruder. the truth is, the indians never had any real title to the soil; they had not half as good a claim to it, for instance, as the cattlemen now have to all eastern montana, yet no one would assert that the cattlemen have a right to keep immigrants off their vast unfenced ranges. the settler and pioneer have at bottom had justice on their side; this great continent could not have been kept as nothing but a game preserve for squalid savages. moreover, to the most oppressed indian nations the whites often acted as a protection, or, at least, they deferred instead of hastening their fate. but for the interposition of the whites it is probable that the iroquois would have exterminated every algonquin tribe before the end of the eighteenth century; exactly as in recent time the crows and pawnees would have been destroyed by the sioux, had it not been for the wars we have waged against the latter. again, the loose governmental system of the indians made it as difficult to secure a permanent peace with them as it was to negotiate the purchase of the lands. the sachem, or hereditary peace chief, and the elective war chief, who wielded only the influence that he could secure by his personal prowess and his tact, were equally unable to control all of their tribesmen, and were powerless with their confederated nations. if peace was made with the shawnees, the war was continued by the miamis; if peace was made with the latter, nevertheless perhaps one small band was dissatisfied, and continued the contest on its own account; and even if all the recognized bands were dealt with, the parties of renegades or outlaws had to be considered; and in the last resort the full recognition accorded by the indians to the right of private warfare, made it possible for any individual warrior who possessed any influence to go on raiding and murdering unchecked. every tribe, every sub-tribe, every band of a dozen souls ruled over by a petty chief, almost every individual warrior of the least importance, had to be met and pacified. even if peace were declared, the indians could not exist long without breaking it. there was to them no temptation to trespass on the white man's ground for the purpose of settling; but every young brave was brought up to regard scalps taken and horses stolen, in war or peace, as the highest proofs and tokens of skill and courage, the sure means of attaining glory and honor, the admiration of men and the love of women. where the young men thought thus, and the chiefs had so little real control, it was inevitable that there should be many unprovoked forays for scalps, slaves, and horses made upon the white borderers.[ ] as for the whites themselves, they too have many and grievous sins against their red neighbors for which to answer. they cannot be severely blamed for trespassing upon what was called the indian's land; for let sentimentalists say what they will, the man who puts the soil to use must of right dispossess the man who does not, or the world will come to a standstill; but for many of their other deeds there can be no pardon. on the border each man was a law unto himself, and good and bad alike were left in perfect freedom to follow out to the uttermost limits their own desires; for the spirit of individualism so characteristic of american life reached its extreme of development in the back-woods. the whites who wished peace, the magistrates and leaders, had little more power over their evil and unruly fellows than the indian sachems had over the turbulent young braves. each man did what seemed best in his own eyes, almost without let or hindrance; unless, indeed, he trespassed upon the rights of his neighbors, who were ready enough to band together in their own defence, though slow to interfere in the affairs of others. thus the men of lawless, brutal spirit who are found in every community and who flock to places where the reign of order is lax, were able to follow the bent of their inclinations unchecked. they utterly despised the red man; they held it no crime whatever to cheat him in trading, to rob him of his peltries or horses, to murder him if the fit seized them. criminals who generally preyed on their own neighbors, found it easier, and perhaps hardly as dangerous, to pursue their calling at the expense of the redskins, for the latter, when they discovered that they had been wronged, were quite as apt to vent their wrath on some outsider as on the original offender. if they injured a white, all the whites might make common cause against them; but if they injured a red man, though there were sure to be plenty of whites who disapproved of it, there were apt to be very few indeed whose disapproval took any active shape. each race stood by its own members, and each held all of the other race responsible for the misdeeds of a few uncontrollable spirits; and this clannishness among those of one color, and the refusal or the inability to discriminate between the good and the bad of the other color were the two most fruitful causes of border strife.[ ] when, even if he sought to prevent them, the innocent man was sure to suffer for the misdeeds of the guilty, unless both joined together for defence, the former had no alternative save to make common cause with the latter. moreover, in a sparse backwoods settlement, where the presence of a strong, vigorous fighter was a source of safety to the whole community, it was impossible to expect that he would be punished with severity for offences which, in their hearts, his fellow townsmen could not help regarding as in some sort a revenge for the injuries they had themselves suffered. every quiet, peaceable settler had either himself been grievously wronged, or had been an eye-witness to wrongs done to his friends; and while these were vivid in his mind, the corresponding wrongs done the indians were never brought home to him at all. if his son was scalped or his cattle driven off, he could not be expected to remember that perhaps the indians who did the deed had themselves been cheated by a white trader, or had lost a relative at the hands of some border ruffian, or felt aggrieved because a hundred miles off some settler had built a cabin on lands they considered their own. when he joined with other exasperated and injured men to make a retaliatory inroad, his vengeance might or might not fall on the heads of the real offenders; and, in any case, he was often not in the frame of mind to put a stop to the outrages sure to be committed by the brutal spirits among his allies--though these brutal spirits were probably in a small minority. the excesses so often committed by the whites, when, after many checks and failures, they at last grasped victory, are causes for shame and regret; yet it is only fair to keep in mind the terrible provocations they had endured. mercy, pity, magnanimity to the fallen, could not be expected from the frontiersmen gathered together to war against an indian tribe. almost every man of such a band had bitter personal wrongs to avenge. he was not taking part in a war against a civilized foe; he was fighting in a contest where women and children suffered the fate of the strong men, and instead of enthusiasm for his country's flag and a general national animosity towards its enemies, he was actuated by a furious flame of hot anger, and was goaded on by memories of which merely to think was madness. his friends had been treacherously slain while on messages of peace; his house had been burned, his cattle driven off, and all he had in the world destroyed before he knew that war existed and when he felt quite guiltless of all offence; his sweetheart or wife had been carried off, ravished, and was at the moment the slave and concubine of some dirty and brutal indian warrior; his son, the stay of his house, had been burned at the stake with torments too horrible to mention;[ ] his sister, when ransomed and returned to him, had told of the weary journey through the woods, when she carried around her neck as a horrible necklace the bloody scalps of her husband and children;[ ] seared into his eyeballs, into his very brain, he bore ever with him, waking or sleeping, the sight of the skinned, mutilated, hideous body of the baby who had just grown old enough to recognize him and to crow and laugh when taken in his arms. such incidents as these were not exceptional; one or more, and often all of them, were the invariable attendants of every one of the countless indian inroads that took place during the long generations of forest warfare. it was small wonder that men who had thus lost every thing should sometimes be fairly crazed by their wrongs. again and again on the frontier we hear of some such unfortunate who has devoted all the remainder of his wretched life to the one object of taking vengeance on the whole race of the men who had darkened his days forever. too often the squaws and pappooses fell victims of the vengeance that should have come only on the warriors; for the whites regarded their foes as beasts rather than men, and knew that the squaws were more cruel than others in torturing the prisoner, and that the very children took their full part therein, being held up by their fathers to tomahawk the dying victims at the stake.[ ] thus it is that there are so many dark and bloody pages in the book of border warfare, that grim and iron-bound volume, wherein we read how our forefathers won the wide lands that we inherit. it contains many a tale of fierce heroism and adventurous ambition, of the daring and resolute courage of men and the patient endurance of women; it shows us a stern race of freemen who toiled hard, endured greatly, and fronted adversity bravely, who prized strength and courage and good faith, whose wives were chaste, who were generous and loyal to their friends. but it shows us also how they spurned at restraint and fretted under it, how they would brook no wrong to themselves, and yet too often inflicted wrong on others; their feats of terrible prowess are interspersed with deeds of the foulest and most wanton aggression, the darkest treachery, the most revolting cruelty; and though we meet with plenty of the rough, strong, coarse virtues, we see but little of such qualities as mercy for the fallen, the weak, and the helpless, or pity for a gallant and vanquished foe. among the indians of the northwest, generally so much alike that we need pay little heed to tribal distinctions, there was one body deserving especial and separate mention. among the turbulent and jarring elements tossed into wild confusion by the shock of the contact between savages and the rude vanguard of civilization, surrounded and threatened by the painted warriors of the woods no less than by the lawless white riflemen who lived on the stump-dotted clearings, there dwelt a group of peaceful beings who were destined to suffer a dire fate in the most lamentable and pitiable of all the tragedies which were played out in the heart of this great wilderness. these were the moravian indians.[ ] they were mostly delawares, and had been converted by the indefatigable german missionaries, who taught the tranquil, quaker-like creed of count zinzendorf. the zeal and success of the missionaries were attested by the marvellous change they had wrought in these converts; for they had transformed them in one generation from a restless, idle, blood-thirsty people of hunters and fishers, into an orderly, thrifty, industrious folk, believing with all their hearts the christian religion in the form in which their teachers both preached and practised it. at first the missionaries, surrounded by their indian converts, dwelt in pennsylvania; but, harried and oppressed by their white neighbors, the submissive and patient moravians left their homes and their cherished belongings, and in moved out into the wilderness northwest of the ohio. it is a bitter and unanswerable commentary on the workings of a non-resistant creed when reduced to practice, that such outrages and massacres as those committed on these helpless indians were more numerous and flagrant in the colony the quakers governed than in any other; their vaunted policy of peace, which forbade them to play a true man's part and put down wrong-doing, caused the utmost possible evil to fall both on the white man and the red. an avowed policy of force and fraud carried out in the most cynical manner could hardly have worked more terrible injustice; their system was a direct incentive to crime and wrong-doing between the races, for they punished the aggressions of neither, and hence allowed any blow to always fall heaviest on those least deserving to suffer. no other colony made such futile, contemptible efforts to deal with the indian problem; no other colony showed such supine, selfish helplessness in allowing her own border citizens to be mercilessly harried; none other betrayed such inability to master the hostile indians, while, nevertheless, utterly failing to protect those who were peaceful and friendly. when the moravians removed beyond the ohio, they settled on the banks of the muskingum, made clearings in the forest, and built themselves little towns, which they christened by such quaint names as salem and gnadenhutten; names that were pathetic symbols of the peace which the harmless and sadly submissive wanderers so vainly sought. here, in the forest, they worked and toiled, surrounded their clean, neatly kept villages with orchards and grain-fields, bred horses and cattle, and tried to do wrong to no man; all of each community meeting every day to worship and praise their creator. but the missionaries who had done so much for them had also done one thing which more than offset it all: for they had taught them not to defend themselves, and had thus exposed the poor beings who trusted their teaching to certain destruction. no greater wrong can ever be done than to put a good man at the mercy of a bad, while telling him not to defend himself or his fellows; in no way can the success of evil be made surer and quicker; but the wrong was peculiarly great when at such a time and in such a place the defenceless indians were thrust between the anvil of their savage red brethren and the hammer of the lawless and brutal white borderers. the awful harvest which the poor converts reaped had in reality been sown for them by their own friends and would-be benefactors. so the moravians, seeking to deal honestly with indians and whites alike, but in return suspected and despised by both, worked patiently year in and year out, as they dwelt in their lonely homes, meekly awaiting the stroke of the terrible doom which hung over them. . see papers by stephen d. peet, on the northwestern tribes, read before the state archaeological society of ohio, . . barton, xxv. . general w. h. harrison, "aborigines of the ohio valley." old "tippecanoe" was the best possible authority for their courage. . "remarkable occurrences in the life and travels of col. james smith," etc., written by himself, lexington, ky., . smith is our best contemporary authority on indian warfare; he lived with them for several years, and fought them in many campaigns. besides several editions of the above, he also published in , at paris, ky., a "treatise" on indian warfare, which holds much the same matter. . see parkman's "oregon trail." in i myself met two delawares hunting alone, just north of the black hills. they were returning from a trip to the rocky mountains. i could not but admire their strong, manly forms, and the disdainful resolution with which they had hunted and travelled for so many hundred miles, in defiance of the white frontiersmen and of the wild native tribes as well. i think they were in more danger from the latter than the former, but they seemed perfectly confident of their ability to hold their own against both. . see barton, the madison mss., schoolcraft, thos. hutchins (who accompanied bouquet), smythe, pike, various reports of the u. s. indian commissioners, etc, etc. . i base this number on a careful examination of the tribes named above, discarding such of the northern bands of the chippewas, for instance, as were unlikely at that time to have been drawn into war with us. . the expressions generally used by them in sending their war talks and peace talks to one another or the whites. hundreds of copies of these "talks" are preserved at washington. . _do_. . smith, "remarkable occurrences," etc., p. . smith gives a very impartial account of the indian discipline and of their effectiveness, and is one of the few men who warred against them who did not greatly overestimate their numbers and losses. he was a successful indian fighter himself. for the british regulars he had the true backwoods contempt, although having more than the average backwoods sense in acknowledging their effectiveness in the open. he had lived so long among the indians, and estimated so highly their personal prowess, that his opinion must be accepted with caution where dealing with matters of discipline and command. . the accounts of the indian numbers in any battle given by british or americans, soldiers or civilians, are ludicrously exaggerated as a rule; even now it seems a common belief of historians that the whites were generally outnumbered in battles, while in reality they were generally much more numerous than their foes. . harrison (_loc. cit._) calls them "the finest light troops in the world"; and he had had full experience in serving with american and against british infantry. . any one who is fond of the chase can test the truth of this proposition for himself, by trying how long it will take him to learn to kill a bighorn on the mountains, and how long it will take him to learn to kill white-tail deer in a dense forest, by fair still-hunting, the game being equally plenty. i have known many novices learn to equal the best old hunters, red or white, in killing mountain game; i have never met one who could begin to do as well as an indian in the dense forest, unless brought up to it--and rarely even then. yet, though woodcraft is harder to learn, it does not imply the possession of such valuable qualities as mountaineering; and when cragsman and woodman meet on neutral ground, the former is apt to be the better man. . to this day the wild--not the half-tame--indians remain unequalled as trackers. even among the old hunters not one white in a hundred can come near them. in my experience i have known a very few whites who had spent all their lives in the wilderness who equalled the indian average; but i never met any white who came up to the very best indian. but, because of their better shooting and their better nerve, the whites often make the better hunters. . it is curious how to this day the wild indians retain the same traits. i have seen and taken part in many matches between frontiersmen and the sioux, cheyennes, grosventres, and mandans, and the indians were beaten in almost every one. on the other hand the indians will stand fatigue, hunger, and privation better, but they seem more susceptible to cold. . see parkman's "conspiracy of pontiac"; also "montcalm and wolfe." . bouquet, like so many of his predecessors and successors, greatly exaggerated the numbers and loss of the indians in this fight. smith, who derived his information both from the indians and from the american rangers, states that but eighteen indians were killed at bushy run. . most of the plains indians feel in the same way at present. i was once hunting with a sioux half-breed who illustrated the indian view of the matter in a rather striking way, saying: "if there were a dozen of you white hunters and you found six or eight bears in the brush, and you knew you could go in and kill them all, but that in the fight you would certainly lose three or four men yourselves, you wouldn't go in, would you? you'd wait until you got a better chance, and could kill them without so much risk. well, indians feel the same way about attacking whites that you would feel about attacking those bears." . all the authorities from smith to harrison are unanimous on this point. . any one who has ever been in an encampment of wild indians, and has had the misfortune to witness the delight the children take in torturing little animals, will admit that the indian's love of cruelty for cruelty's sake cannot possibly be exaggerated. the young are so trained that when old they shall find their keenest pleasure in inflicting pain in its most appalling form. among the most brutal white borderers a man would be instantly lynched if he practised on any creature the fiendish torture which in an indian camp either attracts no notice at all, or else excites merely laughter. . see appendix a. . similarly the crows, who have always been treated well by us, have murdered and robbed any number of peaceful, unprotected travellers during the past three decades, as i know personally. . it is precisely the same at the present day. i have known a party of sioux to steal the horses of a buffalo-hunting outfit, whereupon the latter retaliated by stealing the horses of a party of harmless grosventres; and i knew a party of cheyennes, whose horses had been taken by white thieves, to, in revenge, assail a camp of perfectly orderly cowboys. most of the ranchmen along the little missouri in , were pretty good fellows, who would not wrong indians, yet they tolerated for a long time the presence of men who did not scruple to boast that they stole horses from the latter; while our peaceful neighbors, the grosventres, likewise permitted two notorious red-skinned horse thieves to use their reservation as a harbor of refuge, and a starting-point from which to make forays against the cattlemen. . the expression "too horrible to mention" is to be taken literally, not figuratively. it applies equally to the fate that has befallen every white man or woman who has fallen into the power of hostile plains indians during the last ten or fifteen years. the nature of the wild indian has not changed. not one man in a hundred, and not a single woman, escapes torments which a civilized man cannot look another in the face and so much as speak of. impalement on charred stakes, finger-nails split off backwards, finger-joints chewed off, eyes burned out--these tortures can be mentioned, but there are others equally normal and customary which cannot even be hinted at, especially when women are the victims. . for the particular incident see m'ferrin's "history of methodism in tennessee," p. . . as was done to the father of simon girty. any history of any indian inroad will give examples such as i have mentioned above. see mcafee mss., john p. hale's "trans-alleghany pioneers," de haas' "indian wars," wither's "border war," etc. in one respect, however, the indians east of the mississippi were better than the tribes of the plains from whom our borders have suffered during the present century; their female captives were not invariably ravished by every member of the band capturing them, as has ever been the custom among the horse indians. still, they were often made the concubines of their captors. . the missionaries called themselves united brethren; to outsiders they were known as moravians. loskiel, "history of the mission of the united brethren," london, . heckewelder, "narrative of the mission of the united brethren," phil., . chapter v. the backwoodsmen of the alleghanies. - . along the western frontier of the colonies that were so soon to be the united states, among the foothills of the alleghanies, on the slopes of the wooded mountains, and in the long trough-like valleys that lay between the ranges, dwelt a peculiar and characteristically american people. these frontier folk, the people of the up-country, or back-country, who lived near and among the forest-clad mountains, far away from the long-settled districts of flat coast plain and sluggish tidal river, were known to themselves and to others as backwoodsmen. they all bore a strong likeness to one another in their habits of thought and ways of living, and differed markedly from the people of the older and more civilized communities to the eastward. the western border of our country was then formed by the great barrier-chains of the alleghanies, which ran north and south from pennsylvania through maryland, virginia, and the carolinas,[ ] the trend of the valleys being parallel to the sea-coast, and the mountains rising highest to the southward. it was difficult to cross the ranges from east to west, but it was both easy and natural to follow the valleys between. from fort pitt to the high hill-homes of the cherokees this great tract of wooded and mountainous country possessed nearly the same features and characteristics, differing utterly in physical aspect from the alluvial plains bordering the ocean. so, likewise, the backwoods mountaineers who dwelt near the great watershed that separates the atlantic streams from the springs of the watauga, the kanawha, and the monongahela were all cast in the same mould, and resembled each other much more than any of them did their immediate neighbors of the plains. the backwoodsmen of pennsylvania had little in common with the peaceful population of quakers and germans who lived between the delaware and the susquehanna; and their near kinsmen of the blue ridge and the great smoky mountains were separated by an equally wide gulf from the aristocratic planter communities that flourished in the tide-water regions of virginia and the carolinas. near the coast the lines of division between the colonies corresponded fairly well with the differences between the populations; but after striking the foothills, though the political boundaries continued to go east and west, those both of ethnic and of physical significance began to run north and south. the backwoodsmen were americans by birth and parentage, and of mixed race; but the dominant strain in their blood was that of the presbyterian irish--the scotch-irish as they were often called. full credit has been awarded the roundhead and the cavalier for their leadership in our history; nor have we been altogether blind to the deeds of the hollander and the huguenot; but it is doubtful if we have wholly realized the importance of the part played by that stern and virile people, the irish whose preachers taught the creed of knox and calvin. these irish representatives of the covenanters were in the west almost what the puritans were in the northeast, and more than the cavaliers were in the south. mingled with the descendants of many other races, they nevertheless formed the kernel of the distinctively and intensely american stock who were the pioneers of our people in their march westward, the vanguard of the army of fighting settlers, who with axe and rifle won their way from the alleghanies to the rio grande and the pacific.[ ] the presbyterian irish were themselves already a mixed people. though mainly descended from scotch ancestors--who came originally from both lowlands and highlands, from among both the scotch saxons and the scotch celts,[ ]--many of them were of english, a few of french huguenot,[ ] and quite a number of true old milesian irish[ ] extraction. they were the protestants of the protestants; they detested and despised the catholics, whom their ancestors had conquered, and regarded the episcopalians by whom they themselves had been oppressed, with a more sullen, but scarcely less intense, hatred.[ ] they were a truculent and obstinate people, and gloried in the warlike renown of their forefathers, the men who had followed cromwell, and who had shared in the defence of derry and in the victories of the boyne and aughrim.[ ] they did not begin to come to america in any numbers till after the opening of the eighteenth century; by they were fairly swarming across the ocean, for the most part in two streams, the larger going to the port of philadelphia, the smaller to the port of charleston.[ ] pushing through the long settled lowlands of the seacoast, they at once made their abode at the foot of the mountains, and became the outposts of civilization. from pennsylvania, whither the great majority had come, they drifted south along the foothills, and down the long valleys, till they met their brethren from charleston who had pushed up into the carolina back-country. in this land of hills, covered by unbroken forest, they took root and flourished, stretching in a broad belt from north to south, a shield of sinewy men thrust in between the people of the seaboard and the red warriors of the wilderness. all through this region they were alike; they had as little kinship with the cavalier as with the quaker; the west was won by those who have been rightly called the roundheads of the south, the same men who, before any others, declared for american independence.[ ] the two facts of most importance to remember in dealing with our pioneer history are, first, that the western portions of virginia and the carolinas were peopled by an entirely different stock from that which had long existed in the tide-water regions of those colonies; and, secondly, that, except for those in the carolinas who came from charleston, the immigrants of this stock were mostly from the north, from their great breeding-ground and nursery in western pennsylvania.[ ] that these irish presbyterians were a bold and hardy race is proved by their at once pushing past the settled regions, and plunging into the wilderness as the leaders of the white advance. they were the first and last set of immigrants to do this; all others have merely followed in the wake of their predecessors. but, indeed, they were fitted to be americans from the very start; they were kinsfolk of the covenanters; they deemed it a religious duty to interpret their own bible, and held for a divine right the election of their own clergy. for generations their whole ecclesiastic and scholastic systems had been fundamentally democratic. in the hard life of the frontier they lost much of their religion, and they had but scant opportunity to give their children the schooling in which they believed; but what few meeting-houses and school-houses there were on the border were theirs.[ ] the numerous families of colonial english who came among them adopted their religion if they adopted any. the creed of the backwoodsman who had a creed at all was presbyterianism; for the episcopacy of the tide-water lands obtained no foothold in the mountains, and the methodists and baptists had but just begun to appear in the west when the revolution broke out.[ ] these presbyterian irish were, however, far from being the only settlers on the border, although more than any others they impressed the stamp of their peculiar character on the pioneer civilization of the west and southwest. great numbers of immigrants of english descent came among them from the settled districts on the east; and though these later arrivals soon became indistinguishable from the people among whom they settled, yet they certainly sometimes added a tone of their own to backwoods society, giving it here and there a slight dash of what we are accustomed to consider the distinctively southern or cavalier spirit.[ ] there was likewise a large german admixture, not only from the germans of pennsylvania, but also from those of the carolinas.[ ] a good many huguenots likewise came,[ ] and a few hollanders[ ] and even swedes,[ ] from the banks of the delaware, or perhaps from farther off still. a single generation, passed under the hard conditions of life in the wilderness, was enough to weld together into one people the representatives of these numerous and widely different races; and the children of the next generation became indistinguishable from one another. long before the first continental congress assembled, the backwoodsmen, whatever their blood, had become americans, one in speech, thought, and character, clutching firmly the land in which their fathers and grandfathers had lived before them. they had lost all remembrance of europe and all sympathy with things european; they had become as emphatically products native to the soil as were the tough and supple hickories out of which they fashioned the handles of their long, light axes. their grim, harsh, narrow lives were yet strangely fascinating and full of adventurous toil and danger; none but natures as strong, as freedom-loving, and as full of bold defiance as theirs could have endured existence on the terms which these men found pleasurable. their iron surroundings made a mould which turned out all alike in the same shape. they resembled one another, and they differed from the rest of the world--even the world of america, and infinitely more the world of europe--in dress, in customs, and in mode of life. where their lands abutted on the more settled districts to the eastward, the population was of course thickest, and their peculiarities least. here and there at such points they built small backwoods burgs or towns, rude, straggling, unkempt villages, with a store or two, a tavern,--sometimes good, often a "scandalous hog-sty," where travellers were devoured by fleas, and every one slept and ate in one room,[ ]--a small log school-house, and a little church, presided over by a hard-featured presbyterian preacher, gloomy, earnest, and zealous, probably bigoted and narrow-minded, but nevertheless a great power for good in the community.[ ] however, the backwoodsmen as a class neither built towns nor loved to dwell therein. they were to be seen at their best in the vast, interminable forests that formed their chosen home. they won and kept their lands by force, and ever lived either at war or in dread of war. hence they settled always in groups of several families each, all banded together for mutual protection. their red foes were strong and terrible, cunning in council, dreadful in battle, merciless beyond belief in victory. the men of the border did not overcome and dispossess cowards and weaklings; they marched forth to spoil the stout-hearted and to take for a prey the possessions of the men of might. every acre, every rood of ground which they claimed had to be cleared by the axe and held with the rifle. not only was the chopping down of the forest the first preliminary to cultivation, but it was also the surest means of subduing the indians, to whom the unending stretches of choked woodland were an impenetrable cover behind which to move unseen, a shield in making assaults, and a strong tower of defence in repelling counter-attacks. in the conquest of the west the backwoods axe, shapely, well-poised, with long haft and light head, was a servant hardly standing second even to the rifle; the two were the national weapons of the american backwoodsman, and in their use he has never been excelled. when a group of families moved out into the wilderness they built themselves a station or stockade fort; a square palisade of upright logs, loop-holed, with strong blockhouses as bastions at the corners. one side at least was generally formed by the backs of the cabins themselves, all standing in a row; and there was a great door or gate, that could be strongly barred in case of need. often no iron whatever was employed in any of the buildings. the square inside contained the provision sheds and frequently a strong central blockhouse as well. these forts, of course, could not stand against cannon, and they were always in danger when attacked with fire; but save for this risk of burning they were very effectual defences against men without artillery, and were rarely taken, whether by whites or indians, except by surprise. few other buildings have played so important a part in our history as the rough stockade fort of the backwoods. the families only lived in the fort when there was war with the indians, and even then not in the winter. at other times they all separated out to their own farms, universally called clearings, as they were always made by first cutting off the timber. the stumps were left to dot the fields of grain and indian corn. the corn in especial was the stand-by and invariable resource of the western settler; it was the crop on which he relied to feed his family, and when hunting or on a war trail the parched grains were carried in his leather wallet to serve often as his only food. but he planted orchards and raised melons, potatoes, and many other fruits and vegetables as well; and he had usually a horse or two, cows, and perhaps hogs and sheep, if the wolves and bears did not interfere. if he was poor his cabin was made of unhewn logs, and held but a single room; if well-to-do, the logs were neatly hewed, and besides the large living- and eating-room with its huge stone fireplace, there was also a small bedroom and a kitchen, while a ladder led to the loft above, in which the boys slept. the floor was made of puncheons, great slabs of wood hewed carefully out, and the roof of clapboards. pegs of wood were thrust into the sides of the house, to serve instead of a wardrobe; and buck antlers, thrust into joists, held the ever-ready rifles. the table was a great clapboard set on four wooden legs; there were three-legged stools, and in the better sort of houses old-fashioned rocking-chairs.[ ] the couch or bed was warmly covered with blankets, bear-skins, and deer-hides.[ ] these clearings lay far apart from one another in the wilderness. up to the door-sills of the log-huts stretched the solemn and mysterious forest. there were no openings to break its continuity; nothing but endless leagues on leagues of shadowy, wolf-haunted woodland. the great trees towered aloft till their separate heads were lost in the mass of foliage above, and the rank underbrush choked the spaces between the trunks. on the higher peaks and ridge-crests of the mountains there were straggling birches and pines, hemlocks and balsam firs;[ ] elsewhere, oaks, chestnuts, hickories, maples, beeches, walnuts, and great tulip trees grew side by side with many other kinds. the sunlight could not penetrate the roofed archway of murmuring leaves; through the gray aisles of the forest men walked always in a kind of mid-day gloaming. those who had lived in the open plains felt when they came to the backwoods as if their heads were hooded. save on the border of a lake, from a cliff top, or on a bald knob--that is, a bare hill-shoulder,--they could not anywhere look out for any distance. all the land was shrouded in one vast forest. it covered the mountains from crest to river-bed, filled the plains, and stretched in sombre and melancholy wastes towards the mississippi. all that it contained, all that lay hid within it and beyond it, none could tell; men only knew that their boldest hunters, however deeply they had penetrated, had not yet gone through it, that it was the home of the game they followed and the wild beasts that preyed on their flocks, and that deep in its tangled depths lurked their red foes, hawk-eyed and wolf-hearted. backwoods society was simple, and the duties and rights of each member of the family were plain and clear. the man was the armed protector and provider, the bread-winner; the woman was the housewife and child-bearer. they married young and their families were large, for they were strong and healthy, and their success in life depended on their own stout arms and willing hearts. there was everywhere great equality of conditions. land was plenty and all else scarce; so courage, thrift, and industry were sure of their reward. all had small farms, with the few stock necessary to cultivate them; the farms being generally placed in the hollows, the division lines between them, if they were close together, being the tops of the ridges and the watercourses, especially the former. the buildings of each farm were usually at its lowest point, as if in the centre of an amphitheatre.[ ] each was on an average of about acres,[ ] but sometimes more.[ ] tracts of low, swampy grounds, possibly some miles from the cabin, were cleared for meadows, the fodder being stacked, and hauled home in winter. each backwoodsman was not only a small farmer but also a hunter; for his wife and children depended for their meat upon the venison and bear's flesh procured by his rifle. the people were restless and always on the move. after being a little while in a place, some of the men would settle down permanently, while others would again drift off, farming and hunting alternately to support their families.[ ] the backwoodsman's dress was in great part borrowed from his indian foes. he wore a fur cap or felt hat, moccasins, and either loose, thin trousers, or else simply leggings of buckskin or elk-hide, and the indian breech-clout. he was always clad in the fringed hunting-shirt, of homespun or buckskin, the most picturesque and distinctively national dress ever worn in america. it was a loose smock or tunic, reaching nearly to the knees, and held in at the waist by a broad belt, from which hung the tomahawk and scalping-knife.[ ] his weapon was the long, small-bore, flint-lock rifle, clumsy, and ill-balanced, but exceedingly accurate. it was very heavy, and when upright, reached to the chin of a tall man; for the barrel of thick, soft iron, was four feet in length, while the stock was short, and the butt scooped out. sometimes it was plain, sometimes ornamented. it was generally bored out--or, as the expression then was, "sawed out"--to carry a ball of seventy, more rarely of thirty or forty, to the pound; and was usually of backwoods manufacture.[ ] the marksman almost always fired from a rest, and rarely at a very long range; and the shooting was marvellously accurate.[ ] in the backwoods there was very little money; barter was the common form of exchange, and peltries were often used as a circulating medium, a beaver, otter, fisher, dressed buckskin or large bearskin being reckoned as equal to two foxes or wildcats, four coons, or eight minks.[ ] a young man inherited nothing from his father but his strong frame and eager heart; but before him lay a whole continent wherein to pitch his farm, and he felt ready to marry as soon as he became of age, even though he had nothing but his clothes, his horses, his axe, and his rifle.[ ] if a girl was well off, and had been careful and industrious, she might herself bring a dowry, of a cow and a calf, a brood mare, a bed well stocked with blankets, and a chest containing her clothes[ ]--the latter not very elaborate, for a woman's dress consisted of a hat or poke bonnet, a "bed gown," perhaps a jacket, and a linsey petticoat, while her feet were thrust into coarse shoepacks or moccasins. fine clothes were rare; a suit of such cost more than acres of good land.[ ] the first lesson the backwoodsmen learnt was the necessity of self-help; the next, that such a community could only thrive if all joined in helping one another. log-rollings, house-raisings, house-warmings, corn-shuckings, quiltings, and the like were occasions when all the neighbors came together to do what the family itself could hardly accomplish alone. every such meeting was the occasion of a frolic and dance for the young people, whisky and rum being plentiful, and the host exerting his utmost power to spread the table with backwoods delicacies--bear-meat and venison, vegetables from the "truck patch," where squashes, melons, beans, and the like were grown, wild fruits, bowls of milk, and apple pies, which were the acknowledged standard of luxury. at the better houses there was metheglin or small beer, cider, cheese, and biscuits.[ ] tea was so little known that many of the backwoods people were not aware it was a beverage and at first attempted to eat the leaves with salt or butter.[ ] the young men prided themselves on their bodily strength, and were always eager to contend against one another in athletic games, such as wrestling, racing, jumping, and lifting flour-barrels; and they also sought distinction in vieing with one another at their work. sometimes they strove against one another singly, sometimes they divided into parties, each bending all its energies to be first in shucking a given heap of corn or cutting (with sickles) an allotted patch of wheat. among the men the bravos or bullies often were dandies also in the backwoods fashions, wearing their hair long and delighting in the rude finery of hunting-shirts embroidered with porcupine quills; they were loud, boastful, and profane, given to coarsely bantering one another. brutally savage fights were frequent; the combatants, who were surrounded by rings of interested spectators, striking, kicking, biting, and gouging. the fall of one of them did not stop the fight, for the man who was down was maltreated without mercy until he called "enough." the victor always bragged savagely of his prowess, often leaping on a stump, crowing and flapping his arms. this last was a thoroughly american touch; but otherwise one of these contests was less a boxing match than a kind of backwoods _pankration,_ no less revolting than its ancient prototype of olympic fame. yet, if the uncouth borderers were as brutal as the highly polished greeks, they were more manly; defeat was not necessarily considered disgrace, a man often fighting when he was certain to be beaten, while the onlookers neither hooted nor pelted the conquered. we first hear of the noted scout and indian fighter, simon kenton, as leaving a rival for dead after one of these ferocious duels, and fleeing from his home in terror of the punishment that might follow the deed.[ ] such fights were specially frequent when the backwoodsmen went into the little frontier towns to see horse races or fairs. a wedding was always a time of festival. if there was a church anywhere near, the bride rode thither on horseback behind her father, and after the service her pillion was shifted to the bridegroom's steed.[ ] if, as generally happened, there was no church, the groom and his friends, all armed, rode to the house of the bride's father, plenty of whisky being drunk, and the men racing recklessly along the narrow bridle-paths, for there were few roads or wheeled vehicles in the backwoods. at the bride's house the ceremony was performed, and then a huge dinner was eaten, after which the fiddling and dancing began, and were continued all the afternoon, and most of the night as well. a party of girls stole off the bride and put her to bed in the loft above; and a party of young men then performed the like service for the groom. the fun was hearty and coarse, and the toasts always included one to the young couple, with the wish that they might have many big children; for as long as they could remember the backwoodsmen had lived at war, while looking ahead they saw no chance of its ever stopping, and so each son was regarded as a future warrior, a help to the whole community.[ ] the neighbors all joined again in chopping and rolling the logs for the young couple's future house, then in raising the house itself, and finally in feasting and dancing at the house-warming. funerals were simple, the dead body being carried to the grave in a coffin slung on poles and borne by four men. there was not much schooling, and few boys or girls learnt much more than reading, writing, and ciphering up to the rule of three.[ ] where the school-houses existed they were only dark, mean log-huts, and if in the southern colonies, were generally placed in the so-called "old fields," or abandoned farms grown up with pines. the schoolmaster boarded about with the families; his learning was rarely great, nor was his discipline good, in spite of the frequency and severity of the canings. the price for such tuition was at the rate of twenty shillings a year, in pennsylvania currency.[ ] each family did every thing that could be done for itself. the father and sons worked with axe, hoe, and sickle. almost every house contained a loom, and almost every woman was a weaver. linsey-woolsey, made from flax grown near the cabin, and of wool from the backs of the few sheep, was the warmest and most substantial cloth; and when the flax crop failed and the flocks were destroyed by wolves, the children had but scanty covering to hide their nakedness. the man tanned the buckskin, the woman was tailor and shoemaker, and made the deerskin sifters to be used instead of bolting-cloths. there were a few pewter spoons in use; but the table furniture consisted mainly of hand-made trenchers, platters, noggins, and bowls. the cradle was of peeled hickory bark.[ ] ploughshares had to be imported, but harrows and sleds were made without difficulty; and the cooper work was well done. chaff beds were thrown on the floor of the loft, if the house-owner was well off. each cabin had a hand-mill and a hominy block; the last was borrowed from the indians, and was only a large block of wood, with a hole burned in the top, as a mortar, where the pestle was worked. if there were any sugar maples accessible, they were tapped every year. but some articles, especially salt and iron, could not be produced in the backwoods. in order to get them each family collected during the year all the furs possible, these being valuable and yet easily carried on pack-horses, the sole means of transport. then, after seeding time, in the fall, the people of a neighborhood ordinarily joined in sending down a train of peltry-laden pack-horses to some large sea-coast or tidal-river trading town, where their burdens were bartered for the needed iron and salt. the unshod horses all had bells hung round their neck; the clappers were stopped during the day, but when the train was halted for the night, and the horses were hobbled and turned loose, the bells were once more unstopped.[ ] several men accompanied each little caravan, and sometimes they drove with them steers and hogs to sell on the sea-coast. a bushel of alum salt was worth a good cow and calf, and as each of the poorly fed, undersized pack animals could carry but two bushels, the mountaineers prized it greatly, and instead of salting or pickling their venison, they jerked it, by drying it in the sun or smoking it over a fire. the life of the backwoodsmen was one long struggle. the forest had to be felled, droughts, deep snows, freshets, cloudbursts, forest fires, and all the other dangers of a wilderness life faced. swarms of deer-flies, mosquitoes, and midges rendered life a torment in the weeks of hot weather. rattlesnakes and copperheads were very plentiful, and, the former especially, constant sources of danger and death. wolves and bears were incessant and inveterate foes of the live stock, and the cougar or panther occasionally attacked man as well.[ ] more terrible still, the wolves sometimes went mad, and the men who then encountered them were almost certain to be bitten and to die of hydrophobia.[ ] every true backwoodsman was a hunter. wild turkeys were plentiful. the pigeons at times filled the woods with clouds that hid the sun and broke down the branches on their roosting grounds as if a whirlwind had passed. the black and gray squirrels swarmed, devastating the corn-fields, and at times gathering in immense companies and migrating across mountain and river. the hunter's ordinary game was the deer, and after that the bear; the elk was already growing uncommon. no form of labor is harder than the chase, and none is so fascinating nor so excellent as a training-school for war. the successful still-hunter of necessity possessed skill in hiding and in creeping noiselessly upon the wary quarry, as well as in imitating the notes and calls of the different beasts and birds; skill in the use of the rifle and in throwing the tomahawk he already had; and he perforce acquired keenness of eye, thorough acquaintance with woodcraft, and the power of standing the severest strains of fatigue, hardship and exposure. he lived out in the woods for many months with no food but meat, and no shelter whatever, unless he made a lean-to of brush or crawled into a hollow sycamore. such training stood the frontier folk in good stead when they were pitted against the indians; without it they could not even have held their own, and the white advance would have been absolutely checked. our frontiers were pushed westward by the warlike skill and adventurous personal prowess of the individual settlers; regular armies by themselves could have done little. for one square mile the regular armies added to our domain, the settlers added ten,--a hundred would probably be nearer the truth. a race of peaceful, unwarlike farmers would have been helpless before such foes as the red indians, and no auxiliary military force could have protected them or enabled them to move westward. colonists fresh from the old world, no matter how thrifty, steady-going, and industrious, could not hold their own on the frontier; they had to settle where they were protected from the indians by a living barrier of bold and self-reliant american borderers.[ ] the west would never have been settled save for the fierce courage and the eager desire to brave danger so characteristic of the stalwart backwoodsmen. these armed hunters, woodchoppers, and farmers were their own soldiers. they built and manned their own forts; they did their own fighting under their own commanders. there were no regiments of regular troops along the frontier.[ ] in the event of an indian inroad each borderer had to defend himself until there was time for them all to gather together to repel or avenge it. every man was accustomed to the use of arms from his childhood; when a boy was twelve years old he was given a rifle and made a fort-soldier, with a loophole where he was to stand if the station was attacked. the war was never-ending, for even the times of so-called peace were broken by forays and murders; a man might grow from babyhood to middle age on the border, and yet never remember a year in which some one of his neighbors did not fall a victim to the indians. there was everywhere a rude military organization, which included all the able-bodied men of the community. every settlement had its colonels and captains; but these officers, both in their training and in the authority they exercised, corresponded much more nearly to indian chiefs than to the regular army men whose titles they bore. they had no means whatever of enforcing their orders, and their tumultuous and disorderly levies of sinewy riflemen were hardly as well disciplined as the indians themselves.[ ] the superior officer could advise, entreat, lead, and influence his men, but he could not command them, or, if he did, the men obeyed him only just so far as it suited them. if an officer planned a scout or campaign, those who thought proper accompanied him, and the others stayed at home, and even those who went out came back if the fit seized them, or perchance followed the lead of an insubordinate junior officer whom they liked better than they did his superior.[ ] there was no compulsion to perform military duties beyond dread of being disgraced in the eyes of the neighbors, and there was no pecuniary reward for performing them; nevertheless the moral sentiment of a backwoods community was too robust to tolerate habitual remissness in military affairs, and the coward and laggard were treated with utter scorn, and were generally in the end either laughed out, or "hated out," of the neighborhood, or else got rid of in a still more summary manner. among a people naturally brave and reckless, this public opinion acted fairly effectively, and there was generally but little shrinking from military service.[ ] a backwoods levy was formidable because of the high average courage and prowess of the individuals composing it; it was on its own ground much more effective than a like force of regular soldiers, but of course it could not be trusted on a long campaign. the backwoodsmen used their rifles better than the indians, and also stood punishment better, but they never matched them in surprises nor in skill in taking advantage of cover, and very rarely equalled their discipline in the battle itself. after all, the pioneer was primarily a husbandman; the time spent in chopping trees and tilling the soil his foe spent in preparing for or practising forest warfare, and so the former, thanks to the exercise of the very qualities which in the end gave him the possession of the soil, could not, as a rule, hope to rival his antagonist in the actual conflict itself. when large bodies of the red men and white borderers were pitted against each other, the former were if any thing the more likely to have the advantage.[ ] but the whites soon copied from the indians their system of individual and private warfare, and they probably caused their foes far more damage and loss in this way than in the large expeditions. many noted border scouts and indian fighters--such men as boon, kenton, wetzel, brady, mcculloch, mansker[ ]--grew to overmatch their indian foes at their own game, and held themselves above the most renowned warriors. but these men carried the spirit of defiant self-reliance to such an extreme that their best work was always done when they were alone or in small parties of but four or five. they made long forays after scalps and horses, going a wonderful distance, enduring extreme hardship, risking the most terrible of deaths, and harrying the hostile tribes into a madness of terror and revengeful hatred. as it was in military matters, so it was with the administration of justice by the frontiersmen; they had few courts, and knew but little law, and yet they contrived to preserve order and morality with rough effectiveness, by combining to frown down on the grosser misdeeds, and to punish the more flagrant misdoers. perhaps the spirit in which they acted can be best shown by the recital of an incident in the career of the three mcafee brothers, who were among the pioneer hunters of kentucky.[ ] previous to trying to move their families out to the new country, they made a cache of clothing, implements, and provisions, which in their absence was broken into and plundered. they caught the thief, "a little diminutive, red-headed white man," a runaway convict servant from one of the tide-water counties of virginia. in the first impulse of anger at finding that he was the criminal, one of the mcafees rushed at him to kill him with his tomahawk; but the weapon turned, the man was only knocked down, and his assailant's gusty anger subsided as quickly as it had risen, giving way to a desire to do stern but fair justice. so the three captors formed themselves into a court, examined into the case, heard the man in his own defence, and after due consultation decided that "according to their opinion of the laws he had forfeited his life, and ought to be hung"; but none of them were willing to execute the sentence in cold blood, and they ended by taking their prisoner back to his master. the incident was characteristic in more than one way. the prompt desire of the backwoodsman to avenge his own wrong; his momentary furious anger, speedily quelled and replaced by a dogged determination to be fair but to exact full retribution; the acting entirely without regard to legal forms or legal officials, but yet in a spirit which spoke well for the doer's determination to uphold the essentials that make honest men law-abiding; together with the good faith of the whole proceeding, and the amusing ignorance that it would have been in the least unlawful to execute their own rather harsh sentence--all these were typical frontier traits. some of the same traits appear in the treatment commonly adopted in the backwoods to meet the case--of painfully frequent occurrence in the times of indian wars--where a man taken prisoner by the savages, and supposed to be murdered, returned after two or three years' captivity, only to find his wife married again. in the wilderness a husband was almost a necessity to a woman; her surroundings made the loss of the protector and provider an appalling calamity; and the widow, no matter how sincere her sorrow, soon remarried--for there were many suitors where women were not over-plenty. if in such a case the one thought dead returned, the neighbors and the parties interested seem frequently to have held a sort of informal court, and to have decided that the woman should choose either of the two men she wished to be her husband, the other being pledged to submit to the decision and leave the settlement. evidently no one had the least idea that there was any legal irregularity in such proceedings.[ ] the mcafees themselves and the escaped convict servant whom they captured typify the two prominent classes of the backwoods people. the frontier, in spite of the outward uniformity of means and manners, is preeminently the place of sharp contrasts. the two extremes of society, the strongest, best, and most adventurous, and the weakest, most shiftless, and vicious, are those which seem naturally to drift to the border. most of the men who came to the backwoods to hew out homes and rear families were stern, manly, and honest; but there was also a large influx of people drawn from the worst immigrants that perhaps ever were brought to america--the mass of convict servants, redemptioners, and the like, who formed such an excessively undesirable substratum to the otherwise excellent population of the tide-water regions in virginia and the carolinas.[ ] many of the southern crackers or poor whites spring from this class, which also in the backwoods gave birth to generations of violent and hardened criminals, and to an even greater number of shiftless, lazy, cowardly cumberers of the earth's surface. they had in many places a permanently bad effect upon the tone of the whole community. moreover, the influence of heredity was no more plainly perceptible than was the extent of individual variation. if a member of a bad family wished to reform, he had every opportunity to do so; if a member of a good family had vicious propensities, there was nothing to check them. all qualities, good and bad, are intensified and accentuated in the life of the wilderness. the man who in civilization is merely sullen and bad-tempered becomes a murderous, treacherous ruffian when transplanted to the wilds; while, on the other hand, his cheery, quiet neighbor develops into a hero, ready uncomplainingly to lay down his life for his friend. one who in an eastern city is merely a backbiter and slanderer, in the western woods lies in wait for his foe with a rifle; sharp practice in the east becomes highway robbery in the west; but at the same time negative good-nature becomes active self-sacrifice, and a general belief in virtue is translated into a prompt and determined war upon vice. the ne'er-do-well of a family who in one place has his debts paid a couple of times and is then forced to resign from his clubs and lead a cloudy but innocuous existence on a small pension, in the other abruptly finishes his career by being hung for horse-stealing. in the backwoods the lawless led lives of abandoned wickedness; they hated good for good's sake, and did their utmost to destroy it. where the bad element was large, gangs of horse thieves, highwaymen, and other criminals often united with the uncontrollable young men of vicious tastes who were given to gambling, fighting, and the like. they then formed half-secret organizations, often of great extent and with wide ramifications; and if they could control a community they established a reign of terror, driving out both ministers and magistrates, and killing without scruple those who interfered with them. the good men in such a case banded themselves together as regulators and put down the wicked with ruthless severity, by the exercise of lynch law, shooting and hanging the worst off-hand.[ ] jails were scarce in the wilderness, and often were entirely wanting in a district, which, indeed, was quite likely to lack legal officers also. if punishment was inflicted at all it was apt to be severe, and took the form of death or whipping. an impromptu jury of neighbors decided with a rough and ready sense of fair play and justice what punishment the crime demanded, and then saw to the execution of their own decree. whipping was the usual reward of theft. occasionally torture was resorted to, but not often; and to their honor be it said, the backwoodsmen were horrified at the treatment accorded both to black slaves and to white convict servants in the lowlands.[ ] they were superstitious, of course, believing in witchcraft, and signs and omens; and it may be noted that their superstition showed a singular mixture of old-world survivals and of practices borrowed from the savages or evolved by the very force of their strange surroundings. at the bottom they were deeply religious in their tendencies; and although ministers and meeting-houses were rare, yet the backwoods cabins often contained bibles, and the mothers used to instil into the minds of their children reverence for sunday,[ ] while many even of the hunters refused to hunt on that day.[ ] those of them who knew the right honestly tried to live up to it, in spite of the manifold temptations to backsliding offered by their lives of hard and fierce contention.[ ] but calvinism, though more congenial to them than episcopacy, and infinitely more so than catholicism, was too cold for the fiery hearts of the borderers; they were not stirred to the depths of their natures till other creeds, and, above all, methodism, worked their way to the wilderness. thus the backwoodsmen lived on the clearings they had hewed out of the everlasting forest; a grim, stern people, strong and simple, powerful for good and evil, swayed by gusts of stormy passion, the love of freedom rooted in their very hearts' core. their lives were harsh and narrow; they gained their bread by their blood and sweat, in the unending struggle with the wild ruggedness of nature. they suffered terrible injuries at the hands of the red men, and on their foes they waged a terrible warfare in return. they were relentless, revengeful, suspicious, knowing neither ruth nor pity; they were also upright, resolute, and fearless, loyal to their friends, and devoted to their country. in spite of their many failings, they were of all men the best fitted to conquer the wilderness and hold it against all comers. . georgia was then too weak and small to contribute much to the backwoods stock; her frontier was still in the low country. . among the dozen or so most prominent backwoods pioneers of the west and southwest, the men who were the leaders in exploring and settling the lands, and in fighting the indians, british, and mexicans, the presbyterian irish stock furnished andrew jackson, samuel houston, david crockett, james robertson; lewis, the leader of the backwoods hosts in their first great victory over the northwestern indians; and campbell, their commander in their first great victory over the british. the other pioneers who stand beside the above were such men as sevier, a shenandoah huguenot; shelby, of welsh blood; and boon and clark, both of english stock, the former from pennsylvania, the latter from virginia. . of course, generations before they ever came to america, the mcafees, mcclungs, campbells, mccoshes, etc., had become indistinguishable from the todds, armstrongs, elliotts, and the like. . a notable instance being that of the lewis family, of great kanawha fame. . the blount mss. contain many muster-rolls and pay-rolls of the frontier forces of north carolina during the year . in these, and in the lists of names of settlers preserved in the am. state papers, public lands, ii., etc., we find numerous names such as shea, drennan, o'neil, o'brien, mahoney, sullivan, o'connell, maguire, o'donohue,--in fact hardly a single irish name is unrepresented. of course, many of these were the descendants of imported irish bondservants; but many also were free immigrants, belonging to the presbyterian congregations, and sometimes appearing as pastors thereof. for the numerous irish names of prominent pioneers (such as donelly, hogan, etc.) see mcclung's "western adventures" (louisville, ), , , , , etc.; also dehaas, , , etc.; doddridge, , , , etc., etc. . "sketches of north carolina," william henry foote, new york, . an excellent book, written after much research. . for a few among many instances: houston (see lane's "life of houston") had ancestors at derry and aughrim; the mcafees (see mcafee mss.) and irvine, one of the commanders on crawford's expedition, were descendants of men who fought at the boyne ("crawford's campaign," g. w. butterfield, cincinnati, , p. ); so with lewis, campbell, etc. . foote, . . witness the mecklenburg declaration. . mcafee mss. "trans-alleghany pioneers" (john p. hale), . foote, . see also _columbian magazine_, i., , and schopf, . boon, crockett, houston, campbell, lewis, were among the southwestern pioneers whose families originally came from pennsylvania. see "annals of augusta county, va.," by joseph a. waddell, richmond, (an excellent book), pp. , , , for a clear showing of the presbyterian irish origin of the west virginians, and of the large german admixture. . the irish schoolmaster was everywhere a feature of early western society. . mcafee mss. ms. autobiography of rev. wm. hickman, born in virginia in (in col. r. t. durrett's library). "trans-alleghany pioneers," . "history of kentucky baptists," j. h. spencer (cincinnati, ) . boon, though of english descent, had no virginia blood in his veins; he was an exact type of the regular backwoodsman; but in clark, and still more in blount, we see strong traces of the "cavalier spirit." of course, the cavaliers no more formed the bulk of the virginia people than they did of rupert's armies; but the squires and yeomen who went to make up the mass took their tone from their leaders. . many of the most noted hunters and indian fighters were of german origin, (see "early times in middle tennessee," john carr, nashville, , pp. and , for steiner and mansker--or stoner and mansco.) such were the wetzels, famous in border annals, who lived near wheeling; michael steiner, the steiners being the forefathers of many of the numerous kentucky stoners of to-day; and kasper mansker, the "mr. mansco" of tennessee writers. every old western narrative contains many allusions to "dutchmen," as americans very properly call the germans. their names abound on the muster-rolls, pay-rolls, lists of settlers, etc., of the day (blount mss., state department mss., mcafee mss., am. state papers, etc.); but it must be remembered that they are often anglicized, when nothing remains to show the origin of the owners. we could not recognize in custer and herkomer, kuster and herckheimer, were not the ancestral history of the two generals already known; and in the backwoods, a man often loses sight of his ancestors in a couple of generations. in the carolinas the germans seem to have been almost as plentiful on the frontiers as the irish (see adair, , and smyth's "tour," i., ). in pennsylvania they lived nearer civilization (schoolcraft, , , "journey in the west in ," by lewis brantz), although also mixed with the borderers, the more adventurous among them naturally seeking the frontier. . giving to the backwoods society such families as the seviers and lenoirs. the huguenots, like the germans, frequently had their names anglicized. the best known and most often quoted example is that of the blancpied family, part of whom have become whitefoots, while the others, living on the coast, have suffered a marvellous sea-change, the name reappearing as "blumpy." . to the western american, who was not given to nice ethnic distinctions, both german and hollander were simply dutchmen but occasionally we find names like van meter, van buskirk, van sweanngen, which carry their origin on their faces (de haas, , . doddridge, ). . the scandinavian names in an unlettered community, soon become indistinguishable from those of the surrounding american's--jansen, petersen, etc., being readily americanized. it is therefore rarely that they show their parentage. still, we now and then come across one that is unmistakable, as erickson, for instance (see p. of col. reuben t. durrett's admirable "life and writings of john filson," louisville and cincinnati, ). . ms. journal of matthew clarkson, . see also "voyage dans les etats-unis," la rochefoucauld-liancourt, paris, l'an, vii., i., . . the borderers had the true calvinistic taste in preaching. clarkson, in his journal of his western trip, mentions with approval a sermon he heard as being "a very judicious and alarming discourse." . mcafee mss. . in the mcafee mss. there is an amusing mention of the skin of a huge bull elk, killed by the father, which the youngsters christened "old ellick"; they used to quarrel for the possession of it on cold nights, as it was very warm, though if the hairside was turned in it became slippery and apt to slide off the bed. . on the mountains the climate, flora, and fauna were all those of the north, not of the adjacent southern lowlands. the ruffed grouse, red squirrel, snow bird, various canadian warblers, and a peculiar species of boreal field-mouse, the _evotomys_, are all found as far south as the great smokies. . doddridge's "settlements and indian wars," ( ) written by an eyewitness; it is the most valuable book we have on old-time frontier ways and customs. . the land laws differed at different times in different colonies; but this was the usual size at the outbreak of the revolution, of the farms along the western frontier, as under the laws of virginia, then obtaining from the holston to the alleghany, this amount was allotted every settler who built a cabin or raised a crop of corn. . beside the right to acres, there was also a preemption right to , acres more adjoining to be secured by a land-office warrant. as between themselves the settlers had what they called "tomahawk rights," made by simply deadening a certain number of trees with a hatchet. they were similar to the rights conferred in the west now by what is called a "claim shack" or hut, built to hold some good piece of land; that is, they conferred no title whatever, except that sometimes men would pay for them rather than have trouble with the claimant. . mcafee mss. (particularly autobiography of robert mcafee). . to this day it is worn in parts of the rocky mountains, and even occasionally, here and there, in the alleghanies. . the above is the description of one of boon's rifles, now in the possession of col. durrett. according to the inscription on the barrel it was made at louisville (ky.), in , by m. humble. it is perfectly plain; whereas one of floyd's rifles, which i have also seen, is much more highly finished, and with some ornamentation. . for the opinion of a foreign military observer on the phenomenal accuracy of backwoods markmanship, see general victor collot's "voyage en amérique," p. . . ms. copy of matthew clarkson's journal in . . mcafee mss. (autobiography of robert r. mcafee). . _do._ . memoirs of the hist. soc. of penn., . account of first settlements, etc., by john watson ( ). . _do._ an admirable account of what such a frolic was some thirty-five years later is to be found in edward eggleston's "circuit rider." . such incidents are mentioned again and again by watson, milfort, doddridge, carr, and other writers. . mcclung's "western adventures." all eastern and european observers comment with horror on the border brawls, especially the eye-gouging. englishmen, of course, in true provincial spirit, complacently contrasted them with their own boxing fights; frenchmen, equally of course, were more struck by the resemblances than the differences between the two forms of combat. milfort gives a very amusing account of the "anglo-américains d'une espèce particulière," whom he calls "crakeurs ou gaugeurs," (crackers or gougers). he remarks that he found them "tous borgnes," (as a result of their pleasant fashion of eye-gouging--a backwoods bully in speaking of another would often threaten to "measure the length of his eye-strings,") and that he doubts if there can exist in the world "des hommes plus méchants que ces habitants." these fights were among the numerous backwoods habits that showed scotch rather than english ancestry. "i attempted to keep him down, in order to improve my success, after the manner of my own country." ("roderick random"). . watson. . doddridge. . mcafee mss. . watson. . mcafee mss. see also doddridge and watson. . doddridge, . he gives an interesting anecdote of one man engaged in helping such a pack-train, the bell of whose horse was stolen. the thief was recovered, and whipped as a punishment, the owner exclaiming as he laid the strokes lustily on: "think what a rascally figure i should make in the streets of baltimore without a bell on my horse." he had never been out of the woods before; he naturally wished to look well on his first appearance in civilized life, and it never occurred to him that a good horse was left without a bell anywhere. . an instance of this, which happened in my mother's family, has been mentioned elsewhere ("hunting trips of a ranchman"). even the wolves occasionally attacked man; audubon gives an example. . doddridge, . dodge, in his "hunting grounds of the great west," gives some recent instances. bears were sometimes dangerous to human life. doddridge, . a slave on the plantation of my great-grandfather in georgia was once regularly scalped by a she-bear whom he had tried to rob of her cubs, and ever after he was called, both by the other negroes and by the children on the plantation, "bear bob." . schopf, i., . . the insignificant garrisons at one or two places need not be taken into account, as they were of absolutely no effect. . brantz mayer, in "tah-gah-jute, or logan and cresap" (albany, ), ix., speaks of the pioneers as "comparative few in numbers," and of the indian as "numerous, and fearing not only the superior weapons of his foe, but the organization and discipline which together made the comparatively few equal to the greater number." this sentence embodies a variety of popular misconceptions. the pioneers were more numerous than the indians; the indians were generally, at least in the northwest, as well armed as the whites, and in military matters the indians were actually (see smith's narrative, and almost all competent authorities) superior in organization and discipline to their pioneer foes. most of our battles against the indians of the western woods, whether won or lost, were fought by superior numbers on our side. individually, or in small parties, the frontiersmen gradually grew to be a match for the indians, man for man, at least in many cases, but this was only true of large bodies of them if they were commanded by some one naturally able to control their unruly spirits. . as examples take clark's last indian campaign and the battle of blue licks. . doddridge, , . . at the best such a frontier levy was composed of men of the type of leatherstocking, ishmael bush, tom hutter, harry march, bill kirby, and aaron thousandacres. when animated by a common and overmastering passion, such a body would be almost irresistible; but it could not hold together long, and there was generally a plentiful mixture of men less trained in woodcraft, and therefore useless in forest fighting, while if, as must generally be the case in any body, there were a number of cowards in the ranks, the total lack of discipline not only permitted them to flinch from their work with impunity, but also allowed them, by their example, to infect and demoralize their braver companions. . haywood, dehaas, withers, mcclung, and other border annalists, give innumerable anecdotes about these and many other men, illustrating their feats of fierce prowess and, too often, of brutal ferocity. . mcafee mss. the story is told both in the "autobiography of robert mcafee," and in the "history of the first settlement on salt river." . incidents of this sort are frequently mentioned. generally the woman went back to her first husband. "early times in middle tennessee," john carr, nashville, , p. . . see "a short history of the english colonies in america," by henry cabot lodge (new york, ), for an account of these people. . the regulators of backwoods society corresponded exactly to the vigilantes of the western border to-day. in many of the cases of lynch law which have come to my knowledge the effect has been healthy for the community; but sometimes great injustice is done. generally the vigilantes, by a series of summary executions, do really good work; but i have rarely known them fail, among the men whom they killed for good reason, to also kill one or two either by mistake or to gratify private malice. . see doddridge. . mcafee mss. . doddridge. . said one old indian fighter, a col. joseph brown, of tennessee, with quaint truthfulness, "i have tried also to be a religious man, but have not always, in a life of so much adventure and strife, been able to act consistently."--_southwestern monthly_, nashville, , i., . chapter vi. boon and the long hunters; and their hunting in no-man's-land, - . the american backwoodsmen had surged up, wave upon wave, till their mass trembled in the troughs of the alleghanies, ready to flood the continent beyond. the peoples threatened by them were dimly conscious of the danger which as yet only loomed in the distance. far off, among their quiet adobe villages, in the sun-scorched lands by the rio grande, the slow indo-iberian peons and their monkish masters still walked in the tranquil steps of their fathers, ignorant of the growth of the power that was to overwhelm their children and successors; but nearer by, spaniard and creole frenchman, algonquin and appalachian, were all uneasy as they began to feel the first faint pressure of the american advance. as yet they had been shielded by the forest which lay over the land like an unrent mantle. all through the mountains, and far beyond, it stretched without a break; but towards the mouth of the kentucky and cumberland rivers the landscape became varied with open groves of woodland, with flower-strewn glades and great barrens or prairies of long grass. this region, one of the fairest in the world, was the debatable ground between the northern and the southern indians. neither dared dwell therein,[ ] but both used it as their hunting-grounds; and it was traversed from end to end by the well marked war traces[ ] which they followed when they invaded each other's territory. the whites, on trying to break through the barrier which hemmed them in from the western lands, naturally succeeded best when pressing along the line of least resistance; and so their first great advance was made in this debatable land, where the uncertainly defined hunting-grounds of the cherokee, creek, and chickasaw marched upon those of northern algonquin and wyandot. unknown and unnamed hunters and indian traders had from time to time pushed some little way into the wilderness; and they had been followed by others of whom we do indeed know the names, but little more. one explorer had found and named the cumberland river and mountains, and the great pass called cumberland gap.[ ] others had gone far beyond the utmost limits this man had reached, and had hunted in the great bend of the cumberland and in the woodland region of kentucky, famed amongst the indians for the abundance of the game.[ ] but their accounts excited no more than a passing interest; they came and went without comment, as lonely stragglers had come and gone for nearly a century. the backwoods civilization crept slowly westward without being influenced in its movements by their explorations.[ ] finally, however, among these hunters one arose whose wanderings were to bear fruit; who was destined to lead through the wilderness the first body of settlers that ever established a community in the far west, completely cut off from the seaboard colonies. this was daniel boon. he was born in pennsylvania in ,[ ] but when only a boy had been brought with the rest of his family to the banks of the yadkin in north carolina. here he grew up, and as soon as he came of age he married, built a log hut, and made a clearing, whereon to farm like the rest of his backwoods neighbors. they all tilled their own clearings, guiding the plow among the charred stumps left when the trees were chopped down and the land burned over, and they were all, as a matter of course, hunters. with boon hunting and exploration were passions, and the lonely life of the wilderness, with its bold, wild freedom, the only existence for which he really cared. he was a tall, spare, sinewy man, with eyes like an eagle's, and muscles that never tired; the toil and hardship of his life made no impress on his iron frame, unhurt by intemperance of any kind, and he lived for eighty-six years, a backwoods hunter to the end of his days. his thoughtful, quiet, pleasant face, so often portrayed, is familiar to every one; it was the face of a man who never blustered or bullied, who would neither inflict nor suffer any wrong, and who had a limitless fund of fortitude, endurance, and indomitable resolution upon which to draw when fortune proved adverse. his self-command and patience, his daring, restless love of adventure, and, in time of danger, his absolute trust in his own powers and resources, all combined to render him peculiarly fitted to follow the career of which he was so fond. boon hunted on the western waters at an early date. in the valley of boon's creek, a tributary of the watauga, there is a beech tree still standing, on which can be faintly traced an inscription setting forth that "d. boon cilled a bar on (this) tree in the year ."[ ] on the expeditions of which this is the earliest record he was partly hunting on his own account, and partly exploring on behalf of another, richard henderson. henderson was a prominent citizen of north carolina,[ ] a speculative man of great ambition and energy. he stood high in the colony, was extravagant and fond of display, and his fortune being jeopardized he hoped to more than retrieve it by going into speculations in western lands on an unheard of scale; for he intended to try to establish on his own account a great proprietary colony beyond the mountains. he had great confidence in boon; and it was his backing which enabled the latter to turn his discoveries to such good account. boon's claim to distinction rests not so much on his wide wanderings in unknown lands, for in this respect he did little more than was done by a hundred other backwoods hunters of his generation, but on the fact that he was able to turn his daring woodcraft to the advantage of his fellows. as he himself said, he was an instrument "ordained of god to settle the wilderness." he inspired confidence in all who met him,[ ] so that the men of means and influence were willing to trust adventurous enterprises to his care; and his success as an explorer, his skill as a hunter, and his prowess as an indian fighter, enabled him to bring these enterprises to a successful conclusion, and in some degree to control the wild spirits associated with him. boon's expeditions into the edges of the wilderness whetted his appetite for the unknown. he had heard of great hunting-grounds in the far interior from a stray hunter and indian trader,[ ] who had himself seen them, and on may , , he left his home on the yadkin "to wander through the wilderness of america in quest of the country of kentucky."[ ] he was accompanied by five other men, including his informant, and struck out towards the northwest, through the tangled mass of rugged mountains and gloomy forests. during five weeks of severe toil the little band journeyed through vast solitudes, whose utter loneliness can with difficulty be understood by those who have not themselves dwelt and hunted in primaeval mountain forests. then, early in june, the adventurers broke through the interminable wastes of dim woodland, and stood on the threshold of the beautiful blue-grass region of kentucky; a land of running waters, of groves and glades, of prairies, cane-brakes, and stretches of lofty forest. it was teeming with game. the shaggy-maned herds of unwieldy buffalo--the bison as they should be called--had beaten out broad roads through the forest, and had furrowed the prairies with trails along which they had travelled for countless generations. the round-horned elk, with spreading, massive antlers, the lordliest of the deer tribe throughout the world, abounded, and like the buffalo travelled in bands not only through the woods but also across the reaches of waving grass land. the deer were extraordinarily numerous, and so were bears, while wolves and panthers were plentiful. wherever there was a salt spring the country was fairly thronged with wild beasts of many kinds. for six months boon and his companions enjoyed such hunting as had hardly fallen to men of their race since the germans came out of the hercynian forest.[ ] in december, however, they were attacked by indians. boon and a companion were captured; and when they escaped they found their camp broken up, and the rest of the party scattered and gone home. about this time they were joined by squire boon, the brother of the great hunter, and himself a woodsman of but little less skill, together with another adventurer; the two had travelled through the immense wilderness, partly to explore it and partly with the hope of finding the original adventurers, which they finally succeeded in doing more by good luck than design. soon afterwards boon's companion in his first short captivity was again surprised by the indians, and this time was slain[ ]--the first of the thousands of human beings with whose life-blood kentucky was bought. the attack was entirely unprovoked. the indians had wantonly shed the first blood. the land belonged to no one tribe, but was hunted over by all, each feeling jealous of every other intruder; they attacked the whites, not because the whites had wronged them, but because their invariable policy was to kill any strangers on any grounds over which they themselves ever hunted, no matter what man had the best right thereto. the kentucky hunters were promptly taught that in this no-man's-land, teeming with game and lacking even a solitary human habitation, every indian must be regarded as a foe. the man who had accompanied squire boon was terrified by the presence of the indians, and now returned to the settlements. the two brothers remained alone on their hunting-grounds throughout the winter, living in a little cabin. about the first of may squire set off alone to the settlements to procure horses and ammunition. for three months daniel boon remained absolutely alone in the wilderness, without salt, sugar, or flour, and without the companionship of so much as a horse or a dog.[ ] but the solitude-loving hunter, dauntless and self-reliant, enjoyed to the full his wild, lonely life; he passed his days hunting and exploring, wandering hither and thither over the country, while at night he lay off in the canebrakes or thickets, without a fire, so as not to attract the indians. of the latter he saw many signs, and they sometimes came to his camp, but his sleepless wariness enabled him to avoid capture. late in july his brother returned, and met him according to appointment at the old camp. other hunters also now came into the kentucky wilderness, and boon joined a small party of them for a short time. such a party of hunters is always glad to have any thing wherewith to break the irksome monotony of the long evenings passed round the camp fire; and a book or a greasy pack of cards was as welcome in a camp of kentucky riflemen in as it is to a party of rocky mountain hunters in . boon has recorded in his own quaint phraseology an incident of his life during this summer, which shows how eagerly such a little band of frontiersmen read a book, and how real its characters became to their minds. he was encamped with five other men on red river, and they had with them for their "amusement the history of samuel gulliver's travels, wherein he gave an account of his young master, glumdelick, careing [sic] him on a market day for a show to a town called lulbegrud." in the party who, amid such strange surroundings, read and listened to dean swift's writings was a young man named alexander neely. one night he came into camp with two indian scalps, taken from a shawnese village be had found on a creek running into the river; and he announced to the circle of grim wilderness veterans that "he had been that day to lulbegrud, and had killed two brobdignags in their capital." to this day the creek by which the two luckless shawnees lost their lives is known as lulbegrud creek.[ ] soon after this encounter the increasing danger from the indians drove boon back to the valley of the cumberland river, and in the spring of he returned to his home on the yadkin. a couple of years before boon went to kentucky, steiner, or stoner, and harrod, two hunters from pittsburg, who had passed through the illinois, came down to hunt in the bend of the cumberland, where nashville now stands; they found vast numbers of buffalo, and killed a great many, especially around the licks, where the huge clumsy beasts had fairly destroyed most of the forest, treading down the young trees and bushes till the ground was left bare or covered with a rich growth of clover. the bottoms and the hollows between the hills were thickset with cane. sycamore grew in the low ground, and towards the mississippi were to be found the persimmon and cottonwood. sometimes the forest was open and composed of huge trees; elsewhere it was of thicker, smaller growth.[ ] everywhere game abounded, and it was nowhere very wary. other hunters of whom we know even the names of only a few, had been through many parts of the wilderness before boon, and earlier still frenchmen had built forts and smelting furnaces on the cumberland, the tennessee, and the head tributaries of the kentucky.[ ] boon is interesting as a leader and explorer; but he is still more interesting as a type. the west was neither discovered, won, nor settled by any single man. no keen-eyed statesman planned the movement, nor was it carried out by any great military leader; it was the work of a whole people, of whom each man was impelled mainly by sheer love of adventure; it was the outcome of the ceaseless strivings of all the dauntless, restless backwoods folk to win homes for their descendants and to each penetrate deeper than his neighbors into the remote forest hunting-grounds where the perilous pleasures of the chase and of war could be best enjoyed. we owe the conquest of the west to all the backwoodsmen, not to any solitary individual among them; where all alike were strong and daring there was no chance for any single man to rise to unquestioned preeminence. in the summer of a large band of hunters[ ] crossed the mountains to make a long hunt in the western wilderness, the men clad in hunting-shirts, moccasins, and leggings, with traps, rifles, and dogs, and each bringing with him two or three horses. they made their way over the mountains, forded or swam the rapid, timber-choked streams, and went down the cumberland, till at last they broke out of the forest and came upon great barrens of tall grass. one of their number was killed by a small party of indians; but they saw no signs of human habitations. yet they came across mounds and graves and other remains of an ancient people who had once lived in the land, but had died out of it long ages before the incoming of the white men.[ ] the hunters made a permanent camp in one place, and returned to it at intervals to deposit their skins and peltries. between times they scattered out singly or in small bands. they hunted all through the year, killing vast quantities of every kind of game. most of it they got by fair still-hunting, but some by methods we do not now consider legitimate, such as calling up a doe by imitating the bleat of a fawn, and shooting deer from a scaffold when they came to the salt licks at night. nevertheless, most of the hunters did not approve of "crusting" the game--that is, of running it down on snow-shoes in the deep mid-winter snows. at the end of the year some of the adventurers returned home; others[ ] went north into the kentucky country, where they hunted for several months before recrossing the mountains; while the remainder, led by an old hunter named kasper mansker,[ ] built two boats and hollowed out of logs two pirogues or dugouts--clumsier but tougher craft than the light birch-bark canoes--and started down the cumberland. at the french lick, where nashville now stands, they saw enormous quantities of buffalo, elk, and other game, more than they had ever seen before in any one place. some of their goods were taken by a party of indians they met, but some french traders whom they likewise encountered, treated them well and gave them salt, flour, tobacco, and taffia, the last being especially prized, as they had had no spirits for a year. they went down to natchez, sold their furs, hides, oil, and tallow, and some returned by sea, while others, including mansker, came overland with a drove of horses that was being taken through the indian nations to georgia. from the length of time all these men, as well as boon and his companions, were absent, they were known as the long hunters, and the fame of their hunting and exploring spread all along the border and greatly excited the young men.[ ] in many hunters crossed over the mountains and penetrated far into the wilderness, to work huge havoc among the herds of game. some of them came in bands, and others singly, and many of the mountains, lakes, rivers, and creeks of tennessee are either called after the leaders among these old hunters and wanderers, or else by their names perpetuate the memory of some incident of their hunting trips.[ ] mansker himself came back, a leader among his comrades, and hunted many years in the woods alone or with others of his kind, and saw and did many strange things. one winter he and those who were with him built a skin house from the hides of game, and when their ammunition gave out they left three of their number and all of their dogs at the skin house and went to the settlements for powder and lead. when they returned they found that two of the men had been killed and the other chased away by the indians, who, however, had not found the camp. the dogs, having seen no human face for three months, were very wild, yet in a few days became as tame and well trained as ever. they killed such enormous quantities of buffalo, elk, and especially deer, that they could not pack the hides into camp, and one of the party, during an idle moment and in a spirit of protest against fate,[ ] carved on the peeled trunk of a fallen poplar, where it long remained, the sentence: " deer skins lost; ruination by god!" the soul of this thrifty hunter must have been further grieved when a party of cherokees visited their camp and took away all the camp utensils and five hundred hides. the whites found the broad track they made in coming in, but could not find where they had gone out, each wily redskin then covering his own trail, and the whole number apparently breaking up into several parties. sometimes the indians not only plundered the hunting camps but killed the hunters as well, and the hunters retaliated in kind. often the white men and red fought one another whenever they met, and displayed in their conflicts all the cunning and merciless ferocity that made forest warfare so dreadful. terrible deeds of prowess were done by the mighty men on either side. it was a war of stealth and cruelty, and ceaseless, sleepless watchfulness. the contestants had sinewy frames and iron wills, keen eyes and steady hands, hearts as bold as they were ruthless. their moccasined feet made no sound as they stole softly on the camp of a sleeping enemy or crept to ambush him while he himself still-hunted or waylaid the deer. a favorite stratagem was to imitate the call of game, especially the gobble of the wild turkey, and thus to lure the would-be hunter to his fate. if the deceit was guessed at, the caller was himself stalked. the men grew wonderfully expert in detecting imitation. one old hunter, castleman by name, was in after years fond of describing how an indian nearly lured him to his death. it was in the dusk of the evening, when he heard the cries of two great wood owls near him. listening attentively, he became convinced that all was not right. "the woo-woo call and the woo-woo answer were not well timed and toned, and the babel-chatter was a failure. more than this, they seemed to be on the ground." creeping cautiously up, and peering through the brush, he saw something the height of a stump between two forked trees. it did not look natural; he aimed, pulled trigger, and killed an indian. each party of indians or whites was ever on the watch to guard against danger or to get the chance of taking vengeance for former wrongs. the dark woods saw a myriad lonely fights where red warrior or white hunter fell and no friend of the fallen ever knew his fate, where his sole memorial was the scalp that hung in the smoky cabin or squalid wigwam of the victor. the rude and fragmentary annals of the frontier are filled with the deeds of men, of whom mansker can be taken as a type. he was a wonderful marksman and woodsman, and was afterwards made a colonel of the frontier militia, though, being of german descent, he spoke only broken english.[ ] like most of the hunters he became specially proud of his rifle, calling it "nancy"; for they were very apt to know each his favorite weapon by some homely or endearing nickname. every forest sight or sound was familiar to him. he knew the cries of the birds and beasts so well that no imitation could deceive him. once he was nearly taken in by an unusually perfect imitation of a wild gobbler; but he finally became suspicious, and "placed" his adversary behind a large tree. having perfect confidence in his rifle, and knowing that the indians rarely fired except at close range--partly because they were poor shots, partly because they loaded their guns too lightly--he made no attempt to hide. feigning to pass to the indian's right, the latter, as he expected, tried to follow him; reaching an opening in a glade, mansker suddenly wheeled and killed his foe. when hunting he made his home sometimes in a hollow tree, sometimes in a hut of buffalo hides; for the buffalo were so plenty that once when a lick was discovered by himself and a companion,[ ] the latter, though on horseback, was nearly trampled to death by the mad rush of a herd they surprised and stampeded. he was a famous indian fighter; one of the earliest of his recorded deeds has to do with an indian adventure. he and three other men were trapping on sulphur fork and red river, in the great bend of the cumberland. moving their camp, they came on recent traces of indians: deer-carcases and wicker frames for stretching hides. they feared to tarry longer unless they knew something of their foes, and mansker set forth to explore, and turned towards red river, where, from the sign, he thought to find the camp. travelling some twenty miles, he perceived by the sycamore trees in view that he was near the river. advancing a few steps farther he suddenly found himself within eighty or ninety yards of the camp. he instantly slipped behind a tree to watch. there were only two indians in camp; the rest he supposed were hunting at a distance. just as he was about to retire, one of the indians took up a tomahawk and strolled off in the opposite direction; while the other picked up his gun, put it on his shoulder, and walked directly towards mansker's hiding-place. mansker lay close, hoping that he would not be noticed; but the indian advanced directly towards him until not fifteen paces off. there being no alternative, mansker cocked his piece, and shot the indian through the body. the indian screamed, threw down his gun, and ran towards camp; passing it he pitched headlong down the bluff, dead, into the river. the other likewise ran to camp at the sound of the shot; but mansker outran him, reached the camp first, and picked up an old gun that was on the ground; but the gun would not go off, and the indian turned and escaped. mansker broke the old gun, and returned speedily to his comrades. the next day they all went to the spot, where they found the dead indian and took away his tomahawk, knife, and bullet-bag; but they never found his gun. the other indian had come back, had loaded his horses with furs, and was gone. they followed him all that day and all night with a torch of dry cane, and could never overtake him. finding that there were other bands of indians about, they then left their hunting grounds. towards the close of his life old mansker, like many another fearless and ignorant backwoods fighter, became so much impressed by the fiery earnestness and zeal of the methodists that he joined himself to them, and became a strong and helpful prop of the community whose first foundations he had helped to lay. sometimes the hunters met creole trappers, who sent their tallow, hides, and furs in pirogues and bateaux down the mississippi to natchez or orleans, instead of having to transport them on pack-horses through the perilous forest-tracks across the mountains. they had to encounter dangers from beasts as well as men. more than once we hear of one who, in a canebrake or tangled thicket, was mangled to death by the horns and hoofs of a wounded buffalo.[ ] all of the wild beasts were then comparatively unused to contact with rifle-bearing hunters; they were, in consequence, much more ferocious and ready to attack man than at present. the bear were the most numerous of all, after the deer; their chase was a favorite sport. there was just enough danger in it to make it exciting, for though hunters were frequently bitten or clawed, they were hardly ever killed. the wolves were generally very wary; yet in rare instances they, too, were dangerous. the panther was a much more dreaded foe, and lives were sometimes lost in hunting him; but even with the panther, the cases where the hunter was killed were very exceptional. the hunters were in their lives sometimes clean and straight, and sometimes immoral, with a gross and uncouth viciousness. we read of one party of six men and a woman, who were encountered on the cumberland river; the woman acted as the wife of a man named big john, but deserted him for one of his companions, and when he fell sick persuaded the whole party to leave him in the wilderness to die of disease and starvation. yet those who left him did not in the end fare better, for they were ambushed and cut off, when they had gone down to natchez, apparently by indians. at first the hunters, with their small-bore rifles, were unsuccessful in killing buffalo. once, when george rogers clark had long resided in kentucky, he and two companions discovered a camp of some forty new-comers actually starving, though buffalo were plenty. clark and his friends speedily relieved their necessities by killing fourteen of the great beasts; for when once the hunters had found out the knack, the buffalo were easier slaughtered than any other game.[ ] the hunters were the pioneers; but close behind them came another set of explorers quite as hardy and resolute. these were the surveyors. the men of chain and compass played a part in the exploration of the west scarcely inferior to that of the heroes of axe and rifle. often, indeed, the parts were combined; boon himself was a surveyor.[ ] vast tracts of western land were continually being allotted either to actual settlers or as bounties to soldiers who had served against the french and indians. these had to be explored and mapped and as there was much risk as well as reward in the task, it naturally proved attractive to all adventurous young men who had some education, a good deal of ambition, and not too much fortune. a great number of young men of good families, like washington and clark, went into the business. soon after the return of boon and the long hunters, parties of surveyors came down the ohio,[ ] mapping out its course and exploring the kentucky lands that lay beside it.[ ] among the hunters, surveyors, and explorers who came into the wilderness in was a band led by three young men named mcafee,--typical backwoodsmen, hardy, adventurous, their frontier recklessness and license tempered by the calvinism they had learned in their rough log home. they were fond of hunting, but they came to spy out the land and see if it could be made into homes for their children; and in their party were several surveyors. they descended the ohio in dugout canoes, with their rifles, blankets, tomahawks, and fishing-tackle. they met some shawnees and got on well with them; but while their leader was visiting the chief, cornstalk, and listening to his fair speeches at his town of old chilicothe, the rest of the party were startled to see a band of young shawnee braves returning from a successful foray on the settlements, driving before them the laden pack-horses they had stolen.[ ] they explored part of kentucky, and visited the different licks. one, long named big bone lick, was famous because there were scattered about it in incredible quantity the gigantic remains of the extinct mastodon; the mcafees made a tent by stretching their blankets over the huge fossil ribs, and used the disjointed vertebrae as stools on which to sit. game of many kinds thronged the spaces round the licks; herds of buffalo, elk, and deer, as well as bears and wolves, were all in sight at once. the ground round about some of them was trodden down so that there was not as much grass left as would feed a sheep; and the game trails were like streets, or the beaten roads round a city. a little village to this day recalls by its name the fact that it stands on a former "stamping ground" of the buffalo. at one lick the explorers met with what might have proved a serious adventure. one of the mcafees and a companion were passing round its outskirts, when some others of the party fired at a gang of buffaloes, which stampeded directly towards the two. while his companion scampered up a leaning mulberry bush, mcafee, less agile, leaped behind a tree trunk, where he stood sideways till the buffalo passed, their horns scraping off the bark on either side; then he looked round to see his friend "hanging in the mulberry bush like a coon."[ ] when the party left this lick they followed a buffalo trail, beaten out in the forest, "the size of the wagon road leading out of williamsburg," then the capital of virginia. it crossed the kentucky river at a riffle below where frankfort now stands. thence they started homewards across the cumberland mountains, and suffered terribly while making their way through the "desolate and voiceless solitudes"; mere wastes of cliffs, crags, caverns, and steep hillsides covered with pine, laurel, and underbrush. twice they were literally starving and were saved in the nick of time by the killing, on the first occasion, of a big bull elk, on the next, of a small spike buck. at last, sun-scorched and rain-beaten, foot-sore and leg-weary, their thighs torn to pieces by the stout briars,[ ] and their feet and hands blistered and scalded, they came out in powell's valley, and followed the well-worn hunter's trail across it. thence it was easy to reach home, where the tale of their adventures excited still more the young frontiersmen. their troubles were ended for the time being; but in powell's valley they met other wanderers whose toil and peril had just begun. there they encountered the company[ ] which daniel boon was just leading across the mountains, with the hope of making a permanent settlement in far distant kentucky.[ ] boon had sold his farm on the yadkin and all the goods he could not carry with him, and in september, , he started for kentucky with his wife and his children; five families, and forty men besides, went with him, driving their horses and cattle. it was the first attempt that was made to settle a region separated by long stretches of wilderness from the already inhabited districts; and it was doomed to failure. on approaching the gloomy and forbidding defiles of the cumberland mountains the party was attacked by indians.[ ] six of the men, including boon's eldest son, were slain, and the cattle scattered; and though the backwoodsmen rallied and repulsed their assailants, yet they had suffered such loss and damage that they retreated and took up their abode temporarily on the clinch river. in the same year simon kenton, afterwards famous as a scout and indian fighter, in company with other hunters, wandered through kentucky. kenton, like every one else, was astounded at the beauty and fertility of the land and the innumerable herds of buffalo, elk, and other game that thronged the trampled ground around the licks. one of his companions was taken by the indians, who burned him alive. in the following year numerous parties of surveyors visited the land. one of these was headed by john floyd, who was among the ablest of the kentucky pioneers, and afterwards played a prominent part in the young commonwealth, until his death at the hands of the savages. floyd was at the time assistant surveyor of fincastle county; and his party went out for the purpose of making surveys "by virtue of the governor's warrant for officers and soldiers on the ohio and its waters."[ ] they started on april , ,--eight men in all,--from their homes in fincastle county.[ ] they went down the kanawha in a canoe, shooting bear and deer, and catching great pike and catfish. the first survey they made was one of two thousand acres for "colo. washington"; and they made another for patrick henry. on the way they encountered other parties of surveyors, and learned that an indian war was threatened; for a party of thirteen would-be settlers on the upper ohio had been attacked, but had repelled their assailants, and in consequence the shawnees had declared for war, and threatened thereafter to kill the virginians and rob the pennsylvanians wherever they found them.[ ] the reason for this discrimination in favor of the citizens of the quaker state was that the virginians with whom the indians came chiefly in contact were settlers, whereas the pennsylvanians were traders. the marked difference in the way the savages looked at the two classes received additional emphasis in lord dunmore's war. at the mouth of the kanawha[ ] the adventurers found twenty or thirty men gathered together; some had come to settle, but most wished to explore or survey the lands. all were in high spirits, and resolute to go to kentucky, in spite of indian hostilities. some of them joined floyd, and raised his party to eighteen men, who started down the ohio in four canoes.[ ] they found "a battoe loaded with corn," apparently abandoned, and took about three bushels with them. other parties joined them from time to time, as they paddled and drifted down stream; and one or two of their own number, alarmed by further news of indian hostilities, went back. once they met a party of delawares, by whom they were not molested; and again, two or three of their number encountered a couple of hostile savages; and though no one was hurt, the party were kept on the watch all the time. they marvelled much at the great trees--one sycamore was thirty-seven feet in circumference,--and on a sunday, which they kept as a day of rest, they examined with interest the forest-covered embankments of a fort at the mouth of the scioto, a memorial of the mound-builders who had vanished centuries before. when they reached the mouth of the kentucky[ ] they found two delawares and a squaw, to whom they gave corn and salt. here they split up, and floyd and his original party spent a week in the neighborhood, surveying land, going some distance up the kentucky to a salt lick, where they saw a herd of three hundred buffalo.[ ] they then again embarked, and drifted down the ohio. on may th they met two delawares in a canoe flying a red flag; they had been sent down the river with a pass from the commandant at fort pitt to gather their hunters and get them home, in view of the threatened hostilities between the shawnees and virginians.[ ] the actions of the two indians were so suspicious, and the news they brought was so alarming, that some of floyd's companions became greatly alarmed, and wished to go straight on down the mississippi; but floyd swore that he would finish his work unless actually forced off. three days afterwards they reached the falls. here floyd spent a fortnight, making surveys in every direction, and then started off to explore the land between the salt river and the kentucky. like the others, he carried his own pack, which consisted of little but his blanket and his instruments. he sometimes had difficulties with his men; one of them refused to carry the chain one day, and went off to hunt, got lost, and was not found for thirty-six hours. another time it was noticed that two of the hunters had become sullen, and seemed anxious to leave camp. the following morning, while on the march, the party killed an elk and halted for breakfast; but the two hunters walked on, and, says the journal, "we never saw them more"; but whether they got back to the settlements or perished in the wilderness, none could tell. the party suffered much hardship. floyd fell sick, and for three days could not travel. they gave him an "indian sweat," probably building just such a little sweat-house as the indians use to this day. others of their number at different times fell ill; and they were ever on the watch for indians. in the vast forests, every sign of a human being was the sign of a probable enemy. once they heard a gun, and another time a sound as of a man calling to another; and on each occasion they redoubled their caution, keeping guard as they rested, and at night extinguishing their camp-fire and sleeping a mile or two from it. they built a bark canoe in which to cross the kentucky, and on the st of july they met another party of surveyors on the banks of that stream.[ ] two or three days afterwards, floyd and three companions left the others, agreeing to meet them on august st, at a cabin built by a man named harwood, on the south side of the kentucky, a few miles from the mouth of the elkhorn. for three weeks they surveyed and hunted, enchanted with the beauty of the country.[ ] they then went to the cabin, several days before the appointed time; but to their surprise found every thing scattered over the ground, and two fires burning, while on a tree near the landing was written, "alarmed by finding some people killed and we are gone down." this left the four adventurers in a bad plight, as they had but fifteen rounds of powder left, and none of them knew the way home. however there was no help for it, and they started off.[ ] when they came to the mountains they found it such hard going that they were obliged to throw away their blankets and every thing else except their rifles, hunting-shirts, leggings, and moccasins. like the other parties of returning explorers, they found this portion of their journey extremely distressing; and they suffered much from sore feet, and also from want of food, until they came on a gang of buffaloes, and killed two. at last they struck cumberland gap, followed a blazed trail across it to powell's valley, and on august th came to the outlying settlements on clinch river, where they found the settlers all in their wooden forts, because of the war with the shawnees.[ ] in this same year many different bodies of hunters and surveyors came into the country, drifting down the ohio in pirogues. some forty men led by harrod and sowdowsky[ ] founded harrodsburg, where they built cabins and sowed corn; but the indians killed one of their number, and the rest dispersed. some returned across the mountains; but sowdowsky and another went through the woods to the cumberland river, where they built a canoe, paddled down the muddy mississippi between unending reaches of lonely marsh and forest, and from new orleans took ship to virginia. at that time, among other parties of surveyors there was one which had been sent by lord dunmore to the falls of the ohio. when the war broke out between the shawnees and the virginians, lord dunmore, being very anxious for the fate of these surveyors, sent boon and stoner to pilot them in; which the two bush veterans accordingly did, making the round trip of miles in days. the outbreak of the indian war caused all the hunters and surveyors to leave kentucky; and at the end of there were no whites left, either there or in what is now middle tennessee. but on the frontier all men's eyes were turned towards these new and fertile regions. the pioneer work of the hunter was over, and that of the axe-bearing settler was about to begin. . this is true as a whole; but along the mississippi, in the extreme west of the present kentucky and tennessee, the chickasaws held possession. there was a shawnee town south of the ohio, and cherokee villages in southeastern tennessee. . the backwoodsmen generally used "trace," where western frontiersmen would now say "trail." . dr. thomas walker, of virginia. he named them after the duke of cumberland. walker was a genuine explorer and surveyor, a man of mark as a pioneer. the journal of his trip across the cumberland to the headwaters of the kentucky in has been preserved, and has just been published by william cabell rives (boston: little, brown & co.). it is very interesting, and mr. rives has done a real service in publishing it. walker and five companions were absent six months. he found traces of earlier wanderers--probably hunters. one of his companions was bitten by a bear; three of the dogs were wounded by bears, and one killed by an elk; the horses were frequently bitten by rattlesnakes; once a bull-buffalo threatened the whole party. they killed buffaloes, elks, bears, deer, turkeys and some other game. . hunters and indian traders visited portions of kentucky and tennessee years before the country became generally known even on the border. (not to speak of the french, who had long known something of the country where they had even made trading posts and built furnaces, as see haywood, etc.) we know the names of a few. those who went down the ohio, merely landing on the kentucky shore, do not deserve mention; the french had done as much for a century. whites who had been captured by the indians, were sometimes taken through tennessee or kentucky, as john salling in and mrs. mary inglis in (see "trans-alleghany pioneers," collis, etc.). in a certain colonel wood was in kentucky. the next real explorer was nearly a century later, though doherty in , and adair in , traded with the cherokees in what is now tennessee. walker struck the head-water of the kentucky in ; he had been to the cumberland in . he made other exploring trips. christopher gist went up the kentucky in . in and forts loudon and chisset were built on the tennessee head-waters, but were soon afterwards destroyed by the cherokees. in , ' , ' and for a year or two afterwards a party of hunters under the lead of one wallen hunted on the western waters, going continually farther west. in croghan made a sketch of the ohio river. in james smith and others explored tennessee. stoner, harrod, and lindsay, and a party from south carolina were near the present site of nashville in , in the same year john finley and others were in kentucky, and it was finley who first told boon about it and led him thither. . the attempt to find out the names of the men who first saw the different portions of the western country is not very profitable. the first visitors were hunters, simply wandering in search of game, not with any settled purpose of exploration. who the individual first-comers were, has generally been forgotten. at the most it is only possible to find out the name of some one of several who went to a given locality. the hunters were wandering everywhere. by chance some went to places we now consider important. by chance the names of a few of these have been preserved. but the credit belongs to the whole backwoods race, not to the individual backwoodsman. . august , (according to james parton, in his sketch of boon). his grandfather was an english immigrant; his father had married a quakeress. when he lived on the banks of the delaware, the country was still a wilderness. he was born in berks co. . the inscription is first mentioned by ramsey, p. . see appendix c, for a letter from the hon. john allison, at present ( ) secretary of state for tennessee, which goes to prove that the inscription has been on the tree as long as the district has been settled. of course it cannot be proved that the inscription is by boon; but there is much reason for supposing that such is the case, and little for doubting it. . he was by birth a virginian, of mixed scotch and welsh descent. see collins, ii., ; also ramsey. for boon's early connection with henderson, in , see haywood, . . even among his foes; he is almost the only american praised by lt.-gov. henry hamilton of detroit, for instance (see _royal gazette_, july , ). . john finley. . "the adventures of colonel daniel boon, formerly a hunter"; nominally written by boon himself, in , but in reality by john filson, the first kentucky historian,--a man who did history good service, albeit a true sample of the small hedge-school pedant. the old pioneer's own language would have been far better than that which filson used; for the latter's composition is a travesty of johnsonese in its most aggravated form. for filson see durrett's admirable "life" in the filson club publications. . the nieblung lied tells of siegfried's feats with bear, buffalo, elk, wolf, and deer: "danach schlug er wieder einen buffel und einen elk vier starkes auer nieder und einen grimmen schelk, so schnell trug ihn die mahre, dasz ihm nichts entsprang; hinden und hirsche wurden viele sein fang. ....... ein waldthier furchterlich, einen wilden baren." siegfried's elk was our moose; and like the american frontiersmen of to-day, the old german singer calls the wisent or bison a buffalo--european sportsmen now committing an equally bad blunder by giving it the name of the extinct aurochs. be it observed also that the hard fighting, hard drinking, boastful hero of nieblung fame used a "spur hund," just as his representative of kentucky or tennessee used a track hound a thousand years later. . his name was john stewart. . his remaining absolutely alone in the wilderness for such a length of time is often spoken of with wonder; but here again boon stands merely as the backwoods type, not as an exception. to this day many hunters in the rockies do the same. in , two men whom i knew wintered to the west of the bighorns, miles from any human beings. they had salt and flour, however; but they were nine months without seeing a white face. they killed elk, buffalo, and a moose; and had a narrow escape from a small indian war party. last winter ( - ) an old trapper, a friend of mine in the days when he hunted buffalo, spent five months entirely alone in the mountains north of the flathead country. . deposition of daniel boon, september , . certified copy from deposition book no. i, page , clarke county court, ky. first published by col. john mason brown, in "battle of the blue licks," p. (frankfort, ). the book which these old hunters read around their camp-fire in the indian-haunted primaeval forest a century and a quarter ago has by great good-luck been preserved, and is in col. durrett's library at louisville. it is entitled the "works of dr. jonathan swift, london, mdcclxv," and is in two small volumes. on the title-page is written "a. neelly, " frontiersmen are often content with the merest printed trash; but the better men among them appreciate really good literature quite as much as any other class of people. in the long winter evenings they study to good purpose books as varied as dante, josephus, macaulay, longfellow, parton's "life of jackson," and the rollo stories--to mention only volumes that have been especial favorites with my own cowboys and hunters. . ms. diary of benj. hawkins, . preserved in nash. historical soc. in buffalo were scarce; but some fresh signs of them were still seen at licks. . haywood, p. , etc. it is a waste of time to quarrel over who first discovered a particular tract of this wilderness. a great many hunters traversed different parts at different times, from on, each practically exploring on his own account. we do not know the names of most of them; those we do know are only worth preserving in county histories and the like; the credit belongs to the race, not the individual. . from twenty to forty. compare haywood and marshall, both of whom are speaking of the same bodies of men; ramsey makes the mistake of supposing they are speaking of different parties; haywood dwells on the feats of those who descended the cumberland; marshall of those who went to kentucky. . the so-called mound builders; now generally considered to have been simply the ancestors of the present indian races. . led by one james knox. . his real name was kasper mansker, as his signature shows, but he was always spoken of as mansco. . mcafee mss. ("autobiography of robt. mcafee"). sometimes the term long hunters was used as including boon, finley, and their companions, sometimes not; in the mcafee mss. it is explicitly used in the former sense. . see haywood for clinch river, drake's pond, mansco's lick, greasy rock, etc., etc. . a hunter named bledsoe; collins, ii., . . carr's "early times in middle tennessee," pp. , , , etc. . the hunter bledsoe mentioned in a previous note. . as haywood, . . this continued to be the case until the buffalo were all destroyed. when my cattle came to the little missouri, in , buffalo were plenty; my men killed nearly a hundred that winter, though tending the cattle; yet an inexperienced hunter not far from us, though a hardy plainsman, killed only three in the whole time. see also parkman's "oregon trail" for an instance of a party of missouri backwoodsmen who made a characteristic failure in an attempt on a buffalo band. . see appendix. . an english engineer made a rude survey or table of distances of the ohio in . . collins states that in and washington surveyed small tracts in what is now northeastern kentucky; but this is more than doubtful. . all of this is taken from the mcafee mss., in colonel durrett's library. . mcafee mss. a similar adventure befell my brother elliott and my cousin john roosevelt while they were hunting buffalo on the staked plains of texas in . . they evidently wore breech-clouts and leggings, not trowsers. . mcafee mss. . filson's "boon." . october , , filson's "boon." the mcafee mss. speak of meeting boon in powell's valley and getting home in september; if so, it must have been the very end of the month. . the account of this journey of floyd and his companions is taken from a very interesting ms. journal, kept by one of the party--thomas hanson. it was furnished me, together with other valuable papers, through the courtesy of mr. and mrs. daniel trigg, of abingdon, va., and of dr. george ben. johnston, of richmond, to whom i take this opportunity of returning my warm thanks. . from the house of col. william preston, "at one o'clock, in high spirits." they took the canoe at the mouth of elk river, on the th. most of the diary is, of course, taken up with notes on the character and fertility of the lands, and memoranda of the surveys made. especial comment is made on a burning spring by the kanawha, which is dubbed "one of the wonders of the world." . they received this news on april th, and confirmation thereof on the th. the dates should be kept in mind, as they show that the shawnees had begun hostilities from a fortnight to a month before cresap's attack and the murder of logan's family, which will be described hereafter. . which they reached on the th. . on the d. . on may th. . there were quarrels among the surveyors. the entry for may th runs: "our company divided, eleven men went up to harrad's company one hundred miles up the cantucky or louisa river (n.b. one capt. harrad has been there many months building a kind of town &c) in order to make improvements. this day a quarrel arose between mr. lee and mr. hyte; lee cut a stick and gave hyte a whiping with it, upon which mr. floyd demanded the king's peace which stopt it sooner that it would have ended if he had not been there." . they said that in a skirmish the whites had killed thirteen shawnees, two mingos, and one delaware (this may or may not mean the massacres by cresap and greathouse; see, _post_, chapter on lord dunmore's war). . where the journal says the land "is like a paradise, it is so good and beautiful." . the journal for july th says: "the land is so good that i cannot give it its due praise. the undergrowth is clover, pea-vine, cane & nettles; intermingled with rich weed. it's timber is honey locust, black walnut, sugar tree, hickory, iron-wood, hoop wood, mulberry, ash and elm and some oak." and later it dwells on the high limestone cliffs facing the river on both sides. . on july th. . i have given the account of floyd's journey at some length as illustrating the experience of a typical party of surveyors. the journal has never hitherto been alluded to, and my getting hold of it was almost accidental. there were three different kinds of explorers. boon represents the hunters; the mcafees represent the would-be settlers; and floyd's party the surveyors who mapped out the land for owners of land grants. in , there were parties of each kind in kentucky. floyd's experience shows that these parties were continually meeting others and splitting up; he started out with eight men, at one time was in a body with thirty-seven, and returned home with four. the journal is written in a singularly clear and legible hand, evidently by a man of good education. . the latter, from his name presumably of sclavonic ancestry, came originally from new york, always a centre of mixed nationalities. he founded a most respectable family, some of whom have changed their name to sandusky; but there seems to be no justification for their claim that they gave sandusky its name, for this is almost certainly a corruption of its old algonquin title. "american pioneer" (cincinnati, ), ii., p. . chapter vii. sevier, robertson, and the watauga commonwealth, - . soon after the successful ending of the last colonial struggle with france, and the conquest of canada, the british king issued a proclamation forbidding the english colonists from trespassing on indian grounds, or moving west of the mountains. but in , at the treaty of fort stanwix, the six nations agreed to surrender to the english all the lands lying between the ohio and the tennessee;[ ] and this treaty was at once seized upon by the backwoodsmen as offering an excuse for settling beyond the mountains. however, the iroquois had ceded lands to which they had no more right than a score or more other indian tribes; and these latter, not having been consulted, felt at perfect liberty to make war on the intruders. in point of fact, no one tribe or set of tribes could cede kentucky or tennessee, because no one tribe or set of tribes owned either. the great hunting-grounds between the ohio and the tennessee formed a debatable land, claimed by every tribe that could hold its own against its rivals.[ ] the eastern part of what is now tennessee consists of a great hill-strewn, forest-clad valley, running from northeast to southwest, bounded on one side by the cumberland, and on the other by the great smoky and unaka mountains; the latter separating it from north carolina. in this valley arise and end the clinch, the holston, the watauga, the nolichucky, the french broad, and the other streams, whose combined volume makes the tennessee river. the upper end of the valley lies in southwestern virginia, the head-waters of some of the rivers being well within that state; and though the province was really part of north carolina, it was separated therefrom by high mountain chains, while from virginia it was easy to follow the watercourses down the valley. thus, as elsewhere among the mountains forming the western frontier, the first movements of population went parallel with, rather than across, the ranges. as in western virginia the first settlers came, for the most part, from pennsylvania, so, in turn, in what was then western north carolina, and is now eastern tennessee, the first settlers came mainly from virginia, and, indeed, in great part, from this same pennsylvanian stock.[ ] of course, in each case there was also a very considerable movement directly westward.[ ] they were a sturdy race, enterprising and intelligent, fond of the strong excitement inherent in the adventurous frontier life. their untamed and turbulent passions, and the lawless freedom of their lives, made them a population very productive of wild, headstrong characters; yet, as a whole, they were a god-fearing race, as was but natural in those who sprang from the loins of the irish calvinists. their preachers, all presbyterians, followed close behind the first settlers, and shared their toil and dangers; they tilled their fields rifle in hand, and fought the indians valorously. they felt that they were dispossessing the canaanites, and were thus working the lord's will in preparing the land for a race which they believed was more truly his chosen people than was that nation which joshua led across the jordan. they exhorted no less earnestly in the bare meeting-houses on sunday, because their hands were roughened with guiding the plow and wielding the axe on week-days; for they did not believe that being called to preach the word of god absolved them from earning their living by the sweat of their brows. the women, the wives of the settlers, were of the same iron temper. they fearlessly fronted every danger the men did, and they worked quite as hard. they prized the knowledge and learning they themselves had been forced to do without; and many a backwoods woman by thrift and industry, by the sale of her butter and cheese, and the calves from her cows, enabled her husband to give his sons good schooling, and perhaps to provide for some favored member of the family the opportunity to secure a really first-class education.[ ] the valley in which these splendid pioneers of our people settled, lay directly in the track of the indian marauding parties, for the great war trail used by the cherokees and by their northern foes ran along its whole length. this war trail, or war trace as it was then called, was in places very distinct, although apparently never as well marked as were some of the buffalo trails. it sent off a branch to cumberland gap, whence it ran directly north through kentucky to the ohio, being there known as the warriors' path. along these trails the northern and southern indians passed and re-passed when they went to war against each other; and of course they were ready and eager to attack any white man who might settle down along their course. in , the year that boon first went to kentucky, the first permanent settlers came to the banks of the watauga,[ ] the settlement being merely an enlargement of the virginia settlement, which had for a short time existed on the head-waters of the holston, especially near wolf hills.[ ] at first the settlers thought they were still in the domain of virginia, for at that time the line marking her southern boundary had not been run so far west.[ ] indeed, had they not considered the land as belonging to virginia, they would probably not at the moment have dared to intrude farther on territory claimed by the indians. but while the treaty between the crown and the iroquois at fort stanwix[ ] had resulted in the cession of whatever right the six nations had to the southwestern territory, another treaty was concluded about the same time[ ] with the cherokees, by which the latter agreed to surrender their claims to a small portion of this country, though as a matter of fact before the treaty was signed white settlers had crowded beyond the limits allowed them. these two treaties, in the first of which one set of tribes surrendered a small portion of land, while in the second an entirely different confederacy surrendered a larger tract, which, however, included part of the first cession, are sufficient to show the absolute confusion of the indian land titles. but in , one of the new-comers,[ ] who was a practical surveyor, ran out the virginia boundary line some distance to the westward, and discovered that the watauga settlement came within the limits of north carolina. hitherto the settlers had supposed that they themselves were governed by the virginian law, and that their rights as against the indians were guaranteed by the virginian government; but this discovery threw them back upon their own resources. they suddenly found themselves obliged to organize a civil government, under which they themselves should live, and at the same time to enter into a treaty on their own account with the neighboring indians, to whom the land they were on apparently belonged. the first need was even more pressing than the second. north carolina was always a turbulent and disorderly colony, unable to enforce law and justice even in the long-settled districts; so that it was wholly out of the question to appeal to her for aid in governing a remote and outlying community. moreover, about the time that the watauga commonwealth was founded, the troubles in north carolina came to a head. open war ensued between the adherents of the royal governor, tryon, on the one hand, and the regulators, as the insurgents styled themselves, on the other, the struggle ending with the overthrow of the regulators at the battle of the alamance.[ ] as a consequence of these troubles, many people from the back counties of north carolina crossed the mountains, and took up their abode among the pioneers on the watauga[ ] and upper holston; the beautiful valley of the nolichucky soon receiving its share of this stream of immigration. among the first comers were many members of the class of desperate adventurers always to be found hanging round the outskirts of frontier civilization. horse-thieves, murderers, escaped bond-servants, runaway debtors--all, in fleeing from the law, sought to find a secure asylum in the wilderness. the brutal and lawless wickedness of these men, whose uncouth and raw savagery was almost more repulsive than that of city criminals, made it imperative upon the decent members of the community to unite for self-protection. the desperadoes were often mere human beasts of prey; they plundered whites and indians impartially. they not only by their thefts and murders exasperated the indians into retaliating on innocent whites, but, on the other hand, they also often deserted their own color and went to live among the redskins, becoming their leaders in the worst outrages.[ ] but the bulk of the settlers were men of sterling worth; fit to be the pioneer fathers of a mighty and beautiful state. they possessed the courage that enabled them to defy outside foes, together with the rough, practical commonsense that allowed them to establish a simple but effective form of government, so as to preserve order among themselves. to succeed in the wilderness, it was necessary to possess not only daring, but also patience and the capacity to endure grinding toil. the pioneers were hunters and husbandmen. each, by the aid of axe and brand, cleared his patch of corn land in the forest, close to some clear, swift-flowing stream, and by his skill with the rifle won from canebrake and woodland the game on which his family lived until the first crop was grown. a few of the more reckless and foolhardy, and more especially of those who were either merely hunters and not farmers, or else who were of doubtful character, lived entirely by themselves; but, as a rule, each knot of settlers was gathered together into a little stockaded hamlet, called a fort or station. this system of defensive villages was very distinctive of pioneer backwoods life, and was unique of its kind; without it the settlement of the west and southwest would have been indefinitely postponed. in no other way could the settlers have combined for defence, while yet retaining their individual ownership of the land. the watauga forts or palisaded villages were of the usual kind, the cabins and blockhouses connected by a heavy loop-holed picket. they were admirably adapted for defence with the rifle. as there was no moat, there was a certain danger from an attack with fire unless water was stored within; and it was of course necessary to guard carefully against surprise. but to open assault they were practically impregnable, and they therefore offered a sure haven of refuge to the settlers in case of an indian inroad. in time of peace, the inhabitants moved out, to live in their isolated log-cabins and till the stump-dotted clearings. trails led through the dark forests from one station to another, as well as to the settled districts beyond the mountains; and at long intervals men drove along them bands of pack-horses, laden with the few indispensable necessaries the settlers could not procure by their own labor. the pack-horse was the first, and for a long time the only, method of carrying on trade in the backwoods; and the business of the packer was one of the leading frontier industries. the settlers worked hard and hunted hard, and lived both plainly and roughly. their cabins were roofed with clapboards, or huge shingles, split from the log with maul and wedge, and held in place by heavy stones, or by poles; the floors were made of rived puncheons, hewn smooth on one surface; the chimney was outside the hut, made of rock when possible, otherwise of logs thickly plastered with clay that was strengthened with hogs' bristles or deer hair; in the great fire-place was a tongue on which to hang pot-hooks and kettle; the unglazed window had a wooden shutter, and the door was made of great clapboards.[ ] the men made their own harness, farming implements, and domestic utensils; and, as in every other community still living in the heroic age, the smith was a person of the utmost importance. there was but one thing that all could have in any quantity, and that was land; each had all of this he wanted for the taking,--or if it was known to belong to the indians, he got its use for a few trinkets or a flask of whisky. a few of the settlers still kept some of the presbyterian austerity of character, as regards amusements; but, as a rule, they were fond of horse-racing, drinking, dancing, and fiddling. the corn-shuckings, flax-pullings, log-rollings (when the felled timber was rolled off the clearings), house-raisings, maple-sugar-boilings, and the like were scenes of boisterous and light-hearted merriment, to which the whole neighborhood came, for it was accounted an insult if a man was not asked in to help on such occasions, and none but a base churl would refuse his assistance. the backwoods people had to front peril and hardship without stint, and they loved for the moment to leap out of the bounds of their narrow lives and taste the coarse pleasures that are always dear to a strong, simple, and primitive race. yet underneath their moodiness and their fitful light-heartedness lay a spirit that when roused was terrible in its ruthless and stern intensity of purpose. such were the settlers of the watauga, the founders of the commonwealth that grew into the state of tennessee, who early in decided that they must form some kind of government that would put down wrong-doing and work equity between man and man. two of their number already towered head and shoulders above the rest in importance and merit especial mention; for they were destined for the next thirty years to play the chief parts in the history of that portion of the southwest which largely through their own efforts became the state of tennessee. these two men, neither of them yet thirty years of age, were john sevier and james robertson.[ ] robertson first came to the watauga early in .[ ] he had then been married for two years, and had been "learning his letters and to spell" from his well-educated wife; for he belonged to a backwoods family, even poorer than the average, and he had not so much as received the rudimentary education that could be acquired at an "old-field" school. but he was a man of remarkable natural powers, above the medium height,[ ] with wiry, robust form, light-blue eyes, fair complexion, and dark hair; his somewhat sombre face had in it a look of self-contained strength that made it impressive; and his taciturn, quiet, masterful way of dealing with men and affairs, together with his singular mixture of cool caution and most adventurous daring, gave him an immediate hold even upon such lawless spirits as those of the border. he was a mighty hunter; but, unlike boon, hunting and exploration were to him secondary affairs, and he came to examine the lands with the eye of a pioneer settler. he intended to have a home where he could bring up his family, and, if possible, he wished to find rich lands, with good springs, whereto he might lead those of his neighbors who, like himself, eagerly desired to rise in the world, and to provide for the well-being of their children. to find such a country robertson, then dwelling in north carolina, decided to go across the mountains. he started off alone on his exploring expedition, rifle in hand, and a good horse under him. he crossed the ranges that continue northward the great smokies, and spent the summer in the beautiful hill country where the springs of the western waters flowed from the ground. he had never seen so lovely a land. the high valleys, through which the currents ran, were hemmed in by towering mountain walls, with cloud-capped peaks. the fertile loam forming the bottoms was densely covered with the growth of the primaeval forest, broken here and there by glade-like openings, where herds of game grazed on the tall, thick grass. robertson was well treated by the few settlers, and stayed long enough to raise a crop of corn, the stand-by of the backwoods pioneer; like every other hunter, explorer, indian fighter, and wilderness wanderer, he lived on the game he shot, and the small quantity of maize he was able to carry with him.[ ] in the late fall, however, when recrossing the mountain on his way home through the trackless forests, both game and corn failed him. he lost his way, was forced to abandon his horse among impassable precipices, and finally found his rifle useless owing to the powder having become soaked. for fourteen days he lived almost wholly on nuts and wild berries, and was on the point of death from starvation, when he met two hunters on horseback, who fed him and let him ride their horses by turns, and brought him safely to his home. such hardships were little more than matter-of-course incidents in a life like his; and he at once prepared to set out with his family for the new land. his accounts greatly excited his neighbors, and sixteen families made ready to accompany him. the little caravan started, under robertson's guidance, as soon as the ground had dried after the winter rains in the spring of .[ ] they travelled in the usual style of backwoods emigrants: the men on foot, rifle on shoulder, the elder children driving the lean cows, while the women, the young children, and the few household goods, and implements of husbandry, were carried on the backs of the pack-horses; for in settling the backwoods during the last century, the pack-horse played the same part that in the present century was taken by the canvas-covered emigrant wagon, the white-topped "prairie schooner." once arrived at the watauga, the carolina new-comers mixed readily with the few virginians already on the ground; and robertson speedily became one of the leading men in the little settlement. on an island in the river he built a house of logs with the bark still on them on the outside, though hewed smooth within; tradition says that it was the largest in the settlement. certainly it belonged to the better class of backwoods cabins, with a loft and several rooms, a roof of split saplings, held down by weighty poles, a log veranda in front, and a huge fire-place, of sticks or stones laid in clay, wherein the pile of blazing logs roared loudly in cool weather. the furniture was probably precisely like that in other houses of the class; a rude bed, table, settee, and chest of drawers, a spinning-jenny, and either three-legged stools or else chairs with backs and seats of undressed deer hides. robertson's energy and his remarkable natural ability brought him to the front at once, in every way; although, as already said, he had much less than even the average backwoods education, for he could not read when he was married, while most of the frontiersmen could not only read but also write, or at least sign their names.[ ] sevier, who came to the watauga early in , nearly a year after robertson and his little colony had arrived, differed widely from his friend in almost every respect save highmindedness and dauntless, invincible courage. he was a gentleman by birth and breeding, the son of a huguenot who had settled in the shenandoah valley. he had received a fair education, and though never fond of books, he was to the end of his days an interested and intelligent observer of men and things, both in america and europe. he corresponded on intimate and equal terms with madison, franklin, and others of our most polished statesmen; while robertson's letters, when he had finally learned to write them himself, were almost as remarkable for their phenomenally bad spelling as for their shrewd common-sense and homely, straightforward honesty. sevier was a very handsome man; during his lifetime he was reputed the handsomest in tennessee. he was tall, fair-skinned, blue-eyed, brown-haired, of slender build, with erect, military carriage and commanding bearing, his lithe, finely proportioned figure being well set off by the hunting-shirt which he almost invariably wore. from his french forefathers he inherited a gay, pleasure-loving temperament, that made him the most charming of companions. his manners were polished and easy, and he had great natural dignity. over the backwoodsmen he exercised an almost unbounded influence, due as much to his ready tact, invariable courtesy, and lavish, generous hospitality, as to the skill and dashing prowess which made him the most renowned indian fighter of the southwest. he had an eager, impetuous nature, and was very ambitious, being almost as fond of popularity as of indian-fighting.[ ] he was already married, and the father of two children, when he came to the watauga, and, like robertson, was seeking a new and better home for his family in the west. so far, his life had been as uneventful as that of any other spirited young borderer; his business had been that of a frontier indian trader; he had taken part in one or two unimportant indian skirmishes.[ ] later he was commissioned by lord dunmore as a captain in the virginia line. such were sevier and robertson, the leaders in the little frontier outpost of civilization that was struggling to maintain itself on the watauga; and these two men afterwards proved themselves to be, with the exception of george rogers clark, the greatest of the first generation of trans-alleghany pioneers. their followers were worthy of them. all alike were keenly alive to the disadvantages of living in a community where there was neither law nor officer to enforce it. accordingly, with their characteristic capacity for combination, so striking as existing together with the equally characteristic capacity for individual self-help, the settlers determined to organize a government of their own. they promptly put their resolution into effect early in the spring of , robertson being apparently the leader in the movement. they decided to adopt written articles of agreement, by which their conduct should be governed; and these were known as the articles of the watauga association. they formed a written constitution, the first ever adopted west of the mountains, or by a community composed of american-born freemen. it is this fact of the early independence and self-government of the settlers along the head-waters of the tennessee that gives to their history its peculiar importance. they were the first men of american birth to establish a free and independent community on the continent. even before this date, there had been straggling settlements of pennsylvanians and virginians along the head-waters of the ohio; but these settlements remained mere parts of the colonies behind them, and neither grew into a separate community, nor played a distinctive part in the growth of the west. the first step taken by the watauga settlers,[ ] when they had determined to organize, was to meet in general convention, holding a kind of folk-thing, akin to the new england town-meeting. they then elected a representative assembly, a small parliament or "witanagemot," which met at robertson's station. apparently the freemen of each little fort or palisaded village, each blockhouse that was the centre of a group of detached cabins and clearings, sent a member to this first frontier legislature.[ ] it consisted of thirteen representatives, who proceeded to elect from their number five--among them sevier and robertson--to form a committee or court, which should carry on the actual business of government, and should exercise both judicial and executive functions. this court had a clerk and a sheriff, or executive officer, who respectively recorded and enforced their decrees. the five members of this court, who are sometimes referred to as arbitrators, and sometimes as commissioners, had entire control of all matters affecting the common weal; and all affairs in controversy were settled by the decision of a majority. they elected one of their number as chairman, he being also ex-officio chairman of the committee of thirteen; and all their proceedings were noted for the prudence and moderation with which they behaved in their somewhat anomalous position. they were careful to avoid embroiling themselves with the neighboring colonial legislatures; and in dealing with non-residents they made them give bonds to abide by their decision, thus avoiding any necessity of proceeding against their persons. on behalf of the community itself, they were not only permitted to control its internal affairs, but also to secure lands by making treaties with a foreign power, the indians; a distinct exercise of the right of sovereignty. they heard and adjudicated all cases of difference between the settlers themselves; and took measures for the common safety. in fact the dwellers, in this little outlying frontier commonwealth, exercised the rights of full statehood for a number of years; establishing in true american style a purely democratic government with representative institutions, in which, under certain restrictions, the will of the majority was supreme, while, nevertheless, the largest individual freedom, and the utmost liberty of individual initiative were retained. the framers showed the american predilection for a written constitution or civil compact; and, what was more important, they also showed the common-sense american spirit that led them to adopt the scheme of government which should in the simplest way best serve their needs, without bothering their heads over mere high-sounding abstractions.[ ] the court or committee held their sessions at stated and regular times, and took the law of virginia as their standard for decisions. they saw to the recording of deeds and wills, settled all questions of debt, issued marriage licenses, and carried on a most vigorous warfare against lawbreakers, especially horse-thieves.[ ] for six years their government continued in full vigor; then, in february, , north carolina having organized washington county, which included all of what is now tennessee, the governor of that state appointed justices of the peace and militia officers for the new county, and the old system came to an end. but sevier, robertson, and their fellow-committeemen were all members of the new court, and continued almost without change their former simple system of procedure and direct and expeditious methods of administering justice; as justices of the peace they merely continued to act as they acted while arbitrators of the watauga association, and in their summary mode of dealing with evil-doers paid a good deal more heed to the essence than to the forms of law. one record shows that a horse-thief was arrested on monday, tried on wednesday, and hung on friday of the same week. another deals with a claimant who, by his attorney, moved to be sworn into his office of clerk, "but the court swore in james sevier, well knowing that said sevier had been elected," and being evidently unwilling to waste their time hearing a contested election case when their minds were already made up as to the equity of the matter. they exercised the right of making suspicious individuals leave the county.[ ] they also at times became censors of morals, and interfered with straightforward effectiveness to right wrongs for which a more refined and elaborate system of jurisprudence would have provided only cumbersome and inadequate remedies. thus one of their entries is to the effect that a certain man is ordered "to return to his family and demean himself as a good citizen, he having admitted in open court that he had left his wife and took up with another woman." from the character of the judges who made the decision, it is safe to presume that the delinquent either obeyed it or else promptly fled to the indians for safety.[ ] this fleeing to the indians, by the way, was a feat often performed by the worst criminals--for the renegade, the man who had "painted his face" and deserted those of his own color, was a being as well known as he was abhorred and despised on the border, where such a deed was held to be the one unpardonable crime. so much for the way in which the whites kept order among themselves. the second part of their task, the adjustment of their relations with their red neighbors, was scarcely less important. early in virginia made a treaty with the cherokee nation, which established as the boundary between them a line running west from white top mountain in latitude degrees '.[ ] immediately afterwards the agent[ ] of the british government among the cherokees ordered the watauga settlers to instantly leave their lands. they defied him, and refused to move: but feeling the insecurity of their tenure they deputed two commissioners, of whom robertson was one, to make a treaty with the cherokees. this was successfully accomplished, the indians leasing to the associated settlers all the lands on the watauga waters for the space of eight years, in consideration of about six thousand dollars' worth of blankets, paint, muskets, and the like.[ ] the amount advanced was reimbursed to the men advancing it by the sale of the lands in small parcels to new settlers,[ ] for the time of the lease.[ ] after the lease was signed, a day was appointed on which to hold a great race, as well as wrestling-matches and other sports, at watauga. not only many whites from the various settlements, but also a number of indians, came to see or take part in the sports; and all went well until the evening, when some lawless men from wolf hills, who had been lurking in the woods round about,[ ] killed an indian, whereat his fellows left the spot in great anger. the settlers now saw themselves threatened with a bloody and vindictive indian war, and were plunged in terror and despair; yet they were rescued by the address and daring of robertson. leaving the others to build a formidable palisaded fort, under the leadership of sevier, robertson set off alone through the woods and followed the great war trace down to the cherokee towns. his mission was one of the greatest peril, for there was imminent danger that the justly angered savages would take his life. but he was a man who never rushed heedlessly into purposeless peril, and never flinched from a danger which there was an object in encountering. his quiet, resolute fearlessness doubtless impressed the savages to whom he went, and helped to save his life; moreover, the cherokees knew him, trusted his word, and were probably a little overawed by a certain air of command to which all men that were thrown in contact with him bore witness. his ready tact and knowledge of indian character did the rest. he persuaded the chiefs and warriors to meet him in council, assured them of the anger and sorrow with which all the watauga people viewed the murder, which had undoubtedly been committed by some outsider, and wound up by declaring his determination to try to have the wrong-doer arrested and punished according to his crime. the indians, already pleased with his embassy, finally consented to pass the affair over and not take vengeance upon innocent men. then the daring backwoods diplomatist, well pleased with the success of his mission, returned to the anxious little community. the incident, taken in connection with the plundering of a store kept by two whites in holston valley at the same time, and the unprovoked assault on boon's party in powell's valley a year later, shows the extreme difficulty of preventing the worst men of each color from wantonly attacking the innocent. there was hardly a peaceable red or law-abiding white who could not recite injuries he had received from members of the opposite race; and his sense of the wrongs he had suffered, as well as the general frontier indifference to crimes committed against others, made him slow in punishing similar outrages by his own people. the watauga settlers discountenanced wrong being done the indians, and tried to atone for it, but they never hunted the offenders down with the necessary mercilessness that alone could have prevented a repetition of their offences. similarly, but to an even greater degree, the good indians shielded the bad.[ ] for several years after they made their lease with the cherokees the men of the watauga were not troubled by their indian neighbors. they had to fear nothing more than a drought, a freshet, a forest fire, or an unusually deep snow-fall if hunting on the mountains in mid-winter. they lived in peace, hunting and farming, marrying, giving in marriage, and rearing many healthy children. by degrees they wrought out of the stubborn wilderness comfortable homes, filled with plenty. the stumps were drawn out of the clearings, and other grains were sown besides corn. beef, pork, and mutton were sometimes placed on the table, besides the more common venison, bear meat, and wild turkey. the women wove good clothing, the men procured good food, the log-cabins, if homely and rough, yet gave ample warmth and shelter. the families throve, and life was happy, even though varied with toil, danger, and hardship. books were few, and it was some years before the first church,--presbyterian, of course,--was started in the region.[ ] the backwoods presbyterians managed their church affairs much as they did their civil government: each congregation appointed a committee to choose ground, to build a meeting-house, to collect the minister's salary, and to pay all charges, by taxing the members proportionately for the same, the committee being required to turn in a full account, and receive instructions, at a general session or meeting held twice every year.[ ] thus the watauga folk were the first americans who, as a separate body, moved into the wilderness to hew out dwellings for themselves and their children, trusting only to their own shrewd heads, stout hearts, and strong arms, unhelped and unhampered by the power nominally their sovereign.[ ] they built up a commonwealth which had many successors; they showed that the frontiersmen could do their work unassisted; for they not only proved that they were made of stuff stern enough to hold its own against outside pressure of any sort, but they also made it evident that having won the land they were competent to govern both it and themselves. they were the first to do what the whole nation has since done. it has often been said that we owe all our success to our surroundings; that any race with our opportunities could have done as well as we have done. undoubtedly our opportunities have been great; undoubtedly we have often and lamentably failed in taking advantage of them. but what nation ever has done all that was possible with the chances offered it? the spaniards, the portuguese, and the french, not to speak of the russians in siberia, have all enjoyed, and yet have failed to make good use of, the same advantages which we have turned to good account. the truth is, that in starting a new nation in a new country, as we have done, while there are exceptional chances to be taken advantage of, there are also exceptional dangers and difficulties to be overcome. none but heroes can succeed wholly in the work. it is a good thing for us at times to compare what we have done with what we could have done, had we been better and wiser; it may make us try in the future to raise our abilities to the level of our opportunities. looked at absolutely, we must frankly acknowledge that we have fallen very far short indeed of the high ideal we should have reached. looked at relatively, it must also be said that we have done better than any other nation or race working under our conditions. the watauga settlers outlined in advance the nation's work. they tamed the rugged and shaggy wilderness, they bid defiance to outside foes, and they successfully solved the difficult problem of self-government. . then called the cherokee. . volumes could be filled--and indeed it is hardly too much to say, have been filled--with worthless "proofs" of the ownership of iroquois, shawnees, or cherokees, as the case might be. in truth, it would probably have been difficult to get any two members of the same tribe to have pointed out with precision the tribal limits. each tribe's country was elastic, for it included all lands from which it was deemed possible to drive out the possessors. in the various parties of long hunters had just the same right to the whole of the territory in question that the indians themselves had. . campbell mss. "the first settlers on holston river were a remarkable race of people for their intelligence, enterprise, and hardy adventure. the greater portion of them had emigrated from the counties of botetourt, augusta, and frederick, and others along the same valley, and from the upper counties of maryland and pennsylvania were mostly descendants of irish stock, and generally where they had any religious opinions, were presbyterians. a very large proportion were religious, and many were members of the church. there were some families, however, and amongst the most wealthy, that were extremely wild and dissipated in their habits. "the first clergyman that came among them was the rev. charles cummings, an irishman by birth but educated in pennsylvania. this gentleman was one of the first settlers, defended his domicile for years with his rifle in hand, and built his first meeting house on the very spot where he and two or three neighbors and one of his servants had had a severe skirmish with the indians, in which one of his party was killed and another wounded. here he preached to a very large and most respectable congregation for twenty or thirty years. he was a zealous whig and contributed much to kindle the patriotic fire which blazed forth among these people in the revolutionary struggle." this is from a ms sketch of the holston pioneers by the hon. david campbell, a son of one of the first settlers. the campbell family, of presbyterian irish stock, first came to pennsylvania, and drifted south. in the revolutionary war it produced good soldiers and commanders, such as william and arthur campbell. the campbells intermarried with the prestons, breckenridges and other historic families, and their blood now runs in the veins of many of the noted men of the states south of the potomac and ohio. . the first settlers on the watauga included both virginians (as "captain" william bean, whose child was the first born in what is now tennessee, ramsey, ) and carolinians (haywood, ). but many of these carolina hill people were, like boon and henderson, members of families who had drifted down from the north. the position of the presbyterian churches in all this western hill country shows the origin of that portion of the people which gave the tone to the rest, and, as we have already seen, while some of the presbyterians penetrated to the hills from charleston, most came down from the north. the presbyterian blood was, of course, irish or scotch, and the numerous english from the coast regions also mingled with the two former kindred stocks, and adopted their faith. the huguenots, hollanders, and many of the germans being of calvinistic creed, readily assimilated themselves to the presbyterians. the absence of episcopacy on the western border, while in part indicating merely the lack of religion in the backwoods, and the natural growth of dissent in such a society, also indicates that the people were not of pure english descent, and were of different stock from those east of them. . campbell mss. . for this settlement see especially "civil and political history of the state of tennessee," john haywood (knoxville, ), p. ; also "annals of tennessee," j. g. m. ramsey (charleston, ), p. , "history of middle tennessee," a. w. putnam (nashville, ), p. , the "address" of the hon. john allison to the tennessee press association (nashville, ); and the "history of tennessee," by james phelan (boston, ). . now abingdon. . it only went to steep rock. . november , . . october , , at hard labor, s. c., confirmed by the treaty of october , , at lockabar, s. c. both of these treaties acknowledged the rights of the cherokees to the major part of these northwestern hunting-grounds. . anthony bledson. . may , . . it is said that the greatest proportion of the early settlers came from wake county, n. c., as did robertson; but many of them, like robertson, were of virginian birth; and the great majority were of the same stock as the virginian and pennsylvanian mountaineers. of the five members of the "court" or governing committee of watauga, three were of virginian birth, one came from south carolina, and the origin of the other is not specified. ramsey, . . in collins, ii., , is an account of what may be termed a type family of these frontier barbarians. they were named harpe; and there is something revoltingly bestial in the record of their crimes; of how they travelled through the country, the elder brother, micajah harpe, with two wives, the younger with only one; of the appalling number of murders they committed, for even small sums of money, of their unnatural proposal to kill all their children, so that they should not be hampered in their flight; of their life in the woods, like wild beasts, and the ignoble ferocity of their ends. scarcely less sombre reading is the account of how they were hunted down, and of the wolfish eagerness the borderers showed to massacre the women and children as well as the men. . in "american pioneers," ii., , is a full description of the better sort of backwoods log-cabin. . both were born in virginia; sevier in rockingham county, september , , and robertson in brunswick county, june , . . putnam, p. ; who, however, is evidently in error in thinking he was accompanied by boon, as the latter was then in kentucky. a recent writer revives this error in another form, stating that robertson accompanied boon to the watauga in . boon, however, left on his travels on may , , and in june was in kentucky; whereas putnam not only informs us definitely that robertson went to the watauga for the first time in , but also mentions that when he went his eldest son was already born, and this event took place in june, , so that it is certain boon and robertson were not together. . the description of his looks is taken from the statements of his descendants, and of the grandchildren of his contemporaries. . the importance of maize to the western settler is shown by the fact that in our tongue it has now monopolized the title of corn. . putnam, p. , says it was after the battle of the great alamance, which took place may , . an untrustworthy tradition says march. . in examining numerous original drafts of petitions and the like, signed by hundreds of the original settlers of tennessee and kentucky, i have been struck by the small proportion--not much over three or four per cent. at the outside--of men who made their mark instead of signing. . see, in the collection of the tenn. hist. soc., at nashville, the ms. notes containing an account of sevier, given by one of the old settlers named hillsman. hillsman especially dwells on the skill with which sevier could persuade the backwoodsmen to come round to his own way of thinking, while at the same time making them believe that they were acting on their own ideas, and adds--"whatever he had was at the service of his friends and for the promotion of the sevier party, which sometimes embraced nearly all the population." . mr. james gilmore (edmund kirke), in his "john sevier," makes some assertions, totally unbacked by proof, about his hero's alleged feats, when only a boy, in the wars between the virginians and the indians. he gives no dates, but can only refer to pontiac's war. sevier was then eighteen years old, but nevertheless is portrayed, among other things, as leading "a hundred hardy borderers" into the indian country, burning their villages and "often defeating bodies of five times his own numbers." these statements are supported by no better authority than traditions gathered a century and a quarter after the event and must be dismissed as mere fable. they show a total and rather amusing ignorance not only of the conditions of indian warfare, but also of the history of the particular contest referred to. mr. gilmore forgets that we have numerous histories of the war in which sevier is supposed to have distinguished himself, and that in not one of them is there a syllable hinting at what he says. neither sevier nor any one else ever with a hundred men defeated "five times his number" of northwestern indians in the woods, and during sevier's life in virginia, the only defeat ever suffered by such a body of indians was at bushy run, when bouquet gained a hard-fought victory. after the end of pontiac's war there was no expedition of importance undertaken by virginians against the indians until , and of pontiac's war itself we have full knowledge. sevier was neither leader nor participant in any such marvellous feats as mr. gilmore describes, on the contrary, the skirmishes in which he may have been engaged were of such small importance that no record remains concerning them. had sevier done any such deeds all the colonies would have rung with his exploits, instead of their remaining utterly unknown for a hundred and twenty-five years. it is extraordinary that any author should be willing to put his name to such reckless misstatements, in what purports to be a history and not a book of fiction. . the watauga settlers and those of carter's valley were the first to organize; the nolichucky people came in later. . putnam, . . the original articles of the watauga association have been lost, and no copies are extant. all we know of the matter is derived from haywood, ramsey, and putnam, three historians to whose praiseworthy industry tennessee owes as much as kentucky does to marshall, butler, and collins. ramsey, by the way, chooses rather inappropriate adjectives when he calls the government "paternal and patriarchal." . a very good account of this government is given in allison's address, pp. - , and from it the following examples are taken. . a right the exercise of which is of course susceptible to great abuse, but, nevertheless, is often absolutely necessary to the well-being of a frontier community. in almost every case where i have personally known it exercised, the character of the individual ordered off justified the act. . allison's address. . ramsey, log. putnam says degrees '. . alexander cameron. . haywood, . . meanwhile carter's valley, then believed to lie in virginia, had been settled by virginians; the indians robbed a trader's store, and indemnified the owners by giving them land, at the treaty of sycamore shoals. this land was leased in job lots to settlers, who, however, kept possession without paying when they found it lay in north carolina. . a similar but separate lease was made by the settlers on the nolichucky, who acquired a beautiful and fertile valley in exchange for the merchandize carried on the back of a single pack-horse. among the whites themselves transfers of land were made in very simple forms, and conveyed not the fee simple but merely the grantor's claim. . haywood says they were named crabtree; putnam hints that they had lost a brother when boon's party was attacked and his son killed; but the attack on boon did not take place till over a year after this time. . even la rochefoucauld-liancourt ( , ), who loathed the backwoodsmen--few polished europeans being able to see any but the repulsive side of frontier character, a side certainly very often prominent,--also speaks of the tendency of the worst indians to go to the frontier to rob and murder. . salem church was founded (allison, ) in , by samuel doak, a princeton graduate, and a man of sound learning, who also at the same time started washington college, the first real institution of learning south of the alleghanies. . "annals of augusta," . . see appendix. chapter viii. lord dunmore's war, . on the eve of the revolution, in , the frontiersmen had planted themselves firmly among the alleghanies. directly west of them lay the untenanted wilderness, traversed only by the war parties of the red men, and the hunting parties of both reds and whites. no settlers had yet penetrated it, and until they did so there could be within its borders no chance of race warfare, unless we call by that name the unchronicled and unending contest in which, now and then, some solitary white woodsman slew, or was slain by, his painted foe. but in the southwest and the northwest alike, the area of settlement already touched the home lands of the tribes, and hence the horizon was never quite free from the cloud of threatening indian war; yet for the moment the southwest was at peace, for the cherokees were still friendly. it was in the northwest that the danger of collision was most imminent; for there the whites and indians had wronged one another for a generation, and their interests were, at the time, clashing more directly than ever. much the greater part of the western frontier was held or claimed by virginia, whose royal governor was, at the time, lord dunmore. he was an ambitious, energetic man, who held his allegiance as being due first to the crown, but who, nevertheless, was always eager to champion the cause of virginia as against either the indians or her sister colonies. the short but fierce and eventful struggle that now broke out was fought wholly by virginians, and was generally known by the name of lord dunmore's war. virginia, under her charter, claimed that her boundaries ran across to the south seas, to the pacific ocean. the king of britain had graciously granted her the right to take so much of the continent as lay within these lines, provided she could win it from the indians, french, and spaniards; and provided also she could prevent herself from being ousted by the crown, or by some of the other colonies. a number of grants had been made with the like large liberality, and it was found that they sometimes conflicted with one another. the consequence was that while the boundaries were well marked near the coast, where they separated virginia from the long-settled regions of maryland and north carolina, they became exceeding vague and indefinite the moment they touched the mountains. even at the south this produced confusion, and induced the settlers of the upper holston to consider themselves as virginians, not carolinians; but at the north the effect was still more confusing, and nearly resulted in bringing about an intercolonial war between pennsylvania and virginia. the virginians claimed all of extreme western pennsylvania, especially fort pitt and the valley of the monongahela, and, in , proceeded boldly to exercise jurisdiction therein.[ ] indeed a strong party among the settlers favored the virginian claim; whereas it would have been quite impossible to arouse anywhere in virginia the least feeling in support of a similar claim on behalf of pennsylvania. the borderers had a great contempt for the sluggish and timid government of the quaker province, which was very lukewarm in protecting them in their rights--or, indeed, in punishing them when they did wrong to others. in fact, it seems probable that they would have declared for virginia even more strongly, had it not been for the very reason that their feeling of independence was so surly as to make them suspicious of all forms of control; and they therefore objected almost as much to virginian as pennsylvanian rule, and regarded the outcome of the dispute with a certain indifference.[ ] for a time in the early part of there seemed quite as much likelihood of the virginians being drawn into a fight with the pennsylvanians as with the shawnees. while the pennsylvanian commissioners were trying to come to an agreement concerning the boundaries with lord dunmore, the representatives of the two contesting parties at fort pitt were on the verge of actual collision. the earl's agent in the disputed territory was a captain john conolly,[ ] a man of violent temper and bad character. he embodied the men favorable to his side as a sort of virginian militia, with which he not only menaced both hostile and friendly indians, but the adherents of the pennsylvanian government as well. he destroyed their houses, killed their cattle and hogs, impressed their horses, and finally so angered them that they threatened to take refuge in the stockade at fort pitt, and defy him to open war,--although even in the midst of these quarrels with conolly their loyalty to the quaker state was somewhat doubtful.[ ] the virginians were the only foes the western indians really dreaded; for their backwoodsmen were of warlike temper, and had learned to fight effectively in the forest. the indians styled them long knives; or, to be more exact, they called them collectively the "big knife."[ ] there have been many accounts given of the origin of this name, some ascribing it to the long knives worn by the hunters and backwoodsmen generally, others to the fact that some of the noted virginian fighters in their early skirmishes were armed with swords. at any rate the title was accepted by all the indians as applying to their most determined foes among the colonists; and finally, after we had become a nation, was extended so as to apply to americans generally. the war that now ensued was not general. the six nations, as a whole, took no part in it, while pennsylvania also stood aloof; indeed at one time it was proposed that the pennsylvanians and iroquois should jointly endeavor to mediate between the combatants.[ ] the struggle was purely between the virginians and the northwestern indians. the interests of the virginians and pennsylvanians conflicted not only in respect to the ownership of the land, but also in respect to the policy to be pursued regarding the indians. the former were armed colonists, whose interest it was to get actual possession of the soil;[ ] whereas in pennsylvania the indian trade was very important and lucrative, and the numerous traders to the indian towns were anxious that the redskins should remain in undisturbed enjoyment of their forests, and that no white man should be allowed to come among them; moreover, so long as they were able to make heavy profits, they were utterly indifferent to the well-being of the white frontiersmen, and in return incurred the suspicion and hatred of the latter. the virginians accused the traders of being the main cause of the difficulty,[ ] asserting that they sometimes incited the indians to outrages, and always, even in the midst of hostilities, kept them supplied with guns and ammunition, and even bought from them the horses that they had stolen on their plundering expeditions against the virginian border.[ ] these last accusations were undoubtedly justified, at least in great part, by the facts. the interests of the white trader from pennsylvania and of the white settler from virginia were so far from being identical that they were usually diametrically opposite. the northwestern indians had been nominally at peace with the whites for ten years, since the close of bouquet's campaign. but bouquet had inflicted a very slight punishment upon them, and in concluding an unsatisfactory peace had caused them to make but a partial reparation for the wrongs they had done.[ ] they remained haughty and insolent, irritated rather than awed by an ineffective chastisement, and their young men made frequent forays on the frontier. each of the ten years of nominal peace saw plenty of bloodshed. recently they had been seriously alarmed by the tendency of the whites to encroach on the great hunting-grounds south of the ohio;[ ] for here and there hunters or settlers were already beginning to build cabins along the course of that stream. the cession by the iroquois of these same hunting-grounds, at the treaty of fort stanwix, while it gave the whites a colorable title, merely angered the northwestern indians. half a century earlier they would hardly have dared dispute the power of the six nations to do what they chose with any land that could be reached by their war parties; but in they felt quite able to hold their own against their old oppressors, and had no intention of acquiescing in any arrangement the latter might make, unless it was also clearly to their own advantage. in the decade before lord dunmore's war there had been much mutual wrong-doing between the northwestern indians and the virginian borderers; but on the whole the latter had occupied the position of being sinned against more often than that of sinning. the chief offence of the whites was that they trespassed upon uninhabited lands, which they forthwith proceeded to cultivate, instead of merely roaming over them to hunt the game and butcher one another. doubtless occasional white men would murder an indian if they got a chance, and the traders almost invariably cheated the tribesmen. but as a whole the traders were indian rather than white in their sympathies, and the whites rarely made forays against their foes avowedly for horses and plunder, while the indians on their side were continually indulging in such inroads. every year parties of young red warriors crossed the ohio to plunder the outlying farms, burn down the buildings, scalp the inmates, and drive off the horses.[ ] year by year the exasperation of the borderers grew greater and the tale of the wrongs they had to avenge longer.[ ] occasionally they took a brutal and ill-judged vengeance, which usually fell on innocent indians,[ ] and raised up new foes for the whites. the savages grew continually more hostile, and in the fall of their attacks became so frequent that it was evident a general outbreak was at hand; eleven people were murdered in the county of fincastle alone.[ ] the shawnees were the leaders in all these outrages; but the outlaw bands, such as the mingos and cherokees, were as bad, and parties of wyandots and delawares, as well as of the various miami and wabash tribes, joined them. thus the spring of opened with every thing ripe for an explosion. the virginian borderers were fearfully exasperated, and ready to take vengeance upon any indians, whether peaceful or hostile; while the shawnees and mingos, on their side, were arrogant and overbearing, and yet alarmed at the continual advance of the whites. the headstrong rashness of conolly, who was acting as lord dunmore's lieutenant on the border, and who was equally willing to plunge into a war with pennsylvania or the shawnees, served as a firebrand to ignite this mass of tinder. the borderers were anxious for a war; and lord dunmore was not inclined to baulk them. he was ambitious of glory, and probably thought that in the midst of the growing difficulties between the mother country and the colonies, it would be good policy to distract the virginians' minds by an indian war, which, if he conducted it to a successful conclusion, might strengthen his own position.[ ] there were on the border at the moment three or four men whose names are so intimately bound up with the history of this war, that they deserve a brief mention. one was michael cresap, a maryland frontiersman, who had come to the banks of the ohio with the purpose of making a home for his family.[ ] he was of the regular pioneer type; a good woodsman, sturdy and brave, a fearless fighter, devoted to his friends and his country; but also, when his blood was heated, and his savage instincts fairly roused, inclined to regard any red man, whether hostile or friendly, as a being who should be slain on sight. nor did he condemn the brutal deeds done by others on innocent indians. the next was a man named greathouse, of whom it is enough to know that, together with certain other men whose names have for the most part, by a merciful chance, been forgotten,[ ] he did a deed such as could only be committed by inhuman and cowardly scoundrels. the other two actors in this tragedy were both indians, and were both men of much higher stamp. one was cornstalk, the shawnee chief; a far-sighted seer, gloomily conscious of the impending ruin of his race, a great orator, a mighty warrior, a man who knew the value of his word and prized his honor, and who fronted death with quiet, disdainful heroism; and yet a fierce, cruel, and treacherous savage to those with whom he was at enmity, a killer of women and children, whom we first hear of, in pontiac's war, as joining in the massacre of unarmed and peaceful settlers who had done him no wrong, and who thought that he was friendly.[ ] the other was logan, an iroquois warrior, who lived at that time away from the bulk of his people, but who was a man of note--in the loose phraseology of the border, a chief or headman--among the outlying parties of senecas and mingos, and the fragments of broken tribes that dwelt along the upper ohio. he was a man of splendid appearance; over six feet high, straight as a spear-shaft, with a countenance as open as it was brave and manly,[ ] until the wrongs he endured stamped on it an expression of gloomy ferocity. he had always been the friend of the white man, and had been noted particularly for his kindness and gentleness to children. up to this time he had lived at peace with the borderers, for though some of his kin had been massacred by them years before, he had forgiven the deed--perhaps not unmindful of the fact that others of his kin had been concerned in still more bloody massacres of the whites. a skilled marksman and mighty hunter, of commanding dignity, who treated all men with a grave courtesy that exacted the same treatment in return, he was greatly liked and respected by all the white hunters and frontiersmen whose friendship and respect were worth having; they admired him for his dexterity and prowess, and they loved him for his straightforward honesty, and his noble loyalty to his friends. one of these old pioneer hunters has left on record[ ] the statement that he deemed "logan the best specimen of humanity he ever met with, either white or red." such was logan before the evil days came upon him. early in the spring the outlying settlers began again to suffer from the deeds of straggling indians. horses were stolen, one or two murders were committed, the inhabitants of the more lonely cabins fled to the forts, and the backwoodsmen began to threaten fierce vengeance. on april th, three traders in the employ of a man named butler were attacked by some of the outlaw cherokees, one killed, another wounded, and their goods plundered. immediately after this conolly issued an open letter, commanding the backwoodsmen to hold themselves in readiness to repel any attack by the indians, as the shawnees were hostile. such a letter from lord dunmore's lieutenant amounted to a declaration of war, and there were sure to be plenty of backwoodsmen who would put a very liberal interpretation upon the order given them to repel an attack. its effects were seen instantly. all the borderers prepared for war. cresap was near wheeling at the time, with a band of hunters and scouts, fearless men, who had adopted many of the ways of the redskins, in addition to their method of fighting. as soon as they received conolly's letter they proceeded to declare war in the regular indian style, calling a council, planting the war-post, and going through other savage ceremonies,[ ] and eagerly waited for a chance to attack their foes. unfortunately the first stroke fell on friendly indians. the trader, butler, spoken of above, in order to recover some of the peltries of which he had been robbed by the cherokees, had sent a canoe with two friendly shawnees towards the place of the massacre. on the th cresap and his followers ambushed these men near captina, and killed and scalped them. some of the better backwoodsmen strongly protested against this outrage;[ ] but the mass of them were excited and angered by the rumor of indian hostilities, and the brutal and disorderly side of frontier character was for the moment uppermost. they threatened to kill whoever interfered with them, cursing the "damned traders" as being worse than the indians,[ ] while cresap boasted of the murder, and never said a word in condemnation of the still worse deeds that followed it.[ ] the next day he again led out his men and attacked another party of shawnees, who had been trading near pittsburg, killed one and wounded two others, one of the whites being also hurt.[ ] among the men who were with cresap at this time was a young virginian, who afterwards played a brilliant part in the history of the west, who was for ten years the leader of the bold spirits of kentucky, and who rendered the whole united states signal and effective service by one of his deeds in the revolutionary war. this was george rogers clark, then twenty-one years old.[ ] he was of good family, and had been fairly well educated, as education went in colonial days; but from his childhood he had been passionately fond of the wild roving life of the woods. he was a great hunter; and, like so many other young colonial gentlemen of good birth and bringing up, and adventurous temper, he followed the hazardous profession of a backwoods surveyor. with chain and compass, as well as axe and rifle, he penetrated the far places of the wilderness, the lonely, dangerous regions where every weak man inevitably succumbed to the manifold perils encountered, but where the strong and far-seeing were able to lay the foundations of fame and fortune. he possessed high daring, unflinching courage, passions which he could not control, and a frame fitted to stand any strain of fatigue or hardship. he was a square-built, thick-set man, with high broad forehead, sandy hair, and unquailing blue eyes that looked out from under heavy, shaggy brows.[ ] clark had taken part with cresap in his assault upon the second party of shawnees. on the following day the whole band of whites prepared to march off and attack logan's camp at yellow creek, some fifty miles distant. after going some miles they began to feel ashamed of their mission; calling a halt, they discussed the fact that the camp they were preparing to attack, consisted exclusively of friendly indians, and mainly of women and children; and forthwith abandoned their proposed trip and returned home. they were true borderers--brave, self-reliant, loyal to their friends, and good-hearted when their worst instincts were not suddenly aroused; but the sight of bloodshed maddened them as if they had been so many wolves. wrongs stirred to the depths their moody tempers, and filled them with a brutal longing for indiscriminate revenge. when goaded by memories of evil, or when swayed by swift, fitful gusts of fury, the uncontrolled violence of their passions led them to commit deeds whose inhuman barbarity almost equalled, though it could never surpass, that shown by the indians themselves.[ ] but logan's people did not profit by cresap's change of heart. on the last day of april a small party of men, women, and children, including almost all of logan's kin, left his camp and crossed the river to visit greathouse, as had been their custom; for he made a trade of selling rum to the savages, though cresap had notified him to stop. the whole party were plied with liquor, and became helplessly drunk, in which condition greathouse and his associated criminals fell on and massacred them, nine souls in all.[ ] it was an inhuman and revolting deed, which should consign the names of the perpetrators to eternal infamy. at once the frontier was in a blaze, and the indians girded themselves for revenge. the mingos sent out runners to the other tribes, telling of the butchery, and calling on all the red men to join together for immediate and bloody vengeance.[ ] they confused the two massacres, attributing both to cresap, whom they well knew as a warrior;[ ] and their women for long afterwards scared the children into silence by threatening them with cresap's name as with that of a monster.[ ] they had indeed been brutally wronged; yet it must be remembered that they themselves were the first aggressors. they had causelessly murdered and robbed many whites, and now their sins had recoiled on the heads of the innocent of their own race. the conflict could not in any event have been delayed long; the frontiersmen were too deeply and too justly irritated. these particular massacres, however discreditable to those taking part in them, were the occasions, not the causes, of the war; and though they cast a dark shade on the conduct of the whites, they do not relieve the red men from the charge of having committed earlier, more cruel, and quite as wanton outrages. conolly, an irritable but irresolute man, was appalled by the storm he had helped raise. he meanly disclaimed all responsibility for cresap's action,[ ] and deposed him from his command of rangers; to which, however, he was soon restored by lord dunmore. both the earl and his lieutenant, however, united in censuring severely greathouse's deed.[ ] conolly, throughout may, held a series of councils with the delawares and iroquois, in which he disclaimed and regretted the outrages, and sought for peace.[ ] to one of these councils the delaware chief, killbuck, with other warriors, sent a "talk" or "speech in writing"[ ] disavowing the deeds of one of their own parties of young braves, who had gone on the warpath; and another delaware chief made a very sensible speech, saying that it was unfortunately inevitable that bad men on both sides should commit wrongs, and that the cooler heads should not be led away by acts due to the rashness and folly of a few. but the shawnees showed no such spirit. on the contrary they declared for war outright, and sent a bold defiance to the virginians, at the same time telling conolly plainly that he lied. their message is noteworthy, because, after expressing a firm belief that the virginian leader could control his warriors, and stop the outrages if he wished, it added that the shawnee head men were able to do the like with their own men when they required it. this last allegation took away all shadow of excuse from the shawnees for not having stopped the excesses of which their young braves had been guilty during the past few years. though conolly showed signs of flinching, his master the earl had evidently no thought of shrinking from the contest. he at once began actively to prepare to attack his foes, and the virginians backed him up heartily, though the royal government, instead of supporting him, censured him in strong terms, and accused the whites of being the real aggressors and the authors of the war.[ ] in any event, it would have been out of the question to avoid a contest at so late a date. immediately after the murders in the end of april, the savages crossed the frontier in small bands. soon all the back country was involved in the unspeakable horrors of a bloody indian war, with its usual accompaniments of burning houses, tortured prisoners, and ruined families, the men being killed and the women and children driven off to a horrible captivity.[ ] the indians declared that they were not at war with pennsylvania,[ ] and the latter in return adopted an attitude of neutrality, openly disclaiming any share in the wrong that had been done, and assuring the indians that it rested solely on the shoulders of the virginians.[ ] indeed the shawnees protected the pennsylvania traders from some hostile mingos, while the pennsylvania militia shielded a party of shawnees from some of conolly's men;[ ] and the virginians, irritated by what they considered an abandonment of the white cause, were bent on destroying the pennsylvania fur trade with the indians.[ ] nevertheless, some of the bands of young braves who were out on the war-path failed to discriminate between white friends and foes, and a number of pennsylvanians fell victims to their desire for scalps and their ignorance or indifference as to whom they were at war with.[ ] the panic along the pennsylvania frontier was terrible; the out settlers fled back to the interior across the mountains, or gathered in numbers to defend themselves.[ ] on the virginian frontier, where the real attack was delivered, the panic was more justifiable; for terrible ravages were committed, and the inhabitants were forced to gather together in their forted villages, and could no longer cultivate their farms, except by stealth.[ ] instead of being cowed, however, the backwoodsmen clamored to be led against their foes, and made most urgent appeals for powder and lead, of which there was a great scarcity.[ ] the confusion was heightened by the anarchy in which the government of the northwestern district had been thrown in consequence of the quarrel concerning the jurisdiction. the inhabitants were doubtful as to which colony really had a right to their allegiance, and many of the frontier officials were known to be double-faced, professing allegiance to both governments.[ ] when the pennsylvanians raised a corps of a hundred rangers there almost ensued a civil war among the whites, for the virginians were fearful that the movement was really aimed against them.[ ] of course the march of events gradually forced most, even of the neutral indians, to join their brethren who had gone on the war-path, and as an example of the utter confusion that reigned, the very indians that were at war with one british colony, virginia, were still drawing supplies from the british post of detroit.[ ] logan's rage had been terrible. he had changed and not for the better, as he grew older, becoming a sombre, moody man; worse than all, he had succumbed to the fire-water, the curse of his race. the horrible treachery and brutality of the assault wherein his kinsfolk were slain made him mad for revenge; every wolfish instinct in him came to the surface. he wreaked a terrible vengeance for his wrongs; but in true indian fashion it fell, not on those who had caused them, but on others who were entirely innocent. indeed he did not know who had caused them. the massacres at captina and yellow creek occurred so near together that they were confounded with each other; and not only the indians but many whites as well[ ] credited cresap and greathouse with being jointly responsible for both, and as cresap was the most prominent, he was the one especially singled out for hatred. logan instantly fell on the settlement with a small band of mingo warriors. on his first foray he took thirteen scalps, among them those of six children.[ ] a party of virginians, under a man named mcclure, followed him: but he ambushed and defeated them, slaying their leader.[ ] he repeated these forays at least three times. yet, in spite of his fierce craving for revenge, he still showed many of the traits that had made him beloved of his white friends. having taken a prisoner, he refused to allow him to be tortured, and saved his life at the risk of his own. a few days afterwards he suddenly appeared to this prisoner with some gunpowder ink, and dictated to him a note. on his next expedition this note, tied to a war-club, was left in the house of a settler, whose entire family was murdered. it was a short document, written with ferocious directness, as a kind of public challenge or taunt to the man whom he wrongly deemed to be the author of his misfortunes. it ran as follows: "captain cresap: "what did you kill my people on yellow creek for? the white people killed my kin at conestoga, a great while ago, and i thought nothing of that. but you killed my kin again on yellow creek, and took my cousin prisoner. then i thought i must kill too; and i have been three times to war since; but the indians are not angry, only myself. "july , . captain john logan."[ ] there is a certain deliberate and blood-thirsty earnestness about this letter which must have shown the whites clearly, if they still needed to be shown, what bitter cause they had to rue the wrongs that had been done to logan. the shawnees and mingos were soon joined by many of the delawares and outlying iroquois, especially senecas; as well as by the wyandots and by large bands of ardent young warriors from among the algonquin tribes along the miami, the wabash, and the lakes. their inroads on the settlements were characterized, as usual, by extreme stealth and merciless ferocity. they stole out of the woods with the silent cunning of wild beasts, and ravaged with a cruelty ten times greater. they burned down the lonely log-huts, ambushed travellers, shot the men as they hunted or tilled the soil, ripped open the women with child, and burned many of their captives at the stake. their noiseless approach enabled them to fall on the settlers before their presence was suspected; and they disappeared as suddenly as they had come, leaving no trail that could be followed. the charred huts and scalped and mangled bodies of their victims were left as ghastly reminders of their visit, the sight stirring the backwoodsmen to a frenzy of rage all the more terrible in the end, because it was impotent for the time being. generally they made their escape successfully; occasionally they were beaten off or overtaken and killed or scattered. when they met armed woodsmen the fight was always desperate. in may, a party of hunters and surveyors, being suddenly attacked in the forest, beat off their assailants and took eight scalps, though with a loss of nine of their own number.[ ] moreover, the settlers began to band together to make retaliatory inroads; and while lord dunmore was busily preparing to strike a really effective blow, he directed the frontiersmen of the northwest to undertake a foray, so as to keep the indians employed. accordingly, they gathered together, four hundred strong,[ ] crossed the ohio, in the end of july, and marched against a shawnee town on the muskingum. they had a brisk skirmish with the shawnees, drove them back, and took five scalps, losing two men killed and five wounded. then the shawnees tried to ambush them, but their ambush was discovered, and they promptly fled, after a slight skirmish, in which no one was killed but one indian, whom cresap, a very active and vigorous man, ran down and slew with his tomahawk.[ ] the shawnee village was burned, seventy acres of standing corn were cut down, and the settlers returned in triumph. on the march back they passed through the towns of the peaceful moravian delawares, to whom they did no harm. . "american archives," th series, vol. i., p. . report of penn. commissioners, june , . . maryland was also involved, along her western frontier, in border difficulties with her neighbors; the first we hear of the cresap family is their having engaged in a real skirmish with the pennsylvanian authorities. see also "am. arch.," iv., vol. i., . . "am. arch.," iv., vol. i., , , , etc. he was generally called dr. conolly. . see _do_., , , etc., especially st. clair's letters, _passim_. . in most of the original treaties, "talks," etc., preserved in the archives of the state department, where the translation is exact, the word "big knife" is used. . letter of john penn, june , . "am. arch.," iv., vol. iv. . "am. archives," _do_., . . _do_., . . _do_., . . "am. arch.," iv., vol. i., p. . . mcafee mss. this is the point especially insisted on by cornstalk in his speech to the adventurers in ; he would fight before seeing the whites drive off the game. . in the mcafee mss., as already quoted, there is an account of the shawnee war party, whom the mcafees encountered in returning from a successful horse-stealing expedition. . "am. archives," iv., vol. i., . dunmore in his speech enumerates men, women, and children who had been killed by the indians in , ' , and ' , and these were but a small fraction of the whole. "this was before a drop of shawnee blood was shed." . "trans-alleghany pioneers," p. , gives an example that happened in . . "am. archives," iv., vol. i. letter of col. wm. preston, aug. , . . many local historians, including brantz mayer (logan and cresap, p. ), ascribe to the earl treacherous motives. brantz mayer puts it thus: "it was probably lord dunmore's desire to incite a war which would arouse and band the savages of the west, so that in the anticipated struggle with the united colonies the british home-interest might ultimately avail itself of these children of the forest as ferocious and formidable allies in the onslaught on the americans." this is much too futile a theory to need serious discussion. the war was of the greatest advantage to the american cause; for it kept the northwestern indians off our hands for the first two years of the revolutionary struggle; and had lord dunmore been the far-seeing and malignant being that this theory supposes, it would have been impossible for him not also to foresee that such a result was absolutely inevitable. there is no reason whatever to suppose that he was not doing his best for the virginians; he deserved their gratitude; and he got it for the time being. the accusations of treachery against him were afterthoughts, and must be set down to mere vulgar rancor, unless, at least, some faint shadow of proof is advanced. when the revolutionary war broke out, however, the earl, undoubtedly, like so many other british officials, advocated the most outrageous measures to put down the insurgent colonists. . see brantz mayer, p. , for a very proper attack on those historians who stigmatize as land-jobbers and speculators the perfectly honest settlers, whose encroachments on the indian hunting-grounds were so bitterly resented by the savages. such attacks are mere pieces of sentimental injustice. the settlers were perfectly right in feeling that they had a right to settle on the vast stretches of unoccupied ground, however wrong some of their individual deeds may have been. but mayer, following jacob's "life of cresap," undoubtedly paints his hero in altogether too bright colors. . sappington, tomlinson, and baker were the names of three of his fellow miscreants. see jefferson mss. . at greenbriar. see "narrative of captain john stewart," an actor in the war.--_magazine of american history_, vol. i., p. . . loudon's "indian narratives," ii., p. . . see "american pioneer," i., p. . . letter of george rogers clark, june . . in jefferson mss., th series, vol. i. (preserved in archives of state department at washington) . witness the testimony of one of the most gallant indian fighters of the border, who was in wheeling at the time; letter of col. ebenezer zane, february , , in jefferson mss. . jefferson mss. deposition of john gibson, april , . . _do_. deposition of wm. huston, april , ; also depositions of samuel mckee, etc. . "am. archives," iv., vol. i., p. . letter of devereux smith june , , gibson's letter, also jefferson mss. . _historical magazine_, i., p. . born in albemarle county, va., november , . . military journal of major ebenezer denny, with an introductory memoir by william h. denny (publication of the hist. soc. of penn.), phil., , p. . the cresap apologists, including even brantz mayer, dwell on cresap's nobleness in not massacring logan's family! it was certainly to his credit that he did not do so, but it does not speak very well for him that he should even have entertained the thought. he was doubtless, on the whole, a brave, good-hearted man--quite as good as the average borderer; but nevertheless apt to be drawn into deeds that were the reverse of creditable. mayer's book has merit; but he certainly paints logan too black and cresap too white, and (see appendix) is utterly wrong as to logan's speech. he is right in recognizing the fact that in the war, as a whole, justice was on the side of the frontiersmen. . devereux smith's letter. some of the evil-doers afterwards tried to palliate their misdeeds by stating that logan's brother, when drunk, insulted a white man, and that the other indians were at the time on the point of executing an attack upon them. the last statement is self-evidently false; for had such been the case, the indians would, of course, never have let some of their women and children put themselves in the power of the whites, and get helplessly drunk; and, anyhow, the allegations of such brutal and cowardly murderers are entirely unworthy of acceptance, unless backed up by outside evidence. . jefferson mss., th series, vol. i. heckewelder's letter. . jefferson mss. deposition of col. james smith, may , . . _do_., heckewelder's letter. . "am. archives," iv., vol. i., p. . . _do_., p. . . _do_., p. . . _do_., p. . . _do_., p. . letter of the earl of dartmouth, sept. , . a sufficient answer, by the way, to the absurd charge that dunmore brought on the war in consequence of some mysterious plan of the home government to embroil the americans with the savages. it is not at all improbable that the crown advisers were not particularly displeased at seeing the attention of the americans distracted by a war with the indians; but this is the utmost that can be alleged. . _do_., p. . . _do_., p. . . _do_., p. . . _do_., p. . . _do_., p. . . _do_., p. . . _do_., pp. , , . . _do_., pp. , . . _do_., p. . . _do_., p. . . _do_., pp. , . . _do_., p. . . _do_., p. . . _do_., pp. , . . _do_., p. . . jefferson mss. dep. of wm. robinson, february , , and letter from harry innes, march , , with a copy of logan's letter as made in his note-book at the time. . "am. archives.," p. . . under a certain angus macdonald, _do_., p. . they crossed the ohio at fish creek, miles below pittsburg. . "am. archives," iv., vol. i., pp. , . chapter ix. the battle of the great kanawha; and logan's speech, . meanwhile lord dunmore, having garrisoned the frontier forts, three of which were put under the orders of daniel boon, was making ready a formidable army with which to overwhelm the hostile indians. it was to be raised, and to march, in two wings or divisions, each fifteen hundred strong, which were to join at the mouth of the great kanawha. one wing, the right or northernmost, was to be commanded by the earl in person; while the other, composed exclusively of frontiersmen living among the mountains west and southwest of the blue ridge, was entrusted to general andrew lewis. lewis was a stalwart backwoods soldier, belonging to a family of famous frontier fighters, but though a sternly just and fearless man,[ ] he does not appear to have had more than average qualifications to act as a commander of border troops when pitted against indians. the backwoodsmen of the alleghanies felt that the quarrel was their own; in their hearts the desire for revenge burned like a sullen flame. the old men had passed their manhood with nerves tense from the strain of unending watchfulness, and souls embittered by terrible and repeated disasters; the young men had been cradled in stockaded forts, round which there prowled a foe whose comings and goings were unknown, and who was unseen till the moment when the weight of his hand was felt. they had been helpless to avenge their wrongs, and now that there was at last a chance to do so, they thronged eagerly to lewis' standard. the left wing or army assembled at the great levels of greenbriar, and thither came the heroes of long rifle, tomahawk, and hunting-shirt, gathering from every stockaded hamlet, every lonely clearing and smoky hunter's camp that lay along the ridges from whose hollows sprang the sources of the eastern and the western waters. they were not uniformed, save that they all wore the garb of the frontier hunter; but most of them were armed with good rifles, and were skilful woodsmen, and though utterly undisciplined, they were magnificent individual fighters.[ ] the officers were clad and armed almost precisely like the rank and file, save that some of them had long swords girded to their waist-belts; they carried rifles, for, where the result of the contest depended mainly on the personal prowess of the individual fighter, the leader was expected literally to stand in the forefront of the battle, and to inspirit his followers by deeds as well as words. among these troops was a company of rangers who came from the scattered wooden forts of the watauga and the nolichucky. both sevier and robertson took part in this war, and though the former saw no fighting, the latter, who had the rank of sergeant, was more fortunate. while the backwoods general was mustering his unruly and turbulent host of skilled riflemen, the english earl led his own levies, some fifteen hundred strong, to fort pitt.[ ] here he changed his plans, and decided not to try to join the other division, as he had agreed to do. this sudden abandonment of a scheme already agreed to and acted on by his colleague was certainly improper, and, indeed, none of the earl's movements indicated very much military capacity. however, he descended the ohio river with a flotilla of a hundred canoes, besides keel-boats and pirogues,[ ] to the mouth of the hockhocking, where he built and garrisoned a small stockade. then he went up the hockhocking to the falls, whence he marched to the scioto, and there entrenched himself in a fortified camp, with breastworks of fallen trees, on the edge of the pickaway plains, not far from the indian town of old chillicothe. thence he sent out detachments that destroyed certain of the hostile towns. he had with him as scouts many men famous in frontier story, among them george rogers clark, cresap, and simon kenton--afterwards the bane of every neighboring indian tribe, and renowned all along the border for his deeds of desperate prowess, his wonderful adventures, and his hairbreadth escapes. another, of a very different stamp, was simon girty, of evil fame, whom the whole west grew to loathe, with bitter hatred, as "the white renegade." he was the son of a vicious irish trader, who was killed by the indians; he was adopted by the latter, and grew up among them, and his daring ferocity and unscrupulous cunning early made him one of their leaders.[ ] at the moment he was serving lord dunmore and the whites; but he was by tastes, habits, and education a red man, who felt ill at ease among those of his own color. he soon returned to the indians, and dwelt among them ever afterwards, the most inveterate foe of the whites that was to be found in all the tribes. he lived to be a very old man, and is said to have died fighting his ancient foes and kinsmen, the americans, in our second war against the british. but lord dunmore's army was not destined to strike the decisive blow in the contest. the great shawnee chief, cornstalk, was as wary and able as he was brave. he had from the first opposed the war with the whites;[ ] but as he had been unable to prevent it, he was now bent on bringing it to a successful issue. he was greatly outnumbered; but he had at his command over a thousand painted and plumed warriors, the pick of the young men of the western tribes, the most daring braves to be found between the ohio and the great lakes. his foes were divided, and he determined to strike first at the one who would least suspect a blow, but whose ruin, nevertheless, would involve that of the other. if lewis' army could be surprised and overwhelmed, the fate of lord dunmore's would be merely a question of days. so without delay, cornstalk, crafty in council, mighty in battle, and swift to carry out what he had planned, led his long files of warriors, with noiseless speed, through leagues of trackless woodland to the banks of the ohio. the backwoodsmen who were to form the army of lewis had begun to gather at the levels of greenbriar before the st of september, and by the th most of them were assembled. altogether the force under lewis consisted of four commands, as follows: a body of augusta troops, under col. charles lewis, a brother of the general's;[ ] a body of botetourt troops, under col. william fleming;[ ] a small independent company, under col. john field; and finally the fincastle men, from the holston, clinch, watauga, and new river[ ] settlements, under col. william christian.[ ] one of christian's captains was a stout old marylander, of welsh blood, named evan shelby; and shelby's son isaac,[ ] a stalwart, stern-visaged young man, who afterwards played a very prominent part on the border, was a subaltern in his company, in which robertson likewise served as a sergeant. although without experience of drill, it may be doubted if a braver or physically finer set of men were ever got together on this continent.[ ] among such undisciplined troops it was inevitable that there should be both delay and insubordination. nevertheless they behaved a good deal better than their commander had expected; and he was much pleased with their cheerfulness and their eagerness for action. the fincastle men, being from the remote settlements, were unable to get together in time to start with the others; and col. field grew jealous of his commander and decided to march his little company alone. the indians were hovering around the camp, and occasionally shot at and wounded stragglers, or attempted to drive off the pack-horses. the army started in three divisions. the bulk, consisting of augusta men, under col. charles lewis, marched on september th, closely followed by the botetourt troops under andrew lewis himself.[ ] field, with his small company, started off on his own account; but after being out a couple of days, two of his scouts met two indians, with the result that a man was killed on each side; after which, profiting by the loss, he swallowed his pride and made haste to join the first division. the fincastle troops were delayed so long that most of them, with their commander, were still fifteen miles from the main body the day the battle was fought; but captains shelby and russell, with parts of their companies, went on ahead of the others, and, as will be seen, joined lewis in time to do their full share of the fighting. col. christian himself only reached the levels on the afternoon of the day the augusta men had marched. he was burning with desire to distinguish himself, and his men were also very eager to have a share in the battle; and he besought lewis to let him go along with what troops he had. but he was refused permission, whereat he was greatly put out. lewis found he had more men than he expected, and so left some of the worst troops to garrison the small forts. just before starting he received a letter from the earl advising, but not commanding, a change in their plans; to this he refused to accede, and was rather displeased at the proposal, attributing it to the influence of conolly, whom the backwoods leaders were growing to distrust. there is not the slightest reason to suppose, however, that he then, or at any time during the campaign, suspected the earl of treachery; nor did the latter's conduct give any good ground for such a belief. nevertheless, this view gained credit among the virginians in later years, when they were greatly angered by the folly and ferocity of lord dunmore's conduct during the early part of the revolutionary war, and looked at all his past acts with jaundiced eyes.[ ] lewis' troops formed a typical backwoods army, both officers and soldiers. they wore fringed hunting-shirts, dyed yellow, brown, white, and even red; quaintly carved shot-bags and powder-horns hung from their broad ornamented belts; they had fur caps or soft hats, moccasins, and coarse woollen leggings reaching half-way up the thigh.[ ] each carried his flint-lock, his tomahawk, and scalping-knife. they marched in long files with scouts or spies thrown out in front and on the flanks, while axe-men went in advance to clear a trail over which they could drive the beef cattle, and the pack-horses, laden with provisions, blankets, and ammunition. they struck out straight through the trackless wilderness, making their road as they went, until on the st of the month[ ] they reached the kanawha, at the mouth of elk creek. here they halted to build dug-out canoes; and about this time were overtaken by the companies of russell and shelby. on october st[ ] they started to descend the river in twenty-seven canoes, a portion of the army marching down along the indian trail, which followed the base of the hills, instead of the river bank, as it was thus easier to cross the heads of the creeks and ravines.[ ] they reached the mouth of the river on the th,[ ] and camped on point pleasant, the cape of land jutting out between the ohio and the kanawha. as a consequence the bloody fight that ensued is sometimes called the battle of point pleasant, and sometimes the battle of the great kanawha. hitherto the indians had not seriously molested lewis' men, though they killed a settler right on their line of march, and managed to drive off some of the bullocks and pack-horses.[ ] the troops, though tired from their journey, were in good spirits, and eager to fight. but they were impatient of control, and were murmuring angrily that there was favoritism shown in the issue of beef. hearing this, lewis ordered all the poorest beeves to be killed first; but this merely produced an explosion of discontent, and large numbers of the men in mutinous defiance of the orders of their officers began to range the woods, in couples, to kill game. there was little order in the camp,[ ] and small attention was paid to picket and sentinel duty; the army, like a body of indian warriors, relying for safety mainly upon the sharp-sighted watchfulness of the individual members and the activity of the hunting parties. on the th simon girty[ ] arrived in camp bringing a message from lord dunmore, which bade lewis meet him at the indian towns near the pickaway plains. lewis was by no means pleased at the change, but nevertheless prepared to break camp and march next morning. he had with him at this time about eleven hundred men.[ ] his plans, however, were destined to be rudely forestalled, for cornstalk, coming rapidly through the forest, had reached the ohio. that very night the indian chief ferried his men across the river on rafts, six or eight miles above the forks,[ ] and by dawn was on the point of hurling his whole force, of nearly a thousand warriors[ ] on the camp of his slumbering foes. before daylight on the th small parties of hunters had, as usual, left lewis' camp. two of these men, from russell's company, after having gone somewhat over a mile, came upon a large party of indians; one was killed, and the survivor ran back at full speed to give the alarm, telling those in camp that he had seen five acres of ground covered with indians as thick as they could stand.[ ] almost immediately afterwards two men of shelby's company, one being no less a person than robertson himself and the other valentine, a brother of john sevier, also stumbled upon the advancing indians; being very wary and active men, they both escaped, and reached camp almost as soon as the other. instantly the drums beat to arms,[ ] and the backwoodsmen,--lying out in the open, rolled in their blankets,--started from the ground, looked to their flints and priming, and were ready on the moment. the general, thinking he had only a scouting party to deal with, ordered out col. charles lewis and col. fleming, each with one hundred and fifty men. fleming had the left, and marched up the bank of the ohio, while lewis, on the right, kept some little distance inland. they went about half a mile.[ ] then, just before sunrise, while it was still dusk, the men in camp, eagerly listening, heard the reports of three guns, immediately succeeded by a clash like a peal of thin thunder, as hundreds of rifles rang out together. it was evident that the attack was serious and col. field was at once despatched to the front with two hundred men.[ ] he came only just in time. at the first fire both of the scouts in front of the white line had been killed. the attack fell first, and with especial fury, on the division of charles lewis, who himself was mortally wounded at the very outset; he had not taken a tree,[ ] but was in an open piece of ground, cheering on his men, when he was shot. he stayed with them until the line was formed, and then walked back to camp unassisted, giving his gun to a man who was near him. his men, who were drawn up on the high ground skirting crooked run,[ ] began to waver, but were rallied by fleming, whose division had been attacked almost simultaneously, until he too was struck down by a bullet. the line then gave way, except that some of fleming's men still held their own on the left in a patch of rugged ground near the ohio. at this moment, however, colonel field came up and restored the battle, while the backwoodsmen who had been left in camp also began to hurry up to take part in the fight. general lewis at last, fully awake to the danger, began to fortify the camp by felling timber so as to form a breastwork running across the point from the ohio to the kanawha. this work should have been done before; and through attending to it lewis was unable to take any personal part in the battle. meanwhile the frontiersmen began to push back their foes, led by col. field. the latter himself, however, was soon slain; he was at the time behind a great tree, and was shot by two indians on his right, while he was trying to get a shot at another on his left, who was distracting his attention by mocking and jeering at him.[ ] the command then fell on captain evan shelby, who turned his company over to the charge of his son, isaac. the troops fought on steadily, undaunted by the fall of their leaders, while the indians attacked with the utmost skill, caution, and bravery. the fight was a succession of single combats, each man sheltering himself behind a stump, or rock, or tree-trunk, the superiority of the backwoodsmen in the use of the rifle being offset by the superiority of their foes in the art of hiding and of shielding themselves from harm. the hostile lines, though about a mile and a quarter in length, were so close together, being never more than twenty yards apart, that many of the combatants grappled in hand-to-hand fighting, and tomahawked or stabbed each other[ ] to death. the clatter of the rifles was incessant, while above the din could be heard the cries and groans of the wounded, and the shouts of the combatants, as each encouraged his own side, or jeered savagely at his adversaries. the cheers of the whites mingled with the appalling war-whoops and yells of their foes. the indians also called out to the americans in broken english, taunting them, and asking them why their fifes were no longer whistling--for the fight was far too close to permit of any such music. their headmen walked up and down behind their warriors, exhorting them to go in close, to shoot straight, and to bear themselves well in the fight;[ ] while throughout the action the whites opposite cornstalk could hear his deep, sonorous voice as he cheered on his braves, and bade them "be strong, be strong."[ ] about noon the indians tried to get round the flank of the whites, into their camp; but this movement was repulsed, and a party of the americans[ ] followed up their advantage, and running along the banks of the kanawha out-flanked the enemy in turn. the indians being pushed very hard now began to fall back, the best fighters covering the retreat, while the wounded were being carried off; although,--a rare thing in indian battles--they were pressed so close that they were able to bear away but a portion of their dead. the whites were forced to pursue with the greatest caution; for those of them who advanced heedlessly were certain to be ambushed and receive a smart check. finally, about one o'clock, the indians, in their retreat, reached a very strong position, where the underbrush was very close and there were many fallen logs and steep banks. here they stood resolutely at bay, and the whites did not dare attack them in such a stronghold. so the action came almost to an end; though skirmishing went on until about an hour before sunset, the indians still at times taunting their foes and calling out to them that they had eleven hundred men as well as the whites, and that to-morrow they were going to be two thousand strong[ ] this was only bravado, however; they had suffered too heavily to renew the attack, and under cover of darkness they slipped away, and made a most skilful retreat, carrying all their wounded in safety across the ohio. the exhausted americans, having taken a number of scalps, as well as forty guns, and many tomahawks[ ] and some other plunder,[ ] returned to their camp. the battle had been bloody as well as stubborn. the whites, though the victors, had suffered more than their foes, and indeed had won only because it was against the entire policy of indian warfare to suffer a severe loss, even if a victory could be gained thereby. of the whites, some seventy-five men had been killed or mortally wounded, and one hundred and forty severely or slightly wounded,[ ] so that they lost a fifth of their whole number. the indians had not lost much more than half as many; about forty warriors were killed outright or died of their wounds.[ ] among the indians no chief of importance was slain; whereas the americans had seventeen officers killed or wounded, and lost in succession their second, third, and fourth in command. the victors buried their own dead and left the bodies of the vanquished to the wolves and ravens. at midnight, after the battle, col. christian and his fincastle men reached the ground. the battle of the great kanawha was a purely american victory, for it was fought solely by the backwoodsmen themselves. their immense superiority over regular troops in such contests can be readily seen when their triumph on this occasion is compared with the defeats previously suffered by braddock's grenadiers and grant's highlanders, at the hands of the same foes. it was purely a soldiers' battle, won by hard individual fighting; there was no display of generalship, except on cornstalk's part.[ ] it was the most closely contested of any battle ever fought with the northwestern indians; and it was the only victory gained over a large body of them by a force but slightly superior in numbers.[ ] both because of the character of the fight itself, and because of the results that flowed from it, it is worthy of being held in especial remembrance. lewis left his sick and wounded in the camp at the point, protected by a rude breastwork, and with an adequate guard. with the remainder of his forces, over a thousand strong, he crossed the ohio, and pushed on to the pickaway plains. when but a few miles from the earl's encampment he was met by a messenger informing him that a treaty of peace was being negotiated with the indians.[ ] the backwoodsmen, flushed with success, and angry at their losses, were eager for more bloodshed; and it was only with difficulty that they were restrained, and were finally induced to march homewards, the earl riding down to them and giving his orders in person. they grumbled angrily against the earl for sending them back, and in later days accused him of treachery for having done so; but his course was undoubtedly proper, for it would have been very difficult to conclude peace in the presence of such fierce and unruly auxiliaries. the spirit of the indians had been broken by their defeat. their stern old chief, cornstalk, alone remained with unshaken heart, resolute to bid defiance to his foes and to fight the war out to the bitter end. but when the council of the headmen and war-chiefs was called it became evident that his tribesmen would not fight, and even his burning eloquence could not goad the warriors into again trying the hazard of battle. they listened unmoved and in sullen silence to the thrilling and impassioned words with which he urged them to once more march against the long knives, and if necessary to kill their women and children, and then themselves die fighting to the last man. at last, when he saw he could not stir the hearts of his hearers he struck his tomahawk into the warpost and announced that he himself would go and make peace. at that the warriors broke silence, and all grunted out approvingly, ough! ough! ough! and then they instantly sent runners to the earl's army to demand a truce.[ ] accordingly, with all his fellow-chiefs, he went to lord dunmore's camp, and there entered into a treaty. the crestfallen indians assented to all the terms the conquerors proposed. they agreed to give up all the white prisoners and stolen horses in their possession, and to surrender all claim to the lands south of the ohio, and they gave hostages as an earnest of their good-faith.[ ] but their chief spokesman, cornstalk, while obliged to assent to these conditions, yet preserved through all the proceedings a bearing of proud defiance that showed how little the fear of personal consequences influenced his own actions. at the talks he addressed the white leader with vehement denunciation and reproach, in a tone that seemed rather that of a conqueror than of one of the conquered. indeed, he himself was not conquered; he felt that his tribesmen were craven, but he knew that his own soul feared nothing. the virginians, who, like their indian antagonists, prized skill in oratory only less than skill in warfare, were greatly impressed by the chieftain's eloquence, by his command of words, his clear, distinct voice, his peculiar emphasis, and his singularly grand and majestic, and yet graceful, bearing; they afterwards said that his oratory fully equalled that of patrick henry himself.[ ] every prominent chief but one came to the council. the exception was logan, who remained apart in the mingo village, brooding over his wrongs, and the vengeance he had taken. his fellows, when questioned about his absence, answered that he was like a mad dog, whose bristles were still up, but that they were gradually falling; and when he was entreated to be present at the meeting he responded that he was a warrior, not a councillor, and would not come. the mingos, because they failed to appear at the treaty, had their camp destroyed and were forced to give hostages, as the delawares and shawnees had done,[ ] and logan himself finally sullenly acquiesced in, or at least ceased openly to oppose, the peace. but he would not come in person to lord dunmore; so the earl was obliged to communicate with him through a messenger, a frontier veteran[ ] named john gibson, who had long lived among the indians and knew thoroughly both their speech and their manners.[ ] to this messenger logan was willing to talk. taking him aside, he suddenly addressed him in a speech that will always retain its place as perhaps the finest outburst of savage eloquence of which we have any authentic record. the messenger took it down in writing, translating it literally,[ ] and, returning to camp, gave it to lord dunmore. the earl then read it, in open council, to the whole backwoods army, including cresap, clark, and the other scouts. the speech, when read, proved to be no message of peace, nor an acknowledgment of defeat, but instead, a strangely pathetic recital of his wrongs, and a fierce and exulting justification of the vengeance he had taken. it ran as follows: "i appeal to any white man to say if ever he entered logan's cabin hungry and he gave him not meat; if ever he came cold and naked and he clothed him not? during the course of the last long and bloody war, logan remained idle in his camp, an advocate for peace. such was my love for the whites that my countrymen pointed as i passed and said, 'logan is the friend of the white man.' i had even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man. colonel cresap, the last spring, in cold blood and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of logan, not even sparing my women and children. there runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. this called on me for revenge. i have sought it. i have killed many. i have fully glutted my vengeance. for my country i rejoice at the beams of peace; but do not harbor a thought that mine is the joy of fear. logan never felt fear. he will not turn on his heel to save his life. who is there to mourn for logan? not one." the tall frontiersmen, lounging in a circle round about, listened to the reading of the speech with eager interest; rough indian haters though they were, they were so much impressed by it that in the evening it was a common topic of conversation over their camp fires, and they continually attempted to rehearse it to one another.[ ] but they knew that greathouse, not cresap, had been the chief offender in the murder of logan's family; and when the speech was read, clark, turning round, jeered at and rallied cresap as being so great a man that the indians put every thing on his shoulders; whereat, cresap, much angered, swore that he had a good mind to tomahawk greathouse for the murder.[ ] the speech could not have been very satisfactory to the earl; but at least it made it evident that logan did not intend to remain on the war-path; and so lord dunmore marched home with his hostages. on the homeward march, near the mouth of the river hockhocking, the officers of the army held a notable meeting. they had followed the british earl to battle; but they were americans, in warm sympathy with the continental congress, which was then in session. fearful lest their countrymen might not know that they were at one with them in the struggle of which the shadow was looming up with ever increasing blackness, they passed resolutions which were afterwards published. their speakers told how they had lived in the woods for three months, without hearing from the congress at philadelphia, nor yet from boston, where the disturbances seemed most likely to come to a head. they spoke of their fear lest their countrymen might be misled into the belief that this numerous body of armed men was hostile or indifferent to the cause of america; and proudly alluded to the fact that they had lived so long without bread or salt, or shelter at night, and that the troops they led could march and fight as well as any in the world. in their resolutions they professed their devotion to their king, to the honor of his crown, and to the dignity of the british empire; but they added that this devotion would only last while the king deigned to rule over a free people, for their love for the liberty of america outweighed all other considerations, and they would exert every power for its defence, not riotously, but when regularly called forth by the voice of their countrymen. they ended by tendering their thanks to lord dunmore for his conduct. he was also warmly thanked by the virginia legislature, as well as by the frontiersmen of fincastle,[ ] and he fully deserved their gratitude. the war had been ended in less than six months' time; and its results were of the utmost importance. it had been very successful. in braddock's war, the borderers are estimated to have suffered a loss of fifty souls for every indian slain; in pontiac's war, they had learned to defend themselves better, and yet the ratio was probably as ten to one;[ ] whereas in this war, if we consider only males of fighting age, it is probable that a good deal more than half as many indians as whites were killed, and even including women and children, the ratio would not rise to more than three to one. certainly, in all the contests waged against the northwestern indians during the last half of the eighteenth century there was no other where the whites inflicted so great a relative loss on their foes. its results were most important. it kept the northwestern tribes quiet for the first two years of the revolutionary struggle; and above all it rendered possible the settlement of kentucky, and therefore the winning of the west. had it not been for lord dunmore's war, it is more than likely that when the colonies achieved their freedom they would have found their western boundary fixed at the alleghany mountains.[ ] nor must we permit our sympathy for the foul wrongs of the two great indian heroes of the contest to blind us to the fact that the struggle was precipitated, in the first place, by the outrages of the red men, not the whites; and that the war was not only inevitable, but was also in its essence just and righteous on the part of the borderers. even the unpardonable and hideous atrocity of the murder of logan's family, was surpassed in horror by many of the massacres committed by the indians about the same time. the annals of the border are dark and terrible. among the characters who played the leaders' parts in this short and tragic drama of the backwoods few came to much afterwards. cresap died a brave revolutionary soldier. of greathouse we know nothing; we can only hope that eventually the indians scalped him. conolly became a virulent tory, who yet lacked the power to do the evil that he wished. lewis served creditably in the revolution; while at its outbreak lord dunmore was driven from virginia and disappears from our ken. proud, gloomy logan never recovered from the blow that had been dealt him; he drank deeper and deeper, and became more and more an implacable, moody, and bloodthirsty savage, yet with noble qualities that came to the surface now and then. again and again he wrought havoc among the frontier settlers; yet we several times hear of his saving the lives of prisoners. once he saved simon kenton from torture and death, when girty, moved by a rare spark of compassion for his former comrade, had already tried to do so and failed. at last he perished in a drunken brawl by the hand of another indian. cornstalk died a grand death, but by an act of cowardly treachery on the part of his american foes; it is one of the darkest stains on the checkered pages of frontier history. early in he came into the garrison at point pleasant to explain that, while he was anxious to keep at peace, his tribe were bent on going to war; and he frankly added that of course if they did so he should have to join them. he and three other indians, among them his son and the chief redhawk, who had also been at the kanawha battle, were detained as hostages. while they were thus confined in the fort a member of a company of rangers was killed by the indians near by; whereupon his comrades, headed by their captain,[ ] rushed in furious anger into the fort to slay the hostages. cornstalk heard them rushing in, and knew that his hour had come; with unmoved countenance he exhorted his son not to fear, for it was the will of the great spirit that they should die there together; then, as the murderers burst into the room, he quietly rose up to meet them, and fell dead pierced by seven or eight bullets. his son and his comrades were likewise butchered, and we have no record of any more infamous deed. though among the whites, the men who took prominent parts in the struggle never afterwards made any mark, yet it is worth noting that all the aftertime leaders of the west were engaged in some way in lord dunmore's war. their fates were various. boon led the vanguard of the white advance across the mountains, wandered his life long through the wilderness, and ended his days, in extreme old age, beyond the mississippi, a backwoods hunter to the last. shelby won laurels at king's mountain, became the first governor of kentucky, and when an old man revived the memories of his youth by again leading the western men in battle against the british and indians. sevier and robertson were for a generation the honored chiefs of the southwestern people. clark, the ablest of all, led a short but brilliant career, during which he made the whole nation his debtor. then, like logan, he sank under the curse of drunkenness,--often hardly less dangerous to the white borderer than to his red enemy,--and passed the remainder of his days in ignoble and slothful retirement. . stewart's narrative. . "am. archiv." col. wm. preston's letter, sept. , . . _do_., p. . . doddridge, . . see _mag. of am. hist._, xv., . . de haas, p. . he is a very fair and trustworthy writer; in particular, as regards logan's speech and cresap's conduct. it is to be regretted that brantz mayer, in dealing with these latter subjects, could not have approached them with the same desire to be absolutely impartial, instead of appearing to act solely as an advocate. . his eight captains were george matthews, alexander mcclannahan, john dickinson, john lewis (son of william), benjamin harrison, william paul, joseph haynes, and samuel wilson. hale, "trans-alleghany pioneers," p. . . his seven captains were matthew arbuckle, john murray, john lewis (son of andrew), james robertson, robert mcclannahan, james ward, and john stewart (author of the narrative). . as the kanawha was sometimes called. . whose five captains were evan shelby, russell, herbert, draper, and buford. . born december , , near hagerstown, md. . letter of col. wm. preston, september , . "am. archives." . letter of one of lord dunmore's officers, november , . "am. archives," iv., vol. i., p. . hale gives a minute account of the route followed; stewart says they started on the th. with the journal of floyd's expedition, mentioned on a previous page, i received ms. copies of two letters to col. william preston, both dated at camp union, at the great levels; one, of september th from col. andrew lewis, and one of september th ( th?) from col. william christian. col. lewis' letter runs in part: "from augusta we have ; of this county [botetourt] about ; major field is joined with .... i have had less trouble with the troops than i expected.... i received a letter from his lordship last sunday morning which was dated the th of august at old towns, which i take to be chresops, he then i am told had col. stephens and major conolly at his elbow as might easily be discovered by the contents of his letter which expressed his lordship's warmest wishes that i would with all the troops from this quarter join him at the mouth of the little kanaway, i wrote his lordship that it was not in my power to alter our rout.... the indians wounded a man within two miles of us ... and wounded another, from this we may expect they will be picking about us all the march." he states that he has more men than he expected, and will therefore need more provisions, and that he will leave some of his poorest troops to garrison the small fort. col. christian's letter states that the augusta men took with them pack-horses, carrying , pounds of flour, and beeves, they started "yesterday." field marched "this evening", fleming and his botetourt men, with pack-horses, "are going next monday." field had brought word that dunmore expected to be at the mouth of the great kanawha "some days after the th." some indians had tried to steal a number of pack-horses, but had been discovered and frightened off. christian was very much discontented at being bidden to stay behind until he could gather men, and bring up the rear, he expresses his fear that his men will be much exasperated when they learn that they are to stay behind, and reiterates "i would not for all i am worth be behind crossing the ohio and that we should miss lending our assistance." field brought an account of mcdonald's fight (see _ante_, p. ), he said the whites were and the indians but strong, that the former had men killed and wounded, the indians but or killed and captured, and their town was burnt. the number of the shawnees and their allies was estimated at , warriors that could be put into one battle. the horses that had started with the augusta men were to return as fast as they could (after reaching the embarkment point, whence the flour was carried in canoes). . when the revolutionary war broke out the earl not only fought the revolted colonists with all legitimate weapons, but tried to incite the blacks to servile insurrection, and sent agents to bring his old foes, the red men of the forest, down on his old friends, the settlers. he encouraged piratical and plundering raids, and on the other hand failed to show the courage and daring that are sometimes partial offsets to ferocity. but in this war, in , he conducted himself with great energy in making preparations, and showed considerable skill as a negotiator in concluding the peace, and apparently went into the conflict with hearty zest and good will. he was evidently much influenced by conolly, a very weak adviser, however; and his whole course betrayed much vacillation, and no generalship. . smyth's "tour," ii., p. . . "am. archives," p. . . _do_. stewart says they reached the mouth of the kanawha on oct. st; another account says sept. th; but this is an error, as shown both by the "am. archives" and by the campbell mss. . hale, . . campbell mss. letter of isaac shelby to john shelby, oct. , . a portion of this letter, unsigned, was printed in "am. archives," p. , and in various newspapers (even at belfast; _see_ hale, p. , who thinks it was written by captain arbuckle). as it is worth preserving and has never been printed in full i give it in the appendix. . stewart's narrative. . smyth, ii., p. . he claims to have played a prominent part in the battle. this is certainly not so, and he may not have been present at all; at least col. stewart, who was there and was acquainted with every one of note in the army, asserts positively that there was no such man along; nor has any other american account ever mentioned him. his military knowledge was nil, as may be gathered from his remark, made when the defeats of braddock and grant were still recent, that british regulars with the bayonet were best fitted to oppose indians. . some accounts say that he was accompanied by kenton and mcculloch; others state that no messenger arrived until after the battle. but this is certainly wrong. shelby's letter shows that the troops learned the governor's change of plans before the battle. . "am. archives," iv., vol. j., p. ; and was joined by col. christian's three hundred the day after the battle. . campbell mss. letter of col. william preston (presumably to patrick henry), oct. , . as it is interesting and has never been published, i give it in the appendix. . many of the white accounts make their number much greater, without any authority; shelby estimates it at between eight hundred and one thousand. smith, who generally gives the indian side, says that on this occasion they were nearly as numerous as the whites. smyth, who bitterly hates the americans, and always belittles their deeds, puts the number of indians at nine hundred; he would certainly make it as small as possible. so the above estimate is probably pretty near the truth, though it is of course impossible to be accurate. at any rate, it was the only important engagement fought by the english or americans against the northwestern indians in which there was a near approach to equality of force. . campbell mss. shelby's letter. their names were mooney and hickman; the latter was killed. most historians have confused these two men with the two others who discovered the indians at almost the same time. . "am. archives," iv., vol, i., p. . . _do_., p. . letter from stanton, virginia, nov. , , says / of a mile; shelby says / of a mile. . _do_., letter of nov. th. . the frontier expression for covering one's self behind a tree-trunk. . a small stream running into the kanawha near its mouth. de haas, p. . . campbell mss. preston's, letter. . "am. archives." letter of november , . . campbell mss. preston's letter. . stewart's narrative. . led by isaac shelby, james stewart, and george matthews. . campbell mss. preston's letter. . "am. archives" letter of november , . it is doubtful if logan was in this fight; the story about cornstalk killing one of his men who flinched may or may not be true. . hale, , the plunder was afterwards sold at auction for l s. d. . these are the numbers given by stewart, but the accounts vary greatly. monette ("valley of the mississippi,") says killed and wounded. the letters written at the time evidently take no account of any but the badly wounded. shelby thus makes the killed , and the wounded (including the mortally hurt) . another account ("am. archives," p. ) says men killed and wounded, odd of whom were since dead, whilst a foot-note to this letter enumerates dead outright, and wounded, "some of whom have since died." it is evidently impossible that the slightly wounded are included in these lists; and in all probability stewart's account is correct, as he was an eye-witness and participant. . twenty-one were scalped on the field; the bodies of more were afterwards found behind logs or in holes where they had been lain, and eventually died of their wounds. (see "american archives," smith, hale, de haas, etc.) smith, who wrote from the indian side, makes their loss only ; but this apparently does not include the loss of the western indians, the allies of the shawnees, mingos, and delawares. . _smyth_, the englishman, accuses lewis of cowardice, an accusation which deserves no more attention than do the similar accusations of treachery brought against dunmore. brantz mayer speaks in very hyperbolic terms of the "relentless lewis," and the "great slaughter" of the indians. . wayne won an equally decisive victory, but he outnumbered his foes three to one. bouquet, who was almost beaten, and was saved by the provincial rangers, was greatly the superior in force, and suffered four times the loss he inflicted. in both cases, especially that of bouquet, the account of the victor must be received with caution where it deals with the force and loss of the vanquished. in the same way shelby and the other reporters of the kanawha fight stated that the indians lost more heavily than the whites. . the stories of how lewis suspected the earl of treachery, and of how the backwoodsmen were so exasperated that they wished to kill the latter, may have some foundation; but are quite as likely to be pure inventions, made up after the revolutionary war. in de haas, "the american pioneer," etc., can be found all kinds of stories, some even told by members of the clark and lewis families, which are meant to criminate dunmore, but which make such mistakes in chronology--placing the battle of lexington in the year of the kanawha fight, asserting that peace was not made till the following spring, etc.--that they must be dismissed offhand as entirely untrustworthy. . stewart's narrative. . "am. archives," iv. st. clair's letter, dec. , . also jefferson mss. dep. of wm. robinson, etc. . see de haas, . . "am. archives," iv., vol. i., pp. , . . john gibson, afterwards a general in the army of the united states. see appendix. . jefferson mss. statements of john gibson, etc.; there is some uncertainty as to whether logan came up to gibson at the treaty and drew him aside, or whether the latter went to seek the former in his wigwam. . jefferson papers (state department mss.), - - . statement of col. john gibson to john anderson, an indian trader at pittsburg, in . anderson had asked him if he had not himself added somewhat to the speech; he responded that he had not, that it was a literal translation or transcription of logan's words. . jefferson mss. affidavits of andrew rogers, wm. russell, and others who were present. . clark's letter. . see de haas, . . these are smith's estimates, derived largely from indian sources. they are probably excessive, but not very greatly so. . it is difficult to understand why some minor historians consider this war as fruitless. . john hall; it is worth while preserving the name of the ringleader in so brutal and cowardly a butchery. see stewart's narrative. chapter x. boon and the settlement of kentucky, . lord dunmore's war, waged by americans for the good of america, was the opening act in the drama whereof the closing scene was played at yorktown. it made possible the twofold character of the revolutionary war, wherein on the one hand the americans won by conquest and colonization new lands for their children, and on the other wrought out their national independence of the british king. save for lord dunmore's war we could not have settled beyond the mountains until after we had ended our quarrel with our kinsfolk across the sea. it so cowed the northern indians that for two or three years they made no further organized effort to check the white advance. in consequence, the kentucky pioneers had only to contend with small parties of enemies until time had been given them to become so firmly rooted in the land that it proved impossible to oust them. had cornstalk and his fellow-chiefs kept their hosts unbroken, they would undoubtedly have swept kentucky clear of settlers in ,--as was done by the mere rumor of their hostility the preceding summer. their defeat gave the opportunity for boon to settle kentucky, and therefore for robertson to settle middle tennessee, and for clark to conquer illinois and the northwest; it was the first in the chain of causes that gave us for our western frontier in the mississippi and not the alleghanies. as already mentioned, the speculative north carolinian henderson had for some time been planning the establishment of a proprietary colony beyond the mountains, as a bold stroke to reestablish his ruined fortunes; and early in , as the time seemed favorable, he proceeded to put his venturous scheme into execution. for years he had been in close business relations with boon; and the latter had attempted to lead a band of actual settlers to kentucky in . naturally, when henderson wished to fix on a place wherein to plant his colony, he chose the beautiful land which the rumor of boon's discovery had rendered famous all along the border; and equally naturally he chose the pioneer hunter himself to act as his lieutenant and as the real leader of the expedition. the result of the joint efforts of these two men was to plant in kentucky a colony of picked settlers, backed by such moral and material support as enabled them to maintain themselves permanently in the land. boon had not been the first to discover kentucky, nor was he the first to found a settlement therein;[ ] but it was his exploration of the land that alone bore lasting fruit, and the settlement he founded was the first that contained within itself the elements of permanence and growth. of course, as in every other settlement of inland america, the especial point to be noticed is the individual initiative of the different settlers. neither the royal nor the provincial governments had any thing to do with the various colonies that were planted almost simultaneously on the soil of kentucky. each little band of pioneers had its own leaders, and was stirred by its own motives. all had heard, from different sources, of the beauty and fertility of the land, and as the great danger from the indians was temporarily past, all alike went in to take possession, not only acting without previous agreement, but for the most part being even in ignorance of one another's designs. yet the dangers surrounding these new-formed and far-off settlements were so numerous, and of such grave nature, that they could hardly have proved permanent had it not been for the comparatively well-organized settlement of boon, and for the temporary immunity which henderson's treaty purchased from the southern indians. the settlement of kentucky was a much more adventurous and hazardous proceeding than had been the case with any previous westward extension of population from the old colonies; because kentucky, instead of abutting on already settled districts, was an island in the wilderness, separated by two hundred miles of unpeopled and almost impassable forest from even the extreme outposts of the seacoast commonwealths. hitherto every new settlement had been made by the simple process of a portion of the backwoods pioneers being thrust out in advance of the others, while, nevertheless, keeping in touch with them, and having their rear covered, as it were, by the already colonized country. now, for the first time, a new community of pioneers sprang up, isolated in the heart of the wilderness, and thrust far beyond the uttermost limits of the old colonies, whose solid mass lay along the atlantic seaboard. the vast belt of mountainous woodland that lay between was as complete a barrier as if it had been a broad arm of the ocean. the first american incomers to kentucky were for several years almost cut off from the bulk of their fellows beyond the forest-clad mountains; much as, thirteen centuries before, their forebears, the first english settlers in britain, had been cut off from the rest of the low-dutch folk who continued to dwell on the eastern coast of the german ocean. henderson and those associated with him in his scheme of land speculation began to open negotiations with the cherokees as soon as the victory of the great kanawha for the moment lessened the danger to be apprehended from the northwestern indians. in october, , he and nathaniel hart, one of his partners in the scheme, journeyed to the otari towns, and made their proposals. the indians proceeded very cautiously, deputing one of their number, a chief called the carpenter, to return with the two white envoys, and examine the goods they proposed to give in exchange. to this henderson made no objection; on the contrary, it pleased him, for he was anxious to get an indisputable indian title to the proposed new colony. the indian delegate made a favorable report in january, ; and then the overhill cherokees were bidden to assemble at the sycamore shoals of the watauga. the order was issued by the head-chief, oconostota, a very old man, renowned for the prowess he had shown in former years when warring against the english. on the th of march, oconostota and two other chiefs, the raven and the carpenter, signed the treaty of the sycamore shoals, in the presence and with the assent of some twelve hundred of their tribe, half of them warriors; for all who could had come to the treaty grounds. henderson thus obtained a grant of all the lands lying along and between the kentucky and the cumberland rivers. he promptly named the new colony transylvania. the purchase money was , pounds of lawful english money; but, of course, the payment was made mainly in merchandise, and not specie. it took a number of days before the treaty was finally concluded; no rum was allowed to be sold, and there was little drunkenness, but herds of beeves were driven in, that the indians might make a feast. the main opposition to the treaty was made by a chief named dragging canoe, who continued for years to be the most inveterate foe of the white race to be found among the cherokees. on the second day of the talk he spoke strongly against granting the americans what they asked, pointing out, in words of glowing eloquence, how the cherokees, who had once owned the land down to the sea, had been steadily driven back by the whites until they had reached the mountains, and warning his comrades that they must now put a stop at all hazards to further encroachments, under penalty of seeing the loss of their last hunting-grounds, by which alone their children could live. when he had finished his speech he abruptly left the ring of speakers, and the council broke up in confusion. the indian onlookers were much impressed by what he said; and for some hours the whites were in dismay lest all further negotiations should prove fruitless. it was proposed to get the deed privately; but to this the treaty-makers would not consent, answering that they cared nothing for the treaty unless it was concluded in open council, with the full assent of all the indians. by much exertion dragging canoe was finally persuaded to come back; the council was resumed next day, and finally the grant was made without further opposition. the indians chose their own interpreter; and the treaty was read aloud and translated, sentence by sentence, before it was signed, on the fourth day of the formal talking. the chiefs undoubtedly knew that they could transfer only a very imperfect title to the land they thus deeded away. both oconostota and dragging canoe told the white treaty-makers that the land beyond the mountains, whither they were going, was a "dark ground," a "bloody ground"; and warned them that they must go at their own risk, and not hold the cherokees responsible, for the latter could no longer hold them by the hand. dragging canoe especially told henderson that there was a black cloud hanging over the land, for it lay in the path of the northwestern indians--who were already at war with the cherokees, and would surely show as little mercy to the white men as to the red. another old chief said to boon: "brother, we have given you a fine land, but i believe you will have much trouble in settling it." what he said was true, and the whites were taught by years of long warfare that kentucky was indeed what the cherokees called it, a dark and bloody ground.[ ] after henderson's main treaty was concluded, the watauga association entered into another, by which they secured from the cherokees, for , pounds sterling, the lands they had already leased. as soon as it became evident that the indians would consent to the treaty, henderson sent boon ahead with a company of thirty men to clear a trail from the holston to the kentucky.[ ] this, the first regular path opened into the wilderness, was long called boon's trace, and became forever famous in kentucky history as the wilderness road, the track along which so many tens of thousands travelled while journeying to their hoped-for homes in the bountiful west. boon started on march th with his sturdy band of rifle-bearing axemen, and chopped out a narrow bridle-path--a pony trail, as it would now be called in the west. it led over cumberland gap, and crossed cumberland, laurel, and rockcastle rivers at fords that were swimming deep in the time of freshets. where it went through tall, open timber, it was marked by blazes on the tree trunks, while a regular path was cut and trodden out through the thickets of underbrush and the dense canebrakes and reed-beds. after a fortnight's hard work the party had almost reached the banks of the kentucky river, and deemed that their chief trials were over. but half an hour before daybreak on the morning of the th, as they lay round their smouldering camp-fires, they were attacked by some indians, who killed two of them and wounded a third; the others sprang to arms at once, and stood their ground without suffering further loss or damage till it grew light, when the indians silently drew off.[ ] continuing his course, boon reached the kentucky river, and on april st began to build boonsborough, on an open plain where there was a lick with two sulphur springs. meanwhile other pioneers, as hardy and enterprising as boon's companions, had likewise made up their minds that they would come in to possess the land; and in bands or small parties they had crossed the mountains or floated down the ohio, under the leadership of such men as harrod, logan,[ ] and the mcafees.[ ] but hardly had they built their slight log-cabins, covered with brush or bark, and broken ground for the corn-planting, when some small indian war-parties, including that which had attacked boon's company, appeared among them. several men were "killed and sculped," as boon phrased it; and the panic among the rest was very great, insomuch that many forthwith set out to return. boon was not so easily daunted; and he at once sent a special messenger to hurry forward the main body under henderson, writing to the latter with quiet resolution and much good sense: "my advice to you, sir, is to come or send as soon as possible. your company is desired greatly, for the people are very uneasy, but are willing to stay and venture their lives with you, and now is the time to flusterate the intentions of the indians, and keep the country whilst we are in it. if we give way to them now, it will ever be the case."[ ] henderson had started off as soon as he had finished the treaty. he took wagons with him, but was obliged to halt and leave them in powell's valley, for beyond that even so skilful a pathfinder and road-maker as boon had not been able to find or make a way passable for wheels.[ ] accordingly, their goods and implements were placed on pack-horses, and the company started again.[ ] most fortunately a full account of their journey has been kept; for among henderson's followers at this time was a man named william calk, who jotted down in his diary the events of each day.[ ] it is a short record, but as amusing as it is instructive; for the writer's mind was evidently as vigorous as his language was terse and untrammelled. he was with a small party, who were going out as partners; and his journal is a faithful record of all things, great or small, that at the time impressed him. the opening entry contains the information that "abram's dog's leg got broke by drake's dog." the owner of the latter beast, by the way, could not have been a pleasant companion on a trip of this sort, for elsewhere the writer, who, like most backwoodsmen, appreciated cleanliness in essentials, records with evident disfavor the fact that "mr. drake bakes bread without washing his hands." every man who has had the misfortune to drive a pack-train in thick timber, or along a bad trail, will appreciate keenly the following incident, which occurred soon after the party had set out for home: * * * * * "i turned my hors to drive before me and he got scard ran away threw down the saddel bags and broke three of our powder goards and abram's beast burst open a walet of corn and lost a good deal and made a turrabel flustration amongst the reast of the horses drake's mair run against a sapling and noct it down we cacht them all again and went on and lodged at john duncan's." * * * * * another entry records the satisfaction of the party when at a log fort (before getting into the wilderness) they procured some good loaf-bread and good whisky. they carried with them seed-corn[ ] and "irish tators" to plant, and for use on the journey had bacon, and corn-meal which was made either into baked corn-dodgers or else into johnny-cakes, which were simply cooked on a board beside the fire, or else perhaps on a hot stone or in the ashes. the meal had to be used very sparingly; occasionally a beef was killed, out of the herd of cattle that accompanied the emigrants; but generally they lived on the game they shot--deer, turkeys, and, when they got to kentucky, buffaloes. sometimes this was killed as they travelled; more often the hunters got it by going out in the evening after they had pitched camp. the journey was hard and tiresome. at times it rained; and again there were heavy snow-storms, in one of which an emigrant got lost, and only found his way to camp by the help of a pocket-compass. the mountains were very steep, and it was painfully laborious work to climb them, while chopping out a way for the pack-train. at night a watch had to be kept for indians. it was only here and there that the beasts got good grazing. sometimes the horses had their saddles turned while struggling through the woods. but the great difficulty came in crossing the creeks, where the banks were rotten, the bottom bad, or the water deep; then the horses would get mired down and wet their packs, or they would have to be swum across while their loads were ferried over on logs. one day, in going along a creek, they had to cross it no less than fifty times, by "very bad foards." on the seventh of april they were met by boon's runner, bearing tidings of the loss occasioned by the indians; and from that time on they met parties of would-be settlers, who, panic-struck by the sudden forays, were fleeing from the country. henderson's party kept on with good courage, and persuaded quite a number of the fugitives to turn back with them. some of these men who were thus leaving the country were not doing so because of fright; for many, among them the mcafees, had not brought out their families, but had simply come to clear the ground, build cabins, plant corn, and turn some branded cattle loose in the woods, where they were certain to thrive well, winter and summer, on the nourishing cane and wild pea-vine. the men then intended to go back to the settlements and bring out their wives and children, perhaps not till the following year; so that things were in a measure prepared for them, though they were very apt to find that the cattle had been stolen by the indians, or had strayed too far to be recovered.[ ] the bulk of those fleeing, however, were simply frightened out of the country. there seems no reason to doubt[ ] that the establishment of the strong, well-backed settlement of boonsborough was all that prevented the abandonment of kentucky at this time; and when such was the effect of a foray by small and scattered war parties of indians from tribes nominally at peace with us,[ ] it can easily be imagined how hopeless it would have been to have tried to settle the land had there still been in existence a strong hostile confederacy such as that presided over by cornstalk. beyond doubt the restless and vigorous frontiersmen would ultimately have won their way into the coveted western lands; yet had it not been for the battle of the great kanawha, boon and henderson could not, in , have planted their colony in kentucky; and had it not been for boon and henderson, it is most unlikely that the land would have been settled at all until after the revolutionary war, when perhaps it might have been british soil. boon was essentially a type, and possesses his greatest interest for us because he represents so well the characteristics as well as the life-work of his fellow backwoodsmen; still, it is unfair not to bear in mind also the leading part he played and the great services he rendered to the nation. the incomers soon recovered from the fright into which they had been thrown by the totally unexpected indian attack; but the revengeful anger it excited in their breasts did not pass away. they came from a class already embittered by long warfare with their forest foes; they hoarded up their new wrongs in minds burdened with the memories of countless other outrages; and it is small wonder that repeated and often unprovoked treachery at last excited in them a fierce and indiscriminate hostility to all the red-skinned race. they had come to settle on ground to which, as far as it was possible, the indian title had been by fair treaty extinguished. they ousted no indians from the lands they took; they had had neither the chance nor the wish to themselves do wrong; in their eyes the attack on the part of the indians was as wanton as it was cruel; and in all probability this view was correct, and their assailants were actuated more by the desire for scalps and plunder than by resentment at the occupation of hunting grounds to which they could have had little claim. in fact, throughout the history of the discovery and first settlement of kentucky, the original outrages and murders were committed by the indians on the whites, and not by the whites on the indians. in the gloomy and ferocious wars that ensued, the wrongs done by each side were many and great. henderson's company came into the beautiful kentucky country in mid-april, when it looked its best: the trees were in leaf, the air heavy with fragrance, the snowy flowers of the dogwood whitened the woods, and the banks of the streams burned dull crimson with the wealth of red-bud blossoms. the travellers reached the fort that boon was building on the th of the month, being welcomed to the protection of its wooden walls by a volley from twenty or thirty rifles. they at once set to with a will to finish it, and to make it a strong place of refuge against indian attacks. it was a typical forted village, such as the frontiersmen built everywhere in the west and southwest during the years that they were pushing their way across the continent in the teeth of fierce and harassing warfare; in some features it was not unlike the hamlet-like "tun" in which the forefathers of these same pioneers dwelt, long centuries before, when they still lived by the sluggish waters of the lower rhine, or had just crossed to the eastern coast of britain.[ ] the fort was in shape a parallelogram, some two hundred and fifty feet long and half as wide. it was more completely finished than the majority of its kind, though little or no iron was used in its construction. at each corner was a two-storied loop-holed block-house to act as a bastion. the stout log-cabins were arranged in straight lines, so that their outer sides formed part of the wall, the spaces between them being filled with a high stockade, made of heavy squared timbers thrust upright into the ground, and bound together within by a horizontal stringer near the top. they were loop-holed like the block-houses. the heavy wooden gates, closed with stout bars, were flanked without by the block-houses and within by small windows cut in the nearest cabins. the houses had sharp, sloping roofs, made of huge clapboards, and these great wooden slabs were kept in place by long poles, bound with withes to the rafters. in case of dire need each cabin was separately defensible. when danger threatened, the cattle were kept in the open space in the middle. three other similar forts or stations were built about the same time as boonsborough, namely: harrodstown, boiling springs, and st. asaphs, better known as logan's station, from its founder's name. these all lay to the southwest, some thirty odd miles from boonsborough. every such fort or station served as the rallying-place for the country round about, the stronghold in which the people dwelt during time of danger; and later on, when all danger had long ceased, it often remained in changed form, growing into the chief town of the district. each settler had his own farm besides, often a long way from the fort, and it was on this that he usually intended to make his permanent home. this system enabled the inhabitants to combine for defence, and yet to take up the large tracts of four to fourteen hundred acres,[ ] to which they were by law entitled. it permitted them in time of peace to live well apart, with plenty of room between, so that they did not crowd one another--a fact much appreciated by men in whose hearts the spirit of extreme independence and self-reliance was deeply ingrained. thus the settlers were scattered over large areas, and, as elsewhere in the southwest, the county and not the town became the governmental unit. the citizens even of the smaller governmental divisions acted through representatives, instead of directly, as in the new england town-meetings.[ ] the centre of county government was of course the county court-house. henderson, having established a land agency at boonsborough, at once proceeded to deed to the transylvania colonists entry certificates of surveys of many hundred thousand acres. most of the colonists were rather doubtful whether these certificates would ultimately prove of any value, and preferred to rest their claims on their original cabin rights; a wise move on their part, though in the end the virginia legislature confirmed henderson's sales in so far as they had been made to actual settlers. all the surveying was of course of the very rudest kind. only a skilled woodsman could undertake the work in such a country; and accordingly much of it devolved on boon, who ran the lines as well as he could, and marked the trees with his own initials, either by powder or else with his knife.[ ] the state could not undertake to make the surveys itself, so it authorized the individual settler to do so. this greatly promoted the rapid settlement of the country, making it possible to deal with land as a commodity, and outlining the various claims; but the subsequent and inevitable result was that the sons of the settlers reaped a crop of endless confusion and litigation. it is worth mentioning that the transylvania company opened a store at boonsborough. powder and lead, the two commodities most in demand, were sold respectively for $ . - / and - / cents per pound. the payment was rarely made in coin; and how high the above prices were may be gathered from the fact that ordinary labor was credited at - / cents per day while fifty cents a day was paid for ranging, hunting, and working on the roads.[ ] henderson immediately proceeded to organize the government of his colony, and accordingly issued a call for an election of delegates to the legislature of transylvania, each of the four stations mentioned above sending members. the delegates, seventeen in all, met at boonsborough and organized the convention on the d of may. their meetings were held without the walls of the fort, on a level plain of white clover, under a grand old elm. beneath its mighty branches a hundred people could without crowding find refuge from the noon-day sun; it was a fit council-house for this pioneer legislature of game hunters and indian fighters.[ ] these weather-beaten backwoods warriors, who held their deliberations in the open air, showed that they had in them good stuff out of which to build a free government. they were men of genuine force of character, and they behaved with a dignity and wisdom that would have well become any legislative body. henderson, on behalf of the proprietors of transylvania, addressed them, much as a crown governor would have done. the portion of his address dealing with the destruction of game is worth noting. buffalo, elk, and deer had abounded immediately round boonsborough when the settlers first arrived, but the slaughter had been so great that even after the first six weeks the hunters began to find some difficulty in getting any thing without going off some fifteen or twenty miles. however, stray buffaloes were still killed near the fort once or twice a week.[ ] calk in his journal quoted above, in the midst of entries about his domestic work--such as, on april th "we git our house kivered with bark and move our things into it at night and begin housekeeping," and on may d, "went and sot in to clearing for corn,"--mentions occasionally killing deer and turkey; and once, while looking for a strayed mare, he saw four "bofelos." he wounded one, but failed to get it, with the luck that generally attended backwoods hunters when they for the first time tried their small-bore rifles against these huge, shaggy-maned wild cattle. as henderson pointed out, the game was the sole dependence of the first settlers, who, most of the time, lived solely on wild meat, even the parched corn having been exhausted; and without game the new-comers could not have stayed in the land a week.[ ] accordingly he advised the enactment of game-laws; and he was especially severe in his comments upon the "foreigners" who came into the country merely to hunt, killing off the wild beasts, and taking their skins and furs away, for the benefit of persons not concerned in the settlement. this last point is curious as showing how instantly and naturally the colonists succeeded not only to the lands of the indians, but also to their habits of thought; regarding intrusion by outsiders upon their hunting-grounds with the same jealous dislike so often shown by their red-skinned predecessors. henderson also outlined some of the laws he thought it advisable to enact, and the legislature followed his advice. they provided for courts of law, for regulating the militia, for punishing criminals, fixing sheriffs' and clerks' fees, and issuing writs of attachment.[ ] one of the members was a clergyman: owing to him a law was passed forbidding profane swearing or sabbath-breaking; a puritanic touch which showed the mountain rather than the seaboard origin of the men settling kentucky. the three remaining laws the legislature enacted were much more characteristic, and were all introduced by the two boons--for squire boon was still the companion of his brother. as was fit and proper, it fell to the lot of the greatest of backwoods hunters to propose a scheme for game protection, which the legislature immediately adopted; and his was likewise the "act for preserving the breed of horses,"--for, from the very outset, the kentuckians showed the love for fine horses and for horse-racing which has ever since distinguished them. squire boon was the author of a law "to protect the range"; for the preservation of the range or natural pasture over which the branded horses and cattle of the pioneers ranged at will, was as necessary to the welfare of the stock as the preservation of the game was to the welfare of the men. in kentucky the range was excellent, abounding not only in fine grass, but in cane and wild peas, and the animals grazed on it throughout the year. fires sometimes utterly destroyed immense tracts of this pasture, causing heavy loss to the settlers; and one of the first cares of pioneer legislative bodies was to guard against such accidents. it was likewise stipulated that there should be complete religious freedom and toleration for all sects. this seems natural enough now, but in the eighteenth century the precedents were the other way. kentucky showed its essentially american character in nothing more than the diversity of religious belief among the settlers from the very start. they came almost entirely from the backwoods mountaineers of virginia, pennsylvania, and north carolina, among whom the predominant faith had been presbyterianism; but from the beginning they were occasionally visited by baptist preachers,[ ] whose creed spread to the borders sooner than methodism; and among the original settlers of harrodsburg were some catholic marylanders.[ ] the first service ever held in kentucky was by a clergyman of the church of england, soon after henderson's arrival; but this was merely owing to the presence of henderson himself, who, it must be remembered, was not in the least a backwoods product. he stood completely isolated from the other immigrants during his brief existence as a pioneer, and had his real relationship with the old english founders of the proprietary colonies, and with the more modern american land speculators, whose schemes are so often mentioned during the last half of the eighteenth century. episcopacy was an exotic in the backwoods; it did not take real root in kentucky till long after that commonwealth had emerged from the pioneer stage. when the transylvanian legislature dissolved, never to meet again, henderson had nearly finished playing his short but important part in the founding of kentucky. he was a man of the seacoast regions, who had little in common with the backwoodsmen by whom he was surrounded; he came from a comparatively old and sober community, and he could not grapple with his new associates; in his journal he alludes to them as a set of scoundrels who scarcely believed in god or feared the devil. a british friend[ ] of his, who at this time visited the settlement, also described the pioneers as being a lawless, narrow-minded, unpolished, and utterly insubordinate set, impatient of all restraint, and relying in every difficulty upon their individual might; though he grudgingly admitted that they were frank, hospitable, energetic, daring, and possessed of much common-sense. of course it was hopeless to expect that such bold spirits, as they conquered the wilderness, would be content to hold it even at a small quit-rent from henderson. but the latter's colony was toppled over by a thrust from without before it had time to be rent in sunder by violence from within. transylvania was between two millstones. the settlers revolted against its authority, and appealed to virginia; and meanwhile virginia, claiming the kentucky country, and north carolina as mistress of the lands round the cumberland, proclaimed the purchase of the transylvanian proprietors null and void as regards themselves, though valid as against the indians. the title conveyed by the latter thus enured to the benefit of the colonies; it having been our policy, both before and since the revolution, not to permit any of our citizens to individually purchase lands from the savages. lord dunmore denounced henderson and his acts; and it was in vain that the transylvanians appealed to the continental congress, asking leave to send a delegate thereto, and asserting their devotion to the american cause; for jefferson and patrick henry were members of that body, and though they agreed with lord dunmore in nothing else, were quite as determined as he that kentucky should remain part of virginia. so transylvania's fitful life flickered out of existence; the virginia legislature in , solemnly annulling the title of the company, but very properly recompensing the originators by the gift of two hundred thousand acres.[ ] north carolina pursued a precisely similar course; and henderson, after the collapse of his colony, drifts out of history. boon remained to be for some years one of the kentucky leaders. soon after the fort at boonsborough was built, he went back to north carolina for his family, and in the fall returned, bringing out a band of new settlers, including twenty-seven "guns"--that is, rifle-bearing men,--and four women, with their families, the first who came to kentucky, though others shortly followed in their steps.[ ] a few roving hunters and daring pioneer settlers also came to his fort in the fall; among them, the famous scout, simon kenton, and john todd,[ ] a man of high and noble character and well-trained mind, who afterwards fell by boon's side when in command at the fatal battle of blue licks. in this year also clark[ ] and shelby[ ] first came to kentucky; and many other men whose names became famous in frontier story, and whose sufferings and long wanderings, whose strength, hardihood, and fierce daring, whose prowess as indian fighters and killers of big game, were told by the firesides of kentucky to generations born when the elk and the buffalo had vanished from her borders as completely as the red indian himself. each leader gathered round him a little party of men, who helped him build the fort which was to be the stronghold of the district. among the earliest of these town-builders were hugh mcgarry, james harrod, and benjamin logan. the first named was a coarse, bold, brutal man, always clashing with his associates (he once nearly shot harrod in a dispute over work). he was as revengeful and foolhardy as he was daring, but a natural leader in spite of all. soon after he came to kentucky his son was slain by indians while out boiling sugar from the maples; and he mercilessly persecuted all redskins for ever after. harrod and logan were of far higher character, and superior to him in every respect. like so many other backwoodsmen, they were tall, spare, athletic men, with dark hair and grave faces. they were as fearless as they were tireless, and were beloved by their followers. harrod finally died alone in the wilderness, nor was it ever certainly known whether he was killed by indian or white man, or perchance by some hunted beast. the old settlers always held up his memory as that of a man ever ready to do a good deed, whether it was to run to the rescue of some one attacked by indians, or to hunt up the strayed plough-horse of a brother settler less skilful as a woodsman; yet he could hardly read or write. logan was almost as good a woodsman and individual fighter, and in addition was far better suited to lead men. he was both just and generous. his father had died intestate, so that all of his property by law came to logan, who was the eldest son; but the latter at once divided it equally with his brothers and sisters. as soon as he came to kentucky he rose to leadership, and remained for many years among the foremost of the commonwealth founders. all this time there penetrated through the sombre forests faint echoes of the strife the men of the seacoast had just begun against the british king. the rumors woke to passionate loyalty the hearts of the pioneers; and a roaming party of hunters, when camped on a branch[ ] of the elkhorn, by the hut of one of their number, named mcconnell, called the spot lexington, in honor of the memory of the massachusetts minute-men, about whose death and victory they had just heard.[ ] by the end of the americans had gained firm foothold in kentucky. cabins had been built and clearings made; there were women and children in the wooden forts, cattle grazed on the range, and two or three hundred acres of corn had been sown and reaped. there were perhaps some three hundred men in kentucky, a hardy, resolute, strenuous band. they stood shoulder to shoulder in the wilderness, far from all help, surrounded by an overwhelming number of foes. each day's work was fraught with danger as they warred with the wild forces from which they wrung their living. around them on every side lowered the clouds of the impending death struggle with the savage lords of the neighboring lands. these backwoodsmen greatly resembled one another; their leaders were but types of the rank and file, and did not differ so very widely from them; yet two men stand out clearly from their fellows. above the throng of wood-choppers, game-hunters, and indian fighters loom the sinewy figures of daniel boon and george rogers clark. . the first permanent settlement was harrodsburg, then called harrodstown, founded in , but soon abandoned, and only permanently occupied on march , , a fortnight before boon began the erection of his fort. . the whole account of this treaty is taken from the jefferson mss., th series, vol. viii.; "a copy of the proceedings of the virginia convention, from june to november , , in relation to the memorial of richard henderson, and others"; especially from the depositions of james robertson, isaac shelby, charles robertson, nathaniel gist, and thomas price, who were all present. there is much interesting matter aside from the treaty; simon girty makes depositions as to braddock's defeat and bouquet's fight; lewis, croghan, and others show the utter vagueness and conflict of the indian titles to kentucky, etc., etc. though the cherokees spoke of the land as a "dark" or "bloody" place or ground, it does not seem that by either of these terms they referred to the actual meaning of the name kentucky. one or two of the witnesses tried to make out that the treaty was unfairly made; but the bulk of the evidence is overwhelmingly the other way. haywood gives a long speech made by oconostota against the treaty; but this original report shows that oconostota favored the treaty from the outset, and that it was dragging canoe who spoke against it. haywood wrote fifty years after the event, and gathered many of his facts from tradition; probably tradition had become confused, and reversed the position of the two chiefs. haywood purports to give almost the exact language oconostota used; but when he is in error even as to who made the speech, he is exceedingly unlikely to be correct in any thing more than its general tenor. . then sometimes called the louisa; a name given it at first by the english explorers, but by great good-fortune not retained. . collins, ii., . letter of daniel boon, april , . collins has done good work for kentucky history, having collected a perfect mass of materials of every sort. but he does not discriminate between facts of undoubted authenticity, and tales resting on the idlest legend; so that he must be used with caution, and he is, of course, not to be trusted where he is biassed by the extreme rancor of his political prejudices. of the kentucky historians, marshall is by far the most brilliant, and mann butler the most trustworthy and impartial. both are much better than collins. . benjamin logan; there were many of the family in kentucky. it was a common name along the border; the indian chief logan had been named after one of the pennsylvania branch. . mcafee mss. . boon's letter. . richard henderson's "journal of an expedition to cantucky in " (collins). . april th. . it is printed in the filson club publications; see "the wilderness road," by thomas speed, louisville, ky., ; one of the best of an excellent series. . it is not necessary to say that "corn" means maize; americans do not use the word in the sense in which it is employed in britain. . mcafee mss. some of the mcafees returned with henderson. . boon's letter, henderson's journal, calk's diary, mcafee's autobiography all mention the way in which the early settlers began to swarm out of the country in april, . to judge from their accounts, if the movement had not been checked instantly the country would have been depopulated in a fortnight, exactly as in . . it must be remembered that the outrages of the indians this year in kentucky were totally unprovoked; they were on lands where they did not themselves dwell, and which had been regularly ceded to the whites by all the tribes--iroquois, shawnees, cherokees, etc.--whom the whites could possibly consider as having any claim to them. the wrath of the kentuckians against all indians is easily understood. . when the block-house and palisade enclosed the farm of a single settler the "tun," in its still earlier sense, was even more nearly reproduced. . four hundred acres were gained at the price of $ . per acres, by merely building a cabin and raising a crop of corn; and every settler with such a "cabin right" had likewise a preemption right to , acres adjoining, for a cost that generally approached forty dollars a hundred. . in mr. phelan's scholarly "history of tennessee," pp. - , etc., there is an admirably clear account of the way in which tennessee institutions (like those of the rest of the southwest) have been directly and without a break derived from english institutions; whereas many of those of new england are rather pre-normanic revivals, curiously paralleled in england as it was before the conquest. . boon's deposition, july , . . mann butler, p. . . henderson's journal. the beauty of the elm impressed him very greatly. according to the list of names eighteen, not seventeen, members were elected; but apparently only seventeen took part in the proceedings. . henderson's journal. . "our game, the only support of life amongst many of us, and without which the country would be abandoned ere to-morrow." henderson's address. . journal of the proceedings of the house of delegates or representatives of the colony of transylvania. . possibly in , certainly in ; ms. autobiography of rev. wm. hickman. in durrett's library. . "life of rev. charles nerinckx," by rev. camillus p. maes, cincinnati, , p. . . smyth, p. . . gov. james t. morehead's "address" at boonsborough, in (frankfort, ky., ). . _do._, p. . mrs. boon, mrs. denton, mrs. mcgarry, mrs. hogan; all were from the north carolina backwoods; their ancestry is shown by their names. they settled in boonsborough and harrodsburg. . like logan he was born in pennsylvania, of presbyterian irish stock. he had received a good education. . morehead, p. . . shelby's ms. autobiography, in durrett's library at louisville. . these frontiersmen called a stream a "run," "branch," "creek," or "fork," but never a "brook," as in the northeast. . "history of lexington," g. w. ranck, cincinnati, , p. . the town was not permanently occupied till four years later. chapter xi. in the current of the revolution--the southern backwoodsmen overwhelm the cherokees, . the great western drift of our people began almost at the moment when they became americans, and ceased to be merely british colonists. they crossed the great divide which sundered the springs of the seaboard rivers from the sources of the western waters about the time that american citizens first publicly acted as american freemen, knit together by common ties, and with interests no longer akin to those of the mother country. the movement which was to make the future nation a continental power was begun immediately after the hitherto separate colonies had taken the first step towards solidification. while the communities of the sea-coast were yet in a fever heat from the uprising against the stamp tax, the first explorers were toiling painfully to kentucky, and the first settlers were building their palisaded hamlets on the banks of the watauga. the year that saw the first continental congress saw also the short, grim tragedy of lord dunmore's war. the early battles of the revolution were fought while boon's comrades were laying the foundations of their commonwealth. hitherto the two chains of events had been only remotely connected; but in , the year of the declaration of independence, the struggle between the king and his rebellious subjects shook the whole land, and the men of the western border were drawn headlong into the full current of revolutionary warfare. from that moment our politics became national, and the fate of each portion of our country was thenceforth in some sort dependent upon the welfare of every other. each section had its own work to do; the east won independence while the west began to conquer the continent. yet the deeds of each were of vital consequence to the other. washington's continentals gave the west its freedom; and took in return for themselves and their children a share of the land that had been conquered and held by the scanty bands of tall backwoodsmen. the backwoodsmen, the men of the up-country, were, as a whole, ardent adherents of the patriot or american side. yet there were among them many loyalists or tories; and these tories included in their ranks much the greatest portion of the vicious and the disorderly elements. this was the direct reverse of what obtained along portions of the seaboard, where large numbers of the peaceable, well-to-do people stood loyally by the king. in the up-country, however, the presbyterian irish, with their fellows of calvinistic stock and faith, formed the back-bone of the moral and order-loving element; and the presbyterian irish[ ] were almost to a man staunch and furious upholders of the continental congress. naturally, the large bands of murderers, horse-thieves, and other wild outlaws, whom these grim friends of order hunted down with merciless severity, were glad to throw in their lot with any party that promised revenge upon their foes. but of course there were lawless characters on both sides; in certain localities where the crop of jealousies, always a rank backwoods growth, had been unusually large, and had therefore produced long-standing and bitter feuds,[ ] the rival families espoused opposite sides from sheer vindictive hatred of one another. as a result, the struggle in the backwoods between tories and whigs, king's-men and congress-men,[ ] did not merely turn upon the questions everywhere at stake between the american and british parties. it was also in part a fight between the law-abiding and the lawless, and in part a slaking of savage personal animosities, wherein the borderers glutted their vengeance on one another. they exercised without restraint the right of private warfare, long abandoned in more civilized regions. it was natural that such a contest should be waged with appalling ferocity. nevertheless this very ferocity was not only inevitable, but it was in a certain sense proper; or, at least, even if many of its manifestations were blamable, the spirit that lay behind them was right. the backwoodsmen were no sentimentalists; they were grim, hard, matter-of-fact men, engaged all their lives long in an unending struggle with hostile forces, both human and natural; men who in this struggle had acquired many unamiable qualities, but who had learned likewise to appreciate at their full value the inestimable virtues of courage and common-sense. the crisis demanded that they should be both strong and good; but, above all things, it demanded that they should be strong. weakness would have ruined them. it was needful that justice should stand before mercy; and they could no longer have held their homes, had they not put down their foes, of every kind, with an iron hand. they did not have many theories; but they were too genuinely liberty-loving not to keenly feel that their freedom was jeopardized as much by domestic disorder as by foreign aggression. the tories were obnoxious under two heads: they were the allies of a tyrant who lived beyond the sea, and they were the friends of anarchy at home. they were felt by the frontiersmen to be criminals rather than ordinary foes. they included in their ranks the mass of men who had been guilty of the two worst frontier crimes--horse-stealing and murder; and their own feats were in the eyes of their neighbors in no way distinguishable from those of other horse-thieves and murderers. accordingly the backwoodsmen soon grew to regard toryism as merely another crime; and the courts sometimes executed equally summary justice on tory, desperado, and stock-thief, holding each as having forfeited his life.[ ] the backwoodsmen were engaged in a threefold contest. in the first place, they were occasionally, but not often, opposed to the hired british and german soldiers of a foreign king. next, they were engaged in a fierce civil war with the tories of their own number. finally, they were pitted against the indians, in the ceaseless border struggle of a rude, vigorous civilization to overcome an inevitably hostile savagery. the regular british armies, marching to and fro in the course of their long campaigns on the seaboard, rarely went far enough back to threaten the frontiersmen; the latter had to do chiefly with tories led by british chiefs, and with indians instigated by british agents. soon after the conflict with the revolted colonists became one of arms as well as one of opinions the british began to rouse the indian tribes to take their part. in the northwest they were at first unsuccessful; the memory of lord dunmore's war was still fresh in the minds of the tribes beyond the ohio, and they remained for the most part neutral. the shawnees continued even in to send in to the americans white prisoners collected from among their outlying bands, in accordance with the terms of the treaty entered into on the pickaway plains.[ ] but the southwestern indians were not held in check by memories of recent defeat, and they were alarmed by the encroachments of the whites. although the cherokees had regularly ceded to the watauga settlers their land, they still continued jealous of them; and both creeks and cherokees were much irritated at the conduct of some of the lawless georgian frontiersmen.[ ] the colonial authorities tried to put a stop to this lawlessness, and one of the chief offenders was actually seized and hung in the presence of two indians.[ ] this had a momentary effect on the creeks, and induced them for the time being to observe a kind of nominal neutrality, though they still furnished bodies of warriors to help the british and cherokees.[ ] the latter, however, who were the nearest neighbors of the americans, promptly took up the tomahawk at the bidding of the british. the royal agents among these southern indians had so far successfully[ ] followed the perfectly cold-blooded though perhaps necessary policy of exciting the tribes to war with one another, in order that they might leave the whites at peace; but now, as they officially reported to the british commander, general gage, they deemed this course no longer wise, and, instead of fomenting, they endeavored to allay, the strife between the chickasaws and creeks, so as to allow the latter to turn their full strength against the georgians.[ ] at the same time every effort was made to induce the cherokees to rise,[ ] and they were promised gunpowder, blankets, and the like although some of the promised stores were seized by the americans while being forwarded to the indians.[ ] in short, the british were active and successful in rousing the war spirit among creeks, cherokees, chocktaws, and chickasaws, having numerous agents in all these tribes.[ ] their success, and the consequent ravages of the indians, maddened the american frontiersmen upon whom the blow fell, and changed their resentment against the british king into a deadly and lasting hatred, which their sons and grandsons inherited. indian warfare was of such peculiar atrocity that the employment of indians as allies forbade any further hope of reconciliation. it is not necessary to accept the american estimate of the motives inspiring the act in order to sympathize fully with the horror and anger that it aroused among the frontiersmen. they saw their homes destroyed, their wives outraged, their children captured, their friends butchered and tortured wholesale by indians armed with british weapons, bribed by british gold, and obeying the orders of british agents and commanders. their stormy anger was not likely to be allayed by the consideration that congress also had at first made some effort to enlist indians in the patriot forces, nor were they apt to bear in mind the fact that the british, instead of being abnormally cruel, were in reality less so than our former french and spanish opponents.[ ] looking back it is easy to see that the indians were the natural foes of the american people, and therefore the natural allies of the british government. they had constantly to fear the advance of the americans, while from the fur traders, indian agents, and army officers who alone represented britain, they had nothing but coveted treasures of every kind to expect. they seemed tools forged for the hands of the royal commanders, whose own people lay far beyond the reach of reprisals in kind; and it was perhaps too much to expect that in that age such tools should not be used.[ ] we had less temptation to employ them, less means wherewith to pay them, and more cause to be hostile to and dread them; and moreover our skirts are not quite clear in the matter, after all, for we more than once showed a tendency to bid for their support. but, after all is said, the fact remains that we have to deal, not with what, under other circumstances, the americans _might_ have done, but with what the british actually _did;_ and for this there can be many apologies, but no sufficient excuse. when the commissioners to the southern indians wrote to lord george germain, "we have been indefatigable in our endeavors to keep up a constant succession of parties of indians to annoy the rebels," the writers must have well known, what the king's ministers should also have made it their business to know, that the war-parties whom they thus boasted of continually sending against the settlements directed their efforts mainly, indeed almost exclusively, not against bodies of armed men, but against the husbandmen as they unsuspectingly tilled the fields, and against the women and children who cowered helplessly in the log-cabins.[ ] all men knew that the prisoners who fell into indian hands, of whatever age or sex, often suffered a fate hideous and revolting beyond belief and beyond description. such a letter as that quoted above makes the advisers of king george the third directly responsible for the manifold and frightful crimes of their red allies. it is small wonder that such a contest should have roused in the breasts of the frontiersmen not only ruthless and undying abhorrence of the indians, but also a bitterly vindictive feeling of hostility towards great britain; a feeling that was all-powerful for a generation afterwards, and traces of which linger even to the present day. moreover, the indian forays, in some ways, damaged the loyalist cause. the savages had received strict instructions not to molest any of the king's friends;[ ] but they were far too intent on plunder and rapine to discriminate between whig and tory. accordingly their ravages drove the best tories, who had at first hailed the indian advance with joy, into the patriot ranks, making the frontier almost solidly whig; save for the refugees, who were willing to cast in their lot with the savages.[ ] while the creeks were halting and considering, and while the choctaws and chickasaws were being visited by british emissaries, the cherokees flung themselves on the frontier folk. they had been short of ammunition; but when the british agents sent them fifty horse-loads by a pack-train that was driven through the creek towns, they no longer hesitated.[ ] the agents showed very poor generalship in making them rise so early, when there were no british troops in the southern states, and when the americans were consequently unhampered and free to deal with the indians.[ ] had the rising been put off until a british army was in georgia, it might well have proved successful. the cherokee villages stood in that cluster of high mountain chains which mark the ending of the present boundaries of georgia and both carolinas. these provinces lay east and southeast of them. directly north were the forted villages of the watauga pioneers, in the valley of the upper tennessee, and beyond these again, in the same valley, the virginian outpost settlements. virginia, north and south carolina, and georgia were alike threatened by the outbreak, while the watauga people were certain to be the chief sufferers. the cherokees were so near the settlements that their incursions were doubly dangerous. on the other hand, there was not nearly as much difficulty in dealing them a counter-blow as in the case of the northern indians, for their towns lay thickly together and were comparatively easy of access. moreover, they were not rated such formidable fighters. by comparing lord dunmore's war in with this struggle against the cherokees in , it is easy to see the difference between a contest against the northern and one against the southern tribes. in our indian foes were more numerous than in , for there were over two thousand cherokee warriors--perhaps two thousand five hundred,--assisted by a few creeks and tories; they were closer to the frontier, and so their ravages were more serious; but they did not prove such redoubtable foes as cornstalk's warriors, their villages were easier reached, and a more telling punishment was inflicted. the cherokees had been showing signs of hostility for some time. they had murdered two virginians the previous year;[ ] and word was brought to the settlements, early in the summer of ' , that they were undoubtedly preparing for war, as they were mending guns, making moccasins and beating flour for the march.[ ] in june their ravages began.[ ] the otari, or overhill cherokees, had sent runners to the valley towns, asking their people to wait until all were ready before marching, that the settlements might be struck simultaneously; but some of the young braves among the lower towns could not be restrained, and in consequence the outlying settlers of georgia and the carolinas were the first to be assailed. the main attack was made early in july, the warriors rushing down from their upland fastnesses in fierce and headlong haste, the different bands marching north, east, and southeast at the same moment. from the holston to the tugelou, from southwestern virginia to northwestern georgia, the back-county settlements were instantly wrapped in the sudden horror of savage warfare. the watauga people, the most exposed of all, received timely warning from a friendly squaw,[ ] to whom the whites ever after showed respect and gratitude. they at once began to prepare for the stroke; and in all the western world of woodsmen there were no men better fitted for such a death grapple. they still formed a typical pioneer community; and their number had been swelled from time to time by the arrival of other bold and restless spirits. their westernmost settlement this year was in carter's valley; where four men had cleared a few acres of corn-land, and had hunted buffalo for their winter's meat.[ ] as soon as they learned definitely that the otari warriors, some seven hundred in number, were marching against them, they took refuge in their wooden forts or stations. among the most important of these were the one at watauga, in which sevier and robertson held command, and another known as baton's station, placed just above the forks of the holston.[ ] some six miles from the latter, near the long island or big island of the holston, lay quite a large tract of level land, covered with an open growth of saplings, and known as the island flats. the indians were divided into several bands; some of their number crossed over into carter's valley, and after ravaging it, passed on up the clinch. the settlers at once gathered in the little stockades; those who delayed were surprised by the savages, and were slain as they fled, or else were captured, perhaps to die by torture,--men, women, and children alike. the cabins were burnt, the grain destroyed, the cattle and horses driven off, and the sheep and hogs shot down with arrows; the indians carried bows and arrows for this express purpose, so as to avoid wasting powder and lead. the bolder war-parties, in their search for scalps and plunder, penetrated into virginia a hundred miles beyond the frontier,[ ] wasting the country with tomahawk and brand up to the seven-mile ford. the roads leading to the wooden forts were crowded with settlers, who, in their mortal need of hurry, had barely time to snatch up a few of the household goods, and, if especially lucky, to mount the women and children on horses; as usual in such a flight, there occurred many deeds of cowardly selfishness, offset by many feats of courage and self-sacrifice. once in the fort, the backwoodsmen often banded into parties, and sallied out to fall on the indians. sometimes these parties were worsted; at other times they overcame their foes either by ambush or in fair fight. one such party from the wolf hills fort killed eleven indian warriors; and on their return they hung the scalps of their slain foes, as trophies of triumph, from a pole over the fort gate.[ ] they were bible-readers in this fort, and they had their presbyterian minister with them, having organized a special party to bring in the books he had left in his cabin; they joined in prayer and thanksgiving for their successes; but this did not hinder them from scalping the men they killed. they were too well-read in the merciless wars of the chosen people to feel the need of sparing the fallen; indeed they would have been most foolish had they done so; for they were battling with a heathen enemy more ruthless and terrible than ever was canaanite or philistine. the two largest of the invading indian bands[ ] moved, one by way of the mountains, to fall on the watauga fort and its neighbors, and the other, led by the great war chief, dragging canoe, to lay waste the country guarded by eaton's station. the white scouts--trained woodsmen, whose lives had been spent in the chase and in forest warfare--kept the commanders or headmen of the forts well informed of the indian advance. as soon as it was known what part was really threatened, runners were sent to the settlements near by, calling on the riflemen to gather at eaton's station; whither they accordingly came in small bodies, under their respective militia captains.[ ] no man was really in command; the senior captain exercised a vague kind of right of advice over the others, and the latter in turn got from their men such obedience as their own personal influence was able to procure. but the levy, if disorderly, was composed of excellent marksmen and woodsmen, sinewy, hardy, full of fight, and accustomed to act together. a council was held, and it was decided not to stay cooped up in the fort, like turkeys in a pen, while the indians ravaged the fields and burnt the homesteads, but to march out at once and break the shock by a counter-stroke. accordingly, on the morning of the twentieth of july, they filed out of the fort, one hundred and seventy strong, and bent their steps towards the island flats. well versed in woodland warfare, the frontier riflemen marched as well as fought on a system of their own, much more effective for this purpose than the discipline of european regulars. the men of this little levy walked strung out in indian file, in two parallel lines,[ ] with scouts in front, and flankers on each side. marching thus they could not be surprised, and were ready at any moment to do battle with the indians, in open order and taking shelter behind the trees; while regulars, crowded together, were helpless before the savages whom the forest screened from view, and who esteemed it an easy task to overcome any number of foes if gathered in a huddle.[ ] when near the flats the whites, walking silently with moccasined feet, came suddenly on a party of twenty indians, who, on being attacked, fled in the utmost haste, leaving behind ten of their bundles--for the southern warriors carried with them, when on the war-path, small bundles containing their few necessaries. after this trifling success a council was held, and, as the day was drawing to a close, it was decided to return to the fort. some of the men were dissatisfied with the decision, and there followed an incident as characteristic in its way as was the bravery with which the battle was subsequently fought. the discontented soldiers expressed their feelings freely, commenting especially upon the supposed lack of courage on the part of one of the captains. the latter, after brooding over the matter until the men had begun to march off the ground towards home, suddenly halted the line in which he was walking, and proceeded to harangue the troops in defence of his own reputation. apparently no one interfered to prevent this remarkable piece of military self-justification; the soldiers were evidently accustomed openly to criticise the conduct of their commanders, while the latter responded in any manner they saw fit. as soon as the address was over, and the lines once more straightened out, the march was renewed in the original order; and immediately afterwards the scouts brought news that a considerable body of indians, misled by their retreat, was running rapidly up to assail their rear.[ ] the right file was promptly wheeled to the right and the left to the left, forming a line of battle a quarter of a mile long, the men taking advantage of the cover when possible. there was at first some confusion and a momentary panic, which was instantly quelled, the officers and many of the men joining to encourage and rally the few whom the suddenness of the attack rendered faint-hearted. the otari warriors, instead of showing the usual indian caution, came running on at headlong speed, believing that the whites were fleeing in terror; while still some three hundred yards off[ ] they raised the war-whoop and charged without halting, the foremost chiefs hallooing out that the white men were running, and to come on and scalp them. they were led by dragging canoe himself, and were formed very curiously, their centre being cone-shaped, while their wings were curved outward; apparently they believed the white line to be wavering and hoped to break through its middle at the same time that they outflanked it, trusting to a single furious onset instead of to their usual tactics.[ ] the result showed their folly. the frontiersmen on the right and left scattered out still farther, so that their line could not be outflanked; and waiting coolly till the otari were close up, the whites fired into them. the long rifles cracked like four-horse whips; they were held in skilful hands, many of the assailants fell, and the rush was checked at once. a short fight at close quarters ensued here and there along the line, dragging canoe was struck down and severely wounded, and then the indians fled in the utmost confusion, every man for himself. yet they carried off their wounded and perhaps some of their dead. the whites took thirteen scalps, and of their own number but four were seriously hurt; they also took many guns and much plunder. in this battle of the island flats[ ] the whites were slightly superior[ ] in number to their foes; and they won without difficulty, inflicting a far heavier loss than they received. in this respect it differs markedly from most other indian fights of the same time; and many of its particulars render it noteworthy. moreover, it had a very good effect, cheering the frontiersmen greatly, and enabling them to make head against the discouraged indians. on the same day the watauga fort[ ] was attacked by a large force at sunrise. it was crowded with women and children,[ ] but contained only forty or fifty men. the latter, however, were not only resolute and well-armed, but were also on the alert to guard against surprise; the indians were discovered as they advanced in the gray light, and were at once beaten back with loss from the loopholed stockade. robertson commanded in the fort, sevier acting as his lieutenant. of course, the only hope of assistance was from virginia, north carolina being separated from the watauga people by great mountain chains; and sevier had already notified the officers of fincastle that the indians were advancing. his letter was of laconic brevity, and contained no demand for help; it was merely a warning that the indians were undoubtedly about to start, and that "they intended to drive the country up to new river before they returned"--so that it behooved the fincastle men to look to their own hearthsides. sevier was a very fearless, self-reliant man, and doubtless felt confident that the settlers themselves could beat back their assailants. his forecast proved correct; for the indians, after maintaining an irregular siege of the fort for some three weeks, retired, almost at the moment that parties of frontiersmen came to the rescue from some of the neighboring forts.[ ] while the foe was still lurking about the fort the people within were forced to subsist solely on parched corn; and from time to time some of them became so irritated by the irksome monotony of their confinement, that they ventured out heedless of the danger. three or four of them were killed by the indians, and one boy was carried off to one of their towns, where he was burnt at the stake; while a woman who was also captured at this time was only saved from a like fate by the exertions of the same cherokee squaw already mentioned as warning the settlers. tradition relates that sevier, now a young widower, fell in love with the woman he soon afterwards married during the siege. her name was kate sherrill. she was a tall girl, brown-haired, comely, lithe and supple "as a hickory sapling." one day while without the fort she was almost surprised by some indians. running like a deer, she reached the stockade, sprang up so as to catch the top with her hands, and drawing herself over, was caught in sevier's arms on the other side; through a loop-hole he had already shot the headmost of her pursuers. soon after the baffled otari retreated from robertson's fort the other war parties likewise left the settlements. the watauga men together with the immediately adjoining virginian frontiersmen had beaten back their foes unaided, save for some powder and lead they had received from the older settlements; and moreover had inflicted more loss than they suffered.[ ] they had made an exceedingly vigorous and successful fight. the outlying settlements scattered along the western border of the carolinas and georgia had been attacked somewhat earlier; the cherokees from the lower towns, accompanied by some creeks and tories, beginning their ravages in the last days of june.[ ] a small party of georgians had, just previously, made a sudden march into the cherokee country. they were trying to capture the british agent cameron, who, being married to an indian wife, dwelt in her town, and owned many negroes, horses, and cattle. the cherokees, who had agreed not to interfere, broke faith and surprised the party, killing some and capturing others who were tortured to death.[ ] the frontiers were soon in a state of wild panic; for the cherokee inroad was marked by the usual features. cattle were driven off, houses burned, plantations laid waste, while the women and children were massacred indiscriminately with the men.[ ] the people fled from their homes and crowded into the stockade forts; they were greatly hampered by the scarcity of guns and ammunition, as much had been given to the troops called down to the coast by the war with britain. all the southern colonies were maddened by the outbreak; and prepared for immediate revenge, knowing that if they were quick they would have time to give the cherokees a good drubbing before the british could interfere.[ ] the plan was that they should act together, the virginians invading the overhill country at the same time that the forces from north and south carolina and georgia destroyed the valley and lower towns. thus the cherokees would be crushed with little danger. it proved impossible, however, to get the attacks made quite simultaneously. the back districts of north carolina suffered heavily at the outset; however, the inhabitants showed that they were able to take care of themselves. the cherokees came down the catawba murdering many people; but most of the whites took refuge in the little forts, where they easily withstood the indian assaults. general griffith rutherford raised a frontier levy and soon relieved the besieged stations. he sent word to the provincial authorities that if they could only get powder and lead the men of the salisbury district were alone quite capable of beating off the indians, but that if it was intended to invade the cherokee country he must also have help from the hillsborough men.[ ] he was promised assistance, and was told to prepare a force to act on the offensive with the virginians and south carolinians. before he could get ready the first counter-blow had been struck by georgia and south carolina. georgia was the weakest of all the colonies, and the part it played in this war was but trifling. she was threatened by british cruisers along the coast, and by the tories of florida; and there was constant danger of an uprising of the black slaves, who outnumbered the whites. the vast herds of cattle and great rice plantations of the south offered a tempting bait to every foe. tories were numerous in the population, while there were incessant bickerings with the creeks, frequently resulting in small local wars, brought on as often by the faithlessness and brutality of the white borderers as by the treachery and cruelty of the red. indeed the indians were only kept quiet by presents, it being an unhappy feature of the frontier troubles that while lawless whites could not be prevented from encroaching on the indian lands, the indians, in turn could only be kept at peace with the law-abiding by being bribed.[ ] only a small number of warriors invaded georgia. nevertheless they greatly harassed the settlers, capturing several families and fighting two or three skirmishes with varying results.[ ] by the middle of july col. samuel jack[ ] took the field with a force of two hundred rangers, all young men, the old and infirm being left to guard the forts. the indians fled as soon as he had embodied his troops, and towards the end of the month he marched against one or two of their small lower towns, which he burned, destroying the grain and driving off the cattle. no resistance was offered, and he did not lose a man. the heaviest blow fell on south carolina, where the cherokees were led by cameron himself, accompanied by most of his tories. some of his warriors came from the lower towns that lay along the tugelou and keowee, but most were from the middle towns, in the neighborhood of the tellico, and from the valley towns that lay well to the westward of these, among the mountains, along the branches of the hiawassee and chattahoochee rivers. falling furiously on the scattered settlers, they killed them or drove them into the wooden forts, ravaging, burning, and murdering as elsewhere, and sparing neither age nor sex. col. andrew williamson was in command of the western districts, and he at once began to gather together a force, taking his station at picken's fort, with forty men, on july d.[ ] it was with the utmost difficulty that he could get troops, guns, or ammunition; but his strenuous and unceasing efforts were successful, and his force increased day by day. it is worth noting that these lowland troops were for the most part armed with smoothbores, unlike the rifle-bearing mountaineers. as soon as he could muster a couple of hundred men[ ] he left the fort and advanced towards the indians, making continual halts,[ ] so as to allow the numerous volunteers that were flocking to his standard to reach him. at the same time the americans were much encouraged by the repulse of an assault made just before daylight on one of the forts.[ ] the attacking party was some two hundred strong, half of them being white men, naked and painted like the indians; but after dark, on the evening before the attack, a band of one hundred and fifty american militia, on their way to join williamson, entered the fort. the assault was made before dawn; it was promptly repulsed, and at daybreak the enemy fled, having suffered some loss; thirteen of the tories were captured, but the more nimble indians escaped. by the end of july, williamson had gathered over eleven hundred militia[ ] (including two small rifle companies), and advanced against the indian towns, sending his spies and scouts before him. on the last day of the month he made a rapid night march, with three hundred and fifty horsemen, to surprise cameron, who lay with a party of tories and indians, encamped at oconoree creek, beyond the cherokee town of eseneka, which commanded the ford of the river keowee. the cabins and fenced gardens of the town lay on both sides of the river. williamson had been told by his prisoners that the hither bank was deserted, and advanced heedlessly, without scouts or flankers. in consequence he fell into an ambush, for when he reached the first houses, hidden indians suddenly fired on him from front and flank. many horses, including that of the commander, were shot down, and the startled troops began a disorderly retreat, firing at random. col. hammond rallied about twenty of the coolest, and ordering them to reserve their fire, he charged the fence from behind which the heaviest hostile fire came. when up to it, they shot into the dark figures crouching behind it, and jumping over charged home. the indians immediately fled, leaving one dead and three wounded in the hands of the whites. the action was over; but the by-no-means-reassured victors had lost five men mortally and thirteen severely wounded, and were still rather nervous. at daybreak williamson destroyed the houses near by, and started to cross the ford. but his men, in true militia style, had become sulky and mutinous, and refused to cross, until col. hammond swore he would go alone, and plunged into the river, followed by three volunteers, whereupon the whole army crowded after. the revulsions in their feelings was instantaneous; once across they seemed to have left all fear as well as all prudence behind. on the hither side there had been no getting them to advance; on the farther there was no keeping them together, and they scattered everywhere. luckily the indians were too few to retaliate; and besides the cherokees were not good marksmen, using so little powder in their guns that they made very ineffective weapons. after all the houses had been burned, and some six thousand bushels of corn, besides peas and beans, destroyed, williamson returned to his camp. next day he renewed his advance, and sent out detachments against all the other lower towns, utterly destroying every one by the middle of august, although not without one or two smart skirmishes.[ ] his troops were very much elated, and only the lack of provisions prevented his marching against the middle towns. as it was, he retired to refit, leaving a garrison of six hundred men at eseneka, which he christened fort rutledge. this ended the first stage of the retaliatory campaign, undertaken by the whites in revenge for the outbreak. the south carolinians, assisted slightly by a small independent command of georgians, who acted separately, had destroyed the lower cherokee towns, at the same time that the watauga people repulsed the attack of the overhill warriors. the second and most important movement was to be made by south carolina, north carolina, and virginia jointly, each sending a column of two thousand men,[ ] the two former against the middle and valley, the latter against the overhill towns. if the columns acted together the cherokees would be overwhelmed by a force three times the number of all their warriors. the plan succeeded well, although the virginia division was delayed so that its action, though no less effective, was much later than that of the others, and though the latter likewise failed to act in perfect unison. rutherford and his north carolinians were the first to take the field.[ ] he had an army of two thousand gunmen, besides pack-horsemen and men to tend the drove of bullocks, together with a few catawba indians,--a total of twenty-four hundred.[ ] on september st he left the head of the catawba,[ ] and the route he followed was long known by the name of rutherford's trace. there was not a tent in his army, and but very few blankets; the pack-horses earned the flour, while the beef was driven along on the hoof. officers and men alike wore homespun hunting-shirts trimmed with colored cotton; the cloth was made from hemp, tow, and wild-nettle bark. he passed over the blue ridge at swananoa gap, crossed the french broad at the warriors' ford, and then went through the mountains[ ] to the middle towns, a detachment of a thousand men making a forced march in advance. this detachment was fired at by a small band of indians from an ambush, and one man was wounded in the foot; but no further resistance was made, the towns being abandoned.[ ] the main body coming up, parties of troops were sent out in every direction, and all of the middle towns were destroyed. rutherford had expected to meet williamson at this place, but the latter did not appear, and so the north carolina commander determined to proceed alone against the valley towns along the hiawassee. taking with him only nine hundred picked men, he attempted to cross the rugged mountain chains which separated him from his destination; but he had no guide, and missed the regular pass--a fortunate thing for him, as it afterwards turned out, for he thus escaped falling into an ambush of five hundred cherokees who were encamped along it.[ ] after in vain trying to penetrate the tangle of gloomy defiles and wooded peaks, he returned to the middle towns at canucca on september th. here he met williamson, who had just arrived, having been delayed so that he could not leave fort rutledge until the th.[ ] the south carolinians, two thousand strong, had crossed the blue ridge near the sources of the little tennessee. while rutherford rested[ ] williamson, on the th, pushed on through noewee pass, and fell into the ambush which had been laid for the former. the pass was a narrow, open valley, walled in by steep and lofty mountains. the indians waited until the troops were struggling up to the outlet, and then assailed them with a close and deadly fire. the surprised soldiers recoiled and fell into confusion; and they were for the second time saved from disaster by the gallantry of colonel hammond, who with voice and action rallied them, endeavoring to keep them firm while a detachment was sent to clamber up the rocks and outflank the indians. at the same time lieutenant hampton got twenty men together, out of the rout, and ran forward, calling out: "loaded guns advance, empty guns fall down and load." being joined by some thirty men more he pushed desperately upwards. the indians fled from the shock; and the army thus owed its safety solely to two gallant officers. of the whites seventeen were killed and twenty-nine wounded;[ ] they took fourteen scalps.[ ] although the distance was but twenty odd miles, it took williamson five days of incredible toil before he reached the valley towns. the troops showed the utmost patience, clearing a path for the pack-train along the sheer mountain sides and through the dense, untrodden forests in the valleys. the trail often wound along cliffs where a single misstep of a pack-animal resulted in its being dashed to pieces. but the work, though fatiguing, was healthy; it was noticed that during the whole expedition not a man was laid up for any length of time by sickness. rutherford joined williamson immediately afterwards, and together they utterly laid waste the valley towns; and then, in the last week of september, started homewards. all the cherokee settlements west of the appalachians had been destroyed from the face of the earth, neither crops nor cattle being left; and most of the inhabitants were obliged to take refuge with the creeks. rutherford reached home in safety, never having experienced any real resistance; he had lost but three men in all. he had killed twelve indians, and had captured nine more, besides seven whites and four negroes. he had also taken piles of deerskins, a hundred-weight of gunpowder and twenty-five hundred pounds of lead; and, moreover, had wasted and destroyed to his heart's content.[ ] williamson, too, reached home without suffering further damage, entering fort rutledge on october th. in his two expeditions he had had ninety-four men killed and wounded, but he had done much more harm than any one else to the indians. it was said the south carolinians had taken seventy-five scalps;[ ] at any rate, the south carolina legislature had offered a reward of l for every warrior's scalp, as well as l for every indian, and l for every tory or negro, taken prisoner.[ ] but the troops were forbidden to sell their prisoners as slaves--not a needless injunction, as is shown by the fact that when it was issued there had already been at least one case in williamson's own army where a captured indian was sold into bondage. the virginian troops had meanwhile been slowly gathering at the great island of the holston, under colonel william christian, preparatory to assaulting the overhill cherokees. while they were assembling the indians threatened them from time to time; once a small party of braves crossed the river and killed a soldier near the main post of the army, and also killed a settler; a day or two later another war-party slipped by towards the settlements, but on being pursued by a detachment of militia faced about and returned to their town.[ ] on the first of october the army started, two thousand strong,[ ] including some troops from north carolina, and all the gunmen who could be spared from the little stockaded hamlets scattered along the watauga, the holston, and the clinch. except a small force of horse-riflemen the men were on foot, each with tomahawk, scalping-knife, and long, grooved flint-lock; all were healthy, well equipped, and in fine spirits, driving their pack-horses and bullocks with them. characteristically enough a presbyterian clergyman, following his backwoods flock, went along with this expedition as chaplain. the army moved very cautiously, the night encampments being made behind breastworks of felled timbers. there was therefore no chance for a surprise; and their great inferiority in number made it hopeless for the cherokees to try a fair fight. in their despair they asked help from the creeks; but the latter replied that they had plucked the thorn of warfare from their (the creeks') foot, and were welcome to keep it.[ ] the virginians came steadily on[ ] until they reached the big island of the french broad.[ ] here the cherokees had gathered their warriors, and they sent a tory trader across with a flag of truce. christian well knowing that the virginians greatly outnumbered the indians, let the man go through his camp at will,[ ] and sent him back with word that the cherokee towns were doomed, for that he would surely march to them and destroy them. that night he left half of his men in camp, lying on their arms by the watch-fires, while with the others he forded the river below and came round to surprise the indian encampment from behind; but he found that the indians had fled, for their hearts had become as water, nor did they venture at any time, during this expedition, to molest the white forces. following them up, christian reached the towns early in november,[ ] and remained two weeks, sending out parties to burn the cabins and destroy the stores of corn and potatoes. the indians[ ] sent in a flag to treat for peace, surrendering the horses and prisoners they had taken, and agreeing to fix a boundary and give up to the settlers the land they already had, as well as some additional territory. christian made peace on these terms and ceased his ravages, but he excepted the town of tuskega, whose people had burned alive the boy taken captive at watauga. this town he reduced to ashes. nor would the chief dragging canoe accept peace at all; but gathering round him the fiercest and most unruly of the young men, he left the rest of the tribe and retired to the chickamauga fastnesses. when the preliminary truce had been made christian marched his forces homeward, and disbanded them a fortnight before christmas, leaving a garrison at holston, great island. during the ensuing spring and summer peace treaties were definitely concluded between the upper cherokees and virginia and north carolina at the great island of the holston,[ ] and between the lower cherokees and south carolina and georgia at de witt's corners. the cherokees gave up some of their lands; of the four seacoast provinces south carolina gained most, as was proper, for she had done and suffered most.[ ] the watauga people and the westerners generally were the real gainers by the war. had the watauga settlements been destroyed, they would no longer have covered the wilderness road to kentucky; and so kentucky must perforce have been abandoned. but the followers of robertson and sevier stood stoutly for their homes; not one of them fled over the mountains. the cherokees had been so roughly handled that for several years they did not again go to war as a body; and this not only gave the settlers a breathing time, but also enabled them to make themselves so strong that when the struggle was renewed they could easily hold their own. the war was thus another and important link in the chain of events by which the west was won; and had any link in the chain snapped during these early years, the peace of would probably have seen the trans-alleghany country in the hands of a non-american power. . mr. phelan, in his "history of tennessee," deserves especial praise for having so clearly understood the part played by the scotch-irish. . the campbell mss. contain allusions to various such feuds, and accounts of the jealousies existing not only between families, but between prominent members of the same family. . see milfort, smyth, etc., as well as the native writers. . executions for "treason," murder, and horse-stealing were very common. for an instance where the three crimes were treated alike as deserving the death penalty the perpetrators being hung, see calendar of virginia state papers, vol. iii., p. . . "american archives," th series, vol. vi., p. . but parties of young braves went on the war-path from time to time. . _do._, vol iii., p. . . _do._, vol. vi., p. . . see milfort, pp. , , etc. . "american archives," th series, vol. i., p. , for example of fight between choctaws and creeks. . _do._, vol. iv., p. . letter of agent john stuart to general gage, st. augustine, oct. , . . state department mss. no. , vol. ii., p. . letter of david taitt, deputy superintendent (of british) in creek nation. . "american archives," vol. iii., p. , august , . _do.,_ p. september , . . state department mss., no. , vol. ii., p. (volume of "intercepted letters"). letters of andrew rainsford, john mitchell, and alex mccullough, to rt. hon. lord george germain. . no body of british troops in the revolution bore such a dark stain on its laurels as the massacre at fort william henry left on the banners of montcalm; even the french, not to speak of the spaniards and mexicans, were to us far more cruel foes than the british, though generally less formidable. in fact the british, as conquerors and rulers in america, though very disagreeable, have not usually been either needlessly cruel nor (relatively speaking) unjust, and compare rather favorably with most other european nations. . though it must be remembered that in our own war with mexico we declined the proffered--and valuable--aid of the comanches. . state department mss. "intercepted letters," pensacola, july , . . _do._ . "am. archives," th series, i., . . stuart and cameron; the latter dwelt among them, and excited them to war. "am. archives," th series, iii., . . the only british attempt made at that time against the southern colonies was in too small force, and failed. . "american archives," th series, vol. iii., p. . . _do.,_ th series, vol. i., p. iii. . _do.,_ th series, vol. vi., p. . . her name was nancy ward. campbell mss., haywood, etc. . ramsey, . the buffalo were killed (winter of - ) twelve miles northeast of carter's valley. . haywood and his followers erroneously call it heaton's: in the campbell mss., as well as the "am. archives," th series, i., p. , it is called eaton's or amos eaton's. this is contemporary authority. other forts were evan shelby's, john shelby's, campbell's, the wommack fort, etc. . "am. archives," th series, i., . . "american pioneers," i., . letter of benjamin sharp, who was in the fort at the time as a boy fourteen years old. . many writers speak as if all the indians were in these two bands, which was not so. it is impossible to give their numbers exactly; probably each contained from to warriors. . james thompson, james shelby, william buchanan, john campbell, william cocke, and thomas madison. see their letter of august , , "am. archives," th series, i., . haywood, relying on tradition, says five companies gathered; he is invaluable as an authority, but it must be kept in mind that he often relies on traditional statement. . the report of the six captains says "two divisions"; from haywood we learn that the two divisions were two lines, evidently marching side by side, there being a right line and a left line. . see james smith, _passim._ . among the later campbell mss. are a number of copies of papers containing traditional accounts of this battle. they are mostly very incorrect, both as to the numbers and losses of the indians and whites, and as to the battle itself very little help can be derived from them. . campbell mss. . campell mss. . tennessee historians sometimes call it the battle of long island; which confuses it with washington's defeat of about the same date. . the captains' report says the indians were "not inferior" in numbers; they probably put them at a maximum. haywood and all later writers greatly exaggerate the indian numbers; as also their losses, which are commonly placed at "over ," of " being left dead on the ground." in reality only were so left; but in the various skirmishes on the watauga about this time, from the middle of july to the middle of august, the backwoodsmen took in all scalps, and one prisoner ("american archives," th series, i., ). this is probably the origin of the " dead" story; the "over " being merely a flourish. ramsey gives a story about isaac shelby rallying the whites to victory, and later writers of course follow and embellish this; but shelby's ms. autobiography (see copy in col. durrett's library at louisville) not only makes no mention of the battle, but states that shelby was at this time in kentucky; he came back in august or september, and so was hundreds of miles from the place when the battle occurred. ramsey gives a number of anecdotes of ferocious personal encounters that took place during the battle. some of them are of very doubtful value--for instance that of the man who killed six of the most daring indians himself (the total number killed being only thirteen), and the account of the indians all retreating when they saw another of their champions vanquished. the climax of absurdity is reached by a recent writer, mr. kirke, who, after embodying in his account all the errors of his predecessors and adding several others on his own responsibility, winds up by stating that "two hundred and ten men under sevier and [isaac] shelby ... beat back ... fifteen thousand indians." these numbers can only be reached by comparing an exaggerated estimate of all the cherokees, men, women, and children, with the white men encountered by a very small proportion of the red warriors in the first two skirmishes. moreover, as already shown, shelby was nowhere near the scene of conflict, and sevier was acting as robertson's subaltern. . another fort, called fort lee, had been previously held by sevier but had been abandoned; see phelan, p. . . "american archives," th series, i., ; women and children. . campbell mss. haywood says that the first help came from evan shelby; col. russell, at baton's station proving dilatory. in the campbell mss. are some late letters written by sons of the captain campbell who took part in the island flats fight, denying this statement. . "american archives," th series, i., . of the watauga settlers eighteen men, two women, and several children had been killed; two or three were taken captive. of the indians twenty-six were scalped; doubtless several others were slain. of course these figures only apply to the watauga neighborhood. . _do.,_ p . . "history of georgia," hugh mccall, savannah, , p. . . "am. archives," th series, i., . . _do.,_ th series, vi, . . _do.,_ th series, i., . . _do.,_ th series, i., , and iii., . the georgia frontiersmen seem to have been peculiarly brutal in their conduct to the creeks; but the latter were themselves very little, if at all, better. . mccall; five families captured, in three skirmishes eight whites were killed and six indian scalps taken. . mccall; the tennessee historians erroneously assign the command to col. mcbury. . "view of south carolina," john drayton, charleston, , p. . a very good book. . more exactly two hundred and twenty-two, on the th of july. . _e.g._, at hogskin creek and barker's creek. . lyndley's fort, on rayborn creek. . eleven hundred and fifty-one, of whom one hundred and thirty were riflemen. he was camped at twenty-three mile creek. . at tomassee, where he put to flight a body of two or three hundred warriors, he lost eight killed and fifteen wounded, and at tugelou, four wounded. besides these two towns, he also destroyed soconee, keowee, ostatay, cherokee, eustustie, sugaw town, and brass town. . all militia of course, with only the training they had received on the rare muster days; but a warlike set, utterly unlike ordinary militia, and for woodland work against savages in many respects much superior to european regulars. this campaign against the cherokees was infinitely more successful than that waged in against the same foe by armies of grenadiers and highlanders. . that is, after the return of the south carolinians from their destruction of the lower towns. . "historical sketches of north carolina," john h. wheeler, phil., , p. . . "am. archives," th series, vol. ii., p. . . up hominy creek, across the pigeon, up richland creek, across tuckaseigee river, over cowee mount. . "am. archives," th series, ii., p. . . _do._ . drayton. there was a good deal of jealousy between the two armies and their reports conflict on some points. . there is some conflict in the accounts of the destruction of the valley towns; after carefully comparing the accounts in the "american archives," drayton, white, ramsey, etc., i believe that the above is substantially accurate. however it is impossible to reconcile all of the accounts of the relative order of rutherford's and williamson's marches. . drayton; the "am. archives" say only twelve killed and twenty wounded. in another skirmish at cheowee three south carolinians were killed. . "am. archives," th series, ii., p. . . _do._ . _do._, p. ; drayton puts the total cherokee loss at two hundred. . _do._, vol iii., p. . . these two events took place on september th and th; "am. archives," th series, vol. ii., p. . ramsey is thus wrong in saying no white was killed on this expedition. . mcafee mss.; one of the mcafees went along and preserved a rough diary of dates. . "history of virginia," john burke (continued by l. h. girardin), petersburg, , p. . . after camping a few days at double springs, the head-waters of lick creek, to let all the watauga men come up. . they sent spies in advance. the trail led through forests and marshy canebrakes; across nolichucky, up long creek and down dunplin creek to the french broad. haywood and ramsey. . mcafee mss. . nov. th. _do._ . nov. th. _do._ . the boundary then established between the cherokees and watauga people was known as brown's line. . as a very rough guess after a careful examination of all the authorities, it may be said that in this war somewhat less than two hundred indians were slain, all warriors. the loss of the whites in war was probably no greater; but it included about as many more women and children. so that perhaps two or three times as many whites as indians were killed, counting in every one. chapter xii. growth and civil organization of kentucky, . by the end of kentucky had been occupied by those who were permanently to hold it. stouthearted men, able to keep what they had grasped moved in, and took with them their wives and children. there was also of course a large shifting element, composing, indeed, the bulk of the population: hunters who came out for the season; "cabinners," or men who merely came out to build a cabin and partially clear a spot of ground, so as to gain a right to it under the law; surveyors, and those adventurers always to be found in a new country, who are too restless, or too timid, or too irresolute to remain. the men with families and the young men who intended to make permanent homes formed the heart of the community, the only part worth taking into account. there was a steady though thin stream of such immigrants, and they rapidly built up around them a life not very unlike that which they had left behind with their old homes. even in there was marrying and giving in marriage, and children were born in kentucky. the new-comers had to settle in forts, where the young men and maidens had many chances for courtship. they married early, and were as fruitful as they were hardy.[ ] most of these marriages were civil contracts, but some may have been solemnized by clergymen, for the commonwealth received from the outset occasional visits from ministers. these ministers belonged to different denominations, but all were sure of a hearing. the backwoodsmen were forced by their surroundings to exercise a grudging charity towards the various forms of religious belief entertained among themselves--though they hated and despised french and spanish catholics. when off in the wilderness they were obliged to take a man for what he did, not for what he thought. of course there were instances to the contrary, and there is an amusing and authentic story of two hunters, living alone and far from any settlement, who quarrelled because one was a catholic and the other a protestant. the seceder took up his abode in a hollow tree within speaking distance of his companion's cabin. every day on arising they bade each other good-morning; but not another word passed between them for the many months during which they saw no other white face.[ ] there was a single serious and important, albeit only partial, exception to this general rule of charity. after the outbreak of the revolution, the kentuckians, in common with other backwoodsmen, grew to thoroughly dislike one religious body which they already distrusted; this was the church of england, the episcopal church. they long regarded it as merely the persecuting ecclesiastical arm of the british government. such of them as had been brought up in any faith at all had for the most part originally professed some form of calvinism; they had very probably learnt their letters from a primer which in one of its rude cuts represented john rogers at the stake, surrounded by his wife and seven children, and in their after lives they were more familiar with the "pilgrim's progress" than with any other book save the bible; so that it was natural for them to distrust the successors of those who had persecuted rogers and bunyan.[ ] still, the border communities were, as times then went very tolerant in religious matters; and of course most of the men had no chance to display, or indeed to feel, sectarianism of any kind, for they had no issue to join, and rarely a church about which to rally. by the time kentucky was settled the baptists had begun to make headway on the frontier, at the expense of the presbyterians. the rough democracy of the border welcomed a sect which was itself essentially democratic. to many of the backwoodsmen's prejudices, notably their sullen and narrow hostility towards all rank, whether or not based on merit and learning, the baptists' creed appealed strongly. where their preachers obtained foothold, it was made a matter of reproach to the presbyterian clergymen that they had been educated in early life for the ministry as for a profession. the love of liberty, and the defiant assertion of equality, so universal in the backwoods, and so excellent in themselves, sometimes took very warped and twisted forms, notably when they betrayed the backwoodsmen into the belief that the true democratic spirit forbade any exclusive and special training for the professions that produce soldiers, statesmen, or ministers. the fact that the baptist preachers were men exactly similar to their fellows in all their habits of life, not only gave them a good standing at once, but likewise enabled them very early to visit the farthest settlements, travelling precisely like other backwoodsmen; and once there, each preacher, each earnest professor, doing bold and fearless missionary work, became the nucleus round which a little knot of true believers gathered. two or three of them made short visits to kentucky during the first few years of its existence. one, who went thither in the early spring of , kept a journal of his trip.[ ] he travelled over the wilderness road with eight other men. three of them were baptists like himself, who prayed every night; and their companions, though they did not take part in the praying, did not interrupt it. their journey through the melancholy and silent wilderness resembled in its incidents the countless other similar journeys that were made at that time and later. they suffered from cold and hunger and lack of shelter; they became footsore and weary, and worn out with driving the pack-horses. on the top of the lonely cumberland mountains they came upon the wolf-eaten remains of a previous traveller, who had recently been killed by indians. at another place they met four men returning--cowards, whose hearts had failed them when in sight of the promised land. while on the great indian war-trail they killed a buffalo, and thenceforth lived on its jerked meat. one night the wolves smelt the flesh, and came up to the camp-fire; the strong hunting-dogs rushed out with clamorous barking to drive them away, and the sudden alarm for a moment made the sleepy wayfarers think that roving indians had attacked them. when they reached crab orchard their dangers were for the moment past; all travellers grew to regard with affection the station by this little grove of wild apple-trees. it is worthy of note that the early settlers loved to build their homes near these natural orchards, moved by the fragrance and beauty of the bloom in spring.[ ] the tired baptist was not overpleased with harrodstown, though he there listened to the preaching of one of his own sect.[ ] he remarked "a poor town it was in those days," a couple of rows of smoky cabins, tenanted by dirty women and ragged children, while the tall, unkempt frontiersmen lounged about in greasy hunting-shirts, breech-clouts, leggings, and moccasins. there was little or no corn until the crops were gathered, and, like the rest, he had to learn to eat wild meat without salt. the settlers,--as is always the case in frontier towns where the people are wrapped up in their own pursuits and rivalries, and are obliged to talk of one another for lack of outside interests,--were divided by bickering, gossiping jealousies; and at this time they were quarrelling as to whether the virginian cabin-rights or henderson's land-grants would prove valid. as usual, the zealous baptist preacher found that the women were the first to "get religion," as he phrased it. sometimes their husbands likewise came in with them; at other times they remained indifferent. often they savagely resented their wives and daughters being converted, visiting on the head of the preacher an anger that did not always find vent in mere words; for the backwoodsmen had strong, simple natures, powerfully excited for good or evil, and those who were not god-fearing usually became active and furious opponents of all religion. it is curious to compare the description of life in a frontier fort as given by this undoubtedly prejudiced observer with the equally prejudiced, but golden- instead of sombre-hued, reminiscences of frontier life, over which the pioneers lovingly lingered in their old age. to these old men the long-vanished stockades seemed to have held a band of brothers, who were ever generous, hospitable, courteous, and fearless, always ready to help one another, never envious, never flinching from any foe.[ ] neither account is accurate; but the last is quite as near the truth as the first. on the border, as elsewhere, but with the different qualities in even bolder contrast, there was much both of good and bad, of shiftless viciousness and resolute honesty. many of the hunters were mere restless wanderers, who soon surrendered their clearings to small farming squatters, but a degree less shiftless than themselves; the latter brought the ground a little more under cultivation, and then likewise left it and wandered onwards, giving place to the third set of frontiersmen, the steady men who had come to stay. but often the first hunters themselves stayed and grew up as farmers and landed proprietors.[ ] many of the earliest pioneers, including most of their leaders, founded families, which took root in the land and flourish to this day, the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of the old-time indian fighters becoming congressmen and judges, and officers in the regular army and in the federal and confederate forces during the civil war.[ ] in fact the very first comers to a wild and dangerous country are apt to be men with fine qualities of heart and head; it is not until they have partly tamed the land that the scum of the frontier drifts into it.[ ] in , as in after years, there were three routes that were taken by immigrants to kentucky. one led by backwoods trails to the greenbriar settlements, and thence down the kanawha to the ohio;[ ] but the travel over this was insignificant compared to that along the others. the two really important routes were the wilderness road, and that by water, from fort pitt down the ohio river. those who chose the latter way embarked in roughly built little flat-boats at fort pitt, if they came from pennsylvania, or else at the old redstone fort on the monongahela, if from maryland or virginia, and drifted down with the current. though this was the easiest method, yet the danger from indians was so very great that most immigrants, the pennsylvanians as well as the marylanders, virginians, and north carolinians,[ ] usually went overland by the wilderness road. this was the trace marked out by boon, which to the present day remains a monument to his skill as a practical surveyor and engineer. those going along it went on foot, driving their horses and cattle. at the last important frontier town they fitted themselves out with pack-saddles; for in such places two of the leading industries were always those of the pack-saddle maker and the artisan in deer leather. when there was need, the pioneer could of course make a rough pack-saddle for himself, working it up from two forked branches of a tree. if several families were together, they moved slowly in true patriarchal style. the elder boys drove the cattle, which usually headed the caravan; while the younger children were packed in crates of hickory withes and slung across the backs of the old quiet horses, or else were seated safely between the great rolls of bedding that were carried in similar fashion. the women sometimes rode and sometimes walked, carrying the babies. the men, rifle on shoulder, drove the pack-train, while some of them walked spread out in front, flank, and rear, to guard against the savages.[ ] a tent or brush lean-to gave cover at night. each morning the men packed the animals while the women cooked breakfast and made ready the children. special care had to be taken not to let the loaded animals brush against the yellow-jacket nests, which were always plentiful along the trail in the fall of the year; for in such a case the vicious swarms attacked man and beast, producing an immediate stampede, to the great detriment of the packs.[ ] in winter the fords and mountains often became impassable, and trains were kept in one place for weeks at a time, escaping starvation only by killing the lean cattle; for few deer at that season remained in the mountains. both the water route and the wilderness road were infested by the savages at all times, and whenever there was open war the sparsely settled regions from which they started were likewise harried. when the northwestern tribes threatened fort pitt and fort henry--or pittsburg and wheeling, as they were getting to be called,--they threatened one of the two localities which served to cover the communications with kentucky; but it was far more serious when the holston region was menaced, because the land travel was at first much the more important. the early settlers of course had to suffer great hardship even when they reached kentucky. the only two implements the men invariably carried were the axe and rifle, for they were almost equally proud of their skill as warriors, hunters, and wood-choppers. next in importance came the sickle or scythe. the first three tasks of the pioneer farmer were to build a cabin, to make a clearing--burning the brush, cutting down the small trees, and girdling the large--and to plant corn. until the crop ripened he hunted steadily, and his family lived on the abundant game, save for which it would have been wholly impossible to have settled kentucky so early. if it was winter-time, however, all the wild meat was very lean and poor eating, unless by chance a bear was found in a hollow tree, when there was a royal feast, the breast of the wild turkey serving as a substitute for bread.[ ] if the men were suddenly called away by an indian inroad, their families sometimes had to live for days on boiled tops of green nettles.[ ] naturally the children watched the growth of the tasselled corn with hungry eagerness until the milky ears were fit for roasting. when they hardened, the grains were pounded into hominy in the hominy-block, or else ground into meal in the rough hand-mill, made of two limestones in a hollow sycamore log. until flax could be grown the women were obliged to be content with lint made from the bark of dead nettles. this was gathered in the spring-time by all the people of a station acting together, a portion of the men standing guard while the rest, with the women and children, plucked the dead stalks. the smart girls of irish ancestry spun many dozen cuts of linen from this lint, which was as fine as flax but not so strong.[ ] neither hardship nor danger could render the young people downhearted, especially when several families, each containing grown-up sons and daughters, were living together in almost every fort. the chief amusements were hunting and dancing. there being no permanent ministers, even the gloomy calvinism of some of the pioneers was relaxed. long afterwards one of them wrote, in a spirit of quaint apology, that "dancing was not then considered criminal,"[ ] and that it kept up the spirits of the young people, and made them more healthy and happy; and recalling somewhat uneasily the merriment in the stations, in spite of the terrible and interminable indian warfare, the old moralist felt obliged to condemn it, remarking that, owing to the lack of ministers of the gospel, the impressions made by misfortune were not improved. though obliged to be very careful and to keep their families in forts, and in spite of a number of them being killed by the savages,[ ] the settlers in were able to wander about and explore the country thoroughly,[ ] making little clearings as the basis of "cabin claims," and now and then gathering into stations which were for the most part broken up by the indians and abandoned.[ ] what was much more important, the permanent settlers in the well-established stations proceeded to organize a civil government. they by this time felt little but contempt for the henderson or transylvania government. having sent a petition against it to the provincial authorities, they were confident that what faint shadow of power it still retained would soon vanish; so they turned their attention to securing a representation in the virginia convention. all kentucky was still considered as a part of fincastle county, and the inhabitants were therefore unrepresented at the capital. they determined to remedy this; and after due proclamation, gathered together at harrodstown early in june, . during five days an election was held, and two delegates were chosen to go to williamsburg, then the seat of government. this was done at the suggestion of clark, who, having spent the winter in virginia had returned to kentucky in the spring. he came out alone and on foot, and by his sudden appearance surprised the settlers not a little. the first to meet him was a young lad,[ ] who had gone a few miles out of harrodstown to turn some horses on the range. the boy had killed a teal duck that was feeding in a spring, and was roasting it nicely at a small fire, when he was startled by the approach of a fine soldierly man, who hailed him: "how do you do my little fellow? what is your name? ar'n't you afraid of being in the woods by yourself?" the stranger was evidently hungry, for on being invited to eat he speedily finished the entire duck; and when the boy asked his name he answered that it was clark, and that he had come out to see what the brave fellows in kentucky were doing, and to help them if there was need. he took up his temporary abode at harrodstown--visiting all the forts, however, and being much in the woods by himself,--and his commanding mind and daring, adventurous temper speedily made him, what for ten critical years he remained, the leader among all the bold "hunters of kentucky"--as the early settlers loved to call themselves. he had advised against delegates to the convention being chosen, thinking that instead the kentuckians should send accredited agents to treat with the virginian government. if their terms were not agreed to, he declared that they ought to establish forthwith an independent state; an interesting example of how early the separatist spirit showed itself in kentucky. but the rest of the people were unwilling to go quite as far. they elected two delegates, clark of course being one. with them they sent a petition for admission as a separate county. they were primarily farmers, hunters, indian fighters--not scholars; and their petition was couched in english that was at times a little crooked; but the idea at any rate was perfectly straight, and could not be misunderstood. they announced that if they were admitted they would cheerfully cooperate in every measure to secure the public peace and safety, and at the same time pointed out with marked emphasis "how impolitical it would be to suffer such a respectable body of prime riflemen to remain in a state of neutrality" during the then existing revolutionary struggle.[ ] armed with this document and their credentials, clark and his companion set off across the desolate and indian-haunted mountains. they travelled very fast, the season was extremely wet, and they did not dare to kindle fires for fear of the indians; in consequence they suffered torments from cold, hunger, and especially from "scalded" feet. yet they hurried on, and presented their petition to the governor[ ] and council--the legislature having adjourned. clark also asked for five hundred-weight of gunpowder, of which the kentucky settlement stood in sore and pressing need. this the council at first refused to give; whereupon clark informed them that if the country was not worth defending, it was not worth claiming, making it plain that if the request was not granted, and if kentucky was forced to assume the burdens of independence, she would likewise assume its privileges. after this plain statement the council yielded. clark took the powder down the ohio river, and got it safely through to kentucky; though a party sent under john todd to convey it overland from the limestone creek was met at the licking and defeated by the indians, clark's fellow delegate being among the killed. before returning clark had attended the fall meeting of the virginia legislature, and in spite of the opposition of henderson, who was likewise present, he procured the admission of kentucky as a separate county, with boundaries corresponding to those of the present state. early in the ensuing year, , the county was accordingly organized; harrodstown, or harrodsburg, as it was now beginning to be called, was made the county seat, having by this time supplanted boonsborough in importance. the court was composed of the six or eight men whom the governor of virginia had commissioned as justices of the peace; they were empowered to meet monthly to transact necessary business, and had a sheriff and clerk.[ ] these took care of the internal concerns of the settlers. to provide for their defence a county lieutenant was created, with the rank of colonel,[ ] who forthwith organized a militia regiment, placing all the citizens, whether permanent residents or not, into companies and battalions. finally, two burgesses were chosen to represent the county in the general assembly of virginia.[ ] in later years daniel boon himself served as a kentucky burgess in the virginia legislature;[ ] a very different body from the little transylvanian parliament in which he began his career as a law-maker. the old backwoods hero led a strange life: varying his long wanderings and explorations, his endless campaigns against savage men and savage beasts, by serving as road-maker, town-builder, and commonwealth-founder, sometimes organizing the frontiersmen for foreign war, and again doing his share in devising the laws under which they were to live and prosper. but the pioneers were speedily drawn into a life-and-death struggle which engrossed their whole attention to the exclusion of all merely civil matters; a struggle in which their land became in truth what the indians called it--a dark and bloody ground, a land with blood-stained rivers.[ ] it was impossible long to keep peace on the border between the ever-encroaching whites and their fickle and blood-thirsty foes. the hard, reckless, often brutalized frontiersmen, greedy of land and embittered by the memories of untold injuries, regarded all indians with sullen enmity, and could not be persuaded to distinguish between the good and the bad.[ ] the central government was as powerless to restrain as to protect these far-off and unruly citizens. on the other hand, the indians were as treacherous as they were ferocious; delawares, shawnees, wyandots, and all.[ ] while deceiving the commandants of the posts by peaceful protestations, they would steadily continue their ravages and murders; and while it was easy to persuade a number of the chiefs and warriors of a tribe to enter into a treaty, it was impossible to make the remainder respect it.[ ] the chiefs might be for peace, but the young braves were always for war, and could not be kept back.[ ] in july, , the delawares, shawnees, and mingo chiefs assembled at fort pitt and declared for neutrality;[ ] the iroquois ambassadors, who were likewise present, haughtily announced that their tribes would permit neither the british nor the americans to march an army through their territory. they disclaimed any responsibility for what might be done by a few wayward young men; and requested the delawares and shawnees to do as they had promised, and to distribute the iroquois "talk" among their people. after the indian fashion, they emphasized each point which they wished kept in mind by the presentation of a string of wampum.[ ] yet at this very time a party of mingos tried to kill the american indian agents, and were only prevented by cornstalk, whose noble and faithful conduct was so soon to be rewarded by his own brutal murder. moreover, while the shawnee chief was doing this, some of his warriors journeyed down to the cherokees and gave them the war belt, assuring them that the wyandots and mingos would support them, and that they themselves had been promised ammunition by the french traders of detroit and the illinois.[ ] on their return home this party of shawnees scalped two men in kentucky near the big bone lick, and captured a woman; but they were pursued by the kentucky settlers, two were killed and the woman retaken.[ ] throughout the year the outlook continued to grow more and more threatening. parties of young men kept making inroads on the settlements, especially in kentucky; not only did the shawnees, wyandots, mingos, and iroquois[ ] act thus, but they were even joined by bands of ottawas, pottawatomies, and chippewas from the lakes, who thus attacked the white settlers long ere the latter had either the will or the chance to hurt them. until the spring of [ ] the outbreak was not general, and it was supposed that only some three or four hundred warriors had taken up the tomahawk.[ ] yet the outlying settlers were all the time obliged to keep as sharp a look-out as if engaged in open war. throughout the summer of the kentucky settlers were continually harassed. small parties of indians were constantly lurking round the forts, to shoot down the men as they hunted or worked in the fields, and to carry off the women. there was a constant and monotonous succession of unimportant forays and skirmishes. one band of painted marauders carried off boon's daughter. she was in a canoe with two other girls on the river near boonsborough when they were pounced on by five indians.[ ] as soon as he heard the news boon went in pursuit with a party of seven men from the fort, including the three lovers of the captured girls. after following the trail all of one day and the greater part of two nights, the pursuers came up with the savages, and, rushing in, scattered or slew them before they could either make resistance or kill their captives. the rescuing party then returned in triumph to the fort. thus for two years the pioneers worked in the wilderness, harassed by unending individual warfare, but not threatened by any formidable attempt to oust them from the lands that they had won. during this breathing spell they established civil government, explored the country, planted crops, and built strongholds. then came the inevitable struggle. when in the snows began to melt before the lengthening spring days, the riflemen who guarded the log forts were called on to make head against a series of resolute efforts to drive them from kentucky. . imlay, p. , estimated that from natural increase the population of kentucky doubled every fifteen years,--probably an exaggeration. . hale's "trans-alleghany pioneers," p. . . "pioneer life in kentucky," daniel drake, cincinnati, , p. (an invaluable work). . ms. autobiography of rev. william hickman. he was born in virginia, february , . a copy in col. durrett's library at louisville, ky. . there were at least three such "crab-orchard" stations in virginia, kentucky, and tennessee. the settlers used the word "crab" precisely as shakespeare does. . a mr. finley. hickman ms. . mcafee mss. . mcafee mss. . such was the case with the clarks, boons, seviers, shelbys, robertsons, logans, cockes, crocketts, etc.; many of whose descendants it has been my good-fortune personally to know. . this is as true to-day in the far west as it was formerly in kentucky and tennessee; at least to judge by my own experience in the little missouri region, and in portions of the kootenai, coeur d'alene, and bighorn countries. . mcafee mss. see also "trans-alleghany pioneers," p. iii. as mr. hale points out, this route, which was travelled by floyd, bullitt, the mcafees, and many others, has not received due attention, even in colonel speed's invaluable and interesting "wilderness road." . up to the kentucky immigrants came from the backwoods of pennsylvania, maryland, virginia, and north carolina, and were of almost precisely the same character as those that went to tennessee. see imlay, p. . at the close of the revolutionary war, tennessee and kentucky were almost alike in population. but after that time the population of kentucky rapidly grew varied, and the great immigration of upper-class virginians gave it a peculiar stamp of its own. by , when logan was defeated for governor, the control of kentucky had passed out of the hands of the pioneers; whereas in tennessee the old indian fighters continued to give the tone to the social life of the state, and remained in control until they died. . mcafee mss. just as the mcafee family started for kentucky, the wife of one of their number, george, was confined. the others had to leave her; but at the first long halt the husband hurried back, only to meet his wife on the way; for she had ridden after them just three days after her confinement, taking her baby along. . "pioneer biography," james mcbride (son of a pioneer who was killed by the indians in in kentucky), p. , cincinnati, . one of the excellent series published by robert clarke & co., to whom american historians owe a special and unique debt of gratitude. . mcafee mss. . mcbride, ii., . . mcafee mss. . _do._ . morehead, app. floyd's letter. . they retained few indian names; kentucky in this respect differing from most other sections of the union. the names were either taken from the explorers, as floyd's fork; or from some natural peculiarity, as the licking, so called from the number of game licks along its borders; or else they commemorated some incident. on dreaming creek boon fell asleep and dreamed he was stung by yellow-jackets. the elkhorn was so named because a hunter, having slain a monstrous bull elk, stuck up its horns on a pole at the mouth. at bloody run several men were slain. eagle branch was so called because of the many bald eagles round it. see mcafee mss. . marshall, . . afterwards general william ray. butler, p. . . petition of the committee of west fincastle, dated june , . it is printed in col. john mason brown's "battle of the blue licks" pamphlet. . patrick henry. . among their number were john todd (likewise chosen burgess--in these early days a man of mark often filled several distinct positions at the same time), benj. logan, richard galloway, john bowman, and john floyd; the latter was an educated virginian, who was slain by the indians before his fine natural qualities had time to give him the place he would otherwise assuredly have reached. . the first colonel was john bowman. . john dodd and richard calloway. see diary of geo. rogers clark, in . given by morehead, p. . . butler, . . the iroquois, as well as the cherokees, used these expressions concerning portions of the ohio valley. heckewelder, . . state department mss., no. , vol. vi., march , . . as one instance among many see haldimand mss., letter of lt. col. hamilton, august , , where girty reported, on behalf of the delawares, the tribe least treacherous to the americans, that even these indians were only going in to fort pitt and keeping up friendly relations with its garrison so as to deceive the whites, and that as soon as their corn was ripe they would move off to the hostile tribes. . state department mss., no. , vol. i., p. . letter of captain john doughty. . state department mss., no. , vol. i., p. . examination of john leith. . "am. archives," th series, vol. i., p. . . "the olden time," neville b. craig, ii., p. . . "am. archives," th series, vol. i., p. . . _do_., p. . . _do._, vol. ii., pp. , . . when cornstalk was so foully murdered by the whites; although the outbreak was then already started. . madison mss. but both the american statesmen and the continental officers were so deceived by the treacherous misrepresentations of the indians that they often greatly underestimated the numbers of the indians on the war-path; curiously enough, their figures are frequently much more erroneous than those of the frontiersmen. thus the madison mss. and state department mss. contain statements that only a few hundred northwestern warriors were in the field at the very time that two thousand had been fitted out at detroit to act along the ohio and wabash; as we learn from de peyster's letter to haldimand of may , (in the haldimand mss.). . on july , . the names of the three girls were betsy and fanny callaway and jemima boon, see boon's narrative, and butler, who gives the letter of july , , written by col. john floyd, one of the pursuing party. the names of the lovers, in their order, were samuel henderson (a brother of richard), john holder, and flanders callaway. three weeks after the return to the fort squire boon united in marriage the eldest pair of lovers, samuel henderson and betsey callaway. it was the first wedding that ever took place in kentucky. both the other couples were likewise married a year or two later. the whole story reads like a page out of one of cooper's novels. the two younger girls gave way to despair when captured, but betsey callaway was sure they would be followed and rescued. to mark the line of their flight she broke off twigs from the bushes, and when threatened with the tomahawk for doing this, she tore off strips from her dress. the indians carefully covered their trail, compelling the girls to walk apart, as their captors did, in the thick cane, and to wade up and down the little brooks. boon started in pursuit the same evening. all next day he followed the tangled trail like a bloodhound, and early the following morning came on the indians, camped by a buffalo calf which they had just killed and were about to cook. the rescue was managed very adroitly, for had any warning been given the indians would have instantly killed their captives, according to their invariable custom. boon and floyd each shot one of the savages, and the remaining three escaped almost naked, without gun, tomahawk, or scalping-knife. the girls were unharmed, for the indians rarely molested their captives on the journey to the home towns, unless their strength gave out, when they were tomahawked without mercy. appendices. appendix a--to chapter iv. it is greatly to be wished that some competent person would write a full and true history of our national dealings with the indians. undoubtedly the latter have often suffered terrible injustice at our hands. a number of instances, such as the conduct of the georgians to the cherokees in the early part of the present century, or the whole treatment of chief joseph and his nez percés, might be mentioned, which are indelible blots on our fair fame; and yet, in describing our dealings with the red men as a whole, historians do us much less than justice. it was wholly impossible to avoid conflicts with the weaker race, unless we were willing to see the american continent fall into the hands of some other strong power; and even had we adopted such a ludicrous policy, the indians themselves would have made war upon us. it cannot be too often insisted that they did not own the land; or, at least, that their ownership was merely such as that claimed often by our own white hunters. if the indians really owned kentucky in , then in it was the property of boon and his associates; and to dispossess one party was as great a wrong as to dispossess the other. to recognize the indian ownership of the limitless prairies and forests of this continent--that is, to consider the dozen squalid savages who hunted at long intervals over a territory of a thousand square miles as owning it outright--necessarily implies a similar recognition of the claims of every white hunter, squatter, horse-thief, or wandering cattle-man. take as an example the country round the little missouri. when the cattle-men, the first actual settlers, came into this land in , it was already scantily peopled by a few white hunters and trappers. the latter were extremely jealous of intrusion; they had held their own in spite of the indians, and, like the indians, the inrush of settlers and the consequent destruction of the game meant their own undoing; also, again like the indians, they felt that their having hunted over the soil gave them a vague prescriptive right to its sole occupation, and they did their best to keep actual settlers out. in some cases, to avoid difficulty, their nominal claims were bought up; generally, and rightly, they were disregarded. yet they certainly had as good a right to the little missouri country as the sioux have to most of the land on their present reservations. in fact, the mere statement of the case is sufficient to show the absurdity of asserting that the land really belonged to the indians. the different tribes have always been utterly unable to define their own boundaries. thus the delawares and wyandots, in , though entirely separate nations, claimed and, in a certain sense, occupied almost exactly the same territory. moreover, it was wholly impossible for our policy to be always consistent. nowadays we undoubtedly ought to break up the great indian reservations, disregard the tribal governments, allot the land in severally (with, however, only a limited power of alienation), and treat the indians as we do other citizens, with certain exceptions, for their sakes as well as ours. but this policy, which it would be wise to follow now, would have been wholly impracticable a century since. our central government was then too weak either effectively to control its own members or adequately to punish aggressions made upon them; and even if it had been strong, it would probably have proved impossible to keep entire order over such a vast, sparsely-peopled frontier, with such turbulent elements on both sides. the indians could not be treated as individuals at that time. there was no possible alternative, therefore, to treating their tribes as nations, exactly as the french and english had done before us. our difficulties were partly inherited from these, our predecessors, were partly caused by our own misdeeds, but were mainly the inevitable result of the conditions under which the problem had to be solved; no human wisdom or virtue could have worked out a peaceable solution. as a nation, our indian policy is to be blamed, because of the weakness it displayed, because of its shortsightedness, and its occasional leaning to the policy of the sentimental humanitarians; and we have often promised what was impossible to perform; but there has been little wilful wrong-doing. our government almost always tried to act fairly by the tribes; the governmental agents (some of whom have been dishonest, and others foolish, but who, as a class, have been greatly traduced), in their reports, are far more apt to be unjust to the whites than to the reds; and the federal authorities, though unable to prevent much of the injustice, still did check and control the white borderers very much more effectually than the indian sachems and war-chiefs controlled their young braves. the tribes were warlike and bloodthirsty, jealous of each other and of the whites; they claimed the land for their hunting grounds, but their claims all conflicted with one another; their knowledge of their own boundaries was so indefinite that they were always willing, for inadequate compensation, to sell land to which they had merely the vaguest title; and yet, when once they had received the goods, were generally reluctant to make over even what they could; they coveted the goods and scalps of the whites, and the young warriors were always on the alert to commit outrages when they could do it with impunity. on the other hand, the evil-disposed whites regarded the indians as fair game for robbery and violence of any kind; and the far larger number of well-disposed men, who would not willingly wrong any indian, were themselves maddened by the memories of hideous injuries received. they bitterly resented the action of the government, which, in their eyes, failed to properly protect them, and yet sought to keep them out of waste, uncultivated lands which they did not regard as being any more the property of the indians than of their own hunters. with the best intentions, it was wholly impossible for any government to evolve order out of such a chaos without resort to the ultimate arbitrator--the sword. the purely sentimental historians take no account of the difficulties under which we labored, nor of the countless wrongs and provocations we endured, while grossly magnifying the already lamentably large number of injuries for which we really deserve to be held responsible. to get a fair idea of the indians of the present day, and of our dealings with them, we have fortunately one or two excellent books, notably "hunting grounds of the great west," and "our wild indians," by col. richard i. dodge (hartford, ), and "massacres of the mountains," by j. p. dunn (new york, ). as types of the opposite class, which are worse than valueless, and which nevertheless might cause some hasty future historian, unacquainted with the facts, to fall into grievous error, i may mention, "a century of dishonor," by h. h. (mrs. helen hunt jackson), and "our indian wards," (geo. w. manypenny). the latter is a mere spiteful diatribe against various army officers, and neither its manner nor its matter warrants more than an allusion. mrs. jackson's book is capable of doing more harm because it is written in good english, and because the author, who had lived a pure and noble life, was intensely in earnest in what she wrote, and had the most praiseworthy purpose--to prevent our committing any more injustice to the indians. this was all most proper; every good man or woman should do whatever is possible to make the government treat the indians of the present time in the fairest and most generous spirit, and to provide against any repetition of such outrages as were inflicted upon the nez percés and upon part of the cheyennes, or the wrongs with which the civilized nations of the indian territory are sometimes threatened. the purpose of the book is excellent, but the spirit in which it is written cannot be called even technically honest. as a polemic, it is possible that it did not do harm (though the effect of even a polemic is marred by hysterical indifference to facts.) as a history it would be beneath criticism, were it not that the high character of the author and her excellent literary work in other directions have given it a fictitious value and made it much quoted by the large class of amiable but maudlin fanatics concerning whom it may be said that the excellence of their intentions but indifferently atones for the invariable folly and ill effect of their actions. it is not too much to say that the book is thoroughly untrustworthy from cover to cover, and that not a single statement it contains should be accepted without independent proof; for even those that are not absolutely false, are often as bad on account of so much of the truth having been suppressed. one effect of this is of course that the author's recitals of the many real wrongs of indian tribes utterly fail to impress us, because she lays quite as much stress on those that are non-existent, and on the equally numerous cases where the wrong-doing was wholly the other way. to get an idea of the value of the work, it is only necessary to compare her statements about almost any tribe with the real facts, choosing at random; for instance, compare her accounts of the sioux and the plains tribes generally, with those given by col. dodge in his two books; or her recital of the sandy creek massacre with the facts as stated by mr. dunn--who is apt, if any thing, to lean to the indian's side. these foolish sentimentalists not only write foul slanders about their own countrymen, but are themselves the worst possible advisers on any point touching indian management. they would do well to heed general sheridan's bitter words, written when many easterners were clamoring against the army authorities because they took partial vengeance for a series of brutal outrages: "i do not know how far these humanitarians should be excused on account of their ignorance; but surely it is the only excuse that can give a shadow of justification for aiding and abetting such horrid crimes." appendix b--to chapter v. in mr. shaler's entertaining "history of kentucky," there is an account of the population of the western frontiers, and kentucky, interesting because it illustrates some of the popular delusions on the subject. he speaks (pp. , , ) of kentucky as containing "nearly pure english blood, mainly derived through the old dominion, and altogether from districts that shared the virginian conditions." as much of the blood was pennsylvanian or north carolinian, his last sentence means nothing, unless all the "districts" outside of new england are held to have shared the virginian conditions. turning to marshall (i., ) we see that in about half the people were from virginia, pennsylvania furnishing the next greatest number; and of the virginians most were from a population much more like that of pennsylvania than like that of tide-water virginia; as we learn from twenty sources, such as waddell's "annals of augusta county." mr. shaler speaks of the huguenots and of the scotch immigrants, who came over after , but actually makes no mention of the presbyterian irish or scotch irish, much the most important element in all the west; in fact, on p. , he impliedly excludes any such immigration at all. he greatly underestimates the german element, which was important in west virginia. he sums up by stating that the kentuckians come from the "truly british people," quite a different thing from his statement that they are "english." the "truly british people" consists of a conglomerate of as distinct races as exist anywhere in aryan europe. the erse, welsh, and gaelic immigrants to america are just as distinct from the english, just as "foreign" to them, as are the scandinavians, germans, hollanders, and huguenots--often more so. such early families as the welsh shelbys, and gaelic mcafees are no more english than are the huguenot seviers or the german stoners. even including merely the immigrants from the british isles, the very fact that the welsh, irish, and scotch, in a few generations, fuse with the english instead of each element remaining separate, makes the american population widely different from that of britain; exactly as a flask of water is different from two cans of hydrogen and oxygen gas. mr. shaler also seems inclined to look down a little on the tennesseeans, and to consider their population as composed in part of inferior elements; but in reality, though there are very marked differences between the two commonwealths of kentucky and tennessee, yet they resemble one another more closely, in blood and manners, than either does any other american state; and both have too just cause for pride to make it necessary for either to sneer at the other, or indeed at any state of our mighty federal union. in their origin they were precisely alike; but whereas the original pioneers, the hunters and indian fighters, kept possession of tennessee as long as they lived,--jackson, at sevier's death, taking the latter's place with even more than his power,--in kentucky, on the other hand, after twenty years' rule, the first settlers were swamped by the great inrush of immigration, and with the defeat of logan for governor the control passed into the hands of the same class of men that then ruled virginia. after that date the "tide-water" stock assumed an importance in kentucky it never had in tennessee; and of course the influence of the scotch-irish blood was greatly diminished. mr. shaler's error is trivial compared to that made by another and even more brilliant writer. in the "history of the people of the united states," by professor mcmaster (new york, ), p. , there is a mistake so glaring that it would not need notice, were it not for the many excellencies and wide repute of professor mcmaster's book. he says that of the immigrants to kentucky, most had come "from the neighboring states of carolina and georgia," and shows that this is not a mere slip of the pen, by elaborating the statement in the following paragraphs, again speaking of north and south carolina and georgia as furnishing the colonists to kentucky. this shows a complete misapprehension not only of the feeding-grounds of the western emigration, but of the routes it followed, and of the conditions of the southern states. south carolina furnished very few emigrants to kentucky, and georgia practically none; combined they probably did not furnish as many as new jersey or maryland. georgia was herself a frontier community; she received instead of sending out immigrants. the bulk of the south carolina emigration went to georgia. appendix c--to chapter vi. office of the secretary of state, nashville, tenn., june , . hon. theodore roosevelt, sagamore hill, long island, n. y. dear sir: i was born, "raised," and have always lived in washington county, e. tenn. was born on the "head-waters" of "boone's creek," in said county. i resided for several years in the "boone's creek civil district," in washington county (this some "twenty years ago"), within two miles of the historic tree in question, on which is carved, "d. boon cilled bar &c."; have visited and examined the tree more than once. the tree is a beech, still standing, though fast decaying. it is located some eight miles northeast of jonesboro, the county seat of washington, on the "waters of boone's creek," which creek was named after daniel boone, and on which (creek) it is certain daniel boone "camped" during a winter or two. the tree stands about two miles from the spring, where it has always been understood boone's camp was. more than twenty years ago, i have heard old gentlemen (living in the neighborhood of the tree), who were then from fifty to seventy years old, assert that the carving was on the tree when they were boys, and that the tradition in the community was that the inscription was on the tree when discovered by the first permanent settlers. the posture of the tree is "leaning," so that a "bar," or other animal could ascend it without difficulty. while the letters could be clearly traced when i last looked at them, still because of the expansion of the bark, it was difficult, and i heard old gentlemen years ago remark upon the changed appearance of the inscription from what it was when they _first_ knew it. boone certainly camped for a time under the tree; the creek is named after him (has always been known as boone's creek); the civil district is named after him, and the post-office also. true, the story as to the carving is traditionary, but a man had as well question in that community the authenticity of "holy writ," as the fact that boone carved the inscription on that tree. i am very respectfully john allison. appendix d--to chapter vi. the following copy of an original note of boon's was sent me by judge john n. lea: july the th . sir, the land has been long survayd and not knowing when the money would be rady was the reason of my not returning the works however the may be returned when you pleas. but i must have nother copy of the entry as i have lost that i had when i lost my plating instruments and only have the short field notes. just the corse distance and corner trees pray send me nother copy that i may know how to give it the proper bounderry agreeable to the location and i will send the plat to the offis medetly if you chose it, the expense is as follows survayer's fees l ragesters fees chanman purvisions of the tower -------- l you will also send a copy of the agreement betwixt mr. [illegible] overton and myself where i red the warrants. i am, sir, your omble servant, daniel boone. appendix e--to chapter vii. recently one or two histories of the times and careers of robertson and sevier have been published by "edmund kirke," mr. james r. gilmore. they are charmingly written, and are of real service as calling attention to a neglected portion of our history and making it interesting. but they entirely fail to discriminate between the provinces of history and fiction. it is greatly to be regretted that mr. gilmore did not employ his powers in writing an avowed historical novel treating of the events he discusses; such a work from him would have a permanent value, like robert l. kennedy's "horseshoe robinson." in their present form his works cannot be accepted even as offering material on which to form a judgment, except in so far as they contain repetitions of statements given by ramsey or putnam. i say this with real reluctance, for my relations with mr. gilmore personally have been pleasant. i was at the outset prepossessed in favor of his books; but as soon as i came to study them i found that (except for what was drawn from the printed tennessee state histories) they were extremely untrustworthy. oral tradition has a certain value of its own, if used with great discretion and intelligence; but it is rather startling to find any one blandly accepting as gospel alleged oral traditions gathered one hundred and twenty-five years after the event, especially when they relate to such subjects as the losses and numbers of indian war parties. no man with the slightest knowledge of frontiersmen or frontier life could commit such a mistake. if any one wishes to get at the value of oral tradition of an indian fight a century old, let him go out west and collect the stories of custer's battle, which took place only a dozen years ago. i think i have met or heard of fifty "solitary survivors" of custer's defeat; and i could collect certainly a dozen complete accounts of both it and reno's fight, each believed by a goodly number of men, and no two relating the story in an even approximately similar fashion. mr. gilmore apparently accepts all such accounts indiscriminately, and embodies them in his narrative without even a reference to his authorities. i particularize one or two out of very many instances in the chapters dealing with the cherokee wars. books founded upon an indiscriminate acceptance of any and all such traditions or alleged traditions are a little absurd, unless, as already said, they are avowedly merely historic novels, when they may be both useful and interesting. i am obliged to say with genuine regret, after careful examination of mr. gilmore's books, that i cannot accept any single unsupported statement they contain as even requiring an examination into its probability. i would willingly pass them by without comment, did i not fear that my silence might be construed into an acceptance of their truth. moreover, i notice that some writers, like the editors of the "cyclopedia of american biography," seem inclined to take the volumes seriously. appendix f--to chapter ix. i. (_campbell mss.;_ this letter and the one following are from copies, and the spelling etc., may not be quite as in the originals). camp opposite the mouth of the great kenaway. october -- . dear uncle, i gladly embrace this opportunity to acquaint you that we are all here yet alive through gods mercies, & i sincerely wish that this may find you and your family in the station of health that we left you. i never had anything worth notice to acquaint you with since i left you till now--the express seems to be hurrying, that i cannot write you with the same coolness and deliberation as i would. we arrived at the mouth of the canaway, thursday th. octo. and encamped on a fine piece of ground, with an intent to wait for the governor and his party but hearing that he was going another way we contented ourselves to stay there a few days to rest the troops, &c. where we looked upon ourselves to be in safety till monday morning the th. instant when two of our company went out before day to hunt--to wit val. sevier and james robinson and discovered a party of indians. as i expect you will hear something of our battle before you get this, i have here stated the affair nearly to you: for the satisfaction of the people in your parts in this they have a true state of the memorable battle fought at the mouth of the great canaway on the th. instant. monday morning about half an hour before sunrise, two of capt. russells company discovered a large party of indians about a mile from camp, one of which men was killed, the other made his escape & brought in his intelligence. in two or three minutes after, two of capt. shelby's company came in & confirmed the account, col. andrew lewis being informed thereof immediately ordered col. charles lewis to take the command of men from augusta and with him went capt. dickison, capt. harrison, capt. wilson, capt. john lewis, from augusta and capt. sockridge which made the first division. col. fleming was also ordered to take the command of one hundred and fifty more, consisting of battertout, fincastle & bedford troops,--viz., capt. buford of bedford, capt. lewis of battertout, capt. shelby & capt. russell of fincastle which made the second division. col. lewis marched with his division to the right some distance from the ohio. col. fleming with his division up the bank of the ohio to the left. col. lewis' division had not marched little more than a quarter of a mile from camp when about sunrise, an attack was made on the front of his division in a most vigorous manner by the united tribes indians,--shawnees, delawares, mingoes, taways, and of several other nations, in number not less than eight hundred, and by many thought to be a thousand. in this heavy attack col. charles lewis received a wound which soon after caused his death, and several of his men fell on the spot,--in fact the augusta division was forced to give way to the heavy fire of the enemy. in about the second of a minute after the attack on col. lewis' division, the enemy engaged of col. fleming's division on the ohio and in a short time col. fleming received two balls thro' his left arm and one thro' his breast; and after animating the captains & soldiers in a calm manner to the pursuit of victory returned to the camp. the loss of the brave col's was severely felt by the officers in particular. but the augusta troops being shortly reinforced from camp by col. field with his company, together with capt. m'dowers, capt. matthew's and capt. stewart's from augusta; capt. john lewis, capt. paulins, capt. arbuckle's, and capt. m'clannahan's from battertout. the enemy no longer able to maintain their ground was forced to give way till they were in a line with the troops left in action on branches of ohio by col. fleming. in this precipitate retreat col. field was killed; after which capt. shelby was ordered to take the command. during this time which was till after twelve of the clock, the action continued extremely hot, the close underwood, many steep banks and logs greatly favored their retreat, and the bravest of their men made the _best_ use of themselves, while others were throwing their dead into the ohio, and carrying off the wounded. after twelve the action in a small degree abated, but continued sharp enough till after one o'clock. their long retreat gave them a most advantageous spot of ground; from which it appeared to the officers so difficult to dislodge them, that it was thought most advisable, to stand as the line was then formed, which was about a mile and a quarter in length, and had till then sustained a constant and equal weight of fire from wing to wing. it was till half an hour of sunset they continued firing on us, which we returned to their disadvantage, at length night coming on they found a safe retreat. they had not the satisfaction of scalping any of our men save one or two straglers, whom they killed before the engagement. many of their dead they scalped rather than we should have them, but our troops scalped upwards of twenty of those who were first killed. its beyond a doubt, their loss in numbers far exceeds ours which is considerable. field officers killed--col. charles lewis, & col. john fields. field officers wounded--col. william fleming;--capts. killed, john murray, capt. samuel wilson, capt. robert m'clannahan, capt. james ward. capts. wounded--thomas buford, john dickison & john scidmore. subalterns killed, lieutenant hugh allen, ensign matthew brackin & ensign cundiff; subalterns wounded, lieut. lane, lieut. vance, lieut. goldman, lieut. james robertson; and about killed and wounded. from this sir you may judge that we had a very hard day; its really impossible for me to express or you to conceive the acclamations that we were under,--sometimes the hideous cries of the enemy, and the groans of our wounded men lying around, was enough to shudder the stoutest heart. its the general opinion of the officers that we shall soon have another engagement, as we have now got over into the enemy's country. we expect to meet the governor about forty or fifty miles from here. nothing will save us from another battle, unless they attack the governors party. five men that came in dadys (daddy's) company were killed, i don't know that you were acquainted with any of them, except mark williams who lived with roger top. acquaint mr. carmack that his son was slightly wounded through the shoulder and arm and that he is in a likely way of recovery. we leave him at the mouth of the canaway and one very careful hand to take care of him. there is a garrison and three hundred men left at that place, with a surgeon to heal the wounded. we expect to return to the garrison in about days from the shawny towns. i have nothing more particular to acquaint you with concerning the battle. as to the country i cannot say much in praise of any that i have yet seen. dady intended writing you, but did not know of the express until the time was too short. i have wrote to mammy tho' not so fully to you, as i then expected the express was just going. we seem to be all in a moving posture, just going from this place, so that i must conclude, wishing you health and prosperity until i see you and your family. in the meantime i am your truly affectionate friend and humble servant, isaac shelby. to mr. john shelby, holston river, fincastle county. favd. by mr. benj. gray. ii. (_campbell mss._) october ye st. . dear sir, being on my way home to fincastle court, was overtaken this evening by letters from colo. christian and other gentlemen on the expedition, giving an account of a battle which was fought between our troops & the enemy indians, on the th instant, in the fork of the ohio & the great kanhawa. the particulars of the action, drawn up by colo. andr. lewis i have sent you enclosed, also a return of the killed and wounded, by which you will see that we have lost many brave and valiant officers & soldiers, whose loss to their families, as well as to the community, is very great. colo. christian with the fincastle troops, (except the companies commanded by capts. russell & shelby, who were in the action) were on their march; and on the evening of that day, about miles from field of battle, heard that the action began in the morning. they marched hard, and got to the camp about midnight. the cries of the wounded, without any persons of skill or any thing to nourish people in their unhappy situation, was striking. the indians had crossed the river on rafts, or miles above the forks, in the night, and it is believed, intended to attack the camp, had they not been prevented by our men marching to meet them at the distance of half a mile. it is said the enemy behaved with bravery and great caution, that they frequently damned our men for white sons of bitches. why did they not whistle now? (alluding to the fifes) & that they would learn them to shoot. the governor was then at hockhocking, about or miles below the mouth of the little kanhawa, from whence he intended to march his party to a place called chillicoffee, about miles farther than the towns where it was said the shawneese had assembled with their families and allies, to make a stand, as they had good houses and plenty of ammunition & provisions & had cleared the woods to a great distance from the place. his party who were to march from the camp was about , and to join colo. lewis' party about miles from chillicoffee. but whether the action above mentioned would disconcert this plan or not, i think appears a little uncertain, as there is a probability that his excellency on hearing the news might, with his party, fall down the river and join colo. lewis' party and march together against the enemy. they were about building a breastwork at the forks, & after leaving a proper party to take care of the wounded & the provisions there, that colo. lewis could march upwards of a thousand men to join his lordship, so that the whole when they meet will be about choice men. what may be their success god only knows, but it is highly probable the matter is decided before this time. colo. christian says, from the accounts he had the enemy behaved with inconceivable bravery. the head men walked about in the time of action, exhorting their men "to be close, shoot well, be strong of fight." they had parties planted on the opposite side of both rivers to shoot our men as they swam over, not doubting, as is supposed, but they would gain a complete victory. in the evening late they called to our men "that they had men for them to-morrow, and that they had men now as well as they." they also made very merry about a treaty. poor colo. charles lewis was shot on a clear piece of ground, as he had not taken a tree, encouraging his men to advance. on being wounded he handed his gun to a person nigh him and retired to the camp, telling his men as he passed "i am wounded but go on and be brave." if the loss of a good man a sincere friend, and a brave officer, claims a tear, he certainly is entitled to it. colo. fields was shot at a great tree by two indians on his right, while one on his left was amusing him with talk and the colo. endeavoring to get a shot at him. besides the loss the troops met with in action by colo. fleming who was obliged to retire from the field, which was very great, the wounded met with the most irreparable loss in an able and skillful surgeon. colo. christian says that his (flemings) lungs or part of them came out of the wound in his breast but were pushed back; and by the last part of his letter, which was dated the th. instant, he has some hopes of his recovery. thus, sir, i have given you an account of the action from the several letters i recd., and have only to add, that colo. christian desires me to inform mrs. christian of his welfare, which with great pleasure i do through this channel, and should any further news come, which i much expect soon, i shall take the earliest oppy. of communicating the same to you. it is believed the troops will surely return in nov. i write in a hurry and amidst a crowd of inquisitive people, therefore hope you will excuse the inaccuracy of, d'r. sir, your sincere well wisher & most obedt. servt., wm. preston. p. s. if you please you may give mr. purdie a copy of the enclosed papers, & anything else you may think worthy the notice of the public. iii. logan's speech. there has been much controversy over the genuineness of logan's speech; but those who have questioned it have done so with singularly little reason. in fact its authenticity would never have been impugned at all had it not (wrongly) blamed cresap with killing logan's family. cresap's defenders, with curious folly, have in consequence thought it necessary to show, not that logan was mistaken, but that he never delivered the speech at all. the truth seems to be that cresap, without provocation, but after being incited to war by conolly's letter, murdered some peaceful indians, among whom there were certainly some friends and possibly some relations of logan (see testimony of col. ebenezer zane, in jefferson's notes, and "american pioneer," i., ; also clark's letter in the jefferson papers); but that he had no share in the massacre of logan's family at yellow creek by greathouse and his crew two or three days afterwards. the two massacres occurring so near together, however, produced the impression not only among the indians but among many whites (as shown in the body of this work), that cresap had been guilty of both; and this logan undoubtedly believed, as can be seen by the letter he wrote and left tied to a war club in a murdered settler's house. this was an injustice to cresap; but it was a very natural mistake on logan's part. after the speech was recited it attracted much attention; was published in newspapers, periodicals, etc., and was extensively quoted. jefferson, as we learn from his papers at washington, took it down in , getting it from lord dunmore's officers, and published it in his "notes," in ; unfortunately he took for granted that its allegations as regards cresap were true, and accordingly prefaced it by a very unjust attack on the reputed murderer. until thirteen years after this publication, and until twenty-three years after the speech had been published for the first time, no one thought of questioning it. then luther martin, of maryland, attacked its authenticity, partly because he was cresap's son-in-law, and partly because he was a federalist and a bitter opponent of jefferson. like all of his successors in the same line, he confused two entirely distinct things, viz., the justice of the charge against cresap, and the authenticity of logan's speech. his controversy with jefferson grew very bitter. he succeeded in showing clearly that cresap was wrongly accused by logan; he utterly failed to impugn the authenticity of the latter's speech. jefferson, thanks to a letter he received from clark, must have known that cresap had been accused wrongly; but he was irritated by the controversy, and characteristically refrained in any of his publications from doing justice to the slandered man's memory. a mr. jacobs soon afterwards wrote a life of cresap, in which he attempted both of the feats aimed at by martin; it is quite an interesting production, but exceedingly weak in its arguments. neville b. craig, in the february, , number of _the olden time_, a historical magazine, followed on the same lines. finally, brantz mayer, in his very interesting little book, "logan and cresap," went over the whole matter in a much fairer manner than his predecessors, but still distinctly as an advocate; for though he collected with great industry and gave impartially all the original facts (so that from what he gives alone it is quite possible to prove that the speech is certainly genuine), yet his own conclusions show great bias. thus he severely rules out any testimony against cresap that is not absolutely unquestioned; but admits without hesitation any and every sort of evidence leaning against poor logan's character or the authenticity of his speech. he even goes so far (pp. , ) as to say it is not a "speech" at all,--although it would puzzle a man to know what else to call it, as he also declares it is not a message,--and shows the animus of his work by making the gratuitous suggestion that if logan made it at all he was probably at the time excited "as well by the cruelties he had committed as by liquor." it is necessary, therefore, to give a brief summary of a portion of the evidence in its favor, as well as of all the evidence against it. jefferson's notes and mr. mayer's book go fully into the matter. the evidence in its favor is as follows: ( .) gibson's statement. this is the keystone of the arch. john gibson was a man of note and of unblemished character; he was made a general by washington, and held high appointive positions under madison and jefferson; he was also an associate judge of the court of common pleas in pennsylvania. throughout his life he bore a reputation for absolute truthfulness. he was the messenger who went to logan, heard the speech, took it down, and gave it to lord dunmore. we have his deposition, delivered under oath, that "logan delivered to him the speech nearly as related by mr. jefferson in his notes," when the two were alone together, and that he "on his return to camp delivered the speech to lord dunmore," and that he also at the time told logan he was mistaken about cresap. brantz mayer, who accepts his statement as substantially true, thinks that he probably only reported the _substance_ of logan's speech, or so much of it as he could recollect; but in the state department at washington, among the jefferson papers ( - - ), is a statement by john anderson, a merchant in fredericksburg, who was an indian trader at pittsburg in ; he says that he questioned gibson as to whether he had not himself added something to the speech, to which gibson replied that he had not changed it in any way, but had translated it literally, as well as he could, though he was unable to come up to the force of the expressions in the original. this evidence itself is absolutely conclusive, except on the supposition that gibson was a malicious and infamous liar. the men who argue that the speech was fictitious are also obliged to explain what motive there could possibly have been for the deception; they accordingly advance the theory that it was part of dunmore's (imaginary) treacherous conduct, as he wished to discredit cresap, because he knew--apparently by divination--that the latter was going to be a whig. even granting the earl corrupt motives and a prophetic soul, it remains to be explained why he should wish to injure an obscure borderer, whom nobody has ever heard of except in connection with logan; it would have served the purpose quite as well to have used the equally unknown name of the real offender, greathouse. the fabrication of the speech would have been an absolutely motiveless and foolish transaction; to which gibson, a pronounced whig, must needs have been a party. this last fact shows that there could have been no intention of using the speech in the british interest. ( ) the statement of general george rogers clark. (like the preceding, this can be seen in the jefferson papers.) clark was present in dunmore's camp at the time. he says: "logan's speech to dunmore now came forward as related by mr. jefferson and was generally believed and indeed not doubted to have been genuine and dictated by logan. the army knew it was wrong so far as it respected cresap, and afforded an opportunity of rallying that gentleman on the subject--i discovered that cresap was displeased and told him that he must be a very great man, that the indians shouldered him with every thing that had happened.... logan is the author of the speech as related by mr. jefferson." clark's remembrance of his rallying cresap shows that the speech contained cresap's name and that it was read before the army; several other witnesses, whose names are not necessary to mention, simply corroborate clark's statements, and a large amount of indirect evidence to the same effect could be produced, were there the least necessity. (see jefferson's notes, "the american pioneer," etc., etc.) the evidence against the authenticity of the speech, outside of mere conjectures and inuendoes, is as follows: ( ) logan called cresap a colonel when he was really a captain. this inability of an indian to discriminate accurately between these two titles of frontier militia officers is actually solemnly brought forward as telling against the speech. ( ) logan accused cresap of committing a murder which he had not committed. but, as we have already seen, logan had made the same accusation in his unquestionably authentic letter, written previously; and many whites, as well as indians, thought as logan did. ( ) a col. benj. wilson, who was with dunmore's army, says that "he did not hear the charge preferred in logan's speech against captain cresap." this is mere negative evidence, valueless in any event, and doubly so in view of clark's statement. ( ) mr. neville b. craig, in _olden time_, says in that "many years before a mr. james mckee, the brother of mr. william johnson's deputy, had told him that he had seen the speech in the handwriting of one of the johnsons ... before it was seen by logan." this is a hearsay statement delivered just seventy-three years after the event, and it is on its face so wildly improbable as not to need further comment, at least until there is some explanation as to why the johnsons should have written the speech, how they could possibly have gotten it to logan, and why gibson should have entered into the conspiracy. ( ) a benjamin tomlinson testifies that he believes that the speech was fabricated by gibson; he hints, but does not frankly assert, that gibson was not sent after logan, but that girty was; and swears that he heard the speech read three times and that the name of cresap was not mentioned in it. he was said in later life to bear a good reputation; but in his deposition he admits under oath that he was present at the yellow creek murder (_olden time_, ii., ; the editor, by the way, seems to call him alternately joseph and benjamin); and he was therefore an unconvicted criminal, who connived at or participated in one of the most brutal and cowardly deeds ever done on the frontier. his statement as against gibson's would be worthless anyhow; fortunately his testimony as to the omission of cresap's name from the speech is also flatly contradicted by clark. with the words of two such men against his, and bearing in mind that all that he says against the authenticity of the speech itself is confessedly mere supposition on his part, his statement must be promptly set aside as worthless. if true, by the way, it would conflict with ( ) craig's statement. this is literally all the "evidence" against the speech. it scarcely needs serious discussion; it may be divided into two parts--one containing allegations that are silly, and the other those that are discredited. there is probably very little additional evidence to be obtained, on one side or the other; it is all in, and logan's speech can be unhesitatingly pronounced authentic. doubtless there have been verbal alterations in it; there is not extant a report of any famous speech which does not probably differ in some way from the words as they were actually spoken. there is also a good deal of confusion as to whether the council took place in the indian town, or in dunmore's camp; whether logan was sought out alone in his hut by gibson, or came up and drew the latter aside while he was at the council, etc. in the same way, we have excellent authority for stating that, prior to the battle of the great kanawha, lewis reached the mouth of that river on october st, and that he reached it on october th; that on the day of the attack the troops marched from camp a quarter of a mile, and that they marched three quarters; that the indians lost more men than the whites, and that they lost fewer; that lewis behaved well, and that he behaved badly; that the whites lost men, and that they lost , etc., etc. the conflict of evidence as to the dates and accessory details of logan's speech is no greater than it is as to the dates and accessory details of the murder by greathouse, or as to all the preliminaries of the main battle of the campaign. coming from backwoods sources, it is inevitable that we should have confusion on points of detail; but as to the main question there seems almost as little reason for doubting the authenticity of logan's speech, as for doubting the reality of the battle of the great kanawha. end of vol. i. presidential edition the winning of the west by theodore roosevelt volume three the founding of the trans-alleghany commonwealths - with map this book is dedicated, with his permission to francis parkman to whom americans who feel a pride in the pioneer history of their country are so greatly indebted preface to third volume. the material used herein is that mentioned in the preface to the first volume, save that i have also drawn freely on the draper manuscripts, in the library of the state historical society of wisconsin, at madison. for the privilege of examining these valuable manuscripts i am indebted to the generous courtesy of the state librarian, mr. reuben gold thwaites; i take this opportunity of extending to him my hearty thanks. the period covered in this volume includes the seven years immediately succeeding the close of the revolutionary war. it was during these seven years that the constitution was adopted, and actually went into effect; an event if possible even more momentous for the west than the east. the time was one of vital importance to the whole nation; alike to the people of the inland frontier and to those of the seaboard. the course of events during these years determined whether we should become a mighty nation, or a mere snarl of weak and quarrelsome little commonwealths, with a history as bloody and meaningless as that of the spanish-american states. at the close of the revolution the west was peopled by a few thousand settlers, knit by but the slenderest ties to the federal government. a remarkable inflow of population followed. the warfare with the indians, and the quarrels with the british and spaniards over boundary questions, reached no decided issue. but the rifle-bearing freemen who founded their little republics on the western waters gradually solved the question of combining personal liberty with national union. for years there was much wavering. there were violent separatist movements, and attempts to establish complete independence of the eastern states. there were corrupt conspiracies between some of the western leaders and various high spanish officials, to bring about a disruption of the confederation. the extraordinary little backwoods state of franklin began and ended a career unique in our annals. but the current, though eddying and sluggish, set towards union. by a firm government had been established west of the mountains, and the trans-alleghany commonwealths had become parts of the federal union. theodore roosevelt. sagamore hill, long island, _october_, . contents chapter i. the inrush of settlers, - ii. the indian wars, - iii. the navigation of the mississippi; separatist movements and spanish intrigues, - iv. the state of franklin, - v. kentucky's struggle for statehood, - vi. the northwest territory; ohio, - vii. the war in the northwest, - viii. the southwest territory; tennessee, - [illustration: the western land claims at the close of the revolution. showing also the state of franklin, kentucky, and the cumberland settlements, or miro district. _source:_ based on a map by g. p. putnam's sons, new york and london.] the winning of the west. chapter i. the inrush of settlers, - . at the beginning of peace was a definite fact, and the united states had become one among the nations of the earth; a nation young and lusty in her youth, but as yet loosely knit, and formidable in promise rather than in actual capacity for performance. the western frontier. on the western frontier lay vast and fertile vacant spaces; for the americans had barely passed the threshold of the continent predestined to be the inheritance of their children and children's children. for generations the great feature in the nation's history, next only to the preservation of its national life, was to be its westward growth; and its distinguishing work was to be the settlement of the immense wilderness which stretched across to the pacific. but before the land could be settled it had to be won. the valley of the ohio already belonged to the americans by right of conquest and of armed possession; it was held by rifle-bearing backwoods farmers, hard and tenacious men, who never lightly yielded what once they had grasped. north and south of the valley lay warlike and powerful indian confederacies, now at last thoroughly alarmed and angered by the white advance; while behind these warrior tribes, urging them to hostility, and furnishing them the weapons and means wherewith to fight, stood the representatives of two great european nations, both bitterly hostile to the new america, and both anxious to help in every way the red savages who strove to stem the tide of settlement. the close alliance between the soldiers and diplomatic agents of polished old-world powers and the wild and squalid warriors of the wilderness was an alliance against which the american settlers had always to make head in the course of their long march westward. the kings and the peoples of the old world ever showed themselves the inveterate enemies of their blood-kin in the new; they always strove to delay the time when their own race should rise to wellnigh universal supremacy. in mere blind selfishness, or in a spirit of jealousy still blinder, the europeans refused to regard their kinsmen who had crossed the ocean to found new realms in new continents as entitled to what they had won by their own toil and hardihood. they persisted in treating the bold adventurers who went abroad as having done so simply for the benefit of the men who stayed at home; and they shaped their transatlantic policy in accordance with this idea. the briton and the spaniard opposed the american settler precisely as the frenchman had done before them, in the interest of their own merchants and fur-traders. they endeavored in vain to bar him from the solitudes through which only the indians roved. all the ports around the great lakes were held by the british; [footnote: state dep. mss., no. , vol. ii., march, . report of secretary knox.] their officers, military and civil, still kept possession, administering the government of the scattered french hamlets, and preserving their old-time relations with the indian tribes, whom they continued to treat as allies or feudatories. to the south and west the spaniards played the same part. they scornfully refused to heed the boundary established to the southward by the treaty between england and the united states, alleging that the former had ceded what it did not possess. they claimed the land as theirs by right of conquest. the territory which they controlled stretched from florida along a vaguely defined boundary to the mississippi, up the east bank of the latter at least to the chickasaw bluffs, and thence up the west bank; while the creeks and choctaws were under their influence. the spaniards dreaded and hated the americans even more than did the british, and they were right; for three fourths of the present territory of the united states then lay within the limits of the spanish possessions. [footnote: state dep. mss., no. , vol. ii., pp. , . no. , vol. ii., june , .] thus there were foes, both white and red, to be overcome, either by force of arms or by diplomacy, before the northernmost and the southernmost portions of the wilderness lying on our western border could be thrown open to settlement. the lands lying between had already been conquered, and yet were so sparsely settled as to seem almost vacant. while they offered every advantage of soil and climate to the farmer and cultivator, they also held out peculiar attractions to ambitious men of hardy and adventurous temper. the rush of settlers with the ending of the revolutionary war the rush of settlers to these western lauds assumed striking proportions. the peace relieved the pressure which had hitherto restrained this movement, on the one hand, while on the other it tended to divert into the new channel of pioneer work those bold spirits whose spare energies had thus far found an outlet on stricken fields. to push the frontier westward in the teeth of the forces of the wilderness was fighting work, such as suited well enough many a stout soldier who had worn the blue and buff of the continental line, or who, with his fellow rough-riders, had followed in the train of some grim partisan leader. the people of the new england states and of new york, for the most part, spread northward and westward within their own boundaries; and georgia likewise had room for all her growth within her borders; but in the states between there was a stir of eager unrest over the tales told of the beautiful and fertile lands lying along the ohio, the cumberland, and the tennessee. the days of the early pioneers, of the men who did the hardest and roughest work, were over; farms were being laid out and towns were growing up among the felled forests from which the game and the indians had alike been driven. there was still plenty of room for the rude cabin and stump-dotted clearing of the ordinary frontier settler, the wood-chopper and game hunter. folk of the common backwoods type were as yet more numerous than any others among the settlers. in addition there were planters from among the gentry of the sea-coast; there were men of means who had bought great tracts of wild land; there were traders with more energy than capital; there were young lawyers; there were gentlemen with a taste for an unfettered life of great opportunity; in short there were adventurers of every kind. all men who deemed that they could swim in troubled waters were drawn towards the new country. the more turbulent and ambitious spirits saw roads to distinction in frontier warfare, politics, and diplomacy. merchants dreamed of many fortunate ventures, in connection with the river trade or the overland commerce by packtrain. lawyers not only expected to make their living by their proper calling, but also to rise to the first places in the commonwealths, for in these new communities, as in the older states, the law was then the most honored of the professions, and that which most surely led to high social and political standing. but the one great attraction for all classes was the chance of procuring large quantities of fertile land at low prices. value of the land. to the average settler the land was the prime source of livelihood. a man of hardihood, thrift, perseverance, and bodily strength could surely make a comfortable living for himself and his family, if only he could settle on a good tract of rich soil; and this he could do if he went to the new country. as a matter of course, therefore, vigorous young frontiersmen swarmed into the region so recently won. these men merely wanted so much land as they could till. others, however, looked at it from a very different standpoint. the land was the real treasury-chest of the country. it was the one commodity which appealed to the ambitious and adventurous side of the industrial character at that time and in that place. it was the one commodity the management of which opened chances of procuring vast wealth, and especially vast speculative wealth. to the american of the end of the eighteenth century the roads leading to great riches were as few as those leading to a competency were many. he could not prospect for mines of gold and of silver, of iron, copper, and coal; he could not discover and work wells of petroleum and natural gas; he could not build up, sell, and speculate in railroad systems and steamship companies; he could not gamble in the stock market; he could not build huge manufactories of steel, of cottons, of woollens; he could not be a banker or a merchant on a scale which is dwarfed when called princely; he could not sit still and see an already great income double and quadruple because of the mere growth in the value of real estate in some teeming city. the chances offered him by the fur trade were very uncertain. if he lived in a sea-coast town, he might do something with the clipper ships that ran to europe and china. if he lived elsewhere, his one chance of acquiring great wealth, and his best chance to acquire even moderate wealth without long and plodding labor, was to speculate in wild land. land speculators accordingly the audacious and enterprising business men who would nowadays go into speculation in stocks, were then forced into speculation in land. sometimes as individuals, sometimes as large companies, they sought to procure wild lands on the wabash, the ohio, the cumberland, the yazoo. in addition to the ordinary methods of settlement by, or purchase from private persons, they endeavored to procure grants on favorable terms from the national and state legislatures, or even from the spanish government. they often made a regular practice of buying the land rights which had accrued in lieu of arrears of pay to different bodies of continental troops. they even at times purchased a vague and clouded title from some indian tribe. as with most other speculative business investments, the great land companies rarely realized for the originators and investors anything like what was expected; and the majority were absolute failures in every sense. nevertheless, a number of men made money out of them, often on quite a large scale; and in many instances, where the people who planned and carried out the scheme made nothing for themselves, they yet left their mark in the shape of settlers who had come in to purchase their lands, or even in the shape of a town built under their auspices. land speculation was by no means confined to those who went into it on a large scale. the settler without money might content himself with staking out an ordinary-sized farm; but the new-comer of any means was sure not only to try to get a large estate for his own use, but also to procure land beyond any immediate need, so that he might hold on to it until it rose in value. he was apt to hold commissions to purchase land for his friends who remained east of the mountains. the land was turned to use by private individuals and by corporations; it was held for speculative purposes; it was used for the liquidation of debts of every kind. the official surveyors, when created, did most of their work by deputy; boone was deputy surveyor of fayette county, in kentucky. [footnote: draper mss.; boone mss. entry of august court for .] some men surveyed and staked out their own claims; the others employed professional surveyors, or else hired old hunters like boone and kenton, whose knowledge of woodcraft and acquaintance with the most fertile grounds enabled them not only to survey the land, but to choose the portions best fit for settlement. the lack of proper government surveys, and the looseness with which the records were kept in the land office, put a premium on fraud and encouraged carelessness. people could make and record entries in secret, and have the land surveyed in secret, if they feared a dispute over a title; no one save the particular deputy surveyor employed needed to know. [footnote: draper mss. in wisconsin state hist. ass. clark papers. walter darrell to col. william fleming, st. asaphs, april , . these valuable draper mss, have been opened to me by mr. reuben gold thwaites, the state librarian; i take this opportunity of thanking him for his generous courtesy, to which i am so greatly indebted.] the litigation over these confused titles dragged on with interminable tediousness. titles were often several deep on one "location," as it was called; and whoever purchased land too often purchased also an expensive and uncertain lawsuit. the two chief topics of thought and conversation, the two subjects which beyond all others engrossed and absorbed the minds of the settlers, were the land and the indians. we have already seen how on one occasion clark could raise no men for an expedition against the indians until he closed the land offices round which the settlers were thronging. every hunter kept a sharp lookout for some fertile bottom on which to build a cabin. the volunteers who rode against the indian towns also spied out the land and chose the best spots whereon to build their blockhouses and palisaded villages as soon as a truce might be made, or the foe driven for the moment farther from the border. sometimes settlers squatted on land already held but not occupied under a good title; sometimes a man who claimed the land under a defective title, or under pretence of original occupation, attempted to oust or to blackmail him who had cleared and tilled the soil in good faith; and these were both fruitful causes not only of lawsuits but of bloody affrays. among themselves, the settlers' talk ran ever on land titles and land litigation, and schemes for securing vast tracts of rich and well watered country. these were the subjects with which they filled their letters to one another and to their friends at home, and the subjects upon which these same friends chiefly dwelt when they sent letters in return. [footnote: clay mss. and draper mss., _passim: e.g._, in former, j. mercer to george nicholas, nov. , ; j. ware to george nicholas, nov. , ; letter to mrs. byrd, jan. , , etc., etc., etc.] often well-to-do men visited the new country by themselves first, chose good sites for their farms and plantations, surveyed and purchased them, and then returned to their old homes, whence they sent out their field hands to break the soil and put up buildings before bringing out their families. lines followed in the western movement. the westward movement of settlers took place along several different lines. the dwellers in what is now eastern tennessee were in close touch with the old settled country; their western farms and little towns formed part of the chain of forest clearings which stretched unbroken from the border of virginia down the valleys of the watauga and the holston. though they were sundered by mountain ranges from the peopled regions in the state to which they belonged, north carolina, yet these ranges were pierced by many trails, and were no longer haunted by indians. there were no great obstacles to be overcome in moving in to this valley of the upper tennessee. on the other hand, by this time it held no very great prizes in the shape of vast tracts of rich and unclaimed land. in consequence there was less temptation to speculation among those who went to this part of the western country. it grew rapidly, the population being composed chiefly of actual settlers who had taken holdings with the purpose of cultivating them, and of building homes thereon. the entire frontier of this region was continually harassed by indians; and it was steadily extended by the home-planting of the rifle-bearing backwoodsmen. the cumberland country. the danger from indian invasion and outrage was, however, far greater in the distant communities which were growing up in the great bend of the cumberland, cut off, as they were, by immense reaches of forest from the seaboard states. the settlers who went to this region for the most part followed two routes, either descending the tennessee and ascending the cumberland in flotillas of flat-boats and canoes, or else striking out in large bodies through the wilderness, following the trails that led westward from the settlements on the holston. the population on the cumberland did not increase very fast for some years after the close of the revolutionary war; and the settlers were, as a rule, harsh, sturdy backwoodsmen, who lived lives of toil and poverty. nevertheless, there was a good deal of speculation in cumberland lands; great tracts of tens of thousands of acres were purchased by men of means in the old districts of north carolina, who sometimes came out to live on their estates. the looseness of the system of surveying in vogue is shown by the fact that where possible these lands were entered and paid for under a law which allowed a warrant to be shifted to new soil if it was discovered that the first entry was made on what was already claimed by some one else. [footnote: clay mss., jesse benton to thos. hart, april , .] hamlets and homesteads were springing up on the left bank of the upper ohio, in what is now west virginia; and along the streams flowing into it from the east. a few reckless adventurers were building cabins on the right bank of this great river. others, almost as adventurous, were pushing into the neighborhood of the french villages on the wabash and in the illinois. at louisville men were already planning to colonize the country just opposite on the ohio, under the law of the state of virginia, which rewarded the victorious soldiers of clark's famous campaign with grants in the region they had conquered. movement of settlers to kentucky. the great growth of the west took place in kentucky. the kentucky country was by far the most widely renowned for its fertility; it was much more accessible and more firmly held, and its government was on a more permanent footing than was the case in the wabash, illinois, and cumberland regions. in consequence the majority of the men who went west to build homes fixed their eyes on the vigorous young community which lay north of the ohio, and which already aspired to the honors of statehood. the wilderness road to kentucky. the immigrants came into kentucky in two streams, following two different routes--the ohio river, and boone's old wilderness trail. those who came overland, along the latter road, were much fewer in number than those who came by water; and yet they were so numerous that the trail at times was almost thronged, and much care had to be taken in order to find camping places where there was enough feed for the horses. the people who travelled this wilderness road went in the usual backwoods manner, on horseback, with laden packtrains, and often with their herds and flocks. young men went out alone or in parties; and groups of families from the same neighborhood often journeyed together. they struggled over the narrow, ill-made roads which led from the different back settlements, until they came to the last outposts of civilization east of the cumberland mountains; scattered block-houses, whose owners were by turns farmers, tavern-keepers, hunters, and indian fighters. here they usually waited until a sufficient number had gathered together to furnish a band of riflemen large enough to beat off any prowling party of red marauders; and then set off to traverse by slow stages the mountains and vast forests which lay between them and the nearest kentucky station. the time of the journey depended, of course, upon the composition of the travelling party, and upon the mishaps encountered; a party of young men on good horses might do it in three days, while a large band of immigrants, who were hampered by women, children, and cattle, and dogged by ill-luck, might take three weeks. ordinarily six or eight days were sufficient. before starting each man laid in a store of provisions for himself and his horse; perhaps thirty pounds of flour, half a bushel of corn meal, and three bushels of oats. there was no meat unless game was shot. occasionally several travellers clubbed together and carried a tent; otherwise they slept in the open. the trail was very bad, especially at first, where it climbed between the gloomy and forbidding cliffs that walled in cumberland gap. even when undisturbed by indians, the trip was accompanied by much fatigue and exposure; and, as always in frontier travelling, one of the perpetual annoyances was the necessity for hunting up strayed horses. [footnote: durrett mss. journal of rev. james smith, .] the travel down the ohio. the chief highway was the ohio river; for to drift down stream in a scow was easier and quicker, and no more dangerous, than to plod through thick mountain forests. moreover, it was much easier for the settler who went by water to carry with him his household goods and implements of husbandry; and even such cumbrous articles as wagons, or, if he was rich and ambitious, the lumber wherewith to build a frame house. all kinds of craft were used, even bark canoes and pirogues, or dugouts; but the keel-boat, and especially the flat-bottomed scow with square ends, were the ordinary means of conveyance. they were of all sizes. the passengers and their live stock were of course huddled together so as to take up as little room as possible. sometimes the immigrants built or bought their own boat, navigated it themselves, and sold it or broke it up on reaching their destination. at other times they merely hired a passage. a few of the more enterprising boat owners speedily introduced a regular emigrant service, making trips at stated times from pittsburg or perhaps limestone, and advertising the carriage capacity of their boats and the times of starting. the trip from pittsburg to louisville took a week or ten days; but in low water it might last a month. numbers of the immigrants. the number of boats passing down the ohio, laden with would-be settlers and their belongings, speedily became very great. an eye-witness stated that between november th and december d, of , thirty-nine boats, with an average of ten souls in each, went down the ohio to the falls; and there were others which stopped at some of the settlements farther up the river. [footnote: draper mss., _massachusetts gazette_, march , ; letter from kentucky, december , .] as time went on the number of immigrants who adopted this method of travel increased; larger boats were used, and the immigrants took more property with them. in the last half of the year there passed by fort harmar boats, with souls, horses, wagons, cattle, sheep, and hogs. [footnote: harmar papers, december , .] in the year ending in november, , boats, carrying , souls, with horses, cows, sheep, and wagons, [footnote: _columbian magazine_, january, . letter from fort harmar, november , . by what is evidently a clerical error the time is put down as one month instead of one year.] went down the ohio. for many years this great river was the main artery through which the fresh blood of the pioneers was pumped into the west. there are no means of procuring similar figures for the number of immigrants who went over the wilderness road; but probably there were not half as many as went down the ohio. perhaps from ten to twenty thousand people a year came into kentucky during the period immediately succeeding the close of the revolution; but the net gain to the population was much less, because there was always a smaller, but almost equally steady, counter-flow of men who, having failed as pioneers, were struggling wearily back toward their deserted eastern homes. kentucky's growth. the inrush being so great kentucky grew apace. in the population was estimated at from twenty [footnote: "journey in the west in ," by lewis brantz.] to thirty thousand; and the leading towns, louisville, lexington, harrodsburg, booneboro, st. asaph's, were thriving little hamlets, with stores and horse grist-mills, and no longer mere clusters of stockaded cabins. at louisville, for instance, there were already a number of two-story frame houses, neatly painted, with verandahs running the full length of each house, and fenced vegetable gardens alongside [footnote: "lettres d'un cultivateur américan," st. john de crêve coeur. summer of .]; while at the same time nashville was a town of logs, with but two houses that deserved the name, the others being mere huts. [footnote: brantz.] the population of louisville amounted to about souls, of whom were fighting men [footnote: state department mss. papers continental congress, no. , vol. ii., p. . letter from major w. north, august , .]; between it and lexington the whole country was well settled; but fear of the indians kept settlers back from the ohio. the new-comers were mainly americans from all the states of the union; but there were also a few people from nearly every country in europe, and even from asia. [footnote: letter in _massachusetts gazette_, above quoted.] the industrious and the adventurous, the homestead winners and the land speculators, the criminal fleeing from justice, and the honest man seeking a livelihood or a fortune, all alike prized the wild freedom and absence of restraint so essentially characteristic of their new life; a life in many ways very pleasant, but one which on the border of the indian country sank into mere savagery. kentucky was "a good poor man's country" [footnote: state department mss. madison papers. caleb wallace to madison, july , .] provided the poor man was hardy and vigorous. the settlers were no longer in danger of starvation, for they already raised more flour than they could consume. neither was there as yet anything approaching to luxury. but between these two extremes there was almost every grade of misery and well-being, according to the varying capacity shown by the different settlers in grappling with the conditions of their new life. among the foreign-born immigrants success depended in part upon race; a contemporary kentucky observer estimated that, of twelve families of each nationality, nine german, seven scotch, and four irish prospered, while the others failed. [footnote: "description of kentucky," , by harry toulmin, secretary of state.] the german women worked just as hard as the men, even in the fields, and both sexes were equally saving. naturally such thrifty immigrants did well materially; but they never took any position of leadership or influence in the community until they had assimilated themselves in speech and customs to their american neighbors. the scotch were frugal and industrious; for good or for bad they speedily became indistinguishable from the native-born. the greater proportion of failures among the irish, brave and vigorous though they were, was due to their quarrelsomeness, and their fondness for drink and litigation; besides, remarks this kentucky critic, "they soon take to the gun, which is the ruin of everything." none of these foreign-born elements were of any very great importance in the development of kentucky; its destiny was shaped and controlled by its men of native stock. character of the frontier population. in such a population there was of course much loosening of the bands, social, political, moral, and religious, which knit a society together. a great many of the restraints of their old life were thrown off, and there was much social adjustment and readjustment before their relations to one another under the new conditions became definitely settled. but there came early into the land many men of high purpose and pure life whose influence upon their fellows, though quiet, was very great. moreover, the clergyman and the school-teacher, the two beings who had done so much for colonial civilization on the seaboard, were already becoming important factors in the life of the frontier communities. austere presbyterian ministers were people of mark in many of the towns. the baptist preachers lived and worked exactly as did their flocks; their dwellings were little cabins with dirt floors and, instead of bedsteads, skin-covered pole-bunks; they cleared the ground, split rails, planted corn, and raised hogs on equal terms with their parishioners. [footnote: "history of kentucky baptists," by j. h. spencer.] after methodism cut loose from its british connections in , the time of its great advance began, and the circuit-riders were speedily eating bear meat and buffalo tongues on the frontier. [footnote: "history of methodism in kentucky," by john b. mcferrier.] rough log schools were springing up everywhere, beside the rough log meeting-houses, the same building often serving for both purposes. the school-teacher might be a young surveyor out of work for the moment, a new englander fresh from some academy in the northeast, an irishman with a smattering of learning, or perhaps an english immigrant of the upper class, unfit for and broken down by the work of a new country. [footnote: durrett mss. "autobiography of robert mcafee."] the boys and girls were taught together, and at recess played together--tag, pawns, and various kissing games. the rod was used unsparingly, for the elder boys proved boisterous pupils. a favorite mutinous frolic was to "bar out" the teacher, taking possession of the school-house and holding it against the master with sticks and stones until he had either forced an entrance or agreed to the terms of the defenders. sometimes this barring out represented a revolt against tyranny; often it was a conventional, and half-acquiesced-in, method of showing exuberance of spirit, just before the christmas holidays. in most of the schools the teaching was necessarily of the simplest, for the only books might be a testament, a primer, a spelling book, and a small arithmetic. frontier society. in such a society, simple, strong, and rude, both the good features and the bad were nakedly prominent; and the views of observers in reference thereto varied accordingly as they were struck by one set of characteristics or another. one traveller would paint the frontiersmen as little better than the indians against whom they warred, and their life as wild, squalid, and lawless; while the next would lay especial and admiring stress on their enterprise, audacity, and hospitable openhandedness. though much alike, different portions of the frontier stock were beginning to develop along different lines. the holston people, both in virginia and north carolina, were by this time comparatively little affected by immigration from without those states, and were on the whole homogeneous; but the virginians and carolinians of the seaboard considered them rough, unlettered, and not of very good character. one travelling clergyman spoke of them with particular disfavor; he was probably prejudiced by their indifference to his preaching, for he mentions with much dissatisfaction that the congregations he addressed "though small, behaved extremely bad." [footnote: durrett mss. rev. james smith, "tour in western country," .] the kentuckians showed a mental breadth that was due largely to the many different sources from which even the predominating american elements in the population sprang. the cumberland people seemed to travellers the wildest and rudest of all, as was but natural, for these fierce and stalwart settlers were still in the midst of a warfare as savage as any ever waged among the cave-dwellers of the stone age. the opinion of any mere passer-through a country is always less valuable than that of an intelligent man who dwells and works among the people, and who possesses both insight and sympathy. at this time one of the recently created kentucky judges, an educated virginian, in writing to his friend madison, said: "we are as harmonious amongst ourselves as can be expected of a mixture of people from various states and of various sentiments and manners not yet assimilated. in point of morals the bulk of the inhabitants are far superior to what i expected to find in any new settled country. we have not had a single instance of murder, and but one criminal for felony of any kind has yet been before the supreme court. i wish i could say as much to vindicate the character of our land-jobbers. this business has been attended with much villainy in other parts. here it is reduced to a system, and to take the advantage of the ignorance or of the poverty of a neighbor is almost grown into reputation." [footnote: wallace's letter, above quoted.] the gentry. of course, when the fever for land speculation raged so violently, many who had embarked too eagerly in the purchase of large tracts became land poor; clark being among those who found that though they owned great reaches of fertile wild land they had no means whatever of getting money. [footnote: draper mss. g. r. clark to jonathan clark, april , .] in kentucky, while much land was taken up under treasury warrants, much was also allotted to the officers of the continental army; and the retired officers of the continental line were the best of all possible immigrants. a class of gentlefolks soon sprang up in the land, whose members were not so separated from other citizens as to be in any way alien to them, and who yet stood sufficiently above the mass to be recognized as the natural leaders, social and political, of their sturdy fellow-freemen. these men by degrees built themselves comfortable, roomy houses, and their lives were very pleasant; at a little later period clark, having abandoned war and politics, describes himself as living a retired life with, as his chief amusements, reading, hunting, fishing, fowling, and corresponding with a few chosen friends. [footnote: _do._, letter of sept. , .] game was still very plentiful: buffalo and elk abounded north of the ohio, while bear and deer, turkey, swans, and geese, [footnote: _magazine of american history_, i., letters of laurence butler from kentucky, nov. , , etc.] not to speak of ducks and prairie fowl swarmed in the immediate neighborhood of the settlements. the army officers. the gentry offered to strangers the usual open-handed hospitality characteristic of the frontier, with much more than the average frontier refinement; a hospitality, moreover, which was never marred or interfered with by the frontier suspiciousness of strangers which sometimes made the humbler people of the border seem churlish to travellers. when federal garrisons were established along the ohio the officers were largely dependent for their social pleasures on the gentle-folks of the several rather curious glimpses of the life of the time. [footnote: major erkuries beattie. in the _magazine of am. hist._, i., p. .] he mentions being entertained by clark at "a very elegant dinner," [footnote: aug. , .] a number of gentlemen being present. after dinner the guests adjourned to the dancing school, "where there were twelve or fifteen young misses, some of whom had made considerable improvement in that polite accomplishment, and indeed were middling neatly dressed considering the distance from where luxuries are to be bought and the expense attending the purchase of them here"--for though beef and flour were cheap, all imported goods sold for at least five times as much as they cost in philadelphia or new york. the officers sometimes gave dances in the forts, the ladies and their escorts coming in to spend the night; and they attended the great barbecues to which the people rode from far and near, many of the men carrying their wives or sweethearts behind them on the saddle. at such a barbecue an ox or a sheep, a bear, an elk, or a deer, was split in two and roasted over the coals; dinner was eaten under the trees; and there was every kind of amusement from horse-racing to dancing. friction with the backwoodsmen. though the relations of the officers of the regular troops with the gentry were so pleasant there was always much friction between them and the ordinary frontiersmen; a friction which continued to exist as long as the frontier itself, and which survives to this day in the wilder parts of the country. the regular army officer and the frontiersman are trained in fashions so diametrically opposite that, though the two men be brothers, they must yet necessarily in all their thoughts and instincts and ways of looking at life, be as alien as if they belonged to two different races of mankind. the borderer, rude, suspicious, and impatient of discipline, looks with distrust and with a mixture of sneering envy and of hostility upon the officer; while the latter, with his rigid training and his fixed ideals, feels little sympathy for the other's good points, and is contemptuously aware of his numerous failings. the only link between the two is the scout, the man who, though one of the frontiersmen, is accustomed to act and fight in company with the soldiers. in kentucky, at the close of the revolution, this link was generally lacking; and there was no tie of habitual, even though half-hostile, intercourse to unite the two parties. in consequence the ill-will often showed itself by acts of violence. the backwoods bullies were prone to browbeat and insult the officers if they found them alone, trying to provoke them to rough-and-tumble fighting; and in such a combat, carried on with the revolting brutality necessarily attendant upon a contest where gouging and biting were considered legitimate, the officers, who were accustomed only to use their fists, generally had the worst of it; so that at last they made a practice of carrying their side-arms--which secured them from molestation. pursuits of the settlers. besides raising more than enough flour and beef to keep themselves in plenty, the settlers turned their attention to many other forms of produce. indian corn was still the leading crop; but melons, pumpkins, and the like were grown, and there were many thriving orchards; while tobacco cultivation was becoming of much importance. great droves of hogs and flocks of sheep flourished in every locality whence the bears and wolves had been driven; the hogs running free in the woods with the branded cattle and horses. except in the most densely settled parts much of the beef was still obtained from buffaloes, and much of the bacon from bears. venison was a staple commodity. the fur trade, largely carried on by french trappers, was still of great importance in kentucky and tennessee. north of the ohio it was the attraction which tempted white men into the wilderness. its profitable nature was the chief reason why the british persistently clung to the posts on the lakes, and stirred up the indians to keep the american settlers out of all lands that were tributary to the british fur merchants. from kentucky and the cumberland country the peltries were sometimes sent east by packtrain, and sometimes up the ohio in bateaus or canoes. boone's trading ventures. in addition to furs, quantities of ginseng were often carried to the eastern settlements at this period when the commerce of the west was in its first infancy, and was as yet only struggling for an outlet down the mississippi. one of those who went into this trade was boone. although no longer a real leader in kentucky life he still occupied quite a prominent position, and served as a representative in the virginia legislature, [footnote: draper's mss., boone mss., from bourbon co. the papers cover the years from on to ' .] while his fame as a hunter and explorer was now spread abroad in the united states, and even europe. to travellers and new-comers generally, he was always pointed out as the first discoverer of kentucky; and being modest, self-contained and self-reliant he always impressed them favorably. he spent most of his time in hunting, trapping, and surveying land warrants for men of means, being paid, for instance, two shillings current money per acre for all the good laud he could enter on a ten-thousand acre treasury warrant. [footnote: _do_., certificate of g. imlay, .] he also traded up and down the ohio river, at various places, such as point pleasant and limestone; and at times combined keeping a tavern with keeping a store. his accounts contain much quaint information. evidently his guests drank as generously as they ate; he charges one four pounds sixteen shillings for two months' board and two pounds four shillings for liquor. he takes the note of another for ninety-three gallons of cheap corn whiskey. whiskey cost sixpence a pint, and rum one shilling; while corn was three shillings a bushel, and salt twenty-four shillings, flour, thirty-six shillings a barrel, bacon sixpence and fresh pork and buffalo beef threepence a pound. boone procured for his customers or for himself such articles as linen, cloth, flannel, corduroy, chintz, calico, broadcloth, and velvet at prices varying according to the quality, from three to thirty shillings a yard; and there was also evidently a ready market for "tea ware," knives and forks, scissors, buttons, nails, and all kinds of hardware. furs and skins usually appear on the debit sides of the various accounts, ranging in value from the skin of a beaver, worth eighteen shillings, or that of a bear worth ten, to those of deer, wolves, coons, wildcats, and foxes, costing two to four shillings apiece. boone procured his goods from merchants in hagerstown and williamsport, in maryland, whither he and his sons guided their own packtrains, laden with peltries and with kegs of ginseng, and accompanied by droves of loose horses. he either followed some well-beaten mountain trail or opened a new road through the wilderness as seemed to him best at the moment. [footnote: _do., passim._] boone's creed in matters of morality and religion was as simple and straightforward as his own character. late in life he wrote to one of his kinsfolk: "all the religion i have is to love and fear god, believe in jesus christ, do all the good to my neighbors and myself that i can, and do as little harm as i can help, and trust on god's mercy for the rest." the old pioneer always kept the respect of red man and white, of friend and foe, for he acted according to his belief. yet there was one evil to which he was no more sensitive than the other men of his time. among his accounts there is an entry recording his purchase, for another man, of a negro woman for the sum of ninety pounds. [footnote: _ do_., march , .] there was already a strong feeling in the western settlements against negro slavery, [footnote: see journals of rev. james smith.] because of its moral evil, and of its inconsistency with all true standards of humanity and christianity, a feeling which continued to exist and which later led to resolute efforts to forbid or abolish slave-holding. but the consciences of the majority were too dull, and, from the standpoint of the white race, they were too shortsighted to take action in the right direction. the selfishness and mental obliquity which imperil the future of a race for the sake of the lazy pleasure of two or three generations prevailed; and in consequence the white people of the middle west, and therefore eventually of the southwest, clutched the one burden under which they ever staggered, the one evil which has ever warped their development, the one danger which has ever seriously threatened their very existence. slavery must of necessity exercise the most baleful influence upon any slave-holding people, and especially upon those members of the dominant caste who do not themselves own slaves. moreover, the negro, unlike so many of the inferior races, does not dwindle away in the presence of the white man. he holds his own; indeed, under the conditions of american slavery he increased faster than the white, threatening to supplant him. he actually has supplanted him in certain of the west indian islands, where the sin of the white in enslaving the black has been visited upon the head of the wrongdoer by his victim with a dramatically terrible completeness of revenge. what has occurred in hayti is what would eventually have occurred in our own semi-tropical states if the slave-trade and slavery had continued to flourish as their shortsighted advocates wished. slavery is ethically abhorrent to all right-minded men; and it is to be condemned without stint on this ground alone. from the standpoint of the master caste it is to condemned even more strongly because it invariably in the end threatens the very existence of that master caste. from this point of view the presence of the negro is the real problem; slavery is merely the worst possible method of solving the problem. in their earlier stages the problem and its solution, in america, were one. there may be differences of opinion as to how to solve the problem; but there can be none whatever as to the evil wrought by those who brought about that problem; and it was only the slave-holders and the slave-traders who were guilty on this last count. the worst foes, not only of humanity and civilization, but especially of the white race in america, were those white men who brought slaves from africa, and who fostered the spread of slavery in the states and territories of the american republic. chapter ii. the indian wars, - . lull in the border war. after the close of the revolution there was a short, uneasy lull in the eternal border warfare between the white men and the red. the indians were for the moment daunted by a peace which left them without allies; and the feeble federal government attempted for the first time to aid and control the west by making treaties with the most powerful frontier tribes. congress raised a tiny regular army, and several companies were sent to the upper ohio to garrison two or three small forts which were built upon its banks. commissioners (one of whom was clark himself) were appointed to treat with both the northern and southern indians. councils were held in various places. in and early in utterly fruitless treaties were concluded with shawnees, wyandots, and delawares at one or other of the little forts. [footnote: state department mss., no. , p. , letter of g. clark, nov. , ; p. , letter of g. clark to r. butler, etc.; no. , p. ; no. , p. .] treaty of hopewell. about the same time, in the late fall of , another treaty somewhat more noteworthy, but equally fruitless, was concluded with the cherokees at hopewell, on keowee, in south carolina. in this treaty the commissioners promised altogether too much. they paid little heed to the rights and needs of the settlers. neither did they keep in mind the powerlessness of the federal government to enforce against these settlers what their treaty promised the indians. the pioneers along the upper tennessee and the cumberland had made various arrangements with bands of the cherokees, sometimes acting on their own initiative, and sometimes on behalf of the state of north carolina. many of these different agreements were entered into by the whites with honesty and good faith, but were violated at will by the indians. others were violated by the whites, or were repudiated by the indians as well, because of some real or fancied unfairness in the making. under them large quantities of land had been sold or allotted, and hundreds of homes had been built on the lands thus won by the whites or ceded by the indians. as with all indian treaties, it was next to impossible to say exactly how far these agreements were binding, because no persons, not even the indians themselves, could tell exactly who had authority to represent the tribes. [footnote: american state papers, public lands, i., p. , vi.] the commissioners paid little heed to these treaties, and drew the boundary so that quantities of land which had been entered under regular grants, and were covered by the homesteads of the frontiersmen, were declared to fall within the cherokee line. moreover, they even undertook to drive all settlers off these lands. of course, such a treaty excited the bitter anger of the frontiersmen, and they scornfully refused to obey its provisions. they hated the indians, and, as a rule, were brutally indifferent to their rights, while they looked down on the federal government as impotent. nor was the ill-will to the treaty confined to the rough borderers. many men of means found that land grants which they had obtained in good faith and for good money were declared void. not only did they denounce the treaty, and decline to abide by it, but they denounced the motives of the commissioners, declaring, seemingly without justification, that they had ingratiated themselves with the indians to further land speculations of their own. [footnote: clay mss. jesse benton to thos. hart, april , .] violation of the treaty. as the settlers declined to pay any heed to the treaty the indians naturally became as discontented with it as the whites. in the following summer the cherokee chiefs made solemn complaint that, instead of retiring from the disputed ground, the settlers had encroached yet farther upon it, and had come to within five miles of the beloved town of chota. the chiefs added that they had now made several such treaties, each of which established boundaries that were immediately broken, and that indeed it had been their experience that after a treaty the whites settled even faster on their lands than before. [footnote: state department mss., no. . address of corn tassel and hanging maw, sept. , .] just before this complaint was sent to congress the same chiefs had been engaged in negotiations with the settlers themselves, who advanced radically different claims. the fact was that in this unsettled time the bond of governmental authority was almost as lax among the whites as among the indians, and the leaders on each side who wished for peace were hopelessly unable to restrain their fellows who did not. under such circumstances, the sword, or rather the tomahawk, was ultimately the only possible arbiter. treaties with northwestern indians. the treaties entered into with the northwestern indians failed for precisely the opposite reason. the treaty at hopewell promised so much to the indians that the whites refused to abide by its terms. in the councils on the ohio the americans promised no more than they could and did perform; but the indians themselves broke the treaties at once, and in all probability never for a moment intended to keep them, merely signing from a greedy desire to get the goods they were given as an earnest. they were especially anxious for spirits, for they far surpassed even the white borderers in their crazy thirst for strong drink. "we have smelled your liquor and it is very good; we hope you will give us some little kegs to carry home," said the spokesmen of a party of chippewas, who had come from the upper great lakes. [footnote: _do._, letters of h. knox, no. , vol. i., p. .] these frank savages, speaking thus in behalf of their far northern brethren, uttered what was in the minds of most of the indians who attended the councils held by the united states commissioners. they came to see what they could get, by begging, or by promising what they had neither the will nor the power to perform. many of them, as in the case of the chippewas, were from lands so remote that they felt no anxiety about white encroachments, and were lured into hostile encounter with the americans chiefly by their own overmastering love of plunder and bloodshed. nevertheless, there were a few chiefs and men of note in the tribes who sincerely wished peace. one of these was cornplanter, the iroquois. the power of the six nations had steadily dwindled; moreover, they did not, like the more western tribes, lie directly athwart the path which the white advance was at the moment taking. thus they were not drawn into open warfare, but their continual uneasiness, and the influence they still possessed with the other indians, made it an object to keep on friendly terms with them. cornplanter, a valiant and able warrior, who had both taken and given hard blows in warring against the americans, was among the chiefs and ambassadors who visited fort pitt during the troubled lull in frontier war which succeeded the news of the peace of . his speeches showed, as his deeds had already shown, in a high degree, that loftiness of courage, and stern, uncomplaining acceptance of the decrees of a hostile fate, which so often ennobled the otherwise gloomy and repellent traits of the indian character. he raised no plaint over what had befallen his race; "the great spirit above directs us so that whatever hath been said or done must be good and right," he said in a spirit of strange fatalism well known to certain creeds, both christian and heathen. he was careful to dwell on the fact that in addressing the representatives of "the great council who watch the thirteen fires and keep them bright," he was anxious only to ward off woe from the women and little ones of his people and was defiantly indifferent to what might personally be before him. "as for me my life is short, 't is already sold to the great king over the water," he said. but it soon appeared that the british agents had deceived him, telling him that the peace was a mere temporary truce, and keeping concealed the fact that under the treaty the british had ceded to the americans all rights over the iroquois and western indians, and over their land. great was his indignation when the actual text of the treaty was read him, and he discovered the double-dealing of his far-off royal paymaster. in commenting on it he showed that, like the rest of his race, he had been much impressed by the striking uniforms of the british officers. he evidently took it for granted that the head of these officers must own a yet more striking uniform; and treachery seemed doubly odious in one who possessed so much. "i assisted the great king," he said, "i fought his battles, while he sat quietly in his forts; nor did i ever suspect that so great a person, one too who wore a red coat sufficient of itself to tempt one, could be guilty of such glaring falsehood." [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , march , , p. , also p. .] after this cornplanter remained on good terms with the americans and helped to keep the iroquois from joining openly in the war. the western tribes taunted them because of this attitude. they sent them word in the fall of that once the six nations were a great people, but that now they had let the long knife throw them; but that the western indians would set them on their feet again if they would join them; for "the western indians were determined to wrestle with long knife in the spring." [footnote: _do._, no. , vol. i., major finley's statement, dec. , .] failure of the treaties. some of the algonquin chiefs, notably molunthee the shawnee, likewise sincerely endeavored to bring about a peace. but the western tribes as a whole were bent on war. they were constantly excited and urged on by the british partisan leaders, such as simon girty, elliot, and caldwell. these leaders took part in the great indian councils, at which even tribes west of the mississippi were represented; and though they spoke without direct authority from the british commanders at the lake posts, yet their words carried weight when they told the young red warriors that it was better to run the risk of dying like men than of starving like dogs. many of the old men among the wyandotes and delawares spoke against strife; but the young men were for war, and among the shawnees, the wabash indians, and the miamis the hostile party was still stronger. a few indians would come to one of the forts and make a treaty on behalf of their tribe, at the very moment that the other members of the same tribe were murdering and ravaging among the exposed settlements or were harrying the boats that went down the ohio. all the tribes that entered into the treaties of peace were represented among the different parties of marauders. over the outlaw bands there was no pretence of control; and their successes, and the numerous scalps and quantities of plunder they obtained, made them very dangerous examples to the hot-blooded young warriors everywhere. perhaps the most serious of all obstacles to peace was the fact that the british still kept the lake posts. [footnote: _do._, letters of h. knox, no. , vol. i., pp. , , , , , , , etc.] the indians who did come in to treat were sullen, and at first always insisted on impossible terms. they would finally agree to mutual concessions, would promise to keep their young men from marauding, and to allow surveys to be made, provided the settlers were driven off all lands which the indians had not yielded; and after receiving many gifts, would depart. the representatives of the federal government would then at once set about performing their share of the agreement, the most important part of which was the removal of the settlers who had built cabins on the indian lands west of the ohio. the federal authorities, both military and civil, disliked the intruders as much as they did the indians, stigmatizing them as "a banditti who were a disgrace to human nature." there was no unnecessary harshness exercised by the troops in removing the trespassers; but the cabins were torn down and the sullen settlers themselves were driven back across the river, though they protested and threatened resistance. again and again this was done; not alone in the interest of the indians, but in part also because congress wished to reserve the lands for sale, with the purpose of paying off the public debt. at the same time surveying parties were sent out. but in each case, no sooner had the federal commissioners and their subordinates begun to perform their part of the agreement, than they were stopped by tidings of fresh outrages on the part of the very indians with whom they had made the treaty; while the surveying parties were driven in and forced to abandon their work. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , p. ; no. , p. ; no. , pp. , , , .] both sides bent on war. the truth was that while the federal government sincerely desired peace, and strove to bring it about, the northwestern tribes were resolutely bent on war; and the frontiersmen themselves showed nearly as much inclination for hostilities as the indians. [footnote: _do._, indian affairs. letter of p. mühlenberg, july , .] they were equally anxious to intrude on the government and on the indian lands; for they were adventurous, the lands were valuable, and they hated the indians, and looked down on the weak federal authority. [footnote: _do._, report of h. knox, april, .] they often made what were legally worthless "tomahawk claims," and objected almost as much as the indians to the work of the regular government surveyors. [footnote: _do._, , vol. ii., p. .] even the men of note, men like george rogers clark, were often engaged in schemes to encroach on the land north of the ohio: drawing on themselves the bitter reproaches not only of the federal authorities, but also of the virginia government, for their cruel readiness to jeopardize the country by incurring the wrath of the indians. [footnote: draper mss. benj. harrison to g. r. clark, august , .] the more lawless whites were as little amenable to authority as the indians themselves; and at the very moment when a peace was being negotiated one side or the other would commit some brutal murder. while the chiefs and old indians were delivering long-winded speeches to the peace commissioners, bands of young braves committed horrible ravages among the lonely settlements. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , pp. and ; no. , p. , etc.] now a drunken indian at fort pitt murdered an innocent white man, the local garrison of regular troops saving him with difficulty from being lynched [footnote: denny's journal, p. .]; now a band of white ruffians gathered to attack some peaceable indians who had come in to treat [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , p. .]; again a white man murdered an unoffending indian, and was seized by a federal officer, and thrown into chains, to the great indignation of his brutal companions [footnote: _do_., no. , vol. ii., p. .]; and yet again another white man murdered an indian, and escaped to the woods before he could be arrested. [footnote: draper mss. clark, croghan, and others to delawares, august , .] bloodshed begun. under such conditions the peace negotiations were doomed from the outset. the truce on the border was of the most imperfect description; murders and robberies by the indians, and acts of vindictive retaliation or aggression by the whites, occurred continually and steadily increased in number. in a cherokee of note, when sent to warn the intruding settlers on the french broad that they must move out of the land, was shot and slain in a fight with a local militia captain. cherokee war bands had already begun to harry the frontier and infest the kentucky wilderness road. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , p. .] at the same time the northwestern indians likewise committed depredations, and were only prevented from making a general league against the whites by their own internal dissensions--the chickasaws and kickapoos being engaged in a desperate war. [footnote: _do_., mühlenberg's letter.] the wabash indians were always threatening hostilities. the shawnees for some time observed a precarious peace, and even, in accordance with their agreement, brought in and surrendered a few white prisoners; and among the delawares and wyandots there was also a strong friendly party; but in all three tribes the turbulent element was never under real control, and it gradually got the upper hand. meanwhile the georgians and creeks in the south were having experiences of precisely the same kind--treaties fraudulently procured by the whites, or fraudulently entered into and violated by the indians; encroachments by white settlers on indian lands, and bloody indian forays among the peaceful settlements. [footnote: _do_., no. , pp. , . gazette of the state of georgia, aug. , , may , june , nov. , nov. , .] the more far-sighted and resolute among all the indians, northern and southern, began to strive for a general union against the americans. [footnote: _do_., no. , pp. and ; no. , p. ; no. , vol. ii., june . .] in the northwestern indians almost formed such a union. two thousand warriors gathered at the shawnee towns and agreed to take up the hatchet against the americans; british agents were present at the council; and even before the council was held, war parties were bringing into the shawnee towns the scalps of american settlers, and prisoners, both men and women, who were burned at the stake. [footnote: _do_., no. , p. , sept. , .] but the jealousy and irresolution of the tribes prevented the actual formation of a league. the federal government still feebly hoped for peace; and in the vain endeavors to avoid irritating the indians forbade all hostile expeditions into the indian country--though these expeditions offered the one hope of subduing the savages and preventing their inroads. by the settlers generally, including all their leaders, such as clark, [footnote: _do_., no. , p. . clark to r. h. lee.] had become convinced that the treaties were utterly futile, and that the only right policy was one of resolute war. the war inevitable. in truth the war was unavoidable. the claims and desires of the two parties were irreconcilable. treaties and truces were palliatives which did not touch the real underlying trouble. the white settlers were unflinchingly bent on seizing the land over which the indians roamed but which they did not in any true sense own or occupy. in return the indians were determined at all costs and hazards to keep the men of chain and compass, and of axe and rifle, and the forest-felling settlers who followed them, out of their vast and lonely hunting-grounds. nothing but the actual shock of battle could decide the quarrel. the display of overmastering, overwhelming force might have cowed the indians; but it was not possible for the united states, or for any european power, ever to exert or display such force far beyond the limits of the settled country. in consequence the warlike tribes were not then, and never have been since, quelled save by actual hard fighting, until they were overawed by the settlement of all the neighboring lands. nor was there any alternative to these indian wars. it is idle folly to speak of them as being the fault of the united states government; and it is even more idle to say that they could have been averted by treaty. here and there, under exceptional circumstances or when a given tribe was feeble and unwarlike, the whites might gain the ground by a treaty entered into of their own free will by the indians, without the least duress; but this was not possible with warlike and powerful tribes when once they realized that they were threatened with serious encroachment on their hunting-grounds. moreover, looked at from the standpoint of the ultimate result, there was little real difference to the indian whether the land was taken by treaty or by war. in the end the delaware fared no better at the hands of the quaker than the wampanoag at the hands of the puritan; the methods were far more humane in the one case than in the other, but the outcome was the same in both. no treaty could be satisfactory to the whites, no treaty served the needs of humanity and civilization, unless it gave the land to the americans as unreservedly as any successful war. our dealings with the indians. as a matter of fact, the lands we have won from the indians have been won as much by treaty as by war; but it was almost always war, or else the menace and possibility of war, that secured the treaty. in these treaties we have been more than just to the indians; we have been abundantly generous, for we have paid them many times what they were entitled to; many times what we would have paid any civilized people whose claim was as vague and shadowy as theirs. by war or threat of war, or purchase we have won from great civilized nations, from france, spain, russia, and mexico, immense tracts of country already peopled by many tens of thousands of families; we have paid many millions of dollars to these nations for the land we took; but for every dollar thus paid to these great and powerful civilized commonwealths, we have paid ten, for lands less valuable, to the chiefs and warriors of the red tribes. no other conquering and colonizing nation has ever treated the original savage owners of the soil with such generosity as has the united states. nor is the charge that the treaties with the indians have been broken, of weight in itself; it depends always on the individual case. many of the treaties were kept by the whites and broken by the indians; others were broken by the whites themselves; and sometimes those who broke them did very wrong indeed, and sometimes they did right. no treaties, whether between civilized nations or not, can ever be regarded as binding in perpetuity; with changing conditions, circumstances may arise which render it not only expedient, but imperative and honorable, to abrogate them. necessity of the conquest. whether the whites won the land by treaty, by armed conquest, or, as was actually the case, by a mixture of both, mattered comparatively little so long as the land was won. it was all-important that it should be won, for the benefit of civilization and in the interests of mankind. it is indeed a warped, perverse, and silly morality which would forbid a course of conquest that has turned whole continents into the seats of mighty and flourishing civilized nations. all men of sane and wholesome thought must dismiss with impatient contempt the plea that these continents should be reserved for the use of scattered savage tribes, whose life was but a few degrees less meaningless, squalid, and ferocious than that of the wild beasts with whom they held joint ownership. it is as idle to apply to savages the rules of international morality which obtain between stable and cultured communities, as it would be to judge the fifth-century english conquest of britain by the standards of today. most fortunately, the hard, energetic, practical men who do the rough pioneer work of civilization in barbarous lands, are not prone to false sentimentality. the people who are, are the people who stay at home. often these stay-at-homes are too selfish and indolent, too lacking in imagination, to understand the race-importance of the work which is done by their pioneer brethren in wild and distant lands; and they judge them by standards which would only be applicable to quarrels in their own townships and parishes. moreover, as each new land grows old, it misjudges the yet newer lands, as once it was itself misjudged. the home-staying englishman of britain grudges to the africander his conquest of matabeleland; and so the home-staying american of the atlantic states dislikes to see the western miners and cattlemen win for the use of their people the sioux hunting-grounds. nevertheless, it is the men actually on the borders of the longed-for ground, the men actually in contact with the savages, who in the end shape their own destinies. righteousness of the war. the most ultimately righteous of all wars is a war with savages, though it is apt to be also the most terrible and inhuman. the rude, fierce settler who drives the savage from the land lays all civilized mankind under a debt to him. american and indian, boer and zulu, cossack and tartar, new zealander and maori,--in each case the victor, horrible though many of his deeds are, has laid deep the foundations for the future greatness of a mighty people. the consequences of struggles for territory between civilized nations seem small by comparison. looked at from the standpoint of the ages, it is of little moment whether lorraine is part of germany or of france, whether the northern adriatic cities pay homage to austrian kaiser or italian king; but it is of incalculable importance that america, australia, and siberia should pass out of the hands of their red, black, and yellow aboriginal owners, and become the heritage of the dominant world races. horrors of the war. yet the very causes which render this struggle between savagery and the rough front rank of civilization so vast and elemental in its consequence to the future of the world, also tend to render it in certain ways peculiarly revolting and barbarous. it is primeval warfare, and it is waged as war was waged in the ages of bronze and of iron. all the merciful humanity that even war has gained during the last two thousand years is lost. it is a warfare where no pity is shown to non-combatants, where the weak are harried without ruth, and the vanquished maltreated with merciless ferocity. a sad and evil feature of such warfare is that the whites, the representatives of civilization, speedily sink almost to the level of their barbarous foes, in point of hideous brutality. the armies are neither led by trained officers nor made up of regular troops--they are composed of armed settlers, fierce and wayward men, whose ungovernable passions are unrestrained by discipline, who have many grievous wrongs to redress, and who look on their enemies with a mixture of contempt and loathing, of dread and intense hatred. when the clash comes between these men and their sombre foes, too often there follow deeds of enormous, of incredible, of indescribable horror. it is impossible to dwell without a shudder on the monstrous woe and misery of such a contest. the lake posts. the men of kentucky and of the infant northwest would have found their struggle with the indians dangerous enough in itself; but there was an added element of menace in the fact that back of the indians stood the british. it was for this reason that the frontiersmen grew to regard as essential to their well-being the possession of the lake posts; so that it became with them a prime object to wrest from the british, whether by force of arms or by diplomacy, the forts they held at niagara, detroit, and michilimakinac. detroit was the most important, for it served as the headquarters of the western indians, who formed for the time being the chief bar to american advance. the british held the posts with a strong grip, in the interest of their traders and merchants. to them the land derived its chief importance from the fur trade. this was extremely valuable, and, as it steadily increased in extent and importance, the consequence of detroit, the fitting-out town for the fur traders, grew in like measure. it was the centre of a population of several thousand canadians, who lived by the chase and by the rude cultivation of their long, narrow farms; and it was held by a garrison of three or four hundred british regulars, with auxiliary bands of american loyalist and french canadian rangers, and, above all, with a formidable but fluctuating reserve force of indian allies. [footnote: haldimand papers, , , .] the british aid the indians. it was to the interest of the british to keep the american settlers out of the land; and therefore their aims were at one with those of the indians. all the tribes between the ohio and the missouri were subsidized by them, and paid them a precarious allegiance. fickle, treacherous, and ferocious, the indians at times committed acts of outrage even on their allies, so that these allies had to be ever on their guard; and the tribes were often at war with one another. war interrupted trade and cut down profits, and the british endeavored to keep the different tribes at peace among themselves, and even with the americans. moreover they always discouraged barbarities, and showed what kindness was in their power to any unfortunate prisoners whom the indians happened to bring to their posts. but they helped the indians in all ways save by open military aid to keep back the american settlers. they wished a monopoly of the fur trade; and they endeavored to prevent the americans from coming into their settlements. [footnote: _do._ john hay to haldimand, aug. , ; james mcneil, aug .] english officers and agents attended the indian councils, endeavored to attach the tribes to the british interests, and encouraged them to stand firm against the americans and to insist upon the ohio as the boundary between the white man and the red. [footnote: _do._ letter of a. mckee, dec. , ; mckee to sir john johnson, feb. , ; major ancrum, may , .] the indians received counsel and advice from the british, and drew from them both arms and munitions of war, and while the higher british officers were usually careful to avoid committing any overt breach of neutrality, the reckless partisan leaders sought to inflame the indians against the americans, and even at times accompanied their war parties. life at a frontier post. the life led at a frontier post like detroit was marked by sharp contrasts. the forest round about was cleared away, though blackened stumps still dotted the pastures, orchards, and tilled fields. the town itself was composed mainly of the dwellings of the french _habitans_; some of them were mere hovels, others pretty log cottages, all swarming with black-eyed children; while the stoutly-made, swarthy men, at once lazy and excitable, strolled about the streets in their picturesque and bright-colored blanket suits. there were also a few houses of loyalist refugees; implacable tories, stalwart men, revengeful, and goaded by the memory of many wrongs done and many suffered, who proved the worst enemies of their american kinsfolk. the few big roomy buildings, which served as storehouses and residences for the merchants, were built not only for the storage of goods and peltries, but also as strongholds in case of attack. the heads of the mercantile houses were generally englishmen; but the hardy men who traversed the woods for months and for seasons, to procure furs from the indians, were for the most part french. the sailors, both english and french, who manned the vessels on the lakes formed another class. the rough earthworks and stockades of the fort were guarded by a few light guns. within, the red-coated regulars held sway, their bright uniforms varied here and there by the dingy hunting-shirt, leggings, and fur cap of some tory ranger or french partisan leader. indians lounged about the fort, the stores, and the houses, begging, or gazing stolidly at the troops as they drilled, at the creaking carts from the outlying farms as they plied through the streets, at the driving to and fro from pasture of the horses and milch cows, or at the arrival of a vessel from niagara or a brigade of fur-laden bateaux from the upper lakes. the indians. in their paint and their cheap, dirty finery, these savages did not look very important; yet it was because of them that the british kept up their posts in these far-off forests, beside these great lonely waters; it was for their sakes that they tried to stem the inrush of the settlers of their own blood and tongue; for it was their presence alone which served to keep the wilderness as a game preserve for the fur merchants; it was their prowess in war which prevented french village and british garrison from being lapped up like drops of water before the fiery rush of the american advance. the british themselves, though fighting with and for them, loved them but little; like all frontiersmen, they soon grew to look down on their mean and trivial lives,--lives which nevertheless strongly attracted white men of evil and shiftless, but adventurous, natures, and to which white children, torn from their homes and brought up in the wigwams, became passionately attached. yet back of the lazy and drunken squalor lay an element of the terrible, all the more terrible because it could not be reckoned with. dangerous and treacherous allies, upon whom no real dependence could ever placed, the indians were nevertheless the most redoubtable of all foes when the war was waged in their own gloomy woodlands. the british officers at such a post those standing high in authority were partly civil officials, partly army officers. of the former, some represented the provincial government, and others acted for the fur companies. they had much to do, both in governing the french townsfolk and countryfolk, in keeping the indians friendly, and in furthering the peculiar commerce on which the settlements subsisted. but the important people were the army officers. these were imperious, able, resolute men, well drilled, and with a high military standard of honor. they upheld with jealous pride the reputation of an army which in that century proved again and again that on stricken fields no soldiery of continental europe could stand against it. they wore a uniform which for the last two hundred years has been better known than any other wherever the pioneers of civilization tread the world's waste spaces or fight their way to the overlordship of barbarous empires; a uniform known to the southern and the northern hemispheres, the eastern and the western continents, and all the islands of the sea. subalterns wearing this uniform have fronted dangers and responsibilities such as in most other services only gray-headed generals are called upon to face; and, at the head of handfuls of troops, have won for the british crown realms as large, and often as populous, as european kingdoms. the scarlet-clad officers who serve the monarchy of great britain have conquered many a barbarous people in all the ends of the earth, and hold for their sovereign the lands of moslem and hindoo, of tartar and arab and pathan, of malay, negro, and polynesian. in many a war they have overcome every european rival against whom they have been pitted. again and again they have marched to victory against frenchman and spaniard through the sweltering heat of the tropics; and now, from the stupendous mountain masses of mid asia, they look northward through the wintry air, ready to bar the advance of the legions of the czar. hitherto they have never gone back save once; they have failed only when they sought to stop the westward march of a mighty nation, a nation kin to theirs, a nation of their own tongue and law, and mainly of their own blood. the frontiersmen and the british. the british officers and the american border leaders found themselves face to face in the wilderness as rivals of one another. sundered by interest and ambition, by education and the habits of thought, trained to widely different ways of looking at life, and with the memories of the hostile past fresh in their minds, they were in no humor to do justice to one another. each side regarded the other with jealousy and dislike, and often with bitter hatred. each often unwisely scorned the other. each kept green in mind the wrongs suffered at the other's hands, and remembered every discreditable fact in the other's recent history--every failure, every act of cruelty or stupidity, every deed that could be held as the consequence of the worst moral and mental shortcomings. neither could appreciate the other's many and real virtues. the policies for which they warred were hostile and irreconcilable; the interests of the nations they represented were, as regards the northwestern wilderness, not only incompatible but diametrically opposed. the commanders of the british posts, and the men who served under them, were moved by a spirit of stern loyalty to the empire, the honor of whose flag they upheld, and endeavored faithfully to carry out the behests of those who shaped that empire's destinies; in obedience to the will of their leaders at home they warred to keep the northwest a wilderness, tenanted only by the indian hunter and the white fur trader. the american frontiersmen warred to make this wilderness the heart of the greatest of all republics; they obeyed the will of no superior, they were not urged onward by any action of the supreme authorities of the land; they were moved only by the stirring ambition of a masterful people, who saw before them a continent which they claimed as their heritage. the americans succeeded, the british failed; for the british fought against the stars in their courses, while the americans battled on behalf of the destiny of the race. between the two sets of rivals lay leagues on leagues of forest, in which the active enemies of the americans lived and hunted and marched to war. the british held the posts on the lakes; the frontiersmen held the land south of the ohio. in the wilderness between dwelt the shawnees, wyandots, and delawares, the wabash indians, the miamis, and many others; and they had as allies all the fiercest and most adventurous of the tribes farther off, the chippewas, the winnebagos, the sacs and foxes. on the side of the whites the war was still urged by irregular levies of armed frontiersmen. the federal garrisons on the ohio were as yet too few and feeble to be of much account; and in the south, where the conflict was against creek and cherokee, there were no regular troops whatever. indian inroads. the struggle was at first one of aggression on the part of the northwestern indians. they were angered and alarmed at the surveyors and the few reckless would-be settlers, who had penetrated their country; but there was no serious encroachment on their lands, and congress for some time forbade any expedition being carried on against them in their home. they themselves made no one formidable attack, sent no one overmastering force against the whites. but bands of young braves from all the tribes began to cross the ohio, and ravage the settlements, from the pennsylvania frontier to kentucky. they stole horses, burned houses, and killed or carried into a dreadful captivity men, women, and children. the inroads were as usual marked by stealth, rapine, and horrible cruelty. it is hard for those accustomed only to treat of civilized warfare to realize the intolerable nature of these ravages, the fact that the loss and damage to the whites was out of all proportion to the strength of the indian war parties, and the extreme difficulty in dealing an effective counter stroke. the immense tangled forests increased beyond measure the difficulties of the problem. under their shelter the indians were able to attack at will and without warning, and though they would fight to the death against any odds when cornered, they invariably strove to make their attacks on the most helpless, on those who were powerless to resist. it was not the armed frontier levies, it was the immigrants coming in by pack train or by flat boat,--it was the unsuspecting settlers with their wives and little ones who had most to fear from an indian fray; while, when once the blow was delivered, the savages vanished as smoke vanishes in the open. a small war party could thus work untold harm in a district precisely as a couple of man-eating jaguars may depopulate a forest village in tropical america; and many men and much time had to be spent before they could be beaten into submission, exactly as it needs a great hunting party to drive from their fastness and slay the big man-eating cats, though, if they came to bay in the open, they could readily be killed by a single skilful and resolute hunter. warfare of the settlers. each settlement or group of settlements had to rely on the prowess of its own hunter-soldiers for safety. the real war, the war in which by far the greatest loss was suffered by both sides, was that thus waged man against man. these innumerable and infinitely varied skirmishes, as petty as they were bloody, were not so decisive at the moment as the campaigns against the gathered tribes, but were often more important in their ultimate results. under the incessant strain of the incessant warfare there arose here and there indian fighters of special note, men who warred alone, or at the head of small parties of rangers, and who not only defended the settlements, but kept the indian villages and the indian war parties in constant dread by their vengeful retaliatory inroads. these men became the peculiar heroes of the frontier, and their names were household words in the log cabins of the children, and children's children, of their contemporaries. they were warriors of the type of the rude champions who in the ages long past hunted the mammoth and the aurochs, and smote one another with stone-headed axes; their feats of ferocious personal prowess were of the kind that gave honor and glory to the mighty men of time primeval. their deeds were not put into books while the men themselves lived; they were handed down by tradition, and grew dim and vague in the recital. what one fierce partisan leader had done might dwindle or might grow in the telling or might finally be ascribed to some other; or else the same feat was twisted into such varying shapes that it became impossible to recognize which was nearest the truth, or what man had performed it. the border leaders. often in dealing with the adventures of one of these old-time border warriors--kenton, wetzel, brady, mansker, castleman,--all we can say is that some given feat was commonly attributed to him, but may have been performed by somebody else, or indeed may only have been the kind of feat which might at any time have been performed by men of his stamp. thus one set of traditions ascribe to brady an adventure in which when bound to a stake, he escaped by suddenly throwing an indian child into the fire, and dashing off unhurt in the confusion; but other traditions ascribe the feat not to brady, but to some other wild hunter of the day. again one of the favorite tales of brady is his escape from a band of pursuing indians, by an extraordinary leap across a deep ravine, at the bottom of which flowed a rapid stream; but in some traditions this leap appears as made by another frontier hero, or even by an indian whom brady himself was pursuing. it is therefore a satisfaction to come across, now and then, some feat which is attested by contemporaneous testimony. there is such contemporary record for one of brady's deeds, which took place towards the close of the revolutionary war. brady's feats. brady had been on a raid in the indian country and was returning. his party had used all their powder and had scattered, each man going towards his own home, as they had nearly reached the settlements. only three men were left with brady, the four had but one charge of powder apiece, and even this had been wet in crossing a stream, though it had been carefully dried afterwards. they had with them a squaw whom they had captured. when not far from home they ran into a party of seven indians, likewise returning from a raid, and carrying with them as prisoners a woman and her child. brady spied the indians first and instantly resolved to attack them, trusting that they would be panic-struck and flee; though after a single discharge of their rifles he and his men would be left helpless. slipping ahead he lay in ambush until the indians were close up. he then fired, killing the leader, whereat the others fled in terror, leaving the woman and child. in the confusion, however, the captive squaw also escaped and succeeded in joining the fleeing savages, to whom she told the small number and woful plight of their assailants; and they at once turned to pursue them. brady, however, had made good use of the time gained, and was in full flight with his two rescued prisoners; and before he was overtaken he encountered a party of whites who were themselves following the trail of the marauders. he at once turned and in company with them hurried after the indians; but the latter were wary, and, seeing the danger, scattered and vanished in the gloomy woodland. the mother and child, thus rescued from a fearful fate, reached home in safety. the letter containing the account of this deed continues: "this young officer, captain brady, has great merit as a partizan in the woods. he has had the address to surprise and beat the indians three different times since i came to the department--he is brave, vigilant, and successful." [footnote: draper mss. alex. fowler to edward hand, pittsburgh, july , .] for a dozen years after the close of the revolution brady continued to be a tower of strength to the frontier settlers of pennsylvania and virginia. at the head of his rangers he harassed the indians greatly, interfering with and assailing their war parties, and raiding on their villages and home camps. like his foes he warred by ambush and surprise. among the many daring backwoodsmen who were his followers and companions the traditions pay particular heed to one phouts, "a stout, thick dutchman of uncommon strength and activity." in spite of the counter strokes of the wild wood-rangers, the indian ravages speedily wrapped the frontier in fire and blood. in such a war the small parties were really the most dangerous, and in the aggregate caused most damage. it is less of a paradox than it seems, to say that one reason why the indians were so formidable in warfare was because they were so few in numbers. had they been more numerous they would perforce have been tillers of the soil, and it would have been far easier for the whites to get at them. they were able to wage a war so protracted and murderous, only because of their extreme elusiveness. there was little chance to deliver a telling blow at enemies who had hardly anything of value to destroy, who were so comparatively few in number that they could subsist year in and year out on game, and whose mode of life rendered them as active, stealthy, cautious, and ferocious as so many beasts of prey. ravages in kentucky. though the frontiers of pennsylvania and of virginia proper suffered much, kentucky suffered more. the murderous inroads of the indians at about the close of the revolutionary war caused a mortality such as could not be paralleled save in a community struck down by some awful pestilence; and though from thence on our affairs mended, yet for many years the most common form of death was death at the hands of the indians. a resident in kentucky, writing to a friend, dwelt on the need of a system of vestries to take care of the orphans, who, as things were, were left solely to private charity; though, continues the writer, "of all countries i am acquainted with this abounds most with these unhappy objects." [footnote: draper mss., clark mss. darrell to fleming, april , .] attacks on incoming settlers. the roving war bands infested the two routes by which the immigrants came into the country; for the companies of immigrants could usually be taken at a disadvantage, and yielded valuable plunder. the parties who travelled the wilderness road were in danger of ambush by day and of onslaught by night. but there was often some protection for them, for whenever the savages became very bold, bodies of kentucky militia were sent to patrol the trail, and these not only guarded the trains of incomers, but kept a sharp look-out for indian signs, and, if any were found, always followed and, if possible, fought and scattered the marauders. the indians who watched the river-route down the ohio had much less to fear in the way of pursuit by, or interference from, the frontier militia; although they too were now and then followed, overtaken, and vanquished. while in midstream the boats were generally safe, though occasionally the savages grew so bold that they manned flotillas of canoes and attacked the laden flat-boats in open day. but when any party landed, or wherever the current swept a boat inshore, within rifle range of the tangled forest on the banks, there was always danger. the white riflemen, huddled together with their women, children, and animals on the scows, were utterly unable to oppose successful resistance to foes who shot them down at leisure, while themselves crouching in the security of their hiding-places. the indians practised all kinds of tricks and stratagems to lure their victims within reach. a favorite device was to force some miserable wretch whom they had already captured to appear alone on the bank when a boat came in sight, signal to it, and implore those on board to come to his rescue and take him off; the decoy inventing some tale of wreck or of escape from indians to account for his presence. if the men in the boat suffered themselves to be overcome by compassion and drew inshore, they were sure to fall victims to their sympathy. the boat once assailed and captured, the first action of the indians was to butcher all the wounded. if there was any rum or whiskey on board they drank it, feasted on the provisions, and took whatever goods they could carry off. they then set off through the woods with their prisoners for distant indian villages near the lakes. they travelled fast, and mercilessly tomahawked the old people, the young children, and the women with child, as soon as their strength failed under the strain of the toil and hardship and terror. when they had reached their villages they usually burned some of their captives and made slaves of the others, the women being treated as the concubines of their captors, and the children adopted by the families who wished them. of the captives a few might fall into the hands of friendly traders, or of the british officers at detroit; a few might escape, or be ransomed by their kinsfolk, or be surrendered in consequence of some treaty. the others succumbed to the perils of their new life, or gradually sank into a state of stolid savagery. forays on the settlements. naturally the ordinary indian foray was directed against the settlements themselves; and of course the settlements of the frontier, as it continually shifted westward, were those which bore the brunt of the attack and served as a shield for the more thickly peopled and peaceful region behind. occasionally a big war party of a hundred warriors or over would come prepared for a stroke against some good-sized village or fort; but, as a rule, the indians came in small bands, numbering from a couple to a dozen or score of individuals. entirely unencumbered by baggage or by impediments of any kind, such a band lurked through the woods, leaving no trail, camping wherever night happened to overtake it, and travelling whithersoever it wished. the ravages committed by these skulking parties of murderous braves were monotonous in their horror. all along the frontier the people on the outlying farms were ever in danger, and there was risk for the small hamlets and block-houses. in their essentials the attacks were alike: the stealthy approach, the sudden rush, with its accompaniment of yelling war-whoops, the butchery of men, women, and children, and the hasty flight with whatever prisoners were for the moment spared, before the armed neighbors could gather for rescue and revenge. in most cases there was no record of the outrage; it was not put into any book; and, save among the survivors, all remembrance of it vanished as the logs of the forsaken cabin rotted and crumbled. incidents of the war on the frontier. yet tradition, or some chance written record kept alive the memory of some of these incidents, and a few such are worth reciting, if only to show what this warfare of savage and settler really was. most of the tales deal merely with some piece of unavenged butchery. in , on june th, the house of a settler named scott, in washington county, virginia, was attacked. the indians, thirteen in number, burst in the door just as the family were going to bed. scott was shot; his wife was seized and held motionless, while all her four children were tomahawked, and their throats cut, the blood spouting over her clothes. the indians loaded themselves with plunder, and, taking with them the wretched woman, moved off, and travelled all night. next morning each man took his share and nine of the party went down to steal horses on the clinch. the remaining four roamed off through the woods, and ten days later the woman succeeded in making her escape. for a month she wandered alone in the forest, living on the young cane and sassafras, until, spent and haggard with the horror and the hardship, she at last reached a small frontier settlement. at about the same time three girls, sisters, walking together near wheeling creek, were pounced upon by a small party of indians. after going a short distance the indians halted, talked together for a few moments, and then without any warning a warrior turned and tomahawked one of the girls. the second instantly shared the same fate; the third jerked away from the indian who held her, darted up a bank, and, extraordinary to relate, eluded her pursuer, and reached her home in safety. another family named doolin, suffered in the same year; and there was one singular circumstance connected with their fate. the indians came to the door of the cabin in the early morning; as the man rose from bed the indians fired through the door and shot him in the thigh. they then burst in, and tomahawked him and two children; yet for reasons unknown they did not harm the woman, nor the child in her arms. no such mercy was shown by a band of six indians who attacked the log houses of two settlers, brothers, named edward and thomas cunningham. the two cabins stood side by side, the chinks between the logs allowing those in one to see what was happening in the other. one june evening, in , both families were at supper. thomas was away. his wife and four children were sitting at the table when a huge savage slipped in through the open door. edward in the adjoining cabin, saw him enter, and seized his rifle. the indian fired at him through a chink in the wall, but missed him, and, being afraid to retreat through the door, which would have brought him within range of edward's rifle, he seized an axe and began to chop out an opening in the rear wall. another indian made a dash for the door, but was shot down by edward; however, he managed to get over the fence and out of range. meanwhile the mother and her four children remained paralyzed with fear until the indian inside the room had cut a hole through the wall. he then turned, brained one of the children with his tomahawk, threw the body out into the yard through the opening, and motioned to her to follow it. in mortal fear she obeyed, stepping out over the body of one of her children, with two others screaming beside her, and her baby in her arms. once outside he scalped the murdered boy, and set fire to the house, and then drove the woman and the remaining children to a knoll where the wounded indian lay with the others around him. the indians hoped the flames would destroy both cabins; but edward cunningham and his son went into their loft, and threw off the boards of the roof, as they kindled, escaping unharmed from the shots fired at them; and so, though scorched by the flame and choked by the smoke, they saved their house and their lives. seeing the failure of their efforts the savages then left, first tomahawking and scalping the two elder children. the shuddering mother, with her baby, was taken along with them to a cave, in which they hid her and the wounded indian; and then with untold fatigue, hardship, and suffering, for her brutal captors gave her for food only a few papaw nuts and the head of a wild turkey, she was taken to the indian towns. some months afterwards simon girty ransomed her and sent her and tried to follow the trail; but the crafty forest warriors had concealed it with such care that no effective pursuit could be made. retaliation of the settlers. in none of the above-mentioned raids did the indians suffer any loss of life, and in none was there any successful pursuit. but in one instance in this same year and same neighborhood the assailed settlers retaliated, with effect. it was near wheeling. a lad named john wetzel, one of a noted border family of coarse, powerful, illiterate indian fighters, had gone out from the fortified village in which his kinsfolk were living to hunt horses. another boy went with him. there were several stray horses, one being a mare which belonged to wetzel's sister, with a colt, and the girl had promised him the colt if he would bring the mare back. the two boys were vigorous young fellows, accustomed to life in the forest, and they hunted high and low, and finally heard the sound of horse-bells in a thicket. running joyfully forward they fell into the hands of four indians, who had caught the horses and tied them in the thicket, so that by the tinkling of their bells they might lure into the ambush any man who came out to hunt them up. young wetzel made a dash for liberty, but received a shot which broke his arm, and then surrendered and cheerfully accompanied his captors; while his companion, totally unnerved, hung back crying, and was promptly tomahawked. early next morning the party struck the ohio, at a point where there was a clearing. the cabins on this clearing were deserted, the settlers having taken refuge in a fort because of the indian ravages; but the stock had been left running in the woods. one of the indians shot a hog and tossed it into a canoe they had hidden under the bank. the captive was told to enter the canoe and lie down; three indians then got in, while the fourth started to swim the stolen horses across the river. fortunately for the captured boy three of the settlers had chosen this day to return to the abandoned clearing and look after the loose stock. they reached the place shortly after the indians, and just in time to hear the report of the rifle when the hog was shot. the owner of the hogs, instead of suspecting that there were indians near by, jumped to the conclusion that a kentucky boat had landed, and that the immigrants were shooting his hogs--for the people who drifted down the ohio in boats were not, when hungry, over-scrupulous concerning the right to stray live stock. running forward, the three men had almost reached the river, when they heard the loud snorting of one of the horses as it was forced into the water. as they came out on the bank they saw the canoe, with three indians in it, and in the bottom four rifles, the dead hog, and young wetzel stretched at full length; the indian in the stern was just pushing off from the shore with his paddle; the fourth indian was swimming the horses a few yards from shore. immediately the foremost white man threw up his rifle and shot the paddler dead; and a second later one of his companions coming up, killed in like fashion the indian in the bow of the canoe. the third indian, stunned by the sudden onslaught, sat as if numb, never so much as lifting one of the rifles that lay at his feet, and in a minute he too was shot and fell over the side of the canoe, but grasped the gunwale with one hand, keeping himself afloat. young wetzel, in the bottom of the canoe, would have shared the same fate, had he not cried out that he was white and a prisoner; whereupon they bade him knock loose the indian's hand from the side of the canoe. this he did, and the indian sank. the current carried the canoe on a rocky spit of land, and wetzel jumped out and waded ashore, while the little craft spun off and again drifted towards midstream. one of the men on shore now fired at the only remaining indian, who was still swimming his horse for the opposite bank. the bullet splashed the water on his naked skin, whereat he slipped off his horse, swam to the empty canoe, and got into it. unhurt he reached the farther shore, where he leaped out and caught the horse as it swam to land, mounted it, rifle in hand, turned to yell defiance at his foes, and then vanished in the forest-shrouded wilderness. he left behind him the dead bodies of his three friends, to be washed on the shallows by the turbid flood of the great river. [footnote: de haas, pp. - . de haas gathered the facts of these and numerous similar incidents from the pioneers themselves in their old age; doubtless they are often inaccurate in detail, but on the whole de haas has more judgment and may be better trusted than the other compilers. in the draper mss. are volumes of such traditional stories, gathered with no discrimination whatever.] monotonous horror of the ravages. these are merely some of the recorded incidents which occurred in the single year , in one comparatively small portion of the vast stretch of territory which then formed the indian frontier. many such occurred on all parts of this frontier in each of the terrible years of indian warfare. they varied infinitely in detail, but they were monotonously alike in their characteristics of stealthy approach, of sudden onfall, and of butcherly cruelty; and there was also a terrible sameness in the brutality and ruthlessness with which the whites, as occasion offered, wreaked their revenge. generally the indian war parties were successful, and suffered comparatively little, making their attacks by surprise, and by preference on unarmed men cumbered with women and children. occasionally they were beaten back; occasionally parties of settlers or hunters stumbled across and scattered the prowling bands; occasionally the indian villages suffered from retaliatory inroads. attack on the lincoln family. one attack, simple enough in its incidents, deserves notice for other reasons. in a family of "poor white" immigrants who had just settled in kentucky were attacked in the daytime, while in the immediate neighborhood of their squalid cabin. the father was shot, and one indian was in the act of tomahawking the six-year-old son, when an elder brother, from the doorway of the cabin, shot the savage. the indians then fled. the boy thus rescued grew up to become the father of abraham lincoln. [footnote: hay and nicolay.] now and then the monstrous uniformity of horror in assault and reprisal was broken by some deed out of the common; some instance where despair nerved the frame of woman or of half-grown boy; some strange incident in the career of a backwoods hunter, whose profession perpetually exposed him to indian attack, but also trained him as naught else could to evade and repel it. the wild turkey was always much hunted by the settlers; and one of the common indian tricks was to imitate the turkey call and shoot the hunter when thus tolled to his foe's ambush; but it was only less common for a skilled indian fighter to detect the ruse and himself creep up and slay the would-be slayer. more than once, when a cabin was attacked in the absence or after the death of the men, some brawny frontierswoman, accustomed to danger and violent physical exertion, and favored by peculiar circumstances, herself beat off the assailants. prowess of frontier women. in one such case, two or three families were living together in a block-house. one spring day, when there were in the house but two men and one woman, a mrs. bozarth, the children who had been playing in the yard suddenly screamed that indians were coming. one of the men sprang to the door only to fall back with a bullet in his breast, and in another moment an indian leaped over the threshold and attacked the remaining man before he could grasp a weapon. holding his antagonist the latter called out to mrs. bozarth to hand him a knife; but instead she snatched up an axe and killed the savage on the spot. but that instant another leaped into the doorway, and firing, killed the white man who had been struggling with his companion; but the woman instantly turned on him, as he stood with his smoking gun, and ripped open his body with a stroke of her axe. yelling for help he sank on the threshold, and his comrades rushed to his rescue; the woman, with her bloody weapon, cleft open the skull of the first, and the others fell back, so that she was able to shut and bar the door. then the savages moved off, but they had already killed the children in the yard. a similar incident took place in kentucky, where the cabin of a man named john merrill was attacked at night. he was shot in several places, and one arm and one thigh broken, as he stood by the open door, and fell calling out to his wife to close it. this she did; but the indians chopped a hole in the stout planks with their tomahawks, and tried to crawl through. the woman, however, stood to one side and struck at the head of each as it appeared, maiming or killing the first two or three. enraged at being thus baffled by a woman, two of the indians clambered on the roof of the cabin, and prepared to drop down the wide chimney; for at night the fire in such a cabin was allowed to smoulder, the coals being kept alive in the ashes. but mrs. merrill seized a feather-bed and, tearing it open, threw it on the embers; the flame and stifling smoke leaped up the chimney, and in a moment both indians came down, blinded and half smothered, and were killed by the big resolute woman before they could recover themselves. no further attempt was made to molest the cabin or its inmates. one of the incidents which became most widely noised along the borders was the escape of the two johnson boys, in the fall of . their father was one of the restless pioneers along the upper ohio who were always striving to take up claims across the river, heedless of the indian treaties. the two boys, john and henry, were at the time thirteen and eleven years old respectively. one sunday, about noon, they went to find a hat which they had lost the day before at the spot where they had been working, three quarters of a mile from the house. having found the hat they sat down by the roadside to crack nuts, and were surprised by two indians; they were not harmed, but were forced to go with their captors, who kept travelling slowly through the woods on the outskirts of the settlements, looking for horses. the elder boy soon made friends with the indians, telling them that he and his brother were ill-treated at home, and would be glad to get a chance to try indian life. by degrees they grew to believe he was in earnest, and plied him with all kinds of questions concerning the neighbors, their live stock, their guns, the number of men in the different families, to all of which he replied with seeming eagerness and frankness. at night they stopped to camp, one indian scouting through the woods, while the other kindled a fire by flashing powder in the pan of his rifle. for supper they had parched corn and pork roasted over the coals; there was then some further talk, and the indians lay down to sleep, one on each side of the boys. after a while, supposing that their captives were asleep, and anticipating no trouble from two unarmed boys, one indian got up and lay down on the other side of the fire, where he was soon snoring heavily. then the lads, who had been wide awake, biding their time, whispered to one another, and noiselessly rose. the elder took one of the guns, silently cocked it, and, pointing it at the head of one indian, directed the younger boy to take it and pull trigger, while he himself stood over the head of the other indian with drawn tomahawk. the one boy then fired, his indian never moving after receiving the shot, while the other boy struck at the same moment; but the tomahawk went too far back on the neck, and the savage tried to spring to his feet, yelling loudly. however the boy struck him again and again as he strove to rise, and he fell back and was soon dead. then the two boys hurried off through the darkness, fearing lest other indians might be in the neighborhood. not very far away they struck a path which they recognized, and the elder hung up his hat, that they might find the scene of their feat when they came back. continuing their course they reached a block-house shortly before daybreak. on the following day a party of men went out with the elder boy and found the two dead indians. [footnote: de haas.] after any indian stroke the men of the neighborhood would gather under their local militia officers, and, unless the indians had too long a start, would endeavor to overtake them, and either avenge the slain or rescue the prisoners. in the more exposed settlements bands of rangers were kept continually patrolling the woods. every man of note in the cumberland country took part in this duty. in kentucky the county lieutenants and their subordinates were always on the lookout. logan paid especial heed to the protection of the immigrants who came in over the wilderness road. kenton's spy company watched the ohio, and continually crossed it on the track of marauding parties, and, though very often baffled, yet kenton and his men succeeded again and again in rescuing hapless women and children, or in scattering--although usually with small loss--war parties bound against the settlements. feats of an indian fighter one of the best known indian fighters in kentucky was william whitley, who lived at walnut flat, some five miles from crab orchard. he had come to kentucky soon after its settlement, and by his energy and ability had acquired property and leadership, though of unknown ancestry and without education. he was a stalwart man, skilled in the use of arms, jovial and fearless; the backwoods fighters followed him readily, and he loved battle; he took part in innumerable indian expeditions, and in his old age was killed fighting against tecumseh at the battle of the thames. in or ' he built the first brick house ever built in kentucky. it was a very handsome house for those days, every step in the hall stairway having carved upon it the head of an eagle bearing in its beak an olive branch. each story was high, and the windows were placed very high from the ground, to prevent the indians from shooting through them at the occupants. the glass was brought from virginia by pack train. he feasted royally the hands who put up the house; and to pay for the whiskey they drank he had to sell one of his farms. in (the year of the above recited ravages on the upper ohio in the neighborhood of wheeling), colonel whitley led his rangers, once and again, against marauding indians. in january he followed a war party, rescued a captive white man, and took prisoner an indian who was afterwards killed by one of the militia--"a cowardly fellow," says whitley. in october a party of immigrants, led by a man named mcclure, who had just come over the wilderness trace, were set upon at dawn by indians, not far from whitley's house; two of the men were killed. mrs. mcclure got away at first, and ran two hundred yards, taking her four children with her; in the gloom they would all have escaped had not the smallest child kept crying. this led the indians to them. three of the children were tomahawked at once; next morning the fourth shared the same fate. the mother was forced to cook breakfast for her captors at the fire before which the scalps were drying. she was then placed on a half-broken horse and led off with them. when word of the disaster was brought to whitley's, he was not at home, but his wife, a worthy helpmeet, immediately sent for him, and meanwhile sent word to his company. on his return he was able to take the trail at once with twenty-one riflemen, as true as steel. following hard, but with stealth equal to their own, he overtook the indians at sundown on the second day, and fell on them in their camp. most of them escaped through the thick forest, but he killed two, rescued six prisoners, and captured sixteen horses and much plunder. ten days after this another party of immigrants, led by a man named moore, were attacked on the wilderness road and nine persons killed. whitley raised thirty of his horse-riflemen, and, guessing from the movements of the indians that they were following the war trace northward, he marched with all speed to reach it at some point ahead of them, and succeeded. finding they had not passed he turned and went south, and in a thick canebrake met his foes face to face. the whites were spread out in line, while the indians, twenty in number, came on in single file, all on horseback. the cane was so dense that the two parties were not ten steps apart when they saw one another. at the first fire the indians, taken utterly unaware, broke and fled, leaving eight of their number dead; and the victors also took twenty-eight horses. [footnote: draper mss. whitley's mss. narrative, apparently dictated some time after the events described. it differs somewhat from the printed account in collins.] death of black wolf and col. christian in the following spring another noted indian fighter, less lucky than whitley, was killed while leading one of these scouting parties. early in , the indians began to commit and col. numerous depredations in kentucky, and the alarm and anger of the inhabitants became great. [footnote: draper mss. clark papers, _passim_ for . wm. finney to g. r. clark, march and , . also wm. croghan to g. r. clark, nov. , and nov. , .] in april, a large party of savages under a chief named black wolf, made a raid along beargrass. col. william christian, a very gallant and honorable man, was in command of the neighboring militia. at once, as was his wont, he raised a band of twenty men, and followed the plunderers across the ohio. riding well in advance of his followers, with but three men in company with him, he overtook the three rearmost indians, among whom was black wolf. the struggle was momentary but bloody. all three indians were killed, but colonel christian and one of his captains were also slain. [footnote: state department mss. papers continental congress. sam mcdowell to governor of virginia, april , . john may to _do._, april , . clark mss. bradford's notes on kentucky. john clark to johnathan clark, april , .] anger of the kentuckians. the kentuckians were by this time thoroughly roused, and were bent on making a retaliatory expedition in force. they felt that the efforts made by congress to preserve peace by treaties, at which the indians were loaded with presents, merely resulted in making them think that the whites were afraid of them, and that if they wished gifts all they had to do was to go to war. [footnote: draper mss. jon. clark papers. john clark to johnathan clark, march , . also, g. r. clark to j. clark, april , .] the only effective way to deal with the indians was to strike them in their own country, not to try to parry the strokes they themselves dealt. clark, who knew the savages well, scoffed at the idea that a vigorous blow, driven well home, would rouse them to desperation; he realized that, formidable though they were in actual battle, and still more in plundering raid, they were not of the temper to hazard all on the fate of war, or to stand heavy punishment, and that they would yield very quickly, when once they were convinced that unless they did so they and their families would perish by famine or the sword. [footnote: state department mss., no. , p. . g. r. clark to r. h. lee.] at this time he estimated that some fifteen hundred warriors were on the war-path and that they were likely to be joined by many others. anarchy on the wabash. the condition of affairs at the french towns of the illinois and wabash afforded another strong reason for war, or at least for decided measures of some kind. almost absolute anarchy reigned in these towns. the french inhabitants had become profoundly discontented with the united states government. this was natural, for they were neither kept in order nor protected, in spite of their petitions to congress that some stable government might be established. [footnote: state department mss., no. , p. , dec. , . also p. , nov. , . draper mss. j. edgar to g. r. clark, oct. , .] the quarrels between the french and the intruding american settlers had very nearly reached the point of a race war; and the americans were further menaced by the indians. these latter were on fairly good terms with the french, many of whom had intermarried with them, and lived as they did; although the french families of the better class were numerous, and had attained to what was for the frontier a high standard of comfort and refinement. quarrels between french and americans. the french complained with reason of the lawless and violent character of many of the american new-comers, and also of the fact that already speculators were trying by fraud and foul means to purchase large tracts of land, not for settlement, but to hold until it should rise in value. on the other hand, the americans complained no less bitterly of the french, as a fickle, treacherous, undisciplined race, in close alliance with the indians, and needing to be ruled with a rod of iron. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. . j. edgar to g. r. clark, nov. , . draper mss. petition of americans of vincennes to congress, june i, .] it is impossible to reconcile the accounts the two parties gave of one another's deeds; doubtless neither side was guiltless of grave wrongdoing. so great was clark's reputation for probity and leadership that both sides wrote him urgently, requesting that he would come to them and relieve their distress. [footnote: draper mss. petition to g. r. clark from inhabitants of vincennes, march , .] one of the most fruitful sources of broils and quarrels was the liquor trade with the indians. the rougher among the new-comers embarked eagerly in this harmful and disreputable business, and the low-class french followed their example. the commandant, monsieur j. m. p. legrace, and the creole court forbade this trade; a decision which was just and righteous, but excited much indignation, as the other inhabitants believed that the members of the court themselves followed it in secret. [footnote: do., john filson; ms. journey of two voyages, etc.] in the ravages of the indians grew so serious, and the losses of the americans near vincennes became so great, that they abandoned their outlying farms, and came into the town. [footnote: do., moses henry to g. r. clark, june , .] vincennes then consisted of upwards of three hundred houses. the americans numbered some sixty families, and had built an american quarter, with a strong blockhouse. they only ventured out to till their cornfields in bodies of armed men, while the french worked their lands singly and unarmed. indians attack americans. the indians came freely into the french quarter of the town, and even sold to the inhabitants plunder taken from the americans; and when complaint of this was made to the creole magistrates, they paid no heed. one of the men who suffered at the hands of the savages was a wandering schoolmaster, named john filson, [footnote: _do_., john small to g. r. clark, june , .] the first historian of kentucky, and the man who took down, and put into his own quaint and absurdly stilted english, boone's so-called "autobiography." filson, having drifted west, had travelled up and down the ohio and wabash by canoe and boat. he was much struck with the abundance of game of all kinds which he saw on the northwestern side of the ohio, and especially by the herds of buffaloes which lay on the sand-bars; his party lived on the flesh of bears, deer, wild turkeys, coons, and water-turtles. in the indians whom he met seemed friendly; but on june , , while on the wabash, his canoe was attacked by the savages, and two of his men were slain. he himself escaped with difficulty, and reached vincennes after an exhausting journey, but having kept possession of his "two small trunks." [footnote: _do_., filson's journal.] two or three weeks after this misadventure of the unlucky historian, a party of twenty-five americans, under a captain named daniel sullivan, [footnote: _do_., daniel sullivan to g. r. clark, june , . small's letter says june st.] were attacked while working in their cornfields at vincennes. [footnote: state dept. mss. papers continental congress, no. , vol. ii., letter of j. m. p. legrace, "au général george rogé clarck a la châte" (at the falls-louisville), july , .] they rallied and drove back the indians, but two of their number were wounded. one of the wounded fell for a moment into the hands of the indians and was scalped; and though he afterwards recovered, his companions at the time expected him to die. they marched back to vincennes in furious anger, and finding an indian in the house of a frenchman, they seized and dragged him to their block-house, where the wife of the scalped man, whose name was donelly, shot and scalped him. french threaten americans. this greatly exasperated the french, who kept a guard over the other indians who were in town, and next day sent them to the woods. then their head men, magistrates, and officers of the militia, summoned the americans before a council, and ordered all who had not regular passports from the local court to leave at once, "bag and baggage." this created the utmost consternation among the americans, whom the french outnumbered five to one, while the savages certainly would have destroyed them had they tried to go back to kentucky. their leaders again wrote urgent appeals for help to clark, asking that a general guard might be sent them if only to take them out of the country. filson had already gone overland to louisville and told the authorities of the straits of their brethren at vincennes, and immediately an expedition was sent to their relief under captains hardin and patton. indians attempt to destroy americans. meanwhile, on july th, a large band of several hundred indians, bearing red and white flags, came down the river in forty-seven canoes to attack the americans at vincennes, sending word to the french that if they remained neutral they would not be molested. the french sent envoys to dissuade them from their purpose, but the war chiefs and sachems answered that the red people were at last united in opposition to "the men wearing hats," and gave a belt of black wampum to the wavering piankeshaws, warning them that all indians who refused to join against the whites would thenceforth be treated as foes. however, their deeds by no means corresponded with their threats. next day they assailed the american block-house or stockaded fort, but found they could make no impression and drew off. they burned a few outlying cabins and slaughtered many head of cattle, belonging both to the americans and the french; and then, seeing the french under arms, held further parley with them, and retreated, to the relief of all the inhabitants. a successful skirmish. at the same time the kentuckians, under hardin and patton, stumbled by accident on a party of indians, some of whom were friendly piankeshaws and some hostile miamis. they attacked them without making any discrimination between friend and foe, killed six, wounded seven, and drove off the remainder. but they themselves lost one man killed and four wounded, including hardin, and fell back to louisville without doing anything more. [footnote: letter of legrace and filson's journal. the two contradict one another as to which side was to blame. legrace blames the americans heavily for wronging both the french and the indians; and condemns in the strongest terms, and probably with justice, many of their number, and especially sullivan. he speaks, however, in high terms of henry and small; and both of these, in their letters referred to above, paint the conduct of the french and indians in very dark colors, throwing the blame on them. legrace is certainly disingenuous in suppressing all mention of the wrongs done to the americans. for filson's career and death in the woods, see the excellent life of filson, by durrett, in the filson club publications.] clark's expedition. these troubles on the wabash merely hardened the determination of the kentuckians no longer to wait until the federal government acted. with the approval of governor patrick henry, they took the initiative themselves. early in august the field officers of the district of kentucky met at harrodsburg, benjamin logan presiding, and resolved on an expedition, to be commanded by clark, against the hostile indians on the wabash. half of the militia of the district were to go; the men were to assemble, on foot or on horseback, as they pleased, at clarksville on september th. [footnote: draper mss. minutes of meetings of the officers of the district of kentucky, aug. , . state dept. mss., no. , vol. ii. letter of p. henry, may , .] besides pack-horses, salt, flour, powder, and lead were impressed, [footnote: draper mss. j. cox to george rogers clark, aug. , .] not always in strict compliance with law, for some of the officers impressed quantities of spirituous liquors also. [footnote: state dept. mss., madison papers. letter of caleb wallace nov. , .] the troops themselves however came in slowly. [footnote: state dept. mss., papers continental congress. no. , vol. ii. letter of major wm. north, sept. , .] late in september when twelve hundred men had been gathered, clark moved forward. but he was no longer the man he had been. he failed to get any hold on his army. his followers, on their side, displayed all that unruly fickleness which made the militia of the revolutionary period a weapon which might at times be put to good use in the absence of any other, but which was really trusted only by men whose military judgment was as fatuous as jefferson's. clark's failure. after reaching vincennes the troops became mutinous, and at last flatly refused longer to obey orders, and marched home as a disorderly mob, to the disgrace of themselves and their leader. nevertheless the expedition had really accomplished something, for it overawed the wabash and illinois indians, and effectively put a stop to any active expressions of disloyalty or disaffection on the part of the french. clark sent officers to the illinois towns, and established a garrison of one hundred and fifty men at vincennes, [footnote: _do_. virginia state papers. g. r. clark to patrick henry. draper mss., proceedings of committee of kentucky convention, dec. , .] besides seizing the goods of a spanish merchant in retaliation for wrongs committed on american merchants by the spaniards. logan's expedition. this failure was in small part offset by a successful expedition led by logan at the same time against the shawnee towns. [footnote: state department mss., virginia state papers, logan to patrick henry, december , .] on october th, he attacked them with seven hundred and ninety men. there was little or no resistance, most of the warriors having gone to oppose clark. logan took ten scalps and thirty-two prisoners, burned two hundred cabins and quantities of corn, and returned in triumph after a fortnight's absence. one deed of infamy sullied his success. among his colonels was the scoundrel mcgarry, who, in cold blood, murdered the old shawnee chief, molunthee, several hours after he had been captured; the shame of the barbarous deed being aggravated by the fact that the old chief had always been friendly to the americans. [footnote: draper mss., caleb wallace to wm. fleming, october , . state department mss., no. , vol. ii., harmar's letter, november , .] other murders would probably have followed, had it not been for the prompt and honorable action of colonels robert patterson and robert trotter, who ordered their men to shoot down any one who molested another prisoner. mcgarry then threatened them, and they in return demanded that he be court-martialled for murder. [footnote: virginia state papers, vol. iv., p. .] logan, to his discredit, refused the court-martial, for fear of creating further trouble. the bane of the frontier military organization was the helplessness of the elected commanders, their dependence on their followers, and the inability of the decent men to punish the atrocious misdeeds of their associates. these expeditions were followed by others on a smaller scale, but of like character. they did enough damage to provoke, but not to overawe, the indians. with the spring of , the ravages began on an enlarged scale, with all their dreadful accompaniments of rapine, murder, and torture. all along the ohio frontier, from pennsylvania to kentucky, the settlers were harried; and in some places they abandoned their clearings and hamlets, so that the frontier shrank back. [footnote: durret mss., daniel dawson to john campbell, pittsburg, june , . virginia state papers, vol. iv., p. .] logan, kenton, and many other leaders headed counter expeditions, and now and then broke up a war party or destroyed an indian town; [footnote: draper, mss., t. brown to t. preston, danville, june , . virginia state papers, vol. iv., pp. , , etc.] but nothing decisive was accomplished, and virginia paralyzed the efforts of the kentuckians and waked them to anger, by forbidding them to follow the indian parties beyond the frontier. [footnote: virginia state papers, vol. iv., p. .] the most important stroke given to the hostile indians in was dealt by the cumberland people. during the preceding three or four years, some scores of the settlers on the cumberland had been slain by small predatory parties of indians, mostly cherokees and creeks. no large war band attacked the settlements; but no hunter, surveyor, or traveller, no wood-chopper or farmer, no woman alone in the cabin with her children, could ever feel safe from attack. now and then a savage was killed in such an attack, or in a skirmish with some body of scouts; but nothing effectual could be thus accomplished. ravages in cumberland country. the most dangerous marauders were some creek and cherokee warriors who had built a town on the coldwater, a tributary of the tennessee near the muscle shoals, within easy striking distance of the cumberland settlements. this town was a favorite resort of french traders from the illinois and wabash, who came up the tennessee in bateaux. they provided the indians with guns and ammunition, and in return often received goods plundered from the americans; and they at least indirectly and in some cases directly encouraged the savages in their warfare against the settlers. [footnote: robertson mss., robertson to some french man of note in illinois, june, . this is apparently a copy, probably by robertson's wife, of the original letter. in robertson's own original letters, the spelling and handwriting are as rough as they are vigorous.] robertson's expedition against the coldwater town. early in june, robertson gathered one hundred and thirty men and marched against the coldwater town, with two chickasaws as guides. another small party started at the same time by water, but fell into an ambush, and then came back. robertson and his force followed the trail of a marauding party which had just visited the settlements. they marched through the woods towards the tennessee until they heard the voice of the great river as it roared over the shoals. for a day they lurked in the cane on the north side, waiting until they were certain no spies were watching them. in the night some of the men swam over and stole a big canoe, with which they returned. at daylight the troops crossed, a few in this canoe, the others swimming with their horses. after landing, they marched seven miles and fell on the town, which was in a ravine, with cornfields round about. taken by surprise, the warriors, with no effective resistance, fled to their canoes. the white riflemen thronged after them. most of the warriors escaped, but over twenty were slain; as were also four or five french traders, while half a dozen frenchmen and one indian squaw were captured. all the cabins were destroyed, the live stock was slain, and much plunder taken. the prisoners were well treated and released; but on the way home another party of french traders were encountered, and their goods were taken from them. the two chickasaws were given their full share of all the plunder. this blow gave a breathing spell to the cumberland settlements. robertson at once wrote to the french in the illinois country, and also to some delawares, who had recently come to the neighborhood, and were preserving a dubious neutrality. he explained the necessity of their expedition, and remarked that if any innocent people, whether frenchmen or indians, had suffered in the attack, they had to blame themselves; they were in evil company, and the assailants could not tell the good from the bad. if any americans had been there, they would have suffered just the same. in conclusion he warned the french that if their traders continued to furnish the hostile indians with powder and lead, they would "render themselves very insecure"; and to the indians he wrote that, in the event of a war, "you will compell ous to retaliate, which will be a grate pridgedes to your nation." [footnote: robertson mss. his letter above referred to, and another, in his own hand, to the delawares, of about the same date.] he did not spell well; but his meaning was plain, and his hand was known to be heavy. chapter iii. the navigation of the mississippi; separatist movements and spanish intrigues, - . it was important for the frontiersmen to take the lake posts from the british; but it was even more important to wrest from the spaniards the free navigation of the mississippi. while the lake posts were held by the garrisons of a foreign power, the work of settling the northwestern territory was bound to go forward slowly and painfully; but while the navigation of the mississippi was barred, even the settlements already founded could not attain to their proper prosperity and importance. need of free navigation of the mississippi. the lusty young commonwealths which were springing into life on the ohio and its tributaries knew that commerce with the outside world was essential to their full and proper growth. the high, forest-clad ranges of the appalachians restricted and hampered their mercantile relations with the older states, and therefore with the europe which lay beyond; while the giant river offered itself as a huge trade artery to bring them close to all the outer world, if only they were allowed its free use. navigable rivers are of great importance to a country's trade now; but a hundred years ago their importance was relatively far greater. steam, railroads, electricity, have worked a revolution so stupendous, that we find it difficult to realize the facts of the life which our forefathers lived. the conditions of commerce have changed much more in the last hundred years than in the preceding two thousand. the kentuckians and tennesseans knew only the pack train, the wagon train, the river craft and the deep-sea ship; that is, they knew only such means of carrying on commerce as were known to greek and carthaginian, roman and persian, and the nations of medieval europe. beasts of draught and of burden, and oars and sails,--these, and these only,--were at the service of their merchants, as they had been at the service of all merchants from time immemorial. where trade was thus limited the advantages conferred by water carriage, compared to land carriage, were incalculable. the westerners were right in regarding as indispensable the free navigation of the mississippi. they were right also in their determination ultimately to acquire the control of the whole river, from the source to the mouth. desire to seize the spanish lands. however, the westerners wished more than the privilege of sending down stream the products of their woods and pastures and tilled farms. they had already begun to cast longing eyes on the fair spanish possessions. spain was still the greatest of colonial powers. in wealth, in extent, and in population--both native and european--her colonies surpassed even those of england; and by far the most important of her possessions were in the new world. for two centuries her european rivals, english, french, and dutch, had warred against her in america, with the net result of taking from her a few islands in the west indies. on the american mainland her possessions were even larger than they had been in the age of the great conquisadores; the age of cortes, pizarro, de soto, and coronado. yet it was evident that her grasp had grown feeble. every bold, lawless, ambitious leader among the frontier folk dreamed of wresting from the spaniard some portion of his rich and ill-guarded domain. relations of the frontiersmen to the central government. it was not alone the attitude of the frontiersmen towards spain that was novel, and based upon a situation for which there was little precedent. their relations with one another, with their brethren of the seaboard, and with the federal government, likewise had to be adjusted without much chance of profiting by antecedent experience. many phases of these relations between the people who stayed at home, and those who wandered off to make homes, between the frontiersmen as they formed young states, and the central government representing the old states, were entirely new, and were ill-understood by both parties. truths which all citizens have now grown to accept as axiomatic were then seen clearly only by the very greatest men, and by most others were seen dimly, if at all. what is now regarded as inevitable and proper was then held as something abnormal, unnatural, and greatly to be dreaded. the men engaged in building new commonwealths did not, as yet, understand that they owed the union as much as did the dwellers in the old states. they were apt to let liberty become mere anarchy and license, to talk extravagantly about their rights while ignoring their duties, and to rail at the weakness of the central government while at the same time opposing with foolish violence every effort to make it stronger. on the other hand, the people of the long-settled country found difficulty in heartily accepting the idea that the new communities, as they sprang up in the forest, were entitled to stand exactly on a level with the old, not only as regards their own rights, but as regards the right to shape the destiny of the union itself. the union still inchoate. the union was as yet imperfect. the jangling colonies had been welded together, after a fashion, in the slow fire of the revolutionary war; but the old lines of cleavage were still distinctly marked. the great struggle had been of incalculable benefit to all americans. under its stress they had begun to develop a national type of thought and character. americans now held in common memories which they shared with no one else; for they held ever in mind the feats of a dozen crowded years. theirs was the history of all that had been done by the continental congress and the continental armies; theirs the memory of the toil and the suffering and the splendid ultimate triumph. they cherished in common the winged words of their statesmen, the edged deeds of their soldiers; they yielded to the spell of mighty names which sounded alien to all men save themselves. but though the successful struggle had laid deep the foundations of a new nation, it had also of necessity stirred and developed many of the traits most hostile to assured national life. all civil wars loosen the bands of orderly liberty, and leave in their train disorder and evil. hence those who cause them must rightly be held guilty of the gravest wrong-doing unless they are not only pure of purpose, but sound of judgment, and unless the result shows their wisdom. the revolution had left behind it among many men love of liberty, mingled with lofty national feeling and broad patriotism; but to other men it seemed that the chief lessons taught had been successful resistance to authority, jealousy of the central government, and intolerance of all restraint. according as one or the other of these mutually hostile sets of sentiments prevailed, the acts of the revolutionary leaders were to stand justified or condemned in the light of the coming years. as yet the success had only been in tearing down; there remained the harder and all-important task of building up. task of the nation builders. this task of building up was accomplished, and the acts of the men of the revolution were thus justified. it was the after result of the revolution, not the revolution itself, which gave to the governmental experiment inaugurated by the second continental congress its unique and lasting value. it was this result which marks most clearly the difference between the careers of the english-speaking and spanish-speaking peoples on this continent. the wise statesmanship typified by such men as washington and marshall, hamilton, jay, john adams, and charles cotesworth pinckney, prevailed over the spirit of separatism and anarchy. seven years after the war ended, the constitution went into effect, and the united states became in truth a nation. had we not thus become a nation, had the separatists won the day, and our country become the seat of various antagonistic states and confederacies, then the revolution by which we won liberty and independence would have been scarcely more memorable or noteworthy than the wars which culminated in the separation of the spanish-american colonies from spain; for we would thereby have proved that we did not deserve either liberty or independence. over-mastering importance of the union. the revolutionary war itself had certain points of similarity with the struggles of which men like bolivar were the heroes; where the parallel totally fails is in what followed. there were features in which the campaigns of the mexican and south american insurgent leaders resembled at least the partisan warfare so often waged by american revolutionary generals; but with the deeds of the great constructive statesman of the united states there is nothing in the career of any spanish-american community to compare. it was the power to build a solid and permanent union, the power to construct a mighty nation out of the wreck of a crumbling confederacy, which drew a sharp line between the americans of the north and the spanish-speaking races of the south. in their purposes and in the popular sentiment to which they have appealed, our separatist leaders of every generation have borne an ominous likeness to the horde of dictators and half-military, half-political adventurers who for three quarters of a century have wrought such harm in the lands between the argentine and mexico; but the men who brought into being and preserved the union have had no compeers in southern america. the north american colonies wrested their independence from great britain as the colonies of south america wrested theirs from spain; but whereas the united states grew with giant strides into a strong and orderly nation, spanish america has remained split into a dozen turbulent states, and has become a byword for anarchy and weakness. the separatist feeling. the separatist feeling has at times been strong in almost every section of the union, although in some regions it has been much stronger than in others. calhoun and pickering, jefferson and gouverneur morris, wendell phillips and william taney, aaron burr and jefferson davis--these and many other leaders of thought and action, east and west, north and south, at different periods of the nation's growth, and at different stages of their own careers, have, for various reasons, and with widely varying purity of motive, headed or joined in separatist movements. many of these men were actuated by high-minded, though narrow, patriotism; and those who, in the culminating catastrophe of all the separatist agitations, appealed to the sword, proved the sincerity of their convictions by their resolute courage and self-sacrifice. nevertheless they warred against the right, and strove mightily to bring about the downfall and undoing of the nation. evils of the disunion movements. the men who brought on and took part in the disunion movements were moved sometimes by good and sometimes by bad motives; but even when their motives were disinterested and their purposes pure, and even when they had received much provocation, they must be adjudged as lacking the wisdom, the foresight, and the broad devotion to all the land over which the flag floats, without which no statesman can rank as really great. the enemies of the union were the enemies of america and of mankind, whose success would have plunged their country into an abyss of shame and misery, and would have arrested for generations the upward movement of their race. eastern jealousy of the young west. yet, evil though the separatist movements were, they were at times imperfectly justified by the spirit of sectional distrust and bitterness rife in portions of the country which at the moment were themselves loyal to the union. this was especially true of the early separatist movements in the west. unfortunately the attitude towards the westerners of certain portions of the population in the older states, and especially in the northeastern states, was one of unreasoning jealousy and suspicion; and though this mental attitude rarely crystallized into hostile deeds, its very existence, and the knowledge that it did exist, embittered the men of the west. moreover the people among whom these feelings were strongest were, unfortunately, precisely those who on the questions of the union and the constitution showed the broadest and most far-seeing statesmanship. new england, the towns of the middle states and maryland, the tidewater region of south carolina, and certain parts of virginia were the seats of the soundest political thought of the day. the men who did this sane, wholesome political thinking were quite right in scorning and condemning the crude unreason, often silly, often vicious, which characterized so much of the political thought of their opponents. the strength of these opponents was largely derived from the ignorance and suspicion of the raw country districts, and from the sour jealousy with which the backwoodsmen regarded the settled regions of the seaboard. but when these sound political thinkers permitted their distrust of certain sections of the country to lead them into doing injustice to those sections, they in their turn deserved the same condemnation which should be meted to so many of their political foes. when they allowed their judgment to become so warped by their dissatisfaction with the traits inevitably characteristic of the earlier stages of frontier development that they became opposed to all extension of the frontier; when they allowed their liking for the well-ordered society of their own districts to degenerate into indifference to or dislike of the growth of the united states towards continental greatness; then they themselves sank into the position of men who in cold selfishness sought to mar the magnificent destiny of their own people. blindness of the new englanders as regards the west. in the northeastern states, and in new england especially, this feeling showed itself for two generations after the close of the revolutionary war. on the whole the new englanders have exerted a more profound and wholesome influence upon the development of our common country than has ever been exerted by any other equally numerous body of our people. they have led the nation in the path of civil liberty and sound governmental administration. but too often they have viewed the nation's growth and greatness from a narrow and provincial standpoint, and have grudgingly acquiesced in, rather than led the march towards, continental supremacy. in shaping the nation's policy for the future their sense of historic perspective seemed imperfect. they could not see the all-importance of the valley of the ohio, or of the valley of the columbia, to the republic of the years to come. the value of a county in maine offset in their eyes the value of these vast, empty regions. indeed, in the days immediately succeeding the revolution, their attitude towards the growing west was worse than one of mere indifference; it was one of alarm and dislike. they for the moment adopted towards the west a position not wholly unlike that which england had held towards the american colonies as a whole. they came dangerously near repeating, in their feeling towards their younger brethren on the ohio, the very blunder committed in reference to themselves by their elder brethren in britain. for some time they seemed, like the british, unable to grasp the grandeur of their race's imperial destiny. they hesitated to throw themselves with hearty enthusiasm into the task of building a nation with a continent as its base. they rather shrank from the idea as implying a lesser weight of their own section in the nation; not yet understanding that to an american the essential thing was the growth and well-being of america, while the relative importance of the locality where he dwelt was a matter of small moment. eastern efforts to shear the west's strength. the extreme representatives of this northeastern sectionalism not only objected to the growth of the west at the time now under consideration, but even avowed a desire to work it harm, by shutting the mississippi, so as to benefit the commerce of the atlantic states--a manifestation of cynical and selfish disregard of the rights of their fellow-countrymen quite as flagrant as any piece of tyranny committed or proposed by king george's ministers in reference to america. these intolerant extremists not only opposed the admission of the young western states into the union, but at a later date actually announced that the annexation by the united states of vast territories beyond the mississippi offered just cause for the secession of the northeastern states. even those who did not take such an advanced ground felt an unreasonable dread lest the west might grow to overtop the east in power. in their desire to prevent this (which has long since happened without a particle of damage resulting to the east), they proposed to establish in the constitution that the representatives from the west should never exceed in number those from the east,--a proviso which would not have been merely futile, for it would quite properly have been regarded by the west as unforgivable. a curious feature of the way many honest men looked at the west was their inability to see how essentially transient were some of the characteristics to which they objected. thus they were alarmed at the turbulence and the lawless shortcomings of various kinds which grew out of the conditions of frontier settlement and sparse population. they looked with anxious foreboding to the time when the turbulent and lawless people would be very numerous, and would form a dense and powerful population; failing to see that in exact proportion as the population became dense, the conditions which caused the qualities to which they objected would disappear. even the men who had too much good sense to share these fears, even men as broadly patriotic as jay, could not realize the extreme rapidity of western growth. kentucky and tennessee grew much faster than any of the old frontier colonies had ever grown; and from sheer lack of experience, eastern statesmen could not realize that this rapidity of growth made the navigation of the mississippi a matter of immediate and not of future interest to the west. failure to perceive truths now regarded as self-evident. in short, these good people were learning with reluctance and difficulty to accept as necessary certain facts which we regard as part of the order of our political nature. we look at territorial expansion, and the admission of new states, as part of a process as natural as it is desirable. to our forefathers the process was novel, and, in some of its features, repugnant. many of them could not divest themselves of the feeling that the old states ought to receive more consideration than the new; whereas nowadays it would never occur to anyone that pennsylvania and georgia ought to stand either above or below california and montana. it is an inestimable boon to all four states to be in the union, but this is because the citizens of all of them are on a common footing. if the new commonwealths in the rocky mountains and on the pacific slope were not cordially accepted by the original thirteen states as having exactly the same rights and privileges of every kind, it would be better for them to stand alone. as a matter of fact, we have become so accustomed to the idea of the equality of the different states, that it never enters our heads to conceive of the possibility of its being otherwise. the feeling in its favor is so genuine and universal that we are not even conscious that it exists. nobody dreams of treating the fact that the new commonwealths are offshoots of the old as furnishing grounds for any discrimination in reference to them, one way or the other. there still exist dying jealousies between different states and sections, but this particular feeling does not enter into them in any way whatsoever. the east distrusts the trans-alleghany people. at the time when kentucky was struggling for statehood, this feeling, though it had been given its death-blow by the success of the revolution, still lingered here and there on the atlantic coast. it was manifest in the attitude of many prominent people--the leaders in their communities--towards the new commonwealths growing up beyond the alleghanies. had this intolerant sectional feeling ever prevailed and been adopted as the policy of the atlantic states, the west would have revolted, and would have been right in revolting. but the manifestations of this sectionalism proved abortive; the broad patriotism of leaders like washington prevailed. in the actual event the east did full and free justice to the west. in consequence we are now one nation. separatist and disunion feeling in the west. while many of the people on the eastern seaboard thus took an indefensible position in reference to the trans-alleghany settlements, in the period immediately succeeding the revolution, there were large bodies of the population of these same settlements, including very many of their popular leaders, whose own attitude towards the union was, if anything, even more blameworthy. they were clamorous about their rights, and were not unready to use veiled threats of disunion when they deemed these rights infringed; but they showed little appreciation of their own duties to the union. for certain of the positions which they assumed no excuse can be offered. they harped continually on the feebleness of the federal authorities, and the inability of these authorities to do them justice or offer them adequate protection against the indian and the spaniard; yet they bitterly opposed the adoption of the very constitution which provided a strong and stable federal government, and turned the weak confederacy, despised at home and abroad, into one of the great nations of the earth. they showed little self-control, little willingness to wait with patience until it was possible to remedy any of the real or fancied wrongs of which they complained. they made no allowance for the difficulties so plentifully strewn in the path of the federal authorities. they clamored for prompt and effective action, and yet clamored just as loudly against the men who sought to create a national executive with power to take this prompt and effective action. they demanded that the united states wrest from the british the lake posts, and from the spaniards the navigation of the mississippi. yet they seemed incapable of understanding that if they separated from the union they would thereby forfeit all chance of achieving the very purposes they had in view, because they would then certainly be at the mercy of britain, and probably, at least for some time, at the mercy of spain also. they opposed giving the united states the necessary civil and military power, although it was only by the possession and exercise of such power that it would be possible to secure for the westerners what they wished. in all human probability, the whole country round the great lakes would still be british territory, and the mouth of the mississippi still in the hands of some european power, had the folly of the separatists won the day and had the west been broken up into independent states. shortcomings of the frontiersmen. these shortcomings were not special or peculiar to the frontiersmen of the ohio valley at the close of the eighteenth century. all our frontiersmen have betrayed a tendency towards them at times, though the exhibitions of this tendency have grown steadily less and less decided. in vermont, during the years between the close of the revolution and the adoption of the constitution, the state of affairs was very much what it was in kentucky at the same time. [footnote: _pennsylvania magazine of history and biography_, xi., no. , pp. - , letters of levi allen, ethan allen, and others, from to .] in each territory there was acute friction with a neighboring state. in each there was a small knot of men who wished the community to keep out of the new american nation, and to enter into some sort of alliance with a european nation, england in one case, spain in the other. in each there was a considerable but fluctuating separatist party, desirous that the territory should become an independent nation on its own account. in each case the separatist movements failed, and the final triumph lay with the men of broadly national ideas, so that both kentucky and vermont became states of one indissoluble union. final triumph of the union party. this final triumph of the union party in these first-formed frontier states was fraught with immeasurable good for them and for the whole nation of which they became parts. it established a precedent for the action of all the other states that sprang into being as the frontier rolled westward. it decided that the interior of north america should form part of one great republic, and should not be parcelled out among a crowd of english-speaking uruguays and ecquadors, powerful only to damage one another, and helpless to exact respect from alien foes or to keep order in their own households. it vastly increased the significance of the outcome of the revolution, for it decided that its after-effects should be felt throughout the entire continent, not merely in the way of example, but by direct impress. the creation of a nation stretching along the atlantic seaboard was of importance in itself, but the importance was immensely increased when once it was decided that the nation should cover a region larger than all europe. excuses for some of the separatists. while giving unlimited praise to the men so clearsighted, and of such high thought, that from the beginning they foresaw the importance of the union, and strove to include all the west therein, we must beware of blaming overmuch those whose vision was less acute. the experiment of the union was as yet inchoate; its benefits were prospective; and loyalty to it was loyalty to a splendid idea the realization of which lay in the future rather than in the present. all honor must be awarded to the men who under such conditions could be loyal to so high an ideal; but we must not refuse to see the many strong and admirable qualities in some of the men who looked less keenly into the future. it would be mere folly [footnote: r. t. durrett, "centenary of kentucky," .] to judge a man who in was lukewarm or even hostile to the union by the same standard we should use in testing his son's grandson a century later. finally, where a man's general course was one of devotion to the union, it is easy to forgive him some momentary lapse, due to a misconception on his part of the real needs of the hour, or to passing but intense irritation at some display of narrow indifference to the rights of his section by the people of some other section. patrick henry himself made one slip when he opposed the adoption of the federal constitution; but this does not at all offset the services he rendered our common country both before and afterwards. every statesman makes occasional errors; and the leniency of judgment needed by patrick henry, and needed far more by ethan allen, samuel adams, and george clinton, must be extended to frontier leaders for whose temporary coldness to the union there was much greater excuse. characteristics of the frontiersmen. when we deal, not with the leading statesmen of the frontier communities, but with the ordinary frontier folk themselves, there is need to apply the same tests used in dealing with the rude, strong peoples of by-gone ages. the standard by which international, and even domestic, morality is judged, must vary for different countries under widely different conditions, for exactly the same reasons that it must vary for different periods of the world's history. we cannot expect the refined virtues of a highly artificial civilization from frontiersmen who for generations have been roughened and hardened by the same kind of ferocious wilderness toil that once fell to the lot of their remote barbarian ancestors. the kentuckian, from his clearing in the great forest, looked with bold and greedy eyes at the spanish possessions, much as markman, goth, and frank had once peered through their marshy woods at the roman dominions. he possessed the virtues proper to a young and vigorous race; he was trammelled by few misgivings as to the rights of the men whose lands he coveted; he felt that the future was for the stout-hearted, and not for the weakling. he was continually hampered by the advancing civilization of which he was the vanguard, and of which his own sous were destined to form an important part. he rebelled against the restraints imposed by his own people behind him exactly as he felt impelled to attack the alien peoples in front of him. he did not care very much what form the attack took. on the whole he preferred that it should be avowed war, whether waged under the stars and stripes or under some flag new-raised by himself and his fellow-adventurers of the border. in default of such a struggle, he was ready to serve under alien banners, either those of some nation at the moment hostile to spain, or else those of some insurgent spanish leader. but he was also perfectly willing to obtain by diplomacy what was denied by force of arms; and if the united states could not or would not gain his ends for him in this manner, then he wished to make use of his own power. he was eager to enter in and take the land, even at the cost of becoming for the time being a more or less nominal vassal of spain; and he was ready to promise, in return for this privilege of settlement, to form a barrier state against the further encroachment of his fellows. when fettered by the checks imposed by the central government, he not only threatened to revolt and establish an independent government of his own, but even now and then darkly hinted that he would put this government under the protection of the very spanish power at whose cost he always firmly intended to take his own strides towards greatness. as a matter of fact, whether he first established himself in the spanish possessions as an outright enemy, or as a nominal friend and subject, the result was sure to be the same in the end. the only difference was that it took place sooner in one event than in the other. in both cases alike the province thus acquired was certain finally to be wrested from spain. spanish dread of the westerners. the spaniards speedily recognized in the americans the real menace to their power in florida, louisiana, and mexico. they did not, however, despair of keeping them at bay. the victories won by galvez over both the british regulars and the tory american settlers were fresh in their minds; and they felt they had a chance of success even in a contest of arms. but the weapons upon which they relied most were craft and intrigue. if the union could be broken up, or the jealousies between the states and sections fanned into flame, there would be little chance of a successful aggressive movement by the americans of any one commonwealth. the spanish authorities sought to achieve these ends by every species of bribery and corrupt diplomacy. they placed even more reliance upon the war-like confederacies of the creeks, cherokees, choctaws, and chickasaws, thrust in between themselves and the frontier settlements; and while protesting to the americans with smooth treachery that they were striving to keep the indians at peace, they secretly incited them to hostilities, and furnished them with arms and munitions of war. the british held the lake posts by open exhibition of strength, though they too were not above conniving at treachery and allowing their agents covertly to urge the red tribes to resist the american advance; but the spaniards, by preference, trusted to fraud rather than to force. negotiations between spain and the united states concerning the free navigation of the mississippi. in the last resort the question of the navigation of the mississippi had to be decided between the governments of spain and the united states; and it was chiefly through the latter that the westerners could, indirectly, but most powerfully, make their influence felt, in the long and intricate negotiations carried on towards the close of the revolutionary war between the representatives of spain, france, and the united states, spain had taken high ground in reference to this and to all other western questions, and france had supported her in her desire to exclude the americans from all rights in the vast regions beyond the alleghanies. at that time the delegates from the southern, no less than from the northern, states, in the continental congress, showed much weakness in yielding to this attitude of france and spain. on the motion of those from virginia all the delegates with the exception of those from north carolina voted to instruct jay, then minister to spain, to surrender outright the free navigation of the mississippi. later, when he was one of the commissioners to treat for peace, they practically repeated the blunder by instructing jay and his colleagues to assent to whatever france proposed. with rare wisdom and courage jay repudiated these instructions. the chief credit for the resulting diplomatic triumph, almost as essential as the victory at yorktown itself to our national well-being, belongs to him, and by his conduct he laid the men of the west under an obligation which they never acknowledged during his lifetime. [footnote: it is not the least of mann butler's good points that in his "history" he does full justice to jay. another kentuckian, mr. thomas marshall green, has recently done the same in his "spanish conspiracy."] jay and gardoqui. shortly after his return to america he was made secretary of foreign affairs, and was serving as such when, in the spring of , don diego gardoqui arrived in philadelphia, bearing a commission from his catholic majesty to congress. at this time the brilliant and restless soldier galvez had left louisiana and become viceroy of mexico, thus removing from louisiana the one spaniard whose energy and military capacity would have rendered him formidable to the americans in the event of war. he was succeeded in the government of the creole province by don estevan miro, already colonel of the louisiana regiment. gardoqui was not an able man, although with some capacity for a certain kind of intrigue. he was a fit representative of the spanish court, with its fundamental weakness and its impossible pretensions. he entirely misunderstood the people with whom he had to deal, and whether he was or was not himself personally honest, he based his chief hopes of success in dealing with others upon their supposed susceptibility to the influence of corruption and dishonorable intrigue. he and jay could come to no agreement, and the negotiations were finally broken off. before this happened, in the fall of , jay in entire good faith had taken a step which aroused furious anger in the west. [footnote: state dep. mss., no. , vol. ii., pp. , , , etc.; reports of sec'y john jay.] like so many other statesmen of the day, he did not realize how fast kentucky had grown, and deemed the navigation question one which would not be of real importance to the west for two decades to come. he absolutely refused to surrender our right to navigate the mississippi; but, not regarding it as of immediate consequence, he proposed both to congress and gardoqui that in consideration of certain concessions by spain we should agree to forbear to exercise this right for twenty or twenty-five years. the delegates from the northern states assented to jay's views; those from the southern states strongly opposed them. in , after a series of conferences between jay and gardoqui, which came to naught, the spaniard definitely refused to entertain jay's proposition. even had he not refused nothing could have been done, for under the confederation a treaty had to be ratified by the votes of nine states, and there were but seven which supported the policy of jay. washington and lee agree with jay. unquestionably jay showed less than his usual far-sightedness in this matter, but it is only fair to remember that his views were shared by some of the greatest of american statesmen, even from virginia. "lighthorse harry" lee substantially agreed with them. washington, with his customary broad vision and keen insight, realized the danger of exciting the turbulent westerners by any actual treaty which might seem to cut off their hope of traffic down the mississippi; but he advocated pursuing what was, except for defining the time limit, substantially the same policy under a different name, recommending that the united states should await events and for the moment neither relinquish nor push their claim to free navigation of the great river. [footnote: "the spanish conspiracy," thos. marshall green, p. .] even in kentucky itself a few of the leading men were of the opinion that the right of free navigation would be of little real benefit during the lifetime of the existing generation. [footnote: state dept. mss., madison papers, caleb wallace to madison, nov. , . wallace himself shared this view.] it was no discredit to jay to hold the views he did when they were shared by intelligent men of affairs who were actually in the district most concerned. he was merely somewhat slow in abandoning opinions which half a dozen years before were held generally throughout the union. nevertheless it was fortunate for the country that the southern states, headed by virginia, were so resolute in their opposition, and that gardoqui, a fit representative of his government, declined to agree to a treaty which if ratified would have benefited spain, and would have brought undreamed of evil upon the united states. jefferson, to his credit, was very hostile to the proposition. as a statesman jefferson stood for many ideas which in their actual working have proved pernicious to our country, but he deserves well of all americans, in the first place because of his services to science, and in the next place, what was of far more importance, because of his steadfast friendship for the great west, and his appreciation of its magnificent future. methods of the river trade. as soon as the revolutionary war came to an end adventurers in kentucky began to trade down the mississippi. often these men were merchants by profession, but this was not necessary, for on the frontier men shifted from one business to another very readily. a farmer of bold heart and money-making temper might, after selling his crop, build a flatboat, load it with flour, bacon, salt, beef, and tobacco, and start for new orleans. [footnote: mcafee mss.] he faced dangers from the waters, from the indians, from lawless whites of his own race, and from the spaniards themselves. the new orleans customs officials were corrupt, [footnote: do. vol iii- ] and the regulations very absurd and oppressive. the policy of the spanish home government in reference to the trade was unsettled and wavering, and the attitude towards it of the governors of louisiana changed with their varying interests, beliefs, caprices, and apprehensions. in consequence the conditions of the trade were so uncertain that to follow it was like indulging in a lottery venture. special privileges were allowed certain individuals who had made private treaties with, or had bribed, the spanish officials; and others were enabled to smuggle their goods in under various pretences, and by various devices; while the traders who were without such corrupt influence or knowledge found this river commerce hazardous in the extreme. it was small wonder that the kentuckians should chafe under such arbitrary and unequal restraints, and should threaten to break through them by force. [footnote: va. state papers, iv., .] the most successful traders were of course those who contrived to establish relations with some one in new orleans, or perhaps in natchez, who would act as their agent or correspondent. the profits from a successful trip made amends for much disaster, and enabled the trader to repeat his adventure on a larger scale. thus, among the papers of george rogers clark there is a letter from one of his friends who was living in kaskaskia in , and was engaged in the river trade. [footnote: draper mss. letter of john williams, june , .] the letter was evidently to the writer's father, beginning "my dear daddy." it describes how he had started on one trip to new orleans, but had been wrecked; how, nothing daunted, he had tried again with a cargo of forty-two beeves, which he sold in new orleans for what he deemed the good sum of $ ; and how he was about to try his luck once more, buying a bateau and thirty bushels of salt, enough to pickle two hundred beeves. risks of the traders. the traders never could be certain when their boats would be seized and their goods confiscated by some spanish officer; nor when they started could they tell whether they would or would not find when they reached new orleans that the spanish authorities had declared the navigation closed. in and the early part of traders were descending the mississippi without overt resistance from the spaniards, and were selling their goods at a profit in new orleans. in midsummer of the navigation of the river was suddenly and rigorously closed. in it was again partially opened; so that we find traders purchasing flour in louisville at twenty-four shillings a hundred-weight, and carrying it down stream to sell in new orleans at thirty dollars a barrel. by summer of the same year the spaniards were again shutting off traffic, being in great panic over a rumored piratical advance by the frontiersmen, to oppose which they were mustering their troops and making ready their artillery. [footnote: draper mss. j. girault to william clark, july , ; may , ; july , ; certificate of french merchants testified to by miro in .] among the articles the frontier traders received for their goods horses held a high place. [footnote: _do_. girault to clark july , .] the horse trade was risky, as in driving them up to kentucky many were drowned, or played out, or were stolen by the indians; but as picked horses and mares cost but twenty dollars a head in louisiana and were sold at a hundred dollars a head in the united states, the losses had to be very large to eat up the profits. creole traders. the french creoles, who carried on much of the river trade and who lived some under the american and some under the spanish flag, of course suffered as much as either americans or spaniards. often these creoles loaded their canoes with a view to trading with the indians, rather than at new orleans. whether this was so or not, those officially in the service of the two powers soon grew as zealous in oppressing one another as in oppressing men of different nationalities. thus in a vincennes creole, having loaded his pirogue with goods to the value of two thousand dollars, sent it down to trade with the indians near the chickasaw bluffs. here it was seized by the creole commandant of the spanish post at the arkansas. the goods were confiscated and the men imprisoned. the owner appealed in vain to the commandant, who told him that he was ordered by the spanish authorities to seize all persons who trafficked on the mississippi below the mouth of the ohio, inasmuch as spain claimed both banks of the river; and when he made his way to new orleans and appealed to miro he was summarily dismissed with a warning that a repetition of the offence would ensure his being sent to the mines of brazil. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. vol. iii., p. . letter of joseph st. mary, vincennes, august , .] retaliation of the frontiersmen. outrages of this kind, continually happening alike to americans and to creoles under american protection, could not have been tamely borne by any self-respecting people. the fierce and hardy frontiersmen were goaded to anger by them, and were ready to take part in, or at least to connive at, any piece of lawless retaliation. such an act of revenge was committed by clark at vincennes, as one result of his ill-starred expedition against the wabash indians in . as already said, when his men mutinied and refused to march against the indians, most of them returned home; but he kept enough to garrison the vincennes fort. unpaid, and under no regular authority, these men plundered the french inhabitants and were a terror to the peaceable, as well as to the lawless, indians. doubtless clark desired to hold them in readiness as much for a raid on the spanish possessions as for a defence against the indians. nevertheless they did some service in preventing any actual assault on the place by the latter, while they prevented any possible uprising by the french, though the harassed creoles, under this added burden of military lawlessness, in many instances accepted the offers made them by the spaniards and passed over to the french villages on the west side of the mississippi. clark seizes a spanish boat. before clark left vincennes, he summoned a court of his militia officers, and got them to sanction the seizure of a boat loaded with valuable goods, the property of a creole trader from the spanish possessions. the avowed reason for this act was revenge for the wrongs perpetrated in like manner by the spaniards on the american traders; and this doubtless was the controlling motive in clark's mind; but it was also true that the goods thus confiscated were of great service to clark in paying his mutinous and irregularly employed troops, and that this fact, too, had influence with him. the backwoodsmen approve clark's deed. the more violent and lawless among the backwoodsmen of kentucky were loud in exultation over this deed. they openly declared that it was not merely an act of retaliation on the spaniards, but also a warning that, if they did not let the americans trade down the river, they would not be allowed to trade up it; and that the troops who garrisoned vincennes offered an earnest of what the frontiersmen would do in the way of raising an army of conquest if the spaniards continued to wrong them. [footnote: draper mss. minutes of court-martial, summoned by george rogers clark, at vincennes, october , .] they defied the continental congress and the seaboard states to interfere with them. they threatened to form an independent government, if the united states did not succor and countenance them. they taunted the eastern men with knowing as little of the west as great britain knew of america. they even threatened that they would, if necessary, re-join the british dominions, and boasted that, if united to canada, they would some day be able themselves to conquer the atlantic commonwealths. [footnote: state dept. mss. reports of john jay, no. , vol. iii., pp. , , , , , , etc.] both the federal and the virginia authorities were much alarmed and angered, less at the insult to spain than at the threat of establishing a separate government in the west. the government authorities disapprove. from the close of the revolution the virginian government had been worried by the separatist movements in kentucky. in two "stirrers-up of sedition" had been fined and imprisoned, and an adherent of the virginian government, writing from kentucky, mentioned that one of the worst effects of the indian inroads was to confine the settlers to the stations, which were hot-beds of sedition and discord, besides excuses for indolence and rags. [footnote: va. state papers, iii., pp. , .] the people who distrusted the frontiersmen complained that among them were many knaves and outlaws from every state in the union, who flew to the frontier as to a refuge; while even those who did not share this distrust admitted that the fact that the people in kentucky came from many different states helped to make them discontented with virginia. [footnote: draper mss. clark papers, walter darrell to william fleming, april , .] georgia and the frontiersmen in georgia the conditions were much as they were on the ohio. georgia was a frontier state, with the ambitions and the lawlessness of the frontier; and the backwoodsmen felt towards her as they did towards no other member of the old thirteen. soon after clark established his garrison in vincennes, various inflammatory letters were circulated in the western country, calling for action against both the central government and the spaniards, and appealing for sympathy and aid both to the georgians and to sevier's insurrectionary state of franklin. among others, a kentuckian wrote from louisville to georgia, bitterly complaining about the failure of the united states to open the mississippi; denouncing the federal government in extravagant language, and threatening hostilities against the spaniards, and a revolt against the continental congress. [footnote: _do_., letter of thomas green to the governor of georgia, december , .] this letter was intercepted, and, of course, increased still more the suspicion felt about clark's motives, for though clark denied that he had actually seen the letter, he was certainly cognizant of its purport, and approved the movement which lay behind it. [footnote: green's "spanish conspiracy," p. .] one of his fellow kentuckians, writing about him at this time, remarks: "clark is playing hell...eternally drunk and yet full of design. i told him he would be hanged. he laughed, and said he would take refuge among the indians." [footnote: va. state papers, iv., , condensed.] public disavowal of clark's actions. the governor of virginia issued a proclamation disavowing all clark's acts. [footnote: draper mss. proclamation of edmund randolph, march , .] a committee of the kentucky convention, which included the leaders of kentucky's political thought and life, examined into the matter, [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. ii., p. . report of dec. , .] and gave clark's version of the facts, but reprobated and disowned his course. some of the members of this convention were afterwards identified with various separatist movements, and skirted the field of perilous intrigue with a foreign power; but they recognized the impossibility of countenancing such mere buccaneering lawlessness as clark's; and not only joined with their colleagues in denouncing it to the virginia government, but warned the latter that clark's habits were such as to render him unfit longer to be trusted with work of importance. [footnote: green, p. .] experience of a cumberland trader. the rougher spirits, all along the border of course sympathized with clark. in this same year the goods and boats of a trader from the cumberland district were seized and confiscated by the spanish commandant at natchez. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. iii. papers transmitted by blount, hawkins, and ashe, march , , including deposition of thomas amis, nov , . letter from fayettsville, dec. , , etc.] at first the cumberland indian-fighters determined to retaliate in kind, at no matter what cost; but the wiser among their leaders finally "persuaded them not to imitate their friends of kentucky, and to wait patiently until some advice could be received from congress." one of these wise leaders, a representative from the cumberland district in the north carolina legislature, in writing to the north carolina delegates to the continental congress, after dwelling on the necessity of acquiring the right to the navigation of the mississippi, added with sound common-sense: "you may depend on our exertions to keep all things quiet, and we agree entirely with you that if our people are once let loose there will be no stopping them, and that acts of retaliation poison the mind and give a licentiousness to manners that can with great difficulty be restrained." washington was right in his belief that in this business there was as much to be feared from the impetuous turbulence of the backwoodsmen as from the hostility of the spaniards. wrath over jay's negotiations. the news of jay's attempted negotiations with gardoqui, distorted and twisted, arrived right on top of these troubles, and threw the already excited backwoods men into a frenzy. there was never any real danger that jay's proposition would be adopted; but the westerners did not know this. in all the considerable settlements on the western waters, committees of correspondence were elected to remonstrate and petition congress against any agreement to close the mississippi. [footnote: madison mss. letter of caleb wallace, nov. , .] even those who had no sympathy with the separatist movement warned congress that if any such agreement were entered into it would probably entail the loss of the western country. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. . symmes to the president of congress, may , .] inconsistencies of the frontiersmen. there was justification for the original excitement; there was none whatever for its continuance after jay's final report to congress, in april, , [footnote: w. h. trescott, "diplomatic history of the administrations of washington and adams," p. .] and after the publication by congress of its resolve never to abandon its claim to the mississippi. jay in this report took what was unquestionably the rational position. he urged that the united states was undoubtedly in the right; and that it should either insist upon a treaty with spain, by which all conflicting claims would be reconciled, or else simply claim the right, and if spain refused to grant it promptly declare war. so far he was emphatically right. his cool and steadfast insistence on our rights, and his clearsighted recognition of the proper way to obtain them, contrasted well with the mixed turbulence and foolishness of the westerners who denounced him. they refused to give up the mississippi; and yet they also refused to support the party to which jay belonged, and therefore refused to establish a government strong enough to obtain their rights by open force. but jay erred when he added, as he did, that there was no middle course possible; that we must either treat or make war. it was undoubtedly to our discredit, and to our temporary harm, that we refused to follow either course; it showed the existence of very undesirable national qualities, for it showed that we were loud in claiming rights which we lacked the resolution and foresight to enforce. nevertheless, as these undesirable qualities existed, it was the part of a wise statesman to recognize their existence and do the best he could in spite of them. the best course to follow under such circumstances was to do nothing until the national fibre hardened, and this was the course which washington advocated. wilkinson rises to prominence. in this summer of there rose to public prominence in the western country a man whose influence upon it was destined to be malign in intention rather than in actual fact. james wilkinson, by birth a marylander, came to kentucky in . he had done his duty respectably as a soldier in the revolutionary war, for he possessed sufficient courage and capacity to render average service in subordinate positions, though at a later date he showed abject inefficiency as commander of an army. he was a good-looking, plausible, energetic man, gifted with a taste for adventure, with much proficiency in low intrigue, and with a certain address in influencing and managing bodies of men. he also spoke and wrote well, according to the rather florid canons of the day. in character he can only be compared to benedict arnold, though he entirely lacked arnold's ability and brilliant courage. he had no conscience and no scruples; he had not the slightest idea of the meaning of the word honor; he betrayed his trust from the basest motives, and he was too inefficient to make his betrayal effective. he was treacherous to the union while it was being formed and after it had been formed; and his crime was aggravated by the sordid meanness of his motives, for he eagerly sought opportunities to barter his own infamy for money. in all our history there is no more despicable character. he trades to new orleans. wilkinson was a man of broken fortune when he came to the west. in three years he made a good position for himself, in matters commercial and political, and his restless, adventurous nature, and thirst for excitement and intrigue, prompted him to try the river trade, with its hazards and its chances of great gain. in june, , he went down the mississippi to new orleans with a loaded flat-boat, and sold his cargo at a high profit, thanks to the understanding he immediately established with miro. [footnote: wilkinson's memoirs, ii., .] doubtless he started with the full intention of entering into some kind of corrupt arrangement with the louisiana authorities, leaving the precise nature of the arrangement to be decided by events. the relations that he so promptly established with the spaniards were both corrupt and treacherous; that is, he undoubtedly gave and took bribes, and promised to intrigue against his own country for pecuniary reward; but exactly what the different agreements were, and exactly how far he tried or intended to fulfil them, is, and must always remain, uncertain. he was so ingrainedly venal, treacherous, and mendacious that nothing he said or wrote can be accepted as true, and no sentiments which he at any time professed can be accepted as those he really felt. he and the leading louisiana spaniards had close mercantile relations, in which the governments of neither were interested, and by which the governments of both were in all probability defrauded. he persuaded the spaniards to give him money for using his influence to separate the west from the union, which was one of the chief objects of spanish diplomacy. [footnote: history of louisiana, charles gayarre, in., .] he was obliged to try to earn the money by leading the separatist intrigues in kentucky, but it is doubtful if he ever had enough straightforwardness in him to be a thoroughgoing; villain. all he cared for was the money; if he could not get it otherwise, he was quite willing to do any damage he could to his country, even when he was serving it in a high military position. but if it was easier, he was perfectly willing to betray the people who had bribed him. his corrupt intrigues with the spaniards. however he was an adept in low intrigue; and though he speedily became suspected by all honest men, he covered his tracks so well that it was not until after his death, and after the spanish archives had been explored, that his guilt was established. he returned to kentucky after some months' absence. he had greatly increased his reputation, and as substantial results of his voyage he showed permits to trade, and some special and exclusive commercial privileges, such as supplying the mexican market with tobacco, and depositing it in the king's store at new orleans. the kentuckians were much excited by what he had accomplished. he bought goods himself and received goods from other merchants on commission; and a year after his first venture he sent a flotilla of heavy-laden flat-boats down the mississippi, and disposed of their contents at a high profit in new orleans. the river trade and the separatist spirit. the power this gave wilkinson, the way he had obtained it, and the use he made of it, gave an impetus to the separatist party in kentucky. he was by no means the only man, however, who was at this time engaged in the river trade to louisiana; nor were his advantages over his commercial rivals as marked as he alleged. they, too, had discovered that the spanish officials could be bribed to shut their eyes to smuggling, and that citizens of natchez could be hired to receive property shipped thither as being theirs, so that it might be admitted on payment of twenty-five per cent. duty. merchants gathered quantities of flour and bacon, but especially of tobacco, at louisville, and thence shipped it in flat-boats to natchez, where it was received by their correspondents; and keel boats sometimes made the return journey, though the horses, cattle, and negro slaves were generally taken to kentucky overland. [footnote: draper mss. john williams to william clark, new orleans, feb. ii, ; girault to do., july , , from natchez; do. to do., dec. , ; receipt of d. brashear at louisville, may , .] all these traders naturally felt the spanish control of the navigation, and the intermittent but always possible hostility of the spanish officials, to be peculiarly irksome. they were, as a rule, too shortsighted to see that the only permanent remedy for their troubles was their own absorption into a solid and powerful union. therefore they were always ready either to join a movement against spain, or else to join one which seemed to promise the acquisition of special privileges from spain. robertson talks of disunion. the separatist feeling, and the desire to sunder the west from the east, and join hands with spain or britain, were not confined to kentucky. in one shape or another, and with varying intensity, separatist agitations took place in all portions of the west. in cumberland, on the holston, among the western mountains of virginia proper, and in georgia--which was practically a frontier community--there occurred manifestations of the separatist spirit. a curious feature of these various agitations was the slight extent to which a separatist movement in any one of these localities depended upon or sympathized with a similar movement in any other. the national feeling among the separatists was so slight that the very communities which wished to break off from the atlantic states were also quite indifferent to the deeds and fates of one another. the only bond among them was their tendency to break loose from the central government. the settlers on the banks of the cumberland felt no particular interest in the struggle of those on the head-waters of the tennessee to establish the state of franklin; and the kentuckians were indifferent to the deeds of both. in a letter written in to the creek chief mcgillivray, robertson alludes to the holston men and the georgians in precisely the language he might have used in speaking of foreign nations. he evidently took as a matter of course their waging war on their own account against, and making peace with, the cherokees and creeks, and betrayed little concern as to the outcome, one way or the other. robertson's letter to macgillivray. in this same letter, [footnote: robertson mss., james robertson to alexander mcgillivray, nashville, aug. , .] robertson frankly set forth his belief that the west should separate from the union and join some foreign power, writing: "in all probability we can not long remain in our present state, and if the british, or any commercial nation which may be in possession of the mississippi, would furnish us with trade and receive our produce, there cannot be a doubt but the people on the west side of the apalachian mountains will open their eyes to their real interests." at the same time sevier was writing to gardoqui, offering to put his insurrectionary state of franklin, then at its last gasp, under the protection of spain. [footnote: gardoqui mss., sevier to gardoqui, sept. , .] british intrigue. robertson spoke with indifference as to whether the nation with which the southerners allied themselves should happen to be spain or britain. as a matter of fact, most of the intrigues carried on were with or against spain; but in the fall of an abortive effort was made by a british agent to arouse the kentuckians against both the spaniards and the national government, in the interest of great britain. this agent was conolly, the unsavory hero of lord dunmore's war. he went to louisville, visited two or three prominent men, and laid bare to them his plans. as he met with no encouragement whatever, he speedily abandoned his efforts, and when the people got wind of his design they threatened to mob him, while the officers of the continental troops made ready to arrest him if his plans bore fruit, so that he was glad to leave the country. [footnote: do. gardoqui to florida blanca, jan. , , inclosing a letter from col. george moreau. see green, p. . also state dept. mss., no. , vol. iii., st. clair to john jay, dec. , . this letter and many others of st. clair are given in w. h. smith's "st. clair papers." vol iii- ] other separatist movements. these movements all aimed at a complete independence, but there were others which aimed merely at separation from the parent states. the efforts of kentucky and franklin in this direction must be treated by themselves; those that were less important may be glanced at in passing. the people in western virginia, as early as the spring of , wished to erect themselves into a separate state, under federal authority. their desire was to separate from virginia in peace and friendship, and to remain in close connection with the union. a curious feature of the petition which they forwarded to the continental congress, was their proposition to include in the new state the inhabitants of the holston territory, so that it would have taken in what is now west virginia proper, [footnote: state dept. mss., memorials, etc., no. , thos. cumings, on behalf of the deputies of washington county, to the president of congress, april , .] and also eastern tennessee and kentucky. the originators of this particular movement meant to be friendly with virginia, but of course friction was bound to follow. the later stages of the agitation, or perhaps it would be more correct to say the agitations, that sprang out of it, were marked by bitter feelings between the leaders of the movement and the virginia authorities. finding no heed paid to their requests for separation, some of the more extreme separatists threatened to refuse to pay taxes to virginia; while the franklin people proposed to unite with them into a new state, without regard to the wishes of virginia or of north carolina. restless arthur campbell was one of the leaders of the separatists, and went so far as to acknowledge the authorship of the "state of franklin," and to become one of its privy councillors, casting off his allegiance to the virginian government. [footnote: va. state papers, iv., pp. , , , , etc.] however, the whole movement soon collapsed, the collapse being inevitable when once it became evident that the franklin experiment was doomed to failure. gradoqui's residence in the united states. the west was thus seething with separatist agitations throughout the time of gradoqui's residence as spanish envoy in america; and both gardoqui and miro, who was governor of louisiana all through these years, entered actively into intrigues with the more prominent separatist leaders. miro and navarro. miro was a man of some ability, and martin navarro, the spanish intendant of louisiana, possessed more; but they served a government almost imbecile in its fatuity. they both realized that louisiana could be kept in possession of spain only by making it a flourishing and populous province, and they begged that the spanish authorities would remove the absurd commercial restrictions which kept it poor. but no heed was paid to their requests, and when they ventured to relax the severity of the regulations, as regards both the trade down the mississippi and the sea-trade to philadelphia, they were reprimanded and forced to reverse their policy. this was done at the instance of gardoqui, who was jealous of the louisiana authorities, and showed a spirit of rivalry towards them. each side believed, probably with justice, that the other was influenced by corrupt motives. miro and navarro were right in urging a liberal commercial policy. they were right also in recognizing the americans as the enemies of the spanish power. they dwelt on the peril, not only to louisiana but to new mexico, certain to arise from the neighborhood of the backwoodsmen, whom they described as dangerous alike because of their poverty, their ambition, their restlessness, and their recklessness. [footnote: guyarré, p. . he was the first author who gave a full account of the relations between miro and wilkinson, and of the spanish intrigues to dissever the west from the union.] they were at their wits' ends to know how to check these energetic foes. they urgently asked for additional regular troops to increase the strength of the spanish garrison. they kept the creole militia organized. but they relied mainly on keeping the southern indians hostile to the americans, on inviting the americans to settle in louisiana and become subjects of spain, and on intriguing with the western settlements for the dissolution of the union. the kentuckians, the settlers on the holston and cumberland, and the georgians were the americans with whom they had most friction and closest connection. the georgians, it is true, were only indirectly interested in the navigation question; but they claimed that the boundaries of georgia ran west to the mississippi, and that much of the eastern bank of the great river, including the fertile yazoo lands, was theirs. spaniards incite the indians to war. the indians naturally sided with the spaniards against the americans; for the americans were as eager to seize the possessions of creek and cherokee as they were to invade the dominions of the catholic king. their friendship was sedulously fostered by the spaniards. great councils were held with them, and their chiefs were bribed and flattered. every effort was made to prevent them from dealing with any traders who were not in the spanish interest; new orleans, natchez, mobile, and pensacola were all centres for the indian trade. they were liberally furnished with arms and munitions of war. finally the spaniards deliberately and treacherously incited the indians to war against the americans, while protesting to the latter that they were striving to keep the savages at peace. in answer to protests of robertson, setting forth that the spaniards were inciting the indians to harry the cumberland settlers, both miro and gardoqui made him solemn denials. miro wrote him, in , that so far from assisting the indians to war, he had been doing what he could to induce mcgillivray and the creeks to make peace, and that he would continue to urge them not to trouble the settlers. [footnote: robertson mss., miro to robertson, new orleans, april , .] gardoqui, in , wrote even more explicitly, saying that he was much concerned over the reported outrages of the savages, but was greatly surprised to learn that the settlers suspected the government of spain of fomenting the warfare, which, he assured robertson, was so far from the truth that the king was really bent on treating the united states in general, and the west in particular, with all possible benevolence and generosity. [footnote: gardoqui mss., gardoqui to "col. elisha robeson" of cumberland, april , .] yet in , midway between the dates when these two letters were written, miro, in a letter to the captain-general of the floridas, set forth that the creeks, being desirous of driving back the american frontiersmen by force of arms, and knowing that this could be done only after bloodshed, had petitioned him for fifty barrels of gunpowder and bullets to correspond, and that he had ordered the governor of pensacola to furnish mcgillivray, their chief, these munitions of war, with all possible secrecy and caution, so that it should not become known. [footnote: _do_., miro to galvez, june , , "que summistrase estas municiones a mcgillivray jefe principal to las talapuches con toda la reserve y cantata posible de modo que ne se transiendiese la mano de este socorro."] the governor of pensacola shortly afterwards related the satisfaction the creeks felt at receiving the powder and lead, and added that he would have to furnish them additional supplies from time to time, as the war progressed, and that he would exercise every precaution so that the americans might have no "just cause of complaint." [footnote: _do_., "sera necessaria la mayor precaucion, y maña para contenerle ciñendose à la suministracion de polvora, balas y efectos de treta con la cantata posible para no dar a los americanos justos motivos de gueya."] there is an unconscious and somewhat gruesome humor in this official belief that the americans could have "no just cause" for anger so long as the spaniards' treachery was concealed. spanish duplicity. throughout these years the spaniards thus secretly supplied the creeks with the means of waging war on the americans, claiming all the time that the creeks were their vassals and that the land occupied by the southern indians generally belonged to spain and not to the united states. [footnote: _do_.] they also kept their envoys busy among the chickasaws, choctaws, and even the cherokees. in fact, until the conclusion of pinckney's treaty, the spaniards of louisiana pursued as a settled policy this plan of inciting the indians to war against the americans. generally they confined themselves to secretly furnishing the savages with guns, powder, and lead, and endeavoring to unite the tribes in a league; but on several occasions they openly gave them arms, when they were forced to act hurriedly. as late as the flemish baron de carondelet, a devoted servant of spain, and one of the most determined enemies of the americans, instructed his lieutenants to fit out war parties of chickasaws, creeks, and cherokees, to harass a fort the americans had built near the mouth of the ohio. carondelet wrote to the home government that the indians formed the best defence on which louisiana could rely. by this time the spaniards and english realized that, instead of showing hostility to one another, it behooved them to unite against the common foe; and their agents in canada and louisiana were beginning to come to an understanding. in another letter carondelet explained that the system adopted by lord dorchester and the english officials in canada in dealing with the savages was the same as that which he had employed, both the spaniards and the british having found them the most powerful means with which to oppose the american advance. by the expenditure of a few thousand dollars, wrote the spanish governor, [footnote: draper collection, spanish mss. state documents. baron de carondelet to manuel gayrso de lemos, aug. , ; carondelet to duke alcudia, sept. , ; carondelet's letter of july , ; carondelet's letter of sept. , . these spanish documents form a very important part of the manuscripts in the library of the state historical society of wisconsin. i was able to get translations of them through the great courtesy of mr. reuben gold thwaites, the secretary of the society, to whom i must again render my acknowledgments for the generosity with which he has helped me.] he could always rouse the southern tribes to harry the settlers, while at the same time covering his deeds so effectually that the americans could not point to any specific act of which to complain. spanish fear of the americans. there was much turbulence and some treachery exhibited by individual frontiersmen in their dealings with spain, and the americans of the mississippi valley showed a strong tendency to win their way to the mouth of the river and to win the right to settle on its banks by sheer force of arms; but the american government and its authorized representatives behaved with a straightforward and honorable good faith which offered a striking contrast to the systematic and deliberate duplicity and treachery of the spanish crown and the spanish governors. in truth, the spaniards were the weakest, and were driven to use the pet weapons of weakness in opposing their stalwart and masterful foes. they were fighting against their doom, and they knew it. already they had begun to fear, not only for louisiana and florida, but even for sultry mexico and far-away golden california. it was hard, wrote one of the ablest of the spanish governors, to gather forces enough to ward off attacks from adventurers so hardy that they could go two hundred leagues at a stretch, or live six months in the wilderness, needing to carry nothing save some corn-meal, and trusting for everything solely to their own long rifles. spaniards invite americans to become colonists. next to secretly rousing the indians, the spaniards placed most reliance on intriguing with the westerners, in the effort to sunder them from the seaboard americans. they also at times thought to bar the american advance by allowing the frontiersmen to come into their territory and settle on condition of becoming spanish subjects. they hoped to make of these favored settlers a barrier against the rest of their kinsfolk. it was a foolish hope. a wild and hardy race of rifle-bearing freemen, so intolerant of restraint that they fretted under the slight bands which held them to their brethren, were sure to throw off the lightest yoke the catholic king could lay upon them, when once they gathered strength. under no circumstances, even had they profited by spanish aid against their own people, would the westerners have remained allied or subject to the spaniards longer than the immediate needs of the moment demanded. at the bottom the spaniards knew this, and their encouragement of american immigration was fitful and faint-hearted. many americans, however, were themselves eager to enter into some arrangement of the kind; whether as individual settlers, or, more often, as companies who wished to form little colonies. their eagerness in this matter caused much concern to many of the federalists of the eastern states, who commented with bitterness upon the light-hearted manner in which these settlers forsook their native land, and not only forswore their allegiance to it, but bound themselves to take up arms against it in event of war. these critics failed to understand that the wilderness dwellers of that day, to whom the national government was little more than a name, and the union but a new idea, could not be expected to pay much heed to the imaginary line dividing one waste space from another, and that, after all, their patriotism was dormant, not dead. moreover, some of the easterners were as blind as the spaniards themselves to the inevitable outcome of such settlements as those proposed, and were also alarmed at the mere natural movement of the population, fearing lest it might result in crippling the old states, and in laying the foundation of a new and possibly hostile country. they themselves had not yet grasped the national idea, and could not see that the increase in power of any one quarter of the land, or the addition to it of any new unsettled territory, really raised by so much the greatness of every american. however, there was one point on which the more far-seeing of these critics were right. they urged that it would be better for the country not to try to sell the public land speedily in large tracts, but to grant it to actual settlers in such quantity as they could use. [footnote: st. clair to jay, dec. , .] failure of these colonization schemes. the different propositions to settle large colonies in the spanish possessions came to naught, although quite a number of backwoodsmen settled there individually or in small bands. one great obstacle to the success of any such movement was the religious intolerance of the spaniards. not only were they bigoted adherents of the church of rome, but their ecclesiastical authorities were cautioned to exercise over all laymen a supervision and control to which the few catholics among the american backwoodsmen would have objected quite as strenuously as the protestants. it is true that in trying to induce immigration they often promised religious freedom, but when they came to execute this promise they explained that it merely meant that the new-comers would not be compelled to profess the roman catholic faith, but that they would not be allowed the free exercise of their own religion, nor permitted to build churches nor pay ministers. this was done with the express purpose of weakening their faith, and rendering it easy to turn them from it, and the spaniards brought irish priests into the country and placed them among the american settlers with the avowed object of converting them. [footnote: guyarre, iii., , , .] such toleration naturally appealed very little to men who were accustomed to a liberty as complete in matters ecclesiastical as in matters civil. when the spanish authorities, at natchez, or elsewhere, published edicts interfering with the free exercise of the protestant religion, many of the settlers left, [footnote: va. state papers, iv., .] while in regions remote from the spanish centres of government the edicts were quietly disobeyed or ignored. founding of new madrid. one of the many proposed colonies ultimately resulted in the founding of a town which to this day bears the name of new madrid. this particular scheme originated in the fertile brain of one col. george morgan, a native of new jersey, but long engaged in trading on the mississippi. he originally organized a company to acquire lands under the united states, but meeting with little response to his proposition from the continental congress, in he turned to spain. with gardoqui, who was then in new york, he was soon on a footing of intimacy, as their letters show; for these include invitations to dinner, to attend commencement at princeton, to visit one another, and the like. the spainard, a cultivated man, was pleased at being thrown in with an adventurer who was a college graduate and a gentleman; for many of the would-be colonizers were needy ne'er-do-wells, who were anxious either to borrow money, or else to secure a promise of freedom from arrest for debt when they should move to the new country. morgan's plans were on a magnificent scale. he wished a tract of land as large as a principality on the west bank of the mississippi. this he proposed to people with tens of thousands of settlers, whom he should govern under the commission of the king of spain. gardoqui entered into the plan with enthusiasm, but obstacles and delays of all kinds were encountered, and the dwindling outcome was the emigration of a few families of frontiersmen, and the founding of a squalid hamlet named after the iberian capital. [footnote: gardoqui mss., gardoqui to morgan, sept. , . morgan to gardoqui, aug. , . letters of sept. , , sept. , ; gardoqui to miro, oct. , , to floridablanca, june , . letter to gardoqui, jan. , .] clark's proposal. another adventurer who at this time proposed to found a colony in spanish territory was no less a person than george rogers clark. clark had indulged in something very like piracy at the expense of spanish subjects but eighteen months previously. he was ready at any time to lead the westerners to the conquest of louisiana; and a few years later he did his best to organize a freebooting expedition against new orleans in the name of the french revolutionary government. but he was quite willing to do his fighting on behalf of spain, instead of against her; for by this time he was savage with anger and chagrin at the indifference and neglect with which the virginian and federal governments had rewarded his really great services. he wrote to gardoqui in the spring of , boasting of his feats of arms in the past, bitterly complaining of the way he had been treated, and offering to lead a large colony to settle in the spanish dominions; for, he said, he had become convinced that neither property nor character was safe under a government so weak as that of the united states, and he therefore wished to put himself at the disposal of the king of spain. [footnote: gardoqui mss., clark to gardoqui, falls of the ohio, march , .] nothing came of this proposal. the proposal of wilkinson, brown, and innes. another proposal which likewise came to nothing, is noteworthy because of the men who made it, and because of its peculiar nature. the proposers were all kentuckians. among them were wilkinson, one benjamin sebastian, whom the spaniards pensioned in the same manner they did wilkinson, john brown, the kentucky delegate in congress, and harry innes, the attorney-general of kentucky. all were more or less identified both with the obscure separatist movements in that commonwealth, and with the legitimate agitation for statehood into which some of these movements insensibly merged. in the spring of they proposed to gardoqui to enter into an agreement somewhat similar to the one he had made with morgan. but they named as the spot where they wished to settle the lands on the east bank of the mississippi, in the neighborhood of the yazoo, and they urged as a reason for granting the lands that they were part of the territory in dispute between spain and the united states, and that the new settlers would hold them under the spanish king, and would defend them against the americans. [footnote: gardoqui mss., gardoqui to floridablanca, june , .] this country was claimed by, and finally awarded to, the united states, and claimed by the state of georgia in particular. it was here that the adventurers proposed to erect a barrier state which should be vassal to spain, one of the chief purposes of the settlement being to arrest the americans' advance. they thus deliberately offered to do all the damage they could to their own country, if the foreign country would give them certain advantages. the apologists for these separatist leaders often advance the excuse--itself not a weighty one--that they at least deserved well of their own section; but wilkinson and his associates proposed a plan which was not only hostile to the interests of the american nation as a whole, but which was especially hostile to the interests of kentucky, georgia, and the other frontier communities. the men who proposed to enter into the scheme were certainly not loyal to their country; although the adventurers were not actuated by hostile designs against it, engaging in the adventure simply from motives of private gain. the only palliation--there is no full excuse--for their offence is the fact that the union was then so loose and weak, and its benefits so problematical, that it received the hearty and unswerving loyalty of only the most far-seeing and broadly patriotic men; and that many men of the highest standing and of the most undoubted probity shared the views on which brown and innes acted. wilkinson's advice to the spaniards. wilkinson was bitterly hostile to all these schemes in which he himself did not have a share, and protested again and again to miro against their adoption. he protested no less strongly whenever the spanish court or the spanish authorities at new orleans either relaxed their vigilant severity against the river smugglers, or for the time being lowered the duties; whether this was done to encourage the westerners in their hostilities to the east, or to placate them when their exasperation reached a pitch that threatened actual invasion. wilkinson, in his protests, insisted that to show favors to the westerners was merely to make them contented with the union; and that the only way to force them to break the union was to deny them all privileges until they broke it. [footnote: _guyarré_, iii., , , etc. wilkinson's treachery dates from his first visit to new orleans. exactly when he was first pensioned outright is not certain; but doubtless he was the corrupt recipient of money from the beginning.] he did his best to persuade the spaniards to adopt measures which would damage both the east and west and would increase the friction between them. he vociferously insisted that in going to such extremes of foul treachery to his country he was actuated only by his desire to see the spanish intrigues attain their purpose; but he was probably influenced to a much greater degree by the desire to retain as long as might be the monopoly of the trade with new orleans. the spanish conspiracy. the intendant navarro, writing to spain in , dwelt upon the necessity of securing the separation of the westerners from the old thirteen states; and to this end he urged that commercial privileges be granted to the west, and pensions and honors showered on its leaders. spain readily adopted this policy of bribery. wilkinson and sebastian were at different times given sums of money, small portions of which were doubtless handed over to their own agents and subordinates and to the spanish spies; and wilkinson asked for additional sums, nominally to bribe leading kentuckians, but very possibly merely with the purpose of pocketing them himself. in other words, wilkinson, sebastian, and their intimate associates on the one hand, and the spanish officials on the other, entered into a corrupt conspiracy to dismember the union. wilkinson's intrigues. wilkinson took a leading part in the political agitations by which kentucky was shaken through out these years. he devoted himself to working for separation from both virginia and the united states, and for an alliance with spain. of course he did not dare to avow his schemes with entire frankness, only venturing to advocate them more or less openly accordingly as the wind of popular opinion veered towards or away from disunion. being a sanguine man, of bad judgment, he at first wrote glowing letters to his spanish employers, assuring them that the kentucky leaders enthusiastically favored his plans, and that the people at large were tending towards them. as time went on, he was obliged to change the tone of his letters, and to admit that he had been over-hopeful; he reluctantly acknowledged that kentucky would certainly refuse to become a spanish province, and that all that was possible to hope for was separation and an alliance with spain. he was on intimate terms with the separatist leaders of all shades, and broached his views to them as far as he thought fit. his turgid oratory was admired in the backwoods, and he was much helped by his skill in the baser kinds of political management. he speedily showed all the familiar traits of the demagogue--he was lavish in his hospitality, and treated young and old, rich and poor, with jovial good-fellowship; so that all the men of loose habits, the idle men who were ready for any venture, and the men of weak character and fickle temper, swore by him, and followed his lead; while not a few straightforward, honest citizens were blinded by his showy ability and professions of disinterestedness. [footnote: marshall, i., .] it is impossible to say exactly how far his different allies among the separatist leaders knew his real designs or sympathized with them. their loosely knit party was at the moment united for one ostensible purpose--that of separation from virginia. the measures they championed were in effect revolutionary, as they wished to pay no regard to the action either of virginia herself, or of the federal government. they openly advocated kentucky's entering into a treaty with spain on her own account. their leaders must certainly have known wilkinson's real purposes, even though vaguely. the probability is that they did not, either to him or in their own minds, define their plans with clearness, but awaited events before deciding on a definite policy. meantime by word and act they pursued a course which might be held to mean, as occasion demanded, either mere insistence upon kentucky's admission to the union as a separate state, or else a movement for complete independence with a spanish alliance in the background. it was impossible to pursue a course so equivocal without arousing suspicion. in after years many who had been committed to it became ashamed of their actions, and loudly proclaimed that they had really been devoted to the union; to which it was sufficient to answer that if this had been the case, and if they had been really loyal, no such deep suspicion could have been excited. a course of straightforward loyalty could not have been misunderstood. as it was, all kinds of rumors as to proposed disunion movements, and as to the intrigues with spain, got afloat; and there was no satisfactory contradiction. the stanch union men, the men who "thought continentally," as the phrase went, took the alarm and organized a counter-movement. one of those who took prominent part in this counter-movement was a man to whom kentucky and the union both owe much: humphrey marshall, afterwards a federalist senator from kentucky, and the author of an interesting and amusing and fundamentally sound, albeit somewhat rancorous, history of his state. this loyal counter-movement hindered and hampered the separatists greatly, and made them cautious about advocating outright disunion. it was one of the causes which combined to render abortive both the separatist agitations, and the spanish intrigues of the period. gardoqui's intrigues. while miro was corresponding with wilkinson and arranging for pensioning both him and sebastian, gardoqui was busy at new york. his efforts at negotiation were fruitless; for his instructions positively forbade him to yield the navigation of the mississippi, or to allow the rectification of the boundary lines as claimed by the united states; [footnote: gardoqui mss., instructions, july and october , .] while the representatives of the latter refused to treat at all unless both of these points were conceded. [footnote: _do_., gardoqui's letters, june , , october , , december , , july , , etc.] jay he found to be particularly intractable, and in one of his letters he expressed the hope that he would be replaced by richard henry lee, whom gardoqui considered to be in the spanish interest. he was much interested in the case of vermont, [footnote: _do_., may ii, .] which at that time was in doubt whether to remain an independent state, to join the union, or even possibly to form some kind of alliance with the british; and what he saw occurring in this new england state made him for the moment hopeful about the result of the spanish designs on kentucky. gardoqui was an over-hopeful man, accustomed to that diplomacy which acts on the supposition that every one has his price. after the manner of his kind, he was prone to ascribe absurdly evil motives to all men, and to be duped himself in consequence. [footnote: john mason brown, "political beginnings of kentucky," .] he never understood the people with whom he was dealing. he was sure that they could all be reached by underhand and corrupt influences of some kind, if he could only find out where to put on the pressure. the perfect freedom with which many loyal men talked to and before him puzzled him; and their characteristicly american habit of indulging in gloomy forebodings as to the nation's future--when they were not insisting that the said future would be one of unparalleled magnificence--gave him wild hopes that it might prove possible to corrupt them. he was confirmed in his belief by the undoubted corruption and disloyalty to their country, shown by a few of the men he met, the most important of those who were in his pay being an alleged catholic, james white, once a north carolina delegate and afterwards indian agent. moreover others who never indulged in overt disloyalty to the union undoubtedly consulted and questioned gardoqui about his proposals, while reserving their own decision; being men who let their loyalty be determined by events. finally some men of entire purity committed grave indiscretions in dealing with him. henry lee, for instance, was so foolish as to borrow five thousand dollars from this representative of a foreign and unfriendly power; gardoqui, of course, lending the money under the impression that its receipt would bind lee to the spanish interest. [footnote: gardoqui mss., gardoqui to floridablanca, december , ; august , ; october , ; october , , etc. in these letters white is frequently alluded to as "don jaime."] madison, knox, clinton, and other men of position under the continental congress, including brown, the delegate from kentucky, were among those who conferred freely with gardoqui. in speaking with several of them, including madison and brown, he broached the subject of kentucky's possible separation from the union and alliance with spain; and madison and brown discussed his statements between themselves. so far there was nothing out of the way in brown's conduct; but after one of these conferences, he wrote to kentucky in terms which showed that he was willing to entertain gardoqui's proposition if it seemed advisable to do so. brown and his party work for disunion. his letter, which was intended to be private, but which was soon published, was dated july , . it advocated immediate separation from virginia without regard to constitutional methods, and also ran in part as follows: "in private conferences which i have had with mr. gardoqui, the spanish minister, i have been assured by him in the most explicit terms that if kentucky will declare her independence and empower some proper person to negotiate with him, that he has authority and will engage to open the navigation of the mississippi for the exportation of their produce on terms of mutual advantage. but this privilege never can be extended to them while part of the united states. ... i have thought proper to communicate (this) to a few confidential friends in the district, with his permission, not doubting but that they will make a prudent use of the information." at the outset of any movement which, whatever may be its form, is in its essence revolutionary, and only to be justified on grounds that justify a revolution, the leaders, though loud in declamation about the wrongs to be remedied, always hesitate to speak in plain terms concerning the remedies which they really have in mind. they are often reluctant to admit their purposes unequivocally, even to themselves, and may indeed blind themselves to the necessary results of their policy. they often choose their language with care, so that it may not commit them beyond all hope of explanation or retraction. brown, innes, and the other separatist leaders in kentucky were not actuated by the motives of personal corruption which influenced wilkinson, sebastian, and white to conspire with gardoqui and miro for the break-up of the union. their position, as far as the mere separatist feeling itself was concerned, was not essentially different from that of george clinton in new york or sumter in south carolina. of course, however, their connection with a foreign power unpleasantly tainted their course, exactly as a similar connection, with great britain instead of with spain, tainted the similar course of action ethan allen was pursuing at this very time in vermont. [footnote: _pennsylvania magazine of history and biography_, xi., no. , p. . ethan alien's letter to lord dorchester.] in after years they and their apologists endeavored to explain away their deeds and words, and tried to show that they were not disunionists; precisely as the authors of the kentucky and virginia resolutions of and of the resolutions of the hartford convention in tried in later years to show that these also were not disunion movements. the effort is as vain in one case as in the other. brown's letter shows that he and the party with which he was identified were ready to bring about kentucky's separation from the union, if it could safely be done; the prospect of a commercial alliance with spain being one of their chief objects, and affording one of their chief arguments. failure of the separationist movements. the publication of brown's letter and the boldness of the separatist party spurred to renewed effort the union men, one of whom, col. thomas marshall, an uncle of humphrey marshall and father of the great chief-justice, sent a full account of the situation to washington. the more timid and wavering among the disunionists drew back; and the agitation was dropped when the new national government began to show that it was thoroughly able to keep order at home, and enforce respect abroad. [footnote: letter of col. t. marshall, september , .] these separatist movements were general in the west, on the holston and cumberland, as well as on the ohio, during the troubled years immediately succeeding the revolution; and they were furthered by the intrigues of the spaniards. but the antipathy of the backwoodsmen to the spaniards was too deep-rooted for them ever to effect a real combination. ultimately the good sense and patriotism of the westerners triumphed; and the american people continued to move forward with unbroken front towards their mighty future. chapter iv. the state of franklin, - . the separatist spirit was strong throughout the west. different causes, such as the unchecked ravages of the indians, or the refusal of the right to navigate the mississippi, produced or accentuated different manifestations; but the feeling itself was latent everywhere. its most striking manifestation occurred not in kentucky, but in what is now the state of tennessee; and was aimed not at the united states, but at the parent state of north carolina. in kentucky the old frontiersmen were losing their grip on the governmental machinery of the district. the great flood of immigration tended to swamp the pioneers; and the leading parts in the struggle for statehood were played by men who had come to the country about the close of the revolutionary war, and who were often related by ties of kinship to the leaders of the virginia legislatures and conventions. the frontiersmen of the upper tennessee. on the waters of the upper tennessee matters were entirely different. immigration had been slower, and the people who did come in were usually of the type of those who had first built their stockaded hamlets on the banks of the watauga. the leaders of the early pioneers were still the leaders of the community, in legislation as in warfare. moreover north carolina was a much weaker and more turbulent state than virginia, so that a separatist movement ran less risk of interference. chains of forest-clad mountains severed the state proper from its western outposts. many of the pioneer leaders were from virginia--backwoodsmen who had drifted south along the trough-like valleys. these of course felt little loyalty to north carolina. the others, who were north carolinians by birth, had cast in their lot, for good or for evil, with the frontier communities, and were inclined to side with them in any contest with the parent state. north carolina indifferent to her western settlements. north carolina herself was at first quite as anxious to get rid of the frontiersmen as they were to go. not only was the central authority much weaker than in virginia, but the people were less proud of their state and less jealously anxious to see it grow in power and influence. the over-mountain settlers had increased in numbers so rapidly that four counties had been erected for them; one, davidson, taking in the cumberland district, and the other three, washington, sullivan, and greene, including what is now eastern tennessee. all these counties sent representatives to the north carolina legislature, at hillsborough; but they found that body little disposed to consider the needs of the remote western colonists. the state was very poor, and regarded the western settlements as mere burdensome sources of expense. in the innumerable indian wars debts were contracted by the little pioneer communities with the faith that the state would pay them; but the payment was made grudgingly or not at all, and no measures were taken to provide for the protection of the frontier in the future. no provisions were made for the extension of the jurisdiction of the state courts over the western counties, and they became a refuge for outlaws, who could be dealt with only as the indians were--that is, by the settlers acting on their own initiative, without the sanction of law. in short the settlers were left to themselves, to work out their own salvation as they best might, in peace or war; and as they bore most of the burdens of independence, they began to long for the privileges. north carolina cedes the west to congress. in june, , the state legislature passed an act ceding to the continental congress all the western lauds, that is, all of what is now tennessee. it was provided that the sovereignty of north carolina over the ceded lands should continue in full effect until the united states accepted the gift; and that the act should lapse and become void unless congress accepted within two years. [footnote: ramsey, . he is the best authority for the history of the curious state of franklin.] the western members were present and voted in favor of the cession, and immediately afterwards they returned to their homes and told the frontier people what had been done. there was a general feeling that some step should be taken forthwith to prevent the whole district from lapsing into anarchy. the frontiersmen did not believe that congress, hampered as it was and powerless to undertake new responsibilities, could accept the gift until the two years were nearly gone; and meanwhile north carolina would in all likelihood pay them little heed, so that they would be left a prey to the indians without and to their own wrongdoers within. it was incumbent on them to organize for their own defence and preservation. the three counties on the upper tennessee proceeded to take measures accordingly. the cumberland people, however, took no part in the movement, and showed hardly any interest in it; for they felt as alien to the men of the holston valley as to those of north carolina proper, and watched the conflict with a tepid absence of friendship for, or hostility towards, either side. they had long practically managed their own affairs, and though they suffered from the lack of a strong central authority on which to rely, they did not understand their own wants, and were inclined to be hostile to any effort for the betterment of the national government. the western counties set up a separate state. the first step taken by the frontiersmen in the direction of setting up a new state was very characteristic, as showing the military structure of the frontier settlements. to guard against indian inroad and foray, and to punish them by reprisals, all the able-bodied, rifle-bearing males were enrolled in the militia; and the divisions of the militia were territorial. the soldiers of each company represented one cluster of rough little hamlets or one group of scattered log houses. the company therefore formed a natural division for purposes of representation. it was accordingly agreed that "each captain's company" in the counties of washington, lincoln, and green should choose two delegates, who should all assemble as committees in their respective counties to deliberate upon some general plan of action. the committees met and recommended the election of deputies with full powers to a convention held at jonesboro. meeting of the constitutional convention. this convention, of forty deputies or thereabouts, met at jonesboro, on august , , and appointed john sevier president. the delegates were unanimous that the three counties represented should declare themselves independent of north carolina, and passed a resolution to this effect. they also resolved that the three counties should form themselves into an association, and should enforce all the laws of north carolina not incompatible with beginning the career of a separate state, and that congress should be petitioned to countenance them, and advise them in the matter of their constitution. in addition, they made provision for admitting to their state the neighboring portions of virginia, should they apply, and should the application be sanctioned by the state of virginia, "or other power having cognizance thereof." this last reference was, of course, to congress, and was significant. evidently the mountaineers ignored the doctrine of state sovereignty. the power which they regarded as paramount was that of the nation. the adhesion they gave to any government was somewhat shadowy; but such as it was, it was yielded to the united states, and not to any one state. they wished to submit their claim for independence to the judgment of congress, not to the judgment of north carolina; and they were ready to admit into their new state the western part of virginia, on the assent, not of both congress and virginia, but of either congress or virginia. so far the convention had been unanimous; but a split came on the question whether their declaration of independence should take effect at once. the majority held that it should, and so voted; while a strong minority, amounting to one third of the members, followed the lead of john tipton, and voted in the negative. during the session a crowd of people, partly from the straggling little frontier village itself, but partly from the neighboring country, had assembled, and were waiting in the street, to learn what the convention had decided. a member, stepping to the door of the building, announced the birth of the new state. the crowd, of course, believed in strong measures, and expressed its hearty approval. soon afterwards the convention adjourned, after providing for the calling of a new convention, to consist of five delegates from each county, who should give a name to the state, and prepare for it a constitution. the members of this constitutional convention were to be chosen by counties, and not by captain's companies. there was much quarrelling over the choice of members for the constitutional convention, the parties dividing on the lines indicated in the vote on the question of immediate independence. when the convention did meet, in november, it broke up in confusion. at the same time north carolina, becoming alarmed, repealed her cession act; and thereupon sevier himself counselled his fellow-citizens to abandon the movement for a new state. however, they felt they had gone too far to back out. the convention came together again in december, and took measures looking towards the assumption of full statehood. in the constitution they drew up they provided, among other things, for a senate and a house of commons, to form the legislative body, which should itself choose the governor. [footnote: haywood, ; although ramsey writes more in full about the franklin government, it ought not to be forgotten that the groundwork of his history is from haywood. haywood is the original, and by far the most valuable authority on tennessee matters, and he writes in a quaint style that is very attractive.] by an extraordinary resolution they further provided that the government should go into effect, and elections be held, at once; and yet that in the fall of a new convention should convene at which the very constitution under which the government had been carried on would be submitted for revision, rejection, or adoption. meeting of the legislature. elections for the legislature were accordingly held, and in march, , the two houses of the new state of franklin met, and chose sevier as governor. courts were organized, and military and civil officials of every grade were provided, those holding commissions under north carolina being continued in office in almost all cases. the friction caused by the change of government was thus minimized. four new counties were created, taxes were levied, and a number of laws enacted. one of the acts was "for the promotion of learning in the county of washington." under it the first academy west of the mountains was started; for some years it was the only high school anywhere in the neighborhood where latin, or indeed any branch of learning beyond the simplest rudiments, was taught. it is no small credit to the backwoodsmen that in this their first attempt at state-making they should have done what they could to furnish their sous the opportunity of obtaining a higher education. backwoods currency. one of the serious problems with which they had to grapple was the money question. all through the united states the finances were in utter disorder, the medium of exchange being a jumble of almost worthless paper currency, and of foreign coin of every kind, while the standard of value varied from state to state. but in the backwoods conditions were even worse, for there was hardly any money at all. transactions were accomplished chiefly by the primeval method of barter. accordingly, this backwoods legislature legalized the payment of taxes and salaries in kind, and set a standard of values. the dollar was declared equal to six shillings, and a scale of prices was established. among the articles which were enumerated as being lawfully payable for taxes were bacon at six pence a pound, rye whiskey at two shillings and six pence a gallon, peach or apple brandy at three shillings per gallon, and country-made sugar at one shilling per pound. skins, however, formed the ordinary currency; otter, beaver, and deer being worth six shillings apiece, and raccoon and fox one shilling and three pence. the governor's salary was set at two hundred pounds, and that of the highest judge at one hundred and fifty. correspondence with north carolina. the new governor sent a formal communication to governor alexander martin of north carolina, announcing that the three counties beyond the mountains had declared their independence, and erected themselves into a separate state, and setting forth their reasons for the step. governor martin answered sevier in a public letter, in which he went over his arguments one by one, and sought to refute them. he announced the willingness of the parent state to accede to the separation when the proper time came; but he pointed out that north carolina could not consent to such irregular and unauthorized separation, and that congress would certainly not countenance it against her wishes. in answering an argument drawn from the condition of affairs in vermont, martin showed that the green mountain state should not be treated as an example in point, because she had asserted her independence, as a separate commonwealth, before the revolution, and yet had joined in the war against the british. one of the subjects on which he dwelt was the relations with the indians. the mountain men accused north carolina of not giving to the cherokees a quantity of goods promised them, and asserted that this disappointment had caused the indians to commit several murders. in his answer the governor admitted that the goods had not been given, but explained that this was because at the time the land had been ceded to congress, and the authorities were waiting to see what congress would do; and after the cession act was repealed the goods would have been given forthwith, had it not been for the upsetting of all legal authority west of the mountains, which brought matters to a standstill. moreover, the governor in his turn made counter accusations, setting forth that the mountaineers had held unauthorized treaties with the indians, and had trespassed on their lands, and even murdered them. he closed by drawing a strong picture of the evils sure to be brought about by such lawless secession, and usurpation of authority. he besought and commanded the revolted counties to return to their allegiance, and warned them that if they did not, and if peaceable measures proved of no avail, then the state of north carolina would put down the rebellion by dint of arms. petition to congress. at the same time, in the early spring of , the authorities of the new state sent a memorial to the continental congress. [footnote: state dept. mss., papers continental congress, memorials, etc., no. . state of franklin, march , . certificate that william cocke is agent; and memorial of the freemen, etc.] having found their natural civil chief and military leader in sevier, the backwoodsmen now developed a diplomat in the person of one william cocke. to him they entrusted the memorial, together with a certificate, testifying, in the name of the state of franklin, that he was delegated to present the memorial to congress and to make what further representations he might find "conducive to the interest and independence of this country." the memorial set forth the earnest desire of the people of franklin to be admitted as a state of the federal union, together with the wrongs they had endured from north carolina, dwelling with particular bitterness upon the harm which had resulted from her failure to give the cherokees the goods which they had been promised. it further recited how north carolina's original cession of the western lands had moved the westerners to declare their independence, and contended that her subsequent repeal of the act making this cession was void, and that congress should treat the cession as an accomplished fact. however, congress took no action either for or against the insurrectionary commonwealth. the new state wished to stand well with virginia, no less than with congress. in july, , sevier wrote to governor patrick henry, unsuccessfully appealing to him for sympathy. in this letter he insisted that he was doing all he could to restrain the people from encroaching on the indian lands, though he admitted he found the task difficult. he assured henry that he would on no account encourage the southwestern virginians to join the new state, as some of them had proposed; and he added, what he evidently felt to be a needed explanation, "we hope to convince every one that we are not a banditti, but a people who mean to do right, as far as our knowledge will lead us." [footnote: va. state papers, iv., , sevier to henry, july , .] correspondence with benjamin franklin. at the outset of its stormy career the new state had been named franklin, in honor of benjamin franklin; but a large minority had wished to call it frankland instead, and outsiders knew it as often by one title as the other. benjamin franklin himself did not know that it was named after him until it had been in existence eighteen months. [footnote: state dept. mss., franklin papers, miscellaneous, vol. vii., benj. franklin to william cocke, philadelphia, aug. , .] the state was then in straits, and cocke wrote franklin, in the hope of some advice or assistance. the prudent philosopher replied in conveniently vague and guarded terms. he remarked that this was the first time he had been informed that the new state was named after him, he having always supposed that it was called frankland. he then expressed his high appreciation of the honor conferred upon him, and his regret that he could not show his appreciation by anything more substantial than good wishes. he declined to commit himself as to the quarrel between franklin and north carolina, explaining that he could know nothing of its merits, as he had but just come home from abroad; but he warmly commended the proposition to submit the question to congress, and urged that the disputants should abide by its decision. he wound up his letter by some general remarks on the benefits of having a congress which could act as a judge in such matters. sevier's manifesto to north carolina. while the memorial was being presented to congress, sevier was publishing his counter-manifesto to governor martin's in the shape of a letter to martin's successor in the chair of the chief executive of north carolina. in this letter sevier justified at some length the stand the franklin people had taken, and commented with lofty severity on governor martin's efforts "to stir up sedition and insurrection" in franklin, and thus destroy the "tranquillity;" of its "peaceful citizens." sevier evidently shared to the full the horror generally felt by the leaders of a rebellion for those who rebel against themselves. the new governor of north carolina adopted a much more pacific tone than his predecessor, and he and sevier exchanged some further letters, but without result. treaty with the cherokees. one of the main reasons for discontent with the parent state was the delay in striking an advantageous treaty with the indians, and the franklin people hastened to make up for this delay by summoning the cherokees to council. [footnote: virginia state papers, iv., , , etc.] many of the chiefs, who were already under solemn agreement with the united states and north carolina, refused to attend; but, as usual with indians, they could not control all their people, some of whom were present at the time appointed. with the indians who were thus present the whites went through the form of a treaty under which they received large cessions of cherokee lands. the ordinary results of such a treaty followed. the indians who had not signed promptly repudiated as unauthorized and ineffective the action of the few who had; and the latter asserted that they had been tricked into signing, and were not aware of the true nature of the document to which they had affixed their marks. [footnote: talk of old tassel, september , , ramsey, .] the whites heeded these protests not at all, but kept the land they had settled. in fact the attitude of the franklin people towards the cherokees was one of mere piracy. in the august session of their legislature they passed a law to encourage an expedition to go down the tennessee on the west side and take possession of the country in the great bend of that river under titles derived from the state of georgia. the eighty or ninety men composing this expedition actually descended the river, and made a settlement by the muscle shoals, in what the georgians called the county of houston. they opened a land office, organized a county government, and elected john sevier's brother, valentine, to represent them in the georgia legislature; but that body refused to allow him a seat. after a fortnight's existence the attitude of the indians became so menacing that the settlement broke up and was abandoned. the greenville constitutional convention. in november, , the convention to provide a permanent constitution for the state met at greenville. there was already much discontent with the franklin government. the differences between its adherents and those of the old north carolina government were accentuated by bitter faction fights among the rivals for popular leadership, backed by their families and followers. bad feeling showed itself at this convention, the rivalry between sevier and tipton being pronounced. tipton was one of the mountain leaders, second in influence only to sevier, and his bitter personal enemy. at the convention a brand new constitution was submitted by a delegate named samuel houston. the adoption of the new constitution was urged by a strong minority. the most influential man of the minority party was tipton. this written constitution, with its bill of rights prefixed, was a curious document. it provided that the new state should be called the commonwealth of frankland. full religious liberty was established, so far as rites of worship went; but no one was to hold office unless he was a christian who believed in the bible, in heaven, in hell, and in the trinity. there were other classes prohibited from holding office,--immoral men and sabbath breakers, for instance, and clergymen, doctors, and lawyers. the exclusion of lawyers from law-making bodies was one of the darling plans of the ordinary sincere rural demagogue of the day. at that time lawyers, as a class, furnished the most prominent and influential political leaders; and they were, on the whole, the men of most mark in the communities. a narrow, uneducated, honest countryman, especially in the backwoods, then looked upon a lawyer, usually with smothered envy and admiration, but always with jealousy, suspicion, and dislike; much as his successors to this day look upon bankers and railroad men. it seemed to him a praiseworthy thing to prevent any man whose business it was to study the law from having a share in making the law. the proposed constitution showed the extreme suspicion felt by the common people for even their own elected lawmakers. it made various futile provisions to restrain them, such as providing that "except on occasions of sudden necessity," laws should only become such after being enacted by two successive legislatures, and that a council of safety should be elected to look after the conduct of all the other public officials. universal suffrage for all freemen was provided; the legislature was to consist of but one body; and almost all offices were made elective. taxes were laid to provide a state university. the constitution was tediously elaborate and minute in its provisions. however, its only interest is its showing the spirit of the local "reformers" of the day and place in the matters of constitution-making and legislation. after a hot debate and some tumultuous scenes, it was rejected by the majority of the convention, and in its stead, on sevier's motion, the north carolina constitution was adopted as the groundwork for the new government. this gave umbrage to tipton and his party, who for some time had been discontented with the course of affairs in franklin, and had been grumbling about them. franklin acts as an independent state. the new constitution--which was in effect simply the old constitution with unimportant alterations--went into being, and under it the franklin legislature convened at greenville, which was made the permanent capital of the new state. the commons met in the court-house, a clapboarded building of unhewn logs, without windows, the light coming in through the door and through the chinks between the timbers. the senate met in one of the rooms of the town tavern. the backwoods legislators lodged at this tavern or at some other, at the cost of fourpence a day, the board being a shilling for the man, and sixpence for his horse, if the horse only ate hay; a half pint of liquor or a gallon of oats cost sixpence. [footnote: ramsey, .] life was very rude and simple; no luxuries, and only the commonest comforts, were obtainable. the state of franklin had now been in existence over a year, and during this period the officers holding under it had exercised complete control in the three insurrectionary counties. they had passed laws, made treaties, levied taxes, recorded deeds, and solemnized marriages. in short, they had performed all the functions of civil government, and franklin had assumed in all respects the position of an independent commonwealth. feuds of the two parties. but in the spring of the discontent which had smouldered burst into a flame. tipton and his followers openly espoused the cause of north carolina, and were joined, as time waned, by the men who for various reasons were dissatisfied with the results of the trial of independent statehood. they held elections, at the sycamore shoals and elsewhere, to choose representatives to the north carolina legislature, john tipton being elected senator. they organized the entire local government over again in the interest of the old state. the two rival governments clashed in every way. county courts of both were held in the same counties; the militia were called out by both sets of officers; taxes were levied by both legislatures. [footnote: haywood, .] the franklin courts were held at jonesboro, the north carolina courts at buffalo, ten miles distant; and each court in turn was broken up by armed bands of the opposite party. criminals throve in the confusion, and the people refused to pay taxes to either party. brawls, with their brutal accompaniments of gouging and biting, were common. sevier and tipton themselves, on one occasion when they by chance met, indulged in a rough-and-tumble fight before their friends could interfere. growing confusion. throughout the year ' the confusion gradually grew worse. a few days after the greenville convention met, the legislature of north carolina passed an act in reference to the revolt. it declared that, at the proper time, the western counties would be erected into an independent state, but that this time had not yet come; until it did, they would be well cared for, but must return to their ancient allegiance, and appoint and elect their officers under the laws of north carolina. a free pardon and oblivion of all offences was promised. following this act came a long and tedious series of negotiations. franklin sent ambassadors to argue her case before the legislature of the mother state; the governors and high officials exchanged long-winded letters and proclamations, and the rival legislatures passed laws intended to undermine each other's influence. the franklin assembly tried menace, and threatened to fine any one who acted under a commission from north carolina. the legislature of the latter state achieved more by promises, having wisely offered to remit all taxes for the two troubled years to any one who would forthwith submit to her rule. neither side was willing to force the issue to trial by arms if it could be helped; and there was a certain pointlessness about the struggle, inasmuch as the differences between the contending parties were really so trifling. the north carolinians kept protesting that they would be delighted to see franklin set up as an independent state, as soon as her territory contained enough people; and the franklin leaders in return were loud in their assurances of respect for north carolina and of desire to follow her wishes. but neither would yield the points immediately at issue. a somewhat comic incident of the affair occurred in connection with an effort made by sevier and his friends to persuade old evan shelby to act as umpire. after a conference they signed a joint manifesto which aimed to preserve peace for the moment by the novel expedient of allowing the citizens of the disputed territory to determine, every man for himself, the government which he wished to own, and to pay his taxes to it accordingly. nothing came of this manifesto. decline of franklin. during this time of confusion each party rallied by turns, but the general drift was all in favor of north carolina. one by one the adherents of franklin dropped away. the revolt was essentially a frontier revolt, and sevier was essentially a frontier leader. the older and longer-settled counties and parts of counties were the first to fall away from him, while the settlers on the very edge of the indian country clung to him to the last. attitude of neighboring states. the neighboring states were more or less excited over the birth of the little insurgent commonwealth. virginia looked upon it with extreme disfavor, largely because her own western counties showed signs of desiring to throw in their fortunes with the franklin people [footnote: va. state papers, iv. .] governor patrick henry issued a very energetic address on the subject, and the authorities took effective means to prevent the movement from gaining head. franklin and georgia. georgia, on the contrary, showed the utmost friendliness towards the new state, and gladly entered into an alliance with her. [footnote: stevens' "georgia," ii., .] georgia had no self-assertive communities of her own children on her western border, as virginia and north carolina had, in kentucky and franklin. she was herself a frontier commonwealth, challenging as her own lands that were occupied by the indians and claimed by the spainards. her interests were identical with those of franklin. the governors of the two communities exchanged complimentary addresses, and sent their rough ambassadors one to the other. georgia made sevier a brigadier-general in her militia, for the district she claimed in the bend of the tennessee; and her branch of the society of the cincinnati elected him to membership. in return sevier, hoping to tighten the loosening bonds of his authority by a successful indian war, entered into arrangements with georgia for a combined campaign against the creeks. for various reasons the proposed campaign fell through, but the mere planning of it shows the feeling that was, at the bottom, the strongest of those which knit together the franklin men and the georgians. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , p. .] they both greedily coveted the indians' land, and were bent on driving the indians off it. [footnote: va. state papers, iv., pp. , . many of the rumors of defeats and victories given in these papers were without foundation.] the franklin men and the indians. one of the franklin judges, in sending a plea for the independence of his state to the governor of north carolina, expressed with unusual frankness the attitude of the holston backwoodsmen towards the indians. he remarked that he supposed the governor would be astonished to learn that there were many settlers on the land which north carolina had by treaty guaranteed to the cherokees; and brushed aside all remonstrances by simply saying that it was vain to talk of keeping the frontiersmen from encroaching on indian territory. all that could be done, he said, was to extend the laws over each locality as rapidly as it was settled by the intruding pioneers; otherwise they would become utterly lawless, and dangerous to their neighbors. as for laws and proclamations to restrain the white advance, he asked if all the settlements in america had not been extended in defiance of such. and now that the indians were cowed, the advance was certain to be faster, and the savages were certain to be pushed back more rapidly, and the limits of tribal territory more narrowly circumscribed. [footnote: ramsey, .] this letter possessed at least the merit of expressing with blunt truthfulness the real attitude of the franklin people, and of the backwoodsmen generally, towards the indians. they never swerved from their intention of seizing the indian lands. they preferred to gain their ends by treaty, and with the consent of the indians; but if this proved impossible, then they intended to gain them by force. in its essence, and viewed from the standpoint of abstract morality, their attitude was that of the freebooter. the backwoodsmen lusted for the possessions of the indian, as the buccaneers of the spanish main had once lusted for the possessions of the spaniard. there was but little more heed paid to the rights of the assailed in one case than in the other. the ethics of such territorial conquest. yet in its results, and viewed from the standpoint of applied ethics, the conquest and settlement by the whites of the indian lands was necessary to the greatness of the race and to the well-being of civilized mankind. it was as ultimately beneficial as it was inevitable. huge tomes might be filled with arguments as to the morality or immorality of such conquests. but these arguments appeal chiefly to the cultivated men in highly civilized communities who have neither the wish nor the power to lead warlike expeditions into savage lands. such conquests are commonly undertaken by those reckless and daring adventurers who shape and guide each race's territorial growth. they are sure to come when a masterful people, still in its raw barbarian prime, finds itself face to face with a weaker and wholly alien race which holds a coveted prize in its feeble grasp. many good persons seem prone to speak of all wars of conquest as necessarily evil. this is, of course, a shortsighted view. in its after effects a conquest may be fraught either with evil or with good for mankind, according to the comparative worth of the conquering and conquered peoples. it is useless to try to generalize about conquests simply as such in the abstract; each case or set of cases must be judged by itself. the world would have halted had it not been for the teutonic conquests in alien lands; but the victories of moslem over christian have always proved a curse in the end. nothing but sheer evil has come from the victories of turk and tartar. this is true generally of the victories of barbarians of low racial characteristics over gentler, more moral, and more refined peoples, even though these people have, to their shame and discredit, lost the vigorous fighting virtues. yet it remains no less true that the world would probably have gone forward very little, indeed would probably not have gone forward at all, had it not been for the displacement or submersion of savage and barbaric peoples as a consequence of the armed settlement in strange lands of the races who hold in their hands the fate of the years. every such submersion or displacement of an inferior race, every such armed settlement or conquest by a superior race, means the infliction and suffering of hideous woe and misery. it is a sad and dreadful thing that there should of necessity be such throes of agony; and yet they are the birth-pangs of a new and vigorous people. that they are in truth birth-pangs does not lessen the grim and hopeless woe of the race supplanted; of the race outworn or overthrown. the wrongs done and suffered cannot be blinked. neither can they be allowed to hide the results to mankind of what has been achieved. it is not possible to justify the backwoodsmen by appeal to principles which we would accept as binding on their descendants, or on the mighty nation which has sprung up and flourished in the soil they first won and tilled. all that can be asked is that they shall be judged as other wilderness conquerors, as other slayers and quellers of savage peoples, are judged. the same standards must be applied to sevier and his hard-faced horse-riflemen that we apply to the greek colonist of sicily and the roman colonist of the valley of the po; to the cossack rough-rider who won for russia the vast and melancholy siberian steppes, and to the boer who guided his ox-drawn wagon-trains to the hot grazing lands of the transvaal; to the founders of massachusetts and virginia, of oregon and icy saskatchewan; and to the men who built up those far-off commonwealths whose coasts are lapped by the waters of the great south sea. indian hostilities. the aggressions by the franklin men on the cherokee lands bore bloody fruit in . [footnote: state dept. mss. vol. ii., no. , arthur campbell to joseph martin, june , ; martin to the governor of virginia, june , , etc.] the young warriors, growing ever more alarmed and angered at the pressure of the settlers, could not be restrained. they shook off the control of the old men, who had seen the tribe flogged once and again by the whites, and knew how hopeless such a struggle was. the chickamauga banditti watched from their eyries to pounce upon all boats that passed down the tennessee, and their war bands harried the settlements far and wide, being joined in their work by parties from the cherokee towns proper. stock was stolen, cabins were burned, and settlers murdered. the stark riflemen gathered for revenge, carrying their long rifles and riding their rough mountain horses. counter-inroads were carried into the indian country. on one, when sevier himself led, two or three of the indian towns were burned and a score or so of warriors killed. as always, it proved comparatively easy to deal a damaging blow to these southern indians, who dwelt in well-built log-towns; while the widely scattered, shifting, wigwam-villages of the forest-nomads of the north rarely offered a tangible mark at which to strike. of course, the retaliatory blows of the whites, like the strokes of the indians, fell as often on the innocent as on the guilty. during this summer, to revenge the death of a couple of settlers, a backwoods colonel, with the appropriate name of outlaw, fell on a friendly cherokee town and killed two or three indians, besides plundering a white man, a north carolina trader, who happened to be in the town. nevertheless, throughout the great majority of the cherokees remained quiet. [footnote: va. state papers, iv., pp. , , .] early in , however, they felt the strain so severely that they gathered in a great council and deliberated whether they should not abandon their homes and move far out into the western wilderness; but they could not yet make up their minds to leave their beloved mountains. the north carolina authorities wished to see them receive justice, but all they could do was to gather the few indian prisoners who had been captured in the late wars and return them to the cherokees. the franklin government had opened a land office and disposed of all the lands between the french broad and the tennessee, [footnote: state dept. mss., vol. ii. no. . letter to edmund randolph, feb. , ; letter of joseph martin, of march , ; talk from piominigo, the chickasaw chief, feb. , .] which territory north carolina had guaranteed the cherokees; and when, on the authority of the governor of north carolina, his representative ordered the settlers off the invaded land, they treated his command with utter defiance. not only the creeks, but even the distant choctaws and chickasaws became uneasy and irritated over the american encroachments, while the french traders who came up the tennessee preached war to the indians, and the spanish government ordered all the american traders to be expelled from among the southern tribes unless they would agree to take commissions from spain and throw off their allegiance to the united states. in this same year the cherokees became embroiled, not only with the franklin people but with the kentuckians. the chickamaugas, who were mainly renegade cherokees, were always ravaging in kentucky. colonel john logan had gathered a force to attack one of their war bands, but he happened instead to stumble on a cherokee party, which he scattered to the winds with loss. the kentuckians wrote to the cherokee chiefs explaining that the attack was an accident, but that they did not regret it greatly, inasmuch as they found in the cherokee camp several horses which had been stolen from the settlers. they then warned the cherokees that the outrages by the chickamaugas must be stopped; and if the cherokees failed to stop them they would have only themselves to thank for the woes that would follow, as the kentuckians could not always tell the hostile from the friendly indians, and were bent on taking an exemplary, even if indiscriminate revenge. the council of virginia, on hearing of this announced intention of the kentuckians "highly disapproved of it," [footnote: state dept. mss., no. . resolutions of kentucky committee, june , .] but they could do nothing except disapprove. the governmental authorities of the eastern states possessed but little more power to restrain the backwoodsmen than the sachems had to restrain the young braves. virginia and north carolina could no more control kentucky and franklin than the cherokees could control the chickamaugas. growing weakness of the new state. in the state of franklin began to totter to its fall. in april [footnote: state dept. mss. franklin papers, viii., benjamin franklin to his excellency governor sevier, philadelphia, june , .] sevier, hungering for help or friendly advice, wrote to the gray statesman after whom his state was named. the answer did not come for several months, and when it did come it was not very satisfactory. the old sage repeated that he knew too little of the circumstances to express an opinion, but he urged a friendly understanding with north carolina, and he spoke with unpalatable frankness on the subject of the indians. at that very time he was writing to a cherokee chief [footnote: _do_. letter to the chief "cornstalk" (corntassel?), same date and place.] who had come to congress in the vain hope that the federal authorities might save the cherokees from the reckless backwoodsmen; he had promised to try to obtain justice for the indians, and he was in no friendly mood towards the backwoods aggressors. prevent encroachments on indian lands, franklin wrote to sevier,--sevier, who, in a last effort to rally his followers, was seeking a general indian war to further these very encroachments,--and remember that they are the more unjustifiable because the indians usually give good bargains in the way of purchase, while a war with them costs more than any possible price they may ask. this advice was based on franklin's usual principle of merely mercantile morality; but he was writing to a people who stood in sore need of just the teaching he could furnish and who would have done well to heed it. they were slow to learn that while sober, debt-paying thrift, love of order, and industry, are perhaps not the loftiest virtues and are certainly not in themselves all sufficient, they yet form an indispensable foundation, the lack of which is but ill supplied by other qualities even of a very noble kind. sevier, also in the year , carried on a long correspondence with evan shelby, whose adherence to the state of franklin he much desired, as the stout old fellow was a power not only among the frontiersmen but with the virginian and north carolinian authorities likewise. sevier persuaded the legislature to offer shelby the position of chief magistrate of franklin, and pressed him to accept it, and throw in his lot with the westerners, instead of trying to serve men at a distance. shelby refused; but sevier was bent upon being pleasant, and thanked shelby for at least being neutral, even though not actively friendly. in another letter, however, when he had begun to suspect shelby of positive hostility, he warned him that no unfriendly interference would be tolerated. [footnote: tennessee hist. soc. mss. letters of sevier to evan shelby, feb. , may , may , and aug. , .] shelby could neither be placated nor intimidated. he regarded with equal alarm and anger the loosening of the bands of authority and order among the franklin frontiersmen. he bitterly disapproved of their lawless encroachments on the indian lands, which he feared would cause a general war with the savages. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. . evan shelby to general russell, april , . beverly randolph to virginia delegates, june , .] at the very time that sevier was writing to him, he was himself writing to the north carolina government, urging them to send forward troops who would put down the rebellion by force, and was requesting the virginians to back up any such movement with their militia. he urged that the insurrection threatened not only north carolina, but virginia and the federal government itself; and in phrases like those of the most advanced federalist statesman, he urged the federal government to interfere. the governor of virginia was inclined to share his views, and forwarded his complaints and requests to the continental congress. collapse of franklin. however, no action was necessary. the franklin government collapsed of itself. in september, , the legislature met for the last time, at greenville. there was a contested election case for senator from the county of hawkins, which shows the difficulties under which the members had labored in carrying their elections, and gives a hint of the anarchy produced by the two contending governments. in this case the sheriff of the county of hawkins granted the certificate of election to one man, and the three inspectors of the poll granted it to another. on investigation by a committee of the senate, it appeared that the poll was opened by the sheriff "on the third friday and saturday in august," as provided by law, but that in addition to the advertisement of the election which was published by the sheriff of hawkins, who held under the franklin government, another proclamation, advertising the same election, was issued by the sheriff of the north carolina county of spencer, which had been recently created by north carolina out of a portion of the territory of hawkins county. the north carolina sheriff merely wished to embarrass his franklin rival, and he succeeded admirably. the franklin man proclaimed that he would allow no one to vote who had not paid taxes to franklin; but after three or four votes had been taken the approach of a body of armed adherents of the north carolina interest caused the shutting of the polls. the franklin authorities then dispersed, the north carolina sheriff having told them plainly that the matter would have to be settled by seeing which party was strongest. one or two efforts were made to have an adjourned election elsewhere in the neighborhood, with the result that in the confusion certificates were given to two different men. [footnote: tennessee hist. soc. mss. report of "committee of privileges and elections" of senate of franklin, nov. , .] such disorders showed that the time had arrived when the authorities of franklin either had to begin a bloody civil war or else abandon the attempt to create a new state; and in their feebleness and uncertainty they adopted the latter alternative. when in march, , the term of sevier as governor came to an end, there was no one to take his place, and the officers of north carolina were left in undisputed possession of whatever governmental authority there was. the north carolina assembly which met in november, , had been attended by regularly elected members from all the western counties, tipton being among them; while the far-off log hamlets on the banks of the cumberland sent robertson himself. [footnote: haywood, .] this assembly once more offered full pardon and oblivion of past offences to all who would again become citizens; and the last adherents of the insurrectionary government reluctantly accepted the terms. franklin had been in existence for three years, during which time she had exercised all the powers and functions of independent statehood. during the first year her sway in the district was complete; during the next she was forced to hold possession in common with north carolina; and then, by degrees her authority lapsed altogether. fight between tipton and sevier. sevier was left in dire straits by the falling of the state he had founded; for not only were the north carolina authorities naturally bitter against him, but he had to count on the personal hostility of tipton. in his distress he wrote to one of the opposing party, not personally unfriendly to him, that he had been dragged into the franklin movement by the people of the county; that he wished to suspend hostilities, and was ready to abide by the decision of the north carolina legislature, but that he was determined to share the fate of those who had stood by him, whatever it might be. [footnote: va. state papers, iv., , . sevier to martin, april and may , ] about the time that his term as governor expired, a writ, issued by the north carolina courts, was executed against his estate. the sheriff seized all his negro slaves, as they worked on his nolichucky farm, and bore them for safe-keeping to tipton's house, a rambling cluster of stout log buildings, on sinking creek of the watanga. sevier raised a hundred and fifty men and marched to take them back, carrying a light fieldpiece. tipton's friends gathered, thirty or forty strong, and a siege began. sevier hesitated to push matters to extremity by charging home. for a couple of days there was some skirmishing and two or three men were killed or wounded. then the county-lieutenant of sullivan, with a hundred and eighty militia, came to tipton's rescue. they surprised sevier's camp at dawn on the last day of february, [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. iii. armstrong to wyllys, april , .] while the snow was falling heavily; and the franklin men fled in mad panic, only one or two being slain. two of sevier's sons were taken prisoners, and tipton was with difficulty dissuaded from hanging them. this scrambling fight marked the ignoble end of the state of franklin. sevier fled to the uttermost part of the frontier, where no writs ran, and the rough settlers were devoted to him. here he speedily became engaged in the indian war. indian ravages. early in the spring of , the indians renewed their ravages. [footnote: va. state papers, iv., , .] the chickamaugas were the leaders, but there were among them a few creeks, and they were also joined by some of the cherokees proper, goaded to anger by the encroachments of the whites on their lands. many of the settlers were killed, and the people on the frontier began to gather into their stockades and blockhouses. the alarm was great. one murder was of peculiar treachery and atrocity. a man named john kirk [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. ii., p. . proclamation of thos. hutchings, june , .] lived on a clearing on little river, seven miles south of knoxville. one day when he was away from home, an indian named slim tom, well-known to the family, and believed to be friendly, came to the cabin and asked for food. the food was given him and he withdrew. but he had come merely as a spy; and seeing that he had to deal only with helpless women and children, he returned with a party of indians who had been hiding in the woods. they fell on the wretched creatures, and butchered them all, eleven in number, leaving the mangled bodies in the court-yard. the father and eldest boy were absent and thus escaped. it would have been well had the lad been among the slain, for his coarse and brutal nature was roused to a thirst for indiscriminate revenge, and shortly afterwards he figured as chief actor in a deed of retaliation as revolting and inhuman as the original crime. at the news of the massacres the frontiersmen gathered, as was their custom, mounted and armed, and ready either to follow the marauding parties or to make retaliatory inroads on their own account. sevier, their darling leader, was among them, and to him they gave the command. joseph martin tries to keep the peace. another frontier leader and indian fighter of note was at this time living among the cherokees. he was joseph martin, who had dwelt much among the indians, and had great influence over them, as he always treated them justly; though he had shown in more than one campaign that he could handle them in war as well as in peace. early in , he had been appointed by north carolina brigadier-general of the western counties lying beyond the mountains. in the military organization, which was really the most important side of the government to the frontiersmen, this was the chief position; and martin's duties were not only to protect the border against indian raids, but also to stamp out any smouldering embers of insurrection, and see that the laws of the state were again put in operation. in april he took command, and on the th of the mouth reached the lower settlements on the holston river. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. ii. joseph martin to h. knox, july , .] here he found that a couple of settlers had been killed by indians a few days before, and he met a party of riflemen who had gathered to avenge the death of their friends by a foray on the cherokee towns. martin did not believe that the cherokees were responsible for the murder. after some talk he persuaded the angry whites to choose four of their trusted men to accompany him as ambassadors to the cherokee towns in order to find out the truth. mutual outrages. accordingly they all went forward together. martin sent runners ahead to the cherokees, and their chiefs and young warriors gathered to meet him. the indians assured him that they were guiltless of the recent murder; that it should doubtless be laid at the door of some creek war party. the creeks, they said, kept passing through their villages to war on the whites, and they had often turned them back. the frontier envoys at this professed themselves satisfied, and returned to their homes, after begging martin to stay among the cherokees; and he stayed, his presence giving confidence to the indians, who forthwith began to plant their crops. unfortunately, about the middle of may, the murders again began, and again parties of riflemen gathered for vengeance. martin intercepted one of these parties ten miles from a friendly cherokee town; but another attacked and burned a neighboring town, the inhabitants escaping with slight loss. for a time martin's life was jeopardized by this attack; the cherokees, who swore they were innocent of the murders, being incensed at the counter attack. they told martin that they thought he had been trying to gentle them, so that the whites might take them unawares. after a while they cooled down; and explained to martin that the outrages were the work of the creeks and chickamaugas, whom they could not control, and whom they hoped the whites would punish; but that they themselves were innocent and friendly. then the whites sent messages to express their regret; and though martin declined longer to be responsible for the deeds of men of his own color, the indians consented to patch up another truce. [footnote: state dept mss., no. , vol. ii. martin to randolph, june ii, .] the outrages, however, continued; among others, a big boat was captured by the chickamaugas, and all but three of the forty souls on board were killed. the settlers drew no fine distinctions between different indians; they knew that their friends were being murdered by savages who came from the direction of the cherokee towns; and they vented their wrath on the indians who dwelt in these towns because they were nearest to hand. on may th martin left the indian town of chota, the beloved town, where he had been staying, and rode to the french broad. there he found that a big levy of frontier militia, with sevier at their head, were preparing to march against the indians; sevier having been chosen general, as mentioned above. realizing that it was now hopeless to try to prevent a war, martin hurried back to chota, and removed his negroes, horses, and goods. sevier's crime. sevier, heedless of martin's remonstrances, hurried forward on his raid, with a hundred riders. he struck a town on hiawassee and destroyed it, killing a number of the warriors. this feat, and two or three others like it, made the frontiersmen flock to his standard; [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. iii. geo. maxwell to martin, july , .] but before any great number were embodied under him, he headed a small party on a raid which was sullied by a deed of atrocious treachery and cruelty. he led some forty men to chilhowa [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. iii, thos. hutchings to martin, july . ] on the tennessee; opposite a small town of cherokees, who were well known to have been friendly to the whites. among them were several chiefs, including an old man named the corn tassel, who for years had been foremost in the endeavor to keep the peace, and to prevent raids on the settlers. they put out a white flag; and the whites then hoisted one themselves. on the strength of this one of the indians crossed the river, and on demand of the whites ferried them over. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. iii. hutchings to maxwell, june , . hutchings to martin, july , .] sevier put the indians in a hut, and then a horrible deed of infamy was perpetrated. among sevier's troops was young john kirk, whose mother, sisters, and brothers had been so foully butchered by the cherokee slim tom and his associates. young kirk's brutal soul was parched with longing for revenge, and he was, both in mind and heart, too nearly kin to his indian foes greatly to care whether his vengeance fell on the wrongdoers or on the innocent. he entered the hut where the cherokee chiefs were confined and brained them with his tomahawk, while his comrades looked on without interfering. sevier's friends asserted that at the moment he was absent; but this is no excuse. he knew well the fierce blood lust of his followers, and it was criminal negligence on his part to leave to their mercy the friendly indians who had trusted to his good faith; and, moreover, he made no effort to punish the murderer. as if to show the futility of the plea that sevier was powerless, a certain captain gillespie successfully protected a captive indian from militia violence at this very time. he had come into the indian country with one of the parties which intended to join sevier, and while alone he captured a cherokee. when his troops came up they immediately proposed to kill the indian, and told him they cared nothing for his remonstrances; whereupon he sprang from his horse, cocked his rifle, and told them he would shoot dead the first man who raised a hand to molest the captives. they shrank back, and the indian remained unharmed. [footnote: haywood, p. .] misconduct of the frontiersmen. as for young kirk all that need be said is that he stands in the same category with slim tom, the indian murderer. he was a fair type of the low-class, brutal white borderer, whose inhumanity almost equalled that of the savage. but sevier must be judged by another standard. he was a member of the cincinnati, a correspondent of franklin, a follower of washington. he sinned against the light, and must be condemned accordingly. he sank to the level of a lieutenant of alva, guise, or tilly, to the level of a crusading noble of the middle ages. it would be unfair to couple even this crime with those habitually committed by sidney and sir peter carew, shan o'neil and fitzgerald, and the other dismal heroes of the hideous wars waged between the elizabethan english and the irish. but it is not unfair to compare this border warfare in the tennessee mountains with the border warfare of england and scotland two centuries earlier. there is no blinking the fact that in this instance sevier and his followers stood on the same level of brutality with "keen lord evers," and on the same level of treachery with the "assured" scots at the battle of ancram muir. the better-class frontiersmen condemn the deed. even on the frontier, and at that time, the better class of backwoodsmen expressed much horror at the murder of the friendly chiefs. sevier had planned to march against the chickamaugas with the levies that were thronging to his banner; but the news of the murder provoked such discussion and hesitation that his forces melted away. he was obliged to abandon his plan, partly owing to this disaffection among the whites, and partly owing to what one of the backwoodsmen, in writing to general martin, termed "the severity of the indians," [footnote: state department mss., , iii., maxwell to martin, july , .]--a queer use of the word severity which obtains to this day in out-of-the-way places through the alleghanies, where people style a man with a record for desperate fighting a "severe man," and speak of big, fierce dogs, able to tackle a wolf, as "severe" dogs. it is condemned elsewhere. elsewhere throughout the country the news of the murder excited great indignation. the continental congress passed resolutions condemning acts which they had been powerless to prevent and were powerless to punish. [footnote: _do_., no. , p. , and no. , p. .] the justices of the court of abbeville county, south carolina, with andrew pickens at their head, wrote "to the people living on nolechucke, french broad, and holstein," denouncing in unmeasured terms the encroachments and outrages of which sevier and his backwoods troopers had been guilty. [footnote: _do_., no. , andrew pickens to thos. pinckney, july , ; no. , vol. iii., letter of justices, july th.] in their zeal the justices went a little too far, painting the cherokees as a harmless people, who had always been friendly to the americans,--a statement which general martin, although he too condemned the outrages openly and with the utmost emphasis, felt obliged to correct, pointing out that the cherokees had been the inveterate and bloody foes of the settlers throughout the revolution. [footnote: _do_., no. , vol. iii., martin to knox, aug. , .] the governor of north carolina, as soon as he heard the news, ordered the arrest of sevier and his associates--doubtless as much because of their revolt against the state as because of the atrocities they had committed against the indians. [footnote: _do_., no. , samuel johnston to sec'y of congress, sept. , .] indian ravages. in their panic many of the indians fled across the mountains and threw themselves on the mercy of the north and south carolinians, by whom they were fed and protected. others immediately joined the chickamaugas in force, and the frontier districts of the franklin region were harried with vindictive ferocity. the strokes fell most often and most heavily on the innocent. half of the militia were called out, and those who most condemned the original acts of aggression committed by their neighbors were obliged to make common cause with these neighbors, so as to save their own lives and the lives of their families. [footnote: _do_., hutchings to maxwell, june th, and to martin, july th.] the officers of the district ordered a general levy of the militia to march against the indian towns, and in each county the backwoodsmen began to muster. [footnote: _do_., no. , vol. ii., daniel kennedy to martin, june , ; maxwell to martin, july th, etc. no. , vol. iii., p. : result of council of officers of washington district, august , .] the indian war. before the troops assembled many outrages were committed by the savages. horses were stolen, people were killed in their cabins, in their fields, on the roads, and at the ferries; and the settlers nearest the indian country gathered in their forted stations, and sent earnest appeals for help to their unmolested brethren. the stations were attacked, and at one or two the indians were successful; but generally they were beaten off, the militia marching promptly to the relief of each beleaguered garrison. severe skirmishing took place between the war parties and the bands of militia who first reached the frontier; and the whites were not always successful. once, for instance, a party of militia, greedy for fruit, scattered through an orchard, close to an indian town which they supposed to be deserted; but the indians were hiding near by and fell upon them, killing seventeen. the savages mutilated the dead bodies in fantastic ways, with ferocious derision, and left them for their friends to find and bury. [footnote: _do_., martin to knox, august , .] sevier led parties against the indians without ceasing; and he and his men by their conduct showed that they waged the war very largely for profit. on a second incursion, which he made with canoes, into the hiawassee country, his followers made numerous tomahawk claims, or "improvements," as they were termed, in the lands from which the indians fled; hoping thus to establish a right of ownership to the country they had overrun. [footnote: _do_., hutchings to martin, july , .] the whites speedily got the upper hand, ceasing to stand on the defensive; and the panic disappeared. when the north carolina legislature met, the members, and the people of the seaboard generally, were rather surprised to find that the over-hill men talked of the indian war as troublesome rather than formidable. [footnote: _columbian magazine,_ ii., .] the militia officers holding commissions from north carolina wished martin to take command of the retaliatory expeditious against the cherokees; but martin, though a good fighter on occasions, preferred the arts of peace, and liked best treating with and managing the indians. he had already acted as agent to different tribes on behalf of virginia, north carolina, and georgia; and at this time he accepted an offer from the continental congress to serve in the same capacity for all the southern indians. [footnote: state dep. mss., no. , vol. ii., p. etc.] nevertheless he led a body of militia against the chickamaugas towns. he burnt a couple, but one of his detachments was driven back in a fight on lookout mountain; his men became discontented, and he was forced to withdraw, followed and harassed by the indians. on his retreat the indians attacked the settlements in force, and captured gillespie's station. sevier's feats. sevier was the natural leader of the holston riflemen in such a war; and the bands of frontiersmen insisted that he should take the command whenever it was possible. sevier swam well in troubled waters, and he profited by the storm he had done so much to raise. again and again during the summer of he led his bands of wild horsemen on forays against the cherokee towns, and always with success. he followed his usual tactics, riding hard and long, pouncing on the indians in their homes before they suspected his presence, or intercepting and scattering their war parties; and he moved with such rapidity that they could not gather in force sufficient to do him harm. not only was the fame of his triumphs spread along the frontier, but vague rumors reached even the old settled states of the seaboard, [footnote: _columbian magazine_ for , p. . also letter from french broad, december , .] rumors that told of the slight loss suffered by his followers, of the headlong hurry of his marches, of the fury with which his horsemen charged in the skirmishes, of his successful ambuscades and surprises, and of the heavy toll he took in slain warriors and captive women and children, who were borne homewards to exchange for the wives and little ones of the settlers who had themselves been taken prisoners. sevier's dashing and successful leadership wiped out in the minds of the backwoodsmen the memory of all his shortcomings and misdeeds; even the memory of that unpunished murder of friendly indians which had so largely provoked the war. the representatives of the north carolina government and his own personal enemies were less forgetful. sevier is arrested. the governor of the state had given orders to seize him because of his violation of the laws and treaties in committing wanton murder on friendly indians; and a warrant to arrest him for high treason was issued by the courts. as long as "nolichucky jack" remained on the border, among the rough indian fighters whom he had so often led to victory, he was in no danger. but in the fall, late in october, he ventured back to the longer settled districts. a council of officers with martin presiding and tipton present as one of the leading members, had been held at jonesboro, and had just broken up when sevier and a dozen of his followers rode into the squalid little town. [footnote: haywood, .] he drank freely and caroused with his fiends; and he soon quarrelled with one of the other side who denounced him freely and justly for the murder of corn tassel and the other peaceful chiefs. finally they all rode away, but when some miles out of town sevier got into a quarrel with another man; and after more drinking and brawling he went to pass the night at a house, the owner of which was his friend. meanwhile one of the men with whom he had quarrelled informed tipton that his foe was in his grasp. tipton gathered eight or ten men and early next morning surprised sevier in his lodgings. sevier escape. sevier could do nothing but surrender, and tipton put him in irons and sent him across the mountains to morgantown, in north carolina, where he was kindly treated and allowed much liberty. most of the inhabitants sympathized with him, having no special repugnance to disorder, and no special sympathy even for friendly indians. meanwhile a dozen of his friends, with his two sons at their head, crossed the mountains to rescue their beloved leader. they came into morgantown while court was sitting and went unnoticed in the crowds. in the evening, when the court adjourned and the crowds broke up, sevier's friends managed to get near him with a spare horse; he mounted and they all rode off at speed. by daybreak they were out of danger. [footnote: ramsey first copies haywood and gives the account correctly. he then adds a picturesque alternative account--followed by later writers,--in which sevier escapes in open court on a celebrated race mare. the basis for the last account, so far as it has any basis at all, lies on statements made nearly half a century after the event, and entirely unknown to haywood. there is no evidence of any kind as to its truthfulness. it mast be set down as mere fable.] nothing further was attempted against him. a year later he was elected a member of the north carolina legislature; after some hesitation he was allowed to take his seat, and the last trace of the old hostility disappeared. neither the north carolinians, nor any one else, knew that there was better ground for the charge of treason against sevier than had appeared in his overt actions. he was one of those who had been in correspondence with gardoqui on the subject of an alliance between the westerners and spain. alleged filibustering movement. the year before this congress had been much worked up over the discovery of a supposed movement in franklin to organize for the armed conquest of louisiana. in september a letter was sent by an ex-officer of the continental line named john sullivan, writing from charleston, to a former comrade in arms; and this letter in some way became public. sullivan had an unpleasant reputation. he had been involved in one of the mutinies of the underpaid continental troops, and was a plotting, shifty, violent fellow. in his letter he urged his friend to come west forthwith and secure lands on the tennessee; as there would soon be work cut out for the men of that country; and, he added: "i want you much--by god--take my word for it that we will speedily be in possession of new orleans." [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. iii., john sullivan to major wm. brown, september , .] the secretary of war at once directed general harmar to interfere, by force if necessary, with the execution of any such plan, and an officer of the regular army was sent to franklin to find out the truth of the matter. this officer visited the holston country in april, , and after careful inquiry came to the conclusion that sullivan had no backing, and that no movement against spain was contemplated; the settlers being absorbed in the strife between the followers of sevier and of tipton. [footnote: _do_., lieutenant john armstrong to major john p. wyllys, april , .] intrigues with spain. the real danger for the moment lay, not in a movement by the backwoodsmen against spain, but in a conspiracy of some of the backwoods leaders with the spanish authorities. just at this time the unrest in the west had taken the form, not of attempting the capture of louisiana by force, but of obtaining concessions from the spaniards in return for favors to be rendered them. clark and robertson, morgan, brown and innes, wilkinson and sebastian, were all in correspondence with gardoqui and miro, in the endeavor to come to some profitable agreement with them. sevier now joined the number. his newborn state had died; he was being prosecuted for high treason; he was ready to go to any lengths against north carolina; and he clutched at the chance of help from the spaniard. at the time north carolina was out of the union, so that sevier committed no offence against the federal government. gardoqui and sevier. gardoqui was much interested in the progress of affairs in franklin; and in the effort to turn them to the advantage of spain he made use of james white, the indian agent who was in his pay. he wrote [footnote: gardoqui mss., gardoqui to floridablanca, april , .] home that he did not believe spain could force the backwoodsmen out of franklin (which he actually claimed as spanish territory), but that he had secret advices that they could easily be brought over to the spanish interest by proper treatment. when the news came of the fight between sevier's and tipton's men, he judged the time to be ripe, and sent white to franklin to sound sevier and bring him over; but he did not trust white enough to give him any written directions, merely telling him what to do and furnishing him with three hundred dollars for his expenses. the mission was performed with such guarded caution that only sevier and a few of his friends ever knew of the negotiations, and these kept their counsel well. sevier was in the mood to grasp a helping hand stretched out from no matter what quarter. he had no organized government back of him; but he was in the midst of his successful cherokee campaigns, and he knew the reckless indian fighters would gladly follow him in any movement, if he had a chance of success. he felt that if he were given money and arms, and the promise of outside assistance, he could yet win the day. he jumped at gardoqui's cautious offers; though careful not to promise to subject himself to spain, and doubtless with no idea of playing the part of spanish vassal longer than the needs of the moment required. in july he wrote to gardoqui, eager to strike a bargain with him; and in september sent him two letters by the hand of his son james sevier who accompanied white when the latter made his return journey to the federal capital. [footnote: gardoqui mss., sevier to gardoqui, sept. , .] one letter, which was not intended to be private, formally set forth the status of franklin with reference to the indians, and requested the representatives of the catholic king to help keep the peace with the southern tribes. the other letter was the one of importance. in it he assured gardoqui that the western people had grown to know that their hopes of prosperity rested on spain, and that the principal people of franklin were anxious to enter into an alliance with, and obtain commercial concessions from, the spaniards. he importuned gardoqui for money and for military aid, assuring him that the spaniards could best accomplish their ends by furnishing these supplies immediately, especially as the struggle over the adoption of the federal constitution made the time opportune for revolt. gardoqui received white and james sevier with much courtesy, and was profuse, though vague, in his promises. he sent them both to new orleans that miro might hear and judge of their plans. [footnote: gardoqui mss., gardoqui to miro, oct. , .] nevertheless nothing came of the project, and doubtless only a few people in franklin ever knew that it existed. as for sevier, when he saw that he was baffled he suddenly became a federalist and an advocate of a strong central government; and this, doubtless, not because of love for federalism, but to show his hostility to north carolina, which had at first refused to enter the new union. [footnote: _columbian magazine,_ aug. , , vol. ii., .] this particular move was fairly comic in its abrupt unexpectedness. an independent frontier state. thus the last spark of independent life flickered out in franklin proper. the people who had settled on the indian borders were left without government, north carolina regarding them as trespassers on the indian territory. [footnote: haywood, .] they accordingly met and organized a rude governmental machine, on the model of the commonwealth of franklin; and the wild little state existed as a separate and independent republic until the new federal government included it in the territory south of the ohio. [footnote: in my first two volumes i have discussed, once for all, the worth of gilmore's "histories" of sevier and robertson and their times. it is unnecessary further to consider a single statement they contain.] chapter v. kentucky's struggle for statehood. - . while the social condition of the communities on the cumberland and the tennessee had changed very slowly, in kentucky the changes had been rapid. colonel fleming's journal. col. william fleming, one of the heroes of the battle of the great kanawha, and a man of note on the border, visited kentucky on surveying business in the winter of - . his journal shows the state of the new settlements as seen by an unusually competent observer; for he was an intelligent, well-bred, thinking man. away from the immediate neighborhood of the few scattered log hamlets, he found the wilderness absolutely virgin. the easiest way to penetrate the forest was to follow the "buffalo paths," which the settlers usually adopted for their own bridle trails, and finally cut out and made into roads. game swarmed. there were multitudes of swans, geese, and ducks on the river; turkeys and the small furred beasts, such as coons, abounded. big game was almost as plentiful. colonel fleming shot, for the subsistence of himself and his party, many buffalo, bear, and deer, and some elk. his attention was drawn by the great flocks of parroquets, which appeared even in winter, and by the big, boldly colored, ivory-billed woodpeckers--birds which have long drawn back to the most remote swamps of the hot gulf-coast, fleeing before man precisely as the buffalo and elk have fled. like all similar parties he suffered annoyance from the horses straying. he lost much time in hunting up the strayed beasts, and frequently had to pay the settlers for helping find them. there were no luxuries to be had for any money, and even such common necessaries as corn and salt were scarce and dear. half a peck of salt cost a little less than eight pounds, and a bushel of corn the same. the surveying party, when not in the woods, stayed at the cabins of the more prominent settlers, and had to pay well for board and lodging, and for washing too. kentucky during the revolution. fleming was much struck by the misery of the settlers. at the falls they were sickly, suffering with fever and ague; many of the children were dying. boonsboro and harrodsburg were very dirty, the inhabitants were sickly, and the offal and dead beasts lay about, poisoning the air and the water. during the winter no more corn could be procured than was enough to furnish an occasional hoe-cake. the people sickened on a steady diet of buffalo-bull beef, cured in smoke without salt, and prepared for the table by boiling. the buffalo was the stand-by of the settlers; they used his flesh as their common food, and his robe for covering; they made moccasins of his hide and fiddle-strings of his sinews, and combs of his horns. they spun his winter coat into yarn, and out of it they made coarse cloth, like wool. they made a harsh linen from the bark of the rotted nettles. they got sugar from the maples. there were then, fleming estimated, about three thousand souls in kentucky. the indians were everywhere, and all men lived in mortal terror of their lives; no settlement was free from the dread of the savages. [footnote: draper mss., colonel wm. fleming, "ms. journal in kentucky," nov. , , to may , .] immense and rapid changes. half a dozen years later all this was changed. the settlers had fairly swarmed into the kentucky country, and the population was so dense that the true frontiersmen, the real pioneers, were already wandering off to illinois and elsewhere every man of them desiring to live on his own land, by his own labor, and scorning to work for wages. the unexampled growth had wrought many changes; not the least was the way in which it lessened the importance of the first hunter-settlers and hunter-soldiers. the great herds of game had been woefully thinned, and certain species, as the buffalo, practically destroyed. the killing of game was no longer the chief industry, and the flesh and hides of wild beasts were no longer the staples of food and clothing. the settlers already raised crops so large that they were anxious to export the surplus. they no longer clustered together in palisaded hamlets. they had cut out trails and roads in every direction from one to another of the many settlements. the scattered clearings on which they generally lived dotted the forest everywhere, and the towns, each with its straggling array of log cabins, and its occasional frame houses, did not differ materially from those in the remote parts of pennsylvania and virginia. the gentry were building handsome houses, and their amusements and occupations were those of the up-country planters of the seaboard. the indian ravages. the indians were still a scourge to the settlements [footnote: state department mss., no. , p. , report of secretary of war, july , ; also, no. , p. .]; but, though they caused much loss of life, there was not the slightest danger of their imperilling the existence of the settlements as a whole, or even or any considerable town or group of clearings. kentucky was no longer all a frontier. in the thickly peopled districts life was reasonably safe, though the frontier proper was harried and the remote farms jeopardized and occasionally abandoned, [footnote: virginia state papers, iv., , state department mss., no. , p. .] while the river route and the wilderness road were beset by the savages. where the country was at all well settled, the indians did not attack in formidable war bands, like those that had assailed the forted villages in the early years of their existence; they skulked through the woods by twos and threes, and pounced only upon the helpless or the unsuspecting. nevertheless, if the warfare was not dangerous to the life and growth of the commonwealth, it was fraught with undreamed-of woe and hardship to individual settlers and their families. on the outlying farms no man could tell when the blow would fall. thus, in one backwoodsman's written reminiscences, there is a brief mention of a settler named israel hart, who, during one may night, in , suffered much from a toothache. in the morning he went to a neighbor's, some miles away through the forest, to have his tooth pulled, and when he returned he found his wife and his five children dead and cut to pieces. [footnote: draper mss., whitely ms. narrative.] incidents of this kind are related in every contemporary account of kentucky; and though they commonly occurred in the thinly peopled districts, this was not always the case. teamsters and travellers were killed on the highroads near the towns--even in the neighborhood of the very town where the constitutional convention was sitting. shifting of the frontiersmen. in all new-settled regions in the united states, so long as there was a frontier at all, the changes in the pioneer population proceeded in a certain definite order, and kentucky furnished an example of the process. throughout our history as a nation the frontiersmen have always been mainly native americans, and those of european birth have been speedily beaten into the usual frontier type by the wild forces against which they waged unending war. as the frontiersmen conquered and transformed the wilderness, so the wilderness in its turn created and preserved the type of man who overcame it. nowhere else on the continent has so sharply defined and distinctively american a type been produced as on the frontier, and a single generation has always been more than enough for its production. the influence of the wild country upon the man is almost as great as the effect of the man upon the country. the frontiersman destroys the wilderness, and yet its destruction means his own. he passes away before the coming of the very civilization whose advance guard he has been. nevertheless, much of his blood remains, and his striking characteristics have great weight in shaping the development of the land. the varying peculiarities of the different groups of men who have pushed the frontier westward at different times and places remain stamped with greater or less clearness on the people of the communities that grow up in the frontier's stead. [footnote: frederick jackson turner: "the significance of the frontier in american history." a suggestive pamphlet, published by the state historical society of wisconsin.] succession of types on frontier. in kentucky, as in tennessee and the western portions of the seaboard states, and as later in the great west, different types of settlers appeared successively on the frontier. the hunter or trapper came first. sometimes he combined with hunting and trapping the functions of an indian trader, but ordinarily the american, as distinguished from the french or spanish frontiersman, treated the indian trade as something purely secondary to his more regular pursuits. in kentucky and tennessee the first comers from the east were not traders at all, and were hunters rather than trappers. boone was a type of this class, and boone's descendants went westward generation by generation until they reached the pacific. close behind the mere hunter came the rude hunter-settler. he pastured his stock on the wild range, and lived largely by his skill with the rifle. he worked with simple tools and he did his work roughly. his squalid cabin was destitute of the commonest comforts; the blackened stumps and dead, girdled trees stood thick in his small and badly tilled field. he was adventurous, restless, shiftless, and he felt ill at ease and cramped by the presence of more industrious neighbors. as they pressed in round about him he would sell his claim, gather his cattle and his scanty store of tools and household goods, and again wander forth to seek uncleared land. the lincolns, the forbears of the great president, were a typical family of this class. most of the frontiersmen of these two types moved fitfully westward with the frontier itself, or near it, but in each place where they halted, or where the advance of the frontier was for the moment stayed, some of their people remained to grow up and mix with the rest of the settlers. the permanent settlers. the third class consisted of the men who were thrifty, as well as adventurous, the men who were even more industrious than restless. these were they who entered in to hold the land, and who handed it on as an inheritance to their children and their children's children. often, of course, these settlers of a higher grade found that for some reason they did not prosper, or heard of better chances still farther in the wilderness, and so moved onwards, like their less thrifty and more uneasy brethren, the men who half-cleared their lands and half-built their cabins. but, as a rule, these better-class settlers were not mere life-long pioneers. they wished to find good land on which to build, and plant, and raise their big families of healthy children, and when they found such land they wished to make thereon their permanent homes. they did not share the impulse which kept their squalid, roving fellows of the backwoods ever headed for the vague beyond. they had no sympathy with the feeling which drove these humbler wilderness-wanderers always onwards, and made them believe, wherever they were, that they would be better off somewhere else, that they would be better off in that somewhere which lay in the unknown and untried. on the contrary, these thriftier settlers meant to keep whatever they had once grasped. they got clear title to their lands. though they first built cabins, as soon as might be they replaced them with substantial houses and barns. though they at first girdled and burnt the standing timber, to clear the land, later they tilled it as carefully as any farmer of the seaboard states. they composed the bulk of the population, and formed the backbone and body of the state. the mcafees may be taken as a typical family of this class. the gentry. yet a fourth class was composed of the men of means, of the well-to-do planters, merchants, and lawyers, of the men whose families already stood high on the atlantic slope. the marshalls were such men; and there were many other families of the kind in kentucky. among them were an unusually large proportion of the families who came from the fertile limestone region of botetourt county in virginia, leaving behind them, in the hands of their kinsmen, their roomy, comfortable houses, which stand to this day. these men soon grew to take the leading places in the new commonwealth. they were of good blood--using the words as they should be used, as meaning blood that has flowed through the veins of generations of self-restraint and courage and hard work, and careful training in mind and in the manly virtues. their inheritance of sturdy and self-reliant manhood helped them greatly; their blood told in their favor as blood generally does tell when other things are equal. if they prized intellect they prized character more; they were strong in body and mind, stout of heart, and resolute of will. they felt that pride of race which spurs a man to effort, instead of making him feel that he is excused from effort. they realized that the qualities they inherited from their forefathers ought to be further developed by them as their forefathers had originally developed them. they knew that their blood and breeding, though making it probable that they would with proper effort succeed, yet entitled them to no success which they could not fairly earn in open contest with their rivals. such were the different classes of settlers who successively came into kentucky, as into other western lands. there were of course no sharp lines of cleavage between the classes. they merged insensibly into one another, and the same individual might, at different times, stand in two or three. as a rule the individuals composing the first two were crowded out by their successors, and, after doing the roughest of the pioneer work, moved westward with the frontier; but some families were of course continually turning into permanent abodes what were merely temporary halting places of the greater number. change in subjects of interest. with the change in population came the corresponding change in intellectual interests and in material pursuits. the axe was the tool, and the rifle the weapon, of the early settlers; their business was to kill the wild beasts, to fight the savages, and to clear the soil; and the enthralling topics of conversation were the game and the indians, and, as the settlements grew, the land itself. as the farms became thick, and towns throve, and life became more complex, the chances for variety in work and thought increased likewise. the men of law sprang into great prominence, owing in part to the interminable litigation over the land titles. the more serious settlers took about as much interest in matters theological as in matters legal; and the congregations of the different churches were at times deeply stirred by quarrels over questions of church discipline and doctrine. [footnote: durrett collection; see various theological writings, e.g., "a progress," etc., by adam rankin, pastor at lexington. printed "at the sign of the buffalo," jan. , .] most of the books were either text-books of the simpler kinds or else theological. except when there was an indian campaign, politics and the river commerce formed the two chief interests for all kentuckians, but especially for the well-to-do. features of the river travel. in spite of all the efforts of the spanish officials the volume of trade on the mississippi grew steadily. six or eight years after the close of the revolution the vast stretches of brown water, swirling ceaselessly between the melancholy forests, were already furrowed everywhere by the keeled and keelless craft. the hollowed log in which the indian paddled; the same craft, the pirogue, only a little more carefully made, and on a little larger model, in which the creole trader carried his load of paints and whiskey and beads and bright cloths to trade for the peltries of the savage; the rude little scow in which some backwoods farmer drifted down stream with his cargo, the produce of his own toil; the keel boats which, with square-sails and oars, plied up as well as down the river; the flotilla of huge flat boats, the property of some rich merchant, laden deep with tobacco and flour, and manned by crews who were counted rough and lawless even in the rough and lawless backwoods--all these, and others too, were familiar sights to every traveller who descended the mississippi from pittsburgh to new orleans, [footnote: john pope's "tour," in . printed at richmond in .] or who was led by business to journey from louisville to st. louis or to natchez or new madrid. the fact that the river commerce throve was partly the cause and partly the consequence of the general prosperity of kentucky. the pioneer days, with their fierce and squalid struggle for bare life, were over. if men were willing to work, and escaped the indians, they were sure to succeed in earning a comfortable livelihood in a country so rich. "the neighbors are doing well in every sense of the word," wrote one kentuckian to another, "they get children and raise crops." [footnote: draper mss., jonathan clark papers. o'fallen to clark, isles of ohio, may , .] like all other successful and masterful people the kentuckians fought well and bred well, and they showed by their actions their practical knowledge of the truth that no race can ever hold its own unless its members are able and willing to work hard with their hands. standard of living. the general prosperity meant rude comfort everywhere; and it meant a good deal more than rude comfort for the men of greatest ability. by the time the river commerce had become really considerable, the rich merchants, planters, and lawyers had begun to build two-story houses of brick or stone, like those in which they had lived in virginia. they were very fond of fishing, shooting, and riding, and were lavishly hospitable. they sought to have their children well taught, not only in letters but in social accomplishments like dancing; and at the proper season they liked to visit the virginian watering-places, where they met "genteel company" from the older states, and lodged in good taverns in which "a man could have a room and a bed to himself." [footnote: letter of a young virginian, l. butler, april , . _magazine of amer. hist.,_ i., .] an agreement entered into about this time between one of the clarks and a friend shows that kentuckians were already beginning to appreciate the merits of neat surroundings even for a rather humble town-house. this particular house, together with, the stable and lot, was rented for "one cow" for the first eight months, and two dollars a month after that--certainly not an excessive rate; and it was covenanted that everything should be kept in good repair, and particularly that the grass plots around the house should not be "trod on or tore up." [footnote: draper mss. wm. clark papers. agreement between clark and bagley, april , .] interest in politics. all kentuckians took a great interest in politics, as is the wont of self-asserting, independent freemen, living under a democratic government. but the gentry and men of means and the lawyers very soon took the lead in political affairs. a larger proportion of these classes came from virginia than was the case with the rest of the population, and they shared the eagerness and aptitude for political life generally shown by the leading families of virginia. in many cases they were kin to these families; not, however, as a rule, to the families of the tidewater region, the aristocrats of colonial days, but to the families--so often of presbyterian irish stock--who rose to prominence in western virginia at the time of the revolution. in kentucky all were mixed together, no matter from what state they came, the wrench of the break from their home ties having shaken them so that they readily adapted themselves to new conditions, and easily assimilated with one another. as for their differences of race origin, these had ceased to influence their lives even before they came to kentucky. they were all americans, in feeling as well as in name, by habit as well as by birth; and the positions they took in the political life of the west was determined partly by the new conditions surrounding them, and partly by the habits bred in them through generations of life on american soil. clark's breakdown. one man, who would naturally have played a prominent part in kentucky politics, failed to do so from a variety of causes. this was george rogers clark. he was by preference a military rather than a civil leader; he belonged by choice and habit to the class of pioneers and indian fighters whose influence was waning; his remarkable successes had excited much envy and jealousy, while his subsequent ignominious failure had aroused contempt; and, finally, he was undone by his fondness for strong drink. he drew himself to one side, though he chafed at the need, and in his private letters he spoke with bitterness of the "big little men," the ambitious nobodies, whose jealousy had prompted them to destroy him by ten thousand lies; and, making a virtue of necessity, he plumed himself on the fact that he did not meddle with politics, and sneered at the baseness of his fellow-citizens, whom he styled "a swarm of hungry persons gaping for bread." [footnote: draper mss., g. r. clark to j. clark, april , , and september , .] logan's prominence. benjamin logan, who was senior colonel and county lieutenant of the district of kentucky, stood second to clark in the estimation of the early settlers, the men who, riding their own horses and carrying their own rifles, had so often followed both commanders on their swift raids against the indian towns. logan naturally took the lead in the first serious movement to make kentucky an independent state. in its beginnings this movement showed a curious parallelism to what was occurring in franklin at the same time, though when once fairly under way the difference between the cases became very strongly marked. in each case the prime cause in starting the movement was trouble with the indians. in each, the first steps were taken by the commanders of the local militia, and the first convention was summoned on the same plan, a member being elected by every militia company. the companies were territorial as well as military units, and the early settlers were all, in practice as well as in theory, embodied in the militia. thus in both kentucky and franklin the movements were begun in the same way by the same class of indian-fighting pioneers; and the method of organization chosen shows clearly the rough military form which at that period settlement in the wilderness, in the teeth of a hostile savagery, always assumed. conference of militia officers. in fear of a formidable indian invasion--an unwarranted fear, as the result showed--became general in kentucky, and in the fall logan summoned a meeting of the field officers to discuss the danger and to provide against it. when the officers gathered and tried to evolve some plan of operations, they found that they were helpless. they were merely the officers of one of the districts of virginia; they could take no proper steps of their own motion, and virginia was too far away and her interests had too little in common with theirs, for the virginian authorities to prove satisfactory substitutes for their own. [footnote: marshall, himself an actor in these events, is the best authority for this portion of kentucky history; see also green; and compare collins, butler, and brown] no officials in kentucky were authorized to order an expedition against the indians, or to pay the militia who took part in it, or to pay for their provisions and munitions of war. any expedition of the kind had to be wholly voluntary, and could of course only be undertaken under the strain of a great emergency; as a matter of fact the expeditions of clark and logan in were unauthorized by law, and were carried out by bodies of mere volunteers, who gathered only because they were forced to do so by bitter need. confronted by such a condition of affairs, the militia officers issued a circular-letter to the people of the district, recommending that on december , , a convention should be held at danville further to consider the subject, and that this convention should consist of delegates elected one from each militia company. first convention elected by militia companies. the recommendation was well received by the people of the district; and on the appointed date the convention met at danville. col. william fleming, the old indian fighter and surveyor, was again visiting kentucky, and he was chosen president of the convention. after some discussion the members concluded that, while some of the disadvantages under which they labored could be remedied by the action of the virginia legislature, the real trouble was deep-rooted, and could only be met by separation from virginia and the erection of kentucky into a state. there was, however, much opposition to this plan, and the convention wisely decided to dissolve, after recommending to the people to elect, by counties, members who should meet in convention at danville in may for the express purpose of deciding on the question of addressing to the virginia assembly a request for separation. [footnote: state dep. mss. madison papers, wallace to madison, sept. , .] second convention held. the convention assembled accordingly, logan being one of the members, while it was presided over by col. samuel mcdowell, who, like fleming, was a veteran indian fighter and hero of the great kanawha. up to this point the phases through which the movement for statehood in kentucky had passed were almost exactly the same as the phases of the similar movement in franklin. but the two now entered upon diverging lines of progression. in each case the home government was willing to grant the request for separation, but wished to affix a definite date to their consent, and to make the fulfilment of certain conditions a prerequisite. in each case there were two parties in the district desiring separation, one of them favoring immediate and revolutionary action, while the other, with much greater wisdom and propriety, wished to act through the forms of law and with the consent of the parent state. in kentucky the latter party triumphed. moreover, while up to the time of this meeting of the may convention the leaders in the movement had been the old indian fighters, after this date the lead was taken by men who had come to kentucky only after the great rush of immigrants began. the new men were not backwoods hunter-warriors, like clark and logan, sevier, robertson, and tipton. they were politicians of the virginia stamp. they founded political clubs, one of which, the danville club, became prominent, and in them they discussed with fervid eagerness the public questions of the day, the members showing a decided tendency towards the jeffersonian school of political thought. convention urges independence. the convention, which met at danville, in may, , decided unanimously that it was desirable to separate, by constitutional methods, from virginia, and to secure admission as a separate state into the federal union. accordingly, it directed the preparation of a petition to this effect, to be sent to the virginia legislature, and prepared an address to the people in favor of the proposed course of action. then, in a queer spirit of hesitancy, instead of acting on its own responsibility, as it had both the right and power to do, the convention decided that the issuing of the address, and the ratification of its own actions generally, should be submitted to another convention, which was summoned to meet at the same place in august of the same year. the people of the district were as yet by no means a unit in favor of separation, and this made the convention hesitate to take any irrevocable step. one of the members of this convention was judge caleb wallace, a recent arrival in kentucky, and a representative of the new school of kentucky politicians. he was a friend and ally of brown and innes. he was also a friend of madison, and to him he wrote a full account of the reasons which actuated the kentuckians in the step they had taken. [footnote: state department mss. madison papers, caleb wallace to madison, july , .] he explained that he and the people of the district generally felt that they did not "enjoy a greater portion of liberty than an american colony might have done a few years ago had she been allowed a representation in the british parliament." he complained bitterly that some of the taxes were burdensome and unjust, and that the money raised for the expenses of government all went to the east, to virginia proper, while no corresponding benefits were received; and insisted that the seat of government was too remote for kentucky ever to get justice from the rest of the state. therefore, he said, he thought it would be wiser to part in peace rather than remain together in discontented and jealous union. but he frankly admitted that he was by no means sure that the people of the district possessed sufficient wisdom and virtue to fit them for successful self-government, and he anxiously asked madison's advice as to several provisions which it was thought might be embodied in the constitution of the new state. the separatists urge immediate revolution. in the august convention wilkinson sat as a member, and he succeeded in committing his colleagues to a more radical course of action than that of the preceding convention. the resolutions they forwarded to the virginia legislature, asked the immediate erection of kentucky into an independent state, and expressed the conviction that the new commonwealth would undoubtedly be admitted into the union. this, of course, meant that kentucky would first become a power outside and independent of the union; and no provision was made for entry into the union beyond the expression of a hopeful belief that it would be allowed. such a course would have been in the highest degree unwise and the virginians refused to allow it to be followed. their legislature, in january, , provided that a new convention should be held in kentucky in september, , and that, if it declared for independence, the state should come into being after the st of september, , provided, however, that congress, before june , , consented to the erection of the new state, and agreed to its admission into the union. it was also provided that another convention should be held, in the summer of , to draw up a constitution for the new state. [footnote: marshall, i., ] virginia wisely affixes conditions to her consent virginia thus, with great propriety, made the acquiescence of congress a condition precedent for formation of the new state. wilkinson immediately denounced this condition that kentucky declare herself an independent state forthwith, no matter what congress or virginia might say. all the disorderly, unthinking, and separatist elements followed his lead. had his policy been adopted the result would probably have been a civil war; and at the least there would have followed a period of anarchy and confusion, and a condition of things similar to that obtaining at this very time in the territory of franklin. the most enlightened and far-seeing men of the district were alarmed at the outlook; and a vigorous campaign in favor of orderly action was begun, under the lead of men like the marshalls. these men were themselves uncompromisingly in favor of statehood for kentucky; but they insisted that it should come in an orderly way, and not by a silly and needless revolution, which could serve no good purpose and was certain to entail much disorder and suffering upon the community. they insisted, furthermore, that there should be no room for doubt in regard to the new state's entering the union. there were thus two well defined parties, and there were hot contests for seats in the convention. one unforeseen event delayed the organization of that body. when the time that it should have convened arrived, clark and logan were making their raids against the shawnees and the wabash indians. so many members-elect were absent in command of their respective militia companies that the convention merely met to adjourn, no quorum to transact business being obtained until january, . the convention then sent to the virginian legislature explaining the reason for the delay, and requesting that the terms of the act of separation already passed should be changed to suit the new conditions. virginia makes needless delay. virginia had so far acted wisely; but now she in her turn showed unwisdom, for her legislature passed a new act, providing for another convention, to be held in august, , the separation from virginia only to be consummated if congress, prior to july , , should agree to the erection of the state and provide for its admission to the union. when news of this act, with its requirement of needless and tedious delay, reached the kentucky convention, it adjourned for good, with much chagrin. wilkinson and the other separatist leaders took advantage of this very natural chagrin to inflame the minds of the people against both virginia and congress. it was at this time that the westerners became deeply stirred by exaggerated reports of the willingness of congress to yield the right to navigate the mississippi; and the separatist chiefs fanned their discontent by painting the danger as real and imminent, although they must speedily have learned that it had already ceased to exist. moreover, there was much friction between the federal and virginian authorities and the kentucky militia officers in reference to the indian raids. the kentuckians showed a disposition to include all indians, good and bad alike, in the category of foes. on the other hand the home authorities were inclined to forbid the kentuckians to make the offensive return-forays which could alone render successful their defensive war-fare against the savages. all these causes combined to produce much irritation, and the separatists began to talk rebellion. one of their leaders, innes, in a letter to the governor of virginia, threatened that kentucky would revolt not only from the parent state but from the union, if heed were not paid to her wishes and needs. (footnote: green, .) the kentuckians grumble but acquiesce. however, at this time wilkinson started on his first trading voyage to new orleans, and the district was freed from his very undesirable presence. he was the main-spring of the movement in favor of lawless separation; for the furtive, restless, unscrupulous man had a talent for intrigue which rendered him dangerous at a crisis of such a kind. in his absence the feeling cooled. the convention met in september, , and acted with order and propriety, passing an act which provided for statehood upon the terms and conditions laid down by virginia. the act went through by a nearly unanimous vote, only two members dissenting, while three or four refused to vote either way. both virginia and the continental congress were notified of the action taken. the only adverse comment that could be made on the proceedings was that in the address to congress there was expressed a doubt, which was almost equivalent to a threat, as to what the district would do if it was not given full life as a state. but this fear as to the possible consequences was real, and many persons who did not wish for even a constitutional separation, nevertheless favored it because they dreaded lest the turbulent and disorderly elements might break out in open violence if they saw themselves chained indefinitely to those whose interests were, as they believed, hostile to theirs. the lawless and shiftless folk, and the extreme separatists, as a whole, wished for complete and absolute independence of both state and nation, because it would enable them to escape paying their share of the federal and state debts, would permit them to confiscate the lands of those whom they called "nonresident monopolizers," and would allow of their treating with the indians according to their own desires. the honest, hardworking, forehanded, and farsighted people thought that the best way to defeat these mischievous agitators was to take the matter into their own hands, and provide for kentucky's being put on an exact level with the older states. [footnote: state dep. mss. madison papers, wallace to madison, nov. , .] renewal of the disunion agitation. with wilkinson's return to kentucky, after his successful trading trip to new orleans, the disunion agitation once more took formidable form. the news of his success excited the cupidity of every mercantile adventurer, and the whole district became inflamed with desire to reap the benefits of the rich river-trade; and naturally the people formed the most exaggerated estimate of what these benefits would be. chafing at the way the restrictions imposed by the spanish officials hampered their commerce, the people were readily led by wilkinson and his associates to consider the federal authorities as somehow to blame because these restrictions were not removed. the indian ravages. the discontent was much increased by the growing fury of the indian ravages. there had been a lull in the murderous woodland warfare during the years immediately succeeding the close of the revolution, but the storm had again gathered. the hostility of the savages had grown steadily. by the summer of the kentucky frontier was suffering much. the growth of the district was not stopped, nor were there any attempts made against it by large war bands; and in the thickly settled regions life went on as usual. but the outlying neighborhoods were badly punished, and the county lieutenants were clamorous in their appeals for aid to the governor of virginia. they wrote that so many settlers had been killed on the frontier that the others had either left their clearings and fled to the interior for safety, or else had gathered in the log forts, and so were unable to raise crops for the support of their families. militia guards and small companies of picked scouts were kept continually patrolling the exposed regions near the ohio, but the forays grew fiercer, and the harm done was great. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. ii., pp. , .] in their anger the kentuckians denounced the federal government for not aiding them, the men who were loudest in their denunciations being the very men who were most strenuously bent on refusing to adopt the new constitution, which alone could give the national government the power to act effectually in the interest of the people. ratification of the federal constitution. while the spirit of unrest and discontent was high, the question of ratifying or rejecting this new federal constitution came up for decision. the wilkinson party, and all the men who believed in a weak central government, or who wished the federal tie dissolved outright, were, of course, violently opposed to ratification. many weak or short-sighted men, and the doctrinaires and theorists--most of the members of the danville political club, for instance--announced that they wished to ratify the constitution, but only after it had been amended. as such prior amendment was impossible, this amounted merely to playing into the hands of the separatists; and the men who followed it were responsible for the by no means creditable fact that most of the kentucky members in the virginia convention voted against ratification. three of them, however, had the patriotism and foresight to vote in favor of the constitution. further delay. another irritating delay in the march toward statehood now occurred. in june, , the continental congress declared that it was expedient to erect kentucky into a state. [footnote: state dep. mss., no. , vol. i., p. etc.] but immediately afterwards news came that the constitution had been ratified by the necessary nine states, and that the new government was, therefore, practically in being. this meant the dissolution of the old confederation, so that there was no longer any object in admitting kentucky to membership, and congress thereupon very wisely refused to act further in the matter. unfortunately brown, who was the kentucky delegate in congress, was one of the separatist leaders. he wrote home an account of the matter, in which he painted the refusal as due to the jealousy felt by the east for the west. as a matter of fact the delegates from all the states, except virginia, had concurred in the action taken. brown suppressed this fact, and used language carefully calculated to render the kentuckians hostile to the union. naturally all this gave an impetus to the separatist movement. the district held two conventions, in july and again in november, during the year ; and in both of them the separatist leaders made determined efforts to have kentucky forthwith erect herself into an independent state. in uttering their opinions and desires they used vague language as to what they would do when once separated from virginia. it is certain that they bore in mind at the time at least the possibility of separating outright from the union and entering into a close alliance with spain. the moderate men, headed by those who were devoted to the national idea, strenuously opposed this plan; they triumphed and kentucky merely sent a request to virginia for an act of separation in accordance with the recommendations of congress. [footnote: see marshall and green for this year.] the kentucke gazette. it was in connection with these conventions that there appeared the first newspaper ever printed in this new west; the west which lay no longer among the alleghanies, but beyond them. it was a small weekly sheet called the _kentucke gazette_, and the first number appeared in august, . the editor and publisher was one john bradford, who brought his printing press down the river on a flat-boat; and some of the type were cut out of dogwood. in politics the paper sided with the separatists and clamored for revolutionary action by kentucky. [footnote: durrett collection, _kentucke gazette_, september , .] failure of the separatist movement. the purpose of the extreme separatist was, unquestionably, to keep kentucky out of the union and turn her into a little independent nation,--a nation without a present or a future, an english-speaking uraguay or ecuador. the back of this separatist movement was broken by the action of the fall convention of , which settled definitely that kentucky should become a state of the union. all that remained was to decide on the precise terms of the separation from virginia. there was at first a hitch over these, the virginia legislature making terms to which the district convention of would not consent; but virginia then yielded the points in dispute, and the kentucky convention of provided for the admission of the state to the union in , and for holding a constitutional convention to decide upon the form of government, just before the admission. [footnote: marshall, i., etc.] thus kentucky was saved from the career of ignoble dishonor to which she would have been doomed by the success of the disunion faction. she was saved from the day of small things. her interests became those of a nation which was bound to succeed greatly or to fail greatly. her fate was linked for weal or for woe with the fate of the mighty republic. chapter vi. the northwest territory; ohio. - . individual initiative of the frontiersmen. so far the work of the backwoodsmen in exploring, conquering, and holding the west had been work undertaken solely on individual initiative. the nation as a whole had not directly shared in it. the frontiersmen who chopped the first trails across the alleghanies, who earliest wandered through the lonely western lands, and who first built stockaded hamlets on the banks of the watauga, the kentucky, and the cumberland, acted each in consequence of his own restless eagerness for adventure and possible gain. the nation neither encouraged them to undertake the enterprises on which they embarked, nor protected them for the first few years of uncertain foothold in the new-won country. only the backwoodsmen themselves felt the thirst for exploration of the unknown, the desire to try the untried, which drove them hither and thither through the dim wilderness. the men who controlled the immediate destinies of the confederated commonwealths knew little of what lay in the forest-shrouded country beyond the mountains, until the backwoods explorers of their own motion penetrated its hidden and inmost fastnesses. singly or in groups, the daring hunters roved through the vast reaches of sombre woodland, and pitched their camps on the banks of rushing rivers, nameless and unknown. in bands of varying size the hunter-settlers followed close behind, and built their cabins and block-houses here and there in the great forest land. they elected their own military leaders, and waged war on their own account against their indian foes. they constructed their own governmental systems, on their own motion, without assistance or interference from the parent states, until the settlements were firmly established, and the work of civic organization well under way. help rendered by national government. of course some help was ultimately given by the parent states; and the indirect assistance rendered by the nation had been great. the west could neither have been won nor held by the frontiersmen, save for the backing given by the thirteen states. england and spain would have made short work of the men whose advance into the lands of their indian allies they viewed with such jealous hatred, had they not also been forced to deal with the generals and soldiers of the continental army, and the statesmen and diplomats of the continental congress. but the real work was done by the settlers themselves. the distinguishing feature in the exploration, settlement, and up-building of kentucky and tennessee was the individual initiative of the backwoodsmen. the northwest won by the nation as a whole. the direct reverse of this was true of the settlement of the country northwest of the ohio. here, also, the enterprise, daring, and energy of the individual settlers were of the utmost consequence; the land could never have been won had not the incomers possessed these qualities in a very high degree. but the settlements sprang directly from the action of the federal government, and the first and most important of them would not have been undertaken save for that action. the settlers were not the first comers in the wilderness they cleared and tilled. they did not themselves form the armies which met and overthrew the indians. the regular forces led the way in the country north of the ohio. the federal forts were built first; it was only afterwards that the small towns sprang up in their shadow. the federal troops formed the vanguard of the white advance. they were the mainstay of the force behind which, as behind a shield, the founders of the commonwealths did their work. unquestionably many of the settlers did their full share in the fighting; and they and their descendants, on many a stricken field, and through many a long campaign, proved that no people stood above them in hardihood and courage; but the land on which they settled was won less by themselves than by the statesmen who met in the national capital, and the scarred soldiers who on the frontier upbore the national colors. moreover, instead of being absolutely free to choose their own form of government, and shape their own laws and social conditions untrammelled by restrictions, the northwesterners were allowed to take the land only upon certain definite conditions. the national government ceded to settlers part of its own domain, and provided the terms upon which states of the union should afterwards be made out of this domain; and with a wisdom and love of righteousness which have been of incalculable consequence to the whole nation, it stipulated that slavery should never exist in the states thus formed. this condition alone profoundly affected the whole development of the northwest, and sundered it by a sharp line from those portions of the new country which, for their own ill fortune, were left free from all restriction of the kind. the northwest owes its life and owes its abounding strength and vigorous growth to the action of the nation as a whole. it was founded not by individual americans, but by the united states of america. the mighty and populous commonwealths that lie north of the ohio and in the valley of the upper mississippi are in a peculiar sense the children of the national government, and it is no mere accident that has made them in return the especial guardians and protectors of that government; for they form the heart of the nation. unorganized settlements west of the ohio. before the continental congress took definite action concerning the northwest, there had been settlements within its borders, but these settlements were unauthorized and illegal, and had little or no effect upon the aftergrowth of the region. wild and lawless adventurers had built cabins and made tomahawk claims on the west bank of the upper ohio. they lived in angry terror of the indians, and they also had cause to dread the regular army; for wherever the troops discovered their cabins, they tore them down, destroyed the improvements, and drove off the sullen and threatening squatters. as the tide of settlement increased in the neighboring country these trespassers on the indian lands and on the national domain became more numerous. many were driven off, again and again; but here and there one kept his foothold. it was these scattered few successful ones who were the first permanent settlers in the present state of ohio, coming in about the same time that the forts of the regular troops were built. they formed no organized society, and their presence was of no importance whatever in the history of the state. the american settlers who had come in round the french villages on the wabash and the illinois were of more consequence. in the adult males among these american settlers numbered , as against french of the same class. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , p. . of adult males there were among the french at vincennes, at kaskaskia, at cahokia, at st. phillippe, and at prairie du rocher. the american adult males numbered at vincennes and in the illinois.] they had followed in the track of clark's victorious march. they had taken up land, sometimes as mere squatters, sometimes under color of title obtained from the french courts which clark and todd had organized under what they conceived to be the authority of virginia. they were for the most part rough, enterprising men; and while some of them behaved well, others proved very disorderly and gave much trouble to the french; so that both the creoles and the indians became exasperated with them and put them in serious jeopardy just before clark undertook his expedition in the fall of . the french villages. the creoles had suffered much from the general misrule and anarchy in their country, and from the disorderly conduct of some of the american settlers, and of not a few of the ragged volunteer soldiery as well. they hailed with sincere joy the advent of the disciplined continental troops, commanded by officers who behaved with rigid justice towards all men and put down disorder with a strong hand. they were much relieved to find themselves under the authority of congress, and both to that body and to the local regular army officers, they sent petitions setting forth their grievances and hopes. in one petition to congress they recited at length the wrongs done them, dwelling especially upon the fact that they had gladly furnished the garrison established among them with poultries and provisions of every kind, for which they had never received a dollar's payment. they remarked that the stores seemed to disappear in a way truly marvellous, leaving the backwoods soldiers who were to have benefited by them "as ragged as ever." the petitioners complained that the undisciplined militia quartered among them, who on their arrival were "in the most shabby and wretched state," and who had "rioted in abundance and unaccustomed luxury" at the expense of the creoles, had also maltreated and insulted them; as for instance they had at times wantonly shot the cattle merely to try their rifles. "ours was the task of hewing and carting them firewood to the barracks," continued the petition, complaining of the way the virginians had imposed on the submissiveness and docility of the inhabitants, "ours the drudgery of raising vegetables which we did not eat, poultry for their kitchen, cattle for the diversion of their marksmen." the petitioners further asked that every man among them should be granted five hundred acres. they explained that formerly they had set no value on the land, occupying themselves chiefly with the indian trade, and raising only the crops they absolutely needed for food; but that now they realized the worth of the soil, and inasmuch as they had various titles to it, under lost or forgotten charters from the french kings, they would surrender all the rights these titles conveyed, save only what belonged to the church of cahokia, in return for the above named grant of five hundred acres to each individual. [footnote: state department mss., no. , "memorial of the french inhabitants of post vincennes, kaskaskia, la prairie du rocher, cahokia, and village of st. philip to congress." by bartholemew tardiveau, agent. new york, february , . tardiveau was a french mercantile adventurer, who had relations with gardoqui and the kentucky separatists, and in a petition presented by him it is not easy to discriminate between the views that are really those of the creoles, and the views which he deemed it for his own advantage to have expressed.] the memorialists alluded to their explanation of the fact that they had lost all the title-deeds to the land, that is all the old charters granted them, as "ingenuous and candid"; and so it was. the immense importance of having lost all proof of their rights did not strike them. there was an almost pathetic childishness in the request that the united states authorities should accept oral tradition in lieu of the testimony of the lost charters, and in the way they dwelt with a kind of humble pride upon their own "submissiveness and docility." in the same spirit the inhabitants of vincennes surrendered their charter, remarking "accustomed to mediocrity, we do not wish for wealth but for mere competency." [footnote: _do_., july , .] of course the "submissiveness" and the light-heartedness of the french did not prevent their being also fickle; and their "docility" was varied by fits of violent quarrelling with their american neighbors and among themselves. but the quarrels of the creoles were those of children, compared with the ferocious feuds of the americans. sometimes the trouble was of a religious nature. the priest at vincennes, for instance, bitterly assailed the priest at cahokia, because he married a catholic to a protestant; while all the people of the cahokia church stoutly supported their pastor in what he had done. [footnote: _do_., p. .] this catholic priest was clark's old friend gibault. he was suffering from poverty, due to his loyal friendship to the americans; for he had advanced clark's troops both goods and peltries, for which he had never received payment. in a petition to congress he showed how this failure to repay him had reduced him to want, and had forced him to sell his two slaves, who otherwise would have kept and tended him in his old age. [footnote: american state papers, public lands, i., gibault's memorial, may i, .] the federal general harmar, in the fall of , took formal possession, in person, of vincennes and the illinois towns; and he commented upon the good behavior of the creoles, and their respect for the united states government, and laid stress upon the fact that they were entirely unacquainted with what the americans called liberty, and could best be governed in the manner to which they were accustomed--"by a commandant with a few troops." [footnote: st. clair papers, harmar's letters, august th and november th, .] contrast between the french and americans. the american pioneers, on the contrary, were of all people the least suited to be governed by a commandant with troops. they were much better stuff out of which to make a free, self-governing nation, and they were much better able to hold their own in the world, and to shape their own destiny; but they were far less pleasant people to govern. to this day the very virtues of the pioneers--not to speak of their faults--make it almost impossible for them to get on with an ordinary army officer, accustomed as he is to rule absolutely, though justly and with a sort of severe kindness. army officers on the frontier--especially when put in charge of indian reservations or of french or spanish communities--have almost always been more or less at swords-points with the stubborn, cross-grained pioneers. the borderers are usually as suspicious as they are independent, and their self-sufficiency and self-reliance often degenerate into mere lawlessness and defiance of all restraint. the regular officers side with the french against the americans. the federal officers in the backwoods north of the ohio got on badly with the backwoodsmen. harmar took the side of the french creoles, and warmly denounced the acts of the frontiersmen who had come in among them. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. ii., harmar to le grasse and busseron, june , .] in his letter to the creoles he alluded to clark's vincennes garrison as "a set of lawless banditti," and explained that his own troops were regulars, who would treat with justice both the french and indians. harmar never made much effort to conceal dislike of the borderers. in one letter he alludes to a delaware chief as "a manly old fellow, and much more of a gentleman than the generality of these frontier people." [footnote: _do_., harmar to the secretary of war, march , .] naturally, there was little love lost between the bitterly prejudiced old army officer, fixed and rigid in all his ideas, and the equally prejudiced backwoodsmen, whose ways of looking at almost all questions were antipodal to his. the creoles of the illinois and vincennes sent warm letters of welcome to harmar. the american settlers addressed him in an equally respectful but very different tone, for, they said, their hearts were filled with "anxiety, gloominess, and dismay." they explained the alarm they felt at the report that they were to be driven out of the country, and protested--what was doubtless true--that they had settled on the land in entire good faith, and with the assent of the french inhabitants. the latter themselves bore testimony to the good faith, and good behavior of many of the settlers, and petitioned that these should not be molested, [footnote: _do_., address of american inhabitants of vincennes, august , ; recommendation by french inhabitants in favor of american inhabitants, august d; letter of le chamy and others, kaskaskia, august th; letter of j. m. p. le gras, june th.] explaining that the french had been benefited by their industry, and had preserved a peaceable and friendly intercourse with them. in the end, while the french villagers were left undisturbed in their ancient privileges, and while they were granted or were confirmed in the possession of the land immediately around them, the americans and the french who chose to go outside the village grants were given merely the rights of other settlers. the continental officers exchanged courtesies with the spanish commandants of the creole villages on the west bank of the mississippi, but kept a sharp eye on them, as these commandants endeavored to persuade all the french inhabitants to move west of the river by offering them free grants of land. [footnote: hamtranck to harmar, october , .] the real founders of the northwest. but all these matters were really of small consequence. the woes of the creoles, the trials of the american squatters, the friction between the regular officers and the backwoodsmen, the jealousy felt by both for the spaniards--all these were of little real moment at this period of the history of the northwest. the vital point in its history was the passage by congress of the ordinance of , and the doings of the various land companies under and in consequence of this ordinance. individualism in the southwest, collectivism in the northwest the wide gap between the ways in which the northwest and the southwest were settled is made plain by such a statement. in the northwest, it was the action of congress, the action of the representatives of the nation acting as a whole, which was all-important. in the southwest, no action of congress was of any importance when compared with the voluntary movements of the backwoodsmen themselves. in the northwest, it was the nation which acted. in the southwest, the determining factor was the individual initiative of the pioneers. the most striking feature in the settlement of the southwest was the free play given to the workings of extreme individualism. the settlement of the northwest represented the triumph of an intelligent collectivism, which yet allowed to each man a full measure of personal liberty. difference in stock of the settlers. another difference of note was the difference in stock of the settlers. the southwest was settled by the true backwoodsmen, the men who lived on their small clearings among the mountains of western pennsylvania, virginia, and north carolina. the first settlement in ohio, the settlement which had most effect upon the history of the northwest, and which largely gave it its peculiar trend, was the work of new englanders. there was already a considerable population in new england; but the rugged farmers with their swarming families had to fill up large waste spaces in maine and in northern new hampshire and vermont, and there was a very marked movement among them towards new york, and especially into the mohawk valley, all west of which was yet a wilderness. in consequence, during the years immediately succeeding the close of the revolutionary war, the new england emigrants made their homes in those stretches of wilderness which were nearby, and did not appear on the western border. but there had always been enterprising individuals among them desirous of seeking a more fertile soil in the far west or south, and even before the revolution some of these men ventured to louisiana itself, to pick out a good country in which to form a colony. after the close of the war the fame of the lands along the ohio was spread abroad; and the men who wished to form companies for the purposes of adventurous settlement began to turn their eyes thither. land claims of the states. the first question to decide was the ownership of the wished-for country. this decision had to be made in congress by agreement among the representatives of the different states. seven states--massachusetts, connecticut, new york, virginia, georgia, and both carolinas--claimed portions of the western lands. new york's claim was based with entire solemnity on the ground that she was the heir of the iroquois tribes, and therefore inherited all the wide regions overrun by their terrible war-bands. the other six states based their claims on various charters, which in reality conferred rights not one whit more substantial. these different claims were not of a kind to which any outside power would have paid heed. their usefulness came in when the states bargained among themselves. in the bargaining, both among the claimant states, and between the claimant and the non-claimant states, the charter titles were treated as of importance, and substantial concessions were exacted in return for their surrender. but their value was really inchoate until the land was reduced to possession by some act of the states or the nation. virginia and north carolina. at the close of the revolutionary war there existed wide differences between the various states as to the actual ownership and possession of the lands they claimed. virginia and north carolina were the only two who had reduced to some kind of occupation a large part of the territory to which they asserted title. their backwoodsmen had settled in the lands so that they already held a certain population. moreover, these same backwoodsmen, organized as part of the militia of the parent states, had made good their claim by successful warfare. the laws of the two states were executed by state officials in communities scattered over much of the country claimed. the soldier-settlers of virginia and north carolina had actually built houses and forts, tilled the soil, and exercised the functions of civil government, on the banks of the wabash and the ohio, the mississippi, the cumberland, and the tennessee. counties and districts had been erected by the two states on the western waters; and representatives of the civil divisions thus constituted sat in the state legislatures. the claims of virginia and north carolina to much of the territory had behind them the substantial element of armed possession. the settlement and conquest of the lands had been achieved without direct intervention by the federal government; though of course it was only the ultimate success of the nation in its contest with the foreign foe that gave the settlement and conquest any value. georgia. as much could not be said for the claims of the other states. south carolina's claim was to a mere ribbon of land south of the north carolina territory, and need not be considered; ceded to the government about the time the northwest was organized. [footnote: for an account of this cession see mr. garrett's excellent paper in the publications of the tennessee historical society.] georgia asserted that her boundaries extended due west to the mississippi, and that all between was hers. but the entire western portion of the territory was actually held by the spaniards and by the indian tribes tributary to the spaniards. no subjects of georgia lived on it, or were allowed to live on it. the few white inhabitants were subjects of the king of spain, and lived under spanish law; the creeks and choctaws were his subsidized allies; and he held the country by right of conquest. georgia, a weak and turbulent, though a growing state, was powerless to enforce her claims. most of the territory to which she asserted title did not in truth become part of the united states until pinckney's treaty went into effect. it was the united states and not georgia that actually won and held the land in dispute; and it was a discredit to georgia's patriotism that she so long wrangled about it, and ultimately drove so hard a bargain concerning it with the national government. claims to the northwest. there was a similar state of affairs in the far northwest. no new yorkers lived in the region bounded by the shadowy and wavering lines of the iroquois conquests. the lands claimed under ancient charters by massachusetts and connecticut were occupied by the british and their indian allies, who held adverse possession. not a single new england settler lived in them; no new england law had any force in them; no new england soldier had gone or could go thither. they were won by the victory of wayne and the treaty of jay. if massachusetts and connecticut had stood alone, the lands would never have been yielded to them at all; they could not have enforced their claim, and it would have been scornfully disregarded. the region was won for the united states by the arms and diplomacy of the united states. whatever of reality there was in the titles of massachusetts and connecticut came from the existence and actions of the federal union. [footnote: for this northwestern history see "the life, journal, and correspondence of manasseh cutler," by wm. parker cutler and julia perkins cutler; "the st. clair papers," by w. h. smith; "the old northwest," by b. a. hinsdale; "maryland's influence upon land cessions," by herbert adams. see also donaldson's "public domain," hildreth's "history of washington county," and the various articles by poole and others. in prof. hinsdale's excellent book, on p. , is a map of the "territory of the thirteen original states in ." this map is accurate enough for virginia and north carolina; but the lands in the west put down as belonging to massachusetts, connecticut, and georgia, did not really belong to them at all in ; they were held by the british and spaniards, and were ultimately surrendered to the united states, not to individual states. these states did not surrender the land; they merely surrendered a disputed title to the lands.] the non-claimant states. all the states that did not claim lands beyond the mountains were strenuous in belittling the claims of those that did, and insisted that the title to the western territory should be vested in the union. not even the danger from the british armies could keep this question in abeyance, and while the war was at its height the states were engaged in bitter wrangles over the subject; for the weakness of the federal tie rendered it always probable that the different members of the union would sulk or quarrel with one another rather than oppose an energetic resistance to the foreign foe. at different times different non-claimant states took the lead in pushing the various schemes for nationalizing the western lands; but maryland was the first to take action in this direction, and was the most determined in pressing the matter to a successful issue. she showed the greatest hesitation in joining the confederation at all while the matter was allowed to rest unsettled; and insisted that the titles of the claimant states were void, that there was no need of asking them to cede what they did not possess, and that the west should be declared outright to be part of the federal domain. maryland was largely actuated by fear of her neighbor virginia. virginia's claims were the most considerable, and if they had all been allowed, hers would have been indeed an empire. maryland's fears were twofold. she dreaded the mere growth of virginia in wealth, power, and population in the first place; and in the second she feared lest her own population might be drained into these vacant lands, thereby at once diminishing her own, and building up her neighbor's, importance. each state, at that time, had to look upon its neighbors as probable commercial rivals and possible armed enemies. this is a feeling which we now find difficulty in understanding. at present no state in the union fears the growth of a neighbor, or would ever dream of trying to check that growth. the direct reverse was the case during and after the revolution; for the jealousy and distrust which the different states felt for one another were bitter to a degree. the continental congress advocates a compromise. the continental congress was more than once at its wits' ends in striving to prevent an open break over the land question between the more extreme states on the two sides. the wisest and coolest leaders saw that the matter could never be determined on a mere consideration of the abstract rights, or even of the equities, of the case. they saw that it would have to be decided, as almost all political questions of great importance must be decided, by compromise and concession. the foremost statesmen of the revolution were eminently practical politicians. they had high ideals, and they strove to realize them, as near as might be; otherwise they would have been neither patriots nor statesmen. but they were not theorists. they were men of affairs, accustomed to deal with other men; and they understood that few questions of real moment can be decided on their merits alone. such questions must be dealt with on the principle of getting the greatest possible amount of ultimate good, and of surrendering in return whatever must be surrendered in order to attain this good. there was no use in learned arguments to show that maryland's position was the proper one for a far-sighted american patriot, or that virginia and north carolina had more basis for their claims than connecticut or georgia. what had to be done was to appeal to the love of country and shrewd common-sense of the people in the different states, and persuade them each to surrender on certain points, so that all could come to a common agreement. land cessions by the claimant states. new york's claim was the least defensible of all, but, on the other hand, new york led the way in vesting whatever title she might have in the federal government. in she gave proof of the growth of the national idea among her citizens by abandoning all her claim to western lands in favor of the union. congress used this surrender as an argument by which to move the other states to action. it issued an earnest appeal to them to follow new york's example without regard to the value of their titles, so that the federal union might be put on a firm basis. congress did not discuss its own rights, nor the rights of the states; it simply asked that the cessions be made as a matter of expediency and patriotism; and announced that the policy of the government would be to divide this new territory into districts of suitable size, which should be admitted as states as soon as they became well settled. this last proposition was important, as it outlined the future policy of the government, which was to admit the new communities as states, with all the rights of the old states, instead of treating them as subordinate and dependent, after the manner of the european colonial systems. maryland then joined the confederation, in . virginia and connecticut had offered to cede their claims but under such conditions that it was impossible to close with the offers. congress accepted the new york cession gratefully, with an eye to the effect on the other states; but for some time no progress was made in the negotiations with the latter. finally, early in , the bargain with virginia was consummated. she ceded to congress her rights to the territory northwest of the ohio, except a certain amount retained as a military reserve for the use of her soldiers, while congress tacitly agreed not to question her right to kentucky. a year later massachusetts followed suit, and ceded to congress her title to all the lands lying west of the present western boundary of new york state. finally, in , a similar cession was made by connecticut. but connecticut's action was not much more patriotic or less selfish than georgia's. throughout the controversy she showed a keen desire to extract from congress all that could possibly be obtained, and to delay action as long as might be; though, like georgia, connecticut could by rights claim nothing that was not in reality obtained for the union by the union itself. she made her grant conditionally upon being allowed to reserve for her own profit about five thousand square miles in what is now northern ohio. this tract was afterwards known as the western reserve. congress was very reluctant to accept such a cession, with its greedy offset, but there was no wise alternative, and the bargain was finally struck. the non-claimant states had attained their object, and yet it had been obtained in a manner that left the claimant states satisfied. the project for which maryland had contended was realized, with the difference that congress accepted the northwest as a gift coupled with conditions, instead of taking it as an unconditional right. the lands became part of the federal domain, and were nationalized so far as they could be under the confederation; but there was no national treasury into which to turn the proceeds from the sale until the constitution was adopted. [footnote: hinsdale, .] the land policy of congress. having got possession of the land, congress proceeded to arrange for its disposition, even before providing the outline of the governmental system for the states that might grow up therein. congress regarded the territory as forming a treasury chest, and was anxious to sell the land in lots, whether to individuals or to companies. in it passed an ordinance of singular wisdom, which has been the basis of all our subsequent legislation on the subject. this ordinance was another proof of the way in which the nation applied its collective power to the subdual and government of the northwest, instead of leaving the whole matter to the working of unrestricted individualism, as in the southwest. the pernicious system of acquiring title to public lands in vogue among the virginians and north carolinians was abandoned. instead of making each man survey his own land, and allowing him to survey it when, how, and where he pleased, with the certainty of producing endless litigation and trouble, congress provided for a corps of government surveyors, who were to go about this work systematically. it provided further for a known base line, and then for division of the country into ranges of townships six miles square, and for the subdivision of these townships into lots ("sections") of one square mile--six hundred and forty acres--each. the ranges, townships, and sections were duly numbered. the basis for the whole system of public education in the northwest was laid by providing that in every township lot no. should be reserved for the maintenance of public schools therein. a minimum price of a dollar an acre was put on the land. congress hoped to find in these western lands a source of great wealth. the hope was disappointed. the task of subduing the wilderness is not very remunerative. it yields a little more than a livelihood to men of energy, resolution, and bodily strength and address; but it does not yield enough for men to be able to pay heavily for the privilege of undertaking the labor. throughout our history the pioneer has found that by taking up wild land at a low cost he can make a rough living, and keep his family fed, clothed, and housed; but it is only by very hard work that he can lay anything by, or materially better his condition. of course, the few very successful do much more, and the unsuccessful do even less; but the average pioneer can just manage to keep continually forging a little ahead, in matters material and financial. under such conditions a high price cannot be obtained for public lands; and when they are sold, as they must be, at a low price, the receipts do little more than offset the necessary outlay. the truth is that people have a very misty idea as to the worth of wild lands. even when the soil is rich they only possess the capacity of acquiring value under labor. all their value arises from the labor done on them or in their neighborhood, except that it depends also upon the amount of labor which must necessarily be expended in transportation. it is the fashion to speak of the immense opportunity offered to any race by a virgin continent. in one sense the opportunity is indeed great; but in another sense it is not, for the chance of failure is very great also. it is an opportunity of which advantage can be taken only at the cost of much hardship and much grinding toil. the ordinance of . it remained for congress to determine the conditions under which the settlers could enter the new land, and under which new states should spring up therein. these conditions were fixed by the famous ordinance of ; one of the two or three most important acts ever passed by an american legislative body, for it determined that the new northwestern states, the children, and the ultimate leaders, of the union, should get their growth as free commonwealths, untainted by the horrible curse of negro slavery. several ordinances for the government of the northwest were introduced and carried through congress in - , but they were never put into operation. in jefferson put into his draft of the ordinance of that year a clause prohibiting slavery in all the western territory, south as well as north of the ohio river, after the beginning of the year . this clause was struck out; and even if adopted it would probably have amounted to nothing, for if slavery had been permitted to take firm root it could hardly have been torn up. in rufus king advanced a proposition to prohibit all slavery in the northwest immediately, but congress never acted on the proposal. the next movement in the same direction was successful, because when it was made it was pushed by a body of well-known men who were anxious to buy the lands that congress was anxious to sell, but who would not buy them until they had some assurance that the governmental system under which they were to live would meet their ideas. this body was composed of new englanders, mostly veterans of the revolutionary war, and led by officers who had stood well in the continental army. when, in the fall of , the continental army was disbanded, the war-worn and victorious soldiers, who had at last wrung victory from the reluctant years of defeat, found themselves fronting grim penury. some were worn with wounds and sickness; all were poor and unpaid; and congress had no means to pay them. many among them felt that they had small chance to repair their broken fortunes if they returned to the homes they had abandoned seven weary years before, when the guns of the minute-men first called them to battle. the ohio company. these heroes of the blue and buff turned their eyes westward to the fertile lands lying beyond the mountains. they petitioned congress to mark out a territory, in what is now the state of ohio, as the seat of a distinct colony, in time to become one of the confederated states; and they asked that their bounty lands should be set off for them in this territory. two hundred and eighty-five officers of the continental line joined in this petition; one hundred and fifty-five, over half, were from massachusetts, the state which had furnished more troops than any other to the revolutionary armies. the remainder were from connecticut, new hampshire, new jersey, and maryland. the signers of this petition desired to change the paper obligations of congress, which they held, into fertile wild lands which they should themselves subdue by their labor; and out of these wild lands they proposed to make a new state. these two germ ideas remained in their minds, even though their petition bore no fruit. they kept before their eyes the plan of a company to undertake the work, after getting the proper cession from congress. finally, in the early spring of , some of the new england officers met at the "bunch of grapes" tavern in boston, and organized the ohio company of associates. they at once sent one of their number as a delegate to new york, where the continental congress was in session, to lay their memorial before that body. congress and the ohio company. congress was considering another ordinance for the government of the northwest when the memorial was presented, and the former was delayed until the latter could be considered by the committee to which it had been referred. in july, dr. manasseh cutler, of ipswich, massachusetts, arrived as a second delegate to look after the interests of the company. he and they were as much concerned in the terms of the governmental ordinance, as in the conditions on which the land grant was to be made. the orderly, liberty-loving, keen-minded new englanders who formed the company, would not go to a land where the form of government was hostile to their ideas of righteousness and sound public policy. the prohibition of slavery. the one point of difficulty was the slavery question. only eight states were at the time represented in the congress; these were massachusetts, new york, new jersey, delaware, virginia, north and south carolina, and georgia--thus five of the eight states were southern. but the federal congress rose in this, almost its last act, to a lofty pitch of patriotism; and the southern states showed a marked absence of sectional feeling in the matter. indeed, cutler found that though he was a new england man, with a new england company behind him, many of the eastern people looked rather coldly at his scheme, fearing lest the settlement of the west might mean a rapid drainage of population from the east. nathan dane, a massachusetts delegate, favored it, in part because he hoped that planting such a colony in the west might keep at least that part of it true to "eastern politics." the southern members, on the other hand, heartily supported the plan. the committee that brought in the ordinance, the majority being southern men, also reported an article prohibiting slavery. dane was the mover, while the rough draft may have been written by cutler; and the report was vigorously pushed by the two virginians on the committee, william grayson and richard henry lee. the article was adopted by a vote unanimous, except for the dissent of one delegate, a nobody from new york. the ordinance established a territorial government, with a governor, secretary, and judges. a general assembly was authorized as soon as there should be five thousand free male inhabitants in the district. the lower house was elective, the upper house, or council, was appointive. the legislature was to elect a territorial delegate to congress. the governor was required to own a freehold of one thousand acres in the district, a judge five hundred, and a representative two hundred; and no man was allowed to vote unless he possessed a freehold of fifty acres. [footnote: "st. clair papers," ii., .] these provisions would seem strangely undemocratic if applied to a similar territory in our own day. features of the ordinance of . the all-important features of the ordinance were contained in the six articles of compact between the confederated states and the people and states of the territory, to be forever unalterable, save by the consent of both parties. the first guaranteed complete freedom of worship and religious belief to all peaceable and orderly persons. the second provided for trial by jury, the writ of habeas corpus, the privileges of the common law, and the right of proportional legislative representation. the third enjoined that faith should be kept with the indians, and provided that "schools and the means of education" should forever be encouraged, inasmuch as "religion, morality, and knowledge" were necessary to good government. the fourth ordained that the new states formed in the northwest should forever form part of the united states, and be subject to the laws, as were the others. the fifth provided for the formation and admission of not less than three or more than five states, formed out of this northwestern territory, whenever such a putative state should contain sixty thousand inhabitants; the form of government to be republican, and the state, when created, to stand on an equal footing with all the other states. the sixth and most important article declared that there should never be slavery or involuntary servitude in the northwest, otherwise than for the punishment of convicted criminals, provided, however, that fugitive slaves from the older states might lawfully be reclaimed by their owners. this was the greatest blow struck for freedom and against slavery in all our history, save only lincoln's emancipation proclamation, for it determined that in the final struggle the mighty west should side with the right against the wrong. it was in its results a deadly stroke against the traffic in and ownership of human beings, and the blow was dealt by southern men, to whom all honor should ever be given. this anti-slavery compact was the most important feature of the ordinance, yet there were many other features only less important. importance of the ordinance. in truth the ordinance of was so wide-reaching in its effects, was drawn in accordance with so lofty a morality and such far-seeing statesmanship, and was fraught with such weal for the nation, that it will ever rank amongst the foremost of american state papers, coming in that little group which includes the declaration of independence, the constitution, washington's farewell address, and lincoln's emancipation proclamation and second inaugural. it marked out a definite line of orderly freedom along which the new states were to advance. it laid deep the foundation for that system of widespread public education so characteristic of the republic and so essential to its healthy growth. it provided that complete religious freedom and equality which we now accept as part of the order of nature, but which were then unknown in any important european nation. it guaranteed the civil liberty of all citizens. it provided for an indissoluble union, a union which should grow until it could relentlessly crush nullification and secession; for the states founded under it were the creatures of the nation, and were by the compact declared forever inseparable from it. new method of creating colonies. in one respect the ordinance marked a new departure of the most radical kind. the adoption of the policy therein outlined has worked a complete revolution in the way of looking at new communities formed by colonization from the parent country. yet the very completeness of this revolution to a certain extent veils from us its importance. we cannot realize the greatness of the change because of the fact that the change was so great; for we cannot now put ourselves in the mental attitude which regarded the old course as natural. the ordinance of decreed that the new states should stand in every respect on an equal footing with the old; and yet should be individually bound together with them. this was something entirely new in the history of colonization. hitherto every new colony had either been subject to the parent state, or independent of it. england, holland, france, and spain, when they founded colonies beyond the sea, founded them for the good of the parent state, and governed them as dependencies. the home country might treat her colonies well or ill, she might cherish and guard them, or oppress them with harshness and severity, but she never treated them as equals. russia, in pushing her obscure and barbarous conquest and colonization of siberia,--a conquest destined to be of such lasting importance in the history of asia,--pursued precisely the same course. in fact, this had been the only kind of colonization known to modern europe. in the ancient world it had also been known, and it was only through it that great empires grew. each roman colony that settled in gaul or iberia founded a city or established a province which was tributary to rome, instead of standing on a footing of equality in the same nation with rome. but the other great colonizing peoples of antiquity, the greeks and phoenicians, spread in an entirely different way. each of their colonies became absolutely independent of the country whence it sprang. carthage and syracuse were as free as tyre or sidon, as corinth or athens. thus under the roman method the empire grew, at the cost of the colonies losing their independence. under the greek and carthaginian method the colonies acquired the same freedom that was enjoyed by the mother cities; but there was no extension of empire, no growth of a great and enduring nationality. the modern european nations had followed the roman system. until the united states sprang into being every great colonizing people followed one system or the other. the american republic, taking advantage of its fortunate federal features and of its strong central government, boldly struck out on a new path, which secured the freedom-giving properties of the greek method, while preserving national union as carefully as it was preserved by the roman empire. new states were created, which stood on exactly the same footing as the old; and yet these new states formed integral and inseparable parts of a great and rapidly growing nation. this movement was original with the american republic; she was dealing with new conditions, and on this point the history of england merely taught her what to avoid. the english colonies were subject to the british crown, and therefore to great britain. the new american states, themselves colonies in the old greek sense, were subject only to a government which they helped administer on equal terms with the old states. no state was subject to another, new or old. all paid a common allegiance to a central power which was identical with none. the absolute novelty of this feature, as the world then stood, fails to impress us now because we are so used to it. but it was at that time without precedent; and though since then the idea has made rapid progress, there seems in most cases to have been very great difficulty in applying it in practice. the spanish-american states proved wholly unable to apply it at all. in australia and south africa all that can be said is that events now apparently show a trend in the direction of adopting this system. at present all these british colonies, as regards one another, are independent but disunited; as regards the mother country, they remain united with her, but in the condition of dependencies. the question of slavery. the vital feature of the ordinance was the prohibition of slavery. this prohibition was not retroactive; the slaves of the french villagers, and of the few american slaveholders who had already settled round them, were not disturbed in their condition. but all further importation of slaves, and the holding in slavery of any not already slaves, were prohibited. the prohibition was brought about by the action of the ohio company. without the prohibition the company would probably not have undertaken its experiment in colonization; and save for the pressure of the company slavery would hardly have been abolished. congress wished to sell the lands, and was much impressed by the solid worth of the founders of the association. the new englanders were anxious to buy the lands, but were earnest in their determinating to exclude slavery from the new territory. the slave question was not at the time a burning issue between north and south; for no northerner thought of crusading to destroy the evil, while most enlightened southerners were fond of planning how to do away with it. the tact of the company's representative before congress, dr. cutler, did the rest. a compromise was agreed to; for, like so many other great political triumphs, the passage of the ordinance of was a compromise. slavery was prohibited, on the one hand; and on the other, that the territory might not become a refuge for runaway negroes, provision was made for the return of such fugitives. the popular conscience was yet too dull about slavery to be stirred by the thought of returning fugitive slaves into bondage. land purchase. a fortnight after the passage of the ordinance, the transaction was completed by the sale of a million and a half acres, north of the ohio, to the ohio company. three million and a half more, known as the sciato purchase, were authorized to be sold to a purely speculative company, but the speculation ended in nothing save financial disaster. the price was nominally seventy cents an acre; but as payment was made in depreciated public securities, the real price was only eight or nine cents an acre. the sale illustrated the tendency of congress at that time to sell the land in large tracts; a most unwholesome tendency, fruitful of evil to the whole community. it was only by degrees that the wisdom of selling the land in small plots, and to actual occupiers, was recognized. together with the many wise and tolerant measures included in the famous ordinance of , and in the land ordinance of , there were one or two which represented the feelings of the past, not the future. one of them was a regulation which reserved a lot in every township to be given for the purposes of religion. nowadays, and rightfully, we regard as peculiarly american the complete severance of church and state, and refuse to allow the state to contribute in any way towards the support of any sect. a regulation of a very different kind provided that two townships should be set apart to endow a university. these two townships now endow the university of ohio, placed in a town which, with queer poverty of imagination, and fatuous absence of humor, has been given the name of athens. organization of the company. the company was well organized, the founders showing the invaluable new england aptitude for business, and there was no delay in getting the settlement started. after some deliberation the lands lying along the ohio, on both sides of, but mainly below, the muskingum, were chosen for the site of the new colony. there was some delay in making the payments subsequent to the first, and only a million and some odd acres were patented. one of the reasons for choosing the mouth of the muskingum as the site for the town was the neighborhood of fort harmar, with its strong federal garrison, and the spot was but a short distance beyond the line of already existing settlement. founding of marietta. as soon as enough of the would-be settlers were ready, they pushed forward in parties towards the headwaters of the ohio, struggling along the winter-bound roads of western pennsylvania. in january and february they began to reach the banks of the youghioghany, and set about building boats to launch when the river opened. there were forty-eight settlers in all who started down stream, their leader being general rufus putnam. he was a tried and gallant soldier, who had served with honor not only in the revolutionary armies, but in the war which crushed the french power in america. on april , , he stepped from his boat, which he had very appropriately named the mayflower, on to the bank of the muskingum. the settlers immediately set to work felling trees, building log houses and a stockade, clearing fields, and laying out the ground-plan of marietta; for they christened the new town after the french queen, marie antoinette. [footnote: "st. clair papers," i., . it was at the beginning of the dreadful pseudo-classic cult in our intellectual history, and these honest soldiers and yeomen, with much self-complacency, gave to portions of their little raw town such ludicrously inappropriate names as the campus martius and via sacra.] it was laid out in the untenanted wilderness; yet near by was the proof that ages ago the wilderness had been tenanted, for close at hand were huge embankments, marking the site of a town of the long-vanished mound-builders. giant trees grew on the mounds; all vestiges of the builders had vanished, and the solemn forest had closed above every remembrance of their fate. beginning of ohio. the day of the landing of these new pilgrims was a day big with fate not only for the northwest but for the nation. it marked the beginning of the orderly and national conquest of the lands that now form the heart of the republic. it marked the advent among the pioneers of a new element, which was to leave the impress of its strong personality deeply graven on the institutions and the people of the great states north of the ohio; an element which in the end turned their development in the direction towards which the parent stock inclined in its home on the north atlantic seaboard. the new settlers were almost all soldiers of the revolutionary armies; they were hardworking, orderly men of trained courage and of keen intellect. an outside observer speaks of them as being the best informed, the most courteous and industrious, and the most law-abiding of all the settlers who had come to the frontier, while their leaders were men of a higher type than was elsewhere to be found in the west. [footnote: "denny's military journal," may and june , .] no better material for founding a new state existed anywhere. with such a foundation the state was little likely to plunge into the perilous abysses of anarchic license or of separatism and disunion. moreover, to plant a settlement of this kind on the edge of the indian-haunted wilderness showed that the founders possessed both hardihood and resolution. contrast with the deeds of the old pioneers. yet it must not be forgotten that the daring needed for the performance of this particular deed can in no way be compared with that shown by the real pioneers, the early explorers and indian fighters. the very fact that the settlement around marietta was national in its character, that it was the outcome of national legislation, and was undertaken under national protection, made the work of the individual settler count for less in the scale. the founders and managers of the ohio company and the statesmen of the federal congress deserve much of the praise that in the southwest would have fallen to the individual settlers only. the credit to be given to the nation in its collective capacity was greatly increased, and that due to the individual was correspondingly diminished. rufus putnam and his fellow new englanders built their new town under the guns of a federal fort, only just beyond the existing boundary of settlement, and on land guaranteed them by the federal government. the dangers they ran and the hardships they suffered in no wise approached those undergone and overcome by the iron-willed, iron-limbed hunters who first built their lonely cabins on the cumberland and kentucky. the founders of marietta trusted largely to the federal troops for protection, and were within easy reach of the settled country; but the wild wood-wanderers who first roamed through the fair lands south of the ohio built their little towns in the heart of the wilderness, many scores of leagues from all assistance, and trusted solely to their own long rifles in time of trouble. the settler of journeyed at ease over paths worn smooth by the feet of many thousands of predecessors; but the early pioneers cut their own trails in the untrodden wilderness, and warred single-handed against wild nature and wild man. cutler visits marietta. in the summer of dr. manasseh cutler visited the colony he had helped to found, and kept a diary of his journey. his trip through pennsylvania was marked merely by such incidents as were common at that time on every journey in the united states away from the larger towns. he travelled with various companions, stopping at taverns and private houses; and both guests and hosts were fond of trying their skill with the rifle, either at a mark or at squirrels. in mid-august he reached coxe's fort, on the ohio, and came for the first time to the frontier proper. here he embarked on a big flat boat, with on board forty-eight souls all told, besides cattle. they drifted and paddled down stream, and on the evening of the second day reached the muskingum. here and there along the virginian shore the boat passed settlements, with grain fields and orchards; the houses were sometimes squalid cabins, and sometimes roomy, comfortable buildings. when he reached the newly built town he was greeted by general putnam, who invited cutler to share the marquee in which he lived; and that afternoon he drank tea with another new england general, one of the original founders. the next three weeks he passed very comfortably with his friends, taking part in the various social entertainments, walking through the woods, and visiting one or two camps of friendly indians with all the curiosity of a pleasure-tourist. he greatly admired the large cornfields, proof of the industry of the settlers. some of the cabins were already comfortable; and many families of women and children had come out to join their husbands and fathers. st. clair made governor. the newly appointed governor of the territory, arthur st. clair, had reached the place in july, and formally assumed his task of government. both governor st. clair and general harmar were men of the old federalist school, utterly unlike the ordinary borderers; and even in the wilderness they strove to keep a certain stateliness and formality in their surroundings. they speedily grew to feel at home with the new england leaders, who were gentlemen of much the same type as themselves, and had but little more in common with the ordinary frontier folk. dr. cutler frequently dined with one or other of them. after dining with the governor at fort harmar, he pronounced it in his diary a "genteel dinner"; and he dwelt on the grapes, the beautiful garden, and the good looks of mrs. harmar. sometimes the leading citizens gave a dinner to "his excellency," as dr. cutler was careful to style the governor, and to "general harmar and his lady." on such occasions the visitors were rowed from the fort to the town in a twelve-oared barge with an awning; the drilled crew rowed well, while a sergeant stood in the stern to steer. on each oar blade was painted the word "congress"; all the regular army men were devout believers in the union. the dinners were handsomely served, with punch and wine; and at one dr. cutler records that fifty-five gentlemen sat down, together with three ladies. the fort itself was a square, with block-houses, curtains, barracks, and artillery. cutler's trip up the ohio. after three weeks' stay the doctor started back, up stream, in the boat of a well-to-do creole trader from the illinois. this trader was no less a person than francis vigo, who had welcomed clark when he took kaskaskia, and who at that time rendered signal service to the americans, advancing them peltries and goods. to the discredit of the nation be it said, he was never repaid what he had advanced. when cutler joined him he was making his way up the ohio in a big keel-boat, propelled by ten oars and a square sail. the doctor found his quarters pleasant; for there was an awning and a cabin, and vigo was well equipped with comforts and even luxuries. in his travelling-chest he carried his silver-handled knives and forks, and flasks of spirits. the beds were luxurious for the frontier; in his journal the doctor mentions that one night he had to sleep in "wet sheets." the average pioneer knew nothing whatever of sheets, wet or dry. often the voyagers would get out and walk along shore, shooting pigeons or squirrels and plucking bunches of grapes. on such occasions if they had time they would light a fire and have "a good dish of tea and a french fricassee." once they saw some indians; but the latter were merely chasing a bear, which they killed, giving the travellers some of the meat. cutler and his companions caught huge catfish in the river; they killed game of all kinds in the forest; and they lived very well indeed. in the morning they got under way early, after a "bitter and a biscuit," and a little later breakfasted on cold meat, pickles, cabbage, and pork. between eleven and twelve they stopped for dinner; usually of hot venison or wild turkey, with a strong "dish of coffee" and loaf-sugar. at supper they had cold meat and tea. here and there on the shore they passed settlers' cabins, where they obtained corn and milk, and sometimes eggs, butter, and veal. cutler landed at his starting-point less than a month after he had left it to go down stream. [footnote: cutler, p. .] another massachusetts man, col. john may, had made the same trip just previously. his experiences were very like those of dr. cutler; but in his journal he told them more entertainingly, being a man of considerable humor and sharp observation. he travelled on horseback from boston. in philadelphia he put up "at the sign of the connastago wagon" --the kind of wagon then used in the up country, and afterwards for two generations the wheeled-house with which the pioneers moved westward across plain and prairie. he halted for some days in the log-built town of pittsburg, and, like many other travellers of the day, took a dislike to the place and to its inhabitants, who were largely pennsylvania germans. he mentions that he had reached it in thirty days from boston, and had not lost a pound of his baggage, which had accompanied him in a wagon under the care of some of his hired men. at pittsburg he was much struck by the beauty of the mountains and the river, and also by the numbers of flat-boats, loaded with immigrants, which were constantly drifting and rowing past on their way to kentucky. from the time of reaching the river his journal is filled with comments on the extraordinary abundance and great size of the various kinds of food fishes. at last, late in may, he started in a crowded flat-boat down the ohio, and was enchanted with the wild and beautiful scenery. he was equally pleased with the settlement at the mouth of the muskingum; and he was speedily on good terms with the officers of the fort, who dined and wined him to his heart's content. there were rumors of savage warfare from below; but around marietta the indians were friendly. may and his people set to work to clear land and put up buildings; and they lived sumptuously, for game swarmed. the hunters supplied them with quantities of deer and wild turkeys, and occasionally elk and buffalo were also killed; while quantities of fish could be caught without effort, and the gardens and fields yielded plenty of vegetables. on july th the members of the ohio company entertained the officers from fort harmar, and the ladies of the garrison, at an abundant dinner, and drank thirteen toasts,--to the united states, to congress, to washington, to the king of france, to the new constitution, to the society of the cincinnati, and various others. colonel may built him a fine "mansion house," thirty-six feet by eighteen, and fifteen feet high, with a good cellar underneath, and in the windows panes of glass he had brought all the way from boston. he continued to enjoy the life in all its phases, from hunting in the woods to watching the sun rise, and making friends with the robins, which, in the wilderness, always followed the settlements. in august he went up the river, without adventure, and returned to his home. [footnote: journal and letters of colonel john may; one of the many valuable historical publications of robert clarke & co., of cincinnati. vol iii-- ] contrasts with travels of early explorers. such a trip as either of these was a mere holiday picnic. it offers as striking a contrast as well could be offered to the wild and lonely journeyings of the stark wilderness-hunters and indian fighters, who first went west of the mountains. general rufus putnam and his associates did a deed the consequences of which were of vital importance. they showed that they possessed the highest attributes of good citizenship--resolution and sagacity, stern morality, and the capacity to govern others as well as themselves. but they performed no pioneer feat of any note as such, and they were not called upon to display a tithe of the reckless daring and iron endurance of hardship which characterized the conquerors of the illinois and the founders of kentucky and tennessee. this is in no sense a reflection upon them. they did not need to give proof of a courage they had shown time and again in bloody battles against the best troops of europe. in this particular enterprise, in which they showed so many admirable qualities, they had little chance to show the quality of adventurous bravery. they drifted comfortably down stream, from the log fort whence they started, past many settlers' houses, until they came to the post of a small federal garrison, where they built their town. such a trip is not to be mentioned in the same breath with the long wanderings of clark and boone and robertson, when they went forth unassisted to subdue the savage and make tame the shaggy wilderness. st. clair. st. clair, the first governor, was a scotchman of good family. he had been a patriotic but unsuccessful general in the revolutionary army. he was a friend of washington, and in politics a firm federalist; he was devoted to the cause of union and liberty, and was a conscientious, high-minded man. but he had no aptitude for the incredibly difficult task of subduing the formidable forest indians, with their peculiar and dangerous system of warfare; and he possessed no capacity for getting on with the frontiersmen, being without sympathy for their virtues while keenly alive to their very unattractive faults. the miami purchase. in the fall of another purchase of public lands was negotiated, by the miami company. the chief personage in this company was john cleves symmes, one of the first judges of the northwestern territory. rights were acquired to take up one million acres, and under these rights three small settlements were made towards the close of the year . one of them was chosen by st. clair to be the seat of government. this little town had been called losantiville in its first infancy, but st. clair re-christened it cincinnati, in honor of the society of the officers of the continental army. the men who formed these miami company colonies came largely from the middle states. like the new england founders of marietta, very many of them, if not most, had served in the continental army. they were good settlers; they made good material out of which to build up a great state. their movement was modelled on that of putnam and his associates. it was a triumph of collectivism, rather than of individualism. the settlers were marshalled in a company, instead of moving freely by themselves, and they took a territory granted them by congress, under certain conditions, and defended for them by the officers and troops of the regular army. establishment of civil government. civil government was speedily organized. st. clair and the judges formed the first legislature; in theory they were only permitted to adopt laws already in existence in the old states, but as a matter of fact they tried any legislative experiments they saw fit. st. clair was an autocrat both by military training and by political principles. he was a man of rigid honor, and he guarded the interests of the territory with jealous integrity, but he exercised such a rigorous supervision over the acts of his subordinate colleagues, the judges, that he became involved in wrangles at the very beginning of his administration. to prevent the incoming of unauthorized intruders, he issued a proclamation summoning all newly arrived persons to report at once to the local commandants, and, with a view of keeping the game for the use of the actual settlers, and also to prevent as far as possible fresh irritation being given the indians, he forbade all hunting in the territory for hides or flesh save by the inhabitants proper. [footnote: draper mss. wm. clark papers. proclamation, vincennes, june , .] only an imperfect obedience was rendered either proclamation. thus the settlement of the northwest was fairly begun, on a system hitherto untried. the fates and the careers of all the mighty states which yet lay formless in the forest were in great measure determined by what was at this time done. the nation had decreed that they should all have equal rights with the older states and with one another, and yet that they should remain forever inseparable from the union; and above all, it had been settled that the bondman should be unknown within their borders. their founding represented the triumph of the principle of collective national action over the spirit of intense individualism displayed so commonly on the frontier. the uncontrolled initiative of the individual, which was the chief force in the settlement of the southwest, was given comparatively little play in the settlement of the northwest. the northwest owed its existence to the action of the nation as a whole. chapter vii. the war in the northwest. - the federal troops were camped in the federal territory north of the ohio. they garrisoned the forts and patrolled between the little log-towns. they were commanded by the federal general harmar, and the territory was ruled by the federal governor st. clair. thenceforth the national authorities and the regular troops played the chief parts in the struggle for the northwest. the frontier militia became a mere adjunct--often necessary, but always untrustworthy--of the regular forces. the regular army in the northwest. for some time the regulars fared ill in the warfare with the savages; and a succession of mortifying failures closed with a defeat more ruinous than any which had been experienced since the days of the "iron-tempered general the pipe-clay brain,"--for the disaster which befell st. clair was as overwhelming as that wherein braddock met his death. the continued checks excited the anger of the eastern people, and the dismay and derision of the westerners. they were keenly felt by the officers of the army; and they furnished an excuse for those who wished to jeer at regular troops, and exalt the militia. jefferson, who never understood anything about warfare, being a timid man, and who belonged to the visionary school which always denounced the army and navy, was given a legitimate excuse to criticise the tactics of the regulars; [footnote: draper mss., g. r. clark papers. jefferson to innes, march , .] and of course he never sought occasion to comment on the even worse failings of the militia. shortcomings of the regulars. the truth was that the american military authorities fell into much the same series of errors as their predecessors, the british, untaught by the dreary and mortifying experience of the latter in fighting these forest foes. the war department at washington, and the federal generals who first came to the northwest, did not seem able to realize the formidable character of the indian armies, and were certainly unable to teach their own troops how to fight them. harmar and st. clair were both fair officers, and in open country were able to acquit themselves respectably in the face of civilized foes. but they did not have the peculiar genius necessary to the successful indian fighter, and they never learned how to carry on a campaign in the woods. they had the justifiable distrust of the militia felt by all the officers of the continental army. in the long campaigns waged against howe, clinton, and cornwallis they had learned the immense superiority of the continental troops to the local militia. they knew that the revolution would have failed had it not been for the continental troops. they knew also, by the bitter experience common to all officers who had been through the war, that, though the militia might on occasion do well, yet they could never be trusted; they were certain to desert or grow sulky and mutinous if exposed to the fatigue and hardship of a long campaign, while in a pitched battle in the open they never fought as stubbornly as the regulars, and often would not fight at all. the regulars in indian warfare. all this was true; yet the officers of the regular army failed to understand that it did not imply the capacity of the regular troops to fight savages on their own ground. they showed little real comprehension of the extraordinary difficulty of such warfare against such foes, and of the reasons which made it so hazardous. they could not help assigning other causes than the real ones for every defeat and failure. they attributed each in turn to the effects of ambuscade or surprise, instead of realizing that in each the prime factor was the formidable fighting power of the individual indian warrior, when in the thick forest which was to him a home, and when acting under that species of wilderness discipline which was so effective for a single crisis in his peculiar warfare. the indian has rarely shown any marked excellence as a fighter in mass in the open; though of course there have been one or two brilliant exceptions. at times in our wars we have tried the experiment of drilling bodies of indians as if they were whites, and using them in the ordinary way in battle. under such conditions, as a rule, they have shown themselves inferior to the white troops against whom they were pitted. in the same way they failed to show themselves a match for the white hunters of the great plains when on equal terms. but their marvellous faculty for taking advantage of cover, and for fighting in concert when under cover, has always made the warlike tribes foes to be dreaded beyond all others when in the woods, or among wild broken mountains. striking contrasts in our indian wars. the history of our warfare with the indians during the century following the close of the revolution is marked by curiously sharp contrasts in the efficiency shown by the regular troops in campaigns carried on at different times and under varying conditions. these contrasts are due much more to the difference in the conditions under which the campaigns were waged than to the difference in the bodily prowess of the indians. when we had been in existence as a nation for a century the modocs in their lava-beds and the apaches amid their waterless mountains were still waging against the regulars of the day the same tedious and dangerous warfare waged against harmar and st. clair by the forest indians. there were the same weary, long-continued campaigns; the same difficulty in bringing the savages to battle; the same blind fighting against hidden antagonists shielded by the peculiar nature of their fastnesses; and, finally, the same great disparity of loss against the white troops. during the intervening hundred years there had been many similar struggles; as for instance that against the seminoles. yet there had also been many struggles, against indians naturally more formidable, in which the troops again and again worsted their indian foes even when the odds in numbers were two or three to one against the whites. the difference between these different classes of wars was partly accounted for by change in weapons and methods of fighting; partly by the change in the character of the battle grounds. the horse indians of the plains were as elusive and difficult to bring to battle as the indians of the mountains and forests; but in the actual fighting they had no chance to take advantage of cover in the way which rendered so formidable their brethren of the hills and the deep woods. in consequence their occasional slaughtering victories, including the most famous of all, the battle of the rosebud, in which custer fell, took the form of the overwhelming of a comparatively small number of whites by immense masses of mounted horsemen. when their weapons were inferior, as on the first occasions when they were brought into contact with troops carrying breech-loading arms of precision, or when they tried the tactics of downright fighting, and of charging fairly in the open, they were often themselves beaten or repulsed with fearful slaughter by mere handfuls of whites. in the years - , all the horse indians of the plains were at war with us, and many battles were fought with varying fortune. two were especially noteworthy. in each a small body of troops and frontier scouts, under the command of a regular army officer who was also a veteran indian fighter, beat back an overwhelming indian force, which attempted to storm by open onslaught the position held by the white riflemen. in one instance fifty men under major geo. h. forsyth beat back nine hundred warriors, killing or wounding double their own number. in the other a still more remarkable defence was made by thirty-one men under major james powell against an even larger force, which charged again and again, and did not accept their repulse as final until they had lost three hundred of their foremost braves. for years the sioux spoke with bated breath of this battle as the "medicine fight," the defeat so overwhelming that it could be accounted for only by supernatural interference. [footnote: for all this see dodge's admirable "our wild indians."] but no such victory was ever gained over mountain or forest indians who had become accustomed to fighting the white men. every officer who has ever faced these foes has had to spend years in learning his work, and has then been forced to see a bitterly inadequate reward for his labors. the officers of the regular army who served in the forests north of the ohio just after the revolution had to undergo a strange and painful training; and were obliged to content themselves with scanty and hard-won triumphs even after this training had been undergone. difficulties experienced by the officers. the officers took some time to learn their duties as indian fighters, but the case was much worse with the rank and file who served under them. from the beginning of our history it often proved difficult to get the best type of native american to go into the regular army save in time of war with a powerful enemy, for the low rate of pay was not attractive, while the disciplined subordination of the soldiers to their officers seemed irksome to people with an exaggerated idea of individual freedom and no proper conception of the value of obedience. very many of the regular soldiers have always been of foreign birth; and in , on the ohio, the percentage of irish and germans in the ranks was probably fully as large as it was on the great plains a century later. [footnote: denny's journal, _passim_.] they, as others, at that early date, were, to a great extent, drawn from the least desirable classes of the eastern sea-board. [footnote: for fear of misunderstanding, i wish to add that at many periods the rank and file have been composed of excellent material; of recent years their character has steadily risen, and the stuff itself has always proved good when handled for a sufficient length of time by good commanders.] three or four years later an unfriendly observer wrote of st. clair's soldiers that they were a wretched set of men, weak and feeble, many of them mere boys, while others were rotten with drink and debauchery. he remarked that men "purchased from the prisons, wheel-barrows, and brothels of the nation at foolishly low wages, would never do to fight indians"; and that against such foes, who were terrible enemies in the woods, there was need of first-class, specially trained troops, instead of trying to use "a set of men who enlisted because they could no longer live unhung any other way." [footnote: draper collection. letter of john cleves symmes to elias boudinot, january , .] doubtless this estimate, made under the sting of defeat, was too harsh; and it was even more applicable to the forced levies of militia than to the federal soldiers; but the shortcomings of the regular troops were sufficiently serious to need no exaggeration. their own officers were far from pleased with the recruits they got. to the younger officers, with a taste for sport, the life beyond the ohio was delightful. the climate was pleasant, the country beautiful, the water was clear as crystal, and game abounded. in hard weather the troops lived on salt beef; but at other times their daily rations were two pounds of turkey or venison, or a pound and a half of bear meat or buffalo beef. yet this game was supplied by hired hunters, not by the soldiers themselves. one of the officers wrote that he had to keep his troops practising steadily at a target, for they were incompetent to meet an enemy with the musket; they could not kill in a week enough game to last them a day. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. ; doughty's letter, march , ; also, november , .] it was almost impossible to train such troops, in a limited number of months or years, so as to enable them to meet their forest foes on equal terms. the discipline to which they were accustomed was admirably fitted for warfare in the open; but it was not suited for warfare in the woods. they had to learn even the use of their fire-arms with painful labor. it was merely hopeless to try to teach them to fight indian fashion, all scattering out for themselves, and each taking a tree trunk, and trying to slay an individual enemy. they were too clumsy; they utterly lacked the wild-creature qualities proper to the men of the wilderness, the men who inherited wolf-cunning and panther-stealth from countless generations, who bought bare life itself only at the price of never-ceasing watchfulness, craft, and ferocity. the regulars superior to the militia. the regulars were certainly not ideal troops with which to oppose such foes; but they were the best attainable at that time. they possessed traits which were lacking in even the best of the frontier militia; and most of the militia fell far short of the best. when properly trained the regulars could be trusted to persevere through a campaign; whereas the militia were sure to disband if kept out for any length of time. moreover, a regular army formed a weapon with a temper tried and known; whereas a militia force was the most brittle of swords which might give one true stroke, or might fly into splinters at the first slight blow. regulars were the only troops who could be trusted to wear out their foes in a succession of weary and hard-fought campaigns. the best backwoods fighters, however, such men as kenton and brady had in their scout companies, were much superior to the regulars, and were able to meet the indians on at least equal terms. but there were only a very few such men; and they were too impatient of discipline to be embodied in an army. the bulk of the frontier militia consisted of men who were better riflemen than the regulars and often physically abler, but who were otherwise in every military sense inferior, possessing their defects, sometimes in an accentuated form, and not possessing their compensating virtues. like the regulars, these militia fought the indians at a terrible disadvantage. a defeat for either meant murderous slaughter; for whereas the trained indian fighters fought or fled each for himself, the ordinary troops huddled together in a mass, an easy mark for their savage foes. extreme difficulty of the war. the task set the leaders of the army in the northwest was one of extreme difficulty and danger. they had to overcome a foe trained through untold ages how to fight most effectively on the very battle-ground where the contest was to be waged. to the whites a march through the wilderness was fraught with incredible toil; whereas the indians moved without baggage, and scattered and came together as they wished, so that it was impossible to bring them to battle against their will. all that could be done was to try to beat them when they chose to receive or deliver an attack. with ordinary militia it was hopeless to attempt to accomplish anything needing prolonged and sustained effort, and, as already said, the thoroughly trained indian fighters who were able to beat the savages at their own game were too few in numbers, and too unaccustomed to control and restraint, to permit of their forming the main body of the army in an offensive campaign. there remained only the regulars: and the raw recruits had to undergo a long and special training, and be put under the command of a thoroughly capable leader, like old mad anthony wayne, before they could be employed to advantage. the feeling between the regulars and frontiersmen. the feeling between the regular troops and the frontiersmen was often very bitter, and on several occasions violent brawls resulted. one such occurred at limestone, where the brutal indian-fighter wetzel lived. wetzel had murdered a friendly indian, and the soldiers bore him a grudge. when they were sent to arrest him the townspeople sallied to his support. wetzel himself resisted, and was, very properly, roughly handled in consequence. the interference of the townspeople was vigorously repaid in kind; they soon gave up the attempt, and afterwards one or two of them were ill-treated or plundered by the soldiers. they made complaint to the civil authorities, and a court-martial was then ordered by the federal commanders. this court-martial acquitted the soldiers. wetzel soon afterwards made his escape, and the incident ended. [footnote: draper mss. harmar's letter to henry lee, sept. , . also depositions of mccurdy, lawler, caldwell, and others, and proceedings of court-martial. the depositions conflict.] fury of the indian ravages. by the indian war had begun with all its old fury. the thickly settled districts were not much troubled, and the towns which, like marietta in the following year, grew up under the shadow of a federal fort, were comparatively safe. but the frontier of kentucky, and of virginia proper along the ohio, suffered severely. there was great scarcity of powder and lead, and even of guns, and there was difficulty in procuring provisions for those militia who consented to leave their work and turn out when summoned. the settlers were harried, and the surveyors feared to go out to their work on the range. there were the usual horrible incidents of indian warfare. a glimpse of one of the innumerable dreadful tragedies is afforded by the statement of one party of scouts, who, in following the trail of an indian war band, found at the crossing of the river "the small tracks of a number of children," prisoners from a raid made on the monongahela settlements. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. ii. letters of david shepherd to governor randolph, april , and may , .] difficulties in extending help to the frontiersmen. the settlers in the harried territory sent urgent appeals for help to the governor of virginia and to congress. in these appeals stress was laid upon the poverty of the frontiersmen, and their lack of ammunition. the writers pointed out that the men of the border should receive support, if only from motives of policy; for it was of great importance to the people in the thickly settled districts that the war should be kept on the frontier, and that the men who lived there should remain as a barrier against the indians. if the latter broke through and got among the less hardy and warlike people of the interior, they would work much greater havoc; for in indian warfare the borderers were as much superior to the more peaceful people behind them as a veteran to a raw recruit. [footnote: draper mss. lt. marshall to franklin, nov. , .] these appeals did not go unheeded; but there was embarrassment in affording the frontier adequate protection, both because the party to which the borderers themselves belonged foolishly objected to the employment of a fair-sized regular army, and because congress still clung to the belief that war could be averted by treaty, and so forbade the taking of proper offensive measures. in the years , ' , and ' , the ravages continued; many settlers were slain, with their families, and many bodies of immigrants destroyed; while the scouting and rescue parties of whites killed a few indians in return. [footnote: va. state papers, iv., .] all the indians were not yet at war, however; and curious agreements were entered into by individuals on both sides. in the absence on either side of any government with full authority and power, the leaders would often negotiate some special or temporary truce, referring only to certain limited localities, or to certain people; and would agree between themselves for the interchange or ransom of prisoners. there is a letter of boone's extant in which he notifies a leading kentucky colonel that a certain captive woman must be given up, in accordance with an agreement he has made with one of the noted indian chiefs; and he insists upon the immediate surrender of the woman, to clear his "promise and obligation." [footnote: draper mss., boone papers. boone to robert patterson, march , .] the indians harry the boats on the ohio. the indians watched the ohio with especial care, and took their toll from the immense numbers of immigrants who went down it. after passing the muskingum no boat was safe. if the war parties, lurking along the banks, came on a boat moored to the shore, or swept thither by wind or current, the crew was at their mercy; and grown bold by success, they sometimes launched small flotillas of canoes and attacked the scows on the water. in such attacks they were often successful, for they always made the assault with the odds in their favor; though they were sometimes beaten back with heavy loss. when the war was at its height the boats going down the ohio preferred to move in brigades. an army officer has left a description [footnote: denny's military journal, april , .] of one such flotilla, over which he had assumed command. it contained sixteen flat-boats, then usually called "kentuck boats," and two keels. the flat-boats were lashed three together and kept in one line. the women, children, and cattle were put in the middle scows, while the outside were manned and worked by the men. the keel boats kept on either flank. this particular flotilla was unmolested by the indians, but was almost wrecked in a furious storm of wind and rain. vain efforts to conclude treaties of peace. the federal authorities were still hopelessly endeavoring to come to some understanding with the indians; they were holding treaties with some of the tribes, sending addresses and making speeches to others, and keeping envoys in the neighborhood of detroit. these envoys watched the indians who were there, and tried to influence the great gatherings of different tribes who came together at sandusky to consult as to the white advance. [footnote: state department mss., no. , vol. iii. harmar's speech to the indians at vincennes, september , . richard butler to the secretary of war, may , , etc.] these efforts to negotiate were as disheartening as was usually the case under such circumstances. there were many different tribes, and some were for peace, while others were for war; and even the peaceful ones could not restrain their turbulent young men. far off nations of indians who had never been harmed by the whites, and were in no danger from them, sent war parties to the ohio; and the friendly tribes let them pass without interference. the iroquois were eagerly consulted by the western indians, and in the summer of a great party of them came to sandusky to meet in council all the tribes of the lakes and the ohio valley, and even some from the upper mississippi. with the iroquois came the famous chief joseph brant, a mighty warrior, and a man of education, who in his letters to the united states officials showed much polished diplomacy. [footnote: _do_., pp. and .] the indians hold great councils. the tribes who gathered at this great council met on the soil which, by treaty with england, had been declared american, and came from regions which the same treaty had defined as lying within the boundaries of the united states. but these provisions of the treaty had never been executed, owing largely to a failure on the part of the americans themselves to execute certain other provisions. the land was really as much british as ever, and was so treated by the british governor of canada, lord dorchester, who had just made a tour of the lake posts. the tribes were feudatory to the british, and in their talks spoke of the king of great britain as "father," and brant was a british pensioner. british agents were in constant communication with the indians at the councils, and they distributed gifts among them with a hitherto unheard-of lavishness. in every way they showed their resolution to remain in full touch with their red allies. [footnote: _do_., st. clair to knox, september , ; st. clair to jay, december , .] nevertheless, they were anxious that peace should be made. the wyandots, too, seconded them, and addressed the wabash indians at one of the councils, urging them to cease their outrages on the americans. [footnote: _do_., p. , detroit river's mouth, july , .] these wyandots had long been converted, and in addressing their heathen brethren, said proudly: "we are not as other nations are--we, the wyandots--we are christians." they certainly showed themselves the better for their religion, and they were still the bravest of the brave. but though the wabash indians in answering spake them fair, they had no wish to go to peace; and the wyandots were the only tribes who strove earnestly to prevent war. the american agents who had gone to the detroit river were forced to report that there was little hope of putting an end to hostilities. [footnote: _do_., james rinkin to richard butler, july , .] the councils accomplished nothing towards averting a war; on the contrary, they tended to band all the northwestern indians together in a loose confederacy, so that active hostilities against some were sure in the end to involve all. even the far-off chippewas make forays. while the councils were sitting and while the americans were preparing for the treaties, outrages of the most flagrant kind occurred. one, out of many; was noteworthy as showing both the treachery of the indians, and the further fact that some tribes went to war, not because they had been in any way maltreated, but from mere lust of blood and plunder. in july of this year , governor st. clair was making ready for a treaty to which he had invited some of the tribes. it was to be held on the muskingum, and he sent to the appointed place provisions for the indians with a guard of men. one day a party of indians, whose tribe was then unknown, though later they turned out to be chippewas from the upper lakes, suddenly fell on the guard. they charged home with great spirit, using their sharp spears well, and killed, wounded, or captured several soldiers; but they were repulsed, and retreated, carrying with them their dead, save one warrior. [footnote: st. clair papers, ii., .] a few days afterwards they imprudently ventured back, pretending innocence, and six were seized, and sent to one of the forts as prisoners. their act of treacherous violence had, of course, caused the immediate abandonment of the proposed treaty. the remaining chippewas marched towards home, with the scalps of the men they had slain, and with one captured soldier. they passed by detroit, telling the french villagers that "their father [the british commandant] was a dog," because he had given them no arms or ammunition, and that in consequence they would not deliver him their prisoner, but would take the poor wretch with them to their mackinaw home. accordingly they carried him on to the far-off island at the mouth of lake michigan; but just as they were preparing to make him run the gauntlet the british commander of the lonely little post interfered. this subaltern with his party of a dozen soldiers was surrounded by many times his number of ferocious savages, and was completely isolated in the wilderness; but his courage stood as high as his humanity, and he broke through the indians, threatening them with death if they interfered, rescued the captive american, and sent him home in safety. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. iii. william wilson and james rinkin to richard butler, august , ; wilson and rinkin to st. clair, august , .] the other indians made no attempt to check the chippewas; on the contrary, the envoys of the iroquois and delawares made vain efforts to secure the release of the chippewa prisoners. on the other hand, the generous gallantry of the british commander at mackinaw was in some sort equalled by the action of the traders on the maumee, who went to great expense in buying from the shawnees americans whom they had doomed to the terrible torture of death at the stake. [footnote: _do_., rinkin to butler, july , ; st. clair to knox, september , .] under such circumstances the treaties of course came to naught. after interminable delays the indians either refused to treat at all, or else the acts of those who did were promptly repudiated by those who did not. in consequence throughout this period even the treaties that were made were quite worthless, for they bound nobody. moreover, there were the usual clashes between the national and state authorities. while harmar was trying to treat, the kentuckians were organizing retaliatory inroads; and while the united states commissioners were trying to hold big peace councils on the ohio, the new york and massachusetts commissioners were conducting independent negotiations at what is now buffalo, to determine the western boundary of new york. [footnote: _do_., wilson and rinkin to st. clair, july , . these treaties made at the ohio forts are quite unworthy of preservation, save for mere curiosity; they really settled nothing whatever and conferred no rights that were not taken with the strong hand; yet they are solemnly quoted in some books as if they were the real sources of title to parts of the northwest.] continued ravages. all the while the ravages grew steadily more severe. the federal officers at the little widely scattered forts were at their wits' ends in trying to protect the outlying settlers and retaliate on the indians; and as the latter grew bolder they menaced the forts themselves and harried the troops who convoyed provisions to them. of the innumerable tragedies which occurred, the record of a few has by chance been preserved. one may be worth giving merely as a sample of many others. on the virginian side of the ohio lived a pioneer farmer of some note, named van swearingen. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. ii., van swearingen to william butler, washington county, sept. , .] one day his son crossed the river to hunt with a party of strangers. near a "waste cabbin," the deserted log hut of some reckless adventurer, an indian war-band came on them unawares, slew three, and carried off the young man. his father did not know whether they had killed him or not. he could find no trace of him, and he wrote to the commander of the nearest fort, begging him to try to get news from the indian villages as to whether his son were alive or dead, and to employ for the purpose any friendly indian or white scout, at whatever price was set--he would pay it "to the utmost farthing." he could give no clue to the indians who had done the deed; all he could say was that a few days before, one of these war parties, while driving off a number of horses, was overtaken by the riflemen of the neighborhood and scattered, after a fight in which one white man and two red men were killed. the old frontiersman never found his son; doubtless the boy was slain; but his fate, like the fate of hundreds of others, was swallowed up in the gloomy mystery of the wilderness. so far from being unusual, the incident attracted no comment, for it was one of every-day occurrence. its only interest lies in the fact that it was of a kind that befell the family of almost every dweller in the wilds. danger and death were so common that the particular expression which each might take made small impress on the minds of the old pioneers. every one of them had a long score of slain friends and kinsfolk to avenge upon his savage foes. the indians harass the regular troops. the subalterns in command of the little detachments which moved between the posts, whether they went by land or water, were forced to be ever on the watch against surprise and ambush. this was particularly the case with the garrison at vincennes. the wabash indians were all the time out in parties to murder and plunder; and yet these same thieves and murderers were continually coming into town and strolling innocently about the fort; for it was impossible to tell the peaceful indians from the hostile. they were ever in communication with the equally treacherous and ferocious miami tribes, to whose towns the war parties often brought five or six scalps in a day, and prisoners, too, doomed to a death of awful torture at the stake. there is no need to waste sympathy on the northwestern indians for their final fate; never were defeat and subjection more richly deserved. the bands of fierce and crafty braves who lounged about the wooden fort at vincennes watched eagerly the outgoing and incoming of the troops, and were prompt to dog and waylay any party they thought they could overcome. they took advantage of the unwillingness of the federal commander to harass indians who might be friendly; and plotted at ease the destruction of the very troops who spent much of the time in keeping intruders off their lands. in the summer of they twice followed parties of soldiers from the town, when they went down the wabash, and attacked them by surprise, from the river-banks, as they sat in their boats. in one instance, the lieutenant in command got off with the loss of but two or three men. in the other, of the thirty-six soldiers who composed the party ten were killed, eight wounded, and the greater part of the provisions and goods they were conveying were captured; while the survivors, pushing down-stream, ultimately made their way to the illinois towns. [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. iii. lt. spear to harmar, june , ; hamtranck to harmar, aug. , .] this last tragedy was avenged by a band of thirty mounted riflemen from kentucky, led by the noted backwoods fighter hardin. they had crossed the ohio on a retaliatory foray, many of their horses having been stolen by the indians. when near vincennes they happened to stumble on the war party that had attacked the soldiers, slew ten, and scattered the others to the winds, capturing thirty horses. [footnote: draper mss. wm. clark papers. n. t. dalton to w. clark, vincennes, aug. , ; also denny, p. .] dreadful nature of the warfare. the war bands who harried the settlements, or lurked along the banks of the ohio, bent on theft and murder, did terrible deeds, and at times suffered terrible fates in return, when some untoward chance threw them in the way of the grim border vengeance. the books of the old annalists are filled with tales of disaster and retribution, of horrible suffering and of fierce prowess. countless stories are told of heroic fight and panic rout; of midnight assault on lonely cabins, and ambush of heavy-laden immigrant scows; of the deaths of brave men and cowards, and the dreadful butchery of women and children; of bloody raid and revengeful counter stroke. sometimes a band of painted marauders would kill family after family, without suffering any loss, would capture boat after boat without effective resistance from the immigrants, paralyzed by panic fright, and would finally escape unmolested, or beat off with ease a possibly larger party of pursuers, who happened to be ill led, or to be men with little training in wilderness warfare. at other times all this might be reversed. a cabin might be defended with such maddened courage by some stout rifleman, fighting for his cowering wife and children, that a score of savages would recoil baffled, leaving many of their number dead. a boat's crew of resolute men might beat back, with heavy loss, an over-eager onslaught of indians in canoes, or push their slow, unwieldy craft from shore under a rain of rifle-balls, while the wounded oarsmen strained at the bloody handles of the sweeps, and the men who did not row gave shot for shot, firing at the flame tongues in the dark woods. a party of scouts, true wilderness veterans, equal to their foes in woodcraft and cunning, and superior in marksmanship and reckless courage, might follow and scatter some war band and return in triumph with scalps and retaken captives and horses. deeds of a war party. a volume could readily be filled with adventures of this kind, all varying infinitely in detail, but all alike in their bloody ferocity. during the years and scores of indian war parties went on such trips, to meet every kind of success and failure. the deeds of one such, which happen to be recorded, may be given merely to serve as a sample of what happened in countless other cases. in the early spring of a band of fifty-four indians of various tribes, but chiefly cherokees and shawnees, established a camp near the mouth of the scioto. [footnote: american state papers, indian affairs, vol. i., pp. , , .] they first attacked a small new-built station, on one of the bottoms of the ohio, some twenty miles from limestone, and killed or captured all its fifteen inhabitants. they spared the lives of two of the captives, but forced the wretches to act as decoys so as to try to lure passing boats within reach. their first success was with a boat going downriver, and containing four men and two unmarried girls, besides a quantity of goods intended for the stores in the kentucky towns. the two decoys appeared on the right bank, begging piteously to be taken on board, and stating that they had just escaped from the savages. three of the voyagers, not liking the looks of the men, refused to land, but the fourth, a reckless fellow named flynn, and the two girls, who were coarse, foolish, good-natured frontier women of the lower sort, took pity upon the seeming fugitives, and insisted on taking them aboard. accordingly the scow was shoved inshore, and flynn jumped on the bank, only to be immediately seized by the indians, who then opened fire on the others. they tried to put off, and fired back, but they were helpless; one man and a girl were shot, another wounded, and the savages then swarmed aboard, seized everything, and got very drunk on a keg of whiskey. the fates of the captives were various, each falling to some different group of savages. flynn, the cause of the trouble, fell to the cherokees, who took him to the miami town, and burned him alive, with dreadful torments. the remaining girl, after suffering outrage and hardship, was bound to the stake, but saved by a merciful indian, who sent her home. of the two remaining men, one ran the gauntlet successfully, and afterwards escaped and reached home through the woods, while the other was ransomed by a french trader at sandusky. before thus disposing of their captives the indians hung about the mouth of the scioto for some time. they captured a pirogue going up-stream, and killed all six paddlers. soon afterwards three heavily laden scows passed, drifting down with the current. aboard these were twenty-eight men, with their women and children, together with many horses and bales of merchandise. they had but sixteen guns among them, and many were immigrants, unaccustomed to savage warfare, and therefore they made no effort to repel the attack, which could easily have been done by resolute, well-armed veterans. the indians crowded into the craft they had captured, and paddled and rowed after the scows, whooping and firing. they nearly overtook the last scow, whereupon its people shifted to the second, and abandoned it. when further pressed the people shifted into the headmost scow, cut holes in its sides so as to work all the oars, and escaped down-stream, leaving the indians to plunder the two abandoned boats, which contained twenty-eight horses and fifteen hundred pounds' worth of goods. pursuit of the war party. the kentuckians of the neighborhood sent word to general harmar, begging him to break up this nest of plunderers. accordingly he started after them, with his regular troops. he was joined by a number of kentucky mounted riflemen, under the command of col. charles scott, a rough indian fighter, and veteran of the revolutionary war, who afterwards became governor of the state. scott had moved to kentucky not long after the close of the war with england; he had lost a son at the hands of the savages, [footnote: state dept. mss., no. , vol. ii., p. .] and he delighted in war against them. harmar made a circuit and came down along the scioto, hoping to surprise the indian camp; but he might as well have hoped to surprise a party of timber wolves. his foes scattered and disappeared in the dense forest. nevertheless, coming across some moccasin tracks, scott's horsemen followed the trail, killed four indians, and carried in the scalps to limestone. the chastisement proved of little avail. a month later five immigrant boats, while moored to the bank a few miles from limestone, were rushed by the indians at night; one boat was taken, all the thirteen souls aboard being killed or captured. misadventures of vigo. among the men who suffered about this time was the italian vigo; a fine, manly, generous fellow, of whom st. clair spoke as having put the united states under heavy obligations, and as being "in truth the most disinterested person" he had ever known. [footnote: american state papers, indian affairs, vol. i., sept. , .] while taking his trading boat up the wabash, vigo was attacked by an indian war party, three of his men were killed, and he was forced to drop down-stream. meeting another trading boat manned by americans, he again essayed to force a passage in company with it, but they were both attacked with fury. the other boat got off; but vigo's was captured. however, the indians, when they found the crew consisted of creoles, molested none of them, telling them that they only warred against the americans; though they plundered the boat. preparations to attack the indians. by the summer of the raids of the indians had become unbearable. fresh robberies and murders were committed every day in kentucky, or along the wabash and ohio. writing to the secretary of war, a prominent kentuckian, well knowing all the facts, estimated that during the seven years which had elapsed since the close of the revolutionary war the indians had slain fifteen hundred people in kentucky itself, or on the immigrant routes leading thither, and had stolen twenty thousand horses, besides destroying immense quantities of other property. [footnote: american state papers, indian affairs, vol. i. innes to sec. of war, july , .] the federal generals were also urgent in asserting the folly of carrying on a merely defensive war against such foes. all the efforts of the federal authorities to make treaties with the indians and persuade them to be peaceful had failed. the indians themselves had renewed hostilities, and the different tribes had one by one joined in the war, behaving with a treachery only equalled by their ferocity. with great reluctance the national government concluded that an effort to chastise the hostile savages could no longer be delayed; and those on the maumee, or miami of the lakes, and on the wabash, whose guilt had been peculiarly heinous, were singled out as the objects of attack. the expedition against the wabash towns was led by the federal commander at vincennes, major hamtranck. no resistance was encountered; and after burning a few villages of bark huts and destroying some corn he returned to vincennes. harmar's expedition against the miami towns. the main expedition was that against the miami indians, and was led by general harmar himself. it was arranged that there should be a nucleus of regular troops, but that the force should consist mainly of militia from kentucky and pennsylvania, the former furnishing twice as many as the latter. the troops were to gather on the th of september at fort washington, on the north bank of the ohio, a day's journey down-stream from limestone. poor quality of the militia. at the appointed time the militia began to straggle in; the regular officers had long been busy getting their own troops, artillery, and military stores in readiness. the regulars felt the utmost disappointment at the appearance of the militia. they numbered but few of the trained indian fighters of the frontier; many of them were hired substitutes; most of them were entirely unacquainted with indian warfare, and were new to the life of the wilderness; and they were badly armed. [footnote: american state papers, indian affairs, vol. i., pp. , ; military affairs, i., .] the pennsylvanians were of even poorer stuff than the kentuckians, numbering many infirm old men, and many mere boys. they were undisciplined, with little regard for authority, and inclined to be disorderly and mutinous. the army assembles. by the end of september one battalion of pennsylvania, and three battalions of kentucky, militia, had arrived, and the troops began their march to the miami. all told there were men, being federal troops and militia, many of whom were mounted; and there were three light brass field-pieces. [footnote: _do._, indian affairs, i., p. ; also p. . for this expedition see also military affairs, i., pp. , , and denny's military journal, pp. , .] in point of numbers the force was amply sufficient for its work; but harmar, though a gallant man, was not fitted to command even a small army against indians, and the bulk of the militia, who composed nearly four-fifths of his force, were worthless. a difficulty immediately occurred in choosing a commander for the militia. undoubtedly the best one among their officers was colonel john hardin, who (like his fellow kentuckian, colonel scott), was a veteran of the revolutionary war, and a man of experience in the innumerable deadly indian skirmishes of the time. he had no special qualifications for the command of more than a handful of troops, but he was a brave and honorable man, who had done well in leading small parties of rangers against their red foes. nevertheless, the militia threatened mutiny unless they were allowed to choose their own leader, and they chose a mere incompetent, a colonel trotter. harmar yielded, for the home authorities had dwelt much on the necessity of his preventing friction between the regulars and the militia; and he had so little control over the latter, that he was very anxious to keep them good-humored. moreover, the commissariat arrangements were poor. under such circumstances the keenest observers on the frontier foretold failure from the start. [footnote: am. state papers, indian affairs, i. jno. o'fallan to the president, lexington, ky., sept. , .] the march to the miami. for several days the army marched slowly forward. the regular officers had endless difficulty with the pack horsemen, who allowed their charges to stray or be stolen, and they strove to instruct the militia in the rudiments of their duties, on the march, in camp, and in battle. a fortnight's halting progress through the wilderness brought the army to a small branch of the miami of the lakes. here a horse patrol captured a maumee indian, who informed his captors that the indians knew of their approach and were leaving their towns. on hearing this an effort was made to hurry forward; but when the army reached the miami towns, on october th, they had been deserted. they stood at the junction of two branches of the miami, the st. mary and the st. joseph, about one hundred and seventy miles from fort washington. the troops had marched about ten miles a day. the towns consisted of a couple of hundred wigwams, with some good log huts; and there were gardens, orchards, and immense fields of corn. all these the soldiers destroyed, and the militia loaded themselves with plunder. failure and defeat of a militia expedition. on the th colonel trotter was ordered out with three hundred men to spend a couple of days exploring the country, and finding out where the indians were. after marching a few miles, they came across two indians. both were killed by the advanced horsemen. all four of the field officers of the militia--two colonels and two majors--joined helter-skelter in the chase, leaving their troops for half an hour without a leader. apparently satisfied with this feat, trotter marched home, having accomplished nothing. defeat of a small detachment of troops. much angered, harmar gave the command to hardin, who left the camp next morning with two hundred men, including thirty regulars. but the militia had turned sulky. they did not wish to go, and they began to desert and return to camp immediately after leaving it. at least half of them had thus left him, when he stumbled on a body of about a hundred indians. the indians advanced firing, and the militia fled with abject cowardice, many not even discharging their guns. the thirty regulars stood to their work, and about ten of the militia stayed with them. this small detachment fought bravely, and was cut to pieces, but six or seven men escaping. their captain, after valiant fighting, broke through the savages, and got into a swamp near by. here he hid, and returned to camp next day; he was so near the place of the fight that he had seen the victory dance of the indians over their slain and mutilated foes. the army begins its retreat. this defeat took the heart out of the militia. the army left the miami towns, and moved back a couple of miles to the shawnee town of chilicothe. a few indians began to lurk about, stealing horses, and two of the militia captains determined to try to kill one of the thieves. accordingly, at nightfall, they hobbled a horse with a bell, near a hazel thicket in which they hid. soon an indian stalked up to the horse, whereupon they killed him, and brought his head into camp, proclaiming that it should at least be worth the price of a wolf scalp. next day was spent by the army in completing the destruction of all the corn, the huts, and the belongings of the indians. a band of a dozen warriors tried to harass one of the burning parties; but some of the mounted troops got on their flank, killed two and drove the others off, they themselves suffering no loss. a detachment sent back to attack indians. the following day, the st, the army took up the line of march for fort washington, having destroyed six indian towns, and an immense quantity of corn. but hardin was very anxious to redeem himself by trying another stroke at the indians, who, he rightly judged, would gather at their towns as soon as the troops left. harmar also wished to revenge his losses, and to forestall any attempt of the indians to harass his shaken and retreating forces. accordingly that night he sent back against the towns a detachment of four hundred men, sixty of whom were regulars, and the rest picked militia. they were commanded by major wyllys, of the regulars. it was a capital mistake of harmar's to send off a mere detachment on such a business. he should have taken a force composed of all his regulars and the best of the militia, and led it in person. this detachment roughly handled. the detachment marched soon after midnight, and reached the miami at daybreak on october d. it was divided into three columns, which marched a few hundred yards apart, and were supposed to keep in touch with one another. the middle column was led by wyllys in person, and included the regulars and a few militia. the rest of the militia composed the flank columns and marched under their own officers. immediately after crossing the miami, and reaching the neighborhood of the town, indians were seen. the columns were out of touch, and both of those on the flanks pressed forward against small parties of braves, whom they drove before them up the st. joseph. heedless of the orders they had received, the militia thus pressed forward, killing and scattering the small parties in their front and losing all connection with the middle column of regulars. meanwhile the main body of the indians gathered to assail this column, and overwhelmed it by numbers; whether they had led the militia away by accident or by design is not known. the regulars fought well and died hard, but they were completely cut off, and most of them, including their commander, were slain. a few escaped, and either fled back to camp or up the st. joseph. those who took the latter course met the militia returning and informed them of what had happened. soon afterwards the victorious indians themselves appeared, on the opposite side of the st. joseph, and attempted to force their way across. but the militia were flushed by the easy triumph of the morning and fought well, repulsing the indians and finally forcing them to withdraw. they then marched slowly back to the miami towns, gathered their wounded, arrayed their ranks, and rejoined the main army. the indians had suffered heavily, and were too dispirited, both by their loss, and by their last repulse, to attempt further to harass either this detachment or the main army itself on its retreat. practical failure of the expedition. nevertheless, the net result was a mortifying failure. in all, the regulars had lost men killed and wounded, while of the militia had been wounded and had been killed or were missing. the march back was very dreary; and the militia became nearly ungovernable, so that at one time harmar reduced them to order only by threatening to fire on them with the artillery. the loss of all their provisions and dwellings exposed the miami tribes to severe suffering and want during the following winter; and they had also lost many of their warriors. but the blow was only severe enough to anger and unite them, not to cripple or crush them. all the other western tribes made common cause with them. they banded together and warred openly; and their vengeful forays on the frontier increased in number, so that the suffering of the settlers was great. along the ohio people lived in hourly dread of tomahawk and scalping knife; the attacks fell unceasingly on all the settlements from marietta to louisville. chapter viii. the southwest territory, - . uneasiness in the southwest during the years and there was much disquiet and restlessness throughout the southwestern territory, the land lying between kentucky and the southern indians. the disturbances caused by the erection of the state of franklin were subsiding, the authority of north carolina was re-established over the whole territory, and by degrees a more assured and healthy feeling began to prevail among the settlers; but as yet their future was by no means certain, nor was their lot irrevocably cast in with that of their fellows in the other portions of the union. as already said, the sense of national unity among the frontiersmen was small. the men of the cumberland in writing to the creeks spoke of the franklin people as if they belonged to an entirely distinct nation, and as if a war with or by one community concerned in no way the other [footnote: robertson mss. robertson to mcgillivray, nashville, . "those aggressors live in a different state and are governed by different laws, consequently we are not culpable for their misconduct."]; while the leaders of franklin were carrying on with the spaniards negotiations quite incompatible with the continued sovereignty of the united states. indeed it was some time before the southwestern people realized that after the constitution went into effect they had no authority to negotiate commercial treaties on their own account. andrew jackson, who had recently taken up his abode in the cumberland country, was one of the many men who endeavored to convince the spanish agents that it would be a good thing for both parties if the cumberland people were allowed to trade with the spaniards; in which event the latter would of course put a stop to the indian hostilities. [footnote: tennessee hist. soc. mss. andrew jackson to d. smith, introducing the spanish agent, captain fargo, feb. , .] fear of indians strengthens the federal bond. this dangerous loosening of the federal tie shows that it would certainly have given way entirely had the population at this time been scattered over a wider territory. the obstinate and bloody warfare waged by the indians against the frontiersmen was in one way of great service to the nation, for it kept back the frontier, and forced the settlements to remain more or less compact and in touch with the country behind them. if the red men had been as weak as, for instance, the black-fellows of australia, the settlers would have roamed hither and thither without regard to them, and would have settled, each man wherever he liked, across to the pacific. moreover the indians formed the bulwarks which defended the british and spanish possessions from the adventurers of the border; save for the shield thus offered by the fighting tribes it would have been impossible to bar the frontiersmen from the territory either to the north or to the south of the boundaries of the united states. congress had tried hard to bring about peace with the southern indians, both by sending commissioners to them and by trying to persuade the three southern states to enter into mutually beneficial treaties with them. a successful effort was also made to detach the chickasaws from the others, and keep them friendly with the united states. congress as usual sympathized with the indians against the intruding whites, although it was plain that only by warfare could the red men be permanently subdued. [footnote: state dep. mss., no. , p. ; no. , p. . also letters of richard winn to knox, june , ; james white to knox, aug. , ; joseph martin to knox, july , .] sufferings of the cumberland people. the cumberland people felt the full weight of the warfare, the creeks being their special enemies. robertson himself lost a son and a brother in the various indian attacks. to him fell the task of trying to put a stop to the ravages. he was the leader of his people in every way, their commander in war and their spokesman when they sought peace; and early in he wrote a long letter on their behalf to the creek chief mcgillivray. after disclaiming all responsibility for or connection with the franklin men, he said that the settlers for whom he spoke had not had the most distant idea that any indians would object to their settling on the cumberland, in a country that had been purchased outright at the henderson treaty. he further stated that he had believed the creek chief would approve of the expedition to punish the marauders at the muscle shell shoals, inasmuch as the creeks had repeatedly assured him that these marauders were refractory people who would pay no heed to their laws and commands. robertson knew this to be good point, for as a matter of fact the creeks, though pretending to be peaceful, had made no effort to suppress these banditti, and had resented by force of arms the destruction of their stronghold. [footnote: robertson mss. robertson to mcgillivray. letters already cited.] robertson's letters to the creek chief mcgillivray robertson then came to his personal wrongs. his quaintly worded letter runs in part: "i had the mortification to see one of my children killed and uncommonly massacred ... from my earliest youth i have endeavored to arm myself with a sufficient share of fortitude to meet anything that nature might have intended, but to see an innocent child so uncommonly massacred by people who ought to have both sense and bravery has in a measure unmanned me.... i have always striven to do justice to the red people; last fall, trusting in cherokee friendship, i with utmost difficulty prevented a great army from marching against them. the return is very inadequate to the services i have rendered them as last summer they killed an affectionate brother and three days ago an innocent child." the letter concludes with an emphatic warning that the indians must expect heavy chastisement if they do not stop their depredations. his letter to martin. robertson looked on his own woes and losses with much of the stoicism for which his indian foes were famed. he accepted the fate of his son with a kind of grim stolidity; and did not let it interfere with his efforts to bring about a peace. writing to his friend general martin, he said: "on my return home [from the north carolina legislature to which he was a delegate] i found distressing times in the country. a number of persons have been killed since; among those unfortunate persons were my third son.... we sent captains hackett and ewing to the creeks who have brought very favorable accounts, and we do not doubt but a lasting peace will be shortly concluded between us and that nation. the cherokees we shall flog, if they do not behave well." [footnote: state department mss., no. , vol. ii. robertson to martin, pleasant grove, may , .] he wished to make peace if he could; but if that was impossible, he was ready to make war with the same stern acceptance of fate. the letter then goes on to express the opinion that, if congress does not take action to bring about a peace, the creeks will undoubtedly invade georgia with some five thousand warriors, for mcgillivray has announced that he will consent to settle the boundary question with congress, but will do nothing with georgia. the letter shows with rather startling clearness how little robertson regarded the cumberland people and the georgians as being both in the same nation; he saw nothing strange in one portion of the country concluding a firm peace with an enemy who was about to devastate another portion. robertson was anxious to encourage immigration, and for this purpose he had done his best to hurry forward the construction of a road between the holston and the cumberland settlements. in his letter to martin he urged him to proclaim to possible settlers the likelihood of peace, and guaranteed that the road would be ready before winter. it was opened in the fall; and parties of settlers began to come in over it. to protect them, the district from time to time raised strong guards of mounted riflemen to patrol the road, as well as the neighborhood of the settlements, and to convoy the immigrant companies. to defray the expenses of the troops, the cumberland court raised taxes. exactly as the franklin people had taken peltries as the basis for their currency, so those of the cumberland, in arranging for payment in kind, chose the necessaries of life as the best medium of exchange. they enacted that the tax should be paid one quarter in corn, one half in beef, pork, bear meat, and venison, one eighth in salt, and one eighth in money. [footnote: ramsey, p. .] it was still as easy to shoot bear and deer as to raise hogs and oxen. mcgillivray's letter to robertson. robertson wrote several times to mcgillivray, alone or in conjunction with another veteran frontier leader, col. anthony bledsoe. various other men of note on the border, both from virginia and north carolina, wrote likewise. to these letters mcgillivray responded promptly in a style rather more polished though less frank than that of his correspondents. his tone was distinctly more warlike and less conciliatory than theirs. he avowed, without hesitation, that the creeks and not the americans had been the original aggressors, saying that "my nation has waged war against your people for several years past; but that we had no motive of revenge, nor did it proceed from any sense of injuries sustained from your people, but being warmly attached to the british and being under their influence our operations were directed by them against you in common with other americans." he then acknowledged that after the close of the war the americans had sent overtures of peace, which he had accepted--although as a matter of fact the creeks never ceased their ravages,--but complained that robertson's expedition against the muscle shoals again brought on war. [footnote: state department mss., no. , vol. ii., p. . mcgillivray to bledsoe and robertson; no date.] there was, of course, nothing in this complaint of the injustice of robertson's expedition, for the muscle shoal indians had been constantly plundering and murdering before it was planned, and it was undertaken merely to put a stop to their ravages. however, mcgillivray made adroit use of it. he stated that the expedition itself, carried on, as he understood it, mainly against the french traders, "was no concern of ours and would have been entirely disregarded by us; but in the execution of it some of our people were there, who went as well from motives of curiosity as to traffic in silverware; and six of whom were rashly killed by your men" [footnote: mcgillivray's letter of april , , p. .]; and inasmuch as these slain men were prominent in different creek towns, the deed led to retaliatory raids. but now that vengeance had been taken, mcgillivray declared that a stable peace would be secured, and he expressed "considerable concern" over the "tragical end" of robertson's slain kinsfolk as for the georgians, he announced that if they were wise and would agree to an honorable peace he would bury the red hatchet, and if not then he would march against them whenever he saw fit. [footnote: _do._ p. ; mcgillivray's letter of april , .] writing again at the end of the year, he reiterated his assurances of the peaceful inclinations of the creeks, though their troubles with georgia were still unsettled. [footnote: robertson mss. mcgillivray to robertson, december , . this letter contains the cautious, non-committal answer to robertson's letter in which the latter proposed that cumberland should be put under spanish protection; the letter itself mcgillivray had forwarded to the spaniards.] continuance of the ravages. nevertheless these peaceful protestations produced absolutely no effect upon the indian ravages, which continued with unabated fury. many instances of revolting brutality and aggression by the whites against the cherokees took place in tennessee, both earlier and later than this, and in eastern tennessee at this very time; but the cumberland people, from the earliest days of their settlement, had not sinned against the red men, while as regards all the tennesseans, the creeks throughout this period appeared always, and the cherokees appeared sometimes, as the wrong-doers, the men who began the long and ferocious wars of reprisal. death of bledsoe. robertson's companion, bledsoe, was among the many settlers who suffered death in the summer of . he was roused from sleep by the sound of his cattle running across the yard in front of the twin log-houses occupied by himself and his brother and their families. as he opened the door he was shot by indians, who were lurking behind the fence, and one of his hired men was also shot down. [footnote: putnam, .] the savages fled, and bledsoe lived through the night, while the other inmates of the house kept watch at the loop-holes until day broke and the fear was passed. under the laws of north carolina at that time, all the lands went to the sons of a man dying intestate, and bledsoe's wealth consisted almost exclusively in great tracts of land. as he lay dying in his cabin, his sister suggested to him that unless he made a will he would leave his seven daughters penniless; and so the will was drawn, and the old frontiersman signed it just before he drew his last breath, leaving each of his children provided with a share of his land. robertson wounded. in the following year, , robertson himself had a narrow escape. he was at work with some of his field hands in a clearing. one man was on guard and became alarmed at some sound; robertson snatched up his gun, and, while he was peering into the woods, the indians fired on him. he ran toward the station and escaped, but only at the cost of a bullet through the foot. immediately sixty mounted riflemen gathered at robertson's station, and set out after the fleeing indians; but finding that in the thick wood they did not gain on their foes, and were hampered by their horses, twenty picked men were sent ahead. among these twenty men was fierce, moody young andrew jackson. they found the indians in camp, at daybreak, but fired from too great a distance; they killed one, wounded others, and scattered the rest, who left sixteen guns behind them in their flight. [footnote: haywood, .] wrongs committed by both sides. during these two years many people were killed, both in the settlements, on the trail through the woods, and on the tennessee river, as they drifted down-stream in their boats. as always in these contests the innocent suffered with the guilty. the hideous border ruffians, the brutal men who murdered peaceful indians in times of truce and butchered squaws and children in time of war, fared no worse than unoffending settlers or men of mark who had been staunch friends of the indian peoples. the legislatures of the seaboard states, and congress itself, passed laws to punish men who committed outrages on the indians, but they could not be executed. often the border people themselves interfered to prevent such outrages, or expressed disapproval of them, and rescued the victims; but they never visited the criminals with the stern and ruthless punishment which alone would have availed to check the crimes. for this failure they must receive hearty condemnation, and be adjudged to have forfeited much of the respect to which they were otherwise entitled by their strong traits, and their deeds of daring. in the same way, but to an even greater degree, the peaceful indians always failed to punish or restrain their brethren who were bent on murder and plunder; and the braves who went on the warpath made no discrimination between good and bad, strong and weak, man and woman, young and old. one of the sufferers was general joseph martin, who had always been a firm friend of the red race, and had earnestly striven to secure justice for them. [footnote: american state papers, indian affairs, vol. i. martin to knox, jan. , .] he had gone for a few days to his plantation on the borders of georgia, and during his visit the place was attacked by a creek war party. they drove away his horses and wounded his overseer; but he managed to get into his house and stood at bay, shooting one warrior and beating off the others. attack on an emigrant boat. among many attacks on the boats that went down the tennessee it happens that a full record has been kept of one. a north carolinian, named brown, had served in the revolutionary war with the troop of light-horse harry lee, and had received in payment a land certificate. under this certificate he entered several tracts of western land, including some on the cumberland; and in the spring of he started by boat down the tennessee, to take possession of his claims. he took with him his wife and his seven children; and three or four young men also went along. when they reached the chicamauga towns the indians swarmed out towards them in canoes. on brown's boat was a swivel, and with this and the rifles of the men they might have made good their defence; but as soon as the indians saw them preparing for resistance they halted and hailed the crew, shouting out that they were peaceful and that in consequence of the recent holston treaties war had ceased between the white men and the red. brown was not used to indians; he was deceived, and before he made up his mind what to do, the indians were alongside, and many of them came aboard. [footnote: narrative of col. joseph brown, _southwestern monthly_, nashville, , i., p. . the story was told when brown was a very old man, and doubtless some of the details are inaccurate.] they then seized the boat and massacred the men, while the mother and children were taken ashore and hurried off in various directions by the indians who claimed to have captured them. one of the boys, joseph, long afterwards wrote an account of his captivity. he was not treated with deliberate cruelty, though he suffered now and then from the casual barbarity of some of his captors, and toiled like an ordinary slave. once he was doomed to death by a party of indians, who made him undress, so as to avoid bloodying his clothes; but they abandoned this purpose through fear of his owner, a half-breed, and a dreaded warrior, who had killed many whites. sevier secures release of prisoners. after about a year's captivity, joseph and his mother and sisters were all released, though at different times. their release was brought about by sevier. when in the fall of a big band of creeks and cherokees took gillespie's station, on little river, a branch of the upper tennessee, they carried off over a score of women and children. the four highest chiefs, headed by one with the appropriate name of bloody fellow, left behind a note addressed to sevier and martin, in which they taunted the whites with their barbarities, and especially with the murder of the friendly cherokee chief tassel, and warned them to move off the indian land. [footnote: ramsey, .] in response sevier made one of his swift raids, destroyed an indian town on the coosa river, and took prisoner a large number of indian women and children. these were well treated, but were carefully guarded, and were exchanged for the white women and children who were in captivity among the indians. the browns were among the fortunate people who were thus rescued from the horrors of indian slavery. it is small wonder that the rough frontier people, whose wives and little ones, friends and neighbors, were in such manner rescued by nolichucky jack, should have looked with leniency on their darling leader's shortcomings, even when these shortcomings took the form of failure to prevent or punish the massacre of friendly indians. efforts of the settlers to defend themselves. the ravages of the indians were precisely the same in character that they had always been, and always were until peace was won. there was the usual endless succession of dwellings burned, horses driven off, settlers slain while hunting or working, and immigrant parties ambushed and destroyed; and there was the same ferocious retaliation when opportunity offered. when robertson's hopes of peace gave out he took steps to keep the militia in constant readiness to meet the foe; for he was the military commander of the district. the county lieutenants--there were now several counties on the cumberland--were ordered to see that their men were well mounted and ready to march at a moment's notice; and were warned that this was a duty to which they must attend themselves, and not delegate it to their subalterns. the laws were to be strictly enforced; and the subalterns were promptly to notify their men of the time and place to meet. those who failed to attend would be fined by court-martial. frequent private musters were to be held; and each man was to keep ready a good gun, nine charges of powder and ball, and a spare flint. it was especially ordered that every marauding band should be followed; for thus some would be overtaken and signally punished, which would be a warning to the others. [footnote: robertson mss., general orders, april , .] the creeks and the georgians. the wrath of the creeks was directed chiefly against the georgians. the georgians were pushing steadily westward, and were grasping the creek hunting-grounds with ferocious greed. they had repeatedly endeavored to hold treaties with the creeks. on each occasion the chiefs and warriors of a few towns met them, and either declined to do anything, or else signed an agreement which they had no power to enforce. a sample treaty of this kind was that entered into at galphinton in . the creeks had been solemnly summoned to meet representatives both of the federal congress and of georgia; but on the appointed day only two towns out of a hundred were represented. the federal commissioners thereupon declined to enter into negotiations; but those from georgia persevered. by presents and strong drink they procured, and their government eagerly accepted, a large cession of land to which the two towns in question had no more title than was vested in all the others. the treaty was fraudulent. the georgians knew that the creeks who signed it were giving away what they did not possess; while the indian signers cared only to get the goods they were offered, and were perfectly willing to make all kinds of promises, inasmuch as they had no intention whatever of keeping any of them. the other creeks immediately repudiated the transaction, and the war dragged on its course of dismal savagery, growing fiercer year by year, and being waged on nearly even terms. [footnote: american state papers, indian affairs, vol. i., p. .] mcgillivray signs a treaty of peace. soon after the constitution went into effect the national government made a vigorous effort to conclude peace on a stable basis. commissioners were sent to the southern indians. under their persuasion mcgillivray and the leading kings and chiefs of the muscogee confederacy came to new york and there entered into a solemn treaty. in this treaty the creeks acknowledged the united states, to the exclusion of spain, as the sole power with which they could treat; they covenanted to keep faith and friendship with the americans; and in return for substantial payments and guaranties they agreed to cede some land to the georgians, though less than was claimed under the treaty of galphinton. the creeks pay no heed to the treaty. this treaty was solemnly entered into by the recognized chiefs and leaders of the creeks; and the americans fondly hoped that it would end hostilities. it did nothing of the kind. though the terms were very favorable to the indians, so much so as to make the frontiersmen grumble, the creeks scornfully repudiated the promises made on their behalf by their authorized representatives. their motive in going to war, and keeping up the war, was not so much anger at the encroachments of the whites, as the eager thirst for glory, scalps, and plunder, to be won at the expense of the settlers. the war parties raided the frontier as freely as ever. [footnote: robertson mss., williamson to robertson, aug. , , and aug. , . american state papers, indian affairs, i., . milfort , .] the simple truth was that the creeks could be kept quiet only when cowed by physical fear. if the white men did not break the treaties, then the red men did. it is idle to dispute about the rights or wrongs of the contests. two peoples, in two stages of culture which were separated by untold ages, stood face to face; one or the other had to perish; and the whites went forward from sheer necessity. growth of immigration. throughout these years of indian warfare the influx of settlers into the holston and cumberland regions steadily continued. men in search of homes, or seeking to acquire fortunes by the purchase of wild lands, came more and more freely to the cumberland country as the settlers therein increased in number and became better able to cope with and repel their savage foes. the settlements on the holston grew with great rapidity as soon as the franklin disturbances were at an end. as the people increased in military power, they increased also in material comfort, and political stability. the crude social life deepened and broadened. comfortable homes began to appear among the huts and hovels of the little towns. the outlying settlers still lived in wooden forts or stations; but where the population was thicker, the terror of the indians diminished, and the people lived in the ordinary style of frontier farmers. the south-western territory organized. early in , north carolina finally ceded, and the national government finally accepted, what is now tennessee; and in may, congress passed a law for the government of this territory southwest of the river ohio, as they chose to call it. this law followed on the general lines of the ordinance of , for the government of the northwest; but there was one important difference. north carolina had made her cession conditional upon the non-passage of any law tending to emancipate slaves. at that time such a condition was inevitable; but it doomed the southwest to suffer under the curse of negro bondage. blount made governor. william blount of north carolina was appointed governor of the territory, and at once proceeded to his new home to organize the civil government. [footnote: blount mss. biography of blount, in manuscript, compiled by one of his descendants from the family papers.] he laid out knoxville as his capital, where he built a good house with a lawn in front. on his recommendation sevier was appointed brigadier-general for the eastern district and robertson for the western; the two districts known as washington and miro respectively. blount was the first man of leadership in the west who was of cavalier ancestry; for though so much is said of the cavalier type in the southern states it was everywhere insignificant in numbers, and comparatively few of the southern men of mark have belonged to it. blount was really of cavalier blood. he was descended from a royalist baronet, who was roughly handled by the cromwellians, and whose three sons came to america. one of them settled in north carolina, near albemarle sound, and from him came the new governor of the southwestern territory. blount was a good-looking, well-bred man, with cultivated tastes; but he was also a man of force and energy, who knew well how to get on with the backwoodsmen, so that he soon became popular among them. retrospect: what had been accomplished during the seven years. the west had grown with astonishing rapidity during the seven years following the close of the revolutionary war. in there were in kentucky nearly seventy-four thousand, and in the southwest territory nearly thirty-six thousand souls. in the northwest territory the period of rapid growth years had not yet begun, and the old french inhabitants still formed the majority of the population. the changes during these seven years had been vital. in the west, as elsewhere through the union, the years succeeding the triumphant close of the revolution were those which determined whether the victory was or was not worth winning. to throw off the yoke of the stranger was useless and worse than useless if we showed ourselves unable to turn to good account the freedom we had gained. unless we could build up a great nation, and unless we possessed the power and self-restraint to frame an orderly and stable government, and to live under its laws when framed, the long years of warfare against the armies of the king were wasted and went for naught. at the close of the revolution the west was seething with sedition. there were three tasks before the westerners; all three had to be accomplished, under pain of utter failure. it was their duty to invade and tame the shaggy wilderness; to drive back the indians and their european allies; and to erect free governments which should form parts of the indissoluble union. if the spirit of sedition, of lawlessness, and of wild individualism and separatism had conquered, then our history would merely have anticipated the dismal tale of the spanish-american republics. viewed from this standpoint the history of the west during these eventful years has a special and peculiar interest. the inflow of the teeming throng of settlers was the most striking feature; but it was no more important than the half-seen struggle in which the union party finally triumphed over the restless strivers for disunion. the extent and reality of the danger are shown by the numerous separatist movements. the intrigues in which so many of the leaders engaged with spain, for the purpose of setting up barrier states, in some degree feudatory to the spaniards; the movement in kentucky for violent separation from virginia, and the more secret movement for separation from the united states; the turbulent career of the commonwealth of franklin; the attitude of isolation of interest from all their neighbors assumed by the cumberland settlers:--all these various movements and attitudes were significant of the looseness of the federal tie, and were ominous of the anarchic violence, weakness, and misrule which would have followed the breaking of that tie. the career of franklin gave the clearest glimpse of what might have been; for it showed the gradual breaking down of law and order, the rise of factions ready to appeal to arms for success, the bitter broils with neighboring states, the reckless readiness to provoke war with the indians, unheeding their rights or the woes such wars caused other frontier communities, and finally the entire willingness of the leaders to seek foreign aid when their cause was declining. had not the constitution been adopted, and a more perfect union been thus called into being, the history of the state of franklin would have been repeated in fifty communities from the alleghanies to the pacific coast; only these little states, instead of dying in the bud, would have gone through a rank flowering period of bloody and aimless revolutions, of silly and ferocious warfare against their neighbors, and of degrading alliance with the foreigner. from these and a hundred other woes the west no less than the east was saved by the knitting together of the states into a nation. this knitting process passed through its first and most critical stage, in the west, during the period intervening between the close of the war for independence, and the year which saw the organization of the southwest into a territory ruled under the laws, and by the agent, of the national government. during this time no step was taken towards settling the question of boundary lines with our british and spanish neighbors; that remained as it had been, the americans never abandoning claims which they had not yet the power to enforce, and which their antagonists declined to yield. neither were the indian wars settled; on the contrary, they had become steadily more serious, though for the first time a definite solution was promised by the active interference of the national government. but a vast change had been made by the inflow of population; and an even vaster by the growing solidarity of the western settlements with one another, and with the central government. the settlement of the northwest, so different in some of its characteristics from the settlement of the southwest, had begun. kentucky was about to become a state of the union. the territories north and south of it were organized as part of the domain of the united states. the west was no longer a mere wilderness dotted with cabins and hamlets, whose backwoods builders were held by but the loosest tie of allegiance to any government, even their own. it had become an integral part of the mighty american republic. the end of vol. iii. index. allen, ethan, separatist leader; relations with british authorities. army, regular, relations of officers to kentuckians; friction with frontiersmen; distrust of militia; failure to understand how to fight indians; shortcomings of; superiority to the militia; further friction with frontiersmen. baptist preachers. black wolf, indian chief, death of. bledsoe, anthony, corresponds with mcgillivray; slain by indians. bloody fellow, cherokee chief, writes note taunting sevier and martin. blount, william, governor of southwest territory. bolivar, spanish-american general. boone, daniel, hunter and deputy surveyor; in virginia legislature; trader; creed; keeps faith with indians. borarth, mrs., feat of, against indians. bradford, john, publisher of _kentucke gazette_. brady, sam, feats of; his scouts formidable fighters. brant, joseph, iroquois chief. british, keep country round great lakes; support indians against frontiersmen; deeds of british troops; foes of frontiersmen. brown, john, kentucky delegate in congress, allied to wilkinson; he and madison have intercourse with gardoqui; letter advising independence for kentucky; disunionist, not corrupt; misrepresents action of continental congress. brown, joseph, story of his capture by indians. caldwell, british partisan. campbell, arthur, sides with state of franklin. carondolet, spanish governor, excites indians against americans. castleman, indian fighter. cherokees, complain of violation of treaties; chief killed; hold council with franklin people; hostilities with franklin; uneasiness under pressure of borderers; embroiled with kentuckians; outrages against; butchery of; war with. chickamaugas, a banditti; ravages by; beat back martin's expedition. chickasaws, war with kickapoos; uneasy over american advance. chippewas, thirst for liquor; wanton outrages by. choctaws, alarmed by coming of frontier settlers. christian, col. william, death of. clark, george rogers, closes land office as war measure; land-poor; manner of life; commission to treat with indians; encroaches on indian lands; believes treaties to be futile; advocates war; appealed to by vincennes americans; moves against indians; failure of expedition; experiences of friend in river-trade; seizes goods of spanish trader; back-woodsmen approve this deed; it is condemned by federal and virginian authorities; his motives suspected; his acts disapproved by kentucky convention; he writes to gardoqui proposing to found a colony in illinois; friendship for gibault. cocke, william, envoy from state of franklin; writes to benj. franklin. coldwater, indian town on; french traders at; destroyed by robertson. colonies, proposals to found them in spanish territory; colonial systems, varieties of; united states makes new departure in. commerce on mississippi, peculiarities and dangers of; profits of; uncertainties of; hampered by spaniards; extent of. conolly attempts intrigue in kentucky. contested election in state of franklin. continental troops, best class of immigrants. convention, held at danville to erect kentucky into a state; second convention declares for separate statehood; third convention; wrangles with virginia legislature; further conventions. cornplanter, the iroquois, speech and deeds. corn tassel, friendly cherokee chief, murdered by whites. council, of northern indians at sandusky. creeks, trouble with georgians; hostility to americans; feudatory to spaniards; ravages by; constant clashing with georgians; bad faith towards united states. cumberland, river, fertile lands along; speculation in lands; settlements in great bend, ii; settlers on, take no share in the franklin quarrel; they have slight national feeling; their currency; their troubles with indians; increase in their numbers. cunningham family murdered by indians. cutler, manasseh, represents ohio company before congress; perhaps writes draft of ordinance; visits ohio. dane, nathan, share in ordinance of . delawares, divided councils of. detroit, important british post; life at. disunion spirit on frontier; folly of; extent in vermont and kentucky; equivocal attitude of disunion leaders; kentucky and virginia resolutions, and hartford convention. doolin family murdered by indians. dorchester, lord, rouses indians against americans; his attitude as governor of canada. elliott, british partisan. federal government treats with indians. filson, john, misadventure of; goes for help to louisville. fleming, col. wm., visits kentucky; presides over first danville convention. frankland, proposal to alter name of franklin to; proposed constitution for. franklin, insurrectionary state of, founded; government and finance; memorial to congress; named after the philosopher; piratical attitude towards indians; friendship for georgia; workings of the government; revolt against; virginia unfriendly, but georgia friendly; grasps at indian lands; war with indians; quarrels with north carolina and the cherokees; totters to its fall; collapse. french, complaints against americans; friendship with indians. french towns, chaos in. french traders excite indians against americans. frontier, attracts adventurous spirits; social characteristics of frontiersmen. galvez, victories of; viceroy of mexico. game, abundance of, in kentucky. gardoqui, don diego, spanish minister in new york; negotiations with jay; declines jay's propositions; intrigues with separatist leaders; letter to robertson; negotiations with morgan; fruitlessness of his diplomacy; inability to understand americans; intercourse with leaders in congress; correspondence with sevier; sends envoy to franklin; negotiations with the franklin leaders. georgia, room for growth within. gibault, priest at cahokia. gillespie, captain, protects indian prisoner; his station captured by indians. girty, simon, british partisan; ransoms captive. grayson, william, share in ordinance. hamtranck, expedition against wabash indians hardin, john, col., skirmish with indians; wounded; successful foray; commands militia under harmar; is defeated. harmar, general, investigates alleged filibustering expedition from franklin; takes possession of french towns; quarrels with backwoodsmen; stateliness of life; foray against shawnees; marches against miami towns; poor quality of army; destroys towns; his detachments defeated; his retreat. hart, israel, family butchered by indians. henry, patrick, authorizes kentuckians to attack indians; services of; hostility to state of franklin. holston, river, settlements on; trail from these settlements to cumberland; rapid growth of settlements. hopewell, treaty of. houston, samuel, proposes constitution of frankland illinois, american settlers in the; quarrels of americans and creoles; creoles petition congress; relations of both with federal troops. indian fighters. indians, futile treaties with; treachery of; double dealing of; wish war; ravages of; wrongs committed against; horrors of warfare with; terrible qualities of; wage war of aggression; attack immigrants; their ravages; ravages increase; varying conditions of warfare against; further ravages; attacks on ohio boats; extent of damage done by, in kentucky. individual initiative of settlers, chief characteristic of settlement of northwest innes threatens disunion. jackson, andrew, intercourse with spanish agents; share in indian fighting. jay, john, does not realize growth of west; renders great services to west; negotiations with gardoqui; offers temporary suspension of right to navigate mississippi; anger of westerners at this; his attitude and advice on subject. jefferson, fatuous military judgment of; wise attitude towards west; against slavery in northwest. johnson boys, adventure of. jonesboro, convention at, declares for independence. kenton, simon, surveyor and hunter; indian fighter; rescues white captives; leads raids against indians; his scout company. _kentucky gazette_. kentucky, great growth of; good poor man's country; emigrants to, american, german, scotch, irish; characteristics of people; their attitude towards spain; misery of early settlers; great change in; scourged by indians; prosperity of; politics; movement for separate statehood; movement compared to that in franklin; wrangles with virginia; delays in movement; kentucky becomes a state. king, rufus, opposes slavery in northwest. kirk, john, his family murdered by indians; brutal deed of his son. lake posts, held by british, importance of, to frontiersmen. land claims of states; differences in substantial value of; those of virginia and north carolina most important; those of the other states very shadowy; misconduct of georgia; attitude of the non-claimant states; continental congress wrestle with; question settled by compromise and bargain; connecticut's sharp bargain; small money value of land. land companies. lands, western, eagerly sought by both settlers and speculators; intense interest in. lee, "lighthorse harry," agrees with jay about mississippi; borrows money of gardoqui. lee, richard henry, share in ordinance. legrace, j. m. p., french commandant at vincennes. lincoln family attacked by indians. logan, benjamin, protects immigrants; presides at meeting of kentucky field officers; successful raid against shawnee towns; fails to enforce discipline; leads other forays; prominence of; takes lead in movement for statehood. logan, john, scatters cherokee war party. louisville, population in . madison, intercourse with gardoqui. mansker, indian fighter. marshall, humphrey, historian and union leader in kentucky. marshall, thomas, union leader in kentucky. martin, alexander, gov. of north carolina, corresponds with sevier. martin, joseph, general and indian agent; tries to protect cherokees; removes from among them; his opinion of them; beaten by chickamaugas; his plantation attacked by creeks. may, john, col., visits lands of ohio company. mcclure, mrs., terrible experience of. mcdowell, col. samuel, presides over second danville convention. mcgarry, foul murder committed by. mcgillivray, creek chief, correspondence with robertson; with robertson and bledsoe; makes groundless complaints; makes treaty at new york; this treaty repudiated by creeks. merrill, mrs. john, her feat against indians. methodism, great advance of. miami company. miami indians, hostile; expedition against. miro, don estevan, severity of, towards american traders; intrigues with separatist leaders; duplicity of; correspondence with wilkinson and sebastia. michilimakinac, british post. molunthee, shawnee chief, advocates peace; foully murdered by mcgarry. morgan, col. george, proposes to form colony in spanish territory. muscle shoals, failure of settlement at, under claim of georgia. navarro, martin, spanish intendant of louisiana; wishes to separate the west from the union. navigation of mississippi, importance of, to west; subject of tedious diplomatic negotiations; excitement over; right to, asserted by congress. new england people, spread north and west; settle in northwest. new madrid founded. new york, its people expand within its own boundaries. niagara, british post. northwest, the, won by nation as a whole; individual settlers of less consequence than in southwest. ohio company, formed in ; secures abolition of slavery in northwest; purchase of lands on ohio; founds town of marietta; importance of its action; contrasts with feats of early pioneers. ohio, first permanent settlers in. ohio, river, fertile lands along; speculation in; river route, chief highway for immigrants; immense number of immigrants using it. ordinance concerning sale of public lands. ordinance of , vital to northwest; importance of; its history; good conduct of southern states on slavery question; provisions of ordinance; articles of compact; prohibits slavery; importance of, as state paper; formulates new departure in colonial system. outlaw, backwoods colonel, kills friendly cherokees. patterson, robert, colonel, good conduct of. patton, skirmish with indians. pickens, andrew, and his fellow-justices of abbeville, s. c., denounce franklin men for murder of cherokees. pioneers, changes among; succession of types among; characteristics of different types. presbyterian ministers. putnam, rufus, one of founders of ohio. robertson, james, attacks indians at coldwater; writes to illinois about the slain french traders; and to delaware; writes to mcgillivray about separation of southwest from union; lack of national feeling; correspondence about indians with miro and gardoqui; attends north carolina legislature; son and brother killed by indians; letter to mcgillivray; to martin; encourages immigration to cumberland; wounded by indians; commands militia; brigadier-general. scott, charles, a kentucky indian fighter. scott, settler, family butchered by indians. sebastian, judge, in pay of spaniards; ally of wilkinson; conspires to dismember the union; corrupt. sectional intolerance. separatist spirit, strength of, at different times in different sections; leaders of; similarity to spanish-american revolutionists; their evil influence; partial justification of separatist movement by narrowness of eastern people; especially of new englanders; examples of this narrowness; excuses for certain; separatist leaders; separatist feeling in kentucky; anger of virginians over; separatist feeling in west; separatist movement in west virginia; in kentucky; failure of movement. settlers, character of; occupation of. sevier, james, goes to gardoqui. sevier, john, president of jonesboro convention; governor of franklin; correspondence with gov. martin; and patrick henry; issues manifesto; rivalry with tipton; brawls with tipton; asks help of evan shelby; friendly relations with georgia; member of cincinnati; he and his men compared with bygone colonizers; leads forays against indians; corresponds with benj. franklin; with shelby; end of term as governor; in dire straits; fight with tipton's men; further forays against indians; fails to protect indian prisoners; reprobated for his failure; abandoned for moment by frontiersmen; arrest ordered by governor of north carolina; leads other forays; is arrested; escapes; proceedings against him dropped; corresponds with gardoqui; offers to enter into alliance with spain; becomes a federalist; destroys indian town on coosa; ransoms captive whites; made brigadier-general. sevier, valentine, at muscle shoals. shawnees, hostile; surrender prisoners; burn prisoners. shelby, evan, appealed to by state of franklin; corresponds with sevier; hostile to state of franklin. slavery, negro, in west; a curse to the whites; prohibited in northwest. slim tom, an indian, brutal murder by. spaniards, on southwestern frontier; their dominion jeopardized by backwoodsmen; who look at them as the germans once looked at the roman empire; they recognize the frontiersmen as their special foes; treachery of; diplomatic negotiations with; corruption of officials; outrages by american and creole traders; seize goods of cumberland trader; dread the backwoodsmen; try to keep the indians their allies; and incite them to war against settlers; towards whom they behave with shameful duplicity; religious intolerance of; expel american traders from among the southern tribes. st. clair, arthur, governor of northwest territory; christens capital cincinnati; his share in governing the northwest; holds treaties with indians. sullivan, daniel, fight with indians. sullivan, john, proposes filibustering expedition. symmes, john cleves, judge in northwest. tennessee, river, rich lands along; settlements along headwaters of; immigrant route down; three counties on, proceed to form new government; elect delegates to meet at jonesboro. tipton, john, in jonesboro convention; rivalry with sevier; revolts against franklin government; hostility to sevier; defeats sevier's forces; captures sevier. treaties, failure of; violated by indians. trotter, robert, col., good conduct of; misconduct of. union, the, immense importance of, to welfare of race; without its adoption the revolutionary war would have gone for nought; triumph of union feeling in west; western movement in favor of. van swearingen, son killed by indians. vermont, affairs similar to those in kentucky. vigo, francis, trading on ohio; misadventure with indians. vincennes, condition of, in ; anarchy at; indians threaten; garrison established at, by clark; citizens surrender charter. wabash, american settlers on. wabash indians, hostile; misconduct of; treachery of; harass the vincennes garrison. wabash, river, land speculation. wallace, judge caleb, position in kentucky. war with indians, unavoidable; justifiable; horrible; importance of. washington, wise attitude on mississippi question. watauga, river, settlements along. westerners, eagerness of, to acquire spanish lands. wetzel, john, adventure of. wetzel, lewis, brawl with soldiers. white, james, in pay of spain; corrupt; sent to franklin by gardoqui. whitley, william, feats against indians. wilderness trail to kentucky. wilkinson, james, his base character; embarks in river commerce; corrupt and disloyal negotiations with spaniards; influence in kentucky; a separatist leader; proposal to form a barrier state; hostility to all spanish schemes save his own; takes bribes from spaniards; his leadership in the disunion movements; pensioned by spaniards; corruption of; leads kentucky separatists; urges violent action; goes to new orleans; returns; opposes ratification of federal constitution. wyandots, doubtful attitude of; declare for peace. yazoo river, speculation in lands. wau-bun, the early day in the northwest. by mrs. john h. kinzie, of chicago. "if we but knew the exact meaning of the word 'wau-bun,' we should be happy."--_critic_. "wau-bun--the dawn--the break of day."--_ojibeway vocabulary_. * * * * * philadelphia preface. every work partaking of the nature of an autobiography is supposed to demand an apology to the public. to refuse such a tribute, would be to recognize the justice of the charge, so often brought against our countrymen--of a too great willingness to be made acquainted with the domestic history and private affairs of their neighbors. it is, doubtless, to refute this calumny that we find travellers, for the most part, modestly offering some such form of explanation as this, to the reader: "that the matter laid before him was, in the first place, simply letters to friends, never designed to be submitted to other eyes, and only brought forward now at the solicitation of wiser judges than the author himself." no such plea can, in the present instance, be offered. the record of events in which the writer had herself no share, was preserved in compliance with the suggestion of a revered relative, whose name often appears in the following pages. "my child," she would say, "write these things down, as i tell them to you. hereafter our children, and even strangers, will feel interested in hearing the story of our early lives and sufferings." and it is a matter of no small regret and self-reproach, that much, very much, thus narrated was, through negligence, or a spirit of procrastination, suffered to pass unrecorded. with regard to the pictures of domestic life and experience (preserved, as will be seen, in journals, letters, and otherwise), it is true their publication might have been deferred until the writer had passed away from the scene of action; and such, it was supposed, would have been their lot--that they would only have been dragged forth hereafter, to show to a succeeding generation what "the early day" of our western homes had been. it never entered the anticipations of the most sanguine that the march of improvement and prosperity would, in less than a quarter of a century, have so obliterated the traces of "the first beginning," that a vast and intelligent multitude would be crying out for information in regard to the early settlement of this portion of our country, which so few are left to furnish. an opinion has been expressed, that a comparison of the present times with those that are past, would enable our young people, emigrating from their luxurious homes at "the east," to bear, in a spirit of patience and contentment, the slight privations and hardships they are at this day called to meet with. if, in one instance, this should be the case, the writer may well feel happy to have incurred even the charge of egotism, in giving thus much of her own history. it may be objected that all that is strictly personal, might have been more modestly put forth under the name of a third person; or that the events themselves and the scenes might have been described, while those participating in them might have been kept more in the background. in the first case, the narrative would have lost its air of truth and reality--in the second, the experiment would merely have been tried of dressing up a theatre for representation, and omitting the actors. some who read the following sketches may be inclined to believe that a residence among our native brethren and an attachment growing out of our peculiar relation to them, have exaggerated our sympathies, and our sense of the wrongs they have received at the hands of the whites. this is not the place to discuss that point. there is a tribunal at which man shall be judged for that which he has meted out to his fellow-man. may our countrymen take heed that their legislation shall never unfit them to appear "with joy, and not with grief," before that tribunal! chicago, july, . contents chapter i. departure from detroit chapter ii. michilimackinac--american fur company--indian trade--mission school--point st. ignace chapter iii. arrival at green bay--mrs. arnot--general root--political dispatches--a summerset--shanty-town--m. rolette--indian morning song--mr. cadle's mission--party at miss doty's--misses grignon--mrs. baird's party--mrs. beall chapter iv. arrangements for travelling--fox river--judge doty--judge réaume--m. boilvin--canadian voyageurs: their songs--the kakalin--wish-tay-yun--rev. eleazar williams--passage through the rapids--grande chûte--krissman chapter v. beautiful encampment--winnebago lake--miss four-legs--garlic island--wild rice chapter vi. breakfast at betty more's--judge law--fastidiousness; what came of it chapter vii. butte des morts--french cognomens--serpentine course of fox river--lake puckaway--lac de boeuf--fort winnebago. chapter viii. major and mrs. twiggs--a davis--an indian funeral--conjugal affliction--indian chiefs; talk-english--the wild-cat--the dandy chapter ix. housekeeping--the first dinner chapter x. indian payment--pawnee blanc--the washington woman--raising funds chapter xi. louisa--garrison life--dr. newhall--affliction--domestic accommodations--ephraim--new-year's day--native custom--day-kau-ray's views of education--captain harney's mince-pie chapter xii. lizzie twiggs--preparation for a journey--the regimental tailor chapter xiii. eparture from fort winnebago--duck creek--upset in a canoe--pillon--encamping in winter--four lakes--indian encampment--blue mound--morrison's--a tennessee woman chapter xiv. rev. mr. kent--losing one's way--a tent blown down--discovery of a fence--hamilton's diggings--frontier housekeeping--wm. s. hamilton--a miner--hard riding--kellogg's grove chapter xv. rock river--- dixon's--john ogie--missing the trail--hours of trouble--famine in the camp--relief chapter xvi. a pottowattamie lodge--a tempest--piché's--hawley's--the du page--mr. dogherty--the aux plaines--mrs. lawton--wolf point--chicago chapter xvii. fort dearborn--chicago in --first settlement of chicago--john kinzie, sen.---fate of george forsyth--trading posts--canadian voyageurs--m. st. jean--louis la liberté chapter xviii. massacre at chicago chapter xix. massacre, continued--mrs. helm--ensign ronan--captain wells--mrs. holt--mrs. heald--the sau-ga-nash--sergeant griffith--mrs. burns--black partridge and mrs. lee--nau-non-gee and sergeant hays chapter xx. treatment of american prisoners by the british--captivity of mr. kinzie--battle on lake erie--cruelty of general proctor's troops--general harrison--rebuilding of fort dearborn--red bird--a humorous incident--cession of the territory around chicago chapter xxi. severe spring weather--pistol-firing--milk punch--a sermon--pre-emption to "kinzie's addition"--liberal sentiments chapter xxii. the captives chapter xxiii. colonel mckillip--second-sight--ball at hickory creek--arrival of the "napoleon"--troubles of embarkation chapter xxiv. departure for port winnebago--a frightened indian--encampment at dunkley's grove--horses lost--getting mired--an ague cured by a rattlesnake--crystal lake--story of the little rail chapter xxv. return journey, continued--soldiers' encampment--big-foot lake--village of maunk-suck--a young gallant--climbing--mountain-passes--turtle creek--kosh-ko-nong--crossing a marsh--twenty-mile prairie--hastings's woods--duck creek--brunet--home chapter xxvi. the agency--the blacksmith's house--building a kitchen--four-legs, the dandy--indian views of civilization--efforts of m. mazzuchelli--charlotte chapter xxvii. the cut-nose--the fawn--visit of white crow--parting with friends--krissman--louisa again--the sunday-school chapter xxviii. plante--removal--domestic inconveniences--indian presents--grandmother day-kau-ray--indian customs--indian dances--the medicine-dance--indian graves--old boilvin's wake chapter xxix. indian tales--story of the red fox chapter xxx. story of shee-shee-banze chapter xxxi. visit to green bay--disappointment--return journey--knaggs's--blind indian--ma-zhee-gaw-gaw swamp--bellefontaine chapter xxxii. commencement of the sauk war--winnebago council--crély--follett--bravery--the little elk--an alarm--man-eater and his party--an exciting dance chapter xxxiii. fleeing from the enemy--mâtâ--old smoker--meeting with menomonees--raising the wind--garlic island--winnebago rapids--the waubanakees--thunder-storm--vitelle--guardapié--fort howard chapter xxxiv. panic at green bay--tidings of cholera--green bay flies--doyle, the murderer--death of lieutenant foster--a hardened criminal--good news from the seat of war--departure for home--shipwreck at the grand chûte--a wet encampment--an unexpected arrival--reinforcement of volunteers--la grosse américaine--arrival at home chapter xxxv. conclusion of the war--treaty at rock island--cholera among the troops--wau-kaun-kah--wild-cat's frolic at the mee-kan--surrender of the winnebago prisoners chapter xxxvi. delay in the annual payment--scalp-dances--groundless alarm--arrival of governor porter--payment--escape of the prisoners--neighbors lost--reappearance--robineau--bellaire chapter xxxvii. agathe--"kinzie's addition"--tomah--indian acuteness--indian simplicity chapter xxxviii. famine--day-kau-ray's daughter--noble resolution of a chief--bread for the hungry--rev. mr. kent--an escaped prisoner--the cut-nose again--leave-taking with our red children--departure from fort winnebago appendix the "early day" in the northwest. chapter i. departure from detroit. it was on a dark, rainy evening in the month of september, , that we went on board the steamer "henry clay," to take passage for green bay. all our friends in detroit had congratulated us upon our good fortune in being spared the voyage in one of the little schooners which at this time afforded the ordinary means of communication with the few and distant settlements on lakes huron and michigan. each one had some experience to relate of his own or of his friends' mischances in these precarious journeys--long detentions on the st. clair flats--furious head-winds off thunder bay, or interminable calms at mackinac or the manitous. that which most enhanced our sense of peculiar good luck, was the true story of one of our relatives having left detroit in the month of june and reached chicago in the september following, having been actually three months in performing what is sometimes accomplished by even a sail-vessel in four days. but the certainty of encountering similar misadventures would have weighed little with me. i was now to visit, nay, more, to become a resident of that land which had, for long years, been to me a region of romance. since the time when, as a child, my highest delight had been in the letters of a dear relative, describing to me his home and mode of life in the "indian country," and still later, in his felicitous narration of a tour with general cass, in , to the sources of the mississippi--nay, even earlier, in the days when i stood at my teacher's knee, and spelled out the long word mich-i-li-mack-i-nac, that distant land, with its vast lakes, its boundless prairies, and its mighty forests, had possessed a wonderful charm for my imagination. now i was to see it!--it was to be my home! our ride to the quay, through the dark by-ways, in a cart, the only vehicle which at that day could navigate the muddy, unpaved streets of detroit, was a theme for much merriment, and not less so, our descent of the narrow, perpendicular stair-way by which we reached the little apartment called the ladies' cabin. we were highly delighted with the accommodations, which, by comparison, seemed the very climax of comfort and convenience; more especially as the occupants of the cabin consisted, beside myself, of but a lady and two little girls. nothing could exceed the pleasantness of our trip for the first twenty-four hours. there were some officers, old friends, among the passengers. we had plenty of books. the gentlemen read aloud occasionally, admired the solitary magnificence of the scenery around us, the primeval woods, or the vast expanse of water unenlivened by a single sail, and then betook themselves to their cigar, or their game of euchre, to while away the hours. for a time the passage over thunder bay was delightful, but, alas! it was not destined, in our favor, to belie its name. a storm came on, fast and furious--what was worse, it was of long duration. the pitching and rolling of the little boat, the closeness, and even the sea-sickness, we bore as became us. they were what we had expected, and were prepared for. but a new feature of discomfort appeared, which almost upset our philosophy. the rain, which fell in torrents, soon made its way through every seam and pore of deck or moulding. down the stair-way, through the joints and crevices, it came, saturating first the carpet, then the bedding, until, finally, we were completely driven, "by stress of weather," into the gentlemen's cabin. way was made for us very gallantly, and every provision resorted to for our comfort, and we were congratulating ourselves on having found a haven in our distress, when, lo! the seams above opened, and down upon our devoted heads poured such a flood, that even umbrellas were an insufficient protection. there was nothing left for the ladies and children but to betake ourselves to the berths, which, in this apartment, fortunately remained dry; and here we continued ensconced the livelong day. our dinner was served up to us on our pillows. the gentlemen chose the dryest spots, raised their umbrellas, and sat under them, telling amusing anecdotes, and saying funny things to cheer us, until the rain ceased, and at nine o'clock in the evening we were gladdened by the intelligence that we had reached the pier at mackinac. we were received with the most affectionate cordiality by mr. and mrs. robert stuart, at whose hospitable mansion we had been for some days expected. the repose and comfort of an asylum like this, can be best appreciated by those who have reached it after a tossing and drenching such as ours had been. a bright, warm fire, and countenances beaming with kindest interest, dispelled all sensations of fatigue or annoyance. after a season of pleasant conversation, the servants were assembled, the chapter of god's word was solemnly read, the hymn chanted, the prayer of praise and thanksgiving offered, and we were conducted to our place of repose. it is not my purpose here to attempt a portrait of those noble friends whom i thus met for the first time. to an abler pen than mine should be assigned the honor of writing the biography of robert stuart. all who have enjoyed the happiness of his acquaintance, or, still more, a sojourn under his hospitable roof, will carry with them to their latest hour the impression of his noble bearing, his genial humor, his untiring benevolence, his upright, uncompromising adherence to principle, his ardent philanthropy, his noble disinterestedness. irving in his "astoria," and franchere in his "narrative," give many striking traits of his early character, together with events of his history of a thrilling and romantic interest, but both have left the most valuable portion unsaid, his after-life, namely, as a christian gentleman. of his beloved partner, who still survives him, mourning on her bereaved and solitary pilgrimage, yet cheered by the recollection of her long and useful course as a "mother in israel," we will say no more than to offer the incense of loving hearts, and prayers for the best blessings from her father in heaven. chapter ii michilimackinac. michilimackinac! that gem of the lakes! how bright and beautiful it looked as we walked abroad on the following morning! the rain had passed away, but had left all things glittering in the light of the sun as it rose up over the waters of lake huron, far away to the east. before us was the lovely bay, scarcely yet tranquil after the storm, but dotted with canoes and the boats of the fishermen already getting out their nets for the trout and whitefish, those treasures of the deep. along the beach were scattered the wigwams or lodges of the ottawas who had come to the island to trade. the inmates came forth to gaze upon us. a shout of welcome was sent forth, as they recognized _shaw-nee-aw-kee,_ who, from a seven years' residence among them, was well known to each individual. a shake of the hand, and an emphatic "_bon-jour_--_bon-jour_," is the customary salutation between the indian and the white man. "do the indians speak french?" i inquired of my husband. "no; this is a fashion they have learned of the french traders during many years of intercourse." not less hearty was the greeting of each canadian _engagé_, as he trotted forward to pay his respects to "monsieur john," and to utter a long string of felicitations, in a most incomprehensible _patois_. i was forced to take for granted all the good wishes showered upon "madame john," of which i could comprehend nothing but the hope that i should be happy and contented in my "_vie sauvage_." the object of our early walk was to visit the mission-house and school which had been some few years previously established at this place by the presbyterian board of missions. it was an object of especial interest to mr. and mrs. stuart, and its flourishing condition at this period, and the prospects of extensive future usefulness it held out, might well gladden their philanthropic hearts. they had lived many years on the island, and had witnessed its transformation, through god's blessing on christian efforts, from a worldly, dissipated community to one of which it might almost be said, "religion was every man's business." this mission establishment was the beloved child and the common centre of interest of the few protestant families clustered around it. through the zeal and good management of mr. and mrs. ferry, and the fostering encouragement of the congregation, the school was in great repute, and it was pleasant to observe the effect of mental and religious culture in subduing the mischievous, tricky propensities of the half-breed, and rousing the stolid apathy of the genuine indian. these were the palmy days of mackinac. as the head-quarters of the american fur company, and the entrepôt of the whole northwest, all the trade in supplies and goods on the one hand, and in furs and products of the indian country on the other, was in the hands of the parent establishment or its numerous outposts scattered along lakes superior and michigan, the mississippi, or through still more distant regions. probably few are ignorant of the fact, that all the indian tribes, with the exception of the miamis and the wyandots, had, since the transfer of the old french possessions to the british crown, maintained a firm alliance with the latter. the independence achieved by the united states did not alter the policy of the natives, nor did our government succeed in winning or purchasing their friendship. great britain, it is true, bid high to retain them. every year the leading men of the chippewas, ottawas, pottowattamies, menomonees, winnebagoes, sauks, and foxes, and even still more remote tribes, journeyed from their distant homes to fort malden in upper canada, to receive their annual amount of presents from their great father across the water. it was a master-policy thus to keep them in pay, and had enabled those who practised it to do fearful execution through the aid of such allies in the last war between the two countries. the presents they thus received were of considerable value, consisting of blankets, broadcloths or _strouding_, calicoes, guns, kettles, traps, silver-works (comprising arm-bands, bracelets, brooches; and ear-bobs), looking-glasses, combs, and various other trinkets distributed with no niggardly hand. the magazines and store-houses of the fur company at mackinac were the resort of all the upper tribes for the sale of their commodities, and the purchase of all such articles as they had need of, including those above enumerated, and also ammunition, which, as well as money and liquor, their british friends very commendably omitted to furnish them. besides their furs, various in kind and often of great value--beaver, otter, marten, mink, silver-gray and red fox, wolf, bear, and wild-cat, musk-rat, and smoked deer-skins--the indians brought for trade maple-sugar in abundance, considerable quantities of both indian corn and _petit-blé_,[ ] beans and the _folles avoines_,[ ] or wild rice; while the squaws added to their quota of merchandise a contribution in the form of moccasins, hunting-pouches, mococks, or little boxes of birch-bark embroidered with porcupine-quills and filled with maple-sugar, mats of a neat and durable fabric, and toy-models of indian cradles, snow-shoes, canoes, etc., etc. it was no unusual thing, at this period, to see a hundred or more canoes of indians at once approaching the island, laden with their articles of traffic; and if to these we add the squadrons of large mackinac boats constantly arriving from the outposts, with the furs, peltries, and buffalo-robes collected by the distant traders, some idea may be formed of the extensive operations and important position of the american fur company, as well as of the vast circle of human beings either immediately or remotely connected with it. it is no wonder that the philanthropic mind, surveying these, races of uncultivated heathen, should stretch forward to the time when, through an unwearied devotion of the white man's energies, and an untiring sacrifice of self and fortune, his red brethren might rise in the scale of social civilization--when education and christianity should go hand in hand, to make "the wilderness blossom as the rose." little did the noble souls at that day rejoicing in the success of their labors at mackinac, anticipate that in less than a quarter of a century there would remain of all these numerous tribes but a few scattered bands, squalid, degraded, with scarce a vestige remaining of their former lofty character--their lands cajoled or wrested from them, the graves of their fathers turned up by the ploughshare--themselves chased farther and farther towards the setting sun, until they were literally grudged a resting-place on the face of the earth! our visit to the mission-school was of short duration, for the henry clay was to leave at two o'clock, and in the mean time we were to see what we could of the village and its environs, and after that dine with mr. mitchell, an old friend of my husband. as we walked leisurely along over the white, gravelly road, many of the residences of the old inhabitants were pointed out to me. there was the dwelling of madame laframboise, an ottawa woman, whose husband had taught her to read and write, and who had ever after continued to use the knowledge she had acquired for the instruction and improvement of the youth among her own people. it was her custom to receive a class of young pupils daily at her house, that she might give them lessons in the branches mentioned, and also in the principles of the roman catholic religion, to which she was deeply devoted. she was a woman of a vast deal of energy and enterprise--of a tall and commanding figure, and most dignified deportment. after the death of her husband, who was killed while away at his trading-post by a winnebago named _white ox_, she was accustomed to visit herself the trading-posts, superintend the clerks and engagés, and satisfy herself that the business was carried on in a regular and profitable manner. the agency-house, with its unusual luxuries of piazza and gardens, was situated at the foot of the hill on which the fort was built. it was a lovely spot, notwithstanding the stunted and dwarfish appearance of all cultivated vegetation in this cold northern latitude. the collection of rickety, primitive-looking buildings, occupied by the officials of the fur company, reflected no great credit on the architectural skill of my husband, who had superintended their construction, he told me, when little more than a boy. there were, besides these, the residences of the dousmans, the abbotts, the biddles, the drews, and the lashleys, stretching away along the base of the beautiful hill, crowned with the white walls and buildings of the fort, the ascent to which was so steep that on the precipitous face nearest the beach staircases were built by which to mount from below. my head ached intensely, the effect of the motion of the boat on the previous day, but i did not like to give up to it; so, after i had been shown all that could be seen of the little settlement in the short time allowed us, we repaired to mr. mitchell's. we were received by mrs. m., an extremely pretty, delicate woman, part french and part sioux, whose early life had been passed at prairie du chien, on the mississippi. she had been a great belle among the young officers at fort crawford; so much so, indeed, that the suicide of the post-surgeon was attributed to an unsuccessful attachment he had conceived for her. i was greatly struck with her soft and gentle manners, and the musical intonation of her voice, which i soon learned was a distinguishing peculiarity of those women in whom are united the french and native blood. a lady, then upon a visit to the mission, was of the company. she insisted on my lying down upon the sofa, and ministered most kindly to my suffering head. as she sat by my side, and expatiated upon the new sphere opening before me, she inquired: "do you not realize very strongly the entire deprivation of religious privileges you will be obliged to suffer in your distant home?" "the deprivation," said i, "will doubtless be great, but not _entire_; for i shall have my prayer-book, and, though destitute of a church, we need not be without a _mode_ of worship." how often afterwards, when cheered by the consolations of that precious book in the midst of the lonely wilderness, did i remember this conversation, and bless god that i could never, while retaining it, be without "religious privileges." we had not yet left the dinner-table, when the bell of the little steamer sounded to summon us on board, and we bade a hurried farewell to all our kind friends, bearing with us their hearty wishes for a safe and prosperous voyage. a finer sight can scarcely be imagined than mackinac, from the water. as we steamed away from the shore, the view came full upon us--the sloping beach with the scattered wigwams, and canoes drawn up here and there--the irregular, quaint-looking houses--the white walls of the fort, and, beyond, one eminence still more lofty crowned with the remains of old fort holmes. the whole picture completed, showed the perfect outline that had given the island its original indian name, _mich-i-li-mack-i-nac_, the big turtle. then those pure, living waters, in whose depths the fish might be seen gliding and darting to and fro; whose clearness is such that an object dropped to the bottom may be discerned at the depth of fifty or sixty feet, a dollar lying far down on its green bed, looking no larger than a half dime! i could hardly wonder at the enthusiastic lady who exclaimed: "oh! i could wish to be drowned in these pure, beautiful waters!" as we passed the extreme western point of the island, my husband pointed out to me, far away to the northwest, a promontory which he told me was point st. ignace. it possessed great historic interest, as one of the earliest white settlements on this continent. the jesuit missionaries had established here a church and school as early as , the same year in which a white settlement was made at st. augustine, in florida, and one year before the founding of jamestown, virginia. all that remains of the enterprises of these devoted men, is the remembrance of their labors, perpetuated, in most instances, only by the names of the spots which witnessed their efforts of love in behalf of their savage brethren. the little french church at sandwich, opposite detroit, alone is left, a witness of the zeal and self-sacrifice of these pioneers of christianity. passing "old mackinac," on the main land, which forms the southern border of the straits, we soon came out into the broad waters of lake michigan. every traveller, and every reader of our history, is familiar with the incidents connected with the taking of the old fort by the indians, in the days of pontiac. how, by means of a game of ball, played in an apparently friendly spirit outside the walls, and of which the officers and soldiers had come forth to be spectators, the ball was dexterously tossed over the wall, and the savages rushing in, under pretext of finding it, soon got possession and massacred the garrison. the little indian village of l'arbre croche gleamed far away south, in the light of the setting sun. with that exception, there was no sign of living habitation along that vast and wooded shore. the gigantic forest-trees, and here and there the little glades of prairie opening to the water, showed a landscape that would have gladdened the eye of the agriculturist, with its promise of fertility; but it was evidently untrodden by the foot of man, and we left it, in its solitude, as we took our course westward across the waters. the rainy and gusty weather, so incident to the equinoctial season, overtook us again before we reached the mouth of green bay, and kept us company until the night of our arrival upon the flats, about three miles below the settlement. here the little steamer grounded "fast and hard." as almost every one preferred braving the elements to remaining cooped up in the quarters we had occupied for the past week, we decided to trust ourselves to the little boat, spite of wind, and rain, and darkness, and in due time we reached the shore. chapter iii. green bay. our arrival at green bay was at an unfortunate moment. it was the time of a treaty between the united states government and the menomonees and waubanakees. consequently, not only the commissioners of the treaty, with their clerks and officials, but traders, claimants, travellers, and idlers innumerable were upon the ground. most of these were congregated in the only hotel the place afforded. this was a tolerably-sized house near the river-side, and as we entered the long dining-room, cold and dripping from the open boat, we were infinitely amused at the motley assemblage it contained. various groups were seated around. new comers, like ourselves, stood here and there, for there were not seats enough to accommodate all who sought entertainment. the landlord sat calm and indifferent, his hands in his pockets, exhibiting all the phlegm of a pennsylvania dutchman. his fat, notable spouse was trotting round, now stopping to scold about some one who, "burn his skin!" had fallen short in his duty; now laughing good-humoredly until her sides shook, at some witticism addressed to her. she welcomed us very cordially, but to our inquiry, "can you accommodate us?" her reply was, "not i. i have got twice as many people now as i know what to do with. i have had to turn my own family out of their quarters, what with the commissioners and the lot of folks that has come in upon us." "what are we to do, then? it is too late and stormy to go up to shanty-town to seek for lodgings." "well, sit you down and take your supper, and we will see what we can do." and she actually did contrive to find a little nook, in which we were glad to take refuge from the multitudes around us. a slight board partition separated us from the apartment occupied by general root, of new york, one of the commissioners of the treaty. the steamer in which we came had brought the mail, at that day a rare blessing to the distant settlements. the opening and reading of all the dispatches, which the general received about bed-time, had, of course, to be gone through with, before he could retire to rest. his eyes being weak, his secretaries were employed to read the communications. he was a little deaf withal, and through the slight division between the two apartments the contents of the letters, and his comments upon them, were unpleasantly audible, as he continually admonished his secretary to raise his voice. "what is that, walter? read that over again." in vain we coughed and hemmed, and knocked over sundry pieces of furniture. they were too deeply interested to hear aught that passed around them, and if we had been politicians we should have had all the secrets of the _working-men's party_ at our disposal, out of which to have made capital. the next morning it was still rain! rain! nothing but rain! in spite of it, however, the gentlemen would take a small boat to row to the steamer, to bring up the luggage, not the least important part of that which appertained to us being sundry boxes of silver for paying the annuities to the winnebagoes at the portage. i went out with some others of the company upon the piazza, to witness their departure. a gentleman pointed out to me fort howard, on a projecting point of the opposite shore, about three-quarters of a mile distant--the old barracks, the picketed inclosure, the walls, all looking quaint, and, considering their modern erection, really ancient and venerable. presently we turned our attention to the boat, which had by this time gained the middle of the river. one of the passengers was standing up in the stern, apparently giving some directions. "that is rather a venturesome fellow," remarked one; "if he is not careful he will lose his balance." and at this moment we saw him actually perform a summerset backward, and disappear in the water. "oh!" cried i, "he will be drowned!" the gentlemen laughed. "no, there he is; they are helping him in again." the course of the boat was immediately changed, and the party returned to the shore. it was not until one disembarked and came dripping and laughing towards me, that i recognized him as my own peculiar property. he was pleased to treat the matter as a joke, but i thought it rather a sad beginning of western experience. he suffered himself to be persuaded to intrust the care of his effects to his friends, and having changed his dress, prepared to remain quietly with me, when just at this moment a vehicle drove up to the door, and we recognized the pleasant, familiar face of our old friend, judge doty. he had received the news of our arrival, and had come to take us at once to his hospitable mansion. we were only too happy to gather together our bags and travelling-baskets and accompany him without farther ceremony. our drive took us first along the edge of navarino, next through shanty-town (the latter a far more appropriate name than the former), amid mud and mire, over bad roads, and up and down hilly, break-neck places, until we reached the little brick dwelling of our friends. mrs. doty received us with such true, sisterly kindness, and everything seemed so full of welcome, that we soon felt ourselves at home. we found that, expecting our arrival, invitations had already been prepared to assemble the whole circle of green bay society to meet us at an evening party--this, in a new country, being the established mode of doing honor to guests or strangers. we learned, upon inquiry, that captain harney, who had kindly offered to come with a boat and crew of soldiers from fort winnebago, to convey us to that place, our destined home, had not yet arrived; we therefore felt at liberty to make arrangements for a few days of social enjoyment at "the bay." it was pleasant to people, secluded in such a degree from the world at large, to bear all the news we had brought--all the particulars of life and manners--the thousand little items that the newspapers of that day did not dream of furnishing--the fashions, and that general gossip, in short, which a lady is erroneously supposed more _au fait_ of, than a gentleman. i well remember that, in giving and receiving information, the day passed in a pretty uninterrupted stream of communication. all the party except myself had made the journey, or rather voyage, up the fox river and down the wisconsin to the mississippi. there were plenty of anecdotes of a certain trip performed by the three, in company with a french trader and his two sisters, then making their debut as western travellers. the manner in which mademoiselle julie would borrow, without leave, a fine damask napkin or two, to wipe out the ducks in preparation for cooking--the difficulty of persuading either of the sisters of the propriety of washing and rinsing their table apparatus nicely before packing it away in the mess-basket, the consequence of which was, that another nice napkin must be stealthily whisked out, to wipe the dishes when the hour for meals arrived--the fun of the young gentleman in hunting up his stray articles, thus misappropriated, from the nooks and corners of the boat, tying them with a cord, and hanging them over the stern, to make their way down the wisconsin to prairie du chien. then there was a capital story of m. rolette himself. at one point on the route (i think in crossing winnebago lake) the travellers met one of the company's boats on its way to green bay for supplies. m. rolette was one of the agents of the company, and the people in the boat were his employés. of course after an absence of some weeks from home, the meeting on these lonely waters and the exchanging of news was an occasion of great excitement. the boats were stopped--earnest greetings interchanged--question followed question. "_eh bien_--have they finished the new house?" "_oui, monsieur_." "_et la cheminée, fume-t-elle?_" (does the chimney smoke?) "_non, monsieur_." "and the harvest--how is that?" "very fine, indeed." "is the mill at work?" "yes, plenty of water." "how is whip?" (his favorite horse.) "oh! whip is first-rate." everything, in short, about the store, the farm, the business of various descriptions being satisfactorily gone over, there was no occasion for farther delay. it was time to proceed. "_eh bien--adieu! bon voyage!_" "_arrachez, mes gens!_" (go ahead, men!) then suddenly--"_arrêtez! arrêtez!_" (stop, stop!) "_comment se portent madame rolette et les enfans?_" (how are mrs. rolette and the children?) * * * * * this day, with its excitement, was at length over, and we retired to our rest, thankful that we had not general root and his secretary close to our bed's head, with their budget of political news. my slumbers were not destined, however, to be quite undisturbed. i was awakened, at the first slight peep of dawn, by a sound from an apartment beneath our own--a plaintive, monotonous chant, rising and then falling in a sort of mournful cadence. it seemed to me a wail of something unearthly--so wild--so strange--so unaccountable. in terror i awoke my husband, who reassured me by telling me it was the morning salutation of the indians to the opening day. some menomonees had been kindly given shelter for the night in the kitchen below, and, having fulfilled their unvarying custom of chanting their morning hymn, they now ceased, and again composed themselves to sleep. but not so their auditor. there was to me something inexpressibly beautiful in this morning song of praise from the untaught sons of the forest. what a lesson did it preach to the civilized, christianized world, too many of whom lie down and rise up without an aspiration of thanksgiving to their almighty preserver--without even a remembrance of his care, who gives his angels charge concerning them! never has the impression of that simple act of worship faded from my mind. i have loved to think that, with some, these strains might be the outpouring of a devotion as pure as that of the christian when he utters the inspiring words of the sainted ken-- "awake, my soul! and with the sun," etc. * * * * * among the visitors who called to offer me a welcome to the west, were mr. and miss cadle, who were earnestly engaged in the first steps of their afterwards flourishing enterprise for the education of indian and half-breed children. the school-houses and chapel were not yet erected, but we visited their proposed site, and listened with great interest to bright anticipations of the future good that was to be accomplished--the success that was to crown their efforts for taming the heathen and teaching them the knowledge of their saviour and the blessings of civilized life. the sequel has shown how little the zeal of the few can accomplish, when opposed to the cupidity of the many. our evening party went off as parties do elsewhere. the most interesting feature to me, because the most novel, was the conversation of some young ladies to whom i was introduced, natives of green bay or its vicinity. their mother was a menomonee, but their father was a frenchman, a descendant of a settler some generations back, and who, there is reason to believe, was a branch of the same family of grignon to which the daughter of madame de sévigné belonged. at least, it is said there are in the possession of the family many old papers and records which would give that impression, although the orthography of the name has become slightly changed. be that as it may, the miss grignons were strikingly dignified, well-bred young ladies, and there was a charm about their soft voices, and original, unsophisticated remarks, very attractive to a stranger. they opened to me, however, a new field of apprehension; for, on my expressing my great impatience to see my new home, they exclaimed, with a look of wonder,-- "_vous n'avez donc pas peur des serpens_?" "snakes! was it possible there were snakes at fort winnebago?" "at the portage! oh! yes--one can never walk out for them--rattle-snakes--copper-heads--all sorts!" i am not naturally timid, but i must confess that the idea of the _serpens sonnettes_ and the _siffleurs_ was not quite a subject of indifference. there was one among these young ladies whose tall, graceful figure, rich, blooming complexion, and dark, glancing eye, would have distinguished her in any drawing-room--and another, whose gentle sweetness and cultivated taste made it a matter of universal regret that she was afterwards led to adopt the seclusion of a convent. captain harney and his boat arrived in due time, and active preparations far the comfort of our journey commenced under the kind supervision of mrs. doty. the mess-basket was stowed with good things of every description--ham and tongue--biscuit and plum-cake--not to mention the substantiate of crackers, bread, and boiled pork, the latter of which, however, a lady was supposed to be too fastidious to think of touching, even if starving in the woods. we had engaged three canadian voyageurs to take charge of our tent, mess-basket, and matters and things in general. their business it was to be to cut the wood for our fires, prepare our meals, and give a helping hand to whatever was going forward. a messenger had also been sent to the kakalin, or rapids, twenty-one miles above, to notify _wish-tay-yun_,[ ] the most accomplished guide through the difficult passes of the river, to be in readiness for our service on a specified day. in the mean time, we had leisure for one more party, and it was to be a "real western hop." everybody will remember that dance at mrs. baird's. all the people, young and old, that would be gathered throughout, or, as it was the fashion to express it, _on_ green bay, were assembled. the young officers were up from fort howard, looking so smart in their uniforms--treasures of finery, long uncalled forth, were now brought to light--everybody was bound to do honor to the strangers by appearing in their very best. it was to be an entertainment unequalled by any given before. all the house was put in requisition for the occasion. desks and seats were unceremoniously dismissed from mr. b.'s office, which formed one wing, to afford more space for the dancers. not only the front portion of the dwelling, but even the kitchen was made fit for the reception of company, in case any primitive visitor, as was sometimes the case, should prefer sitting down quietly there and smoking his cigar. this was an emergency that, in those days, had always to be provided for. nothing could exceed the mirth and hilarity of the company. no restraint, but of good manners--no excess of conventionalities--genuine, hearty good-humor and enjoyment, such as pleasant, hospitable people, with just enough of the french element to add zest to anything like amusement, could furnish, to make the entertainment agreeable. in a country so new, and where, in a social gathering, the number of the company was more important than the quality, the circle was not always, strictly speaking, select. i was aware of this, and was therefore more amused than surprised when a clumsy little man, with a broad, red, laughing face, waddled across the room to where i had taken my seat after a dance, and thus addressed me: "_miss_ k----, nobody hain't never introduced you to me, but i've seen you a good many times, and i know your husband very well, so i thought i might just as well come and speak to you--my name is a----." "ah! mr. a----, good-evening. i hope you are enjoying yourself. how is your sister?" "oh! she is a great deal worse--her cold has got into her eye, and it is all _shot up_." then turning full upon a lady[ ] who sat near, radiant with youth and beauty, sparkling with wit and genuine humor: "oh! mrs. beall," he began, "what a beautiful gown you have got on, and how handsome you do look! i declare you're the prettiest woman in the room, and dance the handsomest." "indeed, mr. a----," replied she, suppressing her love of fun and assuming a demure look, "i am afraid you flatter me." "no, i don't--i'm in earnest. i've just come to ask you to dance." such was the penalty of being too charming. chapter iv. voyage up fox river. it had been arranged that judge doty should accompany us in our boat as far as the butte des morts, at which place his attendant would be waiting with horses to convey him to mineral point, where he was to hold court. it was a bright and beautiful morning when we left his pleasant home, to commence our passage up the fox river captain harney was proposing to remain a few days longer at "the bay," but he called to escort us to the boat and instal us in all its comforts. as he helped me along over the ploughed ground and other inequalities in our way to the river-bank, where the boat lay, he told me how impatiently mrs. twiggs, the wife of the commanding officer, who since the past spring had been the only white lady at fort winnebago, was now expecting a companion and friend. we had met in new york, shortly after her marriage, and were, therefore, not quite unacquainted. i, for my part, felt sure that when there were two of our sex--when my piano was safely there--when the post library which we had purchased should be unpacked--when all should be fairly arranged and settled, we should be, although far away in the wilderness, the happiest little circle imaginable. all my anticipations were of the most sanguine and cheerful character. it was a moderate-sized mackinac boat, with a crew of soldiers, and our own three voyageurs in addition, that lay waiting for us--a dark-looking structure of some thirty feet in length. placed in the centre was a frame-work of slight posts, supporting a roof of canvas, with curtains of the same, which might be let down at the sides and ends, after the manner of a country stage-coach, or rolled up to admit the light and air. in the midst of this little cabin or saloon was placed the box containing my piano, and on it a mattress, which was to furnish us a divan through the day and a place of repose at night, should the weather at any time prove too wet or unpleasant for encamping. the boxes of silver, with which my husband was to pay the annuities due his red children, by treaty-stipulation, were stowed next. our mess-basket was in a convenient vicinity, and we had purchased a couple of large square covered baskets of the waubanakees, or new york indians, to hold our various necessary articles of outward apparel and bedding, and at the same time to answer as very convenient little work or dinner-tables. as a true daughter of new england, it is to be taken for granted i had not forgotten to supply myself with knitting-work and embroidery. books and pencils were a matter of course. the greater part of our furniture, together with the various articles for housekeeping with which we had supplied ourselves in new york and detroit, were to follow in another boat, under the charge of people whose business it professed to be to take cargoes safely up the rapids and on to fort winnebago. this was an enterprise requiring some three weeks of time and a great amount of labor, so that the owners of the goods transported might think themselves happy to receive them at last, however wet, broken, and dilapidated their condition might be. it was for this reason that we took our choicest possessions with us, even at the risk of being a little crowded. until now i had never seen a gentleman attired in a colored shirt, a spotless white collar and bosom being one of those "notions" that "boston," and consequently new england "folks," entertained of the becoming in a gentleman's toilette. mrs. cass had laughingly forewarned me that not only calico shirts but patch-work pillow-cases were an indispensable part of a travelling equipment; and, thanks to the taste and skill of some tidy little frenchwoman, i found our divan-pillows all accommodated in the brightest and most variegated garb. the judge and my husband were gay with the deepest of blue and pink. each was prepared, besides, with a bright red cap (a _bonnet rouge_, or _tuque_, as the voyageurs call it), which, out of respect for the lady, was to be donned only when a hearty dinner, a dull book, or the want of exercise made an afternoon nap indispensable. the judge was an admirable travelling companion. he had lived many years in the country, had been with general cass on his expedition to the head-waters of the mississippi, and had a vast fund of anecdote regarding early times, customs, and inhabitants. some instances of the mode of administering justice in those days, i happen to recall. there was an old frenchman at the bay, named réaume, excessively ignorant and grasping, although otherwise tolerably good-natured. this man was appointed justice of the peace. two men once appeared before him, the one as plaintiff, the other as defendant. the justice listened patiently to the complaint of the one and the defence of the other; then rising, with dignity, he pronounced his decision: "you are both wrong. you, bois-vert," to the plaintiff, "you bring me one load of hay; and you, crély," to the defendant, "you bring me one load of wood; and now the matter is settled." it does not appear that any exceptions were taken to this verdict. this anecdote led to another, the scene of which was prairie du chien, on the mississippi. there was a frenchman, a justice of the peace, who was universally known by the name of "old boilvin." his office was just without the walls of the fort, and it was much the fashion among the officers to lounge in there of a morning, to find sport for an idle hour, and to take a glass of brandy-and-water with the old gentleman, which he called "taking a little _quelque-chose."_ a soldier, named fry, had been accused of stealing and killing a calf belonging to m. rolette, and the constable, a bricklayer of the name of bell, had been dispatched to arrest the culprit and bring him to trial. while the gentlemen were making their customary morning visit to the justice, a noise was heard in the entry, and a knock at the door. "come in," cried old boilvin, rising and walking toward the door. _bell_,--here, sir, i have brought fry to you, as you ordered. _justice_--fry, you great rascal! what for you kill m. rolette's calf? _fry_,--i did not kill m. rolette's calf. _justice_ (shaking his fist).--you lie, you great ---- rascal! bell, take him to jail. come, gentlemen, come, _let us take a leetle quelque-chose_. * * * * * the canadian boatmen always sing while rowing or paddling, and nothing encourages them so much as to hear the "bourgeois"[ ] take the lead in the music. if the passengers, more especially those of the fair sex, join in the refrain, the compliment is all the greater. their songs are of a light, cheerful character, generally embodying some little satire or witticism, calculated to produce a spirited, sometimes an uproarious, chorus. the song and refrain are carried on somewhat in the following style: bourgeois.--par-derrière chez ma tante, par-derrière chez ma tante. chorus.--par-derrière chez ma tante, par-derrière chez ma tante. bourgeois.--il y a un coq qui chante, des pommes, des poires, des raves, des choux, des figues nouvelles, des raisins doux. chorus.--des pommes, des poires, des raves, des choux, des figues nouvelles, des raisins doux. bourgeois.--il y a un coq qui chante, il y a un coq qui chante. chorus.--il y a un coq qui chante, etc. bourgeois.--demande une femme à prendre, des pommes, des poires, des raves, des choux, etc. chorus.--des pommes, dos poires, etc. bourgeois.--demande une femme à prendre, demande une femme à, etc. and thus it continues until the advice is given successively, ne prenez pas une noire, car elles aiment trop à boire, ne prenez pas une rousse, car elles sont trop jalouses. and by the time all the different qualifications are rehearsed and objected to, lengthened out by the interminable repetition of the chorus, the shout of the bourgeois is heard-- "whoop la! à terre, à terre--pour la pipe!" it is an invariable custom for the voyageurs to stop every five or six miles to rest and smoke, so that it was formerly the way of measuring distances--"so many pipes," instead of "so many miles." the canadian melodies are sometimes very beautiful, and a more exhilarating mode of travel can hardly be imagined than a voyage over these waters, amid all the wild magnificence of nature, with the measured strokes of the oar keeping time to the strains of "_le rosier blanc_," "en roulant ma boule_," or "_lève ton pied, ma jolie bergère."_ the climax of fun seemed to be in a comic piece, which, however oft repeated, appeared never to grow stale. it was somewhat after this fashion: bourgeois.--michaud est monté dans un prunier, pour treiller des prunes. la branche a cassé-- chorus.--michaud a tombé? bourgeois.--ou est-ce qu'il est? chorus.--il est en bas. bourgeois.--oh! reveille, reveille, reveille, oh! reveille, michaud est en haut![ ] it was always a point of etiquette to look astonished at the luck of michaud in remaining in the tree, spite of the breaking of the branch, and the joke had to be repeated through all the varieties of fruit-trees that michaud might be supposed able to climb. by evening of the first day we arrived at _the kakalin_, where another branch of the grignon family resided. we were very pleasantly entertained, although, in my anxiety to begin my forest life, i would fain have had the tent pitched on the bank of the river, and have laid aside, at once, the indulgences of civilization. this, however, would have been a slight, perhaps an affront; so we did much better, and partook of the good cheer that was offered us in the shape of hot venison steaks and crêpes, and that excellent cup of coffee which none can prepare like a frenchwoman, and which is so refreshing after a day in the open air. the kakalin is a rapid of the fox river, sufficiently important to make the portage of the heavy lading of a boat necessary; the boat itself being poled or dragged up with cords against the current. it is one of a series of rapids and _chûtes_, or falls, which occur between this point and lake winnebago, twenty miles above. the next morning, after breakfast, we took leave of our hosts, and prepared to pursue our journey. the bourgeois, from an early hour, had been occupied in superintending his men in getting the boat and its loading over the kakalin. as the late rains had made the paths through the woods and along the banks of the river somewhat muddy and uncomfortable for walking, i was put into an ox-cart, to be jolted over the unequal road; saluting impartially all the stumps and stones that lay in our way, the only means of avoiding which seemed to be when the little, thick-headed frenchman, our conductor, bethought him of suddenly guiding his cattle into a projecting tree or thorn-bush, to the great detriment not only of my straw bonnet, but of my very eyes. but we got through at last, and, arriving at the head of the rapids, i found the boat lying there, all in readiness for our re-embarking. our menomonee guide, _wish-tay-yun_, a fine, stalwart indian, with an open, good-humored, one might almost say _roguish_ countenance, came forward to be presented to me. "_bon-jour, bon-jour, maman_," was his laughing salutation. again i was surprised, not as before at the french, for to that i had become accustomed, but at the respectable title he was pleased to bestow upon me. "yes," said my husband, "you must make up your mind to receive a very numerous and well-grown family, consisting of all the winnebagoes, pottowattamies, chippewas, and ottawas, together with such sioux, sacs and foxes, and iowas, as have any point to gain in applying to me. by the first-named tribe in virtue of my office, and by the others as a matter of courtesy, i am always addressed as '_father_'--you, of course, will be their '_mother_.'" wish-tay-yun and i were soon good friends, my husband interpreting to me the chippewa language in which he spoke. we were impatient to be off, the morning being already far advanced, and, all things being in readiness, the word was given: "_pousse au large, mes gens!_" (push out, my men). at this moment a boat was seen leaving the opposite bank of the river and making towards us. it contained white men, and they showed by signs that they wished to detain us until they came up. they drew near, and we found them to be mr. marsh, a missionary among the waubanakees, or the new york indians, lately brought into this country, and the rev. eleazar williams,[ ] who was at that time living among his red brethren on the right bank of the fox river. to persons so situated, even more emphatically than to those of the settlements, the arrival of visitors from the "east countrie" was a godsend indeed. we had to give all the news of various kinds that we had brought--political, ecclesiastical, and social--as well as a tolerably detailed account of what we proposed to do, or rather what we hoped to be able to do, among our native children at the portage. i was obliged, for my part, to confess that, being almost entirely a stranger to the indian character and habits, i was going among them with no settled plans of any kind--general good-will, and a hope of making them my friends, being the only principles i could lay claim to at present. i must leave it for time and a better acquaintance to show me in what way the principle could be carried out for their greatest good. mr. williams was a dark-complexioned, good-looking man. having always heard him spoken of, by his relations in connecticut, as "our indian cousin," it never occurred to me to doubt his belonging to that race, although i now think that if i had met him elsewhere i should have taken him for a spaniard or a mexican. his complexion had decidedly more of the olive than the copper hue, and his countenance was grave, almost melancholy. he was very silent during this interview, asking few questions, and offering no observations except in reply to some question addressed to him. it was a hard pull for the men up the rapids. wish-tay-yun, whose clear, sonorous voice was the bugle of the party, shouted and whooped--each one answered with a chorus, and a still more vigorous effort. by-and-by the boat would become firmly set between two huge stones-- "whoop la! whoop! whoop!" another pull, and another, straining every nerve--in vain. "she will not budge!" "men, overboard!" and instantly every rower is over the side and into the water. by pulling, pushing, and tugging, the boat is at length released from her position, and the men walk along beside her, helping and guiding her, until they reach a space of comparatively smooth water, when they again take their seats and their oars. it will be readily imagined that there were few songs this day, but very frequent _pipes_, to refresh the poor fellows after such an arduous service. it was altogether a new spectacle to me. in fact, i had hardly ever before been called upon to witness severe bodily exertion, and my sympathies and sensibilities were, for this reason, the more enlisted on the occasion. it seemed a sufficient hardship to have to labor in this violent manner; but to walk in cold water up to their waists, and then to sit down in their soaking garments without going near a fire! poor men! this was too much to be borne! what, then, was my consternation to see my husband, who, shortly after our noon-tide meal, had surprised me by making his appearance in a pair of duck trowsers and light jacket, at the first cry of "fast, again!" spring over into the water with the men, and "bear a hand" throughout the remainder of the long stretch! when he returned on board, it was to take the oar of a poor, delicate-looking boy, one of the company of soldiers, who from the first had suffered with bleeding at the nose on every unusual exertion. i was not surprised, on inquiring, to find that this lad was a recruit just entered the service. he passed by the name of gridley, but that was undoubtedly an assumed name. he had the appearance of having been delicately nurtured, and had probably enlisted without at all appreciating the hardships and discomforts of a soldier's life. this is evident from the dissatisfaction he always continued to feel, until at length he deserted from his post. this was some months subsequent to the time of which i am writing. he was once retaken, and kept for a time in confinement, but immediately on his release deserted again, and his remains were found the following spring, not many miles from the fort. he had died, either of cold or starvation. this is a sad interlude--we will return to our boating. with all our tugging and toiling, we had accomplished but thirteen miles since leaving the kakalin, and it was already late when we arrived in view of the "grande chûte," near which we were to encamp. we had passed the "little chûte" (the spot where the town of appleton now stands) without any further observation than that it required a vast deal of extra exertion to buffet with the rushing stream and come off, as we did, victorious. the brilliant light of the setting sun was resting on the high wooded banks through which broke the beautiful, foaming, dashing waters of the chûte. the boat was speedily turned towards a little headland projecting from the left bank, which had the advantage of a long strip of level ground, sufficiently spacious to afford a good encamping ground. i jumped ashore before the boat was fairly pulled up by the men, and with the judge's help made my way as rapidly as possible to a point lower down the river, from which, he said, the best view of the chûte could be obtained. i was anxious to make a sketch before the daylight quite faded away. the left bank of the river was to the west, and over a portion less elevated than the rest the sun's parting rays fell upon the boat, the men with their red caps and belts, and the two tents already pitched. the smoke now beginning to ascend from the evening fires, the high wooded bank beyond, up which the steep portage path could just be discerned, and, more remote still, the long stretch of waterfall now darkening in the shadow of the overhanging forests, formed a lovely landscape, to which the pencil of an artist could alone do justice. this was my first encampment, and i was quite enchanted with the novelty of everything about me. the fires had been made of small saplings and underbrush, hastily collected, the mildness of the weather rendering anything beyond what sufficed for the purposes of cooking and drying the men's clothes, superfluous. the soldiers' tent was pitched at some distance from our own, but not too far for us to hear distinctly their laughter and apparent enjoyment after the fatigues of the day. under the careful superintendence of corporal kilgour, however, their hilarity never passed the bounds of respectful propriety, and, by the time we had eaten our suppers, cooked in the open air with the simple apparatus of a tea-kettle and frying-pan, we were, one and all, ready to retire to our rest. the first sound that saluted our ears in the early dawn of the following morning, was the far-reaching call of the bourgeois: "how! how! how!" uttered at the very top of his voice. all start at that summons, and the men are soon turning out of their tents, or rousing from their slumbers beside the fire, and preparing for the duties of the day. the fire is replenished, the kettles set on to boil, the mess-baskets opened, and a portion of their contents brought forth to be made ready for breakfast. one frenchman spreads our mat within the tent, whence the bedding has all been carefully removed and packed up for stowing in the boat. the tin cups and plates are placed around on the new-fashioned table-cloth. the heavy dews make it a little too damp for us to breakfast in the open air; otherwise our preparations would be made outside, upon the green grass. in an incredibly short time our smoking coffee and broiled ham are placed before us, to which are added, from time to time, slices of toast brought hot and fresh from the glowing coals. there is, after all, no breakfast like a breakfast in the woods, with a well-trained frenchman for master of ceremonies. it was a hard day's work to which the men now applied themselves, that of dragging the heavy boat up the chûte. it had been thought safest to leave the piano in its place on board, but the rest of the lading had to be carried up the steep bank, and along its summit, a distance of some hundreds of rods, to the smooth water beyond, where all the difficulties of our navigation terminated. the judge kindly took charge of me while "the bourgeois" superintended this important business, and with reading, sketching, and strolling about, the morning glided away. twelve o'clock came, and still the preparations for starting were not yet completed. in my rambles about to seek out some of the finest of the wild flowers for a bouquet, before my husband's return, i came upon the camp-fire of the soldiers. a tall, red-faced, light-haired young man in fatigue dress was attending a kettle of soup, the savory steams of which were very attractive. seeing that i was observing his occupation, he politely ladled out a tin-cupful of the liquid and offered it to me. i declined it, saying we should have our dinner immediately. "they left me here to get their dinner," said he, apparently not displeased to have some one to talk to; "and i thought i might as well make some soup. down on the german flats, where i come from, they always like soup." "ah! you are from the german flats--then your name must be bellinger or weber." "no, it isn't--it's krissman." "well, krissman, how do you like the service?" "very well. i was only recruited last summer. i used to ride horse on the _canawl_, and, as i can blow a horn first-rate, i expect i will soon be able to play on a bugle, and then, when i get to be musician, you know, i shall have extra pay." i did not know it, but i expressed due pleasure at the information, and wishing krissman all manner of success in his dreams of ambition, or rather, i should say, of avarice, for the hopes of "extra pay" evidently preponderated over those of fame, i returned to my own quarters. my husband, with his french tastes, was inclined to be somewhat disappointed when i told him of this little incident, and my refusal of krissman's soup; but we were soon gratified by seeing his tall, awkward form bearing a kettle of the composition, which he set down before the two gentlemen, by whom, to his infinite satisfaction, it was pronounced excellent. everything being at length in readiness, the tents were struck and carried around the portage, and my husband, the judge, and i followed at our leisure. the woods were brilliant with wild flowers, although it was so late in the season that the glory of the summer was well-nigh past. but the lupin, the moss-pink, and the yellow wallflower, with all the varieties of the helianthus, the aster, and the solidago, spread their gay charms around. the gentlemen gathered clusters of the bittersweet (celastrus scandens) from the overhanging boughs to make a wreath for my hat, as we trod the tangled pathway, which, like that of christabel, was "now in glimmer and now in gloom," through the alternations of open glade and shady thicket. soon, like the same lovely heroine, "we reached the place--right glad we were," and, without further delay, we were again on board our little boat and skimming over the now placid waters. chapter v. winnebago lake--miss four-legs. our encampment this night was the most charming that can be imagined. owing to the heavy service the men had gone through in the earlier part of the day, we took but a short stage for the afternoon, and, having pulled some seven or eight miles to a spot a short distance below the "little butte," we drew in at a beautiful opening among the trees. the soldiers now made a regular business of encamping, by cutting down a large tree for their fire and applying themselves to the preparing of a sufficient quantity of food for their next day's journey, a long stretch, namely, of twenty-one miles across winnebago lake. our frenchmen did the same. the fire caught in the light dry grass by which we were surrounded, and soon all was blaze and crackle. fortunately the wind was sufficient to take the flames all in one direction, and, besides, there was not enough fuel to have made them a subject of any alarm. we hopped upon the fallen logs, and dignified the little circumscribed affair with the name of "a prairie on fire." the most serious inconvenience was its having consumed all the dry grass, some armfuls of which, spread under the bear-skin in my tent, i had found, the night before, a great improvement to my place of repose. our supper was truly delightful, at the pleasant sunset hour, under the tall trees beside the waters that ran murmuring by; and when the bright, broad moon arose, and shed her flood of light over the scene, so wild yet so beautiful in its vast solitude, i felt that i might well be an object of envy to the friends i had left behind. but all things have an end, and so must at last my enthusiasm for the beauties around me, and, albeit unwillingly, i closed my tent and took my place within, so near the fall of canvas that i could raise it occasionally and peep forth upon the night. in time all was quiet. the men had become silent, and appeared to have retired to rest, and we were just sinking to our slumbers, when a heavy tread and presently a bluff voice were heard outside. "mr. kinzie! mr. kinzie!" "who is there? what is it?" "i'm krissman; didn't you mean, sir, that the men should have any liquor to-night?" "of course i did. has not kilgour given out your rations?" "no: he says you did not say anything particular about it, and he was not coming to ask you if you forgot it; but i thought i wouldn't be bashful--i'd just come and ask.'" "that is right. tell kilgour i should like to have him serve out a ration apiece." "thank you, sir," in a most cheerful tone; "i'll tell him." krissman was getting to be quite a character with us. a row of a few miles, on the following morning, brought us to four-legs' village,[ ] at the entrance to winnebago lake, a picturesque cluster of indian huts, spread around on a pretty green glade, and shaded by fine lofty trees. we were now fairly in the winnebago country, and i soon learned that the odd-sounding name of the place was derived from the principal chief of the nation, whose residence it was. the inhabitants were absent, having, in all probability, departed to their wintering grounds. we here took leave of our friend wish-tay-yun, at the borders of whose country we had now arrived. "_bon-jour, chon!_" (john:) "_bon-jour, maman_." a hearty shake of the hand completed his adieu, as we pushed off into the lake, and left him smoking his kin-nee-kin-nick[ ] and waiting until the spirit should move him to take up his long _indian trot_ towards his home in the menomonee country. with him our sunshine seemed to have departed. the skies, hitherto so bright and serene, became overcast, and, instead of the charming voyage we had anticipated over the silver waters of the lake, we were obliged to keep ourselves housed under our canvas shelter, only peeping out now and then to catch a glimpse of the surrounding prospect through the pouring rain. it was what might have been expected on an autumnal day, but we were unreasonable enough to find it tedious; so, to beguile the time and lessen my disappointment, my husband related to me some incidents of his early history, apropos to the subject of "four-legs." while he was living at prairie du chien, in the employ of the american fur company, the chiefs and other indians from the upper mississippi used frequently to come to the place to sell their furs and peltries, and to purchase merchandise, ammunition, trinkets, etc. as is usual with all who are not yet acclimated, he was seized with chills and fever. one day, while suffering with an unusually severe access of the latter, a chief of the four-legs family, a brother to the one before mentioned, came in to the company's warehouse to trade. there is no ceremony or restraint among the indians: so, hearing that shaw-nee-aw-kee was sick, four-legs instantly made his way to him, to offer his sympathy and prescribe the proper remedies. every one who has suffered from ague and the intense fever that succeeds it, knows how insupportable is the protracted conversation of an inconsiderate person, and will readily believe that the longer four-legs continued his pratings the higher mounted the fever of the patient, and the more intolerable became the pain of head, back, and limbs. at length the old man arrived at the climax of what he had to say. "it was not good for a young man, suffering with sickness, and away from his family, to be without a home and a wife. he had a nice daughter at home, handsome and healthy, a capital nurse, the best hand in all the tribe at trapping beaver and musk-rats. he was coming down again in the spring, and he would bring her with him, and shaw-nee-aw-kee should see that he had told no falsehood about her. should he go now, and bring his daughter the next time he came?" stunned with his importunate babble, and anxious only for rest and quiet, poor shaw-nee-aw-kee eagerly assented, and the chief took his departure. so nearly had his disorder been aggravated to delirium, that the young man forgot entirely, for a time, the interview and the proposal which had been made him. but it was recalled to his memory some months after, when four-legs made his appearance, bringing with him a squaw of mature age, and a very hecate for ugliness. she carried on her shoulders an immense pack of furs, which, approaching with her awkward _criss-cross_ gait, she threw at his feet, thus marking, by an indian custom, her sense of the relation that existed between them. the conversation with her father now flashed across his mind, and he began to be sensible that he had got into a position that it would require some skill to extricate himself from. he bade one of the young clerks take up the pack and carry it into the magazine where the furs were stored; then he coolly went on talking with the chief about indifferent matters. _miss four-legs_ sat awhile with a sulky, discontented air; at length she broke out,-- "humph! he seems to take no more notice of me than if i was nobody!" he again turned to the clerk.--"give her a calico shirt and half a dozen bread-tickets." this did not dissipate the gloom on her countenance. finding that he must commence the subject, the father says,-- "well, i have brought you my daughter, according to our agreement. how do you like her?" "ah, yes--she is a very nice young woman, and would make a first-rate wife, i have no doubt. but do you know a very strange thing has happened since you were here? our father, governor cass,[ ] has sent for me to come to detroit, that he may send me among the wyandottes and other nations to learn their customs and manners. now, if i go, as i shall be obliged to do, i shall be absent two or three years,--perhaps four. what then? why, the people will say, shaw-nee-aw-kee has married four-legs' daughter, and then has hated her and run away from her, and so everybody will laugh at her, and she will be ashamed. it will be better to take some good, valuable presents, blankets, guns, etc., and to marry her to one of her own people, who will always stay by her and take care of her." the old man was shrewd enough to see that it was wisest to make the best bargain he could. i have no doubt it cost a round sum to settle the matter to the satisfaction of the injured damsel, though i have never been able to ascertain how much. this i know, that the young gentleman took care not to make his next bargain while in a fit of the ague. the lady up on the mississippi is called, in derision, by his name to this day. about midway of the lake we passed garlic island--a lovely spot, deserving of a more attractive name. it belonged, together with the village on the opposite shore, to "wild cat," a fat, jolly, good-natured fellow, by no means the formidable animal his name would imply. he and his band were absent, like their neighbors of four-legs' village, so there was nothing to vary the monotony of our sail. it was too wet to sing, and the men, although wrapped in their overcoats, looked like drowned chickens. they were obliged to ply their oars with unusual vigor to keep themselves warm and comfortable, and thus probably felt less than we, the dulness and listlessness of the cold, rainy, october day. towards evening the sun shone forth. we had passed into the fox river, and were just entering that beautiful little expanse known as butte des morts lake, at the farther extremity of which we were to encamp for the night. the water along its shores was green with the fields of wild rice, the gathering of which, just at this season, is an important occupation of the indian women. they push their canoes into the thick masses of the rice, bend it forward over the side with their paddles, and then beat the ripe husks off the stalks into a cloth spread in the canoe. after this, it is rubbed to separate the grain from the husk, and fanned in the open air. it is then put in their cordage bags and packed away for winter use. the grain is longer and more slender than the carolina rice--it is of a greenish-olive color, and, although it forms a pleasant article of food, it is far from being particularly nutritive. the indians are fond of it in the form of soup, with the addition of birds or venison. chapter vi. breakfast at betty more's. the earth, the trees, and the shrubbery were all too much filled with the heavy rain which had fallen to allow us to think of encamping, so we made arrangements to bestow ourselves in our little saloon for the night. it was rather a difficult matter to light a fire, but among the underbrush, in a wild, undisturbed spot, there will always be found some fragments of dried branches, and tufts of grass which the rain has not reached, and by the assistance of the spunk, or light-wood, with which travellers always go well provided, a comforting fire was at length blazing brightly. after our chilling, tedious day, it was pleasant to gather round it, to sit on the end of the blazing logs, and watch the frenchmen preparing our supper--the kettle nestling in a little nook of bright glowing coals--the slices of ham browning and crisping on the forked sticks, or "broches," which the voyageurs dexterously cut, and set around the burning brands--- the savory messes of "pork and onions" hissing in the frying-pan, always a tempting regale to the hungry frenchmen. truly, it needs a wet, chilly journey, taken nearly fasting, as ours had been, to enable one to enjoy to its full extent that social meal--a supper. the bright sun, setting amid brilliant masses of clouds, such as are seen only in our western skies, gave promise of a fine day on the morrow, with which comforting assurance we were glad to take our leave of him, and soon after of each other. we had hardly roused up the following morning, in obedience to the call of the bourgeois, when our eyes were greeted with the sight of an addition to our company--a tall, stalwart, fine-looking young _mitiff_, or half-breed, accompanied by two or three indians. vociferous and joyous were the salutations of the latter to their "father" and their new "mother." they were the first winnebagoes i had seen, and they were decidedly not the finest specimens of their tribe. the mitiff, a scion of the wide-spreading tree of the grignons, was the bearer of an invitation to us from judge law, who, with one or two green bay friends, was encamped a few miles above, to come and breakfast with him in his tent. we had not dreamed of finding white neighbors here, but our vicinity could be no secret to them, as long as there was an indian in the neighborhood. so, delaying only for the soldiers to finish their breakfast, we pushed on for the "butte des morts," or, as mrs. a always persisted in calling it, _betty more's_. the white tent of the judge gleamed in the morning sun as we approached the little rising ground on which it stood. the river was filled with canoes, paddled principally by squaws. many indians were to be seen on the banks, all with their guns and hunting accoutrements, for the air was filled in every direction with flocks of teal, which at this season are most abundant and delicious. the immense fields of wild rice abounding here and in the little lake below, make this vicinity their favorite place of resort in the autumn months. the effect of this nourishing food is to make the flesh of the birds so fat, so white, and so tender, that a caution is always given to a young sportsman to fire only at such as fly very low, for if shot high in the air they are bruised to pieces and rendered unfit for eating by their fall to the ground. we were hemmed in by a little fleet of canoes which surrounded us, the women chattering, laughing, and eagerly putting forward their little wooden bowls of fresh cranberries as an offering of welcome to me. i amused myself with tossing crackers to them, some of which would reach them, others would fall into the water, and then such a scrambling and shouting! hands and paddles were in requisition, and loud was the triumph of her who was successful in reaching a floating one. among the indians with whom shaw-nee-aw-kee was now engaged in shaking hands, and who all seemed old friends, were many fine, straight, well-formed figures, all of them exhibiting frames capable of enduring fatigue and the hardships of their mode of life. one was describing with much gesticulation the abundance of the game in the neighborhood, and he seemed greatly delighted at receiving a quantity of ammunition, with which he instantly departed to make good his boasts in the matter. after walking a short distance, we reached the tent, where i was introduced to judge law and a pleasant little gray-haired french gentleman of the name of porlier. several voyageurs and half-breeds were near, the former busily at work, the latter lounging for the most part, and going through with what they had to do with a sort of listless indifference. the contrast between the "all-alive" air of the one class and the apathetic manner of the other, was quite striking. after a short conversation among the members of the party, breakfast was announced, and we entered the tent and took our seats on the ground around the indian mat which supplied the place of a table. the post of honor, namely, the _head_ of the table, was of course given to me, so that i could not only look around upon the circle of the company, but also enjoy a fine view out of the open door of the tent, and take an observation of all that was going on at the _side-table_ outside. judge doty sat opposite me, with his back to the opening of the tent, and the other gentlemen on either hand. we had for our waiter the tall "mitiff" who had been the messenger of the morning. he was still in the same garb--calico shirt, bright-colored scarf around his waist, and on his head a straw hat encircled with a band of black ostrich feathers, the usual dress of his class. the tin cups which were to hold our coffee were duly set around, then breakfast-plates of the same metal, with knives and forks; then followed the viands, among the most conspicuous of which was a large tin pan of boiled ducks. the judge, wishing to show, probably, that, although we were in the vast wilderness, all fastidious nicety had not been left behind, took up the plate which had been set before him, and, seeing something adhering to it which did not exactly please him, handed it over his shoulder to grignon, requesting him to wipe it carefully. grignon complied by pulling a black silk barcelona handkerchief out of his bosom, where it had been snugly tucked away to answer any occasion that might present itself, and, giving the tin a furious polishing, handed it back again. the judge looked at it with a smile of approbation, and giving a glance around the table as much as to say, "you see how i choose to have things done," applied himself to his breakfast. the trail for fort winnebago then led from the shore opposite butte des morts, through _ma-zhee-gaw-gaw_ swamp, and past green lake, and it was well for the judge that his horses stood waiting for him to "mount and away" as early as possible after breakfast, or i am afraid the story i should have been tempted to tell would have made his ride an uncomfortable one throughout the day. we had hardly finished breakfast when our hunter, who had received the ammunition, returned, bringing with him about fifty fine ducks, which he had shot in little more than an hour. from that time until the close of our journey our supply of these delicate birds was never wanting. chapter vii. butte des morts--lake puckaway. the butte des morts, or hillock of the dead, was the scene long since[ ] of a most sanguinary battle between the french and the mis-qua-kees, or foxes. so great was the carnage in this engagement, that the memory of it has been perpetuated by the gloomy appellation given to the mound where the dead were buried. the foxes up to this time had inhabited the shores of the river to which they had given their name, but, being completely overwhelmed and beaten in this conflict, they retired to the neighborhood of the mississippi, and sought an asylum among their allies, the saukies, or, as they are now called, the sauks, with whom they became gradually incorporated, until the combined tribes came to be known, as at present, by the name of "sauks and foxes." among the french inhabitants of the upper country, each tribe of indians has a particular appellation, descriptive of some peculiarity of either their habits or their personal appearance. thus, the chippewas, from their agility, are denominated "sauteurs," or jumpers; the ottawas, the "courtes-oreilles," or short-ears. the menomonees, from the wild rice so abundant in their country, are called "folles avoines;"--the winnebagoes, from their custom of wearing the fur of a polecat on their legs when equipped for war, are termed "les puans;"--the pottowattamies, from their uncleanly habits, "les poux;"--the foxes are "les renards," etc. etc. hence you will never hear a french or half-breed resident of the country mention an indian in any other style. "such a person is a 'court-oreille.'" "is that woman a 'winnebago'?" "no, she is a 'folle avoine.'" in this manner a stranger is somewhat puzzled at first to classify the acquaintances he forms. all the native friends with whom we were here surrounded were "les puans," or, to use their own euphonious appellation, the "_ho-tshung-rahs_." having with great regret said adieu to our friend judge doty, whose society had contributed so much to the pleasure of our trip, and whose example, moreover, had given us a valuable lesson to take things as we find them, we bade good-bye at an early hour after breakfast to our kind hosts, and set forward on our journey. from butte des morts to the portage, the distance by land is about seventy miles; by water, it is not less than a hundred and thirty, so serpentine is the course of the river through the low swampy prairies which stretch over a great portion of this part of the country. about six miles above the butte, a tolerably broad stream, called wolf river, joins the fox, and as it is much the more direct and promising of the two, strangers have sometimes mistaken it for the main stream, and journeyed up it a considerable distance before discovering, to their great chagrin, that they must retrace their steps. beyond this place, the river begins to play its pranks with the compass. as i was always looking out for pretty scenery to sketch, i was at one spot much attracted by a picturesque group on a bank quite close to the stream. there were broad overhanging trees, and two or three wigwams nestled under their shade. bright-looking little children, quite unencumbered with clothing, were sporting about, and their two mothers were sitting on the ground, engaged in the manufacture of a mat for their lodge. it was a pretty scene, and i commenced a sketch. as usual, the whole party on the bank set up a shout when they recognized shaw-nee-aw-kee,-- "ee-awn-chee-wee-rah, hee-nee-kar-ray-kay-noo."[ ] it was an occasion on which they became demonstrative. after a little time we proceeded, and i went on to complete my drawing. the sun kept coming more and more into the wrong place. he had been just behind me, presently he was on my left hand, now he was straight ahead. i moved from time to time; at length the sun was decidedly on my right hand. what could be the matter? i looked up. "oh, here is a pretty scene; i must have this too! but how surprisingly like the one i have just finished, only in a different direction." again we were greeted with shouts and laughter; it was the same spot which we had passed not an hour before, and, having taken a circuit of nearly four miles, we had returned to find that we had made an actual progress of only the width of the bank on which the trees and wigwams stood. decidedly not very encouraging to an impatient traveller. we reached lake puckaway late in the evening of our second day from butte des morts. here lived a white man named gleason, the same concerning whom, owing to his vast powers of exaggeration, poor hooe was fond of uttering his little pun, "all is not gold that gleasons." we did not seek shelter at his house, for, late as the season was, we found the shore so infested with mosquitoes that we were glad to choose a spot as far as possible from the bank, and make ourselves comfortable in our boat. this lake has its name from the long flags or rushes which are found in its waters in great abundance, and of which the squaws manufacture the coarse matting used in covering their wigwams. their mode of fabricating this is very primitive and simple. seated on the ground, with the rushes laid side by side, and fastened at each extremity, they pass their shuttle, a long flat needle made of bone, to which is attached a piece of cordage formed of the bark of a tree, through each rush, thus confining it very closely, and making a fine substantial mat. these mats are seldom more than five or six feet in length, as a greater size would be inconvenient in adjusting and preparing the lodges. it is a species of labor usually assigned to the elder women of the family. when they become broken down and worn out with exposure and hardship, so that they cannot cut down trees, hoe corn, or carry heavy burdens, they are set to weaving mats, taking care of the children, and disciplining the dogs, with which every indian lodge abounds. lac de boeuf, or buffalo lake, into which our course next brought us, is a lovely sheet of water. in some places its banks are exceedingly picturesque, with beautiful headlands jutting out into the clear depths, where they, and the magnificent groups of trees which crown them, lie reflected as in a mirror. now and then we would catch a glimpse of deer darting across the glades which at intervals opened through the woodlands, or a pair of sand-hill cranes would rise, slowly flapping their wings, and seek a place of more undisturbed repose. the flocks of teal now skimming the surface of the water, now rising higher towards the shelter of the forests, tempted our sportsman sorely; but, as there was little prospect of finding his game when it was brought down, he did not give way to the wanton pleasure of shooting merely to destroy life. in quitting this charming lake, and again entering the narrow, tortuous course of the river, we bade adieu to everything like scenery, until we should reach our journey's end. we had now seventy miles to pass through a country perfectly monotonous and uninteresting, the distastefulness of which was aggravated by the knowledge that we could, had we been provided with horses or a carriage of any kind, have crossed over to the portage from gleason's, through a pleasant country, in little more than three hours. even our great resource, the cheering, animating songs of our voyageurs, was out of the question; for the river, though deep, is so narrow that, in many places, there is no room for the regular play of the oars; and the voices of frenchmen can never "keep tune" unless their oars can "keep time." lapierre, one of our men, did his best with a paddle, or, as he called it, the "_little row_," but it was to no purpose--it _would not go_. besides this, the wild rice abounds to such an extent in many places, that it almost completely obstructs the progress of even a moderate-sized boat, so that a passage through its tangled masses is with difficulty forced by the oars. tedious and monotonous as was the whole course of the two following days, the climax of impatience and discouragement was not reached until we arrived in sight of the white walls of fort winnebago, looking down from a rising ground upon the vast expanse of low land through which the river winds. the indians have a tradition that a vast serpent once lived in the waters of the mississippi, and that, taking a freak to visit the great lakes, he left his trail through the prairies, which, collecting the waters from the meadows and the rains of heaven as they fell, at length became the fox river. the little lakes along its course were probably the spots where he flourished about in his uneasy slumbers at night. he must have played all the antics of a kitten in the neighborhood of the portage. when the fort was first pointed out to me, i exclaimed, with delight, "oh, we shall be there in half an hour!" "not quite so soon," said my husband, smiling. "wait and see." we sat and watched. we seemed approaching the very spot where we were to disembark. we could distinguish the officers and a lady on the bank waiting to receive us. now we were turning our backs on them, and shooting out into the prairie again. anon we approached another bank, on which was a range of comfortable-looking log houses. "that's the agency," said my husband; "the largest house belongs to paquette, the interpreter, and the others are the dwellings of our frenchmen. the little building, just at the foot of the hill, is the blacksmith's shop, kept there by the government, that the indians may have their guns and traps mended free of expense." "but are we going to stop there?" "no; do you not see we are going back to the fort?" and, to be sure, our course had now turned, and we were setting in our first direction. in this manner, after tacking to the right and left and putting backwards and forwards during the greater part of two hours, we at length reached the little landing, on which the assembled party stood ready to greet us. chapter viii fort winnebago. major and mrs. twiggs, and a few of the younger officers (for nearly all of the older ones were absent), with our brother robert, or, as he is called throughout all the indian tribes, "bob," gave us a cordial welcome--how cordial those alone can know who have come, like us, to a remote, isolated home in the wilderness. the major insisted on our taking possession at once of vacant quarters in the fort, instead of at "the agency," as had been proposed. "no--we must be under the same roof with them. mrs. twiggs had been without a companion of her own sex for more than four months, and would certainly not hear of a separation now. but we must be their guests until the arrival of the boats containing our furniture," which, under the care of our old acquaintance, hamilton arndt, was making its way slowly up from green bay. a dinner had been prepared for us. this is one of the advantages of the zigzag approach by the fox river--travellers never take their friends by surprise; and when the whole circle sat down to the hospitable board, we were indeed a merry company. after dinner mrs. twiggs showed me the quarters assigned to us, on the opposite side of the spacious hall. they consisted of two large rooms on each of the three floors or stories of the building. on the ground-floor the front room was vacant. the one in the rear was to be the sleeping-apartment, as was evident from a huge, unwieldy bedstead, of proportions amply sufficient to have accommodated og, the king of bashan, with mrs. og and the children into the bargain. we could not repress our laughter; but the bedstead was nothing to another structure which occupied a second corner of the apartment. this edifice had been built under the immediate superintendence of one of our young lieutenants, and it was plain to be seen that upon it both he and the soldiers who fabricated it had exhausted all their architectural skill. the timbers of which it was composed had been grooved and carved; the pillars that supported the front swelled in and out in a most fanciful manner; the doors were not only panelled, but radiated in a way to excite the admiration of all unsophisticated eyes. a similar piece of workmanship had been erected in each set of quarters, to supply the deficiency of closets, an inconvenience which had never occurred, until too late, to the bachelors who planned them. the three apartments of which each structure was composed, were unquestionably designed for clothes-press, store-room, and china-closet; such, at least, were the uses to which mrs. twiggs had appropriated the one assigned to her. there was this slight difficulty, that in the latter the shelves were too close to admit of setting in even a gravy-boat, but they made up in number what was wanting in space. we christened the whole affair, in honor of its projector, a "davis," thus placing the first laurel on the brow of one who was afterwards to signalize himself in _cabinet_ making of quite a different character. the bold promontory on which fort winnebago was built looked down upon the extended prairie and the fox river on one side, and on the other stretched away into the thickly-wooded ridge that led off to belle fontaine and lake puckaway. in front lay an extent of meadow, across which was the portage road, of about two miles in length, leading between the fox and the wisconsin rivers. teams of oxen and a driver were kept at the agency by the government, to transport the canoes of the indians across this place, which at many seasons was wet, miry, and almost impassable. the woods were now brilliant with the many tints of autumn, and the scene around was further enlivened by groups of indians, in all directions, and their lodges, which were scattered here and there, in the vicinity of the agency buildings. on the low grounds might be seen the white tents of the traders, already prepared to furnish winter supplies to the indians, in exchange for the annuity money they were about to receive. a great concourse had been for many days assembling in anticipation of the payment, which was expected to take place as soon as shaw-nee-aw-kee should arrive with the silver. preparatory to this event, the great chief of the nation, four-legs, whose village we had passed at the entrance to winnebago lake, had thought proper to take a little carouse, as is too apt to be the custom when the savages come into the neighborhood of a sutler's establishment. in the present instance, the facilities for a season of intoxication had been augmented by the presence on the ground of some traders, too regardless of the very stringent laws prohibiting the sale of liquor to the indians. poor four-legs could not stand this full tide of prosperity. unchecked by the presence of his father, the agent, he carried his indulgence to such excess that he fell a victim in the course of a few days. his funeral had been celebrated with unusual pomp the day before our arrival, and great was my disappointment at finding myself too late to witness all the ceremonies. his body, according to their custom, having been wrapped in a blanket, and placed in a rude coffin, along with his guns, tomahawk, pipes, and a quantity of tobacco, had been carried to the most elevated point of the hill opposite the fort, followed by an immense procession of his people, whooping, beating their drums, howling, and making altogether what is emphatically termed a "_pow-wow_" after the interment of the body, a stake was planted at its head, on which was painted in vermilion a series of hieroglyphics, descriptive of the great deeds and events of his life the whole was then surrounded with pickets of the trunks of the tamarack-trees, and hither the friends would come for many successive days to renew the expression of their grief, and to throw over the grave tobacco and other offerings to the great spirit. it was a consolation to find that, although delayed, we were yet in time to furnish a quantity of white cotton for a flag to wave over the grave, and also to pay a considerable bill at the sutler's for the different articles that had been found necessary for the funeral parade--it being a duty expected of their father to bury the dead suitably. the funeral observances in honor of the chief had not yet ceased. throughout the day, and all that night, the sound of instruments, mingled with doleful lamentations, and with the discordant whoops and yells of those in a partial state of intoxication, filled the air, and disturbed our repose. to these were added occasionally the plaintive sounds of the indian flute, upon which the young savage plays when he is in love. grief and whiskey had made their hearts tender, and the woods resounded to their melancholy strains. early the following morning, before i left my room, i was startled by the sounds of lamentation and woe proceeding from the adjoining apartment. on entering it, i found several squaws seated on the floor, with downcast looks expressive of condolence and sympathy, while in their midst sat a little ugly woman, in tattered garments, with blackened face and dishevelled hair, sobbing and wailing bitterly. not doubting they were the family of the deceased chief, i was quite troubled at my inability to express, otherwise than by gestures, my participation in their sorrows. unacquainted as i was with their customs, i took it for granted from their wretched appearance that poverty and destitution formed one of the sources of their affliction. one of the party, at least, seemed in the very depths of misery. "can it be possible," said i to myself, "that this poor creature has only these scanty rags to cover her?" stepping back to my own room, i brought out a pretty calico wrapper, which i presented to the little, dirty, blackened object. she took it, and commenced a fresh series of sobbing and sighing. i made signs to her to put it on, opening it and explaining to her how it was to be worn, and recommending to her, by gestures, to lose no time in making herself more comfortable. at this, the other women burst into a laugh. "very mal-à-propos," thought i, "and somewhat unfeeling." at that moment my husband, entering, explained to me that the chief mourner was madame four-legs, the widow; that she had undoubtedly a comfortable wardrobe at home, but that it was part of the etiquette of mourning to go for a season with neglected persons and blackened faces. all this was told me in the intervals of shaking hands, and offering and receiving condolences in the most uncouth, guttural language i had ever heard. their father at length dismissed them, with a promise of some presents to help dry up their tears. it must not be inferred that the grief of the poor little widow was not sincere. on the contrary, she was greatly attached to her husband, and had had great influence not only with him but with the nation at large. she was a fox woman, and spoke the chippewa, which is the court language among all the tribes, so that she was often called upon to act as interpreter, and had, in fact, been in the habit of accompanying her husband, and assisting him by her counsels upon all occasions. she was a person of great shrewdness and judgment, and, as i afterwards experienced, of strong and tenacious affections. after breakfast i received a visit from the principal chiefs, who had put on their best of apparel and paint to receive their new mother. there was naw-kaw, or kar-ray-mau-nee, "the walking turtle," now the principal chief of the nation, a stalwart indian, with a broad, pleasant countenance, the great peculiarity of which was an immense under lip, hanging nearly to his chin. there was the old day-kau-ray, the most noble, dignified, and venerable of his own, or indeed of any tribe. his fine roman countenance, rendered still more striking by his bald head, with one solitary tuft of long silvery hair neatly tied and falling back on his shoulders; his perfectly neat, appropriate dress, almost without ornament, and his courteous demeanor, never laid aside under any circumstances, all combined to give him the highest place in the consideration of all who knew him. it will hereafter be seen that his traits of character were not less grand and striking than were his personal appearance and deportment. there was black-wolf, whose lowering, surly face was well described by his name. the fierce expression of his countenance was greatly heightened by the masses of heavy black hair hanging round it, quite contrary to the usual fashion among the winnebagoes. they, for the most part, remove a portion of their hair, the remainder of which is drawn to the back of the head, clubbed and ornamented with beads, ribbons, cock's feathers, or, if they are so entitled, an eagle's feather for every scalp taken from an enemy. there was _talk-english,_ a remarkably handsome, powerful young indian, who received his name in the following manner. he was one of a party of sixteen winnebagoes who had, by invitation, accompanied their agent and major forsyth (or the chippewa, as he was called) on a visit to the president at washington, the year previous. on the journey, the question naturally addressed to them by people not familiar with western indians was,-- "do you talk english?" the young fellow, being very observant, came to his father. "what do they mean by this? everybody says to me, _talk english!_" the agent interpreted the words to him. "ah, very well." the next place they arrived at was lockport, in the state of new york. jumping off the canal-boat upon the lock, he ran up to the first man he met, and, thrusting forward his face, cried out, "talk eengeesh?" "yes," said the man; "do you talk english?" "ya-as." from that time forward he always bore the name of _talk-english_, and was registered on the pay-rolls by a title of which he was not a little proud. hoo-wau-ne-kah, "the little elk," was another of the distinguished men of the tribe. he had likewise been at washington. henry clay, when he visited them, after looking carefully at the countenances and bearing of all the members of the deputation, had indicated him as the one possessing the greatest talent; and he was greatly pleased when informed that he was the principal orator of the nation, and decidedly superior in abilities to any other individual of the tribe. wild-cat, our indian falstaff in all save the cowardice and falsehood, i have already mentioned. then there was kau-ray-kaw-saw-kaw, "the white crow," a rock river indian, who afterwards distinguished himself as the friend of the whites during the sauk war. he was called by the french "le borgne," from having lost an eye; and the black silk handkerchief which he wore drooping over the left side of his face to disguise the blemish, taken with his native costume, gave him a very singular appearance. there was a nephew of the defunct chief four-legs, to whom with justice was given, by both whites and indians, the appellation of "the dandy." when out of mourning his dress was of the most studied and fanciful character. a shirt (when he condescended to wear any) of the brightest colors, ornamented with innumerable rows of silver brooches set thickly together; never less than two pairs of silver arm-bands; leggings and moccasins of the most elaborate embroidery in ribbons and porcupine-quills; everything that he could devise in the shape of ornament hanging to his club of hair behind; a feather fan in one hand, and in the other a mirror, in which he contemplated himself every five minutes; these, with the variety and brilliancy of the colors upon his face, the suitable choice and application of which occupied no small portion of the hours allotted to his toilet, made up the equipment of young four-legs. this devotion to dress and appearance seemed not altogether out of place in a youthful dandy; but we had likewise an old one of the same stamp. pawnee blanc, or the white pawnee, surpassed his younger competitor, if possible, in attention to his personal attractions. upon the present occasion he appeared in all his finery, and went through the customary salutations with an air of solemn dignity, then walked, as did the others, into the parlor (for i had received them in the hall), where they all seated themselves upon the floor. fortunately, the room was now bare of furniture, but "alas!" thought i, "for my pretty carpet, if this is to be the way they pay their respects to me!" i watched the falling of the ashes from their long pipes, and the other inconveniences of the use of tobacco, or kin-nee-kin-nick, with absolute dismay. the visit of the chiefs was succeeded by one from the interpreter and his wife, with all the canadian and half-breed women, whose husbands found employment at the agency or at the american fur company's establishment. by this time my piano had been taken from its case and set up in our quarters. to our great joy, we found it entirely uninjured. thanks to the skill of nunns and clark, not a note was out of tune. the women, to whom it was an entire novelty, were loud in their exclamations of wonder and delight. "_eh-h-h! regardez donc! quelles inventions! quelles merveilles!_"[ ] one, observing the play of my fingers reflected in the nameboard, called in great exultation to her companions. she had discovered, as she thought, the hidden machinery by which the sounds were produced, and was not a little mortified when she was undeceived. chapter ix. housekeeping. as the boats might be expected in a few days, it was thought best to begin at once what preparations were in my power towards housekeeping. these were simply the fitting and sewing of my carpets, in which i was kindly assisted by mrs. twiggs; and, the wife of one of our frenchmen having come over from the agency and made everything tidy and comfortable, the carpets were soon tacked down, and the rooms were ready for the reception of the rest of the furniture. i had made many fruitless attempts, both in detroit and green bay, to procure a servant-woman to accompany me to my new home. sometimes one would present herself, but, before we could come to a final agreement, the thoughts of the distance, of the savages, the hardships of the journey, or, perhaps, the objections of friends, would interfere to break off the negotiation; so that i had at length been obliged to rest satisfied with the simple hope held out by my husband, that one of his french employés, with his wife, would be contented to take up their abode with us. in this state of things, all difficulties seemed to be obviated by the proposal of major twiggs, that we should take into our service a young colored girl whom he had brought from buffalo, in the spring, to wait on mrs. t. until her own servants should arrive from the south. louisa was accordingly sent for, an uncommonly handsome young negress, with an intelligent but very demure countenance, who called herself fifteen years of age, but who, from the progress in vice and iniquity i afterwards discovered her to have made, must have been at least several years older. be that as it may, she now seemed to have no fault but carelessness and inexperience, both of which i had great hopes she would get the better of, under careful training. my first week's visit with mrs. twiggs had just expired when word was given that the boats were in sight--the boats that contained our furniture--and the expected arrival of louis philippe to visit queen victoria could scarcely have created a more universal sensation, than did this announcement in our little community. although we knew that some hours must yet elapse before they could reach the spot for disembarkation, we were constantly on the watch, and at length all the young officers, followed by as many of the soldiers as were off duty, accompanied mr. kinzie down the bank to the landing, to witness and, if necessary, to assist in helping everything safe to land. sad was the plight in which matters were found. the water poured out of the corners of the boxes as they were successively hoisted on shore. too impatient to wait until they could be carried up to the fort, the gentlemen soon furnished themselves with, hammers and hatchets, and fell eagerly to work, opening the boxes to explore the extent of the damage. alas for the mahogany! not a piece from which the edges and veneering were not starting. it had all the appearance of having lain under the grande chûte for days. poor hamilton was load in his protestations and excuses. it was the fault of the men, of the weather, of the way the things were packed. "confound it! he had taken the best care of the things he possibly could--better than he had ever taken before--it _would_ get done!" there was nothing but to be patient and make the best of it. and when the pretty sideboard and work-table had been thoroughly rubbed and set up, and all the little knick-knacks arranged on the mantel-piece--when the white curtains were hung at the windows, and the chairs and dining-table each in its proper place in relation to the piano, our parlor was pronounced "magnificent." at least so seemed to think hamilton, who came to give one admiring look, and to hear the music of the piano, which was a perfect novelty to him. his description of it to the young officers, after his return to the bay, was expressive of his admiration and wonder--"there it stood on its four legs! anybody might go up and touch it!" in due time the dinner- and tea-sets were carefully bestowed in the "davis," together with sundry jars of sweetmeats that i had prepared in detroit; the iron and tin utensils were placed in a neat cupboard in the kitchen, of which my piano-box supplied the frame; the barrel of eggs and tubs of butter, brought all the way from ohio, were ranged in the store-room; a suitable quantity of salt pork and flour was purchased from the commissary; and, there being no lack of game of every description, the offering of our red children, we were ready to commence housekeeping. the first dinner in her own home is an era in the life of a young housekeeper. i shall certainly never forget mine. while i was in the lower regions superintending my very inexpert little cook, my husband made his appearance, to say that, as the payment (then the all-absorbing topic of interest) would not commence until afternoon, he had invited m. rolette, mr. hempstead, and four other gentlemen to dine with us. "so unexpected--so unprepared for?" "never mind; give them anything you have. they have been living for some days in tents, and anything will taste well to them." my dinner had been intended to consist chiefly of a venison pasty, and fortunately the only dish among my store was of very large proportions, so that there was already smoking in the oven a pie of a size nearly equal to the famous norwich pudding; thus, with some trifling additions to the bill of fare, we made out very well, and the master of the house had the satisfaction of hearing the impromptu dinner very much commended by his six guests. chapter x. indian payment--mrs. washington. there were two divisions of the winnebago indians, one of which was paid by the agent, at the portage, the other at prairie du chien, by general street. the first, between four and five thousand in number, received, according to treaty stipulations, fifteen thousand dollars annually, besides a considerable amount of presents, and a certain number of rations of bread and pork, to be issued in times of emergency throughout the year. the principal villages of this division of the tribe were at lake winnebago, green and fox lakes, the barribault, mud lake, the four lakes, kosh-ko-nong, and turtle creek. messengers were dispatched, at or before the arrival of the annuity-money, to all the different villages, to notify the heads of families or lodges to assemble at "the portage." when arrived, the masters of families, under their different chiefs, give in their names, and the number in their lodges, to be registered. as, in paying, a certain sum of money is apportioned to each individual, it is, of course, an object to the head of a lodge to make the number registered as great as possible. each one brings his little bundle of sticks, and presents it to the agent to register. sometimes a dialogue like the following occurs: "how many have you in your lodge?" the indian carefully, and with great ceremony, counts his bundle of sticks--"fifteen" "how many men?" "two." the agent lays aside two sticks "how many women?" "three." three more sticks are separated. "how many children?" "eight" eight sticks are added to the heap. "what is the meaning of these two sticks that remain?" the culprit, whose arithmetic has not served him to carry out his deception, disappears amid the shouts and jeers of his companions, who are always well pleased at the detection of any roguery in which they have had no share. the young officers generally assisted in counting out and delivering the money at these payments, and it was no unusual thing, as the last band came up, for the chiefs to take a quantity of silver out of the box and request their father to pay his friends for their trouble, seeming really disturbed at his refusal. in this, as in almost every instance, we see the native courtesy and politeness, which are never lost sight of among them. if a party comes to their father to beg for provisions, and food is offered them, however hungry they may be, each waits patiently until one of the company makes an equal distribution of the whole, and then, taking his share, eats it quietly, with the greatest moderation. i never saw this rule violated, save in one instance. our friend, pawnee blanc, _the old dandy_, once came with a party of indians, requesting permission to dance for us in the open space before the door. it was a warm, dusty afternoon, and as our friends grew heated and fatigued with the violent and long-continued exercise, a pitcher of raspberry negus was prepared and sent out to them. pawnee received the pitcher and tumbler, and, pouring the latter about half full, gave it to the first of the circle, then filled the same for the next, and so on, until it suddenly occurred to him to look into the pitcher. what he saw there determined his course of action; so, setting the tumbler upon the ground, he raised the pitcher with both hands to his lips and gave a hearty pull, after which he went on, giving less and less, until he was called to have the pitcher replenished. all present agreed it was the only instance they had ever witnessed, of an indian's appearing afraid of getting less of a thing than his share. during the payment a good many kegs of whiskey find their way into the lodges of the indians, notwithstanding the watchfulness of both officers and agent. where there is a demand there will always be a supply, let the legal prohibitions be what they may. the last day of the payment is, invariably, one of general carousing. when the men begin their _frolic_, the women carefully gather all the guns, knives, tomahawks, and weapons of every description, and secrete them, that as little mischief as possible may be done in the absence of all restraint and reason. i am sorry to record that our little friend, pawnee blanc, was greatly addicted to the pleasures of the bottle. among the presents for the chiefs, which shaw-nee-aw-kee had brought from the east, was a trunk of blue cloth coats, trimmed with broad gold lace, and a box of round black hats, ornamented in a similar manner. all who are familiar with indians, of whatever tribe, will have observed that their first step towards civilization, whether in man or woman, is mounting a man's hat, decorated with tinsel; ribbons, or feathers. pawnee was among the happy number remembered in the distribution; so, donning at once his new costume, and tying a few additional bunches of gay-colored ribbons to a long spear, that was always his baton of ceremony, he came at once, followed by an admiring train, chiefly of women, to pay me a visit of state. the solemn gravity of his countenance, as he motioned away those who would approach too near and finger his newly-received finery--the dignity with which he strutted along, edging this way and that to avoid any possible contact from homely, every-day wardrobes--augured well for a continuance of propriety and self-respect, and a due consideration of the good opinion of all around. but, alas for pawnee! late in the day we saw him assisted towards his lodge by two stout young indians, who had pulled him out of a ditch, his fine coat covered with mud, his hat battered and bruised, his spear shorn of its gay streamers, and poor pawnee himself weeping and uttering all the doleful lamentations of a tipsy indian. * * * * * among the women with whom i early made acquaintance was the wife of wau-kaun-zee-kah, _the yellow thunder_. she had accompanied her husband, who was one of the deputation to visit the president, and from that time forth she had been known as "the washington woman." she had a pleasant, old-acquaintance sort of air in greeting me, as much as to say, "you and i have seen something of the world." no expression of surprise or admiration escaped her lips, as her companions, with childlike, laughing simplicity, exclaimed and clapped their hands at the different wonderful objects i showed them. her deportment said plainly, "yes, yes, my children, i have seen all these things before." it was not until i put to her ear a tropical shell, of which i had a little cabinet, and she heard its murmuring sound, that she laid aside her apathy of manner. she poked her finger into the opening to get at the animal within, shook it violently, then raised it to her ear again, and finally burst into a hearty laugh, and laid it down, acknowledging, by her looks, that this was beyond her comprehension. i had one shell of peculiar beauty--my favorite in the whole collection--a small conch, covered with rich, dark veins. each of the visitors successively took up this shell, and by words and gestures expressed her admiration, evidently showing that she had an eye for beauty--this was on the occasion of the parting visit of my red daughters. shortly after the payment had been completed, and the indians had left, i discovered that my valued shell was missing from the collection. could it be that one of the squaws had stolen it? it was possible--they would occasionally, though rarely, do such things under the influence of strong temptation. i tried to recollect which, among the party, looked most likely to have been the culprit. it could not have been the washington woman--she was partly civilized, and knew better. a few weeks afterwards mrs. _yellow thunder_ again made her appearance, and carefully unfolding a gay-colored chintz shawl, which she carried rolled up in her hand, she produced the shell, and laid it on the table before me. i did not know whether to show, by my countenance, displeasure at the trick she had played me, or joy at receiving my treasure back again, but at length decided that it was the best policy to manifest no emotion whatever. she prolonged her visit until my husband's return, and he then questioned her about the matter. "she had taken the shell to her village, to show to some of her people, who did not come to the payment." "why had she not asked her mother's leave before carrying it away?" "because she saw that her mother liked the shell, and she was afraid she would say, no." this was not the first instance in which madame washington had displayed the shrewdness which was a predominant trait in her character. during the visit of the indians to the eastern cities, they were taken to various exhibitions, museums, menageries, theatres, etc. it did not escape their observation that some silver was always paid before entrance, and they inquired the reason. it was explained to them. the woman brightened up, as if struck with an idea. "how much do you pay for each one?" her father told her. "how do you say that in english?" "two shillings." "_two shinnin--humph_" (good). the next day, when, as usual, visitors began to flock to the rooms where the indians were sojourning, the woman and a young indian, her confederate, took their station by the door, which they kept closed. when any one knocked, the door was cautiously opened, and the woman, extending her hand, exclaimed--"_two shinnin_." this was readily paid in each instance, and the game went on, until she had accumulated a considerable sum. but this did not satisfy her. at the first attempt of a visitor to leave the room, the door was held close, as before, the hand was extended, and "_two shinnin_" again met his ear. he tried to explain that, having paid for his entrance, he must go out free. with an innocent shake of the head, "_two shinnin_," was all the english she could understand. the agent, who had entered a short time before, and who, overhearing the dialogue, sat laughing behind his newspaper, waiting to see how it would all end, now came forward and interfered, and the guests were permitted to go forth without a further contribution. the good woman was moreover admonished that it was far from the custom of white people to tax their friends and visitors in this manner, and that the practice must be laid aside in future. another instance of the disposition of the indians to avail themselves of all the goods that fortune throws in their way, was the following: upon the same trip, while passing through ohio, one of the party inquired of the agent,-- "do you pay for all those provisions that are set before us at the hotels?" "yes. why do you ask?" "nothing: i thought you perhaps paid for just what we ate of them." at the next stopping-place a fine breakfast was set upon the table, of which, as usual, they partook plentifully. just as they had finished, the horn sounded for all to take their places in the stage-coaches. each sprang to his feet. one seized the plates of biscuits and poured them into the corner of his blanket; another the remains of a pair of chickens; a third emptied the sugar-bowls; each laid hold of what was nearest him, and in a trice nothing was left upon the table but the empty plates and dishes. the landlord and waiters, meanwhile, stood laughing and enjoying the trick as much as any of the spectators. upon another occasion, their father had endeavored to impress upon them the unseemliness of throwing their refuse pieces, bones, and fragments of food about on the table-cloth, pointing out to them the orderly manner of the whites at table, and the propriety of keeping everything neat and nice around them. at their next meal, they were served first with a chicken-pie, of which they ate very heartily, and the accumulation of bones on their plates was very abundant. presently another and more favorite dish appeared,--a fine, large, roasted turkey. a gentleman sat near, and was evidently preparing to carve it. no time was to be lost. what was to be done with the bones? they looked around in some perplexity. a large apple-pie was standing near. the most eager drew it towards him, and quick as thought all the bones were deposited upon it, while, with a triumphant laugh at the happy idea, he coolly transferred the bird to his own dish, and proceeded to distribute it among his companions. the amazed stranger soon joined in the laugh at the unceremonious manner in which his share of the dinner had vanished. chapter xi. louisa--day-kau-ray on education. the payment was now over, and the indians had dispersed and gone to their wintering grounds. the traders, too, had departed, laden with a good share of the silver, in exchange for which each family had provided itself, as far as possible, with clothing, guns, traps, ammunition, and the other necessaries for their winter use. the indians are good at a bargain. they are not easily overreached. on the contrary, they understand at once when a charge is exorbitant; and a trader who tries his shrewdness upon them is sure to receive an expressive _sobriquet_, which ever after clings to him. for instance, m. rolette was called by them "ah-kay-zaup-ee-tah," _five more_--because, as they said, let them offer what number of skins they might, in bartering for an article, his terms were invariably "five more" upon one occasion a lady remarked to him, "oh, m. rolette, i would not be engaged in the indian trade; it seems to me a system of cheating the poor indians." "let me tell you, madame," replied he, with great _naïveté_, "it is not so easy a thing to cheat the indians as you imagine. i have tried it these twenty years, and have never succeeded!" * * * * * we were now settled down to a quiet, domestic life. the military system under which everything was conducted--the bugle-call, followed by the music of a very good band, at reveille; the light, animated strains for "sick-call," and soon after for "breakfast;" the longer ceremony of "guard-mounting;" the "old english roast-beef," to announce the dinner-hour; the sweet, plaintive strains of "lochaber no more," followed most incongruously by "the little cock-sparrow," at retreat; and, finally, the long, rolling "tattoo," late in the evening--made pleasant divisions of our time, which, by the aid of books, music, and drawing, in addition to household occupations, seemed to fly more swiftly than ever before. it was on sunday that i most missed my eastern home. i had planned beforehand what we should do on the first recurrence of this sacred day, under our own roof. "we shall have at least," said i to myself, "the sabbath's quiet and repose, and i can, among other things, benefit poor louisa by giving her some additional lessons of a serious character." so, while she was removing the breakfast-things, i said to her,-- "now, louisa, get your work all finished, and everything put neatly aside, and then come here to me again." "yes, ma'am." we sat down to our books, and read and waited; we waited and read another hour--no louisa. there was music and the sound of voices on the parade in front of our windows, but that did not disturb us; it was what we were daily accustomed to. i must go at length, and see what could be keeping my damsel so. i descended to the kitchen. the breakfast-things stood upon the table--the kettles and spider upon the hearth--the fire was out--the kitchen empty. passing back into the hall, which extended the whole length of the house and opened in front upon the parade, i perceived a group collected in the area, of all shades and colors, and in the midst, one round, woolly head which i could not mistake, bobbing up and down, now on this side, now on that, while peals of laughter were issuing from the whole group. "louisa," i called, "come here. what are you doing there?" "looking at inspection." "but why are not your breakfast-things washed, and your kitchen swept? did i not tell you i wished you to come up and learn your lessons?" "yes, ma'am; but i had to see inspection first. everybody looks at inspection on sunday." i found it was in vain to expect to do more for louisa than give her an afternoon's lesson, and with that i was obliged to content myself. i felt that it would be very pleasant, and perhaps profitable, for all the inmates of the garrison to assemble on this day; one of our number might be found who would read a portion of the church-service, with a sermon from one of our different selections. i approached the subject cautiously, with an inquiry to this effect: "are there none among the officers who are religiously disposed?" "oh, yes," replied the one whom i addressed, "there is s----; when he is half tipsy, he takes his bible and 'newton's works,' and goes to bed and cries over them; he thinks in this way he is excessively pious." s---- was among the officers who had never called upon us; it was fair to infer that if his religious principles did not correct his own evil habits they would not aid much in improving others; therefore it seemed useless to call in his co-operation in any scheme for a better observance of the lord's day. we had to content ourselves with writing to our friends at the east to interest themselves in getting a missionary sent to us, who should officiate as chaplain in the garrison--a plan that seemed to find favor with the officers. the hope of any united religious services was, for the present, laid aside. the post-surgeon having obtained a furlough, his place was supplied by dr. newhall, of galena, and thus, by the addition of his gentle, quiet wife, our circle of ladies was now enlarged to three. here we were, in a wilderness, but yet how contented and happy! a gloom was soon to replace this envied tranquillity in our home. a frenchman, named letendre, one day suddenly presented himself. he had come from chicago, with the distressing intelligence of the extreme--indeed, hopeless--illness of our dear relative, dr. wolcott. my husband immediately commenced his preparations for instant departure. i begged to be permitted to accompany him, but the rapidity with which he proposed to journey obliged him to refuse my entreaties. in a few hours his provisions, horses, and all other things necessary for the journey were in readiness, and he set off with petaille grignon, his usual attendant on such expeditions, leaving letendre to follow as soon as recruited from his fatigue. sad and dreary were the hours of his absence, notwithstanding the kind efforts of our friends to cheer me. in a few days i received the news of the fatal termination of dr. w.'s illness, brought by another messenger. that noble heart, so full of warm and kindly affections, had ceased to beat, and sad and desolate indeed were those who had so loved and honored him. as soon as he could possibly leave his family, my husband returned; and it was fortunate that he had delayed no longer, for the winter now began to set in, and with severity. our quarters were spacious, but having been constructed of the green trees of the forest, cut down and sawed into boards by the bands of the soldiers, they were considerably given to shrinking and warping, thus leaving many a yawning crevice. stuffing the cracks with cotton batting, and pasting strips of paper over them, formed the employment of many a leisure hour. then the chimneys, spite of all the currents of air, which might have been expected to create a draught, had a sad habit of smoking. to remedy this, a couple of gun-barrels were, by order of the commanding officer, sawed off and inserted in the hearth, one on each side of the fire-place, in the hope that the air from the room below might help to carry the smoke into its proper place, the chimney. the next morning after this had been done, louisa was washing the hearth. "pray, ma'am," said she, "what are these things put in here for?" i explained their use. "oh, i am so glad it is only that! uncle ephraim (major twiggs's servant) said they were to be filled with powder and fired off christmas day, and he was terribly afraid they would blow the house up, and we in it." ephraim, who was a most faithful and valuable servant, often amused himself with playing upon the credulity of the younger portions of the colored fraternity. "is it true," asked louisa, one day, "that pillon and plante were once prairie-wolves?" "prairie-wolves! what an idea! why do you ask such a foolish question?" "because uncle ephraim says they, and all the frenchmen about here, were once prairie-wolves, and that, living so near the white people, they grow, after a time, to be like them, and learn to talk and dress like them. and then, when they get to be old, they turn back into prairie-wolves again, and that all the wolves that the officers bait with their dogs used to be frenchmen, once." after a time, however, i ceased to straighten out these stories of uncle ephraim, for i was gradually arriving at the conviction that my little colored damsel was by no means so simple and unsophisticated as she would have me believe, and that i was, after all, the one who was imposed upon. the snow this winter was prodigious, and the cold intense. the water would freeze in our parlors at a very short distance from the fire, for, although the "fatigue-parties" kept the halls filled with wood, almost up to the ceiling, that did not counterbalance the inconvenience of having the wide doors thrown open to the outer air for a great portion of the day, to allow of their bringing it in. we northerners should have had wood-houses specially for the purpose, and not only have kept our great hall-doors closed, but have likewise protected them with a "hurricane-house." but the florida frontier was not a climate in which our southern bachelors could have acquired the knowledge available when the thermometer was twenty-five degrees below zero--a point at which brandy congealed in the sideboard. the arrival of christmas and new-year's brought us our indian friends again. they had learned something of the observance of these holidays from their french neighbors, and i had been forewarned that i should see the squaws kissing every white man they met. although not crediting this to its full extent, i could readily believe that they would each expect a present, as a "compliment of the season," so i duly prepared myself with a supply of beads, ribbons, combs, and other trinkets. knowing them to be fond of dainties, i had also a quantity of crullers and doughnuts made ready the day before, as a treat to them. to my great surprise and annoyance, only a moderate share of the cakes, the frying of which had been intrusted to louisa, were brought up to be placed in the "davis." "where are the rest of the cakes, louisa?" "that great fellow, hancock, came in with the fatigue-party to fill the water-barrels, and while i had just stepped into the store-room to get some more flour, he carried off all i had got cooked." and louisa made a face and whined, as if she had not herself treated every soldier who had set his foot in the premises. at an early hour the next morning i had quite a levee of the ho-tshung-rah matrons. they seated themselves in a circle on the floor, and i was sorry to observe that the application of a little soap and water to their blankets had formed no part of their holiday preparations. there being no one to interpret, i thought i would begin the conversation in a way intelligible to themselves, so i brought out of the sideboard a china dish, filled with the nice brown crullers, over which i had grated, according to custom, a goodly quantity of white sugar. i handed it to the first of the circle. she took the dish from my hand, and, deliberately pouring all the cakes into the corner of her blanket, returned it to me empty. "she must be a meat voracious person," thought i; "but i will manage better the next time." i refilled the dish, and approached the next one, taking care to keep a fast hold of it as i offered the contents, of which i supposed she would modestly take one. not so, however. she scooped out the whole with her two hands, and, like the former, bestowed them in her blanket. my sense of politeness revolted at handing them out one by one, as we do to children, so i sat down to deliberate what was to be done, for evidently the supply would not long answer such an ample demand, and there would be more visitors anon. while i was thus perplexed, those who had received the cakes commenced a distribution, and the whole number was equitably divided among the company. but i observed they did not eat them. they passed their fingers over the grated sugar, looked in each other's faces, and muttered in low tones--there was evidently something they did not understand. presently one more adventurous than the rest wet her fingers, and taking up a few grains of the sugar put it cautiously to her mouth. "tah-nee-zhoo-rah!" (sugar!) was her delighted exclamation, and they all broke out into a hearty laugh. it is needless to say that the cakes disappeared with all the celerity they deemed compatible with good-breeding. never having seen any sugar but the brown or yellow maple, they had supposed the white substance to be salt, and for that reason had hesitated to taste it. their visit was prolonged until shaw-nee-aw-kee made his appearance, and then, having been made happy by their various gifts, they all took their departure. about this time, mr. kinzie received a letter from colonel richard m. johnson, of kentucky. this gentleman had interested himself greatly in a school established in that state for the education of indian youths and children. the purport of his letter was to request the agent to use every endeavor to induce the winnebagoes not only to send their children to this institution for their education, but also (what was still more important) to set apart a portion of their annuity-money to assist in sustaining it. there happened to be, at this holiday season, a number of the chiefs in the neighborhood of the portage, and a messenger was sent to convene them all at the house of paquette, the interpreter, that their father might hold a talk with them. on the day appointed they all assembled. the subject-matter of the letter was laid before them, and all the advantages of civilization and education duly set forth--the benefits which would arise to their nation, if even a small portion of the younger members could be well taught by the whites, and then return to their tribe, to instruct them in the learning, the arts, manufactures, and habits of civilized life. to each paragraph, as it was uttered to them, they responded with a unanimous "humph!" (good!) when their father's address was ended, _day-kau-ray_, the oldest and most venerable among the chiefs, rose and spoke as follows: "father,--the great spirit made the white man and the indian. he did not make them alike. he gave the white man a heart to love peace, and the arts of a quiet life. he taught him to live in towns, to build houses, to make books, to learn all things that would make him happy and prosperous in the way of life appointed him. to the red man the great spirit gave a different character. he gave him a love of the woods, of a free life, of hunting and fishing, of making war with his enemies and taking scalps. the white man does not live like the indian--it is not his nature. neither does the indian love to live like the white man--the great spirit did not make him so. "father,--we do not wish to do anything contrary to the will of the great spirit. if he had made us with white skins, and characters like the white men, then we would send our children to this school to be taught like the white children. "father,--we think that if the great spirit had wished us to be like the whites, he would have made us so. as he has not seen fit to do so, we believe he would be displeased with us, to try and make ourselves different from what he thought good. "father,--i have nothing more to say. this is what we think. if we change our minds, we will let you know." it will be seen from these remarks of day-kau-ray that the indians entertain a conviction that the great spirit himself teaches the white man the arts and sciences, and since he has given the red man no instruction in these branches, it would be unbecoming in him to attempt to acquire them in an irregular manner. with little incidents of this kind, and with an occasional dinner- or tea-party to the young officers, sometimes given at the major's quarters, sometimes at our own, our course of life passed pleasantly on. at times i would amuse myself by making something _very nice_, in the form of a fruit cake or pie, to send to the quarters of the young officers as a present, it being supposed that possibly, without a lady to preside over their mess, it might be sometimes deficient in these delicacies. mrs. twiggs was so fortunate as to have well-trained servants to do for her that which, thanks to my little dark handmaid, always fell to my share. one day i had made some mince pies, which the major and my husband greatly approved, and i thought i would send one to each of the young officers. it happened that my husband, that day, in returning from superintending his men on the other side of the river, had occasion to call on some errand at captain harney's quarters. dinner had just been placed upon the table, and the captain insisted on his visitor's sitting down and partaking with him and another gentleman who was present. the pork and beans were pronounced excellent, and being removed there followed a mince pie. the captain cut it, and helped his guests, then taking a piece himself, he commenced tasting it. pushing back his plate with an exclamation and a sudden jerk, he called to his servant, a little thick-set mulatto who waited--"david, you yellow rascal, how dare you put such a pie on my table?" and, turning to the company apologetically, he said,-- "if there is anything on earth david _does_ understand, it is how to make a mince pie, and here he has filled this with brandy, so we cannot eat a morsel of it!" "please, sir," said david, modestly, "i did not make the pie--it is one mrs. kinzie sent as a present." the poor captain was now in a predicament. he raved at himself, at the same time conjuring my husband most earnestly not to tell me what a mistake he had made--an injunction that was lost sight of as soon as the latter returned to his home. as for the unlucky captain, he did not venture to call on me again until he felt sure i had forgotten the circumstance. chapter xii. preparations for a journey. early in january the snow fell in great abundance. we had an unusual quantity at the portage, but in "the diggings," as the lead-mining country was called, it was of an unheard-of depth--five or six feet upon a level. an express had been dispatched to chicago by the officers to take our letters, and bring back the mail from that place. a tough, hardy soldier, named sulky, acted as messenger, and he had hitherto made light of his burden or the length of the way, notwithstanding that his task was performed on foot with his pack upon his shoulders. but now sulky had been absent some weeks, and we had given him up entirely, persuaded that he must have perished with cold and starvation. at length he appeared, nearly blind from travelling in the snow. he had lain by three weeks in an indian lodge, the snow being too deep to permit him to journey. the account he gave put an end to the hopes i had begun to entertain of being able to visit our friends at chicago in the course of this winter. we had, before the last heavy fall of snow, been forming plans to that effect. captain harney had kindly commenced preparing some trains, or boxes placed on sledges, which it was thought would, when lined with buffalo-skins, furnish a very comfortable kind of vehicle for the journey; and i was still inclined to think a good, deep bed of snow over the whole country no great obstacle to a sleigh-ride. the whole matter was, however, cut short by the commanding officer, who from the first had violently opposed the scheme, declaring that he would order the sentinels to fire on us if we attempted to leave the fort. so, finding the majority against us, we were obliged to yield. the arrival of sweet, lovely little lizzie twiggs, before january was quite past, was an event that shed light and joy in at least two dwellings. it seemed as if she belonged to all of us, and as she increased in size and beauty it was hard to say who, among us all, was most proud of her. if we had ever felt any languid hours before, we could have none now--she was the pet, the darling, the joint property of both households. whatever regret i might have had, previous to this event, at the idea of leaving my friend for the three weeks to which we proposed to limit our visit to chicago, i felt now that she would scarcely miss me, and that we might hold ourselves in readiness to take advantage of the first improvement in the weather, to put this favorite project in execution. during the latter part of february the cold became less severe. the snows melted away, and by the beginning of march the weather was so warm and genial, that we were quite confident of being able to make the journey on horseback without any serious difficulty. our plans once settled upon, the first thing to be provided was warm and comfortable apparel. a riding-habit of stout broadcloth was pronounced indispensable to my equipment. but of such an article i was destitute. nothing among my wedding travelling gear seemed in any way to offer a substitute. what was to be done? the requisite material was to be found in abundance at the sutler's store (_the shantee_, as it was technically termed), but how to get it manufactured into a suitable garment was the question. the regimental tailor was summoned. he was cook to one of the companies, and there were at first some doubts whether he could be permitted to forsake the spit for the needle, during the time i should require his services. all his tailoring-work had, heretofore, been done at odd times on a bench in the company kitchen, and thither he now proposed to carry the riding-habit. i suggested that, in order to superintend the work, i should thus be driven to take up my abode for the time being in the barracks, which would be a decided inconvenience. to remedy the difficulty, he was finally so happy as to find a soldier in "company d," who consented to officiate in his place as cook until his term of service to me should expire. behold, then, a little, solemn-looking man in his stocking-feet, seated cross-legged on an indian mat by my parlor window. he had made all his arrangements himself, and i deemed it wisest not to interfere with him. the cutting-out was the most difficult part, and, as he had never made a lady's riding-habit, that task fell to my share. i was as great a novice as himself, and i must admit that this, my first effort, was open to criticism. but the little tailor was of a different opinion. he was in an ecstasy with our joint performance. "upon my word, madam," he would exclaim, surveying it with admiring eyes, "we shall have a very respectable garment!" i do not know how many times he repeated this during the three days that the work was in progress. i believe he had not perfect confidence in the culinary powers of his comrade of "company d," for regularly a half-hour before beat of drum his work was folded and laid aside, his snips gathered up, and, all things being restored to order, he would slip out, resume his shoes, which, _turk-like_, he had left outside the door, and speed over to the barrack-kitchen to see how matters were going on. in the mean time, great preparations were making below, under the supervision of our tidy, active little french servant, mrs. pillon, the wife of one of the _engagés_, by whom the irregular and unmanageable louisa had been replaced. biscuits were baked, a ham, some tongues, and sundry pieces of salt pork were boiled, coffee roasted and ground, sugar cracked, isinglass cut in pieces of the size requisite for a pot of coffee. for the reception of all these different articles cotton bags of different sizes had been previously prepared. large sacks of skin, called by the canadians _porches_, were also provided to hold the more bulky provisions, for our journey was to be a long one. the distance from fort winnebago to chicago was not very formidable, it is true, if the direct route were taken; but that we knew to be impossible at this season of the year. the route by kosh-ko-nong was out of the question; all the indians being absent from their villages in the winter, and the ice being now gone, we could have no means of crossing the rock river at that place. there remained therefore no alternative but to proceed south to dixon, or, as it was then called, ogie's ferry, the only certain means of crossing this broad and rapid stream. this route being so much out of our direct course that we could not hope to accomplish it in less than six days, it was necessary to prepare accordingly. while the wardrobe and provisions were thus in preparation, arrangements were also being made as to our retinue and mode of conveyance. mr. kinzie decided to take with him but two men: plante and pierre roy,--the former to act as guide, on the assurance that he knew every mile of the way, from the portage to ogie's ferry, and from ogie's ferry to chicago. the claims of the different saddle-horses were discussed, and the most eligible one was selected for my use. we hesitated for a time between "le gris" and "souris," two much-vaunted animals, belonging to paquette, the interpreter. at length, being determined, like most of my sex, by a regard for exterior, i chose "le gris," and "souris" was assigned to young roy; my own little stumpy pony, "brunet," being pronounced just the thing for a pack-saddle. my husband rode his own bay horse "tom," while plante, the gayest and proudest of the party, bestrode a fine, large animal called "jerry," which had lately been purchased for my use; and thus was our _cortége_ complete. chapter xiii. departure from fort winnebago. having taken a tender leave of our friends, the morning of the th of march saw us mounted and equipped for our journey. the weather was fine--the streams, already fringed with green, were sparkling in the sun--everything gave promise of an early and genial season. in vain, when we reached the ferry at the foot of the hill on which the fort stood, did major twiggs repeat his endeavors to dissuade us from commencing a journey which he assured me would be perilous beyond what i could anticipate. i was resolute. our party was augmented by an escort of all the young officers, who politely insisted on accompanying us as far as duck creek, four miles distant. indeed, there were some who would gladly have prosecuted the whole journey with us, and escaped the monotony of their solitary, uneventful life. in our rear followed an ox cart, on which was perched a canoe, destined to transport us over the creek, and also an extensive marsh beyond it, which was invariably, at this season, overflowed with water to a considerable depth. we had much amusement in watching the progress of this vehicle as it bumped and thumped over the road, unconscious hitherto of the dignity of a wheeled carriage. our little, shock-headed, sunburnt, thick-lipped canadian (who happened most miraculously to be the husband of my pretty servant, mrs. pillon) shouted vociferously as the animals lagged in their pace, or jolted against a stump, "_marchez, don-g_," "_regardez_," "_prenez garde_," to our infinite diversion. i was in high spirits, foreseeing no hardships or dangers, but rather imagining myself embarked on a pleasure excursion across the prairies. it had not even suggested itself to me that a straw bonnet and kid gloves were no suitable equipment for such an expedition. never having travelled at so inclement a season, i was heedlessly ignorant of the mode of preparing against it, and had resisted or laughed at my husband's suggestions to provide myself with blanket socks, and a woollen _capuchon_ for my head and shoulders. and now, although the wind occasionally lifted my head-gear with a rude puff, and my hands ere long became swollen and stiffened with the cold, i persuaded myself that these were trifling evils, to which i should soon get accustomed. i was too well pleased with the novelty of my outfit, with my hunting-knife in a gay scabbard hanging from my neck, and my tin cup at my saddle-bow, to regard minor inconveniences. on reaching duck creek, we took leave of our young friends, who remained on the bank long enough to witness our passage across--ourselves in the canoe, and the poor horses swimming the stream, now filled with cakes of floating ice. beyond the rising ground which formed the opposite bank of the stream, extended a marsh of perhaps three hundred yards across. to this the men carried the canoe which was to bear us over. the water was not deep, so our attendants merely took off the pack from brunet and my side-saddle from le gris, for fear of accidents, and then mounted their own steeds, leading the two extra ones. my husband placed the furniture of the pack-horse and my saddle in the centre of the canoe, which he was to paddle across. "now, wifie," said he, "jump in, and seat yourself flat in the bottom of the canoe." "oh, no," said i; "i will sit on the little trunk in the centre; i shall be so much more comfortable, and i can balance the canoe exactly." "as you please; but i think you will find it is not the best way." a vigorous push sent us a few feet from the bank. at that instant two favorite greyhounds whom we had brought with us, and who had stood whining upon the bank, reluctant to take to the water as they were ordered, gave a sudden bound, and alighted full upon me. the canoe balanced a moment--then yielded--and, quick as thought, dogs, furniture, and lady were in the deepest of the water. my husband, who was just preparing to spring into the canoe when the dogs thus unceremoniously took precedence of him, was at my side in a moment, and, seizing me by the collar of my cloak, begged me not to be frightened. i was not, in the least, and only laughed as he raised and placed me again upon the bank. the unfortunate saddle and little trunk were then rescued, but not until they had received a pretty thorough wetting. our merriment was still further increased by the sight of the maladroit pillon, who was attempting to ride my spirited jerry across the marsh. he was clinging to the neck of the animal, with a countenance distorted with terror, as he shouted forth all manner of french objurgations. jerry pranced and curveted, and finally shot forward his rider, or rather his _burden_, headforemost, a distance of several feet into the water. a general outcry of mirth saluted the unfortunate frenchman, which was redoubled as he raised himself puffing and snorting from his watery bed and waddled back to his starting-place, the horse, meanwhile, very sensibly making his way to join his companions, who had already reached the farther bank. "well, wifie," said mr. kinzie, "i cannot trust you in the canoe again. there is no way but to carry you across the marsh like a pappoose. will you take a ride on my shoulders?" "with all my heart, if you will promise to take me safely." and i was soon mounted. i most confess that the gentleman staggered now and then under his burden, which was no slight one, and i was sadly afraid, more than once, that i should meet a similar fate to old pillon, but happily we reached the other side in safety. there my husband insisted on my putting on dry shoes and stockings, and (must i confess it?) drinking a little brandy, to obviate the effects of my icy bath. he would fain have made a halt to kindle a fire and dry my apparel and wardrobe properly, but this i would not listen to. i endeavored to prove to him that the delay would expose me to more cold than riding in my wet habit and cloak, and so indeed it might have been, but along with my convictions upon the subject there was mingled a spice of reluctance that our friends at the fort should have an opportunity, as they certainly would have done, of laughing at our inauspicious commencement. soon our horses were put in order, and our march recommenced. the day was fine for the season. i felt no inconvenience from my wet garments, the exercise of riding taking away all feeling of chilliness. it was to me a new mode of travelling, and i enjoyed it the more from having been secluded for more than five months within the walls of the fort, scarcely varying the tenor of our lives by an occasional walk of half a mile into the surrounding woods. we had still another detention upon the road, from meeting lapierre, the blacksmith, from sugar creek, who with one of his associates was going to the portage for supplies, so that we had not travelled more than twenty-three miles when we came to our proposed encamping-ground. it was upon a beautiful stream, a tributary of one of the four lakes,[ ] that chain whose banks are unrivalled for romantic loveliness. i could not but admire the sagacity of the horses, who seemed, with human intelligence, to divine our approach to the spot where their toils were to cease. while still remote from the point of woods which foretold a halt, they pricked up their ears, accelerated their pace, and finally arrived at the spot on a full gallop. we alighted at an open space, just within the verge of the wood, or, as it is called by western travellers, "the timber." my husband recommended to me to walk about until a fire should be made, which was soon accomplished by our active and experienced woodsmen, to whom the felling of a large tree was the work of a very few minutes. the dry grass around furnished an excellent tinder, which, ignited by the sparks from the flint (there were no _loco-focos_ in those days), and aided by the broken branches and bits of light-wood, soon produced a cheering flame. "the bourgeois," in the mean time, busied himself in setting up the tent, taking care to place it opposite the fire, but in such a direction that the wind would carry the smoke and flame away from the opening or door. within upon the ground were spread, first a bear-skin, then two or three blankets (of which each equestrian had carried two, one under the saddle and one above it), after which, the remainder of the luggage being brought in, i was able to divest myself of all my wet clothing and replace it with dry. some idea of the state of the thermometer may be formed from the fact that my riding-habit, being placed over the end of the huge log against which our fire was made, was, in a very few minutes, frozen so stiff as to stand upright, giving the appearance of a dress out of which a lady had vanished in some unaccountable manner. it would be but a repetition of our experience upon the fox river to describe the ham broiled upon the "broches," the toasted bread, the steaming coffee, the primitive table-furniture. there is, however, this difference, that of the latter we carry with us in our journeys on horseback only a coffee-pot, a tea-kettle, and each rider his tin cup and hunting-knife. the deportment at table is marked by an absence of ceremony. the knife is drawn from the scabbard--those who remember to do so, vouchsafe it a wipe upon the napkin. its first office is to stir the cup of coffee--next, to divide the piece of ham which is placed on the half of a travelling biscuit, held in the left hand, to fulfil the office of a plate. it is an art only to be acquired by long practice, to cut the meat so skilfully as not at the same time to destroy the dish. we take our places around the mat to enjoy what, after our fatiguing ride, we find delicious food. the frenchmen are seated at a little distance, receiving their supplies of coffee, meat, and bread, and occasionally passing jokes with the bourgeois, who is their demi-god, and for whom their respect and devotion are never lessened by his affability or condescension. the meal being finished, the table-furniture is rinsed in hot water and set aside until morning. a wisp of dry prairie-grass is supposed in most cases to render the knife fit to be restored to the scabbard, and there being, at this season of the year, no amusement but that of watching the awkward movements of the spancelled horses in their progress from spot to spot in search of pasturage, we are usually soon disposed to arrange our blankets and retire to rest. at break of day we are aroused by the shout of the bourgeois,-- "how! how! how!" all start from their slumbers. the fire, which has been occasionally replenished through the night, is soon kindled into a flame. the horses are caught and saddled, while a breakfast, similar in kind to the meal of the preceding evening, is preparing--the tent is struck--the pack-horse loaded--"_tout démanché_," as the canadian says. the breakfast finished, we rinse our kettles and cups, tie them to our saddle-bows, and then mount and away, leaving our fire, or rather our smoke, to tell of our visit. march th.--our journey this day led us past the first of the four lakes. scattered along its banks was an encampment of winnebagoes. they greeted their father with vociferous joy--"_bon-jour, bon-jour, shaw-nee-aw-kee_," "_hee-nee-kar-ray-kay-noo?_" (how do you do?) to this succeeded the usual announcement, "_wys-kap-rah tshoonsh-koo-nee-noh!_" (i have no bread.) this is their form of begging; but we could not afford to be generous, for the uncertainty of obtaining a supply, should our own be exhausted, obliged us to observe the strictest economy. how beautiful the entrapment looked in the morning sun! the matted lodges, with the blue smoke curling from their tops--the trees and bushes powdered with a light snow which had fallen through the night--the lake, shining and sparkling, almost at our feet--even the indians, in their peculiar costume, adding to the picturesque! i was sorry to leave it, as we were compelled to do, in all haste, souris, the pack-horse, having taken it into his head to decamp while we were in conversation with our red friends. as he had, very sensibly, concluded to pursue his journey in the right direction, we had the good fortune to overtake him after a short race, and, having received much scolding and some blows from young roy, whose charge he specially was, he was placed in the middle of the cavalcade, as a mark of disgrace for his breach of duty. our road, after leaving the lake, lay over a "rolling prairie," now bare and desolate enough. the hollows were filled with snow, which, being partly thawed, furnished an uncertain footing for the horses, and i could not but join in the ringing laughter of oar frenchmen as occasionally brunet and souris, the two ponies, would flounder, almost imbedded, through the yielding mass. even the vainglorious plante, who piqued himself on his equestrian skill, was once or twice nearly unhorsed, from having chosen his road badly. sometimes the elevations were covered with a thicket or copse, in which our dogs would generally rouse up one or more deer. their first bound, or "lope," was the signal for a chase. the horses seemed to enter into the spirit of it, as "halloo" answered "halloo;" but we were never so fortunate as to get a shot at one, for although the dogs once or twice caught they were not strong enough to hold them. it was about the middle of the afternoon when we reached the blue mound. i rejoiced much to have got so far, for i was sadly fatigued, and every mile now seemed like two to me. in fact, the miles are unconscionably long in this country. when i was told that we had still seven miles to go, to "morrison's," where we proposed stopping for the night, i was almost in despair. it was my first journey on horseback, and i had not yet become inured to the exercise. when we reached morrison's i was so much exhausted that, as my husband attempted to lift me from the saddle, i fell into his arms. "this will never do," said he. "to-morrow we must turn our faces towards fort winnebago again." the door opened hospitably to receive us. we were welcomed by a lady with a most sweet, benignant countenance, and by her companion, some years younger. the first was mrs. morrison--the other, miss elizabeth dodge, daughter of general dodge. my husband laid me upon a small bed, in the room where the ladies had been sitting at work. they took off my bonnet and riding-dress, chafed my hands, and prepared me some warm wine and water, by which i was soon revived. a half-hour's repose so refreshed me that i was able to converse with the ladies, and to relieve my husband's mind of all anxiety on my account. tea was announced soon after, and we repaired to an adjoining building, for morrison's, like the establishment of all settlers of that period, consisted of a group of detached log houses or _cabins_, each containing one or at most two apartments. the table groaned with good cheer, and brought to mind some that i had seen among the old-fashioned dutch residents on the banks of the hudson. i had recovered my spirits, and we were quite a cheerful party. mrs. morrison told us that during the first eighteen months she passed in this country she did not speak with a white woman, the only society she had being that of her husband and two black servant-women. a tennessee woman had called in with her little son just before tea, and we amused mr. kinzie with a description of the pair. the mother's visit was simply one of courtesy. she was a little, dumpy woman, with a complexion burned perfectly red by the sun, and hair of an exact tow-color, braided up from her forehead in front and from her neck behind. these tails, meeting on the top of her head, were fastened with a small tin comb. her dress was of checkered homespun, a "very tight fit," and, as she wore no ruff or handkerchief around her neck, she looked as if just prepared for execution. she was evidently awestruck at the sight of visitors, and seemed inclined to take her departure at once; but the boy, not so easily intimidated, would not understand her signs and pinches until he had sidled up to mrs. morrison, and, drawing his old hat still farther over his eyes, begged for a _whang_, meaning a narrow strip of deer-skin. the lady very obligingly cut one from a large smoked skin, which she produced from its receptacle, and mother and son took their leave, with a smiling but rather a scared look. after tea we returned to mrs. morrison's parlor, where she kindly insisted on my again reposing myself on the little bed, to recruit me, as she said, for the ensuing day's journey. my husband, in the mean time, went to look after the accommodation of his men and horses. during the conversation that ensued, i learned that mrs. morrison had passed much time in the neighborhood of my recent home in oneida county, that many of the friends i had loved and valued were likewise her friends, and that she had even proposed to visit me at fort winnebago on hearing of my arrival there, in order to commence an acquaintance which had thus been brought about by other and unexpected means. long and pleasant was the discourse we held together until a late hour, and mutual was the satisfaction with which we passed old friends and by-gone events in review, much to the edification of miss dodge, and of the gentlemen when they once more joined us. chapter xiv. william s. hamilton--kellogg's grove. the next morning, after a cheerful breakfast, at which we were joined by the rev. mr. kent, of galena, we prepared for our journey. i had reconciled my husband to continuing our route towards chicago, by assuring him that i felt as fresh and bright as when i first set out from home. there seemed some apprehension, however, that we might have difficulty in "striking the trail" to hamilton's _diggings_, our next point of destination. the directions we received were certainly obscure. we were to pursue a given trail for a certain number of miles, when we should come to a crossing into which we were to turn, taking an easterly direction; after a time, this would bring us to a deep trail leading straight to hamilton's. in this open country there are no landmarks. one elevation is so exactly like another, that if you lose your trail there is almost as little hope of regaining it as of finding a pathway in the midst of the ocean.[ ] the trail, it must be remembered, is not a broad highway, but a narrow path, deeply indented by the hoofs of the horses on which the indians travel in single file. so deeply is it sunk in the sod which covers the prairies, that it is difficult, sometimes, to distinguish it at a distance of a few rods. it was new ground to mr. kinzie, whose journeys from the portage to chicago had hitherto been made in the direct route by kosh-ko-nong. he therefore obliged mr. morrison to repeat the directions again and again, though plante, our guide, swaggered and talked big, averring that "he knew every hill and stream and point of woods from that spot to chicago." we had not proceeded many miles on our journey, however, before we discovered that monsieur plante was profoundly ignorant of the country, so that mr. kinzie was obliged to take the lead himself, and make his way as he was best able, according to the directions he had received. nothing, however, like the "cross trails" we had been promised met our view, and the path on which we had set out diverged so much from what we knew to be the right direction, that we were at length compelled to abandon it altogether. we travelled the livelong day, barely making a halt at noon to bait our horses and refresh ourselves with a luncheon. the ride was as gloomy and desolate as could well be imagined. a rolling prairie, unvaried by forest or stream--hillock rising after hillock, at every ascent of which we vainly hoped to see a distant fringe of "_timber_." but the same cheerless, unbounded prospect everywhere met the eye, diversified only here and there by the oblong openings, like gigantic graves, which marked an unsuccessful search for indications of a lead-mine. so great was our anxiety to recover our trail, for the weather was growing more cold, and the wind more sharp and piercing, that we were not tempted to turn from our course even by the appearance, more than once, of a gaunt prairie-wolf, peering over the nearest rising-ground and seeming to dare us to an encounter. the frenchmen, it is true, would instinctively give a shout and spur on their horses, while the hounds, kelda and cora, would rush to the chase; but the bourgeois soon called them back, with a warning that we must attend strictly to the prosecution of our journey. just before sunset we crossed, with some difficulty, a muddy stream, which was bordered by a scanty belt of trees, making a tolerable encamping-ground; and of this we gladly availed ourselves, although we knew not whether it was near or remote from the place we were in search of. we had ridden at least fifty miles since leaving morrison's, yet i was sensible of very little fatigue; there was, however, a vague feeling of discomfort at the idea of being lost in this wild, cold region, altogether different from anything i had ever before experienced. the encouraging tones of my husband's voice, however, "cheer up, wifie--we will find the trail to-morrow," served to dissipate all uneasiness. the exertions of the men soon made our "camp" comfortable, notwithstanding the difficulty of driving the tent-pins into the frozen ground, and the want of trees sufficiently large to make a _rousing_ fire. the place was a _stony side-hill,_ as it would be called in new england, where such things abound; but we were not disposed to be fastidious, so we ate our salt ham and toasted our bread, and lent a pleased ear to the chatter of our frenchmen, who could not sufficiently admire the heroism of "madame john" amid the vicissitudes that befell her. the wind, which at bed-time was sufficiently high to be uncomfortable, increased during the night. it snowed heavily, and we were every moment in dread that the tent would be carried away; but the matter was settled differently by the snapping of the poles, and the falling of the whole, with its superincumbent weight of snow, in a mass upon us. mr. kinzie roused up his men, and at their head he sallied into the neighboring wood to cut a new set of poles, leaving me to bear the burden of the whole upon my shoulders, my only safety from the storm being to keep snugly housed beneath the canvas. with some difficulty a sort of support was at length adjusted for the tent-covering, which answered our purpose tolerably well until the break of day, when our damp and miserable condition made us very glad to rise and hang round the fire until breakfast was dispatched, and the horses once more saddled for our journey. the prospect was not an encouraging one. around us was an unbroken sheet of snow. we had no compass, and the air was so obscured by the driving sleet, that it was often impossible to tell in which direction the sun was. i tied my husband's silk pocket-handkerchief over my veil, to protect my face from the wind and icy particles with which the air was filled, and which cut like a razor; but, although shielded in every way that circumstances rendered possible, i suffered intensely from the cold. we pursued our way, mile after mile, entering every point of woods, in hopes of meeting with, at least, some indian wigwam at which we could gain intelligence. every spot was solitary and deserted; not even the trace of a recent fire, to cheer us with the hope of human beings within miles of us. suddenly, a shout from the foremost of the party made each heart bound with joy. "_une clôture! une clôture!_" (a fence! a fence!) it was almost like life to the dead. we spurred on, and indeed perceived a few straggling rails crowning a rising ground at no great distance. never did music sound so sweet as the crowing of a cock which at this moment saluted our ears. following the course of the inclosure down the opposite slope, we came upon a group of log cabins, low, shabby, and unpromising in their appearance, but a most welcome shelter from the pelting storm. "whose cabins are these?" asked mr. kinzie, of a man who was cutting wood at the door of one. "hamilton's," was his reply; and he stepped forward at once to assist us to alight, hospitality being a matter of course in these wild regions. we were shown into the most comfortable-looking of the buildings. a large fire was burning in the clay chimney, and the room was of a genial warmth, notwithstanding the apertures, many inches in width, beside the doors and windows. a woman in a tidy calico dress, and shabby black silk cap trimmed with still shabbier lace, rose from her seat beside a sort of bread-trough, which fulfilled the office of cradle to a fine, fat baby. she made room for us at the fire, but was either too timid or too ignorant to relieve me of wrappings and defences, now heavy with the snow. i soon contrived, with my husband's aid, to disembarrass myself of them; and, having seen me comfortably disposed of, and in a fair way to be thawed after my freezing ride, he left me, to see after his men and horses. he was a long time absent, and i expected he would return accompanied by our host; but when he reappeared it was to tell me, laughing, that mr. hamilton hesitated to present himself before me, being unwilling that one who had been acquainted with his family at the east should see him in his present mode of life. however, this feeling apparently wore off, for before dinner he came in and was introduced to me, and was as agreeable and polite as the son of alexander hamilton would naturally be. the housekeeper, who was the wife of one of the miners, prepared us a plain, comfortable dinner, and a table as long as the dimensions of the cabin would admit was set out, the end nearest the fire being covered with somewhat nicer furniture and more delicate fare than the remaining portion. the blowing of a horn was the signal for the entrance of ten or twelve miners, who took their places below us at the table. they were the roughest-looking set of men i ever beheld, and their language was as uncouth as their persons. they wore hunting-shirts, trowsers, and moccasins of deer-skin, the former being ornamented at the seams with a fringe of the same, while a colored belt around the waist, in which was stuck a large hunting-knife, gave each the appearance of a brigand. mr. hamilton, although so much their superior, was addressed by them uniformly as "uncle billy;" and i could not but fancy there was something desperate about them, that it was necessary to propitiate by this familiarity. this feeling was further confirmed by the remarks of one of the company who lingered behind after the rest of the _gang_ had taken their departure. he had learned that we came from fort winnebago, and, having informed us that "he was a discharged soldier, and would like to make some inquiries about his old station and comrades," he unceremoniously seated himself and commenced questioning us. the bitterness with which he spoke of his former officers made me quite sure he was a deserter, and i rather suspected he had made his escape from the service in consequence of some punishment. his countenance was fairly distorted as he spoke of captain h., to whose company he had belonged. "there is a man in the mines," said he, "who has been in his hands, and if he ever gets a chance to come within shot of him, i guess the captain will remember it. he knows well enough he darsn't set his foot in the diggings. and there's t. is not much better. everybody thought it a great pity that fellow's gun snapped when he so nearly _had_ him at green bay." having delivered himself of these sentiments, he marched out, to my great relief. mr. hamilton passed most of the afternoon with us; for the storm raged so without, that to proceed on our journey was out of the question. he gave us many pleasant anecdotes and reminiscences of his early life in new york, and of his adventures since he had come to the western wilderness. when obliged to leave us for awhile, he furnished us with some books to entertain us, the most interesting of which was the biography of his father. could this illustrious man have foreseen in what a scene--the dwelling of his son--this book was to be one day perused, what would have been his sensations? the most amusing part of our experience was yet to come. i had been speculating, as evening approached, on our prospects for the night's accommodation. as our pale, melancholy-looking landlady and her fat baby were evidently the only specimens of the feminine gender about the establishment, it was hardly reasonable to suppose that any of the other cabins contained wherewithal to furnish us a comfortable lodging, and the one in which we were offered nothing of the sort to view, but two beds, uncurtained, extended against the farther wall. my doubts were after a time resolved, by observing the hostess stretch a cord between the two, on which she hung some petticoats and extra garments, by way of a partition, after which she invited us to occupy one of them. my only preparation was, to wrap my cloak around me and lie down with my face to the wall; but the good people were less ceremonious, for at the distance of scarcely two feet, we could not be mistaken in the sound of their garments being, not "laid aside," but whipped over the partition-wall between us. our waking thoughts, however, were only those of thankfulness for so comfortable a lodging after the trials and fatigues we had undergone; and even these were of short duration, for our eyes were soon closed in slumber. the next day's sun rose clear and bright. refreshed and invigorated, we looked forward with pleasure to a recommencement of our journey, confident of meeting no more mishaps by the way. mr. hamilton kindly offered to accompany us to his next neighbor's, the trifling distance of twenty-five miles. from kellogg's to ogie's ferry, on the rock river, the road being much travelled, we should be in no danger, mr. h. said, of again losing our way. the miner who owned the wife and baby, and who, consequently, was somewhat more humanized than his comrades, in taking leave of us "wished us well out of the country, and that we might never have occasion to return to it!" "i pity a body," said he, "when i see them making such an awful mistake as to come out this way; for comfort _never touched_ this western country." we found mr. hamilton as agreeable a companion as on the preceding day, but a most desperate rider. he galloped on at such a rate that, had i not exchanged my pony for the fine, noble jerry, i should have been in danger of being left behind. well mounted as we all were, he sometimes nearly distanced us. we were now among the branches of the pickatonick, and the country had lost its prairie character and become rough and broken. we went dashing on, sometimes down ravines, sometimes through narrow passes, where, as i followed, i left fragments of my veil upon the projecting and interwoven branches. once my hat became entangled, and, had not my husband sprung to my rescue, i must have shared the fate of absalom, jerry's ambition to keep his place in the race making it probable he would do as did the mule who was under the unfortunate prince. there was no halting upon the route, and, as we kept the same pace until three o'clock in the afternoon, it was beyond a question that when we reached "kellogg's" we had travelled at least thirty miles. one of my greatest annoyances during the ride had been the behavior of the little beast brunet. he had been hitherto used as a saddle-horse, and had been accustomed to a station in the file near the guide or leader. he did not relish being put in the background as a pack-horse, and accordingly, whenever we approached a stream, where the file broke up to permit each horseman to choose his own place of fording, it was, invariably the case that just as i was reining jerry into the water, brunet would come rushing past and throw himself into our very footsteps. plunging, snorting, and splashing me with water, and sometimes even starting jerry into a leap aside, he more than once brought me into imminent danger of being tossed into the stream. it was in vain that, after one or two such adventures, i learned to hold back and give the vexatious little animal the precedence. his passion seemed to be to go into the water precisely at the moment jerry did; and i was obliged at last to make a bargain with young roy to dismount and hold him at every stream until i had got safely across. "kellogg's"[ ] was a comfortable mansion, just within the verge of a pleasant "grove of timber," as a small forest is called by western travellers. we found mrs. kellogg a very respectable-looking matron, who soon informed us she was from the city of new york. she appeared proud and delighted to entertain mr. hamilton, for whose family, she took occasion to tell us, she had, in former days, been in the habit of doing needle-work. the worthy woman provided us an excellent dinner, and afterwards installed me in a rocking-chair beside a large fire, with the "life of mrs. fletcher" to entertain me, while the gentlemen explored the premises, visited mr. kellogg's stock, and took a careful look at their own. we had intended to go to dixon's the same afternoon, but the snow, beginning again to fall, obliged us to content ourselves where we were. in the mean time, finding we were journeying to chicago, mr. kellogg came to the determination to accompany us, having, as he said, some business to accomplish at that place: so mrs. kellogg busied herself in preparing him to set off with us the following morning. i pleaded hard to remain yet another day, as the following was sunday, on which i objected to travel; but in view of the necessities of the case, the uncertainty of the weather, and the importance of getting as quickly as possible through this wild country, my objections were overruled, and i could only obtain a delay in starting until so late in the afternoon as would give us just time to ride the sixteen miles to "dixon's" before sunset. no great time was required for mr. kellogg's preparations. he would take, he said, only two days' provisions, for at his brother-in-law dixon's we should get our supper and breakfast, and the route from there to chicago could, he well knew, be accomplished in a day and a half. although, according to this calculation, we had sufficient remaining of our stores to carry us to the end of our journey, yet my husband took the precaution of begging mrs. kellogg to bake us another bag of biscuits, in case of accidents, and he likewise suggested to mr. kellogg the prudence of furnishing himself with something more than his limited allowance; but the good man objected that he was unwilling to burden his horse more than was absolutely necessary, seeing that, at this season of the year, we were obliged to carry fodder for the animals, in addition to the rest of their load. it will be seen that we had reason to rejoice in our own foresight. my experience of the previous night had rendered me somewhat less fastidious than when i commenced my journey, so that, when introduced to our sleeping-apartment, which i found we were to share with six men, travellers like ourselves, my only feeling was one of thankfulness that each bed was furnished with a full suit of blue checked curtains, which formed a very tolerable substitute for a dressing-room. chapter xv. rock river--hours of trouble. it was late on the following day (march th) when we took leave of our kind hostess. she loaded us with cakes, good wishes, and messages to her sister dixon and the children. we journeyed pleasantly along through a country beautiful in spite of its wintry appearance. there was a house at buffalo grove, at which we stopped for half an hour, and where a nice-looking young girl presented us with some maple-sugar of her own making. she entertained us with the history of a contest between two rival claimants for the patronage of the stage-wagon, the proprietors of which had not decided whether to send it by buffalo grove or by another route, which she pointed out to us, at no great distance. the _driver_, she took care to inform us, was in favor of the former; and the blush with which she replied in the affirmative to our inquiry, "is he a young man?" explained the whole matter satisfactorily. at length, just at sunset, we reached the dark, rapid waters of the rock river. the ferry which we had travelled so far out of our way to take advantage of, proved to be merely a small boat or skiff, the larger one having been swept off into the stream, and carried down in the breaking-up of the ice, the week previous. my husband's first care was to get me across. he placed me with the saddles, packs, etc. in the boat, and as, at that late hour, no time was to be lost, he ventured, at the same time, to hold the bridles of the two most docile horses, to guide them in swimming the river. when we had proceeded a few rods from the shore, we were startled by a loud puffing and blowing near us, and looking around, to our great surprise, discovered little brunet just upon our "weather-bow." determined not to be outdone by his model, jerry, he had taken to the water on his own responsibility, and arrived at the opposite shore as soon as any of the party. all being safely landed, a short walk brought us to the house of mr. dixon. although so recently come into the country, he had contrived to make everything comfortable around him; and when he ushered us into mrs. dixon's sitting-room, and seated us by a glowing wood fire, while mrs. dixon busied herself in preparing us a nice supper, i felt that the comfort overbalanced the inconvenience of such a journey. mrs. dixon was surrounded by several children. one leaning against the chimney-piece was dressed in the full indian costume--calico shirt, blanket, and leggings. his dark complexion, and full, melancholy eyes, which he kept fixed upon the ashes in which he was making marks with a stick, rarely raising them to gaze on us, as children are wont to do, interested me exceedingly, and i inquired of an intelligent little girl, evidently a daughter of our host,-- "who is that boy?" "oh, that is john ogie," answered she. "what is the matter with him? he looks very sad." "oh, he is fretting after his mother." "is she dead, then?" "some say she is dead, and some say she is gone away. i guess she is dead, and buried up in one of those graves yonder"--pointing to two or three little picketed inclosures upon a rising ground opposite the window. i felt a strong sympathy with the child, which was increased when the little spokeswoman, in answer to my inquiry, "has he no father?" replied,-- "oh, yes, but he goes away, and drinks, and don't care for his children." "and what becomes of john then?" "he stays here with us, and we teach him to read, and he learns _dreadful_ fast." when the boy at length turned his large dark eyes upon me, it went to my heart. it was such a _motherless_ look. and it was explained when, long afterwards, i learned his further history. his mother was still living, and he knew it, although, with the reserve peculiar to his people, he never spoke of her to his young companions. unable to endure the continued ill treatment of her husband, a surly, intemperate canadian, she had left him, and returned to her own family among the pottowattamies. years after, this boy and a brother who had also been left behind with their father found their way to the upper missouri, to join their mother, who, with the others of her tribe, had been removed by the government from the shores of lake michigan. a most savory supper of ducks and venison, with their accompaniments, soon smoked upon the board, and we did ample justice to it. travelling is a great sharpener of the appetite, and so is cheerfulness; and the latter was increased by the encouraging account mr. dixon gave us of the remainder of the route yet before us. "there is no difficulty," said he, "if you keep a little to the north, and strike the great _sauk trail_. if you get too far to the south, you will come upon the winnebago swamp, and, once in that, there is no telling when you will ever get out again. as for the distance, it is nothing at all to speak of. two young men came out here from chicago, on foot, last fall. they got here the evening of the second day; and, even with a lady in your party, you could go on horseback in less time than that. the only thing is to be sure and get on the great track that the sauks have made, in going every year from the mississippi to canada, to receive their presents from the british indian agent." the following morning, which was a bright and lovely one for that season of the year, we took leave of mr. and mrs. dixon, in high spirits. we travelled for the first few miles along the beautiful, undulating banks of the rock river, always in an easterly direction, keeping the beaten path, or rather road, which led to fort clark, or peoria. the sauk trail, we had been told, would cross this road at the distance of about six miles. after having travelled, as we judged, fully that distance, we came upon a trail bearing northeast, and a consultation was held as to the probability of its being the one we were in search of. mr. kinzie was of opinion that it tended too much to the north, and was, moreover, too faint and obscure for a trail so much used, and by so large a body of indians in their annual journeys. plante was positive as to its being the very spot where he and "piché" in their journey to port winnebago, the year before, struck into the great road. "on that very rising-ground at the point of woods, he remembered perfectly well stopping to shoot ducks, which they ate for their supper." mr. kellogg was non-committal, but sided alternately with each speaker. as plante was "the guide," and withal so confident of being right, it was decided to follow him, not without some demurring, however, on the part of the bourgeois, who every now and then called to halt, to discuss the state of affairs. "now, plante," he would say, "i am sure you are leading us too far north. why, man, if we keep on in this direction, following the course of the river, we shall bring up at kosh-ko-nong, instead of chicago." "ah! mon bourgeois," would the light-hearted canadian reply, "would i tell you this is the road if i were not quite certain? only one year ago i travelled it, and can i forget so soon? oh, no--i remember every foot of it." but monsieur plante was convinced of his mistake when the trail brought us to the great bend of the river with its bold rocky bluffs. "are you satisfied now, plante?" asked mr. kinzie. "by your leave, i will now play pilot myself." and he struck off from the trail, in a direction as nearly east as possible. the weather had changed and become intensely cold, and we felt that the detention we had met with, even should we now be in the right road, was no trifling matter. we had not added to our stock of provisions at dixon's, wishing to carry as much forage as we were able for our horses, for whom the scanty picking around our encamping-grounds afforded an insufficient meal. but we were buoyed up by the hope that we were in the right path at last, and we journeyed on until night, when we reached a comfortable "encampment," in the edge of a grove near a small stream. oh, how bitterly cold that night was! the salted provisions, to which i was accustomed, occasioned me an intolerable thirst, and my husband was in the habit of placing the little tin coffee-pot filled with water at my bed's head when we went to rest, but this night it was frozen solid long before midnight. we were so well wrapped up in blankets that we did not suffer from cold while within the tent, but the open air was severe in the extreme. march th.--we were roused by the bourgeois at peep of day to make preparations for starting. we must find the sauk trail this day at all hazards. what would become of us should we fail to do so? it was a question no one liked to ask, and certainly one that none could have answered. on leaving our encampment, we found ourselves entering a marshy tract of country. myriads of wild geese, brant, and ducks rose up screaming at our approach. the more distant lakes and ponds were black with them, but the shallow water through which we attempted to make our way was frozen, by the severity of the night, to a thickness not quite sufficient to bear the horses, but just such as to cut their feet and ankles at every step as they broke through it. sometimes the difficulty of going forward was so great that we were obliged to retrace our steps and make our way round the head of the marsh, thus adding to the discomforts of our situation by the conviction that, while journeying diligently, we were, in fact, making very little progress. this swampy region at length passed, we came upon more solid ground, chiefly the open prairie. but now a new trouble assailed us. the weather had moderated, and a blinding snow-storm came on. without a trail that we could rely upon, and destitute of a compass, our only dependence had been the sun to point out our direction; but the atmosphere was now so obscure that it was impossible to tell in what quarter of the heavens he was. we pursued our way, however, and a devious one it must have been. after travelling in this way many miles, we came upon an indian trail, deeply indented, running at right angles with the course we were pursuing. the snow had ceased, and, the clouds becoming thinner, we were able to observe the direction of the sun, and to perceive that the trail ran north and south. what should we do? was it safest to pursue our easterly course, or was it probable that by following this new path we should fall into the direct one we had been so long seeking? if we decided to take the trail, should we go north or south? mr. kinzie was for the latter. he was of opinion we were still too far north--somewhere about the grand marais, or kish-wau-kee. mr. kellogg and plante were for taking the northerly direction. the latter was positive his bourgeois had already gone too far south--in fact, that we must now be in the neighborhood of the illinois river. finding himself in the minority, my husband yielded, and we turned our horses' heads north, much against his will. after proceeding a few miles, however, he took a sudden determination. "you may go north, if you please," said he, "but i am convinced that the other course is right, and i shall face about--follow who will." so we wheeled round and rode south again, and many a long and weary mile did we travel, the monotony of our ride broken only by the querulous remarks of poor mr. kellogg. "i am really afraid we are wrong, mr. kinzie. i feel pretty sure that the young man is right. it looks most natural to me that we should take a northerly course, and not be stretching away so far to the south." to all this, mr. kinzie turned a deaf ear. the frenchmen rode in silence. they would as soon have thought of cutting off their right hand as showing opposition to the bourgeois when he had once expressed his decision. they would never have dreamed of offering an opinion or remark unless called upon to do so. the road, which had continued many miles through the prairie, at length, in winding round a point of woods, brought us suddenly upon an indian village. a shout of joy broke from the whole party, but no answering shout was returned--not even a bark of friendly welcome--as we galloped up to the wigwams. all was silent as the grave. we rode round and round, then dismounted and looked into several of the spacious huts. they had evidently been long deserted. nothing remained but the bare walls of bark, from which everything in the shape of furniture had been stripped by the owners and carried with them to their wintering-grounds, to be brought back in the spring, when they returned to make their corn-fields and occupy their summer cabins. our disappointment may be better imagined than described. with heavy hearts, we mounted and once more pursued our way, the snow again falling and adding to the discomforts of our position. at length we halted for the night. we had long been aware that our stock of provisions was insufficient for another day, and here we were--nobody knew where--in the midst of woods and prairies--certainly far from any human habitation, with barely enough food for a slender evening's meal. the poor dogs came whining round us to beg their usual portion, but they were obliged to content themselves with a bare bone, and we retired to rest with the feeling that if not actually hungry then, we should certainly be so to-morrow. the morrow came. plante and roy had a bright fire and a nice pot of coffee for us. it was our only breakfast, for, on shaking the bag and turning it inside out, we could make no more of our stock of bread than three crackers, which the rest of the party insisted i should put in my pocket for my dinner. i was much touched by the kindness of mr. kellogg, who drew from his wallet a piece of tongue and a slice of fruit-cake, which he said "he had been saving for _the lady_ since the day before, for he saw how matters were a going." poor man! it would have been well if he had listened to mr. kinzie and provided himself at the outset with a larger store of provisions. as it was, those he brought with him were exhausted early in the second day, and he had been _boarding_ with us for the last two meals. we still had the trail to guide us, and we continued to follow it until about nine o'clock, when, in emerging from a wood, we came upon a broad and rapid river. a collection of indian wigwams stood upon the opposite bank, and, as the trail led directly to the water, it was fair to infer that the stream was fordable. we had no opportunity of testing it, however, for the banks were so lined with ice, which was piled up tier upon tier by the breaking-up of the previous week, that we tried in vain to find a path by which we could descend the bank to the water. the men shouted again and again, in hopes some straggling inhabitant of the village might be at hand with his canoe. no answer was returned, save by the echoes. what was to be done? i looked at my husband and saw that care was on his brow, although he still continued to speak cheerfully. "we will follow this cross-trail down the bank of the river," said he. "there must be indians wintering near, in some of these points of wood." i must confess that i felt somewhat dismayed at our prospects, but i kept up a show of courage, and did not allow my despondency to be seen. all the party were dull and gloomy enough. we kept along the bank, which was considerably elevated above the water, and bordered at a little distance with a thick wood. all at once my horse, who was mortally afraid of indians, began to jump and prance, snorting and pricking up his ears as if an enemy were at hand. i screamed with delight to my husband, who was at the head of the file, "oh, john! john! there are indians near--look at jerry!" at this instant a little indian dog ran out from under the bushes by the roadside, and began barking at us. never were sounds more welcome. we rode directly into the thicket, and, descending into a little hollow, found two squaws crouching behind the bushes, trying to conceal themselves from our sight. they appeared greatly relieved when mr. kinzie addressed them in the pottowattamie language,-- "what are you doing here?" "digging indian potatoes"--(a species of artichoke.) "where is your lodge?" "on the other side of the river." "good--then you have a canoe here. can you take us across?" "yes--the canoe is very small." they conducted us down the bank to the water's edge where the canoe was. it was indeed _very small_. my husband explained to them that they must take me across first, and then return for the others of the party. "will you trust yourself alone over the river?" inquired he. "you see that but one can cross at a time." "oh, yes"--and i was soon placed in the bottom of the canoe, lying flat and looking up at the sky, while the older squaw took the paddle in her hand, and placed herself on her knees at my head, and the younger, a girl of fourteen or fifteen, stationed herself at my feet. there was just room enough for me to lie in this position, each of the others kneeling in the opposite ends of the canoe. while these preparations were making, mr. kinzie questioned the women as to our whereabout. they knew no name for the river but "saumanong." this was not definite, it being the generic term for any large stream. but he gathered that the village we had passed higher up, on the opposite side of the stream, was wau-ban-see's, and then he knew that we were on the fox river, and probably about fifty miles from chicago. the squaw, in answer to his inquiries, assured him that chicago was "close by." "that means," said he, "that it is not so far off as canada. we must not be too sanguine." the men set about unpacking the horses, and i in the mean time was paddled across the river. the old woman immediately returned, leaving the younger one with me for company. i seated myself on the fallen trunk of a tree, in the midst of the snow, and looked across the dark waters. i am not ashamed to confess my weakness--for the first time on my journey i shed tears. it was neither hunger, nor fear, nor cold, which extorted them from me. it was the utter desolation of spirit, the sickness of heart which "hope deferred" ever occasions, and which of all evils is the hardest to bear. the poor little squaw looked into my face with a wondering and sympathizing expression. probably she was speculating in her own mind what a person who rode so fine a horse, and wore so comfortable a broadcloth dress, could have to cry about. i pointed to a seat beside me on the log, but she preferred standing and gazing at me, with the same pitying expression. presently she was joined by a young companion, and, after a short chattering, of which i was evidently the subject, they both trotted off into the woods, and left me to my own solitary reflections. "what would my friends at the east think," said i to myself, "if they could see me now? what would poor old mrs. welsh say? she who warned me that _if i came away so far to the west, i should break my heart?_ would she not rejoice to find how likely her prediction was to be fulfilled?" these thoughts roused me. i dried up my tears, and by the time my husband with his party and all his horses and luggage were across, i had recovered my cheerfulness, and was ready for fresh adventures. chapter xvi. relief. we followed the old squaw to her lodge, which was at no great distance in the woods. i had never before been in an indian lodge, although i had occasionally peeped into one of the many always clustered round the house of the interpreter at the portage. this one was very nicely arranged. four sticks of wood placed to form a square in the centre, answered the purpose of a hearth, within which the fire was built, the smoke escaping through an opening in the top. the mats of which the lodge was constructed were very neat and new, and against the sides, depending from the poles or frame-work, hung various bags of indian manufacture, containing their dried food and other household treasures. sundry ladles, small kettles, and wooden bowls also hung from the cross-poles; and dangling from the centre, by an iron chain, was a large kettle in which some dark, suspicious-looking substance was seething over the scanty fire. on the floor of the lodge, between the fire and the outer wall, were spread mats, upon which my husband invited me to be seated and make myself comfortable. the first demand of an indian on meeting a white man is for _bread_, of which they are exceedingly fond, and i knew enough of the pottowattamie language to comprehend the timid "_pe-qua-zhe-gun choh-kay-go_" (i have no bread) with which the squaw commenced our conversation after my husband had left the lodge. i shook my head, and endeavored to convey to her that, so far from being able to give, i had had no breakfast myself. she understood me, and instantly produced a bowl, into which she ladled a quantity of indian potatoes from the kettle over the fire, and set them before me. i was too hungry to be fastidious, and, owing partly, no doubt, to the sharpness of my appetite, i really found them delicious. two little girls, inmates of the lodge, sat gazing at me with evident admiration and astonishment, which were increased when i took my little prayer book from my pocket and began to read. they had, undoubtedly, never seen a book before, and i was amused at the care with which they looked _away_ from me, while they questioned their mother about my strange employment and listened to her replies. while thus occupied, i was startled by a sudden sound of "hogh!" and the mat which hung over the entrance of the lodge was raised, and an indian entered with that graceful bound which is peculiar to themselves. it was the master of the lodge, who had been out to shoot ducks, and was just returned. he was a tall, finely-formed man, with a cheerful, open countenance, and he listened to what his wife in a quiet tone related to him, while he divested himself of his accoutrements, in the most unembarrassed, well-bred manner imaginable. soon my husband joined us. he had been engaged in attending to the comfort of his horses, and assisting his men in making their fire, and pitching their tent, which the rising storm made a matter of some difficulty. from the indian he learned that we were in what was called the big woods,[ ] or "piché's grove," from a frenchman of that name living not far from the spot--that the river we had crossed was the fox river--that he could guide us to _piché's_, from which the road was perfectly plain, or even into chicago if we preferred--but that we had better remain encamped for that day, as there was a storm coming on, and in the mean time he would go and shoot some ducks for our dinner and supper. he was accordingly furnished with powder and shot, and set off again for game without delay. i had put into my pocket, on leaving home, a roll of scarlet ribbon, in case a stout string should be wanted, and i now drew it forth, and with the knife which hung around my neck i cut off a couple of yards for each of the little girls. they received it with great delight, and their mother, dividing each portion into two, tied a piece to each of the little clubs into which their hair was knotted on the temples. they laughed, and exclaimed "saum!" as they gazed at each other, and their mother joined in their mirth, although, as i thought, a little unwilling to display her maternal exultation before a stranger. the tent being all in order, my husband came for me, and we took leave of our friends in the wigwam, with grateful hearts. the storm was raging without. the trees were bending and cracking around us, and the air was completely filled with the wild-fowl screaming and _quacking_ as they made their way southward before the blast. our tent was among the trees not far from the river. my husband took me to the bank to look for a moment at what we had escaped. the wind was sweeping down from the north in a perfect hurricane. the water was filled with masses of snow and ice, dancing along upon the torrent, over which were hurrying thousands of wild-fowl, making the woods resound to their deafening clamor. had we been one hour later, we could not possibly have crossed the stream, and there would have been nothing for us but to have remained and starved in the wilderness. could we be sufficiently grateful to that kind providence that had brought us safely through such dangers? the men had cut down an immense tree, and built a fire against it, but the wind shifted so continually that every five minutes the tent would become completely filled with smoke, so that i was driven into the open air for breath. then i would seat myself on one end of the huge log, as near the fire as possible, for it was dismally cold, but the wind seemed actuated by a kind of caprice, for in whatever direction i took my seat, just that way came the smoke and hot ashes, puffing in my face until i was nearly blinded. neither veil nor silk handkerchief afforded an effectual protection, and i was glad when the arrival of our huntsmen, with a quantity of ducks, gave me an opportunity of diverting my thoughts from my own sufferings, by aiding the men to pick them and get them ready for our meal. we borrowed a kettle from our indian friends. it was not remarkably clean; but we heated a little water in it, and _prairie-hay'd_ it out, before consigning our birds to it, and with a bowl of indian potatoes, a present from our kind neighbors, we soon had an excellent soup. what with the cold, the smoke, and the driving ashes and cinders, this was the most uncomfortable afternoon i had yet passed, and i was glad when night came, and i could creep into the tent and cover myself up in the blankets, out of the way of all three of these evils. the storm raged with tenfold violence during the night. we were continually startled by the crashing of the falling trees around us, and who could tell but that the next would be upon us? spite of our fatigue, we passed an almost sleepless night. when we arose in the morning, we were made fully alive to the perils by which we had been surrounded. at least fifty trees, the giants of the forest, lay prostrate within view of the tent. when we had taken our scanty breakfast, and were mounted and ready for departure, it was with difficulty we could thread our way, so completely was it obstructed by the fallen trunks. our indian guide had joined us at an early hour, and after conducting us carefully out of the wood, and pointing out to us numerous bee-trees,[ ] for which he said that grove was famous, he set off at a long trot, and about nine o'clock brought us to _piché's_, a log cabin on a rising ground, looking off over the broad prairie to the east. we had hoped to get some refreshment here, piché being an old acquaintance of some of the party; but, alas! the master was from home. we found his cabin occupied by indians and travellers--the latter few, the former numerous. there was no temptation to a halt, except that of warming ourselves at a bright fire that was burning in the clay chimney. a man in quaker costume stepped forward to answer our inquiries, and offered to become our escort to chicago, to which place he was bound--so we dismissed our indian friend, with a satisfactory remuneration for all the trouble he had so kindly taken for us. a long reach of prairie extended from piché's to the du page, between the two forks of which, mr. dogherty, our new acquaintance, told us, we should find the dwelling of a mr. hawley, who would give us a comfortable dinner. the weather was intensely cold; the wind, sweeping over the wide prairie with nothing to break its force, chilled our very hearts. i beat my feet against the saddle to restore the circulation, when they became benumbed with the cold, until they were so bruised i could beat them no longer. not a house or wigwam, not even a clump of trees as a shelter, offered itself for many a weary mile. at length we reached the west fork of the du page. it was frozen, but not sufficiently so to bear the horses. our only resource was to cut a way for them through the ice. it was a work of time, for the ice had frozen to several inches in thickness during the last bitter night. plante went first with an axe, and cut as far as he could reach, then mounted one of the hardy little ponies, and with some difficulty broke the ice before him, until he had opened a passage to the opposite shore. how the poor animals shivered as they were reined in among the floating ice! and we, who sat waiting in the piercing wind, were not much better off. probably brunet was of the same opinion; for, with his usual perversity, he plunged in immediately after plante, and stood shaking and quaking behind him, every now and then looking around him, as much as to say, "i've got ahead of you, this time!" we were all across at last, and spurred on our horses, until we reached hawley's[ ]--a large, commodious dwelling, near the east fork of the river. the good woman welcomed us kindly, and soon made us warm and comfortable. we felt as if we were in a civilized land once more. she proceeded immediately to prepare dinner for us; and we watched her with eager eyes, as she took down a huge ham from the rafters, out of which she cut innumerable slices, then broke a dozen or more of fine fresh eggs into a pan, in readiness for frying--then mixed a _johnny-cake_, and placed it against a board in front of the fire to bake. it seemed to me that even with the aid of this fine, bright fire, the dinner took an unconscionable time to cook; but cooked it was, at last, and truly might the good woman stare at the travellers' appetites we had brought with us. she did not know what short commons we had been on for the last two days. we found, upon inquiry, that we could, by pushing on, reach lawton's, on the aux plaines, that night--we should then be within twelve miles of chicago. of course we made no unnecessary delay, but set off as soon after dinner as possible. the crossing of the east fork of the du page was more perilous than the former one had been. the ice had become broken, either by the force of the current, or by some equestrians having preceded us and cut through it, so that when we reached the bank, the ice was floating down in large cakes. the horses had to make a rapid dart through the water, which was so high, and rushing in such a torrent, that if i had not been mounted on jerry, the tallest horse in the cavalcade, i must have got a terrible splashing. as it was, i was well frightened, and grasped both bridle and mane with the utmost tenacity. after this we travelled on as rapidly as possible, in order to reach our place of destination before dark. mr. dogherty, a tall, bolt-upright man, half quaker, half methodist, did his best to entertain me, by giving me a thorough schedule of his religious opinions, with the reasons from scripture upon which they were based. he was a good deal of a perfectionist, and evidently looked upon himself with no small satisfaction, as a living illustration of his favorite doctrine. "st. john says," this was the style of his discourse, "st. john says, 'he that is born of god, doth not commit sin' now, _if_ i am born of god, i do not commit sin." i was too cold and too weary to argue the point, so i let him have it all his own way. i believe he must have thought me rather a dull companion; but at least he gave me the credit of being a good listener. it was almost dark when we reached lawton's. the aux plaines[ ] was frozen, and the house was on the other side. by loud shouting, we brought out a man from the building, and he succeeded in cutting the ice, and bringing a canoe over to us; but not until it had become difficult to distinguish objects in the darkness. a very comfortable house was lawton's, after we did reach it--carpeted, and with a warm stove--in fact, quite in civilized style, mr. weeks, the man who brought us across, was the major-domo, during the temporary absence of mr. lawton. mrs. lawton was a young woman, and not ill-looking. she complained bitterly of the loneliness of her condition, and having been "brought out there into the woods; which was a thing she had not expected, when she came from the east." we did not ask her with what expectations she had come to a wild, unsettled country; but we tried to comfort her with the assurance that things would grow better in a few years. she said, "she did not mean to wait for that. she should go back to her family in the east, if mr. lawton did not invite some of her young friends to come and stay with her, and make it agreeable." we could hardly realize, on rising the following morning, that only twelve miles of prairie intervened between us and _chicago le désiré_, as i could not but name it. we could look across the extended plain, and on its farthest verge were visible two tall trees, which my husband pointed out to me as the planting of his own hand, when a boy. already they had become so lofty as to serve as landmarks, and they were constantly in view as we travelled the beaten road. i was continually repeating to myself, "there live the friends i am so longing to see! there will terminate all our trials and hardships!" a mr. wentworth joined us on the road, and of him we inquired after the welfare of the family, from whom we had, for a long time, received no intelligence. when we reached chicago, he took us to a little tavern at the forks of the river. this portion of the place was then called _wolf point_, from its having been the residence of an indian named "_moaway_," or "the wolf." "dear me," said the old landlady, at the little tavern, "what dreadful cold weather you must have had to travel in! why, two days ago the river was all open here, and now it's frozen hard enough for folks to cross a-horseback!" notwithstanding this assurance, my husband did not like to venture, so he determined to leave his horses and proceed on foot to the residence of his mother and sister, a distance of about half a mile. we set out on our walk, which was first across the ice, then down the northern bank of the river. as we approached the house we were espied by genevieve, a half-breed servant of the family. she did not wait to salute us, but flew into the house, crying,-- "oh! madame kinzie, who do you think has come? monsieur john and madame john, all the way from fort winnebago on foot!" soon we were in the arms of our dear, kind friends. a messenger was dispatched to "the garrison" for the remaining members of the family, and for that day, at least, i was the wonder and admiration of the whole circle, "for the dangers i had seen." chapter xvii. chicago in . fort dearborn at that day consisted of the same buildings as at present.[ ] they were, of course, in a better state of preservation, though still considerably dilapidated. they had been erected in , under the supervision of captain hezekiah bradley, and there was a story current that, such was his patriotic regard for the interests of the government, he obliged the soldiers to fashion wooden pins, instead of spikes and nails, to fasten the timbers of the buildings, and that he even called on the junior officers to aid in their construction along with the soldiers, whose business it was. if this were true, the captain must have labored under the delusion (excusable in one who had lived long on the frontier) that government would thank its servants for any excess of economical zeal. the fort was inclosed by high pickets, with bastions at the alternate angles. large gates opened to the north and south, and there were small posterns here and there for the accommodation of the inmates. the bank of the river which stretches to the west, now covered by the light-house buildings, and inclosed by docks, was then occupied by the root-houses of the garrison. beyond the parade-ground, which extended south of the pickets, were the company gardens, well filled with currant-bushes and young fruit-trees. the fort stood at what might naturally be supposed to be the mouth of the river. it was not so, however, for in those days the latter took a turn, sweeping round the promontory on which the fort was built, towards the south, and joining the lake about half a mile below. these buildings stood on the right bank of the river, the left being a long spit of land extending from the northern shore, of which it formed a part. after the cutting through of this portion of the left bank in by the united states engineers employed to construct a harbor at this point, and the throwing out of the piers, the water overflowed this long tongue of land, and, continually encroaching on the southern bank, robbed it of many valuable acres; while, by the same action of the vast body of the lake, an accretion was constantly taking place on the north of the harbor. the residence of jean baptiste beaubien stood at this period between the gardens and the river-bank, and still farther south was a rickety tenement, built many years before by mr. john dean, the sutler of the post. a short time after the commencement of the growth of chicago, the foundations of this building were undermined by the gradual encroachment of the lake, and it tumbled backward down the bank, where it long lay, a melancholy spectacle. on the northern bank of the river, directly facing the fort, was the family mansion of my husband.[ ] it was a long, low building, with a piazza extending along its front, a range of four or five rooms. a broad green space was inclosed between it and the river, and shaded by a row of lombardy poplars. two immense cottonwood-trees stood in the rear of the building, one of which still remains as an ancient landmark. a fine, well-cultivated garden extended to the north of the dwelling, and surrounding it were various buildings appertaining to the establishment--dairy, bake-house, lodging-house for the frenchmen, and stables. a vast range of sand-hills, covered with stunted cedars, pines, and dwarf-willow-trees, intervened between the house and the lake, which was, at this time, not more than thirty rods distant. proceeding from this point along the northern bank of the river, we came first to the agency house, "cobweb castle," as it had been denominated while long the residence of a bachelor, and the _sobriquet_ adhered to it ever after. it stood at what is now the southwest corner of wolcott[ ] and n. water streets. many will still remember it, a substantial, compact little building of logs hewed and squared, with a centre, two wings, and, strictly speaking, two _tails_, since, when there was found no more room for additions at the sides, they were placed in the rear, whereon a vacant spot could be found. these appendages did not mar the symmetry of the whole, as viewed from the front, but when, in the process of the town's improvement, a street was maliciously opened directly in the rear of the building, the whole establishment, with its comical little adjuncts, was a constant source of amusement to the passers-by. no matter. there were pleasant, happy hours passed under its odd-shaped roof, as many of chicago's early settlers can testify. around the agency house were grouped a collection of log buildings, the residences of the different persons in the employ of government, appertaining to that establishment--blacksmith, striker, and laborers. these were for the most part canadians or half-breeds, with occasionally a stray yankee, to set all things going by his activity and enterprise. there was still another house on the north side of the river, built by a former resident by the name of miller, but he had removed to "rivière du chemin," or trail creek, which about this time began to be called "michigan city."[ ] this house, which stood near the forks of the river, was at this time vacant. there was no house on the southern bank of the river, between the fort and "the point," as the forks of the river were then called. the land was a low wet prairie, scarcely affording good walking in the dryest summer weather, while at other seasons it was absolutely impassable. a muddy streamlet, or, as it is called in this country, a _slew_,[ ] after winding around from about the present site of the tremont house, fell into the river at the foot of state street.[ ] at the point, on the south side, stood a house just completed by mark beaubien. it was a pretentious white two-story building, with bright-blue wooden shutters, the admiration of all the little circle at wolf point. here a canoe ferry was kept to transport people across the south branch of the river. facing down the river from the west was, first a small tavern kept by mr. wentworth, familiarly known as "old geese," not from any want of shrewdness on his part, but in compliment to one of his own cant expressions. near him were two or three log cabins occupied by robinson, the pottowattamie chief, and some of his wife's connexions. billy caldwell, the sau-ga-nash, too, resided here occasionally, with his wife, who was a daughter of nee-scot-nee-meg, one of the most famous chiefs of the nation. a little remote from these residences was a small square log building, originally designed for a school-house, but occasionally used as a place of worship whenever any itinerant minister presented himself. the family of clybourn had, previous to this time, established themselves near their present residence on the north branch--they called their place _new virginia_. four miles up the south branch was an old building which was at one time an object of great interest as having been the theatre of some stirring events during the troubles of .[ ] it was denominated lee's place, or hardscrabble. here lived, at this time, a settler named heacock. owing to the badness of the roads a greater part of the year, the usual mode of communication between the fort and the point was by a boat rowed up the river, or by a canoe paddled by some skilful hand. by the latter means, too, an intercourse was kept up between the residents of the fort and the agency house. there were, at this time, two companies of soldiers in the garrison, but of the officers one, lieutenant furman, had died the autumn previous, and several of the others were away on furlough. in the absence of major fowle and captain scott, the command devolved on lieutenant hunter. besides him, there were lieutenants engle and foster--the latter unmarried. dr. finley, the post surgeon, was also absent, and his place was supplied by dr. harmon, a gentleman from vermont. my husband's mother, two sisters, and brother resided at the agency house--the family residence near the lake being occupied by j.n. bailey, the postmaster. in the dean house lived a mr. and mrs. forbes, who kept a school. gholson kercheval had a small trading establishment in one of the log buildings at wolf point, and john s.c. hogan superintended the sutler's store in the garrison. there was also a mr. see lately come into the country, living at the point, who sometimes held forth in the little school-house on a sunday, less to the edification of his hearers than to the unmerciful slaughter of the "king's english." i think this enumeration comprises all the white inhabitants of chicago at a period less than half a century ago. to many who may read these pages the foregoing particulars will, doubtless, appear uninteresting. but to those who visit chicago, and still more to those who come to make it their home, it may be not without interest to look back to its first beginnings; to contemplate the almost magical change which a few years have wrought; and from the past to augur the marvellous prosperity of the future. the origin of the name chicago is a subject of discussion, some of the indians deriving it from the fitch or polecat, others from the wild onion with which the woods formerly abounded; but all agree that the place received its name from an old chief who was drowned in the stream in former times. that this event, although so carefully preserved by tradition, must have occurred in a very remote period, is evident from an old french manuscript brought by general cass from france. in this paper, which purports to be a letter from m. de ligney, at green bay, to m. de siette, among the illinois, dated as early as , the place is designated as "chica-goux." this orthography is also found in old family letters of the beginning of the present century. * * * * * in giving the early history of chicago, the indians say, with great simplicity, "the first white man who settled here was a negro." this was jean baptiste point-au-sable, a native of st. domingo, who, about the year , found his way to this remote region, and commenced a life among the indians. there is usually a strong affection between these two races, and jean baptiste imposed upon his new friends by making them believe that he had been a "great chief" among the whites. perhaps he was disgusted at not being elected to a similar dignity by the pottowattamies, for he quitted this vicinity, and finally terminated his days at peoria, under the roof of his friend glamorgan, another st. domingo negro, who had obtained large spanish grants in st. louis and its environs, and who, at one time, was in the enjoyment of an extensive landed estate. point-au-sable had made some improvements at chicago, which were taken possession of by a frenchman named le mai, who commenced trading with the indians. after a few years le mai's establishment was purchased by john kinzie, esq., who at that time resided at bertrand, or _parc aux vaches_, as it was then called, near niles, in michigan. as this gentleman was for nearly twenty years, with the exception of the military, the only white inhabitant of northern illinois, some particulars of his early life may not be uninteresting. he was born in quebec in . his mother had been previously married to a gentleman of the name of haliburton. the only daughter of this marriage was the mother of general fleming, nicholas low, esq., and mrs. charles king, of new york. she is described as a lady of remarkable beauty and accomplishments. mr. kinzie was the only child of the second marriage. his father died in his infancy, and his mother married a third time a mr. forsyth, after which they removed to the city of new york. at the age of ten or eleven years he was placed at school with two of his half-brothers at williamsburg, l.i. a negro servant was sent from the city every saturday, to bring the children home, to remain until the following monday morning. upon one occasion, when the messenger arrived at the school he found all things in commotion. johnny kinzie was missing! search was made in all directions; every place was ransacked. it was all in vain; no johnny kinzie could be found. the heavy tidings were carried home to his mother. by some it was supposed the lad was drowned; by others that he had strayed away, and would return. weeks passed by, and months, and he was at length given up and mourned as lost. in the mean time the boy was fulfilling a determination he had long formed, to visit his native city of quebec, and make his way in life for himself. he had by some means succeeded in crossing from williamsburg to the city of new york, and finding at one of the docks on the north river a sloop bound for albany, he took passage on board of her. while on his way up the river, he was noticed by a gentleman, who, taking an interest in the little lonely passenger, questioned him about his business. "he was going to quebec, where he had some friends." "had he the means to carry him there?" "not much, but he thought he could get along." it happened, fortunately, that the gentleman himself was going to quebec. he took the boy under his care, paid his expenses the whole distance, and finally parted with him in the streets of the city, where he was, in truth, a stranger. he wandered about for a time, looking into various "stores" and workshops. at length, on entering the shop of a silversmith, he was satisfied with the expression he read in the countenance of the master, and he inquired if he wanted an apprentice. "what, you, my little fellow! what can you do?" "anything you can teach me." "well, we will make a trial and see." the trial was satisfactory. he remained in the family of his kind friend for more than three years, when his parents, who, in removing to detroit, had necessarily returned to canada, discovered his place of abode, and he was restored to them. there were five younger half-brothers, of the name of forsyth. in the old family bible, we find the following touching record of an event that occurred after the family had removed to detroit:-- "george forsyth was lost in the woods th august, , when henry hays and mark stirling ran away and left him. the remains of george forsyth were found by an indian the d of october, , close by the prairie ronde." it seems a singular fatality that the unhappy mother should have been twice called to suffer a similar affliction--the loss of a child in a manner worse than death, inasmuch as it left room for all the horrors that imagination can suggest. the particulars of the loss of this little brother were these. as he came from school one evening, he met the colored servant-boy on horseback, going to the common for the cows. the school-house stood quite near the old fort, and all beyond that, towards the west, was a wild, uncultivated tract called "the common." the child begged of the servant to take him up and give him a ride, but the other refused, bidding him return home at once. he was accompanied by two other boys, somewhat older, and together they followed the negro for some distance, hoping to prevail upon him to give them a ride. as it grew dark, the two older boys turned back, but the other kept on. when the negro returned he had not again seen the child, nor were any tidings ever received of him, notwithstanding the diligent search made by the whole little community, until, as related in the record, his remains were found the following year by an indian. there was nothing to identify them, except the auburn curls of his hair, and the little boots he had worn. he must have perished very shortly after having lost his way, for the prairie ronde was too near the settlement to have prevented his bearing the calls and sounding horns of those in search of him, had he been living. mr. kinzie's enterprising and adventurous disposition led him, as he grew older, to live much on the frontier. he early entered into the indian trade, and had establishments at sandusky and maumee. about the year he pushed farther west, to st. joseph's, michigan. in this year he married mrs. mckillip, the widow of a british officer, and in came to make his home at chicago. it was in this year that the first fort was built by major john whistler. by degrees more remote trading-posts were established by him, all contributing to the parent one at chicago; at milwaukie with the menomonees; at rock river with the winnebagoes and the pottowattamies; on the illinois river and kankakee with the pottowattamies of the prairies, and with the kickapoos in what was called "_le large_," being the widely extended district afterwards erected into sangamon county. each trading-post had its superintendent, and its complement of engagés--its train of pack-horses and its equipment of boats and canoes. from most of the stations the furs and peltries were brought to chicago on pack-horses, and the goods necessary for the trade were transported in return by the same method. the vessels which came in the spring and fall (seldom more than two or three annually), to bring the supplies and goods for the trade, took the furs that were already collected to mackinac, the depôt of the southwest and american fur companies. at other seasons they were sent to that place in boats, coasting around the lake. * * * * * of the canadian voyageurs or engagés, a race that has now so nearly passed away, some notice may very properly here be given. they were unlike any other class of men. like the poet, they seemed born to their vocation. sturdy, enduring, ingenious, and light-hearted, they possessed a spirit capable of adapting itself to any emergency. no difficulties baffled, no hardships discouraged them; while their affectionate nature led them to form attachments of the warmest character to their "bourgeois," or master, as well as to the native inhabitants, among whom their engagements carried them. montreal, or, according to their own pronunciation, _marrialle_, was their depôt. it was at that place that the agents commissioned to make up the quota for the different companies and traders found the material for their selections. the terms of engagement were usually from four to six hundred livres (ancient quebec currency) per annum as wages, with rations of one quart of lyed corn, and two ounces of tallow per diem, or "its equivalent in whatever sort of food is to be found in the indian country." instances have been known of their submitting cheerfully to fare upon fresh fish and maple-sugar for a whole winter, when cut off from other supplies. it was a common saying, "keep an engagé to his corn and tallow, he will serve you well--give him pork and bread, and he soon gets beyond your management." they regard the terms of their engagement as binding to the letter. an old trader, m. berthelet, engaged a crew at montreal. the terms of agreement were, that they should eat when their bourgeois did, and what he did. it was a piece of fun on the part of the old gentleman, but the simple canadians believed it to be a signal instance of good luck that had provided them such luxurious prospects. the bourgeois stuffed his pockets with crackers, and, when sure of being quite unobserved, would slily eat one. pipe after pipe passed--the men grew hungry, but, observing that there were no preparations of a meal for the bourgeois, they bore their fast without complaining. at length the matter became too serious--they could stand it no longer. in their distress they begged off from the bargain, and gladly compounded to take the customary rations, instead of the dainty fare they had been promising themselves with their master. on arriving at mackinac, which was the entrepôt of the fur trade, a small proportion of the voyageur's wages was advanced him, to furnish his winter's outfit, his pipes and tobacco, his needles and thread, some pieces of bright-colored ribbons, and red and yellow gartering (quality binding), with which to purchase their little necessaries from the indians. to these, if his destination were lake superior, or a post far to the north where such articles could not be readily obtained, were added one or two smoked deer-skins for moccasins. thus equipped, he entered upon his three years' service, to toil by day, and laugh, joke, sing, and tell stories when the evening hour brought rest and liberty. there was not wanting here and there an instance of obstinate adherence to the exact letter of the agreement in regard to the nature of employment, although, as a general thing, the engagé held himself ready to fulfil the behests of his bourgeois, as faithfully as ever did vassal those of his chief. a story is told of m. st. jean, a trader on the upper mississippi, who upon a certain occasion ordered one of his frenchmen to accompany a party to the forest to chop wood. the man refused. "he was not hired," he said, "to chop wood." "ah! for what, then, were you hired?" "to steer a boat." "very well; steer a boat, then, since you prefer it." it was mid-winter. the recusant was marched to the river-side, and placed in the stern of the boat, which lay fastened in the ice. after serving a couple of hours at his legitimate employment, with the thermometer below zero, he was quite content to take his place with the chopping-party, and never again thought it good policy to choose work for himself. there is an aristocracy in the voyageur service which is quite amusing. the engagement is usually made for three years. the engagé of the first year, who is called a "_mangeur-de-lard_," or pork-eater, is looked down upon with the most sovereign contempt by an "_hivernant_," or one who has already passed a winter in the country. he will not only not associate with him, but if invited by him to join him in a friendly glass, he will make some excuse for declining. the most inveterate drunkard, while tortured by a longing to partake his favorite indulgence, will yet never suffer himself to be enticed into an infringement of this custom. after the first winter, the _mangeur-de-lard_ rises from his freshman class, and takes his place where he can in turn lord it over all new-comers. another peculiarity of the voyageurs is their fancy for transforming the names of their bourgeois into something funny, which resembles it in sound. thus, kinzie would be called by one "_quinze nez_" (fifteen noses), by another "_singé_" (monkeyfied). mr. kercheval was denominated _mons. court-cheval_ (short horse), the judge of probate, "_le juge trop-bête"_ (too foolish), etc. the following is an instance in point. mr. shaw, one of the agents of the northwest fur company, had passed many years on the frontier, and was by the voyageurs called monsieur le chat.[ ] on quitting the indian country he married a canadian lady and became the father of several children. some years after his return to canada, his old foreman, named louis la liberté, went to montreal to spend the winter. he had heard of his old bourgeois' marriage, and was anxious to see him. mr. shaw was walking in the champ de mars with a couple of officers, when la liberté espied him. he immediately ran up, and, seizing him by both hands, accosted him,-- "_ah! mon cher monsieur le chat: comment vous portez-vous_?" (my dear mr. cat, how do you do?) "_très-bien, louizon_." "_et comment se porte madame la chatte_?" (how is the mother cat?) "_bien, bien, louizon; elle est très-bien_" (she is very well.) "_et tous les petits chatons_?" (and all the kittens?) this was too much for mr. shaw. he answered shortly that the _kittens were all well_, and turned away with his military friends, leaving poor louizon quite astonished at the abruptness of his departure. cut off, in the manner described, from the world at large, with no society but the military, thus lived the family of mr. kinzie, in great contentment, and in the enjoyment of all the comforts, together with most of the luxuries, of life. the indians reciprocated the friendship that was shown them, and formed for them an attachment of no ordinary strength, as was manifested during the scenes of the year , eight years after mr. kinzie first came to live among them. some of the most prominent events of that year are recorded in the following narrative. chapter xviii. massacre at chicago.[ ] it was the evening of the th of april, . the children of mr. kinzie were dancing before the fire to the music of their father's violin. the tea-table was spread, and they were awaiting the return of their mother, who had gone to visit a sick neighbor about a quarter of a mile up the river. suddenly their sports were interrupted. the door was thrown open, and mrs. kinzie rushed in, pale with terror, and scarcely able to articulate, "the indians! the indians!" "the indians? what? where?" eagerly demanded they all. "up at lee's place, killing and scalping!" with difficulty mrs. kinzie composed herself sufficiently to give the information, "that, while she was up at burns's, a man and a boy were seen running down with all speed on the opposite side of the river; that they had called across to give notice to barns's family to save themselves, for _the indians_ were at lee's place, from which they had just made their escape. having given this terrifying news, they had made all speed for the fort, which was on the same side of the river that they then were." all was now consternation and dismay. the family were hurried into two old _pirogues_, that lay moored near the house, and paddled with all possible haste across the river to take refuge in the fort. all that the man and boy who had made their escape were able to tell, was soon known; but, in order to render their story more intelligible, it is necessary to describe the scene of action. _lee's place_, since known by the name of hardscrabble, was a farm intersected by the chicago river, about four miles from its mouth. the farm-house stood on the western bank of the south branch of this river. on the north side of the main stream, but quite near its junction with lake michigan, stood (as has already been described) the dwelling-house and trading-establishment of mr. kinzie. the fort was situated on the southern bank, directly opposite this mansion--the river, and a few rods of sloping green turf on either side, being all that intervened between them. the fort was differently constructed from the one erected on the same site in . it had two block-houses on the southern side, and on the northern a sally-port, or subterranean passage from the parade-ground to the river. this was designed either to facilitate escape in case of an emergency, or as a means of supplying the garrison with water during a siege. the officers in the fort at this period were captain heald, the commanding officer, lieutenant helm, the son-in-law of mr. kinzie, and ensign ronan--the two last were very young men--and the surgeon, dr. van voorhees. the command numbered about seventy-five men; very few of whom were effective. a constant and friendly intercourse had been maintained between these troops and the indians. it is true that the principal men of the pottowattamie nation, like those of most other tribes, went yearly to fort malden, in canada, to receive a large amount of presents, with which the british government had, for many years, been in the habit of purchasing their alliance; and it was well known that many of the pottowattamies, as well as winnebagoes, had been engaged with the ottawas and shawnees at the battle of tippecanoe, the preceding autumn; yet, as the principal chiefs of all the bands in the neighborhood appeared to be on the most amicable terms with the americans, no interruption of their harmony was at any time anticipated. after the th of august, however, many circumstances were recollected that might have opened the eyes of the whites, had they not been lulled in a fatal security. one instance in particular may be mentioned. in the spring preceding the destruction of the fort, two indians of the calumet band came to the fort on a visit to the commanding officer. as they passed through the quarters, they saw mrs. heald and mrs. helm playing at battledoor. turning to the interpreter, one of them, nau-non-gee, remarked, "the white chiefs' wives are amusing themselves very much; it will not be long before they are hoeing in our corn-fields!" this was considered at the time an idle threat, or, at most, an ebullition of jealous feeling at the contrast between the situation of their own women and that of the "white chiefs' wives." some months after, how bitterly was it remembered! * * * * * the farm at lee's place was occupied by a mr. white and three persons employed by him in the care of the farm. in the afternoon of the day on which our narrative commences, a party of ten or twelve indians, dressed and painted, arrived at the house, and, according to the custom among savages, entered and seated themselves without ceremony. something in their appearance and manner excited the suspicions of one of the family, a frenchman, who remarked, "i do not like the appearance of these indians--they are none of our folks. i know by their dress and paint that they are not pottowattamies." another of the family, a discharged soldier, then said to the boy who was present, "if that is the case, we had better get away from them if we can. say nothing; but do as you see me do." as the afternoon was far advanced, the soldier walked leisurely towards the canoes, of which there were two tied near the bank. some of the indians inquired where he was going. he pointed to the cattle which were standing among the haystacks on the opposite bank, and made signs that they must go and fodder them, and then they should return and get their supper. he got into one canoe, and the boy into the other. the stream was narrow, and they were soon across. when they had gained the opposite side, they pulled some hay for the cattle--made a show of collecting them--and when they had gradually made a circuit, so that their movements were concealed by the haystacks, they took to the woods, which were close at hand, and made for the fort. they had run about a quarter of a mile, when they heard the discharge of two guns successively, which they supposed to have been levelled at the companions they had left behind. they stopped not nor stayed until they arrived opposite burns's,[ ] where, as before related, they called across to advertise the family of their danger, and then hastened on to the fort. it now occurred to those who had secured their own safety, that the family of burns was at this moment exposed to the most imminent peril. the question was, who would hazard his own life to bring them to a place of safety? a gallant young officer, ensign ronan, volunteered, with a party of five or six soldiers, to go to their rescue. they ascended the river in a scow, and took the mother, with her infant of scarcely a day old, upon her bed to the boat, in which they carefully conveyed her and the other members of the family to the fort. a party of soldiers, consisting of a corporal and six men, had that afternoon obtained leave to go up the river to fish. they had not returned when the fugitives from lee's place arrived at the fort, and, fearing that they might encounter the indians, the commanding officer ordered a cannon to be fired, to warn them of danger. they were at the time about two miles above lee's place. hearing the signal, they took the hint, put out their torches (for it was now night), and dropped down the river towards the garrison, as silently as possible. it will be remembered that the unsettled state of the country since the battle of tippecanoe, the preceding november, had rendered every man vigilant, and the slightest alarm was an admonition to "beware of the indians." when the fishing-party reached lee's place, it was proposed to stop and warn the inmates to be upon their guard, as the signal from the fort indicated danger of some kind. all was still as death around the house. they groped their way along, and as the corporal jumped over the small enclosure he placed his hand upon the dead body of a man. by the sense of touch he soon ascertained that the head was without a scalp, and otherwise mutilated. the faithful dog of the murdered man stood guarding the lifeless remains of his master. the tale was now told. the men retreated to their canoes, and reached the fort unmolested about eleven o'clock at night. the next morning a party of the citizens and soldiers volunteered to go to lee's place, to learn further the fate of its occupants. the body of mr. white was found pierced by two balls, and with eleven stabs in the breast. the frenchman, as already described, lay dead, with his dog still beside him. their bodies were brought to the fort and buried in its immediate vicinity. it was subsequently ascertained, from traders out in the indian country, that the perpetrators of this bloody deed were a party of winnebagoes, who had come into this neighborhood to "take some white scalps." their plan had been, to proceed down the river from lee's place, and kill every white man without the walls of the fort. hearing, however, the report of the cannon, and not knowing what it portended, they thought it best to remain satisfied with this one exploit, and forthwith retreated to their homes on rock river. the inhabitants outside the fort, consisting of a few discharged soldiers and some families of half-breeds, now intrenched themselves in the agency house. this stood west of the fort, between the pickets and the river, and distant about twenty rods from the former. it was an old-fashioned log building, with a hall running through the centre, and one large room on each side. piazzas extended the whole length of the building in front and rear. these were planked up, for greater security, port-holes were cut, and sentinels posted at night. as the enemy were believed to be lurking still in the neighborhood, or, emboldened by former success, likely to return at any moment, an order was issued prohibiting any soldier or citizen from leaving the vicinity of the garrison without a guard. one night a sergeant and private, who were out on a patrol, came suddenly upon a party of indians in the pasture adjoining the esplanade. the sergeant fired his piece, and both retreated towards the fort. before they could reach it, an indian threw his tomahawk, which missed the sergeant and struck a wagon standing near. the sentinel from the block-house immediately fired, and with effect, while the men got safely in. the next morning it was ascertained, from traces of blood to a considerable distance into the prairie, and from the appearance of a body having been laid among the long grass, that some execution had been done. on another occasion the enemy entered the esplanade to steal horses. not finding them in the stable, as they had expected, they made themselves amends for their disappointment by stabbing all the sheep in the stable and then letting them loose. the poor animals flocked towards the fort. this gave the alarm--the garrison was aroused--parties were sent out, but the marauders escaped unmolested. * * * * * the inmates of the fort experienced no farther alarm for many weeks. on the afternoon of the th of august, winnemeg, or _catfish_, a pottowattamie chief, arrived at the post, bringing despatches from general hull. these announced the declaration of war between the united states and great britain, and that general hull, at the head of the northwestern army, had arrived at detroit; also, that the island of mackinac had fallen into the hands of the british. the orders to captain heald were, "to evacuate the fort, if practicable, and, in that event, to distribute all the united states' property contained in the fort, and in the united states' factory or agency, among the indians in the neighborhood." after having delivered his despatches, winnemeg requested a private interview with mr. kinzie, who had taken up his residence in the fort. he stated to mr. k. that he was acquainted with the purport of the communications he had brought, and begged him to ascertain if it were the intention of captain heald to evacuate the post. he advised strongly against such a step, inasmuch as the garrison was well supplied with ammunition, and with provisions for six months. it would, therefore, be far better, he thought, to remain until a reinforcement could be sent to their assistance. if, however, captain heald should decide upon leaving the post, it should by all means be done immediately. the pottowattamies, through whose country they must pass, being ignorant of the object of winnemeg's mission, a forced march might be made, before those who were hostile in their feelings were prepared to interrupt them. of this advice, so earnestly given, captain heald was immediately informed. he replied that it was his intention to evacuate the post, but that, inasmuch as he had received orders to distribute the united states' property, he should not feel justified in leaving it until he had collected the indians of the neighborhood and made an equitable division among them. winnemeg then suggested the expediency of marching out, and leaving all things standing--possibly while the indians were engaged in the partition of the spoils, the troops might effect their retreat unmolested. this advice was strongly seconded by mr. kinzie, but did not meet the approbation of the commanding officer. the order for evacuating the post was read next morning upon parade. it is difficult to understand why captain heald, in such an emergency, omitted the usual form of calling a council of war with his officers. it can only be accounted for by the fact of a want of harmonious feeling between himself and one of his junior officers--ensign ronan, a high-spirited and somewhat overbearing, but brave and generous young man. in the course of the day, finding that no council was called, the officers waited on captain heald to be informed what course he intended to pursue. when they learned his intentions, they remonstrated with him, on the following grounds: first--it was highly improbable that the command would be permitted to pass through the country in safety to fort wayne. for although it had been said that some of the chiefs had opposed an attack upon the fort, planned the preceding autumn, yet it was well known that they had been actuated in that matter by motives of private regard to one family, that of mr. kinzie, and not to any general friendly feeling towards the americans; and that, at any rate, it was hardly to be expected that these few individuals would be able to control the whole tribe, who were thirsting for blood. in the next place--their march must necessarily be slow, as their movements must be accommodated to the helplessness of the women and children, of whom there were a number with the detachment. that of their small force, some of the soldiers were superannuated, others invalid; therefore, since the course to be pursued was left discretional, their unanimous advice was, to remain where they were, and fortify themselves as strongly as possible. succors from the other side of the peninsula might arrive before they could be attacked by the british from mackinac; and even should they not, it were far better to fall into the hands of the latter than to become the victims of the savages. captain heald argued in reply, that a special order had been issued by the war department, that no post should be surrendered without battle having been given, and his force was totally inadequate to an engagement with the indians; that he should unquestionably be censured for remaining, when there appeared a prospect of a safe march through; and that, upon the whole, he deemed it expedient to assemble the indians, distribute the property among them, and then ask of them an escort to fort wayne, with the promise of a considerable reward upon their safe arrival--adding, that he had full confidence in the friendly professions of the indians, from whom, as well as from the soldiers, the capture of mackinac had been kept a profound secret. from this time the officers held themselves aloof, and spoke but little upon the subject, though they considered the project of captain heald little short of madness. the dissatisfaction among the soldiers hourly increased, until it reached a high pitch of insubordination. upon one occasion, as captain heald was conversing with mr. kinzie upon the parade, he remarked, "i could not remain, even if i thought it best, for i have but a small store of provisions." "why, captain," said a soldier who stood near, forgetting all etiquette in the excitement of the moment, "you have cattle enough to last the troops six months." "but," replied captain heald, "i have no salt to preserve it with." "then jerk[ ] it," said the man, "as the indians do their venison." the indians now became daily more unruly. entering the fort in defiance of the sentinels, they made their way without ceremony into the officers' quarters. on one occasion an indian took up a rifle and fired it in the parlor of the commanding officer, as an expression of defiance. some were of opinion that this was intended among the young men as a signal for an attack. the old chiefs passed backwards and forwards among the assembled groups, with the appearance of the most lively agitation, while the squaws rushed to and fro, in great excitement, and evidently prepared for some fearful scene. any further manifestation of ill feeling was, however, suppressed for the present, and captain heald, strange as it may seem, continued to entertain a conviction of having created so amicable a disposition among the indians as would insure the safety of the command on their march to fort wayne. thus passed the time until the th of august. the feelings of the inmates of the fort during this time may be better imagined than described. each morning that dawned seemed to bring them nearer to that most appalling fate--butchery by a savage foe--and at night they scarcely dared yield to slumber, lest they should be aroused by the war-whoop and tomahawk. gloom and mistrust prevailed, and the want of unanimity among the officers debarred them the consolation they might have found in mutual sympathy and encouragement. the indians being assembled from the neighboring villages, a council was held with them on the afternoon of the th. captain heald alone attended on the part of the military. he requested his officers to accompany him, but they declined. they had been secretly informed that it was the intention of the young chiefs to fall upon the officers and massacre them while in council, but they could not persuade captain heald of the truth of their information. they waited therefore only until he had left the garrison, accompanied by mr. kinzie, when they took command of the block-houses which overlooked the esplanade on which the council was held, opened the port-holes, and pointed the cannon so as to command the whole assembly. by this means, probably, the lives of the whites who were present in council were preserved. in council, the commanding officer informed the indians that it was his intention to distribute among them, the next day, not only the goods lodged in the united states' factory, but also the ammunition and provisions, with which the garrison was well supplied. he then requested of the pottowattamies an escort to fort wayne, promising them a liberal reward on arriving there, in addition to the presents they were now about to receive. with many professions of friendship and good will, the savages assented to all be proposed, and promised all he required. after the council, mr. kinzie, who understood well, not only the indian character, but the present tone of feeling among them, had a long interview with captain heald, in hopes of opening his eyes to the present posture of affairs. he reminded him that since the troubles with the indians upon the wabash and its vicinity, there had appeared a settled plan of hostilities towards the whites, in consequence of which it had been the policy of the americans to withhold from them whatever would enable them to carry on their warfare upon the defenceless inhabitants of the frontier. mr. kinzie also recalled to captain heald how that, having left home for detroit, the preceding autumn, on receiving, when he had proceeded as far as de charme's,[ ] the intelligence of the battle of tippecanoe, he had immediately returned to chicago, that he might dispatch orders to his traders to furnish no ammunition to the indians; in consequence of which all they had on hand was secreted, and such of the traders as had not already started for their wintering-grounds, took neither powder nor shot with them. captain heald was struck with the impolicy of furnishing the enemy (for such they must now consider their old neighbors) with arms against himself, and determined to destroy all the ammunition except what should be necessary for the use of his own troops. on the th, the goods, consisting of blankets, broadcloths, calicoes, paints, etc., were distributed, as stipulated. the same evening the ammunition and liquor were carried, part into the sally-port, and thrown into a well which had been dug there to supply the garrison with water in case of emergency; the remainder was transported as secretly as possible through the northern gate, the heads of the barrels knocked in, and the contents poured into the river. the same fate was shared by a large quantity of alcohol belonging to mr. kinzie, which had been deposited in a warehouse near his residence opposite the fort. the indians suspected what was going on, and crept, serpent-like, as near the scene of action as possible, but a vigilant watch was kept up, and no one was suffered to approach but those engaged in the affair. all the muskets not necessary for the command on the march were broken up and thrown into the well, together with the bags of shot, flints, gunscrews, and, in short, everything relating to weapons of offence. some relief to the general feeling of despondency was afforded, by the arrival, on the th of august, of captain wells[ ] with fifteen friendly miamis. of this brave man, who forms so conspicuous a figure in our frontier annals, it is unnecessary here to say more than that he had been residing from his boyhood among the indians, and consequently possessed a perfect knowledge of their character and habits. he had heard, at fort wayne, of the order for evacuating the fort at chicago, and, knowing the hostile determination of the pottowattamies, he had made a rapid march across the country, to prevent the exposure of his relative, captain heald, and his troops, to certain destruction. but he came "all too late." when he reached the post he found that the ammunition had been destroyed, and the provisions given to the indians. there was, therefore, now no alternative, and every preparation was made for the march of the troops on the following morning. on the afternoon of the same day, a second council was held with the indians. they expressed great indignation at the destruction of the ammunition and liquor. notwithstanding the precautions that had been taken to preserve secrecy, the noise of knocking in the heads of the barrels had betrayed the operations of the preceding night; indeed, so great was the quantity of liquor thrown into the river, that the taste of the water the next morning was, as one expressed it, "strong grog." murmurs and threats were everywhere heard among the savages. it was evident that the first moment of exposure would subject the troops to some manifestation of their disappointment and resentment. among the chiefs were several who, although they shared the general hostile feeling of their tribe towards the americans, yet retained a personal regard for the troops at this post, and for the few white citizens of the place. these chiefs exerted their utmost influence to allay the revengeful feelings of the young men, and to avert their sanguinary designs, but without effect. on the evening succeeding the council, _black partridge_, a conspicuous chief, entered the quarters of the commanding officer. "father," said he, "i come to deliver up to you the medal i wear. it was given me by the americans, and i have long worn it in token of our mutual friendship. but our young men are resolved to imbrue their hands in the blood of the whites. i cannot restrain them, and i will not wear a token of peace while i am compelled to act as an enemy." had further evidence been wanting, this circumstance would have sufficiently proved to the devoted band the justice of their melancholy anticipations. nevertheless, they went steadily on with the necessary preparations; and, amid the horrors of their situation, there were not wanting gallant hearts, who strove to encourage, in their desponding companions, the hopes of escape they were far from indulging themselves. of the ammunition there had been reserved but twenty-five rounds, besides one box of cartridges, contained in the baggage-wagons. this must, under any circumstances of danger, have proved an inadequate supply; but the prospect of a fatiguing march, in their present ineffective state, forbade the troops embarrassing themselves with a larger quantity. chapter xix. narrative of the massacre, continued. the morning of the th arrived. all things were in readiness, and nine o'clock was the hour named for starting. mr. kinzie, having volunteered to accompany the troops in their march, had intrusted his family to the care of some friendly indians, who promised to convey them in a boat around the head of lake michigan to a point[ ] on the st. joseph's river, there to be joined by the troops, should the prosecution of their march be permitted them. early in the morning mr. kinzie received a message from to-pee-nee-bee, a chief of the st. joseph's band, informing him that mischief was intended by the pottowattamies who had engaged to escort the detachment, and urging him to relinquish his design of accompanying the troops by land, promising him that the boat containing himself and family should be permitted to pass in safety to st. joseph's. mr. kinzie declined acceding to this proposal, as he believed that his presence might operate as a restraint upon the fury of the savages, so warmly were the greater part of them attached to himself and his family. the party in the boat consisted of mrs. kinzie and her four younger children, their nurse josette, a clerk of mr. kinzie's, two servants and the boatmen, besides the two indians who acted as their protectors. the boat started, but had scarcely reached the mouth of the river, which, it will be recollected, was here half a mile below the fort, when another messenger from to-pee-nee-bee arrived to detain them where they were. there was no mistaking the reason of this detention. in breathless anxiety sat the wife and mother. she was a woman of uncommon energy and strength of character, yet her heart died within her as she folded her arms around her helpless infants, and gazed upon the march of her husband and eldest child to certain destruction. as the troops left the fort, the band struck up the dead march. on they came, in military array, but with solemn mien. captain wells took the lead at the head of his little band of miamis. he had blackened his face before leaving the garrison, in token of his impending fate. they took their route along the lake shore. when they reached the point where commenced a range of sand-hills intervening between the prairie and the beach, the escort of pottowattamies, in number about five hundred, kept the level of the prairie, instead of continuing along the beach with the americans and miamis. they had marched perhaps a mile and a half, when captain wells, who had kept somewhat in advance with his miamis, came riding furiously back. "they are about to attack us," shouted he; "form instantly, and charge upon them." scarcely were the words uttered, when a volley was showered from among the sand-hills. the troops were hastily brought into line, and charged up the bank. one man, a veteran of seventy winters, fell as they ascended. the remainder of the scene is best described in the words of an eye-witness and participator in the tragedy, mrs. helm, the wife of captain (then lieutenant) helm, and step-daughter of mr. kinzie. * * * * * "after we had left the bank the firing became general. the miamis fled at the outset. their chief rode up to the pottowattamies, and said: "'you have deceived the americans and us. you have done a bad action, and (brandishing his tomahawk) i will be the first to head a party of americans to return and punish your treachery.' so saying, he galloped after his companions, who were now scouring across the prairies. "the troops behaved most gallantly. they were but a handful, but they seemed resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible. our horses pranced and bounded, and could hardly be restrained as the balls whistled among them. i drew off a little, and gazed upon my husband and father, who were yet unharmed. i felt that my hour was come, and endeavored to forget those i loved, and prepare myself for my approaching fate. "while i was thus engaged, the surgeon, dr. van voorhees, came up. he was badly wounded. his horse had been shot under him, and he had received a ball in his leg. every muscle of his face was quivering with the agony of terror. he said to me, 'do you think they will take our lives? i am badly wounded, but i think not mortally. perhaps we might purchase our lives by promising them a large reward. do you think there is any chance?' "'dr. van voorhees,' said i, 'do not let us waste the few moments that yet remain to us in such vain hopes. our fate is inevitable. in a few moments we must appear before the bar of god. let us make what preparation is yet in our power.' "'oh, i cannot die!' exclaimed he, 'i am not fit to die--if i had but a short time to prepare--death is awful!' "i pointed to ensign ronan, who, though mortally wounded and nearly down, was still fighting with desperation on one knee.[ ] "'look at that man!' said i. 'at least he dies like a soldier.' "'yes,' replied the unfortunate man, with a convulsive gasp, 'but he has no terrors of the future--he is an unbeliever!' "at this moment a young indian raised his tomahawk at me. by springing aside, i partially avoided the blow, which was intended for my skull, but which alighted on my shoulder. i seized him around the neck, and while exerting my utmost efforts to get possession of his scalping-knife, which hung in a scabbard over his breast, i was dragged from his grasp by another and older indian. "the latter bore me struggling and resisting towards the lake. notwithstanding the rapidity with which i was harried along, i recognized, as i passed them, the lifeless remains of the unfortunate surgeon. some murderous tomahawk had stretched him upon the very spot where i had last seen him. "i was immediately plunged into the water and held there with a forcible hand, notwithstanding my resistance. i soon perceived, however, that the object of my captor was not to drown me, for he held me firmly in such a position as to place my head above water. this reassured me, and, regarding him attentively, i soon recognized, in spite of the paint with which he was disguised, _the black partridge_. "when the firing had nearly subsided, my preserver bore me from the water and conducted me up the sand-banks. it was a burning august morning, and walking through the sand in my drenched condition was inexpressibly painful and fatiguing. i stooped and took off my shoes to free them from the sand with which they were nearly filled, when a squaw seized and carried them off, and i was obliged to proceed without them. "when we had gained the prairie, i was met by my father, who told me that my husband was safe and but slightly wounded. they led me gently back towards the chicago river, along the southern bank of which was the pottowattamie encampment. at one time i was placed upon a horse without a saddle, but, finding the motion insupportable, i sprang off. supported partly by my kind conductor, _black partridge_, and partly by another indian, pee-so-tum, who held dangling in his hand a scalp, which by the black ribbon around the queue i recognized as that of captain wells, i dragged my fainting steps to one of the wigwams. "the wife of wau-bee-nee-mah, a chief from the illinois river, was standing near, and, seeing my exhausted condition, she seized a kettle, dipped up some water from a stream that flowed near,[ ] threw into it some maple-sugar, and, stirring it up with her hand, gave it me to drink. this act of kindness, in the midst of so many horrors, touched me most sensibly; but my attention was soon diverted to other objects. "the fort had become a scene of plunder to such as remained after the troops marched out. the cattle had been shot down as they ran at large, and lay dead or dying around. this work of butchery had commenced just as we were leaving the fort. i well remembered a remark of ensign ronan, as the firing went on. 'such,' turning to me, 'is to be our fate--to be shot down like brutes!' "'well, sir,' said the commanding officer, who overheard him, 'are you afraid?' "'no,' replied the high-spirited young man, 'i can march up to the enemy where you dare not show your face.' and his subsequent gallant behavior showed this to be no idle boast. "as the noise of the firing grew gradually less and the stragglers from the victorious party came dropping in, i received confirmation of what my father had hurriedly communicated in our _rencontre_ on the lake shore; namely, that the whites had surrendered, after the loss of about two-thirds of their number. they had stipulated, through the interpreter, peresh leclerc, for the preservation of their lives, and those of the remaining women and children, and for their delivery at some of the british posts, unless ransomed by traders in the indian country. it appears that the wounded prisoners were not considered as included in the stipulation, and a horrid scene ensued upon their being brought into camp. "an old squaw, infuriated by the loss of friends, or excited by the sanguinary scenes around her, seemed possessed by a demoniac ferocity. she seized a stable-fork and assaulted one miserable victim, who lay groaning and writhing in the agony of his wounds, aggravated by the scorching beams of the sun. with a delicacy of feeling scarcely to have been expected under such circumstances, wau-bee-nee-mah stretched a mat across two poles, between me and this dreadful scene. i was thus spared in some degree a view of its horrors, although i could not entirely close my ears to the cries of the sufferer the following night five more of the wounded prisoners were tomahawked." * * * * * the americans, it appears, after their first attack by the indians, charged upon those who had concealed themselves in a sort of ravine, intervening between the sand-banks and the prairie. the latter gathered themselves into a body, and after some hard fighting, in which the number of whites had become reduced to twenty-eight, this little band succeeded in breaking through the enemy, and gaining a rising ground, not far from the oak woods. further contest now seeming hopeless, lieutenant helm sent peresh leclerc, a half-breed boy in the service of mr. kinzie, who had accompanied the detachment and fought manfully on their side, to propose terms of capitulation. it was stipulated that the lives of all the survivors should be spared, and a ransom permitted as soon as practicable. but in the mean time a horrible scene had been enacted. one young savage, climbing into the baggage-wagon containing the children of the white families, twelve in number, tomahawked the entire group. this was during the engagement near the sand-hills. when captain wells, who was fighting near, beheld it, he exclaimed,-- "is that their game, butchering the women and children? then i will kill, too!" so saying, he turned his horse's head, and started for the indian camp, near the fort, where had been left their squaws and children. several indians pursued him as he galloped along. he laid himself flat on the neck of his horse, loading and firing in that position, as he would occasionally turn on his pursuers. at length their balls took effect, killing his horse, and severely wounding himself. at this moment he was met by _winnemeg_ and _wau-ban-see_, who endeavored to save him from the savages who had now overtaken him. as they supported him along, after having disengaged him from his horse, he received his death-blow from another indian, _pee-so-tum_, who stabbed him in the back. the heroic resolution of one of the soldiers' wives deserves to be recorded. she was a mrs. corbin, and had, from the first, expressed the determination never to fall into the hands of the savages, believing that their prisoners were always subjected to tortures worse than death. when, therefore, a party came upon her, to make her a prisoner, she fought with desperation, refusing to surrender, although assured, by signs, of safety and kind treatment, and literally suffered herself to be cut to pieces, rather than become their captive. there was a sergeant holt, who, early in the engagement, received a ball in the neck. finding himself badly wounded, he gave his sword to his wife, who was on horseback near him, telling her to defend herself; he then made for the lake, to keep out of the way of the balls. mrs. holt rode a very fine horse, which the indians were desirous of possessing, and they therefore attacked her, in hopes of dismounting her. they fought only with the butt-ends of their guns, for their object was not to kill her. she hacked and hewed at their pieces as they were thrust against her, now on this side, now that. finally, she broke loose from them, and dashed out into the prairie. the indians pursued her, shouting and laughing, and now and then calling out,-- "the brave woman! do not hurt her!" at length they overtook her again, and, while she was engaged with two or three in front, one succeeded in seizing her by the neck behind, and dragging her, although a large and powerful woman, from her horse. notwithstanding that their guns had been so hacked and injured, and even themselves cut severely, they seemed to regard her only with admiration. they took her to a trader on the illinois river, by whom she was restored to her friends, after having received every kindness during her captivity.[ ] those of the family of mr. kinzie who had remained in the boat, near the mouth of the river, were carefully guarded by kee-po-tah and another indian. they had seen the smoke--then the blaze--and immediately after, the report of the first tremendous discharge sounded in their ears. then all was confusion they realized nothing until they saw an indian come towards them from the battle-ground, leading a horse on which sat a lady, apparently wounded. "that is mrs. heald," cried mrs. kinzie. "that indian will kill her. run, chandonnai," to one of mr. kinzie's clerks, "take the mule that is tied there, and offer it to him to release her." her captor, by this time, was in the act of disengaging her bonnet from her head, in order to scalp her. chandonnai ran up, and offered the mule as a ransom, with the promise of ten bottles of whiskey as soon as they should reach his village. the latter was a strong temptation. "but," said the indian, "she is badly wounded--she will die. will you give me the whiskey at all events?" chandonnai promised that he would, and the bargain was concluded. the savage placed the lady's bonnet on his own head, and, after an ineffectual effort on the part of some squaws to rob her of her shoes and stockings, she was brought on board the boat, where she lay moaning with pain from the many bullet-wounds she had received in both arms. the horse mrs. heald had ridden was a fine, spirited animal, and, being desirous of possessing themselves of it uninjured, the indians had aimed their shots so as to disable the rider, without injuring her steed. she had not lain long in the boat, when a young indian of savage aspect was seen appapproaching buffalo robe was hastily drawn over her, and she was admonished to suppress all sound of complaint, as she valued her life. the heroic woman remained perfectly silent, while the savage drew near. he had a pistol in his hand, which he rested on the side of the boat, while, with a fearful scowl, he looked pryingly around. black jim, one of the servants, who stood in the bow of the boat, seized an axe that lay near, and signed to him that if he shot, he would cleave his skull; telling him that the boat contained only the family of shaw-nee-aw-kee. upon this, the indian retired. it afterwards appeared that the object of his search was mr. burnett, a trader from st. joseph's, with whom he had some account to settle. when the boat was at length permitted to return to the mansion of mr. kinzie, and mrs. heald was removed to the house, it became necessary to dress her wounds. mr. k. applied to an old chief who stood by, and who, like most of his tribe, possessed some skill in surgery, to extract a ball from the arm of the sufferer. "no, father," replied he. "i cannot do it--it makes me sick here"--(placing his hand on his heart.) mr. kinzie then performed the operation himself, with his penknife. at their own mansion the family of mr. kinzie were closely guarded by their indian friends, whose intention it was to carry them to detroit for security. the rest of the prisoners remained at the wigwams of their captors. the following morning, the work of plunder being completed, the indians set fire to the fort. a very equitable distribution of the finery appeared to have been made, and shawls, ribbons, and feathers fluttered about in all directions. the ludicrous appearance of one young fellow, who had arrayed himself in a muslin gown and the bonnet of one of the ladies, would, under other circumstances, have afforded matter of amusement. black partridge, wau-ban-see, and kee-po-tah, with two other indians, having established themselves in the porch of the building as sentinels, to protect the family from any evil that the young men might be excited to commit, all remained tranquil for a short space after the conflagration. very soon, however, a party of indians from the wabash made their appearance. these were, decidedly, the most hostile and implacable of all the tribes of the pottowattamies. being more remote, they had shared less than some of their brethren in the kindness of mr. kinzie and his family, and consequently their sentiments of regard for them were less powerful. runners had been sent to the villages to apprise them of the intended evacuation of the post, as well as of the plan of the indians assembled to attack the troops. thirsting to participate in such a scene, they hurried on; and great was their mortification, on arriving at the river aux plaines, to meet with a party of their friends having with them their chief nee-scot-nee-meg, badly wounded, and to learn that the battle was over, the spoils divided, and the scalps all taken. on arriving at chicago they blackened their faces, and proceeded towards the dwelling of mr. kinzie. from his station on the piazza black partridge had watched their approach, and his fears were particularly awakened for the safety of mrs. helm (mr. kinzie's step-daughter), who had recently come to the post, and was personally unknown to the more remote indians. by his advice she was made to assume the ordinary dress of a frenchwoman of the country; namely, a short gown and petticoat, with a blue cotton handkerchief wrapped around her head. in this disguise she was conducted by black partridge himself to the house of ouilmette, a frenchman with a half-breed wife, who formed a part of the establishment of mr. kinzie and whose dwelling was close at hand. it so happened that the indians came first to this house, in their search for prisoners. as they approached, the inmates, fearful that the fair complexion and general appearance of mrs. helm might betray her for an american, raised a large feather bed and placed her under the edge of it, upon the bedstead, with her face to the wall. mrs. bisson, a half-breed, the sister of ouilmette's wife, then seated herself with her sewing upon the front of the bed. it was a hot day in august, and the feverish excitement of fear and agitation, together with her position, which was nearly suffocating, became so intolerable, that mrs. helm at length entreated to be released and given up to the indians. "i can but die," said she; "let them put an end to my misery at once." mrs. bisson replied, "your death would be the destruction of us all, for black partridge has resolved that if one drop of the blood of your family is spilled, he will take the lives of all concerned in it, even his nearest friends; and if once the work of murder commences, there will be no end of it, so long as there remains one white person or half-breed in the country." this expostulation nerved mrs. helm with fresh resolution. the indians entered, and she could occasionally see them from her hiding-place, gliding about, and stealthily inspecting every part of the room, though without making any ostensible search, until, apparently satisfied that there was no one concealed, they left the house. all this time mrs. bisson had kept her seat upon the side of the bed, calmly sorting and arranging the patch-work of the quilt on which she was engaged, and preserving an appearance of the utmost tranquillity, although she knew not but that the next moment she might receive a tomahawk in her brain. her self-command unquestionably saved the lives of all present. from ouilmette's house the party of indians proceeded to the dwelling of mr. kinzie. they entered the parlor in which the family were assembled with their faithful protectors, and seated themselves upon the floor in silence. black partridge perceived from their moody and revengeful looks what was passing in their minds, but he dared not remonstrate with them. he only observed in a low tone to wau-ban-see,-- "we have endeavored to save our friends, but it is in vain--nothing will save them now." at this moment a friendly whoop was heard from a party of new-comers on the opposite bank of the river. black partridge sprang to meet their leader, as the canoes in which they had hastily embarked touched the bank near the house. "who are you?" demanded he. "a man. who are _you_?" "a man like yourself. but tell me _who_ you are,"--meaning, tell me your disposition, and which side you are for. "i am a _sau-ga-nash_!" "then make all speed to the house--your friend is in danger, and you alone can save him." _billy caldwell_[ ] for it was he, entered the parlor with a calm step, and without a trace of agitation in his manner. he deliberately took off his accoutrements and placed them with his rifle behind the door, then saluted the hostile savages. "how now, my friends! a good-day to you. i was told there were enemies here, but i am glad to find only friends. why have you blackened your faces? is it that you are mourning for the friends you have lost in battle?" (purposely misunderstanding this token of evil designs.) "or is it that you are fasting? if so, ask our friend, here, and he will give you to eat. he is the indian's friend, and never yet refused them what they had need of." thus taken by surprise, the savages were ashamed to acknowledge their bloody purpose. they, therefore, said modestly that they came to beg of their friends some white cotton in which to wrap their dead before interring them. this was given to them, with some other presents, and they took their departure peaceably from the premises. along with mr. kinzie's party was a non-commissioned officer who had made his escape in a singular manner. as the troops were about leaving the fort, it was found that the baggage-horses of the surgeon had strayed off. the quartermaster-sergeant, griffith, was sent to collect them and bring them on, it being absolutely necessary to recover them, since their packs contained part of the surgeon's apparatus, and the medicines for the march. this man had been for a long time on the sick report and for this reason was given the charge of the baggage, instead of being placed with the troops. his efforts to recover the horses being unsuccessful, he was hastening to rejoin his party, alarmed at some appearances of disorder and hostile indications among the indians, when he was met and made prisoner by to-pee-nee-bee. having taken from him his arms and accoutrements, the chief put him into a canoe and paddled him across the river, bidding him make for the woods and secrete himself. this he did; and the following day, in the afternoon, seeing from his lurking-place that all appeared quiet, he ventured to steal cautiously into the garden of ouilmette, where he concealed himself for a time behind some currant-bushes. at length he determined to enter the house, and accordingly climbed up through a small back window into the room where the family were. this was just as the wabash indians had left the house of ouilmette for that of mr. kinzie. the danger of the sergeant was now imminent. the family stripped him of his uniform and arrayed him in a suit of deer-skin, with belt, moccasins, and pipe, like a french engagé. his dark complexion and large black whiskers favored the disguise. the family were all ordered to address him in french, and, although utterly ignorant of the language, he continued to pass for a _weem-tee-gosh_,[ ] and as such to accompany mr. kinzie and his family, undetected by his enemies, until they reached a place of safety. on the third day after the battle, the family of mr. kinzie, with the clerks of the establishment, were put into a boat, under the care of françois, a half-breed interpreter, and conveyed to st. joseph's, where they remained until the following november, under the protection of to-pee-nee-bee's band. they were then conducted to detroit, under the escort of chandonnai and their trusty indian friend, kee-po-tah, and delivered up, as prisoners of war, to colonel mckee, the british indian agent. mr. kinzie was not allowed to leave st. joseph's with his family, his indian friends insisting on his remaining and endeavoring to secure some remnant of his scattered property. during his excursions with them for that purpose, he wore the costume and paint of the tribe, in order to escape capture and perhaps death at the hands of those who were still thirsting for blood. in time, however, his anxiety for his family induced him to follow them to detroit, where, in the month of january, he was received and paroled by general proctor. captain and mrs. heald were sent across the lake to st. joseph the day after the battle. the former had received two wounds, the latter seven, in the engagement. lieutenant helm, who was likewise wounded, was carried by some friendly indians to their village on the au sable, and thence to peoria, where he was liberated by the intervention of mr. thomas forsyth, the half-brother of mr. kinzie. mrs. helm accompanied her parents to st. joseph, where they resided in the family of alexander robinson,[ ] receiving from them all possible kindness and hospitality for several months. after their arrival in detroit, mrs. helm was joined by her husband, when they were both arrested by order of the british commander, and sent on horseback, in the dead of winter, through canada to fort george, on the niagara frontier. when they arrived at that post, there had been no official appointed to receive them, and, notwithstanding their long and fatiguing journey in weather the most cold and inclement, mrs. helm, a delicate woman of seventeen years, was permitted to sit waiting in her saddle, outside the gate, for more than an hour, before the refreshment of fire or food, or even the shelter of a roof, was offered them. when colonel sheaffe, who had been absent at the time, was informed of this brutal inhospitality, he expressed the greatest indignation. he waited on mrs. helm immediately, apologized in the most courteous manner, and treated both her and lieutenant helm with the most considerate kindness, until, by an exchange of prisoners, they were liberated, and found means to reach their friends in steuben county, n.y. captain heald had been taken prisoner by an indian from the kankakee, who had a strong personal regard for him, and who, when he saw the wounded and enfeebled state of mrs. heald, released her husband that he might accompany his wife to st. joseph. to the latter place they were accordingly carried, as has been related, by chandonnai and his party. in the mean time, the indian who had so nobly released his prisoner returned to his village on the kankakee, where he had the mortification of finding that his conduct had excited great dissatisfaction among his band. so great was the displeasure manifested, that he resolved to make a journey to st. joseph and reclaim his prisoner. news of his intention being brought to to-pee-nee-bee and kee-po-tah, under whose care the prisoners were, they held a private council with chandonnai, mr. kinzie, and the principal men of the village, the result of which was a determination to send captain and mrs. heald to the island of mackinac, and deliver them up to the british. they were accordingly put in a bark canoe, and paddled by robinson and his wife a distance of three hundred miles along the coast of michigan, and surrendered as prisoners of war to the commanding officer at mackinac. as an instance of the procrastinating spirit of captain heald, it may be mentioned that, even after he had received certain intelligence that his indian captor was on his way from the kankakee to st. joseph to retake him, he would still have delayed another day at that place, to make preparation for a more comfortable journey to mackinac. the soldiers, with their wives and surviving children, were dispersed among the different villages of the pottowattamies upon the illinois, wabash, rock river, and at milwaukie, until the following spring, when they were, for the most part, carried to detroit and ransomed. mrs. burns, with her infant, became the prisoner of a chief, who carried her to his village and treated her with great kindness. his wife, from jealousy of the favor shown to "the white woman" and her child, always treated them with great hostility. on one occasion she struck the infant with a tomahawk, and narrowly missed her aim of putting an end to it altogether.[ ] they were not left long in the power of the old hag after this demonstration, but on the first opportunity were carried to a place of safety. the family of mr. lee had resided in a house on the lake shore, not far from the fort. mr. lee was the owner of lee's place, which he cultivated as a farm. it was his son who ran down with the discharged soldier to give the alarm of "indians," at the fort, on the afternoon of the th of april. the father, the son, and all the other members of the family had fallen victims on the th of august, except mrs. lee and her young infant. these were claimed by black partridge, and carried to his village on the au sable. he had been particularly attached to a little girl of mrs. lee's, about twelve years of age. this child had been placed on horseback for the march; and, as she was unaccustomed to the exercise, she was tied fast to the saddle, lest by any accident she should slip off or be thrown. she was within reach of the balls at the commencement of the engagement, and was severely wounded. the horse set off on a full gallop, which partly threw her, but she was held fast by the bands which confined her, and hung dangling as the animal ran violently about. in this state she was met by black partridge, who caught the horse and disengaged her from the saddle. finding her so much wounded that she could not recover, and that she was suffering great agony, he put the finishing stroke to her at once with his tomahawk. he afterwards said that this was the hardest thing he ever tried to do, but he did it because he could not bear to see her suffer. he took the mother and her infant to his village, where he became warmly attached to the former--so much so, that he wished to marry her; but, as she very naturally objected, he treated her with the greatest respect and consideration. he was in no hurry to release her, for he was in hopes of prevailing on her to become his wife. in the course of the winter her child fell ill. finding that none of the remedies within their reach were effectual, black partridge proposed to take the little one to chicago, where there was now a french trader living in the mansion of mr. kinzie, and procure some medical aid from him. wrapping up his charge with the greatest care, he set out on his journey. when he arrived at the residence of m. du pin, he entered the room where he was, and carefully placed his burden on the floor. "what have you there?" asked m. du pin. "a young raccoon, which i have brought you as a present," was the reply; and, opening the pack, he showed the little sick infant. when the trader had prescribed for its complaint, and black partridge was about to return to his home, he told his friend of the proposal he had made to mrs. lee to become his wife, and the manner in which it had been received. m. du pin, entertaining some fears that the chief's honorable resolution to leave it to the lady herself whether to accept his addresses or not, might not hold out, entered at once into a negotiation for her ransom, and so effectually wrought upon the good feelings of black partridge that he consented to bring his fair prisoner at once to chicago, that she might be restored to her friends. whether the kind trader had at the outset any other feeling in the matter than sympathy and brotherly kindness, we cannot say; we only know that in process of time mrs. lee became madame du pin, and that the worthy couple lived together in great happiness for many years after. the fate of nau-non-gee, one of the chiefs of the calumet village, and who is mentioned in the early part of the narrative, deserves to be recorded. daring the battle of the th of august, the chief object of his attack was one sergeant hays, a man from whom he had received many acts of kindness. after hays had received a ball through the body, this indian ran up to him to tomahawk him, when the sergeant, collecting his remaining strength, pierced him through the body with his bayonet. they fell together. other indians running up soon dispatched hays, and it was not until then that his bayonet was extracted from the body of his adversary. the wounded chief was carried after the battle to his village on the calumet, where he survived for several days. finding his end approaching, he called together his young men, and enjoined them, in the most solemn manner, to regard the safety of their prisoners after his death, and to take the lives of none of them from respect to his memory, as he deserved his fate from the hands of those whose kindness he had so ill requited. chapter xx. captivity of j. kinzie, sen.--an amusing mistake. it had been a stipulation of general hull at the surrender of detroit, which took place the day after the massacre at chicago, that the inhabitants should be permitted to remain undisturbed in their homes. accordingly, the family of mr. kinzie took up their quarters with their friends in the old mansion, which many will still recollect as standing on the northwest corner of jefferson avenue and wayne street. the feelings of indignation and sympathy were constantly aroused in the hearts of the citizens during the winter that ensued. they were almost daily called upon to witness the cruelties practised upon the american prisoners brought in by their indian captors. those who could scarcely drag their wounded, bleeding feet over the frozen ground, were compelled to dance for the amusement of the savages; and these exhibitions sometimes took place before the government house, the residence of colonel mckee. some of the british officers looked on from their windows at these heart-rending performances; for the honor of humanity, we will hope such instances were rare. everything that could be made available among the effects of the citizens was offered, to ransom their countrymen from the hands of these inhuman beings. the prisoners brought in from the river raisin--those unfortunate men who were permitted, after their surrender to general proctor, to be tortured and murdered by inches by his savage allies--excited the sympathies and called for the action of the whole community. private houses were turned into hospitals, and every one was forward to get possession of as many as possible of the survivors. to effect this, even the articles of their apparel were bartered by the ladies of detroit, as they watched from their doors or windows the miserable victims carried about for sale. in the dwelling of mr. kinzie one large room was devoted to the reception of the sufferers. few of them survived. among those spoken of as objects of the deepest interest were two young gentlemen of kentucky, brothers, both severely wounded, and their wounds aggravated to a mortal degree by subsequent ill usage and hardships. their solicitude for each other, and their exhibition in various ways of the most tender fraternal affection, created an impression never to be forgotten. the last bargain made was by black jim, and one of the children, who had permission to redeem a negro servant of the gallant colonel allen, with an old white horse, the only available article that remained among their possessions. a brother of colonel allen afterwards came to detroit, and the negro preferred returning to servitude rather than remaining a stranger in a strange land. mr. kinzie, as has been related, joined his family at detroit in the month of january. a short time after, suspicions arose in the mind of general proctor that he was in correspondence with general harrison, who was now at fort meigs, and who was believed to be meditating an advance upon detroit. lieutenant watson, of the british army, waited upon mr. kinzie one day with an invitation to the quarters of general proctor on the opposite side of the river, saying he wished to speak with him, on business. quite unsuspicious, he complied with the invitation, when to his surprise he was ordered into confinement, and strictly guarded in the house of his former partner, mr. patterson, of sandwich. finding that he did not return to his home, mrs. kinzie informed some of the indian chiefs, his particular friends, who immediately repaired to the head-quarters of the commanding officer, demanded "their friend's" release, and brought him back to his home. after waiting a time until a favorable opportunity presented itself, the general sent a detachment of dragoons to arrest mr. kinzie. they had succeeded in carrying him away, and crossing the river with him. just at this moment a party of friendly indians made their appearance. "where is the shaw-nee-aw-kee?" was the first question. "there," replied his wife, pointing across the river, "in the hands of the red-coats, who are taking him away again." the indians ran to the river, seized some canoes that they found there, and, crossing over to sandwich, compelled general proctor a second time to forego his intentions. a third time this officer made the attempt, and succeeded in arresting mr. kinzie and conveying him heavily ironed to fort malden, in canada, at the mouth of the detroit river. here he was at first treated with great severity, but after a time the rigor of his confinement was somewhat relaxed, and he was permitted to walk on the bank of the river for air and exercise. on the th of september, as he was taking his promenade under the close supervision of a guard of soldiers, the whole party were startled by the sound of guns upon lake erie, at no great distance below. what could it mean? it must be commodore barclay firing into some of the yankees. the firing continued. the time allotted the prisoner for his daily walk expired, but neither he nor his guard observed the lapse of time, so anxiously were they listening to what they now felt sure was an engagement between ships of war. at length mr. kinzie was reminded that the hour for his return to confinement had arrived. he petitioned for another half-hour. "let me stay," said he, "till we can learn how the battle has gone." very soon a sloop appeared under press of sail, rounding the point, and presently two gun-boats in chase of her. "she is running--she bears the british colors," cried he--"yes, yes, they are lowering--she is striking her flag! now," turning to the soldiers, "i will go back to prison contented--i know how the battle has gone." the sloop was the little belt, the last of the squadron captured by the gallant perry on that memorable occasion which he announced in the immortal words: "we have met the enemy, and they are ours!" matters were growing critical, and it was necessary to transfer all prisoners to a place of greater security than the frontier was now likely to be. it was resolved therefore to send mr. kinzie to the mother-country. nothing has ever appeared which would explain the course of general proctor in regard to this gentleman. he had been taken from the bosom of his family, where he was living quietly under the parole which he had received, and protected by the stipulations of the surrender. he was kept for months in confinement. now he was placed on horseback under a strong guard, who announced that they had orders to shoot him through the head if he offered to speak to a person upon the road. he was tied upon the saddle to prevent his escape, and thus they set out for quebec. a little incident occurred, which will help to illustrate the course invariably pursued towards our citizens, at this period, by the british army on the northwestern frontier. the saddle on which mr. kinzie rode had not been properly fastened, and, owing to the rough motion of the animal on which it was, it turned, so as to bring the rider into a most awkward and painful position. his limbs being fastened, he could not disengage himself, and in this manner he was compelled by those who had charge of him to ride until he was nearly exhausted, before they had the humanity to release him. arrived at quebec, he was put on board a small vessel to be sent to england. the vessel when a few days out at sea was chased by an american frigate and driven into halifax. a second time she set sail, when she sprung a leak and was compelled to put back. the attempt to send him across the ocean was now abandoned, and he was returned to quebec. another step, equally inexplicable with his arrest, was soon after taken. this was, his release and that of mr. macomb, of detroit, who was also in confinement in quebec, and the permission given them to return to their friends and families, although the war was not yet ended. it may possibly be imagined that in the treatment these gentlemen received, the british commander-in-chief sheltered himself under the plea of their being "native-born british subjects," and perhaps when it was ascertained that mr. kinzie was indeed a citizen of the united states it was thought safest to release him. in the mean time, general harrison at the head of his troops had reached detroit. he landed on the th of september. all the citizens went forth to meet him--mrs. kinzie, leading her children by the hand, was of the number. the general accompanied her to her home, and took up his abode there. on his arrival he was introduced to kee-po-tah, who happened to be on a visit to the family at that time. the general had seen the chief the preceding year, at the council at vincennes, and the meeting was one of great cordiality and interest. * * * * * in , mr. kinzie and his family again returned to chicago. the fort was rebuilt on a somewhat larger scale than the former one. it was not until the return of the troops that the bones of the unfortunate americans who had been massacred four years before, were collected and buried. an indian agency, under the charge of charles jewett, esq., of kentucky, was established. he was succeeded in by dr. alexander wolcott, of connecticut, who occupied that position until his death in . the troops were removed from the garrison in , but restored in , after the winnebago war. this was a disturbance between the winnebagoes and white settlers on and near the mississippi. after some murders had been committed, the young chief, red bird, was taken and imprisoned at prairie du chien to await his trial, where he committed suicide in consequence of chagrin and the irksomeness of confinement. it was feared that the pottowattamies would make common cause with the winnebagoes, and commence a general system of havoc and bloodshed on the frontier. they were deterred from such a step, probably, by the exertions of billy caldwell, robinson, and shaw-bee-nay, who made an expedition among the rock river bands, to argue and persuade them into remaining tranquil. the few citizens of chicago in those days, lived for the most part a very quiet, unvaried life. the great abundance of game, and the immense fertility of the lands they cultivated, furnished them with a superabundance of all the luxuries of garden, corn-field, and dairy the question was once asked by a friend in the "east countrie," "how do you dispose of all the good things you raise? you have no market?" "no." "and you cannot consume them all yourselves?" "no." "what then do you do with them?" "why, we manage, when a vessel arrives, to persuade the captain to accept a few kegs of butter, and stores of corn and vegetables, as a present, and that helps us to get rid of some of our overplus." the mails arrived, as may be supposed, at very rare intervals. they were brought occasionally from fort clark (peoria), but more frequently from fort wayne, or across the peninsula of michigan, which was still a wilderness peopled with savages. the hardy adventurer who acted as express was, not unfrequently, obliged to imitate the birds of heaven and "lodge among the branches," in order to insure the safety of himself and his charge. visitors were very rare, unless it was a friend who came to sojourn for several months and share a life in the wilderness. a traveller, however, occasionally found his way to the spot, in passing to or from "parts unknown," and such a one was sure of a hospitable and hearty welcome. a gentleman journeying from the southern settlements once arrived late in the evening at wolf point, where was then the small trading-establishment of george hunt and a mr. wallace. he stopped and inquired if he could have accommodation for the night for himself and his horse. the answer was, that they were ill provided to entertain a stranger--the house was small, and they were keeping "bachelor's hall." "is there no place," inquired the traveller, "where i can obtain a lodging?" "oh, yes--you will find a very comfortable house, mr. kinzie's, about half a mile below, near the mouth of the river." the stranger turned his horse's head and took the road indicated. arrived at the spot, his first inquiry was,-- "is this the residence of mr. kinzie?" "yes, sir." "i should be glad to get accommodation for myself and horse." "certainly, sir--walk in." the horse was taken to the stable, while the gentleman was ushered into a parlor where were two ladies. the usual preliminary questions and answers were gone through, for in a new country people soon become acquainted, and the gentleman ere long found himself seated at a comfortable hot supper--we will venture to say a fine supper, since the table in this domestic establishment has always been somewhat famous. apparently, the gentleman enjoyed it, for he made himself quite at home. he even called for a boot-jack after tea, and drew off his boots. the ladies were a little surprised, but they had lived a good while out of the world, and they did not know what changes in etiquette might have taken place during their retirement. before taking his leave for the night, the traveller signified what it would please him to have for breakfast, which was duly prepared. the next day proved stormy. the gentleman was satisfied with his quarters, and, having taken care to ascertain that there was no neglect or deficiency of accommodation so far as his horse was concerned, he got through the day very comfortably. now and then, when he was tired of reading, he would converse with the family, and seemed, upon the whole, by no means disposed to hold himself aloof, but to indulge in a little becoming sociability, seeing they were all there away in the woods. the second day the weather brightened. the traveller signified his intention to depart. he ordered his horse to the door--then he called for his bill. "my house is not a tavern, sir," was the astounding reply. "not a tavern! good heavens! have i been making myself at home in this manner in a private family?" he was profuse in his apologies, which, however, were quite unnecessary, for the family had perceived from the first the mistake he had fallen into, and they had amused themselves during his whole visit in anticipating the consternation of their guest when he should be undeceived. * * * * * it was in the year (the year of the rebuilding of the fort, after its destruction by the indians) that the tract of land on which chicago stands, together with the surrounding country, was ceded to the united states by the pottowattamies. they remained the peaceful occupants of it, however, for twenty years longer. it was not until that they were removed by government to lands appropriated for their use on the upper missouri. in the year the town of chicago was laid out into lots by commissioners appointed by the state. at this time the prices of these lots ranged from ten to sixty dollars. * * * * * mr. kinzie, who, from the geographical position of this place, and the vast fertility of the surrounding country, had always foretold its eventual prosperity and importance, was not permitted to witness the realization of his predictions. he closed his useful and energetic life on the th of january, , having just completed his sixty-fifth year. chapter xxi. a sermon. chicago was not, at the period of my first visit, the cheerful, happy place it had once been. the death of dr. wolcott, of lieutenant furman, and of a promising young son of mr. beaubien, all within a few weeks of each other, had thrown a gloom over the different branches of the social circle. the weather, too, was inclement and stormy beyond anything that had been known before. only twice, during a period of two months, did the sun shine out through the entire day. so late as the second week in april, when my husband had left to return to fort winnebago, the storms were so severe that he and his men were obliged to lie by two or three days in an indian lodge. robert kinzie, medard beaubien, and billy caldwell had gone at the same time to the calumet to hunt, and, as they did not make their appearance for many days, we were persuaded they had perished with cold. they returned at length, however, to our infinite joy, having only escaped freezing by the forethought of robert and caldwell in carrying each two blankets instead of one. our only recreation was an occasional ride on horseback, when the weather would permit, through the woods on the north side of the river, or across the prairie, along the lake shore on the south. when we went in the former direction, a little bridle-path took us along what is now rush street. the thick boughs of the trees arched over our heads, and we were often compelled, as we rode, to break away the projecting branches of the shrubs which impeded our path. the little prairie west of wright's woods was the usual termination of our ride in this direction. when we chose the path across the prairie towards the south, we generally passed a new-comer, dr. harmon, superintending the construction of a _sod fence_, at a spot he had chosen, near the shore of the lake. in this inclosure he occupied himself, as the season advanced, in planting fruit-stones of all descriptions, to make ready a garden and orchard for future enjoyment. we usually stopped to have a little chat. the two favorite themes of the doctor were horticulture, and the certain future importance of chicago. that it was destined to be a great city, was his unalterable conviction; and in deed, by this time, all forest and prairie as it was, we half began to believe it ourselves. on the pleasant afternoons which we occasionally enjoyed as the season advanced, we found no small amusement in practising pistol-firing. the place appropriated to this sport was outside the pickets, the mark being placed on a panel in one of the bastions. the gentlemen must not be offended if i record that, in process of time, the ladies acquired a degree of skill that enabled them, as a general thing, to come off triumphant. one of the ladies, mrs. hunter, was a great shot, having brought down her grouse on the wing, to the no small delight of one of the officers, captain martin scott, of raccoon celebrity. now and then there was a little excitement within the fort, aroused by the discovery that _a settler_ had been engaged in selling milk-punch, instead of milk, to the soldiers, thereby interfering in no small degree with the regularity and perfect discipline of the service. the first step was to "drum out" the offender with all the honors of war--that is, with a party-colored dress, and the rogue's march played behind him. the next, to place all the victims of this piece of deception in the guard-house, where the commanding officer's lady supplied them bountifully with coffee and hot cakes, by way of opening their eyes to the enormity of their offence. it is not to be wondered at that the officers sometimes complained of its being more of a strife with the soldiers who should get into the guard-house, than who should keep out of it. the poor fellows knew when they were well off. once, upon a sunday, we were rowed up to wolf point to attend a religious service, conducted by father see, as he was called. we saw a tall, slender man, dressed in a green frock-coat, from the sleeves of which dangled a pair of hands giving abundant evidence, together with the rest of his dress, that he placed small faith in the axiom--"cleanliness is a part of holiness." he stepped briskly upon a little platform behind a table, and commenced his discourse. his subject was, "the fear of god." "there was a kind of fear," he told us, "that was very nearly a_lee_-a-nated to love: so nearly, that it was not worth while splitting hairs for the difference." he then went on to describe this kind of fear. he grew more and more involved as he proceeded with his description until at length, quite bewildered, he paused, and exclaimed, "come, let's stop a little while, and clear away the brush." he unravelled, as well as he was able, the tangled thread of his ideas, and went on with his subject. but soon, again losing his way, he came to a second halt. "now," said he, wiping the perspiration from his forehead with a red cotton handkerchief many degrees from clean, "now, suppose we drive back a little piece." thus he recapitulated what he wished to impress upon us, of the necessity of cherishing a fear that maketh wise unto salvation, "which fear," said he, "may we all enjoy, that together we may soar away, on the rolling clouds of aether, to a boundless and happy eternity, which is the wish of your humble servant." and, flourishing abroad his hands, with the best of dancing-school bows, he took his seat. it will be readily imagined that we felt our own religious exercises at home to be more edifying than such as this, and that we confined ourselves to them for the future. the return of our brother, robert kinzie, from palestine (not the holy land, but the seat of the land office), with the certificate of the title of the family to that portion of chicago since known as "kinzie's addition," was looked upon as establishing a home for us at some future day, if the glorious dreams of good dr. harmon, and a few others, should come to be realized. one little incident will show how moderate were the anticipations of most persons at that period. the certificate, which was issued in robert's name (he representing the family in making the application), described only a fractional quarter-section of one hundred and two acres, instead of one hundred and sixty acres, the river and lake michigan cutting off fifty-eight acres on the southern and eastern lines of the quarter. the applicants had liberty to select their complement of fifty-eight acres out of any unappropriated land that suited them. "now, my son," said his mother to robert, "lay your claim on the corn-field at wolf point. it is fine land, and will always be valuable for cultivation; besides, as it faces down the main river, the situation will always be a convenient one." the answer was a hearty laugh. "hear mother!" said robert. "we have just got a hundred and two acres--more than we shall ever want, or know what to do with, and now she would have me go and claim fifty-eight acres more!" "take my advice, my boy," repeated his mother, "or you may live one day to regret it." "well, i cannot see how i can ever regret not getting more than we can possibly make use of." and so the matter ended. the fifty-eight acres were never claimed, and there was, i think, a very general impression that asking for our just rights in the case would have a very grasping, covetous look. how much wiser five-and-twenty years have made us! * * * * * during my sojourn of two months at chicago, our mother often entertained me with stories of her early life and adventures. the following is her history of her captivity among the senecas, which i have put in the form of a tale, although without the slightest variation from the facts as i received them from her lips, and those of her sister, mrs. william forsyth, of sandwich (c.w.), the little maggie of the story. chapter xxii. the captives. it is well known that previous to the war of the revolution the whole of the western portion of pennsylvania was inhabited by different indian tribes. of these, the delawares were the friends of the whites, and, after the commencement of the great struggle, took part with the united states. the iroquois, on the contrary, were the friends and allies of the mother-country. very few white settlers had ventured beyond the susquehanna. the numerous roving bands of shawanoes, nanticokes, etc., although at times professing friendship with the americans and acting in concert with the delawares or lenape as allies, at others suffered themselves to be seduced by their neighbors, the iroquois, to show a most sanguinary spirit of hostility. for this reason, the life of the inhabitants of the frontier was one of constant peril and alarm. many a scene of dismal barbarity was enacted, as the history of the times testifies, and even those who felt themselves in some measure protected by their immediate neighbors, the delawares, never lost sight of the caution required by their exposed situation. the vicinity of the military garrison at pittsburg--or fort pitt, as it was then called--gave additional security to those who had pushed farther west, among the fertile valleys of the alleghany and monongahela. among these were the family of mr. lytle, who, some years previous to the opening of our story, had removed from baltimore to path valley, near carlisle, and subsequently settled himself on the banks of plum river, a tributary of the alleghany. here, with his wife and five children, he had continued to live in comfort and security, undisturbed by any hostile visit, and only annoyed by occasional false alarms from his more timorous neighbors, who, having had more experience in frontier life, were prone to anticipate evil, as well as to magnify every appearance of danger. * * * * * on a bright afternoon in the autumn of , two children of mr. lytle, a girl of nine, and her brother, two years younger, were playing in a little dingle or hollow in the rear of their father's house. some large trees, which had been recently felled, were lying here and there, still untrimmed of their branches, and many logs, prepared for fuel, were scattered around. upon one of these the children, wearied with their sports, seated themselves, and to beguile the time they fell into conversation upon a subject that greatly perplexed them. while playing in the same place a few hours previous, they had imagined they saw an indian lurking behind one of the fallen trees. the indians of the neighborhood were in the habit of making occasional visits to the family, and they had become familiar and even affectionate with many of them, but this seemed a stranger, and after the first hasty glance they fled in alarm to the house. their mother chid them for the report they brought, which she endeavored to convince them was without foundation. "you know," said she, "you are always alarming us unnecessarily: the neighbors' children have frightened you to death. go back to your play, and learn to be more courageous." so the children returned to their sports, hardly persuaded by their mother's arguments. while they were thus seated upon the trunk of the tree, their discourse was interrupted by the note, apparently, of a quail not far off. "listen," said the boy, as a second note answered the first; "do you hear that?" "yes," was the reply, and, after a few moments' silence, "do you not hear a rustling among the branches of the tree yonder?" "perhaps it is a squirrel--but look! what is that? surely i saw something red among the branches. it looked like a fawn popping up its head." at this moment, the children, who had been gazing so intently in the direction of the fallen tree that all other objects were forgotten, felt themselves seized from behind and pinioned in an iron grasp. what were their horror and dismay to find themselves in the arms of savages, whose terrific countenances and gestures plainly showed them to be enemies! they made signs to the children to be silent, on pain of death, and hurried them off, half dead with terror, in a direction leading from their father's habitation. after travelling some distance in profound silence, the severity of their captors somewhat relaxed, and as night approached the party halted, after adopting the usual precautions to secure themselves against a surprise. in an agony of uncertainty and terror, torn from their beloved home and parents, and anticipating all the horrors with which the rumors of the times had invested a captivity among the indians--perhaps even a torturing death--the poor children could no longer restrain their grief, but gave vent to sobs and lamentations. their distress appeared to excite the compassion of one of the party, a man of mild aspect, who approached and endeavored to soothe them. he spread them a couch of the long grass which grew near the encamping-place, offered them a portion of his own stock of dried meat and parched corn, and gave them to understand by signs that no farther evil was intended them. these kindly demonstrations were interrupted by the arrival of another party of the enemy, bringing with them the mother of the little prisoners, with her youngest child, an infant of three months old. it had so happened that the father of the family, with his serving-men, had gone early in the day to a _raising_ at a few miles' distance, and the house had thus been left without a defender. the long period of tranquillity which they had enjoyed, free from all molestation or alarm from the savages, had thrown the settlers quite off their guard, and they had recently laid aside some of the caution they had formerly deemed necessary. these indians, by lying in wait, had found the favorable moment for seizing the defenceless family and making them prisoners. judging from their paint, and other marks by which the early settlers learned to distinguish the various tribes, mrs. lytle conjectured that those into whose hands she and her children had fallen were senecas. nor was she mistaken. it was a party of that tribe who had descended from their village with the intention of falling upon some isolated band of their enemies, the delawares, but failing in this, had made themselves amends by capturing a few white settlers. it is to be attributed to the generally mild disposition of this tribe, together with the magnanimous character of the chief who accompanied the party, that their prisoners in the present instance escaped the fate of most of the americans who were so unhappy as to fall into the hands of the iroquois. the children learned from their mother that she was profoundly ignorant of the fate of their remaining brother and sister, a boy of six and a little girl of four years of age, but she was in hopes they had made good their escape with the servant-girl, who had likewise disappeared from the commencement. after remaining a few hours to recruit the exhausted frames of the prisoners, the savages again started on their march, one of the older indians offering to relieve the mother from the burden of her infant, which she had hitherto carried in her arms. pleased with the unexpected kindness, she resigned to him her tender charge. thus they pursued their way, the savage who carried the infant lingering somewhat behind the rest of the party, until, finding a spot convenient for his purpose, he grasped his innocent victim by the feet, and, with one whirl, to add strength to the blow, dashed out its brains against a tree. leaving the body upon the spot, he rejoined the party. the mother, unsuspicious of what had passed, regarded him earnestly as he reappeared without the child--then gazed wildly around on the rest of the group. her beloved little one was not there. its absence spoke its fate; but, suppressing the shriek of agony, for she knew that the lives of the remaining ones depended upon her firmness in that trying hour, she drew them yet closer to her and pursued her melancholy way without a word spoken or a question asked. from the depths of her heart she cried unto him who is able to save, and he comforted her with hopes of deliverance for the surviving ones, for she saw that if blood had been their sole object the scalps of herself and her children would have been taken upon the spot where they were made prisoners. she read too in the eyes of one who was evidently the commander of the party an expression more merciful than she had even dared to hope. particularly had she observed his soothing manner and manifest partiality towards her eldest child, the little girl of whom we have spoken, and she built many a bright hope of escape or ransom upon these slender foundations. after a toilsome and painful march of many days, the party reached the seneca village, upon the head-waters of the alleghany, near what is now called olean point. on their arrival the chief, their conductor, who was distinguished by the name of the _big white man_[ ] led his prisoners to the principal lodge. this was occupied by his mother, the widow of the head-chief of that band, and who was called by them the _old queen_. on entering her presence, her son presented her the little girl, saying,-- "my mother, i bring you a child to supply the place of my brother, who was killed by the lenape six moons ago. she shall dwell in my lodge, and be to me a sister. take the white woman and her children and treat them kindly--our father will give us many horses and guns to buy them back again." he referred to the british indian agent of his tribe, colonel johnson, an excellent and benevolent gentleman, who resided at port niagara, on the british side of the river of that name. the old queen fulfilled the injunctions of her son. she received the prisoners, and every comfort was provided them that her simple and primitive mode of life rendered possible. * * * * * we must now return to the place and period at which our story commences. late in the evening of that day the father returned to his dwelling. all within and around was silent and desolate. no trace of a living creature was to be found throughout the house or grounds. his nearest neighbors lived at a considerable distance, but to them he hastened, frantically demanding tidings of his family. as he aroused them from their slumbers, one and another joined him in the search, and at length, at the house of one of them, was found the servant-maid who had effected her escape. her first place of refuge, she said, had been a large brewing-tub in an outer kitchen, under which she had, at the first alarm, secreted herself until the departure of the indians, who were evidently in haste, gave her an opportunity of fleeing to a place of safety. she could give no tidings of her mistress and the children, except that they had not been murdered in her sight or hearing. at length, having scoured the neighborhood without success, mr. lytle remembered an old settler who lived alone, far up the valley. thither he and his friends immediately repaired, and from him they learned that, being at work in his field just before sunset, he had seen a party of strange indians passing at a short distance from his cabin. as they wound along the brow of the hill, he could perceive that they had prisoners with them--a woman and a child. the woman he knew to be a white, as she carried her infant in her arms, instead of upon her back, after the manner of the savages. day had now begun to break, for the night had been passed in fruitless searches, and the agonized father, after a consultation with his kind friends and neighbors, accepted their offer to accompany him to fort pitt to ask advice and assistance of the commandant and indian agent at that place. proceeding down the valley, as they approached a hut which the night before they had found apparently deserted, they were startled by observing two children standing upon the high bank in front of it. the delighted father recognized two of his missing flock, but no tidings could they give him of their mother and the other lost ones. their story was simple and touching. they were playing in the garden, when they were alarmed by seeing the indians enter the yard near the house. unperceived by them, the brother, who was but six years of age, helped his little sister over the fence into a field overrun with bushes of the blackberry and wild raspberry. they concealed themselves among these for awhile, and then, finding all quiet, they attempted to force their way to the side of the field farthest from the house. unfortunately, the little girl in her play in the garden had pulled off her shoes and stockings, and the briers tearing and wounding her tender feet, she with difficulty could refrain from crying out. her brother took off his stockings and put them on her feet. he attempted, too, to protect them with his shoes, but they were too large, and kept slipping off, so that she could not wear them. for a time, they persevered in making what they considered their escape from certain death, for, as i have said, the children had been taught, by the tales they had heard, to regard all strange indians as ministers of torture, and of horrors worse than death. exhausted with pain and fatigue, the poor little girl at length declared she could go no farther. "then, maggie," said her brother, "i must kill you, for i cannot let you be killed by the indians." "oh, no, thomas!" pleaded she, "do not, pray do not kill me! i do not think the indians will find us." "oh, yes, they will, maggie, and i could kill you so much easier than they would.'" for a long time he endeavored to persuade her, and even looked about for a stick sufficiently large for his purpose; but despair gave the little creature strength, and she promised her brother that she would neither complain nor falter, if he would assist her in making her way out of the field. the idea of the little boy that he could save his sister from savage barbarity by taking her life himself, shows what tales of horror the children of the early settlers were familiar with. after a few more efforts, they made their way out of the field, into an uninclosed pasture-ground, where, to their great delight, they saw some cows feeding. they recognized them as belonging to granny myers, an old woman who lived at some little distance, but in what direction from the place they then were, they were utterly ignorant. with a sagacity beyond his years, the boy said,-- "let us hide ourselves till sunset, when the cows will go home, and we will follow them." they did so, but, to their dismay, when they reached granny myers's they found the house deserted. the old woman had been called by some business down the valley, and did not return that night. tired and hungry, they could go no farther, but, after an almost fruitless endeavor to get some milk from the cows, they laid themselves down to sleep under an old bedstead that stood behind the house. their father and his party had caused them additional terror in the night. the shouts and calls which had been designed to arouse the inmates of the house, they had mistaken for the whoop of the indians, and, not being able to distinguish friends from foes, they had crept close to one another, as far out of sight as possible. when found the following morning, they were debating what course to take next, for safety. the commandant at fort pitt entered warmly into the affairs of mr. lytle, and readily furnished him with a detachment of soldiers, to aid him and his friends in the pursuit of the marauders. some circumstances having occurred to throw suspicion upon the senecas, the party soon directed their search among the villages of that tribe. their inquiries were prosecuted in various directions, and always with great caution, for all the tribes of the iroquois, or, as they pompously called themselves, the five nations, being allies of great britain, were inveterate in their hostility to the americans. thus, some time elapsed before the father with his attendants reached the village of the _big white man_. a treaty was immediately entered into for the ransom of the captives, which was easily accomplished in regard to mrs. lytle and the younger child. but no offers, no entreaties, no promises, could procure the release of the little eleanor, the adopted child of the tribe. "no," the chief said, "she was his sister; he had taken her to supply the place of his brother who was killed by the enemy--she was dear to him, and he would not part with her." finding every effort unavailing to shake this resolution, the father was compelled to take his sorrowful departure with such of his beloved ones as he had had the good fortune to recover. we will not attempt to depict the grief of parents compelled thus to give up a darling child, and to leave her in the hands of savages, whom until now they had too much reason to regard as merciless. but there was no alternative. commending her to the care of their heavenly father, and cheered by the manifest tenderness with which she had thus far been treated, they set out on their melancholy journey homeward, trusting that some future effort would be more effectual for the recovery of their little girl. having placed his family in safety at pittsburg, mr. lytle, still assisted by the commandant and the indian agent, undertook an expedition to the frontier to the residence of the british agent, colonel johnson. his representation of the case warmly interested the feelings of that benevolent officer, who promised him to spare no exertions in his behalf. this promise he religiously performed. he went in person to the village of the big white man, as soon as the opening of the spring permitted, and offered him many splendid presents of guns and horses, but the chief was inexorable. time rolled on, and every year the hope of recovering the little captive became more faint. she, in the mean time, continued to wind herself more and more closely around the heart of her indian brother. nothing could exceed the consideration and affection with which she was treated, not only by himself, but by his mother, the _old queen_. all their stock of brooches and wampum was employed in the decoration of her person. the principal seat and the most delicate viands were invariably reserved for her, and no efforts were spared to promote her happiness, and to render her forgetful of her former home and kindred. thus, though she had beheld, with a feeling almost amounting to despair, the departure of her parents and dear little brother, and had for a long time resisted every attempt at consolation, preferring even death to a life of separation from all she loved, yet time, as it ever does, brought its soothing balm, and she at length grew contented and happy. from her activity and the energy of her character, qualities for which she was remarkable to the latest period of her life, the name was given her of _the ship under full sail_. * * * * * the only drawback to the happiness of the little prisoner, aside from her longings after her own dear home, was the enmity she encountered from the wife of the big white man. this woman, from the day of her arrival at the village, and adoption into the family as a sister, had conceived for her the greatest animosity, which, at first, she had the prudence to conceal from the observation of her husband. it was perhaps natural that a wife should give way to some feelings of jealousy at seeing her own place in the heart of her husband usurped by the child of their enemy, the american. but these feelings were aggravated by a bad and vindictive temper, and by the indifference with which her husband listened to her complaints and murmurings. as she had no children of her own to engage her attention, her mind was the more engrossed and inflamed with her fancied wrongs, and with devising means for their redress. an opportunity of attempting the latter was not long wanting. during the absence of the big white man upon some war-party or hunting-excursion, his little sister was taken ill with fever and ague. she was nursed with the utmost tenderness by the old queen; and the wife of the chief, to lull suspicion, and thereby accomplish her purpose, was likewise unwearied in her assiduities to the little favorite. one afternoon, during the temporary absence of the old queen, her daughter-in-law entered the lodge with a bowl of something she had prepared, and, stooping down to the mat on which the child lay, said, in an affectionate accent,-- "drink, my sister, i have brought you that which will drive this fever far from you." on raising her head to reply, the little girl perceived a pair of eyes peeping through a crevice in the lodge, and fixed upon her with a very peculiar and significant expression. with the quick perception acquired partly from nature and partly from her intercourse with this people, she replied, faintly,-- "set it down, my sister. when this fit of the fever has passed, i will drink your medicine." the squaw, too cautious to use importunity, busied herself about in the lodge for a short time, then withdrew to another, near at hand. meantime, the bright eyes continued peering through the opening, until they had watched their object fairly out of sight; then a low voice, the voice of a young friend and playfellow, spoke: "do not drink that which your brother's wife has brought you. she hates you, and is only waiting an opportunity to rid herself of you. i have watched her all the morning, and have seen her gathering the most deadly roots and herbs. i knew for whom they were intended, and came hither to warn you." "take the bowl," said the little invalid, "and carry it to my mother's lodge." this was accordingly done. the contents of the bowl were found to consist principally of a decoction of the root of the may-apple, the most deadly poison known among the indians. it is not in the power of language to describe the indignation that pervaded the little community when this discovery was made known. the squaws ran to and fro, as is their custom when excited, each vying with the other in heaping invectives upon the culprit. no further punishment was, however, for the present inflicted upon her, but, the first burst of rage over, she was treated with silent abhorrence. the little patient was removed to the lodge of the old queen, and strictly guarded, while her enemy was left to wander in silence and solitude about the fields and woods, until the return of her husband should determine her punishment. in a few days, the excursion being over, the big white man and his party returned to the village. contrary to the usual custom of savages, he did not, in his first transport at learning the attempt on the life of his little sister, take summary vengeance on the offender. he contented himself with banishing her from his lodge, never to return, and condemning her to hoe corn in a distant part of the large field or inclosure which served the whole community for a garden. although she would still show her vindictive disposition whenever, by chance, the little girl with her companions wandered into that vicinity, by striking at her with her hoe, or by some other spiteful manifestation, yet she was either too well watched, or stood too much in awe of her former husband, to repeat the attempt upon his sister's life. * * * * * four years had now elapsed since the capture of little nelly. her heart was by nature warm and affectionate, so that the unbounded tenderness of those she dwelt among had called forth a corresponding feeling in her heart. she regarded the chief and his mother with love and reverence, and had so completely learned their language and customs as almost to have forgotten her own. so identified had she become with the tribe, that the remembrance of her home and family had nearly faded from her memory; all but her mother--her mother, whom she had loved with a strength of affection natural to her warm and ardent character, and to whom her heart still clung with a fondness that no time or change could destroy. the peace of between great britain and the united states now took place. a general pacification of the indian tribes was the consequence, and fresh hopes were renewed in the bosoms of mr. and mrs. lytle. they removed with their family to fort niagara, near which, on the american side, was the great _council-fire_ of the senecas. colonel johnson readily undertook a fresh negotiation with the chief, but, in order to make sure every chance of success, he again proceeded in person to the village of the big white man. his visit was most opportune. it was the "feast of the green corn," when he arrived among them. this observance, which corresponds so strikingly with the jewish feast of tabernacles that, together with other customs, it has led many to believe the indian nations the descendants of the lost ten tribes of israel, made it a season of general joy and festivity. all other occupations were suspended to give place to social enjoyment in the open air or in arbors formed of the green branches of the trees. every one appeared in his gala-dress. that of the little adopted child consisted of a petticoat of blue broadcloth, bordered with gay-colored ribbons; a sack or upper garment of black silk, ornamented with three rows of silver brooches, the centre ones from the throat to the hem being of large size, and those from the shoulders down being no larger than a shilling-piece, and set as closely as possible. around her neck were innumerable strings of white and purple wampum--an indian ornament manufactured from the inner surface of the muscle-shell. her hair was clubbed behind and loaded with beads of various colors. leggings of scarlet cloth, and moccasins of deer-skin embroidered with porcupine-quills, completed her costume. colonel johnson was received with all the consideration due to his position, and to the long friendship that had subsisted between him and the tribe. observing that the hilarity of the festival had warmed and opened all hearts, he took occasion in an interview with the chief to expatiate upon the parental affection which had led the father and mother of his little sister to give up their friends and home, and come hundreds of miles away, in the single hope of sometimes looking upon and embracing her. the heart of the chief softened as he listened to this representation, and he was induced to promise that at the grand council soon to be held at fort niagara, on the british side of the river, he would attend, bringing his little sister with him. he exacted a promise, however, from colonel johnson, that not only no effort should be made to reclaim the child, but that even no proposition to part with her should be offered him. the time at length arrived when, her heart bounding with joy, little nelly was placed on horseback to accompany her indian brother to the great council of the senecas. she had promised him that she would never leave him without his permission, and he relied confidently on her word thus given. as the chiefs and warriors arrived in successive bands to meet their father, the agent, at the council-fire, how did the anxious hearts of the parents beat with alternate hope and fear! the officers of the fort had kindly given them quarters for the time being, and the ladies, whose sympathies were strongly excited, had accompanied the mother to the place of council, and joined in her longing watch for the first appearance of the band from the alleghany river. at length they were discerned, emerging from the forest on the opposite or american side. boats were sent across by the commanding officer, to bring the chief and his party. the father and mother, attended by all the officers and ladies, stood upon the grassy bank awaiting their approach. they had seen at a glance that the _little captive_ was with them. when about to enter the boat, the chief said to some of his young men, "stand here with the horses, and wait until i return." he was told that the horses should be ferried across and taken care of. "no," said he; "let them wait." he held his darling by the hand until the river was passed--until the boat touched the bank--until the child sprang forward into the arms of the mother from whom she had been so long separated. when the chief witnessed that outburst of affection, he could withstand no longer. "she shall go," said he. "the mother must have her child again. i will go back alone." with one silent gesture of farewell he turned and stepped on board the boat. no arguments or entreaties could induce him to remain at the council, but, having gained the other side of the niagara, he mounted his horse, and with his young men was soon lost in the depths of the forest. after a sojourn of a few weeks at niagara, mr. lytle, dreading lest the resolution of the big white man should give way, and measures be taken to deprive him once more of his child, came to the determination of again changing his place of abode. he therefore took the first opportunity of crossing lake erie with his family, and settled himself in the neighborhood of detroit, where he continued afterwards to reside. _little nelly_ saw her friend the chief no more, but she never forgot him. to the day of her death she remembered with tenderness and gratitude her brother the big white man, and her friends and playfellows among the senecas. chapter xxiii. second-sight--hickory creek. at the age of fourteen the heroine of the foregoing story married colonel mckillip, a british officer. this gentleman was killed near fort defiance, as it was afterwards called, at the miami rapids, in . a detachment of british troops had been sent down from detroit to take possession of this post. general wayne was then on a campaign against the indians, and the british government thought proper to make a few demonstrations in behalf of their allies. having gone out with a party to reconnoitre, colonel mckillip was returning to his post after dark, when he was fired upon and killed by one of his own sentinels. mrs. helm was the daughter of this marriage. during the widowhood of mrs. mckillip, she resided with her parents, at grosse pointe, eight miles above detroit, and it was during this period that an event occurred which, from the melancholy and mysterious circumstances attending it, was always dwelt upon by her with peculiar interest. her second brother, thomas lytle, was, from his amiable and affectionate character, the most dearly beloved by her of all the numerous family circle. he was paying his addresses to a young lady who resided at the river trench,[ ] as it was then called, now the river thames, a stream emptying into lake st. clair about twenty miles above detroit. in visiting this young lady, it was his custom to cross the detroit river by the ferry with his horse, and then proceed by land to the river trench, which was, at some seasons of the year, a fordable stream. on a fine forenoon, late in the spring, he had taken leave of his mother and sister for one of these periodical visits, which were usually of two or three days' duration. after dinner, as his sister was sitting at work by an open window which looked upon a little side inclosure filled with fruit-trees, she was startled by observing some object opposite the window, between her and the light. she raised her eyes and saw her brother thomas. he was without his horse, and carried his saddle upon his shoulders. surprised that she had not heard the gate opening for his entrance, and also at his singular appearance, laden in that manner, she addressed him, and inquired what had happened, and why he had returned so soon. he made her no reply, but looked earnestly in her face, as he moved slowly along the paved walk that led to the stables. she waited a few moments, expecting he would reappear to give an account of himself and his adventures, but at length, growing impatient at his delay, she put down her work and went towards the rear of the house to find him. the first person she met was her mother. "have you seen thomas?" she inquired. "thomas! he has gone to the river trench." "no, he has returned--i saw him pass the window not fifteen minutes since." "then he will be in presently." his sister, however, could not wait. she proceeded to the stables, she searched in all directions. no thomas--no horse--no saddle. she made inquiry of the domestics. no one had seen him. she then returned and told her mother what had happened. "you must have fallen asleep and dreamed it," said her mother. "no, indeed! i was wide awake--i spoke to him, and he gave me no answer, but such a look!" all the afternoon she felt an uneasiness she could not reason herself out of. the next morning came a messenger from the river trench with dismal tidings. the bodies of the young man and his horse had been found drowned a short distance below the ford of the river. it appeared that, on arriving at the bank of the river, he found it swollen beyond its usual depth by the recent rains. it being necessary to swim the stream with his horse, he had taken off his clothes and made them into a packet which he fastened upon his shoulders. it was supposed that the strength of the rapid torrent displaced the bundle, which thus served to draw his head under water and keep it there, without the power of raising it. all this was gathered from the position and appearance of the bodies when found. from the time at which he had been seen passing a house which stood near the stream, on his way to the ford, it was evident that he must have met his fate at the very moment his sister saw, or thought she saw him, passing before her. i could not but suggest the inquiry, when these sad particulars were narrated to me,-- "mother, is it not possible this might have been a dream?" "a dream? no, indeed, my child. i was perfectly wide awake--as much so as i am at this moment. i am not superstitious. i have never believed in ghosts or witches, but nothing can ever persuade me that this was not a warning sent from god, to prepare me for my brother's death." and those who knew her rational good sense--her freedom from fancies or fears, and the calm self-possession that never deserted her under the most trying circumstances--would almost be won to view the matter in the light she did. * * * * * the order for the evacuation of port dearborn, and the removal of the troops to fort howard (green bay), had now been received. the family circle was to be broken up. our mother, our sister mrs. helm, and her little son, were to return with us to fort winnebago; the other members of the family, except robert, were to move with the command to green bay. the schooner napoleon was to be sent from detroit to convey the troops with their goods and chattels to their destined post. our immediate party was to make the journey by land--we were to choose, however, a shorter and pleasanter route than the one we had taken in coming hither. my husband, with his frenchmen, petaille grignon and simon lecuyer, had arrived, and all hands were now busily occupied with the necessary preparations for breaking up and removal. i should be doing injustice to the hospitable settlers of hickory creek were i to pass by without notice an entertainment with which they honored our chicago beaux about this time. the merry-making was to be a ball, and the five single gentlemen of chicago were invited. mr. dole, who was a new-comer, declined; lieutenant foster was on duty, but he did what was still better than accepting the invitation, he loaned his beautiful horse to medard beaubien, who with robert kinzie and gholson kercheval promised himself much fun in eclipsing the beaux and creating a sensation among the belles of hickory creek. chicago was then, as now, looked upon as the city _par excellence_. its few inhabitants were supposed to have seen something of the world, and it is to be inferred that the arrival of the smart and dashing young men was an event looked forward to with more satisfaction by the fair of the little settlement than by the swains whose rivals they might become. the day arrived, and the gentlemen set off in high spirits. they took care to be in good season, for the dancing was to commence at two o'clock in the afternoon. they were well mounted, each priding himself upon the animal he rode, and they wore their best suits, as became city gallants who were bent on cutting out their less fashionable neighbors and breaking the hearts of the admiring country damsels. when they arrived at the place appointed, they were received with great politeness--their steeds were taken care of, and a dinner was provided them, after which they were ushered into the dancing-hall. all the beauty of the neighboring precincts was assembled. the ladies were for the most part white, or what passed for such, with an occasional dash of copper color. there was no lack of bombazet gowns and large white pocket-handkerchiefs, perfumed with oil of cinnamon; and as they took their places in long rows on the puncheon floor, they were a merry and a happy company. but the city gentlemen grew more and more gallant--the girls more and more delighted with their attentions--the country swains, alas! more and more scowling and jealous. in vain they pigeon-winged and double-shuffled--in vain they nearly dislocated hips and shoulders at "hoe corn and dig potatoes"--they had the mortification to perceive that the smart young sprigs from chicago had their "pick and choose" among their very sweethearts, and that they themselves were fairly danced off the ground. the revelry lasted until daylight, and it was now time to think of returning. there was no one ready with obliging politeness to bring them their horses from the stable. "poor fellows!" said one of the party, with a compassionate sort of laugh, "they could not stand it. they have gone home to bed!" "serves them right," said another; "they'd better not ask us down among their girls again!" they groped their way to the stable and went in. there were some animals standing at the manger, but evidently not their horses. what could they be? had the rogues been trying to cheat them, by putting these strange nondescripts into their place? they led them forth into the gray of the morning, and then--such a trio as met their gaze! there were the original bodies, it is true, but where were their manes and tails? a scrubby, pickety ridge along the neck, and a bare stump projecting behind, were all that remained of the flowing honors with which they had come gallivanting down to "bear away the bell" at hickory creek, or, in the emphatic language of the country, "to take the rag off the bush." gholson sat down on a log and cried outright. medard took the matter more philosophically--the horse was none of his--it was lieutenant foster's. robert characteristically looked around to see whom he could knock down on the occasion; but there was no one visible on whom to wreak their vengeance. the bumpkins had stolen away, and, in some safe, quiet nook, were snugly enjoying their triumph, and doubtless the deceitful fair ones were by this time at their sides, sharing their mirth and exultation. the unlucky gallants mounted their steeds, and set their faces homeward. never was there a more crestfallen and sorry-looking cavalcade. the poor horses seemed to realize that they had met the same treatment as the messengers of king david at the hands of the evil-disposed hanun. they hung their heads, and evidently wished that they could have "tarried at jericho" for a season. unfortunately, there was in those days no back way by which they could steal in, unobserved. across the prairie, in view of the whole community, must their approach be made; and to add to their confusion, in the rarity of stirring events, it was the custom of the whole settlement to turn out and welcome the arrival of any new-comer. as hasty a retreat as possible was beaten, amid the shouts, the jeers, and the condolences of their acquaintances; and it is on record that these three young gentlemen were in no hurry to accept, at any future time, an invitation to partake of the festivities of hickory creek. * * * * * in due time the napoleon made her appearance. (alas that this great name should be used in the feminine gender!) as there was at this period no harbor, vessels anchored outside the bar, or tongue of land which formed the left bank of the river, and the lading and unlading were carried on by boats, pulling in and out, through the mouth of the river, some distance below. of course it always was a matter of great importance to get a vessel loaded as quickly as possible, that she might be ready to take advantage of the first fair wind, and be off from such an exposed and hazardous anchoring-ground. for this reason we had lived _packed up_ for many days, intending only to see our friends safe on board, and then commence our own journey back to fort winnebago. our heavy articles of furniture, trunks, etc. had been sent on board the napoleon, to be brought round to us by way of fox river. we had retained only such few necessaries as could be conveniently carried on a pack-horse, and in a light dearborn wagon lately brought by mr. kercheval from detroit (the first luxury of the kind ever seen on the prairies), and which my husband had purchased as an agreeable mode of conveyance for his mother and little nephew. it was a matter requiring no small amount of time and labor to transport, in the slow method described, the effects of so many families of officers and soldiers, with the various etceteras incident to a total change and removal. it was all, however, happily accomplished--everything, even to the last article, sent on board--nothing remaining on shore but the passengers, whose turn it would be next. it was a moment of great relief; for captain hinckley had been in a fever and a fuss many hours, predicting a change of weather, and murmuring at what he thought the unnecessary amount of boat-loads to be taken on board. those who had leisure to be looking out towards the schooner, which had continued anchored about half a mile out in the lake, had, at this crisis, the satisfaction to see her hoist sail and leave her station for the open lake; those who were a little later could just discern her bearing away to a distance, as if she had got all on board that she had any idea of taking. here we were, and here we might remain a week or more, if it so pleased captain hinckley and the schooner napoleon, and the good east wind which was blowing with all its might. there was plenty of provisions to be obtained, so the fear of starvation was not the trouble; but how were the cooking and the table to be provided for? various expedients were resorted to. mrs. engle, in her quarters above-stairs, ate her breakfast off a shingle with her husband's jack-knife, and when she had finished, sent them down to lieutenant foster for his accommodation. we were at the old mansion on the north side, and the news soon flew up the river that the napoleon had gone off with "the plunder" and left the people behind. it was not long before we were supplied by mrs. portier (our kind victoire) with dishes, knives, forks, and all the other conveniences which our mess-basket failed to supply. this state of things lasted a couple of days, and then, early one fine morning, the gratifying intelligence spread like wild-fire that the napoleon was at anchor out beyond the bar. there was no unnecessary delay this time, and at an early hour in the afternoon we had taken leave of our dear friends, and they were sailing away from chicago.[ ] chapter xxiv. return to fort winnebago. a great part of the command, with the cattle belonging to the officers and soldiers, had, a day or two previous to the time of our departure, set out on their march by land to green bay, _via_ fort winnebago. lieutenant foster, under whose charge they were, had lingered behind that he might have the pleasure of joining our party, and we, in turn, had delayed in order to see the other members of our family safely on board the napoleon. but now, all things being ready, we set our faces once more homeward. we took with us a little _bound-girl,_ josette, a bright, pretty child of ten years of age, a daughter of ouilmette, a frenchman who had lived here at the time of the massacre, and of a pottowattamie mother. she had been at the st. joseph's mission-school, under mr. mccoy, and she was now full of delight at the prospect of a journey all the way to the portage with monsieur and madame john. we had also a negro boy, harry, brought a year before from kentucky, by mr. kercheval. in the transfer at that time from a slave state to a free one, harry's position became somewhat changed--he could be no more than an indentured servant. he was about to become a member of dr. wolcott's household, and it was necessary for him to choose a guardian. all this was explained to him on his being brought into the parlor, where the family were assembled. my husband was then a young man, on a visit to his home. "now, harry," it was said to him, "you must choose your guardian;" and the natural expectation was that harry would select the person of his acquaintance of the greatest age and dignity. but, rolling round his great eyes, and hanging his head on one side, he said,-- "i'll have master john for my guardian." from that day forward harry felt as if he belonged, in a measure, to master john, and at the breaking-up of the family in chicago he was, naturally, transferred to our establishment. there were three ladies of our travelling party--our mother, our sister mrs. helm, and myself. to guard against the burning effect of the sun and the prairie winds upon our faces, i had, during some of the last days of my visit, prepared for each of us a mask of brown linen, with the eyes, nose, and mouth fitted to our features; and, to enhance their hideousness, i had worked eyebrows, eyelashes, and a circle around the opening for the mouth, in black silk. gathered in plaits under the chin, and with strings to confine them above and below, they furnished a complete protection against the sun and wind, though nothing can be imagined more frightful than the appearance we presented when fully equipped. it was who should be called the ugliest. we left amid the good wishes and laughter of our few remaining acquaintances. our wagon had been provided with a pair of excellent travelling horses, and, sister margaret and myself being accommodated with the best pacers the country could afford, we set off in high spirits towards the aux plaines--our old friend, billy caldwell (the sau-ga-nash), with our brother robert, and gholson kercheval, accompanying us to that point of our journey. there was no one at barney lawton's when we reached there, save a frenchman and a small number of indians. my sister and i dismounted, and entered the dwelling, the door of which stood open. two indians were seated on the floor, smoking. they raised their eyes as we appeared, and never shall i forget the expression of wonder and horror depicted on the countenances of both. their lips relaxed until the pipe of one fell upon the floor. their eyes seemed starting from their heads, and raising their outspread hands, as if to wave us from them, they slowly ejaculated, "_manitou!"_ (a spirit.) as we raised our masks, and, smiling, came forward to shake hands with them, they sprang to their feet and fairly uttered a cry of delight at the sight of our familiar faces. "bon-jour, bon-jour, maman!" was their salutation, and they instantly plunged out of doors to relate to their companions what had happened. our afternoon's ride was over a prairie stretching away to the northeast no living creature was to be seen upon its broad expanse, but flying and circling over our heads were innumerable flocks of curlews, "screaming their wild notes to the listening waste." their peculiar, shrill cry of "crack, crack, crack--rackety, rackety, rackety," repeated from the throats of dozens, as they sometimes stooped quite close to our ears, became at length almost unbearable. it seemed as if they had lost their senses in the excitement of so unusual and splendid a cortége in their hitherto desolate domain. the accelerated pace of our horses, as we approached a beautiful, wooded knoll, warned us that this was to be our place of repose for the night. these animals seem to know by instinct a favorable encamping-ground, and this was one of the most lovely imaginable. the trees, which near the lake had, owing to the coldness and tardiness of the season, presented the pale-yellow appearance of unfledged goslings, were here bursting into full leaf. the ground around was carpeted with flowers--we could not bear to have them crushed by the felling of a tree and the pitching of our tent among them. the birds sent forth their sweetest notes in the warm, lingering sunlight, and the opening buds of the young hickory and sassafras filled the air with perfume. nothing could be more perfect than our enjoyment of this sylvan and beautiful retreat[ ] after our ride in the glowing sun. the children were in ecstasies. they delighted to find ways of making themselves useful--to pile up the saddles--to break boughs for the fire--to fill the little kettles with water for petaille and lecuyer, the frenchmen, who were preparing our supper. their amusement at the awkward movements of the horses after they were spancelled knew no bounds. to our little nephew edwin everything was new, and josette, who had already made more than one horseback journey to st. joseph, manifested all the pride of an old traveller in explaining to him whatever was novel or unaccountable. they were not the last to spring up at the call "how! how!" on the following morning. the fire was replenished, the preparations for breakfast commenced, and the frenchmen dispatched to bring up the horses in readiness for an early start. harry and josette played their parts, under our direction, in preparing the simple meal, and we soon seated ourselves, each with cup and knife, around the _table-mat._ the meal was over, but no men, no horses appeared. when another half-hour had passed, my husband took harry and commenced exploring in search of the missing ones. the day wore on, and first one and then another would make his appearance to report progress. petaille and lecuyer at length brought two of the horses, but the others could nowhere be found. in time, mr. kinzie and harry returned, wet to their knees by the dew upon the long prairie-grass, but with no tidings. again the men were dispatched after having broken their fast, but returned unsuccessful as before. the morning had been passed by our party at the encampment in speculating upon the missing animals. could they have been stolen by the indians? hardly: these people seldom committed robberies in time of peace--never upon our family, whom they regarded as their best friends. the horses would doubtless be found. they had probably been carelessly fastened the preceding evening, and had therefore been able to stray farther than was their wont. a council was held, at which it was decided to send grignon back to chicago to get some fresh horses from gholson kercheval, and return as speedily as possible. if on his return our encampment were deserted, he might conclude we had found the horses and proceeded to fox river, where he would doubtless overtake us. he had not been gone more than an hour before, slowly hopping out of a point of woods to the north of us (a spot which each of the seekers averred he had explored over and over again), and making directly for the place where we were, appeared the vexatious animals. they came up as demurely as if nothing had happened, and seemed rather surprised to be received with a hearty scolding, instead of being patted and caressed as usual. it was the work of a very short half-hour to strike and pack the tent, stow away the mats and kettles, saddle the horses, and mount for our journey. "whoever pleases may take my place in the carriage," said our mother. "i have travelled so many years on horseback, that i find any other mode of conveyance too fatiguing." so, spite of her sixty years, she mounted sister margaret's pacer with the activity of a girl of sixteen. lieutenant foster had left us early in the morning, feeling it necessary to rejoin his command, and now, having seen us ready to set off, with a serene sky above us, and all things "right and tight" for the journey, our friend the sau-ga-nash took leave of us, and retraced his steps towards chicago. we pursued our way through a lovely country of alternate glade and forest, until we reached the fox river. the current ran clear and rippling along, and, as we descended the steep bank to the water, the question, so natural to a traveller in an unknown region, presented itself, "is it fordable?" petaille, to whom the ground was familiar, had not yet made his appearance lecuyer was quite ignorant upon the subject. the troops had evidently preceded us by this very trail. true, but they were on horseback--the difficulty was, could we get the carriage through? it must be remembered that the doubt was not about the depth of the water, but about the hardness of the bottom of the stream. it was agreed that two or three of the equestrians should make the trial first. my mother, lecuyer, and myself advanced cautiously across to the opposite bank, each choosing a different point for leaving the water, in order to find the firmest spot. the bottom was hard and firm until we came near the shore; then it yielded a little. with one step, however, we were each on dry ground. "est-il beau?" called my husband, who was driving. "oui, monsieur." "yes, john, come just here, it is perfectly good." "no, no--go a little farther down. see the white gravel just there--it will be firmer still, there." such were the contradictory directions given. he chose the latter, and when it wanted but one step more to the bank, down sunk both horses, until little more than their backs were visible. the white gravel proved to be a bed of treacherous yellow clay, which, gleaming through the water, had caused so unfortunate a deception. with frantic struggles, for they were nearly suffocated with mud and water, the horses made desperate efforts to free themselves from the harness. my husband sprang out upon the pole. "some one give me a knife," he cried. i was back in the water in a moment, and, approaching as near as i dared, handed him mine from the scabbard around my neck. "whatever you do, do not cut the traces," cried his mother. he severed some of the side-straps, when, just as he had reached the extremity of the pole, and was stretching forward to separate the head-couplings, one of the horses gave a furious plunge, which caused his fellow to rear, and throw himself nearly backwards. my husband was between them. for a moment we thought he was gone--trampled down by the excited animals; but he presently showed himself, nearly obscured by the mud and water. with the agility of a cat, harry, who was near him, now sprang forward on the pole, and in an instant, with his sharp jack-knife which he had ready, divided the straps that confined their heads. the horses were at this moment lying floating on the water--one apparently dead, the other as if gasping out his last breath. but hardly did they become sensible of the release of their heads from bondage, than they made, simultaneously, another furious effort to free themselves from the pole, to which they were still attached by the neck-strap. failing in this, they tried another expedient, and, by a few judicious twists and turns, succeeded in wrenching the pole asunder, and finally carried it off in triumph across the river again, and up the bank, where they stood waiting to decide what were the next steps to be taken. here was a predicament! a few hours before, we had thought ourselves uncomfortable enough, because some of our horses were missing. now, a greater evil had befallen us. the wagon was in the river, the harness cut to pieces, and, what was worse, carried off in the most independent manner, by tom and his companion; the pole was twisted to fragments, and there was not so much as a stick on our side of the river with which to replace it. at this moment, a whoop from the opposite bank, echoed by two or three hearty ones from our party, announced the reappearance of petaille grignon. he dismounted and took charge of the horses, who were resting themselves after their fatigues under a shady tree, and by this time lecuyer had crossed the river, and now joined him in bringing back the delinquents. in the mean time we had been doing our best to minister to our sister margaret. she, with her little son edwin, had been in the wagon at the time of the accident, and it had been a work of some difficulty to get them out and bring them on horseback to shore. the effect of the agitation and excitement was to throw her into a fit of the ague, and she now lay blue and trembling among the long grass of the little prairie which extended along the bank. the tent, which had been packed in the rear of the wagon, was too much saturated with mud and water to admit of its being used as a shelter; it could only be stretched in the sun to dry. we opened an umbrella over our poor sister's head, and now began a discussion of ways and means to repair damages. the first thing was to cut a new pole for the wagon, and for this, the master and men must recross the river and choose an _iron-tree_ out of the forest. then, for the harness. with provident care, a little box had been placed under the seat of the wagon, containing an awl, waxed ends, and various other little conveniences exactly suited to an emergency like the present. it was question and answer, like cock robin: "who can mend the harness?" "i can, for i learned when i was a young girl to make shoes as _an accomplishment_, and i can surely now, as a matter of usefulness and duty, put all those wet, dirty pieces of leather together." so we all seated ourselves on the grass, under the shade of the only two umbrellas we could muster. i stitched away diligently, blistering my hands, i must own, in no small degree. a suitable young tree had been brought, and the hatchets, without which one never travels in the woods, were busy fashioning it into shape, when a peculiar hissing noise was heard, and instantly the cry,-- "_un serpent sonnette_! a rattlesnake!" all sprang to their feet, even the poor, shaking invalid, just in time to see the reptile glide past within three inches of my mother's feet, while the men assailed the spot it had left with whips, missiles, and whatever would help along the commotion. this little incident proved an excellent remedy for the ague. one excitement drives away another, and by means of this (upon the homoeopathic principle) sister margaret was so much improved that by the time all the mischiefs were repaired, she was ready to take her place in the cavalcade, as bright and cheerful as the rest of us. so great had been the delay occasioned by all these untoward circumstances, that our afternoon's ride was but a short one, bringing us no farther than the shores of a beautiful sheet of water, now known as crystal lake. its clear surface was covered with loons, and _poules d'eau_, a species of rail; with which, at certain seasons, this region abounds. the indians have the genius of aesop for depicting animal life and character, and there is among them a fable or legend illustrative of every peculiarity in the personal appearance, habits, or dispositions of each variety of the animal creation. the back of the little rail is very concave, or hollow. the indians tell us that it became so in the following manner:-- story of the little rail, or _poule d'eau_ there is supposed, by most of the northwestern tribes, to exist an invisible being, corresponding to the "genie" of oriental story. without being exactly the father of evil, _nan-nee-bo-zho_ is a spirit whose office it is to punish what is amiss. he is represented, too, as constantly occupied in entrapping and making examples of all the animals that come in his way. one pleasant evening, as he walked along the banks of a lake, he saw a flock of ducks, sailing and enjoying themselves on the blue waters. he called to them: "ho! come with me into my lodge, and i will teach you to dance!" some of the ducks said among themselves, "it is nan-nee-bo-zho; let us not go." others were of a contrary opinion, and, his words being fair, and his voice insinuating, a few turned their faces towards the land--all the rest soon followed, and, with many pleasant quackings, trooped after him, and entered his lodge. when there, he first took an indian sack, with a wide mouth, which he tied by the strings around his neck, so that it would hang over his shoulders, leaving the mouth unclosed. then, placing himself in the centre of the lodge, he ranged the ducks in a circle around him. "now," said he, "you must all shut your eyes _tight_; whoever opens his eyes at all, something dreadful will happen to him. i will take my indian flute and play upon it, and you will, at the word i shall give, open your eyes, and commence dancing, as you see me do." the ducks obeyed, shutting their eyes _tight_, and keeping time to the music by stepping from one foot to the other, all impatient for the dancing to begin. presently a sound was heard like a smothered "quack," but the ducks did not dare to open their eyes. again, and again, the sound of the flute would be interrupted, and a gurgling cry of "qu-a-a-ck" be heard. there was one little duck, much smaller than the rest, who, at this juncture, could not resist the temptation to open one eye, cautiously. she saw nan-nee-bo-zho, as he played his flute, holding it with one hand, stoop a little at intervals and seize the duck nearest him, which he throttled and stuffed into the bag on his shoulders. so, edging a little out of the circle, and getting nearer the door, which had been left partly open, to admit the light, she cried out,-- "open your eyes--nan-nee-bo-zho is choking you all and putting you into his bag!" with that she flew, but nan-nee-bo-zho pounced upon her. his hand grasped her back, yet, with desperate force, she released herself and gained the open air. her companions flew, quacking and screaming, after her. some escaped, and some fell victims to the sprite. the little duck had saved her life, but she had lost her beauty. she ever after retained the attitude she had been forced into in her moment of danger--her back pressed down in the centre, and her head and neck unnaturally stretched forward into the air. chapter xxv. return journey, continued. the third day of our journey rose brilliantly clear, like the two preceding ones, and we shaped our course more to the north than we had hitherto done, in the direction of _big-foot_ lake, now known by the somewhat hackneyed appellation, lake of geneva. our journey this day was without mishaps or disasters of any kind. the air was balmy, the foliage of the forests fresh and fragrant, the little brooks clear and sparkling--everything in nature spoke the praises of the beneficent creator. it is in scenes like this, far removed from the bustle, the strife, and the sin of civilized life, that we most fully realize the presence of the great author of the universe. here can the mind most fully adore his majesty and goodness, for here only is the command obeyed, "let all the earth keep silence before him!" it cannot escape observation that the deepest and most solemn devotion is in the hearts of those who, shut out from the worship of god in temples made with hands, are led to commune with him amid the boundless magnificence that his own power has framed. this day was not wholly without incident. as we stopped for our noon-tide refreshment, and dismounting threw ourselves on the fresh herbage just at the verge of a pleasant thicket, we were startled by a tender _bleating_ near us, and presently, breaking its way through the low branches, there came upon us a sweet little dappled fawn, evidently in search of its mother. it did not seem in the least frightened at the sight of us. as poor selkirk might have been parodied,-- it was so unacquainted with man, its tameness was charming to us. but the vociferous delight of the children soon drove it bounding again into the woods, and all hopes of catching it for a pet were at once at an end. we had travelled well this day, and were beginning to feel somewhat fatigued, when, just before sunset, we came upon a ridge, overlooking one of the loveliest little dells imaginable. it was an oak opening, and browsing under the shade of the tall trees which were scattered around were the cattle and horses of the soldiers, who had got thus far on their journey. two or three white tents were pitched in the bottom of the valley, beside a clear stream. the camp-fires were already lighted, and the men, singly or in groups, were busied in their various preparations for their own comfort, or that of their animals. lieutenant foster came forward with great delight to welcome our arrival, and accepted without hesitation an invitation to join our mess again, as long as we should be together. we soon found a pleasant encamping-ground, far enough removed from the other party to secure us against all inconvenience, and our supper having received the addition of a kettle of fine fresh milk, kindly brought us by mrs. gardiner, the hospital matron, who with her little covered cart formed no unimportant feature in the military group, we partook of our evening meal with much hilarity and enjoyment. if people are ever companionable, it is when thrown together under circumstances like the present. there has always been sufficient incident through the day to furnish themes for discourse, and subjects of merriment, as long as the company feel disposed for conversation, which is, truth to tell, not an unconscionable length of time after their supper is over. the poor lieutenant looked grave enough when we set out in advance of him the next morning. none of his party were acquainted with the road; but, after giving him directions both general and particular, mr. kinzie promised to _blaze_ a tree, or _set up a chip_ for a guide, at every place which appeared more than usually doubtful. we now found ourselves in a much more diversified country than any we had hitherto travelled. gently swelling hills, lovely valleys, and bright sparkling streams were the features of the landscape. but there was little animate life. now and then a shout from the leader of the party (for, according to custom, we travelled indian file) would call our attention to a herd of deer "loping," as the westerners say, through the forest; or an additional spur would be given to the horses on the appearance of some small dark object, far distant on the trail before us. but the game invariably contrived to disappear before we could reach it, and it was out of the question to leave the beaten track for a regular hunt. soon after mid-day, we descended a long, sloping knoll, and by a sudden turn came full in view of the beautiful sheet of water denominated gros-pied by the french, _maunk-suck_ by the natives, and by ourselves big-foot, from the chief whose village overlooked its waters. bold, swelling hills jutted forward into the clear blue expanse, or retreated slightly to afford a green, level nook, as a resting-place for the dwelling of man. on the nearer shore stretched a bright, gravelly beach, across which coursed here and there a pure, sparkling rivulet to join the larger sheet of water. on a rising ground at the foot of one of the bold bluffs in the middle distance, a collection of neat wigwams formed, with their surrounding gardens, no unpleasant feature in the picture. a shout of delight burst involuntarily from the whole party, as this charming landscape met our view. "it was like the hudson, only less bold--no, it was like the lake of the forest cantons, in the picture of the chapel of william tell! what could be imagined more enchanting? oh i if our friends at the east could but enjoy it with us!" we paused long to admire, and then spurred on, skirting the head of the lake, and were soon ascending the broad platform on which stood the village of maunk-suck, or big-foot. the inhabitants, who had witnessed our approach from a distance, were all assembled in front of their wigwams to greet us, if friends--if otherwise, whatever the occasion should demand. it was the first time such a spectacle had ever presented itself to their wondering eyes. their salutations were not less cordial than we expected. "shaw-nee-aw-kee" and his mother, who was known throughout the tribe by the touching appellation "our friend's wife," were welcomed most kindly, and an animated conversation commenced, which i could understand only so far as it was conveyed by gestures; so i amused myself by taking a minute survey of all that met my view. the chief was a large, raw-boned, ugly indian, with a countenance bloated by intemperance, and with a sinister, unpleasant expression. he had a gay-colored handkerchief upon his head, and was otherwise attired in his best, in compliment to the strangers. it was to this chief that chambly, or, as he is now called, shaw-bee-nay, billy caldwell, and robinson were dispatched, by dr. wolcott, their agent, during the winnebago war, in , to use their earnest endeavors to prevent this chief and his band from joining the hostile indians. with some difficulty they succeeded, and were thus the means, doubtless, of saving the lives of all the settlers who lived exposed upon the frontier. among the various groups of his people, there was none attracted my attention so forcibly as a young man of handsome face, and a figure that was striking even where all were fine and symmetrical. he too had a gay handkerchief on his head, a shirt of the brightest lemon-colored calico, an abundance of silver ornaments, and, what gave his dress a most fanciful appearance, one legging of blue and the other of bright scarlet. i was not ignorant that this peculiar feature in his toilet indicated a heart suffering from the tender passion. the flute, which he carried in his hand, added confirmation to the fact, while the joyous, animated expression of his countenance showed with equal plainness that he was not a despairing lover. i could have imagined him to have recently returned from the chase, laden with booty, with which he had, as is the custom, entered the lodge of the fair one, and thrown his burden at the feet of her parents, with an indifferent, superb sort of air, as much as to say, "here is some meat--it is a mere trifle, but it will show you what you might expect with me for a son-in-law." i could not doubt that the damsel had stepped forward and gathered it up, in token that she accepted the offering, and the donor along with it. there was nothing in the appearance or manner of any of the maidens by whom we were surrounded, to denote which was the happy fair, neither, although i peered anxiously into all their countenances, could i there detect any blush of consciousness; so i was obliged to content myself with selecting the youngest and prettiest of the group, and go on weaving my romance to my own satisfaction. the village stood encircled by an amphitheatre of hills, so precipitous, and with gorges so steep and narrow, that it seemed almost impossible to scale them, even on horseback; how, then, could we hope to accomplish the ascent of the four-wheeled carriage? this was the point now under discussion between my husband and the pottowattamies. there was no alternative but to make the effort, selecting the pass that the inhabitants pointed out as the most practicable. petaille went first, and i followed on my favorite jerry. it was such a scramble as is not often taken,--almost perpendicularly, through what seemed the dry bed of a torrent, now filled with loose stones, and scarcely affording one secure foothold from the bottom to the summit! i clang fast to the mane, literally at times clasping jerry around his neck, and, amid the encouraging shouts and cheers of those below, we at length arrived safely, though nearly breathless, on the pinnacle, and sat looking down, to view the success of the next party. the horses had been taken from the carriage, the luggage it contained being placed upon the shoulders of some of the young indians, to be _toted_ up the steep. ropes were now attached to its sides, and a regular bevy of our red friends, headed by our two frenchmen, placed to man them. two or three more took their places in the rear, to hold the vehicle and keep it from slipping backwards--then the labor commenced. such a pulling! such a shouting! such a clapping of hands by the spectators of both sexes! such a stentorian word of command or encouragement from the bourgeois! now and then there would be a slight halt, a wavering, as if carriage and men were about to tumble backwards into the plain below; but no--they would recover themselves, and after incredible efforts they too safely gained the table-land above. in process of time all were landed there, and, having remunerated our friends to their satisfaction, the goods and chattels were collected, the wagon repacked, and we set off for our encampment at turtle creek. the exertions and excitement of our laborious ascent, together with the increasing heat of the sun, made this afternoon's ride more uncomfortable than anything we had previously felt. we were truly rejoiced when the whoop of our guide, and the sight of a few scattered lodges, gave notice that we had reached our encamping-ground. we chose a beautiful sequestered spot by the side of a clear, sparkling stream, and, having dismounted and seen that our horses were made comfortable, my husband, after giving his directions to his men, led me to a retired spot where i could lay aside my hat and mask and bathe my flushed face and aching head in the cool, refreshing waters. never had i felt anything so grateful, so delicious. i sat down, and leaned my head against one of the tall, overshadowing trees, and was almost dreaming, when summoned to partake of our evening meal. the indians had brought us, as a present, some fine brook trout, which our frenchmen had prepared in the most tempting fashion, and before the bright moon rose and we were ready for oar rest, all headache and fatigue had alike disappeared. * * * * * one of the most charming features of this mode of travelling is the joyous, vocal life of the forest at early dawn, when all the feathered tribe come forth to pay their cheerful salutations to the opening day. the rapid, chattering flourish of the bob-o'-link, the soft whistle of the thrush, the tender coo of the wood-dove, the deep, warbling bass of the grouse, the drumming of the partridge, the melodious trill of the lark, the gay carol of the robin, the friendly, familiar call of the duck and the teal, resound from tree and knoll and lowland, prompting the expressive exclamation of the simple half-breed,-- "voilà la forêt qui parle!"[ ] it seems as if man must involuntarily raise his voice, to take part in the general chorus--the mating song of praise. birds and flowers, and the soft balmy airs of morning! must it not have been in a scene like this that milton's adam poured out his beautiful hymn of adoration,-- "these are thy glorious works, parent of good"? this day we were journeying in hopes to reach, at an early hour, that broad expanse of the rock river which here forms the kosh-ko-nong. the appellation of this water, rendered doubly affecting by the subsequent fate of its people, imports "_the lake we live on_." our road for the early part of the day led through forests so thick and tangled that grignon and lecuyer were often obliged to go in advance as pioneers with their axes, to cut away the obstructing shrubs and branches. it was slow work, and at times quite discouraging, but we were through with it at last, and then we came into a country of altogether a different description,--low prairies, intersected with deep, narrow streams like canals, the passage of which, either by horses or carriages, was often a matter of delay and even difficulty. several times in the course of the forenoon the horses were to be taken from the carriage and the latter pulled and pushed across the deep narrow channels as best it might. the wooded banks of the kosh-ko-nong were never welcomed with greater delight than by us when they at length broke upon our sight. a ride of five or six miles through the beautiful oak openings brought us to _man-eater's_ village, a collection of neat bark wigwams, with extensive fields on each side of corn, beans, and squashes, recently planted, but already giving promise of a fine crop. in front was the broad blue lake, the shores of which, to the south, were open and marshy, but near the village, and stretching far away to the north, were bordered by fine lofty trees. the village was built but a short distance below the point where the rock river opens into the lake, and during a conversation between our party and the indians at the village, an arrangement was made with them to take us across at a spot about half a mile above. after a short halt, we again took up our line of march through the woods, along the bank of the river. a number of the winnebagoes (for we had been among our own people since leaving gros-pied lake) set out for the appointed place by water, paddling their canoes, of which they had selected the largest and strongest. arrived at the spot indicated, we dismounted, and the men commenced the task of unsaddling and unloading. we were soon placed in the canoes, and paddled across to the opposite bank. next, the horses were swum across--after them was to come the carriage. two long wooden canoes were securely lashed together side by side, and being of sufficient width to admit of the carriage standing within them, the passage was commenced. again and again the tottering barks would sway from side to side, and a cry or a shout would arise from our party on shore, as the whole mass seemed about to plunge sideways into the water, but it would presently recover itself, and at length, after various deviations from the perpendicular, it reached the shore in safety. we now hoped that our troubles were at an end, and that we had nothing to do but to mount and trot on as fast as possible to fort winnebago. but no. half a mile farther on was a formidable swamp, of no great width it is true, but with a depth of from two to three feet of mud and water. it was a question whether, with the carriage, we could get through it at all. several of the indians accompanied us to this place, partly to give us their aid and counsel, and partly to enjoy the fun of the spectacle. on reaching the swamp, we were disposed to laugh at the formidable representations which had been made to us. we saw only a strip of what seemed rather low land, covered with tall, dry rushes. it is true the ground looked a little wet, but there seemed nothing to justify all the apprehensions that had been excited. great was my surprise, then, to see my husband, who had been a few minutes absent, return to our circle attired in his duck trousers, and without shoes or stockings. "what are you going to do?" inquired i. "carry you through the swamp on my shoulders. come, petaille, you are the strongest--you are to carry madame kinzie, and to-shun-nuck there (pointing to a tall, stout winnebago), he will take madame helm." "wait a moment," said i, and, seating myself on the grass, i deliberately took off my own boots and stockings. "what is that for?" they all asked. "because i do not wish to ride with wet feet all the rest of the day." "no danger of that," said they, and no one followed my example. by the time they were in the midst of the swamp, however, they found my precaution had been by no means useless. the water through which our bearers had to pass was of such a depth that no efforts of the ladies were sufficient to keep their feet above the surface; and i had the satisfaction of feeling that my burden upon my husband's shoulders was much less, from my being able to keep my first position instead of changing constantly to avoid a contact with the water. the laugh was quite on my side when i resumed my equipment and mounted, _dry-shod_, into my saddle. it will be perceived that journeying in the woods is, in some degree, a deranger of ceremony and formality; that it necessarily restricts us somewhat in our conventionalities. the only remedy is, to make ourselves amends by a double share when we return to the civilized walks of life. by dint of much pulling, shouting, encouraging, and threatening, the horses at length dragged the carriage through the difficult pass, and our red friends were left to return to their village, with, doubtless, a very exaggerated and amusing account of all that they had seen and assisted in. we had not forgotten our promise to lieutenant foster to put up a "guide-board" of some sort, for his accommodation in following us. we therefore, upon several occasions, carried with us from the woods a few pieces, of three or four feet in length, which we planted at certain points, with a transverse stick through a cleft in the top, thus marking the direction he and his party were to take. we therefore felt sure that, although a few days later, he would find our trail, and avail himself of the same assistance as we had, in getting through the difficulties of the way. our encamping-ground, this night, was to be not far distant from the four lakes. we were greatly fatigued with the heat and exercise of the day, and most anxiously did we look out for the clumps of willows and alders which were to mark the spot where water would be found. we felt hardly equal to pushing on quite to the bank of the nearest lake. indeed, it would have taken us too much off our direct course. when we, at a late hour, came upon a spot fit for our purpose, we exchanged mutual congratulations that this was to be our last night upon the road. the next day we should be at winnebago! our journey had been most delightful--a continued scene of exhilaration and enjoyment; for the various mishaps, although for the moment they had perplexed, yet, in the end, had but added to our amusement. still, with the inconstancy of human nature, we were pleased to exchange its excitement for the quiet repose of home. our next morning's ride was of a more tranquil character than any that had preceded it; for at an early hour we entered upon what was known as the "twenty-mile prairie,"--and i may be permitted to observe that the miles are wonderfully long on the prairies. our passage over this was, except the absence of the sand, like crossing the desert. mile after mile of unbroken expanse--not a tree--not a living object except ourselves. the sun, as if to make himself amends for his two months' seclusion, shone forth with redoubled brilliancy. there is no such thing as carrying an umbrella on horseback, though those in the wagon were able to avail themselves of such a shelter. our mother's energies had sustained her in the saddle until this day, but she was now fairly obliged to give in, and yield her place on little brunet to sister margaret. thus we went on, one little knoll rising beyond another, from the summit of each of which, in succession, we hoped to descry the distant woods, which were to us as the promised land. "take courage," were the cheering words, often repeated; "very soon you will begin to see the timber." another hour would pass heavily by. "now, when we reach the rising ground just ahead, look _sharp_." we would look sharp--nothing but the same unvarying landscape. there were not even streams to allay the feverish thirst occasioned by fatigue and impatience. at length a whoop from shaw-nee-aw-kee broke the silence in which we were pursuing our way. "le voilà!" (there it is!) our less practised eye could not at first discern the faint blue strip edging the horizon, but it grew and grew upon our vision, and fatigue and all discomfort proportionably disappeared. we were in fine spirits by the time we reached "hastings's woods," a noble forest, watered by a clear, sparkling stream. grateful as was the refreshment of the green foliage and the cooling waters, we did not allow ourselves to forget that the day was wearing on, and that we must, if possible, complete our journey before sunset; so we soon braced up our minds to continue our route, although we would gladly have lingered another hour. the marsh of duck creek was, thanks to the heat of the past week, in a very different state from what it had been a few months previous, when i had been so unfortunately submerged in its icy waters. we passed it without difficulty, and soon found ourselves upon the banks of the creek. the stream, at this point, was supposed to be always fordable; and even were it not so, that to the majority of our party would have been a matter of little moment. to the ladies, however, the subject seemed to demand consideration. "this water looks very deep--are you sure we can cross it on horseback?" "oh, yes! petaille, go before, and let us see how the water is." petaille obeyed. he was mounted on a horse like a giraffe, and, extending his feet horizontally, he certainly managed to pass through the stream without much of a wetting. it seemed certain that the water would come into the wagon, but that was of the less consequence as, in case of the worst, the passengers could mount upon the seats. my horse, jerry, was above the medium height, so that i soon passed over, with no inconvenience but that of being obliged to disengage my feet from the stirrups and tuck them up snugly against the mane of the horse. sister margaret was still upon brunet. she was advised to change him for one of the taller horses, but while the matter was under debate, it was settled by the perverse little wretch taking to the water most unceremoniously, in obedience to the example of the other animals. he was soon beyond his depth, and we were at once alarmed and diverted at seeing his rider, with surprising adroitness, draw her feet from the stirrups and perch herself upon the top of the saddle, where she held her position, and navigated her little refractory steed safely to land. this was the last of our adventures. a pleasant ride of four miles brought us to the fort, just as the sun was throwing his last beams over the glowing landscape; and on reaching the ferry we were at once conducted, by the friends who were awaiting us, to the hospitable roof of major twiggs. chapter xxvi. four-legs, the dandy. the companies of the first infantry, which had hitherto been stationed at fort winnebago, had before our arrival received orders to move on to the mississippi as soon as relieved by a portion of the fifth, now at fort howard. as many of the officers of the latter regiment were married, we had reason to expect that all the quarters at the post would be put in requisition. for this reason, although strongly pressed by major twiggs to take up our residence again in the fort until he should go on furlough, we thought it best to establish ourselves at once at "the agency." it seemed laughable to give so grand a name to so very insignificant a concern. we had been promised, by the heads of department at washington, a comfortable dwelling so soon as there should be an appropriation by congress sufficient to cover any extra expense in the indian department. it was evident that congress had a great spite at us, for it had delayed for two sessions attending to our accommodation. there was nothing to be done, therefore, but to make ourselves comfortable with the best means in our power. the old log barracks, which had been built for the officers and soldiers on the first establishment of the post, two years previous, had been removed by our french engagés and put up again upon the little hill opposite the fort. to these some additions were now made in the shape of dairy, stables, smoke-house, etc., constructed of tamarack logs brought from the neighboring swamp. the whole presented a very rough and primitive appearance. the main building consisted of a range of four rooms, no two of which communicated with each other, but each opened by a door into the outward air. a small window cut through the logs in front and rear, gave light to the apartment. an immense clay chimney for every two rooms, occupied one side of each, and the ceiling overhead was composed of a few rough boards laid upon the transverse logs that supported the roof. it was surprising how soon a comfortable, homelike air was given to the old dilapidated rooms, by a few indian mats spread upon the floor, the piano and other furniture ranged in their appropriate places, and even a few pictures hung against the logs. the latter, alas! had soon to be displaced, for with the first heavy shower the rain found entrance through sundry crevices, and we saw ourselves obliged to put aside, carefully, everything that could be injured by the moisture. we made light of these evils, however--packed away our carpets and superfluous furniture upon the boards above, which we dignified with the name of attic, and contentedly resolved to await the time when government should condescend to remember us. the greatest inconvenience i experienced, was from the necessity of wearing my straw bonnet throughout the day, as i journeyed from bedroom to parlor, and from parlor to kitchen. i became so accustomed to it that i even sometimes forgot to remove it when i sat down to table, or to my quiet occupations with my mother and sister. permission was, however, in time, received to build a house for the blacksmith--that is, the person kept in pay by the government at this station to mend the guns, traps, etc. of the indians. it happened most fortunately for us that monsieur isidore morrin was a bachelor, and quite satisfied to continue boarding with his friend louis frum, _dit_ manaigre, so that when the new house was fairly commenced we planned it and hurried it forward entirely on our own account. it was not very magnificent, it is true, consisting of but a parlor and two bedrooms on the ground-floor, and two low chambers under the roof, with a kitchen in the rear; but compared with the rambling old stable-like building we now inhabited, it seemed quite a palace. before it was completed, mr. kinzie was notified that the money for the annual indian payment was awaiting his arrival in detroit to take it in charge and superintend its transportation to the portage; and he was obliged to set off at once to fulfil this part of his duty. the workmen who had been brought from the mississippi to erect the main building, were fully competent to carry on their work without an overseer; but the kitchen was to be the task of the frenchmen, and the question was, how could it be executed in the absence of the _bourgeois_? "you will have to content yourselves in the old quarters until my return," said my husband, "and then we will soon have things in order." his journey was to be a long and tedious one, for the operations of government were not carried on by railroad and telegraph in those days. after his departure i said to the men, "come, you have all your logs cut and hauled--the squaws have brought the bark for the roof--what is to prevent our finishing the house and getting all moved and settled to surprise monsieur john on his return?" "ah! to be sure, madame john," said plante, who was always the spokesman, "provided the one who plants a green bough on the chimney-top is to have a treat." "certainly. all hands fall to work, and see who will win the treat." upon the strength of such an inducement to the one who should put the finishing stroke to the building, plante, pillon, and manaigre, whom the waggish plante persisted in calling "mon nègre," whenever he felt himself out of the reach of the other's arm, all went vigorously to work. building a log house is a somewhat curious process. first, as will be conceived, the logs are laid one upon another and jointed at the corners, until the walls have reached the required height. the chimney is formed by four poles of the proper length, interlaced with a wicker-work of small branches. a hole or pit is dug, near at hand, and, with a mixture of clay and water, a sort of mortar is formed. large wisps of hay are filled with this thick substance, and fashioned with the hands into what are technically called "_clay cats_," and these are filled in among the frame-work of the chimney until not a chink is left. the whole is then covered with a smooth coating of the wet clay, which is denominated "plastering." between the logs which compose the walls of the building, small bits of wood are driven, quite near together; this is called "chinking," and after it is done, clay cats are introduced, and smoothed over with the plaster. when all is dry, both walls and chimney are whitewashed, and present a comfortable and tidy appearance. the roof is formed by laying upon the transverse logs thick sheets of bark. around the chimney, for greater security against the rain, we took care to have placed a few layers of the palisades that had been left when mr. peach, an odd little itinerant genius, had fenced in our garden, the pride and wonder of the surrounding settlement and wigwams. while all these matters were in progress, we received frequent visits from our indian friends. first and foremost among them was "the young dandy," four-legs. one fine morning he made his appearance, accompanied by two squaws, whom he introduced as his wives. he could speak a little chippewa, and by this means he and our mother contrived to keep up something of a conversation. he was dressed in all his finery, brooches, wampum, fan, looking-glass and all. the paint upon his face and chest showed that he had devoted no small time to the labors of his toilet. he took a chair, as he had seen done at washington, and made signs to his women to sit down upon the floor. the custom of taking two wives is not very general among the indians. they seem to have the sagacity to perceive that the fewer they have to manage, the more complete is the peace and quiet of the wigwam. nevertheless, it sometimes happens that a husband takes a foolish fancy for a second squaw, and in that case he uses all his cunning and eloquence to reconcile the first to receiving a new inmate in the lodge. of course it is a matter that must be managed adroitly, in order that harmony may be preserved. "my dear, your health is not very good; it is time you should have some rest. you have worked very hard, and it grieves me that you should have to labor any longer. let me get you some nice young squaw to wait upon you, that you may live at ease all the rest of your life." the first wife consents; indeed, she has no option. if she is of a jealous, vindictive disposition, what a life the new-comer leads! the old one maintains all her rights of dowager and duenna, and the husband's tenderness is hardly a compensation for all the evils the young rival is made to suffer. it was on sunday morning that this visit of the dandy was made to us. we were all seated quietly, engaged in reading. four-legs inquired of my mother, why we were so occupied, and why everything around us was so still. my mother explained to him our observance of the day of rest--that we devoted it to worshipping and serving the great spirit, as he had commanded in his holy word. four-legs gave a nod of approbation. that was very right, he said--he was glad to see us doing our duty--he was very religious himself, and he liked to see others so. he always took care that his squaws attended to their duties,--not reading, perhaps, but such as the great spirit liked, and such as he thought proper and becoming. he seemed to have no fancy for listening to any explanation of our points of difference. the impression among the winnebagoes "that if the great spirit had wished them different from what they are, he would have made them so," seems too strong to yield to either argument or persuasion. sometimes those who are desirous of appearing somewhat civilized will listen quietly to all that is advanced on the subject of christianity, then, coolly saying, "yes, we believe that too," will change the conversation to other subjects. as a general thing, they do not appear to perceive that there is anything to be gained by adopting the religion and the customs of the whites. "look at them," they say, "always toiling and striving--always wearing a brow of care--shut up in houses--afraid of the wind and the rain--suffering when they are deprived of the comforts of life! we, on the contrary, live a life of freedom and happiness. we hunt and fish, and pass our time pleasantly in the open woods and prairies. if we are hungry, we take some game; or, if we do not find that, we can go without. if our enemies trouble us, we can kill them, and there is no more said about it. what should we gain by changing ourselves into white men?"[ ] christian missionaries, with all their efforts to convert them, had at this day made little progress in enlightening their minds upon the doctrines of the gospel. mr. mazzuchelli, a roman catholic priest, accompanied by miss elizabeth grignon as interpreter, made a missionary visit to the portage during our residence there, and, after some instruction from him, about forty consented to be baptized. christian names were given to them, with which they seemed much pleased; and not less so with the little plated crucifixes which each received, and which the women wore about their necks. these they seemed to regard with a devotional feeling; but i was not sufficiently acquainted with their language to gather from them whether they understood the doctrine the symbol was designed to convey. certain it is, they expressed no wish to learn our language, in order that they might gain a fuller knowledge of the saviour, nor any solicitude to be taught more about him than they had received during the missionary's short visit. one woman, to whom the name of charlotte had been given, signified a desire to learn the domestic ways of the whites, and asked of me as a favor through madame paquette that she might be permitted to come on "washing-day," and learn of my servants our way of managing the business. a tub was given her, and my woman instructed her, by signs and example, how she was to manage. as i was not a little curious to observe how things went on, i proceeded after a time to the kitchen where they all were. charlotte was at her tub, scouring and rubbing with all her might at her little crucifix. two other squaws sat upon the floor near her, watching the operation. "that is the work she has been at for the last half-hour," said josette, in a tone of great impatience. "_she'll_ never learn to wash." charlotte, however, soon fell diligently to work, and really seemed as if she would tear her arms off, with her violent exertions. after a time, supposing that she must feel a good deal fatigued and exhausted with the unaccustomed labor, i did what it was at that day very much the fashion to do,--what, at home, i had always seen done on washing-day,--what, in short, i imagine was then a general custom among housekeepers. i went to the dining-room closet, intending to give charlotte a glass of wine or brandy and water. my "cupboard" proved to be in the state of the luckless "mother hubbard's"--nothing of the kind could i find but a bottle of orange shrub. of this i poured out a wineglassful, and, carrying it out, offered it to the woman. she took it with an expression of great pleasure; but, in carrying it to her lips, she stopped short, and exclaiming, "whiskey!" immediately returned it to me. i would still have pressed it upon her; for, in my inexperience, i really believed it was a cordial she needed; but, pointing to her crucifix, she shook her head and returned to her work. i received this as a lesson more powerful than twenty sermons. it was the first time in my life that i had ever seen spirituous liquors rejected upon a religious principle, and it made an impression upon me that i never forgot. chapter xxvii. the cut-nose. among the women of the tribe with whom we early became acquainted, our greatest favorite was a daughter of one of the day-kau-rays. this family, as i have elsewhere said, boasted in some remote generation a cross of the french blood, and this fact might account for the fair complexion and soft curling hair which distinguished our friend. she had a noble forehead, full, expressive eyes, and fine teeth. unlike the women of her people, she had not grown brown and haggard with advancing years. indeed, with the exception of one feature, she might be called beautiful. she had many years before married a mus-qua-kee, or fox indian, and, according to the custom among all the tribes, the husband came home to the wife's family, and lived among the winnebagoes. it is this custom, so exactly the reverse of civilized ways, that makes the birth of a daughter a subject of peculiar rejoicing in an indian family. "she will bring another hunter to our lodge," is the style of mutual congratulation. the mus-qua-kee continued, for some few years, to live among his wife's relations; but, as no children blessed their union, he at length became tired of his new friends, and longed to return to his own people. he tried, for a time, to persuade his wife to leave her home, and accompany him to the mississippi, on the banks of which the sauks and foxes lived, but in vain. she could not resolve to make the sacrifice. one day, after many fruitless efforts to persuade her, he flew into a violent passion. "then, if you will not go with me," said he, "i will leave you; but you shall never be the wife of any other man--i will mark you!" saying this, he flew upon her, and bit off the end of her nose. this, the usual punishment for conjugal infidelity, is the greatest disgrace a woman can receive--it bars her forever from again entering the pale of matrimony. the wretch fled to his own people; but his revenge fell short of its aim. day-kau-ray was too well known and too universally respected to suffer opprobrium in any member of his family. this bright, loving creature in particular, won all hearts upon a first acquaintance--she certainly did ours, from the outset. she suffered much from rheumatism, and a remedy we gave her soon afforded her almost entire relief. her gratitude knew no bounds. notwithstanding that from long suffering she had become partially crippled, she would walk all the way from the barribault, a distance of ten miles, as often as once in two or three weeks, to visit us. then, to sit and gaze at us, to laugh with childish glee at everything new or strange that we employed ourselves about--to pat and stroke us every time we came near her--sometimes to raise our hand or arm and kiss it--these were her demonstrations of affection. and we loved her in return. it was always a joyful announcement when, looking out over the portage road, somebody called out, "the _cut-nose_ is coming!" in time, however, we learned to call her by her baptismal name of elizabeth, for she, too, was one of mr. mazzuchelli's converts. she came one day, accompanied by a half-grown boy, carrying a young fawn she had brought me as a present. i was delighted with the pretty creature--with its soft eyes and dappled coat; but having often heard the simile, "as wild as a fawn," i did not anticipate much success in taming it. to my great surprise, it soon learned to follow me like a dog. wherever i went, there fan was sure to be. at breakfast, she would lie down at my feet, under the table. one of her first tokens of affection was to gnaw off all the trimming from my black silk apron, as she lay pretending to caress and fondle me. nor was this her only style of mischief. one day we heard a great rattling among the crockery in the kitchen. we ran to see what was the matter, and found that miss fan had made her way to a shelf of the dresser, about two feet from the ground, and was endeavoring to find a comfortable place to lie down, among the plates and dishes. i soon observed that it was the shelter of the shelf above her head that was the great attraction, and that she was in the habit of seeking out a place of repose under a chair, or something approaching to an "umbrageous bower." so after this i took care, as the hour for her morning nap approached, to open a large green parasol, and set it on the matting in the corner--then when i called "fan, fan," she would come and nestle under it, and soon fall fast asleep. one morning fan was missing. in vain we called and sought her in the garden--in the enclosure for the cattle--at the houses of the frenchmen--along the hill towards paquette's--no fan was to be found. we thought she had asserted her own wild nature and sped away to the woods. it was a hot forenoon, and the doors were all open. about dinner-time, in rushed fan, panting violently, and threw herself upon her side, where she lay with her feet outstretched, her mouth foaming, and exhibiting all the signs of mortal agony. we tried to give her water, to soothe her, if perhaps it might be fright that so affected her; but in a few minutes, with a gasp and a spasm, she breathed her last. whether she had been chased by the greyhounds, or whether she had eaten some poisonous weed, which, occasioning her suffering, had driven her to her best friends for aid, we never knew; but we lost our pretty pet, and many were the tears shed for her. * * * * * very shortly after the departure of my husband, we received a visit from "the white crow," the "little priest," and several others of the principal chiefs of the bock river indians. they seemed greatly disappointed at learning that their father was from home, even though his errand was to get "the silver." we sent for paquette, who interpreted for us the object of their visit. they had come to inform us that the sauk chief black hawk and his band, who, in compliance with a former treaty, had removed some time previous to the west of the mississippi, had now returned to their old homes and hunting-grounds, and expressed a determination not to relinquish them, but to drive off the white settlers who had begun to occupy them. the latter, in fact, the chief had already done, and having, as it was said, induced some of the pottowattamies to join him, there was reason to fear that he might persuade some of the winnebagoes to follow their example. these chiefs had come to counsel with their father, and to assure him that they should do all in their power to keep their young men quiet. they had heard that troops were being raised down among the whites in illinois, and they had hopes that their people would be wise enough to keep out of difficulty. furthermore, they begged that their father, on his return, would see that the soldiers did not meddle with them, so long as they remained quiet and behaved in a friendly manner. white crow seemed particularly anxious to impress it upon me, that if any danger should arise in shaw-nee-aw-kee's absence, he should come with his people to protect me and my family. i relied upon his assurances, for he had ever shown himself an upright and honorable indian. notwithstanding this, the thoughts of indian troubles so near us, in the absence of our guardian and protector, occasioned us many an anxious moment, and it was not until we learned of the peaceable retreat of the sauks and foxes west of the mississippi, that we were able wholly to lay aside our fears. we were now called to part with our friends, major twiggs and his family, which we did with heartfelt regret. he gave me a few parting words about our old acquaintance, krissman. "when i went into the barracks the other day," said he, "about the time the men were taking their dinner, i noticed a great six-foot soldier standing against the window-frame, crying and blubbering. 'halloo,' said i, 'what on earth does this mean?' "'why, that fellow there,' said krissman (for it was he), 'has scrowged me out of my place!' a pretty soldier your protége will make, madam!" added the major. i never heard more of my hero. whether he went to exhibit his prowess against the seminoles and mexicans, or whether he returned to till the fertile soil of his native german flats and blow his favorite boatman's horn, must be left for some future historian to tell. there is one more character to be disposed of--louisa. an opportunity offering in the spring, the major placed her under the charge of a person going to buffalo, that she might be returned to her parents. in compliment to the new acquaintances she had formed, she shortened her skirts, mounted a pair of scarlet leggings embroidered with porcupine-quills, and took her leave of military life, having deposited with the gentleman who took charge of her sixty dollars, for safe keeping, which she remarked "she had _saved up_, out of her wages at a dollar a week, through the winter." * * * * * a very short time after we were settled in our new home at the agency, we attempted the commencement of a little sunday-school. edwin, harry and josette were our most reliable scholars, but besides them there were the two little manaigres, thérèse paquette, and her mother's half-sister, florence courville, a pretty young girl of fifteen. none of these girls had even learned their letters. they spoke only french, or rather the canadian _patois_, and it was exceedingly difficult to give them at once the sound of the words, and their signification, which they were careful to inquire. besides this, there was the task of correcting the false ideas, and remedying the ignorance and superstition which presented so formidable an obstacle to rational improvement. we did our best, however, and had the satisfaction of seeing them, after a time, making really respectable progress with their spelling-book, and, what was still more encouraging, acquiring a degree of light and knowledge in regard to better things. in process of time, however, florence was often absent from her class. "her sister," she said, "could not always spare her. she wanted her to keep house while she herself went over oil sunday to visit her friends the roys, who lived on the wisconsin." we reasoned with madame paquette on the subject. "could she not spare florence on some hour of the day? we would gladly teach her on a week-day, for she seemed anxious to learn, but we had always been told that for that there was no time." "well--she would see. madame alum (helm) and madame john were so kind!" there was no improvement, however, in regularity. after a time manaigre was induced to send his children to mr. cadle's mission-school at green bay. thérèse accompanied them, and very soon florence discontinued her attendance altogether. we were obliged, from that time forward, to confine our instructions to our own domestic circle. chapter xxviii. indian customs and dances. before we had any right to look for my husband's return, i one day received a message inviting me to come up to the new house. we all went in a body, for we had purposely stayed away a few days, expecting this summons, of which we anticipated the meaning. plante, in full glee, was seated astride of a small keg on the roof, close beside the kitchen chimney, on the very summit of which he had planted a green bough. to this he held fast with one hand, while he exultingly waved the other and called out,-- "_eh ban, madame john! à cette heure, pour le régal!_" "yes, plante, you are entitled to a treat, and i hope you will not enjoy it the less that pillon and manaigre are to share it with you." a suitable gratification made them quite contented with their "_bourgeoise_," against whom plante had sometimes been inclined to grumble, "because," as he said, "she had him called up too early in the morning." he might have added, because, too, she could not understand the philosophy of his coming in to work in his own garden, under the plea that it was too rainy to work in monsieur john's. it was with no ordinary feelings of satisfaction that we quitted the old log tenement and took possession of our new dwelling, small and insignificant though it was. i was only too happy to enjoy the luxury of a real bedchamber, in place of the parlor floor which i had occupied as such for more than two months. it is true that our culinary arrangements were still upon no greatly improved plan. the clay chimney was not of sufficient strength to hold the trammel and pot-hooks, which at that day had not been superseded by the cooking-stove and kitchen-range. our fire was made as in the olden time, with vast logs behind, and smaller sticks in front, laid across upon the andirons or _dogs_. upon these sticks were placed such of the cooking-utensils as could not be accommodated on the hearth; but woe to the dinner or the supper, if through a little want of care or scrutiny one treacherous piece was suffered to burn away. down would come the whole arrangement--kettles, saucepans, burning brands, and cinders, in one almost inextricable mass. how often this happened under the supervision of harry or little josette, while the mistress was playing lady to some visitor in the parlor, "'twere vain to tell." then, spite of monsieur plante's palisades round the chimney, in a hard shower the rain would come pelting down, and, the hearth unfortunately sloping a little the wrong way, the fire would become extinguished; while, the bark on the roof failing to do its duty, we were now and then so completely deluged, that there was no resource but to catch up the breakfast or dinner and tuck it under the table until better times--that is, till fair weather came again. in spite of all these little adverse occurrences, however, we enjoyed our new quarters exceedingly. our garden was well furnished with vegetables, and even the currant-bushes which we had brought from chicago with us, tied in a bundle at the back of the carriage, had produced us some fruit. the indian women were very constant in their visits and their presents. sometimes it was venison--sometimes ducks or pigeons--whortleberries, wild plums, or cranberries, according to the season--neat pretty mats for the floor or the table--wooden bowls or ladles, fancy work of deer-skin or porcupine-quills. these they would bring in and throw at my feet. if through inattention i failed to appear pleased, to raise the articles from the floor and lay them carefully aside, a look of mortification and the observation, "our mother hates our gifts," showed how much their feelings were wounded. it was always expected that a present would be received graciously, and returned with something twice its value. meantime, week after week wore on, and still was the return of "the master" delayed. the rare arrival of a schooner at green bay, in which to take passage for detroit, made it always a matter of uncertainty what length of time would be necessary for a journey across the lakes and back--so that it was not until the last of august that he again reached his home. great was his surprise to find us so nicely moved and settled; and under his active supervision the evils of which we had had to complain were soon remedied. my husband had met at fort gratiot, and brought with him, my young brother julian, whom my parents were sending, at our request, to reside with us. edwin was overjoyed to have a companion once more, for he had hitherto been very solitary. the boys soon had enough to occupy their attention, as, in obedience to a summons sent to the different villages, the indians very shortly came flocking in to the payment. there was among their number, this year, one whom i had never before seen--the mother of the elder day-kau-ray. no one could tell her age, but all agreed that she must have seen upwards of a hundred winters. her eyes dimmed, and almost white with age--her face dark and withered, like a baked apple--her voice tremulous and feeble, except when raised in fury to reprove her graceless grandsons, who were fond of playing her all sorts of mischievous tricks, indicated the very great age she must have attained. she usually went upon all-fours, not having strength to hold herself erect. on the day of the payment, having received her portion, which she carefully hid in the corner of her blanket, she came crawling along and seated herself on the door-step, to count her treasure. my sister and i were watching her movements from the open window. presently, just as she had, unobserved, as she thought, spread out her silver before her, two of her descendants came suddenly upon her. at first they seemed begging for a share, but she repulsed them with angry gestures, when one of them made a sudden swoop, and possessed himself of a handful. she tried to rise, to pursue him, but was unable to do more than clutch the remainder and utter the most unearthly screams of rage. at this instant the boys raised their eyes and perceived us regarding them. they burst into a laugh, and with a sort of mocking gesture they threw her the half-dollars, and ran back to the pay-ground. in spite of their vexatious tricks, she seemed very fond of them, and never failed to beg something of her father, that she might bestow upon them. she crept into the parlor one morning, then straightening herself up, and supporting herself by the frame of the door, she cried, in a most piteous tone,--"shaw-nee-aw-kee! wau-tshob-ee-rah thsoonsh-koo-nee-noh!" (silver-man, i have no looking-glass.) my husband, smiling and taking up the same little tone, cried, in return,-- "do you wish to look at yourself, mother?" the idea seemed to her so irresistibly comic that she laughed until she was fairly obliged to seat herself upon the floor and give way to her enjoyment. she then owned that it was for one of the boys that she wanted the little mirror. when her father had given it to her, she found that she had "no comb," then that she had "no knife," then that she had "no calico shawl," until it ended, as it generally did, by shaw-nee-aw-kee paying pretty dearly for his joke. * * * * * when the indians arrived and when they departed, my sense of "woman's rights" was often greatly outraged. the master of the family, as a general thing, came leisurely bearing his gun and perhaps a lance in his hand; the woman, with the mats and poles of her lodge upon her shoulders, her pappoose, if she had one, her kettles, sacks of corn, and wild rice, and, not unfrequently, the household dog perched on the top of all. if there is a horse or pony in the list of family possessions, the man rides, the squaw trudges after. this unequal division of labor is the result of no want of kind, affectionate feeling on the part of the husband. it is rather the instinct of the sex to assert their superiority of position and importance, when a proper occasion offers. when out of the reach of observation, and in no danger of compromising his own dignity, the husband is willing enough to relieve his spouse from the burden that custom imposes on her, by sharing her labors and hardships. the payment had not passed without its appropriate number of complimentary and medicine dances. the latter take place only at rare intervals--the former whenever an occasion demanding a manifestation of respect and courtesy presents itself. it is the custom to ask permission of the person to be complimented, to dance for him. this granted, preparation is made by painting the face elaborately, and marking the person, which is usually bare about the chest and shoulders, after the most approved pattern. all the ornaments that can be mustered are added to the hair, or headdress. happy is he who, in virtue of having taken one or more scalps, is entitled to proclaim it by a corresponding number of eagle's feathers. the less fortunate make a substitute of the feathers of the wild turkey, or, better still, of the first unlucky "rooster" that falls in their way. my poor fowls, during the time of payment, were always thoroughly plucked. when their preparations are completed, the dancers assemble at some convenient place, whence they come marching to the spot appointed, accompanied by the music of the indian drum and shee-shee-qua or rattle. they range themselves in a circle and dance with violent contortions and gesticulations, some of them graceful, others only energetic, the squaws, who stand a little apart and mingle their discordant voices with the music of the instruments, rarely participating in the dance. occasionally, however, when excited by the general gaiety, a few of them will form a circle outside and perform a sort of ungraceful, up-and-down movement, which has no merit, save the perfect time which is kept, and for which the indians seem, without exception, to possess a natural ear. the dance finished, which is only when the strength of the dancers is quite exhausted, a quantity of presents are brought and placed in the middle of the circle, by order of the party complimented. an equitable distribution is made by one of their number; and, the object of all this display having been accomplished, they retire. the medicine dance is carried on chiefly to celebrate the skill of the "medicine-man" in curing diseases. this functionary belongs to a fraternity who are supposed to add to their other powers some skill in interpreting the will of the great spirit in regard to the conduct of his people. he occasionally makes offerings and sacrifices which are regarded as propitiatory. in this sense, the term "priest" may be deemed applicable to him. he is also a "prophet" in so far as he is, in a limited degree, an instructor; but he does not claim to possess the gift of foretelling future events. a person is selected to join the fraternity of the "medicine-man" by those already initiated, chiefly on account of some skill or sagacity that has been observed in him. sometimes it happens that a person who has had a severe illness which has yielded to the prescriptions of one of the members, is considered a proper object of choice from a sort of claim thus established. when he is about to be initiated, a great feast is made, of course at the expense of the candidate, for in simple as in civilized life the same principle of politics holds good, "honors must be paid for." an animal is killed and dressed, of which the people at large partake--there are dances and songs and speeches in abundance. then the chief medicine-man takes the candidate and privately instructs him in all the ceremonies and knowledge necessary to make him an accomplished member of the fraternity. sometimes the new member selected is still a child. in that case he is taken by the medicine-man so soon as he reaches a proper age, and qualified by instruction and example to become a creditable member of the fraternity. among the winnebagoes there seems a considerable belief in magic. each medicine-man has a bag or sack, in which is supposed to be inclosed some animal, to whom, in the course of their _pow-wows_, he addresses himself, crying to him in the note common to his imagined species. and the people seem to be persuaded that the answers which are announced are really communications, in this form, from the great spirit. the indians appear to have no idea of a retribution beyond this life. they have a strong appreciation of the great fundamental virtues of natural religion--the worship of the great spirit, brotherly love, parental affection, honesty, temperance, and chastity. any infringement of the laws of the great spirit, by a departure from these virtues, they believe will excite his anger and draw down punishment. these are their principles. that their practice evinces more and more a departure from them, under the debasing influences of a proximity to the whites, is a melancholy truth, which no one will admit with so much sorrow as those who lived among them, and esteemed them, before this signal change had taken place. * * * * * one of the first improvements that suggested itself about our new dwelling, was the removal of some very unsightly pickets surrounding two or three indian graves, on the esplanade in front of the house. such, however, is the reverence in which these burial-places are held, that we felt we must approach the subject with great delicacy and consideration. my husband at length ventured to propose to mrs. "pawnee blanc," the nearest surviving relative of the person interred, to replace the pickets with a neat wooden platform. the idea pleased her much, for, through her intimacy in paquette's family, she had acquired something of a taste for civilization. accordingly, a little platform about a foot in height, properly finished with a moulding around the edge, was substituted for the worn and blackened pickets; and it was touching to witness the mournful satisfaction with which two or three old crones would come regularly every evening at sunset, to sit and gossip over the ashes of their departed relatives. on the fine moonlight nights, too, there might often be seen a group sitting there, and enjoying what is to them a solemn hour, for they entertain the poetic belief that "the moon was made to give light to the dead." the reverence of the indians for the memory of their departed friends, and their dutiful attention in visiting and making offerings to the great spirit, over their last resting-places, is an example worthy of imitation among their more enlightened brethren. not so, however, with some of their customs in relation to the dead. the news of the decease of one of their number is a signal for a general mourning and lamentation; it is also in some instances, i am sorry to say, when the means and appliances can be found, the apology for a general carouse. the relatives weep and howl for grief--the friends and acquaintance bear them company through sympathy. a few of their number are deputed to wait upon their father, to inform him of the event, and to beg some presents "to help them," as they express it, "dry up their tears." we received such a visit one morning, not long after the payment was concluded. a drunken little indian, named, by the french people around, "old boilvin," from his resemblance to an indian agent of that name at prairie du chien, was the person on account of whose death the application was made. "he had been fishing," they said, "on the shores of one of the little lakes near the portage, and, having taken a little too much '_whiskee_,' had fallen into the water and been drowned." nothing of him had been found but his blanket on the bank, so there could be no funeral ceremonies, but his friends were prepared to make a great lamentation about him. their father presented them with tobacco, knives, calico, and looking-glasses, in proportion to what he thought might be their reasonable grief at the loss of such a worthless vagabond, and they departed. there was no difficulty, notwithstanding the stringent prohibitions on the subject, in procuring a keg of whiskey from some of the traders who yet remained. armed with that and their other treasures, they assembled at an appointed spot, not far from the scene of the catastrophe, and, sitting down with the keg in their midst, they commenced their affliction. the more they drank, the more clamorous became their grief, and the faster flowed their tears. in the midst of these demonstrations, a little figure, bent and staggering, covered with mud and all in disorder, with a countenance full of wonder and sympathy, approached them, and began,-- "why? what? what? who's dead?" "who's dead?" repeated they, looking up in astonishment. "why, you're dead! you were drowned in swan lake! did not we find your blanket there? come, sit down and help us mourn." the old man did not wait for a second invitation. he took his seat and cried and drank with the rest, weeping and lamenting as bitterly as any of them, and the strange scene was continued as long as they had power to articulate, or any portion of the whiskey was left. chapter xxix. story of the red fox. the indians, of whatever tribe, are exceedingly fond of narrating or listening to tales and stories, whether historical or fictitious. they have their professed storytellers, like the oriental nations, and these go about, from village to village, collecting an admiring and attentive audience, however oft-told and familiar the matter they recite. it is in this way that their traditions are preserved and handed down unimpaired from generation to generation. their knowledge of the geography of their country is wonderfully exact. i have seen an indian sit in his lodge, and draw a map, in the ashes, of the northwestern states, not of their statistical but their geographical features, lakes, rivers, and mountains, with the greatest accuracy, giving their relative distances, by days' journeys, without hesitation, and even extending his drawings and explanations as far as kentucky and tennessee. of biography they preserve not only the leading events in the life of the person, but his features, appearance, and bearing, his manners, and whatever little trait or peculiarity characterized him. the women are more fond of fiction, and some of their stories have a strange mingling of humor and pathos. i give the two which follow as specimens. the indian names contained in them are in the ottawa or "courte-oreilles" language, but the same tales are current in all the different tongues and dialects. * * * * * story of the red fox. this is an animal to which many peculiarities are attributed. he is said to resemble the jackal in his habit of molesting the graves of the dead, and the indians have a superstitious dread of hearing his bark at night, believing that it forebodes calamity and death. they say, too, that he was originally of one uniform reddish-brown color, but that his legs became black in the manner related in the story. there was a chief of a certain village who had a beautiful daughter. he resolved upon one occasion to make a feast and invite all the animals. when the invitation was brought to the red fox, he inquired, "what are you going to have for supper?" "_mee-dau-mee-nau-bo_," was the reply. (this is a porridge made of parched corn, slightly cracked.) the fox turned up his little sharp nose. "no, i thank you," said he; "i can get plenty of that at home." the messenger returned to the chief, and reported the contemptuous refusal of the fox. "go back to him," said the chief, "and tell him we are going to have a nice fresh body,[ ] and we will have it cooked in the most delicate manner possible." pleased with the prospect of such a treat, the fox gave a very hearty assent to the second invitation. the hour arrived, and he set off for the lodge of the chief to attend the feast. the company were all prepared for him, for they made common cause with their friend who had been insulted. as the fox entered, the guest next the door, with great courtesy, rose from his place, and begged the new-comer to be seated. immediately the person next him also rose, and insisted that the fox should occupy his place, as it was still nearer the fire--the post of honor. then the third, with many expressions of civility, pressed him to exchange with him; and thus, with many ceremonious flourishes, he was passed along the circle, always approaching the fire, where a huge cauldron stood, in which the good cheer was still cooking. the fox was by no means unwilling to occupy the highest place in the assembly, and, besides, he was anxious to take a peep into the kettle, for he had his suspicions that he might be disappointed of the delicacies he had been expecting. so, by degrees, he was ushered nearer and nearer the great blazing fire, until by a dexterous push and shove he was hoisted into the seething kettle. his feet were dreadfully scalded, but he leaped out, and ran home to his lodge, howling and crying with pain. his grandmother, with whom, according to the custom of animals, he lived, demanded of him an account of the affair. when he had faithfully related all the circumstances (for, unlike the civilized animals, he did not think of telling his grandmother a story), she reproved him very strongly. "you have committed two great faults," said she. "in the first place, you were very rude to the chief who was so kind as to invite you, and by returning insult for civility you made yourself enemies who were determined to punish you. in the next place, it was very unbecoming in you to be so forward to take the place of honor. had you been contented modestly to keep your seat near the door, you would have escaped the misfortune that has befallen you." all this was not very consolatory to the poor fox, who continued to whine and cry most piteously, while his grandmother, having finished her lecture, proceeded to bind up his wounds. great virtue is supposed to be added to all medical prescriptions and applications by a little dancing; so, the dressing having been applied, the grandmother fell to dancing with all her might, round and round in the lodge. when she was nearly exhausted, the fox said, "grandmother, take off the bandages and see if my legs are healed." she did as he requested, but no--the burns were still fresh. she danced and danced again. now and then, as he grew impatient, she would remove the coverings to observe the effect of the remedies. at length, towards morning, she looked, and, to be sure, the burns were quite healed. "but, oh!" cried she, "your legs are as black as a coal! they were so badly burned that they will never return to their color!" the poor fox, who, like many another brave, was vain of his legs, fell into a transport of lamentation. "oh! my legs! my pretty red legs! what shall i do? the young girls will all despise me. i shall never dare to show myself among them again!" he cried and sobbed until his grandmother, fatigued with her exercise, fell asleep. by this time he had decided upon his plan of revenge. he rose and stole softly out of his lodge, and, pursuing his way rapidly towards the village of the chief, he turned his face in the direction of the principal lodge and barked. when the inhabitants heard this sound in the stillness of the night, their hearts trembled. they knew that it foreboded sorrow and trouble to some one of their number. a very short time elapsed before the beautiful daughter of the chief fell sick, and she grew rapidly worse and worse, spite of medicines, charms, and dances. at length she died. the fox had not intended to bring misfortune on the village in this shape, for he loved the beautiful daughter of the chief, so he kept in his lodge and mourned and fretted for her death. preparations were made for a magnificent funeral, but the friends of the deceased were in great perplexity. "if we bury her in the earth," said they, "the fox will come and disturb her remains. he has barked her to death, and he will be glad to come and finish his work of revenge." they took counsel together, and determined to hang her body high in a tree as a place of sepulture. they thought the fox would go groping about in the earth, and not lift up his eyes to the branches above his head. but the grandmother had been at the funeral, and she returned and told the fox all that had been done. "now, my son," said she, "listen to me. do not meddle with the remains of the chief's daughter. you have done mischief enough already. leave her in peace." as soon as the grandmother was asleep at night, the fox rambled forth. he soon found the place he sought, and came and sat under the tree where the young girl had been placed. he gazed and gazed at her all the livelong night, and she appeared as beautiful as when in life. but when the day dawned, and the light enabled him to see more clearly, then he observed that decay was doing its work--that instead of a beautiful she presented only a loathsome appearance. he went home sad and afflicted, and passed all the day mourning in his lodge. "have you disturbed the remains of the chief's beautiful daughter?" was his parent's anxious question. "no, grandmother,"--and he uttered not another word. thus it went on for many days and nights. the fox always took care to quit his watch at the early dawn of day, for he knew that her friends would suspect him, and come betimes to see if all was right. at length he perceived that, gradually, the young girl looked less and less hideous in the morning light, and that she by degrees resumed the appearance she had presented in life, so that in process of time her beauty and look of health quite returned to her. one day he said, "grandmother, give me my pipe, that i may take a smoke." "ah!" cried she, "you begin to be comforted. you have never smoked since the death of the chief's beautiful daughter. have you heard some good news?" "never you mind," said he; "bring the pipe." he sat down and smoked, and smoked. after a time he said, "grandmother, sweep your lodge and put it all in order, for this day you will receive a visit from your daughter-in-law." the grandmother did as she was desired. she swept her lodge, and arranged it with all the taste she possessed, and then both sat down to await the visit. "when you hear a sound at the door," said the fox, "you must give the salutation, and say, come in." when they had been thus seated for a time, the grandmother heard a faint, rustling sound. she looked towards the door. to her surprise, the mat which usually hung as a curtain was rolled up, and the door was open. "peen-tee-geen n'dau-nis!"[ ] cried she. something like a faint, faint shadow appeared to glide in. it took gradually a more distinct outline. as she looked and looked, she began to discern the form and features of the chief's beautiful daughter, but it was long before she appeared like a reality, and took her place in the lodge like a thing of flesh and blood. they kept the matter hid very close, for they would not for the world that the father or friends of the bride should know what had happened. soon, however, it began to be rumored about that the chief's beautiful daughter had returned to life, and was living in the red fox's lodge. how it ever became known was a mystery, for, of course, the grandmother never spoke of it. be that as it may, the news created great excitement in the village. "this must never be," said they all. "he barked her to death once, and who knows what he may do next time?" the father took at once a decided part. "the red fox is not worthy of my daughter," he said. "i had promised her to the hart, the finest and most elegant among the animals. now that she has returned to life, i shall keep my word." so the friends all went in a body to the lodge of the red fox. the bridegroom, the bride, and the grandmother made all the resistance possible, but they were overpowered by numbers, and, the hart having remained conveniently waiting on the outside where there was no danger, the beautiful daughter of the chief was placed upon his back, and he coursed away through the forest to carry her to his own home. when he arrived at the door of his lodge, however, he turned his head, but no bride was in the place where he expected to see her. he had thought his burden very light from the beginning, but that he supposed was natural to spirits returned from the dead. he never imagined she had at the outset glided from her seat, and in the midst of the tumult slipped back, unobserved, to her chosen husband. one or two attempts were made by the friends, after this, to repossess themselves of the young creature, but all without success. then they said, "let her remain where she is. it is true the red fox occasioned her death, but by his watchfulness and care he caressed her into life again; therefore she rightfully belongs to him." so the red fox and his beautiful bride lived long together in great peace and happiness. chapter xxx. story of shee-shee-banze. there was a young man named shee-shee-banze (the little duck) paddling his canoe along the shore of the lake. two girls came down to the edge of the water, and, seeing him, the elder said to the younger, "let us call to him to take us a sail." it must be remarked that in all indian stories where two or more sisters are the _dramatis personae_, the elder is invariably represented as silly, ridiculous, and disgusting--the younger, as wise and beautiful. in the present case the younger remonstrated. "oh, no," said she, "let us not do such a thing. what will he think of us?" but the other persevered, and called to him, "ho! come and take us into your canoe." the young man obeyed, and, approaching the shore, he took them with him into the canoe. "who are you?" asked the elder sister. "i am _way-gee-mar-kin_," replied he, "the great chief." this way-gee-mar-kin was something of a fairy, for when surrounded by his followers, and wishing to confer favors on them, he had a habit of coughing slightly, when there would fly forth from his mouth quantities of silver brooches, ear-bobs, and other ornaments, for which it was the custom of his people to scramble, each striving, as in more civilized life, to get more than his share. accordingly, the elder sister said, "if you are way-gee-mar-kin, let us see you cough." shee-shee-banze had a few of these silver ornaments which he had got by scrambling, and which he kept stowed away in the sides of his mouth in case of emergency. so he gave some spasmodic coughs and brought forth a few, which the girl eagerly seized. after a time, as they paddled along, a fine noble elk came forth from the forest, and approached the water to drink. "what is that?" asked the spokeswoman; for the younger sister sat silent and modest all the time. "it is my dog that i hunt with." "call him to us, that i may see him." shee-shee-banze called, but the elk turned and fled into the woods. "he does not seem to obey you, however." "no; it is because you inspire him with disgust, and therefore he flies from you." soon a bear made his appearance by the water's edge. "what is that?" "one of my servants." again he was requested to call him, and, as the call was disregarded, the same reason as before was assigned. their excursion was at length ended. there had been a little magic in it, for although the young girls had supposed themselves to be in a canoe, there was, in reality, no canoe at all. they only imagined it to have been so. now, shee-shee-banze lived with his grandmother, and to her lodge he conducted his young friends. they stood outside while he went in. "grandmother," said he, "i have brought you two young girls, who will be your daughters-in-law. invite them into your lodge." upon this, the old woman called, "ho! come in," and they entered. they were made welcome and treated to the best of everything. in the mean time, the real way-gee-mar-kin, the great chief, made preparations for a grand feast. when he was sending his messenger out with the invitations, he said to him, "be very particular to bid shee-shee-banze to the feast, for, as he is the smallest and meanest person in the tribe, you must use double ceremony with him, or he will be apt to think himself slighted." shee-shee-banze was sitting in his lodge with his new friends, when the messenger arrived. "ho! shee-shee-banze," cried he, "you are invited to a great feast that way-gee-mar-kin is to give to-night, to all his subjects." but shee-shee-banze took no notice of the invitation. he only whistled, and pretended not to hear. the messenger repeated his words, then, finding that no attention was paid to them, he went his way. the young girls looked at each other, during the scene, greatly astonished. at length the elder spoke. "what does this mean?" said she. "why does he call you shee-shee-banze, and invite you to visit way-gee-mar-kin?" "oh," said shee-shee-banze, "it is one of my followers that always likes to be a little impudent. i am obliged to put up with it sometimes, but you observed that i treated him with silent contempt." the messenger returned to the chief, and reported the manner in which the invitation had been received. "oh," said the good-natured chief, "it is because he feels that he is poor and insignificant. go back again--call him by my name, and make a flourishing speech to him." the messenger fulfilled his mission as he was bid. "way-gee-mar-kin," said he, pompously, "a great feast is to be given to-night, and i am sent most respectfully to solicit the honor of your company!" "did i not tell you?" said shee-shee-banze to the maidens then, nodding with careless condescension, he added, "tell them i'll come." at night, shee-shee-banze dressed himself in his very best paint, feathers, and ornaments--but before his departure he took his grandmother aside. "be sure," said he, "that you watch these young people closely until i come back. shut up your lodge tight, _tight_. let no one come in or go out, and, above all things, do not go to sleep." these orders given, he went his way. the grandmother tried her best to keep awake, but finding herself growing more and more sleepy, as the night wore on, she took a strong cord and laced across the mat which hung before the entrance to the lodge, as the indians lace up the mouths of their bags, then, having seen all things secure and the girls quiet in bed, she lay down and soon fell into a comfortable sleep. the young girls, in the mean while, were dying with curiosity to know what had become of shee-shee-banze, and as soon as they were sure the old lady was asleep, they prepared to follow him and see what was going on. fearing, however, that the grandmother might awake and discover their absence, they took two logs of wood, and, putting them under the blanket, so disposed them as to present the appearance of persons sleeping quietly. they then cut the cords that fastened the door, and, guided by the sounds of the music, the dancing, and the merry-making, they soon found their way to the dwelling of way-gee-mar-kin. when they entered, they saw the chief seated on a throne, surrounded by light and splendor. everything was joy and amusement. crowds of courtiers were in the apartment, all dressed in the most brilliant array. the strangers looked around for their friend shee-shee-banze, but he was nowhere to be seen. now and then the chief would cough, when a shower of silver ornaments and precious things would fly in all directions, and instantly a scramble would commence among the company, to gather them up and appropriate them. as they thus rushed forward, the brides-elect saw their poor little friend crowded up into a corner, where nobody took any notice of him, except to push him aside, or step on him whenever he was in the way. he uttered piteous little squeaks as one and another would thus maltreat him, but he was too busy taking care of himself to perceive that those whom he had left snug at home in the lodge were witnesses of all that was going on. at length the signal was given for the company to retire, all but the two young damsels, upon whom way-gee-mar-kin had set his eye, and to whom he had sent, by one of his assistants, great offers to induce them to remain with him and become his wives. poor shee-shee-banze returned to his lodge, but what was his consternation to find the door open! "ho! grandmother," cried he, "is this the way you keep watch?" the old woman started up. "there are my daughters-in-law," said she, pointing to the two logs of wood. shee-shee-banze threw himself on the ground between them. his back was broken by coming so violently in contact with them, but that he did not mind--he thought only of revenge, and the recovery of his sweethearts. he waited but to get some powerful poison and prepare it, and then he stole softly back to the wigwam of way-gee-mar-kin. all was silent, and he crept in without making the slightest noise. there lay the chief, with a young girl on each side of him. they were all sound asleep, the chief lying on his back, with his mouth wide open. before he was aware of it, the poison was down his throat, and shee-shee-banze had retreated quietly to his own lodge. the next morning the cry went through the village that way-gee-mar-kin had been found dead in his bed. of course it was attributed to over-indulgence at the feast. all was grief and lamentation. "let us go and tell poor shee-shee-banze," said one, "he was so fond of way-gee-mar-kin." they found him sitting on a bank, fishing. he had been up at peep of day, to make preparation for receiving the intelligence. he had caught two or three fish, and, extracting their bladders, had filled them with blood, and tied them under his arm. when the friends of way-gee-mar-kin saw him, they called out to him,-- "oh! shee-shee-banze--your friend, way-gee-mar-kin, is dead!" with a gesture of despair, shee-shee-banze drew his knife and plunged it--not into his heart, but into the bladders filled with blood that he had prepared. as he fell, apparently lifeless, to the ground, the messengers began to reproach themselves: "oh! why did we tell him so suddenly? we might have known he would not survive it. poor shee-shee-banze! he loved way-gee-mar-kin so." to their great surprise, the day after the funeral, shee-shee-banze came walking towards the wigwam of the dead chief. as he walked, he sang, or rather chaunted to a monotonous strain,[ ] the following:-- "way-gee-mar-kin is dead, is dead, i know who killed him. i guess it was i--i guess it was i." all the village was aroused. everybody flew in pursuit of the murderer, but he evaded them, and escaped to a place of safety. soon after, he again made his appearance, mincing as he walked, and singing to the same strain as before,-- "if you wish to take and punish me, let the widows come and catch me." it seemed a good idea, and the young women were recommended to go and entice the culprit into the village, so that the friends of the deceased could lay hold of him. they went forth on their errand. shee-shee-banze would suffer them to approach, then he would dance off a little--now he would allow them to come quite near; anon he would retreat a little before them, all the time singing, "come, pretty widows, come and catch me." thus he decoyed them on, occasionally using honeyed words and flattering speeches, until he had gained their consent to return with him to his lodge, and take up their abode with him. the friends of the murdered chief were scandalized at such inconstancy, and resolved to punish all three, as soon as they could catch them. they surrounded his lodge with cries and threatenings, but shee-shee-banze and his two brides had contrived to elude their vigilance and gain his canoe, which lay in the river, close at hand. hardly were they on board when their escape was discovered. the whole troop flew after them. some plunged into the stream, and seized the canoe. in the struggle it was upset, but immediately on touching the water, whether from the magical properties of the canoe, or the necromantic skill of the grandmother, they were transformed into ducks, and flew quacking away. since that time the water-fowl of this species are always found in companies of three--two females and a male. * * * * * the _canard de france_, or mallard, and the _brancheuse_, or wood duck, are of different habits from the foregoing, flying in pairs. indeed, the constancy of the latter is said to be so great that if he loses his mate he never takes another partner, but goes mourning to the end of his days. chapter xxxi. a visit to green bay--ma-zhee-gaw-gaw swamp. the payment over, and the indians dispersed, we prepared ourselves to settle down quietly in our little home. but now a new source of disturbance arose. my husband's accounts of disbursements as agent of the winnebagoes, which he had forwarded to the department at washington, had failed to reach there, of which he received due notice--that is to say, such a notice as could reach us by the circuitous and uncertain mode of conveyance by which intercourse with the eastern world was then kept up. if the vouchers for the former expenditures, together with the recent payment of $ , annuity money, should not be forthcoming, it might place him in a very awkward position; he therefore decided to go at once to washington, and be the bearer himself of his duplicate accounts. "should you like to go and see your father and mother," said he to me, one morning, "and show them how the west agrees with you?" it was a most joyful suggestion after a year's separation, and in a few days all things were in readiness for our departure. there was visiting us, at that time, miss brush, of detroit, who had come from green bay with mr. and mrs. whitney and miss frances henshaw, on an excursion to the mississippi. our little india-rubber house had contrived to expand itself for the accommodation of the whole party during the very pleasant visit they made us. the arrival of two young ladies had been, as may be imagined, quite a godsend to the unmarried lieutenants, and when, tired of the journey, or intimidated by the snow, which fell eight inches on the th of october, miss brush determined to give up the remainder of her excursion, and accept our pressing invitation to remain with us until the return of her friends, we were looked upon as public benefactors. she was now to accompany us to green bay, and possibly to detroit. our voyage down the river was without incident, and we reached green bay just as all the place was astir in the expectation of the arrival of one of mr. newbery's schooners. this important event was the subject of interest to the whole community, from fort howard to "dickenson's." to some its arrival would bring friends, to some supplies--to the ladies, the fashions, to the gentlemen, the news, for it was the happy bearer of the mails, not for that place alone, but for all the "upper country." in a few days the vessel arrived. she brought a mail for fort winnebago, it being only in the winter season that letters were carried by land to that place, via _niles's settlement_ and chicago. in virtue of his office as postmaster, my husband opened the mail-bag, and took possession of his own letters. one informed him of the satisfactory appearance at the department of the missing accounts, but oh! sad disappointment, another brought the news that my parents had gone to kentucky for the winter--not to any city or accessible place, but "up the sandy," and over among the mountains of virginia, hunting up old land-claims belonging to my grandfather's estate. it was vain to hope to follow them. we might hardly expect to find them during the short period we could be absent from home--not even were we to receive the lucid directions once given my father by an old settler during his explorations through that wild region. "you must go up _tug_," said the man, "and down _troublesome_, and fall over on to _kingdom-come_."[ ] we did not think it advisable to undertake such an expedition, and therefore made up our minds to retrace our steps to fort winnebago. no boats were in readiness to ascend the river. our old friend hamilton promised to have one in preparation at once, but time passed by, and no boat was made ready. it was now the beginning of november. we were passing our time very pleasantly with the irwins and whitneys, and at the residence of colonel stambaugh, the indian agent, but still this delay was inconvenient and vexatious. i suggested undertaking the journey on horseback. "no, indeed," was the answer i invariably received. "no mortal woman has ever gone that road, unless it was some native on foot, nor ever could." "but suppose we set out in the boat and get frozen in on the way. we can neither pass the winter there, nor possibly find our way to a human habitation. we have had one similar experience already. is it not better to take it for granted that i can do what you and others of your sex have done?" dr. finley, the post-surgeon at fort howard, on hearing the matter debated, offered me immediately his favorite horse charlie. "he is very sure-footed," the doctor alleged, "and capital in a marsh or troublesome stream." by land, then, it was decided to go; and as soon as our old menomonee friend "wish-tay-yun," who was as good a guide by land as by water, could be summoned, we set off, leaving our trunks to be forwarded by hamilton whenever it should please him to carry out his intention of sending up his boat. we waited until a late hour on the morning of our departure for our fellow-travellers, mr. wing, of monroe, and dr. philleo, of galena; but, finding they did not join us, we resolved to lose no time, confident that we should all meet at the kakalin in the course of the evening. after crossing the river at what is now depere, and entering the wild, unsettled country on the west of the river, we found a succession of wooded hills, separated by ravines so narrow and steep that it seemed impossible that any animals but mules or goats could make their way among them. wish-tay-yun took the lead. the horse he rode was accustomed to the country, and well trained to this style of road. as for charlie, he was perfectly admirable. when he came to a precipitous descent, he would set forward his forefeet, and slide down on his haunches in the most scientific manner, while my only mode of preserving my balance was to hold fast by the bridle and lay myself braced almost flat against his back. then our position would suddenly change, and we would be scaling the opposite bank, at the imminent risk of falling backward into the ravine below. it was amusing to see wish-tay-yun, as he scrambled on ahead, now and then turning partly round to see how i fared. and when, panting and laughing, i at length reached the summit, he would throw up his hands, and shout, with the utmost glee, "mamma manitou!" (my mother is a spirit.) our old acquaintances, the grignons, seemed much surprised that i should have ventured on such a journey. they had never undertaken it, although they had lived so long at the kakalin; but then there was no reason why they should have done so. they could always command a canoe or a boat when they wished to visit "the bay." as we had anticipated, our gentlemen joined us at supper. "they had delayed to take dinner with colonel stambaugh--had had a delightful gallop up from: the bay--had seen no ravines, nor anything but fine smooth roads--might have been asleep, but, if so, were not conscious of it." this was the account they gave of themselves, to our no small amusement. from the kakalin to the butte des morts, where lived a man named knaggs, was our next day's stage. the country was rough and wild, much like that we had passed through the spring before, in going from hamilton's diggings to kellogg's grove, but we were fortunate in having wish-tay-yun, rather than "uncle billy," for our guide, so that we could make our way with some degree of moderation. we had travelled but forty miles when we reached knaggs's, yet i was both cold and fatigued, so that the cosy little room in which we found mrs. knaggs, and the bright fire, were most cheering objects; and, as we had only broken our fast since morning with a few crackers we carried in our pockets, i must own we did ample justice to her nice coffee and cakes, not to mention venison-steaks and bear's meat, the latter of which i had never before tasted. our supper over, we looked about for a place of repose. the room in which we had taken our meal was of small dimensions, just sufficient to accommodate a bed, a table placed against the wall, and the few chairs on which we sat. there was no room for any kind of a "shakedown." "where can you put us for the night?" inquired my husband of mr. knaggs, when he made his appearance. "why, there is no place that i know of, unless you can camp down in the old building outside." we went to look at it. it consisted of one room, bare and dirty. a huge chimney, in which a few brands were burning, occupied nearly one side of the apartment. against another was built a rickety sort of bunk. this was the only vestige of furniture to be seen. the floor was thickly covered with mud and dirt, in the midst of which, near the fire, was seated an old indian with a pan of boiled corn on his lap, which he was scooping up with both hands and devouring with the utmost voracity. we soon discovered that he was blind. on hearing footsteps and voices, he instinctively gathered his dish of food close to him, and began some morose grumblings; but when he was told that it was "shaw-nee-aw-kee" who was addressing him, his features relaxed into a more agreeable expression, and be even held forth his dish and invited us to share its contents. "but are we to stay here?" i asked. "can we not sleep out-of-doors?" "we have no tent," replied my husband, "and the weather is too cold to risk the exposure without one." "i could sit in a chair all night, by the fire." "then you would not be able to ride to bellefontaine to-morrow." there was no alternative. the only thing mr. knaggs could furnish in the shape of bedding was a small bear-skin. the bunk was a trifle less filthy than the floor; so upon its boards we spread first the skin, then our saddle-blankets, and, with a pair of saddle-bags for a bolster, i wrapped myself in my cloak, and resigned myself to my distasteful accommodations. the change of position from that i had occupied through the day, probably brought some rest, but sleep i could not. even on a softer and more agreeable couch, the snoring of the old indian and two or three companions who had joined him, and his frequent querulous exclamations as he felt himself encroached upon in the darkness, would have effectually banished slumber from my eyes. it was a relief to rise with early morning and prepare for the journey of the day. where our fellow-travellers had bestowed themselves i knew not, but they evidently had fared no better than we. they were in fine spirits, however, and we cheerfully took our breakfast and were ferried over the river to continue on the trail from that point to bellefontaine, twelve miles distant from fort winnebago. the great "bug-bear" of this road, ma-zhee-gaw-gaw swamp, was the next thing to be encountered. we reached it about nine o'clock. it spread before us, a vast expanse of morass, about half a mile in width, and of length interminable, partly covered with water, with black knobs rising here and there above the surface, affording a precarious foothold for the animals in crossing it. where the water was not, there lay in place of it a bed of black oozy mud, which looked as if it might give way under the foot, and let it, at each step, sink to an unknown depth. this we were now to traverse. all three of the gentlemen went in advance of me, each hoping, as he said, to select the surest and firmest path for me to follow. one and another would call, "here, madam, come this way!" "this is the best path, wifie; follow me," but often charlie knew better than either, and selected a path according to his own judgment, which proved the best of the whole. on he went, picking his way so slowly and cautiously, now pausing on one little hillock, now on another, and anon turning aside to avoid a patch of mud which seemed more than usually suspicious, that all the company had got some little distance ahead of me. on raising my eyes, which had been kept pretty closely on my horse's footsteps, i saw my husband on foot, striving to lead his horse by the bridle from a difficult position into which he had got, mr. wing and his great white floundering animal lying sideways in the mud, the rider using all his efforts to extricate himself from the stirrups, and dr. philleo standing at a little distance from his steed, who was doing his best to rise up from a deep bog into which he had pitched himself. it was a formidable sight! they all called out with one accord,-- "oh, do not come this way!" "indeed," cried i, "i have no thought of it. charlie and i know better." and, trusting to the sagacious creature, he picked his way carefully along, and carried me safely past the dismounted company. i could not refrain from a little triumphant flourish with my whip, as i looked back upon them and watched their progress to their saddles once more. three hours had we been thus unpleasantly engaged, and yet we were not over the "slough of despond." at length we drew near its farthest verge. here ran a deep stream some five or six feet in width. the gentlemen, as they reached it, dismounted, and began debating what was to be done. "jump off, jump off, madam," cried mr. wing, and "jump off, jump off," echoed dr. philleo; "we are just consulting how we are to get you across." "what do you think about it?" asked my husband. "charlie will show you," replied i. "come, charlie." and as i raised his bridle quickly, with a pat on his neck and an encouraging chirp, he bounded over the stream as lightly as a deer, and landed me safe on _terra firma_. poor mr. wing had fared the worst of the company; the clumsy animal he rode seeming to be of opinion when he got into a difficulty that he had nothing to do but to lie down and resign himself to his fate; while his rider, not being particularly light and agile, was generally undermost, and half imbedded in the mire before he had quite made up his mind as to his course of action. it was therefore a wise movement in him, when he reached the little stream, to plunge into it and wade across, thus washing out, as much as possible, the traces of the morning's adventures from himself and his steed; and the other gentlemen, having no alternative, concluded to follow his example. we did not halt long on the rising ground beyond the morass, for we had a long stretch before us to bellefontaine, forty-five miles, and those none of the shortest. our horses travelled admirably the whole afternoon, charlie keeping a canter all the way; but it was growing dark, and there were no signs of the landmarks which were to indicate our near approach to the desired haven. "can we not stop and rest for a few moments under one of the trees?" inquired i, for i was almost exhausted with fatigue, and, to add to our discomfort, a cold, november rain was pouring upon us. "if it were possible, we would," was the reply; "but see how dark it is growing. if we should lose our way, it would be worse than being wet and tired." so we kept on. just at dark we crossed a clear stream. "that," said my husband, "is, i think, two miles from bellefontaine. cheer up--we shall soon be there." quite encouraged, we pursued our way more cheerfully. mile after mile we passed, but still no light gleamed friendly through the trees. "we have certainly travelled more than six miles now," said i. "yes--that could not have been the two-mile creek." it was eight o'clock when we reached bellefontaine. we were ushered into a large room made cheerful by a huge blazing fire. mr. wing and dr. philleo had arrived before us, and there were other travellers, on their way from the mississippi. i was received with great kindness and volubility by the immense hostess, "la grosse américaine," as she was called, and she soon installed me in the arm-chair, in the warmest corner, and in due time set an excellent supper before us. but her hospitality did not extend to giving up her only bed for my accommodation. she spread all the things she could muster on the hard floor before the fire, and did what she could to make me comfortable; then, observing my husband's solicitude lest i might feel ill from the effects of the fatigue and rain, she remarked, in tones of admiring sympathy, "how kind your _companion_ is to you!"--an expression which, as it was then new to us, amused us not a little. our travelling companions started early in the morning for the fort, which was but twelve miles distant, and they were so kind as to take charge of a note to our friends at home, requesting them to send plante with the carriage to take us the rest of the distance. we reached the portage in safety; and thus ended the first journey by land that any white woman had made from green bay to fort winnebago. i felt not a little raised in my own esteem when my husband informed me that the distance i had the previous day travelled, from knaggs's to bellefontaine, was sixty-two miles! chapter xxxii. commencement of the sauk war. a few weeks after our return, my husband took his mother to prairie du chien for the benefit of medical advice from dr. beaumont, of the u.s. army. the journey was made in a large open boat down the wisconsin river, and it was proposed to take this opportunity to bring back a good supply of corn for the winter's use of both men and cattle. the ice formed in the river, however, so early, that after starting with his load he was obliged to return with it to the prairie, and wait until the thick winter's ice enabled him to make a second journey and bring it up in sleighs--with so great an expense of time, labor, and exposure were the necessaries of life conveyed from one point to another through that wild and desolate region! * * * * * the arrival of my brother arthur from kentucky, by way of the mississippi, in the latter part of april, brought us the uncomfortable intelligence of new troubles with the sauks and foxes. black hawk had, with the flower of his nation, recrossed the mississippi, once more to take possession of their old homes and corn-fields.[ ] it was not long before our own indians came flocking in, to confirm the tidings, and to assure us of their intention to remain faithful friends to the americans. we soon heard of the arrival of the illinois rangers in the rock river country, also of the progress of the regular force under general atkinson, in pursuit of the hostile indians, who, by the reports, were always able to elude their vigilance. it not being their custom to stop and give battle, the sauks soon scattered themselves through the country, trusting to some lucky accident (and such arrived, alas! only too often) to enable them to fall upon their enemies unexpectedly. the experience of the pursuing army was, for the most part, to make their way, by toilsome and fatiguing marches, to the spot where they imagined the sauks would be waiting to receive them, and then to discover that the rogues had scampered off to quite a different part of the country. wherever these latter went, their course was marked by the most atrocious barbarities, though the worst had not, at this time, reached our ears. we were only assured that they were down in the neighborhood of the rock river and kishwaukee, and that they lost no opportunity of falling upon the defenceless inhabitants and cruelly murdering them. as soon as it became certain that the sauks and foxes would not pursue the same course they had on the previous year, that is, retreat peaceably across the mississippi, mr. kinzie resolved to hold a council with all the principal chiefs of the winnebagoes who were accessible at this time. he knew that the sauks would use every effort to induce their neighbors to join them, and that there existed in the breasts of too many of the young savages a desire to distinguish themselves by "taking some white scalps." they did not love the americans--why should they? by them they had been gradually dispossessed of the broad and beautiful domains of their forefathers, and hunted from place to place, and the only equivalent they had received in exchange had been a few thousands annually in silver and presents, together with the pernicious example, the debasing influence, and the positive ill treatment of too many of the new settlers upon their lands. with all these facts in view, therefore, their father felt that the utmost watchfulness was necessary, and that the strongest arguments must be brought forward, to preserve the young men of the winnebagoes in their allegiance to the americans. of the older members he felt quite sure. about fifty lodges had come at the commencement of the disturbances and encamped around our dwelling, saying that if the sauks attacked us it must be after killing them; and, knowing them well, we had perfect confidence in their assurances. but their vicinity, while it gave us a feeling of protection, likewise furnished us with a channel of the most exciting and agitating daily communications. as the theatre of operations approached nearer and nearer, intelligence was brought in by their runners--now, that "captain barney's head had been recognized in the sauk camp, where it had been brought the day previous," next, that "the sauks were carrying lieutenant beall's head on a pole in front of them as they marched to meet the whites." sometimes it was a story which we afterwards found to be unhappily true, as that of the murder of their agent, m. st vrain, at kellogg's grove, by the sauks themselves, who ought to have protected him. it was after the news of this last occurrence that the appointed council with the winnebagoes was to be held at the four lakes, thirty-five miles distant from fort winnebago. in vain we pleaded and remonstrated against such an exposure. "it was his duty to assemble his people and talk to them," my husband said, "and he must run the risk, if there were any. he had perfect confidence in the winnebagoes. the enemy, by all he could learn, were now far distant from the four lakes--probably at kosh-ko-nong. he would set off early in the morning with paquette, bold his council, and return to us the same evening." it were useless to attempt to describe our feelings during that long and dreary day. when night arrived, the cry of a drunken indian, or even the barking of a dog, would fill our hearts with terror. as we sat, at a late hour, at the open window, listening to every sound, with what joy did we at length distinguish the tramp of horses! we knew it to be griffin and jerry ascending the hill, and a cheerful shout soon announced that all was well. my husband and his interpreter had ridden seventy miles that day, besides holding a long "talk" with the indians. the winnebagoes in council had promised to use their utmost endeavors to preserve peace and good order among their young men. they informed their father that the bands on the rock river, with the exception of win-no-sheek's, were all determined to remain friendly and keep aloof from the sauks. to that end, they were abandoning their villages and corn-fields and moving north, that their great father, the president, might not feel dissatisfied with them. with regard to win-no-sheek and his people, they professed themselves unable to answer. time went on, and brought with it stories of fresh outrages. among these were the murders of auberry, green, and force, at blue mound, and the attack on apple fort. the tidings of the latter were brought by old crély,[ ] the father of mrs. paquette, who rode express from galena, and who averred that he once passed a bush behind which the sauks were hiding, but that his horse smelt the sweet-scented grass with which they always adorn their persons when on a war-party, and set out on such a gallop that he never stopped until he arrived at the portage. another bearer of news was a young gentleman named follett, whose eyes had become so protruded and set from keeping an anxious look-out for the enemy, that it was many days after his arrival at a place of safety before they resumed their accustomed limits and expression. among other rumors which at this time reached us, was one that an attack upon fort winnebago was in contemplation among the sauks. that this was in no state of defence the indians very well knew. all the effective men had been withdrawn, upon a requisition from general atkinson, to join him at his newly-built fort at kosh-ko-nong. fort winnebago was not picketed in; there were no defences to the barracks or officers' quarters, except slight panelled doors and venetian blinds--nothing that would long resist the blows of clubs or hatchets. there was no artillery, and the commissary's store was without the bounds of the fort, under the hill. mr. kinzie had, from the first, called the attention of the officers to the insecurity of their position in case of danger, but he generally received a scoffing answer. "never fear," they would say; "the sauks are not coming here to attack us." one afternoon we were over on a visit to some ladies in the garrison, and, several officers being present, the conversation, as usual, turned upon the present position of affairs. "do you not think it wiser," inquired i of a blustering young officer, "to be prepared against possible danger?" "not against these fellows," replied he, contemptuously. "i do not think i would even take the trouble to fasten the blinds to my quarters." "at least," said i, "if you some night find a tomahawk raised to cleave your skull, you will have the consolation of remembering that you have not been one of those foolish fellows who keep on the safe side." he seemed a little nettled at this, and still more so when sister margaret observed,-- "for my part, i am of governor cass's opinion. he was at chicago during the winnebago war. we were all preparing to move into the fort on the first alarm. some were for being brave and delaying, like our friends here. 'come, come,' said the governor, 'hurry into the fort as fast as possible--there is no merit in being brave with the indians. it is the height of folly to stay and meet danger which you may by prudence avoid.'" in a few days our friends waked up to the conviction that something must be done at once the first step was to forbid any winnebago coming within the garrison, lest they should find out what they had known as well as ourselves for three months past--namely, the feebleness of the means of resistance. the next was to send fatigue-parties into the woods, under the protection of a guard, to cut pickets for inclosing the garrison. there was every reason to believe that the enemy were not very far distant, and that their object in coming north was to break a way into the chippewa country, where they would find a place of security among their friends and allies. the story that our indian runners brought in most frequently was, that the sauks were determined to fall upon the whites at the portage and fort, and massacre all, except the families of the agent and interpreter. plante and pillon with their families had departed at the first word of danger. there only remained with us manaigre, whose wife was a half-winnebago, isidore morrin, and the blacksmiths from sugar creek--mâtâ and turcotte. at night we were all regularly armed and our posts assigned us. after every means had been taken to make the house secure, the orders were given. sister margaret and i, in case of attack, were to mount with the children to the rooms above, while my husband and his men were to make good their defence as long as possible against the enemy. since i had shown my sportsmanship by bringing down accidentally a blackbird on the wing, i felt as if i could do some execution with my little pistols, which were regularly placed beside my pillow at night; and i was fully resolved to use them, if necessity required. i do not remember to have felt the slightest compunction at the idea of taking the lives of two sauks, as i had no doubt i should do; and this explains to me what i had before often wondered at, the indifference, namely, of the soldier on the field of battle to the destruction of human life had i been called upon, however, to use my weapons effectually, i should no doubt have looked back upon it with horror. surrounded as we were by indian lodges, which seldom became perfectly quiet, and excited as our nerves had become by all that we were daily in the habit of hearing, we rarely slept very soundly. one night, after we had as much as possible composed ourselves, we were startled at a late hour by a tap upon the window at the head of our bed, and a call of "chon! chon!"[ ] (john! john!) "tshah-ko-zhah?" (what is it?) it was hoo-wau-ne-kah, the little elk. he spoke rapidly, and in a tone of great agitation. i could not understand him, and i lay trembling, and dreading to hear his errand interpreted. now and then i could distinguish the words sau-kee (sauks) and shoonk-hat-tay-rah (horse), and they were not very reassuring. the trouble, i soon learned, was this. a fresh trail had been observed near the petit rocher, on the wisconsin, and the people at the villages on the barribault were in a state of great alarm, fearing it might be the sauks. there was the appearance of a hundred or more horses having passed by this trail. hoo-wau-ne-kah had been dispatched at once to tell their father, and to ask his advice. after listening to all he had to communicate, his father told him the trail was undoubtedly that of general henry's troops, who were said to have come north, looking for the enemy; that as the marks of the horses' hoofs showed them, by this report, to have been shod, that was sufficient proof that it was not the trail of the sauks. he thought that the people at the villages need not feel any uneasiness. "very well, father," replied hoo-wau-ne-kah; "i will go back and tell my people what you say. they will believe you, for you always tell them the truth. you are not like us indians, who sometimes deceive each other." so saying, he returned to his friends, much comforted. the completion of the picketing and other defences, together with the arrival of a detachment of troops from fort howard under lieutenant hunter, at our fort, now seemed to render the latter the place of greatest safety. we therefore regularly, every evening immediately before dusk, took up our line of march for the opposite side of the river, and repaired to quarters that had been assigned us within the garrison, leaving our own house and chattels to the care of the frenchmen and our friends the winnebagoes. it was on one of these days that we were sitting at the windows which looked out over the portage--indeed, we seldom sat anywhere else, our almost sole occupation being to look abroad and see what was coming next--when a loud, long, shrill whoop from a distance gave notice of something to be heard. "the news-halloo! what could it portend? what were we about to hear?" by gazing intently towards the farthest extremity of the road, we could perceive a moving body of horsemen, which, as they approached, we saw to be indians. they were in full costume. scarlet streamers fluttered at the ends of their lances--their arms glittered in the sun. presently, as they drew nearer, their paint and feathers and brooches became visible. there were fifty or more warriors. they passed the road which turns to the fort, and rode directly up the hill leading to the agency. shaw-nee-aw-kee was absent. the interpreter had been sent for on the first distant appearance of the strangers, but had not yet arrived. the party, having ascended the hill, halted near the blacksmith's shop, but did not dismount. our hearts trembled--it must surely be the enemy. at this moment my husband appeared from the direction of the interpreter's house. we called to entreat him to stop, but he walked along towards the new-comers. to our infinite joy, we saw the chief of the party dismount, and all the others following his example and approaching to shake hands. a space was soon cleared around the leader and my husband, when the former commenced an oration, flourishing his sword and using much violent gesticulation. it was the first time i had seen an indian armed with that weapon, and i dreaded to perceive it in such hands. sometimes he appeared as if he were about to take off the head of his auditor at a blow; and our hearts sank as we remembered the stratagems at mackinac and detroit in former days. at length the speech was concluded, another shaking of hands took place, and we saw my husband leading the way to his storehouse, from which some of his men presently brought tobacco and pipes and laid them at the feet of the chief. our suspense was soon relieved by being informed that the strangers were man-eater, the principal chief of the rock river indians, who had come with his band to "hold a talk" and bring information. these indians were under the special care of mr. henry gratiot, and his efforts had been most judicious and unremitting in preserving the good feeling of this the most dangerous portion of the winnebagoes. the intelligence that man-eater, who was a most noble indian in appearance and character, brought us, confirmed that already received, namely, that the sauks were gradually drawing north, towards the portage, although he evidently did not know exactly their whereabouts. there was, soon after they had taken leave, an arrival of another party of winnebagoes, and these requested permission to dance for their father. the compliment having been accepted, they assembled, as usual, on the esplanade in front of the house. my sister, the children, and myself stationed ourselves at the open windows, according to custom, and my husband sat on the broad step before the door, which opened from the outer air directly into the parlor where we were. the performance commenced, and as the dancers proceeded, following each other round and round in the progress of the dance, my sister, mrs. helm, remarked to me, "look at that small, dark indian, with the green boughs on his person--that is _a sauk!_ they always mark themselves in this manner with white clay, and ornament themselves with leaves when they dance!" in truth, i had never seen this costume among our own indians, and as i gazed at this one with green chaplets round his head and his legs, and even his gun wreathed in the same manner, while his body displayed no paint except the white transverse streaks with which it was covered, i saw that he was, indeed, a stranger. without owing anything to the exaggeration of fear, his countenance was truly ferocious. he held his gun in his hand, and every time the course of the dance brought him directly in front of where we sat, he would turn his gaze full upon us, and club his weapon before him with what we interpreted into an air of defiance. we sat as still as death, for we knew it would not be wise to exhibit any appearance of fear; but my sister remarked, in a low tone, "i have always thought that i was to lose my life by the hands of the indians. this is the third indian war i have gone through, and now, i suppose, it will be the last." it was the only time i ever saw her lose her self-possession. she was always remarkably calm and resolute, but now i could see that she trembled. still we sat there--there was a sort of fascination as our imaginations became more and more excited. presently some rain-drops began to fall. the indians continued their dance for a few minutes longer, then, with whoopings and shoutings, they rushed simultaneously towards the house. we fled into my apartment and closed the door, which my sister at first held fast, but she presently came and seated herself by me on the bed, for she saw that i could not compose myself. of all forms of death, that by the hands of savages is the most difficult to face calmly; and i fully believed that our hour was come. there was no interruption to the dance, which the indians carried on in the parlor, leaping and yelling as if they would bring down the roof over our heads. in vain we tried to persuade my husband and the children, through a crevice of the door, to come and join us. the latter, feeling no danger, were too much delighted with the exhibition to leave it, and the former only came for a moment to reassure me, and then judged it wisest to return, and manifest his satisfaction at the compliment by his presence. he made light of our fears, and would not admit that the object of our suspicions was in fact a sauk, but only some young winnebago, who had, as is sometimes the custom, imitated them in costume and appearance. it may have been "good fun" to him to return to his village and tell how he frightened "the white squaws." such a trick would not be unnatural in a white youth, and perhaps, since human nature is everywhere the same, it might not be out of the way in an indian. chapter xxxiii. fleeing from the indians. the danger had now become so imminent that my husband determined to send his family to fort howard, a point which was believed to be far out of the range of the enemy. it was in vain that i pleaded to be permitted to remain; he was firm. "i must not leave my post," said he, "while there is any danger. my departure would perhaps be the signal for an immediate alliance of the winnebagoes with the sauks. i am certain that as long as i am here my presence will act as a restraint upon them. you wish to remain and share my dangers! your doing so would expose us both to certain destruction in case of attack by the aid of my friends in both tribes, i could hope to preserve my own life if i were alone; but surrounded by my family, that would be impossible--we should all fall victims together. my duty plainly is, to send you to a place of safety." an opportunity for doing this soon occurred. paquette, the interpreter, who was likewise an agent of the american fur company, had occasion to send a boat-load of furs to green bay, on their way to mackinac. mr. kinzie, having seen it as comfortably fitted up as an open boat of that description could be, with a tent-cloth fastened on a frame-work of hoop-poles over the centre and lined with a dark-green blanket, and having placed on board an abundant store of provisions and other comforts, committed us to the joint care of my brother arthur and our faithful blacksmith, mâtâ. this latter was a tall, gaunt frenchman, with a freckled face, a profusion of crisp, sandy hair, and an inveterate propensity to speak english. his knowledge of the language was somewhat limited, and he burlesqued it by adding an s to almost every word, and giving out each phrase with a jerk. "davids," he was wont to say to the little yellow fiddler, after an evening's frolic at the interpreter's, "davids, clear away the tables and the glasses, and play _fishes-hornspikes."_[ ] he was a kind, affectionate creature, and his devotion to "monsieur johns" and "madame johns" knew no bounds. besides these two protectors, three trusty indians, the chief of whom was called _old smoker_, were engaged to escort our party. the crew of the boat consisted entirely of french engagés in the service of the fur company. they were six gay-hearted, merry fellows, lightening their labor with their pipe and their songs, in which latter they would have esteemed it a great compliment to be joined by the ladies who listened to them; but our hearts, alas! were now too heavy to participate in their enjoyment. the fourth of july, the day on which we left our home, was a gloomy one indeed to those who departed and to the one left behind. who knew if we should ever meet again? the experience which some of the circle had had in indian warfare was such as to justify the saddest forebodings. there was not even the consolation of a certainty that this step would secure our safety. the sauks might, possibly, be on the other side of us, and the route we were taking might perhaps, though not probably, carry us into their very midst. it was no wonder, then, that our leave-taking was a solemn one--a parting which all felt might be for this world. not _all_, however; for the gay, cheerful frenchmen laughed and sang and cracked their jokes, and "assured monsieur john that they would take madame john and madame alum safe to the bay, spite of sauks or wind or weather." thus we set out on our journey. for many miles the fort was in sight, as the course of the river alternately approached and receded from its walls, and it was not until nearly mid-day that we caught the last glimpse of our home. at the noon-tide meal, or pipe, of the voyageurs, an alarming discovery was made: no bread had been put on board for the crew! how this oversight had occurred, no one could tell. one was certain that a large quantity had been brought from the garrison-bakery for their use that very morning--another had even seen the sacks of loaves standing in paquette's kitchen. be that as it may, there we were, many miles on our journey, and with no provisions for the six frenchmen, except some salted pork, a few beans, and some onions. a consultation was held in this emergency. should they return to the portage for supplies? the same danger that made their departure necessary, still existed, and the utmost dispatch had been enjoined upon them. we found upon examination that the store of bread and crackers with which our party had been provided was far-beyond what we could possibly require, and we thought it would be sufficient to allow of rations to the frenchmen until we should reach powell's, at the butte des morts, the day but one following, where we should undoubtedly be able to procure a fresh supply. this decided on, we proceeded on our journey, always in profound silence, for a song or a loud laugh was now strictly prohibited until we should have passed the utmost limits of country where the enemy might possibly be. we had been warned beforehand that a certain point, where the low marshy meadows, through which the river had hitherto run, rises into a more firm and elevated country, was the border of the menomonee territory, and the spot where the sauks, if they had fled north of the wisconsin towards the chippewa country, would be most likely to be encountered. as we received intimation on the forenoon of the second day that we were drawing near this spot, i must confess that "we held our breath for awe." the three winnebagoes were in the bow of the boat. old smoker, the chief, squatted upon his feet on the bench of the foremost rowers. we looked at him. he was gazing intently in the direction of the wooded point we were approaching. our eyes followed his, and we saw three indians step forward and stand upon the bank. we said in a low voice to each other, "if they are sauks, we are lost, for the whole body must be in that thicket." the boat continued to approach; not a word was spoken; the dip of the paddle, and perhaps the beating hearts of some, were the only sounds that broke the stillness. again we looked at the chief. his nostrils were dilated--his eyes almost glaring. suddenly, with a bound, he sprang to his feet and uttered his long, shrill whoop. "hoh! hoh! hoh! neechee (friend) _muh-no-mo-nee!_" all was now joy and gladness. every one was forward to shake hands with the strangers as soon as we could reach them, in token of our satisfaction that they were menomonees and not sauks, of the latter of whom, by the way, they could give us no intelligence. by noon of that day we considered ourselves to be out of the region of danger. still, caution was deemed necessary, and when at the mid-day pipe the boat was pushed ashore under a beautiful overhanging bank, crowned with a thick wood, the usual vigilance was somewhat relaxed, and the young people, under the escort of arthur and mâtâ, were permitted to roam about a little, in the vicinity of the boat. they soon came back, with the report that the woods were "alive with pigeons,"--they could almost knock them down with sticks; and earnestly did they plead to be allowed to shoot at least enough for supper. but no--the enemy might be nearer than we imagined--the firing of a gun would betray our whereabouts--it was most prudent to give no notice to friend or foe. so, very reluctantly, they were compelled to return to the boat without their game. the next morning brought us to powell's, at the butte des morts. sad were the faces of the poor frenchmen at learning that not a loaf of bread was to be had. our own store, too, was by this time quite exhausted. the only substitute we could obtain was a bag of dark looking, bitter flour. with this provision for our whole party, we were forced to be contented, and we left the hillock of the dead, feeling that it had been indeed the grave of our hopes. by dint of good rowing, our crew soon brought us to the spot where the river enters that beautiful sheet of water, winnebago lake. though there was but little wind when we reached the lake, the frenchmen hoisted their sail, in hopes to save themselves the labor of rowing across; but in vain did they whistle, with all the force of their lungs--in vain did they supplicate _la vierge_, with a comical mixture of fun and reverence. as a last resource, it was at length suggested by some one that their only chance lay in propitiating the goddess of the winds with an offering of some cast-off garment. application was made all round by guardapié, the chief spokesman of the crew. alas! not one of the poor voyageurs could boast a spare article. a few old rags were at length rummaged out of the little receptacle of food, clothing, and dirt in the bow of the boat, and cast into the waves for a moment all flattered themselves that the experiment had been successful--the sail fluttered, swelled a little, and then flapped idly down against the mast. the party were in despair, until, after a whispered consultation together, julian and edwin stepped forward as messengers of mercy. in a trice they divested themselves of jacket and vest and made a proffer of their next garment to aid in raising the wind. at first there seemed a doubt in the minds of the boatmen whether they ought to accept so magnificent an offer; but finding, on giving them a preparatory shake, that the value of the contribution was less than they had imagined, they, with many shouts and much laughter, consigned them to the waves. to the great delight and astonishment of the boys, a breeze at this moment sprang up, which carried the little vessel beautifully over the waters for about half the distance to garlic island. by this time the charm was exhausted, nor was it found possible to renew it by a repetition of similar offerings. all expedients were tried without success, and, with sundry rather disrespectful reflections upon the lady whose aid they had invoked, the frenchmen were compelled to betake themselves to their oars, until they reached the island. two or three canoes of winnebagoes arrived at the same moment, and their owners immediately stepped forward with an offering of some sturgeon which they had caught in the lake. as this promised to be an agreeable variety to the noon-tide meal (at least for the frenchmen), it was decided to stop and kindle a fire for the purpose of cooking it. we took advantage of this interval to recommend to the boys a stroll to the opposite side of the island, where the clear, shallow water and pebbly beach offered temptation to a refreshing bath. while they availed themselves of this, under the supervision of harry, the black boy, we amused ourselves with gathering the fine red raspberries with which the island abounded. our enjoyment was cut short, however, by discovering that the whole place, vines, shrubs, and even, apparently, the earth itself, was infested with myriads of the wood-tick, a little insect, that, having fastened to the skin, penetrates into the very flesh, causing a swelling and irritation exceeding painful, and even dangerous. the alarm was sounded, to bring the boys back in all haste to the open and more frequented part of the island. but we soon found we had not left our tormentors behind. throughout the day we continued to be sensible of their proximity. from the effects of their attacks we were not relieved for several succeeding days; those which had succeeded in burying themselves in the flesh having to be removed with the point of a penknife or a large needle. after partaking of our dinner, we stepped on board our boat, and, the wind having risen, we were carried by the breeze to the farther verge of the lake, and into the entrance of the river, or, as it was called, the winnebago rapids. on the point of land to the right stood a collection of neat bark wigwams--this was four-legs' village. it was an exciting and somewhat hazardous passage down the rapids and over the grand chûte, a fall of several feet; but it was safely passed, and at the approach of evening the boat reached the settlement of the waubanakees at the head of the little chûte. these are the stockbridge or brothertown indians, the remains of the old mohicans, who had, a few years before, emigrated from oneida county, in the state of new york, to a tract granted them by the united states, on the fertile banks of the fox river. they had already cleared extensive openings in the forest, and built some substantial and comfortable houses near the banks of the river, which were here quite high, and covered for the most part with gigantic trees. it was determined to ask hospitality of these people, to the extent of borrowing a corner of their fire to boil our tea-kettle, and bake the short-cake which had been now, for nearly two days, our substitute for bread. its manufacture had been a subject of much merriment. the ingredients, consisting of powell's black flour, some salt, and a little butter, were mixed in the tin box which had held our meat. this was then reversed, and, having been properly cleansed, supplied the place of a dough-board. the vinegar-bottle served the office of rolling-pin, and a shallow tin dish formed the appliance for baking. the waubanakees were so good as to lend us an iron bake-kettle, and superintend the cooking of our cake after harry had carried it up to their dwelling. so kind and hospitable did they show themselves, that the crew of the boat took the resolution of asking a lodging on shore, by way of relief after their crowded quarters in the boat for the last three nights. arthur and mâtâ soon adopted the same idea, and we were invited to follow their example, with the assurance that the houses were extremely neat and orderly. we preferred, however, as it was a fine night, and all things were so comfortably arranged in the boat, to remain on board, keeping edwin and josette with us. the boat was tightly moored, for the little chûte was just below, and if our craft should break loose in the rapid current, and drift down over the falls, it would be a very serious matter. as an additional precaution, one man was left on board to keep all things safe and in order, and, these arrangements having been made, the others ascended the bank, and took up their night's lodgings in the waubanakee cabins. it was a beautiful, calm, moonlight night, the air just sufficiently warm to be agreeable, while the gentle murmur of the rapids and of the fall, at no great distance, soon lulled our party to repose. how long we had slumbered we knew not, when we were aroused by a rushing wind. it bent the poles supporting the awning, snapped them, and, another gust succeeding, tent and blanket were carried away on the blast down the stream. the moonlight was gone, but a flash of lightning showed them sailing away like a spectre in the distance. the storm increased in violence. the rain began to pour in torrents, and the thunder and lightning to succeed each other in fearful rapidity. my sister sprang to waken the frenchman. "get up, vitelle, quick," cried she, in french, "run up the bank for mâtâ and mr. arthur--tell them to come and get us instantly." the man made her no reply, but fell upon his knees, invoking the virgin most vociferously. "do not wait for the virgin, but go as quickly as possible. do you not see we shall all be killed?" "oh! not for the world, madame, not for the world," said vitelle, burying his head in a pack of furs, "would i go up that bank in this storm." and here he began crying most lustily to all the saints in the calendar. it was indeed awful. the roaring of the thunder and the flashing of the lightning around us were like the continued discharge of a park of artillery. i with some difficulty drew forth my cloak, and enveloped myself and josette--sister margaret did the same with edwin. "oh i madame," said the poor little girl, her teeth chattering with cold and fright, "won't we be drowned?" "very well," said my sister to the frenchman, "you see that madame john is at the last agony--if you will not go for help i must, and monsieur john must know that you left his wife to perish." this was too much for vitelle. "if i must, i must," said he, and with a desperate bound he leaped on shore and sped up the hill with might and main. in a few minutes, though it seemed ages to us, a whole posse came flying down the hill. the incessant lightning made all things appear as in the glare of day. mâtâ's curly hair fairly stood on end, and his eyes rolled with ghastly astonishment at the spectacle. "oh, my god, madame johns! what would monsieur johns say, to see you nows?" exclaimed he, as he seized me in his arms and bore me up the hill. arthur followed with sister margaret, and two others with edwin and josette. nobody carried vitelle, for he had taken care not to risk his precious life by venturing again to the boat. on arriving at the cabin where arthur and mâtâ had been lodged, a fire was, with some difficulty, kindled, and our trunks having been brought up from the boat, we were at length able to exchange our drenched garments, and those of the children, for others more comfortable, after which we laid ourselves upon the clean but homely bed, and slept until daylight. as it was necessary to ascertain what degree of damage the cargo of furs had sustained, an early start was proposed. apparently, the inhabitants of the cottages had become weary in well-doing, for they declined preparing breakfast for us, although we assured them they should be well compensated for their trouble. we, consequently, saw ourselves compelled to depart with very slender prospects of a morning meal. when we reached the boat, what a scene presented itself! bedclothes, cloaks, trunks, mess-basket, packs of furs, all bearing the marks of a complete deluge! the boat ankle-deep in water--literally no place on board where we could either stand or sit. after some bailing out, and an attempt at disposing some of the packs of furs which had suffered least from the flood, so as to form a sort of divan in the centre of the boat, nothing better seemed to offer than to re-embark, and endure what could not be cured. our position was not an enviable one. wherever a foot or hand was placed, the water gushed up, with a bubbling sound, and, oh! the state of the bandboxes and work-baskets! breakfast there was none, for on examining the mess-basket everything it contained was found mingled in one undistinguishable mass. tea, pepper, salt, short-cake, all floating together--it was a hopeless case. but this was not the worst. as the fervid july sun rose higher in the heavens, the steam which exhaled from every object on board was nearly suffocating. the boat was old--the packs of skins were old--their vicinity in a dry day had been anything but agreeable--now it was intolerable. there was no retreating from it, however; so we encouraged the children to arm themselves with patience, for the short time that yet remained of our voyage. seated on our odoriferous couch, beneath the shade of a single umbrella, to protect our whole party from the scorching sun, we glided wearily down the stream, through that long, tedious day. as we passed successively the kakalin, the rapids, dickenson's, the agency, with what longing eyes did we gaze at human habitations, where others were enjoying the shelter of a roof and the comforts of food--and how eagerly did we count the hours which must elapse before we could reach port howard! there were no songs from the poor frenchmen this day. music and fasting do not go well together. at length we stopped at shanty-town, where the boat was to be unloaded. all hands fell to work to transfer the cargo to the warehouse of the fur company, which stood near the landing. it was not a long operation, for all worked heartily. this being accomplished, the voyageurs, one and all, prepared to take their leave. in vain mâtâ stormed and raved--in vain arthur remonstrated. "no," they said, "they had brought the boat and cargo to the warehouse--that was all of their job." and they turned to go. "guardapié," said i, "do you intend to leave us here?" "bien, madame! it is the place we always stop at." "does monsieur john pay you for bringing his family down?" "oh, yes, monsieur john has given us an order on the sutler, at the fort down below." "to be paid when you deliver us safe at the fort down below. it seems i shall be there before you, and i shall arrange that matter. monsieur john never dreamed that this would be your conduct." the frenchmen consulted together, and the result was that guardapié with two others jumped into the boat, took their oars, and rather sulkily rowed us the remaining two miles to fort howard. chapter xxxiv. fort howard--our return home. we soon learned that a great panic prevailed at green bay on account of the sauks. the people seemed to have possessed themselves with the idea that the enemy would visit this place on their way to canada to put themselves under the protection of the british government. how they were to get there from this point--whether they were to stop and fabricate themselves bark canoes for the purpose, or whether they were to charter one of mr. newbery's schooners for the trip, the good people did not seem fully to have made up their minds. one thing is certain, a portion of the citizens were nearly frightened to death, and were fully convinced that there was no safety for them but within the walls of the old dilapidated fort, from which nearly all the troops had been withdrawn and sent to fort winnebago some time previous. their fears were greatly aggravated by a report, brought by some traveller, that he had slept at night on the very spot where the sauks breakfasted the next morning. now, as the sauks were known to be reduced to very short commons, there was every reason to suppose that if the man had waited half an hour longer they would have eaten him; so he was considered to have made a wonderful escape. our immediate friends and acquaintances were far from joining in these fears. the utter improbability of such a movement was obvious to all who considered the nature of the country to be traversed, and the efficient and numerous body of whites by whom they must be opposed on their entrance into that neighborhood. there were some, however, who could not be persuaded that there was any security but in flight, and eagerly was the arrival of the "mariner" looked for, as the anxiety grew more and more intense. the "mariner" appeared at last. it was early in the morning. in one hour from the time of her arrival the fearful news she brought had spread the whole length of the settlement--"the cholera was in this country! it was in detroit--it was among the troops who were on their way to the seat of war! whole companies had died of it in the river st. clair, and the survivors had been put on shore at port gratiot, to save their lives as best they might!" we were shut in between the savage foe on one hand and the pestilence on the other! to those who had friends at the east the news was most appalling. it seemed to unman every one who heard it. an officer who had exhibited the most distinguished prowess in the battle-field, and also in some private enterprises demanding unequalled courage and daring, was the first to bring us the news. when he had communicated it, he laid his head against the window-sill and wept like a child. those who must perforce rejoin friends near and dear, left the bay in the "mariner;" all others considered their present home the safest; and so it proved, for the dreadful scourge did not visit green bay that season. the weather was intensely hot, and the mosquitoes so thick that we did not pretend to walk on the parade after sunset, unless armed with two fans, or green branches to keep constantly in motion, in order to disperse them. this, by the way, was the surest method of attracting them. we had somehow forgotten the apathetic indifference which had often excited our wonder in old smoker, as we had observed him calmly sitting and allowing his naked arms and person to become literally _gray_ with the tormenting insects. then he would quietly wipe off a handful, the blood following the movement of the hand over his skin, and stoically wait for an occasion to repeat the movement. it is said that the mosquito, if undisturbed until he has taken his fill, leaves a much less inflamed bite than if brushed away in the midst of his feast. by day, the air was at this season filled with what is called the green bay fly, a species of dragon-fly, with which the outer walls of the houses are at times so covered that their color is hardly distinguishable. their existence is very ephemeral, scarcely lasting more than a day. their dead bodies are seen adhering to the walls and windows within, and they fall without in such numbers that after a high wind has gathered them into rows along the sides of the quarters, one may walk through them and toss them up with their feet like the dry leaves in autumn. as we walked across the parade, our attention was sometimes called to a tapping upon the bars of the dungeon in which a criminal was confined--it was the murderer of lieutenant foster. it may be remembered that this amiable young officer had been our travelling companion in our journey from chicago the preceding year. some months after his arrival at port howard, he had occasion to order a soldier of his company, named doyle, into confinement for intoxication. the man, a few days afterwards, prevailed on the sergeant of the guard to escort him to lieutenant foster's quarters on the plea that he wished to speak to him. he ascended the stairs to the young officer's room, while the sergeant and another soldier remained at the foot, near the door. doyle entered, and, addressing lieutenant foster, said, "will you please tell me, lieutenant, what i am confined for?" "no, sir," replied the officer; "you know your offence well enough; return to your place of confinement." the man ran down-stairs, wrenched the gun from the sergeant's hand, and, rushing back, discharged it at the heart of lieutenant foster. he turned to go to his inner apartment, but exclaiming, "ah me!" he fell dead before the entrance. doyle, having been tried by a civil court, was now under sentence, awaiting his execution. he was a hardened villain, never exhibiting the slightest compunction for his crime. the commanding officer, major clark, sent to him one day to inquire if he wanted anything for his comfort. "if the major pleased," he replied, "he should like to have a light and a copy of byron's works." some fears were entertained that he would contrive to make way with himself before the day of execution, and, to guard against it, he was deprived of everything that could furnish him a weapon. his food was served to him in a wooden bowl, lest a bit of broken crockery might he used as a means of self destruction. one morning he sent a little package to the commanding officer as a present. it contained a strong rope, fabricated from strips of his blanket, that he had carefully separated, and with a large stout spike at the end of it. the message accompanying it was, "he wished major clark to see that if he chose to put an end to himself, he could find means to do it in spite of him." and this hardened frame of mind continued to the last. when he was led out for execution, in passing beyond the gate, he observed a quantity of lumber recently collected for the construction of a new company's warehouse. "ah, captain, what are you going to build here?" inquired he of captain scott, who attended him. "doyle," replied his captain, "you have but a few moments to live--- you had better employ your thoughts about something else." "it is for that very reason, captain," said he, "that i am inquiring--as my time is short, i wish to gain all the information i can while it lasts." * * * * * we were not suffered to remain long in suspense in regard to the friends we had left behind. in less than two weeks old smoker again made his appearance. he was the bearer of letters from my husband, informing me that general dodge was then with him at port winnebago, that generals henry and alexander were likewise at the fort, and that as soon as they had recruited their men and horses, which were pretty well worn out with scouring the country after black hawk, they would march again in pursuit of him towards the head-waters of the rock river, where they had every reason, from information lately brought in by the winnebagoes, to believe he would be found. as he charged us to lay aside all uneasiness on his account, and moreover held forth the hope of soon coming or sending for us, our minds became more tranquil. not long after this, i was told one morning that "_a lady_" wished to see me at the front door. i obeyed the summons, and, to my surprise, was greeted by my friend _madame four-legs._ after much demonstration of joy at seeing me, such as putting her two hands together over her forehead and then parting them in a waving kind of gesture, laughing, and patting me on my arms, she drew from her bosom a letter from my husband, of which she was the bearer. it was to this effect--"generals dodge and henry left here a few days since, accompanied by paquette; they met the sauks near the wisconsin, on the st. a battle ensued, in which upwards of fifty of the enemy were killed--our loss was one killed, and eight wounded. the _citizens_ are well pleased that all this has been accomplished without any aid from _old white beaver._[ ] the war must be near its close, for the militia and regulars together will soon finish the remaining handful of fugitives." the arrival of lieutenant hunter, who had obtained leave of absence in order to escort us, soon put all things in train for our return to fort winnebago. no mackinac boat was to be had, but in lieu of it a durham boat was procured. this is of a description longer and shallower than the other, with no convenience for rigging up an awning, or shelter of any kind, over the centre; but its size was better fitted to accommodate our party, which consisted, besides our own family, of lieutenant and mrs. hunter, the wife of another officer now stationed at port winnebago, and our cousin, miss forsyth. we made up our minds, as will be supposed, to pretty close quarters. our crew was composed partly of frenchmen and partly of soldiers, and, all things being in readiness, we set off one fine bright morning in the latter part of july. our second day's alternate rowing and poling brought us to the grande chûte early in the afternoon. here, it is the custom to disembark at the foot of the rapids, and, ascending the high bank, walk around the fall, while the men pull the boat up through the foaming waters. most of our party had already stepped on shore, when a sudden thought seized one of the ladies and myself. "let us stay in the boat," said we, "and be pulled up the chûte." the rest of the company went on, while we sat and watched with great interest the preparations the men were making. they were soon overboard in the water, and, attaching a strong rope to the bow of the boat, all lent their aid in pulling as they marched slowly along with their heavy load. the cargo, consisting only of our trunks and stores, which were of no very considerable weight, had not been removed. we went on, now and then getting a tremendous bump against a hidden rock, and frequently splashed by a shower of foam as the waves roared and boiled around us. the men kept as close as possible to the high, precipitous bank, where the water was smoothest. at the head of the _cordel_ was a merry simpleton of a frenchman, who was constantly turning his head to grin with delight at our evident enjoyment and excitement. we were indeed in high glee. "is not this charming?" cried one. "i only wish----" the wish, whatever it was, was cut short by a shout and a crash. "have a care, robineau! mind where you are taking the boat!" was the cry, but it came too late. more occupied with the ladies than with his duty, the leader had guided us into the midst of a sharp, projecting tree that hung from the bank. the first tug ripped out the side of the boat, which immediately began to fill with water. my companion and i jumped upon the nearest rocks that showed their heads above the foam. our screams and the shouts of the men brought lieutenant hunter and some indians, who were above on the bank, dashing down to our rescue. they carried us in their arms to land, while the men worked lustily at fishing up the contents of the boat, now thoroughly saturated with water. we scrambled up the high bank, in a miserable plight, to join in the general lamentation over the probable consequences of the accident. "oh! my husband's new uniform!" cried one, and "oh! the miniatures in the bottom of my trunk!" sighed another--while, "oh! the silk dresses, and the ribbons, and the finery!" formed the general chorus. no one thought of the provisions, although we had observed, in our progress to shore, the barrel of bread and the tub of ice, which lieutenant hunter had providently brought for our refreshment, sailing away on the dancing waves. among the boxes brought to land, and "toted" up the steep bank, was one containing some loaves of sugar and packages of tea, which i had bought for our winter's supply from the sutler at the post. the young indian who was the bearer of it set it upon the ground, and soon called my attention to a thick, white stream that was oozing from the corners. i made signs for him to taste it. he dipped his finger in it, and exclaimed with delight to his companions, when he perceived what it was. i then pointed to his hatchet, and motioned him to open the box. he did not require a second invitation--it was soon backed to pieces. then, as i beckoned up all the rest of the youngsters who were looking on, full of wonder, such a scrambling and shouting with delight succeeded as put us all, particularly the boys, into fits of laughter. bowls, dippers, hands, everything that could contain even the smallest quantity, were put in requisition. the squaws were most active. those who could do no better took the stoutest fragments of the blue paper in which the sugar had been enveloped, and in a trice nothing remained but the wet, yellow bundles of tea, and the fragments of the splintered box which had contained it. by this time fires had been made, and the articles from the trunks were soon seen covering every shrub and bush in the vicinity. fortunately, the box containing the new uniform had been piled high above the others, in the centre of the boat, and had received but little damage; but sad was the condition of the wardrobes in general. not a white article was to be seen. all was mottled; blue, green, red, and black intermingling in streaks, and dripping from ends and corners. to add to the trouble, the rain began to fall, as rain is apt to do, at an inconvenient moment, and soon the half-dried garments had to be gathered out of the smoke and huddled away in a most discouraging condition. the tent was pitched, wet as it was, and the blankets, wrung out of the water, and partially dried, were spread upon the ground for our accommodation at night. a hamburg cheese, which had been a part of my stores, was voted to me for a pillow, and, after a supper the best part of which was a portion of one of the wet loaves which had remained in a barrel too tightly wedged to drift away, we betook ourselves to our repose. the next morning rose hot and sultry. the mosquitoes, which the rain had kept at bay through the night, now began to make themselves amends, and to torment us unmercifully. after our most uncomfortable and unpalatable breakfast, the first question for consideration was, what we were to do with ourselves. our boat lay submerged at the foot of the hill, half-way up the rapids. the nearest habitation among the waubanakees was some miles distant, and this there was no means of reaching but by an indian canoe, if some of our present friends and neighbors would be so obliging as to bring one for our use. even then it was doubtful if boats could be found sufficient to convey all our numerous party back to green bay. in the midst of these perplexing consultations a whoop was heard from beyond the hill, which here sloped away to the north, at the head of the rapids. "there is john! that is certainly his voice!" cried more than one of the company. it was, indeed, my husband, and in a moment he was among us. never was arrival more opportune, more evidently providential. not having learned our plans (for the unsettled state of the country had prevented our sending him word), he had come provided with a boat, to take us back to fort winnebago. our drying operations, which we had recommenced this morning, were soon cut short. everything was shuffled away in the most expeditious manner possible, and in an incredibly short time we were transferred to the other boat, which lay quietly above the chûte, and were pulling away towards winnebago lake. we had resolved to go only so far as the vicinity of the lake, where the breeze would render the mosquitoes less intolerable, and then to stop and make one more attempt at drying our clothing. accordingly, when we reached a beautiful high bank near the little butte, we stopped for that purpose again, unpacked our trunks, and soon every bush and twig was fluttering with the spoils of the cruel waves. hardly had we thus disposed of the last rag or ribbon when the tramp of horses was heard, followed by loud shouts and cheers ringing through the forest. a company of about twenty-five horsemen, with banners flying, veils fluttering from their hats, and arms glittering in the sun, rode into our midst, and, amid greetings and roars of laughter, inquired into the nature and reasons of our singular state of confusion. they were colonel stambough and alexander irwin, of green bay, with a company of young volunteers, and followed by a whooping band of menomonees, all bound for the seat of war. we comforted them with the assurance that the victories were by this time all won and the scalps taken; but, expressing the hope that there were yet a few laurels to be earned, they bade us adieu, and rapidly pursued their march. we crossed lake winnebago by the clear, beautiful light of a summer moon. the soft air was just enough to swell the sail, and thus save the men their labor at the oar. the witchery of the hour was not, however, sufficient to induce us to forego our repose after the heat and annoyances of the day--we therefore disposed ourselves betimes, to be packed away in the centre of the boat. how it was accomplished no one of the numerous company could tell. if any accident had occurred to disturb our arrangement, i am sure it would have been a chinese puzzle to put us back again in our places. the men on the outside had much the best of it, and we rather envied those who were off watch, their ability to snore and change position as the humor took them. we reached powell's just in time to have gone ashore and prepare our breakfast had we had wherewithal to prepare it. we had hoped to be able to procure some supplies here, for hitherto we had been living on the remains of my husband's ample stock. that was now so nearly exhausted that when we found the mess-basket could not be replenished at this place we began to talk of putting ourselves on allowance. the wet bread, of which there had remained an ample store, had, as may be readily imagined, soon fermented under the influence of a july sun. the tea, too, notwithstanding our careful efforts at drying it on newspapers and pieces of board, ere long became musty and unfit for use. there was, literally, nothing left, except the salted meat and a few crackers, hardly sufficient for the present day. the men were therefore urged to make all the speed possible, that we might reach gleason's, at lake puckaway, in good season on the following day. at evening, when we stopped to take our tea at a beautiful little opening among the trees, we found our old enemies, the mosquitoes, worse than ever. it was necessary to put on our cloaks and gloves, and tie our veils close around our throats, only venturing to introduce a cracker or a cup of tea under this protection in the most stealthy manner. the men rowed well, and brought us to gleason's about eleven o'clock the next day. we were greeted with the most enthusiastic demonstrations by my old friend _la grosse américaine,_ who had removed here from bellefontaine. "oh, mrs. armstrong," cried we, "get us some breakfast--we are famishing!" at that instant who should appear but our faithful mâtâ, driving the old calèche in which we were in the habit of making our little excursions in the neighborhood of the port. he had ridden over, hoping to meet us, in the idea that some of us would prefer this method of reaching our home. with provident thoughtfulness, he had brought tea, roasted coffee, fresh butter, eggs, etc., lest we should be short of such luxuries in that advanced stage of our journey. his "good-morning, madame johns! how do you dos?" was a pleasant and welcome sound. we could not wait for our breakfast, but gathered round la grosse américaine like a parcel of children while she cut and spread slices of bread-and-butter for us. after our regular meal was finished, it was decided that sister margaret should take josette, and return with mâtâ to open the house and make it ready for our reception. it had been the head-quarters of militia, indians, and stragglers of various descriptions during our absence, and we could easily imagine that a little "misrule and unreason" might have had sway for that period. we had yet seventy-two miles, by the devious winding course of the river, over first the beautiful waters of lac de boeuf, and then through the low, marshy lands that spread away to the portage. an attempt was made on the part of one of the gentlemen to create a little excitement among the ladies as we approached the spot where it had been supposed the sauks might pass on their way to the chippewa country. "who knows," said he, gravely, "but they may be lurking in this neighborhood yet? if so, we shall probably have some signal. we must be on the alert!" some of the ladies began to turn pale and look about them. after an interval of perfect silence, a low, prolonged whistle was heard. there was so much agitation, and even actual terror, that the mischievous author of the trick was obliged to confess at once, and receive a hearty scolding for the pain he had caused. just before sunset of the second day from gleason's we reached our home. every thing was _radiant_ with neatness and good order. with the efficient aid of our good manaigre and his wife, the house had been whitewashed from the roof to the door-sill, a thorough scrubbing and cleansing effected, the carpets unpacked and spread upon the floors, the furniture arranged, and, though last not least, a noble supper smoked upon the board by the time we had made, once more, a civilized toilet. many of our friends from the fort were there to greet us, and a more happy or thankful party has seldom been assembled. chapter xxxv. surrender of winnebago prisoners. the war was now considered at an end. the news of the battle of the bad axe, where the regulars, the militia, and the steamboat warrior combined, had made a final end of the remaining handful of sauks, had reached us and restored tranquillity to the hearts and homes of the frontier settlers. it may seem wonderful that an enemy so few in number and so insignificant in resources could have created such a panic, and required so vast an amount of opposing force to subdue them. the difficulty had been simply in never knowing where to find them, either to attack or guard against them. probably at the outset every military man thought and felt like the noble old veteran general brady. "give me two infantry companies mounted," said he, "and i will engage to whip the sauks out of the country in one week!" true, but to whip the enemy you must first meet him; and in order to pursue effectually and _catch_ the indians, a peculiar training is necessary--a training which, at that day, few, even of the frontier militia, could boast. in some portions of this campaign there was another difficulty,--the want of concert between the two branches of the service. the regular troops looked with contempt upon the unprofessional movements of the militia; the militia railed at the dilatory and useless formalities of the regulars. each avowed the conviction that matters could be much better conducted without the other, and the militia, being prompt to act, sometimes took matters into their own hands, and brought on defeat and disgrace, as in the affair of "stillman's run." the feeling of contempt which the army officers entertained for the militia, extended itself to their subordinates and dependants. after the visit of the ranger officers to fort winnebago, before the battle of the wisconsin, the officer of the mess where they had been entertained called up his servant one day to inquire into the sutler's accounts, he was the same little "yellow david" who had formerly appertained to captain harney. "david," said the young gentleman, "i see three bottles of cologne-water charged in the month's account of the mess at the sutler's. what does that mean?" "if you please, lieutenant," said david, respectfully, "it was to sweeten up the dining-room and quarters after them milish' officers were here visiting." black hawk and a few of his warriors had escaped to the north, where they were shortly after captured by the one-eyed day-kau-ray and his party, and brought prisoners to general street at prairie du chien. the women and children of the band had been put in canoes and sent down the mississippi, in hopes of being permitted to cross and reach the rest of that tribe. the canoes had been tied together, and many of them were upset, and the children drowned, their mothers being too weak and exhausted to rescue them. the survivors were taken prisoners, and, starving and miserable, were brought to prairie du chien. our mother was at the port at the time of their arrival. she described their condition as wretched and reduced beyond anything she had ever witnessed. one woman who spoke a little chippewa gave her an account of the sufferings and hardships they had endured--it was truly appalling. after having eaten such of the horses as could be spared, they had subsisted on acorns, elm-bark, or even grass. many had died of starvation, and their bodies were found lying in their trail by the pursuing whites. this poor woman had lost her husband in battle, and all her children by the upsetting of the canoe in which they were, and her only wish now was, to go and join them. poor indians! who can wonder that they do not love the whites? but a very short time had we been quietly at home when a summons came to my husband to collect the principal chiefs of the winnebagoes and meet general scott and governor reynolds at rock island, where it was proposed to bold a treaty for the purchase of all the lands east and south of the wisconsin. messengers were accordingly sent to collect the principal men, and, accompanied by as many as chose to report themselves, he set off on his journey. he had been gone about two weeks, and i was beginning to count the days which must elapse before i could reasonably expect his return, when, one afternoon, i went over to pay a visit to my sister at the fort. as i passed into the large hall of one range of quarters, lieutenant lacy came suddenly in from the opposite direction, and, almost without stopping, cried,-- "bad news, madam! have you heard it?" "no. what is it?" "the cholera has broken out at rock island, and they are dying by five hundred a day. dr. finley has just arrived with the news." so saying, he vanished, without stopping to answer a question. the cholera at rock island, and my husband there! i flew to the other door of the hall, which looked out upon the parade-ground. a sentinel was walking near. "soldier," cried i, "will you run to the young officers' quarters and ask dr. finley to come here for a moment?" the man shook his head--he was not allowed to leave his post. presently mrs. lacy's servant-girl appeared from a door under the steps. she was a worthless creature, but where _help_ was so scarce ladies could not afford to keep a scrupulous tariff of moral qualification. "oh! catharine," said i, "will you run over and ask dr. finley to come here a moment? i must hear what news he has brought from rock island." she put on a modest look, and said,-- "i do not like to go to the young officers' quarters." i was indignant at her hypocrisy, but i was also wild with impatience, when to my great joy dr. finley made his appearance. "where is my husband?" cried i. "on his way home, madam, safe and sound. he will probably be here to-morrow." he then gave me an account of the ravages the cholera was making among the troops, which were indeed severe, although less so than rumor had at first proclaimed. notwithstanding the doctor's assurance of his safety, my husband was seized with cholera on his journey. by the kind care of paquette and the plentiful use of chicken-broth which the poor woman at whose cabin he stopped administered to him, he soon recovered, and reached his home in safety, having taken prairie du chien in his route and brought his mother with him again to her home. the indians had consented to the sale of their beautiful domain. indeed, there is no alternative in such cases. if they persist in retaining them, and become surrounded and hemmed in by the white settlers, their situation is more deplorable than if they surrendered their homes altogether. this they are aware of, and therefore, as a general thing, they give up their lands at the proposal of government, and only take care to make the best bargain they can for themselves. in this instance they were to receive as an equivalent a tract of land[ ] extending to the interior of iowa, and an additional sum of ten thousand dollars annually. one of the stipulations of the treaty was, the surrender by the winnebagoes of certain individuals of their tribe accused of having participated with the sauks in some of the murders on the frontier, in order that they might be tried by our laws, and acquitted or punished as the case might be. wau-kaun-kah (the little snake) voluntarily gave himself as a hostage until the delivery of the suspected persons. he was accordingly received by the agent, and marched over and placed in confinement at the fort until the seven accused should appear to redeem him. it was a work of some little time on the part of the nation to persuade these suspected individuals to place themselves in the hands of the whites, that they might receive justice according to the laws of the latter. the trial of red bird, and his languishing death in prison, were still fresh in their memories, and it needed a good deal of resolution, as well as a strong conviction of conscious innocence, to brace them up to such a step. it had to be brought about by arguments and persuasions, for the nation would never have resorted to force to compel the fulfilment of their stipulation. in the mean time a solemn talk was held with the principal chiefs assembled at the agency. a great part of the nation were in the immediate neighborhood, in obedience to a notice sent by governor porter, who, in virtue of his office of governor of michigan territory, was also superintendent of the northwest division of the indians. instead of calling upon the agent to take charge of the annuity money, as had heretofore been the custom, the governor had announced his intention of bringing it himself to fort winnebago and being present at the payment. the time appointed had now arrived, and with it the main body of the winnebagoes. such of the indians as had not attended the treaty at rock island and been instrumental in the cession of their country, were loud in their condemnation of the step, and their lamentations over it. foremost among these was wild-cat, the falstaff of garlic island and its vicinity. it was little wonder that he should shed bitter tears, as he did, over the loss of his beautiful home on the blue waters of winnebago lake. "if he had not been accidentally stopped," he said, "on his way to the treaty, and detained until it was too late, he would never, never have permitted the bargain." his father, who knew that a desperate frolic, into which wild-cat had been enticed by the way, was the cause of his failing to accompany his countrymen to rock island, replied, gravely,-- "that he had heard of the chief's misfortune on this occasion. how that, in ascending the fox river, a couple of kegs of _whiskey_ had come floating down the stream, which, running foul of his canoe with great force, had injured it to such a degree that he had been obliged to stop several days at the _mee-kan,_ to repair damages." the shouts of laughter which greeted this explanation were so contagious that poor wild-cat himself was compelled to join in it, and treat his misfortune as a joke. the suspected indians having engaged the services of judge doty to defend them on their future trial, notice was at length given that on a certain day they would be brought to the portage and surrendered to their father, to be by him transferred to the keeping of the military officer appointed to receive them. it was joyful news to poor wau-kaun-kah, that the day of his release was at hand. every time that we had been within the walls of the fort we had been saluted by a call from him, as he kept his station at the guard-room window: "do you hear anything of those indians? when are they coming, that i may be let out?" we had endeavored to lighten his confinement by seeing that he was well supplied with food, and his father and paquette had paid him occasional visits; but, notwithstanding these attentions and the kindness he had received at the fort, his confinement was inexpressibly irksome. on the morning of a bright autumnal day the authorities were notified that the chiefs of the nation would present themselves at the agency to deliver the suspected persons as prisoners to the americans. at the hour of ten o'clock, as we looked out over the portage road, we could descry a moving concourse of people, in which brilliant color, glittering arms, and, as they approached still nearer, certain white objects of unusual appearance could be distinguished. general dodge, major plympton, and one or two other officers took their seats with mr. kinzie on the platform in front of the door of our mansion to receive them, while we stationed ourselves at the window where we could both see and hear. the procession wound up the hill, and approached, marching slowly towards us. it was a grand and solemn sight. first came some of the principal chiefs in their most brilliant array. next, the prisoners, all habited in white cotton, in token of their innocence, with girdles round their waists. the music of the drum and the shee-shee-qua accompanied their death-song, which they were chaunting. they wore no paint, no ornaments--their countenances were grave and thoughtful. it might well be a serious moment to them, for they knew but little of the customs of the whites, and that little was not such as to inspire cheerfulness. only their father's assurance that they should receive strict justice, would probably have induced them to comply with the engagements of the nation in this manner. the remainder of the procession was made up of a long train of winnebagoes, all decked out in their holiday garb. the chiefs approached and shook hands with the gentlemen, who stood ready to receive their greeting. then the prisoners came forward, and went through the same salutation with the officers. when they offered their hands to their father, he declined. "no," said he. "you have come here accused of great crimes--of having assisted in taking the lives of some of the defenceless settlers. when you have been tried by the laws of the land, and been proved innocent, then your father will give you his hand." they looked still more serious at this address, as if they thought it indicated that their father, too, believed them guilty, and stepping back a little, they seated themselves, without speaking, in a row upon the ground, facing their father and the officers. the other indians all took seats in a circle around them, except the one-eyed chief, kau-ray-kau-say-kah (the white crow), who had been deputed to deliver the prisoners to the agent. he made a speech in which he set forth that, "although asserting their innocence of the charges preferred against them, his countrymen were quite willing to be tried by the laws of white men. he hoped they would not be detained long, but that the matter would be investigated soon, and that they would come out of it clear and white." in reply he was assured that all things would be conducted fairly and impartially, exactly as if the accused were white men, and the hope was added that they would be found to have been good and true citizens, and peaceful children of their great father, the president. when this was over, white crow requested permission to transfer the medal he had received as a mark of friendship from the president, to his son, who stood beside him, and who had been chosen by the nation to fill his place as chief, an office he was desirous of resigning. the speeches made upon this occasion, as interpreted by paquette, the modest demeanor of the young man, and the dignified yet feeling manner of the father throughout, made the whole ceremony highly impressive; and when the latter took the medal from his neck and hung it around that of his son, addressing him a few appropriate words, i think no one could have witnessed the scene unmoved. i had watched the countenances of the prisoners as they sat on the ground before me, while all these ceremonies were going forward. with one exception they were open, calm, and expressive of conscious innocence. of that one i could not but admit there might be reasonable doubts. one was remarkably fine-looking--another was a boy of certainly not more than seventeen, and during the transfer of the medal he looked from one to the other, and listened to what was uttered by the speakers, with an air and expression of even childlike interest and satisfaction. our hearts felt sad for them as, the ceremonies finished, they were conducted by a file of soldiers and committed to the dungeon of the guard-house until such time as they should be summoned to attend the court appointed to try their cause. chapter xxxvi. escape of the prisoners. the indians did not disperse after the ceremonies of the surrender had been gone through. they continued still in the vicinity of the portage, in the constant expectation of the arrival of the annuity money, which they had been summoned there to receive. but the time for setting out on his journey to bring it was postponed by governor porter from week to week. had he foreseen all the evils this delay was to occasion, he would, possibly, have been more prompt in fulfilling his appointment. many causes conspired to make an early payment desirable. in the first place, the winnebagoes, having been driven from their homes by their anxiety to avoid all appearance of fraternizing with the sauks, had made this year no gardens nor corn-fields they had, therefore, no provisions on hand, either for present use or for their winter's consumption, except their scanty supplies of wild rice. while this was disappearing during their protracted detention at the portage, they were running the risk of leaving themselves quite unprovided with food, in case of a bad hunting-season during the winter and spring. in the next place, the rations which the agent had been accustomed, by the permission of government, to deal out occasionally to them, were now cut off by a scarcity in the commissary's department. the frequent levies of the militia during the summer campaign, and the reinforcement of the garrison by the troops from port howard, had drawn so largely on the stores at this post that there was necessity for the most rigid economy in the issuing of supplies. foreseeing this state of things, mr. kinzie, as soon as the war was at an end, commissioned mr. kercheval, then sutler at fort howard, to procure him a couple of boat-loads of corn, to be distributed among the indians. unfortunately, there was no corn to be obtained from michigan; it was necessary to bring it from ohio, and by the time it at length reached green bay (for in those days business was never done in a hurry) the navigation of the fox river had closed, and it was detained there, to be brought up the following spring. as day after day wore on and "the silver" did not make its appearance, the indians were advised by their father to disperse to their hunting-grounds to procure food, with the promise that they should be summoned immediately on the arrival of governor porter; and this advice they followed. while they had been in our neighborhood, they had more than once asked permission to dance the _scalp-dance,_ before our door. this is the most frightful, heart-curdling exhibition that can possibly be imagined. the scalps are stretched on little hoops, or frames, and carried on the end of slender poles. these are brandished about in the course of the dance, with cries, shouts, and furious gestures. the women, who commence as spectators, becoming excited with the scene and the music which their own discordant notes help to make more deafening, rush in, seize the scalps from the hands of the owners, and toss them frantically about, with the screams and yells of demons. i have seen as many as forty or fifty scalps figuring in one dance. upon one occasion one was borne by an indian who approached quite near me, and i shuddered as i observed the long, fair hair, evidently that of a woman. another indian had the skin of a human hand, stretched and prepared with as much care as if it had been some costly jewel. when these dances occurred, as they sometimes did, by moonlight, they were peculiarly horrid and revolting. * * * * * amid so many events of a painful character there were not wanting occasionally some that bordered on the ludicrous. one evening, while sitting at tea, we were alarmed by the sound of guns firing in the direction of the wisconsin. all started up, and prepared, instinctively, for flight to the garrison. as we left the house we found the whole bluff and the meadow below in commotion,--indians running with their guns and spears across their shoulders to the scene of alarm--squaws and children standing in front of their lodges and looking anxiously in the direction of the unusual and unaccountable sounds--groups of french and half-breeds, like ourselves, fleeing to gain the bridge and place themselves within the pickets so lately erected. as one company of indians passed us hurriedly, some weapon carelessly carried hit one of our party on the side of the head. "oh!" shrieked she, "i am killed! an indian has tomahawked me!" and she was only reassured by finding she could still run as fast as the best of us. when we reached the parade-ground, within the fort, we could not help laughing at the grotesque appearance we presented. some without hats or shawls--others with packages of valuables hastily secured at the moment--one with her piece of bread-and-butter in hand, which she had not had the presence of mind to lay aside when she took to flight. the alarm was, in the end, found to have proceeded from a party of winnebagoes from one of the barribault villages, who, being about to leave their home for a period, were going through the ceremony of burying the scalps which they and their fathers had taken. like the military funerals among civilized nations, their solemnities were closed on this occasion by the discharge of several volleys over the grave of their trophies. * * * * * at length, about the beginning of november, two months after the time appointed, governor porter, accompanied by major forsyth and mr. kercheval, arrived with the annuity money. the indians were again assembled, the payment was made, and having supplied themselves with a larger quantity of ammunition than usual,--for they saw the necessity of a good hunt to remedy past and present deficiencies,--they set off for their wintering grounds. we were, ourselves, about changing our quarters, to our no small satisfaction. notwithstanding the indian disturbances, the new agency house (permission to build which had, after much delay, been accorded by government) had been going steadily on, and soon after the departure of the governor and his party, we took possession of it. we had been settled but a few weeks, when one morning lieutenant davies appeared just as we were sitting down to breakfast, with a face full of consternation. "_the indian prisoners had escaped from the black-hole_! the commanding officer, colonel cutler, had sent for mr. kinzie to come over to the fort and counsel with him what was to be done." the prisoners had probably commenced their operations very soon after being placed in the _black-hole_, a dungeon in the basement of the guard-house. they observed that their meals were brought regularly, three times a day, and that in the intervals they were left entirely to themselves. with their knives they commenced excavating an opening, the earth from which, as it was withdrawn, they spread about on the floor of their prison. a blanket was placed over the hole, and one of the company was always seated upon it, before the regular time for the soldier who had charge of them to make his appearance. when the periodical visit was made, the indians were always observed to be seated, smoking in the most orderly and quiet manner. there was never anything in their appearance to excite suspicion. the prisoners had never read the memoirs of baron trenck, but they had watched the proceedings of the badgers; so, profiting by their example, they worked on, shaping the opening spirally, until, in about six weeks, they came out to the open air beyond the walls of the fort. that they might be as little encumbered as possible in their flight, they left their blankets behind them, and although it was bitter december weather, they took to the woods and prairies with only their calico shirts and leggings for covering. we can readily believe that hope and exultation kept them comfortably warm until they reached an asylum among their friends. it would be compromising our own reputation as loyal and patriotic citizens to tell of the secret rejoicing this news occasioned us. the question now was, how to get the fugitives back again. the agent could promise no more than that he would communicate with the chiefs, and represent the wishes of the officers that the prisoners should once more surrender themselves, and thus free those who had had the charge of them from the imputation of carelessness, which the government would be very likely to throw upon them. when, according to their custom, many of the chiefs assembled at the agency on new-year's day, their father laid the subject before them. the indians replied, that _if they saw the young men_ they would tell them what the officers would like to have them do. they could, themselves, do nothing in the matter. they had fulfilled their engagement by bringing them once and putting them in the hands of the officers. the government had had them in its power once and could not keep them--it must now go and catch them itself. the government, having had some experience the past summer in "catching indians," wisely concluded to drop the matter. about this time another event occurred which occasioned no small excitement in our little community. robineau, the striker from the blacksmith establishment at sugar creek, near the four lakes, arrived one very cold day at the agency. he had come to procure medical aid for mâtâ's eldest daughter, sophy, who, while sliding on the lake, had fallen on the ice and been badly hurt. her father was absent, having gone to prairie du chien to place his youngest daughter at school. two or three days had elapsed since the accident had happened; a high fever had set in, and the poor girl was in a state of great suffering; it had therefore been thought best to send robineau to us for advice and aid, leaving turcotte and a friendly indian woman from a neighboring lodge to take charge of poor sophy. the commanding officer did not think it prudent, when the subject was laid before him, to permit the surgeon to leave the post, but he very cheerfully granted leave of absence to currie, the hospital steward, a young man who possessed some knowledge of medicine and surgery. as it was important that sophy should have an experienced nurse, we procured the services of madame bellaire, the wife of the frenchman who was generally employed as express to chicago; and, as an aid and companion, agathe, a daughter of day-kau-ray, who lived in paquette's family, was added to the party. of agathe i shall have more to say hereafter. the weather was excessively cold when robineau, currie, and the two women set out for sugar creek, a distance of about forty miles. we had provided them with a good store of rice, crackers, tea, and sugar, for the invalid, all of which, with their provisions for the way, were packed on the horse robineau had ridden to the portage. it was expected they would reach their place of destination on the second day. what, then, was our surprise to see turcotte make his appearance on the fourth day after their departure, to inquire why robineau had not returned with aid for poor sophy! there was but one solution of the mystery. robineau had guided them as ill as he had guided the boat at the grande chûte the summer before, and, although he could not shipwreck them, he had undoubtedly lost them in the woods or prairies. one comfort was, that they could not well starve, for the rice and crackers would furnish them with several days' provisions, and with agathe, who must be accustomed to this kind of life, they could not fail in time of finding indians, and being brought back to the portage. still, day after day went on and we received no tidings of them. turcotte returned to sugar creek with comforts and prescriptions for sophy, and colonel cutler sent out a party to hunt for the missing ones, among whom poor currie, from his delicate constitution, was the object of our greatest commiseration. as the snow fell and the winds howled, we could employ ourselves about nothing but walking from window to window, watching, in hopes of seeing some one appear in the distance. no indians were at hand whom we could dispatch upon the search, and by the tenth day we had almost given up in despair. it was then that the joyful news was suddenly brought us, "they are found! they are at the fort!" a party of soldiers who had been exploring had encountered them at hastings's woods, twelve miles distant, slowly and feebly making their way back to the portage. they knew they were on the right track, but had hardly strength to pursue it. exhausted with cold and hunger, for their provisions had given out two days before, they had thought seriously of killing the horse and eating him. nothing but currie's inability to proceed on foot, and the dread of being compelled to leave him in the woods to perish, had deterred them. agathe had from the first been convinced that they were on the wrong track, but robineau, with his usual obstinacy, persevered in keeping it until it brought them to the rock river, when he was obliged to acknowledge his error, and they commenced retracing their steps. agathe, according to the custom of her people, had carried her hatchet with her, and thus they had always had a fire at night, and boughs to shelter them from the storms; otherwise they must inevitably have perished. there were two circumstances which aroused in us a stronger feeling even than that of sympathy. the first was, the miserable robineau's having demanded of currie, first, all his money, and afterwards his watch, as a condition of his bringing the party back into the right path, which he averred he knew perfectly well. the second was, bellaire's giving his kind, excellent wife a hearty flogging "for going off," as he said, "on such a fool's errand." the latter culprit was out of our jurisdiction, but mons. robineau was discharged on the spot, and warned that he might think himself happy to escape a legal process for swindling. i am happy to say that sophy mâtâ, in whose behalf all these sufferings had been endured, was quite recovered by the time her father returned from the prairie. chapter xxxvii. agathe--tomah. agathe was the daughter of an indian who was distinguished by the name of _rascal_ day-kau-ray. whether he merited the appellation must be determined hereafter. he was brother to the grand old chief of that name, but as unlike him as it is possible for those of the same blood to be. the day-kau-rays were a very handsome family, and this daughter was remarkable for her fine personal endowments. a tall, well-developed form, a round, sweet face, and that peculiarly soft, melodious voice which belongs to the women of her people, would have attracted the attention of a stranger, while the pensive expression of her countenance irresistibly drew the hearts of all towards her, and prompted the wish to know more of her history. as i received it from her friend, mrs. paquette, it was indeed a touching one. a young officer at the fort had seen her, and had set, i will not say his heart--it may be doubted if he had one--but his mind upon her. he applied to paquette to negotiate what he called a marriage with her. i am sorry to say that paquette was induced to enter into this scheme. he knew full well the sin of making false representations to the family of agathe, and he knew the misery he was about to bring upon her. the poor girl had been betrothed to a young man of her own people, and, as is generally the case, the attachment on both sides was very strong. among these simple people, who have few subjects of thought or speculation beyond the interests of their daily life, their affections and their animosities form the warp and woof of their character. all their feelings are intense, from being concentrated on so few objects. family relations, particularly with the women, engross the whole amount of their sensibilities. the marriage connection is a sacred and indissoluble tie. i have read, in a recent report to the historical society of wisconsin, that, in former times, a temporary marriage between a white man and a menomonee woman was no uncommon occurrence, and that such an arrangement brought no scandal, i am afraid that if such eases were investigated, a good deal of deceit and misrepresentation would be found to have been added to the other sins of the transaction; and that the woman would be found to have been a victim, instead of a willing participant, in such a connection. at all events, no system of this kind exists among the winnebagoes. the strictest sense of female propriety is a distinguishing trait among them. a woman who transgresses it is said to have "forgotten herself," and is sure to be cast off and "forgotten" by her friends. the marriage proposed between the young officer and the daughter of day-kau-ray, was understood as intended to be true and lasting. the father would not have exposed himself to the contempt of his whole nation by selling his daughter to become the mistress of any man. the day-kau-rays, as i have elsewhere said, were not a little proud of a remote cross of french blood which mingled with the aboriginal stream in their veins, and probably in acceding to the proposed connection the father of agathe was as much influenced by what he considered the honor to be derived as by the amount of valuable presents which accompanied the overtures made to him. be that as it may, the poor girl was torn from her lover, and transferred from her father's lodge to the quarters of the young officer. there were no ladies in the garrison at that time. had there been, such a step would hardly have been ventured. far away in the wilderness, shut out from the salutary influences of religious and social cultivation, what wonder that the moral sense sometimes becomes blinded, and that the choice is made, "evil, be thou my good!" the first step in wrong was followed by one still more aggravated in cruelty. the young officer left the post, as he said, on furlough, but _he never returned_. the news came after a time that he was married, and when he again joined his regiment it was at another post. there was a natural feeling in the strength of the "woe pronounced against him" by more tongues than one. "he will never," said my informant, "dare show himself in this country again! not an indian who knows the day-kau-rays but would take his life if he should meet him!" every tie was broken for poor agathe but that which bound her to her infant. she never returned to her father's lodge, for she felt that, being deserted, she was dishonored. her sole ambition seemed to be to bring up her child like those of the whites. she attired it in the costume of the french children, with a dress of bright calico, and a cap of the same, trimmed with narrow black lace. it was a fine child, and the only time i ever saw a smile cross her face was when it was commended and caressed by some member of our family. even this, her only source of happiness, poor agathe was called upon to resign. during our absence at green bay, while the sauks were in the neighborhood, the child was taken violently ill. the house at paquette's, which was the mother's home, was thronged with indians, and of course there was much noise and disturbance. my husband had a place prepared for her under our roof, where she could be more quiet, and receive the attendance of the post physician. it was all in vain--nothing could save the little creature's life. the bitter agony of the mother, as she hung over the only treasure she possessed on earth, was described to me as truly heart-rending. when compelled to part with it, it seemed almost more than nature could bear. there were friends, not of her own nation or color, who strove to comfort her. did the father ever send a thought or an inquiry after the fate of his child, or of the young being whose life he had rendered dark and desolate? we will hope that he did--that he repented and asked pardon from above for the evil he had wrought. agathe had been baptized by m. mazzuchelli. perhaps she may have acquired some religious knowledge which could bring her consolation in her sorrows, and compensate her for the hopes and joys so early blasted. she came, some months after the death of her child, in company with several of the half-breed women of the neighborhood, to pay me a visit of respect and congratulation on the advent of the _young shaw-nee-aw-kee._ when she looked at her "little brother," as he was called, and took his soft, tiny hand within her own, the tears stood in her eyes, and she spoke some little words of tenderness, which showed that her heart was full. i could scarcely refrain from mingling my tears with hers, as i thought on all the sorrow and desolation that one man's selfishness had occasioned. * * * * * early in february, , my husband and lieutenant hunter, in company with one or two others, set off on a journey to chicago. that place had become so much of a town (it contained perhaps fifty inhabitants) that it was necessary for the proprietors of "kinzie's addition" to lay out lots and open streets through their property. all this was accomplished during the visit in question. while they were upon the ground with a surveyor, the attention of my husband was drawn towards a very bright-looking boy in indian costume, who went hopping along by the side of the assistant that carried the chain, mimicking him as in the course of his operations he cried, "stick!" "stuck!" he inquired who the lad was, and, to his surprise, learned that he was the brother of the old family servants victoire, genevieve, and baptiste. tomah, for that was his name, had never been arrayed in civilized costume; he was in blanket and leggings, and had always lived in a wigwam. my husband inquired if he would like to go to fort winnebago with him and learn to be a white boy. the idea pleased him much, and, his mother having given her sanction to the arrangement, he was packed in a wagon, with the two gentlemen and their travelling gear, when they set forth on their return-journey. tomah had been equipped in jacket and trousers, with the other articles of apparel necessary to his new sphere and character. they were near the aux plaines, and approaching the residence of glode (claude) laframboise, where tomah knew he should meet acquaintances. he asked leave to get out of the wagon and walk a little way. when the gentlemen next saw him he was in full pottowattamie costume: although it was bitter winter weather, he had put on his uncomfortable native garb rather than show himself to his old friends in a state of transformation. on his arrival at fort winnebago, our first care was to furnish him with a complete wardrobe, which, having been placed in a box in his sleeping-apartment, was put under his charge. words cannot express his delight as the valuable possessions were confided to him. every spare moment was devoted to their contemplation. now and then tomah would be missing. he was invariably found seated by the side of his little trunk, folding and refolding his clothes, laying them now lengthwise, now crosswise, the happiest of mortals. our next step was to teach him to be useful. such little offices were assigned to him at first as might be supposed not altogether new to him, but we soon observed that when there was anything in the shape of work, tomah slipped off to bed, even if it were before he had taken his supper. some fish were given him one evening to scale; it was just at dark; but tom, according to custom, retired at once to bed. the cook came to inquire what was to be done. i was under the necessity of calling in my husband's aid as interpreter. he sent for tomah. when he came into the parlor mr. kinzie said to him, in pottowattamie,-- "there are some fish, tomah, in the kitchen, and we want you to scale them." "now?" exclaimed tom, with an expression of amazement. "it is very late." a young lady, miss rolette, who was visiting us, and who understood the language, could not refrain from bursting into a laugh at the simplicity with which the words were uttered, and we joined her in sympathy, at which tom looked a little indignant; but when he understood that it was the _white custom_ to scale the fish at night, and put salt and pepper on them, he was soon reconciled to do his duty in the matter. his next office was to lay the table. there was a best service of china, which was only used when we had company, and a best set of teaspoons, which i kept in the drawer of a bureau in my own room above-stairs. i was in the habit of keeping this drawer locked, and putting the key under a small clock on the mantel-piece. the first time that i had shown tomah how to arrange matters for visitors, i had brought the silver and put it on the table myself. soon after, we were to have company to tea again, and i explained to tomah that the best china must be used. what was my surprise, on going through the dining-room a short time after, to see not only the new china, but the "company silver" also, on the table! i requested our mother, who could speak with him, to inquire into the matter. tomah said, very coolly, "he got the silver where it was kept." "did he find the drawer open?" "no--he opened it with a key." "was the key in the drawer?" "no--it was under that thing on the shelf." "how did he know it was kept there?" this was what mr. tomah declined telling. we could never ascertain whether he had watched my movements at any time. no one had ever seen him in that part of the house, and yet scarcely an article could be mentioned of which tomah did not know the whereabouts. if any one was puzzled to find a thing, it was always,-- "ask tomah--he will tell you." and so in fact he did. he was a subject of much amusement to the young officers. we were to have a tea-party one evening--all the families and young officers from the fort. to make tomah's appearance as professional as possible, we made him a white apron with long sleeves to put on while he was helping mary and josette to carry round tea--for i must acknowledge that tomah's clothes were not kept in as nice order out of the trunk as in it. tom was delighted with his new costume, as well as with the new employment. he acquitted himself to perfection, for he had never any difficulty in imitating what he saw another do. after tea we had some music. as i was standing by the piano, at which one of the ladies was seated, lieutenant vancleve said to me, in a low tone,-- "look behind you a moment." i turned. there sat tom between two of the company, as stately as possible, with his white apron smoothed down, and his hands clasped before him, listening to the music, and on the best possible terms with himself and all around him. julian and edwin were hardly able to restrain their merriment, but they were afraid to do or say anything that would cause him to move before the company had had a full enjoyment of the scene. it was voted unanimously that tomah should be permitted to remain and enjoy the pleasures of society for one evening; but, with characteristic restlessness, he got tired as soon as the music was over, and unceremoniously took his leave of the company. chapter xxxviii. conclusion. what we had long anticipated of the sufferings of the indians began to manifest itself as the spring drew on. its extent was first brought to our knowledge by those who came in little parties begging for food. as long as it was possible to issue occasional rations their father continued to do so, but the supplies in the commissary department were now so much reduced that colonel cutler did not feel justified in authorizing anything beyond a scanty relief, and this only in extreme cases. we had ourselves throughout the winter used the greatest economy with our own stores, that we might not exhaust our slender stock of flour and meal before it could be replenished from "below." we had even purchased some sour flour which had been condemned by the commissary, and had contrived, by a plentiful use of saleratus and a due proportion of potatoes, to make of it a very palatable kind of bread. but as we had continued to give to party after party, when they would come to us to represent their famishing condition, the time at length arrived when we had nothing to give. the half-breed families of the neighborhood, who had, like ourselves, continued to share with the needy as long as their own stock lasted, were now obliged, of necessity, to refuse further assistance. these women often came to lament with us over the sad accounts that were brought from the wintering grounds. it had been a very open winter. the snow had scarcely been enough at any time to permit the indians to track the deer; in fact, all the game had been driven off by the troops and war-parties scouring the country through the preceding summer. we heard of their dying by companies from mere inanition, and lying stretched in the road to the portage, whither they were striving to drag their exhausted frames. soup made of the bark of the slippery elm, or stewed acorns, were the only food that many had subsisted on for weeks. we had for a long time received our own food by daily rations from the garrison, for things had got to such a pass that there was no possibility of obtaining a barrel of flour at a time. after our meals were finished i always went into the pantry, and collecting carefully every remaining particle of food set it aside, to be given to some of the wretched applicants by whom we were constantly thronged. one day as i was thus employed, a face appeared at the window with which i had once been familiar. it was the pretty daughter of the elder day-kau-ray. she had formerly visited us often, watching with great interest our employments--our sewing, our weeding and cultivating the garden, or our reading. of the latter, i had many times endeavored to give her some idea, showing her the plates in the family bible, and doing my best to explain them to her, but of late i had quite lost sight of her. now, how changed, how wan she looked! as i addressed her with my ordinary phrase, "_tshah-ko-zhah_?" (what is it?) she gave a sigh that was almost a sob. she did not beg, but her countenance spoke volumes. i took my dish and handed it to her, expecting to see her devour the contents eagerly; but no--she took it, and, making signs that she would soon return, walked away. when she brought it back, i was almost sure she had not tasted a morsel herself. * * * * * oh! the boats--the boats with the corn! why did they not come? we both wrote and sent to hasten them, but, alas! everything and everybody moved so slowly in those unenterprising times! we could only feel sure that they would come when they were ready, and not a moment before. we were soon obliged to keep both doors and windows fast, to shut out the sight of misery we could not relieve. if a door were opened for the admission of a member of the family, some wretched mother would rush in, grasp the hand of my infant, and, placing that of her famishing child within it, tell us, pleadingly, that he was imploring "his little brother" for food. the stoutest man could not have beheld with dry eyes the heart-rending spectacle which often presented itself. it was in vain that we screened the lower portion of our windows with curtains. they would climb up on the outside, and tier upon tier of gaunt, wretched faces would peer in above, to watch us, and see if indeed we were as ill provided as we represented ourselves. the noble old day-kau-ray came one day, from the barribault, to apprise us of the state of his village. more than forty of his people, he said, had now been for many days without food, save bark and roots. my husband accompanied him to the commanding officer to tell his story and ascertain if any amount of food could be obtained from that quarter. the result was, the promise of a small allowance of flour, sufficient to alleviate the cravings of his own family. when this was explained to the chief, he turned away. "no," he said, "if his people could not be relieved, he and his family would starve with them!" and he refused, for those nearest and dearest to him, the proffered succor, until all could share alike. the announcement, at length, that "the boats were in sight," was a thrilling and most joyful sound. hundreds of poor creatures were assembled on the bank, watching their arrival. oh! how torturing was their slow approach, by the winding course of the river, through the extended prairie! as the first boat touched the land, we, who were gazing on the scene with anxiety and impatience only equalled by that of the sufferers, could scarcely refrain from laughing, to see old wild-cat, who had somewhat fallen off in his huge amount of flesh, seize "the washington woman" in his arms and hug and dance with her in the ecstasy of his delight. their father made a sign to them all to fall to work with their hatchets, which they had long held ready, and in an incredibly short time barrel after barrel of corn was broken open and emptied, while even the little children possessed themselves of pans and kettles full, and hastened to the fires that were blazing around to parch and cook that which they had seized. from this time forward, there was no more destitution. the present abundance was immediately followed by the arrival of supplies for the commissary's department; and, refreshed and invigorated, our poor children departed once more to their villages, to make ready their crops for the ensuing season. in the course of the spring, we received a visit from the rev. mr. kent and mrs. kent, of galena. this event is memorable, as being the first occasion on which the gospel, according to the protestant faith, was preached at fort winnebago. the large parlor of the hospital was fitted up for the service, and gladly did we each say to the other, "let us go to the house of the lord!" for nearly three years had we lived here without the blessing of a public service of praise and thanksgiving. we regarded this commencement as an omen of better times, and our little "sewing-society" worked with renewed industry, to raise a fund which might be available hereafter in securing the permanent services of a missionary. * * * * * not long after this, on a fine spring morning, as we were seated at breakfast, a party of indians entered the parlor, and came to the door of the room where we were. two of them passed through, and went out upon a small portico--the third remained standing in the door-way at which he had at first appeared. he was nearly opposite me, and as i raised my eyes, spite of his change of dress, and the paint with which he was covered, i at once recognized him. i continued to pour the coffee, and, as i did so, i remarked to my husband, "the one behind you, with whom you are speaking, is one of the escaped prisoners." without turning his head, mr. kinzie continued to listen to all the directions they were giving him about the repairing of their guns, traps, etc., which they wished to leave with the blacksmith. as they went on, he carelessly turned towards the parlor door, and replied to the one speaking to him. when he again addressed me, it was to say,-- "you are right, but it is no affair of ours. we are none of us to look so as to give him notice that we suspect anything. they are undoubtedly innocent, and have suffered enough already." contrary to his usual custom, their father did not ask their names, but wrote their directions, which he tied to their different implements, and then bade them go and deliver them themselves to m. morrin. the rest of our circle were greatly pleased at the young fellow's audacity, and we quite longed to tell the officers that we could have caught one of their fugitives for them, if we had had a mind. * * * * * the time had now come when we began to think seriously of leaving our pleasant home, and taking up our residence at detroit, while making arrangements for a permanent settlement at chicago. this intelligence, when communicated to our winnebago children, brought forth great lamentations and demonstrations of regret. from the surrounding country they came flocking in, to inquire into the truth of the tidings they had heard, and to petition earnestly that we would continue to live and die among them. among them all, no one seemed so overwhelmed with affliction as elizabeth, our poor _cut-nose_. when we first told her of our intention, she sat for hours in the same spot, wiping away the tears that would find their way down her cheeks, with the corner of the chintz shawl she wore pinned across her bosom. "no! i never, never, never shall i find such friends again," she would exclaim. "you will go away, and i shall be left here _all alone_." wild-cat, too, the fat, jolly wild-cat, gave way to the most audible lamentations. "oh, my little brother," he said to the baby, on the morning of our departure, when he had insisted on taking him and seating him on his fat, dirty knee, "you will never come back to see your poor brother again!" and having taken an extra glass on the occasion, he wept like an infant. it was with sad hearts that on the morning of the st of july, , we bade adieu to the long cortége which followed us to the boat, now waiting to convey us to green bay, where we were to meet governor porter and mr. brush, and proceed, under their escort, to detroit. when they had completed their tender farewells, they turned to accompany their father across the portage, on his route to chicago, and long after, we could see them winding along the road, and hear their loud lamentations at a parting which they foresaw would be forever. appendix. i. as i have given throughout the narrative of the sauk war the impressions we received from our own observation, or from information furnished us at the time, i think it but justice to black hawk and his party to insert, by way of appendix, the following account, preserved among the manuscript records of the late thomas forsyth, esq., of st. louis, who, after residing among the indians many years as a trader, was, until the year , the agent of the sauks and foxes. the manuscript was written in , while black hawk and his compatriots were in prison at jefferson barracks. "the united states troops under the command of major stoddard arrived here[ ] and took possession of this country in the month of february, . in the spring of that year, a white person (a man or boy) was killed in cuivre settlement, by a sauk indian some time in the summer following, a party of united states troops were sent up to the sauk village on rocky biver, and a demand made of the sauk chiefs for the murderer. the sauk chiefs did not hesitate a moment, but delivered him up to the commander of the troops, who brought him down and delivered him over to the civil authority in this place (st. louis). "some time in the ensuing autumn some sauk and fox indians came to this place, and had a conversation with general harrison (then governor of indiana territory, and acting governor of this state, then territory of louisiana) on the subject of liberating their relative, then in prison at this place for the above-mentioned murder. "quash-quame, a sauk chief, who was the head man of this party, has repeatedly said, 'mr. pierre chouteau, sen., came several times to my camp, offering that if i would sell the lands on the east side of the mississippi river, governor harrison would liberate my relation (meaning the sauk indian then in prison as above related), to which i at last agreed, and sold the lands from the mouth of the illinois river up the mississippi river as high as the mouth of rocky river (now rock river), and east to the ridge that divides the waters of the mississippi and illinois rivers; but i never sold any more lands.' quash-quame also said to governor edwards, governor clarke, and mr. auguste chouteau, commissioners appointed to treat with the chippewas, ottawas, and pottowattamies of illinois river, in the summer of , for lands on the west side of illinois river,-- "'you white men may put on paper what you please, but again i tell you, i never sold any lands higher up the mississippi than the mouth of rocky river.' "in the treaty first mentioned, the line commences opposite to the mouth of gasconade river, and running in a direct line to the head-waters of jefferson[ ] river, thence down that river to the mississippi river--thence up the mississippi river to the mouth of the ouisconsin river--thence up that river thirty-six miles--thence in a direct line to a little lake in fox river of illinois, down fox river to illinois river, down illinois river to its mouth--thence down the mississippi river to the mouth of missouri river--thence up that river to the place of beginning. see treaty dated at st. louis, th november, . "the sauk and fox nations were never consulted, nor had any hand in this treaty, nor knew anything about it. it was made and signed by two sauk chiefs, one fox chief and one warrior. "when the annuities were delivered to the sauk and fox nations of indians, according to the treaty above referred to (amounting to $ per annum), the indians always thought they were presents (as the annuity for the first twenty years was always paid in goods, sent on from georgetown, district of columbia, and poor articles of merchandise they were, very often damaged and not suitable for indians), until i, as their agent, convinced them of the contrary, in the summer of . when the indians heard that the goods delivered to them were annuities for land sold by them to the united states, they were astonished, and refused to accept of the goods, denying that they ever sold the lands as stated by me, their agent. the black hawk in particular, who was present at the time, made a great noise about this land, and would never receive any part of the annuities from that time forward. he always denied the authority of quash-quame and others to sell any part of their lands, and told the indians not to receive any presents or annuities from any american--otherwise their lands would be claimed at some future day. "as the united states do insist, and retain the lands according to the treaty of november , , why do they not fulfil _their_ part of that treaty as equity demands? "the sauk and fox nations are allowed, according to that treaty, 'to live and hunt on the lands so ceded, as long as the aforesaid lands belong to the united states.' in the spring of the year , about twelve or fifteen families of squatters arrived and took possession of the sauk village, near the mouth of the rocky river. they immediately commenced destroying the indians' bark boats. some were burned, others were torn to pieces, and when the indians arrived at the village, and found fault with the destruction of their property, they were beaten and abused by the squatters. "the indians made complaint to me, as their agent. i wrote to general clarke,[ ] stating to him from time to time what happened, and giving a minute detail of everything that passed between the whites (squatters) and the indians. "the squatters insisted that the indians should be removed from their village, saying that as soon as the land was brought into market they (the squatters) would buy it all. it became needless for me to show them the treaty, and the right the indians had to remain on their lands. they tried every method to annoy the indians, by shooting their dogs, claiming their horses, complaining that the indians' horses broke into their corn-fields--selling them whiskey for the most trifling articles, contrary to the wishes and request of the chiefs, particularly the black hawk, who both solicited and threatened them on the subject, but all to no purpose. "the president directed those lands to be sold at the land office, in springfield, illinois. accordingly, when the time came that they were to be offered for sale (in the autumn of ), there were about twenty families of squatters at, and in the vicinity of, the old sauk village, most of whom attended the sale, and but one of them could purchase a quarter-section (if we except george davenport, a trader who resides in rocky island). therefore, all the land not sold, still belonged to the united states, and the indians had still a right, by treaty, to hunt and live on those lands. this right, however, was not allowed them--they must move off. "in , the principal chiefs, and others of the sauk and fox indians who resided at the old village, near rocky river, acquainted me that they would remove to their village on ihoway river. these chiefs advised me to write to general clarke, superintendent of indian affairs at this place (st. louis), to send up a few militia--that the black hawk and his followers would then see that everything was in earnest, and they would remove to the west side of the mississippi, to their own lands. "the letter, as requested by the chiefs, was written and sent by me to general clarke, but he did not think proper to answer it--therefore everything remained as formerly, and, as a matter of course, the black hawk and his party thought the whole matter of removing from the old village had blown over. "in the spring of , the black hawk and his party were augmented by many indians from ihoway river. this augmentation of forces made the black hawk very proud, and he supposed nothing would be done about removing him and his party. "general gaines visited the black hawk and his party this season, with a force of regulars and militia, and compelled them to remove to the west side of the mississippi river, on their own lands. "when the black hawk and party recrossed to the east side of the mississippi river in , they numbered three hundred and sixty-eight men. they were hampered with many women and children, and had no intention to make war. when attacked by general stillman's detachment, they defended themselves like men; and i would ask, who would not do so, likewise? thus the war commenced. * * * * * "the indians had been defeated, dispersed, and some of the principal chiefs are now in prison and in chains, at jefferson barracks.... "it is very well known, by all who know the black hawk, that he has always been considered a friend to the whites. often has he taken into his lodge the wearied white man, given him good food to eat, and a good blanket to sleep on before the fire. many a good meal has _the prophet_ given to people travelling past his village, and very many stray horses has he recovered from the indians and restored to their rightful owners, without asking any recompense whatever.... "what right have we to tell any people, 'you shall not cross the mississippi river on any pretext whatever'? when the sauk and fox indians wish to cross the mississippi, to visit their relations among the pottowattamies of fox river, illinois, they are prevented by us, _because we have the power_!" i omit the old gentleman's occasional comments upon the powers that dictated, and the forces which carried on, the warfare of this unhappy summer. there is every reason to believe that had his suggestions been listened to, and had he continued the agent of the sauks and foxes, a sad record might have been spared,--we should assuredly not have been called to chronicle the untimely fate of his successor, the unfortunate m. st. vrain, who, a comparative stranger to his people, was murdered by them, in their exasperated fury, at kellogg's grove, soon after the commencement of the campaign. ii. it seems appropriate to notice in this place the subsequent appearance before the public of one of the personages casually mentioned in the foregoing narrative. in the autumn of we saw advertised for exhibition at wood's museum, chicago, "the most remarkable instance of longevity on record--the venerable joseph crély, born on the th of september, , and having consequently reached, at this date, the age of one hundred and thirty-nine years!" sundry particulars followed of his life and history, and, above all, of his recollections. "well done for old crély!" said my husband, when he had gone through the long array. "come, let us go over to wood's museum and renew our acquaintance with the venerable gentleman." i did not need a second invitation, for i was curious to witness the wonders which the whirligig of time had wrought with our old _employé_. we chose an early hour for our visit, that we might pay our respects to both him and the granddaughter who had him in charge, unembarrassed by the presence of strangers. in a large room on the second floor of the building, among cages of birds and animals, some stuffed, others still living, we perceived, seated by a window, a figure clad in bright cashmere dressing-gown and gay tasselled cap, tranquilly smoking a tah-nee-hoo-rah, or long indian pipe. his form was upright, his face florid, and less changed than might have been expected by the thirty-one years that had elapsed since we had last seen him. he was alone, and my husband addressed him at first in english:-- "good-morning, m. crély. do you remember me?" he shook his head emphatically. "je ne comprends pas. je ne me ressouviens de rien--je suis vieux, vieux--le treize septembre, mil sept cent vingt-six, je suis né. non, non," with a few gentle shakes of the head, "je ne puis rappeler rien--je suis vieux, vieux."[ ] my husband changed his inquiries to the patois which crély could not feign not to comprehend. "where is your granddaughter? i am acquainted with her, and would like to speak with her." the old man sprang up with the greatest alacrity, and, running to a door in the wooden partition which cut off a corner of the room and thus furnished an apartment for the ancient phenomenon, he rapped vigorously, and called, in accents quite unlike his former feeble, drawling tones,-- "thérèse, thérèse--il y a icite un monsieur qui voudrait vous voir."[ ] the granddaughter presently made her appearance. she looked shyly at my husband from under her brows. "do you know me, thérèse?" he asked. "yes, sir. it is mr. kinzie." "and do you know me also?" i said, approaching. she looked at me and shook her head. "no, i do not," she replied. "what, thérèse! have you forgotten madame john, who taught you to read--you and all the little girls at the portage?" "oh, my heavens, mrs. kinzie!--but you have changed so!" "yes, thérèse, i have grown old in all these years; but i have not grown old quite so fast as your grandpapa here." there was a flash in her eye that told she felt my meaning. she hung her head without speaking, while the color deepened over her countenance. "now," said i, in french, to the grandfather, "you remember me--" he interrupted me with a protest, "non, non--je ne puis rappeler rien--je suis vieux, vieux--le treize septembre, mil sept cent vingt-six, je suis né à detroit." "and you recollect," i went on, not heeding his formula, "how i came to the portage a bride, and lived in the old cabins that the soldiers had occupied--" "eh b'an! oui--oui--" "and how you helped make the garden for me--and how plante and manaigre finished the new house so nicely while monsieur john was away for the silver--and how there was a feast after it was completed--" "ah! oui, oui--pour le sûr." "and where are all our people now?" i asked, turning to thérèse. "louis frum _dit_ manaigre--is he living?" "oh, madame kinzie! you remember that--manaigre having two names?" "yes, thérèse--i remember everything connected with those old times at the portage. who among our people there are living?" "only manaigre is left," she said. "mais, mais, thérèse," interposed the old man, "manaigre's daughter geneviève is living." it was a comfort to find our visit of such miraculous benefit to his memory. "and the puans--are any of them left?" i asked. "not more than ten or twelve, i think--" again her grandfather promptly contradicted her:-- "mais, mais, je compte b'an qu'il y en a quinze ou seize, thérèse;" and he went quite glibly over the names of such of his red friends as still hovered around their old home in that vicinity. he was in the full tide of gay reminiscence, touching upon experiences and adventures of long ago, and recalling indian and half-breed acquaintances of former days, when footsteps approached, and the entrance of eager, curious visitors suddenly reminded him of his appointed rôle. it was marvellous how instantaneously he subsided into the superannuated driveller who was to bear away the bell from old parr and all the emperor alexander's far-sought fossils. "je suis vieux, vieux--l'an mil sept cent vingt-six--le treize septembre, à detroit--- je ne puis rappeler rien." not another phrase could "all the king's armies, or all the king's men," have extorted from him. so we left him to the admiring comments of the new-comers. i think it should be added, in extenuation of what would otherwise seem a gross imposture, that his granddaughter was really ignorant of crély's exact age--that he, being ever a gasconading fellow, was quite ready to personate that certain joseph crély whose name appears on the baptismal records of the church in detroit of the year . he was, moreover, pleased with the idea of being gaily dressed and going on a tour to see the world, and doubtless rejoiced, also, in the prospect of relieving his poor granddaughter of a part of the burden of his maintenance. he was probably at this time about ninety-five years of age. there are those that knew him from , who maintain that his age was a few years less; but i take the estimate of mr. kinzie and h.l. dousman, of prairie du chien, who set him down, in , at about the age i have assigned to him. the end. footnotes: [footnote : corn which has been parboiled, shelled from the cob, and dried in the sun.] [footnote : literally, _crazy oats_. it is the french name for the menomonees.] [footnote : _le forgeron_, or blacksmith, a menomonee chief.] [footnote : a niece of james fenimore cooper.] [footnote : master--or, to use the emphatic yankee term, _boss_.] [footnote : michaud climbed into a plum-tree, to gather plums. the branch broke. _michaud fell_! where is he? _he is down on the ground_. no, he is up in the tree.] [footnote : the supposed dauphin of france.] [footnote : the site of the town of nee-nah.] [footnote : the bark of the red willow, scraped fine, which is preferred by the indians to tobacco.] [footnote : general cass was then governor of michigan, and superintendent of the northwestern indians.] [footnote : in the year .] [footnote : father! how do you do?] [footnote : only look! what inventions! what wonders!] [footnote : between two of these lakes is now situated the town of madison--the capital of the state of wisconsin.] [footnote : i speak, it will be understood, of things as they existed a quarter of a century ago.] [footnote : it was at this spot that the unfortunate st. vrain lost his life, during the sauk war, in .] [footnote : probably at what is now oswego. the name of a portion of the wood is since corrupted into _specie's grove_.] [footnote : the honey-bee is not known in the perfectly wild countries of north america. it is ever the pioneer of civilization, and the indians call it "_the white man's bird_."] [footnote : it was near this spot that the brother of mr. hawley, a methodist preacher, was killed by the sauks, in , after having been tortured by them with the most wanton barbarity.] [footnote : rivière aux plaines was the original french designation, now changed to _desplaines_, pronounced as in english.] [footnote : .] [footnote : see frontispiece.] [footnote : since called n. state street ( ).] [footnote : i can recall a petition that was circulated at the garrison about this period, for "building a brigg over michigan city." by altering the orthography, it was found to mean, not the stupendous undertaking it would seem to imply, but simply "building a bridge" over _at_ michigan city,--an accommodation much needed by travellers at that day.] [footnote : the proper orthography of this word is undoubtedly _slough_, as it invariably indicates something like that which christian fell into in flying from the city of destruction. i spell it, however, as it is pronounced.] [footnote : a gentleman who visited chicago at that day, thus speaks of it: "i passed over the ground from the fort to the point, on horseback. i was up to my stirrups in water the whole distance. i would not have given sixpence an acre for the whole of it."] [footnote : see narrative of the massacre, p. .] [footnote : mr. cat.] [footnote : this narrative, first published in pamphlet form in , was transferred, with little variation, to brown's "history of illinois," and to a work called "western annals." it was likewise made, by major richardson, the basis of his two tales, "hardscrabble," and "wau-nan-gee."] [footnote : burns's house stood near the spot where the agency building, or "cobweb castle," was afterwards erected, at the foot of n. state street.] [footnote : this is done by cutting the meat in thin slices, placing it upon a scaffold, and making a fire under it, which dries it and smokes it at the same time.] [footnote : a trading-establishment--now ypsilanti.] [footnote : captain wells, when a boy, was stolen, by the miami indians, from the family of hon. nathaniel pope, in kentucky. although recovered by them, he preferred to return and live among his new friends. he married a miami woman, and became a chief of the nation. he was the father of the late mrs. judge wolcott, of maumee, ohio.] [footnote : the spot now called bertrand, then known as _parc aux vaches,_ from its having been a favorite "stamping-ground" of the buffalo which then abounded in the country.] [footnote : the exact spot of this encounter was about where st street crosses indiana avenue.] [footnote : along the present state street.] [footnote : mrs. holt is believed to be still living, in the state of ohio.] [footnote : billy caldwell was a half-breed, and a chief of the nation. in his reply, "_i am a sau-ga-nash_," or englishman, he designed to convey, "i am a _white_ man." had he said, "_i am a pottowattamie_," it would have been interpreted to mean, "i belong to my nation, and am prepared to go all lengths with them."] [footnote : frenchman.] [footnote : the pottowattamie chief, so well known to many of the citizens of chicago, now ( ) residing at the aux plaines.] [footnote : twenty-two years after this, as i was on a journey to chicago in the steamer uncle sam, a young woman, hearing my name, introduced herself to me, and, raising the hair from her forehead, showed me the mark of the tomahawk which had so nearly been fatal to her.] [footnote : although this is the name our mother preserved of her benefactor, it seems evident that this chief was in fact _corn-planter_, a personage well known in the history of the times. there could hardly have been two such prominent chiefs in the same village.] [footnote : from the french--_tranche_, a deep cut.] [footnote : it is a singular fact that all the martins, of which there were great numbers occupying the little houses constructed for them by the soldiers, were observed to have disappeared from their homes on the morning following the embarkation of the troops. after an absence of five days they returned. they had perhaps taken a fancy to accompany their old friends, but, finding they were not mother carey's chickens, deemed it most prudent to return and reoccupy their old dwellings.] [footnote : it is now known as dunkley's grove.] [footnote : how the woods talk!] [footnote : it will be remembered that these were the arguments used at a period when the indians possessed most of the broad lands on the upper mississippi and its tributaries--when they were still allowed some share of the blessings of life.] [footnote : the indians, in relating a story like this, apologize for alluding to a revolting subject. "you will think this _unpleasant_," they say.] [footnote : come in, my daughter.] [footnote : the indians sing these words to an air peculiar to themselves.] [footnote : three streams or water courses of that region.] [footnote : see appendix.] [footnote : as "the venerable joseph crély" has become historic from his claim to have reached the age of one hundred and thirty-nine years, i will state that at this period ( ) he was a hale, hearty man of sixty years or less.] [footnote : the indians who had "been at washington" were very fond of calling their father thus. black wolf's son would go further, and vociferate "k'hizzie," to show his familiarity.] [footnote : fisher's hornpipe.] [footnote : general atkinson.] [footnote : a belt of land termed the neutral ground of the different opposing nations.] [footnote : st. louis, mo.] [footnote : there is no such river in this country, therefore this treaty is null and void--of no effect in law or equity. such was the opinion of the late governor howard. (t.f.)] [footnote : superintendent of indian affairs at st. louis.] [footnote : i do not understand. i remember nothing. i am very, very old--the thirteenth of september, , i was born. no, no--i can recollect nothing. i am old, old.] [footnote : thérèse, there is a gentleman here who wishes to see you.] file was produced from images generously made available by case western reserve university preservation department digital library) history of the discovery of the northwest by john nicolet in with a sketch of his life by c. w. butterfield author of "crawford's campaign against sandusky," "history of wisconsin" in historical atlas of the state, "the washington-crawford letters," "history of the university of wisconsin," etc. cincinnati robert clarke & co. copyrighted, , by c. w. butterfield. preface. in the following pages, i have attempted to record, in a faithful manner, the indomitable perseverance and heroic bravery displayed by john nicolet in an exploration which resulted in his being the first of civilized men to set foot upon any portion of the northwest; that is, upon any part of the territory now constituting the states of ohio, indiana, illinois, michigan, and wisconsin. it is shown how he brought to the knowledge of the world the existence of a "fresh-water sea"--lake michigan--beyond and to the westward of lake huron; how he visited a number of indian nations before unheard of; how he penetrated many leagues beyond the utmost verge of previous discoveries, with an almost reckless fortitude, to bind distant tribes to french interests; and how he sought to find an ocean, which, it was believed, was not a great distance westward of the st. lawrence, and which would prove a near route to china and japan. the principal sources from which i have drawn, in my investigations concerning the life and explorations of nicolet, are the jesuit relations. so nearly contemporaneous are these publications with his discoveries--especially those which contain a record of them--and so trustworthy are they in their recital of facts connected therewith, that their value, in this connection, can hardly be over-estimated. each one of the series having a particular bearing upon the subject of this narrative has been studied with a care commensurate with its importance. other accounts of the same period, as well as of a somewhat later date, together with the researches of modern writers, concerning the daring frenchman, whose name stands first on the list of the explorers of the northwest, have, likewise, been carefully examined, the object being, if not to exhaust all known sources of information illustrative of these discoveries, at least to profit by them. aid has been received, in addition, from several living authors, especially from benjamin sulte, esq., of ottawa, canada, to whom, and to all others who have extended a helping hand, i return my sincere thanks. c. w. b. madison, wisconsin, . contents. introduction. page. pre-historic man in the northwest--the red race--first discoveries in new france, vii chapter i. events leading to western exploration, chapter ii. john nicolet, the explorer, chapter iii. nicolet discovers the northwest, chapter iv. subsequent career and death of nicolet, appendix, index, introduction. pre-historic man in the northwest--the red race--first discoveries in new france. of the existence, in what are now the states of ohio, indiana, illinois, michigan, and wisconsin, at a remote period, of a race superior in intelligence to the red men who inhabited this region when first seen by a european, there are indubitable evidences. who were these ancient occupiers of the territory just mentioned--of its prairies and woodlands, hills and valleys? there are no traditions of their power, of their labor, or of their wisdom--no record of their having lived, except in rapidly-decaying relics. they left no descendants to recount their daring deeds. all that remain of them--the so-called mound-builders--are mouldering skeletons. all that are to be seen of their handicraft are perishing earth-works and rude implements. these sum up the "types and shadows" of the pre-historic age. there is nothing to connect "the dark backward and abysm" of mound-building times with those of the red race of the northwest; and all that is known of the latter dating earlier than their first discovery, is exceedingly dim and shadowy. upon the extended area bounded by lake superior on the north, lake michigan on the east, wide-spreading prairies on the south, and the mississippi river on the west, there met and mingled two distinct indian families--algonquins and dakotas. concerning the various tribes of these families, nothing of importance could be gleaned by the earliest explorers; at least, very little has been preserved. tradition, it is true, pointed to the algonquins as having, at some remote period, migrated from the east; and this has been confirmed by a study of their language. it indicated, also, that the dakotas, at a time far beyond the memory of the most aged, came from the west or southwest--fighting their way as they came; that one of their tribes[ ] once dwelt upon the shores of a sea; but when and for what purpose they left their home none could relate. the residue of the northwest was the dwelling-place of algonquins alone. in reality, therefore, "the territory northwest of the river ohio" has no veritable history ante-dating the period of its first discovery by civilized man. portions of the country had been heard of, it is true, but only through vague reports of savages. there were no accounts at all, besides these, of the extensive region of the upper lakes or of the valley of the upper mississippi; while nothing whatever was known of the ohio or of parts adjacent. the first of the discoveries in the new world after that of columbus, in , having an immediate bearing upon this narrative, was that of john cabot, in . on the third of july, of that year, he saw what is now believed to have been the coast of labrador. after sailing a short distance south, he probably discovered the island of newfoundland. in , his son, sebastian, explored the continent from labrador to virginia, and possibly as far south as florida. gaspar cortereal, in , reached the shore seen by john cabot, and explored it several hundred miles. he was followed, in , by john verrazzano, who discovered the north american coast in, probably, the latitude of what is now wilmington, north carolina. he continued his exploration to the northward as far as newfoundland. to the region visited by him, he gave the name of new france. the attention of the reader is now directed to some of the most important events, in the country thus named, which followed, for a period of a hundred and ten years, the voyage of verrazzano. footnotes: [footnote : ancestors of the present winnebagoes.] history of the discovery of the northwest. chapter i. events leading to western exploration. the discovery of the river st. lawrence, and of the great lakes which pour their superabundant waters through it into the gulf, was not the least in importance of the events which signalized the opening of the history of the new world. the credit of having first spread a sail upon the majestic stream of canada, and of obtaining such information as afterward led to a knowledge of the whole of its valley, belongs to james cartier, a native of st. malo--a port in the north of france. cartier was a skillful mariner. on the twentieth of april, , he sailed from his native place, under orders of the french admiral, for the coast of newfoundland, intent on exploring unknown seas, and countries washed by them. he took with him two ships of fifty tons each, and in twenty days saw the large island lying between the ocean and the river he was soon to discover. favorable winds had wafted him and his hundred and twenty-two sailors and adventurers to inhospitable shores, but at an auspicious season of the year. having sailed nearly around newfoundland, cartier turned to the south, and, crossing the gulf, entered a bay, which he named des chaleurs, because of the midsummer heats. a little farther north he landed and took possession of the country in the name of the french king. his vessels were now at anchor in the smaller inlet of gaspé. sailing still further north, cartier, in august, discovered the river st. lawrence. he moved up its channel until land was sighted on either side; then, being unprepared to remain through the winter, he sailed back again to the gulf, crossed the ocean, and moored his vessels in safety in st. malo. he made the return voyage in less than thirty days. this was, at that period, an astonishing achievement. the success of the expedition filled the whole of france with wonder. in less than five months, the atlantic had been crossed; a large river discovered; a new country added to the dominions of france; and the ocean recrossed. all this had been accomplished before it was generally known that an expedition had been undertaken. the remarkable pleasantness of this summer's voyage, the narratives of cartier and his companions, and the importance attached to their discoveries, aroused the enthusiasm of the french; and, as might be expected, a new expedition was planned. three well-furnished ships were provided by the king. even some of the nobility volunteered for the voyage. all were eager to cross the atlantic. on the nineteenth of may, , the squadron sailed. but cartier had not, this time, a pleasant summer cruise. storms raged. the ships separated. for seven weeks they buffeted the troubled ocean. their rendezvous was the straits of belle isle, which they finally reached; but the omens were bad. the adventurers had confidently looked for pleasant gales and a quick voyage, and these expectations had all been blasted. now, however, they arrived within sight of newfoundland, and their spirits rose. carried to the west of that island, on the day of saint lawrence, they gave the name of that martyr to a portion of the gulf which opened before them. the name was afterward given to the whole of that body of water and to the river cartier had previously discovered. sailing to the north of anticosti, they ascended the st. lawrence, reaching, in september, a fine harbor in an island since called orleans. leaving his two largest ships in the waters of the river now known as the st. charles, cartier, with the smallest and two open boats, ascended the st. lawrence until a considerable indian village was reached, situated on an island called hochelaga. standing upon the summit of a hill, on this island, and looking away up the river, the commander had fond imaginings of future glory awaiting his countrymen in colonizing this region. "he called the hill mont-réal, and time, that has transferred the name of the island, is realizing his visions;" for on that island now stands the city of montreal. while at hochelaga, cartier gathered some indistinct accounts of the surrounding country, and of the river ottawa coming down from the hills of the northwest. rejoining his ships, he spent the winter in a palisaded fort on the bank of the st. charles, with his vessels moored before it. the cold was intense. many of his men died of scurvy. early in the spring, possession was again taken of the country in the name of the french king; and, on the sixteenth of july, , the breton mariner dropped anchor in st. malo--he having returned in two ships; the other was abandoned, and three hundred and twelve years after was discovered imbedded in mud. france was disappointed. hopes had been raised too high. expectations had not been realized. further explorations, therefore, were, for the time, postponed. notwithstanding the failure of cartier's second voyage, the great valley of the st. lawrence was not to remain very long unknown to the world, in any of its parts. it was thought unworthy a gallant nation to abandon the enterprise; and one more trial at exploration and colonization was determined upon. again the bold mariner of st. malo started for the st. lawrence. this was on the twenty-third of may, . he took with him five ships; but he went, unfortunately, as subordinate, in some respects, to john francis de la roque, lord of roberval, a nobleman of picardy, whom the king of france had appointed viceroy of the country now again to be visited. the object of the enterprise was declared to be discovery, settlement, and the conversion of the indians. cartier was the first to sail. again he entered the st. lawrence. after erecting a fort near the site of the present city of quebec, cartier ascended the river in two boats to explore the rapids above the island of hochelaga. he then returned and passed the winter at his fort; and, in the spring, not having heard from the viceroy, he set sail for france. in june, , in the harbor of st. john, he met the lord of roberval, outward bound, with three ships and two hundred men. the viceroy ordered cartier to return to the st. lawrence; but the mariner of st. malo escaped in the night, and continued his voyage homeward. roberval, although abandoned by his subordinate, once more set sail. after wintering in the st. lawrence, he, too, abandoned the country--giving back his immense viceroyalty to the rightful owners. in , there were three hundred and fifty fishing vessels at newfoundland belonging to the french, spanish, portuguese, and english; besides these were a number--twenty or more--of biscayan whalers. the marquis de la roche, a catholic nobleman of brittany, encouraged by henry iv., undertook the colonization of new france, in . but the ill-starred attempt resulted only in his leaving forty convicts to their fate on sable island, off the coast of nova scotia. of their number, twelve only were found alive five years subsequent to la roche's voyage. in , another expedition was resolved on. this was undertaken by pontgravé, a merchant of st. malo, and chauvin, a captain of the marine. in consideration of a monopoly of the fur-trade, granted them by the king of france, these men undertook to establish a colony of five hundred persons in new france. at tadoussac, at the mouth of the saguenay, they built a cluster of wooden huts and store-houses, where sixteen men were left to gather furs; these either died or were scattered among the indians before the return of the spring of . chauvin made a second voyage to tadoussac, but failed to establish a permanent settlement. during a third voyage he died, and his enterprise perished with him. in , a company of merchants of france was formed, and samuel champlain, with a small band of adventurers, dispatched, in two small vessels, to make a preliminary survey of the st. lawrence. he reached the valley in safety, sailed past the lofty promontory on which quebec now stands, and proceeded onward to the island of hochelaga, where his vessels were anchored. in a skiff, with a few indians, champlain vainly endeavored to pass the rapids of the great river. the baffled explorer returned to his ships. from the savages, he gleaned some information of ulterior regions. the natives drew for him rude plans of the river above, and its lakes and cataracts. his curiosity was inflamed, and he resolved one day to visit the country so full of natural wonders. now, however, he was constrained to return to france. he had accomplished the objects of his mission--the making of a brief exploration of the valley of the chief river of canada. it was the opinion of champlain that on the banks of the st. lawrence was the true site of a settlement; that here a fortified post should be erected; that thence, by following up the waters of the interior region to their sources, a western route might be traced to china, the distance being estimated by him at not more than two or three hundred leagues; and that the fur-trade of the whole country might be secured to france by the erection of a fort at some point commanding the river. these views, five years subsequent to his visit to the st. lawrence, induced the fitting out of a second expedition, for trade, exploration, and colonization. on the thirteenth of april, , champlain again sailed--this time with men, arms, and stores for a colony. the fur-trade was intrusted to another. the mouth of the saguenay was reached in june; and, soon after, a settlement was commenced on the brink of the st. lawrence--the site of the present market-place of the lower town of quebec. a rigorous winter and great suffering followed. supplies arrived in the spring, and champlain determined to enter upon his long-meditated explorations;--the only obstacles in the way were the savage nations he would every-where meet. he would be compelled to resort to diplomacy--to unite a friendly tribe to his interests, and, thus strengthened, to conquer, by force of arms, the hostile one. the tribes of the hurons, who dwelt on the lake which now bears their name, and their allies, the algonquins, upon the ottawa and the st. lawrence, champlain learned, were at war with the iroquois, or five nations, whose homes were within the present state of new york. in june, , he advanced, with sixty hurons and algonquins and two white men, up what is now known as the richelieu river to the discovery of the first of the great lakes--the one which now bears his name. upon its placid waters, this courageous band was stopped by a war-party of iroquois. on shore, the contending forces met, when a few discharges of an arquebuse sent the advancing enemy in wild dismay back into the forest. the victory was complete. promptly champlain returned to the st. lawrence, and his allies to their homes, not, however, until the latter had invited the former to visit their towns and aid them again in their wars. champlain then revisited france, but the year found him once more in the st. lawrence, with two objects in view: one, to proceed northward, to explore hudson's bay; the other, to go westward, and examine the great lakes and the mines of copper on their shores, of the existence of which he had just been informed by the savages; for he was determined he would never cease his explorations until he had penetrated to the western sea, or that of the north, so as to open the way to china. but, after fighting a battle with the iroquois at the mouth of the river richelieu, he gave up, for the time, all thought of further exploration, and returned to france. on the thirteenth of may, , champlain again arrived in the st. lawrence. to secure the advantages of the fur-trade to his superiors was now his principal object; and, to that end, he chose the site of the present city of montreal for a post, which he called place royale. soon afterward, he returned to france; but, early in the spring of , the tireless voyager again crossed the atlantic, and sailed up the st. lawrence; this time bound for the ottawa to discover the north sea. after making his way up that river to the home of the algonquins of isle des allumettes, he returned in disgust to the st. lawrence, and again embarked for france. at the site of the present city of montreal, there had assembled, in the summer of , hurons from their distant villages upon the shores of their great lake, and algonquins from their homes on the ottawa--come down to a yearly trade with the french upon the st. lawrence. champlain, who had returned in may from france, was asked by the assembled savages to join their bands against the iroquois. he consented; but, while absent at quebec, making needful preparations, the savages became impatient, and departed for their homes. with them went father joseph le caron, a récollet, accompanied by twelve armed frenchmen. it was the intention of this missionary to learn the language of the hurons, and labor for their spiritual welfare. his departure from the st. lawrence was on the first day of july. nine days afterward, champlain, with two frenchmen and ten indians followed him. both parties traveled up the ottawa to the algonquin villages; passed the two lakes of the allumettes; threaded their way to a well-trodden portage, crossing which brought them to lake nipissing; thence, they floated westward down the current of french river, to what is now known as georgian bay; afterward, for more than a hundred miles, they journeyed southward along the eastern shores of that bay to its head; and there was the home of the hurons. champlain, with a naked host of allies, was soon on the march against the iroquois from the huron villages, moving down the river trent, as since named, to its mouth, when his eyes were gladdened with the view of another of the fresh water seas--lake ontario. boldly they crossed its broad expanse, meeting the enemy at a considerable distance inland from its southern shores. defensive works of the iroquois defied the assaults of the besiegers. the huron warriors returned in disgust to their homes, taking champlain with them. he was compelled to spend the winter as the guest of these savages, returning to the st. lawrence by way of the ottawa, and reaching quebec on the eleventh of july, . he had seen enough of the region traversed by him to know that there was an immense country lying to the westward ready to be given to his king the moment he should be able to explore and make it known. father le caron, who had preceded champlain on his outward trip to the huron villages, also preceded him on his return; but he remained long enough with those indians to obtain a considerable knowledge of their language and of their manners and customs. quebec, at this period, could hardly be called a settlement. it contained a population of fur-traders and friars of fifty or sixty persons. it had a fort, and champlain was the nominal commander. in the interest of the infant colony he went every year to france. his was the duty to regulate the monopoly of the company of merchants in their trade with the indians. in the summer of , the iroquois beset the settlement, but made no actual attack. a change was now at hand in the affairs of new france. two huguenots, william and Émery de caen, had taken the place of the old company of st. malo and rouen, but were afterward compelled to share their monopoly with them. fresh troubles were thus introduced into the infant colony, not only in religious affairs, but in secular matters. the récollets had previously established five missions, extending from acadia to the borders of lake huron. now, three jesuits--among their number john de brébeuf--arrived in the colony, and began their spiritual labors. this was in . when the year was reached, the settlement at quebec had a population of about one hundred persons--men, women, and children. the chief trading stations upon the st. lawrence were quebec, three rivers, the rapids of st. louis, and tadoussac. turning our eyes to the western wilds, we see that the hurons, after the return of le caron, were not again visited by missionaries until . in the year , the destinies of france were held by cardinal richelieu as in the hollow of his hand. he had constituted himself grand master and superintendent of navigation and commerce. by him the privileges of the caens were annulled, and a company formed, consisting of a hundred associates, called the company of new france. at its head was richelieu himself. louis the thirteenth made over to this company forever the fort and settlement at quebec, and all the territory of new france, including florida. to them was given power to appoint judges, build fortresses, cast cannon, confer titles, and concede lands. they were to govern in peace and in war. their monopoly of the fur-trade was made perpetual; while that of all other commerce within the limits of their government was limited to fifteen years, except that the whale-fishery and the cod-fishery were to remain open to all. they could take whatever steps they might think expedient or proper for the protection of the colony and the fostering of trade. it will thus be seen that the hundred associates had conferred upon them almost sovereign power. for fifteen years their commerce was not to be troubled with duties or imposts. partners, whether nobles, officers, or ecclesiastics, might engage in commercial pursuits without derogating from the privileges of their order. to all these benefits the king added a donation of two ships of war. of this powerful association, champlain was one of the members. in return for these privileges conferred, behold how little these hundred partners were compelled to perform. they engaged to convoy to new france, during , two or three hundred men of all trades, and before the year to increase the number to four thousand persons of both sexes; to supply all their settlers with lodging, food, clothing, and farm implements, for three years; then they would allow them sufficient land to support themselves, cleared to a certain extent; and would also furnish them the grain necessary for sowing it; stipulating, also, that the emigrants should be native frenchmen and roman catholics, and none others; and, finally, agreeing to settle three priests in each settlement, whom they were bound to provide with every article necessary for their personal comfort, and to defray the expenses of their ministerial labors for fifteen years. after the expiration of that time, cleared lands were to be granted by the company to the clergy for maintaining the roman catholic church in new france. it was thus that the hundred associates became proprietors of the whole country claimed by france, from florida to the arctic circle; from newfoundland to the sources of the st. lawrence and its tributaries. meanwhile, the fur-trade had brought a considerable knowledge of the ottawa, and of the country of the hurons, to the french upon the st. lawrence, through the yearly visits of the savages from those distant parts and the journeyings of the fur-trader in quest of peltry. in april, , the first vessels of the hundred associates sailed from france with colonists and supplies bound for the st. lawrence. four of these vessels were armed. every thing seemed propitious for a speedy arrival at quebec, where the inhabitants were sorely pressed for food; but a storm, which had for some time been brewing in europe, broke in fury upon new france. the imprudent zeal of the catholics in england, and the persecution of the huguenots in france, aroused the english, who determined to conquer the french possessions in north america, if possible; and, to that end, they sent out david kirk, with an armed squadron, to attack the settlements in canada. the fleet reached the harbor of tadoussac before the arrival of the vessels of the company of new france. kirk sent a demand for the surrender of quebec, but champlain determined to defend the place; at least, he resolved to make a show of defense; and the english commander thought best not to attack such a formidable looking position. all the supplies sent by the hundred associates to the st. lawrence were captured or sunk; and the next year, after most of its inhabitants had dispersed in the forests for food, quebec surrendered. england thus gained her first supremacy upon the great river of canada. the terms of the capitulation were that the french were to be conveyed to their own country; and each soldier was allowed to take with him furs to the value of twenty crowns. as some had lately returned from the hurons with peltry of no small value, their loss was considerable. the french prisoners, including champlain, were conveyed across the ocean by kirk, but their arrival in england was after a treaty of peace had been signed between the two powers. the result was, the restoration of new france to the french crown; and, on the th of july, , Émery de caen cast anchor at quebec to reclaim the country. he had received a commission to hold, for one year, a monopoly of the fur-trade, as an indemnity for his losses in the war; after which time he was to give place to the hundred associates. the missions in canada which by the success of the british arms had been interrupted, were now to be continued by jesuits alone. de caen brought with him two of that order--paul le jeune and anne de la nouë. on the twenty-third of may, , champlain, commissioned anew by richelieu, resumed command at quebec, in behalf of the hundred partners, arriving out with considerable supplies and several new settlers. with him returned the jesuit father, john de brébeuf. the récollets had been virtually ejected from canada. the whole missionary field was now ready for cultivation by the followers of loyola. new france was restored to champlain and his company, and to catholicism. champlain's first care was to place the affairs of the colony in a more prosperous condition, and establish a better understanding with the indians. in both respects, he was tolerably successful. his knowledge of the western country had been derived from his own observations during the tours of and , but especially from accounts given him by the indians. at the beginning of , the whole french population, from gaspé to three rivers, was hardly one hundred and fifty souls, mostly engaged in the trading business, on behalf of the hundred partners, whose operations were carried on principally at the point last named and at tadoussac--sometimes as far up the st. lawrence as the site of the present city of montreal, but not often. of the small colony upon the great river of canada, champlain was the heart and soul. the interior of the continent was yet to be explored. he was resolved to know more of ulterior regions--to create more friends among the savages therein. the time had arrived for such enterprises, and a trusty conductor was at hand. chapter ii. john nicolet, the explorer. as early as the year , champlain had selected a number of young men and put them in care of some of his indian friends, to have them trained to the life of the woods--to the language, manners, customs, and habits of the savages. his object was to open, through them, as advisers and interpreters, friendly relations, when the proper time should come, with the indian nations not yet brought in close alliance with the french. in , an opportunity presented itself for him to add another young frenchman to the list of those who had been sent to be trained in all the mysteries of savage life; for, in that year, john nicolet[ ] arrived from france, and was dispatched to the woods.[ ] the new-comer was born in cherbourg, in normandy. his father, thomas nicolet, was a mail-carrier from that city to paris. his mother's name was marguerite de la mer.[ ] nicolet was a young man of good character, endowed with a profound religious feeling, and an excellent memory. he awakened in the breast of champlain high hopes of usefulness, and was by him sent to the algonquins of isle des allumettes, in the ottawa river. these indians were the same algonquins that were visited by champlain in . they are frequently spoken of, in early annals of canada, as algonquins of the isle. but all algonquins, wherever found, were afterward designated as ottawas by the french. to "the nation of the isle," then, was sent the young norman, that he might learn their language, which was in general use upon the ottawa river and upon the north bank of the st. lawrence. with them he remained two years, following them in their wanderings, partaking of their dangers, their fatigues, and their privations, with a courage and fortitude equal to the boldest and the bravest of the tribe. during all this time, he saw not the face of a single white man. on several different occasions he passed a number of days without a morsel of food, and he was sometimes fain to satisfy the cravings of hunger by eating bark.[ ] nicolet, while residing with the algonquins of isle des allumettes, with whose language he had now become familiar, accompanied four hundred of those savages upon a mission of peace to the iroquois. the voyage proved a successful one, nicolet returning in safety. afterward, he took up his residence among the nipissings, with whom he remained eight or nine years. he was recognized as one of the nation. he entered into the very frequent councils of those savages. he had his own cabin and establishment, doing his own fishing and trading. he had become, indeed, a naturalized nipissing.[ ] the mental activity displayed by him while sojourning among these savages may be judged of from the circumstance of his having taken notes descriptive of the habits, manners, customs, and numbers of the nipissing indians, written in the form of memoirs, which were afterward presented by him to one of the missionaries, who, doubtless, made good use of them in after-time in giving an account of the nation.[ ] nicolet finally left the savages, and returned to civilization, being recalled by the government and employed as commissary and indian interpreter.[ ] it is probable, however, that he had signified his desire to leave the nipissings, as he could not live without the sacraments,[ ] which were denied him so long as he remained with them, there being no mission established in their country.[ ] quebec having been reoccupied by the french, nicolet took up his residence there. he was in high favor with champlain, who could not but admire his remarkable adaptation to savage life--the result of his courage and peculiar temperament; at least, this admiration may be presumed, from the circumstance of his having, as the sequel shows, soon after sent him upon an important mission. whether nicolet visited quebec during his long residence among the nipissing indians is not known. possibly he returned to the st. lawrence in , to receive orders from champlain on account of the new state of things inaugurated by the creation of the system of --the hundred associates; but, in that event, he must have soon returned, for it is known that he remained with the nipissings during the occupation of quebec by the english--from july, , to july, . the month during which, in the early days of new france, the trade of the ottawa was performed on the st. lawrence, was july; and, in , this trade was largely carried on where the city of three rivers now stands, but which was not then founded.[ ] the flotilla of bark canoes used to spend usually from eight to ten days in that place--seldom reaching quebec. in the month and the year just mentioned, de caen arrived in canada; and he was, therefore, in the position to send word, by the assembled indians, to the french who were living among the savages upon the ottawa and the georgian bay of lake huron, requesting their return to the st. lawrence. champlain, in june, , caused a small fort to be erected about forty miles above quebec, for the rendezvous of the trading flotilla descending the st. lawrence--to draw the market nearer quebec. it was thus the st. croix fort was established where the trade with the indians would be much less likely to be interrupted by incursions of the iroquois than at three rivers. at this time, one hundred and fifty huron canoes arrived at the newly-chosen position, for traffic with the french. possibly so great a number was the result of the change in the government of the colony--the return of the french to quebec the preceding year. with this large fleet of canoes nicolet probably returned to civilization; for it is certain that he was upon the st. lawrence as early as june, , ready to embark in an undertaking which, of necessity, would have caused so much consultation and preparation as to preclude the idea of his arrival, just then, from the ottawa. an indian interpreter--one well acquainted with the algonquins of the ottawa, and to a certain extent with the hurons of georgian bay--who could champlain more safely depend upon than nicolet to develop his schemes of exploration in the unknown western country, the door of which he had himself opened in previous years? who was there better qualified than his young _protégé_, familiar as he was with the algonquin and huron-iroquois tongues, to hold "talks" with savage tribes still further west, and smoke with them the pipe of peace--to the end that a nearer route to china and japan might be discovered; or, at least, that the fur-trade might be made more profitable to the hundred associates? surely, no one. hence it was that nicolet was recalled by the governor of canada. footnotes: [footnote : the proper spelling is "nicolet," not "nicollet," nor "nicollett." the correct pronunciation is "nick-o-lay." the people of the province of quebec all pronounce the name "nicoll_ette_," though improperly, the same as the word would be pronounced by english-speaking people if it were spelled "nick-o-let." but it is now invariably written by them "nicolet."] [footnote : vimont, _relation_, (quebec edition, ), p. . the jesuits, intent upon pushing their fields of labor far into the heart of the continent, let slip no opportunity after their arrival upon the st. lawrence to inform themselves concerning ulterior regions; and the information thus obtained was noted down by them. they minutely described, during a period of forty years, beginning with the year , the various tribes they came in contact with; and their hopes and fears as to christianizing them were freely expressed. accounts of their journeys were elaborated upon, and their missionary work put upon record. prominent persons, as well as important events, shared their attention. details concerning the geography of the country were also written out. the intelligence thus collected was sent every summer by the superiors to the provincials at paris, where it was yearly published, in the french language. taken together, these publications constitute what are known as the _jesuit relations_. they have been collected and republished in the same language, at quebec, by the canadian government, in three large volumes. as these are more accessible to the general reader in this form than in the original (cramoisy) editions, they are cited in this narrative. there is no complete translation of the _relations_ into the english language. numerous extracts from the originals bearing particularly upon the west--especially upon what is now wisconsin--were made some years since by cyrus woodman, of mineral point, translations of which are to be found in smith's history of that state, vol. iii., pp. - . but none of these are from the _relation_ of --the most important one in its reference to nicolet and his visit to the northwest.] [footnote : "jean nicollet né à cherbourg, était fils de thomas nicollet, messager ordinaire de cherbourg à paris, et de marie la mer."--ferland's _cours d'histoire du canada_ ( ), vol. i., p. , note. but, in his "notes sur les registres de notre-dame de québec" (quebec, , p. ), he corrects the mother's name, giving it as in the text above. that this was her real name is ascertained from the quebec parochial register, and from guitet's records (notary) of that city.] [footnote : il [nicolet] arriua en la nouuelle france, l'an mil six cents dixhuict. son humeur et sa memoire excellente firent esperer quelque chose de bon de luy; on l'enuoya hiuerner auec les algonquins de l'isle afin d'apprendre leur langue. il y demeura deux ans seul de françois, accompagnant tousiours les barbares dans leurs courses et voyages, auec des fatigues qui ne sont imaginables qu'à ceux qui les ont veües; il passa plusieurs fois les sept et huiet iours sans rien manger, il fut sept semaines entieres sans autre nourriture qu'vn peu d'escorce de bois."--vimont _relation_, , p. . (the antiquated orthography and accentuation of the _relations_ are strictly followed in the foregoing extract; so, also, in all those hereafter made from them in this narrative.) "on his [nicolet's] first arrival [in new france], by orders of those who presided over the french colony of quebec, he spent two whole years among the algonquins of the island, for the purpose of learning their language, without any frenchman as companion, and in the midst of those hardships, which may be readily conceived, if we will reflect what it must be to pass severe winters in the woods, under a covering of cedar or birch bark; to have one's means of subsistence dependent upon hunting; to be perpetually hearing rude outcries; to be deprived of the pleasant society of one's own people; and to be constantly exposed, not only to derision and insulting words, but even to daily peril of life. there was a time, indeed, when he went without food for a whole week; and (what is really wonderful) he even spent seven weeks without having any thing to eat but a little bark."--du creux, _historia canadensis_, paris, , p. . "probably," says margry, "he must, from time to time, have added some of the lichen which the canadians call rock tripe."--_journal général de l'instruction publique_, paris, .] [footnote : "il [_nicolet_] accompagna quatre cents algonquins, qui alloient en ce temps là faire la paix auec les hiroquois, et en vint à bout heureusement. pleust à dieu qu'elle n'eust iamais esté rompuë, nous ne souffririons pas à present les calamitez qui nous font gemir et donneront vn estrange empeschement à la conuersion de ces peuples. apes cette paix faite, il alla demeurer huict ou neuf ans auec la nation des nipissiriniens, algonquins; là il passoit pour vn de cette nation, entrant dans les conseils forts frequents à ces peuples, ayant sa cabane et son mesnage à part, faisant sa perche et sa traitte."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : "i'ay quelques memoires de sa main, qui pourront paroistre vn iour, touchant les nipisiriniens, auec lesquels il a souuent hyuerné."--le jeune, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : "il [_nicolet_] fut enfin rappallé et estably commis et interprete."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : "il [_nicolet_]... ne s'en est retiré, que pour mettre son salut en asseurance dans l'vsage des sacremens, faute desquels il y a grande risque pour l'âme, parmy les sauuages."--le jeune, _relation_, , pp. , .] [footnote : it would be quite impossible to reconcile the _relation_ of (p. ) with that of (pp. , ), respecting nicolet's retiring from his indian life, unless he, for the motive stated, asked for his recall and was recalled accordingly.] [footnote : champlain's map of shows no habitation on the st. lawrence above quebec. in , three rivers was virtually founded; but the fort erected there by champlain was not begun until .--sulte's _chronique trifluvienne_, p. . "as for the towns in canada, there are but three of any considerable figure. these are quebec, montreal, and trois rivieres [three rivers].... trois rivieres is a town so named from its situation at the confluence of three rivers, one whereof is that of st. lawrence, and lies almost in the midway between quebec and montreal. it is said to be a well-built town, and considerable mart, where the indians exchange their skins and furs for european goods."--_an account of the french settlements in north america_, boston, , pp. , . "three rivers, or trois rivieres, is a town of canada east, at the confluence of the rivers st. maurice and st. lawrence, ninety miles from quebec, with which it is connected by electric telegraph, and on the line of the proposed railway thence to montreal. it is one of the oldest towns in canada, and was long stationary as regarded enterprise or improvement; but recently it has become one of the most prosperous places in the province--a change produced principally by the commencement of an extensive trade in lumber on the river st. maurice and its tributaries, which had heretofore been neglected, and also by increased energy in the manufacture of iron-ware, for which the st. maurice forges, about three miles distant from the town, have always been celebrated in canada. three rivers is the residence of a roman catholic bishop, whose diocese bears the same name; and contains a roman catholic cathedral, a church of england, a scotch kirk, and a wesleyan chapel, an ursuline convent, with a school attached, where over two hundred young females are educated; two public and several private schools, a mechanics' institute, a canadian institute, and a young men's improvement, and several other societies. it sends a member to the provincial parliament. population in , was , ; in , , . the district of three rivers embraces both sides of the st. lawrence, and is subdivided into four counties."--_lippincott's gazetteer_, philadelphia, .] chapter iii. nicolet discovers the northwest. notwithstanding champlain had previously ascended the ottawa and stood upon the shores of the georgian bay of lake huron, and although he had received from western indians numerous reports of distant regions, his knowledge of the great lakes was, in , exceedingly limited. he had heard of niagara, but was of the opinion that it was only a rapid, such as the st. louis, in the river st. lawrence. he was wholly uninformed concerning lake erie, lake st. clair, and lake michigan; while, of lake huron, he knew little, and of lake superior still less. he was assured that there was a connection between the last-named lake and the st. lawrence; but his supposition was, that a river flowed from lake huron directly into lake ontario. such, certainly was the extent of his information in , as proven by his map of that date;[ ] and that, for the next two years, he could have received much additional information concerning the great lakes is not probable. he had early been told that near the borders of one of these "fresh-water seas," were copper mines; for, in june, , while moving up the st. lawrence to join a war-party of algonquins, hurons, and montagnais, he met, after ascending the river about twenty-five miles above quebec, a canoe containing two indians--an algonquin and a montagnais--who had been dispatched to urge him to hasten forward with all possible speed. he entertained them on his bark, and conferred with them about many matters concerning their wars. thereupon, the algonquin savage drew from a sack a piece of copper, a foot long, which he gave champlain. it was very handsome and quite pure. he said there were large quantities of the metal where he obtained the piece, and that it was found on the bank of a river near a great lake. he also declared that the indians gathered it in lumps, and, having melted it, spread it in sheets, smoothing it with stones.[ ] champlain had, also, early information that there dwelt in those far-off countries a nation which once lived upon the borders of a distant sea. these people were called, for that reason, "men of the sea," by the algonquins. their homes were less than four hundred leagues away. it was likewise reported that another people, without hair or beards, whose costumes and manners somewhat resembled the tartars, came from the west to trade with this "sea-tribe." these more remote traders, as was claimed, made their journeys upon a great water in large canoes. the missionaries among the hurons, as well as champlain and the best informed of the french settlers upon the st. lawrence, thought this "great water" must be a western sea leading to asia.[ ] some of the indians who traded with the french were in the habit of going occasionally to barter with those "people of the sea," distant from their homes five or six weeks' journey. a lively imagination on part of the french easily converted these hairless traders coming from the west into chinese or japanese; although, in fact, they were none other than the progenitors of the savages now known as the sioux,[ ] while the "sea-tribe" was the nation called, subsequently, winnebagoes.[ ] upon these reports, the missionaries had already built fond expectations of one day reaching china by the ocean which washed alike the shores of asia and america. and, as already noticed, champlain, too, was not less sanguine in his hopes of accomplishing a similar journey. nicolet, while living with the nipissings, must have heard many stories of the strange people so much resembling the chinese, and doubtless his curiosity was not less excited than was champlain's. but the great question, was, who should penetrate the wilderness to the "people of the sea"--to "la nation des puants," as they were called by champlain? naturally enough, the eyes of the governor of canada were fixed upon nicolet as the man to make the trial. the latter had returned to quebec, it will be remembered, and was acting as commissary and interpreter for the hundred associates. that he was paid by them and received his orders from them through champlain, their representative, is reasonably certain. so he was chosen to make a journey to the winnebagoes, for the purpose, principally, of solving the problem of a near route to china.[ ] if he should fail in discovering a new highway to the east in reaching these "people of the sea," it would, in any event, be an important step toward the exploration of the then unknown west; and why should not the explorer, in visiting the various nations living upon the eastern and northern shores of lake huron, and beyond this inland sea, create friends among the savage tribes, in hopes that a regular trade in peltries might be established with them. to this end, he must meet them in a friendly way; have talks with them; and firmly unite them, if possible, to french interests. champlain knew, from personal observation made while traveling upon the ottawa and the shores of the georgian bay of lake huron--from the reports of savages who came from their homes still further westward, and from what fur-traders, missionaries, and the young men sent by him among the savages to learn their languages (of whom nicolet himself was a notable example) had heard that there were comparatively easy facilities of communication by water between the upper country and the st. lawrence. he knew, also, that the proper time had come to send a trusty ambassador to these far-off nations; so, by the end of june, , nicolet, at quebec, was ready to begin his eventful journey, at the command of champlain. "opposite quebec lies the tongue of land called point levi. one who, in the summer of the year , stood on its margin and looked northward, across the st. lawrence, would have seen, at the distance of a mile or more, a range of lofty cliffs, rising on the left into the bold heights of cape diamond, and on the right sinking abruptly to the bed of the tributary river st. charles. beneath these cliffs, at the brink of the st. lawrence, he would have descried a cluster of warehouses, sheds, and wooden tenements. immediately above, along the verge of the precipice, he could have traced the outlines of a fortified work, with a flag-staff and a few small cannon to command the river; while, at the only point where nature had made the heights accessible, a zigzag path connected the warehouses and the fort. "now, embarked in the canoe of some montagnais indian, let him cross the st. lawrence, land at the pier, and, passing the cluster of buildings, climb the pathway up the cliff. pausing for a rest and breath, he might see, ascending and descending, the tenants of this out-post of the wilderness: a soldier of the fort, or an officer in slouched hat and plume; a factor of the fur company, owner and sovereign lord of all canada; a party of indians; a trader from the upper country, one of the precursors of that hardy race of _coureurs de bois_, destined to form a conspicuous and striking feature of the canadian population: next, perhaps, would appear a figure widely different. the close, black cassock, the rosary hanging from the waist, and the wide, black hat, looped up at the sides, proclaimed the jesuit."[ ] there were in canada, at this date, six of these jesuits--le jeune, masse, de nouë, daniel, davost, and brébeuf; to the last three had been assigned the huron mission. on the first day of july, , daniel and brébeuf left quebec for three rivers, where they were to meet some hurons. davost followed three days after. about the same time another expedition started up the st. lawrence, destined for the same place, to erect a fort. the jesuits were bound for the scene of their future labors in the huron country. they were to be accompanied, at least as far as isle des allumettes, by nicolet on his way to the winnebagoes.[ ] at three rivers, nicolet assisted in a manner in the permanent foundation of the place, by helping to plant some of the pickets of the fort just commenced. the hurons, assembled there for the purposes of trade, were ready to return to their homes, and with them the missionaries, as well as nicolet, expected to journey up the ottawa. the savages were few in number, and much difficulty was experienced in getting permits from them to carry so many white men, as other frenchmen were also of the company. it was past the middle of july before all were on their way. that nicolet did not visit the winnebagoes previous to , is reasonably certain. champlain would not, in , have located upon his map green bay north of lake superior, as was done by him in that year, had nicolet been there before that date. as he was sent by champlain, the latter must have had knowledge of his going; so that had he started in , or the previous year, the governor would, doubtless, have awaited his return before noting down, from indian reports only, the location of rivers and lakes and the homes of savage nations in those distant regions. it has already been shown, that nicolet probably returned to quebec in , relinquishing his home among the nipissing indians that year. and that he did not immediately set out at the command of champlain to return up the ottawa and journey thence to the winnebagoes, is certain; as the savages from the west, then trading at the site of what is now three rivers, were in no humor to allow him to retrace his steps, even had he desired it.[ ] it may, therefore, be safely asserted that, before the year , "those so remote countries," lying to the northward and northwestward, beyond the georgian bay of lake huron, had never been seen by civilized man. but, did nicolet visit those ulterior regions in , returning thence in ? that these were the years of his explorations and discoveries, there can be no longer any doubt.[ ] after the ninth day of december, of the last-mentioned year, his continued presence upon the st. lawrence is a matter of record, up to the day of his death, except from the nineteenth of march, , to the ninth of january, . these ten months could not have seen him journeying from quebec to the center of what is now wisconsin, and return; for, deducting those which could not have been traveled in because of ice in the rivers and lakes, and the remaining ones were too few for his voyage, considering the number of tribes he is known to have visited. then, too, the iroquois had penetrated the country of the algonquins, rendering it totally unsafe for such explorations, even by a frenchman. besides, it may be stated that champlain was no longer among the living, and that with him died the spirit of discovery which alone could have prompted the journey. furthermore, the marriage of nicolet which had previously taken place, militates against the idea of his having attempted any more daring excursions among savage nations. as, therefore, he certainly traveled up the ottawa, as far as isle des allumettes, in ,[ ] and as there is no evidence of his having been upon the st. lawrence until near the close of the next year, the conclusion, from these facts alone, is irresistible that, during this period, he accomplished, as hereafter detailed, the exploration of the western countries; visited the winnebagoes, as well as several neighboring nations, and returned to the st. lawrence; all of which, it is believed, could not have been performed in one summer.[ ] but what, heretofore, has been a very strong probability, is now seen clearly to be a fact; as it is certainly known that an agreement for peace was made some time before june, , between certain indian tribes (winnebagoes and nez percés), which, as the account indicates, was brought about by nicolet in his journey to the far west.[ ] the sufferings endured by all the frenchmen, except nicolet, in traveling up the ottawa, were very severe. the latter had been so many years among the indians, was so inured to the toils of the wilderness, that he met every hardship with the courage, the fortitude, and the strength of the most robust savage.[ ] not so with the rest of the party. "barefoot, lest their shoes should injure the frail vessel, each crouched in his canoe, toiling with unpracticed hands to propel it. before him, week after week, he saw the same lank, unkempt hair, the same tawny shoulders, and long naked arms ceaselessly plying the paddle."[ ] a scanty diet of indian-corn gave them little strength to assist in carrying canoes and baggage across the numerous portages. they were generally ill-treated by the savages, and only reached the huron villages after great peril. nicolet remained for a time at isle des allumettes, where he parted with brébeuf. to again meet "the algonquins of the isle" must have been a pleasure to nicolet; but he could not tarry long with them. to the huron villages, on the borders of georgian bay, he was to go before entering upon his journey to unexplored countries. to them he must hasten, as to them he was first accredited by champlain. he had a long distance to travel from the homes of that nation before reaching the winnebagoes. there was need, therefore, for expedition. he must yet make his way up the ottawa to the mattawan, a tributary, and by means of the latter reach lake nipissing. thence, he would float down french river to georgian bay.[ ] and, even after this body of water was reached, it would require a considerable canoe navigation, coasting along to the southward, before he could set foot upon huron territory. so nicolet departed from the algonquins of the isle, and arrived safely at the huron towns.[ ] was he a stranger to this nation? had he, during his long sojourn among the nipissings, visited their villages? certain it is he could speak their language. he must have had, while residing with the algonquins, very frequent intercourse with huron parties, who often visited lake nipissing and the ottawa river for purposes of trade.[ ] but why was nicolet accredited by champlain to the hurons at all? was not the st. lawrence visited yearly by their traders? it could not have been, therefore, to establish a commerce, with them. neither could it have been to explore their country; for the _voyageur_, the fur-trader, the missionary, even champlain himself, as we have seen, had already been at their towns. was the refusal, a year previous, of their trading-parties at quebec to take the jesuits to their homes the cause of nicolet's being sent to smoke the pipe of peace with their chiefs? this could not have been the reason, else the missionaries would not have preceded him from the isle des allumettes. he certainly had to travel many miles out of his way in going from the ottawa to the winnebagoes by way of the huron villages. his object was, evidently, to inform the hurons that the governor of canada was anxious to have amicable relations established between them and the winnebagoes, and to obtain a few of the nation to accompany him upon his mission of peace.[ ] it was now that nicolet, after all ceremonies and "talks" with the hurons were ended, began preparations for his voyage to the winnebagoes. he was to strike boldly into undiscovered regions. he was to encounter savage nations never before visited. it was, in reality, the beginning of a voyage full of dangers--one that would require great tact, great courage, and constant facing of difficulties. no one, however, understood better the savage character than he; no frenchman was more fertile of resources. from the st. lawrence, he had brought presents to conciliate the indian tribes which he would meet. seven hurons were to accompany him.[ ] before him lay great lakes; around him, when on land, would frown dark forests. a birch-bark canoe was to bear the first white man along the northern shore of lake huron, and upon saint mary's strait[ ] to the falls--"sault sainte marie;" many miles on lake michigan; thence, up green bay to the homes of the winnebagoes:[ ] and that canoe was to lead the van of a mighty fleet indeed, as the commerce of the upper lakes can testify. with him, he had a number of presents. what nations were encountered by him on the way to "the people of the sea," from the huron villages? three--all of algonquin lineage--occupied the shores of the georgian bay, before the mouth of french river had been reached. concerning them, little is known, except their names.[ ] passing the river which flows from lake nipissing, nicolet "upon the same shores of this fresh-water sea," that is, upon the shores of lake huron, came next to "the nation of beavers,"[ ] whose hunting-grounds were northward of the manitoulin islands.[ ] this nation was afterward esteemed among the most noble of those of canada. they were supposed to be descended from the great beaver, which was, next to the great hare, their principal divinity. they inhabited originally the beaver islands, in lake michigan; afterward the manitoulin islands; then they removed to the main-land, where they were found by nicolet. farther on, but still upon the margin of the great lake, was found another tribe.[ ] this people, and the amikoüai, were of the algonquin family, and their language was not difficult to be understood by nicolet. entering, finally, st. mary's strait, his canoes were urged onward for a number of miles, until the falls--sault de sainte marie[ ]--were reached: and there stood nicolet, the first white man to set foot upon any portion of what was, more than a century and a half after, called "the territory northwest of the river ohio,"[ ] now the states of ohio, indiana, illinois, michigan, and wisconsin, and so much of minnesota as lies east of the mississippi river. among "the people of the falls,"[ ] at their principal village, on the south side of the strait, at the foot of the rapids,[ ] in what is now the state of michigan,[ ] nicolet and his seven hurons rested from the fatigues of their weary voyage.[ ] they were still with algonquins. from lake huron they had entered upon one of the channels of the magnificent water-way leading out from lake superior, and threaded their way, now through narrow rapids, now across (as it were) little lakes, now around beautiful islands, to within fifteen miles of the largest expanse of fresh water on the globe--stretching away in its grandeur to the westward, a distance of full four hundred miles.[ ] nicolet saw beyond him the falls; around him clusters of wigwams, which two centuries and a half have changed into public buildings and private residences, into churches and warehouses, into offices and stores--in short, into a pleasantly-situated american village,[ ] frequently visited by steamboats carrying valuable freight and crowded with parties of pleasure. the portage around the falls, where, in early times, the indian carried his birch-bark canoe, has given place to an excellent canal. such are the changes which "the course of empire" continually brings to view in "the vast, illimitable, changing west." nicolet tarried among "the people of the falls," probably, but a brief period. his voyage, after leaving them, must have been to him one of great interest. he returned down the strait, passing, it is thought, through the western "detour" to mackinaw.[ ] not very many miles brought him to "the second fresh-water sea," lake michigan.[ ] he is fairly entitled to the honor of its discovery; for no white man had ever before looked out upon its broad expanse. nicolet was soon gliding along upon the clear waters of this out-of-the-way link in the great chain of lakes. the bold frenchman fearlessly threaded his way along its northern shore, frequently stopping upon what is now known as "the upper peninsula" of michigan, until the bay of noquet[ ] was reached, which is, in reality, a northern arm of green bay.[ ] here, upon its northern border, he visited another algonquin tribe;[ ] also one living to the northward of this "small lake."[ ] these tribes never navigated those waters any great distance, but lived upon the fruits of the earth.[ ] making his way up green bay, he finally reached the menomonee river, its principal northern affluent.[ ] in the valley of the menomonee, nicolet met a populous tribe of indians--the menomonees.[ ] to his surprise, no doubt, he found they were of a lighter complexion than any other savages he had ever seen. their language was difficult to understand, yet it showed the nation to be of the algonquin stock. their food was largely of wild rice, which grew in great abundance in their country. they were adepts in fishing, and hunted, with skill, the game which abounded in the forests. they had their homes and hunting grounds upon the stream which still bears their name.[ ] nicolet soon resumed his journey toward the winnebagoes, who had already been made aware of his near approach; for he had sent forward one of his hurons to carry the news of his coming and of his mission of peace. the messenger and his message were well received. the winnebagoes dispatched several of their young men to meet the "wonderful man." they go to him--they escort him--they carry his baggage.[ ] he was clothed in a large garment of chinese damask, sprinkled with flowers and birds of different colors.[ ] but, why thus attired? possibly, he had reached the far east; he was, really, in what is now the state of wisconsin.[ ] possibly, a party of mandarins would soon greet him and welcome him to cathay. and this robe--this dress of ceremony--was brought all the way from quebec, doubtless, with a view to such contingency. as soon as he came in sight, all the women and children fled, seeing a man carrying thunder in his two hands; for thus it was they called his pistols, which he discharged on his right and on his left.[ ] he was a manito! nicolet's journey was, for the present, at an end. he and his huron's "rested from their labors," among the winnebagoes,[ ] who were located around the head of green bay,[ ] contiguous to the point where it receives the waters of fox river.[ ] nicolet found the winnebagoes a numerous and sedentary people,[ ] speaking a language radically different from any of the algonquin nations, as well as from the hurons.[ ] they were of the dakota stock.[ ] the news of the frenchman's coming spread through the country. four or five thousand people assembled of different tribes.[ ] each of the chiefs gave a banquet. one of the sachems regaled his guests with at least one hundred and twenty beavers.[ ] the large assemblage was prolific of speeches and ceremonies. nicolet did not fail to "speak of peace" upon that interesting occasion.[ ] he urged upon the nation the advantages of an alliance, rather than war, with the nations to the eastward of lake huron. they agreed to keep the peace with the hurons, nez percés, and, possibly, other tribes; but, soon after nicolet's return, they sent out war parties against the beaver nation. doubtless the advantages of trade with the colony upon the st. lawrence were depicted in glowing colors by the frenchman. but the courageous norman was not satisfied with a visit to the winnebagoes only. he must see the neighboring tribes. so he ascended the fox river of green bay, to winnebago lake--passing through which, he again entered that stream, paddling his canoe up its current, until he reached the homes of the mascoutins,[ ] the first tribe to be met with after leaving the winnebagoes; for the sacs[ ] and foxes[ ] were not residents of what is now wisconsin at that period,--their migration thither, from the east, having been at a subsequent date. nicolet had navigated the fox river, a six-days' journey, since leaving the winnebagoes.[ ] the mascoutins, as we have seen, were heard of by champlain as early as , as being engaged in a war with the neuter nation and the ottawas. but, up to the time of nicolet's visit, and for a number of years subsequent (as he gave no clue himself to their locality), they were only known as living two hundred leagues or more beyond the last mentioned tribe--that is, that distance beyond the south end of the georgian bay of lake huron.[ ] their villages were in the valley of the fox river, probably in what is now green lake county, wisconsin.[ ] they had, doubtless, for their neighbors, the miamis[ ] and kickapoos.[ ] they were a vigorous and warlike nation, of algonquin stock, as were also the two tribes last mentioned. nicolet, while among the mascoutins, heard of the wisconsin river, which was distant only three days' journey up the tortuous channel of the fox. but the accounts given him of that tributary of the mississippi were evidently very confused. a reference to the parent stream (confounded with the wisconsin) as "the great water,"[ ] by the savages, caused him to believe that he was, in reality, but three days' journey from the sea; and so he reported after his return to the st. lawrence.[ ] strange to say, nicolet resolved not to visit this ocean, although, as he believed, so near its shores. he traveled no further upon the fox river,[ ] but turned his course to the southward. and the jesuits consoled themselves, when they heard of his shortcoming, with the hope that one day the western sea would be reached by one of their order.[ ] "in passing, i will say," wrote one of their missionaries, in , "that we have strong indications that one can descend through the second lake of the hurons ... into this sea."[ ] but why should nicolet leave the fox river and journey away from the mascoutins to the southward? the answer is, that, at no great distance, lived the illinois.[ ] their country extended eastward to lake michigan, and westward to the mississippi, if not beyond it. this nation was of too much importance, and their homes too easy of access, for nicolet not to have visited them.[ ] upon the beautiful prairies of what is now the state bearing their name, was this tribe located, with some bands, probably nearly as far northward as the southern counties of the present state of wisconsin. it is not known in how many villages of these savages he smoked the pipe of peace. from their homes he returned to the winnebagoes. before nicolet left the country, on his return to the st. lawrence, he obtained knowledge of the sioux--those traders from the west who, it will be remembered, were represented as coming in canoes upon a sea to the winnebagoes; the same "sea," doubtless, he came so near to, but did not behold--the wisconsin and mississippi rivers! although without beards, and having only a tuft of hair upon their crowns, these sioux were no longer mandarins--no longer from china or japan! bands of this tribe had pushed their way across the mississippi, far above the mouth of the wisconsin, but made no further progress eastward. they, like the winnebagoes, as previously stated, were of the dakota family. whether any of them were seen by nicolet is not known;[ ] but he, doubtless, learned something of their real character. there was yet one tribe near the winnebagoes to be visited--the pottawattamies.[ ] they were located upon the islands at the mouth of green bay, and upon the main land to the southward, along the western shores of lake michigan.[ ] on these algonquins--for they were of that lineage--nicolet, upon his return trip, made a friendly call.[ ] their homes were not on the line of his outward voyage, but to the south of it. nicolet gave no information of them which has been preserved, except that they were neighbors of the winnebagoes.[ ] so nicolet, in the spring of ,[ ] having previously made many friends in the far northwest for his countrymen upon the st. lawrence, and for france, of nations of indians, only a few of which had before been heard of, and none ever before visited by a white man; having been the first to discover lake michigan and "the territory northwest of the river ohio;" having boldly struck into the wilderness for hundreds of leagues beyond the huron villages--then the ultima thule of civilized discoveries; returned, with his seven dusky companions, by way of mackinaw and along the south shores of the great manitoulin island to the home thereon of a band of ottawas.[ ] he proceeded thence to the hurons; retracing, afterward, his steps to the mouth of french river, up that stream to lake nipissing, and down the mattawan and ottawa to the st. lawrence; journeying, upon his return, it is thought, with the savages upon their annual trading-voyage to the french settlements.[ ] and nicolet's exploration was ended.[ ] footnotes: [footnote : this map was the first attempt at delineating the great lakes. the original was, beyond a reasonable doubt, the work of champlain himself. so much of new france as had been visited by the delineator is given with some degree of accuracy. on the whole, the map has a grotesque appearance, yet it possesses much value. it shows where many savage nations were located at its date. by it, several important historical problems concerning the northwest are solved. it was first published, along with champlain's "voyages de la novelle france," in paris. fac-similes have been published; one accompanies volume third of e. b. o'callaghan's "documentary history of the state of new york," albany, ; another is found in a reprint of champlain's works by laverdière (vol. vi.), quebec, ; another is by tross, paris.] [footnote : champlain's _voyages_, paris, , pp. , . upon his map of , champlain marks an island "where, there is a copper mine." instead of being placed in lake superior, as it doubtless should have been, it finds a location in green bay.] [footnote : this "great water" was, as will hereafter be shown, the mississippi and its tributary, the wisconsin.] [footnote : synonyms: cioux, scious, sioust, naduessue, nadouesiouack, nadouesiouek, nadoussi, nadouessioux, etc. "the sioux, or dakotah [dakota], ... were [when first visited by civilized men] a numerous people, separated into three great divisions, which were again subdivided into bands.... [one of these divisions--the most easterly--was the issanti.] the other great divisions, the yanktons and the tintonwans, or tetons, lived west of the mississippi, extending beyond the missouri, and ranging as far as the rocky mountains. the issanti cultivated the soil; but the extreme western bands lived upon the buffalo alone.... "the name sioux is an abbreviation of _nadoucssioux_, an ojibwa [chippewa] word, meaning _enemies_. the ojibwas used it to designate this people, and occasionally, also, the iroquois--being at deadly war with both."--parkman's "la salle and the discovery of the great west" (revised ed.), p. , note.] [footnote : from the algonquin word "ouinipeg," signifying "bad smelling water," as salt-water was by them designated. when, therefore, the algonquins spoke of this tribe as the "ouinipigou," they simply meant "men of the salt-water;" that is, "men of the sea." but the french gave a different signification to the word, calling the nation "men of the stinking-water;" or, rather, "the nation of stinkards"--"la nation des puans." and they are so designated by champlain in his "voyages," in , and on his map of that year. by friar gabriel sagard ("histoire du canada," paris, , p. ), they are also noted as "des puants." sagard's information of the winnebagoes, although printed after nicolet's visit to that tribe, was obtained previous to that event. the home of this nation was around the head of green bay, in what is now the state of wisconsin. says vimont (_relation_, , p. ), as to the signification of the word "ouinipeg:" "quelques françois les appellant la nation des puans, à cause que le mot algonquin ouinipeg signifie eau puante; or ils nomment ainsi l'eau de la mer salée, si bien que ces peuples se nomment ouinipigou, pource qu'ils viennent des bords d'vne mer dont nous n'auons point de cognoissance, et par consequent il ne faut pas les appeller la nation des puans, mais la nation de la mer." the same is reiterated in the _relations_ of and . consult, in this connection, smith's "history of wisconsin," vol. iii., pp. , , . to john gilmary shea belongs the credit of first identifying the "ouinipigou," or "gens de mer," of vimont (_relation_, ), with the winnebagoes. see his "discovery and exploration of the mississippi valley," , pp. , .] [footnote : it is nowhere stated in the _relations_ that such was the object of champlain in dispatching nicolet to those people; nevertheless, that it was the chief purpose had in view by him, is fairly deducible from what is known of his purposes at that date. he had, also, other designs to be accomplished.] [footnote : parkman's "jesuits in north america," pp. , .] [footnote : this is assumed, although in no account that has been discovered is it expressly asserted that he visited the tribe just mentioned during this year. in no record, contemporaneous or later, is the date of his journey thither given, except approximately. the fact of nicolet's having made the journey to the winnebagoes is first noticed by vimont, in the _relation_ of , p. . he says: "ie visiteray tout maintenant le costé du sud, ie diray on passant que le sieur nicolet, interprete en langue algonquine et huronne pour messieurs de la nouuelle france, m'a donné les noms de ces nations qu'il a visitées luy mesme pour la pluspart dans leur pays, tous ces peuples entendent l'algonquin, excepté les hurons, qui out vne langue à part, comme aussi les ouinipigou [_winnebagoes_] ou gens de mer." the year of nicolet's visit, it will be noticed, is thus left undetermined. the extract only shows that it must have been made "in or before" .] [footnote : as to the temper of the hurons at that date, see parkman's "jesuits in north america," p. .] [footnote : the credit of first advancing this idea is due to benjamin sulte. see his article entitled "jean nicolet," in "mélanges d'histoire et de littérature," ottawa, , pp. , .] [footnote : brébeuf, _relation des hurons_, , p. . he says: "jean nicolet, en son voyage qu'il fit auec nous iusques à l'isle," etc.; meaning the isle des allumettes, in the ottawa river.] [footnote : incidents recorded in the _relations_, and in the parish church register of three rivers, show nicolet to have been upon the st. lawrence from december , , to his death, in , except during the ten months above mentioned. it is an unfortunate fact that, for those ten months, the record of the church just named is missing. for this information i am indebted to mr. benjamin sulte. could the missing record be found, it would be seen to contain, without doubt, some references to nicolet's presence at three rivers. as the _relation_ of mentions nicolet's visit to the winnebagoes, it could not have been made subsequent to . it has already been shown how improbable it is that his journey was made previous to . it only remains, therefore, to give his whereabouts previous to , and subsequent to . his presence in three rivers, according to mr. sulte (see appendix, i., to this narrative), is noted in the parish register in december, ; in may, ; in november and december, ; in march, ; in january, march, july, october, and december, . as to mention of him in the _relations_ during those years, see the next chapter of this work. it was the identification by mr. shea, of the winnebagoes as the "ouinipigou," or "gens de mer," of the _relations_, that enabled him to call the attention of the public to the extent of the discoveries of nicolet. the claims of the latter, as the discoverer of the northwest, were thus, for the first time, brought forward on the page of american history.] [footnote : "le huictiesme de iuin, le capitaine des naiz percez, ou de la nation du castor, qui est à trois iournées de nous, vint nous demander quelqu'vn de nos françois, pour aller auec eux passer l'este dans vn fort qu'ils ont fait, pour la crainte qu'ils ont des _a eatsi aenrrhonon_, c'est à dire, des gens puants, qui ont rompu le traicté de paix, et ont tuè deux de leurs dont ils ont fait festin."--le jeune, _relation_, , p. . "on the th of june [ ], the chief of the nez percés, or beaver nation, which is three days' journey from us [the jesuit missionaries, located at the head of georgian bay of lake huron], came to demand of us some one of our frenchmen to go with them to pass the summer in a fort which they have made, by reason of the fear which they have of the _aweatiswaenrrhonon_;[a] that is to say, of the nation of the puants [winnebagoes], who have broken the treaty of peace, and have killed two of their men, of whom they have made a feast."] [footnote a: the figure which occurs in this word in the _relation_ of , is supposed to be equivalent, in english, to "w," "we," or "oo."] [footnote : 'iean nicolet, en son voyage qu'il fit auec nous iusques à l'isle souffrit aussi tous les trauaux d'vn des plus robustes sauuages.'--brébeuf, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : parkman's "jesuits in north america," p. .] [footnote : the mattawan has its source on the very verge of lake nipissing, so that it was easy to make a "portage" there to reach the lake. the indians, and afterward the french, passed by the mattawan, mattouane, or mattawin ("the residence of the beaver"), went over the small space of land called the "portage," that exists between the two waters, floated on lake nipissing, and followed the french river, which flows directly out of that lake to the georgian bay. a "portage" is a place, as is well known, where parties had to "port" their baggage in order to reach the next navigable water.] [footnote : vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : "sieur nicolet, interpreter en langue algonquine et huronne," etc.--vimont, _relation_, , p. . the hurons and nipissings were, at that date, great friends, having constant intercourse, according to all accounts of those days.] [footnote : "the people of the sea"--that is, the winnebagoes--were frequently at war with the hurons, nez percés, and other nations on the georgian bay, which fact was well known to the governor of canada. now, the good offices of nicolet were to be interposed to bring about a reconciliation between these nations. he, it is believed, was also to carry out champlain's policy of making the indian tribes the allies of the french. vimont (_relation_, , p. ) says, he was chosen to make a journey to the winnebagoes and treat for peace with them _and with the hurons_; showing, it is suggested, that it was not only to bring about a peace _between the two tribes_, but to attach them both to french interests. the words of vimont are these: "pendant qu'il exerçoit cette charge, il [_nicolet_] fut delegué pour faire vn voyage en la nation appellée des gens de mer, et traitter la paix auec eux et les hurons, desquels il sont esloignés, tirant, vers l'oüest, d'enuiron trois cents lieuës."] [footnote : "il [_nicolet_] s'embarque au pays des hurons avec sept sauuages."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : saint mary's strait separates the dominion of canada from the upper peninsula of michigan, and connects lake superior with lake huron.] [footnote : the route taken by nicolet, from the mouth of french river, in journeying toward the winnebagoes, is sufficiently indicated by ( ) noting that, in mentioning the various tribes visited by him, nicolet probably gave their names, except the ottawas, in the order in which he met them; and ( ) by calculating his time as more limited on his return than on his outward trip, because of his desire to descend the ottawa with the annual flotilla of huron canoes, which would reach the st. lawrence in july, .] [footnote : the ouasouarim, the outchougai, and the atchiligoüan.--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : called amikoüai (_rel._, , p. ), from _amik_ or _amikou_--a beaver.] [footnote : the manitoulin islands stretch from east to west along the north shores of lake huron, and consist chiefly of the great manitoulin or sacred isle, little manitoulin or cockburn, and drummond. great manitoulin is eighty miles long by twenty broad. little manitoulin has a diameter of about seven miles. drummond is twenty-four miles long, with a breadth varying from two to twelve miles. it is separated from the american shore, on the west, by a strait called the true detour, which is scarcely one mile wide, and forms the principal passage for vessels proceeding to lake superior.] [footnote : the oumisagai.--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : these falls are distinctly marked on champlain's map of ; and on that of du creux of .] [footnote : in giving nicolet this credit, it is necessary to state, that the governor of canada, in , claimed that honor for champlain (n. y. col. doc, vol. ix., p. ). he says: "in the years and , he [champlain] ascended the grand river [ottawa] as far as lake huron, called the fresh sea [la mer douce]; he went thence to the petun [tobacco] nation, next to the neutral nation and to the macoutins [mascoutins], who were then residing near the place called the sakiman [that part of the present state of michigan lying between the head of lake erie and saginaw bay, on lake huron]; from that he went to the algonquin and huron tribes, at war against the iroquois [five nations]. he passed by places he has, himself, described in his book [les voyages de la novvelle france, etc., ], which are no other than detroit [_i.e._, "the straight," now called detroit river] and lake erie."--_mem. of m. de denonville_, _may , _. the reader is referred to champlain's map of , and to "his book" of the same date, for a complete refutation of the assertion as to his visiting, at any time before that year, the mascoutins. in , champlain, as shown by his map of that year, had no knowledge whatever of lake erie or lake st. clair, nor had he previously been so far west as detroit river. it is, of course, well known, that he did not go west of the st. lawrence during that year or subsequent to that date. locating the mascoutins "near the place called the sakiman," is as erroneous as that champlain ever visited those savages. the reported distance between him when at the most westerly point of his journeyings and the mascoutins is shown by himself: "after having visited these people [the tobacco nation, in december, ] we left the place and came to a nation of indians which we have named the standing hair [ottawas], who were very much rejoiced to see us again [he had met them previously on the ottawa river], with whom also we formed a friendship, and who, in like manner, promised to come and find us and see us at the said habitation. at this place it seems to me appropriate to give a description of their country, manners, and modes of action. in the first place, they make war upon another nation of indians, called the assistagueronon, which means nation of fire [mascoutins], ten days distant from them."--_voyages_, , i., p. [ ]. upon his map of , champlain speaks of the "discoveries" made by him "in the year and , until in the year "--"of this great lake [huron], and of all the lands _from the sault st. louis_ [the rapids in the st. lawrence];"--but he nowhere intimates that he had made discoveries _west_ of that lake. it is, therefore, certain that the first white man who ever saw or explored any portion of the territory forming the present state of michigan was john nicolet--not champlain. compare parkman's "pioneers of france in the new world," chap. xiv., and map illustrative of the text.] [footnote : their name, as stated by nicolet and preserved in the _relation_ of , was baouichtigouin; given in the _relation_ of , as paüoitigoüeieuhak--"inhabitants of the falls;" in the _relation_ of , as paouitagoung--"nation of the sault;" on du creux' map of , "pasitig ecü;" and they were sometimes known as paouitingouach-irini--"the men of the shallow cataract." they were estimated, in , at one hundred and fifty souls. they then united with other kindred nations. by the french, these tribes, collectively, were called sauteurs; but they were known to the iroquois as estiaghicks, or stiagigroone--the termination, _roone_, meaning men, being applied to indians of the algonquin family. they were designated by the sioux as raratwaus or "people of the falls." they were the ancestors of the modern otchipwes, or ojibwas (chippewas).] [footnote : that this was the location in is certain. shea's _catholic missions_, p. . in , it was, probably, still at the foot of the rapids, on the southern side. _id._, p. . besides, when the missionaries first visited the sault, they were informed that the place had been occupied for a long period. the falls are correctly marked upon champlain's map of .] [footnote : the earliest delineation, to any extent, of the present state of michigan, is that to be found on du creux' map of , where the two peninsulas are very well represented in outline.] [footnote : the names of the tribes thus far visited by nicolet, and their relative positions, are shown in the following from vimont (_relation_, , p. ), except that the "cheueux releuez" were not called upon by him until his return: "i'ay dit qu'à l'entrée du premier de ces lacs se rencontrent les hurons; les quittans pour voguer plus haut dans le lac, on truue au nord les ouasouarim, plus haut sont les outchougai, plus haut encore à l'embouchure du fleuue qui vient du lac nipisin sont les atchiligoüan. au delà sur les mesmes riues de ceste mer douce sont les amikoüai, ou la nation du castor, au sud desquels est vne isle dans ceste mer douce longue d'enuiron trente lieuës habitée des outaouan, ce sont peuples venus de la nation des cheueux releuez. apres les amikoüai sur les mesmes riues du grand lac sont les oumisagai, qu'on passe pour venir à baouichtigouin, c'est à dire, à la nation des gens du sault, pource qu'en effect il y a vn sault qui se iette en cet endroit dans la mer douce."] [footnote : lake superior is distinctly marked on champlain's map of , where it appears as "grand lac." was it seen by nicolet? this is a question which will probably never be answered to the satisfaction of the historian.] [footnote : sault sainte marie (pronounced _soo-saint-máry_), county-seat of chippewa county, michigan, fifteen miles below the outlet of lake superior.] [footnote : the straits of mackinaw connect lake michigan with lake huron. of the word "mackinaw," there are many synonyms to be found upon the pages of american history: mackinac, michillmakinaw, michillimakinac, michilimakina, michiliakimawk, michilinaaquina, miscilemackina, miselimackinack, misilemakinak, missilimakina, missilimakinac, missilimakinak, missilimaquina, missilimaquinak, etc.] [footnote : machihiganing was the indian name; called by the french at an early day, mitchiganon,--sometimes the lake of the illinois, lake st. joseph, or lake dauphin. i know of no earlier representation of this lake than that on du creux' map of . it is there named the "magnus lacus algonquinorum, seu lacus foetetium [foetentium]." this is equivalent to great algonquin lake, or lake of the puants; that is, winnebago lake. on a map by joliet, recently published by gabriel gravier, it is called "lac des illinois ou missihiganin."] [footnote : bay du noquet, or noque. that the "small lake" visited by nicolet was, in fact, this bay, is rendered probable by the phraseology employed by vimont in the _relation_ of , p. . he says: "passing this small lake [from the sault sainte marie], we enter into the second fresh-water sea [lake michigan and green bay]." it is true vimont speaks of "the small lake" as lying "beyond the falls;" but his meaning is, "nearer the winnebagoes." if taken literally, his words would indicate a lake further up the strait, above the sault sainte marie, meaning lake superior, which, of course, would not answer the description of a small lake. it must be remembered that the missionary was writing at his home upon the st. lawrence, and was giving his description from his standpoint.] [footnote : synonyms: la baye des eaux puantes, la baye, enitajghe (iroquois), baie des puants, la grande baie, bay des puants.] [footnote : called the roquai, by vimont, in the _relation_ of , p. --probably the noquets--afterwards classed with the chippewas.] [footnote : called the mantoue in the _relation_ just cited. they were probably the nantoue of the _relation_ of , or mantoueouee of the map attached thereto. they are mentioned, at that date, as living near the foxes. in the _relation_ of , they are designated as the makoueoue, still residing near the foxes.] [footnote : "au delà de ce sault on trouue le petit lac, sur les bords duquel du costé du nord sont les roquai. au nord de ceux-cy sont mantoue, ces peuples ne nauigent guiere, viuans des fruicts de la terre."--vimont, _relation_, , pp. , .] [footnote : the menomonee river forms a part of the northeastern boundary of wisconsin, running in a southeasterly direction between this state and michigan, and emptying into green bay on the northwest side. the earliest location, on a map, of a menomonee village, is that given by charlevoix on his "carte des lacs du canada," accompanying his "histoire et description generale de la nouvelle france," vol. i., paris, . the village ("des malonines") is placed at the mouth of the river, on what is now the michigan side of the stream.] [footnote : synonyms: maroumine, oumalouminek, oumaominiecs, malhominies,--meaning, in algonquin, wild rice (_zizania aquatica_ of linnæus). the french called this grain wild oats--folles avoine; hence they gave the name of les folles avoine to the menomonees. "passant ce plus petit lac, on entre dans la seconde mer douce, sur les riues de laquelle sont les maroumine."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : i have drawn, for this description of the menomonees, upon the earliest accounts preserved of them; but these are of dates some years subsequent to nicolet's visit. (compare marquette's account in his published narrative, by shea.) vimont seems not to have derived any knowledge of them from nicolet, beside the simple fact of his having visited them; at least, he says nothing further in the _relation_ of .] [footnote : "two days' journey from this tribe [the winnebagoes], he sent one of his savages," etc.--vimont, _relation_, , p. . this was just the distance from the menomonees. du creux, although following the _relation_ of , makes nicolet an ambassador of the hurons, for he says (hist. canada, p. ): "when he [nicolet] was two days distant [from the winnebagoes], he sent forward one of his own company to make known to the nation to which they were going, that a european ambassador was approaching with gifts, who, in behalf of the hurons, desired to secure their friendship." but the following is the account of vimont (_relation_, , p. ), from the time of nicolet's departure from the huron villages to his being met by the young men of the winnebagoes: "ils [_nicolet and his seven hurons_] passerent par quantité de petites nations, en allant et en reuenant; lors qu'ils y arriuoient, ils fichoient deux bastons en terre, auquel ils pendoient des presens, afin d'oster à ces peuples la pensée de les prendre pour ennemis et de les massacrer. a deux iournées de cette nation, il enuoya vn de ces sauuages porter la nouuelle de la paix, laquelle fut bien receuë, nommément quand on entendit que c'estoit vn european qui portoit la parole. on depescha plusieurs ieunes gens pour aller au deuant du manitouiriniou, c'est à dire de l'homme merueilleux; on y vient, on le conduit, on porte tout son bagage."] [footnote : compare parkman's "discovery of the great west," p. xx. "il [_nicolet_] estoit reuestu d'vne grande robe de damas de la chine, toute parsemée de fleurs et d'oyseaux de diuerses couleurs."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : wisconsin takes its name from its principal river, which drains an extensive portion of its surface. it rises in lake vieux desert (which is partly in michigan and partly in wisconsin), flows generally a south course to portage, in what is now columbia county, where it turns to the southwest, and, after a further course of one hundred and eighteen miles, with a rapid current, reaches the mississippi river, four miles below prairie du chien. its entire length is about four hundred and fifty miles, descending, in that distance, a little more than one thousand feet. along the lower portion of the stream are the high lands or river hills. some of these hills present high and precipitous faces towards the water. others terminate in knobs. the name is supposed to have been taken from this feature; the word being derived from _mis-si_, great, and _os-sin_, a stone or rock. compare shea's _discovery and exploration of the mississippi_, pp. (note) and ; foster's _mississippi valley_, p. (note); schoolcraft's _thirty years with the indian tribes_, p. and note. two definitions of the word are current--as widely differing from each other as from the one just given. (see wis. hist. soc. coll., vol. i., p. , and webster's dic., unabridged, p. .) the first--"the gathering of the waters"--has no corresponding words in algonquin at all resembling the name; the same may be said of the second--"wild rushing channel." (see otchipwe dic. of rev. f. baraga.) since first used by the french, the word "wisconsin" has undergone considerable change. on the map by joliet, recently brought to light by gravier, it is given as "miskonsing." in marquette's journal, published by thevenot, in paris, , it is noted as the "meskousing." it appeared there for the first time in print. hennepin, in , wrote "onisconsin" and "misconsin;" charlevoix, , "ouisconsing;" carver, , "ouisconsin" (english--"wisconsin"): since which last mentioned date, the orthography has been uniform.] [footnote : "si tost qu'on l'apperceut toutes les femmes et les enfans s'enfuïrent, voyant vn homme porter le tonnerre en ses deux mains (c'est ainsi qu'ils nommoient deux pistolets qu'il tenoit)."--vimont, _relation_, , p. . du creux (hist. canada, p. ) has this rendering of vimont's language: "he [nicolet] carried in each hand a small pistol. when he had discharged these (for he must have done this, though the french author does not mention the fact), the more timid persons, boys and women, betook themselves to flight, to escape as quickly as possible from a man who (they said) carried the thunder in both his hands." and thus parkman ("discovery of the great west," p. xx.): "[nicolet] advanced to meet the expectant crowd with a pistol in each hand. the squaws and children fled, screaming that it was a manito, or spirit, armed with thunder and lightning."] [footnote : synonyms: ouinipigou, ouinbegouc, ouinipegouc, ouenibegoutz--gens de mer, gens de eaux de mer--des puans, des puants, la nation des puans, la nation des puants, des gens puants. by the hurons, this nation was known as a eatsi aenrrhonon (_relation_, , p. ); by the sioux, as ontonkah; but they called themselves otchagras, hochungara, ochungarand, or horoji.] [footnote : champlain's map of gives them that location. la jeune (_relation_, , p. ) approximates their locality thus: ... "nous auons aussi pensé d'appliquer quelques-vns à la connoissance de nouuelles langues. nous iettions les yeux sur trois autres des peuples plus voisins: sur celle des algonquains, espars de tous costez, et au midy, et au septentrion de nostre grand lac; sur celle de la nation neutre, qui est vne maistresse porte pour les païs meridionaux, et sur celle de la nation des puants, qui est vn passage des plus considerables pour les païs occidentaux, vn peu plus septentrionaux." "we [the missionaries] have also thought of applying ourselves, some of us, to the task of acquiring a knowledge of new languages. we turn our eyes on three other nations nearer: on that of the algonquins, scattered on every side, both to the south and north of our great lake [huron]; on that of the neuter nation, which affords a principal entrance to the countries on south; and on that of the nation of the puants [winnebagoes], which is one of the more important thoroughfares to the western countries, a little more northern."] [footnote : fox river heads in the northeastern part of columbia county, wisconsin, and in the adjoining portions of green lake county. flowing, at first, southwest and then due west, it approaches the wisconsin at portage, county-seat of columbia county. when within less than two miles of that river, separated from it by only a low, sandy plain--the famous "portage" of early days--it turns abruptly northward, and with a sluggish current, continues on this course, for twelve miles, to the head of lake buffalo, in the southern part of which is now marquette county, wisconsin. it now begins a wide curve, which brings its direction finally around due east. lake buffalo is merely an expansion of the river, thirteen and one-half miles long and half a mile wide. from the foot of this lake, the river runs in an irregular, easterly course, with a somewhat rapid current, to the head of puckaway lake, which is eight and one-fourth miles in length, and from one to two miles wide. at the foot of this lake there are wide marshes through which the river leaves on the north side, and, after making a long, narrow bend to the west, begins a northeast stretch, which it continues for a considerable distance, passing, after receiving the waters of wolf river, around in a curve to the southeast through big butte des morts lake, and reaching lake winnebago, into which it flows at the city of oshkosh. the river leaves winnebago lake in two channels, at the cities of menasha and neenah, flowing in a westerly course to the little butte des morts lake, and through the latter in a north course, when it soon takes a northeasterly direction, which it holds until it empties into the head of green bay. the stream gets its name from the fox tribe of indians formerly residing in its valley. upon champlain's map of , it is noted as "riviere des puans;" that is, "river of the puans"--winnebago river. the name neenah (water), sometimes applied to it, is a misnomer.] [footnote : "plus auant encore sur les mesmes riues habitent les ouinipigou [winnebagoes], peuples sedentaires qui sont en grand nombre."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : "tous ces peuples entendent l'algonquin, excepté les hurons, qui out vne langue à part, comme aussi les ouinipigou [winnebagoes] ou gens de mer."--ibid.] [footnote : the winnebagoes and some bands of sioux were the only dakotas that crossed the mississippi in their migratory movement eastward.] [footnote : says vimont (_relation_, , pp. , ): "la nouuelle de sa venuë s'espandit incontinent aux lieu circonuoisins: il se fit vne assemblée, de quartre ou cinq mille hommes." but this number is lessened somewhat by the _relation_ of (p. ): "vn françois m'a dit autrefois, qu'il auoit veu trois mille hommes dans vne assemblée qui se fit pour traiter de paix, au païs des gens de mer." "a frenchman [nicolet] told me some time ago, that he had seen three thousand men together in one assemblage, for the purpose of making a treaty of peace in the country of the people of the sea [winnebagoes]."] [footnote : "chacun des principaux fit son festin, en l'vn desquels on seruit au moins six-vingts castors."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : shea ("discovery and exploration of the mississippi valley," p. ) has evidently caught the true idea of nicolet's mission to the winnebagoes. he says: "with these [winnebagoes] nicolet entered into friendly relations."] [footnote : synonyms: masscoutens, maskoutens, maskouteins, musquetens, machkoutens, maskoutench, etc. they were called by the french, "les gens de feu"--the nation of fire; by the hurons, "assistagueronons" or "atsistaehronons," from _assista_, fire and _ronons_, people; that is, fire-people or fire-nation. by champlain, they were noted, in , as "les gens de feu a bistagueronons" on his map. this is a misprint for "assistagueronons," as his "voyages" of that year shows. i., p. [ ]. "the fire nation bears this name erroneously, calling themselves maskoutench, which signifies 'a land bare of trees,' such as that which these people inhabit; but because by the change of a few letters, the same word signifies, 'fire,' from thence it has come that they are called the 'fire nation.'"--_relation_, , p. .] [footnote : synonyms: sauks, saukis, ousakis, sakys, etc.] [footnote : synonyms: outagamis, les renards, musquakies.] [footnote : the distance by days up the fox river of green bay from the winnebagoes to the mascoutins, is given in accordance with the earliest accounts of canoe navigation upon that stream. the first white persons to pass up the river after nicolet were allouez and his attendants, in april, . that missionary (_relation_, , pp. , , ), says: "the th of april [ ], i embarked to go and commence the mission of the outagamis [fox indians], a people well known in all these parts. we were lying at the head of the bay [green bay], at the entrance of the river of the puants [fox river], which we have named 'st. francis;' in passing, we saw clouds of swans, bustards, and ducks; the savages take them in nets at the head of the bay, where they catch as many as fifty in a night; this game, in the autumn, seek the wild rice that the wind has shaken off in the month of september. "the th [of april of the same year], we went up the river st. francis [the fox]--two and sometimes three arpens wide. after having advanced four leagues, we found the village of the savages named saky [sacs, saukis, or sauks], who began a work that merits well here to have its place. from one side of the river to the other, they made a barricade, planting great stakes, two fathoms from the water, in such a manner that there is, as it were, a bridge above for the fishers, who, by the aid of a little bow-net, easily take sturgeons and all other kinds of fish which this pier stops, although the water does not cease to flow between the stakes. they call this device mitihikan ["mitchiganen" or "machihiganing," now "michigan"]; they make use of it in the spring and a part of the summer. "the th [of the same month], we made the portage which they call kekaling [afterwards variously spelled, and pronounced "cock-o-lin;" meaning, it is said, the place of the fish. in the fall of , a village was laid out there, which is known as kaukauna]; our sailors drew the canoe through the rapids; i walked on the bank of the river, where i found apple-trees and vine stocks [grape vines] in abundance. "the th [april], our sailors ascended the rapids, by using poles, for two leagues. i went by land as far as the other portage, which they call oukocitiming; that is to say, the highway. we observed this same day the eclipse of the sun, predicted by the astrologers, which lasted from mid-day until two o'clock. the third, or near it, of the body of the sun appeared eclipsed; the other two-thirds formed a crescent. we arrived, in the evening, at the entrance of the lake of the puants [winnebago lake], which we have called lake st. francis; it is about twelve leagues long and four wide; it is situated from north-northeast to south-southwest; it abounds in fish, but uninhabited, on account of the nardoüecis [sioux], who are here dreaded. "the th [of april, ], which was on sunday, i said mass, after having navigated five or six leagues in the lake; after which, we arrived in a river [the fox, at what is now oshkosh], that comes from a lake of wild rice [big butte des morts lake], which we came into; at the foot [head] of which we found the river [the wolf] which leads to the outagamis [fox indians] on one side, and that [the fox] which leads to the machkoutenck [mascoutins] on the other. we entered into the former [the wolf].... "the th [of april of the same year, having returned from the fox indians living up the wolf river], we entered into the [fox] river, which leads to the machkoutench [mascoutins], called assista ectaeronnons, fire nation ["gens de feu"], by the hurons. this [fox] river is very beautiful, without rapids or portages [above the mouth of the wolf]; it flows to [from] the southwest. "the th [of april, ], having disembarked opposite the village [of the mascoutins], and left our canoe at the water's edge, after a walk of a league, over beautiful prairies, we perceived the fort [of the mascoutins]."] [footnote : champlain's "les voyages de la novvelle france," i., p. [ ], previously cited. upon champlain's map of , they are located beyond and to the south of lake huron, he having no knowledge of lake michigan. in his "voyages," his words are: "ils [the cheveux relevés--ottawas] sont la guerre, à vne autre nation de sauuages, qui s'appellent assistagueronon, qui veut dire gens de feu, esloignez d'eux de dix iournées." sagard, in ("histoire du canada," p. ), is equally indefinite as to locality, though placing them westward of the south end of the georgian bay of lake huron, "nine or ten days' journey by canoe, which makes about two hundred leagues, or more." he says: "tous essemble [the different bands of the ottawas] sont la guerre a une autre nation nommée assistagueronon, qui veut dire gens feu: car en langue huronne assista signifie de feu and eronon signifie nation. ils sont esloignez d'eux à ce qu'on tient, de neuf ou dix iournées de canots, qui sont enuiron deux cens lieuës et plus de chemin."] [footnote : allouez (_relation_, , p. , before cited) is the first to give their position with any degree of certainty. unless, under the name of "rasaoua koueton," the mascoutins were not mentioned by nicolet, in the list given to vimont (_relation_, , p. ). the "r" should, probably, have been "m," thus: "masaoua koueton."] [footnote : synonyms: miamees, miramis, myamicks, omianicks, ommiamies, oumis, oumiamies, oumiamiwek, oumamis, twightwees. as to their place of abode, see shea's _hennepin_, p. .] [footnote : synonyms: kikabou, kikapou, quicapou, kickapoux, kickapous, kikapoux, quicapouz, etc.] [footnote : the name of this river is from the algonquin _missi_, great, and _sepe_, water, or river. the popular notion that it means "the father of waters," is erroneous.] [footnote : "le sieur nicolet qui a le plus auant penetré dedans ces pays si esloignés m'a asseuré que s'il eust vogué trois iours plus auant sur vn grand fleuue qui sort de ce lac, qu'il auroit trouué la mer."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : that such was the fact, and that he did not reach the wisconsin river, is deduced from the language of the _relations_; also, from a consideration of the length of the fox and wisconsin rivers below the "portage," where they very nearly approach each other; and from a study of the time usually employed, at an early day, in their navigation. it has, however, been extensively published that nicolet did reach the wisconsin, and float down its channel to within three days of the mississippi. now, nicolet, in speaking of a large river upon which he had sailed, evidently intended to convey the idea of its being connected with "ce lac" (this lake); that is, with green bay and lake michigan--the two being merged into one by vimont. hence, he must have spoken of the fox river. but vimont (_relation_, , p. ) understood him as saying, "that, had he sailed three days more on a great river which _flows from_ that lake, he would have found the sea." the _relation_, it will be noticed, says, "had he sailed three days more," etc. this implies a sailing already of some days. but such could not have been the case had he been upon the wisconsin; as that river is only one hundred and eighteen miles in length, below the portage, and the time of its canoe navigation between three and four days only; whereas, upon the fox, it was nine days; six, from its mouth to the mascoutins, as previously shown, and three from the mascoutins to the wisconsin. the first white men who passed up the fox river above the mascoutins, were louis joliet and father james marquette, with five french attendants, in june, . "we knew," says marquette, "that there was, three leagues from maskoutens [mascoutins], a river [wisconsin] emptying into the mississippi; we knew, too, that the point of the compass we were to hold to reach it, was the west-southwest; but the way is so cut up by marshes, and little lakes, that it is easy to go astray, especially as the river leading to it is so covered by wild oats, that you can hardly discover the channel." that marquette, instead of "three leagues" intended to say "thirty leagues" or "three days," it is evident to any one acquainted with the fox river from the "portage" down; besides, the mistake is afterward corrected in his narrative as well as on his map accompanying it, where the home of the mascoutins is marked as indicated by allouez in the _relation_ of . see, also, the map of joliet, before alluded to, as recently published by gravier, where the same location is given. joliet and marquette were seven days in their journey from the mascoutins to the mississippi; this gave them three days upon the fox and four upon the wisconsin (including the delay at the portage). canoes have descended from the portage in two days. the _relation_ of (pp. , ) says: "these people [the mascoutins] are established in a very fine place, where we see beautiful plains and level country, as far as the eye reaches. their river leads into a great river called messisipi; [to which] their is a navigation of only six days." but the question is evidently settled by the _relation_ of (p. ), which says: "it is only nine days' journey from this great lake [green bay and lake michigan--'lac de gens de mer'] to the sea;" where "the sea," referred to, is, beyond doubt, identical with "la mer" of nicolet.] [footnote : "or i'ay de fortes coniectures que c'est la mer [mentioned by nicolet] qui respond au nord de la nouuelle mexique, et que de cette mer, on auroit entrée vers le iapon et vers la chine, neantmoins comme on ne sçait pas où tire ce grand lac, ou cette mer douce, ce seroit vne entreprise genereuse d'aller descouurir ces contrées. nos peres qui sont aux hurons, inuités par quelques algonquins, sont sur le point de donner iusques à ces gens de l'autre mer, dont i'ay parlé cy-dessus; peut estre que ce voyage se reseruera pour l'vn de nous qui auons quelque petite cognoissance de la langue algonquine."--vimont, _relations_, , p. .] [footnote : "the twenty-fourth day of june [ ], there arrived an englishman, with a servant, brought in boats by twenty abnaquiois savages. he set out from the lake or river quinibequi in acadia, where the english have a settlement, in order to search for a passage through these countries to the north sea.... m. de montmagny had him brought to tadoussac, in order that he might return to england by way of france. "he told us wonderful things of new mexico. 'i learned,' said he, 'that one can sail to that country by means of the seas which lie to the north of it. two years ago, i explored all the southern coast from virginia to quinebiqui to try whether i could not find some large river or some large lake which should bring me to tribes having knowledge of this sea, which is northward from mexico. not having found any such in these countries, i entered into the saguené region, to penetrate, if i could, with the savages of the locality, as far as to the northern sea.' "in passing, i will say that we have strong indications that one can descend through the second lake of the hurons [lake michigan and green bay] and through the country of the nations we have named [as having been visited by nicolet] into this sea which he [the englishman] was trying to find."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : synonyms: ilinois, ilinoues, illini, illiniweck, tilliniwek, ilimouek, liniouek, abimigek, eriniouaj, etc.] [footnote : vimont (_relation_, , p. ) gives information derived from nicolet, of the existence of the illinois (eriniouaj) as neighbors of the winnebagoes. and the _relation_, (p. ), says: "the liniouek [illinois], their neighbors [that is, the neighbors of the winnebagoes], number about sixty villages." champlain locates a tribe, on his map of , south of the mascoutins, as a "nation where there is a quantity of buffaloes." this nation was probably the illinois.] [footnote : as nicolet proceeded no further to the westward than six days' sail up the fox river of green bay, of course, the "nadvesiv" (sioux) and "assinipour" (assiniboins) were not visited by him.] [footnote : synonyms: pottawottamies, poutouatamis, pouteouatamis, pouutouatami, poux, poueatamis, pouteouatamiouec, etc.] [footnote : such, at least, was their location a few years after the visit of nicolet. the islands occupied were those farthest south.] [footnote : vimont, _relation_, , p. . in the _relation_ of , it is expressly stated that nicolet visited some of the tribes on his return voyage.] [footnote : says margry (_journal général de l'instruction publique_, ): "les peuples que le pére dit avoir été pour la plupart visités par nicolet sont les malhominis ou gens de la folle avoine [_menomonees_], les ouinipigous ou puans [_winnebagoes_], puis les pouteouatami [_pottawattamies_], les eriniouaj (ou illinois)," etc.] [footnote : it is highly probable that nicolet commenced his return trip so soon, in the spring of , as the warm weather had freed green bay of its coat of ice. leaving the winnebagoes, as soon as navigation opened in the spring, he would have only about ten weeks to reach the st. lawrence by the middle of july--the time, probably, of his return, as previously mentioned; whereas, having left quebec july , for the west, he had about five months before navigation closed on the lakes, to arrive out. sault sainte marie must, of necessity, therefore, have been visited in _going to_ the winnebagoes.] [footnote : "to the south of the nation of the beaver is an island, in that fresh-water sea [lake huron], about thirty leagues in length, inhabited by the outaouan [ottawas]. these are a people come from the nation of the standing hair [cheveux relevés]."--vimont, _relation_, , p. . in william r. smith's translation of so much of this _relation_ as names the various tribes visited by nicolet (hist. wis., vol. iii., p. ), what relates to the cheveux relevés is omitted--probably by accident. on a large island, corresponding as to locality with the great manitoulin, is placed, on du creux' map of , the "natio surrectorum capillorum"--identical with the cheveux relevés, just mentioned. the ottawas were first visited by champlain. this was in the year . they lived southwest of the hurons. it was he who gave them the name cheveux relevés--standing hair. sagard saw some of them subsequently, and calls them andatahonats. see his "histoire du canada," p. . although, in the citation from the _relation_ of , just given, the band of the ottawas upon the great manitoulin are said to have "come from the nation of the standing hair," it does not fix the residence of those from whom they came as in the valley of the ottawa river. on the contrary, champlain, in his "voyages" and map, places them in an opposite direction, not far from the south end of the nottawassaga bay of lake huron. says j. g. shea (wis. hist. soc. coll., iii., ): "there is no trace in the early french writers of any opinion then entertained that they [the ottawas] had ever been [resided] in the valley of the ottawa river. after the fall of the hurons [who were cut off by the iroquois a number of years subsequent to nicolet's visit], when trade was re-opened with the west, all tribes there were called ottawas, and the river, as leading to the ottawa country, got the name."] [footnote : as the traffic with the hurons took place at three rivers, between the th and d of july, , it is highly probable that nicolet reached there some time during that month, on his way to quebec.] [footnote : vimont (_relation_, , p. ) thus briefly disposes of nicolet's return trip from the winnebagoes: "la paix fut concluë; il retourna aux hurons, et de la à quelque temps aux trois riuieres."] chapter iv. nicolet's subsequent career and death. it is not difficult to imagine the interest which must have been awakened in the breast of champlain upon the return of nicolet to quebec. with what delight he must have heard his recital of the particulars of the voyage! how he must have been enraptured at the descriptions of lakes of unknown extent; of great rivers never before heard of--never before seen by a frenchman! how his imagination must have kindled when told of the numerous indian nations which had been visited! but, above all, how fondly he hoped one day to bring all these distant countries under the dominion of his own beloved france! but the heart thus beating quick with pleasurable emotions at the prospects of future glory and renown, soon ceased its throbs. on christmas day, , champlain died. in a chamber of the fort in quebec, "breathless and cold, lay the hardy frame which war, the wilderness, and the sea had buffeted so long in vain." the successor of champlain was marc antoine de bras-de-fer de chasteaufort. he was succeeded by charles huault de montmagny, who reached new france in . with him came a considerable reinforcement; "and, among the rest, several men of birth and substance, with their families and dependents." but montmagny found the affairs of his colony in a woful condition. the "company of one hundred" had passed its affairs into the hands of those who were wholly engrossed in the profits of trade. instead of sending out colonists, the hundred associates "granted lands, with the condition that the grantees should furnish a certain number of settlers to clear and till them, and these were to be credited to the company." the iroquois, who, from their intercourse with the dutch and english traders, had been supplied with firearms, and were fast becoming proficient in their use, attacked the algonquins and hurons--allies of the french, interrupting their canoes, laden with furs, as they descended the st. lawrence, killing their owners, or hurrying them as captives into the forests, to suffer the horrors of torture. at a point to which was given the name of sillery, four miles above quebec, a new algonquin mission was started; still, in the immediate neighborhood of the town, the dark forests almost unbroken frowned as gloomily as when, thirty years before, champlain founded the future city. probably, in all new france, the population, in , did not much exceed two hundred, including women and children. on the eighteenth of may, , montreal began its existence. the tents of the founders were "inclosed with a strong palisade, and their altar covered by a provisional chapel, built, in the huron mode, of bark." but the iroquois had long before become the enemies of the french, sometimes seriously threatening quebec. so, upon the island of montreal, every precaution was taken to avoid surprise. solid structures of wood soon defied the attacks of the savages; and, to give greater security to the colonists, montmagny caused a fort to be erected at the mouth of the richelieu, in the following august. but the end of the year brought no relief to the algonquins or hurons, and little to the french, from the ferocious iroquois. it was not long after nicolet's return to quebec, from his visit to "the people of the sea," and neighboring nations, before he was assigned to three rivers by champlain, where he was to continue his office of commissary and interpreter; for, on the ninth of december, , he "came to give advice to the missionaries who were dwelling at the mission that a young algonquin was sick; and that it would be proper to visit him."[ ] and, again, on the seventh of the following month, he is found visiting, with one of the missionaries, a sick indian, near the fort, at three rivers.[ ] his official labors were performed to the great satisfaction of both french and indians, by whom he was equally and sincerely loved. he was constantly assisting the missionaries, so far as his time would permit, in the conversion of the savages, whom he knew how to manage and direct as he desired, and with a skill that could hardly find its equal. his kindness won their esteem and respect. his charity seemed, indeed, to know no bounds.[ ] as interpreter for one of the missionaries, he accompanied him from three rivers on a journey some leagues distant, on the twelfth of april, , to visit some savages who were sick; thus constantly administering to their sufferings.[ ] notwithstanding the colonists of new france were living in a state of temporal and spiritual vassalage, yet the daring nicolet, and others of the interpreters of champlain, although devout catholics and friendly to the establishment of missions among the indian nations, were not jesuits, nor in the service of these fathers; neither was their's the mission work, in any sense, which was so zealously prosecuted by these disciples of loyola. they were a small class of men, whose home--some of them--was the forest, and their companions savages. they followed the indians in their roamings, lived with them, grew familiar with their language, allied themselves, in some cases, with their women, and often became oracles in the camp and leaders on the war-path. doubtless, when they returned from their rovings, they often had pressing need of penance and absolution. several of them were men of great intelligence and an invincible courage. from hatred of restraint, and love of wild and adventurous independence, they encountered privations and dangers scarcely less than those to which the jesuit exposed himself from motives widely different:--he, from religious zeal, charity, and the hope of paradise; they, simply because they liked it. some of the best families of canada claim descent from this vigorous and hardy stock.[ ] "the jesuits from the first had cherished the plan of a seminary for huron boys at quebec. the governor and the company favored the design; since not only would it be an efficient means of spreading the faith and attaching the tribe to the french interest, but the children would be pledges for the good behavior of the parents, and hostages for the safety of missionaries and traders in the indian towns. in the summer of , father daniel, descending from the huron country, worn, emaciated, his cassock patched and tattered, and his shirt in rags, brought with him a boy, to whom two others were soon added; and through the influence of the interpreter, nicolet, the number was afterward increased by several more. one of them ran away, two ate themselves to death, a fourth was carried home by his father, while three of those remaining stole a canoe, loaded it with all they could lay their hands upon, and escaped in triumph with their plunder."[ ] nicolet frequently visited quebec. upon one of these occasions he had a narrow escape. he found the st. lawrence incumbered with ice. behind him there came so great a quantity of it that he was compelled to get out of his canoe and jump upon one of the floating pieces. he saved himself with much difficulty and labor. this happened in april, .[ ] on the twenty-seventh of the same month nicolet was present at quebec, on the occasion of a deputation of indians from three rivers waiting upon the governor, asking a favor at his hands promised by champlain. he was consulted as to what the promise of the former governor was.[ ] in june, he was sent, it seems, up from the fort at three rivers to ascertain whether the iroquois were approaching. he went as far as the river des prairies--the name for the ottawa on the north side of the island of montreal.[ ] in august, the enemy threatened three rivers in force. the french and indians in the fort could not be decoyed into danger. however, a boat was sent up the st. lawrence, conducted by nicolet. the bark approached the place where the iroquois were, but could not get within gun-shot; yet a random discharge did some execution. the enemy were judged to be about five hundred strong. although the fort at three rivers was thus seriously threatened, no attack was made.[ ] on the seventh of october, , nicolet was married at quebec to marguerite couillard, a god-child of champlain.[ ] the fruit of this marriage was but one child--a daughter. nicolet continued his residence at three rivers, largely employed in his official duties of commissary and interpreter, remaining there until the time of his death.[ ] in , he, with one of the jesuit fathers, was very busy in dealing with a large force of iroquois that was threatening the place.[ ] about the first of october, , nicolet was called down to quebec from three rivers, to take the place of his brother-in-law, m. olivier le tardiff, who was general commissary of the hundred partners, and who sailed on the seventh of that month for france. the change was a very agreeable one to nicolet, but he did not long enjoy it; for, in less than a month after his arrival, in endeavoring to make a trip to his place of residence to release an indian prisoner in the possession of a band of algonquins, who were slowly torturing him, his zeal and humanity cost him his life.[ ] on the th of october,[ ] he embarked at quebec, near seven o'clock in the evening, in the launch of m. de savigny, which was headed for three rivers. he had not yet reached sillery, when a northeast squall raised a terrible tempest on the st. lawrence and filled the boat. those who were in it did not immediately go down; they clung some time to the launch. nicolet had time to say to m. de savigny, "save yourself, sir; you can swim; i can not. i am going to god. i recommend to you my wife and daughter."[ ] the wild waves tore the men, one after another, from the boat, which had capsized and floated against a rock, and four, including nicolet, sank to rise no more.[ ] m. de savigny alone cast himself into the water, and swam among the waves, which were like small mountains. the launch was not very far from the shore, but it was pitch dark, and the bitter cold had covered the river banks with ice. savigny, feeling his resolution and his strength failing him, made a vow to god, and a little after, reaching down with his feet, he felt the bottom, and stepping out of the water, he reached sillery half dead. for quite a while he was unable to speak; then, at last, he recounted the fatal accident which, besides the death of nicolet--disastrous to the whole country--had cost him three of his best men and a large part of his property. he and his wife suffered this great loss, in a barbarous country, with great patience and resignation to the will of god, and without losing any of their courage.[ ] the savages of sillery, at the report of nicolet's shipwreck, ran to the place, and not seeing him any where, displayed indescribable sorrow. it was not the first time he had exposed himself to danger of death for the good of the indians. he had done so frequently. thus perished john nicolet, in the waters of the great river of canada--the red man and the frenchman alike mourning his untimely fate.[ ] twelve days after the shipwreck, the prisoner to the algonquins, for whose deliverance nicolet started on his journey, arrived at sillery--the commander at three rivers, following the order of the governor, having ransomed him. he was conducted to the hospital of the place to be healed of the injuries he had received from his captors. they had stripped the flesh from his arms, in some places to the bone. the nuns at the hospital cared for him with much sympathy, and cured him so quickly that in a month's time he was able to return to his country. all the neophytes showed him as much compassion and charity as the algonquins had displayed of cruelty. they gave him two good, christianized savages to escort him as far as the country of a neighboring tribe of his own, to the end that he might reach his home in safety.[ ] after the return of the french to quebec, the jesuits, as previously mentioned, were commissioned with the administration of spiritual affairs in new france. some of these turned their attention to the europeans; the rest were employed in missions among the savages. in the autumn of , the residences and missions of canada contained fifteen fathers and five brothers of the society of jesus. at quebec, there were also formed two seculars--ecclesiastics. one of these was a brother of nicolet.[ ] he had come from cherbourg to join him upon the st. lawrence; and, during his residence in the colony, which was continued to , he was employed in visiting french settlements at a distance from quebec.[ ] another brother--pierre--who was a navigator, also resided in canada, but left the country some time after nicolet's death.[ ] the widow of nicolet was married at quebec, in , to nicholas macard. nicolet's discoveries, although not immediately followed up because of the hostility of the iroquois and the lack of the spirit of adventure in champlain's successor, caused, finally, great results. he had unlocked the door to the far west, where, afterward, were seen the fur-trader, the _voyageur_, the jesuit missionary, and the government agent. new france was extended to the mississippi and beyond; yet nicolet did not live to witness the progress of french trade and conquest in the countries he had discovered. the name of the family of nicolet appears to have been extinguished in canada, with the departure of m. gilles nicolet, priest, already mentioned; but the respect which the worthy interpreter had deserved induced the people of three rivers to perpetuate his memory. the example had been given before his death. we read in the _relation_ of that the river st. john, near montreal (now the river jésus), took its name from _john_ nicolet. to-day canada has the river, the lake, the falls, the village, the city, the college, and the county of nicolet.[ ] from the united states--especially from the northwest--equal honor is due. "history can not refrain from saluting nicolet as a disinterested traveler, who, by his explorations in the interior of america, has given clear proofs of his energetic character, and whose merits have not been disputed, although subsequently they were temporarily forgotten." the first fruits of his daring were gathered by the jesuit fathers even before his death; for, in the autumn of , those of them who were among the hurons received a deputation of indians occupying "the country around a rapid, in the midst of the channel by which lake superior empties into lake huron," inviting them to visit their tribe. these "missionaries were not displeased with the opportunity thus presented of knowing the countries lying beyond lake huron, which no one of them had yet traversed;" so isaac jogues and charles raymbault were detached to accompany the chippewa deputies, and view the field simply, not to establish a mission. they passed along the shore of lake huron, northward, and pushed as far up st. mary's strait as the "sault," which they reached after seventeen days' sail from their place of starting. there they--the first white men to visit the northwest after nicolet--harangued two thousand of that nation, and other algonquins. upon their return to the st. lawrence, jogues was captured by the iroquois, and raymbault died on the twenty-second of october, --a few days before the death of nicolet. footnotes: [footnote : "le neufiesme de decembre, iustement le lendemain de la feste de la conception, le sieur iean nicolet, truchement pour les algonquins aux trois riuieres, vint donner aduis aux peres, qui demeuroient en la residence de la conception sise au mesme lieu, qu'vn ieune algonquin se trouuoit mal, et qu'il seroit à prospos de le visiter."--le jeune, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : "le septiesme de ianuier de cette année mil six cens trente six, le fils d'vn grand sorcier ou iongleur fut faict chrestien, son pere s'y accordant apres de grandes resistances qu'il en fit: car, comme nos peres éuentoient ses mines, et la decreditoient, il ne pouuoit les supporter en sa cabane. cependant comme son fils tiroit à la mort, ils prierent le sieur nicolet de faire son possible pour sauuer cette âme: ils s'en vont donc le pere quentin et luy en cette maison d'écorce, pressent fortement ce sauuage de consentir au baptesme de son petit fils."--le jeune, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : le trente-vniesme [of december, ], vne fille agée d'enuiron seize ans fut baptisée, et nommée anne par vn de nos françois. le pere buteux l'instruisant luy dit, que si estant chrestienne elle venoit à mourir, son âme iroit au ciel dans les ioyes eternelles. a ce mot de mourir, elle eut vne si grande frayeur, qu'elle ne voulut plus iamais prester l'oreille au pere; on luy enuoya le sieur nicolet truchement, qui exerce volontiers semblables actions de charité; elle l'escoute paisiblement; mais comme ses occupations le diuertissent ailleurs, il ne la pouuoit visiter si souuent: c'est pourquoy le pere quentin s'efforça d'apprendre les premiers rudimens du christianisme en sauuage, afin de la pouuoir instruire. cela luy reüssit si bien, que cette pauure fille ayant pris goust à cette doctrine salutaire, desira le baptesme que le pere luy accorda. la grace a plusieurs effects: on remarqua que cette fille, fort dedaigneuse et altiere de son naturel, deuint fort douce et traittable, estant chrestienne.--ibid. "il [nicolet] ... continua sa charge de commis et interprete [at three rivers] auec vne satisfaction grande des françois et des sauuages, desquels il estoit esgalement et vniquement aymé. il conspiroit puissamment, autant que sa charge le permettoit, auec nos peres, pour la conuersion de ces peuples, lesquels il sçauoit manier et tourner où il vouloit d'vne dexterité qui à peine trouuera son pareil."--vimont, _relation_, , p. . compare, also, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : "le deuxiéme iour d'auril, le pere quentin fit vn voyage à quelques lieuës des trois riuieres [three rivers], pour quelques malades, dont on nous auoit donné aduis. le fruict qu'il en rapporta fut d'auoir exposé plusieurs fois sa vie pour dieu, parmy les dangers des glaces et du mauuais temps. il se contenta de leur donner quelque instruction, sans en baptiser aucun, ne les voyant ny en peril de mort, ny suffisamment instruits. le sieur iean nicolet luy seruit de truchement, auec sa charité et fidelité ordinaire, dont nos peres tirent de grands seruices en semblables occasions."--le jeune, _relation_, , pp. , .] [footnote : adapted from parkman's "jesuits in north america," pp. , .] [footnote : parkman's "jesuits in north america," pp. , , citing the _relations_ of and . father le jeune (_relation_, , p. ) says: "comme i'écry cecy le vingt-huictiéme d'aoust, voila que le pere buteux me mande le départ du pere ioques, l'arriuée d'vne autre troupe de hurons, de qui le sieur nicolet a encore obtenu trois ieunes garçons, sur le rapport que leur ont fait leurs compagnons du bon traittement que monsieur le general et tous les autres françois leur auoient fait."] [footnote : le jeune, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : ib., p. .] [footnote : ib., p. .] [footnote : ib., p. .] [footnote : see ferland's "cours d'histoire du canada," vol. i., p. ; also, his "notes sur les registres de notre-dame de québec," p. , notes; and gravier's "découvertes et Établissements de cavalier de la salle," p. . nicolet's wife was a daughter of guillaume couillard and guillemette hébert. nicolet's marriage contract was dated at quebec, october , , several days subsequent to his nuptials. this was not an uncommon thing in new france in early days, but has not been allowed in canada for about a century past. the contract was drawn up by guitet, a notary of quebec. there were present françois derré de gand, commissaire-général; olivier le tardif; noël juchereau; pierre de la porte; guillaume huboust; guillaume hébert; marie rollet aïeule de la future épouse; claude racine; etienne racine.] [footnote : the presence of nicolet at three rivers during all these years (except from march , , to january , ) is shown by reference to the _relations_, and to the church register of that place. see appendix, i., as to the latter.] [footnote : vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : "monsieur oliuier, commis general de messieurs de la compagnie, estant venu l'an passé en france, le dit sieur nicollet descendit à quebec en sa place, auec vne ioye, et consolation sensible qu'il eut de se voir dans la paix et la deuotion de quebec. mais il n'en ioüit pas long-temps: car vn mois ou deux aprés son arriuée, faisant vn voyage aux trois riuieres pour la deliurance d'vn prisonnier sauuage, son zele luy cousta la vie, qu'il perdit dans le naufrage."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : "i'adiousteray icy vn mot de la vie et de la mort de monsieur nicollet, interprete et commis de messieurs de la compagnie de la nouuelle france; il mourut dix iours apres le pere [charles raymbault, décédé le octobre, ], il auoit demeuré vingt-cinq ans en ces quartiers."--vimont, _relation_, , p. . the incorrectness of this date as to the death of nicolet will hereafter be shown.] [footnote : "il [_nicolet_] sembarqua à quebec sur les sept heures du soir, dans la chalouppe de monsieur de sauigny, qui tiroit vers les trois riuieres; ils n'estoient pas encor arriuez à sillery, qu'vn coup de vent de nord est, qui auoit excité vne horrible tempeste sur la grande riuiere, remplit la chalouppe d'eau et la coula à fond, apres luy auoir fait faire deux ou trois tours dans l'eau. ceux qui estoient dedans n'allerent pas incontinent à fond, ils s'attacherent quelque temps à la challouppe. monsieur nicollet eut loisir de dire à monsieur de sauigny: monsieur, sauuez-vous, vous sçauez nager; ie ne le sçay pas. pour moy ie m'en vay à dieu; ie vous recommande ma femme et ma fille."--vimont, _relation_, , p. . nicolet's daughter afterwards married jean-baptiste le gardeur de repentigny, entering into a family which was one of the most considerable in french america. her son, augustin le gardeur de courtemanche,--"officier dans les troupes, se distingua, par de longs et utiles services dans l'ouest, fut un digne contemporain de nicolas perot, de même qu'un honorable rejeton de son grandpère nicolet."--sulte's "mélanges d'histoire et de littérature," p. .] [footnote : it is reasonably certain that the day of nicolet's death was october , . compare margry, in _journal général de l'instruction publique_, . a recent writer says: "le septembre , aux trois-rivières, le père jean de brebeuf baptista deux petites filles de race algonquine dont les parrains et marraines furent 'jean nicolet avec perrette (nom indien), et nicolas marsolet (l'interprète), avec marguerite couillard, femme de m. nicolet.' "le octobre suivant eut lieu, à québec, le départ des navires pour la france. (_relation_, , p. .) cette relation écrite vers la fin de l'été de , raconte ce qui s'est passé après le départ des navires de . "le sieur olivier le tardif partit pour la france cet automne, , et fut remplacé à québec, dans sa charge de commis-général de la compagnie des cent-associés, par son beau-frère nicolet, qui descendit des trois-rivières expressément pour cela (_relation_, , p. ), par conséquent entre le septembre et le octobre. "le octobre, un sauvage d'une nation alliée aux iroquois fut amené captif aux trois-rivières par les algonquins de ce lieu, qui le condamnèrent à périr sur le bûcher. (_relation_, , p. .) les pères jésuites et m. des rochers, le commandant du fort, ayant épuisé tous les arguments qu'ils croyaient pouvoir employer pour induire ces barbares à ne pas faire mourir leur prisonnier, envoyèrent un messager à québec avertir nicolet de ce qui se passait et réclamer son assistance. (_relation_, , p. .) "ces pourparlers et ces démarches paraissent avoir occupé plusieurs jours. "a cette nouvelle, nicolet, n'écoutant que son coeur, s'embarqua à québec, dans la chaloupe de m. chavigny, vers les sept heures du soir. l'embarcation n'était pas arrivée à sillery, qu'un coup de vent du nord-est qui avait soulevé une grosse tempête, la remplit d'eau et la coula à fond. m. de chavigny seul se sauva. la nuit était très-noire et il faisait un froid âpre qui avait couvert de 'bordages' les rives du fleuve. (_relation_, , p. .) "dans ses _notes sur les registres de notre-dame de québec_, m. l'abbé ferland nous donne le texte de l'acte qui suit: 'le octobre, on fit les funérailles de monsieur nicollet et de trois hommes de m. de chavigny, noyés dans une chaloupe qui allait de québec à sillery; les corps ne furent point trouvés.' "m. de chavigny demeurait à sillery. il est probable que nicolet comptait repartir de là le lendemain, soit à la voile (en chaloupe) ou en canot d'ècorce, selon l'état du fleuve, pour atteindre les trois-rivières. "le captif des algonquins ayant été délivré par l'entremise de m. des rochers, arriva à québec douze jours après le naufrage de nicolet (_relation_, , p. ), le novembre (_relation_, , p. ), ce qui fixerait au ou octobre la date demandée. "comme ce malheur eut lieu à la nuit close, pendant une tempête, il est raisonable de supposer que la recherche des cadavres ne put se faire que le lendemain, surtout lorsque nous songeons que sillery n'est pas quebec, quoiqu'assez rapproché. le service funèbre dût être célébré le troisième jour, et non pas le lendemain de l'événement en question. "j'adopte donc la date du lundi octobre comme celle de la mort de nicolet. "il est vrai que la _relation_ citée plus haut nous dit (p. ) que le père charles raymbault décéda le octobre, et que la mort de nicolet eut lieu dix jours après; mais l'acte du octobre au registre de québec renverse ce calcul de dix jours qui nous mènerait au er ou novembre. "la même _relation_ (p. ) dit aussi que nicolet périt un mois ou deux après son arrivée à québec, tandis que nous voyons par ce que j'expose ci-dessus qu'il n'a guère été plus de trois semaines absent des trois-rivières avant de partir pour sa fatale expédition. "la date du octobre paraît irréfutable."--m. sulte, in _l'opinion publique_, montreal, july , .] [footnote : "les vagues les arracherent tous les vns aprés les autres de la chalouppe, qui flottoit renuersée contre vne roche. monsieur de sauigny seul se ietta à l'eau et nagea parmy des flots et des vagues qui resembloient à de petites montagnes. la chalouppe n'estoit pas bien loin du riuage; mais il estoit nuict toute noire, et faisoit vn froid aspre, qui auoit desia glacé les bords de la riuiere. le dit sieur de sauigny, sentant le coeur et les forces qui luy manquoient, fit vn voeu à dieu, et peu aprés frappant du pied il sent la terre, et se tirant hors de l'eau, s'en vint en nostre maison à sillery à demy mort. il demeura assez long-temps sans pouuoir parler; puis enfin il nous raconta le funeste accident, qui outre la mort de monsieur nicollet, dommageable à tout le pays, luy auoit perdue trois de ses meilleurs hommes et vne grande partie de son meuble et de ses prouisions. luy et mademoiselle sa femme ont porté cette perte signallée dans vn pays barbare, auec vne grande patience et resignation à la volonté de dieu, et sans rien diminuer de leur courage."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : "les sauuages de sillery, au bruit du nauffrage de monsieur nicollet, courent sur le lieu, et ne le voyant plus paroistre, en tesmoignent des regrets indicibles. ce n'estoit pas la premiere fois que cet homme s'estoit exposé au danger de la mort pour le bien et le salut des sauuages: il l'a faict fort souuent, et nous à laissé des exemples qui sont au dessus de l'estat d'vn homme marié, et tiennent de le vie apostolique et laissent vne enuie au plus feruent religieux de l'imiter."--vimont, _relation_, , p. .] [footnote : "douze iours aprés leur naufrage, le prisonnier pour la deliurance duquel il [nicolet] s'estoit embarqué, arriua icy. monsieur des roches commandant aux trois riuieres, suiuant l'ordre de monsieur le gouuerneur, l'auoit racheté. il mit pied à terre à sillery, et de là fut conduit à l'hospital pour estre pansé des playes et blessures que les algonquins luy auoient faites apres sa capture: ils luy auoient emporté la chair des bras, en quelques endroits iusques aux os. les religieuses hospitalieres le receurent auec beaucoup de charité, et le firent panser fort soigneusement, en sorte qu'en trois semaines ou vn mois, il fut en estat de retourner en son pays. tous nos neophytes luy tesmoignerent autant de compassion et de charité que les algonquins de là haut luy auoient montré de cruauté: ils luy donnerent deux bons sauuages christiens, pour le conduire iusques aux pays des abnaquiois, qui sont voisins de sa nation."--vimont, _relation_, , pp. , .] [footnote : his name was gilles nicolet. he was born in cherbourg, and came to canada in . he is one of the first "prêtres seculiers"--that is, not belonging to congregations or institutes, such as the jesuits and the récollets--whose name appears on the quebec parochial register.] [footnote : those of the coast of beaupre, between beauport and cape tourmente. ferland's "cours d'histoire du canada," vol. i., pp. , .] [footnote : sulte's "mélanges d'histoire et de littérature," p. .] [footnote : benjamin sulte, in _l'opinion publique_, . the writer adds: "la rivière nicolet est formée de deux rivières qui gardent chacune ce nom; l'une au nord est sort d'un lac appelé nicolet, dans le comté de wolfe, township de ham; l'autre, celle du sud ouest, qui passe dans le comté de richmond, a donné le nom de nicolet à un village situé sur ses bords, dans le township de shipton. ce village que les anglais nomment 'nicolet falls' est un centre d'industrie prospère. la ville de nicolet, ainsi que le collége de ce nom, sont situés près de la décharge des eaux réunies de ces deux rivières au lac saint-pierre. "peu d'années après la mort de jean nicolet, les trifluviens donnaient déjà son nom à la rivière en question, malgré les soins que prenaient les fonctionnaires civils de ne désigner cet endroit que par les mots 'la rivière de laubia ou la rivière cressé.' m. de laubia ne concéde la seigneurie qu'en , et m. cressé ne l'obtint que plus tard, mais avant ces deux seigneurs, la rivière portait le nom de nicolet, et l'usage en prevalut en dépit des tentatives faites pour lui imposer d'autres dénominations."] appendix. i.--extracts (literal) from the parish church register, of three rivers, canada, concerning nicolet. i. "le du mois de décembre , fut baptisée par le père jacques buteux[ ] une petite fille âgée d'environ deux ans, fille du capitaine des montagnetz capitainal.[ ] elle fut nommée _marie_ par m. de maupertuis et m. nicollet ses parrains. elle s'appelait en sauvage minag m c c ."[ ] ii. "le du mois de mai , une jeune sauvagesse algonquine instruite par le père jacques buteux, fut baptisée par le père claude quentin et nommée françoise par m. nicollet son parrain." [ , th october. at quebec. marriage of nicolet with marguerite couillard.] iii. "le novembre fut baptisée (par le père claude pijart) une femme algonquine. elle fut nommée marie par nicollet son parrain. elle est décédée." iv. "le décembre fut baptisé par le père jacques buteux un petit algonquin âgé d'environ deux ans, et fut nommé jean par m. nicollet. il est décédé." v. " . le de mars, jour de saint-joseph, fut baptisé par le père jacques buteux, dans notre chapelle avec les cérémonies de l'eglise, anisk ask si, et fut nommé paul par m. nicollet, son parrain; sa marraine fut mademoiselle marie le neuf.[ ] il est décédé." [the parish register for stops at the date of th may, the remainder being lost.] vi. "le janvier , le père jacques delaplace baptisa solennellement, en notre chapelle, une petite fille âgée de ans appelée nitig m sta an, fille de papitchitikpabe , capitaine de la petite-nation. elle fut nommée louise par m. nicolet. sa marraine fut une sauvagesse baptisée, femme de feu thebachit." vii. "le mars , le révérend père jacques buteux baptisa solennellement en notre chappelle les deux enfants de ab sch stig an, algonquin de l'isle, et sk esens, sa femme. le fils âgé d'environ quatre ans fut nommé thomas par m. nicolet, et alizon,[ ] et la fille âgée d'environ six ans, fut nommée marguerite par m. de malapart[ ] et madame nicolet." viii. " . le huitième mars, le r. p. buteux baptiza solennellement nipiste ignan âgé d'environ vingt ans, fils de françois nenascouat,[ ] habitant de sillery. françois marguerie et madame nicolet le nommèrent vincent." ix. "le mars le r. p. buteux baptiza solennellement en notre chapelle louis godefroy, fils de m. jean godefroy[ ] et de damoisselle marie le neuf. son parrain fut thomas godefroy, et sa marraine madame marguerite nicolet." x. "anno domini die julii, ego claudius pijart vices agens parochi ecclesiæ b. v. conceptæ ad tria flumina baptizavit cum ceremoniis, ognatem, circiter menses, natem patre kar st , _de la petite-nation_, et matre sasamit n k e . patrinus fuit d. jaunes nicolets interp." xi. " . anno domini , di julii ego claudius pijart vices agens parochi ecclesiæ beatæ virginis conceptæ ad tria flumina baptizavit cum ceremoniis marinum, filium patria insularibus; patrinus idem qui supra joannes nicolet. infant natus menses. il est décédé." xii. "anno domini , die . julii, ego jacobus buteux vices agens parochi ecclesiæ b. v. c. at tria flumina, baptizavit algonquinensen natum circiter annos nomine abdom chibanagouch, patria insularem, quem nominavit dominus joannes nicolet nunc joseph masatick e." [ . th october. nicolet was present at the wedding of jean joliet and marie d'abancour, at quebec. louis joliet, son of the above, was the discoverer of the upper mississippi.] xiii. " . die decembris. ego jacobus buteux baptizavit infentem annum circiter natum, nomine ombrosuim katank quich, filium defuncti tagamechk , patria echkarini, quedu educat n ncheak s mulier patria insulare, patrinus fuit joannes nicolet." xiv. " . die januarii, ego jacobus buteux, baptizavit cum ceremoniis mariam ik esens patria insularem natam circiter annos, cujus patrinus fuit joannes nicolet et joanna la meslée,[ ] exur pistoris. elle est avec tchakin." xv. "anno , decemb. statim post portam mortuus sepultus in coemeterio item filius domini joannis nicolet interpretis." [in the margin is written: "ignace nicolet."] xvi. "anno . die januarii, ego carolus raymbaut[ ] baptizavi cum cæremoniis franciscum missameg natum circiter annos filium ching a defuncti, patria ---- khin chebink educatur apud abirini ich patrinus fuit d. franciscus de champflour[ ] moderator; matrina margarita couillard uxor d. nicolet interpretis." xvii. " o. die maii . ego carolus raymbault baptisavi cum cæremoniis franciscum pridie natum filium christophori crevier pistoris, et joanna ennart conjugum rothomagensium. patrinus fuit dominus franciscum de champflour moderator et dna margarita couillard conjux interpretis (est in galliæ)." [on the d day of september, nicolet was present at quebec at the wedding of nicolas bonhomme.] xviii. "anno domini die decembris, ipso jesu domini nostri nativitatis die ego joannes dequen, societatis jesu sacerdos vices agens rectoris ecclesiæ conceptionis beatæ virginia ad tria flumina dicta, baptizavi solemniter in eodem ecclesia paulum abirim ich annum trigesimum cerciter quîntum doctrinæ christianæ rudimentis sufficienter instructum. patrinus fuit joannes nicolet, interpret. huic nomen pauli impasuit; matrina fuit maria le neuf." xix. "anno domini dia o aprilis. ego josephus poncet, societatis jesu, baptizavi puellam recens natam patre abdon maskik eia, matre michtig k e, nomen cecilia impositum est. patrinus fuit ... lavallée;[ ] matrina margarita couillard uxor joannis nicolet interpretis." xx. " o aprilis anno ego josephus poncet societatis jesu, in ecclesiæ immaculatæ conceptionis b. v. mariæ, baptisavi puellum recens natam. patre joannes nicolet. matre margarita couillard ejus uxor. nomen margarita impositum. patrinus fuit dnus jacobus ertel;[ ] matrina dna joanna le marchand,[ ] viduæ dni leneuf." xxi. "tertio julii anni , ego joannes de brebeuf, societatis jesu, tunc vices agens parochi in ecclesiæ immaculatæ conceptionis ad tria flumina baptisavi infantem recens natam. patre dno jacobo hartel. matre marie marguerie[ ] ejus uxore. nomine francisco impositum. patrinus fuit: franciscus marguerye, infantio avanculus; matrina margarita couillart domini joannis nicolet uxor." xxii. "anno domini , septembris, ego joannes de brebeuf, societatis jesu sacerdos, baptisavi solemniter in ecclesiæ immaculata conceptionis ad tria flumina, duos puellas recens nata, unum ex patre augustino chipak etch et matre t ribik e; alizon dicta est a patrinis joanne nicolet et perretta alteram vero ex patre k erasing et inchk ck matre lucia dicta est a patrinus nicolao marsolet[ ] et margarita couillard, uxor domini nicolet." footnotes: [footnote : father buteux resided in three rivers from the year of the establishment of that place, , to when, on his second trip to the upper st. maurice he was killed by the iroquois.] [footnote : capitanal, chief of the montagnais indians, is the man who did the most amongst his people to impress upon the mind of champlain the necessity of erecting a fort at -rivers. he died in . see _relation_, , p. ; , p. .] [footnote : the figure " " in such words is, as before mentioned, supposed to be equivalent to "w," "we," or "oo," in english. ante, p. , note.] [footnote : le neuf. name of a large family, belonging to the nobility. jean godefroy having married marie le neuf, they all came together ( people) to canada, when the branch of le gardeur settled at quebec and that of le neuf proper at -rivers. throughout the history of canada, we met with members of that group.] [footnote : alizon is the family name of the wife of gourdin, the brewer, who resided at the fort of three-rivers as early as .] [footnote : malapart was at that time acting as governor of the post.] [footnote : nenascoumat, an indian chief, is much connected with the history of the first settlement of his people at -rivers and sillery, from to about .] [footnote : jean godefroy, the principal man who caused french people to come direct from france to settle at three-rivers, as early as . he had been in canada for many years before. his brother thomas is well known in the history of those years for his services both to the missionaries and to the colonists; he was burned by the iroquois. louis, son of jean, became king's attorney. jean was raised to the rank of nobleman by louis xiv. his descendants are still in the district of -rivers.] [footnote : christophe crevier, sieur de la mêlée, settled in -rivers in . like that of godefroy, the family became very numerous and prosperous. the descendants of crevier still exist in the district of -riv. françois crevier, born th may was killed by the iroquois in three rivers when years old only.] [footnote : father raymbault is the same that accompanied father jogues in the spring of the year to what is now sault ste. marie, michigan. he died, it will be remembered, in the fall of . ante, p. .] [footnote : champflour left for france in the autumn of . for several years, he had been governor of -rivers.] [footnote : claude jutra lit lavallée was one of the first settlers of -rivers, where his descendants still exist.] [footnote : jacques hertel, married to marie marguerie. he held land at -rivers before the foundation of the fort. died . his son françois was one of the greatest sons of canada. louis xiv. made him a nobleman. his descendants are still in canada. like godefroy, crevier, and le neuf, the hertels have held their position for years.] [footnote : jeanne le marchand, widow, was the mother of le neuf.] [footnote : françois marguerie succeeded nicolet as interpreter at -rivers. he has left his name to a river flowing into the st. lawrence, in the county of nicolet opposite the town of -rivers.] [footnote : nicolas marsolet, connected, as an interpreter, with -rivers, but mostly with tadoussac and quebec.] ii.--first connected sketch published of the life and exploration of nicolet.[ ] [du creux states that, in the last months of , new france mourned for two men of no common character, who were snatched away from her; that one of them, who died first, of disease, was a member of the society of jesuits; and that the other, although a layman, was distinguished by singularly meritorious acts towards the indian tribes of canada. he sketches briefly the career and character of father raymbault, the jesuit, first referred to, who died at quebec in the latter part of october. the second person alluded to was nicolet. of him he gives the following account:] "he had spent twenty-five years in new france, and had always been a useful person. on his first arrival, by orders of those who presided over the french colony of quebec, he spent two whole years among the algonquins of the island, for the purpose of learning their language, without any frenchman as a companion, and in the midst of those hardships, which may be readily conceived, if we will reflect what it must be to pass severe winters in the woods, under a covering of cedar or birch bark; to have one's means of subsistence dependent upon hunting; to be perpetually hearing rude outcries; to be deprived of the pleasant society of one's own people; and to be constantly exposed, not only to derision and insulting words, but even to daily peril of life. there was a time, indeed, when he went without food for a whole week; and (what is really wonderful) he even spent seven weeks without having any thing to eat but a little bark. after this preliminary training[ ] was completed, being sent with four hundred algonquins to the iroquois to treat of peace, he performed his mission successfully. soon after, he went to the nipissiriens, and spent seven years with them, as an adopted member of their tribe. he had his own small estate, wigwam, and household stuff, implements for hunting and fishing, and, no doubt, his own beaver skins, with the same right of trade as the rest; in a word, he was taken into their counsels; until, being recalled, by the rulers of the french colony, he was at the same time made a commissary and charged to perform the office of an interpreter. "during this period, at the command of the same rulers, he had to make an excursion to certain maritime tribes, for the purpose of securing peace between them and the hurons. the region where those peoples dwell is nearly three hundred leagues distant, toward the west, from the same hurons; and after he had associated himself with seven ambassadors of these [_i.e._, of the hurons], having saluted on their route various small nations which they fell in with, and having propitiated them with gifts--lest, if they should omit this, they might be regarded as enemies, and assailed by all whom they met--when he was two days distant, he sent forward one of his own company to make known to the nation to which they were going, that a european ambassador was approaching with gifts, who, in behalf of the hurons, desired to secure their friendship. the embassy was received with applause; young men were immediately sent to meet them, who were to carry the baggage and equipment of the manitouriniou (or wonderful man), and escort him with honor. nicolet was clad in a chinese robe of silk, skillfully ornamented with birds and flowers of many colors; he carried in each hand a small pistol.[ ] when he had discharged these, the more timid persons, boys and women betook themselves to flight, to escape as quickly as possible from a man who (they said) carried the thunder in both his hands. but, the rumor of his coming having spread far and wide, the chiefs, with their followers, assembled directly to the number of four or five thousand persons; and, the matter having been discussed and considered in a general council, a treaty was made in due form. afterwards each of the chiefs gave a banquet after their fashion; and at one of these, strange to say, a hundred and twenty beavers were eaten. "his object being accomplished, nicolet returned to the hurons, and, presently, to three rivers, and resumed both of his former functions, viz., as commissary and interpreter, being singularly beloved by both the french and the natives; specially intent upon this, that, uniting his industry, and the very great influence which he possessed over the savages, with the efforts of the fathers of the society [jesuits], he might bring as many as he could to the church; until, upon the recall to france of olivier, who was the chief commissary of quebec, nicolet, on account of his merits, was appointed in his place. but he was not long allowed to enjoy the christian comfort he had so greatly desired, viz., that at quebec he might frequently attend upon the sacraments as his pious soul desired, and that he might enjoy the society of those with whom he could converse upon divine things. "on the last day of october, having embarked upon a pinnace at the seventh hour of the afternoon (as we french reckon the hours), i.e., just as the shades of evening were falling, hastening, as i have said, to three rivers upon so pious an errand, scarcely had he arrived in sight of sillery, when, the north wind blowing more fiercely and increasing the violence of the storm which had commenced before nicolet started,[ ] the pinnace was whirled around two or three times, filled with water from all directions, and finally was swallowed up by the waves. some of those on board escaped, among them savigny, the owner of the pinnace; and nicolet, in that time of extreme peril, addressing him calmly said: "savigny, since you know how to swim, by all means consult your own safety; i, who have no such skill, am going to god; i recommend my wife and daughter to your kindness." in the midst of this conversation, a wave separated them; nicolet was drowned; savigny, who, from horror and the darkness of the night, did not know where he was, was torn by the violence of the waves from the boat, to which he had clung for some time; then he struggled for a while, in swimming, with the hostile force of the changing waves; until, at last, his strength failing, and his courage almost forsaking him, he made a vow to god (but what it was is not related); then, striking the bottom of the stream with his foot, he reached the bank[ ] at that spot, and, forcing his way with difficulty through the edge of the stream, already frozen, he crept, half dead, to the humble abode of the fathers. restoratives were immediately applied, such as were at hand, especially fire, which was most needed; but, as the cold weather and the water had almost destroyed the natural warmth, he could only manifest his thoughts for some time by motions and not by speech, and so kept the minds of the anxious fathers in doubt of his meaning; until, recovering his speech, he explained what had happened with a strong expression of nicolet's christian courage. "the prisoner for whose sake nicolet had exposed himself to this deadly peril, twelve days afterwards reached sillery, and soon after quebec--having been rescued from the cruelty of the algonquins by rupæus, who was in command at three rivers, in pursuance of letters from montmagny, on payment, no doubt, of a ransom. he was already disfigured with wounds, great numbers of which these most savage men had inflicted upon him with careful ingenuity, one after another, according to their custom; but in proportion to the barbarity which he had experienced at three rivers was the kindness which he afterwards met with at quebec, where he was treated by the monks of the hospital in such a manner that he was healed within about twenty days, and was able to return to his own people.... "this, moreover, was not the first occasion on which nicolet had encountered peril of his life for the safety of savages. he had frequently done the very same thing before, says the french writer; and to those with whom he associated he left proofs of his virtues by such deeds as could hardly be expected of a man entangled in the bonds of marriage; they were indeed eminent, and rose to the height of apostolic perfection; and, therefore, was the loss of so great a man the more grievous. certain it is that the savages themselves, as soon as they heard what had befallen him, surrounded the bank of the great river in crowds, to see whether they could render any aid. when all hope of that was gone, they did what alone remained in their power, by incredible manifestations of grief and lamentation at the sad fate of the man who had deserved so well of them." footnotes: [footnote : translated from du creux' hist. of canada (printed in latin, in paris, ), p. . that his account should not sooner have awakened the curiosity of students of american history is due to the fact previously mentioned, that not until the investigations of john gilmary shea, in , were the "ouinipigou" identified as the "winnebagoes," and their having been visited by nicolet established. it was this locating of the objective point of nicolet's exploration on american soil that finally stimulated american writers to further research; though, to the present time, canadian historians have taken the lead in investigations concerning the indomitable frenchman.] [footnote : _tirocinium_ is the _first campaign_ of the young soldier; and so, generally, the first period of trial in any life of danger and hardship.--_translator._] [footnote : it may be interesting to the reader to know how pistols are described in the author's latin: "sclopos minores, exiis qui tactâ vel leviter rotulâ exploduntier."--_translator._] [footnote : "boreâ flaute pertinaciùs, foedamque tempestatem, quam excicre gam ceperat, glomerante." literally, perhaps, "the north wind blowing more persistently, and gathering into a mass the dark storm which it had already begun to collect."--_translator._] [footnote : the word "littus" here is properly used, not of the dry land, but of the sloping land under the water, near the edge of the river.--_translator._] index. algonquins, viii, , , , , , , , , . algonquins of the isles des allumettes, , , , . alizon, m., , . allouez, father claudius, , , . amikoüai, "nation of the beaver," , , . _an account of the french settlements in north america_ ( ), cited, . assiniboins, not visited by nicolet, . atchiligoüan, an algonquin nation, . a eatsi aenrrhonon (aweatsiwaerrhonon), huron name for the winnebagoes, , , . bay des puants (baie des puants). see green bay. beaver nation, , , , , , . bonhomme, nicholas, . brébeuf, john de, , , , , . buteux, father james, , , , , , , . cabot, john, viii, ix. cabot, sebastian, ix. caens, the, . capitanal, a montagnais chief, . cartier, james, , , , , . champlain, samuel, makes, in , a survey of the st. lawrence, ; in , founds quebec, ; attacks the iroquois, in , _ib._; returns, in , to france, ; in again reaches the st. lawrence, _ib._; soon sails back to france, _ib._; in , once more reaches the st. lawrence, _ib._; explores the ottawa to the isle des allumettes, _ib._; embarks for france, _ib._; in , again sails for new france, ; visits the hurons, _ib._; attacks, with those indians, the iroquois, _ib._; returns to quebec, ; a new government for new france, ; champlain one of the hundred associates, ; he defends quebec against the english, ; next year he surrenders the town, _ib._; taken a prisoner to england, ; in , resumes command in new france, _ib._; resolves to explore the west, _ib._; in , sends nicolet to the winnebagoes, ; death of champlain, . champlain's map of , referred to, , , , , , , , , , , , . champlain's _voyages_ of , cited, ; _voyages_ of , cited, , , , , , , . charlevoix' _carte des lacs du canada_, referred to, ; also, his _nouvelle france_, _ib._ chauvin, a captain of the french marine, . cheveux relevés (standing hair--ottawas), , , , . chippewas, , , , , , . cioux. see sioux. columbus, christopher, viii. company of new france, . copper and copper mine early known to the indians, . cortereal, gaspar, ix. couillard, guillaume, . couillard, marguerite, , , , , , . _coureurs de bois_, . cressé, m., . crevier, françois, . dakotas (dacotahs.--see sioux), viii, , . daniel, antoine, a jesuit priest, , . davost, a jesuit, . de caen, Émery, , , . de caen, william, . de champfleur, françois, . de chasteaufort, bras-de-fer, . de courtemanche, augustin le, . de gand, françois derré, . delaplace, jacques, . de la roche, the marquis, . de la roque, john francis, see lord of roberval. de laubin, m., . de malapart, m., . de maupertuis, m., . de repentigny, jean-baptiste le gardeur, . des gens puants (des gens puans--des puants--des puans). see winnebagoes. des roches, m., , . du creux' _hist. of canada_ (_historia canadensis_), cited, , , , _et seq._ du creux' map of , referred to, , , , . enitajghe, iroquois name for green bay, . estiaghicks, iroquois name of the chippewas, . ferland's _cours d'histoire du canada_, cited, , , ; also, his _notes sur les registres de notre-dame de québec_, , , . fire nations (les gens de feu). see mascoutins. foster's _mississippi valley_, cited, . fox indians (outagamis--les renards--musquakies), , , . fox river of green bay, , , , , , . fur-trade, the, . gens de mer (gens de eaux de mer). see winnebagoes. godefroy, jean, , . godefroy, louis, . godefroy, thomas, . gravier's _découvertes et Établissement de cavalier de la salle_, cited, ; his _map by joliet_, referred to, , . green bay, , , , , . guitet, a notary, records of, , . hébert, guillaume, . hébert, guillemette, . hertel, françois, . hertel, jacques, . horoji (hochungara--winnebagoes), . huboust, guillaume, . hundred associates (hundred partners), , , , , , , , , , . hurons, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . illinois (indians), . iroquois, , , , , , , , . _jesuit relations_, cited: -- ; -- , , ; -- , , , , , , ; -- , , ; -- ; -- ; -- , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; -- ; -- ; -- , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; -- , ; -- , ; -- , ; -- , , ; -- , , . _jesuit relations_, the, . jesuits, the, , , . joliet, jean, . joliet, louis, , , . joques, father isaac, , . juchereau, noël, . kaukauna, town of, . kickapoos (kikabou, kikapou, quicapou, kickapoux, kickapous, kikapoux, quicpouz), . kirk, david, . la baye (la baye des eaux puantes--la grande baie--la baye des puans--lay baye des puants). see green bay. lake michigan (lake of the illinois--lake st. joseph--lake dauphin--lac des illinois--lac missihiganin--magnus lacus algonquinorum), , , , , , . lake superior, . lake winnebago (lake of the puants--lake st. francis), , . la marchand, jeanne, . la mêlée, christopher crevier, sieur de, . la mer, marguerite, . la mer, maria, . la nation des puans (la nation des puants). see winnebagoes. la nouë, annie de, , . la porte, pierre de, . la vallée, claude, . laverdière's _reprint of champlain's works_, referred to, . le caron, father joseph, , . le jeune, paul, , , . le neuf, family of, . le neuf, maria, , , . les folles avoine. see menomonees. le tardif, olivier, , , , . lippincott's _gazetteer_, cited, . lord of roberval, , . macard, nicolas, , . mackinaw, straits of, . manitoulin islands, , . mantoue (mantoueouee--makoueoue), tribe of, . margry, pierre, in _journal général de l'instruction publique_, , , . marguerie, françois, , . marguerie, maria, . marquette, father james, , . marsolet, nicolas, , . mascoutins (macoutins--mascoutens--maskeutens--maskouteins-- musquetens--machkoutens--maskoutench--machkoutenck--les gens de feu--the fire nation--assistagueronons--assistaehronons), , , , , , , , , , . masse, the jesuit, . menomonees (maromine--malhominies--les folles avoine), , . miamis, . michigan, signification of the word, . mississippi, meaning of the word, . montmagnais, , . montmagny, m. de, , , , , . nantoue. see mantoue. nation des puans (nation des puants--nation of stinkards). see winnebagoes. nation du castor (nation of beavers). see beaver nation. nation of the sault. see chippewas. nenascoumat, an indian chief, . neutral nation, , , . nez percés (naiz percez). see beaver nation. nicolet, gilles, , . nicolet, john, arrives in new france, ; sent by champlain, in , to the algonquins of isle des allumettes, ; goes on a mission of peace to the iroquois, ; takes up his residence with the nipissings, _ib._; recalled by the government to quebec, ; employed as interpreter, _ib._; champlain resolves to send him on a western exploration, ; nicolet had heard of the winnebagoes, ; prepares, in june, , to visit this and other nations, ; starts upon his journey, ; why it must have been in that nicolet made his westward exploration, _ib._, _et seq._; travels up the ottawa to the isle des allumettes, ; goes hence to the huron villages, ; object of his mission there, ; starts for the winnebagoes, ; reaches sault sainte marie, ; did he see lake superior? ; discovers lake michigan, ; arrives at the menomonee river, ; ascends green bay to the homes of the winnebagoes, ; has a great feast with the indians, ; goes up fox river to the mascoutins, ; visits the illinois tribe, ; returns to the winnebagoes, _ib._; nicolet's homeward trip in --he calls upon the pottawattamies, ; stops at the great manatoulin to see a band of ottawas, ; reaches the st. lawrence in safety, ; settles at three rivers as interpreter, ; his kindness to the indians, ; has a narrow escape from drowning, ; helps defend three rivers from an iroquois attack, _ib._; his marriage, _ib._; goes to quebec, ; becomes general commissary of the hundred partners, _ib._; embarks for three rivers, ; his death, ; frenchmen and indians alike mourn his fate, ; his memory perpetuated, ; his energetic character, ; mention of him in the parish register of three rivers, , _et seq._; first connected sketch published of his life and exploration, , _et seq._ nicolet, madame, , . nicolet, pierre, . nicolet, thomas, . nipissings (nipisiriniens), , , , , . noquets, . o'callaghan's _doc. hist. of new york_, referred to, ; his _n. y. col. doc._, cited, . ojibwas. see chippewas. otchagras (ochungarand). see winnebagoes. otchipwes. see chippewas. ottawas, , , , , , . ouasouarim, . oumalouminek (oumaominiecs). see menomonees. oumisagai, , . "ounipeg," signification of, . ounipigou. see winnebagoes. outaouan. see ottawas. outchougai, . parkman's _jesuits in north america_, cited, , , , ; also, his _la salle and the discovery of the great west_, , ; and his _pioneers of france in the new world_, . "people of the falls." see chippewas. "people of the sea." see winnebagoes. perot, nicolas, . petun nation, , . pijart, claudius, . poncet, josephus, , . pontgravé, merchant, . pottawattamies, . quentin, father claude, , , , . racine, claude, . racine, etienne, . raratwaus. see chippewas. raymbault, father charles, , , , , . richelieu, cardinal, . river des puans (river of the puants--river st. francis). see fox river. rollet, marie, . roquai. see noquets. sacs (sauks--saukis--sakys), . sagard's _histoire du canada_, cited, . sault de sainte marie, . sault sainte marie, town of, , , . sauteurs (stiagigroone). see chippewas. savigny (chavigny), , , , , . schoolcraft's _thirty years with the indian tribes_, cited, . "sea-tribe." see winnebagoes. shea, john gilmary, in _wis. hist. soc. coll._, . shea's _catholic missions_, cited, ; also, his _discovery and exploration of the mississippi valley_, , , , , ; and his _hennepin_, . sillery, mission of, founded, . sioux (dacotas), , , . smith's _history of wisconsin_, cited, , , . standing hair, the. see ottawas. st. croix fort, established, . sulte, benjamin, in _l'opinion publique_, , . sulte's _chronique trifluvienne_, cited, ; also, his _mélanges d'histoire et de littérature_, , , . "the men of the shallow cataract." see chippewas. three rivers, parish church register of, , , , _et seq._ three rivers, town of, , , , , , , , , , , , , . tobacco nation. see petun nation. verrazzano, john, ix. winnebagoes, viii, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . wisconsin, derivation of the word, . wisconsin river, , , . woodman, cyrus, . woolf river, , . oct. . historical and miscellaneous publications of robert clarke & co. cincinnati, o. alzog (john, d.d.) a manual of universal church history. translated by rev. t. j. pabisch and rev. t. s. byrne. vols. vo. anderson (e. l.) six weeks in norway. mo. andre (major): the cow chace; an heroick poem. vo. paper. antrim (j.) the history of champaign and logan counties, ohio, from their first settlement. mo. ballard (julia p.) insect lives; or, born in prison. illustrated. sq. mo. bell (thomas j.) history of the cincinnati water works. plates. vo. benner (s.) prophecies of future ups and downs in prices: what years to make money in pig, iron, hogs, corn, and provisions. d ed. mo. bible in the public schools. records, arguments, etc., in the case of minor _vs._ board of education of cincinnati. vo. arguments in favor of the use of the bible. separate. paper. arguments against the use of the bible. separate. paper. biddle (horace p.) elements of knowledge. mo. biddle (horace p.) prose miscellanies. mo. binkerd (a. d.) the mammoth cave of kentucky. paper. vo. bouquet (h.) the expedition of, against the ohio indians in , etc. with preface by francis parkman, jr. vo. $ . large paper. boyland (g. h., m.d.) six months under the red cross with the french army in the franco-prussian war. mo. brunner (a. a.) elementary and pronouncing french reader. mo. brunner (a. a.) the gender of french verbs simplified. mo. burt (rev. n. c., d.d.) the far east; 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[illustration the dearborn monument. _frontispiece._] american historic towns historic towns of the western states edited by lyman p. powell illustrated g.p. putnam's sons new york & london the knickerbocker press copyright, october, by g.p. putnam's sons the knickerbocker press, new york [illustration] preface in presenting to the reading public this fourth volume in the series of _historic towns_, a volume which brings the series to a close, it is in order for the editor to call attention to the necessarily large measure of liberty accorded to the contributors in their treatment of the records of the several towns. with several of his co-laborers the editor has on one point or another found himself at variance. examples of such difference of conclusions are presented in the references to the mormons and to the mound-builders. the editor bears in mind, however, the essential difference between editorial responsibilities and those belonging to the writers of the papers. it was his duty to choose as contributors not writers who necessarily share his own view, but those who are most fairly representative of the towns described, who possess the necessary familiarity with the historic records, and whose narratives would be assured of an appreciative and sympathetic reception from their fellow-townsmen,--men who love their town "with love far-brought from out the storied past, and used within the present." in the studies of western history made by the editor during the past ten years, two historians have been his inspiration: francis parkman, of blessed memory, revered by all who love good literature and good history; and theodore roosevelt, now by the will of god president of the united states, and a trustworthy and inspiring writer of our nation's history long before he took his place among its distinguished makers. in offering to the public this final volume of _american historic towns_, the editor ventures to hope that by thus focalizing and localizing western history, the publishers, authors, and editor are contributing somewhat to the popular knowledge of and interest in the history of the great west which parkman and roosevelt first made possible. since with this volume the series is brought to a close, the editor trusts that the publishers, messrs. g.p. putnam's sons, will lay aside their reluctance to be mentioned in the preface, and will permit the editor to express his admiration and indebtedness for their share, larger than is usual with publishers, in the production of the series. to his wife, gertrude wilson powell, acknowledgment is also due for aid given in this as in the earlier volumes, the full value of which cannot here be indicated. besides making two important contributions to the volume, messrs. r.g. thwaites and harold bolce have ever been ready with suggestion and counsel, always valued and almost always followed. to doctors talcott williams, albert shaw, and george petrie, the editor would speak this last word of gratitude for cordial and skilled assistance in connection not alone with this book but with the whole undertaking. this closing volume now goes out, with the editor's best-wishes, to the earlier friends of the series and to the new friends yet to be gained for it. lyman p. powell. st. john's rectory, lansdowne, pennsylvania, september , . [illustration] contents page introduction reuben g. thwaites xix marietta muriel campbell dyar cleveland charles f. thwing cincinnati milton e. ailes detroit silas farmer mackinac sara andrew shafer indianapolis perry s. heath vincennes william henry smith chicago lyman j. gage madison reuben g. thwaites minneapolis } charles b. elliott and st. paul } des moines frank i. herriott st. louis william marion reedy kansas city charles s. gleed omaha victor rosewater denver john cotton dana santa fÉ frederick webb hodge salt lake city james edward talmage spokane harold bolce portland thomas l. cole san francisco edwin markham monterey harold bolce los angeles florence e. winslow index [illustration] illustrations page the dearborn monument _frontispiece_ marietta marietta general rufus putnam old blockhouse, marietta the mills homestead, marietta harman blennerhassett mrs. blennerhassett marietta college buildings mound cemetery, marietta ohio company's land office old two horn church cleveland view in gordon park chamber of commerce, cleveland soldiers' and sailors' monument, cleveland armory of the cleveland grays lake in wade park, showing adelbert college in the distance perry's monument, wade park, cleveland charles f. browne ("artemus ward") constance fenimore woolson garfield memorial, cleveland cincinnati tyler-davidson fountain entrance to spring grove cemetery race street, cincinnati city hall, cincinnati chamber of commerce, cincinnati suspension bridge reservoir, eden park detroit cadillac square showing city hall and majestic building the detroit river from "windmill point," from a pencil drawing. west grand circus park wayne county building, facing cadillac square colonel arent schuyler de peyster evacuation day tablet, on post-office general grant's home in detroit hurlbut memorial gate entrance to water-works park mackinac island old mission church (circa) , mackinac island arch rock, mackinac island sugar loaf rock, mackinac island old blockhouse ( ) overlooking the lake "old stone quarters," fort mackinac, signatures of the chippewa chiefs, who, in , deeded the island to king george iii from "mackinac," by john r. bailey, m.d., brevet lieut.-col., u.s.v., by whose kind permission they are here reproduced. fort mackinac, and the cannon captured by commodore perry rev. eleazar williams reproduced from latimer's "scrap-book of the revolution," by permission of a.c. mcclurg & co. indianapolis the old state house, indianapolis the new public library, indianapolis benjamin harrison state house, indianapolis, east front soldiers' monument, indianapolis marion county court house columbia club, indianapolis the hendricks monument vincennes early french settlers at vincennes fort sackville, clark and his men crossing the river general george rogers clark william henry harrison st. xavier's church, chicago the dearborn monument the united states government building, chicago auditorium hotel, chicago the art institute, chicago statue of abraham lincoln by st. gaudens. ruins of the great fire, chicago public library, chicago madison the state house, madison the first executive residence (still standing) in use by governor doty profile rock on lake mendota view of madison across lake monona the first state house, madison madison from the state house, showing university buildings in the distance professor william francis allen university hall, state university state historical library building general lucius fairchild ex-minister to spain. minneapolis and st. paul the falls of st. anthony about tower at fort snelling the original "fort" now used as a guard-house. alexander ramsey court house and city hall, minneapolis falls of st. anthony during high water the milling district public library, minneapolis ole bull monument in loring park loring park, minneapolis the falls of minnehaha the capitol, st. paul a calm evening des moines fort des moines in keokuk at the age of from a daguerreotype taken in . iowa soldiers' and sailors' monument governor samuel j. kirkwood hon. john a. kasson the capitol, des moines the iowa historical library st. louis colonel auguste chouteau, one of the founders of st. louis from a painting in missouri historical society collection. the old chouteau mansion, built for laclede in from a daguerreotype in missouri historical society collection. old french post-house, built in , inhabited until old mound, st. louis. removed in from a photograph in missouri historical society collection. washington university as projected, now under construction st. louis in from a print in missouri historical society collection. eads bridge at st. louis forest park, st. louis union station, st. louis kansas city kansas city from the south jackson county court house, kansas city convention hall, kansas city the city hall, kansas city the post office, kansas city a bit of gladstone boulevard, kansas city the stock yard exchange, kansas city the public library, kansas city omaha alfred d. jones william p. snowden, omaha's first white settler a typical omaha indian reproduced by permission of f.a. rinehart, omaha. the high school, omaha, on the site of the old capitol reproduced by permission of heyn, omaha. the city hall return of the first nebraska volunteers, aug. , the public library, omaha the omaha exposition, reproduced by permission of f.a. rinehart, omaha. denver sources of territorial acquisition in colorado denver, colorado "smoky" jones the prairie schooner, the proper crest for the coat-of-arms of the west first schoolhouse in denver facsimile letter from wm. n. byers, the founder of the "rocky mountain news" prospecting party, rico, colorado, rico, colorado, in , a typical mining camp william gilpin the capitol, denver santa fÉ the so-called oldest house in santa fÉ fort marcy and the parroquia, santa fÉ san miguel chapel before its restoration san miguel chapel in from a photograph by a.c. vroman, pasadena, cal. christopher ("kit") carson the old palace at santa fÉ santa fÉ in the territorial capitol, completed in salt lake city pavilion of saltair, great salt lake brigham young founder of salt lake city. east temple street, looking south from the temple jedediah m. grant, first mayor of salt lake city eagle gate brigham young monument main street in house built in within the old fort mormon temple mormon tabernacle city and county building, salt lake city lion and bee-hive houses spokane the county court house, spokane the last chief to intimidate the inhabitants of spokane the city hall, spokane j. kennedy stout the "spokesman-review" building middle falls, spokane middle falls, echo flour mills, and old power house portland john jacob astor astoria in based on a print in gray's "history of oregon." fort vancouver, the city hall, portland portland in the port of portland judge matthew p. deady view of portland, a corner in chinatown the portland san francisco view northwest from spreckel's building the discovery of san francisco bay from the painting by a.f. mathews. mission dolores, built in seal of the vigilance committee union depot chinese pharmacy chinese grocery store smoking room, chinese restaurant a business centre prayer-book cross, golden gate park seal rock and cliff house city hall, san francisco leland stanford thomas starr king henry george monterey junÍpero serra, founder of monterey carmel mission (restored) twilight, monterey bay san carlos church old mexican jail fishing village ancient cypress at cypress point statue of junÍpero serra old mexican custom-house ancient adobe cabin, monterey los angeles bells of san gabriel san diego mission, founded the pueblo of los angeles. early spanish plan suertes from c. to e. don pio pico the last mexican governor. don antonio f. coronel, with spanish cannon brought to san diego by serra in the old plaza church, los angeles a typical cottage john c. frÉmont old adobe, frÉmont's headquarters first stage in the ascent of mt. lowe, connecting with electric road on echo mountain a modern residence state normal school the court house, los angeles improved harbor of san pedro, port of los angeles [illustration] introduction by reuben g. thwaites the first two volumes of this series--those devoted to the historic towns of new england and the middle states--dealt with communities each group of which has had for the most part a common origin, has progressed along practically parallel lines, and possesses characteristics closely akin. the volume upon the towns of the south brought closely to view the cosmopolitan character of the population which has settled our continent to the south and southwest of the appalachian wall. the stories of baltimore, washington, richmond, charleston, savannah, and st. augustine bring into view widely-different origins, experiences, and interests along a single stretch of coast; while mobile and new orleans, knoxville, nashville, and louisville, vicksburg and little rock, are groups representing chapters in our history which appear to have but slight connection save in the view of those who have closely studied the mainsprings of american development. the present volume represents even a wider range of historical interest. the attentive reader will, however, discover that although these towns of the far-stretching trans-alleghany region have sprung from curiously divergent beginnings, and are apparently incongruous in composition and in aims, there really is and has been much in common among them. in order to understand western history, one must first have knowledge of the details of the titanic struggle for settlement in north america, made respectively by spain, france, and england. the early decline of spanish power north of the red and the arkansas, save for the later temporary holding of louisiana; the protracted tragedy which ended on the plains of abraham in the fall of new france; the revolution of the english colonists, and its portentous results; the louisiana purchase of ; the mexican war, the episode of california, the story of texas, with their consequent ousting of spain from lands north of the rio grande and the gila--all these are factors bearing the closest relation to the history of the west, and consequently of many of the historic towns whose stories have been grouped within these covers. with these episodes of national rivalry, and consequent diplomacy and war, were intimately concerned the french fur-trade outposts of detroit, mackinac, vincennes, and st. louis, links in the forted chain which bound canada and louisiana, and by means of which it was sought to form a barrier against the westward growth of the english colonies; also the spanish stations of san francisco, monterey, los angeles, and santa fé, which were at once political vantage points and mission seats, for the spread of spanish power and civilization from mexico, among the brown barbarians of the north. st. louis experienced both french and spanish régimes, while mackinac, detroit, and vincennes were much affected by the period of english occupancy. as settlement grew upon the atlantic coast, the english frontier was inevitably pushed farther and farther from tidewater. the hunter followed his game westward; so the forest trader, seeking the ever-receding camps of the aborigines, and, in due course, the raiser of cattle, horses, and swine who needed fresh pastures for his herds as tillage steadily encroached upon the wild lands of the border. at first timorously occupying the valleys and foothills of the eastern slopes, hunter, trader, and grazier, each in his turn, cautiously followed buffalo traces and indian war-paths over the crest of the great range, and hailed with glee waters descending into the mysterious west. not less formidable than the barriers reared by nature were those interposed by the savage, who with dismay saw his hunting grounds fast dwindling under the sway of the land-grabbing english; and by the jealous machinations of the military agents and fur traders of new france, who brooked no rivalry in their commercial exploitation of the forest. when new france fell, the english crown strictly forbade further settlement in the back country. this order was issued upon the representations of london merchants interested, as had been the merchant adventurers of france, in preserving the forest for the indians and the fur trade; the ministry were not unmindful also that the bold and liberty-loving frontiersmen who crossed the mountains might come to consider english political control as unessential to their being. this policy was, however, diametrically opposed to the policy of the border. the fertile fields of the west were far from the observation of london officials, the spirit of unrest and the desire for gain laughed at royal proclamations, and the trans-alleghany movement but gathered force. by the opening of the revolution, kentucky and tennessee were practically staked out; by its close, americans were sole white masters of the west to the east of the mississippi, save for a brief holding by the british of detroit, mackinac, and other upper lake posts, as security for treaty obligations as yet unfulfilled. it had been the custom of england to grant lands for military service; the american colonies had likewise liberally rewarded their defenders in the indian wars; revolutionary soldiers were now given free access to the broad acres of the west, the direct result of this policy being the settlements of marietta and cleveland. water courses have ever been of the highest importance in determining the lines of continental settlement. the river st. lawrence and the great lakes offered to the people of new france a continual invitation to explore the regions whence they flowed. it was not long before the french found that the sources of south and west-flowing waters were not far from the banks of the eastering waterways upon which they dwelt. by ascending short tributaries, and carrying their light craft along practicable paths, or portages, first used by the indians, they could re-launch into strange and devious paths which led to all parts of the continental interior--the ohio, the mississippi, the assiniboine, and their multifarious affluents and connections. thus easily did new france spread along the st. lawrence and the lakes, over into the ohio and the mississippi, and down their gliding channels to new orleans and the sea. in crossing the alleghanies, the english sought the ohio and its tributaries--the alleghany, the monongahela, the cumberland, the tennessee, the kanawha, the big sandy. the ohio was long the chief gateway to the west. upon this royal path into the wilderness, the ohio company sent christopher gist to prospect and report; for its possession, france and england came to final blows through the action at fort necessity of major washington, than whom no man knew the ohio better; it was an approach to kentucky more inviting than boone's wilderness road, through cumberland gap; clark's flotilla came swooping down the great river to conquer kaskaskia and vincennes; and, the revolution ended, rufus putnam and his fellow veterans from new england claimed their military land grants along this continental highway, at marietta. cincinnati, also, was an outpost deliberately planted upon the great pathway to the west, although otherwise differing in genesis. it was by the great lakes, that other principal approach to the west, that moses cleaveland founded the settlement of revolutionary soldiers who were redeeming their land warrants in new connecticut, or the western reserve--an incident closely connecting ohio with colonial history. early in the western experiences of the new nation, came indian wars. these resulted in treaties whereunder the defeated tribesmen were either forbidden to enter defined areas of settlement, or were confined within specific reservations. this necessitated the construction of rude but effective frontier forts, which not unfrequently proved the nuclei of hamlets that grew into considerable towns. sometimes these forts were essential to the direct protection of the white settlers, who, upon occasion of alarm, flew to cover within the log palisades, which were stout enough to resist a barbaric foe unpossessed of artillery; such was fort washington, which in time became cincinnati. the forest trade was long the chief and only commercial interest in the west, and at certain points garrisoned forts were necessary to serve the traders as depôts and as havens of refuge; this was the part played by detroit, mackinac, chicago, st. paul, vincennes, and st. louis. in the case of des moines, the fort was established for the protection of a group of reservation indians who might otherwise have fallen victims to a superior savage foe. agricultural settlers rapidly took up lands. battle against it as he would,--and the early history of the border is a piteous tale of man's inhumanity to man,--the dispossessed savage found this army of occupation impregnable. as the frontier moved to the westward of the mississippi, it was accompanied by the indians and the fur trade. territories were erected by congress out of the lands of the ousted iroquois and algonkins, and these political divisions were soon admitted to the union as states; mines were exploited, forests were depleted, miscellaneous industries were created, and these new interests not only profoundly affected the old towns, but gave rise to a new order of cities. indianapolis and madison are examples of town sites staked out in virgin forests by ambitious and imaginative speculators, and, before a house could be built, set aside by statute as capitals of their respective young commonwealths. it is not always that towns thus artificially planted have similarly thriven. under normal conditions, a successful city is as much a matter of natural growth as a tree, whose germ has chanced to fall in favored soil. many, perhaps most, western towns of importance, that were planted before the days of the railroad, when waterways were highways, are upon the sites of early villages of aborigines, who made their stands at natural vantage points--at a river mouth, convenient for transportation, or close to considerable fishing grounds; at a waterfall, because here fish are plenty, and canoes must be carried around the obstruction, so that the villagers are masters of the highway; upon a portage path, because of ease in reaching and controlling divergent water systems; upon a bluff overlooking waterways, for facility of observation and control; upon a fertile river bottom, because of good corn lands. in due time, whites came to such a centre of population and established a trading post; here and there, as at detroit, chicago, st. louis, vincennes, and kansas city (westport), the post in due time developed into a garrisoned fort; and the surrounding community, at first dependent on the fur trade or the military, under modern conditions became a town of importance. scores, possibly hundreds, of such examples might be cited; and even when some thrifty towns of the west appear at first sight to have no connection with such a past, antiquarians have not infrequently discovered evidences that substantially the same reasons which before the railway era had led civilized men to select the site, caused its previous occupancy by aborigines--sometimes at so early a day that the only remaining relics are the curious earthworks which the progenitors of our western indians, prompted by religious fervor, constructed anywhere from two and a half to ten centuries ago. minneapolis and spokane, both of them old indian sites, are the direct outgrowth of the superb waterpowers which have given them pre-eminence in the industrial world. we have seen that the great lakes and the great rivers were the paths to the mississippi basin in the days of the canoe, the bateau, and the pack-horse. the early movement of population over the trans-mississippi plains and through the passes of the rockies was by means of wagons along well-worn buffalo traces, which indians had followed in the pursuit of game. where rivers intersected these overland trails, ferries were instituted, their keepers doing a thriving business in helping upon their way fur traders, explorers, miners, and settlers. such was the origin of kansas city and omaha, which naturally developed, with the rush of immigration, into great centres of distribution. in every quarter of our land, from the earliest colonial days, the frontier ferryman, with his tavern and trading house, has been a town builder. the discovery of precious metals in the hills of colorado gave life to the mining camp of denver, which in time became the metropolis of a wide district, to which irrigation brought a wealth more enduring than gold and silver. portland, san francisco, and los angeles are the open doors of the pacific coast, and their growth is thus easily accounted for. prophecies are current of the possible commercial supremacy of these pacific-coast towns, as a consequence of our new interests in the far east. it is curious, in this connection, to remember that spain's motive in founding her california colonies, four generations ago, was, on the temporal side, the more strongly to establish herself in the philippines. strangest of all stories is that of salt lake city, the product of religious zeal seeking a supposedly inaccessible desert as a haven from persecution. finally, when the laborious development of the wilderness has brought rich fruitage, this hermit city finds itself a station on one of the world's most-travelled highways. the coming of the railway, and the consequent practical abandonment of the waterway, wrought a profound change in the fortunes of the western towns. the railway paid small heed to watercourses, save in mountainous country; it struck out upon short-cuts over the plains and prairies, almost regardless of topography. hundreds of staid and promising river and lake towns received a staggering blow when, for various reasons,--sometimes their own failure to encourage the enterprise,--the railway passed them by and entered rival and often less pretentious communities, which now were quickened into new vigor. a more favorable situation for a bridge across the stream was often the determining factor which caused several towns upon a river to die and the fortunate one to be transformed into a metropolis. the arbitrary erection throughout the west of new paths of commerce, of new centres of distribution, during the decade and a half before the war of secession, was of itself a revolutionary element in urban history. almost as profound in its effects was the practically contemporaneous dispersion through this vast territory of millions of european immigrants, who came to open farms, to practise trades, and in city and in village to carry forward, often to inaugurate, hundreds of new commercial and industrial enterprises. the new-comers brought strange habits of thought and social customs; some of the most desirable of these they engrafted upon their american neighbors, while at the same time they themselves were being consciously or unconsciously remoulded into american citizens--who, whatever may be said, will always be essentially but transplanted englishmen modified by environment and political education. of the many nationalities of the european continent which have planted stakes in north america, the germans and the scandinavians, closely allied to our anglo-saxon stock, have been the most numerous and have exercised the greatest influence. many considerable towns, like cincinnati, detroit, st. louis, and omaha, have become strongly german, with not a few of the characteristics of old germany, such as are evinced in a general fostering of music and rational outdoor recreation. the scandinavian element vies good-naturedly with the german, as at madison and chicago; while minneapolis may be considered as the centre of scandinavian influence, fostering sturdy democracy and tenacious enterprise. in the large towns which have their roots planted in new france, the french element is no longer of considerable importance. the french borderer was a vivacious, fun-loving, easy-going fellow, and upon the road to modern opulence and power has long since been passed; to-day, as an urban dweller, he is not seriously reckoned with by the politician, and this is a safe guide to the relative standing of a race in any american city. the towns which we have more recently inherited from spain still possess, in their older quarters, strong characteristics to link them with the past. here and there, as with the french, individual spaniards or mixed-bloods rise into prominence in our modern life--but only through the channel of americanization, which means effacement of the old régime. spanish traits have left permanent traces on the southwest and the pacific, as some french traits are a part of the lasting heritage of the old northwest; but spaniards and frenchmen as such are rapidly fading from our historic towns. a half-century ago, few of the twenty-one western towns whose stories are herein collected had taken upon themselves the characteristics which to-day chiefly distinguish them. we have seen that the advent of the railway was for many the starting-point upon the road to prosperity; the arrival of european immigrants, with traditions of toil and thrift, proved the turning stage for others, and strengthened all. the war of secession shook the republic to its foundations; but from it the north rose with fresh vigor, and rapidly developed in growth and ambition, with the ensuing commercial and industrial conditions which we encounter to-day. nowhere has this development been quite so noticeable as in the towns of the west. pioneer men and women are necessarily too closely engaged in taming the wilderness to have either thought or leisure for any but the most elementary education. but now that the west is no longer the frontier, and mines, forests, fisheries, manufactures, and scientific agriculture have brought wealth and comparative leisure, there is among her people no lack of aspiration for culture. in no section of the united states are study clubs relatively more numerous, in town and country; university extension courses and the lyceum prosper everywhere; the common-school systems, capped by the fast-growing state universities with their thousands of students, are exhibiting a healthy growth along the most approved lines under the guidance of teachers of national reputation; excellent private academies and colleges are numerous in every commonwealth. several of the towns mentioned in this volume have won wide reputation as educational centres--notably cleveland, chicago, madison, minneapolis, st. louis, and san francisco. from these western towns there issues no note of decadence. theirs is the glowing ambition of youth. each of our several authors is quite confident, and properly so, that his town is the handsomest, brightest, and most prosperous of all; or, if it is not, that it is soon to be. its commerce ever widens, its industries expand in capacity and number, its railways connect it each year with some new sphere of trade; and, what is better, it is making strides, in breezy western fashion, in the cultivation of the higher things of life, in its churches, its schools, its libraries and museums, its charities, its parks, its popular conveniences, its insistence upon moral and material municipal cleanliness. it is pleasant and profitable to trace the careers of communities such as this; to note, for instance, by what means the indian village became a trading post, then a fort, next a hamlet, and at last comes to be pulsating with the ambitions and struggling with the multifarious problems of a great modern city. herein is a record of urban development crowded into the span of a single human life, that in the old world it took centuries to accomplish. it is often flippantly asserted that america has no history; and even well-informed americans, who have come to appreciate their national history at large, are apt to fancy that, in any event, the west has had a prosaic career, being simply an overflow or outgrowth from the east. but a perusal of these pages will surely convince the thoughtful reader that western history is not so easily disposed of. it will be found a chronicle abounding in complexities, aglow with life and color, freighted with significance to the continent at large. the chief towns of this historic west have come down to us from many sorts of beginnings, have travelled by differing and devious paths, often encountering curious adventures by the way, until, quickened by modern resources and demands, they have each in its kind come creditably to serve mankind in some useful way. historic towns of the western states [illustration] historic towns of the western states marietta the plymouth of the west by muriel campbell dyar "the paths from the heights of abraham led to independence hall, independence hall led finally to yorktown, and yorktown guided the footsteps of your fathers to marietta."--_daniels._ at the point where the muskingum empties into the ohio, the river beautiful, across whose waters the ohio hills look tenderly away into the distances of west virginia, there was sown, in , the tiny seed for the development of the northwest territory. here, on the memorable seventh of april, landed forty-eight new england pioneers; here stayed the keel of the second _mayflower_, bearing as her burden not only the men whose names have become immortal in american history, but, more than these, the ordinance of with its momentous articles of compact--an ordinance ranking "next to the declaration of independence in the establishment of constitutional liberty in the united states." here was founded that other plymouth, marietta, the brave little gateway through which the nation's civilization journeyed onward from the atlantic seaboard to the fallow empires of the west. [illustration marietta.] no seer was needed to foreshadow the success the marietta colony was to have. two years before its coming, the character of the colony was presaged when there met in boston, at the bunch of grapes tavern, whose gilded sign creaked temptingly in her high salt winds, a convention called by general rufus putnam and general benjamin tupper for the formation of the ohio company, with the purpose of founding a new state in the territory northwest of the ohio river. the company was composed of high-minded men, largely officers in the late war. in their petition to congress for the purchase of western land they stipulated, for its organization, law and order, provision for education and for the maintenance of religion and the total exclusion of slavery. for these compacts, some of the greatest statesmen in the young republic brought to bear the power of their genius; for these, the quiet ipswich clergyman, manasseh cutler, as agent of the ohio company, pleaded with matchless eloquence in congress; for these, rufus putnam, the "father and founder of ohio," gave the largess of his ability and rugged force. "an interlude in congress," says mr. bancroft, "was shaping the character and destiny of the united states of america. sublime and humane and eventful as was the result, it will not take many words to show how it was brought about. for a time wisdom and peace and justice dwelt among men, and the great ordinance which alone could give continuance to the union came in serenity and stillness. every man that had a share in it seemed to be moved by an invisible hand to do just what was wanted of him; all that was wrongfully undertaken fell by the wayside; whatever was needed for the happy completion of the work arrived opportunely and at the right moment moved into its place." to the forty-eight men sent into the wilderness by the ohio company history gives a generous and well-merited praise. they were of the same race and of the same upright faith as the brave englishmen who in landed on the bleak, gray rock of plymouth. all that was true and forceful in the plymouth faith was theirs; they had the same love of law and religion, the same genius for order and a firm self-government, the same courage of conviction, the same independence of thought and action. they possessed, too, much of that ancient war-ready temper which had shorn the english king of his divine right and had created for the english people the house of commons. their heroism had adorned every battlefield of the revolution; their roll included generals, majors, colonels and captains. "no colony in america," said washington, with that cautious, unerring judgment of his, "was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that about to commence at the muskingum. information, property and strength will be its characteristics. i know many of the settlers personally, and there never were men better calculated to promote the welfare of such a community." "i know them all," cried the marquis de la fayette, his fine french voice trembling with emotion when the list of their names was read to him on his visit to marietta. "i knew them at brandywine, yorktown and rhode island. they were the bravest of the brave." general putnam himself was at their head, the "impress of whose character is strongly marked on the population of marietta in their business, institutions and manners." here were samuel h. parsons, the distinguished general, the able writer, the accomplished jurist; james m. varnum, the brilliant scholar, the gallant officer; abraham whipple, the brave commodore, to whom belongs the glory of firing the first naval gun in the cause of american independence, an act that gave birth to the american navy. here were winthrop sargent, the secretary of the territory, benjamin tupper, the hero of many battles and the devoted friend of putnam in the forming of the ohio company; return jonathan meigs, afterwards governor of ohio. here were nye, buell, cutler, fearing, foster, sproat, cushing, goodale, dana, true, devol and others no less worthy and distinguished, whose names are the richest heritage of their descendants. [illustration general rufus putnam.] the story of the coming of the pioneers is a twice-told tale to the student of our nation's history. in the disheartening gray dawn of a december morning, , the first little band paraded before manasseh cutler's own church at ipswich, and, after the firing of a salute, started "for the ohio country," as their leading wagon proclaimed. another joined this at danvers, and yet another, pushing on from famous old rutland, started from hartford, ct., led by the beloved and always inspiring general putnam. the toilsome journey overland, along an old indian trail through connecticut and pennsylvania, at that season of the year white with winter, ended at last at the ohio river. here, at sumrill's ferry, out of timber that still sang of the forests, was built the _mayflower_, her bows raking like a galley, her burthen fifty tons--a humble enough namesake of the famous pilgrim vessel. as the pioneers went onward down the river, the snow, which at first lay heavy in the hollows of the hills, melted into thin patches here and there, until, when they reached fort harmar, at the fair mouth of the muskingum, april bourgeoned into unexpected beauty about them. it was a golden augury for the little town, to which its soldier founders gave the name of marietta, in grateful remembrance of the sympathy of marie antoinette for the colonies during the weary period of their revolution, a name which still keeps her citizens lovers of that ill-fated queen of france. [illustration old blockhouse, marietta.] enthusiastic news of the first summer of the colony went back over the mountains to ipswich and rutland. "the climate is exceeding healthy," blithely carols one of the old letters, "not a man sick since we have been here. we have started twenty buffalo in a drove--deer are plenty as sheep in new england. turkeys are innumerable. we have already planted a field of one hundred and fifty acres in corn." another settler drips from his ecstatic, and, we trust, veracious quill, "the corn has grown nine inches in twenty-four hours for two or three days past." the garrison, very soon erected for defence and called the campus martius in academic quaintness, is described as the "handsomest pile of buildings this side of the alleghanies," and as presenting an appearance of almost mediæval stateliness and strength, bastioned as it was with great blockhouses and surrounded by a stout double wall of palisades. the fourth of july was celebrated by a great "banquet," eaten in a bowery set up on the banks of the muskingum; its menu tickles even a jaded modern palate--venison barbecued, buffalo steaks, bear-meat, roasted pigs, "the choicest delicacy of all," and a great pike, six feet long, the largest ever caught in the river. "we kept it up till after twelve o'clock at night," succinctly observes one of the participants, "and then went home and slept until after daylight." on the fifteenth of july, a yet more memorable occasion, general st. clair, the first governor of the northwest territory, was welcomed with great ceremonies, and the ordinance of was read with much solemnity in the midst of profound silence. in early august a pleasant little ripple of diversion was caused by the arrival of the families of the pioneers. in the latter part of the same month, dr. cutler made a visit to the settlement, and delivered the first sermon ever preached at marietta. in september was opened the first court of common pleas in the territory. it was an august spectacle. the sheriff, colonel ebenezer sproat, of the massachusetts line, preceded by a military escort, marched with his drawn sword and wand of office ahead of the governor, judges, secretary and others, to the blockhouse where the court was held. as the picturesque little procession wound its way along the river banks, the friendly indians, loitering about the new city, admired immensely the mighty form of colonel sproat, who, being six feet four inches tall, towered conspicuously above his companions. ever thereafter they called him hetuck, or big buckeye, and ever since then the natives of ohio have been dubbed "buckeyes." great provisions were made for good order in the settlement; almost before the seeds of new england harvests had germinated in the virgin soil, marietta had her pillory, whipping post and stocks for the discipline of evil-doers, instruments of torture which lingered as late as . every man was ordered to "entertain emigrants, visit the sick, feed the hungry, attend funerals, cabin-raisings, log-rollings, huskings and to keep his latch-string always out." once during the fruitful summer the settlers assembled to attend a funeral, for the first death in the colony occurred in august, when little nabby cushing, daughter of major cushing, passed away. she was buried tenderly in the alien soil, where, in an unmarked grave, she is slumbering still. although many years have come and gone between, a vague pity stirs to-day at the thought of that little pioneer baby, whose feet so soon grew weary in the vast wilderness. the hospitality of the latch-strings was put to the test two years later, when a hapless colony of frenchmen took shelter in the town, lured into the wilderness by the unscrupulous agent of a land company, with the promise that they should find a land where there were no taxes to pay, no military services to be performed, where frost, even in winter, was entirely unknown and where candles grew ready-made on the bushes and sugar dripped spontaneously from the trees. they were a curious crew: carvers, gilders, wig-makers and hair-dressers from paris, even a viscount of broken-down fortunes and a young marquis, with a few peasants as helpless as themselves in the new conditions,--hardly a mother's son of them able to plough or reap or chop for himself, and many a man without a sou in his pocket. the major part of them drifted down the river that winter to what is now gallipolis, the city of the gauls, where they at once began to give balls in the cabins which the marietta settlers helped them build, and proceeded to spend what little money they had in hiring american hunters to bring them game! a few became citizens of marietta, notably monsieur thiery, a parisian baker and confectioner, who quickly adapted himself to the new life, and made toothsome little sweet-cakes and bread for the settlement,--there is a tradition that while louis philippe was whiling away his exile in the united states, he visited marietta, where he had the pleasure of eating a fair wheaten loaf of his countryman's baking, and monsieur cookie, bred to no trade, very short and very stout, who wore at all times and in all seasons a very tall steeple-crowned hat which once saved his life, when the indians, catching sight of it bobbing up and down in the paw-paw bushes, fired at it in a vain attempt to hit the head within. after the sober jollity of the first summer, the marietta colonists experienced the hardships which every early settlement knows. they had their "sick years, their times of famine and their indian wars." the sick years played a sad havoc in their numbers by dreadful scourges of epidemic diseases. the famous starving-time came in the spring and summer of . a black frost falling out of due season ruined their crops, and the indians, already beginning their hostilities, had driven from the forest every startled wild thing within their reach. it was a period that tried the puritan mettle, for the solace of religion may prove vain if the stomach be empty. the only food was nettle-tops and the tender shoots of the pigeon-berry, boiled with a little corn pounded on the hominy block. occasionally a hunter, faring far afield, brought in a bit of bear-meat or a wild turkey, which made a feast at least fitting if not full. the heroic matrons sipped spice-bush tea, unsweetened, in lieu of a more stimulating beverage. many a heart turned back in homesick longing to where the blue haze curled comfortably from new england kitchens, but hope returned with the early squashes. the new corn crop was abundant, and from that day to this, whatever may have been their vicissitudes of fortune, the citizens of marietta have never again been reduced to a starvation diet. a much graver calamity, coming not long after, was the indian wars, which were not to end for five long, weary years. during this time the town was strained to its generous capacity to receive under the shelter of the campus martius the men, women and children from remoter settlements. the settlers worked in the fields like the israelites at the rebuilding of the walls of jerusalem,--every man with his weapon in his hand. on the puncheon cabin-floors, mothers rocked their babies in the first cradles of ohio, while often, on some far-off hill, they could see savage warriors brandishing their blood-stained hatchets in defiance at the fort. the news of the defeat of general st. clair's expedition caused consternation, and threatened for a time to break up the settlement. so disastrous was the defeat that when in mad anthony wayne camped on the general's battlefield, his soldiers could not lie down to sleep for the bones of the unfortunate army. humiliated by his misfortune and its implied disgrace, the governor soon left his marietta home. the colonists mourned with his loss that of his daughter louisa, so brave, so lovely, so brilliant, that it seems no mere legend that the great indian chief, brandt, was madly in love with her. in the grim terror of the times, an amusing incident now and then comes like a lilt of girlish laughter. once the signal gun gave the alarm that the indians were besieging the town. the night was dark and the confusion indescribable. men rushed to their posts and the women and children scuttled to the central blockhouse. colonel sproat led the way with a box of valuable papers; next came a woman with her bed and children, and tumbling after her, old mr. moulton, with his leathern apron full of goldsmith's tools and tobacco. his daughter anna carried the china tea-pot. lyddy brought the great bible. when all were in the frightened cry was raised that mrs. moulton was missing--that she had been scalped by the indians. "oh, no," said lyddy calmly, "she'll be here in a minute. she stopped to put things a little to rights; she said she _would not_ leave the house _looking so_." and in a few moments the old lady scuttled in, bearing the looking-glass--a triumph of new england housewifery! a certain regularity of living was maintained in spite of the continuous fear. every sabbath morning church was held in a blockhouse where psalms were droned with puritan unction, and the sermon by mr. story, the scholarly massachusetts divine, was tasted with much critical acumen by the learned backwoodsmen, many of whom were graduates of harvard and dartmouth. on the long sabbath afternoons the children of the settlement studied their catechisms in the simple log cabin of mrs. mary lake, the earnest woman who thus started what was perhaps the first sunday-school in the united states. on week days they were gathered together for lessons, nor was the rod kept in less perpetual pickle because of the proximity of the indians. [illustration the mills homestead, marietta.] the war once over, a busy activity ensued. mills were built, bridges made, and more comfortable houses erected. it was not strange that the sons of the old coast states, with the siren voice of the sea still in their ears, should become notable builders of ships. the great trees of the forest were masts ready for felling, and many a stately vessel slipped into the water from this inland ship-yard, to glide down the ohio into the mississippi, and from thence to the shining ocean beyond. the town became a centre of industry and traffic, a position which she was not long to keep, for gradually trade drifted from her, and by and by she fell asleep commercially beside her pleasant waters, to nod and dream serenely through years to come. but not only was the early marietta noted for her industrial prosperity; she was a centre of culture as well, and her place in this regard she has never lost. as soon as a greater wealth and leisure came to the pioneer colony, there bloomed abundantly the flowers of an intellectual refinement, which was the birth-right of those heroic men and women. [illustration harman blennerhassett.] it is with this gracious era, redolent of sweet old customs and stately courtesies, that there is associated the romantic, old-time tragedy of the blennerhassetts. on the lovely island lying some twelve miles below marietta, harman blennerhassett, the dreamy irish exile, built his idyllic mansion, whose grandeur was the wonder of the west. "a shrubbery that shenstone might have envied," wrote wirt, "blooms around him. music that might have charmed calypso and her nymphs, is his. an extensive library spreads its treasures before him. a philosophical apparatus offers him all the secrets and mysteries of nature. peace, tranquillity, and innocence shed their mingled delights about him. and to crown the enchantment of the scene, a wife, who is said to be lovely even beyond her sex, and graced with every accomplishment that can render it irresistible, has blessed him with her love." [illustration mrs. blennerhassett.] here he plotted a new empire with the bad and brilliant aaron burr, whose hands were still red with the blood of the murdered alexander hamilton; and from here he fled accused of treason to his country, disgraced and ruined. memories of the "blennerhassett days" are many, for the great man was for several years a partner of dudley woodbridge, the first merchant of marietta, and both he and his accomplished wife were familiar figures in marietta homes. fancy, inspired by local annals, has a charming glimpse of the loving mistress of the hospitable mansion, dashing through the woods on her spirited horse, like some brilliant tropical bird, in her habit of scarlet cloth, and white hat with the long drooping plume. a pretty story is told of her wit and beauty at the famous "burr ball" which the fashion of marietta once gave in honor of the crafty statesman and his daughter theodosia. to-day, the site of the regal dwelling is marked only by an old well and some magnificent trees. "blennerhassett's island" is a point of attraction for pleasure-seekers, who give little enough thought to its sad story; but sometimes there journeys to it a lover of past years who looks with blurred eyes at the spot where once was enacted one of the most pathetic little tragedies in all american history. but marietta is not altogether a tale of yesterdays; she has as well her to-day, with its rich promise for the morrow. to-day, a stranger in the town has pointed out to him "new" and "old" marietta. in new marietta, brought into existence by the discovery of vast surrounding oil-fields, there are thriving factories, modern business blocks, new hotels, improved school-buildings, electric cars; there are evidences of wealth and business prosperity, and signs of an increasing population. this commercial progress, from a civic standpoint, is undeniably a benefit, yet it must be admitted, for the time being, it gives marietta a little the appearance of a kindly, old-style grandmother, startled from a long afternoon nap in the chimney-corner, to find her cap gone, her scanty petticoats replaced by strangely ample frills, and the caraway seeds in her limp black bag supplanted by indigestible bon-bons. in old marietta the scene shifts. here is the drowsy peace of a new england village; here are wide streets shaded by avenues of splendid trees, and ancient houses, generous-portalled, serene. here is the burring of bees in old-fashioned gardens. and is not this lingering fragrance the smell of the lotos-flower? [illustration marietta college buildings.] the glory of the old dispensation is the venerable college, whose buildings cluster picturesquely on the green lift of college hill. founded in the fear of god by the first scholars of ohio, it has behind it a proud history. at its head have stood men of rich culture and ability, among whose names shines pre-eminently that of israel ward andrews. in the list of its instructors have been scholars who have led it upward to all that is noblest and best. from its classes have gone out students who have taken a fitting and often distinguished place in the professions and in politics. when the call of came, the student sons of marietta responded with a gallant patriotism and a devoted service, some among them winning the highest recognition. to-day, with its able faculty, its fine library, its well equipped class-rooms, it holds no mean place in the roll of american colleges. it pays to its past the precious thanks of a worthy present. and with happy confidence it looks forward to its future, under the guidance of its sixth and latest president, alfred tyler perry, but recently called to its leadership from hartford theological seminary. [illustration mound cemetery, marietta.] in the old mound cemetery sleep an honored dead. in its center is the prehistoric mound, as well preserved to-day as when it was discovered by the pioneer fathers, a vast monument to the unknown fittingly encircled by the quiet dignity of this ancient acre of god. general putnam's grave is marked by a plain granite monument, bearing the simple inscription more touching than the loftiest eulogy: general rufus putnam a revolutionary officer and the leader of the colony which made the first settlement in the territory of the north-west. born april , , died may , . [illustration ohio company's land office.] not far from him are the majority of the revolutionary heroes who came with him from new england. it is claimed that there are buried here more officers of the revolution than in any other burying-ground in the united states. about them lie thirteen soldiers of the war of , and a number of the brave men who fought in the mexican war. here too, are the resting-places of many early citizens of marietta, who are as a "choir invisible" "of those immortal dead, who live again in minds made better by their presence." the gates are seldom open now to the silent caravans, for the graves in the cloistral grass lie close. many relics of bygone days make old marietta interesting. the streets running north and south bear yet the names given them by the early settlers, of washington and his generals. the "sacra via" and the breezy "capitolium" and "tiber way" bear witness to an old scholarship. "the point" recalls the picketed point of the indian wars. there still stands the ohio company's land office, a wee, weather-beaten building, gray with time, probably the oldest structure in ohio. opposite this is the old homestead of rufus putnam, which stood within the campus martius. on the park, fronting the river, is the quaint two horn church of the congregationalists, erected in the wilderness in and now ohio's oldest church building. on the same street where it stands is the stately old mansion of governor meigs, which was built two years earlier and which still holds an honored place among marietta's beautiful homes. in families whose names mark their descent from the "forty-eight immortals" are treasured numerous heirlooms,--ancestral portraits which look from their tarnished frames pink-cheeked, confident and calm; old dresses, dim and faintly odorous; and divers warming-pans, candlesticks and blennerhassett chairs, together with sundry bits of sprigged, delightful china. [illustration old two horn church.] "age is a recommendation in four things," runs a spanish proverb: "old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, old books to read." to these might well be added a fifth,--old towns to love. to those who know her, marietta is a hallowed spot. she is a tender-bosomed matron, this mother of many sons. around her is a fair line of hills, which, whether green with the eternal promise of the spring, or wrapped in the blue smoke from autumn's invisible battlefield, or hoary with winter's snows, are changelessly beautiful. about her are broad fields, now quivering to their resurrection, now white to the harvests. before her are the lovely, far-stretching rivers, calling to her all day long with their old, sweet notes of running water. by the bonds of her historic beauty she holds her children in a very tender thrall. in all times, and in all places, their hearts yearn unto her in the far horatian cry: "septimius,--_that angle of the earth laughs for me beyond all others_!" [illustration] [illustration] cleveland the pleasant city by charles f. thwing the first thing to be said about cleveland is what, with the change of a pronoun, a cambridge poet said about one of whom he wrote: "it is so pleasant." its streets are pleasant to live in and to look upon; its parks are pleasant to stroll in or to ride in; its houses are, on the whole, pleasant to the æsthetic sense; its libraries are pleasant for their selectness though not for their bigness; its people are, above all, pleasant for their dignity, graciousness, genuineness, simplicity and appreciation. in the year the late asa gray spent a short time in cleveland, and wrote from cleveland to a friend, saying that the city would "ultimately be a very pleasant place"; he adds: "the people show some signs of civilization; they eat ice cream, which is sold in many places."[ ] i wish i were able to assure my old friend and neighbor, as he now lives with the immortelles and other fadeless flowers, that he has proved to be a true prophet: cleveland has become a "very pleasant place," and possibly i might be allowed to assure him that signs of the ice-age of modern civilization still linger. in that relation in which men commonly use the word "pleasant," the weather, cleveland is not pleasant. it has as much cloudy weather as almost any part of the world; and yet it has a pleasant climate. its summers are not hot, its winters not cold. to the worker of any sort this pleasant climate of much unpleasant weather is very pleasing, for in it, as in the climate of london, one can get much work out of himself. [illustration view in gordon park.] cleveland is a singular creation of contraries. it is an inland town, but it builds more vessels and owns more vessels than almost any other in the united states. about a quarter of all the steel vessels, rated in tonnage, built in the united states in the last fiscal year of the government were constructed in cleveland, the order of precedence being cleveland, newport news, chicago, and detroit; and almost three quarters of the modern steel ships in service on the great lakes are owned or operated by cleveland vesselmen. it is a city of four hundred thousand people, but it impresses both the visitor and the resident as a big village or a series of big villages. from it can be reached in a long or short night's ride, new york and chicago, buffalo and st. louis, detroit and cincinnati; within seven hundred miles of cleveland dwell more than half the entire population of the country, and yet cleveland has been called provincial. its homes are among the most palatial of the world, but the owners of not a few are more at home in new york and paris than on euclid avenue. it is distinguished for its iron, steel and coal interests, but it has scholars and teachers who are known where its steel rails have never been carried. it is a city of the east, and it is also a city of the west--of the east it is the newest, of the west it is the oldest. it is often called conservative, but it is also distinguished by its sense of power and of progress. it represents in its citizens a pure new england type; but it has also gathered up folks from all over the world,--"parthians, and medes, and elamites, ... strangers of rome, jews and proselytes, cretes and arabians," who read their newspapers in a dozen different languages. but, be it said, the new england, the connecticut and massachusetts type still dominates. the names of the families which are most representative of the things of the spirit include a large number of new england names. [illustration chamber of commerce, cleveland.] this city of contraries and of contrasts is yet made a great city by only one or two simple elements. one may say that lake erie makes cleveland. were there no lake erie there would be no cleveland. but lake erie is the occasion and not the cause. one may say that the age of steel makes cleveland. but that this age is the age of steel is only the condition, not the cause. the cause that makes cleveland cleveland is that at or near cleveland the various elements that are necessary in the manufacture of iron and steel can be most economically and efficiently assembled. the iron ores from the lake superior region, the coal from the massillon, mohoning and pennsylvania region, the limestone from the lake erie islands and southern shores, can here be most profitably brought together. cleveland is, too, by rail and by boat a good point for the distribution of the finished product as well as a good point for the bringing together of the crude material. here ore, coal and lime meet and mingle as naturally as the heat of the sun and the life of the seed unite in the springtime. nothing can prevent their meeting, and little can subsidies or other artificial stimulus do to promote it. from this union spring forth factories making nuts and bolts and sewing-machines and engines and the thousand products and by-products of this age and place of steel. therefore cleveland is cleveland. [illustration soldiers' and sailors' monument, cleveland.] it may not only be said that cleveland is herself; it should also be added that cleveland has done some things first which are worth doing anyway, and which are especially worth doing first. as among the colleges williams and harvard have done not a few first things, so among the cities cleveland may claim a certain priority. the city was, if not the first, among the first to adopt the federal system of municipal government, a system which, after ten years of usefulness, has proved to be like every other form of democratic government, good if good men are in control, and bad if bad men are in control. cleveland was the first to adopt the proper method for the government and administration of its public schools, namely the separation of the business side of the administration from the educational, a system, too, which, like the more general plan of government, finds its efficiency in the character of the men who administer it. in cleveland, too, was organized the great epworth league of the methodist episcopal church. here, too, one of the first women in america to enter the medical profession was trained in the old medical college, now a part of the western reserve university. here the recondite experiments were made by morley for determining the atomic weight of oxygen, and practical experiments by brush for giving the best light, as well as the important experiments also made by brush which resulted in adding "etherion" to the elements. here, also, important facilities in the use of the public library and in the making of finest machinery, such as is used in astronomical apparatus, were first applied. one, too, should not in a commercial age be suffered to forget that in cleveland the standard oil company was born and grew to be a lusty youth. this city of first things had as its first man and founder, one whose name it bears, moses cleveland. a connecticut man, born in canterbury, windham county, in , graduated at yale in , admitted to the bar, interrupting his professional practice by service in the revolutionary army, serving in the connecticut legislature and also in the state militia, moses cleveland was made agent for the connecticut land company in , and came into the historic territory of new connecticut, or the western reserve.[ ] he seems to have had those elements which usually are found in founders of states and builders of cities. reserved in speech, vigorous in action, friendly with all, grave, shrewd, he was born to command. his career was brief: he died in the town of his birth in ; but he lived long enough to entertain a rational hope of the future greatness of the city he founded and named. it is said that he once remarked: "while i was in new connecticut i laid out a town, on the bank of lake erie, which was called by my name, and i believe the child is now born that may live to see it grow as large as old windham." moses cleveland was a prophet at once true and false. cleveland became as large as old windham and even larger, in the lifetime of children born in the last decade of the eighteenth century. the method by which cleveland has attained the first place in its state, and the seventh place in the united states, is a process, a growth, and not a manufacture. in the year , thirty-four years after the coming of moses cleveland, it had only a thousand people; but the one thousand had increased to six thousand by , and in the next ten years the six thousand increased threefold. in the next ten years the number more than doubled, becoming forty-three thousand in , and yet again doubled in the following decade. by , it had become ninety-two thousand. the doubling process could not long continue, but it came so near it that in there were one hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants, in two hundred and sixty thousand and more, and in almost four hundred thousand. [illustration armory of the cleveland grays.] a growth more normal and steady, a growth which has also carried along with itself elements far more precious than mere size, it would be hard to find. for these folks do not deserve the epithet which carlyle applied to london's millions. they are a people of vigor, initiative, progressiveness, carefulness, wealth, work, comfortableness, and good-heartedness. cleveland may be conservative; but it is the conservatism of the english nation which emerson describes in saying: "the slow, deep english mass smoulders with fire, which at last sets all its borders in flame." cleveland's fires are the fires of anthracite and not of straw. a city of comfort, cleveland has no london's east end. i do not believe that in any other population of the world of its size can be found so few hungry stomachs or homeless bodies. work abounds. all men work. its rich men are workers, and, what is far more exceptional, the sons of its rich men are workers. its wealth is of the solid sort. it represents investments which pay dividends every six months, and which represent the advancement of every commercial and manufacturing interest. but cleveland is obliged to acknowledge that not a few of its rich men are legal citizens of new york city, ostracized from its pleasant borders by what they and others regard as the unjust tax laws of the state. the city has not yet reached the condition in which it is understood that in case a will is probated representing a large estate which fails to give at least a considerable sum to charity or to education, the court shall set it aside on the ground that the testator was of unsound mind. of course money is given away both by gift and by bequest, but more, on the whole, by gift than by bequest, and in large amounts, but not in amounts so large as prevail in communities of an age of two hundred and seventy-five years rather than of one hundred. the rate of increase which money may make for itself is so great, that the holder and the maker hesitate to part with such a remunerative agent. yet the beneficence viewed in the light of decades is great. a noble school of science, a noble college and university, including professional schools, a noble foundation for an art school, are easily found among the more obvious tokens. hospitals and orphanages, private schools, endowed churches, young men's christian association buildings, parks and college settlements, are ready proof of private beneficence for public ends. testimony should also be borne to the wisdom as well as the generosity which characterize the giving of this people. my pen refuses to write names, but it is free to say that to find beneficence which is, it shall not be said so little harmful, but which is so gloriously efficient, as the beneficence of some of cleveland's noblest women and men would be difficult. with the gift, before the gift, and after the gift goes the wisdom as well as the graciousness of the giver. one, too, should not neglect to say that in not a few of the great manufacturing concerns of cleveland prevails a spirit that the employer owes to the employee something more than wages. the dividend to labor consists, in the more obvious relations, in providing rest and recreation rooms, facilities for eating the midday luncheon, and in doing what can be done in creating associations and conditions which make for the enrichment of life and the betterment of character. [illustration lake in wade park, showing adelbert college in the distance.] of course cleveland has societies and clubs: clubs into which the worthiest life of the community naturally organizes itself for worthiest purposes, and clubs which represent the life that is simply worthy and of which the purposes are not the highest. clubs of women and clubs of men, clubs social and clubs professional, clubs literary and clubs commercial, clubs anthropological and clubs sociological, clubs chemical and clubs engineering, clubs collegiate and clubs pedagogical, clubs athletic and clubs æsthetic, clubs piscatorial and clubs ecclesiastical, clubs architectural and clubs of free-traders, clubs for municipal improvement and clubs for no improvement of any kind--they all and many others are found in this very pleasant city. and underneath all these associations and organizations it is easy to discover the growth of a distinctly civic spirit, also manifest in special movements and conditions. the endeavor to build in one group buildings so important as a county court-house, a city hall, a public library and others reveals the willingness to surrender individual advantages to the public weal. the attempt to deal largely and justly with all municipal franchises proves the presence of a desire to serve all as well as each. the municipal association, an organization of a few gentlemen of high purpose and of patience as well as of great influence, has, in recommending or in refusing to recommend certain candidates for office, promoted the growth of a public sense out of which it has itself sprung. the determination that the public schools shall not be used for partisan purposes is perhaps as strong an illustration as could be given of the presence and potency of the civic spirit of cleveland. [illustration perry's monument, wade park, cleveland.] in the three great professions are found noble members. in this triple service is manifest a high tableland of general excellence rather than a level broken by high and distinct peaks of individual conspicuousness. the highest relative standing belongs, i judge, to the members of the medical profession. this prominence may be the result of the presence for more than fifty years of a medical school which has numbered among its faculty some great investigators and teachers. but not a few of those who are examples of highest service have been unwilling, it must be said, to remain in cleveland. as the atlantic draws down the level of the great lakes, so the territory of the atlantic draws away some (not all) of the more eminent members of the great professions. the supply however never becomes exhausted, nor does it deteriorate. [illustration] [illustration constance fenimore woolson.] but the most eminent of cleveland's people belong to the literary or political class rather than to the strictly professional. the earliest of the writers who spread cleveland's fame and his own was artemus ward. it was a short career enough which artemus ward had, and its cleveland part covered only two years, but while it lasted it bore one of cleveland's daily papers round the world on the wings of his wit. one cannot forget that here lived and wrote john hay, beloved as among the best of men as well as honored as the most efficient of secretaries of state. james ford rhodes here fitted himself while engaged in business to begin his career as a fascinating writer of later american history. constance fenimore woolson was a cleveland child, although not born here, and the great lakes are the scenes of her stories. mrs. sarah knowles bolton, writer of useful and pleasing biographies and other books, divides her residence between boston and cleveland. charles w. chesnutt, too, is esteemed not only for his sketches but also for a distinct charm of character. cleveland would like to claim that rare poet and great soul, edward rowland sill, for his home was only a few miles away, and in cleveland he died, in . one should not decline to say that books written by college professors may not only be the material for literature but also literature itself. such books, written in cleveland, are neither few nor barren. the eminence in politics of the cleveland man belongs rather to the present than to the past. if one should name the gentlemen who have served the city in the national congress the names would to most prove to be without significance. the name of senator payne--and he had been long associated with the life of the city--one recalls, but no name has the meaning of the name of wade or of giddings, who came from the little town of jefferson, a few miles east of cleveland, or of sherman, who came from the south. hayes, garfield and mckinley might be called citizens of the greater cleveland. at the present time, however, in both the senate and the house the city is not without able and significant representation. [illustration garfield memorial, cleveland.] like a piece of music the chapter returns upon itself. it began with the argument that cleveland is so pleasant. from the breakwater which the government builds to keep cleveland great and to make it greater, along the avenues of residence or of trade, even through its smoky and sooty atmosphere,--sign of prosperity,--out mile after mile to the city of the dead where the well-beloved garfield sleeps in nobly wrought sepulchre, in all and through all, cleveland is pleasant. pleasant to live in, pleasant to work in, i know, and pleasant to go to heaven from, i hope, is cleveland. [illustration] footnotes: [ ] _letters of asa gray_, i., . [ ] this section, known as the western reserve, lying between parallels forty-one and forty-two, and a line one hundred and twenty miles west of the western line of pennsylvania and parallel with it, was "reserved" to connecticut when she ceded to the united states certain territory which she had received from the grant of charles ii. of this territory connecticut granted one half million of acres to such of her soldiers as had suffered from the british during the revolution. the larger, if not the entire, part of the balance passed into the control of a private-public corporation, known as the connecticut land company. [illustration] cincinnati always a strategic point by milton e. ailes on the day before christmas, , twenty-six adventurous men, in deerskin hunting shirts and leggins, with tomahawk, powder-horn and scalping knife at their belts, embarked at limestone on the ohio river in rude barges of their own construction, and fighting their way through dangerous floes, proceeded on a journey which was to prove memorable in the annals of american colonization. these pilgrims were well aware of the perils and tragedies awaiting them, for their mission was to build them homes and found a city on the edge of the rich miami valley, through which mixed tribes of raging shawnees, senecas, iroquois and miamis roamed, determined to halt the threatening advance of the hated paleface. the indian braves realized that a crucial moment in their history had come. their allies, the british, had gone down in defeat before the thirteen fires. henceforth the tribes must look to their own councils, and rely upon their own strength, and they swore grimly that the ohio should run with blood, and that the advent of every western pioneer should bring an additional scalp for the grewsome decoration of their lodges. but these hardy voyagers, now celebrating a frugal christmas as they steered their course down the swollen and half-frozen ohio, were not to be turned aside by impending conflict with savage tribes. to meet grave danger like brave men was for them no new experience; they had passed through seven years of revolution; they had stood the trying tests of honorable hardships, and were now making their way to found a community which was to develop within a few generations into one of the greatest inland cities of the world. four days they fought their way through floating masses of débris and ice, finally finding their haven in sycamore inlet, opposite the mouth of the licking river. to-day the traveller, smoking meditatively in a pullman, will cover the same distance before he has occasion to light a fresh cigar. in a grove of sycamores, osiers and water maples they struck their flint and built their fires. there was no theatrical assertion of dominion, nor is it on record that sacred rites were invoked to consecrate the struggle for civilization that was to centre round this far outpost of the republic, and yet their first performance was one of the most dramatic incidents in western history; for, knowing that savage armies lurked in the dim woods that overhung the terraces above them, these twenty-six hardy anglo-saxons dismantled the crafts that had carried them into the far wilderness, and converted the planks and timbers of their barges into cabins. there was to be no retreat. in the name of the new democracy, they established the primitive beginnings of a great city in the very centre of the famous indian path over which for unnumbered centuries naked aborigines from the great lakes to the kentucky hunting grounds had hurried to battle or the chase. the new settlement thus became a bold and significant challenge to the red man, and in its fate was involved the future of the west and of the nation. the earthquake of war, which the founding of cincinnati invited, was not long delayed, and when it came it startled washington from his incomparable composure, and shook the republic to its foundations. from the moment of its inception, cincinnati was the most important point on the ohio river. other settlements, it is true, at the start hoped to outstrip cincinnati in population. there was marietta, founded two months before, which had a more romantic birth. and there was north bend, which enjoyed the personal backing of john cleves symmes, the famous pioneer who superintended the first development of the miami valley, and from whom denman, patterson and filson, the promoters of the settlement that subsequently became cincinnati, purchased the site of that city. these and other settlements along the river were, for a time, pointed to with pride by their founders as the coming commercial centres. cincinnati, moreover, began life with an impossible name. filson, a fantastic pedagogue who had drifted into kentucky, combining a smattering of tongues with an unbridled imagination, compounded the name "losantiville," which means when interpreted, "the village opposite the mouth of the licking." historians, in malign humor, seem to rejoice in the sudden translation of this picturesque polyglot and town-site boomer, remarking with a certain gleeful unanimity of phrase that "shortly after naming the settlement he was scalped by the indians." [illustration tyler-davidson fountain.] the offer of free lots to original settlers did not give cincinnati pre-eminence, for similar lures were held out by other aspiring communities along the ohio; nor will it be seriously contended that the location there of fort washington, although this made the spot the headquarters of the american army in the northwest, gave cincinnati a superior start, for the sense of security expected because of the presence of the united states garrison was not abiding. general harmar marched to defeat in from this pioneer fort and arsenal, and the victorious savages pursued him until their cries of exultation terrified the little hamlet clustered about the military station. then came st. clair, bold and assertive. heroes of the revolution had founded the town. the fort had been named in honor of the great general and president, and as both town and fort represented the extension into the west of that democratic strength of arms which had humbled the most powerful kingdom of europe, this new settlement from which civilization was to radiate into the western valleys should be dignified with the name of the order that held together in fraternal bond the grizzled survivors of the great war. and so losantiville, the dream of a bizarre scholar, became cincinnati. in the name of that order and city, st. clair went to war. but sickness laid him low, and he was carried to the field of battle wrapped in flannels. managing the forces against him was thayendanegea, the celebrated mohawk, or joseph brandt, as the english called him, as astute as tecumseh and as fearless. thayendanegea had been secretary to sir guy johnson. he had learned the tactics of civilized armies, and with masterful native cunning he planned to annihilate the forces of st. clair. nearly fifteen hundred officers and men marched away from cincinnati to crush the semi-savage captain who had directed the massacres of minisink and wyoming, and back to cincinnati in rout and dishonor, their guns and blankets abandoned, rushed in unspeakable terror a pitiful five hundred. before sundown on the day of that battle, november , , nearly a thousand scalps of white men dangled from the wigwams of the armies of thayendanegea. other communities along the ohio looked with envy upon the federal ramparts at cincinnati, but the protection afforded by the garrison was at first more fanciful than real. the pioneer clergymen of the town ventured to sabbath services cautiously, rifle in hand, peering down the dim aisles hewn through dense woods of linden and birch that led to a clearing, in the midst of which some charred stump served as a pulpit; or, as congregations grew, a log-built chapel housed the earnest worshippers. and by the law of cincinnati and the territory every communicant was required to go to the altar with loaded firearms, that savages, taking advantage of the hour of prayer to attack the town, might be repulsed. even when pews were built to give regularity to worship, the brethren were commanded to sit at the outer end, with their rifles in readiness. if fort washington had not been built or had been located elsewhere, cincinnati would have still become the metropolis of the ohio. here water highways crossed. and as it marked the path over which the red men had passed for ages, so now it became the intersecting point of civilized adventure. out of the shadows of the licking in their pirogues daniel boone and george rogers clark had hurried across the ohio to watch hostile campfires from the cincinnati hills, and thence had descended upon the barbarians to avenge crimes committed in kentucky. the long beaches at the cincinnati site afforded safe landing, while the settlement, secure upon the higher ground and the succession of terraces beyond, could not be engulfed by the periodical river floods. north and south the rivers that mingled their waters here furnished natural pathways to vast and fertile valleys. here, too, a vanished race once had had a city or perhaps a capital, for cincinnati is built upon extensive prehistoric ruins of the mound builders. it was a walled city with great gates, pyramids and sacrificial altars, and over these surviving memorials of a people whose origin and destiny are alike a mystery grew, when cincinnati was founded, oak, beech, sycamore and cedar, whose concentric rings revealed that hundreds of years had elapsed since the disappearance of the race which had reared these shrines and tombs and city walls. among the prehistoric pottery, the polished pipes of catlinite and stone axes such as a race of troglodytes might have swung to brain abhorrent monsters of forgotten periods, they will show you in the artistic cincinnati museum in eden park, the famed cincinnati tablet exhumed from a tumulus near fifth and mound streets in that city. some antiquarians believe the sculptured stone to be an astronomical calendar or a table of measurement and calculation. some have imagined it to be a sacred relic from the tomb of kings. nearby, in the same museum, you see records lucidly deciphered from the second theban dynasty, and carved inscriptions, intelligently translated, from the balustrade of the temple of athene, but scholarship is dumb and imagination is the only interpreter of these strange mementos of a race which found in the site of cincinnati a natural spot for the building of a large and fortified city. although the star of empire may have been destined at all hazards to pause over cincinnati until the tenth census of the united states should show that the center of the nation's population had moved westward to that city, there was grave alarm in the settlement when the soldiers of st. clair arrived in confusion and defeat. [illustration entrance to spring grove cemetery.] generations have thrilled over the story of the officer on horseback, who, bearing important news, hurried to the president, tossed his bridle reins to an orderly and leaped up the steps of washington's reception room only to find that the chief executive was dining with distinguished visitors and could not be disturbed. the officer was so importunate and so impressive that the secretary was impelled to grant him audience. the grave president listened without visible emotion to the whispered message from cincinnati, the officer departed, and washington returned to the banquet table. not one of his guests could guess that beneath the calm exterior the far-seeing statesman was experiencing one of the most tragic moments of his career. it was not merely that a trusted general had minimized warning and had met defeat, for washington had devoted a long life to warfare against both savage and civilized foes, and he was not to be easily moved by the uncertain fortune of battles. but he knew that the defeat which the soldiers of cincinnati had encountered now threatened the destiny of the country. the east and west were not yet riveted by steel rails into coherent union. beyond the alleghanies there were projects of a protectorate under france or spain, or both, and bolder dreams of a kentucky republic. with few connecting links with the east, what could hold the western empire, since the federal government had displayed inability to protect the pioneers? washington's guests departed unaware that their illustrious host who had entertained them with consummate decorum had during those hours felt the nation slipping beneath his feet. but when they had gone the pent spirit of the great leader, in one of the few instances of his lifetime, found expression in tumultuous grief and rage. he voiced in advance the storm of public protest, indignation and fear that broke out when the dismal tidings from cincinnati became known. and when congress learned that washington favored the creation of an army of five thousand to avenge the defeat of harmar and st. clair, there was little in the resourceful vocabulary of political abuse spared the president. anti-expansionists called him an imperialist bent on converting the republic into an empire. why send an army to inevitable slaughter beyond mountain frontiers in a vain struggle for the wilderness of the indians when the colonies then possessed more domain than the citizens of the republic would ever be able to use? fortunately the anti-expansionists, while mordant and powerful, could not prevail, and the war measures became law. anthony wayne, whose daring during the revolution had won for him the admiring sobriquet of "mad," then took command and hastened to cincinnati but none too soon. the six nations with little turtle as their spokesman had followed up their victories by demands that cincinnati, the capital of the northwest, should be abandoned and that the ohio should mark the perpetual boundary between the white man and the red. british arms bristled behind this native ultimatum, and at the rapids of the maumee, as if to stay wayne's advance, british forces built a fort and garrisoned it with three companies. the fears of washington seemed about to be realized. [illustration race street, cincinnati.] but at the battle of fallen timbers "mad anthony" scattered the allied tribes like forest leaves. nearly half a hundred mighty chiefs fell in that historic engagement, and in their defeat the indians christened their conquerer "big thunder" and for years trembled when they heard his name. cincinnati and ohio were saved to the republic. wayne in his campaign and in his no less notable treaties was brilliantly seconded by a young man who, unannounced and unwelcomed, landed at cincinnati on the day the broken columns of st. clair fell back upon the fort. the generals there looked upon his smooth cheeks and his boyish frame with soldierly disdain, one remarking that he would as readily send his sister to the front as entrust this beardless neophyte with the responsibilities of border warfare. this youth, in whose veins flowed the blood of one of cromwell's generals, was to shame his flippant critics, for he was to win a lieutenancy at the battle of fallen timbers, and rising steadily in the service of his country was to become a western napoleon, avenging the disasters of the river basin and detroit, defeating the powerful tecumseh at tippecanoe, laying firm and broad the foundations of northwestern statehood, serving in the senate of the united states, and finally going in triumph to the white house. cincinnati has fostered many famous sons, but none greater than william henry harrison. to many new communities the first settlers have gone with the hope of returning with fortunes to their former homes. cincinnati was founded and developed by men and women who came to stay. harrison identified himself with the west at the start by marrying the daughter of john cleves symmes, the miami pioneer, and to the harrison homestead near cincinnati, which for a quarter of a century had been an american mecca, the body of the famous general was borne for burial. from the start, self-reliance has been a prevailing characteristic of cincinnati. its isolation in the days of the canoe, the barge and the pack-horse, developed its originality. a copy of the _centinel of the northwest territory_, published in , graphically illustrates its remoteness at that period, for news from marietta had been eight days in arriving, lexington dispatches were twenty-one days old, fifty-six days had been consumed in getting the latest information from new york, and european news antedated the day of issue four months and a half. it was natural among such conditions that the city should look to itself as the centre of interest, and hence at an early day the journals of cincinnati, instead of canvassing distant localities for belated sensations, were encouraging local writers to entertain the public. it was the press of cincinnati that first gave the poems of alice and phoebe cary to the world, and they repaid it by conferring immortality in the world of letters upon the blue miami, where they spent the simple years of their girlhood. and thither, because of the fame their singing had won them, traveled horace greeley and other celebrities of the day to do these gifted sisters homage. in cincinnati was born gen. wm. h. lytle, author of _antony and cleopatra_, and it was the journalism of that city that gave inspiration to his pen. here, too, was directed the early genius of wm. d. howells, rutherford b. hayes, salmon p. chase, and other men who have dignified literature or public life. [illustration city hall, cincinnati.] savage yells had not ceased to echo in its surrounding woods before music began to charm in cincinnati. even before wayne came to silence the exultant war-cries of the tribes, thomas kennedy, in whose honor a street in covington is named, used to entertain the frontier society with his fiddle, and a mr. mclean, a butcher, took time to train the voices of the primitive colony. the rev. daniel doty, who visited cincinnati at an early day, was shocked at the singing and fiddling and dancing in the log cabins, as if the people "feared not god nor regarded indians." music, since directed in large measure by the german element in the city, has by its chorus, its musical groves, its saengerbund, haydn society, and other clubs, imparted distinction to cincinnati and made it the vienna of the american continent. it is not surprising that the pioneer butcher of the city found time from his chopping blocks to strike the tuning-fork, for cincinnati, even after the location there of fort washington, was many times on the verge of starvation, and would have starved but for the timely help of frontier hunters under the noted colonel wallace, who brought the meat of buffalo, bear and deer to the stricken settlement. to-day the city dines well. in truth, it is famed for its good cheer and its bohemian independence. cincinnati is a city of homes and churches, and singularly free from the crime that prowls in the slums of other cities. therefore some of its citizens take pride that the city is credited with being one of the greatest whiskey markets in america, that forty-three breweries and storage vaults are in demand, and that the city annually turns out , , packs of playing-cards, making it the largest center of this industry in the world. in many industries cincinnati leads. the wealth of cities throughout the continent is locked in banks and vaults manufactured in cincinnati. the cowboys on the plains and the horsemen on city paddocks sit in saddles fashioned in cincinnati. cigars by the millions in this country are packed in boxes manufactured in cincinnati. it produces more schoolbooks than any other city, and is near the head of the list in turning out religious publications. on the d of february, , a canoe left cincinnati with a federal mailbag consigned to pittsburg. this marked the beginning of regular service with the east. in early days, a cincinnati merchant seeking to buy goods in new york consumed sixty days in making the journey to the metropolis. to-day he may lunch in the queen city, take a train and lunch the following noon in manhattan. long before the advent of railways, cincinnati became a center of travel and distribution. as early as , a full-rigged brig took on a cargo at cincinnati and set sail for the west indies. not long after, and many years before fulton turned his attention to western waters, citizens of cincinnati met at yeatman's tavern to consider a "contrivance for transporting boats against the current by the power of steam or elastic vapor," but without tangible results; and, in fact, when the first steamboat did paddle noisily past the city the circumstance was dignified with only a four-line notice in the cincinnati press. before long, however, the steamboat revolutionized river travel, and thenceforth cincinnati leaped by bounds from a village to a great city, and every recurrent trip of these harbingers of vast commerce seemed to find a new suburb springing into bustling life on the cincinnati uplands. [illustration chamber of commerce, cincinnati.] the fact that this city was originally included and still remains in the new orleans customs district shows its accessibility to ocean traffic. its superiority in water communication is shown by a computation made by the cincinnati chamber of commerce regarding the relative cost of transporting freight from points of origin to all parts of the united states. the comparisons per pounds are as follows: from cincinnati, cents; chicago, cents; st. louis, cents; minneapolis, $ . . a similar computation applicable to a radius of miles from the point of origin gives the following averages per pounds: from cincinnati, cents; chicago, cents; st. louis, cents; minneapolis, $ . . while growing into greatness, cincinnati did not forget, in the critical times of the civil war, its honorable history as the former outpost of the republic. its trade was largely with the south, but sternly its citizens decided that arguments in favor of trade interests smacked of treason, and with stoic heroism closed the city to rebellion. and when lew wallace, fortifying cincinnati to anticipate attack, called for volunteers, the whole community responded, and from the ohio valleys came the sharp-shooting "squirrel hunters" in procession seemingly endless to defend the city. [illustration suspension bridge.] since then the growth of cincinnati has been in keeping with the development of the nation. it does not hope, as harriet martineau suggested during her visit here, ever to become the home of the country's capital, but it rejoices in being the great city nearest the american centre of population. its library of a quarter of a million volumes and its historical society cherish the splendid stories of its past and the accumulating data of its current achievements. its artists and citizens delight in dignifying that record in bronze and marble in the environing parks and city squares. the visitor to cincinnati, on a clear afternoon, should take passage on an incline road, rise to the heights of eden park, and traversing that high plateau, whose natural beauty and landscape gardening earn for it its name, find his way to the water tower. an elevator lifts him five hundred feet to the observatory platform, where with field-glasses he may behold the splendid panorama of cincinnati. far below, spanning the river over which "a crazy craft with sails and paddles" once ferried the people, he sees five massive structures of steel and stone, including the famous suspension bridge, begun in the early part of the civil war, and by its completion during the stress of that conflict testifying eloquently to the faith of its citizens that strife was not to sever the nation, and that these mammoth girders of steel would constitute an important tie in the inevitable reunion of north and south. it was of this structure that james parton wrote in , that the whole population of cincinnati might get upon it without danger of being let down into the water. the five superb bridges in their capacity and security afford marked contrast to the earlier attempts to span the river which floods swept away, including the arched structure which went down in the torrent of , accompanied on its seaward flight by a tumbling methodist church which the roaring muskingum had added to the universal baptism. not all of the life that now courses through cincinnati's streets could crowd upon its bridges, for the people of the cities and villages across on the kentucky shore belong in every commercial and social sense to cincinnati, and swell its population to the half-million mark. in fact, within a radius which the vision from this tower almost sweeps, there are a dozen ambitious and wealthy ohio cities, founded by the sturdy men of the revolution who went forth from cincinnati and still tributary to the parent town. the traveler is surveying sacred ground. mount auburn beside him marks the site where fell a captain serving under george rogers clark, one of the first of the many brave soldiers of the american revolution to mingle their dust with ohio soil, which thus enriched has produced many presidents and renowned statesmen almost without number. leading away from the city the observer on the tower sees the miami and erie canal, which, connecting cincinnati with toledo and furnishing a highway by which boats could pass from new orleans via the queen city through various inland waters, finally reaching the harbor of new york, made cincinnati as early as a half-way house for continental traffic. the canal recalls that on the tow-path the barefooted garfield began his career. while glancing at the surrounding reservoirs from which water is forced to this tower for the supply of the terrace-built city, the traveler may recall the story of the eccentric wanderer, the celebrated cincinnati "water witch" who with hazel or willow crook went about from hamlet to hamlet indicating hidden springs and at whose direction, in truth, the queen city dug its first well. [illustration reservoir, eden park.] descending now, the traveler may view the observatory which john quincy adams dedicated to science, or move with the crowds flocking to the zoo or to the groves where free concerts are given, or he may find his inspiration in roaming through the haunts that still treasure the memory of u.s. grant, or visit the site of taverns that entertained webster and andrew jackson, who paused here on his way to washington, and that extended frequent hospitality to henry clay, stopping here while journeying to or from the national capital. passing over the suspension bridge, the traveler may let the sun go down upon his itinerary as he stands upon the bank of the licking, made memorable by the vigilant canoe cruises of daniel boone. near by is the cottage home of the grants. passing a shawnee effigy in front of a tobacconist's stand, the visitor sees the illumination of the city beginning to twinkle against the shadowy background. the multi-colored lights of myriad street-cars flash over bridges and up the steep streets of the hill-built metropolis. the headlights of locomotives on nineteen railroads, representing over twenty thousand miles of track, gleam in and out of the city. it is a moving picture, a perpetual memorial and celebration of the valiant labors of those paladins of pioneer conquest who on that christmas week, years ago, struck their flint and started their fires in the primeval woods, kindling thereby a light which though flaring at times before the whirlwinds of savage war, and all but quenched with baptisms of fraternal bloodshed, now burns with a steadiness and brilliancy that shall last as long as time. [illustration] [illustration] detroit the queen city "here, beside the broad, blue river builded, i am queen city of the lakes." by silas farmer a stream of crystal clearness, wide and swiftly flowing, the waters of silver and blue alive with fins and scales, a course dotted with islands large and small, wild ducks in myriads diving and dining along shores bordered with pond lilies and flags, stretches of yellow sand and bluffs of yellow clay peopled with buffalo, bear and deer, with wide leagues of grassy pastures and pleasing vistas beyond, walnuts, oaks and maples sentinelling the scene, and skies and sunsets of unrivalled azure and gold adding the final touch of beauty--such was nature's invitation to the first visitors to the detroit. the earliest of the french travellers to this region was the sieur joliet, who came in , and was followed the same year by the sulpician priests, galinee and dollier. eight years later la salle in _le griffon_, the first sail-vessel on the great lakes, passed through the "strait of lake erie," and july , , cadillac and his company landed at the present site of detroit to establish a fort and permanent settlement. the desire to escape from roman or protestant oppression which led to the founding of baltimore and plymouth had no place in the thought of those who colonized acadia and the west. true, there had been one or two feeble efforts to found french protestant colonies in america. the great coligny sent a huguenot colony to florida more than fifty years before the _mayflower_ arrived at plymouth rock. the spaniards, however, fell upon and hanged these colonists, their placards stating that it was done, "not because they were frenchmen, but because they were heretics." under cardinal richelieu, all protestant emigration to america was discouraged for fear the emigrants would unite with the english or make converts of the indians. the conversion of the indians to the romish faith was always specially designated among the objects of french enterprise in america. the charter of the "hundred associates" of april , , expressly stated that it was granted for the primary purpose of converting to the catholic faith the indians, usually designated as "worshippers of baal." all these motives played their part in the founding of detroit, but not quite so important a part as the commercial motive. [illustration cadillac square, showing city hall and majestic building.] antoine laumet de la mothe cadillac, the founder and commandant, was no mere adventurer. in courage, in scholarship, in mental grasp and in general acumen he deserves a place with the founders of baltimore and philadelphia. the confessedly fictitious description of his personal appearance and the one-sided analysis of his character by gayarré were founded on incomplete knowledge. as an officer of the french marine, cadillac fearlessly crossed the atlantic again and again as though it were but an inland ferry. on the coast of america he explored the harbors and islands of new england and noted at length their peculiarities and advantages. as a soldier and knight of the order of st. louis, he penetrated into the wildest of western wilds, served as commandant at mackinaw, detroit and mobile, repeatedly defeated the indians at these posts, and compelled them to sue for peace. he had the scholar's habit of writing detailed memoirs of the places he established or was commanded to inspect. he wielded a pen as sharp as his sharp sword. the opponents of his plans had need to fear its point. he spared no words. "a traveller cannot afford to stop," he said, "for every dog that barks." and illustrating the fact that many of the french lived so much among the indians that they became like indians themselves, he sententiously said, "with wolves one learns to howl." he denounced frauds boldly. count frontenac spoke highly of his "valor, wisdom, experience and good conduct." it was no ordinary man to whom a wife could by word and deed alike bear witness as cadillac's wife bore witness to her husband. after they had been married for fourteen years, and when the colony was less than two years old, in company with madame touty, in an open canoe with indians and woodsmen for an escort, she made the journey of a thousand miles from quebec to detroit in the fall of the year when fierce winds and rough waves and heavy rains might be expected. when one of the quebec ladies reminded her in advance, "at detroit you will die of _ennui_," she replied, "a woman who loves her husband as she should has no stronger attraction than his company wherever he may be; everything else should be indifferent to her." the american cities that equal us in age and population are few indeed. two hundred years are behind us, and three hundred thousand people fill our homes. our people are and ever have been of many types. in the early days _coureurs des bois_, bluff, hearty, reckless, and indians, the squaw trudging along bent double under her basket of bead-work, the unburdened brave stalking proudly, noiselessly along, frequented the place. dutch traders from the mohawk coasting along the lakes early brought negro slaves from albany.[ ] in our social life the gallic spirit remains to soften and harmonize. the dash of gorgeous coloring which the almost continuous existence here of a military post has given, the distinction and grace which the early arrival of some of old virginia's noblest children has lent, the intellectual vigor which puritan new england has contributed, and the solidity and conservatism furnished by the presence of the many wealthy landed proprietors have all shared in the making of a social life as rich as it is attractive. [illustration the detroit river from "windmill point," . from a pencil drawing.] after the first settlers came strange sights. round-towered and red-painted windmills began to dot the banks of the detroit, and all "along shore" narrow farms, a city block in width and fifty times as long, stretched from the river rearward to meadows and woods. the canoe and the pirogue were always in the stream, and in them the french girls were as much at home as mermaids in the sea. the fort was the centre of every interest. it was a log stockade enclosing a plot of ground three or four hundred feet square, and lay south of what is now jefferson avenue, occupying at least the western half of the block between griswold and shelby streets. within it commandant and soldiers were gathered, the church was located, justice administered and goods were kept on sale. a large influx of immigrants, especially in and , caused the extension of the stockade, but at no time were grants of farms made within several hundred feet of the fort. the intervening space was in large part used as a "common field," and year after year oats and onions were produced where only paving-stones could now be raised. eventually of course the houses overflowed the stockade, stretching towards the farms, but for a long time the owners of farms on either side resisted any encroachment of streets or people, and for many years the city could grow only northwards. the french farms that hemmed in the city possessed many advantages. even when included within the city they, for many years, practically escaped taxation because undivided into lots. indeed, until a comparatively recent period there was no taxation of real estate and really no need for any; for whenever the city needed money it sold a lot. this reckless style of living continued till , the extraordinary expenses connected with the cholera season of that year making larger taxation needful. in this connection it is well to recall an unusual state of affairs that placed many lots at the disposal of the city. in the year , during the revolutionary war, the english, to protect them against the americans, erected a large fort where the new post-office is located, in the block bounded by shelby, wayne, lafayette and fort streets. at the close of the war this fort, with its grounds, passed into the possession of the united states. in congress gave this property, worth to-day more than a score of millions, to the city whose expenses had before been paid by fees derived from various licensed persons and pursuits. upon the reception of this property the city fathers deemed it necessary to level and grade the old fort and its appurtenances and to lay out streets thereon. the cost of the work was paid by the issuing of city "shinplasters" which could soon be bought for sixty cents on the dollar. the lots laid out within the limits of the old cantonment were sold at nominal prices, the purchasers paying for them in the depreciated city bills. the result was that the net proceeds to the city from the sale of this extensive domain amounted to only $ , , and even this was not permanently invested, and no vestige of the funds remains. in contrast to the dissipation by the city of valuable property is the wisdom displayed by individual holders whose property later became worth millions. if the city officers of that day had possessed foresight as well as power, they might have so conserved the city's possessions as to have made detroit an utopia. all the public schools and other civic buildings and appurtenances could have been built and paid for, and the city government could to-day be carried on without taxation, or at least with only a tithe of the amount that is now required to be paid. [illustration west grand circus park.] it was during the decades of - that the tide of emigration from east to west reached its height. it began in , on the completion of the erie canal, and was greatly increased by the larger number of steamboats on the lakes that immediately followed. the opening in of the first railroad from the east to the west, the great western of canada, made it possible to go still faster and with greater ease, and during the whole period detroit gained largely in population. the introduction of street-cars in afforded opportunity for easy access to outlying regions, and since then the city limits have been several times extended, until now they embrace an area of not far from thirty square miles, with a river frontage of seven miles. contemporaneously with the rush of settlers to the state and city between and , came what is known as the "flush times of ." emigration to the west had become almost a stampede, both steam and sail vessels were crowded to their utmost, and knowing the dearness of eastern lands and the cheapness at which western lands could be purchased, nearly every person came prepared to buy and did buy lands for settlement or speculation. so great was the rush that all careful preliminaries were dispensed with, and if only a title could be shown, anything that "lay outdoors" could be disposed of. town sites were a favorite form of investment, and the supply kept pace with the demand. surveyors and draftsmen were soon busy day and night representing imaginary cities on paper. on these plans, literally like "jonah's gourd," there sprang up in a night, stores, dwellings and court-houses, indeed, all the appurtenances of an old established town. the era of "wildcat" banks had just begun and the principal security of their bills was the land covered by these imaginary towns. theoretically, twenty per cent. of the bills issued by the too easily organized banks were to be secured by specie deposits. actually, not five per cent. was so deposited. the same coin--in some cases in the same boxes--was exhibited by a score of different banks, and in some instances "coin boxes" were filled with iron and other substitutes for specie. these frauds were winked at by bank commissioners, who should have inspected the contents of the boxes. there was thus a trinity of imaginings,--imaginary towns, imaginary banks and imaginary inspection. when the bubbles burst there were left in some places towns and houses without a single inhabitant, and certain of these houses contained room after room in which the walls were literally papered with bank bills in sheets that had never been cut apart or signed. the most important local event was the fire of june , , which destroyed every house in the city save one. the memory of the fire is preserved in the present seal of the city, the mottoes, _resurget cineribus_, "she has risen from the ashes," and _speramus meliora_, "we hope for better things," representing both prophecy and fulfilment. out of the fire grew an entirely new plan of the town, new lot alignments and assignments, and a new form of government. the former streets, twelve feet wide, grew into broad avenues, and the years have added areas and improvements which in any city would be marks of prosperity and beauty. the form of government which the fire introduced was, however, its unique result. the beginnings of the strange methods of government that obtained are found in the organization of the ohio company, and in that notable document, the ordinance of . under the latter, congress was to appoint a governor whose term was for three years, unless sooner revoked, who was required to possess in freehold an estate of one thousand acres in the territory; a secretary for the term of four years, unless revoked, who was required to have five hundred acres of land; and three judges, any two of whom constituted a court to have common-law jurisdiction, and each of whom was required to own five hundred acres of land. the governor and judges were appointed january , . judges woodward and bates arrived at detroit june th, and found the town wiped out by the fire of the previous day. a few stone chimneys and, near the fire line, several antique pear trees alone remained. governor hull arrived on the evening of july st. the date of the arrival of judge griffin is unknown. in many respects the governor and judges were well fitted to enter upon and complete the laying out of a new detroit. judge woodward came from alexandria, va., and understood and admired the plan of washington, then new. he manifestly desired and determined that detroit should be modelled after that "city of magnificent distances." sections of his plan as drawn by a.f. hull, the son of the governor, could be laid upon the plan of washington and matched to a line. [illustration wayne county building, facing cadillac square.] there was much delay in adopting the plan; but after summering and wintering as best they could, however, among their friends outside, the inhabitants were gratified with the news that april , , congress had authorized the governor and judges to lay out a new town, build a court-house and jail, dispose of ten thousand acres near, give former owners and householders lots, convey lots to others and in general settle all details therewith connected. it was not, however, until september , , or four months after the date of the act, that the governor and judges held their first meeting. interminable slowness seems to have been their purpose; plans and counter-plans, change and repeated change in surveys, their method. lots were numbered and renumbered, streets laid out on paper, obliterated and then laid out anew in new directions and locations. decisions were bandied about and referred from one person or authority to another, and questions of ownership of lots, like a shuttlecock, were tossed to and fro. plans were prepared, approved, used and then discarded. every new difficulty and scheme seemed to give rise to new and radically different lot outlines and numbers. lots were capriciously granted and as capriciously withdrawn. without bond or books of account, without method other than the method of not leaving any record of what moneys were received or how expended, they did as they pleased. as a result, for a year and a half after the fire there was not a single house erected, and up to may, , deeds had been given for only nineteen lots. meantime, the débris of the fire covered the site of the ancient village, the blackened stone chimneys standing as monuments of the disaster and of the incompetency or worse of those in authority. the three judges and the governor in themselves possessed all power, legislative, executive, judicial. they made laws, built court-houses, issued scrip, laid out streets and lots, gave away lots to churches, schools, societies and individuals and were practically "lords of the manor of detroit." the adoption of laws from the original thirteen states, which was all that they were authorized to do, became under their methods a mere burlesque. a writer of that period openly charged, and exaggerated but little in saying, that they would "parade the laws of the original states before them on the table, and cull letters from the laws of maryland, syllables from the laws of virginia, words from the laws of new york, sentences from the laws of pennsylvania, verses from the laws of kentucky, and chapters from the laws of connecticut." it is due to one or two of those associated as judges during a part of this régime, to say that judge woodward, who was in office for the entire period, was very largely responsible for the conditions that existed. the accession of general cass as governor, the establishing of the _detroit gazette_, which exposed the proceedings, and the coming of new immigrants finally secured sentiment and people sufficient to have a general assembly. and with freer discussion and elective methods, order began to reign after twenty years of disorder. in military matters detroit has had an almost continuous series of startling experiences. indians, french, english, and americans have all struggled in and about the city. blockhouses, stockades, forts, and cannon have defended it. stories of attacks, sieges, battles, massacres, and conspiracies crowd its annals. the tramp of regiments, the challenge of sentinels, the bugle-call, the drum-beat, and the war-whoop of the savage were familiar sounds in its past. within two years after fort pontchartrain was erected, hostile indians surrounded the stockade, and at varying intervals during many subsequent years the savages sought to dislodge the french and destroy their fortifications. the french traders, however, soon demonstrated that they were willing to deal more liberally than the english, and there can be no doubt but that many indians came to prefer french methods and manners, for they finally united with the french during the french and indian war in attacking the english settlements. the victory of wolfe at quebec in and the consequent surrender of detroit to the english did not please the indians, and before the final treaty of peace was signed, pontiac, an ottawa chief, who had declared his intention to "stand in the path," formed his conspiracy to overthrow all the english posts. he secured the co-operation of a number of tribes and in may, , prepared to strike at detroit. fortunately, as has happened more than once in similar plots, female sympathy and tenderness caused the revelation of his design. an indian maiden gave warning to gladwin, then commanding at detroit, who made preparations to foil the conspirators. on the morning of may th, pontiac and a number of his warriors sought admission to the fort. on arriving at the gateway,[ ] pontiac and his warriors were freely admitted, but found the garrison under arms, the cannons loaded for service and the inhabitants ready for battle. at a glance he foresaw the certain failure of his scheme, and after being warned by gladwin that his plot had been discovered, he retired still protesting friendship. within a day or two afterwards he threw off all attempts at concealment, summoned his warriors, massacred several persons on the island now known as belle isle and commenced a siege which lasted for five weary months. during the siege, the garrison was relieved several times by provisions and ammunition from niagara, and on july th, by the arrival of soldiers commanded by captain dalyell together with rangers from new hampshire under major robert rogers. captain dalyell now determined to "turn the tables" by an attack on the indians. gladwin opposed the idea, but was compelled to yield, and on july st troops in three detachments marched against the savages. pontiac in some way was informed of the plan and, ambushed on the border of parents' creek, afterwards called bloody run, awaited the approach of the soldiers. as the latter reached a small bridge that then crossed the stream not far from what is now the corner of jefferson avenue and adair street, they heard the war-whoop of the indians and from every side bullets thinned their ranks. dalyell and seventeen others were killed, nearly forty soldiers wounded and several captured. within six hours after this ignominious failure, the rest were glad to be within the shelter of the stockade. the siege was then renewed with increased vigor until at last general gage of boston determined to send a force large enough to subdue the indians. accordingly, colonel bradstreet was put in command of a combined force of friendly indians, canadians, and a detachment of connecticut militia in charge of the noted israel putnam. they came by water from albany and reached detroit on august , . their bateaux and barges blocked the river; the display of flags and force alarmed the indians, and made them yield before an army such as they had never seen before. meantime the war-clouds of the revolution were gathering. the common impression is that the war was fought in the east, around boston and new york. the important events that occurred at detroit are usually ignored; that, too, in spite of the fact that at no other point was so much use made of the indians by the english. king george and his ministers evidently feared that, unless kept busy defending their homes, the hardy settlers of western virginia and tennessee would aid their brother colonists in the east. in order to prevent them from so doing, deliberate and pitiless plans were made to incite the indians against the western settlers. indians were invited to detroit from as far west and south as arkansas, and gathered here by thousands. they were feasted, clothed and furnished with guns, scalping-knives, and tomahawks. blankets, shirts, scarlet cloth and other things were given. the value of the requisitions for this post in a single year reached hundreds of thousands of dollars. the writer has personally seen the original record of the supplying of "sixteen gross of red-handled scalping-knives." fully equipped, they set forth on their forays, returning with men, women, and children as prisoners, and with many scalps. the expedition which perpetrated the "massacre of wyoming" was equipped at this post, as was also the expedition of captain bird against kentucky at a cost of over $ , . the writer has an original account book of that period giving the names and pay per diem of the french who as guides and interpreters accompanied the english and indians on some of their raids. the noted daniel boone was brought as a prisoner to detroit after one of these expeditions. after the return of each party the guns of the fort were fired, the prisoners and scalps were counted and recorded, and again the indians were feasted and given presents. it was during these days that col. a.s. de peyster was in command at detroit, but he was not in full sympathy with such savage warfare. it will be remembered that it was to him that burns, while in his sick-chamber, dedicated his last poem, on "life," beginning: "my honored colonel, deep i feel your interest in the poet's weal," etc. de peyster himself could turn a bit of society verse. on one occasion he addressed the following lines to the wife of lieutenant pool england, then at detroit: "accept, fair ann, i do beseech, this tempting gift, a clingstone peach, the finest fruit i culled from three, which you may safely take from me. should pool request to share the favor, eat you the peach, give him the flavor; which surely he can't take amiss, when 't is so heightened by your kiss." the english officers then at detroit did not have an easy life. there were resident rebel americans who made much trouble--some of whom were sent away and others fined. american prisoners, too, were brought here. some were compelled to work in the streets, in ball and chain, and others were forced to cut wood on belle isle. [illustration col. arent schuyler de peyster.] at last detroit and the west were yielded by treaty to the united states, but on one pretext or another they were not actually surrendered until july , . on that day fort lernoult for the first time displayed the stars and stripes.[ ] [illustration evacuation day tablet on fort street entrance of post-office.] the animosities growing out of the revolutionary war were not allayed by the peace declarations. the indians continued to hold allegiance to king george, and frequently massacred americans. british officials on various occasions assumed such authority that at last there came a renewal of strife and the war of . again detroit became a focal point. twelve hundred troops from ohio, under command of governor hull, were soon marching hither to secure the safety of detroit. governor hull's trunk, containing military papers and plans of great value, which had been sent by boat, was captured near malden, canada, by the british who had apparently received the earliest announcement of the declaration of war. governor hull arrived at detroit july th, soon afterward crossed to canada and issued a proclamation, but a few days later returned without having accomplished any results of value. on august th, without any reasonable excuse, and without the firing of a single gun, he surrendered his entire force and all of the territory under his control to general brock. he was tried and found guilty of cowardice, unofficer-like conduct and neglect of duty. in his memoirs, governor hull, trying to defend himself, seeks to make secretary of war eustis a fool or a traitor, gen. h.a. dearborn a knave, and colonel cass a conspirator. original letters and testimony, however, from president madison, ex-president jefferson, and secretary of state john quincy adams show that governor hull was justly condemned. on september , , as the result of commodore perry's notable victory of september th, the whole region was restored to american control. [illustration general grant's home in detroit.] detroit's interest in several local and subsequent wars was large, but the unimportance of some and the well-known results of others make comment thereon unnecessary. [illustration hurlbut memorial gate entrance to water-works park.] while these varied historical events were taking place, the city was steadily gathering to itself prestige and reputation. its houses now excel in number and beauty, its streets, wide and well paved, are edged with the smoothest of stone walks and lined with elms, maples, and grassy lawns. the distinctive buildings of the municipality, its court-houses, schools, police stations, water-works, and engine houses are remarkable for their excellent architecture and well-kept condition. the churches, by their number and in their construction, indicate the possession of religious desire and æsthetic taste. the manufacturing interests of detroit are varied. its commercial representatives are found in almost every country, and "detroit" stoves, drugs, and chemicals are known in every clime. we have numerous parks, but belle isle is indeed the priceless jewel in the crown of detroit: woods of green and waters of blue, art and nature, moving waves and waving grass, stillness and activity, vistas and broad views, beautiful flowers and lofty trees, the white sails of numerous vessels, and the swift motions of great steamers all alike are combined in the captivating beauties of this favored place. besides serving as a charm to drive away care, our beautiful river gives us one of the greatest ports in the world. more tonnage passes annually through "the detroit" than in the same time enters and clears the combined ports of london and liverpool. during the season nearly four hundred vessels pass daily, bearing more grain and minerals than traverse any other stream in the world. the city is a central starting-point for reaching all northern summer resorts, and more steamboat passengers arrive and depart from our wharves than from any others on the lakes. the stream that attracted the earliest visitors attracts later ones as well. the river never overflows and therefore is never a menace, but always a joy and blessing. yachts, sail-boats, barges, shells, ferries, steamers, and great "whale-backs" fly and ply over it, and in the season it is a panorama of beauty, gay with music, streamers, and happy _voyageurs_. [illustration] footnotes: [ ] under treaty stipulations negro and indian slaves were held until michigan became a state. detroit has always had to do with slavery questions. before the civil war it was an important station on the "underground railroad," and occasionally slaves were seized on our streets. some of the conspicuous leaders of the party that secured the abolition of slavery lived at one time or another in detroit. general grant's home may still be seen. united states senator zachariah chandler of "blood-letting letter" fame was one of our oldest merchants, and the notable "fire-in-the-rear" editorial appeared in a local paper. [ ] the gateway was located on what is now the corner of jefferson avenue and griswold street, and a bronze tablet there erected bears a representation of an indian warrior and the following inscription: "this tablet designates the site of one of the gateways of fort detroit. the original stockade was known as fort pontchartrain and was erected when the city was founded in . "through the gateway here located pontiac, the ottawa chief, with a band of indians, passed on may seventh, , intending to surprise and massacre the garrison. "the exposure of his plot on the previous day caused the defeat of his plans and gave the english the supremacy in this region until the close of the revolutionary war." [ ] the post-office on fort street, which occupies a portion of the site of this fort, displays at its southerly entrance a tablet erected in which bears the following inscription: "this tablet designates the site of an english fort erected in by major r.b. lernoult as a defense against the americans. it was subsequently called fort shelby, in honor of gov. isaac shelby of kentucky, and was demolished in . the evacuation of this fort by the british at o'clock noon, july th, , was the closing act of the war of independence. on that day the american flag was for the first time raised over this soil, all of what was then known as the western territory becoming at that time part of the federal union." [illustration] mackinac "the home of the giant fairies" by sara andrew shafer at the northernmost point of the meeting of the waters of the mighty trio of lakes which divide the states of the middle west from the dominion of canada, lies an archipelago in size and beauty like that of the "sprinkled isles, lily on lily that o'erlace the sea, and laugh their pride when the light waves whisper 'greece.'" an old writer says that there are two-and-thirty thousand of them, great and small, clustered chiefly where huron leans her head to meet those of michigan and superior, "as if they were discussing some great matter." perhaps they are talking over the old days and the things and people they knew long ago. perhaps they speak of the morning when, according to an old saga, the worshippers of the rising sun in february saw the island like a great turtle--_nocchenemockenung_--rise slowly out of the water, to become the home of the giant fairies of the michsawgyegan, or lake country, and to be a place of refuge for the vanished peoples, whose names are as the sound of many waters for beauty and for harmony. perhaps they tell of the wild, free life of those roving, painted bands of fishers, trappers, and hunters which make pictures of so much action and color against the ever-shifting background of these seas and shores. perhaps they tell of the coming of the black robes in the days when the lilies of france had no fear of the lion of england, and the eagle of the american republic was as yet unthought of. there are things enough of which the lakes may speak as their waves lapse on the beach of "this precious stone set in a silver sea." [illustration old mission church (circa), , mackinac island.] occupying as it does, one of the most important strategic points in the new world, it is not strange that the island of mackinac should have a rich and varied history, and that in its earlier indian-french form "michilimackinac was a word familiar in the cabinets of european monarchs before it was known to people dwelling along the atlantic." the name was given not only to pioneer settlements on either side of the straits, but also to a vast province which reached as far south as the ohio river and as far west as the red river of the north. the straits are but a dozen miles in width, and the island but nine miles in circumference, but whether it be frozen in the long clasp of "peboan, the winter," when the white, endless snows are marked only by the dark accents of evergreens on islet and mainland, over which the cold stars look down, or the northern lights flame and fade; whether it be decked with the unspeakable splendors of its early autumn, or rejoices with the sudden coming of its tardy summer, it is a land whose beauty is indescribable, and whose spell is supreme. the village numbers many thousand flitting folk in summer, but it has less than eight hundred permanent residents. it lies along the perfect crescent of a bay worn into the southeastern end of the island, at the foot of the cliffs, upon which the long lines of the fort stand sentinel, and is a curious conglomeration of huge caravanserai, summer villa, shop, fish-house, pier, half-french, half-indian cottage, and church. old days and new meet over and over again in the little streets, where, in the soft _patois_ of the _habitants_, in the names they bear, and in many of their strongly marked faces, much of the island's story is suggested. st. ann's is a true daughter of the first chapels built by the old heroes of the church. the mission house tells of the earnest early efforts to teach the tenets and virtues of calvinism to the savages, made by the reverend geographer, morse, father of morse of the electric telegraph, and mr. ferry, whose son, born in the village, ably represented michigan in the senate of the united states. where the fort garden now stands once stood the agency, then the centre of the vast trade of the fur companies. within its walls henry schoolcraft wrote down the precious results of his studies in indian dialect and folk-lore, from which, as from a root, sprang the perfect flower of our one native epic, _hiawatha_. not to have read _hiawatha_ with the pine-spiced winds of the north blowing upon the page, with the magnificent prospect of the straits before one's eyes, lifted while a page is turned, and with the waves breaking into a thousand jewels against the rocks at one's feet, is hardly to have read _hiawatha_ at all. the fort is the successor of the feeble early posts set up by the pioneers of france. the great propellers and the swift-winged yachts that throng the summer waters are of a kindred with the birch canoe, most poetic of all water craft--own brother to the violin by reason of the perfect beauty of its lines, having in it "all the mystery and magic" of the woodland and the wood life. as of old, the deep wild roses and the frail harebells cling to the cliffs; as of old, in the gorges hushed into fragrant silence by pine and larch and hemlock, arbor-vitæ and juniper, beech, and birch, the shy, delicate flora of the north finds shelter. as of old, the winds try their strength against the splendid masonry of the curious limestone formations for which the place is noted, the arch rock, the fairy arch, the chimney rock, the sugar loaf, scott's cave, skull cave, the devil's kitchen. around each of these the legends cluster like bees about a linden-tree in blossom, but how can they be forgiven whose crass stupidity gave them these commonplace titles and who have lost for us their indian names? [illustration arch rock, mackinac island.] in the days when new france "had two fountain heads, one in the cane brakes of louisiana, and the other in the snows of canada," a charter was given by louis xiii. to the hundred association company, which was thereby invested with rights almost monarchical, together with injunctions to do all that was possible for holy church which was consistent with the keeping of a watchful eye upon such earthly advantages as might accrue from a monopoly of the fur trade and the acquisition of new territory. it was in , under the governorship of champlain, that jean nicolet, a fearless explorer, well versed in woodcraft and in the speech of many aboriginal tribes, was the first paleface to see the white cliffs of mackinac, as he was also the first to carry back to civilization tidings of a great new sea, the lac des ilinese, or michigan, which he had discovered. that he perished by the capsizing of his canoe in the st. lawrence river was a great loss to the infant colonies to whom his sixteen years' experience in frontier life would have been very valuable. the path he opened, was, however, soon followed by others. the explorers and traders, des grosselliers, radisson, perrot, and their fellows did for the world what the jesuits, the recollets, and the sulpicians did for the church. it is in the _relations_ sent home by the priests that we learn what were the trials overcome by those dauntless sons of "the sturdy north." perhaps from no country but france, and in no other years than the glittering, romantic, covetous, daring, devoted years of the seventeenth century, could have come adventurers so tireless and churchmen so selfless as these. to read their simple, patient chronicles is to have new belief in man, new faith in the church universal, "which is the blessed company of all faithful people," and to clasp hands across years and above creeds with those courageous pioneers and with those humble saints. the story of mackinac is for many years the story of the french in canada. "not a cape was turned," says parkman, "not a river was entered, but a jesuit led the way." every year the establishment of new posts pushed the realms of the unknown territory nearer and nearer to the sunset. poor little posts they were, slenderly garrisoned, and feebly armed, but beside each one rose a chapel and a cross where the "bloody salvages" might learn, if they would, the religion of the fathers. the missionaries made, perhaps, but few converts to their faith, but they made many friends for their country by their kindly offices to the sick, the aged, the dying, and the infant, by the gentleness and urbanity of their high breeding, and by the perpetual sacrifice of their lives of love and loyalty. of their hardships we can only read between the lines of their brave, uncomplaining _relations_, but what litanies of pain, sorrow, and disappointment, what _te deums_ of hope and rejoicing lie in these marks, oft recurring on their queer old maps: [symbol] _marque des villages sauvages_ [symbol] _marque des etablissements françois._ by many missions were strung along the waterways. the island was the centre of a thriving trade, had thirty native villages, and a palisaded enclosure for defence, and a year later its shores were hallowed by the feet of "the guardian angel of the ottawa mission," father jacques marquette. [illustration sugar loaf rock, mackinac island.] here, in what he called "the home of the fishes," and "the playground of all the winds of heaven," he spent the hard winter of - , going later to the first fort michilimackinac, at st. ignace, where he built a log-and-bark chapel, and whence he wrote the letters which reflect his pure spirit, as a clear pool reflects a star. ever alert, ever anxious, "_ad majoram gloriam dei_," to hear of new countries to be brought to him, his great opportunity came when the tribes trooped past the island on their way to the sault ste. marie and the great congress, convened on the th of june, , by the hardy perrot. the french wanted to control the frontier trade; the indians wished a market for their furs. to both peoples pomp and ceremony were natural and dear, so here, in all the splendor of war-paint and wampum, tomahawk, calumet, feathers, bows and arrows, and handsome furs came the braves of many tribes; in all the gay accoutrement of blanket-surtout, scarlet cap, fringed elk-skin leggins, rifle, and dagger-decked sash came the _coureurs des bois_ and the _voyageurs_; in the dignity of their uniforms came a handful of soldiers; with cross and cassock came the priests, to gather under a great wooden cross, to which the arms of france had been nailed, where, by a _procès verbal_, the overlordship of the great west was assumed by louis xiv. among the representatives of so many scattered savages, father marquette doubtless made the inquiries about and gained the knowledge concerning the great unknown river which served him in such good stead when, on the th of may, , he started with louis joliet, five _voyageurs_, and in two canoes, on the voyage which made the mississippi known to europe. of the honor coming from the discovery the good father never thought, but only with joy of new lands to which the message of the cross could be carried. it is the story of a hero, the story of his short life and of his triumphant death, "alone, a jesuit, and a missionary," beside an obscure creek on the michigan shore, on the th of may, , in the eight-and-thirtieth year of his age. descendants of his ottawas and his hurons still tell of his "bright hair, like the sun," and of the great funeral when, two years after his death, his body was brought back to st. ignace. whether the dust now held sacred was his or no, is of little moment. in the book of life, above and below, the name of jacques marquette has long been written, and like the blessing of peace his spirit rests upon the northland. in , the _griffin_, a little ship of sixty tons, took robert cavelier, sieur de la salle, and the garrulous, mendacious recollet friar, hennepin, past the island on their way to the great river, which they were to explore to the gulf, and beside which the murdered body of the great norman was to be flung. he only touched the island, but the touch of la salle was a royal accolade. in , la honton, a soldier of unusual sagacity, noted the importance of the site, and in m. de la motte cadillac says that the fort, with its garrison of two hundred soldiers, and the village of canadians and indians to the number of six or seven thousand souls, made it one of the largest posts in canada. disputes between the commandant and the jesuits, chiefly about the sale of liquor to the indians, resulted in the discouragement of the priests, who, in , burned their chapel and their school, and went back to quebec. st. ignace was then gradually abandoned for a second michilimackinac on the southern peninsula. [illustration the old blockhouse ( ) overlooking the lake.] when the french and english war was ended on the plains of abraham, george iii. became indeed sovereign of the soil of canada, but louis xv. was lord of the hearts of too many french, half-breeds, and indians to make the transfer of allegiance easy. loves and hates and racial sympathies are not matters for cold diplomacy, and the people of the northwest waited longingly for a leader who should give them again the light-hearted, friendly rule of the french, under which they had been far happier than they found themselves as subjects of the stern, alien english. in the person of an ottawa chieftain, the most remarkable personage produced by the indian race, the leader was found. in the brain of pontiac, grim, far-seeing, fearless, heroic, there arose as a prophetic vision the assurance that english encroachments upon the rights of his people would never cease so long as they held a rod of ground coveted by an english eye. to avert the evils he foresaw, he planned the capture of all forts west of niagara, the extermination of all english settlers, and the restoration to the great father at versailles of the lands he had just lost. with incredible swiftness he formed the vast conspiracy whose story has been told, once for all, in the living pages of parkman's narrative. [illustration "old stone quarters," fort mackinac, .] whisperings of coming trouble had been heard at fort michilimackinac by major etherington, the commandant, but none of so serious a nature as to prevent the presence of the soldiery at a great game of baggatiway which was to be played in a field near the fort by rival companies of sacs and chippewas, in honor of the king's birthday, august , . the game is a very intricate and brilliant one, requiring great agility and skill, and the participation of a large number of players. as was most natural, the excitement of the onlookers was intense, and when an apparently stray ball flew high over the palisades of the unprotected fort (which had been silently invaded by a crowd of squaws with weapons hidden under their blankets) and at least four hundred players in hot pursuit swarmed over the stockade, nothing was thought amiss, until the cries appropriate to the game changed into the war-whoop, and a massacre began. of the english, all were either killed or made captive, except alexander henry, whose narrative curdles the blood even yet. this event led to the abandonment of the southern fort and the establishment of one on the island.[ ] [illustration signatures of the chippewa chiefs who, in , deeded the island to king george iii. from "mackinac," by john r. bailey, m.d., brevet lieut.-col. u.s.v., by whose kind permission they are here reproduced.] "it is now certain," writes schoolcraft in , "that the occupancy of old michilimackinack--the beekwutenong of the indians--was kept up by the british until ; between that date and the flag was transferred ... the principal trade went with it, the indian intercourse likewise. some residents lingered a few years but the place was finally abandoned, and the site is now covered with loose sand." by the treaty of paris, in , the island was ceded by great britain to the united states. possession was, however, withheld on one pretext or another, until . [illustration fort mackinac, and the cannon captured by commodore perry.] when the second war with england began, it was natural that one of the first points to be attacked should be the fort so commandingly situated. far from all base of supplies and all possibility of rapid communication, the oft-repeated appeals of general hull for an effective garrison at this and other important points were totally disregarded in washington. only fifty-seven soldiers were in residence in mackinac when the british forces, strong, landed before dawn on the th of july, , on a point nearly opposite st. ignace. by eleven o'clock captain roberts sent a flag of truce, and a demand of surrender to lieutenant porter hanks, who had had "no intimation" that a war between the powers had been declared until that moment. after considering the futility of resistance, and a consultation with the american traders in the village, with the valor which was ever bettered by discretion, he capitulated. in august, , an attempt was made to retake the island. a battle was fought near the scene of the british landing two years before, in which battle major holmes and twelve privates were killed, and many men were wounded or missing. the routed americans, under colonel croghan, withdrew to their ships. the island finally passed into the keeping of the united states in . then followed the great days of the fur companies, when the place was astir with a life so gay and vivid that only to hear of it stirs the blood of the untamed savage which centuries of the repressions of civilization have not routed from our hearts. hundreds of hardy, ill-paid _engagés_, hundreds of happy-go-lucky, hard-working _voyageurs_ and _coureurs des bois_ and hundreds of indians crowded into the hundreds of tents set up along the beach; into the log-houses of the primitive village, and into the huge barracks of the company, which counted and weighed the rich peltries they had gathered, paying them in return the miserable wages which in dancing, gambling, drinking, fighting, feasting and sleeping, were spent long before the _bateaux_ freighted with the poor necessities for the fast-coming winter were again rowed out toward the wilderness, the brave _chansons_ of the oarsmen growing fainter and fainter as the boats passed steadily out of sight. [illustration rev. eleazar williams. reproduced from latimer's "scrap book of the revolution," by permission of a.c. mcclurg & co.] an incident but little known connects the island with one of the great mysteries of history,--the fate of the little son of louis xvi. and marie antoinette. that the dauphin did not die in the temple, but had been secretly conveyed to america and had been placed among the indians, was believed by persons whose opinions were entitled to respect; but that he might be found in the person of the rev. eleazar williams, a half-breed missionary of the protestant episcopal church among the tribes about green bay, was a supposition stranger than any fiction. the story is too long to tell here,[ ] but as it touches mackinac at a single point, it must have a line in this chapter. on the wharf of the moon-shaped bay, one bright day in october, , a crowd was gathered to see the prince de joinville, son of louis philippe, then reigning in france, who was on his way to green bay, and who had stopped off at mackinac to visit some of the natural curiosities of the place. a salute had been fired in honor of the royal sailor with true republican fervor, and while the steamer which had brought him waited his pleasure, the village was _en fête_. waiting on the dock, and also about to embark for green bay, was the rev. eleazar williams, who, before the boat left the bay, was, at the request of the prince, presented to his highness. the acquaintance thus begun led to disclosures which, if true, make the identity of the dauphin and the missionary all but certain. wrapped in a legend, the island of mackinac comes into sight. with a thousand legends, its old fields, its cliffs, its caves, its gorges, its wooded glens, its shores, and its far, dim distances are haunted. with a thousand mysteries and bewilderments and witcheries it holds captive all who come within reach of its magic. with a mystery, which too may be but a legend, our story closes, as the light that smites the waters of the straits into a myriad of glittering flakes paints on the sunset sky the old, old golden track which the indians loved to call "the path that leads homeward." footnotes: [ ] the deed for the island, bought from its indian owners in by george iii. for £ , was long in possession of dr. john r. bailey, brevet lieutenant-colonel u.s.v., and author of a most interesting monograph on mackinac. it is from its pages, and by his kind permission, that the indian signatures to the document are here reproduced. [ ] for an admirable statement of the facts bearing upon this interesting problem, the reader is asked to turn to _my notebook of the french revolution_, by mrs. elizabeth wormeley latimer (a.c. mcclurg & co.). the book upon which mrs. latimer has chiefly based her account, _the lost prince_, by the rev. mr. hanson, has long been out of print, and is almost inaccessible. [illustration] indianapolis the hoosier capital by perry s. heath the visitor to the hoosier capital familiar with the capital of the nation instantly observes a striking similarity between the two. well he may, for alexander ralston, who carried the chains for pierre charles l'enfant, and placed the stakes which fixed the lines and curves of the city of magnificent distances, was the surveyor of indianapolis. when, in , he carved out of the small cleared space in the centre of a great wilderness the plan just one mile square for indianapolis, his architectural abilities and ambitions had more than a superficial justification. the result was perhaps the handsomest city between philadelphia and denver. when indianapolis was platted on the surveyor's map it had but inhabitants. by the year the town had grown to inhabitants. there were only , souls in the city in . but by the population had increased to , , and the census of placed the population at , . in the latter decade indianapolis outstripped rochester, new york, st. paul, minneapolis, kansas city, denver, and omaha in increase of population. and the area occupied by the city grew in three quarters of a century from one to twenty-seven square miles. entering indianapolis to-day upon any one of the seventeen independent railroads operated by steam locomotives, or any one of the many interurban electric systems, the traveller is entranced, in passing the wide, asphalted avenues, by the magnificent view which carries the vision to the hub of the city, where the eye readily perceives the panorama of the state house, four or five magnificent hotels, some majestic club-houses, and the world-famed soldiers' monument in the governor's circle. the city is not one over which dense clouds of smoke hover daily, marks unmistakable of great manufacturing interests. the sky is usually clear. natural gas and oil are largely employed as fuel for the production of steam. where coal is used the consumers are largely located in the remote outskirts. during half the year the foliage from the splendid system of shade and other trees along the avenues and streets and in the parks clothes the city in a verdure producing a pleasing effect upon the vision and the atmosphere. in winter-time the well-paved streets and the universal system of cement sidewalks are ever under the enforcement of perfect city regulations, clear of snow and sleet and other impediments to boulevard driving and pedestrianism. [illustration old state house, indianapolis.] there is about the history of indianapolis much of quaint indian tradition and historical attractiveness. while almost every trace of the rural, or the virgin forests which were in view from any point a few years ago, has disappeared and modern structures and improvements abound, the visitor wherever he goes, cannot forget, that he is in a city which made great progress during the last half of the nineteenth century. on every hand this fact is illustrated. it was as late as april, , that congress authorized the construction of a constitution for the state. as recently as three quarters of a century ago the white river, on which indianapolis is situated, was dotted from source to mouth, with the canoes of savages, and lined along its banks, in the dense wilderness, with indian villages. the white man made his way in constant fear through the country. it is true that vincennes had been settled by white people generations before, but its citizens had at this time few if any relations, social or commercial, with any other section of the territory, and everywhere the red man continued to be a prime factor, holding and controlling the affairs of the domain. while the white and wabash rivers in the interior furnished during a part of the year transportation by raft, the old buffalo trail from vincennes to the falls of the ohio, cleared by immigrants, afforded the only safe outlet or inlet, and was in consequence a great thoroughfare. the whetzels, known to history as the intrepid indian fighters, paved the way through the territory and made it possible for immigrants to find indianapolis in its early days. [illustration new public library, indianapolis.] at the time this city was located and titled there was so much of indian lore in the minds of the legislators, and in fact so much of the red man in the wilderness around, a constant source of apprehension, that great difficulty was found in securing a name for the new metropolis. tecumseh, suwarrow, whetzel, wayne, delaware, and other names familiar to the paleface hunted by or hunting the red man, were suggested. finally mr. samuel merrill, a name significant in the modern history of indiana and indianapolis, and prominent in the upbuilding and development of the best institutions of the state and city, proposed indianapolis as the name for the city which is now the pride of all hoosier hearts. the original city was platted with streets just one mile in length from end to end. the avenues, or "diagonals," as they were termed on the original plat, radiated from the circle (the hub) in the centre and constituted that beautiful design which makes the capital of france and the capital of the united states so attractive in appearance, and yet in some respects "a labyrinth or mesh to the unfamiliar." near the radiating point or circle was early established a market, which is to-day one of the great conveniences to the residents of the city and to those who market their products and an attraction at most seasons of the year to visitors. [illustration benjamin harrison.] it was not until the removal in november, , of the archives of indiana from corydon to indianapolis, that the latter became the actual capital. in the legislature appropriated four thousand dollars for a governor's residence to be located in the circle. its construction was commenced, but never completed. the unfurnished portion was occupied at one time as a schoolhouse, until finally the officers of the supreme court made it their headquarters. after some years the crude building was demolished and the ground was converted into a park, the present location of the soldiers' monument. [illustration state house, indianapolis. east front.] it was not until a third of the nineteenth century had passed, not until near , that indianapolis became more pretentious than any other country town. the public squares were feeding-grounds for the ox and horse teams of countrymen who came to market. there were practically no industries, and the buildings were primitive and simple. as late as the wags of the stage and the humorists of the press amused themselves with jeers at the hoosier capital. the hoosier was a joke in the east. he was represented as the typical raw character, greatly in need of common advantages and ordinary enlightenment. and the impression persisted until some time after three quarters of the nineteenth century had passed that indianapolis was simply a congregating-point for him and his kind. about the city began to take on the appearance of a modern ambitious metropolis. as wealth increased the people resorted in ever increasing numbers to the capital, to enjoy the schools for their children and the best civilization for themselves. gradually there have gathered there not only the prosperous citizens of the state, but many who have at home or abroad achieved renown in letters, diplomacy, official life, the army and navy. here have lived two vice-presidents of our country. one of our presidents, the late general benjamin harrison, lived and died here. dialect poets, local historians, and novelists have spent their days here and been the pride of their fellow-citizens. in the legislature made an appropriation of fifty thousand dollars for the construction of a state house. the investment, when completed, however, aggregated about sixty thousand dollars. and the state viewed the result with satisfaction and believed she had one of the most attractive and majestic state houses in the entire country, as indeed she had after the substitution in , at an expense of $ , , , of the present magnificent structure. indianapolis has more than one hundred church buildings. the city hall, with a seating capacity of over five thousand, the gift of mr. daniel tomlinson, was constructed at an expense of $ , , and is principally used for conventions and musical festivals. in the state began an elaborate system of internal improvements. railroads, canals, and turnpikes were subsidized and encouraged in every manner possible. the first railroad to reach indianapolis came up in from madison, on the ohio river, creating the usual sensation of the new railroad in those days. as long ago as indianapolis became the railroad centre of the central west. the diversified and almost limitless products of the state, of the farm and the mine, and the fact that indianapolis is in the direct pathway between the east and the west, afforded great attraction to railroad builders. the union railroad station, until recently the largest and best in the united states, is still one of the most commodious, comfortable, and beautiful in the country. during the civil war indianapolis was a storm-centre. the state was not surpassed by any other in the percentage of soldiers sent out to defend the union. here they rendezvoused, and camp morton and other points about the city for many years after the war bore signs of the long presence of the "boys in blue." indiana possessed a great war governor in oliver p. morton, the steadfast friend of lincoln and a loyal anti-slavist. for five years in indianapolis the shrill sound of the fife and the roll of the drum scarcely ever ceased, day or night. those living to-day who recall the activities of the days of the civil war view the soldiers' monument, in the heart of the city, and the many evidences of reverence for the memory of our union soldiers in the beautiful cemeteries without surprise. these to them are but simple sequences, natural results. [illustration soldiers' monument, indianapolis.] the straggling village of the first days of the war soon became a bustling little city. for the first time business blocks began to appear along the leading streets and avenues. the architecture in the residences evinced a tendency toward the modern as time progressed. the corduroy or cobble streets were improved. the heavy artillery and ponderous wagons carrying munitions of war required something more substantial in heavy weather, and gravel was thrown upon the muddy thoroughfares. level as a plain, but beautifully drained by the slight inclines to the white river, it was possible to transform those streams of mud in winter-time and heaps of brown dust in the dry summer into the magnificently paved or perfectly asphalted streets of the present day. the city now has miles of improved streets--forty miles of asphalt, costing $ , , ; twenty-three miles of brick, $ , ; twelve miles of wooden block, $ , , and seventy-five miles of gravel and boulder, $ , . there are miles of cement sidewalks, which required an expenditure of $ , , and ninety-one miles of sewers, at an outlay of $ , , . [illustration marion county court house.] many beautiful residences, surrounded by well-kept lawns and parks, may be viewed by a drive through the city or by a tour over any of the lines of the splendidly managed consolidated street-railway system. the city has acres of parks, more attractive than the parks of washington. riverside park, containing acres, the ground for which was purchased in , lies along the white river. garfield park contains acres; brookside park, eighty-one acres; and there are various smaller parks throughout the city. the municipality of indianapolis has a large park fund, created from the sale of bonds and from a tax levied for park purposes. the financial condition of the municipality is the pride of the citizens. the value of school property is $ , , . the city library is a handsome building, erected especially for library purposes, and contains one hundred thousand volumes. in the legislature appropriated $ , for the erection in governor's circle of the monument to the soldiers and sailors of the state. the conerstone was laid august , . the monument was designed by bruno schmidt, of berlin, and was built of indiana limestone, at an expense of $ , , including the images at the base. the monument stands feet in height. around the approaches are eight magnificent candelabra, valued at $ , . the two cascades are the largest artificial waterfalls in the world, discharging each minute seven thousand gallons. the water is derived from driven wells beneath the monument, and after flowing over the cascade returns to the reservoir, from which it is again used through power furnished by force pumps. in the revenue of the city was $ , , , and the expenditure $ , , . the bonded debt was $ , , . the assessed valuation of property for was $ , , . there are five national banks with a combined capital of $ , , , and four trust companies with a combined capital of $ , , . the wholesale trade is extensive, confined mostly to drygoods, boots and shoes, and hats, and reaches as far south as texas and west to oklahoma. [illustration columbia club, indianapolis.] manufacturing interests are large, consisting mainly of structural iron, mill machinery, engines and various kinds of bent-wood. it is contended that only cincinnati, philadelphia, and new york surpass indianapolis in the amount of many manufactured products. mill machinery and structural iron is shipped in large quantities to europe, south america, and other foreign lands. indianapolis is one of the greatest horse markets in the country, and is surpassed by only three cities as a market for hogs and cattle. a belt railroad circles the city, connecting the two immense stockyards with all the steam railroads. [illustration the hendricks monument.] in may, , john herron willed to the art association $ , , with which to erect an art gallery. a site has been purchased, and the gallery is this year to be built. the commercial club, composed of the leading business men of the city and devoted to advancing the interests of the city, occupies its own building, an elegant eight-story structure. the home for the columbia club, a republican organization of state importance, which has just been completed at an expense of nearly $ , , is one of the finest club properties in the entire west. the marion and the university clubs both own their buildings, and the women, too, have a club-house. the law building is a handsome and valuable structure of twelve stories, occupied exclusively by attorneys. the corporation has a large law library for the use of the tenants. state institutions are the insane hospital, containing fifteen hundred patients; institute for the education of the blind, and a similar institution for deaf-mutes. the city has a large and handsomely equipped hospital, and there are two others well appointed. a new hotel building will this year take the place of the bates house, at a cost of more than $ , , . the city is adorned with impressive statues of her favorite sons: morton, whitcomb, william henry harrison, and george rogers clark in monument place, vice-president colfax in university park, and vice-president hendricks in the state house grounds. to these will be added in one of general henry w. lawton, a native hoosier, who fell in battle in the philippines, one of general pleasant a. hackleman, the only general officer from indiana killed in the civil war, and one sometime, of course, of the late ex-president harrison. except philadelphia, it is doubtful if there is a city in the union where a greater percentage of the wage-earners possess their own homes. labor strikes or disturbances are here almost unknown, and the conditions of peace and prosperity are assured for many years to come. [illustration] [illustration] vincennes the key to the northwest by william henry smith "on the banks of the wabash" is one of the greater historic sites of the great northwest. of no great importance, at least commercially, to-day, it was once the seat of the empire of france in the ohio valley, and long before, possibly when moses was leading his people out of bondage, the seat of an empire established by a race we now call prehistoric. when the mound builders came, whence they came, when they went away, or whither, will, in all probability never be determined; but they were surely here, and from the works they left behind, must have been here for centuries, and must have numbered millions. the site of their capital is not known, but if it was not on the spot where vincennes now stands, certainly one of the most populous cities of their empire did stand here. in the immediate vicinity are several large mounds, and around them are hundreds of smaller mounds. there must have been something attractive about this spot on the wabash, for after the mound builders deserted it and the red men came to occupy the land, they, too, selected it for the site of one of their principal towns. no one knows what tribes have dwelt here, but when it was first visited by white men, the pi-ank-a-shaws, one of the leading tribes of the great miami confederacy, organized to drive back eastward the six nations, occupied it as their principal village, and called it chip-kaw-kay. as the red men depended upon the forests and streams for both food and clothing, this was for them an ideal spot. the finest forests in america were here, filled with buffalo, bear, deer, and other game; while the wabash furnished them fish and gave them a highway easily traversed by which to visit friends in other sections or to make raids on hostile tribes. the traditions of the pi-ank-a-shaws indicate that they occupied the site for more than a century before the coming of the whites. just when the first white man visited the spot cannot be determined. there is little doubt that la salle passed up the wabash about , gave it the name of the ouabache, and marked it on his maps.[ ] finding an indian town, he probably stopped and, as was his wont, made friends with the tribes. a few years later the town was abandoned for a while, owing to the irruptions of the fierce iroquois, who were extremely hostile to the french, and la salle gathered all the other indian tribes around his fort on the illinois, where they remained until about . when the iroquois retired over the mountains the other tribes returned to their old homes; the pi-ank-a-shaws to their village on the wabash, the weas erecting their wigwams near the mouth of the tippecanoe, and the twightwees locating at the head of the maumee. afterward the delawares took up their home in central indiana, the shawnees in the eastern portion, and the pottawatomies around the foot of lake michigan. the indians had hardly gotten back to their old hunting-grounds before the _coureurs des bois_ began to make excursions into the territory in search of peltries and adventures. some of them penetrated as far as chip-kaw-kay and dwelt for some time with the pi-ank-a-shaws. traditions tell of the visit of a missionary or two, but there is no certainty. rumors grew of english traders crossing the mountains, and as all the territory from the alleghanies to the mississippi was claimed by france because of the explorations of la salle, the french authorities in canada and louisiana became alarmed, and in sent out jean baptiste bissot, the sieur de vincent, from canada to establish posts on the wabash. he reached ke-ki-on-ga, the town of the twightwees, at the head of the maumee, selected it for one of his posts, and for another, wea town, below the mouth of the tippecanoe. at that time not all of the ohio valley was under the jurisdiction of canada, but the lower half of what are now ohio, indiana, and illinois belonged to the province of louisiana. for this reason bissot made no effort to establish posts farther down the wabash than wea town, afterward known as ouiatenon. he died at ke-ki-on-ga, in . the incursions of the english growing bolder and more frequent, m. broisbriant, governor of louisiana, about , ordered françois margane, sieur de vincent, who had succeeded to the title of his uncle, jean baptiste bissot, to prepare to repel the advance of the english and drive them back across the mountains. for this purpose margane established a post at chip-kaw-kay, and about seven years later a number of french-canadian families settled there. this was the first settlement of whites in indiana, although trading posts had previously been established at the head of the maumee and at ouiatenon. this was the beginning of vincennes, which was called "the post," "au poste," and "old post," till in it received the present name. margane commanded the post until , when he joined an expedition against the indians on the mississippi, and was captured and burned at the stake. after his death till the territory was ceded in to the british, the post was commanded by lieutenant louis st. ange, who had assisted in establishing it. the french during this period lived in peace and friendship with the indians, the pi-ank-a-shaws giving the settlers a large tract of land around the post for their use. this land was held in common by all the inhabitants. in the spring a certain portion was allotted to the head of each family, or to any one else willing to cultivate it, but when the harvest was over the fences were taken down and the land again became public property. after the accession of st. ange to the command, he made to certain of the more important persons in the little settlement individual grants of some of this land, which later caused great confusion. lieutenant st. ange had much influence with the indians, and as the french made no attempts to claim the lands of the indians, or to destroy their hunting-grounds by cutting down the forests, the little settlement at vincennes lived without molestation or fear, until about , when british agents stirred up some of the tribes to attempt the destruction of the french posts in the ohio valley. st. ange put his post in a secure state of defence, and although a few friendly indians were killed by the hostiles in the immediate neighborhood, the post itself was not attacked. [illustration early french settlers at vincennes.] when canada was ceded to the british it took with it the posts at the head of the maumee and wea town. they were garrisoned by small detachments of british troops. pontiac's conspiracy to drive the british out of the country included the capture and destruction of all the posts then held by the british west of the mountains. the two other posts in indiana were captured, but vincennes, being still under the command of st. ange, was not attacked. pontiac endeavored to enlist st. ange in his warfare against the colonists, but that astute officer was proof against all his blandishments. when the treaty of was made known, st. ange was transferred to the command of fort chartres, on the mississippi, and left the affairs of vincennes under the control of three of the more prominent citizens. the british reoccupied fort miamis, at the head of the maumee, and garrisoned fort chartres, but did not occupy vincennes or assume control over its affairs. general gage, commander-in-chief of the british forces in america, issued a proclamation to the people of vincennes offering them the privilege of remaining or of removing to the french or spanish possessions, assuring them that if they remained they should have the same religious privileges as had been granted to the people of canada. in a later proclamation he informed the inhabitants that he would not recognize any claim they had to the lands in and around the post. the priest of the little parish and some of the leading citizens memorialized the general, showing that the lands had been held by them for many years under grants recognized by the french government, and that it would be a hardship now to deprive them of the rights they had so long enjoyed. on the receipt of this memorial general gage ordered that all evidences of title be submitted to him at boston. this, for various reasons, could not be done. many of the written grants had, as was the custom in france, been left in charge of a notary, who had disappeared with them. in other cases, the grants had been verbal, title passing again, after a french fashion, by the giving of possession with certain ceremonies. while this matter was in contest between the citizens of vincennes and general gage, the first mutterings of the american revolution brought the general duties of more pressing interest, and nothing further was done in regard to the land grants at vincennes. from , when st. ange left for fort chartres, until , the people of vincennes had no civil government except such as they exercised themselves. on may , , lieutenant-governor abbott, of detroit, arrived and formally took possession of the place for the king, establishing a government and building a small stockade fort, which he named "fort sackville." he reported the "wabache" as one of the finest rivers in the world, and spoke highly of the peaceful and correct attitude of the citizens of vincennes. he also took supervision of the garrisons at ouiatenon and fort miamis, and the work of the british agents in stirring up the indians to active hostilities against the americans began. the arrival of lieutenant-governor abbott, and the hostilities of the indians he encouraged, gave rise to the most interesting chapter in the history of vincennes, and one of the most dramatic chapters in the history of the united states. through the influence of the british agents, the savages made a number of forays against the people of kentucky, and brought about an event which added an empire to the united states. in all american history there is no story more remarkable than that of george rogers clark, yet it is one of the least known. some of the encyclopædias do not even mention him, while others dismiss with a few lines a man who gave an empire to the united states. he lived a remarkable life, performed great services for his country, and was then permitted to die in extreme poverty in his old age. his country neglected even to reimburse him for the expenses incurred while winning for it an empire. [illustration fort sackville, .] in clark was a citizen of kentucky. the great question to the people of kentucky was how best to defend themselves against the indian forays. clark, through reports of spies he had sent out, became satisfied that the indian hostilities were fomented by the british at the various posts northwest of the ohio river. he went to virginia and laid the facts before governor patrick henry. he pointed out that the best, if not the only, way to protect the people of kentucky was to capture and hold the posts at kaskaskia, vincennes, and detroit; that with those posts in the possession of the americans they could overawe and hold in subjection the various indian tribes. he offered in person to lead an expedition for their capture. [illustration clark and his men crossing the river.] it was known to governor henry that the spaniards west of the mississippi had been secretly trying, with some encouragement, to induce the people of kentucky to place themselves under spanish protection. when clark approached him with the suggestion to capture the posts northwest of the ohio, governor henry at first regarded the project as chimerical. one day, after a long argument, clark left his presence with the significant remark "that a country that was not worth defending was not worth possessing." interpreting this remark to mean that if virginia would not help to defend kentucky the people there would seek protection from spain, governor henry recalled clark, and after a further conference, authorized him to recruit men for the capture of the posts. he gave him also a small supply of virginia money and some ammunition. returning to kentucky, clark hastily recruited a number of men, without divulging his purpose to them. they rendezvoused on an island in the ohio river, opposite the site of louisville. there he explained his full design, and all but about refused to join the expedition. undismayed, clark floated the few men remaining with him down the river in boats prepared for the purpose, and captured kaskaskia on the th of july, . hearing that the british had a large force at vincennes, and had gathered around the fort a large number of indians hostile to the americans, he waited at kaskaskia till he could get further information. the cordial welcome which the french inhabitants of kaskaskia gave the americans led clark to believe that the inhabitants of vincennes would prove friendly. french in both places, they were easily led by their priests. the priest at kaskaskia, father gibault, a warm partisan of clark, offered to go to vincennes, sound the inhabitants, and learn the strength of the british there. his offer was accepted, and with a single companion he made the journey. he found the french inhabitants, in the absence of the commander of the post, who had gone to detroit, willing to welcome a change of rulers, and induced them to go in a body to the little church and take an oath of allegiance to the american colonies. after this they took possession of fort sackville, and garrisoned it with some of their own number. father gibault also induced the indians to bury the hatchet and promise to live in peace with the americans, now the friends, as he reminded them, of their great french father. the news of his success was speedily sent to clark. though he had no troops to send to garrison the fort, he dispatched captain leonard helm to assume direction of affairs. this was a fortunate selection, for helm added to great courage, tact and an intimate knowledge of the indian character. it was not long before the british authorities at detroit were informed of the change in the situation at kaskaskia and vincennes, and at once began preparations to recover the lost ground. at this time colonel henry hamilton, of the british army, was lieutenant-governor of detroit. he assembled a force of five hundred men--regulars, militia and indians--and started for vincennes. captain helm did not learn of the approach of this force until, about the middle of december, it was within three miles of the fort. his garrison consisted of one american and a few inhabitants of vincennes. seeing that it would be impossible to defend the fort, the inhabitants quietly dispersed to their homes, leaving helm and his one american in the fort. though he knew he could not successfully defend the fort, helm put on a bold front, loaded his two cannon, and placed himself at one and his solitary soldier at the other. to hamilton's demand for the surrender of the post, helm replied that no man could enter the post until the terms of surrender were made known. being promised the honors of war, he surrendered himself and his one man, to the chagrin of hamilton, on discovering the size of the garrison. the approach of the british had been so sudden that helm was not able to dispatch a messenger to clark, who in consequence remained for several weeks in ignorance of the change in the situation. the last word he had received from helm was a request for more supplies. at that time francis vigo, a merchant of st. louis, happened to be in kaskaskia. loving the americans and hating the british, he volunteered to go to vincennes and make arrangements to furnish the garrison with supplies. vigo started on his journey at once, but was captured by the british just before he reached vincennes, and taken before hamilton. to his demand for immediate release on the score that he was a citizen of st. louis, hamilton was deaf, until the roman catholic priest, heading a delegation of citizens, notified hamilton that they would furnish no supplies for the garrison unless vigo were released. vigo was released, after promising against his will that "on his way to st. louis he would do no act hostile to the british interest." he at once took a canoe and was rapidly paddled down the wabash to the ohio, then on to st. louis. keeping the letter of his pledge he did nothing hostile on his way to st. louis, but on his arrival there he jumped from the boat to the land and then back into the boat, and pushed with all speed for kaskaskia, where he told clark of the condition of affairs. clark at once saw the danger surrounding him. the term of enlistment of most of his men was about to expire. by making them large promises he induced about to extend their enlistment for a term of eight months, and recruited about fifty more from the inhabitants of kaskaskia. he could get no reinforcements short of virginia, even if he could obtain them there. if he waited until spring hamilton would be largely reinforced, he would be driven from kaskaskia, and his whole design frustrated. he determined to make a winter campaign. he sent forty-six of his men in boats carrying provisions and ammunition around by water, and with set off february , , to make a march of near two hundred miles. it was a fearful enterprise. the land for most of the way was level, and water, when it rained, or when the snow melted, lay in a broad sheet over the whole country. he did not know how many of his foes were before him. he had no tents to shelter his men and no way of transporting baggage; there were a few pack horses to carry what provisions and ammunition the men could not carry on their backs. [illustration general george rogers clark.] his men were all hardy frontiersmen; their leader had imbued them with his own heroic spirit; they feared no danger. before they left the little settlement of kaskaskia, the good priest gave them a blessing, and all the people accompanied them the first three or four miles of their journey. scarcely had the farewells been said and the march begun when the rain began to fall, and for nearly twenty days there was but a brief glimpse of sunshine now and then. only a few miles had been covered when they struck a long stretch of overflowed land. although the water was cold, into it they plunged, their gallant leader in front; and until the evening of the d they saw no dry land, except an occasional half-acre or so barely peeping above the flood of waters and furnishing a meagre resting-place. it can hardly be said they rested, for on several occasions they had to remain standing throughout the night, or were compelled to walk about to keep from freezing. when they came to a river that had overflowed its banks and was too deep to ford, they made canoes and rafts and floated over. always they found the water covered with a thin coating of ice in the morning, and through the ice and water they forced their way. when the water was deep the sergeant carried the drummer boy on his shoulders, and from that perch he beat his charge. sometimes the water was only knee-deep; sometimes it reached the middle and often to the shoulders; but not one of the men thought of turning back. the boat with provisions that had been sent around by water failed to connect and to their other discomforts hunger was added. on the morning of the st they came within sound of the morning gun at fort sackville, but it required two more days of wandering without provisions before they could cross the wabash river. at last they captured some indians and with them the half of a buffalo rump, which they made into a broth. on the d they arrived at the heights back of the town, and for the first time since their departure had an opportunity to dry their clothing. clark sent a letter to the french inhabitants of the town, telling them of his presence, but warning them not to give any information to hamilton. the news caused the greatest excitement; the french ran about the streets telling it with joy, for hamilton had won their hatred. they sent out provisions to the hungry americans, who that night marched into the town and by opening fire on the fort gave the first intimation to hamilton and the garrison of the presence of an enemy. the firing was continued until about nine o'clock the next morning, when a surrender was demanded, accompanied by a threat that if the place had to be taken by storm the officers would be treated as murderers. a parley ensued, followed after a few hours by the surrender of the fort, and once more the american flag floated over fort sackville, which was then renamed fort patrick henry. hamilton and the other officers were sent to williamsburg, va., where they were held in custody for a year or two. from papers found in the fort, clark learned that reinforcements, bringing supplies and stores, were on the way, and at once sent a part of his little force to intercept and capture the reinforcements, which was promptly done.[ ] vincennes was now the most important place in the illinois country. when colonel john todd was appointed lieutenant for the county of illinois, he made colonel legrace his deputy for vincennes, who established the first court the place ever had. virginia ceded the territory to the united states, and by the ordinance of a civil government was set up, governor st. clair sending winthrop sargent to assume direct jurisdiction at vincennes. the french inhabitants were finally permitted to hold the lands to which they could show title, while all the rest were taken by the government. clark added an empire to the domain of the colonies, made possible the louisiana purchase and the future extension of the country to the pacific, and then in his extreme old age virginia sent him only a sword when he asked for repayment of what he had disbursed for the country. in indiana territory was established with vincennes as its capital. the jurisdiction of the territory then included what are now the states of indiana, illinois, michigan, and wisconsin, and a part of minnesota, and to this was afterward added for a short time the whole of the louisiana purchase. on the th of july, , the government of indiana territory was formally organized. the governor, william henry harrison, was, however, not present. general john gibson, who represented him, was one of the revolutionary heroes. he had married a sister of logan, the celebrated mingo chief, and it was to his brother that logan made his famous speech. on his arrival, governor harrison began the work of trading the indians out of their lands. he made one treaty after another, until more than one half of the present indiana, together with a good part of illinois, was ceded. he erected the first brick house in all that section, perhaps the first west of the alleghanies, in its day a structure so magnificent as to be called the "governor's palace." it is still standing, and near it the tree under which the governor held his historic interview with tecumseh, when the indian chief planned the governor's death. [illustration william henry harrison.] [illustration st. xavier's church, .] in the territorial capital was removed to corydon, and the political importance of vincennes ceased. already a university had been established, congress giving to it a township of land, and the beginning was made for what is now one of the most valuable libraries in the west. the first church in the northwest territory was built in vincennes about , under the rectorship of father meurin, who had come from france to care for the spiritual wants of the settlers. in m. rivet, a french priest, driven from his native country by the terrors of the revolution, arrived at vincennes and opened the first school taught in indiana. the vincennes of to-day is a thriving, bustling city of ten thousand inhabitants. it has modern schools and modern churches, modern ideas and modern progressiveness. as a city it has had its ups and downs since it lost political prestige, but for some years it has steadily grown, until now it is classed as one of the beautiful cities of the state. surrounded by a magnificent agricultural section, and with many manufacturing interests, it threw off long ago the old french habits and customs and took on a progressive spirit, which promises a bright future. vincennes has had a glorious past; it occupies a unique place among the historic towns of the country. boston may have been the cradle of american independence; philadelphia the place where that liberty was first announced; but after all boston gave to the union only massachusetts, and philadelphia only pennsylvania. vincennes gave us indiana, ohio, illinois, michigan, and wisconsin, the great middle west. but for the genius and perseverance of george rogers clark, when independence came the united colonies would have stopped at the alleghanies. the capture of vincennes spread the jurisdiction of the colonies to the mississippi, carrying with it american liberty, american progress, american ideas. more than this, it made possible the louisiana purchase, which in turn opened the way to the annexation of texas, the securing of california and the pacific coast, and the later acquisition of hawaii and the philippines. the capture of vincennes carried american liberty to a domain stretching from the alleghany mountains to the pacific ocean, yea even to the orient--a domain which else would still be british or spanish. it was indiana, of which vincennes was the chief part, that stopped the extension of slavery at the ohio river, and made all the northwest free territory. it was at vincennes that aaron burr received his first decided check in his great scheme to dismember the union. it was benjamin parke, a citizen of vincennes, who placed in the first constitution of the state the clause making it obligatory on the legislature to provide for the care and treatment of the insane, the first provision of the kind made by any civilized government, a provision which has revolutionized the treatment of the insane throughout the world. such is the story of vincennes, no frontier town like albany or pittsburg, for when its history began vincennes was hundreds of miles out in the wilderness beyond the frontier line, and was still hundreds of miles beyond when the great event occurred which changed it from a french settlement under the jurisdiction of great britain into the chief seat of american power west of the alleghanies. [illustration] footnotes: [ ] la salle, in drawing his maps, made the ouabache to empty into the mississippi at cairo, according to him the oyo (ohio) was a tributary of the ouabache. about , one, m. juchereau, sent to establish a post for the protection of the traders in peltries, reported that he had established a post about forty leagues above the mouth of the ouabache. some writers have taken that to mean vincennes, and it is so recorded in some of the encyclopædias, but his post was on what is now called the ohio, and not on the wabash. [ ] clark began at once to organize an expedition against detroit, but it never started. francis vigo, who had let clark have provisions and money for his expedition against vincennes, aided in like manner in fitting out the new expedition, lending money to the amount of $ , for which clark gave him an order on virginia. the order was never honored, and an appeal was made to congress. finally, in , nearly a century after the debt was contracted, and nearly thirty-seven years after vigo had died in extreme poverty, congress referred the matter to the court of claims, which four years later allowed the claim, together with more than $ , in interest. [illustration] chicago large in every way by lyman j. gage the plotting of the site of chicago was characteristic of the practical sentiment that has ever stimulated the city. no less a personage than washington established the streets and boundaries of the national capital; religious romance presided at the founding of san francisco; interesting legends cluster about the origin of other american communities; and in the old world demigods were supposed to have watched over the beginnings of ancient cities. chicago, though neither hero nor fabled deity was present when its foundations were laid, had a start none the less imposing, for the genius of industry and trade fixed its metes and bounds. and in the growth of the city into perhaps the industrial capital of the continent there has been presented a supreme expression of that resourceful and triumphant ingenuity which has redeemed the american wilderness. the desolation upon which the plodding engineer planted his theodolite three-score-and-ten years ago is a colossal hive of human activity. a marsh has become a metropolis. the promoters of the illinois and michigan canal were not the first to see the possibility of water communication via the present site of chicago between the great lakes and the mississippi river. in , joliet wrote to the authorities in canada that by the cutting of a canal through half a league of prairie it would be possible for boats to "pass from the lake of illinois into the st. louis river [the illinois including the desplaines] which empties into the mississippi." one hundred years before our republic was conceived, a mathematician, but no mere _visionnaire_, the son of a wheelwright of quebec, realized that the "portage of checagau" was the meeting-place of the future traffic between the chain of inland seas and the rivers flowing toward the mexican gulf. it is plain that nature located chicago. the meeting-point between unparalleled watercourses could not but be a place for the distribution of commodities. to the north, awaiting the woodman, were the lumber regions of michigan and wisconsin; south and west and east stretched the prairie, to be developed into farms; in illinois alone, thirty thousand square miles of coal fields were to be uncovered, while pennsylvania's inexhaustible supply was to find a vast market at this centre of lake shipping; and the iron, red-stone, and copper regions of lake superior were to pile their output on chicago docks. the natural meeting-place of grain, lumber, fuel, and iron would have become a city of commerce and manufactures, even if steam railroads and navigation had not come to assist in the unique development of this _entrepôt_, by making it the half-way house for transcontinental traffic. but though nature, as the rev. robert collyer has said, "called the lakes, the forest, the prairies together in convention, and they decided that on this spot a great city should be built," chicago has been singularly blessed in the alert and enterprising genius of her citizens. her business men have worked with catholic outlook, knowing that what upbuilt the city in general would augment their individual projects. the city has never been, even in its aboriginal beginnings, an abiding-place for visionaries. the minneways were a picturesque tribe. their chiefs assumed poetic names, and the young men cherished the traditions of their people; but the tribe did not take advantage of its strategic opportunities. checagau to them was not a coign of vantage between great waters. at the shore of a vast lake, or the brink of a broad river, their dominion halted, for they were not navigators. in their dialect, "checagau" meant "wild onion." as if to typify the force that was to dominate their region in later centuries, the checagau country fell to the conquering "canoe men," the adventurous pottawatomies, the chippewas, the sacs, and kindred tribes who, unafraid to venture on the water, turned to trade, exchanging furs and pelts with the french pioneers for food, blankets, and ornamental trinkets. they became the masters of the lake country, and the broken remnant of the uncommercial tribe fled to the wabash, there to wail their plaintive songs.[ ] meanwhile the conquering tribesmen, whose canoes paddled up the mississippi and the illinois to the "checagau portage," to barter with canadian _voyageurs_, or glided thence across the lakes, touching at the outposts of colonizers and missionary friars, were prefiguring the gigantic activities of civilized men who in a later age were to radiate from this same coveted point of distribution. but as they had won their checagau country by might, and established their holdings by commercial enterprise, so they resisted the coming of their european rivals and masters. although as early as , by the treaty of greenville, they ceded much domain to our country, including "one piece of land six miles square, at the mouth of the checagau river," the intrigue of the powerful tecumseh and his brother, the prophet, led the tribes to disregard these and subsequent treaty stipulations. so that when, on the same day that saw the capitulation of detroit, fort dearborn was burned and its garrison massacred, "the last vestige," says henry adams, "of american authority on the western lakes disappeared. thenceforward the line of the wabash and the maumee became the military boundary of the united states in the northwest, and the country felt painful doubt whether even that line could be defended." for four years the unburied bones of the fort dearborn victims lay where the bodies had fallen. then came peace, christian interment of these pathetic human fragments, and a reorganization of the valuable fur trade of the region. the spot again became the centre of this industry. trading posts were re-established on the illinois river and the kankakee with the pottawatomies of the prairies; at rock river with the winnebagoes; at milwaukee with the menomonies, and at le large with the kickapoos. trains of pack horses carried the furs and peltries to chicago, and in the spring vessels touching at that port bore these valuable cargoes to mackinac, where the american fur company, organized by john jacob astor, had established its headquarters. [illustration the dearborn monument.] in , governor lewis cass of michigan territory and solomon sibley, with henry r. schoolcraft as their secretary, representing the united states, met three thousand indian braves at chicago. topinebee and meeta were spokesmen for the tribes. in consideration of five thousand dollars, to be paid annually for five years, the pottawatomies and other tribes ceded to this government , , acres of land lying in michigan and illinois. the marvellous real estate transactions subsequently negotiated in chicago, whereby citizens have multiplied their millions, have not eclipsed this profitable investment of the federal government in . although some minds foresaw a possible future for chicago in this centre of a rich domain owned by the republic, there was no rush to the spot. in , the officials of fulton county, of which the village was then a part, levied a tax of five mills to the dollar upon property in the new port, with the result that there was carried back to the county treasury the sum of $ . . surely a small beginning to lead to taxes in amounting to $ , , . . in , when the sum of $ . was the aggregate of taxes collected from chicago, the total assessed value of property was $ . in , the actual valuation of chicago property was fairly $ , , , . no one, perhaps, of the few settlers who drifted to the place dreamed of such mighty possibilities, yet as early as the future of the city was a chosen topic of conversation among those enthusiastic pioneers. one of these, dr. elijah d. harmon, true to his baptismal name, was singularly prophetic. he located in chicago in , acquired a section of land, built a sod fence about it, and there planted fruit trees of all descriptions. mrs. kinzie states that the south path to the settlement led by dr. harmon's nursery, and that as people passed he sought to impress upon them "the certain future importance of chicago." in , lots were being sold at prices ranging from $ to $ . in that year thomas hartzell purchased eighty acres (being the west half of the northeast quarter section) for $ . an acre. low as these prices were, they were an advance upon valuations a few years before. in the archives of the chicago historical society is a letter written to john wentworth by father st. cyr, recounting how one bonhomme sold the north half of chicago to pierre ménard for $ , but that the latter, finding land cheaper near peoria, and more fertile, repented of his bargain, and hurrying back unloaded what he believed to be a poor investment upon john kinzie, who was not unwilling to take the property at the same figure at which ménard had purchased it. by , values had so increased that the investment had made mr. kinzie rich. the belief which soon began to take possession of the minds of white men, that the little settlement was to be a city set in the midst of a new empire of civilization, had also aroused the celebrated indian, black hawk. he was convinced that, unless the tribes could be federated into compact opposition to their conquering enemies, the hunting-grounds of his people would speedily be converted into the homes and cities of the paleface. emulating the career of tecumseh, black hawk in addressed a grand council, attended by representatives of fifty tribes. "let all our tribes unite," said he, "and we shall have an army of warriors equal in numbers to the trees of the forest." the appeal was eloquent and moving, but shawbonee, who had been with tecumseh when that leader fell at the battle of the thames, answered black hawk. "your army," he cried, "would equal in number the trees of the forest, and you would encounter an army of palefaces as numerous as the leaves of those trees." the arguments of shawbonee prevailed, the native attempt at coalition was defeated, and henceforward the activities of the white races in peopling the valley of the mississippi and building to the northward, on the shore of lake michigan, its great metropolis, proceeded without any one to molest or make afraid. thus shawbonee (whose name is variously spelled), in successfully opposing the red men's far-reaching conspiracy, assisted materially in advancing the interests of chicago. in token of this service, the historical society has given his portrait a place of honor, and has preserved the record of his deeds. [illustration the united states government building, chicago.] late in july, , three years after the canal surveyor, james thompson, had surveyed and mapped out the town which was to be, a public meeting was held to decide whether incorporation should be effected. there were twelve votes in favor of incorporation, and one against, and the place made its start among historic towns. a few days later the following election notice was posted: "publick notice is hereby given that an election will be holden at the house of mark beaubien, on saturday, the th day of august, at o'clock in the forenoon of that day, for the purpose of choosing five trustees of the town of chicago." "chicago, august , . "e.s. kimberly, town clerk. "n.b. the poll will close at one o'clock." on the appointed day, twenty-eight electors, the full number of citizens entitled to suffrage in the new town, found their way to mark beaubien's house and availed themselves of the privilege of freemen. thirteen of them announced their willingness to shoulder the responsibilities of office. the first business transacted by the trustees was the establishment of a free ferry across the river at dearborn street; the second, the reconstruction of the "estray pen" into a solid and sufficiently commodious log jail. these two programmes--the extension of commercial facilities and the stern suppression of lawlessness--have ever since been conspicuous in the city's history. then the town was born. its development into a municipal titan is one of the marvels of history. in , p.f.w. peck arrived on a schooner, bringing with him a small stock of goods. "he built," says mr. colbert, "a small log store near the fort, which made an important addition to the trade of chicago." in the year , just seventy years later, the amount of wholesale goods distributed from this centre throughout the country amounted to $ , , , the volume of drygoods alone being $ , , ; groceries, $ , , ; clothing, $ , , ; shoes, $ , , ; books and paper, $ , , , and other items in proportion; while the manufactured products sent forth aggregated in value $ , , , and the total business of the city reached the high figure of $ , , , . the year that concluded the nineteenth century recorded transfers of real estate amounting in round numbers to $ , , , in striking contrast to that early transaction wherein chicago's first investor repented him of paying $ for the northern half of the city. but the little town was not to achieve great things without a struggle. fire, flood, panic, and pestilence had first to be faced and fought. the small band in the incorporated town started out determined to develop the settlement into a city, notwithstanding the dismal prophecies of certain learned men that a city would never rise on this unpropitious swamp. professor william h. keating, geologist and historiographer, had furnished the pioneer townsmen with the melancholy message: [illustration auditorium hotel, chicago.] "the dangers attending the navigation of the lake, and the scarcity of harbors along the shore, must ever prove an obstacle to the increase of the commercial importance of chicago. the extent of the sand banks which are formed on the eastern and southern shore by the prevailing north and northwesterly winds will likewise prevent any important works from being undertaken to improve the port of chicago." in the light of this prediction it is interesting to note that in the vessels mooring or weighing anchor there numbered , , and brought and carried away cargoes aggregating , , tons. nevertheless, for some years, because of the quagmire condition of streets and the frequent inundations from lake and river, chicago was termed derisively the "amphibious town." by filling in the land, the city long since literally lifted itself out of the mud, the level of streets to-day being eight feet above the original marsh. but even before the transformation of the town into a city, it was plain that the founders had come to build it into a centre of trade and population. encouraging progress was being made on the illinois and michigan canal, the population of the town was increasing, neighboring prairies were being tilled, and the water carriers who drove their carts into the lake, filled their barrels, and then distributed water by the bucketful, were giving way to the hydraulic company. a new era was at hand, and chicago on the th of march, , became an organized municipality. the first census, taken in july, , showed a population in the city of men, women, and children. with a colored population of , the grand total of inhabitants in this its first year's existence as a city was . to-day its population is nearing the two-million mark. o.d. wetherell, ex-city comptroller, recalls a letter, written at an early date by a citizen, in which the prediction was made that some day chicago would become a city of , people! at the time, that prophecy seemed to be more wildly optimistic than would a prediction now that the city might ultimately harbor the amazing total of ten million persons. the early promoters of chicago were sanguine of a great future, but none dreamed of the amazing destiny in store. at a political gathering in , addressed by stephen a. douglas and john t. stuart, his competing candidate for congress, a local orator, warmed by the enthusiasm of the occasion, uttered what was derisively referred to the next day as "flamboyant prophecy." "the child is already born," he exclaimed, "who shall live to see chicago a city of , souls." "town lots, town lots!" shouted the audience in amiable sarcasm, not wishing the visiting statesman to depart with the suspicion that dreams of real-estate speculation had destroyed the sanity of the whole community. for three years the town had been the centre of a great land craze, one of the first real-estate booms that have played so important a part in the location and development of western cities. dr. horace chase, writing in from milwaukee, says: "soon after the sale of lots in chicago, in , i think, robert kinzie, on his way to detroit, stopped at marsh's trading post near coldwater. there happened to be several of us present and bob began to boast about chicago and what a great city it would become. 'why,' said he, 'i bought some of the best lots in chicago for twenty dollars apiece, and those lots are worth sixty dollars apiece to-day!' it seemed to us utterly absurd that a lot should be worth sixty dollars, when two hundred dollars would buy one hundred and sixty acres of the best quality. not a single person in the crowd believed bob's yarn." [illustration the art institute, chicago.] as an example of the spirit which animated these old pioneers who came in the early days to the great city that was to be, the story of one man furnishes an interesting illustration. the writer had it from the lips of the man himself, who recently died at the ripe age of eighty-two. "i had heard of the west," he said, "in the little hamlet in new england where i was born. my ambition was fired, and i determined at all hazards to seek my fortune there. i soon found myself in buffalo with seven dollars in my pocket, and with this i had to pay my transportation to the young city in the west. after considerable 'higgling' with the captain of a schooner i arranged for deck passage at a cost of three dollars. part of my money was then expended to get some cotton cloth. this i sewed up in the shape of a bag, and into it i put some shavings to soften the hard planks of the deck of the ship at night. the balance of the money went for boiled ham, cheese, and bread. "i was twenty years old, had been a farm boy, and had attained no special knowledge of any manual trade. i arrived in chicago and found it a dismal, swampy place, but with every appearance of thrift and activity. my money was exhausted, and work was indispensable. going along the one important street or road i found a man building a rather pretentious boarding house. he asked me if i 'came off that ship in the harbor,' and when i answered 'yes,' he inquired whether there were any carpenters on board. i told him there was none excepting myself. he wanted to know if i could 'lay out work' so that his men could saw and hammer, which was all they could do. it seemed to me that i could 'lay out work' better than anything else, and engaged myself to him at four dollars a day. two days satisfied my new boss that my technical knowledge was deficient, and he paid me off. i soon afterwards found work in a harness shop, and by assiduity and attention i acquired a knowledge of that business. thus i got my start." this man lived continuously in chicago for more than sixty years. by early and judicious investments in real estate he acquired wealth. he bought a lot, now centrally located, for $ , and sold a part of it thirty years later for $ , . he sold it too soon, however, for that same corner will bring at the present time not less than $ , . at his death he left an estate valued at between $ , , and $ , , . fortunes were made over night. in the federal government opened a land office, and this intensified the excitement. boundless acres of outlying farmland changed hands in chicago. towns and cities that had no existence save on the blue prints of imaginative and wily promoters were plotted, and their mythical blocks sold to hasty and credulous investors. but the panic of brought both legitimate and illicit real-estate traffic to a close with a crash. the dishonest and the defrauded went down in a common ruin. by the sheriff was the only real-estate agent who could dispose of property, and at these forced sales the returns were meager. panic paralyzing business, a mysterious disease like asiatic cholera stopping progress on the canal, and a drought destroying crops, impoverishing streams, and spreading devastating fever in the city, was the calamitous record of . chicago as a city began with $ in its treasury. the need for municipal improvement was imperative. where to get money for sanitary drainage, for the paving of a few streets, and the purchase of two fire engines, was a problem. the common council appointed a finance committee with power to act. [illustration statue of abraham lincoln by st. gaudens.] peter bolles was made chairman. it was finally decided to borrow $ , from the state bank of illinois, pledging the city to redeem the obligation in five years. in due time the committee submitted as its report the following letter: "state bank of illinois, "springfield, may , . "peter bolles, esq., "_dear sir_: "your letter of the th, addressed to the president of this bank and proposing on behalf of the city of chicago a loan from this bank of the sum of $ , , has been laid before the directors of the bank, and, i regret to have to state, declined. "i am very respectfully, "your o'bt serv't, "n.h. ridgely, cashier." in the city which sixty-three years before could not borrow $ , , could boast of bank clearances amounting to $ , , , . the poverty and disasters of early days seemed only to nerve the city to renewed determination and prepare her to meet with stoic faith the appalling calamities of later years. in this résumé it is only possible to catalogue the misfortunes that visited her. floods swept away her shipping, fire destroyed her accumulating industries, raging epidemics reduced her population--cholera alone in causing deaths--and financial panic again and again returned to manacle activities. many times in chicago's history citizens could well exclaim: "one woe upon another's heels doth tread, so fast they follow!" unconquerable in the presence of these recurrent visitations, the city pressed forward to her place as the metropolis of the mississippi empire. at an early day "prairie schooners," pioneers of the great freight trains to come, laden with grain from the fertile areas round about began to line the prairie roads leading to chicago. in , two years after the city was begun, a crude grain elevator was constructed. the farmers, too poor to furnish sacks, brought their grain in sheets, blankets, and pieces of canvas. it was hoisted by hand with block and tackle to the elevator, and in the year mentioned bushels of wheat, consigned to black rock, new york, were dumped loose into the hold of the brig _osceola_. from this primitive beginning has grown a mighty volume of trade in grain. in the wheat, corn, oats, rye, and barley shipped from chicago amounted to , , bushels, while the receipts aggregated , , bushels. it was not until that the common council came to the conclusion that the place was sufficiently advanced as a city to warrant the enactment of an ordinance declaring that hogs should no longer be permitted to run at large in the streets. in , far from being unwelcome, over , , hogs, safely penned in cars, arrived in the city and were sent to the slaughter. in writing of chicago it is customary to deal in superlatives, and this is necessary in the nature of things. its union stock yards cover acres, nearly twice the area of the original town. twenty miles of streets thread this meat-packing colony, which pays wages amounting to nearly $ , , a year. in there were shipped to chicago , carloads of hogs, cattle, sheep, etc. its trade in grain leads every city in the world, while its general mercantile traffic is surpassed by few. the first railroad at that time was the galena and chicago union, which was chartered january , . galena at that time was believed to be destined far to outrival her neighbor, and therefore demanded and secured the place of honor in the title of the road. to-day thirty-nine distinct railroads enter chicago, more than half the railway systems of america make that city their objective point, and the aggregate distance travelled by freight and passenger trains daily entering the metropolis is over , miles. in the thunder of this traffic the clamor of rivalry long since died away. the british critic, mr. archer, remarked that he was unable to detect the slightest evidence of competition with chicago even in a "pisgah view from the top of the auditorium." the employment of large adjectives in the recital of the city's history is not without warrant. "the trouble with you people in chicago," remarked a visitor, "is that you exaggerate too much." "we have to," retorted a citizen, proudly, "in fact we have to lie to tell the truth." even when we speak of the fire of , we must call it the "great chicago fire," for never before perhaps in the history of the world were so many of the piled-up monuments of man's hands consumed so rapidly. such awful moments, happily, seldom come in the history of communities. it was as if the fires of dante's inferno had been permitted for a night and day to devastate a great city of this planet. one thousand four hundred and seventy acres of buildings were utterly consumed. the entire business portion of the city vanished in smoke and flame. one hundred thousand persons were left homeless and in many cases penniless. seventeen thousand four hundred and fifty buildings were destroyed, the total valuation of the loss by fire being $ , , . in the presence of a catastrophe, so vast that the imagination reeled as the eye wandered over the mighty paths where the cyclones of fire had swept, social inequalities and race prejudices were ignored. all right-minded men stood together in a common bond of fellowship. doubtless much of the present spirit of amalgamation of the people of the city is an outgrowth of the calamity which thirty years ago brought the representatives of those divers races elbow to elbow in the common cause of rebuilding their homes and reconstructing their lines of industry. the riots at the haymarket did not indicate bad blood between the races of the city, but merely an incidental if not accidental social unrest not uncommon in all our greater cities. [illustration ruins of the great fire, chicago.] the city staggered, but did not fall, under the woful wreck the great fire wrought. through a grim schooling of disaster in the past the city had developed a force of character that fire could not consume. "nothing," exclaimed the great french cardinal and premier of the seventeenth century, when he was temporarily overthrown, "nothing remains but the indomitable spirit of richelieu." chicago had similar faith in her own inherent power. there were some broken spirits who, gazing on the melancholy ruin, caught no glimpse of the magnificent city that was to rise, as if by command of a magician's wand, upon the smoking desolation. but the majority did not permit the calamity to crush. the faithful were exhorted to rebuild the city. it was predicted then that chicago would live, and live to be so mighty and so vast that the great fire would be but an incident in its history. the city was to live because beyond it were the giant forces, the teeming millions, the imperial area of the mighty west, which, having made chicago the gateway to the east, would recreate it under the same natural necessities. the city's optimistic faith and determination enlisted the sympathy of the world, and $ , , in relief contributions poured in and thousands of telegrams offering credit to merchants supplemented this hearty and timely exhibition of good samaritanism. the deeds of valor displayed by firemen and citizens in fighting an unequal combat with the fire were equalled only by the heroism which appeared in the rebuilding of the city. the first structure to rise over the ruins was a board shanty, twelve by sixteen feet in dimensions. it was on washington street, between dearborn and clark, near the site of a former flourishing block, where w.d. kerfoot had conducted a large business in real estate. the tiny structure was built hastily on the morning of october th, while the surrounding ashes and heaps of twisted iron were so hot that the little building had to be set in the middle of the street. the comical cabin bore the legend, "kerfoot's block. everything gone but wife, children, and energy." small as the shanty was, it was an inspiration. it marked the beginning of a city now so vast that the municipality existing before the fire seems but a shadow. through the city run paved streets whose aggregate length would reach from chicago to new york, and start the traveller some distance on his way to boston. more than , street lights, kept "trimmed and burning" by the municipality at an annual cost of over $ , , , twinkle in the city by night. over a quarter of a billion of gallons of water are consumed daily by a city now protected by an efficient fire department against a repetition of the disaster of . nearly miles of sewers preserve the sanitation, while the superb ingenuity of engineers has changed the courses and reversed the currents of rivers, and with connecting canals turned the city's sewage toward the gulf of mexico. the ambition of this characteristically american city is to excel in everything. when she undertook to hold a world's fair, she determined to eclipse any previous exposition, and to secure a phenomenal attendance. when she held a parliament of religions she arranged that the faiths of every clime should be represented by their most learned and pious men, and that the teachings there set forth should constitute a memorable contribution to the best thought of the world. it has been said of chicago that when she decides to be the home of the greatest poet among mankind, she will go out and get him, or, better still, produce him. cities affecting a more advanced culture sniff at the stock-yard atmosphere which they pretend to believe permeates the literary life of chicago, and eugene field, in playful mood, accepting the jibes of distant critics, printed as the frontispiece of his _culture's garland_ a wreath of sausage links; but william d. howells has acknowledged that out of chicago is coming a literary virility destined to leave classic record in the annals of letters. field himself occupies an honored place in the american pantheon, and his "little boy blue," though dead, forever sings his way to our firesides. the city takes high rank as a centre for advanced education. in addition to technical schools like the armour institute, it has two famous universities; the chicago, and the northwestern. the chicago university began its career ten years ago. the old denominational university of the same name having been sold at auction under foreclosure, john d. rockefeller decided to reorganize it and found a great institution of learning, and to that end pledged a portion of his fortune and secured as president, dr. william r. harper, of yale. the university opened in with students. to-day it has nearly . it began with no less than instructors; it now has . the university made its start with grounds, buildings, and equipments valued at $ , , , and invested funds amounting to $ , , . to-day its productive funds aggregate over $ , , . women have been prominent among the university's donors, and in all the departments women students enjoy equal status with men. a student may enter at the beginning of any quarter and receive his degree at the end of any term. the colleges continue throughout the year. recently the chicago institute, founded by mrs. emmons blaine for training school teachers, was absorbed by the university. in fact, dr. harper has succeeded in merging so many professional schools that he has been amiably accused of attempting to form an educational trust. the northwestern university, located partly in the city and partly in evanston, a suburb, was founded in . it has instructors and over students. its productive funds amount to over $ , , . although conducted under denominational auspices, its charter provides that no particular religious faith shall be required of students. it has a campus of acres on the lake michigan shore. the university includes a college of liberal arts, and schools of medicine, law, pharmacy, dentistry, music, and theology. many of the departments are coeducational. [illustration public library, chicago.] the public schools of chicago are crowded with three quarters of a million children of parents for few of whom "plato and the swing of pleiades and the tall reaches of the peaks of song" had a meaning. and these children of every kindred and tongue are not herded into classes and indifferently taught. modern science assists them from the start with anthropometric examinations, and scientific methods are in use in every school. there could be no more hopeful "sign and portent" of the city's future than is furnished by its public schools. voluntarily, by popular vote of the people, civil service was established in all branches of the city administration, and the principle laid down that industrious merit rather than political influence should fill the thousands of positions in the school department and city branches in general, a graphic illustration that the spoils system is not a chicago ideal. benevolent institutions thrive under the munificent endowment of its men of wealth. seers like professor david swing have preached the gospel to an eager people, thousands on sunday being turned away, unable to press to the pews through the multitude of churchgoers. all these phenomena present the interesting psychological truth that with chicago's liberty and cosmopolitan make-up has been developed a reassuring force "making for righteousness." the city is not yet prepared for canonization, but in many ways it is, in its largeness of life and tolerance, an example to the cities of the world. she is still apt, perhaps, in speaking, for example, of her art galleries to dwell overmuch upon the cost of the buildings and paintings and the number of acres. the unprejudiced critic or historian knows that not all chicago is pork and pig-iron, though why these industries are not as honorable as poetry and prose, perhaps they who sit in the seat of the scornful will explain. booker t. washington well says that a people cannot be truly great until they recognize that it is as dignified to till the soil as it is to pen an epic, and in the same line of thought it might be said that a people who "live laborious days" packing meat and handling lumber, particularly by the thousand carloads, are not necessarily belated travellers on the highway that leads to national integrity and renown. in wealth, in population, in the high character and eager attendance in her great schools, in libraries, art, and architecture, as evidenced by institutes, buildings, and academies of design, in her letters, as displayed by the literary output, in her spiritual conquests, as shown in the teachings of her poets and preachers, and even in the periodical reforms that purify the political atmosphere, chicago's future will undoubtedly be, like her past, phenomenal. [illustration] footnote: [ ] among the sacs, "checagau" was the name of one of their valiant warriors and colonizers, and meant "he that stands by the tree." among the several tribes of the algonquin group "chekago," "chicagong," etc., was pronounced in a variety of ways and had as many meanings. [illustration] madison the city of the four lakes by reuben g. thwaites in , that portion of michigan territory which lay west of lake michigan, was erected into the territory of wisconsin. within the borders of the nascent commonwealth there lived at that time about twelve thousand whites and nine thousand indians. many of the sites of future cities of wisconsin were already occupied by agricultural settlers, isolated or in tiny groups. green bay, a straggling french-canadian settlement, had come down from the seventeenth century, maintaining a sickly existence upon the fur trade and the coasting traffic of the upper great lakes; forts winnebago (at portage) and crawford (at prairie du chien) were surrounded by meagre hamlets, chiefly of french creoles; the lead-mining region in the southwest, although sparsely settled, contained the bulk of the white population, with mineral point as its centre--a village having at the time an apparently brighter prospect than the new settlement at the mouth of milwaukee river; there were also a few notches carved, at wide intervals, from the gloomy forest bordering the western shore of lake michigan. outside of the settlements just enumerated, wisconsin was practically uninhabited by whites. here and there was to be found an indian trader, the yankee successor of the _coureur de bois_ of the old french _régime_, or some exceptionally adventurous farmer; but their far-separated cabins only emphasized the density of the wilderness, through which roamed untrammelled the shiftless, gipsy-like aborigines,--the comparatively harmless chippewas, menomonies, pottawatomies and winnebagoes. [illustration the state house, madison.] on the th of july the territorial officers of wisconsin qualified at mineral point, with henry dodge, a black hawk war hero, as governor. in october following, the first legislature assembled within a two-story battlement-fronted house in the little lead-region hamlet of belmont. the highway which it faced bristled with stumps, while miners' shafts and prospectors' holes thickly dimpled the shanty neighborhood. a month was spent in selecting a capital for the infant territory. there were seventeen applicants. some of them were actual settlements, like green bay, fond du lac, milwaukee, racine, portage, belmont, mineral point, and platteville; but others were "paper towns," existing only on maps made by real-estate speculators. of such shadowy substance was madison, the victor. james duane doty, who had been united states circuit judge for the country west of lake michigan, had formed a town-site partnership with stevens t. mason, then governor of michigan territory. these gentlemen preempted several tracts of government land at presumably desirable spots in the wilderness. doty advanced the respective claims of these tracts, giving them maps and attractive names. his favorite was an undulating isthmus between lakes monona and mendota,[ ] in the heart of southern wisconsin, midway between lake michigan and the mississippi river. this claimant he named "madison," after the third president of the united states. it was freely alleged at the time that doty presented choice lots in madison to his legislative friends. however this may be, the ostensible arguments produced were: that the chief centres of settlement in the northeast (green bay), the southeast (milwaukee), and the southwest (the lead region) were so widely separated and had such divergent interests that to select one would alienate the others and make it impossible to harmoniously conduct the territorial government; again, that to build up one corner of the territory at the expense of the others would unequally distribute the population; it was also urged that the unsettled central portion of the territory needed the incentive to growth which the capital would give it; and lastly, doty, the only man in belmont that winter who seems to have known madison, declared the site to be the most beautiful spot in the wisconsin forest. and thus madison won. beyond the understanding that the centre of the capitol park was to be the common corner of four sections of land which met near the middle of the isthmus, there had as yet been no thought of how this projected town in the woods should be laid out. a french half-breed, olivier armel, who had a temporary trading shanty on the tract, half brush and half canvas, was the only man whom the surveyor found when he arrived in a blinding snowstorm in february ( ) to set the stakes in this virgin wilderness for the future state house of wisconsin. the streets of the town were laid out, so far as possible, upon the lines of the national capital: wide avenues radiating from the capitol park upon the points of the compass were bisected by other highways paralleling the shores of the two principal lakes. for names of the thoroughfares, the patriotic surveyor had recourse to the list of signatures to the federal constitution, probably the only instance of a city's streets being exclusively named from this venerable body of lawgivers. the first dwelling in madison was a log house built in april by one eben peck, for the entertainment of the mechanics who were expected out from milwaukee to construct the state house. it was june th before the building commissioner and his thirty-six workmen put in an appearance, after a toilsome overland journey of ten days through rain and mud, with no roads, and unbridged rivers which had either to be forded or swam. on the th of july the conerstone was laid "with appropriate toasts and speeches" by a small knot of territorial officials. [illustration the first executive residence (still standing) in use by governor doty.] it was january, , before the territorial legislature could be accommodated at madison; and even then the situation brought little comfort. says a pioneer of those days: "with the session came crowds of people. the public houses were literally crammed--shakedowns were looked upon as a luxury, and lucky was the guest whose fortune it was to rest his weary limbs on a straw or hay mattress." the little village was charmingly situated in the primeval forest. one of madison's early teachers thus wrote of the hamlet of his young manhood: "those who only know of madison now, have but a feeble conception of its wonderful and fascinating beauty at the beginning. in it had the look of a well-kept lawn, shaded by fine white-oak and burr-oak trees, with a fragrant fringe of red cedar all about the lake shores. there was then no underbrush and thicket such as sprung up soon, when the semi-annual fires ceased to do the duty of the rake and mower; but the eye had a stretch quite uninterrupted, except as the surface rose in beautiful green knolls on either lake. the lakes then lay in natural silver beauty, prettily framed in pebbly beach. for simple, quiet beauty, madison in was unequalled by anything i remember." despite its natural attractiveness, and its presumably favorable location, madison was a plant of slow growth. in the summer of the census revealed the presence here of only sixty-two people, and it is recorded that there were at that time "not more than a dozen houses, built and in process of erection, counting every cabin and shanty within three miles of the capitol," while indian wigwams were frequently set up within sight of the doors. four years later there were but people, and in but . by the close of , however, the population had, largely as the result of a mild "boom" in that year, grown to . five years later horace greeley and bayard taylor paid the place a visit, and in letters to the new york _tribune_ highly extolled its beauties. as a result there was an almost immediate increase of population and a considerable advance in the price of real estate; so that at the outbreak of the civil war there were madisonians. [illustration profile rock on lake mendota.] notwithstanding the general prevalence of financial stringency, madison prospered during the war. the state's troops were largely mobilized here, and constantly enlivened the streets; a great deal of money was necessarily spent by the state and nation for supplies and salaries, as well as by the soldiers themselves, so that throughout it all the town grew substantially. in there were , citizens, but the next decade only slightly advanced this census. about , however, a variety of causes led to the commencement of a stronger growth--chiefly the rapid development of the state university, the expansion of the state's administrative affairs, the bettering of railroad facilities, and an enlargement of local manufacturing interests. during the past eighteen years there has been a steady gain, with every indication of permanency; the census of revealed the presence at the wisconsin capital of , residents, while an additional dwell in closely abutting suburbs. frequent attempts to remove the capital to milwaukee were long a potent factor in retarding the development of madison. in the effort was nearly successful. the fact, however, that the state had by this time invested large sums of money in public buildings in and around madison, particularly in the state university,--which institution must, by the terms of the constitution, be situated "at or near the seat of state government,"--has of late years cooled the ardor of advocates of removal, so that no fear of renewed agitation is now entertained. in the early annals of this peaceful little city in the undulating oak grove between monona and mendota,--surrounded on every hand by far-stretching lakes and marshes, and thus in a measure isolated from her rural neighbors,--the historian finds little of stirring interest; and that little almost always the reflex of the legislature, which annually until , when the sessions were made biennial, came and went with much bustle and sometimes brawl. the legislative sessions were, in ante-bellum days, the events of the year, and attracted prominent men from all quarters of wisconsin. the crude hotels were filled each winter with legislators, lobbyists and visiting politicians. the humors of the time were often uncouth. there was a deal of horse-play, hard drinking, and profanity, and occasionally a personal encounter during the heat of discussion: as in , when charles c.p. arndt, of brown, was killed on the floor of the council chamber by his fellow-member, james r. vineyard, of grant, an event to which dickens alluded in his _american notes_, and which gained for wisconsin an unenviable notoriety the country over. but an undercurrent of good nature was generally observable, and strong attachments were more frequently noticeable than feuds. [illustration view of madison across lake monona.] dancing and miscellaneous merry-making were the order of the times, and society at the capital was, from the first, thought to be fashionable. even when the legislature was not in session, madison long remained the social as well as the political centre of wisconsin, and overland travellers between the outlying settlements on the shores of the mississippi and lake michigan or green bay were wont to tarry here upon their way. several of them have left us, in journals and in letters, pleasing descriptions of their reception by the good-natured inhabitants, and the impressions made on them by the natural attractions of this beauty-spot. in , madison was the scene of political excitement of a serious character. william barstow (democrat) claimed to have been reelected governor over coles bashford (republican), by majority. the democrats controlled the state board of canvassers, and the republicans claimed that this board had tampered with the returns. upon january th both barstow and bashford took the oath of office, but the former and his friends continued to hold the state house. the state supreme court was called upon by bashford, in a _quo warranto_ suit, to oust the incumbent and give the office of governor to the relator. thus commenced the most celebrated case ever tried by this bench. this was the first time in the history of the united states that a state court had been called upon to decide as to the right of a governor to hold his seat. its jurisdiction was questioned by barstow's attorneys. the contest waged fiercely for some weeks, with eminent counsel on both sides, the court at last holding that it had jurisdiction. the court then proceeded with its inquiry, and march th declared that bashford had received a majority of . a few days before this barstow had resigned, and lieutenant-governor mcarthur was holding the office by virtue of the constitution. mcarthur was defiant, and announced his determination to hold the post at all hazards. but the court promptly ruled that barstow's title being worthless, mcarthur could not, of course, succeed to it. throughout this long contest, it may well be imagined that popular excitement in and around madison ran high. the respective bands of partisans were armed and drilling, in anticipation of a desperate encounter. it would have taken small provocation to ignite this tinder-box, but the management on both sides was judicious; and although the opposing forces had frequent quarrels, and made numerous and vigorous threats of violence, no blows were struck. upon the day after the court's decision bashford and a bodyguard advanced through corridors crowded with his followers, to mcarthur's office, and, showing his writ, quietly announced that he would henceforth take charge of state affairs. mcarthur hesitated, but a glance at the threatening crowd induced him to retire hurriedly through the door. the friends of bashford cheered in triumph, and then poured into the office to congratulate the new governor. as has been previously stated, the corner-stone of the old territorial state house was laid july , . the building cost about $ , . an old engraving of the structure, which we herewith reproduce, shows that it was of the then prevalent americanized-greek style of which there are still remaining a few examples, chiefly in the southern states; contemporary accounts agree that it was rather superior in character to most of the western capitols of sixty years ago. in , the legislature authorized the enlargement of the capitol. this "enlargement" was but nominal; the plans developed into a new building on the site of the old, to cost somewhat over half a million dollars. lack of funds because of the civil war caused the work to proceed slowly, so that it was before the dome of the new state house was completed. in , two new transverse wings were provided for. thus the total cost of the present capitol and the development of the surrounding park has been about $ , . the building is, however, now sadly behind the times in respect of light, ventilation and sanitary conveniences, and there is some thought of a new state house which shall be more nearly worthy of a rich and fast-growing commonwealth of over two millions of people. [illustration the first state house, madison.] the university of wisconsin was incorporated under an act of legislature approved the th day of july, ; but it was the th of january, , before the first chancellor was inaugurated, and the th of february before the doors were opened for the reception of pupils. during the first twenty years of its existence, the institution was beset with vicissitudes, and obliged to battle against popular indifference and even opposition. the congressional land grants which were designed to create a fund for its endowment were recklessly disposed of by the legislatures of the 's, avowedly to encourage speedy settlement of the state, under the plea that when the commonwealth became well populated it would be rich enough to support the university by taxation; it was also maintained that pioneers had little need for or patience with higher education. gradually, the university gained recognition as the logical head of the educational system of the state; and at last, after a half-century of growth, it has developed from a rustic academy of twenty students into an institution of national reputation, with a talented faculty giving instruction to nearly students, assembled from many states and countries. [illustration madison from the state house showing university buildings in the distance.] [illustration professor william francis allen.] the university is admirably situated, chiefly upon two hills lying a mile to the west of the state house and commanding wide views of the surrounding country. the grounds comprise about acres of hill and plain, the western half of which is occupied by the buildings and experimental farm of the college of agriculture. mendota, the largest and most beautiful of the chain of lakes, lies directly to the north, its attractive shores often rising into steep bluffs, surmounted by summer cottages, or swelling into distant hills besprinkled with prosperous farmsteads, while the towers and chimneys of the state hospital for the insane fret the sky-line beyond the farthest bay. a broad straight avenue leads directly eastward to the ridge crowned by the white dome of the state house; while to the south the view ordinarily ends with the silvery expanse of lake monona, glistening through the trees, but when the foliage has thinned, the southern horizon is sufficiently extended, both from town and university vantage-points, to comprise the far-off waters of lake waubesa. the outlook from university hill, over-topping the tree-embowered town, which spreads gracefully, with up-thrust tower and dome and steeple, over monona ridge, is, particularly upon a moonlit night in summer, one of the most charming in america; while from observatory hill, just westward, one obtains a widely extended view of lakes and forest and purple hills which, especially under the glow of sunset, has won the unstinted plaudits of competent critics, some of whom have likened it to old world scenes far-famed in song and story. few of the buildings of the state university are architecturally worthy of mention here. the original structures were north and south halls, mere four-story stone boxes. the doric university hall, surmounting university hill, and one of the early buildings, has of recent years been greatly improved and extended, and now has some dignity of outline as well as historic association. the new engineering building, in gray brick, is pleasing in form and color; science hall and the gymnasium, great piles of staring red brick, are conspicuous examples of the average college buildings of our day; while the best one can say of the old library hall, chemical building, machine shop, and chadbourne hall (the women's dormitory) is that they will continue to serve a useful purpose until the day when the state feels inclined to replace them with creditable structures. upon observatory hill is the dignified washburn observatory, and upon the western slope the growing mass of buildings appertaining to the state experimental farm maintained by the college of agriculture. [illustration university hall, state university.] at the eastern (townward) front of university hill, and occupying land once a part of the campus, a building has of late been reared by the commonwealth which not only is far better than any of the university structures, but quite outranks in dignity and thoroughness of modern construction and equipment all other buildings owned by the state of wisconsin. this is the home of the library and museum of the state historical society. the university library and its accompanying seminary rooms for advanced study, each with its special library, occupy quarters here, but the building itself is administered by the society, which serves as the trustee of the state. built in the italian doric order, of bedford sandstone, the state historical library building is massive, dignified, and graceful, a worthy housing for one of the most important reference libraries in america. the wisconsin historical society[ ] has long ceased to be merely a feature of madison or of wisconsin; it is to-day regarded as one of the foremost institutions of this character in the country--its splendid library of , volumes being one of the finest collections of americana extant, rich in maps and manuscripts as well as books; and its publications rank with those of the similar societies of massachusetts, new york, and pennsylvania. [illustration state historical library building.] madison is fortunate in her elementary and secondary public schools as well as in possessing the state university; while several admirable private and denominational schools have found it desirable to settle here, under the wing of the great group of state colleges. as is becoming in an educational centre, much attention is here paid to church life. the large congregations have been careful to select for their pulpits men of prominence and ability, fitted to attract the student mind; and the christian associations connected with the state university are conducted upon a high plane of usefulness. in madison there dwell three well-accentuated classes of inhabitants: those relying upon trade and industry, the state and federal officials, and the university element, each of them growing in numbers and importance. there is, however, far less differentiation of interests and aspirations than is commonly seen in college towns. it has for many years been the continual aim of several influential clubs, notably the woman's, the literary, the contemporary, the six o'clock, and the town and gown,--in which both "townfolk" and "gown folk" freely commingle,--to break down the usual class barriers. the result is that college men coming to madison from other institutions find here few of the sharp social distinctions to which they have elsewhere become accustomed. but while town and gown are practically one in madison, the official class has not until of late been conspicuous in her social life. the brevity of political tenure, rendering the permanent inhabitants in a measure indifferent to the "come-and-goes," has doubtless had much to do with this; while a contributory element has been the fact that many state officials, finding the cost of living at the capital somewhat higher than in the small interior towns, have heretofore left their families at home. with the new statute prohibiting public employés from using railroad passes, transportation to and from home now forms an important item of expense to the office holder, and a large proportion of them are moving their families to the seat of government. it is fair to predict that, through the influence of the clubs, which have recently taken upon themselves the payment of social courtesies to the official class, these barriers may in turn be removed, as they have between town and gown. [illustration general lucius fairchild ex-minister to spain.] the native american element in madison is chiefly from new york state, with a large sprinkling of new englanders, especially from vermont. perhaps one third of the , people in this community are of german parentage, and there is a considerable and influential scandinavian element, mostly norwegian; numerous other nationalities there are, but these are the most conspicuous. despite this large foreign contingent, however, and the cosmopolitan tone of university society, the strong flavor of vermont and new york, originally given to this community in the days before the civil war, is still the dominant characteristic in the social life of madison. many discriminating visitors frequently in their hours of first impressions, liken her to a staid new england college town; while others revert to some demure hill-town of western new york for the type which best describes the social side of this city of the wisconsin lakes. the railroad facilities of madison are undoubtedly remarkable for a town of its size; these are attracting wholesale houses and warehousemen, and new factories are talked of. the existing industries employ some fifteen hundred men. the schools, the university, the unusual library facilities and the beauty and healthfulness of the town bring to it an ever-increasing accession of cultured people with moderate fixed incomes. summer visitors from st. louis, new orleans, and other southern cities of the mississippi valley are encouraged to come to the four lakes. the comfort of the inhabitants is greatly enhanced by a system of macadamized streets which is relatively the best in wisconsin; and there is also maintained, by popular subscription, a labyrinth of twenty-five miles of suburban drives, enriched by the art of the landscape gardener, and leading to favorite view-points. a "forty thousand club" is strenuously seeking to exploit and double the material interests of the town, within the present decade. but when all is said, madison's distinguishing characteristics, as well as her neighborhood gossip, will probably long remain such as properly pertain to the political and educational centre of a rapidly developing commonwealth. [illustration] footnotes: [ ] the indian names now given to the lakes of this region are modern appellations; originally they were numbered first, second, third, and fourth as they progressed towards the source--the order in which they were encountered by the federal surveyors in ascending the catfish, a branch of rock river, and the outlet of the lakes. their present names, adopted in , are kegonsa, waubesa, monona, and mendota, respectively. [ ] the author has, of course, omitted to say what many of his readers understand, that as secretary he has had a large share in giving the wisconsin historical society its conspicuous position in the public mind.--editor. [illustration] minneapolis--st. paul the twin cities by charles b. elliott "we are citizens of two fair cities," said a genoese gentleman to a florentine artist, "and if i were not a genoese i should wish to be a florentine." "and i," replied the artist, "if i were not florentine--" "you would wish to be a genoese," said the other. "no," replied the artist, "i should wish to be florentine." within a circle with a radius of ten miles, enclosing the falls of st. anthony, are two modern cities with a population of almost four hundred thousand. the pioneer settler died a few months ago and the first child born there is now but passing middle life. and yet a little more than half a century after the landing of the pilgrims the cross of christ and the arms of france were carved on an oak tree which stood on the site of the present city of minneapolis. in the summer of louis hennepin, a recollet monk, in company with michael accault and a picard named du gay first explored the upper mississippi. hennepin wrote a famous description of his travels, and gave the name to the falls he had discovered. but la salle, hennepin's fellow-voyager across the atlantic, was the first to write a description of the falls of st. anthony, from information which must have been furnished by one of hennepin's party. [illustration the falls of st. anthony about .] for almost a century after hennepin no white man visited the falls of st. anthony. in , captain jonathan carver, of connecticut, started on an exploring expedition, to the northwest and reached the falls about the middle of november. carver made the first picture of the falls and gives an accurate description, from which it appears that the island which is now many feet below the waterfall was then in its midst. carver greatly appreciated the beauty of the country, but, like hennepin, passed away leaving only his description and his picture. the war of the revolution came and left no trace on the northwest. at its close the sovereignty of france and of the new nation which had been born into the world faced each other on the banks of the mississippi. in the west as well as the east bank became part of the domain of the united states. but the inhabitants knew nothing of the change until captain zebulon m. pike, of the army, came to put an end to alleged improper transactions on the part of certain british traders. on an island a few miles below the falls pike held a council with the sioux and signed a treaty which extinguished the indian title to a tract of land extending nine miles on each side of the river north from the mouth of the minnesota river, and including the falls of st. anthony. twelve years later major long, with two grandsons of carver, ascended the river from st. louis in a six-oared skiff, and wrote that "the murmuring of the cascade, the roaring of the river and the thunder of the cataract all contribute to render the scene the most interesting and magnificent of any i ever before witnessed." about the philanthropic earl of selkirk attempted to establish a colony in the red river valley. six years later it was threatened by starvation. the noble earl then visited the country, and his presence caused so much disquietude in the breasts of the indian agents that, fearing improper foreign influence over the indians, they induced the government to establish a military post in the country. in august, , colonel leavenworth, with ninety-eight soldiers of the fifth infantry, pitched their tents near the mouth of the minnesota river, about eight miles below the falls. a year later, colonel snelling, who had succeeded to the command, built the fort on the bluff where it now stands, and gave it the name of fort st. anthony. in general scott suggested to the war department the propriety of changing the name of the fort to that of one whose services to the country had been more conspicuous than those of father hennepin's patron saint. [illustration tower at fort snelling. the original "fort" now used as a guard-house.] in the soldiers built a mill on the west side of the river, near where now stands one of the greatest flouring mills in the world. the fort was, of course, the centre of what life there was in the country, and its people occasionally came into contact with the great world beyond. in the indian agent, major taliafero, officiated at the marriage of the slave, dred scott, who was destined to play a part in history doubtless out of all proportion to his expectations. colonel snelling's son joseph was something of a _littérateur_, and, after fighting a duel with a young officer, he became involved in a more savage, although less bloody, contest with n.p. willis. the land about the falls was a military reservation and therefore not open to settlement. as early as a swiss watchmaker by the name of perry attempted to settle there, but was driven off by the soldiers. going a few miles down the river, he became in , the first settler upon the present site of the city of st. paul. his only competitor for this honor is a certain one-eyed personage of evil disposition and unattractive appearance whose true name was parrant, but who became known to fame as pig's eye. with an eye to the advantages of the liquor business, parrant located his claim beyond the limits of the reservation and near the river, where it became a flourishing resort for soldiers, indians, and other frontier characters. it was the head of navigation on the river and entered into competition with the neighboring village of stillwater for the proud position of the metropolis of the territory. a town near by was surveyed in and during the following two years, as we are credibly informed by a local historian, "maturative and creative influence, slowly but surely tended towards civilization." from the same source we learn that in "the _nuclei_ of civilization" consisted of a church, a school, and a hotel,--surely not a bad beginning. the history of the modern city properly begins in , when minnesota was organized as a territory with st. paul as the provisional capital. the territorial government was organized with alexander ramsey (afterwards governor of the state, senator, and secretary of war) as governor, and duly proclaimed on june , . the enabling act named st. paul as the temporary capital, but left the people free to choose at the first general election a permanent place of government. [illustration alexander ramsey.] in the meantime, a rival town had grown up at the east end of the falls of st. anthony, and the long struggle for supremacy began with the selection of a permanent capital. the indian title to the lands was extinguished in , but two years earlier the commandant at the fort, major plympton, availed himself of his superior facilities and staked out a claim and built a cabin near the east end of the falls. other claims were located soon after, all of which ultimately became the property of franklin steele and pierre bottineau, names famous in the early history of the locality. early in there were about fifty people in the village, but in that year the van of "that great army which is moving yet but never stopping" began to arrive. in three hundred people were on the ground, and the two towns of st. anthony city and st. anthony were duly surveyed and launched upon the market. in the same year it is interesting to find the names of robert rantoul and caleb cushing, famous statesmen of the day, among the purchasers of a nine-tenths interest in the east-side water power. during this year both the villages of st. anthony and st. paul were thriving under the impulse given by the organization of a regular government. st. anthony now obtained a post-office, established a library association with two hundred books on its shelves, and indulged in a lecture course by local talent. st. paul became the capital, but the controversy was not finally settled until , when a compromise was effected by the permanent location of the state university at minneapolis. the growth of the two villages during the next decade was very rapid. in laurence oliphant, diplomat and traveller, came down the river in a canoe and wrote interesting descriptions of st. anthony and st. paul and uncomplimentary notices of the people to _blackwood's magazine_. he was charmed with the falls and the "comfortable, civilized aspect of the town," which was then becoming known as a "watering place." hotel manners in the capital city were not satisfactory, but the opinions of england and the crimean war expressed by prominent citizens in the free and easy vernacular of the frontier made good reading. in the meantime another village had grown up on the west side of the falls. in the old government mill, the little house a few yards back and two cabins built by missionaries on the banks of lake calhoun were the only buildings on the west side of the river. in that year robert smith, a member of congress from illinois, through some means best known to himself, obtained from the war department the privilege of purchasing the mill and the house and of making a claim to acres of land. this tract was carefully selected for the purpose of including the valuable waterpower rights on the west side. in the same year john h. stevens, then postmaster at the fort, also obtained a permit and entered a claim to the land now covered by the heart of the city. while smith and stevens were favored others were driven from the reservation by the soldiers. stevens built the first frame house in minneapolis, and it now stands in one of the beautiful parks of the city as an evidence of the antiquity of things. legal titles could not be obtained on the west side until , although by that time more than two hundred houses had been built. in the following year the city was incorporated, but in this form of government was abandoned, and the people lived under a simple township organization until . five years later, in , the two cities of st. anthony and minneapolis were consolidated under the name of the city of minneapolis, which then entered upon a period of phenomenal growth. [illustration court house and city hall, minneapolis.] we now find two cities in the stress of a rivalry which continued for many years. the west line of st. paul soon became the east line of minneapolis. the existence of two cities so near together was, as we have seen, due not to deliberate choice but to circumstances. in early days the fall, with its abundant waterpower and attractive scenery, was the point about which the minds of people revolved; it was, however, on the military reservation acquired by pike, and settlers were driven to find a foothold farther down the river but within reach of the fort. there were some difficulties in the way of navigation to the falls, but these would soon have been removed. st. paul was the capital of the state, and thus became the political and professional centre. in the contest for political honors this supremacy is still maintained. its leaders control the politics of the state. governors and senators are created in st. paul and not in minneapolis. the business enterprise of st. paul found vent in building up great wholesale houses and in the development of railway and general transportation enterprises. minneapolis, by reason of its location, became a great manufacturing centre. the vast pine forests of the north sent millions of logs to its mills. around the falls were built the greatest flouring mills in the world, and its location upon the eastern edge of the great prairies of minnesota and dakota soon made it the primary wheat market of the world. the commercial and business interests of the two cities thus for a number of years developed along different and clearly defined lines. the increase of population is shown by the following table: year. st. paul. minneapolis. st. anthony. , .... , , , , , , , , .... , , .... , , .... the falls was the point at which the early thought and life of minneapolis centred, and the foundation of its early business prosperity. paul bourget, in his _outre mer_, speaking of the reasons for the location of american cities, says, "if any feature such as a waterfall permitted factories, industries were established. minneapolis had no other origin. the falls of the mississippi lent themselves to a series of incomparable mills and this was the starting-point of one of the future capitals of the world." when the government established a fort it took the name of the falls, and the first town-sites were only distinguishable from each other by the difference between st. anthony and st. anthony city. [illustration falls of st. anthony, during high water.] when it was rumored that the waterpower was about to be destroyed, consternation rested upon the little community. in the historian parkman had written: "great changes, however, have taken place here and are still in progress. the rock is a very soft and friable sandstone, overlaid by a stratum of limestone; and it is crumbling with such rapidity under the action of the water that the cataract will soon be little more than a rapid.[ ] other changes equally disastrous in the artistic point of view are going on even more quickly. beside the falls stands a city which by an ingenious combination of greek and sioux languages received the name of minneapolis, the city of the water, and which in contained ten thousand inhabitants, two national banks, and an opera house, while its rival city of st. anthony, immediately opposite, boasts a gigantic water cure and the state university. in short, the great natural beauty of the place is utterly spoiled." minneapolis is essentially a manufacturing city. for many years the principal industry was the manufacture of lumber, which in its various forms has now reached great magnitude. the annual output for the five years prior to was , , feet a year. in it reached , , feet a year; in it was , , ; in , , , ; in more than , , , and in addition , , shingles and , , laths. an army of men is engaged in the work of cutting the logs on the timber lands of the north. these are driven or floated down the river to the booms near the mills which line the river in the northern part of the city. [illustration the milling district.] the prominence of the city in flour-milling is due to its location and to the skill and ingenuity of the men who have been engaged in the business. minneapolis has passed through three well-defined milling periods. prior to the ancient process of grinding wheat between the upper and nether millstones was in use, which turned into middlings much of the precious gluten. in an emigrant french miller named legroux devised an apparatus for purifying middlings, and as a result the product became famous as "minnesota patent flour," and brought pre-eminence and wealth to the minnesota millers. a practical monopoly existed until the eastern millers discovered that the process could be as well applied to the winter wheat of minnesota as to the spring. then began a new struggle for pre-eminence. after searching through the world, the minneapolis millers discovered in hungary a process of milling hard wheat which finally disposed of the ancient millstone and carried the wheat between rolls of smooth and corrugated surface until, by a process of gradual reduction, the desired fineness was secured. foremost in the work of developing this great industry was the late charles a. pillsbury, to whose enterprise the city is greatly indebted. at the present time the minneapolis mills can produce , barrels of flour a day, which is the largest daily capacity of any group of mills in the world. the flour export for was , , barrels. thus the mills of minneapolis, if grinding steadily, could give a loaf of bread every day to every man, woman, and child in the states of ohio, pennsylvania, new york, massachusetts, connecticut, rhode island, vermont, new hampshire, and maine. [illustration public library, minneapolis.] the conditions in a new and rapidly growing city cannot be properly understood without careful consideration of such material facts as we have been considering. but there is yet another story to tell. it is doubtful whether any cities in the united states of the size contain so many beautiful pictures and fine libraries. the minneapolis public library is well known to all interested in library management by reason of the liberality and novelty of its methods. in the spring of bayard taylor delivered a lecture in the village and gave the proceeds, less than one hundred dollars, to a library association, which took the name of the minneapolis atheneum. later dr. kirby spencer devised to it a fund which now yields about $ each year, for the purchase of books of a certain designated class and character. the atheneum was not a public library, but it was liberally managed by the trustees and the community was enabled to use it under reasonable restrictions. the trustees finally took the lead in the establishment of a public library into which the collection of the atheneum was merged. the law created a library board with limited powers of taxation. public-spirited citizens contributed a valuable site on which there was erected a building not surpassed by any structure of its kind in the country for convenience and general efficiency. in addition to the central building, there are two branch buildings, one erected by the city and the other presented to the city by ex-governor john s. pillsbury, who had already made his name synonymous with public generosity by his liberal gifts to the state university. the first librarian was herbert putnam, afterwards of the boston public library, and now the librarian of the congressional library at washington. his successor, an eminent scholar, dr. james k. hosmer, has continued building upon the foundation laid by mr. putnam. the system gives to the public a much greater liberty of access to the books than had been considered safe and desirable in other large libraries. the plan has been successful and there have been no losses or injuries to the books which would justify the withdrawal or restriction of such freedom. the library now contains , books, and during the past year the circulation was over , , which was an average of three books for each inhabitant of the city. [illustration ole bull monument in loring park.] the picture gallery and school of the minneapolis society of fine arts occupies the third floor of the library building. the city owns a number of good paintings, which it purchased at the sale of the gallery that formerly belonged to the exposition company. several fine paintings have been presented to the municipality by mr. j.j. hill of st. paul, whose wealth has also been used to advance and cultivate the taste for artistic work in the city of st. paul. when the collection of casts selected by general cesnola for the metropolitan museum of art arrived in new york before the building was ready, it was promptly purchased by citizens of minneapolis, and donated to the exposition company, which was then holding annual exhibits. it is now the property of mr. t.b. janney, by whom it has been placed in the public library, and thus for all practical purposes dedicated to the art education of the people. mr. hill in st. paul and mr. t.b. walker in minneapolis have private collections which include many famous and valuable pictures. a start has been made in the work of beautifying the city and honoring illustrious citizens by the placing of fjelde's statue of ole bull in loring park and daniel c. french's statue of ex-governor john s. pillsbury in the grounds of the state university. a law has recently been passed which provides for the creation of permanent art commissions in st. paul and minneapolis. it is hoped that these bodies will prevent the purchase or acceptance of unworthy pictures or statues by the municipalities. in proportion to the population the parks in minneapolis exceed in acreage those of any other city in america and of all but three foreign cities. there are twenty-two parks and parkways, not counting numerous parklets formed by the intersection of streets. at the present time the park board controls . acres. in the centre of the city lies loring park, with its beautiful lake and well-kept verdure. starting from this point, kenwood boulevard carries us along a wooded bluffy region from whose heights are obtained changing views of the lake of the isles, which is now entirely enclosed by a boulevard. a short half-mile south is lake calhoun, along the eastern terrace of which we pass to the borders of lakewood cemetery and thence through interlaken, rich in the beauty of its wild woods, to the shores of lake harriet and its pavilion. at the south angle of the lake the boulevard leads off to minnehaha creek, which is the outlet of lake minnetonka and flows easterly through a romantic valley until, falling over the trenton limestone within a half-mile of the mississippi, it forms the romantic falls of minnehaha. around the falls of minnehaha there is a park of one hundred and twenty-five acres, containing a zoological garden and bordered by the grounds of the soldiers' home, which for all æsthetic purposes is a part of it. [illustration loring park--minneapolis.] another matter of striking interest is the bicycle-path system, which crosses the city in every direction and extends for miles into the country. the paths are constructed and sustained by a license tax of fifty cents on each wheel which uses them. during the past year this tax produced more than $ , , all of which was expended in the construction and maintenance of the paths. [illustration the falls of minnehaha.] the state university is the crowning feature of the non-commercial institutions of the city and state. the first class was graduated in , and ten years thereafter the graduating class numbered thirty-five. its great weakness, as of all western institutions, was the lack of proper preparatory schools, and president folwell devised a unique plan by which the state high schools became feeders for the university. there are now about students in the university, making it the second or third largest in size in the united states. upon the foundation broadly laid by the first president of the institution, president northrup has since builded until the institution now has a magnificent income and an equipment second to few in the country. another notable feature in connection with the local government in minneapolis is her method in dealing with the liquor question. after a period of controversy an ordinance was passed under which a line was drawn around the downtown district. within this patrol limit saloons can exist upon the payment of a license fee of $ a year. as a result, the residence part of the city is entirely free from the demoralizing influence of the saloon. in a general way the difference in population expresses the present relation between the two cities in other respects. in appearance st. paul is more metropolitan than minneapolis, as it is more compactly built. st. paul lies along the side of a steep bluff. it is rugged and diverse and has the narrow streets and crowded appearance of a large city. from the crest of the hills, many magnificent residences look down upon the river. westwardly the city straggles over the rolling country until it reaches the minneapolis line, enclosing in the meantime the state fair grounds and centres of population which were originally separate municipalities, such as st. anthony park, merriam park, and hamline. minneapolis is built upon an almost level plain, lying between the river and lake calhoun, broken toward the north by a line of high ground parallel with and a mile west of the river. its streets are broad and the houses set well back in ample grounds. enclosed grounds are the exception. in st. paul the fashionable residences are largely concentrated upon the crest of the bluff, while in minneapolis they are scattered in various localities. there is also a general lack of concentration in the business districts of minneapolis, which does not exist in st. paul. st. paul's wholesale trade, if we exclude lumber and flour, is greater than that of minneapolis. it is also the head of practical navigation on the mississippi and the railway centre of the northwest, although all trains reach both cities. the minneapolis and st. louis and the "soo" are the only railways with headquarters in minneapolis, while st. paul is the headquarters of the chicago and great western and of the great transcontinental lines, the northern pacific and the great northern. the electric street-railway system in both cities is owned by one company, but the business is conducted in each city under a local management. there are miles of track in minneapolis, and in st. paul. two busy interurban lines connect the centres of the two cities. the public-school systems are of the same general character and stand well the comparison with those of other cities. st. paul has many children in the parochial schools. her park system is extensive and beautiful and comprises about acres. the most extensive is como park, which lies in the interurban district and is a popular resort for thousands of people during the summer months. st. paul has a large number of successful denominational educational institutions, such as macallister college and hamline university. the most conspicuous building in the city is the new white marble capitol now being erected by the state at an expense of over $ , , . the st. paul public library is not equal to that of minneapolis, but her citizens have the advantage of the use of the library of the minnesota historical society, which is the miscellaneous state library. [illustration the capitol, st. paul.] a great deal of nonsense has been written about the characteristics of the people of these two cities. to render the situation more interesting and romantic all manner of inherent racial and sociological differences have been invented. their struggle for supremacy has been described as exceeding in bitterness the ancient rivalry of hooks and kabbeljaws. nothing could be further from the truth. the municipal and commercial rivalry was natural and beneficial, and was ordinarily kept within reasonable bounds. both cities bounded upward under the impulse thus given to energy and enterprise. each without the other would itself be less. the people are of the same type,--restless, ambitious empire builders. they have striven mightily and manfully in business and politics, but mingled amicably in social intercourse. what differences in character do exist are largely due to the different race elements which compose the population. if god sifted three kingdoms to obtain the seeds with which to plant new england, he resifted new england and the kingdoms for the planting of the northwest. the present population is diverse, but the predominant element is the old saxon blood. for purposes of comparison, ramsey county is st. paul, and hennepin county is minneapolis. by the state census of , ramsey county had , inhabitants, of which , were in st. paul; hennepin county had , inhabitants, of which , were in minneapolis. bearing this proportion in mind, the following table, which gives the nativity of the population of the counties, is of interest: ramsey. hennepin. native born , , england and canada , , ireland , , germany , , france sweden , , norway , , bohemia , poland , , this does not show the number of the descendants of such foreign born residents now in the counties who are included under the head of native born. it appears that the percentage of native born is much larger in minneapolis than in st. paul. thus, ramsey county with , less population, had more irish and more germans than hennepin county. in hennepin, the norwegians and swedes form a large element. st. paul with its german and irish born citizens, is democratic in politics and strongly roman catholic in religion, while in minneapolis the scandinavians and republicans predominate. the sons of maine, vermont, new york, and ohio maintain flourishing societies, but are completely eclipsed by the sons of norway, sweden, and denmark. they are everywhere, in all positions and all kinds of business, from the highest to the lowest. coming of the old germanic stock, they take to self-government and officeholding as deftly as the sons of the town meeting. at present it is not a homogeneous people but an aggregation of all the elements,--a seething cauldron of the races, the residuum of which we believe will be a type of genuine american citizenship, broadened and liberalized by the ancestral outlook upon the world. [illustration a calm evening.] it is fashionable at present to speak lightly of buckle's theory of the influence of climate upon the character of a people, but it is certain that we cannot understand the development of a people unless we know something of the climatic conditions under which they live. the northwestern climate is much better than the reputation it succeeded in establishing in the early days before the blizzard centre moved eastward. while not strictly like that described in the old hymn, "december as pleasant as may," there are few pleasanter localities in which to spend the entire year. it is a climate for thinking and doing. spring and autumn are delightful beyond the power of description, and the heat of midsummer is tempered by the myriad lakes which dot the surrounding country. in midwinter the thermometer takes an occasional downward plunge which sadly disarranges the record of averages, but for four days out of every five between december and march the sun shines gloriously through an atmosphere of mountain brilliancy. then there is in the air a hidden food of life, upon which has fed the strenuous race of men which within the short space of one life has builded two great cities where none were before. footnote: [ ] the prediction was fulfilled the following year, when it became necessary to construct elaborate works to save the waterpower. [illustration] des moines iowa's capital city by frank i. herriott the beginnings of the city of des moines are not shrouded in romance or shadowy tradition. thrilling episode and epoch-making events do not abound in her history. cannon have never thundered against the gates of the city, nor hostile armies marched and counter-marched within her environs. not even the blood-curdling war-whoop of the indian ever struck terror into the hearts of her pioneers. yet the story of the capital city of iowa is neither prosaic nor uninteresting. her origin and early history typify the beginnings of civilized life throughout almost the entire state of iowa; and since the seat of government was transferred to the city in , her history is in epitome the history of the great commonwealth of which she is the capital. the origin of the city's name is a moot question among antiquarians. popular etymology has derived _des moines_ from the early associations of trappist monks at or near the mouth of the river,--_la rivière des moines_: but dr. elliot coues regarded this as spurious etymology. some local historians have contended that the name arose from the fact that the valley of the des moines river was inhabited by the mound builders: numerous mounds were found in what is now the heart of the city; hence, the "river of the mounds." the french explorer nicollet ascribes its origin to the algonquin name _moingoinan_, and the earliest map showing the journeys and discoveries of la salle, joliet, and marquette designate the river by the algonquin name. in later times the french _voyageurs_ and traders clipped the word, for we find _des moins_, _de moin_, _de moyen_, _demoin_, _demoir_ and sometimes _demon_. the french settlers probably had in mind the great "middle region" between the mississippi and the missouri when they referred to the _de moyen_ or _des moines_. [illustration fort des moines in .] the city of des moines was originally a frontier fort. unlike the majority of such in the west in early days, this outpost at the "forks of the raccoon" was not established to protect the whites from the indians. on the contrary, fort des moines was founded to guard the sac and fox indians, to secure them in the peaceful possession of their hunting-grounds and to protect them against rapacious land agents, the encroachments of the whites and the bloody sioux. and the event was typical of the relations of the national government with the indian tribes of iowa. when iowa became known to the people of the east the tide of emigration soon began to run high and strong toward the mississippi. it is not extravagant to say that never have more beautiful lands been opened for human settlement than lay beyond the "father of waters" in the hunting-grounds of the sacs and foxes. "_une ravissante contrée_" exclaimed in king louis philippe's son, prince de joinville, as he gazed upon the gorgeous green of the river bluffs, forests, and valleys, and meadows and prairies of iowa. the wonderful stories related of the marvellous fertility of the soil and the attractiveness of nature in this western mesopotamia gave a tremendous impetus to emigration. but the national government firmly held back the tide. the mississippi was patrolled by troops to prevent the settlers invading the lands. colonel zachary taylor and lieutenant jefferson davis, both later to achieve great fame, were among those who guarded the rights of the iowa indians and ejected overzealous frontiersmen and "squatters." but the pressure of population westward was irresistible; and small pretexts were sufficient to break down the barriers. the war with the sacs and foxes under their great leader, black hawk, came on and by the treaty of , known as the "black hawk purchase," negotiated by general winfield scott, a tract along the mississippi fifty miles wide was opened for settlement. this strip was rapidly populated and in the keokuk reserve was ceded to the united states. in a large tract adjacent on the west, aggregating , , acres, was purchased from the indians. in a short time the settlers began to clamor for the opening of the beautiful lands in the des moines valley and beyond, and to petition congress; and on october , , governor john chambers, the second territorial governor of iowa, negotiated a treaty at agency city which obtained title to the rest of iowa. by its terms the sacs and foxes were permitted to remain three years in their beloved hunting-grounds before their departure for kansas. it was the latter provision that led to the establishment of fort des moines. in may, , a military camp styled fort des moines was established at the mouth of the river near where keokuk now is, but abandoned in . as early as lieutenant-colonel stephen w. kearny had been ordered by the war department at washington to "proceed up the river des moines to the raccoon fork" and reconnoitre with a view to the selection of a military post. he reported adversely, however, believing that a fort should be established farther north near the minnesota line; and nothing was done until the treaty of was ratified. then general scott, in order to protect the indians from molestation by the whites, directed that troops be stationed near the agency buildings then located a few miles south and east of the present city. captain james allen of the first dragoons selected the "forks of the raccoon," and in may, , a steamboat came up the des moines river and landed soldiers and supplies. the soldiers set about building the fort, which, when completed, consisted simply of the officers' and men's quarters, one-story log huts with puncheon floors, a storehouse, hospital, and stables, all so arranged as to form a right angle, the sides of which ran parallel to the banks of the converging rivers, and came to a point at their junction. there was no stockade, embankment, or outlying moat on the exposed view or any other protective feature. [illustration keokuk at the age of . from a daguerrotype taken in .] during the time the fort was garrisoned there were a few whites permitted to occupy lands near by,--a representative of the american fur company, traders, a tailor, a blacksmith, and gardeners, persons who served the fort in some way,--but the population never exceeded two hundred, soldiers and all. captain allen and his dragoons had to give all their time to restraining restless bands of indians and crowding back the eager settlers who were on the eastern boundaries of the purchase awaiting the departure of the indians. the latter, although they manifested a disinclination to leave their old haunts, and trouble was anticipated when the order came for them to move, nevertheless peacefully withdrew under their great chief keokuk. even before the indians' title to the lands had expired many whites had slipped over the borders, dodged the dragoons, spied out the most desirable places for settlement and determined to claim them as soon as they could be entered. many a story is told of men roosting high in trees for days to keep out of the sight of the troops. on the night of october , , men were stationed in all directions from the fort ready to measure off their claims. precisely at twelve o'clock, midnight, a signal gun was fired at the agency house. answering guns rang out sharply in quick succession from hilltop and valley for miles around. the moon was shining dimly and its beams ill supplemented the fitful gleams of the settlers' torches as they hastily made their rough surveys, marked by blazing trees or by setting stones or stakes. men helped each other. two friends would run in two directions and each fire a gun when the terminus was reached. when the sun came up a new empire had come into being and the order and industry of the white man had displaced the listless, unprogressive life of the savage. the rush of the settlers into the region about des moines ahead of the surveyor's chain led to the development of an institution of peculiar interest in western history. not only was it unique, it was also a striking instance of the spontaneous growth of an institution of government. it was almost if not quite the realization under almost ideal conditions of the theory of jean jacques rousseau that government arises from and rests on a social compact. it was known as a land club or league or claim association, and it played a large part in the organization of government in iowa. it overrode the law of the land, or rather it blocked the natural course of the law; yet at the same time it maintained order and secured under strict regulations equity for the early settlers when the enforcement of the law would have worked harsh injustice, and possibly have produced serious outbreaks against national authority. when iowa was first opened for settlement the pioneers could not preempt lands or secure title to them until they were surveyed; and then only at public sale. but the surveyor lagged far behind the pioneer, who considered not the law, but, anxious for a home, hurried into the new tracts and settled on his claim. the "squatter" had no legal title to his claim, nor could he obtain it by priority of occupancy; and he knew that any stranger or speculator with a longer purse string could purchase his land and oust him and his family the moment the government should offer it for sale. it was the likelihood of this dire contingency that led to the formation of claim clubs or associations in nearly every locality in iowa. these clubs were composed of all the settlers in a township or county. they adopted a constitution, elected officers and conducted their affairs by definite procedure. they governed all matters relating to the amount and character of claims, their occupancy, improvement, abandonment, transfers, and disputes. the decisions of the club were rigidly enforced. claims were recorded and the members were under solemn agreement not only to guard each other from interference but to prevent lands claimed from being sold to strangers at the public sales. unhappy was the fate of a man who had the temerity to "jump" a claim or to outbid a claimant. tar and feathers or unceremonious banishment or even harsher treatment was not unlikely. at the sale the club selected a member who would bid in the members' claims. he was accompanied by a posse whose presence always prevented outsiders from bidding as the law contemplated. if the government officials were not always in sympathy with the settlers, at least they were always discreet enough to manifest no disapproval of the proceedings. these claim clubs of iowa aroused fierce opposition in the east. calhoun and clay denounced them as "conspiracies of lawless men" who so terrorized would-be purchasers that bona fide sales were impossible, and they urged that vigorous measures be taken to abate them. webster came to the settlers' defence. he pleaded for what he called their "reasonable rights" under the circumstances. the government had delayed the surveys; yet the settlers had been encouraged to go into the new lands and make their homes; to dispossess them would work severe hardship; the clubs, although outside the pale of the law, had enforced order and maintained to a marked degree all the forms of law and government, and violence was extremely rare. to webster's eloquence was due the passage of the early preemption laws. they were not liberal enough, however, and in a strong claim club was formed at des moines. although the treaty of opened the lands in they were not surveyed until and title could not be obtained until late in . meantime claims in large numbers had been entered. in speculators and "landsharks" came in and roamed about regarding the settlers' claims with envious and designing eyes. fear of them was a leading motive in the formation of the claim club of . strangers were closely watched. any suspicious action led to the suspect being warned that discretion was the better part of valor. there were some disturbances but none were serious. the most notable arose within the club itself. one perkins jumped his neighbor flemmings's claim. the latter appealed to his club members. a "war" ensued in which perkins narrowly escaped hanging. when the sale took place at iowa city, miles east of des moines, the club's agent bid in at $ . all of the claims and soon thereafter the club ceased to play any part in the life of the community. the first local government to which the inhabitants of des moines were subject was the county government of polk county provided for by the territorial legislature in january, . the town government was not organized until . by this time fort des moines had become a thriving place. it was an important way station on one of the main stage routes to the west. in , the establishment of a government land office brought to the town for the entry of lands the multitudes of speculators and settlers then rushing into western iowa. in the days of the gold fever and during the border wars in kansas and nebraska her ferries and hostelries did a bustling trade. in those early days life was free, easy, simple, and buoyant. the population of fort des moines was made up of people from both southern and northern states. they lived in log huts or simple frame buildings. pork and "corn-dodgers," coffee, sometimes made of parched corn, and tea, often made from native plants, constituted in the main their diet. they had to go many miles to get their flour ground. oxen were generally used in drawing wagons and ploughs. stage coaches were the common carriers until the railroads entered the city in . prior to the state constitution prohibited the establishment of banks of note issue and the money of the citizens was chiefly "wildcat" and "red dog" currency. in - the city council so far trenched on the powers of congress as to issue "city scrip," with the twofold object of paying the city's debt and affording the citizens a circulating medium. as the scrip did not become popular, in a short time the city called in its paper and redeemed it. like most frontier towns a certain reckless disregard of the sober customs of the eastern cities characterized the social life. sunday was a sort of gala day, when horse and foot races between whites and indians, accompanied by more or less gambling and carousal, were not infrequent. but the garish and reckless life soon gave place to the staid habits of well-ordered communities, and since the civil war des moines has justly sustained the reputation of a "conservative" western city. [illustration iowa soldiers and sailors monument.] the navigation of the des moines river was a great factor in the first years of the city's growth. steamboats came up the river from keokuk in the spring and summer months and brought most of the city's supplies. the people living along its course soon perceived that the river could be made a great waterway for commerce. those were the days of "internal improvements." congress was induced in to give to the new state every alternate section of unsold land in a strip five miles wide on either bank of the river to be used for the improvement of the channel. a river improvement company was formed. river traffic increased rapidly and the people went wild over the project. as usual the matter soon drifted into politics and decided the fate of political parties. demagogism ran riot. a story is told of two candidates for congress in , campaigning together, who rushed across a field to greet a farmer. the first one to reach him, extending his hand, cried: "hurrah for river improvement!" the farmer so eagerly sought proved to be a scarecrow. the net result of all the excitement and speculation attending the various efforts to improve the river was failure and collapse. the state after expending immense sums abandoned the task in . worse still, complications arose over the extent of the grant from the government, and left the people above the city a sorry heritage of costly litigation that continued till over the titles to their homes. the entire experiment was an instructive illustration of the futility of most of the attempts at "internal improvements" fostered by congressional land grants. in the summer of the river achieved notoriety in connection with the epidemic of "commonweal armies" that disturbed the public that year. one division, mobilized at san francisco under a "general" kelley, when it reached council bluffs was refused transportation by the iowa railroads. the horde then marched overland, levying on communities for provisions, reaching des moines sunday evening, april th. the citizens, in much trepidation, lodged the tramps in an abandoned stove factory. the people were frantic to pass them along, for their sojourn threatened plague, pilfering, and multitudinous evils. but the tramps refused to walk farther. the citizens were in despair. finally some genius suggested that the army be floated down the river. the "general" agreed to evacuate the stove works when the fleet of flatboats was ready to launch. on may th, amid general rejoicing, kelley and his army floated away. the _voyageurs_ reached the mississippi only to suffer ignominious discomfiture. in ante-bellum days the subject of slavery made life and politics keenly interesting in des moines. many stanch southerners and not a few abolitionists generated an electrical atmosphere. the first resident governor, james w. grimes, who later brought iowa fame in the united states senate, spoke out strongly against the arrogance of the slaveholders and the border outrages. the city was on john brown's "underground railway," and the spiriting of slaves through the town gave zest to public discussion. when brown came through with the slaves he had captured in missouri he stopped over night, february , , with james c. jordan, a state senator. the next day his ferriage was paid by the editor of the _state register_, john teesdale. one of brown's most trusted companions, who died by his side when lieutenant robert e. lee recaptured harper's ferry, was a des moines boy, jeremiah g. anderson, who had joined brown's forces in kansas in . [illustration governor samuel j. kirkwood.] one of the most dramatic incidents in iowa history grew out of the ill-fated expedition against harper's ferry. with brown were edwin and barclay coppoc, of springdale ia., the quaker village where the conspirators were drilled. edwin was captured and hanged. barclay escaped and after exciting adventures in maryland and pennsylvania got back to springdale, where the entire community armed to prevent his capture by the virginia authorities. on january , , an agent of governor letcher, of virginia, called on governor samuel j. kirkwood with a requisition for young coppoc. kirkwood discovered flaws in the papers, among them that no indictment had been found or crime charged, and he refused to honor the requisition. the agent became excited. just then two members of the assembly, ed. wright and b.f. gue, came into the governor's room, overheard the conversation with the agent, and discovered his object. they left and immediately dispatched a messenger to springdale to warn coppoc, who was hurried off to canada. slavery sympathizers in the legislature soon heard of the matter and introduced a resolution calling on kirkwood for an explanation of his proceedings. he sent in a ringing message in which he said: "permit me to say in conclusion that one of the most important duties of the official position i hold is to see that no citizen of iowa is carried beyond her border and subjected to the ignominy of imprisonment and the perils of trial for crimes in another state otherwise than by due process of law. that duty i shall perform...." in the uncertain days preceding the civil war, when the friends of liberty in the north were timid, kirkwood's message had the effect of a tocsin call. when sumter was fired on and president lincoln called for troops, simon cameron, secretary of war, telegraphed kirkwood that one regiment was expected from iowa. the governor was not then in the city. the messenger who carried the telegram from davenport to iowa city found him out on his farm working in a field. on reading the message he musingly asked: "why, the president wants a whole regiment of men! do you suppose that i can raise as many as that?" within a few days ten regiments were offered him. iowa sent nearly , men to the front, who played a conspicuous part in the great struggle. des moines contributed her full share; among the number three became generals, one, m.m. crocker, being an especially brilliant officer under grant in the campaigns in the west. the history of the western states is rife with struggles over the location of county seats and state capitals, the incidents of which are often picturesque and exciting. the selection of des moines as the capital city of iowa was an important event in her history. largely in consequence thereof the city has become not only the metropolis of the state but its chief nerve centre too. iowa's first territorial capital was burlington. from to it was at iowa city, when the state archives were moved to des moines. the change was not made without a spirited contest, the marks of which are seen to-day in the state's constitution. for, in order to placate the people of iowa city and secure permanency for the arrangement, the constitutional convention of inserted the provision that the state university should forever remain at iowa city, and the capital at des moines,--a piece of log-rolling not unlike that resorted to by alexander hamilton when the national capital was located at washington. there was a deal of politics and dissension in des moines over the selection of the site of the capitol; so much indeed that the animosities then engendered exercise a baneful influence in dividing the city even now. a superb site was chosen on a high hill in east des moines whence one can look over the hills and dales of the river valleys for miles around. the first capitol was a plain three-story brick structure, donated by the citizens of the east city as a part of the inducement to the commission to locate where they did. after the civil war the building became inadequate; the ravages of time rendered it unfit for a repository of the state's precious papers; and the people of des moines began to agitate for the erection of a capitol commensurate with the needs and dignity of the state. thereupon followed a contest whose incidents were most interesting and instructive. [illustration hon. john a. kasson.] the urgent need of a new capitol was generally admitted. but the justness or propriety of a measure is not alone sufficient to secure legislation. the jealousy of rival towns was fanned into fierce opposition. their representatives fought an appropriation with tooth and nail. two million dollars was magnified into unheard-of proportions. time-serving politicians who admitted privately that the state needed a capitol badly, tore passion to tatters in portraying the poverty and distress of the taxpayers. with a state "full of barefooted women and barefooted children" they asseverated such an expenditure would be criminal. such "politics" long prevailed. in , the people of des moines elected to the house of representatives, hon. john a. kasson, to conduct the fight for the appropriation. no better man could have been chosen. he had attained distinction as assistant postmaster-general under president lincoln, and as a member of congress. with what tact, patience and diplomacy he carried on the contest his career since as our country's envoy to the courts of austria and germany indicates. for five years mr. kasson struggled with recalcitrant representatives through trying vicissitudes before he got the appropriation. as it was, he escaped defeat by but one vote to spare, and that vote he would have lost but for the timely aid of a catholic priest, father brazil, of the city. the opposition resorted to the rascally ruse of getting a bibulous member who was friendly to the measure dead drunk and locking him up to prevent his attendance at the time of the vote. on being informed of the trick, father brazil sought out the recreant son of erin, secured him, and marched him up to the house chamber just as the roll was about to be called, and sat severely by until his charge had answered "aye." [illustration the capitol, des moines.] it took twelve years to build the capitol. during practically all of that time its construction was under the absolute control of three commissioners, john g. foote, peter a. dey, and robert s. finkbine, and the stately structure that now adorns capitol hill is a monument to their intelligence and integrity. not an unwise expenditure nor a dishonest or corrupt transaction was ever charged against their stewardship, and the people of iowa hold their names and services in grateful memory. it is a sad commentary on our public morals that the erection of a state capitol without suspicion of corruption is so exceptional as to be noteworthy and the proud distinction of the people of this western commonwealth. [illustration the iowa historical library.] from a frontier fort and a huddle of huts, des moines has grown to be a stately city whose corporate limits include fifty-four square miles and a population of nearly , , almost double the population of any other city in iowa. her citizens boast that "without riots, booms, or conflagrations" she has steadily grown in strength and stature. her industries and commerce make the city a hive of activities. seventeen railroads radiate from des moines, enabling the city to become the wholesale and retail jobbing centre of the state. sixty miles of electric street-railways and fifty-eight miles of paved streets make her suburbs readily accessible. there are vast deposits of coal and clay under and about the city. the smoke of three hundred factories, large and small, tinge her atmosphere with the hues of pittsburg. among insurance men the city is called the "hartford of the west," as fifty-one insurance companies have their headquarters in des moines and employ five thousand people. in her various colleges and schools of law, medicine, and commercial practice there is a population of nearly six thousand. thousands of visitors annually come to the state agricultural fair and to the political and educational conventions that assemble in the city. congress has recently provided for the establishment of an army post just south of the city limits, and the war department is about to expend several hundred thousand dollars in erecting barracks and in the preparation of drill-grounds for troops. few cities in the west possess scenery of greater natural beauty than that which greets the eye in and about des moines. the junction of the rivers near the centre of the city gives her topography a configuration similar to that of pittsburg. on the south and east her limits are marked by a range of wooded hills through which the silver stream of the united rivers makes its way. the view of the landscape across the river valley to the horizon's edge which is visible from most points is particularly pleasing to the eye in the spring and summer months. the main part of the city between the "forks" is in a forest of native oaks, elms, and hickories so dense that the looker from the capitol dome can scarce perceive the residences. to the attractions of nature the landscape gardener and architect have added much. nearly five hundred acres of parks give the people fine pleasure resorts in the hot summer months. many handsome wholesale and retail houses and manufacturing establishments grace her thoroughfares. the city has nearly completed a beautiful public library, located on the west bank of the des moines river, and, as a result of the years of devotion and unremitting labors of mr. charles aldrich, the state has begun the erection of the historical library, which will be one of the chief attractions of des moines. [illustration] [illustration] st. louis "the future great" by william marion reedy situated at the heart of the continent, midway between the east and west, the north and south, st. louis is a unique mixture of the characteristics of all sections of the united states. in the early seventies a weird character named l.u. reavis wrote a book called _st. louis, the future great city of the west_, in which he advocated the removal hither of the seat of the national government and predicted great things for the city. the fourth of american cities in population, st. louis is preparing to hold a world's fair in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the purchase of the louisiana territory, on a scale of magnificence which attracts universal attention. with the completion of the chicago drainage canal, destined soon to be a ship canal connecting lake michigan with the mississippi river, with the necessary improvement of the mississippi to its mouth, and with the certain construction of an isthmian canal, st. louis is sure to be in as close touch with the world at large as if it were a seacoast city. always the natural commercial centre of the mississippi valley, since it became the focus of a mighty network of railroads st. louis has been the market of the prosperous west, the new south and the great southwest, with its wealth of agriculture, mining, manufactures, and its almost magic development, shown, for instance, in the fact that texas is now only a few thousand behind missouri in population, and must in consequence of the recent discoveries of enormous oil lands soon overtake states like illinois and ohio and pennsylvania. the prophecies of the city's greatness are coming to realization. its future is here, but bright as the future is, it is not so bright as to allure us into forgetting the picturesque past. the old town on the mississippi has ever been modest to a degree that has caused the thoughtless to make mock of its conservatism, but the steadiness of character and the regard only for the realities of progress which have marked st. louis have their justification in that they have resulted in a city known in times of depression and panic as "the solid city." a city that owns itself, with a proper sense of dignity, it has never advertised itself in the modern meretricious fashion. and so the story of st. louis, an honest tale, will speed best being simply told. [illustration colonel auguste chouteau, one of the founders of st. louis. from a painting in missouri historical society collection.] st. louis was founded by pierre laclede liguest and a few companions, all french _voyageurs_, in ; at least it was in that year that laclede's lieutenant, auguste chouteau, cleared away the site of the present city. laclede liguest, or, as he is sometimes known, liguest laclede, a merchant of new orleans, had from the french government a monopoly of the fur trade in the missouri river country. he left new orleans with his family and a small party in august, , with the intention of founding a town near the confluence of the missouri and mississippi rivers. shortly after the town was laid out occurred the cession to great britain of the illinois country, on the east bank of the mississippi. the french inhabitants of that country having followed from the north in the wake of marquette in , and of la salle in , hated the english, and began to move over to the new town, which soon grew into importance. a trading point for the indians, laclede and his companions so managed them that there was none of the friction which marked the contact elsewhere of the english and the natives. when the laying out of the city began a band of one hundred and fifty warriors, with their squaws and papooses, outnumbering the whites five to one, appeared and camped near the strangers. the frenchmen treated the savages with such tact and kindness that they not only did no harm, but even of their own volition assisted in the work. the first cellar was excavated with the aid of the squaws, who carried off the clay in baskets, and were paid in beads and other trinkets which laclede had brought up from new orleans. the indians became so friendly that they were a hindrance rather than a help, and finally, to induce them to depart, laclede hinted that the french soldiers at fort chartres were to be summoned. [illustration the old chouteau mansion built for laclede in . from daguerreotype in missouri historical society collection.] shortly after the little village was begun, news came that the territory of louisiana had been ceded to spain. the french governor, m. d'abadie, who announced the fact to the people with tears, is said to have died of grief. st. ange de bellerive became commandant or governor-general in , instituted a government, and demeaned himself in such manner generally that unto this day he is remembered affectionately in every published history of the town. the first two grants of land in the village were made to laclede by de bellerive, august , . the spaniards do not appear to have paid much attention to the village of st. louis, for there was some doubt whether de bellerive had any authority to make grants. although the best authorities agree that de bellerive acted with the authority and consent of the commandant-general of new orleans, it seems that he was practically elected governor by the inhabitants. it is amusing to read in a history of st. louis and missouri, published in , that de bellerive in , began to make grants, "hoping for a retrocession of the country to france, when the grants would be legalized by confirmation." the first marriage in the new colony was celebrated april , , the contracting parties being toussaint honen and marie baugenon. the first mortgage was recorded september, . it was specified that payment should be made in peltries, though no definite value was attached to the number of deer hides to be delivered by pierre berger to francis latour. august , , news came that spain was making ready to take possession of the country. the transfer had been made by secret treaty in . the people accepted the situation in a sort of dumb rage. the following year a body of troops arrived under the command of a man named rios, acting under the authority of don antonio d'ulloa, governor of louisiana. to the joy of the inhabitants, de bellerive was not disturbed in his office, and the spanish troops left in the summer of . it was the great distinction of de bellerive that he was the friend of pontiac, the ottawa chieftain, and about the time of the departure of the spaniards, pontiac arrived at st. louis. he represented all the poetry and nobility, the grandeur and genius of the indian character. after red jacket, he was the greatest indian the new world had known. dreaming of driving the english into the sea he had confederated the tribes between the allegheny and the mississippi, the ohio and the lakes into a league against them. he had been known and beloved by the gallant but unfortunate montcalm at quebec. he had participated in the ambuscade in which braddock with his life had paid the penalty of narrow-mindedness, and had planned the massacre of michilimackinack, in which more than two thousand of the english had lost their lives. the french "loved him for the enemies he had made," and he was "fêted and caressed," says an early chronicler, "by many of the principal inhabitants of the village." st. ange de bellerive entertained the warrior at the house of madame chouteau, but pontiac was now a broken man. his dream of driving back the english beyond the cumberland had faded. his allies had been seduced from his support by presents and by firewater. he, too, had made the acquaintance of the fiery liquor, and drink was then such a passion with him that de bellerive and his friends not only endeavored to prevent the sale thereof to him in the village, but tried to dissuade him from crossing the river to cahokia in response to the invitations of certain of his friends there. not to be dissuaded, pontiac crossed the river in the uniform of a french officer, which had been given him by montcalm. wandering on the outskirts of the village of cahokia, he was tomahawked by a kaskaskia indian, who had been given a barrel of whiskey to do the deed by an english trader named williamson. his friend de bellerive had the chief's remains brought to st. louis, and they were buried somewhere in the vicinity of the site of the present southern hotel, in the corridor of which was placed, in , a handsome tablet to the unfortunate warrior's memory. whether pontiac was assassinated in accordance with official english instructions, or met his death in consequence of a private grudge, was long a matter of dispute, but there is no doubt that the passionate and sympathetic frenchmen believed for many long years that the chief was killed to relieve the english of the danger of his presence and a possible utilization of his undoubted abilities by the power in possession of the west bank of the mississippi. pontiac's death, however, was promptly avenged upon the illinois indians by members of the tribes with which he had been in alliance. next came don alexander o'reilly to take charge of the territory of louisiana. he arrived at new orleans at the head of three thousand men to enforce his authority. there was need for the soldiery, for though seven years had elapsed since the cession of the territory, the spaniards had never actually taken possession. the people were still french to the core. when they heard that don o'reilly was coming they even conferred together upon the advisability of meeting him with force and preventing his landing. the head men of the town counselled against this, however, and their advice prevailed, but such was the spirit of insubordination, so many were the execrations heaped upon the spaniards, so frequent were the threats of violence against them that don alexander had at once to adopt stern measures. he promptly arrested a dozen of the ringleaders, had five of them publicly shot, and the others, except one who committed suicide, sent as prisoners to cuba. the spanish code was put into operation throughout the territory, and o'reilly's deputy, lieutenant-governor piernas, arriving in st. louis in , took possession of st. louis, with the help of de bellerive, wisely conciliating the villagers. the village settled into peace. the church, for which ground had been set aside even before the founders of the town had prepared to build their own homes, was dedicated, june , , with solemn ceremonies. where that first church of flattened logs set on end with the interstices filled with mortar stood, there stands a church to-day, and, says elihu shepard, since that time "the worship of god on that block has not been suspended for a single day." all de bellerive's acts were formally confirmed by piernas, and the little settlement forgot its woes under a benign administration, which recognized village prejudices, and shut its eyes to the loyalty everywhere apparent to france. [illustration old french post-house. built in . inhabited until .] piernas narrowly escaped assassination at the hands of an osage chieftain who thought himself insulted at a meeting at the commandant's house. the osage, while drinking with other indians, divulged his intention to kill the governor, whereupon a shawnee warrior stabbed him to the heart. the slain chief was buried with honors in the big mound to the north of the village, an eminence that gave to st. louis for many years the name of "the mound city." for twelve years the village was orderly and quiet. the people liked the governor who succeeded piernas, but the next, don fernando de leyba,--"a drunken, avaricious, and feeble-minded man, without a single redeeming qualification," they did not like. he came upon the scene in , at a critical time. the american revolution was on. the french and spaniards, hating the english, were inclined to sympathize with the colonists, so far as they knew or cared about things happening so far away. fearing an attack of english and indians, the villagers threw up a trench and stockade about the town, having three gates on the sides other than the one on the river, and built a fort in the centre of the city at what is now, approximately, fourth and walnut streets, and supplied it with four small cannon and one company of soldiers. the people were afraid to till the fields outside the trench and stockade, and the men who might have braved attack were busy building the defences. in the spring of fears of a famine forced the men into the fields to plant the spring seeds. on the morning of may , , the attack came. it was led by canadian-french renegades, the main body being made up of about one thousand upper mississippi indians. the attacking party came from the north, slew forty of the workers, carried fifteen up the river as prisoners, in their war canoes, while the rest made their way back to the fortifications, amid the booming of the cannon, which saved the fort. leyba, who was drunk, appeared upon the scene, it is said, sprawling in a wheelbarrow and muttering incoherently, after the indians had been repulsed. he died a month later, covered with ignominy. the succeeding lieutenant-governor, francisco cruzat, thoroughly fortified the town, which was never afterwards molested by the savages. while the more extensive fortifications were in process of construction, indeed to the peace of , the price of provisions in st. louis was high, and visitors from new orleans, ste. geneviève, cahokia, kaskaskia, and other settlements nicknamed the place "_pain court_," or "short of bread." still, it was a time of prosperity. the town grew, and nothing alarming happened until, in , when the people were terrified by their first sight of the "june rise" of the mississippi. they saw the great yellow stream spread out over the american bottoms on the east bank and the columbia bottom on the west bank to the north, until it became a vast lake reaching farther than the eye could distinctly see. they saw the mighty flood go raging past, black with the trunks of mighty trees torn up by the wild waters, the villages of cahokia and kaskaskia submerged, crops ruined, cattle drowned, and houses melting into the yellow sea. st. louis was flooded to what is now main street, and part of the people were preparing to move farther up the high bank that ran back from the stream, when the waters began to recede, and the anxiety of the town was relieved. the people called this "_l'année des grands eaux_,"--"the year of the great waters." there have been many such floods since, but none more awe-inspiring than this, seen in a setting of virgin wilderness. the flood increased the population of the city, however, for the settlers in the bottoms went to town and joined in its upbuilding. in those days, notwithstanding all the dangers of war and flood, st. louis seems to have been a gay place. society was simple, yet retaining an indefinable air of elegance that bore the flavor of old france. even if they were "short of bread," the people were hospitable, a trait which still persists characteristic and conspicuous. the french element has almost wholly disappeared in newer elements, but there yet lingers, somehow, the atmosphere of deliberate ease among the people, even in the pressure of modern business. so orderly was this frontier town that during the entire period of the french and spanish dominations but one murder was reported. [illustration old mound, st. louis, removed in . from a photograph in missouri historical society collection.] following the annalists we learn that the city's commerce in those early days was much hampered by a band of pirates that infested the river at a place called grand tower, midway between the mouths of the missouri and ohio. lurking at this point, where the stream is very swift, the pirates would dart out and attack the boats plying between new orleans and st. louis, kill the boatmen and seize the goods. they secured rich spoil of hides from the down trade, and many luxurious articles from the up trade--treasures even from distant france. one _voyageur_ north bound escaped the pirates through the strategy and courage of a negro who won the confidence of the captors of the barge and the sympathy of two negro slaves of the pirates. at a signal the negroes hurled the buccaneers off the barge, and either shot them or left them to drown. the barge crew then took the boat once more, went back to new orleans, and told their story to the governor, who issued an order that all boats leaving for st. louis should go in company. in obedience in the spring of ten barges started up the river with crews well armed. arrived at the rendezvous of the robbers they found none, but they recovered, however, much of the plunder that had been stored away and brought it to st. louis. the year of their arrival was known for generations as "_l'année des dix bateaux_,"--"the year of the ten boats." st. louis traded not only with new orleans but with canada as well. the indians gave no trouble up stream or down. the spanish government wanted settlers, and was liberal in granting land. we read that "there were no mails or taverns, but every house was a welcome house to new comers." in the population of upper louisiana was , of whom were colored. the population had risen in to , . in the louisiana purchase was made, and in st. louis "contained one hundred and eighty houses built of hewn logs and stone, the latter being generally the rendezvous of the most wealthy, and surrounded by a wall of the same material, enclosing the whole block, which continued in use many years, protecting the fine fruit trees, which shaded the mansion." frame houses became fashionable after the transfer to the united states. "there were but one bakery, two small taverns, three blacksmiths, two mills, and one doctor in the town." coffee and sugar were $ . per pound, and everything else was costly in proportion. the united states took possession march , , when major amos stoddard assumed the duties of governor of upper louisiana. then history began to make quickly. near st. louis, lewis and clark organized their expedition via the missouri and columbia rivers to the pacific ocean, departing in may, . in august lieutenant zebulon pike started to explore the mississippi to its source. the mississippi was opened up to free navigation. general william henry harrison came from indiana to preside over the district. he was succeeded by general james wilkinson, and the region formerly known as the district of louisiana became known as the territory of louisiana. later a strangely handsome, dark, romantic man, much honored by every one and indescribably fascinating in manner, visited the town and was fêted. he was entertained by general wilkinson, through whom it is believed the authorities at washington first learned of that vast, vague treason which burr--for it was he--conceived in his restless brain. wilkinson was later appointed to watch burr and was succeeded as governor by captain meriwether lewis, fresh from his adventures in the mysterious northwest. a ferry had been established in , and at the same spot there is to-day a ferry operating, one of the most profitable of the vested interests of st. louis. the post-office was established in . in the population was fourteen thousand. in was founded the first newspaper, which exists to-day as the _st. louis republic_, a daring enterprise begun when the whole country was suffering from the embargo and non-intercourse with england. the great new madrid earthquake shook the little city in . the battle of tippecanoe had been fought a little before the earthquake, and in the same year appeared the first steamboat in western waters. in the territory of louisiana became the territory of missouri, and in june of that year the bank of st. louis was founded. the year before that the governor of the territory had gathered in the city of st. louis the chiefs of the great and little osages, the sacs, foxes, delawares, and shawnees, made peace with them, then conducted them to washington, arriving there just before the declaration of war against great britain, in time to conclude a peace which saved the country from any such conspiracy as had been formed among the indian tribes to the east, under the leadership of the great tecumseh. being a frontier town, st. louis was of course a resort for trappers and traders but, unlike the frontier towns of to-day, not for desperadoes. the early settlers seem to have stamped upon the place its distinctive quality of quietness. here the north american fur company had its headquarters for a long time, and from this point the adventurous subordinates of john jacob astor went forth in all directions in search of peltries. one of these, a colonel russell farnum, leaving st. louis afoot reached behring strait in - , crossed over the ice, traversed siberia and, arriving at st. petersburg, was presented to the emperor. this memorable journey was the wonder of europe at the time, for farnum went from st. petersburg to paris and then came home by way of new york. he wrote a record of his adventures and sent it to a new york publisher but it was lost and the writer died before he could again transcribe his narrative. the war of with great britain for a time was of small concern to st. louis. later, however, the indians of missouri were armed by the people and pitted against the indians employed by the british. the trading-posts in which st. louis was interested extended twelve hundred miles to the north and there agents from st. louis counter-plotted against the british. the yanktons and omahas were matched by the americans against the iowas and several battles were fought in which the british-bought savages were worsted. the war coming to an end, indian hostilities ceased and the fur trade throve under the peace. rivals to the american fur company were started. the business expanded, and soon the necessities of commercial intercourse led to the organization of two banks, the second of which, known as the bank of missouri, was organized february , . inflation was the order of the day. the town took on airs of magnificence and extravagance. wealth accumulated so rapidly that some seemed at a loss to spend it, and gave entertainments in which the tasteful and the barbaric were strangely mingled. the united states held sales of public lands and there were "rushes" such as we have seen in recent years in oklahoma. building was undertaken in a lordly fashion and extravagant prices were asked for everything. the demand for money was so great that recourse was had to lotteries to raise funds for an academy at potosi, to provide fire-engines for the city, to erect a masonic hall. the lotteries soon got into politics and were not dislodged until late in the seventies, after a fight not unlike that waged for many years in louisiana. it was in that the legislature of missouri established the public-school system and incorporated the institution which persists to-day in the st. louis board of education, though it was many years before there was a public school in the city. in the same year, in st. louis, thomas h. benton, afterwards united states senator from missouri for thirty years, leaped into notice, engaged in a quarrel with charles lucas, united states attorney for the territory of missouri, and in a duel across the river, or rather on an island in the river that has since become joined to the illinois shore, killed him. the place where the duel was fought became the rendezvous for duellists and was called "bloody island." in the first bible society in the territory of missouri was formed. the inflation of the day ended as usual in collapse, but st. louis and missouri suffered less harm than other sections. when, in , the territory of missouri applied for admission to the union the slavery question arose. there was a slight preponderance of sentiment in favor of slavery, but very slight. the missouri compromise left its mark on missouri and st. louis. the state was always regarded, however its representatives stood, as doubtful on the slavery issue. from to the breaking out of the civil war it was always a compromise state and in that war it was ever between two fires, furnishing soldiers in startling abundance to each side and sympathizing with both. st. louis suffered in that long drawn out situation. a paralyzing incertitude was bred in the city's mind, even toward progress. the people, especially the french, did not take kindly to steamboats. "when missouri was admitted to the union," says elihu shepard, "there was no steamboat owned in the state and but one steam mill." the assessed valuation of the town property was less than $ , , and the whole corporation tax less than $ per year while missouri remained a territory. the town contained six hundred houses, one third of which were of stone or brick, the remainder wooden, one half of which were framed. the population was estimated at five thousand, one fourth of whom were french. the estimated annual value of the trade was $ , . steamboats from the ohio river took the carrying trade between st. louis and new orleans, and the imports were estimated at $ , , . all these conditions, while due in some measure to the extreme conservatism and self-satisfaction of the dominant french element, were undoubtedly due in larger measure to the hard times that prevailed when missouri became a state. st. louis was incorporated as a city december , . a spice of adventure always entered into the then predominant business of the community, for the fur companies fought with each other, and all of them made common cause against the great hudson bay company in the north, with its headquarters in canada. the people of that time thought little of distances which even now seem great. traders and trappers went without hesitation through the wilderness to the very surf of the pacific and the people of the city never dreamed that what we now call yellowstone park was very far away. often enough the adventurous commercial traveller who left st. louis came back without his scalp or never came at all. the city was picturesque. men clad in buckskin and carrying rifles in their hands elbowed representatives of first families attired in the fashion that came from paris, via new orleans, or consorted with red indians in paint and feathers--and too often, too, in liquor. st. louis and missouri were "big" in politics about that time. missouri was for clay, but missouri's representative did not vote for him and john quincy adams was chosen president. after this missouri became a jackson state, and committed herself to the south. a patch of color in the drab details of the history of st. louis for the few years after the incorporation was the visit of lafayette to the city on april , , and his sumptuous entertainment by the enthusiastic inhabitants, most of whom, probably, loved the frenchman more than the friend of washington. in june, , the first presbyterian church was consecrated by rev. solomon giddings, who "had a very respectable congregation" for a city which was preponderantly french and roman catholic. the french language was spoken in the homes of half the families of the town. there were less than a dozen german families in a city which now is more distinctly teutonic than any other in the country, except milwaukee. the slavery issue was all the while growing, and in there was formed at st. louis a branch of the american colonization society, the purpose of which was to further the settlement of free blacks in liberia. many of the largest slave-owners in the city and state were members and officers of the society. between and , a progressive movement started. the new court house was dedicated in , and the work of opening and paving streets was pushed with energy. the old french families resented the new life and moved into the country. the pace was too fast for them. the hunters, trappers, _voyageurs_ and bargemen began to disappear. the city took on a truly american aspect, but the increase of population was slow. between and , the population increased only , but between and the increase was nearly , , reaching the total of , . gradually americanism made its impress. the wharf was lined with steamboats and the levee with great stores. steam ferryboats multiplied. the city became a great river town, second in importance only to new orleans. the lead mines to the south of the city were productive. manufactures of various sorts sprang up. an insurance company was incorporated. prosperity was checked by fear of the great black hawk, who, at the head of the sac and fox indians, took the war-path in illinois. immigration and transportation of goods to and from the north was checked till black hawk was defeated and his tribe transported to the other side of the river, where the influence of great britain could not reach them. no sooner, however, had the city recovered from its slight panic than there came another and graver excitement, another lull in business. jackson's bank veto was the cause. as if this were not enough to discourage the community, along came the cholera, which in five weeks destroyed four per cent. of the population. cholera has reappeared since, from time to time, the most serious visitation being in , but the city as it grew began to pay attention to the sewage question and in half a century had perfected such a sewer system as is not surpassed in any city in the world. in the city council sold the town commons, a tract of about two thousand acres, and devoted nine tenths of the proceeds to street improvements and one tenth to the public schools, and from this small beginning arose the system which to-day directs the education of the children of a city of , inhabitants. in the st. louis university, a jesuit institution, was founded, which has been since a centre of higher education for the sons of the well-to-do roman catholics of the entire south and southwest. considerably later was founded the institution now washington university, one of the best endowed educational establishments in the country, with a manual training department famous the world over, and with its mary institute for girls ranking with the best seminaries of the country. at an early day the roman catholic religious sisterhoods of charity and instruction established branches here. the sisters of charity founded a hospital in , aided by the liberality of john mullanphy, which has been in continuous service ever since. the sisters of the visitation came later and established their convent for the higher education of girls and did for the girls of the west and south what the st. louis university did for the boys. still later came the establishment of medical colleges, one in connection with the st. louis university, and later the institutions founded by mcdowell and pope, from which grew the swarm of large medical and surgical colleges which now make st. louis one of the most important centres of medical education in the land. [illustration washington university as projected, now under construction.] events moved rapidly after . the growth of river traffic was steady. the drift of emigration westward was beneficial to st. louis in every way. men and money flowed in from the east and the south. there were rumors of railroads, and, in april, , a convention was held by representatives of eleven of the most populous counties of the state to take steps to induce the construction of railroads in the state and to and from the city. the modern spirit manifested itself in every direction, and the year found the people regarding st. louis as a metropolis, though in that year occurred an incident demonstrating that the taint of barbarism lingered to some extent among the people. a negro who had stabbed a constable was seized by a mob and tied to a tree and burned to death, amid a chorus of execrations,--an episode only too frequently duplicated in different sections of the country of late years. at this time st. louis had , inhabitants, but it was not till the year following that a theatre was known. in the same year a brick fire-engine house was built, and leading citizens were proud to be members of the company and "run with the machine." st. louis was much interested in the texan war of independence, and from its stores supplies went to the followers of houston, while many of the younger men of the community left to join the lone star warriors in their struggle. later, when the war with mexico began, there were multiplied activities in the city, because the government here outfitted many of its troops. here next were heard the first mutterings of the storm that broke in . elijah p. lovejoy, anti-slavery in sentiment, edited the _st. louis observer_. on the night of july , , persons unknown broke into the publishing room and wrecked the establishment, scattering the type into the street. no one was punished for the offence. lovejoy went to alton, where later he was slain by fanatical opponents of his abolitionism, who unwittingly wrote his name high on the list of the martyrs to freedom. st. louis had its first daily mail september , , and on the same day the _missouri republican_ commenced the publication of a regular daily edition. in daniel webster was banqueted, and it was estimated that there were more guests at the banquet than there were inhabitants of the city when lafayette was fêted twelve years before. [illustration st. louis in . from a print in missouri historical society collection.] [illustration forest park, st. louis.] following in quick succession, events too numerous to be recapitulated marked the history of the town. in spite of floods and cholera and a great fire, which swept away the business portion of the city, the community went steadily ahead. the gold-fever helped st. louis, for the argonauts going overland outfitted here, as in very recent years their fellows bound for the klondike and cape nome outfitted at seattle. as the west built up st. louis builded too. something substantial from the westward-moving stream always found its way into the coffers of the st. louis merchants. the prosperity and power of the south lent prestige to the city. the city was a great cotton market. it had a vast trade up and down the mississippi and missouri rivers, up and down the ohio and the tennessee. the fleets of steamboats at the wharves grew in size, until, old inhabitants say, there were three or four miles of them at the river front at one time, being loaded and unloaded day and night by singing negroes. as agriculture grew in importance, st. louis became a great wheat market, a great market for cattle and swine, horses and mules. its manufactures in every line throve, as well they might, for it was the great depot of the west, with a straightaway water route to the sea. there was plenty of work, plenty of money, and more than plenty of pleasure. the society of st. louis was exclusive and magnificent. the ante-bellum balls were gorgeous affairs. the women were beautiful, of the southern type, and when it was desired to say of one of them that she was royally bejewelled, a common phrase used was "she wore a nigger on every finger." steamboatmen, planters, slave-traders, merchants dealing in cotton or in sugar, spent money like water. the town was, as we say in these days, wide open, and of a perilous liveliness, for the incoming northerners and easterners were never equal to the task of suppressing what the new england american regards as vices not to be temporized with. the brightness and gayety, however, did not wholly conceal the dread of the sorrow that was to come. st. louis was, for the most part, intensely southern; but the revolution of had brought to this country and to st. louis a great number of germans, who were set against slavery and secession. the storm broke, and the breaking was a severe setback to st. louis, whose prosperity was founded chiefly on that of the south. its sympathies, through social, political, business ties, were mainly with the south. the war destroyed business. st. louis, if not the enemy's country, was strongly suspected of disloyalty, and for a time it seemed as if war would smite the city itself, while there hung in the balance the decision of the alternative of governor claiborne jackson of missouri that he would "take missouri out of the union or into hell." feeling ran high in the community. almost a battle was fought on its outskirts. st. louis had bitter experiences of martial law, while its commercial activities seemed to be mostly controlled by people who had government contracts. here, where grant had been known as a none too tidy farmer, his name was loathed, as was lincoln's, by the larger element, while the germans were profoundly loyal. the misfortunes of the south were unfortunate for st. louis in every instance, and when the scourge of war passed, the region whence st. louis had drawn most of its wealth was devastated, and the sceptre of trade passed to the north. as the fortunes of st. louis declined from these causes, they and other causes operated to push chicago to the front, even though, when chicago had been twice visited by fire, st. louis, as the greater city, made large contributions to the relief of the sufferers. st. louis did not go backward, but the country to the north recovered from the war and improved more rapidly than that to the south and southwest, and the northern and western trade went to chicago. st. louis managed, in the face of such obstacles, to hold its own. the work of expansion and extension of improvement went steadily ahead, though with great conservatism. the boom idea, that grew after the war, was never hospitably entertained in st. louis, though the manufacturers and merchants found a new trade and strenuously developed it in the new southwest. the southwestern railway systems began to take shape, and the prosperity of st. louis came back in great measure late in the eighties. the great st. louis bridge had been opened in , and the city was put in touch with the east, but the greater movement of the country's wealth and energy was being felt in the territory that was out of trade touch and political sympathy with the field in which st. louis was once supreme. nevertheless st. louis added to her beauties steadily. she acquired forest park, the greatest natural public city park in the country, after fairmount in philadelphia, also o'fallon park, but little less magnificent. through the philanthropic generosity of henry shaw she acquired tower grove park, which is perhaps the finest specimen of the park artificial to be found anywhere. later, mr. shaw left to the city by will his botanical garden, an institution famous the world over for its collection of plants of almost every species. the city paved all its downtown streets with granite, and later its outlying streets with asphalt, erected a new custom house, a four courts building, stupendous water-works, and constructed a gigantic extension of the sewer system. the development of the system of street railway transportation in st. louis was more rapid and more perfect than in any other city in the world. a new mercantile library was built and the public-school library was made free. churches increased in great numbers. schools multiplied and were overcrowded in places where within twenty years had been quarry ponds and cow pastures. the growth of business, the multiplication of banks, the overspreading of the population since , has been bewildering in its progress, and remains so, in spite of the fact that there has been all this time in process of building, directly across the river, a sort of overflow city of sixty thousand people. the city lost its river trade but has made up for it in utilization of the railroads, and is now preparing again to use the mighty, free, natural highway for the transportation of products to the world at large. st. louis, so often thought of as slow, has really grown with phenomenal rapidity. it is one of the wealthiest cities in the country, a city of homes, and a city of perhaps more beautiful homes widely distributed in different sections than are to be found elsewhere. the wealthy men of st. louis are almost all young men. the greater fortunes in st. louis, with but few exceptions, have been made within the past twenty years, and many of them in the last ten years, and these now utterly eclipse the fortunes that have been handed down from the earlier days. the city has to-day a population of , . in the suburban territory there are over , more people in close relationship daily and almost hourly with the business and social life of the city. the "slow old town" is not so slow when it is remembered that within one year after a cyclone swept it in may, , there was not a trace of the visitation. its conservatism is very real, but it is not stagnation. st. louis has gone on with its work, even though war and the industrial tendencies consequent on war, and the political and social drift growing out of war have been in opposition to the city's progress. the city has built steadily but well, passing through the panic of without a single failure. the earlier history of the town shows how the conservatism so thoughtlessly derided came to be ingrained in the life of the city. it shows, too, the pertinacity which has made st. louis the fourth city in the union, in defiance of the disaster that befell its prestige in the great war, and in defiance too of the circumstance that the new popular national activities generated after that great conflict found their most congenial field in regions practically out of reach of, and wholly antipathetic to the interests of the chief city of missouri. the new south and the new southwest mean a new st. louis. and we shall see what the new st. louis means when the city expresses its higher and better self in the exposition with which its people purpose to celebrate the purchase, by the united states, in , of the louisiana territory. [illustration eads bridge at st. louis.] [illustration union station, st. louis.] [illustration] [illustration] kansas city the central city by charles s. gleed in early literature and in early united states indian treaties the indian word "kansas" appears as caucis, konza, konseas, kons, kanzaw, kanzau, kaw, and kanzas. kansas, meaning smoky, was the name of a tribe of indians still existing in the indian territory and it came to be applied to all the country west of the missouri river over which the tribe roamed (the country which is now largely in the state of kansas), and also to its chief river. there are two kansas cities, one in missouri, the other in kansas. the kansas city in missouri was named after the kansas indians, the kansas river, the kansas country, or all of them. the kansas city in kansas was named after the kansas city in missouri. the two cities are one except in law and the line dividing them is not discoverable except by the surveyor. the kansas city in kansas was made up of a number of small towns the chief of which was wyandotte. it was thought that the kansas town would be helped by adopting the good name belonging to the missouri town. the kansas city in kansas has about , people; the kansas city in missouri has about , . the former is the largest city in kansas, while the latter is the second city in missouri. in this sketch the two towns are considered as one. [illustration kansas city from the south.] among large cities kansas city is central, for the exact centre of the united states is about two hundred miles west in kansas. at the point where kansas city is located, the kansas or "kaw" river coming from the west empties into the missouri river coming from the north. the kansas-missouri state line runs south from near the junction of the two rivers. in the angles formed by this junction are very high hills, almost mountains. standing on the high point close in the southern angle, one may look away for ten to twenty miles to the north and the east along the valley of the missouri and to the west along the valley of the kansas. it is in these valleys and on these miniature mountains that the city is built. the parts in the valleys present no special difficulties to the town builder, but in the higher parts almost every difficulty is presented. the hills are composed of rocks which must be blasted, and of yellow clay. the original bluffs are cut by numerous ravines leading towards the rivers, and those streets running parallel with the rivers and therefore crossing the ravines are necessarily in many cases very steep. this topographical situation has required the removal of enormous quantities of earth and rock, the filling of great ravines, and the artificial establishment of the grades of streets. this rendered the city unsightly through its earlier years, but the unsightliness is rapidly giving way to great beauty and picturesqueness. the first plat of the "town of kansas" was filed in . it included the land bordering the missouri river some distance south and east of the mouth of the kansas river and bounded by the river, the present second street, the present delaware street, and the present grand avenue. there was no technical incorporation, and the common name of the place was at first westport landing--this being the river landing for the trading post called westport, four or five miles south of the river. [illustration jackson county court house, kansas city.] in , the county court of jackson county, missouri, at independence, created the "town of kansas" as an incorporation governed by a board of trustees. the first board, appointed february , , failed to act and on june d of the same year another board was appointed, composed of william gillis, madison walrond, lewis ford, bennoist troost, and henry w. brice. this board controlled the town until the legislature of missouri, february , , granted the right of incorporation to the city of kansas. from the small original town, by one addition after another, has grown a city covering an area of nearly one hundred square miles. long before any incorporation or any platting of town sites there was much activity in this locality. judge e.p. west, an eminent local geologist, produces indisputable evidence in the shape of stone arrow-heads and spear-heads found on the present town site that the place was inhabited at least , years ago. the local museum contains a great number of specimens of flint and stone work indicating to geologists and archæologists the presence of races dating back many centuries. in , the jesuit fathers penetrated all parts of the wilderness surrounding what is now kansas city. they were doubtless the first white settlers and in all probability they had only the usual purpose, zeal in propagating the religion of their fathers. they are known to have built a small log house in the neighborhood of the northern part of what is now troost avenue. it was as much a church as a dwelling, for here the tribes to whom they had come attended religious service. in a missionary named father roux established the first actual church in this locality. there were many trappers and hunters of the french-canadian type who had intermarried with the indians. in father roux purchased of a canadian some forty acres on the hill adjoining the present site of the roman catholic cathedral, almost exactly in the centre of the present city, and in was instrumental in having a log church built on a part of the land situated between what are now eleventh and twelfth streets on penn street. here for a period of at least twenty years a congregation composed largely of french canadians and the children of the french and indian intermarriages worshipped together. in father bernard donnelly was made pastor of all western missouri, and ministered to the indians and whites alike. through his efforts a brick church was erected on the corner of what are now eleventh street and broadway, and from to , when he retired from active work to die a few months later at the age of eighty, he devoted himself entirely to his priestly duties. the church and the city owe an unmeasured debt of gratitude to this unselfish and lovable man. [illustration convention hall, kansas city.] questions of transportation have been of overwhelming interest to the people of kansas city from the beginning. the first crossing of the missouri river at this point was established in by the operation of a flatboat at the mouth of the "kaw." the rev. isaac mccoy and his son established the ferry and operated it until . then came the horse-power ferryboat, and the steam ferryboat. in due time full-fledged steamboats made their appearance on the missouri. westport landing, by reason of a rocky bank and deep water in front of it, afforded an excellent landing. here were unloaded the goods for the great indian and mexican trade of the west, and from here were shipped eastward wool, furs, buffalo robes, and other products of the region. immigration overland to colorado, utah, nevada, mexico, and california came to this point in boats and then went westward by the old santa fé trail. from about to the coming of the railroads, from six to ten boats daily came to this landing. in , during the nine months of navigation, no fewer than fifteen hundred boats arrived and departed. some of them were palatial structures, judged even by the standard of to-day, and many of them were magnificently furnished and equipped to care for passengers. one of the early features of the travel and traffic between kansas city and the west was the old concord coach and another was the ox and mule wagon known as the "prairie schooner." the coaches carried from ten to fifteen passengers, and the passengers as a rule carried from two to a dozen weapons of defence against the indians. at one time the fare per passenger from westport to santa fé, new mexico, was $ in gold, and the schedule time was thirteen days and six hours. the trip involved travelling night and day, asleep and awake, without stopping except for meals. the "overland mail express company" maintained an office for years on the levee, and for carrying mails received $ , a year. mail, passengers, and express matter usually yielded from $ to $ a trip. in , the mexican trade from this point was suspended by santa anna, who closed the northern port of entry. as soon, however, as the embargo was removed, trade revived and greatly increased. at this time atchison, leavenworth, st. joseph, and omaha entered upon the same business, but until the civil war commenced kansas city retained most of the trade. a book published in shows the tonnage between kansas city and mexico to have increased from , tons in , to , tons in , the increase being fairly uniform over the entire period. in , wagons began the overland trip from kansas city; by the trade had grown to a total valuation of at least $ , , , and by had still further increased to a point which attracted national attention. in that year a correspondent sent by the _new york herald_ to study the statistics of the business, reported that there were shipped from kansas city in that year , , pounds of freight, employing men, mules, , yoke of oxen and wagons, to which should be added the statistics of the trade with the towns of kansas and nebraska. this, for that time, enormous bulk of business, passed over the santa fé trail which is now almost exactly the route of the atchison, topeka & santa fé railroad. at the close of the civil war in , during which kansas city, in common with all the border towns of missouri and kansas, was disturbed by the conflict, a tremendous immigration began to flow westward through the city. railroad enterprises in kansas and beyond were opening up the country for settlement, and the families of those who had lately been engaged in war rushed westward to take up the vacant lands offered them. the first railroads entering the city were the hannibal & st. joseph (which is now a part of the chicago, burlington & quincy system) and the missouri pacific--the first entering from the direction of chicago, and the last from the direction of st. louis. the first built to the west was the union pacific railway, eastern division, afterwards known as the kansas pacific, now a part of the union pacific. [illustration the city hall, kansas city.] railroad building in the country immediately tributary to kansas city became active at the close of the civil war, and has continued until the present time ( ), when two new main lines are under construction towards the city. the railway companies with lines entering kansas city now are the chicago, burlington & quincy, the chicago, rock island & pacific, the atchison, topeka & santa fé, the chicago, milwaukee & st. paul, the wabash, the chicago & alton, the missouri pacific, the missouri, kansas & texas, the st. louis & san francisco, the st. joseph & grand island, the kansas city, fort scott & memphis, the kansas city southern, the chicago & great western, the kansas city & northern, the union pacific, the suburban belt, and the kansas city belt. nowhere in the united states can be seen a better demonstration of the wonderful development of the transportation system of the country. besides its trunk-line railroads the city has two belt railway systems and numerous private tracks, so that its equipment for industrial work is unexcelled. its street-railway system of nearly two hundred miles is one of the finest in america. the tracks and the equipment are thoroughly modern in every respect. the first newspaper published in kansas city was a weekly called the _kansas ledger_. it was established in , but was sold in about fifteen months, and then sold again and removed to independence. the city after the death of the _ledger_ was for eighteen months without a newspaper office. in september, , the _kansas city enterprise_ made its appearance, edited by w.a. strong, d.k. abeel having charge of the publishing department. in august, , the _enterprise_ was bought out by r.t. van horn, who assumed editorial control in october. in january, , mr. abeel purchased a half-interest in the paper and in the following october the _enterprise_ became the _western journal of commerce_, a larger and greatly improved sheet. the _kansas city journal_ grew out of this and at once began to assume the high position among the great dailies of the country which it has since maintained. theodore case, in his history of kansas city, a volume of some seven hundred pages, says of the _journal_ in what may well be repeated to-day: "there is one feature that has always characterized this paper, a never-failing devotion to home and local interests, and an unyielding faith in the destiny of the city, that has made it, more than any other interest, the builder and architect of the present city of kansas. it has furnished more information, historical, statistical and commercial in regard to western missouri, the great western plains and the mountains, their trade, resources and capabilities, than any other paper in the mississippi valley, and when the history of the new west comes to be written, it is to its columns that the historian will turn for its earliest facts and figures." colonel r.t. van horn continued to be the chief owner and editor of the _journal_ until , besides attending to his duties as congressman and in other important relations. as the "grand old man" of kansas city, he is to-day quietly enjoying the fruits of his long and honorable labors. [illustration the post-office, kansas city.] the only other kansas city newspaper besides the _journal_ in existence at the close of the war was the _daily kansas city post_ (german) started in the latter part of , with august wuerz, sr., as its first editor. mr. wuerz was a strong abolitionist and so aroused the antipathy of the pro-slavery element that he was forced to abandon the city in . he crossed over to wyandotte (now kansas city, kansas), published the _post_ there for nine months, and then returned to kansas city. the first democratic daily established here after the war was the _advertiser_, which appeared in . it was succeeded in by the _kansas city times_, which was issued by the proprietors, messrs. r.b. drury & co. varying fortune marked the paper until , when, under the management of messrs. munford, munford & hasbrook, it attained a high standing among the dailies of the country. of the papers which at about this time shared the honor of representing kansas city should be named the _kansas city news_, an evening paper, which suspended after a four years' existence; the _evening mail_, an evening democratic paper, which came into existence in and which, after frequently changing its proprietors, became, in , the property of the owner of the _kansas city star_, mr. w.r. nelson. the _kansas city star_ achieved remarkable success in the hands of mr. nelson, and now occupies a leading place among the dailies of the city and the country, giving as it always has its best efforts towards the upbuilding and expansion of the city. another evening paper which has shown evidence of the growth of the city by its own substantial growth, is the _evening world_, which, established in , continues to rank well among the papers of the city. vicious newspapers have never been permitted to flourish in kansas city. [illustration a bit of gladstone boulevard, kansas city.] what may be called the real-estate history of kansas city is peculiarly interesting. in the year james h. mcgee built a log cabin for a residence near what is now the corner of twentieth and central streets. he made the first kiln of brick west of independence, built the first brick residence in kansas city, and furnished the bricks for father donnelly's chapel chimney. mr. mcgee acquired by purchase nearly all the land between the towns of kansas city and westport, and his name and that of his family is to-day so associated with the record of the city's development that it cannot be lost. the first working town company was formed in and was composed of men whose names subsequently were conspicuous in the city's history. they were h.m. northrup, jacob ragan, henry jobe, william gillis, robert campbell, fry p. mcgee, w.b. evans, w.m. chick, and j.c. mccoy. it is said that about lots were then sold at an average price of $ . per lot. this was the nucleus of the old town and the beginning of its most picturesque history as a real-estate market. in the years between and (the "boom" period) the city grew extraordinarily, the excitement over real-estate transactions reaching a point probably unprecedented in this country. an enormous acreage of what never can be anything but farm land was platted and sold as city property, and prices for all classes of real estate reached figures which will probably never be reached again, at least until the city has a population greater than now seems possible. [illustration the stock yard exchange, kansas city.] at the close of the war in , kansas city had three banks, one insurance company, one daily and two weekly english newspapers, one german weekly and one bi-monthly medical journal. the churches were two methodist, one baptist, two presbyterian, one roman catholic and one christian. there were two lodges of masons, two of odd fellows, one of good templars, a turn verein, a shamrock benevolent society, a girl's school, a rectory school, and a german school. the census of showed a population of . now the city stands first among the cities of the land in the agricultural implement trade, first in the southern lumber trade, second in the live-stock trade, first in the horse and mule trade, second as a railroad centre, second in the meat-packing business, tenth in bank clearings, nineteenth in the value of its manufactures. it has public-school buildings, teachers and , pupils. it has the second largest park system in the country, having over acres. it handled in $ , , worth of live-stock; , , bushels of wheat; , , bushels of corn; , , bushels of oats; , bushels of rye, and , bushels of barley. it did a wholesale business of $ , , , its packing houses turned out $ , , worth of products, slaughtering , , cattle, , , hogs and , sheep. its bank clearings were $ , , . its banking and trust company capital was $ , , ; it had two hundred miles of paved streets, twenty-seven grain elevators with a storage capacity of , , bushels. [illustration the public library, kansas city.] on the non-material side the city has made a progress even more remarkable. it is not devoted entirely to money-getting. the humanities have been remembered. there are some thirty-four hospitals, asylums, and benevolent homes. it has eight hospitals proper for the reception of the sick, disabled, and diseased, the missouri pacific railroad company maintaining one. there are five children's homes, and one industrial home. there are three homes for the aged, one of which is for colored people entirely. there is one convent and an institution each for the sisters of charity and the sisters of mercy, besides others of lesser importance. in some cases the buildings may not be pretentious, but they are all ample in size, and in many instances would not discredit the cities of the largest population. the exceptional intelligence of the people is proved by other unmistakable signs. strong, clean newspapers, beautiful opera houses, first-class hotels, hundreds of churches, modern schools, great libraries, charming clubs, beautiful parks and streets, fine hospitals, fine public buildings, admirable public utilities, and above all an enormous proportion of beautiful homes,--these are some of the signs that tell of the fruition of the highest hopes of the hardy pioneers who first gave battle to savagery and the wilderness at this point. that the city has a much greater growth before it is the opinion of all who are familiar with the conditions there. the vast agricultural, mineral, and manufacturing region surrounding it and directly tributary to it for a thousand miles in every direction is sure to push it steadily forward among american cities until it ranks at last with boston, baltimore, and st. louis. [illustration] [illustration] omaha the transcontinental gateway by victor rosewater now a city of , population, with prosperous suburbs that make it the business centre for , people, omaha is the outgrowth of the nebraska & council bluffs ferry company. this company was organized under the incorporation laws of iowa, in , to carry on the lucrative ferriage traffic for transcontinental pilgrims in quest of the gold-fields of california that had been begun two years previously by a halted gold-seeker, brown by name, who saw more gold in paddling passengers across the murky missouri than in washing the yellow sands near sutter's mill. [illustration alfred d. jones.] as an adjunct to the ferry, the company staked out a claim adjacent to its west landing directly opposite council bluffs, and employed alfred d. jones, a young civil engineer, to lay out a town site which on pretentious paper was invested, without particular thought or design, with the name omaha, from the tribe of indians that was wont to camp upon the creek brushing its north boundary. the survey was conducted in june and july of , and the adoption of the name was doubtless suggested by the fact that a month or more before the representative in congress for the state of iowa had prevailed upon the post-office department to issue a commission to mr. jones as postmaster at omaha city, which at that time must have existed solely in his prolific imagination. postmaster jones carrying the post-office around with him in his hat is a reminiscence founded on actual fact and not in fancy. that the ideas of these early pioneers were of the expansible variety is readily gathered from the character of the plat prepared to mark the coming town site as the seat of a great and mighty city. on the broad plateau overlooking the river, building lots were staked out by feet, divided by streets feet wide and alleys of feet. there were blocks in all, each comprising eight lots forming squares of feet. two squares were reserved, one in the business centre by feet, and the other on the top of the most conspicuous hill feet square, the latter designated as capitol square and the hill as capitol hill, and a broad avenue feet wide leading to it as capitol avenue--all in foreordained honor of the magnificent structure to be erected when the newly born city should have achieved the distinction of the capital of nebraska territory. omaha city was not organized as an incorporated municipality until . looking closer into the history and geography of the spot where now run the busy streets of nebraska's metropolis, lined with substantial business blocks and attractive residences, precisely as platted in that lonely summer of , the conclusion is forced that it was not mere fortuitous chance that built a wonder city upon an empty ferry landing. the location was by nature destined to be a turning point on the great central transcontinental highway bridging the divide between the atlantic and the pacific. [illustration william. p. snowden, omaha's first white settler.] lewis and clark, who worked their way to oregon up the missouri valley, were the first white men to leave a record of their visit. from their journal is taken the following extract noting their arrival and detention at the mouth of the platte in july, , whence they continued northward and passed over the ground now included in the city: "july .--having completed the object of our stay, we set sail with a pleasant breeze for the northwest. the two horses swam over to the southern [western] shore, along which we went, passing by an island, at three and a half miles, formed by a pond, fed by springs; three miles further is a large sand island in the middle of the river, the land on the south [west] being high and covered with timber; that on the north [east] a prairie. at ten and a half miles from our encampment, we saw and examined a curious collection of graves or mounds, on the south [west] side of the river. not far from a low piece of land and a pond, is a tract of about two hundred acres in extent, which is covered with mounds of different heights, shapes and sizes; some of sand, and some of both earth and sand; the largest being near the river. these mounds indicate the position of the ancient village of the ottoes, before they retired to the protection of the pawnees. after making fifteen miles, we camped on the south [east] on the bank of a high, handsome prairie, with lofty cottonwood in groves, near the river."[ ] that the mounds referred to constituted the ancient indian burial ground, remnants of which long remained in the lower part of the town as objects of curiosity to inquisitive observers, has been established to the satisfaction of historical critics, as also that the council held by lewis and clark with the indians, from which council bluffs derives its name, took place in reality not on the iowa side opposite omaha but on the nebraska side several miles farther up, in the vicinity of what is now fort calhoun. a no less interesting historical chapter is found in the mormon encampment that for a time promised to make omaha the centre of its church establishment. it is needless here to state details of the nauvoo persecutions and the early expeditions in search of the promised land. when the advance-guard sighted the east bank of the missouri, it took a stand on miller's hill,--so named after a mormon elder,--where the various companies into which the emigrants had been divided for their historic march across iowa converged. it might have been called miller's hill to this day had not just at that moment a call arrived to enlist a body of volunteers for the united states in its impending war with mexico, followed by the prompt organization of the mormon battalion under colonel t.l. kane, in whose honor the name of the halting place was changed to kanesville. kanesville it might have remained but for the fact that the post-office at that point had been designated as council bluffs city, whither the last mail for the emigrants setting out over the great divide was regularly addressed; and to avoid confusion the name of kanesville was dropped after two or three years and council bluffs left in undisputed possession of that corner of the map. [illustration a typical omaha indian. reproduced by permission of f.a. rinehart, omaha.] but the east bank of the river was not suitable for the mormons' purposes. they crossed over and established themselves in winter quarters at a point about six miles north of what later became omaha, making themselves as comfortable as possible in seven hundred and more hastily built log cabins and dug-outs. the place was fortified with stockades, a tabernacle erected, and various workshops and mills were constructed to provide temporary employment. at winter quarters was held the annual conference of the church, april , , attended by people from all parts of the country prepared for moving west. from winter quarters, on the th day of the same month, a party of about , all but four or five being men, set out, with seventy-three wagons drawn by horses and oxen, under the personal leadership of brigham young, the expedition culminating in the famous founding of zion in the valley of the great salt lake. the excursion of apostles and pioneers returned to the missouri for their families and friends, their arrival at winter quarters in october calling forth as an occasion for special joy and thanksgiving an elaborate celebration. the summer of saw the great body of latter day saints following brigham young to the new utah settlement, but winter quarters was maintained for years as the stopping point and outfitting station for the mormon emigrants on their westward wandering. by the name had been changed to florence and it is so referred to in the writings of the later mormons. for years it remained the busy hiving place for the church converts moving on zion from all quarters of the world. to-day it is a quaint, old-fashioned sleepy village, interesting chiefly for a few ancient landmarks, and visited on good-weather sundays by recreation seekers from omaha in cart or on wheel. the earliest history of omaha is a chronicle of bitterly waged fights for the possession of the seat of government of the new nebraska territory. the proud privilege of advertising itself as the capital city was eagerly sought after not only by omaha but by every other ambitious town-site company along the eastern frontier. it should be remembered that the initial steps in the territorial organization were taken under the presidency of franklin pierce, who, although a northern man, was almost completely under southern domination. the position of governor was first offered to general william g. butler of kentucky, but unceremoniously declined, whereupon it was passed on to another southern gentleman in the person of francis h. burt of south carolina. governor burt arrived at bellevue in company with the secretary, thomas b. cuming of iowa, in october, , but before he undertook in any way to exercise his official powers he succumbed to a fatal illness, leaving the succession by virtue of his office to secretary cuming. governor cuming in due time issued his election proclamation and called the territorial legislature to convene at omaha in january. in this connection it should also be remembered that omaha was located and settled by iowa promoters while the competing towns to the south looked on slave-holding missouri as the parent. had the first capital designation been asserted by the south carolina executive instead of by his fortuitous iowa successor we may well doubt whether omaha would have fared so fortunately. [illustration the high school, omaha, on the site of the old capitol. reproduced by permission of heyn, omaha.] the earliest territorial legislatures have been described by eye-witnesses and participants as often bordering on an organized mob. to keep the capital at omaha was the watchword on the one side and to take it away the battle-cry on the other. money and town-lot stock are said to have played an important part with members who seem to have anticipated later-day legislative methods and yielded to "inducements" that overcame their local loyalty. while the capitol building rose on capitol hill, omaha had to contest for its retention at every annual session of the legislature from to , from which time it was left in undisputed possession until , when with the investiture of statehood a seat of government was carved anew on the virgin prairie to be christened lincoln after the martyred president. the great impetus that sent the infant omaha forward by leaps and bounds ahead of its rivals in the missouri valley north and south came from two closely connected enterprises--the one the building of the pacific telegraph, the other the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. the pacific telegraph assumed tangible form through the unquenchable energies of edward creighton. still in the prime of sturdy manhood, invigorated by the irish blood inherited from his ancestry, creighton had come to omaha in to visit his brothers, engaging for a time in the lumber business. in he built the missouri & western line from st. louis to omaha, but already a year before had evolved a plan for a telegraph from the missouri river to the pacific coast. with the encouragement and material assistance of men like jeptha h. wade, ezra cornell, and hiram sibley, whose confidence he earned and kept, his idea, originally received as a weird fancy, took shape in surveys, contracts, and actual construction, the first message transmission occurring in october, , speeding on in an hour by electric current intelligence that would previously have required weeks and months to journey. the fortune sprung from this venturesome undertaking has given the name of creighton a foundation lasting to the end of time. edward creighton died in , leaving $ , , to be bestowed eventually for educational and charitable purposes. the good work he began has been carried further by his brother, john a. creighton, and the creighton college, the creighton medical school, and the creighton memorial hospital, not to enumerate smaller benefactions, all attest as enduring monuments the activity and foresight that paved the way for the electric fluid to flow unchecked from ocean to ocean. [illustration city hall.] the telegraph was but the forerunner of the railroad. with omaha the initial point of the pacific telegraph lines, it enjoyed a marked advantage in the competition for the eastern terminus of the pacific railway. up to that time, all transportation had been by steamboat up the missouri river or in wagon and coach overland. the race of the iron horse across iowa had been interrupted, first by the financial crash of , and then by the war of , so that the first locomotive to carry its train to the missouri river arrived january , , bearing the escutcheon of the chicago & northwestern. within two years four railroads converged at the river opposite omaha eager to share the through transcontinental traffic already in sight. the history of omaha and of the union pacific is inseparably linked. it is not necessary to weigh the conflicting claims to credit for suggesting the railroad to the pacific slope. the war demonstrated the military necessity of a rail connection with the coast states and forced congress to take the steps that made its immediate construction possible. without the subsidy offered in the acts of and the road certainly would not have been built for years, and the development of the whole western country would have been long retarded. at the recommendation of the chief engineer, peter a. dey, the eastern terminus was fixed "on the western boundary of the state of iowa, opposite omaha," an event so auspicious as to provoke a responsive demonstration from the enthusiastic inhabitants of the young city, who made the master-stroke of their celebration the actual breaking of the ground for the newly projected road. this occurred december , , with the thermometer hovering close to the freezing point. the work of construction was pushed with all possible rapidity, but with the best expedition it was may , , before the juncture of the two roads heading for one another from east and west was effected, in the presence of a distinguished body of spectators, by the driving of the golden spike at promontory point, girding the continent with bands of steel. according to all accounts the celebration at omaha of the completion of the union pacific was on a scale commensurate with its importance to the commercial and industrial position of the city. if engineer dey was the central figure in the initial work, thomas c. durant, as first vice-president and general manager, had more to do with its successful completion than any other one man. while many names have since shown bright in the progress of this epoch-making enterprise, those of dey and durant must form the base-stones of the arch that has raised this great railroad to its eminence, and carried it through stress and storm. [illustration return of the first nebraska volunteers, aug. , .] the prestige acquired by omaha as a railway centre in those early days has been constantly maintained, until to-day the steel rails radiate in every direction, while three magnificent bridges span the missouri where brown's lonely ferry formerly transferred victims of the gold fever from one bank to the other. [illustration the public library, omaha.] with a firmly established industrial foundation, the progress of the city has gone steadily forward. commercial expansion, it is true, has been broken occasionally by bursting real-estate booms, grasshopper plagues, drought-stricken crops or general financial depression, but in material welfare and ever-widening public activity the community takes rank with its most wide-awake competitors. besides its extensive jobbing interests, its manufacturing development has been along the lines of silver smelting and refining, linseed oil mills, white lead works, machine and locomotive shops, and the great live-stock market and meat-packing establishments that have formed the nucleus of the magic city braced against its boundary under the name of south omaha, and sure, sooner or later, to be one with it in corporate existence, as it is already in life and business. although not yet past the fiftieth anniversary, omaha boasts of all those advantages that make an attractive living place--good schools, well-stocked free libraries, substantial churches, art galleries, well-paved streets, with water, light, and rapid transit, fine public parks, imposing public buildings. above all, it is a city of homes and home owners, thick with modest dwellings though only meagrely supplied with palatial mansions. omaha's contribution to the world of science, art, and literature is perhaps small, but it has given two presidents to the american bar association in james m. woolworth and charles f. manderson, the latter also having filled the position of president _pro tem._ of the united states senate; in banking circles herman kountze and joseph h. millard are known throughout the country; edward rosewater and his newspaper, _the bee_, occupy a place in the front rank of american journalism; the art gallery of george whininger is classed among the best private collections on this side of the atlantic; and the benevolence of john a. creighton has received recognition in the title conferred on him of count in the holy roman see. [illustration omaha exposition, . reproduced by permission of f.a. rinehart, omaha] the trans-mississippi exposition of constitutes omaha's crowning achievement of recent years. projected in the period of densest industrial gloom and executed in the face of the war with spain, the enterprise proved an unexpected and unprecedented success, returning to the stock subscribers ninety per cent. of the money they had advanced. the financial success was, however, subordinate to the success in other directions. a white city of such architectural perfection could not fail to afford an æsthetic stimulus in itself of wonderful educational effect. participated in by all the trans-mississippi states and territories as an exhibition of the resources and products of this vast region, the exposition served to open the eyes of visitors from both at home and abroad to the limitless possibilities there spread before them. the indian congress alone, including as it did representatives of nearly all the remaining tribes of aboriginal inhabitants gathered together under the direction of the indian authorities of the federal government, formed an ethnic object-lesson the like of which had never before been presented. no fitter culmination could have been prepared than the peace jubilee, in its closing month of october, attended by president mckinley, members of his cabinet, and heroes of the armed conflict just concluded, all uniting in acclaiming the end of war typified in the exposition as a towering triumph of the arts of peace. [illustration] footnote: [ ] in this account the directions are misleading, as they thought the river ran east and west instead of north and south at this point. [illustration] denver the queen city of the plains by john cotton dana denver has historic background. behind its own brief chronicles we note the outline of the story, full of the good work of strong men, of the exploration and civic conquest of the wide country between the mississippi river and the pacific coast. to ask of denver's beginnings is to go back of and the hopeful aurarians by the ford at the mouth of cherry creek, to government explorations, california gold seekers, mormon emigrants, trappers and traders, and spanish pioneers. the incidents which lead up to denver's origin took place here and there in a great mid-continental area so vast as to make those incidents seem at first sight isolated, unrelated to one another. but there is a simplicity of plan in that great country which, taken with the gold of the west coast and the migrant spirit of the early settlers of the mississippi valley, makes the early ventures across the plains seem natural enough and binds them to one another. given the country and the factors mentioned, and a great central city, at once a focus and distributing point for all that lay across the plains, the denver of to-day, was foreordained. [illustration sources of territorial acquisition of colorado.] westward of the mississippi lie six hundred miles of plains, fertile and attractive on their eastern edge, a desert waste beyond, ending abruptly in rocky mountains. the mountains, dropping here and there into high and barren tablelands, roll on a thousand miles to the pacific. from the canadian to the mexican boundary, plains and mountains thus dispose themselves and make the arena for the drama of the anglo-saxon conquest of the new west,--a conquest of a not too unwilling nature by energetic and efficient men. the scene was remote; the land, generous when once subdued, was repellent if not hostile in its aspect, and added to the barrier of a desert waste upon its border the deterrents and terrors of the unknown. the indians who claimed the soil--chiefly arapahoes and their allies near denver, and their hereditary foes, the utes, in the mountains--did all in their power to make a seemingly inhospitable nature yet more inhospitable. they were never large in number. they were foredoomed to defeat. their presence in this vast area added more of romance than of difficulty and danger to the coming of the white man. some of their travel-worn paths among the mountains, like the old navajo trail of southwest colorado, may still be traced, can still arouse sympathetic interest in a people for whom the modern man could not wait, and despised as laggard. from aztec springs, across lost cañon, over the dolores river near its big bend, out upon dolores plateau to narraguinnep spring and the borders of disappointment valley, and then on and on again, so runs the old navajo trail; here a single foot-path up the cañon side, there deep triple and quadruple ruts worn by men, women, horses, and dragging teepee poles. with no signs of permanent habitation on its way, out of wild nature it comes, into wild nature it goes; significant of the passing of the people who made it and of the petty trace they left on the world about them. the spanish had carried their religion and their rule up into the southern margin of this great area long before the first settlements were made on massachusetts bay. coronado pushed as far northeast as kansas in . the towns which the spanish established, many of them three centuries and more ago, led to the brief romance of the old santa fé trail, and still give a peculiar flavor to the story of the southern border. but save for a few small towns whose lack of root in the soil is evidenced by the ruins of their churches--churches so far forgotten that our own historians have called them remains of prehistoric times--the spanish invasion was an invasion always, not a settlement, not an appropriation of even the margin of the vast area we are considering. [illustration denver, colorado.] lewis and clark went northwest to the columbia in ; pike went up the arkansas in ; and that young man's simple tale of the things he dared and the sights he saw in his march from the mississippi to the lone fort he built on the banks of the conejos in the san luis valley is charming and adventurous. he was the american pioneer of the future colorado. wandering trappers and hunters had preceded him; but none told what they had seen. long, with his expedition, in july, , crossed the spot where denver now stands. long was an explorer, not a pioneer. pioneers are prophets, and see the fences and barns that are to come. to long all west of the missouri, "agreeably to the best intelligence that can be had ... is throughout uninhabitable by a people depending upon agriculture for their subsistence.... this region, however," he says, "viewed as a frontier, may prove of infinite importance to the united states, inasmuch as it is calculated to serve as a barrier to prevent too great an extension of our population westward, and secure us against the machinations or incursions of an enemy, that might otherwise be disposed to annoy us in that quarter." this opinion, widely circulated, perhaps helped to defer the day of actual occupation of that great american desert which, after long's report, took possession, on our maps, of nearly all the country whose history is denver's prehistoric days. [illustration "smoky" jones.] then came sublette and his like, and the rocky mountain fur company, the santa fé trail, trappers, indians; and these also, beginning about , would furnish material for romance, were the simple story thereof not romance enough. bonneville in vanished from sight in the northwest for three years; and many others, among them irving, bonneville's historian, sought profit, adventure, or knowledge in the new land. in ' , frémont, the pathfinder, on his first expedition pushed out nearly to the site of denver. and frémont's travels, the romantic note in them heightened by the presence of kit carson, prince of pioneers,--what color they add to our chronicles of exploration! five times he set forth. once he camped on the site of denver, with lodges of arapahoe indians near by. once he nearly perished with all his party in the sangre de cristo range. kearney's military expedition to santa fé at the time of the mexican war; gunnison's exploration for a railroad route to the pacific, in ; marcy's incredible midwinter march from fort bridger, across the very backbone of the continent, south to new mexico; all these were great deeds, and all served to add to that knowledge of the still wild west which brought about its final conquest. [illustration the prairie schooner, the proper crest for the coat-of-arms of the west.] to speak feelingly of the mormon exodus, of that venture into the western wilderness of a few men of our own blood and faith, is to be misunderstood. some day that flight of a few brave exiles for conscience sake, from their brother men to the heart of a continent, where a relentless nature seemed, with her isolation and her desolation, doubly equipped for cruelty--some day that flight, worthily and justly told, will find a place in history.[ ] the gold seekers of california, who crossed by thousands the land the outline of whose human history we are trying to sketch, these have, perhaps, received their due. such, then, in broadest outline, is the background of denver's history. it is almost depressing to consider how little the outline holds of that recognition element which makes "historic" for us a country, a scene, a person, an event. here is a wide and wonderful country; here have been done great deeds by brave and true men. coronado, escalante, pike, lewis and clark, among explorers; kit carson, jim bridger, the bents, jim baker, among scouts, trappers, and traders; the names could be multiplied many times. their deeds are fit to provoke emulation or national pride. but mention of either names or deeds stirs the emotions only of the few. this is inevitable. they are not yet part of universal knowledge. they are not yet types of men or actions, as are ulysses, agamemnon, hampden, and the voyage of the _mayflower_. things are not "historic" until later generations have made them so. perhaps the dominance of old world types in literature and art, together with the swift rush of affairs of the passing day, will crowd much of the story of america's development out from the domain of history as known to men at large. if so, the story of the taking by our forebears and our brothers of the great west beyond the mississippi will always remain as little "historic," as barren in its emotional content, as it is to-day. this were a pity, tho' perhaps best. but even then it would seem proper to suggest, in the bare outline i have drawn, the historic possibilities which lie back of, lead up to, explain, the denver of to-day. [illustration first schoolhouse in denver.] it is ; the country has become vaguely known, many have crossed it; the mormons have taken possession of the salt lake basin; from the mountains across the plains there float back rumors of gold; and the region which has been simply a desert to be crossed begins to be a region to be explored, perhaps to be settled. who first found gold it is idle to inquire. a party of cherokees from the gold regions of georgia were perhaps the first to get traces on the platte. certain men of lawrence, kansas, prophets perhaps, boomers probably, certainly addicted to the town-site habit, and abounding in hope, went up the arkansas in ; tried to start a town on monument creek under the shadow of pike's peak; wearied soon of waiting for a population which did not come, and crossed the divide north to the platte; staked out a town, montana, on that stream a few miles above the site of denver, and disbanded. of this party a few moved down the platte to the mouth of cherry creek, and there in the bottom, among the cotton-woods, just where the old military road crossed the creek, laid out the town of st. charles. another party, from iowa, in the same year, settled across the creek on its west side and soon laid out a town and called it auraria. then came another party over the divide from the arkansas, found the st. charles town-site promoters were absent, saw the city that was to be, jumped the site, and organized a company to build a town thereon to be called denver in honor of the then governor of kansas. and so, in the winter of - denver found itself, on what proved to be "section and the west half of section , in township south of range west of the th principal meridian." how fatal to the romantic element in the beginnings of the western city are the transit and the chain! what can there be of mystery or poetry in "sec. and w. / of sec. , tp. s. of r. w. th p.m."? denver was a rival of auraria. her supremacy was settled early in by thirty wagons which came up the platte and unloaded their merchandise on the denver side of cherry creek. in the spring of a large company, perhaps , were already camped in and about the new towns. the pike's peak excitement became intense. a new gold fever was on. mr. william n. byers reached denver april , , with a printing outfit and issued the first number of the first paper printed in colorado, april d. on his way across he met the returning tide. report says , started that spring across the plains; , turned back; , went on to the mountains; not over , of them stayed. the early months of were troublous times. foolish, reckless gold seekers, led west on half-knowledge, tried to lay the blame for their own folly on the shoulders of others. gold in paying quantities was as yet far from common. horace greeley crossed the plains in july, looked over the ground with care, reported favorably on the country in the _tribune_, and, in good local phrase, "gave denver the best advertisement she ever had." the city, now under way, attained little importance until after . rival trade centres attracted attention. mining camps scattered through the mountains drew most of the population. after the leadville excitement in and , it rose in to , , by fairly steady growth to , in , was checked by the panic and hard times about , and yet rose to , in . [illustration facsimile letter from wm. n. byers, the founder of the "rocky mountain news."] once established as the leading distributing point of the mining regions of the new west the city's growth was assured, and followed in the main the lines of many other western cities. peculiar to itself were a few incidents due to its position, to ignorance of the climate, its isolation and the difficulty of extending eastern railways to so remote a point. early in a great fire destroyed much of the business portion of the city. the summer following, the plains were burned by a terrible drought. the barrenness of the wide stretches about the city was intensified. to this day the sun-burnt plains of midsummer sweep up to denver's very door-yards, mock at the blue sky above them, and speak unutterable things of hunger, thirst, and death. in the early 's it was easy to imagine that they spoke in earnest. then came a winter, cold beyond all experience. many suffered. cattle died. the pride some had felt over the balminess of previous winters was forgotten. with early spring, cherry creek, the miserable, despised bed of sand which crept through the town, scorned as a possible stream and used for building sites over all its wide bottom, rose in fury, rolled down from the divide, swept away the cheap bridges that simply served to aggravate the flood, killed twenty persons, and destroyed nearly a million dollars' worth of property. nor was this the end of troubles. for in the indians planned a general massacre, killed a few people near denver, destroyed stage stations, cut off communication with the east, and left denver unspeakably alarmed and with only six weeks' supply of food. [illustration prospecting party, rico, colorado, .] in these first years gold seemed the one excuse for the white man's presence in colorado. several million dollars were taken out from easily worked placer mines before . the supply then seemed exhausted. all efforts to get the gold from veins were ineffectual. millions were spent by the overzealous in machinery and mills not adapted to the country's needs. but over this, as over all other obstacles, the triumph was sure; and by new and proper processes of mining and ore reducing had been successfully adopted. the fertility of colorado soil under irrigation was not realized fully for nearly a decade after the founding of denver. but before the agricultural possibilities were demonstrated; the cattle industry continued to thrive; and the region north of denver lying under the several streams which issue from the mountains within sight of the city began to grow into the garden spot it now is, and to lend stability to denver's factors of growth. the union pacific reached the city via cheyenne in june, , and the kansas pacific soon after. of that wonderful railway to whose growth denver owes so much, the denver & rio grande, the first rails were laid in . what is now colorado was variously known in early days of its settlement as "pike's peak," "arapahoe county," "jefferson territory." the story of the settlement of its governmental difficulties; its miners' and its people's courts; its independent government; the dramatic career of that prophet of the great divide, william gilpin, first governor of colorado, in his headstrong yet wise handling of difficult problems in the opening days of the civil war,--all this is full of interest, of excitement, of adventure, is instructive to the student of institutions, and full of confirmation for those who have faith in the civic genius of the american people. [illustration rico, colorado, in . a typical mining camp.] the city of denver lies fifteen miles east of the mountains on the platte. its elevation is feet above sea level. it is the meeting point of nine railroads. it has miles of street railways. it is well paved and its health is well cared for. in parks, churches, journals, schools, hospitals, banks, and kindred institutions it is well supplied. its manufactured products, including smelter output, amount to over $ , , a year. [illustration william gilpin.] what one may call the natural history of denver's people is interesting and, perhaps, explanatory of some things in its history. to it have come in good measure the vigorous and energetic. they have brought with them the ideas and customs of all parts of the united states. in the first two decades, the formative period, about half of all comers were from the upper mississippi valley, largely of new england descent; and one fourth each from the extreme east and the south. among these were many invalids. all were young; and old men are still rare in denver. put these elements together in a climate of sunshine and dry tonic air; separate them by six hundred miles from all that is old and conventional; give them wide opportunity of choice inoccupation,--agriculture, stock raising, mining of precious metals, iron, coal, and stone, and the building of a city and a state; let their city be--much as paris is france--politically, socially, and financially, the entire state, containing, as it does, nearly one third of all the latter's population;--and you may look for, and you will find, courage, swiftness of execution, easy adjustment of conflicting ideas and habits, tolerance on all matters save those affecting general local interests, where a certain natural state patriotism blooms into a fine bigotry, quick adoption of all modern improvements in living, and a readiness to try any promising social experiment. you would expect politics to be continually threatened with reform; an occasional economic heresy to get a passing boom; newspapers to be wide-awake, vituperative, and not greatly influential. and you would expect to find denver, as you do find it, a brilliant, active, inspiring city, full of promise in itself and possessed by a people who--being chiefly of american stock and wrought upon by a climate which is the climate of the states intensified--in their alertness and in their intensity perhaps speak of the american citizen as this continent of ours will sometime mould him. [illustration the capitol, denver.] [illustration] footnote: [ ] see chapter on salt lake city. [illustration] santa fÉ the city of the holy faith by frederick webb hodge there is probably no settlement within our domain over the history of which so much mystery has hovered as the capital of new mexico. some historical writers early claimed for the ancient city a reputation for antiquity exceeding that of st. augustine, florida; others were content to give it second place in point of age, and this position it really holds, notwithstanding the strong but groundless belief, still somewhat prevalent, that santa fé had a teeming aboriginal population when the spaniards under coronado first made their appearance in new mexico in . the actual founder of santa fé, so far as we can determine, was juan de oñate, a wealthy resident of zacatecas, who married doña isabel, granddaughter of hernan cortés, and great-granddaughter of montezuma, the aztec chief. in the autumn of oñate was granted authority and vice-regal support to raise an army and to explore and colonize new mexico, but the intrigues of his rivals caused many delays and it was not until february, , that, with a force of some four hundred colonists, accompanied by eighty-three wagons and seven thousand cattle, he was ready to proceed from the rio conchas in chihuahua, bound for the rio grande del norte and new mexico. it is not essential to follow the little army in its northward journeying up the river, across the terrible jornada del muerto,--where, as scores of times later, the bones of some were left to whiten the trail. the new country was formally taken possession of, for the fifth time at least, in the name of the king of spain, and on july , , oñate with his vanguard reached the still inhabited indian pueblo of san juan, some thirty miles northwest of the present santa fé. [illustration the so-called "oldest house" in santa fÉ.] a month later work was begun with indian aid on the construction of ditches to supply water for a new settlement, the site for which had been selected at the confluence of the rio chama with the rio grande, on the west bank of the latter stream, where the hamlet of chamita now stands. on august d the erection of a chapel for this new town of san francisco de los españoles was begun; it was finished september th, and on the following day was consecrated. this town, which was built on the site of the abandoned tewa pueblo of yukewingge (or yuqueyunque as coronado's chroniclers called it in ), was thus the first european settlement in new mexico, and the second within the limits of the united states. in the village became known as san gabriel, a name which it retained for several years. the exact date of the founding of santa fé is not known, ignorance of the fact probably being due to the destruction by the indians of the local spanish archives in . in october, , oñate started on a journey to the head of the gulf of california, returning to san gabriel on april , . the return route took the explorer past el morro, or "inscription rock," thirty-five miles east of zuñi, where he carved his name on april th. it seems likely that the building of santa fé was begun shortly afterward, although there is also good authority that san gabriel remained the only settlement of europeans until , in which year, it is said, the crown fixed the governmental regulations of the province and assigned a salary of two thousand ducats a year to the governor, who immediately departed for santa fé. about this time oñate was relieved by governor pedro de peralta. the prospects of the new capital during its infancy were not promising. although the franciscan missionaries manifested such zeal that by eleven churches had been established in new mexico and fourteen thousand natives are said to have been baptized, there were only forty-eight soldiers and colonists in the entire province. on january , , the king was petitioned to grant succor to the settlement, and by royal decree of may , , his majesty ordered the viceroy to render the necessary aid, with the result that by it was recorded by fray alonso de benavides that the town contained spaniards (some fifty of whom were armed), in addition to seven hundred indians, "so that, between spaniards, half-breeds, and indians, there must be a thousand souls." the expense of the garrison was not borne by the crown, but by means derived from an _encomienda_, or trusteeship over the indians, who paid an annual tribute of a vara of cotton cloth and a fanega of corn per family in return for their teaching and "civilization." as at san gabriel, among the first structures reared in the new town was a chapel. the first edifice of this character was an unpretentious affair, a mere hut, which served its purpose until , when benavides, having become father custodian of the province, commenced to build a new church and monastery which, after its completion in , "would shine in whatsoever place." this is believed to have been the parroquia, which stood on the site of the present cathedral; indeed, some of the walls of the old building are incorporated in the present structure. the chapel of san miguel, greatly modified in recent years, dates from the middle of the seventeenth century; while the capilla de los soldados, which formerly faced the plaza, opposite the palace, with its grand altar tablet erected by governor francisco antonio marin del valle in , probably dates from about . [illustration fort marcy and the parroquia in .] as already mentioned, there is no ground for the belief that santa fé was established at a populous indian pueblo,--the "capital" of all the village dwellers of new mexico,--the only excuse for such belief, still popular in new mexico, being that, in prehistoric times, the town was the site of at least one indian pueblo. of the history of santa fé between benavides's time ( - ) and the year not much is known. more than a dozen governors served the kingdom of spain in the administration of the affairs of the colony during this period, and knowledge of the geography was somewhat increased by expeditions from the seat of government into parts little known. the pueblo indians, always friendly when well treated, cherished the religion of their fathers, which the spaniards tried in every way to supplant, so that comparatively little progress was made in this rich missionary field aside from the erection of massive churches of stone and adobe and the baptism of many of the natives. jealousy arose between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, and so bitter became the feeling that the friars were accused of inciting a rebellion of the indians in , which resulted in the killing of governor luis rosas. henceforward the hatred of the natives for the whites became deeper and deeper; many of the natives were hanged from time to time for alleged religious offences, and in many others were whipped and imprisoned. from this time affairs assumed such a serious aspect that the sedentary tribes, under the leadership of popé, a native of san juan pueblo, finally determined to throw off the spanish yoke by effecting an organization that is still noteworthy in indian annals. [illustration san miguel chapel before reconstruction.] popé was a medicine-man of no mean capacity. his story of the wrongs of his people fell on eager ears, and it was not long ere his plan to exterminate the spaniards received support from all the northerly pueblo tribes. the day of reckoning was to have been august th, while the mystic means of communication was a knotted yucca cord which was dispatched by fleet runners to the outlying tribes. although all were enjoined to the strictest secrecy, treachery lurked in the indian ranks, and before the time allotted for the outbreak the spaniards became aware of its approach through neophytes loyal to their cause. popé saw that immediate action was necessary to the fulfilment of his designs; news that the secret had been divulged was heralded afar in true indian fashion, and on august th, three days before the time originally fixed, more than four hundred of the twenty-five hundred settlers, soldiers, and friars were cruelly massacred. on the th the refugees at santa cruz were taken to santa fé, and on the day following the enemy appeared in the suburb of analco, in the vicinity of the present chapel of san miguel, which had been erected for the tlascalan or mexican members of the colony. a parley was held with a deputation of the indians, who bore a white cross of peace and a red cross of war: of these they gave the spaniards their choice, but on condition that if the former were selected their country must be immediately evacuated. every effort was made by the spaniards to bring about peace, but the indians, encouraged by the success of their bloody enterprise, were determined to drive the spaniards forever from the home of their fathers. failing in his efforts at conciliation, governor otermin endeavored to dislodge the natives from the outskirts; but already the warriors had arrived by hundreds, and the first desperate effort of the spaniards to drive off the natives resulted in their own retirement to the great adobe palace where the surviving women and children had already taken refuge. the siege continued until the th. the indians grew bolder with the continued arrival of warriors until three thousand were massed in the outskirts of the town. the city was beleaguered; the chapel of san miguel had been destroyed, and the water-supply of the town cut off; consequently the trembling thousand within the palace walls under the protection of only a hundred armed men were in desperate straits. the th passed. otermin and his imprisoned colonists spent the night in planning the escape which seemed almost impossible. on the following day the brave hundred made a sortie which met with such success that three hundred of the enemy were slain, and nearly fifty captured and afterward hanged in the plaza, while the main body was driven in confusion to the heights. the indians became demoralized by this first blow, thus affording the spaniards the opportunity, on august st, of gathering their belongings, and starting on their march of six weeks down the river, under a midsummer's sun and through a ravaged country, to the mission of guadalupe near the present el paso, texas. the pueblos were at last in possession of santa fé and of the dearly bought independence which they had so long been craving. everything spanish was laid aside under strict taboo--the language of the white man was to be forgotten and his religion forever buried; his houses of worship and the civil and ecclesiastical archives were to be fed to the flames, and their own rites revived in the ceremonial chambers which the spaniards had caused to be abandoned; even the clothing and the crops of the foreigners were to be discarded, and only indigenous products consumed as of old, while soap-weed and the rivulet which flows through santa fé provided the means for effacing their baptism into christianity. the palace (which then occupied the entire block north of the plaza) seems to have been at least partially spared and was occupied by the tanos of galisteo, who built a kiva or ceremonial chamber in its courtyard. more than one attempt was made to reconquer the province and to re-establish the seat of government during the next few years, but nothing of marked importance was accomplished until after diego de vargas zapata lujan ponce de leon became governor in . accompanied by some sixty soldiers, one hundred indians, and three friars, vargas started up the rio grande from el paso august , , and on september th appeared before santa fé with part of his force. the fortified tanos at first showed hostility, but moral suasion soon resulted in effecting their surrender and even in inducing the apostates to renew allegiance and to submit to baptism. vargas then withdrew for the purpose of extending the conquest over other parts, and it was not until october, , that he was enabled to gather his force of a hundred soldiers, and to renew the journey from el paso with the seventy families and seventeen friars (about eight hundred souls) who were to form the new colony. on december th the little army entered santa fé under the very banner borne by oñate nearly a century before. although the tanos were now found to be friendly in the main, they manifested little enthusiasm in providing the spaniards with food, or in rendering aid in the restoration of san miguel chapel, offering, however, their pagan kiva for the white man's worship. it was midwinter, and, the altitude being over seven thousand feet, many children perished. as the indians were occupying the official quarters and such of the dwellings as had not been razed, they were ordered back to galisteo, but refused to go. their stronghold was attacked; re-enforcements from the kindred tewas arrived, but the combined force was overpowered, seventy prisoners were made an example of, and four hundred women and children were distributed among the colonists. hostilities continued with the outlying tribes until september, , but before the year closed the missionaries were enabled to resume their fields of labor. the winter of - was one of discontent by reason of a failure of the crops during the previous season. this probably in large measure was the cause of another revolt in the following june, when twenty-six spaniards, including five friars, were murdered; and not until the new century dawned were the last embers of the rebellion smothered. vargas's term as governor expired in ; but he remained in santa fé, where serious charges were preferred against him by his successor, cubero, which resulted in his imprisonment until . in he was reappointed governor, but died april , , and was buried in the parroquia, which meanwhile had been restored to its former condition. san miguel chapel remained in ruins until , when its restoration was commenced by governor josé chacon medina salazar y villaseñor, marqués de peñuela. the edifice was completed in , as the following inscription on a gallery beam still testifies: el seÑor marquÉs de la peÑuela hizo esta fÁbrica: el alfÉrez real don agustin flores vergara su criado. aÑo de . the eighteenth century was marked by expeditions from santa fé in various directions (including one in the year of american independence that resulted in the discovery of utah lake), which added materially to geographic knowledge of the period; by an extension of missionary work among some tribes and the chastisement of others who had been conducting their raids uncomfortably close to the capital with its little garrison of eighty soldiers; and by controversies between the authorities of church and state which did not tend to promote the peace of mind of either side or of the colonists. [illustration san miguel chapel in . from a photograph by a.c. vroman, pasadena, cal.] in a freshet so seriously threatened the town that the citizens were called to divert the course of the stream and thus saved the settlement. as in the case of a previous proposal to move the capital to sia, it was planned in to transfer the seat of government to santo domingo, but governor ugarte decided against the project and expended two thousand pesos in improving the plan of the town and in establishing a presidio therein. before the middle of the century french-canadian traders had found their way to the rio grande, and sporadic bartering with the plains indians gradually developed into the important industry later known as the "commerce of the prairies." a brisk trade also sprang up between new mexico and chihuahua, which in aggregated $ , in value. santa fé, therefore, at an early period became the seat of an inland commerce, mainly in sheep, wool, wine, and pelts. in william morrison of kaskaskia dispatched to new mexico a consignment of goods, which were confiscated; various attempts to introduce merchandise from the united states during the next few years shared a like fate, the participants usually being imprisoned. this action on the part of the new mexican officials was later probably more or less due to the ill-feeling engendered by the exploit of lieutenant zebulon m. pike, who in january, , while conducting an exploration under military orders, erected a stockade fort in spanish territory. he and his command were arrested, conducted to santa fé, and later taken to chihuahua as prisoners. [illustration christopher ("kit") carson.] but all efforts to prevent the inroads of traders from the united states were in vain; even the almost prohibitory duty, for a time, of $ per load of merchandise, regardless of its value, was overcome, and the overland trade conducted by way of the great santa fé trail, first by pack-animals from franklin, and later by wagon from independence, missouri, increased from $ , in to $ , in . the names of mcknight, pursley, choteau, beard, lalande, chambers, cooper, the bents, joel walker, sublette, kit carson, and many other hardy pioneers will long be remembered in the early history of the old santa fé trail. santa fé had so long been the hotbed of revolt that its inhabitants must have been lonely for several years without one to engage their attention. the rebellion of was due to political intrigue for which a former governor, manuel armijo, was held to be largely responsible. the pueblo indians participated as usual, and the governor, albino perez, as well as the chief justice and nearly a dozen others, were wantonly murdered. santa fé once more fell into the hands of the enemy, who elected josé gonzalez, a taos indian, as governor. armijo now deserted the rebel cause, and, raising a sufficient force to overcome the gonzalez faction, declared himself the administrative head. the revolt was quelled in january, , gonzalez and several of his adherents paying the death penalty, while armijo's "loyalty" was rewarded by a confirmation of his self imposed governorship, which he retained for eight years. meanwhile the texas troubles had been brewing, and discontent prevailed in that quarter over boundary disputes, and because the large santa fé trade came and went by the northern route. in , president lamar equipped a force, known as the texan santa fé expedition, consisting of three hundred rangers under general mcleod, for the main purpose of taking new mexican affairs into their own hands; but before reaching the capital the entire "army" was captured by armijo's militia, their belongings confiscated, and the command marched to mexico, where they were released in june, . the mexican war and american occupancy followed closely on these exciting episodes. save during the brief periods of the arrival and departure of the caravans at santa fé, with the resultant hubbub and flow of gold, the capital was more dead than alive. the people, for the greater part, were densely ignorant; in there were only half a dozen schools in the whole territory, and although the salaries of the santa fé teachers aggregated only $ in that year, even this sum, from lack of funds, was unavailable in and the schools were closed. by the only schools were "of the lowest primary class," and a keen observer asserted that three fourths of the people were illiterates. santa fé was without a newspaper, although a sheet called _el crepúsculo_ ("the dawn") was printed at taos for four weeks in on the only press then in the territory of seventy thousand inhabitants. possibly the press later found its way to santa fé to become the principal part of the equipment of a "government printing office" which existed in one end of the palace in , and from which kearny published his "code," the first spanish-english production of the territory. in its appearance santa fé had changed but little since , when pike described its aggregation of low adobe houses as resembling from a distance a fleet of flat-bottomed ohio river-boats. the palace occupied then, as it did early in the seventeenth century and does to-day, the northern side of the plaza. besides being the only building in new mexico that could boast the luxury of glass windows, it contained the governmental offices as of yore, as well as quarters for the guard and the government printing office. in pike's time the opposite side of the plaza was occupied by the houses of the clergy and the public officers, in addition to the military chapel, but with the advent of trade these gave way, before , to the shops of merchants and traders. [illustration the old palace at santa fÉ.] general stephen w. kearny left fort leavenworth, kansas, in june, , with his "army of the west," comprising about eighteen hundred men (mostly volunteers), equipped with a supply train of a thousand mules, and overtaking _en route_ the santa fé caravan of four hundred wagons. a small force was sent forward to open the way, and although it was favorably received, kearny later learned that his advance toward the capital would be contested. nevertheless, the army continued its march and entered the town on august th without the slightest opposition on the part of armijo, who had fled precipitately. the stars and stripes were hoisted over the palace, which kearny made his headquarters, and the now seasoned volunteers encamped on an eminence overlooking the town. on the following day the inhabitants were assembled in the plaza, where the oath of allegiance was administered to the former mexican officials, including the acting governor, juan b. vigil. on the d kearny issued his famous proclamation declaring himself governor and the inhabitants of new mexico citizens of the united states. meanwhile, captain w.h. emory selected, as the site for a fort, an eminence on the northern edge of the town, and the construction of defensive works was immediately begun. the fort, named in honor of william l. marcy, then secretary of war, was built principally of adobe; the only approachable point was guarded by a blockhouse of pine logs, and the magazine was erected of the same material. the embankments of old fort marcy are still plainly traceable, but there is nothing to mark the graves of the two hundred brave missouri volunteers who were laid to rest at the foot of the slope during the cruel winter of - . [illustration santa fÉ in .] kearny took almost immediate steps to provide civil government for new mexico by appointing as governor charles bent, who had for many years been a prominent trader in the country. but as the months passed many of the new mexicans grew tired of their new allegiance, and conditions ripened for another revolt. on january , , bent, with other officials, was foully murdered at fernandez de taos by mexicans and taos indians, but retribution swift and terrible followed, and the battle-scarred and ruined church at taos pueblo practically repeated the story of the alamo. although it remained under military control until , new mexico very soon began to feel the effects of american influence. in a legislative assembly was held at santa fé; the first english newspaper, _the santa fé republican_, was founded, and the new mexicans had their first opportunity of becoming familiar with the mysteries of a sawmill, which was placed in operation on santa fé creek. in august, , the treaty of peace was proclaimed from the palace, and the ancient city formally changed masters for the fifth time in its history. the volunteers were glad to return to their homes, the santa fé trade resumed its busy march, and modern ways made further impress on the manners of the old adobe town. in the first english school was put in operation at the capital; later in the year the _new mexican_ was founded, and, save for a few intermissions, has ever since been published; while the ecclesiastical importance of the town was augmented by the establishment of the roman catholic vicariate-apostolic of santa fé, with bishop lamy at its head. on march , , after much wrangling and many attempts, new mexico was organized into a full-fledged territory of the united states, james s. calhoun becoming its first civil governor, and on july th the first legislative assembly fixed santa fé as the seat of the new government. [illustration the territorial capitol, completed in .] next came the civil war, the principal operations of which were not so far away that santa fé failed to participate. the severe defeat of the federals under canby by the texans under sibley, at valverde, in february, (where kit carson's bravery made him a brigadier), opened the northern way to the confederates. santa fé was abandoned by the union forces on march d, and sibley took possession a week later. on the d colonel slough's federal force of thirteen hundred men marched from fort union toward the town. on the th the vanguard of four hundred met the enemy in apache cañon, and in the severe engagements which followed on that day and on the th, the federals were victorious and the way was again opened to their occupancy of santa fé on april th, the confederates having evacuated three days earlier. this practically closed the war in new mexico, the texans returning to their homes minus half their number. the recent years of santa fé's history have more than ever marked the passage of the ancient town from the lethargy characteristic of the century of its founding to the enterprise which one expects in an american settlement of the present day. the contrast between the sleepy mexican village in the wilderness during the early years of american occupancy and the progressive, substantial, picturesque town of nowadays is vast. the great awakening came with the first screech of the locomotive on february , , which forever hushed the rumble of the long caravan as it rolled its weary way into the crooked streets of the city of the holy faith. new mexico's capital was enabled at last to make the acquaintance of the outer world, although rival settlements, created by the new trail of steel, robbed it more and more, as year after year passed, of the trade which had helped to make it famous. its genial climate and other advantages attracted many from the east; schools and hospitals were established, and as the seat of federal and territorial administration, as well as of military and ecclesiastical importance, its social advantages became widely recognized. despite its modern buildings devoted to various uses, there are parts of the town which have not changed greatly during the half-century of american influence. the plaza, of tragic memory, has evolved from a barren common to a bower of beauty ornamented with a monument dedicated to the heroes of indian and civil strife. the old palace, in which the gallant vargas was dungeoned, and in which lew wallace wrote the last chapters of _ben hur_, has been refurbished, but probably no walls within our domain hold in hiding such a wealth of cruelty and horror, of treachery and suffering, of valor and chivalry, as the great adobe structure which still overlooks the historic plaza of our oldest western town. [illustration] [illustration] salt lake city the desert that has blossomed as the rose by james edward talmage long before the first settlement, little more than fifty years ago, of the valley of the great salt lake, strange stories of the briny sea and its desert setting had found their way to the civilized and cultured east; and, mingled with the weird accounts of sun-baked plains, waterless wilderness, and saline solitudes, were the predictions of the wise that the country would never be worth settling. this region was included within the area against which daniel webster hurled his anathema of denunciation from the floor of the national senate, proclaiming the utter worthlessness of the great west, and declaring that he would "never vote one cent from the public treasury to place the pacific coast one inch nearer to boston" than it then was. and concerning the salt lake valley itself, colonel james bridger, for whom the disputed honor of discovering the great salt lake has been claimed, said that he would offer a thousand dollars in gold for the first ear of corn that could be ripened therein. the motive spirit actuating the early travellers in these then mexican wastes was that of exploration and discovery. worthy as it was, it was insufficient to induce the settlement of the wilderness or to inspire the ambition of subduing the desert and sanctifying the waste places with the name of home. the most potent of all incentives, that of religious conviction and conscientious devotion to what was regarded as sacred duty, was necessary--and not wanting. it was on the th of july, , that the vanguard of the pioneer party of "mormon" colonists sighted the valley of the great salt lake. for long, weary months they had journeyed; their start from the frontiers of civilization had been hastened by the musket and the sword and the devouring flame of persecution; their course over plain and mountain had been attended by vicissitudes that only those who have toiled through such journeys can comprehend. [illustration pavilion of saltair, great salt lake.] and what emotions did that first view of the "promised land" inspire! a valley, beautiful it is true, even as the desert is beautiful in its parching splendor; as the mountains are beautiful in their terrible grandeur; as the ocean is beautiful in its calm monotony or in its storm-lashed fury; but such beauty is not suggestive of rest or peace, and it was peace the wanderers sought. from the cañons of the wasatch, though not the first to traverse the region, yet the first to brave its desolate and forbidding seclusion in search of a home, they looked down on a valley walled by the wasatch and the oquirrhs, bare of tree or shrub, except for patches of chaparral oak, and here and there a gnarled willow or cottonwood bravely struggling for existence on the upper parts of the few stream courses that opened from the mountain wall on the east; the only blossoms those of the stunted sunflower and its desert companions, the foliage that of the gray artemisia, or wild sage. on the th of july, , brigham young, the founder of salt lake city and the pioneer colonizer of utah, descended from the mountain gateway, followed by the main division of the company, numbering a hundred and forty and four souls, of whom three were women. one of this trio of heroines was overcome by the treeless and desolate aspect of the valley. "weak and weary as i am," she said, "i would rather go a thousand miles farther than stop in this forsaken place." three days earlier an advance detachment, including orson pratt and erastus snow, each of whom came to be known as a prominent apostle of the "mormon" church, had entered the valley; but july th is regarded as the first day of occupation, and each recurrence of the date is observed as pioneer day, a holiday by law established in the state of utah. [illustration brigham young. founder of salt lake city.] the pioneers' purpose was not uncertain; having reached their destination they paused not to make experiments or preliminary tests. "this is the place," said their leader, "the very place"; and the company began at once the work of permanently establishing themselves and of preparing for the reception of other immigrant parties then on the march. ploughs were promptly brought into action, and the soil theretofore unused to the husbandman's touch was in part torn and turned; yet so hard and resistant was it that it measured its strength with the energy of man and for the time held the victory. but the colonists were full of resource. the little stream now known as city creek, the chief source of the city's water supply, was diverted from its course and made to flood the land chosen for the first desert garden. with its long thirst appeased, its stony heart softened, the virgin soil yielded and received the first seed sown by human agency in the great american desert. thus began the system of irrigation which in its later developments has proved itself the magic wand under whose sway the desert has been conquered and the wilderness transformed into a garden of beauty. [illustration east temple street, looking south from the temple.] on the th of the same month the city was planned and its boundaries were indicated; five days later the survey of the city plat was begun under the direction of orson pratt. all the plans were on a scale of unlimited liberality. the streets, each eight rods in width, were made to cross at right angles, dividing the city into rectangular blocks, each of ten acres. the choicest block in point of situation was designated as the site of the prospective temple; and is now occupied by the world-famed temple, the tabernacle, and the less pretentious assembly hall. the original survey was made to include a hundred and thirty-five of these ten-acre blocks; several were chosen for public squares and parks; the remainder were to be divided into city lots for the accommodation of the thousands soon to come. religious devotion, the inspiring cause of this seemingly reckless scheme of colonization, demanded facilities for public worship; and, lacking chapel, synagogue, or temple, the colonists provided a leafy tabernacle. trees were hauled from the mountains, and of these a bowery was constructed, which for a time was church, court-house, and capitol. having learned by experience that indian attacks were to be expected, the settlers congregated on a single ten-acre block, which they enclosed by erecting their huts of logs and adobe along the eastern border. each hut opened inward toward the centre of the square and was provided with a loophole on the outer side; the space between the houses and the sides of the block not occupied by habitations was protected by a continuous wall of adobe. with the increase of population additions were made to the fort; but as soon as the ruddy aborigines learned that the white invaders were their friends, the fort was abandoned, and the settlers distributed themselves over the city area. at the time of its first settlement utah was a part of the mexican domain; nevertheless, the "mormon" colonists, confident as to the destiny of their nation, patriotically raised the stars and stripes and took possession of the region in the name of the united states. a prominent hill, part of the wasatch spur which bounds the present city on the northeast like a fortress wall, was chosen as the flag site; and this elevation is to-day known as ensign peak. from its summit, now surmounted by an enduring flag-staff of steel, the banner of freedom is thrown to the mountain breezes on public holidays and other occasions of patriotic celebration. more colonists arrived in parties great and small; and by the spring of approximately seventeen hundred souls were encamped in the valley, more than four hundred dwellings had been erected within the confines of the old fort, and about five thousand acres of land had been brought under cultivation. in may and june, the settlers were arrayed in battle order, not against human foes but to fight the dreaded insect scourge, the rocky mountain crickets, which in countless hordes descended from the mountains and invaded the fields and gardens. every member of the little community, man, woman, or child, was called into action but to little purpose. when the people had been reduced to despair they were saved by what they devoutly believed to be a special and miraculous interposition of providence. there suddenly appeared on the western horizon a tremulous cloud which grew in magnitude as it rapidly approached, until at last it was seen to be the vanguard of an advancing army of gulls. down swooped the white-winged deliverers, devouring the crickets with incredible voracity until but few were left alive. since that day the gulls have been sacred in utah. every spring they come to follow the plough as it turns the soil for the season's seed, and so confident are they of their safety that they may be approached almost within arm's length. added to the ruin wrought by the crickets was a further deprivation, due to drought and frosts. the harvest of was little better than a failure, and the succeeding winter and spring were seasons of extreme destitution. the people were brought to the dire necessity of gathering the wild weeds of the desert and even of boiling the raw hides in their camps for sustenance. the bulbous roots of the sego lily--now the banner-flower of the state--were dug for food; but the pangs of hunger were an experience from which none escaped. however, the following season brought a more abundant return from the soil and the prospects of the colony brightened. in february, , the treaty of guadaloupe hidalgo secured by cession from mexico to the united states the region now embraced by arizona, new mexico, utah, nevada, and california. the great republic reached the pacific, and salt lake city became an integral part of the united states. up to this time, and, indeed, for a year thereafter, the governmental affairs of the new community were administered almost wholly by the church authorities. in february, , the city was divided into nineteen ecclesiastical wards, over each of which a "bishopric" presided, consisting of a bishop and his two counsellors, who combined with their purely churchly function the duties of magistrates and civil officers. they regulated the levying and disbursing of taxes, the construction of roads and bridges, and the like.[ ] [illustration jedediah m. grant, first mayor of salt lake city.] in the early months of steps were taken toward the establishment of a state government from which the city might hope to derive corporate powers. it was proposed that the state of which salt lake city was destined to be the capital be called deseret--a name occurring in the records of the ancient inhabitants of the continent, as set forth in the book of mormon, and meaning "the honey bee." the hive, expressive of the characteristic industry and thrift of the people, was chosen as the symbol and seal of the prospective state. pending action by the national congress, the "provisional government of the state of deseret" was established, and its officers were duly elected. the general assembly of the state of deseret, in january, , chartered "great salt lake city" and appointed its first mayor, jedediah m. grant, and other municipal officers. the people were not yet informed that four months before, september , , the congress of the united states had refused their petition for statehood and had created the territory of utah. the acts of the provisional government were subsequently confirmed by the first territorial legislature, and the city's charter was thus legalized. [illustration eagle gate.] each passing year added to the attractiveness of the new capital. an orchard had been planted on every unoccupied lot, shade trees were placed along the outer borders of the sidewalks, and to nourish these a small stream was made to flow down either side of every street. the city became the acknowledged business centre of the inter-mountain region. situated on the road to the gold regions, when the gold fever was at its height, travel was heavy, and the settlers found a ready market for anything they could produce from the soil. gold-seekers hastening westward and successful miners returning eastward halted at this oasis to replenish their supplies, and left their wealth in lavish abundance to enrich the people of the desert, who, however, had little need of gold in their local trade, and valued it only for the implements of husbandry and building it would buy in the east. a strange spectacle was presented of a city destitute of many necessaries and of most of the luxuries of life, yet rich to affluence in gold, which was sent back to "the states" by the bucketful. merchandise was brought in by fleets of "prairie schooners," and the contents of each of these wheeled boats of mountain and plain were eagerly bought up. there was danger of class distinctions arising, of the few who had most gold to spare buying more than their share, and so becoming rich at the expense of their fellows. acting on the counsel of their president, the people adopted rules to secure an equable distribution of imported goods. later the settlers established their merchandise business on a plan of co-operation, and zion's co-operative mercantile institution began its phenomenally successful career. the chief establishment of this system is still operating, with headquarters in salt lake city, and its annual sales, officially attested, average over four million dollars. the city's very existence was threatened in . a detachment of the united states army numbering over two thousand men was ordered to utah by president buchanan for the purpose of suppressing an alleged insurrection, which, it was reported, had culminated in the destruction of the court records and the driving of the federal judge, drummond, from his bench. when news of the libellous charges against the people reached utah, the clerk of judge drummond's own court issued a full denial under official seal. but the mischievous misrepresentation had already produced its effect at the nation's capital, and the army was on the march. [illustration brigham young monument.] mail contractors operating between the missouri river and salt lake city brought word of the approaching soldiery, and reported threats of both officers and men as to the summary way in which they would dispose of the people when once they found themselves within the "city of the saints." the latter-day saints understood the intensity of the public sentiment against them; they felt, too, the injustice of the libel. they believed that the army's invasion of their city and territory meant their massacre. brigham young was still governor of utah, and the territorial militia was subject to his command. he promptly proclaimed martial law throughout the territory, and forbade any armed forces to enter its confines. echo cañon, the easiest avenue of approach, was fortified. in its defiles an army might well be stopped by a few. the people had been roused to desperation. force was to be met with force. [illustration main street in .] the army wintered at fort bridger, wyoming, amid severe vicissitudes. in the meantime a full report of the situation had been made by governor young to the president of the united states. president buchanan tacitly admitted his rashness, but to recall the troops at that juncture would be to openly confess the blunder. a peace commissioner, in the person of colonel thomas b. kane, was dispatched to salt lake city, and finally the president's appointees were conducted through the "mormon" lines by "mormon" militia, and were duly inducted into office. then it was demonstrated that the court records were intact, and the people at peace. the army followed later, under pledge that its ranks be not broken within the city limits and that its camp be not within forty miles of the capital. and when at last the soldiers threaded the streets, a strange sight met their view. salt lake city was deserted, except for a few men who stood with lighted torches in hand ready to fire the heaps of combustibles that had been piled in every house. for the people, loth to trust too implicitly in the unwilling promises of officers smarting under the consciousness of defeat, had abandoned their homes, with the solemn determination that if the invaders made a single attempt at plunder they should find naught but ashes for their loot. but the promises were kept in good faith. the army established its headquarters at camp floyd, forty miles southwest from the city. there the soldiers remained until summoned back, at the outbreak of the civil war. during their two years' encampment in utah, the soldiers were fed by the people. everything in the nature of food was eagerly bought up at an unusual price, and thus the nation's gold found its way into the hands of the citizens. then, so great was the hurry of the army's departure, so urgent the need of speedy travel, that all their belongings outside of actual necessities were sold for a trifle or given away. the reason why the people regard the coming of "buchanan's army" as a blessing to their city is evident. [illustration house built in within the old fort.] in the overland telegraph line, which had been approaching the city from both east and west, was completed, and salt lake city was relieved of some of the disadvantages of its desert isolation. eight years later the union pacific and the central pacific railways reached utah, and from that time to the present the development of both city and state has been of phenomenal rapidity. from the earliest period of its existence salt lake city has been strong and untiring in its efforts to secure adequate educational facilities. in october, , only three months after the pioneer entry, a school was opened within the walls of the old fort. the schoolhouse was a tent, and for seats and desks hewn slabs and sections of logs were brought into service. other schools followed and the people thus early voiced their desire for secondary and higher instruction. in february, , when the city was less than three years old, "the university of the state of deseret" with its seat at "great salt lake city" was incorporated by the legislative assembly of the provisional government. in november of that year the "university" began its work in the field of secondary instruction under the name of "the parent school." as suggested by this title branch schools were conducted in the smaller settlements. the institution thus grandly projected in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles has grown with the commonwealth, and to-day, under the name of the university of utah, compares favorably with other state colleges of the west. the present public-school system is the pride of the city. stately school buildings, modern and efficient, and the best equipment procurable are provided; and the schools are free. [illustration mormon temple.] and so the city has grown, gathering strength with its years, but in surprising proportion. it has ever been quick to adopt the conveniences of advancing civilization; for there was little of the old to sweep away. its street-cars are driven by the power of the mountain cataract thirty-five miles away. its streets, public buildings, and dwellings are lighted by the same mysterious force, and its factories and industrial establishments are electrically operated. in few cities indeed is the electric energy more generally utilized. among its notable structures a few demand special mention. first in popular interest, perhaps first also in historic significance, is the great "mormon" temple, constructed throughout of solid granite from the eruptive exposures of the wasatch. the corner-stone was laid april , , and the completed temple was dedicated april , . during the four decades occupied in the work over three and a half millions of dollars were expended on the structure. let it be remembered that the building was begun amid most meagre facilities for such an undertaking--when the services of several yoke of oxen were required for the bringing of a single block of granite from the famed cottonwood cañon a score of miles south of the city. of the four temples already erected in the vales of utah, the one at salt lake city was the first to be commenced and the last to be finished. [illustration mormon tabernacle.] the domed roof of the tabernacle has attracted the attention of every one who has seen even a picture of the city. in some of its architectural features the building is unique. it covers an area of x feet and has a seating capacity of eight thousand. the colossal roof-arch springs from wall to wall without a supporting pillar. within is the monster organ, which for size and scope is approached by few instruments in the world. it was constructed in early days from native material by utah artisans, and has been regarded as a marvel of mechanical and artistic achievement. the story of salt lake city is really a chapter of "mormon" history. to-day its population would probably show a majority of non-mormons, but the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints is the dominant sect in city and state. numerous other churches have established themselves; many of them have reared imposing sanctuaries and are active in the promulgation of their doctrines. [illustration city and county building, salt lake city.] non-mormon citizens have been as ready and earnest in their efforts to build up and sustain the city of their choice as have their latter-day saint fellows; and the present beauty, strength, and vitality of the inter-mountain metropolis are largely due to non-mormon, or "gentile," enterprise and energy. the "gentiles" have ever been the more prominent in mining undertakings, and the large and paying mines of to-day are mostly theirs. salt lake city does not belong to the "mormons"; it is the possession of its citizens without regard to religious profession or political preference. [illustration lion and bee-hive houses.] since man and nature combined their energies in this once desert spot, the favored situation, the many natural advantages have yearly grown more apparent. located at the very base of the wasatch, bounded in part by a spur of this majestic range, the city possesses a wealth of mountain scenery beyond description. the valley floor is part of the bed of an inland sea of quaternary age; and the benches and hills constituting the choicest residence portions are the terraces of this ancient lake, or the deltas of the prehistoric streams whose mouths were at the present cañon openings. capitol hill and the northeast bench are parts of the great delta constructed by city creek in lake bonneville. of this pleistocene water body, approximately equal to lake huron in extent, the present salt lake, in spite of its common appellation "great," is but a diminutive fragment. the present population as attested by the recent census returns is , ; though the current city directory, compiled immediately after the census enumeration, gives names and addresses of nearly seventy thousand resident inhabitants. the city's growing importance as a manufacturing, commercial, railroad, and mining centre is generally recognized: while its enterprise, progressiveness, and wealth are of national repute. but beyond all such it is to be characterized as a city of homes. from cottage to mansion its residences are very generally owned by their tenants. its citizens are, for the most part, permanent residents and the city is theirs. its increase has been that of development rather than of growth; the distinction is a vital one, for it characterizes the expansion of the living organism as against mere accretion of substance. with such a development in the course of less than five and a half decades, what shall be its condition and status when its years have linked themselves into centuries? [illustration] footnote: [ ] some secular officials, such as marshals and other peace officers, had been chosen, but these were generally nominated by the church leaders and elected or "sustained" by vote of the people in church gatherings. the secular power exercised by the church officials was expressly delegated to them by vote of the people. [illustration] spokane the city of the inland empire by harold bolce sculptors have not yet chiselled the glory of the founders of spokane, for most of the pioneers of that city, heedless of remote epitaphs, still hurry over its now "populous pavements," multiplying their wealth. boys born in the first year of the city's incorporation have not yet reached the age of suffrage. less than thirty years ago the settlement began with three citizens and a sawmill. it has developed into a brick and granite city of nearly fifty thousand. a century ago a few brave men blazed perilous trails through the wilderness of the far northwest but their picturesque adventures gave no hint of the city of wealth, industry, and architectural beauty that was to rise on both banks of the spokane cataract. though jefferson's renowned secretary, meriwether lewis, and his comrade clark, brother of george rogers clark, heralded the day when the oregon and its affluents should hear sounds more significant than their own dashings, their pilgrimage had become as dim as a tradition to the men of the present generation who first floated coeur d'alene tamarack and cedar down the swift spokane to their sawmill at the falls. on the spokane river not far from its confluence with the columbia the northwest fur company built a post more than ninety years ago, and thence reckless _voyageurs_ found their way through the solitudes, pausing to trade at the villages of the spokanes, the flatheads, the umatillas, the walla wallas, the nez percés, and others, taking red women cheerfully in marriage and as cheerfully deserting them when occasion called. in this remote frontier, beyond the utmost reach of ethics or law, in a region with a cloud upon its national title, the pioneers fulfilled their semi-savage destiny. nelson durham, a writer of spokane, has patriotically designated the spokane plains as the site of the annual horse-racing and saturnalia of these skin-clad trappers and traders, but they left no landmarks and the noise of their revelry had long since died away when the first anglo-saxon, lured by the roar of the falls, came to harness those tumultuous waters to his wheel. [illustration the county court house, spokane.] there is a tradition that the spokane indians shunned this now famed succession of wild cascades, for in the foaming maelstrom at the foot of the falls dwelt a malign goddess, her long hair streaming in the cataract, her shimmering figure half revealed in the enveloping mists of spray. while the waters danced about her she sang merrily and the sound of her singing was like the warbling of a thousand birds. with her outstretched arms she lured indian fishermen and devoured them. her flowing hair was a trammel that enmeshed her victims. none had ever returned. shaman after shaman, under his totem pole, had unavailingly invoked his tomañowash incantations to destroy her power. then speelyai or coyote, the great indian god, transforming himself into a feather, floated over the falls and was speedily engulfed by the evil goddess. assuming the form of a strong warrior he began his campaign. around him were the wrecks of skin and bark canoes, the forms of unnumbered members of his tribes, and a bedraggled eagle which proved to be whaiama, god of the upper air. with a stone axe speelyai hewed his way through the monster's side and whaiama bore the resurrected company to the high banks of the spokane river. now speelyai pronounced a curse upon his groaning enemy. her career as a destroyer was at an end. henceforth she might entice some helpless wanderers from distant tribes, but the chosen ones she should destroy no more. and the god prophesied in conclusion that a better race would come some day, a strange people, whom she could not conquer, and who would bind and enslave her forever. these falls, whose total volume equals the power of forty thousand horses, turn the wheels of factories the value of whose exports to china, japan, and other lands is expressed in millions. the waterpower speeds electric street-cars over ninety miles of track, and conducts electricity through two hundred and fifty miles of arc mains. all the elevators and printing-presses of the city are operated by power from the falls, and to this all-supplying current are attached many sewing-machines, typewriters, phonographs, graphophones, churns, electric fans, music boxes, door-bells, burglar alarms, clocks, and hundreds of other contrivances calling for constant or occasional motive power. spokane is credited with being the most modern and best-equipped city in the world, and this is due, first, to the falls whose power brings many utilities, considered luxuries in other communities, within reach of the lowliest consumer; and secondly, to the singular fact that the city is newer than the telephone, the electric light, and other latter-day inventions and discoveries. there were no ancient institutions and prejudices to supplant. to children reared in spokane, other cities seem archaic, their streets sloven, and their homes grotesquely behind the times. a girl from spokane visiting in new york is known to have written home about the bizarre appearance of "electric cars drawn by horses." london gropes by night through dismal glimmerings of gas and it would require millions of reluctant pounds sterling to substitute more modern light. in the new city of spokane it was the most natural procedure to install the latest conveniences of modern life. when the little settlement was but a cluster of ambitious cabins every abode had its telephone and its electric lights. the spokane workman does not stumble up the steps of a dim tenement. lumber is cheap and in variety, and even spokane granite is within his means. he dwells in a good home. a click of a button at the door floods the dwelling with light. sputtering wicks have no place in his economy. he can afford, too, to order his groceries by telephone or use the same medium to discuss politics with a friend in a distant part of the city. all members of polite society in spokane have telephones. a lady planning an impromptu tea or lawn party gets out her calling list, reaches for the telephone, and issues her amiable summons. a great amount of local business is transacted over the wires in the city. the power of the falls likewise enables the telephones of spokane to talk and trade with a thousand towns, the distant city of san francisco coming within the spokane circuit. thus, in the employment of waterpower to serve the city in manifold ways, the indians say, has been fulfilled the prophecy of speelyai that a race would come which should yoke the goddess of the cataract in perpetual servitude. [illustration the last chief to intimidate the inhabitants of spokane.] in further fulfilment of the prediction that the demoniacal siren of the falls should no longer have dominion over his people, the spokanes and kindred tribes shunned the river, and from a race of fishers, paddling bent and kneeling in their crude canoes, they became an intrepid race of horsemen. on horseback they rode to war or hunted the moose and antelope, and horses became the sign of wealth and the medium of exchange. for their obedience in carrying out the details of his malediction upon the water demon, speelyai prospered them. their wealth increased and their numbers multiplied. their tepees were warm with many furs and picturesque with the trophies of battle and the chase. their larders abounded with dried meat, meal, wapatoo, and camas root. they became the most valiant warriors between the bitter root mountains and the sea. the power of the allied tribes of eastern washington became so formidable that the american government was compelled to send its most skilful military leaders to effect their pacification, and it was not until phil sheridan eclipsed them in daring and general miles forced chief joseph to capitulation that the scattered settlers in the spokane country ceased to tremble at the impending descent of mounted savages. by repeated violation of treaty stipulations, by burnings and massacres and thefts, they had asserted their dominion. in the spokanes gave tragic demonstration of their determination to enforce the native declaration that the armies of the whites should never traverse their domain. in that year colonel steptoe, seeking to lead a detachment to garrison the post of the hudson bay company at colville, near the british border, was defeated with great slaughter by the spokanes. with an unscalped remnant of his force he crawled at night from the scene of his disaster and, abandoning his guns, rushed in confusion back to walla walla. the god of indian battles still reigned and the government at washington was alarmed. then colonel george wright was chosen to command, a man whose merciless determination and sanguinary triumphs gave to his notable campaign a distinction not paralleled until the sirdar of egypt just forty years later led his expedition to khartoum, silenced the dervishes near omdurman, and hurled the severed head of the khalifa into the nile. the spokanes did not attribute their defeat to the superior strategy of their pale-faced foe. their fatal mistake, they said, was in making their last stand on the spokane plains, within sound of the exultant shrieking and sinister roaring of their ancient enemy, the evil spirit of the spokane cataract, and it was she, not their white conqueror, who herded and stampeded them into terrified surrender. they had fought with abandoned daring, and had employed all their arts of strategy, but were forced back toward the abode of the water monster until her roaring mockery thundered in their ears. now they set the tall prairie grass afire, and over the site of the coming city there blazed on that parched day of september , , a conflagration no less formidable than war. it enveloped, but could not stay the pursuing column. destiny was striding through flame and blood that day to open a way for civilized occupation of the pacific northwest. hundreds of painted warriors, including the leader of the palouses, a chief of the pend d'oreilles, one of the chiefs of the coeur d'alenes, and two brothers of spokane gary, the commander of the savage army, lay dead. [illustration the city hall, spokane.] as if by a miracle, not one of colonel wright's soldiers fell, a further proof to the indians that their evil goddess had presided over the conflict. in token of their subjection they brought their wives, children, horses, and all portable belongings and made complete offering at the feet of their conqueror. thus the site of the present city of spokane became the scene of one of the most striking and significant triumphs of civilized man over the aborigines of the american continent. what william henry harrison did at tippecanoe for the old northwest in scattering the allied natives under tecumseh, colonel wright accomplished at spokane plains for the northwest in demolishing the league of tribes under the spokanes. it is true that chief joseph later, emulating the ambitions of black hawk, sought to reunite the tribes in rebellion against the whites, but though he succeeded in stirring the federal government to vigilant campaigns, he failed in his great object, just as did the successor of tecumseh. wright's sway was undisputed. indians convicted of crimes he ordered hanged. superfluous horses were shot. he spread terror as he moved, and peace followed in his footsteps. but the civil war and financial panic delayed the western movement. in there were but ninety registered citizens in the spokane country. and when the first sawmill came, in , its wheels revolved slowly, for the failure of jay cooke delayed the transcontinental railway, that was to connect the city with the east. eight years later, just twenty years ago, the first locomotive rumbled into the new settlement. now there was to be a city. on september st of that year came the first lawyer, j. kennedy stout, and it is characteristic of the spirit that has ever continued to quicken the activities of the community that four days after his arrival he had drafted a charter for the city, taken the necessary legal steps toward its incorporation, and had been chosen its attorney. [illustration j. kennedy stout.] in , the city, numbering two thousand people, was an alert and distributing centre. grain was pouring in from the fertile acres of the palouse to be ground into flour, and the time was at hand when a remarkable discovery in the neighboring mountains of idaho was to turn the tide of travel toward spokane, and in less than a decade develop it into the greatest railroad centre west of chicago. it was in that year that three men and an ass, in the coeur d'alenes, a few miles from spokane, camped toward night in a desolate cañon. their provisions were nearly exhausted. they held forlorn council, and decided to abandon their search for mines in those gloomy and precipitous solitudes. toward sundown the animal strayed from its tether. they found it gazing across the ravine at a reflected gleam of the setting sun. a marvellous series of ore seams had mirrored the light. the dumb beast had discovered the greatest deposits of galena on the globe. the whole mountain was a mine. within an hour after the arrival of the sensational news at spokane, that city's unparalleled boom began. prospectors, engineers, and capitalists from the four corners of the republic hurried to the new city. a railway magnate rode out on horseback to view the mountain, and within four months from the day of his visit ore was being shipped by rail to spokane. north and south, for three hundred miles, mines were found on every mountainside, and every additional discovery hastened spokane's growth and quickened the fever of its speculation. as a local historian said, "men went to sleep at night on straw mattresses, and woke to find themselves on velvet couches stuffed with greenbacks." wealth waited for men at every corner. the delirium of speculation whirled the sanest minds. of the many clergymen, for example, who arrived to advocate the perfecting of titles to homes not made with hands, eleven abdicated the pulpit and, indifferent to the menace of moth and rust, laid up substantial treasure. five years from the discovery of the mines in the coeur d'alenes the city numbered twenty thousand inhabitants. fire swept over it and laid twenty-two solid squares in ashes. before the ruins cooled, the city was being rebuilt, this time in steel and brick and stone. the _spokesman-review_, which began its editorial career in a small, discarded chapel, soon moved into a ten-story structure, and that evolution was, in epitome, the story of the city. architects of some renown designed palaces and châteaux for the wealthy. every citizen hoped to outdazzle his neighbor in the beauty of his home, and this has resulted in giving spokane unique distinction in architectural impressiveness. [illustration the "spokesman-review" building.] though spokane has had abundant share of that rampant western virility, the story of whose unrestraint would constitute a daring contribution to profane history, the city from the start displayed a dominating purpose that made for civic righteousness. it is true that during its earlier years there were many murders in spokane, for citizens, in the midst of its hurrying events, were impatient of prolix complaints and the tardy judgments of the law. nor did this reckless code much concern the hangman, for the legal execution of a citizen in spokane would have been regarded much as the world would now look upon the shuddering crime of burning a christian at the stake; yet in its blood-shedding there was little, if any, of the wanton element of anarchy, and upon few occasions in the history of the northwest has crime stooped to assassinate from ambush. outwardly calm, but with desperation in his mood, the insulted approached the object of his wrath and warned him to "heel" himself. inevitable shooting marked their next meeting, and their funerals were not infrequently held simultaneously. the bad man of melodrama is an execrable creation of fiction, whose counterpart was not long tolerated in spokane's career, and who does not seem to have made his presence felt in other sections of the west. a desperado of the early days sent word from a neighboring town that, because of some dispute, he would kill a certain spokane citizen on sight. the community could not afford to lose an influential pioneer, and the city fathers met to consider the outlaw's menace. they decided that, inasmuch as they would be called upon to execute him ultimately, they would better hang him before he had opportunity to pull his criminal trigger, and to this programme they pledged their official honor and forwarded notice of their grim deliberation to the desperado, who thereupon deemed it expedient to strike the lolo trail that led to less discriminating frontiers. spokane has outlived its lawless days. for several years it enjoyed the police protection of a noted bandit-catcher, whose nerve was unfailing and whose aim was sure. the ensuing hegira of criminal classes was a spectacle for other cities to contemplate with awe. during his stern _régime_, a riotous stranger, mistaking the temper of the community, flourished weapons and for a few agonizing moments made pedestrians his targets. the clamor brought the cool chief of police. "did you subdue the stranger?" he was afterward asked. "we buried him the next day," was the reply. in the few years that have ensued since the country's occupation by the whites, the once masterful spokane tribe has degenerated, the indians around spokane to-day shambling about under the generic epithet of "siwash"; and a writer visiting this region in recent days came to the etymological conclusion that the first syllable in their unhappy title stood for "never." though spokane is famous, its precise locality is not generally known. when it became ambitious and first held expositions, it ordered lithographic posters from chicago. they came representing steamboats plying placidly in a river whose falls are as deadly as niagara's. spokane is twenty-four hours' ride from the cities of puget sound. it is three days' journey from san francisco, and to go from spokane to helena or butte is like travelling from chicago to denver. its future must be great. it has no rival. eight railroads, three of them transcontinental, assert its supremacy. southward stretches the most prolific grain empire in the world. almost boundless forests of valuable timber cover surrounding mountains to the north and east, whose mineral wealth is beyond compute. [illustration middle falls, spokane.] a typical westerner, in an interesting autobiography, states that the ass that discovered the mines of the coeur d'alene, and thus caused a stampede of civilization to spokane, was buried with the ceremonial honors due a potentate. it takes conspicuous place in distinguished company. on the heights of peor an altar was reared to canonize the ass that saw the light the prophet balaam all but passed. an ass by its braying wrought the salvation of vesta, and the animal's coronation was an event in the festival of that goddess. for ages the procession of the ass was a solemn rite in religious observances. in spokane, a favorite canvas pictures the coeur d'alene immortal gazing enraptured across a mountain chasm at shining ledges of galena. when explaining the various causes of the matchless development of spokane and its tributary region, the resident, in merry mood, does not forget to pilot the visitor to this quaint memorial. afterward there was litigation over the mineral wealth now valued at $ , , located by this animal, the outcome of which was the following decision handed down by judge norman buck of the district court of idaho: "from the evidence of the witnesses, this court is of the opinion that the bunker hill mine was discovered by the jackass, phil o'rourke, and n.s. kellogg; and as the jackass is the property of the plaintiffs, cooper & peck, they are entitled to a half interest in the bunker hill, and a quarter interest in the sullivan claims." [illustration middle falls, echo flour mills, and old power house.] spokane has a rare climate of cloudless days. the indians say that once it shared the fogs and copious rains of the seacoast, but that their tutelary god, ascending to the heavens, slew the thunderer, and that thenceforth they dwelt under radiant skies, and were called spokanes, or sons of the sun. a college of artists could not have devised a more beautiful location for a city. it is set in a gigantic amphitheatre two thousand feet above sea level. high walls of basalt, picturesque with spruce and cedar and pine, form the city's rim. against this background have been built mansions that would adorn fifth avenue or the circles of the national capital. forming the city's southern border winds an abysmal gorge, and along its brink has been built one of the city's fashionable boulevards. the cataracts of the spokane some day must inspire poets. in some parts of the city, affording adornments for numberless gardens, are volcanic, pyramidal rocks. the indians say that these columns are the petrified forms of amazons who, issuing from the woods, were about to plunge into the river for a bath, ignorant of the water demon, when speelyai to save them turned them into stone. it is significant of the lure of spokane that men who have accumulated millions and sold their mines still make it their place of permanent residence. though the city as it is to-day has been built in the dozen years that have elapsed since its great fire, there is no hint of hasty development within its boundaries. singular fertility in its soil has so fostered its shade trees and its gardens that a sense is conveyed of years of affluent ease and attention to æsthetic detail. spokane is in many respects the most consummate embodiment on the continent of that typical american genius that has redeemed the wilderness of the frontier. [illustration] portland the metropolis of the pacific northwest "where rolls the oregon."--_bryant_. by thomas l. cole one autumn evening in , a.m. overton and a.l. lovejoy, two residents of oregon city, on their way home from vancouver, landed from their canoe and pitched their tent for the night under the pine trees upon the west bank of the willamette river. before they resumed their journey, the next day, they had projected a town upon the site of their encampment. within a few months, a clearing was made and a log cabin built. from this beginning grew the present city of portland. but our story must go back of this beginning, for the historical significance of portland lies not so much in the fact that it is to-day the great metropolis of that vast territory, once all called oregon, and now divided into the states of oregon, washington, idaho, and parts of wyoming and montana, not to mention british columbia; but its significance is rather to be sought in the consideration that in portland culminated and found final form the metropolitan life of oregon territory, which, in its earlier and richer historical period, found expression successively in astoria, vancouver, and oregon city. thus, for the essential beginning of the history of the metropolis of the pacific northwest, we must go back to the embryo metropolis established by astor at the mouth of the columbia river. this point of departure, while relatively remote, yet carries us back over less than a century of time. [illustration john jacob astor.] nearly two hundred years had passed after henry hudson sailed the _half-moon_ up the north river before the waters of the mighty oregon were disturbed by any craft save the indian's canoe. beyond suspicions and reports of indians, the great "river of the west" was unknown, and that vast territory beyond the rocky mountains which it drains was undiscovered until april , , when captain gray, commanding the _columbia rediviva_, from boston, crossed its bar and landed upon its bank, to the consternation of the indians, who now saw a white face for the first time. gray named the river after his vessel, the columbia, and took possession of the country in the name of the united states. a few months later, broughton, a lieutenant of the explorer vancouver, to whose incredulous ears gray had communicated his discovery, entered the columbia, and in turn claimed everything in the name of king george. these conflicting claims furnish a key to the critical period in the history of the columbia river territory. for a long time neither america nor great britain forced a determination of its claim, and a succession of treaties gave to the citizens of both countries equal rights in the territory. each government, however, encouraged its citizens to make good the national claim by actual possession. the first attraction to oregon territory was that which led captain gray, with other expeditions, to the coast, viz., the abundance of fur-bearing animals. the first british occupation was that of the northwest fur company of canada, which pushed some posts across the rockies to the far north. the way for american occupation was opened when the successful explorations of the lewis and clark expedition, which camped over the winter of at the mouth of the columbia, demonstrated the practicability of an overland route to oregon. into this opening john jacob astor promptly entered. as the "american fur company," astor had successfully checked the aggressions of the powerful canadian companies in the northern united states. he now projected a scheme, under the name of the "pacific fur company," whereby to check the movements of these same companies beyond the rocky mountains, and to possess the new country for the united states. the heart of his plan and purpose was a settlement at the mouth of the columbia river. says washington irving, to whose fascinating book, _astoria_, the reader must go for the story of this magnificent, if ill-starred, enterprise: "he considered his projected establishment at the mouth of the columbia as the emporium to an immense commerce, as a colony that would form the germ of a wide civilization, that would, in fact, carry the american population across the rocky mountains and spread it along the shores of the pacific." jefferson, who had sent out the lewis and clark expedition, heartily endorsed this project, as did also his cabinet. in prosecution of astor's purpose, on april , , the _tonquin_, the precursor of an intended "annual vessel," bringing partners, clerks, _voyageurs_, and artisans, as well as material and merchandise, crossed the bar of the columbia and cast anchor. point george, as it had been named by broughton, was selected as a site for the embryo metropolis, and was renamed astoria, after the great commoner whose enterprise it represented. here, after the _tonquin_ had sailed away to its tragic fate, the little colony proceeded to establish itself. a fort, a stone mansion, and other buildings were erected, and a schooner, the _dolly_, was constructed and launched. the colonists did some trading with the neighboring indians but delayed to reach out into the surrounding country until the arrival of wilson price hunt, who was bringing an expedition overland and was to establish suitable trading posts _en route_. hunt, who was an american and the chief partner under mr. astor, was to be in charge at astoria. while engaged in their work of construction, the colonists were disturbed by rumors that their rivals, the northwest company, had entered their territory and established a post on the spokane river. this rumor was confirmed when a canoe came down the columbia flying the british standard, and a gentleman, stepping ashore, introduced himself as david thompson, an astronomer and a partner of the northwest company. mcdougal, who was temporarily in charge, was, like several of astor's partners, a scotchman, and a former northwest employé. this visitor, therefore, was treated as an honored guest instead of as a spy, which he really was. however, it was determined that david stuart should at once take a small party and set up a post as a check to the one on the spokane, which he did at oakinagen. [illustration astoria in . based on a print in gray's "history of oregon."] another interruption was occasioned by the shocking news of the massacre of the _tonquin's_ crew by indians and the destruction of the vessel. to grief at the loss of their friends was added fear of the indians, who they now suspected were plotting against them. however, mcdougal's wit served and saved them. he threatened to uncork the smallpox, which he professed to hold confined in a bottle, and so gained the fear of the indians, and the title, "the great smallpox chief." after a gloomy winter, astoria was cheered in the spring by the arrival of hunt and his party. these, after a journey the account of which reads like a romance, through sufferings of all kinds and over difficulties all but insurmountable, reached their destination, haggard and in rags. the arrival, soon after, of the annual vessel, the _beaver_, with reinforcements and supplies, cheered them all and made possible the establishment of interior posts. the _beaver_ proceeded to alaska, in compliance with an agreement between astor and the russian fur company, which had been made with the consent of both governments; and hunt went with her. the absence of hunt, which was prolonged by untoward events, proved fatal to the astoria enterprise. just as the partners from the several posts were bringing to the rendezvous the first-fruits of what promised an abundant harvest in the future, mctavish, another northwest partner, surprised astoria's people with the alarming news that war had been declared between the two countries, and that he was expecting a british armed vessel to set up a northwest establishment at the mouth of the river. without waiting for the appearance of this vessel, without any attempt to send their treasure inland, and although the astor company was in a stronger trading position than its rival, mcdougal, chief factor in hunt's absence, sold out to mctavish all astor's property for one third its value. opposition was offered by some of the partners and the american clerks were furious, but hunt's ominous absence dampened opposition and cleared mcdougal's way. it is significant that mcdougal soon after received a valuable share in the northwest company. had astor been there he would have "defied them all." "had our place and our property been fairly captured i should have preferred it," wrote mr. astor to hunt, who doubtless shared the spirit of his chief. shortly after the sale, a british officer took formal possession of the country in the name of his britannic majesty, and astoria became fort george. although the treaty of ghent restored the _status ante bellum_, oregon remained for many years in the actual possession of england, through the occupation of its chartered companies. mr. astor's desire to reoccupy astoria received no backing by the government and so no american settlement was even attempted until captain wyeth's venture at fort william in , which proved futile. [illustration fort vancouver, .] this change from american to british possession was marked by a transfer of the metropolis from fort george to fort vancouver. when dr. john mcloughlin, upon the absorption of the northwestern by the hudson bay company, in , was sent out as "chief factor of the columbia river territory," he declared that the chief post should be as central as possible to the trade; that after leaving the mouth of the river there is no disadvantage in going to the head of navigation; and that a permanent settlement must be surrounded by an agricultural country. these considerations which took mcloughlin to vancouver are those which to-day determine the commercial strength of portland, across the river from vancouver. thus fort george sunk to a subordinate position. after the boundary was determined a new american town sprung up under the old name astoria, where there are large salmon canneries. vancouver, with the outlying posts scattered throughout the territory, was the centre of a semi-feudal organization, and its life was picturesque and full of charm. within the palisades was the residence of the chief factor ("governor" by courtesy), surrounded by those of the other gentlemen servants of the company; together with the stores, offices, and all other important buildings. between the fort and the river lay a clean, neat, and decorous village of about forty log houses, occupied by the inferior servants of the company, who were, for the most part, french canadians. nearly every man, from the "governor" down, had an indian wife; for no white woman had as yet set foot in oregon. one of these servants writes: "they all had indian women, never more than one; old dr. mcloughlin would hang them if they had." the farm, blacksmith's shop, and other productive activities at vancouver not only furnished the subordinate posts of the company, but provisions were sent to alaska, exports were made to the hawaiian islands, and the american settlers were dependent upon this post for many of their supplies. not only was vancouver the trading centre, it was also the "heart and brains of oregon territory." the post hospital offered relief to american settlers as well as to the subordinate posts. here was established the first school in the territory. the services of the english church were regularly maintained, and opportunity was offered to missionaries of all denominations to hold service. an annual dispatch kept open communication with the outside world and brought books and papers from the centres of civilization. the central figure and inspiring genius of vancouver was dr. mcloughlin, who was a striking and remarkable character. the remoteness of his post, combined with a self-reliant nature, made him practically independent of his superior officers in montreal or london. he was indeed, absolute monarch of all the territory west of the rocky mountains. but the "good doctor," though firm in character, was a benevolent and a beneficent despot. "standing over six feet, six inches, in height, he was of commanding presence, with courtly, yet affable manners." red man and white man alike revered and loved him, for to each alike he was kind, and at the same time just. he was the soul of hospitality and every traveller found at vancouver a ready welcome to a seat at the rich but temperate board in the common dining-hall, and a bed in the doctor's house. library, horses, and boats were all at the visitor's command. this spirit of hospitality, joined to a freedom from national prejudice, characterized the attitude of mcloughlin towards the missionaries and other american immigrants who ultimately began to come into the territory. there was scarcely a party which was not indebted to him for material assistance in getting started, as well as for a courteous welcome at the fort. some indeed owed their lives to him and the other officers at vancouver, and once at least their prompt help was in marked contrast to the indifference of the american settlement. to this service the missionary records bear constant testimony, and lieutenant frémont, "the pathfinder," says in his report: "i found many american emigrants at the fort. others had already crossed the river to their land of promise--the willamette valley." we must now follow these american immigrants, for with them the political dominance is to pass from great britain to the united states, and the metropolis to move from vancouver to the falls of the willamette. curiously enough, mcloughlin in his own course will typify this transition. the very first settlers in the willamette valley were servants of the hudson bay company, who settled there by the advice and with the assistance of mcloughlin, who from the first had properly estimated the value of this river and valley. he himself took possession of the falls, with the adjacent land, and held them as a personal claim, "until such time as there should be established a government which could give him title." the town which he developed on this site he called oregon city. the first american settlers on the willamette were the methodist missionary party, under jason lee, which crossed the plains in . to these mcloughlin gave material aid. of the canadians, lee's nephew writes: "they gave us a very polite and generous welcome to the best they could set before us." lee's mission was to the indians, but meeting with great discouragement in this direction, he turned his attention to the more interesting task of forming a political state, which should be american and also methodist. the missionary work was not abandoned, but only subordinated. in furtherance of his political plans, lee secured both money and immigrants from the eastern states and invoked the protection of the united states government. since there had been a party in congress, representing a sentiment in the country outside, which desired to abrogate our treaty with england and establish our government over the whole of oregon territory. but notwithstanding an "oregon fever," developed by lee and others, the united states was not yet ready for any action with regard to the new territory. in the meantime immigrations from the western states had brought to the willamette valley a number of people differing in spirit from the missionaries and not at all in harmony with them. these after a while outnumbered the adherents of the mission. hence arose three parties in the valley of the willamette, two american and one british. the new american party was in favor of forming a provisional government, which should maintain order until the boundary question now burning between england and america should be decided. the missionary party accepted this as an evil less than the rule of the hudson bay company, which was the only established authority. the canadians wanted only quiet. as a result, in was completed the organization of an independent commonwealth, which recognized the sovereignty of neither america nor great britain, but which allowed every man to retain his individual citizenship under either government until the territorial question should be settled. against the wish of most of the missionary party, but upon the insistence of the more liberal americans, the plan was extended so as to include the country north of the columbia river, and mcloughlin was invited to unite in this organization. the chief factor thought it wise to put the property of his company under the protection of a government which would probably be formed whether or no, and therefore he entered the organization. the seat of the new government was called by the legislature, "willamette falls," but the place was afterwards incorporated under the name of oregon city given it by mcloughlin, its founder. there had long been disaffection in england over mcloughlin's liberal attitude towards the americans. a climax was reached when lieutenants warre and vasouver, who came to the columbia river shortly after the formation of the provisional government, reported mcloughlin to be a disloyal subject, if not an unfaithful servant. the chief factor's defence was complete and he was not without friends, both in the council of the company and in the house of commons. however, moved by a combination of considerations, he resigned his office, retired to oregon city, and, after the settlement of the boundary question, became a citizen of the united states. for this much-vexed boundary question was settled by treaty in . polk was elected upon the platform, "fifty-four forty, or fight." but more moderate counsels prevailed, and a compromise was made upon the forty-ninth parallel of latitude. this determination of the boundary line had as a result the extinguishing of the hudson bay trade on the columbia river, and vancouver was purchased by the united states for an army post, which is still maintained. a town has also grown up outside the reservation. seldom has fate been more ironical than in its treatment of dr. mcloughlin. driven from vancouver for his kindness to the missionaries, he was now defrauded of his claim at oregon city by the missionary party, and to accomplish this iniquity anti-british prejudice was appealed to, in concealment of the fact that the doctor had applied for american citizenship. after his death, restitution was made to his children. some of his descendants now live in portland. in presenting a portrait of dr. mcloughlin to the oregon pioneers, in , on behalf of the city of portland, judge deady said: "he stands out to-day in bold relief as the first man in the history of this country--the pioneer of pioneers." with the passing of vancouver, oregon city became the metropolis. and when oregon was erected into a territory of the united states, in , portland was as yet only "a place twelve miles from oregon city." shortly after the incidents mentioned at the opening of this chapter, overton sold his interest to f.w. pettygrove. a year later lovejoy and pettygrove erected a business building, known as the "shingle store," on what is now the corner of front and washington streets. hitherto known as "the village" or "stumptown," the little settlement was now dignified with the name of portland. lovejoy, who was a native of boston, wanted to call the town after his birthplace, but pettygrove, who was equally loyal to maine, preferred portland, and the tossing of a coin gave the choice to pettygrove. what a pity they could not have compromised on the indian _multnomah_! lovejoy, who was a man of education and had been prominent in the provisional government, sold his interest in the future city to benjamin stark and eventually died a poor man. other transfers of interest made daniel lounsbury, stephen coffin, and w.w. chapman partners with stark in the ownership of the town site, and under these four men began the active development of the town. this development, however, soon met with a decided check from two events which in turn led to the subsequent upbuilding and supremacy of portland. [illustration city hall, portland.] the massacre of whitman and his companions at walla walla by the cayuse indians led to a war of vengeance, which drew almost every man who could bear arms away from normal pursuits. portland contributed a company of infantry. the movements of the troops, which rendezvoused at portland during this war, demonstrated its superiority over the city at the falls as a point of arrival and departure with regard to the columbia river. this discovery was to influence the future location of the metropolis. the other event mentioned was the discovery of gold in california. the immediate effect of this discovery was a stampede from oregon. portland contained at one time, it is said, but three adults. soon, however, the demand for provisions in california opened up a lucrative trade in the products of the fertile willamette valley and drew men back to the soil. this california trade afforded an opportunity to develop portland's advantages which the cayuse war had emphasized, and which lovejoy suspected when he said, "i observed the masts and booms of vessels which had been left there and it occurred to me that this was the place for a town." [illustration portland in .] up to , the annual arrivals in the columbia had ranged from three to eight vessels. in there were more than fifty arrivals. the shore of the willamette at portland was lined with all kinds of vessels, and wharfs and warehouses were in great demand. it is upon this command of the two waterways, with her superior port, that the permanent commercial supremacy of portland rests. the most conspicuous name in connection with this development of portland's shipping interests is that of john h. couch. in captain couch brought into the columbia the first american trader which had crossed the bar since the wyeth expedition. this was the brig _maryland_, from newburyport, mass. after subsequent voyages he brought his family from newburyport and settled in portland, in . in partnership with his brother-in-law, captain flanders, he built wharfs and warehouses and established the first regular shipping business in the city. the first brig sailing from portland to china, _emma preston_, was dispatched by couch & co. such has been the development of portland shipping that it is now well up among the great ports of the country. last year ( ), according to the annual review by the _oregonian_, it was ahead of philadelphia and baltimore. its wheat shipments ( , , bushels) exceeded those of san francisco, and more than equalled the combined shipments of tacoma and seattle. [illustration the port of portland.] [illustration judge matthew p. deady.] henry villard's great genius suffered no aberration when he selected portland as the centre of pacific coast transportation. for not only does this city command the waterways, but it is also the great railway centre. four transcontinental systems, beside local lines, make the union station their actual terminus. the hotel portland, one of villard's many projects, should be to portlanders a memorial of villard's brilliance and public spirit, as to the tourist it offers, with its elegance and comforts, a suggestive contrast to the camp of the early traveller. [illustration view of portland, .] to conclude from portland's rapid growth and commercial supremacy that it is a typical "western" town, would be to strike wide of the mark. one must go east from portland to find the typical characteristics, good and bad, of a western town. portland's character was largely formed before the railway came, for it had a population of nearly twenty thousand before there was connection by rail with the united states. this population was made up of the influx from the willamette valley, whose civilization had been deeply impressed by the religious and educational establishment at its foundation, and of a good class of immigrants coming directly from the eastern states. a characterization of portland by judge deady, in , is illuminating: "theatrical amusements never ranked high. there is no theatre house in the town fit to be called such. on the other hand, church-going is comparatively common." [illustration a corner in chinatown.] as early as some citizens of portland organized an association, elected trustees, and built a school and meeting-house at a cost of over two thousand dollars. this was the first enterprise of the kind on the coast. within a few years all the prominent religious denominations were represented by houses of worship. the earliest of these buildings were those of the methodists and congregationalists. the methodists, roman catholics, and episcopalians also supported institutions of learning and of charity. no single religious denomination or individual clergyman has exerted such a commanding influence in the religious development of the city as to warrant any attempt at discrimination. it may be less invidious if two among the many citizens who have influenced the thought and ministered to the higher non-ecclesiastical life of the city should be briefly noticed. matthew p. deady, who was prominent in the territorial government of oregon, and whose was a controlling mind in framing both the organic and statute law of the state, was, upon the admission of the state, appointed federal judge, which office he held until his death. upon his appointment he secured the location of the court at portland, and identified himself with the city. the city, too, became identified with him, inasmuch as the act of its incorporation passed the legislature as it came from his hand. judge deady ever strove to promote the higher interests of portland, through his important office, which he filled with great ability; through the institutions of the episcopal church, of which he was an honored member; and through the various channels which offer themselves to the public spirited citizen. his monument, perhaps, is the public library, which, with its fine building, is largely the result of his interest and efforts; although much of the money for the building was directly derived from a bequest. [illustration the portland.] when it is known that the _oregonian_ has been published in portland practically since the foundation of the city, and that it is deemed by competent judges to be the best edited newspaper west of the atlantic coast, the conclusion is not far away that the man who has been the editor and master mind of that journal for more than thirty years must have wielded an immense influence upon the thought and opinion of portland and the pacific northwest. that man is harvey w. scott. it is needless to say, these two men do not stand alone. c.e.s. wood, esq., might be named as one who has contributed more than any, perhaps, to the development of the city in the appreciation of and interest in art. judge george h. williams, who was attorney-general in grant's cabinet, might be cited as an example of those who have served the nation as well as the city. others, too, have shared in making portland, but space forbids even the mention of their names. with almost a hundred thousand inhabitants, drawn from all parts of the world, and with a "chinatown" in its midst, the social character of portland has, of course, changed since . and yet judge deady's characterization given then would fairly hold good to-day. this means, of course, that portland is eminently conservative, with the advantages and disadvantages of conservatism. in externals, portland is an attractive city, with the trees in its streets and the lawns about its houses and its wonderful roses. its early architecture is poor, but many of the recent buildings, municipal, ecclesiastical, commercial, domestic, and general, are not only large and imposing, but good. the city is beautifully situated, with the rivers at its feet and the wooded hills behind it, and in the distance the snow mountains, of which the finest and the favorite is hood. portland sits to-day mistress of the north pacific, and with historic and prophetic reasons for expecting to be the metropolis of the whole pacific coast. if the sceptre slips from her, it will be only because she lacks the faith, the courage, and the enterprise to enter into her inheritance. [illustration] [illustration] san francisco by the west gate of the world "city of gold and destiny" * * * * * "with high face held to the ultimate sea." by edwin markham if xenophon had journeyed westward from athens, pressing beyond the amber caverns of the baltic, beyond the tin mines of thule, out past the gates of hercules, exactly west, across an ocean and a continent, the next _thalatta_ of his men would have saluted the pacific at the golden gate from the low, shifting sand-hills of the unrisen san francisco. for the violet-veiled city of athene and the gray-draped city of st. francis are in one line of latitude. san francisco crowns the extremity of a long, rugged peninsula, a little north of the centre of california, "the land that has the tiger's length, the tawny tiger's length of arm," the land that stretches from pine to palm, "haunch in the cloud-rack, paw in the purring sea." the one break in the mountain wall of the california coast range is the golden gate, the watery pass that leads from san francisco to the pacific. spurs and peaks and cross ridges of this mountain chain would at long range seem to encompass the city round about; but, on nearer view, the edging waters on three sides make her distinctly a city of the sea. looking from the bay, past the fortified islands of the city, one may see san francisco to the west, rising in airy beauty on clustered gray hills. at night the city hangs against the horizon like a lower sky, pulsing with starry lamps. by day it stretches in profile long and undulating, with spires and domes climbing up the steeps from a shore lined with the shipping of every nation--felucca, ironclad, merchantman, junk, together with bevies of tiny busybody craft, all of them circled and followed by slow-swinging gulls. [illustration view northwest from spreckels' building.] for years after the magnificent, all-inclusive claims of the cabots at labrador in , nothing was known of the west coast of north america. cabrillo felt his way along it in , claiming it for spain. in , francis drake, fleeing from plundered spanish galleons, tarried for repairs beside cape reyes, the cape of kings, and claimed the country, as new albion, for elizabeth of england. although anchored in a cove within a mile of san francisco bay, he doubtless sailed away without guessing its existence behind the forest-covered mountains. in , vizcaino, charting the west for spain, as gosnold was mapping the east for england, made stay in drake's old anchorage, and named it the port of san francisco. notwithstanding the reiterated desire of the spanish crown that mexico, or new spain, should set about colonizing upper california, it was not till that the work was begun. spain needed a harbor in which to retire on the way from the philippines. the russian fur-traders were heading down the coast. the french and the english were rumored to be nearing from the east. so it behooved spain to be on the alert to maintain her right to the new territory. josé de galvaez, _visitador_ of spain, who had been sent to mexico with powers extraordinary, "to examine and reform all branches of government," seized upon the project of colonization, and found the administrator of his plans in padre junipero serra, of fragrant memory,--a franciscan monk, who had all his life passioned to save indians as a tamerlane would have passioned to destroy them. spain's plan of colonization comprehended a triple series of establishments: the ecclesiastical or the mission, the military or the presidio, the civil or the pueblo. the theory of colonization carried the idea of a military and a religious conquest of the new lands. the indians, whenever belligerent, were to be overcome by force; but as far as possible, they were to be drawn into the mission life by peaceable expedients. in , four expeditions, composed of soldiers, settlers, and franciscan friars, set out from mexico to enter upon the work of colonizing and civilizing california. if in the mists of coming ages the Æneid of california be lost, spain may prove her sponsorship of the californian province by the litany of seraphic and apostolic names given to mountain and mesa, to coast and cañon. andalusian names of saints and angels chime wherever the padres stepped or stopped. one of the four expeditions, pushing northward by land, unwittingly passed monterey; and a fragment of the company, while out hunting, came suddenly in sight of the waters now known as the golden gate and the san francisco bay. for the name san francisco was soon transferred to this greater water from the old port known to drake and vizcaino. in the summer of a company of padres, soldiers, and families, with stock and seeds, arrived on the san francisco peninsula, and built temporary shelter of brush and tulès plastered with mud. on september th, the feast of the stigmata of st. francis, solemn possession was taken of the presidio in the name of spain; and on october th, the day of st. francis, the mission was formally dedicated. the cross was raised, the te deum was chanted, while bells and guns chorused to sea and sky. the mission was in a little fertile valley four miles from the presidio, near a small creek now filled in. it became known as the mission de los dolores, in honor of the sorrows of mary. [illustration the discovery of san francisco bay. from the painting by a.f. mathews.] hostile tribes from the south had lately fallen upon the indians of the peninsula, firing their _rancherias_, murdering many of the inhabitants, and terrorizing the rest into flight. so the savages proved scarce at first. even in the indians at the mission numbered only about eight hundred. but these natives, like all the californian indians, though quite docile, proved stupid and brutish and lazy. they made little progress from savagery to the state of _gentes de razon_, or "reasonable beings," fit to populate the pueblos. this mission _régime_, however futile it may have been, however formal and external its religious training, seems to have touched upon some of the educational and sociological thought of our own time. it made use of the wisdom spain had learned from her roman conquerors--the taking of the conquered into full partnership. the idea of the daily contact of superior with inferior; of community of property and co-operation in labor; of the union of manual work with mental drill--all these were rudely exemplified in the mission life. sixty years was the span of the experiment, a brief time for an effort in civilization. [illustration mission dolores. built in .] the mission dolores grew after the general plan of the score of others in california. it was built about an open court, the place for work or recreation. the chapel stood at one end of the rectangle; the living rooms, storehouses, and shops lined the other sides. only the chapel, thrice restored, with its _campo santo_ beside it, remains of the dolores structure. when beechy visited it in , it was already a crumbling ruin. the sun-dried bricks, here as at the other unprotected mission relics, are fast melting back into the earth. the adobe, like the swallow's nest, cannot endure the hammers and chisels of wind and rain and sun. little of moment occurred at dolores till the days of secularization. the barren, sand-driven, wind-swept hills were not attractive to the spanish, and the mission was not in high estimation with the authorities. don pedro de aberini wrote of it in : "of all sites in california this mission is situated upon the worst." nevertheless, in , the mission, from a few head of stock and a few sacks of seed brought in , had accumulated , cattle, , sheep, , horses, and $ , in money and products. mexico's jealousy of the sympathy which the padres felt for spain, from whom mexico had torn herself in ; the clamoring of settlers for the lands held by the missions; quixotic pleas of mexican statesmen for indian autocracy; and perhaps, under all, an itching for the pious fund that supported the mission work--these led on to the secularization of the missions in . the indian, civilized only surface-deep, was unready for civilized self-government; and so he fell back to barbarism, plus dissipation--his last state worse than the first. the dolores indians were especially incompetent, and no attempt was made to organize a pueblo for them. so dolores, after secularization, dragged out an anomalous existence as a lapsed mission, carried on by political rather than by ecclesiastical rule, with an alcalde rather than a padre in charge. in the embarcadero of yerba buena two miles from the presidio, was, at command of governor figueroa, made the port of entry. this place (named from a medicinal weed growing about the cove) was only a landing-place for fishermen and hide droghers. only one house stood here at this time. not a sail shadowed the bay. herds of deer came down to the water and schools of seal swam to the shore. yet yerba buena afterward absorbed the mission and the presidio on the margin of golden gate, and took the name of the bay, thus becoming the germ of the present city. a knowledge of the charm and worth of the sovereign bay queening the western shore of north america was rapidly travelling the world. in , the russian rezanof had visited it officially. his coming and going has a romantic interest, as his betrothal to doña concepcion, the beautiful daughter of argüello, commandant of the presidio, his tragic death on his way home, and her retirement to a convent, made the evangeline tale of early california. england in sent belcher to the bay to gather information, and france sent de mofras. both of these nations were suspected of coveting the california province; and the hope of getting possession of it, especially of san francisco bay, was doubtless in the background of our national consciousness as one motive of the mexican war. it was felt by our country that the united states must own the west coast or be pot-bound later on. the government offered to buy the territory from mexico, but the proposal was refused. gradually it came to be known that the united states, fearing similar action by european powers, was to seize and hold california in the event of a war with mexico. with the vexed question of motive and action this is not the place to deal. but in , after the mexican war had fairly started, frémont, pursuing a scientific exploration in california, received secret government advices, and, gathering troops in the north, urged a declaration of independence. commodore sloat, in command of a frigate at monterey, in july, , raised the american flag in place of the spanish nopal and eagle standard, declaring california a part of the united states. the next day, following the order of sloat, our flag was set flying in the plaza at yerba buena by the captain of a frigate in the bay, accompanied by an escort of soldiers and marines. no opposition was offered by the mexicans. portsmouth, the name of the vessel, was given to the plaza, and montgomery, the name of the captain, was given to the street, then along the water front, but now pushed back a half a dozen blocks by the filling in of the cove. the first alcalde of yerba buena under the american flag was washington bartlett. hearing that a new town, francesca, was to be established farther up the bay, and fearing injury to his own from one with a name so similar to that of the bay, alcalde bartlett proceeded, in , to cast the plebeian name of his pueblo. he declared the name yerba buena insignificant and unknown to the world; proclaimed that henceforth the settlement should bear the name of the fostering bay beside it. this somewhat tardy edict was accepted by all, and san francisco became a name to conjure with. the village nucleated a little back of the cove about its inevitable spanish plaza, which was to be the scene of wild and whirling days to come. telegraph hill, the old observation station, rose on the north of it, and rincon hill was off toward the south. when california was ceded to the united states in , san francisco was fairly afoot upon her triumphant way. brannan had established a newspaper, _the star_, and had sent two thousand copies east, describing the new land, and, curiously enough, prophesying the gold and the wheat of the future--the first "boom" note from california. a school was flourishing; churches were building; two hundred houses were on the hills, and the population was about eight hundred. and now sweeps into the story the dominant major--the finding of the gold. told of in indian legend and in spanish tradition, the shining sands of pactolus were found at last in a californian cañon. san franciscans, hearing the tale, felt again the wander spirit, and were off to the mountains, seeking quicker fortunes. soldiers and sailors deserted from the bay. the school closed; the newspaper suspended. business was at a standstill: there was no one to work or to buy. a wind of excitement passed across two hemispheres. the tidings of the gold flashed from city to city, swift as the signal fires of agamemnon telling that troy had fallen. the faces of men turned expectantly toward this land at the edge of the world. everywhere were heard the sounds of preparation and farewell, as adventurers by land and sea, by craft and caravan, set out for el dorado. by immigrants from the ends of the earth were pouring in; and the bare, brown hills and curving shores of san francisco were whitening with tents. goods were piled high in the open air, and all available walls were covered with grotesque signs and placards speaking in all languages. by the winter of ' , the drowsy, droning spanish town had expanded into a little excited city. everywhere were springing up nondescript lodging and boarding houses, drinking houses, and gambling saloons. twenty-five thousand people thronged the thoroughfares. there was scarcely such a thing as a home. crowds of people slept wedged together on floors and tables, in rows of cots or in bunks fastened in tiers to the walls. the streets, full of sticky clay and miry sand, were thronged with struggling horses, mules, and oxen; and crowds of men from all nations and all levels of life jostled by, laughing, railing, or cursing. a whirlwind had rushed in upon the sleepy town. old habits of life were broken through. lawyers were turned into draymen and bootblacks; doctors into merchants and carpenters; soldiers into waiters and auctioneers. all men could find work; and none, however rich, could wholly evade it. gambling was the chief amusement; speculation in a hundred forms was pressing forward, and fortunes were changing hourly. in all this rude democracy, there was one mark of an aristocracy--high prices. workmen charged twenty dollars a day; lumber was five hundred dollars a thousand; flour was forty dollars a barrel; eggs were a dollar apiece. all unready for this tumultuous rise in population and precipitation of business, the infant city had to evolve on the moment accommodation for man and beast and craft, and organization for civic safety. to add to the perplexities, in the first years of the city, fire after fire devoured its flimsy fabric of canvas and shingle. the fourth and worst fire, in may, , destroyed seven million dollars' worth of property. the recurrent devastation made a demand for fireproof buildings, which gave a certain stability and dignity to the city. the bay began to fill with the new clipper ships, which brought steadier crews and more rational cargoes than did the older clumsy ships now rotting at the docks. secure wharfage, passable streets, an efficient fire-department began to give a feeling of prosperity and permanence. san francisco was the stopping-place of every comer and goer; the egypt of the corn, the depot of supplies for the gold territory. naturally, forces of good and evil streamed into the young city and came into collision. strange new conditions were in the environment. the old primitive safeguards of the early mission era were outgrown. the population, representing every form of tradition and government, found itself removed from well-nigh all restraints, all bolstering-up of church and state. each man of worth, while bent to his private task, had forced upon him the problem of helping to build up a social fabric and of holding it secure. the anglo-saxon has an elastic genius for government. wherever he goes, finding new conditions, he finds new ways for maintaining the public safety. the reaction of his spirit under the conditions about him in early california furnishes an interesting study in social dynamics. by , california was running under a state constitution and the city had a charter. the old stable forces of home, and school, and church, the argonaut soon evolved about him. however, great freedom of action and opinion prevailed, and a tolerance of evil that well-nigh blunted the distinctions between right and wrong. "sydney coves," and other unruly spirits took advantage of this laxity. abuses thickened, and anxious problems of public order were upon the young metropolis. the affair of "the hounds" was one of the organized outrages that confronted the municipality. a band of lawless ex-convicts, affiliated for mutual protection in evil designs, grew very obnoxious in their bold defiance of authority, their open and wanton outrages upon citizens, especially foreigners. the community, having no municipal organization, rose against the law-breakers, put twenty on trial, and half of these into prison. this show of public indignation quieted the pack for a time. but there was no strong authority to conserve the public good. what was the concern of all found an executive in none. yet, finally, out of this sagging and sinking of the public order and its adjustment sprang the most spectacular popular uprising and the most notable object-lesson in self-government known to the west or perhaps to any other land,--the vigilance committee of - . the occasion of this citizens' uprising was a series of unpunished crimes of arson, murder, rapine, and burglary. the perpetrators of these outrages, owing to lax administration of law by corrupt or careless officials, seemed immune from apprehension or punishment. the many fires that had devastated the infant city had without doubt been of incendiary origin. over a hundred murders had occurred in a few months and not a single capital punishment had followed. feeling that this insecurity of life and property was intolerable, and fearing that it would draw down the perils and uncertainties of mob law, a party of prominent citizens, all above suspicion of self-interest, organized a defensive league against the allied rabble. they determined to take the law into their own hands, and to administer it with equal and exact justice, with swiftness and finality. [illustration seal of the vigilance committee.] the first and most exciting case handled by this extraordinary court of justice came swiftly to judgment. upon the night of organization, in june, , an ex-convict was seized in an act of theft. he was tried in the presence of eighty members sitting with closed doors; was convicted, sentenced, and hanged in portsmouth square that night. the general public, sensitive and suspicious, dreading mob tactics, was troubled at first by this summary show of power. but the committee came out with a complete list of its members, each member assuming equal share of responsibility, each avowing the public welfare as the only end in view, each pledging his life, his fortune, his honor, for the protection of his city and the upholding of the public safety. a profound impression was made by the manifesto of this self-constituted protectorate. when it was found that no secret society, but, instead, a band of the solid men of the city was at the head of the movement, the community rallied to its support with enthusiasm. the committee quietly kept at its work of investigation and punishment. its calm, swift justice, its lack of personal bias, its righteous vengeance terrified evil-doers. many were banished by formal warning. three other well-known criminals were hanged. crime rapidly diminished, and for the first time in years people began to feel secure in person and possessions. after thirty days the occupation of the vigilance committee was gone. it did not disband, but existed for years a merely nominal tribunal. by , the growth of san francisco began to slacken. inflation began its inevitable counter-movement of collapse. the days of picking up gold were over. immigration fell off. a large part of the city's population scattered, returning east, or going into the country to try life on ranch or range. disorder increased; the old suppressed crimes leaped into evil eminence. a new journal, _the bulletin_, edited by james king, of william, assailed the rising corruption, political and personal, social and individual, public and private. in , without warning, king was shot down in the street by a man who had writhed under the torment of the _bulletin_ pens,--an unscrupulous ex-convict, james casey, a rival editor, and a man lately elected supervisor. this murder precipitated public opinion, and exploded the lazy optimism that had waited for things to right themselves. casey was at once jailed, by chance escaping lynching. it was inevitable that heroic measures should be set in operation. and so there came about a second administration of the vigilance committee, this unique social providence, this people's protectorate. but this time it had before it not only the purging of the city's crime, but also a struggle with jealous and sluggish authority vested in city and state officials. in a few days men had enrolled as vigilantes, and were drilling in arms, under their former trusted president, william t. coleman. meantime the governor of the state was summoned by the anti-vigilantes, representing chiefly the conservative officeholders and the people affiliated in some way with the lawless element. these anti-vigilantes came to be known in derision as the law-and-order party. the know-nothing governor swayed first from one side to another. he had no power behind him, for the militia were deserting to the popular cause. the vigilantes took charge not only of casey, but also of one cora who had wantonly shot a united states marshal and had evaded punishment. after a dispassionate trial, with all form and ceremony, the two criminals were sentenced to death and hanged on the day of king's funeral. it may be worth remembering that this man cora was defended in his first trial by the eloquent col. e.d. baker. the law-and-order party now insisted that the vigilantes disband. but the committee held that its purpose was not simply to deal out justice to murderers, but also to so clarify the social atmosphere as to make future assassinations punishable by law. therefore it struck directly at city politics, banishing the openly vicious, and laying the way for a clean administration when the corrupt officials could be rotated out of office. this vigilance committee drew a large following of citizens; but there was a continuous undercurrent of opposition. general sherman, commander of the second division of the state militia, backed by the vacillating governor and representing constitutional authority, was the leader of the opposition sentiment. in june, the law-and-order party under him determined to rise against the vigilantes. he appealed to general wool, united states commander in the department, for arms, and also to commodore farragut at mare island. these commanders declined to interfere in state troubles without orders from the government. governor johnson declared the city and county of san francisco in a state of insurrection, and asked aid from washington. general sherman, finding himself powerless, resigned. chief-justice terry, an active opponent of the committee, having come from sacramento to enforce the law, now complicated matters by stabbing an officer of the vigilantes. the committee held him a prisoner but set him free when his victim recovered. after three months of life, after hanging in all four criminals, well-known desperadoes, banishing many others, and paving the way for a purer administration of law, the committee disbanded, leaving a small body to settle its affairs. the next election saw a full set of honest officials in power, and for twenty years san francisco had the name of being one of the best-governed cities in the world. looking back dispassionately, it appears that the vigilance committee had something of the dignity and purpose and procedure of the ancient court of the areopagus. it was not like the extemporized sanhedrim that tried christ, a body which kept the appearance of justice but mocked the reality. it was not a masked band of regulators like the ku klux or the white caps; but it was an irresistible rising of the best citizens in calm debate, in open daylight, with sobriety and decorum and every safeguard of justice. unlike the anti-mafia of new orleans, it put down the mob spirit, but did not engender it. though acting outside of the constituted authorities, it had the severest reverence for law in the ideal. as president coleman expressed it, the committee did not act under lynch law, but under a sort of martial law that obtains in time of siege. considering the daring wantonness of crime, the subsidized or terrorized condition of the courts of justice, and the immunity of criminals, law-abiding citizens seem to have been justified in reverting to the elemental order of things, as is the man who attacks the thief in the night. but, of course, loyalty from the first to public interests instead of easy optimism and self-absorption, would have held back the occasion for the heroic measures of the historic committee. men never learn, save through suffering, that the support of the common welfare is a sacred duty, and that this duty squares exactly with their highest private interests. during all these years and long after, san francisco suffered greatly from disputed land titles. conflicting claims led to labyrinthine legislation, and increasing hardship, one crisis being the squatter riots. the treaty of guadaloupe hidalgo had decreed that all property rights should be respected by the new government. so property rights founded on cloudy and ill-understood laws and customs of spain and mexico had now to be adjudicated in the californian courts. san francisco was entangled in the mazes of two rival spanish claims, embracing well-nigh all her territory except the "made" land. there was much dispute as to whether or not the city had ever been made a pueblo proper. on this depended the holding or forfeiting of four square leagues of land. though the city petitioned the land commission in for confirmation of her public grants, the controversy was pending through wearying legislation, with repeated surveys and delays and continual jeopardy of property, until finally settled by the decision of secretary lamar in . the decline of the gold output brought to the front the agricultural resources of the state, and san francisco came to be the centre of distribution for wheat, wines, and fruits. the central pacific railroad was completed in , with san francisco as the western terminus, and as by a magic stroke the city was only three thousand miles instead of nineteen thousand miles from eastern markets. since then three other transcontinental lines and numerous local lines have brought trade and travel into this emporium of the pacific, while the ships of all nations fetch and carry through her golden gate. the war of secession found california wavering between the stars and stripes and the stars and bars. a large southern element, much to the front in politics, had maintained a strong democratic influence in the state. the celebrated duel, just outside the city limits between broderick and terry--the terry of vigilance committee memory--turned the tide toward republicanism and sympathy for the north. the duel grew out of the broderick and gwin senatorial contest. terry stood for southern chivalry; broderick stood for free labor and progressive politics. not essentially great or noble, broderick was made heroic by his tragic death. during war times he was a colossal figure in men's minds, and his anti-slavery sentiments echoed through city and state, a slogan and a cleaving sword for freedom and the north. [illustration union depot.] in the ' 's there sprang up in san francisco a tremendous excitement over the silver mines on the comstock lode. the bonanza was estimated to be worth over fifteen hundred millions of dollars. true, this argent field was across the sierras, in the state of nevada. but most of the output found its way to san francisco. the principal owners lived there, and san francisco was the depot for comstock supplies. the stock board operated there, and stocks bought for less than one hundred thousand dollars soared up to two hundred million. at the highest notch of prices the manipulators sold out, and the airy fabric of speculation fell with a crash. the banks had been emptied by speculators eager to buy stocks, and were greatly embarrassed. myriads were swept into poverty, leaving immense fortunes in the hands of a few. soon after the comstock collapse the sand lot agitation sprang into life. over one hundred and fifty millions of dollars had been removed from circulation by the comstock jugglery. the wealth of the outside world was temporarily diverted from the san francisco markets. a great drought had been on the state during two years and the lean kine had devoured the fat. harvests were sparse or wholly lacking. cattle perished beside the dry watercourses. a large body of the outside unemployed had come to swell the tide of the city's drifting, workless ones. the railroad was threatening a reduction of wages to its thousands of men. riots were on in philadelphia, pittsburg, baltimore, and had sent contagion on the enforced idlers in san francisco. feeling long smouldering broke into fire against the chinese and the railroad, two factors believed by the working-men to be largely instrumental in cheapening wages and robbing men of work. a mob gathered, threatening to rout out the asiatics. the police could not disperse the rioters. [illustration chinese pharmacy.] on july th there came a third call for the vigilance committee to assemble, which many thought an unnecessary and high-handed summons. william t. coleman was for a third time given charge. the committee was to proceed upon lines followed in the ' 's. but this time they were to co-operate with the authorities rather than to work in opposition. on july th, the mob, infuriated by the menace of the committee and looking on it as a mere support of capitalistic interests, gathered about the pacific mail dock, where immigrant chinese were landed. the committee, armed with pick-handles, met the labor mob at the dock and a few men were killed. this ended the uprising. but the issue was soon thrust into politics. the anti-chinese believers gathered upon the sand lots in the neighborhood of the city hall and organized the working-man's party. it spread throughout the state. dennis kearny, an illiterate but rudely eloquent speaker, became the leader, the wat tyler of the hour. the movement ended in the adoption by the state of a new constitution framed along progressive lines. the people of san francisco are of all kindreds and tongues. buddha, mahomet, and confucius are prayed to beside the christian temples. the indians of the mission have faded from the peninsula and the sombreroed spaniard dashes no more from the mission to the beach about his bull-fights and bear-baitings. but here are anglo-saxons, teutons, celts, greeks, slavs, latins, hindus, chinese, kanakas, japanese, and chilenos, all mixing in the great crucible and slowly shaping a new type of man, the western american. all seem to be mixing, it should be explained, except the chinese, for, after a quarter of a century of experience, san francisco feels that her chinese population is still an alien body and sure to remain so even to the third and fourth generation. [illustration chinese grocery store.] the problem of chinese immigration has come up again and again in san francisco. in the chinese were invited and welcomed from china. in , the geary law was passed prohibiting the coming of any but the student class and providing for deportation under certain conditions. a generation grew up between this hail and farewell, china in the meantime pouring her tens of thousands of coolies into san francisco. california welcomes any race that affiliates. but she has found that the chinese race is not as the impressionable indian or negro; but is an arrested race in the yoke of caste and ancient tradition, one looking with contempt upon upstart anglo-saxon civilization. the chinese swarmed into a quarter of the city about portsmouth square, and have made there a small, evil-smelling canton, where only a foreign tongue is spoken, and where strange gods are worshipped. few have brought wives. slave girls are the only women. every chinese prays to die in china, or to have his bones rot there. american law to most of them is but a pestilent thing to be evaded. they have no interest in the growth of the country or its institutions. they work for starvation wages, their living being extremely cheap, requiring only tea and rice and a bare shelf to sleep upon in a room crowded with such shelves. being imitative, and as patient as cattle, and withal so cheap as hirelings, they have taken the places of women in the household and factory and the places of men and boys in the work of dock and shop and field. the assertion that this labor liberates the whites for higher work does not seem to be verified. many trace the vicious "hoodlum" class of both sexes to the enforced idleness of these young people, springing from the iron competition of the chinese in the labor market. [illustration smoking room, chinese restaurant.] notwithstanding all this, the little slant-eyed men with their grotesque superstitions, their stiff, stark, unhomelike homes, add a quaintness and a touch of color to this romantic city. gay placards of intense greens and vermilions flutter from their doorposts. under the dull outer tunics of the elders gleam surtouts of gay brocades, while the few children, little faithful copies of their sires, all tricked out like the lanterns of the night, go toddling on tiny, rocking shoes through the narrow, dingy streets. the chinese theatres, temples, and restaurants are full of the oriental strangeness. the interiors of some of them are lacquered and varnished like huge tea-boxes. [illustration a business centre.] as one gets a strip of cathay in chinatown, so he may find a corner of italy on the south slopes of telegraph hill. here children, looking like the cherubs of their kinsmen, the old masters, swarm through steep narrow streets, upon curious little balconies, out of odd windows, or upon the steps of chapels. the architecture of san francisco is a medley of many schools. the buildings, especially the homes, are largely of wood; the recurring feature is the bay window that focuses the light and heat. to the newcomer they all seem of the same color, for the fogs and winds soon reduce all hues to a fine, restful gray. in the beginning, by a curious irony, stone and lumber were shipped from the east and from asia to this land of forests and granite to build some of the structures still holding their places against the pressure of time. in the newer buildings of the city there is some attempt to make the architecture express the function of the structure--the stability of the business house, the aspiration of the church, the simple security of the home. the new city hall is an example of permanence and chaste elegance. the old mission architecture is being revived. this spanish-moorish adaptation is the most characteristic and harmonious development of californian architecture. built of the earth, the old mission piles seem almost as if not made by man, but nature. for they repeat in long stretches and low swells the contour of the hills about them, and give back their color-tones of dun and tan and rusty red. the year the new and greater name was given to the city, a misfortune fell upon the streets. regardless of cliff and curve, ignoring height and hollow, the streets were laid out in undeviating straight lines. and so a city on fairer than roman hills, with circling waterways more lovely than the curve of constantinople's golden horn, was deformed as far as its high bearing could be hurt; was checkered by pitiless compass lines, when it might have had windings and slow curves and gentle slopes. market, the main street, runs lengthwise of the peninsula. its intersection with kearny is a nerve-centre of the city, whence radiate three great streets. near this spot are the main newspaper buildings and most of the large hotels. san francisco's streets, unlike those of sacramento and los angeles, are not lined with trees. but nearly every dooryard has its green place where tall geraniums, camelias, heliotropes, or fuchias fling out, the year round, their splashes of scarlet and purple. [illustration prayer book cross, golden gate park.] the city boasts of one great park of a thousand acres, on the hills and ravines out by the sea. central, prospect, and fairmount parks of the east fail beside the charm of this arcadian western park, probably the finest in north america. the trees of the world, from conifer to cactus, are here, and every flower that blooms. beyond the park is the cliff house, overhanging huge rocks, the rendezvous of gulls and seals and shy things of the water. [illustration seal rock and cliff house.] the old portsmouth square is dingy and draggled. it looks upon the scene of the executions of the vigilantes and is full of memories for the chronicler. its great charm now is the statue of robert louis stevenson, who when in san francisco, often sat there, studying the quaint, broken life about him. another significant monument, poetic and historic presented to the city by mayor james d. phelan, stands before the new city hall in honor of the native son of the golden west. it is doubtless only a question of time when expanding san francisco will absorb the cities an hour's ride across the bay,--oakland, berkeley, and alameda,--the homes now of many of san francisco's business men. the university of california at berkeley draws its largest clientele from san francisco. by the benefactions of the widow of senator hearst of san francisco, this university has under way a housing perhaps the most spacious and symmetrical in the world. the structure, to cost nearly five million dollars, follows a plan chosen by experts from designs submitted after a world competition, and will crown a long hill slope, looking down on san francisco city and bay and out toward sleeping asia. the allied professional colleges of the university are already in san francisco. its art department is in the fine old mansion of hopkins, the railroad builder, on california street, the home street of millionaires. a school of mechanic arts, endowed by the pioneer, james lick, who gave the great astronomical observatory to the state university, is also under way in san francisco. [illustration city hall, san francisco.] another university drawing its student body largely from san francisco is an hour or more down the peninsula from the city,--the leland stanford, jr., founded by jane and leland stanford and wife, of san francisco. this university, by the way, is built, after the old mission plan of one-story buildings, about an inner court, with arcades and roman towers and tiled roof. [illustration leland stanford.] the city has three great working libraries, the public, the mercantile, and the mechanics' institute. adolph sutro, the late owner of about one tenth of the territory of san francisco city and county, whose fine grounds out by the cliff house have long been open to the public, left a unique collection of two hundred thousand pamphlets and volumes of rare worth, gathered for the public use. the bancroft library is phenomenal in that it has cornered all the original material for the history of the far west. those myriads of manuscripts, pamphlets, and books have been indexed by experts and the library is a sort of vatican for california. the bohemian club of san francisco, a comradery of litterateurs, artists, and lovers of the arts, is a unique expression of the æsthetic individuality of the city, and is one of its strong social forces. [illustration thomas starr king.] san francisco has perhaps no famous name that dominates the city as franklin dominates philadelphia; as beecher, brooklyn; as carnegie, pittsburg. but if great-hearted thomas starr king had lived longer, he might have been its crowning personality as he is now its most sainted memory. his inflexible loyalty and impassioned eloquence made him at the outbreak of the civil war a commanding figure, if not the leading citizen of california. though only fifty years old, san francisco has given to literature and art a few names that the world will not willingly let die. for forty years joaquin miller, the "poet of the sierras," has been a friend and neighbor of her hills and waters, telling in noble numbers the glories and the terrors of the strange new land "by the sundown seas." here bret harte founded the _overland monthly_ and with "the luck of roaring camp" began his creation of californian characters. what matters it if they never existed outside of his pages,--those drinking, dirking dare-devils, those tenor-voiced, soulful-eyed gamblers, striking sorrow to the hearts of ladies? for, touched by his genius, they exist for us there, in perennial charm and invitation. [illustration henry george.] here, too, henry george wrote his _progress and poverty_, a book that was a prophet-cry heard round the world, declaring that every man has a right to a foothold on the earth. mark twain, ambrose bierce, charles warren stoddard, john vance cheney, charlotte perkin gilman, kate douglas wiggin, and gertrude atherton did here a deal of their early literary work,[ ] but now have wandered away into the world, leaving behind them, however, a goodly group of critics, story-writers, and poets; painters, also, william keith and the rest, who have caught into splendid captivity some of the immensities and radiances about them. this is but an abstract and brief chronicle of the great city at the western gate of the world. there she sits, the ultimate outpost of the passion of progress. sleepless unrest, forever urging the peoples westward, land by land, now, at the end of centuries, begins to surge and thunder on the shores of balboa's sea. but this end is only a beginning--this great city is only the first of a chain of cities fated, under the star of empire, to spring into life on these circling shores, making the pacific at last the greater mediterranean of mankind. [illustration] footnote: [ ] the reader will yet more vividly recall that _the man with the hoe_ came out of san francisco and will heartily approve the editor's selection of mr. markham to contribute this chapter to the volume. editor. [illustration] monterey ciudad de ayer y de hoy by harold bolce to know the story of monterey, one must go back for a moment to the southern coast of europe. there, on an island a day's sail from the land that later cradled a prodigy destined to make dynasties his playthings, there was born, in , a boy who by pacific conquests was to perform a part no less significant than napoleon's in determining the history of nations. while the infant bonaparte was listening, perhaps impatiently, to corsican lullabies, junípero serra, a mendicant friar from majorca, discovered, or rediscovered, on the far shores of this continent the supposedly vanished harbor of monterey, and thereby marked the genesis of the movement that was finally to give the american republic a western frontage on the sea. [illustration junÍpero serra, founder of monterey.] but for this auspicious event and the stimulating effect on spanish exploration it afterwards provoked, the great domain from san diego to the straits of juan de fuca would not to-day be rendering tribute to the government at washington. the western lines of the louisiana purchase would mark our farthermost frontier; the incredible hoard of california's roaring camps would be minted into sovereigns, shillings, rubles, imperials, or francs; no pacific squadron would have carried our flag to the gates of the east; and we would to-day be a hemmed-in nation, disputing our land boundaries with encroaching colonies of europe, instead of a world power projecting canals to sever continents in the interest of our trade, and sailing our ships east and west across the seven seas. the average tourist, viewing the adobe ruins of the monterey presidio and recalling the futile guns of that crumbled fortress, does not dream of the place monterey filled in the march of international events. nor will the guide enlighten him as he takes him over the seagirt drive to carmel and the cliffs of point lobos, for that profane, though picturesque historian omits even to say that robert louis stevenson furnished the plan for this famous highway. some gleams of monterey's immortal past illumine the reverent traveller who climbs the stone steps of junípero's mission at carmel. he knows, then, vaguely, that he is exploring the venerable tomb of one of the great men of the world. and the irreverent guide, if asked, will indicate indifferently the spot on the gospel side of the sanctuary where rest the bones of this prophet and builder of empire, but before the hurrying train-catcher has returned to the golden gate he has ceased to reflect upon the incalculable debt america owes to this mendicant seer and colonizer who, in the name of god, st. francis, and the king, added half a continent to the crown of spain, and, building better than he knew, established the western foundations of the republic that was to rise above spanish and mexican decay. [illustration carmel mission (restored).] monterey was an old name on the crude maps of the mexican frontier. eighteen years before the _mayflower_ landed at plymouth rock, don sebastian vizcaino had rounded the pine-edged promontory that hides the harbor of monterey, and, anchoring in the bay, went ashore and with sacred rites named the port in honor of count de monterey, the reigning viceroy. for more than a century and a half the spot was not revisited save by savage hunters. efforts to relocate the harbor were without success. [illustration twilight--monterey bay.] back of the concealing peninsula the bay of monterey sweeps in a great crescent to santa cruz, thirty miles away, and to exploring navigators, shunning possible shoals, the coast presented a seemingly unbroken line. it came to be the scientific belief that some geologic upheaval had altered the contour of the coast. mariners were mystified. efforts to rediscover monterey assumed the nature of crusades. no less a personage than gaspar de portala, with a retinue of sixty-five persons, set out overland from loreto in to find the vanished harbor. without identifying the haven he sought, he camped on its tree-rimmed beaches and erected a cross under the ancient oak in whose shade vizcaino had partaken of the sacrament. a year later came the seer and scholar junípero. long before, in his college in majorca where he graced with distinction the chair of philosophy, he had read and treasured the description vizcaino had given. now he recognized the surviving oak and the neighboring springs, and, turning, he saw unrolled before him the bay which, in its vastness, had to other eyes seemed only a part of the open sea. inspecting portala's wooden cross, junípero saw that at the base were votive offerings of birds, shells, strings of fish newly caught, and in a beaver-skin quiver a cluster of arrows tipped with obsidian. here were signs and portents which to junípero were ever a source of inspiration. in after years he learned that the eslenes, or monterey indians, had for ages handed down a tradition that some day a messiah would come to them; and that just before the advent of junípero, the cross which portala had reared seemed to rise in the sky at night until its splendor filled the heavens; and that then the tribes, believing their deliverer was at hand, came with gifts of food and trinkets to this unaccustomed altar and, in token of the peace they felt, tied a quiver of arrows to the cross. [illustration san carlos church.] in the fertile valley of carmel just over the pine-clad cordillera that conceals the bay, on a slope above the thundering surf, junípero dedicated the mission that was to be named san carlos in honor of the king. hanging his bells on a cypress branch, he chimed the tidings of the gospel he was to preach. "why sound this call?" protested his companions; "there are no heathen here." "would that these bells might be heard around the world!" replied junípero. few events in spanish history since the expulsion of the moors three centuries before had occasioned the joy that greeted the news of the rediscovery of monterey. in the mexican capital cathedral bells pealed throughout the night, rockets flared in the sky, and guns in the forts kept up a cannonade. later, in madrid the rejoicing was even more tumultuous. royal salutes were added to the acclaim and the king declared a public holiday. a sandalled monk, seeking neither gain nor temporal glory, the leader of a handful of franciscan pioneers, had restored a fabled harbor to the world. the discovery of the bay of san francisco, reported at the same time, was ignored as a trivial and miscellaneous item. the celebration in honor of junípero's discovery gave new impetus to his plans of christian conquest, and monterey was declared the capital of the colonial empire. for a time it appeared that nothing more would be needed to stimulate spain to hold the western coast of america against the world. but castilian enthusiasm was short-lived. the mystery of monterey having been cleared away and the event deliriously lauded, spain lapsed into an indefinite programme concerning the californian coast. both madrid and mexico all but forgot monterey and the activities of wandering friars who, radiating thence, were unconsciously preparing the way for a national destiny as glorious as spain's, even at the height of her circumstance and pomp. now came the critical moment in junípero's career, a moment that was to decide the fate of the western half of the new world. antonio bucareli had been installed as viceroy of mexico. a keen man of conventional wisdom, it seemed to him to be a waste of public money to divert a stream of gold to maintain the far-away civilizing dreams of mendicants centred at carmel. he would close the harbor of san blas, then maintained to equip expeditions to the californian settlements, and abandon the fruitless undertaking of trying to populate bleak promontories swept by winds that brought home no rich argosies. the enterprise of his subjects should be devoted to more lucrative pursuits. here was need and opportunity for a supreme test of the resources that had made the founder of monterey the heroic figure of the west. he saw, as did no other spaniard of his day, the splendid future awaiting the pacific coast. there was no time to halt between two opinions. already captain behring had explored northwestern waters in the name of russia, and now the fur traders of that empire, establishing their commercial posts at unalaska, were prepared to claim the coast as far south as sea-otters run. captain cook and vancouver were about to sail to try to nail the union jack on every headland from sitka to san diego. disguised under the standard of portugal, privateersmen of various nations were hoisting full sail in the race for western conquest, and louis xvi. was planning to equip françois de gallup, count de la pérouse, to transplant the eagles of france to california crags. the end of the seven years' war, a decade before bucareli's remarkable decision, had led to a recarving of america among european powers, and jealousy and world-wide ambition now steered the sea in search of new empire. all this was not then apparent on the surface, but the cowled monk in his mission at carmel divined events. worldly power and possession by him were trampled underfoot. in humility he had turned his back upon the emoluments of scholarship to labor among savages in the remote wilderness. the fame he had achieved by the rediscovery of monterey was not of his choosing. although he counted all earthly things as dross he knew the action of bucareli meant the downfall of his spiritual kingdom. in the flutter of foreign sails he read a menace to spain's sovereignty on the coast. and so it happened that in the same year that patrick henry, thomas jefferson, and dabney carr in the raleigh tavern were pleading the cause that was to wrest the atlantic colonies from george iii., an aged cripple in coarse robe of gray serge, tied at the waist with a girdle of hemp, employed his splendid eloquence in the vice-regal palace of the mexican capital to save the pacific coast from the hands of navigators who with roving commissions of conquest from european kings and emperors were cruising in the wake of spanish indecision. here, again, monterey was playing an all-important part in history, for it was the fame junípero had won through its rediscovery that sped his message to the viceroy and through him to the king. the humble monk had made the long journey from monterey with no other escort save an indian acolyte, and though lame, infirm, and of lowly mien, was received with the consideration due an accredited ambassador. bucareli was not only won over to maintain the californian settlements, but was fired to achieve new conquests along the upper coast. junípero's memorial, forwarded to madrid, reawakened the sentiments his rediscovery of monterey had stirred. by the king's order every recommendation of the pioneer friar was adopted, offices for california were created at permanent salaries, the treasury at guadalajara was pledged to the colonization of the pacific coast and monterey named as the abiding capital. thus an open highway to the sea was unconsciously reserved for the united states. russia was forced up against the arctic circle, england did not gain a foothold south of the island vancouver named, the privateers tacked toward the south seas, and when the french explorer, count de la pérouse, sailed into the harbor of monterey the only thing he could do to save his name from engulfing obscurity was to introduce potatoes to a smiling land. the following season, instead of the fleur-delis, potato blossoms in the flowering carmel were the only token that the king of france had ever had designs upon the coast. [illustration old mexican jail.] the relief the viceroy sent to monterey in response to junípero's plea came none too soon. for thirty-seven days the latter's boyhood friend and lifelong collaborator, palou, and his comrades at carmel had gone without a tortilla or a crumb of bread, subsisting patiently on a little meal ground from peas. but now began the years of mission prosperity and peace, and thereafter in monterey was presented in miniature the story of the glory and decline of spain. for half a century it was the brilliant capital of spain's new empire. it was a thriving metropolis and the gay seat of the spanish court fifty years before the settlement at san francisco became more than a straggling pueblo, struggling to survive against wind and sand. in fact, for two generations after the founding of monterey san francisco's chief claim to distinction was that the first craft to pass through the pillared channel that leads to its incomparable harbor was a launch hewn from a redwood felled by ayala on the banks of the carmel. year after year in monterey were great fêtes, the laughter of beautifully gowned women, the melody of troubadours, the click of castanets, the trampling of horsemen in gay attire, the triumphs of governors and captains, and the booming of guns in the walled presidio. here at this capital titled officials sat at the receipt of customs; here galleons from manila put in for repairs and departed with cargoes of furs, and hither came fragatas and paquebotes from the mexican coast and imposing craft from the four corners of the earth. over picturesque adobe consulates in monterey floated the flags of foreign nations when the only standard reared in san francisco was a desolate wooden cross in the mission dolores. and the road through the mountain pines to junípero's spiritual capital, his cabecera, three miles away, over which governors followed by glittering retinues marched to solemnize their oaths of office and whither they were borne for sepulture, was worn to its primal rocks long before the path from the san francisco mission to the bay became more than a shifting trail. san francisco now can stand these invidious comparisons, for when glory finally sailed through the golden gate, fame departed from monterey. the genius of junípero gave to monterey an impetus that long survived his death. as unconscious trustee, spain, centring power at monterey, was holding the coast for the larger destiny to follow. the shadow of new events crept toward portala's cross. in a winter month in the third decade of the nineteenth century an unprecedented happening awakened the fears of the franciscans at carmel,--the holy water in the baptismal font in the san carlos mission was found to be frozen. this unparalleled thing in that bland clime could not, they believed, but portend some unhappy fate. in confirmation of their worst fears came the news that the viceroy had repudiated allegiance to the king. the eagle of mexico had soared above the lion of castile, and a rebel had supplanted the king in the litany of prayers. the conerstone of the mission system had been broken; the crumbling process was at hand. then came fernandez, the canónigo, the most exalted ecclesiastical dignitary that had ever set foot in monterey. junípero was a puritan of humble and contrite virtue. the canónigo was a swaggering roysterer, pledging the revenues of the church in games of chance. on the occasions of junípero's journeyings from his capital, the tears of his neophytes, the sound of mission bells, and the prayers of his comrades attested the reverence he had won. races, revels, and bull-fights in monterey celebrated the convivial departure of fernandez. a new era was at hand. under the unstable mexican _régime_, chaos followed confusion. in the twenty-four years that intervened before the stars and stripes, hoisted over monterey, proclaimed the advent of the golden age in the west, that city saw thirteen governors come and go. communication with mexico was difficult. a governor at monterey when he rose in the morning did not know whether to salute the flag of a liberator, an emperor, a rebel, a president, or a king. monterey, too, had turmoils and revolutions of her own. ambitious intrigue placarded her adobe walls with flaming ultimatos. the alcalde and regidores of one day were prisoners in irons the next. anarchy to-day sat gravely in the ayuntamiento to-morrow, and governors turned fugitive as usurpers assumed control. yet these monterey revolutions were anæmic, attended with less shedding of blood than the bull-fights that celebrated the triumphs of her voluble warriors. it was the opera-bouffe warfare of little statesmen making their clamoring exit from the stage of history. the spectacular caballero in his jacket laced with gold was passing away with the phantoms he had chased. the mission bells grew silent. new horsemen thronged over the mountain roads. new sailors cast anchor in the harbor. a new flag floated over the presidio, a flag that was not to be pulled down. the american republic had reached the western sea. of these later events the guide informs you with some fidelity to the facts as you start on the famous twenty-mile drive. he tells you how the brig _natalia_, upon which napoleon escaped from elba, was wrecked by storms in monterey bay in to typify that europe's power over california was gone forever, and he will sell you fragments of the wreck; he will tell you how commodore jones in , by mistake but in prophecy of things to come, hoisted the american ensign over monterey; how in , that flag, in the hands of commodore sloat, went up to stay; how in the following month the first newspaper published on the pacific coast made its appearance in monterey; in the corners of the public squares he will show you the cannon of john c. frémont, and he will point you to the gabilan mountains where on their highest peak overlooking monterey the famed "pathfinder" unfurled the colors of his country and bade defiance to the mexicans, even before he knew that war raged between the two republics. then your proud historian will show you the ancient adobe capitol where in , just one hundred years from the time junípero set sail from majorca, the first convention met to form the commonwealth of california,--a convention which, though composed in the major part of adventurers, some of whom looked upon murder as a pastime, sent to washington the unanimous declaration that slavery should never stain the golden west, and thus revived the great conflict in the senate and caused the famous compromise. [illustration fishing village.] then your pilot will guide you to the fishing villages whence spanish pescadores once put out in their shallops to harvest the bay for the governor and his court. later came the american whalers before the tide of commerce turned the sperm whale and the finback to remoter waters. occasionally yet comes a sulphurbottom following the tides of the kuro sirva, and then there is vast excitement in pescadero bay. [illustration ancient cypress at cypress point.] now through the groves of giant pines at the edge of the sea where the western chautauqua meets, and then to cypress point, whose trees, the guide informs you loftily, are identical with the cedars of lebanon, and you are nearing the resting-place of junípero. [illustration statue of junipero serra.] with the adjournment of the convention that met at monterey in response to the proclamation of the military governor to frame a state, the capital passed from that historic town, and for many years the grave of its founder was forgotten. the rush to the gold mines trod underfoot the old-time glories of monterey. from a throbbing capital it became for a while a deserted village. lichens grew in its streets and the roofs of its houses crumbled. as for the mission at carmel, rust muffled its chimes; spanish moss covered its tumbling pilasters; its sanctuary was choked with wild mustard; storms blew through the fallen roof. the lizard alone kept watch of the ruin. but when the new civilization had built its cities and established its railways and there was time again to cultivate the arts of rest, romance turned once more to monterey. capital saw in its ruins an opportunity for gain. in its environs stevenson beheld a paradise for poets, and monterey became a field of dalliance, a mecca for millionaires at play, an unfailing inspiration to every spirit in a mood to dream. junípero at monterey initiated the activities that held the coast against envious nations, and now to his tomb comes the tide of travel. a few years ago mrs. leland stanford, representing patriotic citizens and students whom the eloquent writings of the historian hittell had inspired to veneration of junípero, restored the ruined mission, so that now his tomb is marked by no traces of neglect, and there with the carmel surf chanting his eternal requiem, side by side with the comrades he loved and the governors he and his followers installed, this unconquerable friar who trudged, lamely, ten thousand miles in the name of god, establishing the outposts of christianity and opening the way for the democracy to come, is receiving the tardy homage his genius and character deserve. he was indeed one of emerson's men who "pin continents together." [illustration old mexican custom-house.] now you climb to the crest of the cordillera. before you is the circling bay with its border of white beaches. beyond, frémont's peak, the tall sentinel that first proclaimed the advent of the dominant american. at your feet the quaint capital that junípero founded, half adobe, half modern. you can distinguish the time-tumbled walls that tell of spain's departed glory, and you see the crumbling cuartel and custom-house of the mexicans, who lacked the spaniards' moorish taste in their homes and public buildings. the old capital has outlived its day. it thrives now on trinkets and abelone shells, painted with memories of the past. but on your left, set in the midst of five hundred acres of flowers and oaks and pines, are luxurious touches of modern life where business comes to forget its cares, and romance spends its honeymoon. [illustration ancient adobe cabin, monterey.] descend the slope toward the city, passing on your way ruined adobe cabins. rounding a turn in the historic road you see the smoke of an incoming steamer bringing holiday passengers through waters where, aforetime, spanish corvettes lurked for wily smugglers. from the cuartel as you near the old capital you hear, instead of the war ballads of quixotic guerreros, the merriment of school-children at play. on the streets, instead of the alférez coming on caparisoned horse to announce the presence in the harbor of a stranger craft, you encounter hotel-runners clattering in 'buses to the pier. on surviving fragments of villa walls you discern no solemn reglamentos. advertisements of swimming suits and fishing tackle have supplanted the rhetorical decrees of the spanish governors. the descendants of the naked indians that crowded round the royal carriage of doña eulalia of catalonia a century ago, shocking that titled lady to throw them some of her purple and fine linen, now shamble by you in slattern calico and jeans, bearing bundles of laundry to a neighboring lagoon. the cleansing process of their trade has for them no personal contagion. in curio shops that crowd the site of the old presidio where the soldiers of charles iii. performed their part in the programme of civilization junípero had outlined, you buy your souvenirs. then climb to vizcanio's oak. beyond the cross reared here are the tottering memorials in the ancient graveyard. a century of strange and stirring romance is buried there. from this weed-grown cemetery haunted by memories which your guide cannot recall, you again see the town and harbor in panorama, and you get clearer glimpses of the paradise into which landscape-gardeners have transformed surrounding acres of sand-dunes over which pobladores once ranged seeking pasturage for their herds. at your feet, along a well-kept road of pounded shells, and across bridges framed of the skeletons of whales buttressed with moss-grown rocks, roll automobiles and victorias in the pursuit of pleasure. follow them blithely, if you will, waving your hand to the past; or, in the true spirit of historic pilgrimage, kneel in this place of burial and spell the imperfectly chiselled story of the spanish pioneers who, despite their visionary dreams, held, for the government washington was founding, a highway to the pacific. [illustration] los angeles the city of the angels by florence e. winslow "very near the terrestrial paradise," said the old spanish explorer of the sunlit country, where stood in a later century the pueblo of los angeles. very near the terrestrial paradise has it seemed to weary travellers, hopeful invalids, and delighted home-makers, who have from year to year wandered across the desert to find rest, health, and comfort in a climate where the terms winter and summer are misnomers, where snows are seen only on the mountain-tops above the flowering plain, where severe heats are unknown, and where nature rewards those who seek her gifts in largest measure. climate and situation are the environing elements which count for most in the development of the history of los angeles. these are responsible both for the easy, courteous, pleasure-loving lives of the spanish rancheros, and the strenuous, vivid, progressive, municipal experiences of the americans in this modern "pleasure city." los angeles treasures the memory of ancient spanish days of daring and romance, among which lie the beginnings of its civil life. all that is left of the old pueblo de nuestra señora la reina de los angeles may be seen now clustered about the old plaza, with its church, in what is known as sonora town. here the sun-baked adobe walls of the houses nestle, with their mexican residents, in the midst of the bustling city, awaiting the final decay which marks the passing of the pueblo. [illustration bells of san gabriel.] precedent to later social conditions of ease, the careful student will find in the lives of the earlier settlers of alta california a strong, vital, self-sacrificing religious impulse, which, upon pacific as upon atlantic shores, induced the initial movement in a civilization which moved to its attempted end indifferent to climate or environment, and using the material only to subserve the interests of the dominant spiritual. junípero serra, with his mission settlers of , was in subtlest ways akin to the pilgrim fathers of the preceding century. as los angeles was but a humble dependent on san gabriel mission, its beginnings may best be traced in connection with the history of the mission fathers, the earliest colonizers and civilizers of the sunset land. their unstinted and self-sacrificing devotion to the indians of california, their great mission trade-schools, where not only the salvation of souls but the training of the minds and hands of the neophytes was undertaken, their wise administration of their trusts, both spiritual and material, make this initial movement in the colonization of california one of the brightest incidents in the story of the golden west. out of the mists of romance which envelop the earlier explorers of the pacific coasts appear the forms of cabrillo and vizcaino, the first historic visitors to southern california. it may be that francisco de ulloa had in gained from the pacific a glimpse of the land, or that hernando de alarçon from the gila country saw the plain of los angeles in . sure it is that cabrillo in , and vizcaino in visited san diego and san pedro, the port of los angeles. the latter landed at san diego, seeking a suitable port for ships engaged in trade with the philippines, dug wells, and erected a church tent for three friars who were of the party, and then for years this "fair land without snow" drops out of history. it is left to its indian residents, left treasuring its resources for future generations, for new peoples. [illustration san diego mission. founded .] in came junípero serra--saint, hero, and franciscan father. in him the romance of missionary enterprise finds embodiment; with him and his missions the colonization of alta california began. the missions in the peninsula of lower california were, by the expulsion of the jesuits in , left in charge of the franciscans, and serra's burning zeal for the conversion of the indians led him to urge the prosecution of a long-cherished plan of the government. this was to provide the manila ships with good ports on the northwest coasts and to promote settlements there. there was a union of spiritual and physical forces--soldiers under the military government of portolá co-operating with the missionaries under serra. four expeditions, two proceeding by sea and two by land, were reunited at san diego, where, on july th, the noble missionary dedicated the first mission in alta california. it was but two years later that the mission san gabriel arcangel was founded, with solemn chants of veni, creator spiritus and te deum laudamus, and in the presence of many indians. serra, who had entered in a litter the land of promise where his zeal and courage were to accomplish so much, had already travelled toward san francisco, crossing mountain and desert on foot, and establishing the mission of san carlos. the missions were firmly organized and devoutly conducted, and there were eighteen of them by the end of the century. forty padres had gathered in these first industrial training-schools a population of , converted indian neophytes, to whom they had taught the arts of civilization. san gabriel became one of the richest missions. its church has never been disused; to-day it welcomes strangers as in the time when it received those weary pilgrims, the founders of los angeles, who came from loreto across the deserts of colorado, on the route first taken by anza through the san gorgonio pass, and were provided by the hospitable fathers with all that was needed for rest and refreshment. the centre of the civilized and agricultural life of the district, san gabriel, was a great material as well as spiritual force. it had its guard of ten soldiers and its three padres. two of these, cruzado and sanchez, ministered side by side to the california indians for thirty years, and the latter had a missionary experience of fifty-five years. the name of los angeles is first found in the mission report of . it is given to the river first named porzinucula discovered by portolá's expedition of . this discovery, as recorded by padre crespi, was made upon the anniversary of the feast of our lady of angels. the pueblo de nuestra señora la reina de los angeles was founded in . till then there had been in the new country only missions and presidios, the military stations; but the settlement of colonies in pueblos was part of the original spanish plan, and the necessity of obtaining additional supplies for the use of the presidios gave the needed stimulus. [illustration the pueblo of los angeles. early spanish plan. suertes from c to e.] under instructions issued by governor néve a site for a dam was first selected, water being then as now a primary essential. the pueblo was placed on high land near these facilities for irrigation, a plaza of two hundred by three hundred varas being laid out, with corners facing the cardinal points, so that three streets should run perpendicularly from each of its four sides, that no street might be swept by the winds. yet tradition saith that los angeles winds have not kept always to the cardinal points. solares, or house-lots, of twenty by forty varas were given to settlers in numbers equal to the available suertes, field-lots. two suertes of dry, and two of irrigable land, were given to each family. one fourth of the suertes were left vacant, as realangas or government lands, while a number, called propios, were reserved for municipal expenses. colonists received ten dollars a month each, for two years; also regular rations, seeds, clothing, and live stock. twelve men with their families, including eleven women and twenty-six children, were the colonizers of los angeles. they were principally spanish soldiers. on september , , the plaza of the new town was solemnly dedicated by the mission priests, who came in procession from san gabriel, attended by indian neophytes and a guard of soldiers. to the twelve settlers, twelve building-lots were given. these were laid out on three sides of the plaza, while the fourth was reserved for a church and public buildings. in the governor sent josé arguello to formally renew the leases of houses, lots, and branding-irons. at this time not one settler could sign his name. a small church was erected in . it was but twenty-three by fifty feet in size, and was served by the padres of san gabriel. one of these, padre oumetz, was for thirty years a companion of serra in his missionary labors. he died at san gabriel in . it was at least twenty years before los angeles ceased to be dependent on san gabriel and to develop a small trade of its own. outside the pueblo provisional grants of ranchos were soon made. the largest and best of all of these was known later as los nietos, and was given to the heirs of manuel nito by figueroa, who divided it into tracts in . the dominguez rancho, given by fages to don josé dominguez, was regranted by sola in to sergeant christobal dominguez. la zanja, the home of the verdugos, the encino and the simi ranchos, las virgines, el conejo santa ana, the bartolo tapia and antonio maria ranchos, were the homes of such families as the picos and ortegas, whose wealth and power contributed to the future glory of the pueblo near which they lived, while the félix ranch was actually within the pueblo bounds. [illustration don pio pico, the last mexican governor.] settled largely by soldiers, los angeles came under military government and was slow to develop self-governing local principles. it was ruled by commissionados, of whom félix was the first, and by alcaldes. but local jurisdiction was limited, and cases went beyond the towns to be decided by military garrisons a hundred miles away. by the population was and the crops in the fertile, well-watered plain amazingly large. by the ninety-one pobladores now occupying the town site were able to supply much produce to the presidios, while , vines were flourishing in the vineyards about san gabriel. in padre gil taboada laid the corner-stone of a new church, but the site was changed and there was difficulty in raising the necessary funds; so the building was not completed until . the builders were indian neophytes, who were paid at the rate of one real ( - / cts.) a day. the citizens contributed five hundred cattle, and the missions subscribed seven barrels of brandy, worth $ , wine, cattle, and mules. a new government building was added, and both this and the church were surrounded by houses of the aristocracy. ignacio coronel was one who at this time petitioned for a house-lot near the "new" church. the first resident priest, fray geronimo boscana, took possession of his parish house in a town of six hundred souls. the church was enlarged in , and reroofed in . education in los angeles began with a village school taught by maxima piña, who began his labors in , receiving a salary of $ a year. coronel was a later teacher. [illustration don antonio f. coronel, with spanish cannon brought to san diego by serra in .] in california became a province of the mexican empire, the military office was abolished, the alcaldes were retained, a secretary and treasurer were added, and an elective body, the ayuntamiento, was established. thus the government of los angeles went on about as it had gone under the rule of spain. the ayuntamiento was elected annually until , and proved a most versatile body, constantly changing its political attitudes during the controversies of later years. the mission fathers made little objection to this change of government, but when, in , mexico became a republic and alta california its territory, they opposed themselves to the ruling powers. from this time on the mexican government pressed its plans of secularization until, in , the ruin of the missions was complete, and that of the gentle indians, whose rights they had hitherto guarded, was begun. durant cilly, a visitor to los angeles in , found a "city of gardens," and in , a prosperous year of large crops, there were one thousand inhabitants who, by vessels landing at the port of san pedro, engaged in a large trade in hides and tallow. [illustration the old plaza church, los angeles.] in the first american arrived in los angeles. he was followed by a succession of trappers and hunters. there was captain paty who, with a party of kentucky trappers, visited the town and was baptized into the catholic faith at san diego, don pico acting as sponsor. pryor's party settled in the pueblo, and built houses and planted vineyards. next came sailors of the brig _danube_, which went ashore off san pedro on christmas eve, . these were all hospitably welcomed in los angeles. samuel prentice of connecticut came, and john gronigen, the first german settler, planted his vineyard on the ground afterwards occupied by the domingo block. a trade with santa fé sprang up, and wolfskill, who came with a party of trappers in , brought mojave blankets, exchanging them for mules. in - more americans came from new mexico. there were paulding, carpenter and chard, moses carson, and later benjamin hayes, who was for eleven years district judge of los angeles, and, after , more trappers and many sailors, who were willing to remain and plough land. last of all came the american merchant, farmer, and speculator. by , there were in los angeles forty-six foreigners, of whom twenty-one were americans; also indians, the remaining inhabitants of the district being mexicans and spaniards, the latter of pure castilian blood, with a generous and wise pride in a high descent, the aristocrats of the coast. slight attempts at ship-building were made at san pedro in , padre sanchez of san gabriel aiding wolfskill, pryor, prentice, fount, and loughlin to build a schooner. in , when antonio osio had charge of the port trade, los angeles shipped one hundred thousand hides and twenty-five thousand centals of tallow, but the trade slackened after the secularization in . the cattle of san gabriel were all slaughtered, and by the mission live stock had disappeared. padre estenéga in gave up the mission estates to the government. a strenuous and important period in the history of the town followed. from to the angelenos held themselves largely responsible for the salvation of california, as they understood it; and los angeles became the centre of political agitation. the south was divided against the north, and often against itself, and many typical california battles, terrific in bluster and intent, but bloodless in reality, occurred near the old pueblo. it was during the banishment of josé carrillo, with whom vincente sanchez, alcalde of los angeles, had quarrelled, that the trouble with victoria, the mexican governor, came. sanchez had been deposed by the ayuntamiento, but was reinstated as alcalde by victoria, who at the same time ordered the imprisonment of eight prominent citizens. an insurgent army defeated victoria in a fight near los angeles, and the governor, deserted by his army, surrendered to echeandia december , , and was allowed to depart the country. sanchez was put in irons. one hundred citizens took part in this battle. los angeles was made not only a city but the capital in , and soon became the storm-centre of the country. there may have been lack of zeal in providing necessary public buildings for the government, but there was none at all in furnishing abundantly that quality of fiery zeal essential to mexican revolutions. governor carrillo made the town his residence in . alvarado succeeded him when the plots and counterplots of the disputacions had sent carrillo to the north. [illustration a typical cottage] josé figueroa made an able governor, but he died in , and a period of conflict, during which los angeles, as the capital of the south, was arrayed against the north, followed. alvarado, who had declared california a sovereign state, entered the town in and subdued the mexican sympathizers. two years later alvarado divided alta california into two districts, making los angeles the capital of the south, with santiago arguello as prefect. great efforts were at this time made to beautify the city, and there were gay scenes in these days in the old pueblo. the owners of the great ranches entertained largely, visiting from house to house, dressing gayly, and engaging in all sorts of equestrian sports. the men lived in their saddles; the women were the gayest and sweetest of hostesses, while they were yet domestic, and brought up large families easily in the free, open-air life which the conditions of fine climate and rich soil made possible. when micheltorena in made his capital in los angeles, the gayeties reached their height; he was received with enthusiasm by the ayuntamiento; there were speeches, salutes, and illuminations; balls and sports alternated with juntas and revolutions. yet los angeles was glad to be rid of micheltorena when he removed to monterey, and its citizens were foremost in a revolt against him in , and fought him without the city in a battle where there was much cannonading and no bloodshed. pio pico was head of the commission which met in los angeles and banished micheltorena. the city remained the capital of the department of the south, and pio pico was governor while josé castro acted as general. castro again went to the north and soon joined carrillo against pico in a new quarrel of north and south. it was in , when california was rent with the controversy between castro, representing the military, and pico, the civil power, and the march assembly was in session at los angeles, that the approach of the forces of the united states, under stockton and frémont, forced the contending commanders to unite at los angeles in opposition to a common foe. abel stearns, the confidential agent of the united states in the south, owned a warehouse in san pedro. john forster was made, in , captain of the port; in commodore jones landed here to make his apologies to micheltorena for his premature raising of the stars and stripes at monterey. here micheltorena embarked for exile; and here, in , commodore stockton disembarked with his sailors for the capture of los angeles, having already raised the american flag at monterey. refusing all the attempts at conciliation offered by pico and castro, stockton united his forces with those of the california battalion under frémont, who had landed at san diego, entered los angeles, and raised the american flag at p.m. of august , . pico and castro had left the city to escape the dishonor of surrender, and the frightened inhabitants had fled to the neighboring ranchos, but returned to their homes before night, attracted by the irresistible strains of a brass band, and assured that they would be left unharmed. [illustration john c. frÉmont.] stockton ordered the election of new alcaldes, and appointed frémont military commander of the district. when both commanders returned to the north, gillespie, with a garrison of fifty men, was left in charge of los angeles. he seems to have interfered with the amusements of the people, and to have made himself needlessly unpopular. a revolt was organized, and flores, one of castro's generals, appeared, with three hundred men at his back, and summoned the garrison to surrender. this gillespie did, after bravely holding fort hill for a time. the americans took ship from san pedro on october th. the reconquest of los angeles took place on january th. general kearny, with kit carson as guide, had succeeded in joining stockton at san diego, and the united forces, after a two-hours' engagement at san gabriel and another brief skirmish without the city, entered los angeles, while the leaders of the revolt fled to cahuenga, and surrendered to frémont, who made generous terms of capitulation with andres pico, flores, and manuel. this clemency endeared him to the californians. it became his boast that he could ride unharmed alone from one end of the conquered country to the other. stockton made him governor of los angeles while the controversy between kearny and stockton, as to which was the chief authority in the conduct of affairs in the new country, was in progress. frémont chose to obey stockton, with whom he had worked in unison during the northern conquests and before the arrival of kearny. kearny was technically in the right in demanding the submission of frémont, as the court-martial of the latter (in washington, at a later day) made evident; but under the circumstances of the quarrel of the two leaders at los angeles, fremont's allegiance to stockton seems to have been his only manly course. this was an era in which los angeles grew from an easy-going spanish pueblo into a progressive american city. nowhere have americans stood more completely in the position of conquerors in a new land. called upon to improvise hastily a government for a large body of strangers, these citizens showed, together with carelessness and over-hastiness--and an indifference to the rights of strangers, both indians and spaniards, of which we cannot be proud--some of our best national traits. from the first, the pioneers were courageous and teachable, and succeeded, after many mistakes, in building up a permanent, well-organized, and progressive municipality. general frémont was undoubtedly most popular among the spanish people. his youth enabled him to enter in a large degree into their sports; his clemency in pardoning flores and the other generals of the rebellion won their applause. it was from his gubernatorial residence, the old two-story adobe at the corner of aliso and los angeles streets, that frémont set forth with jesus pico and jacob dodson for his famous mustang ride to monterey. the feat, with its object--to defend his position as governor against kearny--was such as to appeal to the imagination of the people of los angeles, both mexican rancheros and american trappers and sailors. over desert and mountain the three riders flew, leaving on the morning of march d and reaching monterey, five hundred miles away, on the afternoon of the fourth day. the return was accomplished with equal speed, so that the trip of one thousand miles was made in a little over eight days. frémont did great service in the senate of the united states, where he pleaded for the land rights of indian and spanish residents, and in later years, when his influence aided in the exclusion of slavery from the new state of california. the town council was re-established in , don josé salazar and don enrique abila being alcaldes; but in governor mason dissolved the council and installed stephen g. foster as alcalde. a semi-military rule was kept up under colonel stevenson until may, , when a new ayuntamiento was established. the cattle trade was at its best from to , when in one year one hundred thousand hides at $ apiece were shipped from san pedro, but the business was injured by the drouth of and . the town grew slowly, increasing in orchards and vineyards, its ranchos--many new ones having been granted by pico in --sheltered in the bend of the los angeles river, which, by ancient decree, is, from the mountains down, the property of the city. in los angeles grapes brought in san francisco cts. a pound; at the mines, $ . the city escaped the excitement of the gold fever, although the yellow metal was first discovered near los angeles in . among the noted spanish families at the time of the conquest were the lugos, the sepulvedas, the bandinis, the estudillos, the oliveros, the picos, and the coronels. prominent among the pioneers of old los angeles were the workmans, temples, and wolfskills, david w. alexander, colonel couts, and governor downey, judge j.r. scott and benjamin d. wilson, robert s. baker and hugo reid. hon. h.c. foster, one of the early mayors of los angeles, became a resident of the city in . governor pio pico, who had fled at the approach of stockton to save the "honor" of mexico, returned and became a conspicuous private citizen. he lived to a great age, duly performing his duty as a registered voter. [illustration old adobe. frÉmont's headquarters.] it was don antonio coronel, dead but a decade, who most picturesquely and honorably represented to the new los angeles the old régime. he was of "courtly presence, ripe experience, high integrity, and great personal fascination," and was to his latest days "a quenchless patriot, white-haired, clear-eyed, and supple," the life of any circle he might be persuaded to adorn. his father, don ignacio coronel, came to the town with the hijar colony. he was a man of note and opened in a school--much needed, if the fact be true that there were then in the pueblo but fifty-four men who could read and write. antonio was in visitador del sud under the mexican, and in mayor of los angeles under the american, government. he was a warm friend of helen hunt jackson, who thoroughly identified herself with the interests of the older peoples of los angeles and its environs. [illustration first stage in the ascent of mt. lowe, connecting with electric road on echo mountain.] up to the houses in los angeles were of adobe,--the sun-baked brick of the country,--and these were comfortable indeed, cool in summer and warm in winter. it was in one of these ample residences--that of colonel j.g. nichols--that the rev. j.w. brier, of the m. e. church, held the first regular protestant service, and in another that the rev. dr. wicks, a presbyterian, opened the first english-speaking school. these events were in , so that church and school were ready to receive the first american child (gregg nichols, who was born in april, ). the corner of third and main streets blossomed into brick in , in the new, proud, one-story building, serving, in , as the home of captain winfield s. hancock, who was always exceedingly popular in los angeles. he revisited the city a few years before his death, and received an enthusiastic ovation. in san pedro had the first steamer, the old _gold hunter_, and by the _senator_ made three monthly trips. there was now a stage line to san diego, and overland stages left for the east three times a week. frequent freight trains passed between the city and salt lake, but it was not until the coming of the several railroads that los angeles attained its phenomenal growth and became the great city of the southwest. set richly between the sparkling waves of the pacific and the jasper heights of the sierra madre mountains, los angeles now rests in its fertile plains, a radiating jewel, its suburbs climbing the bases of its hills, its roads ascending cañons, its sparkling beaches curving sharply inward from the sea. its clustered cottages are surrounded with trees and flowers, which bloom throughout the year in inconceivable profusion. its streets are lined with graceful pepper and eucalyptus trees, its palatial homes are set amid tropic foliage, its hills are crowned with public institutions. the southern portion of the city is level, but on the north and south are hills. within the city limits, at a level of three hundred feet above the sea, may be found great variety of location, while seven public parks, soon to be united by boulevards, add to the beauty of the natural scenery. no wonder that in twenty years the population has grown from , to , --increased during the winter months by thousands of tourists, who are brought easily to the gates of this city of the sunset land. its daring trolleys mount the great hills from rose garden to snowy height, its railroads, entering from east and north, bear the charmed traveller through sunny ranches of olive and walnut tree, through great vineyards and orange orchards; and to ships entering the harbor at san pedro are revealed the beauties of flower-swept hills, which in their season flaunt their fields of yellow poppy toward the sea. the saddest event in the history of modern los angeles was the land boom, which, after first enriching and then ruining many inhabitants, collapsed in , leaving the town prostrate. the rise in values was so rapid that a corner lot costing in thirty dollars, and worth in $ a front foot, increased by to $ and by to $ , a front foot. in its sale was pushed to $ , . other lots worth in $ , brought in $ a front foot. lands outside the town, worth up to $ an acre, brought, in , $ , . [illustration a modern residence.] the effects of this over-expansion on the young, vigorous, richly dowered community were, however, but temporary; the city of the angels arose from temporary defeat to enter at once upon an era of growth and prosperity unexampled in the history of cities, and all but magic in its extent. a dozen lines of railroad centre in the city, whose trade extends from fresno on the north to the easternmost limits of arizona. eighteen years ago the city adopted a successful scheme of electric lighting, and its trolley system is one of the best in the united states. for the last decade the building trades have been rapidly growing. building permits to the value of $ , , have been issued, and in alone $ , , was invested in new buildings. the city has miles of paved streets, miles of sidewalks, and miles of sewers; but its complete and perfect system of irrigation is one of its greatest beauties. the "zanjero" has from its earliest years been an important municipal functionary, and the flowing of well-kept channels of fine water, in sparkling zanjos along the sides of the principal streets, adds to the beauty of roads and grounds, while through a system of new and beautiful parks the visitor can obtain some of the finest views in the world by simply driving about the city. [illustration state normal school.] if the traveller seek the suburbs he will drive for mile after mile through groves of orange and lemon, fig, peach, pear, and apricot orchards; he will see on one side of the town great sweeps of almond and walnut trees; on another, ranches planted in vineyard and olive. there are, perhaps, three million fruit trees growing in the district, half of which are in full bearing. the land bears, too, great crops of alfalfa, which in fertile places is cut from three to six times a year. oranges, of course, are the chief export; but there are, besides, wine, brandy, wheat and barley, sugar-cane, and all varieties of fresh vegetables. if the tenderfoot hear that los angeles corn grows sometimes to a height of twenty feet, that pumpkins weighing four hundred pounds have been raised, or even that holes from which beets have been pulled are of a size sufficient for fence-posts, he need not doubt. there are three large beet-sugar factories, and in the county $ , worth of olives, and more than that of honey, are annually produced. [illustration court-house, los angeles.] the population of the city is cosmopolitan, as may be known from the fact that, in addition to the exceptionally good english papers of the city, organs in german, french, spanish, italian, basque, and chinese are issued. a large number of chinese, several thousand, are engaged in raising vegetables or in domestic labor of the several kinds. as in all california towns, they have a residence section of their own, and are quiet, orderly, reliable, and useful. los angeles is a city of churches, and its philanthropies are many; its educational advantages are remarkably good. at the head of a noticeably complete system of training stands the university of southern california, which opened its doors in , with dr. bovard as president. its college of medicine is a well-equipped institution, and its progress is identified with the name of dr. j.p. widney. an exceptionally fine normal school completes the training given by the public-school system, with its high schools and fifty-five grammar schools, all housed in buildings which might be the pride of any community. the buildings which house its free library system, its city hall, and its county court-house, are well conceived for their several purposes, and architecturally of great beauty. [illustration improved harbor of san pedro, port of los angeles.] but los angeles is above all a city of homes and of gardens. the mildness of the climate permits the most delicate plants and trees to flourish throughout the winter. giant bananas, fan and date-palms, rise above the houses, and at christmas are seen hedges of callas, geraniums ten feet high, heliotropes covering whole sides of houses, and such wealth of roses and orange blossoms as baffles description. a feature of los angeles is its beautiful sea beaches. easily accessible by trolley and by rail, santa monica, redondo, long beach, and san pedro provide unsurpassed facilities to the citizens, and the island of santa catalina, twenty miles off the coast, is even more attractive--a seashore resort where bathing is a comfortable pastime every day in the year, and where fishermen find delights unending. the construction of the government breakwater at san pedro is a great commercial enterprise and will be of certain benefit to the city, which will thus gain a larger share of the increasing trade with the orient. three million dollars have been appropriated for deepening the water over the bar, so that large vessels may come to the wharf. dry docks and fortifications are to follow; and a new railway, with its terminal at san pedro, will connect los angeles with salt lake city, and open to trade a new and rich section of country in southern nevada and in utah. [illustration] index a abbott, lieut.-gov., at vincennes, , abeel, d.k., abila, don enrique, abraham, plains of, acadia, colonizing of, accault, michael, acts of and , congressional, adams, henry, quoted, adams, j.q., , , _advertiser, the kansas city_, agency city, ailes, milton e., on cincinnati, - alameda, california, alamo, the, alarçon, alaska, albany, , , aldrich, charles, alexander, david w., allen, capt. james, , alta california, , , alvarado, , american bar association, american colonization society, american fur company, , , , _american notes_, dickens's, analco, anderson, jeremiah g., andrews, president israel ward, angelenos, the, antoinette, marie, anza, apache cañon, arapahoe county, archer, mr., quoted, arguello, , , arkansas, pike goes up the, armel, olivier, armijo, gov., , , armour institute, arndt, charles c.p., ass at the coeur d'alene, , astor, john jacob, , ; establishes astoria, - astoria, colony of, - _astoria_ quoted, atchison, kansas, atchison, topeka & santa fé railroad, atherton, gertrude, auraria, aurarians, the, , ayuntamiento, the, in california, _ff._ b bailey, dr. john r., , _note_ baker, col. e.d., defends cora, baker, jim, baker, r.s., balboa, baltimore, founding of, , bancroft, george, quoted, bancroft library, barstow, wm., - bartlett, washington, bashford, coles, - bates house, bates, judge, - baugenon, marie, beaubien, mark, _beaver_, the, _bee, the omaha_, beecher, h.w., beechy visits mission dolores, behring, capt., belcher visits san francisco bay, belle isle, detroit, , , belmont, , benavides, , , _ben hur_ cited, bent, gov. charles, , , benton, u.s. senator t.h., berger, pierre, berkeley, california, bierce, ambrose, "big thunder," bird, capt., bissot, , black hawk, , , , , , _blackwood's magazine_, blaine, mrs. emmons, blennerhassett, harman, - blennerhassett, mrs. harman, blennerhassett's island, "bloody island," bohemian club of san francisco, bolce, harold, on spokane, - ; on monterey, - bolles, peter, bolton, sarah knowles, bonaparte, napoleon, bonhomme, bonneville, , boone, daniel, , , boscana, geromino, bottineau, pierre, bourget, paul, quoted, bovard, dr., braddock, bradstreet, col., relieves detroit, brandt, , brandywine, battle of the, brannan and _the san francisco star_, brazil, father, brice, henry w., bridger, col. james, , brier, rev. j.w., british, acquire canada, ; in the northwest, , , , brock, gen., gov. hull surrenders to, broderick, duel with terry, broisbriant, broughton, lieut., , brown at omaha, brown, john, bryant, w.c., quoted, bucareli, antonio, - buchanan, president, orders troops to utah, - buck, judge norman, quoted, buckle cited, buell, bull, ole, _bulletin, the_, bunch of grapes tavern, bunker hill mine, burlington, iowa, burns quoted, burr, aaron, , , burr, theodosia, burt, gov. francis h., butler, gen. wm. g., byers, wm. n., , c cabots, claims of the, cabrillo, , cadillac founds detroit, - , cahokia, , calhoun, gov. james s., calhoun, john c., quoted, california, , ; _see also_ san francisco, monterey, los angeles cameron, simon, campbell, robt., camp floyd, camp morton, campus martius at marietta, , , canada, , , canadians, attack st. louis, ; on the willamette, canal, illinois & michigan, , ; the chicago drainage, ; the isthmian, canby defeated at valverde, canterbury, conn., cape nome, cape reyes, capilla de los soldados, carillo, josé, , , carlyle, thos., cited, carmel, , , , , carnegie, andrew, carr, dabney, carson, kit, , , , , carson, moses, carver, capt. jonathan, cary, alice, cary, phoebe, case, theodore, quoted, casey, james, cass, gen., , castro, josé, _ff._ _centinel of the northwest territory_, central pacific railway, , chambers, gov. john, chamita, champlain, chandler, u.s. senator, at detroit, chapman, w.w., charles ii., charles iii., chase, dr. horace, quoted, chase, s.p., at cincinnati, chautauqua, the western, checagau, _see_ chicago cheney, john vance, cherry creek, chesnutt, chas. w., cheyenne, union pacific reaches, chicago, ; lyman j. gage on, - ; the situation, - ; indian denizens of the region, ; the fort dearborn massacre, ; purchased from the indians, - ; first settlers, - ; incorporation of, ; early hardships, - , ; booms, - ; stockyards, ; the great fire, - ; the world's fair, ; an educational centre, - ; civic and religious growth, - . chicago and northwestern railroad, chicago, burlington & quincy railroad, chick, w.m., chihuahua, , china, exports to, chinese in san francisco, - chip-kaw-kay, , choteau, chouteau, cilly, durant, cincinnati, m.e. ailes on, - ; settling of, - ; the first name, - ; location of fort washington, ; defeat of st. clair, - ; strategic point, ; its pre-history, ; victory of wayne, - ; isolation, ; the press of, ; music in, - ; industries of, ; in the civil war, ; panorama of, - civil war, , , , , , , , , , claim clubs of iowa, - clark, george rogers, , , , , ; story of, - clark, lewis and, _see_ lewis and clark clay, henry, ; at cincinnati, ; quoted, cleveland, c.f. thwing on, - ; character of, - ; founder of, ; growth of, ; population of, - ; generosity of, - ; clubs, ; civic spirit in, ; distinguished citizens, - cleveland, moses, founds cleveland, coeur d'alene, ; mines, coeur d'alenes, , coffin, stephen, colbert, mr., quoted, coldwater, cole, thos. l., on portland, - coleman, w.t., and the vigilance committees, , , colfax, vice-president, coligny, collyer, rev. robert, quoted, columbia, lewis and clark reach the, ; _see_ portland _columbia rediviva_, colville, "commonweal armies," comstock lode, concepcion, dona, concord coach, the old, conejos, pike on the, confederates in new mexico, congress, authorizes laying out of detroit, ; authorizes constitution for indiana, ; and the vigo claims, ; and the union pacific railway, connecticut land company, cook, capt., cooke, jay, cookie, m., at marietta, cooper & peck, coppoc, barclay, , coppoc, edwin, , cora and the vigilantes, cornell, ezra, coronado, , , coronel, don antonio, coronel, don ignacio, cortés, hernan, corydon, indiana, , couch, capt. john h., couch & co., coues, dr. e., cited, council bluffs, , , , couts, col., covington, kentucky, coyote, , creighton, edward, , creighton, john a., , creighton medical school, creighton memorial hospital, crespi, padre, crimean war, crocker, gen. m.m., croghan, col., cruzado, cruzat, francisco, cuba, _culture's garland_, cuming, gov. thos. b., cushing, caleb, cushing, mayor, , cushing, nabby, death of, cutler, manasseh, at marietta, , , d d'abadie, de aberini, don pedro, quoted, _daily kansas city post_, dalyell, captain, dana, j.c., on denver, - daniels quoted, _danube_, the, danvers and the ohio colony, , dauphin, the, davis, jefferson, _dawn, the santa fé_, deady, judge, , ; quoted, , dearborn, gen. h.a., de bellerive, - , , declaration of independence, de gallup, françois, de galvaez, josé, de joinville, prince, , de leyba, de mofras, de monterey, count, denver, ; j.c. dana on, - ; historic background, - : origin of, - ; the pike's peak excitement, ; before the union pacific, - ; the first governor, ; character of, - de peyster, col. a.s., deseret, , desert, great american, des grosselliers, des moines, f.i. herriott on, - ; the name, ; origin of, ; emigration, ; the fort, - ; the land club, - ; the first government, ; the early life described, - ; river improvements, - ; attitude toward slavery, - ; in the civil war, - ; removal of the capital to, ; the new capital building, - ; the present city, - de taos, fernandez, detroit, , , , , ; silas farmer on, - ; early travellers to, ; motive for settling, ; cadillac founds, ; ever cosmopolitan, ; extension of limits, ; acquires fort from congress, ; sells lots, ; flush times, - ; the great fire, ; government under the ordinance of , - ; pontiac's conspiracy, - ; in the revolution, - ; in recent times, _ff._ de ulloa, francisco, devol, dey, peter a., , dickens cited, dodge, gov. henry, dodson, jacob, dollier, _dolly_, the, domingues, don josé, donnelly, father bernard, , doty, rev. daniel, doty, james, names madison, wisconsin, , douglas, stephen a., at chicago, downey, gov., drake, francis, , drummond, henry, drury & co., r.b., du gay, d'ulloa, don antonio, durant, thos. c., durham, nelson, quoted, dutch and negro slavery, dyar, m.c., on marietta, - e earl of selkirk, earthquake, new madrid, east end, london's, echeandia, echo cañon, eden park, cincinnati, elba, napoleon's escape from, el crepúsculo, el dorado, elizabeth, queen, elliott, c.b., on minneapolis and st. paul, - el morro, el paso, emerson quoted, , _emma preston_, the, emory, capt. w.h., england, gosnold's tour for, ; sends belcher to san francisco bay, english at st. louis, _enterprise, the kansas city_, epworth league, erie canal, escalante, etherington, major, eulalia, doña, eustis, u.s. secretary of war, evans, w.b., evanston, illinois, _evening mail, the kansas city_, _evening world, the kansas city_, exposition, of at omaha, - ; st. louis, f fages, fallen timbers, battle of, farmer, silas, on detroit, - farnum, col. russell, farragut, commodore, federals in new mexico, félix, fernandez, the canónigo, ferry, u.s. senator, field, eugene, figueroa, gov., , filson and settling of cincinnati, finkbine, robert s., fjelde's statue of ole bull, flanders, capt., flemming, florence, mormon settlement of, flores, fond du lac, foote, john g., forster, john, forts: bridger, , ; calhoun, ; chartres, , , ; crawford, ; dearborn, , ; des moines, , , ; george, , ; harmar, ; leavenworth, ; lernoult, ; marcy, ; miamis, , ; michilimackinac, , , ; patrick henry, ; pontchartrain, ; sackville, , , , ; st. anthony, ; snelling, ; sumter, ; union, ; vancouver, ; washington, , , ; william, ; winnebago, foster, h.c., foster, stephen g., france, and the northwest, , , , , , ; and the southwest, , - , , ; and california, , , francesca, franciscans, in new mexico, ; in california, , , franklin, benjamin, frémont, , ; in california, , , _ff._ frémont peak, french and indian war, , french's statue of gov. pillsbury, frontenac, count, quoted, fulton and the steamboat, fur traders, russian, g gabilan mountains, gage, gen., and detroit, ; and vincennes, gage, lyman j., on chicago, - galena & chicago union railroad, galena deposits discovered in idaho, _ff._ galinée, galisteo, the taos of, gallipolis, garfield, pres't j.a., , gate, the golden, , , , , , , gayarré on cadillac, geary law of , george iii., , , , , george iv., george, henry, ghent, treaty of, gibault, father, gibson, gen. john, giddings, rev. solomon, gillespie at los angeles, gillis, wm., , gilman, charlotte perkins, gilpin, wm., gladwin and pontiac, gleed, c.s., on kansas city, - _gold hunter_, the, gold in california, _see_ san francisco; in colorado, - gonzales, gov. josé, gosnold, grant, gen. u.s., , , , , grant, mayor jedediah m., gray, asa, quoted, gray, capt., , great american desert, great britain, cedes mackinac to u.s., ; illinois country ceded to, ; _see_ portland great salt lake, , greeley, horace, , ; quoted, green bay, , , , , griffin, judge, at detroit, - _griffin_, the, grimes, gov. james w., gronigen, john, guadalajara, guadaloupe hidalgo, treaty of, , guadalupe, mission of, gue, b.f., gwin, senatorial contest of with broderick, h hackleman, gen. p.a., _half-moon_, the, hamilton, alexander, hamilton, col. henry, , , , hamline university, hancock, gen. w.s., hanks, lieut. porter, hannibal & st. joseph railroad, hanson, rev. mr., cited, harmar, defeat of, , - harmon, dr. elijah d., harper, pres't w.r., , harper's ferry, recapture of, harrison, gen. w.h., , , , , harrison, president benjamin, , , harte, bret, hartford and the ohio colony, hartzell, thomas, harvard university, hawaii, , haydn society in cincinnati, hay, john, hayes, benjamin, hayes, president r.b., , haymarket riots, hearst, mrs. phoebe d., heath, perry s., on indianapolis, - helm, capt. leonard, , hendricks, vice-president, hennepin, , , henry, alexander, henry, patrick, , _herald, new york_, herriott, frank i., on des moines, - herron, john, _hiawatha_, hill, j.j., hittell cited, hodge, f.w., on santa fé, - holmes, major, honen, toussaint, horace quoted, hosmer, dr. j.k., houston, sam, howells, w.d., , hudson bay co., , , , , hudson, henry, hull, a.f., - , - , "hundred associates," charter of the, hunt, w.p., at astoria, , i idaho, galena mines of, , illinois country ceded to great britain, independence, missouri, , indiana, _see_ indianapolis and vincennes indianapolis, perry s. heath on, - ; plan of, ; growth of, ; background of, - ; becomes capital of indiana, ; modern history, - ; in the civil war, ; parks, ; finances and industries, ; clubs and institutions, indians: algonquins, ; arapahoes, , ; cayuse, ; cherokees, ; chippewas, , , ; coeur d'alenes, ; flatheads, ; foxes, , , , ; hurons, ; iowas, ; iroquois, ; keokuks, ; kickapoos, ; menomonies, , ; miamis, , ; minneways, ; mohawks, ; navahoes, ; nez percés, ; omahas, ; osages, , ; ottawas, , ; ottoes, ; palouse, ; pawnees, ; pi-ank-a-shaws, , , ; pottawatomies, , , , , ; pueblos, , ; sacs, , , , , , ; senecas, ; shawnees, , , ; sioux, ; siwash, ; six nations, , ; spokanes, - ; taos, , ; twightwees, , ; umatillas, ; walla wallas, ; weas, ; winnebagoes, ; yanktons, ; _see_ also abstracts of various chapters iowa, _see_ des moines iowa city, ipswich, ohio colony starts from, , irving quoted, , isabel, oñate marries, j jackson, andrew, , ; bank veto of, jackson, gov. claiborne, quoted, jackson, helen hunt, janney, t.b., japan, spokane exports to, jefferson territory, jefferson, president thomas, , , , jesuits, ; at mackinac, ; in missouri, ; in california, jobe, henry, johnson, gov., - johnson, sir guy, joliet, , , , jones, alfred d., lays out site for omaha, jones, commodore, jordan, james c., jornada del muerto, joseph, chief, , _journal, the kansas city_, juchereau, , _note_ junípero serra in california, . , , , , , , , , , , , , k kane, col. thos. b., kane, col. t.l., kanesville, nebraska, , kansas city, c.s. gleed on, - ; location, - ; origin, - ; early denizens of the region, - ; trade and transportation, - ; railroads entering, - ; newspapers of, - ; real estate history, ; churches, ; industries, - ; other interests, kansas, coronado in, kansas pacific railway, , kaskaskia, - , , , , kasson, hon. john a., "kaw," the, , kearny, dennis, kearny, s.w., , , - , _ff._ keating, prof. wm. h., quoted, keith, wm., ke-ki-on-ga, kelley, "general," kennedy, thomas, kentucky, , ; filson in, ; spanish intrigues in, keokuk, kerfoot, w.d., khalifa, khartoum, kimberley, e.s., king, james, king, thos. starr, kinzie, john, kinzie, mrs., quoted, kinzie, robert, kirkwood, gov. s.j., , klondike, the, kountze, herman, kuro sirva, l labrador, laclede liguest founds st. louis, - lafayette, at marietta, ; at st. louis, , la honton, lake erie, ; _see also_, , _note_ lake mary, lalande, lamar, president, lamy, bishop, land claims association, land club, iowa, land league, iowa, la salle, , , , , , latimer, mrs. e.w., latour, francis, "latter-day saints," _see_ salt lake city law-and-order party, _see_ san francisco lawrence, kansas, lawton, gen. h.w., leadville, colorado, leavenworth, , _ledger, the kansas_, lee, jason, lee, lieut. r.e., le grace, colonel, _le griffon_, legroux, le large, l'enfant, pierre charles, lernoult, maj. r.r., , note letcher, gov., lewis and clark, , , , , , , lewis, capt. meriwether, lexington, battle of, leyba, liberia, lick, james, liguest, pierre laclede, limestone, on the ohio, lincoln, a., , , lincoln, nebraska, little turtle, logan, long, expedition of, , long, major, quoted, loreto, , los angeles, florence e. winslow on, - ; early visitors, - ; junípero serra, - ; settling of, - ; first americans in, - ; early trials of, - ; taken by united states, - ; the american régime, - ; the land boom, - ; the city to-day, - losantiville, , louis xiii., louis xiv., louis xv., louis xvi., , louis philippe, , , louisiana purchase, , , , , , lounsbury, daniel, lovejoy, a.l., , lovejoy, elijah p., lucas, charles, lytle, gen. wm. h., m macallister college, mcarthur, lieut.-gov., , mccoy, j.c., mccoy, rev. isaac, mcdougal, , , mcdowell, mcgee, fry p., mcgee, james h., mackinac, sara andrew shafer on, - ; situation, - ; description of, - ; first explorers and missionaries, - ; marquette and la salle, - ; pontiac's conspiracy, - ; comes into possession of united states, ; war of , - ; the fur trade, ; rev. eleazar williams, mackinaw, mckinley, pres't wm., , mclean at cincinnati, mcleon, gen., mcloughlin, dr. john, in oregon, - mctavish, madison, president james, madison, r.g. thwaites on, - ; before the settlement, - ; choosing a state capital, ; laying out the town, ; the first dwelling, ; coming of the legislature, ; early description of, ; slow growth, ; attempts to remove the capital, ; early legislative sessions, ; the barstow-bashford case, - ; the state house, ; the state university, - ; the city to-day, - madrid, , majorca, malden in war of , manderson, c.f., marcy, march of, marcy, secretary wm. l., mare island, margane, françois, marie antoinette, marietta, , ; muriel campbell dyar on, - ; ohio company formed, ; the colony, - ; the journey, ; the first summer on the ohio, ; the first governor, ; the coming of the frenchmen, - ; hardships, ; indian wars, - ; material prosperity, ; the blennerhassett tragedy, - ; the modern marietta, ; the college, - ; the mound cemetery, - ; relics, _ff._ marin del valle, markham, edwin, on san francisco, - marquette, - , , marsh's trading post, martineau, harriet, mary institute, st. louis, _maryland_, the, mason, gov., mason, stevens t., _mayflower_, the, , _mayflower_, the new, , meigs, gov. r.j., , menard, pierre, merrill, samuel, methodists on the willamette, meurin, father, mexico, and california, , , , , ; and kansas city trade, ; war with, , , miami and erie canal, micheltorena, , michigan territory, michilimackinac, , michsawgyenan, miles, gen., millard, joseph h., miller, joaquin, miller's hill, nebraska, milwaukee, , , , , mineral point, , minisink, massacre of, minneapolis--st. paul, c.b. elliott on, - ; falls of st. anthony discovered, ; title to the region passes from the indians, ; fort snelling established, ; first settler on site of st. paul, ; st. paul becomes state capital, ; growth of the rival town, - ; the two cities compared, - minnehaha, falls of, mission dolores, - , missouri, _see_ st. louis and kansas city missouri compromise, missouri pacific railroad, , mobile, montcalm, monterey, , , , ; harold bolce on, - ; historic background, - ; vizcaino finds the harbor, ; rediscovered by junípero serra, - ; his great services, - ; spain sends relief, ; the spanish capital, - ; a visit to, - montezuma, montgomery, capt., mormon, book of, quoted, mormons, in nebraska, - ; in colorado, , ; in utah, ; _see also_ salt lake city morrison, wm., morse, s.f.b., morton, oliver p., , moultons, the, at marietta, mound builders, , , , mount auburn, cincinnati, mullanphy, john, munford, munford & hasbrook, n napoleon bonaparte, , _natalia_, the, nebraska & council bluffs ferry co., nebraska territory, nelson, w.r., néve, gov., new albion, newburyport, mass., _new mexican_, the, new mexico, _see_ santa fé new orleans, , , , , , new spain, new york, , , , _news, the kansas city_, _news, the rocky mountain_, , niagara, , nichols, gregg, nichols, col. j.g., nicolet, jean, visits mackinac, nicollet, nito, manuel, north american fur company, north bend, settling of, northrup, h.m., northwest company, northwest fur company, , northwest territory, , northwestern university, , nye, o oakinagen, oakland, california, _observer, the st. louis_, o'fallon park, ohio company, the, - , , oliphant, laurence, quoted, omaha, ; victor rosewater on, - ; origin, - ; location, ; visit of lewis and clark, - ; mormon encampment at, - ; early government, - ; the pacific telegraph, - ; the union pacific railway, - ; recent history, - ; the trans-mississippi exposition of , - oñate founds santa fé, - ordinance of , , , , , oregon, _see_ portland oregon city, , - _oregonian, the_, , o'reilly, don alexander, o'rourke, phil., osceola, osio, antonio, otermin, gov., oumetz, padre, _outre mer_ quoted, "overland mail express company," _overland monthly_, overland telegraph line, overton, a.m., , p pacific fur company, pacific railway, pacific telegraph, parke, benjamin, parkman, francis, ; quoted, parrant, parraquia, parson, samuel h., parton, james, quoted, paty, capt., payne, u.s. senator, peck, eben, peck, p.f.w., peoria, peralta, gov. pedro, perez, gov. albino, pérouse, count, , perrot, , perry, first settler at st. paul, perry, president alfred tyler, perry's victory, commodore, pettygrove, f.w., phelan, mayor james d., philadelphia, , philippines, the, , , pico, don pio, , , _ff._ pico, jesus, piernas, , "pig's eye," _see_ parrant pike, lieut. zebulon m., , , , , pike's peak, , , pillsbury, chas. a., pillsbury, gov. john s., , pina, maxima, pioneer day, pirates on the mississippi, pittsburg, platteville, plymouth, , , plymouth rock, plympton, major, polk, president, pontiac, conspiracy of, - , - , ; death of, - pool, lieut., popé, conspiracy of, - portalá, , , portland, thos. l. cole on, - ; origin of, ; astoria, - ; vancouver, - ; oregon city, - ; massacre of whitman, ; california gold fever, ; situation of, ; a great seaport, ; henry villard's contribution to growth of, ; character of, - _portsmouth_, the, potosi, academy at, "prairie schooner," pratt, orson, , prentice, samuel, pueblo de nuestra senora la reina de los angeles, _ff._ pursley, putnam, herbert, putnam, israel, at detroit, putnam, rufus, , - , , q quebec, , , , r racine, radisson, ragan, jacob, raleigh tavern, ralston, a., ramsey, gov. a., rantoul, robert, reavis, l.u., recollets, , , red jacket, reedy, william marion, on st. louis, - reid, hugo, _relations_, , _republic, the st. louis_, _republican, the missouri_, _republican, the santa fé_, revolution, the american, , , - , , , ; officers in, buried at marietta, revolution of , rezanoff visits san francisco bay, rhode island, battle of, rhodes, j.f., richelieu, cardinal, ; quoted, ridgely, n.h., rivet, m., roberts, capt., rockefeller, john d., founds chicago university, rocky mountain fur company, rosas, gov. luis, rosewater, edward, rosewater, victor, on omaha, - rousseau, jean jacques, roux, father, russian fur company, rutland and the ohio company, s sacramento, saengerbund, the cincinnati, st. ange, , , st. ann's, mackinac, st. anthony city, st. anthony, falls of, , , st. augustine, fla., st. charles, col., st. clair, gen., at marietta, ; defeat of, - , - ; and vincennes, st. clair, louisa, st. cyr, father, st. francis, , , st. ignace, , , st. joseph, st. louis, w.m. reedy on, - ; situation, ; founding of, - ; spanish rule, - ; coming of pontiac, - ; trade of, - ; early description of, - ; and the slavery question, - ; growing americanism, - ; ante-bellum days, - ; in the civil war, ; recent history, - st. paul, _see_ minneapolis st. petersburg, ste. geneviève, salazar, don josé, salt lake city, ; j.e. talmage on, - ; motive of settlement, - ; the coming of the mormons, - ; the cricket scourge, ; creation of the territory, - ; trouble with the federal government, - ; educational development, - ; the present city, - san blas, harbor of, san carlos mission, , sanchez, , san diego, , , , sand lot agitation, san francisco, , , , ; edwin markham on, - ; situation, ; early visitors to the region, - ; spanish colonization plans, - ; the mission dolores, - ; yerba buena, - ; california ceded to united states, ; the gold fever, - ; the vigilance committee, - ; in the civil war, ; the comstock lode, ; the sand lot agitation, - ; the chinese problem, - ; architecture of, ; streets of, ; parks of, - ; education in, ; libraries of, ; distinguished citizens, - san gabriel, , , , , _ff._ san miguel chapel, , , , , san pedro, , santa anna, santa cruz, santa fé, , , , , ; f.w. hodge on, - ; founding of, - ; infancy of, - ; conspiracy of popé, - ; the pueblo régime, ; spanish restoration, - ; rebellion of , ; american occupancy, - ; in the civil war, ; recent years, - santo domingo, sargent, winthrop, , schmidt, bruno, schoolcraft, henry, , ; quoted, scott, dred, scott, harvey w., scott, judge j.r., scott, gen. winfield, , , seattle, _senator_, the, serra, _see_ junípero serra shafer, sara andrew, on mackinac, - shaw, henry, shawbonee quoted, , shelby, gen. isaac, , _note_ shepard, elihu, ; quoted, sheridan, phil, sherman, john, sherman, gen. w.t., sia, sibley at valverde, sibley, hiram, sibley, solomon, sill, e.r., sloat, commodore, , slough, col., smith, robert, , smith, w.h., on vincennes, - snelling, col., , snelling, joseph, snow, erastus, sola, spain, and the southwest, , , ; louisiana ceded to, - ; in colorado, ; in kansas, ; in new mexico, _see_ santa fé; on the pacific, , , , - ; our war with, speelyai, , , , spencer, dr. kirby, spokane, harold bolce on, - ; the situation, - , ; the falls, - ; troubles with the indians, - ; genesis of, ; discovery of galena mines, ; the boom, - ; character of, - ; the spokane ass, - ; climate, spokane gary, _spokesman-review, the spokane_, sproat, , , stanford, jane, , stanford, leland, stanford university, _star, the_, _star, the kansas city_, stark, b., state register, stearns, abel, steele, franklin, steptoe, col., stevens, john h., , stevenson, col., stevenson, r.l., in san francisco, ; in monterey, , stillwater, minn., stockton, commodore, _ff._ stoddard, charles warren, stoddard, maj. amos, story preaches at marietta, stout, j. kennedy, drafts charter for spokane, strong, w.a., stuart, david, stuart, john t., quoted, sublette, , sullivan claims, sulpicians at mackinac, sumrill's ferry, sutro, adolph, sutter's mill, swing, david, symmes, john cleves, , t taboada, padre gil, taliafero, major, talmage, j.e., on salt lake city, - tanos of galisteo, the, , taylor, bayard, cited, taylor, zachary, tecumseh, , , , , , teesdale, john, terry and broderick, , texas, annexation of, ; troubles with, ; in new mexico, , tewa pueblo, thames, battle of the, thayendanegea defeats st. clair, thiery, m., thompson, david, thompson, james, thwaites, r.g., on madison, - thwing, c.f., on cleveland, - _times, the kansas city_, tippecanoe, , , tlascalan, todd, col. john, tomlinson, daniel, _tonquin_, the, , tonty, madame, topinebee, trail, navajo, ; santa fé, , trans-mississippi exposition, - trappist monks, treaty, of paris, ; of greenville, ; of ghent, ; of , ; of , ; of , ; of guadaloupe hidalgo, , _tribune, the new york_, , troost, b., tupper, benjamin, , twain, mark, u ugarte, gov., "underground railroad," , union pacific railway, , , , united states, and the northwest territory, , , , ; keokuk reserve ceded to, ; and salt lake city, ; and california, university of southern california, utah, _see_ salt lake city v valverde, fight at, vancouver, history of, - vancouver the explorer, , van horn, col. r.t., , vargas, gov., - varnum, james m., vasouver, lieut., victoria, gov., vigil, gov. juan b., vigilance committee, _see_ san francisco vigo, francis, , , villard, henry, vincennes, , ; w.h. smith on, - ; prehistoric times, - ; early explorers, ; french settlement of, - ; english rule, - ; captured by george rogers clark, - ; indiana territory organized, ; later history, - vineyard, james r., virginia cedes western territory to united states, vizcaino, , , , , , w wabache, _see_ wabash wabash, place of the, in history, , , , wade, j.h., walker, joel, walker, t.b., wallace, col., relieves cincinnati, wallace, gen. lew, at cincinnati, ; at santa fé, walla walla, ; massacre at, walrond, madison, war, _see_ revolution; of , , - , - , ; mexican, , , ; civil, , , , ; with spain, ward, artemus, warre, lieut., washburn observatory, washington, booker t., washington, george, , , - , , washington, indians visit, wayne, gen. anthony, defeats indians, , - , wea town, , webster, daniel, , , , , wentworth, john, west, judge e.p., quoted, _western journal of commerce_, western reserve, the, western reserve university, westport landing, , wetherell, o.d., whaiama, whetzels, the, whininger, george, whipple, abraham, whitman, massacre of, wicks, rev. dr., widney, dr. j.p., wiggin, kate douglas, wilkinson, gen. james, willamette, first settlers on the, - willamette falls, williams college, williams, rev. eleazar, , williams, judge george h., williamsburg, col. henry hamilton sent to, willis, n.p., wilson, b.d., winslow, florence e., on los angeles, - winter quarters, nebraska, , wisconsin state historical society, wisconsin territory, wolfe at quebec, wood, c.e.s., woodbridge, dudley, woodward, judge, at detroit, - wool, gen., woolson, constance fenimore, woolworth, james m., world's fair of , wright, ed., wright, col. george, , , wuerz, august, sr., wyandotte, , wyeth, capt., wyeth expedition, wyoming massacre, , x xenophon cited, y yale university, , yeatman's tavern, yellowstone park, yerba buena, , yorktown, battle of, young, brigham, , , , yukewingge, yuqueyunque, z "zanjero," zion, , zion's co-operative mercantile union, zuñi, [illustration] american historic towns =historic towns of new england= edited by lyman p. powell. with introduction by george p. morris. fully illustrated. large ^o, _net_ $ . . =historic towns of the middle states= edited by lyman p. powell. with introduction by albert shaw. fully illustrated. large ^o, _net_ $ . . =historic towns of the southern states= edited by lyman p. powell. with introduction by w.p. trent. fully illustrated. large ^o, _net_ $ . . =historic towns of the western states= edited by lyman p. powell. with introduction by r.g. thwaites, fully illustrated. large ^o, _net_ $ . . g.p. putnam's sons, new york and london historic towns of new england edited by lyman p. powell. with introduction by george p. morris. with illustrations. large ^o, gilt top _net_ $ . contents: =portland=, by samuel t. pickard; 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(by mail $ . ) _net_ $ . contents: =detroit=, by silas farmer; =chicago=, by hon. lyman t. gage; =st. louis=, by f.m. crunden; =monterey=, by harold balce; =san francisco=, by edwin markham; =portland=, by rev. thomas l. cole; =madison=, by prof. r.g. thwaites; =kansas city=, by charles s. gleed; =cleveland=, by president charles f. thwing; =cincinnati=, by hon. m.e. ailes; =marietta=, by muriel c. dyar; =des moines=, by dr. f.i. herriot; =indianapolis=, by hon. perry s. heath; =denver=, by j.c. dana; =omaha=, by dr. victor rosewater; =los angeles=, by florence e. winslow; =salt lake city=, by prof. james e. talmage; =minneapolis= and =st. paul=, by hon. charles b. elliott; =santa fé=, by dr. f.w. hodge; =vincennes=, by w.h. smith. g.p. putnam's sons, new york and london * * * * * transcriber's notes obvious punctuation and spelling errors repaired. inconsistent hyphenation has been repaired. the caret character "^" is used to denote a superscript. italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=. index entry added to table of contents. page prices lots as ".$ an acre"; research shows this value to be "$ . an acre". in ambiguous cases, the text has been left as it appears in the original book. all advertising material has been moved to the end of the text. historic highways of america volume [illustration: the old vincennes trace near xenia, illinois] historic highways of america volume military roads of the mississippi basin the conquest of the old northwest by archer butler hulbert _with maps and illustrations_ [illustration] the arthur h. clark company cleveland, ohio copyright, by the arthur h. clark company all rights reserved contents page preface i. the clark routes through illinois ii. miami valley campaigns iii. st. clair's campaign iv. wayne and fallen timber appendixes illustrations i. the old vincennes trace near xenia, illinois _frontispiece_ ii. sketch map of part of illinois, showing clark's routes iii. hutchins's sketch of the wabash in (showing trace of the path to kaskaskia; from the original in the british museum) iv. the st. louis trace near lawrenceville, illinois v. a part of arrowsmith's map of the united states, (showing the region in which wilkinson, scott, harmar, st. clair, and wayne operated) vi. dr. belknap's map of wayne's route in the maumee valley, (from the original in the library of harvard university) preface this volume treats of five of the early campaigns in the portion of america known as the mississippi basin--clark's campaigns against kaskaskia and vincennes in and ; and harmar's, st. clair's, and wayne's campaigns against the northwestern indians in , , and - . much as has been written concerning clark's famous march through the "drowned lands of the wabash," the important question of his route has been untouched, and the story from that standpoint untold. the history of the campaign is here made subservient to a study of the route and to an attempted identification of the various places, and a determination of their present-day names. four volumes of the draper manuscripts in the library of the state historical society of wisconsin give a vast deal of information on this subject. they are referred to by the library press-mark. turning to the study of harmar's, st. clair's, and wayne's routes into the northwest, the author found a singular lack of detailed description of these campaigns, and determined to combine with the study of the military roadway a comparatively complete sketch of each campaign, making use, in this case as in that of clark's campaigns, of the draper manuscripts. a great debt of thanks is due to mr. reuben gold thwaites, secretary of the state historical society of wisconsin, for assistance and advice; to josiah morrow of lebanon, ohio, the author is indebted for help in determining portions of harmar's route; and to francis e. wilson, president of the greenville historical society, many thanks are due for help in questions concerning the pathway of the intrepid leader known to the east as "mad anthony" wayne, but remembered in the west as the "blacksnake" and the "whirlwind," because he doubled his track like a blacksnake and swept over his roads like a whirlwind. a. b. h. marietta, ohio, september , . military roads of the mississippi basin the conquest of the old northwest chapter i the clark routes through illinois on the twenty-fourth of june, , george rogers clark, with about one hundred and seventy-five patriot adventurers, left the little pioneer settlement on corn island, in the ohio river, opposite the present site of louisville, kentucky, for the conquest of the british posts of kaskaskia and vincennes in the "illinois country."[ ] the boats running day and night, the party reached clark's first stopping-place, an island in the ohio near the mouth of the tennessee river, in four days. just below this island was the site of old fort massac--now occupied by metropolis, massac county, illinois--built probably by a vanguard from fort duquesne, a generation before, when the french clearly foresaw the end of their reign on the upper ohio. here, almost a century before that, was the old trading-station of juchereau and the mission of mermet--the subsequent "soul of the mission of kaskaskia," as bancroft describes him. the situation was strategic on two accounts: it was a site well out of the reach of the ohio floods, and it was near the mouths of both the tennessee and cumberland rivers--valleys known of old to the shawanese and cherokees. as a coign of vantage for traders and missionaries, it had been of commanding importance. it was, likewise, near the ohio terminus of several old buffalo routes across illinois, roads which became connecting links between kaskaskia, on the river bearing that name near the mississippi, and the mission at fort massac. the old paths of the buffalo, long known as hunting traces, offered the traveler from the ohio to the old-time metropolis of illinois a short-cut by land, saving thrice the distance by water, and obviated stemming the swift tides of the mississippi. one of the principal backbones of illinois was threaded by these primeval routes, and high ground between the vast cypress swamps and mist-crowned drowned lands of illinois was a boon to any traveler, especially that first traveler, the bison. this high ground ran between kaskaskia and shawneetown, on the ohio river, the course becoming later a famous state highway. its earliest name was the "kaskaskia trace." clark's spies, sent out to illinois a year before, undoubtedly advised him to land at fort massac and, gaining from there this famous highway, to pursue it to kaskaskia. his plan of surprising the british post necessitated his pursuing unexpected courses. it was well known that the british watched the mississippi well; therefore he chose the land route. here, at the mouth of the tennessee, his men brought in a canoe full of white traders who had recently been in kaskaskia; certain of these were engaged to guide clark thither. the party dropped down to massac creek, which enters the ohio just above the site of the old fort, and in that inlet secreted their flat-boats ready to begin their intrepid march of one hundred and twenty miles across country.[ ] as this little company of eight or nine score adventurers drew around their fires on massac creek, they little dreamed, we may be sure, of the fame they were to gain from this plucky excursion into the prairies of illinois. it was impossible for them to lift their eyes above the commonplaces of the journey and the possibilities of the coming encounter, and see in true perspective what the capture of illinois meant to poor kentucky. it is not less difficult for us to turn our eyes from these general results, which were so brilliant, and get a clear insight into the commonplaces of this memorable little campaign--to hear the talk of the tired men about the fires as they cleaned the heavy clods of mud from shoes and moccasins, examined their guns, viewed the night, and then talked softly of the possibilities of the morrow, and dreamed, in the ruddy firelight, of those at home. of all companies of famous campaigners on the indian trails of america, this company was the smallest and the most picturesque. clark had but little over half the force which washington commanded at fort necessity in . little massac creek is eleven miles in length but drains seventy square miles of territory. this fact is a significant description of the nature of the northern and central portions of massac county. from the cache river a string of lakes extends in a southeast and then northeast direction to big bay river, varying in width from one to four miles; around the lakes lies a much greater area of cypress swamps and treacherous "sloughs" altogether impassable. the water of these lakes drains sometimes into the cache and at other times into the big bay--depending upon the stage of water in the ohio.[ ] there were three routes from fort massac toward kaskaskia; one, which may well be called the moccasin gap route, circled to the eastward to get around the lakes and swamps of massac county; it passed eastward into pope county, where it struck the kaskaskia-shawneetown highway. this route ran two and one-half miles west of golconda, pope county, and on to sulphur or round spring. from thence through moccasin gap, section , township , range e, johnson county; thence it ran directly for the prairie country to the northward. as noted, this route merged into the famous old kaskaskia and shawneetown route across illinois--what was known as the kaskaskia trace--in pope county. it was this course which in earliest times had been blazed by the french as the safest common highway between kaskaskia and the trading and mission station (and later fort) at massac. the trees along the course were marked with the proper number of miles by means of a hot iron, the figures then being painted red. "such i saw them," records governor reynolds, "in . this road made a great curve to the north to avoid the swamps and rough country on the sources of the cash [cache] river, and also to obtain the prairie country as soon as possible. this road ... was called the old massac road by the americans." [illustration: sketch map of part of illinois showing routes of george rogers clark] the second route circled the massac county lakes to the westward, cutting in between them and the canyons of the cache river, near what is familiarly known as indian point (section , township , range e, massac county), or one mile south of the northwest corner of massac county; thence, running north of northwest, it crossed the little cache (dutchman's creek) one and one-half miles north of forman. thence the route is up the east side of the cache and through buffalo gap, section , township , range e, johnson county, to the prairie land beyond. the third route follows the second through massac county. it is important to note here that the illinois of clark's day--as is partly true now--was composed of three kinds of land: swampy or "drowned" lands, prairie land, and timber land. being practically a level country, the forests became as prominent landmarks as mountains and hills are in rugged districts. routes of travel clung to the prairies; and camping-places, if water could be had in the neighborhood, were always chosen on the edge of a forest where wood could be obtained. between wood and water, of course the latter was the greater necessity. the prairie district in illinois does not extend below williamson county, and famous phelps prairie in that county is the most southern in the state.[ ] both routes from fort massac made straight, therefore, for phelps prairie, in which the town of bainbridge, williamson county, now stands. here the two routes joined again; or, rather, the buffalo gap route met, in phelps prairie, the kaskaskia trace, as the "old massac road" had met it in pope county. the former point of intersection was on the "brooks place," section , township , range e, williamson county.[ ] the buffalo gap route was known as the "middle trail;" the third route northwest from fort massac pursued this path to a point on the cache above indian point; thence it swung westward, keeping far south of the prairie land, passed near carbondale, williamson county, and crossed the big muddy river at murphysboro.[ ] it was known as the "western trail." not touching the prairie land, it is plain that the route could be used only in the driest of midsummer weather. the evidence that clark's guides took the middle trail is overwhelming; the western trail was too wet and did not touch any prairie--this utterly excludes that route from the list of possibilities. according to clark's _memoir_, on the third day out the party reached a prairie where the chief guide became confused; clark's command to him was to discover and take them into the hunter's road that led from the east into kaskaskia. there can be no doubt that this "hunter's road" which came from the east was the kaskaskia-shawneetown trace, which the old massac road joined in pope county, or that the middle trail was the one which the party had been following; the junction of the middle trail on the brooks place, above mentioned, is in phelps prairie and about a three days' march from fort massac. the junction of the trail passing from fort massac eastward of the massac county lakes with the kaskaskia and shawneetown trace is not more than a day's march from fort massac and is not in a prairie. there can be no doubt, therefore, that clark's brave band stole northward on the middle trace, the buffalo gap route. clark would not have commanded his guide, under pain of death, to find the kaskaskia trace if the party had been traversing that trace and had merely missed the way. every implication is that the kaskaskia trace was the goal sought and not yet found. the first day's march of about eighteen miles was a hard one, passing over the winding trail which skirted the southern side of the marshes that flanked the sloughs and lakes of massac county, but finally leading to the bluffs, near the cache river, where, probably on indian point, the first night's camp was pitched.[ ] the first taste of the swamps of illinois was not discouraging, and on the day after, june , the march was resumed. the route today was on the top of the watershed between the cache river on the left (west) and dutchman's creek on the right. buffalo gap was passed today, a mile south of the present goreville, johnson county. camp was pitched this night, after a twenty-mile march, probably at the spring two miles north of the present pulley's mill. the route all day was along the buffalo trail or hunter's road from which buffalo gap received its name.[ ] this gap, like moccasin gap to the eastward, was a famous portal to the prairie country for the bison, indian, and white man. two old-time state roads were built through these two gaps.[ ] pushing forward from the spring near pulley's mill on the morning of june , the virginians ere long came into the prairie lands lying in williamson county. phelps prairie was reached first, the path entering the southern portion of the prairie. here it was that "john saunders, our principal guide, appeared confused, and we soon discovered that he was totally lost." these illinois prairies are almost treeless, save near the water courses; the grass in the old days grew rank and high and one could tell his course only, perhaps, by the stars, if the pathways were obscured. the paths in these prairies are overgrown in the summer time,[ ] and it is probable that this is why clark's guide, attempting to find the kaskaskia trace, lost his bearings. the important landmarks in these prairies were the forests which often bounded them and in many instances extended into them. these extremities of the forests were and are still known as "points," and many of them are yet landmarks in illinois history. a spring beside a point in a prairie made an ideal camping-spot known to half a continent in the olden time. clark's campground in phelps prairie was, without doubt, at a spring just west of bainbridge. northward from phelps prairie two routes ran to kaskaskia: a wet and a dry route. the one which we may call the highland route led north through herrin's prairie and swung around to the mississippi by heading such streams as pipestone, rattlesnake, and galium, crossing the big muddy river at humphry's ford, section , township , range e.[ ] this was the dry route, the preferable one the year round. another shorter course ran northwest and crossed many of the streams which the highland route headed. there can be little doubt that clark's guides chose this latter course. by clark's _memoir_ we know it to have been a dry season, and the shortest, and probably the least traveled, course would best suit his plan of surprising kaskaskia. the shortness of the time (four days) in which the distance to kaskaskia was covered from phelps prairie almost precludes the possibility of his having used the longer watershed route. on the first day of july, then, the little army moved from near the present bainbridge along a well-known trail which crossed crab orchard creek at greathouse crossing[ ] (section , township , range w)[ ] and the big muddy at marshall's shoals, section , township , range w, southwest of de soto, jackson county.[ ] it is possible that camp, on the night of july , was pitched at greathouse crossing; if so the day's march was not a long one. from the big muddy the trail struck to the watershed between the beaucoup and its tributaries on the north and the tributaries of the big muddy on the south, running near the present lenan in jackson county. the course now was a watershed route from the big muddy to the st. mary river, and is marked today by the significant names of such high altitude towns as shiloh hill, teacup knob, and wine hill. through these places an ancient highway has coursed from times to which the memory of white men runneth not to the contrary. water was scarce on the highest grounds, but springs, here and there, were well known, and at one of these, probably near lenan (section , township , range ), the adventurers paused, on the night of september , and built their evening fires.[ ] the end was now almost in sight; two days more and the immediate basin of the mississippi river would be reached, and the success or failure of the daring raid be decided. it can be easily imagined that it was a silent and eager body of men which, on september , strode forward over the rolling hills of randolph county on the old trail. their excitement must have been intense. the old trail from lenan entered randolph county near the center of section , township , south of range w and passed over teacup knob in section and near the present wine hill p. o. pushing on over the hills, the st. mary river was reached at the site of what became the "old state ford," near welge station (formerly bremen station) on the wabash, chester and western railroad--section , township s., range w.[ ] here the last camp of the march was pitched on the night of july --the "glorious fourth" was to see the little invading army lying quietly on the outskirts of quaint old kaskaskia. from the state ford on the st. mary, the course was the highland route running near diamond cross.[ ] here, on the watershed between the tributaries of the st. mary and the kaskaskia, lay the worn vincennes trace running northeast from kaskaskia to the wabash. it is probable that clark entered this highway before the kaskaskia river was reached.[ ] and at the end of the journey awaited victory; governor rochblave was completely surprised, and kaskaskia was captured by the perilous feat of actually marching up to it and taking possession of it with the assumed arrogance of a powerful conqueror. from the moment kaskaskia was in clark's hands he turned his attention to vincennes, and in july, through the coöperation of the french priest gibault, the inhabitants were induced to proclaim themselves american subjects and to hoist an american flag. captain helm of clark's little army was posted at vincennes with a guard, and helm it was who was captured in the fall by the british lieutenant-governor hamilton of detroit. the latter had pushed his difficult way up the maumee and down the wabash to seize the revolted town.[ ] throughout the winter clark feared a swift advance from vincennes; and, to save himself from being captured by hamilton, clark desperately resolved to capture him. by february a new "grand army," of four companies, possibly one hundred and sixty strong, well-armed, but without tents and horse, save a few packhorses, departed from kaskaskia on the desperate journey across the swimming prairies and flooded rivers of illinois for vincennes.[ ] had one man dropped from the ranks each mile, not one of the one hundred and sixty would have reached the wabash. few expeditions in american history have been recounted more than this; it is strange that the route of this immortal little army has never been carefully considered--for the story of the route is almost the whole story of the campaign. [illustration: hutchins's sketch of the wabash in , showing trace of the path to kaskaskia [_from the original in the british museum_]] crossing the kaskaskia river february , , clark's army lay three miles from kaskaskia, for two days, "to tighten belts."[ ] it is impossible to determine how much was known of their path onward. to many it had been well known for nearly a century--an old watershed prairie route marked out by the buffalo and followed by missionaries--the appian way of illinois. the difficulty in studying this route, it should be stated at once, arises from the fact that while kaskaskia was formerly the metropolis of western illinois, the rise of st. louis across the mississippi had the effect of altering previously traveled routes. what has been ever known as the st. louis trace, coursing across illinois from vincennes to the mississippi, became in the nineteenth century what the old kaskaskia trace had been in the eighteenth century, just as what had been the "old massac road" became known as the st. louis-shawneetown road. as a result, the later kaskaskia travelers followed the st. louis trace--much-traveled, broad, and hard--as far westward as marion county, and then turned due southwest to kaskaskia. therefore it is necessary not to confound the ancient kaskaskia trace to vincennes with the later kaskaskia trace which was identical for some distance with the more northerly st. louis trace.[ ] at the same time it is easy to err in separating the older and newer routes too widely in the attempt not to confound them. the newer st. louis trace runs across from indiana (vincennes) to missouri (st. louis) through the illinois counties of lawrence, richland, clay, marion, clinton, and st. clair. the course is practically that of the old mississippi and ohio (now the baltimore and ohio southwestern) railway. the route passed over the best course between the points, as proved by the railway surveyors and engineers. but many rivers blocked the way; the first of these from vincennes was the embarras--so called, as in the case of many streams, because the great floods left deposits of driftwood which seriously impeded navigation. west of the embarras came the petulant little wabash and the big muddy, draining thousands of square miles of swamp and prairie, and, in rainy seasons, uniting and spreading out five miles in width. west of the tributaries of the little wabash come those of the kaskaskia. a few smaller wabash and mississippi tributaries, such as the bonpas and st. mary are headed by this trans-illinois route, but it was not, in one sense, a watershed route, crossing the embarras, little wabash, fox, beaucoup, and kaskaskia and their tributaries. these streams flow southward. kaskaskia lay some fifty miles south of st. louis and the later st. louis trace. the route of the more ancient kaskaskia trace to vincennes, therefore, ran some seventy-five miles in a northeast direction; then, turning due east, it ran about one hundred miles to the wabash. for the first seventy-five miles it was a watershed route, coursing along the highland prairies between three mile, plum, crooked, grand point, and raccoon creeks--all tributaries of the kaskaskia river--on the west and north, and the heads of the st. mary, beaucoup, and big muddy rivers on the east and south. this backbone line of prairie land runs straight northeast through randolph and washington counties, cutting into corners of perry, jefferson, and marion counties. but here in marion county the backbone, which had been accommodatingly trending eastward, turned quickly to the north to avoid the treacherous little wabash; at this point the old trace divided into two courses both of which ran to vincennes. one course, probably that known later as the eastern half of the st. louis trace, passed through the center of clay, richland, and lawrence counties, crossing both the little wabash and big muddy a short distance above their junction, the embarras near lawrence, and the wabash at vincennes. the other branch of the kaskaskia trace passed through the northern portion of wayne, edwards and wabash counties, crossing the little wabash and fox some two miles above their junction, the bonpas river, near bonpas, and the wabash, two miles above st. francisville. from this ford the route led up the eastern shore of the wabash about nine miles to vincennes. by any route, at any time of year, the journey across illinois was a hardship no thinking man would undergo, save only on the most important mission; in the winter season--with the wabash a surging sea, the little wabash a running lake, crooked creek treacherously straight, water frozen on the prairies, the "points" of timber swampy morasses--all communication landward was cut off, with the beavers and blue racers swimming for the high ground. in their right mind, clark's adventurers would probably not have faced the wilderness into which they strode on the morning of february on any private affair of life or death. two magnetic influences drew them on; these americans had brought to illinois the spirit of , a breath of a boasted freedom that was half license, in which the hot-headed french exulted. believing the americophobite british, the inhabitants of kaskaskia had feared the barbarian virginians more than any savages; clark made capital of this in securing kaskaskia, and later, by the kindness with which he treated the inhabitants and the freedom he gave them, accomplished a moral victory as sweeping and as picturesque as his military achievement. the proposed plan to carry to reconquered vincennes the blessings of liberty enjoyed at kaskaskia under virginian rule appealed strongly to the impressionable _habitants_; to clark's own patriot soldiers the vincennes campaign was the very acme of frontier adventure. again, the young, daring clark--quiet, resourceful, irrepressible--was a potent factor in pushing these men out on a journey of such unparalleled hardship. true, it is difficult to look beyond the later george rogers clark, of soiled reputation, to the cool, brave youth of twenty-seven years who led these men through the prairies of illinois in . to dim the brilliant lustre of such days as these was a heavy--if not the heaviest--price to pay for indiscretions of later years. yet, as the records of this handful of men are studied, and especially when the track of their memorable march is picked out and followed, one can fancy the clear, bright picture of the clark of and, happily, believe for the moment that there is no connection between him and the later clark whom the spaniards knew. it is plain that the french were charmed by the dashing virginian and his vincennes chimera. the record clark left of the expedition--written ere the grasshopper was a burden or those were darkened who stood at the windows--clearly implies that the expedition was launched with a levity that it is sure all did not feel, though it may have been perfectly assumed; and as the days passed we shall see that clark hurried on in order to get his men too far to turn back. his diplomatic endeavors, throughout those marvelous fifteen days, to lure his men on, to lift their thoughts from their sufferings and incite them to their almost superhuman tasks, are perhaps without parallel in the history of marching armies in america. departing from the two days' camping-place, three miles from kaskaskia, the course, for almost the entire first day, lay through thick forests, which have quite disappeared since that time, on the watershed between the kaskaskia tributaries on the northwest and those of the st. mary on the southeast.[ ] fortunately the journey at the outset was comparatively easy; the weather was warm for the season, though rainy. a good march was made on the seventh through the forests and out into lively prairie, half a mile northeast of salem, randolph county, where the course of the old trail is well known. beyond this, flat prairie opened the way toward the "great rib," as the french knew the ridge in grand cote prairie (_la prairie de la grande côte_) on which the present village of coultersville, randolph county, stands. the first night's camp was pitched probably in flat prairie, between salem and coultersville.[ ] the authoritative record for this day's march, as of all others, is the official bowman's _journal_:[ ] "made a good march for about nine hours; the road very bad, with mud and water. pitched our camp in a square, baggage in the middle, every company to guard their own squares." on the eighth the record continues: "marched early through the waters, which we now began to meet in those large and level plains, where, from the flatness of the country, [water] rests a considerable time before it drains off; notwithstanding which, our men were in great spirits, though much fatigued." by the eighth it would seem the little band had reached the lower plains in the northwest corner of perry county, two and a half miles northwest of swanwick, where the headwaters of the big muddy tributary of the kaskaskia were crossed, and the prairie south of oakdale, washington county, at which point elkhorn creek was crossed at the famous "meadow-in-the-hole" of old french days. this region was also known as _corne de cerf_, elkhorn prairie, elkhorn point and ayres point.[ ] prairie, forest, and bottom land were not far apart here. the "meadow-in-the-hole" was a singular little meadow, fifty or sixty yards wide, located on a "dry branch" of the elkhorn and thirty feet lower than the surrounding forests--at what is now oakdale on the elkhorn.[ ] from the present oakdale the pathway ran from elkhorn prairie through nashville prairie, circling half a mile to the north and northeast of nashville, washington county. turning to the east here, it coursed onward to a celebrated "point" of woods called grand point, near the present grand point creek, section , township , south range w, two miles and a half northwest of richview, washington county.[ ] from thence it circled northeast through section in grand prairie township, the extreme northwest township of jefferson county.[ ] the second night's camp may have been pitched on grand point creek, near richview; and that of the ninth on raccoon creek, near walnut point, one mile north of walnut hill, marion county. the old trail from grand prairie, jefferson county, entered marion county at section , centralia township, on the old israel jennings farm. walnut hill was two miles north of due east from the jennings farm, through which, it may be added in passing, ran the later famous st. louis-shawneetown road.[ ] bowman's record for the ninth and tenth reads: " th. made another day's march. fair part of the day. th. crossed the river of the petit fork upon trees that were felled for that purpose, the water being so high there was no fording it. still raining and no tents. encamped near the river. stormy weather." here we have the first definite mention of a camping-place; the petit fork was the adams or horse tributary of skillet creek--the first tributary of the little wabash and big wabash the army encountered.[ ] the crossing-place was near farrington, jefferson county[ ]--fifteen short miles from walnut point and known in early days as yellow bark.[ ] the feat of felling trees across this rushing stream being accomplished, the men crawled over and encamped on the eastern bank. a picture of the army splashing along through the watery prairies would be greatly prized today, but a picture of it creeping across petit fork on felled tree-trunks would be of extraordinary interest; it is one of the remarkable incidents of the heroic adventure. of these days the accounts of clark furnish us almost no information.[ ] the incident of the petit fork was not sufficiently notable to receive mention, for clark wrote mason: "the first obstruction of any consequence that i met with was on the th [the little wabash];" yet in his _memoir_--written, it must be remembered, as late as --he describes the march to the little wabash as made "through incredible difficulties, far surpassing anything that any of us had ever experienced." the _letter_ breathes the spirit of the youth, for it was written in ; the _memoir_ ever reads like an old man's reminiscences. clark's diplomacy in securing the loyalty of his men through great discouragements indicates a high order of the best qualities of a military commander. "my object now," he writes, "was to keep the men in spirits." he allowed the men to kill game and hold typical indian feasts after the hard day's wet march. before their rousing fires, with venison and bear meat savoring the air, little wonder the night brought partial forgetfulness of the day's fatigue. the four companies took turns at being hosts; the company on duty each day being supplied with horses on which to transport the game brought down. and throughout every day's march clark, and his equally courageous officers, made light of all difficulties, and "putting on the woodsman, shouting now and then and running as much through the mud and water as any of them. thus, insensibly, without a murmur, was those men led on to the banks of the little wabash which we reached on the th." the spectacle, here presented, of officers inveigling soldiers forward, is one of the most singular in the history of the west. we may well believe clark refers particularly to the two french companies which composed a most important arm of his force--the virginians, perhaps, not needing equal inspiration to endeavor. the climax in clark's diplomacy was reached as he now approached the flood-tides of the raging little wabash. it is necessary here to emphasize that the army, turning eastward just north of present nashville, abandoned the watershed to which their path had thus far held; the route now was nearly due east, across the tributaries of the little wabash. of these, petit fork (adams tributary of the skillet) was the first to be encountered; it was passed with great heroism on the tenth of february. on the eleventh the eastward route was followed and the saline river (skillet creek) was crossed. bowman's record reads: " th. crossed the saline river. nothing extraordinary this day." the route between the skillet and little wabash may have been either one of the two courses mentioned, not over five miles apart, and running parallel to each other. the northern passed through the southern portion of clay county, the southern through the northern portion of wayne. there were two encampments between the petit fork and the little wabash; if the northern route was pursued, these camps were near xenia and clay city in wayne county; if the southern route was followed, the camps were near blue point and mount erie in wayne county. bowman's record for the twelfth is: " th. marched across cot plains;[ ] saw and killed numbers of buffaloes. the road very bad from the immense quantity of rain that had fallen. the men much fatigued. encamped on the edge of the woods. this plain or meadow being fifteen or more miles across, it was late in the night before the baggage and troops got together. now twenty-[forty-] one miles from st. vincent. th. arrived early at the two wabashes. although a league asunder, they now made but one. we set to making a canoe." clark's records of the arrival at the little wabash read (from his _memoir_): "this place is called the two little wabashes; they are three miles apart and from the heights of the one to that of the other on the opposite shores is five miles the whole under water gen^{ly} about three feet deep never under two and frequently four;" (from _letter to mason_) "arriving at the two little wabashes, although three miles asunder--they now make but one--the flowed water between them being at least three feet deep and in many places four. being near five miles to the opposite hills, the shallowest place, except about one hundred yards, was three feet." so far as these records go, either the clay or the wayne county route might have been that pursued. the long prairie of which bowman speaks would have been, on the clay county route, "twelve mile prairie" situated between the present towns on the baltimore and ohio southwestern railway, xenia and clay city; on the wayne county route it would have been "long prairie" lying between blue point and mount erie. the "two wabashes" on the clay county route would have been the little wabash river and the big muddy creek. by the wayne county route the two wabashes would have been the little wabash and fox river. the indefatigable lyman c. draper, after a large correspondence with many of the best informed men in illinois on the subject of the crossing-place of the little wabash, came to the firm conclusion that the two wabashes were the little wabash and the fox; the present writer after studying that correspondence and visiting the ground in question--which mr. draper did not find time to do--quite as firmly believes that the crossing-place was above the junction of the little wabash and big muddy creek at the old mccauley's settlement--in the southeast corner of section of clay county, range e, two miles east of old maysville, which was three-fourths of a mile south of the present clay city station on the baltimore and ohio southwestern railway. by this upper route clark would have been on higher ground before and after crossing the little wabash. it is quite sure his party passed a salt spring (see p. ) and the only one in this region was on this upper route. and finally, bowman states that on the day after crossing the little wabash the party crossed the fox river. this could not have been possible if the little wabash and fox were crossed simultaneously. but even a slight discussion of the question may well be relegated to an appendix.[ ] at either crossing-place, and the two are but a few miles apart, a most desperate situation confronted the intrepid clark and his tired band of invaders. "... i viewed this sheet of water for some time with distrust," clark wrote in his _memoir_, "but accusing myself of doubting i amediately set to work without holding any consultation about it or suffering anybody else to do so in my presence ordered a perogue amediately built and acted as though crossing the water would be only a piece of diversion.... my aneziety [anxiety] to cross this place continually increased as i saw that it would at once fling us into a situation of folorn hope as all ideas of a retreat would in some measure be done away that if the men began after this was accomplished to think seriously of what they had really suffered that they prefer^d risking any seeming difficulty that might probably turn out favourable than to attempt to retreat when they would be certain of experiencing what they had already felt and if the weather should but freeze altogether impracticable, except the ice would bear them." the heroism of clark's crossing of the little wabash has been retold on a thousand pages but it has rarely been suggested that he hurried into these dangers eagerly because they would serve to thwart any hope of retreat. he not only "burned his bridges," but hastened impetuously across waters that could never be bridged, in the hope that they would freeze and cut off all dreams of retreat. this memoir, let it again be remarked, was written many years after the event--after clark saw his great feat somewhat in the light we see it today. his letter to mason, however, was written in the same year that the march was made; if not so self-laudatory, it is as interesting as the memoir, and perhaps more authentic. he thus described the crossing in that document: "this [flood] would have been enough to have stopped any set of men not in the same temper that we were. but in three days we contrived to cross by building a large canoe, ferried across the two channels; the rest of the way we waded, building scaffolds at each to lodge our baggage on until the horses crossed to take them." bowman's record is that of the soldier: " th. finished the canoe and put her into the river about o'clock in the afternoon. th. ferried across the two wabashes, it being then five miles in water to the opposite hills, where we encamped. still raining. orders not to fire any guns for the future, but in case of necessity." when, near olney, clark's men crossed the fox river on the th of february, it is probable that they camped on what is now the st. louis trace road on one of the northeastern tributaries of the fox. the day after, an early start was made in order that the famed embarras might be reached before nightfall. it can well be believed that an intense, hushed excitement prevailed. the success of the invasion must depend on a swift surprise; it was probable that all would be lost if the approach was discovered; for, the wabash being out of banks, the enemy, doubtless well supplied with boats, would have clark's band at their mercy. the provisions were fast giving out; surrender or starvation stared clark in the face if discovered. accordingly, commissary kennedy with three guides was sent forward "to cross the river embarrass," clark wrote in his _memoir_, "... and, if possible, to get some vessels in the vicinity of the town [vincennes], but principally if he could get some information." "about an hour, by sun, we got near the river embarras," bowman wrote in his _journal_; "found the country all overflowed with water." the embarras was reached near lawrenceville and the river was descended a few miles--"traveled till o'clock in mud and water," wrote bowman--before a camping-spot was found. on the morning of the eighteenth the morning gun at fort sackville (vincennes) was heard. the wabash was reached at two o'clock in the afternoon, but no boats could be found by the parties of searchers sent out on rafts and in a canoe. affairs were growing desperate, and the "very quiet but hungry" men set to work building canoes. messengers were sent to hurry on "the willing" but did not find her. "no provisions of any sort," writes bowman on the nineteenth, "now for two days. hard fortune!" on the twentieth, as work on the canoes advanced, a canoe containing five frenchmen from vincennes was captured, and clark learned that he was not yet discovered. on the twenty-first the army began to be ferried across the wabash, "to a small hill called [mammelle ?]." the crossing-place cannot be determined with precision. it was below the mouth of the embarras, and not lower on the wabash than a mile and a half above st. francisville. several _mammelles_ (bluffs) lie on the eastern bank of the wabash here. one lies four and one-half miles below the mouth of the embarras. as the current was swift, the river broad, and the point of embarkation somewhat below the mouth of the embarras, it is probable that the army landed further down the wabash than has usually been described.[ ] a march of three miles northward was made by the vanguard on the day it crossed, seemingly from the "lower" to the "upper" _mammelle_--the "next hill of the same name," according to bowman. on the twenty-second another league was covered by exhausting efforts, making in all six miles from the crossing-place. the camp this night is definitely known to be a high, twenty-acre sugar orchard still remembered as "sugar camp," three and one-half miles from vincennes. clark was now at the lower end of the "lower prairie," and there were two courses to vincennes which lay on the rising ground across the three miles of flooded prairie.[ ] one, by way of the grand marais or swamp in the middle of the prairie, was impassable; the other route, known as the "two buttes route," was the difficult alternative. the first butte was "warrior's island," a ten-acre hill heavily wooded, a mile and a half from sugar camp and two miles from vincennes. it could be and was reached by the strong men wading breast high, drawing or paddling their feebler comrades in the canoes. the second butte, "bunker hill," was not on the direct line to vincennes, but was a high point to the east on the same plateau on which vincennes stood. at one o'clock of the twenty-third, the floundering army, half numb with cold and weak from exposure, reached warrior's island. from here clark sent his first message, diplomatically directed to the inhabitants of vincennes: "gentlemen--being now within two miles of your village with my army, determined to take your fort this night, and not being willing to surprise you, i take this method to request such of you as are true citizens, and willing to enjoy the liberty i bring you, to remain still in your houses, and those, if any there be, who are friends to the king, will instantly repair to the fort[ ] and join the _hair-buyer general_,[ ] and fight like men. and if any such as do not go to the fort shall be discovered afterwards, they may depend on severe punishment. on the contrary, those who are true friends to liberty may depend on being well treated; and i once more request them to keep out of the streets, for every one i find in arms on my arrival i shall treat as an enemy."[ ] at eight o'clock that night the famished army waded to bunker hill, and soon the outskirts of the town were invested, under fire of the fort. on the twenty-fourth hamilton surrendered, and the campaign, prosecuted under difficulties which today cannot be justly described, ended in complete triumph. [illustration: the st. louis trace, near lawrenceville, illinois] nothing can impress one with the heroism of this march like a visit to these low lands which are now proving of great value to horse and cattle owners of northern illinois as grazing grounds. though my journey over clark's route was made at the driest and most favorable season of the year, the mists, heavy as clouds, lay along the bonpas, fox, little wabash, big muddy, and skillet and between them, and a thunderstorm made the modern road a veritable slough. from vincennes to xenia, the baltimore and ohio southwestern railway is parallel with the old st. louis trace which was clark's route here.[ ] but the student will find the journey by the old trace, throwing its curling lengths along the hills from lawrenceville to sumner, a most interesting though taxing experience. at sumner the trace drops into the bottom-lands where the mists seem to lie forever and where little villages are perched upon knolls of a few thousand feet in diameter, surrounded by swamps and prairies that are now being drained and cultivated widely. here the old trace--for the ancient name clings to it--is helped along by dint of corduroy bridges and stone and wooden culverts. between sumner and olney the corduroy bridges are frequent and exceedingly rough, particularly if you are hurrying along at nightfall to gain the portals of a comparatively comfortable inn at olney. westward the road ploughs its way through the marshes and the mist to the little big muddy and across to the little wabash about where the old trace ran. here the fogs lie heaviest, shutting off all view of the low-lying, bushy wastes. in midsummer the fog and marshes warn the explorer away; what of this land when the rivers are loosed by the winter floods and are streaming wildly along the vast stretch of the stunted bush and vine? the scene presented to clark's virginians and frenchmen in february cannot by any means be pictured by one to whom these swamps are unknown; to such as know them, the picture, though probably imperfect, is one of horror. to row a boat where the current is swift is fatiguing labor, and to walk in the water, when each step may find one in a sink-hole and where the rank grasses, growing from heavy tufts, hold one's feet as a cord, is all that the strongest man can endure for even a short period. the little spots of ground which here and there rise above the flood are covered with driftwood and infested with snakes. in midsummer the scene was more pleasant. "beyond ombra we enter a tartarian meadow," wrote volney in , "interspersed with clumps of trees, but in general flat and naked, and windy and cold in winter. in summer it is filled with tall and strong shrubs, which brush the legs of the rider in his narrow path so much, that a journey out [to kaskaskia] and back will wear out a pair of boots. water is scarce [for drinking], and there is danger of being bewildered, as happened to one of my fellow travellers, three years before, when, with two others, he roamed about for seventeen days. thunder, rain, gnats, and horse flies, are very troublesome in summer."[ ] of the journey from vincennes to kaskaskia in volney gives the following itinerary: "_road from fort vincennes to kaskaskias_ miles hours to ombra creek[ ] to elm in the meadow - / to cat river[ ] - / to the yoke[ ] to the salt spring[ ] - / to the slaves gibbet[ ] to great point[ ] - / to the coffee-pot[ ] to the yellow bark[ ] to walnut point[ ] - / beyond this is a beaver dam,[ ] destroyed. at a cross road you take the left, which is shortest. there is no water for eighteen miles, and you fall into the main road at pointe aux fesses.[ ] to the [beaver] dam - / to the three-thorned acacia[ ] to pointe aux fesses[ ] to the meadow of the hole[ ] to the great rib[ ] to lepronier[ ] to kas[kaskia] totals[ ] - / - / " the junction of the old kaskaskia trace with the modern st. louis trace was on the isaac elliott farm, one mile east of old xenia, half a mile north of the newer xenia.[ ] it was pointed out to the writer by sandy alexander nelms of salem, illinois, one of the very few remaining old-time stage-drivers on the st. louis trace of the thirties, who was born near this junction. he remembers portions of the old path very well, though it has not, within his lifetime, been used as a highway. within the borders of the present xenia the outline of the old trace is exceedingly plain. the frontispiece of this volume is from a recent photograph of this part of the road. mr. nelms informs the writer that the old trace could, in early years, be followed by the camping-spots, where blue-grass sprang up when the prairie-grass was killed out.[ ] blue-grass on the illinois routes, like the apple-trees on the old track from albany to the mohawk in new york, was the first sign of coming civilization. mr. nelms remembers with distinctness that in a corn-field near the present baltimore and ohio southwestern railway depot at xenia the route of the old trace could be followed by the color of the earth and heavier growth of corn. the general color of the field was black but a wide strip of yellowish clay was the course of the old kaskaskia trace--generations of travel over the narrow aisle in the old-time forests having changed the nature of the soil. here, it is said, the crop of corn was distinctly heavier and better than elsewhere on the prairie. wherever this old trace may be found it speaks of clark and clark only. all the story of its other days is forgotten for those hard fifteen during which that daring youth drew his comrades "insensibly" onward, amid jests and raillery, to the british stronghold from which thousands of savages had been urged to war upon the feeble kentucky stations. boone's wilderness road meant much, but if fort sackville and the other wabash valley centers had been a trifle more potent than they were, it would have become as overgrown as was braddock's road when forbes marched to fort duquesne three years after braddock. the two posts at the termini of the vincennes trace, and the dark councils of their commanders, were a more serious menace to kentucky's safety than all the redskins north of the ohio river. it was the british-fed, british-armed, and british-led indians that made possible the dream of a reconquest of kentucky. after george rogers clark led his men over that narrow, winding trace, through flooded grand cote prairie and over the raging little and great wabash, that danger of british conquest of kentucky was practically eliminated from the western situation. the capture of vincennes was the first chapter in the conquest of the old northwest. chapter ii miami valley campaigns the various campaigns directed from kentucky and western pennsylvania had, by , comparatively freed what is now eastern and central ohio of red-men. little by little they had been pushed in a northwesterly direction until the headwaters of the great and little miami and scioto were reached. here on the backbone of ohio, near the headwaters of the st. mary and auglaize rivers--a pleasant country which the indians always loved--the most heroic stand was yet to be made against the encroaching white men. the point of vantage was well chosen, as the bloody years of - proved. the forests were divided by large stretches of open land, which were easily cultivated and exceedingly rich. to the northward flowed the auglaize river affording a highway to the great maumee valley and lake erie. the st. mary offered a roundabout water route to the same goal--a goal fortified by the line of british forts on the lakes. here encouragement of every description was to be had at all times--at the price of steadily resisting and ravaging the advancing american frontier line. the three rivers, the scioto and the two miamis, offered thoroughfare from this vantage ground southward toward the kentucky stations. the important indian towns were located on the upper waters of the little miami, the auglaize, and maumee, with other villages on the portages between these streams and in the lower valleys of the auglaize and maumee. the largest indian villages were the settlements at the junctions of the maumee and auglaize and the st. mary and st. joseph. the key of the region was the junction of the st. mary with the st. joseph--four water avenues, leading east (maumee), west (wabash), south (st. mary), and north (st. joseph), and each filled with indian clearings and villages. the land was covered with a network of indian trails running in every direction, of which surprisingly little can be definitely stated. considering how numerous are the old-time maps which show the roads of the red-men in eastern and central ohio and in kentucky, it is remarkable that almost none give the routes in western ohio and eastern indiana. by comparison of contemporaneous authorities it is certain there were three important landward thoroughfares leading northward from the ohio river into the region here under view. in general terms, the most easterly of these ascended the valley of the little miami; another passed northward on the watershed between the two miamis; the third ran north from the present site of cincinnati on the watershed to the west of the great miami, with branches running into and up the river valley itself. all of these routes led to the strategic portages which connected the two miamis and the scioto with the st. mary and auglaize tributaries of the maumee.[ ] the unfortunate bowman expedition of [ ] went up the little miami to the shawanese villages along that river. in the year following george rogers clark waged his campaign against the celebrated shawanese town of piqua on the mad river tributary of the little miami, cutting a road for his packhorses and mounted six-pounder on the east side of the little miami.[ ] two years later clark executed one of the most successful campaigns yet made into the region north of the ohio. moving from near the mouth of the licking (the usual place of rendezvous of all the kentucky expeditions into ohio) it is believed the expedition took the central track between the miamis, reaching the great miami near the site of dayton. from thence the route was up that river to the portage. "the british trading-post," wrote clark to the governor of virginia,[ ] "at the head of the miami and carrying-place to the waters of the lake shared the same fate [as the towns clark attacked in person] at the hands of a party of one hundred and fifty horse, commanded by colonel benjamin logan." this post was, undoubtedly, historic loramie's store, the trading-post on loramie's creek, shelby county, ohio, at the southern end of the portage to the st. mary river. thus after a number of years of fighting, the kentuckians had at last struck at the vital spot. this blow ended the revolutionary warfare in the west. the british having lost, some time ago, the war in the east, had until now assisted the indians in an attempt to retrieve the situation by ousting the brave pioneers from the west. the presence of the hero of vincennes so far north as the portage to the st. mary and auglaize was proof enough that their hope of conquest in the west was idle. but hope would not down, and much of the hard story to which these pages are to be devoted would never have had a part in american history had the british now, once for all, given up the design of countenancing the indians in an attempt to hem in and push back the frontiers of expanding america. the contest until now, , had been one solely of retaliation on the part of the kentuckians; by treaties, oft confirmed, the indians had given up all title and claim to the lands south of the ohio river. from , when the treaty of fort mcintosh was made with the wyandot, delaware, chippewa, and ottawa nations, and , when the treaty of fort finney was made with the shawanese, the united states ceded to these indians all the lands lying between the muskingum and wabash rivers north of a line drawn from fort laurens to the miami-st. mary portage and thence to the mouth of river de la panse on the wabash. the northern valley of the ohio river, for a long distance into the interior, now coming into the possession of the united states, the inevitable struggle to hold it drew on apace. the tribes of the miamis nation, twightwees or miamis proper, weas or ouiatenons, piankeshaws, and shockeys, on the upper wabash, being troublesome, george rogers clark moved northward from vincennes with nearly a thousand troops in the fall of ; but clark's deportment was demoralizing and his campaign was a practical failure. however, before starting on the wabash campaign, clark had ordered colonel logan to strike again at the towns at the head of the great miami. with four or five hundred mounted riflemen logan accomplished the task of destroying eight indian villages and taking several score of prisoners. the foregoing details form a necessary introduction to the new era in the west, heralded by the passage of the ordinance of and the forming of the government of the territory northwest of the ohio river at marietta july , . until this time the question of western defense had been a problem for pennsylvania and virginia to solve by means of their frontier militia. now the united states government took up the tangled problem, by empowering president washington, on september , , to call out the militia of the frontier states to repel the incursions of the savages. from the time of the organization of the northwest territory until , the indians of the maumee region steadily increased their marauding expeditions, striking at every point along the ohio river from the mouth of the scioto to the mouth of the wabash. the government was overwhelmed with petitions and remonstrances from citizens of all classes in kentucky. judge innes addressed the secretary of war from kentucky: "i have been intimately acquainted with this district from november .... i can venture to say, that above souls have been killed and taken in the district, and migrating to it; that upwards of , horses have been taken ... and other property ... carried off and destroyed by these barbarians, to at least £ , ."[ ] the ringleaders of these marauding bands were the miami tribes of the upper wabash and miami rivers, and shawanese who dwelt with them. the delawares and wyandots, who now, in , signed the treaty of fort harmar (which only confirmed the previous treaties of fort stanwix and fort mcintosh) were not, at first, guilty of connivance; though soon they joined the indian confederacy regardless of their promises. it is interesting to note at the outset that the savages to whom the attention of the nation was now about to be attracted were styled, generally, the "northwestern indians." the significance of this is that now, when at last run to bay, the final campaigns in that long series of conflicts begun by washington and braddock and forbes on the heads of the ohio ( - ), continued by bouquet on the muskingum ( ), dunmore on the scioto ( ), crawford on the sandusky ( ), and clark on the miami ( ), were to be fought to a triumphant conclusion in the region of the wabash. these savages were the same that had ever fought the advancing fire-line of civilization--the miamis, delawares, shawanese, wyandots, and their confederates. driven westward for nearly half a century, they made a final stand at the western extremity of lake erie, almost under the guns of the british forts, and are known collectively now in as the "northwestern indians." the story of our actual conquest of the interior of america from the aboriginal inhabitants is practically the story of the campaigns which resulted in the acquisition successively of the allegheny, beaver, muskingum, scioto, miami, maumee, and wabash river valleys. fallen timber sealed the doom of the indian and ended a struggle begun at fort necessity in . the conquest would not have taken one-half the time it did had the indian not become allied now to france and now to england, alliances which introduced perplexing and delicate international questions which prolonged the pitiful struggle. on the sixth of october, , president washington, acting under the new powers conferred upon him, addressed a communication to governor st. clair requesting accurate information as to whether or not "the wabash and illinois indians are most inclined for war or peace."[ ] if found to favor the former course the governor was empowered "to call on the lieutenants of the nearest counties of virginia and pennsylvania, for such detachments of militia as you may judge proper, not exceeding, however, one thousand from virginia and five hundred from pennsylvania."[ ] with the prophetic foresight which so frequently marked washington's estimate of the future he added: "as it may be of high importance to obtain a precise and accurate knowledge of the several waters which empty into the ohio, on the northwest, and of those which discharge themselves in the lakes erie and michigan, the length of the portage between, and nature of the ground, an early and pointed attention thereto is earnestly recommended."[ ] anthony gamelin, a trusty scout, was sent up the wabash river to test the sentiments of the wabash and miami indians in april ; the gist of his report was that the young men of the nations could not be restrained from war, that the majority of the savages had "a bad heart." the influence of mckee and girty was in absolute authority.[ ] "i now enclose the proceedings of mr. gamelin," wrote major hamtramck to governor st. clair from vincennes, may , , "by which your excellency can have no great hopes of bringing the indians to a peace with the united states."[ ] the reasons are thus stated by governor st. clair to the secretary of war: "the confidence these [indians] have in their situation, the vicinity of many other nations, either much under their influence, or hostilely disposed towards the united states, and pernicious councils of the british traders, joined to the immense booties obtained by their depredations on the ohio."[ ] by july governor st. clair was ready to put in motion the campaign which was voted by all concerned to be inevitable. there was a double danger in further delay; the indians were growing more bold each day, and the people along the western frontier were beginning to distrust the strength of the government which, while claiming them, failed utterly to protect them. only a week before (july ) judge innes wrote these startling words to the secretary of war: "i will, sir, be candid on this subject.... the people say they have long groaned under their misfortunes, they see no prospect of relief.... they begin to want faith in the government, and appear determined to revenge themselves: for this purpose a meeting was lately held in this place, by a number of respectable characters, to determine on the propriety of carrying on three expeditions this fall."[ ] accordingly by circular letters to the county lieutenants dated fort washington, july , , st. clair called upon three hundred men from nelson, lincoln, and jefferson counties, virginia, to rendezvous at fort steuben (steubenville, ohio) september ; seven hundred men from madison, mercer, fayette, bourbon, woodford, and mason counties to rendezvous at fort washington september ; and five hundred men from washington, fayette, westmoreland, and allegheny counties, pennsylvania, to rendezvous four miles below wheeling on september . from this on affairs moved swiftly. on july --the day before the circular letters were sent off--general harmar contracted with elliott and williams of kentucky for one hundred and eighty thousand rations of flour, two hundred thousand rations of meat, eight hundred and sixty-eight horses equipped, one horse-master general, eighteen horse-masters, one hundred and thirty drivers, to be delivered at fort washington by october . on august , secretary of war knox wrote governor st. clair that he had ordered two tons of best rifle and musket powder, four tons of lead bullets, cartridge paper, case shot for five and a half inch howitzers and for three- and six-pounders to be hurried on from philadelphia to the ohio river. a thousand dollars was forwarded to fort washington for contingent expenses. knox hurried a letter on to the governor of virginia asking him to use his influence to induce the veteran kentucky colonels logan and shelby to join the army at fort washington as volunteers for "the accomplishment of the public good," and a letter to harmar requesting him to invite "those characters," and to treat them with "the greatest cordiality." st. clair wrote immediately to the british commander at detroit explaining candidly the nature of the campaign now on foot, explicitly stating its object and asking that the enemy should receive no assistance from british traders "from whose instigation," he made bold to add, "there is good reason to believe, much of the injuries committed by the savages has proceeded." everything considered, the young government responded nobly to the call of its western citizens. this was its first war, and one has to know only a little of the struggles for mere equipoise and maintenance since the close of the revolution to realize that a war at this time, of any proportions, was a most trying and exhausting undertaking. this has never been sufficiently emphasized. his first inauguration now two years past, the labors of his new honors were already bearing heavily upon the first president. if greater trials had ever been his portion, even in the struggle for independence, they had in a measure been anticipated and borne with a patience commensurate with the great interests at stake. he had been able to manoeuver his armies from red-coat generals' grasp, and the fretful complainings of the "times that tried men's souls" were alternately hushed in the presence of gloom and scattered in the hour of victory. but now the clash of personal interest and state pride rose loud about the chief executive, and advisers, who had once lost all thought of self in the common danger, now became uncertain quantities in the struggle for personal advancement, and bickered spitefully over matters of preferment and policy. the country which washington loved never needed his services more than now when these untried problems of currency, debt, and policy--and now of war--came rapidly to the front. the president's call for militia was answered with too great alacrity. a motley collection of kentucky militia was assembling by the middle of september, and those from pennsylvania reached fort washington on the twenty-fourth. the kentuckians were formed into three battalions under majors hall, m'mullen, and bay, commanded by lieutenant-colonel trotter--under whom they were anxious to serve. the pennsylvanians were formed in one battalion under lieutenant-colonel trubley and major pond, the whole commanded by colonel john hardin, subject to general harmar's orders. the regulars were formed in two battalions under major john p. wyllys and major john doughty. the company of artillery, having three pieces of ordnance, was under the command of captain william ferguson. a battalion of flying militia or light mounted troops was commanded by major james fontaine. the entire army numbered one thousand four hundred and fifty-three, of which three hundred and twenty were regulars. the "army" had assembled quickly; the stores had been forwarded to the place of rendezvous with exceeding despatch and faithfulness. the army was fatally weak in two particulars: many undisciplined old men and boys had volunteered as substitutes; and the arms, furnished by the volunteers themselves, were in lamentably poor condition. taken all in all, with the exception of armament, which was somewhat bettered at fort washington, this first little american army that now began an invasion of the maumee valley was in no better or no worse condition than the ordinary militia forces formerly put into the field by pennsylvania or kentucky. on the twenty-sixth of september the militia, eleven hundred strong, under colonel hardin, set forth from fort washington, striking in a northwesterly direction toward the valley of the little miami, on general clark's route of . david h. morris, making a slight error in dates, leaves this account, which gives, as the first day's march of the militia, four miles: "on the th of september, we took up our march for the maumee villages, near where fort wayne now stands, and proceeded four miles."[ ] of the start from fort washington thomas irwin leaves record: "my second visit to said cincinnati was as a volunteer from washington, pa. on harmars campaign about the first week in october .... fort washington was built, not finished, in my absence. the militia from kentucky and pennsylvania rendezvoused there at the same time marched from thence for the indian towns between the th and th of october on the trace made by general clark from kentucky in october [ ] which crossed the river hill[ ] north of fort washington passed mcmillins[ ] spring as it was afterwards called encamped at reading until harmar came up with the regular troops." at the beginning of the last century harmar's route was easily traced through warren county, running north of mason and west of lebanon.[ ] on september the regulars under general harmar left fort washington, by way of the same route, it would seem, as the militia. captain armstrong's record for the day reads: "the army moved from fort washington, at halfpast ten o'clock, a. m.,--marched about seven miles n. e. course--hilly, rich land. encamped on a branch of mill creek." how one can understand from this record that harmar's route followed what later became known as the "old wayne road" or "old hamilton road" up mill creek valley is beyond the ken of the present writer. encamping on the night of september on muddy creek, warren county, general harmar lay one mile south of the militia encampment.[ ] on the day following he moved through hardin's camp, which was located a few miles southwest of lebanon, and rested one mile in advance on turtle creek. here the divisions of the army united, and here the line of march was formed, according to armstrong's journal, on september . a. h. dunlevy, a pioneer in this neighborhood west of lebanon in , left record that near his home on the old route was the site of one of harmar's camps--possibly that of colonel hardin. a half acre was cleared and several graves were then visible there. "the brush," he wrote, "was piled in heaps around the camp. these brush heaps were decayed in but made fine harbors for snakes and as the warm sun of spring came out, i think hundreds of them could be seen in an hour passing from one brush heap to another. i used to amuse myself in watching their movements and noting their peculiar colors. every kind of snake seemed to nestle together in those brush heaps."[ ] on the fourth the combined army moved in a northwesterly direction through the turtle creek valley and, continuing over the hilly region northeast of lebanon, crossed the little miami at what has long been known as fish-pot ford about six miles northeast of lebanon.[ ] moving up the east bank of the river, camp was pitched one mile north of the crossing-place on cæsar's creek.[ ] the route the day following was up the river on the famous war path toward the indian chillicothe and piqua towns in the valleys of that and the mad river, along the general alignment of the little miami railroad. marching ten miles, according to captain armstrong, the army encamped "at five o'clock on glade creek, a very lively, clear stream." on the sixth, the site of old chillicothe was reached; "recrossed the little miami," says armstrong, "at half past one o'clock, halted one hour, and encamped at four o'clock on a branch." morris's account from the thirtieth of september reads: "thirtieth, we moved forward on the old indian trail leading to the old chilcothie town, on the little miami, and after several days marching, arrived at the place where the town once stood. here we fired off our guns; and in the evening, having recrossed the river, encamped about a mile above, near where james galloway now lives." the old indian trail ran from chillicothe to old piqua across mad river township, clark county, where, five miles west of springfield, tecumseh was born. after clark's destruction of this village in , its inhabitants moved across to the great miami where new piqua was built, and which was destroyed by clark in . the path harmar now followed bore toward the northwest, taking him to the site of the later piqua on the great miami. armstrong's journal reads: " ^{th}.... passed through several low praries, and crossed the pickaway fork of mad river.... encamped on a small branch, one mile from the former. our course the first four miles north, then northwest.--nine miles." the irwin ms., from the point of union of harmar and harding, reads: "formed the line of march there which was in two lines one on the right and one on the left of s^d trace a strong front and rear guard on said trace the baggage in the center passed near where the town of lebanon stands in warren county west of waynesville and xenia crossed mad river perhaps miles from dayton struck the great miami near the old piqua towns that was detroyed by s^d gen^l. clark crossed the miami some distance above them." for the journey between the two miamis the morris journal is perhaps most definite: "on the day following, we crossed mad river, and camped near new carlisle,[ ] in clark county, and within one mile of epee town, located precisely where elnathan cory now lives. this town gave name to the creek on which it stood, now called honey-creek.... here we killed cows intended for beef.... the next day we crossed indian creek ... and same day crossed lost creek in miami county.... on this evening, we encamped at a spring, on the farm formerly owned by nathaniel gerrard, and about two miles from the town of troy. gen. harmar gave to this spring, the name _tea spring_, as he and his officers refreshed themselves there, on that beverage." armstrong's record for the eighth and ninth is: "the army moved at halfpast nine o'clock. passed over rich land, in some places a little broken: passed several ponds, and through one small prarie, a n. w. course.--seven miles. th--the army moved at halfpast nine o'clock. passed through a level, rich country, well watered: course n. w.,--halted halfpast four o'clock, two miles south of the great miami.--ten miles." these commonplace records do not in any way represent the real state of affairs; perhaps they suggest only the topics of conversation of the vanguard of scouts and guides that led the army. the little band of troops was now in the heart of the enemy's country. the face of the land was covered with forests, broken here and there by patches of bush and prairie. that the indians knew of their advance, there was little doubt. when, where, or how they would oppose that advance, no one knew. the great miami was now reached and soon the strategic portage of the st. mary would be taken possession of. the course would then be down grade to the miami towns on the maumee. would the enemy rally here on the watershed crest near the old french fort on the loramie? such speculations as these occupied many more minds, it may confidently be believed, than thoughts of the streams or prairies crossed. the records left us tell only of the commonplaces, leaving the human element to the imagination. yet this can be better conceived if the route is correctly outlined. on the tenth of september harmar crossed the great miami river. "at the crossing," wrote armstrong, "there is a handsome high prairie on the s. e. side." "on the following day," reads the morris record, "we crossed the big miami, a little above the town of piqua, near manning's old mill.... this evening we encamped not far from upper piqua." this agrees with the irwin ms. previously quoted. on the eleventh the army moved to and crossed loramie's creek, seven miles from its camping-place of the preceding night (ten miles from the camp near the great miami of september ). of the route from the great miami onward, irwin states: "crossed loirimous creek a short distance from its mouth into the great miami river had a pretty good indian trace from there to what was called the old french store or trading house at st marys had a good trace from there to the maumee towns." the morris record reads: "next day, we took up our march for lorrimiers, a french trader at st. marys--... we crossed lorrimie creek on the next morning, at a village that had been burned by clark or logan, some ten years before. from here, we passed over the summit level for st. marys, where we encamped.... having crossed st. marys we encamped on its eastern bank."[ ] on september , by armstrong's journal, the army "crossed a stream at seven miles and a half running n. e. on which there are several old camps, much deadened timber, which continues to the river auglaize, about a mile. here has been a considerable village--some houses still standing. this stream is a branch of the omi [maumee] river, and is about twenty yards wide." from this on the route was along the old trace which followed the st. mary, some distance to the northward of the immediate bank, to its junction with the maumee, where the army arrived on the seventeenth of september, having accomplished the hard march of over one hundred and sixty miles in eighteen days by the regulars and twenty by the militia. on the thirteenth, "i think the ^{st} or ^d morning after we left st marys," according to mr. irwin, " or mounted men went out in search of some horses that had been lost or missing over night started a smart young indian without a gun in the open woods--took him prisoner brought him into camp ... he give every information respecting the movements of the indians stated they had determined to move their families and property out of the towns and burn them. six hundred men was detached or drafted from the army placed under the command of col. hardin he being the ^d in command with orders to proceed as quick as possible to the towns. when we arrived found what the prisoner stated was true indians happened to be under the bank of the river when the army came up they tried to escape the troops discovered them and about guns was discharged at them one was found dead the next day in the brush, the ballance of the army arriv'd at the towns two days after the first got there i was with the rear."[ ] signs that the indians had retreated in a northwesterly direction being discovered, general harmar, on the eighteenth, ordered colonel trotter of the militia to follow and attack them with a force of three hundred men. the detachment was provided with three days rations. about one mile from camp an indian was pursued and killed. a little later a second solitary indian scout was killed--after wounding one of his assailants. trotter moved hither and thither with apparent aimlessness until nightfall when he returned to camp--to harmar's disgust. the militia in camp had scattered in various directions searching for corn and other plunder which the savages had buried. the gun fired to call these into camp, trotter affirmed, was thought to be an alarm signal for him to return. the men under trotter displayed no more military characteristics than the prowling militia left at the encampment. such men, it was sure, would suffer at the hands of the fierce, watchful enemy, if ever their turn should come. it came on the very next day! it was now colonel hardin's turn to strike a blow, and he was ordered out on the indian path which ran northwest toward the kickapoo towns. proceeding about eleven miles from camp (fort wayne, indiana) to near the point where the goshen state road crosses the eel river, the keen scouter john armstrong saw important "signs" and heard an alarm gun in front. hardin did not act on the advice and made no disposition of his troops for battle. soon after, armstrong discovered the fires of the indian camp--but hardin, scorning the enemy, pushed straight on. the indian commander--the famous miami warrior, little turtle--based his plans on just such recklessness. deep in the brush and grass on either side of the trail his dogs of war crouched silent as cougars. the army had walked well into the trap before two crimson streaks of fire flashed out in the very faces of the troopers. the militia bolted at breakneck speed--some never stopping in their flight until they reached the ohio river. a small band of regulars under armstrong retired slightly and held their ground temporarily; then they retreated to harmar's camp. this savage stroke cost heavily, the indians killing almost an average of a white man apiece--the loss, about one hundred, equalling, probably, the number of the waylaying savage force. it was one of the bloodiest ambuscades in western history. armstrong's journal for the nineteenth reads: "attacked about one hundred indians fifteen miles west of the miami village; and from the dastardly conduct of the militia, the troops were obliged to retreat. i lost one sergeant, and twenty-one out of thirty men of my command. the indians on this occasion gained a complete victory--having killed, in the whole, near one hundred men, which was about their number. many of the militia threw away their arms without firing a shot, ran through the federal troops and threw them in disorder." of the indians armstrong adds "they fought and died hard." when hardin's troops returned, they found that harmar had moved two miles down the maumee in the work of destroying the indian villages and crops. from this camp, an old shawanese village, various companies were sent out in different directions to finish the work of destroying the indian settlements. on the night of the twenty-first, when seven miles distant from the miami village, colonel hardin proposed to harmar that he be allowed his pick of the militia with which to return secretly upon the indians. it was believed, and spies no doubt so reported, that the indians had returned to their central villages at the junction of the st. mary and st. joseph. harmar acquiesced, feeling that another blow would undoubtedly prevent the savages from following the army. the force was composed of three hundred and forty militia, under majors hall and mcmullen, major fontaine's mounted militia, and sixty regulars under major wyllys. the miami town was reached after sunrise. hardin's plan was to surround secretly the village and make a simultaneous attack from all sides. major hall's battalion was sent to cross the st. mary and hold themselves in readiness to attack from the rear when the main body, which would cross the maumee at the common ford, fell upon the village in front. hall's men wantonly fired on a fugitive indian before the signal for attack was given; to make matters worse the militia under mcmullen and fontaine began pursuing the various parties of flying redskins, leaving major wyllys and the regulars unsupported. the latter crossed the maumee, according to the fixed scheme, but were suddenly assailed by an overpowering force led by little turtle and were compelled to return with loss of many men, including major wyllys himself. the militia then hastened back to the main army. miserable as had been the deportment of the militia, their muskets had done severe execution, and harmar had no fear now of an indian attack--nor the slightest remnant of confidence in any but the fragment of regular troops left to him. on the twenty-third the army took up the line of outward march for fort washington and reached the ohio on the fourth day of november, having lost one hundred and eighty-three killed and thirty-one wounded. major wyllys and lieutenant frothingham of the regulars, and major fontaine and captains thorp, mcmurtrey, and scott, and lieutenants clark and rogers of the militia were the principal officers sacrificed. on the other hand there is ground for partly agreeing with irwin that harmar's campaign was not wholly a defeat. the indian loss was as large as the american--and this was a great deal accomplished. few armies before had entered the indian land and not been followed by the indians on the return with distinct losses. harmar's repeated though costly operations on the maumee had given the indians all the battle they wished; indeed it is not too much to say that they were stunned. chapter iii st. clair's campaign harmar wrought wide destruction but of the kind that made the indians of the maumee irrevocably and bitterly angry. the main boast of the returning campaigners was that the enemy did not pursue them--which, after all, was more significant than we can realize today. it illustrates in a word the exact effect of the raid; the indians were dumbfounded at the arrival of a white army so far within their forests. they knew as well as the whites that the punishment administered to the frontiersmen was almost wholly due to the rash boldness of the latter, who, rushing heedlessly after the scurrying savages, made ambuscades possible. yet harmar's actual success was only in burning villages and crops, and sending crowds of old men and women and children fleeing to the swamps and forest fastnesses. practically, it was the old story of a score of kentucky raids into the "indian side" of the ohio over again. "you are the 'town-destroyer,'" was the cry of an old chieftain to president washington, "and when that name is heard our women look quickly behind them and turn pale." but there was something more to be done on the maumee than to make squaws turn pale! that would not keep back the murdering bands from the infant settlements along and below the ohio. this became plain so suddenly that the shock was felt throughout the east. in no way could the northwestern indians have struck home more quickly than by perpetrating the terrible big bottom massacre. the new england colony which, led by rufus putnam, founded marietta at the mouth of the muskingum had, by january , expanded in all directions.[ ] one company of pioneers had ascended the muskingum to big bottom, morgan county, ohio. at dusk, on the second night in january, , a band of savages crossed the river at silverheels riffle above the unprotected blockhouse, and entered the settlement feigning friendship. the pioneers offered them a portion of the evening meal, when a sudden burst of flame swept the room. several whites fell straight forward into the fireplace before which they were eating; others, to the number of fourteen, were instantly put to death. but one blow was struck by the whites at big bottom. the goodwife of the woodsman meeks, uninjured by the first fire that swept the cabin, took advantage of the cloud of smoke to seize a broad-ax standing by the wall. as an indian strode forward to the bloody finale, the glittering blade sank deeply into his shoulder. it was but one blow--but it was a token of a nation's anger; it meant as much as the blood-red battle-ax the departing murderers left beside the smouldering ruins of big bottom blockhouse. the message of that war-club sped eastward. the blow at the new england colony was sure to attract unusual attention, and no doubt played an important part in deciding the great question of the hour. this was a question of war or peace. as in the year previous, so now in (as well as in later times) there were many who opposed indian warfare from humanitarian principles. suffice it to say these opponents of war did not live on the muskingum or licking rivers! yet peace, for all concerned, if it could be secured at an honorable price, was most desirable, and the united states faced the question fairly and with energy. as early as december, , the famous seneca chieftain cornplanter, being in philadelphia, was urged not only to present the exact feeling of the government to the six nations in new york and on the allegheny, but was asked to visit the hostile western nations as a peace messenger. the declaration of war by the savages at big bottom in no wise deterred the united states from this purpose of obtaining peace at the least price in blood and treasure. in march, , colonel thomas proctor was sent to the senecas to urge the young men of that tribe not to take the war path, and then was ordered to go with cornplanter to the maumee river. the task was dangerous and laborious, but proctor pushed his way through the forests of pennsylvania and new york to the senecas who kept so well the western door of the "long house of the iroquois." it was a fruitless mission. "the people at the setting sun are bad people," said an old warrior to the intrepid herald; "you must look when it is light in the morning until the setting sun, and you must reach your neck over the land, and take all the light you can, to show the danger." the senecas were right and the further proctor "reached his neck out" over the land the more plainly was this seen to be true. gordon, the british commander at niagara, forbade him taking ship for the maumee; "the unfriendly denial," he wrote the secretary of war, "puts a stop to the further attempting to go to the miamies." another item in his letter was of significance: joseph brant with forty warriors had gone westward to the confederated tribes on an unknown mission. in april, colonel timothy pickering was also sent to the senecas, and, meeting them in convention at painted post, urged the chieftains to hold back the young men from joining the hostile tribes. governor st. clair likewise sent messages, especially to the western tribes urging that hostile bands be withdrawn from the frontier ere the united states should be compelled to bring heavy chastisement. but peace is sometimes as costly, and more so, than war; such proved to be the case now. it was early believed by the most farsighted that a crushing defeat of the northwestern confederacy would be a great saving of blood. and so while peaceful efforts were being forwarded as effectually as the situation of the distant tribes and the hostility of english agents permitted, warlike preparations were likewise being made. as the spring of opened, the frontiers were overrun with murderous bands and the cry from the infant west to the central government could not be unheeded. "i most earnestly implore the protection of government," wrote the brave putnam to washington, "for myself and friends inhabiting these wilds of america." the cry from kentucky and the lower ohio was equally piercing. the plan of the united states at this juncture was wholly in keeping with its dignity and its power. failing in an attempt of reconciliation, it was determined to throw into the indian land several raiding bands of horsemen "to demonstrate that they [the savages] were within our reach, and lying at our mercy."[ ] in case these strokes did not awe the offenders, a grand campaign on an extensive scale was to be inaugurated. fearing the worst, though hopeful of the better, preparations for all these movements were put on foot, to be countermanded if peaceful measures sufficed. the attitude of the government at this serious crisis of its first indian war must be judged humane and generous. the indians protested that they had never ceded an inch of territory northwest of the ohio; yet at four treaties supposed representatives of all the nations concerned had received from american commissioners payment for all lands now ( ) occupied or claimed by the white men. in each case the nations had been formally invited to each treaty; they now averred that only irresponsible chieftains had signed these treaties. in a single instance it is possible to believe that unscrupulous indians might have so deceived the government officials and wronged the indians, but that this could have occurred on three occasions was manifestly absurd. the ohio company purchase and the symmes purchase had been made, the pioneers had emigrated and settled the lands. the government had given no white man right to cross the treaty line. those settlements could not be uprooted without great injustice. the war seemed, therefore, an imperative necessity, and the government had no honorable alternative if peace efforts failed. we have had many dealings with the indians since , and it is of some comfort to rest assured that our first indian war was eminently just and right. unless otherwise ordered, brigadier-general scott of kentucky was to make a dash at the indian villages on the upper wabash in the early summer. a little later general wilkinson was scheduled to lead another raiding band to the populous settlement on the eel river, a northern tributary of the wabash. these swift strokes, it was hoped, would compel the indians to confer concerning peace. no rift in the dark war-clouds occurred, despite the efforts of knox and st. clair to establish an armistice, and scott marched northward in may and wilkinson in august. like similar raids, these two were successful failures. villages and crops were ruined and captives were taken. many squaws "looked behind them and turned pale" perhaps, but in effect they had an opposite influence from that hoped: they undid whatever little good the efforts to secure peace had accomplished. there was now utmost need for the final "grand campaign." [illustration: a part of arrowsmith's map of the united states, ] [_showing the region in which wilkinson_, _scott_, _harmar_, _st. clair_, _and wayne operated_] the army of the united states now consisted of three or four hundred soldiers--the first regiment--distributed among the frontier forts on the ohio river. it was ordered that the depleted ranks of this regiment be filled by recruits to be raised "from maryland to new york inclusive," and that a full second regiment be raised, one company from south carolina and one from delaware and the remainder in the four new england states.[ ] the troops were to be mustered by companies, to rendezvous at fort pitt. governor arthur st. clair was created major-general and placed in command of the new army. brigadier-general richard butler was appointed second in command. the object of the campaign was to establish a line of military posts from fort washington on the ohio to the maumee, where, at the miami village at the junction of the st. mary and st. joseph, a strong fort was to be built, "for the purpose of awing and curbing the indians in that quarter, and as the only preventative of future hostilities."[ ] in present day terms the army was to march from cincinnati, ohio, and erect a fort on the site of fort wayne, indiana. in every order the underlying theory of the government is plain--the one end sought was peace. "this [peace] is of more value than millions of uncultivated acres," were the words of the secretary of war in st. clair's instructions.[ ] it was a war of self-defense, not a war of conquest. the business dragged at every point. in the hope that the indians would come to reason, scott's raid was delayed a week at the start. wilkinson, who was to move northward june , did not march until august . the continued anticipation of good results from these expeditions, which would render the grand campaign unnecessary, tended to lessen the energies of the preparations. general butler was assigned the duty of raising the recruits in the east--a discouraging task. the pay offered did not equal an average day's wage. the campaign was not entirely popular and promised innumerable hardships. enlistments came in slowly, and, in many instances, only the unfit and unworthy offered. as late as april the secretary of war wrote general butler: "none of the companies of the eastern states are yet nearly completed." as early as may he wrote st. clair: "it will at least be the latter end of july, or the beginning of august before your force shall be assembled." originally the army was to march from fort washington on july . general st. clair left philadelphia march for the ohio, to superintend affairs at the point of rendezvous. with "a degree of pain and difficulty that cannot well be imagined," st. clair, already a sick man, pushed on to pittsburg and lexington, kentucky, reaching fort washington on the fifteenth of may. one week later (may ) general butler reached pittsburg, to receive the army and the stores and ammunition and hurry all on to fort washington. but every rod became a mile and every hundredweight a ton. it was not until the fifth of june that the troops from the east reached fort pitt--eight hundred and forty-two soldiers of the twelve hundred secretary knox had promised may . and yet, few as they were, no boats had been prepared to carry them south, and indeed very few in which to transport the slowly accumulating stores and ammunition. contractor duer and quartermaster samuel hodgdon seemingly believed that barges grew on the rich banks of the ohio and flat-boats were to be picked from the trees. the congestion of troops and stores which now resulted at pittsburg was quite as appalling as the former scarcity of every needful thing. as rapidly as conditions permitted, general butler wrought a certain kind of order out of the chaos, but not a kind that augured well for the future. that could hardly have been expected. in one way or another various craft were knocked together, filled, and set afloat in good hope of reaching fort washington. june dragged by, and july. august found butler and quartermaster-general hodgdon still at pittsburg, and it was not until the twenty-sixth of that month that the last of the army began the voyage southward--sixty precious days late. on july secretary knox wrote st. clair at fort washington: "the president is greatly anxious that the campaign be distinguished by decisive measures." a letter of august reads: "the president still continues anxious that you should, at the earliest moment, commence your operations;" and another under the date of september reads: "[the president] therefore enjoins you, by every principle that is sacred, to stimulate your operations in the highest degree, and to move as rapidly as the lateness of the season, and the nature of the case will possibly admit." it is a matter of record that at the time this letter was written neither general butler or quartermaster-general hodgdon had so much as reached the rendezvous. the latter's delay was never explained and general butler was utterly dependent upon quartermaster and contractor. butler was at last ordered to fort washington by secretary knox in the following peremptory words, which implied neglect and carelessness--a rebuke which was, perhaps, as undeserved as it was sharp: "i have received your letter of the th instant, which has been submitted to the president of the united states, and i am commanded to inform you that he is by no means satisfied with the long detention of the troops on the upper parts of the ohio, which he considers unnecessary and improper. and it is his opinion, unless the highest exertions be made by all parts of the army, to repair the loss of the season, that the expenses which have been made for the campaign, will be altogether lost, and that the measures, from which so much has been expected, will issue in disgrace."[ ] however the quartermaster-general had been ordered as early as june to "consult major general butler upon all objects of the preparations and as soon as possible repair to headquarters."[ ] yet, had the army been assembled at fort washington july instead of september , there would have been no such thing as moving northward for weeks. no sooner had the first of the troops reached st. clair than it was clear that he had made no mistake in hurrying to the point of rendezvous. for instance the carriages of the guns used in harmar's campaign were ruined and had not been replaced. there was no corps of artificers and drafting was resorted to in order to secure smiths, carpenters, harness-makers, wheelwrights, etc. with the arrival of major ferguson, june , it became clear that nearly all the ammunition had yet to be properly prepared; a laboratory had to be built; the shells had to be filled with powder, likewise the artillery cartridges, the shells for howitzers and musket cartridges. not only did enough of this work have to be done for the immediate use of the army, but a sufficient supply had to be prepared for each of the posts to be erected between fort washington and the maumee, and to supply the main fort on the maumee and its defenders until spring. the carriages of the guns that arrived from philadelphia were rendered useless and new ones had to be made. almost all arms which the troops brought to fort washington were out of repair. an armory had to be built, and, says general st. clair, "so fast did the work of that kind increase upon our hands, that at one time it appeared as if it would never be got through with."[ ] an indeterminate amount of powder shipped from philadelphia was practically ruined before it reached fort washington; one boatload was entirely submerged on the way from fort pitt. the officers attempted to keep this from the men but the news leaked out. "the powder was very bad," records ensign pope of the militia, "i fired at a tree several times and hit but seldom; it would not force the ball." such of the powder as was good stood little chance of remaining so in the wretched tents that were palmed off on the quartermaster-general. colonel mentgetz, inspector, is our authority for the fact that, with the exception of two companies, the tents would not keep out rain at either front or back. general harmar said the flanks of the tents were of russian sheeting and the ends were of crocus or osnaburg and would not, in his opinion, keep out rain. according to major zeigler the tents were infamous and "many hundred dozen of cartridges were destroyed, and the troops, not being kept dry were sick in great numbers."[ ] the packsaddles were too big--"big enough for elephants," said an officer; the axes sent from philadelphia were useless--"would bend up like a dumpling," according to major zeigler. in fact fort washington was transformed into a manufacturing city, and there was almost no kind of work that was not done--though often the necessary tools had first to be made. two traveling forges had been sent west of which only the anvils were missing! it is not to be wondered that st. clair, as general harmar afterward said, was often the first up in the morning and went the rounds of the shops and laboratories greatly disturbed over the vast amount of work to be done, the difficulty in the doing of it, and the ominous delay. for, with the heat of the summer's end, the grass was fast withering, which meant that feed for the horses must be transported--an item of great magnitude. the failure of the quartermaster-general to come forward, even when ordered to do so, compelled st. clair to bear the brunt of all the results of mismanagement and delay. as noted, the delay of the quartermaster was never explained. his very appointment occasioned an outcry among officers who had known him; the soldiers laughed many of his measures to scorn. one of his employees who arrived at fort washington in charge of horses had, seemingly, no knowledge whatever of frontier life. the horses were not provided with hopples or bells; released from their long confinement in the barges they broke for the woods and many were never again secured. st. clair facetiously hinted that their master would have had to wear a bell, had he gone to seek them, in order to be secure from becoming lost. it was found later that the horses had been fed, not from troughs, as ordered, but from the sandy river beach, where their grain was strewn and much wasted, the horses also injuring each other in an attempt to eat it. but patience is exhausted before one half of the miserable story is told. more than enough has been suggested to show the condition of the "grand army" that had gathered and was now about to march northward. it is almost needless to add that an eternal jealousy between militia and regulars existed; that the troops were wretchedly clad; that nothing was known of the country through which the march was to be made, and less than nothing of the foe that was to be met and conquered. the camp of the army (except artificers) was moved by st, clair on august six miles northward from fort washington to ludlow's station,[ ] where the pasturage was better and where the troops were not under the influence of the dramshops at the little settlement about the fort. on the arrival of general butler and quartermaster hodgdon, september , a slight delay occurred through butler's being appointed president of a court-martial which general harmar had demanded and by which he was honorably acquitted. it was september before the advance was begun from ludlow's station northward. when the army, twenty-three hundred strong, at last filed out from ludlow's station, the plan seems to have been to build two forts between fort washington and the proposed fort on the maumee, the first at the ford, twenty-three miles north, on the great miami, and the second about the same distance in advance and twice as far from the maumee.[ ] the army marched from ludlow's station under the command of general butler and reached the miami september . st. clair returned to fort washington to hurry up the contractor's agents and muster in the militia he had called from kentucky. from september to october the army was busy building a fort at "camp miami," which st. clair named fort hamilton.[ ] on october butler made the last preparations for the march, fort hamilton being nearly completed. all the artillery cartridges (except sixty rounds) were distributed, and one half of the stock of musket cartridges. a body of contractor's stores was thrown across the miami, under cover, to join the army on its march. concerning the route and the road, little was known. at the outset of the campaign st. clair in his instructions was ordered "to appoint some skillful person to make actual surveys of your march, to be corrected, if the case will admit of it, by proper astronomical observations, and of all posts you may occupy."[ ] the first settlers in the miami purchase[ ] had spread inland a few miles at this time; one settlement, ludlow's station, was made five miles up mill creek and another twelve miles up the great miami. butler's route from ludlow's station to the site of fort hamilton was undoubtedly already an open trail that far. the day before he advanced from fort hamilton, butler wrote st. clair: "i have just received a verbal report from captain ginnon, the surveyor, who is returned. he has been seven miles, and says the face of the country is level but very brushy, and in his opinion it is impracticable for loaded horses to get on without a road.[ ] of this i will be a better judge as i advance and try the present order of march, &c. should i find it impracticable to execute, i feel confident that any directions that may be necessary to facilitate the movements will meet your approval. the road is cut one and a-half miles to a good stream of water and ground to encamp on. five miles advanced of that is a large creek, which is three feet deep at the place he crossed, but a little below is a ford, ..." on the fourth of october, with enough provisions to last a few days, without its commander, who was at fort washington hurrying on three hundred militia, the army under butler crossed the miami river and entered the shadows of the indian land. we have no definite record of the first days' marches. it would not seem that more than five miles a day were accomplished. the route was in alignment with the eaton road between hamilton and eaton, preble county. four mile (from hamilton) creek--then known as joseph's creek--was crossed near the old "fearnot mill," and the first encampment was made near what was afterward known as scott's tanyard on seven mile creek--then called st. clair's creek.[ ] the line of march was up seven mile creek, west of eaton, where the creek was forded. "the trace cannot now be definitely located," wrote a preble county annalist, a generation ago. "it was not cut to as great width as most of the military roads, and the line has been almost wholly obscured by the growth of the forest and the action of the weather upon the soil."[ ] narrow as the road here was, it was cut wider than st. clair intended. after the first day or two general butler, as he suggested in his letter of october , decided that st. clair's tri-track plan of march was impracticable, and gave orders that but one road should be cut, and that the army march in a body. on the seventh st. clair came hurrying on from fort washington to join his army. the militia had gone on on the fifth, but in bad temper. several deserted even upon arriving at fort washington. a sergeant and twenty-five men deserted on the night of the third. a score of men deserted from fort hamilton the night before the army marched. the anxiety of the officers, and the herculean efforts to get the army into fighting trim, had not created a very loyal spirit in the men who marched. a little more chicanery and misjudgment and the entire army would have mutinied. st. clair, before mounting his horse, wrote knox that his troops amounted in all to twenty-three hundred. "i trust i shall find them sufficient," he added. the words remind one of braddock's last letter to the british ministry before leaving fort cumberland for the death-trap on the monongahela in . major ebenezer denny traveled with st. clair as aide-de-camp and has left us the official account of the army's march. denny was not anxious to serve. "you must go," general harmar declared, "some will escape and you may be among the number."[ ] st. clair and denny reached fort hamilton on the seventh, and on the day following pushed on after the army over the narrow course it had made; this was running "north sixteen degrees." four encampments were passed and the militia, and st. clair reached his army that evening. there was full need of him. the army was making but five miles a day; and at that disastrously slow pace the stores were not keeping up. tonight (the eighth) st. clair wrote a stinging letter to israel ludlow. instead of having ninety thousand rations, as was promised, st. clair had to write "by day after tomorrow i shall not have an ounce unless some arrives.... if you found the transportation impracticable, you ought to have informed me, that i might have taken means to have got supplies forward, _or not have committed my army to the wilderness_.... no disappointment should have happened which was in the power of money to prevent; and money could certainly have prevented any here.... want of drivers will be no excuse to a starving army and a disappointed people."[ ] another exceedingly unfortunate affair demanded st. clair's attention, in his opinion, that night. he had given carefully studied and explicit orders by which the army should march. as noted, general butler changed the order of march as he threatened to do in his letter to st. clair from fort hamilton. the reasons for the change did not appeal to the commander-in-chief; butler was called to account for his action, apologized, and stated his reasons. st. clair had ordered that the army march in three lines, contending that it was far more easy to cut three roads, ten feet in width each, than to cut one road of thirty or forty. st. clair's method was that pursued by the wisest and most successful generals--forbes and bouquet--in hewing the first roads across the alleghenies. "the quantity of timber," st. clair records, "increases in a surprising proportion, as the width of the road is increased;"[ ] the veteran conqueror of fort duquesne, general forbes, wrote his right-hand man colonel bouquet under the same circumstances, urging the cutting of several paths, saying, "i don't mean here to cut down any large trees, only to clear away the brushwood and saplins...."[ ] temporarily, st. clair allowed butler's alteration to stand, but insisted that it should soon be corrected as the army pushed on. the result was that butler conceived an intense dislike for st. clair. the latter has placed it on record that, upon butler's arrival at fort washington, "he was soured and disgusted, and i suppose it was occasioned by the fault that had been found with the detention of the troops up the river;"[ ] knox's rebuke, previously quoted, would make plain the reason of any disinterest on the part of general butler. st. clair's reproof here and now seemed to increase it; "from that moment," st. clair said, "his coolness and distance increased, and he seldom came near me. i was concerned at it, but as i had given no cause, i could apply no cure."[ ] as the half mutinous, because half fed, army blundered on, it might seem that lack of provisions was its most serious menace; yet it becomes pretty clear that the estrangement of butler and st. clair was even more serious. on the ninth of october, the army pushed on nine miles, and the horses being tied up at night an eight o'clock start was achieved on the morning of the tenth, but only eight miles were traversed. at two o'clock on the afternoon of the eleventh the army drew out into the low prairie land which lies six miles south of fort jefferson, darke county, ohio, and halted for the night to search for a safe path through it. on the day after, a party led by general butler found a "deep-beaten" indian trail which skirted the lower levels "avoiding the wet land," and this was followed for five and a half miles. there is no record that st. clair followed an indian trail until near the center of darke county. the course heretofore had been run by the compass.[ ] from this night's encampment st. clair rode forward a short mile and chose the site for the next fort on the line from the ohio river to the maumee. the spot chosen was near the present site of fort jefferson, ohio--latitude ° ['] [''] n. the work of erecting the new post was undertaken with alacrity by many of the soldiers and officers--the latter working in the mud with the men. major ferguson found the lack of axes a serious handicap, there being but one ax to three workmen.[ ] yet these discouragements were not as disheartening as the continual dearth of provisions. this undermined discipline, perseverance, loyalty, and honor. desertions became more alarmingly frequent, but men who were not fed could not work and would not march. as half-rations, and those exceedingly poor, became the necessary order of the day, the army slowly melted from under the discouraged st. clair. every night found the army smaller and yet more discouraged.[ ] in vain st. clair beseeched hodgdon to hurry on provisions.[ ] but the contractor's horses were lacking and those to be had were unfit for the heavy loads bound to them. and here at fort jefferson another and more pitiful estrangement between st. clair and butler occurred. while the fort was being erected, the latter officer came to st. clair's tent and, in view of the slow advance of the army and the lateness of the season, asked st. clair for a thousand picked men with permission to hurry on by a forced march to the maumee and begin the erection of the fort there to be built. "i received the proposal," records st. clair, "with an astonishment that, i doubt not, was depicted in my countenance, and, in truth, had liked to have laughed in his face, which he probably discovered. i composed my features, however, as well as i could, told him, though it did not appear to me, at first view, as a feasible project, nevertheless, it deserved to be considered; that i would consider it attentively, and give him an answer in the morning, which i accordingly did, with great gravity: and from that moment, his distance and reserve increased still more sensibly."[ ] butler seems to have considered himself treated with contempt in this instance. it cannot be supposed that such a brave veteran officer as butler could have asked a thing which it was out of st. clair's power to grant; yet from the records of the condition of affairs it is difficult to see how st. clair could have risked dividing his army which, for the whole week following, was on half-rations, and men deserting by twos and threes and even scores every night. passing the question--which in no way can be decided--of the propriety of butler's plan, the circumstance seems to have deeply embittered a brave and good man with whom fate had been dealing most unkindly since the very beginning of the present campaign. as will be seen, it were a kindness to butler to believe that continued untoward fortune rendered him mentally incapable of acting henceforward in a sane manner toward general st. clair. explorations were carried on throughout the twenty-third and the line of march on the indian trail, previously discovered, was renewed on the twenty-fourth; the army stumbled helplessly on to greenville creek, where the city of greenville, ohio, now stands. this small effort to advance was more than the hungry army could endure and one whole dark week was spent here waiting for provisions. the condition of army discipline was probably indescribable. the kentuckians, who formed the large portion of the militia, were not afraid of the savages but the lack of food completely demoralized them. on the last day of october a large party numbering at least sixty deserted, and, hastening down the roadway which the army had cut, threatened to seize the provision train that was supposed to be slowly nearing the sorry army. the threat cast a gloom over the army and st. clair was compelled to order out the first regiment, not so much in pursuit of the deserters,[ ] as for the protection of the needed provisions. the army, weakened by the absence of this regiment, marched on--following an indian trail that ran north from greenville on the general alignment of the present fort recovery road. st. clair states the direction of the path as "north ° west."[ ] added to st. clair's many discouragements and butler's disaffection, was physical ailment. the touch of gout experienced on the journey over the alleghenies did not leave him. in his meager _journal_ he records on october : "so ill this day that i had much difficulty in keeping with the army."[ ] november dawned wet and cold but on the first his "friendly fit of gout" was growing better. on the third of november the army made its last day's march--little dreaming that it was the last or that just ahead lay the bloodiest battlefield in american pioneer history. the thomas irwin manuscript, previously quoted,[ ] gives us a glimpse of the day that is of singularly pathetic interest. "in the afternoon of the ^d something broke which caused a general halt nearly one hour the day was cold us waggoners in front had a very handy way of making fire we made up a large fire several of the officers collected around to warm themselves gen^l st clair was brought and took a seat he not being able to walk they discoursed on different subjects one was where they thought we were the general oppinion was that we had passed over the dividing ridge between the miamie waters and was then on the waters of st. marys col serjant came up at the time stated the advance gard had chased or indians from a fire out of a thicket & got part of a venison at it he likewise stated there had been more indians seen that day than any day previous the general observed that he did not think the indians was watching the motions of the army with a view to attack them other than steal horses or catch a person if they had a chance we all coincided [?] in that oppinion." poor st. clair! was ever a general more terribly mistaken? just beyond lay little turtle, now closing swiftly in on the doomed army. "the army moved about two miles," continues irwin, "from there halted to encamp at a good place but scarce of water an express came up from the advance gard give information that they had arrived at a fine running stream of water and a good place to encamp the army moved to s^d creek got there a little after sunset. it was between & oclock before the army got fixed to rest." then follows the ominous sentence: "this was on the ^d of november ." happy it is that the bloody promontory to which st. clair's army hobbled late on that cold november night can forever bear the cheerful name which another and more successful campaigner--whose soldiers were not always half-famished--gave it. and still no thoughtful student can look upon the slow-moving little wabash from the present site of fort recovery, ohio, without remembering that here camp destruction was pitched before ever fort recovery was erected. a fine high plateau or promontory thrusts itself out into the lower flats through which the river curves. at its extreme point the river approaches on the left and in front. on the right are extensive fields where the sunlight plays so tenderly that it is difficult to picture the rank swamp which lay there a century ago. beyond the river, level flats extend half a mile and more to the foothills beyond. major denny had accompanied the advance guard and quartermaster to this spot, and though "it was farther than could have been wished," word was sent back to the army advising that the march be continued to that point. it being "later than usual when the army reached the ground this evening," records denny, "and the men much fatigued prevented the general from having some works of defense immediately erected." the army camped in a hollow square on the summit of the promontory; general butler commanded the right and front and his troops under majors butler, clarke, and patterson lay in two lines along the edge of the high ground near the wabash. the left was composed of the battalions under bedinger and gaither, in the first line, and lieutenant-colonel darke's troops in the second. "the army was encamped in a hollow square," says irwin, "allong the bank of s^d creek perhaps yards between the lines so that the rear could go to the creek for water." the militia was sent forward across the wabash and encamped about one-fourth of a mile in the bottoms. the tired men fell to work gathering wood, and soon two rows of fires were brightly blazing in the narrow avenue between the troops of butler on the left and darke on the right. the rain had turned to snow. many of the exhausted men sank instantly to sleep. as if half conscious of the doom hanging over the army, certain of the officers were given to pondering on the number of indians seen that day. "fresh signs," writes denny, "... appeared today in several places; parties of riflemen detached after them, but without success." the irwin ms. reads: "the advance gard seen they supposed about indians in the bottom on the other side of s^d creek [wabash] when they arrived at it in the evening and had seen considerable sign that day." the premonition of disaster intensified as the camp became quiet and the blazing fires were brightly reflected in the light snow. among certain officers the premonition took shape, and it was determined to send out a party to reconnoiter. captain butler at first resolved to lead the party, but soon thought it improper to leave the camp. accordingly, colonel gibson went to captain slough of the first battalion of levies carrying a raccoon in his hand; finding slough, he invited him to his tent to see "how to dress a racoon indian fashion."[ ] captain butler joined them, and the three went to general butler's tent where wine was served. slough agreed to go out with a party of volunteers, nominally to catch "some of the rascals who might attempt to steal horses." it is plain, whatever the officers may have given as a reason for the scouting expedition, that slough was sent to feel of the woods--to guard against surprise. his line of men paraded in the firelight before butler's tent before stealing out beyond the lines. passing colonel oldham's tent, slough stopped and informed that officer of the detachment and its mission. colonel oldham "was lying down with his clothes on" and "requested me not to go, as he was sure my party would be cut off, for, says he, i expect the army will be attacked in the morning; i replied, that as i had received my orders i must go." slough led his party through the militia camp and onward about a mile on the indian trail. here they were divided, each party hiding on opposite sides of the path. soon a party of indians passed each hiding company; one company opened fire. it was not long before the men realized that something extraordinary was on hand. a larger body of indians soon came near slough's band on the left of the trace, paused, and coughed as if to attract another volley, and then passed on. the scouting party came together on the trail and agreed that an indian army was advancing; a hurried march to camp followed. on the way "every fifteen or twenty yards we heard something moving in the woods on both sides of the path, but could not see what it was," wrote slough. it was a thrilling moment when these men heard little turtle's quiet lines worming their way through the underbrush--an army making so strange a noise in the night that even frontiersmen could not recognize it. yet an unrecognized sound brought utmost alarm; "we pushed on," said slough, "and gained the militia camp as soon as possible." slough's first thought was to send word immediately to st. clair. he hurried to colonel oldham's tent. "i was just going to dress myself," says oldham, "and go and inform the commander in chief about it; i will thank you [slough] to inform the general that i think the army will be attacked in the morning." slough hastened to general butler's tent, but, seeing no one but the sentry, passed on to colonel gibson's tent. here he aroused gibson and doctor m'croskey, and repeated his alarming story. he asked gibson to go with him to general butler. colonel gibson was not dressed, and urged slough to go alone and arouse butler. he obeyed, and as he returned to general butler's tent the latter walked out of it and went to the fire. calling butler aside, that the sentry should not overhear the news, "i told him what colonel oldham had said, and that, if he thought proper, i would go and make the report to general st. clair. he stood some time, and after a pause, thanked me for my attention and vigilance, and said, as i must be fatigued i had better go and lie down. i went from him and lay down...." it was five days before general st. clair heard of slough's scouting episode of the night of november .[ ] all that slough and oldham suspected was true and more. all night long the indians crept around the army, ready for an attack at sunrise. the army began stirring at an early hour; some there were, it is sure, who anxiously awaited the dawn. the troops paraded under arms, as usual, before sunrise. ranks had just been broken when a scattering fire was heard in the militia camp, and soon the indian yell. the militia stood a moment and then fell back to the river, crossed it, and were upon major butler's and clark's battalions, throwing the latter into a confusion that was never remedied despite the energy of those officers. the indians were upon the heels of the militia, but were repulsed by the fire of the first line. with well-timed accuracy the indians charged the opposite side of the square, where, too, they were at first repulsed. the american army was now practically surrounded--the savages lying hidden in the brush, forests, and high grass on the low ground which surrounded the promontory on three sides and in front. the artillery was placed at the center of the two sides of the square and here the battle raged most fiercely. for some time, it would seem, the honors of the conflict were evenly divided. but from the position of the two armies it can readily be seen that the american fire was not so effective as that of the savages whose firmness and audacity was unparalleled. from their concealed position it required little marksmanship to pick men off rapidly on the high ground just beyond and hidden only by a low-lying cloud of smoke from their own guns. the officers, hurrying back and forth, offered conspicuous targets. from st. clair (who had to be assisted to mount his horse) down, the officers were brave and efficient. as st. clair passed down one line, butler passed up the other. they never met, though st. clair frequently asked for butler as the battle wore away. at last it was agreed that things were going badly and that a bayonet charge, only, would dislodge the enemy, who were rapidly cutting down the efficient strength of the army--making particular havoc among the officers. colonel darke was thereupon ordered to turn the left flank of the enemy, which he accomplished with firmness and success--driving the savages several hundred yards. yet soon they swarmed back, not being held where they were, and, in turn drove the troops backward. about the cannon, which the indians were taught to dread, the battle ebbed and flowed bloodily. as fast as the gunners were shot down others took their places. now and again the red line swept up to the guns and the piles of slain were scalped, amid the smoke, in the very face of the army. on the left flank, too, the savages were beginning to overpower and gain the summit of the promontory and enter the lines. they were charged fiercely but after each charge there was a sudden dearth of officers, and the lines returned very thin. the army was now attacked from every side, though not until late in the long three hours of conflict did the indians take the initiative. their settled plan was to get the troops in range, lie low, make no noise save with their guns, retire when assaulted, but follow back eagerly. such tactics were all that were necessary. as in braddock's battle beside the monongahela, so here, the white army on higher ground in plain sight could not do such fatal execution, by any means, as the indian army strewn among the standing and fallen trees, the brush and rank grasses of the lower ground, and on the sloping sides of the promontory. by nine o'clock the army had been exposed for three hours to the merciless indian fire. hundreds had fallen; the ground was literally covered with dead and dying. the only question was, could the remainder escape? the army was cut off from the road. benjamin van cleve, a young man, has left record of this memorable break for the road when order to retreat was at last given: "i found," he says, "the troops pressing like a drove of bullocks to the right. i saw an officer ... with six or eight men start on a run a little to the left of where i was. i immediately ran and fell in with them. in a short distance we were so suddenly among the indians, who were not apprised of our object, that they opened to us and ran to the right and left without firing. i think about two hundred of our men passed through them before they fired."[ ] an opening being made, the army poured heedlessly along. no order or semblance of order existed, save in a remnant of clark's command which essayed to cover the rear. in the very rear, on a horse which could not be pricked out of a walk, came st. clair, unmindful of the bloody tumult behind him where the old men and wounded were being killed. this awful battle was a fitting close for such a campaign. in almost every sense it was the greatest defeat suffered by white men on this continent at the hands of aborigines. st. clair's army numbered on the eve of november one thousand four hundred and eighty-six men and eighty-six officers. of these, eight hundred and ninety men and sixteen officers were killed or wounded. the army poured back to fort jefferson and then on to fort washington. the path hewn northward became, like braddock's road, a route for the hordes of indians toward the frontiers. their victory, so bloody, so overwhelming, gave confidence. perhaps never before nor afterward did any battlefield present a scene equal to that wabash slaughter field. the dying were tortured and the dead frightfully mutilated. on the theory that the army sought to conquer the indian land, sand was crushed into the eyes of the dead in cruel mockery. several scores of women followed the army--though contemporary records are singularly silent on this point.[ ] many of them, it is sure, fell into the hands of the savages and the first white visitors to the battleground found great stakes driven through many corpses.[ ] the two underlying causes for this terrible reverse of american arms were the long delay in getting the army on its feet, properly supplied; and the undisciplined condition of the troops. the immediate cause of the defeat was, without question, the failure of all the officers who knew of captain slough's discoveries on the night of november to communicate them to general st. clair. colonel oldham ordered slough to st. clair; he went only to general butler who dismissed him without acceding to his spoken request to be allowed to take the news to the commander-in-chief. the words of the standard authority on st. clair's defeat are perhaps severe, but no new information has come in half a century to give ground for altering them; albach says: "the circumstances under which the omission occurred, would favor an inference that he [butler] sacrificed the safety of the army to the gratification of his animosity against st. clair. the evidence given before the committee of congress is conclusive that he failed, at least to perform his whole duty in the premises."[ ] butler's side of the story could never be told; fatally wounded while heroically exhorting his men, the poor man was carried to his marquee under an oak, by his brother, captain edward butler. propped up on his mattress, a loaded revolver placed in each hand, the old veteran was left to his fate. as his friends left the tent by the rear, the indians surged in at the front.[ ] st. clair's road northward was the main thoroughfare to fort hamilton and fort jefferson from the ohio and, though superseded by another route soon built parallel to it, was ever of importance in the burst of population from pennsylvania and kentucky into the old northwest. but the soldiers of st. clair's successor were too superstitious to follow that ill-starred track. and, as forbes came successfully to fort duquesne over a new route built parallel to braddock's, so the second conqueror of the old northwest cut a new road parallel to st. clair's. chapter iv wayne and fallen timber the defeat of st. clair's army cast a nation into gloom. as the terrible tidings sped eastward a thousand frontier cabins were filled with dismayed men, women, and children. the passion into which it is said the patient washington was thrown, upon hearing the melancholy story, was typical of the feeling of a whole people. there could be no doubt, now, what the future would bring forth; a deluge of raiding savages, such as had never overrun the frontiers since braddock's defeat in , would certainly come; the desperate cry, "white men shall not plant corn north of the ohio," would now ring out over the thin fringe of frightened settlements on the miami and muskingum, and with that cry would come frenzied raiders from whose tomahawks men would do well to escape death and women be fortunate if they were quickly killed. from all the western settlements in kentucky, ohio, and pennsylvania a cry, anxious and often piteous, was hurried over the mountains to philadelphia for aid and protection. the young government now faced a problem difficult in the extreme with fine courage, fully conscious of its own dignity and its own latent power. within six weeks of st. clair's annihilation, the secretary of war submitted a statement to congress which summed up the situation briefly and clearly. the former treaties with the indians, the efforts for peace, the sorry details of the campaign were all described. peaceful and warlike efforts, alike, had failed. so much for the past. for the future, the plan was already formulated and ready for adoption by congress. first, the war must be brought to an end; if peace could be secured without further resort to arms, well and good; "it is submitted," read the secretary's communication, "that every reasonable expedient be again taken ... that the nature of the case, and a just regard to the national reputation, will admit." those in best position to judge, however, were sure that the pride of victory was so strong among the confederated nations that "it would be altogether improper to expect any favorable result from such [peaceful] expedients," and congress was warned accordingly that it was "by an ample conviction of superior force only, that the indians can be brought to listen to the dictates of peace on reasonable terms." it was properly insisted that relinquishment of territory formerly ceded by the savages could not be arranged "consistently with a proper regard to national reputation." the plan included the organization of a new army, comprising three hundred cavalry, three hundred artillerymen, and five regiments of infantry of four thousand five hundred and sixty men. it was to be styled "the legion of the united states," and was to be divided into four sub-legions of one thousand two hundred and eighty non-commissioned officers and privates each. the mistakes of the past dictated the necessity of having this force disciplined "according to the nature of the service;" its ultimate object was to establish a strong post on the present site of fort wayne, indiana. to secure a comprehensive grasp of the interesting campaign now undertaken, it is necessary to keep in mind simultaneously three situations: this new army, the moving companies of peace commissioners, and that ragged pathway northward from fort washington with the little stockade forts which guarded it. these varying phases will be treated chronologically, at the risk of coherency, and the scattered threads gathered much in the tangled order in which they were spun amid many hopes and many fears. one of the first important matters, in this as in previous campaigns, was to retain the neutrality of the six nations. the efforts in the year preceding had been approximately successful, though, according to his biographer, stone, joseph brant with a party of mohawks was present at st. clair's defeat. as early as january , , an express was hurried off to the reverend samuel kirtland, veteran missionary among the iroquois, informing him that colonel pickering had invited the principal chiefs of the six nations to visit washington. he was urged to assist in securing their acquiescence, especially joseph brant's, and to accompany them on the journey. the next act of secretary knox is peculiarly significant and interesting. captain peter pond, a trader, and one william steedman were ordered to proceed westward to the hostile tribes on the maumee, feigning to be traders. "no doubt can exist," wrote knox, "that our strength and our resources are abundant to conquer, and even extirpate the indians.... but this is not our object. we wish to be at peace with those indians--to be their friends and protectors--to perpetuate them on the land. the desire, therefore, that we have for peace, must not be inconsistent with the national reputation. we cannot ask the indians to make peace with us, considering them as the aggressors: but they must ask a peace of us. to persuade them to this effect is the object of your mission. insinuate, upon all favorable occasions, the humane disposition of the united states; and, if you can by any means ripen their judgement, so as to break forth openly [disclose yourselves], and declare the readiness of the united states to receive, with open arms, the indians, ... do it.... you might persuade some of the most influential chiefs to repair to our posts on the ohio, and so, from post to post, to this place."[ ] perhaps never in warfare were spies sent amongst an enemy on so remarkable a mission. in response to the government's invitation, fifty indian chieftains from the six nations arrived in philadelphia on march . they were treated with utmost courtesy by the government officials and proper gifts distributed. among other benefits, fifteen hundred dollars a year was promised by the united states to be spent encouraging education and agriculture in the iroquois land. the chief boon secured by this display of hospitality and liberality was the promise that the six nations would wholly abstain from war and would immediately send a delegation to the western tribes to mediate between them and the united states, secure an armistice, and make plans for a final treaty of peace. in this promise the government placed great hope. the six nations were the most prominent of their race on the continent and their chieftains exerted an influence equaled by none. having received, in person, from the nation's highest executive officers, protestations of friendliest nature, they were the best emissaries that could possibly treat with the hostile tribes on the maumee on behalf of the government. yet efforts to avert war did not stop here. by may it was determined to send an envoy extraordinary to the maumee, if the hazard could possibly be accomplished. the iroquois chiefs would, it was believed, keep their solemn pledges, yet affairs of such a nature usually developed very slowly among red-men and in the present crisis there was no time to be lost. accordingly a fitting personage was chosen by president washington to make the perilous attempt. his choice fell quickly on the brave leader of the ohio company pioneers to marietta--general rufus putnam. sufficient provision for his family in case of a disastrous termination of his journey being promised by the government, the quiet, bold pioneer departed from his frontier home on may for fort washington. his instructions were explicit. he was first to assure the hostile nations that the united states did not in the least desire any of the indian's land, but rather solemnly pledged itself to "guaranty all that remain, and take the indians under our protection." in turn the indians were to agree to a truce and call in all war-parties. the most prominent chiefs were to be invited to philadelphia to make a treaty; on his way westward general putnam was empowered to release all indian prisoners retained at fort washington and give the women presents to carry home with them in token of the government's pacific intentions.[ ] the frontier to which putnam now came was in need of brave men and strong. these had been long months since that dark november day when the remains of st. clair's shattered army poured back upon fort jefferson and fort hamilton, brigadier-general wilkinson now commanded at fort washington and with a firm hand was managing affairs on the firing-line. his outposts, forts hamilton and jefferson, were frequently surrounded by indian scouts sent down the narrow trace from little turtle's cantonments on the maumee, but no attack on these posts had yet been made in force. such an attack was frequently anticipated, and many sudden calls to arms sounded now and again within the little garrisons lost so far within the northern forests. the brave captain john armstrong still commanded at fort hamilton, guarding the strategic ford of the great miami and the narrow roadway toward fort jefferson and the silent corpse-strewn battle-ground beyond. wilkinson's principal duty was to keep the garrisons of his three little forts alive and in heart, and keep a watchful eye on the victorious enemy. in january, calling on volunteers from the country about cincinnati, wilkinson organized a little company to visit st. clair's slaughter-ground. the snow was two feet deep--a depth seldom if ever exceeded in southwestern ohio. kentucky volunteers crossed the ohio on ice above the mouth of the little miami. leaving fort washington january , the fatal field was reached february . such was the depth of snow that comparatively few bodies could be found, save as here and there, on knolls and ridges, a white mound of driven snow marked where a wolf had left a scalped and mangled corpse. the winter of - likewise witnessed the erection of an intermediary post between forts hamilton and jefferson, most appropriately named fort st. clair. it was erected by a body of men under command of captain john s. gano, under whom william henry harrison served, half a mile west of the present site of eaton, preble county, at st. clair's crossing of "garrison branch" of seven mile creek. as the spring of opened, and the forest roads became passable, it was expected that the indians, by a concerted movement, would attempt to sweep the three forts north of the ohio and make good their unjust claim to possession of that northern shore. accordingly spies were kept well out on the trails for any sign of an advancing army. others were sent nearer the indian's lair. on april two messengers, freeman and gerrard, were sent from fort washington with a speech to the hostile tribes, being ordered to follow harmar's trace up the little and great miamis. three days later wilkinson sent word to armstrong to order out a spy by way of st. clair's road, who should carefully study the route all the way to the miami towns. accordingly one of the boldest men on the frontier, william may, was ordered to "desert" to the enemy and, shaving his head and adopting their dress and manner of living, to learn all that was being planned and done in the red-men's camps. on may sergeant reuben reynolds was ordered to "desert" from fort st. clair and also follow st. clair's route to the maumee and reside with the indians until a favorable opportunity to return occurred. on may colonel hardin and captain alexander trueman left fort washington for the maumee, bearing an official message from the government, of similar tenor to that given to general putnam. thus six men had preceded putnam to the maumee, and only two of them went merely as spies--may and reynolds. the fate of four of these men dampened the ardor of the frontier people for peaceful efforts. freeman, gerrard, trueman, and hardin were all murdered before reaching the maumee. reynolds and may returned in safety later in the year. general putnam learned at fort washington of the fate of his predecessors and determined not to throw life away uselessly. favorable messages having been received from the upper wabash, he turned all his efforts toward securing a meeting with the wabash indians in the fall of the year at vincennes, indiana. no more attempts were made to reach the maumee over the "bloody way," as the indians termed the route north from fort washington. "the president of the united states must know well why the blood is so deep in our paths," exclaimed a shawanese chieftain, "... he has sent messengers of peace on these bloody roads, who fell on the way." a messenger was even now preparing to come this way to whom bloody roads were not new and for whom they had no fear. leaving the indian commissioners going slowly on their way to a conference with the hostile tribes at "auglaize"--the mouth of the auglaize river where defiance, ohio, now stands--and putnam waiting for the weas and kickapoos to assemble at vincennes, let us look back to the gathering "legion of the united states" into whose ready hands the matter of peace would go when the indians got courage enough to throw off the mask. it was one thing to plan an army on paper but a far more serious task to raise and organize it. and first and foremost arose the trebly difficult task of choosing a leader. the officers of revolutionary days were fast passing into old age, and as washington looked about him to the comrades of former years, there were few left capable of taking up the difficult task that st. clair laid down. a memorandum left by washington indicates the serious necessity of a wise choice and the nature of the possible candidates. lincoln was sober, honest, and brave, but infirm and past the vigor of life; baron steuben, a stickler for tactics, was likewise sober and brave and sensible, but a foreigner; moultrie was brave and had fought against the cherokees, but washington knew little of him; mcintosh was considered honest and brave but was not well known and consequently not popular, and was infirm; wayne was "more active and enterprising than judicious and cautious. no oeconomist it is feared:--open to flattery--vain--easily imposed upon and liable to be drawn into scrapes. too indulgent (the effect perhaps of some of the causes just mentioned) to his officers. whether sober--or a little addicted to the bottle i know not;" weedon was not deficient of resource and was of a convivial nature though not unduly so; hand was sensible and judicious and not intemperate; scott was brave and "means well" but not suited for extensive command, convivial; huntington, sober, sensible, discreet; wilkinson, lively, sensible, pompous, and ambitious, "whether sober or not i do not know;" gist, activity and attention doubtful, but of noble spirit; irvine, sober, tolerably sensible, prudent, an "oeconomist;" morgan, fortunate and had met with _éclat_, possibly intemperate, troubled with palpitation and illiterate; williams sensible though vain, in poor health; putnam, (rufus) strong-minded, discreet, "nothing conspicuous in character ... known little out of his own state and a narrow circle;" pinckney, brave, honorable, erudite, sensible and a stickler for tactics.[ ] no other officers are named as possible candidates for a position no one could possibly desire. as the list stands, it forms a startling refutation of the oft repeated saying that though drinking was common in the old days it was not carried to excess. the problem with washington seems to have been, speaking mildly, to find a responsible man with a clear head. his decision at first seems to have wavered between lincoln and moultrie; under these men as major-generals, wayne, morgan, and wilkinson might serve as brigadiers. what may have induced the final decision cannot be stated definitely, but the command was at last offered to brevet major-general "mad" anthony wayne and it was accepted. brevet brigadier-generals wilkinson and thomas posey were second in active command. major-general scott was to command fifteen hundred mounted kentucky militia. as with washington, so with wayne, the most serious task was to choose his officers from the recruits which early in were hurried on to pittsburg to defend the frontier under the dashing hero of stony point--wayne's appointment having been well received everywhere save in virginia and kentucky. if the army was to be disciplined "according to the nature of the service"--indian-fighting--indian-fighters must do the training. "we will be under the necessity," wrote wayne to knox from pittsburg, "of discharging many of the men--who never were--nor never will be fit for service, they are at present a nuisance to the legion & a useless expense to the publick.... you may rest assured i will carefully guard against improper appointments or recommendations--we shall have some difficulty before we can purge the legion of characters who never were fit for officers."[ ] such administrative ability as this was the very thing needed on the frontier; it drove from the gathering army many useless characters and made possible the encouragement and promotion of such valuable men as lieutenant william clark (of lewis and clark fame), eaton, and william henry harrison. the fine spirit of wayne infused courage throughout the frontier and made men eager to serve and win promotion, though sometimes "without shoez or shirts called upon to do the hardest duty & mo. pay due--while they have not money to buy a chew of tobacco."[ ] one of the most interesting manuscripts now extant of wayne, his army, its marches and battles, is preserved in the library of the state historical society of wisconsin. its author was no less a personage than brigadier-general thomas posey, associated with general wilkinson as second in command of the army. general posey's journal continually emphasizes the human element in the scenes through which he passed, and frequent side-lights from this hitherto unused source will be introduced in this narrative.[ ] posey reached pittsburg on august . "as we passed through the upper part of virginia," he leaves record of the journey across the mountains, "the people would often say what a pitty, such a likely parcel of young men were going to be slaughtered by the indians as gen^l st clair's army was." one of the most striking observations of pittsburg was the ominous statement, "at least one half of the people of pittsburg are in mourning for gen^l richard butler." throughout the summer the gathering troops remained at pittsburg while rigid examinations and drilling exercises were begun. on november the army moved down the ohio to a distance of seven miles above fort mcintosh at the mouth of beaver creek and twenty-two miles below pittsburg; this place was accordingly named legionville. here, "out of the reach of whisky, which baneful poison is prohibited from entering this camp," as wayne wrote the secretary of war,[ ] winter quarters were established, houses for the soldiers being erected first and those for officers afterward. severe daily drilling was the order of the day at legionville, the result of which, though delayed, was sure. while wayne was whipping an army into shape on the upper ohio two events were on the tapis at opposite corners of the black forest of the west to which the officials at philadelphia were paying much heed. at vincennes, on the twentieth of september, putnam was scheduled to meet the delegates of the wabash nations for a treaty of peace, and early in october the commissioners from the six nations were to meet the chiefs of the disaffected northwestern tribes at the mouth of the auglaize on the broad maumee. at vincennes putnam accomplished all that could have been expected, and a treaty was signed by thirty-one wabash chiefs on september . the treaty, finally, was not ratified by the united states senate because of an objectionable clause which was not compatible with the law of eminent domain.[ ] where defiance, ohio, now stands, flanked by its two rivers, one of the most unique conventions in our history assembled as the autumn winds stirred the forests. from the east, cornplanter and a stately retinue of forty-eight chiefs of the six nations proceeded to "au glaize." from even the far-away canadian nations emissaries arrived. when at last the famous convention assembled, and the pipe passed from chieftain to chieftain, two speakers, only, addressed the assembly. red jacket spoke for the senecas and the delegation from the iroquois land. a shawanese chieftain, whose name was not recorded, answered on the part of the hostile tribes. his words were a bold rebuke to the six nations for maintaining friendship with the united states. "... although you consider us your younger brothers," sneered the shawanese, "your seats are not at such a distance, but what we can see your conduct plainly; these are the reasons why we consider you to speak from the outside of your lips; for whenever you hear the voice of the united states, you immediately take your packs and attend their councils.... we see plainly folded under your arm the voice of the united states--wish you to unfold it to us, that we may see it freely and consult on it." so saying he threw a triple string of wampum across the fire to the senecas rather than handing it across in a friendly way. that philadelphia conference of last march did not please the western tribes. in turn the seneca sketched the story of the french and english domination and of the birth of the united states, which, he said, desired peace with the confederated indians. the shawanese repeated the story of st. clair's disaster of the year before and asserted that the indians claimed certain lands east of the ohio and all lands west of that river. those to the eastward would be given up for proper compensation. in reply to the seneca's desire to bring about a treaty with the hostile nations, the shawanese replied: "inform general washington we will treat with him, at the rapids of miami, next spring, or at the time when the leaves are fully out.... we will lay the bloody tomahawk aside, until we hear from the president of the united states...."[ ] cornplanter returned eastward with his delegation and the reports of the convention were hurried on to philadelphia with the ominous hint that no boundary would ever be consented to by the northwestern indians save only the ohio river. the message as it spread across the alleghenies brought dark days and anxious nights to cabins on the thin fringe of pioneer settlements from the muskingum to the miami. as the winter winds came down from the north, two of the spies sent out from fort washington came in from the forests--may from niagara and reynolds from montreal. leaving fort hamilton, may crossed st. clair's battlefield; beyond, in harmar's trail, he found trueman and two other men killed and scalped; captured, he was saved from death by simon girty and sold to matthew elliott, in whose employ he labored on the lakes. in numerous instances he identified scalps of friends, in particular that of colonel hardin. in september girty had gone on a raiding expedition to "fallentimber" between forts st. clair and hamilton to capture horses, saying that he would "do every mischief in his power" and "raise hell to prevent a peace."[ ] reuben reynolds, after varied experiences, came down from montreal through the vermont forests to philadelphia, where his deposition was taken by washington's secretary, lear, october . the lake superior indians had joined the confederacy and "they expected to have three thousand or three thousand five hundred indians in the field against the americans."[ ] may, with equally exaggerated reports, affirmed that there were " , warriors" at the auglaize river.[ ] not long after this wayne entertained at his camp at legionville several of the chiefs of the allegheny, cornplanter, new arrow, big tree, and guasutha. pointing to the ohio from where he sat, one of them--according to posey's journal--said: "my heart & mind is fixed on that river & may that water continue to run & remain the boundary of everlasting peice, between the white & red people on its opposite shores." few who had been watching the western situation believed but that spring would bring war. the indians did not even keep the promised truce. major adair, encamped beside the "bloody way" within sight of fort st. clair, was murderously attacked by indians early in the morning of november . six whites were killed and five wounded and a large number of packhorses purloined. however few attacks such as this occurred along the frontier. in march, president washington appointed the commissioners who were to treat with the indians at the rapids of the maumee "when the leaves are fully out." benjamin lincoln, beverly randolph, and timothy pickering were appointed, and received their commissions april . general lincoln left on the twenty-seventh with the baggage for niagara by way of the mohawk valley; pickering and randolph left philadelphia by way of the susquehanna on april . on the same day another delegation departed from the upper ohio for the west but not altogether on a peaceful mission; it was wayne's army, disciplined, hardened, and eager for the long-anticipated conflict. to wayne, war seemed inevitable; when informed that the commissioners were to be sent to the maumee according to agreement, he playfully expressed a desire to be present "with of his commissioners in company, with not a single quaker among them!" before leaving legionville he had ordered a number of color flags for the sub-legions of the secretary of war saying, with the confidence of a man who could not but win, "they shall never be lost." thus the third army of the united states floated down the winding ohio in april, . no other army on the ohio, since the day forbes's and bouquet's british regulars left fort pitt, could be compared with it in discipline and trustworthiness. harmar's and st. clair's armies were rabbles beside it. yet there had been a great struggle to secure proper subordination of officers and proper loyalty on the part of the rank and file. liberty meant license on the frontier, and here lay wayne's heaviest task and greatest victory. with a trained, sober army victory was a matter of time only. however, the government still looked for a happy outcome of the convention at the rapids of the maumee; and wayne was strictly ordered to make no hostile movement until the result of that meeting was known. it was expected that, by august , the question of war or peace would have been decided. wayne landed, and encamped about a mile below fort washington, where the high waters left only one convenient spot, which was accordingly dubbed "hobson's choice." the encampment extended to within four hundred yards of the village of cincinnati, according to the posey journal. from this village and its stock "of ardent spirit and caitiff wretches to dispose of it" wayne was anxious to be separated. the summer passed slowly, and each day's tidings from the north was awaited with such patience as could be mustered. faithful drilling, interrupted by fevers and influenza, was the order of the day, according to general posey's record. the number of challenges and duels suggests something of the social order. on one occasion an officer challenged one of his superiors who, in reply, had him arrested to obviate an encounter. in june a premature report came that the peace commissioners had failed in their mission. "we now have but one alternative left," wrote posey, "and this is we must meet the savage foe, the emortal washington at the head of our government, and the old hero gen^l wayne and his well disciplined legion, we have little to fear accept our god and fear him in love." the summer wore on with little or no definite tidings from the north. the troops were exercised daily and the necessities of the possible campaign were pushed on up the line of forts from the ohio river to fort jefferson. contractors and quartermasters were kept busy supplying the comparatively large army. the army and the nation waited for word from the rapids of the maumee. what would that word be? as the leaves began to open, the emissaries of a hundred indian nations were threading the forests of the old northwest and canada upon trails converging on the western shore of lake erie. roche de bout,[ ] as the locality of the "rapids of the miami of the lakes" was known, was on the present site of maumee city, ohio. great fields of indian corn spread up and down both sides of the broad valley; a score of vegetable plants thrived amid the corn. in the same area probably no such amount of ground was under cultivation by indian squaws as in the maumee valley. the spreading fields supported many villages and it was from these important centers of indian life that so many marauding parties descended upon kentucky, calling forth retaliating armies such as those of clark, harmar, and st. clair. and harmar, only, had actually reached this populous and fertile lair. here the convention was to be held. the united states commissioners had proceeded to niagara where they were entertained generously by governor simcoe at navy hall, a mile distant from fort niagara, being advised that the delegates from the various nations would undoubtedly be late arriving on the ground. on july , colonel brant and fifty indians arrived at fort erie from the maumee to meet and interview the american commissioners. this delegation alleged that the warlike actions of general wayne had prevented the meeting at the rapids and inquired specifically whether or not the commissioners were properly authorized to run a new boundary line. before this advanced deputation returned it was clear that the indians would refuse to recognize any treaty made since the famous stanwix treaty of .[ ] by their instructions the commissioners[ ] were ordered to insist upon the boundaries established at the treaty of fort harmar.[ ] from the beginning, despite the liberality of the offers of the united states--trading-posts north of the ludlow line to be evacuated and fifty thousand dollars to be paid to settle any miscellaneous claims by indians not benefited in previous treaties--there was no hope of reconciliation. in fact there was no agreement even among the "hostile" and the "peaceful" nations at roche de bout. the delegates from the six nations did not agree with the ill-disposed councils of the embittered shawanese and miami warriors and were not advised of the final decision of the council. the american commissioners were ever held off at arm's length. on the twenty-first of july they reached the mouth of the detroit river, and took quarters with captain matthew elliott. from this point communications passed to and fro between the real convention at roche de bout and the americans fifty miles away. the last message from the indians was sent august . its important paragraph read: "at our general council, held at the glaize last fall, we agreed to meet commissioners from the united states, for the purpose of restoring peace, provided they consented to acknowledge and confirm our boundary line to be the ohio: and we determined not to meet you, until you gave us satisfaction on that point: that is the reason we have never met."[ ] on the sixteenth day of august the commissioners replied that the above message was a virtual declaration of war, and declared that "impartial judges will not attribute the continuance of the war to them."[ ] a glimpse into the council of indians at the rapids is afforded us in the deposition made by an unknown pennsylvanian youth, who was captured by wea indians in and who had lived among the indians throughout the ten years since that time. he attended the treaty. on the tenth of july there were fourteen hundred indians present; on the twentieth, twenty-four hundred. of these, eighteen hundred were warriors. it was unanimously agreed that the ohio should be made the boundary line and that the indians be paid for kentucky. simon girty, governor simcoe's aide-de-camp, a lieutenant silvy of the fifth (british) regiment, and another british officer remained at colonel mckee's house, which was fifty yards distant from the council fire. in the evenings the head chiefs, especially those of the shawanese and delaware nations, met with colonel mckee and his guests. "mckee always promised that the king, their father, would protect them & afford them every thing they wanted in case they went to war.... advise that they ought not to make peace upon any other terms than to make the ohio the boundary line. after the final decision, mckee furnished the savages with arms, ammunition, scalping knives and tomahawks even more than they could use this winter." on the twenty-eighth of july the indians separated to reassemble "at au-glaize twenty-four days from that time" to watch wayne and attack him if opportunity offered.[ ] instantly a score of indian runners were hurrying south and east to knox and wayne with the secret code message to prepare for war.[ ] the exact date of wayne's receipt of this message (sent from niagara, august ) is not recorded. it was two hours after midnight, september , when the express thundered into petersburg, kentucky, with an order to general scott "to take the field with the mounted volunteers & to be at fort jefferson by the first of october."[ ] hobson's choice was the scene of intense activity as september drew to a close, and by october all was in readiness for the northward movement. excluding invalids, and garrisons to be left at the four forts on the line of march, wayne estimated his available force at twenty-six hundred regulars and three hundred and sixty mounted volunteers. "... you may rest assured," wayne wrote knox upon leaving fort washington, "that i will not commit the legion [risk an engagement] unnecessarily; and unless more powerfully supported ... i will content myself by taking a strong position advanced of [fort] jefferson, and by exerting every power, endeavor to protect the frontiers, and to secure the posts and army during the winter."[ ] already the far-sighted wayne had anticipated the matter of road-building, an important department of a pioneer general's duty in which he particularly excelled. as early as july , the american commissioners to the hostile tribes wrote secretary knox that the indian scouts reported that wayne "has cut and cleared a road, straight from fort washington, into the indian country, in a direction that would have missed fort jefferson; but that, meeting with a large swamp, it was, of necessity, turned to that fort, and then continued six miles beyond it."[ ] the very fact that when wayne left fort washington, october , he covered the seventy-five odd miles to the site of fort greenville (greenville, ohio) in six days is proof enough that the indians' spies were well within the mark in saying that a road had been built; more than that, packhorses had been wearing it deep into the ground with heavy loads of food for mouths and guns, and large droves of cattle had already rough-stamped wayne's trace from the ohio to the stillwater. faithful james o'hara was quartermaster and elliott and williams the contractors. colonel robert elliott, a native of hagerstown, pennsylvania, met his death at the hands of the savages at the "bigg hill" near fort jefferson while engaged in hurrying on provisions to the northern posts. "mr elliott had on a wig," records general posey in a strain of gloomy defiance, "the indians will not get his skulp." mad anthony street, in cincinnati, is the beginning of wayne's road northward up mill creek valley, thence running northwest to fort hamilton on the watershed south of the head branches of the west fork. the route through hamilton is given by everts as across the sites of snider's paper-mill, niles tool works, and cape and maxwell's plant.[ ] the old track crossed the miami a few rods south of the eastern end of the high street bridge and from there circled around the west end of what is locally known as the "devil's backbone" on what was l. d. campbell's peninsula but which is now an island. wayne's first camp was at five mile spring, southeast of the village of five mile. the old route passed over the present site of that village and kept on the eastern side of seven mile creek all the way to fort st. clair (eaton, preble county). two mile, four mile, seven mile, and nine mile creeks were all so named from wayne's crossing-places. following up the valley of seven mile about two miles, the old track leaves it near nine mile creek and turns due north, leaving butler county in wayne township, section . in preble county the "south end" of wayne's trace has always been used as a highway and known as "wayne's trace road." the trace passes through washington township east of eaton, crossing the greenville road on a bluff near a sycamore-tree on the east side of the road. it crossed banta's fork at or near the "forty-foot pitch" and ascended the high bank at a point on the east side of the present road. the swamp which the indian spies said had turned wayne's route nearer fort jefferson than was originally intended evidently lay in the vicinity of ithaca, twin township, darke county. the first settler in brown township, john woodington, made his clearing beside wayne's trace on the farm owned by william herdman in section on the greenville pike. through these parts the explorer will find the famous old track partially marked out by the growths of young sycamores which sprang up here when the forests were cut down. many of the first settlers "saw on the uncovered roots of trees, along the trace, the indisputable marks of wagon wheels or of the heavy ordinance trains."[ ] [illustration: dr. belknap's map of wayne's route in the maumee valley, [_from the original in the library of harvard university_]] a happy interest attaches to an old route like wayne's, from the very fact that the labor spent in hewing it out and in transporting over it vast quantities of provisions and ammunition was not expended in vain. wayne's road, like forbes's route across the alleghenies, led to victory; the dark winding tracks of the armies of braddock and st. clair possess a romantic element that is fascinating in the extreme, but wholly unsatisfactory. there is an inspiration in following the rough tracks of men who won which is not found in the paths of men who, after struggles perhaps more heroic because facing greater odds, failed. wayne was a thousand times better equipped for his campaign than was st. clair. before his campaign, the savage war was not taken very seriously. now proper preparations had been made, approximately sufficient stores accumulated, the official personnel sifted down; and as the "legion of the united states" went swiftly forward in the october sunlight of that indian summer, there was a sane consciousness of preparedness and power which was all but victory. the indians were quick to recognize and describe, in their figurative way, the two chief characteristics of wayne as a frontier commander--he was both the "black snake" and the "whirlwind." when in motion, he swept through the forests like a cyclone; the record of no pioneer army in america equals the marching records of wayne's legion. it was a standing order that every march should be under high pressure and that no break or interruption should in any case delay the movement of the main body a single moment. this impressed the savages tremendously; they had known no such army as this--which advanced into their country almost as fast as others had run out of it. thus they talked of the "whirlwind" around their northern fires. wayne, too, was a "black snake." he was as cunning as he was impetuous. as will be seen, he built roads he never traversed, doubled his track, and over and again completely outwitted the astonished indian spies that attempted, with sharp eyes in the brown leaves, to fathom his purposes. the lateness of the season prevented a more elaborate campaign than wayne had suggested to the secretary of war. the army swept northward to greenville creek and on the present site of greenville, ohio, erected fort greenville--named by wayne in honor of his dead friend general nathaniel greene of revolutionary fame. by november , posey records, all the houses were completed and once more the drilling and manoeuvering began. we have it under the hand of the same authority that general wayne affirmed that never in the revolutionary war had he commanded such well-drilled troops as these which spent the winter with him buried deep in those ohio forests. it is sure that a general never needed well-drilled soldiers more; and no less sure that no troops needed encouragement more than these. there were, however, the bright sides to life even here. though coffee was a dollar and brown sugar seventy-five cents a pound, and whiskey five dollars a gallon, yet there was good cheer and merrymaking. a battery was built for the officers to play "fiver," of which the younger men became very fond. on one evening the veteran general scott entertained the officers in his apartments and was drawn out to tell of pioneer kentucky in whose battles he had displayed so much courage and lost his three sons. "he told us how col^o boon first discovered kentucky," wrote posey; "'col^o boon was a very enterprizing, smart man,' said general scott, 'but very whimsical.'" there were frequent scouting expeditions in which the whole garrison was interested. on one occasion wells's audacious rangers fell upon three indians at their midday repast; one of the three in the pursuit was compelled to leap into a creek and when he "came up" he was found to be a white man, christopher miller. his life being saved, he renounced the wild career, visited his aged parents in kentucky, and then returned to become one of wayne's most successful spies. no doubt the soldiers laughed at this transformation of a red into a white man, and perhaps swore that if other indians were dowsed equally well they would be found to be equally white and to be wearing british uniforms! there was one duty that fell now to wayne that was not congenial. posey was one of the detachment which pushed forward in the december snow to st. clair's slaughter-ground and erected there the most advanced of the chain of forts between the ohio and maumee. as the company neared the spot, captain edward butler touched posey on the shoulder and said: "when you reach the ground go to a large spreading oak which you cannot fail to see. under that oak my brother's marquee was pitched and there you will find his bones which you can identify by a fracture of one thigh bone." "we went to the place," writes posey, "and found part of his [general richard butler's] bones, his skull and both thy bones, one we discovered had been broken.... we collected all the bones and laid them in one pile, on every skul bone you might see the mark of the skulping knife a round every skul bone." the pieces of guns--many barrels bent double by fiendish indians--were collected, and four cannon were discovered just where an indian prisoner had said they would be found. a strong fort was built and very appropriately named fort recovery, captain alexander gibson commanding the garrison. on the sixth day, a portion of the party returned to fort greenville. the erection of fort recovery was another leap toward the maumee and soon indians began to arrive at fort greenville bearing white flags and talking of an armistice and peace. wayne, obeying orders from the secretary to end the war without another campaign if possible, received the emissaries as though he believed their lying rôle. deceived by wayne's attitude, one of the allegheny chiefs, big tree, committed suicide. he had sworn to kill three hostile indians to avenge the death of his "very dear friend" general butler; exasperated at the hint of peace he made way with himself. the peace emissaries, and all talk of an armistice, faded with the winter snows, and by early summer every plan for the crucial campaign had been made both by the indians and by wayne. it was july before scott's fifteen hundred mounted volunteers arrived at greenville. already one bloody skirmish had taken place near the walls of fort recovery in which near a thousand indians had participated. large quantities of stores had been forwarded to greenville and fort recovery, and the grand advance on the maumee was on the eve of starting. of this campaign we have lieutenant boyer's official narrative,[ ] supplemented by the slight records of posey and lieutenant william clark, a brother of george rogers clark.[ ] at eight o'clock in the morning of july wayne with two thousand regulars and fifteen hundred mounted volunteers set out for the maumee valley from fort greenville. the route followed by st. clair and used during the winter by the fort recovery garrison was the course pursued, and camp was pitched in the afternoon on stillwater creek after a twelve-mile march. the next day the army was off before sunrise; we "pushed forward without regard to bag or baggage," records clark, "as if not in search, but in actual pursuit of a flying & disorderly enemy." fort recovery was reached at noon and the army camped a mile beyond. on the day following the army crashed onward, following the winding stream called a tributary of the "st. mary's" by st. clair, but which was in fact the head of the wabash. clark says the stream was crossed "more than a dozen times" and "camp beaver swamp" was pitched where the stream was found to be impassable, eleven miles from fort recovery. much of the journey today had been through wide prairies covered with nettles, the water unfit to drink and mosquitoes, "larger than i ever saw," observed boyer. today the road was opened as the army advanced and the route was up the wabash from the present village of fort recovery, mercer county, ohio. the construction of a bridge at camp beaver swamp seventy yards in length delayed the army one day but enabled the road-cutters to hew a way through to the st. mary river.[ ] on august , the army pressed on over the backbone of ohio and down the northern slope into the basin of the maumee river, and encamped beside the famous little st. mary river. today, emerging suddenly from the vast stretch of nettles and brush that grew in the swampy district, the army suddenly drew out into a beautiful level meadow, every corps of the army having the first view of all the other divisions. this day clark affirms that the army crossed the trace followed by general harmar in to the miami village. tonight the army encamped by the st. mary and on the morrow the erection of what was first called fort randolph and later fort adams was begun.[ ] this was the seventh fortified post in the chain from the ohio and was located on the south bank of the st. mary, four miles above rockford (the old shane's crossings), mercer county, ohio. on the fourth the army hurried on about eleven miles to "a small, dirty water," as clark described it, "a branch of the glaize [auglaize] river," where camp was fortified for the night. the day after, a march of equal length "down the creek" to the camp described by boyer as "camp forty-four miles in advance of fort recovery." wayne's camps were each proof against insult from the enemy, which accounts for his encamping early each afternoon. on the afternoon of august , the army reached the banks of the celebrated "glaize," the auglaize river. here, according to posey, a stronger encampment than usual was built, named fort loramie. as the maumee was neared the feeling of the army was intense. while at fort adams, wayne had made feints at cutting two roads, one down the st. mary river and another northwest straight toward roche de bout. these routes were both opened for some distance, that down the st. mary at least as far as the famous ford at shane's crossing--the present rockford.[ ] that the indian spies would report the building of these roads, there was no doubt. but when on august the swift advance was renewed neither road was followed! a straight course northward into the auglaize valley was taken--a route that could not have been pursued in any but the driest weather. it ran northward from fort adams, probably near the fort jennings of the war of , situated on the left bank of the auglaize in the northwest part of jennings township, putnam county, ohio. thence the route was straight down the auglaize in general alignment with the present defiance road. wayne's tactics in road-building as he neared the enemy's villages is perhaps quite unparalleled; indeed, as will be emphasized, this remarkable campaign was not less impressive to the savages--these swift plunges through the forests, the sudden pauses and the astonishing feints--than was the battle which soon crushed the indian confederacy. at the same time the careful historian would greatly err should he not give wayne credit for obeying, even now, the earnest commands of his superiors to secure an armistice and a peace without a battle. secretary knox had, over and again, urged wayne to secure peace without bloodshed if possible. a battle in any case was hazardous; there were possibilities of defeat; there were greater promises of a continuous war even in case of an american victory. the british had displayed characteristic arrogance in building a fort at roche de bout this very spring, around which the indian cohorts were probably gathering. complications with england were undoubtedly possible, if not entirely probable. from lieutenant clark's journal it is clear that general wilkinson proposed, as soon as the auglaize was reached, to make a dash with a flying column upon the populous district at the junction of the auglaize with the maumee. wayne refused to consider the plan[ ]--and throughout the remainder of clark's journal his words are well-nigh abusive of general wayne's whole management of the campaign.[ ] the dare-devil wayne's caution at this strategic juncture of this important campaign portrays an element of steadiness for which the hero of stony point has perhaps never received sufficient credit. on the eighth of august, after marching through five miles of cornfields, where were "vegetables of every kind in abundance," according to boyer, the tired legion came in view of the maumee, of which they and a whole nation had heard so much. the spot of encampment was the site of the present city of defiance on the commanding point between the rivers, and here in the three days succeeding, fort defiance was erected. to the indians the name of the spot was grand glaize.[ ] wells's rangers reported that the indian army was lying two miles above the british fort, on the west bank of the maumee. according to posey, wayne on the eleventh despatched an old indian to the hostile camp with offers of peace; two days later an old squaw was posted off with a similar message. neither returned. on the sixteenth, the fort being nearly completed, major hunt was left in command, and the grand advance began. the route was down the left bank of the maumee straight toward the painted lines of little turtle's army. christopher miller--the red-man made white by that plunge in the creek--met the army today with a message from the chieftain white eyes, clark records, asking wayne to remain ten days at grand glaize, not erecting a fort, and the indians would perhaps treat with him. "this letter," lieutenant clark states, "was generally considered as a challenge."[ ] nineteen miles was made the first day (august ) and twelve the day following. as the road was "generally bad," as boyer affirms, these tremendous marches must be considered remarkable, for each camp was heavily fortified and the enemy was just at hand. the spies in advance were unceasing in their vigilance and activity; and on the eighteenth poor may, who had lived with the indians as a spy the preceding winter at wayne's command, was entrapped and captured, suffering a most cruel death. this day the army encamped forty-one miles from fort defiance and made a strong entrenchment which was named fort deposit. here the heavy baggage was stored that the troops might go into action unencumbered. on the twentieth, at seven in the morning, the legion advanced in fighting order. the indian army, its left wing lying on presque isle, was stretched across the valley for two miles in a well-chosen position. a tornado had swept the forest here and the mass of fallen trees offered a particularly advantageous spot for the indians' favorite method of fighting. such spots were very common in the old black forest of the west and were generally known as "fallen timber" by the indians and pioneers;[ ] in them cavalry was almost useless. thus the mounted volunteers, the indians believed, would be debarred from the fight. at eleven o'clock the advanced lines met. at the first burst of sudden flame the american vanguard of volunteers was staggered, perhaps surprised at the fire from an unseen enemy lying beneath the tangled wind-rack of the forest. the guards on the right fell back through the regulars commanded by cook and steele. the regulars were thrown into confusion. it was fifteen minutes before order was restored but when joined by the riflemen and legionary cavalry, a charge with trailed arms was ordered and the savages were pricked out from their lairs with the point of the bayonet. a heavy firing on the left announced that the battle now was raging there, but only for a moment. the whole indian plan of battle was destroyed by the impetuous bayonet charges of troops hard-drilled in the dull days at legionville, hobson's choice, and in the snows of greenville. the redskins hid where a tornado had passed--not expecting another more destructive than the first! for two miles the scattering horde was pursued headlong through the forests. a halt was ordered just within sight of the british fort, whose guns were silent though menacing. the indians poured on down the valley toward the present site of toledo and lake erie. the battle of fallen timber was a decisive and important victory. the indians numbered about fifteen hundred; a considerable number of advancing allies never reached the battle-ground. the rapid strides of wayne had forced the meeting unexpectedly. those ten days the indians had requested for conference would have largely increased their strength. the number killed and wounded on either side was inconsiderable; forty indians, only, were found on the two-mile field of conflict. twenty-six killed and eighty-seven wounded, was the legion's loss. of the kentuckians, who hardly got into the action on account of the swift success of the legion, seven privates were killed, and ten privates and three officers were wounded. remaining three days on the battle-field, wayne destroyed many acres of corn and many indian huts and then returned to fort defiance. thence he ascended the maumee to the junction of the st. mary and st. joseph--harmar's battle ground--and built a fort which he permitted the oldest officer (posey?) to name "fort wayne in honor of the hero of stony point." from fort wayne the army ascended the st. mary to fort adams, and thence passed to loramie's, where a new fort loramie was erected. the troops from there opened a new route across to fort greenville. here, in the following year, the awed and broken indian nations signed the treaty of fort greenville which practically reaffirmed the previous treaty of fort harmar. viewed as a whole, wayne's campaign is most interesting from the standpoint of road-building. it was wayne's advance which awed the savages, not the battle of fallen timber. the army crashing northward through the forests as though ever in the pursuit of a foe, the impregnable forts that arose here and there, the strongly fortified camps, the fleet and active scouting parties, the stern but even temper of wayne's exhortations for peace, and at last, the fierce bayonet charge amid the prostrate trees, accomplished the very mission of the hour. that winding line of a road from the ohio to roche de bout, and the five new forts that sprang up on it in and , have left their impress strongly upon western history. the indians never forgot the "whirlwind," who was also a "black snake." since that road was built, the indian race has never been a national menace. bloody battles there have been, but at no time has the expansion of the united states been seriously jeopardized by indian hostility. clark's conquest of vincennes was now made good by the conquest of the maumee valley; harmar's reverses and st. clair's annihilation were avenged--the old northwest was won. appendixes appendix a portions of clark's memoir[ ] which refer to the march to kaskaskia "... on the [ th] of june we left our little island and run about a mile up the river in order to gain the main channel and shot the falls at the very moment of the sun being in a great eclipse which caused various conjectures among the superstitious as i knew that spies were kept on the river below the towns of the illinois i had resolved to march part of the way by land and of course left the whole of our baggage, except as much as would equip us in the indian mode. the whole of our force, after leaving such as was judged not competent to the expected fatiegue, consisted only of four companies, commanded by captns jno. montgomery, j. bowman, l. helm, and w. harrod my force being so small to what i expected owing to the various circumstances already mentioned i found it necessary to alter my plans of operations, as post st. vincent at this time was a town of considerable force consisting of near four hundred militia with an indian town adjoining and great numbers continually in the neighborhood, and in the scale of indian affairs of more importance than any other. [i] had thought of attacking it first but now found that i could by no means venture near it resolved to begin my career in the illinois where there was more inhabitants but scattered in different villages, and less danger of being immediately overpowered by the indians, and in case of necessity, [we could] probably make our retreat good to the spanish side of the mississippi, but if successful here [we] might pave our way to the possession of post st. vincent.... as i intended to leave the ohio at ft. massiac leagues below the tennessee i landed on barritaria a small island in the mouth of that river in order to prepare for the march ... having every thing prepared we moved down to a little gul[ley] a small distance above massiac in which we concealed our boats and set out a northwest course, nothing remarkable on this rout, the weather was favorable, in some parts water scarce as well as game, of course we suffered drought and hunger but not [to] excess, on the third day, john saunders, our principal guide, appeared confused we soon discovered that he was totally lost without there was some other cause of his present conduct i asked him various question, and from his answers i could scarcely determine what to think of him, whether or not he was sensible that he was lost the thought of which [?] or that he wished to deceive us the cry of the whole detachment was that he was a traitor, he beged that he might be suffered to go some distance into a plain that was in full view to try to make some discovery whether or not he was right. i told him he might but that i was suppitious [suspicious] of him from his conduct that from the first of his being employed always said that he knew the way well that there was now a different appearance that i saw the nature of the cuntry was such that a person once acquainted with it could not in a short time forget it that a few men should go with him to prevent his escape--and that if he did not discover and take us into _the hunters road_ that lead from the east into kaskaskia that he had frequently described that i would have him immediately put to death which i was determined to have done, but after an hour or two's search he came to a place that he perfectly knew and we discovered that the poor fellow had been as they call it bewildered. on the eavining of the fourth of july we got with in a few miles of the town." appendix b on the identification of clark's place of crossing the "two wabashes"[ ] mr. draper founds his conclusion that the "two wabashes" were the little wabash and the fox wholly on present-day ( - ) reports[ ] of the nature of the country at the little wabash above the mouth of the fox and above the mouth of the big muddy. the reports he received from residents of the neighborhoods carry evidence that the ground between the little wabash and fox most nearly agrees with clark's and bowman's descriptions of the crossing-place.[ ] this is true, and is of importance. but clark's and bowman's use of the word "heights" was merely relative; mr. draper's correspondents speak of high grounds and low grounds as the land lies today. with water but three or four feet deep, a few acres of land might have been uncovered, though not sufficiently elevated today to be termed a hill or even high ground. there is a point on the little --abash above the mouth of the fox that can be made to answer in a general way clark's and bowman's descriptions--going on the doubtful supposition that their descriptions were entirely accurate. in order to find a spot where clark saw nearly five miles of water before him, mr. draper suggests a point about two miles above the mouth of the fox, where there is a wide bottom on the west of the little --abash, another bottom between that stream and the fox, and another east of the fox.[ ] the possibility that the distance was exaggerated by clark (who said vincennes was two hundred and forty miles from kaskaskia when it was not over one hundred and seventy-five) is not considered. as a matter of fact, the whole plan of finding today five miles of low ground from any point west of the little --abash to the east of either the fox or the big muddy, is overthrown by clark's statement in the _memoir_ that (on the western side of the little wabash) "we formed a camp on a height which we found on the bank of the river." mr. draper's objection to the little wabash and big muddy crossing-place was because the high ground on the bank of the little wabash (seemingly here referred to by clark) prevented there being five miles of low ground to the opposite side of the big muddy.[ ] if clark and bowman gave the distance of width of water correctly, the crossing-place was two miles above the mouth of the fox, and clark's statement of forming a camp on a height on the river bank is totally inexplicable--for there is no height at this point to answer such a description. if, by "nearly" five miles, clark meant three miles, misjudging distance on water inversely with the usual way, his camp could have been on the immediate high bank of the little wabash above the mouth of the big muddy.[ ] certain other considerations have a tendency to influence the present writer in believing that the crossing-place was here--above the mouth of the big muddy. it was exceedingly wet from the day clark left kaskaskia; even on the watersheds he found deep standing water. on reaching the petit fork he found the rivers at flood-tide. by turning north to the clay county route he would strike the little wabash at a more northerly point, and would almost completely head the deep little bonpas which lay between the fox and the big wabash. the clay county route was in one sense, then, a watershed route, compared with the wayne county route. it is difficult to believe that clark's guides would ignore this after having been compelled to cross the petit fork on felled trees. again, on the second day out from the crossing-place of the little wabash, bowman records: " th. marched all day through rain and water; crossed fox river." if this entry is correct, of course the little wabash and big muddy crossing-place is completely established. mr. draper, holding that the fox was crossed simultaneously with the little wabash on the fifteenth, suggests that bowman meant bonpas for fox.[ ] choosing between possible errors, the present writer finds it easier to believe that bowman misjudged the width of water crossed on the fifteenth, than that he called the bonpas the fox. for on the seventeenth the heads of the bonpas are specifically accounted for by bowman as follows: " th. marched early; crossed several runs, very deep." mr. draper does not account for these, and it is difficult to do so if they were not the heads of the bonpas. for, if clark crossed the little wabash just above the mouth of the fox, his route, after crossing the bonpas, was northeast, and would, without any sort of question, have been on watersheds between little tributaries, first of the bonpas, and then of the embarras. again, by every account, it is sure clark and bowman expected to strike the embarras, and strike it at about seven or eight miles due west from vincennes. if, as draper believed, they were pursuing an old trail, which, it is well known,[ ] ran from the crossing-place of the little wabash two miles above the mouth of the fox to the wabash just below the mouth of the embarras, how can it be explained that the army reached, or ever intended to reach, the embarras seven or eight miles above its mouth? the very name would warn them away and it seems highly improbable that, if what was later known as the southern route was traversed, the army would ever have seen the embarras. appendix c operations of the army on the maumee as given in the irwin manuscript[ ] "the next day after the rear arrived a detachment of men was ordered out under the command of col. trotter of kentucky with orders to assertain what course the indians had went to draw days provisions and be out over night i was a volunteer in s^d. detachment there was about mounted men attached to the same a short distance after we crossed the st joseph river from where part of the town stood fell in with indians killed both and lost one man marched all day after in good order seen considerable signs could not assertain which way they had gone the six pounders was shot about sun set at the main camp the col concluded it was done to call the command in we returned to camp a short time after dark lay out side of camp all night had our own guards out, turned out next morning to perform the d day under command of col hardin went a northwest course from whence we crossed s^d river after going or mile found a large fresh indian trail pursued it with all speed in single file or in any way they could get allong from front to the rear was over half a mile the indians retreated with a view to draw the front into ambuscade which they done completely with two fires cut off the front entirely our company being in front the first day had to take the rear the second day when the front was cut off we formed a line in the rear cols hardin hall and major fountain was all on horse back halted with us when we formed, the indians pursued the front untill they come within one hundred yards then halted we had but about in our company had all treed in line across the trace they could see the officers on horse back with us we stood in that situation untill near dark then covered the retreat got into camp a short time after dark i never could assertain how many men we lost in that scrap a captn scott son of gen or governor scott of kentucky was killed in that scrap our troops was very much scattered a number came in after night as the cannon was fired every hour through the night at the main camp perhaps there was or killed, perhaps more or less the commencement was one of the most unexpected surprises ever any troops met with two of us went out and examined their encampment where their trace was first discovered over mile on this side where the battle was as there was there a general halt for a short time i would have said there was or hundred indians and we had not near as many men that day as was out the day before there was experienced officers along that ought to have known better they was too anxious on the pursuit the troops should have been marched in such a situation that no advantage could have been taken of them as was the case the day before the army remained in camp perhaps days making ready to return to fort washington when the army moved from camp perhaps about the th or th of november four or five mounted men with an officer placed themselves on a high eminence so that they could see over all the place where the indian town stood about two hours after the army cleared out the indians came in from different quarters to get provision as they had considerable hid under ground said spies remained there untill dark came into camp which was about or mile informed harmar and the officers what discoveries they had made a detachment of or hundred men was drafted from the different companies of s^d army that night to be on the ground next morning by day light and to be placed under the command of col hardin the plan of attack was made by the officers previous to their march and was well executed by the officers and troops engaged in the same there was too few troops in said detachment for the number of the enemy they had to contend with if men had arrived there about sunrise they would have give the enemy a complete defeat they give them a pretty good drubing as it was there was about regulars under the command of major ---- they fought well done great execution lost their major and lieutenant in the battle. col hardins post in the aforesaid plan was on the west side of the st. joseph river opposite to where the indian town stood he was there in good time the other troops crossed the maumee went right to where the town stood the indians was encamped in and round where it stood major fountain had the command of the light horse and mounted men he charged right in among the enemy fired off his pistols and drew his sword before they could recover the shock george adams informed them that he was near the major at that time that it appeared when the enemy got over their surprise ten or twelve indians discharged their guns at him the major kind of fell or hung on his horse they then discharged several guns at said adams he received several flesh wounds but recovered by this time the militia and regulars come up. the indians fought with desperation was drove from their encampment by the militia and regulars down the bank into the river which was perhaps yards wide and perhaps inches deep col hardins men on the opposite side which placed them between two fires the indians charged on hardins troops having no other chance to escape hardins troops give way and retreated the same way they went out and was not in that battle any more. some of the troops informed me that major fountain was living when our troops drove the indians from the battle ground. major mcmillin of kentucky collected the troops and tarried on the battle ground untill they indians had entirely disappeared and not one to be seen or heard i never understood what was the number of our troops killed by the enemy on that campaign though it was considerable my oppinion is there was more indians killed in that battle than was killed when gen^l --ayne defeated them in if harmar had sent out a detachment of six hundred men next day to collected the dead and buried them and assertained how many of the enemy was killed i think there would have been no risk in it as the indians was so completely cut up on the day of the battle such a move would have been an honor and credit to that campaign i can never agree that harmars campaing was a defeated one." footnotes: [ ] for a sketch of the position of this campaign in the revolution, and its leading details see _historic highways of america_, vol. vi, pp. - . [ ] our principal source of information concerning the kaskaskia campaign is george rogers clark's _memoir_, written probably in , the original of which is preserved in the draper manuscripts in the library of the state historical society of wisconsin. extracts of such portions as refer to the march to kaskaskia will be found in appendix a. [ ] page's _history of massac county_, p. . [ ] _draper mss._, xxi j, fols. , . [ ] _id._, fol. . [ ] _id._, fol. . [ ] _id._, fol. . [ ] _id._, fol. ; xxii, fol. . [ ] _id._, xxii, fol. . [ ] _id._, xxi, fol. ; cf. p. . [ ] _id._, xxi, fols. , . probably the route of the later st. louis-shawneetown trace; see p. . [ ] _id._, xxii, fols. , . [ ] _id._, xxii, fol. . [ ] _id._, xxi, fols. , , , , ; and xxii, fols. , . [ ] _id._, xxii, fols. , . cox's creek was crossed twice, the east fork in section , township , range , and the west fork in section , township , range . [ ] _id._, xxi, fols. , ; xxii, fol. . [ ] _id._, xxii, fol. . [ ] clark approached kaskaskia by the route and the ford over the kaskaskia river which he pursued on the vincennes campaign in the february following. (english's _conquest of the northwest_, vol. i, p. .) [ ] _historic highways of america_, vol. vii, p. . [ ] a galley-batteau, armed with two four-pounders and four swivels, and carrying forty-six men, under the command of captain john rogers, left kaskaskia february , for vincennes by the river route. it was named "the willing." [ ] probably at "a small branch about three miles from kaskaskia" mentioned by clark in his letter to mason (english's _conquest of the northwest_, vol. i, p. ). [ ] the map of clark's route from kaskaskia to vincennes in the standard work on his campaigns of - , english's _conquest of the northwest_ (vol. i, pp. - ), gives only the later kaskaskia trace of the eighteenth century--the modern route which it is sure clark did not pursue. [ ] _draper mss._, xxv j, fol. . see map on page . [ ] it seems to the writer useless to spend time and space in attempting to place exactly clark's camping-spots. he has made several exhaustive schedules of these camps and all the contradictions discussed pro and con. at best, any outline of camps must be purest conjecture, and therefore not authoritative or really valuable. in certain instances the camping-spots are definitely fixed by contemporaneous records. only these will be definitely described in this record--the others being placed more or less indefinitely. [ ] in possession of the kentucky historical society; first published in the _louisville literary news_, november , ; see english's _conquest of the northwest_, vol. i, pp. - , from which our quotations are made. [ ] _draper mss._, xxv j, fols. , , , . [ ] _id._, fol. . [ ] _id._, fol. . [ ] _id._ [ ] _id._ [ ] _id._, xxiv, fols. - . [ ] _id._, xxv, fol. . [ ] volney's _a view of the soil and climate of the united states of america_ (brown's translation) , pp. - . [ ] these are the _memoir_ and the _letter to mason_ previously described. [ ] no explanation of "cot plains" was offered to mr. draper by his illinois correspondents. if the present writer be allowed a pure guess it would be that "cot" was the american spelling of the french _quatre_, "four;" "cot plains" would then be a "four mile prairie" east or northeast of skillet creek. the clay county route cut off a corner of romaine prairie just here--which may have been known as "four mile prairie" in earliest days. it is not known that such was the case. [ ] see appendix b. [ ] _draper mss._, xxv j, fol. . clark's men marched two leagues before reaching "sugar camp." mr. english's map (_conquest of the northwest_, vol. i, p. ) and bowman's _journal_ are therefore utterly at variance. [ ] _draper mss._, xxv j, fol. . [ ] the british fort sackville. [ ] referring to the fact that hamilton was accused of buying scalps of americans from the indians. the shrewdness of this communication is conspicuous, the result of the experiences at kaskaskia. [ ] english's _conquest of the northwest_ vol. i, p. . [ ] the author bases his remarks wholly on the belief, it will be observed, that clark crossed the little wabash east of clay city. [ ] see note . [ ] an interesting english version of embarras--denoting the creole pronunciation. on hutchins's old map of the embarras is called the "troublesome river"--see map, p. . [ ] the western branch of the bonpas, or the fox? [ ] all efforts to find any locality bearing this name have failed. possibly it was a double bend of the little wabash, east of clay city, which may resemble an ox yoke. "ox bow" is not an uncommon name for such reverse curves of rivers in several of our states. [ ] a well-known salt spring lies just west of the mccauley settlement crossing of the little wabash.--_draper mss._, xxv j, fol. . [ ] mr. draper suggests that this may have been near enterprise, wayne county, in keeping with the idea that the route here described was the route that clark followed. the most definite point known on volney's route west of the embarras was the salt spring, above mentioned, and this was on the more northerly route which crossed the little wabash east of clay city. slaves gibbet must therefore have been just east of xenia. [ ] probably harvey's point, six or eight miles southeast of salem. [ ] skillet creek. [ ] at the crossing of "petit fork"--adams tributary of skillet. [ ] near walnut hill. [ ] perhaps on head of big muddy in grand prairie. [ ] there seem to have been two old-time routes around grand prairie; the points of junction seem to have been in grand prairie and elkhorn prairie. pointe aux fesses is identified as elkhorn point, northeast of oakdale. [ ] in grand prairie. [ ] see note . [ ] oakdale. [ ] coultersville. [ ] northwest of steel's mills. [ ] mr. draper reduces these estimates to "probabilities," giving as the total distance miles (_draper mss._, xxv j, fol. ). [ ] this point of junction is eighteen miles east of salem, which is given as the point of junction on mr. english's map of clark's route.--_conquest of the northwest_, vol. i, pp. , . salem is the junction of the modern route from kaskaskia with the st. louis trace. [ ] additional testimony to the same effect is found in _draper mss._, xxv j, fol. . [ ] evans's _history of scioto county and pioneer record of southern ohio_ contains the best map of western ohio extant. [ ] _historic highways of america_, vol. vi, p. . [ ] josiah morrow, to whom the author is indebted for much help in the study of harmar's route, affirms that in the land records of warren county he has found reference to this as "clark's old war-road." [ ] november , . [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . [ ] _id._ [ ] _id._ [ ] _id._, pp. , ; st. clair to knox, _id._, p. . [ ] _id._ [ ] _id._ [ ] _id._, p. . [ ] the authorities used in connection with harmar's route and march are: the journal of captain john armstrong, of the regulars (dillon's _history of indiana_, pp. - ); thomas irwin's account of harmar's and st. clair's campaigns, in the _draper mss._, iv u, fols. - ; hugh scott's narrative, _id._, fol. , and david h. morris's narrative, in the troy (ohio) _times_ of january , . hereafter these will be referred to by name only. harmar's route out of cincinnati is thus described by j. g. olden in his _historical sketches and early reminiscences of hamilton county, ohio_: "moved from ft. washington up the little ravine that runs into deer creek near what is now the head of sycamore street, cincinnati, thence through mt. auburn and along the general course of what is now the reading turnpike to the little stream since known as ross run where he encamped for the night in what is now section mill creek township near where four mile tavern was built. the next day he moved, still on clark's old trace, now reading turnpike, passing near where the school-house now stands in reading, thence on to the little run east of where sharonville now is, where he encamped for the [second] night." [ ] an error for . as noted, three well-known expeditions had gone northward from the present site of cincinnati before harmar's: bowman in , clark in , and clark again in . in clark passed northward on the watershed between the miamis. it was therefore clark's route of which harmar's militia followed. [ ] mt. auburn. dr. daniel drake, writing in , says: "main street, beyond seventh, was a mere road nearly impassable in muddy weather which, at the foot of the hills, divided into two, called the hamilton and the mad-river road. the former took the course of the brighton house; the latter made a steep ascent over mount auburn." of a later road on harmar's trace we have this record: " road laid out from main street, cincinnati, northeast nearly on harmar's trace (six miles) to the road connecting columbia and white's station [upper carthage]" (_history of hamilton county_, p. ). [ ] lick schoolhouse, deerfield township, warren county? [ ] _history of warren county_ (chicago, ), p. . [ ] josiah morrow offers this correction for future editions of armstrong's _journal_: "the printed journal of armstrong's makes the first ten miles of the third day in a northwest course. even if this be understood as meaning west of north, it would take the army to the west of west chester in butler county. if we assume northwest to be an error for northeast, 'the first five miles over a dry ridge to a lick' would bring the army to the lick at lick school-house in deerfield township, warren county; and the next 'five miles through a low swampy country to a branch of the waters of the little miami' would be over the swampy land of early times in the vicinity of mason, and there is a tradition that the army stopped for a time on little muddy creek, on the farm formerly owned by joseph mcclung, north of mason." [ ] mss. in possession of josiah morrow, lebanon, ohio. [ ] a western tributary of the little miami, down which harmar is supposed to have marched to fish-pot ford, was formerly known as harmar's run. [ ] armstrong's printed _journal_ reads sugar creek for cæsar's creek. either this was an older name or the result of a typographical error. as the name cæsar comes from a negro who resided here with the indians, it is probable that, as josiah morrow assumes, "the soldier wrote seezar or seizar, which the printer mistook for sugar." [ ] a station on the big four railway, twelve miles northeast of troy. [ ] in general wayne's campaign in a trace known as "harmar's trace" was crossed just south of the st. mary river in mercer county (see p. ). if harmar recrossed the st. mary and proceeded south of the river to "shane's crossing" (rockford, mercer county) this is the only record of it. [ ] the irwin ms. account of the operations of the army on the maumee is intensely vivid, and, though incomplete, should be preserved in lasting form. it will be found in appendix c. [ ] _historic highways of america_, vol. ix, ch. . [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . [ ] _id._, p. . [ ] _id._, p. . this project was suggested by general st. clair the year previous, but was not countenanced by the government. _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . [ ] _id._, p. . [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . officers who had orders from butler to march were, in some instances, delayed nearly a week before they received the necessary provisions with which to do so.--st. clair's _narrative of the campaign against the indians_ ( ), p. . [ ] _id._, p. . [ ] st. clair's _narrative_, p. . [ ] _id._, p. . [ ] cummingsville--"six miles from the fort [washington], along what is now 'mad anthony street.'"--_history of hamilton county_, (cleveland, ), p. . [ ] knox to washington, october , , _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . [ ] the site of fort hamilton was in the present city of hamilton, ohio, and was described in as located on the ground reaching from stable street to the united presbyterian church, and stretching from the miami river eastward to the site of the universalist church. [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . [ ] _historic highways of america_, vol. ix, ch. . [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . st. clair had ordered butler to proceed in three parallel paths each ten feet in width. [ ] everts's _atlas of butler county, ohio_, p. . [ ] _history of preble county, ohio ( )_, p. . [ ] _st. clair papers_, vol. ii, p. . [ ] _st. clair papers_, vol. ii, p. . this letter may have been written at fort hamilton. [ ] st. clair's _narrative_, p. . it is difficult to harmonize st. clair's own words concerning the width of the roadway with those of the editor of _the st. clair papers_, vol. ii, p. , note. [ ] _historic highways of america_, vol. v, p. . cf. harmar's order of march p. . [ ] st. clair's _narrative_, p. . [ ] _id_., p. . [ ] _the st. clair papers_, vol. ii, pp. , . [ ] st. clair's _narrative_, p. . [ ] _the st. clair papers_, pp. , . [ ] st. clair wrote hodgdon regarding supplies as follows: "forty-five thousand rations of provisions should move with the army; ... twice in every ten days forty-five thousand rations should move from fort washington to the next post, until three hundred and sixty thousand rations were sent forward; ... forty-five thousand rations should again move with the army from the first post to a second, and an equal number twice in every ten days until the residue of the three hundred and sixty thousand were carried forward, and so on from post to post, still moving with forty-five thousand rations. they have failed entirely in enabling me to move with forty-five thousand rations, and from the letter above mentioned, the agent seems not to expect to move any beyond this place; for he says: 'if you move from thence (meaning this place) shortly, and take ten days' provisions with you, it will deprive us of the means to transport what may be necessary after that is exhausted.' after, then, that you know _exactly_ what the contractors can do as to transportation, (for so far as they can do it, it is their business, and must not be taken out of their hands) you will take your measures so, as that, on the th instant, i may be able to move with three hundred horse-loads of flour, and that one hundred and fifty horse-loads succeed that every seven days; one hundred and fifty horses being sent back every seven days. for whatever expense may attend the arrangement, this shall be your warrant; and i am certain, from your personal character, as well as from your zeal for the public good, that no unnecessary expense will be incurred. it is to be observed, that our beef will be expended about the th or th of next month. when i left fort washington, the agent of the contractors informed me that he expected a drove of cattle very soon; whether they are arrived or not i am not informed. i have written to him on this occasion; but i request you to inform yourself, and, if necessary, to make provision there also; and, indeed, there is not a moment to lose about it, and to provide for any deficiency. he writes me that the measures he has taken will give a supply to the last of december or a month longer, but nothing must be left to hazard."--_the st. clair papers_, vol. ii, pp. - . [ ] st. clair's _narrative_, p. . [ ] _the st. clair papers_, vol. ii, p. . [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . [ ] _id._, p. . [ ] see p. . [ ] st. clair's _narrative_, pp. - . [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. ; st. clair's _narrative_, p. . [ ] albach's _annals of the west_, p. . [ ] atwater's _history of ohio_, p. . [ ] captain robert buntin to governor st. clair, february , (dillon's _history of indiana_, p. ). [ ] _annals of the west_, p. . [ ] ms. of thos. posey, _draper mss._, xvi u, vol. . cf. page . [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), pp. - . [ ] mss. in the new york state library in washington's handwriting; _magazine of american history_, vol. iii (february, ), pp. - . [ ] wayne to knox, october , , _draper mss._, v u, fol. . [ ] _id._, armstrong to wilkinson, september , . [ ] journal of thomas posey, _draper mss._, xvi u, vol. . hereafter this will be referred to merely by name. [ ] march , . [ ] the fourth article was the objectionable one. it read: "the united states solemnly guaranty to the wabash, and illinois nations, or tribes of indians, all the lands to which they have a just claim; and no part shall ever be taken from them, but by a fair purchase, and to their satisfaction. that the land originally belonged to the indians; it is theirs, and theirs only. that they have a right to sell, and a right to refuse to sell. and that the united states will protect them in their said just rights." _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . no citizen of the united states had or has a right to refuse to sell land to the government. such a right could not be given to an indian tribe. [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), pp. - . [ ] _id._, p. . [ ] _id._ [ ] _id._, p. . [ ] a standing rock in the maumee river. [ ] _historic highways of america_, vol. vi, pp. - . [ ] _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), pp. - . [ ] _historic highways of america_, vol. ix, ch. . [ ] _id._, p. . [ ] _id._, p. . [ ] deposition of an unknown, but in wayne's handwriting. _draper mss._, v u, fol. . [ ] the following innocent sentence was to signify that war should immediately begin: "although we did not effect a peace, yet we hope that good may hereafter arise from the mission." wayne was provided with the commissioners' signatures as a guard against forgery.--_american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . [ ] scott to governor shelby of kentucky, "petersburg th sept oclock in the morning." _draper mss._, v u, fol. . [ ] wayne to knox, october , . _american state papers_, vol. iv (indian affairs, vol. i), p. . [ ] _id._, p. . [ ] _atlas of butler county, ohio_ ( ), p. . [ ] _history of preble county, ohio_ ( ), p. . [ ] _a journal of wayne's campaign._ being an authentic daily record of the most important occurrences during the campaign of major general anthony wayne, against the northwestern indians; commencing on the th day of july, and ending on the d day of november, ; including an account of the great battle of august th. by lieutenant boyer (cincinnati, ). [ ] a copy of clark's journal is in the _draper mss._ (v u, fols. - ). the original is owned by mrs. a. j. ballard of louisville, kentucky. [ ] relics made from logs of this bridge, well preserved by their position in swampy ground, are not uncommon in mercer county. [ ] posey refers to this fort only as fort adams; clark mentions it only as fort randolph. boyer gives no name, referring to it as "the garrison." [ ] a venerable resident of rockford, mr. bronson roebuck, aged eighty-one, informs the writer that the road from fort adams passed down the north bank of the st. mary through an indian village, old town, on the farm of rouel roebuck, about two miles east of rockford, and continued down the valley to the present site of willshire; thence it continued to fort wayne but at a further distance from the river. [ ] just as st. clair refused butler's proposal at fort jefferson in the campaign of . [ ] "the scheme [of surprising the indians] was proposed, and certain success insured if attempted. gen wilkinson suggested the plan to the commander-in-chief, but it was not his plan, nor perhaps his wish, to embrace so probable a means for ending the war by compelling them to peace. this was not the first occasion or opportunity which presented itself to our observant general [wilkinson] for some grand stroke of enterprise, but the commander-in-chief rejected all and every of his plans"--fol. . clark's criticisms and objections fill his remaining pages--fols. - , , , , . [ ] _glaize_ was from the french meaning "clay;" auglaize river was the "river of the clay banks." [ ] clark adds, in thoroughly hostile tone, that wayne would have answered it but for the intervention of general wilkinson.--fol. . [ ] as mentioned in our narrative, p. , it was to a "fallen timber" on the bloody way between forts hamilton and st. clair that girty with a party of indians went in the fall of on a raiding expedition. the name is preserved, at least in one instance, in west virginia in fallen timber run, wetzel county. the modern spelling is "fallen timbers." [ ] see _ante_, page , note . the original of clark's _memoir_ is found in the _draper mss._, xlvii j, fols. - . [ ] see _ante_, page . [ ] _draper mss._, xxv j, fols. - . [ ] _id._, xxiv, fol. ; xxv, fols. - , . [ ] _id._, fols. , . [ ] _id._, xxiv, fol. . [ ] _id._ [ ] _id._, fols. , . [ ] _id._, xxiv, fol. . [ ] see _ante_, page , note . the extract here given is from _draper mss._, iv u, fols. - . * * * * * transcriber's notes: . passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_. . obvious errors in spelling and punctuation have been corrected except for narratives and letters included in this text. . footnotes have been moved to the end of the main text body. . images have been moved from the middle of a paragraph to the closest paragraph break. . certain words use an oe ligature in the original. . carat character (^) followed by a single letter or a set of letters in curly brackets is indicative of subscript in the original book. internet archive (https://archive.org/index.php) note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations. see -h.htm or -h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h/ -h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h.zip) images of the original pages are available through internet archive. see https://archive.org/details/benjaminofohiost otis [illustration: map to illustrate the story of benjamin of ohio] benjamin of ohio a story of the settlement of marietta by james otis [illustration: logo] new york -:- cincinnati -:- chicago american book company copyright, , by james otis kaler. benjamin of ohio. w. p. i foreword the author of this series of stories for children has endeavored simply to show why and how the descendants of the early colonists fought their way through the wilderness in search of new homes. the several narratives deal with the struggles of those adventurous people who forced their way westward, ever westward, whether in hope of gain or in answer to "the call of the wild," and who, in so doing, wrote their names with their blood across this country of ours from the ohio to the columbia. to excite in the hearts of the young people of this land a desire to know more regarding the building up of this great nation, and at the same time to entertain in such a manner as may stimulate to noble deeds, is the real aim of these stories. in them there is nothing of romance, but only a careful, truthful record of the part played by children in the great battles with those forces, human as well as natural, which, for so long a time, held a vast portion of this broad land against the advance of home seekers. with the knowledge of what has been done by our own people in our own land, surely there is no reason why one should resort to fiction in order to depict scenes of heroism, daring, and sublime disregard of suffering in nearly every form. james otis. contents page benjamin's story the ohio company rufus putnam colonel putnam, the engineer the first emigrants building a fleet campus martius the arrival of general putnam the work of the first emigrants clearing the land how our company was formed making ready for the journey concerning myself setting out mistress devoll's outfit at providence on the road to blooming grove plans for the future on the water once more feasting on honey among the moravians the rope ferry the way through pennsylvania the shame of the girls meeting with parson cutler ohio cornfields the governor and judges the name of the town campus martius independence day master devoll's house the indian mounds at harrisburg isaac barker's sport uncle daniel carter uncle daniel joins our company hard traveling mud and water a storm of snow across the mountains a friendly dunkard master hiples's kindness a surly landlord isaac flogs the landlord a much needed lesson a time of rest pack trains a night adventure fears about the women and children descending the mountains at the foot of the hills nearing the end of the journey at sumrill's ferry parting with uncle daniel our flatboat the cattle are sent away at pittsburgh too much water escape of the women and children repairing damages our pilot a change of weather noisy fear a real feast finding the canoe buffalo creek the march across the country at marietta plans for the future inspecting the town of marietta a temporary home buying land visiting the savages captain haskell's advice a new friend fishing through the ice the sabbath in marietta a regular business a visit from the savages building a home a great project the two millers the savages on the warpath benjamin of ohio benjamin's story [illustration: benjamin leaning on the letter i.] it seems a very long while since i promised to tell you of what i did after coming into this ohio country, and yet even now i cannot well begin the tale without telling something about the ohio company, which was formed, as you know, by general rufus putnam. twice i have begun the story, and twice i have stopped, understanding that you would not be able to make out why we did this or that, unless you first knew how it chanced that we came to make our homes here. when you and i, while we were both in massachusetts, talked about my journeying into this country, i may have spoken in such a way as to give you the idea that i believed it would be possible for me to do much toward the making of a new town. in fact, i did really then believe that my services would be of great value to those men who expected to build a village here on the muskingum river; but, although only two years have passed, i already understand that a boy of my age is not of much worth in such an enterprise, more particularly when men like parson cutler and general putnam are at the head of affairs. do you remember how old i am? well, there is here in this town of marietta a fellow by the name of jeremy salter, who has become quite a friend of mine, and the other day he asked my age. i told him that i was born in december of the year of the capture of ticonderoga and crown point, the election of general washington to be commander in chief of the armies, and the battle of bunker hill, yet, if you will believe me, the dolt was not able to fix the date. however, my age has nothing to do with our coming from mattapoisett into ohio, and now let me try to make it plain how it happened that we of massachusetts could come so far away and take up land simply because of having bought shares in the ohio company. the ohio company this is the story as i have heard it from general putnam himself. it seems that when our war for independence came to an end, the government did not have money enough with which to pay the soldiers for their services, or, as parson cutler says, the country was much the same as bankrupt; general washington himself declared that a wagonload of continental money would be hardly sufficient to purchase a wagonload of provisions. now of course these soldiers must have their wages, and some men in the congress proposed that the government sell land in the western country in order to raise enough money. [illustration: rufus putnam surveying land with ben tupper.] while this matter was being talked about, congress ordered that a survey be made of the western lands, and rufus putnam himself received an appointment as one of the surveyors; but, not being able to attend to the work personally, he induced an old comrade, by the name of benjamin tupper, to take his place. [illustration: meeting of the citizens of massachusetts.] when master tupper came back to the eastern colonies, after having been over the land, he told general putnam what a great, grand country it was; and it is said that the two old comrades sat up all night talking over plans for buying land enough to form a colony, and that by daybreak they had decided to call a meeting of the citizens of massachusetts and the near-by states, to be held at the bunch of grapes tavern in boston, early in the month of march, . this meeting was held, and a company was organized, to be known as the ohio associates. the government had decided to use this land, as i have said, to pay off the soldiers, and this company, formed by general putnam, employed parson manasseh cutler and master winthrop sargent to make a bargain with congress. these two men offered to buy one million, five hundred thousand acres of land at one dollar an acre, paying down five hundred thousand dollars when the contract was signed, with the debts due the soldiers reckoned as so much ready money. those who had banded themselves together could not raise the remaining million dollars, and the result was that the government cut down the agreement so that our ohio company had at its disposal a little more than a million acres of land, instead of a million and a half. rufus putnam you surely remember what general putnam has done for his country, or, i should say, what he did, even before he came to ohio. in , when only nineteen years old, he enlisted as a common soldier in the provincial army,--for there was then war between england and france,--and served faithfully four years, until the surrender of montreal, when the army was disbanded. then he went to his home in new braintree and worked at the trade of millwright; but he soon discovered that his education was not sufficient to enable him to continue the business to the best advantage, therefore he devoted every moment of his spare time to the study of mathematics. [illustration: rufus putnam studying mathematics.] seven or eight years afterward, when it was believed the british government would give to those soldiers who had served in the french war certain lands somewhere in the wild western country, rufus putnam was selected as one of a party to find out where it would be well for the people to settle. no sooner had the battle of lexington been fought than rufus putnam was among the first to enlist; and it shows that he gained a good military reputation, for he was made lieutenant colonel of the first regiment raised in massachusetts. colonel putnam, the engineer because of his knowledge of mathematics he was chosen by the leaders of the american army to lay out the line of defenses round about boston, and did more than a full share in forcing the british to evacuate that city, because of the skill with which he established the fortifications on dorchester heights. [illustration: colonel putnam, the engineer.] later he was sent to new york, where he took charge of the defenses on long island at fort lee, and king's bridge; and during the year when our people made their formal declaration of independence, rufus putnam was appointed engineer, with the rank of colonel and pay at sixty dollars a month. the next year colonel putnam went back to massachusetts, where he raised and took command of a regiment which he afterward led in the battle of stillwater and again at saratoga, covering himself with glory, so i have heard parson cutler say. after the surprise at stony point, colonel putnam was appointed to the command of a regiment in general wayne's brigade, continuing to serve with credit to himself, and to the best interests of his country, until , when congress promoted him to the rank of brigadier general; he remained in the service of the people, filling one position or another, until this ohio company was formed, as i have told you. another matter which you should bear in mind while thinking of us so far away, is that when parson cutler made the trade with the government for land in the ohio country, he induced the congress to set aside two entire townships, of thirty-six square miles each, for the support of a university, and in each of the other townships one square mile to be used solely for the support of schools and churches. therefore, even before any man had begun the building of a home here on the muskingum river, schools and churches were provided for, which is more, i believe, than can be said regarding most new settlements. the first emigrants you remember all the talk and excitement in massachusetts at this time, when so much was being told regarding the beauties of the ohio country, and you know how eager i was to set out with that first party which left danvers under the leadership of major haffield white on the first day of december, in the year . [illustration: the first emigrants in a conestoga wagon.] as you also know, these men were to halt somewhere on the youghiogheny river to build boats, in order to continue the journey by water, and a second party, under the command of general putnam himself, was to leave hartford in connecticut shortly afterward, to join those from massachusetts. this second company was really led by colonel ebenezer sproat because general putnam was forced to go to new york on some business of his own, and did not succeed in overtaking the people until they had come to swatara creek in pennsylvania. building a fleet major haffield white's party arrived at sumrill's ferry, after a long and tedious journey over the old military road, on the twenty-third day of january, in the year , and immediately began building boats. [illustration: campus martius.] on the fourteenth of february, general putnam's party, by which i mean those who set out from hartford, joined those who were already at the ferry, and the two companies landed here on the bank of the muskingum river the seventh day of april, in the year . all this is an old and familiar story; but it is well for me to remind you of it, so that you can the better understand how i, who had believed and hoped i was coming into a new country to do my full share in building up a town, found everything, as one might say, ready to hand. instead of cutting through the wilderness in order to build houses, we found the land so far cleared that we might get about the home making at once, and during the time the work was being carried on, the people lived in the fort, which general putnam calls campus martius. it is situated near fort harmar, a fortification standing on the west bank of the muskingum river near its mouth, and not far from this town of marietta. it was built in , and colonel josiah harmar is now in command. campus martius what do i mean by campus martius, when i claim to be living in the town of marietta? when general putnam and his company arrived here, the first thing they did was to build a fort for the protection, not only of themselves, but of those who might come after; concerning this fort i will tell you later, but first you may be, and probably are, as curious as i was regarding the name. i asked general putnam, and he told me it was named after a certain lot of land in the city of rome, which was used for popular assemblies and military exercises. however, the town itself is called marietta, after marie antoinette of france, who was so brutally killed by her subjects during the reign of terror. [illustration: men building the campus martius fort.] perhaps it would be better if i begin this story by telling you how we got here, for the journey was not only long, but tiresome, and made at the cost of much labor. but yet it seems best to set down all within my knowledge concerning those men who first came out, meaning the party which left danvers in massachusetts, and that which started from hartford in connecticut. all that i know about major white's company during the march is that they came over what is called the old military road, across pennsylvania, until they arrived at the youghiogheny river, which they crossed, and then went into winter quarters at sumrill's ferry. there they set about building a flatboat, which they called the _mayflower_, making her forty-six feet long and twelve feet wide, with a roof deck and a sharp bow, to be propelled by either sails or oars; they built also a smaller flatboat and several canoes. [illustration: men building a flatboat.] the arrival of general putnam it was while they were building this fleet that general putnam's party joined them, and on the first day of april the new _mayflower_, together with the smaller craft, began the voyage down the ohio, arriving opposite fort harmar on the seventh day of april. there were forty-eight men on board the vessels: four surveyors with twenty-two others to attend them, six boat builders, four carpenters, one blacksmith, and eleven so-called common hands. i myself have heard general putnam say that when his company arrived at swatara creek it was frozen over, but not sufficiently hard to bear the weight of the wagon, and they spent one entire day cutting a passage through the ice. then, later, he says so great was the quantity of snow as to block up the roads, and when they got as far as cooper's, at the foot of the tuscarora mountains, they found old snow twelve inches deep. nothing save pack horses had passed over it, therefore it was necessary to build sleds and harness the animals one before the other, with the men marching in front to break out the roads, and thus they continued until arriving at the youghiogheny, as i have already said. [illustration: the new mayflower (flatboat) going downriver.] as you know, our town of marietta is on the muskingum river at its mouth where it empties into the ohio, and i am sending you such a drawing as i have been able to make, so that you may know just where we are located. the work of the first emigrants most likely general putnam decided upon this particular place in which to build a town because fort harmar, erected here in the year , would afford a very timely place of refuge in case the indians made an attack upon our people before they were in condition to defend themselves. [illustration: hand drawn map of marietta.] fort harmar is on the lower bank of the river, while our town of marietta is on the opposite side, or what might be called the upper point of land between the muskingum and the ohio. allen, who is a son of captain jonathan devoll, and came with the first party from danvers, told me that as soon as our people landed they set about making huts of boards which had been brought with them from sumrill's ferry, and at the same time put up a canvas tent for the use of general putnam, wherein he could transact the business of the new colony, and in such shelters they lived until the fort had been completed. [illustration: men reading the laws nailed to tree by river.] the surveyors immediately began laying out the town lots and the farms for those people who had bought shares in the company, and many laws or regulations were made by general putnam and his friends, which were nailed to the trunk of a large tree on the river bank where all might see them. the place was then, and is now, as beautiful a spot as one could well imagine. there are fish in the rivers in abundance, and game of every kind to be found in greatest plenty. just fancy herds of buffaloes and deer roaming through the forest and over the plains, while wild turkeys are found in such numbers as would do your heart good, especially after a good plump one has been cooked on a spit in front of a roaring fire. there was very little hunting done for sport, however, so allen devoll told me. those people who went out in search of game did so only that they might provide themselves and their companions with food; for the work on every hand was abundant. clearing the land enormous trees in the forest were to be girdled and thus killed that they might the more easily be hewn down, and the soil had to be prepared for planting. that these newcomers were not idle may be understood when i tell you that, during the first spring they were here, one hundred and thirty acres of corn were planted. of course there were no cleared fields, such as one might see about mattapoisett. the seed was put in among stumps, where only the underbrush had been cleared away; therefore a plow could not be run to make a straight furrow. the greater portion of the work was done with hoes and spades; and already i have had disagreeable experience in that kind of labor, which causes one's back to ache woefully and blisters the hands even of those who are accustomed to such toil. [illustration: man using a hoe in a cornfield.] and now after all this, which is what you might call the beginning of my story, i will tell you of our leaving home, and of that long, wearisome journey across the mountains, when we forded creeks and, if you please, might be said to have walked from one side of the state of pennsylvania to the other. i have sometimes regretted that i was not with the company led by major white, or under the leadership of colonel sproat, so that i could say that i was one of the first to step foot in this ohio country with the idea of making a home; but those voyagers were only men who could perform such work as boat building or surveying, and boys were neither wanted nor allowed. how our company was formed first you should know that captain jonathan devoll was a member of the company that came here under the leadership of major white, setting out from danvers. he had left his family behind in providence, and because of that fact perhaps, i was given an opportunity to come. having neither father nor mother, and being dependent upon those who were willing to provide me with work whereby i might gain a livelihood, there was no one to push forward my claim to become one of the emigrants, save only mistress devoll herself, who needed some one to aid her in caring for the children during the journey, for she is not a very strong woman. master john rouse had bought a share in the company and was making ready to start with his family, when he received word that he should bring with him all captain devoll's family. then there was captain haskell in our town of mattapoisett, an old sailor who owned a large covered wagon and two horses. master rouse had only one team of horses; therefore he proposed to captain haskell that they join forces, and surely it was a good trade for master rouse, since he had a large family to take with him, while the old captain was alone in the world. because of the labor involved in driving four horses during so long a time as would be required for the journey, it was decided that young ben cushing should be hired as driver, and thus the party was made up, until mistress devoll so kindly interfered in my behalf, claiming that she had a right to take with her at least one more lad. making ready for the journey i wish i could describe to you the excitement under which we all labored while making ready for the long journey! do you remember the rouse family? first there is michael, twenty-two years old; then bathsheba, who is nineteen or thereabouts; and elizabeth, two years younger. cynthia is two years younger than elizabeth; ruth is only eleven years old; stephen, six, and the twins, robert and barker, only four. now if mistress devoll had not needed my services, i should have found ample opportunity of earning my way across to the ohio country by taking care of the rouse children. the most important matter was the preparing of the wagon, where the women would sleep during such nights as we failed to find lodgings in taverns or farmhouses, and it was with infinite care that master rouse and captain haskell almost rebuilt this cart, which was what i believe is generally called a conestoga wagon, although why it should be given such a name i do not understand, unless it may have been made in some town by the name of conestoga. [illustration: men packing the conestoga wagon.] with so many in the company, you can fancy that it was a difficult matter to decide just what should be taken and what left behind, for it was of the utmost importance that the baggage be reduced to the smallest possible amount, and in order that it might be packed with the greatest economy, boxes were made to fit exactly into the bottom of the wagon, so that no space would be left unoccupied. on top of these were stowed the beds and bedding, while cooking utensils hung around on the inside, where we might get at them handily at mealtime, for, as it proved, very many days we were forced to do our cooking by the roadside, with such fireplaces as could be built up with rocks which we lads gathered. [illustration: boys preparing a cooking fire.] two trunks were placed at one end of the wagon, where they served as a barrier to prevent the twins from falling out when they played on the bedding, and upon the axles were hung buckets and such tools as might be needed during the journey, thus giving the outfit a decidedly comical, but perhaps homelike, appearance. we took with us only a small amount of grain for the horses, trusting to buy all that might be needed until we had journeyed as far as carlisle in pennsylvania. after that there would be less chance of coming upon farms where such things could be purchased, and then the animals would be forced to subsist only on grass. concerning myself my part of the outfit consisted of the clothes i wore, for i am ashamed to say that i did not own a second coat which would have been presentable in any company. therefore i did not allow myself to be troubled when the women complained long and bitterly because they had so little with which to work or make themselves comfortable, and for the only time in my life it did seem as if my poverty was really a blessing. i lived in a perfect fever of excitement during the three weeks we were making ready for the voyage, and on the evening before the eventful day i was so wrought up in my mind that to sleep was an impossibility. from the time i laid myself down on my bed in master rouse's stable, until the sun rose, i did not close my eyes in slumber; then i acted as if i had never seen a horse or harness before, for when ben cushing called on me to aid him in putting the animals to the pole, my hands trembled so that i could not fasten a buckle, let alone arrange the straps to his liking. ben is a careful driver and one who ever looks after the welfare of his beasts. to him a strap too long or too short, a buckle out of place or liable to break, is almost the same as a sin. i need not have allowed myself to be worked up to such an extent, however, for the first part of our journey was nothing more nor less than pleasure. half a dozen young girls, on horseback, set off with us, expecting to ride as far as the long plain, which is six miles out from mattapoisett, and the entire population, as it appeared to me, had turned out to see us get under way with that long conestoga wagon covered with canvas, on the sides of which had been painted, "to the ohio country." [illustration: group setting out on the trail.] setting out what a cheering and shaking of hands, and what a showering of good wishes upon us took place in that mattapoisett street! if we could have had parson cutler with us to give what you might call an official sanction to the start, as was done when major white's party set off from danvers, then i would have been more content. surely, however, there was no need for me to make complaint, because never before had i witnessed such a scene of excitement as when ben cushing gathered up the reins, and the townspeople stood around the heavy wagon until mistress rouse cried out in alarm lest some of them be run over. the twins, insisting on going the first mile or more afoot, ran here and there until it seemed to me at times that they were under the very feet of the horses during three minutes of every four. [illustration: children in the conestoga wagon.] it was really a relief, when we had drawn out of the town so far that the more excited ones could no longer call out to say once more "good-by" or "god bless you." i ought not to have been so impatient, for many a long day was to pass before i again saw faces on which i could read expressions of good will and friendliness toward me. this first portion of our journey was quite like a merrymaking. the young women rode either side the wagon; the rouse girls walked, or sat beside their mother in the big cart, as pleased them best, and the twins, soon tiring of striving to entangle themselves with the horses' legs, were ready to come in under the shelter of the canvas. we drove only six miles, and indeed this was quite a journey for the first day, because the animals were not accustomed to traveling together and gave ben cushing no little trouble. besides, our departure had been delayed so long, owing to the townspeople, that it was nearly noon before we had left mattapoisett behind us, and the day was nearly done when we had come to the long plain, and there stopped at the home of mistress devoll's cousin. mistress devoll's outfit we had but one wagon for all our party from the time we left mattapoisett until coming to providence. mistress devoll and mistress rouse are sisters and were much together at mattapoisett after captain devoll set off for the ohio country. it was while the captain's wife was in our village that she made me the offer to pay my passage to the muskingum river by looking after her belongings. mistress devoll expected to join master rouse's company at her home in providence, where she was to have ready a wagon in which would be all her household goods that could be transported over the mountains. she was to have a team of four horses, and her brother, isaac barker, was to act as driver, while i played the part of helper. [illustration: ben cushing driving a wagon with benjamin beside him.] therefore on leaving mattapoisett i ran ahead or behind master rouse's wagon, or clambered up by the side of ben cushing when the seat next to him was not occupied, for he was a good friend of mine and could be counted on to give me a hint now and then, if i overstepped my bounds. the stay at the long plain overnight was what you might call a friendly visit for all the members of the company save ben cushing and me; but we two were not lonely, for we laid ourselves down to sleep in the wagon, after having had a bountiful meal at the home of mistress devoll's cousin, and it is safe to say that during the first night after starting for the ohio country we slept more comfortably, if not more soundly, than on any other during the journey. [illustration: ben cushing and benjamin sleeping in the wagon.] we were up at break of day, however, for the horses were to be groomed and fed, and master rouse had decided that we must travel as far as providence before nightfall. the young women who had come out from mattapoisett with us, went back some time late in the evening after cushing and i were asleep, and when breakfast had been eaten we set off once more, just as the sun was rising. it seemed as if this was really the beginning of the journey, for we were alone, plodding over the dusty road which, to look into the future, seemed as if it would have no end. at providence an hour after sunset we halted in front of mistress devoll's house. the horses were unhitched and taken to a stable, where ben and i were speedily joined by isaac barker, whom we had seen more than once in mattapoisett, and we three, while caring for the animals, discussed at great length the undertaking which lay all before us. [illustration: boys pushing the wagon up a mountain road.] a rare hand at making sport was isaac barker, and many a time after leaving providence it did seem to me that but for his quips and jokes we might have given up in despair at trying to gain this country, for the way was hard over the best of the roads we found, and there were many moments, after we got into pennsylvania, when all the members of the company were forced to lay hold of ropes tied to the tops of the carts to prevent them from oversetting. then it was that isaac's nonsense really served to hearten us. you can well fancy that when we were once among the mountains the way was exceedingly hard to travel, and again and again i have laid my shoulder against the hind end of one of the wagons, straining every muscle to help the horses on, while every other man and boy was doing the same, and doing it to the utmost of his power. we lost no time in leaving providence next morning. mistress devoll's wagon was packed and ready, and after eating a breakfast which had been prepared by some of the neighbors, we set off, i walking with the men either ahead or behind the teams, for there was not sufficient room in both wagons for all our company to ride. there are five of the devoll children: sally, twelve years old; henry, two years younger; charles, aged eight; barker, five; and francis, a baby not much more than a year old. isaac barker cracked jokes as he swung the whip over the backs of the horses; the rouse girls sang until they were hoarse; the smaller children screamed with delight because we were finally on our way to the wilderness; and everything went on as if we were still simply bent upon pleasure during this third day of the journey. on the road to blooming grove now it is not in my mind to set down an account of every day's journey while we were in what you might call civilized country, for we simply drove the horses as far as we could each day, with due care to a resting place at night, passing through farmington, litchfield, and ballsbridge, to the hudson river. of course it was necessary to cross the water, and to do this, master rouse and captain haskell hired two large boats into which we could stow the wagons as well as the horses. by the aid of both sails and oars the clumsy craft were navigated from fishkill to newburgh, where we took to the road again, traveling ten miles to a village called blooming grove. there we stopped at a tavern kept by a man named goldsmith. [illustration: benjamin cleaning horses hooves and talking to goldsmith.] there is no particular reason why i should have remembered that man's name so long, had it not been that seeing me rubbing the legs of mistress devoll's horses, on that evening, he took me kindly by the ear and said that i was a likely looking lad such as he stood in need of to help him about the tavern, proposing, if i would remain with him, to give me my board and clothes during the first year, allowing me to attend school meanwhile, at the same time promising that when such term of service had expired he would make another bargain, which should include a certain sum of money as wages. plans for the future perhaps it might have been better for me had i accepted the good man's offer, and yet there was in my mind such a desire to go out into that ohio country where even the poorest lad, if he was willing to work to the best of his ability, could make a home for himself, that i could not bring myself to think of remaining at the tavern doing chores for this farmer or that, and getting no farther ahead in the world. all of which i told him, and when i had come to an end of my talk, he replied that he could not blame me for holding to the choice i had made, and said he hoped it might be possible for me to do all that was in my mind. at the same time he assured me that if i found this part of the country different from what i had fancied, and was ready to come back into civilization, where i might have the comforts of home, i should present myself to him. [illustration: the ferryman and captain haskell.] although i have not advanced so far in the world as i had hoped might have been possible, i have not fallen in the race of life. i am no worse off than when i landed here at marietta, and have laid up for myself some few dollars, in addition to the knowledge that i am of service in the settlement; therefore i cannot regret the choice i made at blooming grove. after leaving that village we journeyed over good roads through the towns of chester and warwick, finally crossing the state line into new jersey, and coming to the town of newton. we had neither adventure nor mishap during this portion of our travels, for the roads were good, the horses inclined to move at a reasonably rapid pace, and those who would have walked from choice found themselves speedily distanced. more than once were master rouse, captain haskell, and i so far behind the wagons that the drivers believed it necessary to halt in order that we might join the company. from newton we went past sussex court house, or the log jail as it is called, through the towns of hope and oxford, to the village of easton, which is situated at the forks of the delaware river. on the water once more here we were forced to take to the water once more, in order that we might cross over into the state of pennsylvania, and because there was but one flatboat to be hired at this place, no little time was spent in making the passage. it was near nightfall when we were safely landed on the pennsylvania shore, and then came the question as to where we might spend the night. the ferryman had told captain haskell that five miles down the road was a farm owned by an old german who was disposed to care for travelers who were well-behaved and willing to pay a certain small sum for the service he rendered. we therefore hastened our pace, moving as rapidly as possible, until, half an hour after the sun had set, we came to a farm, the buildings of which would have delighted the eyes of any man who had a care for such things. [illustration: eating buckwheat cakes at the german farmer's house.] surely no one could have been more hospitable than were the old german and his wife, to say nothing of the four sons and three daughters, all of whom made us welcome and insisted that we come into their kitchen to eat supper with them, rather than make any attempt at providing our own meals, as we had been doing nearly all the time since leaving mattapoisett. feasting on honey how ben cushing and i did eat that night! the owner of the farm had given especial attention to the raising of bees and had a large store of honey on hand. the farmer's wife and daughters baked such cakes of buckwheat as i never before tasted, and these, plentifully covered with the golden honey, made up a meal which still lingers in my memory. [illustration: among the moravians in bethlehem.] we passed the night there, all the company except ben cushing, isaac barker, and me, sleeping on the floor of the kitchen and living room, where beds had been spread for their comfort. captain haskell showed how a sailor could take advantage of every inch of space, for when the women claimed that there was not room in which to make up beds for all and dispose of their clothing properly during the hours of the night, the captain turned down the chairs so that the backs of them would serve as heads for the beds, thus making pillows, and pointed out that the spaces underneath could be filled with the clothing where it might be found readily in the morning. ben, isaac, and i found snug resting places for ourselves in the sweet-smelling hay on the mow, and slept, i dare say, quite as soundly and sweetly as did those who were sheltered in the house. when morning came, that is to say, when there was the first evidence of the dawning of a new day, we three set about making ready the horses for the journey, and were no sooner come to an end of our labors than we were summoned by one of the girls to the kitchen, where, the beds having been removed from the floor, a table was spread most bountifully. among the moravians [illustration: girls coming home from school.] the next day of our journey was most entertaining, at least so it seemed to me, for we came to the town of bethlehem, which is settled almost entirely by those ardent christian men and women who are known as moravians and who have already sent out missionaries among the indians, doing no small amount of good. those moravian people were exceedingly hospitable, urging us to partake of food in their houses, insisting on feeding our horses, and allowing us to wander wheresoever we would. indeed there was much to be seen in their town, for at one of the houses was a pet bear which was most amusing, and the smaller children, as well as ben cushing and i, spent more than an hour watching the little fellow's clumsy, and at the same time comical, antics. there were also a number of pet deer wandering about the streets, and when we had fed them with clover, to our heart's content, we were delighted at seeing a large throng of little girls coming from school, dressed in what was to me a most singular fashion, although not unbecoming. [illustration: rope ferry.] they all wore short gowns with gayly-colored petticoats, which came an inch or two below the frock itself, and had small, white linen caps which caused them to look much like old ladies. prim and demure they were while marching in an orderly manner through the streets, and yet i saw more than one cast a sidelong glance toward our company of children, with a twinkle in their eyes as token that, were they so permitted, they could show us that they had in their natures quite as much love for fun as any other boy or girl. the rope ferry we stayed longer in bethlehem than we were warranted in doing, when one takes into consideration the length of the journey before us; but it was all so entertaining, so peaceful, and there was such an air of friendliness among the people, that i was sorry when we drove out of the town, hoping to find lodgings for the night at the house of a german, eight miles beyond. and so we journeyed on without adventure until we came to the lehigh river, and there i saw what i dare say no fellow in massachusetts has laid eyes upon. it was called a rope ferry, by means of which we were to cross the river. ben cushing claims that there is nothing wonderful about this ferry, for it consists simply of a rope stretched from one bank of the river to the other; to this, attached by a noose, or, in other words, a hawser which will readily slip, the ferryboat is made fast in such a manner that the stern is lower downstream than the bow, and the current catching this, forces the boat along. [illustration: buying needed item from farmers.] perhaps i haven't made this very plain to you, but it is operated on the principle of force applied to what might be called an inclined plane; therefore, since the craft cannot be shoved downstream by the current, it must be urged toward the opposite shore. at all events to me it was a great curiosity, whether ben cushing thought it so or not, and i studied the general arrangement so carefully that if we should need anything of the kind in this country, i am quite certain i could build one. the way through pennsylvania now our way lay through allentown and kutztown to reading; the roads over which we traveled were so good, and the horses so willing, that every member of our company enjoyed himself to the utmost. [illustration: german women swingling flax.] cynthia rouse and sally devoll visited back and forth from wagon to wagon during each day, their favorite seat being with the driver, where they could see what was going on and sing to their heart's content. we were treated kindly by the people, who sold us bread and butter, milk or meat, and now and then we came to a store or tavern where we could lay in additional supplies of provisions, but, as a rule, thus far we had found it possible to buy from farmers all that we might need. at night, when we were stopping at a farmhouse, and after the small children had been put to bed, the older girls would set about preparing provisions for the next day, perhaps borrowing cooking utensils, for our own were few in number and fitted rather for use on a rough fireplace out of doors than in a well-ordered kitchen. it had become the rule that isaac barker, ben cushing, and i were to sleep in the wagons during the night to guard against the possibility of evil-disposed persons. up to this time, however, we had had no trouble of the kind; but captain haskell insisted that we remain constantly on our guard, claiming that the day might come when we would fall in with people not so friendly as those who had thus far cheered us on our way. the shame of the girls on the day when we went into reading, cynthia rouse and sally devoll were on the front seat of isaac's wagon, and as they rode along the girls saw two old german women swingling, or as they called it, "scutchelling" flax. the old ladies presented a most comical appearance, and the girls laughed loudly, never thinking for a moment that they were being rude; but when the flax swinglers looked up angrily and saw the legend on our wagon cover, one of them shouted to the girls that if they were going into the ohio country, the day would soon come when they also would be swingling flax, if they did their duty. [illustration] as may be supposed, this caused the girls no little shame, for being thus reproved by their elders was not pleasant, more particularly when they knew they had been guilty of rudeness. this town of reading was the most considerable place we had seen since leaving massachusetts, and master rouse decided that we should remain there at least one day because of the number of shops where we could buy such articles as were needed, or otherwise put ourselves in readiness for the rougher journey which we knew lay before us. meeting with parson cutler it was owing to this decision that we got late and trustworthy news concerning the land where we counted on making our homes, for there we met parson cutler himself. i despair of making you understand how surprised and delighted we were at meeting the parson midway in our journey. [illustration: parson cutler in his sulky.] we all knew that during the summer he had set out in his sulky intending to drive from ipswich to marietta; but since we did not leave until october, we supposed, if indeed we gave very much heed to the matter, that master cutler must have returned long ere this. the parson appeared quite as well pleased to see us as we were to see him, and straightway commended master rouse and captain haskell upon their spirit in thus going out into the ohio country, where he assured them they would find such farming lands as had never been seen in massachusetts. in addition to this, he set mistress devoll's mind at rest regarding her husband and spent no little time explaining to her what the captain had done in the way of building the _mayflower_ and the other boats which carried the first settlers down the river. ohio cornfields among other things, he told us of the enormous fields of corn which had been planted, described to us the cabins our people had built, which were little more than low huts covered in with walnut bark, and declared that the houses and the corn seemed to grow at the same time, although the corn speedily overshadowed the small dwellings, for it grew so tall that one had to stand on tiptoes to break off an ear, while in massachusetts it was often necessary for a farmer to stoop. [illustration: ohio cornfields.] "one could as easily be lost in a cornfield on a cloudy day as in a cedar swamp," parson cutler said, and then went on to tell how much like a forest were these fields, where the green grain grew above one's head with leaves so huge as to shut out all rays of light from one furrow to another. he rather dampened the ardor of some of the women when he said that the surveyors were forced to do their work under the protection of a guard of armed men, for fear of prowling indians, and the children looked at each other in alarm as he told of one of the settlers who had been bitten, when asleep, by a copperhead snake. the governor and judges we heard also from parson cutler that general arthur st. clair had been appointed governor of the ohio district. he was a citizen of pennsylvania, had been a distinguished officer in the revolutionary army, and president of congress, in addition to which he stood high in the confidence of washington. samuel h. parsons of connecticut, and james m. varnum of massachusetts, both of whom were directors in the ohio company, and john cleves symmes of new jersey had been made judges, with winthrop sargent of new hampshire as secretary of the territory. the judges arrived at marietta in june, and on the th of july, governor st. clair joined them. he was escorted by a detachment of troops under major doughty, who had gone up to pittsburgh from fort harmar some days before to meet him, and was received with military honors and a salute. [illustration: governor greeted with rounds from fieldpiece.] one of the soldiers afterward told me that when the governor landed he was greeted with thirteen rounds from a fieldpiece. when he approached the garrison, the music played a salute, the troops paraded and presented their arms, and he was also welcomed by a clap of thunder and a heavy shower of rain as he entered the fort. it seemed to this soldier a very pleasant way of receiving the governor of a new territory. as might have been expected, parson cutler was enthusiastic in his praise of our town of marietta, and he read to us that which general washington himself had written, which was this:-- "no colony in america was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at the muskingum. information, property, and strength will be its characteristics. i know many of the settlers personally, and there never were men better calculated to promote the welfare of such a community." there was little need for parson cutler to try to strengthen us in the determination to continue the journey, for none of our party were weak-kneed; but it pleased us much to know that such a man as general washington could praise so heartily those who had begun the building of marietta. the name of the town and now, lest i forget it, and since it is brought to my mind by what parson cutler said to us, let me tell you that this town came very near being named adelphia. it was the parson's idea, and he said much to us concerning it, complaining, as i thought, because it had been called marietta. the meaning of adelphia is "brethren," so he said, and he claimed that by having constantly before them the idea that they were to dwell there as brethren, the people might be more inclined to act as such. later, when he had gone, i heard master rouse and captain haskell discussing the matter, and both allowed that the good parson was really irritated because his suggestion had been cast aside, for one could readily see that master cutler had set his mind stoutly upon the name adelphia. in my opinion, however, marietta is much better. [illustration: four deer eating ripe grapes in muskingum bottom.] among other things, parson cutler told us that game was so plentiful even close about marietta, that we need have no fear of ever being hungry. he said that in the course of a walk one morning up the muskingum bottom he saw four deer, and there were ripe grapes hanging in profusion all around him. in addition to that, he found clam beds on the shores, and, what was not quite so pleasant, killed a rattlesnake that lay coiled up in his path. i don't claim to be timorous under ordinary circumstances, and am ready to stand my chances against indians or bears; but when it comes to snakes, i must say that there is a bit of cowardice in me, for a fellow can't guard himself against such enemies, and it seems to me that they, with the savages, make up the disagreeable features in all the pictures that were drawn for us of our new home. campus martius now listen to this description which parson cutler gave us of campus martius, and i have since come to know that he did not set forth its characteristics any too strongly. [illustration: campus maritius.] it is a kind of house, or castle, if you please, instead of a regular fort, made in the form of a hollow square, of which the sides measure one hundred and eighty feet, and is surrounded by a heavy line of palisades,--meaning a high log fence,--as protection against, the indians. this building contains seventy-two rooms, each eighteen feet square or more, and general putnam had told the parson that in case of necessity nine hundred people could live within its walls. surely it seems like a city of itself, when one attempts to go from end to end inside the broad passages, and sees the doors leading to rooms in which an entire family might contrive to live with more or less comfort. parson cutler was twenty-nine days driving from ipswich to marietta in his sulky, so he told us; but do not understand that such a journey may always be made in so short a time. he took advantage of the best season of the year in which to make the trip, and returned before the snow came; consequently, and because of traveling without very much baggage, and with a stout horse to draw his light sulky, he could make many more miles in a day than could such wagons as ours. independence day he told us of the fourth of july celebration, which was held in marietta on that first independence day after the settlers arrived there. they set about making a feast, and verily it must have been one. there were venison barbecues,--meaning deer roasted whole,--buffalo steaks broiled over the glowing coals, bear meat cooked in every manner that could be devised with the few cooking implements our people possessed, small pigs roasted whole, and, as the greatest delicacy of all, an enormous pike, more than six feet long, said to be the largest ever caught in the ohio river. [illustration] the feast was kept up until twelve o'clock at night, and then the tired merrymakers went to their cabins and slept until late in the forenoon, as the parson said, in such a tone as if he believed they were wasting their time by thus remaining in bed after the sun had risen. then came, according to parson cutler's story, at a later date, the opening of the first court in the territory, and it must have been a wondrous spectacle. the sheriff, who, as you know, is colonel ebenezer sproat, holding a drawn sword in his hand, marched with a military escort, ahead of the governor, the judges, the secretary, and others, to campus martius, where the court was held. [illustration] there are indians in plenty about marietta, and parson cutler said that when these savages saw colonel sproat, who as you know is an unusually tall man, they at once gave him the name of hetuck, or big buckeye, which was the same as if they had called him one of the huge trees of the forest. [illustration] master devoll's house nor was the growth of our town of marietta the only thing concerning which the good man told us, for he gladdened mistress devoll's heart by describing to her the house her husband was building, which was to be forty feet long by eighteen feet wide, and the height of two stories. best of all, there was to be a brick chimney, perhaps more than one, as soon as a kiln had been made and the bricks burned. it was to be by far the largest building, with the exception of campus martius, in the town. the indian mounds parson cutler told us during that night, when we sat around him at reading, about queer-shaped mounds of earth in various forms, which had evidently been thrown up many hundred years before, perhaps by the indians, perhaps by some race of people regarding whom we know nothing; but certain it is there were very many about marietta. in fact, campus martius was built on one of these mounds. these embankments, as they might really be called, are of various shapes, some like serpents, many, many hundred feet long and i can't say how many feet high, and of such huge proportions that they may be seen from a long distance. there is one, we were told, shaped something after the fashion of an elephant; others are formed in circles, and still others appear to have been made for fortifications. when we went to bed that night ben cushing and i talked until well past midnight concerning what these things might have been, and he announced that it was his intention to dig beneath them, believing there he would find much in the way of treasure; but when he saw the enormous embankments, he soon realized that neither one man nor twenty could make much headway digging beneath them. i heard general putnam say it was his belief these mounds had something to do with the religious ceremonies of those who had built them; that they had a certain significance in the worship of the great spirit; but as for there being treasure beneath them, he laughed at the idea. if i should set down all parson cutler told us on that night concerning the country to which we were going, i might never get further in my story, for the good man talked long and fast, describing so many things of interest, such as the trapping of turkeys, the hunting of bears, and the different methods of killing deer, that my hair would be gray before i could write it all out fairly. therefore, instead of attempting to repeat his stories, i will go on with my tale of how we journeyed from massachusetts into the ohio country. at harrisburg it was near the close of october when we arrived at the susquehanna river, at a settlement called harrisburg, and a very slovenly looking town it was, as i thought, for those who built it, only two years before, had thus far not taken the trouble to uproot the stumps of trees which still stood in the roadways and gave the entire place a wild, neglected appearance. i was told that the settlement had formerly been called louisburg, and the only reason i can think of for the change of name is that there can be found a ferry in charge of a man named harris, and before any houses were built near by it was known as harris's ferry. [illustration] we remained at this place all night, the women and children going into a log tavern to sleep, while we men and boys made our beds in the wagons, or on the hay in the stable, as best pleased us. because of not caring to spend so much money as would be necessary to buy a supper for all our company, only the women and small children partook of the tavern fare, the older girls, the men, and we boys eating our meals in the tavern yard, after having cooked them in the tavern kitchen. the next day's journey was only thirteen miles, and then we arrived at carlisle, which was a military station during our war for independence, and where were yet to be found barracks made of bricks, like regular houses. there were two or three shops, and a number of good dwellings, better than one would expect to find even in a town that had been settled so long. because we had not been fed overabundantly since leaving that farmhouse where we feasted on buckwheat cakes, master rouse decided that we should all have dinner at the tavern, and a bountiful meal it was, although not quite so satisfactory to me as i could have wished, because of the fact that just then isaac barker took it into his head to play what he considered a funny trick. isaac barker's sport when a huge platter of meat was being brought on the table, and we were all looking at it with most pleasant anticipations, for it appeared to have been cooked to a turn, isaac seized the dish in both hands, ran out of the room as if intending to eat it all himself, and the older girls followed him, racing around and around the building with shouts of mirth, while the tavern keeper and his wife looked on in amazement, until isaac tired of running. then he replaced the meat on the table; but by this time it had grown cold, and instead of having hot venison steak, we were forced to eat lukewarm meat, and it is not needed that i should say anything concerning the disagreeable flavor of deer flesh when it has been kept too long from the fire. [illustration] there are times when one really wearies of isaac's sport, and, as ben cushing said when we drove away from carlisle, a little fun now and then is relished by the saddest of men; but when one keeps it up from morning until night, and again from night until morning, it grows wearisome. uncle daniel carter when we left carlisle it was to journey to a settlement called big springs, where, much to our surprise and delight, we came upon uncle daniel carter with his three yoke of oxen hitched to a conestoga wagon, and having as a load all uncle daniel's household goods as well as his family. [illustration] uncle daniel was an old acquaintance of ours, for he lived but a few miles from mattapoisett and had started for ohio some two weeks before we left home. there had been no expectation in our minds that we should meet him on the journey, for it was believed that, moving as slowly as he must with his ox team, he, if not his wife, would grow weary of attempting to gain the ohio country, and turn off at some inviting-looking point long before having arrived thus far in pennsylvania. but the old man was not made of such stuff; he had set out to join rufus putnam's company at marietta, and declared that he would continue on if it took a year to make the trip. what a meeting that was with the old man and his family! it was like coming upon mattapoisett suddenly. i had never before realized how much affection one may unwittingly have for his neighbors, until we saw uncle daniel outside the log hut where he had stopped for the night, watching us with an odd expression on his face as if doubting whether we should recognize him. uncle daniel joins our company mistress carter insisted that she and her two daughters prepare the evening meal for all our company, and it seemed much as if we were doing her the greatest favor, when we consented joyfully to share what we had every reason to believe was a goodly portion of uncle daniel's scanty store of food. [illustration] when the meal was ended, isaac and ben cushing built a lively fire outside the hut, for the night was chilly, and with the children wrapped in their warmest garments, all of us sat, or stretched out at full length, around the cheering blaze, listening to uncle daniel's story of his journey, or telling him of that which had happened to us since we left home. before we crawled into the wagons that night it was decided, and without any controversy, that uncle daniel should join our company, the only question being as to whether the horses would not travel so much faster than his oxen that we could not well keep together. the old man put an end to any speculation of that kind, however, by declaring that when night came we should find him not far behind us, and he laid plans for the journey of future days, by saying that we were to give no heed whatsoever to him in the morning; he would feed his cattle and be off, most-like before break of day. "i'll be on hand when it's time for supper, an' don't make any mistake about that part of it," he said cheerily. "i'm willin' to agree that my creeters can't walk as fast as your horses; but they can keep it up a good while longer, an' you'll find it's the slow an' steady that comes out ahead in the long run. so look for your uncle daniel before sunset, an' if he fails to show up, then you can set it down as a fact that his wagon has gone to smash, or the oxen have turned tail for massachusetts." hard traveling next morning ben cushing would have it that we had come upon bad luck in meeting uncle daniel, for at daybreak the rain came down in torrents, and speedily the roads, which were none of the best even in dry weather, became like quagmires. before we were well on our way the wheels of the heavy wagons sank deep in the mud; the women were forced to remain under the covers or withstand the pelting of the rain, and we men, who walked alongside in order to help the horses with their loads, were speedily drenched to the skin. [illustration] mistress devoll would have insisted that we turn back and remain at the log shanty until the rain ceased; but both captain haskell and master rouse put an end to any such proposition by saying that now had come the season when we might rightly expect storms, and if we were to delay our journey save at such times as the weather was fair, winter would overtake us among the mountains where we might find it impossible either to go ahead or to retreat. therefore we plodded on, and instead of overtaking uncle daniel, as ben cushing had predicted we should, before noon, we saw nothing of him until night came. then there was no bad luck in having a cheery blaze in the fireplace of a log tavern, and every arrangement possible made for our comfort, to all of which the old man had attended before looking after his own comfort. mud and water it seemed to me as if the rain fell incessantly, and you can fancy what the roads were after eight and forty hours had elapsed. in massachusetts we would have said that they were impassable at the best, and now they had been converted into veritable swamps by the downpour of water, or filled in places with blocks of sandstone over which the wagons could not cross save we all put our shoulders to the hinder part helping the horses along, unless we stopped to clear away the obstacles. [illustration] again the ascents were so steep that the horses from both wagons must be hitched to one in order to get it up the hill, and when we came to the other side it was necessary to put locked chains on the wheels, and, in addition, fasten large logs or tree tops to the back of the vehicles that they might drag behind and thus prevent us from going ahead too swiftly. and all this was done in a heavy downpour of rain, when the women and girls must of necessity remain under cover, except at such times as it was absolutely necessary for them to alight in order to lessen the load. as if to add to our discomfort, two of the animals began to show signs of faltering, and ben cushing told me confidentially one night when we were halted in the foothills, with no shelter save the body of the wagon, and doing our utmost to keep a fire burning amid the rain, that it was his belief we should not succeed in gaining the river before the poor beasts were entirely worn out. the way lay over a succession of sharp rises and yet sharper descents, with the road in places falling off so much to one side that we were obliged to fasten ropes to the tops of the wagons, and all of us men lay hold, to prevent them from oversetting. such work as this might be necessary more than once in half a mile, we all the while wading knee-deep in the mire, and at times finding it difficult to raise our feet because of the mud. a storm of snow then came the time when the rain changed to snow, and you can well fancy that if the road was well-nigh impassable before, it was soon in such a condition that one might say it would be impossible to go farther. even the children were forced to get out and walk again and again, and i have seen mistress devoll and mistress rouse stop many a time to pick up their shoes which had been pulled from their feet by the clinging mud. fancy such traveling while the snow came down like feathers, weighting every branch of the trees and every bush until they stood far out over the narrow roadway, shedding their frosty burdens upon the passer-by! it seemed to me that i could see the horses grow weaker with each mile we advanced, and when night came, after we had traveled no more than six or eight miles at the expense of the most severe labor, it was as much as we could do to keep them on their feet until the harness was removed. [illustration] this was the time when uncle daniel had the advantage of us, for his oxen plowed their way through the mire, giving apparently no more heed to the weight of the wagon than if it had been a child's toy cart, and again and again did the old man unyoke the patient beasts in order to bring them back, at times more than half a mile over a hard road, to help one or the other of our wagons out of the mud, when, but for his assistance, they might have stayed there until the crack of doom, so deeply were the wheels embedded. [illustration] i can look back upon many days we spent while journeying from massachusetts to the ohio country with the greatest pleasure; but never do i think of the time passed among the foothills, when the weather was so bitter and the way so hard, without real mental distress, for that journey, during at least eight days, was more like some horrible nightmare than a reality. across the mountains if i were to make any attempt at describing our passage across the blue mountains, the middle and the tuscarora mountains, it would simply be to repeat what i have already set down. never once did we find a bit of the road where there was easy traveling, and it seemed to me that either the rain or the snow fell incessantly, until, wearied to the verge of exhaustion by day, we were forced to remain half frozen and wet to the skin from night until morning. the women and children, if we camped at night where there were no houses in which to take shelter, slept in the wagons, while the men and boys made shift as best they might beneath the carts, getting such warmth as could be had under the few blankets at their disposal and the fires built close by, which were not of much avail because we could find no dry fuel with which to feed them. [illustration] then came a day which i remember more vividly than any other of all that long journey, when we descended the last of the tuscarora range, and came to a fruitful valley, which we afterward learned was called ahwick, where was a small settlement, while here and there, when we were on the higher land, could be seen farms which one might almost say were ready for planting, despite the snow that yet lay deep among the hills. master rouse's wagon was leading the way and uncle daniel with his plodding oxen brought up the rear. it was saturday night; we expected to remain at least two days, at the first place where we might sleep in comfort, and it was necessary we find housing for all, which might not be possible at the small log tavern we had heard would be found on the road a short distance away. a friendly dunkard therefore our party came to a halt at the first promising-looking house, and master rouse set about learning what we might expect in the way of entertainment. the farm was owned by a german named christian hiples, who was of that religious persuasion known as dunkard, and a right friendly gentleman he proved to be. it really appeared to give him pain because he could not take all our company in and give us the comforts of home; but it seemed to me that he was doing even more than his share when he agreed that master rouse and the members of his party should remain there, while the others of us continued on to the tavern. i regretted sorely that it was not my good fortune to be one of master hiples's guests, for i had heard much concerning these people who call themselves dunkards, during our traveling through the state, and was most eager to see them at home. [illustration] captain haskell had told me that the dunkards were baptists who had been driven from germany early in the eighteenth century, when they took refuge in pennsylvania. so far as i could find out, their religion consists in condemning warfare, and setting their faces against suits at law. they have a peculiar belief regarding baptism, which captain haskell said has to do with triple immersion. they wash each others' feet before the lord's supper, and give to all members of their faith what is called the kiss of charity. it is in their eyes almost the same as a sin to dress other than plainly and cleanly, and from what i saw of master hiples's house during the short time we halted in front of it, i came to believe that cleanliness of home and its surroundings is one of the articles of their belief, for i had not seen so pleasing a place since we came out of massachusetts. when master rouse's family were thus comfortably housed, mistress devoll's team, with uncle daniel's oxen plodding patiently behind, continued on to a log tavern a short distance away, and the contrast between this place and that where master rouse's people were staying was so great that for the first time since leaving mattapoisett, i was nearly homesick. master hiples's kindness we had comfortable quarters, if one judges comfort by being sheltered from the rain and having sufficient heat; but it was far from pleasant at the inn, and as soon as the horses had been properly cared for, i, despite the fact that my legs were weary with long traveling, ran back down the road to gaze with envy on master rouse and his family. the old german was a kindly-faced man, with a long, white beard extending to his waist, and a voice as mild and gentle as any woman's. he had five or six grown daughters, and when i got back to the farm these young women were doing all they might for the comfort of the guests, without hope or expectation of being paid for the labor. [illustration] there was, just outside the house, a huge brick oven in the open air, and these young women, aided by their father, were already heating it as if for a cooking bee. sally devoll told me it was their intention to bake a large quantity of bread to be given to us when we set off once more on our journey. therefore i came to have a friendly liking for these dunkards, and before we left ahwick valley i was fully persuaded they were what might truthfully be called the salt of the earth. a surly landlord when i got back to the log tavern there was considerable going on in the way of excitement. the landlord, who had but one eye, having lost the other, so we heard, during a fight when he was a younger man, was anything but gentle in manners, and his appearance was such that one felt as if the lightest word would provoke harsh treatment. now it so chanced that the racks in his stable had been built by nailing slats up and down at the end of the stalls, and into the places thus formed the hay was thrown from the loft. isaac barker and ben cushing were both very careful to see that their teams were well fed, and more particularly was it necessary now since we had with us two horses that were ailing. when the animals were put into the stalls, after having been groomed and their coats dried, isaac found that while the innkeeper intended to charge us for a certain amount of hay, the slats at the end of the stalls were placed so closely together that the poor beasts could not get a single wisp, struggle as they might. without delay he went to the landlord and told him that some different arrangement must be made in regard to the racks, if our company was expected to pay for hay. the innkeeper declared that he would conduct his tavern as best pleased him; the hayracks had been built by him, and built to suit him, therefore they would remain as they were. if our horses and oxen were stabled there, then would we pay so much money for each head on account of hay, whether they got it or not, the surly man claiming it was no fault of his if the animals were unable to get what was before them. you can well fancy that isaac's temper was aroused by this injustice, and straightway he told the man what he thought of such dealing, claiming that unless the landlord himself was willing to remedy matters at once, he would take the affair into his own hands. isaac flogs the landlord the landlord threatened, so uncle daniel said, to punish severely whoever dared to damage his property, and i arrived just at the time when isaac, with a heavy ax, was breaking out every other slat in the racks, thereby giving the beasts ample opportunity to feed, the innkeeper meanwhile standing outside as if it was his purpose to lay hands on isaac the moment he left the stable. as we afterwards learned, the man had been considered, in his younger days, a skillful fighter, and most likely believed there were few who could stand against him, so he had no doubt about his ability to punish isaac. i had never heard that isaac was noted for skill with his fists, and believed he was likely to suffer severely, if the landlord should attack him. i therefore entreated uncle daniel to stand by with me in order to lend assistance, for i was not minded that one of our company come to grief at that place. [illustration] uncle daniel grimly said that isaac barker could take care of himself, and that he was not fond of interfering, unless it was absolutely necessary in order to save life. therefore, instead of appearing concerned, uncle daniel quietly took up his station near the door of the stable, where he stood whittling a bit of pine stick, while the innkeeper raged furiously, and isaac continued to break out the slats until he had completed the task. then he came out of the last stall where he had been working, threw the ax on the floor without very much regard as to how it might fall, and began in a businesslike way to roll up his sleeves, keeping an eye meanwhile on the movements of the landlord. the two came together while i was waiting to see how they might begin the battle, and in a twinkling, as it seemed to me, both were rolling here and there about the stable floor, but in such a manner that one with half an eye could see isaac was by no means getting the worst of it. a much needed lesson as a matter of fact he flogged that miserly innkeeper severely, never letting up until the fellow cried that he had had enough; then isaac said that he counted to be back that way in the spring, and if the slats in the hayracks had been replaced, he would give him another flogging compared with which this one would seem like child's play. [illustration] i confess that i was frightened even after isaac had acquitted himself in such a manly fashion, for i believed the landlord would contrive in some way to make the remainder of our party suffer for what had been done; but, strange as it may seem, he was as mild as one could desire, and instead of moving about in a surly fashion, finding fault with everything, as he had done when we first arrived, the fellow seemed striving earnestly to do all he might for our welfare, whereupon uncle daniel grimly observed that "all he needed in order to make him a decent kind of a man was a sound flogging every morning." [illustration] i would not recommend this method of insuring good treatment from landlords in general; but i must say i was sorry isaac had not been sufficiently provoked some time before, that he might have tried the same treatment upon some of those innkeepers who had been so surly to us. in fact we met more than one so-called landlord during our journey across the state of pennsylvania, by the side of whom one of uncle daniel's oxen would have appeared gentlemanly. on sunday, all of us, even including isaac barker, went to meeting with master hiples's family, and not only were repaid by hearing a goodly discourse, but received an invitation to take supper with the good dunkard's family. a time of rest the meal was an enjoyable one, although i fear, as i told ben cushing, that he and i came very near disgracing, not only ourselves, but all our companions, by eating more than was seemly. it was the most pleasant sunday we had spent since leaving mattapoisett, and a day that seemed more fitting for goodly thoughts than any other i could remember. as uncle daniel said when we stretched ourselves out to sleep on the floor of the stable, the two rooms in the tavern having been given up to the women and children, it had been a very profitable time. monday also was a profitable day, for then master hiples's daughters worked with a will, making bread in such quantities that one might have thought they counted on provisioning an army, and all our women folks did what they could to assist, while we boys and men cut and lugged fuel, so that we might not draw too heavily upon the old german's store of wood. that night, when it was known we were to set off next day, master hiples laid out a large supply of vegetables for all our company, and this was a gift, in addition to the bread, since he refused to take payment therefor, asking only as much in the way of money as would suffice to pay for the grain and the hay eaten by master rouse's horses. thanks to this friendly german, we were well supplied with food when we left ahwick valley, tuesday morning, and flattered ourselves with the belief that the greater portion of the hardships were passed, for the ailing horses seemed to be much improved, and traveled with no little spirit, thus causing us to believe they were rapidly recovering from their sickness. during three days we journeyed over roads that were far from good, save by comparison with those we found while crossing the mountains, and then we came to the town of bedford. we had in the meanwhile crossed sideling hill, and forded some of the main branches of the juniata, not without considerable difficulty and the assistance of uncle daniel's oxen, for the fords were deep, and in some cases the bed of the river so soft that had a wagon remained still ever so short a time, it would surely have been mired. pack trains during the last three days we had seen evidences that in this wild country there was being carried on business of various kinds, for after leaving ahwick valley we met here and there on the road long lines of pack horses, loaded with furs and ginsing, a root somewhat like a potato, except that it has branches or roots shooting out from the upper part, and is sent by our merchants to china, where it is considered very valuable as a medicine. there were other pack horses loaded with salt, or bales of dry goods and groceries, which were being carried to the traders of pittsburgh. [illustration] these pack trains, as uncle daniel called them, were very interesting. the foremost horse wore bells, and it was he, rather than the driver, who had charge of the beasts, and who did the guiding, for he went on as intelligently as could a human being, the remainder of the train, usually nine or ten horses, following him obediently. because there were no roads across the state of pennsylvania from carlisle to pittsburgh over which heavily loaded wagons could pass, we were told that all the traffic was carried on by pack horses, and it was considered that one man could care for no more than ten animals. one night, when we were told by the landlord of a small tavern about these pack trains, uncle daniel said that we had best put aside from our minds all thought of buying anything at pittsburgh, for if all the goods were carried there on horseback, then the charges must be so heavy that ordinary people could not afford to pay that which the merchants would demand. a night adventure on the day of leaving bedford we had our most disagreeable adventure. about four miles beyond that town the road divided, one trail leading directly to pittsburgh, and the other to sumrill's ferry on the youghiogheny river, which last was the path we must take, because it was the place where the _mayflower_ had been built, and there we proposed to take boat for marietta in order to avoid the wearisome traveling on foot. [illustration] the women and children had been walking for some time, owing to the miry road, and on coming to this place they decided to remain there awhile in order to rest. it so chanced that isaac barker took it into his head to loiter with them, leaving captain haskell to drive his team. master rouse also stayed behind, for no reason that any one could give; thus we went on without them, never doubting but that within an hour they would overtake us, for according to the rate we had been traveling, those who were on foot could speedily come up with our jaded horses who were having all they could do to pull the wagons. uncle daniel had on this day, as during the last two or three days, outstripped us with his slowly moving oxen, because they continued on steadily, being so strong that the wagon, which was loaded as heavily as either of ours, was not mired. the hours passed, and we still remained in advance, with no sign of the coming of the women and children, yet nothing strange was thought of it at the time, and when i spoke of the matter to ben cushing as if it might be serious, he laughed at me, declaring that a foot passenger could make his way without difficulty. about half an hour before sunset we came to a small log hut which was called an inn by the man who owned it. it had but one room, which served alike as kitchen, barroom and a place in which to sleep; but there was shelter for the tired beasts in the stable, and a huge fireplace wherein we might pile fuel to our heart's content. we were therefore not disposed to find fault. we toasted ourselves well before the fire, wondering meanwhile how soon we might be able to satisfy our hunger; for we could not have supper until the women came to cook it, this inn being only a housing place. fears about the women and children one hour passed, and even captain haskell began to show signs of anxiety. another sixty minutes went by without bringing our companions; but after a third hour, captain haskell declared that some misadventure must have befallen them, and set off over the road we had just traveled, refusing to allow any of us to accompany him. [illustration] it was nearly midnight before the captain and the other members of our party arrived. the poor children could hardly drag one foot after the other, and the women looked as if nothing save the fear of remaining in the open air during the hours of darkness had forced them to continue the journey. while ben cushing and i were cooking supper, for the girls and the women were far too weary to do any work at the time, we learned that the party had halted at the dividing of the ways much longer than they realized, and it was nearly nightfall before the journey was continued. then, when the sun had set, it was impossible for them to make their way along the faintly outlined road, save by clutching the bushes on either side, and even then they strayed again and again into the thicket, until, what with this additional traveling and the exertion of plowing their way through the mire, all save isaac barker were plunged into a most gloomy, disagreeable frame of mind. [illustration] mistress devoll declared that but for him who made sport when the difficulties were the worst, and sang loudly when the others of the company were too thoroughly exhausted even to speak, they could not have continued. one can well fancy how welcome to them was the fire in the log tavern. the smaller children stretched themselves out at full length on the puncheon floor in front of the blaze, while their mothers and sisters gave no heed to anything save the delicious sensation of being able to rest, enjoying to the utmost, i dare say, the feeling of security which came to them on arriving at that inn. descending the mountains despite the fact that none of our company had had sufficient sleep, we continued our journey as soon after daybreak as we could, and it was during this day that our hearts were cheered by what might seem to some people a foolish thing. [illustration] on either side of the road could be seen the little green leaves and bright scarlet berries of the partridge vine, or checkerberry plant, such as we all had seen each year roundabout mattapoisett, and it had such a homelike appearance that it was as if we had suddenly come upon a friend. the small children loitered behind the wagons to pick the tiny red berries, while the girls chewed the aromatic leaves, and more than one of the men followed their example, for it was like being in massachusetts again after a long disagreeable dream. the log inn at which we had slept the night previous was evidently built on what is generally called the "height of the land," for now we were descending the allegheny mountains, cheered by the fact that the streams of water from the springs ran with us along our road, telling that we had come to where the greater portion of the remainder of the journey would be on descending ground. these streams were to accompany us on our way now, instead of running in the opposite direction as during all the time we had been among the foothills. at the foot of the hills when we had come to the base of the mountains we found ourselves on a broad, level range, which was called "the glades." captain haskell said it had very much the appearance of a prairie. if this be true, which i have no reason to doubt, then i have no desire to see a prairie; for the glades was a most forlorn place, being but sparsely dotted with trees and covered with a coarse grass, at which even the oxen turned up their noses. then, having slept in the open two nights, we came to laurel ridge, which bounds the western side of the glades, and must have been so named because of the laurel which grows in such profusion on the rocky cliffs. now we were forced to climb once more over a road quite as rough as any we had come upon, and again all the women and the children were forced to walk, much to their discomfort, for on this ridge the snow had fallen in large quantities. every one was soon wet to the knees, and plodding through the snow and mud rendered walking quite as difficult as any we had yet experienced. [illustration] on this day the women and children, remembering what had occurred just after we left bedford, went on ahead of the wagons. when the afternoon was about half spent they came upon a stream of water at the western foot of the ridge, which was far too deep for them to ford, therefore they were obliged to wait until we came up. luckily for them, however, there was a small log house near by the road in which dwelt a motherly-looking irish woman, and with her our people visited, much to their pleasure and comfort, until we arrived. because of the difficulties in the way, the wagons did not come to the stream until nearly nightfall; but then the passage was quickly made, and we hurried on two miles farther, to where was an inn, said to be as good as any other to be found between sumrill's ferry and carlisle. nearing the end of the journey next day we crossed chestnut ridge, the last of the hills, and so named because of the wondrous growth of chestnut trees which just then were yielding up their fruit to the nipping frost. our children and girls filled their pockets with the nuts, while more than once all three of the wagons were halted that we might lay in a store of what would, on a pinch, serve as food. we had climbed mountain after mountain, crossed ridge after ridge, until it seemed as if all the earth was a succession of ascents and descents; we had waded knee-deep through mire or snow, and literally fought our way along all that weary distance from mattapoisett to the youghiogheny river, until we had come to sumrill's ferry, where it was believed we could make arrangements for a more comfortable continuation of the long journey. [illustration] well it was that we arrived at this time, which was near the last of november, with winter close at hand, for the two horses which had been ailing now seemingly grew worse, and during the eight and forty hours before our arrival at the ferry, they were hardly more than able to keep their feet, let alone doing any portion of the pulling. i believe that a few days more of traveling would have killed them, and indeed they were hardly more than dead beasts when we took them out of the harness at the ferry, congratulating ourselves upon having come thus far on our journey without mishap. at sumrill's ferry here we learned of those people who went out from danvers and hartford. we saw where they built the _mayflower_, and, in fact, we lodged at the very inn where some of them had lived while making ready for the journey down the river. sumrill's ferry is not a large settlement, but a thriving one. here were boat builders, ready to make any kind of craft needed. to hear them talk of what they believed must have been our experiences during the journey, one would have said they looked upon us as more than foolish to have ventured so much in order to make a settlement in the wild ohio country. before we had been at this settlement an hour, uncle daniel came upon benjamin slocomb and his family, who had left danvers nearly four weeks before we started from mattapoisett. master slocomb had waited at the ferry nine days until a boat could be finished in a manner to please him, and was on the point of setting off when uncle daniel saw him. parting with uncle daniel master slocomb's craft was not so well loaded but that he could, without inconvenience, take on board uncle daniel's wagon with all its belongings, except the oxen, so he urged the old man to finish the journey with him, the two having been friends for many a long year. the result was that uncle daniel parted company with us before nightfall, leaving his oxen to our care, but taking everything else he owned. [illustration] "i'll have a farm picked out for you folks, an' made ready to plow," the old man cried cheerily, as master slocomb's clumsy craft was poled out into the current. all our company stood on the river's bank watching the departure, and really sorry to part with our fellow traveler, who had always shown himself willing to lend a hand when it was needed, without regard to the labor. we called after him until he was beyond earshot, isaac barker cracking jokes as usual, and then we set about making arrangements for our own journey down the river. our flatboat there were several boats already built and for sale, and master rouse and captain haskell decided upon one which was not yet finished, so far as the accommodations for passengers were concerned, since it had no roof. it was by far the best craft, to my thinking, of all we saw there. it was about forty feet long and twelve feet wide, of ample size and depth to carry all our wagons, as well as our people, to say nothing of as much space as would be required in which to house not only our horses, but uncle daniel's oxen. it was not our purpose to take the beasts in the boat at that time, but rather to send them across the land to a settlement called buffalo, at the mouth of buffalo creek, fifty-three miles from the ferry, whereas the distance was considerably more than a hundred miles by the waterway. this was to be done not simply because we wanted to avoid the labor of caring for them, but because the youghiogheny river was so shallow at that season of the year that a boat drawing more than eighteen or twenty inches of water could not float upon it. the craft which captain haskell and master rouse had bought would draw, perhaps, seventeen inches with all our belongings, save the horses and oxen, on board, therefore we would send them across the country in charge of michael rouse, isaac barker, and ben cushing, counting to take them up when we came to buffalo creek, for there the river was deeper, the current swifter, and we should have no difficulty in carrying them. a great time we had of it, packing our goods into the boat in a way to economize every inch of space, and when this had been done, and we learned how much of the craft could be given over to our own use, we set about making arrangements for comfort, first by covering the stern of the boat with mud to the depth of ten or twelve inches, and then building around it a fireplace of stone, where the cooking could be done without danger of setting fire to the timbers. the cattle are sent away with blankets and sheets we made a covering for the after part of our ark, so that the women and children would be kept dry in case of a storm. when all this had been done, and we had bought as much in the way of provisions as could be purchased at a reasonable price, isaac, michael, and ben set off with the beasts. [illustration] it gave me a homesick feeling to see them march away; we had been together so long and had gone through so many hardships. within half an hour after the horses and oxen, with their drivers, had disappeared, we pushed off from the shore, and very strange did it seem to be carried along by the current, instead of fighting one's way through mud. i said to myself that now it was the same as coming to the end of our journey, for we had simply to sit still and let the river do the work. [illustration] this, however, i soon understood was a mistake, for although we were not forced to trudge through mud and snow, there was ample work for men and boys in holding the clumsy craft out from the shore where she was like to go aground, or again, in leaping overboard and actually lifting her off some shoal on which she had grounded, as it seemed to me, in a very spirit of perverseness. it is true that we were forced to work quite as hard in navigating the boat as when we plodded over the miry road, and yet there was this advantage, we were able to eat our meals at regular times. what with rowing and poling, and now and then leaping waist deep into the water to shove her from the shoals, we contrived, after a considerable time, to get as far as the monongahela river, where the water was deeper and the current swifter, permitting us to get some rest now and then, and for the first time since leaving mattapoisett did this journey begin to seem pleasing. it was sunday evening when we arrived at pittsburgh, making our clumsy craft fast to a stake on the shore at the junction of the allegheny and monongahela rivers, with the ohio in full view. at pittsburgh the town of pittsburgh, the largest we had seen since coming into the state of pennsylvania, appeared to me a most prosperous settlement. there was the fort called pitt, and half a dozen shops, in addition to the houses which i was told sheltered about five hundred people. therefore you can understand that it was indeed a place of considerable consequence. it was not so late in the day but that master rouse and captain haskell went up into the town, after our boat had been made fast to the stake as i have said, in order to attend to some business, for on the frontier one does not observe so religiously the sabbath as at home, and travelers who must continue their journey with as little delay as possible, are allowed to make necessary purchases even on sunday. [illustration] when the two men went on shore there was nothing said as to how soon they might come back; but we supposed both would return as soon as their business was done. therefore the girls at once set about cooking supper; but when the meal was ready our gentlemen were not returned, and we waited for them until the corn cake was nearly cold, while the fish which we had caught during the day were much the worse for having remained from the fire so long. about nine o'clock mistress rouse and mistress devoll decided that the younger children must be fed, in order that they might be put to bed at a reasonable hour, and therefore we ate the meal without waiting longer. well it was that we did so, if we counted on satisfying our hunger that day, for two hours later the men were yet absent, and then mistress devoll told me we should make our preparations for the night. now you know that this was no small task. the beds and bedding were stowed in the wagons during the day, and when night came, all must be taken out and spread upon the bottom of the boat for the women and children, while the boys--and of course i was numbered among them--slept in one of the wagons. on this night, however, because captain haskell and master rouse had not returned, mistress rouse believed that i should make my bed at the end of the boat near the fireplace, where i could stand guard, or, in other words, where i might be ready to do whatsoever would be needed during the hours of darkness. too much water i congratulated myself not a little that i was to sleep upon a very comfortable sack of feathers, which had thus far served captain haskell. without giving very much heed to the fact that the men yet remained in town when there was every reason why they should have come back to the boat, i laid myself down, and was speedily lost in slumber, for the work during the day had been severe, and i was needing rest sorely. i may have slept two or three hours, certainly as long as that, when suddenly i was awakened by a sense of discomfort, and, turning over, was brought to my feet very quickly by discovering that the water had come in even over the top of my bed. [illustration] i cried out, not from fear, but rather from surprise, and on the instant the women, as well as the older girls, being awakened, started aft to learn what might be the matter, when they plunged nearly to their knees in water. straightway the outcry was great, for they, as well as i, believed that the boat was sinking beneath us. strangely enough, the women seemed to consider that i was able to play the part of a man at such a time, and mistress devoll asked in a tone of fear what ought to be done. during an instant i stood undecided, hardly having my wits about me, and then, still believing the clumsy craft was going to the bottom, i urged that we get on shore as speedily as possible. escape of the women and children [illustration] fortunately for us the boat had been moored with a short hawser, in such a manner that when captain haskell and master rouse left us they could readily leap from the gunwale to the land, and after the women were gathered on the shoreward side of the boat, instead of being obliged to jump, i found that they might readily step over the rail without wetting their feet in water, although they sank above the tops of their shoes in mud. [illustration] once they had what might be called a firm footing, i passed the younger children over, and while doing so the twins made a great outcry, whereupon mistress devoll and mistress rouse commanded them to remain quiet. our cries and shouts awakened a man who proved to be of great assistance. his house stood on the shore near where our boat was moored, and he came to the door quickly, calling out to know what was the matter, whereupon i told him our boat was sinking and that some half-drowned women and children were shivering on the shore. all of us were soaked to the skin, for we had floundered about in the water when first awakened, and the man cried out that we should remain where we were until he could light a lantern and come to our assistance, which he did in a very short space of time. then, without waiting to learn what might be happening to the boat, he insisted that all should go to his house, which was hardly more than a hundred paces away, and once there he built a big fire in the fireplace, after which he proposed that we older boys go with him to look after the craft, while the women and children dried their clothing. repairing damages when we came to the boat again it was seen that there would have been no danger of her sinking, even though we remained aboard all night. it seems that the river had fallen after we made fast to the shore, and the landward side of the boat rested on the river bank as the waters receded, thus allowing the outer portion of the craft to settle in the stream until the water ran through the seams in the planking about the gunwale, for they were badly calked, having been hurriedly finished by the builders at sumrill's ferry while we were putting our goods on board. there was no possibility of our shoving the huge boat into deeper water, therefore the kindly stranger awakened some of his neighbors, who, with such small aid as i could give, set about taking out the bedding and the clothing which had been wetted completely, carrying the stuff up to the house that it might be dried, and this work served to keep us busy until sunrise, when master rouse and captain haskell came down to the shore. they had been busy with some people who intended to go to marietta, and were so eager to make certain business arrangements that it seemed best to sleep at the tavern, rather than return at a late hour to the flatboat, and one can readily imagine their surprise at finding us with a good third of our cargo on shore. [illustration] the kind man who had labored nearly all night in our behalf lived alone in a large log hut, and insisted on preparing breakfast for all our company, not even allowing the girls to do their share of the work, thereby showing himself to be a skillful cook as well as a friendly neighbor. when master rouse would have paid him for his labor, as well as for the food which he had provided, the man refused to take a penny, claiming that he had done only as he would be done by, and therefore i still have a kind feeling in my heart for pittsburgh. master rouse, captain haskell, and i soon had the water bailed out of the flatboat and the bedding, now dried, on board; before the afternoon was more than half spent, we were ready to set out on the last stage of our long journey. our pilot we had, however, a new member of the company, an old trapper and hunter by the name of bruce. our gentlemen had met him at the tavern, and learned that he was familiar with the river, knowing all the shoals, or at least claiming that he did, and i have no reason to doubt his statement in view of what occurred before we arrived at marietta. [illustration] he had intended to travel in his canoe, which was neither more nor less than a dugout, by which i mean the trunk of a tree hollowed out to make a shell-like craft which would carry a very heavy load. it required delicate handling because of its liability to overset in case any of the cargo was suddenly shifted. in fact, the old hunter laughingly said that if he shifted his pipe from one side of his mouth to the other the canoe would heel. he had with him flour, half a dozen or more sides of bacon, a number of beaver traps, his camp kettle and equipage, not to speak of his rifle, blankets, and ammunition sufficient to last him during the winter season, while he was in the wilderness far from any other human being. [illustration] his canoe was lashed alongside the flatboat and he stood at the huge steering oar which swung from the stern, or rather from that end of the craft which we chose to call the stern, for, it being square at both ends, we might as well have called one the bow as the other. a change of weather it was about three o'clock when we started. the sky was overcast, and there were signs of rain in the south, while the wind shifted here and there until almost any one might have proved himself a weather prophet by predicting a storm. within an hour of sunset the wind swung around to the northwest and blew fiercely across the bend of the river where we then were, kicking up such a sea as to send the crests of the waves over the side of the boat, threatening to sink, if not overset, the unwieldy craft. we men and boys worked at the oars to the best of our ability, striving to force the clumsy vessel toward the pennsylvania shore, for the opposite bank, or what was called the indian side, was said to be infested with savages who, even though they were supposed to be at peace with white people, robbed flatboats and killed travelers at every favorable opportunity. master bruce's huge canoe pounded and thumped against the side of the boat until it seemed certain she would stave in the planks, and finally, regardless of the fact that all his property was on board, the old hunter cut her adrift. then, while we rode more easily, the danger was lessened but little, for the wind increased in force, and the waves grew higher, until all of us boys were forced to work at bailing in order to keep the water from rising so high as to soak our goods. i had not realized that there was any actual danger until i heard the old hunter say to captain haskell that we must take our chances of being attacked by the indians, because it was impossible to force the flatboat over to the pennsylvania shore, therefore we ought to make harbor wherever we could. noisy fear up to this time the women and the girls had remained reasonably quiet, apparently too much frightened to make any sound; but overhearing what master bruce said regarding the necessity of our taking shelter on the indian shore, they set up a great outcry. captain haskell and master rouse, although they were needed at the oars, could do no less than go amidships where the shrieking ones were gathered, and literally force them to hold their peace, for it was most distracting to hear the noise while we had as much as we could do to work the craft. the old hunter showed that he knew much regarding the handling of such a boat as we were then aboard; for in a short time, by skillful pulling at the plank that served as rudder, aided by those of us who tugged at the oars, she was brought under a high bluff, on the indian side of the river, and there made fast by a hawser to trees growing near the water's edge. we were no sooner moored than mistress devoll sprang over the side of the boat to the land, declaring that while the storm raged as it did then she would not trust herself on board even though the indians might be near, and her example was speedily followed by the other women and girls. [illustration] it seemed to me a foolhardy act to go on shore when we knew there was danger the indians might make an attack, yet master rouse and captain haskell held their peace, allowing the women to do as they pleased, while the old hunter set about putting up a shelter for them by means of four poles, with blankets stretched across after the fashion of a tent. there the women made beds for themselves and the children, rather than go back to the boat, even though to my mind it was safely secured and could not come to any harm. master bruce was not content with having done this. just before having landed we saw a thin thread of smoke rising from the trees half a mile distant, and he set off as soon as the makeshift tent had been put up, running the chances of coming upon the savages, in order to discover who our neighbors might be. a real feast now it so happened, fortunately for us, that the smoke had come from the camp of white men, and of them bruce begged, or bought, half of a fat deer, broiling enough steaks on the coals to satisfy the hunger of the younger members of the party, while he roasted a goodly portion, hunter-fashion, on a hickory skewer stuck up in the earth in front of the fire. [illustration] the girls made coffee and corn bread, and we feasted that night. captain haskell and i went on board the boat to sleep, and i was not sorry we did so, for before morning another storm came up, and when we looked out from beneath the wagon covers, after sunrise, snow covered the ground to the depth of two inches. the sun was shining brightly; the wind had died away until there was not sufficient air stirring to lift a feather, and nothing prevented us from continuing the journey without delay, which we did, the girls broiling venison steaks in our fireplace at the stern of the boat while we sailed along. master bruce told us we might take no little credit to ourselves, for we most likely were the first white people to venture on the indian shore and remain there all night, since pittsburgh had become a town. finding the canoe it surprised me not a little because the old hunter failed to mourn the loss of his canoe, for on board was all his equipment for the winter's work, and, having lost it, he must go back to pittsburgh to replenish his stores and procure another craft. however, it is folly for one to worry and fret over that which cannot be avoided. master bruce might have made himself miserable bewailing the loss of his goods and nothing would have been changed. [illustration] near noon we saw the craft on the pennsylvania side of the river, where it had been blown by the wind, lying there comfortably ashore, as if waiting for us to take it in tow. it was a difficult matter to pull our craft around to get hold of the canoe; but we finally did so, and would have worked more than one day rather than allow the old hunter to meet with a loss. when it was made fast alongside once more, and we were drifting with the current, master bruce went on board to learn what portion of his goods had been lost during the storm, and to his surprise found that only one of the traps was missing, although the flour was more or less wet. why the canoe was not overset by the wind, unstable as it was, i could not understand until master bruce explained that the weight of the flour and the traps, resting on the bottom of the boat, must have served as ballast to hold it steady, and again, most-like, it went ashore within a short time after having been cut adrift. i supposed we had quite a journey before us from pittsburgh to buffalo creek, and therefore was surprised when at sunset i asked master bruce concerning the distance, and he told me that within an hour we would arrive at the place where we were to take on the cattle and horses, for it was master rouse's intent to carry with us uncle daniel's oxen, if the old man had not succeeded in loading them on his friend's craft. [illustration] buffalo creek it was not yet nine o'clock when we came within sight of the few twinkling lights in the settlement of buffalo, and i could hear isaac barker's boisterous laugh while we were yet half a mile away, therefore i knew he was indulging in his quips and jokes. it must have been that he was on the lookout for us, for before the flatboat was made fast to the shore, he, with michael rouse and ben cushing, was calling out words of welcome, and asking how the journey had progressed. as soon as they were on board, our craft having been made fast, we learned without surprise that the two ailing horses had died during the march. a few moments later, as i was about to overhaul the bedding in order to make it ready for the children, whose time for going to sleep had already passed, mistress rouse said to me that she had no intention of remaining on board the boat during the night. the fear that another storm might come up, or that we might be half-swamped as at pittsburgh, caused the good woman to shrink from spending the night on the boat when it was possible to sleep ashore. isaac was therefore urged to find some shelter, which he speedily did by proposing that they take possession of a log hut which stood on a point of land near the mouth of buffalo creek, where he, with michael and ben, had slept the night before. the building had been abandoned, as it seemed, or else its owner was making a long journey, perhaps on a hunting trip, and would not complain if we made free with his property, it being the custom on the frontier for travelers to take advantage of such shelter as they might find unoccupied. the march across the country i counted on hearing from ben cushing and isaac barker entertaining stories that night, concerning the march across the country, but much to my disappointment they had nothing of interest to tell. [illustration] forced to accommodate their pace to the slowly moving oxen, they trudged along hour after hour, starting well before daylight and continuing as long as it was possible to see at night, in order to cover the greatest possible distance, with nothing whatsoever to break the monotony of the march. we were up long before the sun next morning, for now it was necessary to take the live stock on board our flatboat. we were forced to embark uncle daniel's oxen, he having passed buffalo some time before isaac and ben arrived there, and when we had all the beasts on board we were packed like herring in a box, each in his own special place and with very little opportunity to move about. however, we were nearly at our journey's end; the current of the river ran swiftly as compared with the stream at pittsburgh, and there was no longer reason to fear that the indians might do any harm, even if there had been cause before. in exactly four days from the time of leaving pittsburgh, we arrived at the mouth of the muskingum. it was well we had come to an end of our journey so soon, for ice was already beginning to form in the river, and before daylight the muskingum was frozen quite solidly. within an hour after we had moored the flatboat to the bank, master devoll came on board. although i have not said that this march of ours was attended with danger, and in fact it was not, yet there were many chances that one or another of us, if not all, might have fallen by the wayside, owing either to the roughness of the way, or the fatigue caused by such incessant labor with insufficient lodging, to say nothing of the poor food owing to the fact that we had not the necessary vessels in which to prepare it. at marietta before we had really made the flatboat fast, mistress devoll and mistress rouse were almost at their wits' ends with fear, for in the woods and on the sides of the hill back of fort harmar could be seen hundreds upon hundreds of camp fires, and one of those idlers who are ever to be found at the riverside of a settlement, told us there were no less than three hundred savages encamped there, having come to make a treaty with our people on the th of january. [illustration] master devoll laughed at his wife's fears, claiming that the savages were as peaceful as lambs, although at the time i doubted very much whether he believed his own words. however, the women and children did not remain aboard our flatboat, for master devoll took them to the _mayflower_, which was moored near by, where were better accommodations for sleeping, and in our craft only ben cushing and i were left on guard. [illustration] we two lads spent a full hour that evening, congratulating ourselves upon having finished the journey and questioning as to what we would do now we were come into this ohio country. we had been more than eight weeks on the road, advancing all the time, one day after another, except the eight and forty hours which were spent with master hiples in that village where live the dunkards, and, save for the death of the two horses, we had come through with no greater mishap than the loss of a two-quart tin measure and a blanket belonging to mistress rouse. this was doing remarkably well, when you consider that never one of the party, not even the men, had undertaken such a journey before. in the morning we found the muskingum river frozen from shore to shore, and until spring came the stream was never so free of ice that we could have propelled our boat, therefore we arrived, as one might say, just in the nick of time, for a delay of four and twenty hours would have found us frozen in at some point above the town, from which it would have been necessary to continue on foot. plans for the future uncle daniel was on the river bank to meet us next morning, before we put the animals ashore, and then, very much to my disappointment, he announced that it was not his intention to remain long in marietta. it appears that he, with several others, had decided to go thirteen miles down the ohio river, where they had already staked out a town, and there build for themselves a settlement which should be wholly made up of those who had been neighbors in massachusetts. however, he was forced to remain with us at marietta during the winter. master devoll took his family from the _mayflower_ at an early hour next morning and moved their belongings to campus martius, where he hoped to remain until his house was finished, and there did mistress devoll bid me come, saying i should find a home with them until it was possible to settle upon plans for the future, while master devoll told me that if i wanted to work at fair wages as a farm hand, he would give me employment as soon as spring had come. [illustration] it may be that i was a simple for not accepting the offer which was made in all kindness of heart, and yet i had a desire to become something more than an ordinary laborer, so, thanking him heartily for his generosity, i went out into the world on my own account, having as partner ben cushing. we two young fellows had no idea of what it might be possible for us to do. this new country was all so different from what we had seen in massachusetts; the ways of the people would be different now they had come so far from home, and we were without means of gaining a livelihood, save for our willingness to work and the strength of our bodies. inspecting the town of marietta however, penniless and undecided though we were, there was no intention on our part to force matters, and after the flatboat had been unloaded, we set about looking the town over, eager to see what had been done in so short a time, and speculating as to what we might do at some future day. [illustration] i am free to confess that the fortification with the high-sounding name of campus martius was pleasing to look upon. it was an imposing building, not such a one as you would expect to find in a wild country, and it lent to its surroundings a certain sense of security, because one could readily understand that it was built in a manner to defy the attacks of the savages. outside the palisade, extending in either direction along the river bank were ten log cabins, very few of which were occupied by their owners, for those who had built them had not as yet brought their families to marietta. the streets were laid out in regular order, but like those we saw in harrisburg, they were still filled with the stumps of trees, and the only signs of highways were the tiny paths looking much like sheep tracks as they wound in and out among the trees, avoiding the wet places, and leading where the way was most easy to travel. no one gave any heed to us, and we wandered here and there looking into this house or criticizing another which was but half finished, until we came to where we could see fort harmar with the indian encampment behind it. then we decided upon the next day's entertainment, for ben cushing insisted that since this was our first chance to see a savage, we should spend at least a few hours there. while it promised a novelty, i was by no means easy in mind regarding an inspection of the red men. nevertheless i kept all these fears to myself, hoping ben might give over his excursion when we learned that the ice was not strong enough to bear us up. unfortunately, however, it was possible to gain fort harmar, for the night was very cold, and ice formed of a thickness to render traveling on the river safe, therefore i was forced to agree to his proposition again. a temporary home before we could inspect these indian visitors, it was necessary we should make some provision for food and shelter, for neither of us wanted to present himself to mistress rouse or mistress devoll as a beggar, therefore we set about providing for ourselves a temporary home. i have no doubt but that we would have been allowed to take possession of any of the log houses which were not occupied; but that would have been much like begging a shelter, therefore we proposed to master devoll that we occupy the flatboat during the time that it remained fast in the ice. it proved to be a happy idea. he told us that it was his intention to allow the boat to remain where it was until spring, since he could do no different because of the ice, and then it could be used by those who proposed to make a settlement fourteen miles farther down the ohio. he also said that we were at liberty to use it as we saw fit during the entire winter, providing, of course, that we did no damage to the craft; but at the same time advising that, instead of trying to keep house by ourselves, we live either with his family or master rouse's. [illustration] he said we should find plenty of game in the woods, and proposed that we borrow his gun whenever we were in need of meat, promising to supply us with ammunition; but this last we agreed to only with the understanding that he keep a strict account of what was used, so that when we had earned sufficient money with which to cancel the debt, we might pay him. at this he laughed, declaring that we were indeed high and mighty for lads who yet had their way to make through the world; but at the same time clapping us heartily on the shoulders as he vowed he liked our spirit and had no doubt but that we should succeed in making our way, for there must be ample opportunity for willing lads to earn fair wages when spring had come. buying land another thing master devoll did for which both ben and i have good reason to bless him. he insisted that we make a bargain with colonel putnam for one of the eight-acre lots, agreeing to pay for it within a year's time, and inasmuch as the price fixed upon for those who had come to settle was the same as that made by the government, meaning one dollar an acre, it surely seemed as if we could contrive within a twelve-month to earn that much money in addition to supporting ourselves. without loss of time we went to the small building which colonel putnam called the "land office," and there made application for one of the lots as master devoll had advised. on the instant after colonel putnam spoke, we understood that master devoll had not contented himself simply with giving advice, but had been to the land office before us, stating who we were and what were our intentions, therefore colonel putnam not only was ready to receive us, but had much to say which sounded to my ears like unwon praise. "it is such lads as you that we want here in marietta," he said heartily. "your records are good, so far as i have learned, and it pleases me to set aside an eight-acre lot for you. decide upon any one of those which have not already been taken, and i will enter it in your names." [illustration] then he put before us a plan of the town of marietta, whereon each piece of land was marked out, and we, instead of going out to look for ourselves that we might decide which was the most valuable or desirable, said to him that he should put our names down on whatever lot he saw fit, whereupon he laughingly did so, and we afterward learned that we had been, perhaps, wise in leaving to him the selection. that night after we had become landowners, as you might say, we slept on board the flatboat with no covering save such a shelter as could be made with branches of trees, and because we were not disposed to ask either mistress rouse or mistress devoll to lend us blankets, we made a lively blaze in the fireplace, laying ourselves down with our feet toward it. the night was cold indeed and we suffered not a little before morning; but, as ben said, it was better to be a trifle chilly than to feel ourselves beholden to any one, even for that with which we covered ourselves. [illustration] i insisted that our first duty should be to get together a supply of fuel, and indeed there was no scarcity about. the trees grew so near the water's edge that we could hew them into four-foot lengths, and almost toss them into the flatboat. it was my proposition that we fill the craft entirely with fuel before doing anything else, but ben was so set upon seeing the indian encampment, that he refused to do more than cut enough to last during one night, and when i asked him what he intended to do about breakfast, he quietly announced that he would rather go hungry one day, than miss the chance of seeing those savages with whom we might, at some time in the near future, find ourselves fighting for our lives. i also was eager to see the indians; but not to such an extent that i would cross over to fort harmar with an empty stomach. i therefore told him that i should first make it my duty to go into the woods in search of game. visiting the savages he, however, was so insistent that we finally agreed that the forenoon should be spent in looking at the savages, and after that he was to go with me hunting. it was odd, when we had come to fort harmar, to see so many of the brown-skinned people dressed in fanciful garb, as if taking part in some comical festival; but there was about them so much which was disagreeable, that i could not really enjoy the visit. i fancied that more than one of them looked in an unfriendly manner at us, as if taking offense because of our curiosity, and i was willing to postpone any further acquaintance with them until we were somewhat familiar with their habits and customs. ben was not so eager as he had been, and when noon came was ready to accompany me on a hunting trip, as had been agreed upon. [illustration] i wish i had the time to tell you all we did during that first afternoon, for indeed it was most interesting. roaming through a dirty indian encampment was not for a single moment to be compared with the pleasure of making one's way among the huge trees, where game was so abundant that a fellow might pick and choose. before we had gone half a mile from the fortification, we came upon pigeons and rabbits in what seemed countless numbers, and more than once did we get a glimpse of wild turkeys; but as yet we were not sufficiently versed in hunting to be able to kill them. [illustration] within two hours we had enough meat for the coming week, and, hastening back to our flatboat home, were able before sunset to cut so much wood that ben declared we might live like gentlemen of leisure during the next few days. "if we are to make for ourselves names of worth in this country, there must be no idleness," i said half laughingly. "you and i have decided that we will strike out for ourselves, therefore it stands us in hand to earn money, and that without loss of time." "we will begin bright and early to-morrow morning," ben replied cheerily. "you shall go one way and i another, each seeking to find some way by which we can earn an honest dollar, and each seeing to it that whatever business is engaged upon, shall be for two, because, as i understand it, you and i are to work in one yoke while we remain here in this town of marietta." captain haskell's advice we did not do exactly as ben proposed when another day had come, and it was none other than captain haskell who prevented us from carrying out our plans. we met the captain just as we were coming out from beneath our shelter, he having strolled that way in order to learn how we might be getting on. seeing that we were blue and shivering with the cold as we strove to kindle a fire in the stern of the flatboat, he said to us that it would be a good idea if we made of the craft a comfortable home during the winter months. [illustration] then he showed us how, with a little labor, we could build in the stern of the flatboat a shelter which would be quite as good as any hut on shore, save that we might be lodged in one of the best rooms in campus martius, and advised that we set about the work before striving to find employment. at the same time he assured us there was no doubt whatsoever in his mind but that two lads who were willing to work, and who would work, might make for themselves a home and a name. having given this advice, he turned squarely about, never waiting to see whether we might be willing to follow it, and walked rapidly toward the fortification. we pondered over his suggestion no longer than it might take a man to count twenty, and then began to discuss how we had best begin the work, in the meanwhile warming up what remained of the roasted pigeons we had cooked for supper. a new friend while we were thus engaged, the lad jeremy salter, of whom i have already spoken, came down to the shore, curious to see who might be remaining on board a flatboat when there was shelter to be had in the town, and without waiting for an invitation, joined us at breakfast, eating considerably more than his share. he told us exactly how we ought to set about making the shelter, and what it might be possible for us to do in the way of gaining employment. at first it nettled me that this boy should presume to advise us, for he was considerably younger than i; but before he had done with his suggestions, both ben and i saw that they were not without merit. he was the son of one of the salters who had come out from danvers, and considered himself an old resident of the country because of having been here two months or more. it appeared that he was not very eager to gain employment for himself, claiming that his father was one of those who expected to go farther down the river in the spring to make there another settlement. however, i must say in his favor that he took hold with us heartily, borrowing two axes, and advising which trees might be felled the easiest, performing himself a due share of the labor, with the result that before two days had passed, thanks to his assistance and advice, we had as good a hut built over the fireplace in the stern of the flatboat as one could desire. fishing through the ice then jeremy salter told us how we might lay in a store of provisions without spending powder and ball. his scheme was to go a short distance from the point, and there fish through the ice. he not only gave this advice but went so far as to provide us with fishing tackle, and seemed to enjoy himself hugely while aiding in laying up a store of food. it was no labor, but rather sport, to catch fish in this fashion. we caught them as fast as it was possible to haul in the lines, until when night came and we had made a sort of sled with branches of trees, we had as much of a load as we cared to drag over the ice. by this time they were all frozen, therefore we stacked them up like fuel in the bow of the flatboat, and i dare say that had we lived on fish alone, we had in the ten hours' fishing enough food for a month. during all this time that we were building our hut and fishing, ben cushing was eager to pay another visit to the indian encampment; but jeremy declared that the savages were not in the most friendly mood, even though they had come to make a treaty, and his father had told him plainly that he must not venture near the lodges, lest harm might come. [illustration] such talk as this served to take away ben's desire to see the wild savages in their own camps, and i was glad because of it, for instead of spending half a day when time was precious, we, with jeremy's aid, set about laying up a greater store of fuel, until the flatboat had a full cargo of wood and fish, therefore we need not fear hunger or cold during the winter. the sabbath in marietta i was glad indeed when the sabbath came, for i had worked hard and the time of rest was what all of us, including jeremy, who was living with us rather than in campus martius with his parents, most needed. the greater number of the people assembled in one of the rooms of campus martius during the forenoon, where prayers were read and some of the older men talked to us in serious fashion. [illustration] the words at that time took even more hold on me than those which i had heard from parson cutler's lips at home, for we were indeed needing the protection of god, since there were none of this world who could aid if the savages attacked us suddenly. i believe that both ben and i came away from that meeting better in heart and with better resolutions for the future, than we had ever had before. bright and early on monday morning captain haskell made us another visit and commented favorably upon the shelter we had built, at the same time that he looked curiously at our stack of fish. [illustration] "i see no reason why you lads should not sell me half a dozen of these," he said, picking out some of the finest, and ben cushing replied promptly that he might have all he wanted for the carrying away. the captain refused any such offer, saying that he would buy them, otherwise he would go without, and declaring that if we wished, we might sell to the people inside the fortification no small amount of fish during the winter season, for there were plenty who did not feel disposed to spend their time on the river while the weather was so cold. a regular business he gave us a shilling for as many as he could carry, and bade us follow him to campus martius, where within an hour we took orders for as many as we had in the flatboat, at prices much the same as that paid by the captain, and straightway without our seeking it, there came to us a means of earning money sufficient to provide ourselves with ammunition for hunting. you would not have the patience to read all i could write about our work during that winter. [illustration] there was never man nor woman in campus martius who could come out and beckon us, but that we were ready to furnish him or her with as much fish as was wanted, until we had gathered in no less than seven dollars and three shillings, by working in a way which was much like sport. of this amount we spent a little more than one half to purchase a store of powder and lead, for it was our intention to add the business of hunting to that of fishing. thanks to jeremy salter, we borrowed from a kind man who had come out with colonel sproat two muskets, with the understanding that if at any time before spring we were ready to pay twelve dollars for each, they might become our property. from this time on we fished when the weather was too stormy for successful hunting, and roamed the woods during pleasant days, coming back to our flatboat home each night literally laden with game or fish; and although any man in marietta could have done the same, we had no difficulty in selling it all. of the ceremony of making the treaty with the indians we saw nothing, and for the very good reason that we could not afford to spend the time. a visit from the savages just then it seemed as if every man in the settlement was eager to know what might be going on around fort harmar, and therefore the demands upon us hunters increased to such an extent that we could hardly supply the food which was desired. in addition to the fact that we were unable to be present during the treaty making, save at the price of losing the chance to earn considerable money, ben cushing had lost all desire to see the savages at close quarters. one afternoon just before sunset, when we had come in from fishing, two delaware braves came over to our flatboat and made themselves very much at home, without any invitation. in fact, they carried matters with a high hand, as if having the right to do as they pleased, and when ben made a stout protest against their eating the food intended for our own supper, one of them behaved in such a threatening manner that for a moment i thoroughly believed he was about to strike the lad down, therefore i hastily caught up one of the axes, believing i should be called upon to fight for my life. [illustration] when the indians had eaten until it was impossible to eat more, they having literally forced us to cook for them, the two stalked away, and from that time forth ben never said anything regarding a desire to visit the encampment. we hunted or fished during every moment of daylight while the treaty making was going on, and when it had come to an end we had so many dollars in our possession as satisfied us fully for having failed to witness the ceremony. building a home it was at this time, when we were so prosperous, that jeremy salter declared we ought to set aside a certain day in each week for the work of building a house for ourselves on the eight-acre lot, which we now knew could be paid for at any time, since we had more than sufficient money in our possession. [illustration] thus, thanks to jeremy, we set about building our home, working whenever the demand for game or fish was light, or when it stormed so furiously that we could not well go on the river or in the woods. when spring came and the snow had disappeared, we had as solidly built a cabin as could be found anywhere in marietta outside campus martius. thus far we had accomplished a portion of our purpose. the people had come to understand that if we promised to provide them with a certain kind of game or fish, the promise would be kept to the letter. i am saying this not to praise myself, but simply to show we were making a name for ourselves as lads who told the truth, and kept strictly to their bargain. as i looked at the matter, this was of greatest value to us. we had set about gaining a good reputation, and verily we had begun aright, though only in small matters. it remained to show whether we were of such stuff as settlers in a wild country should be made. before the first day of march we had paid for our eight-acre lot, had built a cabin of two rooms, in which was stored as much frozen game and fish as would keep sweet until warm weather came, and, in addition, had nineteen dollars which we could call our own. a great project one day, when the rain came down in torrents, and we were not inclined either to fish or hunt, captain haskell came to make a friendly call, and, in no spirit of curiosity, but rather because of the interest which he had evidently taken in us, asked how we were progressing. without hesitation i told him exactly how we stood in the world, whereupon he praised us highly, and then proposed a scheme which fairly caused me to hold my breath in amazement, for it did not seem possible we could venture so far as his plan led. [illustration] his idea was that we build a water mill by buying from himself and master rouse the flatboat in which we were still living and by putting alongside of it a second one, the two to be fastened side by side in such a manner that a water wheel could be worked between them, and the double craft anchored in the current, where sufficient power could be had to drive the mill. as to the stones for grinding and such small pieces of machinery as we might need, he figured that we could buy them either in pittsburgh or from some craft which came up the river, and when i asked him how far he thought our store of money would go in such a project, he laughingly replied that uncle daniel and he would lend us a sufficient amount to pay for all we might need, and take from us in return three-quarters of the entire earnings until the debt, with interest, had been canceled. when ben cushing asked if he believed we should find business enough to warrant the undertaking, he replied:-- "there are about two hundred people here now and twice as many coming from massachusetts during the summer. now, since there is no mill here and all the corn must be ground by hand, i am asking whether you do not believe that by harvest time a single mill such as uncle daniel and i propose you shall build, will be kept running during every hour of daylight?" the two millers we discussed the matter earnestly, as you may well suppose, and uncle daniel, coming aboard before we had finished the conversation, did his share of arguing. before nightfall it was settled that on the following morning we should begin work on a second flatboat, and also repair the old craft in which we had come down from sumrill's ferry. and all this we did, working with a hearty will far into each night, because it was possible to see before us a way of getting on in the world faster than we had ever dared to dream, and you may be sure we wasted no minute of daylight. we had expected to cultivate our eight acres, and, in fact, when spring came we did put in a crop of corn; but the making of the mill and providing ourselves with food occupied so much of our time that we could not well afford to spend many hours as farmers, more particularly since both uncle daniel and captain haskell insisted that as soon as the mill was in working order we could earn double or treble as much as it would be possible to get from the ground. and it all came about as these two good friends of ours predicted. the mill was a success from the first day we were ready to turn the wheel, and has continued so until now, when we are in sorest trouble. the savages on the warpath from the time of our coming into this ohio country, marietta had steadily increased in size, the people coming, as it seemed to me, from every part of the eastern colonies, and just when ben and i were congratulating each other that our lines had been cast in peaceful, pleasant places, even though we were settled in the wilderness, the indians began their bloody work which we now fear may result in wiping out this settlement. the treaty which had been made by the savages just after we arrived was kept only by the white men. hardly more than two weeks ago news came that captain king had been killed at that settlement to which uncle daniel went in the spring, while four others were slain in the forest, and one taken prisoner. [illustration] the savages are in arms against us. we have been forced to come into campus martius for safety; work of all kinds has been abandoned; our mill is moored far up the muskingum river, where we have a faint hope it may escape destruction. although it may be that within the next four and twenty hours both ben and i will have fallen beneath the tomahawk, yet must i bear witness that god has been good to us indeed. he has permitted two lads so to make their way in the world with nothing save their own hands as stock in trade, that now, as i have good reason for believing, we are counted among the responsible citizens of the town. and of this it seems to me i had good proof no longer ago than yesterday, when i heard general putnam say while he and some other of the men were discussing the possibilities of an indian war:-- "if evidence were needed that it is well for young, willing workers to come into the wilderness, then i would point out to you that lad who journeyed with mistress devoll, and who, with his comrade, has laid up more than a fair share of this world's goods by unceasing work and unswerving honesty. he has done no more than many another might have done; but it has pleased me to watch the lad, and when i think of him it is always as our cheery-faced, upright miller, benjamin of ohio." books consulted in writing benjamin of ohio baldwin, james: conquest of the old northwest. american book company. buel, miss rowena: memoirs of rufus putnam. houghton mifflin company. drake, samuel adams: making of the ohio valley states. charles scribner's sons. earle, alice morse: home life in colonial days. the macmillan company. ellet, mrs.: pioneer women of the west. john c. winston company. elson, henry william: history of the united states. the macmillan company. harper's magazine: vol. , p. . hildreth, s. p.: pioneer history. h. w. derby & co. hinsdale, b. a.: the old northwest. silver, burdett & co. howells, william dean: stories of ohio. american book company. jones, n. e.: squirrel hunters of ohio. robert clarke company. mowry, william a.: american pioneers. silver, burdett & co. powell, lyman p.: historic towns of western states. g. p. putnam's sons. roosevelt, theodore: winning of the west. g. p. putnam's sons. thwaite, reuben gold: early western travels (buttrick). arthur h. clarke company. walker, charles m.: history of athens county, ohio. robert clarke company. * * * * * * transcriber's note: page , benjamin illustration was a dropped capital i illustration in the original book. page , uncle changed to uncle (uncle daniel's household goods). punctuation silently corrected. note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations. see -h.htm or -h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h/ -h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h.zip) transcriber's note: inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. obvious typographical and errors have been corrected. discovery of the sources of the mississippi river. summary narrative of an exploratory expedition to the sources of the mississippi river, in : resumed and completed, by the discovery of its origin in itasca lake, in . by authority of the united states. with appendixes, comprising the original report on the copper mines of lake superior, and observations on the geology of the lake basins, and the summit of the mississippi; together with all the official reports and scientific papers of both expeditions. by henry r. schoolcraft. philadelphia: lippincott, grambo, and co. . entered according to the act of congress in the year , by lippincott, grambo, and co., in the office of the clerk of the district court of the united states, in and for the eastern district of pennsylvania. [original dedication.] to the hon. john c. calhoun, secretary of war. sir: allow me to inscribe to you the following journals, as an illustration of my several reports on the mineral geography of the regions visited by the recent expedition under governor cass. i beg you will consider it, not only as a proof of my anxiety to be serviceable in the station occupied, but also as a tribute of individual respect for those exertions which have been made, during your administration of the war department, to develop the physical character and resources of all parts of our western country; for the patronage it has extended to the cause of geographical science; for the protection it has afforded to a very extensive line of frontier settlements by stretching a cordon of military posts around them; and for the notice it has bestowed on one of the humblest cultivators of natural science. henry r. schoolcraft. albany, . preface. the following pages embrace the substance of the narratives of two distinct expeditions for the discovery of the sources of the mississippi river, under the authority of the united states. by connecting the incidents of discovery, and of the facts brought to light during a period of twelve years, unity is preserved in the prosecution of an object of considerable importance in the progress of our geography and natural history, at least, from the new impulse which they received after the treaty of ghent. geographers deem that branch of a river as its true source which originates at the remotest distance from its mouth, and, agreeably to this definition, the combined narratives, to which attention is now called, show this celebrated stream to arise in itasca lake, the source of the itasca river. owing to the time which has intervened since these expeditions were undertaken, a mere revision of the prior narrations, in the _journal form_, was deemed inexpedient. a concise summary has, therefore, been made, preserving whatever information it was thought important to be known or remembered, and omitting all matters not partaking of permanent interest. to this summary, something has been added from the original manuscript journals in his possession. the domestic organization and social habits of the parties may thus be more perfectly understood. the sympathies which bind men together in isolated or trying scenes are sources of interest long after the link is severed, and the progress of science or discovery has passed beyond the particular points at which they then stood. events pass with so much rapidity at present, in the diffusion of our population over regions where, but lately, the indian was the only tenant, that we are in danger of having but a confused record of them, if not of losing it altogether. it is some abatement of this fear to know that there is always a portion of the community who take a pleasure in remembering individuals; who have either ventured their lives, or exerted their energies, to promote knowledge or advance discovery. it is in this manner that, however intent an age may be in the plans which engross it, the sober progress and attainments of the period are counted up. an important fact discovered in the physical geography or natural history of the country, if it be placed on record, remains a fact added to the permanent stores of information. a new plant, a crystal, an insect, or the humblest invertebrate object of the zoological chain, is as incontestable an addition to scientific knowledge, as the finding of remains to establish a new species of mastodon. they only differ in interest and importance. it is not the province of every age to produce a linnæus, a buffon, or a cuvier; but, such are the almost endless forms of vegetable and animal life and organization--from the infusoria upward--that not a year elapses which may not enlarge the boundaries of science. the record of discovery is perpetually accumulating, and filling the list of discoverers with humbler, yet worthy names. whoever reads with care the scientific desiderata here offered will find matter of description or comment which has employed the pens of a torrey, a mitchell, a cooper, a lea, a barnes, a houghton, and a nicollet. it is from considerations of this nature, that the author has appended to this narrative the original observations, reports, and descriptions made by his companions or himself, while engaged in these exploratory journeys, together with the determinations made on such scientific objects as were referred to other competent hands. these investigations of the physical geography of the west, and the phenomena or resources of the country, constitute, indeed, by far the most important permanent acquisitions of the scrutiny devoted to them. they form the elements of classes of facts which will retain their value, to men of research, when the incidents of the explorations are forgotten, and its actors themselves have passed to their final account. it would have been desirable that what has here been done should have been done at an earlier period; but it may be sufficient to say that other objects engrossed the attention of the author for no small part of the intervening period, and that he could not earlier control the circumstances which the publication demanded. after his permanent return from the west--where so many years of his life passed--it was his first wish to accomplish a long-cherished desire of visiting england and the continent, in which america, and its manners and institutions, might be contemplated at a distance, and compared by ocular proofs. and, when he determined on the task of preparing this volume, and began to look around for the companions of his travels, to avail himself of their notes, he found most of them had descended to the tomb. for the narrative parts, indeed, the manuscript journals, kept with great fulness, were still preserved; but the materials for the other division of the work were widely scattered. some of them remained in the archives of the public offices to which they were originally communicated. other papers had been given to the pages of scientific journals, and their reprint was inexpedient. the rich body of topographical data, and the elaborately drawn map of this portion of the united states, prepared by captain douglass, u. s. a., which would have been received with avidity at the time, had been in a great measure superseded by subsequent discoveries.[ ] the only part of this officer's observations employed in this work, are his determinations of the geographical positions. the latter have been extended and perfected by the subsequent observations of mr. nicollet. at every point, there have been difficulties to overcome. he has been strenuous to award justice to his deceased companions, to whose memory he is attached by the ties of sympathy and former association. if more time has elapsed in preparing the work than was anticipated, it is owing to the nature of it; and he can only say that still more time and attention would be required to do justice to it. [ ] this remark is limited to the country south of about °. north of that point, there are no explorations known to me, except those of lieutenant james allen, who accompanied me above cass lake, in , and those of j. n. nicollet, in , which were reported by him to the topographical bureau, and by the latter transmitted to congress.--vide _senate doc._ no. , . these observations relate to the line of the mississippi. maj. long's journey, in , was _west_ and _north_ of that river. a word may be added respecting the period of these explorations. the year marked a time of much activity in geographical discovery in the united states. the treaty of ghent, a few years before, had relieved the frontiers from a most sanguinary indian war. this event enlarged the region for settlement, and created an intense desire for information respecting the new countries. government had, indeed, at an earlier period, shown a disposition to aid and encourage discoveries. the feeling on this subject cannot be well understood, without allusion to the name of john ledyard. this intrepid traveller had accompanied captain cook on his last voyage round the world. in , he presented himself to mr. jefferson, the american minister at paris, with a plan of extensive explorations. he proposed to set out from st. petersburg, and, passing through russia and tartary to behring's straits, to traverse the north pacific to oregon, and thence cross the rocky mountains to the missouri valley.[ ] mr. jefferson communicated the matter to the russian plenipotentiary at paris--and to the baron grimm, the confidential agent of the empress catherine--through whose influence he received the required passports. he proceeded on this adventure, and had reached within two hundred miles of kamschatka, where he was arrested, and taken back, in a close carriage, to moscow, and thence conducted to the frontiers of poland. on reaching london, the african association selected him to make explorations in the direction of the niger. reaching egypt, he proceeded up the nile to cairo, where, having completed his preparations for entering the interior of africa, he sickened and died, in the month of november, .--_life of ledyard_, sparks's _amer. biog._ vol. xvi. the suggestion of ledyard to explore oregon became the germ of the voyages of lewis and clark. it appears that, in , mr. jefferson proposed the subject to the american philosophical society at philadelphia.[ ] it is not known that its action resulted in anything practical. after mr. jefferson himself, however, came to the presidency, in , he called the attention of congress to the matter. louisiana had been acquired, under his auspices, in , which furnished a strong public reason for its exploration. to conduct it, he selected his private secretary and relative, merriweather lewis, of virginia; captain william clark was named as his assistant. both these gentlemen were commissioned in the army, and the expense thus placed on a public basis. captain lewis left the city of washington, on this enterprise, on the th of july, , and was joined by captain clark west of the alleghanies. having organized the expedition at st. louis, they began the ascent of the missouri river on the th of may, . they wintered the first year at fort mandan, about , miles up the missouri, in the country of the mandans. crossing the rocky mountains the next year, and descending the columbia to the open shore of the pacific, they retraced their general course to the waters of the missouri, in , and returned to st. louis on the d of september of that year. (_lewis and clark_, vol. ii. p. .) [ ] lewis and clark. to explore the missouri to its source, and leave the remote summits of the mississippi untouched, would seem to have ill-accorded with mr. jefferson's conceptions. it does not appear, however, from published data, that he selected the person to perform the latter service, leaving it to the military commandant of the district. (_life of pike_, sparks's _amer. biog._ vol. xv. pp. , .) general wilkinson, who had been directed to occupy louisiana, appears to have made the selection. he designated lieutenant zebulon montgomery pike. this officer left bellefontaine, missouri, on the th of august, , with a total force of twenty men, at least four months too late in the season to reach even the central part of his destination, without an aid in the command, without a scientific observer of any description, and without even an interpreter to communicate with the indians. that he should have accomplished what he did, is altogether owing to his activity, vigilance, and enterprise, his knowledge of hunting and forest life, and his well-established habits of mental and military discipline. winter overtook him, on the th of october, in his ascent, when he was about one hundred and twenty miles (as now ascertained) above the falls of st. anthony.[ ] severe cold, snow, and ice, rendered it impossible to push his boats further. devoting twelve days in erecting a blockhouse, and leaving his heavy stores and disabled men in charge of a non commissioned officer, he proceeded onwards, on snow shoes, with small hand-sledges, and, by great energy and perseverance, reached, at successive periods, sandy lake, leach lake, and upper red cedar lake, on the third great plateau at the sources of the mississippi. on the opening of the river, he began his descent, and returned to his starting-point, at bellefontaine, on the th of april, , having been absent a little less than nine months. on his visiting the country above the point where the climate arrested his advance, the whole region was found to be clothed in a mantle of snow. on his journey, the deer, elk, buffalo, and wolf, were found on the prairies--the waters were inhabited by wild fowl; as he acted the part of hunter, and, to some extent, guide, these furnished abundant employ for his efficient sportsman-like propensities. of its distinctive zoology, minerals, plants, and other physical desiderata, it was not in his power, had he been ever so well prepared, to make observations. even for the topography, above the latitude of about °, he was dependent, essentially, on the information furnished by the factors of the northwest british fur company, who, at that period, occupied the country.[ ] this information was readily given, and enabled him, with general accuracy, to present the maps and descriptions which accompany his account of the region. he was, however, misled in placing the source of the river in turtle lake, and in the topography of the region south and west of that point. [ ] estimated by him at miles. [ ] the surrender of the lake country by great britain, in , at the close of what is known as general wayne's war, extended to michilimackinac, the remotest british garrison. the region northwest of this post was occupied by numerous tribes of indians, who continued to be supplied with goods by british traders till after the close of the war of . in , congress passed an act confining the trade to american citizens. under this state of affairs, the northwest company of montreal sold out their trading-posts and fixtures, northwest of michilimackinac, to mr. john jacob astor, of new york, who, from an account of one of his active factors, invested about $ , per annum in merchandise adapted to the indian habits. pike's account of his expedition did not issue from the press till . the narrative of the expedition of lewis and clark was still longer delayed--owing to the melancholy death of lewis--and was not given till ; a period of political commotion by no means favorable to literary matters. it was, however, at once hailed as a valuable and standard accession to geographical science. public opinion had for years been called to this daring enterprise. such was the state of geographical discovery in the united states in . the war with great britain had had an exhausting effect upon the resources and fiscal condition of the country. but, owing to the information gained by the operation of armies in the ample area west of the alleghanies, it opened a new world for enterprise in that quarter. the treaty of with great britain, which affirmed the original boundaries of , by terminating, at the same time, the war and the fallacious hopes of sovereignty set up for the indian tribes, truly opened the mississippi valley to settlement. all eyes were turned to the general climate of the west, and its capacities of growth and expansion. the universal ardor which then arose and was spread, of its fertility, extent, and resources, has, from that era, filled the public mind, and fixed the liveliest hopes of the extension of the union. the accession of mr. monroe to the presidency, th march, , formed the opening of this new epoch of industrial empire and progress in the west. this period brought into the administration a man of great grasp of intellect and energy of character in mr. calhoun. by placing the army in a series of self-sustaining posts on the frontiers, in advance of the settlements, he gave them efficient protection against the still feverish tribes, who hovered--feeble and dejected from the results of the war, but in broken, discordant, and hostile masses--around the long and still dangerous line of the frontiers, from florida to detroit and the falls of st. anthony. he encouraged every means of acquiring true information of its geography and resources. in , the military line was extended to council bluffs, on the missouri, and to the falls of st. anthony, on the mississippi. major s. h. long, of the topographical engineers, was directed to ascend the missouri, for the purpose of exploring the region west to the rocky mountains. during the same year, he approved a plan for exploring the sources of the mississippi, submitted by general cass, who occupied the northwestern frontiers. the author having then returned from the exploration of the ozark highlands, and the mine country of missouri and arkansas,[ ] received from mr. calhoun the appointment of geologist and mineralogist on this expedition; and having, at a subsequent period, been selected, as the leader of the expedition of , to resume and complete the discoveries under the same authority, commenced in , it is to the journals and notes kept on these separate occasions, that he is indebted for the data of the narratives and for the body of information now submitted. [ ] _vide_ scenes and adventures in the semi-alpine region of the ozark mountains of missouri and arkansas, with a view of the lead-mines of missouri. new york, . philadelphia: lippincott, grambo, and co. vol. vo. pp. . . washington, d. c., october , . contents. expedition of . introduction preliminary documents narrative of the expedition chapter i. departure--considerations on visiting the northern summits early in the season--cross the highlands of the hudson--incidents of the journey from albany to buffalo--visit niagara falls--their grandeur the effect of magnitude--embark on board the steamer walk-in-the-water--passage up lake erie--reach detroit chapter ii. preparations for the expedition--constitution of the party--mode of travel in canoes--embarkation, and incidents of the journey across the lake, and up the river st. clair--head winds encountered on lake huron--point aux barques--cross saganaw bay--delays in ascending the huron coast--its geology and natural history--reach michilimackinac chapter iii. description of michilimackinac--prominent scenery--geology--arched rock--sugarloaf rock--history--statistics--mineralogy--skull cave--manners--its fish, agriculture, moral wants--ingenious manufactures of the indians--fur trade--etymology of the word--antique bones disclosed in the interior of the island chapter iv. proceed down the north shore of lake huron to the entrance of the straits of st. mary's--character of the shores, and incidents--ascend the river to sault ste. marie--hostilities encountered there--intrepidity of general cass chapter v. embark at the head of the portage at st. mary's--entrance into lake superior--journey and incidents along its coasts--great sand dunes--pictured rocks--grand island--keweena peninsula and portage--incidents thence to ontonagon river chapter vi. chippewa village at the mouth of the ontonagon--organize an expedition to explore its mineralogy--incidents of the trip--rough nature of the country--reach the copper rock--misadventure--kill a bear--discoveries of copper--general remarks on the mineral affluence of the basin of lake superior chapter vii. proceed along the southern coast of lake superior from the ontonagon, to fond du lac--porcupine range of mountains--streams that run from it, at parallel distances, into the lake--la pointe--group of the federation islands--river st. louis--physical geography of lake superior chapter viii. proceed up the st. louis river, and around its falls and rapids to sandy lake in the valley of the upper mississippi--grand portage--portage aux coteaux--a main exploring party--cross the great morass of akeek scepi to sandy lake--indian mode of pictographic writing--site of an indian jonglery--post of sandy lake chapter ix. reunion of the expedition on the savanna portage--elevation of this summit--descent to sandy lake--council with the chippewa tribe--who are they?--traits of their history, language, and customs--enter the mississippi, with the main exploring party, and proceed in search of its source--physical characteristics of the stream at this place--character of the canadian voyageur chapter x. proceed up the mississippi river--its velocity and character--swan river--trout river, and mushcoda or prairie river--rapids ascended--reach, and make a portage around pakagama falls--enter a vast lacustrine region--its character and productions, vegetable and animal--tortuous channel--vermilion and deer rivers--leech lake branch--lake winnipek--ascent of the river to upper red cedar, or cass lake--physical character of the mississippi river chapter xi. physical traits of the mississippi--the elevation of its sources--its velocity and mean descent--etymology of the name mississippi--descent of the river to sandy lake, and thence to the falls of st. anthony--recross the great bitobi savanna--pakagama formation--description of the voyage from sandy lake to pine river--brief notices of the natural history chapter xii. description of the descent from pine river--pine tracts--confluence of the crow-wing river--enter a sylvan region--prairies and groves, occupied by deer, elk, and buffalo--sport of buffalo hunting--reach elevations of sienitic and metamorphic rocks--discover a pictographic inscription of the sioux, by which they denote a desire for peace--pass the osaukes, st. francis's, corneille, and rum rivers--st. anthony's falls--etymology of the name--geographical considerations chapter xiii. position of the military post established at the mouth of the st. peter's--beauty, salubrity, and fertility of the country--pictographic letter--indian treaty--the appearance of the offer of frankincense in the burning of tobacco--opwagonite--native pigments--salt; native copper--the pouched or prairie rat--minnesota squirrel--etymology of the indian name of st. peter's river--antiquities--sketch of the dacota--descent of the mississippi to little crow's village--feast of green corn chapter xiv. descent of the river from the site of little crow's village to prairie du chien--incidents of the voyage, and notices of the scenery and natural history chapter xv. mr. schoolcraft makes a visit to the lead mines of dubuque--incidents of the trip--description of the mines--the title of occupancy, and the mode of the mines being worked by the fox tribe of indians--who are the foxes? chapter xvi. the expedition proceeds from prairie du chien up the wisconsin valley--incidents of the ascent--etymology of the name--the low state of its waters favorable to the observation of its fresh-water conchology--cross the wisconsin summit, and descend the fox river to winnebago lake chapter xvii. descent of the fox river from winnebago lake to green bay--incidents--etymology, conchology, mineralogy--falls of the konomic and kakala--population and antiquity of the settlement of green bay--appearances of a tide, not sustained chapter xviii. the expedition traces the west shores of lake michigan southerly to chicago--outline of the journey along this coast--sites of manitoowoc, sheboigan, milwaukie, racine, and chicago, being the present chief towns and cities of wisconsin and illinois on the west shores of that lake--final reorganization of the party and departure from chicago chapter xix. south and eastern borders of lake michigan--their flora and fauna--incidents of the journey--topography--geology, botany, and mineralogy--indian tribes--burial-place of marquette--ruins of the post of old mackinac--reach michilimackinac after a canoe journey north of four hundred miles chapter xx. topographical survey of the northern shores of green bay and of the entire basin of lake michigan--geological and mineralogical indicia of the coast line--era of sailing vessels and of the steamboat on the lakes--route along the huron coast, and return of the expedition to detroit expedition of . discovery of the source of the mississippi river in itasca lake chapter xxi. the search for the veritable source of the mississippi is resumed.--ascent to cass lake, the prior point of discovery--pursue the river westerly, through the andrúsian lakes and up the metoswa rapids, forty-five miles--queen anne's lake chapter xxii. ascent of the mississippi above queen anne's lake--reach the primary forks of the river--ascend the left-hand, or minor branch--lake irving--lake marquette--lake la salle--lake plantagenet--encamp at the naiwa rapids at the base of the height of land, or itasca summit chapter xxiii. the expedition having reached the source of the east fork in assawa lake, crosses the highlands of the hauteurs de terre to the source of the main or west fork in itasca lake chapter xxiv. descent of the west, or itascan branch--kakabikoñs falls--junction of the chemaun, peniddiwin, or de soto, and allenoga rivers--return to cass lake chapter xxv. the expedition proceeds to strike the source of the great crow-wing river, by the indian trail and line of interior portages, by way of leech lake, the seat of the warlike tribe of the pillagers, or mukundwa chapter xxvi. geographical account of leech lake--history of its indians, the mukundwas--the expedition proceeds to the source of the crow-wing river, and descends that stream, in its whole length, to the mississippi chapter xxvii. complete the exploration of the crow-wing river of minnesota--indian council--reach st. anthony's falls--council with the sioux--ascent and exploration of the river st. croix and misakoda, or broulé, of lake superior--return of the party to st. mary's falls, michigan appendix no. . departmental reports general cass's official report " " memoir suggesting further explorations " " personal testimonial " " communication on indian hieroglyphics, &c. " " queries respecting indian history, &c. indian history and languages topography and astronomy mineralogy and geology mr. schoolcraft's report on copper mines " " on geology and mineralogy " " on the value of the mineral lands on lake superior " memoir on the geology of western new york " on the elementary sounds of the chippewa language botany zoology meteorology appendix no. . indian language mr. schoolcraft's essay on the indian substantive " " on the noun-adjective " " on the principles of the pronoun natural history conchology botany mineralogy and geology mr. schoolcraft's remarks on the occurrence of silver " general list of mineral localities " geological outline of taquimenon valley " suggestions respecting the epoch of the st. mary's sandstone introduction. charlevoix informs us that the discovery of the mississippi river is due to father marquette, a jesuit missionary, who manifested the most unwearied enterprise in exploring the north-western regions of new france; and after laying the foundation of michilimackinac, proceeded, in company with sieur joliet, up the fox river of green bay, and, crossing the portage into the wisconsin, first entered the mississippi in . robert de la salle, to whom the merit of this discovery is generally attributed, embarked at rochelle, on his first voyage of discovery, july , ; reached quebec in september following, and, proceeding up the st. lawrence, laid the foundation of fort niagara, in the country of the iroquois, late in the fall of that year. in the following year, he passes up the niagara river; estimates the height of the falls at six hundred feet; and proceeding through lakes erie, st. clair, and huron, reaches michilimackinac in august. he then visits the sault de st. marie, and returning to michilimackinac, continues his voyage to the south, with a view of striking the mississippi river; passes into the lake of the illinois; touches at green bay; and enters the river st. joseph's, of lake michigan, where he builds a fort, in the country of the miamies. in december of the same year, he crosses the portage between the st. joseph's and the illinois; descends the latter to the lake, and builds a fort in the midst of the tribes of the illinois, which he calls crevecoeur. here he makes a stand; sends persons out to explore the mississippi, traffics with the indians, among all of whom he finds abundance of indian corn; and returns to fort frontenac, on lake ontario, in . he revisits fort crevecoeur late in the autumn of the following year, and finally descends the illinois, to its junction with the mississippi, and thence to the embouchure of the latter in the gulf of mexico, where he arrives on the th of april, , and calculates the latitude between ° and ° north. the spaniards had previously sought in vain for the mouth of this stream, and bestowed upon it, in anticipation, the name of del rio ascondido. la salle now returns to quebec, by way of the lakes, and from thence to france, where he is well received by the king, who grants him an outfit of four ships, and two hundred men, to enable him to continue his discoveries, and found a colony in the newly discovered territories. he leaves rochelle in july, , reaches the bay of st. louis, which is fifty leagues south of the mississippi, in the gulf of mexico, in february following, where he builds a fort, founds a settlement, and is finally assassinated by one of his own party. the exertions of this enterprising individual, and the account which was published of his discoveries by the chevalier tonti, who had accompanied him in all his perilous expeditions, had a greater effect, in the french capital, in producing a correct estimate of the extent, productions, and importance of the canadas, than all that had been done by preceding tourists; and this may be considered as the true era, when the eyes of politicians and divines, merchants and speculators, were first strongly turned towards the boundless forests, the sublime rivers and lakes, the populous indian tribes, and the profitable commerce of new france. father louis hennepin was a missionary of the franciscan order of catholics, who accompanied la salle on his first voyage from france; and after the building of fort crevecoeur, on the illinois, was dispatched in company with three french voyageurs to explore the mississippi river. they departed from fort crevecoeur on the th of february, , and dropping down the illinois to its junction with the mississippi, followed the latter an indeterminate distance towards the gulf, not believed to be great, where they left some memorial of their visit, and immediately commenced their return. when they had proceeded up the mississippi a hundred and fifty leagues above the confluence of the illinois, they were taken prisoners by some indian tribes, and carried towards its sources nineteen days' journey into the territories of the naudowessies and issati, where they were detained in captivity three or four months, and then suffered to return. the account which hennepin published of his travels and discoveries, served to throw some new light upon the topography, and the indian tribes of the canadas; and modern geography is indebted to him for the names which he bestowed upon the falls of st. anthony and the river st. francis. in , the baron la hontan, an unfrocked monk, published, in london, his voyages to north america, the result of a residence of six years in the canadas. la hontan served as an officer in the french army, and first went out to quebec in . during the succeeding four years he was chiefly stationed at chambly, fort frontenac, niagara, st. joseph, at the foot of lake huron, and the sault de st. marie. he arrives at michilimackinac in , and there first hears of the assassination of la salle. in he visits green bay, and passes through the fox and wisconsin rivers into the mississippi. so far, his work appears to be the result of actual observation, and is entitled to respect; but what he relates of long river appears wholly incredible, and can only be regarded as some flight of the imagination, intended to gratify the public taste for travels, during an age when it had been highly excited by the extravagant accounts which had been published respecting the wealth, population, and advantages of peru, mexico, the english and dutch colonies, new france, the illinois, and various other parts of the new world. to convey some idea of this part of the baron's work, it will be sufficient to observe that after travelling ten days above the mouth of the wisconsin, he arrives at the mouth of a large stream, which he calls long river, and which he ascends eighty-four days successively, during which he meets with numerous tribes of savages, as the eskoros, essenapes, pinnokas, mozemleeks, &c. he is attended a part of the way by five or six hundred, as an escort; sees at one time two thousand savages upon the shore; and states the population of the essenapes at , souls; but this tribe is still inferior to the mozemleeks in numbers, in arts, and in every other prerequisite for a great people. "the mozemleek nation," he observes, "is numerous and puissant. the four slaves of that country informed me that, at the distance of leagues from the place where i then was, their principal river empties itself into a salt lake of three hundred leagues in circumference, the mouth of which is about two leagues broad; that the lower part of that river is adorned with six noble cities, surrounded with stone, cemented with fat earth; that the houses of these cities have no roofs, but are open above like a platform; that, besides the above-mentioned cities, there are an hundred towns, great and small, round that sort of sea; that the people of that country make stuffs, copper axes, and several other manufactures, &c." in , p. de charlevoix, the historian of new france, was commissioned by the french government to make a tour of observation through the canadas, and in addition to his topographical and historical account of new france, published a journal of his voyage through the lakes. he was one of the most learned divines of his age, and although strongly tinctured with the doctrines of fatality, and disposed to view everything relative to the indian tribes with the over-zealous eye of a catholic missionary, yet his works bear the impress of a strong and well-cultivated mind, and abound in philosophical reflections, enlarged views, and accurate deductions; and, notwithstanding the lapse of a century, he must still be regarded as the most polished and illustrious traveller of the region. he first landed at quebec in the spring of , and immediately proceeded up the st. lawrence to fort frontenac and niagara, where he corrects the error into which those who preceded him had fallen, with respect to the height of the cataract. he proceeds through lakes erie, huron, and michigan, descends the illinois and mississippi to new orleans, then recently settled, and embarks for france. the period of his visit was that, when the mississippi scheme was in the height of experiment, and excited the liveliest interest in the french metropolis; people were then engaged, in louisiana, in exploring every part of the country, under the delusive hope of finding rich mines of gold and silver; and the remarks he makes upon the probability of a failure, were shortly justified by the event. in , alexander henry, esq. visited the upper lakes, in the character of a trader, and devoted sixteen years to travelling over different parts of the north-western region of the canadas and the united states. the result of his observations upon the topography, indian tribes, and natural history of the country, was first published in , and, as a volume of travels and adventures, is a valuable acquisition to our means of information. this work abounds in just and sensible reflections upon scenes, situations, and objects of the most interesting kind, and is written in a style of the most charming perspicuity and simplicity. he was the first english traveller of the region. the date of carver's travels over those regions is . carver, whose travels have been treated with too indiscriminate censure, was descended from an ancient and respectable english family in connecticut, and had served as a captain in the provincial army, which was disbanded after the treaty of peace of versailles, of , and united to great personal courage a persevering and observing mind. by his bravery and admirable conduct among the powerful tribes of sioux and chippewas, he obtained a high standing among them; and, after being constituted a chief by the former, received from them a large grant of land, which was not, however, ratified by the british government. the fate of this enterprising traveller cannot but excite regret. after having escaped the massacre of fort william henry, on the banks of lake george, in , and the perils of a long journey through the american wilderness, he was spared to endure miseries in the heart of the british metropolis, which he had never encountered in the huts of the american savages, and perished of want in the city of london, the seat of literature and opulence! between the years and , samuel hearne performed a journey from prince of wales's fort, in hudson's bay, to the coppermine river of the arctic ocean. mckenkie's voyages to the frozen and pacific oceans were performed in and . pike ascended the mississippi in and . such is a brief outline of the progress of discovery in the north-western regions of the united states, by which our sources of information have been from time to time augmented, and additional light cast upon the interesting history of our indian tribes--their numbers and condition, and other particulars connected with the regions they inhabit. still, it cannot be denied that, amidst much sound and useful information, there has been mingled no inconsiderable proportion that is deceptive, hypothetical, or false; and, upon the whole, that the progress of information has not kept pace with the increased importance which that section of the union has latterly assumed--with the great improvements of society--and with the spirit and the enterprise of the times. a new era has dawned in the moral history of our country, and, no longer satisfied with mere geographical outlines and boundaries, its physical productions, its antiquities, and the numerous other traits which it presents for scientific research, already attract the attention of a great proportion of the reading community; and it is eagerly inquired of various sections of it--whose trade, whose agriculture, and whose population have been long known--what are its indigenous plants, its zoology, its geology, its mineralogy, &c. of no part of it, however, has the paucity of information upon these, and upon other and more familiar subjects, been so great, as of the extreme north-western regions of the union, of the great chain of lakes, and of the sources of the mississippi river, which have continued to be the subject of dispute between geographical writers. impressed with the importance of these facts, governor cass, of michigan, projected, in the fall of , an expedition for exploring the regions in question, and presented a memorial to the secretary of war upon the subject, in which he proposed leaving detroit the ensuing spring, in indian canoes, as being best adapted to the navigation of the shallow waters of the upper country, and to the numerous portages which it is necessary to make from stream to stream. the specific objects of this journey were to obtain a more correct knowledge of the names, numbers, customs, history, condition, mode of subsistence, and dispositions of the indian tribes; to survey the topography of the country, and collect the materials for an accurate map; to locate the site and purchase the ground for a garrison at the foot of lake superior; to investigate the subject of the north-western copper mines, lead mines, and gypsum quarries, and to purchase from the indian tribes such tracts as might be necessary to secure to the united states the ultimate advantages to be derived from them. to accomplish these objects, it was proposed to attach to the expedition a topographical engineer, an astronomer, a physician, and a mineralogist and geologist, and some other scientific observers. mr. calhoun not only approved of the proposed plan, but determined to enable the governor to carry it into complete effect, by ordering an escort of soldiers, and enjoining it upon the commandants of the frontier garrisons, to furnish every aid that the exigencies of the party might require, either in men, boats, or supplies. it is only necessary to add, that i was honored with the appointment of mineralogist and geologist to the expedition, in which capacity i kept the following journal. in presenting it to the public, it will not be deemed improper if i acknowledge the obligations which i have incurred in transcribing it, by availing myself of a free access to the valuable library of his excellency de witt clinton, and of the taste and skill of mr. henry inman, in drawing a number of the views which embellish the work. henry b. schoolcraft. albany, may , . preliminary documents. i. original memoir suggestive of the expedition. ii. mr. calhoun's letter of sanction of it. iii. employment of a mineralogist and geologist. iv. policy of granting permits to take away minerals from the indian country. v. a topographical engineer and astronomer ordered from the military academy at west point. vi. vii. military orders of generals brown and macomb. preliminary documents. i. detroit, november , . sir: the country upon the southern shore of lake superior, and upon the water communication between that lake and the mississippi, has been but little explored, and its natural features are imperfectly known. we have no correct topographical delineation of it, and the little information we possess relating to it has been derived from the reports of the indian traders. it has occurred to me that a tour through that country, with a view to examine the productions of its animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, to explore its facilities for water communication, to delineate its natural objects, and to ascertain its present and future probable value, would not be uninteresting in itself, nor useless to the government. such an expedition would not be wholly unimportant in the public opinion, and would well accord with that zeal for inquiries of this nature which has recently marked the administration of the war department. but, however interesting such a tour might be in itself, or however important in its result, either in a political or geographical point of view, i should not have ventured to suggest the subject, nor to solicit your permission to carry it into effect, were it not, in other respects, intimately connected with the discharge of my official duties. mr. woodbridge, the delegate from this territory, at my request, takes charge of this letter, and he is so intimately acquainted with the subject, and every way so competent to enter into any explanations you may require, that i shall not be compelled to go as much into detail as, under other circumstances, might be necessary. the route which i propose to take, is from here to michilimackinac, and from thence, by the straits of st. mary's, to the river which contains the body of copper ore (specimens of which have been transmitted to the government), and to the extremity of lake superior. from that point, up the river which forms the water communication between that lake and the mississippi, to the latter river, and, by the way of prairie du chien and green bay, to lake michigan. the political objects which require attention upon this route are:-- . a personal examination of the different indian tribes who occupy the country; of their moral and social condition; of their feelings towards the united states; of their numerical strength; and of the various objects connected with them, of which humanity and sound policy require that the government should possess an intimate knowledge. we are very little acquainted with these indians, and i indulge the expectation that such a visit would be productive of beneficial effects. the extract from the letter of colonel leavenworth, herewith inclosed, and the speech of the winnebago indians, transmitted to the war department by mr. graham, from rock island, february , , will show how much we have yet to learn respecting these tribes, which are comparatively near to us. . another important object is, to procure the extinction of indian titles to the land in the vicinity of the straits of st. mary's, prairie du chien, green bay, and upon the communication between the two latter places. i will not trouble you with any observations respecting the necessity of procuring these cessions. they are the prominent points of the country--the avenues of communication by which alone it can be approached. two of them--prairie du chien and green bay--are occupied by a considerable population, and the straits of st. mary's by a few families. the undefined nature of their rights and duties, and the uncertain tenure by which they hold their lands, render it important that some step should be taken by the government to relieve them. i think, too, that a cession of territory, with a view to immediate sale and settlement, would be highly important in the event of any difficulties with the indians. my experience at indian treaties convinces me that reasonable cessions, upon proper terms, may at any time be procured. at the treaty recently concluded at saginaw, the indians were willing to cede the country in the vicinity of michilimackinac, but i did not feel authorized to treat with them for it. upon this subject, i transmit extracts from the letters of mr. boyd and colonel bowyer, by which it will be seen that these gentlemen anticipate no difficulty in procuring these cessions. . another important object is the examination of the body of copper in the vicinity of lake superior. as early as the year , mr. tracy, then a senator from connecticut, was dispatched to make a similar examination. he, however, proceeded no farther than michilimackinac. since then, several attempts have been made, which have proved abortive. the specimens of virgin copper which have been sent to the seat of government have been procured by the indians, or by the half-breeds, from a large mass, represented to weigh many tons, which has fallen from the brow of a hill. i anticipate no difficulty in reaching the spot, and it may be highly important to the government to divide this mass, and to transport it to the seaboard for naval purposes. it is also important to examine the neighboring country, which is said to be rich in its mineral productions. i should propose that the land in the vicinity of this river be purchased of the indians. it could doubtless be done upon reasonable terms, and the united states could then cause a complete examination of it to be made. such a cession is not unimportant in another point of view. some persons have already begun to indulge in speculations upon this subject. the place is remote, and the means of communicating with it are few. by timely presents to the indians, illegal possessions might be gained, and much injury might be done, much time might elapse, and much difficulty be experienced, before such trespassers could be removed. . to ascertain the views of the indians in the vicinity of chicago, respecting the removal of the six nations to that district of country, an extract from the letter of mr. kenzie, sub-agent at chicago, upon this subject, will show the situation in which this business stands. . to explain to the indians the views of the government respecting their intercourse with the british authorities at malden, and distinctly to announce to them that their visits must be discontinued. it is probable that the annunciation of the new system which you have directed to be pursued upon this subject, and the explanations connected with it, can be made with more effect by me than by ordinary messengers. . to ascertain the state of the british fur trade within that part of our jurisdiction. our information upon this subject is very limited, while its importance requires that it should be fully known. in addition to these objects, i think it very important to carry the flag of the united states into those remote regions, where it has never been borne by any person in a public station. the means by which i propose to accomplish this tour are simple and economical. all that will be required is an ordinary birch canoe, and permission to employ a competent number of canadian boatmen. the whole expense will be confined within narrow limits, and no appropriation will be necessary to defray it. i only request permission to assign to this object a small part of the sum apportioned for indian expenditures at this place, say from , to , dollars. if, however, the government should think that a small display of force might be proper, an additional canoe, to be manned with active soldiers, and commanded by an intelligent officer, would not increase the expense, and would give greater effect to any representations which might be made to the indians. an intelligent officer of engineers, to make a correct chart for the information of the government, would add to the value of the expedition. i am not competent to speculate upon the natural history of the country through which we may pass. should this object be deemed important, i request that some person acquainted with zoology, botany, and mineralogy may be sent to join me. it is almost useless to add that i do not expect any compensation for my own services, except the ordinary allowance for negotiating indian treaties, should you think proper to direct any to be held, and intrust the charge of them to me. i request that you will communicate to me, as early as convenient, your determination upon this subject, as it will be necessary to prepare a canoe during the winter, to be ready to enter upon the tour as soon as the navigation of the lakes is open, should you think proper to approve the plan. very respectfully, &c. lewis cass. hon. john c. calhoun, _secretary of war_. ii. department of war, january , . sir: i have received your letters of the th and st november last. the exploring tour you propose has the sanction of the government, provided the expenditure can be made out of the sum allotted your superintendency for indian affairs, adding thereto one thousand dollars for that special purpose. the objects of this expedition are comprised under the five heads stated in your letter of the th of november, and which you will consider--with the exception of that part which relates to holding indian treaties, upon which you will be fully instructed hereafter--as forming part of the instructions which may be given you by this department. should your reconnoissance extend to the western extremity of lake superior, you will ascertain the practicability of a communication between the bad, or burntwood river, which empties into the lake, and the copper, or st. croix, which empties into the mississippi, and the facility they present for a communication with our posts on the st. peter's. the montreal rivers will also claim your attention, with a view of establishing, through them, a communication between green bay and the west end of lake superior. to aid you in the accomplishment of these important objects, some officers of topographical engineers will be ordered to join you. perhaps major long, now here, will be directed to take that route to join the expedition which he commands up the missouri. in that event, a person acquainted with zoology and botany will be selected to accompany him. feeling, as i do, great interest in obtaining a correct topographical, geographical, and military survey of our country, every encouragement, consistent with the means in my power, will be given by the department. to this end, general macomb will be ordered to afford you every facility you may require. i have, &c., j. c. calhoun. his excellency, lewis cass, detroit, m. t. iii. department of war, february , . sir: mr. schoolcraft, a gentleman of science and observation, and particularly skilled in mineralogy, has applied to me to be permitted to accompany you on your exploring tour upon lake superior. i have directed him to report to you, for that duty, under the belief that he will be highly useful to you, as well as serviceable to the government and the promotion of science. you will furnish him with the necessary supplies and accommodation while employed, and every facility necessary to enable him to obtain a knowledge of the mineralogy of the country as far as practicable. i have, &c., j. c. calhoun. his excellency, lewis cass, detroit. iv. detroit, march , . sir: i have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the th ult., inclosing a copy of a letter from giles sanford & co. their statement with respect to the discovery of plaster of paris upon one or more of the islands in the vicinity of michilimackinac, to which the indian title has not been extinguished, is correct. specimens of this plaster have been brought here, and it is reported, by competent judges, to be of the best and purest kind. the quantity is stated to be inexhaustible, and, as vessels generally return empty, or nearly so, from the upper lakes, it could be transported to any part of lake erie at a trifling expense. i have great doubts, however, whether it would be proper for the government to grant any permission to remove this plaster until the indian title to the land is extinguished. the power of granting permission for that purpose is not given in the "act to regulate trade and intercourse with the indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the frontiers," and appears, in fact, to be inconsistent with its general spirit and objects. to authorize these gentlemen to negotiate with the indians for such a permission, is contrary to the settled policy which has always been pursued by the united states. i know of no case in which individuals have been or should be permitted to hold any councils with the indians, except to procure the extinction of their title to lands, claimed under grants from one of the states. the application here must be to the tribe, because in all their land there is a community of interest, which cannot be severed or conveyed by the acts of individuals. but, independent of precedent, there are strong objections to this course in principle. if private persons are authorized to open such negotiations for any object, the government will find it very difficult to procure from the indians any cession of land upon reasonable terms. were these islands the property of the united states, i think it would be very proper to permit the plaster upon them to be removed by every person making application for that purpose. the supply being inexhaustible, the agricultural interest would be greatly promoted by such a measure, and the dependence upon a foreign country for this important article would be removed. i therefore take the liberty of recommending that a cession of these islands be procured by the united states from the indians. i presume that this may be done without the payment of any annuity to them, and without any expense, except, perhaps, a few trifling presents. the plaster would then be at the disposal of government, and its free distribution, under such regulations as might be adopted to prevent disputes between the adventurers, or a monopoly by any of them, would be equally proper and beneficial. very respectfully, sir, i have the honor to be your most obedient servant, lewis cass. hon. john c. calhoun, _secretary of war_. v. extract of a letter from the secretary of war to governor lewis cass, dated april , . sir: i have received your letters of the th, th, and th ultimo. in relation to procuring cessions of land from the indians, the government has decided that it would be inexpedient to obtain any farther extinguishment of indian title, except at the sault de st. marie, where it is the wish of the department, that an inconsiderable cession, not exceeding ten miles square (unless strong reasons for a greater cession should present themselves from an actual inspection of the country), should be acquired upon the most reasonable terms, so as to comprehend the proposed military position there. herewith you will receive a plate of the country about the sault de st. marie, on which is indicated the military site intended to be occupied for defence. you will also procure the cession of the islands containing plaster, provided these islands are clearly within the boundary of the united states, and can be obtained without any considerable expense. a commission, authorizing you to hold these treaties, will be forwarded to you in a few days. as it is desirable to know by what title the people at green bay and prairie du chien hold their lands, and whether or not the indian titles to those lands were extinguished by the french, at any period subsequent to their possession of the country (which is the impression of this department), you will communicate such information as you possess, or may obtain, during your tour, on this subject. in addition to mr. schoolcraft, captain douglass, of the engineer corps, has been ordered to join you, and mr. whitney (in whose behalf application has been made for that purpose) may accompany you, if you can accommodate him. should he accompany you, he will be allowed the same compensation made to mr. schoolcraft, who will be allowed one dollar and fifty cents a day for the time actually employed. vi. northern division. adjutant-general's office, th february, . (division order.) major-general macomb, commandant of the th military department, will, without delay, concentrate at detroit the th regiment of infantry, excepting the recruits otherwise directed by the general order herewith transmitted. as soon as the navigation of the lakes will admit, he will cause the regiment to be transported to fort howard; from thence, by the way of the fox and wisconsin rivers, to prairie du chien, and, after detaching a sufficient number of companies to garrison forts crawford and armstrong, the remainder will proceed to the mouth of the river st. peter's, where they will establish a post, at which the head-quarters of the regiment will be located. the regiment, previous to its departure, will receive the necessary supplies of clothing, provisions, arms, and ammunition. immediate application will be made to brigadier-general jesup, quartermaster-general, for funds necessary to execute the movements required by this order. by order of major-general brown. (signed) john e. wool, _inspector-general_. vii. assistant adjutant-general's office. detroit, april , . (department order.) the season having now arrived when the lakes may be navigated with safety, a detachment of the th regiment, to consist of major marston's and captain fowle's companies, under the command of major muhlenburg, will proceed to green bay. surgeon's mate r. m. byrne, of the th regiment, will accompany the detachment. the assistant deputy quartermaster-general will furnish the necessary transport, and will send by the same opportunity two hundred barrels of provisions, which he will draw from the contractor at this post. the provisions must be examined and inspected, and properly put up for transportation. colonel leavenworth will, without delay, prepare his regiment to move to the posts on the mississippi, agreeably to the division order of the th of february. the assistant deputy quartermaster-general will furnish the necessary transportation, to be ready by the first of may next. the colonel will make requisition for such stores, ammunition, tools, and implements as may be required, and he be able to take with him on the expedition. particular instructions will be given to the colonel, explaining the objects of his expedition. mr. melvin dorr is appointed inspector of provisions, and he will inspect all provisions intended for the use of the army, before they are received and issued. lieutenant brooks, of the d regiment will forward, by the first detachment, such recruits as he has for the companies of the d regiment at mackinac. by order of major-general macomb. (signed) chester root, _a. d. company, and actg. assist. adjt.-general_. narrative of the expedition. narrative of the expedition. chapter i. departure--considerations on visiting the northern summits early in the season--cross the highlands of the hudson--incidents of the journey from albany to buffalo--visit niagara falls--their grandeur the effect of magnitude--embark on board the steamer walk-in-the-water--passage up lake erie--reach detroit. the determination to penetrate to the source of the mississippi, during the summer months, made an early departure important. i had, while at potosi, in missouri, during the prior month of february, written to hon. j. b. thomas, u. s. s., washington, to endeavor to secure an appointment to explore the mineralogy and natural features of the upper mississippi river; and as soon as i had published my treatise on the mines and minerals of missouri, i proceeded to washington, and submitted to the proper officers of the government, my account of the mineralogical wealth of the western domains, with a plan for the management of the public mines. mr. calhoun decidedly favored these views; but, foreseeing the necessity of congressional action on the subject, and the necessary delays of departmental references, said to me, that he had just received a memoir from governor cass, of michigan, proposing an expedition to the source of the mississippi, to leave detroit early in the spring, and offered me the position of mineralogist and geologist on that service. this agreeing, as it did, with my prior views of exploring the public domains, i gladly accepted, and immediately returned to the city of new york to prepare for the journey. the year had commenced with severe weather, the hudson being frozen hard, as high as west point, on the st of january; and there was a fall of snow between the th and th of february, which laid four feet deep in the streets of new york. march opened with mildness, and every appearance denoted an early spring, which led me to hasten my movement north. i left new york on the th of march, in the citizens' post-coach, on sleighs, for albany, taking the route through westchester, and over the highlands of putnam and dutchess; sleeping at fishkill and kinderhook, the first and second nights, and reaching albany on the morning of the th, a distance of one hundred and sixty miles. this distance we made in forty hours actual travelling, averaging four miles per hour, incidental stops included, which is about the rate of travelling by the trekschuits of holland,[ ] and by sledges over the frozen grounds of russia.[ ] in crossing the highlands, some one, in the change of the stage-sleighs, pilfered a small box of choice minerals which i set store by; the thief thinking, probably, from the weight and looks of the box, which had been a banker's, that it was still filled with coin. we crossed the hudson from greenbush, in a boat drawn through a channel cut in the ice. snow still laid in the streets of albany, and a cold north wind presaged a change of temperature. next day there was a hail-storm from the northwest, with rain and sleet, and on the morning of the th, the hail lay six inches deep in the streets. in the evening, proceeded by stage to the city of schenectady, a distance of sixteen miles, across the arenaceous tract of the pine plains, by a turnpike, which forms the shorter line of a triangle, made by the junction of the mohawk with the hudson river. this tract is bounded southerly by the blue summits of the helderberg, a prominent spur of the catskill mountain. at schenectady, we experienced a night of severe cold, and the next day, at an early hour, i took a seat in the stage-sleigh for utica, which we reached at seven in the evening. the distance is ninety-six miles, which we passed in seventeen hours, going an average rate of five miles per hour. the road lies up the valley of the mohawk, a name which recalls the history of one of the most celebrated members of the iroquois, a confederacy of bold and indomitable tribes, who, at an early day, either pushed their conquests or carried the terror of their arms from the st. lawrence to the mississippi. [ ] professor f. hall. [ ] clarke's travels. the winter was still unbroken, and the weather had assumed so unpropitious an aspect, since leaving new york, that there was no probability of the navigation of the lakes being open so as to embark at buffalo before may. i proceeded seventeen miles west to my father's residence, in the village of vernon, to await the development of milder weather. on the th of april, i resumed my journey, taking the western stage, which had left utica at two o'clock in the morning. we lodged the first night at skeneateles, at the foot of the beautiful and sylvan lake of the same name, and reached geneva the next day, at one o'clock in the afternoon. the roads were now dry and dusty; indeed, the last traces of snow had been seen in sheltered positions, in passing through oneida county, and every appearance in the ontario country indicated a season ten days more advanced than the valley of the mohawk. the field poplar put forth leaves on the th, and apricots were in bloom on the d. at geneva i remained until the th of april, when i again took my seat in the mail-stage, passing, in the course of the day, the lower margin of canandaigua lake, and through the attractive and tastefully laid-out village of the same name, and, after continuing the route through a most fertile country, with a constantly expanding vegetation, reached avon, on the banks of the genesee river. here we slept. the next morning (the th), we crossed this noble stream, and, after a long and fatiguing day's staging, reached buffalo in the evening. i was now at an estimated distance of two hundred and ten miles west of utica, and three hundred and twenty-two from albany. we had found the peach and apple-tree in blossom, and the vegetation generally in an advanced state, until reaching within eight or ten miles of lake erie, where the force of the winds, and the bodies of floating ice, evidently had the effect to retard vegetation. no vessel had yet ventured from the harbor, and although the steamer walk-in-the-water was advertised for the st of may, it was determined to delay her sailing until the th. this gave me time to visit niagara[ ] falls, and some other places of historical interest in the neighborhood. this object i executed immediately, taking a horse and buggy, and keeping down the american shore. the distance is twenty-two miles, in which the tonewanda river is crossed by a bridge. the day was clear and warm, with a light breeze blowing down the river. i stopped several times to listen for the sound of the falls, but at the distance of fifteen, ten, eight, and even five miles, could not distinguish any; the course of the wind being, indeed, adverse to the transmission of sound, in that direction, until reaching within some two or three miles. there is nothing in the character of the country, in the approach from buffalo, to apprise the visitor of the difference in its level and geological stratification, and thus prepare the mind to expect a cataract. it is different, i afterwards learned, in the approach from lewiston, in which quite a mountain must first be ascended, when views are often had of the most striking parts of the gulf, which has been excavated by the passage of the niagara river. it was not easy for me to erect standards of comparison for the eye to estimate heights. the ear is at first stunned by the incessant roar, and the eye bewildered by the general view. i spent two days at the place, and thus became familiarized with individual traits of the landscape. i found the abyss at the foot of the falls to be the best spot for accomplishing that object. by far the greatest disproportion in the falls exists between the height and great width of the falling sheet. the water is most thick and massy at the horseshoe fall, which gives one the most striking and vivid idea of creative power. in fitting positions in the gulf, with good incidences of light, the falls look like a mighty torrent pouring down from the clouds. at the time of my visit, the wind drove immense fields of ice out of lake erie, with floating trees and other driftwood, but i never saw any vestiges of these below the falls. in front of the column of water falling on the american side, there stood an enormous pyramid of snow, or congealed spray. [ ] this is an iroquois word, said to signify the thunder of waters. the word, as pronounced by the senecas, is oniágarah. for additional information on this subject, see _notes on the iroquois_, p. . the etymology of the word has not, however, been fully examined. it is clear the pronunciation of the word in goldsmith's day was niagára. what has been said by goldsmith, and repeated by others, respecting the destructive influence of the rapids above to ducks and water-fowl is imaginary--at least, as to the american sheet. so far from it, i saw the wild ducks swim down the rapid, as if in pursuit of some article of food, and then rise and fly out at the brink, and repeat the descent, as if delighted with the gift of wings, which enabled them to sport over such frightful precipices without danger. i found among the debris in the abyss, pieces of hornstone, and crystals of calcareous spar, radiated quartz, sulphuret of zinc, and sulphate of lime. its geology is best explained by observing that the river, in falling over the precipice of the niagara ridge into the basin of lake ontario, leaps over horizontal strata of limestone, slate, and red sandstone. in this respect, nothing can be more simple and plain. it is magnitude alone that makes the cataract sublime. on returning to buffalo, i found the lake rapidly discharging its ice, which had been recently broken up by a storm of wind; and, while awaiting the motion of the steamer, i was joined by captain d. b. douglass, professor of engineering at west point, who had been appointed topographer and astronomer of the expedition. we embarked on the th of may, at nine o'clock in the morning, in the steamer walk-in-the-water, an elegant and conveniently-planned vessel, with a low-pressure fulton engine. this boat had been put upon the lake two years before, when it made a trip to michilimackinac, and was, indeed, the initial boat in the history of steam navigation on the lakes. we embarked at black rock, and it was necessary to use a tow-line, drawn by oxen on the shore, to enable the boat to ascend the rapids. this captain rodgers, a gentlemanly man, facetiously termed his hornbreeze. the oxen were dismissed a short distance before reaching the mouth of buffalo creek, where we reached the level of lake erie, five hundred and sixty feet above the tide-waters of the hudson river.[ ] we were favored with clear weather, and, a part of the time, with a fair wind. the boat touched at erie, at the mouth of grand river, at cleveland, and at portland, in sandusky bay, on coming out of which we passed cunningham island, and the put-in-bay islands, from a harbor in which perry issued to achieve his memorable naval victory on the th of september, . passing through another group of islands, called the three sisters, we entered the mouth of the detroit river late on the afternoon of the th, just as the light became dim and shadowy. the scale of these waters is magnificent. [ ] report of the new york canal commissioners. we had a glimpse of the town and fort of malden, or amherstburg, and of boisblanc, and gross isle, which were the last objects distinctly seen in our ascent. the boat pushed on her way, under the guidance of good pilots, although the night was dark, and we reached our destination, and came to, at the city of detroit, at twelve o'clock p. m., thus completing the passage in sixty-two hours. the next morning, an official from the executive of the michigan territory came on board with inquiries respecting captain douglass and myself, and we soon found ourselves in a circle where we were received with marked respect and attention. it was pleasing to behold that this respect arose, in a great degree, from the high interest which was manifested, in all classes, for the objects of the expedition, and the influence which its exploratory labors were expected to have on the development of the resources and prosperity of the country at large. general cass, who was to lead the expedition, received us cordially, and let us know that we were in season, as some days would still elapse before the preparations could be completed, and that the canoes in which we were to travel had not yet reached detroit. we were also cordially welcomed by general macomb, commanding the military district, major john biddle, commanding officer of the fort, and by the citizens generally. i was now, by the computations, about seven hundred and fifty miles from my starting-point at new york. we took up our lodgings at the old stone house occupied by major whipple, which, from its prominent position on the banks of the river, had sustained a random cannonade during the late war. we were here introduced to dr. alexander wolcot, who filled the post of physician to the expedition, and to lieutenant eneas mackey, united states artillery, commanding the escort, major robert a. forsyth, private secretary of the executive, and commissary of the expedition, and superintendent of embarkation; and to james d. doty and charles c. trowbridge, esqs., who occupied, respectively, the situations of official secretary and assistant topographer. detroit, the point to which i have now been conducted, is eligibly situated on the south bank of the straits of the same name, and enjoys the advantage of a regular plan and spacious streets, which have been introduced since the burning of the old french town in , not a building of which, within the walls, was saved. its main street, jefferson avenue, is elevated about forty feet above the river. the town consists of about two hundred and fifty houses of all descriptions, public and private, and has a population of fourteen hundred and fifty,[ ] exclusive of the garrison. [ ] the census of detroit in gives it , . to the historian it is a point of great interest. it was the site of an indian village called teuchsagondie in , the date of the landing of the pilgrims at plymouth. quebec was founded in ; albany in . but no regular settlement or occupancy took place here, till the close of the seventeenth century. in june, , the french took formal possession of the straits by erecting the arms of france. on the th of july, , m. cadillac established the first military post. charlevoix, who landed here in , found it the site of fort pontchartrain. in the garrison, being then under british colors, sustained a notable siege from the confederate indians under pontiac. it remained under english rule till the close of the american revolution, and was not finally surrendered to the united states until , the year following wayne's treaty at greenville. surrendered by hull in , it was reoccupied by general harrison in october, . it received a city charter th october, . indeed, the prominent civil and military events of which detroit has been the theatre, confer on it a just celebrity, and it is gratifying to behold that to these events it adds the charm of a beautiful local site and fertile surrounding country. a cursory view of the map of the united states, will indicate its importance as a central military and commercial position. situated on the great chain of lakes, connecting with the waters of the ohio, mississippi, st. lawrence, hudson, and red river of the north, and communicating with the atlantic at so many points, and with a harbor free of entrance at all times, its business capacities and means of expansion are very great. and when the natural channels of communication of the great lake chain shall be improved, it will afford a choice of markets between the most distant points of the atlantic seaboard. it is thus destined to be to the regions of the northwest, what st. louis is rapidly becoming to the southwest, the seat of its commerce, the repository of its wealth, and the grand focus of its moral, political, and physical energies.[ ] [ ] michigan. this territory contained, at this period, a population of , inhabitants, principally frenchmen, who were the descendants of the original settlers of the time of louis xiv. in , the population had so increased, chiefly by emigration from the older states, that the inhabitants applied for admission into the union. the act of congress admitting it was passed in . in , it had , souls. by the seventh national census, in , it is shown to have a population of , , entitling it to four representatives in congress, with a large fraction. its resources, its healthful climate, fertile soil, and very advantageous position on the great chain of navigable waters of the upper lakes, must insure a rapid development of its means and resources, and place the state, in a few years, in a high rank among the circle of american states. chapter ii. preparations for the expedition--constitution of the party--mode of travel in canoes--embarkation, and incidents of the journey across the lake, and up the river st. clair--head winds encountered on lake huron--point aux barques--cross saganaw bay--delays in ascending the huron coast--its geology and natural history--reach michilimackinac. from the moment of our arrival at detroit, we devoted ourselves, with intensity, to the preparation necessary for entering the wilderness. we were to travel, from this point, by a new mode of conveyance, namely, the indian bark canoe, called a chimaun, a vehicle not less novel than curious. constructed of large and thick sheets of the rind of the betula papyracea, or northern birch, which are cut in garment-like folds, and sewed together with the thin fibrous roots of the spruce, on a thin framework of cedar ribs, and having gunwales, with a sheathing of the same material, interposed between the bark and ribs. the seams are carefully gummed with the pitch of the pine. the largest of these canoes are thirty-six feet in length, and seven feet wide in the centre, tapering to a point each way. they carry a mast and sail, and are steered and propelled with light cedar paddles. they are at once light, so as to be readily carried over the portages, and so strong as to bear very considerable burdens. those intended for us, were ordered from the chippewas of lake huron, near saganaw bay. it was necessary to have mosquito-bars, portfolios, knapsacks, and various contrivances, and to make baggage of every sort assume the least possible bulk and space. the public armorer had orders to furnish me suitable hammers and other minerological apparatus for preparing and packing specimens. the expedition was quite an event in a remote town, and everybody seemed to take an interest in the preparation. a fortnight passed away in these preparations, and in awaiting the arrival of the canoes, respecting which there was some delay. it was the th of may before we were ready to embark. besides the gentlemen mentioned as constituting the travelling party, ten canadian _voyageurs_ were taken to manage the canoes, ten united states soldiers to serve as an escort, and ten ottowa, chippewa, and shawnee indians to act as hunters, under the directions of james riley, an anglo-american, and joseph parks, a shawnee captive (at present, head chief of the shawnee nation), as interpreters. this canoe contained a chief called kewaygooshkum, a sedate and respectable man, who, a year afterwards, played an important part at the treaty of chicago. the grand point of departure and leave-taking, was at grose point, at the foot of lake st. clair, a spot nine miles distant. for this point, horses and carriages, with the numerous friends of gov. cass, pushed forward at an early hour; and there was as much enthusiasm manifested, by all classes, as if a new world was about to be discovered. i had a strong wish to witness the mode of canoe travelling, and, declining an opportunity to join the cavalcade by land, took my seat beside major forsyth in the governor's canoe. the canadians immediately struck up one of their animating canoe songs, the military escort at the same moment displayed its flag and left the shore, and the auxiliary indians, fired with the animation of the scene, handled their paddles briskly, and shot their canoe rapidly by us. a boat-race was the consequence. the indians at first kept their advantage, but the firmer and more enduring nerves of the canadians soon began to tell on our speed, and as we finally passed them, the indians gracefully yielded the contest. we were two hours in going to grose point, with the wind slightly ahead. the banks of the river detroit present continuous settlements, in which the appearance of large old orchards and windmills, among farm-houses and smooth cultivated fields, reminds the visitor that the country has been long settled. and he will not be long in observing, by the peculiarity of architecture, dress, manners, and language, that the basis of the population is french. we found our land party had preceded us, and as the winds were adverse, we encamped in linen tents along the open shore. the next day the wind increased, blowing quite a gale down the lake. i busied myself by making some meteorological and geological observations. the shores of lake st. clair are formed of a fertile alluvium, resting on drift. there are some heavy boulders of primitive rock resting on this, which denote a vast field of former drift action around the shores of these lakes. the wind abated about eleven o'clock on the morning of the th, when the men commenced loading the canoes. it was twelve before we embarked. the mode of their embarkation is peculiar. the canoes, when laden, are hauled out in deep water; the men then catch up the sitters on their backs, and deposit them in their respective seats; when this was done, they struck up one of their animated songs, and we glided over the smooth surface of the lake with rapidity, holding our course parallel with its shores, generally, until reaching a prominent point of land near huron river.[ ] [ ] now called clinton river, a change made by act of legislature, the frequent repetition of this name by the french having been found inconvenient in the lake geography. . from point huron we crossed the lake, to reach the central mouth of the st. clair river, thereby saving a tedious circuit; by the time we had half accomplished the transit, we encountered a head wind, which put the strength of the men severely to the test, and retarded our reaching the mouth of the river till dark. the river st. clair has several mouths, which branch off above through a broad delta, creating large islands. these channels discharge a vast amount of argillaceous drift and mud, which has so far filled up the lake itself, that there is anchorage, i believe, in every part of it; and the principal ship channel is scooped, by the force of the current, out of a very compact blue clay--the geological residuum of ancient formations of clay-slates in the upper country. the shores are often but a few inches _above_, and often a few inches _below_ the surface, where they give origin to a growth of reeds, flags, and other aquatic plants, which remind the traveller of similar productions at the balize of the mississippi. in this nilotic region, myriads of water-fowls find a favorite resort. to us, however, these jets of alluvial formation, bearing high grass and rushes were as so many friendly arms stretched out to shelter us from the wind; but they were found to be so low and wet, that we were compelled to urge our way through them, in search of a dry encampment, till within two hours of midnight. this brought us to the upper end of lawson's island, where we arrived, wet, weary, and cold. we had advanced about twenty-five miles, having been ten hours, in a cramped posture, in our canoes. this initial day's journey was calculated to take away the poetry of travel from the amateurs of our party, and to let us all know, that there were toils in our way that required to be conquered. we slept little this night, and waited for daylight and sunrise, as if the blessed luminary would have an animating effect upon our actual condition. we again embarked at seven o'clock in the morning. we now stowed away things with more handiness than at the first embarkation, and we began, ourselves, to feel a little more at home in this species of voyaging. we had three canoes in our little squadron provided with masts and sails, and a small united states pennant to each, so that the brigade, when in motion, and led, as it usually was, by the chanting canoemen, had a formidable and animated appearance. the river st. clair is a broad and noble stream, and impressed us as justifying the highest encomiums bestowed on it by charlevoix, la hontan, and other early french travellers. we ascended it thirty miles, which brought us to fort gratiot, at the foot of the rapid which marks the outlet of lake huron. in this distance, we passed, at separate places, nine vessels at anchor, being detained by head winds, and encountered several chippewa and ottowa canoes, each of which were generally occupied by a single family, with their females, blankets, guns, fishing apparatus, and dogs. they evinced the most friendly disposition. in landing at oak point,[ ] i observed a green snake (coluber æstivus) in the act of swallowing a frog, which he had succeeded in taking down, except the extremity of its hind legs. a blow was sufficient to relieve the frog, which still had sufficient animation to hop towards the river. the snake i made to pay the forfeit of his life. [ ] now the site of algonac. at fort gratiot, we were received by major cummins, u. s. a., who occupied the post with sixty men. the expedition was received with a salute, which is due to the governor of a territory. two soldiers who were sickly, were here returned, and five able-bodied men received to supply their places, thus increasing the aggregate of the party to forty persons.[ ] [ ] to cover any arrangements of this kind, general orders had been issued by gen. macomb, to the commandants of the western posts. the banks of the river st. clair are wholly alluvial or diluvial. there is not a particle of rock in place. one idea presses itself prominently to notice, in reflecting on the formation of the country. it is the vast quantum of clay, mixed drift, and boulders, which have evidently been propelled, by ancient forces, down these straits, and afterwards arranged themselves according to affinities, or gravitation. at the precipitous banks between the inlet of black river and fort gratiot, this action has been so clearly within the erratic block period of de la buck, that it has imbedded prostrate forest-trees, and even freshwater shells, beneath the heavy stratum of sand, resting immediately upon the fundamental clay beds, upon which the city of detroit, and indeed the alluvions of the entire straits rest.[ ] we again encountered at this place, blocks of the primitive or crystalline boulders, which were first seen at grosse point. there are some traces of iron sand along the shore of this river, the only mineral body, indeed, which has thus rewarded my examinations. [ ] in the artesian borings for water, undertaken by mr. lucius lyon, at detroit, in , these clay beds were found to be one hundred and fifteen feet deep.--vide _historical and scientific sketches of michigan_, p. . we left our encampment, at fort gratiot, at eight o'clock next morning. a strong and deep rapid is immediately encountered, up which, however, vessels having a good wind find no difficulty in making their way. on surmounting this, we found ourselves on the level of lake huron. the lake here bursts upon the view in one of those magnificent landscapes which are peculiar to this region. nature has everywhere operated on the grandest scale. wide ocean expanses and long lines of shore spread before the eye, which gazes admiringly on the broad and often brilliant horizon, and then turns, for something to rest on, along the shore. long ridges of gravel, sand, and boulders, meet it here. beyond and above this storm-battered beach, are fringes of woods, or banks of clay. the monotony of travelling by unvaried scenes is relieved by an occasional song of the boatmen, or an occasional landing--by changes of forest-trees--of the wind, or flights of the gull, duck, plover, and other birds; but the traveller, is apt, before evening comes, to fancy himself very much in the position of a piece of merchandise which is transported from place to place. glad were we when night approached, and the order to encamp was heard. it was estimated we had advanced thirty-five miles. on passing along the huron coast about fifteen miles, a bank of dark clay is encountered, which has an elevation of thirty or forty feet, and extends six or eight miles. we soon after came to the white rock--an enormous detached mass, or boulder of transition,[ ] or semi-crystalline limestone. it is a noted landmark for _voyageurs_ and travellers, and an equally celebrated place of offerings by the indians. i requested to be landed on it, and detached some specimens. geologically, it is a member of the erratic block group, and we must look for its parent bed at a more westerly point. there is no formation of limestone, in this quarter, to which it can be referred. it bears marks of attrition, which shows that it has been rubbed against other hard bodies; and if transported down the lake on ice, it is necessary to consider these marks as pre-existing at the era of its removal. [ ] this term has disappeared from the geological vocabulary under the researches of sir roderick j. murchison, mr. lyell, and other distinguished generalizers. on embarking in the morning, the wind was slightly ahead, which continued during the forenoon, changing in the after-part of the day, so that we were able to hoist sail. about four o'clock the weather became cloudy and hazy, the wind increasing, at the same time attended with thunder and lightning. a storm was rapidly gathering, and the lake became so much agitated that we immediately effected a landing, which was not done without some difficulty, on a shallow and dangerous shore, thickly strewn with boulders. we pitched our tents on a small peninsula, or narrow neck of land, covered with beautiful forest-trees, which was nearly separated from the main shore. shortly after our arrival a vessel hove in sight, and anchored on the same dangerous lee shore. we were in momently expectation of her being driven from her moorings, but were happily relieved, the next morning, to observe that she had rode out the storm. the lake was still too rough on the following day, and the wind too high, to permit our embarking. we made an excursion inland. the country proved low, undulatory, and swampy. the forest consisted of hemlock, birch, ash, oak, and maple, with several species of mosses, which gave it a cold, bleak character. the margin of the forest was skirted with the bulrush, briza canadensis, and other aquatic plants. the whole day passed, a night, and another day, with nothing but the loud sounding lake roar in our ears. a heavy bed of the erratic block formation commences at this point, and continues to point aux barques, the eastern cape of saganaw bay. in one of these displaced masses--a boulder of mica slate, i discovered well-defined crystals of staurotide. this formed my second mineralogical acquisition.[ ] there were, also, some striking water-worn masses of granitical and hornblende porphyry. [ ] in passing along this coast in , an indian picked up, in shallow water, a small boulder imbedding a mass of native silver. breaking off the most prominent mass, he still observed the metal forming veins in the rock, and brought both specimens to an officer of the british indian department at amherst (lieut. lewis s. johnson), who presented them to me. this discovery is described in the _annals of the new york lyceum of natural history_, vol. i. part , page . it was the st of june before we could leave the spot where we had been confined. we embarked at six o'clock, the lake being sufficiently pacific, though not yet settled. but after proceeding about a league, it again became agitated, and drove us ashore, where we lay without encamping. kewaygushkum was requested to send some of his young men in quest of game. the soldiers and engagees also formed fishing parties, at a contiguous river; but about three o'clock in the afternoon all the parties returned completely unsuccessful. there was neither fish nor game to be had. at the same time the agitation of the lake ceased, the wind springing up from an opposite quarter, which enabled us to hoist sail. this put every one in a pleasant humor, and we proceeded along the coast till evening, and encamped on a small sandy bay, which puts into the land, immediately beyond the promontory of point aux barques--an estimated distance of twenty-five miles from our starting-point in the morning. at the distance of a league before reaching this point, the first stratum of rock, _in situ_, presents itself. it is a gray friable sandstone, elevated from ten to twenty feet above the water, but attaining a greater height in the approach to this noted cape. this stratum of sandstone rock, which is of a perishable character, is exposed to receive the shock of the waves of lake huron for several hundred miles from the north and west. it exhibits the force and fury of the lake action by the numerous cavities which have been worn into it, at the water's edge, and by the sub-bays which have, in some localities, been formed in the line of dark opposing cliffs. it was in one of these sub-bays that we encamped, on a smooth sandy beach, which appears to have been a favorite encamping ground of the natives. but although we had met several canoes of chippewas, on the route between fort gratiot and this point, none were found at the place of our encampment. such of them as we approached, on the lake, were invariably in want of food, and received it with evident marks of gratification. on going inland, back from our encampment, we found a succession of arid ridges of sand, which had been evidently produced by the prostrated sandstone of the coast, which, after comminution by the waves, had been carried to this position by the winds. these ancient dunes and ridges were covered sparsely with pitch pines and aspen, and having their surfaces covered with the uva ursi, pyrola, and smaller shrub-growth common to arenaceous soils. on the day following, we ascended along the eastern shores of saganaw bay, a distance of eighteen miles, which brought us to point aux chenes. at this place the guides pointed to a group of islands about midway of the bay, for which we steered. the calmness of the weather favored the traverse. we reached and landed on the largest of the group, called shawangunk, by the indians, probably from its southernmost position. i found it to consist of a dark, compact limestone, imbedding masses of chalcedony and calcareous spar. i also picked up a detached mass of argillaceous oxide of iron, and some fragments of striped hornstone. anxious to improve the favorable time for effecting the passage, we pushed on for the opposite western shore, which was safely reached. we then steered down the bay, skirting a low sandy shore some twenty miles or more, till entering the open lake, and reaching the river aux sables. on entering this river, and after having pitched our camp, we were visited by a band of chippewa indians, with friendly salutations. it appeared that the arrival of the expedition had been anticipated by them, they having themselves constructed and furnished the canoes for it, and being well acquainted with the official position, at detroit, of the leader of our party. the principal chief, the black eagle, addressed a speech to governor cass, in which he appropriately recognized these relations, welcomed him to his village, and recommended the condition of his people to his notice. the calumet was then smoked in the usual style of indian ceremony, the pipe-bearer beginning with persons of first rank, and handing it in the supposed order of grade, to the lowest member of the official family. the ceremony was ended by shaking of hands. all this was done with the ease and dignity of an oriental sheikh. we had anticipated savages, and savage manners, and armed ourselves to the teeth, pushing a point with an army official at detroit, until we were each provided with a short rifle. but this first formal council with the sons of the forest, began to open our eyes to the true character of the indian manners and diplomacy, in their intercourse with government officials. the chiefs, after their departure, sent to our encampment a present of fresh sturgeon, a species which is caught abundantly in the aux sables at this time, for which returns were made of such articles as were most acceptable to them. being out of the bay, we employed the following day making advances along the huron coast, an estimated distance of forty-eight miles. in this distance, we passed thunder bay. encamped on a low, calcareous shore, bearing cedar and spruce, which the indians call sho-she-ko-naw-be-ko-king, or flat rock point. a few miles after leaving river aux sables, the highlands of sables present themselves at a short distance back from the shore. this ridge, which is a landmark for mariners, runs from southeast to northwest, and is visible as far as thunder bay. the limestone, which is dark and of an earthy fracture, is very much broken up on the shore, and contains various species of organic remains. on crossing the bay, we landed on an island covered with debris, where we observed one of those imitative, water-worn, primitive boulders, resembling altars, which are frequently set up by the indians as the places of depositing some offering, or out of mere respect for some local god. at six o'clock the next morning we were again in our canoes, assiduously moving along the huron coast; but, after proceeding about a league, a storm of wind and rain suddenly arose, driving us from the lake. a few hours served to restore its calmness, but we had not gone over a couple of leagues when we were again compelled by the rising wind to take to the shore, where we were detained the rest of the day, listening to the capricious murmurs of the lake. this position was directly opposite middle island, a noted anchorage about six miles distant. all night the waves of the lake were heard. the morning broke without change. lake huron still evinced an angry aspect, threatening to renew the struggle of yesterday. it was concluded to send the canoes forward, relieved of our weight, and proceed ourselves on foot along the beach. walking on this became difficult on those parts of it where the fossiliferous and shelly limestone had been broken up and heaped in small fragments. among these, we recognized specimens of the cornu-ammonis, and the maderpore, with some other species. the cedars and brushy growth generally stood so thick, and grew so closely to this line of debris, that it was impracticable to take the woods. the toil, however, rewarded us with some specimens of the organic forms imbedded in the rock, while it enabled the topographers to secure the data for a very perfect map of the coast. at ten o'clock in the morning we reached the east cape of presque isle bay, where the canoes came to take us across to the peninsula of that name. after completing this, the men landed the canoes and baggage on the peninsula side, and carried them across the narrow sandy neck of land; but, on reaching the open lake beyond it, the wind was found too strongly adverse to permit embarkation. the canadians have the not inappropriate term of _degrade_ for this species of detention; we were here foiled, indeed, in our high hopes of pushing ahead, and compelled to wait on the naked sands for many weary hours. while thus detained, the indians brought in a brown rabbit,[ ] a species of lake tortoise, and some pigeons, being their only fruits of success in hunting, except a single grouse, or partridge, which had crowned their efforts since leaving detroit. it must be borne in mind, however, that there has been very little opportunity for hunting, that we have had abundant supplies, and that our mode of travelling is such as to alarm all game within sound of our track. they have, indeed, brought reports at several points of seeing the footprints of the deer and black bear, but they have not had the leisure to pursue them. [ ] this is presumed to be a variety of the american hare, and may be distinguished by the following characters: body eighteen inches long; color of the hair grayish-brown on the back, grayish-white beneath. neck and body rusty and cenerous. legs pale rust color. tail short, brown above, white beneath. hind legs longest, and callous a short distance from the paws up. ears tipped with black. covering of the body rusty fur, beneath long coarse hair. probable weight six pounds. at five o'clock, the wind abated so much as to permit embarkation, and our canoemen hastened forward with the intention of travelling all night, but at eleven o'clock it freshened to such a degree, and at the same time became so intensely dark, that we were compelled to land and encamp. neither the topography, mineralogy, or any branch of the physical geography of a country can be ascertained without minute examination; and this constitutes, indeed, the object of the investigations, which have been, thus far, so toilsomely pursued against adverse winds since the commencement of the expedition; but they have disclosed facts which reveal the true structure and physical history of this bleak, ungenial coast; this hope serves, every day, to give new impetus to the voyage. another day along the huron coast. it was now the th of june. the _voyageurs_ began now to manifest great anxiety to reach michilimackinac, and had their canoes in the water at a very early hour. we all participated in this feeling, and saw with pleasure the long lines of sandy shores, strewed with boulders and pebbles, that were swiftly passed. we had traced about forty miles of the coast when we reached the foot of bois blanc island, and pushed over the intervening arm of the lake to get its south or lee shore. this was a labor of hazard, as the wind was directly ahead, and drove the waves into the canoes. when accomplished, we had the shelter of this island for twelve miles, till reaching its southwest part. we then passed, due north, between it and isle ronde, which brought the wind again ahead. but the men had not kept this course long, when michilimackinac, with its picturesque and imposing features, burst upon our view. nothing can present a more refreshing and inspiring landscape. from that moment the _voyageurs_ appeared to disregard the wind. striking into the water with bolder paddles, and opening one of their animating boat-songs, all thought of past toils was forgotten, and, urged forward with a new impetus, we entered the handsome little crescent-shaped harbor at four o'clock. the expedition was received with a salute from the fort, in command of capt. b. k. pierce, u. s. a.,[ ] in compliment to the governor of the territory, and we landed amid the congratulations of the citizens, who pressed forward to welcome us. [ ] of this officer, who was a brother of franklin pierce, president of the united states, gardner's _army dictionary_ gives the following notice: benjamin k. pierce (n. h.), first lieutenant third artillery, march, ; adjutant, ; captain, october, ; retained may , in artillery; in fourth artillery, may ; major ten years fa. service, oct. , ; major first artillery, june , (lieutenant-colonel eighth infantry, july , , declined); brevet lieutenant-colonel "for distinguished service in affair at fort drane," aug. , (oct. ), in which he commanded: colonel regular creek mounted volunteers, in florida war, oct. ; lieutenant-colonel first artillery, march , . died april , , at new york. thus terminated the first part of our journey, after a tedious voyage of fourteen days, in which we had encountered a series of almost continued head-winds and foul weather. the distance by ship is usually estimated at three hundred miles; by following the indentations of the coast, and entering saganaw bay, we found it three hundred and sixty.[ ] we found the huron coast, to the line of which our observations were limited, bearing, in its vegetation, indubitable marks of its exposure to the northern winds. as a section of the lake geology, it is simple and instructive, exhibiting strata of sandstone and non-crystalline and fossiliferous limestone in horizontal positions, without the slightest disturbance in their dip or inclinations. its mineralogy is scanty, being nearly confined, so far as observed, to some common silicious minerals, and traces of argillaceous and magnetic oxides of iron. the erratic block-stratum or drift, is remarkable, and prepares the mind for the still heavier accumulations of this kind which are perceived to be spread over the northern latitudes.[ ] [ ] among the erratic block or drift stratum, i observed on the south huron coast singularly striking, round fragments of white quartz, imbedding red fragments of coarse jasper; a rock, which i afterwards found in places on the south end of sugar island, in st. mary's straits, which lies directly north of the general position, and may serve as a proof of the course of the drift. [ ] _vide_ geo. report, appendix. chapter iii. description of michilimackinac--prominent scenery--geology--arched rock--sugarloaf rock--history--statistics--mineralogy--skull cave--manners--its fish, agriculture, moral wants--ingenious manufactures of the indians--fur trade--etymology of the word--antique bones disclosed in the interior of the island. nothing can exceed the beauty of this island. it is a mass of calcareous rock, rising from the bed of lake huron, and reaching an elevation of more than three hundred feet above the water. the waters around are purity itself. some of its cliffs shoot up perpendicularly, and tower in pinnacles like ruinous gothic steeples. it is cavernous in some places; and in these caverns, the ancient indians, like those of india, have placed their dead. portions of the beach are level, and adapted to landing from boats and canoes. the harbor, at its south end, is a little gem. vessels anchor in it, and find good holding. the little old-fashioned french town nestles around it in a very primitive style. the fort frowns above it, like another alhambra, its white walls gleaming in the sun. the whole area of the island is one labyrinth of curious little glens and valleys. old green fields appear, in some spots, which have been formerly cultivated by the indians. in some of these there are circles of gathered-up stones, as if the druids themselves had dwelt here. the soil, though rough, is fertile, being the comminuted materials of broken-down limestones. the island was formerly covered with a dense growth of rock-maples, oaks, ironwood, and other hard-wood species, and there are still parts of this ancient forest left, but all the southern limits of it exhibit a young growth. there are walks and winding paths among its little hills, and precipices of the most romantic character. and whenever the visitor gets on eminences overlooking the lake, he is transported with sublime views of a most illimitable and magnificent water prospect. if the poetic muses are ever to have a new parnassus in america, they should inevitably fix on michilimackinac. hygeia, too, should place her temple here, for it has one of the purest, driest, clearest, and most healthful atmospheres. we remained encamped upon this lovely island six days, while awaiting the arrival of supplies and provisions for the journey, or their being prepared for transportation by hand over the northern portages. meats, bread, indian corn, and flour, had to be put in kegs, or stout linen bags. the traders and old citizens said so much about the difficulties and toils of these northern portages that we did not know but what we, ourselves, were to be put in bags; but we escaped that process. this delay gave us the opportunity of more closely examining the island. it is about three and a half miles long, two in its greatest width, and nine in circumference. the site of fort holmes, the apex, is three hundred and twelve feet above the lake. the eastern margin consists of precipitous cliffs, which, in many places, overhang the water, and furnish a picturesque rocky-fringe, as it were, to the elevated plain. the whole rock formation is calcareous. it exhibits the effects of a powerful diluvial action at early periods, as well as the continued influence of elemental action, still at work. large portions of the cliffs have been precipitated upon the beach, where the process of degradation has been carried on by the waves. a most striking instance of such precipitations is to be witnessed at the eastern cliff, called robinson's folly, which fell, by its own gravitation, within the period of tradition. the formation, at this point, formerly overhung the beach, commanding a fine view of the lake and islands in all directions, in consequence of which it was occupied with a summer-house, by the officers of the british garrison, after the abandonment of the old peninsular fort, about . the mineralogical features of the island are not without interest. i examined the large fragments of debris, which are still prominent, and which exhibit comparatively fresh fractures. the rock contains a portion of sparry matter, which is arranged in reticulæ, filled with white carbonate of lime, in such a state of loose disintegration that the weather soon converts it to the condition of agaric mineral. these reticulæ are commonly in the slate of calcspar, crystallized in minute crystals. the stratum on which this loose formation rests is compact and firm, and agrees in structure with the encrinal limestone of drummond island and the manitouline chain. but the vesicular stratum, which may be one hundred and ten or twenty feet thick, has been deposited in such a condition that it has not had, in some localities, firmness enough permanently to sustain itself. the consequence is, that the table-land has caved in, and exhibits singular depressions, or grass-covered, cup-shaped cavities, which have no visible outlet for the rain-water that falls in them, unless it percolates through the shelly strata. portions of it, subject to this structure, have been pressed off during changing seasons, by frosts, and carried away by rains, creating that castellated appearance of pinnacles, which gives so much peculiarity to the rocky outlines of the island. the arched rock is an isolated mass of self-sustaining rock, on the eastern facade of cliffs; it offers one of those coincidences of geological degradation in which the firmer texture of the silicious and calcareous portions of it have, thus far, resisted decomposition. its explanation, is, however, simple: the apex of this geological monument is on a level, or nearly so, with the fort holmes summit. while the diluvial action, of which the whole island gives striking proofs, carried away the rest of the reticulated or magnesian limestone, this singular point, having a firmer texture, resisted its power, and remains to tell the visitor who gazes at it, that waters have once held dominion over the highest part of the island. before dismissing the subject of the geological phenomena of this island, it may be observed that it is covered with the erratic block or drift stratum. primitive or crystalline pebbles and boulders are found, but not plentifully, on the surface. they are observed, however, on the highest summit, and upon the lower plain; one of the best localities of these boulders, exists on the depressed ground, leading north, in the approach to dousman's farm, where there is a remarkable accumulation of blocks of granite and hornblende drift boulders. the principal drift of the island consists of smooth, small, calcareous pebbles, and, at deeper positions, angular fragments of limestone. sandstone boulders are not rare. over the plain leading from the fort north by way of the skull rock, are spread extensive beds of finely comminuted calcareous gravel, the particles of which often not exceeding the size of a buck-shot, which makes one of the most solid and compact natural macadamized roads of which it is possible to conceive. carriage wheels on it run as smoothly, but far more solid, than they could over a plank floor. this formation appears to be the diluvial residuum or ultimate wash, which arranged itself agreeably to the laws of its own gravitation, on the recession of the watery element, to which its comminution is clearly due. it would be worth transportation, in boxes, for gravelling ornamental garden-walks. the soil of the island is highly charged with the calcareous element, and, however barren in appearance, is favorable to vegetation. potatoes have been known to be raised in pure beds of small limestone pebbles, where the seed potatoes had been merely covered in a slight way, to shield them from the sun, until they had taken root. the historical reminiscences connected with this island are of an interesting character. it appears from concurrent testimony, that the old town on the peninsula was settled about ,[ ] which was seven years before the building of fort niagara. in that year, father marquette, a french missionary, prevailed on a party of hurons to locate themselves at that spot, and it was therefore the first point of settlement made northwest of fort frontenac, on lake ontario. it was probably first garrisoned by la salle, in , and continued to be the seat of the fur trade, and in many respects, the metropolis of the extreme northwest, during the whole period of french domination in the canadas. after the fall of quebec, in , it passed by treaty to the british government, but much against the wishes of the indian tribes, who retained a strong partiality for their early friends, the french. pontiac arose at this time, to dispute the english authority in the northwest, and with confederates projected a series of bold attacks upon the forts extending from the ohio to this post. most of these were successful, but he was defeated at detroit, where he commanded in person, after a series of extraordinary movements. while he was pressing the siege of the garrison, he enjoined neutrality upon the french inhabitants, who were nevertheless called on to furnish cattle and corn for the subsistence of his warriors. it is remarked on good authority that, for these supplies, he issued evidences of debt. when general bradstreet marched to the relief of the fort, with an army of three thousand men, the spirit and laconic temper of the warrior were at the same time evinced. he sent a deputation of chiefs to meet the herald of the british general, at maumee, with the laconic and symbolic message: "i stand in the path." [ ] neither fort niagara nor fort ponchartrain (at the present site of detroit) were then in existence. the foundation of the former was laid by la salle, in ; the latter had not been erected when la hontan passed through the country, in .--_herriot's travels through canada_, p. . the execution of the plan of attack on old fort mackinac appears to have been intrusted to minnawanna, a chippewa chief, who, in addition to his own people, was aided by the sacs. the ottowas afterwards expressed displeasure in not having been admitted to a participation in the attack. the plan was ingeniously laid. the king's birthday, the th of june ( ), having arrived, the chippewas and sacs turned out to play, for a high wager, at ball. many of the garrison, and the commanding officer himself, came out to witness the sport; and there was such a feeling of security that the gates of the fort were left open. to put the troops more off their guard, the ball had been thrown over the picket, and when once there, it was natural that it should be followed by the opposite parties, heated with the contest and eager for victory. but this artifice was the accomplishment of the plan. the war-whoop was immediately sounded, and an indiscriminate slaughter commenced. a few moments of intense anxiety ensued. they were passed by the officers eagerly listening for the roll of the drum. but they were passed in disappointment. there was no call of this kind to concentrate resistance. panic and slaughter raged in their most fearful forms. none were spared who were deemed friendly to the english interest but such as were effectually secreted. some of the soldiers who escaped the first onset, were incarcerated in a room, where they were sacrificed to glut the vengeance of a chief, who did not arrive till the principal work of slaughter had been accomplished. this event sealed the fate of the old fort and the town on the peninsula. the british afterwards took possession of the island, which had served to give name to the peninsular fort. the town was gradually removed, by pulling down the buildings, and transporting the timber to the island, till there was not a building or fixture left; and the site is now as silent and deserted as if it had never been the scene of an active resident population. the island of michilimackinac appears to have been occupied first as a military position by the british, about , say some seven years after the massacre of the garrison of the old peninsular fort of the same name. wherever michilimackinac is mentioned in the missionary letters or history of this period, it is the ancient fort, on the apex of the michigan peninsula, that is alluded to. the present town is pleasantly situated around a little bay that affords good clay anchorage and a protection from west and north winds. it has a very antique and foreign look, and most of the inhabitants are, indeed, of the canadian type of the french. the french language is chiefly spoken. it consists of about one hundred and fifty houses and some four hundred and fifty permanent inhabitants. it is the seat of justice for the most northerly county of michigan. according to the observation of lieut. evelith, the island lies in north latitude ° ´, which is only twenty-three minutes north of montreal, as stated by prof. silliman.[ ] it is in west longitude ° ´ from washington. [ ] tour from hartford to quebec, p. . col. croghan's attempt to take the island, during the late war, was most unfortunate. he failed from a double spirit of dissension in his own forces, being at odds with the commanding officer of the fleet, and at sword's points with his second in command, major holmes. after entering the st. mary's, and taking and burning the old post of st. joseph's, where nobody resisted, instead of sailing direct to mackinac, a marauding expedition was sent up this river to st. mary's, and when the fleet and troops finally reached mackinac, instead of landing at the town, under the panic of the inhabitants, it sailed about for several days. in the mean time the island filled with indians from the surrounding shores. fort "mackina" is eligibly situated on a cliff overlooking the town and harbor, and is garrisoned by a company of artillery. the ruin of fort holmes, formerly fort george, occupies the apex of the island, and has been dismantled since the british evacuated it in .[ ] [ ] tour from hartford to quebec, p. . it happened that the british authorities on the island of st. joseph, got intelligence of the declaration of war, in , through canada, before the american commander at mackinac heard of it. mustering their forces with such volunteers, militia, and indians as could be hastily got together, they proceeded in boats to the back of the island, where they secretly landed at night with some artillery, and by daylight the next morning got the latter in place on the summit of fort holmes, which completely commanded the lower fort, when they sent a summons of surrender, which captain hanks, the american commanding officer, had no option but to obey. colonel croghan, the hero of sandusky, attempted to regain possession of it, in , with a competent force, and after several demonstrations of his fleet about the island, by which time was lost and panic in the enemy allayed, he landed on the northern part of it, which is depressed, and his army marched through thick woods, most favorable for the operations of the indians, to the open grounds of dousman's farm, where the army was met by colonel mcdouall, who was eligibly posted on an eminence with but few regular troops, but a heavy force of indian auxiliaries and the village militia. major holmes, who gallantly led the attack, swinging his sword, was killed at a critical moment, and the troops retreated before colonel croghan could reach the field with a reinforcement. thus ended this affair. my attention was directed to the plaster stated to exist on the st. martin islands. these islands compose a small group lying about nine or ten miles north-northeast of michilimackinac. captain knapp, of the revenue service, had been requested to take me to the spot with the revenue cutter under his command. i was accompanied by captain douglass, of the expedition, and by lieutenant john pierce, u. s. a., stationed at the fort. the gypsum exists in a moist soil, not greatly elevated, during certain winds above the lake. pits had been dug by persons visiting the locality for commercial purposes. it occurs in granular lumps of a gray color, as also in foliated and fibrous masses, white, gray, chestnut color, or sometimes red. no difficulty was encountered in procuring as many specimens as were required. this group of islands is noticeable, also, for the large boulder masses of hornblende and granite rock, which are found imbedded in, or lying on the surface, along with fragments of breccia, quartz, &c. this drift is more abundant, on all the islands i have seen, as we approach the north shores of lake huron. having completed the examination of these islands, we returned to the harbor after an agreeable excursion. to observe the structure and character of the island of michilimackinac, i determined to walk entirely around it, following the beach at the foot of the cliffs. this, although a difficult task, from brush and debris, became a practicable one, except on the north and northwest borders, where there was, for limited spaces, no margin of debris, at which points it became necessary to wade in the water at the base of low precipitous rocks. in addition to the reticulated masses of limestone covered with calcspar from the fallen cliffs, the search disclosed small tabular pieces of minutely crystallized quartz and angular masses of a kind of striped hornstone, gray and lead colored, which had been liberated from similar positions in the cliffs. on passing the west margin of the island, i observed a bed of a species of light-blue clay, which is stated to part with its coloring matter in baking it, becoming white. while the british possessed the island, they attempted to procure water by digging two wells at the site of fort george (now holmes), but were induced to relinquish the work without success, at the depth of about one hundred feet. among the fragments of rock thrown out, are impressions of bivalve and univalve shells, with an impression resembling the head of a trilobite. these are generally in the condition of chalcedony, covered with very minute crystals of quartz. i also discovered a drift specimen of brown oxide of iron, on the north quarter. this sketch embraces all that is important in its mineralogical character. this island appears to have been occupied by the indians, from an early period. human bones have been discovered at more than one point, in the cavernous structure of the island; but no place has been so much celebrated for disclosures of this kind, as the skull cave. this cave has a prominent entrance, shaded by a few trees, and appears to have been once devoted to the offices of a charnel-house by the indians. it is not mentioned at all, however, by writers, till , in the month of june of which year the fort of old mackinac on the peninsula, was trea-cherously taken by the sac and chippewa indians. an extensive and threatening confederation of the western indians had then been matured, and a large body of armed warriors was then encamped around the walls of detroit, under the leadership of pontiac, who held the garrison in close siege day and night. the surrender of canada to great britain, which had followed the victory of general wolfe at quebec, was distasteful to these indians, and they attempted the mad project of driving back beyond the alleghanies the english race; making a simultaneous assault upon all the military posts west of that great line of demarcation, and preaching and dealing out vengeance to all who had english blood in their veins. alexander henry, a native of albany,[ ] was one of those enterprising men who had pushed his fortunes west, with an adventure of merchandise, on the first exchange of posts, and he was singled out for destruction, as soon as the fort was taken. he had taken refuge in the house of a frenchman named longlade, where he was concealed in a garret by a pawnee slave, and where he hid himself under a heap of birch-bark buckets, such as are employed in the indian country, in the spring season, in carrying the sap of the sugar-maple. but this temporary reprieve from the indian knife seemed only the prelude to a series of hairbreadth escapes, which impressed him as the direct interposition of providence. at length, when the scenes of blood and intoxication began to abate a little, an old indian friend of his, called wawetum, who had once pledged his friendship, but who had been absent during the massacre, sought him out, and having reclaimed him by presents, in a formal council, took him into his canoe and conducted the spared witness of these atrocities three leagues across the waters of lake huron in safety to this island. [ ] _vide_ henry's travels, new york, , vol. vo. to this place they were accompanied by the actors in this tragedy to the number of three hundred and fifty fighting men,[ ] and he would now, under the protection of wawetum, have been safe from immediate peril, but that in a few days a prize of two canoes of merchandise in the hands of english traders was made, amongst which was a large quantity of liquor. hereupon, wawetum, foreseeing another carousal, and always fearful of his friend, requested him to go up with him to the mountain part of the island. having ascended it, he led him to this cave, and recommended him to abide here in concealment until the debauch was over, when he promised to visit him. [ ] henry, p. . breaking some branches at its mouth for a bed, he then sought its recesses, and spreading his blanket around, laid down and slept till morning. daylight revealed to him the fact that he had been reposing on dry human bones, and that the cave had anciently been devoted by the indians as a sepulchre. on announcing this fact to his deliverer, two days afterward, when he came to seek him, wawetum expressed his ignorance of it, and a party of the indians, who came to examine it in consequence of the announcement, also concurred in declaring that they had no tradition on the subject. they conjectured that the bones were either due to the period when the sea covered the earth--which is a common belief with them--or to the period of the huron occupancy of this island, after that tribe were defeated by the iroquois, in the st. lawrence valley. so much for tradition. this island has been long known as a prominent point in the fur trade. but of this i am not prepared to speak. it was selected by mr. j. j. astor, in , as the central point of outfit for his clerks and agents in this region; and the warehouses erected for their accommodation constitute prominent features in its modern architecture. the capital annually invested in this business is understood to be about three hundred thousand dollars. this trade was deemed an object of the highest consequence from the first settlement of canada, but it was not till , agreeably to sir alexander mackenzie, that it commenced from michilimackinac.[ ] the number of furred animals taken in a single year, the same author states to be one hundred and eighty-two thousand two hundred; of which number, the astonishing proportion of one hundred and six thousand were beavers.[ ] estimating each skin at but one pound, and the foreign market price at four dollars per pound, which are both much below the average at this era, this item of beaver alone would exceed by more than one-third the whole capital employed, taking the data before mentioned, and leave the seventy-six thousand smaller furred animals to be put on the profit side. no wonder that acts of perfidy arose between rivals, such as the shooting of mr. waden at his own dinner-table, where he was entertaining an opponent or copartner in the trade; or the foul assassination of owen keveny on the rainy lakes.[ ] indeed, the fur trade has for a long period been more productive, if we are to rely on statements, than the richest silver mines of mexico or peru. [ ] mackenzie's voyages, hist. fur trade, vii. [ ] mackenzie, xxiv. [ ] report of the trials of de reinhard, &c. montreal, . society at michilimackinac consists of so many diverse elements, which impart their hue to it, that it is not easy for a passing traveller to form any just estimate of it. the indian, with his plumes, and gay and easy costume, always imparts an oriental air to it. to this, the canadian, gay, thoughtless, ever bent on the present, and caring nothing for to-morrow, adds another phase. the trader, or interior clerk, who takes his outfit of goods to the indians, and spends eleven months of the year in toil, and want, and petty traffic, appears to dissipate his means with a sailor-like improvidence in a few weeks, and then returns to his forest wanderings; and boiled corn, pork, and wild rice again supply his wants. there is in these periodical resorts to the central quarters of the fur company, much to remind one of the old feudal manners, in which there is proud hospitality and a show of lordliness on the one side, and gay obsequiousness and cringing dependence on the other, at least till the annual bargains for the trade are closed. we were informed that there is neither school, preaching, a physician (other than at the garrison), nor an attorney, in the place. there are, however, courts of law, a post-office, and a jail, and one or more justices of the peace. there is a fish market every morning, where may be had the trout--two species--and the white fish, the former of which are caught with hooks in deep water, and the latter in gill nets. occasionally, other species appear, but the trout and white fish, which is highly esteemed, are staples, and may be relied on in the shore market daily; whole canoe-loads of them are brought in. the name of this island is said to signify a great turtle, to which it has a fancied resemblance, when viewed from a distance. mikenok, and not mackenok, is, however, the name for a tortoise. the term, as pronounced by the indians, is michinemockinokong, signifying place of the great michinamockinocks, or rock-spirits. of this word, _mich_ is from _michau_ (adjective-animate), great. the term _mackinok_, in the algonquin mythology, denotes in the singular, a species of spirits, called turtle spirits, or large fairies, who are thought to frequent its mysterious cliffs and glens. the plural of this word, which is an animate plural, is _ong_, which is the ordinary form of all nouns ending in the vowel _o_. when the french came to write this, they cast away the indian local in _ong_, changed the sound of _n_ to _l_, and gave the force _mack_ and _nack_, to _mök_ and _nök_. the vowel _e_, after the first syllable, is merely a connective in the indian, and which is represented in the french orthography in this word by _i_. the ordinary interpretation of great turtle is, therefore, not widely amiss; but in its true meaning, the term enters more deeply into the indian mythology than is conjectured. the island was deemed, in a peculiar sense, the residence of spirits during all its earlier ages. its cliffs, and dense and dark groves of maples, beech, and ironwood, cast fearful shadows; and it was landed on by them in fearfulness, and regarded far and near as the _sacred island_. its apex is, indeed, the true indian olympus of the tribes, whose superstitions and mythology peopled it by gods, or monitos. since our arrival here, there has been a great number of indians of the chippewa and ottowa tribes encamped near the town. the beach of the lake has been constantly lined with indian wigwams and bark canoes. these tribes are generally well dressed in their own costume, which is light and artistic, and exhibit physiognomies with more regularity of features and mildness of expression than it is common to find among them. this is probably attributable to a greater intermixture of blood in this vicinity. they resort to the island, at this season, for the purpose of exchanging their furs, maple-sugar, mats, and small manufactures. among the latter are various articles of ornament, made by the females, from the fine white deer skin, or yellow birch bark, embroidered with colored porcupine quills. the floor mats, made from rushes, are generally more or less figured. mockasins, miniature sugarboxes, called mo-cocks, shot-pouches, and a kind of pin and needleholders, or housewives, are elaborately beaded. but nothing exceeds in value the largest merchantable mockocks of sugar, which are brought in for sale. they receive for this article six cents per pound, in merchandise, and the amount made in a season, by a single family, is sometimes fifteen hundred pounds. the ottowas of l'arbre croche are estimated at one thousand souls, which, divided by five, would give two hundred families; and by admitting each family to manufacture but two hundred pounds per annum, would give a total of forty thousand pounds; and there are probably as many chippewas within the basins of lakes huron and michigan. this item alone shows the importance of the indian trade, distinct from the question of furs. during the time we remained on this island, the atmosphere denoted a mean temperature of ° fahrenheit. the changes are often sudden and great. the island is subject to be enveloped in fogs, which frequently rise rapidly. these fogs are sometimes so dense, as to obscure completely objects at but a short distance. i visited round island one day with lieut. mackay,[ ] and we were both engaged in taking views of the fort and town of michilimackinac,[ ] when one of these dense fogs came on, and spread itself with such rapidity, that we were compelled to relinquish our designs unfinished, and it was not without difficulty that we could make our way across the narrow channel, and return to the island. this fact enabled me to realize what the old travellers of the region have affirmed on this topic. [ ] lieut. eneas mackay. this officer, after the return from this expedition, went through the regular grades of promotion in the army, and had at the period of his death, which took place in , at st. louis, missouri, reached the brevet rank of colonel. [ ] for the view from this point, see information respecting the history, condition, and prospects of the indian tribes of the united states, vol. iv. plate . we were received during our visit here in the most hospitable manner, as well as with official courtesy, by capt. b. k. pierce, the commanding officer, major puthuff, the indian agent, and by the active and intelligent agents of mr. john jacob astor, the great fiscal head of the fur trade in this quarter. chapter iv. proceed down the north shore of lake huron to the entrance of the straits of st. mary's--character of the shores, and incidents--ascend the river to sault de ste. marie--hostilities encountered there--intrepidity of general cass. having spent six days on the island, rambling about it, and making ourselves as well acquainted with its features and inhabitants as possible, we felt quite recruited and cheered up, after the tedious delays along the southern shores of lake huron. and we all felt the better prepared for plunging deeper into the northwestern forest. before venturing into the stronghold of the chippewas, whose territories extend around lake superior, it was deemed prudent to take along an additional military force as far as sault de ste. marie. but five or six years had then passed since this large tribe had been arrayed in hostilities against the united states (in the war of ), and they were yet smarting under the wounds and losses which they had received at brownstown and the river thames, where they had lost some prominent men. generals brown and macomb,[ ] when making a reconnoissance, with their respective staffs, a couple of years before, had been fired on in visiting gros cape, at the foot of lake superior, and although no one was killed on that occasion, the circumstance was sufficient to indicate their feeling. [ ] the following are the official data of this distinguished officer:-- alexander macomb, jr., born april , , detroit, n. y.; cornet cavalry, january , ; second lieutenant, february, ; retained, april, , in second infantry; first lieutenant of engineers, october, ; captain, june, ; major of engineers, february , ; lieutenant-colonel, july , ; acting adjutant-general of the army, april , ; colonel third artillery, july , ; brigadier-general, january , ; brevet major-general, "for distinguished and gallant conduct in defeating the enemy at plattsburg, september , " (october , ); received the "thanks of congress" of november , , "for his gallantry and good conduct in defeating the enemy at plattsburg, on the th of september, repelling with , men, aided by a body of militia and volunteers from new york and vermont, a british veteran army, greatly superior in numbers," with the presentation of a _gold medal_, "emblematical of this triumph;" retained, april , ; retained, may , as colonel and principal engineer, with brevets major-general and general-in-chief of the army, may , ; commanded the army of florida ; died june , , at his head-quarters, washington city.--_gardner's army dictionary._ this additional force was placed under the command of lieutenant john s. pierce, u. s. a., a brother of the commanding officer,[ ] and of franklin pierce, president of the united states. it consisted of twenty-two men, with a twelve-oared barge. the whole expedition, now numbering sixty-four persons, embarked at ten o'clock on the th, with a fair wind, for our first destination, at detour, being the west cape of the straits of st. mary's. the distance is estimated at forty miles, along a very intricate, masked shore of islands, called chenos. the breeze carried us at the rate of five miles per hour. the first traverse is an arm of the lake, three leagues across, over which we passed swimmingly. this traverse is broken near its eastern terminus by goose island, the nekuhmenis (literally brant island) of the chippewas--a noted place of encampment for traders. we did not, however, touch at it. a couple of miles beyond this brought us to outard point, where the men rested a few moments on their oars and paddles. this point forms the commencement of those intricate channels which constitute the chenos group. our steersman gave them, however, a wide berth, and did not approach near the shore till it began to be time to look out for the mouth of the st. mary's. after passing point st. vitel, a distance of about thirty miles, the guides led into a sandy bay, under the impression that we had reached the west cape of the st. mary's; but in this we were deceived. while landing here a few moments, in a deep bay, the animal called kaug by the chippewas (a porcupine), was discovered and killed by one of the men, called baptiste, by a blow from a hatchet. buffon gives two engravings of this animal, as found in canada, under separate names; but it is apprehended that he has been misled by the same animal seen in its summer and winter dress. to the indian, this animal is valuable for its quills, which are dyed of bright colors, to ornament their dresses, moccasons, shot-pouches, and other choice fabrics of deer skin, or birch bark. this animal has four claws on the fore paw, and five on the hinder ones. it has small ears hid in the hair, and a bushy tail, with coarse black and white hair. the specimen killed would weigh eight pounds. [ ] john sullivan pierce (n. h., brother to colonel benjamin k. pierce), third lieutenant third artillery, april , and second lieutenant, may, ; retained, may, , in artillery; first lieutenant, april ; resigned february , .--_gardner's army dictionary._ soon after coming out from this indentation of the lake, we came in sight of point detour, on turning which, from e. to n., we found no longer use for sails. mackenzie places this point in north latitude ° ´. the geology of this coast appears manifest. secondary compact limestone appears in place, in low situations, on the reef of outard island and point, and in the approach to point detour. a ridge of calcareous highlands appears on the mainland east of michilimackinac, stretching off towards sault de ste. marie, in a northeast direction. this ridge appears to belong to a low mountain chain, of which the island of michilimackinac may be deemed as one of the geological links. just before turning, we passed a very heavy angular block of limestone, much covered with moss, which could not have been far removed, in the drift era, from its parent bed. the largest angle of this stone, which i have since examined, must be eight or ten feet. this block is of the ortho-cerite stratum of drummond island. the shores are heavily charged with various members of the boulder drift, with a fringe beyond them of spruce and firs, giving one the idea of a cold, exposed, and most unfavorable coast. turning the point of detour, we ascended the strait a few miles, and encamped on its west shore, off frying-pan island, at a point directly opposite the british post of drummond island, which we could not perceive, but the direction of which was clearly denoted by the sound of the evening bugles. the entrance into this strait forms a magnificent scene of waters and islands, of which a map conveys but a faint conception. the straits here appeared to be illimitable, we seemed to be in a world of waters. it is stated to be thirty miles across to point thessalon. the large group of the manatouline islands, stretching transversely through lake huron, terminates with the isle drummond--a name bestowed in compliment to the bold leader, col. drummond, who led the night storming party, and was blown up on the bastion of fort erie, in . this station was first occupied on the withdrawal of the british troops from mackinac, in . this day's trip gave us a favorable idea of canoe travelling. it also gave us an exalted idea of the gigantic system of these lake waters, and their connecting straits. we had never done gazing at the prospect before us, after turning the detour, and did not retire from our camp fires early. the next morning we embarked at five o'clock, a light dreamy mist hanging over the waters. when this cleared away, we descried the ruined chimneys and buildings of st. joseph, the abandoned british post burned by col. croghan, in .[ ] the day turned out a fine one, and we proceeded up the straits with pleasurable feelings, excited by the noble and novel views of scenery continually before us. keeping the west side of a high limestone island called isle a la crosse, we then entered a sheet of water called lac vaseau, or muddy lake. we had proceeded northwardly perhaps twenty miles, when we encountered another of those large islands for which these straits are remarkable, called nebeesh,[ ] or sailor's encampment island. our guides held up on its western side, which soon brought us to the first rapids, and the commencement of st. mary's river. a formation of sandstone is here observed in the bed of the stream. the waters are swift and shallow, and the men encountered quite a struggle in the ascent, and so much injured one of our canoes that it became necessary to unlade and mend it. in the mean time, the atmosphere put on a threatening aspect, with heavy peals of thunder, but no rain followed till we again re-embarked and proceeded five or six miles, when a shower fell. it did not, however, compel us to land, and by six o'clock in the afternoon, the sky again became clear. we had now ascended the strait and river so far, that it became certain we could reach our destination before night, and the men worked with the greater alacrity. at eight o'clock we had surmounted the second rapid, called the little rapid, nebeetung of the indians, where we encountered a swift current. we were now within two miles of our destination. the whole river is here embodied before the eye, and is a mile or three-fourths of a mile wide, and the two separate villages on the british and american shores began to reveal themselves to view, with the cataract of the sault de ste. marie in the distance; and a beautiful forest of elms, oaks, and maples on either hand. we ascended with our flags flying, our little squadron being spread out in order, and the canadian boatmen raising one of their enlivening songs. long before reaching the place, a large throng of indians had collected on the beach, who, as we put in towards the shore, fired a salute, and stood ready to greet us with their customary _bosho_.[ ] we landed in front of the old nolan house,[ ] the ancient headquarters of the northwest company; and immediately formed our encampment on the wide green, extending along the river. daylight in this latitude is protracted, and although we had ascended a computed distance of forty-five miles, and had had the mishap to break a canoe in the nebeesh, there was abundant light to fix our encampment properly. lieut. pierce encamped his men on our extreme right. leaving an interval, lieut. mackay's escort came next, and our tents formed the northern line of his encampment, nearest to the indians. the latter occupied a high plateau, in plain view, several hundred yards west, with an intervening gulley, and a plain, well-beat footpath. we had, in case of difficulty, thirty-four muskets, pierce's command included, in addition to which, each of the savans, or governor's mess, were armed with a short rifle. our line may have looked offensively demonstrative to the chippewas, who regarded it, from their ancient eminence, with unfriendly feelings. these particulars are given from the perilous position we were brought into next day. [ ] this fort was first erected by the british in , the year before michilimackinac was evacuated under wayne's treaty with the indians. [ ] from nebee, water; hence nebeesh, rapid water, or strong water, the name of the rapids which connect the straits with the river st. mary's. this word is the _derogative_ form of the chippewa noun. [ ] from the french _bon jour_. [ ] the present site of fort brady. meantime, we passed a quiet night in our tents, where the deep sound of the falls fell on the wakeful ear, interspersed with the distant monotonous thump of the indian täwäegon. it required but little observation, in the morning, to explore the village of st. mary's. it consisted of some fifteen or twenty buildings of all sorts, occupied by descendants of the original french settlers, all of whom drew their living from the fur trade. the principal buildings and outhouses were those of mr. john johnston, and the group formerly occupied by the northwest company. most of the french habitations stood in the midst of picketed lots. there were about forty or fifty lodges, or two hundred chippewas, fifty or sixty of whom were warriors. but, although this place was originally occupied as a missionary centre, by the roman catholic missionaries of new france, about the middle of the seventeenth century, no trace of the ancient church could be seen, unless it was in an old consecrated graveyard, which has continued to be used for interments. mr. johnston, the principal inhabitant, is a native of the county of antrim, ireland, where his connections are persons of rank. he is a polite, intelligent, and well-bred man, from a manifestly refined circle; who, soon after the close of the american revolution, settled here, and married the daughter of a distinguished indian chief.[ ] although now absent on a visit to europe, his family received us with marked urbanity and hospitality, and invited the gentlemen composing the travelling family of governor cass to take all our meals with them. everything at this mansion was done with ceremonious attention to the highest rules of english social life; miss jane, the eldest daughter, who had received her education in ireland, presiding. [ ] inter-european amalgamation.--john johnston was a native of the north of ireland, where his family possessed an estate called "craige," near the celebrated giant's causeway. he came to this country during the first presidential term of washington, and settled at st. mary's, about . he was a gentleman of taste, reading, refined feeling, and cultivated manners, which enabled him to direct the education of his children, an object to which he assiduously devoted himself; and his residence was long known as the seat of hospitality and refinement to all who visited the region. in , his premises were visited, during his absence, by a part of the force who entered the st. mary's, under colonel croghan, and his private property subjected to pillage, from a misapprehension, created by some evil-minded persons, that he was an agent of the northwest company. genial, social, kind, and benevolent, his society was much sought, and he was sometimes imposed on by those who had been received into his employments and trusts (as in the reports which carried the americans to his domicil in ). he died at st. mary's, in , leaving behind, among his papers, evidence that his leisure hours were sometimes lightened by literary employments. mr. johnston, by marrying the daughter of the ruling chief of this region, placed himself in the position of another rolfe. espousing, in christian marriage, the daughter of wabjeeg, he became the son-in-law of another powhatan; thus establishing such a connection between the hibernian and chippewa races, as the former had done between the english and powhetanic stocks. the sault (from the latin _saltus_, through the french) or falls of st. mary, is the head of navigation for vessels on the lakes, and has been, from early days, a thoroughfare for the indian trade. it is equally renowned for its white fish, which are taken in the rapids with a scoop-net. the abundance and excellence of these fish has been the praise of all travellers from the earliest date, and it constitutes a ready means of subsistence for the indians who congregate here. the place was chiefly memorable in our tour, however, as the seat of the chippewa power. to adjust the relations of the tribe with the united states, a council was convened with the chiefs on the day following our arrival. this council was assembled at the governor's _marquée_, which was graced by the national ensign, and prepared for the interview with the usual presents. the chiefs, clothed in their best habiliments, and arrayed in feathers and british medals, seated themselves, with their usual dignity, in great order, and the business was opened with the usual ceremony of smoking the peace pipe. when this had been finished, and the interpreter[ ] taken his position, he was directed to explain the views of the government, in visiting the country, to remind them that their ancestors had formerly conceded the occupancy of the place to the french, to whose national rights and prerogatives the americans had succeeded, and, by a few direct and well-timed historical and practical remarks, to secure their assent to its reoccupancy. the utmost attention was bestowed while this address was being made, and it was evident, from the glances of the hearers, that it was received with unfriendly feelings, and several chiefs spoke in reply. they were averse to the proposition, and first endeavored to evade it by pretending to know nothing of such former grants. this point being restated by the american commissioner, and pressed home strongly, was eventually dropped by them. still, they continued to speak in an evasive and desultory manner, which had the effect of a negative. it was evident that there was a want of agreement, and some animated discussion arose among themselves. two classes of persons appeared among the chiefs. some appeared in favor of settling a boundary to the ancient precinct of french occupancy, provided it was not intended to be occupied by a garrison, saying, in the symbolic language of indians, that they were afraid, in that case, their young men might kill the cattle of the garrison. gov. cass, understanding this, replied that, as to the establishment of a garrison, they need not give themselves any uneasiness--it was a settled point, and so sure as the sun that was then rising would set, so sure would there be an american garrison sent to that point, whether they renewed the grant or not. this decisive language had a sensible effect. high words followed between the chiefs. the head chief of the band, shingabawossin, a tall, stately man, of prudent views, evidently sided with the moderates, and was evasive in his speech. a chief called shingwauk, or the little pine, who had conducted the last war party from the village in , was inclined to side with the hostiles. there was a chief present called sassaba, a tall, martial-looking man, of the reigning family of chiefs of the crane totem, who had lost a brother in the battle of the thames. he wore a scarlet uniform, with epaulets, and nourished a deep resentment against the united states. he stuck his war lance furiously in the ground before him, at the beginning of his harangue, and, assuming a savage wildness of air, appeared to produce a corresponding effect upon the other indian speakers, and employed the strongest gesticulation. his address brought the deliberations to a close, after they had continued some hours, by a defiant tone; and, as he left the _marquée_, he kicked away the presents laid before the council. great agitation ensued. the council was then summarily dissolved, the indians went to their hill, and we to our tents. [ ] james riley, a son of the late j. v. s. riley, esq., of schenectady, n. y., by a saganaw woman; a man well versed in the language, customs, and local traditions of the chippewas. it has been stated that the encampment of the indians was situated on an eminence a few hundred yards west from our position on the shore, and separated from us by a small ravine. we had scarcely reached our tents, when it was announced that the indians had raised the british flag in their camp. they felt their superiority in number, and did not disguise their insolence. affairs had reached a crisis. a conflict seemed inevitable. governor cass instantly ordered the expedition under arms. he then called the interpreter, and proceeded with him, naked-handed and alone, to sassaba's lodge at the hostile camp. being armed with short rifles, we requested to be allowed to accompany him as a body-guard, but he decidedly refused this. on reaching the lodge of the hostile chief, before whose door the flag had been raised, he pulled it down with his own hands. he then entered the lodge, and addressing the chief calmly but firmly, told him that it was an indignity which they could not be permitted to offer; that the flag was the distinguishing symbol of nationality; that two flags of diverse kind could not wave in peace upon the same territory; that they were forbid the use of any but our own, and should they again attempt it, the united states would set a strong foot upon their rock and crush them. he then brought the captured flag with him to his tent. in a few moments after his return from the indian camp, that camp was cleared by the indians of their women and children, who fled with precipitation in their canoes across the river. thus prepared for battle, we momently expected to hear the war-whoop. i had myself examined and filled my shot-pouch, and stood ready, rifle in hand, with my companions, awaiting their attack. but we waited in vain. it was an hour of indecision among the indians. they deliberated, doubtingly, and it soon became evident that the crisis had passed. finding no hostile demonstration from the hill, lieuts. pierce and mackay directed their respective commands to retire to their tents. the intrepid act of governor cass had struck the indians with amazement, while it betokened a knowledge of indian character of which we never dreamed. this people possess a singular respect for bravery. the march of our force, on that occasion, would have been responded to, instantly, by eighty or a hundred indian guns; but to behold an unarmed man walk boldly into their camp and seize the symbol of their power, betokened a cast of character which brought them to reflection. on one person in particular the act had a controlling effect. when it was told to the daughter of wäbojeeg (mrs. johnston), she told the chief that their meditated scheme of resistance to the americans was madness; the day for such resistance was passed; and this man, cass, had the air of a great man, and could carry his flag through the country. the party were also under the hospitality of her roof. she counselled peace. to these words shingabowassin responded; he was seconded by shingwäkonce, or the little pine. of this effort we knew nothing at the moment, but the facts were afterwards learned. it was evident, before the day had passed, that a better state of feeling existed among the indians. the chief shingabowassin, under the friendly influences referred to, renewed the negotiations. towards evening a council of the chiefs was convened in one of the buildings of this pocahontean counsellor, and the treaty of the th june, (_vide_ ind. treaties united states) signed. in this treaty every leading man united, except sassaba. the little pine signed it, under one of his synonymous names, lavoine bart. by this treaty the chippewas cede four miles square, reserving the right of a place to fish at the rapids, perpetually. the consideration for this cession, or acknowledgment of title, was promptly paid in merchandise. the way being thus prepared for our entry into lake superior, it was decided to proceed the next day. before leaving this point, it may be observed that the falls are produced by a stratum of red sandstone rock, which crosses the bed of the st. mary's at this place. the last calcareous formation, seen in ascending the straits, is at isle a la crosse. as we proceed north, the erratic block stratum becomes heavier, and abraded masses of the granite, trap, sandstone, and hornblende series are confusedly piled together on the lake shores, and are abundant at the foot of these falls. in the central or middle channel, the waters leap from a moderate height, from stratum to stratum, at two or three points, producing the appearance, when seen from below, of a mass of tumbling waves. the french word _sault_ (pronounced _so_) accurately expresses this kind of pitching rapids or falls. the indians call it bawateeg, or pawateeg, when speaking of the phenomenon, and bawating or pawating, when referring to the place. paugwa is an expression denoting shallow water on rocks. the inflection _eeg_ is an animate plural. _ing_ is the local terminal form of nouns. in the south or american channel, there is no positive leap of the water, but an intensely swift current, which is parted by violent jets, between rocks, still permitting canoes, skilfully guided, to descend, and empty boats to be drawn up. but these falls are a complete check to ship navigation. the descent of water has been stated by colonel gratiot, of the united states engineers, at twenty-two feet ten inches.[ ] they resemble a bank of rolling foam, and with their drapery of trees on either shore, and the mountains of lake superior in the distance, and the moving canoes of fishing indians in the foreground, present a most animated and picturesque view. [ ] st. mary's canal.--thirty-three years have produced an astonishing progress. a ship-canal is now ( ) in the process of being constructed at these falls, by the state of michigan, under a grant of public land for that purpose, from congress. it is to consist of two locks of equal lift, dividing the aggregate fall. this canal will add the basin of lake superior to the line of lake navigation. it will enable ships and steamers to enter the st. louis river of fond du lac, and to reach a point in latitude corresponding to independence, on the missouri. no other point of the lake chain reaches so far by some hundreds of miles towards the rocky mountains; and this canal will eventually be the outlet to the atlantic cities of the copper and other mines of lake superior, and of the agricultural and mineral products of all the higher states of the upper mississippi and of the missouri, and a part of oregon and washington on the pacific. to the chippewas, who regard this spot as their ancient capital, it is doubtless fraught with many associations, and they regard with jealousy the advance of the americans to this quarter. this tribe, in the absence of any older traditions, are regarded as the aboriginal inhabitants of the place. they are, by their language, algonquins, and speak a pure dialect of it. they call themselves ojibwas. _bwa_, in this language, denotes voice, ojibwamong signifies chippewa language, or voice. it is not manifest what the prefixed syllable denotes. they are a numerous people, and spread over many degrees of latitude and longitude. we have had them constantly around us, in some form, since leaving detroit, and they extend to the great winnipeg lake of hudson's bay. they appear, at the french era of discovery, to have been confined almost exclusively to the north bank of the st. lawrence, below the influx of the ottowa river, extending to lake nepising, and the geographical position seems to have been the origin of the name algonquin. whilst encamped here, we witnessed the descent down the rapids of eleven barges and canoes laden with furs from the north. this trade forms the engrossing topic, at this point, with all classes. hazardous as it is, the pursuit does not fail to attract adventurers, who appear to be fascinated with the wild freedom of life in the wilderness. chapter v. embark at the head of the portage at st. mary's--entrance into lake superior--journey and incidents along its coasts--great sand dunes--pictured rocks--grand island--keweena peninsula and portage--incidents thence to ontonagon river. having accomplished the object of our visit, at this place, no time was lost in pushing our way into the basin of lake superior. the distance to it is computed to be fifteen miles above the sault. it was nine o'clock of the morning following the day of the treaty, when the men began to take the canoes up the rapids, and transport the provisions and baggage. this occupied nearly the whole of the day. taking leave of lieutenant pierce, who returned with his command, from this point and our hospitable hostess, we proceeded to the head of the portage, long before the canoes and stores all arrived. to while away the time, while the men were thus employed, we tried our skill at rifle shooting. it was six o'clock in the evening before the work of transportation was finished, and the canoes loaded, when we embarked. the view from the head of the portage is imposing. the river spreads out like an arm of the sea. in the distance appear the mountains of lake superior. we proceeded two leagues, and encamped at point aux pins, on the canadian shore. at six o'clock the next morning we were again in our canoes, and crossed the strait, which is here several leagues wide, to the west, or point iroquois cape. in this traverse we first beheld the entrance into lake superior. the scene is magnificent, and i could fully subscribe to the remark made by carver, "that the entrance into lake superior affords one of the most pleasing prospects in the world." the morning was clear and pleasant, with a favoring breeze, but a tempest of wind and rain arose, with severe thunder, soon after we had accomplished the passage, which compelled us hastily to land on the point iroquois shore. this storm detained us five or six hours before the waters were sufficiently calm to embark. among the boulders, i picked up a fine specimen of graphic granite, most perfectly characterized. about two o'clock, we entered this great inland sea. how feeble and inadequate are all geographical attempts to describe this vast body of water, with its imposing headlands, shores, and islands. the st. mary's river passes out between two prominent capes, called gros cape and point iroquois. the former rises up in elevated barren peaks of sienite and hornblende rock; the latter consists of nearly equally elevated masses of horizontal red sandstone, covered with a dense forest. the line of separation is, perhaps, three leagues, forming a geological gap, through which, at ancient periods, the drift and boulder strata has been forced, with an amazing power. for we find these boulders, of the disrupted sienites, hornblende, trap, and sandstone rocks of these northern latitudes heaped in profusion along the entire shores of the river, and cast out, far and wide, into the basin of lake huron. there is a little island, called isle des iroquois, just off the foot of the american cape, which is a noted stopping-place for boat and canoe voyagers. on passing this spot, the lake spreads out like a sea. towards the north, can be seen on the horizon the blue peaks of distant mountains. southerly, the point iroquois formation of sandstone appears skirting the shore, at several miles distance. at the computed distance of fifteen miles, we passed the mouth of the taquimenon river. it was already evening when we came here, but we were far out from shore, and the guides thought best to keep on their course a league farther, which brought us, at o'clock at night, into the mouth of the onzig, or shelldrake river. at this spot, we found an encampment of chippewa indians, who were friendly, and quite profuse in their salutation of _bosho_. at the moment we were ready to embark, the next morning, a brigade of traders' boats, on the route to michilimackinac, was descried, coming in to the same point. this interview detained us till o'clock. within a league, we met eighteen or twenty chippewa canoes on their journey towards the same point; and at the computed distance of three leagues from the onzig, we reached, and turned the bleak shores of white-fish point, called namikong[ ] by the indians. thus far, we had been imbayed in an arm of the lake which embraces parisian island, another link of the sandstone formation; but here the lake, stretching westwardly, displays itself in all its magnificence. on the left, spreads a long line of sandy coast; on the right, an illimitable expanse of water, which was bounded only by the horizon. beyond these features, there is not a prominent object to catch the eye. the magnificence which first pleases, at last tires. the change of course brought the wind ahead, and we were soon compelled to land on these bleak sandy wastes. while thus detained, an express canoe from st. mary's reached us with letters. a couple of hours were employed in dispatching this canoe on its return; meantime the wind lulled, and we went on ten miles and encamped on the sands. [ ] from _na_, excellent; _amik_, beaver; and _ong_, a place. the next morning, we were again in motion at five o'clock. twelve miles coasting along this unvaried shore, brought us to the mouth of a stream called neezhoda, seepe,[ ] or twin river, which is imprecisely called two-hearted river by the traders. the peculiarity of this stream consists in the union of two separate rivers, near the point of its outlet. seven leagues beyond this spot brought us to the inlet called grande marais. immediately west of this begins an elevated naked coast of sand-dunes, called gitche nägow,[ ] or la grande sables. to comprehend the geology of this coast, it is necessary to state that it consists of several heavy strata of the drift era, reaching a height of two or three hundred feet, with a precipitous front on the lake. the sands driven up by the lake are blown over these heights, forming a heavy deposit. it is this sandy deposit, falling down the face of the precipice, that appears to convert the whole formation into dunes, whereon the sandy coating rests, like a veil, over the pebble and clay-drift. their desert and sahara-like appearance is quite impressive to the travellers who visit these coasts in boats or canoes. the number of rapacious birds which are observed about these heights, adds to the interest of the prospect. dr. wolcott, and some other members of the party who ascended the formation, reported a small lake on this elevation. the sands were observed, in some places, to be deposited over its vegetation so as to arrest its growth. the largest trees were often half buried and destroyed. not less than nine miles of the coast, agreeably to _voyageur_ estimates, are thus characterized by dunes. [ ] from _oda_, a heart; _neezh_, two; and _seebe_, a river. [ ] from _nägow_, sand; and _gitche_, great. i found the sandstone formation of cape iroquois to reappear at the western termination of these heights on the open shores of the lake, where i noticed imbedded nodules of granular gypsum. at this point, known to our men as la pointe des grandes sables, we pitched our tents, at nightfall, under a very threatening state of the atmosphere. the winds soon blew furiously, followed by a heavy rain-storm--and sharp thunder and lightning ensued. our line of tents stood on a gently rising beach, within fifty yards of the margin of the lake, where they were prostrated during the night by the violence of the waves. the rain still continued at early daylight, the waves dashing in long swells upon the shore. at sunrise the tempest abated, and by eight o'clock the atmosphere assumed a calm and delightful aspect. it was eleven o'clock, however, before the waves sufficiently subsided to permit embarkation. indeed, a perfect calm now ensued. this calm proved very favorable--as we discovered on proceeding three leagues--to our passing the elevated coast of precipitous rock, called ishpäbecä,[ ] and pictured rocks. this coast, which extends twelve miles, consists of a gray sandstone, forming a series of perpendicular façades, which have been fretted, by the action of the waves, into the rude architecture of pillared masses, and open, cavernous arches. these caverns present their dark mouths to observation as the voyager passes. at one spot a small stream throws itself from the cliffs into the lake at one leap. in some instances the cliffs assume a castellated appearance. at the spot called the doric rock, near the commencement of these picturesque precipices, a vast entablature rests on two immense rude pillars of the water-worn mass. at a point called le portail, the vast wall of rock had been so completely excavated and undermined by the lake, that a series of heavy strata of rock rested solely on a single pillar standing in the lake. the day was fine as we passed these geological ruins, and we sat silently gazing on the changing panorama. at one or two points there are small streams which break the line of rock into quadrangles. a species of dark red clay overlies this formation, which has been carried by the rains over the face of the cliffs, where, uniting with the atmospheric sand and dust, it gives the whole line a pictorial appearance. we almost held our breath in passing the coast; and when, at night, we compared our observations around the camp-fire, there was no one who could recall such a scene of simple novelty and grandeur in any other part of the world; and all agreed that, if a storm should have arisen while we were passing, inevitable destruction must have been our lot. we came to grand island at a seasonable hour in the evening, and encamped on the margin of its deep and land-locked harbor. our camp was soon filled with chippewas from a neighboring village. they honored us in the evening by a dance. among these dancers, we were impressed with the bearing of a young and graceful warrior, who was the survivor of a self-devoted war-party of thirteen men, who, having marched against their ancient enemies the sioux, found themselves surrounded in the plain by superior numbers, and determined to sell their lives at the dearest rate. to this end, they dug holes in the earth, each of which thus becoming a fortification for its inmate, who dared their adversaries till overpowered by numbers. one person was selected to return with the news of this heroic sacrifice; this person had but recently returned, and it was from his lips that we heard the tragic story. [ ] from _iupa_, high; _aubik_, a rock; and the substantive termination, _a_. my mineralogical searches along the shores this day rewarded me with several water-worn fragments of agate, carnelian, zeolite, and prase, which gave me the first intimation of our approach to the trap and amygdaloidal strata, known to be so abundant in their mineral affluence in this quarter. we left grand island the next morning at six o'clock, and passing through a group of sandstone islands, some of which had had their horizontality disturbed, we came to the mouth of laughing-fish river, where a curious flux and reflux of water is maintained. from this place, a line of sandstone coast was passed, northwardly, till reaching its terminus on the bay of chocolate river. this is a large and deep bay, which it would have required a day's travel to circumnavigate. to avoid this, the men held their way directly across it, steering n. ° w., which, at the end of three leagues, brought us to granite point. here we first struck the old crystalline rocks or primitive formation. this formation stretches from the north shores of the gitche sebeeng,[ ] or chocolate river, to huron bay, and gives the traveller a view of rough conical peaks. these characterize the coast for a couple of days' travel. they are noted for immense bodies of iron ore, which is chiefly in the condition of iron glance.[ ] at presque isle, it assumes the form of a chromate of iron in connection with serpentine rock. we encamped on level ground on a sandstone formation, in the rear of granite point, and had an opportunity of observing the remarkable manner in which the horizontal sandstone rests upon and against the granitical, or, more truly, sienitic eminences. these sandstone strata lap on the shoulders of the primitive or crystalline rocks, preserving their horizontal aspect, and forming distinct cliffs along parts of the coast. this sandstone appears, from its texture and position, to be the "old red sandstone" of geologists. [ ] from _gitche_, great; _sebee_, a river; and the local terminal _ng_, signifying place. [ ] the extensive iron works of carp river, which are now yielding such fine blooms, are seated on the verge of these mountains. the next morning ( d) we quitted our encampment at an early hour, in a haze, and urged our way, with some fluctuations of weather, an estimated distance of eleven leagues. this brought us, at four o'clock in the afternoon, to huron river. sitting in the canoe, in a confined position, makes one glad at every opportunity to stretch his limbs, and we embraced the occasion to bathe in the huron. the shore consists of a sandy plain, where my attention was called to the kinnikenik, a plant much used by the indians for smoking. it is the _uva ursi_. i had seen it once before, on the expedition, at point aux barques. we inspected here, with much attention, an indian grave, as well from the care with which it was made, as the hieroglyphics cut on the head-posts. the grave was neatly covered with bark, bent over poles, and made roof-shaped. a pine stake was placed at the head. between this and the head of the grave, there was placed a smooth tablet of cedar wood, with hieroglyphics. mr. riley, our interpreter, explained these. the figure of a bear denoted the chief or clan. this is the device called a totem. seven red strokes denoted his scalp honors in indian heraldry, or that he had been seven times in battle. other marks were not understood or interpreted. a paling of saplings inclosed the space. on the following morning, our camp was astir at the customary early hour, when we proceeded to point aux beignes, a distance of six miles. attaining this point, we entered keweena bay, coasting up its shores for an estimated distance of three leagues. we were then opposite the mouth of portage river, but separated from it a distance of twelve miles. i was seated in lieutenant mackay's canoe. the whole squadron of five canoes unhesitatingly put out. the wind was adverse; before much progress had been made in crossing, three of our flotilla, after struggling against the billows, put back; but we followed the headmost one, which bore the governor's flag, and, seizing hold of the paddles to relieve the men, we succeeded in gaining the river. the other canoes came up the next morning, at seven o'clock, when we all proceeded to cross the portage lake, and up an inlet, which soon exhibited a rank growth of aquatic plants, and terminated, after following a very narrow channel, in a quagmire. we had, in fact, reached the commencement of the keweena portage. before quitting this spot, it may be well to say, that the geology of the country had again changed. portage lake lies, in fact, in the direction of the great copper-bearing trap dyke. this dyke, estimating from the end of the peninsula, extends nearly southwest and northeast, probably seventy miles, with a breadth of ten miles. it is overlaid by rubblestone and amygdaloid, which latter, by disintegration, yields the agates, carnelians, and other silicious, and some sparry crystalline minerals, for which the central shores of lake superior are remarkable. nearly every part of this broad and extensive dyke which has been examined, yields veins, and masses of native copper, or copper ores. the word was, when we had pushed our canoes into the quagmire, that each of the gentlemen of the party was to carry his own personal baggage across the portage. this was an awkward business for most of us. the distance was but two thousand yards, but little over a mile, across elevated open grounds. i strapped my trunk to my shoulders, and walked myself out of breath in getting clear of the brushy part of the way, till reaching the end of the first _pause_, or resting-place. here i met the governor (cass), who facetiously said: "you see i am carrying _two_ pieces," alluding to his canoe slippers, which he held in his hands. "a _piece_," in the trade, is the back load of the _engagee_. on reaching the termination of the second "pause," or rest, we found ourselves on a very elevated part of the shore of lake superior. the view was limitless, the horizon only bounding the prospect. the waves rolled in long and furious swells from the west. to embark was impossible, if we had had our baggage all brought up, which was not the case. the day was quite spent before the transportation was completed. this delay gave us an opportunity to ramble about, and examine the shore. in a boulder of serpentine rock, i found an imbedded mass of native copper, of two pounds' weight. on breaking the stone, it proved to be bound together by thin filaments of this metal. small water-worn fragments of chalcedony, agate, carnelian, and other species of the quartz family were found strewn along the beach, together with fragments of zeolite. masses of the two former minerals were also found imbedded in amygdaloid and trap-rock, thus denoting the parent beds of rock. in the zeal which these little discoveries excited on the subject of mineralogy, the chippewa, ottowa, and shawnee indians attached to the expedition participated, and as soon as they were made acquainted with the objects sought, they became successful explorers. they had noticed my devotion to the topic, from the time of our passing the islands of shawangunk, michilimackinac, and flat-rock point, in the basin of lake huron, where organic forms were chiselled from the rock; and bestowed on me the name of paguäbëkiegä.[ ] [ ] the equivalent of geologist or mineralogist, from _pagua_, a tabular surface; _aubik_, a rock; and _ëga_, the active voice of the verb to strike. it turned out the next morning, that the whole of the baggage and provisions had not been brought up, nor any of the canoes. this work was early commenced by the men. about half the day was employed in the necessary toil. when it was concluded, the wind on the lake had become too high, blowing in an adverse direction, to permit embarkation. nothing remained but to submit to the increased delay, during which we made ourselves as familiar with the neighboring parts of the lake shore as possible. during the time the expedition remained encamped at the portage, i made a short excursion up the peninsula northeastwardly, accompanied by captain douglass, mr. trowbridge, and some other persons. the results of this trip are sufficiently comprehended in what has already been stated respecting the geology and mineralogy of this prominent peninsula. on the following morning ( th) the wind proved fair, and the day was one of the finest we had yet encountered on this fretful inland sea. we embarked at half-past four a. m., every heart feeling rejoiced to speed on our course. the prominent headlands, west of this point, are capped, as those on its south-eastern border, with red sandstone. the wind proved full and adequate to bear us on, without endangering our safety, which enabled the steersmen to hold out boldly, from point to point. we had not proceeded far beyond the cliffs west of the portage, when the dim blue outlines of the okaug or porcupine mountains[ ] burst on our view.[ ] their prominent outline seemed to stretch on the line of the horizon directly across our track. the atmosphere was quite transparent, and they must have been seen at the distance of sixty miles. captain douglass thought, from the curve of the earth, that they could not be less than eighteen hundred feet in height. we successively passed the entrance of little salmon-trout, graverod, misery, and firesteel rivers, at the latter of which a landing was made; when we again resumed our course, and entered the ontonagon river, at half-past three in the afternoon. a large body of water enters the lake at the spot, but its mouth is filled up very much by sands. one of those curious refluxes is seen here, of which a prior instance has been noticed, in which its waters, having been impeded and dammed up by gales of wind, react, at their cessation, with unusual force. the name of the river ontonagon[ ] is, indeed, due to these refluxes, the prized dish of an indian female having, agreeably to tradition, been carried out of the river into the lake. [ ] from _kaug_, a porcupine. [ ] for the view of this scene, see information on the history, condition, and prospects of the indian tribes, vol. iv. title iv. [ ] from the expression _nontonagon_, my dish; and _neen_, the pronoun _my_. captain douglass made observations for the latitude of the place, and determined it to be in north latitude ° ´ ´´. the stationary distances of the route are given in the subjoined list, in which it may be observed that they are probably exaggerated about one-third by the voyagers and northwest traders, who always pride themselves on going great distances; but they denote very well, in all cases, the _relative_ distances. _stationary distances between michilimackinac and the river ontonagon._ total miles. miles. from michilimackinac to detour thence to sault de st. marie point aux pins point iroquois, at the entrance into lake superior taquamenon river shelldrake river white-fish point two-hearted river grande marrais, and commencement of grande sables la point la grande sables pictured rocks (la portaille) doric rock, and miner's river grande island river aux trains isle aux trains laughing-fish river chocolate river dead river (in presque isle bay) granite point garlic river st. john's river, or yellow dog run salmon-trout, or burnt river pine river huron river (huron islands lie off this river) point aux beignes (east cape of keweena bay) mouth of portage river head of portage river (through keweena lake) lake superior, at the head of the portage little salmon-trout river graverod's river (small, with flat rocks at its mouth) rivière au misère firesteel river ontonagon, or coppermine river chapter vi. chippewa village at the mouth of the ontonagon--organize an expedition to explore its mineralogy--incidents of the trip--rough nature of the country--reach the copper rock--misadventure--kill a bear--discoveries of copper--general remarks on the mineral affluence of the basin of lake superior. a small chippewa village, under the chieftainship of tshwee-tshweesh-ke-wa, or the plover, and kundekund, the net buoy, was found on the west bank of the river, near its mouth, the chiefs and warriors of which received us in the most friendly manner. if not originally a people of a serene and placid temperament, they have been so long in habits of intercourse with the white race that they are quite familiar with their manners and customs, and mode of doing business. they appeared to regard the canadian-frenchmen of our party as if they were of their own mode of thinking, and, indeed, almost identical with themselves. the ontonagon river had, from the outset, formed an object of examination, from the early and continued reports of copper on its borders. it was determined to lose no time in examining it. guides were furnished to conduct a party up the river to the locality of the large mass of this metal, known from early days. this being one of the peculiar duties of my appointment, i felt the deepest interest in its success, and took with me the apparatus i had brought for cutting the rock and securing proper specimens. the party consisted of governor cass, dr. wolcott, captain douglass, lieutenant mackay, j. d. doty, esq., and myself. we embarked in two canoes, with their complement of men and guides. it was six o'clock, when, leaving the balance of the expedition encamped at the mouth of the river, east shore, we took our departure, in high spirits, for the copper regions. a broad river with a deep and gentle current, with a serpentine channel, and heavily wooded banks with their dark-green foliage overhanging the water, rendered the first few miles of the trip delightful. at the distance of four miles, we reached a sturgeon-fishery, formed by extending a weir across the river. this weir consists of upright and horizontal stakes and poles, along the latter of which the indians move and balance themselves, having in their hands an iron hook on a pole, with which the fish are caught. we stopped a few moments to look at the process, received some of the fish drawn up during our stay, which are evidently the _acipenser oxyrinchus_, and went on a couple of miles higher, where we encamped on a sandbar. here we were welcomed, during the sombre hours off the night, with a pertinacity we could have well dispensed with, by the mosquitos. we resumed the ascent at four o'clock in the morning. the river is still characterized for some miles by rich alluvial banks, bearing a dense forest of elm, maple, and walnut, with a luxuriant growth of underbrush. but it was soon perceived that the highlands close in upon it and narrow its channel, which murmurs over dangerous beds of rocks and stones. almost imperceptibly, we found ourselves in an alpine region of a very rugged character. the first rapid water encountered had been at the indian weir, on the th. these rapids, though presenting slight obstacles, became more frequent at higher points. we had been in our canoes about three hours, the river having become narrower and more rapid, when the guides informed the party that we had ascended as far into the mountainous district as was practicable; that there was a series of bad rapids above; and that, by landing at this spot, the party could proceed, with guides, to the locality of the copper rock. accordingly, arrangements were made to divide the party; governor cass placed at my service the number of men necessary to explore the country on foot, and carry the implements. dr. wolcott and captain douglass joined me. i took my departure with eight persons, including two indian guides, in quest of the mineral region, over the highlands on the west bank of the river; while the governor, major forsyth, and the other guides, remained with the canoes, which were lightened of half their burden, in hopes of their being able to ascend the stream quite to the rock. starting with my party with alacrity, this trip was found to be one of no ordinary toil. not only was the country exceedingly rough, carrying us up and down steep depressions, but the heat of the sun, together with the exercise, was oppressive, nor did our guides seem to move with a precision which betokened much familiarity with the region, if they did not feel, indeed, some compunction on leading whites to view their long superstitiously concealed mineral treasures. at one o'clock we came to an indian path, leading directly to the place. the guides here sat down to await the party under governor cass, who were expected to join us at this spot. the thermometer at this hour stood at ° in the shade of the forest. we had not been long seated when the other party made their appearance; but the governor had been so much exhausted by clambering up the river hills, that he determined to return to his point of landing in the river. in this attempt he was guided by one of the ontonagon indians, named wabiskipenais,[ ] who missed his way, and wandered about he knew not whither. we leave him to thread his way back into the valley, with the executive of the territory, wearied and perplexed, at his heels, while the results of my excursion in search of the copper rock are detailed. after the reunion at the path, my mineralogical party proceeded some five or six miles, by estimation, farther, through a more favorable region, towards the object of search. on approaching the river, they passed some antique excavations in the forest, overgrown with saplings, which had the appearance of age, but not of a remote age. coming to the brink of the river, we beheld the stream brawling over a rapid stony bed, at the depth of, perhaps, eighty or a hundred feet below. towards this, its diluvial banks, charged with boulders and pebbles, sloped at a steep angle. at the foot, laid the large mass we were in search of, partly immersed in the water. its position may be inferred from the following sketch:-- [ ] from _wabiska_, white (transitive animate), and _penasee_, a bird. [illustration: fig. .] the rock consists of a mass of native copper in a tabular boulder of serpentine. its face is almost purely metallic, and more splendent than appears to consist with its being purely metallic copper. there is no appearance of oxidation. its size, roughly measured, is three feet four inches, by three feet eight inches, and about twelve or fourteen inches thick in the thickest part. the weight of copper, exclusive of the rock, is not readily estimated; it may be a ton, or a ton and a half. old authors report it at more than double this weight. the quantity has been, however, much diminished by visitors, who have cut freely from it. i obtained adequate specimens, but found my chisels too highly tempered, and my hammer not heavy enough to separate large masses. having made the necessary examinations, we took our way back up the elevated banks of the river, and across the forest about six miles, to the final place of debarkation of gov. cass and his party. but our fears were at once excited on learning that the governor, with his guide, wabishkepenais, had not reached the camp. it was already beginning to be dark, and the gloom of night, which is impressive in these solitudes, was fast closing around us. guns were fired, to denote our position, and a light canoe was immediately manned, placed in charge of one of the gentlemen, and sent up the river in search. this canoe had not proceeded a mile, when the object of search was descried, with his companions, sitting on the banks of the river, with a real jaded air, with his indian guide standing at no great distance. wabishkepenais had been bewildered in his tracks, and finally struck the river by the merest chance. the governor, on reaching camp, looked as if he had been carried over steeps and through gloomy defiles, which had completely exhausted his strength, and he was not long in retiring to his tent, willing to leave such rough explorations for the present, at least, to other persons, or, if he ever resumed them, to do it with better guides. poor wabishkepenais looked chagrined and as woebegone himself as if he had encountered the bad influences of half the spirits of his indian mythology; for the fellow had really been lost in his own woods, and with a charge by whom he had felt honored, and employed his best skill to conduct. the camp-fires already threw their red glare among the trees as night spread her sable pall over us. the tents were pitched; the canoes turned up on the shore to serve as a canopy for the men to sleep under. indians and canadians were soon engaged at their favorite pipes, and mingled their tones and hilarious conversation; and we finally all slept the sounder for our eventful day's toils and misadventures. but deeply printed on our memory, and long to remain there, are the thrilling scenes of that day and that night. at five o'clock the next morning, the entire camp was roused and in motion, when we began to descend the stream. we had descended about ten miles, when the ontonagon indians stopped the canoes to examine a bear-fall, on the east bank. it was a fine open forest, elevated some six or eight feet above the water. it was soon announced that a bear was entrapped. we all ascended the bank, and visited the locality. the structure had been so planned that the animal must needs creep lowly under a crib of logs to get at the bait, which he no sooner disturbed than a weight of logs fell on his prostrated legs. the animal sat up partially on his fore paws, when we advanced, the hinder being pressed heavily to the earth. one of the indians soon fired a ball through his head, but it did not kill him, he still kept his upright position. dr. wolcott then requested permission to fire a shot, which was aimed at the heart, and took effect about that part, but did not kill him. one of the indians then dispatched him with an axe. he was no sooner dead than one of the indians, stepping up, addressed him by the name _muk-wah_, shook him by the paw, with a smiling countenance, saying, in the indian language, that he was sorry they had been under the necessity of killing him, and hoped the offence would be forgiven, as one of the shots fired had been from an american.[ ] [ ] chemoquiman, from _gitchee_, great, and _moquiman_, knife. this act of the indian addressing the bear, will be better understood, when it is stated that their mythology tells them, that the spirit of the animal must be encountered in a future state, when the enchantment to which it is condemned in this life, will be taken off. on passing down the river, an indian had promised to disclose another mass of native copper, near the river, and we stopped at a spot indicated, to enable him to bring it. whether he repented of his too free offer, agreeably to indian superstition, or feared some calamity to follow the disclosure, or really encountered some difficulty in finding it, i know not, but it is certain that, after some time spent in the search, or affected search, he came back to the river without producing it. soon after this incident, we reached the mouth of the river, and found the party left encamped at that point, in charge of mr. trowbridge and mr. doty, well, nothing having occurred in our absence. the wind was, however, adverse to our embarkation, had it been immediately desired. a council of the ontonagon indians was summoned, which met in the after part of the day; speeches were delivered, and replied to, and presents distributed. a silver medal was presented to wabishkepenais. head winds continuing, we were farther detained at this spot the following day. while thus detained, an ontonagon indian brought in a mass of native copper, from the banks of this river, weighing eight or nine pounds. this mass was of a flattened, orbicular shape, and its surface coated with a green oxide. at a subsequent part of my acquaintance with this river, another mass of native copper (still deposited in my cabinet) was brought to me, from the east fork of the river, which weighed from forty to fifty pounds. this mass, of a columnar shape, originally embraced a piece of stone which the indian finding it had detached. it was also coated with a dark green oxide of copper. both of these masses appeared to have been volcanic. neither of them had the slightest traces of gangue, or vein-matter, nor of attrition in being removed from the parent beds. the following sketches depict the shapes of these masses. [illustration: fig. .] [illustration: fig. .] with respect to the general question of the mineral character of this part of the country, and the probable value of its mineral and metallic deposits to the public domain, the entire class of facts, from which a judgment must be formed, are favorable.[ ] salts and oxides of copper are not only seen in various places in its stratification, but these indications of mineral wealth in this article are confirmed, by the subsequent discovery of masses of native copper, along the shore, and imbedded in its traps and amygdaloids. in addition to the opportunities of observation furnished by this expedition, subsequent public duties led me to perform seven separate trips along its shores, and each of these but served to accumulate the evidences of its extraordinary mineral wealth. indications of the sulphurets, arseniates, and other ores of this metal are found in the older class of horizontal rocks; but it is to the trap-rocks alone that we must look for the veins of native metal. some of these masses contain silver, in a state of combination. traces of this metal, chiefly in the boulder form, are found in the metalliferous horizontal strata. nor is there wanting evidence, that there are localities of virgin copper, which do not promise a considerable percentage of the metal. a mass of steatite, imbedding a heavy mass of pure native silver, which had been probably carried from the northwest, with the drift stratum, was found cast out quite into the huron basin; and this rock, in its intimate associations with the serpentine formation of lake superior, should be closely scrutinized. there is also a formation of slate and quartz in the primitive district, which is entitled to particular attention. [ ] _vide_ reports in the appendix: . report on the copper mines of lake superior, november , . . report on the value of the existing evidences of mineral wealth in the basin of lake superior to the public domain, october , . inorganic masses are developed, throughout the globe, without regard to climate. russia yields the precious metals in great profusion, and there are no laws governing the distribution of these metals, which forbid the expectation that they should be abundantly disclosed by the stratification of the basin of lake superior. with respect to the useful metals, particularly copper and iron, it is undeniably the richest and most extensive locality of these metals on the globe.[ ] [ ] geological report, _vide_ appendix. chapter vii. proceed along the southern coast of lake superior from the ontonagon, to fond du lac--porcupine range of mountains--streams that run from it, at parallel distances, into the lake--la pointe--group of the federation islands--river st. louis--physical geography of lake superior. head winds detained the expedition at the mouth of the ontonagon, during the day and the day following that of our arrival from the copper rock. it was the first of july, at half-past four o'clock, a. m., when the state of the lake permitted us to embark. steering west, we now had the prominent object of the porcupine mountains constantly in view. at the distance of fifteen miles, we passed the pewabik seebe, or iron river. this stream, after ascending it a couple of miles, is a mere torrent, pouring from the porcupine mountains, over a very rough bed of grauwakke, which forbids all navigation. at the computed distance of five leagues beyond this stream, we passed the river called pusábika, or dented river, so called from standing rocks, which resemble broken human teeth. the canadians, who, as previously remarked, appear to have had but a limited geographical vocabulary, called this carp river, neglectful of the fact that they had already bestowed the name on a small river which flows into the bay south of granite point.[ ] we were now at the foot of the kaug range, which is one vast upheaval of trap-rock, and has lifted the chocolate-colored sandstone, at its base, into a vertical position. the pusábika river originates in this high trap range, from which it is precipitated, at successive leaps, to the level of the lake, the nearest of which, a cascade of forty feet, is within three miles of the river's mouth. [ ] now the seat of the marquette iron works. six miles further brought us to the presque isle river of the canadians, for which i heard no indian name. it also originates on this lofty trap range, and has worn its bed through frightful chasms in the grauwackke, through which it enters the lake. within half a mile of its entrance, the river, hastening from its elevations, drops into a vast cauldron scooped in the grauwackke rock, whence it glides into the lake. here are some picturesque and sublime views, worthy the pencil. two leagues beyond this river we reached and passed the entrance of black river, another of the streams from the kaug range. it is stated to be rapid, and to have its source south of the mountains, in a district sheltered from the lake winds, and suited to agriculture. its borders bear at the same time indications of mineral wealth. eight miles beyond this river, we encamped on the open shores of the lake, after travelling fifty miles. having been doubled up in the canoe for all this distance, landing on terra firma, and being able to stretch one's legs, seemed quite a relief. "i will break a lance with you," quoth a to b, addressing mr. trowbridge, offering him at the same time a dried stalk, which had been cast up by the waves. we were, in fact, as much pleased to get ashore, after the day's confinement, as so many boys let loose from confinement in school. in strolling along the shore, i recognized the erismatolite, in the dark upheaved sandstone at this locality. we here observed a phenomenon, which is alluded to by charlevoix as peculiar to this lake. although it was calm, and had been so all day, save a light breeze for a couple of hours after leaving the ontonagon, the waters near shore were in a perfect rage, heaving and lashing upon the rocks, in a manner which rendered it difficult to land. at the same time, scarce a breath of air was stirring, and the atmosphere was beautifully serene. on passing thirteen miles, the next morning, we reached the mouth of the montreal river, which is the last of the mountain streams of the kaug range. it throws itself from a high precipice of the vertical sand-rock, within sight of the lake, creating quite a picturesque view.[ ] (vide _information respecting the history, customs, and prospects of indian tribes_, vol. iv. plate .) [ ] this river has subsequently been fixed on as the northwestern boundary of the state of michigan, separating it from wisconsin. on landing here a few moments, at an early hour, the air being hazy, we knocked down some pigeons, which flew very low.[ ] this bird seems to be precisely the common pigeon of the atlantic borders. the indians had constructed a fish-weir between the lake and montreal falls, where the lake sturgeon are caught. [ ] birds of lake superior.--of the species that frequent the vicinity of this lake, the magpie is found to approach as far north as lac du flambeau, on the head of the montreal and chippewa rivers. this bird is called by the chippewas wabish kagagee, a name derived from _wabishkau_, white animate, and _kaw-gaw-gee_, a crow. the three-toed woodpecker visits its forests. the t. polyglottis has been seen as far north as the island of michilimackinac. in the spring of , a species of grosbeak visited st. mary's, of which i transmitted a specimen to the new york lyceum of natural history, where it received the name of evening grosbeak. after passing about a league beyond the montreal, the voyager reaches a curve in the lake shore, at which it bends to the north and northwest. this curve is observed to extend to the de tour of the great bay of fond du lac, a computed distance of the _voyageurs_ of thirty-six miles, which, as before indicated, is about one-third overrated. the immediate shore is a level plain of sand, which continues to point chegoimegon, say eighteen miles. about two-thirds of this distance, the muskeego[ ] river enters through the sandy plain from the west. this is a large stream, consisting of two primary forks, one of which connects it with chippewa river, and the other with the river st. croix of the mississippi. the difficulties attending its ascent, from rapids and portages, have led the french to call it mauvaise, or bad river.[ ] [ ] from _muskeeg_, a swamp or bog, and o, the sign of the genitive. [ ] muskeego, or mauvais river.--in , the united states government placed under my charge an expedition into the indian country which ascended this river, with a view to penetrate through the intervening region to the mississippi. indian canoes were employed, as being best adapted to its rapids and portages, which were managed by _voyageurs_. a detachment of infantry, under lieut. r. clary, was added. the tribes in this secluded region were then meditating the outbreak which eventuated the next year in the black hawk war. this expedition ascended the river through a most embarrassing series of rapids and rafts, which often choked up its channel for miles, into a long lake, on its summit, called kagenogumaug. from the northwest end of this, it passed, from lake to lake, to the namakagun fork of the river st. croix of the mississippi, descended that stream to yellow river, then retraced the namakagun to a portage to ottowa lake, a source of chippewa river, then to a portage into lac chetac, the source of the red cedar, or follavoine river, and pursued the latter to the main channel of the chippewa, and by the latter into the mississippi, which it enters at the foot of lake pepin; thence down the mississippi to prairie du chien, and through the present area of the state of wisconsin, by the wisconsin and fox rivers, to green bay; thence through lakes michigan and huron to sault de ste marie. passing this river, we continued along the sandy formation to its extreme termination, which separates the bay of st. charles by a strait from that remarkable group of islands, called the twelve apostles by carwer. it is this sandy point, which is called la pointe chagoimegon[ ] by the old french authors, a term now shortened to la pointe. instead of "twelve," there are, however, nearer thirty islands, agreeably to the subjoined sketch, by which it is seen that each state in the union may stand sponsor for one of them, and they might be more appropriately called the _federation group_. touching at the inner or largest of the group, we found it occupied by a chippewa village, under a chief called bezhike. there was a tenement occupied by a mr. m. cadotte, who has allied himself to the chippewas. hence we proceeded about eleven miles to the main shore, where we encamped at a rather late hour. i here found a recurrence of the granitic, sienitic, and hornblende rocks, in high orbicular hills, and improved the brief time of daylight to explore the vicinity. the evening proved lowering and dark, and this eventuated in rain, which continued all night, and until six o'clock the next morning. embarking at this hour, we proceeded northwest about eight miles, to raspberry river, and southwest to sandy river. here we were driven ashore by a threatening tempest, and before we had unladen the canoes, there fell one of the most copious and heavy showers of rain. the water seemed fairly to pour from the clouds. we had not pitched a tent, nor could the slightest shelter be found. there seemed but one option at our command, namely, that between sitting and standing. we chose the latter, and looked at each other, it may be, foolishly, while this rain tempest poured. when it was over, we were as completely wetted as if it had been our doom to lay at the bottom of the lake. when the rain ceased, the wind rose directly ahead, which confined us to that spot the rest of the day. the next day was the fourth of july--a day consecrated in our remembrance, but which we could do no more than remember. the wind continued to blow adversely till about two o'clock, when we embarked, not without feeling the lake still laboring under the agitation into which it had been thrown. on travelling three miles, we turned the prominent point, called de tour of fond du lac. at this point our course changed from northwest to south-southwest. [ ] from _shaugwamegun_, low lands, and _ing_, a place. the sandstone formation here showed itself for the last time. the shore soon assumes a diluvial character, bordered with long lines of yellow sand and pebbles. in some places, heavy beds of pure iron sand were observed. the agitation which marked the lake soon subsided, under the change of wind, and our men seemed determined, by the diligence with which they worked, to make amends for our delay at sandy river. at eight o'clock in the evening we came to cranberry river and encamped, having, by their estimation, come twenty-three miles. the evening was perfectly clear and calm, with a striking twilight, which was remarked all night. these lengthened twilights form a very observable feature as we proceed north. mackenzie says that, in lat. ° ´, on the th of july, , he saw the sun above the horizon at twelve o'clock p.m. the calmness and beauty of the night, and our chief's anxiety to press forward, made this a short night. gen. cass aroused the camp at a very early hour, so that at three o'clock we were again upon the lake, urging our way up the fond du lac bay. the sun rose above the horizon at ten minutes before four o'clock. the morning was clear and brilliant. not a cloud obscured the sky, and the waves of the lake spread out with the brightness of a mirror. at the distance of five leagues, we passed the mouth of the wisakoda, or broule river,[ ] a stream which forms the connecting link with the mississippi river, through the st. croix. three miles beyond this point we landed a short time, on the shore, where we observed a stratum of iron sand, pure and black, a foot in thickness. [ ] wisacoda, or broule river.--on returning down the mississippi river, from the exploration of its sources, in , i ascended the river st. croix quite to its source in st. croix lake. a short portage, across a sandy summit, terminated at the head springs of the wisacoda, which, from a very narrow and tortuous channel, is soon increased in volume by tributaries, and becomes a copious stream. thus swelled in volume, it is dashed down an inclined plane, for nearly seventy miles, over which it roars and foams with the impetuosity of a torrent. it is not till within a few miles of lake superior that it becomes still and deep. the entire length of the river may be estimated at one hundred miles. it has two hundred and forty distinct rapids, at some of which the river sinks its level from eight to ten feet. it cannot fall, in this distance, less than . that it should ever have been used in the fur trade, is to be explained by the fact that it has much water. at eleven o'clock, a northeast wind arose, which enabled the expedition to hoist sail. land on the north shore had for some time been in sight, across the bay, and the line of coast soon closed in front, denoting that we had reached the head of the lake. at twelve o'clock, we entered the month of the river st. louis, having been eighteen days in passing this lake, including the trip to the ontonagon. before quitting lake superior, whose entire length we have now traversed, one or two generic remarks may be made; and the first respects its aboriginal name. the algonquins, who, in the chippewa tribe, were found in possession of it, on the arrival of the french, early in the seventeenth century, applied the same radical word to it which they bestow on the sea, namely, gum-ee (collected water), or, as it is sometimes pronounced, gom-ee, or go-ma; with this difference, that the adjective big (gitchè) prefixed to this term for lake superior, is repeated when it is applied to the sea. the superlative is formed when it is meant to be very emphatic, in this language, by the repetition of the adjective; a principle, indeed, quite common to the indian grammars generally. the word did not commend itself to french or english ears, so much as to lead to its adoption. by taking the syllable al from algonquin, as a prefix, instead of gitchè, we have the more poetic combination of algoma. geographers have estimated the depth of this lake at nine hundred feet. by the surveys of the engineers of the new york and erie canal, the surface of lake erie is shown to be five hundred and sixty feet above tide-water, which, agreeably to estimates kept on the present journey, lies fifty-two feet below the level of lake superior. these data would carry the bottom of the lake two hundred and eighty-eight feet below tide water. what is more certain is this, that it has been the theatre of ancient volcanic action, which has thrown its trap-rocks into high precipices around its northern shores and some of its islands, and lifted up vast ranges of sandstone rocks into a vertical position, as is seen at the base of the porcupine mountains. its latest action appears to have been in its western portion, as is proved by the upheaval of the horizontal strata; and it may be inferred that its bed is very rough and unequal. the western termination of the lake, in the great bay of fond du lac, denotes a double or masked shore, which appears to have been formed of pebbles and sands, driven up by the tempests, at the distance of a mile or two, outside of the original shore. the result is shown by an elongated piece of water, resembling a lake, which receives at the north, the river st. louis, and the _agoche_, or lefthand river, at its south extremity. about three miles above the mouth of the river, we landed at a chippewa village. while exchanging the usual salutations with them, we noticed the children of an african, who had intermarried with this tribe. these children were the third in descent from bongo, a freed man of a former british commanding officer at the island of michilimackinac. they possessed as black skins as the father, a fact which may be accounted for by observing, what i afterwards learned, that the marriages were, in the case of the grandfather and father, with the pure indian, and not with africano-algonquin blood; so that there had been no direct advance in the genealogical line. the st. louis river discharges a large volume of water, and is destined hereafter to be a port of entry for the lake shipping, but at present it has shoals of sand at its mouth which would bar the entrance of large vessels. proceeding up the river, we found it very serpentine, and abounding in aquatic plants, portions of it yielding the wild rice. at the computed distance of twenty-four miles, we reached the establishment of the american fur company. it was seven o'clock when we came to the place, where we encamped. lake superior is called by the chippewas a sea. the superficial area of the lake has been computed by mr. darby at a little under nine hundred billions of feet, and its depth at nine hundred feet. by the latest surveys and estimate, the altitude of lake superior above tide water, is about six hundred and forty feet.[ ] allowing mr. darby's computation to be correct, this would sink its bed far below the surface of the atlantic. [ ] _vide_ appendix. this lake has been the theatre of very extensive volcanic action. vast dykes of trap traverse its northern shores. one of the principal of these has apparently extended across its bed, from northeast to southwest, to the long peninsula of keweena, producing at the same time, the elevated range of the okaug mountains. one of the most remarkable features of these dykes is the numerous and extensive veins of native copper which characterize them. subsequent convulsions, and the demolition of these ancient dykes, by storms and tempests, have scattered along its shores abundant evidence of the metal and its ores and veinstones, which have attracted notice from the earliest time. the geology of its southern coasts may be glanced at, and inferred, from the subjoined outlines. [illustration: geological outline of lake superior.] the teachings of topography, applied to commerce, are wonderful. a longitudinal line, dropped south, from this point, would cross the mississippi at the foot of lake pepin, and pass through jefferson city on the missouri. when, therefore, a ship canal shall be made at st. mary's falls, vessels of large tonnage may sail from oswego (by the welland canal) and buffalo, through a line of inter-oceanic seas, nearer to the foot of the rocky mountains, by several hundred miles, than by any other possible route. a railroad line from fond du lac west to the columbia valley, would also form the shortest and most direct transit route from the pacific to new york. such a road would have the advantage of passing through a region favorable to agriculture, which cannot but develop abundant resources. chapter viii. proceed up the st. louis river, and around its falls and rapids to sandy lake in the valley of the upper mississippi--grand portage--portage aux coteaux--a sub-exploring party--cross the great morass of akeek scepi to sandy lake--indian mode of pictographic writing--site of an indian jonglery--post of sandy lake. we had now reached above nine hundred and fifty miles from our starting-point at detroit, and had been more than forty days in traversing the shores of lakes huron and superior. july had already commenced, and no time was to be lost in reaching our extreme point of destination. every exertion was therefore made to push ahead. by ten o'clock of the morning after our arrival at the fond du lac post, we embarked, and after going two miles reached the foot of the first rapids of the st. louis. this spot is called the commencement of the grand portage--over this path all the goods, provisions, and canoes are to be carried by hand nine miles. during this distance, the st. louis river, a stream of prime magnitude, bursts through the high trap range of what bouchette calls the cabotian mountains, being a continuation of the upheavals of the north shore of lake superior, the river leaping and foaming, from crag to crag, in a manner which creates some of the most grand and picturesque views. we sometimes stood gazing at their precipices and falls, with admiration, and often heard their roar on our path, when we were miles away from them. capt. douglass estimated the river to fall one hundred and eight feet during the first nine miles; and from estimates furnished me by dr. wolcott, the aggregate fall from the mouth of the savannè, to that point, is two hundred and twelve feet. we found the first part of the ascent of its banks very precipitous and difficult, particularly for the men who bore burdens, and what rendered the labor almost insupportable was the heat, which stood at °, in the shade, at noon. we made but five _pauses_ the first day; and were three days on the portage. it rained the second day, which added much to the difficulty of our progress. we now found ourselves, at every step, advancing into a wild and rugged region. everything around us wore the aspect of remoteness. dark forests, swampy grounds, rocky precipices, and the distant roaring of the river, as it leapt from rock to rock, would have sufficiently impressed the mind with the presence of the wilderness, without heavy rains, miry paths, and the train of wild and picturesque indians, who constituted a part of our carriers. the rocks, at the foot of the portage, consisted of horizontal red sandstone. on reaching the head of it, we found argillite in a vertical position. i found the latter, in some places, pervaded by thin veins of quartz, and in one instance by grauwackke. at one spot there was a small vein of coarse graphite in the argillite. large blocks of black crystallized hornblende rock lie along the shores, where we again reached the river, and are often seen on its bed, amid the swift-running water, but i did not observe this rock in place. among the loose stones at the foot of the portage, i picked up a specimen of micaceous oxide of iron. such are the gleams of its geology and mineralogy. the growth of the forest is pines, hemlock, spruce, birch, oak, and maple. in favorable situations, i observed the common red raspberry, ripe. on embarking above the portage, the expedition occupied seven canoes, of a size most suitable for this species of navigation. our indian auxiliaries from fond du lac were here rewarded, and dismissed. on ascending six miles, we reached the portage aux coteaux, so called from the carrying path lying over a surface of vertical argillite. this rock, standing up in the bed, or on the banks of the stream, with a scanty overhanging foliage of cedar, gives a peculiarly wild and abrupt aspect to the scene; which is by no means lessened by the loud roaring of the waters. there is a fall and rapid at this portage, where the river, it may be estimated, sinks its level about fourteen feet. we encamped at the head of this portage, where the water again permits the canoes to be put in. thus far, we had found this stream a broad, flowing torrent, but owing to its rapids and rocks, anything but favorable to its navigation by boats, or canoes of heavy burden. his excellency gov. cass, therefore, determined to relieve the river party, by detaching a sub-expedition across the country to sandy lake. it was thought proper that i should accompany this party. it consisted, besides, of lieut. mackay, with eight soldiers, and of mr. doty, mr. trowbridge, and mr. chase. we were provided with an interpreter and two chippewa guides, being sixteen persons in all. thus organized, we left the camp at the head of the portage, the following morning, at six o'clock. each one carried provisions for five days, a knife, a musquito bar, and a blanket or cloak. there were a few guns taken, but generally this was thought to be an incumbrance, as we expected to see little game and to encounter a toilsome tramp. the guides, taking their course by the sun, struck west into a close forest of pine, hemlock, and underbrush, which required energy to push through. on travelling a couple of miles, we fell into an indian path leading in the required direction; but this path, after passing through two ponds, and some marshes, eventually lost itself in swamps. these marshes, after following through them, about four miles, were succeeded by an elevated dry sandy barren, with occasional clumps of pitch pine, and with a surface of shrubbery. walking over this dry tract was quite a relief. we then entered a thick forest of young spruce and hemlock. two miles of this brought us to the banks of a small lake, with clear water, and a pebbly shore. having no canoe to cross it, our guides led us around its southern shores. the fallen timber and brush rendered this a very difficult march. to avoid these obstructions, as they approached the head of the lake, we eventually took its margin, occasionally leading into the water. while passing these shores, i picked up some specimens of the water-worn agates, for which the diluvians in this quarter are remarkable. we now fell into an old indian path, which led to two small lakes, similar in size, to the former one, but with marshy borders, and reddish water. these small lakes were filled with pond lilies, rushes, and wild rice. at the margin of the second lake, the path ceased, and the guides could not afterwards find it. the path terminated abruptly at the second lake. while searching about this, chamees,[ ] one of the indian guides, found a large green tortoise, which he and his companion killed in a very ingenious and effectual way, by a blow from a hatchet on the neck, at the point where the shell or buckler terminates. after leaving this water, they appeared to be in doubt about the way; almost imperceptibly, we found ourselves in a great tamarak swamp. the bogs and moss served to cover up, almost completely, the fallen trees, and formed so elastic a carpet as to sink deep at every tread. occasionally they broke through, letting the foot into the mire. this proved a very fatiguing tramp. to add to its toils, it rained at intervals all day. we were eleven hours in passing this swamp, and estimated, and probably over-estimated ourselves to have past twenty miles. we encamped at five o'clock near the shores of a third small lake, each one picking out for himself the most elevated spot possible, and the person who got a position most completely out of the water was the best man. it is fatigue, however, that makes sleep a welcome guest, and we awoke without any cause of complaint on that score. [ ] the pouncing hawk. the next morning, as we were about to depart, we observed near the camp-fire of our guides a pole leaning in the direction we were to go, with a birch-bark inscription inserted in a slit in the top of the pole. this was too curious an object not to excite marked attention, and we took it down to examine the hieroglyphics, or symbols, which had been inscribed with charcoal on the birch scroll. we found the party minutely depicted by symbols. the figures of eight muskets denoted that there were eight soldiers in the party. the usual figure for a man, namely, a closed cross with a head, thus:-- [illustration] and one hand holding a sword, told the tale that they were commanded by an officer. mr. doty was drawn with a book, they having understood that he was a lawyer. i was depicted with a hammer, to denote a mineralogist. mr. trowbridge and mr. chase, and the interpreter, were also depicted. chamees and his companion were drawn by a camp-fire apart, and the figure of the tortoise and a prairie-hen denoted the day's hunt. there were three hacks on the pole, which leaned to the n. w., denoting our course of travel. having examined this unique memorial, it was carefully replaced in its former position, when we again set forward. it appeared we had rested in a sort of oasis in the swamp, for we soon entered into a section of a decidedly worse character than that we had passed the day before. the windfalls and decaying timber were more frequent--the bogs, if possible, more elastic--the spots dry enough to halt on, more infrequent, and the water more highly colored with infusions of decaying vegetable matter. we urged our way across this tract of morass for nine hours, during which we estimated our progress at fourteen miles, and encamped about four o'clock p. m., in a complete state of exhaustion. even our indian guides demanded a halt; and what had, indeed, added to our discouragements, was the uncertainty of their way, which they had manifested. our second night's repose in this swampy tract, was on ground just elevated above the water; the mosquitos were so pertinacious at this spot as to leave us but little rest. from information given by our guides, this wide tract of morass constitutes the sources of the akeek seebi, or kettle river, which is one of the remotest sources of the mille lac, and, through that body of water, of rum river. it is visited only by the indians, at the proper season for trapping the beaver, marten, and muskrat. during our transit through it, we came to open spaces where the cranberry was abundant. in the same locality, we found the ripe fruit, green berries, and blossoms of this fruit. it was five o'clock a. m. when we resumed our march through this toilsome tract, and we passed out of it, after pressing forward with our best might, during twelve hours. we had been observant of the perplexity of our guides, who had unwittingly, we thought, plunged us into this dreary and seemingly endless morass, and were rejoiced, on a sudden, to hear them raise loud shouts. they had reached a part of the country known to them, and took this mode to express their joy, and we soon found ourselves on the banks of a small clear stream, called by them bezhiki seebi, or buffalo creek, a tributary to sandy lake. we had, at length, reached waters flowing into the mississippi. on this stream we prepared to encamp, in high spirits, feeling, as those are apt to who have long labored at an object, a pleasure in some measure proportioned to the exertions made. any other people but the indians would feel ill at ease in dreary regions like these. but these sons of the forest appear to carry all their socialities with them, even in the most forbidding solitudes. they are so familiarized with the notions of demons and spirits, that the wildest solitude is replete with objects of hope and fear. we had evidence of this, just before we encamped on the banks of the bezhiki, when we came to a cleared spot, which had been occupied by what the canadians, with much force, call a _jonglery_, or place of necromantic ceremonies of their priests or jossakeeds. there were left standing of this structure six or eight smooth posts of equal length, standing perpendicularly. these had been carefully peeled, and painted with a species of ochrey clay. the curtains of bark, extending between them, and isolating the powow, or operator, had been removed; but the precincts had the appearance of having been carefully cleared of brush, and the ground levelled, for the purposes of these sacred orgies, which exercise so much influence on indian society. we were awaked in our encampment, between four and five o'clock, the next morning, by a shower of rain. jumping up, and taking our customary meal of jerked beef and biscuit, we now followed our guides, with alacrity, over a dry and uneven surface, towards sandy lake. we had now been three days in accomplishing the traverse over this broad and elevated, yet sphagnous summit, separating the valley of the st. louis of lake superior from that of the upper mississippi. as we approached the basin of sandy lake, we passed over several sandy ridges, bearing the white and yellow pine; the surface and its depressions bearing the wild cherry, poplar, hazel, ledum latifolia, and other usual growth and shrubs of the latitude. on the dry sandy tracts the uva ursi, or kinnikinnik of the indians, was noticed. in the mineral constitution of the ridges themselves, the geologist recognizes that wide-spreading drift-stratum, with boulders and pebbles of sienitic and hornblende, quartz, and sandstone rock, which is so prevalent in the region. as we approached the lake we ascended one of those sandy ridges which surround it, and dashing our way through the dense underbrush, were gratified on gaining its apex to behold the sylvan shores and islands of the lake, with the trading-post and flag, seen dimly in the distance. the view is preserved in the following outlines, taken on the spot. [illustration: sandy lake, from an eminence north of the mouth of the west creek of the portage of savannah. th july, .] i asked chamees the indian name of this lake. he replied, ka-metong-aug-e-maug. this is one of those compound terms, in their languages, of which the particle _ka_ is affirmative. metongaug, is the plural form of sandy lake. maug is the plural form of water, corresponding, by the usual grammatical duality of meaning, to the plural form of the noun. the word might, perhaps, be adopted in the form of kametonga. having heard, on our passage through lake superior, that a gun fired in the basin of sandy lake, could be heard at the fort, that experiment was tried, while we sat down or sauntered about to await the result. having waited in vain, the shots were repeated. after the lapse of a long time, a boat, with two men, was descried in the distance approaching. it proved to be occupied by two young clerks of the trading establishment, named ashmun and fairbanks. they managed to embark the elite of our party, in their small vessel, and, as we crossed the lake, amused us with an account of the excitement our shots had caused. some indian women affirmed to them that they had heard warwhoops, and to make sure that a sioux war party were not upon them, they drove off their cattle to a place of safety. in the actual position of affairs, the hunt being over for the year, and the avails being sent to michilimackinac (for this was the head-quarters of the factor whom we had met at shelldrake river), the probabilities of its being a hunting party were less. we informed them that we were an advance party of an expedition sent out to explore the sources of the mississippi river, under the personal order of his excellency governor cass, who was urging his way up the st. louis to the savanna portage, through which he intended to descend into sandy lake. it was near sunset before we landed at the establishment. we found the trading fort a stockade of squared pine timber, thirteen feet high, and facing an area a hundred feet square, with bastions pierced for musketry at the southeast and northwest angles. there were three or four acres outside of one of the angles, picketed in, and devoted to the culture of potatoes. the stockade inclosed two ranges of buildings. this is the post visited by lieut. z. pike, u. s. a., on snow-shoes, and with dog-trains, in the winter of , when it was occupied by the british northwest trading company. as a deep mantle of snow covered the country, it did not permit minute observations on the topography or natural history; and there have been no explorations since. pike's chief error was in placing the source of the mississippi in turtle lake--a mistake which is due entirely, it is believed, to the imperfect or false maps furnished him by the chief traders of the time. we were received with all the hospitality possible, in the actual state of things, and with every kindness; and for the first time, since leaving detroit, we slept in a house. we were informed that we were now within two miles of the mississippi river, into which the outlet of sandy lake emptied itself, and that we were five hundred miles above the falls of st. anthony. we had accomplished the transference of position from the head of the basin of lake superior, that is, from the foot of the falls of the st. louis river, in seven days, by a route, too, certainly one of the worst imaginable, and there can be no temerity in supposing that it might be effected in light canoes in half that time. chapter ix. reunion of the expedition on the savanna portage--elevation of this summit--descent to sandy lake--council with the chippewa tribe--who are they?--traits of their history, language, and customs--enter the mississippi, with a sub-exploring party, and proceed in search of its source--physical characteristics of the stream at this place--character of the canadian voyageur! on rising on the next morning ( th july), our minds were firmly set, at the earliest moment, to rejoin the main expedition, which had been toiling its way up the st. louis river to the savanna portage. and as soon as we had dispatched our breakfast at the post, we set out, accompanied by one of the trading clerks, for that noted carrying place between the waters of the st. louis and sandy lake. we reached its northwestern terminus at about twelve o'clock, and were surprised to find gov. cass, with some of his party, and a part of the baggage, already there; and by five o'clock in the afternoon the last of the latter, together with the canoes, arrived. and it was then, in the exhausted state of the men, and at so late an hour, concluded to encamp, and await the morning to commence the descent of the west savannè to the lake. the expedition had, after we left them at the portage aux coteaux on the th, and being thus relieved of our weight, urged its way up the river, with labor, about fifty-six miles, to the inlet of the east savannè, having surmounted, in this distance, rapids of the aggregate estimated height of two hundred and twelve feet, which occupied two days. they then ascended the savannè twenty-four miles, rising eighteen feet. the portage, from water to water, is six miles. it commences in a tamarak swamp, from which the bog, in a dry season, has been burnt off, leaving the path a mass of mire. trees and sticks have, from time to time, been laid in this to walk on, which it requires the skill of a balancing master to keep. for the distance of three _pozes_ [pauses] this is the condition of the path; afterwards, the footing becomes dry, and there are ascending sand ridges, which are easily crossed. dr. wolcott, to whom i had handed my geological note-book, made the following observations. "we left the vertical strata of slate, about two miles above the portage aux coteaux. they were succeeded by rocks of hornblende, which continued the whole distance to the head of the grand rapid. these rocks were only to be observed in the bed of the river, and appeared to be much water-worn, and manifestly out of place. soon after we left the portage aux coteaux, the hills receded from the river, and its banks for the rest of the way were generally low, often alluvial, and always covered with a thick growth of birch, elm, sugar-tree (acer saccharinum), and the whole tribe of pines, with an almost impenetrable thicket of underbrush. "the appearances of this day ( th) have been similar to those of yesterday, except that the country bordering the river became entirely alluvial, and the poplar became the predominating growth, while the evergreen almost entirely disappeared. the rocks were seldom visible, except upon the rapids, and then only in the bed of the river, and were entirely composed of hornblende, all out of place, and exhibiting no signs of stratification, but evidently thrown confusedly together by the force of the current. "the savannè river is about twenty yards broad at its junction with the st. louis, but soon narrows to about half the breadth, which it retains until it forks at the distance of about twelve miles from its mouth. its whole course runs through a low marshy meadow, the timbered land occasionally reaching to the banks of the river, but generally keeping a distance of about twenty rods on either side. the meadow is, for the most part, covered with tufts of willow and other shrubs, common to marshes. the woods, which skirt it, are of the same kinds observed on the preceding days, except that a species of small oak frequently appears among it. the river becomes so narrow towards its head, that it is with great difficulty canoes can make their way through its windings; and the portage commences a mile or two from its source, which is in a tamarak swamp." the height of land between the east and west savannè, dr. wolcott estimates at about thirty feet. adding to this elevation the estimates of capt. douglass, before mentioned, the entire elevation between the foot of the falls of the st. louis and the apex of this summit is three hundred and sixty-eight feet.[ ] [ ] for heights and distances, _vide_ appendix. having exchanged congratulations, and recited to each other the little personal incidents which had marked our respective tracks of entry into the country, we passed the night on the sources of this little stream; and the next morning, at five o'clock, began its descent. it is a mere brook, only deep enough, at this spot, to embark the canoes, and two men to manage them. at the distances of four, and of twelve miles, there are rapids, where half the loads are carried over portages. at the foot of the latter rapid, there is a tributary called ox creek, and from this point to the lake, a distance of six miles, the navigation is practicable with full loads. we entered the lake with pleasurable feelings, at the accomplishment of our transit over this summit, and after a passage of three miles over the calm and sylvan surface of the lake, the expedition reached and landed at the company's fort. it was now four o'clock in the afternoon of a most serene day, and the indians, who were gathered on the shores, received us with a salute _a la mode de savage_, that is, with balls fired over our heads. quarters were provided in the fort for such as did not prefer to lodge in tents. understanding that there was to be a day's rest at this post, to reorganize the party, and hold intercourse with the indians, each one prepared to make such use of his time as best subserved his purposes. finding my baggage had been wetted and damaged on the portages in the ascent of the st. louis, i separated the moulded and ruined from things still worth saving, and drying the latter in the sun, prepared them for further use. on the day after our arrival ( th) a council of the indians--the chippewas--was convened. the principal chiefs were kadewabedas,[ ] or broken teeth, and babisekundeba,[ ] or the curly head. this tribe, it appears, are conquerors in the country, having at an early, or ante-historical age, advanced from lake superior, driving back the sioux. the war between these two tribes is known to have existed since the first entry of the french into the country--then a part of new france--early in the seventeenth century. gov. cass proposed to them to enter into a firm peace with the sioux, and to send a delegation with him to st. peter's, on his return from the sources of the mississippi. to this they assented. speeches were made by the indians, which it is not my purpose to record, as they embraced nothing beyond the ordinary, every-day style of the native speakers. [ ] from _ka_, an affirmative particle; _webeed_, teeth; and _eda_, a transitive objective inflection. [ ] _ba_, a repeating particle; _besaw_, fine, curly; and _kundib_, the human head. it was determined to encamp the heavy part of the expedition at this place, and to organize a sub-expedition of two light canoes, well manned, to explore the sources of the mississippi river. while these arrangements are in progress, it may be proper to state something more respecting the condition and history of the chippewa nation. and first, they are algonquins, having migrated, at ante-cartierian[ ] periods, from the vicinity of lake nippesing, on the outawis summit. anterior to this, their own traditions place them further eastward, and their language bears evidence that the stock from which they are sprung, occupied the atlantic from the chesapeake, extending through new england. the name chippewa is derived from the term ojibwa. the latter has been variously, but not satisfactorily derived. the particle _bwa_, in the language, signifies voice. they are a well-formed, active race of men, and have the reputation of being good hunters and warriors. they possess the ordinary black shining eyes, black straight hair, and general physiological traits of the indian race; and do not differ, essentially, from the northern tribes in their manners and customs. pike, who was the first american officer to visit them, in this region, estimates the whole number seated on the upper mississippi, and northwest of lake superior, in the year , at eleven thousand one hundred and seventy-seven. this estimate includes the entire population, extending south to the st. croix and chippewa valleys, below st. anthony's falls. it is believed to be much too high, for which it can be plead in extenuation, that it was the rough estimate of foreign traders, who were interested in exalting their importance to the united states. certain it is, there are not more than half the numbers, in this region, at present. the number which he assigns to the sandy lake band is three hundred and forty-five. [ ] cartier discovered the st. lawrence in . the chippewas of the upper mississippi are, in fact, the advanced band of the widespread algonquin family, who, after spreading along the atlantic from virginia, as far as the gulf of st. lawrence, have followed up the great chain of lakes, to this region, leaving tribes of more or less variation of language on the way. there may have been a thousand years, or more, expended on this ethnological track, and the names by which they were, at various ages and places, known, are only important as being derivatives from a generic stock of languages whose radicals are readily recognized. furthest removed, in the line of migration, appear the mohicans, lenno lenawpees, susquehannocks, and powatans, and their congeners. the tribes of this continent appear, indeed, to have been impelled in circles, resembling the whirlwinds which have swept over its surface; and, so far as relates to the mental power which set them in motion, the comparison also holds good, for the effects of their migrations appear, everywhere, to have been war and destruction. one age appears to produce no wiser men than another. having no mode of recording knowledge, experience dies with the generation who felt it, all except the doubtful and imprecise data of tradition; and this is little to be trusted, after a century or two. for the matter of exact history, they might as well trace themselves to the moon, as some of their mythological stories do, as to any other planet, or part of a planet. of their language, the only certainly reliable thing in their history, a vocabulary is given in the appendix. to the ear, it appears flowing and agreeable, and not of difficult utterance; and there is abundant reason, on beholding how readily they express themselves, for the plaudits which the early french writers bestowed on the algonquin language. we observed the custom of these indians of placing their dead on scaffolds. the corpse is carefully wrapped in bark, and then elevated on a platform made by placing transverse pieces in forks of trees, or on posts, firmly set in the ground. this custom is said to have been borrowed by the chippewas, of this quarter, from the dacotahs or sioux. when they bury in the ground, which is the general custom, a roof of bark is put over the deceased. this inclosure has an aperture cut in it at the head, through which a dish of food is set for the dead. oblations of liquor are also sometimes made. this ancient custom of offering food and oblations to the dead, reminds the reader of similar customs among some of the barbarous tribes of the oriental world. we noticed also symbolic devices similar to those seen at huron river or lake superior, inscribed on posts set at the head of indian graves. it seems to be the prime object of these inscriptions to reveal the family name, or _totem_, as it is called, of the deceased, together with devices denoting the number of times he has been in battle, and the number of scalps he has taken. as this test of bravery is the prime object of an indian's life, the greatest efforts are made to attain it. a word may be said as to the climate and soil of this region, and their adaptation to the purposes of agriculture. by the tables of temperature annexed (_vide_ appendix), the mean solar heat, in the shade, during the time of our being in the country, is shown to be °. it is evident that it is the idle habits of the indians, and no adverse circumstances of climate or soil, that prevent their raising crops for their subsistence. arrangements for a light party to ascend the mississippi, and seek for its sources, having been made, we left sandy lake, in two canoes, at nine o'clock in the morning on the th. this party, in addition to his excellency gov. cass, consisted of dr. alex. wolcott, capt. douglass, lieut. mackay, maj. forsyth, and myself, with nineteen voyageurs and indians, provisioned for twelve days. a voyage of about a mile across the western prolongation of the lake, brought us to its outlet--a wide winding stream, with a very perceptible current, and rich alluvial banks, bearing a forest. after pursuing it some mile and a half, we descended a small rapid, where the average descent of water in a short distance may be perhaps three feet; it appeared, however, to give the men no concern, for they urged their way down it, with full strength of paddle and song, and we soon found ourselves in the mississippi. the first sight of this stream reminded me of one of its striking characteristics, at far lower points, namely, its rapidity. its waters are slightly turbid, with a reddish tint. its width, at this point, as denoted by admeasurements subsequently made,[ ] is three hundred and thirty-one feet. its banks are alluvial and of a fertile aspect, bearing a forest of oaks, maples, elms, ash, and pines, with a dense undergrowth of shrubbery. i observed a species of polyganum in the water's edge, and wherever we attempted to land it was miry and the borders wet and damp. we were now, from our notes, a hundred and forty-seven miles due west of the head of lake superior, by the curved lines of travelling, and probably one hundred in an air line; and had struck the channel of the mississippi, not less, by the estimates, than two thousand five hundred miles above its mouth on the gulf of mexico. it could not, from the very vague accounts we could obtain from the traders, originate, at the utmost, more than three hundred miles higher, and our canadian voyageurs turned up the stream, with that troubadour air, or _gaite de cour_, keeping time with song and paddle, with which new france had at first been traversed by its champlains, marquettes, and frontenacs. to conquer distance and labor, at the same time, with a song, has occurred to no other people, and if these men are not happy, in these voyages, they, at least, have the semblance of it, and are merry. to keep up this flow of spirits, and bravery of capacity in demolishing distances, they always overrate the per diem travel, which, as i have before observed, is put about one-third too high--that is to say, their league is about two miles. on we went, at this rapid rate, stopping every half hour to rest five minutes. during this brief rest, their big kettle of boiled corn and pork was occasionally brought forward, and dipped in, with great fervency of spoon; but, whether eating or working, they were always gay, and most completely relieved from any care of what might happen to-morrow. for the mess kettle was ever most amply supplied, and not according to the scanty pattern which these couriers de bois often encounter in the indian trade on these summits, when they are sometimes reduced to dine on tripe de roche and sup on buton de rose; but they bore in mind that their employer, namely, uncle sam, was a full-handed man, and they kept up a most commendable mental balance, by at once eating strong and working strong. [ ] expedition to hasca lake in . during the first twenty-seven miles, above the inlet of sandy lake, we passed six small rapids, at distances of three, four, three, one, five, and eleven miles, where the river sinks its level twenty-nine feet, in the estimated aggregate distance of seven hundred yards.[ ] above the latter, extending twenty miles, to the point of our encampment, there is no perceptible rapid. it was eight o'clock when we encamped, having been eleven hours in our canoes, without stretching our legs, and we had ascended forty-six miles. [ ] _vide_ appendix--elevations. chapter x. proceed up the mississippi river--its velocity and character--swan river--trout river, and mushkoda or prairie river--rapids ascended--reach, and make a portage around pakagama falls--enter a vast lacustrine region--its character and productions, vegetable and animal--tortuous channel--vermilion and deer rivers--leech lake branch--lake winnipek--ascent of the river to upper red cedar, or cass lake--physical character of the mississippi river. our encampment was near the mouth of swan river, a considerable stream, originating in swan lake, near the head of the st. louis river of lake superior. we had been pushing our way, daily, up to our arrival at sandy lake; but the word, from leaving that point, was, emphatically, push--and we can hardly be said to have taken proper time to eat or sleep. there was a shower of rain, during the night; it ceased at four o'clock, and we again embarked at five, in a cloudy and misty morning, and it continued cloudy all day. the current of the mississippi continues to be strong; its velocity, during the ascent of this day, was computed by capt. douglass at two and a half miles per hour. we passed a rapid about six miles below trout river, where there is a computed descent of three feet in a hundred and fifty yards. a few miles before reaching trout river, we passed through a forest of dead pines, occupying ridges of sand, through which the river has cut its way. four miles above the entrance of trout river, we passed the mouth of a considerable stream, called by the chippewas mushkoda, or prairie river, and encamped about five hundred yards above its mouth on a high sandy elevation. it was now eight o'clock p.m. we had ascended the river fifty-one miles, having been fifteen hours in our canoes, and we here first took our breakfast. this severity of fasting was, i think, quite unintentional, the mess-basket being in the other canoe, which kept ahead of us the entire day. we had this day observed specimens of the unio and some other species of fresh-water shells along the shore. and of birds, besides the duck, plover, and loon, which frequent the water, we noticed the thrush, robin, blackbird, and crow. the comparative coolness of the day rendered the annoyance from mosquitos less severe than we had found them the preceding day. the night on this sandy and bleak elevation proved cool, with a heavy dew, which resulted in a dense fog in the morning. we found ice on the bottoms of the canoes, which are turned up at night, of the thickness of a knife-blade. our third day's ascent witnessed no diminution of the strength and alacrity with which our canoemen urged our way up the stream. we were off betimes, in a lowering and dense atmosphere, which obscured objects. after advancing some six miles, there are a series of small rapids, which are, taken together, called ka-ka-bi-ka,[ ] where i estimated the river to sink its level sixteen feet, in a short distance; at none of these is the navigation, however, impeded. the rock stratification appears too compact for sand-rock, and is obscured by contiguous boulders, which are indicative of the strong drift-formation, which has spread from the north and east over this region. four miles after ascending the last of the kakabika rapids, we landed at the foot of the pakagama falls. here the lading was immediately put ashore, the canoes landed, and the whole carried over an indian portage path of two hundred and seventy-five yards. this delay afforded an opportunity to view the falls. the mississippi, at this point, forces its way through a formation of quartzy rock, during which it sinks its level, as estimated, twenty feet, in a distance of about three hundred yards. there is no perceptible cascade or abrupt fall, but the river rushes with the utmost velocity down a highly inclined rocky bed towards the northeast. it forms a complete interruption to navigation, and must, hereafter, be the terminus of the navigation of that class of small steamboats which may be introduced above the falls of st. anthony. the general elevation of the geological stratum at the top of this fall must be but little under fourteen hundred feet above the gulf of mexico.[ ] this summit bears a growth of the yellow pine. i observed, amongst the shrubs, the vaccinium dumosum. immediately above the falls is a small rocky island, bearing a growth of spruce and cedars, being the first island noticed above sandy lake. this island parts the channel into two, at the precise point of its precipitation. on coming to the head of these falls, we appear to have reached a vast geological plateau, consisting of horizontal deposits of clay and drift on the nucleus of granitical and metamorphic rocks, which underlie the sources of the mississippi river. the vast and irregular bodies of water called leech lake, winnipek, and cass lakes, together with a thousand lesser lakes of a mile or two in circumference, lie on this great diluvial summit. these lakes spread east and west over a surface of not less than two hundred miles; most of them are connected with channels of communication forming a tortuous and intricate system of waters, only well known to the indians; and there seems the less wonder that the absolute and most remote source of the mississippi has so long remained a matter of doubt. [ ] from _ka_, a particle affirmative of an adverse quality, _aubik_, rock, and _ons_, a diminutive inflection. [ ] mr. nicollet places the summit of the falls at , feet above the gulf. by the time we had well seen the falls, and made some sketches and notes, the indefatigable canoemen announced our baggage all carried over the portage, and the canoes put into the water. embarking, at this point, we found the river had lost its velocity; it was often difficult to determine that it had any current at all. we wound about, by a most tortuous channel, through savannas where coarse species of grass, flags, reeds, and wild rice struggled for the mastery. the whole country appeared to be one flat surface, where the sameness of the objects, the heat of the weather, and the excessively serpentine channel of the river, conspired to render the way tedious. the banks of the river were but just elevated above these illimitable fields of grass and aquatic plants. in these banks the gulls had their nests, and as they were disturbed they uttered deafening screams. water-fowl were intruded upon at every turn, the blackbird and rail chattered over their clusters of reeds and cat-tails; the falcon screamed on high, as he quietly sailed above our heads, and the whole feathered creation appeared to be decidedly intruded on by our unwonted advance into the great watery plateau, to say nothing of the small and unimportant class of reptiles who inhabit the region. forty miles above the falls, the river vermilion flows in through these savannas on the left hand; and three miles higher the deer river is tributary on the right hand. we ascended six miles above the latter, and encamped in a dry prairie, on the same side, at a late hour. the men reported themselves to have travelled sixteen leagues, notwithstanding their detention on the pakagama portage. how far we had advanced, in a direct line, is very questionable. at one spot, we estimated ourselves to have passed, by the river's involutions, nine miles, but to have advanced directly but one mile. i noticed, on the meadow at this spot, a small and very delicious species of raspberry, the plant not rising higher than three or four inches. this species, of which i preserved both the roots and fruit, i referred to dr. j. torrey, of new york, who pronounced it the rebus nutkanus of moçino--a species found by this observer in the oregon regions. it is now known to occur eastwardly, to upper michigan. as night approached on these elevated prairies, we observed for the first time the fire-fly. the next morning ( th) we were again in motion at half-past five o'clock. it had rained during the night, and the morning was cloudy, with a dense fog. at the distance of ten miles, we passed the leech lake river. this is a very considerable river, bringing in, apparently, one-third as much water as the main branch. it is, however, but fifty miles in length, and is merely the outlet of the large lake bearing that name. it was thought the current of the mississippi denoted greater velocity above this point, while the water exhibited greater clearness. we had still the same savanna regions, with a serpentine channel to encounter. through this the men urged their way for a distance of thirty-five miles, when winnipek lake displayed itself before us. the waters of this lake have a whitish, slightly turbid aspect, after the prevalence of storms, which appears to reveal its shallowness, with a probably whitish clay bottom. the chippewa name of winnebeegogish[ ] is, indeed, derivative from this circumstance. this lake is stated to be ten miles in its greatest length. we crossed it transversely in order to strike the inlet of the mississippi, and encamped on the other side. in this transit we met a couple of indian women in a canoe, who, being interrogated by the interpreter, stated that they came to observe whether the wild rice, which is quite an item of the indian subsistence in this quarter, was matured enough to be tied into clusters for beating out. we estimated our advance this day, by the time denoted by the chronometer, at fifty-one miles. [ ] from _weenud_, dirty, _beegog_, waters, and _ish_, a derogative inflection of nouns. we were again in our canoes the next morning at half-past four o'clock. in coasting along the north shores of winnipek lake, an object of limy whiteness attracted our attention, which turned out to be a small island composed of granitical and other boulders, which had served as the resting-place of birds, for which the region above the pakagama falls is so remarkable. on landing, a dead pelican was stretched on the surface. we had not before observed this species on the river, and named the island shayta, from its chippewa name. the buzzard, cormorant, brant, eagle, and raven had hitherto constituted the largest species. along the shores of the river, the king-fisher and heron had been frequent objects. with respect to the cormorant, it was observed that the indians classify it with the species of duck, their name for it, ka-ga-ge-sheeb, signifying, literally, crow-duck. on again reaching the inlet of the mississippi, its size and appearance corresponded so exactly to its character below the winnipek, that it had evidently experienced but little or no change by passing through this lake. the same width and volume were observed which it had below this point; the same moderate velocity; the same borders of grassy savanna, and the same tendency to redouble its length, by its contortions, appeared. in some places, however, it approaches those extensive ridges of sandy formation, bearing pines, which traverse, or rather bound, these wide savannas. through these channels the canoemen urged their course with their usual alacrity--now stopping a few moments to breathe, and then, striking their paddles again in the water with renewed vigor, and often starting off with one of their animated canoe-songs. from about eight o'clock in the morning till two in the afternoon we proceeded up the winding thread of this channel, when the appearance of a large body of water in the distance before us attracted attention. it was the first glimpse we had of the upper red cedar lake. the mississippi river here deploys itself in one of those large sheets of pellucid water which are so characteristic of its sources. on reaching the estuary at its entrance, a short halt was made. a large body of the most transparent water spread out before us. its outlines, towards the south, were only bounded by the line of the horizon. in the distance appeared the traces of wooded islands. if sandy lake had, on emerging from the wilderness, impressed us with its rural beauty, this far transcended it in the variety and extent of outlines, and that oceanic amplitude of freshness, which so often inspires admiration in beholding the interior american lakes. it was determined to cross a part of the lake towards the north-east, in order to strike the site of an ancient indian village at the mouth of turtle river; and under the influences of a serene day, and one of their liveliest chants, the men pushed for that point, which was reached at three o'clock in the afternoon of the st july. the spot at which we landed was the verge of a green lawn, rising in a short distance to a handsome eminence, crowned with oaks and maples. one or two small log tenements stood on this slope occupied by two canadians in the service of the american fur company. several wigwams of bark and poles lifted their fragile conical forms on either side. in one of these tenements, consisting of a small cabin of poles, sheathed with bark, we found an object of human misery which excited our sympathies. it was in the person of one of the canadians, to whom reference has been made, of the name of montruille. he had, in the often severe peregrinations of the fur trade in this quarter, been caught in a snow-storm during the last winter, and frozen both his feet in so severe a manner that they eventually sloughed off, and he could no longer stand upright or walk. he lay on the ground in a most pitiable state of dejection, with the stumps of his legs bound up with deer skins, with a gray, long-neglected beard, and an aspect of extreme despair. english he could not speak; and the french he uttered was but an abuse of the noble gift of language to call down denunciations on those who had deserted him, or left him thus to his fate. a rush mat lay under him. he had no covering. he was emaciated to the last degree, every bone in his body seemed visible through the skin. his cheeks were fallen in, and his eyes sunk in their sockets, but darting a look of despair. his indian wife had deserted him. food, of an inadequate quality, was occasionally thrown in to him. such were the accounts we received. governor cass directed groceries, ammunition, and presents of clothing to be made to him, to the latter of which, every member of the party added. he also engaged a person to convey him to sandy lake. we examined the environs of the place with interest; the village occupies the north banks of turtle river valley. turtle river, which cuts its way through this slope and plain, constitutes the direct line of intercourse for the indian trade, through turtle and red lakes, to the red river valley of hudson's bay. on inquiry, we learned that this river had constituted the ancient indian line of communication by canoes and portages, from time immemorial, with that valley, the distance to the extreme plateau, or summit, being about sixty miles. on this summit, within a couple of miles of each other, lie turtle and red lakes, the one having its discharge into the gulf of mexico and the other into hudson's bay. when canada was settled by the french, this aboriginal route was adopted. the fur companies of great britain, on coming into possession of the country, after the fall of quebec, , followed the same route. the factors of these companies told lieutenant pike, in , at sandy lake and leech lake, that the turtle portage was the only practicable route of communication to the red river, and that it was the true source of the mississippi; and they furnished him manuscript maps of the country conformable to these views. the region has actually been in possession of the americans only since , adopting the era of pike's visit. by inquiry from the chippewa indians at this village, sanctioned by the canadian authorities, we are informed that the mississippi falls into the south end of cass lake, at the distance of eight or ten miles; that it reaches that point from the west, by a series of sharp rapids stretching over an extent of about forty miles from a large lake;[ ] and that this celebrated stream originates in lac la biche, about six days' journey from our present position, and has many small lakes, rapids, and falls. it is further asserted by the indians, that the water in these remote streams, and upon these rapids, is at all times shallow, but it is particularly so this season; and that it is not practicable to reach these remote sources of the river with boats, or large canoes of the size we have. [ ] called andrúsia. expedition to starca lake in . on submitting these facts to the gentlemen composing his party, governor cass asked each one to give his views, beginning with the youngest, and to express his opinion on the feasibility of further explorations. they concurred in opinion that, in the present low state of the water on these summits, considering the impossibility of ascending them with our present craft, and in the actual state of our provisions, such an attempt was impracticable. thereon, he announced his decision to rejoin our party at sandy lake, and to pursue the exploration of the river down its channel to the falls of st. anthony, to the inlet of the wisconsin and fox rivers, and to return into the great lake basins, and complete their circumnavigation. having reached the ultimate geographical point visited by the expedition, i thought it due to the energy and enlightened zeal of the gentleman who had led us, to mark the event by naming this body of water in my journal cassina, or cass lake. there was the more reason for this in the nomenclature of the geography of the upper mississippi, by observing that it embraces another red cedar lake. the latitude of upper red cedar, or cass lake, is placed by pike at ° ´ ´´.[ ] its distance above sandy lake, by the involutions of the river, is two hundred and seventy miles, and from fond du lac, at the head of lake superior, by the travelled route, four hundred and thirty miles. it is situated seventeen degrees north of the gulf of mexico, from which it is computed to be distant two thousand nine hundred and seventy-eight geographical miles. estimating the distance to the actual origin of the river, as determined at a subsequent period, at one hundred and eighty-two miles above cass lake, the length of the mississippi river is shown to be three thousand one hundred and sixty miles,[ ] making a direct line over the earth's surface of more than half the distance from the arctic circle to the equator. it may also be observed of the mississippi, that its sources lie in a region of snows and long-continued winter, while it enters the ocean under the latitude of perpetual verdure; and at last, as if disdaining to terminate its career at the ordinary point of embouchure of other large rivers, has protruded its banks into the gulf of mexico, more than a hundred miles beyond any other part of the main. to have visited both the source and the mouth of the stream has fallen to the lot of but few, and i believe there is no person living beside myself of whom the remark can be made. on the tenth of july, , i passed out of the mouth of the mississippi in a brig bound for new york, after descending it in a steamboat from st. louis, but little thinking i should soon visit its waters, yet, on the twenty-first of july of the following year, i reached its sources in this lake. [ ] nicollet, in the report of his exploration of , places it in ° ´ ´´. [ ] _vide_ expedition to stasca lake in . in deciding upon the physical character of the mississippi river, it may be advantageously considered under four natural divisions, as indicated by permanent differences in its geological and physical character--its vegetable productions, and its velocity and general hydrographical character. originating in a region of lakes upon the table-lands which throw their waters north into hudson's bay, south into the gulf of mexico, and east into the gulf of st. lawrence, it pursues its course south to the falls of pakagama, a distance of two hundred and thirty miles, through natural meadows or savannas covered with wild rice, rushes, reeds and coarse grasses, and aquatic plants. during the distance, it is extremely devious in its course and width, often expanding into lakes which connect themselves through a vast system of reticulated channels. leech lake, cass lake, and lake andrúsia would themselves be regarded as small interior seas, were they on any other part of the continent but that which develops superior, michigan, huron, erie, and ontario. its velocity through the upper plateau is but little, and it affords every facility for the breeding of water fowl and the small furred quadrupeds, the favorite reliance of a nomadic population. at the falls of pakagama, the first rock stratum and the first wooded island is seen. here the river has an aggregate fall of twenty feet, and from this point to st. anthony's falls, a distance of six hundred miles, it exhibits its second characteristic division. the granitical and metamorphic rocks, which support the vast plateaux and beds of draft of its sources, are only apparent above this point, in boulders. the permanent strata are but barely concealed at several rapids below the pakagama, but appear plainly below the influx of the de corbeau, at elk river, little falls, and near sac river. and this system of rock is succeeded, before reaching the falls of st. anthony, by the horizonal white sand rock and its superior limestone series of the carboniferous formation. vegetation is developed as the river descends towards the south. a forest of maples, elm, oak, ash, and birch, is interspersed with spruce, birch, poplar, and pine above the pakagama, and continues, in favorable positions, throughout this division. the black walnut is first seen below sandy lake, and the sycamore below the river de corbeau. the river in this division has numerous well-wooded islands; its velocity is a striking feature; it abounds with rapids, none of which, however, oppose serious obstacles to its navigation. agreeably to memoranda kept,[ ] it has fifty-six distinct rapids, including the little and big falls, in all of which the river has an aggregate estimated descent of two hundred and twenty-four feet, within a distance of fourteen thousand six hundred and forty yards, or about eight miles. the mean fall of the current, exclusive of these rapids, may be computed at nearly six inches per mile. [ ] _vide_ appendix. the course of the river, below the falls of pakagama, is still serpentine, but strikingly less so than above, and its bends are not so short and abrupt. the general course of this river, till it reaches the rock formation of pakagama, is from the west. thence, to sandy lake inlet, it flows generally southeast; from this point to the inlet of the de corbeau or crow wing, it is deflected to the southwest; thence almost due south, to the mouth of the watab river; and thence again southeast to the falls of st. anthony. a geographical line dropped from the inlet of sandy lake, where the channel is first deflected to the southwest, to st. anthony's falls, or the mouth of the st. peter's,[ ] forms a vast bow-shaped area of prairie and forest lands of high agricultural capabilities, whose future products must be carried to a market through the fond du lac of lake superior. these prairies and grove lands, which cannot square less than two by four hundred miles, constitute the ancient area of the issati,[ ] and are now the resort of great herds of the buffalo, elk, and deer; and it is a region known as the predatory border, or battle-ground of the chippewas and dacotas. [ ] now called minnesota river. [ ] _vide_ hennepin. chapter xi. physical traits of the mississippi--the elevation of its sources--its velocity and mean descent--etymology of the name mississippi--descent of the river to sandy lake, and thence to the falls of st. anthony--recross the great bitobi savanna--pakagama formation--description of the voyage from sandy lake to pine river--brief notices of the natural history. the third geographical division in which it is proposed to consider the mississippi, begins at the falls of st. anthony. within half a day's march, before reaching this point from its sources, the primitive and crystallized, and the altered and basaltic rocks are succeeded by the great limestone and sandstone horizontal series of the carboniferous, magnesian, and metalliferous rocks, which constitute by themselves so extraordinary a body of geological phenomena. entering on the level of the white sandstone stratum, which is fundamental in this column, about the inlet of rum river, the mississippi urges its way over a gently inclining bed of this rock, to the brink of this cataract, where it drops perpendicularly about sixteen feet; but the whole descent of its level from the head to the foot of the portage path, cannot be less than double that height. the river, at this point, enters a valley which is defined by rocky cliffs, which attain various elevations from one to three hundred feet, presenting a succession of picturesque or sublime views. in some places these cliffs present a precipitous and abrupt façade, washed by the current. in far the greatest number of cases, the eminence has lost its sharp angles through the effects of frosts, rains, and elemental action, leaving a slope of debris at the foot. as the river descends, it increases in volume and in the extent of its alluvions. these form, in an especial manner, its characteristic features from st. anthony's falls to the junction of the missouri, a distance of not less than eight hundred miles. the principal tributaries which it receives in this distance, are, on the right, the st. peter's, upper and lower iowa, turkey river, desmoines, and salt rivers; and, on the left, the st. croix, chippewa, wisconsin, rock river, and the illinois. one hundred miles below st. anthony, it expands for a distance of twenty-four miles into the sylvan sheet of lake pepin, at the foot of which it receives the large volume of the chippewa river, which originates on the sandy tracts at the sources of the wisconsin, montreal, and ontonagon; and it is from this point that its continually widening channel exhibits those innumerable and changing sand-bars, which so embarrass the navigation. but in all this distance, it is only at the desmoines and rock river rapids that any permanent serious impediment is found in its navigation, with the larger craft. the fourth change in the physical aspect of this river, is at the junction of the missouri, and this is an almost total and complete one; for this river brings down such a vast and turbid flood of commingled earths and floating matter, that it characterizes this stream to its entrance into the gulf of mexico. if its length of channel, velocity, and other leading phenomena had been accurately known at an early day, it should also have carried its name from this point to the ocean. down to this point, the mississippi, at its summer phases, carries the character of a comparatively clear stream. but the missouri, which, from its great length and remote latitude, has a summer freshet, flows in with a flood so turbid and opaque, that it immediately communicates its qualities and hue to the milder mississippi. at certain seasons, the struggle between the clear and turbid waters of the two streams can be seen, at opposite sides of the river, at the distance of twenty or thirty miles. entire trees, sometimes ninety feet long, with their giant arms, are swept down the current; and it is not unusual, at its highest flood, to observe large, spongy masses of a species of pseudo pumice carried into its channel, from some of its higher western tributaries. to such a moving, overpowering liquid mass, there are still, below the missouri, rocky banks, and occasionally isolated cliffs, to stand up and resist its sweep; but its alluvions become wider and deeper opposite to these rocky barriers. its bends stretch over greater distances, and its channel grows deeper at every accession of a tributary. the chief of these, after passing the missouri, are from the rocky mountains and ozark slopes, the st. francis, white, arkansas, and red rivers; and from the other bank the kaskaskia, the ohio, wolf, and yazoo. it is estimated to flow twelve hundred miles below the missouri. its width is about one mile opposite st. louis. it is narrower but more than twice the depth at new orleans, and yet narrower, because more divided, at its embouchure at the balize, where a bar prevents ships drawing over eighteen feet of water from entering. no attempt has heretofore been made to determine the elevation of that part of the american continent which gives rise to the mississippi river. from the observations made on the expedition, the elevation is confessedly less than would _à priori_ be supposed. if it is not, like the nile, cradled among mountains, whose very altitude and position are unknown, there is enough of the unknown about its origin to wish for more information. originating on a vast continental plateau, or watershed, the superabundance of its waters are drained off by the three greatest rivers of north america, namely, the st. lawrence, the nelson's rivers of hudson's bay, and the mississippi. yet the apex of this height of land is moderate, although its distance from the sea at either point is immense. from the best data at command, i have endeavored to come at the probable altitude of this plateau, availing myself at the same time of the judgment of the several members of the expedition. taking the elevation of lake erie above tide-water, as instrumentally determined, in the new york surveys, as a basis, we find lake superior lying at an altitude of six hundred and forty-one feet above the atlantic. from thence, through the valley of the st. louis, and across the savanna summit, to the mississippi, at the confluence of the sandy lake river, estimates noted on the route, indicate an aggregate rise of four hundred and ninety feet. the ascent of the river, from this point to cass lake, is estimated to be one hundred and sixty-two feet; giving this lake an aggregate elevation of thirteen hundred and ninety-three feet above the atlantic. barometrical admeasurements made in , by mr. nicollet, in the service of the united states topographical bureau, place the elevation of this lake at fourteen hundred and two feet above the gulf of mexico,[ ] being just twelve feet above these early estimates. the same authority estimates its length from the balize, at twenty-seven hundred and fifty miles. its velocity below cass lake may be estimated to result from a mean descent of a fraction over five inches per mile. [ ] senate document no. , con. d session, a. d. . the name of the mississippi river is derived from the algonquin language, through the medium of the french. the term appears first in the early missionary letters from the west end of lake superior about . sippi, agreeably to the early french annotation of the word, signifies a river. the prefixed word missi is an adjective denoting all, and, when applied to various waters, means the collected or assembled mass of them. the compound term is then, properly speaking, an adverb. thus, missi-gago, means all things; missi-gago-gidjetod, he who has made all things--the creator. it is a superlative expression, of which great river simply would be a most lean, impracticable, and inadequate expression. it is only symbolically that it can be called the father of american rivers, unless such sense occurs in the other indian tongues. finding it impracticable to proceed higher in the search of the remote sources of the river at this time, a return from this point was determined on. the vicinity had been carefully scanned for its drift specimens, and fresh-water conchology. wishing to carry along some further memorial of the visit, members of the party cut walking-canes in the adjoining thickets, and tied them carefully together; and at five o'clock in the afternoon ( st july) we embarked on our descent. an hour's voyage over the surface of this wide lake, with its refreshing views of northern scenery, brought us to the point where the mississippi issues from it. never did men ply their paddles with greater animation; and having the descent now in their favor, they proceeded eighteen miles before they sought for a spot to encamp. twilight still served, with almost the clearness of daylight, while we spread our tents on a handsome eminence on the right-hand shore. daylight had not yet dawned the next morning, when we resumed the descent. it was eight o'clock a. m. when we reached the border of lake winnipek. this name, by the way, is derived from a term heretofore given, which, having the chippewa inflection of nouns in _ish_, graphically describes that peculiarity of its waters created by the disturbance of a clay bottom. the winds were high and adverse, which caused the canoemen to toil two hours in crossing. after reaching the river again, we passed its sedgy borders, to, and through rush lake, or the little winnipek; then by the inlet of leech lake river, and through the contortions of its channel, to within a few miles of the spot of our encampment at deer river, on the th. the great savannas, through which the mississippi winds itself above the pakagama, are called collectively, the gatchi betobeeg, great morasses, or bog meadows. while descending the river, we encountered nine canoes filled with chippewa indians and their families. they were freighted with heavy rolls of birch-bark, such as their canoes are made from; together with bundles of rushes designed for mats. the annoyance suffered from mosquitos on this great plateau, was almost past endurance. we embarked again at a quarter past four, and reached the falls of pakagama at five o'clock. just forty minutes were spent in making the portage. the rock at this spot is quartzite. the day was cloudy, with some rain. as night approached an animal, judged to be the wolverine, was seen swimming across the stream. the efforts of the men to overtake it were unavailing; it nimbly eluded pursuit, and dashed away into the thickets. in some queries sent to me by the new york lyceum, this animal is alluded to as a species of the glutton. the indians said there was no animal in their country deserving this name; the only animal they knew deserving of it, was the horse; which was eating all the time. we encamped on an abrupt sandy bank, where, however, sleep was impossible. between the humidity of the atmosphere and the denseness of the foliage around us, the insect world seemed to have been wakened into unusual activity. besides, we encamped so late, and were so jaded by a long day's travel, that the mosquito-nets were neglected. to get up and stand before a camp-fire at midnight and switch off the mosquitos, requires as much philosophy as to write a book; and at any rate, ours completely failed. we were again in our canoes ( th), at an early hour. daylight apprised us of the clearing up of the atmosphere, and brought us one of the most delightful days. animated by these circumstances, we descended the stream with rapidity. soon after midday, we entered and ascended the short channel of the sandy lake river, and, by two o'clock in the afternoon, we rejoined our camp at the fur company's fort, having been three days in descending a distance which had consumed four and a half in the ascent. we were received with joy and acclamation by the sandy lake party, and felicitated ourselves on the accomplishment of what had all along appeared as the most arduous part of our route. nor had we indeed, overrated its difficulties; the incessant motion of travelling depriving us of mature opportunities of observation, and also rest at night, the stings of the mosquitos whenever we attempted to land, and the cravings of an often unsatisfied appetite, had made this visit one of peculiar privation and fatigue. without such an effort, however, it is doubtful whether the principal objects of the expedition could have been accomplished. nothing untoward had happened at the camp, no difficulty had occurred with the indians, and all the party were in good health. having left my thermometer with mr. doty, during my absence, the observations made by him are denoted in the appendix. the following day was fixed on for our departure for the falls of st. anthony. the distance to these falls is generally put by the traders at from five to six hundred miles. these estimates denote, however, rather the difficulties and time employed by days' journeys in the trade than any other measurements.[ ] pike states the latitude some thirteen minutes too far north. it is found to be ° ´ ´´. it appears from lieut. pike (_expt._ p. ), that the stockade at this place was erected in . its elevation above the gulf of mexico is , feet. the soil of the environs yields excellent potatoes, and such culinary vegetables as have been tried. the mean temperature of july is denoted to be °. the post is one of importance in the fur trade. it yields the deer, moose, bear, beaver, otter, martin, muskrat, and some other species, whose skins or pelts are valuable. [ ] nicollet, in his report to the top. bureau, in , states the direct distance from st. peter's to sandy lake, at but miles. it was twelve o'clock on the morning of the th, before we were ready to embark. our flotilla now consisted of three canoes, of the kind called _canoe-allege_ in the trade, and a barge occupied by the military. to this array, the chief babesakundiba, or the curly head, added a canoe filled with chippewa delegates, who accompanied him on a mission of peace to the sioux. this chief is the same individual who met lieut. pike in this quarter, in , and he appears to be a man of much energy and decision of character. his reputation also gives him the character of great skill, policy, and bravery in conducting the war against the sioux. indian wars are not conducted as with us, by opposing armies. it is altogether a guerilla affair. war parties are raised, marched, fight, and disperse in a few days. the war is carried on altogether by stealth and stratagem. each one furnishes himself with food and weapons. in such a warfare, there is great scope for individual exploits and daring. in these wars the curly head had greatly distinguished himself, and he was, therefore, an ambassador of no mean power. in every view, the mission assumed an interesting character; and we kept an eye on the chief's movements, on our journey down the river, chiefly that we might notice the caution which is observed by the indians in entering an enemy's country. after entering the mississippi, below sandy lake, the stream presents very much the character it has above. it was below this point that we first observed the juglans nigra in the forest. its banks are diluvial or alluvial formations, elevated from six to ten feet. the elm, maple, and pine are common. there are some small grassy islands, with tufts of willows, and driftwood lodged. no rock strata appear. the river winds its way through vast diluvial beds, exhibiting at its rapids granitical, quartz, and trappose boulders. it appears to glide wholly over the primitive or crystalline rocks, which rise in some places through the soil, or show themselves at rapids. the expedition descended the stream twenty-eight miles, and encamped on a sandy elevation on the west shore, near alder river, which seemed to promise an exemption from the annoyance of insects; but in this we were mistaken. in the hurry of a late encampment, it had been omitted to pitch the tents. the first ill effect of this was felt on being awakened at night by rain. a humid atmosphere is ever the signal for awakening hordes of insects, and the mosquitos became so troublesome that it was impossible to sleep at all after the shower. we got up and whiled away the time as best we could around the camp-fire. we embarked a few minutes before a. m., the morning being lowering and overcast, which eventuated in rain within an hour. the atmosphere resumed its serenity, and the sun shone out at noon. the river, as on the preceding day, has its course between alluvial and diluvial banks, sweeping its way over the smooth orbicular beds of the granitical age. the influx of rivers, the occurrence of islands, which bear witness of their entire submersion during the freshets, and the succession of bends, points, and rapids--these changes, with notices of the wild fowl, forest birds, and sometimes a quadruped, or a mass of boulders, absorbed my notices, which it seems unimportant, at this time, to refer to. no fixed stratification of rocks was encountered this day. we encamped at about eight o'clock, on the east bank, on an open eminence, just below the rapids which mark the confluence of pine river, having been in our canoes, with very brief and infrequent landings, fifteen hours. at the points of landing, i observed the rosa parviflora, and ipomea nil. as night approached, we heard the monotonous notes of the caprimulgus virginianus. we had also observed during the day, the bald eagle, king-fisher, turdus polyglottis, teal, plover, robin, and pigeon. the nimble sciuris vulgaris was also observed on shore. boulders of sienite, hornblende rock, silicious slate, sandstone, and quartz, served as so many monuments to testify that heavy oceanic currents had heretofore disrupted the northern stratification, and poured down over these long and gradual geological slopes. high and open as our position was on this eminence, our old friends the mosquitos did not forget us. even the indians could not endure their continued attacks. a fine fellow of our original auxiliaries, called iaba waddik, or the buck, took this occasion to give us a specimen of his english, exclaiming, as he came to the camp-fire, "tia![ ] no sneep!" putting the usual interchangeable _n_ of the tribe for the _l_ in the noun. [ ] an exclamation. chapter xii. description of the descent from pine river--pine tracts--confluence of the crow-wing river--enter a sylvan region--prairies and groves, occupied by deer, elk, and buffalo--sport of buffalo hunting--reach elevations of sienitic and metamorphic rocks--discover a pictographic inscription of the sioux, by which they denote a desire for peace--pass the osaukes, st. francis's, corneille, and rum rivers--st. anthony's falls--etymology of the name--geographical considerations. the night dew was heavy on this elevation, and a dense fog prevailed at the hour of our embarkation ( o'clock a. m., on the th). the pine lands come in with the valley of pine river, a large and important stream tributary from the west, which has a connection with leech lake. these lands characterize both banks of the mississippi to the entrance of the river de corbeau. we were seven hours, with a strong current, in passing through this tract. it is to be observed that ancient fires have been permitted to run through these forests, destroying immense quantities of the timber. it was twelve o'clock, a. m., when we came opposite to the entrance of the great crow-wing river.[ ] this stream, which has a large island in its mouth, is a prime tributary with a large, full-flowing current, and must bring in one-third of the entire volume of water to this point.[ ] such is the effect of this current on the opposite shore, that, at the distance of a couple of leagues below, at a spot called _prairie perciê_ by the french, it appears to have forced its way headlong, till, meeting obstructions from the primary rocks, it was again deflected south. at this point, the whole face of the country has an exceedingly sylvan aspect. it is made up of far-stretching plains, covered with grass and wild flowers, interspersed with groves of oak, maple, and other species. the elevation of these beautiful plains, above the river, is not less than twenty to thirty feet, placing them above the reach of high waters. we were now passing below the latitude of °. everything indicated a climate favorable to the vegetable kingdom. while passing in the valley, through the fine bends which the river makes, through these plains, we came to a hunting-camp of probably one hundred and fifty indians. they were chippewas, who, on landing at their camp, saluted us in the indian fashion, and were happy to exchange some dried buffalo meat and pemmican, for corn and flour. some miles below we observed several buffalo, on the eastern shore, on the sub-plains below the open bluffs. alarmed by our approach, these animals set out, with a clumsy, shambling trot, for the upper plains. clumsy as their gait seemed, they got over the ground with speed. our whole force was immediately landed, a little below, and we eagerly climbed the banks, to engage in the sport of hunting them. quite a large drove of this animal was seen on the prairie. our best marksmen, and the indians, immediately divided themselves, to approach on different sides the herd. cautiously approaching, they fired; the effect was to alarm and divide them. most of the herd pushed directly to the spot on the banks of the river, where the non-combatants of the party stood; and there arose a general firing, and _mêlée_ of men and buffaloes, which made it quite doubtful, for awhile, who stood in greatest danger of being hit by the bullets, the men or animals. i am certain the bullets whizzed about the position i occupied on the top of the alluvial cliffs. none of the herd were, however, slain at that time; but at our encampment, a short distance below, the flesh of both the buffalo and elk was profusely brought in by the indians. it is stated that this animal lifts both the feet on one side, at the same time; but this remark, i presume, arises from a mode of throwing its feet forward, which is decidedly different from other quadrupeds. [ ] crow-wing river.--in returning from itasca lake, in , i passed from leech lake by a series of old indian portages into lake ka-ge-no-ge-maug, or long water lake, which is its source; and from thence descended it to its entrance into the mississippi.--vide _exp. to itasca lake_. n. y., harpers, : vol. i. vo. with maps. [ ] the indian name of this river is kagiwegwon, or raven's-wing, or quill, which is accurately translated by the term _aile de corbeau_, but it is improperly called crow-wing. the chippewa term for crow is _andaig_, and the french, _corneille_--terms which are appropriately applied to another stream, nearer st. anthony's falls. on descending the river two miles, the next morning, we found ourselves opposite the mouth of elk river, a stream coming in from the west. this point has been determined to be but four minutes north of latitude ° [_sen. doc._ ]. a short distance below the river, we passed, on the west shore, the painted rock, an isolated or boulder mass, having indian devices, which we had no opportunity of examining. we were now passing down a channel of manifestly increased velocity, and at the distance of a couple of miles more, found ourselves hurried through the west channel of the little falls. at this point the primitive or basis stratification over which we had been so long gliding, crosses the river, rising up and dividing it, by an abrupt rocky island, into two channels. the breadth of the stream is much compressed, and the velocity of its current increased. by what propriety of language it is called "falls" did not, however, appear; perhaps there are seasons when the descent assumes a greater degree of disturbance and velocity. to us, it appeared to be about ten feet in a hundred and fifty yards. here, then, in n. lat. °, the mississippi is first visibly crossed by the primary series of rocks. being now in the region of buffalo, it was decided to land in the course of the day, for the purpose of entering into the chase. an occasion for this was presented soon after passing the little falls, by observing one of these animals on shore. on landing, and reaching the elevation of the prairies, two herds of them were discovered at a distance. an attack on them was immediately planned, for which the tall grass and gentle inequalities of surface, appeared favorable. the fire proved unsuccessful, but served to distract the herds, giving scope for individual marksmanship and hunter activity, during which, innumerable shots were fired, and three animals killed. while this scene was passing, i had a good stand for witnessing the sport, some of the herd passing by very near, as with the blindness of fury. the bison is certainly an animal as clumsy as the ox, or domestic cow; but, unlike these, it is of a uniform dun color, and ever without being spotted, or mottled. its horns are nearly straight, short, very black, and set wide apart. the male is formidable in look, and ferocious when wounded. its ordinary weight is eight hundred to a thousand pounds. it may be said, in reference to this animal being found in this region, that it is a kind of neutral ground, between the chippewas and sioux, neither of which tribes permanently occupy the country between the mouth of the raven's-wing and rum rivers.[ ] [ ] the chippewas affirm that this was the last time the buffalo crossed the mississippi eastwardly. it did not appear, in the same region, in . having spent several hours in the chase, we again embarked, and proceeded down the river until three o'clock in the afternoon. on the left bank of the river two prominent elevations of the granitical series, rising through the prairie soil, attracted my attention. immediately below this locality, a high and level prairie stretches on the west shore, which had a striking appearance from its being crowned with the poles and fixtures of a large, recently abandoned sioux encampment. at this spot the expedition landed and encamped. the quick glances of babasikundiba and his party of delegates immediately discovered a pole, at the site of the chief's lodge, bearing a birch bark scroll, or letter, inscribed with indian hieroglyphics, or devices. it turned out that this spot was the northern terminus of a sioux peace embassage, dispatched from st. peter's shortly previous, under the direction of col. h. leavenworth, u. s. a., the newly-arrived commanding officer at that post. the message was eagerly received and read by the chippewa delegates. by it they were informed that the sioux also desired a termination of hostilities. the scroll was executed by tracing lines, with the point of a knife, or some sharp instrument. the pictographic devices thus drawn denoted the exact number of the party, their chiefs, and the authority under which these crude negotiations were commenced. of this mode of communicating ideas among the algonquin tribes, we have before given details in crossing the boggy plateau of akik sepi, between the st. louis river and sandy lake. the present instance of it is commented on in an interesting communication of the era, in the appendix, from the pen of gov. cass. it was now no longer doubtful that the chippewa mission would be successful, and the satisfaction it produced was evident in the countenances and expressions of babasikundiba and his colleagues. i took a canoe and crossed the mississippi, to inspect the geology of the opposite shore. on reaching the summit of the rock formations rising through the prairies, which had attracted my notice from the river, i found them to consist of sienite, which was almost exclusively made up of a trinary compound of white quartz, hornblende, and feldspar--the two former species predominating. the feldspar exhibited its splendent black crystals in fine relief in the massy quartz. this formation extended a mile or more. what excited marked attention, in surveying these rocks, was their smoothly rubbed surfaces, which seemed as if they must have been produced by equally hard and heavy masses of rock, driven over them from the north. i registered this locality, in my geological journal, as the peace rock, in allusion to the purport of the indian mission, evidences of which were found at the opposite encampment.[ ] [ ] in the treaty of indian boundaries of prairie du chien, of , this mission of the sioux became a point of reference by the sioux chiefs wabishaw, petite corbeau, and wanita, as denoting the limit of their excursions north. the chippewas, on the contrary, by the mouths of babasikundiba, kadawabeda, and the broken arm of sandy lake, contended for sac river as the line. i discussed this subject, having indian maps, at length, with the chiefs and mr. taliaferro, the sioux agent, of st. peter's. an intermediate stream, the watab river, was eventually fixed on, as the separating boundary between these two warlike tribes.--_indian treaties_; washington, d. c. . vol. i. vo. p. . during our night's encampment at this spot we heard the howling of a pack of wolves, on the opposite bank--a sure indication, hunters say, that there are deer, or objects of prey in the vicinity. there are two species of wolves on the plains of the mississippi--the canis lupus, and the animal called coyote by the spanish. the latter is smaller, of a dingy yellow color, and bears the generic name of prairie wolf. i have also seen a black wolf on the prairies of missouri and arkansas, three feet nine inches long, with coarse, bristly, bear-like hair. as daylight approached, our ears were saluted with the hollow cry of the strix nictea, a species which is asserted to be found, sometimes, as far south as the falls of st. anthony. on embarking, at an early hour, we found the humidity of the night atmosphere to be such, that articles left exposed to it were completely saturated. yet, the temperature stood at ° at half-past four o'clock, the moment of our embarkation. on descending six miles we passed the mouth of the osakis, or sac river, a considerable tributary from the west, which opens a line of communication with the red river valley. about ten o'clock we encountered a series of rapids extending some eight hundred or a thousand yards, in the course of which the river has a probable aggregate fall of sixteen feet. these rapids bear the malappropriate title of the big falls. following these, were a series called prairie rapids. at half-past four we passed the entrance of the river st. francis, a considerable stream on the left bank. at this spot, hennepin terminated his voyage in , and carver in . there is an island at the point of confluence. at six o'clock we passed the entrance on the west shore of the stream called _corneille_, by the french, which is the true interpretation of the sioux name _karishon_, and the chippewa term _andaig_, which mean the crow, and not the raven. we encamped five miles below, on the east bank, having been thirteen hours in our canoes, with a generally strong current. my mineralogical gleanings, during the day, had given some specimens of the interesting varieties of the quartz family, for which the geological drift is noted, and a single piece of agatized wood. the geological floor on which the river runs, has been indicated. at five o'clock the following morning ( th) we resumed the descent, and at the distance of two leagues reached the entrance of the missisagiegon, or rum river. it is carver, i believe, who first gives us this name, for a stream which the indians describe as a river flowing from a lake of lakes--a term, by the way, which the french, with their usual adherence to indian etymology, have called _mille lacs_. the term _missi_, in this word, does not signify great, but a collected mass, or all kinds, and sometimes everywhere--the allusion being to water. _sa-gi-e-gon_ is a lake, and when the prefixed term _missi_, is put to it, nothing could more graphically describe the large body of water, interspersed with islands, which give a confused aspect, from which the river issues. the dacotas call this lake _mini wakan_, meaning spirit-water, which is probably the origin of the name of rum river. about thirteen miles below rum river, and when within half a mile of the falls,[ ] i observed calcareous rocks in horizontal beds, on the left bank of the river. it was now evident we had passed out of the primitive range of deposits, and had entered that of the great sedimentary horizontal and semi-crystalline or silurian system of the mississippi valley; and descending with a strong current, we came, rather suddenly, it appeared, to the falls of st. anthony, where the river drops, by a cascade, into a rock-bordered valley. surprise and admiration were the first emotions on getting out of our canoes and gazing on this superlative scene; and we were not a little struck with the idea that the sioux had named the falls from manifestly similar impressions, calling it rara, from the dacota verb _irara_, to laugh. by another authority, the word is written _ha ha_, or _dhaha_, the letters _h_ in the word representing a strong guttural sound resembling the old arabic r.[ ] (s. r. riggs's _dakota dict. and gram._) nothing can exceed the sylvan beauty of the country which is here thrown before the eye; and we should not feel surprised that the aboriginal mind has fallen on very nearly identical sounds with the english, to express its impressions. a not very dissimilar principle has been observed by the chippewas, who have a uniform termination of their names in _ish_, which signifies the very same quality which we express by ish in whitish, blackish, saltish--meaning a lesser, or defective quality of the noun. [ ] it is recently asserted that this change in the stratification occurs about a mile above the falls. [_sen. doc._ p. .] by the same authority it is shown that the aggregate fall of the mississippi from the mouth of sandy lake river to the falls of st. anthony is feet. [ ] both words are derived from the verb _to laugh_. the popular name of these falls, it is known, is due to father louis hennepin, a missionary who accompanied la salle to the illinois, in , and was carried captive into the country of the issati, a dacota tribe, in . lt. pike states the portage to be two hundred and sixty poles. by the time we had taken a good view of the position, and made a few sketches, the men had completed carrying over our baggage and canoes. it was now one o'clock, when we embarked to proceed to the newly-established military encampment, a few miles below. it was a noticeable feature, in our descent of the river above the falls, that babasikundiba had always kept behind the flotilla of canoes; but the moment we advanced below the falls, he shot ahead with his delegates, each one being dressed out in his best manner. his canoe had its little flag displayed--the indian drum was soon heard sending its measured thumps and murmurs of vocal accompaniment over the water, and ever and anon guns were fired. all this was done that the enemy might be apprised of the approach of the delegation in the boldest and most open manner. it was eight or nine miles to the post, near the influx of the st. peter's, and long before we reached col. leavenworth's camp, which occupied a high bluff, the attention of the sioux was arrested by their advance, and it was inferable from the friendly answering shouts which they gave, that the mission was received with joy. although we had known nothing of the movement which produced the pictographic letter found on a pole at the petite roche, above sac river, it was, in fact, regarded by the dacotas as an answer to that letter. and the chippewa chief, and his followers, were received with a salute by the sioux, by whom they were taken by the hand, individually, as they landed. col. leavenworth, the commanding officer, received the expedition in the most cordial manner, and assigned quarters for the members. gov. cass was received with a salute due to his rank. we learn that the post was established last fall. orders for this purpose were issued, as will be seen by reference to the _preliminary documents_, p. , early in the spring. the troops destined for this purpose, were placed under the orders of col. leavenworth, who had distinguished himself as the commander of the ninth and twenty-second regiments, in the war of . they left detroit in the spring ( ), and proceeding by the way of green bay and prairie du chien, where garrisons were left, they ascended to the mouth of the st. peter's, in season to erect cantonments before winter. the site chosen, being on the alluvial grounds, proved unhealthy, in consequence of which the cantonment was removed, in the spring of , to an eminence and spring on the west bank of the mississippi, about a mile from the former position. chapter xiii. position of the military post established at the mouth of the st. peter's--beauty, salubrity, and fertility of the country--pictographic letter--indian treaty--the appearance of the offer of frankincense in the burning of tobacco--opwagonite--native pigments--salt; native copper--the pouched or prairie rat--minnesota squirrel--etymology of the indian name of st. peter's river--antiquities--sketch of the dacota--descent of the mississippi to little crow's village--feast of green corn. in favor of the soil and climate, and of the salubrity of the position, the officers speak in terms of the highest admiration. the garrison has directed its attention to both horticulture and agriculture. about ninety acres of the choicest bottom land along the st. peter's valley, and the adjacent prairies, have been planted with indian corn and potatoes, cereal grains, and esculents, inclusive of a hospital, a regimental, and private gardens. at the mess-table of col. leavenworth, and in our camp, we were presented with green corn in the ear, peas, beans, cucumbers, beets, radishes, and lettuce. the earliest garden peas were eaten here on the th of june, and the first green corn on the th july. much of the corn is already too hard for the table, and some of the ears can be selected which are ripe enough for seed corn. wheat, on the prairie lands, is found to be entirely ripe, and melons in the military gardens nearly so. these are the best practical commentaries on the soil and climate.[ ] [ ] this is now ( ) the central area of minnesota territory--a territory in a rapid process of the development of the population and resources of a state. the distance of the st. peter's from the gulf of mexico is estimated to be about two thousand two hundred miles. its position above st. louis is estimated at nine hundred miles. its elevation above the gulf is but feet. the precise latitude of this point is ° ´ ´´.[ ] the atmosphere is represented as serene and transparent during the summer and spring seasons, and free from the humidity which is so objectionable a trait of our eastern latitudes. the mean temperature is °.[ ] its geology and mineralogy will be noticed in my official reports. it will be sufficient here to say that the stratification, at and below st. anthony's falls, consists wholly of formations of sandstones and limestones, horizontally deposited, whose relative positions and ages are chiefly inferable from the evidences of organic life, in the shape of petrifactions, which they embrace. the lowest of this series of rocks is a white sandstone, consisting of transparent, loosely cohering grains, special allusion to which is made by carver, in his travels in , and which may be received as testimony, were there no other, that this too much discredited author had actually visited this region. [ ] ex. doc., no. . [ ] army register. i have mentioned the interest excited by our chippewas finding the bark letter, or pictographic memorial at the deserted sioux encampment above sac river. it turned out, as we were informed, that this aboriginal missive was a reply to a similar proposition transmitted from sandy lake, by the chippewas. the very person, indeed, who inscribed the chippewa bark message, was one of the ten persons who had accompanied us from that lake. gov. cass, on learning this fact, requested him to draw a duplicate of it on a roll of bark. he executed this task immediately. we thus had before us the proposition in this symbolic character, which is called _ke ke win_ by the chippewas, and its answer. by this mode of communication two nations of the most diverse language found no difficulty in understanding each other.[ ] [ ] _vide_ appendix, for a letter from gen. cass to the secretary of war on this curious topic. on the second day after our arrival, the indians consummated their intentions, as signified by the bark letter, and the sandy-lake delegation assembled with the sioux at the old quarters of the military, now occupied as an indian agency, and smoked the pipe of peace. there were present at this pacification, besides the chiefs shacopee and babasikundiba, and minor chieftains, his excellency gov. cass, col. leavenworth, and sundry officers of the garrison and the expedition. the ceremonies were conducted under the auspices of the u. s. indian agent, mr. taliaferro. every attention was given to make these ceremonies impressive, by a compliance with the aboriginal customs on these occasions, and it is hoped not without leaving permanent effects on their minds. the pipe employed by the native diplomatists, in these negotiations, is invested with a symbolic and sacred character, as if the fumes of the weed were offered, in the nature of frankincense, to the deity. the genuflections with which it is presented, more than the words expressed, countenance this idea. the bowl of the pipe used on this occasion consisted of the well-known red pipe-stone, called opwagonite,[ ] so long known in indian history as being brought from the _coteau des prairies_. it is furnished with a wooden stem two or three feet long, and two and a half inches broad, shaved down thin so as to resemble a spatula. it is then painted with certain blue or green clays, and ornamented with braids of richly dyed porcupine quills, or the holcus fragrans, and the tuft feathers of the male duck or red-headed woodpecker. these state pipes are usually presented by the speakers as memorials of the speeches, and laid aside by the officials having charge of indian affairs. col. leavenworth presented us with some of these carefully ornamented diplomatic testimonials. [ ] schoolcraft's view of the lead mines of missouri. scenes and adventures in the ozark mountains, the catlinite of dr. jackson. i obtained from the sioux some very carefully moulded pyramidal-shaped pieces of the blue and green clays from the valley of the st. peter's, which they employ in painting their pipe-stems and persons. the coloring matter of these appears to be carbonate of copper. it is brought from the blue earth river. i also obtained from the indians very small and carefully tied leathern bags of the red oxide of iron, which they obtain in the state of a dry, powdery mass, on the prairies near the big stone. the indians brought me, from the same region, crystals of salt, scraped up from the margin of certain waters on the prairies, of a dark cast, mixed with impurities. the tendency of these crystals to assume a cubic form was quite distinct. the most interesting development, in the mineralogical way, consisted of small lumps of native copper, which i obtained on an eminence on the banks of the mississippi, directly opposite the influx of the st. peter's. they occupy, geologically, a diluvial position, being at the bottom of the prairie-drift stratum, and immediately above the superior limestone. in the luxurious kitchen gardens of camp leavenworth, great depredations have been made by a small quadruped of a burrowing character, called gopher. by patient watching, gun in hand, one of these was killed, and its skin preserved and prepared. the animal is ten inches long to the termination of the tail, with a body very much the size and color of a large wharf-rat. it has five prominent claws, and two broad cutting teeth, but its most striking peculiarity is a duplicature of the cheek, which permits it to carry earth to the mouth of its burrow. it has been called the pouched rat. sir francis drake found a similar animal in his visit to the gulf of california, in . the distribution of this species, of which this seems to be the northern limit, is very wide through atlantic america, and it is known to be destructive to vegetation throughout alabama, georgia, and the carolinas. i had, two years ago, been led to notice its ravages in missouri and arkansas. but the animal called gopher, in the southern country, is a burrowing tortoise, and the name is improperly applied to this species, which is the _pseudostoma pinetorum_. a peculiar species of squirrel was observed in this vicinity, which is also found to be a destructive visitor to the military gardens. in appearance, this species resembles the common striped squirrel, but it has a more elongated body, and shorter legs. the body has six black stripes, with the same number of intervening lines of spots, on a reddish-brown skin. this minnesota squirrel has, since the return of the expedition, been named, by the late dr. samuel l. mitchell, _sciurus tredeceum_. the river st. peter's is called, by the dacotas, _watepa minnesota_. the prefixed term _watepa_, is their word for river; _minni_ is the name for water. the term _sota_ has been variously explained. the canadian french, who have proved themselves most apt translators of indian phrases, render it by the word _brouille_, or _blear_; or, if we regard this as derivative from the verb _brouiller_, _mixed_, or _mottled_--a condition of the waters of this river, whenever the mississippi is in flood, and consequently at a higher elevation when it rushes into the mouth of the st. peter's, producing that addled aspect of the water, to which the dacotas, it is believed, apply the term _sota_. the scenery around st. peter's is of the most sylvan and delightful character. about six miles west of the cantonment there are several beautiful lakes, in the prairies. the largest of these is about four miles in circumference, and is called calhoun lake, in compliment to the secretary of war. its waters are stored with bass and other varieties of fish. there are several pure springs of sparkling water, issuing from the picturesque cliffs which face the mississippi at this place. i visited one about a mile from the cantonment, which deposits a yellow sulphurous flocculent mass along its course. on the prairies is found the _holcus fragrans_, which is braided by the indian females, and employed in some instances to decorate their deer-skin clothing. this aromatic grass retains its scent in the dried state. along the waters of the st. peter's is found the _acer negundo_, the inner bark of which, mixed with the common nettle, is employed by the natives in the state of a strong decoction, as a cure for the _lues venerea_. mr. carver having described certain antiquities near the foot of lake pepin, in , inquiries were made after objects of this kind in the vicinity. i was informed that traces of such remains existed in the valley of the st. peter's, but can say nothing concerning them from actual inspection.[ ] [ ] the last known platform mound in the spread of the mound-builders north, is at prairie du chien. the monuments, supposed to be mounds, in the st. peter's region, are found by mr. owen to be geological elevations. the remains on blue earth river are attributed to a fort or inclosure built by le seur, in his search for copper on that stream, in . other remains, in the st. peter's valley, appear to be old trading-houses, fallen in. of the dacotas, or sioux, for which st. peter's forms the central point, some anecdotes have been related which denote that they are, on certain occasions, actuated by exalted motives. it is related that the chief little crow, going out to the confines of the chippewa territory, to examine his beaver-traps, discovered an individual of that tribe in the act of taking a beaver from the trap. as he was himself unperceived, the tribes being at war, and the offence an extreme one, a summary punishment would have been justified by indian law. but the sioux chief decided differently: "take no alarm," said he, approaching the offender: "i come to present you the trap, of which i see you stand in need. take my gun, also, as i see you have none of your own, and return to the land of your countrymen; and linger not here, lest some of my young men should discover your footsteps." a still more striking and characteristic incident is related of a chief called the red thunder. col. wm. dixon, a scotchman of family, who made his influence felt in the late war of as a leader of the sioux and a merchant among them, married the sister of this notable chief. so daring were the acts of red thunder, that he had put the chippewa nation in awe of him. at length, however, after a long series of the bravest acts, he was taken prisoner, with a favorite dog, and condemned to expiate his offences at the stake. it was a time of want by his captors. one day he said to them: "why do you not feed my dog?" they replied, "feed him yourself." "then," he said, "give me a knife." this being thrown to him, he cut a piece of flesh from one of his large and fleshy thighs, and threw it to the dog. admiration of this act ran through the indian camp. they immediately released him, and bestowed on him the highest attentions and honors. the dacota or sioux nation constitute one of the families of america who speak a peculiar language. lieut. pike, who visited them in , estimated their numerical strength at twenty-one thousand six hundred and seventy-five; of which number he computed three thousand eight hundred to be warriors. they consist of six or seven independent tribes, or sub-tribes, bearing different names, who occupy most of the country between the mississippi and missouri, between n. latitude ° and °. the mendawekantoñs are located on the mississippi, below the falls of st. anthony and the mouth of the st. peter's. the sessitoñs and yanktoñs occupy the upper waters of the st. peter's. the titoñs only extend west of the missouri. the several tribes regard themselves as a confederacy, which is the signification of the term dacota. they do not acknowledge the name of sioux as an indian word. we first hear of them from the early french missionaries, who visited the head of lake superior about the middle of the th century, under the name of _nadowasie_.[ ] they speak a language which prevails over an immense area, which is now occupied by the prairie tribes towards the west and southwest, from whence, it is inferred, they came. they appear, at a former time, to have reached and dwelt at the sources of the mississippi, and to have approached, if not reached, the west end of lake superior; for it is from these positions that the oldest traditions represent them to have been driven by the chippewas. lieut. pike thinks they are, undeniably, descendants of tartars. if so, i feel inclined to think that they must have made the circuit of the mexican provinces before reaching the mississippi valley, for the track of their migration is traced towards the south certainly as far as the country of the kansas and osages; while they preserve some striking traits and characteristics which appear to be referable to those intertropical regions. [ ] this is an algonquin expression, signifying enemy. it is derived from _nodowa_, an iroquois, or a dacota; the word was originally applied to a serpent. the termination in _sie_ is from _awasie_, an animal or creature. this term is the root, it is apprehended, of the french sobriquet _sioux_. having passed the better part of three days in the vicinity of st. peter's, adding to our collections and portfolios, we left it on the second of august, and proceeded down the river to the village of la petite corbeau, or the little raven, situated on the east bank not far above the mouth of the st. croix. the river, in this distance flows between lofty cliffs of the white sandstone and neutral-colored limestones, which are first conspicuously displayed at the falls of st. anthony. springs of water, not infrequently, issue from these cliffs. we landed at one of these, flowing in through a gorge at the distance of four miles below st. peter's, on the east bank, for the purpose of visiting a remarkable cave, from the mouth of which a small stream issues. the cave is seated wholly within the beautiful white crumbling sandstone rock. it is, in fact, the loose character of the rock which permits the superincumbent waters of the plains above to permeate through it, that has originated the cave. the stream consisted of the purest filtrated water, which is daily carrying away the loosened grains of sand into the mississippi, and thus enlarging the boundaries of the cavern.[ ] we had been erroneously informed that this was carver's cave, and looked in vain for this traveller's name on its walls.[ ] the atmosphere in this cave was found to be seven degrees higher than the water. we noticed nothing in the form of bones or antiquities. [ ] st. paul's, the present capital of minnesota ( ), is situated on the high grounds, a few miles below this cave. [ ] carver's cave is four miles lower down, on the same side of the river, agreeably to subsequent observation. it is now obstructed by fallen rock and debris. the village of petite corbeau consists of twelve large lodges, which are said to give shelter to two hundred souls. they plant corn, and cultivate vines and pumpkins. they sallied from their lodges on seeing us approach, and, gathering along the margin of the river, fired a _feu de joie_ on our landing. the chief was among the first to greet us. he is a man below the common size, but brawny and well proportioned, and, although above fifty years of age, retains the look and vigor of forty. he invited us to his lodge--a spacious building about sixty feet by thirty, substantially constructed of logs and bark. being seated, he addressed himself to his excellency gov. cass. he said that he was glad to see him in his village. that, in his extensive journey, he must have suffered many hardships. he must also have noticed much of the indian mode of life, and of the face of the country, which would enable him to see things in their proper light. he was glad that he had not, like others who had lately visited the country, passed by his village without calling. he referred, particularly, to the military force sent to establish a garrison at st. peter's, the year before, who had passed up on the other side of the river. he acquiesced in the treaty that had been recently concluded with the chippewas. he referred to a recent attack of a party of fox indians on their people, on the head waters of the st. peter's. he said it was dastardly, and that, if that _little_ tribe should continue their attacks, they would at length drive him into anger, and compel him to do a thing he did not wish. while this speech was being interpreted, the indian women were employed in bringing basketsful of ears of indian corn from the fields, which they emptied in a pile. this pile, when it had reached a formidable height, was offered as a present to the expedition. it was, indeed, the beginning of the season of green corn, with them, and we were soon apprised, by the sound of music from another lodge, that the festival of the green-corn dance was going forward. being admitted to see the ceremonies, the first thing which attracted notice was two large iron kettles suspended over a fire, filled with green-corn cut from the cob. the indians, both men and women, were seated in a large circle around them; they were engaged in singing a measured chant in the indian manner, accompanied by the sioux cancega or drum and rattles; the utmost solemnity was depicted on every countenance. when the music paused, there were certain gesticulations made, as if a mysterious power were invoked. in the course of these ceremonies, a young man and his sister, joining hands, came forward to be received into the green corn society, of whom questions were asked by the presiding official. at the conclusion of these, the voice of each member was taken as to their admission, which was unanimous. at the termination of the ceremonies, an elderly man came forward and ladled out the contents of the kettles into separate wooden dishes for each head of a family present. as these dishes were received, the persons retired from the lodge by a backward movement, still keeping their faces directed to the kettles, till they had passed out. chapter xiv. descent of the river from the site of little crow's village to prairie du chien--incidents of the voyage, and notices of the scenery and natural history. the next morning we embarked at o'clock. on descending the river six miles, we passed the mouth of the st. croix.[ ] this stream heads on high lands, which form a rim of hills around the southern and western shores of lake superior, where it is connected with the river misacoda, or broulè of fond du lac. the namakagon, its southern branch of it, is connected with the maskigo,[ ] or mauvais river of la pointe, lake superior. immediately above its point of entrance into the mississippi the st. croix expands into a beautiful lake, which is some twelve miles long, and about two in width. the borders of the mississippi about this point assume an increased height, and more imposing aspect. in many places, as the voyager descends from this spot to lake pepin, he observes the calcareous cliffs to terminate in pyramids; the crest of the hills frequently resemble the crumbling ruins of antique towers. at o'clock we came to the vicinity of an isolated calcareous cliff, called la grange, which may be regarded as one of those monuments resulting from geological denudation, which constitute a striking feature in the st. peter's region. the top of this cliff affords a fine view of the scenery of the mississippi for a long distance above and below it. it has been found to be three hundred and twenty-two feet above the river.[ ] [ ] this river was explored by me in . vide _schoolcraft's expedition to itasca lake_. vol. vo. p. -- : n. y., harp. [ ] in , this river was ascended by me with a public expedition, dispatched into the indian country to quell the disturbances which eventuated the next year in the sauk war. vide _schoolcraft's thirty years in the indian country_. lippincott, grambo, & co., philad.: vol. p. , . [ ] doc. . this spot is noted as being near the site of tarangamani, or the red wing's village. this chief is one of the notable men of his tribe. he has been long celebrated as a man skilled as a native magician. the village consists of four large, elongated, and of several small lodges. tarangamani is now considered the first chief of his nation. he is noted for his wisdom and sagacity. he bears the marks of being sixty years of age. his grand-daughter married col. crawford, a man of commercial activity about prairie du chien and michilimackinac, during the late war of , who has left descendants in the lake country. we observed, at this village, several buffalo skins undergoing the indian process of dressing. the hair having been removed, they were stretched on the ground, where they were subjected to a process analogous to tanning by being covered with a decoction of oak bark. in ascending the hill of la grange, we first encountered the rattlesnake, two of which we killed. this is the highest northern point at which we have observed this species on the mississippi. i observed on this elevation small detached masses of radiated quartz, cinnamon-colored and white, together with an ore of iron crystallized in cubes. having cursorily examined the environs, the expedition again embarked. it was o'clock when we entered lake pepin. this admired lake is a mere expansion of the mississippi, having a length of twenty-four miles by a varying width of from two to four miles. during this distance there is not the least current during calm weather. the prospects, in passing through this expanse of water, are of the most picturesque kind. its immediate shores are circumscribed with a broad beach of gravel, in which may be found rolled pieces of the chalcedonies, agates, and other species of the quartz family, which are characteristic of the drift-stratum of the upper borders of the mississippi. on the eastern shore, at a short distance from the margin, there is a lofty range of limestone cliffs. on the west, the eye rests on an elevated formation of prairie, nearly destitute of trees. from this plain several conical hills ascend, which have the appearance, but only the appearance, of artificial construction. the lake is quite transparent, and yields several species of fish. the most remarkable of these is the _acipenser spatularia_, of which we obtained a specimen. it is also remarkable for its numerous varieties, and the large size of its fresh-water shells. i procured several species of _unio_, which, from their size and character, attracted my attention, particularly to the subject of this branch of american conchology. several of these, from the duplicates of my cabinet, have attracted the attention of conchologists.[ ] lake pepin receives a river from the west called the ocano, or more properly _au canot_; its mouth having been, in former times, a noted place for concealing canoes during the winter season.[ ] at a point, on the east shore, about half way down the lake, where a small stream enters, we were informed there existed the remains of an old french fort, or factory; but we did not land to examine them. [ ] silliman's journal of science, ; also, trans. am. phil. soc. [ ] travellers who are disposed to regard la hontan's fiction of his purported discoveries on _rivier la longue_, as entitled to notice, have suggested _this_ river as the locality intended. nicollet, otherwise reliable, has gone so far as to call it la hontan river. in passing through this lake the interpreters pointed to a high precipice in the cliffs on the east shore, which indian tradition assigns as the locality of a tragical love tale, of which a dacota girl was the heroine. to avoid the dilemma of being compelled to accept a husband of repulsive character, and to sacrifice her affections for another person, she precipitated herself down this precipice. the tale has been so differently told to travellers visiting the region, that nothing but the simple tradition appears worth recording. olaita and winona, have been mentioned as the name of the dacota sappho. at o'clock in the evening we encamped on a gravelly beach on the east shore of the lake, the weather threatening a storm. rain commenced at o'clock, and continued at intervals, with severe thunder and most vivid flashes of lightning during the night. at o'clock the next morning ( th), the expedition was again in motion. the rain had ceased, but the morning remained cloudy. the scenery on the borders of the lake continued to be impressive. the precipices on the east shore shot up into spiral points; yet the orbicular elevations are covered with grass and shrubbery. these high grass-crowned elevations, without forest, terminate near the influx of the chippewa river in a remarkable isolated elevation, called _mont la garde_, from the fact that it is, and long has been, a noted look-out station for chippewa war parties, who descend this stream, against the sioux. it commands an extensive view of lake pepin. this lake was thought to be two miles wide opposite our last night's encampment; it narrows to probably less than half a mile at its mouth. the west shore along this portion of the lake consists of singularly striking, picturesque, level, and elevated prairie lands. carver, in , places his remains of ancient circumvallations in this vicinity, but "some miles below lake pepin."[ ] this was a period when no attention had been directed to the subject of antiquities in the united states, and his mind appears to have been impressed strongly by what he saw. as opportunities did not allow me to land, nor was the precise spot, indeed, known to any of our guides or men, reference can only be made to the observations of a man who is known to have been the first american traveller that has called attention to our western antiquities. mr. h. v. hart, long a resident of this region, verbally assures me that he has visited these works.[ ] [ ] carver's travels, p. . [ ] mr. g. w. featherstonehaugh, in his _geological reconnoissance_, in , landed at the location of these antiquarian remains, and is disposed to recognize their authenticity. chippewa river, just referred to, comes into the mississippi on its left bank, within half a mile of the foot of lake pepin. it is a tributary of prime volume, draining the chippewa territories lying around the south and west shores of lake superior. originating on the sandy tracts extending over the elevated central plains of the wisconsin, it brings a large deposit of sand into the mississippi, the navigation of which is visibly more embarrassed below this point with sand-bars, willow, and cotton-wood islands. at four o'clock in the afternoon we reached and landed at wabashaw's village. it is eligibly seated on the west shore, and consists of four of the large elongated sioux lodges before mentioned, containing a population of about sixty souls. the usual intercourse and speeches of congratulation by the indians, and acknowledgment of the american authorities were made, and we again embarked, after a detention of forty minutes. a few miles below wabashaw's village, we came to a high rocky or mountain island, called _la montaigne qui trompe dans l'eau_, a term which is shortened by western phraseology into trompledo mountain. this is a very remarkable feature in the geography of the upper mississippi. the rock is calcareous; it is, in fact, the only fast or rocky island we have encountered below the little islet at the head of the packagama falls. it is not only striking from its lofty elevation, but is several miles in circumference; standing in the bed of the river and parting its channel into two, it appears to be the first bold geological monument which has effectually resisted its course. we had passed this island but a short distance, and the approaches of evening began to be manifest, when a large gray wolf sprang into the river to cross it. the greatest animation at once arose in our flotilla; the canoemen bending themselves to their paddles, the auxiliary indians of our party shouting, and the whole party assuming an unwonted excitement. a shot was soon fired from one of our rifles, but either the distance was too great, or the aim incorrect. the wolf was fully apprised of his peril, put forth all his strength, outstripped his pursuers, reached the shore, and nimbly leaped into the woods. we encamped on the west shore, a few miles below the island at seven o'clock, having been twelve hours in our canoes. the confinement of the position nobody can appreciate who has not tried it, and i hastened to stretch my legs, by ascending the river cliffs in our rear, to have a glimpse of its geology and scenery. the view westwardly was one of groves and prairies of most inviting agricultural promise. in front, the island mountain rises to an elevation which appears to have been the original geological level of the stratification before the mississippi cut its way through it. at the rapids of black river, which enters opposite our encampment, a saw-mill, we were informed, had been erected by an inhabitant of prairie du chien. thus the empire of the arts has begun to make its way into these regions, and proclaims the advance of a heavy civilization into a valley which has heretofore only resounded to the savage war-whoop. or, if a higher grade of society and arts has ever before existed in it, as some of our tumuli and antiquities would lead us to infer, the light of history has failed to reach us on the subject.[ ] [ ] _american antiquities._ as the tumuli and earthworks of the mississippi valley are more closely scrutinized, they do not appear to denote a higher degree of civilization than may be assigned to the ancestors of the present races of indians, prior to the epoch of the introduction of european arts into america. certainly there is nothing in our earthworks and mounds, to compare with the toltec and aztec type of arts at the opening of the th century; while the possession by our tribes of the zea maize, a tropical plant, and other facts indicative of a southern migration, appear to denote a residence in warmer latitudes. the distribution of the mexican teocalli and pyramid is also plainly traceable from the south. neither the platform nor the solid conical mound has been traced higher north than prairie du chien; nor have the earthworks (adopting carver's notices) reached higher than lake pepin. there are no mounds or earthworks at the sources of the mississippi nor in all british america to the shores of the arctic seas. we cannot bring arts or civilization from that quarter. at the spot of our encampment, as soon as the shades of night closed in, we were visited by hordes of ephemera. the candles lighted in our tents became the points of attraction for these evanescent creations. they soon, however, began to feel the influence of the sinking of the thermometer, and the air was imperceptibly cleared of them in an hour or two. by the hour of three o'clock the next morning ( th) the expedition was again in motion descending the river. it halted for breakfast at painted rock, on the west shore. while this matter was being accomplished, i found an abundant locality of unios in a curve of the shore which produced an eddy. fine specimens of u. purpureus, elongatus, and orbiculatus were obtained. with the increased spirit and animation which the whole party felt on the prospect of our arrival at prairie du chien, we proceeded unremittingly on our descent, and reached that place at six o'clock in the evening. prairie du chien does not derive its name from the dog, but from a noted family of fox indians bearing this name, who anciently dwelt here. the old town is said to have been about a mile below the present settlement, which was commenced by mr. dubuque and his associates, in . the prairie is most eligibly situated along the margin of the stream, above whose floods it is elevated. it consists of a heavy stratum of diluvial pebbles and boulders, which is picturesquely bounded by lofty cliffs of the silurian[ ] limestones, and their accompanying column of stratification. the village has the old and shabby look of all the antique french towns on the mississippi, and in the great lake basins; the dwellings being constructed of logs and barks, and the courtyards picketed in, as if they were intended for defence. it is called kipisagee by the chippewas and algonquin tribes generally, meaning the place of the jet or outflow of the (wisconsin) river. it is, in popular parlance, estimated to be miles below st. peter's, and above st. louis.[ ] its latitude is ° ´ ´´. it is the seat of justice for crawford county, having been so named in, honor of w. h. crawford, secretary of the treasury of the u. s. it is, together with all the region west of lake michigan, attached to the territory of michigan. there is a large and fertile island in the mississippi, opposite the place. [ ] this term, unknown to geology at the period, has been subsequently introduced by sir roderic murchison. [ ] these distances are reduced by _ex. doc._ , respectively to and miles. we found the garrison to consist of a single company of infantry, under the command of capt. j. fowle, jun.,[ ] who received us courteously, and offered the salute due to the rank of his excellency, gov. cass. the fort is a square stockade, with bastions at two angles. there was found on this part of the prairie, when it came to be occupied with a garrison by the americans, in , an ancient platform-mound, in an exactly square form, the shape and outlines of which were preserved with exactitude by the prairie sod. this earthwork, the probable evidence of a condition of ancient society, arts, and events of a race who are now reduced so low, was, with good taste, preserved by the military, when they erected this stockade. one of the officers built a dwelling-house upon it, thus converting it, to the use, and probably the only use, to which it was originally devoted. no measurements have been preserved of its original condition; but judging from present appearances, it must have squared seventy-five feet, and have had an elevation of eight feet. [ ] this officer entered the army in , serving with reputation. he rose, through various grades of the service, to the rank of lieut. col. of the th infantry. he lost his life on the th april, , by the explosion of the steamer moselle, on the ohio river. chapter xv. mr. schoolcraft makes a visit to the lead mines of dubuque--incidents of the trip--description of the mines--the title of occupancy, and the mode of the mines being worked by the fox tribe of indians--who are the foxes? i solicited permission of gov. cass to visit the lead mines of dubuque, which are situated on the west bank of the mississippi, at the computed distance of twenty-five leagues below prairie du chien. furnished with a light canoe, manned by eight voyageurs, including a guide, i left the prairie at half past eleven a. m. ( th). passed the entrance of the wisconsin, on the left bank, at the distance of a league.[ ] opposite this point is the high elevation which pike, in , recommended to be occupied with a military work. the suggestion has not, however, been adopted; military men, probably, thinking that, however eligible the site might be for a work where civilized nations were likely to come into contact, a simpler style of defensive works would serve the purpose of keeping the indian tribes in check. i proceeded nine leagues below, and encamped at the site of a fox village,[ ] located on the east bank, a mile below the entrance of turkey river from the west. the village, consisting of twelve lodges, was now temporarily deserted, the indians being probably absent on a hunt; but, if so, it was remarkable that not a soul or living thing was left behind, not even a dog. my guide, indeed, informed me that the cause of the desertion was the fears entertained of an attack from the sioux, in retaliation for the massacre lately perpetrated by them on the heads of the st. peter's, which was alluded to in the speech of the little crow, while we were at his village (_ante_, p. ). [ ] it was at this spot, one hundred and thirty-seven years ago, that marquette and m. joliet, coming from the lakes, discovered the mississippi. [ ] now the site of cassville, grant county, wisconsin. it is a post town, pleasantly situated, with a population of . it was seven o'clock p. m. when i landed here, and having some hours of daylight, i walked back from the river to look at the village, and its fields, and to examine the geological structure of the adjacent cliffs. in their gardens i observed squashes, beans, and pumpkins, but the fields of corn, the principal article of cultivation, had been nearly all destroyed, probably by wild animals. i found an extensive field of water and musk melons, situated in an opening in a grove, detached from the other fields and gardens. none of the fruit was perfectly ripe, although it had been found so at prairie du chien; some of it had been bitten by wild animals.[ ] the cliffs consisted of the same horizontal strata of sandstones and neutral colored limestone, prevailing at higher positions in this valley. returning to the river beach, i perceived the same pebble drift which characterizes higher latitudes. this seems the only difference in its structure or form, namely, that the pieces of quartz pebble, limestone, and other fragments brought down, become smaller and smaller, as they are carried down. [ ] fondness for melons, and annual vine fruits of the garden, is a striking trait of the indians. some curious facts on this head are published in the statistics.--_indian information_, vol. iii. p. , , philadelphia, lippincott & co. there were frequent thunders, and a rain-storm, during the night, which, with a slight intermission, characterized the morning until noon. i embarked at half past three a. m. ( th), and landed at the fox village of the kettle chief, at the site of dubuque's house,[ ] at ten o'clock; a moderate rain having continued all the way. it ceased an hour after my arrival. [ ] this is now ( ) the site of the city of dubuque, state of iowa, which is reputed to be the oldest settlement in that state. this city is eligibly situated on a broad plateau, between limestone cliffs. the soil rests on a rock foundation, which renders it incapable of being undermined by the mississippi. its streets are broad and laid out at right angles. it has several protestant churches, a catholic cathedral, a public land office, two banks, four printing offices, and by the last census contains a population of , , the county of which it is the seat of justice, has , . two railroads have their terminal points at this place. at the time of my visit, in , the house which had been built by mr. dubuque, had been burnt down; and there was not a dwelling superior to the indian wigwam within the present limits of iowa. the state of iowa was admitted into the union in . by the th u. s. census, the population of this state, in , is shown to be , . the number of square miles is , . no western state is believed to contain a less proportionate quantity of land unsuited to the plough, and its population and resources must have a rapid development. the kettle chief's village is situated fifteen miles below the entrance of the little makokety river, consisting of nineteen lodges, built in two rows, pretty compact, and having a population of two hundred and fifty souls. there is a large island in the mississippi, directly opposite this village, which is occupied by traders. i first landed there to get an interpreter of the fox language, and obtain some necessary information respecting the location of the mines, and the best means of accomplishing my object. meantime the rain had ceased. i then proceeded across the mississippi to the kettle chief's lodge, to solicit his permission to visit the mines, and obtain indian guides. i succeeded in getting mr. gates, as interpreter; and was accompanied by dr. s. muir, a trader, who politely offered to go with me. on entering the lodge of aquoqua, the chief, i found him suffering under a severe attack of bilious fever. as i approached him, he sat upon his pallet, being unable to stand, and bid me welcome; but soon became exhausted by the labor of conversation, and was obliged to resume his former position. he appeared to be a man of eighty years of age, had a venerable look, but was reduced to the last stage of physical debility. yet he retained his faculties of sight and hearing unimpaired, together with his mental powers. he spoke to me of his death with calm resignation, as a thing to be desired. on stating the object of my visit, some objections were made by the chiefs who surrounded him, and they required further time to consider the proposition. in the mean time, i learned from another source, that since the death of dubuque, to whom the indians had formerly granted the privilege of working the mines, they had manifested great jealousy of the whites, were afraid they would encroach on their rights, denied all former grants, and did not make it a practice even to allow strangers to view their diggings. apprehending some difficulties of this kind, i had provided myself with some presents, and concluding this to be the time, because of the reluctance manifested, directed one of my voyageurs to bring in a present of tobacco and whiskey; and in a few moments i received their assent, and two guides were furnished. one of these was a minor chief, called scabass, or the yelling wolf; the other, wa-ba-say-ah, or the white foxskin. they led me up the cliff, where i understood the indian woman, peosta, first found lead ore; after reaching the level of the river bluffs, we pursued a path over undulating hills, exhibiting a half prairie, and quite picturesque rural aspect. on reaching the diggings, the most striking part of them, but not all of them, exhibited excavations such as the indians only do not seem persevering enough in labor to have made. the district of country called dubuque's mines, embraces an area of about twenty-one square leagues, commencing at the mouth of the little maquaquity river, sixty miles below prairie du chien, and extending along the west bank of the mississippi river, seven leagues in front by three in depth. the principal mines are situated on a tract of one square league, beginning immediately at the fox village of aquoqua, or the kettle chief, and extending westwardly. this is the seat of the mining operations carried on by dubuque, as well as of what are called the indian diggings. geologically it is the same formation that characterizes the mines of missouri; but there are some peculiarities. the ore found is the common sulphuret of lead, with a broad foliated, or lamellated structure, and high metallic lustre. it occurs massive and disseminated, in a red loam, resting on a horizontal limestone rock. sometimes small veins of the ore are seen in the rock, but it has been generally explored in the soil. it generally occurs in narrow beds, which have a fixed direction; these beds extend three or four hundred feet, when they cease, or are traced into crevices in the rock. at this stage, the pursuit of ore, at most of the diggings, has been abandoned, frequently with small veins of the metal in view. no matrix, so far as i observed, is found with the ore which is dug out of the soil, unless we may consider such an ochery oxide of iron, with which it is slightly incrusted. occasionally, pieces of calcareous spar are thrown out with the earth in digging after ore. i picked up from one of these heaps of earth a specimen of transparent crystallized sulphate of barytes; but this mineral appears to be rare. there appears to be none of the radiated quartz, or white opaque heavy spar, which are so abundantly found at the missouri mines.[ ] [ ] _vide_ my view of the lead mines of missouri, &c., new york, . the ore at these mines is now exclusively dug by the indian women. old and superannuated men also partake in the mining labor, but the warriors and men hold themselves above it. in this labor, the persons who engage in it employ the hoe, shovel, pick-axe, and crow-bar. these implements are supplied by the traders at the island, who are the purchasers of the crude ore. with these implements they dig trenches, till they are arrested by the solid rock. there are no shafts, even of the simplest kind, and the windlass and bucket are unknown to them--far more so the use of gunpowder in the mining operations. their mode of going down into the deepest pits, and coming up from them, is by digging an inclined way, which permits the women to keep an erect position in walking.[ ] i descended into one of these inclined excavations, which had probably been carried down forty feet, at the perpendicular angle. [ ] this is believed to be an oriental mode of excavation, which appears to have been practised in digging wells. when a quantity of ore has been got out, it is carried in baskets to the banks of the mississippi, by the females, who are ferried over to the island. they receive at the rate of two dollars for a hundred and twenty pounds, payable in goods. at the profit at which these are usually sold, it may be presumed to cost the traders at the rate of seventy-five cents or a dollar, cash value, per hundred weight. the traders smelt the ore on the island, in furnaces of the same construction which i have described, and given plates of, in my treatise on the mines.[ ] they observe that it yields the same per centum of metallic lead. formerly, the indians were in the habit of smelting the ore themselves on log heaps, by which an unusual proportion of it was converted into lead-ashes and lost. they are now induced to search about the sites of these old fires to collect these lead-ashes, which consist, for the most part, of desulphuretted ore, for which they receive a dollar per bushel. [ ] new york, . there are three mines in addition to those above mentioned, situated upon the upper mississippi, which are worked by the indians. they are located at sinsinaway, at rivière au fevre, and at the little makokety. . sinsinaway mines. they are situated fifteen miles below aquoqua's village, on the east shore of the mississippi, at the junction of the sinsinaway river. . mine au fevre. situated on the river au fevre, which enters the mississippi on its east banks, twenty-one miles below dubuque's mines. the lead ore is found ten miles from its mouth. at this locality, the ore is accompanied by the sulphate of barytes, and is sometimes crystallized in cubes or octohedrons.[ ] . mine of the makokety, or maquoqueti. this small river enters the mississippi fifteen miles above dubuque's mines. the mineral character and value of the country has been but little explored. [ ] the city of galena has subsequently been built on this river, at the distance of six miles from the mississippi. the river is, indeed, thus far, an arm of the mississippi, which permits steamboats freely to enter, converting the place into a commercial depot for a vast surrounding country. not less than , , pounds of lead were shipped from this place in , valued at one million six hundred thousand dollars. it is the terminus of the chicago and galena railroad, connecting it by a line of miles with the lakes. it contains a bank, three newspaper offices, and several churches of various denominations, and has, by the census of , a population of , . the history of the mines of dubuque is brief and simple. in , a discovery of lead ore was made by the wife of peosta, a fox indian of aquoqua's village. this gave the hint for explorations, which resulted in extensive discoveries. the lands were formally granted by the indians to julien dubuque, at a council held at prairie du chien in , by virtue of which he permanently settled on them, erected buildings and furnaces, and continued to work them until . in , he received a confirmation of his grant from carondelet, the governor of louisiana, in which they are called "the mines of spain." by a stone monument which stands on a hill near the mines, dubuque died on the th march, , aged forty-five years and six months. after his death, the indians burnt down his house and fences--he leaving, i believe, no family[ ]--and erased every vestige of civilized life; and they have since revoked, or at least denied the grant, and appear to set a very high value on the mines. dubuque's claim was assigned to his creditors, by whom it was presented to the commissioners for deciding on land titles, in . by a majority of the board it was determined to be valid, in which condition it was reported to washington for final action. at this stage of the investigation, mr. gallatin, who was then secretary of the treasury, made a report on the subject, clearly stating the facts, and coming to the conclusion that it was not a perfect title, stating that no patent had ever been issued for it, at new orleans, the seat of the spanish authority, from which transcripts of the records of all grants had been transmitted to the treasury.[ ] [ ] there is believed to be no instance, in america, where the indians have disannulled grants or privileges to persons settling among them, and leaving families founded on the indian element. [ ] for the facts in this case, see _collection of land laws of the united states_, printed at washington, . on the arrival of lieut. pike at mr. dubuque's on the st of september, , he endeavored to obtain information necessary to judge of the value and extent and the nature of the grant of the mines; but he was not able to visit them. to the inquiries which he addressed to mr. dubuque on the subject, the latter replied in writing that a copy of the grant was filed at the proper office in st. louis, which would show its date, together with the date of its confirmation by the spanish authority, and the extent of the grant to him. he states the mine to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight leagues long, and from one to three leagues broad. he represents the per centum of metal to be yielded from the ore to be seventy-five, and the quantity smelted per annum at from , to , pounds. he stated that the whole product was cast into pig lead, and that there were no other metals at the mines but copper, of the value of which he could not judge. having examined the mines with as much minuteness as the time allowed me would permit, and obtained specimens of its ores and minerals, i returned to the banks of the mississippi, before the daylight departed, and, immediately embarking, went up the river two leagues and encamped on an island. it may be proper to add to this narrative of my mineralogical visit to these mines, a few words respecting the fox indians, by whom the country is owned. the first we hear of these people is from early missionaries of new france, who call them, in a list drawn up for the government in , "gens du sang," and miskaukis. the latter i found to be the name they apply to themselves. we get nothing, however, by it. it means red-earths, being a compound from _misk-wau_, red, and _auki_, earth. they are a branch of the great algonquin family. the french, who formed a bad opinion of them, as their history opened, bestowed on them the name of renouard, from which we derive their long-standing popular name. their traditions attribute their origin to eastern portions of america. mr. gates, who acted as my interpreter, and is well acquainted with their language and customs, informs me that their traditions refer to their residence on the north banks of the st. lawrence, near the ancient cataraqui. they appear to have been a very erratic, spirited, warlike, and treacherous tribe; dwelling but a short time at a spot, and pushing westward, as their affairs led them, till they finally reached the mississippi, which they must have crossed after , for carver found them living in villages on the wisconsin. at saginaw, they appear to have formed a fast alliance with the saucs, a tribe to whom they are closely allied by language and history. they figure in the history of indian events about old michilimackinac, where they played pranks under the not very definite title of muscodainsug, but are first conspicuously noted while they dwelt on the river bearing their name, which falls into green bay, wisconsin.[ ] the chippewas, with whom they have strong affinity of language, call them otagami, and ever deemed them a sanguinary and unreliable tribe. the french defeated them in a sanguinary battle at butte de mort, and by this defeat drove them from fox river. [ ] this name was first applied to a territory in . their present numbers cannot be accurately given. i was informed that the village i visited contained two hundred and fifty souls. they have a large village at rock island, where the foxes and saucs live together, which consists of sixty lodges, and numbers three hundred souls. one-half of these may be saucs. they have another village at the mouth of turkey river; altogether, they may muster from to souls. yet, they are at war with most of the tribes around them, except the iowas, saucs, and kickapoos. they are engaged in a deadly, and apparently successful war against the sioux tribes. they recently killed nine men of that nation, on the terre blue river; and a party of twenty men are now absent, in the same direction, under a half-breed named morgan. they are on bad terms with the osages and pawnees of the missouri, and not on the best terms with their neighbors the winnebagoes. i again embarked at four o'clock a. m. ( th). my men were stout fellows, and worked with hearty will, and it was thought possible to reach the prairie during the day, by hard and late pushing. we passed turkey river at two o'clock, and they boldly plied their paddles, sometimes animating their labors with a song; but the mississippi proved too stout for us; and some time after nightfall we put ashore on an island, before reaching the wisconsin. in ascending the river this day, observed the pelican, which exhibited itself in a flock, standing on a low sandy spot of an island. this bird has a clumsy and unwieldy look, from the duplicate membrane attached to its lower mandible, which is constructed so as when inflated to give it a bag-like appearance. a short sleep served to restore the men, and we were again in our canoes the next morning ( th) before i could certainly tell the time by my watch. daylight had not yet broke when we passed the influx of the wisconsin, and we reached the prairie under a full chorus, and landed at six o'clock. chapter xvi. the expedition proceeds from prairie du chein up the wisconsin valley--incidents of the ascent--etymology of the name--the low state of its waters favorable to the observation of its fresh-water conchology--cross the wisconsin summit, and descend the fox river to winnebago lake. we were now at the foot of the wisconsin valley--at the point, in fact, where marquette and joliet, coming from the forests and lakes of new france, had discovered the great river of the west, in . marquette, led by his rubrics, named it the river "conception," but, in his journal, he freely employs the aboriginal term of mississippi, which was in use by the whole body of the algonquin tribes. while awaiting, at prairie du chein, the preparations for ascending the wisconsin, the locality was found a very remarkable one for its large unios, and some other species of fresh-water shells. some specimens of the unio crassus, found on the shores of the island in the mississippi, opposite the village, were of thrice the size of any noticed in america or europe, and put conchologists in doubt whether the species should not be named _giganteus_.[ ] i had, in coming down the mississippi, procured some fine and large specimens of the unio purpureus of mr. say, at the painted rock, with some other species; and the discovery of such large species of the crassus served to direct new attention to the subject. [ ] american journal of science, vol. vi. p. . our sympathies were excited, at this place, by observing an object of human deformity in the person of an indian, who, to remedy the want of the power of locomotion, had adjusted his legs in a large wooden bowl. by rocking this on the ground, he supplied, in a manner, the lost locomotive power. this man of the bowl possessed his faculties of mind unimpaired, spoke several indian languages, besides the canadian french, and appeared cheerful and intelligent. an excursion into the adjacent country, to view some caves, and a reported mineral locality made by mr. trowbridge, during my descent to the mines of dubuque, brought me some concretions of carbonate of lime, but the indian guides either faltered to make the promised discoveries, through their superstitions, or really failed in the effort to find the object. by tracing the shores of the mississippi, i found the rolled and hard agates and other quartz species, which characterize the pebble-drift of its sources, still present in the down-flowing shore-drift. the aboriginal name of this place is kipesági, an algonquin word, which is applied to the mouth or outflow of the wisconsin river. it appears to be based on the verb _kipa_, to be thick or turbid, and _sauge_, outflow--the river at its floods, being but little else than a moving mass of sand and water. it was the th (aug.) at half-past ten in the morning before the expedition left the prairie to ascend the wisconsin, the mouth of which we reached after descending the mississippi three miles. this is an impressive scene--the bold cliffs of the west bank of the mississippi, with pike's-hill rising in front on the west, while those of the wisconsin valley stand at but little less elevation on the north and south. at this season of the year the water is clear and placid, and mingles itself in its mighty recipient without disturbance. but it is easy to conceive, what the indians affirm, that in its floods it is a strong and turbid mass of moving waters, against which nothing can stand. this character of the stream is believed, indeed, to be the origin of the indian name of wisconsin. miskawägumi, means a strong or mixed water, or liquid. by adding to this word _totoshabo_ (milk), the meaning is coagulated or turning milk; it is often used to mean brandy, which is then called strong water; by adding _iscodawabo_, the meaning is fire-water. marquette, in , spells the name of the river indifferently meshkousing, and mishkousing. of this term, the inflection _ing_, is simply a local form, the letter _s_ being thrown in for euphony. this word appears to be a derivation from the term _mushkowa_, strong water. by admitting the transmutation of _m_ to _w_, the initial syllable _mis_ is changed to _wis_, and the interpretation is then river (or place) of strong waters. the term of _kipesagi_, applied to its mouth, is but another characteristic feature of it--the one laying stress on its _turbidity in flood_, and the other on its _strength of current_. these are certainly the two leading traits of the wisconsin, which rushes with a great average velocity over an inclined plane, without falls, for a great distance. it originates in a remarkable summit of sandy plains, which send out to the west the chippewa river of lake pepin, to the north the montreal and ontonagon of lake superior, and to the east the menomonee of green bay, while the wisconsin becomes its southern off-drain, till it finally turns west at the portage, and flows into the mississippi. we ascended, the first day, eighteen miles; the next, thirty-six; the third day, thirty-four miles; the fourth, forty; the fifth, thirty-eight, and the sixth, sixteen, which brought us to the fox and wisconsin portage, a spot renowned from the earliest french days of western discovery. for here, on the waters separating the mississippi from the great lakes, there had, at successive intervals, been pitched the tents of marquette, la hontan, carver, and other explorers, who have, in their published journals, left traces of their footsteps. la salle, who excelled them all in energy of character, proceeded to the mississippi from lake michigan, down the illinois. our estimates made the distance from the mississippi to this point one hundred and eighty-two miles. it is a wide, and (at this season) shallow stream, with transparent waters, running over a bed of yellow sand, checkered with numerous small islands, and long spits of sand-bars. there is not a fall in this distance, and it must be navigable with large craft during the periodical freshets. it receives the blue, pine, and other tributaries in this distance. its valley presents a geological section, on a large scale, of the series of lead-bearing rocks extending in regular succession from the fundamental sandstone to the topmost limestones. the water being shallow and warm, we often waded from bar to bar, and found the scene a fruitful one for its fresh-water conchology. the indians frequently amused me by accounts of the lead mines and mineral productions of its borders; but i followed them in this search only to be convinced that they were without sincerity in these representations, and had no higher objects on this head, than, by assuming a conciliatory manner, to secure temporary advantages while the expedition was passing through their country. the valley belongs to the winnebagoes, whom we frequently met, and received a friendly reception from. we also encountered menomonies, who occupy the lower part of the adjacent fox river valley, but rove widely west and north over the countries of the tribes they are at peace with. the wisconsin valley was formerly inhabited by the sacs and foxes, who raised large quantities of corn and beans on its fertile shores. they were driven by the french, in alliance with the chippewas and menomonies. it is now possessed exclusively by the winnebagoes, a savage and bloodthirsty tribe, who came, according to tradition, many years ago from the south, and are thought to be related to some of the mexican tribes. their language is cognate with the great sioux or dakota stock west of the mississippi, who likewise date their origin south. to those accustomed to hear the softer tones of the chippewa and algonquin, it sounds harsh and guttural. their name for themselves is hochungara; the french call them _puants_. in passing up this valley, an almost never-failing object of interest was furnished by the univalve shells found along its banks, and by the variety in size, shape, and color which they exhibited. of these, the late mr. barnes has described, from my duplicates, the u. plicatus, u. verrucosus, u. ventricosus, u. planus, u. obliqua, and u. gracilis.[ ] we frequently observed the scolipax minor, the plover, the a. alcyon, a small yellow bird, and c. vociferus, along its sandy shores; and, in other positions, the brant, the grouse, the a. sponsa, and the summer duck, and f. melodia. a range of hills extends from the mississippi, on each shore, to within twenty miles of the portage, where it ceases, on the south side, but continues on the north--receding, however, a considerable distance. this section is called the highlands of the wisconsin. the stratification is exclusively sandstone and limestone, in the usual order of the metalliferous series of the west, and lying in horizontal positions. [ ] american journal of science, vol. vi. p. , &c. there are two kinds of rattlesnake in the valley of the wisconsin. the larger, or barred crotalis, is confined to the hills, and attains a large size. i killed one of this species at the mouth of a small cave on the summit of a cliff to which i ascended, which measured four feet in length, and had nine rattles. its great thickness attracted notice. attaching a twig to its neck, i drew it down into the valley as a present to our indians, knowing that they regard the reptile in a peculiar manner. they found it a female, having eleven young, who had taken shelter in their maternal abdominal-covering. the ottowas carefully took off the skin, and brought it with them. the second kind of this reptile is called prairie rattlesnake, is confined to the plains, and does not exceed fifteen or twenty inches in length. the indians had reported localities of lead, copper, and silver at various places, but always failed, as we ascended, to reveal anything of more value than detached pieces of sulphuret of iron, or brown iron-stone. when we reached the portage, a winnebago, who had been the chief person in making these reports, came with great ceremony to present a specimen of his reported silver. on taking off the envelop it turned out to be a small mass of light-colored glistening folia of mica. we had found the horizontal rocks along the stream thus far, but the primitive shows itself, within a mile north of the portage, in orbicular masses in situ, coming through the prairies. having reached the summit, we proceeded across it to the banks of fox river, where we encamped. it consists of a level plain. the distance is a mile and a half. it required, however, some time to have our baggage and canoes transported, which was done by a frenchman residing at this summit. such is the slight difference in the level of the two rivers, that indian canoes are pushed through the marshy ridges when the rivers are swelled by freshets. it was half-past three o'clock of the th, the day following our arrival, before the transportation and loading of our canoes was completed. it was then necessary to push our canoes through fields of rushes and other aquatic plants, through which the river winds. this was a slow mode of progress, and we spent the remainder of the day in passing fifteen miles, which brought us to the forks, so called, where the northern unites with the southern branch of the river. at this spot we encamped. next day we estimated our descent at sixty-three miles, having found the navigation less intricate and obstructed from the aquatic growth. in this distance we passed, at thirty miles below the fork, a piece of clear water of nine miles extent, called buffalo lake; and at the distance of twelve miles lower, another lake of some twelve miles in extent, called puckaway lake. down to this point, the fox river has scarcely a perceptible current. we found we had not only, in parting from the wisconsin to the fox, exchanged an open, swift, and strong flowing current, for a very quiet and still one, winding through areas of wild rice and the whole family of water plants; but had intruded into a region of water-fowl and birds of every plumage, who, as they rioted upon their cherished zizania aquatica, made the air resound with their screams. the blackbird appeared to be lord of these fields. we had also intruded upon a favorite region of the water-snake, who, coiled up on his bed of plants at every bend of the stream, slid off with spiteful glance into the stream. in passing these places of habitation, which the chippewas call _wauzh_, we perceptibly smelt an unpleasant odor arising from it. the next day we descended the river seventy miles. there is a perceptible current below puckaway lake. the river increases in width and depth, and offers no impediment whatever to its navigation. fox river runs, indeed, from the portage to winnebago lake on a summit, over which it winds among sylvan hills, covered with grass and prairie-flowers, interspersed with groves of oak, elm, ash, and hickory, and dotted at intervals with lakes of refreshing transparent water. the height of this summit, above the mississippi and the lakes, must be several hundred feet (stated at ), which permits the stream to flow with liveliness, insuring, when it comes to be settled,[ ] the erection of hydraulic works; and it would be difficult to point to a region possessing in its soil, climate, and natural resources, a more favorable character for an agricultural population. it has a diversified surface, without mountains; a fine dry atmosphere; an admirable drainage east, west, north, and south, and a ready access to the great oceanic marts through the great lake and the mississippi. [ ] wisconsin. this region was separated from michigan, and formed into a separate territory in ; and admitted as a state in . by the census of , it has a population of , , divided into , families, occupying , dwellings, and cultivating , , acres of land. there are organized counties, and churches of all denominations, giving one church to every , inhabitants. it has three representatives in the popular branch of congress. it was years after my visit, before it had a distinct legal existence--it increased to become a state in twelve years; and, according to our ordinary rate of increase, will contain one million of inhabitants in . we passed, this day, several encampments and villages of winnebagoes and menomonies--tribes, who, with the erratic habits of the tartars, or bedouins, once spread their tents in the fox and wisconsin valleys, but have now ( ) relinquished them to the european race; and it does not, at this distance of time, seem important to denote the particular spots where they once boiled their kettles of corn, or thumped their magic drums. god have mercy on them in their wild wanderings! we also passed the entrance of wolf river, a fine bold stream on the left; and soon below it the handsome elevation of la butte de morts, or the hillock of the dead. this eminence was covered by the frail lodges of the winnebagoes. the spot is memorable in indian history, for a signal defeat of the foxes, by the french and their indian allies in the seventeenth century, after which, this tribe was finally expelled from the fox valley. our night's encampment ( th) was below this spot. the night air was remarkably cold, and put an end to our further annoyance from mosquitos. we embarked at five o'clock the next morning during a dense fog, which was in due time dissipated by the rising sun. we had been five hours in our canoes, under the full force of paddles, when we entered winnebago lake. this is a most beautiful and sylvan expanse of water some twenty-four miles long by ten in width, surrounded by picturesque prairie and sloping plains. it has a stream at fond du lac, its southern extremity,[ ] which is connected by a short portage with the principal source of rock river of the mississippi. [ ] this spot is now the site of the flourishing town of fond du lac, which was laid out in . it had a population of , in , including two newspaper offices, two banking houses, one iron foundry, a car factory, twelve drygoods stores, and sixty other stores. it is situated miles n. n. w. from milwaukie, and n. e. from madison, the capital of the state of wisconsin. it is the shire town of a county containing a population of , , with churches, and , pupils attending public schools, and attending academies. it has a plank road to lake michigan, and will soon be connected by a railroad with chicago. it is by such means that the american wilderness is conquered. the fox river, after having displayed itself in the lake, leaves it, at its northern extremity, flowing by a succession of rapids and falls over horizontal limestones to the head of green bay. there is a winnebago village, under hoo tshoop, or four legs, at the point of outlet, where we landed, and as the first rapid begins at that point, creating a delay, i took the occasion to examine its geology more closely, by procuring fresh fractures of the masses of rock in the vicinity. this process, it appeared, was narrowly watched by the indians, who wondered what such a scrutiny should mean. the french, said the chief to one of our interpreters, formerly held possession of this country; and, afterwards, came the british. they contented themselves with common things, and never disturbed these rocks, which have been laying here forever. but the moment the americans get possession of the country, they must come and knock off pieces of the rock, and look at them. it is marvellous! a brilliant mass of native copper, weighing ten or twelve pounds, was found by an indian, some years ago, on the shores of this lake. the moment he espied it, his imagination was fired, and he fancied he beheld the form of a beautiful female, standing in the water. glittering in radiancy, she held out in her hand a lump of gold. he paddled his canoe towards her, furtively and slow, but, as he advanced, a transformation gradually ensued. her eyes lost their brilliancy, her face the glow of life and health, her arms disappeared; and when he reached the spot, the object had changed into a stone monument of the human form, with the tail of a fish. amazed, he sat awhile in silence; then, lighting his pipe, he offered it the incense of tobacco, and addressed it, as the guardian angel of his country. lifting the miraculous image gently into his canoe, he took his seat, with his face in an opposite direction, and paddled towards shore, on reaching which, and turning round to the object of his regard, he discovered, in its place, nothing but a lump of shining virgin copper. such are the imaginative efforts of this race, who look to the eyes of civilization as if they had themselves faces of stone, and hearts of adamant. chapter xvii. descent of the fox river from winnebago lake to green bay--incidents--etymology, conchology, mineralogy--falls of the konomic and kakala--population and antiquity of the settlement of green bay--appearances of a tide, not sustained. a rapid commences at the precise point where fox river issues from winnebago lake. this rapid, down which canoes descend with half loads, extends a mile and a half, when the river assumes its usual navigable form, presenting a noble volume. nine miles below this, a ledge of the semi-crystalline limestone rock crosses the entire channel, lifting itself five feet above the bed of the stream. over this the fox river throws itself by an abrupt cascade. down this shelf of rock, the canoes, previously lightened of their burden, are lifted by the men. it was sometime after dark when we reached and encamped on the north shore, at the foot of this cascade, which bears the name of konamik. the syllable _kon_, in this word, appears to me to be the same as _con_ in wisconsin, and is, apparently, a derivative from a term for strong water, which has, in this case, the meaning of cascade or fall. the word _amik_, its terminal, means a beaver. we thus have the probable original meaning in beaver-water, or, by implication, beaver cascade. there is a rapid below this fall. i judged the water must sink its level, in this vicinity, about fifteen feet. on examining the character of the limestone, i discovered crystals of calcareous spar occupying small cavities. at other localities, at lower points, there were found crystals of black sulphuret of zinc, and yellow sulphuret of iron. the rock appears to be of the same age as the lead-bearing limestone of the west; it is also overlaid by the red marly clay, and i should judge it to contain deposits of sulphuret of lead. the next morning, we resumed our descent of the fox river with difficulty. it was now the th of august, and the waters had reached their lowest summer stage. the entire distance of twelve miles from the konamik to the kákala fall may be deemed to be, at this season, a continuous rapid. our barge was abandoned on the rapids. while the men toiled in these rapids to get down their canoes, it was found rather a privilege to walk, for it gave a more ample opportunity to examine the mineral structure and productions of the country. it was high noon when we reached the rapids of the kákala. this is a formidable rapid, at which the river rushes with furious velocity down a rocky bed, which it seems impossible boats or canoes should ever safely descend. it demands a portage to be made, under all circumstances, the water sweeping round a curve or bow, of which the portage path is the string. this is the apparent meaning of the term, in the indian tongue; but it is disguised by early orthography, in which the letter _l_ has taken the place of _n_, and the syllable _in_ of _au_. the term _kakina_ is the ancient french form of the indian transitive-adjective _all_, inclusive, entirely. there is another root for the term in _kakiwa_, which is the ordinary term for a portage, or walk across a point of land, which is rendered local by the usual inflection, _o-nong_. we found the portage path to be a well-beaten wagon road across a level fertile plain, which appeared to have been in cultivation from the earliest indian period. probably it had been a locality for the tribes, where they raised their favorite maize, long before the french first reached the waters of green bay. evidence of such antiquity in the plain of kákala appeared in an ancient cemetery of a circular shape, situated on one side of the road, on a comparatively large surface, which had reached the height of some eight or ten feet, by the mere accumulation of graves. this has all the appearance of a sepulchral mound, in the slow process of construction; for, on viewing it, i found a recent grave. we passed, on this plain, a winnebago village of ten or twelve lodges, embracing two hundred souls. the portage is continued just one mile. embarking again, at this point, we proceeded down the river, and encamped eight miles below this point, having, with every exertion, made but twenty miles this day. the interest which had been excited by the conchology of the mississippi and wisconsin valleys, was renewed in the descent of the fox river, particularly in the section of it below winnebago lake. shrunk to its lowest summer level, its shores disclosed almost innumerable species of unios, many of which had been manifestly dragged to the shores and opened by the muskrat, thus serving to give hints for finding the living species. among these, the u. obliqua, u. cornutus, u. ellipticus, u. carinatus, u. alatus, u. prælongus, and u. parvus, were conspicuous; the latter of which, it is remarked by mr. barnes, is the smallest and most beautiful of all the genus yet discovered in america.[ ] in the duplicates, from this part of the fox river, transmitted to mr. isaac lea, of philadelphia, he found a species with green-rayed beaks, on a yellow surface and iridescent nacre, having a peculiar structure, which he did me the honor to name after me.[ ] the description of mr. lea is as follows: "unio schoolcraftensis. shell subrotund, somewhat angular at posterior dorsal margin, nearly equilateral, compressed, slightly tuberculate posteriorly to umbonical slope. substance of the shell rather thick; beaks elevated; ligament short; epidermis smooth yellow, with several broad green rays; teeth elevated, and cleft in the left valve, single, and rising from a pit in the right; lateral teeth elevated, straight, and lamellar; anterior cicatrices distinct, posterior cicatrices confluent; dorsal cicatrices within the cavity of the shell on the base of the cardinal tooth; cavity of the beaks angular and deep; nacre pearly white and iridescent. diameter · , length · , breadth · inches." [ ] amer. journ. science, vol. vi. pp. , , &c. [ ] transactions of the american philosophical society, vol. v. p. ; plate , fig. . the next morning ( th), a heavy fog in the fox valley detained us in our encampment till o'clock. six miles brought us to another rapid, called the little kakala, which, however, opposes no obstacle to the descent of canoes. at this spot, which is the apparent western terminus of the bay settlement, we found a party of u. s. soldiers, from fort howard, engaged in digging the foundations for a saw-mill. our appearance must have been somewhat rusty at this time, from our deficiences in the tonsorial and sempstrescal way, for these sons of mars did not recognize their superior officers in capt. douglass and lt. mackay; glibly saying, in a jolly way, as they handed them a drink of water: "after me, sir, is manners;" and drinking off the first cup. at this rapid i got out of my canoe, wishing to see the geological formation more fully, and walked quite to the rapide du pere, where fox river finds its level in the broad, elongated, and lake-like tongue of water, extending up from the head of green bay. on reaching this point, the scene of the settlement first burst on our view, with its farm-houses and cultivated fields stretching, for five miles, along both banks of the river; disclosing the flagstaff of the distant fort, and the bannered masts of vessels, all of which brought vividly to mind our approach to the civilized world. if the canadian boat-song was ever exhilarating and appropriate, it was peculiarly so on the present occasion; and when our _voyageurs_ burst out, in full chorus, with the ancient ditty, beginning, "_la fille du roi son vout chassau, avec son grande fusee d'largent_," they waked up a responsive feeling, not alone in the breasts of the french _habitans_, lining the shores of the river, but in our own breasts. on reaching the fort, the salute due to the governor of a territory was paid, in honor of our leader, governor cass; and in exchanging congratulations with the officers and citizens, we began first to feel, in reality, that, after passing among many savage tribes, our scalps were still safely on our heads. i found, at the fort, letters from my friends, and was thus reminded that warm sympathies had been alive for our fate. weary regions had now been past, and privations endured, of which we thought little, at the time; the flag of the union had been carried among barbarous tribes, who hardly knew there was such a power as the united states, or, if they knew, despised it; and some information had been gathered, which it was hoped would enlarge the boundaries of science, and would at the same time send a thrill of satisfaction, and impart a feeling of security, along the whole line of the advanced and extended western settlements. if berkeley, in the dark days of the commonwealth of england, could turn to the west, with exultation, as the hope of the nation, it must be admitted that it is by some out-door means, like this, that the way for the car of "empire" must be prepared. we found the fort, which bears the name of howard, in charge of capt. w. wistler, during the absence of col. joseph l. smith. its strength consists of three hundred men, together with about the same number of infantry at camp smith, at rock or dupere rapid, a few miles above, who are engaged in quarrying stone for a permanent fortification at that point. on visiting this quarry, i found it to consist of a bluish-gray limestone, semi-crystalline in its structure, containing small disseminated masses of sulphuret of zinc, calcspar, and iron pyrites, and corresponding, in every respect, with the beds of this rock observed along the upper parts of the fox and wisconsin valleys. fort howard is seated on a handsome fertile plain, on the north banks of the fox, near its mouth. it consists of a stockade of timber, thirty feet high, inclosing barracks, which face three sides of a quadrangle. this forms a fine parade. there are blockhouses, mounting guns, at the angles, and quarters for the surgeon and quartermaster, separately constructed. the whole is whitewashed, and presents a neat military appearance. the gardens of the military denote the most fruitful soil and genial climate. data observed by the surgeon, indicate the site to be unexcelled for its salubrity, such a disease as fever, of any kind, never having visited it, in either an endemic or epidemic form. the name of green bay is associated with our earliest ideas of french history in america. when la salle visited the country in the th century, it had been many years known to the french, and was esteemed one of the prime posts for trading with the indians. the chief tribes who were located here, and in the vicinity, making this their central point of trade, were the _puants_, i. e. winnebagoes, malomonies, or folle avoins, known to us as menomonies, sacs, and foxes, called also sakis, outagami, and renouards, and it was also the seat of trade for the equivocal tribe of the mascoutins. the present inhabitants are, with few exceptions, descendants of the original french, who intermarried with indian women, and who still speak the french and indian languages. they are indolent, gay, and illiterate. i was told there were five hundred inhabitants, and about sixty principal dwellings, beside temporary structures. there are seventy inhabitants enrolled as militia-men, and the settlement has civil courts, being the seat of justice from brown county, michigan, so called in honor of major-general jacob brown, u. s. a. the place is surrounded by the woodlands and forests, and seems destined to be an important lake-port.[ ] the algonquin name for this place is boatchweekwaid, a term which describes an eccentric or abrupt bay, or inlet. nothing could more truly depict its singular position; it is, in fact, a kind of cul-de-sac--a duplicature of lake michigan, with the coast-shore of which it lies parallel for about ninety miles. [ ] green bay. this town has just ( ) been incorporated as a city, the anticipations respecting it having been slow in being realized. it has now an estimated population of , , with several churches in a healthy and flourishing state, two printing presses, a post-office, collectorship, and thriving agricultural and commercial advantages, which will be fully realized when the internal improvements in process of construction through the fox and wisconsin valleys are finished. its extreme salubrity has, it seems, been disregarded by emigrants. the singular configuration of this bay appears to be the chief cause of the appearances of a tide at the point where it is entered by fox river. this phenomenon was early noticed by the french. la hontan mentions it in . charlevoix remarks on it in , and suggests its probable cause, which is, in his opinion, explained by the fact that lakes michigan and huron, alternately empty themselves into each other through the straits of michilimackinac. the effects of such a flux and reflux, under the power of the winds, would appear to place green bay in the position of a siphon, on the west of lake michigan, and go far to account for the singular fluctuations of the current at the mouth of the fox river. on reaching this spot of the rising and falling of the lake waters, governor cass caused observations to be made, which he greatly extended at a subsequent period.[ ] these give no countenance to the theory of regular tides, but denote the changes in the level of the waters to be eccentrically irregular, and dependent, so far as the observations extend, altogether on the condition of the winds and currents of the lakes. [ ] american journal of science, vol. xvii. something analogous to this is perceived in the baltic, which has no regular tides, and therefore experiences no difference of height, except when the wind blows violently. "at such times," says pennant,[ ] "there is a current in and out of the baltic, according to the points they blow from, which forces the water through the sound, with the velocity of two or three danish miles in the hour. when the wind blows violently from the german sea, the water rises in several baltic harbors, and gives those in the western tract a temporary saltness; otherwise, the baltic loses that other property of a sea, by reason of the want of tide, and the quantity of vast rivers it receives, which sweeten it so much as to render it, in many places, fit for domestic use." [ ] arctic geology. chapter xviii. the expedition traces the west shores of lake michigan southerly to chicago--outline of the journey along this coast--sites of manitoowoc, sheboigan, milwaukie, racine, and chicago, being the present chief towns and cities of wisconsin and illinois on the west shores of that lake--final reorganization of the party and departure from chicago. two days spent in preparations to reorganize the expedition, enabled it to continue its explorations. for the purpose of tracing the western and northern shores of green bay, and the northern shores of lake michigan, a sub-expedition was fitted out, under mr. trowbridge, our sub-topographer, who was accompanied by mr. j. d. doty, mr. alex. r. chase, and james riley, the chippewa interpreter. the auxiliary indians, who had, thus far, attended us in a separate canoe, were rewarded for their services, furnished with provisions to reach their homes, and dismissed. the escort of soldiers under lieut. mackay, u. s. a., were returned to their respective companies at fort howard and camp smith. the chippewa chief, _iaba wawashkash_, or the buck, who belonged to michilimackinac, went with mr. trowbridge, together with jo parks, the intelligent shawnee captive, and assimilated shawnee of waughpekennota,[ ] ohio. the ottowa chief, kewaygooshkum, of grand-river, took the rest of the party in a separate canoe to their destination. our collections in natural history were shipped in the schooner decatur, capt. burnham (perry's boatswain in the memorable naval battle of lake erie, sept. , ), to michilimackinac, together with the extra baggage. [ ] waughpekennota. this place was _then_ the residence of the shawnee tribe, under the prophet elksattawa, of war memory, the celebrated brother of tecumseh, who, seeing the intrusive tread of the americans, headed, in , the first exploring party of the tribe to the west of the mississippi, where they finally settled. after living twenty-seven years at this spot, they found themselves within the newly-erected territory of kansas, and sold their surplus lands to the u. states by a treaty concluded at washington in may, , the said parks being at this time first chief of the shawnee tribe. thus relieved in numbers and canoe-hamper, we were reduced to two canoes; the travelling family of gov. cass now consisted of capt. douglass, dr. wolcott, maj. forsyth, lieut. mackay, and myself. leaving fort howard at two o'clock p. m., we parted with mr. trowbridge and his party at the mouth of fox river, at half past two, and taking the other, or east side of the bay, proceeded along its shores about twenty-five miles, and encamped on the coast called red banks. this is a term translated from the winnebago name, which is renowned in their traditions as the earliest spot which they can recollect. they dwelt here when the french first reached green bay in their discoveries in the seventeenth century. here, then, is a test of the value and continuity of indian tradition, so far as this tribe is concerned, for admitting, what is doubtful, that the french reached this point so early as , the period of recognized winnebago history, as proved by geography, reaches but years prior to the above date. in a short time after entering the bay, we were overtaken by kewaygooshkum and his party, who travelled and encamped with us. in the course of the evening he pointed out a rocky island, at three or four miles distance, containing a large cavern, which has been used by the indians from early times as a repository for the dead. the chief, as he pointed to it, as if absorbed in a spirit of ancestral reverence, seemed to say:-- "it hath a charm the stranger knoweth not, it is the [sepulchre] of mine ancestry; there is an inspiration in its shade, the echoes of its walls are eloquent, the words they speak are of the glorious dead; its tenants are not human--they are more! the stones have voices, and the walls do live; it is the home of memories dearly honored by many a trace of long departed glory." the appearance of ancient cultivation of this coast is such as to give semblance to the winnebago tradition of its having been their former residence. the lands are fertile, alluvion, bearing a secondary growth of trees, mingled with older species of the acer saccharinum, elm, and oak. the next day, after traversing this coast twenty miles further, we reached and passed up sturgeon bay, to a portage path leading to lake michigan. this path begins in low grounds, where several of the swamp species of plants occur. on reaching the open shores of lake michigan, the wind was found strongly ahead, and we were compelled to encamp. at this spot we found several species of madreperes, and some other organic forms, among the shore debris. the next day the wind abated, and, agreeably to the estimate of capt. douglass, we advanced along the shore, southwardly, forty-six miles. the day following, we made forty miles, and reached the river manitowakie,[ ] and encamped on the lake shore, five miles south of it. [ ] from _manito_, a spirit, _auk_, a standing or hollow tree that is under a mysterious influence, and the generic inflection _ie_, which is applied to vital or animate nouns. a town, at present, exists at the spot called manitoowoc. it is the shire town of a county of the same name in wisconsin; it has a good harbor, and by the census of contains four churches, twelve stores, two steam mills, two ship-yards, a newspaper, post-office, and , inhabitants. we found the site inhabited by a village monomonees of six lodges. in passing along the lake shore this day ( th), we observed it to be strewed abundantly with the carcasses of dead pigeons. this bird, we were told, is often overcome by the fatigue of long flights, or storms, in crossing the lake, and entire flocks drowned. this causes the shores to be visited by great numbers of hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey. the indians only make use of those carcasses of pigeons, as food, when they are first cast on shore. the next day the expedition passed the mouth of the sheboigan river, a stream originating not remotely from the banks of winnebago lake, with which, as the name indicates, there is a portage or passage through.[ ] pushing forward with every force during the day, we reached the mouth of the milwaukie river, and encamped on the beach some time after dark. this is a large and important river, and is connected by an indian portage with the rock river of the mississippi. the next morning adverse winds confined us to this spot, where we remained a considerable part of the day, which enabled us to explore the locality. we found it to be the site of a pottawattomie village. there were two american families located at that place, engaged in the indian trade. [ ] _shebiau_, is to look critically; _shebiabunjegun_, a spy-glass or instrument to look through. sheboigan appears to have its termination from the word _gan_, a lake, and the combination denotes a river, or water pass from lake to lake. this place is now ( ) a town and county site of wisconsin. the county was organized in , and by the last census has seven churches, two newspapers, pupils at schools, and a population of , . the town of this name contains , inhabitants. it is miles n. from milwaukie, and n. e. from madison, the state capital. it has a plank road of miles to fond du lac, and is noted for its lumber trade. the name of milwaukie,[ ] exhibits an instance of which there are many others, in which the french have substituted the sound of the letter _l_ in place of _n_, in indian words. _min_, in the algonquin languages signifies _good_. _waukie_, is a derivative from _auki_, earth or land, the fertility of the soil, along the banks of that stream, being the characteristic trait which is described in the indian compound. [ ] milwaukie is the principal city of the state of wisconsin. it lies in latitude ° ´ ´´ north. it is ninety miles north of chicago and seventy-five east from madison. it contains thirty churches, five public high schools, two academies, five orphan asylums, and other benevolent institutions, seven daily and seven weekly newspapers, four banks, and, by the census of , , inhabitants. when the wind lulled so as to permit embarkation, we proceeded on our course. at the computed distance of five miles, we observed a bed of light-colored tertiary clay, possessing a compactness, tenacity, and feel, which denote its utility in the arts. this bed, after a break of many miles in the shores, reappears in thicker and more massive layers, at eight or ten miles distance. the waves dashing against this elevated bank of clay,[ ] have liberated balls and crystallized-masses of sulphuret of iron. [ ] an admired kind of cream-colored bricks are manufactured from portions of the clay found near milwaukie. some of the more recently exposed masses of this mineral are of a bright brass color. the tendency of their crystallization is to restore octahedral and cubical forms. we advanced along this shore about thirty-five miles, encamping on an eligible part of the beach before dark. i found, in examining the mineralogy of the coast, masses of detached limestone, containing fissures filled with asphaltum. on breaking these masses, and laying open the fissures, the substance assumed the form of naphtha. we observed among the plants along this portion of coast, the tradescantia virginica, and t. liatris, and squarrosa scariosa.[ ] by scrutinizing the wave-moved pebble-drift along shore, it is evident that inferior positions, in the geological basin of lake michigan, contain slaty, or bituminous coal, masses of which were developed. [ ] dr. j. torrey, _am. journ. science_, vol. , p. . the next day's journey, th, carried us forty miles, in which distance, the most noticeable fact in the topography of the coast, was the entrance of the racine, or root river;[ ] its eligible shores being occupied by some pottawattomie lodges. having reached within ten or twelve miles of chicago, and being anxious to make that point, we were in motion at a very early hour on the morning of the th, and reached the village at five o'clock a. m. we found four or five families living here, the principal of which were those of mr. john kinzie, dr. a. wolcott, j. b. bobian, and mr. j. crafts, the latter living a short distance up the river. the pottawattomies, to whom this site is the capital of their trade, appeared to be lords of the soil, and truly are entitled to the epithet, if laziness, and an utter inappreciation of the value of time, be a test of lordliness. dr. wolcott, being the u. s. agent for this tribe, found himself at home here, and constitutes no further, a member of the expedition. gov. cass determined to return to detroit from this point, on horseback, across the peninsula of michigan, accompanied by lt. mackay, u. s. a., maj. forsyth, his private secretary, and the necessary number of men and pack horses to prepare their night encampments. this left capt. douglass and myself to continue the survey of the lakes, and after reaching michilimackinac and rejoining the party of mr. trowbridge, to return to detroit from that point. [ ] racine.--this is now the second city in size in the state of wisconsin. by the census of , its population is , . it has a harbor which admits vessels drawing twelve feet water; it has fourteen churches, a high school, college, bank, several newspapers, three ship-yards, and exhibits more than two millions of imports and exports. the settlement was commenced in . the preparation for these ends occupied a couple of days, which gave us an opportunity to scan the vicinity. we found the post (fort dearborn) under the command of capt. bradley, with a force of one hundred and sixty men. the river is ample and deep for a few miles, but is utterly choked up by the lake sands, through which, behind a masked margin, it oozes its way for a mile or two, till it percolates through the sands into the lake. its banks consist of a black arenaceous fertile soil, which is stated to produce abundantly, in its season, the wild species of cepa, or leek. this circumstance has led the natives to name it the place of the wild leek. such is the origin of the term chicago,[ ] which is a derivative, by elision and french annotation, from the word _chi-kaug-ong_. _kaug_, is the algonquin name for the hystrix, or porcupine. it takes the prefix _chi_, when applied to the mustela putorius. the particle _chi_, is the common prefix of nouns to denote greatness in any natural object, but it is also employed, as here, to mean increase, or excess, as acridness, or pungency, in quality. the penultimate _ong_, denotes locality. the putorius is so named from this plant, and not, as has been thought, the plant from it. i took the sketch, which is reproduced in the fourth vol. of my _ethnological researches_, plate xxvii., from a standpoint on the flat of sand which stretched in front of the place. this view embraces every house in the village, with the fort; and if the reproduction of the artist in vol. iv. may be subjected to any criticism, it is, perhaps, that the stockade bears too great a proportion to the scene, while the precipice observed in the shore line of sand, is wholly wanting in the original. [ ] chicago is the largest city of the state of illinois, excelling all others in its commercial and business capacities, and public and moral influences. standing on the borders of the great western prairies, it is the great city of the plains, and its growth cannot be limited, or can scarcely be estimated. it began to be built about , eleven years after this visit. it was incorporated as a city in , with , inhabitants. in , it had , , and it is now estimated to exceed , . this city lies in lat. ° ´ ´´. it is connected by lakes, canals, and railroads, with the most distant regions. its imports and exports the last year, were twenty millions. like all the cities and towns of america, its political and moral influence, are seen to keep an exact pace with its sound religious influences; the number of churches and newspapers, having a certain fixed relation. more than any other city of the west, its position destines it to be another nineveh. the country around chicago is the most fertile and beautiful that can be imagined. it consists of an intermixture of woods and prairies, diversified with gentle slopes, sometimes attaining the elevation of hills, and it is irrigated with a number of clear streams and rivers, which throw their waters partly into lake michigan, and partly into the mississippi river. as a farming country, it presents the greatest facilities for raising stock and grains, and it is one of the most favored parts of the mississippi valley; the climate has a delightful serenity, and it must, as soon as the indian title is extinguished,[ ] become one of the most attractive fields for the emigrant. to the ordinary advantages of an agricultural market town, it must add that of being a depot for the commerce between the northern and southern sections of the union, and a great thoroughfare for strangers, merchants, and travellers. [ ] this was done in ; having been, myself, secretary to the commissioners, gov. cass and hon. sol. sibley, who were appointed to treat with the indians. vide _indian treaties_, p. . the milwaukie clays to which i have adverted, do not extend thus far, although the argillaceous deposits found, appear to be destitute of the oxide of iron, for the bricks produced from them burn white. there is a locality of bituminous coal on fox river, about forty miles south. near, the junction of the desplaines river with the kankakee, there exists in the semi-crystalline or sedimentary limestone, a remarkable fossil-tree.[ ] [ ] fossil flora of the west.--of this gigantic specimen of the geological flora of the newer rocks of the mississippi valley, i published a memoir in , founded on a personal examination of the phenomena. albany, e. and e. hosford, pp. vo. this paper (_vide_ appendix) was prepared for the american geological society, at new haven. see _american journ. science_, vol. , p. ; see also, vol. , p. , for appreciating testimony of the value of geological science (then coming into notice), from ex-presidents john adams, thomas jefferson, and james madison, to whom copies of it were transmitted. chapter xix. south and eastern borders of lake michigan--their flora and fauna--incidents of the journey--topography--geology, botany, and mineralogy--indian tribes--burial-place of marquette--ruins of the post of old mackinac--reach michilimackinac after a canoe journey north of four hundred miles. it was now the last day of august. having partaken of the hospitalities of mr. kinzie, and of captains bradley and green, of fort dearborn, during our stay at chicago, and completed the reorganization of our parties, we separated on the last day of the month, at two o'clock p. m.; gov. cass and his party, on horseback, taking the old indian trail to detroit, and capt. douglass and myself being left, with two canoes, to complete the circumnavigation of the lakes. we did not delay our departure over thirty minutes, but bidding adieu to dr. wolcott, whose manners, judgment, and intelligence had commanded our respect during the journey, embarked with two canoes; our steersmen immediately hoisted their square sails, and, favored by a good breeze, we proceeded twenty miles along the southern curve, at the head of lake michigan, and encamped. within two miles of chicago, we passed, on the open shores of the lake, the scene of the massacre of chicago, of the th of august, , being the day after the surrender of detroit by gen. hull. gloom hung, at that eventful period, over every part of our western borders. michilimackinac had already been carried by surprise; and the ill-advised order to evacuate chicago, was deemed by the indians an admission that the americans were to be driven from the country. the pottawattomies determined to show the power of their hostility on this occasion. capt. heald, the commanding officer, having received gen. hull's order to abandon the post, and having an escort of thirty friendly miamis, from fort wayne, under captain wells, had quitted the fort at nine o'clock in the morning, with fifty-four regulars, a subaltern, physician, twelve militia, and the necessary baggage wagons for the provisions and ammunition, which contained eighteen soldiers, women and children. they had not proceeded more than a mile and a half along the shore of the lake, when an ambuscade of indians was discovered behind the sand-hills which encompass the flat sandy shore. the horrid yell, which rose on the discovery being made, was accompanied by a general and deadly fire from them. several men fell at the first fire, but capt. heald formed his men, and effected a charge up the bank, which dispersed his assailants. it was only, however, to find the enemy return by a flank movement, in which their numbers gave them the victory. in a few moments, out of his effective force of sixty-six men, but sixteen survived. with these, he succeeded in drawing off to a position in the prairie, where he was not followed by the indians. on a negotiation, opened by a chief called mukudapenais, he surrendered, under promise of security for their lives. this promise was afterwards violated, with the exception of himself and three or four men. among the slain was ensign ronan, dr. voorhis, and capt. wells. the latter had his heart cut out, and his body received other shocking indignities. the saddest part of the tragedy was the attack on the women and children who occupied the baggage wagons, and were all slain. several of the women fought with swords. during the action, a sergeant of infantry ran his bayonet through the heart of an indian who had lifted his tomahawk to strike him; not being able to withdraw the instrument, it served to hold up the indian, who actually tomahawked him in this position, and both fell dead together.[ ] the miamis remained neuter in this massacre. mr. kinzie, of chicago, of whose hospitalities we had partaken, was a witness of this transaction, and furnished the principal facts of this narrative. [ ] gouverneur morris recites a similar incident at the battle of oriskany, in .--_coll. new york hist. soc._ the morning (sept. ) opened with a perfect gale, and we were _degradè_, to use a canadian term, all day; the waves dashed against the shore with a violence that made it impossible to take the lake with canoes, and would have rendered it perilous even to a large vessel. this violence continued, with no perceptible diminution, during the day. as a mode of relief from the tedium of delay, a short excursion was made into the prairie. i found a few species of the unio, in a partially choked up branch of the konamek. capt. douglass improved the time by taking observations for the latitude, and we footed around ten miles of the extreme southern head of the lake. it is edged with sand-hills, bearing pines. a few dead valves of the fresh-water muscle were found on the shore. on the following day the wind lulled, when we proceeded fifty-four miles, passing in the distance the remains of the schooner hercules, which went ashore in a gale, in november, , and all on board perished; her mast, pump, spars, and the graves of the passengers, among which, was that of lieut. w. s. eveleth, u. s. a., were pointed out to us. we landed a few moments at the entrance of the river du chemin,[ ] where the trail to detroit leaves the lake shore. the distance to that city is estimated at three hundred miles. ten miles beyond this spot we passed the little river galien, where, at this time, the town and harbor of new buffalo, of michigan, is situated, and we encamped on the shore twelve miles beyond it. [ ] michigan city, of the state of indiana, is located near this spot. this city has its harbor communicating with lake michigan through this creek. it has a newspaper, branch bank, railroad, and (in ) , inhabitants. we had been travelling on a slightly curved line from chicago to the spot, in the latitude of ° ´ ´´, and had now reached a point where the course tends more directly to the northeast and north. by the best accounts, the length of lake michigan, lying directly from south to north, is four hundred miles. there is no other lake in america, north or south, which traverses so many degrees of latitude, and we had reason to expect its flora and fauna to denote some striking changes. we had passed down its west, or wisconsin shore, from sturgeon bay, finding it to present a clear margin of forest, with many good harbors, and a fertile, gently undulating surface. but we were now to encounter another cast of scenery. it is manifest, from a survey of the eastern shore of this lake, that the prevalent winds are from the west and northwest, for they have cast up vast sand dunes along the coast, which give it an arid appearance. these dunes are, however, but a hem on the fertile prairie lands, not extending more than half a mile or more, and thus masking the fertile lands. water, in the shape of lagoons, is often accumulated behind these sand-banks, and the force of the winds is such as to choke and sometimes entirely shut up the mouth of its rivers. we had found this hem of sand-hills extending around the southern shore of the lake from the vicinity of chicago, and soon found that it gave an appearance of sterility to the country that it by no means merited. on reaching the mouth of st. joseph's river ( d), a full exemplification of this striking effect of the lake action was exhibited. this is one of the largest rivers of the peninsula, running for more than a hundred and twenty miles through a succession of rich plains and prairies; yet its mouth, which carries a large volume of water into the lake, is rendered difficult of entrance to vessels, and its lake-borders are loaded with drifts of shifting sand. the next day's journey carried us fifty miles; and, on proceeding ten miles further on the th, we reached the mouth of the kalamazoo.[ ] before reaching this river, i discovered on the beach a body of detached orbicular masses of the calcareous marl called septaria--the ludus helmontii of the old mineralogists. on breaking some of these masses, they disclosed small crystalline seams of sulphuret of zinc. the kalamazoo irrigates a fine tract of the most fertile and beautiful prairies of michigan, which, at the date of the revision of this journal, is studded with flourishing towns and villages. [ ] kalamazoo. this word is the contraction of an indian phrase descriptive of the stones seen through the water in its bed, which, from a refractive power in the current, resembles an otter swimming under water. hence the original term, negikanamazoo. this term has its root forms in _negik_, an otter, the verb _kana_, to hide, and _ozoo_, a quadruped's tail. the letter _l_ is the mere transposition of _l_ in native words passing from the indian to the indo-french language. fifteen miles further progress towards the north, brought us to the mouth of grand river--the washtenong of the indians--which is, i believe the largest and longest stream of the michigan peninsula. it is the boundary between the hunting-grounds of the pottowattomies (who have thus far claimed jurisdiction from chicago) and the ottowas. the latter live in large numbers at its rapids and on its various tributaries.[ ] the next stream of note we encountered was the maskigon, twelve miles north of grand river, where we encamped, having travelled, during the day, fifty-four miles. the view of this scene was impressive from its bleakness, the dunes of sand being more at the mercy of the winds. i found here a large, branching specimen of the club-fungus, attached to a dead specimen of the populus tremuloides, which had been completely penetrated by these drifting sands, so as to present quite the appearance, and no little part of the hardness and consistency, of a fossil. the following figure of this transformation from a fungus to a semi-stony body, presents a perfect outline of it as sketched in its original position. [ ] ottowas. so late as , the number of the tribe, reported to the superintendent of indian affairs for michigan, was , , which was divided into villages, scattered over its whole valley.--_schoolcraft's report on indian affairs_, detroit, a. s. bagg, . [illustration] on the day of our departure from the maskigon, we enjoyed fine weather and favorable winds, and proceeded, from the data of captain douglass, seventy miles, and encamped a few miles beyond the sandy river. in this line of coast, we passed, successively, the white, pentwater, and marquette. of these, the latter, both from its size and its historical associations, is by far the most important; for it was at this spot, after having spent years of devotion in the cause of missions in new france--in the course of which he discovered the mississippi river--that this zealous servant of god laid down in his tent, after a hard day's travel, and surrendered up his life. the event occurred on the th of may, , but two years after his grand discovery. marquette was a native of laon, in picardy, where his family was of distinguished rank. the precise moment of his death was not witnessed, his men having retired to leave him to his devotions, but returning, in a short time, found him lifeless. they carried his body to the mission of old michilimackinac, of which he was the founder, where it was interred.[ ] [ ] place of interment of marquette. it is known that the mission of michilimackinac fell on the downfall of the jesuits. when the post of michilimackinac was removed from the peninsula to the island, about , the bones of the missionary were transferred to the old catholic burial-ground, in the village on the island. there they remained till a land or property question arose to agitate the church, and, when the crisis happened, the whole graveyard was disturbed, and his bones, with others, were transferred to the indian village of la crosse, which is in the vicinity of l'arbre croche, michigan. it rained the next morning ( th), by which we lost two hours, and we had some unfavorable winds, but, by dint of hard pushing, we made forty-five miles, and slept at gravelly point. in this line we passed successively, at distances of seventeen and thirty miles, the rivers manistic and _becsie_, which is the canadian phrase for the anas canadensis. clouds and murky weather still hovered around us on the next morning, but we left our encampment at an early hour. thirteen miles brought us to the omicomico, or plate river, nine miles beyond which found us in front of a remarkable and very elevated sand june, called the sleeping bear--a fanciful term, derived from the indian, through the french _l'ours qui dormis_. opposite this feature in the coast geology, lie the two large wooded islands called the minitos--well-known objects to all mariners who venture into the vast unsheltered basin of the southern body of lake michigan. thirty miles beyond this sandy elevation, brought us to the southern cape of grand traverse bay, where we encamped, having advanced fifty-two miles. this was the first place where we had noticed rocks in situ, since passing the little konamic river, near chicago. it proved to be limestone, of the same apparent era of the calcareous rock which we had observed at sturgeon bay and the contiguous west shore of lake michigan. the line of lake coast included in this remark is three hundred and twenty miles; during all which distance the coast seems, but only seems, to be the sport of the fierce gales and storms, for there is reason to believe that the formations of drift clay, sand, and gravel rest, at various depths, on a stratification of solid, permanent rock. to us, however, it proved a barren field for the collection of both geological and mineralogical specimens. there were gleaned some rolled specimens of organic remains, of no further use than to denote the occurrence of these in some part of a vast basin. there was a specimen of gypsum from grand river. the few patches of iron sand i had noticed, were hardly worthy of record after the heavy beds of this mineral which we had passed in lake superior. the same remark may be made of the few rolled fragments of calcedonies, and other varieties of the quartz family, gleaned up along its shores, for neither of these constitute a reliable locality. [illustration: petrified leaf of the _fagus ferruginea_.] of the floræ and fauna we had been observant, but the sandy character of the mere coast line greatly narrowed the former, in which captain douglass found but little to preserve, beyond the parnassia caroliniana and seottia cerna.[ ] the fury of the waves renders it a region wholly unfitted to the whole tribe of fresh-water shells. a petrifaction of the fagus ferruginia, brought from a spring on the banks of the st. joseph's river by gov. cass, on his home route, on horseback, presented the petrifying process in one of its most perfect forms (_vide_ p. ). surfeited with a species of scenery in which the naked sand dunes were often painful to the eye, from their ophthalmic influence, and of geological prostrations which seemed to lay the coast in ruins, we were glad to reach the solid rock formations, supporting, as they did, a soil favorable to green forests. [ ] dr. john torrey, _am. journ. science_, vol. iv. a partial eclipse of the sun had been calculated for the th of september ( ), to commence at seven o'clock, twenty minutes; but, though we were on the lake, and anxious to note it, the weather proved to be too much overcast, and no effects of it were observed. this eclipse was observed, according to the predictions, at philadelphia. the morning of the th proved calm, which permitted us to cross the mouth of grand traverse bay. this piece of water is nine miles across, with an unexplored depth, and has some chippewas living on its borders. six miles north of this point, we reached and crossed little traverse bay, which is occupied by ottawas. these two tribes are close confederates, speak dialects of the same language which is readily understood by both, and live on the most friendly terms. the ottowas on the head of little traverse bay, and on the adjoining coast of lake michigan--which, from its principal village, bears the names of village of the cross, and of waganukizzie,[ ] or l'arbre croche--are, to a great extent, cultivators of the soil, and have adopted the use of hats, and the french _capot_, having laid aside paints and feathers. they raise large quantities of indian corn for the mackinac market, and manufacture, in the season, from the sap of the acer saccharinum, considerable quantities of maple sugar, which is put up, in somewhat elongated bark boxes, called muckucks, in which it is carried to the same market. we found them, wherever they were encountered, a people of friendly manners and comity. [ ] from _waganuk_, a crooked or croched tree, and _izzie_, an animate termination, denoting existence or being, carrying the idea of its being charmed or enchanted. we were now drawing toward the foot of lake michigan, at the point where this inland sea is connected, through the straits of michilimackinac, with lake huron. a cluster of islands, called the beaver islands, had been in sight on our left hand, since passing the coast of the sleeping bear, which are noted as affording good anchorage ground to vessels navigating the lake. it is twenty-five miles from the site of the old french mission, near l'arbre croche, to the end of point wagoshance,[ ] which is the southeast cape of the straits of michilimackinac, and nine miles from thence to the island. along the bleak coast of this storm-beaten, horizontal limestone rock, with a thin covering of drift, we diligently passed. night overtook us as we came through the straits, hugging their eastern shore, and we encamped on a little circular open bay, long after it became pitchy dark. we had traversed a coast line of fifty-seven miles, and were glad, after a refreshing cup of tea and our usual meal, to retire to our pallets. [ ] little fox point. this word comes from _wagoush_, a fox, and the denominative inflection a _ainc_ or _aiñs_. the next morning revealed our position. we were at the ancient site of old michilimackinac--a spot celebrated in the early missionary annals and history of new france. this was, indeed, one of the first points settled by the french after cadaracqui, being a missionary and trading station before the foundation of fort niagara, in ; for la salle, after determining on the latter, proceeded, the same fall, up the lakes to this point, which he installed with a military element. the mission of st. ignace had before been attempted on the north shore of the straits, but it was finally removed here by the advice of marquette. on gazing at the straits, they were found to be agitated by a perfect gale. this gave time for examining the vicinity. it was found a deserted plain, overspread with sand, in many parts, with the ruins of former occupancy piercing through these sandy drifts, which gave it an air of perfect desolation. by far the most conspicuous among these ruins, was the stone foundation of the ancient fort, and the excavations of the exterior buildings, which had evidently composed a part of the military or missionary plan. not a house, not a cultivated field, not a fence was to be seen. the remains of broken pottery, and pieces of black bottles, irridescent from age, served impressively to show that men had once eaten and drank here. it was in , in the outbreak of the pontiac war, that this fort, then recently surrendered to the english, was captured, by a _coup-de-main_, by the indians. the english, probably doubting its safety, during the american revolution, removed the garrison to the island, which had, indeed, furnished the name of michilimackinac before; for the indians had, _ab initio_, called the old post peekwutinong, or headland-place, applying the other name exclusively, as at this day, to the gibraltar-like island which rises up, with its picturesque cliffs, from the very depths of lake huron. the sketch of this scene of desolation, with the island in view, is given in the second volume of my _ethnological researches_, plate liii. after pacing the plain of this ancient point of french settlement in every point, we returned to our tent about eleven o'clock a. m., and deemed it practicable to attempt the crossing to the island in a light canoe, for, although the gale was little if any abated, the wind blew fair. i concurred in the opinion of captain douglass that this might be done, and very readily assented to try it, leaving the men in the baggage canoe to effect the passage when the wind fell. it cannot be asserted that this passage was without hazard; for my own part, i had too much trust in my nature to fear it, and, if we were ever wafted on "the wings of the wind," it was on this occasion; our boatmen, volunteers for the occasion, reefing the sails to two feet, and we owed our success mainly to their good management. on rounding the ottowa point, which is the south cape of the little harbor of 'mackinac, our friends who had parted from us at green bay were among the first to greet us. by the union of these two parties, the circumnavigation of lake michigan had been completely made. the rate of travel along the line traversed by them was computed at forty-five miles per day. they had been eight days on the route. the coast line traversed by captain douglass and myself, since quitting chicago, is four hundred and thirty-nine miles, giving a mean of forty-three miles per diem, of which one entire day was lost by head winds. chapter xx. topographical survey of the northern shores of green bay and of the entire basin of lake michigan--geological and mineralogical indicia of the coast line--era of sailing vessels and of the steamboat on the lakes--route along the huron coast, and return of the expedition to detroit. the coast line traversed by the party detached from green bay on the d of august, under mr. trowbridge, extended from the north shore of fox river to the entrance of the monominee river, and thence around the little and great bay de nocquet, to the northwestern cape of the entrance of green bay. from the latter point, the northern shore of lake michigan was traced by the manistic, and the other smaller rivers of that coast, to the northern cape of the straits of michilimackinac, and through these to point st. ignace and the island of michilimackinac. the line of survey, agreeably to their reckoning, embraced two hundred and eighty miles, thus closing the topographical survey of the entire coast line of the basin of lake michigan, and placing in the hands of captain douglass the notes and materials for a perfect map of the lake.[ ] [ ] it is to be regretted that capt. douglass, who, immediately on the conclusion of this expedition, was appointed to an important and arduous professorship in the u. s. military academy of west point, could not command the leisure to complete and publish his map and topographical memoir of this part of the u. s. so long as there was a hope of this, my report of its geology, &c., and other data intended for the joint public work, were withheld. but in revising this narrative, at this time, they are submitted in the appendix. prof. douglass, of whose useful and meritorious life, i regret that i have no account to offer, died as one of the faculty of geneva college, october , . mr. trowbridge, whom i had requested to note the features of its geology and mineralogy, presented me with labelled specimens of the succession of strata which he had collected on the route. these denoted the continuance of the calcareous, horizontal series of formations of the fox valley, and of the islands of green bay, quite around those northern waters to the closing up of the surveys at point st. ignace and michilimackinac. nor do the primitive rocks disclose themselves on any part of that line of coast. of this collection, mr. trowbridge well observes, in his report to me, the most interesting will probably be the organic remains. these were procured on the northeast side of little nocquet bay, where areas of limestone appear. they consist of duplicates of the pectinite. three layers of this, the magnesian limestone, show themselves at this place, of which the intermediate bed is of a dull blue color and compact structure, and is composed in a great measure of the remains of this species. it is comparatively soft when first taken up, but hardens by exposure. about ten miles north of this point, the upper calcareous, or surface rock, embraces nodules of hornstone. specimens of a semi-crystalline limestone, labelled "marble," were also brought from a cliff, composed of this rock, on the lake shore, about thirty to forty miles southwest from michilimackinac. mr. doty also brought some specimens of sulphate of lime, cal. spar, and some of the common rolled members of the quartz-drift stratum. michilimackinac is a name associated with our earliest ideas of history in the upper lakes. how so formidable a polysyllabic term came to be adopted by usage, it may be difficult to tell, till we are informed that the inhabitants, in speaking the word, clip off the first three syllables, leaving the last three to carry the whole meaning. the full term is, however, perpetuated by legal enactment, this part of michigan having been organized into a separate county some time, i believe, during the administration of gen. hull. the military gentlemen call the fort on the cliff, "mackin[=a]," the townspeople pronounce it mackinaw; but if a man be hauled up on a magistrate's writ, it is in name of the sovereignty of michilimackinac. thus law and etymology grow strong together. commerce, we observe, is beginning to show itself here, but by the few vessels we have met, while traversing these broad and stormy seas, and their little tonnage, it seems as if they were stealthily making their way into regions of doubtful profit at least. the fur trade employs most of these, either in bringing up supplies, or carrying away its avails. la salle, when, in , he built the first vessel on the lakes, and sent it up to traffic in furs, was greatly in advance of his age; but he could hardly have anticipated that his countrymen should have adhered so long to the tedious and dangerous mode of making these long voyages in the bark canoe. it is memorable in the history of the region, that last year ( ) witnessed the first arrival of a steamer at michilimackinac. it bore the characteristic name of walk-in-the-water,[ ] the name of a wyandot chief of some local celebrity in detroit, during the last war. [ ] so called from the water insect, called _miera_ by the wyandots, one of the invertebrata which slips over the surface of water without apparently wetting its feet.--vide _ethnological researches_, vol. ii. p. . the astonishment produced upon the indian mind by the arrival of this steamer has been described to us as very great; but, from a fuller acquaintance with the indian character, we do not think him prone to this emotion. he gazes on new objects with imperturbability, and soon explains what he does not understand by what he does. perceiving heat to be the primary cause of the motion, without knowing how that motion is generated, he calls the steamboat ishcoda nabequon, _i. e._ fire-vessel, and remains profoundly ignorant of the motive power of steam. the story of the vessel's being drawn by great fishes from the sea, is simply one of those fictions which white loungers about the indian posts fabricate to supply the wants of travellers in search of the picturesque. the winds seem to be unloosed from their mythologic bags, on the upper lakes, with the autumnal equinox; and we found them ready for their labors early in september; but it was not till the th of that month, after a detention of two days, that we found it practicable for canoes to leave the island. mustering now a flotilla of three canoes, we embarked at three o'clock p.m., with a wind from the east, being moderately adverse, but soon got under the shelter of the island of boisblanc; we passed along its inner shore about ten miles, till reaching point aux pins--so named from the prevalence here of the pinus resinosa. at this point, the wind, stretching openly through this passage from the east, compelled us to land and encamp. the next day, we were confined to the spot by adverse winds. while thus detained, captain douglass, under shelter of the island, returned to mackinac, in a light canoe, doubly manned, for something he had left. when he returned, the wind had so far abated that we embarked, and crossed the separating channel, of about four miles, to the peninsula, and encamped near the river cheboigan.[ ] this was a tedious beginning of our voyage to detroit; the first day had carried us only _ten_ miles, the second but _four_. [ ] cheboigan. this is a noted river of the extreme of the peninsula of michigan, which has just been made the centre of a new land district by congress. it affords a harbor for shipping, and communicates with little travers bay on lake michigan. a canal across a short route, of easy excavation, would avoid the whole dangerous route through the straits of michilimackinac, converting the end of the peninsula into an island, and save ninety miles of dangerous travel. we were now to retraverse the shores of the huron, along which we had encountered such delays in our outward passage, and the men applied themselves to the task with that impulse which all partake of when returning from a long journey. winds we could not control, but every moment of calm was improved. paddle and song were plied by them late and early. a violent rain-storm happened during the night, but it ceased at daybreak, when we embarked and traversed a coast line of forty-four miles, encamping at presque isle. rain fell copiously during the night, and the unsettled and changing state of the atmosphere kept us in perpetual agitation during the day. notwithstanding these changes, we embarked at five o'clock in the morning ( th), and, by dint of perseverance, made thirty miles. we slept on the west cape of thunder bay. next morning, we landed a few moments on the idol island, in thunder bay, and, continuing along the sandy shore of the _au sauble_, or iosco coast, entered saganaw bay, and encamped, on its west shore, at sandy point. indians of the chippewa language were encountered at this spot, whose manners and habits appeared to be quite modified by long contact with the white race. the morning of the th (sept.) proved fair, which enabled us to cross the bay, taking the island of shawangunk in our course, where we stopped an hour, and re-examined its calcedonies and other minerals. we then proceeded across to oak point, on its eastern shore, and, coasting down to, and around, the precipitous cliffs of point aux barques, encamped in one of its deeply-indented coves, having made, during the day, forty-two miles. the formation of this noted promontory consists of an ash-colored, not very closely-compacted sandstone, through original crevices in which the waves have scooped out entrances like vast corridors. in one of these, which has a sandy beach at its terminus, we encamped. he who has travelled along the shores of the lakes, and encamped on their borders, having his ears, while on his couch, close to the formation of sand, is early and very exactly apprised of the varying state of the wind. the deep-sounding roar of the waves, like the deep diapason of a hundred organs, plays over a gamut, whose rising or falling scale tells him, immediately, whether he can put his frail canoe before the wind, or must remain prisoner on the sand, in the sheltering nook where night overtakes him. these notes, sounded between two long lines of cavernous rocks, told us, long before daybreak, of a strong head wind that fixed us to the spot for the day. i amused myself by gathering some small species of the unio and the anadonta. captain douglass busied himself with astronomical observations. we all sallied out, during the day, over the sandy ridges of modern drift, in which the pinus resinosa had firmly imbedded its roots, and into sphagnous depressions beyond, where we had, in the june previous, found the sarracenia purpurea, which is the cococo mukazin, or oral's moccasin of the indians. here we found, as at more westerly points on the lake, the humble juniperus prostrata, and, in more favorable spots, the ribes lacustre.[ ] [ ] am. journ. science, vol. iv. . it was stated to us at michilimackinac, that lake huron had fallen one foot during the last year. it was also added that the decrease in the lake waters had been noticed for many years, and that there were, in fact, periodical depressions and refluxes at periods of seven and fourteen years. a little reflection will, however, render it manifest that, in a region of country so extensive and thinly populated, observations must be vaguely made, and that many circumstances may operate to produce deception with respect to the permanent diminution or rise of water, as the prevalence of winds, the quantity of rain and snow which influences these basins, and the periodical distribution of solar heat. it has already been remarked, while at the mouth of fox river, that a fluctuation, resembling a tide, has been improperly thought to exist there, and, indeed, similar phenomena appear to influence the baltic. philosophers have not been wanting, who have attributed similar appearances to the ocean itself. "it has been asserted," observed cuvier, "that the sea is subject to a continual diminution of its level, and proofs of this are said to have been observed in some parts of the shores of the baltic. whatever may have been the cause of these appearances, we certainly know that nothing of the kind has been observed upon our coast, and, consequently, that there has been no general lowering of the waters of the ocean. the most ancient seaports still have their quays and other erections, at the same height above the level of the sea, as at their first construction. certain general movements have been supposed in the sea, from east to west, or in other directions; but nowhere has any person been able to ascertain their effects with the least degree of precision."[ ] [ ] theory of the earth. modern geologists attribute these changes to the rising or sinking of the earth from volcanic forces. on the next day ( th) the wind abated, so as to permit us, at six o'clock a.m., to issue from our place of detention; but we soon found the equilibrium of the atmosphere had been too much disturbed to rely on it. at seven o'clock, and again at nine o'clock, we were driven ashore; but as soon as it slackened we were again upon the lake; it finally settled to a light head wind, against which we urged our way diligently, until eight o'clock in the evening. the point where we encamped was upon that long line of deposit of the erratic block, or boulder stratum, of which the white rock is one of the largest known pieces. at four o'clock the next morning, we were again in motion, dancing up and down on the blue waves; but after proceeding six miles the wind drove us from the lake, and we again encamped on the boulder stratum, where we passed the entire day. nothing is more characteristic of the upper lake geology, than the frequency and abundance of these boulders. the causes which have removed them, at old periods, from their parent bed, were doubtless oceanic; for the area embraced is too extensive to admit of merely local action; but we know of no concentration of oceanic currents, of sufficient force, to bear up these heavy masses, over such extensive surfaces, without the supporting media of ice-floes. the boulders and pebbles are often driven as the moraines before glacial bodies, and there are not wanting portions of rock surface, in the west, which are deeply grooved or scratched by the pressing boulders. the crystallized peaks of the little rocks, above st. anthony's falls, have been completely polished by them.--_vide_ p. . the next morning ( d) we were released from our position on this bleak drift-coast, although the wind was still moderately ahead, and after toiling twelve hours adown the closing shores of the lake, we reached its foot, and entered the river st. clair. halting a few moments at fort gratiot, we found it under the command of lieut. james watson webb, who was, however, absent at the moment. two miles below, at the mouth of black river, we met this officer, who had just returned from an excursion up the black river, where he had laid in a supply of fine watermelons, with which he liberally supplied us. from this spot, we descended the river seven miles, to elk island, on which we encamped at twilight, having made fifty-seven miles during the day. glad to find ourselves out of the reach of the lake winds, and of eolus, and all his hosts, against which we may be said to have fought our way from michilimackinac, and animated with the prospect of soon terminating our voyage, we surrounded our evening board with unwonted spirits and glee. supper being dispatched, with many a joke, and terminated with a song in full chorus, and the men having carefully repaired our canoes, it was determined to employ the night in descending the placid river, and at nine o'clock p.m. all was ready and we again embarked. never did men more fully appreciate the melody of the irish bard:-- "sweetly as tolls the evening chime, our voices keep tune and our oars keep time." at half past three the next morning, we found ourselves at the entrance to lake st. clair, thirty miles from our evening repast. owing to the dense fog and darkness, it was now necessary to await daylight, before attempting to cross. daylight, which had been impatiently waited for, brought with it our old lake enemy, head winds, which made the most experienced men deem the passage impracticable. counselled, however, rather by impatience than anything else, it was resolved on. rain soon commenced, which appeared the signal for increased turbulence; but by dint of hard pushing in the men, with some help from our own hands, we succeeded in weathering point huron, the first point of shelter. the right hand shore then became a continued covert, and we successively saw point after point lessen in the distance. it was noon when we reached grosse point, the original place of our general embarkation on commencing the expedition; the rest of the voyage ran like a dream "when one awaketh," and we landed at the city of detroit at half past three o'clock p. m. gov. cass, and his equestrian party from chicago, had preceded us thirteen days, as will be perceived from the following article from the weekly press of that city, of september , , which embraces a comprehensive notice of the expedition; its route, the objects it accomplished, and the effects it may be expected to have on the leading interests and interior policy of the country, as well as the drawing forth of its resources. exploring expedition. from the detroit gazette. last friday evening, governor cass arrived here from chicago, accompanied by lieutenant m'kay and mr. r. a. forsyth,[ ] both of whom belonged to the expedition--all in good health. [ ] major robert a. forsyth was a native of the detroit country, of canadian descent, and born a few years after its transfer to the united states. at the time of the expedition, he was the secretary of governor cass, and was admirably qualified to take a part in it, by his energy and perseverance, his indomitable courage, and his physical power and activity. some of these traits of character were developed at an early age. he was but yet a lad at the time of the surrender of detroit, and was so much excited by that untoward event, that he insulted the british officers in the fort by his reproaches, and so irritated them that one of them threatened to pin him to the floor with a bayonet. during the war upon the frontier, he was actively employed, and on more than one occasion distinguished himself by his conduct and courage. he was with major holmes at the battle near the long woods, and behaved with great gallantry. in , he was sent with chandruai, a half-breed pottowatamie, and with a small party of indians, to invite the various indian tribes to come to greenville, at the treaties about to be held by generals harrison and cass, with a view to detach the north-western indians from british influence. on the route, they met a superior party of indians, led by an officer of the british indian department, who attempted to take them prisoners. they resisted, and, by their prompt and almost desperate courage, drove off the british party. forsyth distinguished himself in the contest, in which the british leader of the party was killed. soon after the war, he was appointed private secretary to governor cass, and continued in that capacity for fifteen years, till the latter was transferred to the war department. he accompanied the general in all his expeditions into the indian country, and rendered himself invariably useful, having a peculiar talent to control the rough men who took part in these dangerous excursions. he was ultimately appointed a paymaster in the army, in which capacity he served in mexico, where he acquired the seeds of the disorder which proved fatal to him in . he will be long recollected and regretted by those who knew him, for the shining qualities of head and heart which endeared him to all his acquaintances. we understand that the objects of the expedition have been successfully accomplished. the party has traversed , miles of this frontier since the last of may. their route was from this place to michilimackinac, and to the sault of st. mary's, where a treaty was concluded with the chippewas for the cession of a tract of land, with a view to the establishment of a military post. they thence coasted the southern shore of lake superior to the fond du lac; ascended the st. louis river to one of its sources, and descended a small tributary stream of sandy lake to the mississippi. they then ascended this latter river to the upper red cedar lake, which may be considered as the principal source of the mississippi, and which is the reservoir where the small streams forming that river unite. from this lake they descended between thirteen and fourteen hundred miles to prairie du chien, passing by the post of st. peter's on the route. they then navigated the ouisconsin to the portage, entered the fox river, and descended it to green bay. then the party separated, in order to obtain a topographical sketch of lake michigan. some of them coasted the northern shore to michilimackinac, and the others took the route by chicago. from this point they will traverse the eastern shore of the lake to michilimackinac, and may be expected here in the course of a week. governor cass returned from chicago by land. a correct topographical delineation of this extensive frontier may now be expected from the accurate observations of captain douglass, who is fully competent to perform the task. we have heretofore remained in ignorance upon this subject, and very little has been added to the stock of geographical knowledge since the french possessed the country. we understand that all the existing maps are found to be very erroneous. the character, numbers, situation, and feelings of the indians in those remote regions have been fully explored, and we trust that much valuable information upon these subjects will be communicated to the government and to the public. we learn that the indians are peaceable, but that the effect of the immense distribution of presents to them by the british authorities, at malden and at drummond's island, has been evident upon their wishes and feelings through the whole route. upon the establishment of our posts, and the judicious distribution of our small military force, must we rely, and not upon the disposition of the indians. the important points of the country are now almost all occupied by our troops, and these points have been selected with great judgment. it is thought by the party, that the erection of a military work at the saut is essential to our security in that quarter. it is the key of lake superior, and the indians in its vicinity are more disaffected than any others upon the route. their daily intercourse with drummond's island, leaves us no reason to doubt what are the means by which their feelings are excited and continued. the importance of this site, in a military point of view, has not escaped the observation of mr. calhoun, and it was for this purpose that a treaty was directed to be held. the report which he made to the house of representatives, in january last, contains his views upon the subject. we cannot but hope that no reduction will be made in the ranks of the army. it is by physical force alone, and by a proper display of it, that we must expect to keep within reasonable bounds, the ardent, restless, and discontented savages, by whom this whole country is filled and surrounded. few persons living at a distance are aware of the means which are used, and too successfully used, by the british agents, to imbitter the minds of the indians, and preserve such an influence over them as will insure their co-operation in the event of any future difficulties. a post at the fond du lac will, before long, be necessary, and it is now proper that one should be established at the portage between the fox and ouisconsin rivers. mr. schoolcraft has examined the geological structure of the country, and has explored, as far as practicable, its mineralogical treasures. we are happy to learn that this department could not have been confided to one more able or zealous to effect the objects connected with it. extensive collections, illustrating the natural history of the country, have been made, and will add to the common stock of american science. we understand that copper, iron, and lead are very abundant through the whole country, and that the great mass of copper upon the outanagon river has been fully examined. upon this, as well as upon other subjects, we hope we shall, in a few days, be able to communicate more detailed information. discovery of the actual source of the mississippi river in itasca lake, by an expedition, authorized by the war department of the united states, in . by henry r. schoolcraft, united states superintendent of indian affairs for michigan, etc. chapter xxi. the search for the veritable source of the mississippi is resumed.--ascent to cass lake, the prior point of discovery--pursue the river westerly, through the andrúsian lakes and up the metoswa rapids, forty-five miles--queen anne's lake. twelve years elapse between the closing of the prior, and the opening of the present narrative. in the month of august, , instructions were received by mr. schoolcraft to proceed into the upper mississippi valley, to endeavor to terminate the renewed hostilities existing between the chippewa and sioux tribes. these directions did not come to hand at the remote post of sault de ste. marie, at the outlet of lake superior, in season to permit the object to be executed that year. on reporting the fact that the tribes would be dispersed to their hunting-grounds before the scene could be reached, and that severe weather would close the streams with ice before the expedition could possibly return, the plan was deferred till the next year. renewed instructions were issued in the month of april, , and an expedition organized at st. mary's to carry them into immediate effect. these instructions did not require the broad table-lands on which the river originates to be visited, though the journey connected itself with preliminary questions; nor was it found practicable to extend the geographical examinations, in the mississippi valley, beyond about latitude °. the force designed for this expedition consisted of twenty-seven men, including a botanist and geologist, and a small military party under lieut. robert e. clary, u. s. a. entering lake superior, in the month of june, with a bright pure atmosphere and serene weather, the party enjoyed a succession of those clear transporting vistas of rock and water scenery, which render this picturesque basin by far the most magnificent, varied, and affluent in its prospect in america. it is in this basin only, of all the series of north american lakes which stretch west from the st. lawrence, that peaks and high mural walls of volcanic formation, pierce through, or lift up, the horizontal series of the silurian system; and that, in the lake region, the latter is found in singular juxtaposition, by means of these upheavals, with the senites, sienitic granites, and metamorphic rocks composing the globe's nucleus, or primary out-pushed stony coats of these latitudes. i had passed through this varied and wonder-creating scene of coast views and long-stretching vistas in , when geology, in america, at least, was in its infancy, as a member of the organic government expedition into this quarter of the union, as detailed in the preceding pages. i had, in , revisited the whole coast from point iroquois to fond du lac, in the exercise of official duties, connected with the indian tribes; besides making sectional expeditions into the regions of the gargontwa and mishepecotin, and of the takwymenon sand-rock, interior, and coast lines. but the beauty of the prospects presented in , the serenity of the weather, and the opportunity which it gave of revisiting scenes which had before flitted by, as the fragments of a gorgeous dream, gave to this visit a charm which no length of time can obliterate. and these attractions were enhanced by association with the agreeable men who accompanied me; of whom it may be said that they represented the place of strings in a melodious harp, whose concurrence was at all times necessary to produce harmony. the sainted and scene-loving woolsey[ ]--the self-poised and amiable houghton, just broke loose from the initial struggles of life to luxuriate on the geological smiles of the face of nature in this scene--ah! where are they? death has laid his cold hand on them, to open their eyes on other, and to us inscrutable scenes. [ ] _vide_ letters on lake superior, in _southern literary messenger_, . passing through this lake, the expedition met the brigade of boats of the late mr. wm. aitken, from the upper mississippi waters, with the annual returns of furs from that region. he represented the urgent necessity of an official visit to that section of the country, where the indians were in turmoil; but stated, at the same time, that the waters were too low in the streams at the sources of the mississippi to render explorations practicable. he also represented it impracticable, this season, to enter the mississippi by the way of the _broulé_, or misakoda river. this information was confirmed on reaching chegoimegon, at the remarkable group of the confederation islands (_ante_, p. ). returning eight miles on my track, i entered the muskigo, or mauvais river, and ascended this stream by all its bad rafts, rapids, and portages, to the upper waters of the river st. croix of the mississippi. crossing the intermediate table-lands, with their intricate system of lakes and portages to _lac courteroille_, or ottawa lake, i entered one of the main sources of chippewa river, and descended this prime tributary stream to its entrance into the mississippi, at the foot of lake pepin. from the latter point i descended to prairie du chien, and to galena in illinois. dispatching the men and canoes from this place back to ascend the wisconsin river, and meet me at the portage of fort winnebago, i crossed the lead-mine country by land, by the way of the pekatolica, blue mound, and four lakes, to the source of the fox river, and rejoining my canoes here, descended this stream to green bay, and returned to my starting-point by the way of michilimackinac and the straits of st. mary. two months and twelve days were employed on the journey, during which a line of forests and indian trails had been passed, of two thousand three hundred miles. the indians had been met, and counselled with at various points, at which presents and provisions were distributed, and the peace policy of the government enforced. a chippewa war party, under ninaba, had been arrested on its march against the sioux in descending the red cedar fork of the chippewa river. information was obtained that nine tribes or bands had united in their sympathies for the restless sauks and foxes, who broke out in hostility to the united states the following spring. messages, with pipes and belts, and in one case notice, with a tomahawk smeared with vermilion, to symbolize war, had passed between these tribes.[ ] [ ] an outline of the expedition of is found in schoolcraft's "thirty years on the american frontiers." lippincott & co. phila. . the information was communicated to the government, with a suggestion that an expedition should be organized for visiting remoter regions the next year, and forwarding, at the same time, detailed estimates of the expenditures essential to its efficiency. these suggestions were approved by the secretary of war on the d of may, , and instructions forwarded to me for organizing an expedition to carry the reconnoissance and scrutiny to the tribes on the sources of the mississippi. a small escort of u. s. infantry was ordered to accompany me, under lieut. james allen, u. s. a., who, being a graduate of the west point military academy, undertook the departments of topography and trigonometry. i secured the services of dr. houghton, as physician and surgeon, and acting botanist and geologist--positions which he had occupied on the prior expedition of . the american board of commissioners for foreign missions were invited to send an agent to observe the wants and condition of the indian tribes in these remote latitudes; who directed the rev. wm. t. boutwell to join me at st. mary's. i charged myself especially with inquiring into the indian history and languages, statistics, and general ethnography. the expedition left the sault de ste. marie on the th of june, taking the route through lake superior to fond du lac and the st. louis river, and the savanna summit to sandy lake, which lies miles above st. anthony's falls of the upper mississippi. the width of the mississippi at the outlet of sandy lake, by a line stretched across, was found to be feet. at my camp here, a general council was summoned of the lower tribes, who were notified to assemble at the mouth of the river des corbeau on the th of july; and a boat with presents and supplies was sent down the mississippi to await the return of the expedition through that river. lightened thus of baggage, and having fixed a point of time within which to finish the explorations above, i proceeded up the main channel of the river to, and across the pakagama falls, and its wide plateau of savannas, and through the little and great winnipek lakes, to the upper red cedar, or cass lake, which we entered on the th of july. this is a fine lake of transparent water, about eighteen miles in length, with several large bays and islands as denoted in the accompanying sketch, which give it an irregular shape. the largest island, called _grande isle_ by the french, which is the _gitchiminis_ of the indians, and the _colcaspi_[ ] of my initial narrative of . this lake was the terminus of the respective explorations of lieutenant zebulon pike, u. s. a., in , and governor lewis cass in . the points at which they approached it were not, however, the same. pike visited it in a dog train, on the snow, in the month of january, across the land, from the northwest company's trading post at leech lake. he visited an out-station of that company on grand island. cass landed in july, after tracing its channel from sandy lake to the entrance of turtle river, the line of communication to turtle lake, which was long the reputed source of the river. this has been called by a modern traveller in the region lake julia, that he might call it the _julian_ source of the mississippi.[ ] [ ] this is an anagram composed of the names of schoolcraft, cass, and pike, the geographical discoverers, in reversed order, of the region. [ ] beltrami. i found the mississippi, at the point where it flows from the lake, to be feet wide, not having lost half the width it had at sandy lake, although in this distance it is diminished by the volume of its leech lake tributary, which the northwest agents informed lieutenant pike, in , to be its largest tributary. i had reached it ten days earlier in the season than governor cass, having been exactly one day less in traversing the long line of intervening country from sault de ste. marie. i proceeded directly to grand isle, the residence of a chippewa band numbering persons. this island was found to have a fertile soil, where they had always raised the zea maize. its latitude is ° ´ ´´. not only had i reached this point ten days earlier in the month than the expedition of , but it was found that the state of the water on these summits was very favorable to their ascent. ozawindib,[ ] the chippewa chief, said that his hunting-grounds embraced the source of the mississippi, but that canoes of the size and burden which i had could not ascend higher than the _pemidjegumaug_, or queen anne's lake. i determined to encamp my extra men permanently on this island, with the heavy canoes, provisions, and baggage, leaving the camp in charge of louis default, a trusty man, of the _metif_ class, well acquainted with the indian language, who had been a guide in , and to make explorations, in the lightest class of indian canoes, provisioned for an _élite_ movement. lieutenant allen also determined to encamp the united states soldiers of the party, leaving them under a sergeant. to give each gentleman of the party an opportunity of joining in this movement, it was necessary to procure five hunting canoes, which were of no greater capacity than to bear one _sitter_[ ] and two paddlers. [ ] this name is derived from _ozawau_, yellow; _winisis_, hair, and _kundiba_, bone of the forehead or head. [ ] the term "sitter," which is a northwest phrase in common use, is equivalent to the canadian word _bourgoise_. ozawindib and his companions produced these canoes at an early hour on the following morning, and having, at my request, drawn a map of the route, embarked himself as the guide to the party. we left the island before it was yet daylight. the party now consisted of sixteen persons, including three chippewas and eight _engagees_. the mississippi enters this lake through a savanna, on its extreme western borders, after performing one of those evolutions through meadow lands so common to its lower latitudes; after reaching to within fifty yards of the lake, it winds about, through a natural meadow, for many miles before its debouchure. the chief, who was familiar with this feature, carried me to a fifty yards portage, by which we saved some miles of paddling. we reached the mississippi at a place where it expands into an elongated lake, for which i heard no name, and which i called lake andrúsia.[ ] after passing through this, the river appeared very much in size and volume as it had on the outlet below cass lake. it winds its way through the same species of natural meadows, during which there is but little current. on ascending this channel but a short distance, the river is found to display itself in a second lake--which the natives call pamitascodiac[ ]--which, in general appearance and character, may be deemed the twin of lake andrúsia. on its upper margin, a tract of prairie land appears, of a sandy character, bearing scattered pines. this appears to be the particular feature alluded to by the indian name. about four miles above this lake, and say fifteen from cass lake, the rapids commence. it was eight o'clock a. m. when we reached this point, and we had then been four hours in our canoes from the andrúsia portage. these rapids soon proved themselves to be formidable. boulders of the geological drift period are frequently encountered in ascending them, and the river spreads itself over so considerable a surface that it became necessary for the bowsmen and steersmen to get out into the shallows and lead up the canoes. these canoes were but of two fathoms length, drew but a few inches water, and would not bear more than three persons. it was ten o'clock when we landed, on a dry opening on the right shore, to boil our kettle, and prepare breakfast. so dry, indeed, was the vegetation here, that the camp-fire spread in the grass and leaves, and it required some activity in the men to prevent its burning the baggage. there were ten of these rapids encountered before we reached the summit, or plateau, of lake pemidjegumaug, which is the _lac traverse_ of the french. these were called the metóswa rapids, from the indian numeral for ten. [ ] from andrew jackson, at that time president of the united states. [ ] this word appears to be a derivation from _pemidj_, across, _muscoda_, a prairie, and _ackee_, land. the term _lac traverse_ has been repeated several times by the canadian french, in our northwestern geography; being prominently known in the upper mississippi for a handsome sheet of water, connecting the st. peter's, or minnesota river, with red river of hudson's bay; and as the indian name, though very graphic, is not euphonious, i named it queen anne's lake.[ ] it is a clear and beautiful sheet of water, twelve miles in length, from east to west, and six or seven broad, with an open forest of hard wood. it is distant forty-five miles from cass lake, and lies at an elevation of fifty-four feet above that lake, and of , feet above the gulf of mexico. the latitude is ° ´ ´´. the peculiarity recognized by the indian name of pemidjegumaug, or crosswater, is found to consist in the entrance of the mississippi into its extreme south end, and its passage through or across part of it, at a short distance from the point of entrance. another feature of its topography consists of its connection, by a lively channel of less than a mile's length, with another transverse lake of pure waters, to which i applied the name of washington irving. these features are shown by the subjoined sketch. [ ] in allusion to an interesting period of british history, in its influences on america. [illustration: . queen anne's lake. . washington irving's lake. . mississippi river.] chapter xxii. ascent of the mississippi above queen anne's lake--reach the primary forks of the river--ascend the left-hand, or minor branch--lake irving--lake marquette--lake la salle--lake plantagenet--encamp at the naiwa rapids at the base of the height of land, or itasca summit. a short halt was made on entering queen anne's lake, to examine an object of indian superstition on its east shore. this consisted of one of those water-worn boulders which assume the shape of a rude image, and to which the chippewas apply the name _shingabawassin_, or image-stone. nothing artificial appeared about it, except a ring of paint, of some ochreous matter, around the fancied neck of the image.[ ] we were an hour in crossing the lake southwardly from this point, which would give a mean rate of five miles. at the point of landing, stood a small, deserted, long building, which ozawindib informed me had been used as a minor winter trading station. i observed on the beach at this spot some small species of unios, and, at higher points on the shore, helices. we here noticed the passenger pigeon. the forest exhibited the elm, soft maple, and white ash. proceeding directly south from this spot a short distance, we entered the mississippi, which was found to flow in with a broad channel and rapid current. this channel lieutenant allen estimated to be but one hundred yards long, at which distance we entered into a beautiful little lake of pellucid water and a picturesque margin, spreading transversely to our track, to which i gave the name of irving. ozawindib held his way directly south through this body of water, striking the river again on its opposite shore. we had proceeded but half a mile above this lake, when it was announced that we had reached the primary forks of the mississippi. we were now in latitude ° ´ ´´. up to this point, the river had carried its characteristics in a remarkable manner. of the two primary streams before us, the one flowing from the west, or the itascan fork, contributes by far the largest volume of water, possessing the greatest velocity and breadth of current. the two streams enter each other at an acute angle, which varies but little from due south, as denoted in the diagram. [ ] an object of analogous kind was noticed, during the prior expedition of , at an island in thunder bay of lake huron. _vide_ p. . [illustration: primary forks of the mississippi river, in lat. ° ´ ´´.] ozawindib hesitated not a moment which branch to ascend, but shooting his canoe out of the stronger current of the itascan fork, entered the other. his wisdom in this movement was soon apparent. he had not only entered the shallower and stiller branch, but one that led more directly to the base of the ultimate summit of itasca. this stream soon narrowed to twenty feet. we could distinctly descry the moving sands at its bottom; but its diminished velocity was apparent from the intrusion of aquatic plants along its shores. it was manifest also from the forest vegetation, that we were advancing into regions of a more alpine flora. the branches of the larches, spruce, and gray pines, were clothed with lichens and floating moss to their very tops, denoting an atmosphere of more than the ordinary humidity. clumps of gray willows skirted the margin of the stream. it was found that the river had made its utmost northing in queen anne's lake. from the exit from that point, the course was nearly due south, and from this moment to our arrival at the ultimate forks, which cannot exceed a mile and a half or two miles, it was evident why the actual source of this celebrated river had so long eluded scrutiny. we were ascending at every curve so far _south_, as to carry the observer out of every old line of travel or commerce in the fur trade (the sole interest here), and into a remote elevated region, which is never visited indeed, except by indian hunters, and is never crossed, even by them, to visit the waters of the red river--the region in immediate juxtaposition north. this semi alpine plateau, or height of land for which we were now pushing directly, is called in the parlance of the fur trade _hauteurs de terre_. it was evident that we were ascending to this continental plateau by steps, denoted by a series of rapids, presenting step by step, in regular succession, widespread areas of flat surface spotted with almost innumerable lakes, small and large, and rice-ponds and lagoons. thus, after surmounting the step of the packagama falls, we enter on a wide and far stretching plateau which embraces the great area of leech lake, and its numerous lacustrine beds. this step or plateau may, in the descending order of the mississippi, be called the fifth plateau, and is, by barometrical observation, , feet above the gulf of mexico. the next, or fourth step, is that of the plateau of cass lake, caused chiefly by the lively waters of the leech lake, the upper red cedar, and the winnepek outlets. the cass lake level extends west of this lake to the foot of the metoswa rapids. this is forty-six feet above the leech lake level. the third plateau, on which the mississippi spreads itself, is that of the queen anne summit, which is elevated by the metoswa rapids sixty-four feet above the former. we had now entered on this third plateau, on which we found the river flowing with a just perceptible current, and frequently expanding itself in small lakes. on the first of these, after ascending the left hand, or minor fork, i bestowed the name of marquette; and on the second, that of la salle. we proceeded beyond these to a third lake of larger dimension, which the chippewas call kubba-kunna, or the rest in the path, being the site of crossing of one of their noted land-trails; i named it lake plantagenet. lt. allen deemed this lake ten miles long and five wide. at a point a short distance above the head of this lake, we encamped at a late hour. it was now seven o'clock p. m., and we had been in our canoes sixteen hours, and travelled fifty-five miles. it was not easy to find ground dry enough to encamp on, and while we were searching for it, rain commenced. we had pushed through the ample borders of the scirpus lacustris and other aquatic plants, to a point of willows, alders, and spruce and tamarack, with pinus banksiana in the distance. the ground was low and wet, the foot sinking into a carpet of green moss at every tread. the lower branches of the trees were dry and dead, exhibiting masses of flowing gray moss. dampness, frigidity, and gloom marked the dreary spot, and when a camp fire had been kindled it threw its red glare around on strange masses of thickets and darkness, which might have well employed the pencil of a michael angelo. tired and overwearied men are not, however, much given to the poetic on these occasions, and they addressed themselves at once to the pacification of that uneasy organ, the stomach. travelling with men who strangely mix up two foreign languages, one falls insensibly into the same jargon habits, of which i convicted myself of a notable instance this evening. i had on landing and pushing into the forest, laid a green morocco portfolio on the branches of a little spruce, and could not find it. _kewau bemuasee_, i said to one of the men, _en petite chose ver, mittig onsing_? have you not seen a small green roll in a sapling? not recollecting that the middle clause of the sentence, though in regimen with the ojibwa, could have only been construed by one familiar both with the canadian french and the algonquin. such, however, proved to be the case, and he soon handed me the missing portfolio. i observed, as the crews of the several canoes threw down their day's game before the cook, there was a species of duck, the anas canadensis, i think, which had a small unio attached to one of its mandibles, having been engaged in opening the shell at the moment it was shot. with every aid, however, from the tent and the tea-kettle, and our cook's art in spitting ducks, the night here, in a gloomy and damp thicket, just elevated above the line of the river flags, and quite in the range of the frogs and lizards, proved to be one of the most dreary and forlorn. it was felt that we were no longer on the open mississippi, but were winding up a close and very serpentine tributary, nowhere over thirty feet wide, which unfolded itself in a savanna, or bog, bordered closely with lagoons and rice ponds. indian sagacity, it was clear, had led ozawindib up this tributary as the best, shortest, and easiest possible way of reaching to, and surmounting the itasca plateau, but it required a perpetual use of hand, foot, paddle, and pole; nor was there a gleam of satisfaction to be found in anything but the most intense onward exertion. besides, i had agreed to meet the indians at the mouth of the crow-wing river on the th of july, and that engagement must be fulfilled. at five o'clock the next morning ( th) we were on our feet, and resumed the ascent. the day was rainy and disagreeable. there was little strength of current, but quite a sufficient depth of water; the stream was excessively tortuous. owing to the sudden bends, we often frightened up the same flocks of brant, ducks, and teals again and again, who did not appear to have been in times past much subjected to these intrusions. the flora of this valley appeared unfavorable. dr. houghton has reported a new species of malva and some five or six other species or varieties from the general region, but these have not, i think, been elaborately described. the localities of the known species of fauna might be marked by the occurrence, on this fork, of the cervus virginianus, which had not been seen after leaving the sandy lake summit till after getting above the primary forks, which flow from the south and west. we toiled all day without intermission from daybreak till dark. the banks of the river are fringed with a species of coarse marshland grass. clumps of willows fringe the stream. rush and reed occupy spots favorable to their growth. the forest exhibits the larch, pine, and tamarack. moss attaches itself to everything. water-fowls seem alone to exult in their seclusion. after we had proceeded for an hour above lake plantagenet, an indian in the advance canoe fired at and killed a deer. although fairly shot, the animal ran several hundred yards. it then fell dead. the man who had killed it brought the carcass to the banks of the river. the dexterity with which he skinned and cut it up, excited admiration. he gave the _moze_, which i understood to mean the hide and feet, to my guide, ozawindib. signs of this animal were frequent along the stream. but we were impelled forward by higher objects than hunting. it was, indeed, geographical and scientific facts that we were hunting for. to trace to its source an important river, and to fix the actual point of its origin, furnished the mental stimulus which led us to care but little where we slept or what we ate. when the usual hour for breakfast arrived, the banks of the river proved too marshy to land, and we continued on till a quarter past twelve p. m., before a convenient landing could be made. after this recruit to stomach and spirits, the men again pushed forward, threading the stream as it wound about in a savanna, seldom halting more than a few minutes at a time. frequently, a shot was fired at the numerous water-fowl, so abundant on these waters. sometimes a small unio or anadonta was picked up from the shores; occasionally a plant pulled up, for the botanical press. nowhere was the water found too shallow for our canoes, which were only embarrassed at some points by the density of vegetable tissue. rain showers were encountered during the whole of the day, the equilibrium of the atmosphere being disturbed by rolling, cumulous clouds, which often poured down their contents with little warning, and without, indeed, driving us from our canoes. for, on these occasions, where a fixed point is to be made, and the showers are not anticipated to be long or heavy, it is better to travel in the rain and submit to the wetting, than to attempt landing. neither can the meal of dinner be stopped for. at length, at half past five o'clock in the evening, we came to the base of the highlands of the itasca or hauteurs de terre summit. the flanks of this elevation revealed themselves in a high, naked precipice of the drift and boulder stratum, on the immediate margin of the stream which washed against it. our pilot, ozawindib, was at the moment in the rear; halting a few moments for him to come up, he said that we were within a few hundred yards of the naiwa rapids, and that the portage around them commenced at this escarpment. we had seen no rock of any species, in place, thus far. a general landing was immediately made at the foot of the hill, and as the five canoes came up the baggage was prepared in bundles and packages for being carried, the canoe-paddles and poles securely tied in bundles, and the canoes lifted from the water and dried in the sun to make the transportation of them as light as possible, and mended and pitched wherever they leaked. it was found that the whole baggage, canoes and all, could be arranged for eleven back-loads, this being the precise number of our carriers, white and red; and being ready, ozawindib led the way, having a single canoe for his share, and he was soon followed by the whole line, each one of our sitters falling in this line, charged with the particular instrument of his observation, or record of it. the hill was steep, and the footing soft and yielding in the crumbling diluvion, and the scene, as the party struggled up the ascent, presented quite a study for the picturesque. lieutenant allen carried his canoe-compass, which i had had mounted by an artisan of detroit; dr. houghton grasped his hortus siccus under his arms; mr. johnston, our interpreter, had his pipe and fowling-piece, and mr. boutwell had wellnigh lost his pocket-bible and notes, while staying himself against the treacherous influence of a steep sand cliff. while the party thus took their way over the hill to cross a peninsula of a mile or two, and strike the river above the junction of the naiwa river, i went to observe the rapids. the river, at this point, is forced through a narrow gorge, where the water descends with loud murmuring over a series of rapids, which form a complete check to navigation. the portage is two miles. i judged the entire descent of the channel, from the beginning to the terminus of the portage, to be forty-eight feet. boulders of the peculiar northern sienite, highly charged with hornblende, and of trap-rock, or greenstone, quartz, and sandstone, were scattered over this elevation, and mixed with the more finely comminuted portions of the same rocks, and of amygdaloids and schistose fragments. among these, i observed some specimens of the zoned agate, which identifies the stratum with the extensive drift formation of the upper mississippi. it would seem that extensive amygdaloidal strata formerly extended over these heights, which have been broken down by the fierce and general rush of the oceanic currents of the north, which once manifestly swept over these elevations. darkness fell as we reached an elevation overlooking the river above the naiwa rapids, and after some deliberation as to the spot where we should suffer less annoyance from mosquitos, i proceeded to the lower part of the valley near the river, and set up my tent there for the night. on questioning ozawindib of the naiwa river, he informed me that it was a stream of considerable size, and that it originated in a lake on a distant part of the plateau, which was infested with the copper-head snake; hence the name. mr. allen's estimate of this day's journey was fifty-two miles. we had reached the second, or assawa plateau of the mississippi, which is, barometrically, seventy-six feet above the queen anne summit, and now had but one more to surmount. chapter xxiii. the expedition having reached the source of the east fork in assawa lake, crosses the highlands of the hauteurs de terre to the source of the main or west fork in itasca lake. the next morning ( th) a dense fog prevailed. we had found the atmosphere warm, but charged with water and vapors, which frequently condensed into showers. the evenings and nights were, however, cool, at the precise time of the earth hiding the sun's disk. it was five o'clock before we could discern objects with sufficient distinctness to venture to embark. we found the channel of the river strikingly diminished on getting above the naiwa. its width is that of a mere brook, running in a valley half a mile wide. the water is still and pond-like, the margin being encroached on by aquatic plants. it presents some areas of the zizania palustris, and appeared to be the favorite resort for several species of duck, who were continually disturbed by our progress. after diligently ascending an hour and a half, or about eight miles, the stream almost imperceptibly began to open into a lake, which the indians called assawa, or perch lake. its borders are fringed with the _monomin_ of the chippewas, or wild rice, and several of the liliaceous water plants. the water is transparent when dipped up and viewed by the light, but from the falling of leaves and other carbonaceous fibre to the bottom, it reflects a sombre hue. we were just twenty minutes in passing through it, denoting a length of perhaps two miles, and a width of half a mile. our course through it was directly south. ozawindib, who took the advance, entered an inlet, but had not ascended it far, when he rested on his paddles, and exclaimed _o-omah mekunnah_, here is the path, or portage. we had, in fact, traced this branch of the river into its utmost sources. it was seven o'clock in the morning. we were surrounded by what the natives term _azhiskee_, or mire, broad-leaved plants extending over the surface of the water, in which i recognized a diminutive species of yellow pond-lily. there was no mode of reaching dry land but by stepping into this yielding azhiskee. the water was rather tepid. after wading about fifty yards the footing became more firm, and we soon began to ascend a slight elevation. some traces of an indian trail appeared here, which led to an opening in the thicket, where vestiges of the bones of birds, and old camp-poles, indicated the prior encampment of indians. i had now traced this branch of the mississippi to its source, and was at the south base of the inter-continental highlands, which give origin to the longest and principal branch of the mississippi. to reach its source it was necessary to ascend and cross these. of their height, and the difficulty of their ascent, we knew nothing. this only was sure, from the representation of the natives, that it could be readily done, carrying the small bark canoes we had thus far employed. the chief said it was thirteen _opugidjiwenun_, or putting-down-places, which are otherwise called _onwaybees_, or rests. from the roughness of the path, not more than half a mile can be estimated to each _onwaybee_. assawa lake is shown, by barometric measurement, to be , feet above the gulf. having followed out this branch to its source, its very existence in our geography becomes a new fact. while the baggage and canoes were being carried to the spot of our encampment, a camp-fire was kindled and the cook busied himself in preparing breakfast. the canoes were then carefully examined and repaired, and the baggage parted into loads, so as to permit the whole outfit and apparatus to be transported at one trip. these things having been arranged, and the breakfast dispatched, we set forward to mount the highlands. ozawindib having thrown one of the canoes over his shoulders, led the way, complaisantly, being followed by the entire party. the prevailing growth at this place is thick bramble, spruce, white cedar, and tamarak. the path plunges at once into a marshy and matted thicket, which it requires all one's strength to press through--then rises to a little elevation covered with white cedar, and again plunges into a morass strewed with fallen and decayed logs, covered with moss. from this the trail emerges on dry ground. relieved from the entanglement about our feet, we soon found ourselves ascending an elevation of the drift stratum, consisting of oceanic sand, with boulders. on the side of this eminence we enjoyed our first _onwaybee_. the day had developed itself clear and warm, and glad indeed were we to find the chief had put down his canoe, and by the time we reached had lit his pipe. the second onwaybee brought us to the summit of this elevation; the third to the side of a ridge beyond it; the fourth to another summit; in fine, we found ourselves crossing a succession of ridges and depressions, which seemed to have owed their original outlines to the tumultuous waves of some mighty ocean, which had once had the mastery over the highlands. trail there was often none. the day being clear, the chief, however, held his course truly, and when he was turned out of it by some defile, or thicket, or bog, he again found his line at the earliest possible point. in one of the depressions, we crossed a little lake in the canoes; in another, we followed the guide on foot, through and along the border of a shallow lake, to avoid the density of the thickets. ripe strawberries were brought to me at one of our onwaybees. i observed the diminutive rebus nutkanus on low grounds. the common falco was noticed, and the indians remarked tracks of the deer, not, however, of very recent date. the forest growth is small, by far the most common species being the scrubby pinus banksianus, exhibiting its parasitic moss. the elevated parts of the route were sufficiently open, with often steep ascents. over these sienite and granite, quartz and sandstone boulders were scattered. every step we made in crossing these sandy and diluvial elevations, seemed to inspire renewed ardor in completing the traverse. the guide had called the distance, as we computed it, about six, or six and a half miles. we had been four hours upon it, now clambering up steeps, and now brushing through thickets, when he told us we were ascending the last elevation, and i kept close to his heels, soon outwent him on the trail, and got the first glimpse of the glittering nymph we had been pursuing. on reaching the summit this wish was gratified. at a depression of perhaps a hundred feet below, cradled among the hills, the lake spread out its elongated volume, presenting a scene of no common picturesqueness and rural beauty. in a short time i stood on its border, the whole cortege of canoes and pedestrians following; and as each one came he deposited his burden on a little open plat, which constituted the terminus of the indian trail. in a few moments a little fire threw up its blaze, and the pan of _pigieu_, or pine pitch, was heated to mend the seams of the bark canoes. when this was done, they were instantly put into the lake, with their appropriate baggage; and the little flotilla of five canoes was soon in motion, passing down one of the most tranquil and pure sheets of water of which it is possible to conceive. there was not a breath of wind. we often rested to behold the scene. it is not a lake overhung by rocks. not a precipice is in sight, or a stone, save the pebbles and boulders of the drift era, which are scattered on the beach. the water-fowl, whom we disturbed in their seclusion, seemed rather loath to fly up. at one point we observed a deer, standing in the water, and stooping down, apparently to eat moss. the diluvial hills inclosing the basin, at distances of one or two miles, are covered with pines. from these elevations the lands slope gently down to the water's edge, which is fringed with a mixed foliage of deciduous and evergreen species. after passing some few miles down its longest arm, we landed at an island, which appeared to be the only one in the lake. i immediately had my tent pitched, and while the cook exerted his skill to prepare a meal, scrutinized its shores for crustacea, while dr. houghton sought to identify its plants. while here, the latter recognized the mycrostylis ophioglossoides, physalis lanceolata, silene antirrhina, and viola pedata. we found the elm, lynn, soft maple, and wild cherry, mingled with the fir species. an arm of the lake stretches immediately south from this island, which receives a small brook. lieutenant allen, who estimates the greatest length of the lake at seven miles, drew the following sketch of its configuration. (see p. .) the latitude of this lake is ° ´ ´´.[ ] the highest grounds passed over by us, in our transit from the assowa lake, lie at an elevation of , feet. the view given of the scene in the first volume of my _ethnological researches_, p. , is taken from a point north of the island, looking into the vista of the south arm of the lake. i inquired of ozawindib the indian name of this lake; he replied _omushkös_, which is the chippewa name of the elk.[ ] having previously got an inkling of some of their mythological and necromantic notions of the origin and mutations of the country, which permitted the use of a female name for it, i denominated it itasca.[ ] [ ] by the report of governor stevens (june, ), the selected pass for the contemplated railroad through the st. mary to the columbia valley is in ° ´, where there is but little snow at any time, and rich pasturage for cattle. the phenomena of the climates of our northern latitudes are but little understood. [ ] a the canadian french call this animal _la biche_, from _biche_, a hind. [ ] this myth is further alluded to, in the following stanzas from the _literary world_, no. :-- stanzas. on reaching the source of the mississippi river in .[ ] i. ha! truant of western waters! thou who hast so long concealed thy very sources--flitting shy, now here, now there--through spreading mazes vast thou art, at length, discovered to the eye in crystal springs, that run, like silver thread, from out their sandy heights, and glittering lie within a beauteous basin, fair outspread hesperian woodlands of the western sky, as if, in indian myths, a truth there could be read, and these were tears, indeed, by fair itasca shed. ii. to bear the sword, on prancing steed arrayed; to lift the voice admiring senates own; to tune the lyre, enraptured muses played; or pierce the starry heavens--the blue unknown-- these were the aims of many sons of fame, who shook the world with glory's golden song. i sought a moral meed of less acclaim, in treading lands remote, and mazes long; and while around aerial voices ring, i quaff the limpid cup at mississippi's spring. h. r. s. [ ] narrative of an expedition to itasca lake. harpers. . vol. vo. p. . [illustration: itasca lake, the source of the mississippi river, , miles from the balize. a. mississippi river. b. route of expedition to the lake. c. schoolcraft's island.] the line of discovery of the mississippi, explored above cass lake, taking the east fork from the primary junction, as shown by mr. allen's topographical notes, is one hundred and twenty-three miles.[ ] this is the shortest and most direct branch. the line by the itascan or main branch of it is, probably, some twenty or twenty-five miles longer. it is evident, as before intimated, that the river descends from its summit in plateaux. from the pseudo-alpine level of the parent lake, there is a principal and minor rapids, for the former of which the indians have the appropriate name of _kakabikons_, which is a descriptive term for a cascade over rocks or stones. then the river again deploys itself in a lake and a series of minor lakes on the same level, and this process is repeated, until it finally plunges over the horizontal rocks at st. anthony's falls, and displays itself, for the last time, in lake pepin. commencing with the latter lake, it may be observed for the purposes of generalization, and to give definite notions rather of its hydrography than geology, that there are nine plateaux, of which governor cass, in , explored six. the other three, beginning at his terminal point, have now been indicated. the heights of these are given, barometrically. the distances travelled are given from time. the annexed diagram of these plateaux, extending to the pakagama summit, will impress these deductions on the eye. [ ] mr. nicollet, who ascended the same fork in , makes the distance twelve miles more. _vide_ ex., doc. no. . the length of the mississippi, from the gulf of mexico, pursuing its involutions, may be stated to be three thousand miles. by estimates from the best sources made, respectively, during the expeditions of and , it is shown to have a winding thread of three thousand one hundred and sixty miles. taking the barometrical height of itasca lake at fifteen hundred and seventy-five feet, it has a mean descent of a fraction over six inches per mile. as one of the most striking epochs in american geography, we have known this river, computing from the era of marquette's discovery to the present day (july , ), but one hundred and fifty-nine years--a short period, indeed! how rich a portion of the geology of the globe lies buried in the flora and fauna of the tertiary, the middle or secondary, and the palæozoic eras of its valley, we have hardly begun to inquire. it will, _doubtless_, and, so far as we know, _does_, contribute evidences to the antiquity and mutations of the earth's surface, conformably to the progress of discoveries in other parts of the globe. the immense basins of coal, found in the middle and lower parts of its valley, prove the same gigantic epoch of its flora which has been established for the coal measures of europe,[ ] and sweep to the winds the jejune theory that the continent arose from a chaotic state, at a period a whit less remote than the other quarters of the globe. while the large bones of its later eras, found imbedded in its unconsolidated strata, prove how large a portion of its fauna were involved in the gigantic and monster-period. [ ] entire trees are often found imbedded in its rocks of the middle era, as is evidenced by an individual of the juglans nigra, of at least fifty feet long, in the river de plaine, valley of the illinois. _vide_ appendix. chapter xxiv. descent of the west, or itascan branch--kakabikoñs falls--junction of the chemaun, peniddiwin, or de soto, and allenoga rivers--return to cass lake. itasca lake lies in latitude twenty-five seconds only south of leech lake, and five minutes and eleven seconds west of the ultimate northerly point of the mississippi, on the queen anne summit; it is a fraction over twelve minutes southwest of cass lake. the distance from the latter point, at which discovery rested in , is, agreeably to the observations of lieutenant allen, one hundred and sixty-four miles. on scrutinizing the shores of the island, on which i had encamped, innumerable helices, and other small univalves, were found; among these i observed a new species, which mr. cooper has described as planorbis companulatus.[ ] there were bones of certain species of fish, as well as the bucklers of one or two kinds of tortoise, scattered around the sites of old indian camp fires, denoting so many points of its natural history. amidst the forest-trees before named, the betula papyraceæ and spruce were observed. directing one of the latter to be cut down, and prepared as a flagstaff, i caused the united states flag to be hoisted on it. this symbol was left flying at our departure. ozawindib, who at once comprehended the meaning of this ceremony, with his companions fired a salute as it reached its elevation. [ ] appendix. having made the necessary examinations, i directed my tent to be struck, and the canoes put into the water, and immediately embarked. the outlet lies north of the island. before reaching it, we had lost sight of the flagstaff, owing to the curvature of the shore. unexpectedly, the outlet proved quite a brisk brook, with a mean width of ten feet, and one foot in depth. the water is as clear as crystal, and we at once found ourselves gliding along, over a sandy and pebbly bottom, strewed with the scattered valves of shells, at a brisk rate. its banks are overhung with limbs and foliage, which sometimes reach across. the bends are short, and have accumulations of flood-wood, so that, from both causes, the use of the axe is often necessary to clear a passage. there was also danger of running against boulders of black rock, lying in the margin, or piled up in the channel. as the rapid waters increased, we were hurled, as it were, along through the narrow passages, and should have descended at a prodigiously rapid rate, had it not been for these embarrassments to the navigation. its course was northwest. after descending about ten miles, the river enters a narrow savanna, where the channel is wider and deeper, but equally circuitous. this reaches some seven or eight miles. it then breaks its way through a pine ridge, where the channel is again very much confined and rapid, the velocity of the stream threatening every moment to dash the canoe into a thousand pieces. the men were sometimes in the water, to guide the canoe, or stood ever ready, with poles, to fend off. after descending some twenty-five miles, we encamped on a high sandy bluff on the left hand. the next morning ( th), we were again in our canoes before five o'clock. the severe rapids continued, and were rendered more dangerous by limbs of trees which stretched over the stream, threatening to sweep off everything that was movable. we had been one hour passing down a perfect defile of rapids, when we approached the kakabikoñs falls. _kakábik_,[ ] in the chippewa, means a cascade, or shoot of water over rocks. _oñs_ is merely the diminutive, to which all the nouns of this language are subject. how formidable this little cataract might be, we could not tell. it appeared to be a swift rush of water, bolting through a narrow gorge, without a perpendicular drop, and ozawindib said it required a portage. halting at its head, for lieut. allen to come up, his bowsman caught hold of my canoe, to check his velocity. it had that effect. but, being checked suddenly, the stern of his canoe swung across the stream, which permitted the steersman to catch hold of a branch. thus stretched tensely across the rapid stream, in an instant the water swept over its gunwale, and its contents were plunged into the swift current. the water was about four feet deep. allen and his men found footing, with much ado, but his canoe-compass, apparatus, and everything, was lost and swept over the falls. he grasped his manuscript notes, and, by feeling with his feet, fetched up his fowling-piece; the men clutched about, and managed to save the canoe. fortunately, i had a fine instrument to replace the lost compass, though wanting the nautical rig of the other. [ ] kakábik. _abik_ is a rock. the prefixed syllable, _kak_, may be derived from _kukidjewum_, a rapid stream. _ka_ is often a prefix of negation in compound words, which has the force of a derogative. we made a short portage. two of the canoes, with indian pilots, went down the rapids, but injured their canoes so much as to cause a longer delay than if they had carried them by land. below this fall, the river receives a tributary on the right hand, called the _chemaun_, or ocano. it contributes to double its volume, very nearly, and hence its savanna borders are enlarged. conspicuous among the shrubbery on its shores are the wilding rose and clumps of the salix. the channel winds through these savanna borders capriciously. at a point where we landed for breakfast, on an open pine bank on the left shore, we observed several copious and clear springs pouring into the river. indeed, the extensive sand ranges which traverse the woodlands of the itasca plateau are perfectly charged with the moisture which is condensed on these elevations, which flows in through a thousand little rills. on these sandy heights the conifera predominate. the physical character of the stream made this part of our route a most rapid one. willing or unwilling, we were hurried on; but, indeed, we had every desire to hasten the descent. at four o'clock p. m., we came to the junction of the piniddiwin,[ ] or carnage river, a considerable tributary on the left. on this river, which originates in a lake, on the northeastern summit of the hauteur des terres, i bestowed the name of de soto. it has also a lake, called lac la folle, at the point of its junction with the mississippi, whose borders are noted for the abundant and vigorous growth of wild rice, reeds, and rushes. it is called monomina,[ ] by the chippewas. by this accession, the width and depth of the river are strikingly increased. the indian reed first appears at this spot. [ ] from the term _iah-pinuniddewin_, an emphatic expression for a place of carnage, so called from a secret attack made at this place, in time past, by a party of sioux, who killed every member of a lodge of chippewas, and then shockingly mangled their bodies. [ ] from _monominakauning_, place of wild rice. while passing through this part of the river, i observed a singular trait in the habits of the onzig duck, which, on being suddenly surprised by the traveller, affects for the moment to be disabled; flapping its wings on the water, as if it could not rise, in order to allow its brood, who are now (july) unfledged, to escape, when the mother instantly rises from the water, and wings her flight vigorously. we observed, sailing above the marshy areas of this fork, the falco furcatus, the feathers of which are much esteemed by the indians, for this is considered a brave species, as its habit is to seize serpents by the neck, who twist themselves around its elongated body, while it flies off to some convenient perch to devour them. the deer is also noticed along the itascan fork. ozawindib landed a little below the junction of the chemaun, to fire at one of them, which he discovered grazing at some distance; but, although he carefully landed and crept up crouchingly, he failed in his shot, either from the distance or some other cause. immediately, he put a fresh charge of powder in his gun, and threw in a bullet, unwadded, and fired again before the animal had made many leaps, but it held its way. we descended about eighteen miles below the piniddiwin, and landed to encamp. the day's descent had been an arduous one. lieut. allen estimated it at seventy-five miles. we had now fairly followed the mississippi out of what may be denoted its alpine passes. all its dangerous rapids had been overcome. it was now a flowing stream of sixty feet wide. immediately on landing, one of the indians captured an animal of the saurian type, called _ocaut-e-kinabic_,[ ] eight inches in length, striped blue, black, and white, with four legs of equal length. the colors were very vivid. [ ] from _ocaut_, a leg, and _kinabic_, a snake. having reached a part of the stream which could be safely navigated, i resolved to re-embark after supper, and continue the descent by night. we were now about fifteen miles above the primary forks. lieut. allen determined to remain till daylight, in order to trace the river down to the point at which it had been left in the ascent. nothing of an untoward nature occurred. a river of some size enters, on the left hand, about six miles below the saurian encampment, which originates in a lake. this stream, for which i heard no name, i designated _allenoga_, putting the iroquois local terminal in _oga_ to the name of the worthy officer who traced out the first true map of the actual sources of the mississippi.[ ] we passed the influx of the east fork, about half-past one a. m. on the th, traversed the lake of queen anne, and descended the whole series of the metoswa rapids, to lake andrúsia, by the hour of daybreak, and reached the island of my primary encampment, in cass lake, at nine o'clock in the morning. we had been eleven hours and a half in our canoes, from the time of re-embarkation at the camp above allenoga. lieut. allen did not rejoin us till six o'clock in the afternoon. he estimated the entire distance, _out_ and _in_, at miles, it being miles to itasca lake, and, as before intimated, miles from thence to cass lake. he estimates the length of the mississippi, above the falls of st. anthony, at , miles. taking the distance from the gulf of mexico to the falls at , miles,[ ] this would give to this stream a development of , miles, which exceeds my prior estimates more than fifty miles. [ ] lieut.-col. james allen, u. s. a. this officer graduated at west point in . after passing through various grades, he was promoted to a captaincy of infantry in . he was lieutenant-colonel and commandant of the battalion of mormon volunteers in the mexican war, which was raised by his exertions, and died at fort leavenworth, on the missouri, on the d of august, . [ ] doc. no. . chapter xxv. the expedition proceeds to strike the source of the great crow-wing river, by the indian trail and line of interior portages, by way of leech lake, the seat of the warlike tribe of the pillagers, or mukundwa. having, while at sandy lake, summoned the indians to meet me in council at the mouth of the _l'aile de corbeau_, or crow-wing river, on the th of july, no time was to be lost in proceeding to that place. the th, being the sabbath, was spent at the island, where the rev. mr. boutwell addressed the indians. the next day, i met the cass lake band in council, and, having finished that business, rewarded the indians for their services and canoes on the trip to itasca lake, distributed the presents designed for them, replied to a message from nezhopenais of red lake, and invested ozawindib with the president's largest silver medal and a flag, and was ready by o'clock a. m. to embark. dr. houghton employed the time to complete his vaccinations. i rewarded mr. default for taking charge of my camp during the journey to itasca lake. as well to shorten the line of travel as to visit an entirely unexplored section of the country, i resolved to pursue the indian trail and line of interior portages from cass to leech lake, and from the latter to the source of the great crow-wing fork. passing southwardly across the lake, between red cedar and garden islands, we have a prolonged bay running deep into the land, toward the south. this bay is in the direct line to leech lake; and as it had been crossed on the ice in january, , by lieutenant pike, in his adventurous and meritorious journey of exploration, i called it pike's bay. it was twelve o'clock, meridian, when we debarked at its head. the portage commenced on the edge of an open pine forest, interspersed with scrub oak. the path is deeply worn, in the sand-plain, and looks as if it had been trod by the indians for centuries. i observed, as we passed along, the alum root, hyacinthus, and sweet fern, with the ledum latifolium, vaccinium dumosum, and more common species of pine plains. the pinus resinosa assumes here a larger size, and the indians pointed out to me markings and pictographs drawn with charcoal, and covered with the resin of the tree, which were made by the indian tribe who preceded them in the occupancy of the sources of the mississippi. this must have been, if i rightly apprehend their history, prior to a. d. . that such markings should be preserved by the pitch, which sheds the rain, is, however, probable. they were of the totemic character, _i.e._ relating to the exploits or achievements of groups of families, in which the individual actor sinks his specific in the generic family or clan name. antiquities of this character are certainly a new feature in indian history. letters have perfectly preserved the landing of cartier at the mouth of the st. lawrence in . pictography here records, that certain clans had killed bears and taken human scalps before that time. and the fact is deeply important in shedding light on indian history and character; for the killing of deers and bears, and the taking of human scalps, is precisely what these tribes are doing at the present time. in the three hundred years' interval, they have made no mental progress. the chippewa is just as fierce to-day, in hunting a dacota scalp, as the dacota is in hunting a chippewa scalp. the conquering tribe has, however, pushed the dacotas nearly one thousand miles down the mississippi. "talk of your hannibals, napoleons, and alps, my glory," quoth the feathered hunter, "is in scalps." after following the deeply indented path nine hundred and fifty yards, we reached a small lake which disclosed, as we passed it, patches of a dark, coarse, mossy-like substance at its bottom. on reaching down with their paddles, the men brought up a singular species of aquatic plant with coral-shaped branches. after crossing this lake, the pine plain resumed its former character. there was then a shallow bog of fifty or sixty yards. the rest of the path consists of an arid sand plain, which is sometimes brushy, but generally presents dry, easy travelling. we had walked four thousand one hundred yards, or about two and a half miles, when we reached an elongated body of clear living water, having its outflow into leech lake. embarking on this, we crossed it, and entered a narrow stream, winding about in a shaking savanna, where it was found difficult to veer the large five-fathom canoes in which we now travelled. this tortuous stream was joined by a tributary from the right, and at no remote distance, entered an elongated duplicate body of water, named by the indians _kapuka sagatawag_, or the abrupt discharges.[ ] below the junction of these lakes, which appear to be outbursts from the hauteur de terre range, the stream is a wide-flowing river. its shores abound in sedge, reeds, and wild rice. the last glimpses of daylight left us as this broad river entered into leech lake. moonlight still served us, as we began the traverse of this spreading sea, but it soon became overcast, and it was intensely dark before we reached the recurved point of land of the principal chief's village. it was now ten o'clock at night, and it was eleven before the military canoes, under lieutenant allen, came up. in the morning a salute was fired by the indians, who welcomed us. aishkebuggekozh,[ ] or the flat-mouth, the reigning chief, invited me to breakfast. as this chief exercises a kind of imperial sway over the adjacent country, it was important to respect him. having sent a dish of hard bread before me, i took my interpreter and went to his residence. i found him living in a tenement built of logs, with two rooms, well floored and roofed, with two small glass windows. at one end of the breakfast-room were extended his flags, medals, and warlike paraphernalia. in the centre of the floor, a large mat of rushes, or indian-woven _apukwa_ was spread, and upon this the breakfast and breakfast things were arranged in an orderly manner. there were teacups, teaspoons, plates, knives and forks, all of plain english manufacture. a salt-cellar contained salt and pepper mixed in unequal proportions. there were just as many plates as expected guests. a large white fish, boiled, and cut up in good taste, occupied a dish in the centre. there was a dish of sugar made from the acer saccharinum. there were no stools, or chairs, but small apukwa mats were spread for each guest. i observed the dish of hard bread, which came opportunely, as there was no other representative form of bread. the chief sat down at the head of his breakfast, in the oriental fashion. imitating his example, i sat down with a degree of repose and nonchalance, as if this had been the position i had practised from childhood. his empress--equa,[ ] sat on one side, near him, to pour out the tea, but neither ate nor drank anything herself. her position was also that of the oriental custom for females; that is, both feet were thrown to one side, and doubled beside her.[ ] the chief helped us to fish and to tea, taking the cups from his wife. he was dignified, grave, yet easy, and conversed freely, and the meal passed off agreeably and without a pause, or the slightest embarrassment. this was, perhaps, owing in part to my having been acquainted with him before, he having visited me at my agency at sault ste. marie in , and sat as a guest at my own table. nor, in a people so loath to give their confidence as the indian, is the fact undeserving of mention, of general affiliation to the tribe, caused by my marriage with a grand-daughter of the ruling chief of lake superior, a lady of refinement and intelligence, who was the child of a gentleman of antrim, ireland, where she was educated. [ ] from the word _puka_, abrupt phenomenon, and the verb _saugi_, outflowing. [ ] from _aizhenagozze_, countenance, and _kozh_, a bill of a bird, or snout of an animal. the word is appropriately translated _guelle_ by the canadians. [ ] _equa_, a female; it is not, appropriately, the term of wife, for which the vocabulary has a peculiar term, but is generally employed in the sense of woman. [ ] i have observed this to be the universal custom among all the aboriginal females of america. they never part the feet. on rising to leave, i invited him to a council, at my tent, which was ordered to assemble at the firing of the military. it is not unimportant to observe, that, in preparing to set out on this expedition into the indian country, at a time when the blackhawk had raised the standard of revolt on rock river, and the tribes of the upper mississippi were believed to be extensively in his views, i had caused my canoe, after it had been finished in most perfect style of art known to this kind of vessel, to be painted with chinese vermilion, from stem to stern. ten years' residence among the tribes, in an official capacity, had convinced me that fear is the controlling principle of the indian mind, and that the persuasions to a life of peace, are most effectively made under the symbols of war. to beg, to solicit, to creep and cringe to this race, whether in public or private, is a delusive, if not a fatal course; and though i was told by one or two of my neighbors that it was not well, on this occasion, to put my canoe in the symbolic garb of war, i did not think so. i carried, indeed, emphatically, messages of peace from the executive head of the government, and had the means of insuring respect for these messages, by displaying the symbol of authority at the stern of each vessel, by an escort of soldiery, and by presents, and the services of a physician to arrest one of the most fatal of diseases which have ever afflicted the indian race. but i carried them fearlessly and openly, with the avowed purpose of peace. the canoe, itself, was an emblem of this authority, and, like the _oriflamme_ of the mediæval ages, cast an auspicious influence on my mission over these bleak and wide summits, lakes, and forests, inhabited alone by fierce and predatory tribes, who acknowledged no power but force. long before i had reached the sources of the mississippi, st. vrain, my fellow agent, had been most cruelly murdered at his agency, and general scott, with the whole disposable army of the united states, had taken the field at chicago. lieut. allen paraded his men that morning with burnished arms. we could not, jointly, in an emergency, muster over forty men, of whom a part were not reliable in a melée, but arranged our camp in the best manner to produce effect. effect, indeed, it required, when the hour of the council came. not less than one thousand souls, men, women, and children, surrounded my tent, including a special deputation from the american borders of rainy lake. of these, two hundred were active young warriors, who strode by with a bold and lofty air, and glistening eyes, often lifting the wings of my tent, to scan the preparations going forward. aishkebuggekozh entered the council area, having in his train majegabowi, the man who had led the revolt in the red river settlement of lord selkirk, and who had tomahawked gov. semple, after he fell wounded from his horse. this association did not smack of peaceful designs. the chief, aishkebuggekozh, himself, has the countenance of a very ogre. he is over six feet high, very brawny, and stout. that feature of his countenance from which he is named flat-mouth, consisting of a broad expansion and protrusion of the front jaws, between the long incision of the mouth, reminds one much of a bull-dog's jaw. he held in his hand, suspended by ribbons, five silver medals, smeared with vermilion, to symbolize blood. a person not familiar with indian symbols, might deem such signs alarming. i knew him to be very fond of using these symbols, and, indeed, a man who never made a speech without them; and i had the fullest confidence that, while he aimed to produce the fullest effect upon his listening, but less shrewd tribe of folks, and upon all, indeed, he never dreamed of an act which should bring him into conflict with the united states. like blackhawk, who was now exciting and leading the tribes at lower points to war, he had, from his youth, been in the british interests. he displayed a british flag at his breakfast, and three of his medals were of british coinage, but he was a man of far more comprehensive mind and understanding than blackhawk. having been, as a government agent, the medium of the agreement of the chippewas and sioux in fixing on a boundary line for their respective territories at the treaty of prairie-du-chien, in , i made that agreement, on the present occasion, the basis of my remarks, for their preserving in good faith the stipulations of that treaty, and of renewing the principles of it in the points where they had since been broken and violated. i concluded by assuring them of the friendship of the united states, of which my visit to this remote region must be deemed proof, and of the sincerity with which i had communicated the words of the president. the presents were then delivered and distributed. aishkebuggekozh, or the guelle plat, replied, with much of the skill and force of indian oratory. he began by calling the attention of the warriors to his words; he then turned to me, thanking me for the presents. he said that he had been present when pike visited this lake in . he pointed with his fingers across the lake, to the ottertail point, where the old trading-house of the british northwest company had stood. "you have come," he continued, "to remind us that the american flag is now flying over the country, and to offer us counsels of peace. i thank you. i have heard that voice before, but it was like a rushing wind. it was strong, but soon went. it did not remain long enough to choke up the path. at the treaty of prairie-du-chien, it had been promised that whoever crossed the lines, the long arms of the president should pull them back; but, that very year, the sioux attacked us, and they have killed my people almost every year since. i was myself present when they fired on a peaceful delegation, and killed four chippewas under the walls of fort snelling. my own son--my _only_ son--has been killed. he was basely killed, without an opportunity to defend himself." a subordinate here handed him, at his request, a bundle of small sticks. "this," handing them to me, "is the number of leech lake chippewas killed by the sioux since the treaty of prairie-du-chien." there were forty-three sticks. he then lifted up a string of silver medals, smeared with vermilion. "take notice, they are bloody. i wish you to wipe the blood off. i cannot do it. i find myself in a war with this people, and i believe it has been intended by the creator that we should be at war with them. my warriors are brave [looking significantly at them]; it is to them that i owe success. but i have looked for help where i did not find it."[ ] [ ] it is hoped, hereafter, to give further sketches of this interview, and of this chief's life and character. chapter xxvi. geographical account of leech lake--history of its indians, the mukundwas--the expedition proceeds to the source of the crow-wing river, and descends that stream, in its whole length, to the mississippi. leech lake is a large, deep, and very irregularly-shaped body of water. it cannot be less than twenty miles across its extreme points. i requested the chief to draw its outlines, furnishing a sheet of foolscap. he began by tracing a large ellipsis, and then projecting large points and bays, inwardly and outwardly, with seven or eight islands, and that peculiar feature, the kapuka sagotawa, which i apprehend to originate in gigantic springs. the following eccentric figure of the lake is the result. this lake has been the seat of the mukundwa, or pillagers, from early days. the date of their occupancy is unknown. the french found them here early in the seventeenth century, when they began to push the fur trade from montreal. they were the advance of the algonquin group, who, when they had reached the head of lake superior, proceeded still towards the west and northwest. two separate bodies assumed the advance in this migratory movement, one of which went from the north shore, at the old grand portage, north-northwest, by the way of the rainy lakes, and the other went northwest from fond du lac. the former soon earned for themselves the title of killers, or kenistenos,[ ] and speak a distinct dialect; the other, whose language continued to be, with little variations, good odjibwa, acquired in a short time the name of takers, or mukundwa. the kenistenos advanced, through the great lake winnepeck, and up its inflowing waters, to the portage du trait, of the great churchill or missi-nepi (much water) river, where they sent up a skinned frog, in derision of the feebler athapasca race, whom they here encountered. _mackenzie's voyages_, p. lxxiii. _hist. fur_ _trade_. the odjibwas were led from chegoimegon, in lake superior, by two noted chiefs, called nokay and bainswah, under whom they drove the sioux from the region of sandy lake and the source of the mississippi. (_ethnological researches_, vol. ii. p. .) [ ] called by the french _crees_. [illustration: leech lake.--_a_, rush bay; _b_, leech lake river; _c_, three points; _d_, boy's river; _e_, bear island; _f_, pelican island; _g_, two points; _h_, ottertail point; _i_, chippewa village; _j_, sugar point; _k_, carp river; _l_, old n. w. house; _m_, goose island; _n_, encampment, july ; _o_, trading house am. p. co.; _p_, flatmouth's house; _q_, chippewa village; _r_, encampment, july ; _s_, _s_, route to crow-wing river; _t_, sandy point; _u_, big point; _v_, sandy bay river.] another party of this algonquin force, which conquered the country lying round the sources of the mississippi, proceeded through the turtle river to red lake, and thence descended into the valley of the red river of hudson's bay, where their descendants still reside. large portions of these mingled with the canadian stock, forming that remarkable people called boisbrules. these advanced parties pressed into the buffalo plains, along the rivers assinabwoin and saskatchawine, which is the ultimate western area of the spread of the algonquin language. and to this migration the blackfeet are believed to be indebted for the intermixture of this language which exists, and which mr. gallatin has erroneously supposed to arise from original elements, in the blackfeet tongue. this lake yields in abundance the corregonus albus, a fish which is unknown to the mississippi, and which delights only, it appears, in very limpid and cold waters. i found the population living at this lake to be eight hundred and thirty-two souls, under three chiefs, the guelle plat, nesia, or the elder brother, and chianoquet, or the big cloud, the latter of whom is exclusively a war chief. having dined these chiefs at my tent, and finished my business, and the vaccinations and very numerous cases of odontalgia being got through with, i directed my canoes to be put in the water, with the view of going a few miles down the shore, in order to get a quiet night's encampment, and be ready for an early start on the morrow. it was near the hour of sunset before we could embark. aiskebuggekozh came down to the boat to take leave of me. he was dressed, on this occasion (having been in indian costume all the morning), in a blue military frock coat, with scarlet collar and cuffs, white underclothes, a ruffled shirt, shoes and stockings, and a citizen's hat. he was accompanied by nesia and other followers, and it appeared to me if there ever was a person who had popular and undisputable claims to imperial sway, notwithstanding this poor taste in costume, it was he. we went about five miles in the general direction towards the source of the l'ail de corbeau, and encamped. dr. houghton, who had been left behind with lieut. allen, to complete the vaccinations, rejoined me about seven o'clock. guelle plat had promised to send me guides, to cross the country to the crow-wing river, early the next morning ( th), but, as they did not arrive, i proceeded across the arm of the lake for the main shore without them. after reaching it, some time was spent in searching for the commencement of the portage path. it was found to lie across a dry pine plain. the canadians, who are quick on finding the trail of a portage, wanted nothing more, but pushed on, canoes and baggage, without any further trouble about the indian guides. a portage of , yards brought us to the banks of a small, clear, shallow lake, called warpool, which had a very narrow, tortuous outlet, through which the men, with great difficulty, and by cutting away acute turns of the bank with their paddles, made way to force the canoes into little long lake, which we were twenty-four minutes in crossing. the outlet from this lake expanded, at successive intervals, into three pond-like lakes, redolent with the nymphæ valerata; the series terminating in a fourth lake, lying at the foot of elevated lands, which was called the lake of the mountain. at the head of the latter, we debarked on a shaking bog. at this spot commences the portage _plé_, which lies over a woodless and bleak hill. it is short and abrupt, and terminates on the banks of a deep bowl-shaped lake, where we took breakfast at twelve o'clock. we were now at the foot of elevated lands. here began the mountain portage, so called. its extent is, first, nine hundred and ten yards, terminating on the shores of a little lake, without outlet, called the lake of the isle. there is then a portage of , yards to another mountain lake, without outlet. we were now near the apex of the summit between leech lake and the source of de corbeau. another portage of one onwaybee or about a thousand yards, partly through a morass, carried us quite across this summit, and brought us out on elevated and highly beautiful grounds overlooking the kaginogumaug, or longwater lake, which is the source of the crow-wing river. here we encamped ( th). there is no rock stratum seen in place, on the de corbeau summit. its surface is purely composed of geological drift and boulders. the journey had been a very hard and fatiguing one for the men, who were on the push and trot all day, embarking and debarking continually on lakes, or scrambling, with their burdens and canoes, over elevations or through morasses. it was particularly severe on the soldiers, who are ill-prepared for this kind of toil. the chief guelle plat, with some companions of the mukandwa band, had overtaken us, at the lake of the isle, and came and encamped beside us. i invited him to sup with us, and the evening was passed in conversing with him on various topics. i found him a man of understanding and comprehensive views, who was well acquainted with the history of his people. it was twelve o'clock before these conversations ended, when he got up to go to his camp fire. with him there sat majegabowee,[ ] a tall, gaunt, and savage-looking man of red river, who scarcely uttered a word, but sat a silent listener to the superior powers of conversation and reflection of his chief. but i could not look at this person without a sense of horror, when i reflected that in him i beheld the murderer of gov. semple, of the hudson's bay territory, a circumstance which i have previously adverted to, while at leech lake.[ ] [ ] the fore-standing man. from the verb _maja_, to go, _ninabow_, i stand, and _izzee_, a person or man. [ ] for an account of this transaction, _vide_ reports of the disputes between the earl of selkirk and the northwest company, at the assizes held at york, upper canada, oct. . vol. vo. pp. . montreal, casie & mower, . bidding adieu to the leech lake chief the next morning at sunrise ( h. m.), after giving him a lancet, with directions to vaccinate any of his people who had been overlooked, i embarked on the kaginogamaug. this is a beautiful lake, with sylvan shores and crystal water, some four or five miles long. we were just forty minutes, with full paddles, in passing it. the outlet is narrow, and overhung with alders. the width is not over six feet, with good depth, but the turns are so sudden, and the stream so thickly overhung with foliage, that the use of the axe and the paddle as an excavator were often necessary. it then expands into a lake, called little vermilion, which is fringed with a growth of birch and aspen, with pines in the distance. its outlet is fully doubled in width, and we had henceforth no more embarrassment in descending. this outlet is pursued about eight miles. i noticed the tamarack on its banks, and the nymphæ odorata, scirpus lacustris, and indian reed on the margin. it expands into birch lake, a clear sheet, about one mile long, with pebbly bottom, interspersed with boulders. a short outlet, in which we passed a broken fish-dam, connects it with lac plè. this lake is about three and a half miles long, exhibiting a portion of prairie on its shores, interspersed with small pines. from it, there is a portage to ottertail lake, the eastern source of red river. this is the common war road of the mukundwa against the sioux. on coming out of lac plè, freshwater shells began to show themselves, chiefly species of naiades, a feature in the natural history of this stream which is afterwards common; but i observed none of much size, and they are often greatly decorticated. four or five miles lower, we entered assowa lake, and about a mile and a half further, lac vieux desert, or old gardon lake, so called from the remains of a trading station, where we halted for breakfast. on resuming the descent, just twenty minutes were required, with vigorous strokes of the paddle, to pass it. it has an outlet about two miles long, when the stream again expands into a lake of considerable size, which we called summit lake. thus far, we had been passing on a geological plateau of the diluvial character, extending southwest. but from this point the course of the river veers, at first towards the east and northeast, and, after a wide circuit, to the southeast, and eventually again to the southwest. from this point, rapids begin to mark its channel. the river, consequently, assumes a velocity which, while it hurries the traveller on, increases his danger of running his frail bark against rocks or shoals. we had been driven down this accelerated channel two hours and fifteen minutes, when it expanded into a sheet called long rice lake. this is some three miles in length, and, at a very short distance below it, the river again expands into a considerable lake, which, from the circumstance of lieut. allen having circumnavigated it, i called allen's lake. he found it the recipient of a small river from the north. it is, apparently, the largest of this series of river lakes below the kaginogumaug. while crossing it, we experienced a very severe and sudden tempest of wind and rain, accompanied by most severe and appalling peals of thunder and vivid lightning. broad ribbons of fire, in acute angles, appeared to rend the skies. before the shore could be reached, the tempest had subsided, so sudden was its development. a short distance below this, the river makes its tenth evolution, in the shape of a lake, on which, as my indian maps gave no name, i bestowed the name of _illigan_.[ ] [ ] from _ininéeg_, men, and _sugiegan_, lake, signs of a war party having been discovered at this place. in this derivative, the usual transition of _n_ to _l_ of the old algonquin is made. chapter xxvii. complete the exploration of the crow-wing river of minnesota--indian council--reach st. anthony's falls--council with the sioux--ascent and exploration of the river st. croix and misakoda, or broulé, of lake superior--return of the party to st. mary's falls, michigan. at illigan lake, large oaks and elms appear in the forest; its banks are handsomely elevated, and the whole country puts on the appearance of being well adapted to cultivation. we landed to obtain a shot at some deer, which stood temptingly in sight, and were impressed with the sylvan aspect of the country. while in the act of passing out of the lake in our canoes, a small fire was observed on shore, with the usual signs of its having been abandoned in haste by indians, who had been lying in ambush. every appearance seemed to justify such a conclusion, and it was evident a party of sioux had been concealed waiting the descent of chippewas, but, on observing our flag, and the public character of the party, they hastily withdrew. our men, knowing the perfidious and cruel character of this tribe, were evidently a good deal alarmed at these signs. we had been one hour in our canoes, descending the river with the double force of current and paddles, when the river was found again expanded, and for the eleventh and last time, in a lake, which the natives call _kaitchebo sagatowa_, meaning the lake through one end of which the river passes. as this is not a term, however graphic, which will pass into popular use, i named it lake douglas, in allusion to a former companion in explorations in the northwest.[ ] ten miles below this lake, the river receives its first considerable tributary in shell river, the aisisepi of the chippewas, which flows in from the right, from the slope of the hauteurs des terres, near the ottertail lake. below this tributary, the crow-wing is nearly doubled in width, and there is no further fear of shallow water. we held on our way for a distance of fourteen miles below the point of junction, and encamped on the right hand bank at eight o'clock p.m. it had rained copiously during the afternoon, and everything in the shape of kindling stuff had become so completely saturated with moisture, that it was quite an enterprise in the men to light a camp-fire. lieut. allen did not reach our encampment this night, having been misled in allen's lake, and, being driven ashore by the tempest, he encamped in that quarter. presuming him to be in advance, i had pushed on, to a late hour, and encamped under this impression. [ ] professor d. b. douglas. the next morning ( th), we set off from our camp betimes, and, having now a full flowing river, made good speed. the river passes for a dozen or more miles through a willowy low tract, on issuing from which there begins a series of strong rapids. twenty-four of these rapids were counted, which were called the metunna rapids. lieut. allen estimates that they occupy thirty miles of the channel of the river. below these rapids, the river extends to a mean width of three hundred feet. at this locality we were overtaken by mr. allen, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, and were thus first apprised of the fact that he had been all the while in our rear instead of in front. twenty miles below the metunna rapids, leaf river flows in from the right, by a mouth of forty yards wide. this stream originates in leaf lake, and is navigable sixty miles in the largest craft used by the traders.[ ] the volume of the crow-wing river is constantly increased in width and velocity by these accessions, which enabled us fearlessly to make a large day's journey. we encamped together after sunset, on an elevated pine bank, having descended ninety miles. [ ] the angle of country above leaf river, on the crow-wing, has been proposed as a refuge for the menomonee tribe, of wisconsin, for whom temporary arrangements, at least, are now made, on the head of fox river, of that state. the st, we were early in motion, the river presenting a broad rushing mass of waters, every way resembling the mississippi itself. on reaching within twenty miles of its mouth, we passed, on the right bank, the mouth of the long prairie river,[ ] a prime tributary flowing from the great ottertail slope, which has been, time out of mind, the war road between the chippewas and sioux; and between this point and the confluence coming in we passed, on the left bank, the confluence of the kioshk, or gull river, through which there is a communication, by a series of portages, with leech lake.[ ] [ ] this river has been assigned as the residence of the winnebago indians. it is the present seat of the united states agency, and of the farming and mechanical establishment for that tribe. [ ] mr. j. j. nicolet pursued this route in , on his visit to the sources of the mississippi. _vide_ senate doc. no. . washington, d. c., . from head to foot, we had now passed through the valley of the de corbeau river, without finding in it the permanent location of a single indian. we had not, in fact, seen even a temporary wigwam upon its banks. the whole river lies, in fact, on the war road between the two large rival tribes of the chippewas and sioux. it is entered by war parties from either side, decked out in war-paints and feathers, who descend either of its tributaries, the leaf and long prairie rivers. the mukundwa descends the main channel from the kaginogumaug lake in canoes. on reaching the field of ambush, these canoes are abandoned, and the parties, after an encounter, haste home on foot. from this deserted and uninhabited state of the valley we were the more surprised, as noon drew on, to descry an indian canoe ascending the river. it proved to be spies on the look-out, from the body of chippewas encamped at the mouth of the river, agreeably to my invitation at sandy lake. after mutual recognitions, and learning that we were near the mouth of the river, we resumed our descent with renewed spirit, and soon reached its outflow into the mississippi, and crossed it to the point at which the indians had established their camp. we were received with yells of welcome. it occupied an eminence on the east bank of the mississippi, directly opposite to the mouth of the de corbeau.[ ] the site was marked by a flag hoisted on a tall staff. the indians fired a salute as we landed, and pressed down to the shore, with their chiefs, to greet us. they informed me that by their count of sticks, of the time appointed by me at sandy lake, to meet them at this spot, would be out this day, and i had the satisfaction of being told, within a short time of my arrival, that the canoe, with goods and supplies, from sandy lake, was in sight. the indians were found encamped a short distance above the entrance of the nokasippi[ ] river, which is in the line of communication with the mille lac and rum river indians. i found the latter, together with the whole sandy lake band, encamped here, awaiting my arrival. they numbered souls, of whom were warriors. [ ] crow-wing river.--this stream is the largest tributary of the mississippi above the falls of st. anthony. it enters the mississippi in lat. ° ´ ´´, miles above the latter, and miles below sandy lake. government first explored it, in , from its source in lake kaginogumaug to its mouth, and an accurate map of its channel, and its eleven lakes, was made by lieut. allen, u. s. a., who accompanied the party as topographer. it is miles in length, to its source in long lake. the island, in its mouth, is about three miles long, and covered with hard-wood timber. the whole region is noted for its pine timber; the lands lie in gentle ridges, with much open country; a large part of it is adapted to agriculture, and there is much hydraulic power it is navigable at the lowest stages of water, about miles, and by small boats to its very source. [ ] from _noka_, a man's name, and _seebi_, a river. a council was immediately summoned, to meet in front of my tent, at the appointed signal of the firing of the military; the business of my mission was at once explained, the presents distributed, and the vaccinations commenced. replies were made at length, by the eldest chief, gros guelle, or big snout; by soangekumig, or the strong echoing ground; by wabogeeg, or the white fisher; and by nitumegaubowee, or the first standing man. the business having been satisfactorily concluded, the vaccination finished, and having still a couple of hours of daylight, i embarked and went down the mississippi some ten or fifteen miles, to a mr. baker's trading-house at prairie piercie. at this place, i remained encamped, it being the sabbath day, and rested on the d, which had a good effect on the whole party, engaged as it had been, night and day, in pushing its way to accomplish certain results, and it prepared them to spring to their paddles the more cheerfully on monday morning. indeed, it had been part of my plan of travel, from the outset, to give the men this rest and opportunity to recruit every seventh day, and i always found that they did more work in the long run, from it. i had also engaged them, originally, not to drink any ardent spirits, promising them, however, that their board and pot should be well supplied at all times. and, indeed, although i had frequently travelled with canadian canoemen, i never knew a crew who worked so cheerfully, and travelled so far, per diem, on the mean of the week, as these six days' working canoemen. at mr. baker's, miles above st. anthony's falls, i found a stray number of a small newspaper, and first learned the state of the sauc and fox war. the chief, blackhawk, had crossed the mississippi, to enter the rock river valley; had murdered mr. st. vrain, the united states agent, sustained a conflict with the illinois militia, under major stillman, fled to lake gushkenong, on the head of rock river, and drawn upon his movement the united states army, leaving, at last accounts, generals atkinson and dodge in pursuit of him. having struck the mississippi at the point where the prior narrative describes it (_vide_ chap xii.), it becomes unnecessary to give details of my descent to st. anthony's falls. leaving prairie piercie on the d, two days were employed in the descent to fort snelling. i found captain wm. r. jouett in command, who received me with courtesy and kindness, and offered every facility, in the absence of mr. talliaferro, the united states indian agent, for laying the object of my mission before the sioux. he had received no very recent intelligence of the progress of the sauc war, in addition to that which i had learned at the mouth of the de corbeau; although he was in the habit of sending a mail boat or canoe twice a month to prairie du chien.[ ] [ ] it was not till some time after my return to st. mary's that i learned of the overthrow of the chief and his army, and his being taken prisoner at the battle of the badaxe, on the th of august, . on the th, being the day after my arrival, i met the assembled, sioux, in council, at the agency house, the commanding officer being present, and having finished that business, and finding the sioux wholly unconnected with, and disapproving the proceedings of blackhawk and his adherents, i embarked early the next morning on my return to lake superior. i reached the mouth of the river st. croix, at three o'clock p. m. on the th, and having entered the sylvan sheet of lake st. croix, ascended it to within a few miles of its head, and encamped. lieut. allen did not reach my camp, but halted for the night some seven or eight miles short.[ ] this lake is one of the most beautiful and picturesque sheets of water in the west, being from two to three miles wide, and some four-and-twenty or thirty in length.[ ] the next morning i reached the head of the lake after a couple of hours of travel, and, by a diligent and hard day's work, during which we passed between perpendicular walls of sonorous trap-rock, reached and encamped at the falls of st. croix, at eight o'clock in the evening.[ ] we were now about fifty miles from the line of the mississippi river. for the last few miles, there had been either a very strong current or severe eddies of water, around angular masses of trap-rock; and we were encamped at the precise foot of the falls, where the river, narrowed to some fifty feet, breaks its way through trap-rock, falling some fifty feet in the course of six hundred yards. we had been carried, at a tangent, from the great mississippi series of the silurian period, beginning at st. anthony's falls, to the vitric formations of trap and greenstone of the lake superior system, and were now to ascend a valley, in which a heavy diluvial drift and boulder stratum rested on this broken and angular basis.[ ] on reaching the summit of the st. croix, there are found vast plateaux of sand, supporting pine forests; and on descending the misakoda, or brulé of fond du lac, the sandstone strata of that basin are again encountered. this ascent was rendered arduous, from the low state of the water. i reached snake river on the th, had an interview with the buffalo chief (pezhikee) and his subordinates; finding the population , with thirty-eight half breeds. the men, while here, cut their feet, treading on the trap-rock debris, in the mouth of the river. the distance thence to yellow river is about thirty-five miles, which we accomplished on the st, by eight o'clock in the morning, having found our greatest obstacle at the kettle rapids, which discloses sharp masses of the trap-rock. the river, in this distance, receives on its right, in the ascent, the aisippi, or shell river, which originates in a lake of that name, noted for its large unios and anadontas. [ ] united states soldiers are not adapted to travelling in indian canoes. comparatively clumsy, formal, and used to the comforts of good quarters and shelter, they flinch under the activities and fatigue of forest life, and particularly of that kind of life and toil, which consists in the management of canoes, and the carrying forward canoes and baggage over bad portages, and conducting these frail vessels over dangerous rapids and around falls. no amount of energy is sufficient on the part of the officers to make them keep up, on these trips, with the gay, light, and athletic _voyageur_, who unites the activity and expertness of the indian with the power of endurance of the white man. lieut. allen deserves great credit, as an army officer, for urging his men forward as well as he did on this arduous journey, for they were a perpetual cause of delay and anxiety to me and to him. they were relieved and aided by my men at every practicable point; but, having the responsibility of performing a definite duty, on a fixed sum of money, with many men to feed in the wilderness, it was imperative in me to push on with energy, day in and day out, and to set a manful example of diligence, at every point; and, instead of carping at my rapidity of movement, as he does in his official report of the ascent of the st. croix, he having every supply within himself, and being, moreover, in a friendly tribe, where there was no danger from indian hostilities, he should not have evinced a desire to control my encampments, but rather given his men to understand that he could not countenance their dilatoriness. [ ] it is, at this time, a part of the boundary between the state of wisconsin and the territory of minnesota, and is the site of several flourishing towns and villages. on its western head is the town of stillwater, the seat of justice for washington county, minnesota. this town has a population of , inhabitants, containing a court house, several churches, schools, printing offices, a public land office, and territorial penitentiary, with stores, mills, &c. hudson is a town seated on its east bank, at willow river, being the seat of justice for st. croix county, wisconsin. it contains a united states land-office, two churches, and dwellings, besides stores and mills. steamboats freely navigate its waters from the mississippi. [ ] falls of st. croix.--a thriving post town is now seated on the wisconsin side of these falls in polk county, wisconsin, which contains several mills, at which it is estimated, four millions of feet of pine lumber are sawed annually. it is at the head of steamboat navigation of st. croix river. [ ] _vide_ owen's geological report, for the first attempt to delineate the order of the various local and general formations. philada., lippincott & co., . at yellow river, i halted to confer with the indians in front of a remarkable eminence called pokunogun, or the moose's hip. this eminence is not, however, of artificial construction. this river, with its dependencies of lac vaseux, rice lake, and yellow lake, contains a chippewa population of three hundred and eighty-two souls. we observed here the unio purpureus, which the indians use for spoons, after rubbing off the alatæ and rounding the margin. we also examined the skin of the sciurus tredacem striatus of mitchill. we reached the forks of the st. croix about two o'clock p. m. the distance from yellow river is about thirteen miles; it required five and a half hours to accomplish this. the water was, indeed, so low, that the men had often to wade; and, on reaching this point, we were to lose half its volume, or more, for the namakagun[ ] fork, which enters here, carries in more than half the quantity of water. [ ] from _nama_, a sturgeon, and _kagun_, a yoke or wier. i explored this stream in , having reached it after ascending the mauvais or maskigo of lake superior. _vide_ personal memoirs: lippincott, grambo, & co., . i found the chief kabamappa and his followers encamped at the forks, awaiting my arrival, who received me with a salute. he disclaimed all connection with the movement of the blackhawk. he stated facts, however, which showed him to be well acquainted with the means which that chief had used to bring the indians into an extensive league against the united states. he readily assented to the measures proposed to the upper bands, for bringing the sioux and chippewas into more intimate and permanent relations of peace and friendship. with respect to the ascent of the st. croix, in the direction of the brulé, his exclamation was _iskutta-iskutta_, meaning it is dried up, or there is no water. dry the channel, indeed, looked, but by leading the canoes around the shoals, all the men walking in the water, and picking out channels, we advanced about seven miles before the time of encampment. the next morning (aug. ) a heavy fog detained us in our encampment, till five o'clock, when we recommenced the ascent of a similar series of embarrassments from very low water, rapid succeeding to rapid, till two o'clock p. m., when we reached the summit of a plateau, and found still water and comparatively good navigation. five hours canoeing on this summit brought us to kabamappa's village at the namakowágon, or sturgeon's dam, where we encamped. the chief gave us his population at souls, of whom were men, including the minor chief, mukudapenas,[ ] and his men. we had now got above all the strong rapids, and proceeded from our encampment at four o'clock, a. m., on the d. the river receives two tributaries, from the right hand, on this summit, namely, the buffalo and clearwater, and, at the distance of about ten miles above the namakowágon, is found to be expanded in a handsome lake of about six miles in extent, called lake st. croix. this is the source of the river. we were favored with a fair wind in passing over it, and having reached its head debarked on a marshy margin, and immediately commenced the portage to the brulé, or misakoda river.[ ] [ ] from _mukuda_, black, and _penaisee_, a bird, the name of the rail. [ ] from _misk_, red or colored, _muscoda_, a plain, and _auk_, a dead standing tree, as a tree burned by fire or lightning. from the french translation of the word, by the phrase _brulé_; the indian meaning is clearly shown to be burnt, scorched, or parched--a term which is applied to metifs of the mixed race. i had now reached the summit between the st. croix and lake superior. the elevation of this summit has not been scientifically determined; but from the great fall of the brulé, cannot be less than feet. the length of the brulé is about miles, in which there are distinct rapids. some of these are from eight to ten feet each. four of them require portages, at which all the canoes are discharged. the river itself, on looking down it, appears to be a perfect torrent, foaming and roaring; and it could never be used by the traders at all, were it not that it had abundance of water, being the off-drain for an extensive plateau of lakes and springs. to give an adequate idea of this foaming torrent, it is necessary to conceive of a river flowing down a pair of stairs, a hundred miles long. the portage from the st. croix to it begins on marsh, ascending in a hundred yards or so, to an elevated sandy plain, which has been covered, at former times, with a heavy forest of the pinus resinosa; that having been consumed, there is left here and there a dry trunk, or _auk_, as the indians call it. the length of the portage path is , yards, or about two miles. at this distance, we reach a small, sandy-bottomed brook, of four feet wide and a foot deep, of most clear crystalline cold water, winding its way, in a most serpentine manner, through a boggy tract, and overhung with dense alder bushes. it is a good place to slake one's thirst, but appears like anything else than a stream to embark on, with canoes and baggage. nobody but an indian would seem to have ever dreamed of it. yet on this brook we embarked. it was now six o'clock in the evening. by going a distance below, and damming up the stream, a sufficient depth of water was got to float the canoes. the axe was used to cut away the alders. the men walked, guiding the canoes, and carrying some of the baggage. in this way we moved slowly, about one mile, when it became quite dark, and threatened rain. the voyageurs then searched about for a place on the bog dry enough to sleep on, and came, with joy, and told me that they had found a kind of bog, with bunches of grassy tufts, which are called by them _tete de femme_. the very poetry of the idea was something, and i was really happy, amid the intense gloom, to rest my head, for the night, on these fair tufts. the next morning we were astir as soon as there was light enough to direct our steps. after a few miles of these intricacies, we found a brisk and full tributary, below which, the descent is at once free, and on crossing the first narrow geologic plateau, the rapids begin; the stream being constantly and often suddenly enlarged, by springs and tributaries from the right and left. to describe the descent of this stream, in detail, would require graphic powers to which i do not aspire, and time which i cannot command. we were two days and a part of a night in making the descent, with every appliance of voyageur craft. it was after darkness had cast her pall over us, on the evening of the th of august, before we reached still water. the river is then a deep and broad mass of water, into which coasting vessels from the lake might enter. some four miles from the foot of the last rapids, it enters the fond du lac of lake superior. some time before reaching this point, we had been apprised of our contiguity to it, from hearing the monotonous thump of the indian drum; and we were glad, on our arrival, to find the chief, mongazid,[ ] of fond du lac, with the military barge of lieut. allen, left at that place on our outward trip, which he had promised to bring down to this point. [ ] from _mong_, a loon, and _ozid_, his foot. the name is in allusion to the track of the bird on the sand. having thus accomplished the objects committed to my trust, and rejoined the track described in my prior narrative, i rested here on the next day ( th), being the sabbath; and then proceeded through lake superior, to my starting-point at sault de ste marie.[ ] [ ] on passing through lake superior, i learned from an indian the first breaking out of asiatic cholera in the country, in , and the wide alarm it had produced. appendix. no. . the expedition to the sources of the mississippi in . i. official reports of the expedition of . . departmental reports. i. announcement of the return of the expedition. by hon. lewis cass. ii. general report to the department of war. by hon. lewis cass. iii. further explorations of western geography recommended. by hon. lewis cass. iv. personal testimonial on the close of the expedition. by hon. lewis cass. . topography and astronomy. v. results of observations for latitudes and longitudes during the expedition of . by david b. douglass, capt. engineers, u. s. a. . mineralogy and geology. vi. report on the copper mines of lake superior. by henry r. schoolcraft. vii. observations on the mineralogy and geology of the country embracing the sources of the mississippi river and the great lake basins. by henry r. schoolcraft. viii. report in reply to a resolution of the u. s. senate on the value and extent of the mineral lands on lake superior. by henry r. schoolcraft. ix. rapid glances at the geology of western new york, beyond the rome summit, in . by henry r. schoolcraft. x. a memoir on the geological position of a fossil tree in the secondary rocks of the illinois. albany: e. & e. hosford, pp. , . by henry r. schoolcraft. . botany. xi. list of plants collected by capt. d. b. douglass at the sources of the mississippi river. this paper has been published in the th vol. p. of silliman's journal of science. by dr. john torrey. . zoology. xii. a letter embracing notices of the zoology of the northwest, addressed to dr. mitchell on the return of the expedition. by henry r. schoolcraft. ( .) fresh-water conchology. xiii. species of bivalves collected by mr. schoolcraft and capt. douglass in the northwest. published in the th vol. amer. journ. of science, pp. , . by d. h. barnes. xiv. fresh-water shells collected by mr. schoolcraft in the valleys of the fox and wisconsin rivers. american philosophical transactions, vol. . by mr. isaac lea. ( .) fauna: ichthyology: reptilia. xv. summary remarks respecting the zoological species noticed in the expedition. by dr. samuel l. mitchell. xvi. mus busarius. medical repository, vol. , p. . by dr. samuel l. mitchell. xvii. sciurus tredecem striatus. med. rep. vol. . by dr. samuel l. mitchell. xviii. proteus of the lakes. am. journ. science, vol. . by dr. samuel l. mitchell. . meteorology. xix. memoranda on climatic phenomena, and the distribution of solar heat, in . by henry r. schoolcraft. . indian languages and history. xx. a pictographic mode of communicating ideas by the northwestern indians. by hon. lewis cass. xxi. inquiries respecting the history, &c. of the indians of the united states. detroit, . by hon. lewis cass. xxii. a letter on the origin of the indian tribes of america, and the principles of their mode of uttering ideas. by dr. j. m'donnell, belfast, ireland. xxiii. difficulties of studying the indian tongues of the united states. schoolcraft's travels in the central portions of the mississippi valley, p. . by dr. alexander wolcott, jr. xxiv. examinations of the elementary structure of the odjibwa-algonquin language. first paper. by henry r. schoolcraft. xxv. a vocabulary of the odjibwa-algonquin. by henry r. schoolcraft. appendix. . departmental reports. i. detroit, september , . sir: i am happy to be enabled to state to you that i reached this place four days since, with some of the gentlemen who accompanied me on my late tour, after a very fortunate journey of four thousand miles, and an accomplishment, without any adverse accident, of every object intrusted to me. the party divided at green bay, with a view to circumnavigate lake michigan, and i trust they may all arrive here in the course of a week. as soon as possible, i shall transmit to you a detailed report upon the subject. since my arrival, i have learned that mr. ellicott, professor of mathematics, at the military academy, is dead. i cannot but hope that the office will not be filled until the return of captain douglass. i do not know whether such an appointment would suit him; but from my knowledge of his views, feelings, and pursuits, i presume it would. and an intimate acquaintance with him during my tour enables me to say that in every requisite qualification, as far as i can judge, i have never found a man who is his superior. his zeal, talents, and acquirements are of the first order, and i am much deceived if he do not soon take a distinguished rank among the most scientific men in our country. his situation as an assistant professor to colonel mansfield, and his connection with the family of mr. ellicott, furnish additional reasons why he should receive this appointment. very respectfully, sir, i have the honor to be your obedient servant, lewis cass. hon. j. c. calhoun, _secretary of war_. ii. detroit, october , . sir: i had the honor to inform you some time since that i had reached this place by land from chicago, and that the residue of the party were daily expected. they arrived soon after, without accident, and this long and arduous journey has been accomplished without the occurrence of any unfavorable incident. i shall submit to you, as soon as it can be prepared, a memoir respecting the indians who occupy the country through which we passed; their numbers, disposition, wants, &c. it will be enough at present to say, that the whole frontier is in a state of profound peace, and that the remote indians, more particularly, exhibit the most friendly feelings towards the united states. as we approach the points of contact between them and the british, the strength of this attachment evidently decreases, and about those points few traces of it remain. during our whole progress but two incidents occurred which evinced in the slightest degree, an unfriendly spirit. one of these was at st. mary's, within forty-five miles of drummond's island, and the other within thirty miles of malden. they passed off, however, without producing any serious result. it is due to colonel leavenworth to say, that his measures upon the subject of the outrage committed by the winnebago indians, in the spring, were prompt, wise, and decisive. as you have long since learned, the murderers were soon surrendered; and so impressive has been the lesson upon the minds of the indians, that the transaction has left us nothing to regret, but the untimely fall of the soldiers. in my passage through the winnebago country, i saw their principal chiefs, and stated to them the necessity of restraining their young men from the commission of acts similar in their character to those respecting which a report was made by colonel smith. i have reason to believe that similar complaints will not again be made, and i am certain that nothing but the intemperate passions of individuals will lead to the same conduct. should it occur, the act will be disavowed by the chiefs, and the offenders surrendered with as much promptitude as the relapsed state of the government will permit. the general route which we pursued was from this place to michilimackinac by the southern shore of lake huron. from thence to drummond's island and by the river st. mary's to the sault. we there entered lake superior, coasted its southern shore to point kewena, ascended the small stream, which forms the water communication across the base of the point, and, after a portage of a mile and a half, struck the lake on the opposite side. fifty miles from this place is the mouth of the ontonagan, upon which have been found large specimens of copper. we ascended that stream about thirty miles, to the great mass of that metal, whose existence has long been known. common report has greatly magnified the quantity, although enough remains, even after a rigid examination, to render it a mineralogical curiosity. instead of being a mass of pure copper, it is rather copper imbedded in a hard rock, and the weight does not probably exceed five tons, of which the rock is the much larger part. it was impossible to procure any specimens, for such was its hardness that our chisels broke like glass. i intend to send some indians in the spring to procure the necessary specimens. as we understand the nature of the substance, we can now furnish them with such tools as will effect the object. i shall, on their return, send you such pieces as you may wish to retain for the government, or to distribute as cabinet specimens to the various literary institutions of our country. mr. schoolcraft will make to you a detailed report upon this subject, in particular, and generally upon the various mineralogical and geological objects to which his inquiries were directed. should he carry into effect the intention, which he now meditates, of publishing his journal of the tour, enriched with the history of the facts which have been collected, and with those scientific and practical reflections and observations, which few men are more competent to make, his work will rank among the most important accessions which have ever been made to our national literature. from the ontonagon we proceeded to the fond du lac, passing the mouths of the montreal, mauvais, and brulé rivers, and entered the mouth of the st. louis, or fond du lac river, which forms the most considerable water communication between lake superior and the mississippi. the southern coast of the lake is sterile, cold, and unpromising. the timber is birch, pine, and trees of that description which characterize the nature of the country. the first part of the shore is moderately elevated, the next, hilly, and even mountainous, and the last a low, flat, sandy beach. two of the most sublime natural objects in the united states, the grand sable and the pictured rocks, are to be found upon this coast. the former is an immense hill of sand, extending for some miles along the lake, of great elevation and precipitous ascent. the latter is an unbroken wall of rocks, rising perpendicularly from the lake to the height of feet, assuming every grotesque and fanciful appearance, and presenting to the eye of the passenger a spectacle as tremendous as the imagination can conceive, or as reason itself can well sustain. the emotions excited by these objects are fresh in the recollection of us all; and they will undoubtedly be described, so that the public can appreciate their character and appearance. the indications of copper upon the western part of the coast, are numerous; and there is reason to suppose that silver, in small quantities, has been found. the communication by the montreal with the chippewa river, and by the mauvais and brulé rivers with the st. croix, is difficult and precarious. the routes are interrupted by long, numerous, and tedious portages, across which the boats and all their contents are transported by the men. it is doubtful whether their communication can ever be much used, except for the purposes to which they are now applied. in the present state of the indian trade, human labor is nothing, because the number of men employed in transporting the property is necessary to conduct the trade, after the different parties have reached their destination, and the intermediate labor does not affect the aggregate amount of the expense. under ordinary circumstances, and for those purposes to which water communication is applied in the common course of civilized trade, these routes would be abandoned. from the mouth of the montreal river alone to its source, there are not less than forty-five miles of portage. the st. louis river is a considerable stream, and for twenty-five miles its navigation is uninterrupted. at this distance, near an establishment of the southwest company, commences the grand portage about six miles in length, across spurs of the porcupine ridge of mountains. one other portage, one of a mile and a half, and a continued succession of falls, called the grand rapids, extending nine miles, and certainly unsurmountable except by the skill and perseverance of the canadian boatmen, conduct us to a comparatively tranquil part of the river. from here to the head of the savannah river, a small branch of the st. louis, the navigation is uninterrupted, and after a portage of four miles, the descent is easy into lake au sable, whose outlet is within two miles of the mississippi. this was until the principal establishment of the british northwest company upon these waters, and is now applied to the same purpose by the american fur company. from lac au sable, we ascended the mississippi to the upper red cedar lake, which may be considered as the head of the navigation of that river. the whole distance, miles, is almost uninhabitable. the first part of the route the country is generally somewhat elevated and interspersed with pine woods. the latter part is level wet prairie. the sources of this river flow from a region filled with lakes and swamps, whose geological character indicates a recent formation, and which, although the highest table-land of this part of the continent, is yet a dead level, presenting to the eye a succession of dreary uninteresting objects. interminable marshes, numerous ponds, and a few low, naked, sterile plains, with a small stream, not exceeding sixty feet in width, meandering in a very crooked channel through them, are all the objects which are found to reward the traveller for the privations and difficulties which he must encounter in his ascent to this forbidding region. the view on all sides is dull and monotonous. scarcely a living being animates the prospect, and every circumstance recalled forcibly to our recollection that we were far removed from civilized life. from lac au sable to the mouth of the st. peter's, the distance by computation is six hundred miles. the first two hundred present no obstacles to navigation. the land along the river is of a better quality than above; the bottoms are more numerous, and the timber indicates a stronger and more productive soil. but near this point commence the great rapids of the mississippi, which extend more than two hundred miles. the river flows over a rocky bed, which forms a continuous succession of rapids, all of which are difficult and some dangerous. the country, too, begins here to open, and the immense plains in which the buffaloes range approach the river. these plains continue to the falls of st. anthony. they are elevated fifty or sixty feet above the mississippi, are destitute of timber, and present to the eye a flat, uniform surface, bounded at the distance of eight or ten miles by high ground. the title of this land is in dispute between the chippewas and sioux, and their long hostilities have prevented either party from destroying the game in a manner as improvident as is customary among the indians. it is consequently more abundant than in any other region through which we travelled. from the post, at the mouth of the st. peter's, to prairie du chien, and from that place to green bay, the route is too well-known to render it necessary that i should trouble you with any observations respecting it. the whole distance travelled by the party between the th of may and the th of september exceeded , miles, and the journey was performed without the occurrence of a single untoward accident sufficiently important to deserve recollection. these notices are so short and imperfect that i am unwilling to obtrude them upon your patience. but the demands upon your attention are so imperious, that to swell them into a geographical memoir would require more time for their examination than any interest which i am capable of giving the subject would justify. i propose hereafter to submit some other observations to you in a different shape. very respectfully, sir, i have the honor to be your obedient servant, lewis cass. hon. j. c. calhoun, _secretary of war_. iii. copy of a letter from gov. lewis cass to hon. john c. calhoun, secretary of war, dated detroit, september , . sir: in examining the state of our topographical knowledge, respecting that portion of the northwestern frontier over which we have recently passed, it occurs to me that there are several points which require further examination, and which might be explored without any additional expense to the united states. the general result of the observations made by capt. douglass, will be submitted to you as soon as it can be prepared. and i believe he will also complete a map of the extensive route we have taken, and embracing the whole of the united states, bounded by the upper lakes and by the waters of the mississippi, and extending as far south as rock island and the southern extremities of lakes michigan and erie. the materials in his possession are sufficient for such an outline, and he is every way competent to complete it. but there are several important streams, respecting which it is desirable to procure more accurate information than can be obtained from the vague and contradictory relations of indians and indian traders. the progress of our geographical knowledge has not kept pace with the extension of our territory, nor with the enterprise of our traders. but i trust the accurate observations of captain douglass will render a resort to the old french maps for information respecting our own country entirely unnecessary. i beg leave to propose to you, whether it would not be proper to direct exploring parties to proceed from several of our frontier posts into the interior of the country, and to make such observations as might lead to a correct topographical delineation of it. an intelligent officer, with eight or ten men, in a canoe, would be adequate to this object. he would require nothing more than a compass to ascertain his course, for it is not to be expected that correct astronomical observations could be taken. in ascending or descending streams, he should enter in a journal every course which he pursues, and the length of time observed by a watch. he should occasionally ascertain the velocity of his canoe, by measuring a short distance upon the bank, and should also enter in his journal his supposed rate of travelling. this, whenever it is possible, should be checked by the distance as estimated by traders and travellers. by a comparison of these data, and by a little experience, he would soon be enabled to ascertain with sufficient precision, the length of each course, and to furnish materials for combination, which would eventually exhibit a perfect view of the country. i do not know any additional expense which it would be necessary to encounter. an ordinary compass is not worth taking into consideration. a necessary supply of provisions, a small quantity of powder, lead, and tobacco, to present occasionally to the indians, and a little medicine, are all the articles which would require particular attention. officers employed upon such services should be directed to observe the natural appearances of the country; its soil, timber, and productions; its general face and character; the height, direction, and composition of its hills; the number, size, rapidity, &c., of its streams; its geological structure and mineralogical products; and any facts which may enable the public to appreciate its importance in the scale of territorial acquisitions, or which may serve to enlarge the sphere of national science. it is not to be expected that officers detached upon the duties can enter into the detail of such subjects in a manner which their importance would render desirable. but the most superficial observer may add something to the general stock; and to point their inquiries to specific objects, may be the means of eliciting facts, which in other hands may lead to important results. the most important tributary stream of the upper mississippi is the saint peter's. the commanding officer at the mouth of that river might be directed to form an expedition for exploring it. it is the opinion of captain douglass, and it is strongly fortified by my personal observation, and by the opinion of others, that lieut. talcott, of the engineers, now at the council bluffs, would conduct a party upon this duty in a very satisfactory manner. he might ascend the st. peter's to its source, and from thence cross over to the red river, and descend the stream to the th parallel of latitude, with directions to take the necessary observations upon so important a point.[ ] thence up that branch of the red river, interlocking with the nearest water of the mississippi, and down this river to leech lake. from this lake, there is an easy communication to the river de corbeau, which he could descend to the mississippi, and thence to st. peter's.[ ] [ ] this is the origin of major long's second expedition. [ ] explored by the preceding narrative in - . the st. croix and chippewa rivers, entering the mississippi above and below the falls of st. anthony, might, in like manner, be explored by parties from the same post.[ ] the former interlocks with the mauvais and brulé rivers, but a descent into lake superior would not probably be considered expedient, so that the party would necessarily ascend and descend the same stream.[ ] [ ] explored by the preceding narrative in - . the chippewa interlocks with the montreal and wisconsin rivers, and consequently the same party could ascend the former and descend the latter stream. a party from green bay might explore rocky river from its source to its mouth. a correct examination of green bay and of the menomonie river might be made from the same post. the st. joseph and grand river, of this peninsula, could be examined by parties detached from chicago. it is desirable, also, to explore the grand traverse bay, about sixty miles south of michilimackinac, on the east coast of lake michigan. these are all the points which require particular examination. observations made in the manner i have suggested, and connected with those already taken by captain douglass, would furnish ample materials for a correct chart of the country. it is with this view that it might be proper, should you approve the plan i have submitted to you, to direct, that the reports of the officers should be transmitted to captain douglass, by whom they will be incorporated with his own observations, and will appear in a form best calculated to promote the views which you entertain upon the important subject of the internal geography of our country. iv. detroit, october , . sir: on the eve of separating from my associates in our late tour, i owe it to them and to myself, that i should state to you my opinion respecting captain douglass and mr. schoolcraft. i have found them, upon every occasion, zealous in promoting the objects of the expedition, indefatigable in their inquiries and observations, and never withholding their personal exertions. ardent in their pursuit after knowledge, with great attainments in the departments of literature to which they have respectively devoted themselves, and with powers which will enable them to explore the whole field of science, i look forward with confidence to the day when they will assume distinguished stations among our scientific men, and powerfully aid in establishing the literary fame of their country. should any object of a similar character again require similar talents, i earnestly recommend their employment. whoever has the pleasure of being associated with them, will find how easily profound acquirements may be united with that urbanity of manners, and those qualities of the heart, which attach to each other those who have participated in the fatigues of a long and interesting tour. very respectfully, sir, i have the honor to be your obedient servant, lewis cass. hon. john c. calhoun, _secretary of war_. . topography and astronomy. topographical materials were collected by capt. douglass, u.s.a., for a map of the northwestern portions of the united states, embracing the complete circumnavigation of the great lake basins, and accurate delineations of the sources of the mississippi, as low down as the influx of the river wisconsin. being provided with instruments from the military academy of west point, astronomical observations were made at every practical point over the vast panorama traversed by the expedition. a line of some four thousand miles of previously unexplored country was visited; his notes and memoranda for a topographical memoir were full and exact; and they were left, i am informed, in a state of nearly perfect elaboration, accompanied by illustrations, and many drawings of scenery. having written to his family recently, for the astronomical observations, they were transmitted by his son in a letter, of which the following is an extract:-- geneva, june , . dear sir: i inclose you herewith, on another page, the results of my father's observations of latitude and longitude, so far as i have been able to collect them. his calculations indicate great pains and labor to obtain accurate results. they are too voluminous to copy. i trust, however, that i have been as particular as was necessary in the inclosed memoranda. if anything else is wanting, i should like you to inform me. i am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, malcolm douglass. v. _results of observations for latitude and longitude during the expedition of ._ by david b. douglass, capt. engineers, u.s.a. {by sets of observations at cunningham's } { island, , and reduced by } { exact measurement on the boundary } { bay } { } mean {by set of observations at gibraltar } latitude { island (put-in bay), taken, like the } of { preceding, in , and reduced as } ° ´ ´´ detroit { before } { } {by set of observations taken on } { sugar island, and reduced as before } { } {by mean results of sets of observations--may} and , } {by mean observation, sept. , } mean longitude of detroit, by sets of observations, may and , latitude of presque isle, lake huron, june , latitude of mackinaw, by sets of observations, june and , , by meridian observations, sept. , height of fort holmes. from the water to the brow of the hill near robinson's folly, nearly on a level with fort mackinaw . thence to the top of the block h of fort holmes . ----- total height, . feet longitude of mackinaw, by several sets of observations, sept. , mean latitude of sault de st. marie, june , latitude of turtle camp, on lake superior, june --primitive bluff (granite point.--s.) latitude of keweena camp mean latitude of sandy river, july , mean longitude (by observations for degrees, and observations for time). in time, h. m. sec. in degrees latitude of the gallais[ ] on the grand portage of st. louis, july , latitude of camp at head of grand portage, july , latitude of camp at west end of savanna portage [ ] mean latitude of sandy lake post, from observations, july and mean longitude of sandy lake post, from sets of observations, july and latitude of wolverine camp, july , day from sandy lake latitude of halting-place above forks of leech river on the mississippi, july [ ] latitude of camp at lake winnipec, july latitude of halting-place near first return camp, july latitude of return camp; near the above, same day latitude of camp at buffalo hunting-ground, above pe-can-de-quaw lake, july and breadth of river at camp on the buffalo plain, yards latitude of halting-place between the great falls and st. francis river breadth of river at camp above falls of st. anthony, yards mean latitude of fort st. anthony, new site, july , by sets of observations mean longitude of fort st. anthony, new site, july , by sets of observations latitude of fort prairie du chien, aug. and . [ ] latitude of fox and ouisconsin portage, aug. and , ° ´ ´´; say latitude of camp near mouth of river de loup, aug. latitude of fort howard, green bay, aug. longitude of fort howard (some error), probably between ° ´ ´´ and latitude of camp at sturgeon portage, lake michigan, aug. latitude of camp miles north of the manetowag, aug. latitude of camp south of the sheboyegan, aug. latitude of camp at milwaukie, aug. mean latitude of fort dearborn, chicago, by sets of equal altitudes, aug. , and meridian altitude mean longitude of fort dearborn, sets of observations. in time, h. m. sec. in degrees longitude of detroit, calculated from above latitude of camp near head of lake michigan, aug. and sept. mean latitude of the extreme south point of lake michigan, sets of observations and meridian observation latitude of camp next north of the st. joseph's, near kekalamazo, sept. latitude of camp at maskegon river, sept. latitude of camp near point aux salles, lake michigan, sept. latitude of camp at grand traverse bay, lake michigan, sept. [ ] _galet_, in the canadian patois, means a smooth, flat rock.--h. r. s. [ ] a little doubtful. [ ] a little doubtful. [ ] or ´´. . mineralogy and geology. vi. _report on the copper mines of lake superior._ by henry r. schoolcraft. to the hon. john c. calhoun, _secretary of war_. vernon (oneida county, n. y.), november , . sir: i have now the honor to submit such observations as have occurred to me, during the recent expedition under gov. cass, in relation to the copper mines on lake superior; reserving, as the subject of a future communication, the facts i have collected on the mineralogy and geology of the country explored generally. the first striking change in the mineral aspect of the country north of lake huron, is presented near the head of the island of st. joseph, in the river st. mary, where the calcareous strata of secondary rocks are succeeded by a formation of red sandstone, which extends northward to the head of that river at point iroquois, producing the falls called the _sault de ste. marie_, fifteen miles below; and thence stretching northwest, along the whole southern shore of lake superior, with the interruptions noted, to fond du lac. this extensive stratum is perforated at various points by upheaved masses of sienitic granite and trap, which appear in elevated points on the margin of the lake at dead river, keweena point, presque isle, and the chegoimagon mountains. it is overlaid, in other parts, by a stratum of gray or neutral-colored sandstone, of uncommon thickness, which appears in various promontories along the shore, and, at the distance of ninety miles from point iroquois, constitutes a lofty perpendicular and caverned wall, upon the water's edge, called the pictured rocks. so obvious a change in the geological character of the rock strata, in passing from lake huron to lake superior, prepares the observer to expect a corresponding one in the imbedded minerals and other natural features--an expectation which is realized during the first eighty leagues, in the discovery of various minerals. the first appearances of copper are seen at keweena point, two hundred and seventy miles beyond the sault de ste. marie, where the debris and pebbles along the shore of the lake contain native copper disseminated in particles varying in size from a grain of sand to a mass of two pounds' weight. many of the detached stones of this point are also colored green by the carbonate of copper, and the rock strata exhibit traces of the same ore. these indications continue to the river ontonagon, which has long been noted for the large masses of native copper found upon its banks, and about the contiguous country. this river is one of the largest of thirty tributaries, mostly small, which flow into the lake between point iroquois and fond du lac. it originates in a district of mountainous country intermediate between the mississippi river and lakes huron and superior. after running in a northern direction for about one hundred and twenty miles, it enters the latter at the computed distance of fifty miles west of the portage of keweena, in north latitude ° ´ ´´, according to the observations of capt. douglass. it is connected, by portages, with the monomonee river of green bay, and with the chippewa river of the mississippi. at its mouth there is a village of chippewa indians of sixteen families, who subsist chiefly on the fish taken in the river. their location, independent of that circumstance, does not appear to unite the ordinary advantages of an indian village of the region. a strip of alluvial land of a sandy character extends from the lake up the river three or four leagues, where it is succeeded by hills of a broken, sterile aspect, covered, chiefly, with a growth of pine, hemlock, and spruce. among these hills, which may be considered as lateral spurs of the porcupine mountains, the copper mines, so called, are situated, at the computed distance of thirty-two miles from the lake, and in the centre of a region characterized by its wild, rugged, and forbidding appearance. the large mass of native copper lies on the west bank of the river, at the water's edge, at the foot of an elevated bank, part of which appears to have slipped into the river, carrying with it the mass of copper, together with detached blocks of sienitic granite, trap-rock, and other species common to the soil at that place. the copper, which is in a pure and malleable state, lies in connection with serpentine rock, one face of which it almost completely overlays. it is also disseminated in masses and grains throughout the substance of the rock. the surface of the metal, unlike most oxidable metals which have been long exposed to the atmosphere, presents a metallic brilliancy, which is probably attributable to the attrition of the semi-annual floods of the river. the shape of the rock is very irregular; its greatest length is three feet eight inches; its greatest breadth, three feet four inches, with an average thickness of twelve inches. it may, altogether, contain eleven cubic feet.[ ] it exceeds, in size, the great mass of native iron found some years ago on the banks of red river, in louisiana. i have computed the weight of metallic copper in the rock at twenty-two hundred pounds, which is about one-fifth of the lowest estimate made of it by former visitors. henry, who visited it in , estimated its weight at five tons. the quantity may, however, have been much diminished since its discovery, and the marks of chisels and axes upon it, with the discovery of broken tools, prove that portions have been cut off and carried away. notwithstanding this reduction, it may still be considered one of the largest and most remarkable bodies of native copper on the globe, and is, so far as known, only exceeded in weight by a specimen found in a valley in brazil, weighing twenty-six hundred and sixty-six portuguese pounds. viewed as a subject of scientific interest, it presents illustrative proofs of an important character. its connection with a rock which is foreign to the immediate section of country where it lies,[ ] indicates a removal from its original bed; while the intimate connection of the metal and matrix, and the complete envelopment of masses of the copper by the rock, point to a common and contemporaneous origin, whether that be referable to volcanic agency or water. this conclusion admits of an obvious application to the beds of serpentine and other magnesian rock found in other parts of the lake. [ ] this copper rock now ( ) lies in the yard of the war office at washington. [ ] a locality of serpentine rock has since been discovered at presque isle, on lake superior. several other large masses of native copper have been found, either on this river or within the basin of the lake, at various periods since the country has been known, and taken into different parts of the united states and of europe. a recent analysis of one of these specimens, at the university of leyden, proves it to be native copper in a state of uncommon purity, and uncombined with any notable portion of either gold or silver. a mass of copper, weighing twenty-eight pounds, was discovered on an island in lake superior, eighty miles west of the ontonagon. it was taken to michilimackinac and disposed of. the war department was formerly supplied with a specimen from this mass, and the analysis above alluded to is also understood to have been made from a portion of it. a piece weighing twelve pounds was found at winnebago lake. other discoveries of this metal have been made, within the region, at various times and places. the existence of copper in the region of lake superior appears to have been known to the earliest travellers and voyagers. as early as , the baron la hontan, in concluding a description of lake superior, adds: "that, upon it, we also find copper mines, the metal of which is so fine and plentiful that there is not a seventh part lost from the ore."--_new voyages to north america_, london, . in , charlevoix passed through the lakes on his way to the gulf of mexico, and did not allow the mineralogy of the country to escape him. "large pieces of copper are found in some places on its banks [lake superior], and around some of the islands, which are still the objects of a superstitious worship among the indians. they look upon them with veneration, as if they were the presents of those gods who dwell under the waters. they collect their smallest fragments, which they carefully preserve, without, however, making any use of them. they say that formerly a huge rock of this metal was to be seen elevated a considerable height above the surface of the water, and, as it has now disappeared, they pretend that the gods have carried it elsewhere; but there is great reason to believe that, in process of time, the waves of the lake have covered it entirely with sand and slime. and it is certain that in several places pretty large quantities of this metal have been discovered without being obliged to dig very deep. during the course of my first voyage to this country, i was acquainted with one of our order (jesuits) who had been formerly a goldsmith, and who, while he was at the mission of sault de ste. marie used to search for this metal, and made candlesticks, crosses, and censers of it, for this copper is often to be met with almost entirely pure."--_journal of a voyage to north america._ in , captain carver procured several pieces of native copper on the shores of lake superior, or on the chippewa and st. croix rivers, which are noticed in his travels, without much precision, however, as to locality, &c. he did not visit the southern shores of lake superior, east of the entrance of the brulé, or goddard's river, but states that virgin copper is found on the ontonagon. of the north and northeastern shores, he remarks: "that he observed that many of the small islands were covered with copper _ore_, which appeared like beds of copperas, of which many tons lay in a small space."--_three years' travels, &c._ in (four years before the breaking out of the american revolution), a considerable body of native copper was dug out of the alluvial earth on the banks of the ontonagon river by two adventurers, of the names of henry and bostwick, and, together with a lump of silver ore of eight pounds' weight, it was transported to montreal, and from thence shipped to england, where the silver ore was deposited in the british museum, after an analysis had been made of a portion of it, by which it was determined to contain per cent. of silver. these individuals were members of a company which had been formed in england for the purpose of working the copper mines of lake superior. the duke of gloucester, sir william johnson, and other gentlemen of rank were members of this company. they built a vessel at point aux pins, six miles above the sault ste. marie, to facilitate their operations on the lake. a considerable sum of money was expended in explorations and digging. isle maripeau and the ontonagon were the principal scenes of their search. they found silver, in a detached form, at point iroquois, fifteen miles above the present site of fort brady. "hence," observes henry, "we coasted westward, but found nothing till we reached the ontonagon, where, besides the detached masses of copper formerly mentioned, _we saw much of the same metal imbedded in stone_. "proposing to ourselves to make a trial on the hill, till we were better able to go to work upon the solid rock, we built a house, and sent to the sault de ste. marie for provisions. at the spot pitched upon for the commencement of our operations, a green-colored water, which tinges iron of a copper color, issued from the hill, and this the miners called a _leader_. in digging, they found frequent masses of copper, some of which were of three pounds' weight. having arranged everything for the accommodation of the miners during the winter, we returned to the sault. "early in the spring of , we sent a boat-load of provisions, but it came back on the th day of june, bringing with it, to our surprise, the whole establishment of miners. they reported that, in the course of the winter, they had penetrated forty feet into the face of the hill, but, on the arrival of the thaw, the clay, on which, on account of its stiffness, they had relied, and neglected to secure it by supporters, had fallen in. that, from the detached masses of metal which, to the last, had daily presented themselves, they supposed there might be ultimately reached a body of the same, but could form no conjecture of its distance, except that it was probably so far off as not to be pursued without sinking an air shaft. and, lastly, that the work would require the hands of more men than could be fed in the actual situation of the country. "here our operations, in this quarter, ended. the metal was probably within our reach, but, if we had found it, the expense of carrying it to montreal must have exceeded its marketable value. it was never for the exportation of copper that our company was formed, but always with a view to the silver, which it was hoped the ores, whether of copper or lead, might in sufficient quantity contain."--_travels and adventures of alexander henry._ [in the summer of , being detained by head winds at the mouth of miner's river, on lake superior, i observed the names of several persons engraved on the sand rock, but much obliterated by the water's dashing over the rock. tradition represents that henry's miners were detained there, and that they made explorations of the river, which is named from the circumstance. the stream is a mere brook, coming over the shelving sand rock, which is a part of the precipitous range of the pictured rocks.] sir a. mackenzie passed through lake superior, on his first voyage of discovery, in . he remarks: "at the river tennagon (ontonagon) is found a quantity of virgin copper. the americans, soon after they got possession of the country, sent an agent thither; and i should not be surprised to hear of their employing people to work the mine. indeed, it might be well worthy the attention of the british subjects to work the mines on the north coast, though they are not supposed to be so rich as those on the south."--_voyages from montreal through the continent of north america._ it is difficult to conceive what, however, is apparent, from the references of dr. franklin to the subject, that the supposed mineral riches of lake superior had an important bearing on the discussions for settling the ultimate northern boundary of the united states. the british ambassadors had, it seems, from an old map which is before me, claimed a line through the straits of michilimackinac and the illinois and mississippi rivers, to the gulf of mexico. the attention of the united states government appears first to have been turned toward the subject during the administration of president john adams, when the sudden augmentation of the navy rendered the employment of copper in the equipment of ships an object of moment. a mission was therefore authorized to proceed to lake superior, of the success of which, as it has not been communicated to the public, nothing can, with certainty, be stated; but from inquiries which have been made during the recent expedition, it is rendered probable that the actual state of our indian relations, at the time, arrested the advance of the officer into the region where the most valuable beds of copper were supposed to exist, and that the specimens transmitted to government were procured through the instrumentality of some friendly indians, employed for the purpose. such are the lights which those who have preceded me in this inquiry have thrown upon the subject, all of which have operated in producing public belief in the existence of extensive copper mines on lake superior. travellers have generally coincided that the southern shore of the lake is most metalliferous, and that the ontonagon river may be considered as the seat of the principal mines. mr. gallatin, in his report on the state of american manufactures in , countenances the prevalent opinion, while it has been reiterated in some of our literary journals, and in the numerous ephemeral publications of the times, until public expectation has been considerably raised in regard to them. under these circumstances, the recent expedition under gov. cass entered the mouth of the ontonagon river on the th of june, having coasted along the southern shore of the lake from the head of the river st. mary. we spent four days upon the banks of that stream, in the examination of its mineralogy, during which the principal part of our party was encamped at the mouth of the river. gov. cass, accompanied by such persons as were necessary in the exploration, proceeded, in two light canoes, to the large mass of copper which has already been described. we found the river broad, deep, and gentle for a distance, and serpentine in its course; then becoming narrower, with an increased velocity of current, and, before reaching the copper rock, full of rapids and difficult of ascent. we left our canoes at a point on the rapids, and proceeded on foot, across a rugged tract of country, around which the river formed an extensive semicircle. we came to the river again at the locality of copper. in the course of this curve the river is separated into two branches of nearly equal size. the copper lies on the right-hand fork, and it is subsequently ascertained that this branch is intercepted by three cataracts, at which the river descends over precipitous cliffs of sandstone. the aggregate fall of water at these cataracts has been estimated at seventy feet. the channel of the river at the copper rock is rapid and shallow, and filled with detached masses of rock, which project above the water. the bed of the river is upon sandstone, similar to that under the palisades on the hudson. the waters are reddish, a color which they evidently owe to beds of ferruginous clay. the copper rock lies partly in the water. other details in the geological structure and appearance of the country are interesting; but they do not appear to demand a more particular consideration in this report. during our continuance upon this stream, we procured from an indian a separate mass of copper weighing nearly nine pounds; which will be forwarded to the war department. this specimen is partially enveloped with a crust of green carbonate of copper. small fragments of quartz and sand adhere to the under side, upon which it would appear to have fallen in a liquid state. several smaller pieces of this metal were procured during our excursion up the ontonagon, or along the shores of the lake east of this stream. it may be added that discoveries of masses of native copper, like those of gold and other metals, are generally considered indicative of the existence of mines in the neighborhood. the practical miner regards them as signs which point to larger bodies of the same metals, in the earth, and he is often determined by discoveries of this nature in the choice of the spot for commencing his labors. the predictions drawn from such evidence are more sanguine in proportion to the extent of the discovery. they are not, however, unerring indications, and appear liable to many exceptions. metallic masses are sometimes found at great distances from their original repositories; and the latter, on the contrary, sometimes occur in the earth, or imbedded in rock strata, where there have been no great external discoveries. from all the facts, which i have been able to collect on lake superior, and after a full deliberation upon them since my return, i have drawn the following conclusions:-- . that the diluvial soil along the banks of the ontonagon river, extending to its source, and embracing the contiguous region, which gives origin to the monomonee river of green bay, and to the wisconsin, chippewa, and st. croix rivers of the mississippi, contains very frequent, and several extraordinary masses of native, or metallic copper. but that no body of this metal, which is sufficiently extensive to become the object of profitable mining operations, has yet been found at any particular place. this conclusion is supported by the facts adduced, and, so far as theoretical aids can be relied upon, by an application of those facts to the theories of mining. a further extent of country might have been embraced, along the shores of lake superior, but the same remark appears applicable to it. . that a more intimate knowledge of the mineralogical resources of the country, may be expected to result in the discovery of valuable ores of copper, in the working of which occasional masses and veins of the native metal, may materially enhance the advantages of mining. this inference is rendered probable by the actual state of discoveries, and by the geological character of the country. these deductions embrace all i have to submit on the mineral geography of the country, so far as regards the copper mines. other considerations arise from the facilities which the country may present for mining--its adaptation to the purposes of agriculture--the state and disposition of the indian tribes, and other topics which a design to commence metallurgical operations would suggest. but i have not considered it incumbent upon me to enter into details upon these subjects. it may, in brief, be remarked that the remote situation of the country does not favor the pursuit of mining. it would require the employment of a military force to protect such operations. for, whatever may be their professions, the indian tribes of the north possess strong natural jealousies, and in situations so remote, are only to be restrained from an indulgence in malignant passions, by the fear of military chastisement. in looking upon the southern shore of lake superior, the period appears distant, when the advantages flowing from a military post upon that frontier, will be produced by the ordinary progress of our settlements--for it presents but few enticements for the agriculturalist. a considerable portion of the shore is rocky, and its alluvions are, in general, of too sandy and light a character for profitable husbandry. with an elevation of six hundred and forty-one feet above the atlantic, and drawing its waters from territories situated north of the forty-sixth degree of north latitude, lake superior cannot be represented as enjoying a climate favorable to the productions of the vegetable kingdom. its forest trees are chiefly those of the fir kind, mixed with varieties of the betula, lynn, oak, and maple. meteorological observations indicate, however, a warm summer, the average observed heat of the month of june being . but the climate is subject to a long and severe winter, and to sudden transitions of the summer temperature. we saw no indian corn among the natives. a country lacking a fertile soil, may still become a rich mining country, like the county of cornwall in england, the hartz mountains in germany, and a portion of missouri, in our own country. but this deficiency must be compensated by the advantages of geographical position, a contiguous or redundant population, partial districts of good land, or a good market. to these, the mineral districts of lake superior can advance but a feeble claim, while it lies upwards of three hundred miles beyond the utmost point of our settlements, and in the occupation of savage tribes whose hostility has been so recently manifested. concerning the variety, importance, and extent of its latent mineral resources, i think little doubt can remain. every fact which has been noticed tends to strengthen the belief that future observations will indicate extensive mines upon its shores, and render it an attractive field of mineralogical discovery. in the event of mining operations, the facilities of a ready transportation of the crude ores to the sault de ste. marie, will point out that place as uniting, with a commanding geographical position, superior advantages for the reduction of the ores, and the general facilities of commerce. at this place, a fall of twenty-two feet, in the river, in the distance of half a mile, creates sufficient power to drive hydraulic works to any extent; while the surrounding country is such as to admit of an agricultural settlement. i accompany this report with a geological sketch of a vertical section of the left bank of the mississippi at st. peter's, embracing a formation of native copper. this formation was first noticed by the officers of the garrison, who directed the quarrying of stone at this spot. the masses of copper found are small, none exceeding a pound in weight. i have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your ob't servant, henry r. schoolcraft. vii. _observations on the geology and mineralogy of the region embracing the sources of the mississippi river, and the great lake basins, during the expedition of . illustrated with geological profiles, and numerous diagrams and views of scenery._ by henry r. schoolcraft, u. s. geol. and minera. exp. to the hon. john c. calhoun, _secretary of war_. washington, april , . sir: i have the honor, herewith, to submit the general report of my observations on the geology and mineralogy of the region visited by the recent expedition to the sources of the mississippi river. i transmitted to the department on the th of november, , a report on the existence of copper mines in the basin of lake superior, together with specimens of the native metal, which were politely taken charge of at albany by general stephen van rensselaer, m. c. will it be consistent with the views of the department to print these reports? i have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, henry r. schoolcraft. reply. war department, april , . sir: i have received your interesting report on the geology and mineralogy of that section of the western country embraced by the late expedition of gov. cass; and, although i have not had it in my power, as yet, to peruse it with attention, i will see you, at any time you please, on the subject of your letter respecting it. i am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, j. c. calhoun. mr. henry r. schoolcraft. albany, march, . sir: agreeably to your appointment as a member of the expedition to explore the sources of the mississippi, by the way of the lakes, i proceeded to join the party organized for that purpose at detroit, by his excellency lewis cass. diurnal notes were kept of the changes in the geological features of the regions visited; of the mineralogy of the country; and of such facts as could be ascertained, with the means at command, to determine its general physical character and value.[ ] [ ] the two geological profiles of the mississippi valley and the lake basins accompanying the original are here omitted; as, also, most of the illustrative views of scenery which accompanied the original. i have heretofore reported to you the facts and appearances which indicate the existence of the ores of copper, and of valuable deposits of copper in its native form, in the basin of lake superior--a point which constituted one of the primary objects to which my attention was called--and i now proceed to state such particulars in the topics confided to me as fell within my observation. in generalizing the facts, it must be observed that the expedition had objects of a practical character relative to the number, disposition, and feelings to be learned respecting the indian tribes; that the transit over large portions of the country was necessarily rapid; and that few opportunities of elaborate or long-continued observations occurred at any one point. the topography was committed to a gentleman who is every way qualified for that topic, who was well supplied with instruments, and who will do ample justice to that department. i make these remarks to prepare you for a class of observations which are necessarily technical, and quite imperfect, and to which it is felt that it will not be an easy task to impart a high degree of interest, whatever may have been the anticipations. to prepare the mind to appreciate the account which i give of changes and developments in the physical structure of the country, it may be observed that the american continent has experienced some of the most striking mutations in its structure _at_ and _north_ of the great chain of lakes. that chain is itself rather the evidence of disruptions and upheavals of formations, which give its northern coasts, to some extent, the character of ancient--very ancient--volcanic areas of action. these lakes form--except erie and ontario--the general boundaries between the primitive and secondary strata. but, however striking this fact may, at particular localities, appear--such as at the straits of st. mary, of which the east and west shores are, geologically, of different construction--yet nothing in the grand phenomena of the whole region visited is so remarkable as the boulder stratum, which is spread, generally, from the north to the south. some of the blocks of rock are enormous, and would seem to defy any known cause of removal from their parent beds; others are smaller, and have had their angles removed, and far the greater number of these transported boulders are quite smooth and rounded by the force of attrition. this drift stratum has been tossed and scattered from its northern latitudes over the surface of the limestones and sandstones of the south. it is mixed with the diluvial soils, in michigan and elsewhere; but it is evident that, in its diffusion south, the heavier pieces have settled first, while comparatively minute boulders have been carried over or dropped in the plains and prairies of ohio, illinois, and more southerly regions. nobody, with an eye to geology, can mistake the heavy boulder deposits which mark the southern shores of huron, and become still more abundant on the st. mary's, the shores of lake superior, and along the channels of the river st. louis and the upper mississippi. lake superior has been the central theatre of volcanic upheavals; but they must have operated at very remote periods, for there is not only no evidence of existing volcanic fires, but the heavy debris everywhere bespeaks long intervals of quietude, and slow elementary degradation. some of the upheavals were made after the deposition of the sandstone rocks, which are, as at the foot of the porcupine mountains, raised up to stand nearly vertical; while other districts of the granitic rock, as at granite point, had been elevated before the deposition of the sandstone rock, which is accurately adjusted to its asperities, and remains quite horizontal. the granitical series of strata, which is apparent in northern new york in the kayaderasseras mountains, and at the thousand islands of the st. lawrence, reappear on the north shores of huron and superior, underlie the bed of the latter, and rise up in the rough coast between the chocolate river and kewaiwenon, cross the mississippi at the petite roche, above the falls of st. anthony, and put out spurs as low down as the source of the fox, the st. croix, and the head of the st. peter's rivers. these glimpses of some of the leading points in the geological structure of the regions visited, will enable you to follow my details more understandingly. these details begin at detroit. from this place the expedition passed, by water, along the southern shores of lakes st. clair, huron, and superior, to the fond du lac; thence, up the river st. louis, to the savanne summit. thence we proceeded across the portage to sandy lake, which has an outlet into the mississippi, and followed up the latter, through the lesser lake winnipek, to the entrance of the turtle river, in cass, or upper, red cedar lake, which is laid down by pike in north latitude ° ´ ´´.[ ] the state of the water was unfavorable to going higher. [ ] pike's expedition. this observation is corrected by capt. douglass to ° ´ ´´; the point of observation being, however, a few miles south. from this point, which formed the terminus of the expedition, we descended the mississippi, making portages around the falls of pekagama and st. anthony, to prairie du chien. an excursion was made by me down the mississippi to the mineral district of dubuque. we ascended the wisconsin, to the portage into the fox river, and traced the latter down to its entrance into green bay. at this point, the expedition separated; a part proceeding north, through the bay, to michilimackinac, and a part going south, along the west shores of lake michigan, to chicago, the latitude of which is placed by capt. douglass in ° ´ ´´. at this place, a further division took place. dr. wolcott, having reached his station, remained. governor cass proceeded across the peninsula of michigan to detroit on horseback, leaving capt. douglass and myself to complete the survey of lake michigan. we rejoined the northern party detached at green bay, under mr. trowbridge and mr. doty, at michilimackinac; and, after repassing the southern coast of lakes huron and st. clair, reached detroit. topographically, a very wide expanse of wilderness country had been seen. the entire length of route computed to have been traversed, exceeds four thousand miles, in the course of which we had crossed nineteen portages, over which all the baggage and canoes were conveyed on the shoulders of men. we encountered actual resistance from the indians at only one point.[ ] i kept my journals continually before me, and had my pencil in hand every morning as soon as it was light enough to discern objects. i began my geological observations at detroit. [ ] _vide_ narrative journal. this ancient city, founded by the french in , stands upon an argillaceous stratum, which is divided, topographically, into an upper and lower bank. wherever this clay has been examined by digging, it discloses pebbles of various species of rock, denoting it, as far as these extend at least, to be a part of the great drift stratum. in digging a well near the old council house, in the northeast part of the city, the top soil appeared to be less than two feet. the workmen then passed through a stratum of blue clay, of eight or ten feet, when they struck a vein of coarse sand, six or eight inches in thickness, through which the water entered profusely. the digging was carried through another bed of blue clay, twenty or twenty-two feet in depth, when the men reached a stratum of fine yellow sand, into which they dug three feet and stopped, having found sufficient water. the whole depth of the well is thirty-three feet. the water is clear and rapid. no vegetable or other remains were found, and but few primitive pebbles. in another well, situated near the centre of the town, the depth of which is twelve feet, the top soil was found to be two feet and a half; then a bed of gravel, seven feet; a vein of blue clay, eight inches, and the residue a whitish-blue clay, very compact and hard; a copious supply of water having been found. the water is, however, slightly colored, and is of a quality called hard. in some places, this clay drift yields balls of iron pyrites, which renders the water unpalatable. at what depth the rock would be struck, if the excavation were continued, can only be conjectured. a well has been dug, a short distance below the city, upwards of sixty feet, chiefly through clay and gravel, without reaching the rock; but abraded fragments of granite and hornblende rocks were thrown from the greatest depths. the bed of the river opposite the city has been stated to consist of limestone rock, but without any proof or much probability. from the fact of its affording a good anchorage to vessels, i am inclined to think that it is wholly composed of clay and gravel. detroit fluviatile clay.--the argillaceous stratum of detroit extends along both banks of the river to its head; passes around the shores of lake st. clair, and up the river st. clair to fort gratiot--a distance of seventy miles. in this distance there are some moderate elevations and depressions in the surfaces of the soil, but no very striking changes in its general character and composition. the boulder stratum is prominent at gros point, at the foot of lake st. clair, where the shore exhibited some heavy blocks of granite, and other foreign rock. st. clair flats of plastic clay.--at the mouth of the river st. clair, the current is divided into several channels, and spread over a considerable tract of low ground, which is covered with grasses and aquatic plants. these channels have worn their way through beds of tough blue clay, called the flats, over which there is sometimes not over seven feet eight inches of water in the ship channel. they consequently form an impediment to commerce. the depth is, however, always increased in the spring season, when twelve inches more may be generally relied on. frequently, during the droughts of summer, a change of wind, and its steady continuance for some time, will allow ships to pass without lighters. the permanent removal of this bar is, however, an object of national importance, which cannot but be felt, as the tonnage of the lakes increases. ancient dune; a buried forest.--the principal spot where the lands, in the immediate vicinity of the water, assume any considerable or abrupt elevation, is included between black river of the st. clair and lake huron. here the outlet of the lake, which is rapid, washes the base of a ridge, or ancient dune, elevated fifty or sixty feet above the water. fort gratiot occupies the upper part of this elevation. the lower part consists of the blue clay stratum, corresponding in character with that found in the wells of detroit. it is overlaid by a deposit of sand, forming two-thirds of the entire height. this elevation is crowned with a light forest of oak and other species. at the line of junction between the sand and clay, a number of trees are seen to be horizontally imbedded, projecting their roots and trunks in a striking manner above the water. these trees, on inspection, are merely preserved, not petrified. they appear to have been exposed to view, in modern times, by the wearing away of the bank. certainly, none of the old travellers mention them. the mode of this formation may be clearly seen. winds, at some ancient period, have been the agent of blowing the sands, as they were washed up by the lake, and redepositing them on part of a prostrated forest, resting directly on the clay stratum. the trees, thus buried in dry sand, have been preserved. in process of time, the river encroached upon these antique beds, exposing them to view. there are also antique fresh-water shells found in similar positions near this spot. no rock is, thus far, found _in sitû_ in ascending the lakes. the old surface of the country is wholly of diluvial formation, except where it shows lake action. huron coast from fort gratiot to michilimackinac.--about two hundred and thirty miles lie stretched out between these two points. lake huron charms the eye, with the view of its freshness and oceanic expanse. but the entrance is without rock scenery, and the student of its geology must be a patient gleaner along its shores. long coasts of sand and gravel extend before the eye, and they are surmounted, at a moderate elevation, with a dense foliage, which limits the view of its structure to a narrow line. portions of this coast are heavily loaded with the primitive debris[ ] from the north. these are found, in some places, in heavy masses, but all are more or less abraded, showing that they have been transported from their original beds. in one of these, i observed crystals of staurotide. [ ] in , an indian brought me a specimen of native silver found on this part of the coast. it was imbedded in a boulder of mixed granite and steatite. the first section of this coast reaches from fort gratiot to point aux barques, a distance of about seventy-five miles. nearly midway lies the white rock, a very large boulder of whitish-gray semi-crystalline limestone, lying off the shore about half a mile, in water of about one and a half fathom's depth. it is the effect of gulls lighting upon this rock, and not the intensity of the color of the stone, that has originated the name--which is a translation of the _roche blanche_ of the older _voyageurs_. the detroit clay-formation still characterizes the coast. first emergence of rock, in place, above the surface.--we are passing, in this section, along and near to the outcrop of the secondary strata of the peninsula, but these strata are covered with a heavy deposit of diluvial clays, sands, and pebble drift. the first emergence of fixed rocks, above the line of the drift, occurs after passing elm creek in the advance to ship point (_pointe aux barques_). it is a species of coarse gray, loosely compacted sandstone, in horizontal layers. this rock continues to characterize the coast to and around the ship point promontory into saganaw bay. it possesses a few fossil remains of corallines; but the rock is not of sufficient compactness and durability for architectural purposes. it is conjectured to be one of the outlying series of the coal measures, of which this coast exhibits, further on, other evidences. saganaw bay.--the phenomena of this large body of water, which is some sixty miles long, appear to indicate an original rent in the stratification, having its centre of action very deep. if the peninsula of michigan be likened to a huge fish's head, this bay may be considered as its open mouth. we crossed the inner bay from point aux chenes, where it is estimated to be twenty miles across.[ ] the traverse is broken by an island, to which the indians, with us, applied the name of sha-wan-gunk.[ ] it is composed of a dark-colored limestone, of dull and earthy fracture and compact structure. it presents broken and denuded edges at the water level. i observed in it nodular masses of chalcedony and calc. spar. the margin of the island bears fragments of the boulder stratum. [ ] ships make the traverse where it is sixty miles wide. [ ] the reason of this name i did not learn. it is apparently the same name as that bestowed on a mountain range in orange and ulster counties, new york, lying south of the catskills, where it is sometimes called, for short, shongum. the meaning is, evidently, something like south-land-place. the local _unk_ may be translated hill, island, continent, &c. &c. highlands of sauble.--on crossing the bay, these highlands present themselves to view in the distance. they are the north-eastern verge of the most elevated central strata of the peninsula. their structure can only be inferred from the formations along the margin of the lake, extending by thunder bay and presque isle, and the isles of bois blanc and round island to michilimackinac. at thunder bay, the compact limestone of the saganaw islands reappears, and is constantly in sight from this point to presque isle. it exists in connection with bituminous shale, at an island in thunder bay. it is of a dark carbonaceous character on the main opposite middle island, at a point which is called by the indians _sho-sho-ná-bi-kó-king_, or place of the smooth rock. i noticed at this point the cyathophyllum helianthoides in abundance, and easily detached them from the rock. the more compact portions of this formation in the approach to presque isle, disclosed the ammonite, two species of the gorgonia, and the fragment of a species of chambered shell, whose character is indeterminate. much of the coast was footed, as the winds were adverse, and its debris thus subjected to a careful scrutiny. wherever the limestone was broken up or receded from the water, long lines of yellow beach-sand and lake-gravel, including members of the erratic block stratum, intervened. in some localities, local beds of iron sand occur. michilimackinac.[ ]--the approach to this island was screened from our view by the woody shores and forests of bois blanc, an island of some twelve miles in length lying off the main land; and the view of it first burst upon us in the narrow channel between it and round island. it is a striking geological monument of mutations. here the calcareous rock, which had before exhibited itself in low ledges along the shore is piled up in masses, which reach an extreme altitude of three hundred and twelve feet. about two hundred feet of this elevation is precipitous on its south, east, and west edge. a hundred feet or more is piled up on its centre, part rock and part soil, in a crowning shape. the highest part of this apex, which is surmounted by the ruins of fort holmes, consists of the drift stratum, among which are boulders of sienite, and other foreign rocks. a locality of these abraded boulder-rocks, near the dousman farm, is worthy of a visit from all who take an interest in the phenomena of boulders dispersed over the continent. the fishermen represent the water around this island to be eighty fathoms in depth. yet, across these waters, to the utmost altitude of the island, these blocks of foreign rock have been transported. no force capable of effecting this is now known. and the argument of their having been transported on cakes of ice, in the nascent periods of the globe, is rendered stronger by these appearances than any geological proofs which i have yet seen. [ ] the name, as pronounced by the indians, is mich-en-i-mack-in-ong, meaning place of turtle spirits, a notion of their mythology. it was anciently deemed a sacred spot, or one where monetoes revealed themselves. distinctive character of the mackinac limestone.--nothing appears so completely to puzzle the observer as the first glance at this rock. it is different in appearance from the calcareous rocks, to which my attention has heretofore been called in western new york, and in missouri and illinois. the difficulty is to find a point of comparison. i walked entirely around the island, partly in water, the northern shores being comparatively low. there appeared to be three layers. the first, which rises up from the depths of the lake, scarcely, if at all, reaches the water level. upon this is superimposed a vesicular rock, of which the vesicles are filled with carbonate of lime in the state of agaric mineral. by exposure to the air, this substance readily decomposes, and assumes an almost limey whiteness, and sometimes a complete pulverulent state. the reticular, or vesicular lines, by which the mass is held together, are thus weakened, and large masses of the craggy parts fall, and assume the condition of debris at the water's edge. some conditions of the reticulated filaments are covered with minute crystals of cal. spar; others of minutely crystallized quartz. there appear, at other localities, in low positions, layers of quartz in the condition of a coarse bluish, flinty, striped agate. the entire stratum appears to be a reproduced mass, which is plainly denoted, if i mistake not, by some imbedded masses of an elder lime-rock. the whole stratum is too shelly and fissured to be of value for economical purposes. it yields neither quicklime nor building stone. fort mackinac is erected on the summit of this stratum. the two objects of curiosity, called the arched rock, and the point called robinson's folly, are evidences of this tendency of the cliffs to disintegration. the superior stratum which constitutes the nucleus of the fort holmes' summit, contains more silex, diffused throughout its structure. it is, however, of a loose, though hard and shelly character; and has, in the geological mutations of the island been chiefly demolished and washed away. the monumental mass of this period of demolition, called the sugar loaf, is a proof that it contained, either by its shape, or otherwise, a superior power of resisting these means of ancient prostration. striking as it now appears, this is the simple story which it tells. its apex is probably level, or nearly so, with the fort holmes's summit. over the whole island, after these demolitions, the drift stratum was deposited. the german geognosts apply the term _mushelkalk_, to this species of calcareous rock. it is, apparently, the magnesian limestone of english writers. ancient water lines.--such marks appear on the most compact parts of the cliffs, denoting the water to have stood, during the ancient boundaries of the lake, at higher levels. lake action.--it is known that strong currents set into the straits of michilimackinac, and out of it, from lake michigan, at this point. the fishermen, who set their nets at four hundred feet in the waters, often bring up, entangled in their nets, large compact masses of limestone, which have been fretted into a kind of lacework, by the rotatory motion of little pebbles and grains of sand, kept in perpetual motion by the water at the bottom of the lake. organic impressions.--there are cast up among the lake debris of this island, casts of some species of orthocaratites, ammonites, and madrepores, which appear to be derived from the calcareous rocks in place in the basin of lake huron. but the rock strata of the island itself appear to be singularly destitute of these remains. the only species which i have noticed, is one that was thrown up from a well attempted to be dug, on the apex of fort holmes, by the british troops, while they held possession of the island in , , and . but this is uniformly fragmentary. it has the precise appearance of the head of a trilobite, but never reveals the whole of the lateral lobes, nor any of the essential connecting parts. it is silicious. gyseus formation.--evidences of the extension of this formation to this vicinity were brought to my notice; in consequence of which i visited the st. martin's islands, which belong to the mackinac group. masses of gypsum were found imbedded in the soil, both of the fibrous and compact variety. these islands are low diluvial formations. similar masses are found on goose island; and the mineral has been found at point st. ignace on the main land. taken in connection with the discovery of this mineral, at a subsequent part of the journey on grand river, the indications of the series of the saline group of rocks, so prevalent in the mississippi valley, are quite clear up to this extreme point, which is, however, very near the northern verge of this group. honeycombed rocks.--as evidences of existing lake action, it has already been mentioned that the fishermen bring up, from great depths in the straits, pieces of compact limestone, completely fretted and excavated by small pebbles, which are kept in motion by the strong currents which prevail at profound depths. the process of their formation by these currents is such, as in some instances to give the appearance of cellepores, and analogous forms of organic life. i have seen nothing in these carious forms which does not reveal the mechanical action of these waters. pseudomorphic forms.--amongst the limestone debris, of recent date, found on these shores, are pieces of rock which have an appearance as if they had been punctured with a lancet, or blade of a penknife. these incisions are numerous, and from their regularity, appear to have been moulded on some crystals which have subsequently decayed. yet, there are difficulties in supposing such to have been the origin of these small angular orifices. whenever these masses are examined by obtaining a fresh fracture, they are found to consist of the compact gray and semi-granular rock of the inferior mackinac group, but in no instance of the vesicular or silicious varieties. these blocks appear to be identical in character with the white rock, before noticed. north shore of lake huron.--the next portion of the country examined was that of the north shores of the lake, extending from michilimackinac to point detour, the west cape of the straits of st. mary's, a distance computed to be forty miles. the calcareous rock, such as it appears in the inferior stratum of mackinac, extends along this coast. the first three leagues of it, consist of an open traverse across an arm of the lake. goose island offers a shelter to the voyager, which is generally embraced. it consists of an accumulation of pebbles and boulders on a reef, with a light soil, resting on the lower limestone. it does not, perhaps, at any point, rise to an elevation of more than eight or ten feet above the water. outard point, a short league, or rather three miles further, exhibits the same underlying formation of rock, which is found wherever solid points put out into the lake, during the entire distance. the chain of islands called chenos, extends about twenty miles, and affords shelter during storms to boatmen and canoemen, who are compelled to pass this coast. large masses of the rock, with its angles quite entire, lie along parts of the shore, and appear to have been but recently detached. the intervals between these blocks and points of coast, are formed of the loose sand and pebbles of the lake, which are more or less affected by every tempest. the only organic remains and impressions are drift-specimens, which have been driven about by the waves, and are abraded. broken valves of the anadonta, occasionally found in similar positions, denote that this species exists in the region, but that the outer localities of the coast are entirely unfavorable to their growth. drummond island.--this island, now in the possession of british troops, who removed from michilimackinac in , is the western terminus of the manatouline chain. we did not visit it, but learn from authentic sources, that it is a continuation of the nether mackinac limestone--and that the locality abounds in loose petrifactions, which appear to have belonged to an upper stratum of the rock, now disrupted.[ ] [ ] dr. john bigsby, in a memoir read before the london geological society, has described and figured several of these. in a memoir by charles stokes, esq., of london, read before this society in june, , some of its most striking fossils are figured and described, with references to the prior discoveries of dr. bigsby, captain bayfield, and dr. richardson. six new species of the arctinoceras, and five of the huronia, ormoceras, and orthocerata, are figured and described in the most splendid manner. this memoir is essential to all who would understand its fossil history, and that of the north generally. straits of st. mary's.--these straits, and the river which falls into their head, connect lakes huron and superior. they appear to occupy the ancient line of junction between the great calcareous and granitic series of rocks on the continent. the limestone, which has been noticed along the north shore of the huron from michilimackinac, and which continues, with interruptions of water only, from detour to drummond island, and the manatoulines, is to be noticed up the straits as high as isle a la crosse, where the last locality of a pure carbonate of lime appears to occur. the island of st. joseph is chiefly primitive rock, and its south end is heavily loaded with granitic, porphyritic, and quartz boulders. the north shores of the river, opposite and above this island, are entirely of the granitic series, which continues to gros cape of lake superior. on reaching the _nebeesh_,[ ] or sailor's encampment island, sandstone rocks of a red color present themselves, and are found also on the american side of the river, and continue to characterize it to the falls, or sault de ste. marie,[ ] and to point iroquois and isle parisien in lake superior. [ ] strong water. [ ] reached somewhere about , by the french missionaries. the sault of st. mary's is _upon_ and _over_ this red sandstone. the river makes several successive leaps, of a few feet at a time, in its central channel, falling, altogether, about twenty-two feet in half a mile. this gives it a foaming appearance, and the volume pours a heavy murmur on the ear.[ ] it is, of course, a complete interruption to the navigation of vessels, which can, however, come to anchor near its foot, while barges may be pushed up, empty, on the american shore. the water-power created by such a change of level, is such as must commend the spot, at a future period, to manufacturers, lumbermen, and miners. the foot of these falls is heavily incumbered, both with masses of the disrupted sand-rock[ ] and granitic and conglomerate boulders. [ ] in , lieutenant charles f. morton, u. s. a., sent to my office a mass of this red sand rock, of about twelve inches diameter, perfectly round and ball-shaped, which he had directed one of the soldiers to pick up, in an excursion among the islands of the lower st. mary's. this ball was a monument of that physical throe which had originally carried this river through the sandstone pass of st. mary's, having been manifestly rounded in what geologists have called "a pocket hole" in the rock at the falls, and afterwards carried away, with the disrupted rocks, down the valley. [ ] the indiana call it _pauwateeg_ (water leaping on the rocks), when speaking of the phenomenon, and _pawating_, when referring to the place of it. red sandstone of lake superior.--that this is the old red sandstone, may be inferred simply from the fact that, although deposited originally in horizontal beds, its position has been disturbed in many localities. plastic clay stratum of the lakes.--the northern extremity of muddy lake--a sheet of water some twenty miles in length--is the head of the straits, and the beginning of the river st. mary's. this sheet of water has the property of being rendered slightly whitish, or turbid, by continuous winds. its bottom appears to be formed of the same plastic blue clay which obstructs the passage of vessels of large draft on the st. clair flats, and forms an impediment of a similar kind in this river in lake george. this stratum seems to be the result of causes not now in operation. if dredged through, or excavated, there is no reason to suppose it would again accumulate; for the waters of the lake are clear and pure, and carry down no deposit of the kind. these clay deposits remain to attest physical changes which are past. they denote the demolition of formations of slate in the upper regions, which have been broken down and washed away when the dominion of the waters was far more potential than they now are. this formation is favorable to the growth of some species of fresh-water shells. i observed several species of the anadonta and the plenorbis, and think, from the broken valves, that research would develop others. porphyry and conglomerate boulders.--a formation of red jasper, in common white quartz, exists, in the bed of intersection, on the southeastern foot of sugar island. the fragments of jasper are of a bright vermil red, quite opaque, and have preserved their angles. i had observed fragments of the formation along the shores of the lower part of the straits, and even picked up some specimens, entirely abraded, however, on the south shores of the huron, between the white rock and michilimackinac--a proof of the course of the drift. the granitic conglomerates appear quite conclusive, one would think, of the results of fusion. the attraction of aggregation would seem inadequate to hold together such diverse masses. in these curious and striking masses we see the red feldspathic granite, black and shining hornblende rock, white fatty quartz, and striped jasper, held together as firmly, and polished by attrition as completely, as if they were--what they are not--the results of crystallization in this aggregate form. erratic block group.--wherever, in fact, the geologist sets his foot, on the shores of the upper lakes, he finds himself on the great drift stratum, and cannot but revert to that era when waters, on a grander scale, swept over these plains, and the lakes played rampantly over wider areas.[ ] [ ] during a subsequent residence of eleven years at this point, the excavations made on both sides of the river, in digging wells, canals made by the military, &c., fully demonstrated the truth of this general observation. in these positions, it was evident that some greatly superior force of watery removal, such as does not now exist, had heaped together particles of similar matters, according to laws which govern moving, compacted masses of water, leaving clay to settle according to the laws of diffused clay, sand of sand, and pebbles and boulders of pebbles and boulders. in their change and redeposit, gravity has evidently been the primary cause, modified by compressed currents, attraction, and probably those secret and still undeveloped magnetic and electric influences which exist in connection with astronomical phenomena. that the earth's surface, "standing out of the water and in the water," has been disrupted and preyed upon by oceanic power, no one, at this day of geological illumination, will deny. basin of lake superior.--we entered this island sea as if by a kind of geological gate, in which the sandstone cliffs of point iroquois, on the one hand, stand opposite to the granitical hills of gross cape on the other. in order to conceive of its geology, it may subserve the purposes of description to compare it to a vast basonic crater. the rim of this crater has been estimated, by sir alexander mackenzie, at fifteen hundred miles. the primitive formations of labrador and hudson's bay coasts come up, so as to form the eastern and northern sides of the rim, around which they stand in cliffs of sienitic greenstone and hornblendic rocks, in some places a thousand feet high. on its south and southwest shores, this formation of the elder class of rocks forms also a considerable portion of the coast; as in the rough tract of granite point, the porcupine and iron river mountains, and the primitive tract west of chegoimegon, or lapointe. it will serve to denote the broken character of this rim, if we state that the entire plain of the lake, running against and fitting to this rim, was originally filled up with the red, gray, and mottled sandstone, which gave way and fell in at localities west of the great keweena peninsula, converting its bottom into an anteclinal axis. volcanic action, to which this disturbance in its westerly bearings may be attributed, appears to have thrown up the trap-rocks of the pic, of the porcupine chain, of the isle royal group, and other trap islands, and the long peninsula of keweena. this system of forces appears to have spent itself from the northeast to the southwest. the shocks brought with them the elements of the copper and other metallic bodies which characterize the trap-rock. they exhausted their power, on the american side, west of the granitic tract of chocolate and dead rivers, and the totosh and cradle-top mountains. the most violent disturbance took place at the west of the keweena peninsula, and thence it was propagated in the direction of the higher ontonagon, the iron, and the montreal rivers. this disturbance of the level of the sandstone produced undulations, which are observable on the st. mary's, where the variation from a level is not more than eight or ten degrees. they left portions of it--as between isle au train and the firesteel river--undisturbed; and they threw other portions of it--as between iron and montreal rivers--almost completely on their edges. the entire north shore from gargontwa to the old grand portage, inclusive of the michepicotin and pic regions, cannot be particularly alluded to, as that part of the coast was not visited; but the accounts of observers represent it as consisting of trap-rocks. without the application of such forces, it appears impossible to understand the geology of this lake, or to account for the sectional and disturbed formations. the lake itself, whose depth is great, and which has an extreme length of about miles, by an extreme width of some , is endowed with powerful means of existing elemental action. this consists almost entirely of the force of its winds and long, sweeping waves. its bottom may, in this light, be looked upon as an immense mortar or triturating apparatus, in which its sandstones, trap-boulders, and pebbles are driven about and comminuted. this power has greatly changed its configuration, and the process of these mutations is daily going on. it is only by such a power of geological action that we can account for the powerful demolitions and inroads which it has made upon some parts of its southern borders. the coasts of the pictured rocks, which have a prominent development of about to miles, consist in horizontal strata of coarse gray sandstone, of little cohering power. the effect of waves beating upon rocks is to communicate a curved line. this has operated to excavate numerous and extensive caves into the coast. these, after reaching hundreds of feet, have in some cases united. the effect is to isolate portions of the coast, and to leave it in fearful pinnacles, having many of the architectural characters of gothic or doric ruins. the portion of coast immediately west of grand marrais is scarcely less unique. it denotes the effect of the prostrating power of the lake in another way. the sandstone of parts of the coast, ground down into yellow sand by this vast machinery, is lifted up by the winds as soon as it reaches the point of dryness, and heaped up into vast dunes. standing trees are buried in these tempests of sand, and its effect is, for about nine miles along the coast, to present, at an elevation of several hundred feet, a scene of arid desolation, which can only be equalled by the arabic deserts. a dyke of trap seems once to have extended from the north shore to point keweena; but, if so, it has been prostrated, and its contents--veins and deposits, silicious and metallic--scattered profusely around the shores of the lakes. a cause less general is hardly sufficient to account for the wide distribution of fragments of the copper veins and vein-stones which have so long been noticed as characters of this lake. the basal remains of this antique dyke form the peninsula of keweena. the tempests beating against this barrier from the northwest, have ripped up terrific areas from the solid rock, and left its covering, amygdaloid and rubblestones, in fantastic patches upon the more solid parts, or constituting islands in front of them. structure of its southern coast.--the estimated distance from sault ste. marie to fond du lac is a fraction over miles. the sandstone, as it appears in the falls of the st. mary's, does not appear to be entirely level. it exhibits an undulation of about ° or °, dipping to west-northwest. two instances of this waved stratification of the lake superior sandstone deserve notice. the first terminates at the intersection of red sand rock at la point des grande sables with the beginning of the horizontal strata of the pictured rocks. we again observe an inclination of the strata of a few degrees at grand island, which is moreingfish river, and appears to dip at isle aux trains, about twenty miles northeast. the scenery is peculiarly soft and pleasing in passing the huron islands, a granitic group, and directing the view, as in the sketch, to the coast and the rough granitical hills rising behind huron bay. the strata are level, as shown above, around the bay of presque isle and granite point, and continue so, resting on the roots of the granitical tract of the _tötosh_, or schoolcraft, and cradletop mountains, and at point aux beignes, and keweena bay. this level position of the rock is preserved to the south cape of the shallow bay of the bete gre, on the north, at which the trap-dykes of the peninsula first begin; and so continues after passing that rugged coast of the vitreous series of that remarkable point, to and beyond eagle river and sandy bay, in the approach to the portage of the keweena. the same horizontality is observed on the headland west of it, and upon all the points and headlands to misery and firesteel rivers and the mouth of the ontonagon. the trap-dyke of keweena crosses this river about ten miles, in a direct line, inland. at iron river, we observe a stratum of compact gray grauwacke, over the hackly bed of which that river forces its way during the spring months, and stands in tanks and pools during the summer. on reaching the foot of the porcupine mountains, the sandstone, which is here of a dark chocolate color, with quartz pebbles of the bigness of a pigeon's egg, and organic remains of paleozoic type, is found to be tilted up into nearly a vertical position, as shown in the sketch. the grauwacke reappears, in a most striking manner, at the falls of presque isle river, where the whole mass of water precipitated from the highlands drops into a vast pot-hole, a hundred feet wide and perhaps twice that depth. the whole upper series of rocks, from the porcupine cliffs west to the montreal river, is a conglomerate. at the falls of the montreal, the river drops over the vertical edges of the red sandstone. beyond the bay of st. chares, at lapointe chegoimigon, masses of sienitic mountains arise, which have their apex near la riviere de fromboise. the islands of the twelve apostles, or federation group, appear to be all based on the sienitic or trap, with overlying red sandstone; which latter again reappears on the point of the entrance into fond du lac bay, and marks its southern coast, till near the entrance of the brulé, or misakoda river, as seen in the illustration beneath. shores of sand then intercept its view to the entrance of the river st. louis, and up its channel to its first rapids, about eighteen miles, where the red sandstone again appears, as the first series of the cabotian mountains. serpentine rock.--at the nearest point north of rivier du mort is a headland of this rock, jutting out from the granitical formation. lapping against it, at the mouth of the river, is a curious formation of magnesian breccia. the serpentine rock appears, in nearly every locality examined, to be highly charged with particles of chromate of iron. it may be expected to yield the usual magnesian minerals.[ ] its position is between the carp river and granite point, in the bay of presque isle, or rather chocolate river, for that river pours into this bay by far the largest quantity of water.[ ] [ ] in , in making some explorations of this rock with gunpowder, i found the serpentine in a crystalline state, of a beautiful deep-green color, but appearing as if the crystallization was pseudomorphous. [ ] the extensive iron mines of marquette county, upper michigan, are now worked in this vicinity. ancient drift-stratum.--in the intervals between the points and headlands, where the rock formation is exposed by streams or gorges, the drift, or erratic boulder stratum, is found. such is its position beneath the sand-dunes of the grandes sables, and in the elder plains and uplands, stretching with interruptions on the coast from the head of the mary's valley to that of the st. louis. the edge of this formation is composed of the sand and loose pebbles and boulders of the lake. mighty as are the existing causes of action of the lake in beating down and disrupting strata of every kind, and in reproducing alluvial lands and dunes, they are weak and local when compared to the causes which have spread these ponderous boulders, and drift masses over latitudes and longitudes which appear to be limited only by the leading elevations of the continent. that oceanic torrents of water, suddenly heaped on the land, and wedged into compactness and power now unknown to it, is after all, the most plausible theory of the dispersion of this formation, and this theory avoids the necessary local one of the glacial dispersion which presupposes a very low temperature over the whole surface of the globe. kaugwudju.[ ]--this imposing mass of the trap-rocks is the highest on the southern shores of lake superior. the following outlines of it are taken from a point on the approach to the ontonagon river, about forty miles distant. [ ] porcupine mountains. from _kaug_, a porcupine, and _wudju_, mountain. they rise to their apex about thirty miles west of that stream, in north lat. ° ´ ´´, as observed by captain douglass. they are distant three hundred and fifty miles from st. mary's. in a serene day they present a lofty outline, and were seen by us from the east, at the distance of about eighty miles. the indians represent them to have a deep tarn, with very imposing perpendicular walls, at one of the highest points. if lake superior be estimated at six hundred and forty feet above the atlantic, as my notes indicate, its peaks are higher than any estimates we have of the source of the mississippi, and are, at least, the highest elevations on this part of the continent. the granitical tract of the st. francis, missouri,[ ] and of the quartz high lands of wachita, arkansas, the only two known primitive elevations between the rocky and alleghany chains, are far less elevated. [ ] _vide_ my view of the lead mines, in the appendix to "scenes and adventures in the ozark mountains." i have now taken a rapid glance at the formations along the southern shore of the lake between st. mary's and fond du lac; but have passed by some features which may be thought to merit attention. existing lake drift.--the gleaner among the rock debris of this lake has a field of labor which is not dissimilar to that of the fossilist. if he has not, so to say, to put joint to joint, to establish his conclusions, he has a mineralogical adjustment to make every way as obscure. a boulder of sienite, or a mass of sandstone, or grauwacke, may be easily referred to a contiguous rock. but when the observer meets with species which are apparently foreign to the region, he is placed in a dilemma between the toil of an impossible scrutiny and the danger of an unlicensed conjecture. among the more common masses which may be assigned a locality within the compass of the lake, are granites, sienites, hornblendes, greenstones, schists, traps, grauwackes, sandstones, porphyries, quartz rocks, serpentines, breccias, amygdaloids, amphiboles, and a variety of masses in which epidote and hornblende are essential constituents. with these, the coast mineralogist must associate, in place or out of place, agates, chalcedonies, carnelians, zeolite, prehnite, calcareous spar, crystalline quartz, amethystine quartz, coarse jaspers, noble serpentine, iron-sand, iron-glance, sulphate of lead, chromate of iron, native copper, carbonate of copper, and various species of pyrites. these were, at least, my principal rewards for about eighteen days' labor, in scrutinizing, at every possible point, its lengthened and varied coasts. cupreous formation.--the whole region, above grand island at least, appears to have been the theatre of trap-dykes, and an extensive action from beneath, which brought to the surface the elements of the formation of copper veins. these have not been much explored; but, so far as observation goes, there are evidences which cannot be resisted, that the region contains this metal in various shapes and great abundance. i refer to my report of the th of november, , for evidences of a valuable deposit of this metal in the valley of the ontonagon river, and at other points. i found the metal in its native state at various other localities, and always under physical evidences which denoted its existence, in the geological column of the lake, in quantity. these indications were confined almost exclusively to the area intervening between the peninsula of keweena, and la pointe chegoimegon, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles. of this district, the two extremities would make the ontonagon valley about the centre.[ ] a profile of one of the detached pieces, found in the ontonagon valley, and forwarded to you by mr. van rensselaer, is herewith given. [ ] i would also refer, for subsequent information, to my report of the st of october, , made in compliance to a resolution of the senate, and printed in the executive documents of that year, no. , th congress, d session. vitric boulders.--among the debris of lake superior are masses of trachyte, and also small pieces of the sienitic series, in which the red feldspar has a calcined appearance, the quartz being, at the same time, converted into a perfectly vitreous texture. similar productions, but not of the same exact character, exist on the sandy summits of the grande sable. these exhibit an exterior of glistening cells or orifices: it may be possible that they have been produced by fusion; but i think not. the smooth cells appear like grains of sand hurled by the winds over these bleak dunes. i have brought from that locality a single specimen of pitchstone, perfectly resinous, bleak and shining. la pointe chegoimegon.--a sketch of these islands, as given in the narrative, denotes that their number is greatly underrated, and will serve to show the configuration of a very marked part of the superior coast. it must, hereafter, become one of the principal harbors and anchoring-ground for vessels of the lake. valley of the st. louis river.--the st. louis river takes its rise on the southern side of the hauteur des terres, being the same formation of the drift and erratic block stratum which gives origin, at a more westerly point, to the mississippi. its tributaries lie northwest of the rainy lakes. vermilion lake, a well-known point of indian trade, is a tributary to its volume, which is large, and its outlet rushes with a great impetus to the lake. at what height its sources lie above lake superior, we can only conjecture. it was estimated to have a fall of two hundred and nine feet to the head of the portage aux coteaux, and may have a similar rise above. by far its most distinguishing feature is its passage at the grand portage through the cabotian mountains. we entered it at fond du lac and pursued up its channel through alluvial grounds, in which it winds with a deep channel about nineteen or twenty miles to the foot of its first rapids. this point was found one mile above the station of the american fur company's trading-house. here we encountered the first rock stratum, in the shape of our old geological acquaintance, the old red sandstone of lake superior. it was succeeded in the first sixteen miles, in the course of which the river is estimated to fall two hundred feet--most of it in the first twenty-nine miles--by trap, argillite, and grauwacke. through these barriers the water forces its way, producing a series of rapids and falls which the observer often beholds with amazement. the river is continually in a foam for nine miles, and the wonder is that such a furious and heavy volume of water should not have prostrated everything before it. the sandstone, grauwacke, and the argillite, the latter of which stands on its edges, have opposed but a feeble barrier; but the trap species, resisting with the firmness, as it has the color of cast-iron, stand in masses which threaten the life and safety of everything which may be hurled against them. i found a loose specimen of sulphuret of lead and some common quartz in place in the slate rock, a vein of clorite slate, and a locality of coarse graphite, to reward my search. the portage aux coteaux, which is over the basetting edges of the argillite, will give a lively idea of the effects of this rock upon the feet of the loaded voyageurs. the sandstone is last seen near the galley on the nine mile portage. above the knife portage, some eight miles higher, vast black boulders of hornblendic and basaltic blocks, are more frequent; and these masses are observed to be more angular in their shapes than the boulders and blocks of kindred character encountered on the shores of lakes superior and huron. there is a vast sphagnous formation, which spreads westwardly from the head of the coteau portage, and gives rise to the remote tributaries of milles lac and rum river. much of this consists of what the indians term _muskeeg_, or elastic bog. hurricanes and tempests have made fearful inroads upon areas of its timber, and it is seldom crossed, even by the indians. this tract lies east of the summit of sand-hills and drift, which environ sandy lake, the _komtaguma_ of the chippewas. the portage of the savanna river, a tributary of the st. louis, is the route pursued by persons with canoes; there is no other species of water craft adapted to this navigation. but wherever crossed, this swamp-land tract imposes labor and toil which are of no ordinary cast. it is the equivalent of the argillite which has been broken down and disintegrated, forming beds of clay soil which are impervious to the water, and we way regard this ancient slate formation of the true source of the st. lawrence tributaries, as the remote origin of those extensive beds of an argillaceous kind, which exist at many places in the lower lakes and plains. immediately west of the savanna portage, the komtaguma summit is reached. this summit consists wholly of arid pebble and boulder drift of the elder period. it exhibits evidences of broken-down amygdaloids, which not only furnish a part of its pebbles, but also of the contents of this stratum, in numerous agates and other subspecies of the quartz family which are found scattered over the surface. this is, in fact, the origin of that extensive diffusion of these species, which is found in the valley of the upper mississippi, as at lake pepin, &c., and which has even been traced, in small pieces, as low as st. louis and herculaneum in missouri.[ ] we may conclude that the ancient sandstones, slates, and rubblestone, and amygdaloids, of which traces still remain, were swept from the summit of the mississippi by those ancient floods which appear to have diffused the boulder drift from the north. [ ] _vide_ view of the lead mines. sandy lake.--the first view of this body of water was obtained from one of those eminences situated at the influx of the west savanna river. this lake is bounded, on its western borders, by the delta of the mississippi; its outlet is about two miles in length. we here first beheld the object of our search. the soil on its banks is of the richest alluvial character. from this point, dense forests and a moderately elevated soil, varying from three or four to fifteen feet, confined the view, on either side, during more than two days' march. on the third day after leaving sandy lake, at an early hour, we reached the falls of pakágama. here the rock strata show themselves for the first time on the mississippi, in a prominent ledge of quartz rock of a gray color. through this formation the mississippi, here narrowed to less than half its width, forces a passage. the fall of its level in about fifty rods may be sixteen or eighteen feet. there is no cascade or leap, properly so called, but a foaming channel of extraordinary velocity, which it is alike impossible to ascend or descend with any species of water craft. it lies in the shape of an elbow. we made the portage on the north side. pakÁgama summit.--the observer, when he has surmounted the summit, immediately enters on a theatre of savannas, level to the eye, and elevated but little above the water. vistas of grass, reeds, and aquatic plants spread in every direction. on these grassy plains the river winds about, doubling and redoubling on itself, and increasing its cord of distance in a ratio which, by the most moderate computation, would seem extravagant. on those plateaux, and the small rivers and lakes connected with them, the wild rice reaches the highest state of perfection. our men toiled with their paddles till the third day, through this unparalleled maze of water and plants, when we reached the summit of the upper red cedar or cass lake, where we encamped. in this distance no rock strata appeared, nor any formation other than a jutting ridge of sand, or an alluvial plain. plateau on plateau had, indeed, carried us from one level or basin to another, like a pair of steps, till we had reached our extreme height. cass lake basin.--from estimates made, this lake is shown to lie at thirteen hundred and thirty feet above the atlantic.[ ] this is a small elevation, when we consider it as lying on the southern flank of the transverse formation which forms the connecting link with the rocky mountains. a rise or a subsidence of this part of the continent to this amount, would throw the hudson's bay and arctic waters down the mississippi valley. the scenery of its coasts is in part arenaceous plains, and in part arable land, yielding corn to the indians. [ ] agreeable to barometric observations made in , by mr. nicollet, its true altitude is found to be , feet above the gulf of mexico. its latitude, by the same authority, is ° ´ ´´. sources of the mississippi.--in order to understand the geology of this region, it is necessary to premise, that the st. lawrence, the hudson's bay, and the mexican gulf waters are separated by a ridge or watershed of diluvial hills, called the hauteur des terres, which begins immediately west of the basin of the rainy lakes and rainy lake river. this high ground subtends the utmost sources of the mississippi, and reaches to the summit of ottertail lake, where it divides the tributaries of the red river of lake winnepec from those of the des corbeau, or great crow-wing river. within this basin, which circumscribes a sweep of several hundred miles, there appears to have been deposited, upon the trap and primary rocks which form its nucleus, a sedimentary argillaceous deposit, capable of containing water. upon this, the sand and pebble drift reposes in strata of unequal thickness, and the sand is often developed in ridges and plains, bearing species of the pine. the effect has been, that the immense amount of vapor condensed upon these summits, and falling in dews, rains, and snows, being arrested by the impervious subsoil of clay, has concentrated itself in innumerable lakes, of all imaginable forms, from half a mile to thirty miles long. these are connected by a network of rivers, which pour their redundancy into the mississippi, and keep up a circulation over the whole vast area. the sand plains often resting around the shores of these lakes create the impression of bodies of water resting on sand, which is a fallacy. some of these bodies of water are choked up, or not well drained, and overflow their borders, forming sphagnous tracts. hence the frequent succession of arid sand plains, impassable muskeegs, and arable areas on the same plateaux. every system of the latter, of the same altitude, constitutes a plateau. the highest of these is the absolute source of the mississippi waters. the next descending series forms another plateau, and so on, till the river finally plunges over st. anthony's falls. in this descending series of plateaux, the cass, leech lake, and little lake winnipec form the third and fourth levels. in descending the mississippi below the pakágama, the first stratum of rock, which rises through the delta of the river, occurs between the mouth of the nokasippi and elm rivers, below the influx of the great de corbeau. this rock, which is greenstone trap, rises conspicuously in the bed of the stream, in a rocky isle seated in the rapid called--i know not with what propriety--the big falls, or _grande chute_. the precipitous and angular falls of this striking object decide that the bed of the stream is at this point on the igneous granitical and greenstone series. this formation is seen at a few points above the water, until we pass some bold and striking eminences of shining and highly crystalline hornblendic sienite, which rises in the elevation called by us peace rock, on the left bank, near the osaukis rapids. this rock lies directly opposite to the principal encampment on the th of july, which was on an elevated prairie on the west bank. to this point a delegation of sioux had ascended on an embassy of peace from fort snelling to the chippewas, having affixed on a pole what the exploring party called a bark letter, the ideas being represented symbolically by a species of picture writing, or hieroglyphics. in allusion to this embassy, this locality was called the peace rock. this rock is sienite. it is highly crystalline, and extends several miles. its position must be, from the best accounts, in north latitude about ° ´. from this point to rum river, a distance of seventy miles, no other point of the intrusion of this formation above the prairie soil was observed. introduction of the palÆontological rocks.--after passing some fifty miles below this locality there are evidences that the river, in its progress south, has now reached the vicinity of the great carboniferous and metalliferous formations, which, for so great a length, and in so striking a manner, characterize both banks of the mississippi below st. anthony's falls. about nine or ten miles before reaching these falls, this change of geological character is developed; and on reaching the falls the river is found to be precipitated, at one leap, over strata of white sandstone, overlaid by the metalliferous limestone. the channel is divided by an island, and drops in single sheets, about sixteen to eighteen feet, exclusive of the swift water above the brink, or of the rapids for several hundred yards below. this sandstone is composed of grains of pure and nearly limpid quartz, held together by the cohesion of aggregation. if my observations were well taken it embraces, sparingly, orbicular masses of hornblende. it is horizontal, and constitutes, in some places, walls of stratification, which are remarkable for their whiteness and purity. this sandstone is overlaid by the cliff limestone, the same in character, which assumes at some points a silicious, and at others, a magnesian character. it is manifestly the same great metalliferous rock which accompanies the lead ore of missouri and mines of peosta or dubuque. there rests upon it the elder drift stratum of boulders, pebble, and loam, which marks the entire valley. this latter embraces boulders of quartz and hornblende rock, along with limestones and sandstones. it is overlaid by about eighteen inches of black alluvial carbonaceous mould. from st. anthony's falls the river is perpetually walled on either side with those high and picturesque cliffs which give it so imposing and varied an appearance, and its current flows on with a majesty which seems to the imagination to make it rejoice in its might, confident of a power which will enable it to reach and carry its name to the ocean in its unchanged integrity. st. peter's river and valley.--the importance, fertility, and value of this tributary have particularly impressed every member of the party. its position as the central point of the sioux power, and its border position to the chippewas, the representative tribe of the great algonquin family, render it now a place of note, which fully justifies the policy of the department in establishing a military post at the confluence of the river; and the importance cannot soon pass away, in the progress of the settlement of the mississippi valley.[ ] it is the great route of communication with the valley of the red river of the north, and the agricultural and trading settlements of lord selkirk in that fertile valley, and its complete exploration by a public officer is desirable, if not demanded.[ ] [ ] thirty years has made it the centre of the new territory of minnesota, which has now entered on the career of nations. [ ] this object was accomplished by an expedition by major l. long, in . of its geological character but little is known, and that connects it with both the great formations which have been noticed as succeeding each other at the great peace rock. that the granitical formation reaches it at a high point is probable, from the large reported boulders. the indians bring from the blue earth fork of it, one of their most esteemed green and blue argillaceous pigments, of which the coloring matter appears to be carbonate of copper. they also bring from the coteau des prairie, probably carver's "shining mountains," specimens of that fine and beautiful red pipe stone, which has so long been known to be used by them for that purpose. this mineral is fissile, and moderately hard, which renders it fit for their peculiar ripe sculptures. i found small masses of native copper in the drift stratum at the mouth of this stream, on the top of the cliffs on the mississippi, opposite the mouth of the st. peter's. crystalline sand rock.--this stratum reveals the same crystalline structure which is so remarkable in the sandstone caves, near the potosi road, in the county of st. genevieve, missouri; and the sand obtained from it, like that mineral, would probably fuse, with alkali, in a moderate heat, and constitute an excellent material for the manufacture of glass. it is also, like the missouri sandstone, cavernous. in both situations, these caves appear to be due to water escaping through fissures of the rock, where its cohesion is feeble, carrying it away grain by grain. in stopping at one of these caves, about twelve miles below st. peter's, we found this cause of structure verified by a lively spring and pond of limpid water flowing out of it. valley of the st. croix.--this river originates in an elevated range of the elder sand and pebble drift, which lies on the summit between the mississippi system of formations, and the lake superior basin. it communicates with the brulé, which is "goddard's river" of carver, and with the mauvaise or bad river of that basin. specimens of native copper have been found on snake river, one of its tributaries.[ ] [ ] this river was explored by me in and , in two separate expeditions in the public service, accounts of which have been published in and , of which abstracts are given in the preceding pages. geological monuments.--in descending the river for the distance of about one hundred miles below st. anthony's falls, my attention was arrested, on visiting the high grounds, by a species of natural monuments, which appear as if made by human hands seen at a distance, but appear to be the results of the degradation and wasting away, on the huttonian theory, of all but these, probably harder, portions of the strata. lake pepin.--this sheet commends itself to notice by its extent and picturesque features. it is an expansion of the river, about twenty-four miles long, and two or three wide. both its borders and bed reveal the drift stratum, and the observer recognizes here, boulders of the peculiar stratification which has, in ancient periods, characterized the high plateaux about the sources of the river. such are its hornblendic, sienite, quartz, trap, and amygdaloid pebbles, and that variety of the quartz family which assumes the form of the agate and other kindred species. moved as these materials are annually, lower and lower, by the impetus of the stream, other supplies, it may be inferred, are still furnished by the shifting sand and gravel bars from above. the mass must submit to considerable abrasion by this change, and the diminished size of the drifted masses become a sort of measure of the distance at which they are found from their parent beds. chippewa river.--this stream is the first to bring in a vast mass of moving sand. its volume of water is large, which it gathers from the high diluvial plains that spread southwest of the porcupine mountains, and about the sources of the wisconsin, the montreal, and the st. croix rivers, with which it originates. trompeldo (_le montaine des tromps d'eaux_).--this island mountain stands as if to dispute the passage of the mississippi, whose channel it divides into two portions. distinct from its height, which appears to correspond with the contiguous cliffs, and in the large amount of fresh debris at its base, it presents nothing peculiar in its geology. painted rock.--this vicinity is chiefly noted for its large and fine specimens of fresh-water shells. wisconsin.--like the chippewa, this stream brings down in its floods, vast quantities of loose sand, which tend to the formation of bars and temporary islands. it originates in the same elevated plains, and bespeaks a considerable area at its sources, which must be arid. it is a region, however, in which lakes and rice lands abound, and it may, in this respect, be geologically of the same formation as the higher plateaux of the mississippi, above the sandy lake summit. its sides produce many species to enrich our fresh-water conchology. lead mines of peosta and dubuque.--in my researches into the mineral geography of missouri, in and , i had explored a district of country between the rivers merrimak and st. francis, and on the ozarks, which revealed many traits which it has in common with the upper mississippi. there, as here, the mineral deposits appear to be, in many cases, in a red marly clay, whether the clay is overlaid by the calcareous rock or not. there, as here, also, the limestone and sandstone strata are perfectly horizontal. the leads of ore appear, in this section, to be followed with more certainty, agreeable to the points of the compass; but this may happen, to some extent, because the practice of mining on individual account, with windlass and buckets, in the missouri district, has led common observers to be more indifferent to exact scientific methods. to say that the digging, at these mines, is equally, or more productive, is perhaps just. capital and labor have been rewarded in both sections of the country, in proportion as they have been perseveringly and judiciously expended. i found much of the ore, which is a sulphuret, at dubuque's mines, lying in east and west leads. these leads were generally pursued in caves, or, more properly, fissures in the rock. in one of the excavations which i visited, the digging was continued horizontally under the first stratum of rock, after an excavation had been made perpendicularly, through the top soil and calcareous rock, perhaps thirty feet. the ore is a broad-grained cubical galena, easily reduced, and bids fair very greatly to enhance the value and resources of this section of the west. similar mines exist at mississinawa, and the river au fevé,[ ] both on the eastern or left bank of the mississippi. and a system of leasing or management, such as i have suggested for the missouri mines, appears equally desirable. [ ] galena has subsequently been made the capital of these mines. quartz geodes.--the amount of silex in the cliff limestone is such, in some conditions of it, as to justify the term silico-calcareous. this condition of the rock at the passage of the mississippi through the rock river and des moines rapids, is such as to produce a very striking locality of highly crystalline quartz geodes, which accumulates in the bed of the stream. many of these geodes are from a foot to twenty-two inches in diameter, and on breaking them they exhibit resplendent crystals of limpid quartz. sometimes these are amethystine; in other cases they present surfaces of chalcedony or cacholong. the latter minerals, if obtained from the rock, and before unduly hardening by exposure, would probably furnish a suitable basis for lapidaries. intermediate country in the direction to green bay.--there is a line which separates, on the north, the granitical and trap region from the metal-bearing limestone, and its supporting sandstone. this formation of the elder series of rocks, having been traced to the south shore of lake superior, and having been seen to constitute the supporting bed of the alluviums and diluviums of the upper mississippi, above the peace rock, it may subserve the purpose of inquiry to trace this line of junction by its probable and observed boundaries. the line may be commenced where it crosses the mississippi, at the peace rock, and extended to the st. croix, the falls of which are on the trap-rock, to the sources of the chippewa at lac du flambeau, and the wisconsin near plover portage. the source of fox river runs amid uprising masses of sienite, and this formation appears to pass thence northeasterly, across the upper menominee, to the district of the totosh and cradle-top mountains, west of chocolate river, on the shores of lake superior. i observed the crystalline sandstone and its overlying cliff limestone, along the valley of the wisconsin, where ancient excavations for lead ore have been made. there is an entire preservation of its characters, and no reason occurs why its mineralogical contents should not prove, in some positions, as valuable as they have been found in missouri, or in the dubuque district west of the mississippi. on reaching the wisconsin portage, the limestone is found to have been swept by diluvial action, from its supporting sand rock. such is its position not far north of the highest of the four lakes, and again at lake puckway, in descending the fox river; consequently, there are no lead discoveries in this region. on coming to the calcareous rock, which is developed along the channel of the river, below winnebago lake, it appears rather to belong to the lake system of deposits. its superior stratum lies in patches, or limited districts, which appear to have been left by drift action. petrefactions are found in these districts, and the character of the rock is dark, compact, or shelly. the lower series of deposits, such as they appear at the kakala rapids, at washington harbor, in the entrance to green bay, and in the cliffs north of sturgeon bay and portage, are manifestly of the same age and general character as the inferior stratum of michilimackinac and the manatouline chain. basin of lake michigan.--this basin, stretching from the north to the south nearly four hundred miles, lies deeply in the series of formation of limestones, sandstone, and schists, to which we apply the term of the michilimackinac system. its north and west shores are skirted from green bay to a point north of the sheboygan, with the calcareous stratum. at this point, the ancient drift, the lacustrine clay of milwaukie and the prairie diluvium of chicago, constitute a succession, of which the surface is a slightly waving line of the most fertile soils. among the pebbles cast ashore at the southern head of this lake i observed slaty coal. it seems, indeed, the only one of the lakes which reaches south into the coal basin of illinois. if the level at which coal is found on the illinois were followed through, it would issue in the basin of the lake below low-water mark. digging for this mineral on the chicago summit, promises indeed not to be unsupported by sound hypothesis. after passing chicago, of which a sketch is added, the sands which begin to accumulate at the konamik, the river du chemin, and the st. joseph's river,[ ] appear in still more prominent ridges, skirting the eastern coasts to and beyond grand river. these sands, which are the accumulations of winds, are cast on the arable land, much in the manner that has been noticed at the grand sable on lake superior, and reach the character of striking dunes at the coast denominated the sleeping bear. the winds which periodically set from the western shore, produce continual abrasions of its softer materials, and are the sole cause of these intrusive sand-hills. pent up behind them, the water is a cause of malaria to local districts of country, and many of the small rivers upon this side are periodically choked with sand. the sketch transmitted of this bleak dune-coast (omitted here), as it is seen at the mouth of maskigon lake, will convey a false idea of the value of this coast, even half a mile from the spot where the surf beats. it is designed to show the air of aridity which the mere coast line presents. the stratification regains its ordinary level and appearance before reaching the plate or omicomico river, and the peninsula of the grand traverse bay, and the settlements of the ottawa indians on little traverse bay, afford tracts of fertile lands. point wagonshonce consists of a stratum of limestone of little elevation, which constitutes the southeast cape of the strait. here a lighthouse is needed to direct the mariner. [ ] the subjoined petrifaction of a leaf, apparently a species of betula, was obtained on this river. see _ante_, p. . lake huron.--notices of this sheet of water have been given in our outward voyage. it appears rather as the junction of separate lakes which have had their basins fretted into one another, than as one original lake. michigan is connected with it through the straits of michilimackinac. the georgian bay, north of the manatouline chain, seems quite distinct. the saganaw bay is an element of another kind. the manitouline chain separates the calcareous and granitic region, and its numerous trap and basaltic islands towards the north shore, of which there are many thousands, denote that it has been the scene of geological disturbance of an extraordinary kind. ulterior conclusions.--in taking these several views of the geological structure of the northwest--of the lake superior basin, and of the valleys of the st. louis river--the region about the upper mississippi, its striking change at the falls of st. anthony--and the valleys of the wisconsin and fox rivers, and the basins of lakes michigan and huron, i am aware of the temerity of my task. allowance must, however, be made for the rapidity of my transit over regions where the question was often the safety and personal subsistence of the party. a very large and diversified area was passed over in a short time. at no place was it possible to make elaborate observations. a thousand inconveniences were felt, but they were felt as the pressure of so many small causes impeding the execution of a great enterprise. a sketch has been made, which, it is hoped, will reveal something of the physical history and lineaments of the country. these glimpses at wild scenes, heretofore hid from the curious eye of man, have been made, at all points, with the utmost avidity. i have courted every opportunity to accumulate facts, and i owe much to the distinguished civilian who has led the party so successfully through scenes of toil and danger, not always unexpected, but always met in a calm, bold, and proper spirit, which has served to inspire confidence in all; to him, and to each one of my associates, i owe much on the score of comity and personal amenity and forbearance; and i have been made to feel, in the remotest solitudes, how easy it is to execute a duty when all conspire to facilitate it. the views herein expressed are generalized in two geological maps (hereto prefixed), which, it is believed, will help to fix the facts in the mind. they exhibit the facts noticed, in connection with the theory established by them, and by all my observations, of the construction of this part of the continent. the mineralogy of the regions visited is condensed in the following summary, drawn from my notes, which, it is believed, constitutes an appropriate conclusion to this report. with the exception of one species, namely, the ores of copper, the region has not proved as attractive in this department as i found the metalliferous surface of missouri. there are but few traces of mining, and those of an exceedingly ancient character, in the copper region of lake superior. the excavations in search of lead ore on the upper mississippi do not date back many years, but the indications are such as to show that few countries, even missouri, exceed them in promises of mineral wealth. i have employed the lapse of time between the termination of the exploration and the present moment, to extend my mineralogical observations to some parts of the mississippi valley which were not included in the line of the expedition, but which were visited in the following year, in the service of the government, namely, the miami of the lakes, and wabash valleys, the cave in rock region in lower illinois, and the valley of the river illinois. the whole is concentrated in the following notices:-- _tabular view of minerals observed in the northwest._ i. ores. _genera._ _species._ _subspecies._ _varieties._ { copper { native copper. { fibrous. { { green carbonate of copper { compact. { lead sulphuret of lead common. { zinc sulphuret of zinc blende. { { { common. { { { radiated. metallic { { sulphuret of iron { spheroidal. minerals { { { cellular. { { { hepatic. { iron { magnetic oxide of iron iron sand. { { specular oxide of iron. micaceous. { { { ochrey. { { red oxide of iron { scaly. { { { compact. { { brown oxide of iron ochrey. { silver. ii. earths and stones. _genus._ _species._ _varieties._ { { { milky. { { { radiated. { { { tabular. { { common { greasy. { { quartz { granular. { { { arenaceous. { { { pseudomorphous. { { { amethystine. { { amethyst { { { { ferruginous { { { quartz { yellow. { { { red. { quartz { prase { { { common. { { { cacholong. { { chalcedony { carnelian. { { { sardonyx. { { { agate. { { hornstone { { { common. { { jasper { striped. { { { red. { { heliotrope silicious { { opal common. minerals { { silicious { common. { slate { basanite. { { petrosilex { { common. { mica { gold yellow. { { { common. { schorl { indicolite. { { feldspar common. { prehnite radiated. { { hornblende { common. { { actynolite. { { woodstone { mineralized wood. { { agatized wood. { { calcareous { { { spar { crystallized. { { { lamellar. { { granular { { limestone { { { { compact { common. { { limestone { earthy. { { { { agaric { { { mineral { common. { carbonate { { fossil farina. { of lime { { { { oolite. { { concreted { { { carbonate { calcareous { stalactite. { { of lime { sinter { stalagmite. { { { { { { calcareous tufa. calcareous { { pseudomorphous carbonate minerals { { of lime. { { marl ludus helmontii. { { fibrous. { sulphate { granular. { of lime gypsum { granularly foliated. { { earthy. { fluate of { lime fluorspar _genus._ _varieties._ { { argillite. { argillaceous slate { bituminous shale. { { chlorite chlorite slate. { stautoride. aluminous minerals { { potters' clay. { { pipe clay. { { variegated clay. { clay { blue sulphated clay. { { green sulphated clay. { opwagunite. { serpentine common serpentine magnesian minerals { steatite steatite. { asbestus com. asbestus. barytic minerals sulphate of barytes lamellar. strontian sulphate of strontian foliated. iii. combustibles. { { petroleum. { bitumen { maltha. bituminous minerals { { asphaltum. { { graphite granular graphite. { coal slate coal. iv. salts. { { native salt. soda { muriate of soda ..... { salt springs. { { alkaline sulphate of alum. { alumina a. _metallic minerals._ . copper. this metal is frequently found, in detached masses, in the diluvial soil along the southern shore of lake superior, and in the high and barren tract included between lakes huron, michigan, and superior, and the mississippi river, as general boundaries. thus, it has been found upon the sources of the menomonie, wisconsin, chippewa, st. croix, and ontonagon rivers, but most constantly, and in the greatest quantity, upon the latter. there are many localities known only to the aborigines, who appear to set some value upon it, and have been in the habit of employing the most malleable pieces in several ways from the earliest times. it occurs mostly in detached masses, resting upon, or imbedded in, diluvial soil. these masses, which vary in size, are sometimes connected with isolated fragments of rock. such is the geognostic position of the great mass of native copper upon the banks of the ontonagon, which has been variously estimated to weigh from two to five tons. this extraordinary mass is situated at the base of a diluvial precipice composed of reddish loam and mixed boulders and pebbles of granite, greenstone, quartz, and sandstone and diallage rocks. the nearest strata, in situ, are red sandstone, grauwacke, and greenstone trap. a company of miners was formerly employed in searching for copper mines upon the banks of this river. they dug down about forty feet into the diluvial soil, at a spot where a green-colored water issued from the hill. in sinking this pit, several masses of native copper were found, and they discovered, as their report indicates, the same metal "imbedded in stone." but the enterprise was abandoned, in consequence of the falling in of the pit. at keweena point, on lake superior, i found native copper along the shore of the lake, constituting small masses in pebbles, and, in one instance, in a mass of several pounds' weight, which was found in the ontonagon valley. i also observed the green carbonate of copper, in several places, in the detritus. the strata of this point appear to be charged with this mineral, particularly in its native forms. hardly a mass of the loose rock is without some trace of the metal, or its oxides or salts. it would be difficult, on any known principles, to resist the testimony which is offered, by every observer, to favor the idea that extensive and very valuable mines exist. the whole lake shore, from this peninsula to the montreal river, is replete with these evidences. there are indications that this mineral pervades the rocks and soils, in a radius of one hundred and fifty miles or more, south and west of this central point. it has been discovered at the sources of the menominee, chippewa, montreal, and st. croix, and even at more distant points. at st. peter's, in digging down for the purpose of quarrying the rock, about eighteen inches depth of dark alluvium was passed; then a deposit of diluvial soil, with large fragments of limestone, greenstone, quartz rock, &c., about six feet; and, lastly, one foot of small pebbles, &c., constituting the copper diluvium. no large mass was found; nor any veins in the rock. . lead. the only ore of lead known to exist within the limits to which these remarks are confined, is the sulphuret. in the year , peosta, a woman of the misquakee, or fox tribe of indians, discovered a lead mine upon the west banks of the mississippi, at the computed distance of twenty-five leagues below prairie du chien, which the indians, in , gave julian dubuque a right to work. this permission was partially confirmed by the baron de carondelet, governor of louisiana, in . no patent was, however, issued; but dubuque continued to prosecute the mining business to the period of his death, which happened in , when the mines were again claimed by the original proprietors. the ore is the common sulphuret of lead, or galena, which dubuque stated to have yielded him seventy-five per cent. in smelting in the large way. he usually made from , to , pounds per annum. i made a cursory visit to these mines, and found them worked by the fox indians, but in a very imperfect manner. they cover a considerable area, commencing at the mouth of the makokketa river, sixty miles below prairie du chien. traces of the ore are found, also, on the east bank of the mississippi at several points. it occurs disseminated in a reddish loam, resting upon limestone rock, and is sometimes seen in small veins pervading the rock; but it has been chiefly explored in diluvial soil. it generally occurs in beds having little width, and runs in a direct course towards the cardinal points. they are sometimes traced into a crevice of the rock. at this stage of the pursuit, most of the diggings have been abandoned. little spar or crystalline matrix is found in connection with the ore. it is generally enveloped by a reddish, compact earth, or marly clay. occasionally, masses of calcareous spar occur; less frequently, sulphate of barytes, green iron earth, and ochrey brown oxide of iron. i did not observe any masses of radiated quartz, which form so conspicuous a trait in the surface of the metalliferous diluvion of the mining district of missouri. sufficient attention does not appear to have been bestowed, by mineralogists, upon the metalliferous soil of the mississippi valley. it is certainly very remarkable that such vast deposits of lead ore, accompanied by veins of sulphate of barytes, calc spar, and other crystallized bodies, should be found in alluvial beds; and it would be very interesting to ascertain whether any analogous formations exist in europe, or in any other part of the earth's surface. it is one of the most striking features of this deposit, that the ore, spars, &c., do not appear as the debris of older formations, and have no marks of having been worn or abraded, like those extraneous masses of rock which are very common in the alluvial soil of our continent. the lead ore and accompanying minerals appear to have been crystallized in the situations where they are now found. we should, perhaps, except from this remark the species of lead called _gravel ore_ by the miners, which is in rounded lumps, and is never accompanied by spars. sulphuret of lead is also found near the spot where the small river sissinaway enters the mississippi, and two leagues south of it, upon the banks of the river aux fevre, at both of which places considerable quantities have been raised, and continue to be raised, for the purposes of smelting, by the fox and sac tribes of indians. at these places, it is most frequently connected with a gangue of heavy spar and calcareous spar, with pyrites of iron. i procured from a trader, at dubuque, several masses of galena crystallized in cubes and octahedrons. in descending the upper mississippi, a specimen of galena was exhibited to me, by a sioux indian, at the village of the red wing, six miles above lake pepin, said to have been procured in that vicinity. galena is also reported to have been discovered in several places on the south side of the wisconsin river, and these localities may be entitled to future notice, as furnishing important hints. . zinc. the sulphuret of zinc (black blende) is found disseminated in limestone rock along the banks of fox river, between the post of green bay and winnebago lake. although frequently seen in small masses, no body of it is known to exist. i also found blende, in small, orbicular masses of calcareous marl, along the east shore of lake michigan, between the rivers st. joseph and kikalemazo. . iron. this mineral is distributed, in several of its forms, throughout the region visited, although but little attention has yet been directed to its exploration. in the basin of lake superior it exists, in valuable masses, in the form of a magnetic oxide, on the coasts of the lake between gitchi sebing (great river), called by the french chocolate river, and granite point. specimens from dead river (riviere du morts) and carp river, the namabin of the indians, in this district, denote the latter to be the chief locality. it is the iron glance, and occurs in mountain masses. _sulphuret of iron._--this variety is found, in limited quantities, in a state of crystallization, in clay beds, on the west shore of lake michigan, between milwaukie and chicago. it is frequently in the form of a cube or an octahedron. some of the crystals are in lumps of several pounds' weight, with a metallic lustre. often the masses, on being broken, are found radiated, sometimes cellular, and occasionally irised. _iron sand._--the breaking-up and prostration of the sandstone and other sedimentary formations, along the shores of lakes michigan, huron, and superior, liberates this ore in considerable quantities. it arranges itself, on the principle of its specific gravities, in separate strata along the sandy shores, where it invariably occupies the lowest position at and below the water's edge. the shores of fond du lac, on lake superior, may be particularly mentioned as an abundant locality. _micaceous oxide of iron._--in detached mass, among the debris of the river st. louis and of fond du lac. it exists in veins in the clay slate which characterizes the banks of this river. _ochrey red oxide of iron._ (red ochre)--is produced near a spot called the big stone, on the head of the river st. peter's. it is said to occur in a loose form, in a stratum of several inches thick, lying below the soil of a level dry prairie or plain. the sioux indians, who employ it as a paint, make this statement. the color of a portion given to me by them is of a bright red; and a considerable proportion of the mass is in a state of minute division. particles of quartz are occasionally mixed with it. this ore of iron is also represented to be found in the prairies north of gros point, along the west shore of lake michigan, between milwaukie and chicago. ochrey red oxide of iron occurs on the shores of big stone lake, at the source of the st. peter's river. a large spring rises from a level, dry plain, a few feet beyond which the mineral occurs. the indians, who employ it as a pigment, take it up with their knives. the stratum is about eight inches thick, but just below the surface it is mixed with common earth. the spring of water is pure and unadulterated. . silver. the belief in the existence of silver ore in the region of the lakes, and particularly on lake superior, seems to have early prevailed. so much confidence was placed in the reports of its existence, that henry tells when a company was formed in england for exploring the copper mines of lake superior (a. d. ), they were impelled to the search more from an expectation of the silver, which it was hoped would be found in connection with it, than from the copper.[ ] [ ] this metal has subsequently (namely, in ) been found to constitute a percentage in the native copper of the eagle river mines of lake superior. traces of it were found in a mass of native copper found on the shores of keweena lake, by mr. moliday, in . a mass of pure silver was discovered in a boulder in the drift of lake huron, west of white rock, in . these discoveries induce the belief that this element will be found to be extensively present in the eventual metallurgic operations of the lake superior basin. b. _silicious minerals._ . quartz. this interesting species being distributed in its numerous varieties throughout the region visited, i shall confine my notices to a few localities. subs. .--_common quartz._ occurs in the form of large water-worn masses along the shores of lakes huron, michigan, and superior. also, in veins in the granite of lake superior, and in the argillite of st. louis river. these localities all consist of the opaque varieties, with a slight degree of translucence in some places. it exists in mass at huron bay, lake superior, and in fragments of red jasper on sugar island, st. mary's river. . _radiated quartz._--in detached masses on the grange, and also at the rapids of the river desmoines, on the upper mississippi. at the grange, the crystals, which are usually minute, sometimes possess a cinnamon color, or pass into a variety of crystallized ferruginous quartz. . _tabular quartz._--in small, flattened masses along the shores of lake pepin. these masses are transparent, or only translucent. their color is generally white, but sometimes yellow. they appear to be closely allied to chalcedony. . _greasy quartz._--in detached masses along the shores of lake superior. . _granular quartz._--at the falls of puckaiguma, on the upper mississippi, in large, compact beds rising through the soil. also, in some conditions of the cliffs commencing at the falls of st. anthony, carrer's cave, &c. . _arenaceous quartz._--this is sometimes the condition of fine, even-grained, translucent sand rock of the preceding localities. valuable as an ingredient of glass. . _pseudomorphous quartz._--on the shores of lake pepin, occasionally. these masses appear to have taken their crystalline _impress_ from rhomboidal crystals of carbonate of lime. . _amethystine quartz._--in the trap-rock of lake superior. subs. .--_amethyst._ this mineral occurs most frequently in the condition of amethystine quartz, in hexahedral prisms, lining the interior of geodes, in the bed of the river desmoines, and on the rock rapids, in the channel of the mississippi. the crystals which i have examined are generally limpid, with a high lustre, and of a pale violet color. sometimes the tinge of color approaches to a full red, or is only apparent in the summit of the crystal. these geodes are sometimes eight or ten inches in diameter, with a rough and dark-colored exterior, often so nearly spherical as to resemble cannon _balls_. some of the finest specimens i have observed from this locality are preserved in the museum of gov. clarke, at st. louis, missouri. subs. .--_ferruginous quartz._ in amorphous masses, of a deep-red, brown, or yellowish-red color, along the southern shore of lake superior. likewise, crystallized, in very minute hexagonal prisms, terminated by six-sided pyramids, of a reddish color, on the summit and declivities of the grange de terre. subs. .--_prase._ in the drift of lake superior. its color is a light green and not fully translucent. it possesses a hardness and a lustre intermediate between waxy and resinous. subs. .--_chalcedony._ . _common chalcedony._--in globular or reniform masses imbedded in trap-rock, on the peninsula of keweena, lake superior. it is found sometimes in association with other quartz minerals. its color is white or gray, sometimes veined or spotted with red. also, constituting the interior lining of geodes at the rapids of rock island and the river desmoines. these geodes, on breaking, often present a mammillary surface. in the form of translucent fragments, with a highly conchoidal fracture, among the debris of the shores of lake pepin. these fragments possess an extremely delicate texture, color, and lustre. . _cacholong._--some loose fragments of this mineral exist along the west shore of lake michigan, between green bay and chicago. these fragments possess small cavities studded over with very minute and perfect crystals of quartz. . _carnelian._--this mineral occurs in fragments in the debris of lake superior; also, in the amygdaloid; also, around the shores of the upper mississippi. its color is various shades of red, or yellowish red, sometimes spotted or clouded, fully translucent, and occasionally presenting a considerable richness and beauty. most commonly, the fragments are too small to be applied to the purposes of jewelry. sometimes it is seen in very regular spheroidal masses, which contain a nucleus of radiated quartz. some of the specimens would be considered as sardonyx. . _agate._--is found with the preceding. it is more frequently found in larger masses, in the rock, which are sometimes spheroidal, reniform, or globular. these agates are chiefly arranged in concentric layers, which are white, red, yellow, &c., according to the colors of the different varieties of chalcedonies, carnelians, &c., of which they are composed. a close inspection would also separate them into several varieties--as onyx, agate, dotted agate, &c. subs. .--_hornstone._ in nodular or angular masses, imbedded in the secondary limestone of the west shores of green bay; and in the beds of argillaceous white clay strata of cape girardeau, of missouri. also, on the hills of white river, arkansas. subs. .--_jasper._ . _common jasper._--in detached fragments, yellow, in the drift of lake superior. . _striped jasper._--with the preceding. most commonly, these specimens consist of alternate bands of red and black, or brown. . _red jasper._--in quartz rock, sugar island, river st. mary's, michigan. masses of this mineral have been met in situ. subs. .--_heliotrope._ a fine specimen of this mineral, now before me, was procured at the mouth of the columbia river, oregon. it is in the form of an indian dart. its color is a deep uniform green, variegated with small spots of red; those parts which are green being fully translucent, the others less so, or nearly opaque. this beautiful mineral is represented to have been in common use by the indian tribes of the northwest coast, for pointing their arrows, previous to the introduction of iron among them. it differs chiefly from the dotted jaspers of lake michigan, in its translucence and green color. subs. .--_opal._ common opal occurs as a constituent of agate, along with chalcedony rarely, in the drift on the south shore of lake superior. . silicious slate. . _common._--in subordinate beds, in the argillite of the river st. louis, northwest of lake superior. . _basanite_ (_touchstone_).--in detached fragments in the drift on lake superior, and along the banks of the upper mississippi generally. . petrosilex. in large isolated masses in the bed of the illinois river, on the shallow rapids between the junction of the fox and vermilion rivers. it is mostly arranged in stripes or circles of white, gray, yellow, &c., resembling certain jaspers, or approaching sometimes to hornstone. the bed of the illinois river, at this place, is a species of gray sandstone. also, in detached fragments, on the south shore of lake superior, intimately mixed with prehnite. in regard to the latter, professor dewey, of williamstown college, writes me: "i have received from dr. torrey, a curious mixture of petrosilex and prehnite, in imperfect radiating crystals, which was sent him by you and collected at the west. he did not tell me the name, but examination showed what it was. the association is singularly curious." the locality of this mineral is keweena point, lake superior. . mica. occurs rarely in the granite of lake superior. it is found in place on the huron islands. also, in minute folia, in the alluvial soil of the upper mississippi. a beautiful aggregate, consisting of plates of gold-yellow mica, connected with very black and shining crystals of schorl, has been dug up from the alluvial soil of the island of michilimackinac. . schorl. . _common schorl._--in crystals, in boulders of granite, at green bay. . _tourmaline._--with the preceding. . feldspar. as an ingredient in the granite of huron islands, lake superior. also, in detached masses of granite along the west shores of lake michigan. also, in the form of prismatic crystals of a light-green color, in the rolled masses of hornblende, porphyry, greenstone, and epidotic boulders of lakes huron, michigan, and superior. . prehnite. this mineral occurs at keweena point, on lake superior. it is found in connection with isolated blocks of amygdaloid, of primitive greenstone, and of petrosilex. sometimes native copper, and carbonate of copper, are also present in the same specimen. in some instances, a partial decomposition has taken place, converting its green color into greenish-white, or perfect white, and rendering it so soft as to be cut with a knife. sometimes the grains or masses of native copper are interspersed among the prehnite, and slender threads of this metal occasionally pass through the aggregated mass of greenstone, prehnite, &c., so that, on breaking it, the fragments are still held together by these metallic fibres. . hornblende. . _common hornblende._--occurs as a constituent of the hornblende rocks near point chegoimegon, lake superior. also, at the peace rock, on the upper mississippi, and in certain granite aggregates, and rolled masses of porphyries, &c., around the shores of lakes huron, michigan, and superior. . _actynolite._--in slender, translucent, greenish crystals, pervading rolled masses of serpentine, on the west shores of lake michigan. . woodstone. . _mineralized wood._--in bed of the river des plaines, illinois. . _agatized wood._--this variety of fossil wood is found along the alluvial shores of the mississippi and of the missouri. c. _calcareous minerals._ . carbonate of lime. of a substance so universally distributed throughout the western country, it will not be necessary to give many localities, and these will be principally confined to its crystalline forms. subs. .--_calcareous spar._ _crystallized calcareous spar._--this mineral occurs, in minute rhomboidal crystals, in the calcareous rock of the island of michilimackinac. sometimes these crystals fill cavities or seams of the rock, or are studded over the angular surfaces of masses of vesicular limestone of that island. i also found this mineral at dubuque's mines, and in small crystals in the metalliferous limestone bordering the fox river, between the post of green bay and winnebago lake, where it is associated with iron pyrites and blende. subs. .--_compact limestone._ in proceeding northwest of detroit, this mineral is first observed, in situ, on an island in lake huron. it is afterwards found to be the prevailing rock along the south and southwest shores of lake huron. in many places, it incloses fossil remains. sometimes it is _earthy_, as at bay de noquet, a part of green bay, on lake michigan, where it contains very perfect remains of the terrebratula. (parkinson.) in other places, no remains whatever are visible, and the structure is firm and compact; or even passes, by a further graduation, into transition-granular, of which, it is believed, the west shores of lake michigan afford an instance. it is most commonly based upon sandstone, which also contains, in many places, the fossil organized remains of various species of crustaceous animals, and of vegetables, sometimes, coal, &c. subs. .--_agaric mineral._ this mineral substance occurs in crevices and cavities in the calcareous rock of the island of michilimackinac, michigan. subs. .--_concrete carbonate of lime._ . _calcareous sinter._--in the form of _stalactites_ and _stalagmites_, in a cave situated near prairie du chien, on the upper mississippi. . _calcareous tufa._--a remarkable formation of tufa is seen on the east banks of the wabash river, near wynemac's village, about ten miles above the junction of the tippecanoe. it extends for several miles, and is deposited to the thickness of thirty or forty feet above the water, forming cliffs which are covered with alluvial soil and sustain a growth of forest trees. the precise points of its commencement and disappearance were not observed. the structure is cellular or vesicular, and resembles, in some places, a coarse dried mortar. it is very light, and possesses a white color in inferior situations, but the surface is somewhat colored by fallen leaves and other decaying vegetation. it imbeds fluvatile shells and some vegetable remains, the species of which have not been ascertained. the opposite, or west side of the river consists of a kind of puddingstone, or caschalo, made up of pebbles of quartz, &c., cemented by carbonate of lime, of a yellow color and translucent. this beautiful aggregate is overlayed by a stratum, of fifteen or twenty feet in thickness, of diluvial soil. these localities fall within the limits of the state of indiana; but on territories still occupied, if not owned, by the aborigines. . _pseudomorphous carbonate of lime._--this form of carbonate of lime occurs in pope county, illinois, a district celebrated for its fluorspar, lead, crystallized quartz, &c., and bearing the unequivocal marks of a secondary formation. scattered in large masses over the soil, we observe compact limestone, with very perfect cubical, octahedral, or other regular cavities, which have manifestly originated from crystals of fluorspar. the most common _impress_ of this kind appears to have resulted from two cubes variously joined--a form of appearance very common to the illinois fluates. some of these cubical cavities exceed three inches square; but in no case is any remaining portion of the spar in these cavities, or anywise connected with the fragments of limestone thus impressed, although, at the same time, the spar is very abundant in the alluvial soil where these curious limestones are found. . sulphate of lime. subs. _gypsum._ . _fibrous gypsum._--in the alluvial soil of the st. martin's islands, lake huron. the fibres are sometimes five or six inches in length, of a white color and delicate crystalline lustre. sometimes these fibrous masses are partially colored yellow or brown, apparently from the clay, or mixed alluvion, in which they are imbedded. . _granular gypsum._ } . _granularly-foliated gypsum._ } with the preceding. . _earthy gypsum._ } . fluate of lime. _fluor-spar._--on the united states mineral reserve, pope county, illinois. this locality is abundant, and the mineral readily and constantly to be obtained. i first obtained specimens in june, , and afterwards visited it in july, . it is disseminated in loose masses throughout the soil, and in veins in the calcareous rocks. the spot most noted and resorted to, and where the original discovery was made, is four miles west of barker's ferry, at cave-in-rock, on the banks of the ohio, and about twenty-six miles, by the course of the river, below shawneetown. it is situated in the midst of a hilly, broken region, called _the knobs_, a tract of highlands intervening between the banks of the ohio and the saline. the distance of this range from north to south, or parallel with the course of the ohio, cannot be stated. it probably extends from near the banks of the wabash river to the little chain of rocks. its breadth--from barker's ferry, west, to ensminger's, at the saline, is about twenty miles. it thus separates, by a rocky border, the prairies of the illinois from the current of the ohio river. these knobs, wherever observed, bear the indubitable marks of secondary formation, and may be stated to consist, essentially, of compact limestone resting on sandstone. the sandstone is sometimes so much colored by iron, and by globular or irregular masses of iron stone, as to give that rock a very singular aspect. this may be particularly instanced in the mural front of the battery rocks on the banks of the ohio. every part of this formation has more or less the appearance of a mineral country; and it is already known as the locality of ores of lead, iron, and zinc, of crystallized quartz, of opal, heavy spar, crystallized pyrites, and of very perfect fossil madrepores. in one place (near the head of hurricane island) this spar forms a very large and compact vein, dipping under the bed of the ohio. where the rock has been explored, it is found in connection with sulphuret of lead, but it has been mostly procured, because most easy of access, in the alluvial soil. i went out about half a mile west of the ohio, where a new locality has been opened, and, in removing about five or six solid feet of earth, procured as many specimens as filled a box of fourteen inches square. none of these were more than two feet below the surface. one of these specimens is an irregular octahedral crystal, eight inches in diameter. the color of these masses is various shades of blue, violet, or red, sometimes perfectly white or yellow; and the form most commonly assumed is a cube, sometimes truncated at two or more angles, or variously clustered. the external lustre of the crystals, raised from alluvial soil, is feeble, but quite brilliant when taken from veins and cavities in the rock. these spars from the alluvion do not appear to exist as rock debris, or fragments worn off from other formations, but as original deposits. there are no marks of attrition. they appear as much in place as the limestone rocks below. it should also be recollected that this mineral tract is terminated by one of the greatest and most valuable salt formations in the western country--that of the illinois saline. _septaria: ludus helmontii._--this variety of calcareous marl is found, in orbicular or flattened masses, along the eastern shores of lake michigan, between the rivers st. joseph's and kalemazo. its original situation appears to be the beds of marly clay which form the banks of lake michigan at these places, from which these masses have been disengaged by the waves, and left promiscuously among the washed and eroded debris of the shore. these masses are penetrated by numerous seams and lines of calcareous spar, sometimes radiating star-like, or intersecting each other irregularly. occasionally, these seams are filled with sulphuret of zinc, and in these cases the spar, if any be present, is rose-colored. d. _aluminous minerals._ . argillaceous slate. . _argillite_, or _common argillaceous slate_.--along the banks of the river st. louis, at the grand portage, &c. it occurs in a vertical position, embracing veins, or subordinate beds, of grauwakke, milky quartz, chlorite slate, and silicious slate, &c. it is bounded on one side by red sandstone, and on the other by an extensive tract of diluvial soil. . _bituminous shale._--in detached masses, along the shores of lake huron, between fort gratiot and thunder bay. it contains amorphous masses of iron pyrites, of a yellow color and metallic brilliancy, which soon tarnishes on exposure to the air. . chlorite. _chlorite slate._--in subordinate strata in the argillite of the river st. louis. . staurotide. in garnet-colored crystals, in detached blocks of mica-slate, in the drift of lake huron. these crystals consist of two intersecting six-sided prisms, truncated at both ends, forming the cross. they are nearly opaque, or feebly translucent on the fractured edge. . clay. . _plastic clay._--very extensive beds of this clay are seen along the west shore of lake michigan, between sturgeon bay portage and chicago. its color is generally a light blue, verging sometimes into deep blue or grayish-white. it is plastic in water, adheres strongly to the tongue, takes a polish from the nail, and emits an argillaceous odor when moistened or breathed upon. these beds of clay frequently contain iron pyrites, both in the crystallized and amorphous state. . _pipe clay._--in the flats of the st. clair and lake george, michigan. a bed of clay, apparently answering to this description, exists at white river, lake michigan. its color is a grayish-white, verging to blue. it is very unctuous and adhesive when first raised, but acquires more or less of a meagre feel as it parts with its moisture, drying in firm and compact masses. . _variegated clay._--on the banks of the river st. peter's, upper mississippi. neither the quantity in which it exists, nor the precise locality is known. its color is white, variegated with stripes, spots, or clouds of red or yellow. . _azure blue clay of st. peter's._--the locality of this substance, as communicated by the indians, is the declivity of a hill, in the rear of the village of sessitongs, one mile above the confluence of the terre blue river with the st. peter's. it is found near the foot of this hill, between two layers of sandstone rock, in a vein about fifteen inches in thickness. this vein is elevated about twenty feet above the waters of the terre bleu, and does not extend far in the direction of the river. having been resorted to by the sioux indians a long time, a considerable excavation has been made, but the supply is constant. the color of this mineral substance (its distinguishing character) is an azure copper blue of more or less intensity. it is ductile and moderately adhesive, when first taken up, or when moistened with water, but acquires an almost stony solidity on drying. it is considerably adulterated with sand or particles of quartz. it parts with its moisture rapidly on exposure to the atmosphere, and dries without much apparent diminution of volume. . _green clay of st. peter's._--this differs little from the preceding, except in its color, which is a deep or verdigris green, admitting some diversity of shades. its composition appears to be, essentially, alumina, silica, carbonate of copper, water, and iron. . _opwagunite_; _calamet stone_; _pipe stone._--the last of these terms is a translation of the first, which is algonquin. under these names, a peculiar kind of stone, which is much employed by the indians for pipes, has been alluded to by travellers and geographers from the earliest times. it appears to be a variety of argillaceous wacke. its color is most commonly a uniform dull red, resembling that of red chalk. sometimes it is spotted with brown or yellow, but these spots are very minute, and the colors usually faint. it is perfectly opaque, very compact in its structure, and possessing that degree of hardness which admits its being cut or scraped with a knife, or sawed without injury to a common hand-saw, when first raised from the quarry; but it acquires hardness by exposure, and even takes a polish. but it is not capable of receiving a polish by the usual process of rubbing with grit-stone and pumice, these substances being too harsh for it. the indian process is to scrape or file it smooth, and give it a polish by rubbing with the scouring rush. its powder is a light red, and emits an argillaceous odor when wetted. this substance is procured at the coteau des prairie, intermediate between the sources of the st. peter's and the great sioux rivers. some other places have been mentioned as affording this mineral, particularly a locality on the waters of chippewa river; but the mineral procured here is chocolate-colored. e. _magnesian minerals._ . serpentine. at presque isle point, lake superior, common and precious, in isolated masses; also, in connection with, and imbedding native copper, along the southern shore of lake superior, at ontonagon river, &c. . steatite. at presque isle, near river au mort, lake superior, in connection with the serpentine formation. also, at the lake of the woods, of a black or very dark color, where it is employed by the indians in carving pipes. . asbestos. _common asbestos._--in serpentine and steatite, at presque isle point, lake superior. also, in minute veins, in detached masses of diallage and serpentine rocks, on the west shore of lake michigan. these veins are no more than a fourth of an inch in width; and the fibres of asbestos occur transversely. they are very flexible, and easily reducible into a flocculent mass. f. _barytic minerals._ sulphate of barytes. _lamellar sulphate of barytes._--in detached masses, imbedded in diluvial soil, at the mines of peosta, or dubuque, on the upper mississippi, where it is accompanied by sulphuret of lead, calcareous spar, &c. also, at the mine au fevre (now galena), and at the mouth of the sissinaway river, on the east banks of the mississippi, between prairie du chien and fort armstrong. its colors are white or yellow, and it is frequently incrusted with a thin coat of yellow oxide of iron. it is most commonly opaque. the only translucent specimen seen was procured at dubuque's mines. g. _strontian minerals._ sulphate of strontian. _foliated sulphate of strontian._--at presque isle (wayne's battle ground), on the maumee river, wood county, ohio. it occurs in veins and cavities, in compact limestone, most commonly in the form of flattened prisms. its color is blue, frequently a very light or sky-blue, and the crystals are fully translucent, or even transparent. in some instances, they appear to have suffered a partial decomposition, and fall into fragments in the act of raising, or are covered with a white powdery crust, frequently visible only on the summits or terminating points of the prisms. the same limestone yields crystallized calcareous spar. both these substances are abundant in the rocky banks and in the bed of the maumee. also, on grosse isle, detroit river, michigan. h. _bituminous minerals._ . bitumen. _petroleum._--occurs in cavities, in loose fragments of limestone rock, along the west shore of lake michigan, between milwaukie and chicago. these masses of rock lie promiscuously among fragments of quartz, granite, sandstone, fossil madrepores, &c., along the alluvial shore of the lake, and appear to have been washed up from its bed. the petroleum is in a free and liquid state; but, where it has suffered an exposure to the atmosphere, it has acquired a stiff and tar-like consistence passing into _maltha_. not unfrequently, fragments of mineral coal are also found scattered along these shores, and there is reason to conclude that a bituminous formation exists in the contiguous inferior strata forming the basin of the lake. . graphite. _granular graphite._--in a small vein, in the clay-slate of the river st. louis, at the head of the nine-mile portage. it is coarse-grained and _gritty_. . coal. _slaty coal._--the only spot where this mineral has been observed, in situ, is at la charbonniére, on the west banks of the illinois river, at the computed distance of one hundred and twenty miles south of the post of chicago. it is here seen in horizontal strata, not exceeding two or three inches in thickness, interposed between layers of sandstone and shale. breaking out on the declivity of the bank of the river, where the overlaying strata are constantly crumbling down, and thus obscuring the seams, no very satisfactory examination could be made in a hasty visit; but the nature and position of the rock strata and soils, and the general aspect of the country, do not justify the conclusion that the bed is of much thickness or extent. valuable beds may be discovered, however, by exploring this formation. this coal has a shining black color, a slaty structure, inflames readily, burning with a bright flame. it is very fragile where exposed to the weather, falling into fine fragments. hence, a very black color has been communicated to the contiguous and overlaying soil, which is manifestly more or less the result of disintegrated coal. detached fragments of coal, corresponding in mineral characters with the above, are occasionally found around the southern shores of lake michigan. the inference, as to the existence of coal around the shores of this lake, is obvious. and we are led to inquire: does the la charbonniére formation of coal exist in the sandstone and limestone strata forming the table-land between the illinois river and lake michigan, and reappearing around the basin of the latter, but at such a depression below its surface as to elude observation? and, if so, does not this coal formation extend quite across the southern portion of the peninsula of michigan? the secondary character of the region alluded to, so far as observed, the horizontal and relative position of the strata, and the general uniformity which is generally observed in the species and order of the coal measures, favor this suggestion. i. _soda._ . muriate of soda. no traces of salt are known to have been discovered in those parts of the territory of the united states situated north of latitude ° ´ (which is that of the sault ste. marie) and _east_ of the mississippi river. the great secondary formations which pervade the western country cease south of this general limit, and with them terminate the salt springs, the gypsum beds, the coal measures, and other connected minerals which are generally found in association. it is one of the most important facts which the science of geology has contributed to the stock of useful information, that, in the natural order of the rocky and earthy deposits, muriate of soda always occupies a position contiguous to that of gypsum. this intimate connection between the sulphate of lime and the muriate of soda, enables us, by the discovery of the one, to predict, with considerable but not unerring certainty, the presence of the other. it adds weight to an observation first made among the salt formations of europe, to find its general correctness corroborated by the relative position of these substances in the united states. these remarks will apply particularly to the salt formations of new york, and to some portions of the muriatiferous region of virginia and the arkansas. there appears to be a salt formation extending from the northwest angle of the ohio through michigan, for a distance of two hundred to three hundred miles. it commences in the seweekly country, passing around the sandusky river of lake erie, where an extensive bed of granular gypsum has recently been discovered, and continues, probably, northwest, so as to embrace the saganaw basin, and reach quite to the end of the peninsula, and embracing, perhaps, the gypsum islands of lake huron, ten miles northeast of michilimackinac. all the brine springs and gypsum beds noticed in the region are situated in the line of this formation. during the fall of , a number of gentlemen at the island of michilimackinac united in the expenses of a tour for exploring the skeboigon river, a stream which originates in the peninsula of michigan, and flows into lake huron opposite the island of bois blanc. the particular object of this party was to ascertain the precise locality of certain salt springs reported to exist upon that stream. they proceeded to the places indicated, and examined several springs more or less impregnated with salt, but reported that, owing to the jealousy and hostility of those bands of indians who were found upon that stream, they were not enabled fully to accomplish the object in view. there are several salt springs reported to exist near the indian village of wendagon, on the sciawassa river, and others on the titabawassa river, the principal tributaries of the sagana. little is, however, known respecting these springs, but the water is represented to be so strongly impregnated, that the indians manufacture from it all the salt necessary for their villages. grand river valley has also been mentioned among the localities of salt water and gypsum rocks. hints may thus be derived of value to the future commerce of the country. scarcely any of the new states are without indications of the existence of salt. every day is adding to the number of localities. in the region _west_ of the mississippi, i was informed that salt occurs, in the crystallized form, in the territories of the yanktons, who inhabit the flat country at the sources of the river st. peter's. in certain parts of these plains, the salt exists on the surface. it is mixed with earth, in specimens brought to me, but crystallized in cubes, very imperfect, of a gray or grayish-white color. the indians scrape it up from certain parts of the prairies or plains, where the salt water is prevented from draining off. . alkaline sulphate of alumina. this salt exists, in the form of efflorescences, in the cavities and fissures of rocks along the southeast parts of the shores of sagana bay, lake huron, and in the argillaceous formations at erie, on lake erie, pennsylvania. * * * * * these positions embrace the principal localities of minerals noticed. in travelling rapidly through a remote wilderness, there was but little opportunity to explore off the track; and the whole observation was confined to the mere surface of the country, which is much obscured by diluvial and alluvial formations. it will be seen that the region of lake superior has been a fruitful field for mineralogical inquiry, and it is one which invites further exploration. its mineralogy affords a variety of interesting substances which are objects of scientific research, and it may be anticipated to be the future theatre of extensive mining operations. the country northwest of lake superior, and the upper mississippi north of the falls of st. anthony--consisting mostly of upheaved primitive rocks and the pebble-drift, or diluvial, formations--has furnished but few subjects of mineralogical remark. the district of country between the falls of st. anthony and prairie du chien, in common with the more southern portions of the mississippi valley, partakes of all the interest which the mineral kingdom presents in a calcareous and metalliferous country of secondary formation. it has added considerably to my collection. it is probable the rivers st. peter's, st. croix, and chippeway would well reward exploration; but the mines of dubuque particularly invite a mineralogical survey. their future importance cannot fail to be duly appreciated. if the country has put on an aspect unfavorable to mineralogy, its geological features have been observed to sustain its interest. much of the interest growing out of the examination, for the first time, of the mineralogy and natural history of the country, is such as to commend itself, in an especial manner, to the consideration of men of science, and of associations devoted to scientific details, rather than the department of a government. to these former, nature is a storehouse of facts, and a perpetual anxiety is felt by this class of observers to know the range, not only of our rock formations, but of our plants, shells, fossils, and other classes of objects in our physical geography. such desires i have endeavored, as far as my means permitted, to gratify. the fresh-water conchology of the lakes and rivers visited was often attractive, when other objects excited little interest. the species collected in this department have been referred to the new york lyceum of natural history. with these remarks, the result of an arduous and interesting journey through a part of the continent hitherto unexplored, i have the honor to conclude my report, and to terminate the trust confided to me. i am, sir, with respect, your obedient servant, henry r. schoolcraft, _geologist, &c. of the ex. exp._ viii. (a.) _a report to the senate of the united states, in answer to a resolution passed by this body, respecting the value and extent of the mineral lands on lake superior._[ ] by henry r. schoolcraft. [ ] _to the senate of the united states:_-- in compliance with a resolution of the senate of the th may last, requesting "information relative to the copper mines on the southern shore of lake superior, their number, value, and position, the names of the indian tribes who claim them, the practicability of extinguishing their titles, and the probable advantage which may result to the republic from the acquisition and working these mines," i herewith transmit a report from the secretary of war, which comprises the information desired in the resolution referred to. james monroe. washington, th december, . department of war, d december, . the secretary of war, to whom was referred the resolution of the senate of the th may last, requesting the president of the united states "to communicate to the senate, at the commencement of the next session of congress, any information which may be in the possession of the government, derived from special agents or otherwise, showing the number, value, and position of the copper mines on the south shore of lake superior, the names of the indian tribes who claim them, the practicability of extinguishing their title, and the probable advantage which may result to the republic from the acquisition and working these mines," has the honor to transmit a report of henry r. schoolcraft, indian agent at the sault of ste. marie, on the copper mines in the region of lake superior, which contains all the information in relation to the subject in this department. all which is respectfully submitted. j. c. calhoun. to the president of the united states. sault ste. marie, october , . sir: in reply to the inquiries, contained in a resolution of the senate of the united states, respecting the existence of copper mines in the region of lake superior, inclosed to me in a note from the war department, dated th may, , i have the honor to submit to you the following facts and remarks:-- . in relation to "_the number, value, and position of the copper mines on the south shore of lake superior_." the remote position of the country alluded to, the infrequency of communication, and the little reliance to be placed on information derived through the medium of the aborigines or of traders, who are wholly engrossed with other objects, presents an embarrassment at the threshold of this inquiry, which must be felt by every person who turns his attention to the subject. the information sought for demands a minute acquaintance with the natural features and mineral structure of the country, which can only be acquired by personal examination; and it is a species of research requiring more leisure, better opportunities, and a freer participation in personal fatigue, than usually falls to the share of tourists and travellers. not only are those difficulties to be encountered which are inseparable from the collection of isolated facts in a new and unsettled country, but those, also, which are peculiar to the subject, connected as it is, at every stage of the inquiry, with the prejudices and superstitions of the indian tribes. [b.] it can, therefore, excite little surprise that, after having been the theme of speculation for more than a century, and obtained the notice of several works of merit in europe,[ ] both the position and value of these mineral beds have continued to the present times to be but partially known. to ascertain more clearly their value and importance to the republic were objects more particularly confided to me as a member of the expedition sent by the indian department, in the year , to traverse and explore those regions. my report of the th of november of that year--a copy of which, marked a, is herewith transmitted--gives the result of that inquiry. after a lapse of two years, little can be added. reflection and subsequent inquiry convince me that the facts advanced in that report will be corroborated by future observation. no circumstance has transpired which is calculated to prove that my suggestions with regard to the fertility and future importance of those mines are fallacious; on the contrary, all information tends to strengthen and confirm those suggestions. specimens of pure and malleable copper continue to be brought in to me by the aborigines from that region, but it is not deemed necessary to particularize in this place the additional localities. it will be sufficient to observe, that the number of these new discoveries justifies the expectations that have been created respecting the metalliferous character of the region of the ontonagon, and the south shore of lake superior. [c.] [ ] _vide_ jameson's mineralogy, parkes's chemical catechism, phillips's elementary introduction to mineralogy. i shall here add the result of an accurate analysis made upon a specimen of this copper at the mint of utrecht, in the netherlands, at the request of mr. eustis, minister plenipotentiary from the united states, who carried samples of the american copper to that country. the report of the inspector of the mint, which communicates the result of this analysis, has the following remarks upon the natural properties of this species of copper, and the mode of its production: "from every appearance, the piece of copper seems to have been taken from a mass that has undergone fusion. the melting was, however, not an operation of art, but a natural effect caused by a volcanic eruption. the stream of lava probably carried along in its course the aforesaid body of copper, that had formed into one collection, as fast as it was heated enough to run, from all parts of the mine. the united mass was probably borne in this manner to the place where it now rests in the soil. the crystallized form, observable everywhere on the original surface of the metal that has been left untouched or undisturbed, leads me to presume that the fusion it has sustained was by a process of nature; since this crystallized surface can only be supposed to have been produced by a slow and gradual cooling, whereby the copper assumed regular figures as its heat passed into other substances, and the metal itself lay exposed to the air. "as to the properties of the copper itself, it may be observed that its color is a clear red; that it is peculiarly qualified for rolling and forging; and that its excellence is indicated by its resemblance to the copper usually employed by the english for plating. the dealers in copper call this sort _peruvian copper_ to distinguish it from that of _sweden_, which is much less malleable. the specimen under consideration is incomparably better than swedish copper, as well on account of its brilliant color as for the fineness of its pores and its extreme ductility. notwithstanding, before it is used in manufactures, or for the coining of money, it ought to be melted anew, for the purpose of purifying it from such earthy particles as it may contain. the examination of the north american copper, in the sample received from his excellency the minister, by the operation of the cupel and test by fire, has proved that it does not contain the smallest particle of silver, gold, or any other metal." it is a coincidence worthy of remark, that the suggestions offered by the assayer respecting the volcanic origin of these masses of copper, are justified by the leading features of the porcupine mountains, and by the melted granites found upon the heights called grande sables and ishpotonga. . the second and third inquiries of the resolution relate to "_the names of the indian tribes who claim the mines, and the practicability of extinguishing their title_." by the treaty concluded at this post on the th of june, , the ojibwai[ ] indians cede to the united states four miles square of territory, bounded by the river st. mary's, and including the portage around the falls.[ ] this is the most northerly point to which the indian title has been extinguished in the united states. the different bands of ojibwais possess all the country northwest of this post, extending through lake superior to the sources of the mississippi, where they are bounded by the assennaboins, the crees, and the chippewyans of the hudson bay colony. their lands extend down the mississippi to the sioux boundary, an unsettled line between the junction of the river de corbeau and the falls of st. anthony. south of lake superior, they claim to the possessions of the winnebagoes, on the ouisconsin and fox rivers, and to those of the pottawatamies and ottoways, on lake michigan. the wild rice, or monomonee indians, are an integral part of the ojibwai nation, deriving their name from the great reliance they place on the zizania aquatica as an article of food. they live in small, dispersed bands between the ojibwais of the lake, and the winnebagoes of fox river. those residing among the ojibwais speak the same language, but with many peculiarities and corruptions on the waters of green bay. they claim the respective tracts upon which they are located. these are, principally, the valleys of the fox and monomonee rivers, and the rice lands contiguous to the fol. avoine, clam lake, and lac de flambeau, which lie on the table-lands between lake superior and the mississippi. [ ] for the different names applied to this tribe of indians, see appendix h. [ ] _vide_ acts passed at the second session of the th congress of the united states, page . the right of soil to all that part of the peninsula of michigan not purchased by the united states is divided between the ojibwais and the ottoways. the former claim all the shores and islands of lake huron situated north of the saganaw purchase, except those in the vicinity of michilimackinac and the st. martin, or gypsum islands, which were ceded by treaty on the th of july, .[ ] their territories continue north, through the river st. mary's, embracing the country on both banks, and the islands in the river, saving drummond's island, which is garrisoned by the british, and the four mile concession at the sault or falls, now occupied by a detachment of the united states' army. it is not deemed necessary to point out the limits of their territories with more precision, or to pursue them into the canadas, where they are also very extensive. it will sufficiently appear, from this outline, that the discoveries of copper on the south shore of lake superior are upon their lands. that some of these discoveries have been made upon, or will be traced to, the possessions of the north monomonees, is also probable. [ ] _vide_ acts passed at the second session of the th congress, p. . with respect to the practicability of extinguishing the indian title, no difficulty is to be apprehended. living in small villages, or tribes of the same mark, scattered over an immense territory, and often reduced to great poverty by the failure of game and fish, it is presumed there would be a disposition among their chiefs and head men to dispose of portions of it. those districts which most abound in minerals, presenting a rough and rocky surface, are the least valuable to them as hunting-grounds; and the goods and annuities which they would receive in exchange must be vastly more important to them than any game which these mineral lands now afford. . "_the probable advantage which may result to the republic from the acquisition and working of these mines._" how far metallic mines, situated upon the public domain, may be considered as a source of national wealth, and what system of management is best calculated to produce the greatest advantages to the public revenue, are inquiries which are not conceived to be presented for consideration in this place; nor should i presume to offer any speculations upon topics which have been so often discussed, and so fully settled. in applying axioms, however, to a species of productive industry, the results of which are so very various under various situations, great caution is undoubtedly necessary; and it must appear manifest, on the slightest reflection, how much the comparative value of metallic mines, equally fertile and productive, ever depends upon situation and local advantages. dismissing, therefore, all questions of abstract policy, i shall here adduce a few facts in relation to the fertility of these mineral beds, and their position with respect to a market--points upon which their value to the nation must ultimately turn. that copper is abundantly found on the south shore of lake superior has been shown. it is unnecessary here to add to, or repeat the instances of its occurrence, or to urge, from an inspection of the surface, the fertility of subterranean beds. all the facts which i possess in relation to this subject are before you, and you will assign to them such importance as they merit. it is a subject upon which i have bestowed some reflection and much inquiry, superadded to limited opportunities of personal observation, and the result has led me to form a favorable estimate of their value and importance. it is not only certain that a prodigious number of masses of metallic copper are found along the borders of the lake, but every appearance authorizes a conclusion that they are only the indications of near and continuous veins. some of these masses are of unexampled size, and all present metallic copper in a state of great purity and fineness. of its ductile and excellent qualities for the purposes of coinage and sheathing, the analysis of utrecht leaves no doubt. it is true that a mistaken idea has prevailed among travellers and geographers respecting the weight of the great mass of copper on the ontonagon river; but it is, nevertheless, of extraordinary dimensions, and i have endeavored to show, from their works, how these errors have originated, and that the metal is disseminated throughout a much greater extent of country, and in masses of every possible form and size. until my facts and data can, therefore, be proved to be fallacious, i must be permitted to consider these mines not only fertile in native copper and its congenerous species, but unparalleled in extent, and to recommend them as such to the notice of the government. but, whatever degree of incertitude may exist respecting the riches of these mines, their situation with respect to a market can admit of no dispute. as little can there be concerning the advantages which this situation presents for the purposes of mining and commerce. let us compare it with that of other mines, and appeal to acknowledged facts for the decision. the value of a coal mine, a stone quarry, or a gypsum bed, often arises as much from its situation as its fertility. but the proposition may be reversed with respect to a metallic mine, the value of which to the proprietor arises more from its fertility and less from its situation. gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, &c., when separated from the matrix of the mine, are so valuable that they can bear to be transported a long journey over land, and the most distant voyage by water. their worth in coined money, produce, or manufactures, is not fixed in the particular circles of country where they are dug up, but depends upon the seaboard market, and embraces all countries. the silver of mexico and peru circulates throughout europe, and is carried to china. it is no objection to those mines that they are situated in the cordilleras, or upon the high table-lands of the american continent, and must be carried a thousand miles upon the backs of mules to the seaside. the very discovery of those mines has rendered many poor silver mines of europe of no value, although possibly situated in the environs of the best silver markets in the world. it is the fertility, and not the situation of such mines, that constitutes their chief value; and it is so with many of the coarser metals. the tin of the island of banka, and the peninsula of siam in asia, and the copper of japan, find their way to europe, and are articles of commerce in the united states. the cobalt of saxony is sent to pekin, and the platina of choco, to all parts of the world. in all these instances, the fertility of the mines compensates for every disadvantage of situation. but this principle is not alone confined to mines of tin, copper, &c.; it even holds true of the heavy and bulky articles of iron, lead, and salt. the lead of missouri finds a market at new york, philadelphia, and boston, and will be carried to europe. it is no objection that it must be conveyed in wagons forty miles from the interior, and sent a voyage of , miles in steamboats and merchant ships. the great fertility of the mines counterbalances the disadvantages of its remote position from the market, and it is the price of the metal in the market which always regulates its price at the mines. the malleable iron of sweden is consumed on the summits of the alleghany, although its strata are replete with iron ore, which is worked at numerous forges along the rivers which proceed from each side of it. it is believed that the salt springs of onondaga, from their copiousness alone, would supply a vast portion of the interior and seaboard of the united states with salt, even if the facilities of water carriage had not been presented by the erie canal. the value of such mines and minerals ever depends as much upon the abundance as upon the favorable position of them. it is far otherwise with quarries of stone, gypsum, marl, fossil coal, &c., whose contiguity to a good market establishes their value. no abundance of these articles would justify a land carriage of one hundred miles. they constitute a species of mining, the profits and value of which increases in the ratio of the surrounding population, and as the country advances in improvements. but this advantage is far less sensibly felt, and cannot be considered essential to the successful working of mines of silver, copper, &c. neither the remote position, therefore, of the lake superior copper mines, nor the want of a surrounding population, present objections of that force which would at first seem to exist; and it is confidently believed that, if their fertility is such as facts indicate, they may be opened and wrought with eminent advantage to the republic. but let us examine their situation with respect to a market, and compare it with that of other mines of the same metal, and of some of the coarser metals, which bear a considerable land, and the most distant water carriage. to favor the inquiry, let it be granted for the moment that proximity of situation to a market, or free water carriage, are indispensable to the success and value of the most fertile mines. assuming the confluence of the ontonagon river with lake superior (which is apparently the centre of the mine district) as the place where the metal is first to be embarked for market, it must be carried down the lake miles to the sault or rapids of st. mary's. here, if it is in barges, it may descend the rapids in perfect safety, as is the invariable practice of the traders on arriving with their annual returns of furs and skins from the north. if in vessels, it must be transferred either into boats or carts, and carried half a mile to the foot of the rapids, where it will again be embarked in vessels, and transported through the lakes huron, st. clair, and erie, and their connecting straits, to buffalo, a distance of miles. the progress made in the construction of the great canal which is to connect the lakes and atlantic, is such as to leave no doubt upon any reasonable mind of the full completion of that work with the close of the year . through this channel, the transportation is to be continued in boats or barges, by a voyage of miles, to the hudson at albany; thence a sloop navigation of miles, which, for speed and freedom from risk, is perhaps unequalled in all america, takes it into the harbor of new york, making the entire distance, from the mouth of the ontonagon, , miles. from new york it is distributed to our naval depots, and to the markets of europe. it is exchanged for the lead of missouri, the iron of sweden, or the silver of mexico; and the same ready communication transports the return cargo to buffalo, from whence the commerce is extended, by means of the lakes, throughout western new york, pennsylvania, ohio, indiana, illinois, michigan, and the interminable regions of the north. thus it is seen that, when the erie canal is completed, a free and direct water communication, from the mines to one of the best markets in america, will exist, in which the rapids of st. mary's are the only interruption, and this is only an interruption to large vessels. not only so, but the ontonagon river may be ascended many miles with vessels of light burden, and thus the copper of lake superior, wafted from the heart of the interior, and from the base of the porcupine mountains, into the harbors of new york, philadelphia, &c. of this whole distance, , miles are now navigated by the largest class of river craft and lake schooners; the balance of the distance is the length of the erie canal. (see note d.) let it be recollected that there are no mines of copper situated upon the margin of the sea, and that every quintal of sheet copper, bolts, nails, &c., which we receive from great britain, russia, sweden, or japan, is transported a greater or less distance on turnpikes or canals, before it reaches the place of shipment. the richest copper mines of the russian empire are seated on the summits of the uralian mountains; those of fahlun, in sweden, and cornwall, in england, are scarcely more favored as to position; and, owing to a want of coal, all the ores raised at the latter are transported into wales to be smelted.[ ] but we need not resort to europe for instances. all the lead raised at the fertile mines in missouri is transported an average distance of forty miles in carts and wagons before it reaches the banks of the mississippi. steamboats take it to new orleans, a distance, by the shortest computation, of , miles. but it must still pass through the gulf of mexico, and encounter the perils of the capes of florida, and a voyage of , miles along the coast of the united states, before it reaches its principal marts. the average cost of transporting a hundredweight of lead from mine au breton and potosi to the banks of the mississippi, during the year , was seventy-five cents. the distance is thirty-six miles. the price of conveying the same quantity from the storehouses at herculaneum and st. genevieve to new orleans, by steamboats, was seventy cents. the distance exceeds , miles. hence, it costs more to transport a given quantity thirty-six miles by land than to convey it , by water. these rates have probably varied since, but the proportionate expense of land carriage, compared to that of water, will remain the same. a quintal of copper may, therefore, be transported from the mines of superior to buffalo or lockport, in new york, for the same sum required to convey an equal quantity of lead from potosi to st. genevieve. if we consider the city of new york as the market of both, no hesitancy or doubt can be experienced as to the decided and palpable advantages possessed by the northern mines. it is only necessary to adduce these facts; the conclusions are inevitable. in every point of view, the distance of these mines from the market presents no solid objection to their being explored with profit to the nation. [ ] silliman. pig copper, which is the least valuable form in which this metal is carried to market, is now quoted in the atlantic cities at cents per pound; sheathing, at ; brazier's, at . i have no data at hand to show the amount of these articles consumed in the united states, and for which we are annually transmitting immense sums to enrich foreign states. but those who best appreciate the advantages of commerce will readily supply the estimate. it would be an interesting inquiry to ascertain how much of the sums yearly paid for sheathing copper, bolts, nails, engravers' plates, &c., is contributed to the wealth of the respective foreign states who possess mines of this metal. we can look back to a period in the history of great britain, when that power did not contribute one pound of copper to the commerce of europe. during a period of nine years, closing with the memorable year (in american history) of , the produce of the copper mines of cornwall was , tons of fine copper. (see note e.) since that time, the yearly returns of those mines exhibit a constant increase; and the copper mines of great britain are now the most valuable in the world. the amount produced by the mines of cornwall and devon, after deducting the charges of smelting, for the single year of , was , pounds sterling. (see note f.) the clear profits of the dolgoath mine, one of the richest in cornwall, for a period of five months, during the year , was £ , , which is at the rate of £ , , or $ , , per annum. next to great britain, the most considerable mines of europe are those of russia, austria, sweden, and westphalia, as it was in . of less importance are those of denmark, france, saxony, prussia, and spain. the proportion in which the british mines exceed those of the most favored european nation is as , x , . (see note g.) there is another consideration connected with this subject which is worthy of remark. should it be inquired what would be the effects of the purchase of these mines upon the condition of the indian tribes, the reply is obvious. it would have the most beneficial tendency. they would not only profit by an exchange of their waste lands for goods, implements of husbandry, the stipulated services of blacksmiths, teachers, &c., but the intercourse would have a happy tendency to allay those bitter feelings which, through the instigation of the british authorities in the canadas, they have manifested, and still continue to feel, in degree, towards the united states. the measures which the president has recently directed to be pursued to assuage these feelings of hostility, and to induce them to cherish proper sentiments of friendship and respect, are already in a train of execution that bids fair for success. continued exertions, and the necessary and proper means, are all that seem necessary to confirm and complete the effect; and whatever measures have a tendency to increase the intercourse of american citizens with these "remote tribes," and to give them a true conception of the power and justice, and the pacific and benevolent policy of our government, must favor and hasten such a result. i have the honor to be, sir, with the highest respect, your most obedient servant, henry r. schoolcraft, _u. s. indian agent at the sault ste. marie_. hon john c. calhoun, _secretary of war, washington_. _notes._ (b.) among the numerous superstitions which the indian tribes entertain, that respecting mines is not the least remarkable. they are firmly impressed with a belief that any information communicated to the whites, disclosing the position of mines or metallic treasures situated upon their grounds, is displeasing to their manitos, and even to the great spirit himself, from whom they profess to derive every good and valuable gift; and that this offence never fails to be visited upon them in the loss of property, in the want of success in their customary pursuits or pastimes, in untimely death, or some other singular disaster or untoward event. this opinion, although certainly not a strange one to be cherished by a barbarous people, is, nevertheless, believed to have had its origin in the transactions of an era which is not only very well defined, but must ever remain conspicuous in the history of the discovery and settlement of america. it is very well known that the precious metals were the principal objects which led the spanish invaders to penetrate into the interior of mexico and peru, and ultimately to devastate and conquer the country, to plunder and destroy its temples, and to tax and enslave its ill-fated inhabitants. it is equally certain that, to escape these scenes of cruelty and oppression, many tribes and fragments of tribes, when further resistance became hopeless, fled towards the north, preferring the enjoyment of liberty and tranquillity upon the chilly borders of the northern lakes, to the pains of servitude in the mild and delightful valleys of mexico, and the golden plains of the incas. in this way, many tribes who originally migrated from the north, along the pacific ocean, to the gulf of california, and thence over all new spain, were returned towards the north over the plains of texas and the valley of the mississippi; those tribes nearest the scenes of the greatest atrocities always pressing upon the remoter and less civilized, who, in turn, pressed upon the nations less enlightened than themselves, and finally drove them into the unfrequented forests of the north. among these terrified tribes, the traditions of the ojibwais affirm that their ancestors came, and that they originally dwelt in a country destitute of snows. many tribes who now speak idioms of their language were left upon the way, and have since taken distinctive names. among these, are the pottawatamies, the ottoways, &c. the latter formerly were, as they still remain, the agriculturists. the miamis and shawnees, whose languages bear some affinity, preceded them in their flight. the winnebagoes, speaking a separate and original tongue, came later, and preserve more distinct traditions of their migration. all these tribes carried with them the strong prejudices and fixed hatred excited by the cruelty, rapacity, and cupidity of their european conquerors; and, above all, of that insatiable thirst for gold and silver which led the spaniards to sack their towns, burn their temples, and torture their people. cruelty and injustice of so glaring a character must have made upon their minds too deep an impression ever to be forgotten, or completely erased from their traditions. to that memorable epoch we must, therefore, look for the origin of that cautious and distrustful disposition which these tribes have since manifested with regard to the mines and minerals situated upon their lands; and the circumstance seems to offer an abundant excuse, if not a justification, for those prevarications and evasions which present a continual series of embarrassment to every person who seeks through their aid to develop the mineral resources, or describe the natural productions, of their territories. hence, too, the cause why they are prone to imagine that all mineral or metallic substances obtained or sought upon their lands, are susceptible of being converted or _transmuted_ into the precious metals. (c.) the following _additional_ localities of native copper, derived from sources entitled to respect, and accompanied, in some instances, by specimens of the metal, may here be given:-- . grand menou, or isle royal, lake superior. captain----, of the schooner----, in the employ of the hudson's bay company, on lake superior, describes this island as affording frequent masses of copper. while becalmed off its shores in the spring of , and, afterwards, in coasting along the island for a distance of one hundred miles, his men frequently went ashore, and never failed to bring back with them lumps of metallic copper, which they found promiscuously scattered among the fragments of rock. these were more abundant in approaching its southwestern extremity, where they unite in representing it to exist in a solid vein. specimens of limpid quartz, chalcedony, and striped agate, were also brought to me from this island. [j. s. j. j.] . on the extremity of the great peninsula, called by the natives meenaiewong, or keweena point, which forms so prominent a feature in the physiognomy of lake superior. it occurs in the detached form. [j. h. j. j.] . at point aux beignes, which is the east cape of the entrance into l'ance quewiwenon. a mass from this place was raised from the sandstone rock, which predominates there. [j. y. b.] . at caug wudjieu, or the porcupine mountains, lake superior; in masses, enveloped with a green crust, along the banks of the carp, or neemaibee river, which originates in these mountains. [w. m. g. y. j. j.] . on the banks of lac courterroile. this lake lies near the source of the river broule, or cawesacotai, which enters lake superior near la pointe. it occurs in the alluvial soil, which is a kind of loamy earth, with pebbles intermixed, but of a rich quality, and timbered with beech and maple. it is found mostly in small, flat masses, more or less oxidated. [b. g. j. g. y.] . in a vein on the shore of lake superior, between la riviere de mort and st. john's, a little to the west of presque isle. [j. j.] . on the northeast branch of the ontonagon river. [j. h.] . in the precipitous bluffs called le portail, and the pictured rocks. a green matter oozes from the seams in these rocks, and forms a kind of stalactites, which is apparently a carbonate of copper. [g. y.] these localities embrace a range of more than two hundred miles along the south shore of lake superior, which proves how intimately this metal and its ores are identified with the rocks and the soil of that region. (d.) in all our calculations respecting the position and advantages of these mines, too much stress cannot be laid upon the facilities of the lake navigation. it is believed that a ton of merchandise, or a barrel bulk, can be transported through the lakes at the same rates that are paid in the coasting trade of the united states. nor is the risk greater. the best data which i can command, induce me to conclude that a quintal of copper can be conveyed from the place of shipment on lake superior, to the city of new york, for _one dollar_. the present price of transportation, for a barrel bulk, from buffalo to mackina, may be stated, on the average of freights, at _s._, new york. the mean weight of a barrel bulk, taking flour as the standard, may be safely put down at lbs. gross, being cents per cwt. but it must be recollected that there is no return freight; and, consequently, that this sum covers the expenses not only of the outward and return voyage, but still leaves a profit to the owner. messrs. gray and griswold, sutlers of the d regiment, paid _s._ _d._, new york, per barrel bulk, from buffalo to the sault. this gives a result of cents per cwt. but, if a return cargo could be obtained, one-half of this sum would afford an equal profit on the voyage; and it is believed that the article of bar copper could at all times be conveyed from the sault to buffalo for cents per cwt. being a very convenient species of ballast, it would oftentimes be taken in lieu of stone, and, consequently, cost no greater sum than the price of carrying it on board. but the facilities and cheapness of the lake navigation cannot, perhaps, be better illustrated than by stating the price of provisions at the post of st. mary's, every article of which is carried from to miles through the lakes. the following statement of the assistant commissary has been politely furnished at my request:-- sault ste. marie, october, . dear sir: agreeably to your request, i send you a statement of the actual cost of subsistence stores furnished at this post for the use of troops at present making the military establishment, ordered by the government to this place. the prices of the several articles below enumerated are at a small advance on the stores of the settlers outside of the cantonment. the expenses of subsisting, or rather of maintaining, a garrison at this place will be as small, if not less, per annum, than at any other frontier post in our country. the provisions for the soldier cost as little, i believe, as at any other post, and next year we shall be able to raise all the forage for the use of our beef cattle, and the horses and oxen of the quartermaster's department. i am, dear sir, yours, &c., w. bicker, _a. c. s. u. s. a._ _statement of the cost of united states subsistence stores at the sault de ste. marie, ._ cents. pork, per pound - / flour, per pound - / whiskey, per gallon fresh beef, per pound - / vinegar, per gallon salt, per bushel soap, per pound candles, per pound - / beans, per quart - / the total cost of a soldier's ration is cents and mill per diem. walter bicker, _a. c. s. u. s. a._ h. r. schoolcraft, esq., _u. s. i. agent_. (e.) _statement of the returns of copper ores smelted at the mines of cornwall (eng.) from to .--[rees's cyclopedia.]_ -------------+------------+-------------+---------+--------------- periods. |tons of ore.|average price| amount. |annual quantity | | per ton. | |of fine copper. -------------+------------+-------------+---------+--------------- to | , | £ | £ , | tons to | , | | , | " to | , | | , | , " to | , | | , , | , " to | , | | , , | , " -------------+------------+-------------+---------+--------------- (f.) _statement of the produce of the mines of cornwall and devon (eng.) for a period of four years, ending with ._ ------------------+-------------+------------+----------+--------- | | | | ------------------+-------+-----+------+-----+----------+--------- |corn- |devon|corn- |devon| cornwall | cornwall |wall | |wall | |and devon |and devon ------------------+-------+-----+------+-----+----------+--------- tons of ore. | | | | | | tons. | , | , | , | , | , | , cwt. | | | | | | qrs. | | | | | | ------------------+-------+-----+------+-----+----------+--------- fine copper. | | | | | | tons. | , | | , | | , | , cwt. | | | | | | qrs. | | | | | | lbs. | | | | | | ------------------+-------+-----+------+-----+----------+--------- average | | | | standard £ | | | | per ton. | | | | ------------------+-------+------------+----------------+--------- annual amount £| , | , | , | , after deducting | | | | charges of s.| | | | smelting. | | | | ------------------+-------+------------+----------------+--------- (g.) _table of the annual quantity of copper raised from the earth in different countries, in quintals--the quintal valued at lbs._ . england , . russia , . austria, including bohemia, gallicia, hungary, transylvania, styria, carinthia, carniola, salzburg, and moravia , . sweden , . westphalia, in , . states of denmark , . bavaria, including the tyrol , . france , . saxony, in , . prussia, as left by the treaty of tilsit . spanish european mines -------- total, , (h.) i shall here give the synonoma for this tribe of indians, which appears to have been first recognized by the united states as an independent tribe by wayne's treaty of ,[ ] under the name of chipewa. this name has been retained in all subsequent treaties with them, not, however, without some discrepance in the orthography. these variations are chiefly marked by the introduction of the letter _p_ at the beginning of the second syllable, or the vowel _y_ annexed to the third; producing chip-_pe_-wa, chip-_pe_-wa_y_, and chip-e-_way_. the french missionaries and traders, whose policy it was to discard the names of the aboriginal tribes from their conversations, bestowed upon this tribe, at a very early period, the _nom de guerre_ of _saulteurs_, or _sauteurs_, from the sault or falls of st. mary's, which was the ancient seat of this tribe--a name which is still retained by the canadians, and by many of the american traders. among the early french writers, they were also sometimes denominated _outchipouas_. there is as little uniformity among travellers and geographers. pinkerton, darby, morse, carver, mackenzie, and herriot, either employ the word according to the orthography of wayne's treaty, or with the modifications above noticed. the name of chippewyans, employed by mackenzie, relates to a tribe residing north and west of the sources of the mississippi, who speak a language having no affinity, and are a distinct people. henry, who was well versed in the chippewa language, also conforms to the popular usage, but observes that the true name, as pronounced by themselves, is ojibwa. [ ] this fact is not stated in full confidence. i cannot refer to any authorities to prove that they were formally recognized by the united states before this very recent period. by the french and british governments they were known soon after the first settlements at quebec and albany (a. d. , ), and subsequently treated with. a band of warriors from chegoimegon, on lake superior, under the command of waub ojeag, or the white fisher, was present at the taking of fort niagara by sir w. johnston in . having taken pains to ascertain and fix the pronunciation of this word, i have not hesitated to introduce it into my correspondence and official accounts; but i am aware of my great temerity in so doing. popular prejudices, and several of the authorities above cited, stand opposed to the proposed innovation. the continued use of the word "chippewa" is also sanctioned by a name entitled to conclusive respect. "i write the word in this way," observes the executive of michigan, "because i am apprehensive the orthography is inveterately fixed, and not because i suppose it is correct." still, there are reasons for changing it. justice to this unfortunate race requires it. since the popular apathy to their condition is such that every remembrance of their actual customs, manners, and traditions will probably perish with them, and their _name_, ere long, be all that is left, it is at least incumbent upon us to transmit _that_ to posterity in its true sound--as the fathers and sachems pronounced it. if, then, there is an acknowledged error in this respect, shall we hesitate to correct it? ix. _rapid glances at the geology of western new york, west of the rome summit, in ._[ ] [ ] at the time these sketches were written, no geological observations had been made on this field, which has, at subsequent periods, been so elaborately described; nor had the topic itself attracted much attention. i landed at new york, in the ship arethusa, from new orleans, in the summer of , and published, in that city, in the fall of that year, an account of the lead-bearing rocks of missouri, and their supporting white sandstones, which rest, in horizontal deposits, on the primitive formation of the st. francis; bringing, at the same time, a rich collection of the mineralogy of that region, which soon became known in private cabinets. this became the cause of my employment, by the united states government, to visit the alleged copper mines on lake superior, as a member of the expedition to the sources of the mississippi. i left oneida county, in the district remarked on, on the th of april of that year, and reached the banks of the niagara river on the th of that month. on returning from the sources of the mississippi, i entered the same region on the th of october, and reached oneida on the st of the same month. prior to my visit to the great west, i had dwelt some three years--namely, , ' , ' , ' --in oneida and ontario counties. these were the opportunities enjoyed, up to the period, for acquiring a knowledge of the geography and geology of the country. mr. a. eaton's _index to geology_, published early in , embraces nothing extending to western new york. rock formations.-- . assuming the area of the most eastwardly head of the onondaga valley, the wood creek, and the rome summit, and the valley of the niagara, with an indefinite extent laterally, to form the limits of this inquiry; it is in coincidence with all known facts to say that it is a secondary region, consisting of the sedimentary and semi-crystalline strata, the lines of which are perfectly horizontal. colored sandstone, generally red, forms the lowest observed stratum. wherever streams have worn deep channels, they either disclose this rock or its adjuncts, the grits, or silicious sinter. it is apparent in the chasm at niagara falls, about half a mile below the cataract. it is often seen on the surface of the country, or buried slightly beneath the soil. in color, hardness, and other characters, there is a manifest variety. but, considered as a "formation," no doubt can exist of its unity. its thickness can only be conjectured, as no labor has, so far as we know, penetrated through it. judging from observations made in cattaraugus county, in , the coal measures have been completely swept from this area. . next in point of altitude, is the series of dark, carbonaceous, shelly slate rock. the thickness of this formation, as indicated at niagara, cannot be less than ninety feet. it is also often a surface-rock in the district, forming portions of the banks of lakes, streams, &c. it is characterized by organic remains of nascent species. portions of it also disclose rounded masses of pre-existing rocks. . last in the order of superposition, is the secondary limestone formation. it is, most commonly, of a dark, sedimentary aspect. it is not invariably so, but portions of it have a shining, semi-crystalline fracture. shades of color also vary considerably, but it never, in the scale of colors, exceeds a whitish-gray. viewed at different localities, the mass is either compact, fetid, shelly, or silicious. much of it produces good quicklime. it is often rendered "bastard," as the phrase is, by argillaceous and earthy impurities. organic impressions, and remains of sea shells and coarse corals are frequent. encrinites give some portions of it the appearance of eyed or dotted secondary marble. the occurrence of a hard variety of hornstone, which is not flint, is apparently confined to the compact, fetid variety. this formation, like the two preceding, may be found to consist of separate strata. localities, joining, overlaying, substrata, mineral contents, organic species, &c., require observation. the following notices are added. geological changes.--the evidences which are furnished of ancient submersion, which has "changed and overturned" vast portions of the solid land, are neither few nor equivocal. they are seen as well in the rock strata as the alluvial soils. the most elevated hills and the lowest valleys are equally productive of the evidences of extensive changes. the whole aspect of the country seems to attest to the ancient dominion of water. but the most striking proof of its agency is, perhaps, found in the sea-shells, polypi, and crustacea, which are preserved, in their outlines, in solid strata. some of these are most vivid in their shapes and ray-like markings, particularly the univalve shells. a subsequent change, in the surface of the country, is indicated by the marks of attrition and watery action upon the faces of these rocks, in situations greatly elevated above the present water-levels. this action must, consequently, be referred to a period when extensive submersions, in the nature of lakes or semi-seas, existed; for there is no power in present lakes and streams, however swelled and reinforced by rains or melting snows, to reach even a moiety of the elevation of these ancient water-marks. it is to the era of these last submersions that we are encouraged, by evidences, to look, as the disturbing cause which has buried trees, leaves, and bones in alluvial soils. _action of water._--in examining some portions of the flat lands of ontario county, such as the township of phelps, there are strata of a fine sedimentary soil, such as might be expected to result from the settlings of water not greatly agitated. the bottoms of mill-ponds afford an analogous species of soil. in these level districts, there are also not unfrequently observed fields of bare flat rock, of the limestone species, which is checkered in its surface, conveying the idea of their having formed a flooring to some former lake. an appearance of this kind may be seen a few hundred yards from the meeting-house in phelps. the rock, in this instance, is a carbonate of lime, and affords organic remains. the oak openings, in erie county, are a kind of natural meadows or prairies. many suppose them to have been ancient clearings; but of this the indians have no tradition, and the evidences of such a settlement are by no means satisfactory. in many places, on these extensive openings, there are naked and barren layers of calcareous rock, whose surface exhibits appearances analogous to those in ontario. the limestone is, however, of a darker color, and contains numerous imbedded nodules of hornstone, and it emits a fetid odor on breaking. in crossing the elevated calcareous highlands, between danville and arkport, in steuben county, we perceive in the bluff rocks which bound the valley of the conestoga river, at an elevation of perhaps two hundred feet above its bed, horizontal water-marks, deeply impressed upon the face of the rocks, as if the waters had formerly stood at that level; and it is impossible to resist the conviction, in travelling over this rugged district of country, that it has not been totally submerged by waters, which have been suddenly drawn off, but by gradual or periodical exhaustions, standing for many ages at different levels. slate rocks.--these were, not inaptly, denominated "brittle slate," by dr. mitchell, in . brittleness is their pervading character; and it is owing to this quality, in a formation of great thickness, that the action of the water at niagara falls is of so very striking a character. there is no portion of the niagara slate solid enough to be used for building stone. it is uniformly shelly, and exhibits, even in hand specimens, its reproduced character.[ ] those portions of the general formation which are solid constitute silicious slate. a locality of this variety may be seen at the halfway house, eight miles east of canandaigua. [ ] appropriately pronounced a "secondary graywacke slate," by mr. eaton. seneca lake.--this clear and picturesque lake has its bed in the secondary formations, and may be referred to as exhibiting localities of them. its upper parts afford the compact limestone in quadrangular blocks. large portions of its margin consist of the brittle carbonaceous slate. the shores, from the vicinity of rose's farm to appletown, are little else but a continuous bank of the slate. on the opposite coast, it is also visible at various localities below the crooked lake inlet. cashong creek may be particularly referred to. a short ascent of its valley brings the spectator into a scene where the walled masses of slaty rock assume a character of grandeur. among the recent portions which have been thrown into the valley, may be seen masses having large species of the stem-like organic remains, which indicate its newness as a formation. here are also disclosed orbicular masses, and pebbles of other rocks, imbedded in the slate. these prove it to be--what its texture would, in other places, indicate--a secondary slate. the order of position on the banks of this lake is the same as at niagara; but the sandstone is not apparent above the water line. its existence, in the bed of the lake, may be satisfactorily inferred, from the masses of yellow coarse sand which are driven up at the foot of the lake, and particularly around its outlet. when the winds prevail, the water is driven violently against this part of the shore. as it is an alluvial flat, they soon surmount the stated margin, and produce a partial inundation. on their recession, wreathes of sand remain. diluvial elevations.--bounding the alluvial plain of the seneca outlet westward, there is a series of remarkable wave-like ridges, whose direction is parallel to that of the lake. on the declivity-stop of the first of these ridges, stands the village of geneva, the buildings of which are thus displayed in an amphitheatric manner above the clear expanse of the lake. the substratum of these ridges is an argillaceous, compact soil of the eldest formation. some parts of it are a stiff clay, and yield septaria; but there is no considerable portion of it, which has been examined, wholly destitute of primitive boulders and pebbles. little doubt can remain but that it is the result of the broken-down slaty rock mixed with the extraneous and far-fetched primitive masses. they are conclusive of its diluvial character. i have attentively examined this formation, in the section of it exposed on the shores of the lake between the village of geneva and two-mile point. all its solid, stony contents are piled along the margin of the lake, the soil being completely washed away. granite, quartz, and trap pebble-stones and boulders, are here promiscuously strewn with recent debris. over the argillaceous deposit is spread a mantle of newer soil, of unequal depth and character, which forms, exclusively, the theatre of farming and horticultural labors. white springs.--on the declivity of one of these parallel ridges, at the distance of two miles from the lake, is found an extensive bed of white marl. this deposit, which is on the estate of the late judge nicholas, covers many acres, and yields so copious a spring of pure water that it is sufficient, at the distance of about three hundred yards from its issue, to turn a gristmill. there are to be found in this bed of marl several species of helix and voluta. the marl is generally covered with an alluvial deposit of two feet in depth. the depth of the marl itself is unexplored. is not this marl the result of decomposed sea shells? beds of quartzose sand.--in certain parts of the seneca valley are found limited deposits of a white quartzose sand, in a state of comparative purity. this substance is capable of being readily vitrified by the addition of alkaline fluxes, and is thus converted into glass. its existence, as a local deposit, beneath separate strata of alluvial soil, supporting a growth of trees and shrubs, is such as to render it probable that the present stream, in its exhausted state, could have had no agency in producing these deposits. if we are compelled to look to a former condition of the waters passing off through this valley, as affording the requisite power of deposit, we are then carried back to an era in the geology of the country which we must refer to, to account for by far the greater number of changes in all its recent soils. indeed, wherever we examine these soils, out of the range comprehended between high- and low-water mark, on any existing lake or stream, there will be found occasion to resort to the agency of more general and anterior submersions. a few localities may be appealed to. fossil wood.--in digging a well in the genesee valley, one mile east of the river (at hosmer's), part of the trunk of a tree, of mature growth, was found at the depth of forty-one feet below the surface. the soil was a loose sand mixed with gravel. the position is more elevated than the flats, so called. antlers.--a large pair of elk's horns were discovered in an excavation made for the foundation of a mill at clyde, in seneca county. they were imbedded in alluvial soil, ten feet below the surface. this surface had been cleared of elm and other forest trees of mature growth. near the same place, logs of wood were found at the depth of fourteen feet. these discoveries were made in the valley of clyde river, which is formed by the junction of the canandaigua outlet with mud creek. frogs enclosed in the geological column.--at carthage, on the genesee, twelve or fifteen frogs were found in excavating a layer of compact clay marl, about nine feet below the surface. the position is several hundred feet above the bed of the genesee river, to which elevation no one, after viewing the spot, will deem it probable its waters could have reached, this side of the diluvian era. a frog was dug out of the solid rock, at lockport, niagara county, by the workmen engaged in excavating the canal. it was enveloped by the limestone which abounds in cavities filled with crystals of strontian and dog-tooth spar. it came to life for a few moments, and then expired. there was no aperture by which it could possibly communicate with the atmospheric air. the cavity was only large enough to retain it, without allowing room for motion. the inclosure of animals of the inferior classes in the sedimentary strata, and even in the most solid substance of rock, is a fact which has been frequently noticed, without, however, any very satisfactory theory having been given of the process, at least to common apprehension. _vide_ addenda, for some further notices of this kind. fossil vegetation.--a well was dug in the lower part of the village of geneva, in , which disclosed, at the depth of thirteen feet, the branches and buds of a cedar-tree. they were found lying across the excavation, and in the sides of it; and were in excellent preservation. no one could conjecture in what age they had been buried. but this discovery would seem to establish the position that the catastrophe occurred _in the spring_. madrepore.--a madrepore, measuring eight inches in diameter, was found in the upland soil of caledonia, genesee county. smaller specimens of the same species occur in that township. madrepores of a large size have also been found imbedded in the soil, or lying on the surface, in various places in cattaraugus and alleghany counties. they are locally denominated petrified wasps' nests. the lands containing these loose fossil remains are contiguous to, or based on, secondary rocks at considerable elevations. boulders and primitive gravel.--but the most abundant evidences of diluvial action are furnished by the masses of foreign crystalline rocks which are scattered, in blocks of various sizes, on the surface of the soil, or imbedded at all depths within it. primitive rocks are foreign to the district, and these masses could not, therefore, have resulted from local disintegration. they must have been transported from a distance. they required not only an adequate cause for their removal, but one commensurate with the effects. such a cause cuvier supposes, in discussing the general question, may have existed in eruptions, or in the action of oceanic masses of water, operating at an ancient period. the latter opinion appears to be generally adopted. dr. mitchell, in reference to northwestern boulders, attributes their distribution over secondary regions to the draining of interior seas or lakes. mr. hayden, in his _geological essays_, refers them to the action of oceanic currents setting "from north and east to south and west." subordinate and equivalent strata.--these constitute the most intricate subjects of reference. they are either adjuncts or residuary deposits of leading formations. but their order, as accompanying series, must sometimes be sought for by a previous determination of the formations themselves. could we certainly know, for instance, that the sandstone of western new york is or is not the true coal-sandstone, or the limestone is or is not the carboniferous limestone, it would at once direct to positive eras, and serve to impart confidence in the prediction of unknown deposits of an important character. but, in order to fix the formations, it is often the safest mode of procedure to employ the subordinate and local deposits as evidences of the character of the formations embracing them. gypsum.--a stratum of gypsum of the plaster of paris kind--that is, consisting of an admixture of the carbonate with the sulphate of lime--occurs on the banks of the canandaigua outlet. it has been chiefly explored in the township of phelps, ontario. in visiting the principal bed ( ), i found the following order of deposits composing the banks of the outlet:-- . alluvial soil of a dark, arenaceous, and mellow character, having small stones of the primitive kind sparingly interspersed, two and a half to three feet. cultivated in improved farms. . shelly limestone, of an earthy, dull-gray color and loose texture, in layers, three feet. . limestone of a more firm character, but still shelly, or rather slaty, fissile, and easily quarried, six feet. this stratum contains iron pyrites in a decomposed state. also, nodular or kidney-shaped masses of what the quarrymen call _plaster-eggs_--apparently snowy gypsum. . plaster of paris, ten feet. this stratum yields granular, earthy, fibrous, and foliated gypsum. it is the first two varieties which are quarried. in some places, the mass is firm enough to admit of blasting. in others, it is loose and veiny, and is readily broken up with iron bars and sledges. portions of it appear to consist of a shelly limestone identical with no. . they are rejected in quarrying. . limestone similar to no. , four feet. at this depth it is covered by the waters of the outlet. how deep it extends is uncertain. the rapids at the village of vienna are caused by shelving strata of this limestone. there is a suite character in these strata which appears to constitute them a single deposit. the plaster-bed at canasaraga exists in a ledge more elevated in reference to the local stream, and presents a broader section of the limestone. the shades of difference which are observable in its color and texture, do not appear to indicate a difference of geological era. nor do appearances denote, for the calcareous formation which embraces these beds, much antiquity in the scale of secondary rocks. saliferous red clay-marl.--examinations, at various points, render it a probable supposition that the red clay-marl of western new york is the equivalent for the new red sandstone, in positions where the latter is--as it often is--wanting. it is extensively deposited in the upland soils, in the range of the salt rock and gypsum counties, from the summit grounds of oneida county west. it may be seen in various stages of the decomposition. i have more attentively examined it on the upper parts of the scanado[ ] and oneida creeks. large areas of it exist in westmoreland, verona, and vernon townships, and bordering the valley grounds of the oneida reservation, and the northerly portions of sullivan county. the existence of salt water might, apparently, be searched for with as much probability of success, in the district thus indicated, as at more westerly points. [ ] usually written skenanodoah, but pronounced as above. coal-formation.--with a strong predisposition to regard our leading sandstone and limestone surface-formations as members of the "independent" or true coal-formation, inquiry has led me to relinquish the impression that they will, to any great degree, be found to yield this mineral. if the sandstone is--as facts indicate it to be--the new red or saliferous sandstone, it may be expected to yield thin seams of coal, in distant places, but no deposit of this mineral which will reward exploration in this or its super-incumbent series of rocks, the slates, limestones, &c. it will result, that the coal-measures, properly so denominated, are a prior deposit in the order of series; and, should they hereafter be found, such a discovery must take place above the range of the sandstone, which is the basis rock at niagara and genesee falls. having premised the character of the sandstone, all the series occupying a position above it must derive their character, as secondary deposits, from this. the limestone cannot, therefore, be a part of the carboniferous or "medial." the slates, as shown at cashong, are fragmentary, and rather nearer slaty grauwacks. the arenaceous and calcareous upper deposits assume nearly the position of the oolitic series, and, in fact, ought, in some localities, to be regarded as equivalents. western coal-mines.--much of the data employed in these inquiries is the result of previous examinations of the great coal deposits in the ohio valley, and other parts of the western country. here we have the coal-sandstone and the slate clay, with slate, &c., alternating with the coal-measures. such is the order of deposits at the junction of the alleghany and monongahela, where the formation is well developed, and where there exists, too, in the elevated valley hills, several repetitions of the series. the zechstone, or compact limestone, which is a pervading rock in the mississippi valley, occupies a position next above the great mississippi sandstone.[ ] it may always be distinguished from the shelly, entrochal limestone of the genesee,[ ] by the absence of gypsum and of the fetid odor emitted on fracture. [ ] this formation cannot be called "red sandstone," from its being generally white or gray, but appears to occupy the position of the "horizontal red sandstone" among european rocks. [ ] the cornutiferous lime-rock of mr. eaton. alleghany valley.--a question of interest, in connection with the extent of the ohio valley coal-formation, arises from the attempt to fix the point to which this formation ascends the alleghany valley--being the direct avenue into western new york. i have examined this valley in its entire length between pittsburg and olean, in cattaraugus county, and have not been able to observe that there are any evidences of its termination below the latter point. the general order and parallelism of strata remain the same. the coal stratum is apparently present. the qualities of the coal at armstrong, and at various points below french creek--the first primary fork of the river--are not distinguishable from the products of the pittsburg galleries. less search has been made above that point, but wherever the hills have been penetrated, they have--as at brokenstraw--produced the bituminous coal. above the conawango valley, which brings in the redundant waters of chatauque lake, the alleghany discloses frequent rapids. the effect of parallelism upon the strata is to sink the coal-measures deeper as they ascend the alleghany; and this cause may, in connection with the unexplored character of the country, be referred to in accounting for the absence of coal along this part of the line. the reappearance of traces of this mineral at potato creek, forty miles above olean, is a proof, however, that the coal-formation extends to that point. this locality is a few miles within the limits of pennsylvania. it occurs in a valley. coal in western new york.--the coal-bed above olean is south of the summit of the genesee, and not remote from its primary source. the expectation may be indulged that the western coal-formation embraces portions of cattaraugus and alleghany or steuben counties. the noted spring of naphtha, called seneca oil, is on oil creek in this county. as this substance, in the class of bitumens, is nearly allied to the coal series, it may be deemed favorable to the existence of the formation in the substrata.[ ] fragments of carbonized wood are frequently found in the large tracts of marine sand,[ ] as well as in some of the mixed alluvions of these counties; and it needs but an examination, as cursory as it has fallen to my lot to make, of this portion of the country, to render it one of high geological interest, and to denote that the coal-measures probably extend into some portions of western new york.[ ] [ ] these tracts bear a valuable growth of pines, which constitute the source of a profitable lumber trade with the ohio valley. [ ] this mineral oil also occurs in several of the lower tributaries of the alleghany river, within the coal district. [ ] a discovery of coal has been announced in alleghany county, new york, as these sheets are going through the press, more than thirty years after these lines were penned. addenda. _animals inclosed in rock, &c._ toads.--in , a toad was brought to mr. grignon inclosed in two hollow shells of stone; but, on examining it nicely, mr. g. discovered that the cavity bore the impression of a shell-fish, and, of consequence, he concluded it to be apocryphal. in , another instance occurred, and was the subject of a curious memoir read by mr. guettard to the royal academy of sciences at paris. it was thus related by that famous naturalist:-- in pulling down a wall, which was known to have existed upwards of a hundred years, a toad was found without the smallest aperture being discoverable by which it could have entered. upon inspecting the animal, it was apparent that it had been dead but a very little time; and in this state it was presented to the academy, which induced mr. guettard to make repeated inquiries into the subject, the particulars of which will be read with pleasure in the excellent memoir we have just cited. worms.--two living worms were found, in spain, in the middle of a block of marble which a sculptor was carving into a lion, of the natural color, for the royal family. these worms occupied two small cavities to which there was no inlet that could possibly admit the air. they subsisted, probably, on the substance of the marble, as they were the same color. this fact is verified by captain ulloa, a famous spaniard, who accompanied the french academicians in their voyage to peru to ascertain the figure of the earth. he asserts that he saw these two worms. adder.--we read in the _affiches de provence_, june, , that an adder was found alive in the centre of a block of marble thirty feet in diameter. it was folded nine times round, in a spiral line. it was incapable of supporting the air, and died a few minutes after. upon examining the stone, not the smallest trace was to be found by which it could have glided in or received air. crawfish.--misson, in his _travels through italy_, mentions a crawfish that was found alive in the middle of a marble in the environs of tivoli. frogs.--m. peyssonel, king's physician at guadaloupe, having ordered a pit to be dug in the back part of his house, live frogs were found by the workmen in beds of petrifaction. m. p., suspecting some deceit, descended into the pit, dug the bed of the rock and petrifactions, and drew out himself green frogs, which were alive, and perfectly similar to what we see every day. we are informed by the _european magazine_, february , , that m. herissan inclosed three live toads in so many cases of plaster, and shut them up in a deal box, which he also covered with thick plaster. on the th of april, , having taken away the plaster, he opened the box, and found the cases whole and two of the toads alive. the one that died was larger than the others, and had been more compressed in its case. a careful examination of this experiment convinced those who had witnessed it, that the animals were so inclosed that they could have no possible communication with the external air, and that they must have existed during this lapse of time without the smallest nourishment. the academy prevailed upon m. herissan to repeat the experiment. he inclosed again the two surviving toads, and placed the box in the hands of the secretary, that the society might open it whenever they should think proper. but this celebrated naturalist was too strongly interested in the subject to rest satisfied with a single experiment; he made, therefore, the two following:-- . he placed, april, , two live toads in a basin of plaster, which he covered with a glass case that he might observe them frequently. on the th of the following month, he presented the apparatus to the academy. one of the toads was still living; the other had died the preceding night. . the same day, april , he inclosed another toad in a glass bottle, which he buried in sand, that it might have no communication with the external air. this animal, which he presented to the academy at the same time, was perfectly well, and even croaked whenever the bottle was shook in which he was confined. it is to be lamented that the death of m. herissan put a stop to these experiments. we beg leave to observe upon this subject, that the power which these animals appear to possess of supporting abstinence for so long a time, may depend upon a very slow digestion, and, perhaps, from the singular nourishment which they derive from themselves. m. grignon observes that this animal sheds its skin several times in the course of a year, and that it always swallows it. he has known, he says, a large toad shed its skin six times in one winter. in short, those which, from the facts we have related, may be supposed to have existed many centuries without nourishment, have been in a total inaction, in a suspension of life, or a temperature that has admitted of no dissolution; so that it was not necessary to repair any loss, the humidity of the surrounding matter preserving that of the animal, who wanted only the component parts not to be dried up, to preserve it from destruction. the results of modern chemistry and philosophy have proved the number of elementary substances to be far greater than was admitted in the preceding century. and this discovery is progressive, and will probably go on a long time; after which, it is not improbable a new race of chemical and philosophical observers will spring up, who will be able to decompose many substances we now consider elementary, and thus again reduce the number of elements of which all external matter is composed. it would not be wonderful if posterity should reduce the number of elements even as low as the ancients had them. such a result would throw new light on the mysterious and intricate connection which seems to exist between animal, vegetable, and mineral matter. we should then, perhaps, have less cause to wonder that toads, &c., are capable of supporting life in stone, that birds should exist in solid blocks of wood, &c. but toads are not the only animals which are capable of living for a considerable length of time without nourishment and communication with the external air. the instances of the oysters and dactyles, mentioned at the beginning of this article, may be advanced as a proof of it. but there are other examples.--_european magazine_, march, . a beetle, of the species called capricorn, was found in a piece of wood in the hold of a ship at plymouth. the wood had no external mark of any aperture.--_european magazine_. a bug eat itself out of a cherry table at williamstown, mass. see an account of this phenomenon, by professor dewey, in the _lit. and philos. repertory_. these phenomena remind us of others of a similar nature and equally certain. in a trunk of an elm, about the size of a man's body, three or four feet above the root, and precisely in the centre, was found, in , a live toad, of a moderate size, thin, and which occupied but a very small space. as soon as the wood was cut, it came out and slipped away very alertly. no tree could be more sound. no place could be discovered through which it was possible for the animal to have penetrated, which led the recorder of the fact to suppose that the spawn from which it originated must, from some unaccountable accident, have been in the tree from the very moment of its first vegetation. the toad had lived in the tree without air, and, what is still more surprising, had subsisted on the substance of the wood, and had grown in proportion as the tree had grown. this fact was attested by m. hebert, ancient professor of philosophy at caen. in , m. leigne wrote to the academy of sciences at paris an account of a phenomenon exactly similar to the preceding one, except that the tree was larger, and was an oak instead of an elm, which makes the instance the more surprising. from the size of the oak, m. leigne judged that the toad must have existed in it without air or any external nourishment, for the space of eighty or a hundred years. we shall cite a third instance, related in a letter the th feb. , written from the neighborhood of saint mexent, of which the following is a copy. "a few days ago, i ordered an oak tree of a tolerable size to be cut down, and converted into a beam that was wanting for a building i was then constructing. having separated the head from the trunk, three men were employed in squaring it to the proper size. about four inches were to be cut away on each side. i was present during the transaction. conceive what was their astonishment when i saw them throw aside their tools, start back from the tree, and fix their eyes on the same point with a kind of amazement and terror. i instantly approached, and looked at that part of the tree which had fixed their attention. my surprise equalled theirs, on seeing a toad, about the size of a large pullet's egg, incrusted, in a manner, in the tree, at the distance of four inches from the diameter and fifteen from the root. it was cut and mangled by the axe, but still moved. i drew it with difficulty from its abode, or rather prison, which it filled so completely that it seemed to have been compressed. i placed it on the grass; it appeared old, thin, languishing, decrepit. we afterwards examined the tree with the nicest care, to discover how it had glided in; but the tree was perfectly whole and sound."--_european magazine._ bat.--a woodman engaged in splitting timber for rail-posts in the woods close by the lake in haming (a seat of mr. pringle's in selkirkshire), lately discovered, in the centre of a large wild cherry tree, a living bat, of a bright scarlet color, which he foolishly suffered to escape, from fear, being fully persuaded it was (with the characteristic superstition of the inhabitants of that part of the country) a "being not of this world." the tree presented a small cavity in the centre, where the bat was inclosed, but is perfectly sound and solid on each side.--_n. y. lit. journ. and belles-lettres repository_, taken from the _london semi-monthly magazine_. skull in wood.--a tenant of the rev. j. cattle, of warwick, lately presented to him a part of the solid butt of an oak tree, containing within it the skull of some animal (unknown). it was in the part of the tree nine feet above the ground, and was perfectly inclosed in solid timber.--_n. y. lit. journ. and belles-lettres repository_, from _european magazine_. x. _a memoir on the geological position of a fossil-tree in the series of the secondary rocks of the illinois._ the spirit of inquiry which has been excited in this country in regard to objects of natural history, while it has enlarged the boundaries of our knowledge of existing species, has directed some of its more valuable researches to those organized forms which have perished and become embalmed in the shape of petrifactions, in the body of solid rocks. a petrified tree of this kind has recently been discovered in the secondary[ ] rocks at the source of the illinois river. having recently visited this evidence of former changes in the flora of the west, i embrace the occasion, while my recollections are fresh, to give an account of it. [ ] this term is superseded, in geological discussions of the present day, by the term _silurian_, which embraces all strata of the era between the _palæozoic_ and _tertiary_ formations. the tract of country separating the southern shores of lake michigan from the illinois river, is a plat of table-land composed of compact limestone, based on floetz or horizontal sandstone. this formation embraces the contiguous parts of illinois, and spreads through indiana, ohio, and the peninsula of michigan. it is overspread with a deposit of the drift era, covered with a stratum of alluvial soil, presenting a pleasing surface of prairies, forests, and streams. these features may be considered as peculiarly characteristic of the junction of the rivers kankakee and des plaines, which constitute the illinois river. this junction is effected about forty miles south of chicago. the fossil in question occurs about forty rods above the junction of the kankakee. the sandstone embracing it is deposited in perfectly horizontal layers, of a gray color and close grain. it lies in the bed of the des plaines. the action of this stream has laid bare the trunk of the tree to the extent of fifty-one feet six inches. the part at the point where it is overlaid in the western bank is two feet six inches in diameter. its mineralization is complete. the trunk is simple, straight, scabrous, without branches, and has the usual taper observed in the living specimen. it lies nearly at right angles to the course of the river, pointing towards the southeast, and extends about half the width of the stream. notwithstanding the continual abrasion to which it is exposed by the volume of passing water, it has suffered little apparent diminution, and is still firmly imbedded in the rock, with the exception of two or three places where portions of it have been disengaged and carried away; but no portion of what remains is elevated more than a few inches above the surface of the rock. it is owing, however, to those partial disturbances that we are enabled to perceive the columnar form of the trunk, its cortical layers, the bark by which it is enveloped, and the peculiar cross fracture, which unite to render the evidence of its ligneous origin so striking and complete. from these characters and appearances, little doubt can remain that it is referable to the species juglans nigra, a tree very common to the forest of the illinois, as well as to most other parts of the immense region drained by the waters of the mississippi. the woody structure is most obvious in the outer rind of the trunk, extending to a depth of two or three inches, and these appearances become less evident as we approximate the heart. indeed, the traces of organic structure in its interior, particularly when viewed in the hand specimen, are almost totally obliterated and exchanged, the vegetable matter being replaced by a mixed substance, analogous, in its external character, to some of the silicated and impure calcareous carbonates of the region. like those carbonates, it is of a brownish-gray color and compact texture, effervesces slightly in the nitric and muriatic acids, yields a white streak under the knife, and presents solitary points, or facets, of crystals resembling calc spar. all parts of the tree are penetrated by pyrites of iron of a brass yellow color, disseminated through the most solid and stony parts of the interior, filling interstices in the outer rind, or investing its capillary pores. there are also the appearances of rents or seams between the fibres of the wood, caused by its own shrinkage, which are now filled with a carbonate of lime, of a white color and crystallized. from an effect analogous to carbonization, the exterior rind and bark of the tree have acquired a blackish-hue, while the inclosing rock is of a light-gray color, characters which are calculated to arrest attention. there is reason to conclude that the subject under consideration is the joint result, partly of the infiltration of mineral matter into its pores and crevices, prior to inclosure in the rock, and partly to the chemical action educed by the great catastrophe by which it was translated from its parent forest, and suddenly enveloped in a bed of solidifying sand. at the time of my visit (august , ), the depth of water upon the floetz rocks forming the bed of the river des plaines, would vary from one to two feet; but it was at a season when these higher tributaries, and the illinois itself, are generally at their lowest stage. like most of the confluent rivers of the mississippi and their tributaries, the des plaines is subject to great fluctuations, and during its periodical floods may be estimated to carry a depth of eight or ten feet of water to the junction of the kankakee. at those periods, the water is also rendered turbid by the quantity of alluvial matter it carries down, and a search for this organic fossil must prove unsuccessful. but during the prevalence of the summer droughts, in an atmosphere of little humidity, when the waters are drained to the lowest point of depression, and acquire the greatest degree of transparency, it forms a very conspicuous trait in the geology of the stream, and no person, seeking the spot, can fail to be directed to it. the sand-rock containing this petrifaction is found in a horizontal position, differing only with respect to hardness and color. the remains of fossil organized bodies in this stratum are not abundant, or have not been successfully sought. it is probable that future observations will prove that its organic conservata are chiefly referable to the vegetable kingdom. it is certain, that this inference is justified by the facts which are before me, and particularly by the characteristic appearances of the strata in the bed of the river des plaines, where the imbedded walnut is the representative of the ancient flora. at a short distance above, where the bed of the des plaines approaches nearer the summit level, limestone ensues, and continues from that point northward to the shores of lake michigan. in the vicinity of chicago, where this limestone is quarried for economical purposes, it is characterized by the fossil remains of molluscous species. lake erie lies at an elevation of five hundred and sixty-five feet above the atlantic.[ ] [ ] public documents relating to the new york canals, with an introduction, &c., by colonel haines. there exists a water communication between the head of lake michigan, at chicago, and the river des plaines, during the periodical rises of the latter, but its summer level is about seven feet lower, at the termination of the chicago portage, than the surface of the lake. from this point to its junction with the kankakee, a computed distance of fifty miles, the bed of the des plaines may be considered as having a mean southern depression of ten inches per mile, so that the floetz rocks at its mouth, lying on a level of forty-eight feet eight inches below the surface of lake michigan, have an altitude which cannot vary far from five hundred and fifty feet above the atlantic. there are no mountains for a vast distance either east or west of this stream. it is a country of plains, in which are occasionally to be seen alluvial hills of moderate elevation; but the most striking inequalities of surface proceed from the streams which have worn their deep-seated channels through it; and an oceanic overflow capable of covering the country, and producing these strata by deposition, would also submerge all the immense tracts of secondary and alluvial country between the alleghany and the rocky mountains, converting into an arm of the sea the great valley of the mississippi, from the gulf of mexico north to the canadian lakes. we find in the alluvial soil along the illinois and des plaines blocks of granite, hornblende, and gneiss, of the drift stratum, exhibiting the same appearances of attrition, and of having been transported from their parent beds, which characterize the secondary tablelands along the margin of the great american lakes, the prairies of illinois, and the western parts of new york. there is nothing, perhaps, in the progress of modern science, which has tended to facilitate geological research so much as the study and investigation of fossil organic remains. they teach, with unerring lights, how extensively the ancient flora and fauna of this continent have been prostrated, leaving their exact impressions, in all their minuteness, in the newly-formed stratifications. that these impressions, fresh and vivid as we find them, should mark the eras of depositions and crystallization of rocks from the suspension of their elements in water, is the observation of werner, and it is to him we owe the elements of the neptunian hypothesis. his general recognition of the epochs of the primitive, transition, and secondary rocks, appears too probable not to commend itself to adoption with regard to all strata which can be conceived to be the products of watery menstrua. but it remained for werner, who was the first to perceive an order in strata, also to point out the important application of fossil organic bodies in elucidating their eras, and the natural order of their superposition. to adopt the words of dr. thomas cooper:-- "there appears to be a series of strata, or, as werner calls them, formations, that may be considered as surrounding the nucleus of the earth. the first formed, or lowest series, always preserve the same situation to each other, except where occasional eruptions, or circumstances not of a general nature, make a variety in their situations. these strata are not only the deepest, but they are also the highest that are observable in the crust of the earth; forming the tops of the highest mountains. they are characterized by an appearance of crystallization, and by containing no remains of organic matter, animal or vegetable. the strata or formations that in general constitute this first, deepest, highest, and crystallized series, are granite, gneiss, mica-slate, clay-slate, primitive greenstone, granular limestone, serpentine, porphyry, and sienite. these formations are so generally found, and in the same situations as incumbent upon or subtending each other relatively, that they may be considered as universal. their crystallized appearance shows that their particles have either been dissolved or very finely suspended in water, so that the attraction of crystallization has been free to operate; that this water has been deep, so that the lowermost parts of it have not been much agitated during the crystallization, which would otherwise have been more confused than it is; and, indeed, the oldest formations are the best crystallized. a part of the water covering the nucleus must have been taken up, as water of crystallization, in the primitive formations. when these were deposited, there were no vegetables formed; of course, no animals; nay, even the sea was unpeopled, for there is no trace of any organic remains in these strata. even the belemnites, the asteriæ, the echini, the entrochi, the most simple forms of oceanic animal life, do not occur until the transition strata appear. hence the propriety of denominating these formations _primitive_. "by processes of nature, besides the consumption of water by the new crystallized masses, to us unknown, the waters appear to have diminished. the highest parts of the primitive formations became the shores to the water superincumbent on their bases and middle regions; the simplest forms of oceanic animals came into existence; the mosses and lichens of high latitude would generally occupy the surface of the primitive strata, gradually decomposed by the alternate action of air and water after many ages. during this period, while the strata were in a state of _transition_ from the chaotic to the habitable state, other deposits would gradually be made from the waters, now decreased in quantity, and take their place below the summits of the primitive range. those summits being exposed to the action of the atmosphere, of rains, of frost probably, and to the action also of the waters with their contents still incumbent on the earliest strata, would furnish masses and particles washed away, which would mingle with the deposits of the transition series. this series, therefore, will exhibit appearances of mechanical and chemical intermixture of earths and stones, such as are found in the silicious porphyries, the graywackes, the silicious and argillaceous hornblende rocks, the elder red sandstone, &c. during the period when these transition formations were deposited, there would be no land animals, for there would be no vegetables for them to feed upon. there would be no vegetables unless some few lichens, mosses, or ericas, that would find foothold upon the slight decomposition that, after the lapse of some ages, would take place on the surface of the primitive rocks. the sea only would be peopled, and that but sparingly; for, in that mass of muddy water, none but the lowest and most inferior grades of animal life, and such as do not inhabit deep water, could exist. hence, we find the transition formations contain in their substances some belemnites, asteriæ, entrochi, echini, &c., but no organized vegetable substance except, very rarely, in the latest rocks of this series, and no remains whatever of terrestrial animals. indeed, in the high latitudes of the outgoings or summits of the primitive strata, very few vegetables, even at the present day, can live. no vegetation fit for animal life could take place until the transition, and most of the next series of _secondary_ or _floetz_ formations had subsided. these would occupy lower and lower situations, till a rich soil, from every kind of intermixture of earth mechanically deposited, would afford a proper temperature of region, and an easily decomposed soil, wherein vegetables could grow. "next to the transition series, come the _secondary_, or, as the german mineralogists call them, the _floetz_ rocks; so called, because they appear to be more floated or horizontal, though i confess the appellation does not appear to me peculiarly appropriate. these strata consist principally of sandstone, limestone--sometimes fetid from bituminous impregnations, sometimes shelly--secondary greenstone, graphite, coal, gypsum, rock salt. i have observed that the alpine heights of the primitive mountains could at no time furnish much food. the same remark, but in a less degree, will apply to the transition range; the low and kindly climates occupied by the secondary series. the soft and decomposable nature of these depositions would furnish the true theatre of vegetable life, and, until these regions were filled with vegetables, the race of animals could not have been produced; for on what could they subsist? graminivorous animals, therefore, must have succeeded the various forms of vegetable existence; and carnivorous, the graminivorous. the vegetable matter imbedded in the substance of the secondary strata will consist of the remains of vegetables that grow in the transition strata; and the animal remains will consist chiefly of such animals as were produced in the early stages of animal existence, particularly the smaller aquatic animals; and, of these, chiefly shell-fish, as shells are not so soon decomposed as mere animal substance." it is to the latter class of depositions--to the secondary series--that we must refer the sandstone of the river des plaines, in which we find a walnut, of mature growth, enveloped by, and imbedded in the rock, in the most complete state of mineralization; and, since all geological writers who subscribe to the neptunian theory are constrained to employ the agency of oceanic depositions of different eras, in explaining the structure of the earth's surface, it is one of the most obvious and important conclusions, to be drawn from the fact that such submersions and depositions of rock matter have taken place subsequent to the existence of forests of mature growth, and that the rock strata and beds composing the exterior of the earth are the result of different geological epochs, and of successive subsidences of chaotic matter--positions which have been so severely attacked and so often denied, particularly by the disciples of the huttonian school, that it is not without a feeling of lively interest, i communicate a discovery which appears so conclusive on the subject. considerations arising from the frontier position of the country, and the infrequency of the communication, have also induced me to draw from incidental sources, a corroboration of the facts advanced. in a letter to governor cass, of michigan, dated september , , i made the following observations on the subject under review:-- "i consider the petrified tree discovered during our recent journey up the illinois, so extraordinary an object in the natural history of the country, and calculated to lead to conclusions so important to the science of geology, that i am anxious to avail myself of your concurrent testimony as to the fact of the existence of the tree in a mineralized state, and the natural appearances of the spot where it lies imbedded. i feel the more solicitude on this subject, as i am aware that any description of this phenomenon which i may be induced to communicate to the public, will be received with a degree of caution and scrutiny which it is the province of the naturalist to exercise whenever any discovery is announced affecting the existing theories of the natural sciences, or tending to increase the volume of facts upon which their advancement and perfection depend. i am aware, also, that whatever degree of caution and vigilance it may be proper to exercise to prevent errors from mingling with the sound doctrines of the physical and other sciences, still more care and circumspection is requisite in examining facts which affect the progress of geology." i quote an extract from governor cass's reply on the subject:-- "the appearance of the wood and bark indicates that it was a black walnut, the juglans nigra of our forests. we computed its original diameter, at the place where it is concealed in the earth, to have been three feet, and at the other end eighteen inches. the texture of the wood, and the bark and knots, are nearly as distinct as in the living subject, and the process of decay had not commenced previous to the commencement of this wonderful conversion. every part of the mass which we could examine is solid stone, and readily yields fire by the collision with steel. "when we visited the spot, the water of the river was at the lowest stage; but there was no part of the tree within some inches of the surface. the rocky bed of the stream was formed round and upon it. we raised from it pieces of the rock, which were evidently _in situ_, and which had been formed upon the tree posterior to the period of its deposit in its present situation. this rock is a species of sandstone, whose characteristic features must be well known to you. "there are no mineralized substances of vegetable origin in the vicinity of this specimen, nor are there any appearances which indicate that its present condition has been caused by any peculiar property in the waters of the des plaines." addenda. the publication of the foregoing memoir led to several letters being addressed to the author on topics connected with it. some of these were from gentlemen eminent in science or politics, whose opinions are entitled to the highest respect. extracts are given from such only as introduce new data, either of fact or opinion. geological theories.--professor dewey, of williams college, observes: "a friend has just lent me your 'memoir on a fossil-tree.' though the account is very interesting, i do not perceive its exact bearing on the neptunian and plutonian hypotheses. the fault is doubtless in me, and you will excuse my remarks and set me right. i had supposed the huttonians and wernerians did not dispute about the manner in which the _secondary_ rocks were formed. macculloch, and others before him, led me into this opinion, though it may be erroneous. but bakewell, who is referred to as authority in _rees's cyclopædia_, says, p. : 'geologists are agreed that secondary rocks have been formed by the agency of water.' if this be so, they would agree generally with the account of dr. cooper respecting the formation of petrifactions, and especially those of vegetables, and the fossil-tree would be treated of in a similar manner by both." hutton's original hypothesis, and not the modifications of it introduced by the neptu-vulcanists, were adverted to in reply. subsequently, professor dewey writes:-- "i was greatly obliged by your letter in various respects, and i write you now to make my acknowledgments for it, as well as to maintain the correctness of your notions on the huttonian hypothesis. as you had seen a scotch mineralogist directly from the mint of playfair, i had every reason to suppose you had received correct views of playfair's notions on the subject. i have been led, therefore, to examine the matter, and, as i may have set you on the search, i wish to prevent your continuing it on my account, or from what i wrote. "playfair's illustrations i have never seen. occasional extracts, or allusions to its points, have fallen in my way. but i have before me a very full abstract of hutton's paper on the subject, from the _transactions of the royal society of edinburgh_. it is from the very paper in which he announces his hypothesis. in that paper he mentions that the consolidation of all the hard crust of the globe has been effected by _heat_ and _fusion_, extending it to secondary as well as primitive rocks, and mentioning particularly spanish marble, shell limestone, oolite, and chalk. "this operation of heat, he says, is exemplified by _chalk, which is to be found in all gradations, from marble to loose chalk_. this is his precise notion, but not his words. i had once looked at this paper before, and thought much of this theory; but this thought had been obliterated from my mind by thoughts advanced by others, as i thought in consistency with the sentence i quoted from bakewell. at least, one objection to hutton's views would be removed by modifying his theory in the manner it seems to be by bakewell. though hutton does not think this to be necessary; for he appears to feel no difficulty in accounting for petrifactions of wood on his hypothesis, for he mentions that _we have many proofs of the penetration of flinty matter, in a state of fusion, in other bodies, such as insulated pieces of flint in chalk or sand, and fossil wood penetrated with silicious matter_. "still, the grand reasons of hutton for employing heat as the agent of consolidation are opposed to the above modification of his theory. these reasons, as you know, are the insolubility of most mineral substances in water, and the disappearance of the water from the cavities of minerals which have been consolidated. the first is, indeed, the great one for hutton; for the crystallization of salts in water, and the existence of liquids, in some cases, in the cavities of the most solid minerals, show well enough that the water might or might not disappear, as the circumstances were different. "if the huttonians maintain, as he did, the formation of petrifactions by heat, which consistency requires, i concede, indeed, to you that that fossil-tree stands as a grand monument of some different process; and yet, we can hardly suppose that they do not see great difficulty in the common notion on the subject. the rapidity with which the petrifactions must have taken place--a point well illustrated in hayden's _geological essays_--seems to require some new notions on the subject. what these may be, i cannot tell; but i believe that neither of these two hypotheses will be adopted exclusively, half a century hence, on this point, or on geology generally. i think, with you, that our countrymen need illumination on the subject of hutton's hypothesis, and i wish some one would attempt it." trap-rocks of europe and america.--"i suspect the greenstone of our country, when examined as it ought to be, will be found, in its geological relations, much to resemble the basalt of europe; and that the same difficulties will attend it, on werner's hypothesis, as now attend the basalt. indeed, i know not how we can account for what bakewell and macculloch state on this hypothesis." sandstone of virginia.--"i have seen a piece of a petrified tree, about eight inches through, found in the sandstone of virginia, but could get none of it. the petrifaction was far finer than the stone in which it lay, and was, like it, silex." sandstone of ohio.--c. atwater, esq., in a letter to the author, observes:-- "i can assure you that the finding of whole trees in sandstone is nothing strange in this state. some of these trees are imbedded in sandstone one hundred feet below the surface. zanesville and gallipolis are the best spots to find these fossils. "there is no part of the tree but what i have in my cabinet, not excepting their leaves, fruit, and even fungi attached to them." mosaical history of the creation.--b. irvine, esq., in adverting to remarks on the illinois fossil, observes:-- "they may yet awaken some ideas in the minds of the people on the wonders of physics--and i had almost said, the _slow miracles of creation_; for, if ever there was a time when matter existed not, it is pretty evident that _millions of years_, instead of six days, were necessary to establish order in chaos, let cuvier, &c. temporize as they may. however, it is the humble allotment of the herd to believe or stare; it is the glory of intelligent men to inquire and admire." the doctrine of materialism, adverted to by mr. irvine, it is the province of divines to controvert. one remark may be predicted on the biblical era of the six days. it is now believed to be generally conceded by eminent geologists and ecclesiastics, that the term "day," employed by the translators of the english version of the scriptures, is used in gen. ch. i. in a sense synonymous with "era" or "time," as it is emphatically used in gen. ch. ii. ver. . for an able exposition of the present views on this subject, see the _american journal of science_, vol. xxv. no. . . botany. xi. a descriptive list of the plants collected on the expedition, drawn up by dr. john torrey, has been published in the fourth volume of the _american journal of science_. references to this standard work may be conveniently made by botanists. . zoology. no professed zoologist was attached to the expedition, the topic being left to such casual attention as members of it might find it convenient to bestow. of the fauna of the region, it was not believed that there were any of the prominent species which were improperly classed in the _systema naturæ_ of linnæus. it was doubtless desirable to know something more particularly of the character and habitat of the american species of the reindeer (_c. sylvestris_) and hyena, or glutton. perhaps something new was to be gleaned respecting the extent of the genera arctomys and sciurus, among the smaller quadrupeds, and in the departments of birds and reptilia. the mode of travel gave but little opportunity of meeting the larger species in their native haunts, but it afforded opportunities of examining the skins of the quadrupeds at the several trading stations, and of listening to the narrations of persons who had engaged in their capture. in effect, the crustacea of the streams furnished the most constant and affluent subject for enlarging the boundaries of species and varieties. the collections in this department were referred to members of the lyceum of natural history at new york, and of the academy of natural sciences at philadelphia. the results of their examinations have been published in two of the principal scientific journals of the country. it had been originally proposed to republish these papers in this appendix, together with that on the botanical collections, and some other topics; but the long time that has elapsed, renders it, on second thought, inexpedient. distinct references to the several papers are given. xii. _a letter embracing notices of the zoology of the northwest._ by henry r. schoolcraft. vernon, n.y., october , . dear sir: i reached this place, on my return from the sources of the mississippi river, on the st instant, having left the canal at oneida creek at four o'clock in the morning, whence i footed it three miles through the forest, by a very muddy road, to the ancient location of oneida castle, while my baggage was carried by a man on horseback. the plan of the expedition embraced the circumnavigation of the coasts of lakes huron, michigan, and superior. from the head of the latter, we ascended the rapid river of st. louis to a summit which descends west to the upper mississippi, the waters of which we entered about five hundred miles above the falls of st. anthony, and some three hundred miles above the ulterior point reached with boats by lieutenant pike in december, . from this point we ascended the mississippi, by its involutions, to its upper falls at pakagama, where it dashes over a rock formation. a vast plateau of grass and aquatic plants succeeds, through which it winds as in a labyrinth. on this plateau we encountered and passed across the southern lake winnipek. beyond this, the stream appears to be but little diminished, unless it be in its depth. it is eventually traced to a very large lake called upper lac ceder rouge, but to which we applied the name of cass lake. this is the apparent navigable source of the river, and was our terminal point. it lies in latitude ° ´ ´´. the whole of this summit of the continent is a vast formation of drift and boulders, deposited in steps. in descending it, we found the river crossed by the primitive rocks in latitude about °, and it enters the great limestone formation by the cataract of st. anthony's falls, in latitude ° ´ ´´. we descended the river below this point, by its windings among high and picturesque cliffs, to the influx of the wisconsin, estimated to be three hundred miles. thence we came through the wisconsin and fox valleys to green bay, on an arm of lake michigan, and, having circumnavigated the latter, returned through lakes huron and st. clair to detroit. the line of travel is about four thousand two hundred miles. such a country--for its scenery, its magnificence, and resources, and the strong influence it is destined ultimately to have on the commerce, civilization, and progress of the country--the sun does not shine on! its topography, latitudes and longitudes, heights and distances, have been accurately obtained by captain douglass, of west point, who will prepare an elaborate map and description of the country. personally, i have not been idle. if i have sat sometimes, in mute wonder, gazing on such scenes as the pictured rocks of lake superior, or the sylvan beauty and mixed abruptness of the falls of st. anthony, it has been but the idleness of admiration. i have kept my note book, my sketch-book, and my pencil in my hands, early and late; nor have once, during the whole journey, transferred myself, at an early hour, from the camp-fire or pallet to the canoe, merely to recompose myself again to sleep. if the mineralogy or geology of the country often presented little to note, the scenery, or the atmosphere, or that lone human boulder, the american indian, did. the evidences of the existence of copper in the basin of lake superior are ample. there is every indication of its abundance that the geologist could wish. nature here has operated on a grand scale. by means of volcanic fires, she has infused into the trap-rocks veins of melted metal, which not inaptly represent the arteries of the human system; for wherever the broken-down shores of this lake are examined, they disclose, not the sulphurets and carbonates of this ore, but fragments and lumps of virgin veins. these, the winds and waves have scattered far and wide. but what, you will ask, can be reported of its quadrupeds, birds, reptilia, and general zoology? have you measured the height and length of the mastodon--"the great bull"--who the indians told mr. jefferson resisted the thunderbolts, and leaped over the great lakes?[ ] truly, i beg you to spare me on this head. you are aware that we had no professed zoologist. [ ] notes on virginia. i herewith inclose you a list of such animals as came particularly under our notice. imperfect as it is, it will give you the general facts. the dried and stuffed skins of such species as were deemed to be undescribed, or were otherwise worthy attention, will be transmitted for description. among these is a species of squirrel, of peculiar character, from the vicinity of st. peter's, together with a species of mus, a burrowing animal, which is very destructive to vegetation. this appears to be the hamster of georgia. of the larger class of quadrupeds, we met, in the forest traversed, the black bear, deer, elk, and buffalo. the latter we encountered in large numbers, about one hundred and fifty miles above the falls of st. anthony, about latitude °, on the east bank of the river. we landed for the chase, and had a full opportunity of observing its size, color, gait, and general appearance. great interest was imparted to portions of the tour by the ornithology of the country, and it only required the interest and skill in this line of a wilson or an audubon, to have not only identified, but also added to the list of species.[ ] [ ] the only addition to ornithology which it fell to my lot to make, was in the grosbeck family, and this occurred after i came to return to st. mary's. mr. wm. cooper has called the new species fringilia vespertina, from the supposition that it sings during the evening. the chippewas call this species paushkundame, from its thick and penetrating bill. the geological character of the country has been found highly interesting. the primitive rocks rise up in high orbicular groups on the banks of lake superior. the interstices between groups are filled up with coarse red, gray, or mottled sandstone, which lies, generally, in a horizontal position, but is sometimes waved or raised up vertically. volcanic fires have played an important part here. i have been impressed with the fact that the granitical series are generally deficient in mica, its place being supplied by hornblende. indeed, the rock is more truly sienite, very little true granite being found, and, in these cases, it is in the form of veins or beds in the sienite. there have also been great volcanic fires and upliftings under the sources of the mississippi. greenstone and trap are piled up in huge boulders. the most elevated rock, in place, on the sources of the mississippi, is found to be quartzite. this is at the falls of pakagama. in coming down the mississippi, soon after passing the latitude of °, the river is found to have its bed on greenstones and sienites, till reaching near to the falls of st. anthony, where the great western horizontal limestone series begins. to facilitate the study of the latter, opportunities were sought of detecting its imbedded forms of organic life, but their infrequency, and the rapid mode of our journeying, was averse to much success in this line without the boundaries of the great lake basins. in the department of mineralogy, i have not as brilliant a collection as i brought from potosi in --but, nevertheless, one of value--the country explored being a wilderness, and very little labor having been applied in excavations. among the objects secured, i have fine specimens of the various forms of native copper and its ores, together with crystallized sulphurets of lead, zinc, and iron; native muriate of soda, graphite, sulphate of lime, and strontian, and the attractive forms which the species of the quartz family assume, in the shore debris of the lakes, under the names of agate, carnelian, &c. the whole will be prepared and elaborately reported to the department. i found the freshwater shells of this region to be a very attractive theme of observation in places "where the tiger steals along, and the dread indian chants his dismal song;" where, indeed, there was scarcely anything else to attract attention; and i have collected a body of bivalves, which will be forwarded to our mutual friend, dr. mitchell, for description. indeed, the present communication is designed, after you have perused it, to pass under his eye. no one in our scientific ranks is more alive to the progress of discovery in all its physical branches. governor clinton, in one of his casual letters, has very happily denominated him the delphic oracle, for all who have a question to ask come to him, and his scientific memory and research, in books, old and new, are such, that it must be a hard question indeed which he cannot solve. next to him, as an expounder of knowledge, you, my dear sir, as the representative of the _corps editorial_, take your place. for, if it is the writer of books who truly increases information, every decade's experience more and more convinces me that it is the editor of a diurnal journal who diffuses it, by his brief critical notices, or by giving a favorable or unfavorable impetus to public opinion. i am expected, i find, to publish my private narrative of the expedition, to serve at least--if i may say so--as a stay to popular expectation, until the more matured results can be duly elaborated. i am taking breath here, among my friends, for a few days, and shall be greatly governed by your judgment in the matter, after my arrival at albany. i am, sir, with sincere respect, your obedient servant, henry r. schoolcraft. to nathaniel h. carter, esq., albany. _list of quadrupeds, birds, &c. observed._ the identification of species in this list, by giving the indian name, is herein fixed. english name. indian (algonquin) scientific name. name. buffalo, pe-zhík-i,[ ] bos americanus. _gm._ elk, mush-kos, cervus canadensis. _l._ deer (common), wa-wash-ká-shi, cervus virginianus. _gm._ moose, möz, cervus alces. _l._ black bear, muk-wah, ursus americanus. _gm._ wolf (gray), my-een-gan, canis vulpes. _l._ wolverine, gwin-gwe-au-ga,[ ] ursus luscus. _l._ fox (red), waú-goosh canis vulpes. _l._ badger, ak-kuk-o-jeesh, meles labradoria. _c._ fox (black), muk-wau-goosh, canis argenteus. _c._ muskrat, wau-zhusk, fiber vulgaris. _c._ martin, wau-be-zha-si, mustela mortes. _l. & b._ fisher, o-jeeg, mustela pennanti. _c. am._ ed., app. v. beaver, am-ik, castor fiber. _b._ otter, ne-gik, lutra vulgaris. _l._ porcupine, kaug, hystrix cristata. _c._ [ ] this animal was found grazing the prairies on the east bank of the mississippi, about latitude ° ´. [ ] means under-ground drummer. english name. indian (algonquin) name. scientific name. raccoon, ais-e-bun (from _ais_, a shell, and _bun_, past tense), procyon lotor. _c._ hare, wau-bose, lepus americanus. _gm._ polecat, she-kaug, mephites putorius. _cu._ squirrel (red), ad-je-dah-mo, sciurus vulgaris. _c._ squirrel (ground or striped), ah-gwing-woos, sciurus striatus. _c._ squirrel (an apparently new species). pouched rat or hamster, no-naw-pau-je-ne-ka-si, mus busarius. _shaw._ weasel, shin-gwoos, mustela vulgaris. _l._ mink, shong-waish-ke, mustela lutreola. _c._ jerboa, called the jumping mouse,[ ] dipus. _c._ eagle (bald), mik-a-zi,[ ] f. lucocephulus. _l._ fork-tailed hawk, ca-niew, f. furcatus. _l._ chicken hawk, cha-mees, f. communis. _c._ pigeon hawk, pe-pe-ge-wa-zains, f. columbarius. _wilson._ raven, kaw-gaw-ge, corvus corax. _l._ crow, on-daig, c. corone. _l._ magpie, wau-bish-kau-gau-gi (white raven),[ ] c. pica. _l._ cormorant, kau-kau-ge-sheeb (raven-duck), p. carbe. _brin._ pelican, shay-ta, p. onocrotalus. _illig._ goose, wa-wa, an. anser. _l._ brant, ne-kuh, an. bernicla. _wilson._ duck (d. and m.), shee-sheeb (a generic term), anas. duck (saw-bill), on-zig, a. tadorna. _c._ duck (red-head or misquon-dib, a. rufus. _gm._ fall), duck (alewives), ah-ah-wa. swan, wau-bis-si, a. cygnus. _c._ heron, moosh-kow-e-si, ardea. _c._ plover, tchwi-tchwish-ke-wa, charadriûs. _c._ turkey, mis-is-sa, meleagris. _c._ blackbird, os-sig-in-ok, the red-winged species. rail, muk-ud-a-pe-nais, jay (blue), dain-da-si,[ ] garrulus. _c._ whippoorwill, paish-kwa, caprimulgas. _l._ robin, o-pee-chi, t. migratorius. _l._ [ ] found at lapointe, lake superior. [ ] this is a generic term for the eagle family. it is believed the kanieu, or black eagle, is regarded by them as the head of the family. the feathers of the falco furcatus are highly valued by warriors. [ ] the meaning is white raven. [ ] the term is from dain-da, a bullfrog. english name. indian (algonquin) name. scientific name. kingfisher, me-je-ge-gwun-a, alcedo. _c._ pigeon, o-mee-mi, columba emigratoria. partridge, pe-na,[ ] tetrao. _c._ crane, ad-je-jawk, crane family. gull, ky-aushk, gull family. woodpecker, ma-ma, picus. _c._ snipe, pah-dus-kau-unzh-i, scolipax. _c._ owl, ko-ko-ko-o,[ ] } generic terms for the loon, mong, } species. mocking-bird (seen as far north as michilimackinac), t. polyglotis. _wilson._ sturgeon, na-ma, acipenser. _l._ sturgeon (paddle-nose), ab-we-on-na-ma, acipenser spatularia. _c._ white-fish, ad-ik-um-aig[ ] (means deer of the water). salmon trout, na-ma-gwoos, } salmo. _l._ trout (speckled), na-zhe-ma-gwoos, } carp, nam-a-bin, denotes the red fin. catfish, miz-zi, silurus. _c._ bass, o-gau. the striped species. tulibee, o-dön-a-bee (wet-mouth). eel, pe-miz-zi (a specific term). a specific term. snake, ke-ná-bik (a generic), } snake, a species supposed } ophidia. _c._ peculiar, turtle (lake), mik-e-nok, } turtle (small } chelonia. _c._ land), mis-qua-dais, } [ ] this is the prairie grouse of the west. [ ] the name is generic for the owl family. [ ] this term arises from _adik_, a reindeer, and _gumaig_, waters. philological note.--three of these fifty-seven terms of indian nomenclature are monosyllables, and twenty-four dissyllables. the latter are compounds, as in _muk-wah_ (black animal), and _wau-bose_ (white little animal); and it is inferable that all the names over a single syllable are compounds. thus, aisebun (raccoon), is from _ais_, a shell, and the term past tense of verbs in _bun_. xiii. _species of bivalves collected in the northwest, by mr. schoolcraft and captain douglass, on the expedition to the sources of the mississippi, in ._ by d. h. barnes. this paper, by which a new impulse was given to the study of our freshwater conchology, and many species were added to the list of discoveries, was published in two papers, to be found in the pages of _silliman's american journal of science_, vol. vi. pp. , . xiv. _freshwater shells collected in the valleys of the fox and wisconsin, in , by mr. schoolcraft._ by isaac lea, member american philosophical society. a description of these shells, in which several new species are established, was published by the ingenious conchologist, mr. i. lea, of philadelphia, in the _transactions of the american philosophical society_, vol. v. p. , plate iii., &c. xv. _summary remarks respecting the zoology of the northwest noticed by the expedition to the sources of the mississippi in ._ by dr. samuel l. mitchell. the squirrel [from the vicinity of the falls of st. anthony], is a species not heretofore described, and has been named _sciurus tredecem striatus_, or the federation squirrel. (a.) the pouched rat, or _mus busarius_, has been seen but once in europe. this was a specimen sent to the british museum from canada, and described by dr. shaw. but its existence is rather questioned by chev. cuvier. both animals have been described, and the descriptions published in the st vol. of the _medical repository_, of new york, pp. , . the specimens [from the west] are both preserved in my museum. drawings have been executed by the distinguished artist milbert, and forwarded by him, at my request, to the administrators of the king's museum, at paris, of which he is a corresponding member. my descriptions accompany them. the animals are retained as too valuable to be sent out of the country. [b.] the paddle-fish is the _spatularia_ of shaw, and _polydon_ of lacepede. it lives in the mississippi only, and the skeleton, though incomplete, is better than any other person here possesses. it is carefully preserved in my collection. the serpent is a species of the ophalian genus anguis, the oveto of the french, and the blind worm of the english. the loss of the tail of this fragile creature renders an opinion a little dubious; but it is supposed to be _opthiosaureus_ of dandrige, corresponding to the _anguis ventralis_ of linnæus, figured by catesby. the shells afford a rich amount of an undescribed species. the whole of the univalves and bivalves received from messrs. schoolcraft and douglass have been assembled and examined, with all i possessed before, and with mr. stacy collins's molluscas brought from the ohio. mr. barnes is charged with describing and delineating all the species not contained in mr. say's _memoir of the productions of the land and fresh waters of north america_. the finished work will be laid before the lyceum, and finally be printed in mr. silliman's _new haven journal_. the species by which geology will be enriched will amount, probably, to nine or ten. (c.) we shall endeavor to be just to our friends and benefactors. s. l. mitchell. for gov. cass. _notes._ (a.) an animal similar, in some respects, has been subsequently found on the straits of st. mary's, michigan, a specimen of the dried skin of which i presented to the national institute at washington; but, from the absence of the head bones and teeth, it is not easy to determine whether it is a sciurus, or arctomys. (b.) the duplicature of the cheeks of this animal having been extended _outwardly_ in drying the skin, was left in its rigid state, giving it an unnatural appearance, which doubtless led to the incredulity of cuvier when he saw the figure and description of dr. shaw. dr. mitchell was led to a similar error of opinion, at first, as to the natural position of these bags; but afterwards, when the matter was explained to him, corrected this mistaken notion. (c.) by reference to the descriptions of mr. barnes and mr. lea, recited above, the number will be seen to have exceeded this estimate. xvi. mus busarius. vide _medical repository_, vol. xxi. p. . xvii. sciurus tredecem striatus. _medical repository_, vol. xxi. xviii. proteus. _american journal of science_, vol. iv. . meteorology. xix. _memoranda of climatic phenomena and the distribution of solar heat in ._ by henry r. schoolcraft. the influence of solar heat on the quantity of water which is discharged from the great table lands which give origin to the sources of the mississippi was such, during the summer months of , that, on reaching those altitudes in latitude but a few minutes north of °, on the st of july, it was found impracticable to proceed higher in tracing out its sources. attention had been directed to the phenomena of temperatures, clouds, evaporations, and solar influences, from the opening of the year, but they were not prosecuted with all the advantages essential to generalization. still, some of the details noticed merit attention as meteorological memoranda which may be interesting in future researches of this kind, and it is with no higher view that these selections are made. _observations made at geneva, n. y._ . a.m. p.m. p.m. remarks. april ° ° ° clear. " clear. " clear. " clear. " clear. " clear. " cloudy, with rain. " rainy. " ... ... clear. _observations made at buffalo, n. y._ . a.m. p.m. remarks. april ° ° clear. may clear. " clear. " clear. " cloudy. " cloudy, with rain. " ... cloudy. these places are but ninety miles apart, yet such is the influence of the lake winds on the temperature of the latter position, that it denotes an atmospheric depression of temperature of °. at the same time, the range between the maximum and minimum was exactly the same. _observations made at detroit._ . a.m. m. p.m. remarks. wind. may , ° ° ° fair. n. e. " , fair. n. e. " , fair. n. e. " , fair. n. e. " , fair. n. e. " , fair. n. e. " , fair. s. w. " , fair. s. w. " , cloudy, some rain w. n. w. " , ... cloudy. n. w. the average temperature of this place for may is denoted to be some five or six degrees higher while the wind remained at n.e., but on its changing to s.w. (on the st), the temperature ran up four degrees at once. as soon as it changed to n.w. (on the th), the thermometer fell from its range on the st fourteen degrees. the uncommon beauty and serenity of the michigan autumns, and the mildness of its winters, have often been the subject of remark. by a diary of the weather kept by a gentleman in detroit, in the summer and fall of , from the th of july to the d of october, making eighty-nine days, it appears that were fair, cloudy, and showery and rainy. by a diary kept at the garrison of detroit (fort shelby), agreeable to orders from the war department, from the th of nov. , to the th of feb. , making days, of them are marked "clear," "cloudy," "clear and cloudy," and "cloudy, with rain or snow." by fahrenheit's thermometer, kept at the same place, and under the same direction, it appears that the medium temperature of the atmosphere was agreeable to the following statement:-- a.m. p.m. p.m. average. lowest deg. highest deg. nov. to , ° ° ° ° ° ° december, january, february, prevailing winds, s. w. and n. w. _observations on lake and river st. clair, michigan._ . a.m. a.m. m. p.m. p.m. p.m. remarks. may , ... ... ... ... ... ° " , ° ° ° ... ° ... clear. wind n. w. " , ... ° ... clear. wind n. w. " , ... ... ... clear. wind n. w. _temperature of the water of lake and river st. clair._ may , at a. m., ° at m., ° " , at a. m., at p. m., " , at a. m., at m., at p. m., ° _observations on lake huron._ --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- may| | | | |june | | | | | --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- a.m. | .. | .. | .. | .. | ° | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- a.m. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | °| | | .. --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- a.m. | ° | | | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- a.m. | .. | .. | .. | °| | .. | .. | | .. | .. --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- a.m.| .. | .. | .. | .. | ° | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- m. | ° | .. | | .. | .. | | .. | .. | | --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- p.m. | .. | .. | .. | ° | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- p.m. | .. | °| .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- p.m. | .. | .. | .. | °| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- p.m. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | °| .. | .. --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- p.m. | .. | °| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | | --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- p.m. | .. | .. | °| | | | | | .. | .. --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+---- p.m. | °| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+-------+-------- average | °| | | | | -½| -½| | -½| -½ | - temp. | | | | | | | | | | | --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+-------+-------- remarks.|[a] |[b] |[c] | | | | |[d] |[e] | [f] | [g] --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+-------+-------- [note a: clear. wind n. w.] [note b: clear in the morning; in the afternoon high wind from n. w. with thunder and lightening.] [note c: clear. wind high; n. w.] [note d: cloudy, with rain. winds strong; n. w.] [note e: flying clouds. wind strong; n. w.] [note f: clear. wind strong; n. w.] [note g: average temperature] _water at lake huron._ average. may , at a.m., ° at a.m., ° at p.m., ° ° " , at a.m., at a.m., at p.m., june , at a.m., at a.m., at p.m., " , at a.m., at p.m., at p.m., " , at a.m., at a.m., at p.m., -½ _observations at michilimackinac and on the straits of st. mary's._ ------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+--------+----------------- .| | | | | | | | | |a.m.|a.m.|a.m.|p.m.|p.m.|p.m.|p.m.|average.| weather. ------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+--------+----------------- june |... |... | °| ° |... |... | ° | -½° |clear. " |... |... | |... | ° |... | | |clear. " |... |... | |... |... | ° |... | -½ |cloudy with rain. " |... | ° | ...|... | |... | | |cloudy with rain. " |... | | ...|... | |... | | |clear. " |... | | ...| |... |... | | |clear. " | ° |... | ...| |... |... | | |fair. " | |... | ...| |... |... | | |cloudy. " |... | | ...|... | | |... | |clear. " |... | | | |... | |... | |clear. " |... | | ...|... | |... | | |clear. " | |... | ...| |... |... | | |cloudy; rain. ------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+--------+----------------- ------+--------------- . | wind. ------+--------------- june | w. n. w. " | w. n. w. " | " | w. " | s. e. " | s. e. " | s. w. " | s. w. " | s. w. } " | s. w. } st. " | s. w. } mary's " | n. w. ------+--------------- the chief conclusion to be drawn, is the extreme fluctuations of winds and temperatures, in these exposed positions on the open lakes. _observations on lake superior._ --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ . | | | | | | | | | | a.m. | a.m. | a.m. | a.m. | a.m. | a.m. | a.m. | a.m. | a.m. --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ june | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. " | .. | | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | | | | | | | | | | " | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. " | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. " | .. | | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | " | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. | " | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. | | .. " | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. " | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. | .. " | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. | .. " | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. | .. " | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. | july | | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. | .. " | | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. " | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | | | | | | | | | " | .. | .. | .. | | .. | | .. | .. | .. --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ . | | | | | | | | | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ june | | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. " | .. | .. | .. | .. | | | .. | .. | | | | | | | | " | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. " | .. | .. | | .. | .. | .. | | .. " | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. " | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | | | .. " | .. | | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. " | .. | | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | " | .. | | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. " | | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. | .. " | | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | | .. " | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | july | .. | | .. | | .. | | .. | .. " | .. | | .. | .. | .. | | .. | " | .. | .. | | .. | .. | | .. | | | | | | | | | " | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ --------+------+------+---------+------------------------------ . | | | average | remarks. | p.m. | p.m. | temp. | --------+------+------+---------+------------------------------ june | .. | .. | -½ | stormy and rain. wind n. w. " | .. | .. | -½ | stormy and rain. wind n. w. | | | | hurricane at night. " | | .. | | calm. " | .. | .. | -½ | clear. wind light from n. w. " | .. | | -½ | clear. wind s. e. " | .. | .. | | clear. high wind, n. w. " | | .. | -½ | clear. wind n. w. " | .. | .. | | rainy. wind w. n. w. " | .. | .. | | clear. wind e. n. e. (fair!) " | .. | .. | -½ | sky clear. wind n. w. " | .. | .. | | clear. wind n. w. " | .. | .. | | clear. wind n. w. july | .. | .. | -½ | misty. wind light at n. n. w. " | .. | .. | | clear. wind w. s. w. " | .. | .. | | cloudy, mist, and rain. wind | | | | s. s. w. " | .. | .. | | wind s. s. w. --------+------+------+---------+------------------------------ _temperature of lake superior._ lake average. june , at p.m., ° ° " , at a.m., at p.m., ° at p.m., ° " , at a.m., at p.m., " , at a.m., at a.m., at p.m., " , at p.m., at p.m., " , at a.m., at a.m., at p.m., " , at a.m., at p.m., " , at a.m., at p.m., " , at a.m., superior ° at p.m., lake } ontonagon river } " , at a.m., lake river at p.m., river at p.m., ° " , at p.m., river july , at a.m., at p.m., at p.m., " , at a.m., at a.m., at p.m., at p.m., " , at a.m., at p.m., at p.m., " , at a.m., it will be observed that the fluctuations of temperature noticed at lower points on the lake chain, about the latitude of michilimackinac, have also characterized the entire length of lake superior. the atmosphere observed at three separate times, during twenty-four days, by fahrenheit's thermometer, during the months of june and july, has varied from an average temperature of ° to °, agreeable to masses of clouds interposed to the rays of the sun, and to shifting currents of wind, which have often suddenly intervened. its waters, spreading for a length of five hundred miles from e. to w., observed during the same time by as many immersions of the instrument, has not varied more than two degrees below or above the average temperature of ° in mere surface observations. _observations on the sources of the mississippi river._ --------+-------+-------+-------+-----+-------+-------+------- | | | | | | | | a. m. | a. m. | a. m. | m. | p. m. | p. m. | p. m. --------+-------+-------+-------+-----+-------+-------+------- july | ... | ... | ... | ° | ° | ° | ° " | ... | ... | ° | | | | " | ... | ... | | | | | ... " | ... | ... | | | | | ... " | ... | ... | | | | | " | ... | ... | | | | | ... " | ... | ... | | | | | ... " | ... | ... | | | | | ... " | ... | ... | ... | ... | | | ... " | ° | ... | ... | ... | | | ... " | | ... | ... | ... | | | ... " | | ... | ... | ... | | | ... " | | ... | ... | ... | | | ... " | ... | ° | ... | ... | | ... | " | ... | | ... | ... | | ... | aug. | ... | | ... | ... | | | ... " | ... | | ... | ... | [ ]| ... | ... --------+-------+-------+-------+-----+-------+-------+------- --------+--------------------------------- | remarks. | --------+--------------------------------- july | morning rainy, then fair. " | fair. " | night rainy, morning cloudy, | then fair. " | " | " | cloudy, some thunder. " | night and morning rain, | afternoon thunder. " | fair. " | fair. " | morning fair, evening cloudy | and rain, clear. " | morning fair, evening fair. " | morning fair, rain in afternoon. " | clear. " | wind n. w., weather clear. " | wind w., weather clear. aug. | fair. " | fair. --------+--------------------------------- [ ] broke instrument. _observations at st. peter's (now minnesota)._ . a.m. p.m. . a.m. winds. weather. july , ° ° ° s. clear; fair. " , s. clear; rain towards morning. " , w. cloudy; rain, thunder and lightning. " , e. clear. " , s. cloudy; rain p.m. " , s. clear. " , s. clear. " , w. clear; cloudy p.m., rain, thunder and lightning during the night. " , w. clear, cloudy; rain and fair weather alternately. " , w. clear; calms. " , w. clear; high winds at night. " , w. clear; calm. " , w. clear. " , s. e. clear; fresh winds. " , n. e. clear. " , n. w. clear. " , w. clear. _meteorological journal kept at chicago by dr. a. wolcott._ . daylight. a. m. p. m. p. m. wind. weather. jan. , ° ° ° ° w. n. w. cloudy; light snow; first ice in the river, inches thick; none in the lake. " , w. n. w. clear. " , w. s. w. clear. " , w. clear. " , w. n. w. clear. " , s. s. w. clear. " , s. w. cloudy. " , n. n. e. cloudy. " , n. e. cloudy. " , n. e. snow-storm. " , n. clear. " , s. s. w. clear. " , w. s. w. clear. " , n. snow-squalls. " , n. n. w. clear; lake covered with moving ice, as far as the eye can see. " , e. n. e. snow-storm. " , w. n. w. clear. " , w. cloudy. " , w. n. w. clear. " , w. clear. " , e. n. e. snow-storm. " , n. w. clear. " , w. clear. " , w. clear. " , w. clear. " , e. s. e. snow-storm. " , s. w. cloudy. " , w. n. w. clear. " , w. cloudy; ice inches on river. " , w. clear. " , w. n. w. clear; snow inches deep. feb. , s. e. cloudy. " , e. n. e. snow-storm; ice -¾ inches on river. " , w. clear. " , e. s. e. clear. " , s. w. clear. " , s. clear. " , w. s. w. clear. " , e. cloudy and mist; snow during the night fell six inches. " , e. clear. feb. , e. cloudy. " , s. clear. " , n. e. cloudy. " , w. s. w. clear. " , e. cloudy; some rain with thunder. " , e. cloudy; some rain with thunder. " , s. w. clear. " , w. light clouds. " , e. cloudy. " , w. clear. " , w. clear. " , s. w. clear. " , w. clear. " , s. w. cloudy; rain and hail with thunder. " , e. clear. " , s. w. clear. " , s. w. cloudy; tempest of wind with flurries of rain and hail. " , w. n. w. clear. " , s. e. clear. " , s. w. clear. mar. , n. n. w. clear. " , n. n. w. clear. " , w. n. w. cloudy. " , s. w. clear. " , n. e. cloudy. " , n. n. w. clear. " , e. n. e. cloudy; light snow. " , n. e. cloudy. " , n. n. e. cloudy. " , n. n. e. cloudy. " , e. n. e. cloudy. " , e. s. e. cloudy; light snow. " , e. n. e. cloudy. " , e. n. e. cloudy; light snow. " , ... ... agreeable to a register kept at council bluffs during the month of january, , the highest and lowest temperature at that place were, respectively, ° and °, the month giving a mean of . . compared with the observed temperature, for the same month, at the following positions in the united states, both east and west of the alleghanies, the missouri valley reveals the fact of its being adapted to the purposes of a profitable agriculture.[ ] [ ] in europe, the mean annual temperature necessary for the production of certain plants is-- for the sugar-cane ° " coffee " orange " olive " vine (vitis vinifera) mean temperature highest. lowest. of the month. council bluffs . ° ° ° wooster . zero zanesville . zero marietta . zero chillicothe . cincinnati . jeffersonville . shawneetown . huntsville . tuscaloosa . cahaba . ouachita . new orleans . portsmouth, n. h. . [ ] washington city . council bluffs, lat. ° ´, long. ° ´ w. of the capitol. new orleans, " " w. " portsmouth, " " e. " difference of lat. ° ´. difference of long. °. [ ] below zero. nor does it appear that the same quantity of snow falls in the missouri valley which is common east of the alleghany mountains. at the council bluffs, on the last of january, snow was but twelve inches deep; at the same period, it was three feet or more throughout the eastern states. a snow-storm fell over the middle and eastern latitudes of the united states, for the first time, during the autumn of the year ( ), in the first half of november. as a precursor to this, slight drifts and gusts of snow had showed themselves at albany on the th, th, and th of october.[ ] [ ] meteorological journal kept at the albany academy for october, . "montreal, canada, october , .--on wednesday last we had the first fall of snow this season. it commenced in the forenoon, and continued slightly during the remainder of the day. although expected to disappear, the frosts in the nights have been pretty severe, and a considerable quantity still remains (saturday) at the moment we are writing." "salem, n. y. october .--on saturday last ( th), we had our first snow for the season. it fell during most of the forenoon, and for an hour or two the atmosphere was quite filled with it. some cool and shaded spots still remain whitened, though yesterday was one of our pleasant autumnal days, with a mild west wind." _early sleighing._--the _burlington_ (vt.) _sentinel_ of the th ult. says: "on tuesday night and wednesday, the snow fell in this place about eight inches deep on the level. it is said to be twelve inches deep in some of the adjoining towns."--_october, ._ at philadelphia, it began on saturday, th (morning), snow-storm from the east, and continued all day. at night a hurricane, accompanied by torrents of rain and snow, which did not subside until the th in the morning. weather unsettled on the th. at worcester, a severe snow-storm, from northeast, on the th and th. on the th, snow was ten inches deep, the weather cold, and sleighing good. snow in poughkeepsie fell twelve inches deep, and produced excellent sleighing. at new haven (conn.), it began with snow, hail, and rain, on saturday evening, th. the day before was wintery cold. the storm continued, without intermission, till monday, th. at boston, it also began on saturday, th, from the northeast, and fell six inches. on sunday, rain and snow. monday cold, and indifferent sleighing in the _streets_.--_boston paper_, nov. th. in vernon, oneida county, it began on the th, in the evening, and continued, in all, till monday, th, giving us snow, rain, hail, and wind, alternately. on the th, the snow, which lay six inches deep, began to thaw, and this was the beginning of our indian summer. the buffalo papers, of november th, say that several vessels were lost in the gale and snow-storm, or driven ashore. the storm closed up on the th, at new york city; the wind at northwest, and very cold. the rain, snow, and hail which had fallen gave good sleighing a part of that day. these notices cover an area of about five hundred miles square, proving, the universality of our autumnal phenomena. _indian summer._ this season appears to be produced by the settling of a thin azure vapor. it is supposed to arise from the partial decomposition of the foliage of the forest after the autumnal rains are past. "what is called the indian summer," says an observer at albany, "usually gives us fifteen or twenty days of uncommonly pleasant fall weather, commencing in the early part of october. the present season it set in as usual, and we had a week or ten days of very fine weather, when a northeast storm commenced, and continued for part of two days; within which time more rain is supposed to have fallen than during the whole of the preceding summer and fall. most of the streams and springs were filled, and the hudson river, in many places, overflowed its banks. it however again cleared off pleasant, and remained so till tuesday evening, when another storm of rain commenced, which continued the whole night. in the morning, there was some fall of hail accompanying the rain, and about o'clock a slight flurry of snow, and another on thursday evening; since which the weather has set in cold, and has the appearance of the closing in of fall or the setting in of winter. we however expect to put off winter and cold weather for some time yet, and anticipate many pleasant days in november." indian summer, in oneida, commenced on the th november. the weather had previously been cold, with snow and rain and a murky atmosphere. wednesday, nov. . the snow, which lay six inches deep, began to thaw, and the sky was clear and sunny. thursday, " . was a clear and pleasant day throughout; snow continued to melt. friday, " . the same, and smoky; warm sunshine; not a cloud to be seen; snow melts. saturday, " . the same. sunday, " . the same; full moon; cloudy, with wind in the evening; snow gone. monday, " . the same; sky clear and warm. tuesday, " . weather cloudy; wind s. e.; prepares for a change; a little snow during the previous night, but melts from the roofs this morning; no sun appears. wednesday, " . cloudy, dull morning; rain afternoon; sun appeared a few moments about p. m. thursday, " . cloudy, with alternate sunshine and rain. friday, " . clear and pleasant. saturday, " . clear and pleasant. dr. freeman, of boston, in one of his occasional sermons, employs the following poetic language in relation to this american phenomenon:-- "the southwest is the pleasantest wind which blows in new england. in the month of october, in particular, after the frosts which commonly take place at the end of september, it frequently produces two or three weeks of fair weather, in which the air is perfectly transparent, and clouds, which float in a sky of the purest azure, are adorned with brilliant colors. if at this season a man of an affectionate heart and ardent imagination should visit the tombs of his friends, the southwestern breezes, as they breathe through the glowing trees, would seem to him almost articulate. though he might not be so wrapped in enthusiasm as to fancy that the spirits of his ancestors were whispering in his ear, yet he would at least imagine that he heard 'the still small voice' of god. this charming season is called the indian summer, a name which is derived from the natives, who believe that it is caused by a wind which comes immediately from the court of their great and benevolent god cantantowan, or the southwestern god; the god who is superior to all other beings, who sends them every blessing which they enjoy, and to whom the souls of their fathers go after their decease." . indian hieroglyphics, or picture writing, languages, and history. xx. _pictographic mode of communicating ideas among the northwestern indians, observed during the expedition to the sources of the mississippi in , in a letter to the secretary of war._ by hon. lewis cass. detroit, february , . sir: an incident occurred upon my recent tour to the northwest, so rare in itself, and which so clearly shows the facility with which communications may be opened between savage nations, without the intervention of letters, that i have thought it not improper to communicate it to you. the chippewas and sioux are hereditary enemies, and charlevoix says they were at war when the french first reached the mississippi. i endeavored, when among them, to learn the cause which first excited them to war, and the time when it commenced. but they can give no rational account. an intelligent chippewa chief informed me that the disputed boundary between them was a subject of little importance, and that the question respecting it could be easily adjusted. he appeared to think that they fought because their fathers fought before them. this war has been waged with various success, and, in its prosecution, instances of courage and self-devotion have occurred, within a few years, which would not have disgraced the pages of grecian or of roman history. some years since, mutually weary of hostilities, the chiefs of both nations met and agreed upon a truce. but the sioux, disregarding the solemn compact which they had formed, and actuated by some sudden impulse, attacked the chippewas, and murdered a number of them. the old chippewa chief who descended the mississippi with us was present upon this occasion, and his life was saved by the intrepidity and generous self-devotion of a sioux chief. this man entreated, remonstrated, and threatened. he urged his countrymen, by every motive, to abstain from any violation of their faith, and, when he found his remonstrances useless, he attached himself to this chippewa chief, and avowed his determination of saving or perishing with him. awed by his intrepidity, the sioux finally agreed that he should ransom the chippewa, and he accordingly applied to this object all the property he owned. he then accompanied the chippewa on his journey until he considered him safe from any parties of the sioux who might be disposed to follow him. i subjoin an extract from the journal of mr. doty, an intelligent young gentleman who was with the expedition. this extract has already been published, but it may have escaped your observation, and the incident which it describes is so heroic in itself, and so illustrative of the indian character, that i cannot resist the temptation of transmitting it to you. extract from mr. doty's journal.--"the indians of the upper country consider those of the fond du lac as very stupid and dull, being but little given to war. they count the sioux their enemies, but have heretofore made few war excursions. "having been frequently reprimanded by some of the more vigilant indians of the north, and charged with cowardice, and an utter disregard for the event of the war, thirteen men of this tribe, last season, determined to retrieve the character of their nation by making an excursion against the sioux. accordingly, without consulting the other indians, they secretly departed, and penetrated far into the sioux country. unexpectedly, at night, they came upon a party of the sioux, amounting to near one hundred men, and immediately began to prepare for battle. they encamped a short distance from the sioux, and, during the night, dug holes in the ground into which they might retreat and fight to the last extremity. they appointed one of their number (the youngest) to take a station at a distance and witness the struggle, and instructed him, when they were all slain, to make his escape to their own land, and state the circumstances under which they had fallen. "early in the morning, they attacked the sioux in their camp, who, immediately sallying out upon them, forced them back to the last place of retreat they had resolved upon. they fought desperately. more than twice their own number were killed before they lost their lives. eight of them were tomahawked in the holes to which they had retreated; the other four fell on the field! the thirteenth returned home, according to the directions be had received, and related the foregoing circumstances to his tribe. they mourned their death; but, delighted with the bravery of their friends, unexampled in modern times, they were happy in their grief. "this account i received of the very indian who was of the party and had escaped." the sioux are much more numerous than the chippewas, and would have overpowered them long since had the operations of the former been consentaneous. but they are divided into so many different bands, and are scattered over such an extensive country, that their efforts have no regular combination. believing it equally consistent with humanity and sound policy that these border contests should not be suffered to continue; satisfied that you would approve of any plan of pacification which might be adopted, and feeling that the indians have a full portion of moral and physical evils, without adding to them the calamities of a war which had no definite object, and no probable termination; on our arrival at sandy lake, i proposed to the chippewa chiefs that a deputation should accompany us to the mouth of the st. peter's, with a view to establish a permanent peace between them and the sioux. the chippewas readily acceded to this proposition, and ten of their principal men descended the mississippi with us. the computed distance from sandy lake to the st. peter's is six hundred miles, and, as i have already had the honor to inform you, a considerable proportion of the country has been the theatre of hostile enterprises. the mississippi here traverses the immense plains which extend to the missouri, and which present to the eye a spectacle at once interesting and fatiguing. scarcely the slightest variation in the surface occurs, and they are entirely destitute of timber. in this debatable land, the game is very abundant; buffaloes, elks, and deer range unharmed, and unconscious of harm. the mutual hostilities of the chippewas and sioux render it dangerous for either, unless in strong parties, to visit this portion of the country. the consequence has been a great increase of all the animals whose flesh is used for food, or whose fur is valuable for market. we found herds of buffaloes quietly feeding upon the plains. there is little difficulty in approaching sufficiently near to kill them. with an eagerness which is natural to all hunters, and with an improvidence which always attends these excursions, the animal is frequently killed without any necessity, and no other part of them is preserved but the tongue. there is something extremely novel and interesting in this pursuit. the immense plains, extending as far as the eye can reach, are spotted here and there with droves of buffaloes. the distance and the absence of known objects render it difficult to estimate the size or the number of these animals. the hunters approach cautiously, keeping to the leeward, lest the buffaloes, whose scent is very acute, should observe them. the moment a gun is fired, the buffaloes scatter and scour the field in every direction. unwieldy as they appear, they move with considerable celerity. it is difficult to divert them from their course, and the attempt is always hazardous. one of our party barely escaped with his life from this act of temerity. the hunters, who are stationed upon different parts of the plain, fire as the animals pass them. the repeated discharge of guns in every direction, the shouts of those who are engaged in the pursuit, and the sight of the buffaloes at full speed on every side, give an animation to the scene which is rarely equalled. the droves which we saw were comparatively small. some of the party whom we found at st. peter's, and who arrived at that place by land from the council bluffs, estimated one of the droves which they saw to contain two thousand buffaloes. as we approached this part of the country, our chippewa friends became cautious and observing. the flag of the united states was flying upon all our canoes, and, thanks to the character which our country acquired by the events of the last war, i found in our progress through the whole indian country, after we had once left the great line of communication, that this flag was a passport which rendered our journey safe. we consequently felt assured that no wandering party of the sioux would attack even their enemies, while under our protection. but the chippewas could not appreciate the influence which the american flag would have upon other nations, nor is it probable that they estimated with much accuracy the motives which induced us to assume the character of an umpire. the chippewas landed occasionally to examine whether any of the sioux had recently visited that quarter. in one of these excursions, a chippewa found in a conspicuous place, a piece of birch bark, made flat by being fastened between two sticks at each end, and about eighteen inches long by fifteen broad. this bark contained the answer of the sioux nation to the proposition which had been made by the chippewas for the termination of hostilities. so sanguinary has been the contest between these tribes, that no personal communication could take place. neither the sanctity of the office, nor the importance of the message, could protect the ambassadors of either party from the vengeance of each other. some time preceding, the chippewas, anxious for the restoration of peace, had sent a number of their young men into these plains with a similar piece of bark, upon which they had represented their desire. the bark had been left hanging to a tree in an exposed situation, and had been found and taken away by a party of the sioux. the propositions had been examined and discussed in the sioux villages, and the bark which we found contained their answer. the chippewa who had prepared the bark for his tribe was with us, and on our arrival at st. peter's, finding it was lost, i requested him to make another. he did so, and produced what i have no doubt was a perfect _fac-simile_. we brought with us both of these _projets_, and they are now in the hands of capt. douglass. he will be able to give a more intelligible description of them than i can from recollection, and they could not be in the possession of one more competent to the task. the chippewas explained to us with great facility the intention of the sioux, and apparently with as much readiness as if some common character had been established between them. the junction of the st. peter's with the mississippi, where a principal part of the sioux reside, was represented, and also the american fort, with a sentinel on duty, and the flag flying. the principal sioux chief is named the six, alluding, i believe, to the bands or villages under his influence. to show that he was not present at the deliberations upon the subject of peace, he was represented upon a smaller piece of bark, which was attached to the other. to identify him, he was drawn with six heads and a large medal. another sioux chief stood in the foreground, holding the pipe of peace in his right hand, and his weapons in his left. even we could not misunderstand that. like our own eagle with the olive-branch and arrows, he was desirous of peace, but prepared for war. the sioux party contained fifty-nine warriors, and this number was indicated by fifty-nine guns, which were drawn upon one corner of the bark. the only subject which occasioned any difficulty in the interpretation of the chippewas, was owing to an incident, of which they were ignorant. the encampment of our troops had been removed from the low grounds upon the st. peter's, to a high hill upon the mississippi; two forts were therefore drawn upon the bark, and the solution of this enigma could not be discovered till our arrival at st. peter's. the effect of the discovery of this bark upon the minds of the chippewas was visible and immediate. their doubts and apprehensions appeared to be removed, and during the residue of the journey, their conduct and feelings were completely changed. the chippewa bark was drawn in the same general manner, and sandy lake, the principal place of their residence, was represented with much accuracy. to remove any doubt respecting it, a view was given of the old northwest establishment, situated upon its shore, and now in the possession of the american fur company. no proportion was preserved in their attempt at delineation. one mile of the mississippi, including the mouth of the st. peter's, occupied as much space as the whole distance to sandy lake; nor was there anything to show that one part was nearer to the spectator than another; yet the object of each party was completely obtained. speaking languages radically different from each, for the sioux constitute one of three grand divisions into which the early french writers have arranged the aborigines of our country, while the chippewas are a branch of what they call algonquins, and without any conventional character established between them, these tribes thus opened a communication upon the most important subject which could occupy their attention. propositions leading to a peace were made and accepted, and the simplicity of the mode could only be equalled by the distinctness of the representations, and by the ease with which they were understood. an incident like this, of rare occurrence at this day, and throwing some light upon the mode of communication before the invention of letters, i thought it not improper to communicate to you. it is only necessary to add, that on our arrival at st. peter's, we found col. leavenworth had been as attentive and indefatigable upon this subject, as upon every other which fell within the sphere of his command. during the preceding winter, he had visited a tribe of the chippewas upon this pacific mission, and had, with the aid of the agent, mr. talliafero, prepared the minds of both tribes for a permanent peace. the sioux and chippewas met in council, at which we all attended, and smoked the pipe of peace together. they then, as they say in their figurative language, buried the tomahawk so deep that it could never be dug up again, and our chippeway friends departed well satisfied with the result of their mission. i trust that mr. bolvin, the agent at prairie du chien, has been able before this to communicate to you a successful account of the negotiation which i instructed him to open between the sacs and foxes, forming one party, and the sioux. hostilities were carried on between these tribes, which, i presume, he has been able to terminate. we discovered a remarkable coincidence, as well in the sound as in the application, between a word in the sioux language and one in our own. the circumstance is so singular that i deem it worthy of notice. the sioux call the falls of st. anthony ha ha, and the pronunciation is in every respect similar to the same words in the english language. i could not learn that this word was used for any other purpose, and i believe it is confined in its application to that place alone.[ ] the traveller in ascending the mississippi turns a projecting point, and these falls suddenly appear before him at a short distance. every man, savage or civilized, must be struck with the magnificent spectacle which opens to his view. there is an assemblage of objects which, added to the solitary grandeur of the scene, to the height of the cataract, and to the eternal roar of its waters, inspire the spectator with awe and admiration. [ ] iha ha [iha-ikiha] are words given as equivalent to laugh, _v._ in riggs's dictionary of the dakota language, published by the smithsonian institution in . ihapi, _n._, is laughter. the letter _h_, with a dot, represents a strong guttural, resembling the arabic _kha_. iha, by the same authority, is the lips or cover to anything; it is also an adverb of doubt. the vowel _i_ has the sound of _i_ in marine, or _e_ in me. in his _anecdotes of painting_, it is stated by horace walpole, that "on the invention of fosses for boundaries, the common people called them ha ha's! to express their surprise on finding a sudden and unperceived check to their walk." i believe the word is yet used in this manner in england. it is certainly not a little remarkable that the same word should be thus applied by one of the most civilized and by one of the most barbarous people, to objects which, although not the same, were yet calculated to excite the admiration of the observer. nothing can show more clearly how fallacious are those deductions of comparative etymology, which are founded upon a few words carefully gleaned here and there from languages having no common origin, and which are used by people who have neither connection nor intercourse. the common descent of two nations can never be traced by the accidental consonance of a few syllables or words, and the attempt must lead us into the regions of fancy. the sioux language is probably one of the most barren which is spoken by any of our aboriginal tribes. colonel leavenworth, who made considerable proficiency in it, calculated, i believe, that the number of words did not exceed one thousand. they use more gestures in their conversation than any indians i have seen, and this is a necessary result of the poverty of their language. i am well aware, that the subject of this letter is not within the ordinary sphere of official communications. but i rely for your indulgence upon the interest which you have shown to procure and disseminate a full knowledge of every subject connected with the internal condition of our country. i am preparing a memoir upon the present state of the indians, agreeably to the intimation in my letter of september last. i shall finish and transmit it to you as soon as my other duties will permit. very respectfully, sir, i have, &c., lewis cass. hon. john c. calhoun, _secretary of war_. xxi. _inquiries respecting the history of the indians of the united states._ by lewis cass. these queries were published at detroit in separate pamphlets, about the era of , and communicated to persons in the indian country supposed to be capable of furnishing the desired information. the results became the topic of several critical disquisitions, which appeared in the pages of the _north american review_ in and ; disquisitions the spirit and tone of which created, as the reader who is posted up on the topic will remember, a sensation among philological and philosophical readers. whether we are most to admire the bold tone of inquiry assumed by gen. cass, the acumen displayed in the discussions, the eloquence of the language, or the general soundness of the positions taken, is the only question left for decision. certainly, nobody can arise from the perusal of these papers without becoming wiser or better informed on the subjects discussed. the mere luxury of high-toned and eloquent language is a gratification to the inquirer. but he cannot close these investigations into a subject of deep historical and philological interest without feeling established in the principles of historic truth, or warmed in his literary ardor. prominent among the topics of the initial discussion, was the work of john dunn hunter, a singular adventurer in the indian country, or, perhaps, an early captive, who, after wandering to the atlantic cities, where his harmless inefficiency of character gained no favorable attention, found his way to london, where the booksellers concocted a book of travels from him, in which the united states is unscrupulously traduced for its treatment of the indians. the scathing which this person and his book received arises from its having fallen in the way of the business journeys of the critic to visit some of the principal scenes referred to; and among others, the residence of john dunn, of missouri, after whom he professed to be named, who utterly denied all knowledge of the man or of his purported adventures. the question of the authenticity of the indian traditions of mr. heckewelder, derived from a single tribe, and that tribe telling stories to salve up its own disastrous history, and the mere literary capacities of the man to put his materials in order, is propounded and examined in connection with the contemporary traditions and languages of other tribes. these traditions had been communicated to the pennsylvania historical society, in , and were published under the special auspices of mr. duponceau, in . from the internal evidence of the letters themselves, the critic pronounces them to be reproductions of mr. duponceau himself; and it is an evidence of the aptness of this deduction to be told that mr. gallatin admitted (_vide_ my _personal memoirs_, p. ), that the letters of mr. heckewelder had all been rewritten previous to publication. it could no longer be a subject of admiration to philologists, that from such imperfect sources of information, that distinguished scholar should have pronounced the opinion that the delaware language rather exceeds than falls short of the greek and latin in the affluence of syntactical forms and capacities of expression. _trans. hist. and lit. com., am. philo. soc._, vol. i. p. . xxii. _a letter on the origin of the indian race of america, and the principles of their mode of uttering ideas; addressed to john johnston, esq., late of st. mary's falls, michigan._ by dr. j. mcdonnell, of belfast, ireland. belfast, april , . my dear j.: i feel always as if i am guilty of some great crime, in not writing to you. an account came to sir joseph banks, of very curious rocks, with odd stripes and colors, having been seen, this last war, by sailors on the lakes, i think on lake superior.[ ] pray keep up your thoughts to the geography of rocks. i got some lately from bombay, exactly ditto with our causeway.[ ] [ ] most probably this idea arose from the very marked precipices of the coast denominated pictured rocks. h. r. s. [ ] the giant's causeway, on the coast of antrim. i shall ever regret the not having seen your daughter. i think it likely that mingling the european blood and character with the indian might bring out some superior traits of character. lest my letter should altogether fail of presenting any useful point, i must put some questions to you that would be worth something if answered. a man has published, in , an octavo volume in trenton (united states), the author's name boudinot, to explain some things about the indian nations, and, among other things, he fancies some resemblance between their languages and hebrew. baron von humboldt, a prussian, was in spanish america lately, and he found the natives had hebrew opinions and usages, evidently things borrowed from jewish doctrines. i don't want you to inquire much about their being of this extraction, but observe, for me, whether their languages have no pronouns, as one author, colden, stated fifty years ago; and whether they are defective in the prepositions, as this boudinot states; and whether those near you have any words, idioms, or traditions that are expressive of their early origin, or their connection with european nations. in fact, i think you are better circumstanced, in most respects, than any other man that i ever heard of, to do something worth notice in that way; for, although you have not books, nor knowledge of many tongues, yet you could collect lists of great and radical words, expressed with proper letters, so that others could compare those words with asiatic, and african, and european tongues, so as to enable mankind to judge of similitudes or dissimilitudes. the words most apt to pervade different nations, and to pass from one people to another, are articles, pronouns, auxiliary verbs, prepositions; next to these, numerals; next to these, whatever terms are expressive of striking, useful, hurtful, or very clear and definite objects and ideas; for, if the conceptions we have of things be not very definite, clear, and distinct, the idea and the word are not likely to float down the stream of time together, they will be jostled and separated. be very careful in spelling the indian words; spell them in different ways, where our letters don't square exactly with their sounds. take notice of their musical tones, and whether these tones get in, as essential parts, into their speech; and, above all, remember that a _word_ is a _thing_, and that it may be examined as a _record_, or considered like a coin or medal, as well as if it had the stamp of a king or mint upon it. i will write more if this vessel does not sail to-day. god bless you and yours, and believe me, in haste, your affectionate cousin. j. mcdonnell. xxiii. _difficulties of studying the indian tongues of the united states._ by dr. alexander wolcott, jr. dr. wolcott will be remembered by the early inhabitants of chicago, when that place was still a military post and the site of an indian agency, the latter of which trusts he filled. in , the pottowattomie tribe of indians and their confederates--the illinois--chippewas, and ottowas--possessed the whole surrounding regions, roving as lords of the prairies. these numerous and fierce hunter-tribes, who traded their peltries for fineries, had many horses, loved rum and fine clothes, and despised all restraints, came in to him, at his agency, as the mouthpiece of the president, to transact their affairs, and they often lingered for days and weeks around the place, which gave him a good opportunity of becoming familiar with their manners, customs, and history. dr. wolcott was a man of education, of high morals, dignified manners, and noble sentiments, with decidedly saturnine feelings, and a keen perception of the ridiculous. constitutionally averse to much or labored personal effort, his leisure hours, in this seclusion from society, were hours devoted to reading and social converse, and his attention was appropriately called by gen. cass to the "inquiries," no. , above referred to. the reply which he at length communicated was written in so happy a vein, that i obtained permission to publish the substance of it, in , in my _travels in the central portions of the mississippi valley_, p. . it declares an important truth, which all must concur in, who have attempted the study of the indian languages, for they are required to perform the prior labor of ascertaining and generalizing the principles of their accidence and concord. when i first came to st. mary's, in , and began the study of the chippewa, i asked in vain the simple question how the plural was formed. it was formed, in truth, in twelve different ways, agreeably to the vowels of terminal syllables; but this could not be declared until quires of paper had been written over, the whole vocabulary explored, and days and nights devoted to it. my first interpreter could not tell a verb from a noun, and was incapable of translating the simplest sentence literally. besides his ignorance, he was so great a liar that i never knew when to believe him. he sometimes told the indians the reverse of what i said, and often told me the reverse of what they said. xxiv. _examination of the elementary structure of the algonquin language as it appears in the chippewa tongue._ by henry r. schoolcraft. introductory note. sault ste. marie, may , . sir: in order to answer your inquiries, i have improved my leisure hours, during the part of the summer following our arrival here ( th july last), and the entire winter and spring, in examining the words and forms of expression of the chippewa, or (as the indians pronounce it) odjibwa, tongue. i have found, as i anticipated, my most efficient aid, in this inquiry, in mr. johnston, and the several members of his intelligent family; my public interpreter being too unprecise and profoundly ignorant of the rules of grammar to be of much use in the investigation. mr. johnston, as you are aware, perhaps, came from the north of ireland, where his connections are highly respectable, during the first term of general washington's administration. he brought letters from high sources to the governor-general of canada; but having, while at montreal, fallen in with don andrew tod, a countryman, who had the monopoly of the fur trade of louisiana, in a spirit of enterprise and adventure, he threw himself into that, at the time, fascinating pursuit, and visited michilimackinac. circumstances determined him to fix his residence at st. mary's, where he has resided, making frequent visits to montreal and great britain, about thirty years. his children have been carefully instructed in the english language and literature, and the whole family are familiar with the indian. without such proficient aid, i should have labored against serious impediments at every step; and, with them, i have found the inquiry, in a philological point of view, involved in many, and some of them insuperable difficulties. the results i communicate to you, rather as an earnest of what may be hereafter done in this matter, than as completely fulfilling inquiries which it would require horne tooke himself, with the aid of the bodleian library, to unravel. with respect, &c., henry r. schoolcraft. his excellency gov. lewis cass. examination of the odjibwa. , . _simple sounds._--the language is one of easy enunciation. it has sixteen simple consonental and five vowel sounds. of these, two are labials, _b_ and _p_; five dentals, _d_, _t_, _s_, _z_, _j_, and _g_ soft; two nasals, _m_ and _n_; and four gutturals, _k_, _q_, _c_, and _g_ hard. there is a peculiar nasal combination in _ng_, and a peculiar terminal sound of _g_, which may be represented by _gk_. of the mixed dipthongal and consonental sounds, those most difficult to english organs are the sounds in _aiw_ and _auw_. . _letters not used._--the language is wholly wanting in the sound of _th_. it drops the sound of _v_ entirely, substituting _b_, in attempts to pronounce foreign words. the sound of _l_ is sometimes heard in their necromantic chants; but, although it appears to have been known to the old algonquin, it is supplied, in the odjibwa of this day, exclusively by _n_. it also eschews the sounds of _f_, _r_, and _x_, leaving its simple consonental powers of utterance, as above denoted, at sixteen. in attempts to pronounce english words having the sound of _f_, they substitute _p_, as in the case of _v_. the sound of _r_ is either dropped, or takes the sound of _au_. of the letter _x_ they make no use; the nearest approach i have succeeded in getting from them is _ek-is_, showing that it is essentially a foreign sound to them. the aspirate _h_ begins very few words, not exceeding five in fifteen hundred, but it is a very frequent sound in terminals, always following the slender or latin sound of _a_, but never its broad sound in _au_, or its peculiarly english sound as heard in the _a_ of _may_, _pay_, _day_. the terminal syllable of the tribal name (odjibwa), offers a good evidence of this rule, this syllable being never sounded by the natives either _wah_ or _wau_, but always _wa_. these rules of utterance appear to be constant and imperative, and the natives have evidently a nice ear to discriminate sounds. _rule of euphony._--in the construction of words, it is required that a consonant should _precede_ or _follow_ a vowel. in dissyllables wherein two consonants are sounded in juxtaposition, it happens from the joining of two syllables, the first of which ends and the last begins with a consonant, as _muk-kuk_, a box, and _os-sin_, a stone; the utterance in these cases being confluent. but in longer compounds this juxtaposition is generally avoided by throwing in a vowel for the sake of euphony, as in the term _assinebwoin_, the _e_ in which is a mere connective, and has no meaning by itself. nor is it allowable for vowels to follow each other in syllabication, except in the restricted instances where the being or existence of a thing or person is affirmed, as in the vowel-words _i-e-e_ and _i-e-a_, the animate and inanimate forms of this declaration. in these cases, there is a distinct accent on each vowel. . _accent._--the accent generally falls on full or broad vowels, and never on short vowels; such accented vowels are always significant, and if they are repeated in a compound word, the accents are also repeated, the only difference being that there are primary and secondary accents. thus, in the long descriptive name for a horse, _pa-bá-zhik-ó-ga-zhé_, which is compounded of a numeral term and two nouns, meaning, the animal with solid hoofs; there are three accents, the first of which is primary, while the others succeed each other with decreased intensity. by a table of words which i have constructed, and had carefully pronounced over by the natives, it is denoted that dissyllables are generally accented on the final syllable, trisyllables on the second, and words of four syllables on the second and fourth. but these indications may not be constant or universal, as it is perceived that the accents vary agreeably to the distribution of the full and significant vowels. . _emphasis._--stress is laid on particular words in sentences to which the speaker designs to impart force, and the whole tone of the entire sentiment and passages is often adapted to convey particular impressions. this trait more frequently comes out in the private narrative of real or imaginary scenes, in which the narrator assumes the very voice and tone of the real or supposed actor. generally, in their dealings and colloquial intercourse, there is a significant stress laid on the terms, _meenungaika_, certainly; _kaigait_, truly; _kaugaigo_, nothing at all; _tiau_, behold; _woh-ow_, who; _auwanain_, were; and other familiar terms of inquiry, denial, or affirmation in daily use. . _conjugation._--the simplest form in which their verbs are heard, is in the third person singular of the indicative, as _he speaks_, _he says_, _he loves_, _he dances_, or in the first person present of the imperative. the want of a distinction between the pronouns _he_ and _she_, is a defect which the language shares, i believe, with other very ancient and rude tongues. conjugations are effected for persons, tenses, and number, very much as they are in other rude languages, particularly those of the transpositive class. the verb is often a single root, or syllable, as _saug_, love; but owing to the tendency of adding qualifying particles, their verbs are cluttered up with other meanings. the word _saug_ is therefore never heard as an element by itself. in the first place, it takes before it the pronoun, and in the second place, the object of action; so that _nesaugeau_, i love him, or her, or a person, is one of the simplest of their colloquial phrases. and of this term, the e, being the fourth syllable, is mere verbiage, means nothing by itself, and is thrown in for euphony. tenses are formed by adding _gee_ to the pronoun for the perfect, and _gah_ for the future, and _gahgee_ for the second future. these terms play the part, and supply the want of, auxiliary verbs. the imperative is made in _gah_, and the potential in _dau_ where the second future is _daugee_. the subjunctive is made by prefixing the word _kishpin_, meaning if. the inflection _nuh_, asks a question, and as it can be put to all the forms of the conjugation, it establishes an interrogative mood. the particle see, negatives the verb, and thus all verbs can be conjugated positively and negatively. to constitute the plural, the letter _g_ is added to the conjugations; thus, _nesaugeaug_ means, i love them. but this is an animate plural, and can only be added to words of the vital class. besides, if the verb or noun to be made plural does not end in a vowel, but in a consonant, the _g_ cannot be added without interposing a vowel. it results, therefore, that the vowel class of words have their plurals in _äg_, _eeg_, _ig_, _og_, or _ug_. but, if the class of words be non-vital and numerical, the plural is made in the letter _n_. but this letter cannot, as in the other form, be added, unless the word terminate in a vowel, when the regular plurals are _än_, _een_, _in_, _on_, or _un_. this simple principle clears up one cause of perplexity in the conjugations, and denotes a philosophical method, which divides the whole vocabulary into two classes; while this provision _supersedes_, it answers the purpose of _gender_. there is, in fact, no gender required by the conjugations, it being sufficient to denote the _vitality_ or _non-vitality_ of the class. nothing can be clearer. this is one of the leading traits of the grammar of the language, upon the observance of which the best speakers pride themselves. it does not, however, result that, because there is no gender required in the conjugations, the idea of sexuality is unknown to the nomenclature. quite the contrary. the tenses for male and female, in the chief orders of creation, are _iaba_ and _nozha_. these words prefixed to the proper names of animals, produce expressions of precisely the same meaning, and also the same inelegance; as if we should say, male goose, female goose, male horse, and female horse, male man and female man. the term for man (_inini_) is masculine, and that for woman (_equa_) feminine in its construction. it is only in the conjugations that the principle of gender becomes lost in that of vitality. . _active and passive voices._--the distinction between these two classes of verbs is made by the inflection _ego_. by adding this form to the active verb, its action is reversed, and thrown back on the nominative. thus, the verb to carry is _nim bemön_, i carry; _nim bemön-ego_, i am carried. _adowawa_ is the act of thumping, as a log by the waves on the shore._ adowawa-ego_ is a log that is thumped by the waves on shore. _nesaugeah_, i love; _nesaugeigo_, i am loved. in the latter phrase, the personal term _au_ is dropped, and the long sound of _e_ slips into _i_, which converts the inflection into _igo_ instead of _ego_. . _participles._--my impression is, that the indians are in the habit of using participles, often to the exclusion of other proper forms of the verb. the vocabulary contains abundantly the indicative forms of the verb. to run, to rise, to see, to eat, to tie, to burn, to strike, to sing, to cry, to dance, are the common terms of parlance; but as soon as these terms come to be connected with the action of particular persons, this action appears to be spoken of as if existing--both the past and future tenses being thrown away; and the senses appear to be, i, you, he, or they; running, rising, seeing, eating, tying, burning, striking, singing, crying, dancing. at least, i have not been able to convince myself that the action is not referred to as existing. when the participles should be used, they, on the contrary, employ the indicative forms, by which such sentences are made as, he run, he walk, for running, walking. the general want of the substantive verb, in their colloquial phrases, constantly leads to imperfect forms of syntax. thus, _nëbä_ is the indicative, first person of the verb to sleep; but if the term, i am sleeping, be required, the phrase is _ne nëbä_, simply, i sleep. so, too, _tshägiz_ is the first person indicative to burn; but the colloquial phrase, i am burned, or burning, is _nen tshägiz_--the verb remaining in the indicative, and not taking the participle form. it is not common to address persons by their familiar names, as with us--as john, or james. the very contrary is the usage of indian society, the object being to conceal all personal names, unless they be forced out. if it be required to express this sentence, namely: adario has gone out (or temporarily departed), but will soon return; the equivalent is _ogima_, _ke mahjaun_, _panema_, _ke takooshin_. this sentence literally retranslated is, chief, he gone; by and by, he (will) return--the noun chief being put for the personal noun adario. it will be perceived that the pronoun _ke_ is repeated after the noun, making, chief, he gone. _panema_ is an adverb which is undeclinable under all circumstances, and _tahkooshin_, the future tense of the verb to arrive, or come (by land). the phraseology is perfectly loaded with local or other particulars, which constantly limit the action of verbs to places, persons, and things. xxv. _a vocabulary of the odjibwa algonquin language._ by h. r. schoolcraft. on referring to the manuscript of this vocabulary, it is found to fill a large folio volume, which puts it out of my power to insert it in this connection. it is hoped to bring it into the series of the ethnological volumes, now in the process of being published at philadelphia, under the auspices of congress. appendix no. . the expedition to itasca lake in . synopsis. . indian languages. i. ii. observations on the grammatical structure and flexibility of the odjibwa substantive. by henry r. schoolcraft. iii. principles governing the use of the odjibwa noun-adjective. by henry r. schoolcraft. iv. some remarks respecting the agglutinative position and properties of the pronoun. by henry r. schoolcraft. . natural history. v. zoology. . limits of the range of the cervus sylvestris in the northwestern parts of the united states. by henry r. schoolcraft.--_northwest journal._ . description of the fringilia vespertina, discovered by mr. schoolcraft in the northwest. by william cooper.--_annals of the new york lyceum of natural history._ . a list of shells collected by mr. schoolcraft during his expedition to the sources of the mississippi in . by william cooper. vi. botany. . list of species and localities of plants collected during the exploratory expeditions of mr. schoolcraft in and . by douglass houghton, m. d., _surgeon to said expeditions_. vii. mineralogy and geology. . a report on the existence of deposits of copper in the trap rocks of upper michigan. by dr. douglass houghton. . remarks on the occurrence of native silver, and the ores of silver, in the stratification of the basins of lakes huron and superior. by henry r. schoolcraft. . a general summary of the localities of minerals observed in the northwest. by henry r. schoolcraft. . geological outlines of the valley of takwymenon in the basin of lake superior. by henry r. schoolcraft. . suggestions respecting the geological epoch of the deposit of red sandstone of st. mary's falls, michigan. by henry r. schoolcraft. . indian tribes. viii. condition and disposition. . official report to the war department, of an expedition through upper michigan and northern wisconsin in . by henry r. schoolcraft. . brief notes of a tour in , from galena, in illinois, to fort winnebago, on the source of fox river, wisconsin. by henry r. schoolcraft. . official report of the expedition to itasca lake in . by henry r. schoolcraft. . report of the vaccination of the indians in , under the authority of an act of congress. by dr. douglass houghton. . topography and geography. ix. astronomical and barometrical observations. . table of geographical positions observed in . by j. n. nicollet. . scenery. x. letters on the scenery of lake superior. by melancthon woolsey. _vide_ southern literary messenger, . appendix. . indian language. i. _observations on the grammatical structure and flexibility of the odjibwa substantive._[ ] [ ] mr. du ponceau did me the honor, in , to translate these two inquiries on the substantive in full, for the prize paper on the algonquin, before the national institute of france. inquiry . observations on the ojibwai substantive. . the provision of the language for indicating gender--its general and comprehensive character--the division of words into animate and inanimate classes. . number--its recondite forms, arising from the terminal vowel in the word. . the grammatical forms which indicate possession, and enable the speaker to distinguish the objective person. most of the researches which have been directed to the indian languages, have resulted in elucidating the principles governing the use of the verb, which has been proved to be full and varied in its inflections. either less attention has been paid to the other parts of speech, or results less suited to create high expectations of their flexibility and powers have been attained. the indian verb has thus been made to stand out, as it were in bold relief, as a shield to defects in the substantive and its accessories, and as, in fact, compensating, by its multiform appendages of prefix and suffix--by its tensal, its pronominal, its substantive, its adjective, and its adverbial terminations, for barrenness and rigidity in all other parts of speech. influenced by this reflection, i shall defer, in the present inquiry, the remarks i intend offering on the verb, until i have considered the substantive, and its more important adjuncts. palpable objects, to which the idea of sense strongly attaches, and the actions or condition, which determine the relation of one object to another, are perhaps the first points to demand attention in the invention of languages. and they have certainly imprinted themselves very strongly, with all their materiality, and with all their local, and exclusive, and personal peculiarities upon the indian. the noun and the verb not only thus constitute the principal elements of speech, as in all languages; but they continue to perform their first offices, with less direct aid from the auxiliary parts of speech, than would appear to be reconcilable with a clear expression of the circumstances of time and place, number and person, quality and quantity, action and repose, and the other accidents, on which their definite employment depends. but to enable the substantives and attributives to perform these complex offices, they are provided with inflections, and undergo changes and modifications, by which words and phrases become very concrete in their meaning, and are lengthened out to appear formidable to the eye. hence the polysyllabic, and the descriptive character of the language, so composite in its aspect and in its forms. to utter succinctly, and in as few words as possible, the prominent ideas resting upon the mind of the speaker, appear to have been the paramount object with the inventors of the language. hence, concentration became a leading feature. and the pronoun, the adjective, the adverb, and the preposition, however they may be disjunctively employed in certain cases, are chiefly useful as furnishing materials to the speaker, to be worked up into the complicated texture of the verb and the substantive. nothing, in fact, can be more unlike, than the language, viewed in its original, elementary state--in a vocabulary, for instance, of its primitive words, so far as such a vocabulary can now be formed, and the same language as heard under its oral, amalgamated form. its transpositions may be likened to a picture, in which the copal, the carmine, and the white lead, are no longer recognized as distinct substances, but each of which has contributed its share towards the effect. it is the painter only who possesses the principle, by which one element has been curtailed, another augmented, and all, however seemingly discordant, made to coalesce. such a language may be expected to abound in derivatives and compounds; to afford rules for giving verbs substantive, and substantives verbal qualities; to concentrate the meaning of words upon a few syllables, or upon a single letter, or alphabetical sign; and to supply modes of contraction and augmentation, and, if i may so say, _short cuts_, and _by-paths_ to meanings, which are equally novel and interesting. to arrive at its primitives, we must pursue an intricate thread, where analogy is often the only guide. we must divest words of those accumulated syllables, or particles, which, like the molecules of material matter, are clustered around the primitives. it is only after a process of this kind, that the _principle of combination_--that secret wire, which moves the whole machinery can be searched for, with a reasonable prospect of success. the labor of analysis is one of the most interesting and important, which the subject presents. and it is a labor which it will be expedient to keep constantly in view, until we have separately considered the several parts of speech, and the grammatical laws by which the language is held together; and thus established principles and provided materials wherewith we may the more successfully labor. . in a general survey of the language as it is spoken, and as it must be written, there is perhaps no feature which obtrudes itself so constantly to view, as the principle which separates all words, of whatever denomination, into animates and inanimates, as they are applied to objects in the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom. this principle has been grafted upon most words, and carries its distinctions throughout the syntax. it is the gender of the language; but a gender of so unbounded a scope, as to merge in it the common distinctions of a masculine and feminine, and to give a twofold character to the parts of speech. the concords which it requires, and the double inflections it provides, will be mentioned in their appropriate places. it will be sufficient here to observe, that animate nouns require animate verbs for their nominatives, animate adjectives to express their qualities, and animate demonstrative pronouns to mark the distinctions of person. thus, if we say, "i see a man; i see a house," the termination of the verb must be changed. what was in the first instance _wâb imâ_, is altered to _wâb indân_. _wâb_, is here the infinitive, but the root of this verb is still more remote. if the question occurs "is it a good man, or a good house," the adjective, which, in the inanimate form is _onishish-í_, is, in the animate _onishish-i[n']_. if the question be put, "is it this man, or this house," the pronoun _this_, which is _mâ bum_, in the animate, is changed to _mâ ndun_, in the inanimate. nouns animate embrace the tribes of quadrupeds, birds, fishes, insects, reptiles, crustacæ, the sun, and moon, and stars, thunder, and lightning, for these are personified; and whatever either possesses animal life, or is endowed, by the peculiar opinions and superstitions of the indians, with it. in the vegetable kingdom, their number is comparatively limited, being chiefly confined to trees, and those only while they are referred to, as whole bodies, and to the various species of fruits, and seeds, and esculents. it is at the option of the speaker to employ nouns, either as animates or inanimates: but it is a choice seldom resorted to, except in conformity with stated exceptions. these conventional exceptions are not numerous, and the more prominent of them, may be recited. the cause of the exceptions it is not always easy to perceive. it may, however, generally be traced to a particular respect paid to certain inanimate bodies, either from their real or fancied properties--the uses to which they are applied, or the ceremonies to which they are dedicated. a stone, which is the altar of sacrifice to their manitoes; a bow, formerly so necessary in the chase; a feather, the honored sign of martial prowess; a kettle, so valuable in the household; a pipe, by which friendships are sealed and treaties ratified; a drum, used in their sacred and festive dances; a medal, the mask of authority; vermilion, the appropriate paint of the warrior; wampum, by which messages are conveyed, and covenants remembered. these are among the objects, in themselves inanimates, which require the application of animate verbs, pronouns, and adjectives, and are thereby transferred to the animate class. it is to be remarked, however, that the names for animals, are only employed as animates, while the objects are referred to as whole and complete species. but the gender must be changed, when it becomes necessary to speak of separate numbers. man, woman, father, mother, are separate nouns, so long as the individuals are meant; but hand, foot, head, eye, ear, tongue, are inanimates. buck, is an animate noun, while his entire carcass is referred to, whether living or dead; but neck, back, heart, windpipe, take the inanimate form. in like manner, eagle, swan, dove, are distinguished as animates; but beak, wing, tail, are arranged with inanimates. so oak, pine, ash, are animate; branch, leaf, root, inanimates. reciprocal exceptions, however, exist to this rule--the reasons for which, as in the former instance, may generally be sought, either in peculiar opinions of the indians, or in the peculiar qualities or uses of the objects. thus the talons of the eagle, and the claws of the bear, and of other animals, which furnish ornaments for the neck, are invariably spoken of, under the animate form. the hoofs and horns of all quadrupeds, which are applied to various economical and mystic purposes; the castorum of the beaver, and the nails of man, are similarly situated. the vegetable creation also furnishes some exceptions of this nature; such are the names for the outer bark of all trees (except the birch), and the branches, the roots, and the resin of the spruce, and its congeners. in a language, which considers all nature as separated into two classes of bodies, characterized by the presence or absence of life; neuter nouns will scarcely be looked for, although such may exist without my knowledge. neuters are found amongst the verbs and the adjectives, but it is doubtful whether they render the nouns to which they are applied neuters, in the sense we attach to that term. the subject in all its bearings is interesting, and a full and minute description of it would probably elicit new light respecting some doubtful points in the language, and contribute something towards a curious collateral topic--the history of indian opinions. i have stated the principle broadly, without filling up the subject of exceptions as fully as it is in my power, and without following its bearings upon points which will more properly come under discussion at other stages of the inquiry. a sufficient outline, it is believed, has been given, and having thus met, at the threshold, a principle deeply laid at the foundation of the language, and one which will be perpetually recurring, i shall proceed to enumerate some other prominent features of the substantive. . no language is perhaps so defective, as to be totally without number. but there are, probably, few which furnish so many modes of indicating it, as the odjibwa. there are as many modes of forming the plural, as there are vowel sounds, yet there is no distinction between a limited and unlimited plural; although there is, in the pronoun, an _inclusive_ and an _exclusive_ plural. whether we say _man_ or _men_, _two men_ or _twenty men_, the singular _inin´i_, and the plural _nin´iwug_, remains the same. but if we say _we_, or _us_, or _our men_ (who are present), or _we_, or _us_, or _our indians_ (in general), the plural _we_, and _us_, and _our_--for they are rendered by the same form--admit of a change to indicate whether the objective person be _included_ or _excluded_. this principle, of which full examples will be given under the appropriate head, forms a single and anomalous instance of the use of particular plurals. and it carries its distinctions, by means of the pronouns, separable and inseparable, into the verbs and substantives, creating the necessity of double conjugations and double declensions, in the plural forms of the first person. thus, the term for "our father," which, in the inclusive form is _kósinân_, is, in the exclusive, _nósinân_. the particular plural, which is thus, by the transforming power of the language, carried from the pronoun into the texture of the verb and substantive, is not limited to any fixed number of persons or objects, but arises from the operations of the verb. the general plural is variously made. but the plurals making inflections take upon themselves an additional power or sign, by which substantives are distinguished into animate and inanimate. without this additional power, all nouns plural would end in the vowels _a_, _e_, _i_, _o_, _u_. but to mark the gender, the letter _g_ is added to animates, and the letter _n_ to inanimates, making the plurals of the first class terminate in _âg_, _eeg_, _ig_, _ôg_, _ug_, and of the second class in _ân_, _een_, _in_, _ôn_, _un_. ten modes of forming the plural are thus provided, five of which are animate, and five inanimate plurals. a strong and clear line of distinction is thus drawn between the two classes of words; so unerring, indeed, in its application, that it is only necessary to inquire how the plural is formed, to determine whether it belonged to one or the other class. the distinctions which we have endeavored to convey will, perhaps, be more clearly perceived, by adding examples of the use of each of the plurals. animate plural. a. odjibwâi, a chippewa. odjibwaig, chippewas. e. ojee, a fly. oj-eeg, flies. i. kosénan, our father, (in.) kosenân-ig, our fathers, (in.) o. ahmô, a bee. ahm-ôg, bees. u. ais, a schell. ais-ug, shells. inanimate plural. a. ishkôdai, fire. ishkôdain, fires. e. wadôp, alder. wadôp-een, alders. i. adetaig, fruit. adetaig-in, fruits. o. nôdin, wind. nôdin-ôn, winds. u. meen, berry. meen-un, berries. where a noun terminates with a vowel in the singular, the addition of the _g_, or _n_, shows at once, both the plural and the gender. in other instances, as in _peenai_, a partridge--_seebi_, a river--it requires a consonant to precede the plural vowel, in conformity with a rule previously stated. thus, _peenai_, is rendered _peenai-wug_--and _seebi_, _seebi-wun_. where the noun singular terminates in the broad, instead of the long sound of _a_, as in _ogimâ_, a chief, _ishpatinâ_, a hill, the plural is _ogim-ag_, _ishpatinân_. but these are mere modifications of two of the above forms, and are by no means entitled to be considered as additional plurals. comparatively few substances are without number. the following may be enumerated:-- missun´, firewood. ussáimâ, tobacco. pinggwi, ashes. naigow, sand. méjim, food. ahwun, mist. kôn, snow. kimmiwun, rain. mishk´wi, blood. ossâkumig, moss. ukkukkuzhas, coals. unitshimin, peas. others may be found, and indeed, a few others are known. but it is less an object, in this lecture, to pursue exceptions into their minutest ramifications, than to sketch broad rules, applicable, if not to every word, to at least a majority of words in the language. there is, however, one exception from the general use of number, so peculiar in itself, that not to point it out would be an unpardonable remissness in giving the outlines of a language, in which it is an object neither to extenuate faults nor to overrate beauties. this exception consists in the want of number in the _third person_ of the declensions of animate nouns, and the conjugation of animate verbs. not that such words are destitute of number, in their simple forms, or when used under circumstances requiring no change of these simple forms--no prefixes and no inflections. but it will be seen, at a glance, how very limited such an application of words must be, in a transpositive language. thus _mang_ and _kâg_ (loon and porcupine) take the plural inflection _wug_, becoming _mang wug_ and _kâg wug_ (loons and porcupines). so, in their pronominal declension:-- my loon ni mang oom thy loon ki mang oom my porcupine ni gâg oom thy porcupine ki gâg oom my loons ni mang oom ug thy loons ki mang oom ug my porcupines ni gâg oom ug thy porcupines ki gâg oom ug but his loon, or loons (_o many oom un_), his porcupine or porcupines (_o gâg oom un_), are without number. the rule applies equally to the class of words in which the pronouns are inseparable. thus, my father and thy father, _nôs_ and _kôs_, become my fathers and thy fathers, by the numerical inflection _ug_, forming _nôsug_ and _kôsug_. but _ôsun_, his father or fathers, is vague, and does not indicate whether there be one father or twenty fathers. the inflection _un_, merely denotes the _object_. the rule also applies equally to sentences in which the noun is governed by or governs the verb. whether we say, "i saw a bear," _ningi wâbumâ mukwah_, or "a bear saw me," _mukwah ningi wâbumig_, the noun, itself, undergoes no change, and its number is definite. but _ogi wâbumân muk-wun_, "he saw bear," is indefinite, although both the verb and the noun have changed their endings. and if the narrator does not subsequently determine the number, the hearer is either left in doubt, or must resolve it by a question. in fine, the whole acts of the third person are thus rendered questionable. this want of precision, which would seem to be fraught with so much confusion, appears to be obviated in practice, by the employment of adjectives, by numerical inflections in the relative words of the sentence, by the use of the indefinite article, _paizhik_, or by demonstrative pronouns. thus, _paizhik mukwun ogi wâbumân_, conveys with certainty the information "he saw _a_ bear." but in this sentence both the noun and the verb retain the objective inflections, as in the former instances. these inflections are not uniformly _un_, but sometimes _een_, as in _ogeen_, his mother, and sometimes _ôn_, as in _odakeek-ôn_, his kettle, in all which instances, however, the number is left indeterminate. it may hence be observed, and it is a remark which we shall presently have occasion to corroborate, that the plural inflection to inanimate nouns (which have no objective form), forms the objective inflection to animate nouns, which have no number in the third person. . this leads us to the consideration of the mode of forming possessives, the existence of which, when it shall have been indicated by full examples, will present to the mind of the inquirer, one of those tautologies in grammatical forms, which, without imparting additional precision, serve to clothe the language with accumulated verbiage. the strong tendency to combination and amalgamation, existing in the language, renders it difficult, in fact, to discuss the principles of it in that elementary form which could be wished. in the analysis of words and forms we are constantly led from the central point of discussion. to recur, however, from these collateral unravellings to the main thread of inquiry, at as short and frequent intervals as possible, and thus to preserve the chain of conclusions and proofs, is so important, that, without keeping the object distinctly in view, i should despair of conveying any clear impressions of those grammatical features which impart to the language its peculiar character. it has been remarked that the distinctions of number are founded upon a modification of the five vowel sounds. possessives are likewise founded upon the basis of the vowel sounds. there are five declensions of the noun to mark the possessive, ending in the possessive in _âm_, _eem_, _im_, _ôm_, _um_, _oom_. where the nominative ends with a vowel, the possessive is made by adding the letter _m_, as in _maimai_, a woodcock, _ni maimaim_, my woodcock, &c. where the nominative ends in a consonant, as in _ais_, a shell, the full possessive inflection is required, making _nin daisim_, my shell. in the latter form, the consonant _d_ is interposed between the pronoun and noun, and sounded with the noun, in conformity with a general rule. where the nominative ends in the broad in lieu of the long sound of _a_, as in _ogimâ_, a chief, the possessive is _âm_. the sound of _i_, in the third declension, is that of _i_ in pin, and the sound of _u_, in the fifth declension, is that of _u_ in bull. the latter will be uniformly represented by _oo_. the possessive declensions run throughout both the animate and inanimate classes of nouns, with some exceptions in the latter, as knife, bowl, paddle, &c. inanimate nouns are thus declined. nominative. ishkôdai, fire. possessive. my, nin dishkod-aim. thy, ki dishkod-aim. his, o dishkod-aim. our, ki dishkod-aim-inân. (in.) -- ni dishkod-aim-inân. (ex.) your, ki dishkod-aim-iwâ. their, o dishko-aim-iwâ. those words which form exceptions from this declension, take the separable pronouns before them as follows:-- môkoman, a knife. ni môkoman, my knife. ki môkoman, thy knife. o môkoman, his knife, &c. animate substantives are declined precisely in the same manner as inanimate, except in the third person, which takes to the possessive inflections, _aim_, _eem_, _im_, _ôm_, _oom_, the objective particle _un_, denoting the compound inflection of this person, both in the singular and plural, _aimun_, _eemun_, _imun_, _ômun_, _oomun_, and the variation of the first vowel sound, _âmun_. thus, to furnish an example of the second declension, _bizhiki_, a bison, changes its forms to _nim_, _bizhik-im_, my bison--_ke bizhik-im_, thy bison, _o bizhik-imun_, his bison, or bisons. the cause of this double inflection in the third person, may be left for future inquiry. but we may add further examples in aid of it. we cannot simply say, "the chief has killed a bear," or, to reverse the object upon which the energy of the verb is exerted, "the bear has killed a chief." but, _ogimâ ogi nissân muk-wun_, literally, "chief he has has killed him bear," or, _mukwah ogi_ _nissân ogimân_, "bear he has killed him chief." here the verb and the noun are both objective in _un_, which is sounded _ân_, where it comes after the broad sound of _a_, as in _nissân_, objective of the verb to kill. if we confer the powers of the english possessive (_'s_), upon the inflections _aim_, _eem_, _im_, _ôm_, _oom_, and _âm_, respectively, and the meaning of _him_, and of course _he_, _her_, _his_, _hers_, _they_, _theirs_ (as there is no declension of the pronoun, and no number to the third person), upon the objective particle _un_, we shall then translate the above expression, _o bizhik-eemum_, his bison's hisn. if we reject this meaning, as i think we should, the sentence would read, "his bison," him, a mere tautology. it is true, it may be remarked, that the noun possessed, has a corresponding termination, or pronominal correspondence, with the pronoun possessor, also a final termination indicative of its being the _object_ on which the verb exerts its influence--a mode of expression, which, so far as relates to the possessive, would be deemed superfluous, in modern languages; but may have some analogy in the latin accusatives _am_, _um_, _em_. it is a constant and unremitting aim in the indian languages to distinguish the actor from the object, partly by prefixes, and partly by inseparable suffixes. that the termination _un_, is one of these inseparable particles, and that its office, while it confounds the number, is to designate the object, appears probable from the fact, that it retains its connection with the noun, whether the latter follow or precede the verb, or whatever its position in the sentence may be. thus we can, without any perplexity in the meaning say, _waimittigôzhiwug ogi sagiân pontiac-un_, "frenchmen, they did love pontiac him." or to reverse it, _pontiac-un waimittigôzhiwug ogi sagiân_, "pontiac, he did frenchmen he loved." the termination _un_, in both instances, clearly determines the object beloved. so in the following instance, _sagunoshug ogi sagiân tecumseh-un_, "englishmen, they did love tecumseh," or _tecumseh-un sagunoshug oji sagiân_, "tecumseh, he did englishmen he loved." in tracing the operation of this rule, through the doublings of the language, it is necessary to distinguish every modification of sound, whether it is accompanied or not accompanied by a modification of the sense. the particle _un_, which thus marks _the third person and persons_, is sometimes pronounced _wun_, and sometimes _yun_, as the harmony of the word to which it is suffixed may require. but not the slightest change is thereby made in its meaning. wâbojeeg ogi meegân-ân nâdowaisi-wun. wâbojeeg fought his enemies. l.[ ] w. he did fight them, his enemy, or enemies. o sâgi-ân inini-wun. he, or she, loves a man. l. he, or she, loves him-man, or men. kigo-yun waindji pimmâdizziwâd. they subsist on fish. l. fish or fishes, they upon them, they live. ontwa o sagiân odi-yun. ontwa loves his dog. l. o. he loves him, his dog, or dogs. [ ] l. for _literally_. in these sentences, the letters _w_ and _y_ are introduced before the inflection _un_, merely for euphony's sake, and to enable the speaker to utter the final vowel of the substantive, and the inflective vowel, without placing both under the accent. it is to be remarked in these examples, that the verb has a corresponding inflection with the noun, indicated by the final consonant _n_, as in _sagiâ-n_, objective of the verb _to love_. this is merely a modification of _un_, where it is requisite to employ it after broad _a_ (_aw_), and it is applicable to nouns as well as verbs whenever they end in that sound. thus, in the phrase, "he saw a chief," _o wâbumâ-n o gimâ-n_, both noun and verb terminate in _n_. it is immaterial to the sense, which precedes. and this leads to the conclusion, which we are in some measure compelled to state in anticipation of our remarks on the verb: that verbs must not only agree with their nominatives in number, person, and _gender_ (we use the latter term for want of a more appropriate one), but also with their objectives. hence, the objective sign _n_ in the above examples. sometimes this sign is removed from the ending of the verb, to make room for the plural of the nominative person, and is subjoined to the latter. thus, o sagiâ(wâ)n. they love them (him or them). in this phrase, the interposed syllable (_wâ_) is, apparently, the plural--it is a reflective plural--of _he_--the latter being indicated, as usual, by the sign _o_. it has been observed, above, that the deficiency in number, in the third person, is sometimes supplied "by numerical inflections in the relative words of the sentence," and this interposed particle (_wâ_) affords an instance in point. the number of the nominative pronoun appears to be thus rendered precise, but the objective is still indefinite. when two nouns are used without a verb in the sentence, or when two nouns compose the whole matter uttered, being in the third person, both have the full objective inflection. thus, os-(un). odi-(yun). his father's dog. l. his father--his dog or dogs. there are certain words, however, which will not admit the objective _un_, either in its simple or modified forms. these are rendered objective in _een_, or _ôn_. o wâbumâ-(n), ossin-(een). he sees the stone. l. he sees him--stone or stones. o wâbumâ-(n) mittig o mizh-(een). l. he sees him, tree or trees. he sees an oak tree. o mittig wâb (een), gyai o bikwuk-(ôn). his bow and his arrows. l. his bow him, and his arrows, him or them. odyâ | wâ | wâ (n), akkik-(ôn). they possess a kettle. l. they own them, kettle or kettles. the syllable _wâ_, in the verb of the last example included between bars (instead of parentheses), is the reflective plural _they_ pointed out in a preceding instance. i shall conclude these remarks, with full examples of each pronominal declension. _a._ first declension, forming the first and second persons in _aim_, and the third in _aimun_. nominative. pinâi, a partridge. pinâi-wug, partridges. first and second person. my, nim bin-aim. thy, ki bin-aim. our, ki bin-aim inân. inclusive plural. our, ni bin-aiminân. exclusive plural. your, ki bin-aim wâ. third person. his, o bin-aim (un). their, o bin-aim iwâ (n). _e._ second declension forming the first and second persons in eem, and the third in _eemun_. nominative. ossin, a stone. ossineen, stones. first and second persons. my, nin dossin-eem. thy, ki dossin-eem. our, ki dossin-eeminân. (in.) our, ni dossin-eeminân. (ex.) your, ke dossin-eemewâ. third person. his, o dossin-eem(un). their, o dossin-eemewâ (n). _i._ third declension forming the first and second persons in _im_, and the third in _imun_. nominative. ais, a shell. aisug, shells. first and second persons. my, nin dais-im. thy, ki dais-im. our, ki dais-iminân. (in.) our, ni dais-iminân. (ex.) your, ki dais-imiwâ. third person. his, o dais-im (un). their, o dais-imewâ (n). _o._ fourth declension forming the first and second persons in _ôm_, and the third in _ômun_. nominative. monidô, a spirit. monidôg, spirits. first and second persons. my, ni monid-ôm. thy, ki monid-ôm. our, ki monid-ôminân. (in.) our, ni monid-ôminân. (ex.) your, ki monid-ômiwâ. third person. his, o monid-ôm (un). their, o monid-ômewâ (n). _u._ (_oo_) fifth declension forming the first and second persons in _oom_, and the third in _oomun_. nominative. môz, a moose. môzôg, moose. first and second persons. my, ni môz-oom. thy, ki môz-oom. our, ki môz-oominân. (in.) our, ni môz-oominân. (ex.) your, ki môz-oomiwu. third person. his, o môz oom (un). their, o môz oomiwâ (n). _aw._ additional declension, required when the noun ends in the broad, instead of the long sound of a, forming the possessive in _âm_, and the objective in _âmun_. nominative. ogimâ, a chief. ogimâg, chiefs. first and second persons. my, ni dôgim âm. thy, ki dôgim âm. our, ki dôgim âminân. (in.) our, ni dôgim âminân. (ex.) your, ki dôgim âmiwâ. third person. his, o dôgim âm (un). their, o dôgim âmiwâ (n). the abbreviations, _in._, and _ex._, in these declensions, mark the inclusive and exclusive forms of the pronoun plural. the inflection of the third person, as it is superadded to the first and second, is included between parentheses, that the eye, unaccustomed to these extended forms, may readily detect it. where the inseparable, instead of the separable pronoun is employed, the possessive inflection of the first and second person is dispensed with, although the inflection of the third is still retained. os: father. _s. singular._ nos. my father. kos. thy father. os-un. his father. _sing. and plural._ nos-inân. our father. (ex.) kos-inân. our father. (in.) kos-iwâ. your father. os-iwân. their father. _sing. and plural._ _s. plural._ nos-ug. my fathers. kos-ug. thy fathers. os-un. his fathers. _sing. and plural._ nos.-inân ig. our fathers. (ex.) kos.-inân ig. our fathers. (in.) kos-iwâg. your fathers. os-iwân. their fathers. _sing. and plural._ the word dog, and this word alone, is declined in the following manner. annimoosh: a dog. _s. singular._ nin dy (or di) my dog. ki dy thy dog. o dy-un his dog or dogs. ki dy-inân our dog. (in.) ni dy-inân our dog. (ex.) ki dy-iwâ your dog. o dy-iwân their dog, &c. _s. plural._ nin dy-ug my dogs. ki dy-ug thy dogs. o dy-un his dogs, &c. ki dy-inânig our dogs. (in.) ni dy-inânig our dogs. (ex.) ki dy-iwâg your dogs. o dy-iwân his dogs, &c. the word _dy_, which supplies this declension, is derived from _indyiâm_ mine. _pron. an._--a derivative form of the word, which is, however, exclusively restricted, in its meaning, to the dog. if the expression _nin dy_ or _n' dy_, is sometimes applied to the horse, it is because it is thereby intended to call him, my dog, from his being in a state of servitude similar to that of the dog. it must be borne in mind, as connected with this subject, that the dog, in high northern latitudes, and even as far south as degrees, is both a beast of draught and of burden. he is compelled during the winter season to draw the _odâban_, or indian sleigh; and sometimes to support the burden upon his back, by means of a kind of drag constructed of slender poles. a review of the facts which have been brought together respecting the substantive, will show that the separable or inseparable pronouns under the form of prefixes, are throughout required. it will also indicate, that the inflections of the first and second persons which occupy the place of possessives, and those of the third person, resembling objectives, pertain to words, which are either primitives, or denote but a single object, as _moose_, _fire_. there is, however, another class of substantives, or substantive expressions, and an extensive class--for it embraces a great portion of the compound descriptive terms--in the use of which no pronominal prefixes are required. the distinctions of person are, exclusively, supplied by pronominal suffixes. of this character are the words descriptive of country, place of dwelling, field of battle, place of employment, &c. the following example will furnish the inflections applicable to this entire class of words:-- aindâd: home, or place of dwelling. _s. singular._ aindâ-yân. my home. aindâ-yun. thy home. aindâ-d. his home. aindâ-yâng. our home. (ex.) aindâ-yung. our home. (in.) aindâ-yaig. your home. aindâ-wâd. their home. _s. plural._ aindâ-yân-in. my homes. aindâ-yun-in. thy homes. aindâ-jin. his homes. aindâ-yâng-in. our homes. (ex.) aindâ-yung-in. our homes. (in.) aindâ-yaig-in. your homes. aindâ-wâdjin. their homes. by these examples, it is perceived that the final _d_ in _aindâd_ is not essential to its primitive meaning; and that the place of the pronoun is, in respect to this word, invariably a suffix. _aindâd_ means, truly, not home, but his home. the plural is formed by the inflection _in_, except in the third person, where the sound of _d_ sinks in _j_. inquiry . further remarks on the substantive--local, diminutive, derogative, and tensal inflections--mode in which the latter are employed to denote the disease of individuals, and to indicate the past and future seasons--restricted or sexual terms--conversion of the substantive into a verb, and the reciprocal character of the verb by which it is converted into a substantive--derivative and compound substantives--summary of the properties of this part of speech. in the view which has been taken of the substantive in the preceding inquiry, it has been deemed proper to exclude several topics, which, from their peculiarities, it was believed could be more satisfactorily discussed in a separate form. of this character are those modifications of the substantive by which locality, diminution, a defective quality, and the past tense are expressed; by which various adjective and adverbial significations are given; and, finally, the substantives themselves converted into verbs. such are also the mode of indicating the masculine and feminine (both merged, as we have shown, in the animate class), and those words which are of a strictly _sexual_ character, or are restricted in their _use_ either to males or females. not less interesting is the manner of forming derivatives, and of conferring upon the derivatives so formed a _personality_, distinguished as either animate or inanimate, at the option of the speaker. much of the flexibility of the substantive is derived from these properties, and they undoubtedly add much to the figurative character of the language. some of them have been thought analogous to case, particularly that inflection of the noun which indicates the locality of the object. but if so, then there would be equally strong reasons for establishing an _adjective_, and an _adverbial_, as well as a _local_ case, and a plurality of forms in each. but it is believed that no such necessity exists. there is no regular declension of these forms, and they are all used under limitations and restrictions incompatible with the true principles of case. it is under this view of the subject, that the discussion of these forms has been transferred, together with the other accidents of the substantive just adverted to, and reserved as the subject-matter of a separate inquiry. and in now proceeding to express the conclusions at which we have arrived touching these points, it will be an object so to compress and arrange the materials before us, as to present within a small compass the leading facts and examples upon which each separate position depends. . that quality of the noun which, in the shape of an inflection, denotes the relative situation of the object, by the contiguous position of some accessory object, is expressed in the english language by the prepositions _in_, _into_, _at_, or _on_. in the indian, they are denoted by an inflection. thus, the phrase "in the box," is rendered in the indian by one word, _mukukoong_. of this word, _mukuk_, simply, is box. the termination, _oong_, denoting the locality, not of the box, but of the object sought after. the expression appears to be precise, although there is no definite article in the language. the substantive takes this form, most commonly, after a question has been put, as _anindi ni môkoman-ais?_ "where is my penknife?" _mukukoong_ (in the box), _addôpowin-ing_ (on the table), are definite replies to this question. but the form is not restricted to this relation. _chimân-ing n'guh pôz_, "i shall embark in the canoe;" _wakyigum n'ghu izhâ_, "i shall go into the house," are perfectly correct, though somewhat formal expressions, when the canoe or the house are present to the speaker's view. the meaning of these inflections has been restricted to _in_, _into_, _at_, and _on_, but they are the more appropriate forms of expressing the first three senses, there being other modes besides these of expressing the preposition _on_. these modes consist in the use of prepositions, and will be explained under that head. the choice of the one or the other is, however, with the speaker. generally, the inflection is employed when there is some circumstance or condition of the noun either concealed or not fully apparent. thus, _muzzinyigun-ing_, is the appropriate term for "in the book," and _may_ also be used to signify "on the book." but if it is meant only to signify _on_ the book, something visible being referred to, the preposition _ogidj_ would be used, that word indicating with certainty _on_, and never _in_. _wakyigun-ing_ indicates with clearness "in the house;" but if it is necessary to say "on the house," and it be meant at the same time to exclude any reference to the interior, the expression would be changed to _ogidj wakyigun_. it will be proper further to remark in this place, in the way of limitation, that there is also a separate preposition signifying _in_. it is _pinj_. but the use of this word does not, in all cases, supersede the necessity of inflecting the noun. thus, the expression _pindigain_, is literally walk in, or enter. but if it is intended to say, "walk in the house," the local, and not the simple form of house must be used; and the expression is, _pindigain waky'igun-ing_, "enter in the house," the verbal form which this preposition _pinj_ puts on, having no allusion to the act of _walking_, but merely implying position. the local inflection, which, in the above examples, is _ing_ and _oong_, is further changed to _aing_ and _eeng_, as the ear may direct--changes which are governed chiefly by the terminal vowel of the noun. examples will best supply the rule, as well as the exceptions to it. simple form. local form. a. first inflection in _aing_. ishkodai fire ishkod-aing in, &c. the fire. muskodai prairie muskod-aing in, &c. the prairie. mukkuddai powder mukkud-aing in, &c. the powder. pimmedai grease pimmid-aing in, &c. the grease. e. second inflection in _eeng_.[ ] [ ] the double vowel is here employed to indicate the long sound of _i_, as _i_ in machine. seebi river seeb-eeng in, &c. the river. neebi water neeb-eeng in, &c. the water. miskwi blood miskw-eeng in, &c. the blood. unneeb elm unneeb-eeng in, &c. the elm. i. third inflection in _ing_. kôn snow kôn-ing in, &c. the snow. min berry meen-ing in, &c. the berry. chimân canoe chimân-ing in, &c. the canoe. muzziny´egun book muzziny´egun-ing in, &c. the book. o. fourth inflection in _oong_. azhibik rock azhibik-oong in, &c. the rock. gizhig sky gizhig-oong in, &c. the sky. kimmiwun rain kimmiwun-oong in, &c. the rain. akkik kettle akkik-oong in, &c. the kettle. throw it in the fire. . puggidôn ishkod-aing. go into the prairie. . muskôdaing izhân. he is in the elm. . unnib-eeng iâ. it is on the water. . nib-eeng attai. put it on the table. . addôpôwin-ing attôn. look in the book. . enâbin muzziny´igun-ing. you stand in the rain. . kimmiwun-oong ki nibow. what have you in that box? . waigonain aitaig mukuk-oong? put it in the kettle. . akkik-oong attôn, or pôdawain. my bow is not in the lodge; neither is it in the canoe, nor on the rock. . kâwin _pindiq_ iâsi ni mittigwâb; kâwiuh gyai chimân-_ing_; kâwin gyai âzhibik-_oong_. an attentive inspection of these examples will show that the local form pertains either to such nouns of the animate class as are in their nature inanimate, or at most possessed of vegetable life. and here another conclusion presses upon us; that where these local terminations, in all their variety, are added to the names of animated beings, when such names are the nominatives of adjectives or adjective-nouns, these words are converted into terms of qualification, indicating _like_, _resembling_, _equal_. thus, if we wish to say to a boy, "he is like a man," the expression is, _inin-ing izzhinâgozzi_; or, if to a man, "he is like a bear," _mukk-oong izzhinâgozzi_; or, to a bear, "he is like a horse, _pabaizhikogâzh-ing izzhinâgozzi_. in all these expressions, the word _izzhi_ is combined with the pronominal inflection _â_ (or _nâ_) and the animate termination _gozzi_. and the inflection of the nominative is merely an adjective corresponding with _izzhi_--a term indicative of the general qualities of persons or animated beings. where a comparison is instituted, or a resemblance pointed out, between inanimate instead of animate objects, the inflection _gozzi_ is changed to _gwud_, rendering the expression, which was, in the animate form, _izzhinâ_gozzi, in the inanimate form _izzhinâ_zgwud. there is another variation of the local form of the noun, in addition to those above instanced, indicative of locality in a more general sense. it is formed by _ong_ or _nong_--frequent terminations in geographical names. thus, from _ojibwai_, chippewa, is formed _ojibwai_nong, "place of the chippewas." from _wamattigozhiwug_, frenchmen, is formed _wamittigozhi_nong, "place of frenchmen." from _ishpatinâ_, hill, _ishpatinong_, "place of the hill," &c. the termination _ing_, is also sometimes employed in this more general sense, as in the following names of places:-- monomonikâ_ning_. in the place of wild rice. moninggwunikâ_ning_. in the place of sparrows. ongwashagoosh_ing_. in the place of the fallen tree, &c. . the diminutive forms of the noun are indicated by _ais_, _eas_, _ôs_, and _aus_, as the final vowel of the word may require. thus, _ojibwai_, a chippewa, becomes _ojibw-ais_, a little chippewa: _inin´i_, a man, _inin-ees_, a little man: _amik_, a beaver, _amik-ôs_, a young beaver: _ogimâ_, a chief, _ogim-âs_, a little chief, or a chief of little authority. further examples may be added. simple form. diminutive form. --ais. a woman eekwâ eekwâz-ais. a partridge pinâ pin-ais. a woodcock mâimâi mâim-ais. an island minnis minnis-ais. a grape shômin shômin-ais. a knife môkoman môkoman-ais. --ees. a stone ossin ossin-ees. a river seebi seeb-ees. a pigeon omimi omim-ees. a bison pizhiki pizhik-ees. a potato opin opin-ees. a bird pinâisi pinâish-ees. --ôs. a moose môz môz-ôs. an otter nigik nigik-ôs. a reindeer addik addik-ôs. an elk mushkôs mushkôs-ôs. a hare wâbôs wâbôs-ôs. a box mukuk mukuk-ôs. --aus. a bass ogâ og-âs. a medal shôniâ shôni-âs. a bowl onâgun onâg-âns. a bed nibâgun nibâg-aûns. a gun pâshkizzigun pâshkizzig-âns. a house wakyigun wakyig-âns. in the last four examples, the letter _n_, of the diminutive, retains its full sound. the use of diminutives has a tendency to give conciseness to the language. as far as they can be employed they supersede the use of adjectives, or prevent the repetition of them. and they enable the speaker to give a turn to the expression, which is often very successfully employed in producing ridicule or contempt. when applied to the tribes of animals, or to inorganic objects, their meaning, however, is, very nearly, limited to an inferiority in size or age. thus, in the above examples, _pizhik-ees_, signifies a calf; _omim-ees_, a young pigeon; and _ossin-ees_, a pebble, &c. but _inin-ees_, and _ogim-âs_, are connected with the idea of mental or conventional as well as bodily inferiority. . i saw a little chief, standing upon a small island, with an inferior medal abouthis neck. ogimâs n'gi wâbumâ nibowid minnisainsing onâbikowân shoniâsun. . yamoyden threw at a young pigeon. ogi pukkitaiwun omimeesun yamoyden. . a buffalo calf stood in a small stream. pizhikees ki nibowi sibeesing. . the little man fired at a young moose. ininees ogi pâshkizwân môzôsun. . several diminutive-looking bass were lying in a small bowl, upon a small table. addôpowinaising attai onâgâns abbiwâd ogâsug. some of these sentences afford instances of the use, at the same time, of both the local and diminutive inflections. thus, the word _minnisainsing_, signifies literally, "in the little island;" _seebees-ing_, "in the little stream;" _addôpowinais ing_, "on the small table." . the preceding forms are not the only ones by which adjective qualities are conferred upon the substantive. the syllable _ish_, when added to a noun, indicates a bad or dreaded quality, or conveys the idea of imperfection or decay. the sound of this inflection is sometimes changed to _eesh_, _oosh_, or _aush_. thus, _chimân_, a canoe, becomes _chimânish_, a bad canoe; _ekwai_, a woman, _ekwaiwish_, a bad woman; _nibi_, water, becomes _nibeesh_, turbid or strong water; _mittig_, a tree, becomes _mittigoosh_, a decayed tree; _akkik_, a kettle, _akkikoosh_, a worn-out kettle. by a further change, _wibid_, a tooth, becomes _wibidâsh_, a decayed or aching tooth, &c. throughout these changes the final sound of _sh_ is retained, so that this sound alone, at the end of a word, is indicative of a faulty quality. in a language in which the expressions _bad-dog_ and _faint-heart_ are the superlative terms of reproach, and in which there are few words to indicate the modifications between positively good and positively bad, it must appear evident that adjective inflections of this kind must be convenient, and sometimes necessary modes of expression. they furnish a means of conveying censure and dislike, which, though often mild, is sometimes severe. thus, if one person has had occasion to refuse the offered hand of another--for it must be borne in mind that the indians are a hand-shaking people as well as the europeans--the implacable party has it at his option, in referring to the circumstance, to use the adjective form of hand, not _onindj_, but _oninjeesh_, which would be deemed contemptuous in a high degree. so, also, instead of _odâwai winini_, a trader, or man who sells, the word may be changed to _odâwai winini_wish, implying a bad or dishonest trader. it is seldom that a more pointed or positive mode of expressing personal disapprobation or dislike is required; for, generally speaking, more is implied by these modes than is actually expressed. the following examples are drawn from the inorganic as well as organic creation, embracing the two classes of nouns, that the operation of these forms may be fully perceived. simple form. adjective form. --ish. a bowl onâgun onâgun-ish. a house wakyigun wakyigun-ish. a pipe opwâgun opwâgun-ish. a boy kweewizais kweewizais-ish. a man inini ininiw-ish. --eesh. water neebi neeb-ish. a stone ossin ossin-eesh. a potato opin opin-eesh. a fly ojee oj-eesh. a bow mittigwâb mittigwâb-eesh. --oosh. an otter neegik neegik-oosh. a beaver ahmik ahmik-oosh. a reindeer addik addik-oosh. a kettle akkeek akkeek-oosh. an axe wagâkwut wagâkwut-oosh. --aush. a foot ozid ozid-âsh. an arm onik onik-âsh. an ear otowug otowug-âsh. a hoof wunnussid wunnussid-âsh. a rush mat appukwa appukw-âsh. these forms cannot be said, strictly, to be without analogy in the english, in which the limited number of words terminating in _ish_, as saltish, blackish, furnish a correspondence in sound with the first adjective form. it may subserve the purposes of generalization to add, as the result of the foregoing inquiries, that substantives have a diminutive form, made in _ais_, _ees_, _ôs_, or _âs_; a derogative form, made in _ish_, _eesh_, _oosh_, or _âsh_; and a local form, made in _aing_, _eeng_, _ing_, or _oong_. by a principle of accretion, the second or third may be added to the first form, and the third to the second. example. serpent, s. kinai´bik. ---- s. diminutive. ----ôns, implying little serpent. ---- s. derogative. ----ish, " bad serpent. ---- s. local. ----ing, " in (the) serpent. ---- s. dim. and der. ----ônsish, " little bad serpent. ---- s. dim. and lo. ----ônsing, " in (the) little serpent. ---- s. dim. der. and lo. ----ônsishing, " in (the) little bad serpent. . more attention has, perhaps, been bestowed upon these points than their importance demanded; but, in giving anything like a comprehensive sketch of the substantive, they could not be omitted; and, if mentioned at all, it became necessary to pursue them through their various changes and limitations. another reason has presented itself. in treating of an unwritten language, of which others are to judge chiefly from examples, it appeared desirable that the positions advanced should be accompanied by the data upon which they respectively rest--at least, by so much of the data employed as to enable philologists to appreciate the justice or detect the fallacy of our conclusions. to the few who take any interest in the subject at all, minuteness will not seem tedious, and the examples will be regarded with deep interest. as much of our time as we have already devoted to these lesser points of inquiry, it will be necessary, at this place, to point out other inflections and modifications of the substantive, to clear it from obscurities, that we may go into the discussion of the other parts of speech unincumbered. of these remaining forms, none is more interesting than that which enables the speaker, by a simple inflection, to denote that the individual named has ceased to exist. this delicate mode of conveying melancholy intelligence, or alluding to the dead, is effected by placing the object in the past tense. aiekid-ôpun aieko garrangula-bun. so the deceased garrangula spoke. the syllable _bun_, in this sentence, added to the noun, and _ôpun_ added to the verb, place both in the past tense. and, although the death of the indian orator is not mentioned, that fact would be invariably inferred. names which do not terminate in a vowel sound, require a vowel prefixed to the tensal inflection, rendering it _ôbun_ or _ebun_. inanimate as well as animate nouns take these inflections. present. past form. tecumseh, tecumsi-bun. tammany, tamani-bun. skenandoah, skenandoa-bun. nôs (my father), nos-êbun. pontiac, pontiac-ibun. waub ojeeg, waub ojeeg-ibun. tarhe, tarhi-bun. mittig (a tree), mittig-ôbun. akkik (a kettle), akkik-ôbun. môz (a moose), môz-ôbun. by prefixing the particle _tah_ to these words, and changing the inflection of the animate nouns to _iwi_, and the inanimates to _iwun_, they are rendered future. thus, _tah pontiac-iwi_; _tah mittig-iwun_, &c. the names for the seasons only come under the operation of these rules, when the year before the last, or the year after the next, is referred to. the last and the ensuing season are indicated as follows:-- present. last. next. spring, seegwun, seegwun-oong, seegwung. summer, neebin, neebin-oong, neebing. autumn, tahgwâgi, tahgwâg-oong, tahgwâgig. winter, peebôn, peebôn-oong, peebông. i spent last winter in hunting. ning´i nunda-wainjigai peebônoong. i shall go to detroit next spring. ninjah izhâ wâwiâ´tunong seegwung. . _sexual nouns.--_the mode of indicating the masculine and feminine having been omitted in the preceding inquiry, as not being essential to any concordance with the verb or adjective, is, nevertheless, connected with a striking peculiarity of the language--the exclusive use of certain words by one or the other sex. after having appeared to the founders of the language a distinction not necessary to be engrafted in the syntax, there are yet a limited number of words to which the idea of sex so strongly attaches, that it would be deemed the height of impropriety in a female to use the masculine, and in a male to use the feminine expressions. of this nature are the words _neeji_ and _nindongwai_, both signifying my friend, but the former is appropriated to males and the latter to females. a chippewa cannot, therefore, say to a female, my friend; nor a chippewa woman to a male, my friend. such an interchange of the terms would imply arrogance or indelicacy. nearly the whole of their interjections--and they are numerous--are also thus exclusively appropriated; and no greater breach of propriety in speech could be committed, than a woman's uttering the masculine exclamation of surprise, _tyâ!_ or a man's descending to the corresponding female interjection, _n'yâ!_ the word _neenimoshai_, my cousin, on the contrary, can only be applied, like husband and wife, by a male to a female, or a female to a male. if a male wishes to express this relation of a male, the term is _neetowis_; and the corresponding female term _neendongwooshai_. the terms for uncle and aunt are also of a twofold character, though not restricted like the preceding in their use. _neemishomai_, is my uncle by the father's side; _neezhishai_, my uncle by the mother's side. _neezigwoos_, is my paternal aunt; _neewishai_, my maternal aunt. there are also exclusive words to designate elder brother and younger brother; but, what would not be expected after the fore going examples, they are indiscriminately applied to younger brothers and sisters. _neesgai_, is my elder brother, and _neemissai_, my elder sister. _neeshemai_, my younger brother or younger sister, and may be applied to any brother or sister except the eldest. the number of words to which the idea of sex is attached, in the usual acceptation, is limited. the following may be enumerated. masculine. feminine. inin´i, a man. ekwai´, a woman. kwee´wizais, a boy. ekwa´zais, a girl. oskinahwai, a young man. oskineegakwai, a young woman. akiwaizi, an old man. mindimô´ed, an old woman. nôsai, my father. nin gah, my mother. ningwisis, my son. nin dânis, my daughter. ni ningwun, my son-in-law. nis sim, my daughter-in-law. masculine. feminine. ni nâbaim, my husband. nimindimôimish, my wife. nimieshomiss, my grandfather. nôkômiss, my grandmother. ogimâ, a chief. ogemâkwâ, a chiefess. addik, a reindeer. neetshâni, a doe. annimoosh, a dog. kiskisshâi, a bitch. the sex of the brute creation is most commonly denoted by prefixing the words _iâbai_, male, and _nôzhai_, female. . _reciprocal changes of the noun._--the pronominal particles with which verbs as well as substantives are generally encumbered, and the habit of using them in particular and restricted senses, leave but little occasion for the employment of either the present or past infinitive. most verbs are transitives. a chippewa does not say i love, without indicating, by an inflection of the verb, the object beloved: and thus the expression is constantly, i love him, or her, &c. neither does the infinitive appear to be generally the ultimate form of the verb. in changing their nouns into verbs, it will not, therefore, be expected that the change should uniformly result in the infinitive, for which there is so little use, but in such of the personal forms of the various moods as circumstances may require. most commonly, the third person singular of the indicative, and the second person singular of the imperative, are the simplest aspects under which the verb appears; and hence these forms have been sometimes mistaken for, and reported as the present infinitive. there are some instances in which the infinitive is employed. thus, although an indian cannot say i love, thou lovest, &c., without employing the objective forms of the verb to love, yet he can say i laugh, i cry, &c.; expressions in which, the action being confined to the speaker himself, there is no transition demanded. and in all similar instances the present infinitive, with the proper pronoun prefixed, is employed. there are several modes of transforming a substantive into a verb. the following examples will supply the rules, so far as known, which govern these changes:-- indicative. imperative. chimân, a canoe. chimai, he paddles. chimain, paddle thou. pashkizzigun, a gun. pashkizzigai, he fires. pashkizzigain, fire thou. jeesidyigun, a broom. jeesidyigai, he sweeps. jeesidyigain, sweep thou. weedjeeagun, a helper. weedôkagai, he helps. weedjeei-wain, help thou. ojibwâi, a chippewa. ojibwâmoo, he speaks ojibwâmoon, speak thou chippewa. chippewa. another class of nouns is converted into the first person, indicative, of a pseudo-declarative verb, in the following manner:-- monido, a spirit. ne monidôw, i (am) a spirit. wassaiâ, light. ne wassaiâw, i (am) light. ishkodai, fire. nin dishkodaiw, i (am) fire. weendigô, a monster. ni weendigôw, i (am) a monster. addik, a deer. nin daddikoow, i (am) a deer. wakyigun, a house. ni wakyiguniw, i (am) a house. pinggwi, dust, ashes. nim binggwiw, i (am) dust, &c. the word _am_, included in parenthesis, is not in the original, unless we may suppose the terminals _ow_, _aw_, _iw_, _oow_, to be derivatives from _iaw_. these changes are reciprocated by the verb, which, as often as occasion requires, is made to put on a substantive form. the particle _win_, added to the indicative of the verb, converts it into a substantive. thus-- keegido, he speaks. keegidowin, speech. pâshkizzigai, he fires. pashkizzigaiwin, ammunition. agindasoo, he counts. agindasoowin, numbers. wahyiâzhinggai, he cheats. wahyiâzhinggaiwin, fraud. minnikwâi, he drinks. minnikwâiwin, drink. kubbâshi, he encamps. kubbâishiwin, an encampment. meegâzoo, he fights. meegâzoowin, a fight. ojeengai, he kisses. ojeendiwin, a kiss. annôki, he works. annôkiwta, work. pâpi, he laughs. pâpiwin, laughter. pimâdizzi, he lives. pimâdoiziwin, life. onwâibi, he rests. onwâibiwin, rest. annamiâ, he prays. annamiâwin, prayer. nibâ, he sleeps. nibâwin, sleep. odâwai, he trades. odâwaiwin, trade. adjectives are likewise thus turned into substantives:-- keezhaiwâdizzi, he generous. keezhaiwâdizziwin, generosity. minwaindum, he happy. minwaindumowin, happiness. keezhaizeâwizzi, he industrious. keezhaizhâwizziwin, industry. kittimâgizzi, he poor. kittimâgizziwin, poverty. aukkoossi, he sick. aukkoossiwin, sickness. kittimishki, he lazy. kittimishkiwin, laziness. nishkâdizzi, he angry. nishkâdizziwin, anger. baikâdizzi, she chaste. baikâdizziwin, chastity. in order to place the substantives thus formed in the third person, corresponding with the indicative from which they were changed, it is necessary only to prefix the proper pronoun. thus, _ogeezhaiwâdizziwin_, his generosity, &c. . _compound substantives._--the preceding examples have been given promiscuously from the various classes of words, primitive and derivative, simple and compound. some of these words express but a single idea, as, _ôs_, father--_gah_, mother--_môz_, a moose--_kâg_, a porcupine--_mang_, a loon--and appear to be incapable of further division. all such words may be considered as primitives, although some of them may be contractions of dissyllabic words. there are also a number of dissyllables, and _possibly_ some trisyllables, which, in the present state of our analytical knowledge of the language, may be deemed both simple and primitive. such are _neebi_, water; _ossin_, a stone; _geezis_, the sun; _nodin_, wind. but it may be premised, as a principle which our investigations have rendered probable, that all polysyllabic words, all words of three syllables, _so far as examined_, and most words of two syllables, are compounds. the application of a syntax, formed with a view to facilitate the rapid conveyance of ideas by consolidation, may, it is presumable, have early led to the coalescence of words, by which all the relations of object and action, time and person, were expressed. and in a language which is only spoken, and not written, the primitives would soon become obscured and lost in the multiform appendages of time and person, and the recondite connection of actor and object. and this process of amalgamation would be a progressive one. the terms that sufficed in the condition of the simplest state of nature, or in a given latitude, would vary with their varying habits, institutions, and migrations. the introduction of new objects and new ideas would require the invention of new words, or what is much more probable, existing terms would be modified or compounded to suit the occasion. no one who has paid much attention to the subject, can have escaped noticing a confirmation of this opinion, in the extreme readiness of our western indians to bestow, on the instant, names, and appropriate names--to any new object presented to them. a readiness not attributable to their having at command a stock of generic polysyllables--for these it would be very awkward to wield--but, as appears more probable, to the powers of the syntax, which permits the resolution of new compounds from existing roots, and often concentrates, as remarked in another place, the entire sense of the parent words, upon a single syllable, and sometimes upon a single letter. thus it is evident that the chippewas possessed names for a living tree, _mittig_, and a string, _aiâb_, before they named the bow _mittigwâb_--the latter being compounded under one of the simplest rules from the two former. it is further manifest that they had named earth _akki_, and (any solid, stony, or metallic mass) _âbik_, before they bestowed an appellation upon the kettle, _akkeek_, or _akkik_, the latter being derivatives from the former. in process of time these compounds became the bases of other compounds, and thus the language became loaded with double, and triple, and quadruple compounds, concrete in their meaning and formal in their utterance. when the introduction of metals took place, it became necessary to distinguish the clay from the iron pot, and the iron from the copper kettle. the original compound, _akkeek_, retained its first meaning, admitting the adjective noun _piwâbik_ (itself a compound) iron, when applied to a vessel of that kind, _piwâbik akkeek_, iron kettle. but a new combination took place to designate the copper kettle, _mishwâkeek_, red metal kettle; and another expression to denote the brass kettle, _ozawâbik akkeek_, yellow metal kettle. the former is made up from _miskôwâbik_, copper (literally _red-metal_--from _miskwâ_, red, and _âbik_, the generic above mentioned), and _akkeek_, kettle. _ozawâbik_, brass, is from _ozawâ_, yellow, and the generic _âbik_--the term _akkeek_ being added in its separate form. it may, however, be used in its connected form of _wukkeek_, making the compound expression _ozawâbik wukkeek_. in naming the horse _paibâizhikôgazhi, i. e._ the animal with solid hoofs, they have seized upon the feature which most strikingly distinguished the horse from the cleft-footed animals, which were the only species known to them at the period of the discovery. and the word itself affords an example, at once, both of their powers of concentration, and brief, yet accurate description, which it may be worth while to analyze. _paizhik_ is one, and is also used as the indefinite article--the only article the language possesses. this word is further used in an adjective sense, figura-tively indicating, united, solid, undivided. and it acquires a plural signification by doubling, or repeating the first syllable, with a slight variation of the second. thus, _pai-baizhik_ denotes not _one_, or _an_, but several; and when thus used in the context, renders the noun governed plural. _oskuzh_ is the nail, claw, or horny part of the foot of beasts, and supplies the first substantive member of the compound _gauzh_. the final vowel is from _ahwaisi_, a beast; and the marked _o_, an inseparable connective, the office of which is to make the two members coalesce, and harmonize. the expression thus formed becomes a substantive, specific in its application. it may be rendered plural like the primitive nouns, may be converted into a verb, has its diminutive, derogative, and local form, and, in short, is subject to all the modifications of other substantives. most of the modern nouns are of this complex character. and they appear to have been invented to designate objects, many of which were necessarily unknown to the indians in the primitive ages of their existence. others, like their names for a copper-kettle and a horse, above mentioned, can date their origin further back than the period of the discovery. of this number of nascent words, are most of their names for those distilled or artificial liquors, for which they are indebted to europeans. their name for water, _neebi_, for the fat of animals, _weenin_, for oil or grease, _pimmidai_, for broth, _nâbôb_, and for blood, _miskwi_, belong to a very remote era, although all but the first appear to be compounds. their names for the tinctures or extracts derived from the forest, and used as dyes, or medicines, or merely as agreeable drinks, are mostly founded upon the basis of the word _âbo_, a liquid, although this word is never used alone. thus-- shomin-âbo, wine, from shomin, a grape, âbo, a liquor. ishkôdâi-wâbo, spirits, from ishkôdâi, fire, &c. mishimin-âbo, cider, from mishimin, an apple, &c. tôtôsh-âbo, milk, from tôtôsh, the female breast, &c. sheew-âbo, vinegar, from sheewun, sour, &c. annibeesh-âbo, from annibeeshun, leaves, &c. ozhibiegun-aubo, from ozhibiêgai, he writes, &c. in like manner their names for the various implements and utensils of civilized life, are based upon the word _jeegun_, one of those primitives, which, although never disjunctively used, denotes, in its modified forms, the various senses implied by our words instrument, contrivance, machine, &c. and by prefixing to this generic a substantive, verb, or adjective, or parts of one or each, an entire new class of words is formed. in these combinations, the vowels e and o are sometimes used as connectives. keeshkeebô-jeegun, a saw, from keeshkeezhun, v. a. to cut. seeseebô-jeegun, a file, from seesee, to rub off, &c. wassakoonen-jeegun, a candle, from wassakooda, bright, biskoona, flame, &c. beeseebô-jeegun, a coffee-mill, from beesâ, fine grains, &c. minnikwâd-jeegun, a drinking-vessel, from minnekwâi, he drinks, &c. tâshkeebôd-jeegun, a saw-mill, from taushkâ, to split, &c. mudwâiabeed-jeegun, a violin, from mudwâwâi, sound, âiâb, a string, &c. sometimes this termination is shortened into _gun_, as in the following instances:-- onâ-gun, a dish. tikkina-gun, a cradle. neeba-gun, a bed. puddukkyi-gun, a fork. puggimmâ-gun, a war-club. opwâ-gun, a pipe. wassâitshie-gun, a window. wakkyi-gun, a house. pôdahwâ-gun, a fire-place. sheema-gun, a lance. another class of derivatives is formed from _wyân_, indicating, generally, an undressed skin. thus-- muk-wyân, a bear skin, from mukwah, a bear, and wyaun, a skin. wazhusk-wyân, a muskrat skin, from wazhusk, a muskrat, &c. wabôs-wyân, a rabbit skin, from wabôs, a rabbit, &c. neegik-wyân, an otter skin, from neegih, an otter, &c. ojeegi-wyân, a fisher skin, from ojeeg, a fisher, &c. wabizhais-ewyân, a martin skin, from wabizhais, a martin, &c. _wâbiwyân_, a blanket, and _bubbuggiwyân_, a shirt, are also formed from this root. as the termination _wyân_, is chiefly restricted to undressed skins, or peltries, that of _waigin_ is, in like manner, generally applied to dressed skins or to cloths. thus-- monido-waigin, blue cloth, shrouds, from monido, spirits, &c. misk-waigin, red cloth, from miskwâ, red, &c. nondâ-waigin, scarlet. peezhiki-waigin, a buffalo robe, from peezhiki, a buffalo, &c. addik-waigin, a cariboo skin, from addik, a cariboo, &c. ozhauwushk-waigin, green cloth, from ozhâwushkwâ, green. an interesting class of substantives is derived from the third person singular of the present indicative of the verb, by changing the vowel sound of the first syllable, and adding the letter d to that of the last, making the terminations in _aid_, _âd_, _eed_, _id_, _ood_. thus, _pimmoossâ_, he walks, becomes _pâmmoossâd_, a walker. aid. munnissai, he chops. mânissaid, a chopper. ozhibeigai, he writes. wâzhibeigaid, a writer. nundowainjeegai, he hunts. nândowainjeegaid, a hunter. âd. neebâ, he sleeps. nâbâd, a sleeper. kwâbahwâ, he fishes (with kwyâbahwâd, a fisher (with scoop net). scoop net). puggidowâ, he fishes (with pâgidowâd, a fisher (with seine). seine). eed. annokee, he works. anokeed, a worker. jeessakea, he juggles. jossakeed, a juggler. munnigobee, he pulls bark. mainigobeed, a bark puller. id. neemi, he dances. nâmid, a dancer. weesinni, he eats. wâssinid, an eater. pimâdizzi, he lives. paimaudizzid, a living being. ood. nugamoo, he sings. naigumood, a singer. keegido, he speaks. kâgidood, a speaker. keewonimoo, he lies. kâwunimood, a liar. this class of words is rendered plural in _ig_--a termination, which, after _d_ final in the singular, has a soft pronunciation, as if written _jig_. thus, _nâmid_, a dancer, _nâmidjig_, dancers. the derogative form is given to these generic substantives by introducing _ish_, or simply _sh_, in place of the _d_, and changing the latter to _kid_, making the terminations in _ai_, _aishkid_, in _â_, _âshkid_, in _e_, _eeshkid_, in _i_, _ishkid_, and in _oo_, _ooshkid_. thus, _naindowainjeegaid_, a hunter, is changed to _naindowainjeegaishkid_, a bad or unprofitable hunter. _naibâd_, a sleeper, is changed to _naibâshkid_, a sluggard. _jossakeed_, a juggler, to _jossakeeshkid_, a vicious juggler. _wâsinnid_, an eater, to _wâssinishkid_, a gormandizer. _kâgidood_, a speaker, _kâgidooshkid_, a babbler. and in these cases the plural is added to the last educed form, making _kâgidooshkidjig_, babblers, &c. the word _nittâ_, on the contrary, prefixed to those expressions, renders them complimentary. for instance, _nittâ naigumood_, is a fine singer, _nittâ kâgidood_, a ready speaker, &c. flexible as the substantive has been shown to be, there are other forms of combination that have not been adverted to--forms, by which it is made to coalesce with the verb, the adjective, and the preposition, producing a numerous class of compound expressions. but it is deemed most proper to defer the discussion of these forms to their several appropriate heads. enough has been exhibited to demonstrate its prominent grammatical rules. it is not only apparent that the substantive possesses number and gender, but it also undergoes peculiar modifications to express locality and diminution, to denote adjective qualities and to indicate tense. it exhibits some curious traits connected with the mode of denoting the masculine and feminine. it is modified to express person and to distinguish living from inanimate masses. it is rendered possessive by a peculiar inflection, and provides particles, under the shape either of prefixes or suffixes, separable or inseparable, by which the actor is distinguished from the object--and all this, without changing its proper substantive character, without putting on the aspect of a pseudo adjective, or a pseudo verb. its changes to produce compounds are, however, its most interesting, its most characteristic trait. syllable is heaped upon syllable, word upon word, and derivative upon derivative, until its vocabulary is crowded with long and pompous phrases, most formidable to the eye. so completely transpositive do the words appear, that like chessmen on a board, their elementary syllables can be changed at the will of the player, to form new combinations to meet new contingencies, so long as they are changed in accordance with certain general principles and conventional rules; in the application of which, however, much depends upon the will or the skill of the player. what is most surprising, all these changes and combinations, all these qualifications of the object, and distinctions of the person, the time, and the place, do not supersede the use of adjectives, and pronouns, and verbs, and other parts of speech woven into the texture of the noun, in their elementary and conjunctive forms. iii. _principles governing the use of the odjibwa noun-adjective._ inquiry . observations on the adjective--its distinction into two classes denoted by the presence or absence of vitality--examples of the animates and inanimates--mode of their conversion into substantives--how pronouns are applied to these derivatives, and the manner of forming compound terms from adjective bases to describe the various natural phenomena--the application of these principles in common conversation, and in the description of natural and artificial objects--adjectives always preserve the distinction of number--numerals--arithmetical capacity of the language--the unit exists in duplicate. . it has been remarked that the distinction of words into animates and inanimates, is a principle intimately interwoven throughout the structure of the language. it is, in fact, so deeply imprinted upon its grammatical forms, and is so perpetually recurring, that it may be looked upon, not only as forming a striking peculiarity of the language, but as constituting the fundamental principle of its structure, from which all other rules have derived their limits, and to which they have been made to conform. no class of words appears to have escaped its impress. whatever concords other laws impose, they all agree, and are made subservient in the establishment of this. it might appear to be a useless distinction in the adjective, when the substantive is thus marked; but it will be recollected that it is in the plural of the substantive only that the distinction is marked; and we shall, presently have occasion to show that redundancy of forms is, to considerable extent, obviated in practice. for the origin of the principle itself, we need look only to nature, which endows animate bodies with animate properties and qualities, and _vice versâ_. but it is due to the tribes who speak this language, to have invented one set of adjective symbols to express the ideas peculiarly appropriate to the former, and another set applicable exclusively to the latter; and to have given the words good and bad, black and white, great and small, handsome and ugly, such modifications as are practically competent to indicate the general nature of the objects referred to, whether provided with, or destitute of, the vital principle. and not only so, but, by the figurative use of these forms, to exalt inanimate masses into the class of living beings, or to strip the latter of its properties of life--a principle of much importance to their public speakers. this distinction is shown in the following examples, in which it will be observed that the inflection _izzi_ generally denotes the personal, and _au_, _un_, or _wud_, the impersonal forms. adj. inanimate. adj. animate. bad, monaudud, monaudizzi. ugly, gushkoonaugwud, gushkoonaugoozzi. beautiful, bishegaindaugwud, bisheguindaugoozzi. strong, söngun, söngizzi. soft, nökun, nökizzi. hard, mushkowau, mushkowizzi. smooth, shoiskwau, shoiskoozzi. black, mukkuddäwau, mukkuddäwizzi. white, waubishkau, waubishkizzi. yellow, ozahwau, ozahwizzi. red, miskwau, miskwizzi. blue, ozhahwushkwau, ozhahwushkwizzi. sour, sheewun, sheewizzi. sweet, weeshköbun, weeshköbizzi. light, naugun, naungizzi. it is not, however, in all cases, by mere modifications of the adjective that these distinctions are expressed. words totally different in sound, and evidently derived from radically different roots, are, in some few instances, employed; as in the following examples:-- adj. inanimate. adj. animate. good, onisheshin, minno. bad, monaudud, mudjee. large, mitshau, mindiddo. small, pungee, uggaushe. old, geekau, gitizzi. it may be remarked of these forms, that, although the impersonal will, in some instances, take the personal inflections, the rule is not reciprocated, and _minno_, and _mindiddo_, and _gitizzi_, and all words similarly situated, remain unchangeably animates. the word _pungee_ is limited to the expression of quantity, and its correspondent, _uggaushi_, to size or quality. _kishedä_ (hot) is restricted to the heat of a fire; _keezhautä_, to the heat of the sun. there is still a third term to indicate the natural heat of the body; _kizzizoo_. _mitshau_ (large) is generally applied to countries, lakes, rivers, &c.; _mindiddo_, to the body; and _gitshee_, indiscriminately. _onishishin_, and its correspondent, _onishishshä_, signify handsome or fair, as well as good. _kwonaudy_, a. a., and _kwonaudyewun_, a. i., mean, strictly, handsome, and imply nothing further. _minno_ is the appropriate personal form for good. _mudjee_ and _monaudud_ may reciprocally change genders, the first by the addition of _iee_, and the second by altering _ud_ to _izzi_. distinctions of this kind are of considerable importance in a practical point of view, and their observance or neglect is noticed with scrupulous exactness by the indians. the want of inanimate forms to such words as happy, sorrowful, brave, sick, &c., creates no confusion, as inanimate nouns cannot, strictly speaking, take upon themselves such qualities; and when they do--as they sometimes do--by one of those extravagant figures of speech which are used in their tales of transformations, the animate form answers all purposes; for in these tales the whole material creation may be clothed with animation. the rule, as exhibited in practice, is limited, with sufficient accuracy, to the boundaries prescribed by nature. to avoid a repetition of forms, were the noun and the adjective both to be employed in their usual relation, the latter is endowed with a pronominal or substantive inflection; and the use of the noun in its separate form is thus wholly superseded. thus, _onishishin_, a. i., and _onishishsha_, a. a., become _wänishishing_, "that which is good or fair," and _wänishishid_, "he who is good or fair." the following examples will exhibit this rule under each of its forms:-- compound or noun-adjective animate. black, mukkuddawizzi, mäkuddäwizzid. white, waubishkizzi, wyaubishkizzid. yellow, ozahwizzi, wäzauwizzid. red, miskwizzi, mäskoozzid. strong, söngizzi, swöngizzid. noun-adjective inanimate. black, mukkuddäwau, mäkuddäwaug. white, waubishkau, wyaubishkaug. yellow, ozahwau, wäzhauwaug. red, miskwau, maiskwaug. the animate forms, in these examples, will be recognized as exhibiting a further extension of the rule, mentioned in the preceding inquiry, by which substantives are formed from the indicative of the verb by a permutation of the vowels; and these forms are likewise rendered plural in the manner there mentioned. they also undergo changes to indicate the various persons. for instance, _onishisha_ is thus declined to mark the person:-- wänishish-eyaun, i (am) good or fair. wänishish-eyun, thou (art) good or fair. wänishish-id, he (is) good or fair. wänishish-eyaung, we (are) good or fair. (ex.) wänishish-eyung, we (are) good or fair. (in.) wänishish-eyaig, ye (are) good or fair. wänishish-idjig, they (are) good or fair. the inanimate forms, being without person, are simply rendered plural by _in_, changing _maiskwaug_ to _maiskwaug-in_, &c. &c. the verbal signification which these forms assume, as indicated in the words am, art, is, are, is to be sought in the permutative change of the first syllable. thus, _o_ is changed to _wä_, _muk_ to _mäk_, _waub_ to _wy-aub_, _ozau_ to _wäzau_, _misk_ to _maisk_, &c. the pronoun, as is usual in the double compounds, is formed wholly by the inflections _eyaun_, _eyun_, &c. the strong tendency of the adjective to assume a personal or pronomico-substantive form, leads to the employment of many words in a particular or exclusive sense; and, in any future practical attempts with the language, it will be found greatly to facilitate its acquisition, if the adjectives are arranged in distinct classes, separated by this characteristic principle of their application. the examples we have given are chiefly those which may be considered strictly animate or inanimate, admit of double forms, and are of general use. many of the examples recorded in the original manuscripts employed in these inquiries, are of a more concrete character, and, at the same time, a more limited use. thus, _shaugwewe_ is a weak person; _nökaugumme_, a weak drink; _nökaugwud_, a weak or soft piece of wood. _sussägau_ is fine, but can only be applied to personal appearance; _beesau_, indicates fine grains. _keewushkwä_ is giddy, and _keewushkwäbee_, giddy with drink--both being restricted to the third person. _söngun_ and _songizzi_ are the personal and impersonal forms of strong, as given above, but _mushkowaugumme_ is strong drink. in like manner, the two words for hard, as above, are restricted to solid substances. _sunnuhgud_ is hard (to endure). _waindud_ is easy (to perform). _söngodää_ is brave; _shaugedää_, cowardly; _keezhinghowizzi_, active; _kizheekau_, swift; _onaunegoozzi_, lively; _minwaindum_, happy; _gushkaindum_, sorrowful; but all these forms are confined to the third person of the indicative, singular. _pibbigwun_ is a rough or knotted substance; _pubbiggozzi_, a rough person. _keenwau_ is long or tall (any solid mass). _kaynozid_ is a tall person. _tahkozid_ a short person. _wassayau_ is light; _wassaubizzoo_, the light of the eye; _wasshauzhä_, the light of a star or any luminous body. _keenau_ is sharp; _keenaubikud_, a sharp knife or stone. _keezhaubikeday_ is hot metal, a hot stove, &c. _keezhaugummeday_ is hot water. _uubudgeetön_ is useful, a useful thing. _wauweeug_ is frivolous, anything frivolous in word or deed. _tubbushish_ appears to be a general term for low. _ishpimming_ is high in the air. _ishpau_ is applied to any high fixture, as a house, &c. _ishpaubikau_ is a high rock. _taushkaubikau_, a split rock. these combinations and limitations meet the inquirer at every step; they are the current phrases of the language; they present short, ready, and often beautiful modes of expression; and, as they shed light both upon the idiom and genius of the language, i shall not scruple to add further examples and illustrations. ask a chippewa the name for a rock, and he will answer _awzhebik_. the generic import of _awbik_ has been explained. ask him the name for red rock, and he will answer _miskwaubik_; for white rock, and he will answer _waubaubik_; for black rock, _mukkuddäwaubik_; for yellow rock, _ozahwaubik_; for green rock, _ozhahwushkwaubik_; for bright rock, _wassayaubik_; for smooth rock, _shoishkwaubik_, &c.--compounds in which the words red, white, black, yellow, &c., unite with _aubik_. pursue this inquiry, and the following forms will be elicited:-- impersonal. miskwaubik-ud, it (is) a red rock. waububik-ud, it (is) a white rock. mukkudäwaubik-ud, it (is) a black rock. ozahwaubik-ud, it (is) a yellow rock. wassayaubik-ud, it (is) a bright rock. shoiskwaubik-ud, it (is) a smooth rock. personal. miskwaubik-izzi, he (is) a red rock. waububik-izzi, he (is) a white rock. mukkudäwaubik-izzi, he (is) a black rock. ozahwaubik-izzi, he (is) a yellow rock. wassayaubik-izzi, he (is) a bright rock. shoiskwaubik-izzi, he (is) a smooth rock. add _bun_ to these terms, and they are made to have passed away; prefix _tah_ to them, and their future appearance is indicated. the word "is" in the translations, although marked with parentheses, is not deemed wholly gratuitous. there is, strictly speaking, an idea of existence given to these compounds, by the particle _au_, in _aubic_, which seems to be indirectly a derivative from that great and fundamental root of the language _iau_. _bik_ is apparently the radix of the expression for "rock." let this mode of interrogation be continued, and extended to other adjectives, or the same adjectives applied to other objects, and results equally regular and numerous will be obtained. _minnis_, we shall be told is an island; _miskominnis_, a red island; _mukkuddäminnis_, a black island; _waubeminnis_, a white island, &c. _annokwut_, is a cloud; _miskwaunakwut_, a red cloud; _mukkuddawukwut_, a black cloud; _waubahnokwut_, a white cloud; _ozahwushkwahnakwut_, a blue cloud, &c. _neebe_ is the specific term for water; but is not generally used in combination with the adjective. the word _guma_, like _aubo_, appears to be a generic term for water, or potable liquids. hence, the following terms:-- gitshee, great. gitshiguma, great water. nokun, weak. nökauguma, weak drink. mushkowau, strong. mushkowauguma, strong drink. weeshkobun, sweet. weeshkobauguma, sweet drink. sheewun, sour. sheewauguma, sour drink. weesugun, bitter. weesugauguma, bitter drink. minno, good. minwauguma, good drink. monaudud, bad. mahnauguma, bad drink. miskwau, red. miskwauguma, red drink. ozahwau, yellow. ozahwauguma, yellow drink. weenun, dirty. weenauguma, dirty water. peenud, clean. peenauguma, clean water. from _minno_, and from _monaudud_, good and bad, are derived the following terms: _minnopogwud_, it tastes well; _minnopogoozzi_, he tastes well; _mawzhepogwud_, it tastes bad; _mawzhepogoozzi_, he tastes bad. _minnomaugwud_, it smells good; _minnomaugoozzi_, he smells good;_ mauzhemaugud_, it smells bad; _mauzhemaugoozzi_, he smells bad. the inflections _gwud_, and _izzi_, here employed, are clearly indicative, as in other combinations, of the words _it_ and _him_. _baimwa_, is sound; _baimwäwa_, the passing sound; _minwäwa_, a pleasant sound; _maunwäwa_, a disagreeable sound; _mudwayaushkau_, the sound of waves dashing on the shore; _mudwayaunnemud_, the sound of winds; _mudwayaukooshkau_, the sound of falling trees; _mudwäkumigishin_, the sound of a person falling upon the earth; _mudwaysin_, the sound of any inanimate mass falling on the earth. these examples might be continued _ad infinitum_. every modification of circumstances, almost every peculiarity of thought, is expressed by some modification of the orthography. enough has been given to prove that the adjective combines itself with the substantive, the verb, and the pronoun, that the combinations thus produced are numerous, afford concentrated modes of conveying ideas, and oftentimes, happy turns of expression. numerous and prevalent as these forms are, they do not, however, preclude the use of adjectives in their simple forms. the use of the one or the other appears to be generally at the option of the speaker. in most cases brevity or euphony dictates the choice. usage results from these applications of the principles. there may be rules resting upon a broader basis; but if so, they do not appear to be very obvious. perhaps the simple adjectives are often employed before verbs and nouns, in the first and second persons singular. ningee minno neebau-nabun, i have slept well. ningee minno weesin, i have eaten a good meal. ningee minno pimmoossay, i have walked well, or a good distance. kägät minno geezhigud, it (is) a very pleasant day. kwanaudy ningödahs, i have a handsome garment. ke minno iau nuh, are you well? auneende ain deyun, what ails you? keezhamonedo aupädush shäwainemik, god prosper you. aupädush shäwaindaugoozzegun, good luck attend you. aupädush nau kinwainzh pimmaudizziyun, may you live long. onauneegoozzin, be (thou) cheerful. ne minwaindum waubumenaun, i (am) glad to see you. kwanaudj kweeweezains, a pretty boy. kägät söngedää, he (is) a brave man. kägät onishishsha, she (is) handsome. gitshee kinözee, he (is) very tall. uggausau bäwizzi, she (is) slender. gitshee sussaigau, he (is) fine dressed. bishegaindaugoozzi-wug meegwunug, they (are) beautiful feathers. ke daukoozzinuh, are you sick? monaudud muundun muskeekee, this (is) bad medicine. monaudud aindauyun, my place of dwelling (is) bad. aindauyaun mitshau, my place of dwelling (is) large. ne mittigwaub onishishsha, my bow (is) good. ne bikwukön monaududön, but my arrows (are) bad. ne minwaindaun appaukoozzegun, i love mild or mixed tobacco. kauweekau neezhikay ussämau ne but i never smoke pure tobacco. suggus-wannausee, monaudud maishkowaugumig, strong drink (is) bad. keeguhgee budjeëgonaun, it makes us foolish. gitshee monedo neebe ogee özhetön, the great spirit made water. ininewug dush ween ishködäwaubo ogee but man made whiskey. oz-hetönahwau, these expressions are put down promiscuously, embracing verbs and nouns as they presented themselves, and without any effort to support the opinion, which may or may not be correct, that the elementary forms of the adjectives are most commonly required before verbs and nouns in the first and second persons. the english expression is thrown into indian in the most natural manner, and, of course, without always giving adjective for adjective or noun for noun. thus, god is rendered, not _monedo_, but _geezha monedo, merciful spirit_. good luck is rendered by the compound phrase, _shäwaindaugoozzegun_, indicating in a very general sense, the influence of kindness or benevolence on _success in life_. _söngedää_ is, alone, _a brave man_, and the word _kägät_ prefixed, is an adverb. in the expression "mild tobacco," the adjective is entirely dispensed with in the indian, the sense being sufficiently rendered by the compound noun _appaukoozzegun_, which always means the indian weed or smoking mixture. _ussämau_, on the contrary, without the adjective, signifies pure tobacco. _bikwukön_, signifies blunt or lumpy-headed arrows; _assowaun_, is the barbed arrow. _kwonaudj kweeweezains_ means, not simply "pretty boy," but _pretty little boy_; and there is no mode of using the word boy but in this diminutive form, the word itself being a derivative _kewewe coryugal_, with the regular diminutive in _ains_. _onauneegoozzin_, embraces the pronoun, verb, and adjective, _be thou cheerful_. in the last phrase of the examples, "man" is rendered men (_inineewuy_) in the translation, as the term _man_ cannot be employed in the general plural sense it conveys in this connection in the original. the word "whiskey" is rendered by the compound phrase, _ishködawaubo_, literally _fire-liquor_, a generic for all kinds of ardent spirits. these aberrations from the literal terms will convey some conceptions of the difference of the two idioms, although, from the limited nature and object of the examples, they will not indicate the full extent of the difference. in giving anything like the spirit of the original, much greater deviations in the written forms must appear. and in fact, not only the structure of the language, but the mode and _order of thought_ of the indians is so essentially different, that any attempts to preserve the english idiom, to give letter for letter, and word for word, must go far to render the translation pure nonsense. . varied as the adjective is in its changes, it has no comparative inflection. a chippewa cannot say that one substance is hotter or colder than another, or of two or more substances unequally heated, that this or that is the hottest or coldest, without employing adverbs or accessory adjectives; and it is accordingly by adverbs and accessory adjectives that the degrees of comparison are expressed. _pimmaudizziwin_, is a very general substantive expression, indicating the _tenor of being or life_. _izzhewäbizziwin_, is a term near akin to it, but more appropriately applied to the _acts_, _conduct_, _manner_, or _personal deportment_ of life. hence the expressions-- nem bimmaudizziwin, my tenor of life. ke bimmaudizziwin, thy tenor of life. o pimmaudizziwin, his tenor of life, &c. nin dizhewäbizziwin, my personal deportment. ke dizhewäbizziwin, thy personal deportment. o izzhewäbizziwin, his personal deportment, &c. to form the positive degree of comparison from these terms, _minno_, good, and _mudjee_, bad, are introduced between the pronoun and verb, giving rise to some permutations of the vowels and consonants, which affect the sound only. thus-- ne minno pimmaudizziwin, my good tenor of life. ke minno pimmaudizziwin, thy good tenor of life. minno pimmaudizziwin, his good tenor of life. ne mudjee pimmaudizziwin, my bad tenor of life. ke mudjee pimmaudizziwin, thy bad tenor of life. mudjee pimmaudizziwin, his bad tenor of life. to place these forms in the comparative degree, _nahwudj_, _more_, is prefixed to the adjective; and the superlative is denoted by _mahmowee_, an adverb or an adjective as it is variously applied, but the meaning of which is, in this connection, _most_. the degrees of comparison may be, therefore, set down as follows:-- positive, kishedä. hot (restricted to the heat of a fire), comparative, nahwudj kishedä. more hot, superlative, mahmowee kishedä. most hot. your manner of life is good, ke dizzhewäbizziwin onishishin. your manner of life is better, ke dizzhewäbizziwin nahwudj onishishin. your manner of life is best, ke dizzhewäbizziwin mahwoweé onishishin. his manner of life is best, odizzhewäbizziwin mahmowee onishishinine. little turtle was brave, mikkenoköns söngedääbun. tecumseh was braver, tecumseh nahwudj söngedääbun. pontiac was bravest, pontiac mahmowee söngedääbun. . the adjective assumes a negative form when it is preceded by the adverb. thus, the phrase _songedää_, he is brave, is changed to _kahween söngedääsee_, he is not brave. positive. neebwaukah, he is wise. kwonaudjewe, she is handsome. oskineegee, he is young. shaugweewee, he is feeble. geekkau, he is old. mushkowizzi, he is strong. negative. kahween neebwaukah-see, he is not wise. kahween kwonaudjewee-see, she is not handsome. kahween oskineegee-see, he is not young. kahween shaugweewee-see, he is not feeble. kahween geekkau-see, he is not old. kahween mushkowizzi-see, he is not strong. from this rule the indeclinable adjectives, by which is meant those adjectives which do not put on the personal and impersonal forms by inflection, but consist of radically different roots, form exceptions. are you sick? ke dahkoozzi nuh? you are not sick! kahween ke dahkoozzi-see. i am happy, ne minwaindum. i am unhappy, kahween ne minwainduz-see. his manner of life is bad, mudjee izzhewabizzi. his manner of life is not bad, kahween mudjee izzhewabizzi-see. it is large, mitshau muggud. it is not large, kahween mitshau-seenön. in these examples, the declinable adjectives are rendered negative in _see_; the indeclinable, remain as simple adjuncts to the verbs; and the _latter_ put on the negative form. . in the hints and remarks which have now been furnished respecting the chippewa adjective, its powers and inflections have been shown to run parallel with those of the substantive, in its separation into animates and inanimates; in having the pronominal inflections; in taking an inflection for tense--a topic which, by the way, has been very cursorily passed over--and in the numerous modifications to form the compounds. this parallelism has also been intimated to hold good with respect to number--a subject deeply interesting in itself, as it has its analogy only in the ancient languages--and it was therefore deemed best to defer giving examples, till they could be introduced without abstracting the attention from other points of discussion. _minno_ and _mudjee_, good and bad, being of the limited number of personal adjectives which modern usage permits being applied, although often improperly applied to inanimate objects, they, as well as a few other adjectives, form exceptions to the use of number. whether we say "a good man" or "a bad man," "good men" or "bad men," the words _minno_ and _mudjee_ remain the same. but all the declinable and coalescing adjectives--adjectives which join on, and, as it were, _melt into_ the body of the substantive--take the usual plural inflections, and are governed by the same rules in regard to their use, as the substantive; personal adjectives requiring personal plurals, &c. adjectives animate. singular. onishishewe mishemin, good apple. kwonaudjewe eekwä, handsome woman. songedää inine, brave man. bishegaindaugoozzi peenasee, beautiful bird. ozahwizzi ahmo, yellow bee. plural. onishishewe-wug mishemin-ug, good apples. kwonaudjewe-wug eekwä-wug, handsome women. songedää-wug inine-wug, brave men. bishegaindaugoozzi-wug peenasee-wug, beautiful birds. ozahwizzi-wug ahm-ög, yellow bees. adjectives inanimate. singular. onishishin mittig, good tree. kwonaudj tshemaun, handsome canoe. monaudud ishkoda, bad fire. weeshkobun aidetaig, sweet fruit. plural. onishishin-ön mittig-ön, good trees. kwonaudjewun-ön tshemaun-un, handsome canoes. monaudud-ön ishkod-än, bad fires. weeshkobun-ön aidetaig-in, sweet fruits. peculiar circumstances are supposed to exist in order to render the use of the adjective, in this connection with the noun, necessary and proper. but, in ordinary instances, as the narration of events, the noun would precede the adjective; and oftentimes, particularly where a second allusion to objects previously named became necessary, the compound expressions would be used. thus, instead of saying "the yellow bee," _wazzahwizzid_ would distinctly convey the idea of that insect, _had the species been before named_. under similar circumstances, _kain-waukoozzid_, _agausheid_, _söngaunemud_, _mushkowaunemud_, would respectively signify, "a tall tree," "a small fly," "a strong wind," "a hard wind." and these terms would become plural in _jig_, which, as before mentioned, is a mere modification of _ig_, one of the five general animate plural inflections of the language. _kägät wahwinaudj abbenöjeeug_, is an expression indicating they are _very handsome children_. but _beeweezheewug monetösug_ denotes _small insects_. _minno neewugizzi_, is "good tempered," "he is good tempered." _mawshininewugizzi_, is "bad tempered," both having their plural in _wug_. _nin nuneenahwaindum_, "i am lonesome." _nin nuneenahwaindaumin_, "we (excluding you) are lonesome." _waweea_, is a term generally used to express the adjective sense of round. _kwy_, is the scalp; _weewikwy_, his scalp. hence, _weewukwon_, "hat," _wayweewukwonid_, "a wearer of the hat;" and its plural, _wayweewukwonidjig_, "wearers of the hats"--the usual term applied to europeans, or white men generally. these examples go to prove that under every form in which the adjective can be traced, whether in its simplest or most compound state, it is susceptible of number. the numerals of the language are converted into adverbs by the inflection _ing_, making one, _once_, &c. the unit exists in duplicate. päzhik, one, _general unit_. } aubeding, once. ingoot, one, _numerical unit_. } neesh, two. neeshing, twice. niswee, three. nissing, thrice. neewin, four. neewing, four times. naunun, five. nauning, five times. n'goodwaswä, six. n'goodwautsking, six times. neeshwauswä, seven. neeshwautshing, seven times. shwauswe, eight. shwautshing, eight times. shongusswe, nine. shongutshing, nine times. metauswe, ten. meetaushing, ten times. these inflections can be carried as high as they can compute numbers. they count decimally. after reaching ten, they repeat, ten and one, ten and two, &c. to twenty. twenty is a compound signifying two tens; thirty, three tens, &c.; a mode which is carried up to one hundred--_n'goodwak_. _wak_ then becomes the word of denomination, combining with the names of the digits until they reach a thousand, _meetauswauk_, literally _ten hundred_. here a new compound term is introduced, made by prefixing twenty to the last denominator, _neeshtonnah duswak_, which doubles the last term, thirty triples it, forty quadruples it, &c. till the computation reaches to ten thousand, _n'goodwak dushing n'goodwak_, one hundred times one hundred. this is the probable extent of all certain computation. the term _gitshee_ (great), prefixed to the last denomination, leaves the number indefinite. there is no form of the numerals corresponding to second, third, fourth, &c. they can only further say, _nittum_, first, and _ishkwaudj_, last. iv. _some remarks respecting the agglutinative position and properties of the pronoun._ inquiry . nature and principles of the pronoun--its distinction into preformative and subformative classes--personal pronouns--the distinction of an inclusive and exclusive form in the number of the first person plural--modifications of the personal pronouns to imply existence, individuality, possession, ownership, position, and other accidents--declension of pronouns to answer the purpose of the auxiliary verbs--subformatives, how employed to mark the persons--relative pronouns considered--their application to the causative verbs--demonstrative pronouns--their separation into two classes, animates and inanimates--example of their use. pronouns are buried, if we may so say, in the structure of the verb. in tracing them back to their primitive forms, through the almost infinite variety of modifications which they assume, in connection with the verb, substantive, and adjective, it will facilitate analysis to group them into preformative and subformative, which include the terms that have already been made use of--pronominal prefixes, and suffixes--and which admit of the further distinction of separable and inseparable. by separable, is intended those forms which have a meaning by themselves, and are thus distinguished from the inflective and subformative pronouns, and pronominal particles, significant only in connection with another word. . of the first class, are the personal pronouns _neen_ (i), _keen_ (thou), and _ween_ or _o_ (he or she). they are declined, to form the plural persons, in the following manner:-- i, neen. we, keen owind. (in.) we, neen owind. (ex.) thou, keen. ye, keen owau. he or she, ween or o. they, ween owau. here the plural persons are formed by a numerical inflection of the singular. the double plural of the first person, of which both the rule and examples have been incidentally given in the remarks on the substantive, is one of those peculiarities of the language which may, perhaps, serve to aid in a comparison of it with other dialects, kindred and foreign. as a mere conventional agreement for denoting whether the person addressed be included or excluded, it may be regarded as an advantage to the language. it enables the speaker, by the change of a single consonant, to make a full and clear discrimination, and relieves the narration from doubts and ambiguity, where doubts and ambiguity would otherwise often exist. on the other hand, by accumulating distinctions, it loads the memory with grammatical forms, and opens a door for improprieties of speech. we are not aware of any inconveniences in the use of a general plural; but, in the indian, it would produce confusion. and it is, perhaps, to that cautious desire of personal discrimination, which is so apparent in the structure of the language, that we should look for the reason of the duplicate forms of this word. once established, however, and both the distinction, and the necessity of a constant and strict attention to it, are very obvious and striking. how shall he address the deity? if he say, "our father who art in heaven," the inclusive form of _our_ makes the almighty one of the suppliants, or family. if he use the exclusive form, it throws him out of the family, and may embrace every living being but the deity. yet, neither of these forms can be used very well in prayer, as they cannot be applied directly _to_ the object addressed. it is only when speaking _of_ the deity, under the name of father, to other persons, that the inclusive and exclusive forms of the word _our_ can be used. the dilemma may be obviated by the use of a compound descriptive phrase, _wä ö se mig o yun_, signifying, "thou, who art the father of all," or "universal father." in practice, however, the question is cut short by those persons who have embraced christianity. it has seemed to them that, by the use of either of the foregoing terms, the deity would be thrown into too remote a relation to them; and i have observed that in prayer they invariably address him by the term used by children for the father of a family--that is, _nosa_, "my father." the other personal pronouns undergo some peculiar changes when employed as preformatives before nouns and verbs, which it is important to remark. thus _neen_, is sometimes rendered _ne_, or _nin_, and sometimes _nim_. _keen_, is rendered _ke_, or _kin_. in compound words, the mere signs of the first and second pronouns, _n_ and _k_, are employed. the use of _ween_ is limited; and the third person, singular and plural, is generally indicated by the sign _o_. the particle _suh_, added to the complete forms of the disjunctive pronouns, imparts a verbal sense to them; and appears, in this instance, to be a succedaneum for the substantive verb. thus _neen_, i, becomes _neensuh_, it is i. _keen_, thou, becomes _keensuh_, it is thou; and _ween_, he or she, _weensuh_, it is he or she. this particle may be also added to the plural forms. keenowind suh, it is we. (in.) neenowind suh, it is we. (ex.) keenowau suh, it is ye, or you. weenowau suh, it is they. if the word _aittah_, be substituted for _suh_, a set of adverbial phrases are formed:-- neen aittah, i only. neen aittah wind, we, &c. (ex.) keen aittah wind, we, &c. (in.) keen aittah, thou only. keen aittah wau, you, &c. ween aittah, he or she only. ween aittah wau, they, &c. in like manner, _nittum_, first, and _ishkwaudj_, last, give rise to the following arrangement of the pronoun:-- neen nittum, i first. keen nittum, you or thou first. ween nittum, he or she first. keen nittum ewind, we first. (in.) neen nittum ewind, we first. (ex.) keen nittum ewau, ye or you first. ween nittum ewau, they first. ishkwaudj. neen ishkwaudj, i last. keen ishkwaudj, thou last. ween ishkwaudj, he or she last. keenowind ishkwaudj, we last. (in.) neenowind ishkwaudj, we last. (ex.) keenowau ishkwaudj, ye or you last. weenowau ishkwaudj, they last. the disjunctive forms of the pronoun are also sometimes preserved before verbs and adjectives. neezhika. alone, (_an._) neen neezhika, i alone. keen neezhika, thou alone. ween neezhika, he or she alone. keenowind neezhika, we alone. (in.) neenowind neezhika, we alone. (ex.) keenowau neezhika, ye or you alone. weenowau neezhika, they alone. to give these expressions a verbal form, the substantive verb, with its pronominal modifications, must be superadded. for instance, _i am_ alone, &c. is thus rendered:-- neen neezhika nindyau, i am alone + aumin. keen neezhika keedyau, thou art alone + aum. ween neezhika iyau, he or she is alone, &c. + wug. in the subjoined examples, the noun ow, body, is changed to a verb, by the permutation of the vowel, changing ow, to auw; which last takes the letter _d_ before it when the pronoun is prefixed:-- i am a man, neen nin dauw. thou art a man, keen ke dauw. he is a man, ween ah weeh. we are men, (in.) ke dauw we min. we are men, (ex.) ne dauw we min. ye are men, ke dauw mim. they are men, weenowau ah weeh wug. in the translation of these expressions, "man" is used as synonymous with "person." if the specific term _inine_ had been introduced, in the original, the meaning thereby conveyed would be, in this particular connection, "i am a man," with respect to _courage_, &c. in opposition to effeminacy. it would not be simply declarative of _corporeal existence_, but of existence in a _particular state or condition_. in the following phrases, the modified forms, or the signs only, of the pronouns are used: n'debaindaun, i own it. ke debaindaun, thou ownst it. o debaindaun, he or she owns it. n'debaindaum-in, we own it. (ex.) ke debaindaum-in, we own it. (in.) ke debaindaun-ewau, ye own it. o debaindaun-ewau, they own it. these examples are cited as exhibiting the manner in which the _prefixed_ and preformative pronouns are employed, both in their full and contracted forms. to denote possession, nouns specifying the things possessed are required; and, what would not be anticipated had not full examples of this species of declension been given in another place, the purposes of distinction are not affected by a simple change of the pronoun, as _i_ to _mine_, &c., but by a subformative inflection of the _noun_, which is thus made to have a reflective operation upon the pronoun speaker. it is believed that sufficient examples of this rule, in all the modifications of inflection, have been given under the head of the substantive. but as the substantives employed to elicit these modifications were exclusively _specific_ in their meaning, it, may be proper here, in further illustration of an important principle, to present a generic substantive under their compound forms. i have selected for this purpose one of the primitives. ie-au´, is the abstract term for matter. it is in the animate form. its inanimate correspondent is ie-ee´. these are two important roots. and they are found in combination, in a very great number of derivative words. it will be sufficient here, to show their connection with the pronoun, in the production of a class of terms in very general use. animate forms. possessive. singular. plural. nin dyë aum, mine. nin dyë auminaun, ours. (ex.) ke dyë auminaun, ours. (in.) ke dyë aum, thine. ke dyë aumewau, yours. objective. o dyë aum-un, his or hers. o dyë aumewaun, theirs. inanimate forms. possessive. singular. plural. nin dyë eem, mine. nin dyë eeminaun, ours. (ex.) ke dyë eeminaun, ours. (in.) ke dyë eem, thine. ke dyë eemewau, yours. objective. o dyë eem. his or hers. o dyë eemewau, theirs. (pos. in.) in these forms the noun is singular throughout. to render it plural, as well as the pronoun, the appropriate general plurals _ug_ and _un_, or _ig_ and _in_, must be superadded. but it must be borne in mind, in making these additions, "that the plural inflection to inanimate nouns (which have no objective case), forms the objective case to animate, which have no number in the third person." (p. .) the particle _un_, therefore, which is the appropriate plural for the inanimate nouns in these examples, is only the objective mark of the animate. the plural of i, is _naun_, the plural of thou and he, _wau_. but as these inflections would not coalesce smoothly with the possessive inflections, the connective vowels _i_ and _e_ are prefixed, making the plural of i, _inaun_, and of thou, &c., _ewau_. if we strike from these declensions the root ie, leaving its animate and inanimate forms au and ee, and adding the plural of the noun, we shall then, taking the _animate_ declension as an instance, have the following formula of the pronominal declensions: ---+---+-----+----+---+------+---+---- pronoun singular. | place of the noun. | | possessive inflection. | | | objective inflection to the noun singular. | | | | connective vowel. | | | | | plural inflection of the | | | | | pronoun. | | | | | | objective inflection, | | | | | | noun plural. | | | | | | | plural of the noun. ---+---+-----+----+---+------+---+---- ne | | aum | | i | naun | | ig ke | | aum | | e | wau | | g o | | aum | un | | | | o | | aum | | e | wau | n | ---+---+-----+----+---+------+---+---- to render this formula of general use, six variations (five in addition to the above) of the possessive inflection are required, corresponding to the six classes of substantives, whereby _aum_ would be changed to _äm_, _eem_, _im_, _öm_, and _oom_, conformably to the examples heretofore given in treating of the substantive. the objective inflection would also be sometimes changed to _een_, and sometimes to _oan_. having thus indicated the mode of distinguishing the person, number, relation, and gender, or what is deemed its technical equivalent, the mutations words undergo, not to mark the distinctions of _sex_, but the presence or absence of _vitality_, i shall now advert to the inflections which the pronouns take for _tense_, or rather to form the auxiliary verbs, have, had, shall, will, may, &c.; a very curious and important principle, and one which clearly demonstrates that no part of speech has escaped the transforming genius of the language. not only are the three great modifications of time accurately marked in the verbal form of the chippewas, but, by the inflection of the pronoun, they are enabled to indicate some of the oblique tenses, and thereby to conjugate their verbs with accuracy and precision. the particle _gee_ added to the first, second, and third person singular, of the present tense, changes them to the perfect past, rendering i, thou, he, i did, have, or had; thou didst, hast, or hadst; he or she did, have, or had. if _gah_ be substituted for _gee_, the first future tense is formed, and the perfect past added to the first future, forms the conditional future. as the eye may prove an auxiliary in the comprehension of forms which are not familiar, the following tabular arrangement of them is presented. first person, i. nin gee, i did, have, had. nin gah, i shall, will. nin gah gee, i shall have, will have. second person, thou. ke gee, thou didst, hast, hadst. ke gah, thou shalt, wilt. ke gah gee, thou shalt have, wilt have. third person, he or she. o gee, he or she did, have, had. o gah, he or she did, have, had. o gah gee, he or she shall have, will have. the present and imperfect tense of the potential mood is formed by _dau_, and the perfect by _gee_ suffixed, as in other instances. first person, i. nin dau, i may, can, &c. nin dau gee, i may have, can have, &c. second person, thou. ke dau, thou mayst, canst, &c. ke dau gee, thou mayst have, canst have, &c. third person, he or she. o dau, he or she may, can, &c. o dau gee, he or she may have, can have, &c. in conjugating the verbs through the plural person, the singular terms for the pronoun remain, and they are rendered plural by a retrospective action of the pronominal inflections of the verb. in this manner the pronoun-verb auxiliary has a general application, and the necessity of double forms is avoided. the preceding observations are confined to the formative or _prefixed_ pronouns. the inseparable suffixed or subformative are as follows:-- yaun, my. yun, thy. id or d, his or hers. yaung, our. (ex.) yung, our. (in.) yaig, your. waud, their. these pronouns are exclusively employed as suffixes, and as suffixes to the descriptive compound substantives, adjectives, and verbs. both the rule and examples have been stated under the head of the substantives, p. , and adjectives, p. . their application to the verb will be shown as we proceed. . _relative pronouns._--in a language which provides for the distinction of person by particles prefixed or suffixed to the verb, it will scarcely be expected that separate and independent relative pronouns should exist, or if such are to be found, their use, as separate parts of speech, must, it will have been anticipated, be quite limited; limited to simple interrogatory forms of expression, and not applicable to the indicative or declaratory. such will be found to be the fact in the language under review; and it will be perceived from the subjoined examples, that in all instances requiring the relative pronoun _who_, other than the simple interrogatory forms, this relation is indicated by the inflections of the verb, or adjective, &c. nor does there appear to be any declension of the separate pronoun corresponding to _whose_ and _whom_. the word _ahwaynain_, may be said to be uniformly employed in the sense of _who_, under the limitations we have mentioned. for instance-- who is there? ahwaynain e-mah ai-aud? who spoke? ahwaynain kau keegoedood? who told you? ahwaynain kau weendumoak? who are you? ahwaynain iau we yun? who sent you? ahwaynain waynönik? who is your father? ahwaynain kös? who did it? ahwaynain kau tödung? whose dog is it? ahwaynain way dyid? whose pipe is that? ahwaynain döpwaugunid en-eu? whose lodge is it? ahwaynain way weegewomid? whom do you seek? ahwaynain nain dau wau bumud? whom have you here? ahwaynain oh-amau _ai_ auwaud? not the slightest variation is made in these phrases between who, whose, and whom. should we wish to change the interrogative, and to say he who is there, he who spoke, he who told you, &c., the separable personal pronoun _ween_ (he) must be used in lieu of the relative; and the following forms will be elicited:-- ween, kau unnönik, he (who) sent you. ween, kau geedood, he (who) spoke. ween, _ai_-aud e-mah, he (who) is there. ween, kau weendumoak, he (who) told you. ween, kau tödung, he (who) did it, &c. if we object that, in these forms, there is no longer the relative pronoun _who_, the sense being simply he sent you, he spoke, &c., it is replied that, if it be intended only to say he sent you, &c., and not he _who_ sent you, &c., the following forms are used:-- ke gee unnönig, he (sent) you. ainnözhid, he (sent) me. ainnönaud, he (sent) him. iau e-mau, he is there. ke geedo, he (spoke). ke gee weendumaug, he (told) you. ke to dum, he did it. we reply to this answer of the native speaker, that the particle _kau_ prefixed to a verb, denotes the past tense; that in the former series of terms in which this particle appears, the verbs are in the perfect indicative, and in the latter, they are in the present indicative, marking the difference only between _sent_ and _send_, _spoke_ and _speak_, &c.; and that there is absolutely no relative pronoun in either series of terms. we further observe, that the personal pronoun _ween_, prefixed to the first set of terms, may be prefixed, with equal propriety, to the second set, and that its use or disuse is perfectly optional with the speaker, as he may wish to give additional energy or emphasis to the expression. to these positions, after reflection, discussion, and examination, we receive an assent, and thus the uncertainty is terminated. we now wish to apply the principle thus elicited to verbs causative, and to other compound terms--to the adjective verbs, for instance--and to the other verbal compound expressions, in which the objective and the nominative persons are incorporated as a part of the verb, and are not prefixes to it. this may be shown in the causative verb-- to make happy. mainwaindumëid, he (who) makes _me_ happy. mainwaindumëik, he (who) makes _thee_ happy. mainwaindumëaud, he (who) makes _him_ happy. mainwaindumëinung, he (who) makes _us_ happy. (in.) mainwaindumëyaug, he (who) makes _us_ happy. (ex.) mainwaindumëinnaig, he (who) makes _ye_ or _you_ happy. mainwaindumëigowaud, he (who) makes _them_ happy. and so the forms might be continued throughout all the objective persons-- mainwaindum ë yun, _thou_ (who) makest me happy, &c. the basis of these compounds is _minno_, "good," and _aindum_, "the mind." hence, _minwaindum_, "he happy." the adjective, in this connection, cannot be translated "good," but its effect upon the noun is to denote that state of the mind which is at rest with itself. the first change from this simple compound, is to give the adjective a verbal form; and this is effected by a permutation of the vowels of the first syllable--a rule of very extensive application--and by which, in the present instance, the phrase "he happy," is changed to "he makes happy," (_mainwaindum_.) the next step is to add the suffix personal pronouns, _id_, _ik_, _aud_, &c., rendering the expressions, "he makes _me_ happy," &c. but, in adding these increments, the vowel _e_ is thrown between the adjective-verb and the pronoun suffixed, making the expression, not _mainwaindum-yun_, but _mainwaindum ëyun_. generally, the vowel e, in this situation, is a connective, or introduced merely for the sake of euphony. and those who maintain that it is here employed as a personal pronoun, and that the relative _who_ is implied by the final inflection, overlook the inevitable inference, that if the marked _e_ stands for _me_ in the first phrase, it must stand for _thee_ in the second, _he_ in the third, _us_ in the fourth, &c. as to the meaning and office of the final inflections _id_, _ik_, &c., whatever they may, in an involuted sense, _imply_, it is quite clear, by turning to the list of _suffixed personal pronouns_, and _animate plurals_, that they mark the persons, i, thou, he, &c., we, ye, they, &c. take, for example, _minwaindumëigowaud_, "he (who) makes them happy." of this compound, _minwaindum_, as before shown, signifies "he makes happy." but as the verb is in the singular number, it implies that but _one person_ is made happy; and the suffixed personal pronouns _singular_, mark the distinctions between _me_, _thee_, and _he_, or _him_. _minwaindum-e-ig_ is the verb plural, and implies that several persons are made happy; and, in like manner, the suffixed personal pronouns _plural_, mark the distinctions between we, ye, they, &c.; for it is a rule of the language, that a strict concordance must exist between the number of the verb and the number of the pronoun. the termination of the verb consequently always indicates whether there be one or many objects to which its energy is directed. and as animate verbs can be applied only to animate objects, the numerical inflections of the verb are understood to mark the number of persons. but this number is indiscriminate, and leaves the sense vague until the pronominal suffixes are superadded. those who, therefore, contend for the _sense_ of the relative pronoun "who" being given in the last-mentioned phrase, and all phrases similarly formed by a succedaneum, contend for something like the following form of translation: "he makes them happy--him!" or "him--he (meaning 'who') makes them happy." the equivalent for _what_, is _waygonain_. what do you want? waygonain wau iauyun? what have you lost? waygonain kau wonetöyun? what do you look for? waygonain nain dahwau bundahmun? what is this? waygonain ewinain maundun? what will you have? waygonain kad iauyun? what detained you? waygonain kau oon dahme egöyun? what are you making? waygonain wayzhetöyun? what have you there? waygonain e-mau iauyun? the use of this pronoun, like the preceding, appears to be confined to simple interrogative forms. the word _auneen_, which sometimes supplies its place, or is used for want of the pronoun _which_, is an adverb, and has considerable latitude of meaning. most commonly, it may be considered as the equivalent for _how_, in what manner, or at what time. what do you say? auneen akeedöyun? what do you call this? auneen aizheneekaudahmun maundun?(i.) what ails you? auneen aindeeyun? what is your name? auneen aizheekauzoyun? which do you mean, this or that? (an.) auneen ah-ow ainud, woh-ow gämau ewaidde? which do you mean, this or that? (in.) auneen eh-eu ewaidumun oh-oo gämau ewaidde? which boy do you mean? auneen ah-ow-ainud? by adding to this word the particle _de_, it is converted into an adverb of place, and may be rendered _where_. where do you dwell? auneende aindauyun? where is your son? auneende ke gwiss? where did you see him? auneende ke waubumud? where did you see it? auneende ke waubundumun? where are you going? auneende azhauyun? where did you come from? auneende ka oonjeebauyun? where is your pipe? auneende ke döpwaugun? where is your gun? auneende ke baushkizzigun? by a still further modification, it is rendered an adverb of inquiry of the cause or motive. why do you do so? auneeshween eh eu todumun? why do you say so? auneeshween eh eu ekeedoyun? why are you angry? auneeshween nishkaudizzeyun? why will you depart? auneeshween wee matyauyun? why will you not depart? auneeshween matyauseewun? why have you come? auneeshween ke peëzhauyun? tell me why? weendumowishin auneeshween? wherefore is it so? auneeshween eh-eu izzhewaibuk? (in.) wherefore did you strike him? auneeshween ke pukketaywud? . demonstrative pronouns are either animate or inanimate, and may be arranged as follows:-- animate. inanimate. mau-bum (impersonal), } this. maun-dun (inanimate proper). woh-ow (personal), } oh-oo (inanimate conventional). ah-ow, that. eh-eu. mau-mig, these. mau-min. ig-eu (personal), } those. in-eu (inanimate proper). i-goo (impersonal), } o-noo (inanimate conventional). these words are not always used merely to ascertain the object, but often, perhaps always, when the object is present to the sight, have a substantive meaning, and are used without the noun. it creates no uncertainty, if a man be standing at some distance to say, _ah-ow_; or if a canoe be lying at some distance, to say, _eh-eu_; the meaning is clearly, that _person_, or that _canoe_, whether the noun be added or not. or, if there be two animate objects standing together, or two inanimate objects lying together, the words _maumig_ (a.), or _maumin_ (i.), if they be near, or _ig-eu_, (a.), or _in-eu_ (i.), if they be distant, are equally expressive of the _materiality_ of the objects, as well as their relative position. under other circumstances the noun would be required, as where two animate objects of diverse character--a man and a horse for instance--were standing near each other; or a canoe and a package of goods were lying near each other--and, in fact, under all circumstances--the noun _may_ be used after the demonstrative pronoun, without violating any rule of grammar, although not without the imputation, in many instances, of being over-formal and unnecessarily minute. what is deemed redundant, however, in oral use, and amongst a people who supply much by sight and gesticulation, becomes quite necessary in writing the language; and, in the following sentences, the substantive is properly employed after the pronoun:-- this dog is very lean, gitshee bukaukuddoozo woh-ow annemoosh. these dogs are very lean, gitshee bukaukuddoozowug o-goo annemooshug. those dogs are fat, ig-eu annemooshug ween-in-oowug. that dog is fat, ah-ow annemoosh ween-in-oo. this is a handsome knife, gagait onishishin maundun mokomahn. these are handsome knives, gagait wahwinaudj o-noo mokomahnun. those are bad knives, monaududön in-euwaidde mokomahnun. give me that spear, meezhishin eh-eu ahnitt. give me those spears, meezhishin in-eu unnewaidde ahnitteen. that is a fine boy, gagait kwonaudj ah-ow kweewezains. those are fine boys, gagait wahwinaudj ig-euwaidde kweewezainsug. this boy is larger than that, nahwudj mindiddo woh-ow kweewezains ewaidde dush. that is what i wanted, meeh-eu wau iauyaumbaun. this is the very thing i wanted, mee-suh oh-oo wau iauyaumbaun. in some of these expressions, the pronoun combines with an adjective, as in the compound words _ineuwaidde_ and _igeuwaidde_, _those yonder_ (in.), and _those yonder_ (an.). compounds which exhibit the full pronoun in coalescence with the adverb _ewaidde_, yonder. . natural history. v. zoology. . _limits of the range of the cervus sylvestris in the northwestern parts of the united states._ by henry r. schoolcraft. (northwest journal.) . _description of the fringilia vespertina, discovered by mr. schoolcraft in the northwest._ by william cooper. (annals of the new york lyceum of natural history.) . conchology.--_list of shells collected by mr. schoolcraft, in the western and northwestern territory._ by william cooper. helix. . helix albolabris, _say_. near lake michigan. . helix alternata, _say_. banks of the wabash, near and above the tippecanoe. mr. say remarks, that these two species, so common in the atlantic states, were not met with in major long's second expedition, until their arrival in the secondary country at the eastern extremity of lake superior. planorbis. . planorbis campanulatus, _say_. itasca (or la biche) lake, the source of the mississippi. . planorbis trivolvis, _say_. lake michigan. these two species were also observed by mr. say, as far east as the falls of niagara. lymneus. . lymneus umbrosus, _say_, am. con. iv. pl. xxxi. fig. . lake winnipec, upper mississippi, and rainy lake. . lymneus reflexus, _say_, l. c. pl. xxxi. fig. . rainy lake, seine river, and lake winnipec. . lymneus stagnalis. lake a la crosse, upper mississippi. paludina. . paludina ponderosa, _say_. wisconsin river. . paludina vivipara, _say_, am. con. i. pl. x. the american specimens of this shell are more depressed than the european, but appear to be identical in species. melania. . melania virginica, _say_. lake michigan. anodonta. . anodonta cataracta, _say_. chicago, lake michigan. this species, mr. lea remarks, has a great geographical extension. . anodonta corpulenta, _nobis_. shell thin and fragile, though less so than others of the genus; much inflated at the umbones, margins somewhat compressed; valves connate over the hinge in perfect specimens; surface dark brown, in old shells; in younger, of a pale dingy green, and without rays, in all i have examined; beaks slightly undulated at the tip. the color within is generally of a livid coppery hue, but sometimes, also, pure white. length of a middling sized specimen, four and a half inches, breadth, six and a quarter. it is often eighteen inches in circumference round the border of the valves, with a diameter through the umbones of three inches. inhabits the upper mississippi, from prairie du chien to lake pepin. this fine shell, much the largest i have seen of the genus, was first sent by mr. schoolcraft, to the lyceum, several years ago. so far as i am able to discover, it is undescribed, and a distinct and remarkable species. it may be known by its length being greater in proportion to its breadth than in the other american species, by the subrhomboidal form of the posterior half, and generally, by the color of the nacre, though this is not to be relied on. it appears to belong to the genus symphynota of mr. lea. alasmodonta. . alasmodonta complanata, _barnes_. symphynota complanata, _lea_. shell lake, river st. croix, upper mississippi. many species of shells found in this lake grow to an extraordinary size. some of the present collected by mr. schoolcraft, measure nineteen inches in circumference. . alasmodonta rugosa, _barnes_. st. croix river, and lake vaseux, st. mary's river. . alasmodonta marginata, _say_. lake vaseux, st. mary's river; very large. . alasmodonta edentula? _say_. anodon areolatus? _swainson_. lake vaseux. the specimens of this shell are too old and imperfect to be safely determined. unio. . unio tuberculatus, _barnes_. painted rock, upper mississippi. . unio pustulosus, _lea_. upper mississippi, prairie du chien, to lake pepin. . unio verrucosus, _barnes_, _lea_. st. croix river of the upper mississippi. . unio plicatus, _le sueur_, _say_. prairie du chien, and river st. croix. the specimens of u. plicatus sent from this locality by mr. schoolcraft have the nacre beautifully tinged with violet, near the posterior border of the shell, and are also much more ventricose than those found in more eastern localities, as pittsburg, for example; at the same time, i believe them to be of the same species. similar variations are observed in other species; the specimens from the south and west generally exhibiting a greater development. . unio trigonus, _lea_. from the same locality as the last, and like it unusually ventricose. . unio ebenus, _lea_. upper mississippi, between prairie du chien and lake pepin. . unio gibbosus, _barnes_. st. croix river, upper mississippi, . unio rectus, _lamarck_. u. prÆlongus, _barnes_. upper mississippi, from prairie du chien to lake pepin, and the river st. croix. the specimens collected by mr. schoolcraft, vary much in the color of the nacre. some have it entirely white, others rose purple, and others entirely of a very fine dark salmon color. this species inhabits the st. lawrence as far east as montreal. . unio siliquoideus, _barnes_, and u. inflatus, _barnes_. upper mississippi, between prairie du chien and lake pepin. large, ponderous, and the epidermis finely rayed. . unio complanatus, _lea_. u. purpureus, _say_. lake vaseux, st. mary's river. lake vaseux is an expansion of the river st. mary, a tributary of the upper lakes. this shell does not appear to exist in any of the streams flowing into the mississippi. . unio crassus, _say_. upper mississippi, prairie du chien. . unio radiatus, _barnes_. lake vaseux. the specimen is old and imperfect, but i believe it to be the u. radiatus of our conchologists, which is common in lake champlain and also inhabits the st. lawrence. . unio occidens, _lea_. u. ventricosus, _say_, am. con. u. ventricosus, _barnes?_ wisconsin and st. croix rivers, and shell lake. epidermis variously colored, and marked with numerous rays. . unio ventricosus, _barnes_. upper mississippi, from prairie du chien to lake pepin and shell lake. the varieties of this, and the preceding pass insensibly into each other. those from shell lake are of extraordinary size. . unio alatus, _say_. symphynota alata, _lea_. upper mississippi, and shell lake. found also in lake champlain, by the late mr. barnes. . unio gracilis, _barnes_. symphynota gracilis, _lea_. upper mississippi, and shell lake. the specimens brought by mr. schoolcraft are larger and more beautiful than i have seen from any other locality. vi. botany. . _a list of species and localities of plants collected in the northwestern expeditions of mr. schoolcraft of and ._ by douglass houghton, m. d., surgeon to the expeditions. the localities of the following plants are transcribed from a catalogue kept during the progress of the expeditions, and embrace many plants common to our country, which were collected barely for the purpose of comparison. a more detailed account will be published at some future day. _aster tenuifolius_, willdenow. upper mississippi. " _sericea_, nuttall. river de corbeau, missouri ter. " _lævis?_ willdenow. st. croix river, northwest ter. " _concolor_, willdenow. fox river, northwest ter. " (_n. spec._). sources of yellow river, northwest ter. _andropogon furcatus_, willdenow. sources of yellow river, northwest ter. _alopecurus geniculatus_, linnæus. sault ste. marie, m. t. _aira flexuosa._ sault ste. marie, m. t. _allium tricoccum_, aiton. ontonagon river of lake superior. " _cernuum_, roth. river de corbeau to the sources of the miss. " (_n. spec._). st. louis river of lake superior. _amorpha canescens_, nuttall. upper mississippi. _artemisia canadensis_, mx. lake superior to the sources of the miss. " _sericea_, nuttall. keweena point, lake superior. " _gnaphaloides_, nuttall. fox river, northwest ter. _arabis hirsuta_, de candolle. upper mississippi. " _lyrata_, linn. lake superior to the sources of the miss. _arundo canadensis_, mx. lake superior. _arenaria lateriflora_, linn. lake superior to the sources of the miss. _alnus glauca_, mx. st. croix river to the sources of the miss. _alliona albida_, walter. yellow river, northwest ter. _aronia sanguinea._ lake superior to the sources of the miss. _alectoria jubata._ lake superior to the sources of the miss. _aletris farinosa._ prairies of michigan ter. _bidens beckii_, torrey. st. croix river to the sources of the miss. _bunias maritima_, willdenow. lake michigan. _baptisia coerulea_, michaux. fox river, northwest ter. _blitum capitatum._ northwest ter. _betula papyracea_, willdenow. lake superior to the sources of the miss. " _glandulosa._ savannah river, northwest ter. _bartramia fontana._ lake superior. _bromus canadensis_, michaux. upper mississippi. _batschia canescens._ plains of the mississippi. " " var. (or _n. spec._). lake superior. _carex paucifolia._ sault ste. marie, mich. ter. " _scirpoides_, schkuhr. sault ste. marie, mich. ter. " _limosa_, linn. sault ste. marie, mich. ter. " _curata_, gmelin. sault ste. marie, mich. ter. " (apparently _n. spec._ allied to _c. scabrata_.) sources of the miss. " _washingtoniana_, dewy. lake superior. " _lacustris_, willdenow. lake superior. " _oedere_, ehrhart. leech lake. " _logopodioides_, schkuhr. savannah river, northwest ter. " _rosea_, var. lake superior. " _festucacea_, schkuhr. st. louis river of lake superior. _cyperus mariscoides_, elliott. upper mississippi. " _alterniflorus_, schwinitz. river st. clair, mich. ter. _cnicus pitcheri_, torrey. lakes michigan and superior. _coreopsis palmata_, nuttall. prairies of the upper mississippi. _cardamine pratensis._ lake superior to the sources of the miss. _calamagrostis coarctata_, torrey. lake winnipec. _cetraria icelandica._ lakes superior and michigan. _corydalis aurea_, willdenow. cass lake, upper mississippi. " _glauca_, persoon. lake superior. _cynoglossum amplexicaule_, michaux. sault ste. marie. _cassia chamoecrista._ upper mississippi. _corylus americana_, walter. lake superior to the sources of the miss. " _rostrata_, willdenow. lake superior to the sources of the miss. _cistus canadensis_, willdenow. lake superior to the sources of the miss. _cornus circinata_, l'heritier. lake superior to the sources of the miss. _cypripedium acaule_, aiton. lake superior to the sources of the miss. _cymbidium pulchellum_, swartz. lake superior to the sources of the miss. _corallorhiza multiflora_, torrey. lake superior. _convallaria borealis_, willdenow. lake superior to the sources of the mississippi. " _trifolia_, linn. lake superior. _cenchrus echinatus_, linn. upper mississippi. _cerastium viscosum_, linn. lake superior. " _oblongifolium_, torrey. michigan ter. _campanula acuminata_, michaux. st. louis river of lake superior. _chrysosplenium oppositifolium._ lake superior to the mississippi. _cinna arundinacea_, willdenow. upper mississippi. _drosera linearis_, hooker. lake superior. " _rotundifolia._ lake superior to the sources of the miss. " _americana_, muhlenberg. lake superior to the sources of the miss. _dracocephalum virginicum_, willdenow. red cedar river, northwest territory. _delphinium virescens_, nuttall. upper mississippi. _danthonia spicata_, willdenow. mauvais river of lake superior. _dirca palustris_, willdenow. ontonagon river of lake superior. _equisetum limosum_, torrey. lake superior. " _palustr_e, willdenow. lake superior. " _variegatum_, smith. lake michigan. _erigeron integrifolium_, bigelow. falls of peckagama, upper miss. " _purpureum_, willdenow. falls of peckagama, upper miss. " (_n. spec._). sources of st. croix river, northwest ter. _erigeron heterophyllum_, var. or (_n. spec._). sources of st. croix river, northwest ter. _eryngium aquaticum_, jussieu. galena, ill. _euphorbia corollata_, willdenow. red cedar river. _eriophorum virginicum_, linn. lake superior. " _alpinum_, linn. lake superior. " _polystachyon_, linn. lake superior. _empetrum nigrum_, michaux. lake superior. _erysimum chiranthoides_, linn. lake superior: _eriocaulon pellucidum_, michaux. lake superior. _euchroma coccinea_, willdenow. lake superior to the mississippi. _elymus striatus_, willdenow. st. croix river, northwest ter. " _virginicus_, linn. st. croix river, northwest ter. _festuca nutans_, willdenow. lake winnipec. _glycera fluitans_, brown. savannah river, northwest ter. _gyrophora papulosa_. lake superior. _gentiana crinita_, willdenow. lake michigan. _geranium carolinianum_. lake superior to the mississippi. _galium lanceolatum_, torrey. red cedar river to the mississippi. _gerardia pedicularis_. fox river, northwest ter. " _maritima_, rafinesque. lake michigan. _galeopsis tetrahit_, var. falls of st. mary, mich. ter. _gnaphalium plantaginium_, var. sources of the mississippi. _goodyera pubescens_, willdenow. lake superior. _hippophæ canadensis_, willdenow. lake superior. " _argentea_, pursh. lake superior. _hedeoma glabra_, persoon. lake michigan to the sources of the miss. _hydropeltis purpurea_, michaux. northwest ter. _hippuris vulgaris_. yellow river to sources of the mississippi. _hudsonia tomentosa_, nuttall. lake superior. _hypericum canadense_. lake superior. " _prolificum_, willdenow. lake michigan. _hieracium fasciculatum_, pursh. pukwàewa lake, northwest ter. _hierochloa borealis_, roemer & schultes. lake superior. _holcus lanatus_. savannah river, northwest ter. _houstonia longifolia_, willdenow. st. louis river of lake superior. _heuchera americana_, linn. st. louis river of lake superior. _hypnum crista-castrensis._ sources of the mississippi. _hordeum jubatum._ upper red cedar lake. _helianthus decapetalis._ northwest ter. " _gracilis_, torrey. upper lake st. croix, northwest ter. _hyssopus anisatus_, nuttall. upper mississippi. " _scrophularifolius_, willdenow. upper mississippi. _inula villosa_, nuttall. upper mississippi. _ilex canadensis_, michaux. lake superior. _juncus nodosus._ st. mary's river. " _polycephalus_, michaux. lake superior. _koeleria nitida_, nuttall. lake winnipec. _lycopodium dendroideum_, michaux. lake superior to the sources of the mississippi. " _annotinum_, willdenow. lake superior to the sources of the mississippi. _lonicera hirsuta_, eaton. lake superior to the sources of the miss. " _sempervirens_, aiton. lake superior. _lechea minor._ upper mississippi. _linhea borealis_, willdenow. lake superior to the sources of the miss. _lathyrus palustris._ lake superior. " _decaphyllus_, pursh. leech lake. " _maritimus_, bigelow. lake superior. _lobelia kalmii_, linnæus. lake superior. " _claytoniana_, michaux. upper mississippi. " _puberula?_ michaux. yellow river, northwest ter. _liatris scariosa_, willdenow. upper mississippi. " _cylindrica_, michaux. upper mississippi. _lysimachia revoluta_, nuttall. lake superior. " _thyrsifolia_, michaux. lake superior. _ledum latifolium_, aiton. lake superior to the sources of the miss. _myrica gale_, willdenow. lake superior. _malva (n. spec.)._ upper mississippi. _monarda punctata_, linnæus. upper mississippi. " _oblongata_, aiton. upper mississippi. _microstylis ophioglossoides_, willdenow. lac la biche [itasca]. _myriophyllum spicatum._ lake superior. _mitella cordifolia_, lamarck. lake superior. _menyanthes trifoliata._ lake superior to the sources of the miss. _myosotis arvensis_, sibthorp. st. clair river, mich. ter. _nelumbium luteum_, willdenow. upper mississippi. _oenothera biennis_, var. bois brulé river of lake superior. " _serrulata_, nuttall. upper mississippi. _psoralea argophylla_, pursh. falls of st. anthony. _primula farinosa_, var. _americana_, torrey. lakes huron and superior. " _mistassinica_, michaux. keweena point, lake superior. _pingwicula_ (_n. spec._). presque isle, lake superior. _parnassia americana_, muhlenberg. lake michigan. _pedicularis gladiata_, michaux. fox river. _pinus nigra_, lambert. lake superior. " _banksiana_, lambert. lake superior. _populus tremuloides_, michaux. northwest ter. " _lævigata_, willdenow. upper mississippi. _prunus depressa_, pursh. lakes superior and michigan. _petalostemon violaceum_, willdenow. upper mississippi. " _candidum_, willdenow. upper mississippi. _potentilla tridentata_, aiton. lake superior. " _fruticosa_, linnæus. lakes superior and michigan. _pyrola uniflora_, mauvais river of lake superior. _polygonum amphibium_, linnæus. st. croix river. " _cilinode_, michaux. lake superior. " _articulatum_, linnæus. lake superior. " _coccinium_, willdenow. st. croix river. _polygala polygama_, walter. northwest ter. _phlox aristata_, michaux. upper mississippi. _poa canadensis._ upper mississippi. _pentstemon gracile_, nuttall. upper red cedar lake. " _grandiflorum_, nuttall. falls of st. anthony. _physalis lanceolata_, var. (or _n. spec._). lac la biche [itasca]. _quercus coccinea_, wangenheim. upper red cedar lake. " _obtusiloba_, michaux. upper mississippi. _ranunculus filiformis_, michaux. falls of st. mary, mich. ter. " _pusillus_, pursh. mich. ter. " _prostratus_, lamarck. lake superior to the mississippi. " _lacustris_, beck & tracy. upper mississippi. _rudbeckia hirta_, linnæus. upper mississippi and michigan ter. " _digitata_, aiton. upper mississippi. _rubus parviflorus_, nuttall. lake superior to the sources of the miss. " _hispidus_, linnæus. lake superior. " _saxatilis_, var. _canadensis_, michaux. lake superior. _rosa gemella_, willdenow. lake superior. " _rubifolia_, brown. michigan ter. _ribes albinervum_, michaux. sources of the st. croix river. _saururus cernuus_, linnæus. upper mississippi. _streptopus roseus_, michaux. lake superior. _sisymbrium brachycarpum_, richardson. lake superior. " _chiranthoides_, linnæus. lake superior. _swertia deflexa_, smith. bois brulé river of lake superior. _silphium terebinthinaceum_, elliott. michigan territory to the miss. " _gummiferum_. fox river to the mississippi. _stachys aspera_, var. michaux. lake superior. _sterocaulon paschale._ lake superior. _struthiopteris pennsylvanica_, willdenow. lake superior. _scirpus frigetur?_ lake of the isles, northwest ter. " _palustris_, linnæus. lake superior to the mississippi. _salix prinoides_, pursh. mauvais river of lake superior. " _longifolia_, muhlenberg. upper mississippi. _spiræa opulifolia_, var. _tomentella_, de candolle. lake superior. _sorbus americana_, willdenow. lake huron to the head of lake superior. _smilax rotundifolia_ linnæus. lake superior to the mississippi. _silene antirrhina_, linnæus. lac la biche. _saxifraga virginiensis_, michaux. lake superior. _scutellaria ambigua_, nuttall. upper mississippi. _solidago virgaurea_, var. _alpina._ lake superior. _stipa juncea_, nuttall. usawa r. _symphora racemosa_, michaux. source of the miss. r. _senecio balsamitæ_, var. falls of peckagama, upper miss. _sagittaria heterophylla_, pursh. upper miss. _tanacetum huronensis_, nuttall. lakes michigan and superior. _tussilago palmata_, willdenow. lake michigan. _tofeldia pubens_, michaux. lake superior. _triglochin maritimum_, linnæus. lake superior. _thalyctrum corynellum_, de candolle. st. louis river. _triticum repens_, linnæus. leech lake. _troximon virginicum_, pursh. lake winnipec. _talinum teretifolium_, pursh. st. croix river. _tradescantia virginica._ upper mississippi. _utricularia cornuta_, michaux. lake superior. " _purpurea_, walter. lac chetac, n. w. ter. _uraspermum canadense_, lake superior to the miss. _viola lanceolata_, linnæus. sault ste. marie. " _pedata_, var. (or _n. spec._). lac la biche, sources of the miss. _viburnum oxycoccus_, pursh. lake superior. " _lentago._ lake superior. _vernonia novoboracensis_, willdenow. upper miss. _verbena bracteosa_, michaux. upper miss. " _stricta_, ventenat. upper miss. _zapania nodiflora_, michaux. galena, illinois. _zigadenus chloranthus_, richardson. sandy shores of lake michigan. _zizania aquatica_, pursh. illinois to the sources of the miss. vii. mineralogy and geology. . _a report on the existence of deposits of copper in the geological basin of lake superior._ by dr. d. houghton. fredonia, n. y., november , . sir: in fulfilment of the duties assigned to me in the late expedition into the indian country, under the direction of h. r. schoolcraft, esq., indian agent, i would beg leave to transmit to you the following observations relative to the existence of copper in the country bordering on the southern shore of lake superior. it is without doubt true that this subject has long been viewed with an interest far beyond its actual merit. each mass of native copper which this country has produced, however insulated, or however it may have been separated from its original position, appears to have been considered a sure indication of the existence of that metal in beds; and hence we occasionally see, upon maps of that section of our country, particular portions marked as containing "copper mines," where no copper now exists. but, while it is certain that a combination of circumstances has served to mislead the public mind with regard to the geological situation and existing quantity of that metal, it is no less certain that a greater quantity of insulated native copper has been discovered upon the borders of lake superior, than in any other equal portion of north america. among the masses of native copper which have engaged the attention of travellers in this section of country, one, which from its great size was early noticed, is situated on the ontonagon river, a stream which empties its waters into the southern part of lake superior, miles above the falls of the ste. marie. the ontonagon river is, with some difficulty, navigable by batteaux miles, at which place, by the union of two smaller streams--one from an easterly and the other from a westerly direction--the main stream is formed. the mass of copper is situated on the western fork, at a distance of six or eight miles from the junction. the face of the country through the upper half of the distance from lake superior is uneven, and the irregularity is given it by hills of marly clay, which occasionally rise quite abruptly to the height of one or two hundred feet. no rock was observed _in situ_, except in one place, where, for a distance, the red sandstone was observed, forming the bed of the river. the mass of copper lies, partly covered by water, directly at the foot of a clay hill, from which, together with numerous boulders of the primitive rocks, it has undoubtedly been washed by the action of the water of the river. although it is completely insulated, there is much to interest in its examination. its largest surface measures three and a half by four feet, and this, which is of malleable copper, is kept bright by the action of the water, and has the usual appearance of that metal when worn. to one surface is attached a small quantity of rock, singularly bound together by threads of copper, which pass through it in all directions. this rock, although many of its distinctive characters are lost, is evidently a dark colored serpentine, with small interspersed masses of milky quartz. the mass of copper is so situated as to afford but little that would enable us to judge of its original geological position. in examining the eastern fork of the river, i discovered small water-worn masses of trap-rock, in which were specks of imbedded carbonate of copper and copper black; and with them were occasionally associated minute specks of serpentine, in some respects resembling that which is attached to the large mass of copper; and facts would lead us to infer that the trap formation which appears on lake superior east of the ontonagon river, crosses this section of country at or near the source of that river, and at length forms one of the spurs of the porcupine mountains. several smaller masses of insulated native copper have been discovered on the borders of lake superior, but that upon ontonagon river is the only one which is now known to remain. at as early a period as before the american revolution, an english mining company directed their operations to the country bordering on lake superior, and ontonagon river was one point to which their attention was immediately directed. traces of a shaft, sunk in the clay hill, near a mass of copper, are still visible--a memento of ignorance and folly. operations were also commenced on the southern shore of lake superior, near the mouth of a small stream, which, from that circumstance, is called miners' river. parts of the names of the miners, carved upon the sandstone rock at the mouth of the river, are still visible. what circumstance led to the selection of this spot does not now appear. no mineral traces are at this day perceptible, except occasional discolorations of the sandstone rock by what is apparently a mixture of the carbonates of iron and copper; and this is only to be observed where water, holding in solution an extremely minute portion of these salts, has trickled slowly over those rocks. it does not, in fact, appear that the red sandstone, which constitutes the principal rock formation of the southern shore of lake superior, is in any instance metalliferous in any considerable degree. if this be true, it would require but little reflection to convince one of the inexpediency of conducting mining operations at either of the points selected for that purpose; and it is beyond a doubt true, that the company did not receive the least inducement to continue their labors. in addition to these masses of native copper, an ore of that metal has long been known to the lake traders as the green rock, in which the characteristic substances are the green and blue carbonates of copper, accompanied by copper black. it is situated upon keweena point, miles above the falls of the ste. marie. the ore is embraced by what is apparently a recently formed crag; and, although it is of a kind and so situated as to make an imposing appearance, there is little certainty of its existence in large quantities in this formation. the ore forms a thin covering to the pebbles of which the body of the rock is composed, and is rarely observed in masses separate from it. the crag is composed of angular fragments of trap-rock, and the formation is occasionally traversed by broad and continuous belts of calc. spar, here and there tinged with copper. although the ore was not observed in any considerable quantity, except at one point, it apparently exists in minute specks through a greater part of the crag formation, which extends several miles, forming the shore of the lake. this examination of the crag threw new interest upon the trap formation, which had been first observed to take the place of the sandstone at the bottom of a deep bay, called montreal bay, on the easterly side of keweena point. the trap-rock continues for a few miles, when the crag before noticed appears to lie directly upon it, and to form the extremity of the point; the crag, in turn, disappears, and the trap-rock is continued for a distance of six or eight miles upon the westerly side of the point, when the sandstone again reappears. the trap-rock is of a compact granular texture, occasionally running into the amygdaloid and toadstone varieties, and is rich in imbedded minerals, such as amethystine quartz, smoky quartz, carnelian, chalcedony, agate, &c., together with several of the ores of copper. traces of copper ore in the trap-rock were first noticed on the easterly side of keweena point, and near the commencement of the trap formation. this ore, which is an impure copper black, was observed in a vein of variable thickness, but not in any part exceeding two and a half inches. it is sufficiently compact and hard to receive a firm polish, but it is rather disposed to break into small irregular masses. a specimen furnished, upon analysis, . per cent. of pure copper. on the western side of keweena point, the same ore appears under different circumstances, being disseminated through the body of the trap-rock, in grains varying in size from a pin's head to a pea. although many of these grains are wholly copper black, they are occasionally only depositions of the mineral upon specks of carnelian, chalcedony, or agate, or are more frequently composed, in part, of what is apparently an imperfect steatite. the ore is so connected with, and so much resembles in color the rock, of which it may be said to be a constituent part, that they might easily, during a hasty examination, be confounded. a random specimen of the rock furnished, upon analysis, . per cent. of pure copper. the rock continues combined with that mineral for nearly the space of three miles. extremely thin veins of copper black were observed to traverse this same rock; and in enlargements of these were discovered several masses of amorphous native copper. the latter mineral appeared in two forms--the one consisting of compact and malleable masses, varying from four to ten ounces each; and the other, of specks and fasciculi of pure copper, binding together confused masses of copper green, and partially disintegrated trap-rock; the latter was of several pounds' weight. each variety was closely embraced by the rock, although the action of the water upon the rock had occasionally exposed to view points of the metal. in addition to the accompanying copper green, which was in a disintegrated state, small specks of the oxide of copper were associated in most of the native specimens. circumstances would not permit an examination of any portion of the trap formation, except that bordering directly upon the lake. but facts would lead us to infer that that formation extends from one side of keweena point to the other, and that a range of thickly wooded hills, which traverses the point, is based upon, if not formed of that rock. an indian information, which, particularly upon such a subject, must be adopted with caution, would sanction the opinion that the prominent constituents are the same wherever the rock is observed. after having duly considered the facts which are presented, i would not hesitate to offer, as an opinion, that the trap-rock formation was the original source of the masses of copper which have been observed in the country bordering on lake superior; and that, at the present day, examinations for the ores of copper could not be made in that country with hopes of success, except in the trap-rock itself; which rock is not certainly known to exist upon any place upon lake superior, other than keweena point. if this opinion be a correct one, the cause of, failure of the mining company in this region is rendered plain. having considered each insulated mass of pure metal as a true indication of the existence of a bed in the vicinity, operations were directed to wrong points; when, having failed to realize their anticipations, the project was abandoned without further actual investigation. we would be induced to infer that no attempts were made to learn the original source of the metal which was discovered, and thus, while the attention was drawn to insulated masses, the ores, ordinary in appearance, but more important _in sitû_, were neglected; and perhaps, from the close analogy in appearance to the rock with which they were associated, no distinction was observed. what quantity of ore the trap-rock of keweena point may be capable of producing, can only be determined by minute and laborious examination. the indications which were presented by a hasty investigation are here embodied, and with deference submitted to your consideration. i have the honor to be, sir, your obedient, servant, douglass houghton. hon. lewis cass, _secretary of war_. . _remarks on the occurrence of native silver and ores of silver in the stratification of the basins of lakes huron and superior._ by henry r. schoolcraft. traces of this metal which have been found in the drift and boulder stratum of both lakes huron and superior, indicate the existence of the metal in place. during my residence at st. mary's, two specimens of its occurrence were brought to my notice. the first of these consisted of points of native silver in a moderately large mass of native copper, found in , near the entrance of the _nama_ or sturgeon river into keweena lake, of the large peninsula of that name, in lake superior. like the majority of such masses of the region, it had no adhering portion of rock or vein stone, from which a judgment might be formed of its original position. i had, the prior year, set up my mineralogical cabinet in my office, and stated to the indians, who roved over large tracts, my solicitude to collect specimens of the mineral productions of the country of every description, and, indeed, of its zoology, always acknowledging their comity, in bringing me specimens in any department of natural history, by some small present; and i found this to be a means of extending my inquiries. subsequently, i received a boulder specimen from the shores of lake huron, containing veins of native silver. part of the metal had been detached. i submitted these specimens to the lyceum of natural history at new york, in . the following remarks are taken from their annals. _mineralogical and chemical characters._--by examining this mineral, it will be perceived to possess the color, lustre, malleability, and other obvious characters of native silver. it is so soft as to be easily cut by the knife; and in a state of purity which permits it to spread under the hammer. these characters serve to distinguish it from antimonial silver, which is not _malleable_; from native antimony which tarnishes on exposure, &c. the metal occurs in thin, massive veins in the rock. these veins sometimes intersect, but never cross each other. it is also disseminated in small particles through the stone, or spread in flattened masses over its surface. some of these masses were detached by the discoverer, but have been preserved, and are presented to the lyceum with the more solid and undisturbed portions. by submitting a small portion of the metal to the action of nitric acid, i obtained an imperfect solution. on repeating the experiment, and adding a little sulphuric acid, the action was more brisk, and a clear and apparently perfect solution effected. by standing, however, a pulpy, white precipitate appeared at the bottom of the glass. this was collected and submitted to the action of the blowpipe, on a basis of charcoal. the result gave a number of minute, metallic globules, possessing greater lustre, malleability, and ductility, than the original mass. i repeated the latter experiment, adding to the nitro-sulphuric solution muriate of soda. a more perfect precipitation of the white powder was effected; but the results with the blowpipe remained the same. _geognostic position._--it is a rolled mass. an opinion of the specific character of the rock may be dubious, from the smallness of the specimen. it appears to have been detached from a stratum of gneiss, and is essentially composed of quartz. the blackish color of some parts of this latter mineral would, at first glance, lead us to attribute this color to the presence of hornblende; but, on closer examination, it will be perceived to be owing to a dark-colored steatite, which, in certain parts of the rock, is well developed, soft, and easily cut. a little calcspar is intermingled with the steatite. _locality._--i am indebted to the politeness of lieut. lewis s. johnston, of the british indian department, at malden (u. c.), for the opportunity of adding this specimen to the mineralogical cabinet of the lyceum. this gentleman, as he informed me, obtained it from an indian, who picked it up on the southeastern shores of lake huron, near point aux barques, in michigan territory. that part of lake huron was cursorily examined by me, in the year , in the course of the expedition conducted by gov. cass, through the upper lakes, &c. i consider it remarkable, even in a region abounding in rolled rocks, for the great number and variety of granite, gneiss, hornblende, and trap boulders, scattered along the shores of the lake. the water here is generally shallow and dangerous to approach in vessels; these boulder stones sometimes extending and presenting themselves above water for a mile or more from land. but we could not satisfy ourselves by an examination necessarily partial, that either of the primitive species mentioned, existed there in any other condition than as rolled masses, or displacements of rock strata, contiguous, perhaps, but not observed. dr. bigsby has informed me, that he observed the gneiss _in sitû_, on the northwestern shores of this lake. the nearest rock in place, and that which in fact constitutes the abraded and caverned promontory of point aux barques, is gray sandstone. the occurrence of this metal in the copper-bearing and other metalliferous rocks of this region, may be confidently affirmed.[ ] [ ] at the date of this publication, it is known that this metal occurs, both as a constituent of the mass copper in lake superior, and is also developed in veins in the stratification. . _a general summary of the localities of minerals observed in the northwest in and ._ by henry r. schoolcraft. class i. _bodies not metallic, containing an acid._ . calcareous spar. keweena point, lake superior. imbedded in small globular masses, in the trap-rock; also forming veins in the same formation. some of the masses break into rhombic forms, and possess a certain but not perfect degree of transparency; others are opaque, or discolored by the green carbonate of copper. also in the trap-rock between fond du lac and old grand portage, lake superior, in perfect, transparent rhombs, exhibiting the property of double refraction. also, at the lead mines, in iowa county, in the marly clay formation, often exhibiting imperfect prisms, variously truncated. . calcareous tufa. mouth of the river brulé, of lake superior. in small, friable, broken masses, in the diluvial soil. also, in the gorge below the falls of st. anthony. in detached, vesicular masses, amidst debris. . compact carbonate of lime. in the calcareous cliffs of horizontal formation, commencing at the falls of st. anthony. carboniferous. . septaria. in the reddish clay soil, between montreal river and lapointe, lake superior. . gypsum. in the sandstone rock at the point of grand sable west, lake superior. in orbicular masses, firmly imbedded. not abundant. granular, also imperfectly foliated. . carbonate of magnesia. serpentine rock, at presque isle, lake superior. compact. . hydrate of magnesia? with the preceding. class ii. _earthy compounds, amorphous or crystalline._ . common quartz. huron islands, lake superior; also the adjoining coast. in very large veins or beds. white, opaque. . granular quartz. falls of peckagama, upper mississippi. _in sitû._ . smoky quartz. in the trap-rock, keweena point, lake superior, crystallized. in connection with amethystine quartz. . amethyst. with the preceding. also, at the pic bay, and at gargontwa, north shore of lake superior, in the trap-rock, in perfect crystals, of various intensity of color. . chalcedony. keweena point, lake superior. in globular or orbicular masses, in amygdaloid rock. often, in detached masses along the shores. . carnelian. with the preceding. . hornstone. in detached masses, very hard, on the shores of lake superior. also, at dodgeville, iowa county, mich. ter., in fragments or nodular masses in the clay soil. . jasper. in the preceding locality. common and striped, exceedingly difficult of being acted on by the wheel. not observed _in sitû_. . agate. imbedded in the trap-rocks of lake superior, and also detached, forming a constituent of its detritus. variously colored. often made up of alternate layers of chalcedony, carnelian, and cacholong. sometimes zoned, or in fortification points. specimens not taken from the rock are not capable of being scratched by quartz or flint, and are incapable of being acted on by the file; consequently, _harder_ than any of the described species. . cyanite. specimens of this mineral, in flat, six-sided prisms, imbedded in a dark primitive rock, were brought out from lac du flambeau outlet, where the rock is described as existing _in sitû_. the locality has not been visited, but there are facts brought to light, within the last two or three years, to justify the extension of the primitive to that section of country. . pitchstone. a detached mass of this mineral, very black and lava-like, was picked up in the region of lake superior, where the volcanic mineral, trachyte, is common among the rolled masses. neither of these substances have been observed _in sitû_. . mica. huron islands, lake superior. in granite. . schorl. common. outlet of lac du flambeau. also, in a detached mass of primitive rock at green bay. . feldspar. porcupine mountains, lake superior. . basalt. amorphous. granite point, lake superior. . stilbite. amygdaloid rock, keweena point, lake superior. . zeolite. mealy. with the preceding. . zeolite. radiated. lake superior. this mineral consists of fibres, so delicate and firmly united as to appear almost compact, radiating from a centre. some of the masses produced by this radiation measure . inches in diameter. they are of a uniform, pale, yellowish red. this mineral has not been traced _in sitû_, being found in detached masses of rock, and sometimes as water-worn portions of radii. its true position would seem to be the trap-rock. . asbestus. presque isle, lake superior. in the serpentine formation. . hornblende. very abundant as a constituent of the primitive rocks on the upper mississippi, and in the basin of lake superior. often in distinct crystals. . diallage, green. lake superior. in detached masses, connected with primitive boulders. _harder_ than the species. . serpentine, common. presque isle, lake superior. . serpentine, precious. with the preceding. color, a light pistachio green, and takes a fine polish. exists in veins in the common variety. . pseudomorphous serpentine. with the preceding. this beautiful green mineral constitutes a portion of the veins of the precious serpentine. its crystalline impressions are very distinct. . argillite. river st. louis, northwest of lake superior. nearly vertical in its position. class iii. _combustibles._ . peat. marine sand formation composing the shore of lake superior, between white-fish point and grand marais. also, on the island of michilimackinac. class iv. _ores and metals._ . native copper. west side of keweena point, lake superior. imbedded in a vein with carbonate of copper, and copper black, in the trap-rock. . copper black. with the preceding. . carbonate of copper, green. with the preceding. these two minerals ( and ) characterize the trap-rock of the peninsula of keweena, lake superior, from montreal bay, extending to and around its extremity, west, to sand-hill bay. the entire area may be estimated to comprise a rocky, serrated coast of about seventy-five miles in length, and not to exceed seven or eight miles in width. the principal veins are at a point called roche verd, and along the coast which we refer to as the black rocks. at the latter, native copper is one of the constituents of the vein. green and blue carbonate of copper was also observed in limited quantity, in small rounded masses, at one of the lead diggings near mineral point, iowa county. . chromate of iron. presque isle, lake superior. . sulphuret of lead. lead mines of iowa county, michigan territory. . earthy carbonate of lead. brigham's mine, iowa county, mich. ter. also, in small masses, of a yellowish white, dirty color, and great comparative weight, at several of the lead mines (diggings) in the more westerly and southern parts of the county. . _geological outline of the taquimenon valley of lake superior._ by henry r. schoolcraft. the river takquimenon originates on a plateau between the northern shores of lake michigan and the southeastern coast of lake superior. at a central point on this plateau, there lies a lake of moderate size, which, in the translated indian phrase, is called heartsblood lake. a little to the west of this lake, and, perhaps, connected with it, originates the head stream of the north manistic river of lake michigan, running southwest. towards the northeast the takwymenon takes its way, winding through level grassy plains, till it reaches the rim of the geological basin that circumscribes lake superior. the height of this point is conjectural. it is probably one hundred and fifty feet above the level of the lake. to comprehend the geography of the region, it is necessary to advert to the fact that the sandstone formation, which appears in the picturesque form of the pictured rocks, is last seen in its range eastward at la pointe des grande sable, where its surface is of a compact structure and dull red color. between this locality and the bold cape of point iroquois, at the head of st. mary's river, there intervenes an extensive formation of gravel, boulders, and sand. the length of this line of coast is about ninety miles, its breadth to the basinic rim, perhaps thirty. it is covered with small pines, spruce, birch, and poplar, with frequent sphagnous tracts and ponds; the lake shore, where the sands are continually accumulated, being higher than the interior portions. it has, from early days, been a favorite resort for beaver, from which it is called by the natives, namikong, meaning, excellent place of beavers. this tract of the namikong is primarily due to diluvial formations, with a comparatively recent hem of lake action, consisting of sands and pebbles pushed up by the waves of lake superior. through this tract, from the plateaux, four small rivers make their way to the lake. they are, in their order, from west to east, the river of grand mauvais, the twin river, the shelldrake, and the tacquimenon, which enters the lake fifteen miles from point iroquois. of these streams, the tacquimenon carries the largest body of water into the lake. it is already a stream of seventy feet wide, and three feet deep, when it reaches the rim of sandstone rocks referred to. over these, it is plunged, at a single perpendicular leap, forty feet, falling like a curtain. it drops into a vast concavity in the sand rock, where the water is of unfathomable depth, black and still. i had reached this point in a canoe manned by indians. they had urged their way up a very rapid brawling bed for six miles above the lower falls, and when we reached this still, deep, and dark basin, they said that care was required to keep from under the suction of the falling sheet. the lower falls of the stream are probably twelve or fourteen feet. they are broken into several fan-shaped cascades, and present a picturesque appearance--an idea which has also impressed the chippewas, for they refer to it as a favorite locality of fairies. hence their name for it. immediately below these falls the river winds about, making a peninsula, which is covered with deciduous trees and a fertile soil. the amount of water power at this point is such as must command attention whenever the country justifies settlement. . _suggestions respecting the geological epoch of the deposit of sandstone rock at st. mary's falls._ by henry r. schoolcraft. lake superior presents to the eye the singular spectacle of a body of pure translucent water, five hundred miles in length from east to west, and one hundred and eighty or two hundred miles wide. this vast mass of water is thought to have an extreme depth--i know not on what principles--of nine hundred feet deep. it lies at an elevation of six hundred feet above the atlantic ocean, at high water. from this depth there has been protruded from its bottom two species of formations, which were thus elevated by volcanic forces, namely, the trap and the granitical series. cones and high mural cliffs, with large rents, make this basis one of great inequalities. to fill up these, the sedimentary rocks, by a natural law of gravitation, let fall the dissolved and suspended matter which constitutes the horizontal strata, such as the neutral and deep-colored sandstones. this process also gives origin to grauwackes and the grauwacke slates and the argillites. but these horizontal deposits do not all retain their horizontality. they were tilted up by other volcanic forces, after the deposition and hardening of the sandstones, as we see them at the north foot of the porcupine mountains and along the rugged valley of the st. louis river. this secondary upheaval or series of upheavals, is conceived to furnish proof of epochs. strata of the same mineral constitution and system of formation which are upheaved, are clearly of posterior age to the horizontal. some of these strata of the secondary, epoch have only had their horizontality disturbed, while others are quite vertical. yet, the disturbances of an epoch are only relative, and it remains true that any disturbance, however slight, in the fundamental series, throws the epoch beyond the newer fletz and tertiary formations. some theory of this kind is necessary in scrutinizing the position of the st. mary's sandstone, which is manifestly of the palaozoic era. it has felt the impulse of disturbance, although it appears to be little. evidences of this are most perceptible in the british channel, on the north side of the island of st. joseph. this channel, and, indeed, the entire course of the river up to lake superior, is the line of juxtaposition between the rocks of elder and the secondary epoch. at the extreme foot of sugar island occurs the remains of a stratum of the sandstone era, consisting of white quartz filled with coarse red jasper pebbles. i observed remains of this stratum of remarkable rock, which have been broken off and swept away in the basin of lake huron, deposited in boulder masses on its southern shores. the sandstone of st. mary's is, structurally, brittle, fissile, and worthless, as a building material. its substructure is complicated and made up of thin layers exactly deposited, as if from watery suspension, but deposited without disturbance. these sub-layers of construction, are sometimes cut off by parallel lines at right angles, or by new series of layers diagonally formed, or in echelon. . indian tribes. viii. condition and disposition. . _official report of an expedition through upper michigan and northern wisconsin in ._ sault ste. marie, sept. , . sir: in compliance with instructions to endeavor to terminate the hostilities between the chippewas and sioux, i proceeded into the chippewa country with thirteen men in two canoes, having the necessary provisions and presents for the indians, an interpreter, a physician to attend the sick, and a person in charge of the provisions and other public property. the commanding officer of fort brady furnished me with an escort of ten soldiers, under the command of a lieutenant; and i took with me a few chippewas, in a canoe provided with oars, to convey a part of the provisions. a flag was procured for each canoe. i joined the expedition at the head of the portage, at this place, on the th of june; and, after visiting the chippewa villages in the belt of country between lake superior and the mississippi, in latitudes ° to °, returned on the th of september, having been absent seventy-two days, and travelled a line of country estimated to be two thousand three hundred and eight miles. i have now the honor to report to you the route pursued, the means employed to accomplish the object, and such further measures as appear to me to be necessary to give effect to what has been done, and to insure a lasting peace between the two tribes. reasons existed for not extending the visit to the chippewa bands on the extreme upper mississippi, on red lake, and red river, and the river de corbeau. after entering lake superior, and traversing its southern shores to point chegoimegon, and the adjacent cluster of islands, i ascended the mauvaise river to a portage of -¾ miles into the kaginogumac, or long water lake. this lake is about eight miles long, and of very irregular width. thence, by a portage of yards, into turtle lake; thence, by a portage of , yards, into clary's lake, so called; thence, by a portage of yards, into lake polyganum; and thence, by a portage of , yards, into the namakagon river, a branch of the river st. croix of the upper mississippi. the distance from lake superior to this spot is, by estimation, miles. we descended the namakagon to the pukwaewa, a rice lake, and a chippewa village of eight permanent lodges, containing a population of persons, under a local chief called odabossa. we found here gardens of corn, potatoes, and pumpkins, in a very neat state of cultivation. the low state of the water, and the consequent difficulty of the navigation, induced me to leave the provisions and stores at this place, in charge of mr. woolsey, with directions to proceed (with part of the men, and the aid of the indians) to _lac courtorielle_, or ottowa lake, and there await my arrival. i then descended the namakagon in a light canoe, to its discharge into the st. croix, and down the latter to yellow river, the site of a trading-post and an indian village, where i had, by runners, appointed a council. in this trip i was accompanied by mr. johnson, sub-agent, acting as interpreter, and by dr. houghton, adjunct professor of the rensselaer school. we reached yellow river on the st of august, and found the indians assembled. after terminating the business of the council (of which i shall presently mention the results), i reascended the st. croix and the namakagon, to the portage which intervenes between the latter and lac courtorielle. the first of the series of carrying-places is about three miles in length, and terminates at the lake of the isles (_lac des isles_); after crossing which, a portage of yards leads to _lac du gres_. this lake has a navigable outlet into ottowa lake, where i rejoined the advanced party (including lieutenant clary's detachment) on the th of august. ottowa lake is a considerable expanse of water, being about twelve miles long, with irregular but elevated shores. a populous chippewa village and a trading-post are located at its outlet, and a numerous indian population subsists in the vicinity. it is situated in a district of country which abounds in rice lakes, has a proportion of prairie or burnt land, caused by the ravages of fire, and, in addition to the small fur-bearing animals, has several of the deer species. it occupies, geographically, a central situation, being intermediate, and commanding the communications between the st. croix and chippewa rivers, and between lake superior and the upper mississippi. it is on the great slope of land descending towards the latter, enjoys a climate of comparative mildness, and yields, with few and short intervals of extreme want, the means of subsistence to a population which is still essentially erratic. these remarks apply, with some modifications, to the entire range of country (within the latitudes mentioned) situated west and south of the high lands circumscribing the waters of lake superior. the outlet of this lake (ottowa) is a fork of chippewa river, called ottowa river. i had intended to proceed from this lake, either by following down the ottowa branch to its junction with the main chippewa, and then ascending the latter into lac du flambeau, or by descending the ottowa branch only to its junction with the northwest fork, called the ochasowa river; and, ascending the latter to a portage of sixty _pauses_, into the chippewa river. by the latter route time and distance would have been saved, and i should, in either way, have been enabled to proceed from lac du flambeau to green bay by an easy communication into the upper ouisconsin, and from the latter into the menomonie river, or by plover portage into wolf river. this was the route i had designed to go on quitting lake superior; but, on consulting my indian maps, and obtaining at ottowa lake the best and most recent information of the distance and the actual state of the water, i found neither of the foregoing routes practicable, without extending my time so far as to exhaust my supplies. i was finally determined to relinquish the lac du flambeau route, by learning that the indians of that place had dispersed, and by knowing that a considerable delay would be caused by reassembling them. the homeward route by the mississippi was now the most eligible, particularly as it would carry me through a portion of country occupied by the chippewas, in a state of hostility with the sioux, and across the disputed line at the mill. two routes, to arrive at the mississippi, were before me--either to follow down the outlet of ottowa lake to its junction with the chippewa, and descend the latter to its mouth, or to quit the ottowa lake branch at an intermediate point, and, after ascending a small and very serpentine tributary, to cross a portage of , yards into lake chetac. i pursued the latter route. lake chetac is a sheet of water about six miles in length, and it has several islands, on one of which is a small chippewa village and a trading-post. this lake is the main source of red cedar river (called sometimes the _folle avoine_), a branch of the chippewa river. it receives a brook at its head from the direction of the portage, which admits empty canoes to be conveyed down it two _pauses_, but is then obstructed with logs. it is connected by a shallow outlet with weegwos lake, a small expanse which we crossed with paddles in twenty-five minutes. the passage from the latter is so shallow that a portage of , yards is made into balsam of fir or _sapin_ lake. the baggage is carried this distance, but the canoes are brought through the stream. sapin lake is also small; we were thirty minutes in crossing it. below this point, the river again expands into a beautiful sheet of water, called red cedar lake, which we were an hour in passing; and afterward into _bois françois_, or rice lake. at the latter place, at the distance of perhaps sixty miles from its head, i found the last fixed village of chippewas on this stream, although the hunting camps, and other signs of temporary occupation, were more numerous below than on any other part of the stream. this may be attributed to the abundance of the virginia deer in that vicinity, many of which we saw, and of the elk and moose, whose tracks were fresh and numerous in the sands of the shore. wild rice is found in all the lakes. game, of every species common to the latitude, is plentiful. the prairie country extends itself into the vicinity of rice lake; and for more than a day's march before reaching the mouth of the river, the whole face of the country puts on a sylvan character, as beautiful to the eye as it is fertile in soil, and spontaneously productive of the means of subsistence. a country more valuable to a population having the habits of our northwestern indians could hardly be conceived of; and it is therefore cause of less surprise that its possession should have been so long an object of contention between the chippewas and sioux. about sixty miles below rice lake commences a series of rapids, which extend, with short intervals, miles. the remainder of the distance, to the junction of this stream with the chippewa, consists of deep and strong water. the junction itself is characterized by commanding and elevated grounds, and a noble expanse of waters. and the chippewa river, from this spot to its entrance into the mississippi, has a depth and volume, and a prominence of scenery, which mark it to be inferior to none, and superior to most of the larger tributaries of the upper mississippi. before its junction, it is separated into several mouths, from the principal of which the observer can look into lake pepin. steamboats could probably ascend to the falls. the whole distance travelled, from the shores of lake superior to the mouth of the chippewa, is, by estimation, miles, of which should be deducted for the trip to yellow river leaving the direct practicable route miles. the length of the mauvaise to the portage is ; of the namakagon, from the portage, ; of the red cedar, ; of the chippewa, from the entrance of the latter, . our means of estimating distances was by time, corrected by reference to the rapidity of water and strength of wind, compared with our known velocity of travelling in calm weather on the lakes. these estimates were made and put down every evening, and considerable confidence is felt in them. the courses were accurately kept by a canoe compass. i illustrate my report of this part of the route by a map protracted by dr. houghton. on this map, our places of encampment, the sites and population of the principal indian villages, the trading-posts, and the boundary lines between the sioux and chippewa, are indicated. and i refer you to it for several details which are omitted in this report. the present state of the controversy between the sioux and the chippewas will be best inferred from the facts that follow. in stating them, i have deemed it essential to preserve the order of my conferences with the indians, and to confine myself, almost wholly, to results. along the borders of lake superior, comparatively little alarm was felt from the hostile relation with the sioux. but i found them well informed of the state of the difficulties, and the result of the several war-parties that had been sent out the last year. a system of information and advice is constantly kept up by runners; and there is no movement meditated on the sioux borders, which is not known and canvassed by the lake bands. they sent warriors to the scene of conflict last year, in consequence of the murder committed by the sioux on the st. croix. their sufferings from hunger during the winter, and the existence of disease at torch lake (_lac du flambeau_), and some other places, together with the entire failure of the rice crop, had produced effects, which were depicted by them and by the traders in striking colors. they made these sufferings the basis of frequent and urgent requests for provisions. this theme was strenuously dwelt upon. whatever other gifts they asked for, they never omitted the gift of food. they made it their first, their second, and their third request. at chegoimegon, on lake superior (or _la pointe_, emphatically so called), i held my first and stated council with the indians. this is the ancient seat of the chippewa power in this quarter. it is a central and commanding point, with respect to the country lying north, and west, and south of it. it appears to be the focus from which, as radii from a centre, the ancient population emigrated; and the interior bands consequently look back to it with something of the feelings of parental relation. news from the frontiers flies back to it with a celerity which is peculiar to the indian mode of express. i found here, as i had expected, the fullest and most recent information from the lines. mozojeed, the principal man at ottowa lake, had recently visited them for the purpose of consultation; but returned on the alarm of an attack upon his village. the indians listened with attention to the message transmitted to them from the president, and to the statements with which it was enforced. pezhickee, the venerable and respected chief of the place, was their speaker in reply. he lamented the war, and admitted the folly of keeping it up; but it was carried on by the chippewas in self-defence, and by volunteer parties of young men, acting without the sanction of the old chiefs. he thought the same remark due to the elder sioux chiefs, who probably did not sanction the crossing of the lines, but could not restrain their young men. he lived, he said, in an isolated situation, did not mingle in the interior broils, and did not deem himself responsible for acts done out of his own village, and certainly not for the acts of the villages of torch lake, ottowa lake, and the st. croix. he had uniformly advised his people to sit still and remain at peace, and he believed that none of his young men had joined the war-parties of last year. the government, he said, should have his hearty co-operation in restoring peace. he referred to the sub-agency established here in , spoke of its benefits, and wished to know why the agent had been withdrawn, and whether he would be instructed to return? in the course of his reply, he said that formerly, when the indians lived under the british government, they were usually told what to do, and in very distinct terms; but they were now at a loss. from what had been said and done at the treaty of fond du lac, he expected the care and protection of the american government, and that they would advance towards, instead of (as in the case of the sub-agency) withdrawing from them. he was rather at a loss for our views respecting the chippewas, and he wished much for my advice in their affairs. i thought it requisite to make a distinct reply to this point. i told him that when they lived under the british government, they were justified in shaping their course according to the advice they received; but that, on the transfer of the country, their allegiance was transferred with it. and when our government hoisted its flag at mackinac ( ), it expected from the indians living within our boundaries the respect due to it; and it acknowledged, at the same time, the reciprocal obligations of care and protection. that it always aimed to fulfil these obligations, of which facts within his own knowledge and memory would afford ample proofs. i referred him to the several efforts the government had made to establish a lasting peace between the chippewas and sioux; for which purpose the president had sent one of his principal men (alluding to gov. cass), in , who had visited their most extreme northwestern villages, and induced themselves and the sioux to smoke the pipe of peace together at st. peter's. in accordance with these views, and acting on the information then acquired, the president had established an agency for their tribe at sault ste. marie, in . that, in , he had assembled at prairie du chien all the tribes who were at variance on the upper mississippi, and persuaded them to make peace, and, as one of the best means of insuring its permanency, had fixed the boundaries of their lands. seeing that the chippewas and sioux still continued an harassing and useless contest, he had sent me to remind them of this peace and these boundaries, which, i added, you, perikee, yourself agreed to, and signed, in my presence. i come to bring you back to the terms of this treaty. are not these proofs of his care and attention? are not these clear indications of his, views respecting the chippewas? the chief was evidently affected by this recital. the truth appeared to strike him forcibly; and he said, in a short reply, that he was now _advised_; that he would hereafter feel himself to be advised, &c. he made some remarks on the establishment of a mission school, &c., which, being irrelevant, are omitted. he presented a pipe, with an ornamented stem, as a token of his friendship, and his desire of peace. i requested him to furnish messengers to take belts of wampum and tobacco, with three separate messages, viz: to yellow river, to ottowa lake, and to lac du flambeau, or torch lake; and also, as the water was low, to aid me in the ascent of the mauvaise river, and to supply guides for each of the military canoes, as the soldiers would here leave their barge, and were unacquainted with the difficulties of the ascent. he accordingly sent his oldest son (che-che-gwy-ung) and another person, with the messages, by a direct trail, leading into the st. croix country. he also furnished several young chippewas to aid us on the mauvaise, and to carry baggage on the long portage into the first intermediate lake west of that stream. after the distribution of presents, i left chegoimegon on the th of july. the first party of indians met at the namakagon, belonging to a chippewa village called pukwaewa; having, as its geographical centre and trading-post, ottowa lake. as i had directed part of the expedition to precede me there, during my journey to yellow river, i requested these indians to meet me at ottowa lake, and assist in conveying the stores and provisions to that place--a service which they cheerfully performed. on ascending the lower part of the namakagon, i learned that my messenger from lake superior had passed, and, on reaching yellow river, i found the indians assembled and waiting. they were encamped on an elevated ridge, called pekogunagun, or the hip bone, and fired a salute from its summit. several of the neighboring indians came in after my arrival. others, with their chiefs, were hourly expected. i did not deem it necessary for all to come in, but proceeded to lay before them the objects of my visit, and to solicit their co-operation in an attempt to make a permanent peace with the sioux, whose borders we then were near. kabamappa, the principal chief, not being a speaker, responded to my statements and recommendations through another person (sha-ne-wa-gwun-ai-be). he said that the sioux were of bad faith; that they never refused to smoke the pipe of peace with them, and they never failed to violate the promise of peace thus solemnly made. he referred to an attack they made last year on a band of chippewas and half-breeds, and the murder of four persons. perpetual vigilance was required to meet these inroads. yet he could assert, fearlessly, that no chippewa war-party from the st. croix had crossed the sioux line for years; that the murder he had mentioned was committed within the chippewa lines; and although it was said, at the treaty of prairie du chien, that the first aggressor of territorial rights should be punished, neither punishment was inflicted by the government, nor had any atonement or apology thus far been made for this act by the sioux. he said his influence had been exerted in favor of peace; that he had uniformly advised both chiefs and warriors to this effect; and he stood ready now to do whatever it was reasonable he should do on the subject. i told him it was not a question of recrimination that was before us. it was not even necessary to go into the inquiry of who had spilt the first blood since the treaty of prairie du chien. the treaty had been violated. the lines had been crossed. murders had been committed by the chippewas and by the sioux. these murders had reached the ears of the president, and he was resolved to put a stop to them. i did not doubt but that the advice of the old chiefs, on each side, had been pacific. i did not doubt but that his course had been _particularly_ so. but rash young men, of each party, had raised the war-club; and when they could not go openly, they went secretly. a stop must be put to this course, and it was necessary the first movement should be made _somewhere_. it was proper it should be made here, and be made at this time. nothing could be lost by it; much might be gained; and if a negotiation was opened with the sioux chiefs while i remained, i would second it by sending an explanatory message to the chiefs and to their agent. i recommended that kabamappa and shakoba, the war-chief of snake river, should send jointly wampum and tobacco to the petite corbeau and to wabisha, the leading sioux chiefs on the mississippi, inviting them to renew the league of friendship, and protesting their own sincerity in the offer. i concluded by presenting him with a flag, tobacco, wampum, and ribbons, to be used in the negotiation. after a consultation, he said he would not only send the messages, but, as he now had the protection of a flag, he would himself go with the chief shakoba to the petite corbeau's village. i accompanied these renewed offers of peace with explanatory messages, in my own name, to petite corbeau and to wabisha, and a letter to mr. taliaferro, the indian agent at st. peter's, informing him of these steps, and soliciting his co-operation. a copy of this letter is hereunto annexed. i closed the council by the distribution of presents; after which the indians called my attention to the conduct of their trader, &c. information was given me immediately after my arrival at yellow river, that neenaba, a popular war-leader from the red cedar fork of chippewa river, had very recently danced the war-dance with thirty men at rice lake of yellow river, and that his object was to enlist the young men of that place in a war-party against the sioux. i also learned that my message for ottowa lake had been promptly transmitted through neenaba, whom i was now anxious to see. i lost not an hour in reascending the st. croix and the namakagon. i purchased two additional canoes of the indians, and distributed my men in them, to lighten the draught of water, and facilitate the ascent; and, by pushing early and late, we reached ottowa lake on the fifth day in the morning. neenaba had, however, delivered his message, and departed. i was received in a very friendly and welcome manner, by mozojeed, of the band of ottowa lake; wabezhais, of the red devil's band of the south pukwaewa; and odabossa, of the upper namakagon. after passing the usual formalities, i prepared to meet them in council the same day, and communicate to them the objects of my mission. in the course of the conference at this place, i obtained the particulars of a dispute which had arisen between the chippewas of this quarter, which now added to their alarm, as they feared the latter would act in coincidence with their ancient enemies, the sioux. the reports of this disturbance had reached me at the sault, and they continued, with some variations, until my arrival here. the following are the material facts in relation to this new cause of disquietude: in the summer of , okunzhewug, an old woman, the wife of kishkemun, the principal chief of torch lake, a man superannuated and blind, attended the treaty of butte des morts, bearing her husband's medal. she was treated with the respect due to the character she represented, and ample presents were directed to be given to her; among other things, a handsome hat. the latter article had been requested of her by a young menomonie, and refused. it is thought a general feeling of jealousy was excited by her good reception. a number of the menomonies went on her return route as far as the clover portage, where she was last seen. having never returned to her village, the chippewas attributed her death to the menomonies. her husband died soon after; but she had numerous and influential relatives to avenge her real or supposed murder. this is the account delivered by the chippewas, and it is corroborated by reports from the traders of that section of the country. her singular disappearance and secret death at the clover portage, is undisputed; and whether caused or not by any agency of the menomonies, the belief of such agency, and that of the most direct kind, is fixed in the minds of the chippewas, and has furnished the basis of their subsequent acts in relation to the menomonie hunting-parties who have visited the lower part of chippewa river. two women belonging to one of these parties were killed by a chippewa war-party traversing that part of the country the ensuing year. the act was disclaimed by them as not being intentional, and it was declared they supposed the women to be sioux. on a close inquiry, however, i found the persons who committed this act were relatives of okunzewug, which renders it probable that the murder was intentionally perpetrated. this act further widened the breach between the two hitherto fraternal tribes; and the chippewas of this quarter began to regard the menomonie hunting-parties, who entered the mouth of the chippewa river, as intruders on their lands. among a people whose means of verbal information is speedy, and whose natural sense of right and wrong is acute, the more than usual friendship and apparent alliance which have taken place between the menomonies and sioux, in the contest between the sacs and foxes, and the murder by them jointly of the fox chief white skin and his companions at a smoking council, in , have operated to increase the feeling of distrust; so much so, that it was openly reported at chegoimegon, at yellow river, and ottowa lake, that the menomonies had formed a league with the sioux against the chippewas also, and they were fearful of an attack from them. a circumstance that had given point to this fear, and made it a subject of absorbing interest, when i arrived at ottowa lake, was the recent murder of a menomonie chief by a chippewa of that quarter, and the demand of satisfaction which had been made (it was sometimes said) by the indian agent at prairie du chien, and sometimes by the commanding officer, with a threat to march troops into the country. this demand, i afterward learned from the indians at rice lake, and from a conversation with general street, the agent at prairie du chien, had not been made, either by himself or by the commanding officer; and the report had probably arisen from a conversation held by a subaltern officer in command of a wood or timber-party near the mouth of the chippewa river, with some chippewas who were casually met. its effects, however, were to alarm them, and to lead them to desire a reconciliation with the menomonies. i requested them to lose no time in sending tobacco to the menomonies, and adjusting this difference. mozojeed observed that the murder of the menomonie had been committed by a person _non compos_, and he deplored the folly of it, and disclaimed all agency in it for himself and his band. the murderer, i believe, belonged to his band; he desired a reconciliation. he also said the measures adopted at yellow river, to bring about a firm peace with the sioux, had his fullest approbation, and that nothing on his part should be wanting to promote a result in every view so wise and so advantageous to the indians. in this sentiment, wabezhais and odabossa, who made distinct speeches, also concurred. they confirmed their words by pipes, and all the assembly made an audible assent. i invested mozojeed with a flag and a medal, that he might exert the influence he has acquired among the indians beneficially for them and for us, and that his hands might thus be officially strengthened to accomplish the work of pacification. i then distributed presents to the chiefs, warriors, women, and children, in the order of their being seated, and immediately embarked, leaving them under a lively and enlivened sense of the good-will and friendship of the american government, on this first official visit to them, and with a sincere disposition, so far as could be judged, to act in obedience to its expressed and known wishes. the indians at torch lake being dispersed, and my message to them not having been delivered, from this uncertainty of their location, i should have found reasons for not proceeding in that direction, independent of the actual and known difficulties of the route at that time. i was still apprehensive that my appearance had not wholly disconcerted the war-party of neenaba, and lost no time in proceeding to his village on the red cedar fork. we found the village at lake chetac, which in was strong, almost totally deserted, and the trading-house burnt. scattering indians were found along the river. the mutual fear of interruption was such that mr. b. cadotte, sen., the trader at ottowa lake, thought it advisable to follow in our train for the purpose of collecting his credits at rice lake. while at breakfast on the banks of sapin lake, a returning war-party entered the opposite side of it; they were evidently surprised, and they stopped. after reconnoitring us, they were encouraged to advance, at first warily, and afterward with confidence. there were eight canoes, with two men in each; each man had a gun, war-club, knife, and ammunition-bag: there was nothing else except the apparatus for managing the canoe. they were all young men, and belonged to the vicinity of ottowa lake. their unexpected appearance at this place gave me the first information that the war-party at neenaba had been broken up. they reported that some of their number had been near the mill, and that they had discovered signs of the sioux being out, in the moose having been driven up, &c. in a short conference, i recited to them the purpose of the council at ottowa lake, and referred them to their chiefs for particulars, enjoining their acquiescence in the proposed measures. i found at rice lake a band of chippewas, most of them young men, having a prompt and martial air, encamped in a very compact form, and prepared at a moment's notice, for action. they saluted our advance with a smartness and precision of firing that would have done honor to drilled troops. neenaba was absent on a hunting-party; but one of the elder men pointed out a suitable place for my encampment, as i intended here to put new bottoms to my bark canoes. he arrived in the evening, and visited my camp with forty-two men. this visit was one of ceremony merely; as it was late, i deferred anything further until the following day. i remained at this place part of the th, the th, and until o'clock on the th of august. and the following facts present the result of several conferences with this distinguished young man, whose influence is entirely of his own creation, and whose endowments, personal and mental, had not been misrepresented by the indians on my route, who uniformly spoke of him in favorable terms. he is located at the most advanced point towards the sioux borders, and, although not in the line of ancient chiefs, upon him rests essentially the conduct of affairs in this quarter. i therefore deemed it important to acquire his confidence and secure his influence, and held frequent conversations with him. his manner was frank and bold, equally free from servility and repulsiveness. i drew his attention to several subjects. i asked him whether the saw-mill on the lower part of the red cedar, was located on chippewa lands? he said, yes. whether it was built with the consent of the chippewas? he said, no; it had been built, as it were, by stealth. i asked him if anything had been subsequently given them in acknowledgment of their right to the soil? he said, no; that the only acknowledgment was their getting tobacco to smoke when they visited the mill; that the sioux claimed it to be on their side of the line, but the chippewas contended that their line ran to a certain bluff and brook below the mill. i asked him to draw a map of the lower part of chippewa river, with all its branches, showing the exact lines as fixed by the treaty at prairie du chien, and as understood by them. i requested him to state the facts respecting the murder of the menomonie, and the causes that led to it; and whether he, or any of his band, received any message from the agent or commanding officer at prairie du chien, demanding the surrender of the murderer? to the latter inquiry he answered promptly, no. he gave in his actual population at ; but it is evident that a very considerable additional population, particularly men, resort there for the purpose of hunting a part of the year. the day after my arrival, i prepared for and summoned the indians to a council, with the usual formalities. i opened it by announcing the objects of my visit. neenaba and his followers listened to the terms of the message, the means i had adopted to enforce it, and, finally, to the request of co-operation on the part of himself and band, with strict attention. he confined his reply to an expression of thanks, allusions to the peculiarity of his situation on an exposed frontier, and general, sentiments of friendship. he appeared to be mentally embarrassed by my request to drop the war-club, on the successful use of which he had relied for his popularity, and whatever of real power he possessed. he often referred to his young men, over whom he claimed no superiority, and who appeared to be ardently attached to him. i urged the principal topic upon his attention, presenting it in several lights. i finally conferred on him, personally, a medal and flag, and directed the presents intended for his band to be laid, in gross, before him. after a pause, neenaba got up, and spoke to the question, connecting it with obvious considerations, of which mutual rights, personal safety, and the obligation to protect the women and children, formed the basis. the latter duty was not a slight one. last year, the sioux had killed a chief on the opposite shore of the lake, and, at the same time, decoyed two children, who were in a canoe, among the rice, and killed and beheaded them. he said, in allusion to the medal and flag, that these marks of honor were not necessary to secure his attention to any requests made by the american government. and after resuming his seat awhile (during which he overheard some remarks not pleasing to him, from an indian on the opposite side of the ring), he finally got up and declined receiving them until they were eventually pressed upon him by the young warriors. everything appeared to proceed with great harmony, and the presents were quickly distributed by one of his men. it was not, however, until the next day, when my canoes were already put in the water, that he came with his entire party, to make his final reply, and to present the peace-pipe. he had thrown the flag over one arm, and held the war-club perpendicularly in the other hand. he said that, although he accepted the one, he did not drop the other; he held fast to both. when he looked at the one, he should revert to the counsels with which it had been given, and he should aim to act upon those counsels; but he also deemed it necessary to hold fast the war-club; it was, however, with a determination to use it in defence, and not in attack. he had reflected upon the advice sent to the chippewas by the president, and particularly that part of it which counselled them to sit still upon their lands; but while they sat still, they also wished to be certain that their enemies would sit still. and the pipe he was now about to offer, he offered with a request that it might be sent to the president, asking him to use his power to prevent the sioux from crossing the lines. the pipe was then lit, handed round, the ashes knocked out, and a formal presentation of it made. this ceremony being ended, i shook hands with them, and immediately embarked. on the second day afterward, i reached the saw-mill, the subject of such frequent allusion, and landed there at o'clock in the morning. i found a mr. wallace in charge, who was employed, with ten men, in building a new dam on a brook of the red cedar, the freshet of last spring having carried away the former one. i inquired of him where the line between the sioux and chippewas crossed. he replied that the line crossed above the mill, he did not precisely know the place; adding, however, in the course of conversation, that he believed the land in this vicinity originally belonged to the chippewas. he said it was seven years since any sioux had visited the mill; and that the latter was owned by persons at prairie du chien. the rapids of the red cedar river extend (according to the estimates contained in my notes) about twenty-four miles. they commence a few miles below the junction of meadow river, and terminate about two miles below the mills. this extension of falling water, referred to in the treaty as a fixed point, has led to the existing uncertainty. the country itself is of a highly valuable character for its soil, its game, its wild rice, and its wood. we found the butternut among those species which are locally included under the name of _bois franc_, by the traders. the land can, hereafter, be easily brought into cultivation, as it is interspersed with prairie; and its fine mill privileges will add to its value. indeed, one mile square is intrinsically worth one hundred miles square of chippewa country, in some other places. the present saw-mills (there are two), are situated miles from the banks of the mississippi. they are owned exclusively by private citizens, and employed for their sole benefit. the boards are formed into rafts; and these rafts are afterward attached together, and floated down the mississippi to st. louis, where they command a good price. the business is understood to be a profitable one. for the privilege, no equivalent has been paid either to the indians or to the united states. the first mill was built several years ago, and before the conclusion of the treaty of prairie du chien, fixing boundaries to the lands. a permit was given for building, either verbal or written, as i have been informed, by a former commanding officer at prairie du chien. i make these statements in reference to a letter i have received from the department since my return, but which is dated june th, containing a complaint of one of the owners of the mill, that the chippewas had threatened to burn it, and requesting me to take the necessary precautionary measures. i heard nothing of such a threat, but believe that the respect which the chippewas have professed, through me, for the american government, and the influence of my visit among them, will prevent a resort to any measures of violence; and that they will wait the peaceable adjustment of the line on the rapids. i will add that, _wherever_ that line may be determined, in a reasonable probability, to fall, the mill itself cannot be supplied with logs for any length of time, if _it is now so supplied_, without cutting them on chippewa lands, and rafting them down the red cedar. many of the logs heretofore sawed at this mill, have been rafted _up stream_, to the mill. and i understood from the person in charge of it, that he was now anxious to ascertain new sites for chopping; that his expectations were directed up the stream, but that his actual knowledge of the country, in that direction, did not embrace a circumference of more than five miles. the line between the chippewa and sioux, as drawn on the ms. map of neenaba, strikes the rapids on red cedar river at a brook and bluff a short distance below the mill. it proceeds thence, across the point of land between that branch of the main chippewa, to an island in the latter; and thence, up stream, to the mouth of clearwater river, as called for by the treaty, and from this point to the bluffs of the mississippi valley (where it corners on winnebago land), on black river, and not to the "_mouth_" of black river, as erroneously inserted in the th article of the treaty; the chippewas never having advanced any claims to the lands at the mouth of black river. this map, being drawn by a chippewa of sense, influence, and respectability, an exact copy of it is herewith forwarded for the use of the department, as embracing the opinions of the chippewas on this point. the lines and geographical marks were drawn on paper by neenaba himself, and the names translated and written down by mr. johnston. it is obvious that the adjustment of this line must precede a permanent peace on this part of the frontiers. the number of chippewas particularly interested in it is, from my notes, , ; to which, may be added for certain bands on lake superior. it embraces villages, and the most influential civil and war chiefs of the region. the population is enterprising and warlike. they have the means of subsistence in _comparative_ abundance. they are increasing in numbers. they command a ready access to the mississippi by water, and a ready return from it by land. habits of association have taught them to look upon this stream as the theatre of war. their young men are carried into it as the natural and almost only means of distinction. and it is in coincidence with all observation to say that they are now, as they were in the days of captain carver, the terror of the east bank of this river, between the st. croix and chippewa rivers. no other tribe has now, or has had, within the memory of man, a village or permanent possession on this part of the shore. it is landed on in fear. it is often passed by other nations by stealth, and at night. such is not an exaggerated picture. and with a knowledge of their geographical advantages, and numbers, and distribution, on the tributary streams, slight causes, it may be imagined, will often excite the young and thoughtless portion of them to raise the war-club, to chant the war-song, and follow the war-path. to remove these causes, to teach them the folly of such a contest, to remind them of the treaty stipulations and promises solemnly made to the government, and to the sioux, and to induce them to renew those promises, and to act on fixed principles of political faith, were the primary objects committed to me; and they were certainly objects of exalted attainment, according as well with the character of the government as with the spirit and moral and intellectual tone of the age. to these objects i have faithfully, as i believe, devoted the means at my command. and the chippewas cannot, hereafter, err on the subject of their hostilities with the sioux, without knowing that the error is disapproved by the american government, and that a continuance in it will be visited upon them in measures of severity. without indulging the expectation that my influence on the tour will have the effect to put an end to the spirit of predatory warfare, it may be asserted that this spirit has been checked and allayed; and that a state of feeling and reflection has been produced by it, which cannot fail to be beneficial to our relations with them, and to their relations with each other. the messages sent to the sioux chiefs, may be anticipated to have resulted in restoring a perfect peace during the present fall and ensuing winter, and will thus leave to each party the undisturbed chase of their lands. the meditated blow of steenaba was turned aside, and his war-party arrested and dispersed at the moment it was ready to proceed. every argument was used to show them the folly and the insecurity of a continuance of the war. and the whole tenor and effect of my visit has been to inform and reform these remote bands. it has destroyed the charm of their seclusion. it has taught them that their conduct is under the super-vision of the american government; that they depend on its care and protection; that no other government has power to regulate trade and send traders among them; finally, that an adherence to foreign counsels, and to anti-pacific maxims, can be visited upon them in measures of coercion. that their country, hitherto deemed nearly inaccessible, can be penetrated and traversed by men and troops, with baggage and provisions, even in midsummer, when the waters are lowest; and that, in proportion as they comply with political maxims, as benevolent as they are just, will they live at peace with their enemies, and have the means of subsistence for an increased population among themselves. the conduct of the traders in this quarter, and the influence they have exerted, both moral and political, cannot here be entered upon, and must be left to some other occasion, together with statistical details and other branches of information not arising from particular instructions. it may be said that the indians upon the st. croix and chippewa rivers, and their numerous branches, have been drawn into a close intercourse with government. but it will be obvious that a perseverance in the system of official advice and restraints, is essential to give permanence to the effects already produced, and to secure a firm and lasting peace between them and the sioux. to this end, the settlement of the line upon the red cedar fork is an object which claims the attention of the department; and would justify, in my opinion, the calling together the parties interested, at some convenient spot near the junction of the red cedar river with the chippewa. indeed, the handsome elevation, and the commanding geographical advantages of this spot, render it one which, i think, might be advantageously occupied as a military post. such an occupancy would have the effect to keep the parties at peace; and the point of land, on which the work is proposed to be erected, might be purchased from the sioux, together with such part of the disputed lands near the mills as might be deemed necessary to quiet the title of the chippewas. by acquiring this portion of country for the purposes of military occupancy, the united states would be justified in punishing any murders committed upon it; and i am fully convinced that no measure which could, at this time, be adopted, would so certainly conduce to a permanent peace between the tribes. i therefore beg leave, through you, to submit these subjects to the consideration of the honorable the secretary of war, with every distrust in my own powers of observation, and with a very full confidence in his. i have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, h. r. schoolcraft. to elbert herring, esq., _com. ind. affairs._ . _brief notes of a tour in , from galena, in illinois, to fort winnebago, on the source of fox river, wisconsin._ by henry r. schoolcraft. time admonishes me of my promise to furnish you some account of my journey from galena to fort winnebago. but i confess, that time has taken away none of those features which make me regard it as a task. other objects have occupied so much of my thoughts, that the subject has lost some of its vividness, and i shall be obliged to confine myself more exclusively to my notes than i had intended. this will be particularly true in speaking of geological facts. geographical features impress themselves strongly on the mind. the shape of a mountain is not easily forgotten, and its relation to contiguous waters and woods is recollected after the lapse of many years. the succession of plains, streams, and settlements is likewise retained in the memory, while the peculiar plains, the soils overlaying them, and all the variety of their mineral and organic contents, require to be perpetuated by specimens and by notes, which impose neither a slight nor a momentary labor. limited sketches of this kind are, furthermore, liable to be misconceived. prominent external objects can only be brought to mind, and these often reveal but an imperfect notion of the pervading character of strata, and still less knowledge of their mineral contents. haste takes away many opportunities of observation; and scanty or inconvenient means of transporting hand specimens, often deprive us of the requisite data. indeed, i should be loath to describe the few facts i am about to communicate, had you not personally visited and examined the great carboniferous and sandstone formation on the mississippi and wisconsin, and thus got the knowledge of their features. the parallelism which is apparent in these rocks, by the pinnacles which have been left standing on high--the wasting effects of time in scooping out valleys and filling up declivities--and the dark and castle-looking character of the cherty limestone bluffs, as viewed from the water, while the shadows of evening are deepening around, are suited to make vivid impressions. and these broken and denuded cliffs offer the most favorable points for making geological observations. there are no places inland where the streams have cut so deep. on gaining the height of land, the strata are found to be covered with so heavy a deposit of soil, that it is difficult to glean much that can be relied on respecting the interior structure. the angle formed by the junction of the wisconsin with the mississippi, is a sombre line of weather-beaten rocks. gliding along the current, at the base of these rocks, the idea of a "hill country," of no very productive character, is naturally impressed upon the observer. and this impression came down, probably, from the days of marquette, who was the first european, that we read of, who descended the wisconsin, and thus became the true discoverer of the mississippi. the fact that it yielded lead ore, bits of which were occasionally brought in by the natives, was in accordance with this opinion; and aided, it may be supposed, in keeping out of view the real character of the country. i know not how else to account for the light which has suddenly burst upon us from this bank of the mississippi, and which has at once proved it to be as valuable for the purposes of agriculture as for those of mining, and as sylvan in its appearance as if it were not fringed, as it were, with rocks, and lying at a great elevation above the water. this elevation is so considerable as to permit a lively descent in the streams, forming numerous mill-seats. the surface of the country is not, however, broken, but may be compared to the heavy and lazy-rolling waves of the sea after a tempest. these wave-like plains are often destitute of trees, except a few scattering ones, but present to the eye an almost boundless field of native herbage. groves of oak sometimes diversify those native meadows, or cover the ridges which bound them. very rarely does any rock appear above the surface. the highest elevations, the platte mounds, and the blue mound, are covered with soil and with trees. numerous brooks of limpid water traverse the plains, and find their way into either the wisconsin, rock river, or the mississippi. the common deer is still in possession of its favorite haunts; and the traveller is very often startled by flocks of the prairie-hen rising up in his path. the surface soil is a rich black alluvion; it yields abundant crops of corn, and, so far as they have been tried, all the cereal gramina. i have never, either in the west or out of the west, seen a richer soil, or more stately fields of corn and oats, than upon one of the plateaux of the blue mound. such is the country which appears to be richer in ores of lead than any other mineral district in the world--which yielded forty millions of pounds in seven years--produced a single lump of ore of two thousand cubic feet--and appears adequate to supply almost any amount of this article that the demands of commerce require. the river of galena rises in the mineral plains of iowa county, in that part of the northwestern territory which is attached, for the purposes of temporary government, to michigan. it is made up of clear and permanent springs, and has a descent which affords a very valuable water-power. this has been particularly remarked at the curve called mill-seat bend. no change in its general course, which is southwest, is, i believe, apparent after it enters the northwest angle of the state of illinois. the town of galena, the capital of the mining country, occupies a somewhat precipitous semicircular bend, on the right (or north) bank of the river, six or seven miles from its entrance into the mississippi. backwater, from the latter, gives the stream itself the appearance, as it bears the name, of a "river," and admits steamboat navigation thus far. it is a rapid brook immediately above the town, and of no further value for the purpose of navigation. lead is brought in from the smelting furnaces, on heavy ox-teams, capable of carrying several tons at a load. i do not know that water _has been_, or that it _cannot_ be made subservient in the transportation of this article from the mines. the streams themselves are numerous and permanent, although they are small, and it would require the aid of so many of these, on any projected route, that it is to be feared the supply of water would be inadequate. to remedy this deficiency, the wisconsin itself might be relied on. could the waters of this river be conducted in a canal along its valley from the portage to the bend at arena, they might, from this point, be deflected in a direct line to galena. this route would cut the mine district centrally, and afford the upper tributaries of the pekatolika and fever rivers as feeders. such a communication would open the way to a northern market, and merchandise might be supplied by the way of green bay, when the low state of water in the mississippi prevents the ascent of boats. it would, at all times, obviate the tedious voyage, which goods ordered from the atlantic cities have to perform through the straits of florida and gulf of mexico. a railroad could be laid upon this route with equal, perhaps superior advantages. these things may seem too much like making arrangements for the next generation. but we cannot fix bounds to the efforts of our spreading population, and spirit of enterprise. nor, after what we have seen in the way of internal improvement, in our own day and generation, should we deem anything too hard to be accomplished. i set out from galena in a light wagon, drawn by two horses, about ten o'clock in the morning (august th), accompanied by mr. b. it had rained the night and morning of the day previous, which rendered the streets and roads quite muddy. a marly soil, easily penetrated by rain, was, however, as susceptible to the influence of the sun, and, in a much shorter period than would be imagined, the surface became dry. although a heavy and continued shower had thoroughly drenched the ground, and covered it with superfluous water, but very little effects of it were to be seen at this time. we ascended into the open plain country, which appears in every direction around the town, and directed our course to gratiot's grove. in this distance, which, on our programme of the route, was put down, at fifteen miles, a lively idea of the formation and character of the country is given. the eye is feasted with the boundlessness of its range. grass and flowers spread before and beside the traveller, and, on looking back, they fill up the vista behind him. he soon finds himself in the midst of a sylvan scene. groves fringe the tops of the most distant elevations, and clusters of trees--more rarely, open forests--are occasionally presented. the trees appear to be almost exclusively of the species of white oak and rough-bark hickory. among the flowers, the plant called rosin-weed attracts attention by its gigantic stature, and it is accompanied, as certainly as substance by shadow, by the wild indigo, two plants which were afterwards detected, of less luxuriant growth, on fox river. the roads are in their natural condition; they are excellent, except for a few yards where streams are crossed. at such places there is a plunge into soft, black muck, and it requires all the powers of a horse harnessed to a wagon to emerge from the stream. on reaching gratiot's grove, i handed letters of introduction to mr. h. and b. gratiot. these gentlemen appear to be extensively engaged in smelting. they conducted me to see the ore prepared for smelting in the log furnace; and also the preparation of such parts of it for the ash furnace as do not undergo complete fusion in the first process. the ash furnace is a very simple kind of air furnace, with a grate so arranged as to throw a reverberating flame upon the hearth where the prepared ore is laid. it is built against a declivity, and charged, by throwing the materials to be operated upon, down the flue. a silicious flux is used; and the scoria is tapped and suffered to flow out, from the side of the furnace, before drawing off the melted lead. the latter is received in an excavation made in the earth, from which it is ladled out into iron moulds. the whole process is conducted in the open air, with sometimes a slight shed. the lead ore is piled in cribs of logs, which are roofed. hammers, ladles, a kind of tongs, and some other iron tools are required. the simplicity of the process, the absence of external show in buildings, and the direct and ready application of the means to the end, are remarkable, as pleasing characteristics about the smelting establishment. the ore used is the common sulphuret, with a foliated, glittering and cubical fracture. it occurs with scarcely any adhering gangue. cubical masses of it are found, at some of the diggings, which are studded over with minute crystals of calcareous spar. these crystals, when examined, have the form of the dog-tooth spar. this broad, square-shaped, and square-broken mineral, is taken from _east and west leads_, is most easy to smelt, and yields the greatest per centum of lead. it is estimated to produce fifty per cent. from the log furnace, and about sixteen more when treated with a flux in the ash furnace. miners classify their ore from its position in the mine. ore from _east and west leads_, is raised from clay diggings, although these diggings may be pursued under the first stratum of rock. ore from _north and south leads_, is termed "sheet minerals," and is usually taken from rock diggings. the vein or sheet stands perpendicularly in the fissure, and is usually struck in sinking from six to ten feet. the sheet varies in thickness from six or eight inches, in the broadest part, to not more than one. the great mass found at "irish diggings" was of this kind. i observed, among the piles of ore at gratiot's, the combination of zinc with lead ore, which is denominated _dry bone_. it is cast by as unproductive. mr. b. gratiot also showed me pieces of the common ore which had undergone desulphuration in the log furnace. its natural splendor is increased by this process, so as to have the appearance of highly burnished steel. he also presented me some uniform masses of lead, recrystallized from a metallic state, under the hearth of the ash furnace. the tendency to rectangular structure in these delicate and fragile masses is very remarkable. crystallization appears to have taken place under circumstances which opposed the production of a complete and perfect cube or parallelogram, although there are innumerable rectangles of each geometric form. in the drive from gratiot's to willow springs, we saw a succession of the same objects that had formed the prominent features of the landscape from galena. the platte mounds, which had appeared on our left all the morning, continued visible until we entered the grove that embraces the site of the springs. little mounds of red earth frequently appeared above the grass, to testify to the labors of miners along this part of the route. in taking a hasty survey of some of the numerous excavations of irish diggings, i observed among the rubbish small flat masses of a yellowish white amorphous mineral substance of great weight. i have not had time to submit it to any tests. it appears too heavy and compact for the earthy yellow oxide of lead. i should not be disappointed to find it an oxide of zinc. no rock stratum protrudes from the ground in this part of the country. the consolidated masses, thrown up from the diggings, appear to be silicated limestone, often friable, and not crystalline. galena is found in open fissures in this rock. we reached the springs in the dusk of the evening, and found good accommodations at ray's. distance from galena thirty miles. the rain fell copiously during the night, and on the morning ( th) gave no signs of a speedy cessation. those who travel ought often, however, to call to mind the remark of xenophon, that "pleasure is the result of toil," and not permit slight impediments to arrest them, particularly when they have definite points to make. we set forward in a moderate rain, but in less than an hour had the pleasure to perceive signs of its mitigating, and before nine o'clock it was quite clear. we stopped a short time at bracken's furnace. mr. bracken gave me specimens of organic remains, in the condition of earthy calcareous carbonates, procured on a neighboring ridge. he described the locality as being plentiful in casts and impressions such as he exhibited, which appeared to have been removed from the surface of a shelly limestone. at rock-branch diggings, i found masses of calcareous spar thrown from the pits. the surface appears to have been much explored for lead in this vicinity. i stopped to examine vanmater's lead. it had been a productive one, and affords a fair example of what are called east and west leads. i observed a compass standing on the line of the lead, and asked mr. v. whether much reliance was to be placed upon the certainty of striking the lead by the aid of this instrument. he said that it was much relied on. that the course of the leads was definite. the present one varied from a due east and west line but nine minutes, and the lead had been followed without much difficulty. the position of the ore was about forty feet below the surface. of this depth about thirty-six feet consisted of the surface rock and its earthy covering. a vein of marly clay, enveloping the ore, was then penetrated. a series of pits had been sunk on the course of it, and the earth and ore in the interstices removed, and drawn to the surface by a windlass and bucket. besides the ore, masses of iron pyrites had been thrown out, connected with galena. in stooping to detach some pieces from one of these masses, i placed my feet on the verge of an abandoned pit, around which weeds and bushes had grown. my face was, however, averted from the danger; but, on beholding it, i was made sensible that the least deviation from a proper balance would have pitched me into it. it was forty feet deep. the danger i had just escaped fell to the lot of mr. b.'s dog, who, probably deceived by the growth of bushes, fell in. whether killed or not, it was impossible to tell, and we were obliged to leave the poor animal, under a promise of mr. v., that he would cause a windlass to be removed to the pit, to ascertain his fate. at eleven o'clock we reached mineral point, the seat of justice of iowa county. i delivered an introductory letter to mr. ansley, who had made a discovery of copper ore in the vicinity, and through his politeness, visited the locality. the discovery was made in sinking pits in search of lead ore. small pieces of green carbonate of copper were found on striking the rock, which is apparently silico-calcareous, and of a very friable structure. from one of the excavations, detached masses of the sulphuret, blue and green mingled, were raised. these masses are enveloped with ochery clay. in riding out on horseback to see this locality, i passed over the ridge of land which first received the appellation of "mineral point." no digging was observed in process, but the heaps of red marly clay, the vigorous growth of shrubbery around them, and the number of open or partially filled pits, remain to attest the labor which was formerly devoted in the search for lead. and this search is said to have been amply rewarded. the track of discovery is conspicuously marked by these excavations, which often extend, in a direct line, on the cardinal points, as far as the eye can reach. everywhere the marly clay formation appears to have been relied on for the ore, and much of it certainly appears to be _in sitû_ in it. it bears no traces of attrition; and its occurrence in regular leads forbids the supposition of its being an oceanic arrangement of mineral detritus. at vanmater's, the metalliferous clay marl is overlaid by a grayish sedimentary limestone. different is the geological situation of what is denominated _gravel ore_, of which i noticed piles, on the route from gratiot's. this bears evident marks of attrition, and appears to have been uniformly taken from diluvial earth. on returning to the village from this excursion, i found mr. b. ready to proceed, and we lost no time in making the next point in our proposed route. a drive of five miles brought us to the residence of colonel dodge, whose zeal and enterprise in opening this portion of our western country for settlement, give him claims to be looked up to as a public benefactor. i here met the superintendent of the mines (captain legate), and after spending some time in conversation on the resources and prospects of the country, and partaking of the hospitalities politely offered by colonel d. and his intelligent family, we pursued our way. the village of dodgeville lies at the distance of four miles. soon after passing through it some part of our tackle gave way, in crossing a gully, and i improved the opportunity of the delay to visit the adjacent diggings, which are extensive. the ore is found as at other mines, in regular leads, and not scattered about promiscuously in the red marl. masses of brown oxide of iron were more common here than i had noticed them elsewhere. among the rubbish of the diggings, fragments of hornstone occur. they appear to be, most commonly, portions of nodules, which exhibit, on being fractured, various discolorings. night overtook us before we entered porter's grove, which is also the seat of mining and smelting operations. we are indebted to the hospitality of mr. m., of whom my companion was an acquaintance, for opening his door to us, at an advanced hour of the evening. distance from willow springs, twenty-five miles. there is no repose for a traveller. we retired to rest at a late hour, and rose at an early one. the morning ( th) was hazy, and we set forward while the dew was heavy on the grass. our route still lay through a prairie country. the growth of native grass, bent down with dew, nearly covered the road, so that our horses' legs were continually bathed. the rising sun was a very cheerful sight, but as our road lay up a long ascent, we soon felt its wilting effects. nine miles of such driving, with not a single grove to shelter us, brought us to mr. brigham's, at the foot of the blue mound, being the last house in the direction to fort winnebago. the distance from galena is sixty-four miles, and this area embraces the present field of mining operations. in rapidly passing over it, mines, furnaces, dwelling-houses, mining villages, inclosed fields, upland prairies (an almost continued prairie), groves, springs, and brooks, have formed the prominent features of the landscape. the impulse to the settlement of the country was first given by its mineral wealth; and it brought here, as it were by magic, an enterprising and active population. it is evident that a far greater amount of labor was a few years ago engaged in mining operations; but the intrinsic value of the lands has operated to detain the present population, which may be considered as permanent. the lands are beautifully disposed, well watered, well drained by natural streams, and easily brought into cultivation. crops have everywhere repaid the labors of the farmer; and, thus far, the agricultural produce of the country has borne a fair price. the country appears to afford every facility for raising cattle, horses, and hogs. mining, the cardinal interest heretofore, has not ceased in the degree that might be inferred from the depression of the lead market; and it will be pursued, with increased activity, whenever the purposes of commerce call for it. in the present situation of the country, there appear to be two objects essential to the lasting welfare of the settlements: first, a title to their lands from congress; second, a northern market for the products of their mines and farms. to these, a _third_ requisite may be considered auxiliary, namely, the establishment of the seat of territorial government at some point west of lake michigan, where its powers may be more readily exercised, and the reciprocal obligations of governor and people more vividly felt. mr. brigham, in whom i was happy to recognize an esteemed friend, conducted us over his valuable plantation. he gave me a mass of a white, heavy metallic substance, taken as an accompanying mineral, from a lead of galena, which he has recently discovered in a cave. without instituting any examination of it but such as its external characters disclose, it may be deemed a native carbonate of lead. the mass from which it was broken weighed ninety or one hundred pounds. and its occurrence, at the lead, was not alone. from the blue mound to fort winnebago is an estimated distance of fifty-six miles. the country is, however, entirely in a state of nature. the trace is rather obscure; but, with a knowledge of the general geography and face of the country, there is no difficulty in proceeding with a light wagon, or even a loaded team, as the indian practice of firing the prairies every fall has relieved the surface from underbrush and fallen timber. after driving a few miles, we encountered two winnebagoes on horseback, the forward rider having a white man in ties behind him. the latter informed us that his name was h., that he had come out to twelve-mile creek, for the purpose of locating himself there, and was in pursuit of a hired man, who had gone off, with some articles of his property, the night previous. with this relation, and a _boshu_[ ] for the natives, with whom we had no means of conversing, we continued our way, without further incident, to duck creek, a distance of ten miles. we here struck the path, which is one of the boundary lines, in the recent purchase from the winnebagoes. it is a deeply marked horse path, cutting quite through the prairie sod, and so much used by the natives as to prevent grass from growing on it; in this respect, it is as well-defined a landmark as "blazed tree," or "saddle." the surveyor appointed to run out the lines, had placed mile-posts on the route, but the winnebagoes, with a prejudice against the practice which is natural, pulled up many, and defaced others. when we had gone ten miles further, we began to see the glittering of water through the trees, and we soon found ourselves on the margin of a clear lake. i heard no name for this handsome sheet of water. it is one of the four lakes, which are connected with each other by a stream, and have their outlet into rock river, through a tributary called the guskihaw. we drove through the margin of it, where the shores were sandy, and innumerable small unio shells were driven up. most of these small pieces appeared to be helices. standing tent-poles, and other remains of indian encampments, appeared at this place. a rock stratum, dark and weather-beaten, apparently sandstone, jutted out into the lake. a little further, we passed to the left of an abandoned village. by casting our eyes across the lake, we observed the new position which had been selected and occupied by the winnebagoes. we often assign wrong motives, when we undertake to reason for the indian race; but in the present instance, we may presume that their removal was influenced by too near a position to the boundary path. [ ] this term is in use by the algic or algonquin tribes, particularly by the chippewas. the winnebagoes, who have no equivalent for it, are generally acquainted with it, although i am not aware that they have, to any extent, adopted it. it has been supposed to be derived from the french _bon jour_. we drove to the second brook, beyond the lake, and encamped. comfort in an encampment depends very much upon getting a good fire. in this we totally failed last night, owing to our having but a small piece of spunk, which ignited and burned out without inflaming our kindling materials. the atmosphere was damp, but not sufficiently cooled to quiet the ever-busy mosquito. mr. b. deemed it a hardship that he could not boil the kettle, so as to have the addition of tea to our cold repast. i reminded him that there was a bright moon, and that it did not rain; and that, for myself, i had fared so decidedly worse, on former occasions, that i was quite contented with the light of the moon and a dry blanket. by raising up and putting a fork under the wagon-tongue, and spreading our tent-cloth over it, i found the means of insulating ourselves from the insect hordes, but it was not until i had pitched my mosquito net within it that we found repose. on awaking in the morning ( th), we found h., who had passed us the day before in company with the winnebagoes, lying under the wagon. he had returned from pursuing the fugitive, and had overtaken us, after twelve o'clock at night. he complained of being cold. we admitted him into the wagon, and drove on to reach his camp at twelve-mile creek. in crossing what he denominated seven-mile prairie, i observed on our right a prominent wall of rock, surmounted with image-stones. the rock itself consisted of sandstone. elongated water-worn masses of stone had been set up, so as to resemble, at a distance, the figures of men. the illusion had been strengthened by some rude paints. this had been the serious or the sportive work of indians. it is not to be inferred, hence, that the winnebagoes are idolaters. but there is a strong tendency to idolatry in the minds of the north american indians. they do not bow before a carved image, shaped like dagon or juggernaut; but they rely upon their guardian spirits, or personal manitos, for aid in exigencies, and impute to the skins of animals, which are preserved with religious care, the power of gods. their medicine institution is also a gross and bold system of semi-deification connected with magic, witchcraft, and necromancy. their jossakeeds are impostors and jugglers of the grossest stamp. their wabenos address satan directly for power; and their metais, who appear to be least idolatrous, rely more upon the invisible agency of spirits and magic influence, than upon the physical properties of the medicines they exhibit. on reaching twelve-mile creek, we found a yoke of steers of h., in a pen, which had been tied there two days and nights without water. he evinced, however, an obliging disposition, and, after refreshing ourselves and our horses, we left him to complete the labors of a "local habitation." the intermediate route to fort winnebago afforded few objects of either physical or mental interest. the upland soil, which had become decidedly thinner and more arenaceous, after reaching the lake, appears to increase in sterility on approaching the wisconsin. and the occurrence of _lost rocks_ (primitive boulders), as mr. b. happily termed them, which are first observed after passing the blue mound, becomes more frequent in this portion of the country, denoting our approach to the borders of the northwestern primitive formation. this formation, we have now reason to conclude, extends in an angle, so far south as to embrace a part of fox river, above apukwa lake. anticipated difficulties always appear magnified. this we verified in crossing duck creek, near its entrance into the wisconsin. we found the adjoining bog nearly dry, and drove through the stream without the water entering into the body of the wagon. it here commenced raining. having but four miles to make, and that a level prairie, we pushed on. but the rain increased, and poured down steadily and incessantly till near sunset. in the midst of this rain-storm we reached the fort, about one o'clock, and crossed over to the elevated ground occupied by the indian department, where my sojourn, while awaiting the expedition, was rendered as comfortable as the cordial greeting and kind attention of mr. kinzie, the agent, and his intelligent family, could make it. a recapitulation of the distances from galena makes the route as follows, viz: gratiot's grove, fifteen miles; willow springs, fifteen; mineral point, seven; dodgeville, nine; porter's grove, nine; blue mound, nine; duck creek, ten; lake, ten; twelve-mile creek, twenty-four; crossing of duck creek, eight; and fort winnebago, four; total, one hundred and twenty miles. h. r. s. to george p. morris, esq., new york. . _official report of the exploratory expedition to the actual source of the mississippi river in ._ office of the indian agency of sault ste. marie, sept. , . sir: i had the honor to inform you, on the th ultimo, of my return from the sources of the mississippi, and that i should communicate the details of my observations to you as soon as they could be prepared. on reaching the remotest point visited heretofore by official authority, i found that the waters on that summit were favorable to my tracing this river to its utmost sources. this point having been left undetermined by prior expeditions, i determined to avail myself of the occasion to take indian guides, with light canoes, and, after encamping my heavy force, to make the ascent. it was represented to be practicable in five days. i accomplished it, by great diligence, in three. the distance is miles above cass lake. there are many sharp rapids, which made the trial severe. the river expands into numerous lakes. after passing about forty miles north of red cedar lake, during which we ascended a summit, i entered a fine large lake, which, to avoid repetitions in our geographical names, i called queen anne's lake. from this point the ascent of the mississippi was due south; and it was finally found to have its origin in a handsome lake, of some seven miles in extent, on the height of land to which i gave the name of itasca. this lake lies in latitude ° ' ". it lies at an altitude of , feet, by the barometer, above the gulf of mexico. it affords me satisfaction to say, that, by this discovery, the geographical point of the origin of this river is definitely fixed. materials for maps and plans of the entire route have been carefully collected by lieut. james allen, of the u. s. army, who accompanied me, with a small detachment of infantry, as high as cass lake; and, having encamped them at that point, with my extra men, he proceeded with me to itasca lake. the distance which is thus added to the mississippi, agreeably to him, is miles, making its entire length, by the most authentic estimates, to be , miles. in this distance there are numerous and arduous rapids, in which the total amount of ascent to be overcome is feet. councils were held with the indians at fond du lac, at sandy lake, cass lake, at the mouth of the great de corbeau river, &c. in returning, i visited the military bands at leech lake; passing from thence to its source, and descending the whole length of the crow-wing river, and thence to st. anthony's falls, i assembled the sioux at the agency of st. peter's, and at the little crow's village. the chippewas of the st. croix and broule rivers were particularly visited. many thousands of the chippewa and sioux nations were seen and counselled with, including their most distinguished chiefs and warriors. everywhere they disclaimed a connection with black hawk and his schemes. i left the mississippi, about forty miles above the point where, in a few days, the sauk chief was finally captured and his forces overthrown; and, reaching the waters of lake superior, at the mouth of the brule, returned from that point to the agency at sault de ste. marie. the flag of the union has secured respect from the tribes at every point; and i feel confident in declaring the chippewas and sioux, as tribes, unconnected with the black hawk movement. i am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, henry r. schoolcraft, _u. s. ind. agent._ c. herring, esq., _commissioner of indian affairs_ iv. vaccination of the indians. . _report of the number and position of the indians vaccinated on the exploratory expedition to the sources of the mississippi, conducted by mr. schoolcraft, in ._ by dr. douglass houghton. sault ste. marie, sept. , . sir: in conformity with your instructions, i take the earliest opportunity to lay before you such facts as i have collected, touching the vaccination of the chippewa indians, during the progress of the late expedition into their country: and also "of the prevalence, from time to time, of the smallpox" among them. the accompanying table will serve to illustrate the "ages, sex, tribe, and local situation" of those indians who have been vaccinated by me. with the view of illustrating more fully their local situation, i have arranged those bands residing upon the shores of lake superior; those residing in the folle avoine country (or that section of country lying between the highlands southwest from lake superior, and the mississippi river); and those residing near the sources of the mississippi river, separately. nearly all the indians noticed in this table were vaccinated at their respective villages; yet i did not fail to vaccinate those whom we chanced to meet in their hunting or other excursions. i have embraced, with the indians of the frontier bands, those half-breeds, who, in consequence of having adopted more or less the habits of the indian, may be identified with him. but little difficulty has occurred in convincing the indians of the efficacy of vaccination; and the universal dread in which they hold the appearance of the smallpox among them, rendered it an easy task to overcome their prejudices, whatever they chanced to be. the efficacy of the vaccine disease is well appreciated, even by the most interior of the chippewa indians; and so universal is this information, that only one instance occurred where the indian had never heard of the disease. in nearly every instance the opportunity which was presented for vaccination, was embraced with cheerfulness and apparent gratitude; at the same time manifesting great anxiety that, for the safety of the whole, each one of the band should undergo the operation. when objections were made to vaccination, they were not usually made because the indian doubted the protective power of the disease, but because he supposed (never having seen its progress), that the remedy must nearly equal the disease which it was intended to counteract. our situation, while travelling, did not allow me sufficient time to test the result of the vaccination in most instances; but an occasional return to bands where the operation had been performed, enabled me, in those bands, either to note the progress of the disease, or to judge from the cicatrices marking the original situation of the pustules, the cases in which the disease had proved successful. ------------------+-----------------------+----------------------- chippewa indians. | males. | females. ------------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- | u | | | | | | u | | | | | | n | | | | | o | n | | | | | o | d | | | | | v | d | | | | | v | e | t | t | t | t | e | e | t | t | t | t | e bands. | r | o | o | o | o | r | r | o | o | o | o | r | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . ------------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- lake superior | | | | | | | | | | | | {sault ste. marie| | | | | | | | | | | | {grand island | | | | |...|...| | | |...|...|... {keweena bay | | | | | |...| | | | | | {ontonagon river | | | | |...|...| | | | | |... {la pointe | | | | | | | | | | | |... {fond du lac | | | | | |...| | | | | | folle avoine | | | | | | | | | | | | country | | | | | | | | | | | | {lac du flambeau | | | | | |...| | | | | |... {ottowa lake | | | | |...|...| | | | |...|... {yellow river | | | | |...|...| | | | | |... {nama kowagun of | {st. croix river| | | | |...|...| |...| | |...|... {snake river | | | | | | | | | | | |... sources of the | | | | | | | | | | | | mississippi river| | | | | | | | | | | | {sandy lake | | | | | |...| | | | | | {lake winnipeg | | | | |...|...| | | | |...|... {cass, or upper | | | | | | | | | | | | {red cedar lake | | | | |...| | | | | | | {leech lake | | | | | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- lake superior | | | | | | | | | | | | folle avoine | | | | | | | | | | | | country | | | | | | | | | | | |... sources of the | | | | | | | | | | | | mississippi | | | | | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- total | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------+-----------------------+----------------------- ------------------+----------- chippewa indians. | ------------------+---+---+--- | | | | | f | | | e | | m | m | t bands. | a | a | o | l | l | t | e | e | a | s | s | l | . | . | . ------------------+---+---+--- lake superior | | | {sault ste. marie| | | {grand island | | | {keweena bay | | {ontonagon river | | | {la pointe | | | {fond du lac | | | folle avoine | | | country | | | {lac du flambeau | | | {ottowa lake | | | {yellow river | | | {nama kowagun of | {st. croix river| | | {snake river | | | sources of the | | | mississippi river| | | {sandy lake | | | {lake winnipeg | | | {cass, or upper | | | {red cedar lake | | | {leech lake | | | +---+---+--- lake superior | | | folle avoine | | | country | | | sources of the | | | mississippi | | | +---+---+--- total | | | | | | ------------------+----------- about one-fourth of the whole number were vaccinated directly from the pustules of patients laboring under the disease; while the remaining three-fourths were vaccinated from crusts, or from virus which had been several days on hand. i did not pass by a single opportunity for securing the crusts and virus from the arms of healthy patients; and to avoid, as far as possible, the chance of giving rise to a disease of a spurious kind, i invariably made use of those crusts and that virus, for the purposes of vaccination, which had been most recently obtained. to secure, as far as possible, against the chances of escaping the vaccine disease, i invariably vaccinated in each arm. of the whole number of indians vaccinated, i have either watched the progress of the disease, or examined the cicatrices of about seven hundred. an average of one in three of those vaccinated from crusts has failed, while of those vaccinated directly from the arm of a person laboring under the disease, not more than one in twenty has failed to take effect--when the disease did not make its appearance after vaccination, i have invariably, as the cases came under my examination, revaccinated until a favorable result has been obtained. of the different bands of indians vaccinated, a large proportion of the following have, as an actual examination has shown, undergone thoroughly the effects of the disease; viz: sault ste. marie, keweena bay, la pointe, and cass lake, being seven hundred and fifty-one in number; while of the remaining thirteen hundred and seventy-eight, of other bands, i think it may safely be calculated that more than three-fourths have passed effectually under the influence of the vaccine disease: and as directions to revaccinate all those in whom the disease failed, together with instructions as to time and manner of vaccination, were given to the chiefs of the different bands, it is more than probable that, where the bands remained together a sufficient length of time, the operation of revaccination has been performed by themselves. upon our return to lake superior, i had reason to suspect, on examining several cicatrices, that two of the crusts furnished by the surgeon-general, in consequence of a partial decomposition, gave rise to a spurious disease, and these suspicions were confirmed when revaccinating with genuine vaccine matter, when the true disease was communicated. nearly all those indians vaccinated with those two crusts, have been vaccinated, and passed regularly though the vaccine disease. the answers to my repeated inquiries respecting the introduction, progress, and fatality of the smallpox, would lead me to infer that the disease has made its appearance at least five times, among the bands of chippewa indians noticed in the accompanying table of vaccination. the smallpox appears to have been wholly unknown to the chippewas of lake superior until about ; when a war-party, of more than one hundred young men, from the bands resident near the head of the lake, having visited montreal for the purpose of assisting the french in their then existing troubles with the english, became infected with the disease, and but few of the party survived to reach their homes. it does not appear, although they made a precipitate retreat to their own country, that the disease was at this time communicated to any others of the tribe. about the year , the disease appeared a second time among the chippewas, but, unlike that which preceded it, it was communicated to the more northern bands. the circumstances connected with its introduction are related nearly as follows:-- some time in the fall of or , a trader who had ascended the mississippi, and established himself near leech lake, was robbed of his goods by the indians residing at that lake; and, in consequence of his exertions in defending his property, he died soon after. these facts became known to the directors of the fur company, at mackinac; and, each successive year after, requests were sent to the leech lake indians, that they should visit mackinac, and make reparation for the goods they had taken, by a payment of furs, at the same time threatening punishment in case of a refusal. in the spring of , the indians saw fit to comply with this request; and a deputation from the band visited mackinac, with a quantity of furs, which they considered an equivalent for the goods which had been taken. the deputation was received with politeness by the directors of the company, and the difficulties readily adjusted. when this was effected, a cask of liquor and a flag closely rolled were presented to the indians as a token of friendship. they were at the same time strictly enjoined neither to break the seal of the cask nor to unroll the flag, until they had reached the heart of their own country. this they promised to observe; but while returning, and after having travelled many days, the chief of the deputation made a feast for the indians of the band at fond du lac, lake superior, upon which occasion he unsealed the cask and unrolled the flag for the gratification of his guests. the indians drank of the liquor, and remained in a state of inebriation during several days. the rioting was over, and they were fast recovering from its effects, when several of the party were seized with violent pain. this was attributed to the liquor they had drunk; but the pain increasing, they were induced to drink deeper of the poisonous drug, and in this inebriated state several of the party died, before the real cause was suspected. other like cases occurred; and it was not long before one of the war-party who had visited montreal in , and who had narrowly escaped with his life, recognized the disease as the same which had attacked their party at that time. it proved to be so; and of those indians then at fond du lac, about three hundred in number, nearly the whole were swept off by it. nor did it stop here; for numbers of those at fond du lac, at the time the disease made its appearance, took refuge among the neighboring bands; and although it did not extend easterly on lake superior, it is believed that not a single band of chippewas north or west from fond du lac escaped its ravages. of a large band then resident at cass lake, near the source of the mississippi river, only one person, a child, escaped. the others having been attacked by the disease, died before any opportunity for dispersing was offered. the indians at this day are firmly of the opinion that the smallpox was at this time communicated through the articles presented to their brethren by the agent of the fur company at mackinac; and that it was done for the purpose of punishing them more severely for their offences. the most western bands of chippewas relate a singular allegory of the introduction of the smallpox into their country by a war-party, returning from the plains of the missouri, as nearly as information will enable me to judge, in the year . it does not appear that, at this time, the disease extended to the bands east of fond du lac; but it is represented to have been extremely fatal to those bands north and west from there. in or , the smallpox made its appearance among the indians residing at the sault ste. marie, but did not extend to the bands west from that place. the disease was introduced by a voyager, in the employ of the northwest fur company, who had just returned from montreal; and although all communication with him was prohibited, an indian imprudently having made him a visit, was infected with and transmitted the disease to others of the band. when once communicated, it raged with great violence, and of a large band scarcely one of those then at the village survived, and the unburied bones still remain, marking the situation they occupied. from this band the infection was communicated to a band residing upon st. joseph's island, and many died of it; but the surgeon of the military post then there, succeeded, by judicious and early measures, in checking it before the infection became general. in , the smallpox again made its appearance among the indians at the sault ste. marie. it was communicated by a voyager to the indians upon drummond's island, lake huron; and through them several families at sault ste. marie became infected. of those belonging to the latter place, more than twenty in number, only two escaped. the disease is represented to have been extremely fatal to the indians at drummond's island. since , the smallpox is not known to have appeared among the indians at the sault ste. marie, nor among the chippewas north or west from that place. but the indians of these bands still tremble at the bare name of a disease which (next to the compounds of alcohol) has been one of the greatest scourges that has ever overtaken them since their first communication with the whites. the disease, when once communicated to a band of indians, rages with a violence wholly unknown to the civilized man. the indian, guided by present feeling, adopts a course of treatment (if indeed it deserves that appellation) which not unfrequently arms the disease with new power. an attack is but a warning to the poor and helpless patient to prepare for death, which will almost assuredly soon follow. his situation under these circumstances is truly deplorable; for while in a state that even, with proper advice, he would of himself recover, he adds fresh fuel to the flame which is already consuming him, under the delusive hope of gaining relief. the intoxicating draught (when it is within his reach) is not among the last remedies to which he resorts, to produce a lethargy from which he is never to recover. were the friends of the sick man, even under these circumstances, enabled to attend him, his sufferings might be, at least, somewhat mitigated; but they too are, perhaps, in a similar situation, and themselves without even a single person to minister to their wants. death comes to the poor invalid, and, perhaps, even as a welcome guest, to rid him of his suffering. by a comparison of the number of indians vaccinated upon the borders of lake superior with the actual population, it will be seen that the proportion who have passed through the vaccine disease is so great as to secure them against any general prevalence of the smallpox; and perhaps it is sufficient to prevent the introduction of the disease to the bands beyond, through this channel. but in the folle avoine country it is not so. of the large bands of indians residing in that section of country, only a small fraction have been vaccinated; while of other bands, not a single person has passed through the disease. their local situation undoubtedly renders it of the first importance that the benefits of vaccination should be extended to them. their situation may be said to render them a connecting link between the southern and northwestern bands of chippewas; and while on the south they are liable to receive the virus of the smallpox from the whites and indians, the passage of the disease through them to their more northern brethren would only be prevented by their remaining, at that time, completely separated. every motive of humanity towards the suffering indian, would lead to extend to him this protection against a disease he holds in constant dread, and of which he knows, by sad experience, the fatal effects. the protection he will prize highly, and will give in return the only boon a destitute man is capable of giving; the deep-felt gratitude of an overflowing heart. i have the honour to be, very respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, douglass houghton. henry r. schoolcraft, esq., _u. s. ind. agt., sault de ste. marie._ . topography and geography. ix. astronomical and barometrical observations. . _a table of geographical positions on the mississippi river at low water, observed in ._[ ] by j. n. nicollet. [ ] com. doc. no. . -------------------------------------------+-------------------+--------- |estimated distances| | by water. |altitudes places of observation. +---------+---------+above the |from | from the| gulf of |place to | gulf of | mexico. |place. | mexico. | [ ] -------------------------------------------+---------+---------+--------- mouths of the mississippi-- | _miles._| _miles._| _feet._ | | | { the old balize of the | | | northeast { french and pilot-house, | ... | ... | ... pass { light-house at the entrance | ... | ... | ... | | | south pass--light-house at the entrance | ... | ... | ... | | | { the new balize and pilot-house| | | southwest { on the east bayou | ... | ... | ... pass { the new light-house, completed| | | { january, | ... | ... | ... | | | new orleans cathedral and level of its | | | front pavement | | | . | | | note.--level of the mississippi above } | | | the gulf of mexico, . foot. } | | | greatest depth of the mississippi } | | | at low water, feet. } | ... | ... | range between high and low water, } | | | feet. } | | | | | | red river, north end of the island, | | | opposite the mouth | | | | | | natchez, light-house | | | general level of the city | ... | ... | | | | note.--range between high and low water, | | | in , feet | | | | | | yazoo river, the mouth | | | ... | | | white river, montgomery's landing, one | | | mile above the mouth | | | | | | new madrid, missouri | | , | ... | | | ohio river, north side of the mouth | | , | | | | cape girardeau | | , | ... | | | st. genevieve, catholic church, and level | | | of its pavement | | , | | | | st. louis, garden of the cathedral | | , | | | | illinois river, the mouth | | , | ... | | | moingonan river (des moines river), a | | | small island at the mouth | | , | | | | montrose, or old fort des moines, the | | | mouth of the creek | | , | | | | flint river, the mouth, above burlington | | , | | | | maskudeng, the middle mouth of the slough | | , | | | | rock island, a quarter of a mile above | | | davenport's residence | | , | | | | head of the upper rapids, below port biron | | | and parkhurst | | , | | | | prairie du chien (kipi-saging), american | | | fur company's house | | , | | | | summit of bluff on the eastern side of | | | prairie du chien | ... | ... | , | | | cap-à-l'ail, the summit--height above the | | | mississipi, feet | | , | , | | | upper iowa river, island at the mouth | | , | ... | | | hokah river (root river), the mouth | | , | ... | | | praire à la crosse river, the mouth | | , | ... | | | sappah river, or black river opposite the | | | old mouth | | , | | | | top of mountain on right bank, opposite | | | the old mouth | ... | ... | , | | | dividing ridge between sappah river and | | | prairie à la crosse river, miles | | | east of mississippi | ... | ... | , [ ] the numbers in this column refer to the surface of the water in the mississippi at the point mentioned, except when otherwise specially expressed. -------------------------------------------+-----------+----------- | | west of | | greenwich. places of observation. |north | |latitudes. +----------- | |longitudes | | in time. -------------------------------------------+-----------+----------- mouths of the mississippi-- | ° ´ ´´ | _h. m. s._ | | { the old balize of the | | northeast { french and pilot-house, | . | . pass { light-house at the entrance | . | . | | south pass--light-house at the entrance | . | . | | { the new balize and pilot-house| | southwest { on the east bayou | . | . pass { the new light-house, completed| | { january, | | . | | new orleans cathedral and level of its | | front pavement | | | | note.--level of the mississippi above } | | the gulf of mexico, . foot. } | | greatest depth of the mississippi } | | at low water, feet. } | .. | .. range between high and low water, } | | feet. } | | | | red river, north end of the island, | | opposite the mouth | | | | natchez, light-house | | . general level of the city | | | | note.--range between high and low water, | | in , feet | | | | yazoo river, the mouth | | | | white river, montgomery's landing, one | | mile above the mouth | | | | new madrid, missouri | | | | ohio river, north side of the mouth | | | | cape girardeau | | | | st. genevieve, catholic church, and level | | of its pavement | | . | | st. louis, garden of the cathedral | | . | | illinois river, the mouth | | ... | | moingonan river (des moines river), a | | small island at the mouth | | | | montrose, or old fort des moines, the | | mouth of the creek | | | | flint river, the mouth, above burlington | | ... | | maskudeng, the middle mouth of the slough | | | | rock island, a quarter of a mile above | | davenport's residence | | ... | | head of the upper rapids, below port biron | | and parkhurst | | | | prairie du chien (kipi-saging), american | | fur company's house | | . | | summit of bluff on the eastern side of | | prairie du chien | | | | cap-à-l'ail, the summit--height above the | | mississipi, feet | ... | ... | | upper iowa river, island at the mouth | | | | hokah river (root river), the mouth | | | | praire à la crosse river, the mouth | | | | sappah river, or black river opposite the | | old mouth | | | | top of mountain on right bank, opposite | | the old mouth | ... | ... | | dividing ridge between sappah river and | | prairie à la crosse river, miles | | east of mississippi | ... | ... -------------------------------------------+------------+------------ |west of | |greenwich. | places of observation. | |authorities, +-----------+ &c. |longitudes | | in arc. | -------------------------------------------+-----------+------------ mouths of the mississippi-- | ° ´ ´´ | | | { the old balize of the | | captain a. northeast { french and pilot-house, | . | talcott. pass { light-house at the entrance | . | do. | | south pass--light-house at the entrance | . | do. | | { the new balize and pilot-house| | southwest { on the east bayou | . | do. pass { the new light-house, completed| | { january, | | do. | | new orleans cathedral and level of its | | front pavement | | | | note.--level of the mississippi above } | | the gulf of mexico, . foot. } | | greatest depth of the mississippi } | | at low water, feet. } | ... |albert stein, range between high and low water, } | | c. e. feet. } | | | | red river, north end of the island, | | opposite the mouth | | nicollet. | | natchez, light-house | . | do. general level of the city | | | | note.--range between high and low water, | | in , feet | | | | yazoo river, the mouth | | ferrer. | | white river, montgomery's landing, one | | mile above the mouth | |nicollet. | | new madrid, missouri | |ferrer. | | ohio river, north side of the mouth | |ferrer's | | longitude. | | cape girardeau | |long's st | | expedition. | | st. genevieve, catholic church, and level | | of its pavement | |nicollet. | | st. louis, garden of the cathedral | | do. | | illinois river, the mouth | ... |long's st | | expedition. | | moingonan river (des moines river), a | | small island at the mouth | |nicollet. | | montrose, or old fort des moines, the | | mouth of the creek | | do. | | flint river, the mouth, above burlington | ... | do. | | maskudeng, the middle mouth of the slough | | do. | | rock island, a quarter of a mile above | | davenport's residence | ... | do. | | head of the upper rapids, below port biron | | and parkhurst | | do. | | prairie du chien (kipi-saging), american | | fur company's house | . | do. | | summit of bluff on the eastern side of | | prairie du chien | | | | cap-à-l'ail, the summit--height above the | | mississipi, feet | ... | do. | | upper iowa river, island at the mouth | | do. | | hokah river (root river), the mouth | | do. | | praire à la crosse river, the mouth | | do. | | sappah river, or black river opposite the | | old mouth | | do. | | top of mountain on right bank, opposite | | the old mouth | ... | do. | | dividing ridge between sappah river and | | prairie à la crosse river, miles | | east of mississippi | ... | do. table of geographical positions--continued. mississippi river at low water. -------------------------------------------+-------------------+--------- |estimated distances| | by water. |altitudes places of observation. +---------+---------+above the |from | from the| gulf of |place to | gulf of | mexico. |place. | mexico. | -------------------------------------------+---------+---------+--------- mountain island, or _montagne qui trempe à_|_miles._ |_miles._ | _feet._ _l'eau_ of the french | | , | ... miniskah river, or white-water river | | , | ... wazi-oju river, or pinewood river | | | (_rivière aux embarras_ of the french) | | , | ... at roque's, two and a half miles below | | | chippeway river | | , | ... clear water river, the mouth, northwest | | | corner of lake pepin | ... | ... | ... reminicha (_montagne la grange_ of the | | | french), upper end of lake pepin | | , | top of reminicha | ... | ... | , la hontan river, the mouth (cannon river | | | of the americans, canoe river of the | | | french) | | , | ... st. croix river, the mouth | | , | upland on the banks of the mississippi | | | and lake st. croix | ... | ... | st. peter's, the mouth | | , | general level of the plateau on which fort | | | snelling and the indian agency stand | ... | ... | pilot knob, the top | ... | ... | , falls of st. anthony, united states cottage| | , | ishkode-wabo river, or rum river, the mouth| | , | ... karishon river (sioux), or undeg river | | | (chippewas), | | | crow river of the americans | | , | ... st. francis river, wicha-niwa river of the | | | sioux | | , | ... migadiwin creek, or war creek, the mouth | | , | ... kawakomik river, or clear-water river, the | | | mouth | | , | ... round island, at the lower end of osakis | | | rapids | ... | ... | ... osakis river, the mouth | | , | ... watab river, the mouth | | , | ... pekushino river, the mouth | | , | ... wabezi river, or swan river, a half mile | | | above the mouth | | , | , omoshkos river, or elk river, the mouth | | , | ... nokay's river, the mouth | | , | ... kagi-wigwan river, the mouth (_aile de | | | corbeau river_ of the french, crow-wing | | | river of the americans) | | , | , nagadjika river, opposite the mouth | | , | ... pine river, the mouth | | , | , willow river, the mouth | | , | ... sandy lake river, the mouth | | , | , swan river, the mouth | | , | , kabikons, or little falls, the head of the | | | falls | | , | , wanomon river, or vermilion river, the | | | mouth | | , | ... eagle nest savannah (_marais aux nids | | | d'aigle_ of the french) | | , | ... leach lake river, the mouth | | , | , lake cass, the old trading-house on a | | | tongue of land near the entrance of the | | | mississippi | | , | , pemidji lake, or lake travers, the entrance| | | of the mississippi | | , | , itasca lake, schoolcraft's island | | , | , utmost sources of the mississippi, at the | | | summit of the hauteurs de terre, or | | | dividing ridge, between the mississippi | | | and red river of the north | | , | , -------------------------------------------+----------+----------- | | west of places of observation. |north | greenwich. |latitudes.+----------- | |longitudes | | in time. -------------------------------------------+----------+----------- mountain island, or _montagne qui trempe à_| ° ´ ´´ |_h. m. s._ _l'eau_ of the french | | miniskah river, or white-water river | | wazi-oju river, or pinewood river | | (_rivière aux embarras_ of the french) | | at roque's, two and a half miles below | | chippeway river | | clear water river, the mouth, northwest | | corner of lake pepin | | reminicha (_montagne la grange_ of the | | french), upper end of lake pepin | | top of reminicha | ... | ... la hontan river, the mouth (cannon river | | of the americans, canoe river of the | | french) | | st. croix river, the mouth | | upland on the banks of the mississippi | | and lake st. croix | ... | ... st. peter's, the mouth | | . general level of the plateau on which fort | | snelling and the indian agency stand | ... | ... pilot knob, the top | ... | ... falls of st. anthony, united states cottage| | ishkode-wabo river, or rum river, the mouth| | ... karishon river (sioux), or undeg river | | (chippewas), | | crow river of the americans | | ... st. francis river, wicha-niwa river of the | | sioux | | ... migadiwin creek, or war creek, the mouth | | kawakomik river, or clear-water river, the | | mouth | | round island, at the lower end of osakis | | rapids | | osakis river, the mouth | | watab river, the mouth | | pekushino river, the mouth | | wabezi river, or swan river, a half mile | | above the mouth | | omoshkos river, or elk river, the mouth | | nokay's river, the mouth | | kagi-wigwan river, the mouth (_aile de | | corbeau river_ of the french, crow-wing | | river of the americans) | | nagadjika river, opposite the mouth | | ... pine river, the mouth | | ... willow river, the mouth | | sandy lake river, the mouth | | swan river, the mouth | | kabikons, or little falls, the head of the | | falls | | wanomon river, or vermilion river, the | | mouth | | eagle nest savannah (_marais aux nids | | d'aigle_ of the french) | | leach lake river, the mouth | | lake cass, the old trading-house on a | | tongue of land near the entrance of the | | mississippi | | pemidji lake, or lake travers, the entrance| | of the mississippi | | itasca lake, schoolcraft's island | | utmost sources of the mississippi, at the | | summit of the hauteurs de terre, or | | dividing ridge, between the mississippi | | and red river of the north | | -------------------------------------------+----------+------------ | west of | places of observation. |greenwich.|authorities, +----------+ &c. |longitudes| | in arc. | -------------------------------------------+----------+------------ mountain island, or _montagne qui trempe à_| ° ´ ´´ | _l'eau_ of the french | | nicollet. miniskah river, or white-water river | | do. wazi-oju river, or pinewood river | | (_rivière aux embarras_ of the french) | | do. at roque's, two and a half miles below | | chippeway river | | do. clear water river, the mouth, northwest | | corner of lake pepin | | do. reminicha (_montagne la grange_ of the | | french), upper end of lake pepin | | do. top of reminicha | ... | do. la hontan river, the mouth (cannon river | | of the americans, canoe river of the | | french) | | do. st. croix river, the mouth | | do. upland on the banks of the mississippi | | and lake st. croix | ... | do. st. peter's, the mouth | | do. general level of the plateau on which fort | | snelling and the indian agency stand | ... | do. pilot knob, the top | ... | do. falls of st. anthony, united states cottage| | do. ishkode-wabo river, or rum river, the mouth| ... | do. karishon river (sioux), or undeg river | | (chippewas), | | crow river of the americans | ... | do. st. francis river, wicha-niwa river of the | | sioux | ... | nicollet. migadiwin creek, or war creek, the mouth | | do. kawakomik river, or clear-water river, the | | mouth | | do. round island, at the lower end of osakis | | rapids | | do. osakis river, the mouth | | do. watab river, the mouth | | do. pekushino river, the mouth | | do. wabezi river, or swan river, a half mile | | above the mouth | | do. omoshkos river, or elk river, the mouth | | do. nokay's river, the mouth | | do. kagi-wigwan river, the mouth (_aile de | | corbeau river_ of the french, crow-wing | | river of the americans) | | do. nagadjika river, opposite the mouth | ... | do. pine river, the mouth | ... | do. willow river, the mouth | | do. sandy lake river, the mouth | | do. swan river, the mouth | | do. kabikons, or little falls, the head of the | | falls | | do. wanomon river, or vermilion river, the | | mouth | | do. eagle nest savannah (_marais aux nids | | d'aigle_ of the french) | | do. leach lake river, the mouth | | do. lake cass, the old trading-house on a | | tongue of land near the entrance of the | | mississippi | | do. pemidji lake, or lake travers, the entrance| | of the mississippi | | do. itasca lake, schoolcraft's island | | do. utmost sources of the mississippi, at the | | summit of the hauteurs de terre, or | | dividing ridge, between the mississippi | | and red river of the north | | table of geographical positions--continued. regions of the sources of the mississippi. -------------------------------+---------+----------+----------- | | | west of |altitudes| | greenwich. places of observation. |above the|north | | gulf of |latitudes.+----------- | mexico. | |longitudes | | | in time. -------------------------------+---------+----------+----------- gayashk river, or little gull | _feet._ | ° ´ ´´ |_h. m. s._ river, the mouth | , | | gayashk lake, or little gull | | | lake, end of long point | , | | kadicomeg lake, or white-fish | | | lake, the entrance of pine | | | river | , | | lake chanché, southwest end | ... | | ... lake eccleston, northwest end | ... | | ... leech lake, otter-tail point | , | | leech lake, the bay opposite | | | otter-tail point | ... | | kabekonang river, the junction | | | of the upper fork, near the | | | next-mentioned portage | , | | ... portage from kabekonang river | | | to la place river, near the | | | west end | , | | ... assawa lake, below the south | | | end | , | | highest ridge on the portage | | | between assawa lake and | | | itasca lake | , | ... | ... cleared pine camp, on leech | | | lake river | ... | | -------------------------------+----------+------------ |west of | |greenwich.|authorities, places of observation. +----------+ &c. |longitudes| | in arc. | -------------------------------+----------+------------ gayashk river, or little gull | ° ´ ´´ | river, the mouth | | nicollet. gayashk lake, or little gull | | lake, end of long point | | do. kadicomeg lake, or white-fish | | lake, the entrance of pine | | river | | do. lake chanché, southwest end | ... | do. lake eccleston, northwest end | ... | do. leech lake, otter-tail point | | do. leech lake, the bay opposite | | otter-tail point | | do. kabekonang river, the junction | | of the upper fork, near the | | next-mentioned portage | ... | do. portage from kabekonang river | | to la place river, near the | | west end | ... | do. assawa lake, below the south | | end | | do. highest ridge on the portage | | between assawa lake and | | itasca lake | ... | do. cleared pine camp, on leech | | lake river | | do. . scenery. x. (a) _scenery of lake superior._ by henry r. schoolcraft. few portions of america can vie in scenic attractions with this interior sea. its size alone gives it all the elements of grandeur; but these have been heightened by the mountain masses which nature has piled along its shores. in some places, these masses consist of vast walls, of coarse gray, or drab-colored sandstone, placed horizontally, until they have attained many hundred feet in height above the water. the action of such an immense liquid area, forced against these crumbling walls by tempests, has caused wide and deep arches to be worn into the solid structure, at their base, into which the billows roll, with a noise resembling low-pealing thunder. by this means, large areas of the impending mass are at length undermined and precipitated into the lake, leaving the split and rent parts, from which they have separated, standing like huge misshapen turrets and battlements. such is the varied coast, called the pictured rocks. at other points of the coast, volcanic forces have operated, lifting up these level strata into positions nearly vertical, and leaving them to stand, like the leaves of a vast open book. at the same time, the volcanic rocks sent up from below, have risen in high mountains, with ancient gaping craters. such is the condition of the disturbed stratification at the porcupine mountains. the basin and bed of this lake act like a vast geological mortar, in which the masses of broken and fallen stones are whirled about and ground down, till all the softer ones, such as the sandstones, are brought into the state of pure yellow sand. this sand is driven ashore by the waves, where it is shoved up in long wreaths, and dried by the sun. the winds now take it up, and spread it inland, or pile it immediately along the coast, where it presents itself in mountain masses. such are the great sand dunes of the grande sables. there are yet other theatres of action for this sublime mass of inland waters, where the lake has manifested, perhaps, still more strongly, its abrasive powers. the whole force of its waters, under the impulse of a northwest tempest, is directed against prominent portions of the shore, which consist of black and hard volcanic rocks. solid as these are, the waves have found an entrance in veins of spar, or minerals of softer texture, and have thus been led on their devastating course inland, tearing up large fields of amygdaloid, or other rock; or, left portions of them standing in rugged knobs, or promontories. such are the east and west coasts of the great peninsula of keweena, which have recently become the theatre of mining operations. when the visitor to these remote and boundless waters comes to see this wide and varied scene of complicated geological disturbances and scenic magnificence, he is absorbed in wonder and astonishment. the eye, once introduced to this panorama of waters, is never done looking and admiring. scene after scene, cliff after cliff, island after island, and vista after vista are presented. one day's scenes of the traveller are but the prelude to another; and when weeks, and even months, have been spent in picturesque rambles along its shores, he has only to ascend some of its streams, and go inland a few miles, to find falls, and cascades, and cataracts of the most beautiful or magnificent character. go where he will, there is something to attract him. beneath his feet are pebbles of agates; the water is of the most crystalline purity. the sky is filled, at sunset with the most gorgeous piles of clouds. the air itself is of the purest and most inspiring kind. to visit such a scene is to draw health from its purest sources, and while the eye revels in intellectual delights, the soul is filled with the liveliest symbols of god, and the most striking evidences of his creative power. (b) _letters of mr. m. woolsey._ _southern literary messenger_, . oneöta, p. . these spirited and graphic letters are unavoidably excluded. the evidence they bear to the purity of principle, justness of taste, and excellence of character of a young man, now no more, ought to preserve his name from oblivion. he accompanied me in , as a volunteer, in a leisure moment, an admirer of nature, seeking health. index. a a bear trapped, a box of minerals stolen, a granitical formation on lake superior, a long fast, a new philological principle in languages, a phenomenon, a precinct of indian orgies, a sub-expedition to sandy lake, a war-party surprised, account of sub-explorations of green bay, acipenser oxyrinchus, acipenser spatularia, advance of lake superior to the rocky mountains, african and indian marriages, agaric mineral, agate, agglutinative properties of the indian pronoun, aggregate fall of the mississippi below sandy lake, ; commencement of the calcareous rocks, algoma, algonquin language justly applauded, algonac, allenoga river, allen's lake, aluminous minerals, american indian policy, american antiquities, amygdaloid, an indian breakfast, an indian grave with hieroglyphics, an indian nonplused in the woods, an indian salute, analysis of lake superior copper at utrecht, anodonta corpulenta, announcement of return of expedition, of , antique markings on the pinus resinosa, antique notices of the lake mineralogy, antiquities, ; first notice of in , apparent tide in the baltic, appearance of dune sand at point aux barques, appendix no. , apricots in bloom on the d of april, arched rock, argillaceous stratum of detroit, argillite, artesian borings for water, art of the wounded duck, arts and manufactures of the chippewas and ottowas, ascent of the assowa river, asphaltum and naphtha, assassination of owen keveny, assowa lake, atmospheric heat th june, aux sables indians, b bark letter in pictographic characters, barometrical height of cass lake, barytic minerals, basin of lake michigan, basin of lake superior, bat in wood, beltrami, birch lake, birds inhabiting the region of pakagama falls, birds of lake superior, birds of the wisconsin valley, bituminous minerals, bivalve shells, black river, boatswain to com. perry in , botany, boulders on the shores of lake st. clair, boundary between michigan and wisconsin, breadth of the mississippi at sandy lake, brigham's residence at blue mound, brulé summit, buckshot gravel, buffalo hunt, c cabotian mountains, calcareous minerals, canadian canoe-song, canoe-race, capt. douglass, capt. jouett, capture and massacre of the garrison of old mackinac, carnage river, carnelian, carver's cave, carver's travels, cass, his official report, cass lake, cass lake basin, cass on indian hieroglyphics, cassville, wisconsin, chagoimegon, chalcedony and calcareous spar, charles stokes, esq., his geological memoir, charlevoix's visit to america, character and value of dubuque's lead mines, character of the bison, character of the canadian voyageur, cheboigan, its etymology, chenos, a masked coast, chicago, etymology of name, population, and greatness, chief guelle plat, chippewa character of the kekeewin, chippewa dance, chippewa term of salutation, chippewa village, cinnamon-colored radiated quartz, claimants to mine lands, clinton river, club fungus partially fossilized, coal in western new york, coast of boulders, col. croghan's attack at fort holmes in , col. pierce, coluber æstivus, combustibles, commercial value of copper, conchology, connection with blackhawk's plans disclaimed, cooper's description of shells, copper-bearing trap-dykes, copper boulder, its size, copper-head snake, copper ores of mineral point, cormorant, corn ripens at st. peter's valley, cornu-ammonis; a fossiliferous coast, corregonus albus, cost of lake transportation, council at cass lake, council at sandy lake, council at st. peter's agency, council at the ultimate point of the first expedition, council with indians; their hostility, ; they raise the british flag, crow-wing river, crystals of iron pyrites, cupreous formation, cup-shaped concavities, d dacota, or nadownsie indians, danger escaped, date and circumstance of pike's visit to sandy lake, date of prairie du chien, date of the battle of badaxe, date of wisconsin as a territorial name, de witt clinton offers the use of his library, dead scaffolded, defect of postal facilities, at mackinac, depth of the detroit clay beds, derogative inflections of the indian noun, descent of itasca river, description of the indian canoe, desiderata of discovery, detroit completely burnt down in , detroit first founded in , difficulty of studying the indian tongues, difficulty of the descent of the brulé, diluvial elevations, diminutive forms of the odjibwa noun, discover native copper, discovery of itasca lake, distance from lake superior to lake pepin, distance from st. peter's to the gulf, ; elevation of the country, distances travelled in the expedition of , dr. mcdonnell's letter, dr. mitchell's summary of discoveries, drift-stratum, , dubuque city, du ponceau's prize essay, e earliest date of winnebago history, earthy compounds, elementary structure of the algonquin language, elk island, elk river, its latitude, elevation of lake superior, elevation of the cliff of la grange, elevation of the country at the savanna portage, encampment at st. mary's, ephemeral insects, epoch of the deposit of st. mary's sandstone, epochs of geological action proved by fossils, era of pontiac's hostile movements, era of the discovery of the st. lawrence, erismatolite, erratic block stratum, erratic block and drift stratum, essay on the odjibwa substantive, establishment of a military post at st. peter's, etymology, etymology of manitowakie, etymology of minnesota, etymology of namikong, etymology of pawating, etymology of rum river, etymology of the word konamik, etymology of the word michilimackinac, etymology of the word mississippi, etymology of the word wisconsin, etymology of waganukizzie, evidences of ancient indian cultivation, evidences of diluvial action, explorations recommended, extensive and fertile bow-shaped area, f fallacious appearance of a tide in green bay, fallacious information of the indians, respecting the lead mines, falls and precipices, falls of st. croix, falls of the montreal river, federation group of islands of lake superior, , feud between the sioux and chippewas, final embarkation at grosse point, final separation of the party at fort dearborn, first lake vessel built by la salle, first steamboat visits michilimackinac in , flat rock point, organic remains, flock of pigeons drowned in storms, flora of lake michigan, fluor spar, fond du lac, fondness of the indians for melons, forest-trees, forest-trees buried by oceanic drift, fort holmes, when dismantled, fort howard, fort niagara built, fossil fauna of the west, fossil wood, foundation of old mackinac, fox chief aquoqua, fox river valley, fox village, freshwater conchology, freshwater shells of the fox and wisconsin, friendship of wawetum, friendly act of the daughter of wabojeeg, frogs inclosed in stone, fringillia vespertina, or schoolcraft's grosbec, further discussion of the odjibwa substantive, g galena, generalizations on the mississippi river, geographical data of the portage from lake superior to the st. croix and chippewa rivers, geological deductions, geological memoranda, geological monuments, geology of mackinac, geological outlines of the lake superior coast, geological phenomena, geology, glacial action, globe of sandstone from a geological pocket-hole, grammatical structure of sentences in the odjibwa, granite point, granular gypsum in sandstone, graphic granite, gratiot's grove, grauwackke, grauwackke of iron river, grave of dubuque, gray wolf, , great copper boulder on lake superior, great sand dunes, green bay city, group of the manatouline islands, grosbec--new species, gypsum, , h habits of the anas canadensis, helix, hennepin, henry inman, herds of buffalo east of the mississippi, high value of the lake superior copper mines urged on congress, highest platform mound on the mississippi, highlands of sauble, historical data respecting dubuque's mines, historical data respecting the smallpox, historical facts, history of green bay, history of the chippewas, history of the fox indians, hochungara, or winnebagoes, holcus fragrans, houghton's analysis of the lake copper, houghton's plants, how possessives are formed in the chippewa, human skull in the solid part of a living tree, huron coast line, huttonian theory, hystrix, i ice formed on the th of july, illigan lake, image stone, importance of vaccination to indians, impression of a trilobite in quartz, indian altar, indian birch-bark letter, indian boundary, indian chief red thunder, indian chief red wing, indian corn-dance, indian council, indian council at the mouth of the crow-wing, indian dwarf, indian language, indian myth of itasca, stanzas on, indian oratory, indian queen, indian summer, indian superstition respecting mines, indian symbol for a man, indian term for geologist, indian trait, indian translation of an expression, indian tribes visited in , indian women engage in mining, indian women gathering rice, indians turn mineralogists, inquiries respecting the history of the indians, inter-european amalgamation, intrepid act of gen. cass, iron sand, irving's lake, island of ancient indian sepulchre, itasca lake, j james riley, jargon of the northwest, john johnston, esq., journey from albany to geneva, journey in a sleigh across the highlands, k kabamappa accuses the sioux of treachery, kaginogumaug, or longwater lake, kakabika falls, kakala, its probable meaning, kalamazoo, kubba-kunna, l la hontan's apocryphal discovery on long river, lac plè, lac traverse, lac vieux desert, lacustrine clay-flats of lake st. clair, lake action, lake audrusia, lake chetac, lake douglass, lake drift, lake pepin, , lake st. clair, landscape of michilimackinac, last year the bison is seen east of the mississippi, latitude of mackinac, lead mines at dubuque, , leading events in the life of gen. macomb, leaf river of the crow-wing, learn the state of the sauc war, leech lake, leech lake river, ; etymology, left hand river, legal claim to the mine tract, length of the mississippi, letter to nathaniel h. carter, esq., level of lake erie above tide-water, limits of the cervus sylvestris, line of discovery above cass lake, list of latitudes and longitudes, list of quadrupeds and birds observed, little crow chief, little vermilion lake, localities of minerals and rock strata, locality of freshwater shells, long prairie river, longitudinal phenomena, lt. col. fowle, notice of, lupus americanus, lyceum of natural history, new york, extract from its annals, m m. woolsey, mackinac limestone, magnesian minerals, magnitude of lake michigan, marquette's discovery of the mississippi, mass of native copper, on the shores of winnebago lake, massachusetts island, mean temperature at the sources of the upper mississippi river, ; party for the ultimate discovery of this river, mean temperature of st. peter's valley, mean velocity of current of mississippi river, metallic masses, metallic minerals, meteorological journal kept at chicago, meteorology, metoswa rapids, metunna rapids, micaceous oxide of iron, michigan--its population at various periods, michilimackinac, , michilimackinac first becomes a capital for the fur trade, ; j. j. astor occupies it in , miera, or walk-in-the-water, milwaukie, its etymology, population, and resources, mine of peosta, mineral character of lake superior, mineralogy and geology, mineralogy of the northwest, miners' mode of classifying ore, mississippi first crossed by primary rocks, mississippi from the influx of the missouri, mistake respecting american antiquities, mode of converting a noun to a verb in the odjibwa, mollusks, montruille an object of pity, mozojeed, a chief of energy, mr. monroe's message of th december, , mr. schoolcraft's report on the copper mines of lake superior, mukkundwa indians, ethnological sketch, murder of gov. semple, muskego river, my first portage; what is "a piece," mythologic notion, n naiwa rapids, native salt and native copper, native silver, and its ores, natural history, nebeesh island and rapids, neenaba, a partisan chief, new localities of copper, new seat for hygeia and the muses, new species in conchology, nicollet's table of geographical positions, noble reply of an algonquin chief, noble view, number in the chippewa, number, value, &c. of the copper mines of lake superior, o objects of governmental policy, oblations to the dead, observe the buffalo, odjibwa animate and inanimate adjectives, odjibwa compound words, odjibwa numerals, odjibwamong, offering food to the dead, official report of gen. cass, okunzhewug, a chieftainess, murdered, old english copper-mining company, old mackinac, its date, onzig river, ores and metals, organic impressions, organization of the expedition of , origin of the indian race, ornithology, ortho-cerite limestone, ottowa lake, p pakagama falls, palæontological rocks, palaozoic sandstone, peace rock, pelican, perch or assawa lake, period of the first military occupation of old mackinac, petrified leaf, with a sketch, pewabik river, physical character of the crow-wing river, physical characters of the mississippi, pictographic device, pictographic indian inscription, pictographic mode of communicating ideas, pictured rocks, pike's bay, pipe-stone, or opwagunite, planorbis, planorbis companulatus, plants collected by dr. houghton, plastic clay of st. clair flats, plateau of lakes and marshes, polydon, polyganum, population and statistics of mackinac in , population of detroit in , population of leech lake, population of ottowas, porcupine mountains, , porphyry and conglomerate boulders, portage to the sources of crow-wing river, positive and negative forms of speech, in the odjibwa, potatoes vegetate in pure pebbles, pouched rat, practicability of working the superior mines of copper and iron, ; advantages of transportation, preliminary incidents at washington, preliminary report of exploring expedition of , primary forks of the mississippi, ; country disposed in plateaux, principles of the odjibwa noun-adjective, produce of the copper mines of the world, pseudomorphous forms, pseudostoma pinetorum, pusabika river, q quartz geodes, quartzite rock, queen anne's lake, question of prepositions, r racine, rapid glances at the geology of western new york, rapids of the mississippi above sandy lake, rattlesnake of the wisconsin hills, reach detroit, after a passage of hours, reach itasca lake, its outline, reach lake superior, rebus nutkanus, reciprocal death in a combat, red banks, red jasper in quantity, red oxide of iron, red sandstone, red sandstone of lake superior, register of temperature in the united states, reorganization of the first expedition at chicago, report of dr. houghton on the copper of lake superior, report of mr. schoolcraft to the senate on the mineral lands of lake superior, residents of chicago in , return of expedition of to detroit, ; summary notice of, return to sandy lake, returns of the cornwall and devon copper mines, rifle shooting, rise of waters in the lakes, river st. croix, robert de la salle, rosa parviflora, ruins of fort st. joseph, built in , rule of euphony in the algonquin language, ; active and passive voices, ; philosophical mode of denoting number, s sacred island of the indians, saganaw bay, , saliferous red clay, sandstone in a vertical position, sandstone rock found in place on the east coast of lake huron, sandy lake, sarracenia purpurea, or owl's moccasin, saurian, savanna of gatchi betobeeg, savanna summit, saw-mills in the indian territory, scenery of lake superior, schoolcraft's examination of the indian vowels, schoolcraft's geological report, schoolcraft's island, schoolcraft's official report in , septaria, serpentine rock, sexual nouns, sheboigan, its etymology, shingabawossin reopens negotiations, sienitic and hornblende rock, silicious minerals, silurian limestone, silver, a boulder specimen, silver medal presented, sioux masses of colored clays, site of a massacre in , site of an ancient dune, skeleton paradigm of the indian verb, sketch of sandy lake, sketch of the banks of the mississippi from st. anthony, sketch of the river at the copper rock, sketches addressed to gen. george p. morris, skull cave, on the island of mackinac, , alexander henry's adventures in , . smallpox appears among the chippewas in , society on the island; its peculiar phases, soil and climate of minnesota, soldiers poor canoemen, source of assowa river, ; portage over the height of land, south coast line of lake superior, species of freshwater shells, st. anthony's falls, its indian name, st. mary's canal, st. paul's, minnesota, state of geological knowledge in , stationary distances on lake superior, statistics of maple sugar made by the indians, statistics of the fur trade, staurotide; native silver, steamboat walk-in-the-water, straits of st. mary, stratification, stratum of quartzite rock, sub-exploring party, sub-formative pronouns in the algonquin language, ; relative pronouns, ; demonstrative pronouns, summit lake, sun above the horizon at p. m., superstition of the indians, synopsis of appendix no. , t table of latitudes and longitudes in the northwest, tabular view of minerals of the northwest, temperature required by tropical plants, tenacity of life of the deer, tensal inflections in the algonquin, testimonial to capt. douglass and mr. schoolcraft, the glutton, the mississippi viewed in sections, the trap-rock the true copper-bearing medium, thirteen-striped squirrel, time required in passing lake superior, topography and astronomy, tortoise, tortuous channel, totem, tour from galena to fort winnebago, track of indian migration, tramp through a swamp, treaty of june , , trunk of a tree fossilized, turtle river, u ultimate point reached by the first expedition, unio, , unio food for the wild duck, unio schoolcraftensis, upper red cedar lake, uva ursi, v vaccination of indians, valley of taquimenon, valley of the st. croix, valley of the st. louis, vast caldron in grauwackke, verbs in the algonquin, how changed to substantives, vermilion canoe, vesicular crumbling limestone, vestiges of a wreck on lake michigan, view of lake huron, views of skeptics on the mosaical chronology, virginia island, visit niagara, its etymology, , visit to gen. dodge at his residence, visit to the locality of the great mass of copper on lake superior, vitric boulders, volcanic upheavals, voyageurs hired not to drink spirits, and to keep the sabbath, w war-party of neenaba broken up, water-worn agates on the lacustrine summit, waughpekennota, white crystalline sand rock, white rock, white springs of ontario, width of sandy lake river at its outlet, width of the mississippi at the outlet of cass lake, winnebago idea of geology, winonao laita, wisconsin, , wisconsin lead mines; aspect of the country, wolverine, y year opens with severe weather, yellow river war-party, z zeolite, zinc found in the wisconsin mines, zoned agate, zoological objects inclosed in rock, or the solid parts of trees, &c., zoology, * * * * * *