\'.>v m '■';.•■'■". i."' '■' i I- ■ r- '. ""n-'))]! ■i.'.i'-'-i'; '?'.'■ ■vf , ":i-. ,;.■!'■'■; ;•;;■•■;;■' rH:i;:': \^:'!;:y- Gass ! M '•- , Book ^Z t . I N '5^ . SAINT LOUIS: >^.' HEADQIMRTEES', Future Great City OK THE WORLD. BY L. U. REAVIS. Henreforth St. Louis must be viewed in the light of her future — her mightiness in the empire of the world — her sway in the rule of states and nations. BIOGRAPHICAL EDITION ST. LOUIS : GRAY, BAKER & CO -|(I7 X. FdUHTii SriiKiri/. Entered, according to act of Congress, in the vear 1S75, bv W. W. WOOD, In tlie office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. (HAS. E.WAKE .V- (JO., |{K(JKTOLD .\; CO., I'KIXTKHS. ■' BIXHERS. aited E^tiGn DANIEL RANDALL GARRISON : .4 citizen great ill the attributes of manhood ; one zvho has zvove// out froni his individual itw his superior brain and restless activity^ a large con- tribution to the city of 9?iy theme, and to my country ; one zvho, in building up his oxvn fortunes, has im- pressed his character upon many material interests, and who gives promise of still greater usefidness in the future ; THIS VOL UME, Which illustrates a fadeless hope, and a profound conviction in the future of St. Louis, is respectfully inscribed by THE AUTHOR, PREFACE. [N presenting to the public a new work, more ambitious and comprehen- sive than anything of a simihir character yet issued, a few words rehitive to its scope and its design are deemed essential to a proper appreciation among those who know the circumstances under which the labor has been performed, and the purpose which the work is designed to subserve. In its character and scope, the work is designed to be commensurate with, and representative of, the fame and material grandeur of St. Louis. To this end the information and the arguments have been grouped in general depart- ments, and each , of these has been treated with such elaboration as its importance seemed to demand. In the history of the city, the greater attention has been given to that dim traditionary period, the record of which is fragmentary, and which, there- fore, requires our eflbrts to preserve from that decay which follows all events inscribed only in the recollection of men. The records of our later history as a city, have been too fully and voluminously kept to run the risk of oblivion, and their elaboration is left to some future historian. The statistics and facts, which set forth the present advancement of St. Louis in her material growth, have been collected with care, and are pre- sented without exaggeration or any unnecessary ornament. In their simplicity they are eloquent of a present full of grandeur, and a future glowing with brighter promise than the achievements of the past can even measure. In that promise, so plainly to be read, so far on its way to fulfillment, I see the consummation of my great ambition for the city of my home, the city of my ardent hope and love. That portion of the work devoted to biography, embellished, as it is, with the best productions of the engraver's art, is designed to be a faithful reflex of the moving force, the life and soul behind the marble, the iron and the brick, that in stately piles typify the swelling power of a new and wonderful civilization planted upon a congenial soil. As a whole, it is no egotism to say that it constitutes amine of information and instruction from which may be gathered sonie of the choicest events and episodes in the history of our country, and some of the brightest examples of well-directed endeavor. In this department, so essential to histoiy, there will be found neither flattery nor unmerited compliment, but such a representation as conscientious performance of a worthy labor can alone produce. Could we subtract biography from all history, we would have left but a succession of barren facts, in which there VI PREFACE. would be nothing to attract our sympathies or to guide our judgment. It is, therefore, becoming in those who record the eflbrts of individuals, to do so with a full sense of their responsibility, and in the consciousness that the teaching conveyed will grow stronger with each succeeding generation. Actuated bv these deep convictions this work has been prepared, and I therefore trust that its usefulness will extend far beyond my own times, and that when it is looked upon as a memento of the past, it will also be regarded as a prophecy that has met a triumphant fulfillment. With a full conviction that the city of London is not fixed in history as the final great city of the world, but that it heralds the one great city of the future, which all ci^'ilization is now hastening to build up on this continent, as the culminating work of the westward movement of the world's people on the globe, it is with heart-felt gratitude that I have been enabled to see some good results, as I believe, come to the public from my own labors. Especiallv am I grateful for the achievement won in being able to send out this volume to my people, representing, as it does, so much of their life and greatness — a people who, I believe, will in turn kindly regard it, and be char- itable in criticism, and generous in promoting its usefulness. In determining who was worthy of a place in the book, counsel has been taken of old citizens, most competent to judge, and while it cannot be claimed that it is complete in including all who are worthy a place in its pages, it is yet representative in its presentation of those of our citizens who have illus- trated and influenced our advancement in the higher walks of business and professional life. In the preparation of this work, it is but just to say that I have received valuable assistance from Messrs. Richard T. Bradley, John S. Dormer, and Colonel E. H. E. Jameson, gentlemen well known, not only in St. Louis but throughout the countrv, for their ability and scholarly attainments, their experience in journalism, and their literary accomplishments. L. U. REAVIS. August i, 1875. An Explanatop>^y Wof\d, This work is designkd to be a Presentation of Causes in Nature and Civilization, which, in their reciprocal action, WILL fix the position OF THE FUTURE GREAT CITY OF THE WORLD IN THE Central Plain of North America ; showing THAT THE CENTRE OF THE WoRLD's COMMERCE AND CIVILIZATION WILL, IN LESS THAN OnE HuNDRED YeARS, MOVE FORWARD IN ITS Westward Career, and be organized and represented in the Mississippi Valley, and by ST. LOUIS, occupying, as she does, THE MOST FAVORABLE POSITION ON THE CONTINENT AND THE GrEAT River . PROPHETIC VOICES ABOUT ST. LOUIS. St. Louis alone would be an all-sufficient theme; for who can doubt that this pros- perous metropolis is destined to be one of" the mighty centers of our mighty Republic. — Charles Sumner. Fair St. Louis, the future Capital of the I'nited States, and of the civilization of the Western Continent. — ^James Parton. A glance at the map of the United States shows what an interesting place St. Louis is destined to become, when the white population has spread itself more westwardly from the Mississippi, and up and along the Missouri River, perhaps it may yet become the capital of a great nation. — Duke of S.\xe-Weiiviar Eisenach, '-Travels in North America in 1825-26." New York Tribune, } New York, February 4, 1870. 5 Dear Sir — I have tvvice seen St. Louis in the middle of winter. Nature made her the focus of a vast region, embodying a vast area of the most fertile soil of the globe. Man will soon accomplish her destiny by rendering her the seat of an immense industry, the home of a far-reaching, ever-expanding commerce. Her gait is not so rapid as that of some of her Western sisters, but she advances steadily and surely to her predestined station of first inland city on the globe. Yours, Horace Greeley. L. U. Reavis, Esq., Missouri. I also remember that I am in the city of St. Louis — destined, ere long, to be the great city on the continent (renewed cheers) : the greatest central point between the East and the West, at once destined to be the entrepot and depot of all the internal commerce of the greatest and most prosperous country the world has ever seen; connected soon with India by the Pacific, and receiving the goods of China and Japan : draining, with its immense rivers centering here, the great Northwest, and opening into the Gulf through the great river of this nation, the Father of Waters — the Mississippi. Whenever — and that time is not far distant — the internal commerce shall exceed our foreign commerce, then shall St. Louis take the very first rank among the cities of the nation. And that time, my friends, is much sooner than any one of us at the present time actually realizes. Suppose that it had been told to you — any one of you here present, of middle age, within twenty years past, that within that time such a city should grow up here, with such a population as covers the teeming prairies of Illinois and Indiana, between this and the Ohio, who would have realized the prediction .' And so the next quarter of a century shall see a larger population west of the Mississippi than the last quarter of a century saw east of the Mississippi ; and the city of St. Louis, from its central location, and through the vigor, the energy, the industry and the enterprise of its inhabitants, shall become the very first city of the United States of America, now and hereafter destined to be the great Republican nation of the world. — Gen. B. F. Butler. St. Louis is surrounded with dilapidated fortifications, which were at no period in a complete condition. The town is now in a state of very rapid improvement. Its situation is not only advantageous, but interesting; occupying a point where so many vast rivers mingle their streams, an increasing, rapid and lasting prosperity is promised to this town. Including Louisiana, St. Loiiis is the most central town yet built in the American Union. It may be in the course of human events the seat of empire, and no position can be more favorably situated for the accumulation of all that comprises wealth and power. — Wil- liam Darby. 181S. >ffi;Ce 0f ik iiiliit J4^a.9Jr,d, ^^^- .f. /.S.t^. ^^^ju,^' ^^-^ • 1/ <<1^^-^/-^ C^eyt-ccSl -t5^.^^>^ •^ HEAT Headqitartkrs Army of the United States, | St. Loins. Mo., July i6, 187=^. j L. U. Reavis^ Esq.^ St. Louis., Mo.. : Dear Sir — I have your letter of July 15, asking me to express to you some thoughts about this city as the great city of the world. This is a big subject, and too large for me to grapple. I have every faith in the future of St. Louis, and have in part shown sinceritv by making it my home, and the future home of my family. I know that you are engaged in preparing a work on this subject, and I beg you will excuse me if I ask you to deal with m}' name in this connection as lightly as possible. My office is national. I may be ordered from one part to the other of the LInited States on a minute's warning, and cannot claim to be my own master. Therefore I must not localize myself; I must not claim for St. Louis what other places have a perfect right to claim for them- selves. I know your intense earnestness, and hope you are right in vour prognos- tications, and that you will make your work a credit to the citv and to vour self. • With great respect, your obedient sei"vant, W. T. SHERMAN. Ge^rra/ If it were asked whose anticipations of what has been done to advance civ- ilization, for the past fifty years, have come nearest the truth — those of the sanguine and hopeful, or those of the cautious and fearful — must it not be answered that none of the former class had been sanguine and hopeful enough to anticipate the full measure of human progress since the opening" of the present century? May it not be the most sanguine and hopeful only, who, in anticipation, can attain a due estimation of the measure of future change and improvement in the grand march of society and civilization westward over the continent? The general mind is faithless of what goes much beyond its own expe- rience. It refuses to receive, or it receives with distrust, conclusions, however strongly sustained by facts and fair deductions, which go much beyond its ordinary range of thought. It is especially skeptical and intolerant toward the avowal of opinions, however well founded, which are sanguine of great future changes. It does not comprehend them, and therefore refuses to believe ; but it sometimes goes further, and, without examination, scornfully rejects. To seek for the truth is the proper object of those who, for the past and present, undertake to say what will be the future, and, when the truth is found, to express it with as little reference to what will be thought oi it as if putting forth the solution of a mathematical problem. y. W. SCOTT. ^^ SAINT LOUIS: THE METROPOLIS OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. LETTER FROM JUDGE NATHANIEL HOLMES. L. U. Reavis^ Esq. : Dear Sir — Since you do me the honor to suppose that any ideas on the subject of your book may have some value, or some interest, I venture to lav the following observations before you for what they may be worth. The great cities of the world were not built in a day. The populous cities of the ancient world were, indeed, situated in the fertile valleys of great rivers, and far from the sea — as Thebes and Memphis on the Nile, Ayodha on the Ganges, and Babylon and Nineveh on the plains of Mesopotamia ; and some others again, like the primeval Sogd and Balkh, upon elevated interior pla- teaus. They were the work of centuries, and some of them survived the vicissitudes of sevei'al thousand years. The strides of the central marts of European commerce from Alexandria to Venice, to Lisbon, to Amsterdam, to London, are measured by periods of centuries. Population and trade move at more rapid rates in our time. Imagination easily leaps over a thousand years. It is not impossible that our city of St. Louis mav be "the future great city of the world," but if we are to come to practical facts for our day and generation, and take the safe and sure way, I think we may be content to set it down as both the present and future great citv of the Mississippi Valley. The first leading feature that impresses me is this: that St. Louis is a cen- tral mart, seated on the great southern water line of transport and trafhc, bv the river, the gulf, and the ocean ; and that Chicago is another, less central or quite eccentric, situated at the end of the great northern line of traffic and travel, by the lakes, canals and rivers to the sea. Both are, and will be, great centers for internal distribution ; but St. Louis is, or will be, in all the futiu'e, in this, the more central and important of the two. For exportation of products, Chicago has been, of recent years, the greater in quantitv and value ; but St. Louis, in this, has of late rapidly approached her, and in the near future may be expected even to surpass the Citv of the Lakes. Both XTV JITDGE IIOLMKS- T. K T T E R . reach out over the vast, fertile areas extending from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains and hevond, and from the northern boundary to the Gulf of Mexico, to grasp in the growling trade of the Valley, both of import and export. Chicago reaches out by railroads ; St. Louis by both railroads and rivers. And here it may be w^ell to mark the changes that have taken place in the last thirty-five years or so. In 1839 (say), Chicago had vessels on the lakes (there were no railroads in those days), and had some four or five thousand inhabitants gathered upon a mud flat at the mouth of a deep ditch ; and a traveler could go by stage to La Salle, or Peoria, and thence by steamer to St. Louis ; or he could take the stage to Detroit, if he thought the vovage through Lake Huron would be too long, or if the lakes were frozen up. Galena, the chief town of the Upper Mississippi, was nearly beyond all practical access from that quarter, and her rich productions in lead, and all her trade, had to come down the river to St. Louis. St. Louis then had some sixteen thousand inhabitants, spreading over beautiful slopes and levels, and rested on solid foundations of building rock and brick earth, and commanded the whole navigation and trade of the rivers, from New Orleans to the falls of St. Anthony, and from Pittsburg to where Fort Benton now is, and beyond to the region of furs, and up and down the Illinois, the Arkansas, the Cumberland, and the Tennessee rivers. As to navigation, it was all the same thing then, and is now, and always will be, as if all these rivers met at one common point of junction, here at St. Louis : for each one, counting the Upper and the Lower Mississippi as two, had then, and still has, its own distinct trade and class of steamboats. But then, too, the greater part of Illinois and Michigan, nearly the whole of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, all Nebraska and Kansas, and the eiitire region west- ward to the Rocky Mountains and to the Pacific Ocean, was a wide, howling wilderness, and a mere hunting ground for the Indians. There was, of course, a large internal traffic, and a very considerable import and export through New Orleans and the sea, and through Pittsburg and the Ohio, to' the Eastern cities and to Europe, and to Brazil and the Islands and shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Emigration swarmed to the West from all the States of the Union, and from half the States in Europe. It astonished none but the blind that the population of the city of St. Louis grew, in twenty years, from sixteen to one hundred and sixty thousand. That in ten years more (from i860 to 1870), during the war period, it grew to 310,000, might well astonish the most sanguine. Nearly all the heavy gro- ceries (salt, sugar, molasses, coftee, etc.,) from Louisiana, the W^est Indies and Brazil, and a large part of the heavier kinds of merchandise from Europe (iron, tin, hardware, crockery, liquors, German gimcracks included,) were then, as they are now (with the addition of many other leading articles), and will continue to be, more and more, in the future, imported, either directly, or more or less indirectly, into St. Louis, and distributed from this market ; and the bulkv products of the surrounding country, that could be spared to go abroad. JUDGK HOI.MES LETTER. \\ were exported mainly by the same channels. Such manufactures as could be made here, and were in demand for the Western country, rapidly grew up, and the manufacturers (as of stoves, castings, saddlery, mill machinery, steamboat machinery, white lead and oil, refined sugar, bagging and bale rope, tobacco, etc., etc.,) grew rich. And vSt. Louis had overtaken Cincin- nati before the war. Five years ago, the value of the imports paying duties here or at New Orleans, was five millions ; this last year it was eleven mil- lions. This must be taken as simply the small beginnings. The railroad system, in its westward movement, embraced Chicago first ; the regions immediately around Chicago first became the more densely settled and cultivated; and Eastern capital pushed her railroads out in all directions, largely taking away the trade of the Northwest from the rivers and St. Louis, and they had extended them even into Northern Missouri when the war shut up the Mississippi, and also stopped the progress of our incipient railroads ; and then, of course, the larger part of the trade went to Chicago, because it could go nowhere else. In the earlier days of the railroad era, you may have heard, it was with great difficulty that a charter could be obtained from the Illinois Legislature for the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, to terminate at St. Louis. Alton was to be the future great city. The Chicago and Alton Rail- road had to stop short at Alton, and so the Alton and Terre Haute Railroad ; but at length some shrewd operators managed to get a new charter for a new road from Alton to* Belleville, leaving the. route so vaguely defined by the bill, that it admitted of being so warped to one side in the location as to touch the river opposite to St. Louis, on its way to Belleville ; and so the terminus was practically established where the exigencies of commerce required it to be. The result now, is a second railro'xd straight from St. Louis to Terre Haute, and a great bridge for the accommodation of that and all the rest, which now seek a common depot in the heart of the city. In like manner, the Illinois Central Raih'oad was to be of no particular benefit to St. Louis. Cairo was to be another great city, and outstrip St. Louis. Now, practically, St. Louis is a principal terminus of that road, and it runs trains in and out to Cairo, Chicago, Dubuque and Sioux City — for such are the laws of trade and the exigencies of human affairs. Gradually, also, and more recently, the great lines of railroad running westwardly through Canada and from New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, have been hauling down from the North, and stretching directly in straight, consolidated lines to the common central terminus at St. Louis. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, by the mouth of the Big Sandy River and Louisville, is fast coming, also ; and the Southeast- ern (St. Louis and Nashville), reaches into Georgia and South Carolina, prac- tically terminating at Charleston — two new spokes of the wheel. The war times built the Grand Central and Union Pacific Railroad, but it had to termi- nate at Omaha or nowhere, and go straight on to Chicago and the East. It was probably not expected to do St. Louis much good ; but St. Louis has tapped it at Omaha, and will soon strike it at Fort Kearney, by two or three XVI JUDCJK HOLMES LETTER. distinct lines, nearly straight, in continuation of the Missouri Pacific and the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern Railroads, the great western and north- western spokes of the wheel, and one hundred and fifty miles, at least, shorter than from the same point to Chicago (not forgetting the Kansas Pacific Rail- road to Denver and Cheyenne) ; and, again, it may be anticipated that the exigencies of trade and commerce will make that road, also, so far tributary to St. Louis as the great central mart may require. In the meantime, while the incubus of war is scarcely yet lifted, and many people are but half awake to the coming future, still dozing in the penumbra of the depression period (as if it were to last forever), St. Louis, I observe, has run out several important spokes of the great railroad wheel whereof she is the hub, or they have been run into St. Louis, stretching southeast, south- west, south, west, northwest, northeast, and north — to nearly all points of the compass — and when all are completed that are now in progress, or in prospect at no very distant day, they will present the wondrous spectacle of long lines of railroad radiating from the centre to the circumference, not merely of this valley but of the whole United States. It is even now made apparent to any one, bv a glance at your map, showing the direction of the more prominent lines of railroad, that such another railroad centre as St. Louis is now, or is fast becoming, is not possible on the map of the United States. So extensive a system of railroads cannot be completed in a day. The wonder is, that so much has been done in the short period since the war. It matters little whether it be the work of St. Louis capital or of foreign capital. Commercially, St. Louis is scarcely one generation old. In the Eastern cities are the accumulations of one or two centuries. The capital accumulated here, however large, is all employed in the immediate business of the city. The vast amount required for this rapid construction of long lines of railroad, must come chiefly from abroad. Meantime, it is not surprising that the busi- ness men of St. Louis turn their faces to the South and wSouthwest, where they have an almost exclusive monopoly of the trade, rather than to the North and Northwest, where they come into more stringent competition with Chicago and the Eastern cities. Everything cannot be done at once. At present the people of the Northwest are left to do mainly what they can for themselves to reach St. Louis. They have the rivers and some railroads already, and the important river improvements now in progress will ofl'set in some degree the obstructions of railroad bridges, and more railroads are soon to come. The Chicago railroads stretch directly westward across the Mississippi to the Missouri River, and some of them are bending southward through Mis- souri and Kansas, toward Texas and New Mexico. The St. Louis railroads cross them from north round to west, and in the race for competition it comes to the question here, to what extent, and in what kinds of merchandise, either central mart can command the advantage in traffic. Besides the St. Louis, Alton and Chicago, the St. Louis, Jacksonville and Peoria, and Louisiana, JUDGE H0LMP:S letter. XVII Qiiincy and Burlington, and the St. Louis, Rockford and Rock Island Rail- roads, two great northern spokes of the wheel, the St. Louis, Hannibal, Keokuk and Burlington Railroad, reaching by Cedar Falls to St. Paul, and by Galesburg to Chicago, and the northern branch of the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern Railroad, reaching by the Central Railroad, of Iowa, to St. Paul and Duluth, not to mention others, are now nearing completion. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad has, no doubt, been built in the interest of the North and East ; but the practical result, so far, is a terminus at St. Louis. To the extent that it will pay best, it may be expected to remain there. The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad has been constructed so far, proba- bly, with little or no idea of conferring any special benefit upon St. Louis, but rather because the company saw money in the enterprise, and believed it would be a paying institution, even for capitalists of New York and Boston. The Iron Mountain Railroad is more especially a St. Louis road, but it requires the help of foreign capital (which can be had on good security and at good rates of interest,) to extend it into Texas. It reaches now to New Orleans, Mobile, Memphis and Chattanooga, constituting the great Southern spoke of the wheel. The natural competition of Chicago, as it sweeps round southwestwardly, gradually diminishes, and here comes nearl}' to zero. Consider, now, what is to be the state of things, particularly with reference the States lying northwest of the Mississippi River (for in other directions the matter is to need special comment), when the system of railroads is com- pleted. The distances by railroad will be, in general, shorter to St. Louis than to Chicago. The radiation of railroads will be somewhat analogous to the radiation of rivers, and St. Louis will have both systems in conjunction ; for the longer railroads, as naturally as the rivers, and by the same exigen- cies of trade and commerce, tend to concentration into one common centre at the great metropolitan city of the West. Here we come upon matters that lie peculiarly within the knowledge and experience of mercantile men. If I may hazard an opinion, I should say that there will be in this quarter a divided empire, with field enough for both competitors, and that the division will be much according to kind of merchandise and the sources whence it comes. Many kinds may reach that region more readily by the great Northern water route and the railroads from Chicago, while many other kinds will be obtained to greater advantage from the St. Louis market — as, for instance, our own manufactures, and many importations of European manufactures and pro- ducts, the heavy groceries from the West Indies and Brazil, and teas and silks from China and Japan. Various articles that are brought from distant parts of the globe in sailing vessels will continue to be imported almost exclu- sively into the Atlantic cities, where the necessary capital is, and where these vessels are built and owned, and these articles will reach the interior of the Northwest more easily by the northern water route than by railroads across the Alleghanies ; they cannot be imported from Europe, I presume, because they cannot pay one duty going into Europe, and another duty coming XVIII JUDGE HOLMES LETTER. into America from Ein-ope. But manufactures and products of the States of Eui'ope can be imported directly into St. Louis as well as into the Atlantic cities, when regular lines of steamships are established between European ports and New Orleans. The data furnished by experienced men demonstrate that the bulky produce of the country tributary to St. Louis can go from here to Liverpool by the- great Southern water route in bulk, cheaper than it can possibly be carried across the country by railroad to be exported from the Atlantic cities ; and when this route is fully inaugurated, as it doubtless will be before long, it stands to reason that importation to a much larger extent, and of more kinds, than has been dreamed of heretofore, will come back the same way to St. Louis, and be distributed from this market, even into the Northwest, cheaper than it can be done via Chicago — though the war swept American vessels from the ocean. Iron barges, elevators, a St. Philip canal, or the South Pass. Jetties, improved rivers and steamships, and more railroads, will do the busi- ness, and St. Louis, to a large and important extent, will become the rival so far, not merely of Chicago, but of New York and Boston, as an importing and exporting city ; so that it may be said some day. if not now, that St. Louis is the Southwestern and New York the Northwestern focus of the whole ellipse. In this fact lies one principal advantage of the position of St. Louis (if there be any at all) over Chicago, as an interior mart for the distribution of general merchandise. Our position in the centre of the coal fields and mineral regions of the Valley, and our facilities for various kinds of man- ufactures, not only of ii'on and steel, but for queensware, stoneware, tinware, plated ware, glass, zinc, silver, white lead and oil, refined sugar, tobacco, fui-niture, agricultural implements, and many other articles, is another great advantage of position. And a still greater is the position of St. Louis at the conjunction of the radiating river and railroad systems, in reference to the bulky agricultural products of the whole vast circuit of country (especially west of the Mississippi,) which they penetrate in all directions, comprising within a six hundred mile circle described on this centre nearly the entire area of the most fertile soil of the Mississippi Valley, the garden of America, if not of the whole earth. The importance of St. Louis in this particular, lies first, in its being a central mart for the internal distribution of home products in every direction, and second, in its being a receiving mart for exportation of the surplus. The annual statistics exhibit the present magnitude of this busi- ness. The increase in five years in grain, pork and cattle, is next to fabulous. Within the same period, the swell of the daily clearings, at the St. Louis Clearing House, from half a million a day to four and five millions a day, may be taken as some sure index of the increase in volume of the general commercial operations. The annual statement for the vear 1S72, shows an aggregate of clearings of $989,000, and an increase over the previous year of $133,000,000. The aggregate clearings were, for the year 1S73. $1,099,154,- 351.90; for the year 1874, $1,192,532,761.70. JUDGE IIOLMTCS' LETTER. XIX In this view : as in the l-)cginning we glanced backward over a period of thirty years and more, suppose now we look forward through the next thirty vears. Considering the rate of progress in that past time, (and the rate will surely be no less in the future,) let any one try to imagine what will then be the condition of the country lying west of the Mississippi River, and for which St. Louis is clearly to be the principal commercial mart in this Valley. Population has, indeed, reached scatteringly nearly to the western limit of the fertile plains where sufficient rains make crops sufficiently certain. It has reached in some places even beyond the limit, where, without railroads or river navigation, it will pay to raise more crops than can be consumed on the ground. Not a tenth part of the intermediate ai'ea is occupied, and scarcely one-half of any one State is under improvement, much less under actual cul- tivation. These States are much in the condition now that Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin were thirty years ago. What will bo the amount of products to be exported, or of merchandise to be imported, or manufac- tures to be supplied, for these States, when they have attained to the present condition of Illinois and Indiana, or Ohio.? It surely needs no prophet to foresee that it will require all the navigation that improved rivers and new arts can furnish, and all the railroads that time and money can build, to do it all ; and yet both may have enough to do. There is more now than both can do, and that is the great trouble. The remote Iowa or Nebraska farmer burns corn for fuel, because it costs more than it is worth to carry it to any market. When the rivers are low and frozen up, the railroads put on killing freights in sheer self-defense against the impossible. It takes time to settle, people, and improve a new country like this. I don't know that we should be in any great hurry to get it all done at once. It has, in former times, taken centuries to people a new country or to build a great city. I am quite sure it is not wise to undertake to build a city in a decade that might very well occupy a century. The growth of St. Louis is certainly rapid and extensive enough to answer all reasonable expectations, if not quite to amaze the most sanguine and impatient. In respect of population, in view of the average rates of increase for each period of ten years from. 1840 to 1870, and particularly for the period between i860 and 1870, during which the rate was for the whole period 15,000 a year, and for the latter half of it at 31,000 a year, the average rate for the period between 1870 and 1880 can- not be expected to be less, and will, in all probability, be more than 20,000 a vear; and this will give a population of more than 500,000 in 1880. Already (1875) the population, on a safe estimate, exceeds 450,000. Let any one look over the past five years, and consider what has been done in that time : the additions that have been built up, the water-works constructed, the streets and wharves that have been improved, the splendid buildings that have been erected, the manufactures that have been initiated, the packet and barge lines and the elevators, the grain trade that has been created, the flour, pork and cattle trade, the tobacco and cotton trade, the millions invested in iron XX JUDGE HOLMES LETTER. works, the railroads that have come hito existence and are ni progress, the great bridge and tunnel and the new Lindell Hotel now completed, the new Chamber of Commerce nearly finished ; the new Post-office and Custom House Building well under way and to cost millions, — and then sayif he remembers any period of five years before the war in which anything like an equal advance was made. In conclusion, and in reference to population in general, I will merely glance at a topic that may not be wholly foreign to your purpose, but is too large to be handled effectually in this place. It is the remarkable fact that the several successive streams of westward migration of the white Aryan race, from the primitive Paradise in the neighborhood of the primeval cities of Sogd and Balkh, in High Asia, long separated in times of migration, and for the most part distinct in the European areas finally occupied by them, and which, in the course of its grand march of twenty thousand years or more, has created nearly the whole of the civilization, arts, sciences and litera- ture of this globe, building seats of fixed habitation and great cities, success- ively, in the rich valleys of the Ganges, the Euphrates, the Nile, the rivers and isles of Greece, the Tiber and the Po, the Danube, the Rhine, the Elbe, and the Seine and Thames, wandering children of the same great family are now, in these latter times, brought together again in their descendants and representatives, Semitic, Pelasgic, Celtic, Teutonic, and Sclavonic, here in the newly discovered common land of promise, and are commingled (espec- ially in this great Valley of the Mississippi.) into one common brotherhood of race, language, law and libertv. Yours, respectfullv. N. HOLMES. St. Louis, July 2:5. 1875. $Sicalo^(|> When it was determined to dedicate this work to some one of the enterprising and prominent citizens of St.. Louis, who had contributed in a high degree to her commercial and manufacturing growth, the author consulted many good men on the subject, and in reference to who was the man, among so many, most worthy to receive the compliment.' The favor was to be bestowed upon some man who had already done well for the city, and gave promise of still greater usefulness, and that man was thought to be Daniel R. G.4RRISON, as the following complimentary cards will testify : Dear Garrison : — Mr. Reavis has just called on me, and I hear he intends to dedi- cate his new book to you. I know of no one who has done more for the prosperity of this city, or led a more active and useful life to the public than yourself, and I think, for the public benefit, as well as your own, you ought to have the dedication of the book. Your friend, April 20, 1875. C. GIBSON. My Dear Garrison : — Mr. Reavis showed me, a few days since, a dedication of his forthcoming work to yourself. It met my cordial approval, and I now wish to say to you, as I learn that you have had some diffidence and modesty about the matter, that I do not know of any representative man of our great industrial interests, (and St. Louis is indus- trial or nothing,) to whom it could more appropriately be dedicated than to one who found our city with arms of clay, and who will have left it with ai-ms of iron and steel. I think, therefore, that you should unhesitatingly accept the prominence it will give, and I can assure you that no one of your friends more truly rejoices in your growing and well- earned fame than myself. Very truly, yours. St. Louis. April 29, 1S75. ... ^ GRATZ BRQWN. L. U. Reavis, Esq., St. Louis, Mo.: Dear Sir — I have received your letter of the 27th, saying that you propose to dedicate your " great work " to Daniel R. Garrison, Esq., of this city. In a busy, prosperous com- munity like this, it is a hard task to select a special one, but I surely agree with you that it would be hard to choose a name more worthy of honor than that of D. R. Garrison. Long identified with the industries of St. Louis, active, busy, generous and manly, he certainl}' is a model man for the growing millions of this region, and if your book will be construed to mean this, 1 surely approve your choice. With great respect, yours truly, ■ St. Louis. June 28, 1875. W. T. SHERMAN, General. ^. yp,^p^L^ Ci^n.^^^^ ey-i^^z. DANIEL RANDALL GARRISON ^T~{0 voung men, making their entrance upon active lite, with great I ambitions, conscious capacities, and high hopes, the prospect is, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, most perplexing. They see every avenue of prosperity thronged with their superiors in experience, in social advantages, and in the possession of all the elements of success. Every post is occupied, every office tilled, every path crowded. Where shall we tind room? It is related of Mr. Webster that when a young lawyer suggested to him that the profession to which he had devoted himself was crowded, the great statesman replied : " Young man, there is always room enough at the top." Never were wiser, or more sug- gestive words spoken. There unquestionably is always room enough at the top, where excellence lives. Mr. Webster was not troubled for lack of room. Mr. Clay and Mr. Calhoun were never crowded. All the great legal lights of the present day have plenty of space around them. The brilliant pulpit orators of the time would never know, in their per- sonal experience, that it was hard to obtain a desirable ministerial charge. The profession is not crowded where they are. Dr. Brown-Sequard, Dr. Willard Parker, Dr. Hammond, are not troubled for space at their •elbows. When Nelaton died in Paris, he died like Moses, on a moun- tain. When Von Grasfe died in Berlin, he had no neighbor at his alti- tude. Stevenson, the entjineer, and our own Fulton, worked out the great problems of steam and its uses, as applied to the locomotive and steamboats in their day, and still there was an abundance of room for others to solve more completely their problems and practical theories. It is well that all young men should learn that nothing will do them so much injury as quick and easy success, and that nothing will do them so much good as a struggle which teaches them exactly what there is in them ; educates them gradually to its use ; instructs them in personal economy ; drills them into a patient and persistent knowledge of work, and keeps them at the foot of the ladder until they become strong enough to hold every step they are enabled to gain. XXIV BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. The tirst years of every man's business or professional life are years of education. They are intended to be so in the order of Nature and Providence. Doors do not open to a man until he is prepared to enter them. The man without a wedding garment may get in surreptitiously, but he immediately goes out with a flea in his ear. It is probabl}^ the experience of most successful men, who have watched the course of their lives in retrospect, that whenever they have arrived at a certain point where they are thoroughl}^ prepared to go higher, the door to a higher place has swung back of itself, and they have heard the call to enter. The old die, or voluntarily retire to rest. The best men who stand ready to take their places will succeed to their position, its honors and emoluments. One can fancy that every calling is pyramidal in its living constituency, and that while one man is at the top, there are several tiers of men below him who have plenty of elbow room, and that it is only at the base that men are so thick that they pick the meat out of one another's teeth to keep from starving. If a man has no power to get out of the rabble at the bottom, then is he self-convicted of having chosen a calling or profession to whose duties he has no adaptation. In the realm of emi- nent acquirements and eminent integrity, there is always room enough. Let no young man of industry and perfect honesty despair because his profession or calling is crowded. Let him always remember that there is room enough at the top ; and that the question whether he will ever reach the top, or rise above the crowd at the base of the pyramid, will be decided by the way in which he improves the first ten years of hi& active life in securing to himself a thorough knowledge of his profession, and a sound moral and intellectual culture. We have in Daniel R. Garrison, whose life-like portrait on steel accompanies this sketch, a man who has compassed within his own expe- rience an amount of beneficent enterprise and well-directed labor that, were what he alone has accomplished thus far, in his busy life, parceled out among half a score of men, it would make the life-work of each very large. He is one of the many who stood at the base of our imaginary pyramid many years ago, and, by the force of his wonderful energy and indomitable will, has reached the top. No detail of his great enterprises has been too trivial ibr his attention ; no operation so stupen- dous as to prevent his entire comprehension of it. He was born near Garrison's Landing, on the Hudson River, in Orange County, New York, November 23, 1815. That favored section,, so rich in historical associations and every charm that nature can supply ». DANIEI> R. GARRISON. XXV was his boyhood home. From that section, nurtured in an atmosphere of grand traditions, have come many of the men who have been the admired of capitals, the oracles of senates, the statesmen ,of great emergencies, and the devotees and patrons of literature and the arts. His father. Captain Oliver Garrison, owned and commanded the first line of packets that ran between West Point and New York, before steamboats were known. His paternal ancestors were of the old Puritan stock of New England. His mother came from the old Holland stock which had settled in that section of New York at an earlv day- Her family connections embraced such names as the Schuylers, Buskirks and Coverts — all historical names — she being a native of New Jersey. In 1829, Daniel's father removed to what was considered the far West, and settled in Buffalo, where his son obtained employment with the firm of Bealls, Wilkinson & Co., engine builders, with whom he remained until 1833. On the tenth of June of that year, occurred an incident of considerable importance in }'oung Garrison's life. Mr. Webster was then on a visit to Bufi'alo, and Mr. Garrison was one of three young men who presented that distinguished statesman with a skillfully-constructed card table, which they had made themselves, and which was composed of nearly every description of American wood. A silver center-piece bore an appropriate inscription, together with the makers' names, and the date of presentation. The gift was a testimonial of their indorse- ment of Mr. Webster's tariff' views. In the fall of 1833. Mr. Garrison went to Pittsburg, Pennsvlvania, and engaged himself, as an employe, at the pattern and machine business, in one of the larijest establishments in that citv. Here he remained for two years. In 1835, he came to St. Louis and secured emplovment, at the head of the drafting department, in the foundry and engine works of Kingsland, Lightner & Co., where he applied himself closelv to work. He remained in this employment for a period of five years, when, in 1840, in connection with his brother. Oliver Garrison, he commenced the manufacture of "steam engines. The many advantages St. Louis presented as a manufacturing point had been thoroughly revolved in his mind — a mind naturally so e^uick in its perceptions as to seem instinctive rather than philosophical, and his judgment was seldom at fault. Manu- facturing establishments at this time were comparatively few, and nearly all manufactured articles were brought here from other points. No large capitalists had then invested their wealth in the establishment of manu- factories west of the Mississippi, and it was by slow advances, at first, that anv progress was made in that direction. Coal and iron were to be XXVI BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH. had in abundance ; labor was cheap ; and it was only a question of time as to when St. Louis would present her claims to be regarded as one of the great manufacturing centres of the Union. The shops of the Garrison Brothers were commenced on a moderate scale, but, as business prospered, their capacity was increased to meet the growing wants of the times, until nearly every kind of steam machinery in use was manufactured by them. This enterprise of the Garrison Brothers gave great impetus to the manufacturing interests of the city, and the example of their success induced others to erect sim- ilar establishments. During these busy years, Mr. Garrison found reallv no time for leisure. Every piece of work turned out from his estab- lishment, from its inception to its completion, passed under his personal supervision. All the drafting of the establishment was done by him : and there was no detail of the business that he was not thoroughly con- versant with, — no part of the work to be done so trivial that he did not examine and understand it. In the year 1848, news of the discover}- of gold in California spread over the whole countr}-, and excited the cupidity of all. Mr. Garrison early came to the conclusion that there was presented a new and profit- able field for enterprise. He correctly reasoned that steamboats would lind lucrative employment on California rivers, as soon as they could be obtained. With this object in view, Mr. Garrison left for San Francisco February 15, 1849, ^"^ after a somewhat tedious journey, by way of the Isthmus, he reached San Francisco in safety. Finding the reports of the rich gold discoveries fully confirmed, he immediately wrote to his brother, Oliver, to send him at once three large engines. These were forwarded to San Francisco in due course of time, by the way of Cape Horn, and reached their destination in the fall of 1849. ^"^ ^* these Mr. Garrison sent to Oregon, for service in a steamer which he built near the mouth of the Willamette river ; another was put in a boat built for the navigation of the Sacramento river ; and the third was placed in a saw mill at some point in the interior. These enterprises, and others engaged in, resulted. in great pecuniary success. Having finished his business in California, he made a trip to Puget Sound, going through Oregon by the Cowlips river, in a canoe propelled by four trust}' Indians. While making this trip, he met with a small vessel in Puget Sound loading with furs and peltries on London account, which had been sent to that point by the Hudson Bay Compan}'. His business completed, he took passage on this vessel for home, but, after some time of fair sailing, the vessel was becalmed, and drifted idly for DANIEL R. GARRISON. XXVII many days in the current of the Pacific Ocean. In passing along what was then known as the great Cahfornia coast, he, at a former time, had observed a gigantic rock, on whose barren and bleak top a cedar tree had taken root. This was a conspicuous object, and when, after drifting through dense fogs, the vessel was found to be in its immediate vicinit\^ Mr. Garrison knew its exact position. When on board of the United States steamer California, Lieutenant Budd commanding, this object had been pointed out to him, and Lieutenant Budd had put it down upon his chart as Cape Ray. Being near the coast, the winds favored them again, and the vessel was turned for the harbor of San Francisco, where fresh supplies of water and provisions were taken aboard, and a new start on the homeward bound trip was commenced. Mr. Garrison returned to St. Louis via the Isthmus of Panama in 1850 ; and soon after, himself and brother retired from the machine works they had founded, each the possessor of a handsome fortune which they could enjoy as best suited their tastes and inclinations. But a man of Mr. Garrison's active temperament was not likely to remain long at leisure. One great wonder of the day — uniting St. Louis directly with the East — had been completed in 1847 ; but the theme ol the magnetic telegraph had lost its novelty. There was a mania abroad in the land about this time, for railroad extension, and the paramount desire of almost every Western city of importance was to become a link in the great chain of railroads which was being fast extended through- out the Union, thus placing distant points in close proximity. While one or two lines of railroad had been commenced and only partially completed on the west side of the Mississippi, St. Louis had no railroad connection whatever in any direction at this time. On the east, railroad connection had been made with Cincinnati, and it was the grand project to extend this connection so as to unite the Mississippi river and the East by rail, making this city the objective point. It is not necessary here to enter into all the details of the grand project. Suffice it to say that it was decided that St. Louis must have an outlet by rail to the East; that the "Ohio and Mississippi'' railroad must be completed, and that the proper man to undertake the task was Daniel R. Garrison. At the earnest solicitation of his friends and prominent citizens of St. Louis, he undertook the task, and became vice-president and general manager of the road. To aid in completing it, the propriety- of taking measures to authorize the citv of St. Louis to subscribe five hundred thousand dollars was considered at a public meeting called for the purpose, at which a good deal of bitter opposition was developed. However, the XXVIII BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. Legislature was applied to, with success, to pass a law authorizing the people of St. Louis county to decide the measure by popular vote. The vote was taken, and the requisite stock subscribed. The fact that Mr. Garrison had undertaken to complete the road was full assurance that it would be done. Messrs. Page & Bacon, who were doing an extensive banking business at that time, had embarked largely in the enterprise previously, and had met with many serious difficulties ; but when Mr. Garrison took the enterprise in hand, they saw their wav clear. He pushed the road to Vincennes, Indiana, and in 1855 it was completed from that point to Cincinnati. The energy and consummate skill shown by Mr. Garrison in the completion of this road in the face of many discouragements, is fairly typical of the genius and energy of the man. Citizens of St. Louis, and those residing in the counties along the line of the road in Illinois, who had almost violently opposed public subscriptions to the project, used every argument and means in their power to thwart him in every measure he sought to have adopted. Those not personally cognizant of the surrounding circumstances, can have no correct idea of the difficulties he had to contend with. Old residents of this city, who had observed all Mr. Garrison's movements, inform us that but for the almost herculean labors he performed, the appliances he brought to bear in the prosecution of his work, and the indomitable will and energy of the man, many years would have elapsed, in all probability, before the road would have been completed. As it was, he laid the last rail of the first railroad that cemented the Mississippi with the East, and gave St. Louis her first railroad connec- tion with the world beyond her to the East. An incident worthy of note occurred about the time the road was approaching completion, which will serve to show the pluck of the man, and the tactics he resorted to in order to finish it, without further out- side or legal interference. When all but about seven miles of the road had been finished, Mr. Garrison discovered that he was short of iron. Where to obtain a supply, to make up this deficiency, was a serious question. There was not a single pound of railroad iron to be had anywhere in the country for any consideration whatever. He had iron then on the way from England, and its arrival had been daily expected, but for all he knew it might have been deposited in the depths of the ocean. Days and weeks, and even months, might elapse before it would reach here and be available. Here was a serious emergency- ; and the question as to what was best to do, forced itself upon his mind. That a great enterprise on which millions of dollars had been expended. D A N I E I. R . G A R R I S O N . XXIX and on the speedy completion of which the great commercial marts, situated alon ^"^^ in December following, M. Laussat, who had just received control of the province from the Spanish authorities, transferred it to the United States, represented at New Orleans for that purpose by Governor Clai- borne and General Wilkinson, the commissioners appointed. The sum of money paid by the United States for the territory acquired was about $15,000,000. The agent of France for receiving possession of Upper Louisiana from the Spanish authorities was Amos Stoddard, a captain of artillery in the service of the United states. He arrived in St. Louis in March, 1804, and on the 9th of that month Charles Dehault Delassus, the Spanish Commandant, placed him in possession of the territory, and on the following day he transferred it to the United States. This memorable event created a wide-spread sensation in St. Louis and the other young towns in the vicinity. Most of the people were deeply attached to the old Government, and although they were in sympathy with the vigorous Republic which had sprung into existence in the East, and dimly appreciated the promise of its future, yet it was with feelings of regret and apprehension that they saw the banner of the new Govern- ment unfurled in place of the well known flag of Spain. There were, however, many among St, Louis citizens who rejoiced at the transfer, 26 HISTORICAL SKETCH and their anticipations of its prosperous influence on their town were speedily realized, for business generally became more animated, while the population rapidly increased by an energetic and ingenious class of settlers from the East and other points, mostly representatives of the Anglo-Saxon race, always the most successful in urging forward the prosperity and development of a country. The date of this transfer marks an interesting epoch in the growth of St. Louis and the Western country. If, as we believe, before the year 1900 St. Louis will be the leading city of the North American continent, her history will form a marvelous chapter in the chronicles of the life and development of modern nations. Nearly within the bounds of a century a rude settlement in a far inland wilderness will have expanded into a mighty metropolis, the rich capital and throbbing heart .of the greatest nation in the world, the centre of modern civilization, knowl- edge and arts ; a city of vast manufacturing and commercial interests, in which every branch of human industry is represented ; a second Babylon, on the banks of a river beside which the Euphrates was a streamlet ; with iron roadways for the cars of steam branching out in all directions, and whose empire extends from the wild billows of the Atlantic to the calmer waters of the Pacific, from the cold lakes of the North to the w^arm waters of the Mexican Gulf. Here indeed is a his- torical picture w^hich words can scarcely depict, which illustrates the power of human activities far more wondrously than the colossal, but isolated, structures of the people of the olden time. ST. LOUIS UNDER THE RULE OF THE UNITED STATES. A temporary government for St. Louis and the Upper Louisiana was promptly provided by Congress, Captain Stoddard being appointed to exercise the functions and prerogatives formerly vested in the Spanish Lieutenant-Governor. In the excellent historical sketch of Louisiana written by that officer, some interesting particulars are given of St. Louis at the time of the transfer to the United States. The town con- sisted of about 180 houses, and the population in the district numbered about 2,280 whites and about 500 blacks. The total population of Upper Louisiana is stated at 9,020 whites and 1,320 blacks. Three- fifths of the population of Upper Louisiana were Anglo-Americans. According to the same authority, St. Louis then consisted of two long streets running parallel to the river, with a number of others intersect- ing them at right angles. There were some houses, however, on the OF SAINT LOUIS. 27 line of the present Third street, which was known as '•'•La rue dcs Granges ^^'' or the street of barns, as before mentioned. The church building, from which Second street then derived its name, was a struc- ture of hewn logs, somewhat rude and primitive in appearance. West of Fourth street there was little else but woods and commons, and the Planters' House now stands upon a portion of the space then used for pasturage purposes. There was no post office, nor indeed any need for one, as there were no official mails. Government boats ran occasionally between New Orleans and St. Louis, but there was no regular commu- nication. The principal building was the government house on Main street near Walnut. The means of education were of course limited in character, and, as peltries and lead continued to be the chief articles of export, the cultivation of the land in the vicinity of the town progressed but slowly. There is a tradition that St. Louis received the sobriquet of Pain Court (short bread), owing to the scarcity of the staff of life in the town. Indeed there appears reason to believe that, in a commer- cial point of view, Ste. Genevieve at this time was a much more important place than St. Louis. Captain Stoddard, on assuming control, published a circular address to the inhabitants, in which he formally announced that Louisiana had been transferred to the possession of the United States, and that the plan of a permanent territorial government was under the consideration of Congress. He briefly alluded to preceding events as follows: "It will not be necessary to advert to the various preliminary arrangements which have conspired to place you in your present political situation. With these it is presumed you are already acquainted. Suffice it to observe that Spain, in 1800 and 1801, retroceded the colony and province of Louisiana to France, and that France, in 1803, conveyed the same territory to the United States, who are now in the legal and peaceful possession of it. These transfers were made with honorable views and under such forms and sanctions as are usually practiced among civilized nations." The remainder of the address is devoted to an eloquent exposition of the new political condition of the people and of the privil- eges and benefits of a liberal republican government. The fur trade, which had led to the founding of St. Louis, continued for many years to be the principal business of the people. Here, as elsewhere, the Indian tribes forged the weapons for their own destruc- tion. They eagerly sought the opportunity to exchange with the white men the fruits of the chase for the articles and commodities of a higher civilization. They were the principal agents in developing the fur 28 HISTORICAL SKETCH trade of the North and West, and by so doing hastened the incoming of the indomitable race destined to build, over their slaughter and decay, the glorious structure of American liberty. These primitive races wasted and faded with the birth of a nation, whose mission was to bless and metamorphose the New World ; and even had there been no Revo- lutionary war to usher in the American Union, there is enough in the fate of the aborigines of the country to authenticate the remark of Theodore Parker that "all the great charters of humanity have been written in blood." During the lifteen years ending in 1804, the average annual value of the furs collected at St. Louis is stated to have been $203,750. The number of buffalo skins was only 850 ; deer, 158,000; beaver, 36,900 pounds; otter, 8,000; bear, 5,100. A very different state of things existed twenty or thirty years later, when beaver was nearly exhausted and buffalo skins formed the most important article of trade. The commerce consisted principally of that portion of furs that did not lind its way directly to Montreal and Quebec through the lakes. The supphes of the town, especially of groceries, were brought from New Orleans, and the time necessary for a trip was from four to six months. The departure of a boat was an important event, and gener- ally, many of the inhabitants collected together on the shore to see it off and bid good-bye to the friends who might be among the passengers. Wm. C. Carr, who arrived about the ist of April, 1804, states that it took him twenty-five days to make the trip from Louisville, Ky., by river. On the same authority it is stated that there were only two American families in the place — those of Calvin Adams and William Sullivan. Mr. Carr remained in St. Louis about a month, and then, attracted by the great lead trade of Ste. Genevieve, went to that place to reside, but returned in about a year, convinced that St. Louis was a better location. In the same year. Colonel Rufus Easton, John Scott and Edward Hempstead came to reside in the country. Mr. Scott settled at Ste. Genevieve ; Mr. Hempstead went to St. Charles, then called Petite Cote, w^here he remained for several years, and then came to St. Louis ; Mr. Easton remained in St. Louis. In 1802, James Pursley, an American, with two companions, started on a hunting expedition from St. Louis to the source of the Osage, but extended his course westward. After various dangers and adventures, he reached the vicinity of Santa Fe, and is said to have been the first American who traversed the great plains between the United States and New Mexico. OF SAINT I. GUIS.- 29 In 1804 the United States dispatclied Lewis and Clark and Major Pike to explore the sources of the Mississippi, the Arkansas, the Kansas, and the Platte rivers. Hunters from St. Louis and vicinity formed their companions, or preceded them, and were to be found on nearly all the rivers east of the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Auguste Chouteau, about the same time, had outfitted Loisel, who established a considerable fort and trading post at Cedar Island, a little above the Big Bend of the Mississippi ; so that about the time that St. Louis became a town of the United States, the great regions west and north of her were being gradually opened to settlement. Forty years had elapsed since Laclede had founded the settlement, and yet, compared with the development of subsequent times, its growth had not been very rapid. It was but a straggling river village with few buildings of any conse- quence, and was cut oft' from the world of trade and civilization by its great distance from the seaboard and the vast unpeopled country surrounding it. The inhabitants were mostly French, and the social intercourse was simple and friendly, with but faint traces of class distinctions. There was only one resident physician. Dr. Saugrain, who lived on Second street, and one baker, Le Clere, who baked for the garrison and lived on Main street near Elm. The only American tavern was kept by a man named Adams, and this, with two others kept by Frenchmen named Yostic and Laudreville, both on Main street near Locust, were, we believe, the only establishments of the kind in the town. The names of the more prominent merchants and citizens at this time, are familiar, at present, to nearly all of our citizens, owing to many of the families still being represented, and the fact that their names, most appropriately, have been wrought in the nomenclature of our streets. Among them we may mention Auguste and Pierre Chou- teau, Labadie, Sarpy, Gratiot, Pratte, Tayon, Lecompt, Papin, Cabanne, Labaume, Soulard, Hortez, Alvarez, Clamorgan, Debreuil and Manuel Lisa. The Chouteaus lived on Main street, and Pierre, whose place was near the present intersection of that street with Washington avenue, had nearly a whole square encircled by a stone wall, and in which he had a fine orchard. Manuel Lisa lived on Second street ; the establish- ment of Labadie & Sarpy w\as on Main near Chestnut, and the Debreuils had a fine place on Second, between Pine and Chestnut streets. On the 26th of March, 1804, by an act of Congress, the Province of Louisiana was divided into two parts, the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana, the latter including all north of the 33d parallel of latitude. The executive power of the Government in the Territory of 30 - HISTORICAL SKETCH Indiana was extended over that of Louisiana, the Governors and Judges of the former being authorized to enact laws for the new District. Gen- eral William Henry Harrison, then Governor of Indiana, instituted the American authorities here under the provisions of this act, his associates being, we believe. Judges Griffin, Vanderberg, and Davis. The hrst courts of justice were held during the ensuing winter in the old fort near Fifth and Walnut streets, and were called Courts of Common Pleas. On the 3d of March, 1805, by another act of Congress, the District was changed to the Territory of Louisiana, and James Wilkinson was appointed Governor, and wdth Judges R. J. Meigs and John B. C. Lucas, of the Superior Court, formed the Legislature of the Territory. The executive offices were in the old Government building on Main street, near Walnut, just south of the Public Square, called La Place d' Amies. Here General Wilkinson was visited by Aaron Burr when the latter was planning his daring and ambitious conspiracy. When Wilkinson was appointed, there was in each of the Districts of St. Charles, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, and Cape Girardeau a civil and military Commandant, as follows : Colonel Meigs for the first. Colonel Hammond for St. Louis, Major Seth Hunt lor Ste. Genevieve, and Colonel T. B. Scott for the last-named place. These officers were superseded by the organization of the courts, and the names of the districts subsequently became those of counties. This system of legis- lation was maintained for several years, with occasional changes in officers. In 1806 Gen. Wilkinson established the fort of Belle Fontaine, on the south side of the Missouri, a few miles above its mouth ; but it was practically abandoned early the following year, when he was ordered South to assist in arresdng the Burr conspiracy. During part of 1806, Joseph Browne was Secretary of the Territory and Acdng Governor, and J. B. C. Lucas and Otho Shrader were Judges. The following year Frederic Bates was Governor, with the same Judges in office. Next year Merriweather Lewis, with the same Judges, formed the Legislature, and continued to do so until 1811. On the 9th of November, 1809, ^^^ town of St. Louis was first incor- porated, upon the petition of two-thirds of the taxable inhabitants and under the authority of an act of the Territory of Louisiana, passed the previous year. On the 4th of June, 181 2, the country received the name of the Ter- ritory of Missouri, and the government was modified and made to consist of a Governor and Legislative Assembly, the upper branch of which, OF SAINT LOUIS. . 3I numbering nine councilors, was selected out of twice that number, nom- inated to the Governor by the lower branch. At this time the Territory had first conceded to it the right of representation in Congress by one delegate. Anterior to this change in the government there are some events which deserve particular notice. Shortly after the country became part of the United States a postoffice was permanently created in the town, the lirst postmaster being Rufus Easton. The first news- paper was established July, 1808, by Joseph Charless, and received the name of the Missouri Gazette. It was first printed on a sheet of writing- paper not much larger than a royal-octavo page. This journal was the germ of the present Missouri Republicans one of the largest in circula- tion and most influential journals of the country. The necessity of some means of transportation to and fro across the river had led to the establishment of a small ferry, which was first kept by Calvin Adams, and proved a paying enterprise. His ferry consisted of two pirogues tied together with planks laid across the top, and his charge for bringing over man and horse was $2. In August of this year two Iowa Indians were tried for murder before the Court of Oyer and Terminer, Judges Lucas and Shrader presiding. It created a good deal of excitement, but owing to some want of jurisdiction in the case the prisoners escaped the sentence of death which was passed upon them. On the i6th of September the first execution for murder in the Territory took place, the criminal being a young man who had shot his step-father. In the autumn of the next year Governor Lewis, while on a journey to Louis- ville, committed suicide by shooting himself while under the influence of aberration of mind. The Municipal Government, at this time, consisted of a board of Trustees, elected under the provisions of the charter mentioned above. The Missouri Fur Company was formed in 1808, consisting principally of Pierre Chouteau, Manuel Lisa, William Clark, Sylvester Labadie, Pierre Menard, and Auguste Pierre Chouteau, the capital being $40,000. An expedition was dispatched under the auspices of this company, in charge of Major A. Henry, and succeeded in establishing trading posts upon the Upper Missouri — one on Lewis River, beyond the Rocky Mountains, and one on the southern branch of the Columbia, the latter being the first post established on the great river of Oregon Territory. In 181 2 this company was dissolved, most of the members establishing independent houses in the trade, and for furnishing outfits to private adventurers. Among these may be mentioned the houses of Berthold & Chouteau, B. Pratte, J. P. Cabanne, and M. Lisa. The hunters and 32 HISTORICAL SKETCH trappers at this time formed a considerable part of the population of St. Louis, and were principally half-breed Indians, and white men so long accustomed to such pursuits that they were nearly similar in habits to the natives. Notwithstanding the preponderance of this reckless element, it does not appear that the town was disorderly, and crime and scenes of violence were of rare occurrence. The first members of the Territorial Legislature, elected in 1812, sat during the ensuing winter in the old house of Joseph Robidoux, on the northeast corner of Myrtle and Main streets. It was in this year that the terrible earthquake occurred at New Madrid and vicinity, and cre- ated wide-spread dismay. The waters of the Mississippi were greatly agitated by the subterranean convulsion, and several boats with their crews were engulfed. New Madrid, which stood upon a bluff fifteen or twenty feet above the summer floods, sank so low that the next rise covered the ground to the depth of four or five feet. The channel of the river was affected materially, and the bottoms of some small lakes in the vicinity were so elevated that they became dry land. The first English school was opened in St. Louis, in 1808, by a man named Ratchford, who was succeeded by Geo. Tompkins, a 3^oung Vir- ginian, who, when he started in the enterprise, was nearly without funds, and with but few acquaintances. He rented a room on the north side of Market street, between Second and Third, for his school, and during his leisure hours pursued the stud}^ of law. The first debating society known west of the Mississippi was connected with this school, and the debates were generally open to the public and aftbrded interesting and instructive entertainment. This energetic young school teacher studied law to some purpose, for he ultimately became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri. Among the members of the society he organized were Dr. Farrar, Dr. Lowry, Major O'Fallon, Edward Bates, and Joshua Barton — names afterward rendered eminent by ability and public service. The population of the town in 1810 was about 1,400. In May, 1812, the chiefs of the Osage, the Shawnees, Delawares, and other tribes, came here to accompan}^ General Wm. Clark to Washing- ton, the purpose being to consummate some negotiations then pending, and to impress the savages with some true idea of the greatness and power of the Government. This General Clark was the brother of General George Rogers Clark, so distinguished in the West during the Revolutionary war, and was the companion of Lewis in the famous ex- pedition to Upper Missouri, and had remarkable experience and judg- ment in dealinir with the Indians. The war of 181 2 between the United OF SAINT LOUIS. 33 States and England produced but little effect upon our city, so far re- moved inland, but the people took a lively interest in the progress of the conflict, and participated in the general rejoicing over its honorable close. In August, 1816, the Bank of St. Louis was incorporated, being the first institution of the kind in the town. The following gentlemen com- posed the commissioners: Auguste Chouteau, J. B. C. Lucas, Clement B. Penrose, Moses Austin, Bernard Pratte, Manuel Lisa, Thomas Brady, Bartholomew Berthold, Samuel Hammond, Rufus Easton, Robert Simp- son, Christian Wilt and Risdon H. Price. At an election, held on the 20th of the following month, Samuel Hammond was elected President, and John B. N. Smith, Cashier. The career of this bank was not success- ful-, and continued for something over two years, when it came to a dis- astrous close. On the ist of Februar}^ 1817, the Missouri Bank was incorporated, the commissioners appointed by the stockholders to receive subscriptions being Charles Gratiot, William Smith, John McKnight, J. P. Cabanne, and Mathew Kerr. The first President was Auguste Chouteau, and the Cashier Lilburn W. Boggs. A census published in the Afissouri Gazette, December 9, 1815, and taken by John W. Thompson, states that the number of souls in the town was 2,000, and the total population of county and town 7,395. On the 2d of August an event occurred which marked the commence- ment of a new epoch in the history of St. Louis. Heretofore its growth had been dependent upon human energies alone, but now a new agency was to enter into its commercial life which was to enable her to reap the full benefit accruing from the noble river that rolled past her to the sea. The first steamboat arrived on the day named. It was called the "Pike," and was commanded by Captain Jacob Reed. The inhabitants were, as might be expected, greatly interested and delighted as the novel craft touched the foot of Market street, many of them having never seen a vessel of the kind before. Some Indians who were in town were so alarmed at the unusual spectacle that they receded from the shore as the boat neared, and could not be persuaded to come in the vicinity of the monster, for such it seemed to them, although in reality but a tiny Httle vessel. She was propelled by a low-pressure engine, and had been built at Louisville. The second boat .which arrived here was the "Con- stitution," commanded by Captain R. P. Guyard, and the 2d of Octo- ber, 1817, was the date of her arrival. In May, 1819, the first steam- boat stemmed the tide of the Missouri; it was the "Independence," Captain Nelson commanding, and went up as far as "Old FrankHn," 3 34 HISTORICAL SKETCH after a passage of seven running days. The first steamboat from New Orleans, the "Harriet," commanded by Captain Aarmitage, reached here on the 2d of June, 1819, making the voyage in twenty-seven days. In 1817 the first board of school trustees was formed, which may be regarded as the commencement of the present unsurpassed school sys- tem. They were William Clark, William C. Carr, Thomas H. Benton, Bernard Pratte, Auguste Chouteau, Alexander McNair and John P. Cabann'e. During the following year, the application of Missouri for admission into the Union gave rise to a most exciting political agitation, in which the whole nation participated. The Southern members of Con- gress insisted that the new State should be admitted without restriction as to slavery, while the members from the North as bitterly opposed any extension of the slave system. It is not our province to more than men- tion the interesting and important aspect of the discussion that ensued, as it is a subject fully treated in the political history of the countr3^ The result was the celebrated "Missouri Compromise," which in effect allowed the formation of the Missouri Constitution without restriction, but declared that slavery should not extend in any new-formed State north of 36 degrees 40 minutes north latitude. The convention which framed the first Constitution of the State of Missouri assembled in 1820 in this city. The place of meeting was Mansion House, then a build- ing of considerable importance, on the corner of Third and Vine streets, now known as the City Hotel. Mr. John Jacob Astor established a branch of his house in this city in 1819, under the charge of Mr. Samuel Abbott, and it was called the Western Department of the American Fur Company. This compan^^ entered upon a most successful career, embracing in its trade the north- ern and western parts of the United States, east of the Rocky Moun- tains. About this time the old Missouri Fur Company was revived, with new partners, among whom were Major John Pilcher, M. Lisa, Thomas Hempstead and Captain Perkins. We may incidentally mention that in 1823 a hunting and trapping party of this company, under Messrs. Jones and Immel, while on the Yellowstone, wiTf attacked b}^ BlacL Feet Indians. The leaders and several of the party werr killed, and those who escaped were robbed of whatever property they had with them. This company only continued a few years, and was not success- ful. The important expedition of General Wm. H. Ashlex ook piare also in this year, and resulted in the discovery of the southern pass of the Rocky Mountains, and the opening of commercial intercourse with the countries west of the same. The General encountered fierce oppo- OF SAINT LOUIS. 35 sition from the Indians, and lost fourteen men, and had ten wounded in a fight at the outset of the expedition. A city directory was pubHshed in 1821, which furnishes some inter- esting information respecting the condition of the town at the time, and from which we make the following extracts : " It is but about forty years since the now flourishing but yet more promising State of Missouri was but a vast wilderness, many of the inhabitants of this country yet remembering the time when they met together to kill the buffalo at the same place where Mr. Philipson's ox saw and flour mill is now erected, and on Mill creek, near to where Mr. Chouteau's mill now stands. What a prodigious change has been operated ! St. Louis is now ornamented with a great number of brick buildings, and both the scholar and the courtier could move in a circle suiting their choice and taste. " By the exertions of the Right Rev. Bishop Louis Wm. Du Bourg, the inhabitants have seen a fine cathedral rise at the same spot where stood an old log church. * * * -^j^jg elegant building was com- menced in 1818, under the superintendence of Mr. Gabriel Paul, the architect, and is only in part completed. As it now stands it is forty feet by one hundred and thirty-five in depth and forty in height. When completed it will have a wing on each side running its whole length twenty-two and a half feet wide and twenty-five in height, giving it a front of eighty-five feet. ■ It will have a steeple the same height as the depth of the building, which will be provided with several large bells expected from France. The lot on which the church, college and other buildings are erected embraces a complete square, a part of which is used as a burial ground. * * * ****** "It is a truly delightful sight, to an American of taste, to find in one of the remotest towns in the Union a church decorated with original paintings of Rubens, Raphael, Guido, Paul Veronese and a number of others by the first modern masters of the Italian, French and Flemish scl">ools. The ancient and precious gold embroideries which the St. Louis Cathedral possesses would certainly decorate any museum in the world. All this is due to the liberality of the Catholics of Europe, who presented these rich articles to Bishop Du Bourg, on his last tour through France, Italy, Sicily and the Netherlands. Among the liberal benefac- tors could be named many princes and princesses, but we will only insert the names of Louis XVIII. the present King of France, and that of the Baroness Le Candele de Ghyseghern, a Flemish lady, to whose munifi- 36 HISTORICAL SKETCH cence the Cathedral is particularly indebted, and who, even lately, has sent a fine, large and elegant organ, fit to correspond with the rest of the decorations. The Bishop possesses beside, a very elegant and valuable library, containing about eight thousand volumes, and which is, without doubt, the most complete scientific and literary repertory of the Western country, if not of the Western world. Though it is not public, there is no doubt but the man of science, the antiquary, and the linguist will obtain a ready access to it, and find the Bishop a man at once endowed with the elegance and politeness of the courtier, the piety and zeal of the apostle, and the learning of a father of the church. Connected with this establishment is the St. Louis College, under the direction of Bishop Du Bourg. It is a tv/o-story brick building and has about sixty-five students, w^ho are taught the Greek, Latin, French, English, Spanish and Italian languages, mathematics, elementary and transcendent, draw- ing, &c. There are several teachers. Connected with the college is an ecclesiastical seminary, at the Barrens, in Ste. Genevieve county, where divinity, the oriental languages and philosophy are taught. "St. Louis likewise contains ten common schools; a brick Baptist church, forty feet by sixty, built in 1819, and an Episcopal church of wood. The Methodist congregation hold their meetings in the old Court House, and the Presbyterians in the Circuit Court room." We gather the following additional facts from the same work : There were three newspapers then in the city, the SL Louis Enquii-cr^ Missouri Gazette, and St. Louis Register. * * * ****** "Eight streets run parallel with the river, and are intersected by twen- ty-three others at right angles ; three of the preceding are in the lozver part of the town, and the five others are in the ufper part. The streets in the lower part of the town are narrow, being from thirty-two to thirty- eight and a half feet in width ; those on 'the Hill' or upper part are much wider. 'The Hill' is much the most pleasant and salubrious, and will no doubt become the most improved. The lower end of Market street is well paved, and the trustees of the town have passed an ordinance for paving the sidewalks of Main street, being the second from and parallel to the river, and principal one for business. This is a very wholesome regulation of the trustees, and is the more necessary, as this and many other streets are sometimes so extremely muddy as to be rendered almost impassable. It is hoped that the tmstees will next pave the middle of Main street, and that they will proceed gradually to improve the other streets, which will contribute to make the town more healthy, add to the OF SAINT LOUIS. 37 value of property, and make it a desirable place of residence. On the Hill, in the centre of the town, is a public square, two hundred and forty by three hundred feet, on which it is intended to build an elegant court house. The various courts are held at present in buildings adjacent to the public square. A new stone jail of two stories, seventy feet front by thirty deep, stands west of the site of the court house. Market street is in the middle of the town, and is the line dividing the north part from the south. Those streets running north from Market street have the addition of North to their names, and those runnino; in the opposite direction, South. For example: North Main street. South Main street. North A, &c., street, South A street. The houses were first numbered by the publisher of this Directory in May, 182 1, The forti- fications erected in early times for the defense of the place, stand prin- cipally on the Hill. They consist of several circular stone towers, about fifteen feet in height and twenty in diameter, a wooden block-house and a large stone bastion, the interior of which is used as a garden by Cap- tain A. Wetmore of the United States army. "Just above the town are several Indian mounds and remains of anti- quity, which afibrd an extensive and most charming view of the town and beautiful surrounding country situated in the two States of Missouri and Illinois, which are separated by the majestic Missouri, and which is likewise observed in the scene, as he glides along in all his greatness. Adjacent to the large mound, nearest the town, is the Mound Garden, belonging to Colonel Elias Rector, and kept by Mr. James Gray as a place of entertainment and recreation. The proprietor has displayed considerable taste in laying it out in beds and walks, and in ornamenting it with flowers and shrubbery. In short, it afibrds a delightful and pleasant retreat from the noise, heat and dust of a busy town. "There is a Masonic hall, in which the Grand Lodge of the State of Missouri, the Royal Arch, and the Master Mason's Lodges are held. Connected with this excellent institution is a burying ground, where poor Masons are interred at the expense of the fraternity. The council chamber of Governor William Clark, where he gives audience to the chiefs of the various tribes of Indians who visit St. Louis, contains, pro- bably, the most complete museum of Indian curiosities to be met with anywhere in the United States, and the Governor is so polite as to per- mit its being visited by any person of respectability at any time. * * * * ** *** "Population in 1810, 1000 ; in 1818, 3,500, and at this time (1821) about 5'5oo- '^he town and county contain 9,732. The population is 38 HISTORICAL SKETCH much mixed, consisting principally of Americans from every part of the Union, the original and other French, of whom there are one hundred and fifty-five families, and foreigners of various nations ; consequently, the society is much diversified, and has no fixed character. This, the reader will perceive, arises from the situation of the country, in itself new, flourishing and changing ; still, that class who compose the respect- able part' of the community are hospitable, polite and well-informed. And here I must take occasion, in justice to the town and countr}?^, to protest against the many calumnies circulated abroad, to the prejudice of St. Louis, respecting the manners and dispositions of the inhabitants. Persons meet here with dissimilar habits produced by a different educa- tion, and possessing various peculiarities. It is not, therefore, surpris- ing that, in a place composed of such discordant materials, there should be occasional differences and difficulties. But the reader may be assured that old-established inhabitants have little participation in transactions which have so much injured the town. "St. Louis has grown very rapidly. There is not, however, so much improvement going on at this time, owing to the check caused by general and universal pressure that pervades the countr}^ This state of things can only be temporary here, for it possesses such permanent advantages from its local and geographical situation that it fmust, ere some distant day, become a place ofjgreat importance, being more central with regard to the whole territory belonging to the United States than any other con- siderable town, and uniting the advantages of the three great rivers, Mis- sissippi, Missouri and Illinois, of the trade of which it is the emporium. "The Missouri Fur Company was formed by several gentlemen of St. Louis in 1819, for the purpose of trading on the Missouri river andUts waters. The principal establishment of the company is at Council ' Bluffs, yet they have several other of minor consequence several hundred miles above, and it is expected that the establishment will be extended shortly up as high as the Mandan villages. The actual capital invested in the trade is supposed to amount at this time to about $70,000. They have in their employ, exclusive of their partners on the river, twenty-five clerks and interpreters, and seventy laboring men. "It is estimated that the annual value of the Indian trade of the Mis- sissippi and Missouri rivers is $600,000. The annual amount of imports to this town is stated at upwards of $2,000,000. The commerce by water is carried on by a great number of steamboats, barges and keel- boats. These center here, after performing the greatest inland voyages known in the world. . The principal articles of trade are fur, peltry and OF SAINT LOUIS. 39 lead. The agricultural productions are Indian corn, wheat, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, tobacco and other articles common to the Western country. Excellent mill-stones are found and made in this county. Stone coal is abundant, and saltpetre and common salt have been made within a few miles. Within three or four miles are several springs of ■good water, and seven miles southwest is a sulphur spring. In the vicinity are two natural caverns, in limestone rocks. Two miles above town, at North St. Louis, is a steam saw-mill, and several common mills are on the neighboring streams. The roads leading from St. Louis are very good, and it is expected that the great national turnpike will strike this place, as the commissioners for the United States have reported in favor of it. "There were two fire engines with organized companies, one of which was stationed in the northern, the other in the southern part of the town. Two steam ferry-boats, the property of Mr. Samuel Wiggins, were in regular operation between the city and the opposite shore, and the river at the ferry w^as one mile and one-eighth in width. Opposite the upper part of the town, and above the ferry, is an island about one mile and one-half in length, and containing upwards of i,ooo acres, the property also of Mr. Wiggins. A considerable sand-bar has been formed in the river adjoining the lower part of the town, which extends far out, and has thrown the main channel over on the Illinois side ; when the water is low it is entirely dry and covered with an immense quantity of drift-wood, nearly sufficient to supply the town with fuel, costing onl}^ the trouble of cutting and hauling. This is of great consequence to the inhabitants, particularly as the growth of wood is small in the immediate neighborhood on this side of the river. Wood is likewise brought down the river in large quantities for disposal." Only about four years had elapsed from the arrival of the first steam- boat at St. Louis to the time this directory was published, yet it is evi- dent that municipal growth had been exceedingly rapid ; business of all kinds, particularly in furs, peltries, lead and agricultural productions, had expanded greatly, while numbers of steamboats, barges and other craft were constantly engaged in the river commerce. In fact, even at this early period, the inhabitants appear to have had some idea of the great future before their city. The career of St. Louis as an incorporated city may be dated from December 9, 1822, when an act was passed by the State Legislature, entitled, "An act to incorporate the inhabitants of the town of St. Louis ;" and in April following, an election took place for a Mayor and nine Aldermen, in accordance with the provisions of the act. 40 HISTORICAL SKETCH William Carr Lane was elected Mayor, with the following Aldermen : Thomas McKnight, James Kennerley, Phihp Rocheblane, Archibald Gamble, Wm. A. Savage, Robert Nash, James Loper, Henry VonPhul and James Lackman. The new city government proved a most et^ect- ive one, and immediately set about the improvement of the city. An ordinance was passed for the grading of Main street, and compelling citizens to improve the streets in front of their lots. The salary of the Mayor was only $300 per annum, but he applied himself with as much earnestness and assiduity to the public service as if he were receiving the present salary of $4,000. Before proceeding to sketch the progress of St. Louis as an incorporated city, the following items may be mentioned as illustrating the progress of building up to that time : Chou- teau's row, in block No. 7, was begun in 1818 and finished in 1819. During the same year three other buildings of an important character were erected ; the first by General Clark, the second by Bernard Pratte, at the corner of Market and Water streets, and the third, a large ware- house, by A. Chouteau, in block No. 6. The Catholic church, a large brick building on Second street, long since demolished, was constructed in 1818, and on Christmas day, 1819, divine service was performed there for the first time. The first paving which was laid in St. Louis was executed b}^ William Deckers, with stone on edge, on Market street, between Main and Water. In 182 1 the first brick pavement was laid on Second street, and finally it may be mentioned that the first brick dwelling was built in 181 3 by William C. Carr. There was, at the time we now speak of, but little indications of settlement on the eastern bank of the river opposite St. Louis, but the long strip of land near the Illinois shore had already earned the right to the title of Bloody Island, as more than one fatal duel had taken place there. The first was that between Thomas H. Benton, subsequently so distinguished a citizen, and Charles Lucas. The difficulty between the parties originated during a trial in which both were engaged as counsel. *Colonel Benton, believing himself insulted, gjiallenged Mr. Lucas, who declined on the ground that statements made to a jury could not properly be considered a cause for such a meeting. The ill feeling thus created was aggravated by a subsequent political controversy, and Mr. Lucas challenged Mr. Benton, who accepted. The meeting took place on Bloody Island on the morning of August 12, 181 7, pistols being the weapons used. Mr. Lucas was severely wounded in the neck, and owing to the effusion of *Charle8 Lucas challenged Thomas H. Benton's vote, and Benton called Lucas an " insolent puppy,'' which was the cause of the duel. OF SAINT LOUIS. 4I blood, was withdrawn from the field. A temporary reconciliation fol- lowed this duel, but the feud between the parties broke out afresh shortly afterwards, and another duel took place on Bloody Island, resulting in the killing of young Lucas at the age of twenty-five years. This deplorable re-encounter occurred on the 27th of September, 181 7. During the following year another duel occurred on Bloody Island, which also resulted fatally, the combatants being Captains Martin and Ramsey, of the United States army, who were stationed at the Fort Belle Fontaine, on the Missouri river. Ramsey was wounded, and died a few days afterwards, and was buried with Masonic and military honors. On the 30th of June, 1818, a hostile meeting took place at the same locality between Joshua Barton, District Attorney of the United States, resident in St. Louis, and Thomas C. Rector. The parties met in the evening, and Mr. Barton fell mortally wounded. An article which appeared in the Missouri Republican, charging General William Rector, then United States Surveyor, with corruption in office, was the cause of the duel. The General was in Washington at the time, and his brother, Thomas C. Rector, warmly espoused his cause, and learning that Mr. Barton was the author of the charge, sent him the challenge which resulted so fatally. Various other rencounters between the adherents to the "code of honor" took place at later dates on Bloody Island, so that the reader will see that its sanguinary appellation had a reasonable and appropriate origin. The more prominent of the other duels w^hich occurred there will be mentioned when we reach their appropriate dates. Notwithstanding the disastrous conflicts between the Indians and the followers of the Rocky Mountains and Missouri Fur Companies, which occurred in 1823, the progress of trade and exploration, under the dar- ing leadership of General William H. Ashley and others, was not seriously retarded. Benjamin O' Fallon, United States agent for Indian affairs, writes to General William Clark, superintendent of Indian affairs, giving an account of the misfortunes of General Ashley's command, and adds: "Many circumstances have transpired to induce the belief that the British traders (Hudson's Bay Compan}^) are exciting the Indians against us, either to drive us from that quarter, or reap with the Indians the fruits of our labors." It is evident from all the records of that time, that trade and exploration in the Upper Missouri and Rocky Mountain region were environed with extraordinary hardships and perils, and nothing but the greatest courage, energy and endurance could have accomplished their advancement. In 1824, General Ashley made 42 HISTORICAL SKETCH another expedition, penetrating as far as the Great Utah Lake, near which he discovered another and a smaller, to which he gave his own name. In this vicinity he established a fort, and two years afterward a six-pound cannon was drawn from Missouri to this fort, 1,200 miles, and in 1828 many loaded wagons performed the same journey. Between the years 1824 and 1827 General Ashley's men sent furs to this city to the value of over $200,000. The General, having achieved a hand- some competence during his perilous career, sold out all his interests and establishments to the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, in which Messrs. J. S. Smith, David E. Jackson and William L. Sublette were principals, Mr. Robert Campbell then holding the position of clerk. The followers of this company penetrated the far West in every direc- tion, and had many conflicts with the Indians, and "traversed every part of the country about the southern branches of the Columbia, and ran- sacked nearly the whole of Californiji." It is stated on good authority that during the five years from 1825 to 1830, of the number of our men engaged in the fur trade, two-fifths were killed by the Indians, or died victims to the dangers of exploring a wilderness. In 1824 Frederic Bates was elected Governor, defeating General William Ashley after an exciting political contest ; but he did not long enjoy the honors of the position, for he was attacked by pleurisy and died in August of the following year. We now reach the date of an interesting event in the history of St. Louis, namely, the visit of Lafayette, who reached Carondelet on the 28th of April, 1825, and the next morning came up to the city. He was tendered a most enthusiastic reception, as many of the citizens were not only of the same nationality, but all were familiar with his name and fame. He landed opposite the old Market House, where half the town were assembled awaiting his arrival, and received him with cheers, took his seat in a carriage, accompanied by Wm. Carr Lane, Mayor, Stephen Hempstead, an officer of the Revolution, and Colonel Auguste Chouteau, one of the companions of Laclede. Apart from private hospitalities, a splendid banquet and ball were given the distinguished visitor at the Mansion House, then the prominent hotel, and situated on the northeast corner of Third and Market streets. Lafayette was at this time sixty-eight years of age, but still active and strong ; he was accompanied by his son, George Washington Lafayette, and some distinguished gentlemen from the South. The next morning he left for Kaskaskia, being escorted to the boat by crowds of citizens, OF SAINT LOUIS. 43 who in every way manifested their esteem and respect, and his visit has always been regarded as a memorable local incident. During this year measures were taken to locate a permanent route across the plains. Major Sibley, one of the commissioners appointed by Government, set out from St. Louis in June, accompanied by Joseph C. Brown and Captain Gamble, with seven wagons containing various goods for trading with the Indians on the road. The party selected a route to Santa Fe, which afterwards was adopted as the general high- way for intercourse and trade. The first Episcopal church of any architectural importance was erected in this year, at the corner of Third and Chestnut streets. It afterwards passed into the hands of the Baptists, and finally disap- peared as business houses multiplied in the vicinity. The first Presby- terian church was erected in 1825, near the corner of Fourth and St. Charles streets, and was consecrated by the Rev. Samuel Giddings, but also disappeared as business limits expanded. The first steps towards building a Court House were taken in 1826, and the building, a large one of brick, was erected in the following year, and was destined to be suc- ceeded by the present superb structure of stone. Antonie Chenie built the first three-story house on Main street in 1825, and it was occupied by Tracy & Wahrendofl^ and James Clemens, Jr. ; Jefferson Barracks was com- menced in July, 1826, and Centre Market in 1827. The U. S. Arsenal was authorized by Congress in 1826, and was commenced during the next year on the block where it is now situated, but it was many years before it was completed. An ordinance was passed in 1826 changing the names of the streets, with the exception of Market street. From 1809 those running west from the river, excepting Market, had been designated by letters, and they now received, in most instances, the names by which they are at present known. From the last date to 1830 no events of prominent interest mark the history of St. Louis. Differ- ent ordinances were passed for the grading, paving and general improve- ment of streets ; and the growth of the city, if not rapid, was steady and satisfactory. Daniel D. Page was elected Mayor in 1829, and proved an energetic and valuable executive. Dr. Robert Simpson was elected Sheriff' by a large majority over Frederic Hyat, his opponent. The branch Bank of the United States was established here during this year. Colonel John O'Fallon was appointed president and Henry S. Coxe cashier, and during the years it continued in existence, possessed the public confidence and closed its career without disaster. In 1830 the number of brick buildings in the city increased considera- 44 HISTORICAL SKETCH bly, as the multiplication of brick yards brought that material more into general use ; a bridge was erected across Mill creek, on lower Fourth street ; and, architecturally and commercially, there were evidences of solid advancement. The large yards and gardens, which surrounded so many of the dwellings and stores of earlier times, gradually disap- peared with the growth of improvements. Some excitement was caused this year by the decisions rendered by Judge James H. Peck, of the United States District Court, in regard to land claims, which were of a stringent character. Judge Lawless, who was interested as counsel in some cases in which Auguste Chouteau and others, and the heirs of Mackey Wherry, were plaintiffs vs. the United States, having avowed the authorship of a rather severe criticism which appeared in one of the newspapers on some decisions of Judge Peck, was committed to prison for contempt of court. He was released after a few hours on a writ of habeas corpus, and subsequently preferred charges against Judge Peck before the House of Representatives, which, however, were dismissed after some examination. On the first day of August, in this year, the corner-stone of the Cathedral on Walnut street, between Second and Third, was laid with religious ceremonies, and this building is now the oldest place of worship in the city, as all those erected previously have given place to other edifices. The population of the city in 1831 was 5,963. Various measures were adopted this year for public improvement, and an ordinance was passed for building the Broadway Market. The Missouri Insurance Company was incorporated with a capital of $100,000, and George Collier was elected president. In August a most schocking and fatal duel occurred on Bloody Island. Spencer Pettis, a young lawyer of promise, was a candidate for Congress, his opponent being David Bar- ton. Major Biddle made some severe criticisms on Mr. Pettis through the newspapers, and a challenge passed and was accepted. They fought at five paces distant, and at the first fire both fell mortally wound- ed. Mr. Pettis died in about twenty-four hours, while Major Biddle survived only a few days. The former had just gained his election, and General William H. Ashley was elected to fill the vacancy caused by his death. In 1832 the famous expedition of Captain Bonneville took place, and important steps were made in the opening of the great country to the West. Fort William was established on the Arkansas by the Messrs. Bent, of this city. Messrs. Sublette and Campbell went to the moun- tains. Mr. Wyeth estabhshed Fort Hall, on the Lewis river, and the OF SAINT LOUIS. 45 American Fur Company sent the first steamboat to the Yellow Stone. The Asiatic cholera visited the city this summer, having first invaded Eastern and Southern cities. It first broke out at Jefferson Barracks, and, notwithstanding the most energetic sanitary measures, soon spread through the town with alarming severity. The population was then 6,918, and the deaths averaged, for some time, more than thirty a day. The disease prevailed for little over a month, then abated and disap- peared. In this fall Daniel Dunklin, the Jackson candidate, was elected Governor, and L. A. Boggs Lieutenant-Governor. During the next year an effort was made to impeach William C. Carr, one of the Circuit Judges, and one of the oldest citizens, the charge being that he was wholly unqualified for judicial station. On examination of the case before both Houses of the Legislature he was acquitted. Dr. Samuel Merry was elected Mayor, but was declared ineligible on the ground of being a receiver of public moneys, which office he held under the appointment of the President, and the next autumn Colonel John W. Johnson was elected in his place. The taxable property was valued, in 1833, at only $2,000,000, and the whole tax of the year on real and personal property amounted only to $2,745.84. The tonnage of boats belonging to the port was hardly 2,000, and the fees for wharfage not more than $600. In 1834 Mr. Astor retired from business and sold his Western depart- ment to Messrs. B. Pratte, P. Chouteau. Jr., and Mr. Cabanne, who conducted the business until 1839. ^ ^^"^^' years after this latter date, nearly the entire fur trade of the West was controlled by the house of Pierre Chouteau, Jr., & Co., and the firm of Bent & St. Vrain. The business of the city was now developing rapidly, although the lack of proper banking facilities made itself felt somewhat injuriously ; and while the unfortunate careers of the Bank of St. Louis and the Bank of Missouri had tended to make the people distrustful of such institutions, the want of them was generally recognized. During 1835-6 applications were made to the Legislature to supply this deficiency, but without suc- cess, and finally the banks of the other States were invited to establish branches in this city. Immigration at this period was unusually large, and a vigorous activity pervaded every department of business. As an illustration of this we quote from one of the newspapers: "The pros- perity of our city is laid deep and broad. ***** Whether we turn to the right or to the left, we see workmen busy in la^'ing the foundation of, or finishing, some costly edifice. The dilapidated and antique structure of the original settler is fast giving way to the spacious 46 HISTORICAL SKETCH and lofty block of brick and stone. But comparatively a few years ago, even within the remembrance of our young men, our town was confined to one or two streets iTinning parallel with the river. The 'half-moon' fortifications, the 'bastion,' the tower, the rampart, were then known as the utmost limits. What was then termed 'The Hill,' now forming the most beautiful part of the town, covered with elegant mansions, but a few years ago was covered with shrubbery. A tract of land was purchased by a gentleman now living, as we have understood, for two barrels of whisky, which is now worth half a million of dollars. * * * * * Intimately connected with the prosperity of the city is the fate of the petition pending in Congress for the removal of the sandbar now form- ing in front of our steamboat landing." The number of boats in 1835, exclusive of barges, was 121 ; aggre- gate tonnage 15,470 tons, and total wharfage collected $4,573. In March of this year the sale of the town commons was ordered by the City Council, and in accordance with the act of the Legislature, nine- tenths of the proceeds were appropriated to the improvement of streets and one-tenth to the support of public schools. The sum realized for the latter was small, but it assisted materially in la3ang the foundation of the present system, so extensive and beneficent in its operation. John F. Darby was elected Mayor in 1835, ^^'^ during that year a meeting of citizens was called for the purpose of memorializing Congress to direct the great national road, then building, to cross the Mississippi at St. Louis, in its extension to Jefierson City. Mr. Darby presided at the meeting, and George K. McGunnegle acted as secretary: The popular interest in railroad enterprises, which at this time prevailed in the East, soon reached as far as St. Louis, and the 20th of April, 1835, an Inter- nal Improvement Convention was held in this city. Delegations from the counties in the State interested in the movement were invited to attend. Dr. Samuel Merry acted as chairman, and Mr. McGunnegle as secretary. The two railroad lines particularly advocated were from St. Louis to Fayette, and from the same point to the iron and lead mines in the southern portion of the State. A banquet at the National Hotel followed the Convention, and the event had doubtless an important influence in fostering railroad interests, always so important in the life of a community. A most exciting local incident occurred shortly after the sitting of the convention. A negro named Francis L. Mcintosh had been arrested for assisting a steamboat hand to escape who was in custody for some oflense. He was taken to a justice's office, where the case was OF SAINT LOUIS. 47 examined, and the prisoner, unable to furnish the requisite bail, was delivered to Mr. William Mull, deputy constable, to be taken to jail. While on the way there, Mr. George Hammond, the Sheriff's deputy, met Mr. Mull and volunteered to assist him in conducting^ his charefe to the jail. The three men walked on together, and when near the north- east corner of the Court House block, the negro asked Mr. Hammond what would be done to him for the offense committed. He replied, in jest, "perhaps you will be hanged." The prisoner in a moment jerked himself free from the grasp of Mull, and struck at him with a boatman's knife ; the first stroke missed, but another followed inflicting a severe wound in the left side of the constable. Mr. Hammond then seized the negro by the collar and pulled him back, when the latter stinick him in the neck with the knife, severing the important arteries. The wounded man ran some steps toward his home, when he fell from loss of blood and expired in a few moments. The negro fled after his bloody work, pursued by Mull, who raised the alarm by shouting until he fainted from loss of blood. A number of citizens joined in the pursuit, and the murderer was finally captured and lodged in jail. An intense public excitement was created, and an angry multitude of people gathered round the jail. The prisoner was given up to them when demanded, by the aflrighted jailor, and was dragged to a point near the corner of Seventh and Chestnut streets, where the cries of the mob — "burn him! burn him!" — were literally carried into eflect. The wretched culprit was bound to a small locust tree, some brush and other dry wood piled around him and set on fire. Mr. Joseph Charless, son of the founder of the Republicans made an ineflectual effort to dissuade the crowd from their awful purpose, but he was not listened to, and in sullen and unpitying silence they stood round the fire and watched the agonies of their victim. In 1836, the corner stone of the St. Louis Theatre was laid at the corner of Third and Olive streets, on the site now occupied by the Custom House and Post Office, the parties principally interested in the enterprise being N. M. Ludlow, E. H. Bebee, H. S. Coxe, J. C. Laveille, L. M. Clark and C. Keemle. The building erected was quite a handsome one, and the theatre was canned on for a number of years until the property was purchased by the United States and the present Government buildings erected. The Central Fire Company of the city of St. Louis was also incorporated this 3^ear. The first steam flour mill, erected in St. Louis by Captain Martin Thomas, was burned down on the night of the loth 48 HISTORICAL SKETCH of July of this year. On the 20th of September the daily issue of the Missouri Republican commenced. On the ist of February, 1837, the Bank of the State of Missouri was incorporated by the Legislature with a capital of $5,000,000. The first officers elected were John Smith, president of the parent bank, with the following directors : Hugh O'Neal, Samuel S. Rayburn, Edward Walsh, Edward Dobyns, Wm. L. Sublette and John O'Fallon, all of St. Louis. A branch was also established at Lafayette, and J. J. Lowry was appointed president. Not long after the passage of the act incorporating the State Bank, another was passed excluding all other banking agencies from the State. The new bank with its great privileges and brilliant prospects, opened business in a house owned by Pierre Chouteau on Main street, near Vine. The total tonnage of the port in 1836 was 19,447 tons, and the amount of wharfage collected between $7,000 and $8,000. In 1837 th^ Planters' House was commenced, but owing to the financial embarrassments of the year, the progress of the building was slow. Earl}" this summer Danniel Webster visited the city and was received with the utmost cordiality and enthusiasm. It was expected that Henry Clay would accompany him, bat he was prevented by business engagements. The distinguished guest and his family stopped at the National Hotel, and remained for several days. A public festival or barbecue was given them in a grove on the land of Judge Lucas, west of Ninth street, and the occasion became peculiarl}^ memorable from the fact that Mr. Webster delivered an eloquent speech. The general financial disasters of 1837 were felt to a serious extent in St. Louis, and the Bank of the State of Missouri suspended temporarih^ On September 26th, David Barton, a colleague of Colonel Thos. H. Benton in the United States Senate, and one of the most distinguished citizens of the State, died in Cooper county, at the residence of Mr. Gibson. In the summer of the next year Thos. M. Doherty, one of the Judges of St. Louis county, was mysteriously murdered on the road between this city and Carondelet, and the murderers were never dis- covered. In the fall General Wm. Clark died. He was the oldest American resident in St. Louis, was the first Governor of the Territory of Missouri, and as superintendent of Indian affairs rendered important public services. During this year Kemper College, which was built principally through the exertions of Bishop Kemper, was opened. The medical department was formed shortly after, and owed its origin to Drs. Joseph N. McDowell and J. W. Hall. On the 20th of November the Legislature met at Jefferson City, and during its session, which lasted OF SAINT LOUIS. 49 until February, 1839, some important acts were passed in connection with St. Louis. The Criminal Court was established, over which the Hon. James B. Bowlin presided as Judge for several years. A bill was passed to incorporate the St. Louis Hotel Company, under the auspices of which the Planters' House was completed. A Mayor's Court was also established for the purpose of disposing of trials for breach of city ordinances. A charter was granted to the St. Louis Gaslight Company, but the streets were not lighted with gas by this corporation for many years afterwards. The present gas company holds its exclusive privil- eges under this charter ; and although the original intention of the Legislature was that the city should have the authority to purchase the works at a certain specified period, this has not been done and probably never will be. The charter expires by limitation in 1889. Christ Church was erected during this year, on the southwest corner of Chest- nut and Fifth streets, but after a few years yielded up its site to business edifices. Considerable agitation was current about this time, owing to the action of the Officers of the Bank of the State of Missouri in refusing to receive the notes of any suspended banks on deposit or in payment at their counter. This resolution was caused by the financial disturb- ance that pervaded the country and the fact that a number of banks 1n different States of the Union had again suspended specie payments. A strong efibrt was made by the merchants of the city to procure a rescind- ing of the resolution, and ten gentlemen, among the most prominent and wealthy in the city, ofiered to legally bind themselves to indemnif}^ the bank against any loss that might be sustained by the depression of the notes of any of the suspended banks. The directors, however, after a consultation, refused the proposition and adhered to their cautious policy, notwithstanding that some of their best patrons withdrew their deposits in irritation at this course. The result, however, showed that the bank acted wisely, and the public confidence in it was rather increased than impaired. The County Court ordered the commence- ment of an important addition to the Court House, commenced in 1825-6, and the corner-stone was laid with the usual ceremonies in the presence of a large concourse of citizens. The total arrivals of steamboats at this port during the year 1839 was 2,095 ; departures, 1,645. In the spring of 1840 the corner-stone of the Catholic church attached to the St. Louis University was laid, and a number of other buildings erected. During this year the unfortunate aftray between Mr. Andrew J. Davis, proprietor of the Argus, and Mr. Wm. P. Darnes, occurred, arising from some severe remarks published 50 HISTORICAL SKETCH in the journal, reflecting on the latter. The parties chanced to meet on Third street, near the National Hotel, and Mr. Davis received several blows on the head from an iron cane in the hands of Mr. Darnes, and subsequently died from the effects. The trial of Darnes took place in November, and he was found guilty of manslaughter in the fourth degree, and fined $500. The steamer Meteor made the trip from New Orleans to this city in five days and five hours during the early part of this season, being the quickest trip ever made up to that time. The Hon. John F. Darby, the Whig candidate, was elected Mayor in April, and at the election for county officers in August, the same party was successful. There were ten insurance companies in existence in St. Louis in the year 1841, many of which carried on a semi-banking business. In April, two young men, Jacob Weaver and Jesse Baker, met a shock- ing and violent death. They slept in a room, in a large stone building on the corner of Pine and Water streets, occupied in front by Messrs. Simmonds & Morrison, and in the rear by Mr. Wm. G. Pettus, banker and broker. An alarm of fire came from this building early on Sunday morning, April i8th, and one of the firemen, in forcing open the rear door, discovered the body of Jacob Weaver lying in a pool of blood, and evidently the victim of a cruel murder. The remains of Jesse Baker were discovered the next day in the iiiins of the building, which was nearly destroyed, and hardly a doubt remained that he had also been murdered. It may be mentioned that A. S. Kemball, first engineer of the Union Fire Company, was killed during the progress of the fire, by a portion of the wall falling on him. Subsequent investigations into the crimes, led to the arrest of four negroes, named Madison, Brown, Seward and Warrick, who, it was shown, had been influenced to enter the building by the hope of robbery. They were all convicted of murder in the first degree, and were executed upon the island opposite the lower part of the city, and the four-fold execution became so memorable an event, that the time was often alluded to as that "when the negroes were hung." The Legislature extended the city limits considerably this year, and the Mayor and Aldermen were authorized to divide the city into five wards. At the municipal election in April, John D. Daggett was elected Mayor, and in the same month the Planters' House was opened by Messrs. Stickney & Knight as proprietors. There were now in the city two colleges, the St. Louis University and Kemper College, with a medical school attached to each. The churches were as follows : Two Catholic, two Presbyterian, two Episcopal, two OF SAINT LOUIS, 5I Methodist, one Baptist, one Associate Reform Presbyterian, one Uni- tarian, one German Lutheran, and two for colored congregations. There were two orphan asylums, one under the charge of the Sisters of Charity, and one under the control of Protestant ladies. The Sisters' Hospital was in operation, and there were several hotels, the principal of which was the Planters' House ; six grist mills, six breweries, two foun- dries, and a number of other manufactories of different characters. Steamboat building had also been established as a permanent business, the originators being, it is stated, Messrs. Case & Nelson, and on all sides there were indications that the city was fairly launched on a pros- perous career. Among the prominent events of 1842 were the election of Hon. Geo. Maguire, as Mayor, in April, and the laying of the corner-stone of the Centenary Church, at the corner of Fifth and Pine streets, on the loth of May. This edifice long remained a prominent place of worship, but finally, in 1870, was changed into a business estabhshment. In the autumn of the year, the Hon. John B. C. Lucas died, one of the earliest citizens of St. Louis, and who had received from President Jefferson the appointment of Judge of the highest court in Missouri when it was the District of Louisiana. He was a man generally esteemed and respected, and his name is prominently and forever identified with the earlier years of our city. In the spring of the year, the "St. Louis Oak" was turned out from the boat-yard of Captain Irwine, ready to enter into the Galena trade, for which she had been built, and is stated to have been the first steamboat entirely built here, including machinery, engines, etc. In the May term of the St. Louis Criminal Court, the Hon. Br3^an Mullanphy, Judge of the Circuit Court, was arraigned for alleged oppression in the discharge of his judicial duties. The matter originated from the Judge having imposed three fines, of $50 each, on Ferdinand W. Risque, a lawyer. Mr. R., feehng some indignation while in the court room at a certain ruling which was contrary to that he had expected, made some contemptuous gesture or expression of countenance, and the Judge ordered him to be seated, and for each refusal imposed a fine, and finally ordered him to be removed from the court room by the Sheriff'. Judge Mullanphy was acquitted. There were now two public schools in St. Louis, one on Fourth, the other on Sixth street, and they were numerously attended, indicating that the people fully appreciated a general system of public instruction. On the third of July, the steamer Edna, a Missouri river boat, which had left St. Louis the night before with a large number of emigrants on 52 HISTORICAL SKETCH board, exploded her boiler with terrible results. Fifty-live persons lost their lives by this catastrophe, and there was a large list of injured. General Henry Atkinson died this year at Jefferson Barracks, where his remains were interred. The only other incident we will mention was the murder of Major Flo3'd, at his residence near the Fair Grounds, on the night of the loth of August. The crime was perpetrated b}^ a party of live men, who robbed the house and escaped. A young man named Henry Johnson was convicted and executed for the crime, although he solemnly protested his innocence to the last moment. In March, 1843, Audubon, the French naturalist, visited the city on his way to the Yellowstone, in the interest of his favorite science. The business of the city improved generally this year, and there was no small activity in commerce and in building. The State Tobacco Ware- house was in course of erection, as well as some sixty stores on Front, Main and Second streets, and some three or four hundred other buildings. In June, 1844, Macready visited the place, and being then at the highest point of his fame and abilities, he created quite a general local sensation. He was succeeded by Forest, who divided with him popu- lar admiration. Judge P. Hill Engle died in the early part of the year. A Catholic church of some importance was commenced in Soulard's addition. A most memorable and disastrous rise in the Mississippi took place this year. About the 8th or loth of June, the river commenced to rise rapidly, while the intelligence was received of the rising of the Illinois and Missouri rivers. The levee was soon covered, and by the i6th the curb-stones of Front street were under water, and the danger to property and business became quite alarming. At first it was regarded as merely the usual "June rise," but the continued expansion of the flood soon convinced the inhabitants of its unprecedented and alarming char- acter. Illinoistown and Brooklyn were nearly submerged, the occupants of the houses being driven to the upper stories. The American Bottom was a turbid sea. The town of Naples was inundated, boats plying in the streets ; and from all places on the rivers came intelligence of heavy losses to stock and property, and the surface of the Mississippi was nearly covered with immense masses of drift trees and other substances torn from the shores. As the reports reached St. Louis that the inhab- itants of the towns and villages on the Illinois shore, and other places on the river, were in danger, active measures were taken for their relief. Captain Saltmarsh, of the steamer Monona, particularly distinguished himself by offering the use of his boat gratis. Between four and five OF SAINT LOUIS. 53 hundred persons in St. Louis and vicinity were driven from their homes, and' great distress prevailed. To procure means to alleviate this, a meeting of citizens was held in front of the Court House, and a list of committees appointed to obtain subscriptions. Quite a large amount was collected. The river reached its greatest height here on the 24th of June, when it was seven feet seven inches above the city directrix. A few days before this, the glad intelligence was received that the Upper Missouri and Illinois were falling, but the effect was not imme- diately evident here, and the water did not reach the city directrix, in its abatement, until the 14th of July. The rise of 1844 obtained a greater elevation than any previous similar event. The great flood of 1785, known as L" annee des Grandes Eaux^ was surpassed, as were also the floods of 1811 and 1826. The number of buildings erected in 1844 and 1845 was 1,146, and notwithstanding the misfortune of the great flood, the year was one of general prosperity. St. George's Episcopal Church was organized in 1845, the Rev. E. C. Hutchinson being pastor. During the summer of this year Colonel Wilham Sublette died in Pittsburgh, on his way East for the benefit of his health. He belonged to one of the old families of St. Louis, and his name has been alluded to more than once before in this sketch. In August, an election was held for members of the Convention to revise the Constitution, and was attended with much public interest. The City Hospital was commenced, but was not finished in its present form for several years afterward. The erection of Lucas Market was also commenced. The Mercantile Library Association was formed in 1846, and ulti- mately led to the erection of the fine building now occupied by them on Fifth street. The originators of the library were John C. Tevis and Robert K. Woods, and the first meeting of citizens in connection with the project was held at the counting room of Mr. Tevis, on the evening of December 30, 1846. There were eight gentlemen present, namely: CoL A. B. Chambers, Peter Powefl, Robert K. Woods, John F. Frankhn, R. P. Perry, Wm. P. Scott, John Halsall and John C. Tevis, all merchants, except Colonel Chambers. On the 13th of January fol- lowing, a meeting was held in accordance with a public call, at Concert Hall, and the Association was organized by the adoption of a constitu- tion. On the i6th of February, rooms were rented at the corner of Pine and Main streets, and in April it was opened to the members. At the end of the first year the cash receipts amounted to $2,689, the members numbering 283, with 1,680 volumes in the library. The Asso- 54 HISTORICAL SKETCH ciation prospered rapidly, and finally a joint stock company, designated the Mercantile Library Hall Association, was formed, the main object being the erection of a suitable building for the library. The first president was Alfred Vinton. On the loth of June, 185 1, it was determined to purchase a lot on the corner of Fifth and Locust streets, at a cost of $25,500. A design for the building by Robert S. Mitchell was adopted, and the present edifice erected. The estimated cost was $70,000, which, with the price of the lot, made the total expenditure $95,500. To illustrate the growth of this noble institution, we may add that the present building is now insufficient for its accommodation, and the question of erecting another, fire-proof in character, at a cost of $350,000, is being seriously considered. On the loth of January, of this year, Mrs. Ann Biddle died. She was the daughter of John Mullanphy, who was the possessor of great wealth, and had established the male department of the Mullanphy Orphan Asylum, besides being identified with other enterprises of a noble and charitable character. Mrs. Biddle was the widow of Major Biddle, who was killed in the duel with Mr. Pettis on Bloody Island, and shortly after her husband's death established a Female Orphan Asylum, and even surrendered her fine residence on Broadway for religious and charitable purposes. In her will she left an appropriation for a Widow's and Infants' Asylum, whilst her private charities, of which there is no earthly record, are believed to have been very large. The inclosed monument near Tenth and Biddle streets, with the inscription, "Pray for the souls of Thomas and Ann Biddle," is familiar to many of our read- ers. The spot for the monument was designated by Mrs. Biddle, who bequeathed a sum of money for the purpose of its erection. It is appro- priately placed in close contiguity with the noble institutions with which the names of the deceased are identified. The harbor of St. Louis again attracted public attention this year, owing to a sand-bar forming in the river nearly in front of the landing, extending from Dun- can's Island nearly to Cherr}^ street, and interruption of commerce became so evident, that the municipal and general Governments were compelled to take some active measures, which resulted in the removal of the obstimctions. An idea of the proportions now assumed by the commerce of the city may be gathered from the fact that in 1845 there were nearly 2,100 steamboats connected with the port, the aggregate tonnage being 358,045, and the number of keel and flat boats was 346. The war declared between the United States and Mexico created, this year, an unusual excitement in St. Louis. Numerous volunteers OF SAINT LOUIS. 55 came forward, and the St. Louis Legion, a military organization, pre- pared for the field. A meeting of citizens was held with the view of raising supplies for the volunteers, and Colonel J. B. Brant started a subscription with $i,ooo, and Lucas, Mullanphy, Robert Campbell, Alfred Vinton, Benjamin Stickney and others subscribed liberally, and a few days afterwards the Legion departed for the South, under com- mand of Colonel Easton, with a grand public farewell demonstration in their honor. The corner-stone of the Odd Fellows' Hall had been laid April 26th, 1845, and on the 26th of October of this year the building was dedicated. In the early part of 1847 the Boatmen's Savings Institution was incor- porated, and it commenced a career which has proven not only success- ful, but most beneficial to the public. The most prominent event of this year was the public anniversary celebration, on the 15th of Feb- ruary, of the founding of St. Louis. The grand features of the day were an imposing public pageant and a banquet. At an early hour the various societies and other bodies participating, marched to the place of rendezvous, and at ten o'clock the procession moved in the following order : Chief Marshal, Colonel Thornton Grimsley and his aids, followed by the military companies, and the Apprentices' Library Asso- ciation bearing banners. Then came the Committee of Arrangements, and next the invited guests, the latter being the most interesting portion of the procession. In an open carriage was seated Mr. Pierre Chouteau, president of the da}^ and the only survivor of those who accompanied Laclede when he founded the city on the 15th of February, 1764. The other occupants of the carriage were Pierre Chouteau, Jr., and P. Ligueste Chouteau, his sons, and Gabriel S. Chouteau. In the next carriage were the Hon. William C. Carr, Colonel John O'Fallon and General William Milburn, and in other carriages were many others of the old inhabitants of the city. Without further specifying the features of this procession, some of which were highly interesting and unique, illustrating all the industries and trades, we will state that after carrying out the line of march the pageant ceased, and the Hon. Wilson Primm, orator of the day, addressed the multitude from the stand on the east side of Fourth street, fronting the Court-House, eloquently reviewing the history of St. Louis from its founding to the date of the celebration. The address was carefully prepared and contained a quantity of valu- able historical data not previously, we believe, presented in literary form. The banquet took place in the State Tobacco Warehouse, and proved an exceedingly brilliant affair. Among the speakers we may men- ^6 HISTORICAL SKETCH tion Colonel L. V. Bogy, Colonel Campbell, Hon. William C. Carr, Mr. Thomas Allen, Mr. Crocket, Colonel Kennett, Dr. Linton, Mr. Darby, Mr. Treat, George R. Taylor and others. A ball at the Planters' House closed the proceedings of the memorable day. On December 20th of this year, the telegraph lines connecting with the East reached East St. Louis, and our city was placed in telegraphic communication with the leading cities of the country. On the 28th of the same month an important meeting of citizens took place, to consider the advisability of the city subscribing $500,000 towards the construction of the Ohio and Mississippi railroad, the route of which from Cincinnati through Vincennes had been established. A committee of seven, comprising Messrs. Hudson, Gamble, Kennett, Darby, Kayser, Yeatman and Collier, were appointed for the purpose of petitioning the Legislature to authorize the subscription. The measure being supported by a general vote of the people, the subscription was finally made. The two most important agents in the developement of commerce — the telegraph and the railroad — were now identified with the growth of St. Louis, and her advancement became accelerated greatly through their influence. No public events of a very important character mark the year of 1848, but the career of the city, commercially and in reference to general improvements, was satisfactory. On the 2 2d day of June, Edward Charless died in his fiftieth 3^ear. His death excited no small amount of pubHc attention and regret, as he was very generally known, having come to this country, at a very early period, with his father, Joseph Charless. Several public meetings were held in connection with the intelligence of the victorious operations of our armies in Mexico, and the exciting reports of the revolutions in France and Germany. Towards the close of the year rumors prevailed of the approach of the cholera, which for more than a year previous had appeared in Europe and subse- quently at difterent points in the United States. A few cases occurred here, and the authorities w^ere stirred up to active sanitary precautions, but the dreaded disease did not develop itself until the ensuing spring. In April, 1849, the Bellefontaine Cemetery was established, the ground being previously known as the "Hempstead Farm," and was purchased from Luther M. Kennett. The names of the trustees mentioned in the act of incorporation are : John F. Darby, Henry Kayser, Wayman Crow, James E. Yeatman, James Harrison, Charles S. Rannells, Gerard B. Allen, Philander Salisbury, Wm. Bennett, Augustus Brewster and Wm. M. McPherson. The cemetery is now one of the most beautiful in the country. This year was one of the most disastrous in the history OF SAINT LOUIS. 57 of St. Louis, owing to the outbreak of the cholera and the occurrence of a terrible conflagration. About ten o'clock on Thursday night, May 19, a fire broke out on the steamer White Cloud, lying at the wharf between Vine and Cherr}^ streets, and the steamboat and fire bells soon spread the alarm throughout the city. The flames rapidly enveloped the steamer, and, notwithstanding vigorous efforts to check their course, communi- cated to three or four other boats in the vicinity. The White Cloud became loosened from the wharf and drifted down the river with the current ; the blazing wreck came in collision with a number of other steamers, and in a short time twenty-three or four boats were in flames. The dreadful disaster did not, however, stop here. A stiff' breeze pre- vailed from the northeast, and an avalanche of fier}^ embers was whirled over the buildings on the levee, and soon a number of them were in flames. The first which caught fire was near the corner of Locust street, and the conflagration, rapidly extending south and westward, assumed the most stupendous proportions, and the utmost excitement and dismay prevailed over the city. Without sketching the devastation of the terrible calamity, we may say that it was by far the most serious of the kind that has ever visited St. Louis. All the buildings, with only a few exceptions, from Locust to Market, and between Second and the river, were destroyed or badly injured, and the progress of the fire was only arrested by blowing up buildings with gunpowder. In one of these explosions, Mr. T. B. Targee, the well-known auctioneer, was killed, and several others injured. Twenty-three steamboats, three barges and one canal boat were destroyed, the total value being estimated at about $440,000. The whole value of property destroyed reached over $3,000,000. The occurrence of the fire was a serious blow to our city, but the energy of its citizens was displayed in the manner with which they labored to repair its ravages, and the evidences of desolation and ruin soon disappeared, and new buildings were erected of a more substantial character than the old, and Main street was considerably widened. We turn from the fire to the second great calamity of the year. As before stated, the coming of the cholera was heralded during the fall of '48, and early in the ensuing spring it reappeared, the number of deaths increasing daily as the summer approached, and in June it assumed a vii-ulent epidemic form, and spread dismay throughout the community. At the time of the outbreak of the disease the sanitary condition of the city was exceedingly bad, the present sewer system having hardly been commenced, and most of the alleys were unpaved and in a shockingly 58 HISTORICAL SKETCH dirty condition. When the cholera declared itself the authorities adopt- ed energetic sanitary measures, but without avail, and the mortality increased steadily. As is generally the case, there was a conflict of opinion respecting the disease among the physicians, and at first the medical board pronounced the use of vegetables injurious, and the City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting their sale within the city limits ; but this was shortly afterwards revoked. The Council finally, on recom- mendation of the Committee of Public Health, adopted quarantine reg- ulations, and a site for quarantine was adopted on Arsenal Island. Notwithstanding all the eftbrts made, the number of deaths increased to over o?ie hundred and sixty -per diem, which, in a city with a population of less than 64,000, indicates the truly alarming extent of the epidemic. The second day of July was observed as a day of humiliation and prayer, but it was not until late in the month that there was any sensible abate- ment in the epidemic, and about the middle of August it had nearly dis- appeared. Between June 25th and July i6th, the greatest mortality occurred, and from April 30th to August 6th the total number of deaths from all causes was 5,989, of which 4,060 were from cholera; and among the host of victims were many well-known citizens, and several prominent physicians. The disasters of this year seriously interrupted the progress of our city, but their effects were soon repaired, a bountiful harvest was gathered, and with the general improvement of the locality devastated by the fire, business revived and commercial facilities were extended. During the year the immense emigration to California, owing to the discovery of the gold fields and the general impression of the vast wealth and resources of the Far West, brought the project of a great railroad route across the continent prominently before the minds of our people. It was determined to call together a Mass Convention in St. Louis for the purpose of considering the enterprise, and invitations were sent to the prominent citizens of nearly every State in the Union. The convention assembled on the 15th of October, in the Court House, and was called to order by Judge A. T. Ellis, of Indiana. The result of the deliberations was a general conviction of the necessity of the road, and an influential committee was appointed to prepare an address to the people of the Union, soliciting their co-operation in inducing Congress to take the requisite action towards the end desired. It is thus evident that St. Louis citizens were the first to move in the great enterprise of a trans-continental railroad, and there are many living to-day who par- ticipated in these preliminary measures, who now witness the practical fulfillment of the stupendous achievement which they inaugurated. The OF SAINT I.OUIS. 59 fine building on the corner of Seventh and Myrtle streets, then connected with the medical department of the St. Louis University, was built during this year, and owes its origin to the munificence of Colonel John O' Fal- lon. Louis A. Labeaume was this year elected Assistant Treasurer of the United States, and his bondsmen were all St. Louis citizens, repre- senting an aggregate wealth of over $6,000,000. An exciting and bloody affair occurred at the City Hotel on the night of the 29th of October. A day or so before, two unknown gentlemen arrived at the hotel, on the corner of Third and Vine streets, then kept b}^ Theron Barnum, and some trouble in reference to accommodations arose between them and Mr. Kirby Barnum, nephew of the proprietor, but it was settled without anything serious having occurred. On the night mentioned, Mr. Kirby Barnum retired to his room, and shortly after a shot was fired through the window, which fatally wounded him, and in attempting to leave the room he fell in the hall. Wm. Albert Jones, who occupied a room on the same floor, on opening his door to ascertain the cause of the firing, was shot dead, and H. M. Henderson and Captain W. D. Hubbell, who were rooming with him, were both wounded. The affair produced intense excitement, and the two stran- gers, who were Frenchmen, named Gonsalve and Raymond Montes- quiou, were accused of the crime. On the first trial the jury did not agree, and at the second, Gonsalve, who had confessed his guilt, and alleged that "God made him do it," was acquitted on the ground of insanity, and Raymond was shown to be innocent. The only other incident, worthy of special mention, in the year was the extraordinary robbery of the Bank of the State of Missouri. The sum of $120,000 was taken from the vaults, but the perpetrators of the robbery escaped with their booty. ST. LOUIS FROM 185O. The ten years embraced between 1850 and i860 were those of remarkable development for St. Louis, as they were also for the entire West. They were years of vigor and expansion of commercial ener- gies throughout the entire nation. Before that period the growth of St. Louis had been comparatively slow, and, although within less than a century from the rude foundation laid by Laclede an astonishing super- structure had arisen, the real v/onders of our city's history were yet to be achieved. In 1850 the population of the city was about 74,000; with the close of that decade it had risen to more than double, or 160,000. During this time she shook herself cleai* from pretentious 6o HISTORICAL SKETCH rivals, and was an acknowledged leader. Our railroad system was barely commenced. Our public institutions were yet to be built ; our iron manufactories to be established ; our hotels and splendid business houses to be reared ; and our system of parks, sewerage, water supply, and the other features and elements which go to make up a great city, were yet to be perfected. From 1850 forward, the limits of a single book do not admit of per- fect chronological order in selecting and presenting the events and initial enterprises which have a bearing upon the present. The delinea- tion, however, of the earlier events, gives a portraiture of a history replete with instructive thought. The last fourth of a century is fresh in the minds of many living men, and its record is comparatively safe from mutilation or perversion. The dim tradition and scattered memo- rials of the frontier village have been exchanged for the glowing and ever-available archives of the metropolis. It is a curious fact, that from the accumulated disasters of the year 1849 may be dated the more rapid and remarkable development of the city. Forth from the ruins of con- flagration, and the gloom of the shadow of death, she emerged upon a bright and broad career, with abounding vigor and exuberant life. The review of the mighty steps in civic progress in each succeeding year brings us upon constant matter for astonishment. The railroad convention held in 1849 ^^^^ quickly followed by sub- stantial fruits, and on the 4th of July, 185 1, ground was broken in the practical commencement of the Pacific Railroad, the company having been organized some time previously through the exertions of such citi- zens as Thomas Allen, James H. Lucas, Daniel D. Page, John O'Fal- lon and other public-spirited gentlemen. The following year witnessed the commencement of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, also the Terre Haute and Alton ; and in 1852 the Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, then called the Alton and Sangamon line, was opened to Carlinville by a public excursion. On the 30th of June, 1853, the Ohio and Mississippi was opened to Vincennes, and on the 4th of July of that year an excur- sion of citizens took place to the last named place. Thus our now splendid railroad system was inaugurated, and the rapidity of its devel- opment is significantly illustrated when we glance at the map and see trunk lines with their feeders radiating in every direction. Over these lines, trains are daily dispatched for the Atlantic and for the Pacific, for the great lakes of the North, and for the semi-tropical lands that hem in the waters of the Mexican Gulf. Yet the system is constantly expand- ing, and with each new track binds us, in newer ties, to distant people, to OF SAINT LOUIS . 6l whom St. Louis becomes the centre for exchange. The herds and pro- ducts of the prairies, and the treasures from the mines, increase with each new mile of this iron bond of commerce — a bond that, instead of resting on the neck, is placed beneath the feet — the mute servitor of a progressive people. In every other department of business enterprise the same activity prevailed. Noble and spacious business structures sprang up along our principal thoroughfares, and the territory allotted to business purposes grew apace. At the same time residences increased rapidly, and became more costly and imposing. The first Lindell Hotel, occupying the site on which the present house of that name stands, was commenced in 1857, and on its completion presented to the people of the country, the astonishing spectacle of a hotel beyond the Mississippi surpassing in magnitude any other in the United States. This noble edifice, one of the adornments of the city, was destroyed by fire in 1867. It was after a time rebuilt, and opened for business in 1874. "^^^ garden at Tower Grove, commenced in 1850, assisted in a material manner the growth of the western part of the city, which in that direction entered upon a new era of embellishment. The sewerage system was elab- orated. The water supply, evidently inadequate for the requirements of the near future, was reorganized with new machinery, settling reservoirs, and a storage reservoir at Compton Hill ; the whole expenditure in this department reaching four million dollars. During this period, too, the public school system took form and character, growing from a moderate beginning to a magnitude and perfection which was a proper source of pride to our citizens. In December, 1855, a charter was obtained for the St. Louis Agricul- tural and Mechanical Association, and officers were appointed May 5th, 1856, as follows: J. Richard Barret, President; T. Grimsley, A. Har- per and H. C. Hart, Vice-Presidents ; H. S. Turner, Treasurer; G. O. Kalb, Agent and Recording Secretary, and Oscar W. Collett, Corres- ponding Secretary. The present site of the Fair Grounds was purchased from Colonel John O'Fallon, suitable buildings were erected, and in the fall of 1856 the first fair was held. It proved a most satisfactory suc- cess, and the career of the Association was fully inaugurated, which has resulted in substantial and important benefits to St. Louis. The fairs were interrupted during the exciting and troublous years of the war, but recommenced in 1866, each year since increasing in interest and attendance, and now transcending any effort of the kind in the country. In fact they have ceased to be representatives merely of the arts and industries, stock and agricultural products of one State ; they are national 62 - HISTORICAL SKETCH exhibitions, with a premium list of great liberality ; and if their future growth corresponds with their past, their fame will extend beyond the boundaries of our country, and they will become international in char- acter. The street railway system introduced a new and important element in our city's growth. It was not till 1859 ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ omnibus lines began to give way to this new and superior method of locomotion. Its effect was soon to cause a surprising extension of the residence portion of the city. Distance came to be regarded with little or no disfavor, and the delightful elevated grounds on our western limits were adorned with the homes of our opulent citizens, who exhibited their wealth and taste in improved architecture and landscape. The Custom House and Post Office, at the corner of Third and Olive streets, was erected and occupied in 1859, ^^^ ^^^^ Postmaster being John Hogan. It was designed after the prevailing style of architecture adopted for United States public buildings at that time, and though massive and ornate, seems wonderfully lacking in every essential of utility and convenience. The exterior is that of a Grecian tempfe, with fluted columns and massive entablatures. Modern requirements added a roof where the Greek had none, and then added windows which he had no use for. The net result was one of those archi- tectural compounds that disfigure too many of our American cities, retaining the disadvantages without the beauty of their prototypes. The noblest use for these incongruous structures is to furnish an argument that the civilization of the present can neither gracefully nor comfortably translate itself into the shell of the past, and that our age is worthy of a distinctive architecture, in which beauty and utilit}^ shall not be encumbered with mere ornament. For the business purpose for which it was built it was long since inadequate, and a noble and more sightly pile is to supersede it, on the block bounded by Olive and Locust and Eighth and Ninth streets. The cost of the new building, now rising from its granite foundations, is estimated at four million dollars. It covers the entire block, and in the eastern front its basement is continuous with the tunnel leading from the bridge. This will facilitate the receipt and dispatch of the mails to an enormous extent, as the cars of every line of railroad leading to the city will pass upon those tracks. In 1857 the site was purchased for the Southern Hotel, and the work of excavating was commenced in the following spring. The laying of masonr}' progressed steadily until December 4th, 1858, when OF SAINT LOUIS. 63 it ceased temporarily, and, having been covered to protect it from frost and rain, it remained in this condition until April 14th, i860, when work was resumed and continued until August 15th, 1861, when it was again suspended until June 17th, 1862. The splendid hotel was finally opened to the public September 6th, 1865, the lessees being Messrs. Laveille, Warner & Co., and the establishment representing a value of nearly one million and a half of dollars. The scale of the house is indicated by the following items : 17,000 yards of carpeting were required to carpet it, and 1,400 gas-burners to give it light; it has about 350 rooms with over 3,000 feet of corridor; the main one on each story is 257 feet long, with three others crossing it at right angles in length from about 80 to 200 feet. The Laclede Hotel was enlarged by the erection of a new building upon the site of the old jail, one of the ancient landmarks. The new edifice, of cut sandstone, was made continuous with that already in existence, the whole now extending from Fifth to Sixth streets, and fronting on Chestnut street. The project for rebuilding the Lindell Hotel upon its old site led to the contribution of a bonus of $100,000 by neighboring property owners and business men, who would be benefited by the erection of a fine hotel on that block, and the work was commenced. It is of brick, with an iron front, and though not so extensive as the old building over whose ashes it rose, it has advantages and conveniences which the former in its magnitude never possessed. It was opened for business in the autumn of 1874, ^J Felt, Griswold & Co., and has from the first enjoyed a fii'st-class reputation. Almost simultaneously with its erection, new and costly business structures rose along the whole lower part of Washington avenue and the streets in that vicinity intersecting the avenue. In addition to the northwardly movement of the business centre, the circumstance that the roadway of the bridge was continuous and in line with Washington avenue at Third street, exerted a strong influence upon permanent improvement in that locality. Third street, and Wash- ington avenue at its junction with Third, were also widened to give capacity to the bridge approaches ; and the mean and inconvenient buildings in the neighborhood, necessarily torn down, were replaced by some of the most ornamental buildings for business purposes in the city. The Merchants' Exchange building finished in 1859 was found to be inadequate for its purpose. Neither its location nor its conveniences met the wants of the thirteen hundred members who transacted busi- 64 HISTORICAL SKETCH ness there, and in 1874 ^^^ corner-stone was laid for the "New Exchange Hall," covering the eastern half of the block bounded by Chestnut and Pine and Third and Fourth streets. The year 1875 will witness its completion, and the formal inauguration of one of the noblest "temples of trade" in America, one that will reflect credit upon our people, and be an enduring monument of the comprehensive and liberal spirit of our merchants. The Polytechnic, finished in 1867, occupying the corner of Seventh and Chestnut streets, is one of the adornments of that portion of the city. It is the headquarters of the public school department, and contains the public school library. As it is the centre from which extend the radiating arms of our educational system, that may be stated in the same connec- tion. From a small and uncertain beginning, it has grown to propor- tions exceeding any other in the West. The number of pupils enrolled, as shown by the quarterly report for June, 1875, was 36,157. The whole number of school-houses was fifty-seven. This number includes six colored schools, one high school and five branch high schools. The school-houses are handsome and substantial brick structures, well lighted and ventilated, and illustrate the prevailing force of a utility that is at the same time not devoid of grace. The pubhc school Hbrary in the Polytechnic building is in a flourishing condition. By a legislative act approved March 27, 1874, ^^^ School Board was given legal power to provide for all the wants of the library. In consequence of this law, the library is free to the public. Any one is at liberty to consult its collec- tion of books, papers and periodicals in the hall of the reading room. Notwithstanding the library is free, the membership system has been retained. Membership confers upon the holder the additional right of taking out books for home use, and of voting at annual elections for seven out of the sixteen members of the board of managers. The fee for membership is only one dollar per quarter, and twelve dollars paid in this manner within any four consecutive years, entitles the payer to a life-membership. The report for the year 1874 shows the regular library to contain 25,878 volumes, and the total number to amount to 33,556. The room now assigned as a reading hall is the large hall of the Poly- technic building, which is one hundred feet in length by fifty feet in width, and forty-two feet in height. There are to be found on file between sixty and seventy newspapers, in English, French and German, and all the principal American and foreign periodicals. An index of the periodicals to be found in the hall is placed at the entrance. The experiment of opening the hall on Sundays was tried in 1874, and its OF SAINT LOUIS. 65 influence declared to be salutary by the officers in charge. The attend- ance on Sundays was found to be more than double that of secular days. The following societies have joined the library with their books and col- lections : The Art Society, the Medical Society, the Academy of Science, the Institute of Architects, the Engineers' Club, the Historical Societ}', the Microscopical Society and the Local Steam Engineers' Asso- ciation. The collection of technical literature, both standard and peri- odical, has received extraordinary accessions from the societies which have thus joined their eftbrts with the library. At the same time, the general collection is one that displays sound judgment in the administra- tion of this growing educator of youth and manhood. The County Insane Asylum was commenced in 1865, and finished in April, 1869. It is situated about two miles west of Tower Grove Park and the costly and charming garden of Mr. Henry Shaw, which he makes free of access to the public. The Asylum cost about $900,000, includ- ing the cost of the furniture and the boring of the artesian well. It has a capacity for about three hundred patients. The new jail, fronting on Clark avenue, and running east from Twelfth street on its southern side, is a sightly and commodious build- ing of cream-colored sandstone, in the Renaissance style of architecture. In outline it is almost a copy of the celebrated Louvre palace. The Police Court, and the inferior and superior Criminal Courts, occupy the main body of the building, from which it has come to be designated as "The Four Courts.'" It was completed early in 1871, at a total cost of about three-quarters of a million dollars. The Court House, completed in 1862, after years of labor and diffi- culty, has its history specially presented in these pages. The various newspapers have each sought better locations and more room, all of them in more commodious structures, some of which are of more than usual architectural beauty. Ranges of magnificent stores have been built along our principal streets, new church edifices, hospitals, asylums, and other eleemosynary institu- tions, have arisen in various directions. Few cities on the continent can boast a greater number, of elegant private residences. These, in St. Louis, are not confined to any particular locality, but are scattered throughout the city. There is yet one great structure around which centres the pride of every citizen of St. Louis. The bridge is a type of her greatness, her power, her enterprise. Across the Father of Waters stretches in three graceful arches, a web of steel that forms the roadway for the com- 5 66 HISTORICAL SKETCH merce of a continent. Nothing equal to it has yet been built ; it stands alone as a monument of determined purpose, engineering skill and unchecked expenditure. It consists of three arches, supported by abut- ments on either shore, and two massive stone piers, sunk below the bed of the river to a rock foundation. The sinking of the east pier was justly regarded as one of the great engineering feats of the age. When the rock was reached it was one hundred and ten feet six inches below the water line. The piers are each five hundred feet from the abut- ments, and five hundred and twenty feet from each other. The latter distance is therefore the measure of the central arch ; the other two being each five hundred feet. The grand stretch of five hundred and twenty feet of the middle arch exceeds largely the span of any other arch in the world, and also exceeds the span of any other bridge in the world other than suspension. The material of the arch — that part of it which sus- tains the load — is cast steel of the highest perfection known to the present state of manufacture. The steel is in the form of hollow tubes, a form which gives the greatest strength for the weight of material employed. The superstructure contains 2,200 tons of steel and 3,400 tons of iron. The entire length of the bridge proper is 2,225 feet, and the entire expense of its construction $10,000,000. Following upon the agitation of some years, the first legislative enactment relating to the work was an act of the Missouri Legislature, incorporating the Illinois and St. Louis Bridge Company, with a capital stock of $1,000,000. This act was approved February 5, 1864. This was followed by an amended act approved February 20, 1865. The Legislature of Illinois passed an act which was approved Febru- ar}' 16, 1S65, authorizing the incorporators under the Missouri act to build a bridge under certain stipulations which it provided. An act of Congress approved July 25, 1866, authorized the construction of certain bridges of which this was one. These acts were not long upon the statute books before Captain James B. Eads, who became engineer-in- chief, took hold of the work and had his plans completed early in the spring of 1867. An acrimonious strife between two rival bridge com- panies then followed for about a year when a settlement was effected. The first work was put under contract in August of 1867 and a coffer dam was constructed for the west abutment pier, and rock was being taken from the quarries for the masonry. The work went on slowly however, and it was January 25, 1865, that witnessed the laying of the first stone. In the spring of 1868 Captain Ead's health failed, and he passed the succeeding summer in Europe. On his return the work was OF SAINT LOUIS. 67 vigorously pushed, and caissons built for the work of sinking the central piers. In 1871, the superstructure was put under contract to the Key- stone Bridge Compan}' of Pittsburg. Each span consists of fourti-uss- ribbed arches, each rib made of two steel tubes placed twelve feet apart in the span. The coupling pins and fastenings are of the best quality of steel, the brace bars of the best quality of charcoal iron. Each part before being placed in position was subjected to the most exacting tests. When the material arrived, the arches were built up without the aid of "false works" b}' an ingeniously devised plan of Colonel Henry Flad, chief assistant to Captain Eads. Throughout the whole progress of the work, the operations were watched with intense interest by the engineers of the world, who saw new theories tested upon a scale of the greatest magnificence. On the 4th of July, 1874, ^^^^ completion of the great bridge was formally announced, and the event was celebrated with a unanimity of enthusiasm and a civic display such as our country has rarely, if ever, witnessed. There were no circumstances to detract from the general satisfaction and pride. A great and noble work had been completed that brought us nearer to a glorious destiny. It was at once a prophecy and a fulfillment, and symbolized a future for which, like itself, the world had no equal. The carriage way was carried along over the crown of the arches, and was continuous with the grade of Washing- ton avenue. The railway track was upon the line of the chord of the upper arch and twelve feet below the grade of the street. The tunnel, constructed by another company, -commences at the west end of the bridge, follows the line of Washington avenue to Seventh, when it bends to the south to strike the line of Eighth street, which it follows to Clark avenue. From there an open cut for a short distance brings it upon the plane of the Pacific Railroad, and to the Union Depot at Twelfth street. Its total length is 4,886 feet. Its construction was carried on by an open cut, from which was excavated 210,000 cubic yards of dirt. Then, upon massive stone walls on either side and through the centre, were built two parallel brick arches, the track being double, one on either side of the central wall. The roadway was then reconstructed upon the same grade as before, and now railway trains constantly traverse the heart of the cit}-, too far beneath the surface to indicate their presence to those walking directly over them. 68 HISTORICAL SKETCH HISTORY OF THE COURT HOUSE. The Court House building, which towers above the city, giving it at a Httle distance an aspect Hke London with its Saint Paul's, is one of the most massive and imposing structures of the kind in the country. Ornamenting as it does one of the central blocks of the city, it deserves a recitation of the particulars of its history. On the 14th of December, 1812, an act was approved entitled, "An act concerning a Court House and Jail in the county of Saint Louis," and in accordance with its provisions, Thomas Sappington, of Gravois, Ludwell Bacon, of Bonhomme, Robert Quarles, of St. Ferdinand, and Pierre Chouteau, Jr., and Wm. Carr Lane, of the town of Saint Louis, were appointed commissioners to select a proper site within the town of St. Louis whereon to erect a Court House for said county. The commissioners were also authorized to receive proposals from all per- sons wishing to make donations of land for the purpose named, and to accept any donation that might seem to them most beneficial to the county ; and to cause a deed of conveyance to be executed whereby the land so donated should be conveyed to the Justices of the County Court and their successors in office. Under the authority conveyed in this act, the Commissioners named selected the site now occupied by the Court House, which was donated for the purpose by the proprietors, John B. C. Lucas and Auguste Chouteau ; the date of the report of the Com- missioners being August 25, 1823. It is stated that under the old regime, the whipping-post was placed at a point on the site now occu- pied by the Court House. The first step towards the erection of the building was taken by the County Court on the 9th of November, 1825, the Justices then being Joseph V. Garnier, Peter Ferguson, and Francis Nash ; when the sum of $7,000 was appropriated for the purpose, and Alexander Stuart was appointed Commissioner to superintend the work. On the 7th of February, 1826, an additional appropriation in the sum of $5,000 was made, and on the 9th of the same month Mr. Stuart sub- mitted plans for the building, which were approved, the estimate of the cost being $12,000. Some difficulty appears to have occurred relative to the plans adopted, for on May i, 1826, a plan prepared by Messrs. Morton & Laveille was approved, and $2,000 additional was appropri- ated. Stuart's plan was apparently thrown overboard, and the contract for the erection was awarded to Joseph C. Laveille and George Morton, OF SAINT LOUIS. 69 for $14,000, and bears date May 26, 1826. At a meeting of the Court, held on July 26 of the same year, Henry S. Geyer was appointed Commissioner to superintend the building of the Court House, vice Alexander Stuart, resigned. This building was completed on the loth of August, 1833, the entire cost being $14,416.16. In June, 1838, the public business had so increased, and the necessity for greater accommodations was so evident, that the court asked for proposals for clerks' offices on the southwest corner of the square (Fifth and Market streets), to be 132 feet long by 36 feet in width. In Sep- tember, 1838, another public notice was given, and an offer of $100 for the best plan for a building on the Public Square, either adjoining the Court House or adjacent thereto. A plan submitted by Henry Single- ton on July 8th, 1839, '^'^''^^ adopted, and the designer was appointed architect and superintendent. This was really the commencement of the present imposing structure, and the first contract for work was made by Mr. Singleton with Joseph Foster, for the carpenter work, on August 12, 1839, ^"^ ^^ April, 1842, a contract for the cut-stonework of the rotunda was awarded to J. H. Hall. The work progressed slowly until 1 83 1, when Robert S. Mitchell was appointed architect and superintend- ent, and he immediately proceeded to tear down the old building, which stood where the east wing was to be erected, and in October, 1852, contracted with Mr. Bernard Crickard for the cut-stone work for the wing. It was subsequently decided by the Court to have the north and south wings, and on the 28th of May, 1853, Mr. Mitchell contracted with Mr. Crickard for the cut-stone work of the south wing, and in July, 1853, for the six stone columns in the portico of the east wing. In May, 1857, the court superseded Mr. Mitchell and appointed Thomas D. P. Lanham to the office, at a remuneration of four per cent, on the amount of work done under his supervision. The County Court was aboHshed by the Legislature, and on the first Monday in August, 1859, the Board of County Commissioners were elected, and on the 21st of September following the Board declared the office of architect and super- intendent vacant, and the day after appointed William Rumbold to the office, at a salary of $125 per month. The work from this period pro- gressed with steadiness. The design for the dome prepared by Mr. Lanham was rejected, and the wrought-iron dome devised by Mr. Rum- bold was adopted, having been carefully tested, and the contract for the erection awarded to Mr. James McPheeters. Without pursuing the different steps of the work as it neared comple- tion, it is sufficient to state that this splendid building, after the l"pse of 70 HISTORICAL SKETCH a quarter of a century from the time of its commencement, was pro- nounced completed at the beginning of July, 1862. The cost of the work was as follows : Cut-stone work $383)647 o5 Other stone work 48'455 9^ Ironwork i5^!34- -- Brick and material 7I5I15 -3 Plastering 21,054 65 Carpentry 146,607 19 Painting and glazing -15650 13 Roofing 23,825 49 Sundries, labor, material, etc 288,329 71 Architect and superintendent 43,844 33 Total cost $1,199,871 91 ST. LOUIS AND ITS CHARTERS. The town of St. Louis was first incorporated on the 9th day of No- vember, 1809, by the Court of Common Pleas for the District of St. Louis, upon the petition of two-thirds of the taxable inhabitants, under authority of an act of the Legislature of the Territory of Louisiana, passed June i8th, 1808, entitled "An act concerning towns in this Terri- tory." The Judges constituting the Court were Silas Bent, President, and Bernard Pratte and Louis Labeaume, Associates. The charter granted by the Court was the only one under which the town existed until 1822, when it was incorporated as a city. It is to be found in the records of the Court in Book A, page 334, in the following words : "On petition of sundry inhabitants of the town of St. Louis, praying so much of said town as is included in the following hmits to be incor- porated, to-wit: Beginning at Antoine Roy's mill on the bank of the Mississippi river, thence running sixty arpents west, thence south on said line of sixty arpents in the rear until the same comes to the Barriere Denoyer, thence due south until it comes to the Sugar Loaf, thence due east to the Mississippi, from thence by the Mississippi to the place first mentioned. The Court having examined the said petition, and finding that the same is signed by two-thirds of the taxable inhabitants residing in said town, order the same to be incorporated, and the metes and bounds to be surveyed and marked and a plat thereof filed of record in the Clerk's oflice." David Delawnay and Wm. C. Carr were appointed Commissioners to superintend the first election of five trustees in accord- ance with the law. OF SAINT LOUIS. 7I The next act in reference to incorporation is entitled "An act to incor- porate the inhabitants of the town of St. Louis, approved December 9th, 1822." The limits stated in this act are as follows : Beginning at a point in the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi river, due east of the southern end of a bridge across Mill creek, at the lower end of the town of St. Louis : thence due west to a point at which the line of Sev- enth street extending southwardly will intersect the same ; thence north- wardly along the western side of Seventh street, and continuing in that course to a point due west of the northern side of Roy's tower ; thence due east to the middle of the main channel of the river Mississippi ; thence with the middle of the main channel of the said river to the beginning. By this act the town, bounded as above given, was "erected into a city" by the name of the city of St. Louis, and the inhabitants constituted a body politic and corporate under the name and style of the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of the City of St. Louis. An act supplementary to that last mentioned was passed January 15, 1831, but without any alteration of the boundaries. On the i6th of Jan- uary, 1833, an additional act was passed dividing the city into four wards. On the 26th of February a new charter was passed by the Legislature, which reiterated the boundaries of the act of 1822, but contained new and more specific provisions for municipal government. On February 8, 1839, ^ "^'^ charter was again promulgated by the Legislature, which was much more elaborate than any of the preceding, being divided into articles, a formality not previously observed. This established the boundaries as follows : Beginning at a point in the mid- dle of the main channel of the Mississippi river due east of the mouth of Mill creek (so called) ; thence due west to the mouth of said creek ; thence up the centre of the main channel of said creek to a point where the southern side of Rutgers street, produced, shall intersect the same ; thence westwardly along the southern side of said sti-eet to the intersec- tion of the same with the western line of Seventh street, produced ; thence northwardly along the western side of Seventh street to the northern line of Biddle street ; thence eastwardly with the northern line of Biddle street to the western line of Broadway, to a point where the southern boundary of survey number six hundred and seventy-one, pro- duced, shall intersect the same ; thence eastwardly along the southern boundary of said survey to the Mississippi river ; thence due east to the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi river ; thence down with the middle of the main channel of said river to the place of beginning. On the 15th of Febi-uary, 1841, an act amendatory to Jthe foregoing 72 HISTORICAL SKETCH again changed the boundaries, as follows : Beginning at a point in the middle of the main channel of the river due east of the southeast corner of St. George, in St. Louis county : thence due west to the west line of Second Carondelet avenue ; thence north with the west line of said avenue to the north line of Chouteau avenue ; thence northwardly in a direct line to the mouth of Stony creek, above the then existing north line of the city; thence due east to the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi river, and thence south to the place of beginning. On February 8, 1843, an act was approved entitled "An act to reduce the law incorporating the city of St. Louis and the several acts amenda- tory thereof into one act, and to amend the same." This act did not change the city limits. Another act similar in title to that just mentioned was approved March 3, 1851, but it left the limits as last quoted. Various supplementary and amendatory acts besides those mentioned were passed in reference to the city, but the next extension of the limits was made by an act specifically for that purpose, which was approved December 5, 1855. This act made the line of Keokuk street the south- ern boundary of the city to a point six hundred and sixty feet west of Grand avenue ; thence northwardly and parallel to the line of Grand or Lindell avenue, at a distance of six hundred and sixty feet therefrom, until the line intersects the Bellefontaine road ; thence northeast to the line dividing townships 45 and 46 north, range 7 east ; thence eastwardly with said line and in the same direction to the middle of the main chan- nel of the Mississippi river ; thence southwardly with the meanderings of said channel to place of beginning. In 1866, the Legislature granted another charter for the city of St. Louis, which divided the city into ten wards, but left the boundaries unchanged. In 1867, another charter was obtained which added the suburb of Carondelet to the city by extending the southern limits, but this exten- sion did not go into effect until the first Tuesday in April, 1870. The city proper remained unchanged as to boundaries, and the extension authorized received the designation of the "new limits." This charter divided the city into twelve wards. It remained unchanged until 1870, when an act was passed by the Legislature, entitled "An act to revise the charter of the city of St. Louis and to extend the Hmits thereof." Notwithstanding its title there was no actual extension of the limits by this act, but the provisions of the previous charter in reference to the incorporation of Carondelet were re-enacted with a provision that for the first five years the rate of taxation in the "new limits" should not exceed one-half the rate levied on the old limits. OF SAINT LOUIS 73 In 1873, a new law extending the city limits, was enacted, but it was declared unconstitutional and consequently inoperative. The charter approved March 4th, 1870, is therefore the instrument under which the municipal government is conducted. Amendments of minor importance have been made to that charter since, but the limits remain unchanged as also its more important provisions. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF ST. LOUIS SINCE 181O. 810 Auguste Chouteau Chaii 811 Charles Gratiot S12 Charles Gratiot 813 Charles Gratiot 814 Clement B. Penrose 815 Elijah Beebe 816 Elijah Beebe 817 Elijah Beebe 818 Thomas F. Riddick 819 Peter Ferguson 820 Pierre Chouteau, Sr 821 Pierre Chouteau, Sr S22 Thomas McKnight 823 William Carr Lane Major. 824 William Carr Lane 825 William Carr Lane 826 William Carr Lane 827 William Carr Lane 828 William Carr Lane 829 Daniel D. Page 830 Daniel D. Page 831 Daniel D. Page 832 Daniel D. Page 833 *Samuel Merry S34 John W. Johnson — 835 John F. Darby 836 John F. Darby S37 John F. Darby 838 William Carr Lane S39 William Carr Lane 840 John F. Darby S41 John D. Daggett 842 George Maguire 843 John M. Wimer 1S44 Bernard Pratte Mayor. 1845 Bernard Pratte 1846 Peter G. Camden 1S47 Bryan Mullanphy i8-^8 John M. Krum... 1849 James B. Barry 1850 Luther M. Kennett 1851 Luther M. Kennett 1852 Luther M. Kennett 1853 John How 1854 John How 1S55 Washington King 1856 John How 1857 John M. Wimer 1858 Oliver D. Filley 1859 Oliver D. Filley i86o Oliver D. Filley 1861 Daniel G. Taylor 1862 Daniel G. Taylor 1863 Chauncey L Filley 1864 James S.Thomas 1865 James S.Thomas 1866 James S.Thomas 1867 James S.Thomas 1868 James S.Thomas 1869 Nathan Cole 1870 Nathan Cole 1871 Joseph Brown 1872 Joseph Brown 1873 Joseph Brown 1874 Joseph Brown 1875 fArthur B. Barrett 1875 JJames H. Britton * Disqualified in consequence of holding office under the General Government and Jno. W. Johnston elected in his stead. t Elected on April 6th, inaugurated on the 13th, and died on the 27th of the same month. X Elected to fill vacancy caused by death of Barrett, who had served only two weeks. l/^3^ \t M^t^ummt Aisr ARGUMENT TO PROVE THAT SAINT LOUIS WILL BE THE GREAT CITY OF THE WORLD. THE ARGUMENT. Great cities grow up in nations as the product of civilization and advanced thought. They represent the power of combined activity and the purposes of thousands and milhons of the world's people, through succeeding generations. They are the centers from which radiate material and intellectual improvement, and in their advanced develop- ment they become vital organs in the world's government and progress, and perform the highest functions of industrial and social life. Where natural advantages and human faculties are most effective the}^ exhibit their greatest growth and influence. In the grand march of the human race, they exercise a function peculiar to themselves, by marking the progress of mankind in arts, commerce and civilization, embellishing history with its richest pages, and impressing on the mind of the scholar and the statesman the profoundest lessons in the rise and fall of nations. In all ages they have formed the great centres of industrial, artistic and intellectual life, from which mighty outgrowths of civilization have expanded, beating down barbaric obstacles with a resistless effort. In short, they are the mightiest works of man. And whether we view them wrapped in the flames of the conqueror, and surrounded with millions of earnest hearts, yielding in despair to the wreck of fortune and life at the fading away of expiring glory, or the sinking of a nation into oblivion ; or whether we contemplate them in the full vigor of prosperity, with steeples piercing the very heavens, with royal palaces, gilded halls, and rich displays of wealth and learning, they are the same ever wonderful objects of man's creation, ever impressing with pro- foundest conviction lessons of human greatness and human glory. Even in their decay they have been able to wrestle with all human time and resist oblivion. We have only to go with Volney through the Ruins of Empires, to trace the climbing path of man, from his first appearance on the fields of history to the present day, by the evidences we find along his pathway in the iniins of the great cities, the creation of his own hands. The lessons of magnitude and durability which great 8o " THE ARGUMENT. cities teach may be more clearl}^ realized in the following eloquent passage from a lecture of Louis Kossuth, delivered in New York city. "How wonderful ! What a present and what a future yet ! Future? Then let me stop at this mysterious word, the veil of unrevealed eternity. "The shadow of that dark word passed across my mind, and amid the bustle of this gigantic bee-hive, there I stood with meditation alone. "And the spirit of the immovable past rose before my eyes, unfold- ing the picture-rolls of vanished greatness, and of the fragility of human things. "And among their dissolving views there I saw the scorched soil of Africa, and upon that soil, Thebes, with its hundred gates, more splen- did than the most splendid of all the existing cities of the world — Theben, the pride of old Egypt, the first metropolis of arts and sciences, and the mysterious cradle of so many doctrines, which still rule man- kind in different shapes, though it has long forgotten their source. "There I saw Syria, with its hundred cities ; every city a nation, and every nation with an empire's might. Baalbec, with its gigantic temples, the very ruins of which baffle the imagination of man, as they stand like mountains of carved rocks in the desert, where, for hundreds of miles, not a stone is to be found, and no river flows, offering its tolerant back to carry a mountain's weight upon. And yet there they stood, those gigantic ruins ;' and as we glance at them with astonishment, though we have mastered the mysterious elements of nature, and know the combination of levers, and how to catch the lightning, and how to command the power of steam and compressed air, and how to write with the burning fluid out of which the thunderbolt is forged, and how to dive to the bottom of the ocean, and how to rise up to the sky, cities like New York dwindle to the modest proportion of a child's toy, so that we are tempted to take the nice little thing up on the nail of our thumb, as Micromegas did with the man of wax. "Though we know all this, and man}^ things else, still, looking at the times of Baalbec, we cannot forbear to ask what people of giants was that which could do what neither the puny efforts of our skill, nor the ravaging hand of unrelenting time, can undo through thousands of years. "And then I saw the dissolving picture of Nineveh, with its ramparts now covered with mountains of. sand, where Layard is digging up colossal winged bulls, large as a mountain, and yet carved with the nicety of a cameo ; and then Babylon, with its beautiful walls ; and Jerusalem, with its unequaled temples ; Tyrus, with its countless fleets ; THE ARGUMENT. 8l Arad, with its wharves ; and Sidon, with its hibyrinth of work-shops and factories ; and Ascalon, and Gaza, and Beyrout, and, further oft\ PersepoHs, with its world of palaces." The first great cities of the world were built by a race of men inferior to those who now represent the most advanced civilization, vet there are many ruins, superior, both in greatness and mechanical skill, to those which belong to the cities of our own day, as found in the marble soli- tudes of Palm3a-a and the sand-buried cities of Egypt. But ancient grandeur grew out of a system of serf labor controlled by selfish despots or a blind priesthood, which compelled a useless display of greatness in most public improvements, especially in those growing out of religious enthusiasm. In our age, labor is directed more by practical wisdom than of old, and is used to create the useful more than the orna- mental ; hence we have the Crystal Palace instead of the Pyramids. But no matter what age nor what form of religion or civilization has produced the great cities, their character and greatness teach their lessons all along the highway of time — lessons of the profoundest interest. It is not to the past, however, that the present discussion belongs, but the inquiry reaches into the future. Where will grow up the future great city of the world ? is the question now under consideration. Let us examine and, if possible, ascertain among what people, in what nation, on what continent the future great city of the world is yet to be. At the very outset of this inquiry, it is necessary to a clear compre- hension of a few underlying facts essential to the production of the cities of the past and those now in existence, to note the influence of the more important arts and sciences upon the present intellectual and industrial interests of civilized men, and, if possible, determine the tendency of the world's progress toward the unfolding future. It must be true in the case of great cities, as in that of any other department of the works of man, that their location and growth are directed and controlled by certain fundamental facts and principles, which are local and general in their character ; and that, with a knowledge and application of those local and fundamental facts and general principles, the investigation can be easih' carried into the future, and great cities and their locations be pointed out, as well as the place where the future great citv of the world will grow up. Assuming this to be true, we have onl}' to consider the following fun- damental, local facts and general principles, and, by their application 82 THE ARGUMENT. to nature and civilization, determine where the future great city of the world is destined to grow up. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. The following six general principles, two of which have ever been all-controlling in the production of great cities, are presented as an impregnable basis on which to found an incontestable argument by which to demonstrate the location of the great city of the future. The third is substantially new and local to America, and must exercise a controlling influence on this continent : I. It is assumed to be a general principle, founded in nature, that the highest civilization, the greatest concentration of wealth and the growth of the greatest cities, have been attained 'within an isothermal belt or zone of equal temperature, which encircles the earth in the north temperate zone. II. That all the great cities of the world have grown up near to the line of obstructed navifjation in mid-winter. III. That human powder is organized to its fullest capacity where the productive power of a continent is greatest. IV. That nearly all the great cities of the world have been built upon rivers. V. That the arts and sciences do more to increase population and promote the growth of cities in the interior of a country, than upon the seaboard or coast lands. VI. That to modern civilization, domestic transportation, by water and by rail, is more valuable to nations of great territorial extent, than ocean navigation. THE ARGUMENTS DEDUCED FROM OUR SIX GENERAL PRINCIPLES. Having laid down these general propositions, most of which are essential to the production of a great city anywhere on this globe, let us proceed to elucidate the truth and importance of each of them, and ascertain, if possible, if they will not, in time, produce upon this conti- nent a greater city than has yet grown up in the world. Ma}' we not go beyond, and by a more exhaustive elucidation of the subject and closer application of the truths and facts, fix the location and deter- mine the growth of the great city of the future. THE ARGUMENT. ^3 THE FIRST GENERAL PRINCIPLE ELUCIDATED. 1. — General Principle : That the highest civilization, the greatest ^concentration of wealth, and the growth of the greatest cities have been attained within an isothermal belt or zone of equal temperature, which •encircles the earth in the north temperate zone. The existence of an isothermal zone, or belt of equal temperature, surrounding the northern hemisphere was first discovered by Humboldt. He first called scientific attention to isothermal lines, or lines of equal temperature, which encircle the earth in the north temperate zone. And minute investigations have established the fact that the human race Tiad, since creation's dawn, been moving westward within this belt of empire, as if directed or impelled by a kind of instinct, over which the^' had no control. This zodiac or zone is a few degrees wide, having for its axis a line of equal temperature. "During antiquity this zodiac was narrow ; it never expanded beyond the North African shore, nor beyond the Pontic Sea, the Danube, and the Rhine. Along this narrow belt civilization planted its system, from Oriental Asia to the western extremity of Europe, with more or less perfect development. Modern times have recently seen it widened to embrace the region of the Baltic Sea. In America it starts with its broad front from Cuba to Hudson's Bay. As in all previous times, it advances along a line central to these extremes, in the densest form, and with the greatest celerity. It reveals to the world this shining fact, that along it civilization has traveled, as by an inevitable instinct of nature, since creation's dawn. From this line has radiated intelligence of mind to the north and to the south." It is the zodiac of empire. It is a noteworthy observation of Dr. Draper, in his work on the Civil War in America, that within a zone a few degrees wide, having for its axis the January isothermal line of forty-one degrees, all great men in Europe and Asia have appeared. He might have added, with equal truth, that within the same zone have existed all those great cities which have exerted a powerful influence upon the world's history, as centres of civilization and intellectual progress. The same inexorable, but subtle, law of climate which makes greatness in the individual unattain- able in a temperature hotter or colder than a certain golden mean, aftects in like manner, with even more certainty, the development of those concentrations of the intellect of man which we find in great 84 THE ARGUMENT. cities. If the temperature is too cold, the sluggish torpor of the intel- lectual and physical nature precludes tlie highest development ; if the- temperature is too hot, the fiery fickleness of nature which warm climates produce in the individual, is typical of the swift and tropical growth and sudden and severe decay and decline of cities exposed to the same all-powerful influence. Beyond that zone of moderate tem- perature, human life resembles more closely that of the animal, as it is forced to combat with extremes of cold or to submit to extremes of heat ; but within that zone the highest intellectual activity and culture are displayed. Nations and cities have arrayed themselves along its- pathway, from Pekin, in China, to St. Louis, in America. "Through the ages one unceasing purpose runs. And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the sun." — Herein, then, lies the primal law that essentially controls and directs; the movements of man upon this globe. Within this belt has already been embraced more than three-fourths of the world's civilization, and now about 850,000,000 people. It is along this belt that the processions of nations, in time, have moved for- ward, with reason and order, "in a pre-determined, a solemn march, in which all have joined ; ever moving and ever resistlessly advancing^ encountering and enduring an inevitable succession of events." But granting that the human race, with all its freight of commerce, its barbarism and civilization, its arms, and arts, has been moving west- ward since the beginning of time along this zodiac of empire, through pestilence and prosperit}', across seas and over continents, like a mighty caravan gone forth to make the circuit of the globe, will not the same inevitable cause that wrested human power from the cities and nations of the ancients and vested it for a time in the city of the Caesars, and thence moved it to the city of London, — will not that wave of human power cross the Atlantic Ocean, and, with accumulated strength and intelligence, organize itself upon the North American continent, with a greater development than has yet been known to mankind.^ Must we not assume, that somewhere in time, this movement of the human race, in this zodiac of empire, will be arrested in its westward career, and man cease his long march around the earth, and seek the goal of his ambition on the American continent? Is it not impossible for the movement to cross the Pacific Ocean to the inferior races of Asia? And is it not in the very nature of things that North America is to be the battle-ground where the great problems of the world are to be solved, and man attain his full development on the planet? Is THE ARGUMENT. 85 mot this the full and free expression of every enlightened American? There is no other conclusion to which civilization is tending. The civil conquest of this continent completes the circuit of the globe. It unites at the east and the west the isothermal axis that girdles the earth, and decides the victory of civilized men over the empire of nature. Granting that human power will still move forward until it crosses the Atlantic ocean, and that it will be arrested upon the American continent, there still arises in the discussion another important question : as to whether it will reach and make a lodgment upon the Pacific coast, or will it be organized in the central plain of the continent? It requires but a simple observation, a simple glance at the productive character of the continent, to settle this question. On the eastern declivity of the continent, is embraced a little more than one-seventh of our territorial possessions. On the western declivity, is embraced almost one-third of our domain. The interior plain, or Mississippi basin, contains 2,455,000 square miles, infinitely transcending, in productive energies, either of the continental slopes or of anv other portion of the globe. In territorial extent this grand valley surpasses in area all other formations of the kind on the continents, and is much greater than the combined area of the Atlantic and Pacific slopes. No other continent has so great an area of agricultural lands as it, and none so rich in natural wealth. Its soil, in richness and extent, is beyond all com- parison. Its coal-fields and iron deposits are by far the greatest and the richest in the world. "Its river navigation," said Benton, "is the most wonderful on the globe, and, since the application of steam power to the propulsion of vessels, possesses the essential qualities of open navigation. Speed, distance, cheapness, magnitude of cargoes, are all there, and without the perils of the sea from storms and enemies. The steamboat is the ship of the river, and finds in the Mississippi and its tributaries the amplest theatre for the diftusion and display of its power. Wonderful river I connected with seas by the head and by the mouth, stretching its arms toward the Atlantic and the Pacific, lying in a vallev which is a valley from the Gulf of Mexico to Hudson's Bay." In addition to the river system, the adaptabilitv of the Mississippi Valley for building railroads is supreme over all other lands. Its climate is in the highest degree fitted for an unlimited exercise of the functions of man, and the commerce afibrded bv its fields and factories and foundries will go in the most ample supplv to the markets of everv ■countr}'. Even when looking but diml}' upon that grand domain, De S6 THEARGUMENT. Tocqueville said that "the Mississippi Valley is, upon the whole, the most magnificent dwelling-place prepared by God for man's abode ;" and Charles Sumner said "The Mississippi Valley speaks for itself as man cannot speak." "About the noblest work," said Thomas Hughes,, "that man can do, is the development of this magnificent continent." Since these things are so ; since the wisest of men have testified : since God has made the great valley, from Hudson's Bay to the Gulf, far the grandest theatre for man's abode upon the planet, and fitted it upon each side with great galleries — the Atlantic and Pacific slopes — must we not conclude that the centre of human power, in its westward movement, will be arrested in the central plain of the continent, where is to be found the greatest supply of the productive energies of the earth? In short, it must be in the grand valle}^ where the two waves of civilization — one rolling in from the Celestial Empire, and the other from the land of Alfred and Charlemagne — will meet and commingle together in one great swelling tide of humanity, in the land of Hiawatha. Having briefly considered the first general principle laid down for the discussion, and indicated its all-important truth — how the great cities of the world have, in time, succeeded each other along the high- way of nations, and how the power, wealth and wisdom that once ruled in Troy, Athens, Carthage, Rome, Genoa and Venice, is now in the still onward, and westward, movement of the great Family of man, represented by the city of London, the precursor of the final great city of the world, and will in time cross the Atlantic Ocean, and be arrested in the central plain of North America, where, in less than one hundred years, the great city of the future will grow up, — let us pass to a con- sideration of the general proposition : n. That all the great cities of the world have grown up near to the line of obstructed navigation in mid-winter. By the line of obstructed navigation in mid-winter, is meant that line- which bounds the limits of the freezing of the navigable rivers so as tO' obstruct transportation with ice. Such a line drawn around the earth,, would pass by or near Cairo, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi' rivers. And to the north- of it would be niost of the internal navigation of the great basin. It is upon such a line, and near to it north and south, that all the great cities have grown up on the gloJie, and wilL continue to do so. THE ARGUMENT. 87 The truth of this must be evident, to every person who will consider the subject for a moment. Climate, everywhere upon the earth, controls vegetation. Every- where, in the toilsome pursuit of gain, man is compelled to combat extremes of heat and cold, and the severer the conflict, the greater the impediment to his success and progress ; hence it is along and adjacent to that line midway the extremes of heat and cold, that his successes must be greatest, that his achievements must be the most complete. Especially must this be true, south of the obstructed line of navigation. For it cannot be denied that any impediments to the free exchange of commerce, interposed by cold, on land or water, is more expensive to the people belonging to the regions where the climate interferes, than to those regions of country which are comparatively free from embar- rassments interposed by cold weather, and where exist no impediments to the ready exchange of commerce. Therefore, the people south of such a line must possess advantages for the promotion of prosperity and wealth, over those regions where snow and ice and the rigors of the climate interpose unavoidable obstacles. Still further, the climatic boundary line to human advancement has ever been to the north and not to the south. The Infinite Father has set bounds to the north such as He has not given to the south, and every race and every nation has submissively conformed to the dictation, and made the great battle- ground for arms and arts south of the axis of the zodiac of empire, instead of north of it ; thus proving the greater advantages for men and cities, south of the obstructed line of navigation, than to the north of it. But let us pass to our next general principle : III. That nearly all the great cities of the world have been built upon rivers, whether in the interior or near the ocean — such as Babylon, on the Euphrates ; Thebes, on the Nile ; Nineveh, on the Tigris ; Constan- tinople, on the Bosphorus ; Rome, on the Tiber ; Paris, on the Seine ; London, on the Thames ; New York, on the Hudson ; Cincinnati, on the Ohio ; and St. Louis, on the Mississippi ; while Carthage, St. Petersburg, and Chicago belong to interior waters, and Palm3a-a and the City of Mexico to the interior country. That there is an important reason why cities are built upon rivers, must be evident to every reflecting man. All commercial transactions are based upon transportation — the facihties for the easy and cheap exchange and conveyance of products, merchandise and people, to and 88 ' THE ARGUMENT. from commercial centres and countries. Rivers for navigation, and for the abundant suppl}' of water for domestic purposes, have afforded natural advantages for interior and foreign commerce, that cannot be supplied without them. Not even the new agency — the railway — transcends in its importance for usefulness, the natural advantages afforded to the cities, by the navi- gable rivers. Railways contribute to give importance to the rivers, by gathering up and concentrating the products of the land at given points. Hence the advantages afforded to great cities by great rivers will ever remain para- mount to localities on the shores of the oceans and lakes ; while upon them must ever grow the great cities of the world. Passing to our next general principle, it is assumed : IV. That the greatest human power will grow up where the product- ive power of a continent is greatest. The truth of this principle is found in the fact that all man's material interests, upon the land, depend upon the material wealth, or productive power of the land ; viz : the rich soils, the timber, the metals, the domestic navigation, etc., etc., essential to the uses and wants of man. This truth is so plain and so great, that it requires no argument for its demonstration. It is true that this general principle, in its application to the produc- tion of great cities, has more force in North America than in an}- other portion of the world. Neither the cities of Asia, Africa nor Europe, have depended so much, for their immediate prosperity and growth, upon the productive energies of those continents, as do and will, the cities of North America. Here the whole tendency of industrial civilization is to utilize the labors and natural resources of the country, in an aggregated form, more than in anv other land. And though the results are not yet so overshadowing in their appearance, the principle has been vigorousl}' applied. With the superior advantages which this land affords, for the use of the railway, every succeeding year added to our national life must bring still stronger evidence, to prove that in North America, the great city is destined to be in the centre of the productive power of the country-, where the center of human power must grow up. Against the truth and application of this general principle there can be no adverse argument ; hence it affords the basis for the strongest THE ARGUMENT. 89 possible argument in favor of the future great city of the world grow- ing up in North America. We therefore pass to our next general principle. V. That the arts and sciences contribute more to increase popula- tion and promote the growth of cities upon the interior of a continent, than upon the sea-board or coast lands. Steam engines, labor-saving machines, books, the value and use of metals, government, the enforcement of laws, and other means of self- protection — all have tended more to make the people of the interior more numerous, powerful and wealth}^, than to concentrate wealth and population upon the extended shores of the great waters. The truth of this is found in the fact, that man's relations and inter- est are with the land and its natural resources. With these the arts and sciences have to deal, and where the greatest opportunities combine w'ith the greatest resources, the arts and sciences contribute most to the welfare of man and to the building up of great cities. Our sixth and last fundamental principle is : VI. That to modern civilization, domestic transportation by water and "by rail, is more valuable to nations of great territorial extent, than ocean transportation. While this fundamental principle is correct in its general application, it is intimately blended and belongs to, and depends upon, the use and application of the last tw^o preceding general principles, the arts and sciences contributing only to man's happiness and welfare where their application can be made in the most practical way. Having thus defined the general principles, in nature and in civiliza- tion, which produce the great cities of the world, and having laid down these principles as a basis upon which to found the argument and deter- mine the position of the future great cit}', let us proceed at once to the discussion. Assuming that the six fundamental principles just laid down are true, and that by a proper understanding of them, it is possible to determine when and where the future great city of the world is destined to grow up on the earth, I shall at the ver}- outset of the discussion make the bold declaration that the great cit}' of the future is to grow up in North America, and that St. Louis is to be that city. The elaboration of our first fundamental principle demonstrates, beyond question, that the centre go - THE ARGUMENT. of human power, moving westward in the zodiac of empire, must cross- the Atlantic ocean and make a lodgment in North America, and that where the centre of human power is fixed, the great city must grow up. It must grow up near the axis of that great belt of empire, near the obstructed line of water navigation in mid-winter ; on the great river where climates cannot rudely interpose obstacles to commerce and navi- gation. This being true, it is a fact of no little importance, that the very axis of the zone of empire — the centre of equilibrium between excess of heat and cold — the January isothermal line of forty-one degrees — passes nearer to the city of St. Louis than to any other consid- erable city on this continent ! Close to that same isothermal line lie London, Paris, Rome, Constantinople and Pekin ; north of it lie New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, and south of it lies San Francisco. Thus favored in climate, and situated in the veiy centre of that belt of intellectual activity, beyond which neither great man nor great city has yet appeared, St. Louis may with reason be expected to attain the highest rank, if other conditions favor. That St. Louis is not only situated near to the axis of the belt of empire, but also near to the line of unobstructed winter navigation,, being, in addition, supremely favored as will be shown by the other fundamental principles laid down at the basis of this discussion, is a fact beyond all doubt ; and now it only remains to support those prin- ciples by local and general facts, to establish the position and certaintv of the future great city. Rising, from principles to essential necessities for the maintenance of human life, we find that the growth of a city is analogous to the growth of a human being ; and that there are certain prime necessities for the maintenance of human life, the abundance of which stimulates health and the rapid increase of population, and con- sequently stimulates the growth of great cities in proportion to the cheapness and abundance of the supply. These prime necessities are,, food, clothing, and shelter. There can be no civilized life without all of these ; and as they are the products of labor and skill, where they can be produced in the greatest abundance, and used to the greatest advantage, and the most extensively, will almost certainly be the place where the centre of popu- lation will be fixed on this continent, and where the great city will grow up — where our problem will be solved. Added to these prime necessi- ties for man's healthful and civilized growth, should be ample facilities for the intercommunion of the people, one with another, and for the ready exchange of commodities forming foreign and domestic com- THE ARGUMENT. gi merce. These may be enumerated as good roads, railways, and navi- gable waters, with attendant cheap freights. That St. Louis occupies a geographical position, central to the pro- ductive energies of the continent, there can be no question of doubt. In fact no city on the globe is so well favored with the resources neces- sary to produce food and the materials out of which clothing and houses are made. To establish the truth of this statement, we have only to examine, in a cursory manner, the facts — their continental importance, as Provi- dence has bounteously provided them on every hand, throughout the length and breadth of the great valley of the Mississippi. Let us con- sider them briefly. Leaving the Atlantic seaboard, and coming west of the Appalachian chain of mountains, we at once enter the domain of the Mississippi Valley, which comprises an area of 2,445,000 square miles, and extends through thirty degrees of longitude and twenty-three degrees of latitude. The Mississippi Valley embraces, within its vast extent, a variety of climates, an area of rich soil, an extent of river navigation, a supply of mineral wealth, and a configuration of surface, equaled nowhere else on this globe. Neither Asia, Africa, Europe, nor South America, can boast of a valley so vast in extent, and so bountifully supplied with natural wealth and natural advantages, essential to the industrial and commercial pro- fjress of man. To satisfy the reader of the tinith of these statements, a few general facts are submitted : RIVERS OF ASIA. Yangtse — Length, 3,200 miles; navigable, 900 to 1,500 miles; area drained, 740,000 square miles. Obi — Length, 2,530 miles; navigable, 900 miles; area drained, 1,357,000 square miles. rivers of AFRICA. Nile — Length, 3,600 miles; navigation, unknown; area drained, 520,000 square miles. Niger — Length, 2,500 miles; navigable, 700 miles; area drained,, unknown. RIVERS OF EUROPE. Volga — Length, 2,150 miles; navigable, 1,800 miles; area drained, 400,000 square miles. Danube — Length, 1,700 miles ; navigable, 1,500 miles ; area drained, 250,000 square miles. i.sS 57 9,328,479 52 1821 to 1830, 10 " .... 1,903,092 50 16,781,046 95 151,412 20 18,835,551 65 183 1 to 1^40, 10 " 18,791,862 00 27.199779 00 342,322 21 46,333 963 21 1S41 to 1850, 10 " 89-.S43>328oo 22,226,755 00 3S0 670 S3 112 050,753 83 1S51 to i860, 93ii " 470,838,18098 48,087,763 13 1,249,612 53 520,175,556 64 1S61 to 1867, 7 " .... 296,967,464 63 12,638,732 II 4.869,350 00 314,475,546 74 Total, 74 years $885,375,470 61 $137,914,587 14 $7,415,16355 $1,030,705,141 30 Valuable forests of the best timbers used in mechanical industry are to be found in the southeastern part of the State, and will in due time furnish material for agricultural implements, furniture, and the various uses to which timber is applied. Water powers, not surpassed in any part of New England, are to be found in many parts of the southern half of the State, and when properly improved will contribute largely to the commercial interests of St. Louis. Not only is St. Louis situated centrally to the productive powers of the Mississippi Valley, and in such a manner as to command them to her markets, with greater facilities and advantages than any other city I02 THE ARGUMENT. on the continent, but she is also centrally situated in this great system of domestic navigation, and cannot fail to be, in all the future, the most important city and depot identified with its interests. In the nature of river navigation, a smaller class of boats is required for the upper waters than those which can be economically used in deeper streams, and hence arises a necessity for transfer, at some point, from up-river boats to those of greater tonnage. At that point of transfer, business must arise sufficient of itself to sustain a considerable city. The fact that St. Louis is this natural point of transfer between the upper waters of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois, and the great channel thence to the Gulf, is not to be overlooked in estimating its natural advantages. To the domestic navigation we add the railway system of the Valley States, which will in a few years more comprise more than 100,000 miles ; and, by reference to the map illustrating this new inland agency for the easy exchange of products and people, we behold at a glance a most wonderful system traversing all parts of these States. In the rapid construction of these lines of communication, St. Louis is fast becoming the greatest railway centre on the continent, as well as in the world, and, with her advantages for domestic navigation, she is soon to be provided with the best commercial facilities of any city on the globe. To her 20,000 miles of river navigation will be added, in less than fif- teen years, a continental system of railway communication ; and with all these constantlv bearingr an ever-increasinjj commerce to her markets, who cannot foresee her destiny among the cities of the world? These thousands of miles of railway can be built the cheapest of any extended S3'stem in the world, as they are unobstructed by mountain ranges ; they will also be the straightest, shortest, and best routes from point to point, for the same reason. Granting that she will become the centre of the greatest railway communication and of river navigation in the country, we must take into the account the question of freights, as an item of interest which will bear directly upon the subject of the growth of all American cities. Cheap freights will have a direct and important bear- ing upon the matter of distributing food and raiment to the people of the Valley States,, and also of giving to their products the advantages of the best market. To settle this question in favor of St. Louis, involves but two points necessary to be considered : the first, the uni- versal competition constantly existing between the various rival railroads of the Valley States, which will, of necessit}-, make the freights to St. Louis as cheap as to an}- other cit}' ; the second point is, that St. Louis stands in the midst of the greatest producing and consuming region of THE ARGUMENT. IO3 the country, and in this she cannot fail to have the advantage over any rival city that may aspire to empire in the republic or in the w^orld. Situated, then, as she is, in the very heart of the productive powers of the countr}^ and destined, at a very early date, to be connected by railway and by water, in the most advantageous way, with every city and harbor on our sea coast, and with every inland city and productive region where industry and wealth can find opportunity, we are led to consider her future as a commercial and manufacturing city, and her advantages to become a distributing point for the future millions of the industrious and intelligent of our race who are yet to inhabit this conti- nent, under one flag and one language. POPULATION. Having considered the material resources of the great Valley, and the relation they bear to St. Louis, let us now consider the question of population — its westward movement and its future growth upon the continent. The subject of the growth and distribution of the population of a country is one of the most important and interesting subjects which is brought under the discussions of statistical science. It not only involves a consideration of the old facts of ethnological science, but the new facts which the influence of isothermal lines, or fines of equal temperature, demonstrate to be controlling in governing and directing mankind on the continents. With us in America, with our extended domain, varied climate and favorable topography, the subject will ever be a source of fruitful inves- tigation. Heretofore, the movement of population in North America has been from east to west, in conformity with the general law of human migration. There is still another movement to which people conform as they grow populous. This is a movement at right angles north and south from the axis, or line of equal temperature, of the zodiac of empire. Having reached the Pacific coast and completed the circuit of the globe, our people will henceforth be governed more by the second movement than by the first. They will struggle to condense and fortify the centre, in obedience to the active and passive principles of sup- ply and demand, as they constantly yield to this second movement north and south to exchange their products between zones. The first move- ment of man on the earth is the movement of population from the east I04 T H p: a r g u m p: n t to the west. It is the movement of exploration, conqviest and domin- ion. Under the influence of this movement, man bridges the rivers, scales the mountains, and disputes with the red man and the buftalo the empire over nature. The movement north and south at right angles to the axis of the zodiac of empire, is the movement that produces power, civilization, wealth and refinement. Up to the year 1840, in the progress whereby twenty-six States and four Territories were established and peopled, a solid strip of twenty-five miles in depth, and reaching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, was added annuall}- along the frontier of the Union. Since 1840, the centre of population has moved westward in the following order as indicated by the figures below : 1840 i8so i860 1870 LAT. 39 deg. 02 1 m. 3« li 59 " 39 '• 03 •' 39 15 80 det 81 •'' 82 " 83 " APPROXIMATE DESCRIPTION. 18 m.|22 miles south of Clarksbur 90 50 39 ^ W. Va. 25 miles S. E. of Parkersburg, W. Va. 20 miles south of Chillicothe, Ohio. 5 mileswest of Ilillsboro, Ohio, or 48 miles east by north of Cincinnati. The above calculation is deduced from those of Professor Hilgard, of the Coast Survey Department, and may be accepted as correct. It shows that the centre of population moved westward at the rate of fifty- five, eighty-two and forty-six miles, respectively, during the three past decades. x\t this rate of advancement. Professor Hilgard assumes that in the year 2000, the centre of population, in its westward movement, "will still be lingering in Illinois." This might possibly be true if there was no Pacific Ocean, and a continent existed instead, with favorable advantages for human abode and the growth of civilization. This not being the case, the Professor's assumption cannot be supported b}^ any existing or inferential evidence. To assume his statement to be correct, we must assume that the pioneer army of the American people will move on, west -of San Fran- cisco, in regular order, as heretofore, until the year 2000, thus enabling the centre of population, in the meantime, to follow on with slow-paced march. This being utterly out of the question, we can assure Professor Hilgard that the centre of population on this continent, in its western movement, will reach the Mississippi River much sooner than the time he has fixed for it — yes, in less than half the time. But w^e must not lose sight of the fact, while considering this subject, that the movement THE ARGUMENT 105 of the centre of population will be arrested — that it will make a lodg- ment somewhere in the grand Valley of the Mississippi. It must do so ; and it is safe to assume that the centre of population will never go west of the Mississippi River; in no event will it pass beyond the State of Misssouri. In evidence of this we have only to look at a map of our country to ascertain where the dense population will grow up on our soil. Whoever examines the map must conclude that the most popu- lous part of North America will be that portion lying between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, including the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. It is reasonable to assume, from the charac- ter of their resources, that those States, in time, will contain about one- eighth of the population of the entire country. Missouri can and will sustain a greater number of human beings than either one of those States, but the adjacent States west of the Mississippi River will not attain near so dense a population. The pastoral and mountainous regions of our domain will never support a very dense population, and when we consider that the more important productive energies of the country are along and adjacent to our internal river system, we must conclude that there is the place for the centre of human power on the continent, and that it can never be removed from those sources and advantages, so favorable to man's uses and interests. Not only so, but even now the growth of population is more rapid in those States of the West, where the natural resources are the greatest, as the following table will show : ANALYSIS OF THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES, According to the Follo-viiig Geographical Classijicatioii of the States and Territories. NORTH ATLANTIC STATES. STATES. 1820. 1830. 399.455 269,328 280,652 610,408 97.199 297.675 1.954.717 1840. .501,793 284-574 291,848 737.699 108,830 309,978 2,234,722 1850. i860. 1870. Maine New Hampshire. Vermont Massachusetts.... Rhode Island Connecticut 298,269 244-022 235.749 523-159 83,015 275,102 .583.169 317.976 314,120 994.514 147.545 370,792 628,279 326,073 315,098 1,231,066 174,620 460,147 3.135,283 626,915 318,30a 330.551 1,457-351 217-3.53 537.454 1,659,316 2,728,116 3,487,924 Per cent, of increase for each decade: 1820-30, 14. So; 1830-40, 1.432; 1840-50, 22.08; 1850-60, 14.96; 1860.70, 11.56. io6 THE ARGUMENT ANALYSIS OF THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. CENTRAL ATLANTIC STATES. STATES. 1820. 1830. 1840. 1850. i860. 1870. New York New Jersey Pennsylvania. ... 1,372,111 277,426 1,049,507 72,749 407,350 33,039 1,005,129 1,918,608 320,823 1,348,233 76,748 447,040 39,834 1,211,405 2,428,921 373,306 1,724,033 78,085 470,019 43,712 1,239,797 3,097,394 489,555 2,311,780 91,532 583,834 1,421,661 51,687 3,880,735 672,035 2,906,215 112,216 687,049 1,596,318 75,088 4,382,757 906,096 3,521,791 125,015 780,894 Distr't Columbia Virginia&W.Va. 1,667,177 131,700 4,217,311 5,362,691 6,357,873 8,046,6^9 9,932,568 11,515,430 Percent, of increase for each decade: 1820-30, 27.13; 1830-40, 18.67; 1840-50, 26.56; 1850-60, 23.42 ; 1860-70, 15.94. SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES. STATES. 1820. 1830. 1840. 1850. 869,039 668,507 906,185 87,445 1S60. 1870. North Carolina. South Carolina . Georgia Florida 638,829 502,741 340,983 737,987 581,185 516,823 34,730 753,419 594,398 691,392 54,477 992,622 703,708 1,057,283 140,424 1,071,606 705,606 1,184,109 187,748 1,482,552 1,870,725 2,093,686 2,531,176 2,894,040 3,148,824 Per cent, of increase for each decade : i820-'30, 26.18; 1830-40, 11.92 ; 1840-50, 20.90; iS50-'6o, 18.21; 1860-70, 8. 80. 1820. 1830. 1840. 1850. i860. 1870. Totals. 7,359,180 9,188,133 10,686,281 13,305,941 15,961,891 18,152,180 Total per cent, of increase for each decade: 1820-30, 24.S5 ; i830-'40, 16.30; 1840-50, :20.03; i86o-'7o, 13.32. LOCATION OF POPULATION. Population Population Whole Population Per cent. of Per cent. of the Per cent. Year. of of Miss. Valley of Upper Miss. of Population. Atlantic Slope. Whole. and Whole. Whole, Pacific States. Valley States. 1820 9.639,190 7,359,180 76.66?/ 2,249,418 23-33^3 1,860,107 19.30 1830 12,866,020 9,188,133 71.16?^ 3,712,457 28.8333 3,010,736 23-70 1840 17.069,453 10,686,281 62. s8 6,392,684 37 -.SO 5,058,154 29.62'.^ i8so 23,191,876 13,305,941 57-12,1, 9,937,622 42.87,', 7,598,614 32.75 1S60 31,443,321 15,961,891 .50.50 15,595,430 49-50 11,792,814 37-50 1870 38,549,987 18,1=52,824 47.10 20,397,807 52.90 16,028,291 41.60 THE ARGUMENT, 107 ANALYSIS OF THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. ( Continued. ) PROBABLE FUTURE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. - Year. Whole Population. Population of Atlantic Slope. Per cent. of Whole. Population of Miss- Valley and Pacific States. Per cent. of Whole. Population of the Upper Miss. Valley States. Per cent of Whole. 1880 1890 1900 I9I0 50,885,983 67,169,497 88,663,736 107,036,130 20,990,470 23,602,248 26,044,873 26,153.490 41.25 35-25 29-37>2 23-50 29,895,513 43,567,249 62,618,863 81,153.490 58.75 64-75 70.62 1 3 76.50 23.407.552 33,920,596 48,765,055 63.579.461 46 50-50 55 59-40 Of this entire population, there is not an average of fourteen to the square mile of our vast domain, exclusive of Alaska. MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATES. 1820. Ohio Michigan . . Kentucky. . Indiana ... Illinois Iowa Wisconsin - Tennessee. Missouri .. Arkansas... Minnesota. Kansas Nebraska.. 581,295 8,765 .=i64.i35 147,178 55.161 422,761 66,557 14.255 1830. 937.903 31.693 687,917 343.031 157.445 681,904 140,455 .30,388 1840. 1.519.467 212,267 779,828 685,866 476,183 43. "2 30,945 829,210 383.702 97.574 1850. 1,980,329 397.654 982,405 988,416 851,470 192,214 305,391 1,002,717 682,044 - 209,897 6,077 1,860,107 i 3,010,736 I 5,058,154 I 7,598,614 i860. 2,339.5" 749.113 1,155,684 1,350428 1,711,951 674,913 775.881 1,109 801 1,182.012 435.4.50 172,023 107.209 28,841 11,792,841 1870. 2,665,151 1,184,050 1,321,011 1,680,637 2.539,891 1,191,792 1,054,670 1,258520 1,721,295 484,167 4.39.706 364.398 1 22, 99 i^ 16,028,291 Per cent, of increase for each decade: 1820-30, 61.86; 1830-40, 68.00; 1840-50, 50.20; 1850-60, 55.20; 1860-70, 37.61. GULF STATES. STATES. 1820. 1830. 1840. 1850. i860. 1870. 127,901 75-448 152,923 209.527 136,621 215.739 590,756 375.651 324.411 771.623 606,526 517.662 212,592 964,201 791.305 708,002 604,215 996,992 Mississippi Louisiana 827,822 726,915 Texas 812,996 365.272 661,887 [ 1.290,818 ! 2,108,503 3,067,725 3-364.825 Total per cent, of increase for each decade ^>3"35- '850-60,45.50; 1860-70,9.68. 1820-30, 85.63; 1830-40, 95-43- 1S40-50, io8 THE ARGUMENT ANALYSIS OF THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. {Continued.^ 1820. 1830. 1840. 1850. 9,937,622 i860. 15,595,403 1870. 2,249,418 3,712,457 6,392,684 20,397,807 Total per cent, of increase for each decade: 1820-30, 65.04; 1830-40, 72.19; 1840-50, 55.44; 1850-60,56.93; 1860-70,30.79. PACIFIC STATES AND TERRITORIES. STATES. 1820. 1830. 1S40. 1S50. i860. 1S70. 92,597 13,294 124,614 379,994 6,857 52,465 295,577 560,247 42,491 90,923 Territories .33,039 39,834 39,834 43,712 31 ',030 33,039 43,712 230,505 734,893 1,004,691 Per cent, of increase for each decade : 1850-60, 218.82 ; 1860-70, 36.71. It will be seen that in 1820 the population of the Atlantic slope was 76 f^^^ per cent, of the whole, leaving 23 ^^ to the Mississippi Valley. By the census returns of 1870, which comprise a growth of fifty 3'ears, the Atlantic slope has 47 ;^° per cent., and the Mississippi and the country west of it 52 9°^ per cent, of the whole population of the country. Assuming that the past furnishes a correct basis for estimating the future growth of our population, it wall require but forty years more — or from 1870 to 1910 — to reverse the relative proportion of the whole population of the country, thus giving to the Valley States 76/^°^ per cent., and the iVtlantic slope 23 ^°^ per cent of the whole population. But let us pursue the inquiry a litde further, and, if possible, ascer- tain what the future growth of our population is likely to be. We have the same temperate cHmate, in the central and most fertile portion of the Mississippi Valley, as that of China; and, with superior resources, it is not unreasonable to assume that a population as numer- ous as that of China can easily find subsistence in this Valley. That great Empire proper has an area of 1,297,999 square miles; the Mis- sissippi Valley has an area 2,455,000, which almost doubles the area of the Celestial Empire. The most populous portion of China has an average of 850 inhabitants to the square mile ; its entire population ave- rages 268 to the square mile. An average of 268 to the square mile THE ARGUMENT. IO9 would give the Mississippi Valley a population of about 650,000,000. Dividing the whole country into five equal parts, there will be found in the Valley of the Mississippi three parts, and the two slopes will con- tain one part each. This will give to each slope about 220,000,000, and to the present area of the United States, exclusive of Alaska, about 1,190,000,000 inhabitants — almost equal to the entire popula- tion of the earth at the present time. But long before we shall reach this number, our Constitution will over-arch the entire continent, by which our numbers will be increased at least one-third more than our present area would contain. "We double our numbers once in every twenty-five years, and must continue to do so until the action of the prolific principle in man shall be checked by the same cause which checks it in every race of animals — the stint of food. This cannot happen with us until ever}^ acre of our generous soil shall be put into requisition" — until the product of more than 3,000,000,000 of acres shall be insufficient to fill the mouths which feed upon them. If we double our numbers every twenty-five years, we shall have a population in a century and a quarter of 1,248,000,000, or more than the present population of the globe. A century is but a point in the age of a nation, the life of an individual often spans it ; and the child, is now born that will see this nation with a population of more than 600,000,000. 400,000,000 will reside in the Great Valley, 70,000,000 on the Atlantic slope, and 130,000,000 on the high table lands of the West and the Pacific slope. Then it must be evident that somewhere in this great valley, central to its 600,000,000 inhabitants and central to the productive energies of the continent, must grow up the future great city of the world. But let us go a little deeper into the inquiry. Having pointed out the advantages which nature, by an inscrutable wisdom, has organized, with sufficient strength to insure, under a well-directed civilization, the production on our continent of the future great city of the world, it is a part of the argument to point out some of the essential wants and con- ditions which must control the use of products in civilized life, in order to make them subserve the highest use in supplying the wants of man. The first essential wants of any productive people are markets whereat to dispose of their surplus products, mechanical or agricultural, at profitable prices. Markets are a want of population in all lands. Mr. Seaman says, in the first series of his valuable work on the progress of nations, that "population alone adds value to lands and property of every kind, and is therefore one of the principal sources and causes of no - THE ARGUMENT. wealth." And why is it so? Simply because population creates a market by causing a demand for property and products ; by enhancing the price and exchangeable value of the products of the toiler. Popu- lation thus creates markets, and markets operate to enhance prices and to increase wealth, industry and production. Markets are, therefore, among the principal causes and sources of value, and of wealth and stimulants of industry. The farmer, mechanic, miner and manufacturer are all beneficial to each other, for the reason that each wants the products of every other in exchange for his own, and thus each creates a market for the products of all the others, and thereby enhances prices and stimulates their industry. Hence the advantage to the farmer of increasing mechanical, manufacturing and mining industry, as far as practicable, in his own country, in order to create a market for his products and to encourage domestic commerce. Agricultural products alone cannot furnish the materials of an active commerce, and two nations almost exclusively agricultural have seldom much intercourse with each other. Tyre, Carthage and Athens, in ancient, and Venice, Florence, Genoa and Amsterdam, in modern times, were the greatest of commercial cities at their respective eras, as Great Britain is now, because they were also in advance of all other nations in the mechanic arts and manufactures, and their commerce was based on their mechanical and manufacturing industry, which furnished the principal subject-matter for making exchanges and carrying on commerce with foreign nations. Here it is that the people of this great Valley must look for the proper and highest uses of the resources and materials which nature has so bountifully bestowed. Capital and skill must be made to supph' the ever-increasing demand of this growing people, and thus it will become the mightiest in art, the most bountiful in the field, and the richest in commerce ; "in peace more puissant than army or navy for the conquest of the world." Stimulated to loftier endeavors, each citizen, yielding to irresistible attraction, will seek a new life in the great national family. But it is argued by some that a city cannot be successful in the pursuit of both commercial and manufacturing interests. This cannot be maintained as a correct position. There never has been any war between commerce and the mechanic arts. There can be none. They are the twin offspring of industry and intelligence, and alike dependent on each other for prosperity. The false conceptions of the relations they hold to each other, and the condition of prosperity they impose upon a city, come from a failure to perceive their true interests. The THE ARGUMENT. Ill principles of economy regulate them both, and it is seldom that a city' combines facilities for distribution with advantages for the collection of raw material for manufacturing, in the same degree as St. Louis. It is because cities have rarely combined these advantages, that many have thought that economic considerations forbid the union of com- merce and manufactures in the same city. This is a grave mistake ; for, in the true growth to which our century points, commerce and manufactures go hand-in-hand. Transportation, that important ele- ment in the cost of everything that man consumes, and the ease with which people change their residence or communicate with each other, are bringing about the most wonderful results, and reconstructing our theories of profitable manufacturing. From this change the benefits are all accruing to St. Louis. Situated as she is, in the centre of the richest food-producing section in the world, with unlimited coal for power, and unequaled facilities for distribution, she is continually attracting to her limits, one after another of the leading manufacturing industries ; and these are each being constantly augmented. The incubus of slavery being gone forever, and labor elevated to its true dignity, Missouri as a State, and St. Louis as a city, move onward with a reinvigorated stride. For the supremacy which some point in the great Valley must inevitably attain, there are rival claimants — as there should be. The Atlantic seaboard, with its facilities, which ruled undisputed in an earlier day, stoutly contests this westward movement of power, even while admitdng the cogency of the facts which bear upon the question. New York is to-day the leading city, yet many of her institutions live now in the atmosphere of the past. The hard, sharp requirements of the day, which demand inexorably that the cost of every necessity and of every luxury of life shall be reduced to the lowest possible point, are rapidly working out their own solution, as inevitably as rivers find an outlet, whatever barriers are interposed. The centre of manufacturing industry will soon be found at St. Louis, in the heart of the continent, St. Louis itself that heart, whose pulsations receive and drive out the rich currents of exchanging commerce. New York last year built fewer houses than St. Louis, and her aggregate of trade showed a falling off, while here the increase is decided and continuous. Of the cities of the Valley, it is not well to seek to disparage the claims of any one. Each, in her appropriate sphere, has advantages which no other possesses in an equal degree ; yet, in the face of acknowledged facts, they are coming to concede the 112 , THE ARGUMENT palm to St. Louis. It is but a few years since Cincinnati won promi- nence as a pork-packing city. Even to-day, ten years after the loss of the foremost place in that industr}-, her name seems indissolubly connected with that trade. Placed in the centre of a rich outlying country, she will always control a lucrative and steady trade ; yet she has never been, and can never be, a city with a continental trade. Chicago, the pampered child of a rich and indulgent East, may boast her railways and enviable position for freighting on our inland seas ; and yet the fact remains that she draws trade and distributes supplies to a section which lies almost entirel}^ on her west and north, and is included in an angle which is but little more than the one-fourth of a great circle. The rivals of St. Louis seem each to have specialties in which they excel, and for which they are noted. She alone represents impartially each branch of industry and of commerce, and each seems to flourish as a native and not as an exotic. Though commonly rated as an inland city, the time is not distant when, with unobstructed navigation at the mouth of the Mississippi, ocean steamers will receive and discharge their cargoes at her levee. In that day, which is nearer than many imagine, the ocean steamer will not only be the vehicle of trade between St. Louis and Europe, but will light the path across the Gulf of Mexico to the no less tempting markets of Central and South America. There is another principle that enters into the account, which may be termed an involuntary or fortuitous cause. It is the highest form of incidental action in commerce. Often commerce, as if by the control of an unknown law, will change from one city to another : impoverish the one and give vitality and strength to the other. These changes, at first thought, seem as inexplicable as the eddy movements of the water in the stream. They are changes that usually have their origin in the action of a single man in the timely use of money ; sometimes by a distant cause ; sometimes b}' legislation, but never does commerce forsake an available point for the development of mechanical industry. Looking at St. Louis, with her location for internal commerce and mechanical industry without a parallel on the earth, we can safely say that she is destined to unite in one great interest, a system of commerce and manufacturing that will surpass in wealth and skill that of old England. It is true, her iron furnaces and glass factories will be built some distance outside of her corporate limits, but the wealth and the labor will be hers, and beneath her sway will be united side by side, in the most profitable relations and on the largest scale, the producer and THE ARGUMENT. II3 consumer. They, actuated by a universal amity, will seek the most liberal compensation, attain the highest skill, aspire to a better manhood, and learn to do good. The manufacturing of wood into its various uses will also form a very important part of the indus- try of this city, as will also the manufacturing of fabrics of various kinds. Thus, with a great system of manufacturing industr}-, com- pelling the coal, the iron, the wood and the sand to serve the purposes and wants of the commercial interests, as well as to enter into all channels through which capital flows and which industry serves, both wealth and population will be developed and concentrated in the highest degree. The time lixed for the future great city of the world to grow up, the most consummate fruit of man's civilization, is within one hundred years from our date. Let us look still deeper into this matter, and consider the new agencies and influences that tend in modern times, with such irresistible force, to concentrate mankind in the great interior cities of the continents. The greatest of these agencies compels a more rapid development of the internal commerce of modern nations than in past times, and the consequent organization and concentration of human power in the interior cities. There is not a living man whose experience, if -he has noted the facts written in the records of his own land, does not teach him of the continental growth and the consequent interior development of the country, in support of the argument under consideration. So numerous and convincing are the facts, that the constant development of the internal trade of our continent is rapidly reversing the proportion of our domestic to our foreign commerce. That the immense growth of our domestic and internal commerce will guide and control our industry, and establish and organize human power and civilization in our own land in conformity to the most economic principles of production — supply and demand — there is no manner of doubt. This done, our foreign commerce will only be auxiliary to the enjoyments of our people, and contribute to the development of cosmopoHtan ideas among the world's inhabitants, more than to the creation of wealth among the nations. It may be asked, to what cause must this change in the relative value of foreign and domestic commerce, and the influence of each upon civilized man, be referred? The answer is, that steam is the cause. It is the most wonderful artificial agency to advance public and private wants that man has yet made subservient to his will. It almost serves his entire mechanical wants. 114 THE ARGUMENT We then again repeat that it is this agency that is rapidly transform- ing the ancient order of the world's industry and commerce to a new application and a new power. It will compel the cities of the interior, in the future, to outgrow, for all time, the coast cities. It is this agency, more than all other mechanical agencies, that has lifted mankind from the vassal empires of Cyrus, the Caesars and Charlemagne, to the great empires of our own time. It is this agency that will forever develop domestic commerce to a vastl}' greater value than that of foreign com- merce, and, consequently, is the most powerful agency to produce the great city of the future that the genius of man has made subservient to his wants. But let us not be understood as desirous of undervaluing foreign trade. We hope and believe that its greatest blessings and triumphs are yet to come. Many of the articles which it brings to us add much to our substantial comfort, such as woolen and cotton goods, sugar and molasses ; and others, such as iron and steel, with most of their manu- factures, give much aid to our advancing arts. But if these articles were the products of domestic industr}- — if they were produced in the factories of Lowell and Dayton, on the plantations of Louisiana, and in the furnaces, forges and workshops of Pennsylvania and Missouri — why would not the dealing in them have the same tendency to enrich as now that they are brought from distant countries ? A disposition to attribute the rapid increase of wealth in commercial nations mainly to foreign commerce, is not peculiar to our nation or our time, for we find it combated as a popular error by distinguished writers on political economy. Mr. Hume, in his essay on commerce, rhaintains that the only way in which foreign commerce tends to enrich a country, is by its presenting tempting articles of luxury, and thereby stimulating the industry of those in whom a desire to purchase is thus excited — the augmented industry of the nation being the only gain. Dr. Chalmers says : "Foreign trade is not the creator of any economic interest; it is but the officiating minister of our enjoyments. Should we consent to forego those enjoyments, then, at the bidding of our will, the whole strength at present embarked in the service of procuring them would be transferred to other services — to the extension of home trade ; to the enlargement of our national establishments ; to the service of defense, or conquest, or scientific research, or Christian philanthropy." Speaking of the foolish purpose of Bonaparte to cripple Britain by destroying her foreign trade, and its utter failure, he says : "The truth is, that the extinction of foreign trade in one quarter was almost imme- T H E A R (i U M E N T . 1 1 5 diately followed up either by the extension of it in another quarter, or b}- the extension of the home trade. Even had every outlet abroad been obstructed, then, instead of a transferrence from one foreign mar- ket to another, there would just be a universal reflux toward a home market that would be extended in precise proportion with every succes- sive abridgment which took place in our external commerce." If these principles are true — and we believe they are in accordance with those of every eminent writer on political economy, and if they are important in their apphcation to the British Isles — small in territory, with extensive districts of barren land, surrounded by navigable waters^, rich in good harbors, and presenting numerous natural obstacles to constructions for the promotion of internal commerce ; and, moreover, placed at the door of the richest nations of the world — with how much greater force do they apply to our country, having a territory twenty times as large, unrivaled in natural means of inter-communication, with few obstacles to their indefinite multiplication by the hand of man ; a fertility of soil not equaled by the whole world ; growing within its boundaries nearly all the productions of all the climes of the earth, and situated three thousand miles from her nearest commercial neighbor. Will it be said that, admitting the chief agency in building up oreat cities to belong to internal industry and trade, it remains to be proved that New York and the other great Atlantic cities will feel less of the beneticial effects of this agency than St. Louis and her Western sisters? It does not appear to us difficult to sustain, by facts and reason, the superior claims in this respect of our western towns. It should be borne in mind that the North American Valley embraces the climate, soils, and minerals usuall}^ found distributed among many nations. From the northern shores of the upper lakes, and the highest navigable points of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, to the Gulf of Mexico, nearl}' all the agricultural articles which contribute to the enjoyment of civiHzed man are now, or may be, produced to supply any demand. The North will send to the South grain, flour, provisions, including the delicate fish of the lakes, and the fruits of a temperate clime, in exchange for the sugar, rice, cotton, tobacco, and the fruits of the warm South. These are but a few of the articles, the produce of the soil, which will be the subjects of commerce in this Valle>'. Of mineral productions, which, at no distant da}', will tend to swell the tide of internal commerce, it will suffice to mention coal, iron, salt, lead, lime, and marble. Will Boston, or New York, or Baltimore, or New Orleans, be the point selected for the interchange of these products .^ Il6 THE ARGUMENT. Or shall we choose more convenient central points on rivers and lakes for the theatres ot' these exchanges? It is imagined by some that the destiny of this Valley has fixed it down to the almost exclusive pursuit of agriculture ; ignorant that, as a general rule in all ages of the world, and in all countries, the mouths £fo to the food, and not the food to the mouths. Dr. Chalmers savs : " The bulkiness of food forms one of those forces in the economic machine which tends to equalize the population of ever}^ land with the products of its own agriculture. It does not restrain disproportion and excess in all cases ; but in every large State it will be found that wher- ever an excess obtains, it forms but a very small fraction of the whole population. Each trade must have an agricultural basis to rest upon ; for, in ever}' process of industr}^ the first and greatest necessity is that the workmen shall be fed."' Again : " Generally speaking, the excres- cent (the population over and above that which the country can feed) bears a very minute proportion to the natural population of the country ; and almost nowhere does the commerce of a nation overleap, but by a very little way, the basis of its own agriculture." The Atlantic States, and particularly those of New England, cannot claim that they are to become the seats of the manufactures with which the West is to be supplied ; that mechanics and artisans and manufacturers are not to select for their place of business the region in which the means of living are most abundant, and their manufactured articles in greatest demand, but the section which is most deficient in those means, and to which their food and fuel must, during their lives, be transported hundreds of miles, and the products of their labor be sent back the same long road for a market. Such a claim is neither sanctioned by reason, authority nor experi- ence. The mere statement exhibits it as unreasonable. Dr. Chalmers maintains that the "excrescent" population could not, in Britain even, with a free trade in breadstuffs, exceed one-tenth of all the inhabitants : and Britain, be it remembered, is nearer the granaries of the Baltic than is New England to the food-exporting portions of our Valley, and she has also greatly the advantage in the diminished expenses of trans- portation. But the Eastern manufacturing States have already nearly, if not quite, attained to the maximum ratio of excrescent population, and cannot, therefore, greatly augment their manufactures without a corresponding increase in agricultural production. Most countries distinguished for manufactures have laid the founda- tion in a highly improved agriculture. England, the north of France THE ARGUMENT. II7 and Belgium have a more productive husbandry than an}- other region of the same extent. In these same countries are also to be found the most efficient and extensive manufacturing estabHshments of the whole world ; and it is not to be doubted that the abundance of food was one of the chief causes of setting them in motion. How is it that a like cause operating here will not produce a like effect? Have we not, in addition to our prolific agriculture, as many and as great natural aids for manufacturing as any other country ? The water-power of Missouri alone is o-reater than that of New Enrjland ; besides, there are immense facilities in the States of Kentucky, Minnesota and Ohio, as well as valuable advantages possessed in all the Valley States. But to these water-powers can be added the immeasurable power of steam in devel- oping manufacturing industry in our own as well as other States of this Valley. If our readers are satisfied that domestic or internal trade must have the chief agencv in building up our great American cities, and that the internal trade of the great Western Valley will be mainly concentrated in the cities situated within its bosom, it becomes an interesting subject of inquir}' how our leading interior city will at some distant period, say one hundred years, become the great city of the world, and gather to itself the preponderance of the industry and trade of the continent. But our interior cities will not depend for their development altogether on internal trade. They will partake, in some degree, with their Atlantic and Pacific sisters, of foreign commerce also : and if, as some seem to suppose, the profits of commerce increase with the distance at which it is carried on, and the difficulties which nature has thrown in its way, the western towns will have the same advantage over their eastern rivals in foreign commerce, which some claim for the latter over the former in our domestic trade. St. Louis and her lake rivals may use the out-ports of New Orleans and New York, as Paris and Vienna use those of Havre and Trieste ; and it will surely one day come to pass that steamers from Europe will enter our great lakes and be seen booming up the Mississippi! To add strength and conclusiveness to the above facts and deduc- tions, do our readers ask for examples? They are at hand. The first city of which we have any record is Nineveh, situated on the Tigris, not less than seven hundred miles from its mouth. Babylon, built not long after, was also situated far in the interior, on the river Euphrates. Most of the great cities of antiquit}', some of which were of immense extent, were situated in the interior, and chiefly in the vallej^s of large Il8 THE ARGUMENT. rivers meandering through rich alluvial territories. Such were Thebes, Memphis, Ptolemais and Rome. But when we consider that our position in vindication of the superior growth of interior cities over outports is sustained b}' the civilization of the ancient nations, as found in the examples of their great interior cities, and that, too, when water facilities ruled the commerce of the world, must not all opposing argument in favor of seaboard cities be of naught when we bring to the discussion the power and use of steam, the railway system, and the labor-saving and labor-increasing inventions which the arts afford ? Comprehending this mighty reversal in the order and means of industrial civilization, must we not say with Horace Greeley, that " salt water is about played out" ? Of cities now known as leading centres of commerce, a large majority have been built almost exclusively by domestic trade. What country possesses so many great cities as China — a country, until lately, nearly destitute of foreign commerce ? There are now in the world more than three hundred cities containing a population of fifty thousand and upwards : of these more than two- thirds are interior cities, containing a population vastly greater than belongs to the outport cities. It should, however, be kept in mind that many of the great seaports have been built, and are now sustained, mainly by the trade of the nations respectively in which the}^ are situated. Even London, the greatest mart in the world, is believed to derive much the greater part of the support of its vast population from its trade with the United Kingdom. At the present time not one- fifteenth of the business of New York Cit}^ is based upon foreign commerce, but is sustained by the trade growing out of our home industry. Though the argument is not exhausti\e, it is conclusive. It is founded in the all-directing under life-currents of human existence upon this planet, and from those principles there is neither variableness nor shadow of turning away. Man's home is upon the land : he builds his master-works upon its sure foundations. It is upon the land that he invents, contrives, plans and achieves his mightiest deeds. He spreads his sails upon the seas, and battles with the tempest and the storm ; and amid the sublimities of the ocean he travels unknown paths in search of fame. The ephemeral waves obliterate the traces of his victories with the passing moments ; upon the land, time alone can efface his works. The organization of society as one whole is yet too imperfect to call for the use of one all-directing head and one central moving heart, and THE ARGUMENT. II9 it will only be the ultimate, the iinal great city, that will fully unite in itself the functions analogous to those of the human head and heart, in relation to the whole family of man. The Iinal triumph of the great city will also carry with it a final organization of the world's civilization — a perfect unity of the entire interests of the advanced nations of the earth. The higher functions of intellectual life will be so exerted as to subordinate the passions and sentiments of men to principles of harmonious organization and unity, thus establishing a perfect system of society and government by means of harmony between the active and passive relations — between the individuals and the community. Assuming these things to be true, the prophecy of the great city is also a prophecy of the final great centre of industrial and commercial life, and the centre of this great commercial power will also carry with it the centre of the moral and intellectual power. One hundred years, at our previous rate of increase, will give more than four duplications, and more than six hundred million of people, to the present area of our country. But, allowing twenty-five years for a duplication, and four duplications, we should have six hundred million, at the close of one hundred years. Of these, not less than four hundred million will inhabit the interior plain and the region west of it ; and not over two hundred million will inhabit the margin east of the Appalachian chain of mountains. The productions of these four hundred millions, intended for exchange with each other, will meet at the most convenient point central to the place of the grow^th or manufacture of their products. Where, then, let us inquire again, is most likely to be the centre of the most ample and best facilities for the exchange, in the future, of the commodities of that great people ? Where will that point be ? Which of the four cities we have under consideration is best suited for this great purpose? Must it not be St. Louis, commanding, as she will, the greatest railway and river communication? It cannot be a lake city, for neither of them can command, with so great advantage, the great surplus products of the country. It cannot be Cincinnati, for she is not so well situated in the centre of the productive power of the conti- nent. It cannot be New Orleans ; higher freights upon the products of the countrv will be against her. It cannot be New York nor San Fran- cisco, for all our six fundamental facts stand against them, and unerr- ingly point to the central plain of the continent, where the six hundred million of people will prefer to transact business. I20 THE ARGUMENT. The late Dr. Scott of Toledo, by far the most able writer on the cities of this country, under date of February i6, 1873, and singularly in his last letter to the author, uses the following significant language, which he desired to be permanently recorded, for future reference : " I shall not live to see the final triumph of the great city of the future, in our great interior plain, but jou may. Please save the opinion I now express, that it will be on a lake border — probably at or near the west end of Lake Erie. I expect the census of 18S0 will show the growth of the three cities — Cleveland, Detroit and Toledo — in advance of that of Chicago. Up to this time, Chicago has shot ahead, and is now more populous than the three cities. After 1880, I expect the rivalry will be between the three Lake Erie cities. It is likely that St. Louis will grow faster than you have ventured to foretell — perhaps faster than you have anticipated. But, in my opinion, its location is too far south and west to become the best point for the convergence, interior and exterior, of our country."' Because of a deep respect for Dr. Scott, his superior abilities, great power of mental forecast, and high moral character, his opinion is cheerfully recorded, with the following repl}' : Dr. Scott's views upon the future of the cities of this country seems, without a question of doubt, to have been given shape by the contest between slavery and freedom on this continent, and not even changed after the abolition of slavery. Previous to the civil war, no man seemed to consider the material progress of this country from any other stand-point than that of the eastward and westward movement of commerce and population. A new lesson is presented for the study of our entire population. The abolition of slavery, and the plain and simple demands of commerce, are now compelling a new — a north and south movement of commerce and population on this continent, w^hich is rapidly superseding and des- tined to supplant the eastward and westward movement. Dr. Scott did not take into the account of the discussion on the future great city this new movement, and therefore failed to comprehend the new influences destined to be exerted upon the growth of our cities. Assuming it to be true, and no reasonable man can disprove it, that the north and south movement of commerce and population on this continent will supplant, or at least become greater than the movement east and west, it must be conceded that the opinion of Dr. Scott is wrong in every par- ticular ; that St. Louis has the vantage ground by her location, and must grow to be the great city of this continent, and "become the best point for the convergence, interior and exterior, of our country." T IJ E A R G U M E N T . 121 We have seen that the human race, with all its freight of commerce, its barbarism and civilization, its arms and arts, through pestilence and prosperity, across seas and over continents, like one mighty caravan, has been moving forward since creation's dawn, from the east to the west, with sword and cross, helmet and distaft', to the conquest of the world ; and, like a mighty army, leaving weakness behind and organ- izing power in the advance. Hence, we can easily realize that the same inevitable cause that wrested human power from the cities of the ancients and vested it for a time in the cit}' of the Caesars, that moved it thence to the city of London, will, in time, cross the Atlantic Ocean and be organized and represented in the future great city of the world, which is destined to grow" up on the American continent ; and that this power, wealth and wisdom that once ruled in Troy, Athens, Carthage and Rome, and are now represented b}- the city of London — the pre- cursor of the final great city — will, in less than one hundred years, find a resting-place in North America, and culminate in the future great city which is destined to grow up in the central plain of the continent, and upon the great Mississippi River, where the city of St. Louis now stands. I know" there are those who assume that New" York is to be the suc- cessor of London, and even surpass in population and commercial supremacy that great city of the trans-Atlantic shore, before the posi- tion of the final great city is fixed. That is not possible. We have only to comprehend the new character of our national industry, and the diversity of interests w"hich it and our rapidly increasing S3"stem of railw^ays are establishing, to know that it is impossible. The city of New York will not, in the future, control the same proportionate share of foreign and domestic commerce of the country that she heretofore has. New Orleans and San Francisco will take some of the present valued trade, and, together with other points which will soon partake of the outport commerce, the trade to and from our country will be so divided as to prevent New" York from becoming the rival, much less the superior, of London, as Mr. Scott has so earnestly contended. Then. in the westward movement of human power to the centre of the world's commerce, from the city of London to the New^ World, it is not possible for it to find a complete and final resting place in any cit}- of the Atlantic seaboard, but it will be compelled to move forward until, in its complete development, it will be organized and represented in the most favored citv in the central plain of the continent. Besides the diffusion of our external commerce through so many channels upon 122 THE ARGUMENT. our seaboard, so as to prevent its concentration at an}^ one of the sea- board cities, there are elements at work in the interior of the country, which will more surely prevent the city that is to succeed London from growing up on the Atlantic shore of our continent. Every tendency of our national progress is more and more to our continental development — a living at home, rather than go abroad to distant markets. There is an inherent principle lurking among all people of great continental nationality and resources, which impresses them stronger with home interests than with external and distant fields of action ; and this prin- ciple is rapidly infusing itself among the people of these great Valley States ; therefore, it is needless to look into the future to see our great cities on either seaboard of our continent, for they are not destined to be there. But most certainly will they grow up in the interior, upon the lakes, the rivers and the Gulf, and among these cities of the inte- rior we are to look for the future great city of the world — that which London now heralds, and which the westward tendency of the world's civilization will, in less than one hundred 3'ears, build up as the greatest industrial organism of the human race. Human power is not onh' moving westward from the old world, but it is also moving from the Atlantic seaboard westward. But a few facts are necessary to demonstrate the truth of this statement : First, in evi- dence that human power is moving westward from the old world, we have but to refer to the reports of the State Department at Washington upon our foreign commerce, to learn that our imports are greater than our exports, and our internal commerce far greater than our foreign commerce ; and by reference to the various reports on emigration, we learn that thousands are coming from Western Europe yearly, to our shores, while but few of our own people are seeking homes on the other side of the Atlantic. Second, in evidence of the westward move- ment of human power from the Atlantic States, statistical tables show, in the most conclusive manner, that human power is moving westward ; many thousands of new miles of railway are. yearly added to the great system of the Mississippi Valley, and at least three-fifths of the number of miles of railways of the entire countr}' are now in this great Valley. Nor can these facts, in their magnitude and character, be considered of casual concern to the American citizen, for they are the most import- ant in our national progress. They are the irrefutable evidences of the historic and sublime march of the American people, in the course of the star of empire in its majestic career across the continent. But granting that human power is moving westward on this continent, THE ARGUMENT. I23 a question arises as to whether, in time, it will be arrested, and make a lodgment somewhere in North America, or whether it will cross the Pacific Ocean to the inferior races of Asia. To answer this question, we have only to reconsider the vast material resources of North America, and realize that they are far more inviting to capital and skill than any inducements that Asia can offer. This fact is so palpable that it requires no argument, and therefore must settle the question of the arrest of human power in its westward movement on this continent. Nor will it reach, and make a lodgment on, the Pacific slope. The vast arid and mountainous regions of the western half of the continent, and the unequaled extent of fertile lands on the eastern halt",. and adjacent to and on either side of the great river, fixes its location inevitably in the central plain of the continent and in the centre of its productive power. And with the development and complete organiza- tion of human power in the centre of the productive power of the conti- nent, will most certainly grow up the great city of the future — the great material, social, civil and moral heart of the human race. The raw materials necessary to the artisan and the manufacturer, in the produc- tion of whatever ministers to comfort and elegance, are here. The bulkiness of food and raw minerals make it to the interest of the artisan and the manufacturer to locate themselves near the place where those materials grow. It is this interest, constantly operating, which peoples, our Western towns and cities with emigrants from the Eastern States- and Europe. When food and raw materials for manufacture are no longer cheaper in the great Valley than in the States of the Atlantic and the nations of Western Europe, then, and not till then, will it cease to be to the interest of artisans and manufacturers to prefer a location in. Western towns and cities. This time will probably be about the period when the Mississippi shall flow toward the Arctic regions. The chief points for the exchange of the varied productions of the Mississippi Valley, will necessarily give employment to the great population. Indeed, the locations of our future great cities have been made with reference to their commercial capabilities. Commerce has laid the foundation on which manufactures have been, to a great extent* instrumental in rearing the superstructure. Together, these depart- ments of labor are destined to build up in this fertile Valley the greatest cities of the w^orld. It is something to us Americans that the great city — the great all- directing heart of the race — is to grow up in our land. Even to us of 124 THE ARGUMENT. this generation, a conviction of the final growth of the great marvel of future ages is a thought which we can indulge and enjoy with pride in the present and coming conflicts of this progressive life. As we have already seen, St. Louis is substantially central to the Mississippi Valley, and no city on the continent can lay any just claim to become the future great city, or occupy a central position to so many valuable resources, as she does. She is not only substantially in the centre of the Mississippi Valley, but, allowing her to be nine hundred miles from New York City, she occupies the centre of an area of 2,544,688 square miles, and within a circumference the outer line of which touches Chicago. She occupies the centre of an area of country which, in fer- tility of soil, coal, iron, timber, stone, water, domestic navigation and railways, cannot be equaled on the globe. Not only so, but when we consider by what general rules the cities have grown and are now growing on this continent, we must conclude that St. Louis still occupies the most favorable position for greatness and power. Let us look at this for one moment. Leaving the Atlantic seaboard, we observe that the cities of the continent have been erected within belts or zones : the most central and important of which are THE CITIES OF THE RIVER ZONE. This zone embraces the belt of country between the mouth of Chesa- peake Bay and the lower end of Long Island Sound, and extending westward to the headwaters of the Republican, Smoky Hill and Arkansas. Within this belt of countr}^ is embraced most of the internal and river navigation of the United States, and upon the rivers included within it, now exist the cities of the river zone. They occup}' the most favored localities of any cities in the United States. THE CITIES OF THE LAKE ZONE. On the north have been founded the cities of the lake zone. They liave been built along the line of the lakes, from east to west, to the Upper Mississippi, and form a very important chain of commercial cities, but never can equal in wealth and power the cities of the river ^one. THE ARGUMENT. 12' THE CITIES OV THE (JULF ZONE. On the south have been founded the cities of the Gulf zone. They have been built along and adjacent to the Gulf from east to west, to the Rio Grande. The cities of this zone, though they will never grow so powerful as those in the River and Lake zone, will grow wealthy, and be noted for refinement and social character. These three zones represent the manner in which the cities of the country grew up under the first movement of civilization across the continent from east to west ; but as the Pacific shore has been reached bv the pioneer, and the great army of civilization, and neither can go beyond, a new and second movement is now being inaugurated, and new city zones will soon define themselves. They will be : The Atlantic zone, embracing the cities of the Atlantic coast, from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to Cape Florida. The next zone of cities under the new movement of civilization on the continent, will be the zone at the Mississippi Valley, extending from Hudson's Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. Within this zone, in time, will exist more great cities than any nation of the earth wall have. Beyond this is the zone of the Pacific. This zone will embrace all the cities of the Pacific Slope. Intermediately, between the zone of the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific zone, is the mountain and plateau region, the land of religion and conflicting ideas. To this region will belong many cities of splen- dor and wealth. Now to the application. Take the city zones under the first or sec- ond order of civilization on the continent, and in either case St. Louis possesses supreme advantages over any other city in North America. And especially will her advantages be greater under the new, or sec- ond, order of civilization, which will as surely compel all the cities of the Valley to go out at the mouth of the Mississippi to the Gulf, and to the world. Chicago, no doubt, is not ready to accept such a destiny, but no matter, she will. She, too, with Cincinnati and St. Louis, must follow the flow of the waters to the Gulf. This will establish St. Louis as the great continental distributing point, the depot and the entrepot for the great bulk of the commerce of the country. 126 THE ARGUMENT. The immense accommodation of railroads will, by rapid, cheap and easy communication, draw to great centres from great distances around, and thus the great cities of the world will continue to grow until the}- reach a magnitude hitherto unknown, and yet, above them all, will St. Louis reap the rich rewards of modern discoveries and inventions, especialh' as regards steam and all its vast and varied influence. But let us pass on. Cities, like individuals, have a law of growth that may be said to be constitutional and inherent, and yet the law gov- erning the growth of cities does not seem to be sufllciently understood to furnish a basis for calculadng their growth to any considerable time in the future. In the development of a nation and country, new agen- cies are continuall}' coming into the account of growth and work, either favorable or unfavorable. The growth of cities is somewhat analogous to the pursuits of business men ; some move rapidly forward in the accumulation of wealth to the end of life, others only for a time are able to keep even with the world. So, too, in the growth of cities ; and thus it is difficult to calculate with exactness their future growth. Cities grow with greater rapiditv than nations and States, and much sooner double their population ; and, with the constantly increasing tendenc}' of the people to live in cities, we can look with greater certainty to the early triumph of our inland cities over those of the seaboard, for, so surely as the population of the Valley States doubles that of the sea- board States, so surely will their cities be greater. The city of London, now the greatest in the world, having more than three million people, has only doubled its population every thirty years, while New York has doubled every fifteen years. According to Mr. J. W. Scott, London grows at an average annual rate, on a long time, of two per cent., New York at five ; Chicago at twelve and one-half : Toledo, twelve ; Mil- waukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Buffalo and St. Louis, at the rate of eight per cent. Mr. Scott gives these calculations as approxi- mately true for long periods of time. They may be essentialh' true in the past, but cannot be relied on for the future ; for, as I have already said, the growth of a city is as uncertain as a man's chance in business : he may pass directly on to fortune, or may be kept back by the fluc- tuations of the markets, or greater hindrances interposed by wars. Touching the subject of climate, I do not deem it of sufficient bear- ing upon my theme to enter into a nice discussion of the influence of heat and cold upon man in civilized life, in the north temperate zone of the North American continent. All experience teaches that there is not suflFicient variation of the climate throughout the middle belt of our THE ARGUMENT . I 27 country to adversely affect the highest and greatest purposes of Ameri- can industry and American civilization. The same rewards and the same destiny await all. The densest population of which we have any record, is now, and has been for centuries, on the thirtieth degree of north latitude : and if such can be in China, wh^' mav it not be in America ? Again, returning to our first fundamental fact, that human power is moving westward from the city of London, we must calculate that that great city will be succeeded by a rival, one which will grow up in the new world, and that this new city will result in the final organization of human society in one complete whole, and the perfect development and organization of the commerce of the world ; — will grow to such magni- ficent proportions, and be so perfectly organized and controlled in its municipal governmental character, as to constitute the most perfect and greatest city of the world — the all-directing head and heart of the great family of man. The new world is to be its home, and nature and civil- ization will fix its residence in the central plain, of the continent, and in the centre of the productive power of this great Valley, and upon the Mississippi River, and where the cit}- of St. Louis now stands. All arguments point to this one great fact of the future, and with its perfect realization will be attained the highest possibility in the material triumph of mankind. Let us comprehend the inevitable causes which God and civilization have set to work to produce, in time, this final great city of the world : let us realize that in our own fair land it will grow up ; and, with prophetic conception, realize its final coming ; let us hail it as the master-work of all art and the home of consummated wisdom, the inheritance of organic liberty, and a city to be controlled by an all- pervading social order that will insure a competency to every member of the in-gathered families. Henceforth, St. Louis must be viewed in the light of her future, her mightiness in the empire of the world, her sway in the rule of States and nations. Her destiny is fixed. Like a new-born empire, she is moving forward to conscious greatness, and will soon be the world's magnet of attraction. In her bosom all the extremes of the country are represented, and to her growth all parts of the country contribute. Mighty as are the possibilities of her people, still mightier are the hopes inspired. The city that she now is, is only the germ of the city that she will be, with her ten million souls occup3'ing the vast area of her domain. Her strength will be that of a nation, and, as she grows 128 THE ARGUMENT. toward maturity, her institutions of learning and philosophy will cor- respondingly advance. If we but look forward, in imagination, to her consummated destiny, how grand is the conception ! We can realize that here will be reared great halls and edifices for art and learning ; here will congregate the great men and women of future ages ; here will be represented, in the future, some Solon and Hamilton, giving laws for the higher and better government of the people ; here will be represented some future great teachers of religion, teaching the ideal and spiritual development of the race, and the higher allegiance of man to the angel-world ; here will live some future Plutarch, who will weigh the great men of his age ; here some future "Mozart will thrill the strings of a more perfect lyre, and improvise grandest melodies" for the congregated people ; here some future "Rembrandt, through his own ideal imagination, will picture for himself more perfect panoramic scenes of nature's lovely landscapes." May we not justly rejoice in the anticipation of the future greatness of the civil, social, industrial, intel- lectual and moral elements which are destined to form a part of the future great city? And may w^e not realize that the millions who are yet to be its inhabitants will be a wiser and better people than those of this generation, and who, in more perfect life, will walk these streets, in the city of the future, with a softer tread, and sing music with sweeter tones ; be urged on by aspirations of higher aims, rejoice with fuller hearts, and adorn in beauty, with more tender hands, the tinal great city of the world? iog^ailiml BioGRAPHiciL Sketches r 35ii\iiiei|t ^ei] kr^d Woir\er( ST. LOUIS AND MISSOURI. X LlETJ.. .iEN_ V/ILLIAlvd T. SHE MviAir GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN. IT is as a soldier that William Tecumseh Sherman stands before the world. It is as a soldier that coming history will scan and estimate his serv^ices. Those services belong to the whole country, and the time is not distant when he of the cotton fields will make his acknowl- edgments as warmly as he of the wheat fields, to the man whose restless vigor and rare combinations shortened the agony of the nation when passing through the most stupendous conflict- of modern times. It is impracticable in this sketch to give either a review or a narrative of the military record of General Sherman, yet it is quite possible within the space at command to present the man himself, with something more of clearness than purely militar}^ biographers aim at. Bred to arms, his ambitions lay in the line of that profession. Devotedly attached to his family, he was not averse in their behalf to entering upon the greater perplexities and uncertainties of civil life. It will at some time be an interesting question, how far that commerce with the world, which in civil life gives so clear an insight into the springs of human action, influenced and shaped the military activities of General Sherman. Certain it is, that his civil pursuits never detracted from his military precision, and there is good ground for the belief that they gave him a far more correct and comprehensive view of the resources and designs •of the enemy, and of his own opportunities for overthrowing them. In our great civil war there were elements entering into the calculations of every leader, other than the arithmetical computation of the opposing hosts. There were hatreds and distrusts such as can only exist among people of the same race and the same tongue. There were jealousies ■of opinion in the council and in the camp, and he was an able leader who could strike rapidly and surely. No other man of our day com- bines, as does General Sherman, the reflection of the philosopher with the dash and vehemence of the enthusiast. For the performance of a great part during the war, few had had a better preparatory training and none had observed with greater care or accuracy. 134 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. In 1861, he took up the sword that he had laid aside in 1853. Then followed a series of military exploits, for the recording of which a volume would be too meagre. The American people have not, as yet, attempted to estimate these services, though as a partial and appropriate reward, he has been invested with the command of the armies of the United States. He was born in Lancaster, Ohio, on the 8th of February 1820. His father, Hon. Charles R. Sherman, for some years a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, died when he was nine years of age. At his father's death he became a member of the family of Hon. Thos. Ewing, and at the age of sixteen entered the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1840 with the sixth rank of his class, and was immediately appointed to a Second-Lieutenancy in the Third Artillery, and served the next year in Florida. In November 1841, he was made a First-Lieutenant, and shortl}^ after was ordered to Fort Moultrie in Charleston harbor ; Captain Robert Anderson commanded the company. In 1843, while on a leave of absence and after a stay at his home in Ohio, he made a trip to St. Louis, arriving here by steamboat. St. Louis was then a city of about forty thousand inhabitants, and his stay covered a period of about two weeks. During this visit he made many warm personal friends, went all over the thriving city, and made up his mind that when free to choose he would locate here. In 1846, when the Mexican war broke out he was on recruiting detail in Ohio. At his urgent request for orders for active duty, he was sent out to California with Company F of the Third Artillery, instead of being ordered to active duty in Mexico — the position which he most coveted. Leaving New York on the 14th of July 1846, the vessel on which he sailed dropped her anchor in the harbor of Monterey, then the capital of Upper California, on the 26th of January 1847, after a. passage around Cape Horn, touching at Rio Janeiro. In the light of the present commerce of the Pacific coast, it is interesting to remember that extraordinary caution was used in approaching the coast, as there was a material difference in the English and Spanish charts and a discrepancy of fifteen miles in longitude. The changes that a few years were to bring would then have seemed one of the wildest and most impossible dreams. The productions were light, the people not homogeneous, and society was disturbed by continuous warlike broils. The settlement that afterward became known as San Francisco had a population of about four hundred. GEN. W. T. SHERMAN. 135 The first gold discovered in California by Sutter, passed under Sherman's inspection at the time of the application of Sutter to Gover- nor Mason for a pre-emption of the tract of land on which stood his memorable and never-finished saw-mill. With the circumspection characteristic of army officers as a class, the extent of the deposits were proved b}^ an extended tour of observation to be considerable, before the official report was made to their superiors at Washington. Follow- ing the promulgation of the official report, there commenced a wild struggle for fortune, such as the civiHzed world had never seen — a struggle more beneficent iii its results and wider in its influence than any other race for gold that history records. Virtually estopped by his official position from any share in the golden shower about him, he yet used his efforts to promote the interests of the Government, and was in no danger of rusting away at his distant post. His pubhshed memoirs, detaihng'his recollection of this important period, are concise and clear, reproducing before us, without ornament, the California of that date. In 1850, he returned from California with dispatches for the War Department. After reporting in Washington, he apphed for and received a six months' leave of absence. He first visited his mother, then living at Mansfield, Ohio, and then, returning to Washington, was married to Miss Ellen Boyle Ewing, daughter of Hon. Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the Interior, on the first day of May 1850. On the death of General Taylor and the inauguration of Mr. Fillmore, Hon. Thomas Ewing was succeeded in the secretaryship by A. H. H. Stewart, and Lieutenant Sherman took charge of the family on the journey to their old home in Lancaster, Ohio. At this time, his name was on the muster-roll of Company C of the Third Artillery, stationed at Jeflerson Barracks, yet, owing to the cholera being here, he was permitted to delay joining his company. Soon after his arrival at Jefferson Barracks, where he reported for duty to Captain and Brevet-Colonel Braxton Bragg, commanding Company C, he received his commission as Captain and Commissary of Subsist- ence, and was ordered to take post at St. Louis. Here he had an opportunity of renewing the acquaintances of former years, and was soon joined by his family. In September 1852, he was transferred to New Orleans. About Christmas of that year. Major Turner of St. Louis, laid before him the particulars of a plan for the estabhshment of a bank in San Francisco, under the title of Lucas, Turner & Co., in which he embraced the 136 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. name of his personal friend, Captain Sherman. James H. Lucas, then banking in St. Louis, soon after laid before him in person the partic- ulars of the California branch bank, and desired him to accept the position of resident and managing partner in San Francisco. The offer was a tempting one, and he applied for and obtained a six months' leave of absence to go to San Francisco and look over the prospect carefully before venturing upon a step so important to himself and family. Hav- ing satisfied himself of the advantage of the change, he sent in his resignation, which was accepted to take effect September 6, 1853. On the 20th of the same month, he left New York in a steamer with his family to make his home on the Pacific Slope, and had a safe and rather uneventful trip by way of the Isthmus. On his previous voyage he had suffered shipwreck on the steamship "Lewis," when near the harbor of San Francisco, though fortunatel}- the weather was fair and no lives were lost. The position of a banker in the years from 1853 to 1857 was no "bed of roses." Nothing short of " eternal vigilance " could secure safety even. That General Sherman so conducted the afiairs of the bank of which he had charge as to save it from any of those stunning losses so common where values are rapidly shifting, must be accounted as a fact very much to the credit of his industr^^ and discernment. In a season of wild distrust in 1855, when every other bank in San Francisco was compelled to close its doors, his establishment stood the ordeal of a "run," and demonstrated its ability to pay all its depositors who wanted their money. During the reign of the " Vigilantes " he came near playing a leading part ; but a lack of promised co-operation on the part of General Wool, killed his plan, and disgusted him with California poHtics. Early in 1857 he notified his St. Louis partners that he thought the discontinuance of the California branch advisable, and they concur- ring in his opinion, he closed the business, and, with his family, made his way to Lancaster, Ohio. Upon conference with Mr. Lucas and Major Turner, it was decided to open a branch house in New York, and that was done on the 21st day of July 1857, upon the very verge of one of the most memorable financial panics our countr}- has witnessed. In the fall of that year, the business of the parent house in St. Louis and its branch was closed up without loss to patrons, and without material sacrifice on the part of the partners. In January of 1858, Sherman made another trip to California to expedite the closing up of unsettled afiairs there. He returned soon GEN. W. T. SHERMAN. I37 after, and reached his old home in Lancaster, Ohio, on the 28th of July 1858. He was now a civiHan, out of business, with no brilHant prospect before him, and the necessity of doing something was urgent. Several opportunities were presented, but none of them seemed free from objection. In his dilemma he accepted a partnership with Thomas Ewing, Jr., in a law, collection and agency business in Leavenworth, Kansas. Later, Daniel McCook was admitted to partnership, and the firm became Sherman, Ewing & McCook. While in Kansas, and unsatisfied with the outlook for the future, he made application for the place of superintendent in the proposed Louisiana Military Academy, and in Jul}'- 1859, ^^^^ notified by Governor R. C. Wicklift' of his election. In the autumn of the same year he reported to Governor Wicklifi' at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and from there proceeded to Alexandria, in the parish of Rapides, near which town the building for the school was located. Upon arrival at his post he proceeded to put the building in order, collect apparatus, and otherwise provide for the reception of students. This is the field in which he was occupied until the signs of prepara- tion for war on the part of the South became unmistakable. It is but natural that here, as elsewhere, he should have made warm friends. An entertaining conversationalist, direct, positive, logical, with opinions matured by culture and a wide experience, it is by no means strange that he was sought and admired among people who never esteemed extreme complaisance as a high social quality. His devotion to the Union was well known among all who troubled themselves to learn his political views, and it does not appear that any hopes were built upon his defection from the flag under which he had been reared. The position was one that suited him, that accorded with his temper, his tastes, and his scholarly inclinations. After the seizure of the United States Arsenal at Baton Rouge, and while the ordinance for the formal secession of the State of Louisiana was pending, he, on the i8th of Januar}^ 1861, addressed the following letter to the Governor of the State, defining his position, and rendering back the trust confided to him, a trust of which he could no longer, consistentl}' with his own honor, be the custodian : Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, January iS, iS6i. Governor Thomas O'Moore, Baton Rouffc, Louisiana: Sir — As I occupy a ^//«5/-military authority under the laws of the State, I deem it proper to acquaint you that I accepted such position when Louisiana was a State in the 138 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Union, and when the motto of this seminary was inserted in marble over the main door: "By the liberality of the General Government of the United States. The Union— esfo - ferfetua.^^ Recent events foreshadow a great change, and it becomes all men to choose. If Louisiana withdraws from the Federal Union, I prefer to maintain my allegiance to the Constitution so long as a fragment of it survives, and my longer stay here would be wrong in every sense of the word. In that event, I beg that you will send or appoint some authorized agent to take charge of the arms and munitions of war belonging to the State, or advise me what disposition to make of them. And furthermore, as president of the board of supervisors, I beg you to take immediate steps to relieve me as superintendent the moment the State determines to secede, for on no earthly account will I do any act or think any thought hostile to or in defiance of the old Government of the United States. With great respect, your obedient servant, W. T. SHERMAN, Superintendent. The farther correspondence which passed in that stormy time, when read in the hght of the untroubled present, is full of instruction. The one given here is the first and the key-note to all, yet, in view of the pecuniary renunciation he was making, and the necessities of himself and family, there is something almost pathetic in the position in w^hich his resignation placed him. His settlements and transfers of property in his charge occupied him about a month, and then, with mutual expressions of confidence and kindness, he parted from his associates, and turned to the path of his paramount duty. In his anxiety for the future of himself and his family, he accepted employment secured through the influence of and proflered by his old friend, Major Turner, and became president of the Fifth Street Rail- road in St. Louis. He had, however, gone on to Washington in the meantime, and on the trip was much struck with the contrast between the preparations going on at the South and the apparent apathy of the North. Almost immediately after assuming his new obligations in St. Louis, he was asked to accept the chief-clerkship of the War Depart- ment, with the prospect of being made Assistant Secretary of War soon after. This profter he felt constrained to decline on account of his new ' business engagements that he did not feel at liberty to cast loose from, except the emergency was a great one. The bombardment of Fort Sumter dissipated all doubt, and indicated plainly to him that we were upon the eve of a great struggle that would call out the fufl military strength of both sections. He then, on the 8th of May, formally offered his services to the Secretary of War, and GEN. W. T. SHERMAN. 139 on the 14th of the same month, was appointed to the Colonelcy o± the Thirteenth regular infantry. He was a citizen spectator of the capture of Camp Jackson by Lyon on the loth of May, and of the lamentable occurrences succeeding the capture. The description of the events of the day found in his Memoirs is concise and evidently unprejudiced. With his new commission he had drawn the sword ; his St. Louis home was abandoned, and his family returned to Lancaster, Ohio. Better than those who shared his councils was he aware that the country was- upon the eve of a gigantic war, while before him lay a portentous future which no human faculties could forecast. His record during the next four years of civil war forms of itself a great history, a history so interwoven with, and so largely a part of, the most momentous events of modern times, that no adequate presentation of it can yet be made. In his stubborn hght at Bull Run he seems to have become conscious that both officers and men had much to learn, and that an experience wider than that of the garrison was necessary before decisive battles would be won. Although dubious of his own deserts, he found him- self announced in general orders as a Brigadier General. With an expressed desire to serve in a subordinate capacity rather than to hold a separate command, his inclination was gratified by an assignment to the Department of the Cumberland, with Brigadier General Robert Anderson in command. The harassment of the position soon drove General Anderson to relinquish his command, and General Sherman, as the senior officer, was left as the commander of the Department, though against his desire. While his preparations were going forward in Ken- tucky, Mr. Cameron, then Secretary of War, met him in Louisville for consultation, and seemed overwhelmed at General Sherman's declara- tion that he needed sixty thousand men for defense, and would need for offense two hundred thousand before he was through. In compliance with the request of General Sherman, he was relieved from the Department of the Cumberland, and transferred to the Department of the Missouri, reporting for duty to Major General H. W. Halleck. He assisted in the work of organizing in Missouri until the capture of Fort Donelson, when he was placed in command of the Fifth Division under General Grant. His command consisted of raw troops, to whom he had yet to give the discipline and steadiness necessary for effective operations. The rapidity with which this work was done is attested by their part in the battle of Shiloh, in which his command bore the brunt of the fight. General Grant, in his official I^O BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. report, credits General Sherman individually with the successful issue of the day. Then came the campaign along the Mississippi that cul- minated in the surrender of Vicksburg. After the fall of Vicksburg he was advanced to the command of the Army of Tennessee, and con- ducted the masterly movements in that theater of war up to the spring of 1864, when he succeeded to the command of the Grand Military Division of the Mississippi, vacated by General Grant, who had been elevated to the command of the armies of the United States. This division comprised the Departments of the Ohio, the Cumberland, the Tennessee, and, for a time, Arkansas, and included about one hundred and fifty thousand men, under Thomas, McPherson, Scholield, Hooker, Howard, Stoneman, Kilpatrick, and others of almost equal fame. The movements that brought him to Atlanta, on a line defended by that masterly chieftain of the Confederacy, General Joseph E. Johnston ; his crushing blows on the brave, yet rash and injudicious Hood, who succeeded Johnston ; and then that wonder of civihzed war, "the march to the sea," which was the virtual, though not definitive, close of the war, must be given with that detail and elaboration that are only possible in volumes, to exhibit the clearness of the great conception, in which each act was consistent with the design. Christmas of 1864 saw him with Savannah in his hands. It was plain that the opening of the campaign of 1865 w^ould crush the Confederacy. General Grant received the surrender of General Lee and his arm}- of Northern Virginia, on the ■9th of April 1865. Four days later, on the i8th, an informal agree- ment was entered into between General Sherman and General Joseph E. Johnston, for the capitulation of the Confederate Armies of the South and West under his command. The final terms were not con- cluded until the 26th. The basis first agreed upon was disapproved at Washington, and the fact has led to some acrimonious discussion. The truth is, that General Sherman, cut oft' from communication with Washington, acted under his latest instructions, and really reflected them in his act. But, in the meantime, the most starthng and atrocious •events had transpired at Washington ; Mr. Lincoln was assassinated ; Mr. Seward, Secretar}' of State, was nearly murdered in his bed; and Mr. Stanton, Secretary of War, was aroused to a degree of fury and alarm that seems to have clouded and perverted his judgment. The war was over, and the soldiers of both armies felt that they could soon return to their homes. Following one grand closing pageant in the citv of Washington, General Sherman addressed to the Militar}- Division of the Mississippi his farevv^ell address. The scene in Wash- GEN. W. T. SHERMAN. I4I ington preceding the farewell, was one dear to the heart of a military man. His own words fix the picture in the mind : Sixty-five thousand men, in splendid physique, who had just completed a march of nearly two thousand miles in a hostile country, in good drill, and who realized that they were being closely scrutinized by their fellow-countrymen and by foreigners. Division after division passed, each commander of an army corps or division coming oi' the stand during the passage of his command, to be presented to the President, cabinet and specta- tors. The steadiness and firmness of the tread, the careful dress on the guides, the uni- form intervals between the companies, all eyes directly to the front, and the tattered and bullet-riven flags festooned with flowers, all attracted universal notice. Many good people, up to that time, had looked upon our Western army as a sort of a mob; but the world then saw, and recognized the fact, that it was an army in the proper sense — well organized, well commanded and disciplined — and there was no wonder that it had swept through the South like a tornado. For six hours and a half that strong tread resounded along Pennsylvania avenue, not a soul of that vast crowd of spectators left his place, and when the rear of the column had passed by, thousands of spectators still lingered to express their sense of confidence in the strength of a Government that could claim such an army." Up to August II, 1866, General Sherman held the command of the Militar}^ Division of the Mississippi, including Ohio, Missouri and Arkansas, with headquarters at St. Louis. On the 25th of July, 1866, by vote of Congress he was created Lieutenant-General of the United States Army. In November and December of that year he was sent on a special mission to Mexico. On the accession of Grant to the Presidency he became Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the United States, and resided in Washington, until the reduction of the army to twenty- five thousand men so diminished the responsibility, as to enable him to consult his preferences and fix army headquarters and his residence in St. Louis. This change occurred in 1874. From November 187 1 to October 1872, he was occupied in an extended trip through portions of the old world having a military and general interest. During this time he visited Madeira and Gibraltar, made the tour of Spain, Italy and Egypt; visited Constantinople, Sebastopol and the Caucasus, Moscow and St. Petersburg ; meandered through Poland, Austria, Prussia and Switzerland, and passed through Scotland and Ireland on the way home. His stay in Egypt extended over about a month. The most recent important event of his life is the publication of his Memoirs, in two volumes. In this he has departed from the usual rule of military men, and in doing so has performed an inestimable service. The sale of this work has been very large. It is clear, concise and direct, forcible in language, elegant in manner. The general orders and other communications which he issued from his headquarters dur- 142 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ing his operations in the field, are in themselves a valuable addition to the history of the times, throwing light on many subjects not otherwise clear. Tall and slender in person, prompt and nervous in manner, he is decided without being forbidding. Entirely unassuming, he is as accessible at his headquarters as any business man in the city, and red-tape is evidently not to his liking. In conversation he is rapid and logical, illustrating his views with anecdote and comparison, w^ell- chosen and convincing. The great captain of a great people, he has yet never got beyond being one of the people. W'rticni Kiigiavui^ Ct»nlpAll^■ of SlXoiu ^5^-^^ HON. B. GRATZ BROWN. MISSOURI is indebted to two classes of men for whatever of greatness and power she has attained as a State. The first were those hardy pioneers who came into wild and unculti- vated regions, laid out farms, founded towns, fought Indians, started new industries, conquered the forces of nature, overcame innumerable difficulties, and, finally, set civilization on its feet. The second were the leaders of political thought and action, the educators of public opinion, pioneers of great principles, reformers of public abuses, and men of courage and sagacity in times of political danger. To the latter class, and among its best and most distinguished men, Ex-Governor B. Gratz Brown belongs. He possesses many of the qualities which characterized those of the first class, viz : a strong will, unflinch- ing courage, independent opinions, and a desire to investigate and experiment with new plans and policies, for society and State, as they had to explore new territory-, and adopt new methods to conquer it. For a certain pei-iod of our history he was the leader of advanced thought, the recognized apostle of a better civilization, and the fearless and unrelenting foe of a system which he considered ruinous to the State and unjust to those through whom it was kept up. At that time the eyes of the country were upon him, and his name was upon every tongue. Since that time man}?^ pages of history have been made, in which he forms a prominent part ; and though the great questions which first brought him into notice have been settled, and he has formed new political alliances and adopted new views, he is still a leader of men and an originator of political measures. A brief review of his life will be found interesting. Ex-Governor Brown is of Virgmian ancestr3\ His grandfather, Hon. John Brown, was prominent in the early history of the country, and represented a western district of Virginia in the Congress of the United States. After his removal to Kentucky, he represented that State in the United State Senate. While in this latter position, he officiated as President ^7-0 ton., and wielded considerable influence. 144 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. He was a warm supporter and personal friend of President Jefferson through Hfe. His death occurred at Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1837. Judge Mason Brown, the son of John Brown, and father of the subject of this sketch, was an eminent jurist, long held in great esteem by the people of Kentucky. On the maternal side we find ancestry no less distinguished. His mother's father, the Hon. Jesse Bledsoe, was an eminent advocate and jurist, and represented Kentucky in the Senate of the United States from 1813 to 1815. B. Gratz Brown was born in Lexington, Kentucky, May 28th, 1826. His early training was" in the schools of his native State, and his clas- sical course was begun at Transylvania University, Lexington, which he left in 1845, to enter Yale College. At this celebrated institution of learning he graduated in 1847. On returning to Kentucky he studied law, and was licensed to practice ; but, having a desire to commence life with new surroundings, he came to St. Louis in the autumn of 1849, and, after due consideration, determined to make that city his home. He was admitted to practice, but after a year's experience, he turned his attention to other pursuits. The Free-soil movement had gained some strength in St. Louis, and, aided by the friends of Colonel Benton, was fast coming into power. Mr. Brown espoused the cause of free labor, and by his bold and earnest speeches greatly encouraged the friends of the new party. They honored him with a nomination for a seat in the Legislature in 1852, and he w^as elected by a fair majority. He had not then reached his tvvent3-sixth year, but was already regarded as a leader, possessing well-defined opinions and fixed principles. During his first term in the Legislature he advanced sentiments and enunciated truths which the party in power had not been accustomed to hear, and which greatl}^ disturbed their political equanimity. In the early part of 1854, an opportunity was presented to Mr. Brown to strengthen the positions he had taken, and to give a wider circulation to his views, by becoming editor of the Missouri Democrat. That paper had been published bv William McKee and William Hill, as a Benton organ. They purchased the Union, an anti-Benton paper, and, uniting the two, gave the editorial management to Mr. Brown. The wisdom of this course was soon apparent. The young editor found ample scope for his talents in discussing the exciting questions that came before the public at that time. The repeal of the Missouri Compromise, the admission of Kansas and Nebraska, the encroach- ments of slavery into free territory, and the propriety of emancipating HON. B. GRATZ BROWN. I45 the slaves in Missouri, were all brought under review, and treated in a masterly manner through the columns of his paper. The Missouri Democrat soon became a power in the land. It was cursed by Pro- slavery men, commended by Free-soilers, and read by all. Mr. Brown was re-elected to the Legislature, and took a bolder and more prominent position than ever. In 1857, he delivered a speech which aroused the indignation of the people against the exactions of the slave-power, and gave rise to the fiercest political contests in every part of the State. In the Legislature, and in his journal, he continued to preach the gospel of freedom with intrepid courage and masterly eloquence. He and his Free-soil associates were in the minority, but were undismayed. Failing to subdue the fearless editor by argument, he was often menaced with personal violence. On one occasion he was involved in a duel with Hon. Thomas C. Reynolds, a Pro-slavery Democrat, and came out of the contest with a shot in one knee, from the eflects of which he suffered for several years. The views of the Free-soilers were indorsed by the people of St. Louis on more than one occasion ; but the party met with defeat in the State. There is no doubt, however, but that the efforts made by Gratz Brown and his friends at this early day created a sentiment which, a few years later, strengthened the Union cause and prevented secession. In 1861. when the civil war burst forth, Mr. Brown was ready for the emergency. He entered with zeal into the work of organizing regiments for the war, and was one of the first to tender a regiment of volunteers for the three months' service. The attack and capture of Camp Jackson in May 1861, carried out, in full consultation with him and Colonel Blair, by General Lyon, electrified the Union, and fixed the attitude of the State. Shortly after the capture of Camp Jackson, Colonel Brown took the field at the head, of his regiment, and, through- out Southwest Missouri, shared with his men the dangers, privations aud fatigues of the campaign. After his term of service had expired, he volunteered his services to General Curtis, and also assisted in the organization of the State militia. When a division in the ranks of the Union men occurred in 1862, Colonel Brown favored the side of the immediate Emancipationists and Radicals. He recognized the Germans, who were friendly to Fremont, as better friends of the Union than many who denounced them, and therefore he stood by them. In return, Germans, as well as other Republicans, acknowledged him as their leader in the emancipation movement. 10 1^6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. When the Legislature met in the winter of 1862-3, the Radical Emancipationists, in caucus, nominated Gratz Brown for United States Senator, and resolved to remain true to him until the}' had secured his election. They were in a minority at first, and rather than compromise for the election of one of less radical views, the election was postponed until the meeting of the adjourned session in the winter of 1863-4. T'he progress of the war had educated -the feelings of several of the Union members, and when the Legislature met in joint session an agreement was entered into between the friends of Hon. John B. Henderson and Colonel Brown, by which both were elected to the vacancies which existed in the Senate of the United States. This contest was a most excitino- and bitter one. All the acts of Colonel Brown's life were canvassed and criticised by his enemies, and his utterances were used both for and against him. No man, perhaps, ever received so thorough an investigation, unless one arraigned for some crime. The fact that his friends held together so long shows how strongly attached to him they were, and the fact, also, that he came out triumphantly and unscathed, shows what kind of metal he was m_ade of. Durinp' his term in the United States Senate, Governor Brown served on the Committees on Military Affairs, Pacific Railroad, Indian Afiairs, Public Buildings and Grounds, Printing, and as chairman of the Com- mittee on- Contingent Expenses after the death of Senator Foote. He advocated several measures for the benefit of his own State and the people of the West, and zealously supported the war measures of the administration. In the hour of victory, however, he favored a gener- ous treatment of the vanquished. His speeches, while in the Senate, were regarded as finished productions. . They displayed force of thought, research, and broad views of statesmanship, and were listened to with marked attention.. Before the term for which he was elected had expired. Governor Brown's health failed, and he deemed it his duty to tender his resignation. Retiring from the Senate, he engaged in private and professional pursuits, carrying into daily life the love of harmony, tolerance and equal rights, he had so long advocated in public. He was not, however, allowed to remain in retirement. Obey- ing the call of thousands of his fellow-citizens, he accepted the nomi- nation for Governor of Missouri, and, sustained by a coalition of Liberal Republicans and Democrats, was triumphantly elected. The issue at this election was the removal of all disabilities from those who had participated in rebellion. A large number of Republicans, while professing to be in favor of removing these restrictions, refused to HON. B. GRATZ BROWN. I47 pledge themselves to do it by resolution at the party convention in 1870. Others who were willing to make this a plank in their platform, saw no hope of coming to an agreement on the subject, and withdrew from the main body of the convention. They organized a separate convention, and put a ticket in the field with B. Gratz Brown at the head. Gov- ernor McClurg was nominated by the straight Republicans in opposi- tion. The vote was as follows: For Brown, 104,286; for McClurg, 62,369; majority, 41,917. Many of those who supported Governor Brown at this election had no thought of leaving the Republican party, and, when the contest was over, united with their old friends who had supported McClurg, in keeping up the regular organization. But Governor Brown did not join them. During his administration he appointed Democrats to office and generally affiliated with the Democratic party. At the end of his term as Governor of the State, in 1872, he again retired to private life, devoting his attention to business affairs. On May 3, 1872, Governor Brown became the Liberal Republican can- didate for Vice-President of the United States, on the ticket with Horace Greeley for President — these nominations having been made at the National Convention of Liberal Republicans of the United States which met at Cincinnati in May. The first plank in the plat- form of that Convention read as follows : "We recognize the equality of all men before the law, and hold that it is the duty of government in its dealings with the people to mete out equal and exact justice to all, of whatever nativity, race, color, or persuasion, religious or political." Governor Brown accepted the nomination and made a vigorous canvass, but with the result so well known. Since his retirement from the executive office. Governor Brown has devoted himself actively to business interests. For some years he had been a large owner of street railroad stock, and it is to him that the cit}^ of St. Louis is indebted for the construction and good management of some of the best lines in operation. His investments in real estate and other property were judicious, and at the present time he is in the enjo3^ment of a handsome income. Throughout his career Governor Brown has exhibited marked ability as a party leader. A man of strong convictions himself, he fully appreciates the power of moving men with the highest attainable force, by arousing in them a like conviction of the correctness of a position or the verity of a principle. He combines individuals into masses by appealing to their higher emotions and intelligence instead of selfish 148 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. motives. He enunciates a principle, challenges opposition, assumes the leadership, calls for supporters and followers, and leaves the details of party organization to others. He rarely interferes in the contests of individuals for minor positions, and in a contest loses no adherents by arousing individual animosity among his followers. His capacity as an executive officer was shown in his administration of two years, carrying into practical operation the principles upon which he made his success- ful campaign. Missouri soon began to reap the benefits. B}' a cau- tious, moderate and firm course, he brought the people of the State to a recognition of the fact that true republicanism can alone make a State prosperous, and that this can exist only where political equality is acknowledged and the rights of every one respected. He inaugurated an era of good-fellowship, and to his administration is due the rapid disappearance in Missouri of the ills consequent upon civil war. Governor Brown is a smooth and vigorous writer. He uses the purest and simplest English, now and then indulging in classical deriva- tives as way marks, but generally employing such words and modes of expression as will convey the most meaning. His messages while Governor, and his letters on questions of public policy, are models of conciseness, perspicacity and sound reasoning. He speaks in the same wa}^, and can say more in half an hour than most orators can in an hour. The financial problems of the day have recently called him out in a letter, so full of sound and convincing argument, that but little can be said by his opponents in reply. He is yet in the vigor of his physical and intellectual manhood, and without doubt will let the country hear from him whenever important questions arise. %;■ '^inrEEM.n & :y.~ i?rM-a-"^ '-' ^ ? HON. CARL SCHURZ, SEH^JOR FROM MISS OURI HON. CARL SCHURZ. N O citizen of Missouri, born in a foreign countr}^, has ever attained such a degree of political influence, or occupied so prominent a position before the country, as Hon. Carl Schurz. Indeed, but few possessing the advantages of American birth and education have gained a stronger hold upon the admiration and respect of the better class of citizens than he. He has not, however, made use of the means emplo3^ed by demagogues to gain influence and position ; he has won both position and reputation by his own talent and merits. Carl Schurz was born at Liblar, near Cologne, Germany, March 2, 1829. His parents, though not wealthy, were in good circumstances, and highly respectable. Thej^ placed their son in the gymnasium of Cologne, where he passed through the full course of studies preparatory to entering the university. At the age of seventeen he entered the University of Bonn, where he remained two years, taking a course of history, philosophy and ancient languages. On the outbreak of the revolution of 1848, Schurz, with other students, took an active interest in the prevailing agitation, and having become acquainted with Gottfried Kinkel, then professor of rhetoric at the University, he joined him in the publication of a liberal newspaper, which was conducted wholly by Schurz while Kinkel was absent as a member of the Prussian Legisla- ture. In the spring of 1849, having made an unsuccessful attempt to produce an insurrection at Bonn, both Kinkel and Schurz were obliged to flee, and betook themselves to the States called the Palatinate, where a body of revolutionary troops was already organized. He entered the military service again in a few months as Adjutant to Gustav Nikolaus Tiedemann (son of the great Professor of Medicine), and participated in the defense of Rastadt. That fortress was obliged to capitulate, and Schurz became a prisoner. His commander, Tiedemann, was con- demned to death and shot August 11, 1849, ^^^ Schurz succeeded in escaping from the casemates of the fortress to Switzerland, b}- the following device : He concealed himself for three days and nights, without food, in a sewer, through which he passed to the river Rhine, 150 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. which he crossed and arrived in Switzerland at the beginning of August, where he remained in seclusion at Zurich until the following May. His friend Kinkel, in the meantime, had been captured, condemned to twenty years imprisonment, and shut up in the fortress of Spandau. After long correspondence with the wife of Kinkel, Schurz determined to undertake his rescue, and for this purpose made his way secretly back to Germany in Ma}^ 1850, spending much time in preparation in Cologne and Berlin, and remaining in the latter city three months endeavoring to establish relations with the guards who watched the prisoner. The res- cue was accomplished in the night of November 6, 1850, Kinkel's cell being broken open and he brought out upon the roof of the prison, whence he was successfully lowered to the ground. The scheme was a bold one, and it was hinted, without good reason however, that the Government must have winked at it. The fugitives escaped the same night across the frontier into Mecklenburg, and thence made their way to Rostock, and after remaining concealed there for some time, took passage in a small schooner for Leith, where they arrived December first. Schurz then went to Paris, where he remained as a correspondent of German journals until June 185 1, when he went to London, and taught music and languages till July 1852. About this time he married the daughter of a rich merchant of Hamburg, Miss Margarette Meyer, and shortly afterward came to America, landing in Philadelphia. He remained in that city two or three years, familiarizing himself with the English language, the laws of the country, its history, etc., and then removed to Watertown, Wisconsin, where he had bought a farm. In the presidential canvass of 1856, Mr. Schurz became known as an orator in the German language. In 1857, he was nominated by the RepubHcan State Convention as a candidate for the office of Lieutenant- Governor of Wisconsin, but failed of election. / In 1858, on the occasion of the contest between Mr. Douglas and Mr. Lincoln for the United States Senatorship of Illinois, he delivered his first English speech, which was widely republished by the journals in various parts of the country. In the spring of 1859, he was invited to the celebration of Jefferson's anniversary in Boston, and delivered a speech on Americanism in Faneuil Hall. He was at this time living at Milwaukee, engaged in the practice of law, but during the winter of i859-'6o, frequently lectured before lyceums and literary societies in various parts of the country. Mr. Schurz was a delegate from Wisconsin to the Republican National Convention which met in Chicago in June i860, and exercised consid- HON. CARL SCHURZ. I5I erable influence, especially in securing the adoption of that portion of the platform which related to citizens of foreign birth. During the canvass which followed, he was constantly employed in speaking throughout the Northern States, both in the English and German lan- guages, his principal speeches being one on "The Irrepressible Con- flict," delivered in St. Louis, and one entitled "The Bill of Indictment Against Douglas," delivered in New York. After the inauguration of President Lincoln, Mr. Schurz was offered the mission to Spain, accepted it, and left the country for Madrid during the summer of 1861. In December iS6i, as he read the news from the United States, the war fever seized him, and he wrote to the President asking to be relieved from diplomatic duties, that he might join the army of the Union. The desire was granted, and a commission of Brigadier- General of volunteers was tendered him. He entered the army in Sigel's corps in time to distinguish himself at the second battle of Bull Run, and fought bravely also at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, where he won the rank of Major-General. It should also be mentioned that after his return from Spain, he delivered in New York Citv, March 6, 1862, a speech on the necessity of abolishing slavery in order to restore the national unity, which was regarded by many as the ablest of his public discourses. During the summer of 1863, General Schurz was ordered to join General Sherman at Chattanooga, and on his arrival there, was placed in command of a division, which position he held to the close of the war. In the latter part of 1864, he obtained a short leave of absence, to make speeches in favor of Mr. Lincoln's re-election. His voice had the same power and attraction as in the campaign of i860, and it is, perhaps, owing in some measure to his influence, that many of the Germans were induced to leave the independent movement, made at Cleveland against Mr. Lincoln, and support the regular nomination. After the assassination of Lincoln, President Johnson sent General Schurz through the Southern States on a tour of inspection, to gain information as to the social and political condition of the people. Schurz traveled in all parts of the South, conversed with people of all classes, and made a complete report of what he saw and heard, and suggesting such remedies for existing evils as in his judgment seemed proper. Johnson was not pleased with the report, as it con- flicted with the "policy" he had marked out, and he tried to suppress it. The newspapers, however, gave it to the people, and General Schurz was sustained. 152 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. In 1866 he removed to Detroit, to take charge of the Daily Post newspaper, but remained only a few months. In the spring of 1867 he took up his residence in St. Louis, bought an interest in the Wcstliche Post, and became a principal editor. General Schurz was cordiall}^ welcomed to Missouri by the Republican party, and from the beginning of his residence here, took an active part in politics. At the National Republican Convention of 1868, he was a delegate, was chosen as temporary chairman, and had much to do with construct- ing the platform. He took the stump for the Republican ticket during the summer of '68, and spoke with his accustomed vigor and eloquence in many of the principal cities of the Union. In Januar}' 1869, the Legislature of Missouri met in joint session to elect a United States Senator. General Schurz was presented to the party caucus as a candidate for the nomination, and although strongly opposed by Charles D. Drake, then holding a seat as Senator, and who came from Washington especially to defeat him, was nominated and afterwards elected b}^ the joint session. His German friends throughout the country hailed his election to the Senate with signs of delight, and congratulations from all classes poured in upon him. He did not have the pleasure of Mr. Drake's society, however, as a colleague in the Senate, for that gentleman soon after was appointed presiding judge of the Court of Claims of the District of Columbia, and resigned his seat. General Schurz' career in the United States Senate was a brilliant and successful one. He pursued a moderate course, and disagreed with the party in power on man}^ questions ; but his opposition was manly, and his reasons for action were clearly and eloquently set forth to the countr}^ He became an intimate friend of Sumner, and on most of the leading questions agreed with him. While many Repub- licans regretted that General Schurz opposed the President, they conceded the fact that he was governed by high and disinterested motives, and displayed courage on all occasions. His speeches were prepared with much care, and gave evidence of scholarship and research. Generally, when it was announced that he was to speak, the galleries were crowded, and his fellow-senators paid the most respectful attention to what he had to say. Though claiming still to be a Republican in all essential principles, he did not hesitate to defeat measures introduced into Congress whenever they appeared to him injurious to the public interests. These motives controlled him in his course in Missouri in 1870, when HON. CARL SCHURZ. 0.5 he favored the removing of disfranchisement from those who had par- ticipated in the rebelhon. He must have known that placing pohtical power again in such hands would hurl him from office, which indeed was the result ; and yet he did not hesitate to join in the liberal move- ment to secure enfranchisement for that class. He was bitterly denounced for his course on this occasion, and still later, in 1872, for the support he gave to the National Liberal movement. He was chosen president of the Cincinnati Convention, and afterward made speeches for the ticket there nominated. During the summer of 1874, General Schurz aided in organizing the People's Reform party in Missouri, for the purpose of defeating the Democrac}' then in power. He was the author of a large portion of the platform which the Convention adopted, and took the stump for William Gentry, candidate for Governor, traveling over a large portion of the State and making eloquent and fearless speeches. The ticket received a large vote, but the Republicans in some sections of the State were indifferent, and the movement was unsuccessful. General Schurz, at the close of the campaign, resumed his editorial duties. The Legis- lature elected General Cockrell, an ex-rebel, to fill his place in the United States Senate, and he gracefully retired. After a short lecturing tour in the Northern States, he made a visit with his family to Europe. But the coming winter will undoubtedly find him busy again filling engagements with lecture committees, and performing editorial work, for which he has a decided liking. He is in the enjoyment of mental and ph3^sical vigor, and is destined still to fill an important place in the country's history. Certain it is, that no great political movement will be made in the country without his influence either for or against it. GEORGE P. PLANT. CA)M0NG prominent names to be found upon the list of the city's X JL honored dead, is that of George Poignand Plant, a man who, during his long and active career in St. Louis, enjoyed in a marked degree the respect and confidence of his fellow-men, and dying left behind him a name for business integrity, uprightness and moral purity, to be emulated by all who would aspire to a place of honor in the community, or to the proud distinction of being "a man amongst men." He was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, March 23, 1814. He was of English and French parentage, was the third of twelve children, and was the oldest son. His father came from England in the cotton interest; he was a man of matiy scientific attainments, settled in Lan- caster, where he erected cotton mills, and was the inventor of many important improvements in this branch of industry, which has since grown to such gigantic proportions all over the Union, but more especiall}' in the New England States. It was in this quiet New England village, and with the peculiar surroundings of the da}', that George received his early education, and where his mind was first turned toward those pursuits which governed his after-life. His father was the possessor of quite an extensive library, for the most part composed of scientific and mathematical works, where young George found an ample field to satisfy his early literary cravings, and where he soon formed those tastes for scientific studies which were the main-spring of his future success. His father's factory also presented an opportunity of practically applying the knowledge he gained by study, and rendered him familiar with machinery and its workings. In such families it was customary for the sons to choose for them- selves some profession, and, in accordance with his earh'^ aspirations and inclinations, George chose civil engineering, and immediately entered into a practical school of railroad building, serving under Major Whistler on a road then being built between Worcester and Springfield. The far West was then being opened up, and held out 156 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. extra inducements to young men in search of fortune. Different branches of railroads were being pushed forward in the States of Ohio, Indiana and Ilhnois, and the shriek of the iron horse, for the first time, was awakening the echoes of the broad prairies and dense forests of those, to-day, densely populated and thriving States. With that spirit of enterprise which can be found in the early experience of most of tha remarkable men of the West, young Plant turned his face toward the setting sun, and, in 1835, went to Kentucky, where an uncle, Daniel R. Poignand, had married and settled down, intending to make this State the scene of his labors in the practice of his profession. He soon, however, removed to Jacksonville, Illinois, and accepted the position of chief engineer on the Northern Cross Railroad, which he surveyed and built — the first railroad in that portion of the West. The following extract, taken from the columns of the Missouri JRe-publican, will serve to show, and in a most forcible manner, what relation Mr. Plant held toward the tirst railroad ever built in Illinois : "The first Locomotive in Illinois. — Illinois now has 5,725 miles of railroad. The first rail was laid at Meredosia Maj 9, 1S3S, on the first division of what was called the Northern Cross Railroad. The first locomotive arrived at Meredosia September 6, 1838, in the steamboat Chariton. This pioneer locomotive was built by Grosvenor, Ketchum & Co., at Patterson, New Jersey. It was put on the track, of which eight miles were laid, on the 8th day of November, 183S. The civil engineer, under whose supervision the road was built, and who then and there brought the 'iron horse' into harness — the first in the Mississisippi Valley — was George P. Plant, late President of the Merchants' Exchange, and one of the first citizens of St. Louis. " On that engine, which ran eight miles and returned, were Governor Duncan, of Illi- nois, Murray McConnell, State Commissioner, James Dunlap and Thomas T. January, contractoi-s, Charles Collins and Miron Leslie, of St. Louis, and the Chief Engineer of the road, George P. Plant. "There were then less than 2,000 miles of railroad in all the United States. There are now over 60,000. Yet the first locomotive of the Mississippi Valley only put itself in motion thirty-three years ago last November." In Jacksonville Mr. Plant married his first wife, Matilda W. January, sister of D. A. January and T. T. January, who came to St. Louis some time afterward, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. Mr. Plant followed, and in 1840 he estabhshed the Plant Mills, the name of the firm being George P. Plant & Co. Under his own personal supervision the business began to assume gigantic proportions. His brother, Samuel Plant, who had been a partner in the business, died in 1866. Mr. Plant then took in his son G. J., and made him a partner; and subsequently George H., son of Samuel Plant, was admitted to the business. Mr. Plant always aimed at a superiority in this branch of industry, and bv GEORGEP. PLANT. 157 hard study and the closest apphcation to the business in all its ramifica- tions, brought mining in St. Louis to its present state of perfection. x\s a manufacturer of flour, he stood in the front ranks of the millers of America, and his diflerent brands, manufactured in St. Louis, were quoted in all the principal American and European markets. He was the inventor and patentee of many improvements in the machinery for milling purposes, some of which are now in general use throughout the country, and are of much benefit to the business. He was a man of many scientific attainments, and an ardent student up to the period of his death. Nor did he confine himself entirely to milling. A far-seeing and progressive man, he took a prominent part in getting up the present system of water works, and was of great assistance as chairman of the Meteorological Committee of the Exchange, in sug- gesting reports of the rise and fall of Western rivers, and other subjects connected with the Signal Service. He was the originator and earnest advocate of many plans for the improvement and beautifying of the city. He labored, not selfishly, but for the common good of all. It was his great desire to introduce the best species of wheat among the farmers, and to raise the standards of the St. Louis flours. In 1870 Mr. Plant went to Europe, principally for his health and pleasure, but returned with an increased stock of knowledge, the result of close observation. During this trip he studied the European system of milling, the qualities of wheat, and the flour produced. He secured the government plans and reports on the boulevards and public parks of Paris, which he presented to the Mercantile Library, for public reference. In all his works he never lost sight of his own city and her welfare and advancement. Mr. Plant had been twice married. By his first wife he had two sons, George Janvier Plant and Louis Poignand Plant. His second wife was Miss Martha S. Douthitt, daughter of the late Robert H. Douthitt, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, whom he married in 1863. His first wife died in 1859. During his life Mr. Plant held many offices of trust and responsi- bility — offices to which he was raised by the voice of his associates in the mercantile world. He never sought political preferment, seeking rather the more substantial honors of trade and commerce. He was president of the Merchants' Exchange, of the American Central Insur- ance Company, of the Millers' National Convention and of St. Luke's Hospital ; he was also a director in the Merchants' Exchange, in the Bank of Commerce, in the Mutual Life Insurance Company, and in the 1^8 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Plant Seed Company. He was also chairman of the Meteorological Committee of the Merchants' Exchange. His death took place Feb- ruary 24, 1875. Mr. Plant was delicately constituted, of a modest and retiring dispo- sition, but at the same time a man of sterling integrity, indomitable will, untiring energy, and broad charity. Pleasant and affable in all the commercial and social relations of life, always feeling a keen inter- est in the city of his adoption, and ever willing to extend a helping hand to assist her advancement, he was one of St. Louis' most valuable citizens, and died regretted by the entire community. ROBERT E. CARR. IT would appear that many of the leading spirits of trade and enter- prise, to whom St. Louis is greatly indebted for the high position she now holds in the commercial world, came originally from that portion of the Union which some historians have seen lit to call " the dark and bloody ground," — Kentucky — and such is the case with the subject of the present sketch. Robert E. Carr was born in Lexington, Kentucky, August 8, 1827. His father was a farmer, and young Robert enjoyed the benefits of a common school education. In 1847, when twenty years of age, Mr. Carr came to St. Louis in search of employment and fortune. He engaged as clerk in an iron foundry, at a salary of $400 per annum. In this position, the eminent business qualifications which have character- ized his mature manhood began to manifest themselves, and at the end of two years, so firmly had he established himself in the esteem of his employers, that he was offered and accepted a partner's interest in the business, and the firm became Dowdell, Carr & Co. The business was conducted with great success by Mr. Carr until 1856, when, on account of failing health, he was obliged to retire from active business pursuits for a 3^ear, in order to recuperate an overtaxed constitution. But a responsible position soon claimed his well-known business abilities, and after being restored to health, he became cashier of the Exchange Bank, in which position of trust he remained two years, when he was elected president of the same institution, conducting its financial transactions and business affairs in a manner to bring success to the bank and credit to himself. In 1868, Mr. Carr, with his family, made a tour of Europe, spending a year in the principal commercial centres of the Old World, visiting all the points of interest, and enjoying a much needed relaxation from years of close application to business. On his return to America, Mr. Carr took the contract of building the Denver Pacific Railroad, which he completed in June 1870. In 1871, he was elected president of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, and the two roads have been run under l6o BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. one management. Mr. Carr was also president of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, and it may be said that he has been president of more lines of railroads than any man west of the Mississippi. Mr. Carr is a man of high administrative abilities, and tine social and business qualities, which latter have made him thousands of friends and well-wishers, to whom his success in life has been a source of unalloyed pleasure. In every office of trust and responsibility he has been called on to fill, Mr. Carr has invariably given the utmost satisfaction to his friends and fellow-men, and his fellow-citizens never had occasion to regret the confidence placed in him. In all the rela- tions of life, his strict integrity and purity of life have been a shining example for the young, and have commanded the respect and unquali- fied esteem of the old. Mr. Carr is still in the vigor of his manhood, surrounded by ample means to make life an easy battle, with a wide field of usefulness at his command, with ample opportunities of gaining fresh laurels ere he is called upon to lay down the cross and take up the crown. ^^pi^y-^'i^^^-^' '-f. &r=5 -Eug^. iy J c.3iiTirB. 2* TC ^ ^/ CAPTAIN JOHN J. ROE. CAPTAIN JOHN J. ROE, for many years one of the most promi- nent merchants of the West, was born April i8, 1809, near Buffalo, New York. In 1815, his father moved westward, remaining for a short period at Cincinnati, Ohio, also in Kentucky, and lastly to Rising Sun, Indiana, where he purchased a farm and owned a ferry, and where he died in 1834. Here young Roe enjoyed the benefits of the local country school, in the meantime assisting his father in the management of the farm and conducting the ferry, which was a source of income to the family. Scanty as were the scholastic facilities of the period, young Roe, how- ever, obtained the foundation of a good common-school English educa- tion, and his contact with the world afterward, coupled with his natural and successful genius for business, made him a greater power in the land than if he had been the recipient of classical insti-uction. Two years previous to his father's death, feeling the farm and ferry to be too contracted a field for his ambitions, Mr. Roe went to Cincin- nati and engaged in steamboating, beginning at the lowest position, and rapidly working his way up until he filled the most trustworthy, as cap- tain ; and on one occasion making a large profit for his employers by acting as supercargo to Jacksonville, Tennessee. Captain Roe, by his ability, zeal and sound judgment, soon won the confidence and respect of the business community, and became a suc- cessful trader and commander, running some of the most magnificent packets on the river, and at one time doing a lucrative business on Green River, Kentucky. He built several fine boats, and having amassed a considerable fortune retired from the river business in 1844, '^^^ removed to St. Louis. Here he became engaged in the commission and pork packing business, and the names of Hewett, Roe & Co., Hewett, Roe & Kercheval, and finally John J. Roe & Co., became well known to all the business world of the West, South and East. His career in St. Louis was one of continued success and advance- ment. A strong Union man during the war, and being one of the u l62 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. largest pork packers in the United States, he gained the confidence of both the civil and militar}^ authorities, and though he greatly increased his capital during the war, the breath of suspicion never arose that he had ever been dishonorable in the slightest particular in any of his numerous government contracts. A remark made by General W. T. Sherman but a few months ago, to a friend of Captain Roe, illustrates the esteem in which he was held by all who knew him. Said the General : "John J. Roe was one of the purest men it was ever my lot to meet with." Business was his life, nay, even his pleasure. During his business career in St. Louis, he had been connected in various capacities with almost every existing public enterprise and corporation. His fellow- citizens had honored him in a marked and signal manner. He had been president of the Merchants' Union Exchange, president of the Atlantic and Mississippi Steamship Company, a director in the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad Company, and on the day of his death was president of the State Savings Association and president of the United States Fire and Marine Insurance Company. He was also first president and one of the organizers of the Life Association of America, vice-president of the Memphis and St. Louis Packet Company, a director in the National Bank of the State of Missouri, the Illinois and St. Louis Bridge Company, the St. Charles Bridge Company, the Illinois and St. Louis Railroad and Coal Compan}-, and the North Mis- souri Railroad Company. For many years he carried on an extensive business, in connection with Captain Nick Wall, in Montana, and the Diamond R. Transporta- tion Line, is one of the important interests in the Territory to this day. In all his ideas. Captain John J. Roe was intensely public-spirited and progressive ; he took a deep interest in the growth and prosperity of St. Louis. The great steel bridge across the Mississippi claimed his attention, and he gave his money liberally and threw the whole of his great influence into the project. An idea of the estimation in which his services were held as director of the National Bank of the State of Missouri, of the North Missouri Railroad Company, and of the Illinois and St. Louis Bridge Company, can perhaps be more adequately conveyed by quoting from the admi- rable remarks of Captain Jas. B. Eads at the Merchants' Exchange on the occasion of his death, than anything we might attempt to say in this connection. Captain Eads said : JOHN J. ROE. 163 For more than three years past I have sat almost daily by his side in the directory of your largest bank, and whilst receiving instruction through his counsel and experience, I learned to admire, I might say to wonder at, the rare judgment, brilliant business qualifi- cations, and liberal ideas with which he was endowed. Within a few brief hours, I left that board surrounded with his accustomed associates still bowed down in sadness for his death, and my poor words can but feebly tell you how highly they honored him living, and how deeply they mourn him dead. Alas ! not by them alone will his able counsels be missed, for when we turn to the many other important public and private enterprises that were confided either partially or wholly to his guidance, we feel how irreparable is our loss. His sagacity, nerve, and public spirit prompted him to extend a helping hand to almost every worthy movement of the day, and when that hand was given, it seemed as though its magic touch insured success. The iron bands which stretch out to the fertile plains of Kansas and Iowa, and bring to your doors the rich products of the West and North, owe their extension and com- pletion, in great part, to the material aid and judicious action of him who now lies cold in death. When the few enterprising men who were striving to span your majestic river with a bridge, felt that the darkest hours of the undertaking were upon them, when they thought disaster and defeat were close at hand, they sought the aid of him whose cheerful voice will br heard among them no more forever Their appeal was not in vain. His aid came, not in meagre pittance, but in the form of a pledge to pay toward its construction one hundred thousand dollars in cash ; whilst the very fact that the enterprise was approved by his judgment, was worth to it half a million more. In the management and control of these three great public institutions, * * * jj-^ each of which he was so largely interested, his clear head and generous heart can never be replaced. The last work of Mr. Roe's hand was the Life Association of America. When, in 1868, the projector of that already mammoth institution, developed the scheme to the capitalists of St. Louis, one of the first prominent men who grasped the idea and comprehended its power, was John J. Roe. His name and influence were all-power- ful in giving the undertaking life, and, as all our readers know, as soon as the corporation was formed, he became its president, a position he held until his death. Mr. Roe saw in the Life Association a project commensurable with his own broad intellect ; a fairness to match his own innate integrity ; a combination of independence and philan- thropy in harmon}' with his own views of ameliorating the condition of his fellow-man, without crushing his manhood or doing violence to his sensibilities ; and when he put his shoulder to it, all his great commer- cial and financial influence was wielded in its behalf with an enei^gy and force which knows no barriers and inevitabl}^ achieves success. It mattered not to him that the combined powers of all the other life insurance companies were pitted against him ; it mattered not that the most venal portions of the press, and the most worthless members of the agency fraternity were hired to misrepresent and villify his company ; he believed that he was right, and his eflbrts to make others believe so 164 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. too, knew no limit ; and notwithstanding that his life was cut off so suddenly, and within less than two years after the association was started, he lived to see its standard planted in half of the States of the Union ; its enemies defeated or turned into friends, and the leading actuaries and insurance men in the country acknowledging its superior- ity and seeking identification with it. It was thus that the success which followed him through his whole life, clung to him to his grave, making his last achievement his greatest as well as his best. Mr. Roe was a man of a sunny disposition, always cheerful and happy. Easily approached, he always found time to listen to the plea of the humblest, and was careful to do justice to the poor as well as the rich. Particularly was he the friend of the young man. Let him but see that a young man had ability and was deserving, and he never let an opportunity pass to do that man a favor. His charities were numerous and unostentatious. Mr. Roe was well adapted to the age in which he lived, and the characteristics of this people. He made it his own, and action, unceasing and untiring, became the ruling principle of his life. It was this that gave an impetus toward certain success to every enterprise with which he became identified. He also appreciated the consideration which the possession of wealth secures ; he accumulated a princely fortune ; but it can hardly be said that its acquisition was the chief aim of his life. He did not indulge in any of the absurd follies too often perpetrated by the rich ; to him, riches were not the object of life, but merely the means of doing good, and pushing forward with all his mighty energy the speedier development, furtherance and completion of the great enterprises that his enlarged intellect deemed calculated to redound to the benefit, and promote the present and future greatness, of the city of his adoption. In 1837, Captain Roe was married to Miss Wright, daughter of Thomas Wright, Esq. He was a genial, social man, and when each evening he quitted the busy city for his beautiful suburban home, he cast business entirely aside, and became the pleasant, social family gentleman whom a stranger would have little dreamed had carried such a volume of business in his head during the day. In politics. Captain Roe, though a Union man, was always conserva- tive. At one time owning slaves himself, he believed the principle wrong, and liberated them ; and while his sympathies were with the South, he still did not believe in the separation of the States. After the war, he believed in forgetting the past, and building up the South in the future. JOHN J . ROE. 165 Captain Roe's death was a shock to the entire community. On the 14th of February 1870, in the midst of apparent robust health, he was stricken with apoplexy. On the day of his sudden death, he was on 'Change as usual, said he did not feel well, but nothing was thought of it. During the afternoon he attended an election for directors of the State Savings Institution, and afterwards a meeting of the Memphis Packet Company. The board had finished business, and were sitting chatting pleasantly, when Captain Roe's head was seen to fall on one side, he gasped for breath, and expired. He died in the midst of that "business he loved so well, in the full discharge of his duty, leaving the world the better for his having been in it. Such was John J. Roe. The man whose record is so clear ; whose success in life was achieved solely by his own efforts and perseverance ; who grappled with the complex problems of commerce and financial enterprise onl}^ to conquer ; whose death, though only a portion of his life was spent amongst us, was so universally and deeply felt, and elicited such an unwonted array of testimonials of sorrow, keen at once and sincere ; whose obsequies were the occasion of a general suspen- sion of business ; whose private life was no less pure than his public career ; the man whom many honor as their benefactor, whom the poor bless and the rich admire ; for whom a whole community mourn, and whose absence from his wonted places of business has more or less affected every interest with which he was connected during life ; — such a man has, indeed, taken from us the power to argue the question whether he shall be called great. In every intelligent citizen, the death ■of such a man must awaken, as it does, profound regret that one who understood his work so thoroughly, who performed his duties so promptly, who dispensed his charities so generously and so noiselessl}- ; whose reputation was as untarnished as his life unblemished, and who had the energy requisite to embody his plans and actualize his concep- tions, should have been so suddenly withdrawn from fields of labor in which he had few equals, and hardly a superior. //T^^t^o^ /^ ^^^€^^>- HON J:'^HANK P. BLAIR S30URI. GEN. FRANCIS P. BLAIR. /TV HE Blair family in America has a distinguished history. It has _i_ numerous branches spreading over different sections of the country, yet the members of each have found important places in politics, law, science and literature. In the early histor}- of Virginia, we find that James Blair, a native of Scotland, was a missionary of great learn- ing and piety, who took such a deep interest in the colonies that he made a special visit to England, after the accession of William and Mary, to raise funds and obtain a patent for the erection of a college. He succeeded beyond his expectations, and on his return superintended the building of an institution which he named after the reigning sover- eigns, and of which he was president nearly fifty years. x\nother member of the family, named John Blair, was one of the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States appointed by Washington. Another, James Blair, was a lawyer of considerable ability, who was born in Virginia, and practiced his profession lor some time at Abing- don in that State. He afterward moved to Kentucky, and was made Attorney-General of that State. He was the father of Francis Preston Blair, known for so many years as the editor of the Washington Globe., and friend and adviser of Andrew Jackson. This eminent man, still living at Silver Springs, Maryland, at the advanced age of eighty-four, has probably seen more of American politics than any man living, and in nearly all the important movements of the past fifty years has had more or less to do. His son, Francis Preston Blair, Jr., was no less conspicuous in public afiairs ; and, for the part he bore in the Free-labor movement, and in defense of his country during the late civil war, will ever be held in grateful remembrance by all in Missouri who cherish the Union and love freedom. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, February 19, 1821. When he was nine years of age his father moved to Washington, District of Columbia, to take charge of the Globe. Here his boyhood was passed in attending primary and preparator}- schools, in which he l68 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. made good progress in learning. His collegiate course was commenced at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, but, for good reasons, he afterward entered Princeton College, New Jersey, where he graduated with high honors at the age of twenty. Returning to Kentucky, he began the study of law under Lewis Marshall, but failing in health, he came to St. Louis on a visit to his brother, Judge Montgomery Blair. On his return to Kentucky, he completed his legal education at the Law School of Transylvania University. In 1843 he again came to St. Louis, to begin the practice of his profession ; but his health was so delicate that he was forced to abandon all literary work, and take a trip to the Rocky Mountains to recuperate. This he did with trappers and traders, and in 1845 he accompanied Bent and St. Vrain to their fort in New Mexico, now Colorado, and remained in that wild and hostile country until the expedition under the command of General Kearney reached that region, when he joined the enterprise, and served to the end of it in a military capacity. In 1847 he returned to St. Louis, his health being completely re-established, and resumed the legal profes- sion. The same year he was married to Miss Appoline Alexander, of Woodford count}-, Kentucky. In 1848 his father gave him a liberal amount of money, which he invested judiciously, and from it derived a competent and abundant fortune. This enabled him to devote a portion of his time to politics, for which he evinced a decided fondness. He became an active politician and a prominent leader of the Free-soil party. In those days, making speeches against slavery on slave soil was somewhat danger- ous ; but Mr. Blair understood the temper and mettle of his opponents, and knew how much to say and when to say it. It was not long before his political enemies discovered that he was courageous, and would not be put down by threats. He was elected to the Legislature in 1852, and again in the following year. During his legislative term he made several speeches in favor of the Free-labor system, and aroused a strong sentiment against the exactions and encroachments of slavery. His bold words inflamed the Pro-slavery party, and created, of course, a strong feeling of hostility against him and his supporters ; but he was not alarmed, nor deterred from the work he had undertaken. While the Free-labor movement made but little headway in the State, it gained a strong foothold in St. Louis, where the large German element existed, and in the spring of 1856 the Free-soil party was so well organized and drilled, under Blair's leadership, that it nominated a municipal ticket, and triumphantl}' elected it. The same year Mr. Blair was elected to GEN. FRANCIS P. BLAIR. 169 Congress from the First District, and boldly advocated the doctrines of his party — but taking the position, which Henr}' Clay had taken years before, that the slaves, when emancipated, should be transported to Africa. In 1858 Mr. Blair was nominated for re-election to Congress, but was beaten by J. Richard Barret, the candidate of the Democratic party. Mr. Blair contested the right of Mr. Barret to the seat, and after a lengthy examination of the case, the House of Representatives referred the matter back to the people. A new election was ordered for the remainder of the term, and for convenience, the election for the next term was held at the same time. It resulted in the election of Mr. Barret to the short term, and Mr. Blair to the long term. He was subsequently elected to the Thirty-eighth Congress, in which he served as chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, and as a member of other important committees. His influence at this time, both in Congress and at home, was unbounded. A Southern man himself, a former slaveholder, and possessing man}^ of the Southern traits of character, the cry of Abolitionist could not be raised against him, and he stood the most consistent promoter of anti-slaver}^ doctrines in the United States. Says a recent writer : "His calm, argumentative man- ner in the debate even of an inflammable political question, amazed his adversaries, while his personal courage was so great that any attempt to overawe or intimidate him was labor lost." In June i860, at Mr. Blair's suggestion, a meeting of the Republicans of the State was called, to send delegates to the Chicago Presidential Convention. He was chosen as one of the delegates, and took an active part in the proceedings of that body. When a difficulty arose between the friends of Hon. Joshua R. Giddings and others, as to the propriety of adopting a certain resolution as part of the national plat- form, and the chairman of the Convention, Mr. Ashmun, had decided the question against the Giddings party, so that a division was imminent, Mr. Blair raised a point of order which brought the resolution fairly before the Conv.ention again. This time it was so amended as to satisfy a majorit}^ of the delegates and still retain its force ; and its adoption saved a split in the Republican party. On returning to St. Louis after Mr. Lincoln's nomination, Mr. Blair addressed a ratification meeting, held at Lucas Market, but was so much interrupted by the "roughs" of the Democratic party, that he began to consider how similar scenes of violence might be prevented in lyo BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. future. His fertile brain conceived the idea of the "Wide Awakes," who were uniformed, provided with torches, and maintained order at RepubHcan gatherings. The other party also formed clubs, known as "Minute Men," and collisions between these two parties were of frequent occurrence. The "Wide Awakes" often accompanied Blair on his country electioneering tours, and prevented many a stoning which he and his companions would otherwise have received. With the election of Mr. Lincoln, the war seemed inevitable, and General Blair was the first to perceive the necessity of enlisting troops. No man was so active in the movement as he. He was the Captain of the first company of Union soldiers enhsted in Missouri, and materially assisted in defraying the expense of providing the men with suitable arms and accoutrements. When companies multiplied and grew to regiments, he was as active as before, and was by unanimous consent elected Colonel of the First regiment of Missouri Volunteers. While these troops were being enlisted and armed, the rebels were collecting a force at Camp Jackson to attack and take the Arsenal and make use of the large amount of stores placed there. General Blair's quick discernment unearthed the plot, and acting on his advice, General Lyon moved several regiments of volunteers and companies of regular United States soldiers from the Arsenal and Jefferson Barracks, and captured the camp with all therein. The unfortunate killing of citizens at the close of the day was deeply regretted by General Blair, but the insults of the mob were so wanton and their firing upon the troops so unpro- voked, that the latter could not be restrained and in fact were not considered blamable. General Blair was censured by some conserva- tive Union men at the time for the part he took in the capture of Camp Jackson. They claimed that the State troops were legally organized and called into service by the Governor, and had no intention of joining in rebellion against the United States Government. But General Blair knew, and subsequent events developed the fact, that the encampment was a well-laid plot to get control of the State and to seize United States property. General Blair nipped the conspiracy in the bud, and saved Missouri to the Union. During the greater portion of 1861, General Blair's time was occu- pied in looking after the interests of Missouri. At his instance General Harney was removed from the command of the Missouri Department, because he thought the safety of the State and good of the public ser- vice required it ; but when General Fremont, the successor of Harney, GEN. FRANCIS P. BLAIR. lyi managed military affairs in a way that seemed to General Blair detri- mental to the interests of the country, he demanded his removal also and secured it, notwithstanding a majority of the Germans, as well as a large number of prominent American Republicans, were in favor of Fremont's retention as Department commander. This act of securing Fremont's removal was the cause of a division in the ranks of the Emancipationists. Those who favored the immediate emancipation of slaves in the State, and were the strongest supporters of Mr. Lincoln's administration, became hostile to General Blair, and, notwithstanding past relations, both personal and political, denounced his action in unmeasured terms. He gained friends, however, from Conservatives, gradual Emancipationists and Democrats, and with the administration at Washington seemed stronger than ever. General Blair, in the mean- time, continued to aid the cause of his country, both in the field and in the halls of Congress. Believing that he could be of more service to the Union cause in the army, he remained with his troops during the spring and summer of 1862, but later in the year he returned to St. Louis, and decided to test his political strength b}^ offering himself again as a candidate for Congress. He made a strong canvass, and did not hesitate to deal hard blows against his old-time associates, whO' were now arrayed against him. Mr. Samuel Knox was the candidate of the Radical Emancipationists, opposed to him, and the official vote of the election gave Blair 4,743 ; Knox, 4,590 ; Bogy, Democrat, 2,536. The Radicals elected their legislative and county ticket. Mr. Knox subsequently contested Blair's right to the seat, and it was awarded to him. General Blair resumed his place in the army, having been promoted to the rank of Major-General of volunteers November 29, 1862, and determined to let political affairs at home take care of themselves. The breach that had been made in the Republican party of Missouri, however, was never healed so far as General Blair was concerned. He asked no quarter and would give none. His sentiments, so far as he expressed them, were against immediate emancipation, and his influence went to aid the opposition party. At the close of the month of December 1872, an organized plan was put in operation for the capture of Vicksburg. Troops were accord- ingly sent up the Yazoo River in large numbers, under four experienced division commanders, and the whole expedition was under General Sherman's immediate control. General Blair commanded the First Brigade of the Fourth (Steele's) Division, and in the order of attack was given the right centre. When the command was given to advance 172 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. lie did so promptly, and made the assault on the enemy's line. The Record says : The first movement was over a sloping plateau, raked by a direct and enfilading fire from heavy artillery, and swept by a storm of bullets from the riiie-pits. Undauntedly the brigade passed on, and in a few moments drove the enemy from their first range of ritie-pits, and took full possession of them-. Halting for a moment, the brigade pushed forward and took possession of the second line of rifle-pits, about two hundred yards distant. The batteries were above this line, and their firing still continued. A prompt and powerful support was necessary to make the attempt to capture them. Simultane- ously with the advance of General Blair, an order was given to General Thayer, of General Steele's division, to go forv/ard with his brigade. He crossed the bayou by the same bridge as General Blair, and entered the abatis at the same point, and, defiecling to the right, came out upon the sloping plateau about two hundred yards to the right of General Blair, and at the same time. As he reached the rifle-pits, with a heavy loss, he perceived that only one regiment, the Fourth Iowa, Colonel Williamson, had followed him. After his movement commenced, the second regiment of his brigade had been sent to the right of General Morgan as a support. The other regiments had followed this one. Notice of this change of the march of the second regiment, although sent, had failed to reach General Thayer. With little hope of success he bravely pushed forward into the second line of rifle-pits of the enemy on the right of General Blair. Here, leav- ing the regiment to hold the position, he hurried back for reinforcements. Meanwhile^ General Blair, vainly waiting for support, descended in person to persuade the advance of more troops. He and General Thayer both failed in their efforts, and were obliged to order their commands to retire. While General Blair was urging the advance of more troops, his brigade fought with desperation to win the way to the top of the crest. Mean- time, a Confederate infantry force was concentrated to attack them, and after a sharp struggle, they were forced back to the second line of rifle-pits, when General Blair's order to retire was received. The failure of the forces under General Grant to act in concert with those under General Sherman in this attack on Vicksburg, caused the latter to withdraw, and on January 2, 1863, the troops were embarked, and moved down to the mouth of the Yazoo River. Throughout this short campaign General Blair acted with great gallantry, coolness and prudence. From this time until the final siege and capture of Vicksburg, General Blair was doing efficient service as a division commander. Whenever a difficult movement was to be made, he was selected to lead it, and when hard fighting was necessary his men were sure to be near. During the siege of the city, by order of General Grant, the division under Blair laid waste the country for fifty miles around, drove ofi' the white inhab- itants, burned the grist mills, cotton gins and granaries, and destroyed the crops. This course was distasteful to General Blair, but it was necessary in order to cut oft' the enemies' supplies and force capitula- tion, and he obe3'ed orders to the letter, his command acting as a "besom of destruction." GEN. FRANCIS P. BLAIR. I73 On the death of General McPherson, General Blair was advanced to the command of the Seventeenth Army Corps. He had, during the fall and winter of 1863, participated in the active and successful cam- paigns of Sherman in Tennessee, and with the opening of spring these successes were followed up by a further advance into the enemy's country. At the battle of Kenesaw Mountains, on the 27th and 28th of May, General Blair held the extreme left of General McPherson' s line, and rendered important service against the enemy. The army under Sherman, though temporarily defeated here, soon recuperated, and following up the enemy prepared for a siege against Atlanta. The history of that siege is familiar to all. In the operations before that city, General Blair bore a most conspicuous part as commander of the Seventeenth corps. His discipline was perfect, his judgment never at fault, and his courage inspired all his comrades. In the celebrated "March to the Sea" under Sherman, Blair's men were always in advance, and always skirmishing with the enemy. They never went hungry if there was anything in the way to forage on, and for this reason were frequently accused of doing bold and wanton acts, but as their record for lighting was so good, their little eccentricities were overlooked by all good Unionists. With the capture of Savannah, on the 22d of December, the winter campaign of Sherman's army closed, and with the opening spring of 1865 the war virtually terminated. At the close of the great campaign to the sea, General Blair returned to his old home in St. Louis, where he was received with the warmest demonstrations of friendship and affection by all classes of citizens. In reviewing the career of this eminent man, we cannot do better than to quote a portion of the speech made by Colonel Thomas T. Gantt, before the State Convention at Jefferson City on the loth of July 1875, when the fact of his death was announced : "Since 1848 General Blair has been always in public life. If a fault can be imputed to him it is that in his zeal for the service of the State he has almost culpably neglected the care of his own household. In 1848, by means of the investments which the liberality of his father enabled him to make in the rapidly-increasing city of St. Louis, he was possessed of a competent, nay an abundant fortune. He entered with ardor into public life. With a cool head, a warm heart and intrepid courage, he cherished as the dearest object of honorable ambition the wish to distinguish himself in the service of the State. He aspired to this service, looking to the consciousness of duty performed as a suffi- 174 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. cient reward for the nights and days of toil which he devoted to its performance. Of course he was not indifferent to the fame that follows such performance ; but for this fame, not for the vulgar and sordid a-emuneration which consists of the emoluments of office, he was more than willing to "scorn delights and live laborious days." Devoting himself thus to the public service, he did not, in servile fashion, seek to accommodate himself to the prevailing prejudice of the community. Never was a man less of the time-server than Frank Blair. He entered upon the political arena when what was called the "Wilmot proviso" agitated the countr}'. He thought he saw in the efforts of some states- men a menace to the perpetuity of the Union. He scented this danger afar off, and while others considered his apprehensions imaginary, he denounced boldl}' and loudly the measures from which he augured the coming peril. Those who lived then and partook of the events of that day know well how little of the idle alarmist was Frank Blair. It required the highest courage to contemplate and to consider the threatened danger. It is the part of a timid man to shut his eyes and his ears to danger when it is distant and when forethought may provide against it, but to be bewildered and dismayed when it closes upon him. Frank Blair belonged to that heroic band whose fears and deliberations, whose doubts and misgivings, are confined to the council chamber, but are banished from the field of action. He looked forward to and took measure of the threatened calamity; he made provision againstit, giving all credit for capacity to hurt, while it was j-et too distant to strike ; but when he was confronted by it all doubt had vanished, all deliberation had ceased. The time for council had passed, the hour of action had arrived, and to the demands of that hour he never had an inadequate reply. By reason of having considered exhaustively the proportions of an evil while it was yet distant, he was unappalled by its near approach, and thus events of the most startling nature never found him unprepared. What many attributed to the endowment of an almost miraculous presence of mind was really due to patient and laborious provision and preparation. Like another heroic man whose name stands for the admiration of preceding ages, he was 'Scevis in tranquillus tindis' '"tranquil amidst tumult because he had dared to fear in tranquillity.' "I have remarked upon the intrepidity of his character. There never was a man who took less counsel of his fears. If he was accessible to a feeling which Turenne declared to be a part of human nature, he never allowed it perceptibly to sway his conduct, and over and over again he distinguished himself by assuming and performing tasks from GEN. FRANCIS P. BT.AIR. I75 which, on one pretext or another, all others shrank. In his earlier political life, he led in an enterprise which was beset with obloquy and peril. For a long time he had very few followers. Those who sympa- thized with his views and avowed their S3'mpathy, gave a conspicuous proof of their own courage ; but all such will acknowledge that his leadership was never challenged. I will not dwell on the events of the years between 1852 and 1861 ; but, coming to the latter period, I think I may say that to him more than to an}' man li\'ing or dead, it is due that Missouri, and by consequence Kentuck}-, stood where they did in the eventful years that followed. I think also that he takes a short- sighted and imperfect view of our history who does not perceive that had these two States stood wdth Virginia in the terrible struggle that followed, the result of that struggle would have been widel}' ditf erent ; and all who believe that it was a benefit to the whole country that it should exist undivided, must recognize a debt of immeasurable magni- tude to Frank Blair. "In the bloody war which marked the attempt to accomplish this division, Frank Blair pla3'ed the part of a gallant soldier, but of a soldier whose sword was drawn only against the enem}- who stood with arms in his hands. He never pillaged, nor permitted his command to pillage. He fought to secure the supremacy of the Constitution and the perpetuity of the Union. When that was accomplished, he sheathed his sword. So far as he was concerned, the contest was over, the triumph was ended as soon as his opponent lowered his weapon. The moment this w^as done, he was once more the friend and brother of those against whom he was lately arrayed in deadly strife. In his eyes nothing but necessity justified a resort to arms. And when the necessity was over, all further justification ceased. Those who did not know these convictions of the heroic man whose death we commemorate, can hardl}^ understand his conduct in 1865 and 1866. " While insurrection was in armed resistance to Federal authority, he treated insurrectionists as enemies with whom it was idle to argue, and whom it was necessary to strike down with the deadliest weapons at the command of the national resources. But when resistance ceased, he was transformed from the inexorable enemy of disunionists into the most gracious and indulgent friend of his misguided countrymen, who had ceased to attempt what he regarded in the light of hideous crime. Accordingly, when he returned to St. Louis in 1865, after the close of the war, to find that man}- thousands of those who had been, and then were his fiercest political enemies, were disfranchised, his first act was 176 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. to protest energetically against the outrage ; to commence in the courts of this State a litigation, the object of which was to demonstrate the illegal character of this disfranchisement, and to enter upon efforts, which did not cease until they were successful, to remove the yoke which rested on the necks of his enemies. All know what he did in 1865, 1866, 1868 and 1870, but few understand the nobleness of his purposes and aims. By many he is supposed to have simply pursued a personal end by means which he considered calculated to attain it. It is considered b}^ a large proportion of mankind that he was, like other political adventurers, aiming at popular favor, by assuming the advo- cacy of a numerous class. Surely nothing can be more unjust than this. It is contradicted by his whole history. While it was dangerous to avow Republicanism in Missouri, he did not shrink from the avowal. When Republicanism was in the ascendant, and Radicalism under the command of Fremont, commenced its reign of terror and martial law in Missouri, he forsook the dominant party, and exposed himself to obloquy and persecution, nay, to the extremity of personal danger, by withstanding the tyranny of this department commander. When Mr. Chase discriminated against St. Louis and in favor of Chicago and Cincinnati in his treasury regulations, he at once throttled him, and earned for himself all the consequences of that opposition. Returning from the army at the close of a war in which he had commanded a corps, at the head of which he bore back the fiery onset of Hood on the 22d of July 1864, there was no political preferment in Missouri in the gift of the dominant party to which he might not reasonably have aspired. Did he seek to utilize this position? Did' he appeal to the dominant party for such preferment? The world knows that he did nothing of the kind. He saw that this party rested upon injustice, against which his soul revolted. He refused to hold any communion with those who were guilty of this injustice. He refused to profit b}" this iniquity, and ranged himself, not with the powerful oppression, but with the feeble victim of the wrong. He did not confine himself to empty protest. He threw himself into the thick of angr}^ and dangerous contests ; and it may be doubted whether, in all the bloody campaign of 1864, he fronted more peril from the casualties of war than he encountered in 1866 from the animosities of those who then held Mis- souri with the armed hand, and enforced the subjection of her people by military violence — all who remember those days know that he elec- trified all hearts b}' his eminently dauntless spirit. The springing valor with which he met and put down the ruflianism by which he was GEN. FRANCIS P. BLAIR. 177 encountered on this memorable occasion, was in its effect on those whose cause he espoused, Hke that which, in a darker age, would have been ascribed to supernatural influences. It was, indeed, something divine. It was the work of the most precious gift which God makes to humanit}' — the gift of an heroic spirit which rises to meet a deadly emergency, which grapples with an evil which will otherwise undo a people, and which, by the aid of that power which alwavs helps those who manfull}" help themselves, achieves the deliverance of mankind. The gratitude of the State selected Frank Blair to represent Missouri in the Senate of the United States, after he had freed her citizens, in 1870, from the odious discriminations imposed on them by the Radicals of 1865. How well he served the State in that exalted sphere need not be stated here. His acts belong to the history of the country. I have not attempted to chronicle them either in his civil or military career. Time does not permit it, but this much I may say : Frank Blair went into public life a rich man. He left it impoverished and destitute. He was never suspected by the bitterest enemy of unlawfull}' appropriating to his own use a single penny, either from the treasury of the public, or as a gratuity from those who beset the halls of legislation, and, in one shape or another, give to men in public stations bribes for the betra3'al of public duty. He leaves to his children an unspotted name in lieu of a worldly wealth. It is a precious and it is an imperishable inheritance. "Among all the men I have ever known I rank the departed as supreme in generosity and magnanimity. Rancor and malice were foreign to his nature. The moment he had overcome his enemy his own weapons fell from his hands. Any one who had seen him only when a stern duty was to be performed, when mistaken lenity would have been the greatest cruelty, might imagine that he was all compact of flint and iron. The moment that firmness had done its work and there was no longer occasion for rigor, he was the surest refuge for all who had ceased to resist. To those who had been guilty of wrong and treachery towards himself he was forgiving to a degree which bordered on weakness. It is an honorable distinction that this is the worst censure that can be passed upon his heroic nature." The events of the last years of General Blair's life have been men- tioned by Colonel Gantt in appropriate terms. He did not long hold the position of Collector of Customs, to which he was appointed b}- President Johnson, but magnanimously yielded it to an old friend. Subsequently, he was Government Railroad Commissioner for the Pacific Railroad. 13 178 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. His short term in the United States Senate was distinguished lor the same boldness and honesty of purpose that characterized his earHer congressional career. If he had been more moderate and less honest on some occasions in his utterances, his prospects for the Vice-Presi- dency would have been more flattering. With the close of General Blair's senatorial term, his health com- pletely failed. He suffered from a slight attack of paralysis in 1871, but recovered sufficiently to perform his usual duties. A second attack, a year or two later, prostrated him to such an extent that he never recovered. His family indulged the hope that a residence at Clifton Springs, New York, would be beneficial to him. He was taken there, and, for a time, derived some benefit from the waters and pure air of that place. On his return to St. Louis, he showed signs of recovery, and walked the streets again to the great delight of his old friends. Over-exertion, however, both mental and physical, caused a relapse, and he was confined to his house again. His condition grew gradually worse, and, after many remedies had been tried without affording much relief or giving much encouragement to his friends, the process of transfusing blood from a healthy person to his veins was commenced, with beneficial results. It was repeated from time to time, and — Dr. Franklin the attending physician, thinks — would have proved entirely successful had it not been for an accident he met with on the 8th of July. The physician relates the circumstances : "About six o'clock yesterday evening I was called to see him, and found him suftering from the eflects of a fall he had received about a quarter past four o'clock in the afternoon. He had been in the habit of walking about his room, and even down stairs. He had been improving rapidly, and the family placed him at the window, supposing he would remain there, while they were down stairs, I suppose, attending to their domestic duties. He was alone in the room but a little while, when he attempted to walk across the floor. In doing so he fell, and, striking his head, received quite a severe blow. He experienced much pain from the concussion, and his paralyzed side was rigid with spasms. He was breath- ing turgidly and suftering from the eftects of coma — unconscious, unable to swallow any- thing, and the slightest pressure of his hand produced a violent spasm; it was impossible even to touch him. I told the family to watch, knowing he could not live long. At nine o'clock I found his pulse was sinking, and becoming constantly more and more weak — all these symptoms foretelling a fatal termination. General Blair had no apoplexy, but paralysis and softening of the brain. The fall produced a tremendous shock to his system, and probably ruptured vessels in the interior of the brain. That is my diagnosis; there was pressure on the brain, and he died from the eftects of compression." The death of General Blair produced profound regret and sorrow in St. Louis and throughout the country. Meetings were held by the St. Louis Bar, the ex-soldiers of the Missouri Volunteers, the City GEN. FRANCIS p. BLAIR. 1 79 Council, and other bodies, at which speeches eulogistic of the deceased soldier and statesman were made, and resolutions passed in honor of his memory. The State Convention, in session at Jefferson City, unanimously adopted the following resolutions: 1. That in his death the State of Missouri has lost one of her most useful and eminent citizens, distinguished alike for his private virtues and his brilliant record as a soldier and a patriot. 2. That the deceased was strongly marked by the possession of those high qualities which adorn the man, the character of truth, honesty, sincerity, courage and magnan- imity, and which justly gave him a firm hold upon the affections and confidence of his fellow-countrymen. 3. That the dark shadow which the unwelcome messenger, death, has thrown around the domestic circle has awakened our deepest sympathy, and we tender to his venerable parents, his bereaved widow and children, and his numerous friends, our sincere condo- lence for the irreparable loss which they have sustained. 4. That the President of this Convention cause a copy of these resolutions to be presented to the family of the deceased, and with an expression of our sympathies as here set forth. 5. That these resolutions be spread upon the journal of this Convention, signed by the President and Secretary, and the public press of the State be i-equested to publish the same. 6. That, in respect to the memory of our departed friend, this Convention do now adjourn to to-morrow at S o'clock. At a meeting of ex-Confederates in St. Louis, the following resolu- tion was adopted : Resolved, That we, the ex-Confederates here assembled, do as deeply mourn his loss, and as heartily acknowledge his high character and great abilities, as can those who never diflFered from him in the past great struggle ; as soldiers who fought against the cause he espoused, we honor and respect the fidelity, high courage and energy he brought to his aid ; as citizens of Missouri, we recognize the signal service done his State as one of her Senators in the National council ; as Americans, we are proud of his manhood; and as men we deplore the loss from among us of one in whom was embodied so much of honor, generosity and gentleness, and we remember with gratitude that so soon as the late civil strife was ended, he was among the first to prove the honesty of his course by welcoming us back as citizens of the Union he had fought to maintain, and that he never thereafter ceased to battle for the restoration and maintenance of our rights under the Constitution. General Blair's funeral, on Sunday, the nth of July, was attended by a very large concourse of people. All classes were represented, and the public buildings and many private residences displayed emblems of mourning. The services were held at the First Congre- l8o BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. national church, Tenth and Locust streets, Dr. Post preaching an eloquent and appropriate discourse. Dr. J. H. Brooks also delivered a short address on the occasion. General Blair had, a year or two previous to his death, publicly professed the Christian faith, and united with the Presbyterian Church. He left a family consisting of the sorely-bereaved widow, five sons and three daughters, namely: Andrew A., aged tw^enty-six ; Christine, aged twenty-three; James L., aged twenty-one; Frank P., Jr., aged nineteen; George M., aged seventeen; Cora M., aged seven; Evelyn, aged five ; and William Alexander, aged two. MRS. ELIZABETH CRITTENDEN /TV HE distinguished women of America have seldom been honored -X. with an appropriate place in the biographical history of our country. Though possessing attributes and characteristics fre- quently illustrated by noble deeds, which really entitle them to be ranked among the "illustrious few" whose names live forever, they have been only cherished by their families and intimate associates, and in a few decades their names alone remain to connect the living gen- erations with the past. The record of the dignity, benevolence and intellectual and social accomplishments of our most distinguished women have, at best, found a place in "sketches" by other women ; or those, in honor and admiration of whom too much cannot be said, are mentioned but casually in the written lives of celebrated men, whom their influence has made "great." In this volume, which contains the history of the distinguished citizens of St. Louis, it is eminently proper that mention should be made of Mrs. Elizabeth Crittenden. The ancestors of Mrs. Crittenden, having come from England, resided in Albermarle and Goochland counties, Virginia. Her great- grandfather, Colonel John Woodson, inherited from his father a large landed estate, called "Dover," on James River, in Goochland. He married Dorothea Randolph, of "Dupgeness," one of whose sisters was the mother of Thomas Jefl'erson, the third President of the United States, and another the mother of Governor Pleasants, of Virginia. A son of Colonel and Mrs. Woodson married his cousin, Elizabeth Woodson, and their daughter Mar\', in iSoi, was married to Dr. James W. Moss, of Albermarle county, Virginia. These latter were the parents of Elizabeth Moss, the subject of this brief notice. A few years after his marriage. Dr. Moss removed to Mason county, Kentucky, where Elizabeth was born, and where she was educated, and lived until the removal of her father to Missouri, just before she had attained the age of womanhood. I»2 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Dr. Moss first located in St. Louis, but, after a short residence in the city, he was attracted to the fertile and beautiful lands of the county of Boone, where he devoted himself to farming on a large scale, and to the gratuitous practice of his profession, in which he had attained great skill and reputation. A man of intelligence, education and culture, with a fine personal presence and great refinement and suavity of man- ner, he was prominent, and his home was one of the chief centres of social attraction among the many prosperous families from Virginia and Kentucky, that had settled in Boone and in the adjoining county of Howard, which two counties were, at that time, much in advance of any other portion of interior Missouri. Of all the varied attractions of his lovely home, there was none greater, none perhaps so great, as the presence of his fascinating daughter, the subject of this sketch, who was then noted for the rare accomplishments for which she was afterward so much distinguished, heightened by the charm of youthful beauty. She was sought in mar- riage, and soon became the wife of Dr. Daniel P. Wilcox, a young but promising and highly educated physician. Her early married years were happily passed among the quiet scenes of a village life, where her character was formed among friends by whom she was universally admired and sincerely loved, and whom she never forgot, or ceased to cherish, in her subsequent, brilliant, social career. At that early age she was a remarkable woman, as in after-life, and at no tinie, perhaps, were the fascinating beauties of her character so conspicuous. Dr. Wilcox was a man of great personal popularity, and was soon called to represent his county in the Legislature of Missouri ; but he did not live long to serve his State, or to enjoy the happiness of union with his lovely wife. He died a member of the Senate of Missouri, leaving his young widow with two daughters. One of these married our well- known fellow-citizen, Andrew McKinley, Esq., son of the late Justice McKinley, of the Supreme Court of the United States, and now the popular and efficient president of Forest Park. The other became the wife of Hon. E. C. Cabell, for many years the representative in Con- gress from the State of Florida, but now a resident of St. Louis. Mrs. Cabell died in the fall of 1873. After the death of Dr. Wilcox, his widow^ remained in the seclusion of her country home until she became, at the age of thirty, the wife of General William H. Ashley, a wealthy and distinguished citiz-en of St. Louis, and, at the time, a member of the lower house of the United States Congress, from Missouri. MRS. ELIZABETH CRITTENDEN. 183 Immediately after this marriage, Mrs. Ashley was ushered into the society of Washington, then adorned by many women of intellect, education and refinement. Her remarkable beauty and grace at once attracted great attention, and very soon her tact and mental accomplish- ments, the simplicit}^ of her manner, her dignity of deportment, and her kind consideration for others, made her welcome everywhere ; and she soon became, and for thirty years continued to be, the favorite in the most refined and elegant circles of metropolitan life. General Ashley died, in 1838. He was a remarkable man — one of the best types of the early Western pioneers. Generous, brave, and daring, he was "the soul of honor," and commanded universal respect. He was, at an early date, connected with the North Amer- ican Fur Company, and commanded several expeditions to the Rocky Mountains at a time when most of the country west of St. Louis was a wilderness, inhabited by Indians and bufialoes. His fortune was made in the fur trade. He won the confidence, affection and admiration of the inhabitants of Missouri before and after the admis- sion of the State into the Union. Tall and graceful as Andrew Jackson, his presence was commanding, his bearing dignified, and his manners elegant. His great integrity and native intelligence, added to his strong will and force of character, and experience and knowledge of men, made him truly "a man of mark," and gave him a popularity and influence which made it possible to resist and overcome what was at that time considered, the omnipotent power of Thomas H. Benton over the politics of the State. He was elected and reelected member of Congress in spite of the opposition and protest of Benton. He was conspicuous for his enterprise and public spirit, and was one of its early settlers to whom St. Louis owes so much. He was a man w^ho deserved to be mated with the distinguished woman of whose life we are making this brief sketch. The home which General Ashley had provided for his beautiful bride, is well known to the older citizens of St. Louis as "The Mound." It is now in the heart of the city, and would not be recognized. It was then a magnificent suburban residence. The house, for those days, might be called elegant. In front an extensive level lawn, and in rear — sloping, with terraces, to the banks of the Mississippi, all covered witli fine forest trees and varied shrubbery ; and the view of river and country was extensive and beautiful. This was the charming home of the most elegant and accomplished woman in St. Louis, provided by one of the noblest of men. Here General Ashley dispensed the most generous 184 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. hospitality, graced by the attractions and dignified bearing, and the elegance and accomplishments of his wife. To this home, now rendered sad by the death of her excellent hus- band, Mrs. Ashley returned from Washington. Here, for several years, she devoted herself chiefly to the education of her daughters ; but her magnetic attractions drew around her a circle of attached, admiring friends, and her house became the seat of unostentatious hos- pitality, which it was a privilege to enjo}^ and to which the kind-hearted hostess cordially invited all who were worthy of it. There are few citizens of St. Louis then and now living, who cannot recall, with pleasant satisfaction, some happy hours for which they are indebted to this estimable lady during this period of her life. In February 1853, she was married to Hon. John J. Crittenden, the distinguished Kentucky Senator, who was, at that time, the Attorney- General of the United States under Mr. Fillmore's administration. From that time until his death, in 1863, Mr. Crittenden continued in Congress, and his wife passed all those winters in Washington with her husband. She had passed several preceding winters there with her daughter, Mrs. Cabell, and during the interval which elapsed after the death of General Ashley, she had spent several seasons at the capital. No woman in America was so widely known. She was on terms of familiar acquaintance with all the public men of our own and the representatives of foreign countries, during the eventful period of our history, from the exciting times of South Carolina nullification to the culminating collapse of the war between the States. All were her friends. She was universally admired, and her society eagerly courted » not only at Washington, but in all our large cities from Boston to New Orleans, and at all fashionable watering places ; yet of her no^ word of censure was ever heard. All men and all women, all children and all servants, too, spoke of her only words of praise, admiration,, love and reverence. How and why was it that this simple country girl, reared and educated away from cities, with none of the advantages ( ?) of fashion- able education and training, born and living to womanhood in the "wild woods of the West," should have won so entirely the respect and admiration of the generation in which she lived? Without adventitious aid, without having had the fortune to do any one thing specially to distinguish her, she made herself not only the peer, but ^rima inter ^ares of the most gifted- and brilliant women of her country. The cause may be summed up in that one word, tact : the result of great native intellect and supreme goodness of heart. MRS. ELIZABETH CRITTENDEN. 185 She was a great reader, and her tamihar knowledge of the British classics and acquaintance with the literature of her own country, with her excellent judgment and great discretion, made her conversation always polished, charming and impressive. As every true woman should, she carefully studied the "art of dress," which no one better understood, and her toilette was always marked by great elegance, but greater taste. But her social success was achieved by exquisite tact and elevation of heart and mind, rather than by the more dazzling and frivolous refinements of fashionable life. It was her delight to dispense happiness ; and many were the opportunities of which she availed herself to bring out merit from obscurity. She was ever performing kind offices, in a way that secured the best results without wounding the feeling of those obliged. She not only knew the public men of the country, but was well acquainted with the leading families of every section of the Union, and those introduced to her in the most casual way were generally astonished to find that she knew them, their fami- lies and friends. She rarely forgot anything she had ever heard or knew, except such things as were unpleasant or disagreeable, and these things she carefully put behind her, and speedily forgot. She was never known to forget a face, and rarely the name of one to whom she had been introduced, however remote may have been the time of meet- ing. She alwa3's entered, with sympathy, into the aflairs of her young friends, whom she had frequent opportunities to serve, and always in the most delicate way. In ever}^ part of the American Union one may hear persons of the highest social position speak of her with ardent gratitude and affection, and of the many kind acts and attentions by which she contributed to their benefit or enjoyment. She was perfectly familiar with all the political issues of the day, and on them she spoke fluently and intelligently, but not as a partisan. Whatever the subject of conversation might be, whether political, literarj^ or social, she never assumed the air of superiority, or seemed conscious that her opinion or judgment was better than that of others. She also had "a gracious way of listening." Many ladies who converse well do not listen with attention, especially to persons less gifted than themselves. Not so with her. She possessed, in an eminent degree, this happy faculty always so charming in women, and so gratifying to man's aiiiottr- propre. These are some of the qualities which made her career so wonder- fully successful. As another element which went to make up this grand success, it may be mentioned that while all were her friends, she /lad l86 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. no intimates. Genial, social and kind, she took no liberties with her friends, and never permitted them to "take liberties" with her. Even her most familiar lady friends she invariably received in the parlor, never in her chamber, as is too frequentl}' the slip-shod way with the women, especially the young women, of America. As an illustration of the estimate in which she was held in Washing- ton, where so much of her life had been spent, we may mention an incident which occurred about the beginning of our late war. It is rare that a lady receives such a tribute as was oifered to Mrs. Crittenden. As a token of great regard and high appreciation, a "reception" was given to her in the parlors of the National Hotel, Washington, on which occasion the following address was presented by Hon. Mr. Lovejo}^ member of Congress from Illinois : Mrs. Crittenden: While the whole Union is paying its tribute of willing and abundant honors to the venerable Senator whose name you adorn, and whose home you bless, we, the guests of the National, and some of your other numerous friends in Washington, come to pay our respects to your manj^ excellencies. We bring no gifts of gold or silver taken from the cold earth ; but we ofter you tlie more precious treasures of our hearts — our affection, respect, esteem and admiration. For many years you have held a conspicuous place in the best circle of Washington. Your exalted place in society has been adorned by grace, dignity, courtesy and kindness universally manifested. These constantly flowing streams could have no other fountain than a heart full of goodness. It is the testimony of those who have been longest your friends, that they have never heard from vou a word that could wound, nor seen a look that could give pain. Detraction you have always scorned; kindness and genial feelings you have cherished. You have thus been a nation's benefactor. The names of Cornelia, Portia, Madame Roland and Lady Holland have become classic in history for their patriotism, high social qualities, and domestic virtues. Uniting the patriotism of the Roman matron to the conjugal devotion of Madame Roland and the polished refinement of Lady Holland, your presence has diffused a charm wherever known. You have shown us that if political life is an ocean with its dark waves and angry storms, social life may be a calm, serene lake, reflecting bright images of purity and love. The names of Mrs. Hamilton, Mrs. Madison and Mrs. Crittenden will always shine in the annals of social life in Washington. We pay you the homage of our sincere respect and esteem. We take 3'our daguerreotype upon our hearts, and will keep it fresh while memory lasts. The hand of time has dealt so kindly with you thus far, that while you have the health and vigor of middle age, you still retain the freshness and vivacity of youth. May that hand still lead you gently on, till we all meet you in that better land, where youth is perpetual and beauty unfading! Senator Crittenden was a man of great simplicity of character and of unbounded hospitality. His house was ever full of devoted friends, of whom few men could boast so great a number. His wife adorned his simple home in Frankfort, Kentucky, with all the graces and attractions MRS. ELIZABETH CRITTENDEN. 187 which had made her so conspicuous in Washington. Her remarkable versatihty adapted her equally to all ranks and conditions, and the hos- pitable fire-side of Mrs. Crittenden was rendered more charming by her wonderful domestic knowledge and home accomplishments. In all the varied departments of housekeepings Mrs. Crittenden was as proficient as in those qualities which gave her high position in fashionable society. In every relation of life she was distinguished for excellence. As daughter, mother, maid, wife and widow she ever performed her full duty. Remarkable as she was for intelligence, good sense, and bril- liancy in society — grandly as she bore herself in the gilded halls of wealth and fashion and state — nowhere did she appear to better advant- age, nowhere did her virtues and true womanliness shine so brightly, as in her first quiet little home of love in Boone, and again, in mature life, as head of the simple household of the illustrious Kentuck}^ Senator. After the death of Senator Crittenden, Mrs. Crittenden removed to the city of New York, where she resided eight years. There she found many who had known and loved her in her earlier career. Every Saturda}' was her "reception day" throughout the year, and strangers and citizens alike came to pay homage to one whose life had been distinguished by every qualit\^ which adorns the character of woman. She returned. to St. Louis in the early fall of 1872, to be with her children, who had come back to our city about the same time. But she lived only a short time to enjoy their companionship and her reunion with the friends of earlier days. On the 8th of February 1873, this remarkable woman died suddenl}- of apoplexy, and was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery. The large concourse of citizens, which sadly followed her remains to their last resting place, attested the respect and affection with which she was regarded in this city. Elizabeth Crittenden is one of those characters whom God has not permitted to live in vain and for nought. From her life may be deduced a moral of great value, and from it ma}' be formed a model by which mothers may well strive to form the characters of their daughters. ^'"EHtJdAN^ MuTEc\ Ligb-Co.oT. ^^-^j^^ ^^t:^ /9r^^^ JAMES H. LUCAS. JAMES H. LUCAS was born at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, November 12, 1800, and was consequently aged seventy-three at his decease. His father, John B.C. Lucas, was a native of Normandy, received a liberal education at the University of Caen, and visiting Paris after the close of the American revolution, adopted the recommendation of Dr. Franklin, and with other chivalric, ambitious 3'oung Frenchmen, emigrated to America. James le Ray du Chaumont, at w'hose father's house, near Passy, Franklin and Adams were domiciled, also came to the United States about the same time, and bought immense tracts of land in Otsego and Jefferson counties. New York. Mr. Lucas w^ent to Pennsylvania, and settled in Pittsburg, where he subsequently^ was appointed judge of the District Court, was efficient in enforcing the law during the whiskey rebellion, and represented the State in the National Congress. Before the 3-ear 1800, he w^as sent on a special mission, by Mr. Jefferson, to the then Territory of Louisiana, to sound the people in regard to the acquisition of the country by the United States, and thereby give unobstructed navigation to the mouth of the Mississippi for our commerce. On this mission he became impressed with the site of the "future great cit}'," but Ste. Genevieve being then the most important point, he went there, and had a conference with Francis Valle, the Spanish commandant. The object of his diplomatic visit was concealed, and it is said that he went under the assumed name of Du Panthro. After the acquisition of Louisiana, he was appointed by President Jefferson one of the judges of the Territory, and, in con- junction with Governor Wilkinson and Return Jonathan Meigs, com- missioner to adjust land titles. He removed to St. Louis with his famil}- in 1805, the tedious journey being made on keel-boats down the Ohio and up the Mississippi. St. Louis was then, wdth some exceptions, merely the residence of the indolent trapper or most desperate adventurer. Then there were no indications of pubHc spirit, or an}^ desire other than that of accumu- lation with the least possible exertion. The houses, mostly of wood 190 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. daubed with clay, or built of stone in massive style, gave an idea of antique fortresses. Chouteau hill is described in the chronicles of the time as a barren waste over which the winds whistled and wild animals roamed. The streets were in a horrid condition. In this pristine period of the city young Lucas passed his boyhood days. In after years he related having seen wolves prowling about near the present site of Nicholson's establishment, on Sixth and Chestnut. They came out of the woods during the cold winter of 1808. The boys trapped prairie chickens where the Laclede Hotel stands, also in the fields near Twelth and Olive, where the Missouri Park is located. In 1814 young Lucas went with his father to Washington City. They traveled the entire distance on horseback, avoiding Vincennes on account of the Indians. It required from thirty to forty days to travel to Philadelphia. The traveler who then made a journey to the Atlantic States did not resolve upon it without mature deliberation. Months of preparation were required. Kind wishes and prayers were offered for the safe return of the voyagers by those who remained behind. There would have been some interest in announcing the departures. At the proper age young Lucas was sent to school. He first attended St. Charles College, in charge of the Dominican Order, at Harrisburg, Kentucky. Among his schoolmates at this institution were Jefferson Davis, Louis A. Benoist, Bernard Pratte, Gustave Soulard and Bion Gratiot. Mr. Lucas next attended school about 1816, with his brother William, at Jefterson College, Pennsylvania, and it was while there that he received news of the death of his brother Charles, killed in a duel with Colonel Benton. The subject of the sketch taught school and studied law at Hudson, New York. He also visited various parts of New England, and pursued his law studies with Judge Reeves, of Litchfield, Connecticut, and among the students attending at the same time were Governor Ashley, Ichabod Bartlett, of New Hampshire, and N. P. Talmadge, afterward United States Senator from New York. During one of his vacations he spent some time in Franklin, New Haven, where he was known as the "Young Frenchman," a designation given him from his habit of wearing in the morning a robe-de-ckanibre, which was a novelty in the way of dress in those parts. Becoming satisfied that the East was not the place suited for him, he returned to St. Louis, and casting about for a place to settle he started on a keel-boat in 18 13 for South America, having for companions Governor Ashley and another young man. They landed at Montgomery Point, on the White River, and changing their destination, went up the JAMES II . LUCAS. I^I White River in a pirogue, passed through the "Cut-off'* to Arkansas Post, where Mr. Lucas located for a time, and also at Little Rock. He turned his hand during this period to various avocations. He taught school and practiced law, passing his evenings in study. He worked for a time on the Arkansas Gazette, and set type to help out Mr. Wood- ruff, who was then editor of that sheet. He became the owner of a plantation, and had a ferry, when he w^ould convey foot-passengers over the river opposite his farm at a cost of twenty-tive cents. He worked his way slowly up, and was appointed by Governor Miller Probate Judge. He has since related that as judge, he did a fair business in marrying people. He officiated at the wedding of Albert' Pike, the poet-lawyer and statesman. On one occasion, he married a couple, using instead of a Bible to satisfy the scruples of the part}', a Webster's spelling book. In May 1832, he married Miss Mary E. Dessuseaux, the daughter of an early settler of Arkansas and a native of Cahokia, Illinois, who survives him. Among other positions filled by him at this period was that of Major in the Territorial militia of Arkansas, an appointment also tendered him by Governor James Miller in 1825. He continued to prosper, when, on the death of his brother William at St. Louis, in 1837, he received a letter from his father. Judge Lucas, requesting him to come and settle in St. Louis, as he was the only son who was living, and he was desirous that he should be near him. He obeyed the wishes of his father, and forsaking his prospects in Arkansas, removed to St. Louis, since which time he has been identified with its growth and prosperity. He arrived in 1838, having been here on a visit the year before. His father gave him what he called his farm, of thirty acres of land, then valued by the old gentleman at $30,000, and also placed him in charge of his estate. Mr. Lucas cultivated the farm^ and had his residence near the fountain in Lucas, now called Missouri Park. Judge J. B. C. Lucas died in 1843, and James H. Lucas and his sister, Mrs. Anna M. Hunt, succeeded to the estate. The original tract owned by the estate was bounded north by St. Charles street, on the east by Fourth, south by Market, and west by Pratte avenue. That embraced the Lucas property up to 1837. The last acquisition made by the old Judge v/as Cote Brilliante, consisting of 240 acres, which was bought for $150 in gold, and comprised the undivided land owned by Mr. Lucas and Mrs. Hunt. Mr. Lucas had also another farm, the New Madrid location, his country seat, called 192 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. " Normand}-," on the St. Charles Rock road, nine miles from the city. This portion, now belonging to the Lucas estate, comprises 800 acres. Also, at the mouth of the Missouri river, there are 643 acres belonging to the estate. This is an old Spanish fort, where the battle of Belle- fontaine was fought, in which fight Charles Lucas participated as Colonel. There is also the Courtois tract, consisting of 400 arpents, near Eureka station on the Meramec, still undivided ; also, 20 acres on the Clayton road, the old Barrett place. In the management of the city portion of his vast estate in building and improvements, Mr. Lucas devoted the remaining 3'ears of his protracted life, and but rarely ■engaged in the turbulent excitement of political affairs. He, however, consented to run for State Senator in 1844, and, being •elected, served four years with credit to himself. He secured the passage of an act reducing the statute of limitations in ejectment cases from twenty to ten years. In 1847, Mr. Lucas was brought forward as the candidate of the "Whig part}' for Mayor, his opponents being W. M. Campbell, Native American, and Judge Bryan Mullanphy, Democrat. Mr. Lucas was drawn into the canvass unwillingly, being drafted as it were, but having become a candidate, entered into the contest with spirit. The result was that Judge Mullanph}^ was elected, the vote being — Mullanphy, 2,453 ; Campbell, 1,829 ; Lucas, 962. The Whig party was then in its decadence, and the putting forward of Mr. Lucas as its candidate was in the nature of a forlorn hope in its struggle for existence. Immersed in the concerns of the large business connected with his immense property, he found time for, and was identified with, many public enterprises. He was an early champion of railroads in Mis- souri. He was among the original subscribers to the stock of the Missouri Pacific Railroad to the amount of $33,000, and was the second president of that company. In 1868 he was again elected president. He was instrumental in purchasing the State's lien at ^7,500,000, and with James Harrison negotiated a loan on the bonds. He was the first president and organizer of the St. Louis Gas Company. He was a director in the Boatmen's Savings Institution ; an extensive stockholder and director in many of the various moneyed institutions of the city, and was intrusted with many responsible positions. In 1857 the banking firm of Lucas, Symonds & Co., of St. Louis, and the branch in San Francisco, under the firm of Lucas, Turner & Co., went under with the financial panic of that 3'ear. In these financial troubles Mr. Lucas assumed the entire liabilities, and paid off JAMES H. LUCAS. I93 every creditor, with ten per cent, interest, the loss to him amounting in the aggregate to about half a million of dollars. The debtors of the banking houses he never sued, but accepted whatever was offered. In 1856 Mr. Lucas sought a temporary relaxation from his labors in an extensive tour through Europe, his traveling companions being his son William and his daughter, Mrs. Hicks, now the wife of Judge Hager of California. He visited the home of his ancestors in Nor- mandy, and bought the old homestead near Pont-Audemer. Returning home he attended with assiduous industr\' to the management of his business. Under the transforming hand of time and the rise in the value of real estate, his riches increased with the rapid progress of St. Louis. At every corner and in every nook, houses, great and small, have risen, like exhalations from the ground. Structures were reared and finished before one was aware that they had been commenced, and from the little fur trading post, with four thousand inhabitants, the city has grown up to a size of metropolitan grandeur, with hotels, churches and palatial residences rising on every side. Mr. Lucas has seen all this, bore a part of it, and his name will long be associated with these monuments of our history and prosperity. He owned two hundred and twenty-five dwellings and stores previous to the division of his property in 1872. His taxes last year on his portion of the estate were $126,000. He had in all three hundred and odd tenants. Before the division two years ago of two millions to his wife and eight children, the income was $40,000 per month, amounting to nearly half a million annually. After giving away the two millions, the portion of the estate left is estimated by good judges at five millions. He was also largely interested in the Pilot Knob Iron Company, owning one-fifth of the stock, which he gave away to his children, being $25,000 to each, and not included in the two millions given them as before stated. At an early day his father. Judge Lucas, lived in a stone house on Seventh street, between Market and Chestnut, and he also had a farm residence in the woods, on the site of the First Presbyterian church, and one of the apple trees of the old orchard is yet standing. The residence of Mr. Lucas was for many years on the south-east corner of Ninth and Pine, known now as the "Porcher mansion," but of late years he resided in an elegant dwelling on Lucas Place, bought of John How in 1867. Mr. Lucas, though the possessor of vast means, was many times a borrower of money. He was at some periods what is called "land 13 194 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. poor." About twenty years ago, while attending a meeting at the Planters', he told a well-known citizen that he was worth two millions in real estate, but that he frequently had not money enough to do his marketing. Many instances might be given of Mr. Lucas' liberality, but a few will suffice : He projected and built Lucas Market, an enterprise, it is true, that tended to advance his own propert}^ adjoining. He gave a quit claim deed to the old jail lot. He donated to the Historical Society a lot valued at $10,000, situated on Locust, between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets. He donated $11,000 toward building the Southern Hotel. Recently he encouraged the New Exchange enterprise by selling a portion of the ground to the association at a low price, and by taking $20,000 stock, with assurances that the Fourth street front, when built, would be equal in elegance and architectural design to the building of the Chamber of Commerce Association. He gave to the cit}' Missouri Park. Two or three times he and Mrs. Hunt gave lots for a Cathedral, besides giving lots and donations of money to numerous charitable institutions. The following instance of his liberality may also be mentioned in this connection: At the close of the war, in 1865, a man came up here from Little Rock, with $8,000 in "starvation bonds," which he endea- vored to sell, in order to meet his pressing wants. The only offer he received was twenty cents on the dollar for the bonds. Mr. Lucas took them at their face, making only one request, that the party selling them would, on his return to Arkansas, give "Old Lark}-," who was in indi- gent circumstances from the war, and whom he knew, some meat and flour. The bonds he subsequently gave awa}- to old Dr. Price to pay his taxes with, as the}- were good in Arkansas for that purpose. Mr. Lucas was a man of marked capacity and decided character, and of the most undoubted integrity. He was modest and unassuming in his deportment, and retiring in his habits, with no disposition to put himself forward, but in whatever position he was placed he was emphatic and decided. With all these elements of a strong character, he was fitted to assume the responsibilities devolved upon him by his father to manage a great estate, which, by his prudence, foresight and industry, has been largely increased in value and kept intact for the benefit of his famih*. Mr. Lucas died November 9, 1873, and his remains were buried on the 13th, from St. John's Roman Catholic Church, thence to Calvary Cemeterv. k? ,2^i JAMES HARRISON, NOTHER one of the men whose Hves were not in vain, and whose names go to make up the hst of the honored dead of St. Louis, is James Harrison, who, while Hving, gave his best energies to the advancement of the city of his adoption, and dying left a void in the commercial world which none could fill. Mr. Harrison was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, October lo, 1803. His early years, like those of some of our most honored citizens, were passed upon a farm, assisting his father in agricultural pursuits, and to this fact ma}^ be attributed that bodily vigor which in after-life enabled him to endure the fatigues into which his adventurous disposition led him. His educational advantages were somewhat limited, but he made the most of such as were at his command, and obtained a good common school education. From his youth up he was eminently practical, and preferred an active business life, in daih^ contact with men, to that of a student among books and retirement. During the year 1822, while he was yet a mere youth, he left his home in Kentucky, and, prompted by a desire of adventure and enter- prise to be up and doing, he went to Fayette, Howard county, Missouri, where he engaged, in compan}- with James Glasgow, in mercantile pur- suits, which he followed with great success for several years. In 1830, he married Maria Louisa Prewitt, daughter of Joel Prewitt, Esq., of Howard county, Missouri, and sister of Mrs. Wm. N. Switzer and of Dr. Prewitt, of St. Louis, who died in 1847, leaving four chil- dren — a son and three daughters, all of whom survive their parents. During the years 1831 and 1832, he led a busy but adventurous life in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, where, on one occasion, he was one of two only out of a party of thirteen who escaped death at the hands of a body of Indians in a running fight ; the remaining eleven were murdered and scalped. From 1836 to 1840, his partnership with Mr. Glasgow still continuing under the style of Glasgow & Harrison, his field of operations lay in Arkansas, where his enterprises met with the most flattering success. 196 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. • In 1840, Mr. Harrison came to St. Louis, with the intention of making this city his future home. He saw in the small city the nucleus of a vast metropolis. He foresaw the importance of the central city, and the wealth that must in time be poured into the lap of the future capital of the West. The immense mineral wealth of Missouri was known to him earlier than to most others, and he determined to devote his time and talent to its development. He formed connections with men who were eminent for their business capacity and wealth ; and with their aid con- ducted their large mercantile, speculative and manufacturing operations to most satisfactory results. In 1840 he was one of the firm of Glas- gow, Harrison & Co. In 1845 he was a prime mover in the formation of the "Iron Mountain Company," consisting of James Harrison, P. Chouteau and F. Valle, of St. Louis ; C. C. Ziegler and John Scott, of Ste. Genevieve ; F. Pratt, of Fredericktown ; Aug. Belmont, S. Ward and Chas. Mersch, of New York. This Company gives promise, through its known resources and progress, to become ere long one of the largest producers of iron in the world. Meantime, he became a partner in the firm of Chouteau, Harrison & Valle. The high social position, business talent and wealth of this house have done much to build up and establish, not only the iron interests of St. Louis, but also the general reputation of its entire manufacturing and mercantile com- munity. A volume might be written describing in detail all the gigantic and beneficent projects that Mr. Harrison planned, and by his own indom- itable will and energy brought to a successful termination. In all his undertakings, he readily secured the co-operation of the most eminent men of the city, and, in turn, he was always ready to assist, with his money and advice, others who had useful and productive projects of their own. A marked characteristic of Mr. Harrison was to engage in important enterprises alone. He had marvelously keen foresight, and this enabled him to see openings for extensive transactions, while his courage fitted him for carrying them into execution, even when attended with peril to health and life ; and his prudence and integrity secured the ready co-operation of capitalists, as well as the recognition of his many sterling business qualities. With such advantages as these, he embarked in various enterprises in the Southern States and Mexico, projected on a grand scale, and involving personal danger, while they required for their execution all the resources of a well-balanced mind and courage- ous heart. In these undertakings he was successful, for no personal JAMES HARRISON. I97 danger or privation ever deterred him from completing a cherished scheme. He was always a staunch defender of home interests. Everything, in short, which promised to be of public utility, received his attention and encouragement. And every man, no matter how poor or humble, whose talents were likely to be valuable to the community, was always treated b}' him with the utmost respect and kindness. He was a friend and patron of railroads, and contributed much toward the building of the "Iron Mountain," the "Pacific," and others now leading out of St. Louis in every direction. The branch of industry to which he devoted the last years of his active life, w^as the production of iron, from native ore. He early per- ceived the inestimable wealth which lay hidden in the bowels of the Iron Mountain and vicinity, and, as before stated, he, in 1845, set about securing a large interest in them. Long-continued discouragements of various kinds, and enormous expense attended the establishment of this branch of industr}^ but the unwear3ang energy of Mr. Harrison and associates triumphed over every obstacle, and laid the foundation of a business which has since grown and increased to immense proportions. Mr. Harrison lived long enough to see many of his prophecies, in reference to St. Louis and the productions of the State, fulfilled. He had the satisfaction of seeing magnificent railroad trains starting daily from St. Louis to the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He saw furnaces springing up rapidly for the production of iron, and shops for its manufacture, and assisted in their erection. He lived to see his favorite city nearly double its population in the last ten years, being the fourth in the list on the continent, and withal, wonderfully rich in wealth-producing elements, and doubly rich in civilizing institutions, culture and benevolence. He must have been conscious, too, that a large share of this wonderful progress and material prosperit}^ was due to his exertions. He possessed in a rare degree the talent of understanding character and of winning confidence. His knowledge of men enabled him to select and attach to himself, as partners, friends, associates and employes, men of talent and honesty, each worthy of confidence and eminently fitted for the work he was to perform. Man}^ of these still survive the leading spirit ; and all are distinguished as men of enlarged views, fertility of resources, persevering energy, and all the other qualities which make men leaders and exemplars for their fellow-men, iind benefactors of their country. He had a high appreciation of 198 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. culture, and especially of the scientiiic education he had not an oppor- tunit}^ of acquiring in early life. It cannot be said that James Harrison toiled for wealth alone, but rather to expend his energies and abilities on worthy objects, and to effect some great good. It is true, also, that not a taint of suspicion of dishonor attaches to any of his numerous and large transactions. While living, he was, indeed, a shining light and a noble example to all whose aims were elevated and good ; and we are only uttering a truth when we say that, though dead, the memory of this good man still speaks to the living, inciting his fellow-citizens to pursue the paths of usefulness and honor. In person Mr. Harrison was tall and erect. His face always indicated gravity and true dignity. His manner repressed undue familiarity, while his courteous bearing attracted all whom he deemed deserving and worthy. In his habits he was remarkably temperate ; hence his industry was unflagging, his energy unceasing ; while a well-known trait in his character was a marvelous serenity under misfortune, and an absence of elation in periods of special prosperity. On the 3d day of August 1870, Mr. Harrison passed away in the midst of his usefulness, leaving the record of an honest man. His death was an incalculable loss to the community in which he had so long been a leading spirit. The imperishable evidences of his labors and enter- prise are stamped in unmistakable characters upon works more enduring than bronze or marble ; and the ability with which he grappled the great commercial and manufacturing problems of his adopted State, adds a lustre to a name that Missourians will always be proud to honor. JOSEPH CHARLESS. OF the many illustrious citizens of St. Louis who have gone to their last resting place, no one is remembered with more universal feel- ings of affection for his many sterling qualities of head and heart, or more profound regret at his death, than the late Joseph Charless. Although many years have passed away since he was laid in his grave, yet his memory still lingers in the hearts of his fellow-citizens, even as the fragrance of the rose hovers near long after the leaves are withered and crumbled to ashes. Joseph Charless was born January 17, 1804, in Lexington, Kentuck}-. He was a descendant of a ver}^ reputable Irish family, forced to flee their native land on account of the father's active participation in the rebellion which brought the patriotic Emmett to the scaftbld. His father, Joseph Charless, participated in that eventful struggle, his whole soul going with the party whose object w^as to break the shackles that enslaved his country ; and when the plans of this noble and daring enterprise were discovered, he, like a great many others, sought an asylum in France to avoid the halter or transportation to the penal colonies, and soon afterward emigrated to the United States. The elder Charless was a printer by trade, and he established himself in the city of Philadelphia, and worked for Mathew Carey, who at that time did the largest publishing business in that city ; and it was a frequent boast of his that he assisted in printing the first quarto edition of the Bible ever printed in the United States. In 1798 he married Sarah Gouch, and in 1807 came to St. Louis. In July 1808 he started the first paper ever printed west of the Mississippi, the Missouri Gazette^ now the most influential journal of the Southwest, and known as the Missouri Rcfiihlican. Mrs. Sarah Charless, the mother of the subject of the present sketch, was a most exemplary Christian lady, and was the first to agitate the organization for building the first Presbyterian church in St. Louis. She was noted for her abundant charity, and it was a well-known fact that no stranger or unfortunate mendicant was ever turned from her hospitable doors unrelieved. She died loved and regretted. 200 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. The first years of young Joseph Charless were spent under the tui- tion of the village school-master, receiving such instruction as the early schools afforded. When he attained such an age as to be useful, he was put to work in his father's printing office, where he picked much useful information. His father intended him for the legal profession, and with that object in view, young Charless entered the office of Josiah Spaulding, where he read law for some time, and afterward went to complete his legal studies at Trans^dvania University, Ken- tucky. In the meantime, his father had sold out the Missouri Gazette and entered the drug business. In 1828, Mr. Charless went into part- nership with his father in this business, and afterward became the head of the large firm of Charless, Blow «fe Co. In November 1831, he married Miss Charlotte T. Blow, daughter of Captain Peter Blow, of Virginia, a lady much admired for her beauty and accomplishments. From the date of his entering into business with his father until his death, which occurred June 3, 1859, Mr. Charless could not be said to be a public man by virtue of his holding office or being prominent in political affairs ; yet was he a most valuable citizen. In all public enterprises in which the city of St. Louis was concerned, Mr. Charles never failed to supply pecuniary aid. No citizen had a quicker per- ception to foresee advantages which would be likely to arise from public improvements, and none advocated them more warmly. Every pubhc institution, ever}^ benevolent movement, every church, w^as made the richer on account of his munificent donations, and his charities were of that unostentatious nature that the public knew but little of them ; and those who knew him most intimatel}' speak in the highest terms of his liberality to the poor and unfortunate. In all works of municipal importance, there was Mr. Charless to be found. He had been a member of the Board of Aldermen, and a director of the pubhc schools. He was president of the State Bank of Missouri ; also of the Mechanics' Bank of St. Louis. He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church, and was one of the most active in building the City University and Fulton College, which latter is under control of the Presbyterian Church. He was also one of the directors of the Pacific Railroad. It is impossible to over-estimate a character so pure and elevated as that of Mr. Charless. His greatness was not found in the paths usually trod by the soldier, or the orator ; he was not to be found in the arena of political strife, or in the hot pursuit of professional renown. His JOSEPH CHARLESS. 20I sphere in life was the business circle, and his name in St. Louis always carried respect and influence. He had seen many changes in the city, and had helped as much as any man of his day to transform its poverty to wealth, its log houses to palatial residences, and to extend the far- reaching arms of its commerce to all parts of the continent. The tributes of unsolicited praise and of unaftected grief, presented b}^ sorrowing thousands at the time of his death, speak in louder tones than an}^ faint tribute our pen might write to his memory. He fills an honored tomb, whereon every organization with which he had an}- connection laid its wreath, as a token of regard and affection to one of the purest and best of men. His funeral took place June 6, 1859, fi"oni the Second Presbyterian Church, corner of Walnut and Fifth streets, the site of the present Temple. Thousands sought entrance to the church, but in vain, so large was the multitude which had gathered to ' pay the last tokens of respect to his honored remains. The funeral sermon was delivered by Rev. Dr. McPheeters, pastor of the church ; when all that remained mortal of one of St. Louis' most honored citi- zens was laid beneath the murmuring myrtles of that beautiful city of the dead — Bellefontaine Cemeterv. J^d A) Z^*-^ !-«_ JAMES L. D. MORRISON. ON. JAMES L. D. MORRISON, a descendant of one of the oldest American families in the Mississippi Valley, was born in the ancient town of Kaskaskia, Illinois, April 12, 1816. His father, Robert Morrison, came from Philadelphia about the year 1792, and settled in Kaskaskia; and his mother was Eliza A. Lowr}^ daughter of Colonel Lowry, of Baltimore, and sister of James L. Donaldson, one of the Spanish land commissioners, with whom she came to the country in 1805. His descent is entirely Irish on both sides. His early education was as extensive as the youth of that early period in the countr3''s history received, but in this respect he was particularly fortunate in the instructions of his mother, who was tor many years looked upon as the most brilliant and intellectual woman in the Missis- sippi Valley. At the age of fourteen, young Morrison started out on some adven- tures which made lasting impressions on him, and doubtless, to a great extent, had much to do with the foundation of his character. His father was the largest mail contractor in Illinois, with routes extending from Kaskaskia to Shawneetown, Cairo, Vandaha, Palmyra, Cape Girardeau and other points, and was paid by drafts upon the different post-offices. While still a young man he was sent to collect the drafts all over the country, and take the money to Kaskaskia. In the winter of 183 1-' 32,. while returning from Palmyra, Clarksville and other points, he found the Missouri river frozen over at St. Charles. His uncle, who resided at this place insisted on his remaining a few days, which he did. In crossing the river his horse broke through the ice, but before he disap- peared, young Morrison secured his bridle, saddle and saddle-bags, the latter well filled with silver, and with these strapped to his back, he proceeded to the residence of Mr. George Collier, near the present corner of Pine street and Leffingwell avenue. This adventure, and the pluck displayed by the young man, so pleased Mr. Collier, that he remained a staunch friend of Morrison's through life. Should a mail 204 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. boy be taken sick or become disabled, 3'oung Morrison was ever ready to take his place. The spring of 1832 found 3'oung Morrison carrying the mail two days in the week, and attending school three days, in addition to attending store at Belleville, Illinois. This spring he received the appointment of midshipman in the United States navy. His first cruise was in the Pacific ocean, on board the sloop-of-war Fairfield, which lasted about twenty-seven months. .Returning from this voyage, after being the hero of some stirring adventures in the harbor of Callao, in Peru, in giving aid to the- ship- ping which was being fired upon, he was transferred to the West India squadron, Commodore Dallas' flag-ship. An attack of rheumatism, which he had contracted from exposure, sent him to the Naval Hospital at Pensacola, Florida, where he remained eight months. During these long months, in order to beguile the weary hours of the hospital pallet, he read the first volume of Blackstone's Commentaries, and through it became interested in legal studies, and, sending to Mobile for Black- stone and Kent's Commentaries, for about seven months gave them his attention. In 1836, he returned home, and entered the office of Judge Pope as a student. His close application, in addition to his previous studies, qualified him for the bar in about a year, when he was admitted to practice. His pay at this time, as a midshipman, was but nineteen dollars per month, and it took two months' pay to purchase the eight volumes he bought at Mobile. The first one hundred dollars young Morrison made in practicing law, was in Jackson county, Illinois, where he quashed an indictment for murder. With this he entered one hundred acres of land, which he still possesses. Upon the resignation of Hon. Hugh L. White, United States Senator from Tennessee, happening to be in Washington, he attended a public dinner offered to that distinguished gentleman, made a speech, resigned his place in the navy, joined the political for- tunes of the Old Whig party, entered fearlessl}^ into the Harrison cam- paign, rode in a canoe from Belleville to Springfield, Illinois, spoke at every cross-roads in favor of his party, became its candidate for Lieutenant-Governor, and remained one of its strongest adherents until its dissolution, when he became a Democrat. For a number of years Mr. Morrison was a leader of the Democracy of Southern Illinois, and was far in the advance upon all public ques- tions. He has represented the counties of St. Clair and Monroe in the JAMES L. D. MORRISON. 205 State Senate, and St. Clair in the House. For years he was the leader of the Anti-State-policy party, and he it was who pricked the bubble and enabled St. Louis to gain the roads concentrating at Alton under the State-policy system, and which brought to a close the war against St. Louis. Mr. Morrison was always a very active railroad man, and ever advo- cated this policy in Illinois. He secured the charter of the Ohio and Mississippi when no one asked for it ; he also introduced the Illinois Central bill in the Legislature, advocating the measure in a speech of much force. The Belleville road, and the original Bruff charter of the Vandalia Hne, owe their existence to his energy against the State policy. The Ohio and Mississippi charter was passed under very peculiar circumstances. Governor Wood, of Quincy, had given Mr. Morrison to understand that he would vote for the original Bruft' charter. The two parties in the Senate stood thirteen State policy, twelve Anli- State. Wood's vote, on the final passage, was necessary to carry it, and his was the last on the calender. Some misgivings existed on both sides as to the way he was going to vote, and when he voted No ! amidst the most furious excitement, Mr. Morrison rushed across the Senate Chamber to Wood's seat to get him to change his vote. Gillespie, seeing the movement, also rushed over to Wood's seat; a personal coUision occurred between the two enthusiastic members, and the Senate adjourned in a perfect bedlam of uproar and commotion. Sena- tor Wood immediately promised to vote for a railroad to Vincennes, and two days after, the Ohio and Mississippi was chartered as a peace- oftering. Mr. Morrison was a most unrelenting enemy of Know-Nothingism. On the floor of the Senate Chamber he denounced in unmeasured and forcible terms the doings and workings of that secret organization, and such was the effect of his speech that resolutions condemnatory of the order were immediately passed. Upon the breaking out of the Mexican war, Mr. Morrison raised the first company of volunteers in Illinois, and coming to St. Louis, tendered its services to the St. Louis Legion. This, however, was rejected, and the company was made the nucleus of the Second Illinois regiment, of which he was elected Lieutenant-Colonel. This regiment, at Buena Vista, lost thirteen commissioned officers and ninety men killed. Upon the close of the war, the Legislature of Illinois presented Colonel Morrison with a sword, suitably inscribed, in recognition of his services in the field. 2o6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Retiring from the army, he again turned his attention to the practice of the law, and finally to land speculations, in which he amassed quite a large fortune, the most of which he has spent in indulging an inordinate desire for foreign travel, having made some four or five different trips across the Atlantic, and passed several years in Europe, visiting the principal points of interest in the Old World. Colonel Morrison is a man of no mean or ordinar}^ legal attainments, and possesses an order of talent which would have secured him promi- nence at the Bar had he given his maturer years to his profession. He has not practiced law in Missouri, except in such cases as he himself is personally interested in. He is now engaged in prosecuting several very important cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, upon what is known as the Gregoire league square, near St. Louis, 4,500 arpents of which he contends belong to his wife and himself. He has ever taken an active part in politics. Immediately upon his joining the Democratic party, he was elected to Congress. The Repub- licans looked upon him as a renegade, and a partisan speech of Hon. Joshua Giddings called forth from Colonel Morrison one of the happiest eftbrts of his life. It was arranged among the Illinoisians that he should be tortured by all kinds of questions, in order to weaken his argument. Morrison had twenty-four hours' notice of this intention ; and one of the most interesting running contests that ever occurred in the House ensued. Quick at repartee, he baffled his interrogators, and proved himself a match in debate for the entire Republican delegation from Illinois. He has ever since declined political honors, but never neglects an opportunity to assist his political friends. In 1842, Colonel Morrison was married to Miss Mar3^Cartin, daughter of Governor Cartin of Illinois. Three children living are the fruits of this marriao-e. In 1861, he formed his second matrimonial connection with Miss Adele Sarp3s daughter of the late John B. Sarp}-, an old and eminent merchant of St. Louis. Of this marriage, two daughters are living. The present Mrs. Morrison is one of the most accomplished ladies of St. Louis, speaking the English, French and German languages fluently, and exhibiting a high order of talent in man}^ of the fine arts, especially painting, of which many exhibitions of her skill now adorn the walls of their city residence. MRS. ANNE L. HUNT. IN this year of our Lord, 1875, when centennial celebrations are taking place or are in preparation all over our land, there is living in St. Louis, with faculties almost as bright as in girlhood, a lady, whose recollections extend into that almost traditionary period when this city was a hamlet, and a few determined men maintained the supremacy of civilization inside the fortification that gave them security. Mrs. Anne L. Hunt, the only daughter of Hon. J. B. C. Lucas, and sister of the late Hon. James H. Lucas, is a relic of the grace and culture of the earlier times. With unclouded recollection and choice descriptive phrase, she can now trace the little incidents and circum- stances that fill in the picture of the earlv French settlement, the kindl}^ spirit, the transplanted cultivation, the proper pride, that made up the charm of a community never lacking in the graces of social life. John B. C. Lucas, a Frenchman by birth, the father of Mrs. Hunt, was educated in the law at Caen, Normandy. His father before him was a King's Counsellor at Pont-Audemer. When Benjamin Franklin was received at the French Court and accorded so high distinction in one of the proudest and most polite capitals of the world, Mr. Lucas came to the determination of pushing his own fortunes in that new world where merit was the measure of success. Himself a 3'ounger son, and bounded in by restrictions of which he was impatient, he came to America. When the United States acquired possession of the vast territory of Louisiana, he was living near Pittsburg, and was a Repre- sentative in the United States Congress. He had previously visited St. Louis, and his wife was highly desirous of making their home in a French colony, and averse to a residence in Washington, where his public duties called him. He resigned his seat in Congress, and was appointed United States Commissioner for the adjudication of land titles in this district, then known b}' the name of Upper Louisiana. He was first appointed judge and commissioner for the adjustment of land titles in 1805, and was from time to time re-appointed, until the admission of Missouri as a State in 1820, when he retired from public life. His 2oS bio(;raphical sketches. duties during that period were arduous and delicate, involving, as they did, the adjudication of land claims growing out of loosely defined grants under different occupations. Earl}^ in the month of June 1805, he embarked with his family in a flat-boat for his new home beyond the Mississippi. Arriving at the mouth of the Ohio, the rest of the voyage was made in a keel-boat, and the whole journey occupied about three months, as he landed in this city early in September. Anne Lucas was born on the 23d of September 1796, and was at the time of this voyage an observing child of eight 3'ears of age. The dangers of the trip were by no means contemptible. The Indians, though not hostile, were not to be depended on, and Mrs. Hunt remembers that when passing Shawneetown in the night, her mother was much terrified at the yells with which they were celebrating some extraordinary occasion. The St. Louis of 1805 that Mrs. Hunt remembers, would be to the eyes of the present, a very queer, old-fashioned town. The landing was about Market street, and above that point extended a blufl' upon the river tront. A high wall protected the rear from the treacherous savages. On the inside of the wall were steps that the soldiers climbed to look over the top for observation. At the corners of the wall were towers. But three or four houses in the place enjoyed the luxurious distinction of having plank floors, most of them being floored with puncheons. There was no saw-mill in St. Louis or its vicinity, and plank had to be brought from a distance. So, too, there was no painting done, and but two of the trading houses or stores had painted signs. These were "Faulkner & Comages," and "Hunt & Hankinson's New Cash Store." These, the imported specimens of a foreign art, were spelled over and over again by the children, and seemed to them the emblems of metropolitan dignity. The stores kept all classes of goods. Everything they had to sell arrived by the most costly trans- portation — over the mountains from the East, and then down the Ohio by flat-boat, and up the Mississippi by keel-boat. The passage across the mountains was dangerous. Even up to 1814, and later, gentlemen crossing the Alleghanies would unite in parties, and hire guides and escorts for their protection. The first English school was taught by a man named Rotchford, who joined the expedition of Aaron Burr, which came to such an untimely end in the pursuit of a dazzling dream of empire. Rotchford was succeeded by Tompkins, and the latter has been frequently spoken of as the first teacher of an English school. Hon. J. B. C. Lucas' family consisted of his wife, who came with him from France, his sons, Robert, Charles, William and James, and MRS. ANNA L. HUNT. 209 an only daughter, Anne, who subsequently became Mrs. Hunt. The younger boys attended the village school, but the mother charged her- self with the instruction of the girl up to the time of her death, when a teacher was employed in the family. When Mr. Lucas first came to St. Louis, he built a house on Second street. Later, about 1812, he built anew on what is now the corner of Seventh and Market streets, and was thought by some to be imprudent in living out so far, and exposing a grown daughter to the danger of being stolen away by the Indians. It was he who laid out the town from Market to St. Charles street, and from Fourth to Seventh streets, about 1827 or 1828. Miss Anne Lucas and Captain Theodore Hunt were married in June 1815. Mrs. Hunt had, by this marriage, eight children, only three of whom lived beyond the age of childhood, and these, a son and two daughters, are now living. Captain Hunt had been a naval officer, but resigned and came to St. Louis. Here he held the office of recorder for many years, until the election of General Jackson led to another appointment. Subsequently he was engaged in trade with Manuel Lisa. St. Louis was the depot for the goods with which they purchased furs. The furs were shipped to New York by the way of New Orleans. Captain Hunt died in 1832, and four years later Mrs. Hunt married Wilson P. Hunt, a cousin of her first husband. Wilson P. Hunt was one of the early merchants of St. Louis. In 1809, he had crossed the Rocky Mountains, and in the pursuit of trade, had gone to the mouth of the Columbia River. He died in 1842, leaving no children. The clearness of Mrs. Hunt's early recollections received a striking confirmation in 1844, when, with her husband, she visited her birth- place for the first time since she had left it forty years before. The picture of it which she carried in her mind was as distinct and sharply cut as the outline of a cameo that might be held in the hand. From her description they were able, by no other clue, to find the old place — changed indeed, yet, in all its permanent features, the very original of which her recollection carried the copy. It is not impossible that to the resolute character of Mrs. Hunt's mother, to which may have been added something of prophetic light, may be traced the foundation of some of the noblest fortunes of our city. Mr. Lucas never exhibited a desire to own real estate, but she, on the contrary, was anxious to own lots. Once, when they lived near Pittsburgh, he had taken a lot for a debt when he found he could get nothing else, and had afterward traded it for a horse. In time the same piece of ground came to bear a value of thirty thousand dollars, 14 2IO BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. and Mrs, Lucas held the opinion that much the same character of rise would take place in St. Louis. She certainly had all the argument on her side, in view of the one piece of experience she could quote, and Hon. J. B. C. Lucas, instead of lending out his salary as he had been accustomed to do, bought a lot two arpens in width, commencing at Fourth street, and running back to what is now Jefferson avenue, twenty-four streets from the river. In time he bought seven of these lots, extending from Market street to near what is now St. Charles street. This territory, covering over one hundred of the most valua- ble blocks in the city of St. Louis, cost him then about a dollar and a half an acre. Had he been gifted with an actual prescience he could have made no more productive investment for his children. Mrs. Hunt, after six years of wedded life with her second husband, was again a widow in 1842. Her cares and duties have been found within the domain that bounds true womanly ambition — in the family and social life. Blessed with a fortune unusually large, and happy in an interesting famil}^ that now numbers among its members almost a score of grandchildren, and nearly as many great-grandchildren, her life has been one of practical beneficence and unostentatious liberality. Possessing in a marked degree the strong vitality and quick apprehen- sion which distinguish the family to which she belongs, she has taken a deep interest in the improvement of the city that holds the objects of her hope and love, and which has achieved every stage of glory during the period of her lively recollection. Her charities have doubtless been more extended and munificent than those of any other individual now living in St. Louis. Were it permitted to name a probable aggregate, or to specify single instances of munificence, few could fail to be aston- ished, and none could withhold admiration. Yet all this has been unostentatiously done, as becomes one who had in view but the gratifi- cation of a pure and noble impulse. HON. ERASTUS WELLS. IT maybe said, with a good deal of truth, that the lives of our self- made men furnish a more satisfactor}- and practical illustration of "histor}' teaching by example" than an}^ other to which the attention of our young men can be directed, especially that large class of young men who, unfriended and alone, are compelled to strike out in the bleak world to find, or make, their future sphere and home. While rich and poor live in like abundance — the former in wealth and the latter in hope — it is also true that the great end of a good education is to form a reasonable man. The young man who, with superior advantages, com- prehends this fact, has already made a good beginning in life. The self-made men of the West are those who have improved wisely the golden opportunities of the most impressible period of their lives, and who have never abused any portion of the remainder. While the countr}' has many notable examples of self-made men, the West furnishes a class of men who have fought the battle of life under greater hardships and severer struggles than, perhaps, any other section of the countr3% and their victor}^ has been proportionateh' more brilliant than that of the same class elsewhere. In the West, to hew out an empire from the wilderness, has taxed the hands and brains of all to the utmost. The self-made men of the West belong to that large class of the human family whose energies are developed by opposition. They commenced life aggressively, and the harder events pushed them the more aggressive they became. They never slackened under any cir- cumstances, and refused to halt before any obstacles that stood in their way. Forge and anvil, axe or adze, spade or shovel — no matter what implement they worked with — they drove ahead from morning until night. If the mortgage clung to the cottage, hard work must lift it. They pulled bravely against every tide — held up with buoyant hearts and unflinching courage under skies that, perhaps, were often ashen and sober, and walked with a firm step over "leaves that were often withered and sere." Theirs has been no ro3'al road to success, nor was there any reserve corps to step up at the last moment, fresh and vigor- 212 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ous, to bear off the laurels. All alike have borne the brunt of the battle. The fame of fortune perhaps nerved their younger days with its bright visions, and the stimulus of hope urged them on. When the day was won, the rank and file received their just reward. Erastus Wells, of St. Louis, is one of those self-made men who is now reaping the reward of that indomitable energy and industry evinced in his early life. Mr. Wells was born in Jefferson County, New York, December 2, 1823. By the death of his father he was left an orphan, and penniless, at an early age, and he experienced all the hardships incident to such a start in life. From his twelfth to his sixteenth year he worked on a farm, and during the winter months attended a district school. The school-house was built of logs, and it required a tramp of two miles through the deep snows of those Northern winters to reach it. At the age of six- teen, seized with a spirit of enterprise, he left the farm to seek his fortune in the world. Shortly after his father's death, young Wells proceeded to Water- town, New York, where he soon obtained a situation in a grocery store, at a salary of eight dollars per month. He remained here but a short time, for in the year 1839 ^^^ ^^^ ^^"^ ^^ Lockport, New York, engaged as a clerk, for a firm in which ex-Governor Washington Hunt was a partner. Here his salary only ranged from eight to twelve dollars per month. During these early years he found an abundance of hard work, and had to exercise the most rigid economy. But even out of his paltry salary he managed to save something. At the end of three or four years he had laid by the sum of $140, an amount in those days of considerable magnitude to a young man who had earned it by hard work and close economy. With this sum in his pocket, young Wells turned his face towards the West, of which he had heard glowing accounts, and decided to reach St. Louis, then one of the most enter- prising points on the Western frontier. Mr. Wells arrived in St. Louis in September 1843, and at once engaged in business. He formed a partnership with Calvin Case, and on November 2d, of the same year, started the first omnibus line ever seen west of the Mississippi river. The rolling-stock of this line consisted, at the commencement, of a single 'bus. It was a very rude affair compared with the splendid establishments seen in St. Louis to- day, having no glass windows, but curtains instead, and elliptic springs in place of the present low flat ones. It was built in this city at a cost of two hundred dollars. The route was from Third and Market, along HON. ERASTUS WELLS. 213 Third and Broadway to North Market street, and the receipts for the first six months did not exceed $1.50 per day. We have ascertained that the sum named, as the daily receipts during the period given, is approximately correct, — for while Mr. Wells was not only proprietor of the line, he was also driver, fare taker, and, during many of his trips, the sole occupant of his vehicle. The citizens of St. Louis praised the enterprise, and admired the pluck and energy of the man who had started it, but they were accus- tomed to walk — it was cheaper, and they continued to walk. The omnibus business did not pay until Mr. Wells was nearly discouraged. At this period the growth of the city was rapid ; its limits were extend- ing ; residences were removed farther out toward the suburbs, and the business of the city was spreading out over a broader area. It was not long before the fact was demonstrated to many of the more prosperous, well-to-do citizens, that riding was more profitable than walking, when time was considered. In 1844, business had so increased that the enterprising proprietor put on another 'bus. Mr. Wells now began to make money. Within a period of five years, business on the line had so increased that they had from twelve to fifteen 'busses running on said line. For nearly two years Mr. Wells continued to drive one of the 'busses himself. He was not afraid of work ; he had from early boyhood systematically learned to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, and he was not the man to lean on others for subsistence. He was a deserving man, always pushing things : with a brain by nature and habit nicely adjusted to the reception, retention and consideration of one thing at a time. But he was a man of expansive ideas, restive under restraint, and in the wide domain of Industry he looked about to see what more could be accomplished. The omnibus line already started was now permanently established, and, finding a favorable opportunity, Mr. Wells sold out his interest, and remained out of business for about one year. He then purchased a small lead factory ; but contact with the poisonous lead soon prostrated him on a sick bed, and caused him to abandon the business. He then erected a saw mill, located in the upper part of the city, but subsequently leased it to others. In the latter part of 1850, Erastus Wells, Calvin Case and one or two others, forming the firm of Case & Co., purchased all the lines in the city, and established a line of busses between St. Louis and Belleville, Illinois, and subsequently one on Olive street, between Fourth and Seventeenth streets. The Belleville line was very remunerative ; the 214 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. fare each way was fifty cents, the busses being always crowded. In January 1856, the copartnership was dissolved, by the death of the senior member, who was killed in the memorable accident on the Pacific Railroad, at the Gasconade bridge. The difierent lines were owned and operated by the surviving partners, but separately, until 1859, when the street railway mania reached St. Louis, and the omnibuses were speedily superseded. The St. Louis, Missouri, Citizens' and People's Railway Companies were formed in the spring of 1859, and the first compan}^ that started their cars, was the Missouri, on their Olive street line, on July 4, 1859. The first president was Erastus Wells, who has filled that position up to the present time. They have now nine miles of track. Thirty-two years ago there was one omnibus running, carrying not more than fifty passengers per diem ; now we have ten distinct lines of street railway, each doing a prosperous business and representing a large amount of invested capital. So far, we find that Mr. Wells' life had been an active and progres- sive one. Unbefriended and penniless at the start, he had had much to contend against, and many things to overcome that would have discour- aged many young men of less determination than he possessed. He found those at whose hands he sought employment far from being gen- erous or magnanimous ; but he was not long in learning that he would have to depend upon his own physical and mental resources to become a self-made man. He found life as earnest, active and aggressive in his early days as he finds it, perhaps, to-day ; the road to fame and wealth a long one ; but where there is an earnestness of purpose and a persistent, untiring devotion to business, there will always be an ultimate reward. Mr. Wells has always cultivated a catholic spirit. He was always ready to receive suggestions that might be profitable to him. His usefulness to his fellow-men has been increased by the broad and liberal views he entertains on all subjects of public policy, and by his refusal to be bound by the sectarian notions, dogmas and fanaticisms which are found hanging to the skirts of so many professions in life. He has been one of the foremost in ever3'thing that pertained to the city's welfare. For a period of fifteen years he was a member of the City Council. He was first elected to that body in 1848, was re-elected in 1854,. and remained in the Council until March i, 1869, when he resigned to take his seat in Congress, March 4th of the same month. During the long period he served the city, his influence by voice and vote was. HON. ERASTUS WELLS. 215 always in favor of such judicious and timely measures as were best calculated to advance the glory of the city, and to add to the prosperity of its citizens. He was in favor of the adoption of strict sanitary measures. Formerly this city used to be considered unhealthy. Its miasmatic fevers and occasional epidemics were notorious, but to-day it is the healthiest large city on the American continent. Much might be said here concerning the sanitary condition of the city, and in kindly remembrance and acknowledgment to the man who was foremost in inaugurating measures for the preservation of the health of its citizens, but the limits of this sketch forbid. It was while Mr. Wells was serving in the Council, as chairman of the Committee on Waterworks, that his serious attention was turned to this subject, and seeing the great deficiency in the supply of water for a city making such rapid strides, he agitated the question of building new works — works that should be on a scale commensurate with the wants of the city for years to come. In that year he was appointed on a special committee to visit the principal Eastern cities and examine the system of waterworks in each, and report upon the same. Mr. Wells was the only member of the committee who took upon himself the performance of this delicate and arduous duty. He visited New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Cincinnati, Louisville and Cleveland, being kindly received at all these cities, and was given every opportunity to make a thorough inspection of the water supply in use at each point. Upon his return he made an elaborate and valuable report of what he had seen and learned, and the question received a fresh importance through the information thus imparted. Mainly through his efi^brts an "act" passed the Legislature, at the subsequent session, authorizing the cit}^ to issue bonds to the extent of $3,000,000, to commence the construction of the present magnificent waterworks — among the finest to be found in the country — and which suppl}^ the city as if from an inexhaustible fountain. Mr. Wells was tendered by Governor Fletcher a commission as one of the Board of Water Commissioners, but he respectfully declined it. This tender, coming from a political opponent, was a flattering compliment to Mr. Wells, as the position was a responsible and honorable one,' and it was made without any solicitation on his part or even on the part of his friends. But this was not all that was to be accomplished to promote the public interests and the public good. Mr. Wells' work did not end here. He knew that, as a representative of the people's interests, he 2l6 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. owed society something more than merely doing what could be done to make the physical air of the city healthy, and providing an ample supply of water to contribute to personal cleanliness, and prevent the disasters arising from great conflagrations. There is a moral atmosphere in every large city, being imbibed daily by every grade of society, against which the upright man and good citizen will have to stand with uplifted hands. You may make, by your sanitary regulations, every particle of air we breathe, and every drop of water we drink, as pure as crystal- lized carbon ; you may discover remedies that will antagonize the specific poison of disease ; yet they all go for naught so long as there is in the body politic a class of men who have no moral instincts or sensibilities. It is not too much to say that no one knew better than Mr. Wells the inadequacy of the police system of St. Louis, under the old regime, at the time he was in the Council ; and when he went East to investigate the question of water supply, he took special pains to look into the different police systems of the several cities which he visited. He learned from the mayors of New York, Boston and Philadelphia, that, in their opinion, Baltimore had the best metropolitan police system of any city in the Union. At that time complaints came up from almost every city of any size, especially the Eastern cities, of the great defects of their police regulations. Baltimore especially had passed into the hands of a desperate class of men, known as "plug uglies," against whom the police authorities were powerless, and this unruly and turbu- lent element was not placed under control until the Legislature of Maryland had passed what is known as the "Metropolitan Police Bill." Mr. Wells had brought a copy of this bill home with him, and after changing it to meet the laws of Missouri, and to comply with the cit}' charter, he secured the consent of Francis Whittaker, Henry Keyser, George K. Budd and Bernard Pratt, to put their names in the act, they to serve as the first board of police commissioners of this city ; and after a severe struggle in the Council, a resolution was passed recommending its passage by the Legislature. Mr. Wells visited Jefferson City, and laid the resolution with the bill before the Legislature during the session of i86o-'6i. Claib. Jackson was Governor of the State at that time, and there was a good deal of political excitement. The party in power insisted on striking out the parties named in the bill for commissioners, and leaving it with the Governor to make the appointments. The friends of the bill were successful in securing its passage in the form in which it was presented by Mr. Wells, and the Governor signed it. Its provisions were at once carried into effect, and a new era in the police HON. ERASTUS WELLS. 217 system of St. Louis commenced — one that, after a trial of neariy fifteen years, has proved acceptable to all parties, and has produced results beneficial to the public interests. In 1850 Mr. Wells was united in marriage to a daughter of the Hon. John F. Henry now of this city, and by this lady he has three children. In 1865, seeking rest and recreation, and to gratify a long-cherished desire, Mr. Wells made a trip to Europe, taking with him his oldest son. After visiting many of the principal cities in Great Britian and France, he took a French steamer and went to Lisbon. After some time spent here, he visited the Cape de Verde Islands, and extended his journey to Brazil, and at Rio embarked for home, returning to St. Louis in 1866. The congressional career of Mr. Wells, as we have stated, com- menced in 1868, since which time he has been continuously a member of the House of Representatives of the United States. At the last election (November 3, 1874,) ^^ "^^^ re-elected for a fourth term by a majority of nearly three to one. In politics Mr. Wells is a Democrat, but he is popular with all parties, and he received many votes from those politically opposed to him. In Congress he has been a close observer, and a diligent worker in behalf of the State and city of his adoption. He is a l/ve man, possessed of sound views on all questions of public policy, and has accomplished more work for his city and the West than many of his predecessors have done. Without being brilliant, his speeches show careful thought and study, and his constitu- ents are satisfied with his capacity, his energy, with his respectable culture and enlarged views — in a word, with his unquestioned honest}' and practical common sense. Through his efforts Congress has appro- priated the sum of $4,000,000 for building the new post-office and custom house, now in course of erection on the block between Eighth and Ninth on Olive street. Until his advent in Congress not a dollar had ever been appropriated for the improvement of the Mississippi River between the mouth of the Missouri and the Meramec. Between these points he was successful in having a government survey made, and for that purpose an appropriation of $200,000 was set apart ; also a further appropriation of $300,000 for the improvement of the channel of the river between the mouth of the Meramec and Cairo. In 1873, he was the prime mover in causing to be held here the Con- gressional Convention which assembled that year, the deliberations of which were so important to Western interests. He projected the Con- gressional trip of that year to the Indian Territory, which proceeded 2l8 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. south to Galveston, and thence to New Orleans, to inspect the mouths of the Mississippi, that Eastern members might have personal knowl- edge of the serious obstructions existing there, and which so seriously affected the whole commerce of the Mississippi Valley. The fruition of all this was the passage of the bill known as the "Eads Jetty Bill," during the last session of the Forty-third Congress. The bill relating to the Indian Territory, known as the Oklahoma Bill, is also a measure which Mr. Wells is persistently working for at the present time. Mr. Wells has been connected with many important enterprises, and has filled several responsible positions in connection with them. He was a director of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad Company for several years ; he was president of the Accommodation Bank for six years ; he is still largely interested in street railroads ; is also president of the narrow-guage railroad between this city and Florissant ; is a director in the Commercial Bank : and in 1864 was a member of the convention called to prepare a new city charter, which was subsequently adopted by the Legislature. In private life Mr. Wells is greatly beloved by all who know him. He is a man wholly free from ostentation or display. His manners are those of the thorough Western man — frank, genial and kindly. Suc- cess in life has in no way changed him, and this is a principal reason for his popularity. Political opponents credit him with industry and fidelity to the interests of those he represents. Erastus Wells has fought his way up to his present position earnestly and manfully. Having become a leader, he still remains one of the people, and thus he is one of the best examples of the self-made men of our times. HON. GEORGE H. REA. (AJMONG the many sterling- business men of St. Louis who have iZ_ jL fought their way successfully through life, and by dint of close application and shrewd management have built up large fortunes, no one is more deserving of mention, or stands higher in the estimation of his fellow-men, than Captain George H. Rea. He has not been so long a resident of this city as many others, but has accomplished much more in a few years than some others have in a life-time. Captain Rea is of Massachusetts origin, having been born in the city of Boston on the 26th day of April 1816. His father, Joshua B. Rea, came from a French-Canadian family, and his mother, whose maiden name was Boynton, descended from one of the earliest Puritan families. His father dying when he was an infant, his early education and training devolved upon the mother. He was kept at school until fifteen years of age, and then, as was the custom more in the early day than now, was apprenticed to learn the tanner's trade, at the town of Weymouth, Massachusetts. He learned his trade thoroughly, and by the time his apprenticeship was over had picked up much valuable information about other kinds of business. For a few years he worked as a journeyman in various New England towns, saving his earnings imtil an opportunity offered for investment in business. Believing, however, that the broad country outside of New England afforded a better field for business operations, he started out to explore it. In 1849, we find him located at Waynesboro, Tennessee, where he built up, in a few years, a large and profitable business in hides and leather. Here he probably would have remained permanently had not the political differences between the Northern and Southern States assumed an aspect so threatening. Mr. Rea was fortunate enough to dispose of his interest in Tennessee a year or two before the war began, and having formed valuable business acquaintances in St. Louis, was induced to come here and establish himself in business. He opened a hide and leather store at No. 76 North Levee, and in a year 220 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. or two was doing the largest business in that line of any merchant in the city. During this time he had become extensively known among business men throughout the city and neighboring towns, and was regarded favorably on 'Change and in financial circles. At the close of the war, when the national banking system was inaug- urated, Mr. Rea had on hand a surplus of capital, a considerable pro- portion of which was invested in Government securities. He concluded to join with others in starting a national bank, and accordingly took the necessary steps to obtain a charter. The Second National Bank was established with Mr. Rea as president. His hide and leather business was disposed of to good advantage, and his attention for a time was directed chiefly to banking. The Second National Bank became a favorite place of deposit for merchants, millers and others, and did a very profitable business. Mr. Rea had many opportunities presented for investing money in business enterprises, but he exercised great caution before engaging in any of them. He became the owner of steamboat and railroad stocks, however, to such an extent that he was obliged to devote a portion of his time to looking after these new interests. The Mississippi Valley Transportation Company, under his management, became a flourishing corporation, doing an immense business with barges in transporting grain and other produce down the river to New Orleans and interme- diate points. In 1866, Mr. Rea was elected by the Republican party to represent the Thirty-fourth Senatorial District in the State Senate. He was appointed chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, and occu- pied positions in various other committees. Though not much given to speech-rnaking, he wielded a strong influence during his four 3'ears' term in the State Senate, and aided in securing important legislation for the city of St. Louis. His extensive business experience and knowl- edge of financial matters eminently qualified him for the position of chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and it is doubtful if the duties were ever discharged more satisfactorily. For three years Mr. Rea was one of the directors of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It was at a time when that company had many diffi- culties to encounter. Some of the stockholders were at war with the controling directors, and endeavoring to displace them. The latter held out heroically for a long time, but were at length forced to yield to the stronger moneyed influences brought to bear against them by the late Hudson E. Bridge. Mr. Rea displayed good combative powers in the HON. GEO. H. REA. 221 contest, and though retiring from the directory, did so with honor to himself, and in no wise the worse financially. Having many interests to look after, he resigned the presidency of the Second National Bank in 1873, though he still remained a director. He continued to manage the affairs of the Barge Company, and invested largely in Western railroads. At the present time, he owns a very large amount of railroad stock in Kansas and the Territories, and is projecting new and important railroad lines. Mr. Rea built the branch road from Pleasant Hill, on the Missouri Pacific, to Lawrence, Kansas, a distance of sixty-one miles. He has energy and boldness enough to undertake any enterprise in railroad building, and would undoubtedly succeed, however extensive it might be. His business plans have been most successfully carried out all through life, and, as a result, he has accumulated a handsome fortune. He lives in comfortable style in the western suburbs of the city, and can well afford to retire from active pursuits ; but his busy brain is ever planning, and his industrious habits are so firmly fixed, that he would not be happy if forced to give up work. He has done much to aid public enterprises ; gives with a liberal hand to deserving charities, and scrupulously performs his obligations to his fellow-men. /^ Cc o LOUIS VITAL BOGY. T OUIS VITAL BOGY, our worthy representative in the United 1 / States Senate, is the descendant of one of the old French famihes which, long prior to the foundation of St. Louis by Pierre Laclede Liguest, in 1764, came from Canada and settled the ancient towns of Cahokia, Kaskaskia, St. Phillip, Prairie Du Rocher and Fort Chartres, on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, then a part of the vast territory owned by France in the New World. His grandfather, Joseph Bogy, came from Canada, and first settled in the town of Kaskaskia, where, a few 3'ears after his arrival, he was married to Miss Placy. About the 3^ear 1786 or 1787, he left Kaskas- kia, with his family, to go to the country now known as Arkansas, and settled at the Old Post, then the home of a few French Canadians, pioneers, who, like himselt^ had been drawn there by the Indian trade, and being then truly the home of the wild Indians. At this place, he engaged in the Indian fur trade, and for many 3'ears he carried on this business with the different tribes who were roaming over this extended region, hunting the game of the forest. For a long time, he had his trading establishment at a place called Bogy Depot, a point at present of some note in the Choctaw countr}^ In a country so new, and where there were so few white people, the facilities for educating the rising generation were of course very limited ; indeed, it may be said there were none at all. Joseph Bogv, the father of Louis, was consequent^ sent to New Orleans to be edu- cated. By the peace of 1763, all the country west of the Mississippi River passed to Spain ; at the same time Canada and all the land east of same river were transferred to England. Owing to the fact that all the inhabitants in the newly acquired territory were of French blood, Spain felt it to be to her interest to treat the people with great kindness, so as to attach them to the new Government ; and hence, soon after taking possession of the country, Spain established in the city of New Orleans a large school, maintained at Government expense. To this school Joseph Bogy, as well as several other young men from the same section 224 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES of country, were taken, and there he was educated. All boys educated at this Government school had the right to enter the army of Spain, or secure employment in a civil capacity under the Government. In accordance with this regulation, Joseph Bogy entered the civil service, and was, for a time, one of the private secretaries of Governor Morales, then the Governor-General of Louisiana. Joseph Bogy was born at Kaskaskia, and was, perhaps, six years old when his father moved from there to his new home at the Post of Arkansas. In the year 1805 he came to this State, then a Territory, and setded in the town of Ste. Genevieve, which was at the time a very important place, as it was the commercial point for the lead mining region. Mr. Joseph Bogy filled many public stations during his long residence in this town, and was a member of both branches of the Legislature under the Territory and State. He was truly a man of intelligence, and of high character and standing, and died in February 1842, leaving seven children — four sons and three daughters. In the year 1805, soon after he came to this portion of country, he married Marie Beauvais, the daughter of Vital Beauvais, and mother of Louis, the subject of this sketch. This venerable lady is yet living, at the age of eighty-eight, and with her intellect clear and sound. The Beauvais family came to this country from Canada at a very early period, perhaps about the year 1740, or even before. They were, therefore, also pioneers, attracted here, like all the other settlers from Canada, by the Indian fur trade. Louis, the subject of this sketch, is consequently a descendant, on both his father's and mother's side, of pioneers, a bold and brave race of men, who, upwards of a century ago, penetrated the vast solitude of the West, and daily encountered the no less wild savage, who then roamed across the wilderness of the new world as its owner and master, and yielding sullenly to these white intruders. It was, consequently, a life of constant exposure and peril, in which many of the new settlers lost their lives. Louis Vital Bogy was born on the 9th of April, 1813, in the town of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. The facilities for education, at that early day, were very limited. The French was the language of the people, there being yet but few Anglo-Americans in the country, and the few who came there found it necessary to learn the French, but not the French the English. It was under these disadvantages that the subject of our sketch grew up from boyhood to manhood. Fortunately for the young people of the town, about the year 1822 or 1823, a teacher by the name of Joseph D. Grafton came there from the State of LOUIS V. BOGY. 225 Connecticut. He opened a school for boys and girls. He was a good English scholar, and kept a very good school. This school continued for years, and at it all the boys and girls of the town were educated. Young Louis was sent to this school, where he continued for perhaps one year. About the year 1826 his father sent him and a younger brother, named Charles, to a school in the country, kept by a Swiss by the name of Joseph Hertich. He continued at this school about one year, when he was attacked with a white swelling in his right thigh bone, which kept him closely confined to bed between two and three years. In 1830, although yet very lame and walking on crutches, he was sent for six months to a Catholic College in the adjoining county of Perry. This was the last school he attended. It will be seen that his advantages for an education were indeed very limited, and how he has overcome such appalling obstacles is a subject of wonder, and worth}- of imitation by the young men of the day who may, like him, not be blessed with advantages. During his long sickness he read much, and laid up a store of desultory and miscellaneous information which has proved of the greatest utility to him in his after-life. After leaving the school in Perry county, he engaged himself as clerk in the store of a merchant, in the town of Ste. Genevieve, of the name of Bossier, at a salary of two hundred dollars a year ; one-half of which was payable in store goods. His habits of economy, however, enabled him to purchase some books from his scanty income, and thus could he indulge his passion for reading and study, to which he devoted all his evenings, and, now and then, a large part of the night. On the expiration of this clerkship he decided to read law ; and so as to do this without the distraction which would necessarily surround him if he remained with the associates of his youth, he concluded to leave his native town, and pursue his studies elsewhere. He consequently made an arrangement with Judge Nathaniel Pope, of Kaskaskia, in Illinois, to enter his office. On the i6th of January 1832 he left the paternal roof for Kaskaskia, crossing the Mississippi River on the ice. As evidence of the singular tenacity of purpose of this young man, we give place here to a most singular document, the original being in his handwriting, and exhibited to us : Ste. Genevieve, January 16, 1S32. On this day I left home, under charge of Mr. William Shannon, an old friend of my father, to go to Kaskaskia, to read lew in the office of Judge Pope. My education is very limited, but with hard study I may overcome it. I am determined to try; and my inten- 15 226 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, tion is to i-eturn to my native State to practice law, if I can qualify myself; and, Avhile doing so, to work to become United States Senator for my native State, and to work for this until I am sixty years old. I will pray God to give me the resolution to persevere in this intention. I have communicated this to m^' mother, and given her this paper to keep. So help me God. Lewis V. Bogy. The original of this paper, we saw in the unformed hand-writing of a bo}'. It is certain!}' a singular and remarkable document, showing as decided a purpose as we ever saw or heard of. And it is strange that a purpose apparently so wild, and we may say, unreasonable, should have been so singularly realized by the youth who made it. The limit for the termination of the period within which he had given his pledge to strive for the position of United States Senator was to be the age of sixty years ; and it is again very singular that he should realize this life- long ambition in his sixtieth year, and within a few months of the expi- ration of the period he had fixed. He was elected in January • 1873, and in April following he was sixty years old. We dwell on this remarkable occurrence in the history of this man, so as to commend it to the 3'oung men of the present time, for it teaches this great lesson — that perseverance and labor will overcome any obstacle, however great. For the long period of fort}— one years he labored to attain the object of his early ambition, and, as he informed us, thinking of it — it may be said every day, and having it all the time in contemplation. Judge Pope was the District Judge of the United States for the Dis- trict of Illinois, and had a well-selected library. Besides pursuing his law studies, Judge Pope urged him to acquire a knowledge of Latin, as being necessary to a professional man. In his youth he had been an altar-bo}^ in his native town, and had acquired a knowledge of the responses at the Mass. He sought the acquaintance of the Catholic priest at Kaskaskia, the Reverend Father Condamine, who was, as is generallv the fact with the clergy of that Church, a good Latin scholar, and with him he made an agreement to serve as the altar assistant at all the masses and funerals, on condition that he on his side gave him a lesson every day in Latin. Both faithfully carried out their agreement. For this good priest he entertains to this day a sentiment of the greatest veneration, for the care and kindness which he bestowed on him at that early period of his life. In the month of May 1832, the Indian troubles in the northern part of the State of Illinois and Territory of Wisconsin, known as the Black Hawk war, occurred. Governor Reynolds, of Illinois, issued his proclamation for volunteers to suppress these savages. Although yet LOUIS V, BOGY. 227 lame from the white swelHng with which he liad years before been afflicted, he immediately volunteered as a private soldier — he joined the company of Captain Jacob Feaman, which soon marched to the field. This company formed a part of the regiment commanded by Colonel Gabriel Jones, which on the complete organization of the volun- teer forces, at the rendezvous at Fort Wilburn, was one of the regi- ments in the brigade commanded by General Henry. Both Jones and Henry were good officers : the same can be said of Captain Feaman. No part of the army did more service than this brigade, and at the battles of Wisconsin Heights and Bad Axe, it did most efficient service. The celebrated Indian chief, Black Hawk, was captured in the last engagement, which terminated the war. Abraham Lincoln, afterward President of the United States, was a volunteer in this war, and a private in the brigade of General Henry. On the termination of the war, the subject of this sketch returned to Kaskaskia, and resumed his studies with Judge Pope, as well as with Father Condamine. Here he remained, studying with great assiduity, until December 1833. At this time, by the advice of Judge Pope, he left this place to proceed to Lexington, Kentucky, to attend the law school of Transylvania University, of which Judge Daniel Mays was professor. Professor Mays was not only a man of great ability, but was considered the best special pleader in the State. He remained here till the spring of 1834. ^^ unusually large number of the. young men who attended the law lectures at this institution, during this session, became in after-life quite distinguished. Among those remembered now may be mentioned Bell, Thompson, Manifee, Tompkins, Powell, Allen and Wickliffe, of Kentucky ; Shackleford and Tupper, of Mis- sissippi ; John G. Miller, James S. Rollins, Wilham M. McPherson, of this State. Bell and Manifee became members of Confess, and were considered leading men in that body. Indeed, Manitee was looked upon as the rising great man of his State, who in time was to be the worthy successor of Henry Clay. Tompkins died young, but already considered one of the ablest lawyers in his section of the State. Powell was elected Governor, and was United States Senator from Kentucky for six years, and ranking as a man of decided talents. Thompson became Lieutenant-Governor of the State, and United States Senator for six years, ranking in that body with the leading minds in it. Allen was distinguished for his literary attainments, and Wickliffe was Minister from the country at the Court of Sardinia, and was considered one of the ablest writers in his State. Shackleford was a judge of reputation in Mississippi, and Tupper was ranked with the best lawyers 228 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. of that State. Of him we shall have something more to say hereafter. Rollins and Miller, after acquiring distinction in the Legislature of this State, became distinguished members of Congress. McPherson, who died in the city of St. Louis about two years ago, acquired distinction as a great business character. He was certainly a man of large views and of creative mind, backed by a cool head and a firm purpose. It is indeed sad to think that all but two of this large list of distinguished men, who, in their youth, were so ambitious for distinction, are now dead, and their names nearly forgotten, and it is with the view of res- cuing their names from complete oblivion that they are so particularly mentioned here. Rollins and Bogy are the only two yet surviving, and both have passed the meridian of life. It is a pleasure to say, that while during this long period, these two men have most of the time belonged to different political parties, being together in the Legis- lature of their State, and necessarily meeting each other in those political conflicts and discussions which occur in such bodies, they have never- theless, during all this time, maintained the relations of close personal friendship which were formed in early life at the law school. On the termination of the winter session of this school, he formed the project to become a school teacher, and to get a school in some of the interior counties of Kentucky, so as to get the means to attend another session at this University. He and Tupper, whose name has alread}' been mentioned, formed a partnership for this purpose. Hearing that there was an opening for a school in the town of Monticello, in the county of Wayne, they left Lexington early in the spring for this place. On arriving here they had no trouble in getting a good school of boys and girls. Tupper was a graduate of the University of Vermont, and was a very good classical scholar. Here they remained till fall, when they both returned to Lexington to enter the law school, and remained there till the end of the session, when both graduated in the law department : Tupper then going to the State of Mississippi to seek for- tune and fame, and the subject of this sketch returning to his native State. It will not be out of place in this sketch to say a few words in relation to Tupper, as a very close friendship existed between the two, up to his death. His name was Tullius Cicero Tupper, a native of Vermont, and a graduate of the University of that State. He went to the State of Mississippi to acquire wealth and fame, and succeeded in obtaining a fair share of both. But his career in that State was truly a sad one. It was his misfortune to have two personal encounters, in both of which LOUIS V. BOGY. 229 he slayed his antagonist. Yet, he was a man of the most amiable dis- position, and incapable of doing wrong to anybody, or of being the aggressor. But his purpose was fixed and settled, when he decided to become a citizen of a Southern community, and particularly of the ^State of Mississippi at that day ; he had made up his mind to be gov- erned by the social law then in force in that community, which was never to submit to a personal insult, or fail to exhibit individual courage, even although it might be at the expense of human life. Therefore, when assailed, he slayed his antagonist. Being a man of refined feel- ings and cultivated tastes, it cannot be doubted that these misfortunes clouded his life, which, but for them, would no doubt have been a very brilliant one. Mr. Bogy returned to his native town, reaching there in the month of March 1835. His father urged upon him to go to New Orleans to practice his profession, giving as his reason for this that the French population was quite large in the State of Louisiana, and the French language yet in use in the courts of the State. This, however, was not the plan of life he had laid down for himself, which was to remain in his native State. He therefore declined going to New Orleans, and concluded to move to St. Louis. He departed at once, arriving in the city on the first day of April 1835. ^^ immediately applied to Judge Wash, one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, for a hcense, which he obtained. He purchased a few law books, took an office, and very soon got into a good practice, and continued to devote himself to his profession until 1849. ^^ became a candidate for the Legisla- ture in 1840, and was elected ; and took his seat as a member of that body in November following. This was during the Harrison presiden- tial campaign, which passed over the country like a tornado. The excitement of the campaign was of course felt in the Legislature ; the consequence was, that the session was a very excited one. He was then only twent3^-seven years of age, and, perhaps, the youngest mem- ber of that body. He took a leading part as a working and business man, and a ready speaker. Several young men, who became distin- guished in the State afterward, were members of this body also : John S. Phelps, from Greene county, then quite young, was there. He was kept in Congress by his constituents for eighteen consecutive 3^ears, and acquired during this long period the reputation of an able legislator ; he was at one time chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, a position never given to any one not considered able and indus- trious ; and in addition to all this, he was considered an honest man. 230 B I O C; R A P H I C A L SKETCHES beyond the reach of those sordid influences which, unfortunately for the fame of our public men, so many have yielded to. John G. Miller, of Cooper, was also there. He, too, was elected to Congress from his district, and was kept there till death overtook him, while yet in the prime of life. He also acquired, while in Congress, the reputation of an honest and an able man. James S. Rollins, of Boone, was also there, and he, too, went to Congress from his section, and, like the others, took a high stand among the able men and orators in 'that body. As an orator, he has not his superior, if his equal, in the State. Thomas L. Anderson, of Pike, was there also, and he, too, was elected to Congress, and exhibited talents, while he was there, not inferior to his colleagues. Sterling Price, from Chariton, was also a member, and was the speaker, for which position he was particularly adapted : — a man of tine and commanding person, and handsome and intelligent face. He, like the others, became a member of Congress, but served but a short time in that body, as, the war with Mexico occurring during the first session of the term for which he was elected, he was appointed by the United States a Brigadier-General in the army, went to Mexico, and served with great distinction. Some years afterward he was elected Governor of this State ; and, on the breaking out of the war between the North and the South, cast his fortunes with the latter. He soon became a Major-General in the Confederate army, where he acquired great distinction for personal courage and military talents of a very high order. Alexander Doniphan, of Clay, was a member that session, also. His services during the Mexican war, as the bold leader of that small band of heroes who traversed the republic of Mexico from the northern limits to the Gulf, fighting overwhelming odds all the way, have made his name immortal. There were many other members of this body, who, although not as famous as those enumerated, were yet men of good talents and solid abilities. No legislative body ever met in this State, and indeed it may be said, none ever sat in the United States, in which a larger number of distinguished men were brought together. In the year 1837, Mr. Bogy formed a partnership for the practice of the law with Mr. Logan Hunton, of Kentucky. Mr. Hunton came to this State with the reputation not only of a very sound lawyer, but a man of ability, having served with distinction in the Kentucky Legis- LOUIS V. BOGY. 231 lature. Tliis partnership continued for several years, and was, while it existed, one of the leading firms of St. Louis. Mr. Hunton afterward went to New Orleans, where he acquired a still greater reputation in his profession, and also realized a handsome fortune. In 1839, ^^"- Bogy made a trip to the Indian country, traveling the whole distance there and back on horse-back, sleeping out-doors for some seven months, with his saddle-blanket for his bed. During this trip he passed through the countries of the Osages, Quapaws, Senecas, Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks and Seminoles, and as far west as the Comanches, near the line of Mexico. In the year 1849, ^^ decided to engage in politics : having acquired a handsome fortune by his profession, he no longer felt the necessity of devoting himself to its practice. And believing that a better field was presented in his native county than in St. Louis, he moved to that count}' that year, and bought a handsome farm near the town for his future home. The St. Louis Congressional district at that time extended south to the Arkansas line, therefore, in moving to the county of Ste. Genevieve, he did not get out of the district. The Democratic party was then already divided between the slavery and anti-slavery elements. The Wilmot proviso was the question on which this division had taken place. Colonel Benton was then one of the Senators from this State, David R. Atchison being the other. Benton had voted for this pror/so, as it was called. A portion of the democracy of Missouri was decidedly opposed to his vote on this ques- tion, and did not hesitate to manifest its opposition. The Legislature which sat following this vote, passed the famous resolutions known as the Jackson resolutions, disapproving of his vote. Benton therefore appealed from the Legislature to the people, and soon after traversed the State to address them, vindicating his vote, and in the most violent manner arraigning the course of his opponents. The Benton and Anti- Benton parties grew out of this controversy, and the Democratic parts- was in consequence split in two hostile fragments. Mr. Bogy sided with the Anti-Benton party. He became a candidate for the Legisla- ture in Ste. Genevieve County, and went through a most exciting canvass. The opposition he encountered was most virulent, and per- sonally very bitter. There were many reasons why this was so. The combined forces of the Whig and Benton parties were too strong for him, and the consequence was that he was defeated by an old friend of his youth, of the name of Sifroid E. Roussin, who was a Whig. The election of a United States Senator was to take place at this session of 232 BIOGRAPIIICAIv SKETCHES. the Legislature, and he was very anxious to be a member of this body, to take part in that important contest. His defeat, therefore, was looked upon by him as one of the most serious events of his political life. Colonel Benton was of course a candidate for re-election. Some of the leading Democrats continued to support him, but the younger members of the party were generally opposed to him. He was not re-elected. Thus, after thirty years of continuous service as the Senator from this State, dating back to the time when the Missouri controversy was at its height, he was compelled to return to private life. He and David Barton were elected in 1820, as the first Senators from this State, both being Southern men by birth, and both pro- slavery. It may therefore be said that this trul}' remarkable man was both made and unmade, politically, by the slavery question. At the next election for members of the lower house of Congress, Colonel Benton announced himself a candidate. The Democratic party met in convention in the city of Cape Girardeau, and was presided over by one of the leading Democrats of Southeast Missouri of the name of Johnson C. Clardy. It, no doubt, honestl}^ represented the true senti- ment of the party. It nominated Lewis V. Bogy, of Ste. Genevieve, as its candidate in opposition to Colonel Benton. The Whig party put in nomination Samuel Caruthers, of Madison county. The con- test was very animated ; every county in the district was visited. In the lower counties Bogy carried the majority, but in the upper counties and St. Louis, Benton carried the da}'. The consequence was that Benton was elected, although by a small majority. The fact that Bog}- was selected by his party as the opponent of Benton, shows in what esteem he was held by them. The ability he displayed during this contest justified the wisdom of their choice, and, no doubt, the reputa- tion he then acquired largely contributed to his election as United States Senator, twenty years after, as his most steadfast and truest supporters were the members from Southeast Missouri, the old district where he met Benton and discussed with him the great questions agitating the public mind. Two years after this, he was again a candidate for the Legislature in the county of Ste. Genevieve. He was opposed, as before, by the combined parties of Whigs and anti-Benton men. After a most ani- mated and bitter contest, he was elected, and took his seat as a member of the Legislature, which met the following fall. The elements com- posing this Legislature were singularly mixed. The Democratic part\- was divided between Benton and anti-Benton, and the Whig partv LOUIS V. BOGY. 233 between the Old Line Whig and those having Know-Nothing procHvi- ties and affinities, and a fifth party of Free-soilers. After many efforts to elect a Senator, the contest being between Benton and Atchison ot the Democratic party, and Doniphan of the Whig, the subject was laid over, and the consequence was, there was no election that session, and for a time Missouri was unrepresented in the federal council. There was a large number of distinguished men who were members at this session of the Legislature — some of them were already famous, others became so afterward. The following are the names of those who are remembered at this day: F. P. Blair and B. Gratz Brown, Freesoilers, from St. Louis, formerly Democrats ; Henry T. Blow, Charles S. Rannells, Samuel M. Breckenridge, also from St. Louis, and members of the House — all Whigs, the former, however, exhibiting very marked Free-soil tendencies ; C. C. Zeigler, in the Senate from the Ste. Genevieve district, an Old Line Whig ; Solomon G. Kitchen, a Whig, from Stoddard county, in the Senate ; from Clay county, the distinguished Alexander Doniphan, Old Line Whig ; James S. RolHns, from Boone, a Whig : Charles H. Hardin, from Callaway, also a Whig, at this time the Governor of the State: John W. Reid, from Jackson, one of the most gallant captains in the Doniphan campaign through Mexico, a Democrat ; James H. Britton, a Democrat from Lincoln, and now the mayor of St. Louis ; WilHam Newland, from Ralls, a Whig. He was elected Speaker of the House, and made a most excellent pre- siding officer, prompt, fair in his ruHngs, and maintaining good order, and all with personal dignity. Sterling Price was the Governor of the State. Most of the Whigs who were members of the General Assembly were either members of the new organization then spreading with great rapidity throughout the country, and designated as Know-Nothings, or had very decided tendencies toward it. There certainly was a very cordial understanding between them. Without egotism, it may be said that no State could boast of a larger number of distinguished men serving at one time in its councils. It can well be imagined, with such characters in the body, the session was both very interesting and, now and then, necessarily exciting. Although a large amount of business was done, an adjourned session was nevertheless found to be necessary. At this adjourned session, the subject of State aid to facilitate and encourage the building of railroads in the State, was the absorbing question. It was much discussed and perfected, and also enlarged. In 1848 Mr. Bogy, with others, purchased the famous Iron Mountain, known as the Pilot Knob, in the southeastern section of the State. To 234 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES this enterprise he devoted for ten 3'ears a large portion of his time, and invested in it a very large part of his private fortune. Owing to man}- obstacles which presented themselves, this enterprise was not a. success, but it would be of no interest to the public to detail them here. It was, as it turned out, a most unfortunate undertaking, for after ten years of great labor, and the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars, he was compelled to relinquish the enterprise, and retire with the loss of his entire private fortune, and a large debt to be paid ; and that required years of labor afterward to liquidate. He has the gratifi- cation, however, to have been able to pay this debt, and also to ha^•e again amassed a reasonable independence for himself and family-. On his retirement from the Pilot Knob enterprise, he again resumed the practice of law, with the intention of continuing to make it his exclusive pursuit. He continued to practice law until the war, and for a short time after its beginning. Being, however, unable to subscribe to the oath which was required by the Radical element, then in power in this State, he was compelled to relinquish the practice. He then remained in private life till 1863, when the Democrac}' of the city of St. Louis called on him to be a candidate for Congress. The opposing candidates were F. P. Blair and Samuel Knox — both Republicans, but the latter a little more radical than the former. It was well known that no Democrat could possibly be elected ; indeed, it was at the peril of hfe for a Democrat to speak to the people — the feeling- prevailing at that day did not permit an}' one to speak in opposition to the administration. The test of loyalty was, adhesion to it right or wrong. Mr. Bogy, however, made the canvass, encountering through- out the most bitter and violent abuse from the two opposing candidates and their friends. It is well to say that the object of running a Demo- cratic candidate at this time was with the view of explaining the position of the party, and so as to prevent, if possible, hereafter, the various persecutions with which it had been so terribly visited. This object was accomplished ; and from that time a more tolerant feeling was exhibited toward the members of the party. He was of course defeated. From that time he continued in private life until he was called to the head of the Indian Bureau by President Johnson in 1867, as Commissioner of Indian aflairs. In this office he displayed very great administrative abilities. At the time he took charge of this most important branch of the public service, the Indians were in a state of quasi-war throughout their whole country ; this being caused by the frauds and rascalities of the Indian agents. These Mr. Bogy in many LOUIS V. BOGY. 235 cases removed, and at the time he left the office peace reigned over all the extended country occupied by the Indians. In the short time he remained in this service he acquired a national reputation. Mr. Bogy then returned again to private life, until he announced himself a candidate for the United States Senate, a short time prior to the meeting of the Legislature, in January 1873, upon which devolved the election of United States Senator in place of Hon. F. P. Blair, whose term of office would expire in March following. This Legisla- ture was largely Democratic in both houses, which had the effect of bringing forward as candidates for the position, all the prominent men of the party in the State. It is with pride that we refer to so long a Hst of distinguished characters, candidates for the office, any one of whom would have represented Missouri in the National Assembly with honor to the State and to himself. General Blair was a candidate for re-election, and, with the following gentlemen, made up the list of candidates : Judge Napton, Colonel Vest, Lieutenant-Governor Rey- nolds, Governor Woodson, Judge Norton, Governor Phelps, Colonel Thos. L. Anderson, Colonel Broadhead and Mr. Bogy. The contest in the caucus was animated, but was contined principally to Blair, Phelps and Bogy, and finally on the last ballot was between Bogy and Blair, the former receiving sixt3--four votes to the latter' s tifty-seven. On the next day, January- 15, the two houses voted separately, as required by the law of the United States, with the following result: In the Senate — Bogy, 15; J. B. Henderson (Radical), 10; majority for Bogy, 5. In the House — Bogy, 86; J. B. Henderson, 32 : majority for Bogy, 54. Thus was Mr. Bogy elected by the large majority of 59 votes. He conducted his canvass at Jefferson City for two weeks prior to the election, with remarkable skill and ability. Mr. Bogy had been a very active and prominent party man for many years before, and as closely identified with his party as any man in the State, but during the entire war he was quiet, taking no part in politics, although his sentiments during that eventful period are well known. He took his seat as Senator from Missouri on the 3d of March 1873. at a called session of the Senate. The Forty-third Congress, which met on the first Monday of December 1873, was one of the most important ever held in this country. Many very important questions were presented. The subjects of finance, national banks, tariff, inter- nal revenue, the opening up of water routes from the interior of the continent to the ocean, the levees of the Mississippi River, and the 236 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. opening of its mouth, all came up, and were duly considered. On all these broad subjects, Mr. Bogy showed a knowledge which even sur- prised his most intimate friends, speaking always with great clearness and marked ability. He and his colleague, General Schurz, disagreed upon the financial question, the General being in favor of obtaining the resumption of specie payment by way of contracting the amount of outstanding paper money ; while Mr. Bogy was equally anxious to obtain the same end, although not by contraction, but by appreciating the paper circula- tion so as to make it equal to gold. Mr. Bogy is justly entitled to the credit of being the first Senator who advocated the taking of legal tender notes in payment of duties on imports, and we are informed that it is his intention, during the appi"oaching session of Congress, to bring this matter still more prominently before the Senate. He believes this would settle our financial troubles, as it would create a demand for the legal tenders, and in the same proportion do away with a demand for gold, thus bringing them to a level ; and this being efiected, the gold now in the country, amounting to from $160,000,000 to $170,000,000, would at once go into circulation. This would bring about a large increase in the medium of circulation, now so much needed by the whole country. Mr. Bogy's speech made during the second session of the Forty-third Congress, on this subject, is truly an able argument. On the financial question, Mr. Bogy has proven himself to be more in accord with the sentiments of the people of the State than his colleague, and, it must be admitted, exhibits great familiarity with this most difficult su^ect. It may be said that Mr. Bogy has more than fulfilled the anticipations of his friends. He has shown greater familiarity with all public ques- tions than was expected of him, thus proving that during the long years of his quiet life during the war, he was devoting his time to read- ing and study. He is looked upon among his colleagues as the repre- sentative of Western interests. He has been the unflinching advocate of all matters looking to the improvement of the Western waters, such as the opening up of the con- tinent from the interior to the ocean by water routes, and the improve- ment of the mouth of the Mississippi by the jetty system. It was Mr. Bogy who got the bill through, compelling the Union Pacific Railroad to prorate with the Kansas Pacific, thus giving to St. Louis and Missouri a direct line of communication, by the way of Denver and Cheyenne, with California and the Pacific Slope. LOUIS V. BOGY. 237 Mr. Bogy is a child of Missouri ; was born and reared in the midst of her institutions. He has, through a long course of successful life, shown himself eminently worthy, and the State that has the honor of his birth may still look for great results from his talents, patriotism and integrity. His step is just as elastic as it was twenty years ago ; and so remarkably hale and healthy is his appearance that no one would sup- pose him verging on three-score years. In all his relations in life, Mr. Bogy is peculiarly happy. In early life he married a daughter of General Bernard Pratte, who has been his faithful companion ever since. He is one of the men of St. Louis whose life has not been Hved in vain, and a citizen of whom Missouri is justly proud. He has but three children, one son and two daughters — all married. Mr. Bogy being emphatically the most distinguished descendant of the early French settlers, it would not be inappropriate, in a sketch of his life, to say a few words concerning these people, who first came to this interior portion of the new world. Much has been written and said in relation to the early settlers of the New England States, and also of Maryland and Virginia, and the brave men who, led by Daniel Boone, first met the savages on the dark and bloody ground of Kentucky ; yet, long prior to the day when Boone crossed the Blue Ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, long before Washington's early visit to the then distant shores of the Ohio, the Canadian French were living in happy communities in the towns of Cahokia, St. Phillip, Prairie Du Rocher, Fort Chartres and Kaskaskia. These French Canadians were more truly pioneers in the wilderness than any other people ; and with them followed civilization, religion, and the polite manners and social habits of the French nation. Their system of emigration was peculiar and most excellent. They moved together in families, taking with them their priest. They settled in towns ; and one of the first buildings erected, after their own log houses were ready, was the church of the parish, and close by it the parochial residence for the priest. This priest was the guardian of the orphans and protector of widows, and vi^s, in the main, the educator of the people in the duties of religion. He it was who taught the boys and girls the catechism, baptized all the infants, and performed the sacrament of matrimony. He was, in truth, the father of the whole community, and with them personally from the cradle to the grave. Besides this, he participated with them in all their innocent enjoyments. One instrument of music, and only one, was known, and that was the fiddle. They knew not how to read music, but played by the ear, and sweeter music was never heard in the wilderness of the new world. 238 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, This S3-stem of emigration was attended with marked good results. Although this people had no, or but little, education, the}^ all had tine, and indeed, graceful manners, and the ladies had a grace peculiar to themselves. Happier communities existed nowhere in the world. It was a renewal of the Arcadian age. From these ditierent communities the trappers and hunters and Indian traders annuall}' proceeded. And the bold coureur des bois, now famous in history, was the veteran of these early settlements. These people were remarkable for honesty, piety and sobriety. Vice was unknown among the women. These early Canadian French are truly and justly entitled to the honor of being the lirst settlers, the true pioneers, of the Valley of the Missis- sippi. And as the subject of this sketch is one of the descendants, we have thought due to him, as well as to his ancestors, to place on the pages of historv in connection with his name, the facts we here note. While he has just reason to be proud of such frontiersmen for his ances- tors, they, on their part, would be no less so in witnessing one of their descendants occupying, with honor to himself and usefulness to his country, one of the most elevated and distinguished positions in this Government — that of Senator of the United States. EDWIN O. STANARD. / I \ HE subject of this sketch is in many respects one of the most _L remarkable men of the West, and a rnan whose hfe atfbrds many useful lessons to the merchant just starting out in life. Edwin O. Stanard was born in Newport, New Hampshire, in the year 1832. In 1836, his parents came West and settled upon a farm in Iowa, which was then for the most part a wild and uncultivated region, where the facilities for educating a growing family were not the best that could be desired. Here, in the settler's Western home, young Stanard remained until maturity, toiling with his axe and farming imple- ments, and assisting in gaining a livelihood for the family. Under such circumstances, then, — circumstances which have produced some of the best specimens of American manhood, young Stanard arrived at maturit3^ Some years, however, after the arrival of the famih' in Iowa, public schools were established and the means of obtainin<»- an education were at hand. The parents were both wise and discreet persons, and the current literature of the da}'- and periodicals, found their way into their household. Consequently 3"oung Stanard grew up to manhood with a fair knowledge of men and the world in general. Upon arriving at his majority, he started out to cut his own road to fortune. He spent several years — teaching during the winter in Illinois, and passing the summers in St. Louis studying and perfecting his edu- cation. He always had a predilection for merchandising, and with this idea uppermost in his mind, he made many efforts to obtain employment in some of the wholesale houses on Main street. But his efforts proved of no avail. None of the merchants seemed to want his services, or they all failed to discern in him the solid material for the business man of which he was- made, and which he afterward proved himself to be. At last, and after many efforts, in the winter of 1S56 Mr. Stanard obtained employment in a shipping and commission house in Alton, Illinois, where his thorough business habits and uniform gentlemanl}^ bearing, made for him many firm friends, who felt an interest in the 240 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, future of the young man. His employer dying before the close of the year, he was again out of employment. He had not forgotten his early ambition to become a St. Louis merchant, and thitherward he turned his footsteps. About this time he made the acquaintance of Mr. C. J. Gilbert. Between them a strong friendship sprang up, and with very small capital, but with any amount of energy and determination to succeed, they opened a commission house in this city, and subsequently estab- lished the widely known firm of Stanard, Gilbert & Co. Considering the small amount of capital they had at their disposal, and not being blessed with any large number of friendly advisors, or indorsers, the new firm met with remarkable success, and was soon looked upon as one of the institutions of the city. Soon after, this firm opened a similar house in Chicago, Mr. Gilbert going there for that purpose, which also proved a successful enterprise. He also established the house of Stanard & Slayback, in New Orleans, and in other instances took occasion to extend his commercial relations. In 1866 Mr. Stanard purchased the Eagle Steam Mills in St. Louis, and directed himself to the manufacture of flour. In this field of enterprise he has also succeeded, and besides being the possessor of a handsome competency, he enjoys in a marked degree the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens. His fellow-merchants have tried him in many ways, and in nothing has he been found wanting, and at no time did he ever cause them to regret the confidence they placed in him. He has been president of the Chamber of Commerce, and is director in the Missouri Pacific Railway. He is president of the Citizens' Insurance Company, director in the Life Association of America, a large owner and director in the St. Louis Elevator Company, and also in the Mississippi Valley Trans- portation Company. In 1868 he was the nominee of the Republican party for Lieutenant- Governor, and although he had taken no active part in politics before that period, and was wholly inexperienced in public affairs, such was the strength of his personal popularity and character for sterling integrity, that he was elected by a handsome majority. As the presiding officer of the Senate, and in all matters pertaining to the duties of Lieutenant-Governor, he acted well his part, even his most bitter political enemies never denying his strict impartiality. His gentlemanly deportment, dignified bearing, thorough reliability and generous consideration for all classes of citizens, made him hosts of KDWIN O. STANARD. 24I warm and personal friends. He vacated the office of Lieutenant-Go\- ernor with a reputation unstained by a single act of partiality, and with the best wishes of men of both political parties. During the late war he gave largely of his means to sustain Sanitary and Christian Commissions, and to all other enterprises inaugurated to ameliorate the condition of suffering humanity, and was a firm and con- sistent supporter of the Government. In 1870 Mr. Stanard acquiesced in the Liberal movement in Missouri » and took an active part in the canvass of that year. This movement he considered, however, a pureh' local or State movement, and, with the election of B. Gratz Brown to the gubernatorial chair, his connection with the part}^ ended, and in all matters relating to National politics he has been a staunch Republican. At the urgent solicitation of his friends he permitted his name to be used for the office of Mayor of St. Louis, and after one of the hottest and most closely contested elections ever held in the city, he was defeated. In 1872 he was elected to Congress, on the Republican ticket, from the First District, and was regarded as one of the most efficient and useful representatives ever sent from St. Louis. He devoted his energies mostly to business interests of the West, but was ver\' independent in his votes on political topics, as was shown- by his votes and speeches against some measures of his part}^ In 1874 ^^ ^'^^ renominated by his party, but, owing to factional differences, was defeated. In every position he has ever held, he has acquitted himself with honor, and never yet vacated a position but with the regrets of the best class of his fellow-citizens. Mr. Stanard is an earnest man, of wonderful energ}', of more than average abilities, and a man who is thoroughl}- conversant with the business wants of St. Louis and the State of Missouri. He has been intimately connected with almost every public enterprise which has originated in St. Louis for the last fifteen years, sustaining them by his counsels, energies, and contributions. He may justly be considered one of the progressive spirits of the West, with a mind capable of grasping the wants and necessities of Western trade and commerce. He is honored and appreciated in every circle in St. Louis — religious, business, political and social — and is one of the many merchants of whom this vast metropolis is justly proud. 16 ABRAM NAVE. 'S success is by no means common to commercial life, it must, when attained, argue superior sagacity and capability in those who achieve it. Especially is this true of the merchants of the West. Here, commercial relations have often been constructed and reconstructed within the lifetime of single individuals. The mer- chants of old communities grow up surrounded by plans and prin- ciples which have been tested and approved, and which they have only to follow. In our own section, however, there has existed a necessity for almost continuous change, in order that systems should be adapted to ever-changing requirements. The merchants of the West put forth their barks upon an almost unknown sea, and he must be regarded as an able navigator who manages to always meet with favoring winds. Areas of production and consumption have been changed ; transporta- tion has been revolutionized, and the old customs of trade have been entirely replaced. Through all this a few men of comprehensive grasp of mind helped to direct the course of the resistless current, and won honor and fortune by their thorough identification with the progress that was going on around them. Abram Nave is one of those who has helped, in an eminent degree, to build up and strengthen that noble system of commerce to which we are so much indebted. Sanguine in temperament, without being reck- less, he has pushed his successes with audacity, and has never shrank from great enterprises because they involved an unusual amount of labor. One most admirable and valuable quality has made it possible for him to conduct widely extended operations with unvarying good fortune : — that is his correct estimate of men and rare discernment in the selection of associates. This quality has enabled him to duplicate his powers, and to bring the spirit of his policy to bear in various points having reciprocal interests. He was born in Cocke county. East Tennessee, from whence his father emigrated to Saline county, Missouri, while he was yet young. 244 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. His father, Henry Nave, was of German descent: his mother, Elizabeth Brooks, of Scottish blood. Settling upon a farm with his family, Henry Nave, as his sons grew vip, had their assistance in the farm work, and there Abram Nave acquired a robust constitution and contidence in his own powers. A keen observer and an apt scholar, he received sufficient education at the country schools for business life, and when nineteen years of age took a drove of mules to Louisiana on his own account. Upon his return from this trip, which consumed some months, he opened a country store at Savannah, Andrew county, Missouri, with a capital of about a thousand dollars. This was the commencement of a profitable business enterprise, and five years later, in 1846, he established a branch house in Oregon, Holt county, Missouri, under the management of James McCord, and another at Hawle3'ville, Iowa. He was married in 1842 to Miss Lucie McCord, by whom he had five children, four sons and one daughter, all now living. In 1852, during the great emigration to California, he and James McCord commenced buying herds of cattle to send across the plains to that new Eldorado, and continued their stock business near Sacra- mento City, California, till 1857. During this period, however, he still continued his mercantile houses at Savanah and Oregon, Missouri, and Hawleyville, Iowa. In 1857 he and James McCord established a wholesale grocery house at St. Joseph, Missouri, under the style of Nave, M'Cord & Co. This step was considered an experiment at that time, but the house has gradually grown, and is now perhaps the largest and best known grocery firm in the West. This well known house has established several branch houses, three of which still exist. The first was opened at Omaha, Nebraska, in 1861, and the second at Council Blufts, Iowa, the following year. In 1862 the firm of C. D. Smith & Co., (in which he is a partner) was formed at St. Joseph, Missouri, and has become well and favorably known as one of the best and most substantial in the West. In 1868, after the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad, it was decided to cease the Omaha and Council Bluffs houses, although both had done a large and profitable business. But the same year another house was started at Kansas City, Missouri, under the firm name of McCord, Nave & Co. This establishment is managed by James M. Nave, son of Abram Nave, and its annual sales are, with the exception of Nave, McCord & Co.'s, the largest in the State outside of St. Louis. In 1872 he, with James McCord, J. W. Goddard, and L. G. Peck, opened the St. Louis house, of which he is ABRAM NAVE 245 now the head. The time was auspicious, and opening as the}' did. with ample means, the highest commercial credit and extensive connec- tions, it is not strange that its success has been marked, even in the face of an extraordinary season of depression in general trade. Mr. Nave's interests extend to the house in Kansas City and the two in St. Joseph, with which he is still closely identified, and-which receive his personal supervision. In the light of his experience and judgment, which have carried him and his associates safely through so man>- trying times, they have little to fear from the easy and beaten path that lies before them. It is to his industry and energy that they are indebted for the safetv and success that now attend their operations. He is a master spirit, directing the movements of a chain of grocerA' houses that, in their combined aggregate, probably exceed any com- petitor in the United States. Large and active physically and mentally, comprehensive in his ideas, too self-reliant to be annoved by responsi- bilities, too confident in his views to feel any timidit}', he carries along a weight of business under which man}^ men would sink. A jovial, gen- erous disposition that finds much in humanity to commend, assists him also in obtaining a clear insight into the main-springs of human action, and to organize and carry forward schemes which require combinations of talent and capital, and which, in less able hands, might wither to decay. In the development of that system of commerce which has been so potent for good in the Mississippi Valley, he has been a keen observer and an active worker, and may be said to be one of the builders of a structure that is none the less real because it is not measured by line or compass. In the exchanges of trade, his name has been honorably spoken among men from ocean to ocean, and St. Louis honors him as a representative Western merchant. DANIEL READ, LL.D. / I (he histoiy of Dr. Read, of his long and prominent career as a J_ university officer, now extending as such over a period of more than tifty years in Western State Universities, renders his life as an educator singularly noticeable. He was born June 22, 1805, at Marietta, Ohio. Upon the removal of his father to Cincinnati, before the tenth year of his age, he was placed in the old Cincinnati Academy, and was there the schoolmate of the Lytles, the St. Clairs, the Vances and others who became distinguished men. Subsequently he studied at the Xenia x\cademy, then considered one of the best classical schools in the Northwest, and early in 1819 entered the academy of the Ohio Universitv at Athens, preparatory to entering the freshman class the next year. Here it was his good fortune to enjoy the instructions of Joseph Dana, the author of the "Liber Primus," the "Latin Tutor," and other elementarv books of a Latin course, then in universal use. The Ohio University, which was, in its preparator}- department, opened in 1809^ became distinguished for its product of eminent men, among whom was the late Thomas Ewing, the well known law3'er and statesman, who was its lirst graduate (in 1815), and indeed the first to receive the degree of A. B. northwest of the Ohio River. The inspiring influence of this remarkable man, wonderful for his industrv and talents as a student, produced its effects upon many generations of students. In college he was the associate of Geo. W. Summers, of Virginia, of Samuel Biggers, afterward Governor of Indiana, David Lindley, the celebrated African Missionar}^, J. N. Reynolds, who was famous for getting up the South Pole expeditions, and other celebrities. No one as a student could have been more ambitious, and in English and Latin composition he bore off man}' prizes. ?Ie graduated in 1824, and, though the youngest of his class, was awarded the first honors. He at once entered upon the stud}' of the law under James Cooley, Esq., who being soon afterward appointed Charge d' Affaires to Peru, (which was then the title of that grade of ministers) invited his young- pupil to act as his secretary. This ofier he declined, thus probably 248 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. saving his life, as both Mr. Cooley and his secretary died of yello\v fever soon after reaching Lima. His plans were, however, broken in upon, w^iich induced him to accept the place of preceptor of the academy of the Ohio University (which through the influence of Prof. Dana was offered him ) ; and under this title he became a member of the faculty. The academy was strictly a school of preparation for the regular college course, and embraced classes in Virgil, Cicero, Ovid, etc., and in the Greek, Delectus and Minora. His first step, although he had manv pupils older than himself (at least one-half of them) was to require them to study under his own inspection. The main object of this was to make the drill work more thorough, and though at first there was some dissatisfaction, the students soon became convinced that by the presence and aid of their preceptor their progress was made not onlv more rapid, but their knowledge more accurate. His require- ment of attendance was seven hours — one hour before breakfast, and three in the forenoon and three in the afternoon. B}' holding up before his pupils examples of high efibrt, and by his own constant personal presence and assistance, he inspired them with the utmost enthusiasm in their studies. The motto of the school-room which he had con- spicuouslv posted was "Labor ipse \ohiptas.''' It need not be said that this vigor of administration at once gave him a ver}- high reputation. Not vet ha^'ing gi\'en up the idea of the law as his profession, amidst all these labors, by allowing himself the least possible time for sleep, he completed his law studies, and was admitted to the Bar of the Su- preme Court, after the rigorous examination then required in Ohio. Dr. Read has often been heard to say that the most valuable intellectual discipline which he ever gave himself was the mastery of Blackstone, in a manner so thorough that he was able to repeat the analysis of the whole work, of each of the volumes separatel}', of every chapter, and e\'erv title, and to give the definition also of every legal term, and every maxim and its application. Becoming more and more interested as a college professor, he relin- quished the idea of entering upon the practice of the law. He devoted himself with increased energy and enthusiasm to the building up of the Universitv, not only as a teacher, but as a disciplinarian and organizer. No other officer was so much looked to in the affairs of the University. Indeed, upon some vacancies occurring, and others being declared in the faculty, the whole charge of the institution was, for a time, given over to him, with one other officer, who, on account of his age, was able to take little share of the burden. D A N I E L R E A IJ , 1. 1. . D . 2 49 Upon a reorganization of the faculty, the presidency was otf'ered him, but he earnestly and cordially urged the election of Wm. H. McGutiey, which was made, himself being chosen vice-president. With the organization then made, perhaps no institution, East or West, had a more able or energetic faculty. The institution under such men greatly prospered. Professor Read had become the Professor of Political Econom}- and Constitutional and Public Law, and, in the dis- cussions which divided the parties of the day ( i836-'42) sided with the Democratic party in their views of tariff and banking, but held himself entirely aloof from party organization. He used his pen, how- ever, freely and vigorous!}' in the expression of his views. The funds of the University proved entirely insufficient to carry on the institution under its then existing organization. Professor Read believed that the lands of the Universit}-, held under a perpetual lease, were, according to law, subject to re-valuation, and proposed that measure as aftbrding relief, and as a positive duty on the part of the tiTistees of the Universitv. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the right of re-valuation. The end of the matter was that the Legisla- ture intervened, the re-valuation failed, Dr. McGutley resigned, and soon after Professor Read and other professors also resigned. The sacrifice on the part of Professor Read w^as a very great one, as he had become the owner of one of the most comfortable homes in the State, but he valued his professional position above any other consideration. In 1840, he served as a visitor to the United States Militar}' Academy- at West Point, and, as secretary of the Board, drafted the report of that year, which was favorabl}- reviewed in the North American. Preceding his resignation in the Ohio University, he was elected Pro- fessor of Ancient Languages in the Indiana State Universit}^ (in 1843). Here, as he had been in Ohio, he w^as not onl}- the able and earnest university professor, but was prominent in all educational movements : not onl}' this : his influence in matters of State improvement was that of a leading citizen. In 1850, he was elected a member of the State Constitutional Con- vention. This was a body composed of the very ablest men of the State, and the prominent part which was assigned him sufficienth showed the estimate in which he was held. In the year 1856, he was elected to the chair of Mental and Moral Philosoph}' in the Universitv of Wisconsin, at Madison, which, on account of the great beautv of the place, and the inducements held out by a rapidly growing citv, he accepted. Here, in this new field, as a 250 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. college officer, as a citizen, as active in all matters pertaining to educa- tional advancement, as a writer on subjects of general interest, he soon became known throughout the State. In all the concerns of the Uni- versit}', and in every way promoting its advancement, and especially in the measures relating to the concentrating of funds to make a single strong State institution, he was a leader. In 1866, after the death of Mr. Lathrop, Dr. Read was unanimously elected president of the University of Missouri, which was, from debt, from want of endowment, from dilapidation of buildings, from party prejudice, and general neglect, in a deplorable condition. He at once proposed a plan to the board of curators for the re-creation of the insti- tution with the proper departments of a university, taking the require- ments of the Constitution of the State as the basis 6i the organization : not, however, definitely accepting the presidency until April 1867, after the Legislature had acknowledged the Universit}- as the State Univer- sity under the Constitution, and largely increased its endowment, which he had made a condition of acceptance. The progress of the institution since that time is well known. It has in its endowment, in its depart- ments of instruction, in the number of its professors and students, in its libraries and equipments, become one of the leading institutions of the West. In this great work, so speedily accomplished, no person, unless blinded by utter ignorance and prejudice, denies that Dr. Read has been the main spring of action. He has, as forcibly expressed by the Hon. James S. Rollins, the very founder of the University, "been the arsenal from which all the material of action has been furnished, and so ample has been the supply we had need to go nowhere else." In such a work, opposition was to be expected. It did not come at tirst, for there was nothing to oppose, but as the institution grew in means and power, it became an object desirable to be controlled on many accounts. His opponents have been the reactionary, the ignorant and the prejudiced : those who know nothing of the educational move- ment of the da3s and whose faces and steps are turned backwards. Those who have labored most and done most lor the University ascribe most to Dr. Read. In the review of such a life, it strikes us as almost a phenomenon that a man of acknowedged ability, great force of character, indefatigable industry and enterprising spirit, should for so long a time here in the West have adhered to one line of life — and that one likely to generate habits of inaction, if not indolence ; and this with numerous temptations to other pursuits. In it he has manifested all the zeal, enthusiasm. DANIEL READ , LL . D . 25 I untiring labor and intensit}' of purpose, which leads to success in law, in politics, or business enterprise. He has never spared either labor or money in his work ; he has employed almost every vacation of his professional life in visiting colleges and universities, libraries and polytechnic institutions : and in mingling and consulting with the leading American educators, in educational associations, especially the National,^ in which he has been largely a participant. His punctuality in the routine of college duty has been well nigh perfect, and his preparations for the class-room never omitted or remitted. His pupils are now scattered abroad in every State, and almost every country. A distinguished gentleman wishing, for a reason, to know the estimate in which Dr. Read was held by them, wrote to a considerable number of the most distinguished of them in public life. The response was, without exception, of the same general tenor. They acknowledge him as the teacher, of all others, who had taught them how to study and how to learn, how to classify their knowledge and how to use it» and as having inspired them with high and ennobling ambitions. Dr. Read is now the oldest American college officer in continuous- commission in the United States, having received his first appointment April 8, 1825, and has been in commission as such to this time without any intermission, and except when absent on public dut}^ connected with the interests of education, has been engaged in the daily routine of lec- ture, recitation or class examination. Dr. Read has not yet abated one jot or tittle of his former vigor and intensity of purpose ; his health remains well nigh perfect ; in study, in writing, in teaching and lectur- ing, he is as intent and earnest as ever, and spends more hours of labor than most men of any age. Dr. Read was married, when barely twenty-one years of age, to x\lice Brice, daughter of Thomas Brice, a merchant of great enterprise in that part of Ohio, and found in her truly a "help-meet." To her pru- dence, good management, taste, and encouraging influence, he attributes largely whatever of professional success he has been able to achieve. Her death occurred in May 1874. He had a large family, tour of whom survive (daughters). His oldest son. General Theodore Read, fell in the last contest before the Appomattox bridge, mention of whose heroic conduct and death is made by General Grant in his final report. HON. CHARLES P. JOHNSON EN. 265 opportunity to test its strength occurred, and at the election for pubHc printer, and after a hard contest for three days, Mr. Allen was chosen on the twelfth ballot, his opponents being Messrs. Gales and Seaton, of the Intelligencer , and Messrs. Blair and Rives, of the Globe. In the preparation of the political campaign of 1840, Mr. Allen pre- ferred as a candidate for the presidency, Hon. WilHam C. Rives, of Virginia, a conservative Democrat; but upon the nomination of Messrs. Harrison and Tyler, finding their real views to differ little from his own, and feeling the folly of maintaining a separate organization in opposition to Mr. Van Buren, he gave them a zealous, laborious and persevering support, as the representatives of true democratic republican principles. In the midst of the campaign, on the nth of April, 1840, his printing office, with all that he possessed except his library, was burned, as was supposed, by an incendiary. But on the 2d of May, the Madisonian re-appeared, announcing itself : "Self-born, begotten by the parent flame In which it burned — another, yet the same." Its vigor, as may be imagined, was not diminished by the ordeal of fire, and it reached, during the presidential campaign, the circulation — then very large — of twenty thousand. Nor was Mr. Allen's voice silent during that contest. He addressed the National Convention of young men, at Baltimore, as one of its vice- presidents ; spoke at a pubHc dinner given him by the citizens of his native town ; and made political speeches in several States. The result of the election in the overwhelming choice of Messrs. Har- rison and Tyler is a matter of histor}^ General Harrison, on his arrival at Washington, cordially acknowledged the great services of Mr. Allen, said that he had correctly represented his views, and consulted him on the formation of his cabinet. Of the sad group who stood by his bed- side when the venerable President died, Mr. Allen was one. Passing over much that is interesting in Mr. Allen's history, we come down to the spring of 1842, when he moved to St. Louis, where on the 1 2th of the following July, he married Miss Ann C. Russell, the daughter of William Russell, Esq., of this city. He opened a law office here, but soon closed it, and began to devote his attention to public interests, and was mainly instrumental in the establishment of the St. Louis Horticultural Society, of which he became president. In 1848, he began those labors in behalf of internal improvements in Missouri and neighboring States, which have continued ever since, and have 266 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. accomplished results which could hardly have been hoped for at that time. His first efibrt in behalf of railroads, or at least the first of a public character of which we find mention, was an address to the voters of St. Louis, in behalf of a subscription to the St. Louis and Cincinnati rail- road, written at the request of a public meeting in 1848. In February 1849, at a large meeting of the citizens of St. Louis, called to take action for a line of railroad to the Pacific coast, Mr. Allen reported resolutions strongly in favor of such a national central high- way, which were unanimously passed, and were approved by the. State Legislature. In the October following, under a call of the citizens of St. Louis, written by Mr. Allen, a national convention assembled in this city, dele- gates from fourteen States being present. Senator Benton, Mr. Allen, and others made speeches in favor of the enterprise, and to Mr. Allen was entrusted the preparation of an address to the people of the United States and a memorial to Congress. In January 1850, Mr. Allen called public attention to the charter of the Pacific Railroad, which had been procured, and at a called meeting he read an address whose comprehensiveness of view, accuracy and fullness of detail, and earnestness of manner, were irresistibly convin- cing, and $154,000 of the stock was taken on the spot. Ground was broken on the road July 4, 185 1, and the contractors were fairl}^ at work in September. In 1850 Mr. Allen was chosen for four 3'ears to the Senate of Mis- souri, where he was immediately made chairman of the Committee on Internal Improvements, and by persevering efibrts, succeeded in obtain- incr a loan of the State credit in aid of the road to the amount of $2,000,000. In 1852, Mr. Allen proposed a plan which, although the Legislature was not then prepared to accept it as a whole, was subsequently carried out, and a loan of State credit to each, with the exception of one line, was made. The system comprised the following lines : The original Pacific with a State loan of $3,000,000, and an assignment of 1,250,000 acres of the national land grant; the Southwestern branch — loan $1,000,000; Iron Mountain — loan $750,000 ; Hannibal and St. Joseph — loan $1,500,000, land grant, 600.000 acres ; North Missouri — loan $2,000,000. Thus in three or four years of hard work, a very great part of which fell to Mr. Allen, and under his well directed influence, the apathy which THOMAS ALLEN. 267 had hung over the State in regard to internal improvements was broken up, and a policy estabhshed which may well be called liberal. In 1834, thirty-eight miles of the road being in operation, and over one hundred more under construction, Mr. Allen resigned his position as president and director of the Pacific road. In the same year Mr. Allen also retired from the Senate, and declined are-nomination, which was tendered him. In 1857, Mr. Allen was chosen president of the Terre Haute, Alton and St. Louis Railroad, but finding it deeply in debt, withdrew and recommended a re-organization. In 1858, he founded the well known banking house of Allen, Copp & Nisbet, of St. Louis, he furnishing the capital. Entrusted by the State of Missouri with $900,000 of her guaranteed bonds, in aid of the southern branch of the Pacific Railroad, he dis- posed of them to great advantage, and without charge. When the civil war broke out in 1861, Mr. Allen was found on the Union side, and aided, with all the means at his command, the Union cause. In 1862 he was candidate for Congress of the "Unconditional Union men" of the Second Missouri District, and was defeated by means familiar enough in those distracted days, but which we will not here discuss. In 1865, Mr. Allen, with his eldest son and daughter, visited Great Britain and the continent of Europe. In 1866, he presented a plan for the liquidation of the national debt by a grand patriotic subscription, in commutation of taxes, and also based, in part, on re-payment in public lands. B}' purchase, Mr. Allen became the owner of the Iron Mountain Railroad in the year 1867, it having been surrendered to the State with only eighty-six miles completed. In spite of great natural and poli- tical obstructions, he finished the road to Belmont in 1869, 120 miles further. He then extended a branch from Pilot Knob to Arkansas in 1871-72, and having, with his associates, purchased the Cairo and Fulton Railroad, of Arkansas, he completed that road in i872-'73 from Cairo to Texarkana, some 375 miles. He thus constructed about 100 miles of railroad every year for six years. While doing so he was president of four difi'erent railroad corporations, all of which were consolidated in May, 1874, under the title of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, the w^hole of which, in the aggregate, were 686 miles long. Connected with this extensive property, in w^hich, first and last, some 268 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. $24,000,000 have been invested, is a landed estate, in Missouri and Arkansas, of about 1,500,000 acres. Mr. Allen was a member of and took a prominent part in the organi- zation of the National Board of Trade at Philadelphia and Cincinnati in 1868. In 1871 he endowed a professorship in Washington University, of St. Louis, with the annual interest of $40,000, at 7 per cent., which is well known as the "Allen Professorship of Mining and Metallurgy." In 1872 he was elected president of the University Club, of St. Louis, its members consisting of the graduates of all colleges, and embracing other men of culture, and numbering now near three hundred. The same year he was elected president of the Railway Association of America, which is devoted to railway economy. He has also estab- lished a free library in his native town of Pittsfield, Mass., and erected for it a beautiful stone edifice, at a cost of about $50,000. Here he habitually spends his summers, and amidst his native hills and vales he indulges himself in what he considers the luxury of a farm, and takes not a little pleasure and pride in his Jersey cattle. Southdown sheep and other fruits of agriculture. He is president of an Alumni Association of his Alma Mater, and, while engaged in an important land litigation in court in Mississippi county in 1853, received from Union College, New York, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. He is an honorary member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and a member of several other prominent societies, such as the New York and Wisconsin Horticultural Societies ; a fellow of the American Academy of Design, and of the American Geographical Society. He spent the summer of 1874 in London and Paris, his youngest son accompanying him. While he is the presiding officer of the several corporations men- tioned, and of several others not named, he is also the head of a family, reared in Missouri, consisting of his wife, four sons and three daughters, and may be pronounced one of the busiest executive men in the nation. Several thousand persons have, at times, been in his employment, developing the wealth and advancing the civilization of the country, their joint labors with his tending directly to promote the growth of his adopted city. His mind and character have strengthened with his labors. Innumerable questions in law and physics, in political economy, natural and moral philosophy, trade, commerce and finance, are pressed upon him, in the emergencies of his varied business, for practical solution. Some men become doctors of law nominally by favor. Upon him the doctorate is thrust by force of circumstances. To perform his duties successfully requires robust health, clear brain. THOMAS ALLEN. 269 cool judgment, imperturbable temper, varied knowledge, industry and great experience. He is one who makes history, and his works are his best monument. When they are finished, truly may he say '^'Excgi tnonumcntuni